Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
I MAGE COMPRESSION WITH EFFICIENT CODEBOOK INITIALIZATION USING LBG ALGORITHM

Vector quantization (VQ) has received a great attention in the field of multimedia data compression since last few decades because it has simple decoding structure and can provide high compression ratio. In general, algorithms of VQ codebook generation focus on solving two kinds of problem: (i) to determine the quantization regions and the code words that minimize the distortion error. (ii) to reduce the computational complexity of code words search for building the codebook. In this paper, a novel VQ codebook generation method based on the Linde-Buzo-Gray (LBG) is presented. VQ based image compression technique has three major steps namely (i) Codebook Design, (ii) VQ Encoding Process and (iii) VQ Decoding Process. The performance of VQ based image compression technique depends upon the constructed codebook. In the same sequence, widely used technique for VQ codebook design is the LBG algorithm. However the performance of the standard LBG algorithm is highly dependent on the choice of the initial codebook. In this paper, we have proposed a simple and very effective approach for image compression through LBG algorithm. The simulation results show that the proposed scheme is computationally efficient and gives expected performance.
Improving the Energy Consumption of Sensor Network Wake-Up Protocols Technical Report August 2004

In sensor networks, it is important for nodes to sleep a large portion of the time to conserve energy. However, nodes cannot communicate when sleeping and, therefore, need a mechanism to wake neighbors up when there is data to send. To address this problem, wake-up protocols are designed to determine when nodes should wake up. In this paper, we outline three categories to classify wake-up protocols and give examples of each. Based on this discussion, we choose to focus on protocols that use out-of-band mechanisms to wake other nodes up. After describing the trade-offs associated with this type of wake-up protocol, we present new analysis for two protocols from previous work, STEM [1], [2] and STEM-BT [2]. Based on this analysis, we identify areas where both of the protocols could be more energy efficient and present two new protocols, STEM-H and STEMBT2, to address this. Extensive analysis and simulation testing shows that the new protocols outperform the old protocols in virtually every scenario tested.
Astronomy and Astrophysics Constraining the Spectral Parameters of Rx J0925.7–4758 with the Bepposax Lecs

The Super Soft Source RX J0925.7–4758 (RX J0925 hereafter) was observed by BeppoSAX LECS and MECS on January 25–26 1997. The source was clearly detected by the LECS but only marginally detected by the MECS. We apply detailed Non-Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium (Non-LTE) models including metal line opacities to the observed LECS spectrum. We test whether the X–ray spectrum of RX J0925 is consistent with that of a white dwarf and put constraints upon the effective temperature and surface gravity by considering the presence or absence of spectral features such as absorption edges and line blends in the models and the observed spectrum. We find that models with effective temperatures above ∼ 10 6 K or below ∼ 7.5 × 10 5 K can be excluded. If we assume a single model component for RX J0925 we observe a significant discrepancy between the model and the data above the Ne IX edge energy at 1.19 keV. This is consistent with earlier observations with ROSAT and ASCA. The only way to account for the emission above ∼ 1.2 keV is by introducing a second spectral (plasma) component. This plasma component may be explained by a shocked wind originating from the compact object or from the irradiated companion star. If we assume log g = 9 then the derived luminosity is consistent with that of a nuclear burning white dwarf at a distance of ∼ 4 kpc.
A Senior-Level Course in Hardware–Software Codesign

Modern electronic system design makes extensive use of programmable architectures, and requires designers to consider hardware and software jointly in their design. A senior-level course named hardware/software codesign provides a practical introduction to these complex system design issues. The challenge is to bring a subject, which is traditionally covered as a graduate-level course, to senior undergraduate students without overly narrowing down the scope, and without turning the course into an ad-hoc design project. The course combines an incremental, structured overview of hardware/software codesign with practical assignments that emphasize key concepts. This paper reviews the motivations for this course, the curriculum, the lab materials and tools used, and the results of the first offering of the course in fall 2006.
Enhancing the reliability of ad-hoc networks through fuzzy trust evaluation

Ideally, in Ad-hoc networks all comprising nodes act cooperatively in establishing the communication paths from various sources to destinations. However, in practice such an ideal situation may not always be realized. Some nodes may act selfishly, refusing to accept the burden of forwarding packets. Some other nodes may act maliciously. Either way, such nodes degrade the network reliability or even disrupt its operation altogether. To alleviate the problems caused by the presence of such nodes, this paper proposes to establish quantifiable trust levels for the comprising nodes and to use them in making routing decisions. The proposed approach uses fuzzy logic concepts in evaluating the trust levels of the nodes. The trust levels are then used in the routing process. Using OPNET and MATLAB, the proposed approach is validated and further analyzed. It is shown that the utilization of this approach can result in significant enhancements of the performance and reliability of Ad-hoc networks.
Inside-Outside Estimation Meets Dynamic EM

We briefly review the inside-outside and EM algorithm for probabilistic context-free grammars. As a result, we formally prove that inside-outside estimation is a dynamic-programming variant of EM. This is interesting in its own right, but even more when considered in a theoretical context since the well-known convergence behavior of inside-outside estimation has been confirmed by many experiments but apparently has never been formally proved. However, being a version of EM, inside-outside estimation also inherits the good convergence behavior of EM. Therefore, the as yet imperfect line of argumentation can be transformed into a coherent proof.
Cross-Talk between Integrins and Oncogenes Modulates Chemosensitivity

Chemotherapy often relies on cancer cell death resulting from DNA damage. The p53 tumor suppressor pathway that is an important player in DNA damage response is frequently inactivated in cancer. Genotoxicants also activate DNA damage-independent stress pathways and activity of oncogenic signaling and adhesive interactions with the cancer microenvironment can have a strong impact on chemosensitivity. Here, we have investigated how two different oncogenes modulate the response to genotoxicants in the context of two classes of integrin adhesion receptors. Epithelial cells expressing either β1 or β3 integrins, in which p53 activity is suppressed, undergo G2 arrest but show little apoptosis after treatment with cisplatin or other genotoxicants. The apoptotic response is strongly enhanced by the c-Src[Y530F] oncogene in cells expressing β1 integrins, whereas such sensitization is reduced when these cells are engineered to express β3 integrins instead. The H-Ras[G12V] oncogene fails to sensitize, regardless of the integrin expression profile. The enhanced sensitivity induced by c-Src[Y530F] in the context of β1 integrins does not rely on p53-mediated DNA damage signaling but instead involves increased endoplasmic reticulum stress and caspase-3 activation. Our data implicate that the expression profiles of oncogenes and integrins strongly affect the response to chemotherapeutics and may thus determine the efficacy of chemotherapy.
Trajectory Distance Metric Using Hidden Markov Model Based Representation

In this paper, we introduce a set of novel distance metrics that use model based representations for trajectories. We determine the similarity of trajectories using the conformity of the corresponding HMM models. These metrics enable the comparison of tracjectories without any limitations of the conventional measures. They accurately identify the coordinate, orientation, and speed affinity. The proposed HMM based distance metrics can be used not only for ground truth comparisons but for clustering as well. Our experiments prove that they have superior discriminative properties.
Design reuse through high-level library mapping

We present high-level library mapping (HLLM), a technique that permits reuse of complex databook components (specifically ALUs) in architectural synthesis. We describe a dynamic programming formulation of HLLM, demonstrate the versatility of our approach on a variety of libraries and compare HLLM for ALUs with the traditional logic-synthesis approach. Our experiments show that HLLM for ALUs outperforms logic-synthesis in area, delay and runtime, indicating that HLLM is a promising approach for reuse of datapath components in architectural synthesis. <<ETX>>
Reconfigurable hardware for patient monitoring systems

A syringe infusion pump infuses fluids, medication or nutrients to the circulatory system of the patient. It is generally used intravenously. Syringe infusion pumps can administer fluids in ways that would be impractically expensive or unreliable if performed manually by nursing staff. Advanced versions of these are used in medical applications such as anesthesia injection, during child birth and also to maintain insulin level on a patient. However, they can also be used in non medical applications such as infusion of chemicals, infusion of medicines etc. The primary function of the system is to monitor the temperature, pulse rate and ECG of the patient using National Instrument's LabVIEW Real Time and RIO. The system can be used to assist medical personnel by infusing the right amount of medical fluid automatically depending on the patients various physiological parameters thus preventing risk to the patient's life. The systems also stores patient data in a secured database which enhances patient treatment and thus minimizes risk due to manual patient data entry.
sta-1 is repressed by mir-58 family in Caenorhabditis elegans

ABSTRACT The miR-58 family comprises 6 microRNAs with largely shared functions, and with an overall high expression, because one of its members, miR-58, is the most abundant microRNA in Caenorhabditis elegans. We recently found that 2 TGF-β signaling pathways, Sma/Mab and Dauer, responsible for body size and dauer formation respectively, among other phenotypes, are downregulated by the miR-58 family. Here, we further explore this family by showing that it also acts through the sta-1 3′UTR. sta-1 encodes a transcription factor, homologous to mammalian STATs, that inhibits dauer formation in association with the TGF-β Dauer pathway. We also observe that mutants with a constitutively active TGF-β Dauer pathway express higher levels of sta-1 mRNA. Our results reinforce the view of the miR-58 family and STA-1 as regulators of dauer formation in coordination with the TGF-β Dauer pathway.
A multi-modular associator network for simple temporal sequence learning and generation

Temporal sequence generation readily occurs in nature. For example performing a series of motor movements or recalling a sequence of episodic memories. Proposed networks which perform temporal sequence generation are often in the form of a modification to an auto-associative memory by using heteroassociative or time-varying synaptic strengths, requiring some pre-chosen temporal functions. Intra-modular synapses are trained auto-associatively with a Hebb rule, while a set of inter-module synapses are hetero-associative. Our model is compared to one by Lisman, which uses hetero-associative recurrent synapses in one of the modules, and auto-associative synapses between modules.
A virtual tutor for children with autism

Purpose The picture exchange communication system (PECS) is an established communication intervention for non-verbal children with autism. The purpose of this paper is to present an evaluation of a computer-based PECS approach, in which young non-verbal children with autism respond to an on-screen “virtual tutor” through the manipulation of picture/symbol cards. The paper presents research to investigate how the virtual tutor’s voice influences the children’s participation and performance. Design/methodology/approach Eight non-verbal children between six and nine years old and with a diagnosis of autism were presented with a series of computer-based activities, using a virtual tutor with either a natural or synthetic voice, in two separate sessions. Data were gathered using a within-participants counterbalanced design to control against variations between individuals and effects of presentation order. Findings Analysis of the children’s responses suggest that they were able to use the system more effectively when the virtual tutor had a synthetic voice, rather than a human voice. The findings demonstrate that a computer-based virtual tutor can provide an engaging method of supporting symbol-based communication for non-verbal children with autism, and that a synthetic voice type was preferable for the sessions undertaken. Originality/value Investigations of voice type and its influence on non-verbal children’s participation and performance have so far provided inconclusive results (Ramdoss, 2013). This research suggests that the voice type is an important feature of the learning experience of non-verbal children with autism, and can have a significant influence on their participation and performance in virtual tutor-led learning.
Synchrotron emission from the T Tauri binary system V773 Tauri A

The pre-main sequence binary system V773 Tau A shows remarkable flaring activity around periastron passage. Here, we present the observation of such a flare at a wavelengt h of 3 mm (90 GHz) performed with the Plateau de Bure Interferometer. ⋆ We examine different possible causes for the energy losses responsible for the e-folding time of 2.31± 0.19 hours of that flare. We exclude synchrotron, collisional, an d inverse Compton losses because they are not consistent with observational constraints, and we propose that the fading of the emission is due to the leakage of electrons themselves at each reflection between the two mirror points of the magnetic stru cture partially trapping them. The magnetic structure compatible with both our leakage model and previous observations is that of a helmet streamer that, as in the solar case, can occur at t he top of the X-ray-emitting, stellar-sized coronal loops of one o f the stars. The streamer may extend up to∼ 20 R∗ and interact with the corona of the other star at periastron passage, causing r ecurring flares. The inferred magnetic field strength at the t wo mirror points of the helmet streamer is in the range 0.12 - 125 G, and the corresponding Lorentz factor,γ, of the partially trapped electrons is in the range 20<γ< 632. We therefore rule out that the emission could be of gyro-synchrotron nature: the derived high Lorentz factor proves that the nature of the emission at 90 GHz from this pre-main binary system is synchrotron radiation.
Nonlinear Network Tearing Algorithm for Transputer System Implementation

This paper presents a new algorithm for simulation of large scale nonlinear systems. The algorithm is a development and generalisation of Kron’s ideas on tearing linear systems and it combines Newton-Raphson iterative process with diakoptical calculation of state increments in each iteration. The nonlinear network tearing algorithm has been implemented in 3L Parallel Fortran 77 and run on a 5 transputer system hosted in a Unix workstation. Computational results, obtained for a realistic nonlinear system, are provided and discussed.
SmartBalance: A sensing-driven linux load balancer for energy efficiency of heterogeneous MPSoCs

Due to increased demand for higher performance and better energy efficiency, MPSoCs are deploying heterogeneous architectures with architecturally differentiated core types. However, the traditional Linux-based operating system is unable to exploit this heterogeneity since existing kernel load balancing and scheduling approaches lack support for aggressively heterogeneous architectural configurations (e.g. beyond two core types). In this paper we present SmartBalance: a sensing-driven closed-loop load balancer for aggressively heterogeneous MPSoCs that performs load balancing using a sense-predict-balance paradigm. SmartBalance can efficiently manage the chip resources while opportunistically exploiting the workload variations and performance-power trade-offs of different core types. When compared to the standard vanilla Linux kernel load balancer, our per-thread and per-core performance-power-aware scheme shows an improvement in energy efficiency (throughput/Watt) of over 50% for benchmarks from the PARSEC benchmark suite executing on a heterogeneous MPSoC with 4 different core types and over 20% w.r. t. state-of-the-art ARM's global task scheduling (GTS) scheme for octa-core big.Little architecture.
Effects of lead exposure before pregnancy and dietary calcium during pregnancy on fetal development and lead accumulation.

Millions of women of child-bearing age have substantial bone lead stores due to lead exposure as children. Dietary calcium ingested simultaneously with lead exposure can reduce lead absorption and accumulation. However, the effects of dietary calcium on previously accumulated maternal lead stores and transfer to the fetus have not been investigated. We studied the effects of lead exposure of female rats at an early age on fetal development during a subsequent pregnancy. We gave 5-week-old female Sprague-Dawley rats lead as the acetate in their drinking water for 5 weeks; controls received equimolar sodium acetate. This was followed by a 1-month period without lead exposure before mating. We randomly assigned pregnant rats (n = 39) to diets with a deficient (0.1%) or normal (0.5%) calcium content during pregnancy. A total of 345 pups were delivered alive. Lead-exposed dams and their pups had significantly higher blood lead concentrations than controls, but the concentrations were in the range of those found in many pregnant women. Pups born to dams fed the calcium-deficient diet during pregnancy had higher blood and organ lead concentrations than pups born to dams fed the 0. 5% calcium diet. Pups born to lead-exposed dams had significantly (p<0.0001) lower mean birth weights and birth lengths than controls. There were significant inverse univariate associations between dam or pup organ lead concentrations and birth weight or length. The 0.5% calcium diet did not increase in utero growth. Stepwise regression analysis demonstrated that greater litter size and female sex were significantly associated with reduced pup birth weight and length. However, lead exposure that ended well before pregnancy was significantly (p<0.0001) associated with reduced birth weight and length, even after litter size, pup sex, and dam weight gain during pregnancy were included in the regression analysis. The data demonstrate that an increase in dietary calcium during pregnancy can reduce fetal lead accumulation but cannot prevent lead-induced decreases in birth weight and length. The results provide evidence that dietary nutrients can influence the transfer of toxins to the fetus during pregnancy. If these results are applicable to women, an increase in diet calcium during pregnancy could reduce the transfer of lead from prepregnancy maternal exposures to the fetus. ImagesFigure 3Figure 4Figure 1Figure 2
Analysis of clustering techniques to detect hand signs

The term multimedia has a different meaning to different communities. The computer industry uses this term to refer to a system that can display audio and video clips. Generally speaking, a multimedia system supports multiple presentation modes to convey information. Humans have five senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. In theory, a system based on this generalized definition must be able to convey information in support of all senses. This would be a step towards virtual environments that facilitate total recall of an experience. This study builds on our previous work with audio and video servers and explores haptic data in support of touch and motor skills. It investigates the use of clustering techniques to recognize hand signs using haptic data. An application of these results is communication devices for the hearing impaired.
Titan: a high-performance remote-sensing database

There are two major challenges for a high performance remote sensing database. First, it must provide low latency retrieval of very large volumes of spatio temporal data. This requires effective declustering and placement of a multidimensional dataset onto a large disk farm. Second, the order of magnitude reduction in data size due to post processing makes it imperative, from a performance perspective, that the post processing be done on the machine that holds the data. This requires careful coordination of computation and data retrieval. The paper describes the design, implementation and evaluation of Titan, a parallel shared nothing database designed for handling remote sensing data. The computational platform for Titan is a 16 processor IBM SP-2 with four fast disks attached to each processor. Titan is currently operational and contains about 24 GB of AVHRR data from the NOAA-7 satellite. The experimental results show that Titan provides good performance for global queries and interactive response times for local queries.
Non-linear precoding approaches for non-regenerative multiuser MIMO relay systems

In this paper we consider the design of minimum mean square error (MMSE) transceivers for non-regenerative multiuser multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) relay systems, where the main challenge resides in the joint optimal design of the precoder to be used at the base station and the relaying algorithms. We propose the use of non-linear precoding techniques, such as Tomlinson-Harashima pre-coding (THP) and vector precoding (VP), at the downlink relayed transmission scenario with the aim of outperforming the more common linear strategies. In order to reduce the computational cost of the proposed schemes, we propose a novel suboptimal matrix design approach for VP transmission. Provided simulation results show that the proposed non-linear precoding schemes outperform the best MIMO-AF relaying architectures in the literature, even when a reduced-complexity suboptimal strategy is adopted, considering both BER performance and mean square error minimization.
Heap analysis and optimizations for threaded programs

Traditional compiler optimizations such as loop invariant removal and common sub-expression elimination are standard in all optimizing compilers. The purpose of the paper is to present new versions of these optimizations that apply to programs using dynamically allocated data structures, and to show the effect of these optimizations on the performance of multithreaded programs. We show how heap pointer analyses can be used to support better dependence testing, new applications of the above traditional optimizations, and high quality code generation for multithreaded architectures. We have implemented these analyses and optimizations in the EARTH-C compiler to study their impact on the performance of generated multithreaded code. We provide both static and dynamic measurements showing the effect of the optimizations applied individually, and together. We note several general trends, and discuss the performance tradeoffs and suggest when specific optimizations are generally beneficial.