Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hybrid Control Model for Flow-Based Networks

This paper shows our design of a hybrid control model for flow-based Software Defined Networks (SDN). There are many research efforts related to the flow-based networks, however, our work was inspired by OpenFlow [1] technology. OpenFlow is a promising future Internet enabling technology, specially that it was counted as a key enabler technology for SDN as explained in [2]. And thus, it has a great potential to improve the current Internet by providing new functionalities and a new control scheme and thus enabling new smarter applications to be created. However, there have been some debates regarding the scalability of the OpenFlow's controller, this is due to the design of OpenFlow as it depends on a centralized controller to control flows. Our study aims to provide flow-based networks with a hybrid control model that combines both central control and distributed control, in order to provide a more relaxed control and to provide a fail-safe-like mechanism for such networks. This is done by designing two new features, network equipment to equipment flow installation, and a new type of proactive flows. Through which we aim to relieve some of the load off the central controller, make flow-based networks more self-aware, and provide a method to support flows with strict timing requirements. This hybrid control model is proposed as a step forward towards encouraging a wider adoption of flow-based SDNs as an easily programmed network that holds a great potential as a future Internet technology.
Energetic Effects of Adding Springs at the Passive Ankles of a Walking Biped Robot

This paper investigates the energetic effects of adding springs at the passive ankles of a planar five-link, four-actuator walking biped robot. The energetic cost of walking with springs was determined by using a walking motion designed for the biped without springs added. The walking motion was then optimized for the presence of springs of various arbitrarily chosen stiffnesses and offset angles. The stability properties of the motions that resulted were checked. The energetic costs of walking and standing were then computed. It was found that standing with springs was more efficient, while walking was more costly than the same action without springs. Finally, the spring characteristics (stiffness and offset angle) and the motion were optimized simultaneously. The costs for walking and standing were computed, revealing that walking with springs was more efficient and standing was more costly than doing either without springs. A methodical approach to choosing the size of the feet based on this analysis of the spring characteristics is also presented.
Modeling and parameter identification of a double-star induction machines

This article deals with the modeling of distributed stator windings of a double-star induction machine (DSIM) and its application to obtain their parameters from no-load and blocked rotor tests. The squirrel cage rotor is modeled as multiphase concentrated windings without electrical connections between them, and the effect of the number of rotor bars on the value of inductances is also addressed. From the equations in the natural reference frame (abc-xyz coordinates), the models in the stationary and synchronous reference frame (α-β1, 3, 5 and d-q1, 3, 5 coordinates) are derived in order to achieve the equivalent circuit at the steady state operation and the parameters are obtained by a standard no-load and blocked rotor test. Finally, the model of the DSIM in the natural reference frame is validated by simulations and verified by experimental tests.
Characterization of ABF-1, a Novel Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factor Expressed in Activated B Lymphocytes

ABSTRACT Proteins of the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) family are required for a number of different developmental pathways, including neurogenesis, lymphopoiesis, myogenesis, and sex determination. Using a yeast two-hybrid screen, we have identified a new bHLH transcription factor, ABF-1, from a human B-cell cDNA library. Within the bHLH region, ABF-1 shows a remarkable conservation with other HLH proteins, including tal-1, NeuroD, and paraxis. Its expression pattern is restricted to a subset of lymphoid tissues, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-transformed lymphoblastoid cell lines, and activated human B cells. ABF-1 is capable of binding an E-box element either as a homodimer or as a heterodimer with E2A. Furthermore, a heterodimeric complex containing ABF-1 and E2A can be detected in EBV-immortalized lymphoblastoid cell lines. ABF-1 contains a transcriptional repression domain and is capable of inhibiting the transactivation capability of E47 in mammalian cells. ABF-1 represents the first example of a B-cell-restricted bHLH protein, and its expression pattern suggests that ABF-1 may play a role in regulating antigen-dependent B-cell differentiation.
Alcohol Use during Pregnancy

There is no question that excessive alcohol use during pregnancy can harm the fetus. However, the available scientific evidence does not support the contention that absolute abstinence from alcohol is necessary to protect the unborn child. Pregnant women should be advised to limit alcohol intake, but a call for absolute abstinence is not justified, since such advice can have negative consequences. For example, it may lead women to equate real risks during pregnancy with hypothetical ones and might cause unnecessary anguish and guilt in women who had an occasional drink before their pregnancies were confirmed. Such women may even consider abortion, or hold themselves responsible for birth defects that have no relation to alcohol ingestion. Health scientists should be aware of the possible ramifications of their warnings and call for life-style changes only when truly required.
A Hierarchical Resource Management Scheme Enabled by the TMO Programming Scheme

For cost-effective realization of sizable realtime distributed computing application systems, significant advances in resource allocation are in critical needs. An advanced practical scheme for high-level programming of real-time distributed computing software such as the TMO (Time-triggered Message-triggered Object) scheme introduces the potential for realizing new improved resource allocation approaches. The main reason is because it provides information-rich intuitively appealing timing specifications. However, to properly exploit the potential, a number of issues need to be resolved via extensive research involving both analytical and experimental efforts. A hierarchical resource allocation scheme that becomes enabled by use of the TMO programming model is discussed along with the remaining research issues.
Hydrodynamic Cell Trapping for High Throughput Single-Cell Applications

The possibility to conduct complete cell assays under a precisely controlled environment while consuming minor amounts of chemicals and precious drugs have made microfluidics an interesting candidate for quantitative single-cell studies. Here, we present an application-specific microfluidic device, cellcomb, capable of conducting high-throughput single-cell experiments. The system employs pure hydrodynamic forces for easy cell trapping and is readily fabricated in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) using soft lithography techniques. The cell-trapping array consists of V-shaped pockets designed to accommodate up to six Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast cells) with the average diameter of 4 μm. We used this platform to monitor the impact of flow rate modulation on the arsenite (As(III)) uptake in yeast. Redistribution of a green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged version of the heat shock protein Hsp104 was followed over time as read out. Results showed a clear reverse correlation between the arsenite uptake and three different adjusted low = 25 nL min−1, moderate = 50 nL min−1, and high = 100 nL min−1 flow rates. We consider the presented device as the first building block of a future integrated application-specific cell-trapping array that can be used to conduct complete single cell experiments on different cell types.
Human?Machine Interfacing by Decoding the Surface Electromyogram [Life Sciences]

Human-machine interfacing (HMI) uses biological signals, such as brain signals,and translates them into control commands for external devices. An exciting application of HMI is the active control of robotic limbs that substitute lost body parts (bionic reconstruction). Despite recent progresses in brain-computer interfacing [1], muscle electrical potentials are still the most important input for clinical HMI. The ensemble electrical activity of a muscle, the electromyogram (EMG), is generated by the neural activation of the motor neurons innervating the muscle and thus contains information on the neural control of movement. Muscle recordings can be performed noninvasively (surface EMG) by electrodes located on the skin to record the electrical activity of the underlying muscle fibers. This recording modality has advantages compared to other HMI modalities, such as those based on implanted electrodes, in terms of long-term stability, biocompatibility, reduced risks of infections, and ethical constraints.
Cognitive Control in Auditory Working Memory Is Enhanced in Musicians

Musical competence may confer cognitive advantages that extend beyond processing of familiar musical sounds. Behavioural evidence indicates a general enhancement of both working memory and attention in musicians. It is possible that musicians, due to their training, are better able to maintain focus on task-relevant stimuli, a skill which is crucial to working memory. We measured the blood oxygenation-level dependent (BOLD) activation signal in musicians and non-musicians during working memory of musical sounds to determine the relation among performance, musical competence and generally enhanced cognition. All participants easily distinguished the stimuli. We tested the hypothesis that musicians nonetheless would perform better, and that differential brain activity would mainly be present in cortical areas involved in cognitive control such as the lateral prefrontal cortex. The musicians performed better as reflected in reaction times and error rates. Musicians also had larger BOLD responses than non-musicians in neuronal networks that sustain attention and cognitive control, including regions of the lateral prefrontal cortex, lateral parietal cortex, insula, and putamen in the right hemisphere, and bilaterally in the posterior dorsal prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate gyrus. The relationship between the task performance and the magnitude of the BOLD response was more positive in musicians than in non-musicians, particularly during the most difficult working memory task. The results confirm previous findings that neural activity increases during enhanced working memory performance. The results also suggest that superior working memory task performance in musicians rely on an enhanced ability to exert sustained cognitive control. This cognitive benefit in musicians may be a consequence of focused musical training.
Constructing social inclusion through further education – the dangers of instrumentalism

This article explores, through an analysis of key policy documents, the construction of the political concepts of social exclusion and inclusion through further education (FE). During the first decade of the New Labour government the concepts of social exclusion and inclusion have undergone a process of active construction. In between The Learning Age and Raising Expectations, different political concerns come to the fore. Whereas in 1998 social exclusion encompassed the broad category of ‘disadvantaged people’ and reducing social exclusion was linked firmly to promoting employability, by 2007 interest with the socially excluded was more specifically focused upon ‘16–17 year olds not in education, employment or training’, and FE was to promote social inclusion, in part, through challenging anti‐social behaviour. Three main models of constructing inclusion emerge: instrumental, social and psychological. This article examines the impact of the instrumental model and argues that focusing FE upon the needs of the economy provides a narrow concept of inclusion and a degraded view of education.
Spectral Volume Rendering based on the Kubelka‐Munk Theory

Colour realism plays an important role in computer graphics and visualization. In this paper, we present a new approach to direct volume rendering based on the Kubelka-Munk theory of diffuse re(cid:3)ectance. We show that not only the Kubelka-Munk theory facilitates a correct spectral volume rendering integral suitable for both solid objects and amorphous matters in volume datasets, but also provides volume visualization with more accurate optical effects than the traditional volume rendering integral based on the RGB a accumulation. We discuss the design of transfer functions for specifying absorption and scattering coef(cid:2)cients, and the use of post-illumination for integrating pre-processed re(cid:3)ectance images in real time. We demonstrate the optical realism achieved by this approach with a combination of several natural and arti(cid:2)cial colour datasets.
The conserved N-terminal region of Sendai virus nucleocapsid protein NP is required for nucleocapsid assembly

Sendai virus nucleocapsid protein NP synthesized in the absence of other viral components assembled into nucleocapsid-like particles. They were identical in density and morphology to authentic nucleocapsids but were smaller in size. The reduction in size was probably due to the fact that they contained RNA only 0.5 to 2 kb in length. Nucleocapsid assembly requires NP-NP and NP-RNA interactions. To identify domains on NP protein involved in nucleocapsid formation, 29 NP protein mutants were tested for the ability to assemble. Any deletion between amino acid residues 1 and 399 abolished formation of nucleocapsid-like particles, but mutants within this region exhibited two different phenotypes. Deletions between positions 83 and 384 completely abolished all interactions. Deletions between residues 1 and 82 and between residues 385 and 399, at the N- and C-terminal ends of the region from 1 to 399, resulted in unstructured aggregates of NP protein, indicating only a partial loss of function. Deletions within the C-terminal 124 amino acids were the only ones that did not affect assembly. The results suggest that NP protein can be divided into at least two separate domains which function independently of each other. Domain I (residues 1 to 399) seems to contain all of the structural information necessary for assembly, while domain II (residues 400 to 524) is not involved in nucleocapsid formation.
The evolution of a project involving an integrated analysis of structured qualitative and quantitative data: From N3 to NVivo

Developments in Qualitative Solutions and Research (QSR software) from N3 through to NVivo have impacted not only on the convenience of using the program but also on the capacity of the researcher to undertake interpretive analysis. Perhaps reflective of changes in the broader context of social research, developments through succeeding generations of this software have also increased its capacity to contribute to integrated mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative) analysis. New tools in the software have facilitated bringing quantitative (demographic, categorical and other numeric) data into a qualitative project, primarily to use for comparison of texts across subgroups. In addition, with N4 it has became possible to display tabulated data showing either the presence or absence of coding in particular documents or matrix displays (cross-tabulations) of grouped data. NVivo allows for both greater flexibility and greater specificity of quantitative output. Quantitative outputs from the qualitative database allow for graphical display or statistical manipulation of the data. Numeric output might be combined with existing statistical data to expand analytic possibilities. Interpretation of numeric data is supported throughout by the availability of the text on which such data are based, while patterns in the text can be elucidated through numeric displays. This ability to treat data both qualitatively and quantitatively, using software, can move mixed methods research beyond comparative, convergent or sequential designs toward truly integrated analysis.
Activity management in battery-powered embedded systems: A case study of ZigBee® WSN

Portable battery-powered embedded systems necessitate sustainable energy-aware computing. For energy-efficient realization of such systems, static and possibly dynamic optimizations need to be applied to both the hardware and software design abstraction layers. In this paper, models for estimating the energy consumption based on application “activity” are proposed. By “activity” we mean the rate at which the computing platform performs a set of predefined application functions; and managing them aims at extending battery life. The proposed models can be used for both static and/or dynamic (on the fly) design/exploration of such systems. In order to validate the models, a generic low duty-cycle ZigBee® Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) application has been considered as a case study. Experimental results confirm fair accuracy for the proposed models (3% error on average); based on comparisons of estimated values with those obtained from experimentations.
Effects of Reef Proximity on the Structure of Fish Assemblages of Unconsolidated Substrata

Fish assemblages of unconsolidated sedimentary habitats on continental shelves are poorly described when compared to those of hard substrata. This lack of data restricts the objective management of these extensive benthic habitats. In the context of protecting representative areas of all community types, one important question is the nature of the transition from reefal to sedimentary fish assemblages. We addressed this question using Baited Remote Underwater Videos (BRUVs) to assess fish assemblages of sedimentary habitats at six distances from rocky reefs (0, 25, 50, 100, 200, and 400 m) at four sites in subtropical eastern Australia. Distance from reef was important in determining fish assemblage structure, and there was no overlap between reef sites and sedimentary sites 400 m from reef. While there was a gradient in assemblage structure at intermediate distances, this was not consistent across sites. All sites, however, supported a mixed ‘halo’ assemblage comprising both reef and sediment species at sampling stations close to reef. BRUVs used in conjunction with high-resolution bathymetric and backscatter spatial data can resolve differences in assemblage structure at small spatial scales (10s to 100s of metres), and has further application in unconsolidated habitats. Unless a ‘reef halo’ assemblage is being examined, a minimum of 200 m but preferably 400 m distance from any hard substrate is recommended when designing broader-scale assessments of fish assemblages of sedimentary habitats.
Parenting, friendship relations and adolescent functioning in different ethnic groups

Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: http://uba.uva. nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible.
The computation of Kostka Numbers and Littlewood-Richardson Coefficients is #P-complete

Kostka numbers and Littlewood-Richardson coefficients play an essential role in the representation theory of the symmetric groups and the special linear groups. There has been a significant amount of interest in their computation. The issue of their computational complexity has been a question of folklore, but was asked explicitly by E. Rassart. We prove that the computation of either quantity is #P-complete. The reduction to computing Kostka numbers, is from the #P-complete problem of counting the number of 2 x k contingency tables having given row and column sums. The main ingredient in this reduction is a correspondence discovered by D. E. Knuth. The reduction to the problem of computing Littlewood-Richardson coefficients is from that of computing Kostka numbers.
Absence of mature microRNAs inactivates the response of gene expression to carcinogenesis induced by N‐ethyl‐N‐nitrosourea in mouse liver

This study aims to evaluate the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in chemical tumorigenesis by evaluating genomic gene expression in miRNA knockout mice. Previous studies showed that mice without mature miRNAs due to hepatocyte‐specific Dicer1 knockout (KO) had a much higher liver tumor incidence than wild‐type mice. In this study, Dicer1 KO or the wild‐type mice were treated intraperitoneally with genotoxic carcinogen N‐ethyl‐N‐nitrosourea (ENU) at a single dose (150 mg kg–1 that resulted in liver tumorigenesis) or the vehicle at 3 weeks of age. The animals were killed 2 weeks after treatment and the liver samples were collected for the gene expression study. Principal components analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis showed that gene expression was globally altered by the Dicer1 KO and ENU exposure. There were 5621, 3286 and 2565 differentially expressed genes for Dicer1 disruption, ENU treatment in wild‐type mice and ENU treatment in Dicer1 KO mice, respectively. Functional analysis of the differentially expressed genes suggests that the Dicer1 KO mouse liver lost their capability to suppress the carcinogenesis induced by ENU exposure in genomic level. In addition, the miRNA‐mediated BRCA1 and P53 signaling pathways were identified as the main pathways responsible for the tumorigenesis. We conclude that the mouse livers in the absence of mature miRNAs could not appropriately respond to carcinogenic insults from ENU treatment, indicating that miRNAs play a critical role in chemical carcinogenesis. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Performance Analysis of FWM Efficiency and Schrödinger Equation Solution

The main objective of this paper is to analyze the Four Wave Mixing efficiency (FWM) for different fiber lengths and channel spacing and nonlinear Schrodinger equation solution. In this document, we have simulated the FWM design for two and three waves. We have also analyzed the influences of non-linear refractive index on the four-wave mixing (FWM) characteristics in Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers (SOAs). It has been shown that the generated FWM signal characteristics can be modified due to the variation of non-linear refractive index of the SOA’s medium. The wave propagation in the SOA has been modeled using the nonlinear Schrodinger equation. Simulation of Schrodinger equation is carried out using split step Fourier method. The FWM design was simulated with the OPTSIMv5.0 tool and analyzed using the eye pattern method with respect to bit error rate and Q factor. In this paper, FWM efficiency is analytically simulated for two wave and three wave fiber transmission. The results obtained show that the efficiency decreases with the increase of both the frequency spacing and the fiber length, which can be explained using the phase-matching condition. All the efficiency and power equations have been numerically simulated in MATLAB.