Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PASO : An Integrated , Scalable PSO-based Optimization Framework for Hyper-Redundant Manipulator Path Planning and Inverse Kinematics

Hyper-redundant manipulation is the use of a hyper-DOF robotic system to accomplish tasks such as picking, placing, reaching, and exploring in challenging environments. Hyper-redundant manipulation involves both finding collisionfree configuration-space paths (the path planning (PP) problem) and transforming a given workspace target pose into a configuration space goal (the inverse kinematics (IK) problem). Traditional, Jacobian-based IK approaches become computationally infeasible as the number of DOF increases. Existing hyper-DOF manipulator PP approaches either require extensive global preprocessing (e.g., Probabilistic RoadMaps) or spend considerable time on costly nearest neighbor computations (e.g., Rapidlyexploring Random Trees). We propose an integrated, scalable optimization framework called PASO (PAth planning with Swarm Optimization) that uses Particle Swarm Optimization in a divide-and-conquer fashion to efficiently produce approximate solutions to both the hyper-DOF PP and IK problems together. Implicitly-defined C-space waypoints are used to bias C-space sampling. We present promising experimental results showing PASO’s ability to scale to much larger manipulators (120 DOF, so far) than reported in the literature on current integrated position and orientation IK and PP solvers for general serial hyper-DOF manipulators in 3D workspaces.
Multithreaded Architectures for Media Processing

Advances in silicon micro-chip technology has enabled media processing systems on a chip. These systems typically combine concurrent hardware and software to accelerate multimedia functions. We adopt an architecture-template based design to manage the complexity of such system on a chip wherein early design decision impact the performance of the system. In this paper, we present an architecture framework called SYMPHONY consisting of a linear array of processors. SYMPHONY attempts to exploit parallelism in media applications at micro (ILP) and macro (threads) levels. High speed communication and synchronization necessary for efficient multithreading is achieved using novel hardware/software mechanisms. We provide simulation results to show that multithreading along with SIMD arithmetic can enhance performance of superscalar processors of comparable issue width by over 50% for the benchmarks we have studied.
Self-avoiding walk enumeration via the lace expansion

We introduce a new method for the enumeration of self-avoiding walks based on the lace expansion. We also introduce an algorithmic improvement, called the two-step method, for self-avoiding walk enumeration problems. We obtain significant extensions of existing series on the cubic and hypercubic lattices in all dimensions d ⩾ 3: we enumerate 32-step self-avoiding polygons in d = 3, 26-step self-avoiding polygons in d = 4, 30-step self-avoiding walks in d = 3, and 24-step self-avoiding walks and polygons in all dimensions d ⩾ 4. We analyze these series to obtain estimates for the connective constant and various critical exponents and amplitudes in dimensions 3 ⩽ d ⩽ 8. We also provide major extensions of 1/d expansions for the connective constant and for two critical amplitudes.
Evidence for small‐scale mantle convection in the upper mantle beneath the Baikal rift zone

[1] Inversion of teleseismic P wave travel time residuals collected along a 1280-km-long profile traversing the Baikal rift zone (BRZ) reveals the existence of an upwarped lithosphere/asthenosphere interface, which causes a travel time delay of about 1 s at the rift axis (“central high”). An area with early arrivals relative to the stable Siberian platform of up to 0.5 s is observed on each side of the rift, about 200 km from the rift axis (“flank lows”). While the location of the central high is approximately fixed in the vicinity of the rift axis, those of the flank lows vary as much as 200 km with the azimuth of the arriving rays. We use three techniques to invert the travel time residuals for velocity anomalies beneath the profile. Two of the techniques assume an isotropic velocity structure, and one of them considers a transversely isotropic velocity model with a vertical axis of symmetry. We use independent geophysical observations such as gravity, active source seismic exploration, and crustal thickness measurements to compare the applicability of the models. Other types of geophysical measurements suggest that the model involving transverse isotropy is a plausible one, which suggests that the central high and flank lows are caused by the combined effects of an upwarped asthenosphere with a 2.5% lateral velocity reduction, and a velocity increase due to transverse isotropy with a vertical axis of symmetry. We consider the anisotropy to be the result of the vertical component of a lithosphere/asthenosphere small-scale mantle convection system that is associated with the rifting.
Enhanced Healthcare Provision Through Assisted Decision-Making in a Smart Home Environment

New technological developments are shaping alternativeforms of healthcare provision in the home.We consider the problem of assisting elderly peopleand their carers during the night to reduce theoccurrence, and potential side effects, of accidentssuffered by vulnerable people.The ambient assistance provided will assumeminimal expectations on the technology peoplehave to interact with. The technological solutionconsiders the inclusion of night vision whichprovides features assessed by an algorithm basedon the notions of causality and spatio-temporalreasoning. The system alerts, explains to, andadvises carers, assessing situations, anticipatingproblems, and has potential to enhance home careprovision.
Economic Growth, International Technological Spillovers and Public Policy: Theory and Empirical Evidence from Asia

This paper examines, within the new growth theory framework, the contribution of international technological spillovers using panel data for eleven Asian countries over the period 1970-93. A country's productivity growth is shown to depend not only on its domestic R&D investment but also on the R&D investment of its trading partners. The evidence for such a positive international technological spillovers is strong.
Dynamic Load Balancing Algorithm Based on FCFS

In a load balancing cluster, the core of task distribution is the load balance algorithm. This paper briefly discusses load balancing, algorithms and their merits and demerits, then introduces a kind of load balancing algorithm that every node sends a corresponding request stream to remark its real-time load based on FCFS principle. The results of experience and measurement show that this dynamic load balancing algorithm is more effective than static algorithm.
Dictionary-Based Face Recognition Under Variable Lighting and Pose

We present a face recognition algorithm based on simultaneous sparse approximations under varying illumination and pose. A dictionary is learned for each class based on given training examples which minimizes the representation error with a sparseness constraint. A novel test image is projected onto the span of the atoms in each learned dictionary. The resulting residual vectors are then used for classification. To handle variations in lighting conditions and pose, an image relighting technique based on pose-robust albedo estimation is used to generate multiple frontal images of the same person with variable lighting. As a result, the proposed algorithm has the ability to recognize human faces with high accuracy even when only a single or a very few images per person are provided for training. The efficiency of the proposed method is demonstrated using publicly available databases available databases and it is shown that this method is efficient and can perform significantly better than many competitive face recognition algorithms.
Using KL-divergence and multilingual information to improve ASR for under-resourced languages

Setting out from the point of view that automatic speech recognition (ASR) ought to benefit from data in languages other than the target language, we propose a novel Kullback-Leibler (KL) divergence based method that is able to exploit multilingual information in the form of universal phoneme posterior probabilities conditioned on the acoustics. We formulate a means to train a recognizer on several different languages, and subsequently recognize speech in a target language for which only a small amount of data is available. Taking the Greek SpeechDat(II) data as an example, we show that the proposed formulation is sound, and show that it is able to out-perform a current state-of-the-art HMM/GMM system. We also use a hybrid Tandem-like system to further understand the source of the benefit.
The Differentiation of Amnestic Type MCI from the Non-Amnestic Types by Structural MRI

Introduction: While amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and non-amnestic mild cognitive impairment (naMCI) are theoretically different entities, only a few investigations studied the structural brain differences between these subtypes of mild cognitive impairment. The aim of the study was to find the structural differences between aMCI and naMCI, and to replicate previous findings on the differentiation between aMCI and healthy controls. Methods: Altogether 62 aMCI, naMCI, and healthy control subjects were included into the study based on the Petersen criteria. All patients underwent a routine brain MR examination, and a detailed neuropsychological examination. Results: The sizes of the hippocampus, the entorhinal cortex and the amygdala were decreased in aMCI relative to naMCI and to controls. Furthermore the cortical thickness of the entorhinal cortex, the fusiform gyrus, the precuneus and the isthmus of the cingulate gyrus were significantly decreased in aMCI relative to naMCI and healthy controls. The largest differences relative to controls were detected for the volume of the hippocampus (18% decrease vs. controls) and the cortical thickness (20% decrease vs. controls) of the entorhinal cortex: 1.6 and 1.4 in terms of Cohen's d. Only the volume of the precuneus were decreased in the naMCI group (5% decrease) compared to the control subjects: 0.9 in terms of Cohen's d. Significant between group differences were also found in the neuropsychological test results: a decreased anterograde, retrograde memory, and category fluency performance was detected in the aMCI group relative to controls and naMCI subjects. Subjects with naMCI showed decreased letter fluency relative to controls, while both MCI groups showed decreased executive functioning relative to controls as measured by the Trail Making test part B. Memory performance in the aMCI group and in the entire sample correlated with the thickness of the entorhinal cortex and with the volume of the amygdala. Conclusion: The amnestic mild cognitive impairment/non-amnestic mild cognitive impairment separation is not only theoretical but backed by structural imaging methods and neuropsychological tests. A better knowledge of the MCI subtypes can help to predict the direction of progression and create targeted prevention.
Towards Top-k Query Answering in Deductive Databases

In this paper we address a novel issue for deductive databases with huge data repositories, namely the problem of evaluating ranked top-k queries. The problem occurs whenever we allow queries such as "find cheap hotels close to the conference location" in which fuzzy predicates like cheap and close occur. We show how to compute efficiently the top-k answers of conjunctive queries with fuzzy predicates.
Maternal high fat and/or salt consumption induces sex-specific inflammatory and nutrient transport in the rat placenta

Maternal high fat and salt consumption are associated with developmental programming of disease in adult offspring. Inadequacies in placental nutrient transport may explain these ‘programmed effects’. Diet‐induced inflammation may have detrimental effects on placental function leading to alteration of key nutrient transporters. We examined the effects of maternal high fat and/or salt diets on markers of placental nutrient transport and inflammation. Sprague–Dawley rats were assigned to (1) control (CD; 1% Salt 10% kcal from fat); (2) high salt (SD; 4% salt, 10% kcal from fat); (3) high fat (HF; 1% Salt 45% kcal from fat) or (4) high fat high salt (HFSD; 4% salt, 45% kcal from fat) 21 days prior to and throughout gestation. At embryonic day 18, dams were killed by isoflurane anesthesia followed by decapitation; placenta/fetuses were weighed, sexed, and collected for molecular analysis. Maternal SD, HF, and HFSD consumption decreased weight of placenta derived from male offspring; however, weight of placenta derived from female offspring was only reduced with maternal HF diet. This was associated with increased expression of LPL, SNAT2, GLUT1, and GLUT4 in placenta derived from male offspring suggesting increased fetal exposure to free fatty acids and glucose. Maternal SD, HF, and HFSD diet consumption increased expression of proinflammatory mediators IL‐1β, TNFα, and CD68 in male placenta. Our results suggest that a proinflammatory placental profile results in detrimental alterations in nutrient transport which may contribute to the developmental origins of cardio‐metabolic disturbances in offspring throughout life.
Minimizing maximal regret in discrete optimization problems with interval data

The paper deals with the interval data discrete optimization problems. In order to calculate the optimal solution the maximal regret criterion is adopted. This type of problems has attracted considerable attention in the recent literature. The aim of this paper is to present the state of the art as well as some open questions connected with the considered approach.
Area Efficient Layout Design Analysis of CMOS Barrrel Shifter

Barrel Shifter plays an important role in the data shifting and data rotation. It is having application in many areas. The Barrel Shifter is mainly use for the simplification of the data shifting. The Arithmetic and the Logical Shifters can also be replaced by the Barrel Shifter Because with the rotation of the data it also provide the application the data right, left shifting either arithmetically or logically. The purpose of this paper is to design the two bit barrel shifter using universal gates with the help of CMOS logic and the most important two 2:1 multiplexers (mux). The further advanced version of the barrel Shifter is 4 bit data shifting, which is also proposed here. In this paper different design methodologies are used such as standard cell based design, semicustom design and full custom design of the Barrel Shifter to reduce area, power and size of the circuit. The paper analyzes and optimizes area and power of the Barrel Shifter using 45 nm technologies. KeywordALU, Barrel Shifter, CMOS, Layout, Level Shifter, Microwind tool, Multiplexer, NMOS, PMOS, Shift Register, Transistor.
An Approximation Technique for Belief Revision in Timed Influence Nets

Abstract : The paper presents an approach for belief updating in Timed Influence Nets. Influence Nets provide graphical representation of causal or influencing relationships in complex situations. They are used to model and evaluate courses of actions in certain domains and to compare the performance of actions based on the desired outcome. In Timed Influence Nets, the impact or effect of these actions on target variables is not instantaneous. This is modeled by adding communication and processing delays in the model. The paper provides a technique for updating the beliefs of variables in the model over time once new evidence is received about some of the variables in the model. The objective is to assess the behavior of the variables of interest as a function of both the timing of actions and the receipt of evidence on indicators, thus providing aid to decision makers in the revision of the planned courses of actions.
Detecting Salt Tolerance in Doubled Haploid Wheat Lines

Improving salt tolerance of genotypes requires a source of genetic variation and multiple accurate selection criteria for discriminating their salt tolerance. A combination of morpho-physiological and biochemical parameters and multivariate analysis was used to detect salt tolerance variation in 15 wheat lines developed by doubled haploid (DHL) technique. They were then compared with the salt-tolerant check cultivar Sakha 93. Salinity stress was investigated at three salinity levels (0, 100, and 200 mM NaCl) for 25 days. Considerable genetic variation was observed for all traits, as was high heritability (>60%) and genetic gain (>20%). Principal component analysis indicated the ability of nine traits (root number, root length, root dry weight, shoot length, shoot dry weight, specific root length, relative water content, membrane stability index, and catalase) to identify differences in salinity tolerance among lines. Three traits (shoot length, shoot dry weight, and catalase) were indicative of salt-tolerance, indicating their importance in improving and evaluating salt tolerant genotypes for breeding programs. The salinity tolerance membership index based on these three traits classified one new line (DHL21) and the check cultivar (Sakha 93) as highly salt-tolerant, DHL25, DHL26, DHL2, DHL11, and DHL5 as tolerant, and DHL23 and DHL12 as intermediate. Discriminant function analysis and MANOVA suggested differences among the five groups of tolerance. Among the donor genotypes, Sakha 93 remained the donor of choice for improving salinity tolerance during the seedling stage. The tolerated lines (DHL21, DHL25, DHL26, DHL2, DHL11, and DHL5) could be also recommended as useful and novel genetic resources for improving salinity tolerance of wheat in breeding programs.
Empir ical I nvestigation on the Innovation Diffusion in a Software Development Process

When a disciplined software process or an innovative technology is to be diffused in a software production organization, is it more effective to make the organization to plan its adoption or the developer to self-define it? This paper describes an explorative experimentation on the behaviour of developers that use a predefined process rather than self-defined ones. In summary, the results of the experimentation indicates that it is more advantageous, in terms of defects and execution effort minimization, to make the developers to tailor the processes they will use than to ask them to use a predefined one. Moreover, the assistance of the innovation advocate favourite the transfer of experience from the organization to the individuals. Finally, the quality goals, availability of adequate tools and specialized training can motivate the use of the innovative technology the organization experience indicates for being adopted, even when the developers define the processes they will adopt.
On the stellar masses of IRAC detected Lyman Break Galaxies at z∼ 3

We present results of a large survey of the mid-infrared (mid-IR) properties of 248 Lyman Break Galaxies (LBGs) with confirmed spectroscopic redshift using deep Spitzer/Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) observations in six cosmological fields. By combining the new mid-IR photometry with optical and near-infrared observations, we model the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) employing a revised version of the Bruzual and Chariot synthesis population code that incorporates a new treatment of the thermal-pulsating asymptotic giant branch phase (CB07). Our primary aim is to investigate the impact of the AGB phase in the stellar masses of the LBGs, and compare our new results with previous stellar mass estimates. We investigate the stellar mass of the LBG population as a whole and assess the benefits of adding longer wavelengths to estimates of stellar masses for high-redshift galaxies. Based on the new CB07 code, we find that the stellar masses of LBGs are smaller on an average by a factor of ~1.4 compared to previous estimates. LBGs with 8 and/or 24 μm detections show higher masses (M * ~ 10 11 Ma ☉ ) than LBGs faint in the IRAC bands (M * ~ 10 9 M ☉ ). The ages of these massive LBGs are considerably higher than the rest of the population, indicating that they have been star forming for at least ~ 1 Gyr. We also show how the addition of the IRAC bands improves the accuracy of the estimated stellar masses and reduced the scatter on the derived mass-to-light ratios. In particular, we present a tight correlation between the 8 μm IRAC band (rest-frame K for galaxies at z ~ 3) and the stellar mass. We calculate the number density of massive (M * > 10 11 Ma ☉ ) LBGs and find it to be Φ = (1.12 ±0.4) x 10 -5 Mpc -3 , ~1.5 times lower than that found by previous studies. Finally, based on ultraviolet-corrected star formation rates (SFRs), we investigate the SFR-stellar mass correlation at z ~ 3, find it similar to the one observed at other redshifts and show that our data place the peak of the evolution of the specific SFR at z ~ 3.
ATTRACT-EM: A New Method for the Computational Assembly of Large Molecular Machines Using Cryo-EM Maps

Many of the most important functions in the cell are carried out by proteins organized in large molecular machines. Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) is increasingly being used to obtain low resolution density maps of these large assemblies. A new method, ATTRACT-EM, for the computational assembly of molecular assemblies from their components has been developed. Based on concepts from the protein-protein docking field, it utilizes cryo-EM density maps to assemble molecular subunits at near atomic detail, starting from millions of initial subunit configurations. The search efficiency was further enhanced by recombining partial solutions, the inclusion of symmetry information, and refinement using a molecular force field. The approach was tested on the GroES-GroEL system, using an experimental cryo-EM map at 23.5 Å resolution, and on several smaller complexes. Inclusion of experimental information on the symmetry of the systems and the application of a new gradient vector matching algorithm allowed the efficient identification of docked assemblies in close agreement with experiment. Application to the GroES-GroEL complex resulted in a top ranked model with a deviation of 4.6 Å (and a 2.8 Å model within the top 10) from the GroES-GroEL crystal structure, a significant improvement over existing methods.
PlexC: a policy language for exposure control

With the widespread use of online social networks and mobile devices, it is not uncommon for people to continuously broadcast contextual information such as their current location or activity. These technologies present both new opportunities for social engagement and new risks to privacy, and traditional static "write once" disclosure policies are not well suited for controlling aggregate exposure risks in the current technological landscape. Therefore, we present PlexC, a new policy language designed for exposure control. We take advantage of several recent user studies to identify a set of language requirements and features, providing the expressive power to accommodate information sharing in dynamic environments. In our evaluation we show that PlexC can concisely express common policy idioms drawn from survey responses, in addition to more complex information sharing scenarios.