Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Virtual Reality Training Embedded in Neurosurgical Microscope

In this paper, we present the very first virtual reality training system for neurosurgical interventions based on a real surgical microscope and on a haptic interface for a better visual and ergonomic realism. Its main purpose is the realistic simulation of the palpation of low-grade glioma. The ability of a surgeon to feel the difference in consistency between tumors cells and normal brain parenchyma requires considerable experience and it is a key factor for a successful intervention. The simulation takes advantage of an accurate tissue modeling, a force feedback device and the rendering of the virtual scene directly to the oculars of the operating microscope.
Classification tree models of software quality over multiple releases

Software quality models are tools for focusing software enhancement efforts. Such efforts are essential for mission-critical embedded software, such as telecommunications systems, because customer-discovered faults have very serious consequences and are very expensive to repair. We present an empirical study that evaluated software quality models over several releases to address the question, "How long will a model yield useful predictions? " We also introduce the Classification And Regression Trees (CART) algorithm to software reliability engineering practitioners. We present our method for exploiting CART features to achieve a preferred balance between the two types of misclassification rates. This is desirable because misclassifications of fault-prone modules often have much more severe consequences than misclassifications of those that are not fault-prone. We developed two classification-tree models based on four consecutive releases of a very large legacy telecommunications system. Forty-two software product, process, and execution metrics were candidate predictors. The first software quality model used measurements of the first release as the training data set and measurements of the subsequent three releases as evaluation data sets. The second model used measurements of the second release as the training data set and measurements of the subsequent two releases as evaluation data sets. Both models had accuracy that would be useful to developers.
Improved Vertical Isolation for Normally-Off High Voltage GaN-HFETs on n-SiC Substrates

Argon implantation of n-type SiC substrates prior to epitaxial growth of AlGaN/GaN HFETs stacks is used to decrease the vertical leakage to the conductive substrate. Normally-off p-GaN gate transistors with AlGaN-buffer and with iron-doped GaN-buffer were analyzed. The device OFF-state drain leakage was reduced for high drain voltages and the maximum breakdown strength was increased from 520 to 880 V for iron-doped GaN-buffer devices. Static device characteristics and the dynamic ON-state resistance of devices fabricated on pre-implanted SiC substrates are not degraded. High Resolution X-ray Diffraction (HRXRD) analysis confirms in coincidence that the GaN buffer defect density is not increased. Substrate implantation is thus beneficial for low-leakage high-voltage GaN devices on n-type SiC substrates.
Robust Control of a Miniature Ducted-Fan Aerial Robot for Blind Navigation in Unknown Populated Environments

This paper proposes a control strategy for a miniature ducted-fan aerial robot to safely perform flight missions in an unknown densely populated environment. The main novelty of the proposed framework is that the vehicle is assumed to be totally blind, namely the obstacles cannot be sensed a priori. Therefore, the presence of possible accidental contacts with the surrounding environment has to be taken into account. To maintain stability in such a complex scenario, mechanics, and control are co-designed. The proposed control strategy relies on some mechanical properties of the airframe, namely on the relative position of the contact points and of the onboard actuators, and on the design of a supervisor able to detect the presence of a contact only by observing the behavior of the flight control loop. The effectiveness of the obtained results is then demonstrated using experiments conducted on a ducted-fan prototype.
Réduction des ondulations de couple d'un moteur à aimants en multi-V et bobinage sur dents

Cet article presente une etude sur la reduction des ondulations de couple d'un moteur electrique a 12 dents et 10 poles avec des aimants interieurs en multi-V et bobinage concentre sur dents. Ce type de machine est utilise pour des applications qui exigent un fort couple a basse vitesse. Cependant, la combinaison 12/10 developpe des ondulations de couple elevees. L'objectif de cette etude est de presenter une methodologie de reduction des ondulations de couple en se basant sur le vrillage du rotor et l'asymetrie des poles. Dans cet article, l'etude de chacune des techniques est d'abord presentee puis une methode de combinaison de ces deux techniques est proposee afin de reduire certains harmoniques du couple.
Decompression for the management of onychocryptosis

BACKGROUND: There are many therapeutic alternatives for the management of onychocryptosis. Generally in severe cases, surgical approaches are preferred. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to introduce the new surgical method that treats onychocryptosis without inducing a permanent injury to the matrix. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty‐two patients with 30 cases of onychocryptosis were treated by unilateral soft tissue resection combined with partial nail plate avulsion technique without permanent matricectomy. RESULTS: Complete recovery was attained in 25 (83.3%) of cases. No complication was observed. CONCLUSION: The most important advantage of this method was on the nail matrix. No permanent injury is incurred on the matrix.
Nucleotide Excision Repair in Yeast Is Mediated by Sequential Assembly of Repair Factors and Not by a Pre-assembled Repairosome (*)

In yeast and humans, nucleotide excision repair (NER) of ultraviolet (UV)-damaged DNA requires a large number of highly conserved protein factors, which include the multisubunit RNA polymerase II transcription factor TFIIH. Here, we examine whether NER occurs by sequential assembly of different repair factors at the site of DNA damage or by the placement there of a “preformed” repairosome containing TFIIH and all the other essential NER factors. Contrary to the recent report (Svejstrup, J. Q., Wang, Z., Feaver, W. J., Wu, X., Bushnell, D. A., Donahue, T. F., Friedberg, E. C., and Kornberg, R. D.(1995) Cell 80, 21-28), our results provide no evidence for a pre-assembled repairosome; instead, they support the sequential assembly model. By several independent criteria, including co-purification, immunoprecipitation, and gel filtration of homogeneous proteins, we show that the damage recognition factor Rad14 exists in a ternary complex with the Rad1-Rad10 nuclease. We also find that Rad14 interacts directly with Rad1, but only slightly with Rad10, and that it interacts with the Rad1-Rad10 complex much more efficiently than with Rad1 alone. In the reconstituted NER system, a higher level of incision of UV-damaged DNA is achieved with the Rad1-Rad10-Rad14 complex, which we designate as nucleotide excision repair factor-1, NEF-1.
Efficacy, cutaneous tolerance and cosmetic acceptability of desonide 0.05% lotion (Desowen®) versus vehicle in the short‐term treatment of facial atopic or seborrhoeic dermatitis

The differences between topical corticosteroids are based mainly on their potency, safety and patient acceptability. The aim of this study was to evaluate a mild‐ to mid‐potent topical corticosteroid, desonide 0.05%, on these three parameters in an Australian cohort of patients with facial seborrhoeic or atopic dermatitis. Eighty‐one adult patients were randomized to receive desonide 0.05% lotion or its vehicle, applied twice daily for 3 weeks under double‐blind conditions. In the active treatment group, 88% of patients had their skin condition cleared or almost cleared and only two patients experienced cutaneous adverse events (rash and pruritus). The acceptability of the lotion was high; 95% of patients stated they would use this topical corticosteroid again. These data support the short‐term use of desonide 0.05% lotion as a suitable agent for the short‐term treatment of facial dermatitis.
The importance of illness perceptions, quality of life and psychological status in patients with ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease

The present study investigates illness perceptions of inflammatory bowel disease patients in an outpatient population, examining whether these illness perceptions are related to disease severity, quality of life and psychological adjustment. A cohort of 102 inflammatory bowel disease outpatients was prospectively enrolled on the study. The participants completed a questionnaire assessing illness perceptions, anxiety, depression and disease-specific symptoms. The study has identified specific illness perceptions of inflammatory bowel disease sufferers that are strongly associated with patients’ quality of life. By raising and addressing these issues, clinicians may be able to allay these significant and often unexpressed concerns, and improve quality of life for patients with inflammatory bowel disease.
Extracellular K+ rapidly controls NaCl cotransporter phosphorylation in the native distal convoluted tubule by Cl−‐dependent and independent mechanisms

High dietary potassium (K+) intake dephosphorylates and inactivates the NaCl cotransporter (NCC) in the renal distal convoluted tubule (DCT). Using several ex vivo models, we show that physiological changes in extracellular K+, similar to those occurring after a K+ rich diet, are sufficient to promote a very rapid dephosphorylation of NCC in native DCT cells. Although the increase of NCC phosphorylation upon decreased extracellular K+ appears to depend on cellular Cl− fluxes, the rapid NCC dephosphorylation in response to increased extracellular K+ is not Cl−‐dependent. The Cl−‐dependent pathway involves the SPAK/OSR1 kinases, whereas the Cl− independent pathway may include additional signalling cascades.
The impact of data models and task complexity on end-user performance: an experimental investigation

The purpose of this study was to investigate similarities and differences in the quality of data representations produced by end-users using the relational model (RM), the extended entity-relationship model (EERM), and the object-oriented model (OOM). By performing laboratory experiments using MIS major students, quality was evaluated on five constructs of a data model (i.e. entity/object, descriptor, identifier, relationship and generalization hierarchy) and six facets of a relationship (i.e. unary one-to-one, unary one-to-many, binary one-to-one, binary one-to-many, binary many-to-many and ternary many-to-many-to-many). The research focused on two major issues: data model design and data model conversion. The first issue investigated the differences in user performance between the RM, the EERM and the OOM. The second investigated the differences in user performance between the RM and the relational conversions of the EERM and the OOM models. For the first issue, EERM and OOM scored much higher than the RM in correctness scores of binary one-to-many and binary many-to-many relationships, but only the EERM led to significance. The RM and OOM scored much higher than EERM for unary one-to-one relationships, however, only the RM resulted in significance. The OOM required significantly less time for task completion than EERM. For the second issue, RM and the relational conversion of OOM scored significantly higher than the relational conversion of EERM for unary one-to-one relationships.
Alinhamento múltiplo de proteínas utilizando algoritmos genéticos

Uma das ferramentas mais importantes no campo da bioinformatica e biologia computacional e o alinhamento multiplo de sequencias (MSA, do ingles Multiple Sequence Alignment). Sua funcao abrange a criacao de arvores filogeneticas, identificacao de motifs e dominios conservados, assim como a predicao de funcoes das proteinas e de suas estruturas secundarias e terciarias. Algoritmos geneticos sao heuristicas de busca local, utilizadas para problemas de otimizacao, inspirados nos conceitos da selecao natural: uma popularcao de possiveis solucoes e criada e iterativamente cruzada e selecionada buscando um resultado mais adequado para o problema sendo tratado. Esta dissertacao descreve o estudo realizado no uso de algoritmos geneticos para a resolucao do problema de alinhamento multiplo de proteinas. Como resultado deste trabalho, duas ferramentas foram desenvolvidas: ALGAe, um ambiente para a execucao de um algoritmo genetico visando o alinhamento multiplo de proteinas e o Anubis, um visualizador de alinhamentos que permite a comparacao entre dois alinhamentos para o mesmo conjunto de proteinas, visando identificar as discrepâncias entre eles. Abstract
Solution Methods for Models with Rare Disasters

This paper compares different solution methods for computing the equilibrium of dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) models with rare disasters along the line of those proposed by Rietz (1988), Barro (2006}, Gabaix (2012), and Gourio (2012). DSGE models with rare disasters require solution methods that can handle the large non-linearities triggered by low-probability, high-impact events with sufficient accuracy and speed. We solve a standard New Keynesian model with Epstein-Zin preferences and time-varying disaster risk with perturbation, Taylor projection, and Smolyak collocation. Our main finding is that Taylor projection delivers the best accuracy/speed tradeoff among the tested solutions. We also document that even third-order perturbations may generate solutions that suffer from accuracy problems and that Smolyak collocation can be costly in terms of run time and memory requirements.
Narrowly spaced DFB array with integrated heaters for rapid tuning applications

We describe a 12-element distributed feedback laser array, with 10-/spl mu/m pitch, covering a 36-nm tuning range, and having an integrated heater on each element. The novel heater design heats just the active laser yet requires only one additional contact for the entire array. Each individual laser element can be temperature tuned more than 3.2 nm in under 100 /spl mu/s using its heater.
Thermal Modeling of 3-D Stacked DRAM Over SiGe HBT BiCMOS CPU

We have previously evaluated the feasibility of a serial code accelerator core with 3-D DRAM stacked on the core operating at high frequencies. While operating at such high frequencies (>24 GHz), there are concerns with removing heat from the 3-D stack. We propose the use of thin diamond sheets, which have high thermal conductivity, as a heat spreader by bonding it close to the processor core substrate and memory stacks. We show, through thermal modeling using COMSOL finite-element analysis tools, the feasibility of diamond as an effective heat spreader in a processor-memory 3-D stack.
Conception et étude d'un actionneur linéaire synchrone à aimants permanents et multi-plaques

Dans de nombreuses applications, il est necessaire de disposer d'un actionneur a tres forte densite d'effort en entrainement direct. Les solutions mettant en oeuvre des dispositifs mecaniques intermediaires de transformation (reducteur, vis ecrou) limitent les performances dynamiques et la qualite de conversion en introduisant des contraintes supplementaires au systeme d'entrainement tels que l'usure, le bruit, l'inertie. Dans cet article, nous tenterons de montrer d'une part la superiorite theorique des systemes polyentrefers et d'autre part la faisabilite mecaniques de telles structures.
On-the-Fly Texture Computation for Real-Time Surface Shading

Standard texture mapping hardware enables rapid rendering of color mapped surfaces with interpolated surface shading. New algorithms extend this to bump mapping, Phong shading, and reflection mapping. We first introduce the bidirectional reflectance function we wish to optimize, split into diffuse, specular and environment terms. Casting the diffuse term as a table lookup, we introduce lighting tables and efficient ways to compute them for distant lights. We also revisit the geometry of bump mapping, extending Blinn's (1978) results. We consider caching intermediate results for rendering animated rigid bodies, generalizing this to animated surfaces using a technique called parametric rasterization. Finally, we describe efficient reflection mapping and discuss implications for bump-mapped surfaces. We present a fast method for rendering Phong highlights and discuss a special case of a planar surface with simulated water ripples.
Dual Monitoring Communication for Self-Aware Network-on-Chip: Architecture and Case Study

Self-aware and adaptive Network-on-Chip NoC with dual monitoring networks is presented. Proper monitoring interface is an essential prerequisite to adaptive system reconfiguration in parallel on-chip computing. This work proposes a DMC dual monitoring communication architecture to support self-awareness on the NoC platform. One type of monitoring communication is integrated with data channel, in order to trace the run-time profile of data communication in high-speed on-chip networking. The other type is separate from the data communication, and is needed to report the run-time profile to the supervising monitor. Direct latency monitoring on mesochronous NoC is presented as a case study and is directly traced in the integrated communication with a novel latency monitoring table in each router. The latency information is reported by the separate monitoring communication to the supervising monitor, which reconfigures the system to adjust the latency, for instance by dynamic voltage and frequency scaling. With quantitative evaluation using synthetic traces and real applications, the effectiveness and efficiency of direct latency monitoring with DMC architecture is demonstrated. The area overhead of DMC architecture is estimated to be small in 65nm CMOS technology.
The new EuroSCORE II does not improve prediction of mortality in high-risk patients undergoing cardiac surgery: a collaborative analysis of two European centres.

OBJECTIVES Prediction of operative risk in adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery remains a challenge, particularly in high-risk patients. In Europe, the EuroSCORE is the most commonly used risk-prediction model, but is no longer accurately calibrated to be used in contemporary practice. The new EuroSCORE II was recently published in an attempt to improve risk prediction. We sought to assess the predictive value of EuroSCORE II compared with the original EuroSCOREs in high-risk patients. METHODS Patients who underwent surgery between 1 April 2006 and 31 March 2011 with a preoperative logistic EuroSCORE ≥ 10 were identified from prospective cardiac surgical databases at two European institutions. Additional variables included in EuroSCORE II, but not in the original EuroSCORE, were retrospectively collected through patient chart review. The C-statistic to predict in-hospital mortality was calculated for the additive EuroSCORE, logistic EuroSCORE and EuroSCORE II models. The Hosmer-Lemeshow test was used to assess model calibration by comparing observed and expected mortality in a number of risk strata. The fit of EuroSCORE II was compared with the original EuroSCOREs using Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC). RESULTS A total of 933 patients were identified; the median additive EuroSCORE was 10 (interquartile range [IQR] 9-11), median logistic EuroSCORE 15.3 (IQR 12.0-24.1) and median EuroSCORE II 9.3 (5.8-15.6). There were 90 (9.7%) in-hospital deaths. None of the EuroSCORE models performed well with a C-statistic of 0.67 for the additive EuroSCORE and EuroSCORE II, and 0.66 for the logistic EuroSCORE. Model calibration was poor for the EuroSCORE II (chi-square 16.5; P = 0.035). Both the additive EuroSCORE and logistic EuroSCORE had a numerically better model fit, the additive EuroSCORE statistically significantly so (difference in AIC was -5.66; P = 0.017). CONCLUSIONS The new EuroSCORE II does not improve risk prediction in high-risk patients undergoing adult cardiac surgery when compared with original additive and logistic EuroSCOREs. The key problem of risk stratification in high-risk patients has not been addressed by this new model. Future iterations of the score should explore more advanced statistical methods and focus on developing procedure-specific algorithms. Moreover, models that predict complications in addition to mortality may prove to be of increasing value.
Inter-Firm Knowledge Transfer And Innovation In SMEs: A Fuzzy-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis

This study investigates the conditions leading to higher levels of innovation using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). More specifically, using fsQCA, this study explores the impact of inter-organisational knowledge transfer networks and organisations’ internal capabilities on different types of innovation in Small to Medium size Enterprises (SMEs) in the high-tech sector. A survey was used to collect data from a sample of UK SMEs. The findings show that although individual factors are important, there is no need for a company to perform well in all the areas to improve innovation performance. The fsQCA method, using different combinations of the key factors, revealed that there are many paths to achieve better incremental and radical innovation performance and companies need to choose the one that better matches to their abilities and fits with their resources.
Effector CD 8 þ T-cell Engraftment and Antitumor Immunity in Lymphodepleted Hosts Is IL 7 R a Dependent C

Adoptive cellular therapy, in which activated tumor-reactive T cells are transferred into lymphodepleted recipients, is a promising cancer treatment option. Activation of T cells decreases IL7 responsiveness; therefore, IL15 is generally considered the main driver of effector T-cell responses in this setting. However, we found in lymphodepleted mice that CD8þ T cells activated with IL12 showed enhanced engraftment that was initially dependent on host IL7, but not IL15. Mechanistically, enhanced IL7 responsiveness was conferred by elevated IL7Ra expression, which was critical for antitumor immunity. Elevated IL7Ra expression was achievable without IL12, as polyclonal CD8þ T cells activated with high T-cell receptor (TCR) stimulation depended on T-cell IL7Ra expression and host IL7 for maximal engraftment. Finally, IL12 conditioning during the activation of human CD8þ T cells, including TCR-modified T cells generated using a clinically relevant protocol, led to enhanced IL7Ra expression. Our results demonstrate the importance of the donor IL7Ra/host IL7 axis for effector CD8þ T-cell engraftment and suggest novel strategies to improve adoptive cellular therapy as a cancer treatment. Cancer Immunol Res; 3(12); 1364–74. 2015 AACR.