Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimized BIST architecture for memory cores and logic circuits using CLFSR

Built-In Self-Test is a design for testability method for testing embedded circuits. It provides simple automated test procedures to detect faults in Memory Cores and logic circuits in a system. This paper describes a model of BIST structure that can be used as Memory BIST or Logic BIST. For testing a logic circuit we need test vectors. In the case of memory testing, addressing sequences in addition to the test vectors are required. In this paper an alternative method is used for the generation of both address and test data with less hardware complexity. This is achieved by modifying Linear Feedback Shift Register to a structure known as Complete Linear Feedback Shift Register (CLFSR). With CLFSR, all possible combinations of ones and zeros can be generated. This feature enables it for using in Memory BIST and Logic BIST structures. Hence, a CLFSR structure can be used to develop less complex BIST architecture. Functionality of CLFSR and BIST structures are verified using Xilinx ISE 14.2.
Autonomous golf cars for public trial of mobility-on-demand service

We detail the design of autonomous golf cars which were used in public trials in Singapore's Chinese and Japanese Gardens, for the purpose of raising public awareness and gaining user acceptance of autonomous vehicles. The golf cars were designed to be robust, reliable, and safe, while operating under prolonged durations. Considerations that went in to the overall system design included the fact that any member of the public had to not only be able to easily use the system, but to also not have the option to use the system in an unintended manner. This paper details the hardware and software components of the golf cars with these considerations, and also how the booking system and mission planner facilitated users to book for a golf car from any of ten stations within the gardens. We show that the vehicles performed robustly throughout the prolonged operations with a small localization variance, and that users were very receptive from the user survey results.
Modelling and simulation of a slurry bubble column reactor for green fuel production via hydrocracking of vegetable oil

A slurry bubble column reactor to produce green fuel through hydrocracking of vegetable oil with Ni-W/SiO 2 -Al 2 O 3 catalyst was simulated in this research with the objectives being to obtain a mathematical model of the reactor and an optimum operation condition. The steady state two-dimensional axisymmetric model of the slurry bubble column reactor with the diameter of 2.68 m and height of 7.14 m was modelled by considering mass and heat transfers. The very small liquid superficial velocity reflects that the liquid phase is in batch-like operation. The gas of 0.01 m/s in superficial velocity flows upward to suspend and agitate the spherical catalyst particles of 100 μm in diameter inside the reactor. The reactor operated at 80 bar and 420°C. Triglyceride of 5% w/w in dodecane and hydrogen of 105.5 mol hydrogen/triglyceride enter the reactor from the bottom. The research also considered pressure drop and loading catalyst distribution inside the reactor. Simulation results show that the triglyceride conversion is 99.26%, the product yield is 40.68% w/w, and the product purity is 45.55% w/w.
AVOCLOUDY: a simulator of volunteer clouds

The increasing demand of computational and storage resources is shifting users toward the adoption of cloud technologies. Cloud computing is based on the vision of computing as utility, where users no more need to buy machines but simply access remote resources made available on‐demand by cloud providers. The relationship between users and providers is defined by a service‐level agreement, where the non‐fulfillment of its terms is regulated by the associated penalty fees. Therefore, it is important that the providers adopt proper monitoring and managing strategies. Despite their reduced application, intelligent agents constitute a feasible technology to add autonomic features to cloud operations. Furthermore, the volunteer computing paradigm—one of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) trends of the last decade—can be pulled alongside traditional cloud approaches, with the purpose to ‘green’ them. Indeed, the combination of data center and volunteer resources, managed by agents, allows one to obtain a more robust and scalable cloud computing platform. The increased challenges in designing such a complex system can benefit from a simulation‐based approach, to test autonomic management solutions before their deployment in the production environment. However, currently available simulators of cloud platforms are not suitable to model and analyze such heterogeneous, large‐scale, and highly dynamic systems. We propose the AVOCLOUDY simulator to fill this gap. This paper presents the internal architecture of the simulator, provides implementation details, summarizes several notable applications, and provides experimental results that measure the simulator performance and its accuracy. The latter experiments are based on real‐world worldwide distributed computations on top of the PlanetLab platform. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Frequency regulation of AUT microgrid using modified fuzzy PI controller for flywheel energy storage system

Usage of flywheel energy storage system (FESS) is a common method for frequency regulation due to its high power injection capacity and long life time. FESS is equipped by two back-to-back inverters. In conventional method, the machine-side inverter sets the active power and machine flux while grid-side inverter sets the reactive power and common DC bus voltage by conventional PI current controllers. Especially for frequency regulation, FESS is constantly faced with change of power and operating point but PI controller performance is dependent on operating point of the system. In this paper, at first, the control of both active and reactive power are moved to grid-side inverter and control of DC bus voltage and machine flux are moved to machine-side inverter. Then a modified version of fuzzy PI controller is proposed for grid-side inverter control in which rated PI controller coefficients values are optimally designed for rated operating point by feed-back linearization and pole placement then fuzzy system (FS) is used for PI coefficients variation around the rated values when operating point changes. Experimental results verify the performance of the proposed FESS control system for AUT microgrid frequency regulation.
Constructing Locally Dense Point Clouds Using OpenSfM and ORB-SLAM2

This paper aims at finding a method to register two different point clouds constructed by ORB-SLAM2 and OpenSfM. To do this, we post some tags with unique textures in the scene and take videos and photos of that area. Then we take short videos of only the tags to extract their features. By matching the ORB feature of the tags with their corresponding features in the scene, it is then possible to localize the position of these tags both in point clouds constructed by ORB-SLAM2 and OpenSfM. Thus, the best transformation matrix between two point clouds can be calculated, and the two point clouds can be aligned.
Learn and Pick Right Nodes to Offload

Task offloading is a promising technology to exploit the benefits of fog computing. An effective task offloading strategy is needed to utilize the computational resources efficiently. In this paper, we endeavor to seek an online task offloading strategy to minimize the long-term latency. In particular, we formulate a stochastic programming problem, where the expectations of the system parameters change abruptly at unknown time instants. Meanwhile, we consider the fact that the queried nodes can only feed back the processing results after finishing the tasks. We then put forward an effective algorithm to solve this challenging stochastic programming under the non-stationary bandit model. We further prove that our proposed algorithm is asymptotically optimal in a non-stationary fog-enabled network. Numerical simulations are carried out to corroborate our designs.
Ultrasound assessment of pulmonary embolism in patients receiving CT pulmonary angiography.

BACKGROUND CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) is considered the gold standard for the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism (PE) and is frequently performed in patients with cardiopulmonary complaints. However, indiscriminate use of CTPA results in significant exposure to ionizing radiation and contrast. We studied the accuracy of a bedside ultrasound protocol to predict the need for CTPA. METHODS This was an observational study performed by pulmonary/critical care physicians trained in critical care ultrasonography. Screening ultrasonography was performed when a CTPA was ordered to rule out PE. The ultrasound examination consisted of a limited ECG, thoracic ultrasonography, and lower extremity deep venous compression study. We predicted that CTPA would not be needed if either DVT was found or clear evidence of an alternative diagnosis was established. CTPA parenchymal and pleural findings, and, when available, formal DVT and ECG results, were compared with our screening ultrasound findings. RESULTS Of 96 subjects who underwent CTPA, 12 subjects (12.5%) were positive for PE. All 96 subjects had an ultrasound study; two subjects (2.1%) were positive for lower extremity DVT, and 54 subjects (56.2%) had an alternative diagnosis suggested by ultrasonography, such as alveolar consolidation consistent with pneumonia or pulmonary edema, which correlated with CTPA findings. In no patient did the CTPA add an additional diagnosis over the screening ultrasound study. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that ultrasound examination indicated that CTPA was not needed in 56 of 96 patients (58.3%). A screening, point-of-care ultrasonography protocol may predict the need for CTPA. Furthermore, an alternative diagnosis can be established that correlates with CTPA. This study needs further verification, but it offers a possible approach to reduce the cost and radiation exposure that is associated with CTPA.
The Transmission Interfaces Contribute Asymmetrically to the Assembly and Activity of Human P-glycoprotein*

Background: The P-gp drug-binding domain is linked to the two nucleotide-binding domains (NBDs) by NBD1 and NBD2 transmission interfaces. Results: Only mutations at the NBD2 transmission interface blocked P-gp assembly. Tariquidar repaired all 25 mutants. Conclusion: The mechanism of P-gp folding requires precise hydrophobic interactions at the NBD2 interface. Significance: We identified a linchpin for assembly and repair of ABC proteins. P-glycoprotein (P-gp; ABCB1) is an ABC drug pump that protects us from toxic compounds. It is clinically important because it confers multidrug resistance. The homologous halves of P-gp each contain a transmembrane (TM) domain (TMD) with 6 TM segments followed by a nucleotide-binding domain (NBD). The drug- and ATP-binding sites reside at the interface between the TMDs and NBDs, respectively. Each NBD is connected to the TMDs by a transmission interface involving a pair of intracellular loops (ICLs) that form ball-and-socket joints. P-gp is different from CFTR (ABCC7) in that deleting NBD2 causes misprocessing of only P-gp. Therefore, NBD2 might be critical for stabilizing ICLs 2 and 3 that form a tetrahelix bundle at the NBD2 interface. Here we report that the NBD1 and NBD2 transmission interfaces in P-gp are asymmetric. Point mutations to 25 of 60 ICL2/ICL3 residues at the NBD2 transmission interface severely reduced P-gp assembly while changes to the equivalent residues in ICL1/ICL4 at the NBD1 interface had little effect. The hydrophobic nature at the transmission interfaces was also different. Mutation of Phe-1086 or Tyr-1087 to arginine at the NBD2 socket blocked activity or assembly while the equivalent mutations at the NBD1 socket had only modest effects. The results suggest that the NBD transmission interfaces are asymmetric. In contrast to the ICL2/3-NBD2 interface, the ICL1/4-NBD1 transmission interface is more hydrophilic and insensitive to mutations. Therefore the ICL2/3-NBD2 transmission interface forms a precise hydrophobic connection that acts as a linchpin for assembly and trafficking of P-gp.
General Training of Spatial Abilities by Geometry Education in Augmented Reality

Geometry education has proven as one powerful means of improving spatial abilities, an important component of human intelligence. In the first part of this paper we summarize our development of a system that uses collaborative augmented reality as a medium for teaching, and uses 3D dynamic geometry to facilitate mathematics and geometry education. Our immersive collaborative educational application, specifically developed for geometry education, serves as the basis of a comprehensive evaluation study regarding its efficacy in training spatial abilities. The main contribution is the description of evaluation design including the test instruments, learning tasks and practical experiences with using our system for actual training of high school students. Results of a pre-study with spatial ability tests in high schools are presented. They point to interesting genderspecific differences of strategies when solving spatial ability tests, which have not been reported in literature before.
Conveying the Perception of Kinesthetic Feedback in Virtual Reality using State-of-the-Art Hardware

Including haptic feedback in current consumer VR applications is frequently challenging, since technical possibilities to create haptic feedback in consumer-grade VR are limited. While most systems include and make use of the possibility to create tactile feedback through vibration, kinesthetic feedback systems almost exclusively rely on external mechanical hardware to induce actual sensations so far. In this paper, we describe an approach to create a feeling of such sensations by using unmodified off-the-shelf hardware and a software solution for a multi-modal pseudo-haptics approach. We first explore this design space by applying user-elicited methods, and afterwards evaluate our refined solution in a user study. The results show that it is indeed possible to communicate kinesthetic feedback by visual and tactile cues only and even induce its perception. While visual clipping was generally unappreciated, our approach led to significant increases of enjoyment and presence.
Is Hillary Rodham Clinton the President? Disambiguating Names across Documents

A number of research and software development groups have developed name identification technology, but few have addressed the issue of cross-document coreference, or identifying the same named entities across documents. In a collection of documents, where there are multiple discourse contexts, there exists a many-to-many correspondence between names and entities, making it a challenge to automatically map them correctly. Recently, Bagga and Baldwin proposed a method for determining whether two names refer to the same entity by measuring the similarity between the document contexts in which they appear. Inspired by their approach, we have revisited our current cross-document coreference heuristics that make relatively simple decisions based on matching strings and entity types. We have devised an improved and promising algorithm, which we discuss in this paper.
Wind Tunnel and CFD Study on Identification of Flutter Derivatives of a Long‐Span Self‐Anchored Suspension Bridge

Abstract: The Sanchaji Bridge with a main span of 328 m, located in Changsha City across Xiangjiang River, is one of the longest self‐anchored suspension bridges completed in China. This article presents the results from a combined wind tunnel and CFD (computational fluid dynamics) study on identification of flutter derivatives of the bridge deck. Based on the Covariance Block Hankel Matrix (CBHM) algorithm in time domain, sectional model wind tunnel tests are conducted in smooth flow to recover modal parameters and to further identify flutter derivatives from free‐decay vibration records. On the other hand, based on the ALE (Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian) description and a second‐order projection algorithm, the CFD study uses the FVM (Finite Volume Method) on staggered grids and a forced vibration manner of the bridge deck to evaluate the flow field around the bridge deck. With the obtained aerodynamic forces acting on the bridge deck, flutter derivatives can be evaluated based on system identification. Finally, both of the suggested methods are applied to identification of flutter derivatives of the bridge deck of the Sanchaji Bridge. The results of the present methods have the same trends with Theodorsen analytical solutions, while the results from the CFD study compare well with those from the wind tunnel test. The agreement on the present results suggests that the aeroelastic phenomenon of bridge decks with sharp edges does not appear sensitive to the Re number and turbulence modeling.
Automatic evaluation of assistive interfaces

Computers offer valuable assistance to people with physical disabilities. However designing human-computer interfaces for these users is complicated. The range of abilities is more diverse than for able-bodied users, which makes analytical modelling harder. Practical user trials are also difficult and time consuming. We are developing a simulator to help with the evaluation of assistive interfaces. It can predict the likely interaction patterns when undertaking a task using a variety of input devices, and estimate the time to complete the task in the presence of different disabilities and for different levels of skill. In this paper we describe the different components of the simulator in detail and present a prototype of its implementation.
Insulin Stimulates Membrane Conductance in a Liver Cell Line

Activation of insulin receptors stimulates a rapid increase in the ion permeability of liver cells. To evaluate whether this response involves insertion of ion channels, plasma membrane turnover was measured in a model liver cell line using the fluorescent membrane marker FM1–43. Under basal conditions, the rate of constitutive membrane turnover was ∼2%min−1, and balanced exocytosis and endocytosis maintained the total cell membrane area constant. Exposure to insulin stimulated a transient increase in membrane turnover of up to 10-fold above constitutive rates. The response was concentration-dependent (0.001–10 μm). Insulin also caused a parallel increase in membrane conductance as measured by whole-cell patch clamp recording due to opening of Cl−- and K+-selective ion channels. The insulin-stimulated membrane turnover did not appear to involve the constitutive recycling compartments, suggesting that a distinct pool of vesicles may be involved. The effects of insulin on membrane turnover and membrane conductance were inhibited by blockers of phosphoinositide 3-kinase LY294002 and wortmannin or by disrupting microtubule assembly with nocodazole. Taken together, these findings indicate that insulin stimulates recruitment of new membranes through phosphoinositide 3-kinase-dependent mechanisms. Thus, regulated insertion of a separate population of ion channel-containing vesicles may represent one mechanism for mediating the changes in membrane conductance that are essential for the cellular response to insulin.
Retrospective evaluation of moderate-to-severe pulmonary hypertension in dogs naturally infected with Angiostrongylus vasorum.

OBJECTIVES The outcome in dogs with pulmonary hypertension associated with natural Angiostrongylus vasorum infection is unclear. This study aimed to report long-term outcome of dogs with A. vasorum and pulmonary hypertension, and to evaluate factors associated with pulmonary hypertension development. It was hypothesised that dogs with pulmonary hypertension had a shorter survival time than dogs without pulmonary hypertension. METHODS Retrospective review of clinical records of dogs diagnosed with A. vasorum. Dogs were classified as having or not having pulmonary hypertension based on clinical signs and imaging findings. Signalment, signs and outcome were recorded. DNA obtained from banked samples was genotyped for the PDE5a:E90K polymorphism, a possible factor in development of pulmonary hypertension. RESULTS The proportion of dogs with moderate-to-severe pulmonary hypertension and A. vasorum infection in the study population was 14 · 6%. No difference in the population characteristics or PDE5a genotype was detected between dogs with and without pulmonary hypertension. Dogs with pulmonary hypertension had a significantly shorter survival time (P = 0 · 006) and a greater risk of death within 6 months of diagnosis (odds ratio 12 · 5, 95% confidence interval 2 · 1 to 74 · 9; P = 0 · 0053). CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE A. vasorum-associated pulmonary hypertension is an important problem in naturally infected dogs and has a negative effect upon survival.
Understanding the Effect of In-Video Prompting on Learners and Instructors

Online instructional videos are ubiquitous, but it is difficult for instructors to gauge learners' experience and their level of comprehension or confusion regarding the lecture video. Moreover, learners watching the videos may become disengaged or fail to reflect and construct their own understanding. This paper explores instructor and learner perceptions of in-video prompting where learners answer reflective questions while watching videos. We conducted two studies with crowd workers to understand the effect of prompting in general, and the effect of different prompting strategies on both learners and instructors. Results show that some learners found prompts to be useful checkpoints for reflection, while others found them distracting. Instructors reported the collected responses to be generally more specific than what they have usually collected. Also, different prompting strategies had different effects on the learning experience and the usefulness of responses as feedback.
Vibration analysis of carbon nanotubes based on cylindrical shell by inducting Winkler and Pasternak foundations

ABSTRACT In this article, vibration analysis of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) based on Love's thin shell theory has been investigated along with five sort of boundary conditions (S-S), (C-C), (C-F), (C-Sl), and (F-S). Three different shapes such as Armchair, Zigzag, and Chiral are taken into account under the influence of Winkler and Pasternak foundations. The wave propagation approach is employed to formulate the eigenvalue problem. MATLAB software package in used to obtain the vibrational natural frequencies of SWCNTs. The axial modal dependence is measured by the complex exponential functions implicating the axial modal numbers.