Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Systematic Reliability Evaluation of FPGA Implemented CNN Accelerators

Convolutional neural networks (CNN) have become essential for many scientific and industrial applications, such as image classification and pattern detection. Among the devices that can implement neural networks, SRAM based FPGAs are a popular option due to their excellent parallel computing capability and good flexibility. However, SRAM-FPGAs are susceptible to radiation effects, which limits its application on safety critical applications. In this paper, the reliability of an accelerator based on the advanced Instruction-Set Architecture is evaluated based on hardware fault injection experiments. Each main module of the accelerator is evaluated separately, and the impact of parallelism and model features on the accelerator reliability is also examined. The experimental results reveal some important conclusions in terms of general hardware reliability and also of the particular model reliability. First, over 99% of SEUs on the computation modules will cause accuracy loss, and the reliability improves for higher parallelism. Second, a large portion of SEUs on the data mover and the instruction scheduler will cause system corruptions due to abnormal interactions with the ARM or other modules. Third, nonlinear activation and pooling layers are effective in reducing the effect of SEUs on computation modules, so models that use these layers tend to be more robust. The results provide a deep understanding of the impact of errors on CNNs implemented on ISA based FPGA accelerators (e.g., the Xilinx DPU).
Personalized Dietary Advice to Increase Protein Intake in Older Adults Does Not Affect the Gut Microbiota, Appetite or Central Processing of Food Stimuli in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Six-Month Randomized Controlled Trial

Expert groups argue to raise the recommended daily allowance for protein in older adults from 0.8 to 1.2 g/kg/day to prevent undernutrition. However, protein is thought to increase satiety, possibly through effects on gut microbiota and central appetite regulation. If true, raising daily protein intake may work counterproductively. In a randomized controlled trial, we evaluated the effects of dietary advice aimed at increasing protein intake to 1.2 g/kg adjusted body weight/day (g/kg aBW/day) on appetite and gut microbiota in 90 community-dwelling older adults with habitual protein intake <1.0 g/kg aBW/day (Nintervention = 47, Ncontrol = 43). Food intake was determined by 24-h dietary recalls and gut microbiota by 16S rRNA sequencing. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans were performed in a subgroup of 48 participants to evaluate central nervous system responses to food-related stimuli. Both groups had mean baseline protein intake of 0.8 ± 0.2 g/kg aBW/day. At 6 months’ follow-up this increased to 1.2 ± 0.2 g/kg aBW/day for the intervention group and 0.9 ± 0.2 g/kg aBW/day for the control group. Microbiota composition was not affected, nor were appetite or brain activity in response to food-related stimuli. Increasing protein intake in older adults to 1.2 g/kg aBW/day does not negatively impact the gut microbiota or suppress appetite.
Bounds on the size of the likelihood ratio test of independence in a contingency table

Bounds are obtained on the limiting size of the nominal level-[alpha] likelihood ratio test of independence in a r - c contingency table. The situations considered include sampling with both marginal totals random and with one margin fixed. Upper and lower bounds are obtained. The limiting size is greater than [alpha] when some marginal probabilities are small. As the degrees of freedom increase, the limiting size tends to 1 for all [alpha]-values.
Maternal invalidation and child RSA reactivity to frustration interact to predict teacher-reported aggression among at-risk preschoolers

Abstract Background Aggression is a transdiagnostic indicator of risk and represents one of the most common reasons children are referred for mental health treatment. Theory and research highlight the impact of maternal invalidation on child aggression and suggest that its influence may vary based on differences in child physiological reactivity. Moreover, the interaction between these risk factors may be particularly pronounced among children of mothers with emotion regulation (ER) difficulties. The current study examined the independent and interactive effects of maternal invalidation and child physiological reactivity to frustration on teacher-reported aggression in an at-risk sample of preschool children. Method Participants included 77 mothers (Mage = 33.17 years, s.d. = 4.83; 35% racial/ethnic minority) and their children (Mage = 42.48 months; s.d. = 3.78; 56% female; 47% racial/ethnic minority). Groups of mothers with and without clinician-rated ER difficulties reported on maternal invalidation, and child respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was assessed continuously during a frustration task as an indicator of physiological reactivity. Teachers or daycare providers reported on child aggression. Results Results demonstrated positive associations between maternal ER difficulties and both maternal invalidation and child RSA reactivity to frustration. As expected, the interaction between maternal invalidation and child RSA reactivity was significant, such that higher maternal invalidation and greater child RSA reactivity to frustration predicted more aggression in a daycare or preschool setting. Importantly, this effect was demonstrated while controlling for demographic covariates and baseline RSA. Conclusions Findings are in line with diathesis–stress and biosocial models of risk and point to multiple targets for prevention and early intervention.
Temperature dependence of photoluminescence characteristics of excitons in stacked quantum dots and quantum dot chains

We have investigated the effects of temperature on the photoluminescence (PL) characteristics of excitons in ordinary stacked quantum dots (QDs) and QD chains in which QDs are interconnected along the growth direction. While the temperature dependence of the PL intensity of both samples is similar, that of the PL decay time is different. In addition, the PL decay times of both samples monitored at 150 K clearly depend on the detection energy. This result is attributed to lateral QD coupling. From these results, in ordinary stacked QDs, the exciton transfer owing to the lateral coupling is the only cause of the increase in the PL decay time. On the other hand, in QD chains, the interconnection along the chain direction as well as the lateral coupling is considered to cause the change in the PL characteristics and induce the extremely long exciton lifetime.
High-power high-efficiency optically pumped semiconductor disk lasers in the green spectral region with a broad tuning range

Optically pumped semiconductor disk lasers with an infra-red fundamental emission at around 1050 nm are presented. Design and characteristics of the devices are discussed and evaluated. A maximum output power of infra-red radiation of 18 W close to room temperature and rather high slope and differential quantum efficiencies are demonstrated. Utilizing intra-cavity second-harmonic generation in a folded resonator, green optical output powers exceeding 8 W are generated. A maximum total conversion efficiency of 22% and a relatively broad tuning range of 22 nm in the second-harmonic regime are achieved.
Intralesional Steroid Injection Versus Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy in the Treatment of Plantar Fasciitis: A Comparative, Prospective, Case Series Study

Background This study aimed to compare and evaluate the outcomes of intralesional steroid injections (ultrasound-guided) versus extracorporeal shockwave therapy in the treatment of plantar fasciitis. Methodology Between January 2021 and March 2022, 120 (84 male, 36 female) patients with a confirmed diagnosis of plantar fasciitis were identified. Subjective assessment was done using Mayo Clinical Score, and objective evaluation was done by measuring plantar fascia thickness using ultrasonography. For this study, two groups were made, wherein group A was administered a high dose of extracorporeal shockwave therapy, and group B was administered ultrasound-guided intralesional or local steroid injections. Results Plantar fascia thickness was considerably reduced after therapy in both groups; however, the difference in thickness reduction was not statistically significant between both groups. Mayo Clinic Scores showed statistically significant improvement in pain; however, the difference in pain reduction was not statistically significant between both groups. Conclusions A considerable clinical and radiological improvement was noted in both groups; however, we did not record statistically significant and superior results in either group. Intralesional steroid injections provided faster clinical improvement and better patient compliance.
Prophylactic Intravitreal Bevacizumab After Plaque Radiotherapy for Uveal Melanoma: Analysis of Visual Acuity, Tumor Response, and Radiation Complications in 1131 Eyes Based on Patient Age

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the impact of age on radiation complications after plaque radiotherapy and prophylactic intravitreal bevacizumab for uveal melanoma. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: Retrospective single-center study of plaque-irradiated uveal melanoma with prophylactic intravitreal bevacizumab at 4-month intervals from July 2000 to January 2018. Results: Of 1131 eyes in 1131 patients, age was <50 years (n = 231), 50 to 70 years (n = 657), or >70 years (n = 243). Comparison by age category (<50 vs 50–70 vs >70 years) revealed the oldest group presenting with greatest tumor basal diameter (11.3 vs 11.3 vs 12.1 mm, P = 0.03) and worst visual acuity (20/40 vs 20/40 vs 20/50, P = 0.02). After plaque (mean follow-up 40 vs 42 vs 32 months, P < 0.001), radiation complications were most common in the youngest age group, including maculopathy (48% vs 39% vs 28%, P < 0.001), extramacular retinopathy (30% vs 25% vs 16%, P = 0.002), and papillopathy (21% vs 18% vs 12%, P = 0.03). The youngest age group had the highest Kaplan-Meier estimated 48-month cumulative probability for radiation maculopathy (62% vs 46% vs 47%, P = 0.001), extramacular retinopathy (36% vs 34% vs 29%, P = 0.03), and papillopathy (29% vs 26% vs 22%, P = 0.13). On subanalysis, the youngest age group had increased 48-month risk of developing radiation maculopathy when compared with the middle [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.5, P = 0.001] and older (HR = 1.6, P = 0.005) age groups and increased 48-month risk of developing extramacular radiation retinopathy compared with the older age group (HR = 1.5, P = 0.04). Conclusions: After plaque radiotherapy for uveal melanoma and prophylactic intravitreal bevacizumab at 4-month intervals, patients younger than 50 years old have an increased 48-month risk of radiation maculopathy.
Monitoring Neuromuscular Activity during Exercise: A New Approach to Assessing Attentional Focus Based on a Multitasking and Multiclassification Network and an EMG Fitness Shirt

Strengthening muscles can reduce body fat, increase lean muscle mass, maintain independence while aging, manage chronic conditions, and improve balance, reducing the risk of falling. The most critical factor inducing effectiveness in strength training is neuromuscular connection by adopting attentional focus during training. However, this is troublesome for end users since numerous fitness tracking devices or applications do not provide the ability to track the effectiveness of users’ workout at the neuromuscular level. A practical approach for detecting attentional focus by assessing neuromuscular activity through biosignals has not been adequately evaluated. The challenging task to make the idea work in a real-world scenario is to minimize the cost and size of the clinical device and use a recognition system for muscle contraction to ensure a good user experience. We then introduce a multitasking and multiclassification network and an EMG shirt attached with noninvasive sensing electrodes that firmly fit to the body’s surface, measuring neuron muscle activity during exercise. Our study exposes subjects to standard free-weight exercises focusing on isolated and compound muscle on the upper limb. The results of the experiment show a 94.79% average precision at different maximum forces of attentional focus conditions. Furthermore, the proposed system can perform at different lifting weights of 67% and 85% of a person’s 1RM to recognize individual exercise effectiveness at the muscular level, proving that adopting attentional focus with low-intensity exercise can activate more upper-limb muscle contraction.
Analytical on-state current model of polycrystalline silicon thin-film transistors including the kink effect

A simple analytical expression for the on-state current of polycrystalline silicon thin-film transistors is presented, valid in both linear and saturation regimes including the impact ionization effect. The maximum channel electric field and the avalanche multiplication factor are described in terms of an average trapped charge density at the grain boundary, varying with gate voltage due to the continuous energy distribution of the grain boundary trap states. Based on the parameters of the charge inversion voltage, effective carrier mobility and grain boundary barrier height which are extracted from the transfer characteristic at low drain voltage, the model reproduces the experimental output characteristics in devices with different gate lengths using few fitting parameters.
Study of contact mechanics between two brass solids in various diameter ratios and friction coefficient

Contact mechanics is the study of the behavior of solids when they come into contact at one or more points. Contact mechanics research allows for the investigation of tribology, contact stiffness, electrical contact resistance, and indentation hardness. This understanding is required for the safe and efficient design of technological systems. One of the main interesting research observations is the study of contact mechanics behavior between two brass hemisphere with different diameter ratios and friction coefficients, which subsequently becomes the subject of this study. For this study, seven diameter ratios ranging from one- to seven-folds were compared using friction coefficients of 0.05, 0.1, 0.4, and 0.8. Both experiments and simulations were performed to investigate the behavior of the contact mechanics. The experiments and simulation were designed to investigate the effect of friction coefficient and diameter ratio on Von-Misses in the loading process and deformation. The results of the finite element method simulations µ = 0 and lubricated condition experiments are coherent between each other. As a result, it is proven that the coefficient of friction has influenced the unloading deformation and von Mises stress distribution. However, the impact on the deformation ratio with a coefficient of friction from 0.05 to 0.8 does not show a significant difference. The distribution of von Mises stress on diameter ratio 1 showed similar results between the two specimens. Specimen 2 had a wider von Mises stress distribution than specimen 1 at a higher diameter ratio. From diameter ratio 3 to diameter ratio 7, there is a highly localized stress at the edge of the contact area. This region is caused by shear stress as a result of the middle material pushing the surrounding material sideways. When the friction coefficient is increased, the localized stress area decreases, which indicates that the resultant load given is reduced.
Planetary turmoil unleashed during Solar System infancy.

For several decades, planetary scientists have believed that, sometime after the Solar System9s formation, resonant tugs between the giant planets threw their orbits out of kilter. The gravity of the errant giants blasted Pluto and its many icy neighbors into the far-out Kuiper belt, creating the system known today. Until recently, scientists believed the most likely timing for this instability occurred 3.95 billion years ago, lining up with a cataclysmic assault on the Moon inferred from lunar samples. In recent years, reinterpretations of this lunar evidence have freed scientists to explore whether this instability happened earlier, and now many believe that the instability occurred within the Solar System9s first 100 million years, or even its first 10 million. The latter could explain many quirks of the system, including the survival of the rocky planets and Mars9s small size.
A Regional Ensemble Prediction System Based on Moist Targeted Singular Vectors and Stochastic Parameter Perturbations

Abstract A regional ensemble prediction system (REPS) with the limited-area version of the Canadian Global Environmental Multiscale (GEM) model at 15-km horizontal resolution is developed and tested. The total energy norm singular vectors (SVs) targeted over northeastern North America are used for initial and boundary perturbations. Two SV perturbation strategies are tested: dry SVs with dry simplified physics and moist SVs with simplified physics, including stratiform condensation and convective precipitation as well as dry processes. Model physics uncertainties are partly accounted for by stochastically perturbing two parameters: the threshold vertical velocity in the trigger function of the Kain–Fritsch deep convection scheme, and the threshold humidity in the Sundqvist explicit scheme. The perturbations are obtained from first-order Markov processes. Short-range ensemble forecasts in summer with 16 members are performed for five different experiments. The experiments employ different perturbation and .
Sled-Push Load-Velocity Profiling and Implications for Sprint Training Prescription in Young Athletes

Abstract Cahill, MJ, Oliver, JL, Cronin, JB, Clark, KP, Cross, MR, and Lloyd, RS. Sled-push load-velocity profiling and implications for sprint training prescription in young athletes. J Strength Cond Res 35(11): 3084–3089, 2021—Resisted sled pushing is a popular method of sprint-specific training; however, little evidence exists to support the prescription of resistive loads in young athletes. The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability and linearity of the force-velocity relationship during sled pushing, as well as the amount of between-athlete variation in the load required to cause a decrement in maximal velocity (Vdec) of 25, 50, and 75%. Ninety (n = 90) high school, male athletes (age 16.9 ± 0.9 years) were recruited for the study. All subjects performed 1 unresisted and 3 sled-push sprints with increasing resistance. Maximal velocity was measured with a radar gun during each sprint and the load-velocity (LV) relationship established for each subject. A subset of 16 subjects examined the reliability of sled pushing on 3 separate occasions. For all individual subjects, the LV relationship was highly linear (r > 0.96). The slope of the LV relationship was found to be reliable (coefficient of variation [CV] = 3.1%), with the loads that cause a decrement in velocity of 25, 50, and 75% also found to be reliable (CVs = <5%). However, there was large between-subject variation (95% confidence interval) in the load that caused a given Vdec, with loads of 23–42% body mass (%BM) causing a Vdec of 25%, 45–85 %BM causing a Vdec of 50%, and 69–131 %BM causing a Vdec of 75%. The Vdec method can be reliably used to prescribe sled-push loads in young athletes, but practitioners should be aware that the load required to cause a given Vdec is highly individualized.
Exact current to a spherical electrode in a collisionless, large‐Debye‐length magnetoplasma

Exact calculations of the steady‐state current drawn from a collisionless, Maxwellian plasma in a uniform magnetic field by a spherical, perfectly absorbing electrode are presented for a range of dimensionless electrode potentials and magnetic‐field strengths. These calculations are valid in the limit of large Debye length. The results are compared with the theory of Rubinstein and Laframboise, which gives upper and lower bounds for both the attracted‐species and the repelled‐species current. It is found that as the electrode potential increases from space potential with magnetic‐field strength fixed, the electron (i.e., attracted‐species) current decreases, but not as quickly as the adiabatic‐limit (effectively lower‐bound) current. The ion current also diverges immediately from the adiabatic‐limit current. As the electrode potential increases further, the electron current rises and moves monotonically toward the canonical upper bound, which is the warm‐plasma generalization of the well‐known Parker and .
HDL Functions—Current Status and Future Perspectives

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in Western countries. A low HDL-C is associated with the development of CVD. However, recent epidemiology studies have shown U-shaped curves between HDL-C and CVD mortality, with paradoxically increased CVD mortality in patients with extremely high HDL-C levels. Furthermore, HDL-C raising therapy using nicotinic acids or CETP inhibitors mostly failed to reduce CVD events. Based on this background, HDL functions rather than HDL-C could be a novel biomarker; research on the clinical utility of HDL functionality is ongoing. In this review, we summarize the current status of HDL functions and their future perspectives from the findings of basic research and clinical trials.
La Transición democrática en los libros de texto: una reflexión desde los manuales de 2º de Bachillerato

La Transición democrática supone un período clave en la formación ciudadana de nuestros estudiantes, al ser el hito configurador del actual sistema democrático. Este artículo pretende realizar una radiografía sobre la forma en que se estudia la Transición en Bachillerato. Para ello se analizará el que continúa siendo el principal instrumento pedagógico: el libro de texto. De una recopilación de 12 manuales se analizarán su estructura, contenido, iconografía y actividades, así como el uso dado por el profesorado, tomándose como marco de referencia la Comunidad Autónoma de Cantabria. Este acercamiento permitirá conocer los relatos y pedagogías a través de los que gran parte de nuestros estudiantes aprenden la historia de la Transición.
Population-Level Reach of Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Interventions in a Rural Community: Findings from the Heart of New Ulm Project

This study examines participation by residents of a rural community in programs implemented as part of The Heart of New Ulm (HONU) Project, a population-based cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention initiative. The study compares participation rates for the various interventions to assess which were the most engaging in the priority community and identifies factors that differentiate participants vs. nonparticipants. Participation data were merged with electronic health record (EHR) data representing the larger community population to enable an analysis of participation in the context of the entire community. HONU individual-level interventions engaged 44% of adult residents in the community. Participation ranked as follows: (1) heart health screenings (37% of adult residents), (2) a year-long community weight loss intervention (12% of adult residents), (3) community health challenges (10% of adult residents), and (4) a phone coaching program for invited high CVD-risk residents (enrolled 6% of adult residents). Interventions that yielded the highest engagement were those that had significant staffing and recruited participants over several months, often with many opportunities to participate or register. Compared to nonparticipants, HONU participants were significantly older and a higher proportion were female, married, overweight or obese, and had high cholesterol. Participants also had a lower prevalence of smoking and diabetes than nonparticipants. Findings indicate community-based CVD prevention initiatives can be successful in engaging a high proportion of adult community members. Partnering with local health care systems can allow for use of EHR data to identify eligible participants and evaluate reach and engagement of the priority population.