Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Mismatch Controller for implementing high-speed rate-based transport protocols

End-to-end rate-based congestion control algorithms are advocated for audio/video transport over the Internet instead of window-based protocols. Once the congestion controller has computed the sending rate, all rate-based algorithms proposed in the literature schedule packets to be sent spaced at intervals that are equal to the inverse of the desired sending rate. In this paper we show that such an implementation exhibits a fundamental flaw. In fact, scheduling the sending time of a packet is affected by significant uncertainty due to the fact that it is handled by the Operating System, which manages a CPU shared by other processes. To overcome this problem, the Rate Mismatch Controller (RMC) is designed aiming at counteracting the disturbance on the effective sending time due to the CPU time-varying load. Experimental results using Linux OS highlight the effectiveness of the proposed controller.
Computer aided optimal design of high power density EMI filters

Power density of power converter systems is becoming an increasingly stringent design constraint for a wide range of applications. Size reduction of EMI filter in power converters is an important aspect due to its significant impact on the overall converter volume and weight. In order to take on this issue, a computer aided procedure for a fast selection of optimal discrete EMI filter components and configuration is described in this paper. The proposed technique is a rule-based automatic procedure based on suitable databases that consider datasheets information of commercially available passive components (e.g. magnetic cores, capacitors). It allows the minimization of the filter's volume and therefore the improvement of the converter's power density. The size and the performance of EMI filters designed by the proposed procedure have been compared with those of a conventionally designed one. The comparison, based on experimental tests, demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Opus: University of Bath Online Publication Store How Well Do You See What You Hear? the Acuity of Visual-to-auditory Sensory Substitution

(2013) How well do you see what you hear? :The acuity of visual-to-auditory sensory substitution. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in other forums, provided the original authors and source are credited and subject to any copyright notices concerning any third-party graphics etc. This version is made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the reference above. Sensory substitution devices (SSDs) aim to compensate for the loss of a sensory modality, typically vision, by converting information from the lost modality into stimuli in a remaining modality. " The vOICe " is a visual-to-auditory SSD which encodes images taken by a camera worn by the user into " soundscapes " such that experienced users can extract information about their surroundings. Here we investigated how much detail was resolvable during the early induction stages by testing the acuity of blindfolded sighted, naïve vOICe users. Initial performance was well above chance. Participants who took the test twice as a form of minimal training showed a marked improvement on the second test. Acuity was slightly but not significantly impaired when participants wore a camera and judged letter orientations " live ". A positive correlation was found between participants' musical training and their acuity. The relationship between auditory expertise via musical training and the lack of a relationship with visual imagery, suggests that early use of a SSD draws primarily on the mechanisms of the sensory modality being used rather than the one being substituted. If vision is lost, audition represents the sensory channel of highest bandwidth of those remaining. The level of acuity found here, and the fact it was achieved with very little experience in sensory substitution by naïve users is promising.
Data selection from multiple ASR systems' hypotheses for unsupervised acoustic model training

This paper addresses unsupervised training of DNN acoustic model, by exploiting a large amount of unlabeled data with CRF-based classifiers. In the proposed scheme, we obtain ASR hypotheses by complementary GMM and DNN based ASR systems. Then, a set of dedicated classifiers are designed and trained to select the better hypothesis and verify the selected data. It is demonstrated that the classifiers can effectively filter usable data from unlabeled data for acoustic model training. The proposed method achieved significant improvement in the ASR accuracy from the baseline system, and it outperformed the models trained from the data selected based on the confidence measure scores (CMS) and also from the simple ROVER-based system combination.
Type Inference on Executables

In many applications, source code and debugging symbols of a target program are not available, and the only thing that we can access is the program executable. A fundamental challenge with executables is that, during compilation, critical information such as variables and types is lost. Given that typed variables provide fundamental semantics of a program, for the last 16 years, a large amount of research has been carried out on binary code type inference, a challenging task that aims to infer typed variables from executables (also referred to as binary code). In this article, we systematize the area of binary code type inference according to its most important dimensions: the applications that motivate its importance, the approaches used, the types that those approaches infer, the implementation of those approaches, and how the inference results are evaluated. We also discuss limitations, underdeveloped problems and open challenges, and propose further applications.
Volumetric Super-Resolution of Multispectral Data

Most multispectral remote sensors (e.g. QuickBird, IKONOS, and Landsat 7 ETM+) provide low-spatial high-spectral resolution multispectral (MS) or high-spatial low-spectral resolution panchromatic (PAN) images, separately. In order to reconstruct a high-spatial/high-spectral resolution multispectral image volume, either the information in MS and PAN images are fused (i.e. pansharpening) or super-resolution reconstruction (SRR) is used with only MS images captured on different dates. Existing methods do not utilize temporal information of MS and high spatial resolution of PAN images together to improve the resolution. In this paper, we propose a multiframe SRR algorithm using pansharpened MS images, taking advantage of both temporal and spatial information available in multispectral imagery, in order to exceed spatial resolution of given PAN images. We first apply pansharpening to a set of multispectral images and their corresponding PAN images captured on different dates. Then, we use the pansharpened multispectral images as input to the proposed wavelet-based multiframe SRR method to yield full volumetric SRR. The proposed SRR method is obtained by deriving the subband relations between multitemporal MS volumes. We demonstrate the results on Landsat 7 ETM+ images comparing our method to conventional techniques.
Laser Capture Microdissection and Multiplex-Tandem PCR Analysis of Proximal Tubular Epithelial Cell Signaling in Human Kidney Disease

Interstitial fibrosis, a histological process common to many kidney diseases, is the precursor state to end stage kidney disease, a devastating and costly outcome for the patient and the health system. Fibrosis is historically associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD) but emerging evidence is now linking many forms of acute kidney disease (AKD) with the development of CKD. Indeed, we and others have observed at least some degree of fibrosis in up to 50% of clinically defined cases of AKD. Epithelial cells of the proximal tubule (PTEC) are central in the development of kidney interstitial fibrosis. We combine the novel techniques of laser capture microdissection and multiplex-tandem PCR to identify and quantitate “real time” gene transcription profiles of purified PTEC isolated from human kidney biopsies that describe signaling pathways associated with this pathological fibrotic process. Our results: (i) confirm previous in-vitro and animal model studies; kidney injury molecule-1 is up-regulated in patients with acute tubular injury, inflammation, neutrophil infiltration and a range of chronic disease diagnoses, (ii) provide data to inform treatment; complement component 3 expression correlates with inflammation and acute tubular injury, (iii) identify potential new biomarkers; proline 4-hydroxylase transcription is down-regulated and vimentin is up-regulated across kidney diseases, (iv) describe previously unrecognized feedback mechanisms within PTEC; Smad-3 is down-regulated in many kidney diseases suggesting a possible negative feedback loop for TGF-β in the disease state, whilst tight junction protein-1 is up-regulated in many kidney diseases, suggesting feedback interactions with vimentin expression. These data demonstrate that the combined techniques of laser capture microdissection and multiplex-tandem PCR have the power to study molecular signaling within single cell populations derived from clinically sourced tissue.
Rule-based modeling of biochemical networks

A method for the automatic generation of mathematical/computational models that account comprehensively and precisely for the full spectrum of chemical species implied by user-specified activities, potential modifications and interactions of the molecular components of biomolecules is described. A computer-implemented system that includes software was used to generate models. The software has a user interface that allows a user to generate new models and modify existing models.
Peanut Agglutinin High Phenotype of Activated CD8+ T Cells Results from de Novo Synthesis of CD45 Glycans*

Following activation in the periphery, murine CD8+ T cells exhibit a characteristic increased binding of peanut agglutinin (PNA), reflecting an increased expression of hyposialylated O-linked glycans (Galβ1–3GalNAcα-O-Thr/Ser) on the cell surface. In this report, we show that the majority of the PNA receptors expressed on activated CD8+ T cells are carried by CD45. Other glycoproteins (e.g. CD8) and the glycolipid asialo-GM1 also carry PNA receptors, although to a much lesser extent. Analysis of enzymes involved in the sialylation/de-sialylation pathways showed that generation of PNA receptors in activated CD8+ T cells is not due to up-regulation of endogenous sialidases. Instead, our results indicate that the PNAhigh phenotype results from de novo synthesis of CD45 carrying reduced sialylated core 1 O-glycans.
Three-Dimensional Tissue Assemblies: Novel Models for the Study of Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium Pathogenesis

ABSTRACT The lack of readily available experimental systems has limited knowledge pertaining to the development ofSalmonella-induced gastroenteritis and diarrheal disease in humans. We used a novel low-shear stress cell culture system developed at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in conjunction with cultivation of three-dimensional (3-D) aggregates of human intestinal tissue to study the infectivity of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium for human intestinal epithelium. Immunohistochemical characterization and microscopic analysis of 3-D aggregates of the human intestinal epithelial cell line Int-407 revealed that the 3-D cells more accurately modeled human in vivo differentiated tissues than did conventional monolayer cultures of the same cells. Results from infectivity studies showed thatSalmonella established infection of the 3-D cells in a much different manner than that observed for monolayers. Following the same time course of infection with Salmonella, 3-D Int-407 cells displayed minimal loss of structural integrity compared to that of Int-407 monolayers. Furthermore, Salmonella exhibited significantly lower abilities to adhere to, invade, and induce apoptosis of 3-D Int-407 cells than it did for infected Int-407 monolayers. Analysis of cytokine expression profiles of 3-D Int-407 cells and monolayers following infection with Salmonellarevealed significant differences in expression of interleukin 1α (IL-1α), IL-1β, IL-6, IL-1Ra, and tumor necrosis factor alpha mRNAs between the two cultures. In addition, uninfected 3-D Int-407 cells constitutively expressed higher levels of transforming growth factor β1 mRNA and prostaglandin E2 than did uninfected Int-407 monolayers. By more accurately modeling many aspects of human in vivo tissues, the 3-D intestinal cell model generated in this study offers a novel approach for studying microbial infectivity from the perspective of the host-pathogen interaction.
Development of A Sensitive and Specific Epitope-Blocking ELISA for Universal Detection of Antibodies to Human Enterovirus 71 Strains

Background Human Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is a common cause of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in young children. It is often associated with severe neurological diseases and mortalities in recent outbreaks across the Asia Pacific region. Currently, there is no efficient universal antibody test available to detect EV71 infections. Methodology/Principal Finding In the present study, an epitope-blocking ELISA was developed to detect specific antibodies to human EV71 viruses in human or animal sera. The assay relies on a novel monoclonal antibody (Mab 1C6) that specifically binds to capsid proteins in whole EV71 viruses without any cross reaction to any EV71 capsid protein expressed alone. The sensitivity and specificity of the epitope-blocking ELISA for EV71 was evaluated and compared to microneutralization using immunized animal sera to multiple virus genotypes of EV71 and coxsackieviruses. Further, 200 serum sample from human individuals who were potentially infected with EV71 viruses were tested in both the blocking ELISA and microneutralization. Results indicated that antibodies to EV71 were readily detected in immunized animals or human sera by the epitope blocking ELISA whereas specimens with antibodies to other enteroviruses yielded negative results. This assay is not only simpler to perform but also shows higher sensitivity and specificity as compared to microneutralization. Conclusion The epitope-blocking ELISA based on a unique Mab 1C6 provided highly sensitive and 100% specific detection of antibodies to human EV71 viruses in human sera.
Algorithms for Dualization over Products of Partially Ordered Sets

Let $\mathcal P=\mathcal P_1\times\cdots\times\mathcal P_n$ be the product of $n$ partially ordered sets (posets). Given a subset $\mathcal A\subseteq\mathcal P$, we consider problem $\mathrm{DUAL}(\mathcal P,\mathcal A,\mathcal B)$ of extending a given partial list $\mathcal B$ of maximal independent elements of $\mathcal A$ in $\mathcal P$. We give quasi-polynomial time algorithms for solving problem $\mathrm{DUAL}(\mathcal P,\mathcal A,\mathcal B)$ when each poset $\mathcal P_i$ belongs to one of the following classes: (i) semilattices of bounded width, (ii) forests, that is, posets with acyclic underlying graphs, with either bounded in-degrees or out-degrees, or (iii) lattices defined by a set of real closed intervals.
Channel Optimization for Wireless Data Broadcast

Recently data broadcast has emerged as powerful tool for information dissemination to massive number of clients equipped with portable gadgets. Wireless communication use air as medium for transferring data to exchange information between mobile client and remote server. To enhance communication capacities and avoid information clashing multichannel broadcast is preferred; which partition available air bandwidth in to small bandwidth air channels. In wireless environment plethora of data are transferred through air creating chaos on air channels. Hence broadcast channel is scared resource for wireless communication which greatly concern system performance by affecting data access time. This paper studies process of data scheduling and broadcasting for multichannel environment with optimal use of air channels. Various method of data placement over multichannel are studied and analytical model to find optimal number of air channel is developed. Simulation results of system performance in context of access time are inferred and presented.
LEUNIG and SEUSS co-repressors regulate miR172 expression in Arabidopsis flowers

Central to the ABCE model of flower development is the antagonistic interaction between class A and class C genes. The molecular mechanisms underlying the A-C antagonism are not completely understood. In Arabidopsis thaliana, miR172 is expressed in the inner floral whorls where it downregulates the class A gene APETALA 2 (AP2). However, what controls this predominantly inner whorl-specific expression of miR172 is not known. We show that the LEUNIG (LUG) and SEUSS (SEU) co-repressors repress miR172 expression in the outer whorls of A. thaliana flowers. The recruitment of LUG/SEU to the miR172 promoters is dependent on AP2, suggesting that AP2 represses the expression of its cognate microRNA. Our study provides new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the A-C antagonism and shed light on the transcriptional regulation of miR172 during flower development.
Tensor Voting Based Foreground Object Extraction

Robust foreground extraction is necessary for good performance of any computer vision application such as tracking or video surveillance. In this paper, we propose a novel foreground extraction technique for static cameras which works for indoor as well as outdoor scenes. We model colors in a background frame by Gaussians using non-iterative tensor voting framework. For input frame, we compare color features of each pixel against background model and those that do not follow the model are classified as foreground pixels. We update background model to account for scene and lighting changes over time. In the case of significant background motion, we incorporate motion vectors within tensor voting framework to reduce misclassification. Experiments show that our approach is robust to background motion, noise, illumination fluctuations, scene and lighting changes.
The Small GTPase RhoA Is Required for Proper Locomotor Circuit Assembly

The assembly of neuronal circuits during development requires the precise navigation of axons, which is controlled by attractive and repulsive guidance cues. In the developing spinal cord, ephrinB3 functions as a short-range repulsive cue that prevents EphA4 receptor-expressing corticospinal tract and spinal interneuron axons from crossing the midline, ensuring proper formation of locomotor circuits. Here we report that the small GTPase RhoA, a key regulator of cytoskeletal dynamics, is also required for ephrinB3/EphA4-dependent locomotor circuit formation. Deletion of RhoA from neural progenitor cells results in mice that exhibit a rabbit-like hopping gait, which phenocopies mice lacking ephrinB3 or EphA4. Consistent with this locomotor defect, we found that corticospinal tract axons and spinal interneuron projections from RhoA-deficient mice aberrantly cross the spinal cord midline. Furthermore, we determined that loss of RhoA blocks ephrinB3-induced growth cone collapse of cortical axons and disrupts ephrinB3 expression at the spinal cord midline. Collectively, our results demonstrate that RhoA is essential for the ephrinB3/EphA4-dependent assembly of cortical and spinal motor circuits that control normal locomotor behavior.
Fabrication of piezoelectric ceramic hollow fibers with low sintering temperature and their characterization

The main aim of this study is to fabricate hollow fibers using alginate gelation method and to characterize the electromechanical performance of these fibers with microtubular structure for the device applications that are based on hollow piezoceramic fibers working in d31 mode. However, fabrication of hollow fibers is difficult and problematic. This study originally presents a holistic solution to these problems and it is different from the currently used or investigated methods in terms of method, design, composition and application. The novel points of the study are: fabrication of the hollow fibers by alginate gelation methods, investigation and use of solid solutions of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) with lead zinc niobate (PZN) with low sintering temperatures, preparation of Ag based electrodes during the processing of piezoceramic fibers and using the co-firing process due to the difficulty of obtaining the inner electrode layer.
FUSE: Full Spectral Clustering

Multi-scale data which contains structures at different scales of size and density is a big challenge for spectral clustering. Even given a suitable locally scaled affinity matrix, the first k eigenvectors of such a matrix still cannot separate clusters well. Thus, in this paper, we exploit the fusion of the cluster-separation information from all eigenvectors to achieve a better clustering result. Our method FUll Spectral ClustEring (FUSE) is based on Power Iteration (PI) and Independent Component Analysis (ICA). PI is used to fuse all eigenvectors to one pseudo-eigenvector which inherits all the cluster-separation information. To conquer the cluster-collision problem, we utilize PI to generate p (p > k) pseudo-eigenvectors. Since these pseudo-eigenvectors are redundant and the cluster-separation information is contaminated with noise, ICA is adopted to rotate the pseudo-eigenvectors to make them pairwise statistically independent. To let ICA overcome local optima and speed up the search process, we develop a self-adaptive and self-learning greedy search method. Finally, we select k rotated pseudo-eigenvectors (independent components) which have more cluster-separation information measured by kurtosis for clustering. Various synthetic and real-world data verifies the effectiveness and efficiency of our FUSE method.
Focal pitch accents and subject positions in Spanish: comparing close-to-standard varieties and argentinean porteño

In Spanish focus can be signaled by both prosodic and syntactic strategies. However, it remains controversial how these two components of grammar depend on one another. Based on the analysis of experimental data it is argued that in Spanish focus is primarily expressed through intonational means, namely the location of nuclear stress. Unlike most Spanish dialects, Argentinean porteno allows for a tonal distinction between neutral and contrastive focus in IP-final position. In other positions focus is expressed through increased F0 values and/or syllable-internal early peak alignment (EPA). As is shown with the example of non-clefted declaratives containing a focused subject (F[S]F) reordering of constituents can optionally apply (yielding the non-canonical ordering VOF[S]F). Movement as an additional strategy of focus marking is avoided in sentences with a full DP object, but strongly preferred with a clitic object (CL+VF[S]F). The variation found in the data is best accounted for by assuming that the structures which are built up according to the Minimalist target/probe approach and associated with all of the possible F0 contours undergo an OT evaluation following the insights of the overlapping constraints model.