Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of Nanoparticle Modification on Composite Mode II Delamination

The effect of nanoparticle modification on the interlaminar shear fracture behavior of carbon fibre/ epoxy laminates were studied by the End Notched Flexure (ENF) tests. The mode II fracture toughness was improved in the presence of these nanoparticles although nano-rubber was more effective compared to nano -silica. Examination of the fracture surfaces of composite laminates by scanning electron microscopy showed no debonding of nano-silica particles but some evidence of nano-rubber cavitation. Anti-Symmetric Four- Point Bending (ASFPB) tests of the nanoparticles modified epoxies was conducted and the results indicated that nano-silica was more effective in toughening bulk epoxy, but this high toughness could not be effectively transferred to mode II delamination in the composite laminates. Finite element analysis was performed to confirm the predominant Mode II stress state of the ASFPB test.
A Framwork for a University Display Platform by Using Cloud Computing

This paper discusses to use of cloud computing technology to provide a flexible virtual platform for teachers and students in university to display their creative artifacts on the Internet. The authors compare two kinds of virtualisation technology and introduce the system architecture for the creative platform. The platform allows teachers and students to display their achievements by using the unified portal. It can be used to improve the creative ability of users and save hardware and software resources in university.
Restoration of Noisy Ultrasound Image with Rectilinear Effect using Curvelet

Ultrasound Imaging is primary modality in the diagnosis of many diseases. Compared to other imaging techniques ultrasound imaging owes its great popularity to the fact that it is safe and noninvasive procedure for visualizing the heart, vasculature, abdomen, fetal monitoring etc. Ultrasound images are degraded by intrinsic artifacts called speckle which is result of constructive and destructive coherent summation of ultrasound echoes. In ultrasound imaging if a relative motion exist (subject moves from its position) during imaging the recorded image will be blurred. This effect can be expressed by an impulse response in received echo pulses and respective image restoration is made possible by a post recording process. In this paper we proposed the method to remove the blurring and additive speckle noise is removed by curvelet transform domain which uses cycle spinning.
Semiclassical Length Measure from a Quantum-Gravity Wave Function

The definition of a length operator in quantum cosmology is usually influenced by a quantum theory for gravity considered. The semiclassical limit at the Planck age must meet the requirements implied in present observations. The features of a semiclassical wave-functional state are investigated, for which the modern measure(ment)s is consistent. The results of a length measurement at present times are compared with the same measurement operation at cosmological times. By this measure, it is possible to discriminate, within the same Planck-length expansion, the corrections to a Minkowski flat space possibly due to classicalization of quantum phenomena at the Planck time and those due to possible quantum-gravitational manifestations of present times. This analysis and the comparison with the previous literature can be framed as a test for the verification of the time at which anomalies at present related to the gravitational field, and, in particular, whether they are ascribed to the classicalization epoch. Indeed, it allows to discriminate not only within the possible quantum features of the quasi (Minkowski) flat spacetime, but also from (possibly Lorentz violating) phenomena detectable at high-energy astrophysical scales. The results of two different (coordinate) length measures have been compared both at cosmological time and as a perturbation element on flat Minkowski spacetime. The differences for the components of the corresponding classical(ized) metric tensor have been analyzed at different orders of expansions. The results of the expectation values of a length operator in the universe at the Planck time must be comparable with the same length measurements at present times, as far as the metric tensor is concerned. The comparison of the results of (straight) length measures in two different directions, in particular, can encode the pertinent information about the parameters defining the semiclassical wavefunctional for (semiclassicalized) gravitational field.
Comparing Human and Synthetic Group Behaviors : A Model Based on Social Psychology

Existing models of group behavior, in a variety of fields, leave many open challenges. In particular, existing models often focus only on a specific phenomenon (e.g. flocking, pedestrian movement), and thus must be switched depending on the goals of the simulation. In contrast, we investigate a general cognitive model of simulating group behaviors, based on Festinger’s Social Comparison Theory (SCT), a prominent social psychology theory. In previous work, we have show SCT covers a variety of pedestrian movement phenomena. In this paper we present evidence for SCT’s generality by describing the use of the SCT model (using the Soar cognitive architecture) in generation of imitational behavior in loosely-coupled groups. Since the imitational behavior does not have clear standards of evaluation, we propose a method for such evaluation. Based on experiments with human subjects, we show that SCT generates behavior more in-tune with human crowd behavior.
Multiphase digital pulsewidth modulator

This letter describes a digital pulsewidth modulator that enables the generation of a large, adjustable number of pulsewidth modulated (PWM) outputs of programmable duty cycle and dead time, yet requiring just a small, fixed architecture. The design achieves a resolution of 255 ps using a composite PWM strategy that also minimizes clock frequency and area. It provides a practical solution to the problem of efficiently generating multiple high-resolution gate-drive signals and is particularly suited to the next generation of synchronously switched multiphase voltage regulator modules
Towards Automatic Topical Question Generation

A BSTRACT We address the challenge of automatically generating questions from topics. We consider that each topic is associated with a body of texts containing useful information about the topic. Questions are generated by exploiting the named entity information and the predicate argument structures of the sentences present in the body of texts. To measure the importance of the generated questions, we use Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) to identify the sub-topics (which are closely related to the original topic) in the given body of texts and apply the Extended String Subsequence Kernel (ESSK) to calculate their similarity with the questions. We also propose the use of syntactic tree kernels for computing the syntactic correctness of the questions. The questions are ranked by considering their importance (in the context of the given body of texts) and syntactic correctness. To the best of our knowledge, no other study has accomplished this task in our setting before. Experiments show that our approach can signiﬁcantly outperform the state-of-the-art results.
Prenatal detection of succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase deficiency (4‐hydroxybutyric aciduria)

brain, liver, and kidney homogenates by Western immuno-blotting, whereas control tissues showed a distinct immunoreactive band at 58 kD. Our results demonstrate that SSADH deficiency is the first inherited defect of GABA metabolism which can be diagnosed in utero, adding another disease to the growing list of organic acidurias which can be diagnosed prenatally by metabolite measurement and enzyme analysis in amniotic fluid and cells. The existence of SSADH in the periphery has not been previously reported and it appears that SSADH deficiency is expressed in neural and non-neural tissues. Previous enzymatic studies of affected patients have only been performed in extracts of isolated leucocytes or cultured lymphoblasts, and a deficiency of brain SSADH could only be inferred. Further investigation is required to define the function of SSADH in peripheral tissues.
Charged clusters in thin film growth

Abstract A cauliflower structure is a granular film composed of spherical particles similar in size, each with numerous nanoscale nodules on its surface. The structure is produced during certain chemical vapour deposition (CVD) processes for diamond and silicon thin film growth. A classical account in terms of atomic unit deposition fails to explain the growth of such a cauliflower structure, as it requires a gas phase of much higher supersaturation than for onset of diffusion controlled growth. Another interesting and somewhat puzzling phenomenon encountered during a diamond CVD process is that while diamond is depositing on a graphite substrate, carbon atoms in the graphite itself are etched away into the vapour phase; that is, experience evaporation. Again, an elementary kinetic barrier mechanism fails to explain such CVD deposition of a less stable diamond phase combined with simultaneous evaporation of a stable graphite phase. In order to account for such puzzling CVD phenomena and others, a theory of charged clusters has been developed over the past decade as a new paradigm for thin film growth. The theory and its applications are reviewed in this work.
Doubly iterative decoding of space-time turbo codes with a large number of antennas

We examine the performance of a reduced-complexity doubly iterative decoder for space-time turbo codes on a quasi-static fading channel. The decoder works by using preliminary soft values of the coded symbols, obtained after a limited number of turbo iterations, to reduce the spatial interference from the received signal. Then, new turbo iterations are performed to improve on the quality of the soft values, and so on. Using a number of approximations, we obtain a receiver interface that achieves a good tradeoff between performance and complexity, and allows the use of turbo space-time codes for a large number of transmit and receive antennas.
Towards automated performance diagnosis in a large IPTV network

IPTV is increasingly being deployed and offered as a commercial service to residential broadband customers. Compared with traditional ISP networks, an IPTV distribution network (i) typically adopts a hierarchical instead of mesh-like structure, (ii) imposes more stringent requirements on both reliability and performance, (iii) has different distribution protocols (which make heavy use of IP multicast) and traffic patterns, and (iv) faces more serious scalability challenges in managing millions of network elements. These unique characteristics impose tremendous challenges in the effective management of IPTV network and service. In this paper, we focus on characterizing and troubleshooting performance issues in one of the largest IPTV networks in North America. We collect a large amount of measurement data from a wide range of sources, including device usage and error logs, user activity logs, video quality alarms, and customer trouble tickets. We develop a novel diagnosis tool called Giza that is specifically tailored to the enormous scale and hierarchical structure of the IPTV network. Giza applies multi-resolution data analysis to quickly detect and localize regions in the IPTV distribution hierarchy that are experiencing serious performance problems. Giza then uses several statistical data mining techniques to troubleshoot the identified problems and diagnose their root causes. Validation against operational experiences demonstrates the effectiveness of Giza in detecting important performance issues and identifying interesting dependencies. The methodology and algorithms in Giza promise to be of great use in IPTV network operations.
The Candle Scheme for Creating an on-line Computer Science Program - Experiences and Vision

Distance learning programs have rapidly increased during the past few decades. In fall 2000 the University of Joensuu started to offer distance Computer Science (CS) studies to the high school students in surrounding rural areas of Joensuu. In this program high school students study the first year's university level CS studies over the web simultaneously with their regular high school studies. We describe the creation process of our virtual curriculum which is based the so-called Candle scheme. The Candle scheme search the most essential principles needed in on-line course design, supporting a student locally in her authentic learning needs via electronic tools in a light way. With the Candle scheme we have successfully focused in our design process on the most essential parts of the virtual study process. Our experiences of the Candle scheme in the creation process of the on-line CS program during years 2000-2002 indicate that the scheme is the functional one and expandable to other contexts as well.
Channel Assignment and Minimum Dropping Probability scheme for Handover Calls in Mobile Wireless Cellular Networks

Due to the increase of users’ demand for wireless cellular connectivity, service provider is finding difficulty in allocation of resources for mobile nodes. In order to accommodate more number of users, the cell size in mobile wireless cellular networks is being reduced. Because of that bandwidth in each cell has become limited. Due to decrease of cell size, more number of handovers takes place. If bandwidth allocation to these handover calls is not done properly then dropping probability of handover calls will be increased. Also if sufficient bandwidth is not available to new calls, then blocking probability for newly generated calls will be increased. Dropping of handover calls is less desirable than blocking of new calls. Many schemes have been proposed to solve the problem in resource allocation. Presently available solutions are not enough to provide and maintain QOS (Quality of Service) for handover calls. In this paper we propose TDMA based dynamic channel allocation along with bandwidth window in heavy load conditions. We evaluated the performance for dropping probability for handover calls in busy traffic conditions. We applied bandwidth window, where the bandwidth window changes its size according to changing network traffic conditions. With this solution higher priority handover call (multimedia call) will get requested bandwidth, lower priority handover call (Data call) will get minimum bandwidth and probability of dropping of handover calls is reduced to minimum. More number of users will be able to get connected to network and service provider could generate more revenue.
Identification of a Copper-Responsive Two-Component System on the Chromosome of Escherichia coli K-12

ABSTRACT Using a genetic screen we have identified two chromosomal genes,cusRS (ylcA ybcZ), from Escherichia coli K-12 that encode a two-component, signal transduction system that is responsive to copper ions. This regulatory system is required for copper-induced expression of pcoE, a plasmid-borne gene from the E. coli copper resistance operon pco. The closest homologs of CusR and CusS are plasmid-borne two-component systems that are also involved in metal responsive gene regulation: PcoR and PcoS from the pcooperon of E. coli; CopR and CopS from thecop operon, which provides copper resistance toPseudomonas syringae; and SilR and SilS from thesil locus, which provides silver ion resistance toSalmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. The genescusRS are also required for the copper-dependent expression of at least one chromosomal gene, designated cusC(ylcB), which is allelic to the recently identified virulence gene ibeB in E. coli K1. Thecus locus may comprise a copper ion efflux system, because the expression of cusC is induced by high concentrations of copper ions. Furthermore, the translation products of cusCand additional downstream genes are homologous to known metal ion antiporters.
Investigation on DC interruption based on artificial current zero of vacuum switch

Direct current interruption utilizing vacuum switch based on artificial current zero is investigated. A high-speed vacuum switch, which is driven by electromagnetic repulsion force, is adopted as the main switch. The injection of high-frequency countercurrent is controlled by a triggered vacuum switch. The main experimental current is supplied by a LC circuit. The overvoltage generated during interruption is suppressed by metal oxide arrester. The interruption process is also simulated via a circuit model, with which the two important current commutation processes are analyzed, i.e., the current commutation from main switch to countercurrent branch, and the current commutation from countercurrent branch to arrester branch. Simulation results are compared with measured waveforms of voltage and current.
Optimization of a 96-Well Electroporation Assay for Postnatal Rat CNS Neurons Suitable for Cost–Effective Medium-Throughput Screening of Genes that Promote Neurite Outgrowth

Following an injury, central nervous system (CNS) neurons show a very limited regenerative response which results in their failure to successfully form functional connections with their original target. This is due in part to the reduced intrinsic growth state of CNS neurons, which is characterized by their failure to express key regeneration-associated genes (RAGs) and by the presence of growth inhibitory molecules in CNS environment that form a molecular and physical barrier to regeneration. Here we have optimized a 96-well electroporation and neurite outgrowth assay for postnatal rat cerebellar granule neurons (CGNs) cultured upon an inhibitory cellular substrate expressing myelin-associated glycoprotein or a mixture of growth inhibitory chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans. Optimal electroporation parameters resulted in 28% transfection efficiency and 51% viability for postnatal rat CGNs. The neurite outgrowth of transduced neurons was quantitatively measured using a semi-automated image capture and analysis system. The neurite outgrowth was significantly reduced by the inhibitory substrates which we demonstrated could be partially reversed using a Rho Kinase inhibitor. We are now using this assay to screen large sets of RAGs for their ability to increase neurite outgrowth on a variety of growth inhibitory and permissive substrates.
Effectiveness of Primary and Comprehensive Stroke Centers: PERFECT Stroke: A Nationwide Observational Study From Finland

Background and Purpose— Previous studies show better outcomes for patients with stroke receiving care in stroke units, but many different stroke unit criteria have been published. In this study, we explored whether stroke centers fulfilling standardized Brain Attack Coalition criteria produce better patient outcomes than hospitals without stroke centers. Methods— We did an observational register–linkage study of all patients with ischemic stroke treated in Finland between 1999 and 2006. After exclusion of recurrent strokes and nonanalyzable patients, we included 61 685 consecutive patients treated in 333 hospitals classified in national audits either as Comprehensive Stroke Centers, Primary Stroke Centers, or General Hospitals according to Brain Attack Coalition criteria. Primary outcome measures were case-fatality and being in institutional care 1 year after stroke. Results— Care in stroke centers was associated with lower 1-year case-fatality and reduced institutional care compared with General Hospitals. The number-needed-to-treat to prevent 1 death or institutional care at 1 year was 29 for Comprehensive Stroke Centers and 40 for Primary Stroke Centers versus General Hospitals. Patients treated in stroke centers had lower mortality during the entire follow-up of up to 9 years and their median survival was increased by 1 year. Conclusions— This study shows a clear association between the level of acute stroke care and patient outcome and supports use of published criteria for primary and comprehensive stroke centers.
Demodex mite infestation in patients with and without rheumatoid arthritis

In the present study we compared the prevalence of Demodex mites in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and in one control group involving individuals of similar mean age. From each person we epilated 3–4 lashes from each eyelid and examined them under a microscope to find Demodex mites. In total 147 patients were examined. The prevalence of Demodex mites was 33% in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and 31% in the control group. Our results demonstrated that the prevalence of Demodex mites was similar in RA patients as compared to the control group.
eDoctor: Automatically Diagnosing Abnormal Battery Drain Issues on Smartphones

The past few years have witnessed an evolutionary change in the smartphone ecosystem. Smartphones have gone from closed platforms containing only preinstalled applications to open platforms hosting a variety of thirdparty applications. Unfortunately, this change has also led to a rapid increase in Abnormal Battery Drain (ABD) problems that can be caused by software defects or misconfiguration. Such issues can drain a fully-charged battery within a couple of hours, and can potentially affect a significant number of users. This paper presents eDoctor, a practical tool that helps regular users troubleshoot abnormal battery drain issues on smartphones. eDoctor leverages the concept of execution phases to capture an app's time-varying behavior, which can then be used to identify an abnormal app. Based on the result of a diagnosis, eDoctor suggests the most appropriate repair solution to users. To evaluate eDoctor's effectiveness, we conducted both in-lab experiments and a controlled user study with 31 participants and 17 real-world ABD issues together with 4 injected issues in 19 apps. The experimental results show that eDoctor can successfully diagnose 47 out of the 50 use cases while imposing no more than 1.5% of power overhead.
Evidence for VirB4-Mediated Dislocation of Membrane-Integrated VirB2 Pilin during Biogenesis of the Agrobacterium VirB/VirD4 Type IV Secretion System

ABSTRACT Agrobacterium VirB2 pilin is required for assembly of the VirB/VirD4 type IV secretion system (T4SS). The propilin is processed by signal sequence cleavage and covalent linkage of the N and C termini, and the cyclized pilin integrates into the inner membrane (IM) as a pool for assembly of the secretion channel and T pilus. Here, by use of the substituted cysteine accessibility method (SCAM), we defined the VirB2 IM topology and then identified distinct contributions of the T4SS ATPase subunits to the pilin structural organization. Labeling patterns of Cys-substituted pilins exposed to the membrane-impermeative, thiol-reactive reagent 3-(N-maleimidopropionyl)biocytin (MPB) supported a topology model in which two hydrophobic stretches comprise transmembrane domains, an intervening hydrophilic loop (residues 90 to 94) is cytoplasmic, and the hydrophilic N and C termini joined at residues 48 and 121 form a periplasmic loop. Interestingly, the VirB4 ATPase, but not a Walker A nucleoside triphosphate (NTP) binding motif mutant, induced (i) MPB labeling of Cys94, a residue that in the absence of the ATPase is located in the cytoplasmic loop, and (ii) release of pilin from the IM upon osmotic shock. These findings, coupled with evidence for VirB2-VirB4 complex formation by coimmunoprecipitation, support a model in which VirB4 functions as a dislocation motor to extract pilins from the IM during T4SS biogenesis. The VirB11 ATPase functioned together with VirB4 to induce a structural change in the pilin that was detectable by MPB labeling, suggestive of a role for VirB11 as a modulator of VirB4 dislocase activity.