Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CAPACITANCE EXTRACTION

Since the early 1950s, microwave circuits have evolved from discrete circuits to planar integrated circuits, then to multilayered and three-dimensional integrated circuits. With the increased circuit density, the multiconductor line in multilayered dielectric media has become the major form of the transmission line or interconnect. Multilayered routing reduces the area as well as the volume of the circuit. However, as a result, electromagnetic coupling among conductors greatly influences circuit performance. In some microwave integrated circuits, this coupling effect is utilized to construct compact circuit components, under most circumstances it is regarded as a parasitic effect that must be modeled accurately for verification of the circuit’s validity and performance. In the related field of very-large-scale integration (VLSI) circuits, electromagnetic coupling among interconnects is also becoming increasingly important. With the introduction of deep-sub-micrometer (DSM) semiconductor technologies, the on-chip interconnect wire can no longer be considered as an equipotential form of coupling AU:1 . The parasitic effects introduced by the wires display a scaling behavior that differs from that of active devices such as transistors, and these effects tend to gain importance as device dimensions are reduced and circuit speed is increased. In fact, they begin to dominate some of the relevant metrics of digital integrated circuits such as speed, energy consumption, and reliability. A typical recursive design flowchart of a state-of-the-art integrated circuit (IC) is shown in Fig. 1, where a postlayout step termed parasitic extraction precedes gate-level simulation. The task of parasitic extraction is to model the electromagnetic effects of the wire with parasitic components of capacitance, resistance, and inductance, so that a more accurate circuit simulation can be performed. With the increase in working frequency and development of silicon technologies, the discrepancy between the microwave IC and the common VLSI circuit becomes marginal. Therefore, the electromagnetic modeling and accurate extraction of the interconnect parasitics have become a subject of advanced research in both fields to date. Among the three parasitic parameters, capacitance has attracted the most attention because it greatly influences time delay, power consumption, and the signal integrity and its calculation becomes complicated under DSM technologies. In the following sections, the fundamental theory and contemporary methodology and algorithms of capacitance extraction will be discussed.
Two bounds of chromatic number in graphs coloring problem

In this paper, we focus on the coloration approach and estimation of chromatic number. We propose an upper bound of a chromatic number based on the orientation algorithm described in [4]. This upper bound is improved by developing a novel coloration algorithm. Finally, we make a theoretical and empirical comparison of our bounds with Brooks's bound and Reed's conjecture [15] for class of triangle-free graphs.
Nuclear Stellar Populations in the Infrared Space Observatory Atlas of Bright Spiral Galaxies

To understand the nuclear stellar populations and star formation histories of the nuclei of spiral galaxies, we have obtained K-band nuclear spectra for 41 galaxies and H-band spectra for 20 galaxies in the Infrared Space Observatory's Atlas of Bright Spiral Galaxies. In the vast majority of the subsample (80%), the near-infrared spectra suggest that evolved red stars completely dominate the nuclear stellar populations and that hot young stars are virtually nonexistent. The signatures of recent star formation activity are only found in 20% of the subsample, even though older red stars still dominate the stellar populations in these galaxies. Given the dominance of evolved stars in most galaxy nuclei and the nature of the emission lines in the galaxies where they were detected, we suggest that nuclear star formation proceeds in the form of instantaneous bursts. The stars produced by these bursts comprise only ∼2% of the total nuclear stellar mass in these galaxies, but we demonstrate how the nuclear stellar populations of normal spiral galaxies can be built up through a series of these bursts. The bursts were detected only in Sbc galaxies and later, and both bars and interactions appeared to be sufficient, but not necessary, triggers for the nuclear star formation activity. The vast majority of galaxies with nuclear star formation were classified as H II galaxies. With one exception, LINERs and transition objects were dominated by older red stars, which suggested that star formation was not responsible for generating these galaxies' optical line emission.
Ex Post Destruction in the Hold-up Problem

We investigate whether or not ex post destruction can solve the hold-up problem. After clarifying the difference between ex post destruction and nontrade when negotiation breaks down, we show that the option of ex post destruction is not sufficient to enhance ex ante efficiency. In particular, only if the information about the spitefulness of the supplier is coarse enough, will the option of ex post destruction alleviate the inefficiency of underinvestment caused by the hold-up problem. JEL classification: C72, L14
Technology investment and business performance

relationships between measures of information technology (IT) investment and facets of corporate business performance. The results of our study suggest that IT investments have begun to show results in proving they can make a positive contribution to firm output and labor productivity. However, various measures of IT investment do not appear to have a positive relationship with administrative productivity, showing inconsistent results in terms of business performance. Our analysis suggests that while IT is likely to improve organizational efficiency, its effect on administrative productivity and business performance might depend on such other factors as the quality of a firm’s management processes and ITstrategy links, which can vary significantly across organizations. Measurement of the business value of IT investment has been the subject of considerable debate by academics and practitioners. The term productivity paradox is gaining increasing notoriety as several studies point toward falling productivity and rising IT expenditure in the service sector. Loveman [9] summarizes the research that provides evidence suggesting IT investment produces negligible benefits. Other studies [3] take the position that the “shortfall of evidence” is not “evidence of a shortfall” [3]. Brynjolfsson [3] argues that lack of positive evidence is due to mismeasurements of outputs and inputs, lags in learning and adjustment, redistribution and dissipation of profits, and mismanagement of IT. Our first objective was to reexamine the performance effects of IT investment in light of data collected up to 1994 (see the sidebar, “How the Study Was Done”). We are uncomfortable making such a statement as we have not conducted similar systematic scientific analysis with data later than 1994. We included three measures of IT investments: aggregate IT, client/server systems, including Internet-related systems, and IT infrastructure. We studied firm performance in terms of firm output, measured using value added by the organization and total sales; business results, assessed using return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) measures of financial performance; and intermediate performance, assessed using labor productivity and administrative productivity. Older studies examining the value of IT investment treat such investment as a monolithic entity. It is reasonable to argue that how investment dollars are differentially allocated among various elements of the IT infrastructure should be examined in tandem with how many dollars are spent cumulatively. Our second objective was to examine the relationships between investments in
Ring Exploration with Oblivious Myopic Robots

The exploration problem in the discrete universe, using identical oblivious asynchronous robots without direct communication, has been well investigated. These robots have sensors that allow them to see their environment and move accordingly. However, the previous work on this problem assume that robots have an unlimited visibility, that is, they can see the position of all the other robots. In this paper, we consider deterministic exploration in an anonymous, unoriented ring using asynchronous, oblivious, and myopic robots. By myopic, we mean that the robots have only a limited visibility. We study the computational limits imposed by such robots and we show that under some conditions the exploration problem can still be solved. We study the cases where the robots visibility is limited to 1, 2, and 3 neighboring nodes, respectively.
JS-K, a Nitric Oxide Prodrug, Has Enhanced Cytotoxicity in Colon Cancer Cells with Knockdown of Thioredoxin Reductase 1

Background The selenoenzyme thioredoxin reductase 1 has a complex role relating to cell growth. It is induced as a component of the cellular response to potentially mutagenic oxidants, but also appears to provide growth advantages to transformed cells by inhibiting apoptosis. In addition, selenocysteine-deficient or alkylated forms of thioredoxin reductase 1 have also demonstrated oxidative, pro-apoptotic activity. Therefore, a greater understanding of the role of thioredoxin reductase in redox initiated apoptotic processes is warranted. Methodology The role of thioredoxin reductase 1 in RKO cells was evaluated by attenuating endogenous thioredoxin reductase 1 expression with siRNA and then either inducing a selenium-deficient thioredoxin reductase or treatment with distinct redox challenges including, hydrogen peroxide, an oxidized lipid, 4-hydroxy-2-nonenol, and a nitric oxide donating prodrug. Thioredoxin redox status, cellular viability, and effector caspase activity were measured. Conclusions/Significance In cells with attenuated endogenous thioredoxin reductase 1, a stably integrated selenocysteine-deficient form of the enzyme was induced but did not alter either the thioredoxin redox status or the cellular growth kinetics. The oxidized lipid and the nitric oxide donor demonstrated enhanced cytotoxicity when thioredoxin reductase 1 was knocked-down; however, the effect was more pronounced with the nitric oxide prodrug. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that attenuation of the thioredoxin-system can promote apoptosis in a nitric oxide-dependent manner.
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Pancreatitis: An Uncommon Presentation of a Common Disease

Patient: Female, 21 Final Diagnosis: Systemic lupus erythematosus pancreatitis Symptoms: Abdominal pain Medication: — Clinical Procedure: — Specialty: Gastroenterology and Hepatology Objective: Challenging differential diagnosis Background: Acute pancreatitis is uncommon in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). When recognized early and properly treated with IV steroids and hydration, the course may be benign, as exemplified in the following report. Case Report: A 21-year-old woman with history of SLE and stage IV lupus nephritis, was admitted to the Sergio Bernales Hospital ICU (Lima, Peru), complaining of worsening epigastric pain radiating to the back, and nausea and vomiting for 1 week. She denied prior cholelithiasis, alcohol use, or recent medication changes. On examination, she was tachycardic and normotensive, with a slightly distended abdomen and epigastric tenderness on deep palpation, without signs of peritoneal irritation. Laboratory results demonstrated leukocytosis without left shift, creatinine of 2.26 mg/dL, amylase of 750 U/L, and lipase of 1038 U/L. Liver chemistries, calcium, lactic acid, triglycerides, and IgG4 were normal and alcohol level was undetectable. Ultrasound did not show cholelithiasis, biliary sludge, or common bile duct dilation. CT of the abdomen showed pancreas head (parenchyma) stranding with uniform enhancement consistent with interstitial pancreatitis. Despite receiving IV fluids, opiates, anti-emetics, and nothing by mouth, her clinical condition deteriorated, prompting the use of IV methylprednisolone. After completing 1 week of IV steroids, she was transferred to the medical floor clinically improved. The patient was discharged with an oral steroid taper and complete resolution of symptoms. Conclusions: After ruling out common causes, such as hepatobiliary pathology or toxin-related insults like alcohol, hypercalcemia, hypertriglyceridemia or medications, steroids may be used in SLE pancreatitis because they might improve the overall prognosis.
Precision astrometry of a sample of speckle binaries and multiples with the adaptive optics facilities at the Hale and Keck II telescopes

Using the adaptive optics facilities at the 200-in Hale and 10-m Keck II, we observed in the near-infrared a sample of 12 binary and multiple stars and one open cluster. We used the near diffraction limited images of these systems to measure the relative separations and position angles between their components. In this paper, we investigate and correct for the influence of the differential chromatic refraction and chip distortions on our relative astrometric measurements. Over one night, we achieve an astrometric precision typically well below 1mas and occasionally as small as 40 μas. Such a precision is in principle sufficient to astrometrically detect planetary mass objects around the components of nearby binary and multiple stars. Since we have not had sufficiently large data sets for the observed sample of stars to detect planets, we provide the limits to planetary mass objects based on the obtained astrometric precision.
Sequence Instability in the Proviral Long Terminal Repeat and gag Regions from Peripheral Blood and Tissue-Derived Leukocytes of FIV-Infected Cats during the Late Asymptomatic Phase

Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infection results in viral persistence, a prolonged asymptomatic phase, and progressive immunopathology. During the asymptomatic phase, a cohort of experimentally FIV-infected cats exhibits features of viral latency in blood suggestive of inactive viral replication. We sought to investigate viral replication activity and genomic stability of the FIV proviral long terminal repeat (LTR) and the 5′ aspect of gag over time. FIV-infected cats during the asymptomatic phase demonstrated undetectable plasma FIV gag RNA transcripts and intermittent to undetectable blood-derived cell-associated FIV gag RNA. The LTR sequence demonstrated instability in blood-derived cells over time, in spite of low to undetectable viral replication. Sequence variation in the LTR was identified in CD4+ and CD21+ leukocytes from blood and surgically removed lymph nodes. Three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the LTR were commonly identified. Promoter functionality of a common LTR SNP and rare U3 mutation were examined by reporter gene assays and demonstrated either no change or increased basal FIV promoter function, respectively. In conclusion, this cohort of asymptomatic FIV-infected cats demonstrated instability of the LTR and 5’ gag sequences during the study period, in spite of undetectable plasma and rare to undetectable viral gag RNA, which suggests that blood may not accurately represent viral activity in asymptomatic FIV-infected cats.
Analysis of terrestrial and Martian volcanic compositions using thermal emission spectroscopy

We have examined and applied existing classification schemes for volcanic rocks and developed new schemes using thermal emission spectra of terrestrial volcanic rocks. Laboratory thermal infrared spectra (5–25 μm, at 2 cm−1 spectral sampling), deconvolved modal mineralogies, and derived mineral and bulk rock chemistries were used to distinguish basalt, basaltic andesite, andesite, and dacite. Modal mineralogies derived from linear deconvolution of terrestrial volcanic rocks were compared to modes measured by an electron microprobe phase mapping technique to determine the accuracy of linear deconvolution in modeling specific mineral abundances. One σ standard deviations of the absolute differences between modeled and measured mineral abundances range from 2.4 to 12.2 vol %, with an average standard deviation of 4.8 vol % being in agreement with average uncertainties calculated in previous studies. Weighted average compositions of feldspars in the deconvolution generally overlap the measured ranges of plagioclase compositions and the presence of low-calcium and high-calcium pyroxenes was correctly identified. Bulk chemistries of volcanic rocks were derived with a relatively high degree of accuracy (1σ standard deviations ranging from 0.4 to 2.6 vol %) by combining the compositions of spectrally modeled phases in proportion to their relative abundances in a particular sample. These data were collectively used to examine existing and develop new volcanic rock classification schemes. However, no single classification scheme was effective in accurately classifying all samples. Multiple steps of classification were required to distinguish volcanic rocks, reflecting the mineralogic diversity and continuum of compositions that exists in volcanic rock types. In a companion paper [Hamilton et al., this issue] these schemes are applied to the classification of Martian surface compositions.
Monetary and Fiscal Policy in a Liquidity Trap: The Japanese Experience 1999-2004

We characterize monetary and fiscal policy rules to implement optimal responses to a substantial decline in the natural rate of interest, and compare them with policy decisions made by the Japanese central bank and government in 1999-2004. First, we find that the Bank of Japan's policy commitment to continuing monetary easing until some prespecified conditions are satisfied lacks history dependence, a key feature of the optimal monetary policy rule. Second, the term structure of the interest rate gap (the spread between the actual real interest rate and its natural rate counterpart) was not downward sloping, indicating that the Bank of Japan's commitment failed to have su.cient influence on the market's expectations about the future course of monetary policy. Third, we find that the primary surplus in 1999-2004 was higher than predicted by the historical regularity, implying that the Japanese government deviated from the Ricardian rule toward fiscal tightening. These findings suggest that inappropriate conduct of monetary and fiscal policy during this period delayed the timing to escape from the liquidity trap.
DISSIPATIVE PARTICLE DYNAMICS : BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN ATOMISTIC AND MESOSCOPIC SIMULATION

We critically review dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) as a mesoscopic simulation method. We have established useful parameter ranges for simulations, and have made a link between these parameters and χ-parameters in Flory-Huggins-type models. This is possible because the equation of state of the DPD fluid is essentially quadratic in density. This link opens the way to do large scale simulations, effectively describing millions of atoms, by firstly performing simulations of molecular fragments retaining all atomistic details to derive χ-parameters, then secondly using these results as input to a DPD simulation to study the formation of micelles, networks, mesophases and so forth. As an example application, we have calculated the interfacial tension σ between homopolymer melts as a function of χ and N and have found a universal scaling collapse when σ/ρkBTχ0. 4 is plotted against χN for N>1. We also discuss the use of DPD to simulate the dynamics of mesoscopic systems, and indicate a possible problem with.
A postfilter to modify the modulation spectrum in HMM-based speech synthesis

In this paper, we propose a postfilter to compensate modulation spectrum in HMM-based speech synthesis. In order to alleviate over-smoothing effects which is a main cause of quality degradation in HMM-based speech synthesis, it is necessary to consider features that can capture over-smoothing. Global Variance (GV) is one well-known example of such a feature, and the effectiveness of parameter generation algorithm considering GV have been confirmed. However, the quality gap between natural speech and synthetic speech is still large. In this paper, we introduce the Modulation Spectrum (MS) of speech parameter trajectory as a new feature to effectively capture the over-smoothing effect, and we propose a postfilter based on the MS. The MS is represented as a power spectrum of the parameter trajectory. The generated speech parameter sequence is filtered to ensure that its MS has a pattern similar to natural speech. Experimental results show quality improvements when the proposed methods are applied to spectral and F0 components, compared with conventional methods considering GV.
BROADCASTING AUDITORY WEATHER REPORTS - A PILOT PROJECT

This paper reports on a pilot project between our research department and and a local radio station, investigating the use of sonification to render and present auditory weather forecasts. The sonifications include auditory markers for certain relevant time points, expected weather events like thunder, snow or fog and several auditory streams to summarize the temporal weather changes during the day. To our knowledge, this is the first utilization of sonification in a regular radio program. We introduce the sonification concept and present our design of the sonification which is oriented at combined perceptional salience and emotional truthfulness. Sound examples are given for typical weather situations in Germany and several prototypical weather conditions which tune to be connected with emotional value. We will report first experiences with this pilot project and feedback of the audience on ICAD since broadcast started in February 2003.
SAGA: array storage as a DB with support for structural aggregations

In recent years, many Array DBMSs, including SciDB and RasDaMan have emerged to meet the needs of data management applications where the natural structures are the arrays. These systems, like their relational counterparts, involve an expensive data ingestion phase. The paradigm of using native storage as a DB and providing database-like support (e.g., the NoDB approach) has recently been shown to be an effective approach for dealing with infrequently queried data, where data ingestion costs cannot be justified, though only in context of relational data. Applications that generate massive arrays, such as the scientific simulations, often store the data in one of a small number of array storage formats, like NetCDF or HDF5. Thus, a natural question is, "can database-like functionality be supported over native array storage? ". In this paper, we present algorithms, different partitioning strategies, and an analytical model for supporting structural (grid, sliding, hierarchical, and circular) aggregations over native array storage, and describe implementation of this approach in a system we refer to as <u>S</u>tructural <u>AG</u>gregations over <u>A</u>rray storage (SAGA). We show how the relative performance of different partitioning strategies changes with varying amount of computation in the aggregation function and different levels of data skew, and our model is effective in choosing the best partitioning strategy. Performance comparison with SciDB shows that despite working on native array storage, the aggregation costs with our system are lower. Finally, we also show that our structural aggregation implementations achieve high parallel efficiency.