Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
High Performance Gasification with the Two-Stage Gasifier

High Performance Gasification with the Two-Stage Gasifier Based on more than 15 years of research and practical experience, the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and COWI Consulting Engineers and Planners AS present the two-stage gasification process, a concept for high efficiency gasification of biomass producing negligible amounts of tars. In the two-stage gasification concept, the pyrolysis and the gasification processes are physical separated. The volatiles from the pyrolysis are partially oxidized, and the hot gases are used as gasification medium to gasify the char. Hot gases from the gasifier and a combustion unit can be used for drying, air preheating and pyrolysis, hereby very high energy efficiencies can be achieved. Encouraging results are obtained at a 100 kWth laboratory facility. The tar content in the raw gas is measured to be below 25 mg/Nm3 and around 5 mg/Nm3 after gas cleaning with traditional baghouse filter. Furthermore a cold gas efficiency exceeding 90% is obtained. In the original design of the two-stage gasification process, the pyrolysis unit consists of a screw conveyor with external heating, and the char unit is a fixed bed gasifier. This design is well proven during more than 1000 hours of testing with various fuels, and is a suitable design for medium size gasifiers.
Dynamic file-selection policies for bundling in BitTorrent-like systems

BitTorrent-like swarming technologies are very effective for popular content, but less so for the ‘long tail’ of files with disparate popularities, which do not have sufficiently many peers to enable efficient collaboration. Performance degradations are especially pronounced in swarms with reduced file availability. Static bundling groups files into a single data content. It requires no modification to the BitTorrent client, and has been shown to improve availability of unpopular files in BitTorrent swarms. However, as peers are forced to download undesired file pieces, download times increase, especially for peers downloading popular files. We propose to use Stochastic Games and Markov Decision Process (MDP) to model and analyze optimal peer strategies, in a selfish and a cooperative setting respectively, for a BitTorrent-like system with multiple files. Each peer wishes to download a subset of the files, and we allow peers to dynamically decide whether to collaborate with peers targeting a different set of files or not, given the current system state. The Stochastic Game and MPD models take into account both piece availability and average download times, and allow us to study if and when downloading unwanted content can be beneficial. We use dynamic programming to solve the two models, contrast the level of collaboration observed in the selfish and the cooperative settings, and propose an enhanced piece selection mechanism for BitTorrent-like systems with dynamic download decision making. We demonstrate the effectiveness of dynamic file piece selection through both simulations and experiments using a modified BitTorrent client.
Adaptively Scheduling Parallel Loops in Distributed Shared-Memory Systems

Using runtime information of load distributions and processor affinity, the authors propose an adaptive scheduling algorithm and its variations from different control mechanisms. The proposed algorithm applies different degrees of aggressiveness to adjust loop scheduling granularities, aiming at improving the execution performance of parallel loops by making scheduling decisions that match the real workload distributions at runtime. They experimentally compared the performance of the algorithm and its variations with several existing scheduling algorithms on two parallel machines: the KSR-1 and the Convex Exemplar. The kernel application programs used for performance evaluation were carefully selected for different classes of parallel loops. The results show that using runtime information to adaptively adjust scheduling granularity is an effective way to handle loops with a wide range of load distributions when no prior knowledge of the execution can be used. The overhead caused by collecting runtime information is insignificant in comparison with the performance improvement. The experiments show that the adaptive algorithm and its five variations outperformed the existing scheduling algorithms.
SMSAssassin: crowdsourcing driven mobile-based system for SMS spam filtering

Due to increase in use of Short Message Service (SMS) over mobile phones in developing countries, there has been a burst of spam SMSes. Content-based machine learning approaches were effective in filtering email spams. Researchers have used topical and stylistic features of the SMS to classify spam and ham. SMS spam filtering can be largely influenced by the presence of regional words, abbreviations and idioms. We have tested the feasibility of applying Bayesian learning and Support Vector Machine(SVM) based machine learning techniques which were reported to be most effective in email spam filtering on a India centric dataset. In our ongoing research, as an exploratory step, we have developed a mobile-based system SMSAssassin that can filter SMS spam messages based on bayesian learning and sender blacklisting mechanism. Since the spam SMS keywords and patterns keep on changing, SMSAssassin uses crowd sourcing to keep itself updated. Using a dataset that we are collecting from users in the real-world, we evaluated our approaches and found some interesting results.
An Efficient Approach for Filling Gaps in Landsat 7 Satellite Images

Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) satellite imagery presents an important data source for many applications related to remote sensing. However, the scan line corrector (SLC) failure has seriously limited the scientific applications of ETM+ data since SLC failed permanently on May 31, 2003, resulting in about 22% of the image data missing in each scene. In this letter, we propose to apply a new method to fill the missing information (gap) in the satellite image without any spatial or spectral constraint applied on the neighborhood of missing pixels. The method can also simultaneously remove various types of noise, including Gaussian noise and impulse noise, affected in the acquisition process. This proposed concept is formulated as a consecutive multilevel Otsu and Two-Threshold Binary Decomposition to detect the boundary of the damaged region (gaps) and then reconstruct the edge of the damaged region based on boundary restoration. In the final step, we applied the well-known matrix completion as a low-rank approximation problem guided by boundary reconstructed. We achieve better approximation of the rank by minimizing the truncated nuclear norm with accelerated proximal gradient line, a method for convex optimization problems. The results show the capability of our approach to predict the missing values accurately in terms of quality, time, and without the need of outside information. This letter also shows encouraging results on both synthetic and real visual data sets.
Mitofusin 2 Downregulation Triggers Pulmonary Artery Smooth Muscle Cell Proliferation and Apoptosis Imbalance in Rats With Hypoxic Pulmonary Hypertension Via the PI3K/Akt and Mitochondrial Apoptosis Pathways

Abstract: During hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension (HPH), pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) proliferate as part of the characteristic pulmonary vascular remodeling. We investigated the expression of mitofusin 2(Mfn2) and its role in maintaining the balance between PASMC proliferation and apoptosis during hypoxia. In an experimental model of HPH, we exposed rats to hypoxia (10% ± 0.5% O2) or room air for 4 weeks. We found that Mfn2 messenger RNA and protein levels were reduced and that proliferating cell nuclear antigen protein expression was upregulated in HPH rat lung tissues. We also exposed primary cultured PASMCs from rat pulmonary arterioles to normoxia (21% O2/5% CO2) or hypoxia (2.5% O2/5% CO2) for 24 hours. We found that PASMC proliferation increased under hypoxic conditions and that more hypoxic cells than normoxic cells entered the S + G2/M phase. Additionally, phosphorylated Akt and proliferating cell nuclear antigen expression increased, whereas Mfn2 expression, cleaved caspase 9 expression, and the ratio of mitochondrial to cytosolic cytochrome C expression each decreased. These hypoxia-induced effects were reversed in PASMCs by Mfn2 overexpression and by phosphatidylinositide 3-kinases (PI3K) inhibition. Our results indicate that downregulation of Mfn2 in HPH may activate the PI3K/Akt pathway, thereby causing more cells to enter the S + G2/M phase of the cell cycle and inhibiting the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway.
Human-Planned Robotic Grasp Ranges: Capture and Validation

Leveraging human grasping skills to teach a robot to perform a manipulation task is appealing, but there are several limitations to this approach: time-inefficient data capture procedures, limited generalization of the data to other grasps and objects, and inability to use that data to learn more about how humans perform and evaluate grasps. This paper presents a data capture protocol that partially addresses these deficiencies by asking participants to specify ranges over which a grasp is valid. The protocol is verified both qualitatively through online survey questions (where 95.38% of within-range grasps are identified correctly with the nearest extreme grasp) and quantitatively by showing that there is small variation in grasps ranges from different participants as measured by joint angles, contact points, and position. We demonstrate that these grasp ranges are valid through testing on a physical robot (93.75% of grasps interpolated from grasp ranges are successful).
Auto-pilot: A Platform for System Software Benchmarking

When developing software, it is essential to evaluate its performance and stability, making benchmarking an essential and significant part of the software development cycle. Benchmarking is also used to show that a system is useful or provide insight into how systems behave. However, benchmarking is a tedious task that few enjoy, but every programmer or systems researcher must do. Developers need an easy-to-use system for collecting and analyzing benchmark results. We introduce Auto-pilot, a tool for producing accurate and informative benchmark results. Auto-pilot provides an infrastructure for running tests, sample test scripts, and analysis tools. Auto-pilot is not just another metric or benchmark: it is a system for automating the repetitive tasks of running, measuring, and analyzing the results of arbitrary programs. Auto-pilot can run a given test until results stabilize, automatically highlight outlying results, and automatically detect memory leaks. We have used Autopilot for over three years on eighteen distinct projects and have found it to be an invaluable tool that saved us significant effort.
Interactive dynamic simulation using haptic interaction

Describes an interactive dynamic simulator for virtual environments which allows user interaction via a haptic interface. The interactive simulation is performed in our testbed dynamic simulator I-GMS (Interactive Generalized Motion Simulator), which has been developed in an object-oriented framework for simulating motions of free bodies and complex linkages such as those needed for robotic systems or human body simulation. User interaction is achieved by performing push and pull operations via the PHANToM haptic device which runs as on integrated part of I-GMS. We demonstrate the user interaction capability of I-GMS through online editing of trajectories for a 6-DOF robot manipulator.
Bankruptcy analysis with self-organizing maps in learning metrics

We introduce a method for deriving a metric, locally based on the Fisher information matrix, into the data space. A self-organizing map (SOM) is computed in the new metric to explore financial statements of enterprises. The metric measures local distances in terms of changes in the distribution of an auxiliary random variable that reflects what is important in the data. In this paper the variable indicates bankruptcy within the next few years. The conditional density of the auxiliary variable is first estimated, and the change in the estimate resulting from local displacements in the primary data space is measured using the Fisher information matrix. When a self-organizing map is computed in the new metric it still visualizes the data space in a topology-preserving fashion, but represents the (local) directions in which the probability of bankruptcy changes the most.
Induction of Calbindin-D9k Messenger RNA and Protein by Maternal Exposure to Alkylphenols During Late Pregnancy in Maternal and Neonatal Uteri of Rats1

Abstract Environmental chemicals are proposed to possess hormone-like properties, such as mimicking natural hormones, inhibiting the action of hormones, and inducing abnormal gene expression. Among environmental chemicals, the alkylphenol products (APs), octylphenol (OP) and nonylphenol (NP), are derived from alkylphenol ethoxylates and have been reported to be environmentally persistent. Thus, in the present study, we examined the effect of two APs, OP and NP, on the expression of Calbindin-D9k (CaBP-9k) following maternal exposure during late pregnancy in maternal and fetal uteri. Treatment with a high dose (600 mg/kg body weight [BW]) of OP and NP resulted in an induction of CaBP-9k mRNA at Day 5 of lactation, as did a single treatment with diethylstilbestrol (DES) and 17β-estradiol (E2) in maternal uteri. The expression of CaBP-9k mRNA was also induced following treatment with a high dose (600 mg/kg BW) of OP, transferred from the mother, exposed to fetuses during late pregnancy, and persisted through Day 5 of lactation. It is of interest that treatments with high doses of OP (400 and 600 mg/kg BW) reduced the expression of maternal estrogen receptor α (ERα) mRNA, as E2 did. However, all doses of NP resulted in an inhibition of neonatal ERα, while only the high does of OP (600 mg/kg BW) induced the reduction of neonatal ERα mRNA expression, as E2 did. Parallel to mRNA, the expression of CaBP-9k protein was significantly induced by treatment with a high dose of OP and NP. In conclusion, maternal exposure to APs, OP and NP, during late pregnancy increased the expressions of CaBP-9k mRNA and protein in maternal and neonatal uteri. These results suggest that the absorption and distribution of environmental estrogenic compounds in maternal and neonatal uteri are extremely rapid, and these chemicals can easily pass though the placenta during pregnancy to affect functions of neonatal reproductive tissues.
An MRI guided system for prostate laser ablation with treatment planning and multi-planar temperature monitoring

Prostate cancer is often over treated with standard treatment options which impact the patients’ quality of life. Laser ablation has emerged as a new approach to treat prostate cancer while sparing the healthy tissue around the tumor. Since laser ablation has a small treatment zone with high temperature, it is necessary to use accurate image guidance and treatment planning to enable full ablation of the tumor. Intraoperative temperature monitoring is also desirable to protect critical structures from being damaged in laser ablation. In response to these problems, we developed a navigation platform and integrated it with a clinical MRI scanner and a side firing laser ablation device. The system allows imaging, image guidance, treatment planning and temperature monitoring to be carried out on the same platform. Temperature sensing phantoms were developed to demonstrate the concept of iterative treatment planning and intraoperative temperature monitoring. Retrospective patient studies were also conducted to show the clinical feasibility of the system.
Niemann-Pick C1-Like 1 deletion in mice prevents high-fat diet-induced fatty liver by reducing lipogenesis[S]

Niemann-Pick C1-Like 1 (NPC1L1) mediates intestinal absorption of dietary and biliary cholesterol. Ezetimibe, by inhibiting NPC1L1 function, is widely used to treat hypercholesterolemia in humans. Interestingly, ezetimibe treatment appears to attenuate hepatic steatosis in rodents and humans without a defined mechanism. Overconsumption of a high-fat diet (HFD) represents a major cause of metabolic disorders including fatty liver. To determine whether and how NPC1L1 deficiency prevents HFD-induced hepatic steatosis, in this study, we fed NPC1L1 knockout (L1-KO) mice and their wild-type (WT) controls an HFD, and found that 24 weeks of HFD feeding causes no fatty liver in L1-KO mice. Hepatic fatty acid synthesis and levels of mRNAs for lipogenic genes are substantially reduced but hepatic lipoprotein-triglyceride production, fatty acid oxidation, and triglyceride hydrolysis remain unaltered in L1-KO versus WT mice. Strikingly, L1-KO mice are completely protected against HFD-induced hyperinsulinemia under both fed and fasted states and during glucose challenge. Despite similar glucose tolerance, L1-KO relative WT mice are more insulin sensitive and in the overnight-fasted state display significantly lower plasma glucose concentrations. In conclusion, NPC1L1 deficiency in mice prevents HFD-induced fatty liver by reducing hepatic lipogenesis, at least in part, through attenuating HFD-induced insulin resistance, a state known to drive hepatic lipogenesis through elevated circulating insulin levels.
Neonatally Induced Mild Diabetes in Rats and Its Effect on Maternal, Placental, and Fetal Parameters

The aim of this study was to assess placental changes and reproductive outcomes in neonatally induced mild diabetic dams and fetal development in their offspring. At birth, female rats were assigned either to control or diabetic group (100 mg of streptozotocin/Kg, subcutaneously). At adulthood, the female rats were mated. During pregnancy, the blood glucose levels and glucose and insulin tolerance tests were performed. At term, maternal reproductive outcomes, fetal and placental weight, and placental morphology were analyzed. Diabetic rats had smaller number of living fetuses, implantations and corpora lutea, and increased rate of embryonic loss. Placenta showed morphometric alterations in decidua area. Our results showed that mild diabetes was sufficient to trigger alterations in maternal organism leading to impaired decidua development contributing to failure in embryonic implantation and early embryonic losses. Regardless placental decidua alteration, the labyrinth, which is responsible for the maternal-fetal exchanges, showed no morphometric changes contributing to an appropriate fetal development, which was able to maintain normal fetal weight at term in mild diabetic rats. Thus, this experimental model of diabetes induction at the day of birth was more effective to reproduce the reproductive alterations of diabetic women.
ASSESSING THE PERFORMANCE OF A STRUCTURED LIGHT SCANNER

An alternative to the mostly known and market dominating laser scanners are Structured Light scanners. Structured light 3D scanners project a pattern of light on the object and detect the deformation of the pattern on the object. They are basically non-contact optical systems, based almost entirely on the principles of photogrammetry in order to transform image pairs to surface information. They are able to achieve information of very high density and of very high accuracy. For assessing the capabilities of such a system under real working conditions some tests were performed and their results are analysed and presented in this paper. Among others, industrial prototype gauges served as test objects, with their dimensions known at very high accuracy. Suitable mesh densities were implemented for deriving the objects’ surface. They were measured and compared to the nominal values. In addition, the system was put to test under several ambient conditions, i.e. natural sunlight and indoor lighting, and using various object materials, like marble, wood, stone etc., in order to assess its qualitative performance. Reference is also made in the paper to several practical applications of the system, in order to demonstrate its range of applicability. Special interest is given in processing aspects for the creation and visualization of detailed photorealistic 3D models. Various well known open issues in the related processes are identified and the respective solutions/significant improvements in the workflow pipeline brought by the employment of new technologies are highlighted. The software used is described and high resolution visualizations of sub-millimeter accuracy for each case study are presented and assessed based on completeness, accuracy and ease of processing. Finally, conclusions are drawn concerning the usage of the hardware and software components of the system, but also its performance characteristics. The practical results are discussed and evaluated based on the experience gained through these applications.
Crevice Corrosion of Alloy 625 in Chlorinated ASTM Artificial Ocean Water

Abstract Factors controlling the initiation and propagation of crevice corrosion on alloy 625 (UNS N06625) in ocean water of ambient temperature were explored within the contexts of the Oldfield-Sutton model for critical crevice corrosion solution (CCS) development and the ohmic criterion for crevice corrosion initiation. Data supported an earlier claim that a critical potential drop must be exceeded to initiate crevice corrosion. Steady-state crevice corrosion propagation was found to be under ohmic control. Chlorine decreased the time required for initiation and possibly raised propagation rates in ASTM artificial ocean water. Addition of molybdate (MoO42−) to ocean water (simulating the dissolution of alloyed molybdenum [Mo]) delayed initiation and reduced propagation rates temporarily, but not sufficiently to explain fully the inhibiting effects of alloyed Mo. Beneficial effects on crevice corrosion susceptibility of alloyed Mo and equivalent chromium (Creq) concentration were examined critically in t.
Cancer survivors' rehabilitation needs in a primary health care context.

BACKGROUND Studies of cancer survivors' rehabilitation needs have mostly addressed specific areas of needs, e.g. physical aspects and/or rehabilitation needs in relation to specific cancer types. OBJECTIVE To assess cancer survivors' perceived need for physical and psychosocial rehabilitation, whether these needs have been presented to and discussed with their GP. METHODS A survey among a cohort of cancer survivors approximately 15 months after diagnosis. The questionnaire consisted of an ad hoc questionnaire on rehabilitation needs and the two validated questionnaires, the SF-12 and the Research and Treatment of Cancer quality of life questionnaire, the QLQ C-30 version 3. RESULTS Among 534 eligible patients, we received 353 (66.1%) answers. Two-thirds of the cancer survivors had discussed physical rehabilitation needs with their GPs. Many (51%) feared cancer relapse, but they rarely presented this fear to the GP or the hospital staff. The same applied to social problems and problems within the family. Good physical and mental condition and low confidence in the GP were associated with no contact to the GP after hospital discharge. CONCLUSION Cancer survivors have many psychosocial rehabilitation needs and intervention should effectively target these needs. If this task is assigned to the GPs, they need to be proactive when assessing psychosocial aspects.