Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Formal Approach for Debugging Arithmetic Circuits

This paper presents a novel automatic debugging algorithm for a postsynthesis combinational arithmetic circuit. The approach is robust under wide varieties of arithmetic circuit architectures and design optimizations. The debugging algorithm in this paper consists of three phases of partial product initialization, XOR extraction, and carry-signal mapping. The run-time complexity of conventional carry-signal-mapping algorithms, such as the approach described by Stoffel and Kunz, is exponential. However, in the proposed algorithm, by making use of some important design issues, we categorize the extracted XORs into half/full-adders to make a very fast debugging algorithm. This approach is robust under multioperand adders, pin-swap techniques, optimizations concerning carry signals or XOR terms, and irregularities, such as commutative and associative laws. Moreover, the XOR extraction in the proposed algorithm is much faster than conventional techniques, as it does not evaluate the whole netlist. The bugs detected in the partial product initialization and the carry-signal mapping can automatically be replaced with proper logics. However, during the XOR extraction phase, the problematic XORs are only reported by the algorithm, and no automatic replacement is performed for such logic gates. To evaluate the effectiveness of our approach, we run it on several arithmetic circuits.
Subject-centered multi-view feature fusion for neuroimaging retrieval and classification

Multi-View neuroimaging retrieval and classification play an important role in computer-aided-diagnosis of brain disorders, as multi-view features could provide more insights of the disease pathology and potentially lead to more accurate diagnosis than single-view features. The large inter-feature and inter-subject variations make the multi-view neuroimaging analysis a challenging task. Many multi-view or multi-modal feature fusion methods have been proposed to reduce the impact of inter-feature variations in neuroimaging data. However, there is not much in-depth work focusing on the inter-subject variations. In this study, we propose a subject-centered multi-view feature fusion method for neuroimaging retrieval and classification based on the propagation graph fusion (PGF) algorithm. Two main advantages of the proposed method are: 1) it evaluates the query online and adaptively reshapes the connections between subjects according to the query; 2) it measures the affinity of the query to the subjects using the subject-centered affinity matrices, which can be easily combined and efficiently solved. Evaluated using a public accessible neuroimaging database, our algorithm outperforms the state-of-the-art methods in retrieval and achieves comparable performance in classification.
Bayesian Genomic Prediction with Genotype × Environment Interaction Kernel Models

The phenomenon of genotype × environment (G × E) interaction in plant breeding decreases selection accuracy, thereby negatively affecting genetic gains. Several genomic prediction models incorporating G × E have been recently developed and used in genomic selection of plant breeding programs. Genomic prediction models for assessing multi-environment G × E interaction are extensions of a single-environment model, and have advantages and limitations. In this study, we propose two multi-environment Bayesian genomic models: the first model considers genetic effects (u) that can be assessed by the Kronecker product of variance–covariance matrices of genetic correlations between environments and genomic kernels through markers under two linear kernel methods, linear (genomic best linear unbiased predictors, GBLUP) and Gaussian (Gaussian kernel, GK). The other model has the same genetic component as the first model (u) plus an extra component, f, that captures random effects between environments that were not captured by the random effects u. We used five CIMMYT data sets (one maize and four wheat) that were previously used in different studies. Results show that models with G × E always have superior prediction ability than single-environment models, and the higher prediction ability of multi-environment models with u and f over the multi-environment model with only u occurred 85% of the time with GBLUP and 45% of the time with GK across the five data sets. The latter result indicated that including the random effect f is still beneficial for increasing prediction ability after adjusting by the random effect u.
Reconfigurable UWB filtennas with dual bandnotch for unwanted bands using graphene based switches

Presented are the design and results of a reconfigurable UWB filtenna with sharp dual bandnotch at WiMAX 3.5 GHz and WLAN 5.8 GHz bands. The filtenna is formed by placing three loop resonators in an UWB antenna. The resonators are fitted with Graphene based switches which introduce reconfigurability. The filtenna was simulated electromagnetically and with Graphene based switches in switches OFF and switches ON states. Presented results show a passband from 2.81-12.27 GHz in OFF state and ON state results in sharp dual bandnotch within the passband at 3.45 and 5.95 GHz at a return loss of 2-2.5 dB. The gain and efficiency in both states has also been given and is reduced in ON state at the dual bandnotch. The radiation patterns in E- and H-planes are stable.
A New Cursive Basic Word Database for Bank-Check Processing Systems

In this paper is presented a new database for handwritten cursive basic words recognition. The database is devoted to research on bank-check processing. In fact, for security reasons, the banks rarely allow the treatment of checks handled by them. On the other hand, the reasons for the English basic words choice lie in the fact that English language is the world most commonly used for bank-check drawing. The database realised includes a considerable number of instances of basic words. Pattern images are stored using a standard image format that will be available to all researchers by Internet. The importance of this work lies in the fact that the database is queried by the network, giving the possibility to grow with the contribution of others researchers. The tagging has been generated by using the XML language that allows recovering also information on the writers. Furthermore, the information handled not only could allow the semantic recognition of the specimen but also the research development on the author identity of the manuscript. The database is an open one to be increased with the contribution of all others researchers in the world.
Postnatal Recapitulation of Embryonic Hedgehog Pathway in Response to Skeletal Muscle Ischemia

Background—Hedgehog (Hh) proteins are morphogens regulating epithelial–mesenchymal signaling during several crucial processes of embryonic development, including muscle patterning. Sonic (Shh), Indian (Ihh), and Desert (Dhh) hedgehog constitute the repertoire of Hh genes in humans. The activities of all 3 are transduced via the Patched (Ptc1) receptor. Recent observations indicate that exogenous administration of Shh induces angiogenesis. Here, we studied whether the endogenous Hh pathway, in addition to its functions during embryogenesis, plays a physiological role in muscle regeneration after ischemia in adults. Methods and Results—We found that skeletal muscle ischemia induces strong local upregulation of Shh mRNA and protein. In addition, the Ptc1 receptor is activated in interstitial mesenchymal cells within the ischemic area, indicating that these cells respond to Shh and that the Shh pathway is functional. We also found that Shh-responding cells produce vascular endothelial growth factor under ischemic conditions and that systemic treatment with a Shh-blocking antibody inhibits the local angiogenic response and the upregulation of vascular endothelial growth factor. Conclusions—Our study shows that the Hh signaling may be recapitulated postnatally in adult and fully differentiated muscular tissues and has a regulatory role on angiogenesis during muscle regeneration after ischemia. These findings demonstrate a novel biological activity for the Hh pathway with both fundamental and potential therapeutic implications.
Neuroradiologic Correlates of Cognitive Impairment in Adult Moyamoya Disease

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: MMD has been shown to result in impairment of executive functioning in adults. The purpose of this study was to correlate presurgical neuropsychological assessments with the severity of primary MMD as measured by CBF and CVR and with secondary damage from MMD as estimated by cortical stroke and WMD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 31 adult patients with MMD was performed. Xe-CT was used to obtain CBF and CVR, and MRI was reviewed to grade cortical stroke and WMD. Two tests of executive functioning (FAS and TMT-B) were correlated with imaging findings. A multiple regression analysis was performed. RESULTS: There was a significant overall positive relationship between mean CBF and FAS (P = .038) and TMT-B scores (P = .014). A significant negative relationship was present between the WMD score and the FAS (P = .009) and TMT-B scores (P = .015). Per-region analysis demonstrated that FAS and TMT-B scores were significantly decreased by the presence of a posterior stroke (P < .0001 and P = .001) or WMD (P = .006 and P = .004). All patients with posterior parieto-occipital WMD or stroke also had secondary disease in the anterior regions. CONCLUSIONS: Impaired executive functioning in adults with MMD is most strongly associated secondary damage in the form of WMD or cortical stroke. The effect is most profound with parieto-occipital lobe involvement, likely a reflection of overall disease severity. Increasing global WMD burden may be a better indicator of cognitive decline than cortical infarction. Patients with higher baseline CBF seem to have better cognitive functioning.
Design and Implementation of a Self-Securing Storage Device

Abstract : Self-securing storage prevents intruders from undetectably tampering with or permanently deleting stored data. To accomplish this, self-securing storage devices internally audit all requests and keep all versions of all data for a window of time, regardless of the commands received from potentially compromised host operating systems. Within the window, system administrators are guaranteed to have this valuable information for intrusion diagnosis and recovery. The S4 implementation combines log-structuring with novel metadata journaling and data replication techniques to minimize the performance costs of comprehensive versioning. Experiments show that self-securing storage devices can deliver performance that is comparable with conventional storage. Further, analyses indicate that several weeks worth of all versions can reasonably be kept on state-of-the-art disks, especially when differencing and compression technologies are employed.
Effects of Fission Heat and Fuel Swelling on the Thermal-mechanical Behaviors of Dispersion Fuel Elements

Thermal-mechanical behaviors of dispersion fuel elements were investigated through the finite element method. A representative plate element was developed for the thin fuel plate considering both the heat transfer conditions on its boundaries and the mutual actions of large numbers of fuel particles immersed. This research focuses on the thermal elastoplastic behaviors of the metal matrix. It was found that the thermal stresses could be of rather high level due to the high temperature working conditions, and that the temperature field was not homogeneous because of the fission heat; Irradiation induced swellings might further enhance the Mises stresses and the equivalent plastic strains very strongly. The heat transfer coefficients might have a large impact on the temperatures and the thermal-mechanical behaviors as well.
RETROSPECTIVE : Soft Typing

1. HISTORY OF THE SOFT TYPING CONCEPT During the 80’s and early 90’s, high-level programming languages supported two different type-checking philosophies: static typing, and dynamic typing. Statically typed programming languages ensured that all programs conformed to a set of typing rules, which implied that programs could not “go wrong”. Non-conforming programs were rejected. Dynamically typed programming languages, in contrast, did not reject programs, but rather checked for “type errors” during program execution. ML and Scheme were the prototypical respresentatives of the static and dynamic approachs to typing. Each typing philosophy had distinct advantages and disadvantages. Static typing does not require as much run-time type checking, and the detection of non-conformance supplies programmers with potentially valuable debugging information. The disadvantage of static typing, however, is that are some well-written, meaningful programs that never generate type errors at run time but do not conform to a given system of static typing rules. Semantic typecorrectness is undecidable. As a result, a programmer must rewrite such a program to conform to the type rules. In contrast, dynamic typing permits all programs to be executed, but fails to detect obvious type errors at compile time. Dynamic typing is more flexible at the cost of failing to detect type errors statically. Soft typing seeks to combine the advantages of static typing with the flexibility of dynamic typing. In other words, it provides the expressiveness of a dynamically typed language but it detects and flags potential type errors statically. In our paper, we focused on a core functional language similar to the functional core of both ML and Scheme, presuming that the non-functional features could be handled by extensions to our type system similar to those used in ML. Our key observation was that a type inference engine could be used to insert dynamic run-time checks where needed and inform a programmer that such checks were necessary. The inference engine, however, did not reject programs. At this stage, we noted that the standard ML Hindley-Milner type inference algorithm could be used as a soft type engine for a Scheme-like functional language. After trying the idea on some typical example programs, however, we noted that many typical Scheme programs would need unnecessary run-time checks. The troublesome programs we considered used union types and recursive types. Consequently, we next investigated ways to include true
Metallurgical Investigations on Two Sword Blades of 7th and 3rd Century B.C. Found in Central Italy

This study aims at casting new light about the knowledge of the metallurgical techniques developed by the Etruscan and the Romans during their political and cultural interactions in Central Italy. The analysis of two weapons found at the Etruscan sites of Vetulonia and Chiusi have pointed out some new information about the production process performed. The optical microscopy analysis has allowed to identify the sequence of the microstructural constituents present in the two ancient weapons. SEM-EDS has permitted to identify the chemical composition of the non metallic inclusion and to estimate the average temperature of the reduction process. The analysis of the metal matrix performed by a coupled argon plasma spectrometer permitted to measure the average chemical compositions of the studied alloys. SEM-EBSD analysis has allowed to identify the crystallographic textures present within the different zones of the sword blades and this has indicated the realization of a forming process that gave interesting mechanical properties to the metal products. The results obtained by the Etruscans artisans were of very high standard quality and their production system had been certainly assimilated by the Romans who found in them a strategic factor to increase their power.
Experimental investigation of transient and thermal effects on lubricated non‐conformal contacts

Thermal and transient effects in lubricated point contacts are investigated through experimental analyses using the optical interferometry technique. Experiments between a ball and a plane surface of a disc are described. To include effects due to different thermal properties, experiments are carried out for different slide-to-roll-ratios with a steel-on-steel and a glass-on-steel contact. A paraffin base mineral oil is used as a lubricant. Friction coefficients and film thicknesses are measured (the film thickness only for the the glass-on-steel-contact). Under transient conditions the entraining velocity is varied with a sinusoidal law. It is found that the film thickness and the friction coefficient are influenced a lot by the slideto-roll ratio and the thermal properties of the contacting materials. Under transient conditions film thicknesses and friction coefficients are influenced by thermal effects and not only by transient effects like squeeze. Squeeze effects explain “loops” of friction- and film thickness found also in previous works. The formation of friction loops are related to the measured film thickness differences. Thermal effects could explain differences in film thickness and friction loops for different slide-to-roll-ratios and surface materials.
Smoothed Hex-grid Trajectory Planning using Helicopter Dynamics

Considering Unmanned Autonomous Vehicles (UAVs) the planning tasks mainly consist of finding paths between given waypoints with respect to given constraints. In this paper we developed a path planning system for flying UAVs (VTOLs and CTOLs) built upon Hexagonal grids which also supports simple dynamics (handling with speed). The planning system is additionally supported by a trajectory smoothing mechanism based on a dynamics model of a helicopter. The model can be also used for the simulation of the helicopter movement.
Detecting physical shock by a mobile phone and its applications in security and emergency

In this paper, we propose a method for detecting physical shock by a mobile phone and its applications in security and emergency scenarios. We use acceleration signal provided by accelerometers integrated in a mobile phone to detect shocks. The shock is identified by analysis of acceleration pattern using statistical signal processing methods. We propose to use such a shock detection application for increasing security of data access in a mobile phone, as well as identifying scenarios which user of mobile phone experiences risky emergency events.
Duration of protection and age-dependence of the effects of the SPf66 malaria vaccine in African children exposed to intense transmission of Plasmodium falciparum.

The SPf66 synthetic vaccine is safe and partly efficacious against Plasmodium falciparum malaria among children 1-5 years old. The estimated vaccine efficacy [VE] for all clinical episodes over a period of 18 months after the third dose is 25% (95% confidence interval [CI], 1%-44%; P = .044). The observed temporal variations in efficacy could have been due to chance (likelihood ratio chi 2 = 13.8, 8 df; P = .086). Efficacy against clinical malaria did not vary significantly with age (chi 2 = 1.07, 4 df; P = .90). Overall parasite density was 21% lower in vaccine recipients than in the placebo group (95% CI, 0%-38%; P = .044). Further development of SPf66 may require trials to evaluate safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy when administered in the first year of life, together with other vaccines contained in the Expanded Programme of Immunization schedule.
Head Pose Estimation on Top of Haar-Like Face Detection: A Study Using the Kinect Sensor

Head pose estimation is a crucial initial task for human face analysis, which is employed in several computer vision systems, such as: facial expression recognition, head gesture recognition, yawn detection, etc. In this work, we propose a frame-based approach to estimate the head pose on top of the Viola and Jones (VJ) Haar-like face detector. Several appearance and depth-based feature types are employed for the pose estimation, where comparisons between them in terms of accuracy and speed are presented. It is clearly shown through this work that using the depth data, we improve the accuracy of the head pose estimation. Additionally, we can spot positive detections, faces in profile views detected by the frontal model, that are wrongly cropped due to background disturbances. We introduce a new depth-based feature descriptor that provides competitive estimation results with a lower computation time. Evaluation on a benchmark Kinect database shows that the histogram of oriented gradients and the developed depth-based features are more distinctive for the head pose estimation, where they compare favorably to the current state-of-the-art approaches. Using a concatenation of the aforementioned feature types, we achieved a head pose estimation with average errors not exceeding 5.1∘,4.6∘,4.2∘ for pitch, yaw and roll angles, respectively.
Modeling of Dynamic Backgrounds by Type-2 Fuzzy Gaussian Mixture Models

—Gaussian Mixture Models (GMMs) are the most popular techniques in background modeling but present some limitations when some dynamic changes occur like camera jitter, illumination changes, movement in the background. Furthermore, the GMM are initialized using a training sequence which may be noisy and/or insufficient to model correctly the background. All these critical situations generate false classification in the foreground detection mask due to the related uncertainty. In this context, we propose to model the background by using a Type-2 Fuzzy Gaussian Mixture Models. The interest is to introduce descriptions of uncertain parameters in the GMM. Experimental validation of the proposed method is performed and presented on a diverse set of RGB and infrared videos. Results show the relevance of the proposed approach.
An efficient parallel approach using OpenCL for pupil detection and pupil size measurement

Pupil detection techniques based on video camera are useful for human monitoring and machine-human interface devices. For example, PD can be used in the field of noninvasive intracranial pressure monitor, fatigue detection etc. During the pupil detection process, image pixels can dramatically influence the detection speed, especially when two cameras are used for acquiring images from both left and right eyes. The low detection speed would impact the application for real-time detections. In this paper, in order to improve the detection speed, a parallel pupil detection and pupil size measurement method using the OpenCL (Open Computing Language) framework for the parallel computing was proposed. The experimental results indicated that the proposed method present excellent efficiency than that of CPU-only platforms without compromising the accuracy of pupil detection and pupil size measurement.
Brain Activations Related to Saccadic Response Conflict are not Sensitive to Time on Task

Establishing a role of the dorsal medial frontal cortex in the performance monitoring and cognitive control has been a challenge to neuroscientists for the past decade. In light of recent findings, the conflict monitoring hypothesis has been elaborated to an action-outcome predictor theory. One of the findings that led to this re-evaluation was the fMRI study in which conflict-related brain activity was investigated in terms of the so-called time on task effect, i.e., a linear increase of the BOLD signal with longer response times. The aim of this study was to investigate brain regions involved in the processing of saccadic response conflict and to account for the time on task effect. A modified spatial cueing task was implemented in the event-related fMRI study with oculomotor responses. The results revealed several brain regions which show higher activity for incongruent trials in comparison to the congruent ones, including pre-supplementary motor area together with the frontal and parietal regions. Further analysis accounting for the effect of response time provided evidence that these brain activations were not sensitive to time on task but reflected purely the congruency effect.