Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ReDeEm RTL: a software tool for customizing soft cells for embedded applications

Significant reduction in design time for system on chip (SoC) applications can be achieved through IP reuse. Such a design methodology encourages designers to develop IP blocks that add to a library of soft cells in anticipation of the market trends and meet stringent time to market constraints. However for application specific ICs all the hardware in each IP block may not be used. This gives rise to an opportunity to reduce the number of hardware components in such blocks depending on the application and customizing the IP or soft cell for the application context. In this paper we present a method to automatically detect and remove logic in RTL blocks (soft cells) that are not used by the embedded application thereby reducing area and power. A prototype tool ReDeEm RTL (ReDesign in Embedded RTL, read as Redeem RTL) has been implemented to remove all redundant logic and its performance although dependent on the type of application, shows that sizable reduction in logic can be obtained.
Performance Limitations of Acoustic Echo Cancellers for Handsfree Telephony

This paper examines the limitations of acoustic echo cancellers which are commonly used in handsfree full-duplex telephones. The various factors affecting the performance of echo cancellers in terms of achievable steady-state echo cancellation and convergence ch aracteristics are discussed. New tec hniques which can overcome these limitations are proposed, and evaluated using field test data acquired from commercial hands-free tele phones in different rooms. 1.0 INTRODUCTION Full-duplex hands-free telephony is achieved by using an adaptive acoustic echo canceller (AEC) to model the transfer function between the loudspeaker and microphone. This way it is possible to estimate the echo at the microphone and subtract it from the transmitted signal. In an ideal environment with a p erfectly linear loudspeaker, a vibration -free telephone, no background or circuit noise, and a static anechoic chamber, a simple transversal Finite Impulse Response (FIR) adaptive filter using the Normalized Least Mean
Multisensor image fusion based on a fuzzy neural network

Multisensor image fusion has its effective utilization for surveillance. In this paper, we utilize a fuzzy neural network approach to merge images from different sensors, in order to enhance visualization for surveillance. With the help of Sugeno-type fuzzy if-then rules and membership functions designed for the image data set, the fuzzy neural network approach can model and combine the images. Subjective and objective image fusion performance measures are introduced to assess image fusion schemes. Experimental results show that the fuzzy neural network approach is effective to merge images from different sensors.
A file comparison program

This paper presents a simple method for computing a shortest sequence of insertion and deletion commands that converts one given file to another. The method is particularly efficient when the difference between the two files is small compared to the files' lengths. In experiments performed on typical files, the program often ran four times faster than the UNIX diff command.
Cross-layer Optimization and Dynamic Spectrum Access for Distributed Wireless Networks

We proposed a novel spectrum allocation approach for distributed cognitive radio networks. Cognitive radio systems are capable of sensing the prevailing environmental conditions and automatically adapting its operating parameters in order to enhance system and network performance. Using this technology, our proposed approach optimizes each individual wireless device and its single-hop communication links using the partial operating parameter and environmental information from adjacent devices within the wireless network. Assuming stationary wireless nodes, all wireless communication links employ non-contiguous orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (NC-OFDM) in order to enable dynamic spectrum access (DSA). The proposed approach will attempt to simultaneously minimize the bit error rate, minimize out-of-band (OOB) interference, and maximize overall throughput using a multi-objective fitness function. Without loss in generality, genetic algorithms are employed to perform the actual optimization. Two generic optimization approaches, subcarrier-wise approach and block-wise approach, were proposed to access spectrum. We also proposed and analyzed several approaches implemented via genetic algorithms (GA), such as quantizing variables, using adaptive variable ranges, and Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithms, for increasing the speed and improving the results of combined spectrum utilization/cross-layer optimization approaches proposed, together with several assisting processes and modifications devised to make the optimization to improve efficiency and execution time.
Proposal for a cross-layer coordination framework for next generation wireless systems

Cross-Layer design has been the focus of several recent research efforts. Due to the highly variable nature of the links used in wireless communication systems and the resource-poor nature of the wireless mobile devices, there have been multiple research efforts to improve the performance of the protocol stack by allowing cross-layer interaction in wireless systems. Cross-layer interaction means allowing communication of a layer with any other possibly non-adjacent layer in the protocol stack. Several issues related to the cross-layer design paradigm need to be addressed before it can achieve its promises. One of these issues is to have a well defined framework that manages the interaction between the different layers of the protocol stack, such that the modularity of the stack is preserved while still achieving the flexibility and adaptability which cross-layer design promises. This paper addresses this issue by proposing a cross-layer coordination framework for next generation wireless systems. The proposed framework enables the interaction between non-adjacent layers in a systematic organized way while preserving the modularity of each layer. The proposed framework addresses some of the concerns stated in recent research about cross-layer design. We believe that the existence of such a framework will ease the development of cross-layer design schemes.
Estimating the Stationary Distributions of Markov Chains Modeling Evolutionary Algorithms using the “ Quotient Construction ” Method

The evolutionary algorithm stochastic process is well-known to be Markovian. These have been under investigation in much of the theoretical evolutionary computing research. When mutation rate is positive, the Markov chain modeling an evolutionary algorithm is irreducible and, therefore, has a unique stationary distribution, yet, rather little is known about the stationary distribution. In fact, the only quantitative facts established so far, tell us that the stationary distributions of Markov chains modeling evolutionary algorithms concentrate on the uniform populations (i.e. these populations consisting of the repeated copy of the same individual). In the recent joint works of the first author some bounds have been established on the rates at which the stationary distribution concentrates on the uniform populations. The primary tool used in these papers is the “quotient construction” method. It turns out that the quotient construction method can be exploited to derive much more explicit bounds on ratios of the stationary distribution values of various subsets of the state space. In fact, some of the bounds obtained in the current work, are expressed in terms of the parameters involved in all the three main stages of an evolutionary algorithm: namely selection, recombination and mutation.
AN improved approach to side information extraction in distributed video coding

In the distributed video coding, side information is involved not only in the decoding of the quantized source, but also in the reconstruction of the images. So the quality of side information takes an important role in the distributed video codec. In this paper, a refined approach to SI extraction is proposed. Based on the high correlation between the motion vectors of adjacent blocks, the motion vector of each block is estimated considering the predicted motion vector of the neighboring blocks as initial M V. Besides, extrapolation beyond boundary is applied in the unrestricted motion vectors estimation for the case that there is an object moving in and out of the picture or a camera lens shaking. The performance of the proposed approach is evaluated in the context of Wyner-Ziv video coding, and compared with existing methods. The results verify the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
An amphibious snake-like robot: Design and motion experiments on ground and in water

This paper presents an amphibious snake-like robot's design and its omnipotent locomotion ability both on the land and in the water. This amphibious snake-like robot, mainly composed by 9 Modular Universal Units, is waterproof and can move smoothly in the water while pressurized with O-rings and other essential accessories. In this paper, we concentrate on the gait diversity of the amphibious snake-like robot. Due to its special joint design and the feature of being densely covered by vanes, the robot is endowed with an omnipotent ability of amphibious locomotion. Besides the traditional fundamental gaits, the robot displays unheard-of gaits like S-shape rolling and helical rolling, which all have important influences on the robot's traversing ability and control of position and posture. We still use a simplified Serpenoid Curve to deduce the control equations for each gait, but have new discoveries on gait generation method and traits of the robot's diverse locomotion. Experimental results show all gaits of the amphibious snake-like robot.
A peer-to-peer architecture for distributed and reliable RDF storage

Knowledge management systems share information from multiple sources over the network and may have problems in maintaining the consistency due to node failures and data fragmentation in different locations. In this paper we present an architecture for a load balanced and reliable RDF storage system for semantic information distributed over a peer-to-peer network. Peers are self organized in a ring topology, based on a Distributed Hash Table (DHT), where each node is assigned a segment of the key space that can dynamically change in order to maintain a uniform distribution of the data among the participating peers. Data redundancy is then used to replicate each RDF triple in multiple locations so that, in case of peer failures, neighbour nodes can act on their behalf and return consistent results. Additionally, each node provides an entry point able to resolve atomic, disjunctive and conjunctive SPARQL queries on the network semantic knowledge. The performance of this approach is evaluated by monitoring the effectiveness of the load balancing and redundancy algorithm and the overhead introduced on the network load in both a static (only join events) and dynamic scenario.
The immigrant sibling: an exploration of acculturation and enculturation profiles

Supervisory Committee Dr. Catherine Costigan, Department of Psychology Supervisor Dr. Erica Woodin, Department of Psychology Departmental Member Acculturation and enculturation processes and sibling relationship quality are important constructs for understanding the psychosocial wellbeing of immigrant adolescents. In this paper, I used a mixed-method approach to (a) understand how similar or different siblings’ cultural orientations are (b) the role siblings may play in shaping one another’s cultural orientation, and (c) how changes in cultural orientation are related to sibling relationship quality. Quantitative data were collected from 31 sibling dyads adolescents at two time points, and qualitative data were collected from individual interviews with 16 young adults. Participants in both samples identified as having a Chinese cultural background and immigrated to Canada with their family before the age of 14. The results of the qualitative interviews suggested that siblings often perceived themselves as culturally similar, although the quantitative data was not congruent with the view. There was ample evidence that siblings influence one another’s cultural profiles. For example, in the quantitative data, higher cultural involvement by one sibling, especially in the Canadian dimension, predicted decreases in the other sibling’s involvement in that same domain 18-months later. These patterns were corroborated with themes derived through the interviews. The thematic analyses identified five factors that fostered similarities and differences in the cultural profiles of immigrant siblings and the perceived effects of such. The findings suggested that there are few cultural conflicts among siblings. Instead, siblings act as cultural mediators in parent-child conflicts, and they are in a unique position to understand and support each other. This study provided preliminary insight into how similar or different Chinese immigrant siblings are in a Canadian metropolitan context. Overall, the findings illustrate ways in which siblings play an important role in the family by supporting one another in adjusting to life in Canada.
Identifying Mislabeled Training Data

This paper presents a new approach to identifying and eliminating mislabeled training instances for supervised learning. The goal of this approach is to improve classification accuracies produced by learning algorithms by improving the quality of the training data. Our approach uses a set of learning algorithms to create classifiers that serve as noise filters for the training data. We evaluate single algorithm, majority vote and consensus filters on five datasets that are prone to labeling errors. Our experiments illustrate that filtering significantly improves classification accuracy for noise levels up to 30%. An analytical and empirical evaluation of the precision of our approach shows that consensus filters are conservative at throwing away good data at the expense of retaining bad data and that majority filters are better at detecting bad data at the expense of throwing away good data. This suggests that for situations in which there is a paucity of data, consensus filters are preferable, whereas majority vote filters are preferable for situations with an abundance of data.
A Taxonomy of Execution Replay Systems

Debugging a faulty program can be very hard and time-consuming. The programmer usually reexecutes his program, while zooming in on the root cause of the bug. However, sometimes bugs seem to appear only intermittently, making it even harder for the programmer to solve them. The main reason for this is that when executing a program, there are numerous non-deterministic events taking place within the computer, which can wreck even a very carefully crafted debugging session. To deal with these ghostly bugs, one needs to remove the non-determinism from the execution and its environment. Therefore various socalled execution replay systems have been devised, each with their merits and limitations. We give an overview of the terminology used when discussing execution replay, of the causes of nondeterminism within a computer, and of the current state of the art in execution replay systems.
Organizational justice analysis on employees satisfaction and performance in Faculty of education Universitas Negeri Surabaya

Influencing is the core of educational leadership. The ability to influence people is a necessary 'strength' and 'way', so one has the power and creative in creating a way to move towards achieving goals. The justice of the institution to its each employee has an effect on the job satisfaction and performance of the employee. The formulation of the problem in this research was whether there was an influence of organizational justice to job satisfaction and performance of Education Faculty toward Unesa staff. The research was conducted by correlational quantitative approach with variance analysis. Based on the research conducted and the data analysis results obtained, it can be concluded that the organizational justice variables that include procedural, distributive and interactional justice gave influence to job satisfaction and performance of Education Faculty toward Unesa employees. Organizational justice carried out by institution leader gave big influence to job satisfaction and performance of Education Faculty to Unesa staff.
Behavior Coordination Mechanisms - State-of-the-art

In behavior-based robotics the control of a robot is shared between a set of purposive perception-action units, called behaviors. Based on selective sensory information,each behavior produces immediate reactions to control the robot with respect to a particular objective, i.e., a narrow aspect of the robot's overall task such as obstacle avoidance or wall following. Behaviors with di(cid:11)erent and possibly incommensurable objectives may produce con(cid:13)icting actions that are seemingly irreconcilable. Thus a major issue in the design of behavior-based control systems is the formulation of e(cid:11)ective mechanisms for coordination of the behaviors' activities into strategies for rational and coherent behavior. This is known as the action selection problem (also refereed to as the behavior coordination problem) and is the primary focus of this overview paper. Numerous action selection mechanisms have been proposed over the last decade and the main objective of this document is to give a qualitative overview of these approaches.
Electrophoretic Analysis of Indian Isolates of Mycoplasma agalactiae and Mycoplasma bovis by SDS-PAGE and Immunoblotting

Mycoplasma agalactiae and Mycoplasma bovis both are responsible for respiratory conditions in sheep and goats. M. agalactiae is a major pathogen of sheep and goats and accounts for almost 90% of outbreaks of contagious agalactia syndrome in goats and almost 100% in sheep. On the basis of clinical signs and cultural, morphological, and biochemical characterization it is almost impossible to differentiate between both the species. Moreover, due to presence of genomic and proteomic similarity most of the time routine diagnostic tests fail to differentiate between them. Hence the present study was conducted to find out the protein profile of isolates of both the species by SDS-PAGE and to find out the cross-reacting as well as differentiating immunogenic proteins by Immunoblotting, which can be of immunoprophylactic as well as diagnostic values. The study revealed 6-7 major immunogenic cross-reactive proteins with the presence of two important non-cross-reacting species specific polypeptides particularly 25.50 and 24.54 kDa in M. agalactiae and M. bovis, respectively, that might be of diagnostic values.
Ionomeric Polymer-Metal Composites

In certain applications, IPMC materials may offer advantages over conventional mechanical, hydraulic, or pneumatic actuators, in that IPMCs lack moving parts and require only modest operating voltages for actuation. Investigations into the mechanism of IPMC actuation and sensing seek to foster development of actuators that generate greater displacement magnitudes and forces, and sensors that are more sensitive to imposed deformations. Developers seek to exploit these materials in a number of applications including medical, space, robotic, soft microelectronic machine (MEMS), and entertainment devices. This chapter addresses the known properties of IPMC materials, their manufacture, and the methods for their characterization. In addition, we provide a summary of models proposed to account for the mechanisms of IPMC actuation and sensing, experimental results to support or invalidate these models, and concluding with a hybrid model that integrates electrical, chemical, and mechanical forces to produce results in accord with experimental observations. Finally, we highlight a few applications that have been proposed for these materials.
Cost-Effectiveness of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention With Drug-Eluting Stents Versus Bypass Surgery for Patients With 3-Vessel or Left Main Coronary Artery Disease: Final Results From the Synergy Between Percutaneous Coronary Intervention With TAXUS and Cardiac Surgery (SYNTAX) Trial

Background— The Synergy Between Percutaneous Coronary Intervention With TAXUS and Cardiac Surgery (SYNTAX) trial demonstrated that in patients with 3-vessel or left main coronary artery disease, coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) was associated with a lower rate of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, stroke, or repeat revascularization compared with percutaneous coronary revascularization with drug-eluting stents (DES-PCI)). The long-term cost-effectiveness of these strategies is unknown. Methods and Results— Between 2005 and 2007, 1800 patients with left main or 3-vessel coronary artery disease were randomized to CABG (n=897) or DES-PCI (n=903). Costs were assessed from a US perspective, and health state utilities were evaluated with the EuroQOL questionnaire. A patient-level microsimulation model based on the 5-year in-trial data was used to extrapolate costs, life expectancy, and quality-adjusted life expectancy over a lifetime horizon. Although initial procedural costs were $3415 per patient lower with CABG, total hospitalization costs were $10 036 per patient higher. Over the next 5 years, follow-up costs were higher with DES-PCI as a result of more frequent hospitalizations, revascularization procedures, and higher medication costs. Over a lifetime horizon, CABG remained more costly than DES-PCI, but the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was favorable ($16 537 per quality-adjusted life-year gained) and remained <$20 000 per quality-adjusted life-year in most bootstrap replicates. Results were consistent across a wide range of assumptions about the long-term effect of CABG versus DES-PCI on events and costs. In patients with left main disease or a SYNTAX score ⩽22, however, DES-PCI was economically dominant compared with CABG, although these findings were less certain. Conclusions— For most patients with 3-vessel or left main coronary artery disease, CABG is a clinically and economically attractive revascularization strategy compared with DES-PCI. However, among patients with less complex disease, DES-PCI may be preferred on both clinical and economic grounds. Clinical Trial Registration— URL: www.clinicaltrials. gov. Unique identifier: NCT00114972.