Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Highly filled thermoplastic elastomers from ground tire rubber, maleated polyethylene and high density polyethylene

In this work, maleated polyethylene (MAPE) is proposed as a matrix to produce thermoplastic elastomers based on ground tire rubber (GTR) with a focus on high GTR contents (50–90 wt-%). The compounds were also compared with thermoplastic elastomers based on high density polyethylene (HDPE) as the matrix. Scanning electron microscopy images revealed high compatibility and very good interfacial adhesion between the MAPE matrix and rubber particles. Samples in the range of 50–70% of GTR in MAPE showed very good tensile elongation at break and tensile strength, while the properties decreased for samples at higher GTR content. The elasticity of the thermoplastic elastomers was also investigated via compression set measurements. All GTR/MAPE compounds showed highly elastic behaviour with elasticity increasing with GTR content. Tensile and elastic recovery values of HDPE/GTR compounds, with and without MAPE coupling agent, were significantly lower than those based on MAPE. High stability was observed for both MAPE and HDPE based compounds after thermal aging at 70°C. Thermal degradation was also characterised with respect to changes in melt viscosities.
Developments of electron and proton acceleration using Laser-plasma Interaction

With the development in ultra-short, ultra-intense laser technology, the potential of inventing novel table-size charged particle accelerators using laser-plasma interaction has attracted a lot of attentions due to its advantages comparing to classical accelerators. The accelerators have broad application aspects, such as medical imaging, cancer therapy, fast ignition in inertial fusion, and protons with TeV energies are relevant to high-energy physics and astrophysics. In this paper, we introduce some new progresses in the laser-plasma electron and proton accelerations.
Synchronization of passifiable Lurie systems via limited capacity communication channel

Output feedback controlled synchronization problems for a class of nonlinear unstable systems under information constraints imposed by limited capacity of the communication channel are analyzed. A binary time-varying coder-decoder scheme is described and a theoretical analysis for multidimensional master-slave systems represented in Lurie form (linear part plus nonlinearity depending only on measurable outputs) is provided. An output feedback control law is proposed based on the Passiflcation Theorem. It is shown that the synchronization error exponentially tends to zero for sufficiently high transmission rate (channel capacity). The results obtained for synchronization problem can be extended to tracking problems in a straightforward manner, if the reference signal is described by an external (exogenous) state space model. The results are illustrated by controlled synchronization of two chaotic Chua systems via a communication channel with limited capacity.
A fully 4D mesh parameterisation PET image reconstruction algorithm for list-mode data

A PET reconstruction algorithm which makes use of the entire set of lines of response (LORs) in list-mode form is presented. The LORs are parameterised by a Cartesian mesh over the field-of-view of the scanner and the distribution of the LORs over this mesh is determined. Artefacts associated with the discrete nature of the data are removed using a redistribution of the LORs. Experimental work using static and dynamic hard phantoms as well soft tissue was conducted with the Siemens ECAT HR++ “EXACT3D” tomograph; results are compared to the standard Radon reconstruction algorithm using direct and cross planes.
Supervised classification of hyperspectral images using a combination of spectral and spatial information

This paper describes a new method for classification of hyperspectral images for extracting carthographic objects. The developed method is intended as a tool for automatic map updating. The idea is to use an existing map of the region of interest as a learning set. The proposed method is based on logistic regression. Logistic regression (LR) is a supervised multi-variate statistical tool that finds an optimal combination of the input channels for distinguishing one class from all the others. LR thus results in detection images per class. These can be combined into a classification image. The LR method that is used here is a step-wise optimisation that also performs a channel selection. The results of the LR are further improved by taking into account spatial information by means of a region growing method. The parameters of the region growing are optimised for each class of interest. For each class the optimal set of parameters is determined. The method is applied on a HyMap hyperspectral image of an area in Southern Germany and the results are compared to those of classical methods. For the comparison a ground truth image was created by combining data from a cadaster map and a digital topographic map.
Cooperation of Intelligent Honeypots to Detect Unknown Malicious Codes

Honeypot is one of the most popular tools to decoy attackers into our network, and to capture lots of information about the activity of malicious attackers. By tracing and analyzing collected traffic data, we can find out unknown malicious codes under an experimental stage before some codes become hazardous to an application. Although many honeypots have been proposed, there is a common problem that they can be detected easily by malicious attackers. This is very important in success or failure of honeypots because if once an attacker notices that he/she is working on a honeypot, we can no longer observe his/her malicious activities. In this paper, we propose two types of honeypot to collect unforeseen exploit codes automatically while maintaining their concealment against malicious attackers; cooperation based active honeypot and self-protection type honeypot. We have evaluated the proposed honeypots which are deployed in Kyoto University, and showed that they have capability to collect some unknown malicious codes.
The Effects of Passive Smoking on the Six-Minute Walk Test in Obese Pediatric Cases

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether exposure to second-hand smoke affected the six-minute walk test (6MWT) of obese non-asthmatic pediatric cases. Methods: Obese pediatric patients (body mass index >95th p) with no existing co-morbidities were included in the study. Smoke exposure was assessed with a self-reported questionnaire completed by the parents. The subjects were divided into two groups: Group 1 consisting of obese children exposed to passive smoking and Group 2 of obese children not exposed to passive smoking. In addition to 6MWT, spirometric flow and volume, including forced expiratory volume in 1 s and peak expiratory flow rate, were also measured in all subjects. The results of the 6MWT were assessed to determine any association with passive smoking. Results: The study included 75 obese pediatric cases (40 male, 35 female) with a mean age of 9.06±0.97 years. The 6MWT results in Group 1 was 501.88±62.12 meters and in Group 2 559.63±72.93 meters. The difference was statistically significant (p=0.001). Conclusions: Passive smoking may negatively affect the respiratory and cardiovascular capacity in obese children, who are already at risk of lower cardiopulmonary function. The evaluation of 6MWT in these pediatric patients may be useful for monitoring and families should be warned about potential problems due to smoking.
Ergodic capacity of MIMO channels with statistical channel state information at the transmitter

It is well known that with the availability of statistical channel state information at the transmitter, the capacity-achieving transmission strategy is transmission on the long-term eigen-modes of the transmit correlation matrix with adequate power allocation. However, the optimum power allocation strategy is not known in general. Using recent analytical results on mean mutual information of MIMO channels with transmit as well as receive correlation, We study the behavior of the capacity-achieving power allocation strategy. To this end, we also make use of asymptotical results for a large number of transmit or receive antennas and the high as well as low SNR regime, which in certain cases allows for a closed-form analysis. Furthermore, we investigate two low complexity power allocation schemes, which are based on certain upper bounds on mean mutual information.
Solid-Liquid Interfaces: Molecular Structure, Thermodynamics, and Crystallization

Materials phenomena ranging from the melting or freezing of ice to biomineralization in living organisms, to lubrication and the commercial casting of superalloys, are known to be critically influenced by molecular-scale structure and processes occurring at the interfaces between the crystalline solid and liquid phases. The properties of solid–liquid interfaces have long been a topic of intense interest in materials science, primarily because of their role in governing nucleation, growth, and morphological evolution in crystal growth from the melt or solutions. This issue of the MRS Bulletin provides an overview, highlighting new developments in experiment, theory, and modeling techniques that have led to substantial recent progress in the characterization of the molecular-level structural and thermodynamic properties of solid–liquid interfaces and their consequences for a variety of crystallization phenomena.
Distribution of depressive disorders in the elderly

Background: The community-based mental health studies have revealed that the point prevalence of depressive disorders in the elderly population of the world varies between 10% and 20% depending on cultural situations. Objective: To determine the median prevalence rates of depressive disorders in the elderly population of India and various other countries in the world. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study based on meta-analysis of various study reports. Setting: Community-based mental health surveys on geriatric depressive disorders conducted in the continents of Asia, Europe, Australia, North America, and South America. Study Period: All the studies that constituted the sample were conducted between 1955 and 2005. Sample Size: After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria on published and indexed articles, 74 original research studies that surveyed a total of 4,87,275 elderly individuals in the age group of 60 years and above, residing in various parts of the world were included for the final analysis. Inclusion Criteria: The researchers had included only community-based cross-sectional surveys and some prospective studies that had not excluded depression on baseline. These studies were conducted on homogenous community of elderly population in the world, who were selected by simple random sampling technique. Exclusion Criteria: All the unpublished reports and unavailable or unanalyzed or inaccessible articles from the internet were excluded from the study. Statistical Analysis: The median prevalence rate and its corresponding interquartile range (IQR), Chi-square test, and Chi-square for Linear Trend were applied. A P value < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results and Conclusion: The median prevalence rate of depressive disorders in the world for the elderly population was determined to be 10.3% [IQR = (4.7%–16.0%)]. The median prevalence rate of depression among the elderly Indian population was determined to be 21.9% [IQR = (11.6%–31.1%)]. Although there was a significant decrease trend in world prevalence of geriatric depression, it was significantly higher among Indians in recent years than the rest of the world.
Towards High‐Resolution X‐ray Microscopy on Mesoscopic Structures

We introduce a high‐resolution x‐ray microscopy (HRXRM) based on parabolic compound refractive lenses for the volume‐specific studies of mesoscopic photonic crystals. The use of coherent properties of x‐ray beams along with the tunable refractive optics allows retrieval of the high‐resolution diffraction pattern and real‐space images in the same experimental setup. Methodologically the proposed approach is similar to the studies of “traditional” crystals by high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM).
A new method for power signal harmonic analysis

With the increasing use of nonlinear loads in power systems, the harmonic pollution becomes more and more serious. It is well known that fast Fourier transform (FFT) is a powerful tool for power signal harmonic analysis, but leakage effect, picket fence effect, and aliasing effect make FFT suffer from specific restrictions. In this paper, we proposed a new method for power signal harmonic analysis. The major components of this method are a frequency and phasor estimating algorithm, a finite-impulse-response comb filter, and a correction factor. We also combine other methods to enhance our performance, such as discrete Fourier transform and least square error (LSE) method. To verify this method, we provided the comparisons of this method with FFT.
The Pathogenesis of the Antiphospholipid Syndrome: a Hypothesis Based on Parallelisms with Heparin-induced Thrombocytopenia

The antiphospholipid syndrome is defined as the association of anti­ phospholipid antibodies (lupus anticoagulant or anticardiolipin anti­ bodies) with arterial or venous thrombosis, recurrent fetal loss or thrombocytopenia. The role of the antiphospholipid antibodies in the pathogenesis of this syndrome is unclear; besides suggestions for a pathogenic role, some have considered these antibodies to be simply markers of vascular injury (for reviews, see 1 and 2 ). Three recent advances shed new light on this syndrome: the first is that the antiphos­ pholipid antibodies are not directed against phospholipid as such, but against proteins having bound phospholipids; such protein-phospholipid complexes form upon cell membrane perturbation. The second is the recent elucidation of the pathogenesis of heparin-induced throm­ bocytopenia, a condition in which antibodies clearly lead to thrombo­ sis; also in this instance, the antibodies do not bind to heparin as such, but again to a protein having bound heparin, mainly platelet factor 4. Heparin-platelet factor 4 complexes on platelets and endothelial cell membranes bind the antibody, that then interacts with the cellular Fey receptor to induce activation of prothrombotic processes. The third is emerging evidence that antiphospholipid antibody binding to proteinphospholipid complexes on various cells also results in their activation via Fey receptors. This mechanism would then also account for the thrombotic tendency in the antiphospholipid syndrome. In support of this hypothesis, some clinical resemblances between heparin-induced thrombocytopenia and the antiphospholipid syndrome are striking. The present review aims at bringing together these observations and to evaluate to what extent they can indeed help explain the association between antiphospholipid antibodies and thrombosis.
Tunable differentially fed inverted microstrip patch antenna

A compact differentially fed inverted microstrip patch antenna with frequency tunable characteristic is presented in this paper. Tuning of resonance frequency is achieved by changing the air gap height. Theoretical estimation of the resonant frequency is presented for two different patch geometries. High co-polarization to cross-polarization discrimination is achieved due to the differential feed. Theoretical results are validated with simulation and measured values.
Parallel Evolutionary Optimization for Neuromorphic Network Training

One of the key impediments to the success of current neuromorphic computing architectures is the issue of how best to program them. Evolutionary optimization (EO) is one promising programming technique; in particular, its wide applicability makes it especially attractive for neuromorphic architectures, which can have many different characteristics. In this paper, we explore different facets of EO on a spiking neuromorphic computing model called DANNA. We focus on the performance of EO in the design of our DANNA simulator, and on how to structure EO on both multicore and massively parallel computing systems. We evaluate how our parallel methods impact the performance of EO on Titan, the U.S.'s largest open science supercomputer, and BOB, a Beowulf-style cluster of Raspberry Pi's. We also focus on how to improve the EO by evaluating commonality in higher performing neural networks, and present the result of a study that evaluates the EO performed by Titan.
Multilevel Monte Carlo Path Simulation

We show that multigrid ideas can be used to reduce the computational complexity of estimating an expected value arising from a stochastic differential equation using Monte Carlo path simulations. In the simplest case of a Lipschitz payoff and a Euler discretisation, the computational cost to achieve an accuracy of O(e) is reduced from O(e-3) to O(e-2 (log e)2). The analysis is supported by numerical results showing significant computational savings.
Isolation-only transactions by typing and versioning

In this paper we design a language and runtime support for isolation-only, multithreaded transactions (called tasks). Tasks allow isolation to be declared instead of having to be encoded using the low-level synchronization constructs. The key concept of our design is the use of a type system to support rollback-free and safe runtime execution of tasks.We present a first-order type system which can verify information for the concurrency controller. We use an operational semantics to formalize and prove the type soundness result and an isolation property of tasks. The semantics uses a specialized concurrency control algorithm, that is based on access versioning.
A Comparison of Cover Coat Methods for Electronic Flexible Printed Circuit (E-FPC) Based on Peeling Strength

In electronic flexible printed circuit (E-FPC) manufacturing procedure, the cover laminating process in which the line circuit (copper wire) is covered with hot cover layer on the printed circuits is importance process. This process will help to increase elasticity, strength and corrosion protection to the product therefore this process can affect directly to quality of the printed circuit. The process for laminating printed circuits can be classified into two methods by coating with industry iron and hot bar machine. This article compares the quality of the electrical circuit between industry iron and hot bar machine methods in the cover coating process by using Peeling Strength to indicate the quality in the same temperature and time condition. The experimental result illustrates the electrical circuits using the hot bar machine method give Peeling Strength value in the acceptable range and the laminating surface of circuits is smooth and uniform. On the other hand, Peel Strength value of electrical circuits using the industry iron method is unsteady and lower than the acceptable range. Moreover the result circuit product has wrinkled coating surface and become the waste product.
Role of Pre-rRNA Base Pairing and 80S Complex Formation in Subnucleolar Localization of the U3 snoRNP

ABSTRACT In the nucleolus the U3 snoRNA is recruited to the 80S pre-rRNA processing complex in the dense fibrillar component (DFC). The U3 snoRNA is found throughout the nucleolus and has been proposed to move with the preribosomes to the granular component (GC). In contrast, the localization of other RNAs, such as the U8 snoRNA, is restricted to the DFC. Here we show that the incorporation of the U3 snoRNA into the 80S processing complex is not dependent on pre-rRNA base pairing sequences but requires the B/C motif, a U3-specific protein-binding element. We also show that the binding of Mpp10 to the 80S U3 complex is dependent on sequences within the U3 snoRNA that base pair with the pre-rRNA adjacent to the initial cleavage site. Furthermore, mutations that inhibit 80S complex formation and/or the association of Mpp10 result in retention of the U3 snoRNA in the DFC. From this we propose that the GC localization of the U3 snoRNA is a direct result of its active involvement in the initial steps of ribosome biogenesis.
In-Memory Performance for Big Data

When a working set fits into memory, the overhead imposed by the buffer pool renders traditional databases non-competitive with in-memory designs that sacrifice the benefits of a buffer pool. However, despite the large memory available with modern hardware, data skew, shifting workloads, and complex mixed workloads make it difficult to guarantee that a working set will fit in memory. Hence, some recent work has focused on enabling in-memory databases to protect performance when the working data set almost fits in memory. Contrary to those prior efforts, we enable buffer pool designs to match in-memory performance while supporting the "big data" workloads that continue to require secondary storage, thus providing the best of both worlds. We introduce here a novel buffer pool design that adapts pointer swizzling for references between system objects (as opposed to application objects), and uses it to practically eliminate buffer pool overheads for memoryresident data. Our implementation and experimental evaluation demonstrate that we achieve graceful performance degradation when the working set grows to exceed the buffer pool size, and graceful improvement when the working set shrinks towards and below the memory and buffer pool sizes.
Laser-driven proton acceleration and plasma diagnostics with J-KAREN laser

We describe results of experiments on laser-driven proton acceleration and corresponding laser-plasma diagnostics performed with the multi-10-TW J-KAREN laser. The laser consists of a high-pulse-energy oscillator, saturable absorber, stretcher, Optical Parametric Chirped Pulse Amplifier (OPCPA), two 4-pass Ti:Sapphire amplifiers, and compressor. The final amplifier is cryogenically cooled down to 100 K to avoid thermal lensing. The laser provides ~30 fs, ~ 1 J, high-contrast pulses with the nanosecond contrast better than 1010. The peak intensity is 1020 W/cm2 with the 3- 4 μm focal spot. Using few-μm tape and sub-μm ribbon targets we produced protons with the energies up to 4 MeV. The tape target and repetitive laser operation allowed achieving proton acceleration at 1 Hz. We found significant differences in stability and angular distribution of proton beam in high-contrast and normal-contrast modes. The plasma diagnostics included interferometry and measurement of the target reflectivity. The latter provides convenient diagnostics of the laser contrast in the ion acceleration, harmonics generation, and other laser - solid target interaction experiments.