Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Noise behavior of microwave amplifiers operating under nonlinear conditions

The noise behavior of microwave amplifiers operating under a large-signal condition has been studied in this paper. A Gaussian noise is added to a microwave signal and they are applied at the input of several amplifying devices. Experimental data show a decrease of the output noise spectral density when the power of the microwave signal at the input of the devices increases due to the compression of the amplifiers. A distortion component due to the interaction of the signal and its harmonics with the noise is also demonstrated from a simplified theoretical model. The statistical properties of the signal and the noise have also been investigated in order to verify the Gaussianity of the noise at the output of the nonlinear circuits. We have also observed that the majority of the measured devices show some variations of their additive noise versus the input power level.
Mechanized or hand operations: which is less expensive for small timber?

Two harvesting systems, one manual post-and-rail and one small-scale cut-to-length harvester, were compared in a lodgepole pine thinning. Elemental time study data were collected, along with estimates of residual stand damage. The harvester was about as productive as a manual crew of five. For material 5" and larger, the cost for felling, processing and piling small material with the harvester was less than the manual operation. However, the mechanized system resulted in considerably more residual stand damage.
Acquisition and Use of Mobility Habits for Personal Assistants

With large parts of human population increasingly living in big cities, the mobility behavior of humans is about to change faster than ever before. Not only convenience and increasing ecological awareness lead to more intermodal mobility behavior, also the rise of new mobility options like car-or bike sharing are becoming more and more common. Wide distribution of smartphones and the on-trip availability of high-speed Internet let users inform themselves about a vast variety of mobility options. This information overload can overburden users who often have the simple wish to conveniently travel from A to B. Digital Mobility Assistants ease the burden of selecting the best mobility option for a particular user by incorporating the users' habits and preferences and providing relevant information at just the right time. To enable such intelligent assistance, we propose to create personalized mobility models that include not only information about habitual trips and destinations, but also allow for the detection of preferred travel modes. Our system is specifically designed to use sparse sensor data from mobile devices, such as smartphones, to offer an adequate balance between battery-life and data quality.
An algorithm for partitioning of application specific systems

A simulated-annealing based algorithm to partition an application specific system into a set of modules is presented. The role of partitioning is to discover the structure implicit in the functional specification of the system so as to guide high level synthesis decisions in a design environment for digital systems consisting of hardware parts and possibly software components. The partitioning algorithm can also be used to partition the final or intermediate results of a high-level synthesis process into several physical blocks. Experimental results show that the approach produces better register-transfer designs with less global communications. <<ETX>>
The antimicrobial volatile power of the rhizospheric isolate Pseudomonas donghuensis P482

Soil and rhizosphere bacteria produce an array of secondary metabolites including a wide range of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These compounds play an important role in the long-distance interactions and communication between (micro)organisms. Furthermore, bacterial VOCs are involved in plant pathogens inhibition and induction of soil fungistasis and suppressivenes. In the present study, we analysed the volatile blend emitted by the rhizospheric isolate Pseudomonas donghuensis P482 and evaluated the volatile effect on the plant pathogenic fungi and bacteria as well as one oomycete. Moreover, we investigated the role of the GacS/GacA system on VOCs production in P. donghuensis P482. The results obtained demonstrated that VOCs emitted by P. donghuensis P482 have strong antifungal and antioomycete, but not antibacterial activity. The production of certain volatiles such as dimethyl sulfide, S-methyl thioacetate, methyl thiocyanate, dimethyl trisulfide, 1-undecan and HCN is depended on the GacS/GacA two-component regulatory system. Apparently, these compounds play an important role in the pathogens suppression as the gacA mutant entirely lost the ability to inhibit via volatiles the growth of tested plant pathogens.
Incremental Feature Location and Identification in Source Code

Feature location (FL) in source code is an important task for program understanding. Existing dynamic FL techniques depend on sufficient scenarios for exercising the features to be located. However, it is difficult to prepare such scenarios because it involves a correct understanding of the features. This paper proposes an incremental technique for refining the identification of features integrated with the existing FL technique using formal concept analysis. In our technique, we classify the differences of static and dynamic dependencies of method invocations based on their relevance to the identified features. According to the classification, the technique suggests method invocations to exercise unexplored part of the features. An application example indicates the effectiveness of the approach.
Prospects for quantum computation with trapped ions

Over the past decade information theory has been generalized to allow binary data to be represented by two-state quantum mechanical systems. (A single two-level system has come to be known as a qubit in this context.) The additional freedom introduced into information physics with quantum systems has opened up a variety of capabilities that go well beyond those of conventional information. For example, quantum cryptography allows two parties to generate a secret key even in the presence of eavesdropping. But perhaps the most remarkable capabilities have been predicted in the field of quantum computation. Here, a brief survey of the requirements for quantum computational hardware, and an overview of the in trap quantum computation project at Los Alamos are presented. The physical limitations to quantum computation with trapped ions are discussed.
A load-balanced data aggregation scheduling for duty-cycled wireless sensor networks

To bridge the gap between limited energy supplies of the sensor nodes and the system lifetime, duty-cycle Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) with data aggregation are studied in this paper. We proposed a load-balanced and latency-efficient data aggregation scheduling for duty-cycled WSNs. A shortest path tree (SPT) is used as the routing structure for data aggregation scheduling. In SPT, parent-children assignments are well-designed to assign nodes from level h+1 to the parents at level h such that every parent has a balanced load, while reducing the sleep latency which is a period of time for a sender to wait for its parent to be active. Finally, through the simulation and comparisons, we prove the effectiveness of our approach.
Conference Organizers Proceedings Formatting Team Linux-vserver Resource Efficient Os-level Virtualization

Linux-VServer is a lightweight virtualization system used to create many independent containers under a common Linux kernel. To applications and the user of a Linux-VServer based system, such a container appears just like a separate host. The Linux-Vserver approach to kernel subsystem containerization is based on the concept of context isolation. The kernel is modified to isolate a container into a separate, logical execution context such that it cannot see or impact processes, files, network traffic, global IPC/SHM, etc., belonging to another container. Linux-VServer has been around for several years and its fundamental design goal is to be an extremely low overhead yet highly flexible production quality solution. It is actively used in situations requiring strong isolation where overall system efficiency is important, such as web hosting centers, server consolidation, high performance clusters, and embedded systems.
Efficient Monte Carlo Counterparty Credit Risk Pricing and Measurement

Counterparty credit risk (CCR), a key driver of the 2007-08 credit crisis, has become one of the main focuses of the major global and U.S. regulatory standards. Financial institutions invest large amounts of resources employing Monte Carlo simulation to measure and price their counterparty credit risk. We develop efficient Monte Carlo CCR estimation frameworks by focusing on the most widely used and regulatory-driven CCR measures: expected positive exposure (EPE), credit value adjustment (CVA), and effective expected positive exposure (EEPE). Our numerical examples illustrate that our proposed efficient Monte Carlo estimators outperform the existing crude estimators of these CCR measures substantially in terms of mean square error (MSE). We also demonstrate that the two widely used sampling methods, the so-called Path Dependent Simulation (PDS) and Direct Jump to Simulation date (DJS), are not equivalent in that they lead to Monte Carlo CCR estimators which are drastically different in terms of their MSE.
A semantic privacy-preserving model for data sharing and integration

In this paper, we encompass and extend previous ontology-based data integration system. A semantic privacy-preserving model provides authorized view-based query answering over a widespread multiple servers for data sharing and integration. The combined semantics-enabled privacy protection policies are used to empower the data integration and access control services at the virtual platform (VP). The ontology mapping and merging algorithm with a local-as-view (LAV) source description that creates a global ontology schema at the VP by integrating multiple local ontology schemas for data sharing. The perfect rules integration of datalog rules enforces the data query and protection services. Semantics-enable policies are combined together at the VP, but the access control criteria specified in each server are still satisfied. Therefore the soundness and completeness of data sharing and protection criteria are ensured to support the validity of policy combination. This guarantees the trustworthiness of data sharing and protection services in multiple servers.
Self-selecting, self-tuning, incrementally optimized indexes

In a relational data warehouse with many tables, the number of possible and promising indexes exceeds human comprehension and requires automatic index tuning. While monitoring and reactive index tuning have been proposed, adaptive indexing focuses on adapting the physical database layout for and by actual queries. "Database cracking" is one such technique. Only if and when a column is used in query predicates, an index for the column is created; and only if and when a key range is queried, the index is optimized for this key range. The effect is akin to a sort that is adaptive and incremental. This sort is, however, very inefficient, particularly when applied on block-access devices. In contrast, traditional index creation sorts data with an efficient merge sort optimized for block-access devices, but it is neither adaptive nor incremental. We propose adaptive merging, an adaptive, incremental, and efficient technique for index creation. Index optimization focuses on key ranges used in actual queries. The resulting index adapts more quickly to new data and to new query patterns than database cracking. Sort efficiency is comparable to that of traditional B-tree creation. Nonetheless, the new technique promises better query performance than database cracking, both in memory and on block-access storage.
A knowledge-based approach to the layout analysis

In this paper, we present a hybrid approach to the problem of the document analysis in which the document image is segmented by means of a top-down technique and then basic blocks are grouped bottom-up in order to form complex layout components. In this latter process, called layout analysis, only generic knowledge on typesetting conventions is exploited. Such knowledge is independent of the particular class of processed documents and turns out to be valuable for a wide range of documents. Preliminary results of the layout analysis system LEX (Layout EXpert) show the methodological validity of this approach.
Finite-State Language Processing

From the Publisher: "Emmanuel Roche and Yves Schabes have put together a picture of the state of the art in using finite-state techniques in computational linguistics. The contributing authors comprise an impressive collection -- essentially the originating sources for much of the important recent work in this area. " -- Philip Resnik, Assistant Professor, Department of Linguistics and Institute for Advanced Computer Studies, University of Maryland at College Park Finite-state devices, which include finite-state automata, graphs, and finite-state transducers, are in wide use in many areas of computer science. Recently, there has been a resurgence of the use of finite-state devices in all aspects of computational linguistics, including dictionary encoding, text processing, and speech processing. This book describes the fundamental properties of finite-state devices and illustrates their uses. Many of the contributors pioneered the use of finite-automata for different aspects of natural language processing. The topics, which range from the theoretical to the applied, include finite-state morphology, approximation of phrase-structure grammars, deterministic part-of-speech tagging, application of a finite-state intersection grammar, a finite-state transducer for extracting information from text, and speech recognition using weighted finite automata. The introduction presents the basic theoretical results in finite-state automata and transducers. These results and algorithms are described and illustrated with simple formal language examples as well as natural language examples. Contributors: Douglas Appelt, John Bear, David Clemenceau, Maurice Gross, Jerry R. Hobbs, David Israel, Megumi Kameyama, Lauri Karttunen, Kimmo Koskenniemi, Mehryar Mohri, Eric Laporte, Fernando C. N. Pereira, Michael D. Riley, Emmanuel Roche, Yves Schabes, Max D. Silberztein, Mark Stickel, Pasi Tapanainen, Mabry Tyson, Atro Voutilainen, Rebecca N. Wright. Language, Speech, and Communication series
Implementation and evaluation of remote tracking system

With high-speed development of Global Positioning System (GPS), applications of the GPS technology for commercial and personal usage have become very popular. GPS tracking is one of the most interesting study areas among the various applications. Most of the current GPS tracking systems do not support remote monitoring. Several scenarios raise the concern of developing a GPS tracking system with remote monitoring. This paper presents details on implementation of such GPS tracking system. Field tests are carried out to evaluate the performance of the designed system.
Mechanisms Underlying the Transformation of Disparity Signals from V1 to V2 in the Macaque

Stereo vision relies on cortical signals that encode binocular disparity. In V1, the disparity energy model explains many features of binocular interaction, but it overestimates the responses to anticorrelated images. Combining the outputs of two, or more, energy model-like subunits [two-subunit (2SU) model] can resolve this discrepancy and provides an alternative explanation for disparity signals previously thought to indicate phase disparity between the receptive fields (RFs) of each eye. The 2SU model naturally explains how “near/far” (odd-symmetric) tuning becomes dominant in extrastriate cortex. To compare the energy and the 2SU models, we used a broadband compound grating and applied a common interocular phase difference to all spatial frequency components (a stimulus phase disparity), combined with a common spatial displacement (a stimulus position disparity). This produces binocular images that never occur in natural viewing, for which the 2SU model and the energy model make distinctively different predictions. Responses of neurons recorded from both V1 and V2 of awake rhesus macaques systematically deviated from the predictions of the energy model, in accordance with the 2SU model. These deviations correlated with the symmetry of the tuning curve, indicating that the 2SU mechanism is exploited to produce odd symmetry. Nonetheless, individual subunits also contain RF phase disparity that contributes to odd symmetry. The results suggest that neurons in V2 probably inherit phase disparity signals from V1 neurons, but systematically combine input from V1 neurons with different position disparities, in a way that elaborates odd-symmetric tuning and extends the range of disparities encoded by single neurons.
Comprehensive treatment of late-onset tibia vara.

BACKGROUND Late-onset tibia vara (Blount disease) can be difficult to treat because of frequent morbid obesity and associated deformities, including distal femoral varus, proximal tibial procurvatum, and distal tibial valgus, that contribute to lower extremity malalignment. We present a comprehensive approach that addresses all components of the deformity and allows restoration of the anatomic and mechanical axes. METHODS Fifteen consecutive patients (nineteen lower extremities) with late-onset tibia vara were managed with this comprehensive approach. The mean age of the patients at the time of surgery was 14.9 years, and the mean weight was 113 kg. Standing anteroposterior and lateral radiographs were made preoperatively and at the time of the final follow-up. Preoperatively, the mean mechanical axis deviation was 108 mm, the mean lateral distal femoral angle was 95 degrees , and the mean mechanical medial proximal tibial angle was 71 degrees . In all nineteen extremities, the proximal tibial varus deformity was corrected by means of a valgus osteotomy and application of an Ilizarov ring external fixator. Distal femoral varus was corrected by means of either hemiepiphyseal stapling or valgus osteotomy with blade-plate fixation in thirteen of the nineteen extremities. Distal tibial valgus was treated either with hemiepiphyseal stapling or with varus osteotomy and gradual correction with use of the Ilizarov external fixator in eleven of the nineteen extremities. RESULTS After a mean duration of follow-up of 5.0 years, the mean mechanical axis deviation had improved to 1 mm (range, 20 to -30 mm), the lateral distal femoral angle had improved to 87 degrees (range, 83 degrees to 98 degrees), and the mechanical medial proximal tibial angle had improved to 88 degrees (range, 83 degrees to 98 degrees ). The mean time required for correction of the proximal tibial varus deformity was thirty-one days, and the external fixator was removed at a mean of 4.5 months postoperatively. All patients had development of one or more superficial pin-track infections (mean, 1.9 pin-site infections per patient). No wound infections, nonunions, or neurovascular complications occurred. Eighteen of the nineteen extremities were pain-free at the time of the final follow-up. CONCLUSIONS This comprehensive approach allowed restoration of the mechanical and anatomic axes of the lower extremity in patients with late-onset tibia vara, resulting in a resolution of symptoms as a result of normalization of the weight-bearing forces across the knee and ankle. We believe that this approach will decrease the risk of early degenerative arthritis of the knee.
A generic method for robust performance analysis of aircraft DC power systems

The recent evolution of aircraft power networks makes new design study necessary for solving key issues such as optimal efficiency, reliability, adaptability and performances. Indeed, DC power systems are subject to strong dynamic interactions between the source and the loads. In this paper, the need for a new design method of the power network is explained, and the authors propose to use a robust performance analysis method. The first main result concerns the analysis of the robustness of a classical aircraft DC source where the parameters of the DC bus are unknown. The second one shows the efficiency of the method to evaluate the potential gain in weight from a change in the performance specifications at the system level.
Bilaga 1 : Project plan CrossCheck – a grammar checker for second language writers of Swedish Professor

Language technology has a potential to play a major role in the process of learning a language. Until recently, the use of language technology in systems for language learning has been nearly nonexistent. However, this has not been the case with grammar checkers for second language learners learning English (see e.g. [4, 12, 30, 36]). The question if grammar checkers actually improve second language learners’ language is still a question of debate [12, 33]. In spite of this, we see the adaptation of grammar checking for Swedish to second language learners as a first step to put language technology in computer assisted language learning environments. Designing and developing a grammar checker for second language learners sets new demands on the tools for text analysis. Second language learners are a very heterogeneous group of writers, with different language background, competence and performance. Using exactly the same methods and tools as for a native speaker grammar checking is not a fruitful way to proceed. The error types are too many and too unpredictable [23] and therefore we believe in refinement of current methods and development of new ones.
Overview of the TREC 2008 Blog Track

Abstract : The Blog track explores the information seeking behaviour in the blogosphere. The track was introduced in 2006, with a main pilot search task, namely the opinion-finding task. In TREC 2007, the track investigated two main tasks inspired by the analysis of a commercial blog-search query log: the opinion-finding task and the blog distillation task. In addition, the Blog 2007 track investigated a natural extension to the opinion-finding task, namely the polarity task. All tasks thus far investigated in the Blog track have used the so-called Blogs06 collection, which was created by the University of Glasgow. The Blogs06 collection was crawled over an 11-week period from 6th December 2005 until the 21st February 2006. The collection is 148GB in size, consisting of 38.6GB of feeds, 88.8GB of permalink documents, and 28.8GB of homepages. For TREC 2008, the track continued using the Blogs06 collection. It also continued investigating the opinion-finding, polarity, and blog distillation tasks. In addition, the Blog track 2008 introduced a baseline blog post retrieval task, to encourage participants to study the impact of their opinion-finding techniques across different underlying topic relevance baselines. As a consequence, following our conclusions from both the TREC 2006 and the Blog 2007 tracks, we structured the Blog track 2008 around four tasks: (1) Baseline ad hoc (blog post) retrieval task; (2) Opinion-finding (blog post) retrieval task; (3) Polarity opinion-finding (blog post) retrieval task; and (4) Blog (feed) distillation task.