Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Photonic-Assisted Microwave Temporal Convolution

An approach to performing photonic-assisted temporal convolution of two microwave signals is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. Temporal convolution involves three operations: time reversal of one microwave signal, the multiplication of the time-reversed signal with a second microwave signal, and the integration of the multiplied microwave signal, which can be implemented optically by a linearly chirped fiber Bragg grating (LCFBG), a Mach-Zehnder modulator, and a second LCFBG in conjunction with a low-speed photodetector, respectively. The proposed temporal convolution is experimentally evaluated, in which the calculation of three temporal convolutions between two rectangular waveforms, between an inverse sawtooth waveform and a rectangular waveform, and between an arbitrary waveform and a short pulse is experimentally demonstrated.
Optimal edge ranking of complete bipartite graphs in polynomial time

An edge ranking of a graph is a labelling of edges using positive integers such that all paths connecting two edges with the same label visit an intermediate edge with a higher label. An edge ranking of a graph is optimal if the number of labels used is minimum among all edge rankings. As the problem of finding optimal edge rankings for general graphs is NP-hard [12], it is interesting to concentrate on special classes of graphs and find optimal edge rankings for them efficiently. Apart from trees and complete graphs, little has been known about special classes of graphs for which the problem can be solved in polynomial time. In this paper, we present a polynomial-time algorithm to find an optimal edge ranking for a complete-bipartite graph by using the dynamic programming strategy.
A shadow detection method for remote sensing images using Affinity Propagation algorithm

Shadow detection in high spatial resolution remote sensing image is very critical for locating geographical targets. In this paper, we proposed a new shadow detection method using Affinity Propagation (AP) algorithm in the Hue-Saturation-Intensity (HSI) color space. Because the pixel matrix is a large-scale matrix, if we apply AP algorithm directly on the raw pixel space, it will be computation intensive to calculate the similarity matrix. To solve this problem, we propose to divide the matrix into several blocks and then applying AP to detect shadows in H, S and I components respectively. Then, three detected images are fused to obtain a final shadow detection result. Comparative experiments are performed for K-means and threshold segmentation methods. The experimental results show that higher detection accuracy of the proposed approach is obtained, and it can solve the problems of false dismissals of K-means and threshold segmentation method.
Heavy metal detoxification in crustacean epithelial lysosomes: role of anions in the compartmentalization process

SUMMARY Crustacean hepatopancreatic lysosomes are organelles of heavy metal sequestration and detoxification. Previous studies have shown that zinc uptake by lysosomal membrane vesicles (LMV) occurred by a vanadate- and thapsigargin-sensitive ATPase that was stimulated by a transmembrane proton gradient established by a co-localized V-ATPase associated with this organelle. In the present study, hepatopancreatic LMV from the American lobster Homarus americanus were prepared by standard centrifugation methods and 65Zn2+, 36Cl–, 35SO42– and 14C-oxalate2– were used to characterize the interactions between the metal and anions during vesicular detoxification events. Vesicles loaded with SO42– or PO43– led to a threefold greater steady-state accumulation of Zn2+ than similar vesicles loaded with mannitol, Cl– or oxalate2–. The stimulation of 65Zn2+ uptake by intravesicular sulfate was SO42– concentration dependent with a maximal enhancement at 500 μmol l–1. Zinc uptake in the presence of ATP was proton-gradient enhanced and electrogenic, exhibiting an apparent exchange stoichiometry of 1Zn+/3H+. 35SO42– and 14C-oxalate2– uptakes were both enhanced in vesicles loaded with intravesicular Cl– compared to vesicles containing mannitol, suggesting the presence of anion countertransport. 35SO42– influx was a sigmoidal function of external [SO42–] with 25 mmol l–1 internal [Cl–], or with several intravesicular pH values (e.g. 7.0, 8.0 and 9.0). In all instances Hill coefficients of approximately 2.0 were obtained, suggesting that 2 sulfate ions exchange with single Cl– or OH– ions. 36Cl– influx was a sigmoidal function of external [Cl–] with intravesicular pH of 7.0 and 9.0. A Hill coefficient of 2.0 was also obtained, suggesting the exchange of 2 Cl– for 1 OH–. 14C-oxalate influx was a hyperbolic function of external [oxalate2–] with 25 mmol l–1 internal [Cl–], suggesting a 1:1 exchange of oxalate2– for Cl–. As a group, these experiments suggest the presence of an anion exchange mechanism exchanging monovalent for polyvalent anions. Polyvalent inorganic anions (SO42– and PO43–) are known to associate with metals inside vesicles and a detoxification model is presented that suggests how these anions may contribute to concretion formation through precipitation with metals at appropriate vesicular pH.
Non-rigid articulated point set registration with Local Structure Preservation

We propose a new Gaussian mixture model (GMM)-based probabilistic point set registration method, called Local Structure Preservation (LSP), which is aimed at complex non-rigid and articulated deformations. LSP integrates two complementary shape descriptors to preserve the local structure. The first one is the Local Linear Embedding (LLE)-based topology constraint to retain the local neighborhood relationship, and the other is the Laplacian Coordinate (LC)-based energy to encode the local neighborhood scale. The registration is formulated as a density estimation problem where the LLE and LC terms are embedded in the GMM-based Coherent Point Drift (CPD) framework. A closed form solution is solved by an Expectation Maximization (EM) algorithm where the two local terms are jointly optimized along with the CPD coherence constraint. The experimental results on a challenging 3D human dataset show the accuracy and efficiency of our proposed approach to handle non-rigid highly articulated deformations.
An Effective Policy Anomaly Management Framework for Firewalls

: Firewalls are devices or programs that control the flow of network traffic between hosts or networks that employ differing security postures. While firewalls are often discussed in the context of Internet connectivity, they may also have applicability in various other network environments. At one time, most firewalls were deployed at the network perimeters. This provided some measure of protection for internal hosts, but it could not recognize all instances and forms of attacks, and attacks sent from one internal host to another often do not pass through network firewalls. Because of these and other factors network designers now often include firewall functionality at places other than the network perimeter to provide an additional layer of network security. Due to the increasing threat of network attacks, firewalls have become important integrated elements not only in the enterprise networks but also in small-size and home networks. Firewalls have been the frontier defense for secure networks against attacks and unauthorized traffic by filtering out unnecessary network traffic coming into or going from the secured network. In this paper, we represent an effective policy anomaly management framework for firewalls, adopting a rule-based segmentation technique to identify policy anomalies and derive effective anomaly resolutions.
SAMPLE BOTTLE DESIGN IMPROVEMENTS FOR RADON EMANATION ANALYSIS OF NATURAL WATERS

The “radon emanation” method of analysis for 222Rn and 226Ra in natural waters has been used by scientists for more than 30 years. We have examined the use of a new plastic bottle design as a viable option and improvement to traditional glass designs. The advantages of the new design over that used previously in our laboratory include a larger volume, lower blank, less fragile nature, and ease of handling in the field. Extensive calibration of the new design yielded an average efficiency of 70.9 ± 1.7% and showed that an accurate blank value can be determined for each sample based on its specific holding time. Based on a 5-L sample and a 60-min count time, minimum detectable activities (MDA) range from 1.0 to 1.2 mBq L−1 for 222Rn and 226Ra, respectively. Memory effect experiments have shown that activity artifacts are negligible when reusing the sampling containers. In addition, intra- and inter-laboratory comparisons show that the new design gives reliable results.
Stable Multiwavelength Erbium Fiber Ring Laser With Optical Feedback for Remote Sensing

In this paper, we demonstrate a stable fiber sensing system for remote temperature measurements, where the sensing element is an array of four fiber Bragg gratings and sensor interrogation is achieved with a multiwavelength erbium fiber ring laser. By introducing a feedback fiber loop in a fiber ring cavity, four laser emission lines were obtained simultaneously in single-longitudinal mode operation (SLM). The power instability obtained was lower than 0.5 dB with an optical signal-to-noise ratio higher than 50 dB for all the emitted wavelengths. The application of this system for remote temperature measurements has been demonstrated even though the SLM regime cannot be preserved.
Automated choroidal segmentation of 1060 nm OCT in healthy and pathologic eyes using a statistical model

A two stage statistical model based on texture and shape for fully automatic choroidal segmentation of normal and pathologic eyes obtained by a 1060 nm optical coherence tomography (OCT) system is developed. A novel dynamic programming approach is implemented to determine location of the retinal pigment epithelium/ Bruch’s membrane /choriocapillaris (RBC) boundary. The choroid–sclera interface (CSI) is segmented using a statistical model. The algorithm is robust even in presence of speckle noise, low signal (thick choroid), retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) detachments and atrophy, drusen, shadowing and other artifacts. Evaluation against a set of 871 manually segmented cross-sectional scans from 12 eyes achieves an average error rate of 13%, computed per tomogram as a ratio of incorrectly classified pixels and the total layer surface. For the first time a fully automatic choroidal segmentation algorithm is successfully applied to a wide range of clinical volumetric OCT data.
High-arity interactions, polyhedral relaxations, and cutting plane algorithm for soft constraint optimisation (MAP-MRF)

LP relaxation approach to soft constraint optimisation (i.e. MAP-MRF) has been mostly considered only for binary problems. We present its generalisation to n-ary problems, including a simple algorithm to optimise the LP bound, n-ary max-sum diffusion. As applications, we show that a hierarchy of gradually tighter polyhedral relaxations of MAP-MRF is obtained by adding zero interactions. We propose a cutting plane algorithm, where cuts correspond to adding zero interactions and the separation problem to finding an unsatisfiable constraint satisfaction subproblem. Next, we show that certain high-arity interactions, e.g. certain global constraints, can be included into the framework in a principled way. Finally, we prove that n-ary max-sum diffusion finds global optimum for n-ary supermodular problems.
High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein Is Not Associated With Carotid Intima-Media Progression: The Carotid Atherosclerosis Progression Study

Background and Purpose— It is unclear whether elevated serum C-reactive protein (CRP) is causal to the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis. We undertook a prospective longitudinal cohort study to address this question. Methods— In a population-based sample of 3122 subjects, we measured carotid intima media thickness (IMT) at baseline and after 3 years and surveyed clinical events. Associations between baseline high-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) and baseline IMT, and IMT progression were determined before and after controlling for vascular risk factors. The relationship between baseline IMT and clinical events during follow up was determined. Results— All vascular risk factors were significantly associated with hs-CRP (P<0.001). Hs-CRP was significantly associated with baseline IMT in all carotid segments (P<0.001), but this association was no longer significant after controlling for age, gender, and cardiovascular risk factors. Hs-CRP was not related to individual IMT progression. Interactions between hs-CRP and body mass index, HbA1c, or blood pressure showed no association with IMT progression. Baseline hs-CRP was related to the risk of clinical events (myocardial infarction or stroke or death, hazard ratio of 1.22 per mg/L hs-CRP increase, 95% CI: 1.07 to 1.39, P=0.004, adjusted for age and gender), but this association was not significant after controlling for age, gender, and cardiovascular risk factors (1.59, 95% CI: 0.96 to 2.64, P=0.072). Conclusions— Our results suggest that hs-CRP is not an independent causal factor for the initiation and progression of early atherosclerotic changes of the carotid arteries. Univariate associations between hs-CRP and IMT were largely explained by confounding by age, gender, and cardiovascular risk factors.
Analyzing and modeling real-world phenomena with complex networks: a survey of applications

The success of new scientific areas can be assessed by their potential in contributing to new theoretical approaches and in applications to real-world problems. Complex networks have fared extremely well in both of these aspects, with their sound theoretical basis being developed over the years and with a variety of applications. In this survey, we analyze the applications of complex networks to real-world problems and data, with emphasis in representation, analysis and modeling. A diversity of phenomena are surveyed, which may be classified into no less than 11 areas, providing a clear indication of the impact of the field of complex networks.
Distributed computation of the average of multiple time-varying reference signals

We present a distributed discontinuous control algorithm for a team of agents to track the average of multiple time-varying reference signals with bounded derivatives. We use tools from nonsmooth analysis to analyze the stability of the system. For time-invariant undirected connected network topologies, we prove that the states of all agents will converge to the average of the time-varying reference signals with bounded derivatives in finite time provided that the control gain is properly chosen. The validity of this result is also established for scenarios with switching undirected connected network topologies. For time-invariant directed network topologies with a directed spanning tree, we show that all agents will still reach a consensus in finite time, but the convergent value is generally not the average of the time-varying reference signals with bounded derivatives.
The Impact of Flare, Polarized Light and Aberration on CD Uniformity of Butting Pattern and CD Control

The variation of the image quality and critical dimension (CD) uniformity due to the flare, geometrical aberrations and polarized light is studied in order to understand the implication on CD errors control. Some of the surprising phenomena, which occurring at high numerical aperture (NA), are studied with 2-dimension (2D) mask by calculating the latent images of 65 nm butting pattern. When the flare is 5%, the variation of gap-width will reach 27%. The flare's impact on the gap-width is higher than that on the line-width. By introducing a fixed amount of aberration for each Zernike coefficient with all other aberrations being zero, the image quality and CD uniformity are calculated with different flare and polarized light when each Zernike coefficient is 0.02lambda. The 3rd order astigmatism (0.02lambda) causes the gap-width to reduce 27%, and the 3rd order spherical (0.02lambda) causes the gap-width to reduce 5%; the 3rd order coma (0.02lambda) has little effect on the gap-width. The horizontal linear polarized light and azimuthally polarized light can enhance the image contrast. The polarized light causes the line-widths to vary a little, while it causes the gap-widths to vary greatly. So adjusting polarization state to compensate the gap-width errors caused by the flare and geometrical aberrations is feasible. By making use of the characteristics of polarized light's imaging can lead to substantial gains in exposure latitude and CD uniformity. We illustrate the feasibility of adjusting polarization state to compensate the CD errors caused by the flare and geometrical aberrations
Interactions between the Lipoprotein PilP and the Secretin PilQ in Neisseria meningitidis

ABSTRACT Neisseria meningitidis can be the causative agent of meningitis or septicemia. This bacterium expresses type IV pili, which mediate a variety of functions, including autoagglutination, twitching motility, biofilm formation, adherence, and DNA uptake during transformation. The secretin PilQ supports type IV pilus extrusion and retraction, but it also requires auxiliary proteins for its assembly and localization in the outer membrane. Here we have studied the physical properties of the lipoprotein PilP and examined its interaction with PilQ. We found that PilP was an inner membrane protein required for pilus expression and transformation, since pilP mutants were nonpiliated and noncompetent. These mutant phenotypes were restored by the expression of PilP in trans. The pilP gene is located upstream of pilQ, and analysis of their transcripts indicated that pilP and pilQ were cotranscribed. Furthermore, analysis of the level of PilQ expression in pilP mutants revealed greatly reduced amounts of PilQ only in the deletion mutant, exhibiting a polar effect on pilQ transcription. In vitro experiments using recombinant fragments of PilP and PilQ showed that the N-terminal region of PilP interacted with the middle part of the PilQ polypeptide. A three-dimensional reconstruction of the PilQ-PilP interacting complex was obtained at low resolution by transmission electron microscopy, and PilP was shown to localize around the cap region of the PilQ oligomer. These findings suggest a role for PilP in pilus biogenesis. Although PilQ does not need PilP for its stabilization or membrane localization, the specific interaction between these two proteins suggests that they might have another coordinated activity in pilus extrusion/retraction or related functions.
Regularization-Free Estimation in Trace Regression with Symmetric Positive Semidefinite Matrices

Over the past few years, trace regression models have received considerable attention in the context of matrix completion, quantum state tomography, and compressed sensing. Estimation of the underlying matrix from regularization-based approaches promoting low-rankedness, notably nuclear norm regularization, have enjoyed great popularity. In the present paper, we argue that such regularization may no longer be necessary if the underlying matrix is symmetric positive semidefinite (\textsf{spd}) and the design satisfies certain conditions. In this situation, simple least squares estimation subject to an \textsf{spd} constraint may perform as well as regularization-based approaches with a proper choice of the regularization parameter, which entails knowledge of the noise level and/or tuning. By contrast, constrained least squares estimation comes without any tuning parameter and may hence be preferred due to its simplicity.
An Enhanced Ray-Shooting Approach to Force-Closure Problems

Force-closure is a fundamental topic in grasping research. Relevant problems include force-closure test, quality evaluation, and grasp planning. Implementing the well-known force-closure condition that the origin of the wrench space lies in the interior of the convex hull of primitive wrenches, Liu presented a ray-shooting approach to force-closure test. Because of its high efficiency in 3D work space and no limitation on the contact number of a grasp, this approach is advanced. Achieving some new results of convex analysis, this paper enhances the above approach in three aspects (a) The exactness is completed. In order to avoid trouble or mistakes, the dimension of the convex hull of primitive wrenches is taken into account, which is always ignored until now (b) The efficiency is increased. A shortcut which skips some steps of the original force-closure test is found. (c) The scope is extended. Our simplified ray-shooting approach yields a grasp stability Index suitable for grasp planning. Numerical examples maturing and grasping show the enhancement superiority.
Testing the Storm et al. (2010) meta-analysis using Bayesian and frequentist approaches: reply to Rouder et al. (2013).

Rouder, Morey, and Province (2013) stated that (a) the evidence-based case for psi in Storm, Tressoldi, and Di Risio's (2010) meta-analysis is supported only by a number of studies that used manual randomization, and (b) when these studies are excluded so that only investigations using automatic randomization are evaluated (and some additional studies previously omitted by Storm et al., 2010, are included), the evidence for psi is "unpersuasive. " Rouder et al. used a Bayesian approach, and we adopted the same methodology, finding that our case is upheld. Because of recent updates and corrections, we reassessed the free-response databases of Storm et al. using a frequentist approach. We discuss and critique the assumptions and findings of Rouder et al.
Customer buying behaviour analysis in mass customization

Motivated by the importance of customer buying behaviour (such as correlation among product attributes/features of products configured in the past) in planning future configurations, this paper addresses the issue that product evolution (upgrades) usually render information gathered from past buying behaviour at least partially unusable. For instance, relations among features might have been changed, thus making it difficult to configure the same products again. The proposed approach aims to (1) find associations between product attributes based on the analysis of prior customer orders (2) apply configuration rules to prune attribute association rules which are not controlled by customers, and (3) check whether derived attribute association rules from past orders also work for the new upgraded product. Attribute associations consistent with the upgraded product are then used to predict configurations for production planning. We use machine learning algorithms and optimization techniques to address these issues.
Predicting the possibility of two newly isolated phenetheren ring containing compounds from Aristolochia manshuriensis as CDK2 inhibitors

Aristolochia manshuriensis has been used for centuries in Chinese medicinal system for their versatile medicinal uses. Recent studies have revealed two new aristolactames (compound A and B) with γ-lactame ring fused with the phenentherene ring as potent inhibitors of human Cycline Dependent Kinase2 (CDK2). Studies on aristolactames and related compounds claim for their CDK2 inhibition without delineating the involved mechanism and structural basis of interaction. Molecular structural model was used to we propose a structural basis of CDK2 inhibition. We showed that these compounds (A and B) can successfully dock into the inhibitor binding pockets of human CDK2. Predicted binding affinities are comparable to known inhibitors of CDK2. Results were in agreement with the earlier biochemical studies. Hence, suggest that studied compounds A and B can be a promising scaffold for rational design of novel and potential drugs against cancer. Abbreviations CDK2 - cyclin-dependent kinase 2, OLO - Olomoucine, NW1 - Cyclohexylmethyloxy-5-Nitroso-Pyrimidine- 2, 4-Diamine, CMG - 6-O-Cyclohexylmethyl Guanine.