nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Agent based manufacturing execution systems for short series production scheduling
Venue: Comput. Ind.

This paper presents the architecture of Agent based Manufacturing Execution Systems dedicated for short series production support. The functional models are based on the ANSI/ISA 95 (IEC/ISO 62264) standard. The workflow and information exchange for Manufacturing Operations Management are defined by ISA 95 and implemented under a dynamic Agent based environment. The proposed system is organised as a fully heterarchical architecture, without a central administration or system orchestrators. Unlike most of the existing agent software that are based on Java, the proposed solution is based on Microsoft's Model View Controller and was created under the ASP.NET technology. Holons, which collect information from the real production system, are a Cyber Physical part of the application. Agents process information using Internet services that are available for human users and for the other agents as well. The proposed approach has been verified on the use case of the system that was created to support the production of electronic devices in the Prototyping Department of Continental Ingolstadt. The system model, applied communication mechanisms and examples of agents are presented in this paper. The research part of this paper is focussed on simulation based planning for a short series production schedule. The simulation results can be used to support the decision making process.
Service Architecture for CSP Based Planning for Holonic Manufacturing Execution Systems
Venue: IESS

In the last period substantial effort was dedicated to solve resource allocation, planning and coordination problems for loosely coupled multi agent systems through combinatorial techniques, especially Distributed Constraint Satisfaction Problem (DisCSP) Some preoccupations were directed to the extension and adaptation of these results to manufacturing planning/scheduling problems. This work will exploit the DisCSP techniques that could be used to manufacturing execution systems based on holonic organization in order to integrate a DisCSP planning mechanism and then reformulate the agent holon model and the inter holon connections from a service perspective.
The Role of Manufacturing Execution Systems in Supporting Lean Manufacturing
Venue: PLM

In order to deal with global competition and increased customers expectation, companies must improve the efficiency of their manufacturing processes. Mainly, two approaches are available: the implementation of lean manufacturing practices and the deployment of information tools for data analysis. For a long time, these two strategies have been considered mutually exclusive; recently, it was understood that information concerning the manufacturing process is mandatory for the effective implementation of lean practices. This work aims at showing how Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) can support the lean manufacturing paradigm into a medium size enterprise. The case study of a company in the supply chain of automotive components is presented to provide evidence about the role of MES and to highlight possible criticalities occurring during its implementation.
Manufacturing Execution Systems: Examples of Performance Indicator and Operational Robustness Tools.
Venue: Chimia

Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) are computerized systems used to measure production performance in terms of productivity, yield, and quality. In the first part, performance indicator and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) process robustness tools and statistical process control are described. The second part details some tools to help process robustness and control by operators by preventing deviations from target control charts. MES was developed by Syngenta together with CIMO for automation.
Once and for all, LXRa and LXRb are gatekeepers of the endocrine system.
Venue: Molecular aspects of medicine

Liver X receptors (LXRs) a and b are nuclear receptors whose transcriptional activity is regulated by oxysterols, the oxidized forms of cholesterol. Described in the late 1990s as lipid sensors, both LXRs regulate cholesterol and fatty acid homeostasis. Over the years, deep phenotypic analyses of mouse models deficient for LXRa and/or LXRb have pointed out various other physiological functions including glucose homeostasis, immunology, and neuroprotection. This review enlightens the "endocrine" functions of LXRs; they deeply impact plasma glucose directly and by modulating insulin signaling, renin angiotensin aldosterone axis, thyroid and pituitary hormone levels, and bone homeostasis. Besides, LXR signaling is also involved in adrenal physiology, steroid synthesis, and male and female reproduction. Hence, LXRs are definitely involved in the endocrine system and could thus be considered as endocrine receptors, even though oxysterols do not fully correspond to the definition of hormones. Finally, because they are ligand regulated transcription factors, LXRs are potential pharmacological targets with promising beneficial metabolic effects.
Spirometry filters can be used to detect exhaled respiratory viruses.
Venue: Journal of breath research

Respiratory viruses are very common in the community and contribute to the burden of illness for patients with chronic respiratory diseases, including acute exacerbations. Traditional sampling methods are invasive and problematic to repeat. Accordingly, we explored whether respiratory viruses could be isolated from disposable spirometry filters and whether detection of viruses in this context represented presence in the upper or lower respiratory tract. Discovery (n 53) and validation (n 49) cohorts were recruited from a hospital outpatient department during two different time periods. Spirometry mouthpiece filters were collected from all participants. Respiratory secretions were sampled from the upper and lower respiratory tract by nasal washing (NW) sputum, and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) All samples were examined using RT PCR to identify a panel of respiratory viruses (rhinovirus, respiratory syncytial virus, influenza A, influenza B, parainfluenza virus 1, 2 3, and human metapneumovirus) Rhinovirus was quantified using qPCR. Paired filter NW samples (n 29) filter sputum samples (n 24) filter BAL samples (n 39) and filter NW BAL samples (n 10) provided a range of comparisons. At least one virus was detected in any sample in 85% of participants in the discovery cohort versus 45% in the validation cohort. Overall, 72% of viruses identified in the paired comparator method matched those detected in spirometry filters. There was a high correlation between viruses identified in spirometry filters compared with viruses identified in both the upper and lower respiratory tract using traditional sampling methods. Our results suggest that examination of spirometry filters may be a novel and inexpensive sampling method for the presence of respiratory viruses in exhaled breath.
Airborne pollen trends in the Iberian Peninsula.
Venue: The Science of the total environment

Airborne pollen monitoring is an effective tool for studying the reproductive phenology of anemophilous plants, an important bioindicator of plant behavior. Recent decades have revealed a trend towards rising airborne pollen concentrations in Europe, attributing these trends to an increase in anthropogenic CO2 emissions and temperature. However, the lack of water availability in southern Europe may prompt a trend towards lower flowering intensity, especially in herbaceous plants. Here we show variations in flowering intensity by analyzing the Annual Pollen Index (API) of 12 anemophilous taxa across 12 locations in the Iberian Peninsula, over the last two decades, and detecting the influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) Results revealed differences in the distribution and flowering intensity of anemophilous species. A negative correlation was observed between airborne pollen concentrations and winter averages of the NAO index. This study confirms that changes in rainfall in the Mediterranean region, attributed to climate change, have an important impact on the phenology of plants.
Spatial and temporal variations in airborne Ambrosia pollen in Europe
Venue: Aerobiologia

The European Commission Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action FA1203 "SMARTER" aims to make recommendations for the sustainable management of Ambrosia across Europe and for monitoring its efficiency and cost effectiveness. The goal of the present study is to provide a baseline for spatial and temporal variations in airborne Ambrosia pollen in Europe that can be used for the management and evaluation of this noxious plant. The study covers the full range of Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. distribution over Europe (39degN 60degN; 2degW 45degE) Airborne Ambrosia pollen data for the principal flowering period of Ambrosia (August September) recorded during a 10 year period (2004 2013) were obtained from 242 monitoring sites. The mean sum of daily average airborne Ambrosia pollen and the number of days that Ambrosia pollen was recorded in the air were analysed. The mean and standard deviation (SD) were calculated regardless of the number of years included in the study period, while trends are based on those time series with 8 or more years of data. Trends were considered significant at p 0.05. There were few significant trends in the magnitude and frequency of atmospheric Ambrosia pollen (only 8% for the mean sum of daily average Ambrosia pollen concentrations and 14% for the mean number of days Ambrosia pollen were recorded in the air) The direction of any trends varied locally and reflected changes in sources of the pollen, either in size or in distance from the monitoring station. Pollen monitoring is important for providing an early warning of the expansion of this invasive and noxious plant.
Stock Price Prediction based on Stock Big Data and Pattern Graph Analysis
Venue: IoTBD

Stock price prediction is extremely difficult owing to irregularity in stock prices. Because stock price sometimes shows similar patterns and is determined by a variety of factors, we present a novel concept of finding similar patterns in historical stock data for high accuracy daily stock price prediction with potential rules for simultaneously selecting the main factors that have a significant effect on the stock price. Our objective is to propose a new complex methodology that finds the optimal historical dataset with similar patterns according to various algorithms for each stock item and provides a more accurate prediction of daily stock price. First, we use hierarchical clustering to easily find similar patterns in the layer adjacent to the current pattern according to the hierarchical structure. Second, we select the determinants that are most influenced by the stock price using feature selection. Moreover, we generate an artificial neural network model that provides numerous opportunities for predicting the best stock price. Finally, to verify the validity of our model, we use the root mean square error (RMSE) as a measure of prediction accuracy. The forecasting results show that the proposed model can achieve high prediction accuracy for each stock by using this measure.
Minimising average passenger waiting time in personal rapid transit systems
Venue: Ann. Oper. Res.

Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) is an emerging urban transport mode. A PRT system operates much like a conventional hackney taxi system, except that the vehicles are driven by computer (no human driver) between stations in a dedicated network of guideways. The world's first two PRT systems began operating in 2010 and 2011. In both PRT and taxi systems, passengers request immediate service; they do not book ahead. Perfect information about future requests is therefore not available, but statistical information about future requests is available from historical data. If the system does not use this statistical information to position empty vehicles in anticipation of future requests, long passenger waiting times result, which makes the system less attractive to passengers, but using it gives rise to a difficult stochastic optimisation problem. This paper develops three lower bounds on achievable mean passenger waiting time, one based on queuing theory, one based on the static problem, in which it is assumed that perfect information is available, and one based on a Markov Decision Process model. An evaluation of these lower bounds, together with a practical heuristic developed previously, in simulation shows that these lower bounds can often be nearly attained, particularly when the fleet size is large. The results also show that low waiting times and high utilisation can be simultaneously obtained when the fleet size is large, which suggests important economies of scale.
Airport Parking Shuttle Comparison: Bus vs. Personal Rapid Transit

Greenville Spartanburg International Airport is faced with a growing need for parking facilities, some of which are, or will be, located remotely from the terminal at distances too far for most passengers to walk. A comparison was made between a shuttle bus solution and a personal rapid transit (PRT) solution over a 30 year life cycle. The study investigated alternate parking facilities to meet the projected growth and the ability of the different solutions to provide adequate levels of service. It also evaluated the impact of connect times (car to terminal) on parking charges at surrounding airports. PRT connect times were found to vary from five minutes average to seven minutes maximum while the equivalent shuttle bus connect times were 12 and 17 minutes, respectively. This difference indicated a substantially higher parking charge could be justified by the PRT system, but PRT daily rates were conservatively held at only $1.00 higher than shuttle bus rates. With approximately similar life cycle costs (capital plus operating) the net present value of the PRT solution was found to be higher than the bus solution. In addition to the significantly shorter connect times, the PRT solution provides level boarding, seated rides, reduced emissions, wheelchair accommodations and, significantly, does not add to surface congestion. For these reasons, the airport commission decided to pursue the PRT alternative. The initial PRT system serving the existing economy lot is expected to cost around $20 M. It will have 21 vehicles and 0.88 track miles of guideway. It will include three at grade stations in the parking lot, an elevated station at the terminal and a maintenance/storage facility. An additional station attached to Concourse B could allow deplaning passengers, with no bags to collect, a quick return to their cars a feature not possible with shuttle buses.
Deep sequencing of hepatitis C virus reveals genetic compartmentalization in cerebrospinal fluid from cognitively impaired patients
Venue: Liver international official journal of the International Association for the Study of the Liver

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) causes neuropsychiatric impairment and fatigue with recent studies suggesting HCV invasion of the central nervous system (CNS) Our previous finding that endothelial cells from the blood brain barrier support HCV infection warrants further investigation to elucidate whether the CNS can serve as a reservoir for independent HCV evolution.
Remarks on Complex Symmetric Operators

is said to be complex symmetric if there exists a conjugation C on \mathcal H}$H such that {T= CT^\ast}C}$T=CT*C. In this paper, we study the spectral radius algebras for complex symmetric operators. In particular, we prove that if A is a complex symmetric operator, then the spectral radius algebra \mathcal B}_{A}$BA associated with A has a nontrivial invariant subspace under some conditions. Finally, we give some relations between {P_{\tilde{A}$PA~ and {P_{\widetilde{A^\ast}$PA* (defined below) when A is complex symmetric.
An intimate history of the front: masculinity, sexuality, and German soldiers in the First World War

Together both books from Akcam and Rogan add greatly to the literature on the First World War in the Middle East and make excellent resources for scholars and students albeit at different audiences and levels of subject expertise. Akcam's book requires a great deal of background knowledge if the reader is to fully contextualize the mass of primary material and as such is suited more to a specialist readership. By contrast, Rogan has produced a classic that will appeal to a popular audience as much as to an academic one and he deserves great credit for raising public awareness of the impact that the war had on the Middle East. Moreover, Rogan's conclusion, that 'in the Middle East, more than any other part of the world, the legacies of the Great War continue to be felt down to the present day' (406) ensures that both his and Akcam's works should remain required reading both for scholars and for policy makers seeking an in depth understanding of how the boundaries of the modern Middle East came into being during an earlier period of intense region wide upheaval. Finally, in calling for an end to the misrepresentation of historical record, Akcam ends on a hopeful note that 'the powerful, recent surge of democratization in Turkey has paved the way for such recognition' of the Armenian genocide (452) Unfortunately, such a hopeful concluding sentence reflects more the political atmosphere in Turkey in 2012, the year his book came out, and readers may judge that the recent (re)growth of political authoritarianism in Turkey will once again restrict the room for debate on such emotive and highly charged issues. For this reason, among others, historians will be grateful to Akcam for mining the Ottoman era archives in such meticulous detail in case Turkish governments choose to close off similar access to scholars in the future and particularly if state society relations once again begin to fray in the modern republic.
Measuring urban quality of life: case study of Ljubljana

Quality of urban life is a useful concept for studying the quality of residential environment and its effect on quality of life. The article is based on the data analysis of the survey research Quality of Life in Ljubljana (2010) Using structural equation modelling and hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis, the effect of residential quality on quality of life was determined and compared to the effects of selected domains of life. The results depend heavily on the operationalization of quality of life and on the selected independent variables in the model. Structural equation modelling confirmed the hypothesis about the effect of residential quality on quality of life, wherein satisfaction with the dwelling has a significantly greater effect on it than satisfaction with the neighbourhood and with living in the city. The hierarchical regression analysis results show that the quality of life for Ljubljana residents is most affected by their own estimation of social economic factors, especially economic well being, family life, and social life.
Fast Consensus Using Bounded Staleness for Scalable Read Mostly Synchronization
Venue: IEEE Transactions on Parallel and Distributed Systems

Reader mostly synchronization schemes, such as rwlocks and RCU, aim to maximize parallelism among readers, but many existing designs either cause readers to contend, or significantly extend writer latency, or both. This paper attributes such a problem to the lack of a fast consensus protocol between readers and writers, by which the two parts cooperate to obey the semantics of a synchronization construct. This paper describes FCP, a fast consensus protocol among readers and writers that provides scalable read side performance as well as small writer latency for TSO architectures. The heart of FCP is a version based consensus protocol between multiple non communicating readers and a pending writer. FCP leverages bounded staleness of memory consistency to avoid atomic instructions and memory barriers in readers' common paths, and uses message passing (e.g. IPI) for straggling readers so that the writer latency can be bounded. To demonstrate the effectiveness of FCP, this paper applies FCP to construct a scalable reader writers lock (rwlock) and a scalable RCU implementation. Evaluation on a 64 core machine shows that FCP significantly boosts the performance of the Linux virtual memory subsystem, a concurrent hashtable and an in memory database. Micro benchmarks show that FCP achieves smaller reader side latency and lower writer side latency when compared to state of the art rwlocks and RCU implementation.
High Performance Distributed RMA Locks
Venue: HPDC

We propose a topology aware distributed Reader Writer lock that accelerates irregular workloads for supercomputers and data centers. The core idea behind the lock is a modular design that is an interplay of three distributed data structures: a counter of readers/writers in the critical section, a set of queues for ordering writers waiting for the lock, and a tree that binds all the queues and synchronizes writers with readers. Each structure is associated with a parameter for favoring either readers or writers, enabling adjustable performance that can be viewed as a point in a three dimensional parameter space. We also develop a distributed topology aware MCS lock that is a building block of the above design and improves state of the art MPI implementations. Both schemes use non blocking Remote Memory Access (RMA) techniques for highest performance and scalability. We evaluate our schemes on a Cray XC30 and illustrate that they outperform state of the art MPI 3 RMA locking protocols by 81% and 73% respectively. Finally, we use them to accelerate a distributed hashtable that represents irregular workloads such as key value stores or graph processing.
Challenges of project management in global software development: A client vendor analysis
Venue: Inf. Softw. Technol.

Global Software Development (GSD) is the process whereby software is developed by different teams located in various parts of the globe. One of the major reasons for GSD project failure is that a number of organizations endorse global development prior to understanding project management challenges for the global activity.  The objective of this paper is to identify the challenges, from the client and vendor perspectives, which can undermine the successful management of GSD projects.  We followed a two phase approach: we first identified the challenges via a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) and then the identified challenges were validated using a questionnaire based survey.  Through both approaches, we identified 19 challenges important to the success of GSD project management. A comparison of the challenges identified in client and vendor organizations indicates that there are more similarities than differences between the challenges. Our results show a positive correlation between the ranks obtained from the SLR and the questionnaire (r s (19) 0.102) p 0.679) The results of t test (i.e. t 0.299, p 0.768 0.05) show that there is no significant difference between the findings of SLR and questionnaire. Conclusions GSD organizations should try to address the identified challenges when managing their global software development activities to increase the probability of project success.