Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Design, implementation and evaluation of a distributed CDCL framework

The primary subject of this dissertation is practically solving instances of the Boolean satisfiability problem (SAT) that arise from industrial applications. The invention of the conflict-driven clause-learning (CDCL) algorithm led to enormous progress in this field. CDCL has been augmented with effective pre- and inprocessing techniques that boost its effectiveness. While a considerable amount of work has been done on applying shared-memory parallelism to enhance the performance of CDCL, solving SAT on distributed architectures is studied less thoroughly. In this work, we develop a distributed, CDCL-based framework for SAT solving. This framework consists of three main components: 1. An implementation of the CDCL algorithm that we have written from scratch, 2. a novel, parallel SAT algorithm that builds upon this CDCL implementation and 3. a collection of parallel simplification techniques for SAT instances. We call our resulting framework satUZK; our parallel solving algorithm is called the distributed divide-and-conquer (DDC) algorithm. The DDC algorithm employs a parallel lookahead procedure to dynamically partition the search space. Load balancing is used to ensure that all computational resources are utilized during lookahead. This procedure results in a divide-and-conquer tree that is distributed over all processors. Individual threads are routed through this tree until they arrive at unsolved leaf vertices. Upon arrival, the lookahead procedure is invoked again or the leaf vertex is solved via CDCL. Several extensions to the DDC algorithm are proposed. These include clause sharing and a scheme to locally adjust the LBD score relative to the current search tree vertex. LBD is a measure for the usefulness of clauses that participate in a CDCL search. We evaluate our DDC algorithm empirically and benchmark it against the best distributed SAT algorithms. In this experiment, our DDC algorithm is faster than other distributed, state-of-the-art solvers and solves at least as many instances. In addition to running a parallel algorithm for SAT solving we also consider parallel simplifcation. Here, we first develop a theoretical foundation that allows us to prove the correctness of parallel simplification techniques. Using this as a basis, we examine established simplification algorithms for their parallelizability. It turns out that several well-known simplification techniques can be parallelized efficiently. We provide parallel implementation of the techniques and test their effectiveness in empirical experiments. This evaluation finds several combinations of simplification techniques that can solve instances which could not be solved by the DDC algorithm alone.
An Approach to Engineer and Realize Emergent Configurations in the Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a fast propagating technology that is expected to emerge in almost all aspects of our daily life. The IoT environment is well known for being dynamic and uncertain. Connected devices, and their software, can be discovered at runtime and might also become suddenly unavailable. The involvement of the human in the loop complicates more the scene. People's activities are stochastic and their needs are not always predictable. Therefore, coping with the dynamic IoT environment should be considered as a first class requirement when engineering IoT systems. A useful concept for supporting this effort is Emergent Configurations (ECs). An EC consists of a dynamic set of devices that cooperate temporarily to achieve a user goal. This PhD work aims to use the concept of ECs as a basis for a novel approach for realizing IoT systems. More specifically, this thesis aims at: (i) producing characterization models for IoT systems and ECs; (ii) proposing a concrete architecture and an approach for realizing ECs.
SB225002 inhibits prostate cancer invasion and attenuates the expression of BSP, OPN and MMP-2

The mechanisms of malignant cell metastasis to secondary sites are complex and multifactorial. Studies have demonstrated that small integrin-binding ligand N-linked glycoproteins (SIBLINGs), particularly bone sialoprotein (BSP) and osteopontin (OPN), are involved in neoplastic growth and metastasis. SIBLINGs promote malignant cell invasion and metastasis by enhancing matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) and MMP-9 expression. Moreover, BSP and OPN can combine with integrin, which is located on the tumor cell surface, to further promote the malignant behavior of tumor cells. In the present study, we investigated whether SB225002, a specific CXCR2 receptor antagonist, can inhibit prostate cancer cell expression of BSP and OPN and reduce cancer cell invasion ability. A series of experiments showed that after SB225002 treatment, the proliferation, invasion and migration of two androgen-independent prostate cancer cell lines were inhibited, but this inhibitory effect was not observed on androgen-dependent prostate cancer cells. Western blotting showed that the PI3K signaling pathway could regulate the expression of SIBLING and MMP family proteins, and SB22055 could reduce the expression of BSP, OPN and MMP-2 in prostate cancer cells by inhibiting AKT/mTOR phosphorylation. Finally, in vivo experiments confirmed that SB225002 inhibited the proliferation of prostate cancer cells in vivo, and the expression levels of BSP, OPN and MMP-2 were also inhibited.
BlinkComm: Initialization of IoT Devices Using Visible Light Communication

Many applications from the Internet of Things (IoT) domain used in healthcare, smart homes, and cities involve a large number of interconnected wireless devices. To ensure privacy, confidentiality, and integrity of the information, devices should be initialized prior to any communication. In this paper, we present a secure initialization method for constrained IoT devices such as wireless sensors devices and/or actuators. The solution uses visible light communication (VLC) for the initial configuration of the IoT devices. The VLC system consists of a modulated light source such as a smartphone screen and a very simple photodetector. We analyze known coding and modulation techniques used for the VLC and propose BlinkComm, a differential coding technique that achieves threefold increase in transmission speed compared to existing solutions. We showed through experiments with 32 participants that the proposed solution achieves fast completion times and low error rates as well as high user satisfaction levels.
Big Lessons from Tiny Flies: Drosophila melanogaster as a Model to Explore Dysfunction of Dopaminergic and Serotonergic Neurotransmitter Systems

The brain of Drosophila melanogaster is comprised of some 100,000 neurons, 127 and 80 of which are dopaminergic and serotonergic, respectively. Their activity regulates behavioral functions equivalent to those in mammals, e.g., motor activity, reward and aversion, memory formation, feeding, sexual appetite, etc. Mammalian dopaminergic and serotonergic neurons are known to be heterogeneous. They differ in their projections and in their gene expression profile. A sophisticated genetic tool box is available, which allows for targeting virtually any gene with amazing precision in Drosophila melanogaster. Similarly, Drosophila genes can be replaced by their human orthologs including disease-associated alleles. Finally, genetic manipulation can be restricted to single fly neurons. This has allowed for addressing the role of individual neurons in circuits, which determine attraction and aversion, sleep and arousal, odor preference, etc. Flies harboring mutated human orthologs provide models which can be interrogated to understand the effect of the mutant protein on cell fate and neuronal connectivity. These models are also useful for proof-of-concept studies to examine the corrective action of therapeutic strategies. Finally, experiments in Drosophila can be readily scaled up to an extent, which allows for drug screening with reasonably high throughput.
Team DEEP-HRI Moments in Time Challenge 2018 Technical Report

Video-based action recognition is challenging as spatial and temporal reasonings are involved jointly. We propose a novel multi-view convolutional architecture, which performs 2D convolution along three orthogonal views of volumetric video data. With weight sharing, it is capable of encoding spatio-temporal feature of video clips efficiently, and achieves superior performance over state-of-the-art spatio-temporal feature learning architectures. Furthermore, we also explore the auditory modality, which is complementary to visual clues. Our final submission to the Moments in Time challenge 2018 is an ensemble of several visual RGB and audio models, achieving a top-1 accuracy of 38.7% and top-5 66.9% on the validation set.
Standardized Preparation for Fecal Microbiota Transplantation in Pigs

The intestine of pigs harbors a mass of microorganisms which are essential for intestinal homeostasis and host health. Intestinal microbial disorders induce enteric inflammation and metabolic dysfunction, thereby causing adverse effects on the growth and health of pigs. In the human medicine, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), which engrafts the fecal microbiota from a healthy donor into a patient recipient, has shown efficacy in intestinal microbiota restoration. In addition, it has been used widely in therapy for human gastrointestinal diseases, including Clostridium difficile infection, inflammatory bowel diseases, and irritable bowel syndrome. Given that pigs share many similarities with humans, in terms of anatomy, nutritional physiology, and intestinal microbial compositions, FMT may also be used to restore the normal intestinal microbiota of pigs. However, feasible procedures for performing FMT in pigs remains unclear. Here, we summarize a standardized preparation for FMT in pigs by combining the standard methodology for human FMT with pig production. The key issues include the donor selection, fecal material preparation, fecal material transfer, stool bank establishment, and the safety for porcine FMT. Optimal donors should be selected to ensure the efficacy of porcine FMT and reduce the risks of transmitting infectious diseases to recipients during FMT. Preparing for fresh fecal material is highly recommended. Alternatively, frozen fecal suspension can also be prepared as an optimal choice because it is convenient and has similar efficacy. Oral administration of fecal suspension could be an optimal method for porcine fecal material transfer. Furthermore, the dilution ratio of fecal materials and the frequency of fecal material transfer could be adjusted according to practical situations in the pig industry. To meet the potential large-scale requirement in the pig industry, it is important to establish a stool bank to make porcine FMT readily available. Future studies should also focus on providing more robust safety data on FMT to improve the safety and tolerability of the recipient pigs. This standardized preparation for porcine FMT can facilitate the development of microbial targeted therapies and improve the intestinal health of pigs.
A review of the ever increasing threat to European crayfish from non-indigenous crayfish species

Non-indigenous crayfish species (NICS) in Europe now outnumber indigenous crayfish species (ICS) 2:1, and it has been predicted that they may dominate completely in the next few decades unless something is done to protect them. Of the ten NICS introduced at least nine have become established in areas occupied by four of the five ICS. A decline in stocks of ICS has been recorded in many countries in the face of increasing populations of NICS. Most European countries retain at least one ICS but all are under threat from habitat loss, deteriorating water quality, overfishing, climate change, and most importantly from NICS and crayfish plague. The threat to ICS is so great in some countries that “ark”sanctuary sites are being established.The three most widely-spread NICS are the North American species: Pacifastacus leniusculus , Orconectes limosus and Procambarus clarkii . These can be considered as “Old NICS”, which were introduced before 1975, compared with the “New NICS”, which were introduced after 1980, such as the North American species: Orconectes immunis , Orconectes juvenilis , Orconectes virilis , Procambarus sp. and Procambarus acutus ; and the Australian species: Cherax destructor and Cherax quadricarinatus , all of which have much narrower ranges in Europe. The North American species are potentially capable of acting as vectors of crayfish plague. Outbreaks of this disease occur regularly where there are high concentrations of vectors.In addition to the NICS currently established in the wild, a further threat exists through the aquarium trade, where many American and Australian species are available via the internet and in aquarist centres. Owners of such species may discard them into the freshwater environment when they grow too big as with some Cherax spp. and Orconectes spp. , or multiply too frequently as with Procambarus sp. (a parthenogenetic species). A conceptual model is presented as a possible way forward for protecting the future survival of ICS in Europe.
Difficult vs. Severe Asthma: Definition and Limits of Asthma Control in the Pediatric Population

Evaluating the degree of disease control is pivotal when assessing a patient with asthma. Asthma control is defined as the degree to which manifestations of the disease are reduced or removed by therapy. Two domains of asthma control are identified in the guidelines: symptom control and future risk of poor asthma outcomes, including asthma attacks, accelerated decline in lung function, or treatment-related side effects. Over the past decade, the definition and the tools of asthma control have been substantially implemented so that the majority of children with asthma have their disease well controlled with standard therapies. However, a small subset of asthmatic children still requires maximal therapy to achieve or maintain symptom control and experience considerable morbidity. Childhood uncontrolled asthma is a heterogeneous group and represents a clinical and therapeutic challenge requiring a multidisciplinary systematic assessment. The identification of the factors that may contribute to the gain or loss of control in asthma is essential in differentiating children with difficult-to-treat asthma from those with severe asthma that is resistant to traditional therapies. The aim of this review is to focus on current concept of asthma control, describing monitoring tools currently used to assess asthma control in clinical practice and research, and evaluating comorbidities and modifiable and non-modifiable factors associated with uncontrolled asthma in children, with particular reference to severe asthma.
Projecting future demand for informal care among older people in China: the road towards a sustainable long-term care system

Abstract The long-term care system in China relies heavily on informal care provided by family members. This study makes projections on the demand for informal care among Chinese older people between 2015 and 2035 and quantifies the level of long-term care resources needed to meet their needs. The data come from longitudinal information in a nationally representative sample, China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey 2011 and 2013. The macrosimulation approach (PSSRU model) and the Markov approach are integrated into one Bayesian modelling framework. The Monte Carlo simulation technique is used to capture parameter uncertainty. We project that the demand for informal care will increase from 41.3 million people (95% CI: 39.9–42.7) in 2015 to 82.6 million people (95% CI: 78.3–86.9) in 2035. The long-term care system faces unbalanced pressure of demand for informal care from different groups of older people. The projected demand is sensitive to changes in older people’s disability trajectory and the availability of formal care provided by the government, but less sensitive to an increase in singleton households in the future. We discuss possible policy measures to alleviate the mounting pressure on the demand for informal care.
Isolation and biological characteristics of multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells derived from chick embryo intestine

ABSTRACT 1. Over the past decade, rapid advancement in isolation methods for identifying markers of the once elusive intestinal stem cell (ISC) populations has laid the foundation for unravelling their complex interrelationships during homeostasis. Study on ISC in avian intestinal tissue might play a pivotal foundation for further studies on the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in gastrointestinal disease and cell-based therapy as well as intestinal tissue engineering. 2. The following experiment isolated a population of fibroblast-like, plastic adhering cells derived from chick embryo intestine, showing a strong self-renewing and proliferative ability, which was maintained in vitro up to passage 25. The findings included growth characteristics, detected expression of cell surface markers and characterised the capability of these cells to differentiate towards the osteogenic, adipogenic, and chondrogenic cell lineages. 3. RT-PCR analysis showed that these cells from chick embryos expressed mesenchymal stromal cell markers CD44, CD90 and VIMENTIN as well as ISC-specific genes LGR5, MI1, SMOC2, BMI1, and HOPX. Immunofluorescence and flow cytometry confirmed this biology characterisation further. 4. In conclusion, cells were isolated from the intestine of 18-day-old chicken embryos that exhibited the biological characteristics of mesenchymal stromal cells as well as markers of intestinal stem cells. Our findings may provide a novel insight for in vitro cell culture and characteristics of ISCs in avian species, which may also indicate a benefit for obtaining cell source for intestinal tissue engineering as well as cell-based investigation for gastrointestinal disease and treatment.
Controlled Release of 5-Fluorouracil from Alginate Beads Encapsulated in 3D Printed pH-Responsive Solid Dosage Forms

Three-dimensional printing is being steadily deployed as manufacturing technology for the development of personalized pharmaceutical dosage forms. In the present study, we developed a hollow pH-responsive 3D printed tablet encapsulating drug loaded non-coated and chitosan-coated alginate beads for the targeted colonic delivery of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). A mixture of Eudragit® L100-55 and Eudragit® S100 was fabricated by means of hot-melt extrusion (HME) and the produced filaments were printed utilizing a fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printer to form the pH-responsive layer of the tablet with the rest comprising of a water-insoluble poly-lactic acid (PLA) layer. The filaments and alginate particles were characterized for their physicochemical properties (thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction), their surface topography was visualized by scanning electron microscopy and the filaments’ mechanical properties were assessed by instrumented indentation testing and tensile testing. The optimized filament formulation was 3D printed and the structural integrity of the hollow tablet in increasing pH media (pH 1.2 to pH 7.4) was assessed by means of time-lapsed microfocus computed tomography (μCT). In vitro release studies demonstrated controlled release of 5-FU from the alginate beads encapsulated within the hollow pH-sensitive tablet matrix at pH values corresponding to the colonic environment (pH 7.4). The present study highlights the potential of additive manufacturing in fabricating controlled-release dosage forms rendering them pertinent formulations for further in vivo evaluation.
High-Speed Tracking with Multi-kernel Correlation Filters

Correlation filter (CF) based trackers are currently ranked top in terms of their performances. Nevertheless, only some of them, such as KCF [26] and MKCF [48], are able to exploit the powerful discriminability of non-linear kernels. Although MKCF achieves more powerful discriminability than KCF through introducing multi-kernel learning (MKL) into KCF, its improvement over KCF is quite limited and its computational burden increases significantly in comparison with KCF. In this paper, we will introduce the MKL into KCF in a different way than MKCF. We reformulate the MKL version of CF objective function with its upper bound, alleviating the negative mutual interference of different kernels significantly. Our novel MKCF tracker, MKCFup, outperforms KCF and MKCF with large margins and can still work at very high fps. Extensive experiments on public data sets show that our method is superior to state-of-the-art algorithms for target objects of small move at very high speed.
Disruptive Hearing Technologies and Mild Sensorineural Hearing Loss I: Accessibility and Affordability Issues

Abstract Limited accessibility to and affordability of hearing health care (HHC) and hearing aids (HAs) are two reasons why people do not seek treatment for their hearing losses. This article is the first in a series of two and discusses affordability issues (i.e., billing models, cost-effectiveness, insurance coverage, and reimbursement) related to and provides a historical context for the Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Act of 2017. This piece of legislation supports development of a new class of over-the-counter HAs that represents a disruptive technology that may transform the HHC industry by reducing costs specific to the device. A discussion of ethical issues and the importance of using evidence-based practice guidelines set the stage for the second article in this series, which reviews relevant research on issues pertaining to persons with mild hearing loss.
The Interorganizational Challenge of Agricultural Reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Interorganizational Challenge of Agricultural Reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina The case study reported below examines USAID's "Linking Agricultural Markets with Producers" program. This program complemented Bosnia and Herzegovina's overall sustainable agriculture policies. Implementing organizations quickly recognized that sustainability must be achieved not only from an environmental perspective, but in the interorganizational domain as well. Public, private and nonprofit players had to develop the social, economic and political infrastructure required for sustainable agricultural projects to succeed. These institutional changes were at times more difficult than the sustainable agriculture policies and practices they supported. Framed within LAMP's identification of constraints and proposed solutions for agricultural reform, we explored the interorganizational linkages required for success. We identified three distinct types: 1) those within the international community, 2) those within the local community and 3) those between international and local organizations. The case illustrates the institutional and managerial obstacles to and opportunities for implementing sustainable development reforms in transition settings.