Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Proposal for a Notion of Timeliness in Wireless Sensor Networks

The intrinsic properties of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) such as their ad-hoc infrastructure, energy constraints, and limited availability of resources, constitute an unfavorable environment for end-to-end timeliness guarantees. Many existing solutions are based on a timeliness notion borrowed from real-time systems, which can only express strict end-to-end deadlines for individual messages. However, it is practically unfeasible to impose these timeliness requirements in WSN without overestimating the net-
A probabilistic seismic hazard model based on cellular automata and information theory

We try to obtain a spatio-temporal model of earth- quakes occurrence based on Information Theory and Cellular Automata (CA). The CA supply useful models for many in- vestigations in natural sciences; here, it have been used to es- tablish temporal relations between the seismic events occur- ring in neighbouring parts of the crust. The catalogue used is divided into time intervals and the region into cells, which are declared active or inactive by means of a certain energy release criterion (four criteria have been tested). A pattern of active and inactive cells which evolves over time is given. A stochastic CA is constructed with the patterns to simulate their spatio-temporal evolution. The interaction between the cells is represented by the neighbourhood (2-D and 3-D mod- els have been tried). The best model is chosen by maximiz- ing the mutual information between the past and the future states. Finally, a Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Map is drawn up for the different energy releases. The method has been ap- plied to the Iberian Peninsula catalogue from 1970 to 2001. For 2-D, the best neighbourhood has been the Moore's one of radius 1; the von Neumann's 3-D also gives hazard maps and takes into account the depth of the events. Gutenberg- Richter's law and Hurst's analysis have been obtained for the data as a test of the catalogue. Our results are consistent with previous studies both of seismic hazard and stress conditions in the zone, and with the seismicity occurred after 2001.
Grey-Box Testing and Verification of Java/JML

We present in this paper the application of constraint solving techniques to the validation and automated test cases generation for Java programs, annotated with JML specifications. The Java/JML code is translated into a constraint representation based on a subset of the set-theory, which is well-suited for modelling object-oriented programs. Symbolic code execution techniques can then be applied to produce test cases, using classical structural test selection criteria, or to detect possible runtime errors, and non-conformances between the Java code and its embedded JML model.
Robot-assisted lung motion compensation during needle insertion

In this paper, a robotic solution is proposed to deal with the challenges caused by lung motion during needle insertion. To accomplish this goal, a macro-micro robotic tool is designed to compensate for tissue motion using the macro part, while performing the needle insertion independently with the micro part. The main application of this work is for robotics-assisted lung tumor biopsy, where the combined motions of respiration and heartbeat may compromise success. An impedance-based controller keeps the macro reference coordinate in contact with the moving soft tissue using measurements from small pressure sensors mounted at the tip of the macro shaft. The micro part, mounted at the end of the macro robot, manipulates the needle in the harmonized reference coordinate system. Preoperative identification of ex vivo soft tissue is performed to estimate the dynamic behavior of the tissue. The controller is then synthesized based on the identified model. The effects of identification error and high frequency uncertainty are addressed in the control design. A prototype was built to evaluate the proposed approach using: 1) two Mitsubishi PA-10 robots, one for manipulating the macro part and the other for mimicking tissue motion, 2) one motorized linear stage to handle the micro part, and 3) a Phantom Omni haptic device for remote manipulation. Experimental results demonstrate the performance of the motion compensation system.
International Meshing Roundtable Relaxed Lepp-Delaunay algorithms for the refinement / improvement of triangulations

We discuss serial and multicore Relaxed Lepp-Delaunay algorithms for triangulation refinement, based on inserting the centroid of associated terminal triangles (that share local longest edge in the mesh), and where a neighborhood parameter K is used to constrain the edge flipping propagation around the terminal edge. Empirical results on a multicore Relaxed Lepp-Delaunay centroid algorithm, show that an efficient and scalable multicore algorithm was obtained. c © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of IMR 25.
Effects of liming and nitrogen fertilization on emissions of CO2 and N2O from a temperate forest

Fluxes of N2O and CO2 were measured simultaneously in control, N-fertilized, and limed plots in a 145-year-old beech stand in the Solling area in Germany using an automated chamber method. The N-fertilized plot received annually 140 kg of nitrogen as NH4SO4 since 1982; the limed plot was treated with 30 t/ha of dolomitic limestone once in 1982. On all plots, fluxes of N2O and CO2 underwent strong diel, daily, and seasonal variations. For the control plot, N2O and CO2 effluxes averaged about 1 mg N/m2/d and 2.9 g CO2/m2/d from October until May and 3 mg N/m2/d and 4.5 g CO2/m2/d from May until September. Annual fluxes for N2O and CO2 were 5.6 kg N/ha/yr and to 3.2 t C/ha/yr, respectively. Nitrogen saturation of the system due to high rates of N deposition for several decades may be responsible for the high N2O losses. Liming drastically reduced the N2O emission to 1.5 kg N/ha/yr and increased the CO2 emission to 4.1 t C/ha/yr, 5 years after the treatment. Changes in N2O/N2 ratios are assumed to be the reason for the lower N2O emission. Fertilization increased the N2O emission, resulting in 7.8 kg N/ha/yr, whereas the effect on CO2 emission with 3.8 t C/ha/yr was less pronounced.
A Coactive Learning View of Online Structured Prediction in Statistical Machine Translation

We present a theoretical analysis of online parameter tuning in statistical machine translation (SMT) from a coactive learning view. This perspective allows us to give regret and generalization bounds for latent perceptron algorithms that are common in SMT, but fall outside of the standard convex optimization scenario. Coactive learning also introduces the concept of weak feedback, which we apply in a proofof-concept experiment to SMT, showing that learning from feedback that consists of slight improvements over predictions leads to convergence in regret and translation error rate. This suggests that coactive learning might be a viable framework for interactive machine translation. Furthermore, we find that surrogate translations replacing references that are unreachable in the decoder search space can be interpreted as weak feedback and lead to convergence in learning, if they admit an underlying linear model.
Empirical evaluation of gradient methods for matrix learning vector quantization

Generalized Matrix Learning Vector Quantization (GMLVQ) critically relies on the use of an optimization algorithm to train its model parameters. We test various schemes for automated control of learning rates in gradient-based training. We evaluate these algorithms in terms of their achieved performance and their practical feasibility. We find that some algorithms do indeed perform better than others across multiple benchmark datasets. These algorithms produce GMLVQ models which not only better fit the training data, but also perform better upon validation. In particular, we find that the Variance-based Stochastic Gradient Descent algorithm consistently performs best across all experiments.
Preliminary correlation of the Paleozoic rocks from test wells in Florida and adjacent parts of Georgia and Alabama

The following conclusions are based on preliminary studies of the cores, cuttings and fossils recovered from 52 test wells drilled in central and northern Florida and adjacent parts of Georgia and Alabama. Detailed faunal lists are omitted, partly because the studies of the faunas are as yet incomplete, and partly because most of the fossils are types that are more readily correlated with faunas found in South America and Europe than with known faunas elsewhere in the United States, It is believed that the correlations postulated here are essentially correct, but they are preliminary and may be modified slightly in the light of more detailed studies. At the present time these studies indicate:
Multiple Signals Regulate Trafficking of the Mannose 6-Phosphate-uncovering Enzyme*

The “uncovering enzyme,” which catalyzes the second step in the formation of the mannose 6-phosphate recognition marker on lysosomal enzyme oligosaccharides, resides primarily in thetrans-Golgi network and cycles between this compartment and the plasma membrane. An analysis of green fluorescent protein-uncovering enzyme chimeras revealed that the transmembrane segment and the first 11 residues of the 41-residue-cytoplasmic tail are sufficient for retention in the trans-Golgi network. The next eight residues (486YAYHPLQE493) facilitate exit from this compartment. Kinetic studies demonstrated that the 488YHPL491 sequence also mediates rapid internalization at the plasma membrane. This motif binds adaptor protein-2 in glutathione S-transferase-uncovering enzyme-cytoplasmic tail pull-down assays, indicating that the uncovering enzyme is endocytosed via clathrin-coated vesicles. Consistent with this finding, endogenous uncovering enzyme was detected in purified clathrin-coated vesicles. The enzyme with a Y486A mutation is internalized normally but accumulates on the cell surface because of increased recycling to the plasma membrane. This residue is required for efficient return of the enzyme from endosomes to thetrans-Golgi network. These findings indicate that the YAYHPLQE motif is recognized at several sorting sites, including thetrans-Golgi network, the plasma membrane, and the endosome.
Systematic Genetic Analysis with Ordered Arrays of Yeast Deletion Mutants

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, more than 80% of the ∼6200 predicted genes are nonessential, implying that the genome is buffered from the phenotypic consequences of genetic perturbation. To evaluate function, we developed a method for systematic construction of double mutants, termed synthetic genetic array (SGA) analysis, in which a query mutation is crossed to an array of ∼4700 deletion mutants. Inviable double-mutant meiotic progeny identify functional relationships between genes. SGA analysis of genes with roles in cytoskeletal organization (BNI1,ARP2, ARC40, BIM1), DNA synthesis and repair (SGS1, RAD27), or uncharacterized functions (BBC1, NBP2) generated a network of 291 interactions among 204 genes. Systematic application of this approach should produce a global map of gene function.
Test Collections for Spoken Document Retrieval from Lecture Audio Data

The Spoken Document Processing Working Group, which is part of the special interest group of spoken language processing of the Information Processing Society of Japan, is developing a test collection for evaluation of spoken document retrieval systems. A prototype of the test collection consists of a set of textual queries, relevant segment lists, and transcriptions by an automatic speech recognition system, allowing retrieval from the Corpus of Spontaneous Japanese (CSJ). From about 100 initial queries, application of the criteria that a query should have more than five relevant segments that consist of about one minute speech segments yielded 39 queries. Targeting the test collection, an ad hoc retrieval experiment was also conducted to assess the baseline retrieval performance by applying a standard method for spoken document retrieval.
Gas Injection Technique to Develop Rim Oil, Mereenie Field, Australia

The Mereenie Oil and Gas Field, situated in the Amadeus Basin in Central Australia, is the largest onshore oil field in Australia, containing some 367 million barrels of original oil in-place and 900 billion cubic feet of original gas in-place. Oil is contained in an elongated, anticlinal trap in multilayered reservoirs as rims associated with large gas-caps. Expansion of solution and gas-cap gas is the primary oil recovery mechanism. However, most of the oil is contained in narrow, thin rims in tight reservoirs which are considered marginally economic for development. The Pacoota Sandstone is the major oil bearing unit. The rims have been partially developed by drilling wells at a one kilometre spacing. The Pacoota Sandstone is CambroOrdovician in age with six to nine percent porosity and 5 to 50 md permeability. Dedicated production wells have been drilled for the upper and lower reservoirs at an optimum distance from the gas-oil contact to maximise primary recovery. Based on production performance, the average, primary oil recovery factor in the developed rim area is estimated at 28% of the original oil in-place. A previous reservoir simulation study had indicated that two to three percent incremental oil recovery could be achieved by reinjecting the produced gas into the gas-cap. Recent modelling has shown a 10% to 14% incremental oil recovery by reinjecting gas directly into the oil rims. This innovative rim injection technique provides direct displacement of bypassed and unaccessed oil as well as pressure maintenance. The optimum spacing (between producers) for this gas injection technique is estimated at 1.5 km compared to 1 km for the primary development. Simulation modelling shows that, unlike primary oil recovery, this secondary recovery is less dependent on well distance from the GOC. A pilot test is currently underway. Based on the encouraging results from the pilot test and simulation results, a field development strategy is proposed.
Cross-Database Evaluation of Audio-Based Spoofing Detection Systems

Since automatic speaker verification (ASV) systems are highly vulnerable to spoofing attacks, it is important to develop mechanisms that can detect such attacks. To be practical, however, a spoofing attack detection approach should have (i) high accuracy, (ii) be well-generalized for practical attacks, and (iii) be simple and efficient. Several audio-based spoofing detection methods have been proposed recently but their evaluation is limited to less realistic databases containing homogeneous data. In this paper, we consider eight existing presentation attack detection (PAD) methods and evaluate their performance using two major publicly available speaker databases with spoofing attacks: AVspoof and ASVspoof. We first show that realistic presentation attacks (speech is replayed to PAD system) are significantly more challenging for the considered PAD methods compared to the so called `logical access' attacks (speech is presented to PAD system directly). Then, via a cross-database evaluation, we demonstrate that the existing methods generalize poorly when different databases or different types of attacks are used for training and testing. The results question the efficiency and practicality of the existing PAD systems, as well as, call for creation of databases with larger variety of realistic speech presentation attacks.
A History of the Development of Brucella Vaccines

Brucellosis is a worldwide zoonosis affecting animal and human health. In the last several decades, much research has been performed to develop safer Brucella vaccines to control the disease mainly in animals. Till now, no effective human vaccine is available. The aim of this paper is to review and discuss the importance of methodologies used to develop Brucella vaccines in pursuing this challenge.
The measurement of mangrove characteristics in southwest Florida using spot multispectral data

Abstract An intensive in situ sampling program near Marco Island, Florida during 19–23 October 1988 collected information on mangrove type, maximum canopy height, and percent canopy closure. These data were correlated with selected vegetation index information derived from analysis of SPOT multispectral (XS) data obtained on 21 October 1988. The Normalized Difference (ND) vegetation index information was the most highly correlated index with percent canopy closure (r=0.91). Percent canopy closure information can be used as a surrogate for mangrove density which is of great value when predicting which parts of the mangrove ecosystem are at greatest risk after an oil spill occurs. Such information is very valuable when constructing oil spill Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Maps for tropical regions of the world.
Fuzzy observers

We consider the analysis and design of three different types of nonlinear observers for dynamic Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy systems. Our approach is based on extending existing nonlinear observer schemes, namely Thau-Luenberger and sliding mode observers, to the case of interpolated multiple local affine linear models. Then linear matrix inequality based techniques are used for observer analysis and design.
Coordination and cooperation for next generation wireless systems- overhead signalling requirements and cross layer considerations

In the evolution of wireless systems to the next generation, it is becoming increasingly important to offer substantial improvements, not only in terms of peak and average cell rates but also in terms of outage performance. To this end, interference management by means of coordination between different base stations and coverage/capacity improvements by means of cooperation with relays are considered potential candidate technologies. The introduction of multiuser MIMO processing principles and cross-layer optimized resource allocation may offer promising performance gains for coordination and cooperation but their feasibility depends on overhead signaling constraints and system deployment assumptions. In this paper, we present two realistic approaches for coordination and cooperation, analyze their performance merits and discuss their complexity requirements.
Exploiting Hybrid Clustering and Computation Provisioning for Green C-RAN

By migrating baseband processing functionalities into a centralized cloud-based baseband unit (BBU) pool, cloud radio access network (C-RAN) facilitates cooperative transmission among remote radio heads (RRHs) and enables flexible computation provisioning in the BBU pool. In C-RAN, due to the high amount of data transfer from the BBU pool to RRHs through fronthauls, limited fronthaul capacity becomes a key factor when designing cooperative transmission schemes among RRHs. Meanwhile, as computational resources are provisioned to mobile users (MUs) for baseband processing in the form of virtual machines (VMs) in the BBU pool, an effective VM assignment strategy is also with great significance. In this paper, we propose a holistic framework for green C-RAN under the constraint of limited fronthaul capacity, where we jointly optimize hybrid clustering and computation provisioning to appropriately provide a cluster of RRHs and a VM to each MU for cooperative transmission and baseband processing, aiming at minimizing the system power consumption. The system power minimization problem is formulated as an integer non-linear programming problem, which is hard to tackle. For tractability purpose, we transform this problem to an equivalent hybrid clustering problem embedded with a series of VM assignment problems. On this basis, we first achieve the optimal solution for system power minimization with high computational complexity, and then, a greedy algorithm is proposed to solve the hybrid clustering problem for practical implementation. Finally, the simulation results demonstrate that the proposed joint optimization of hybrid clustering and computation provisioning can significantly reduce the system power consumption.
Mechanisms of Global-Mean Steric Sea Level Change

AbstractGlobal-mean sea level change partly reflects volumetric expansion of the oceans because of density change, otherwise known as global-mean steric sea level change. Owing to nonlinearities in the equation of state of seawater, the nature of processes contributing to recent observed global-mean steric sea level changes has not been well understood. Using a data-constrained ocean state estimate, global-mean steric sea level change over 1993–2003 is revisited, and contributions from ocean transports and surface exchanges are quantified using closed potential temperature and salinity budgets. Analyses demonstrate that estimated decadal global-mean steric sea level change results mainly from a slight, time-mean imbalance between atmospheric forcing and ocean transports over the integration period: surface heat and freshwater exchanges produce a trend in global-mean steric sea level that is mainly offset by the redistribution of potential temperature and salinity through small-scale diffusion and large-sc.
Optimal Step-Size Constant Modulus Algorithm

The step size leading to the absolute minimum of the constant modulus (CM) criterion along the search direction can be obtained algebraically at each iteration among the roots of a third-degree polynomial. The resulting optimal step-size CMA (OS-CMA) is compared with, other CM-based iterative techniques in terms of performance-versus-complexity trade-off.
Passive components using quasi-CPW in eWLB package

This paper presents design and simulation of high frequency passive components integrated in the thin-film redistribution layer (RDL) of an embedded wafer level ball grid array (eWLB). The eWLB is an innovative package solution for high frequency and high performance applications. In this work, we investigate the integration of passive components such as antennas, transmission lines and couplers in an eWLB package at the ISM (Industrial, Scientific and Medical) frequency band (61–61.5 GHz). We present simulation results for a new quasi-CPW (coplanar waveguide). This line consists of an elevated center conductor above the ground planes on its both sides and offers a considerably wider range of feasible characteristic impedances compared to classical CPW. The achieved impedances are between 14 Ω and 110 Ω. The obvious advantage of using the new quasi-CPW is simple realization of ground connection. We introduce a rat race coupler designed at 61 GHz using the new quasi-CPW. Finally, we demonstrate the feasibility of an antenna concept in the ISM band. We design a single-ended patch antenna using a new quasi-CPW. The simulated directivity of the antenna is 9dBi.
Adoptive transfer of cytomegalovirus-specific CTL to stem cell transplant patients after selection by HLA–peptide tetramers

Stem cell transplantation is used widely in the management of a range of diseases of the hemopoietic system. Patients are immunosuppressed profoundly in the early posttransplant period, and reactivation of cytomegalovirus (CMV) remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Adoptive transfer of donor-derived CMV-specific CD8+ T cell clones has been shown to reduce the rate of viral reactivation; however, the complexity of this approach severely limits its clinical application. We have purified CMV-specific CD8+ T cells from the blood of stem cell transplant donors using staining with HLA–peptide tetramers followed by selection with magnetic beads. CMV-specific CD8+ cells were infused directly into nine patients within 4 h of selection. Median cell dosage was 8.6 × 103/kg with a purity of 98% of all T cells. CMV-specific CD8+ T cells became detectable in all patients within 10 d of infusion, and TCR clonotype analysis showed persistence of infused cells in two patients studied. CMV viremia was reduced in every case and eight patients cleared the infection, including one patient who had a prolonged history of CMV infection that was refractory to antiviral therapy. This novel approach to adoptive transfer has considerable potential for antigen-specific T cell therapy.