Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hardware efficient approximative matrix inversion for linear pre-coding in massive MIMO

This paper describes a hardware efficient linear precoder for Massive MIMO Base Stations (BSs) comprising a very large number of antennas, say, in the order of 100s, serving multiple users simultaneously. To avoid hardware demanding direct matrix inversions required for the Zero-Forcing (ZF) precoder, we use low complexity Neumann series based approximations. Furthermore, we propose a method to speed-up the convergence of the Neumann series by using tri-diagonal precondition matrices, which lowers the complexity even further. As a proof of concept a flexible VLSI architecture is presented with an implementation supporting matrix inversion of sizes up-to 16×16. In 65 nm CMOS, a throughput of 0.5M matrix inversions per sec is achieved at clock frequency of 420MHz with a 104K gate count.
Speaker Vector-Based Speaker Recognition with Phonetic Modeling

This chapter describes anchor model-based speaker recognition with phonetic modeling. Gaussian Mixture Models (GMMs) have been successfully applied to characterize speakers in speaker identification and verification when a large amount of enrolment data to build acoustic models of target speakers is available. However, a small amount of enrolment data of as short as 5 sec. might be preferred for some tasks. A conventional GMM-based system does not perform well if the amount of enrolment data is limited. In general, 1-minute or more of enrolment data are required in the conventional system. In order to solve this problem, a speaker characterization method based on anchor models has been proposed. The first application of the method was proposed for speaker indexing (Sturim et al., 2001). And the method has been also used for speaker identification (Mami & Charlet, 2003) and speaker verification (Collet et al., 2005). In the anchor model-based system, the location of each speaker is represented by a speaker vector. The speaker vector consists of the set of the likelihood between a target utterance and the anchor models. It can be considered as a projection of the target utterance in a speaker space. One of the merits of this approach is that it is not necessary to train a model for a new target speaker, because the set of anchor models does not include the model of target speaker. It can save users time to utter iteratively for model training. However, there is a significant disadvantage in the system because the recognition performance is insufficient. It has been reported that an identification rate of 76.6% was obtained on a 50-speaker identification task with 16-mixture GMMs as anchor models (Mami & Charlet, 2003). Also, an equal error rate (EER) of 11.3% has been reported on speaker verification task with 256-mixture GMMs (Collet et al., 2005). Compared with the conventional GMM approach, the performance of anchor model-based system is remarkably insufficient. The aim of this work is to improve the performance of the method by using phonetic modeling instead of the GMM scheme as anchor models and to develop text-independent speaker recognition system that can perform accurately with very short reference speech. A GMM-based acoustic model covers all phonetic events for each speaker. It can represent an overall difference in acoustic features between speakers, however, it cannot represent a difference in pronunciation. Consequently, we propose the method to detect the detailed difference in phonetic features and try to use it as information for speaker recognition. In order to detect the phonetic features, a set of speaker-dependent phonetic HMMs is used as O pe n A cc es s D at ab as e w w w . in te ch w eb . o rg
Geographic Segmentation via Latent Poisson Factor Model

Discovering latent structures in spatial data is of critical importance to understanding the user behavior of location-based services. In this paper, we study the problem of geographic segmentation of spatial data, which involves dividing a collection of observations into distinct geo-spatial regions and uncovering abstract correlation structures in the data. We introduce a novel, Latent Poisson Factor (LPF) model to describe spatial count data. The model describes the spatial counts as a Poisson distribution with a mean that factors over a joint item-location latent space. The latent factors are constrained with weak labels to help uncover interesting spatial dependencies. We study the LPF model on a mobile app usage data set and a news article readership data set. We empirically demonstrate its effectiveness on a variety of prediction tasks on these two data sets.
TheMa: An API for Mining Linked Datasets

Linked Open Data is a paradigm for linking the data available on the Web in a structured format in order to make it accessible for computers and people. This leads to having more people and services publish their data on the web and as a result the graph that contains all this information is getting bigger. This paper proposes the usage of some network analysis algorithms on a Linked Dataset in order to extract useful information which in turn leads to a better understanding/interpretation of the data involved, plus comprises a first step in the direction of mining hidden information from the dataset.
The Responses of Wages and Prices to Technology Shocks

This paper reexamines wage and price dynamics in response to permanent shocks to productivity. We estimate a micro-founded dynamic general equilibrium (DGE) model of the U.S. economy with sticky wages and sticky prices using impulse responses to technology and monetary policy shocks. We utilize a flexible specification for wage- and price-setting that allows for the sluggish adjustment of both the levels of these variables - as in standard contracting models - as well as intrinsic inertia in wage and price inflation. On the price front, we find that in our VAR inflation jumps in response to an identified permanent technology shock, implying that, on average, prices adjust quickly and that there is little evidence for any intrinsic inflation inertia like that commonly found in models used for monetary policy evaluation. On the wage front, we find evidence for significant inertia in wages and some intrinsic inertia in nominal wage inflation. Our results provide support for the standard sticky-price specification of the New Keynesian model; however, the evidence on the high degree of wage inertia presents a challenge for standard models of wage setting.
Modular Web-Based Collaboration Platform

Online collaborative systems are popular communication channels as the systems allow people from various disciplines to interact and collaborate with ease. The systems provide communication tools and services that can be integrated on the web; consequently, the systems are more convenient to use and easier to install. Nevertheless, most of the currently available systems are designed according to some specific requirements and cannot be straightforwardly integrated into various applications. This paper provides the design of a new collaborative platform, which is component-based and re-conFigureurable. The platform is called the Modular Web-based Collaboration (MWC). MWC shares the same concept as computer supported collaborative work (CSCW) and computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL), but it provides conFigureurable tools for online collaboration. Each tool module can be integrated into users’ web applications freely and easily. This makes collaborative system flexible, adaptable and suitable for online collaboration.
Distributed Training of Structured SVM

Training structured prediction models is time-consuming. However, most existing approaches only use a single machine, thus, the advantage of computing power and the capacity for larger data sets of multiple machines have not been exploited. In this work, we propose an efficient algorithm for distributedly training structured support vector machines based on a distributed block-coordinate descent method. Both theoretical and experimental results indicate that our method is efficient.
Informatics and Applications Will be set by the publisher Informatique Théorique et Applications STRONG FUNCTORS AND INTERLEAVING FIXPOINTS IN GAME SEMANTICS

We describe a sequent calculus μLJ with primitives for inductive and co-inductive datatypes and equip it with reduction rules allowing a sound translation of Gödel’s system T. We introduce the notion of a μ-closed category, relying on a uniform interpretation of open μLJ formulas as strong functors. We show that any μ-closed category is a sound model for μLJ . We then turn to the construction of a concrete μ-closed category based on Hyland-Ong game semantics. The model relies on three main ingredients: the construction of a general class of strong functors called open functors acting on the category of games and strategies, the solution of recursive arena equations by exploiting cycles in arenas, and the adaptation of the winning conditions of parity games to build initial algebras and terminal coalgebras for many open functors. We also prove a weak completeness result for this model, yielding a normalisation proof for μLJ . 1991 Mathematics Subject Classification. 18C50, 03F05, 68Q55, 91A40.
Advances in Higher Educational Resource Sharing and Cloud Services for Ksa

Cloud represents an important change in the way information technology is used. Cloud makes it possible to access work anywhere anytime and to share it with anyone [1]. It is changing the way people communicate, work and learn [2]. In this changing environment, it is important to think about the opportunities and risks of using the cloud in the education field, and the lessons we can learn from the previous uses of this technology in the education field. In order to gain the benefits of the cloud to be used in educational system in KSA, a comprehensive study on scientific literatures in this paper. This paper also presents the significant information such as the findings, the case studies, related frameworks and supporting also the tools associated to the migration of organizational resources to cloud.
Building a Robust Appearance Model for Object Tracking

One of the challenges to creating robust trackers is the construction of robust appearance Model. This paper presents a robust appearance model for object tracking. The robust object distribution is acquired by comparing the two Gaussian Mixture Models of the object and background. The probability image generated by the robust object distribution is used for the CAMSHIFT tracking. Experiments on several video sequences show the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Developing critical questions from faculty tensions: An approach to collegiality in course teams

The authors of this paper are academic developers in an Australian university. In thispaper, we discuss the outcomes of a small pilot study about value tensions; completed toinform a larger research project about the possibilities of making collaborative collegiality an explicit aim of a curriculum review. After interviewing four course leaders, we wereinterested in the highly specific nature of the course leaders’ challenges. Could a criticalenquiry schema based on each course leader’s emerging value tensions provide a scaffold for scholarly, critical discourse? Making tensions explicit in teaching and learning development work in university course teams may begin a process of situated, critical questioning and discourse on the curriculum itself. We acknowledge this work can, attimes, elicit a form of difficult discourse.
Lefschetz pencils and mapping class groups

Holomorphic maps between complex manifolds have many properties which distinguish them among general smooth maps. Consider, for example, the case of a map between Riemann surfaces. A holomorphic map is represented locally, in suitable co-ordinates, by one of the models z 7→ z for k ≥ 0. These models are very different from the models of generic smooth maps between surfaces, which are, in addition to the points where the map is a local diffeomorphism, folds and cusps. It is interesting to see what happens if we perturb the holomorphic map z 7→ z by a small non-holomorphic term. So for > 0 we define f ( ) : C→ C by
Response of an Antarctic Peninsula Fjord to Summer Katabatic Wind Events

Fjords along the western Antarctic Peninsula are episodically exposed to strong winds flowing down marine-terminating glaciers and out over the ocean. These wind events could potentially be an important mechanism for the ventilation of fjord waters. A strong wind event was observed in Andvord Bay in December 2015, and was associated with significant increases in upper-ocean salinity. We examine the dynamical impacts of such wind events during the ice-free summer season using a numerical model. Passive tracers are used to identify water mass pathways and quantify exchange with the outer ocean. Upwelling and outflow in the model fjord generate an average salinity increase of 0.3 in the upper ocean during the event, similar to observations from Andvord Bay. Down-fjord wind events are a highly efficient mechanism for flushing out the upper fjord waters, but have little net impact on deep waters in the inner fjord. As such, summer episodic wind events likely have a large effect on fjord phytoplankton dynamics and export of glacially modified upper waters, but are an unlikely mechanism for the replenishment of deep basin waters and oceanic heat transport toward inner-fjord glaciers.
Inflation Targeting in Developing Countries and Its Applicability to the Turkish Economy

Inflation targeting is a monetary policy regime, characterized by public announcement of official target ranges or quantitative targets for price level increases and by explicit acknowledgement that low inflation is the most crucial long-run objective of the monetary authorities. There are three prerequisites for inflation targeting: 1) central bank independence, 2) having a sole target, 3) existence of stable and predictable relationship between monetary policy instruments and inflation. In many developing countries, the use of seigniorage revenues as an important source of financing public debts, the lack of commitment to low inflation as a primary goal by monetary authorities, considerable exchange rate flexibility, lack of substantial operational independence of the central bank or of powerful models to make domestic inflation forecasts hinder the satisfaction of these requirements. This study investigates the applicability of inflation targeting to the Turkish economy. Central bank independence in Turkey has been mainly hindered by fiscal dominance through monetization of high budget deficits. In addition, although serious steps have been taken recently under a new law to have an independent central bank, such as formal commitment to the achievement of price stability as the primary objective and the prohibition of credit extension to the government, the central bank does not satisfy independence criteria due to the problems associated with the appointment of the government and the share of the Treasury within the bank. Having a sole inflation target was hindered by the existence of fixed exchange rate system throughout the years. However, in February 2001, Turkey switched to a floating exchange rate regime, which is important for a successful inflation-targeting regime. Having a sole target within the
Color quick response code for mobile content distribution

In this paper, we propose Color Quick Response Code or CQR Code for short, which is a Matrix code that has been extended into a 3D barcode system. Matrix code itself is a 2-dimensional barcode that appears to be a 2D image that consists of usually black and white dots that can be printed or displayed on a screen. CQR Code is an extended version of the popular QR Code. 3D barcodes contains data not only in its x and y axis, but also in depth. By stacking QR Codes we can create a new barcode system that can store more data than other existing barcode systems. Through this barcode system, we can embed data that normally could not be done using existing barcode systems. From the tests that had been conducted, currently the CQR Code is capable of storing data up to 9KB with 3 layers and 8 colors. The CQR Code can be read with 40% - 100% chance of success using a multi-format mobile phone barcode reader prototype. We have also implemented a simple color correction algorithm into the barcode reader to ensure its accuracy. In conclusion, CQR Code has the potential for future developments for it to be a simple, sophisticated, and easy to use barcode system that can store relatively large amounts of data.
Timing-Constrained Voltage Island Assignment and Floorplanning for Power Optimization

Power consumption is a crucial concern in nanometer chip design. Researchers have shown that multiple supply voltage (MSV) is an effective method to reduce power consumption. The underlying idea behind MSV is the trade-off between power saving and performance. In this paper, we present an effective voltage assignment technique based on dynamic programming. Given a netlist without reconvergent fanouts, the dynamic programming can guarantee an optimal solution for the voltage assignment in linear time. We then generate a level shifter for the net that connects two blocks in different voltage domains, and perform power-network aware floorplanning for the MSV design. Experimental results show that our floorplanner is very effective in optimizing power consumption under timing constraints.
Activity of moxifloxacin against intracellular community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: comparison with clindamycin, linezolid and co-trimoxazole and attempt at defining an intracellular susceptibility breakpoint.

BACKGROUND Co-trimoxazole, clindamycin and linezolid are used to treat community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) infections, but little is known about intracellular activity. Moxifloxacin is active against intracellular methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA), but CA-MRSA has not been studied. METHODS We used 12 clinical CA-MRSA, 1 MSSA overexpressing norA and 2 hospital-acquired MRSA (moxifloxacin MICs: 0.03 to 4 mg/L). Activity was assessed in broth and after phagocytosis by THP-1 macrophages or keratinocytes {concentration-dependent experiments [24 h of incubation] to determine relative potencies [EC(50)], static concentrations [C(s)] and maximal relative efficacies [E(max) (change in log(10) cfu compared with initial inoculum)] and time-dependent experiments [0-72 h] at human C(max)}. RESULTS Concentration-dependent experiments: in broth, EC(50) and C(s) were correlated with the MIC for all antibiotics, but moxifloxacin achieved significantly (P < 0.01) greater killing (more negative E(max)) than the comparators; and in THP-1 cells and keratinocytes, moxifloxacin acted more slowly but still reached a near bactericidal effect (2 to 3 log(10) cfu decrease) at 24 h with unchanged EC(50) and C(s) as long as its MIC was ≤0.125 mg/L (recursive partitioning analysis). Clindamycin and linezolid were static, and co-trimoxazole was unable to suppress the intracellular growth of CA-MRSA. At human C(max) in broth, moxifloxacin killed more rapidly and more extensively (≥5 log(10) cfu decrease at 10 h) than clindamycin (4 log(10) cfu at 48 h) or co-trimoxazole and linezolid (1-2 log(10) cfu at 72 h). CONCLUSIONS Moxifloxacin is active against both extracellular and intracellular CA-MRSA if the MIC is low, and is more effective than clindamycin, co-trimoxazole and linezolid.
Four Quadrant Operation of Direct Torque Control-SVPWM based three phase Induction Motor Drive in MATLAB/SIMULINK environment

This paper deals with Four Quadrant Operation of Direct Torque Control (DTC) - Space Vector Pulse Width Modulation (SVPWM) based 3-phase Induction Motor Drive using MATLAB and its toolbox SIMULINK. The Classical Direct Torque Control of VSI fed Induction Motor is implemented with the help of Hysteresis Band (HB) controllers (one for flux control and other for torque control), a voltage source inverter and a switching table. Classical DTC has the disadvantages like variable & high switching frequency and high torque and current ripples in steady state. To overcome these difficulties SVPWM is employed in the proposed model. With aid of the developed model, the steady and transient-state characteristics of current, speed and torque of three phase induction motor can be effectively examined and analyzed. This proposed model can be projected as a trouble-free design tool for the development of three phase induction motor drives.
Performance analysis of a hardware accelerator of dependence management for task-based dataflow programming models

Along with the popularity of multicore and manycore, task-based dataflow programming models obtain great attention for being able to extract high parallelism from applications without exposing the complexity to programmers. One of these pioneers is the OpenMP Superscalar (OmpSs). By implementing dynamic task dependence analysis, dataflow scheduling and out-of-order execution in runtime, OmpSs achieves high performance using coarse and medium granularity tasks. In theory, for the same application, the more parallel tasks can be exposed, the higher possible speedup can be achieved. Yet this factor is limited by task granularity, up to a point where the runtime overhead outweighs the performance increase and slows down the application. To overcome this handicap, Picos was proposed to support task-based dataflow programming models like OmpSs as a fast hardware accelerator for fine-grained task and dependence management, and a simulator was developed to perform design space exploration. This paper presents the very first functional hardware prototype inspired by Picos. An embedded system based on a Zynq 7000 All-Programmable SoC is developed to study its capabilities and possible bottlenecks. Initial scalability and hardware consumption studies of different Picos designs are performed to find the one with the highest performance and lowest hardware cost. A further thorough performance study is employed on both the prototype with the most balanced configuration and the OmpSs software-only alternative. Results show that our OmpSs runtime hardware support significantly outperforms the software-only implementation currently available in the runtime system for fine-grained tasks.
System Modelling and Rule Evaluation in an Adaptive Mobile Object Framework

Distributed applications are challenging to deploy on ad hoc networks of heterogeneous devices. This thesis proposes a methodology for providing mobile object frameworks with a model of the distributed application. The proposed model captures the runtime structure of the application , allowing the framework to make informed choices about how to adapt the application to changes in environmental conditions and network topology, as they occur. Using a set of predicate rules, the model can optimise the deployment of objects across the network of available devices, based on available resources and performance characteristics.