Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Open Assembly Design Environment Project: An Architecture for Design Agent Interoperability

The Open Assembly Design Environment (OpenADE) project is an initiative at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to provide an integrated and augmented CAD environment for assembly design. The goals of the project are: (1) to identify representations and issues for the next generation of assembly-related standards and (2) assist designers with assembly considerations throughout the phases of a product’s design— from conception to final process plan development. OpenADE’s open architecture provides standard interfaces that allow it to link to commercial and non-commercial design tools: parametric design systems, virtual reality environments, assembly analysis tools, and assembly process planners. The OpenADE project has explored issues relating to knowledge representations, virtual reality, assembly-level tolerances, constraint-based specifications, and assembly process management. This article describes the OpenADE architecture and the components that have already been implemented. It also describes plans for extending OpenADE’s assembly knowledge representations and handling of geometric and kinematic constraints.
Learning for Question Answering and Text Classification: Integrating Knowledge-Based and Statistical Techniques

It is a time consuming and difficult task for an individual, a group, or an organization to classify large collections of documents under a content-driven taxonomy. In this paper, we outline an approach for building a system which makes the classification process the responsibility of the author of the document, thus allowing the author to explain classifications and verify (or correct) automated techniques. We present our preliminary work on such a system, Q&A, which enables the distribution of the task of semantic classification and knowledge acquisition by semiautomaticMly learning taxonomic categorizations and document indices as it captures interactions between experts and questionasking users.
CHALLENGES FOR NON-MINIMAL HIGGS SEARCHES AT FUTURE COLLIDERS ⋆

In models with a non-minimal Higgs sector, the lightest scalar state may be a neutral CP-even Higgs boson, whose properties are nearly identical to those of the minimal Higgs boson of the Standard Model. In such a scenario, the other Higgs scalars are significantly heavier than mZ; their effects rapidly decouple from the low-energy theory. The decoupling limit of the most general CP-conserving twoHiggs doublet model is formulated. Detection of evidence for a non-minimal Higgs sector in the decoupling limit presents a formidable challenge for Higgs searches at future colliders.
Feature Extraction and Recognition for Human Action Recognition

How to automatically label videos containing human motions is the task of human action recognition. Traditional human action recognition algorithms use the RGB videos as input, and it is a challenging task because of the large intra-class variations of actions, cluttered background, possible camera movement, and illumination variations. Recently, the introduction of cost-effective depth cameras provides a new possibility to address difficult issues. However, it also brings new challenges such as noisy depth maps and time alignment. In this dissertation, effective and computationally efficient feature extraction and recognition algorithms are proposed for human action recognition. At the feature extraction step, two novel spatial-temporal feature descriptors are proposed which can be combined with local feature detectors. The first proposed descriptor is the Shape and Motion Local Ternary Pattern (SMltp) descriptor which can dramatically reduced the number of features generated by dense sampling without sacrificing the accuracy. In addition, the Center-Symmetric Motion Local Ternary Pattern (CS-Mltp) descriptor is proposed, which describes the spatial and temporal gradients-like features. Both descriptors (SMltp and CS-Mltp) take advantage of the Local Binary Pattern (LBP) texture operator in terms of tolerance to illumination change, robustness in homogeneous region and computational efficiency. For better feature representation, this dissertation presents a new Dictionary Learning (DL) method to learn an overcomplete set of representative vectors (atoms) so that any input feature can be approximated by a linear combination of these
Impulse radio ultra-wideband ranging based on maximum likelihood estimation

We propose a high-resolution ranging algorithm for impulse radio (IR) ultra-WideBand (UWB) communication systems in additive white Gaussian noise. We formulate the ranging problem as a maximum- likelihood (ML) estimation problem for the channel delays and amplitudes at the receiver. Then we translate the obtained delay estimates into an estimate of the distance. The ML estimation problem is a non-linear problem and is hard to solve. Some previous works focus on finding alternative estimation procedures, for example by denoising. In contrast, we tackle the ML estimation problem directly. First, we use the same transformation as the first step of Iterative quadratic maximum likelihood (IQML) and we transform the ML problem into another optimization problem that avoids the estimation of the amplitude coefficients. Second, we solve the remaining optimization problem with a gradient descent approach (pseudo-quadratic maximum likelihood (PQML) algorithm). To demonstrate the good performance of the proposed estimator, we present the numerical evaluations under the IEEE 802.15. 4a channel model. We show that our algorithm performs significantly better than previously published heuristics. We also derive a reduced complexity version of the algorithm algorithm, which will be implemented on the Xinlix field-programmable gate array (FPGA) board in the future. We test the approach in a real weak line of sight (LOS) propagation environment and obtained good accuracy for the ranging.
A 90nm CMOS DSP MLSD Transceiver with Integrated AFE for Electronic Dispersion Compensation of Multi-mode Optical Fibers at 10Gb/s

Multi-mode fibers (MMF) are typically used in LAN applications, in links which may reach or exceed 300 meters. Widespread use of electronic dispersion compensation (EDC) for MMF is prompted by the ratification of the 10GBASE-LRM standard. A number of studies have demonstrated the superiority of MLSD for this application. This paper describes an all-DSP single-chip 90nm CMOS MLSD-based EDC transceiver for MMF.
Analysis of densities

A fully Bayesian method is developed for modelling the distribution of probability density functions across a population. We call it “analysis of densities” to emphasize the similarity with analysis of variance. The difference is that the usual analysis of variance models the variance of a scalar across subjects and here we model the variability of probability density functions across subjects. The probability density functions for different subjects are modelled as mixtures of Dirichlet processes. A common baseline prior distribution for the mixing distribution is assumed. The similarity between density estimates for different subjects is controlled by the precision parameters of the subjectspecific Dirichlet processes. The common baseline prior is also estimated using a mixture-of-Dirichlet-processes model. For this second Dirichlet process, the precision parameter controls how much detail from the individual density estimates is captured in the estimate of the baseline prior. Fitting the model involves a large Gibbs-sampling scheme to obtain samples of predictive densities from their posterior distribution. To measure how far any density deviates from the average, the Hellinger distance is used. Mainly, we present the results graphically to highlight structure in the data, but we also show how probability statements can be made based on the distribution of these distances.
Birds of a Feather Talk Together: User Influence on Language Adoption

Language is in constant flux be it from changes in meaning to the introduction of new terms. At the user level it changes by users accommodating their language in relation to whom they are in contact with. By mining diffusions of new terms across social networks we detect the influence between users and communities. This is then used to compute the user activation threshold at which they adopt new terms dependent on their neighbours. We apply this method to four different networks from two popular on-line social networks (Reddit and Twitter). This research highlights novel results: by testing the network through random shuffles we show that the time at which a user adopts a term is dependent on the local structure, however, a large part of the influence comes from the global structure and that influence between users and communities is not significantly dependent on network structures.
A Randomised Trial Comparing Genotypic and Virtual Phenotypic Interpretation of HIV Drug Resistance: The CREST Study

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of different HIV drug resistance test reports (genotype and virtual phenotype) in patients who were changing their antiretroviral therapy (ART). Design: Randomised, open-label trial with 48-week followup. Setting: The study was conducted in a network of primary healthcare sites in Australia and New Zealand. Participants: Patients failing current ART with plasma HIV RNA > 2000 copies/mL who wished to change their current ART were eligible. Subjects were required to be > 18 years of age, previously treated with ART, have no intercurrent illnesses requiring active therapy, and to have provided written informed consent. Interventions: Eligible subjects were randomly assigned to receive a genotype (group A) or genotype plus virtual phenotype (group B) prior to selection of their new antiretroviral regimen. Outcome Measures: Patient groups were compared for patterns of ART selection and surrogate outcomes (plasma viral load and CD4 counts) on an intention-to-treat basis over a 48-week period. Results: Three hundred and twenty seven patients completing > one month of followup were included in these analyses. Resistance tests were the primary means by which ART regimens were selected (group A: 64%, group B: 62%; p = 0.32). At 48 weeks, there were no significant differences between the groups for mean change from baseline plasma HIV RNA (group A: 0.68 log copies/mL, group B: 0.58 log copies/mL; p = 0.23) and mean change from baseline CD4+ cell count (group A: 37 cells/mm3, group B: 50 cells/mm3; p = 0.28). Conclusions: In the absence of clear demonstrated benefits arising from the use of the virtual phenotype interpretation, this study suggests resistance testing using genotyping linked to a reliable interpretive algorithm is adequate for the management of HIV infection.
Combining Spread Spectrum Compressive Sensing with rakeness for low frequency modulation in RMPI architecture

In this work we combing two novelty in the area of Analog Information Converter based on Compressed Sensing. A new architecture, the Spread Spectrum Random Modulation PreIntegration and a new design flow, the rakeness based design of a Compressed Sensing system. We demonstrate that combining these approaches produces a strong reduction of the internal chipping frequency in the sensing coupled with a high compression ratio with respect to standard Analog to Digital Converter.
Invasion genetics of vendace (Coregonus albula (L.)) in the Inari-Pasvik watercourse: revealing the origin and expansion pattern of a rapid colonization event

Species invasions can have wide-ranging biological and socio-economic effects and are generally unwanted by legislation. Identification of the source population as well as the ecology and genetics of both the invader population and the receiving community is of crucial importance. The rapid invasion of a small coregonid fish vendace (Coregonus albula) in a major northern European subarctic watercourse has resulted in a labile ecological situation in the receiving community. The ecological impact of the invasion has been thoroughly documented, but the genetics of the invasion remains to be explored. We analyzed the genetic diversity and divergence patterns among the two possible source populations from southern Finnish Lapland and three colonists populations within the Inari-Pasvik watercourse using ten microsatellite loci in order to (i) identify the most likely source of the invasion, (ii) reveal the dispersal pattern and genetic structure of the secondary expansion, and (iii) to investigate whether the initial introduction and the secondary expansion were associated with founder effects. We revealed that repeated translocation of vendace from Lake Sinettäjärvi into a tributary lake of L. Inari in 1964–1966 is the most plausible source for the invasion. Both the initial introduction and the secondary expansion were found not to be associated with significant founder effects. The secondary expansion followed a stepping stone pattern and the source and colonist populations of this expansion have undergone rapid genetic divergence within a period of 15–35 years (ca. 8–17 generations). The rapid divergence may be contributed to lack of gene flow among the source and colonist populations due to the extensive hydroelectric damming in the watercourse. Multiple introductions and substantial genetic variation in combination with the boom-and-bust population development of the species thus likely counteracted the founder effects as well as fueled the rapid establishment and expansion of this species within the Inari-Pasvik watercourse.
Wireless adaptive network coding strategy in multiple-access relay channels

This paper considers a multiple-access relay channel (MARC) with two sources, one relay and one destination, where the relay decides what it transmits to the destination according to the outage condition of source-relay links. The outage probability and the approximate bit error rate (BER) are derived, which are shown to be in tight match with Monte-Carlo simulation results. Simulation results reveal that adaptive DF strategy yields better performance than the traditional fixed DF strategies.
Memory for Emotion-Laden Words in Normal Aging : Valence-Arousal Interactions and Neuroanatomical Correlates

Det ar lattare att minnas emotionellt laddad information. Aven om minnet ofta forsamras vid normalt aldrande, kvarstar den emotionella forstarkningseffekten. Studier antyder att unga vuxna minns battre negativt an positivt material, men att minnespreferensen for negativt material minskar eller t.o. m. ersatts av en preferens for positivt material med aldern. I avhandlingen undersoktes hur unga och aldre friska vuxna personer minns ord med olika emotionellt varde (positiv/negativ) och emotionell intensitet. Aven underliggande mekanismer i hjarnan hos aldre vuxna utforskades. Avhandlingen visade att det inte fanns skillnader mellan hur unga (21-35 ar) och aldre (50-79 ar) vuxna minns emotionella ord. Har sags alltsa ingen skillnad i minnespreferens for negativa eller positiva ord eller for ord med olika stark emotionell intensitet mellan aldersgrupperna. I avhandlingen identifierades samband mellan minne for positiva ord och grasubstansvolym i hjarnans bakre delar hos friska aldre vuxna. Battre minne for positiva ord hade samband med lagre integritet hos vitsubstansbanor i hjarnan, vilket antyder att en kompensationsmekanism kunde spela en roll. Avhandlingen visade aven att sprakliga och kulturella faktorer har storre betydelse an alder och kon for bedomningen av emotionella egenskaper hos ord. ------------------------------------- On helpompi muistaa tunnesisaltoista materiaalia. Vaikka muisti usein heikkenee normaalissa ikaantymisessa, tunnesisallon muistia vahvistava vaikutus pysyy. Tutkimukset osoittavat, etta nuoret aikuiset muistavat kielteista materiaalia myonteista paremmin, mutta etta kielteisen materiaalin suosiminen vahenee tai jopa vaihtuu myonteisen materiaalin suosimiseksi ikaantyessa. Vaitoskirjassa tutkittiin miten nuoret ja ikaantyvat terveet aikuiset muistavat erityyppisia tunnesisaltoisia sanoja. Selvitettiin myos tunnemuistin aivostollista perustaa ikaantyvilla aikuisilla. Vaitoskirja osoitti, ettei nuorten (21-35 v.) ja ikaantyvien (50-79 v.) aikuisten valilla ollut eroja tunnesisaltoisten sanojen muistamisessa. Tassa ei siis havaittu ikaan liittyvaa eroa kielteisten tai myonteisten sanojen tai eri tunneintensiteetilla varustettujen sanojen suosimisessa. Vaitoskirjassa havaittiin yhteys myonteisten sanojen muistamisen ja aivojen takaosien harmaan aineen volyymin valilla terveilla ikaantyvilla aikuisilla. Mita paremmin myonteisia sanoja muistettiin, sen matalampi valkean aineen radastojen integriteetti oli normaalisti ikaantyvilla, mika voi viitata korvaavan mekanismin vaikutukseen. Vaitoskirja osoitti myos, etta kielellisilla ja kulttuurillisilla tekijoilla on suurempi merkitys kuin ialla tai sukupuolella sanojen tunnesisallon arvioinnissa.
The ‘Administered Labor Market’ Reconsidered

Abstract This article examines the continued relevance of William Dugger’s theory of the ‘Administered Labor Market’ written in the early 1980s. The white-collar ‘administered labor market’ of the ‘old economy’ continues to exist alongside the more ‘market-oriented’ labor markets of the ‘new economy’. While long-term employment relationships are somewhat less common, white-collar workers still build their careers primarily through promotions within their companies rather than by changing firms. While contingent compensation is more prevalent, wage structures are still relatively rigid particularly in larger, older firms. The changes which have occurred in ‘administered labor markets’ are more ‘matters of degree’ than ‘matters of kind’.
Botential: Localizing On-Body Gestures by Measuring Electrical Signatures on the Human Skin

We present Botential, an on-body interaction method for a wearable input device that can identify the location of on-body tapping gestures, using the entire human body as an interactive surface to expand the usually limited interaction space in the context of mobility. When the sensor is being touched, Botential identifies a body part's unique electric signature, which depends on its physiological and anatomical compositions. This input method exhibits a number of advantages over previous approaches, which include: 1) utilizing the existing signal the human body already emits, to accomplish input with various body parts, 2) the ability to also sense soft and long touches, 3) an increased sensing range that covers the whole body, and 4) the ability to detect taps and hovering through clothes.
Robust joint Huffman and convolutional decoding

We introduce a joint decoding algorithm for a Huffman source code followed by a convolutional channel code. The algorithm incorporates a restriction to valid Huffman codewords into the convolutional code's trellis. Performance is improved by this restriction. Furthermore, soft Huffman decoding is implicitly included, and a priori probabilities of input symbols can be easily exploited, if available. The joint decoding algorithm demonstrates significantly improved robustness relative to a system in which source and channel decoding are performed separately.
Building a multi-FPGA virtualized restricted boltzmann machine architecture using embedded MPI

Several FPGA architectures exist for accelerating Restricted Boltzmann Machines (RBMs). However, the network size for most is limited by the amount of available on-chip memory. Therefore, many FPGAs are required to implement very large networks for use in real-world applications. A virtualized design is able to time-multiplex the hardware resources and handle much larger networks but suffers a performance penalty due to the context switch. In this paper, we present a number of improvements to a virtualized FPGA architecture for RBMs. First, we take advantage of 16-bit arithmetic to pack larger networks onto a chip. Second, a custom DMA engine is designed to reduce the performance impact of the large amount of memory transactions. Finally, the architecture is scaled to multiple FPGAs to gain additional performance through coarse grain parallelism. The design effort required to implement these changes is minimized through the use of an embedded MPI framework. The architecture, tested on a Berkeley Emulation Engine 3 platform running at 100 Mhz, achieves a speed of 12.563 GCUPS on a 8192x8192 network.
Diabetic patients detected by population-based stepwise screening already have a diabetic cardiovascular risk profile.

OBJECTIVE To describe a population-based two-step screening procedure for type 2 diabetes and to study the cardiovascular risk profile of the patients identified by the screening. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The first step of the screening procedure consisted of the Symptom Risk Questionnaire (SRQ), and the second step was a fasting capillary glucose measurement. In subjects with an SRQ score of >6 and a capillary glucose level of >5.5 mmol/l, an oral glucose tolerance test was performed. RESULTS A total of 11,679 inhabitants of the West-Friesland region of the Netherlands, aged 50-75 years, were invited. Of the inhabitants, 9,169 (78%) responded, and, of those, 417 had previously diagnosed diabetes. The SRQ score was calculated for 7,736 participants, and 3,301 of those had a score of >6. A total of 2,885 subjects (87.3%) attended for capillary glucose measurement. Diagnostic testing was carried out in 509 participants, and we identified 217 diabetic patients. In these patients detected by screening, mean HbA(1c) was 6.7% (+/-1.4). Hypertension and high total cholesterol levels (>5.0 mmol/l) were present in 70%, 33% had high triglyceride (>3.0 mmol/l) or low HDL cholesterol levels (<1.0 mmol/l in men and <1.1 mmol/l in women), and 40% were obese (BMI > or =30 kg/m(2)). CONCLUSIONS The high response rate was the main feature of the screening by means of the Symptom Risk Questionnaire and fasting capillary glucose measurement followed by diagnostic testing. The 217 diabetic patients detected by the screening were characterized by relatively low HbA(1c) levels and by a cardiovascular risk profile typical of diabetic patients.
Design of RF filters using silicon integrated passive components

The paper discusses the design and characterization of RF filters in Freescale's 0.4 micron SiGe BiCMOS process. An integration scheme for bandpass filters on a standard silicon substrate using monolithic transformers is presented. A 1.9 GHz filter using a single transformer as well as its dual, where the transformer is replaced by three inductors, is fabricated and measured up to 10 GHz. It is demonstrated that the transformer-based filter occupies less chip area than its inductor-based dual, with similar performance. In addition, results of a 1.7 GHz lowpass (harmonic) filter that exclusively uses high-quality factor (Q) inductors and metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors, designed using scalable models is presented. First pass results show very good agreement between models and measurement.