Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Towards reliable 5Gbps wave-pipelined and 3Gbps surfing interconnect in 65nm FPGAs

FPGA user clocks are slow enough that only a fraction of the interconnect's bandwidth is actually used. There may be an opportunity to use throughput-oriented interconnect to decrease routing congestion and wire area using on-chip serial signaling, especially for datapath designs which operate on words instead of bits. To do so, these links must operate reliably at very high bit rates. We compare wave pipelining and surfing source-synchronous schemes in the presence of power supply and crosstalk noise. In particular, supply noise is a critical modeling challenge; better models are needed for FPGA power grids. Our results show that wave pipelining can operate at rates as high as 5Gbps for short links, but it is very sensitive to noise in longer links and must run much slower to be reliable. In contrast, surfing achieves a stable operating bit rate of 3Gbps and is relatively insensitive to noise.
A time-domain Correlative Interference Mitigation in LDACS1

Given that L-band digital aeronautical communications system type 1 (LDACS1) may share the same spectrum with the legacy Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) system, DME, impulsive interference would be the main issue of this aeronautical communications system. To improve the performance of the LDACS1, a time-domain Correlative Interference Mitigation (CIM) aiming at DME impulse is proposed in this paper. This proposed method could be expected to detect and mitigate the DME interference by utilizing strong auto-correlation of DME signals and weak cross-correlation with LDACS1 signals. In CIM, correlative analysis and time-domain filtering is applied to obtain the information instead of preset thresholds, which is different from the existed impulsive interference mitigation method, i.e., Pulse Blanking (PB). Simulation results illustrate that CIM effectively improves the Bit Error Rate (BER) performance and achieves lower BER compared with PB. Furthermore, CIM can maintain its stability and effectiveness in certain transmission rates and power levels of DME pulse pairs.
Examining the management and leadership styles and practices at higher education institutions : a case of three African universities

Instructional supervision is an important aspect of educational management and leadership in any school and college. For this reason, every educational institution has established structures within the supervisory ierarchy as a form of division of labour and mechanism to ensure the effective and smooth running of the faculty at universities. Various universities have different supervisory hierarchy in the faculty, as dictated by the prescripts in each case. The most common hierarchical nomenclature would comprise the deans and deputies, directors and/or heads of departments, senior, junior managers and/or supervisors for various courses or programmes. The three universities used as cases in this article were closely similar to the provided description. The assumption of this article is that there is a possibility for some senior managers and supervisors within the faculty structures who abuse their positions by practicing double standards or overtly and covertly resort to divide and rule tactics to undermine some junior supervisors who might not even directly report to them. The objective of this case study was to examine the management and leadership styles and practices of three faculties at three universities in Africa. The study explored and established the existence of practices that might undermine structures. Forty-five (45) faculty members from the three different universities participated in this study. A mixed methods approach where qualitative and quantitative methods were used. Data was collected by means of interviews and the administration of questionnaires emailed to selected participants. The study found out amongst other malpractices that some senior supervisory executives within the faculty seem to be resorting to double standards and divide and rule tactics as a face-saving mechanism to protect themselves and positions.
Adenylyl Cyclase-Associated Protein Aca1 Regulates Virulence and Differentiation of Cryptococcus neoformans via the Cyclic AMP-Protein Kinase A Cascade

ABSTRACT The evolutionarily conserved cyclic AMP (cAMP) signaling pathway controls cell functions in response to environmental cues in organisms as diverse as yeast and mammals. In the basidiomycetous human pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans, the cAMP pathway governs virulence and morphological differentiation. Here we identified and characterized adenylyl cyclase-associated protein, Aca1, which functions in parallel with the Gα subunit Gpa1 to control the adenylyl cyclase (Cac1). Aca1 interacted with the C terminus of Cac1 in the yeast two-hybrid system. By molecular and genetic approaches, Aca1 was shown to play a critical role in mating by regulating cell fusion and filamentous growth in a cAMP-dependent manner. Aca1 also regulates melanin and capsule production via the Cac1-cAMP-protein kinase A pathway. Genetic epistasis studies support models in which Aca1 and Gpa1 are necessary and sufficient components that cooperate to activate adenylyl cyclase. Taken together, these studies further define the cAMP signaling cascade controlling virulence of this ubiquitous human fungal pathogen.
Image-based reconstruction of spatial appearance and geometric detail

Real-world objects are usually composed of a number of different materials that often show subtle changes even within a single material. Photorealistic rendering of such objects requires accurate measurements of the reflection properties of each material, as well as the spatially varying effects. We present an image-based measuring method that robustly detects the different materials of real objects and fits an average bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) to each of them. In order to model local changes as well, we project the measured data for each surface point into a basis formed by the recovered BRDFs leading to a truly spatially varying BRDF representation. Real-world objects often also have fine geometric detail that is not represented in an acquired mesh. To increase the detail, we derive normal maps even for non-Lambertian surfaces using our measured BRDFs. A high quality model of a real object can be generated with relatively little input data. The generated model allows for rendering under arbitrary viewing and lighting conditions and realistically reproduces the appearance of the original object.
Ja n 20 07 On the nonsymmetric pure – affine gravity

We review the vacuum pure–affine gravity with the nonsymmetric connection and metric. We also examine dynamical effects of the second Ricci tensor and covariant second-rank tensors built of the torsion tensor in the gravitational Lagrangian. PACS numbers: 04.50. +h, 04.20. Fy, 04.20. Jb On the nonsymmetric pure–affine gravity 2
Research and Implementation of 3D Reconstruction Technique Based on Images

The 3D reconstruction technique is to process the image in a certain way, then gets the 3D information and constructs the triangulation network of the target object. There into, the number and accuracy of the extracted feature points in the image will directly influence the effect of 3D reconstruction. This paper simplifies and improves the AffineSIFT algorithm. The time complexity of this algorithm is in the same order of magnitude as the SIFT algorithm. With the combination of quasi-dense matching algorithm based on region growing, the number of corresponding image points are gained in wide distribution. Then the triangulation algorithm for spatial point cloud is proposed. The algorithm handles 3D point cloud with spatial grid partition and improves the efficiency of triangulation.
Autonomous lightweight airborne spectrometers for ground reflectance measurements

A series of small, lightweight, autonomous spectrometer systems has been designed in Tartu Observatory. They are used for obtaining top-of-canopy spectral reflectance measurements for vegetation remote sensing, validation of radiative transfer models, and reflectance-based vicarious calibration of satellite and airborne sensors. The spectrometer systems are based on miniature spectrometer modules by Carl Zeiss Jena GmbH. The radiometric properties of the modules have been characterized based on laboratory measurements and appropriate data correction methods have been developed. The UAVSpec series spectrometer systems have been in operational use for several years and have been proven to be valuable tools for airborne, as well as on-ground and laboratory measurements. They are suitable for being carried by an unmanned aerial vehicle, which could make the measurement truly autonomous and independent of any service provider.
A Multi-Scale Generalization of the HoG and HMAX Image Descriptors for Object Detection

Recently, several powerful image features have been proposed which can be described as spatial histograms of oriented energy. For instance, the HoG [5], HMAX C1 [14], SIFT [13], and Shape Context feature [4] all represent an input image using with a discrete set of bins which accumulate evidence for oriented structures over a spatial region and a range of orientations. In this work, we generalize these techniques to allow for a foveated input image, rather than a rectilinear raster. It will be shown that improved object detection accuracy can be achieved via inputting a spectrum of image measurements, from sharp, fine-scale image sampling within a small spatial region within the target to coarse-scale sampling of a wide field of view around the target. Several alternative feature generation algorithms are proposed and tested which suitably make use of foveated image inputs. In the experiments we show that features generated from the foveated input format produce detectors of greater accuracy, as measured for four object types from commonly available data-sets. Finally, a flexible algorithm for generating features is described and tested which is independent of input topology and uses ICA to learn appropriate filters.
The Analogical Thesaurus

Innovative applications often occur at the juncture of radically different domains of research. This paper describes an emerging application, called the analogical thesaurus, that arises at the boundary of two very different domains, the highly applied domain of information retrieval, and the esoteric domain of lexical metaphor interpretation. This application has the potential to not just to improve the utility of conventional electronic thesauri, but to serve as an intelligent mapping component in any system that uses analogical reasoning or case-
A improved scheme for authenticated group key exchange

Authenticated group key exchange (AGKE) enable a set of participants in a public network to share a key which can be further used to achieve confidentiality and authentication. Most of the schemes required a linear number of communications round with respect to the number of group members, such schemes are not practical. Others are inefficient being required some additional condition such as central authority or logic structure. After analyzed the security of bresson's protocol, a improved scheme is proposed, which is simple and efficient. The scheme is proven secure under Decisional Diffie-Hellman assumption.
Fast any-angle path planning on grid maps with non-collision pruning

A* on grid maps generates a path with zig-zag pattern as shown in Figure 1(a). Theta* had been proposed to produce a natural and shorter path as shown in Figure 1(b). However, it needs to perform a collision test at every cell expansion. The collision test significantly degrades computing time of Theta*. This paper proposes two pruning schemes to accelerate the collision test in Theta*: non-collision pruning and over-cautious pruning. During expanding search region, previously visited cells can entail the test result before it reaches the last cell. This paper investigates conditions which lead to such early termination. The conditions are easily incorporated with a fast collision test, Bresenham's algorithm. We performed experiments on two different types of maps: random and real maps. On real maps, the pruning schemes accelerated Theta* around two times.
Skills frameworks: A tool for reform in Information Technology higher education

Information Technology (IT) has revolutionized the ways in which various sectors of the industry operate. It has enabled organizations to develop new and creative approaches to design, develop and provide products and services. Consequently, companies increasingly rely on IT solutions and Information Systems (IS) to deliver product and services. This I turn has created a need for availability of skilled IT and IS personnel for effective operational continuity within organizations. There seems to be high demand for both IT/IS skills globally. Universities and other form of tertiary institutions play a key role in developing skilled IT personnel. They deploy various approaches to designing and developing IT/IS educational programs. Some programs could have been developed without much consideration given to the nature of demand for skills and real needs from the IT sector. It is critical to align skills development strategies and educational programs to ensure realistic and relevant needs for IT skills are met. There seems to be a need for standardization of perceptions and expectations of IT/IS roles to facilitate reform for more effective alignment of education of IT/IS with industry needs.
MHD Equilibrium of Heliotron J Plasmas

MHD equilibria of Heliotron J plasma are investigated by using HINT code. By assuming some profiles of the current density, effects of the net toroidal currents on the magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) equilibrium are investigated. If the rotational transform can be controlled by the currents, the generation of good flux surfaces is expected. In order to study equilibria with self-consistent bootstrap current, the boozer coordinates are constructed by converged HINT equilibrium as a preliminary study. Obtained spectra are compared with ones of VMEC code and both results are consistent.
Multiple Lyapunov based robust control for the nonlinear hybrid dynamical systems

In this work, a multiple Lyapunov based robust controller design is developed with the stability of the nonlinear hybrid dynamical systems (NHDS). In particular, we present modeling and robust control of NHDS using multiple linearized models. The Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) solution based robust control problem is formulated for each linearized model using a suitable non-quadratic term in the objective function. The robust control law for each events are providing stability for the each event. Using the Lyapunov direct method, the proposed robust control approach is shown to be optimal under the uncertainties present in the NHDS. The performance and validation of the proposed robust control theoretical and simulation experiments on mechanical NHDS.
Concept Maps for Personalizked Interest Management

To assist users to access wanted services and information within a short attention span, personalization has gained tremendous importance. While systems such as recommenders for specific domains have been successfully deployed, there is no existing user-centric mechanism that can be utilized for all application domains. By capturing user’s interests and relationships among such interests, it is possible to provide personalization for a wide range of applications. In this paper, we present our initial investigations in constructing concept maps for user interest management. Based on common sense, we have attempted to build a generic concept map that can be utilized for recommendation purposes to address the cold-start problem. We have also presented our experiment in generating personal concept maps, that are derived purely based on data corresponding to a particular user. Our aim is to create a platform for personalized interest management. We provide our observations, challenges and insights based on our experience.
Pressure Ulcer Healing with a Concentrated, Fortified, Collagen Protein Hydrolysate Supplement: A Randomized Controlled Trial

OBJECTIVE: To compare Pressure Ulcer Scale for Healing (PUSH) scores at 8 weeks in long-term-care residents with pressure ulcers who were given standard care plus a concentrated, fortified, collagen protein hydrolysate supplement vs. residents who were given standard care plus placebo. DESIGN: Randomized, prospective, controlled, multicenter trial at 23 long-term-care facilities in 4 states. SUBJECTS: A total of 89 residents with Stage II, III, or IV pressure ulcers were entered into the trial; 71 residents completed the study. INTERVENTION: Residents were randomized to receive standard care plus a concentrated, fortified, collagen protein hydrolysate supplement (n = 56) or standard care plus placebo (n = 33) 3 times daily for 8 weeks. Wound healing was assessed biweekly using the PUSH tool, version 3.0. This tool categorizes pressure ulcers by surface area, exudate, and type of wound tissue. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE: Change in PUSH tool scores in each group at 8 weeks. RESULTS: After 8 weeks of treatment, residents who received standard care plus the concentrated, fortified, collagen protein hydrolysate supplement had significantly better PUSH tool scores compared with those who received standard care plus placebo (3.55 ± 4.66 vs 3.22 ± 4.11, respectively; P < .05). CONCLUSION: By week 8, PUSH tool scores-a measurement of pressure ulcer healing-showed approximately twice the rate of pressure ulcer healing in the treatment group compared with the control group. A concentrated, fortified, collagen protein hydrolysate supplement may be of benefit to residents of long-term-care facilities who have pressure ulcers.
Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards in Vietnam and China: From Theory to Practice

TDM has become the hub of a global professional and academic network. Therefore we invite all those with an interest in Investment arbitration and Dispute Management to contribute. We are looking mainly for short comments on recent developments of broad interest. We would like where possible for such comments to be backed-up by provision of in-depth notes and articles (which we will be published in our 'knowledge bank') and primary legal and regulatory materials.
Familial and sporadic porphyria cutanea tarda: characterization and diagnostic strategies.

BACKGROUND Porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT) occurs in sporadic (sPCT) and familial (fPCT) forms, which are generally clinically indistinguishable and have traditionally been differentiated by erythrocyte uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase (UROD, EC 4.1.1.37) activity. We used UROD gene sequencing as the reference standard in assessing the diagnostic accuracy of UROD activity, evaluating the mutation spectrum of the UROD gene, determining the frequency and disease attributes of PCT and its subtypes in Norway, and developing diagnostic models that use clinical and laboratory characteristics for differentiating fPCT and sPCT. METHODS All consecutive patients with PCT diagnosed within a 6-year period were used for incidence calculations. UROD activity analysis, UROD gene sequencing, analysis of hemochromatosis mutations, and registration of clinical and laboratory data were carried out for 253 patients. RESULTS Fifty-three percent of the patients had disease-relevant mutations, 74% of which were c.578G>C or c.636+1G>C. The UROD activity at the optimal cutoff had a likelihood ratio (LR) of 9.2 for fPCT, whereas a positive family history had an LR of 19. A logistic regression model indicated that low UROD activity, a high uroporphyrin-heptaporphyrin ratio, a young age at diagnosis, male sex, and low alcohol consumption were predictors of fPCT. The incidence of PCT was 1 in 100 000. CONCLUSIONS Two commonly occurring mutations are responsible for the high frequency of fPCT in Norway. UROD activity has a high diagnostic accuracy for differentiating the 2 PCT types, and a model that takes into account both clinical information and laboratory test results can be used to predict fPCT.
SpeQuloS : A QoS Framework for BoT Applications Using Best Effort Distributed Computing Infrastructures

Exploitation of Best Effort Distributed Computing Infrastructures (BE-DCIs) allow operators to maximize the utilization of the infrastructures, and users to access the unused resources at relatively low cost. Because providers do not guarantee that the computing resources remain available to the user during the entire execution of their applications, they offer a diminished Quality of Service (QoS) compared to traditional infrastructures. Profiling the execution of Bag-of-Tasks (BoT) applications on several kinds of BE-DCIs demonstrates that their task completion rate drops near the end of the execution. In this paper, we present the SpeQuloS framework which enhances the QoS of BoT applications executed on BE-DCIs by reducing the execution time, improving its stability, and reporting to users a predicted completion time. SpeQuloS monitors the execution of the BoT on the BE-DCIs, and dynamically supplies fast and reliable Cloud resources when the critical part of the BoT is executed. We present the design and development of the prototype and several strategies to decide when and how Cloud resources should be provisioned. Performance evaluation using simulations shows that SpeQuloS fulfill its objectives. It speeds-up the execution of BoTs, in the best cases by a factor greater than 2, while offloading less than 2.5% of the workload to the Cloud. We report on preliminary results after a complex deployment as part of the European Desktop Grid Infrastructure. Keywords-Distributed Computing, Best Effort, Bag of Tasks, Quality of Service, Cloud Computing.
Decay Dynamics of Tumors

The fractional cell kill is a mathematical expression describing the rate at which a certain population of cells is reduced to a fraction of itself. We investigate the mathematical function that governs the rate at which a solid tumor is lysed by a cell population of cytotoxic lymphocytes. We do it in the context of enzyme kinetics, using geometrical and analytical arguments. We derive the equations governing the decay of a tumor in the limit in which it is plainly surrounded by immune cells. A cellular automaton is used to test such decay, confirming its validity. Finally, we introduce a modification in the fractional cell kill so that the expected dynamics is attained in the mentioned limit. We also discuss the potential of this new function for non-solid and solid tumors which are infiltrated with lymphocytes.
Signal transduction

The death receptors (DR), all cell-surface receptors, that to the superfamily (TN-FRSF). The term death receptor refers to those members of the TNFRSF that contain a "death domain" (DD) within their cytoplasmic tail which provides the capacity for protein–protein interactions with other DD-containing proteins suach as FADD. The main signals transmitted from TNF death receptors such as TNFR1, TRAIL-R, and CD95/FAS in response to their cognate ligand binding result in an apoptotic signaling pathway characterized by direct activation of intracellular cysteine proteases (caspases), without directly involving the mitochondrial death pathway. However, these death receptors have also been shown to initiate survival signals via the activation of transcription factors NFκappaB and AP1. This project describes an assembly of the death-inducing signaling complex (DISC) downstream of TNFR1, TRAIL-R, and CD95/FAS and shows protein composition and stoichiometry within the DISC. However, the DISC signaling complex may vary in its components stoichiometry. DR signaling may trigger formation of higher order receptor structures or signaling through rearrangement of receptor chains, which is not re-flected here. The project also describes neuron-type-specific signaling by the p75NTR death receptor (also known as NGFR) that can regulate a number of different biological activities in response to ligand binding, including cell death and/or survival, axonal growth and synaptic plasticity.