Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Message Driven Processor: an integrated multicomputer processing element

A description is given of the Message-Driven Processor (MDP), an integrated multicomputer node. It incorporates a 36-bit integer processor, a memory management unit, a router for a 3D mesh network, a network interface, a 4K*36-bit word static RAM (SRAM), and an ECC dynamic RAM (DRAM) controller on a single 1.1 M-transistor VLSI chip. The MDP is not specialized for a single model of computation. Instead, it incorporates efficient primitive mechanisms for communication, synchronization, and naming. These mechanisms support most proposed parallel programming models. Each processing node of the MIT J-Machine consists of an MDP with 1 Mbit of DRAM. <<ETX>>
Subharmonic 245 GHz SiGe receiver with antenna

A subharmonic receiver (RX) for sensing applications in the 245 GHz ISM band is presented. The RX consists of a differential LNA, a 122 GHz push-push VCO with 1/64 divider, a LO-buffer, a 90° differential hybrid, an active subharmonic mixer, and an on-chip antenna. The VCO frequency is tunable by an external PLL in the range from 118 GHz to 125 GHz. The RX is fabricated in 0.13 μm SiGe:C BiCMOS technology with ft/fmax of 300GHz/500GHz. Its conversion gain is 18 dB at 245 GHz, and the estimated noise figure is 18 dB. The 3-dB bandwidth reaches from 244 GHz to 250 GHz. The input 1-dB compression point is at -25 dBm. The conversion gain of RX with integrated antenna was estimated using a quasi-optical setup. The RX power dissipation of 0.6 W requires an effective thermal sink for the mounted RX-chip to avoid degradation of its conversion gain.
Why a multichannel protocol can boost IEEE 802.11 performance

We analyse a CSMA MAC protocol for ad hoc wireless networks, that uses one control channel and a number of data channels. The data channel employed in each transmission is dynamically selected with an exchange of frames on the control channel. We present simulation results obtained with both the multichannel protocol and the IEEE 802.11 MAC protocol under different scenarios. We show that the multichannel protocol performs better than the single channel MAC under certain conditions, since the presence of hidden nodes has a smaller impact on its performance; we argue that this is mainly due to the separation operated between the control frames and the data frames.
Sizing Study of Second Life Li-ion Batteries for Enhancing Renewable Energy Grid Integration

Renewable power plants must comply with certain codes and requirements to be connected to the grid, being the ramp-rate compliance one of the most challenging requirements, especially for photovoltaic or wind energy generation plants. Battery-based energy storage systems represent a promising solution due to the fast dynamics of electrochemical storage systems, besides their scalability and flexibility. However, large-scale battery energy storage systems are still too expensive to be a mass market solution for the renewable energy resources integration. Thus, in order to make battery investment economically viable, the use of second life batteries is investigated in the paper. This paper proposes a method to determine the optimal sizing of a second life battery energy storage system (SLBESS). SLBESS performance is also validated and, as an ultimate step, the power exchanged with the batteries is calculated during one-year operation. The power profile obtained is further used to define the cycling patterns for laboratory testing of second life batteries and to study their ageing evolution when used for the power smoothing renewable integration application. Real photovoltaic energy generation data from a Spanish plant were used for the study.
The EORTC QLU-C10D: The Canadian Valuation Study and Algorithm to Derive Cancer-Specific Utilities From the EORTC QLQ-C30

Objective. The EORTC QLQ-C30 is widely used for assessing quality of life in cancer. However, QLQ-C30 responses cannot be incorporated in cost-utility analysis because they are not based on general population’s preferences, or utilities. To overcome this limitation, the QLU-C10D, a cancer-specific utility algorithm, was derived from the QLQ-C30. The aim of this study was to obtain Canadian population utility weights for the QLU-C10D. Methods. Respondents from a Canadian research panel expressed their preferences for 16 choice sets in an online discrete choice experiment. Each choice set consisted of two health states described by the 10 QLU-C10D domains plus an attribute representing duration of survival. Using a conditional logit model, responses were converted into utility decrements by evaluating the marginal rate of substitution between each QLU-C10D domain level with respect to duration. Results. A total of 3,363 individuals were recruited. A total of 2,345 completed at least one choice set and 2,271 completed all choice sets. The largest utility decrements were associated with the worse levels of Physical Functioning (−0.24), Pain (−0.18), Role Functioning (−0.15), Emotional Functioning (−0.12), and Nausea (−0.12). The remaining domains and levels had decrements of −0.05 to −0.09. The utility of the worst possible health state was −0.15. Conclusion. Respondents from the general population were most concerned with generic health domains, but Nausea and Bowel Problems also had an impact on the individual’s utility. It is unclear as to whether cancer-specific domains will affect cost-utility analysis when evaluating cancer treatments; this will be tested in the next phase of the study.
Mediating Roles of Resilience and Optimism between Work Demand and Psychological Distress among Pre-School Pupils’ Caregivers

Psychological distress has become a serious issue with consequent negative outcomes on individuals and organisations. This study investigated the mediating roles of resilience and optimism between work demand and psychological distress among preschool pupils’ caregivers in Ekiti State, Nigeria. A descriptive survey research design was adopted. A sample of 605 caregivers was chosen through stratified random sampling technique. Data were collected using: (i) Demographic Data Form, (ii) Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, (iii) Perceived Work Demand Scale, (iv) Connor-Davison Resilience Scale, and (v) Life Orientation Test Revised. Data were analyzed using Regression Analysis and Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient with result tested for significant at . 05 level. Findings revealed, among other things, that there is a significant positive relationship between psychological distress and resilience (r = .263; p <.001), but not between psychological distress and optimism (r = .010; p >.05) and psychological distress and work demand (r = .071; p >.05). There was no significant direct effect of work demand on psychological distress of caregivers, independent of resilience and optimism (coeff = -.043; p >.05). Resilience mediated between work demand and psychological distress of preschool pupils’ caregivers. However, neither optimism nor both resilience and optimism did not. The study concluded that resilience and optimism are not significant mediators between work demand and psychological distress of preschool pupils’ caregivers. Based on the findings, it was recommended, among others that other factors that could cause a positive relationship between psychological distress and resilience should be identified, isolated, and controlled for further research.
An efficient probabilistic population-based descent for the median genome problem

We present a novel population-based local search algorithm for the median genome problem. The primary result of this article is that this probabilistic approach significantly improves the performance of ancestral genome reconstruction compared to existing methods, making it possible to tackle problems where the contemporary genomes may contain many hundreds of markers. Moreover, our method is not limited to triples of genomes, and thus solves the median genome problem in its generality. We show that in real application cases the computational results are highly robust, suggesting that we can interpret the computed median genomes as candidates carrying the semantics of ancestral architectures.
Performance comparison of H.264 and H.265 encoders for 4K video sequences

With the growing demand for ultra-high definition in television industry, 4K Ultra HD technology is increasingly becoming the focus of attention. Currently, the two techniques that are most commonly used in coding 4K Ultra HD signals are H.264 encoding and HEVC encoding. This paper uses the two ways to code different 4K sequences, and gets the conclusion by analysing and comparing the encoding performances of H.264 and H.265.
Effects of pregnancy on female sexual function and body image: a prospective study.

INTRODUCTION Sexual function through pregnancy and the postpartum period is an important aspect of quality of life. Despite this, prospective studies are limited, and the impact of body image on sexual function has not been explored. AIM To prospectively assess the effects of pregnancy on sexual function, and explore causative factors for sexual function alterations such as body image and pelvic floor symptoms. MATERIALS AND METHODS Pregnant women completed the questionnaires in the first and third trimester and at 6 months postpartum. These included general information, questions regarding sexual activity and practices, and five validated indices: the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), the Body Exposure during Sexual Activities Questionnaire, short forms of Urogenital Distress Inventory and Incontinence Impact Questionnaire, and the Fecal Incontinence Quality of Life Scale. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES An assessment of the FSFI domains through the 6 months postpartum and relationships between sexual function, body image, and pelvic floor symptoms. RESULTS One hundred seven women were enrolled, 63 completed the final questionnaire. Sexual function declined through pregnancy and was not recovered by postpartum (P = 0.017); sexual frequency was highest prior to becoming pregnant (P < 0.0005). Sexual practices changed during pregnancy but returned to early pregnancy levels in the postpartum period. Although body image during sexual functioning did not significantly change during pregnancy, it worsened in the postpartum period (P = 0.01). In early pregnancy, low sexual function was associated with impaired body image, while in the postpartum period, worse urinary symptoms correlated with poor FSFI. CONCLUSION Sexual function worsens during pregnancy and is not recovered by the 6 months postpartum; poor scores may be attributable to low body image and urinary complaints.
Network Services from Distributed Solar PV and Inverters

Networks Renewed is a major new project funded by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) that aims to demonstrate how solar PV, battery storage and inverters can support distribution networks in managing power quality. The path to implementation will be established by two commercial-scale demonstrations of controlled solar PV and energy storage in the regional Mid North Coast of NSW, and suburban Melbourne in Victoria. At the time of this conference the deployment of inverters and control technologies will have commenced towards pilot-scale demonstrations to test candidate control algorithms, several of which have been published in the engineering literature. These will develop into market-scale demonstrations to achieve useful power quality improvements on selected network segments, and also market trading revenues, should these materially improve the financial returns to customers from inverter control.
Scutellarein suppresses Aβ-induced memory impairment via inhibition of the NF-κB pathway in vivo and in vitro

The flavonoid compound scutellarin (Scu) is a traditional Chinese medicine used to treat a variety of diseases; however, the use of scutellarein (Scue), the hydrolysate of Scu, and its mechanisms of action in Alzheimer's disease (AD) have not been fully elucidated. In the present study, the effects of Scue on amyloid β (Aβ)-induced AD-like pathology were investigated. An in vitro model of inflammation and an aged rat model were used to confirm the effects of Scue. In vitro MTT assays and flow cytometry were used to assess the effects of Scue on cell viability and apoptosis, respectively. A Morris water maze was used to evaluate spatial learning and memory, and the levels of Aβ deposition, superoxide dismutase, malondialdehyde, apoptosis, neuro-inflammatory factors and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activation in hippocampal tissues in vivo were measured to determine the effect of Scue in AD. Scue may be protective, as it decreased the apoptosis of hippocampal cells in vitro, inhibited Aβ-induced cognitive impairment, suppressed hippocampal neuro-inflammation and suppressed activation of NF-κB in vivo. Therefore, Scue may be a useful agent for the treatment of Aβ-associated pathology in the central nervous system through inhibition of the protein kinase B/NF-κB signaling pathway and thus, future studies are required to investigate the efficacy of Scue in patients with AD.
A new shock-wave test apparatus for liquid CO2 blasting and measurement analysis

Liquid CO2 blasting of coal or rock body technology is widely used for improving permeability, pressure relief, cutting proof, and roadway development. Due to the lack of proper apparatus for blasting measurement, the determination of blasting parameters is often not under scientific basis. A newly designed experimental apparatus is developed to monitor shock-wave pressure of liquid CO2 blasting. The apparatus mainly consists of testing tube and base bracket. The testing tube is fixed on the base bracket by fixed ring. The base bracket is fixed to the ground by expansion bolts to ensure the stability of the apparatus and personnel safety during blasting. Three testing tubes with inner diameter of 48, 68, and 82 mm are designed and manufactured to simulate different sizes of boreholes. Monitoring holes are drilled on the testing tube to monitor blasting shock-wave pressure in real time. The maximum pressure of the shock-wave and its acting duration can be obtained. Experimental results also revealed that the normal direction of the gas outlet is the effective shock-wave acting area where the maximum pressure reaches more than 160 MPa. The shock-wave pressure is in non-linear relationship with the distance from gas outlet. By comparison of the blasting tube sealed to unsealed condition, it is found that sealing can be effected by increment in shock-wave pressure of about 43.3%. The research results provide a basis and reference work for determination and optimization of liquid CO2 blasting parameters.
Multi-manifold deep metric learning for image set classification

In this paper, we propose a multi-manifold deep metric learning (MMDML) method for image set classification, which aims to recognize an object of interest from a set of image instances captured from varying viewpoints or under varying illuminations. Motivated by the fact that manifold can be effectively used to model the nonlinearity of samples in each image set and deep learning has demonstrated superb capability to model the nonlinearity of samples, we propose a MMDML method to learn multiple sets of nonlinear transformations, one set for each object class, to nonlinearly map multiple sets of image instances into a shared feature subspace, under which the manifold margin of different class is maximized, so that both discriminative and class-specific information can be exploited, simultaneously. Our method achieves the state-of-the-art performance on five widely used datasets.
Transcriptome analysis reveals the role of the root hairs as environmental sensors to maintain plant functions under water-deficiency conditions

An important part of the root system is the root hairs, which play a role in mineral and water uptake. Here, we present an analysis of the transcriptomic response to water deficiency of the wild-type (WT) barley cultivar 'Karat' and its root-hairless mutant rhl1.a. A comparison of the transcriptional changes induced by water stress resulted in the identification of genes whose expression was specifically affected in each genotype. At the onset of water stress, more genes were modulated by water shortage in the roots of the WT plants than in the roots of rhl1.a. The roots of the WT plants, but not of rhl1.a, specifically responded with the induction of genes that are related to the abscisic acid biosynthesis, stomatal closure, and cell wall biogenesis, thus indicating the specific activation of processes that are related to water-stress signalling and protection. On the other hand, the processes involved in the further response to abiotic stimuli, including hydrogen peroxide, heat, and high light intensity, were specifically up-regulated in the leaves of rhl1.a. An extended period of severe stress caused more drastic transcriptome changes in the roots and leaves of the rhl1.a mutant than in those of the WT. These results are in agreement with the much stronger damage to photosystem II in the rhl1.a mutant than in its parent cultivar after 10 d of water stress. Taking into account the putative stress sensing and signalling features of the root hair transcriptome, we discuss the role of root hairs as sensors of environmental conditions.
An application of text mining to understand the productivity challenges in Singapore

The issue of low productivity growth and reliance on foreign labour are major concerns in Singapore. Traditionally, identifying productivity issues usually involves an expert's opinion or market surveys. These methods might be biased or labour intensive. In this paper, we consider an alternative method, a data-driven approach using text mining. Various text mining techniques are applied on the data collected from 87 companies that participated in an operational excellence programme. The results indicated that even though the set of productivity issues for companies residing in Singapore are similar, the severity of the problems differs across different types of industries. Furthermore, we also found that companies from different industries tend to adopt different methods to solve their productivity issues.
Concept of Feedback in Future Computing Models to Cloud Systems

Currently, it is urgent to ensure QoS in distributed computing systems. This became especially important to the development and spread of cloud services. Big data structures become heavily distributed. Necessary to consider the communication channels and data transmission systems and virtualization and scalability in future design of computational models in problems of designing cloud systems, evaluating the effectiveness of the algorithms, the assessment of economic performance data centers. Requires not only the monitoring of data flows and computing resources, but also the operational management of these resources to QoS provide. Such a tool may be just the introduction of feedback in computational models. The article presents the main dynamic model with feedback as a basis for a new model of distributed computing processes. The research results are presented here. Formulated in this work can be used for other complex tasks-estimation of structural complexity of distributed databases, evaluation of dynamic characteristics of systems operating in the hybrid cloud, etc.
Assessment of oxidative stress in Flathead mullet (Mugil cephalus) and Gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata).

In this work we compared two species of fish with different feeding habits: Flathead mullet (Mugil cephalus) and Gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata). The aim of this study was to evaluate total oxidant status (TOS), total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and TOS/TAC ratio (OSI), in order to highlight the presence of any differences and correlations in these two different species of fish. Thirty adult fish of Mugil cephalus and thirty of Sparus aurata were used. From each fish 0.6 ml of blood was collected. TOS and TAC indicators were measured in serum obtained from samples previously clotted and centrifuged. Our results showed statistically significant differences between the two species in TAC. TOS and OSI did not show significant differences between Gilthead sea bream and Flathead mullet. A positive relationship between TOS and TAC was found in Flathead mullet (Mugil cephalus), and a negative relation between TOS and TAC in Gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata). Our study indicates that the oxidative status and the relationship between total oxidant status (TOS) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in serum are probably dependent on the fish species and are affected by different feeding habits.
Mitra Akbari Additive Manufacturing of Graphene for Identification and Sensing Applications

The huge growth of Internet of Things has been leading to a high demand in multipurpose radio frequency identification tags. The materials and manufacturing choices have subsequently become very essential for a lower cost and desired wireless performance. In addition, eco-friendly aspects are gaining more and more interest. This thesis investigates the possibilities of novel manufacturing methods for patterning graphene-based layer on versatile substrates. Graphene is a novel nanomaterial, which has gained a huge attraction due to extraordinary mechanical and electrical properties. In this work, graphene has been introduced as a promising candidate for environmentally-friendly and cost-effective wireless platforms. The focus of the research has been mostly on patterning and fabrication details. The used manufacturing methods are inkjet printing, doctor blade, and 3D direct writing. Additionally, required surface treatments and post treatments are investigated, which needed to be optimized according to ink and substrate materials properties. For instance, the inkjet printed graphene oxide needs annealing and a subsequent reduction process. This can be done using elevated temperature or under pulsed Xenon flashes. On the other hand, graphene inks require just one step curing process. This curing step can be carried out in a conventional oven or photonically by pulsed Xenon flashes. The results indicate that graphene inks have a great potential for fabricating antennas and RFID tags for sensing and identification applications. In this work, the graphene passive UHF RFID tags are manufactured and characterized. Then the wireless properties are evaluated which show acceptable read range values over the UHF band. In addition, the tags show excellent reliability at high humidity and harsh bending conditions. This indicates the great potential of graphene based tags in wireless identification and sensing platforms.
Compression du cycle reproducteur du loup de mer (Anarhichas lupus et A. minor)

Wolffishes (Anarhichas minor and A. lupus) aquaculture development is limited by the supply of quality juvenile and difficulties to establish a year-round juvenile production. The aim of this study was to compress reproduction cycle of two wolffish species (Common wolfish (A. lupus), Spotted wolffish Canadian strain (A. minor QC) and spotted wolffish Norwegian strain (A. minor NW)) by photoperiod manipulation. Two photoperiod treatments were tested: a 12 months simulated natural photoperiod (SNP) and an 8 months compressed photoperiod (CP). Experiments were conducted from February 2006 to December 2007. Blood samples and growth measurement (body mass and total length) were collected monthly. Sexual maturation was assessed monthly by plasma steroids levels (11-ketotestosterone and 17-β-oestradiol) and analyzed by competitive ELISA. In 2007, CP broodstock A. lupus spawned 3 months earlier, A. minor QC spawned 5 months earlier and A. minor NW spawned 6 months earlier compared to SNP. This project enabled the establishment of an off-season spawning in the spring and suggests the presence of a sexrelated growth dimorphism benefiting males (A. lupus 21.9%, A. minor QC 26.6% et A. minor NW 17.2%).