Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A joint model for IEEE 802.15.4 physical and medium access control layers

Many studies have tried to evaluate wireless networks and especially the IEEE 802.15. 4 standard. Hence, several papers have aimed to describe the functionalities of the physical (PHY) and medium access control (MAC) layers. They have highlighted some characteristics with experimental results and/or have attempted to reproduce them using theoretical models. In this paper, we use the first way to better understand IEEE 802.15. 4 standard. Indeed, we provide a comprehensive model, able more faithfully to mimic the functionalities of this standard at the PHY and MAC layers. We propose a combination of two relevant models for the two layers. The PHY layer behavior is reproduced by a mathematical framework, which is based on radio and channel models, in order to quantify link reliability. On the other hand, the MAC layer is mimed by an enhanced Markov chain. The results show the pertinence of our approach compared to the model based on a Markov chain for IEEE 802.15. 4 MAC layer. This contribution allows us fully and more precisely to estimate the network performance with different network sizes, as well as different metrics such as node reliability and delay. Our contribution enables us to catch possible failures at both layers.
Routing protocols for delay tolerant networks: a quantitative evaluation

In this paper we propose a new taxonomy for Delay Tolerant Networks (DTNs) routing protocols and a thorough quantitative evaluation of many protocols proposed in the literature. We categorize DTN protocols, according to their use of three main techniques: queue management, forwarding and replication. Queue management orders and manages the messages in the node's buffer, forwarding selects the messages to be delivered when there is a contact and finally replication bounds the number of replicas in the network. Contrary to most previous papers, where either only qualitative comparisons have been presented or only a single category of protocols have been analysed, in our work we discuss the results of our experimental activity on many of the DTN protocols in the literature. Our results show that, an effective combination of the proposed techniques, can significantly improve the performance of the protocols in terms of delivery ratio, overhead and delay.
SVD-based Anatomy of Gene Expressions for Correlation Analysis in Arabidopsis thaliana

Gene co-expression analysis has been widely used in recent years for predicting unknown gene function and its regulatory mechanisms. The predictive accuracy depends on the quality and the diversity of data set used. In this report, we applied singular value decomposition (SVD) to array experiments in public databases to find that co-expression linkage could be estimated by a much smaller number of array data. Correlations of co-expressed gene were assessed using two regulatory mechanisms (feedback loop of the fundamental circadian clock and a global transcription factor Myb28), as well as metabolic pathways in the AraCyc database. Our conclusion is that a smaller number of informative arrays across tissues can suffice to reproduce comparable results with a state-of-the-art co-expression software tool. In our SVD analysis on Arabidopsis data set, array experiments that contributed most as the principal components included stamen development, germinating seed and stress responses on leaf.
Limb segment contributions to the evolution of hind limb length in phrynosomatid lizards

Longer hind limbs are often associated with faster maximum sprint speeds measured in the laboratory and sometimes with increased Darwinian fitness in studies of individual variation in natural populations. Limb length may be altered by changing the length of one or all segments, with different functional consequences. Segment length evolution can be influenced by both natural and sexual selection, and lineage-specific effects (multiple solutions) may also occur. We examined the evolution of total hind limb length, as well as thigh, crus, pes, and toe length, among 46 species of phrynosomatids and also investigated the role of habitat use and shared evolutionary history in shaping limb morphology. Because sexes are usually behaviourally and morphologically dimorphic, we examined them separately. In females, habitat was only an important predictor of crus (lower leg) length. In males, habitat was not an important predictor of any variable. Overall, clade-level differences were more important than habitat as predictors of segment or total hind limb length. Not all limb segments scaled isometrically with the combined length of other segments, and both sex and clade affected the scaling of some segments. These results suggest that clade-level differences are more important than habitat use for explaining differences in limb length and proportions, and sexual dimorphism may be an important consideration in morphology–performance–behaviour–fitness relationships. © 2015 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2016, 117, 775–795.
Why are There Explicit Contracts of Employment?

In this paper we explain the prevalence of explicit contracts of employment, particularly those that embody high- rather than low-powered incentives and clauses that supersede the common law defaults. Our analysis is based on an understanding of two fundamental problems that arise when agency relationships are established between a worker and firm. The first is that agency relationships often require the creation of specific property rights in order for firm owners to realize productive efficiencies of scale or scope from agency. The second is that the economic characteristics of the agency relationship, which generally entail the transfer of specific "process rights" to agents, are often quite different from the nature of agency characterized in and supported by the common law. The implication is that implicit employment contracts supported by the common law are incapable of effectively governing employment relationship characterized by these two problems. Thus, explicit contractual provisions are required in the employment relationship.
An Account of Associative Learning in Memory Recall

Associative learning is an important part of human cognition, and is thought to play key role in list learning. We present here an account of associative learning that learns asymmetric itemto-item associations, strengthening or weakening associations over time with repeated exposures. This account, combined with an existing account of activation strengthening and decay, predicts the complicated results of a multi-trial free and serial recall task, including asymmetric contiguity effects that strengthen over time (Klein, Addis, & Kahana, 2005).
The Inflation Target Ten Years on

In this lecture to the London School of Economics, Mervyn King, Deputy Governor, re-examines the case for price stability ten years after Robin Leigh Pemberton asked the same question in the first LSE-Bank of England lecture. Mervyn King asks three questions. Did the benefits of low inflation promised ten years ago materialise? What does price stability mean in practice? And finally, what are the challenges for monetary policy over the next decade?
Internalization and degradation of macrophage Fc receptors during receptor-mediated phagocytosis

Macrophage receptors for the Fc domain of immunoglobulin G (IgG) can mediate the efficient binding and phagocytosis of IgG-coated particles. After internalization, phagocytic vacuoles fuse with lysosomes, initiating the degradation of their contents. Using specific monoclonal and polyclonal antireceptor antibodies, we have now analyzed the internalization and fate of Fc receptors during the uptake of IgG- coated erythrocytes and erythrocyte ghosts by mouse peritoneal macrophages. Receptor-mediated phagocytosis led to the selective and largely irreversible removal of Fc receptors (greater than 50%) from the macrophage plasma membrane. The expression of several other plasma membrane proteins (including a receptor for complement), recognized by a series of antimacrophage monoclonal antibodies, was affected only slightly. Interiorized Fc receptors were rapidly and selectively degraded. This was demonstrated by a series of turnover studies in which Fc receptor was immunoprecipitated from lysates of 125I-labeled macrophages. These experiments were made possible by the development of a polyclonal rabbit antiserum, raised against isolated Fc receptor, which recognized the receptor even in the presence of bound ligand. In control cells, the receptor turned over with a t1/2 of approximately 10 h; after phagocytosis, greater than 50% of the receptors were degraded with a t1/2 of less than 2 h. The turnover of other unrelated plasma membrane proteins was unaffected (t1/2 of 18-23 h) under these conditions.
Proposal Learning Large-Scale Conditional Random Fields

Conditional Random Fields (CRFs) (Lafferty et al. [2001]) can offer computational and statistical advantages over generative models, yet current CRF parameter and structure learning methods are often too expensive to scale up to large problems. This thesis aims to develop methods for scaling up CRF learning to much larger problems. In the first part of our work, we will develop alternative learning methods which sidestep the computational difficulties inherent in traditional methods. In the second part of our work, we take advantage of recent developments in computer hardware, developing methods for parallel learning on generalpurpose Graphics Processing Units. All of our work will be thoroughly tested on large-scale real-world applications, particularly extracting knowledge from web pages.
Small signal and HF noise performance of 45 nm CMOS technology in mmW range

The development of applications in millimeter wave range (mmW) during the last decade is strongly related to continuous progress of Si Technology, which kept on evolving through aggressive transistor gate length down-scaling. In this context, this paper aims to present DC, small signal and noise performance up mmW range of recently developed 45-nm bulk CMOS Technology. For this purpose, S parameters were measured up to 67 GHz, a high frequency (HF) noise model was extracted in 6–40 GHz frequency range, and its accuracy verified through a comparison with the noise figure measured in W band with a 50 Ω impedance set at the transistor. The technology offers fT, fMAX respectively of 200 and 300 GHz in line with up-to-date published results for a 45 nm CMOS Technology. At the meantime, a minimum noise figure of 4.5 dB at 94 GHz is demonstrated (verified through W band noise measurements).
A two stage defect recognition method for parquet slab grading

This paper demonstrates the use of a simple but effective color-based inspection method in parquet slab grading. The approach is to divide the image to small rectangular regions and calculate color percentile features from these areas. Classification is performed in two stages: defect detection and recognition. The recognition results are further used in determining the final grade for the parquet slabs. Comparative results are also presented.
Regional Variation on Rates of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia and Associated Risk Factors

Background. An abnormally high incidence (44%) of bronchopulmonary dysplasia with variations in rates among cities was observed in Colombia among premature infants. Objective. To identify risk factors that could explain the observed high incidence and regional variations of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Study Design. A case-control study was designed for testing the hypothesis that differences in the disease rates were not explained by differences in city-of-birth specific population characteristics or by differences in respiratory management practices in the first 7 days of life, among cities. Results. Multivariate analysis showed that premature rupture of membranes, exposure to mechanical ventilation after received nasal CPAP, no surfactant exposure, use of rescue surfactant (instead of early surfactant), PDA, sepsis and the median daily FIO2, were associated with a higher risk of dysplasia. Significant differences between cases and controls were found among cities. Models exploring for associations between city of birth and dysplasia showed that being born in the highest altitude city (Bogotá) was associated with a higher risk of dysplasia (OR 1.82 95% CI 1.31–2.53). Conclusions. Bronchopulmonary dysplasia was manly explained by traditional risk factors. Findings suggest that altitude may play an important role in the development of this disease. Prenatal steroids did not appear to be protective at high altitude.
Generalized OFDM-LFM waveform design and analysis for multistatic airborne radar

In recent years, multistatic radar systems are extensively used for detection process, as it includes multiple transmitters and multiple receivers spaced at different locations. Due to multiple transmitted signals by multiple transmitters, waveform design with a large time-bandwidth product, low cross-correlation interferences, and a low peak-average power ratio, is a challenging task. Even though many waveform design techniques exist, they lack high time-bandwidth product, which is one of the primary requirements for multistatic airborne radars. In this paper to meet these requirements, in the present study an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing waveform (OFDM) with linear frequency modulated (LFM) signal is designed which has a high time-bandwidth product. This method jointly utilizes the effectiveness of conventional LFM and OFDM signals, to achieve spectral efficiency through multi carrier modulation as well as better range and Doppler resolution. A generalized formulation of OFDM-LFM waveform is presented and the performance is analyzed in time and frequency domains in terms of various ambiguity function parameters.
Effects of sampling rate on collision probability in hybrid MAC protocols in WSN

In wireless sensor networks, energy is a scarce resource. Collision, as one of the major sources of the energy waste for medium access control (MAC) protocols, has been extensively investigated. However, it is mostly analyzed under the “saturated situation” in which the sampling rate is assumed to be equal to or larger than the transmission rate, which does not reflect the reality in many applications. This paper relaxes this assumption to consider the “unsaturated situation” in which nodes do not always contend to seize the media. It focuses on hybrid MAC protocols which enable nodes to define sleeping schedules. We take SMAC as a model protocol to analyze how the sampling rate affects the probability of collision. But the approach can easily be applied to other hybrid protocols such as BMAC and XMAC.
Enhancing the QoS of real-time video streaming over LTE MBMS using D2D communications

Real-time video streaming over LTE multicast and broadcast multimedia services (MBMS) is investigated. The impact of device-to-device (D2D) communications in enhancing the quality of service (QoS) and reducing energy consumption from the batteries of mobile terminals (MTs) is studied. We propose an approach where devices cooperate on the short range by forming coalitions for the purpose of energy efficiency. In each coalition, an MT is selected to receive the video stream from the base station on the long range LTE MBMS links. Simulation results show that significant energy savings can be achieved with the proposed approach compared to the non-collaborative case, in addition to significantly enhanced QoS.
Workshop on Volumetric Scattering in Vision and Graphics PI : Srinivasa

Computer vision and graphics are multi-disciplinary fields of research with a wide spectrum of applications that impact our daily lives. Today, cameras and displays are ubiquitous and the amount of imagery generated is overwhelming. That said, most of computer generated imagery in video games, movies and scientific simulations are of scenes on clear days or nights. Volumetric scattering effects such as the beautiful fog rolling down the hills, the bluish haze of mountains, the eerie night mist, the brilliance of underwater effects, or the light streaming through clouds provide pure artistic and entertainment value. They are used in movies and paintings to portray different moods, and are captured in photographs to provide realism. Besides digital entertainment, scattering effects are also simulated for training human operators in safety, medical and hazardous situations — pilots landing through fog, soldiers conducting reconnaissance in dusty desert terrain, divers exploring ocean depths, and doctors looking for cancerous tissue. In the absence of scattering effects, current renderings appear unnatural and cartoonish. Analogously, most computer vision systems have not enjoyed success when deployed in uncontrolled outdoor environments. Today, modern vehicles have (semi-)automatic intelligent transportation systems that assist drivers in navigation. However, they fail to work in common bad weather conditions such as fog, snow and rain, indeed when they are most required. Similarly, field robots fail to navigate in hazardous environments such as smoke and dust, underwater exploration tasks are hindered by murky water, aerial and satellite imaging tasks are made difficult due to the presence of the atmosphere, and finally, medical image analysis is made hard due to the complex scattering properties of tissues. Unfortunately, however, most vision techniques are designed to only perform in clear air. Even with perfect performance, scattering effects are the one fundamental hurdle that can stop vision from having successful impact in these domains.
Automatic Transcription of Handwritten Medieval Documents

The automatic transcription of historical documents is vital for the creation of digital libraries. In order to make images of valuable old documents amenable to browsing, a transcription of high accuracy is needed. In this paper, two state-of-the art recognizers originally developed for modern scripts are applied to medieval documents. The first is based on Hidden Markov Models and the second uses a Neural Network with a bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory. On a dataset of word images extracted from a medieval manuscript of the 13th century, written in Middle High German by several writers, it is demonstrated that a word accuracy of 93.32% is achievable. This is far above the word accuracy of 77.12% achieved with the same recognizers for unconstrained modern scripts written in English. These results encourage the development of real world systems for automatic transcription of historical documents with a view to image and text browsing in digital libraries.
TCAD simulation vs. experimental results in FDSOI technology: From advanced mobility modeling to 6T-SRAM cell characteristics prediction

We present TCAD simulations based on advanced mobility modeling including Surface Roughness (SR) and Remote Coulomb Scattering (RCS) effects, quantum correction and short channel effects. From these calibrated models, FDSOI 6T-SRAM cells are simulated and compared to experimental data. The very good agreement achieved between simulations and electrical data on both mobility and electrical figures of merit (device and SRAM) offers major opportunities for predictive design based on TCAD simulations.
Video segmentation with joint object and trajectory labeling

Unsupervised video object segmentation is a challenging problem because it involves a large amount of data and object appearance may significantly change over time. In this paper, we propose a bottom-up approach for the combination of object segmentation and motion segmentation using a novel graphical model, which is formulated as inference in a conditional random field (CRF) model. This model combines object labeling and trajectory clustering in a unified probabilistic framework. The CRF contains binary variables representing the class labels of image pixels as well as binary variables indicating the correctness of trajectory clustering, which integrates dense local interaction and sparse global constraint. An optimization scheme based on a coordinate ascent style procedure is proposed to solve the inference problem. We evaluate our proposed framework by comparing it to other video and motion segmentation algorithms. Our method achieves improved performance on state-of-the-art benchmark datasets.
Additive Bilinguals: The Case of Post-War Second Generation Japanese Canadian Youths

Abstract This study examined the relations among bilinguality, academic achievement, and socio-psychological factors such as ethnolinguistic identity and beliefs, first language (L1) educational support, and interpersonal contacts. The participants were 42 second generation Japanese Canadian youths living in the metropolitan Toronto area. All had attended one particular Japanese Heritage Language School around the late 1970s; however the lengths of time they had attended Japanese language institutions varied. Students' bilingual proficiencies were assessed in both English and Japanese. Detailed questionnaires were administered to analyze socio-psychological factors. A strong relationship was found between Japanese oral and reading skills and both were related to a variety of ethnolinguistic identity, belief, and interpersonal contact variables. Japanese reading scores positively predicted both English reading and academic achievement (Ontario Academic Credit) performance. This suggests that L1 academic de.
The high-pressure behaviour of 3R-NbS2

Abstract The high pressure behaviour of 3R-NbS2 has been investigated by angle-dispersive X-ray powder diffraction using diamond anvil cells up to 14 GPa. The compression behaviour of the structure is highly anisotropic. The compressibility perpendicular to the layers is 2.5 times higher than within the layers. A fit of a 3rd-order Birch-Murnaghan equation of state gave a volume at zero pressure V0=174(1) Å3 and a bulk modulus b0=57(1) GPa, with a pressure derivative b'=8.6(5).
THE FRACTAL DENSITY STRUCTURE IN SUPERSONIC ISOTHERMAL TURBULENCE: SOLENOIDAL VERSUS COMPRESSIVE ENERGY INJECTION

In a systematic study, we compare the density statistics in high-resolution numerical experiments of supersonic isothermal turbulence, driven by the usually adopted solenoidal (divergence-free) forcing and by compressive (curl-free) forcing. We find that for the same rms Mach number, compressive forcing produces much stronger density enhancements and larger voids compared to solenoidal forcing. Consequently, the Fourier spectra of density fluctuations are significantly steeper. This result is confirmed using the Δ-variance analysis, which yields power-law exponents β ∼ 3.4 for compressive forcing and β ∼ 2.8 for solenoidal forcing. We obtain fractal dimension estimates from the density spectra and Δ-variance scaling, and by using the box counting, mass size, and perimeter area methods applied to the volumetric data, projections, and slices of our turbulent density fields. Our results suggest that compressive forcing yields fractal dimensions significantly smaller compared to solenoidal forcing. However, the actual values depend sensitively on the adopted method, with the most reliable estimates based on the Δ-variance, or equivalently, on Fourier spectra. Using these methods, we obtain D ∼ 2.3 for compressive and D ∼ 2.6 for solenoidal forcing, which is within the range of fractal dimension estimates inferred from observations (D ∼ 2.0–2.7). The velocity dispersion to size relations for both solenoidal and compressive forcings obtained from velocity spectra follow a power law with exponents in the range 0.4–0.5, in good agreement with previous studies.