Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The young open cluster NGC 2129

The first charge-coupled device UBV( RI )C photometric study in the area of the doubtful open cluster NGC 2129 is presented. Photometry of a field offset 15 arcmin northwards is also provided, to probe the Galactic disc population towards the cluster. Using star counts, proper motions from the UCAC2 catalogue, colour‐magnitude and colour‐colour diagrams, we demonstrate that NGC 2129 is a young open cluster. The cluster radius is 2.5 arcmin, and across this region we find evidence of significant differential reddening, although the reddening law seems to be normal towards its direction. Updated estimates of the cluster fundamental parameters are provided. The mean reddening is found to be E(B − V) = 0.80 ± 0.08 and the distance modulus is (m − M)0 = 11.70 ± 0.30. Hence, NGC 2129 is located at 2.2 ± 0.2 kpc from the Sun inside the Local spiral arm. The age derived from 37 photometrically selected members is estimated to be approximately 10 Myr. These stars are used to provide new estimates of the cluster absolute proper-motion components. Ke yw ords: Hertzsprung‐Russell (HR) diagram ‐ open clusters and associations: general ‐ open clusters and associations: individual: NGC 2129.
How to self-calibrate a structured light sensor ?

This paper deals with self-calibration and its adaptation to structured light vision. A brief survey on self-calibration for stereovision is first proposed. Then, after having described the geometry of a structured light sensor and the constraints it imposes, a method based on the generation of Euclidean constraints is detailed. It is mainly shown how the projection of a known pattern is used to retrieve these constraints. Experimental results are presented and validate the method.
Effect of tool on tensile strength in single and double sided friction stir welding

In this experimental work, an extensive investigation had been carried out on AL 19000-H12 grade aluminum alloy plates. Plates of aluminum alloy (AL19000H12) size 200x50x6 mm were used for experiment. Material of weld tool used high carbon steel Diameter of tool head used 17 mm and length 50mm. Four different tool pin profiles (Straight cylindrical, Square, Threaded and Triangular) be used to fabricate joints in a single and sequential double sided. In this investigation, tool rotation and traverse speeds be kept constant i.e. 3000 rpm and 25 mm/min. The variables are shape of the tool and having passes one sided and both sided. Tensile test specimens are prepared according to the guidelines of American Society for Testing of Materials (ASTM) to be tested on UTM (Ultimate tensile strength). Ultimate tensile strength, percentage elongation and joint efficiency are noted. Various mechanical properties of the joints are evaluated.
Non-linear dynamics in multiagent reinforcement learning algorithms

Several multiagent reinforcement learning (MARL) algorithms have been proposed to optimize agents' decisions. Only a subset of these MARL algorithms both do not require agents to know the underlying environment and can learn a stochastic policy (a policy that chooses actions according to a probability distribution). Weighted Policy Learner (WPL) is a MARL algorithm that belongs to this subset and was shown, experimentally in previous work, to converge and outperform previous MARL algorithms belonging to the same subset. The main contribution of this paper is analyzing the dynamics of WPL and showing the effect of its non-linear nature, as opposed to previous MARL algorithms that had linear dynamics. First, we represent the WPL algorithm as a set of differential equations. We then solve the equations and show that it is consistent with experimental results reported in previous work. We finally compare the dynamics of WPL with earlier MARL algorithms and discuss the interesting differences and similarities we have discovered.
An architectural style for optimizing system qualities in adaptive embedded systems using Multi-Objective Optimization

Customers of today's complex embedded systems demand the optimization of multiple system qualities under varying operational conditions. To be able to influence the system qualities, the system must have parameters that can be adapted. Constraints may be defined on the value of these parameters. Optimizing multiple system qualities under the given set of parameters and constraints is called Multi-Objective Optimization (MOO). This is a well-known mathematical problem, for which numerous solutions have been proposed. The application of an MOO solution in an embedded system involves specific design decisions. It is preferable that these design decisions are documented in the architectural description. Therefore, this paper presents an architectural style, which specializes the Component-and-Connector viewtype, to enable the analysis and design of an architecture from an MOO point of view. A case study from industry is used to demonstrate the usage of this style.
Queue Stability Analysis and Performance Evaluation of a TCP-Compliant Window Management Mechanism

Addressing performance degradations in end-to-end congestion control has been one of the most active research areas in the last decade. A huge number of techniques have been proposed in the past, but some of them miss the challenging target of both minimizing network delay and keeping goodput close to the network capacity (e.g., active queue management (AQM) techniques); others require changes in both network routers and hosts that make them difficult to deploy [e.g., eXplicit Control Protocol (XCP)]. In a previous paper, a novel mechanism, called Active Window Management (AWM), has been proposed by the same authors with the aim of controlling the queue length in network routers, maintaining it almost constant to achieve no loss, while maximizing network utilization. The target of this paper is twofold: 1) carrying out a deep analysis of the AWM algorithm stability to evaluate the impact of some system parameters on the performance of the whole system; 2) demonstrating that AWM can be gradually introduced, maintaining the compatibility with the current Internet. An extensive numerical analysis is proposed to demonstrate that AWM stabilizes the queue around a target value with small oscillations.
Some like it HOT: a comparison of toll roads and high occupancy toll lanes

Of the various forms of road pricing, conventional link/network tolls and High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes are two options that road authorities are increasingly having to consider, and both have been implemented in various countries for different reasons and with varying degrees of success. Conventional tolls (manual or electronically collected) involve charging for the use of a specified road link or network for a set length of road (or tunnel or bridge), while HOT lanes involve the use of a fast lane at no charge if there is a designated minimum number of occupants of the vehicle, toll if there are no passengers or a reduced charge if there are fewer than the designated number of occupants. This paper first defines the two approaches and examines key projects where conventional tolls and HOT lanes have been implemented. It then compares and contrasts international experience of conventional tolls with HOT lanes in terms of their legal requirements, operational (e.g. traffic) impacts, social (equity & distributional) impacts and public acceptance. Finally, some lessons and policy implications are put forward for road authorities in Australia, taking into account recent initiatives such as the Henry Tax Review.
The classification of BL Lacertae objects: the Ca H&K break

We investigate why BL Lacertae objects (BL Lacs) have values of the Ca H&K break (a stellar absorption feature) lower than low-power radio galaxies, and whether its use is justified to separate the two classes. For this purpose we relate this parameter to the radio and optical core emission, as well as to the X-ray powers, for a sample of ∼90 radio sources. We find that the Ca H&K break value decreases with increasing jet power, and that it also anticorrelates with the radio core dominance parameter but not with extended radio emission. Based on this we conclude that the Ca H&K break value of BL Lacs and radio galaxies is a suitable indicator of orientation. From the luminosity ratios between objects with low and high Ca H&K break values we constrain the average Lorentz factors for BL Lacs and low-power radio galaxies in the radio and X-ray band to r ∼ 2-4 and derive average viewing angles for the galaxies. Our values are in agreement with results from independent methods. We find that the correlations between Ca H&K break and radio core and X-ray luminosity hold independently for low-(LBL) and high-energy peaked BL Lacs (HBL). We derive average viewing angles for their parent populations, which turn out to be similar to the ones for our entire sample, and compare for the first time the luminosities of LBL and HBL at different orientations.
Waveform Analysis of UWB GPR Antennas

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) systems fall into the category of ultra-wideband (UWB) devices. Most GPR equipment covers a frequency range between an octave and a decade by using short-time pulses. Each signal recorded by a GPR gathers a temporal log of attenuated and distorted versions of these pulses (due to the effect of the propagation medium) plus possible electromagnetic interferences and noise. In order to make a good interpretation of this data and extract the most possible information during processing, a deep knowledge of the wavelet emitted by the antennas is essential. Moreover, some advanced processing techniques require specific knowledge of this signal to obtain satisfactory results. In this work, we carried out a series of tests in order to determine the source wavelet emitted by a ground-coupled antenna with a 500 MHz central frequency.
Synchronization of Reaction-Diffusion Delayed Non-Autonomous Fuzzy Cellular Neural Networks

In this paper,we investigate the synchronization of reaction-diffusion delayed non-autonomous fuzzy cellular neural networks(FCNNs) with Dirichlet boundary conditions. The approaches developed here extend the ideas and techniques derived in recent literatures. By using the Lyapunov-Lasall principle of functional differential equations and utlizing some inequality techniques, we can obtain some new stability criterias . The result imposes constraint conditions on the network parameters independently of the delay parameter.The result is also easy to check and plays an important role in the designs and applications of globally exponentially stable fuzzy neural circuits. Index Terms—Fuzzy cellular neural networks; Synchronization ;Reaction-diffusion; Non-autonomous ; Lyapunov-Lasall principle; Inequality techniques; Globally exponentially stable. ✦
Automated metadata and instance extraction from news Web sites

Over the past few years World Wide Web has established as a vital resource for news. With the continuous growth in the number of available news Web sites and the diversity in their presentation of content, there is an increasing need to organize the news related information on the Web and keep track of it. In this paper, we present automated techniques for extracting metadata instance information by organizing and mining a set of news Web sites. We develop algorithms that detect and utilize HTML regularities in the Web documents to turn them into hierarchical semantic structures encoded as XML. The tree-mining algorithms that we present identify key domain concepts and their taxonomical relationships. We also extract semi-structured concept instances annotated with their labels whenever they are available. We report experimental evaluation for the news domain to demonstrate the efficacy of our algorithms.
XMM-Newton observations of M 87 and its X-ray halo

We report performance verification observations of the giant elliptical galaxy M 87 in the Virgo Cluster with the MOS, pn, and optical monitor instruments on board of XMM - Newton . With the energy sensitive imaging instruments MOS and pn we obtain the first spatially constrained X-ray spectra of the nucleus and the jet of the galaxy. The good photon statistics of the pn and MOS allow a detailed analysis of the radial temperature and abundance distribution of 6 elements. The data provide no indication of a multi-temperature structure for radii $\ge $2 ' . An apparent sharp metal abundance drop deduced for the regions inside this radius is probably due to resonant line scattering.
An investigation into the psychobiological mechanisms underpinning the relationship between type D personality and physical health complaints in the general population

Type D personality is characterised by high levels of social inhibition and negative affectivity, and is traditionally associated with poor prognosis and negative outcomes in cardiac patients. Research has also demonstrated links between Type D personality and adverse health outcomes among other clinical populations, and in apparently healthy individuals. A number of psychophysiological mechanisms have been suggested to underpin the relationship, including sympathetic dysregulation and maladaptive immune activation. However, previous findings are relatively inconclusive, and further exploration of potential psychobiological mechanisms is warranted. This project therefore aims to elucidate the potential mechanisms underpinning the relationship between Type D personality and poor physical health in the general population. In the current project, physical symptom clusters were derived from an existing tool designed to assess everyday health complaints, in order to ascertain the relationship between specific physical symptom clusters and Type D. Subsequently, a cross-sectional online questionnaire-based study was conducted to assess the associations between Type D personality and physical symptoms, in addition to a number of psychological and behavioural outcomes identified in the literature. Relationships between Type D and specific stress-related symptom clusters were observed. Subsequently, a one-year follow up was conducted to determine the dynamic nature of the Type D-health relationship and the potential mediating factors involved. Type D was related to metabolic, gastrointestinal and cold/flu symptom clusters, and anxiety and stressful life events were found to play mediating roles. Given the findings regarding Type D and stress-related symptoms, the subsequent phase of the project comprised an experimental study, which objectively examined sympathetic arousal in response to an acute stress task, in addition to inflammatory activation. Findings indicated that sympathetic dysregulation may be involved in the Type D-health relationship. Finally, a positive writing intervention was implemented to assess whether the influence of Type D on physical symptoms may be attenuated by means of increasing positive emotions. The utility of the intervention was demonstrated for reducing cold symptoms in Type D individuals over one month. Overall, this project provides novel contributions to the literature on Type D and adverse health, demonstrating links with specific symptom clusters, further evidence of a potential mechanism of sympathetic dysregulation and the value of a positive psychology invention in Type D individuals.
Low power techniques and design tradeoffs in adaptive FIR filtering for PRML read channels

In this paper, we describe area and power reduction techniques for a low-latency adaptive finite-impulse response filter for magnetic recording read channel applications. Various techniques are used to reduce area and power dissipation while speed remains as the main performance criterion for the target application. A parallel transposed direct form architecture operates on real-time input data samples and employs a fast, low-area multiplier based on selection of radix-8 pre-multiplied coefficients in conjunction with one-hot encoded bus leading to a very compact layout and reduced power dissipation. Area, speed and power comparisons with other low-power implementation options are also shown. The proposed filter has been fabricated using a 0.18 /spl mu/m L-effective CMOS technology and operates at 550 MSamples/s.
What is NP? - Interpretation of a Chinese paradox "white horse is not horse"

The notion of nondeterminism has disappeared from the current definition of NP, which has led to ambiguities in understanding NP, and caused fundamental difficulties in studying the relation P versus NP. In this paper, we question the equivalence of the two definitions of NP, the one defining NP as the class of problems solvable by a nondeterministic Turing machine in polynomial time, and the other defining NP as the class of problems verifiable by a deterministic Turing machine in polynomial time, and reveal cognitive biases in this equivalence. Inspired from a famous Chinese paradox white horse is not horse, we further analyze these cognitive biases. The work shows that these cognitive biases arise from the confusion between different levels of nondeterminism and determinism, due to the lack of understanding about the essence of nondeterminism. Therefore, we argue that fundamental difficulties in understanding P versus NP lie firstly at cognition level, then logic level.
High Frequency of Haplotype HLA-DQ7 in Celiac Disease Patients from South Italy: Retrospective Evaluation of 5,535 Subjects at Risk of Celiac Disease

Background Celiac disease (CD) has a strong genetic component mainly due to HLA DQ2/DQ8 encoding genes. However, a minority of CD patients are DQ2/DQ8-negative. To address this issue, we retrospectively characterized HLA haplotypes in 5,535 subjects at risk of CD (either relatives of CD patients or subjects with CD-like symptoms) referred to our center during a 10-year period. Methods We identified loci DQA1/DQB1/DRB1 by sequence-specific oligonucleotide-PCR and sequence-specific primer-PCR; anti-transglutaminase IgA/IgG and anti-endomysium IgA by ELISA and indirect immunofluorescence, respectively. Results We diagnosed CD in 666/5,535 individuals, 4.2% of whom were DQ2/DQ8-negative. Interestingly, DQ7 was one of the most abundant haplotypes in all CD patients and significantly more frequent in DQ2/DQ8-negative (38%) than in DQ2/DQ8-positive CD patients (24%) (p<0.05). Conclusion Our data lend support to the concept that DQ7 represents an additive or independent CD risk haplotype with respect to DQ2/DQ8 haplotypes but this finding should be verified in other large CD populations.
Real options and electricity capacity generation

This paper studies capacity expansion for a competitive electricity industry when agents consider investment as an option exercise on a real asset. The originality of this work is that the electricity price process is endogenously given in an unconventional manner : it solves a multi-technology optimization problem. The direct consequence of this sophistication is that one can not separate the option to invest between technologies. One is forced to evaluate directly the entire expansion plan as a whole. A necessary mathematical tool to work in this direction is singular stochastic control / optimal stopping equivalence often used in real options. We’ll show as one proceeds that the drawback of price internalization is dramatic for interdependent technologies as it prevent for an optimal stopping - stochastic control to hold and, at the same time, makes our ability to prove optimality of myopia less likely. The addition of a myopia assumption as a remedy to reach an investment criterium is discussed. We motivate the fact that myopia, well known to have been proved optimal in symmetric cases, is likely to be the observed behavior under asymmetries. A numerical and practical solution grounded on myopia arguments is worked out by combination of analytic treatment and forward Monte Carlo simulations.
CHILDHOOD: Wearable Suit for Augmented Child Experience

In this paper, we propose a novel wearable suit that virtually realizes a child's embodiment and experiences while preserving the user's interactions and perceptions. Virtualized child's embodiment through the user's own body provides opportunities to feel and understand a child's perceptions. Our suit helps users encounter inspirations in daily life and assess products and spaces, such as hospitals, public facilities, and homes, from the aspect of universal design. The suit consists of a viewpoint translator and passive hand exoskeletons. The viewpoint translator presents a child's point of view (POV) by using a pan-tilt stereo camera attached at the waist and a head-mounted display (HMD). The pan-tilt mechanism follows the user's head movement, and the passive hand exoskeletons simulate the grasping motion of a child's hand by using multiple quadric crank mechanisms and a small rubber hand. Through an user experience observation experiment, it is conducted that the proposed wearable devices can be used for evaluating the accessibility of buildings and products for children.
Symbolic Computation of Fenchel Conjugates In honour of

Convex optimization is a branch of mathematics dealing with nonlinear optimization problems with additional geometric structure. This area has been the focus of considerable recent research due to the fact that convex optimization problems are scalable and can be efficiently solved by interior-point methods. Over the last ten years or so, convex optimization has found new applications in many areas including control theory, signal processing, communications and networks, circuit design, data analysis and finance. Of key importance in convex optimization is the notion of duality, and in particular that of Fenchel duality. This work explores algorithms for calculating symbolic Fenchel conjugates of a class of real-valued functions defined on R.
Parallel Imaging with RASER using Multiband Frequency-modulated Excitation Pulses

Introduction: The recently described RASER sequence is a conceptual novelty in MR imaging [1]. Based on frequency-swept excitation, and timeencoding, RASER is a rapid, pure T2-weighted scheme without signal voids, ghosting and distortion artifacts present in conventional echo-planar imaging (EPI). These properties render it attractive for functional imaging (fMRI). However, in the previous implementation of single-shot RASER, these benefits came only at the expense of coverage and spatial and temporal resolutions. Parallel imaging (PI) can alleviate such limitations. With RASER, this must utilize unconventional approaches since the sequence does not employ conventional phase-encoding. For this, multi-band frequency-swept excitation pulses were employed, and it is demonstrated that such a PI method can be used in RASER to extend its ability for spatial coverage with reduced time demands and achieve echo times optimal for T2-weighted blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) contrast in fMRI.