Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimizing Video Application Design for Phase-Change RAM-Based Main Memory

Video applications including video codecs place a large traffic demand on main memory. Emerging memory technology, such as phase-change RAM (PRAM) tends to suffer from the write endurance problem, in which the maximum number of writes is limited. Thus, it is required to improve video application designs to adapt to the new requirements of emerging memory technology, i.e., to minimize the number of writes in terms of bit updates. In this paper, we present a way to optimize video application design for PRAM-based main memory. We propose two methods to resolve the write endurance problem: inter-block differential data encoding and inter-frame multiple experts. Experimental results show an average of 18.4% reduction in bit updates when compared to the best existing data encoding methods for PRAM.
Implicit theories concerning the intelligence of individuals with Down syndrome

Studies over the past three decades have shown that learning difficulties are not only determined by neurological disorders, but also by motivational and/or socio-cognitive factors Among these factors, implicit theories of intelligence (also referred to as conceptions, mindsets or beliefs about intelligence) are key elements. The belief that intelligence is fixed (entity theory), as opposed to malleable (incremental theory), is generally associated with negative teaching practices and poorer student outcomes, yet beliefs about the intelligence of individuals with intellectual disabilities have not received much attention. We propose the first study on conceptions of intelligence of persons with intellectual disabilities, here people with Down syndrome. Participants were 55 professionally qualified people working with individuals with intellectual disabilities and 81 adults from the community. We compared what both groups of participants believe about intelligence of typical people and what they believe about the intelligence of individuals with Down syndrome. We also investigated implicit theories of intelligence as predictors of explicit judgments about intelligence and implicit attitudes toward people with Down syndrome. Whatever the work experience in the field of intellectual disability, implicit theories of intelligence were found to be less incremental when considering people with Down syndrome than when considering typical people; and the stronger the belief in entity theory, the more negative (and less positive) the judgments expressed explicitly. Implicit theories of intelligence were also found to be predictors of negative implicit attitude but only in adults from the community. These findings offer prospects for improving practices by people working in the field of intellectual disability. They might interest a wide range of people caring for people with intellectual disabilities, such as teachers, but also other professional caregivers, and other scientists focusing on intellectual disabilities or social cognition.
Multiple-Person Tracking System for Content Analysis

This paper presents a framework to track multiple persons in realtime. First, a method with real-time and adaptable capability is proposed to extract face-like regions based on skin, motion, and silhouette features. Then, a two-stage face verification algorithm is proposed to quickly eliminate false faces based on the face geometries and the Support Vector Machine(SVM). In order to overcome the effect of lighting changes, a method of color constancy compensation is applied. Then, a robust tracking scheme is applied to track multiple persons based on a face-status table. With the table, the system has extreme capabilities to track different persons at different statuses, which is quite important in face-related applications. Experimental results show that the proposed method is much robust and powerful than other traditional methods.
The effect of sulcular width on the linear accuracy of impression materials in the presence of an undercut.

PURPOSE This study examined the effect of gingival sulcular width, in the presence of an undercut, on the accuracy of dies poured from impressions made with different impression materials. MATERIALS AND METHODS Three polyvinyl siloxanes (Examix, Elite, and Express), one polyether (Permadyne), and one polysulfide (Permlastic) were used to make impressions of six metal dies. The dies were machined to simulate teeth with a chamfer preparation, root convergence, and sulci of varying widths (0.10 to 0.40 mm). The impressions were poured with type IV stone, and the resulting dies were measured under a traveling microscope at the level of the finish line. The distortion of each die was calculated. RESULTS The distortion ranged from 0.01% to 0.89%. All materials showed similar behavior: At the narrowest sulcular width (0.10 mm), the distortion was considerably larger (0.43% to 0.89%) than at the wider sulci (up to 0.20% in most cases). Examix (polyvinyl siloxane), Permlastic (polysulfide), and Permadyne (polyether) gave the most accurate dies for sulci 0.15 mm and wider. Express (polyvinyl siloxane) showed greater deformation than other materials in most sulcular widths under the conditions of this study. CONCLUSION Accurate impressions can be expected in sulci > or = 0.15 mm in width at the level of the finish line coronal to an undercut. Impressions with 0.10-mm sulci widths are not predictable. The physical properties of the impression materials used cannot be anticipated based on their chemical group.
A Multi-Mode Error-Correction Solution Based on Split-Concatenation for Wireless Sensor Nodes

—Forward Error Correction (FEC) now plays an important role in many wireless transceivers because it helps increase link reliability and lower required transmit power. Expected features of a FEC solution are scalability, high coding-gain, low-complexity and transmit power efficiency. In this paper, we proposed a multi-mode error-correction solution which is based on split-concatenation of low-constraint convolutional code and Truncated-Iteration Layered-Decoding LDPC (TILD-LDPC) block code. The proposed FEC solution can offer many operation modes with different levels of errorcorrection performance and transmit power. Moreover, besides guaranteeing good BER performances, the proposed FEC approach is also a low-complexity error-correction solution by implementing low-complexity version of convolutional code and LDPC. From experimental results and theoretic arguments, we found that the proposed FEC solution is suitable to apply for Wireless Sensor Nodes.
Factors Affecting Agrobacterium-mediated Transformation of Plants

Plant transformation technology has become a versatile platform for cultivar improvement as well as for studying gene function in plants. The development of an efficient method for genetic transformation is a prerequisite for the application of molecular biology to the improvement of a given crop species. Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation is the dominant technology used for the production of genetically modified transgenic plants. Extensive research aimed at improving the molecular machinery of Agrobacterium responsible for the generation and transport of the bacterial DNA into the host cell has resulted in the establishment of many recombinant Agrobacterium strains and technologies currently used for the successful transformation of numerous plant species. Many factors influencing Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of plants have been investigated and elucidated. These factors include bacterial strains and cell density, plant species and genotype, plant growth regulators and antibiotics, explant, explant wounding, light and temperature. Before attempting stable transformation of any new species, it is useful to optimize the factors influencing transformation efficiency, as this can reduce future costs in labor and materials. The studies of such factors hold great promise for the future of plant biotechnology and plant genetic engineering as they might help in the development of conceptually new techniques and approaches needed today to expand the host range of Agrobacterium and to control the transformation process and its outcome during the production of transgenic plants. Here, I review some of the main factors that influence Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation and discuss their possible roles in this process.
Specification and Analysis of Asynchronous Systems using CADP

The design of complex industrial critical systems involving asynchronous parallelism requires the use of formal methods, assisted by appropriate verification tools, in order to detect and correct errors as early as possible. In this chapter, we illustrate the use of the CADP toolbox for the formal modeling and verification of such systems by considering as an example a unit dedicated to the drilling of metal products. We describe in the LOTOS language two different versions of the unit, supervised by a sequential and a parallel controller, respectively. Then, we perform the generation and minimisation of the two underlying state spaces, and also the inspection (visual checking) of the smaller one, corresponding to the version equipped with a sequential controller. Finally, we analyse the behaviour of the two versions of the drilling unit by means of two complementary verification methods, based on bisimulations (equivalence checking) and temporal logics (model checking).
A novel hybrid learning technique applied to a self-learning multi-robot system

This paper mainly discusses learning in pursuit-evasion game. In the pursuit-evasion model, one robot pursues another one in a partially known environment. Partially known environment means that each robot knows the instant position of the other robot but at the same time none of them knows its control strategy. Therefore, both robots have to self-learn their control strategies on-line by interaction with each other. A new hybrid learning technique is proposed. The proposed technique combines reinforcement learning with both a fuzzy controller and genetic algorithms in a two-phase structure. The proposed technique is called a Q(λ)-learning based genetic fuzzy controller (QLBGFC). To test the performance of our proposed technique, it is compared with the optimal strategy, the Q(λ)-learning, and the reward-based genetic algorithms. Computer simulations show the usefulness of the proposed technique. In addition, the convergence and the boundedness of the Q-learning algorithm used in the proposed technique are shown.
Vision-Guided Mobile Robot Navigation

In this paper, the vision-based navigation problem for mobile robots in indoor environments is discussed. Corridor guidelines between the walls and the floor are used to guide the robot to move in the middle of the hallway. A neural network method is proposed to calibrate the camera, and then the corridor guidelines are transformed from image coordinates to robot coordinates. The corridor guidelines are extracted using the least square estimator. The backstepping method is employed to design the controller that guarantees the robot to move in the desired path. Experimental and simulation results show the efficiency of the proposed method
The proapoptotic function of SAP provides a clue to the clinical picture of X-linked lymphoproliferative disease

Deletion or mutation of the SAP gene is associated with the X-linked lymphoproliferative disease (XLP) that is characterized by extreme sensitivity to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Primary infection of the affected individuals leads to serious, sometimes fatal infectious mononucleosis (IM) and proneness to lymphoma. Our present results revealed a proapoptotic function of SAP by which it contributes to the maintenance of T-cell homeostasis and to the elimination of potentially dangerous DNA-damaged cells. Therefore, the loss of this function could be responsible for the uncontrolled T-cell proliferation in fatal IM and for the generation of lymphomas. We show now the role of SAP in apoptosis in T and B lymphocyte-derived lines. Among the clones of T-ALL line, the ones with higher SAP levels succumbed more promptly to activation induced cell death (AICD). Importantly, introduction of SAP expression into lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCL) established from XLP patients led to elevated apoptotic response to DNA damage. Similar results were obtained in the osteosarcoma line, Saos-2. We have shown that the anti-apoptotic protein VCP (valosin-containing protein) binds to SAP, suggesting that it could be instrumental in the enhanced apoptotic response modulated by SAP.
Development of A four-Degrees-of-Freedom Diffraction Sensor

The development of a diffraction-type four-degrees-of-freedom sensor based on the three-dimensional diffraction method and collimation method is described in this paper. This sensor is designed to be integrated with a linear laser encoder to allow five-degrees-of-freedom measurement. It is composed of a miniature collimation-type sensor, a reflective diffraction grating and a quadrant detector to simultaneously measure a straightness error and three rotational angles. Based on the diffraction method, the reflective diffraction grating reflects the incident laser from the collimation-type sensor to several diffractive laser rays and only the 0 and +1-order diffractive laser rays are detected by the collimation-type sensor and a quadrant detector respectively. According to the changed spot positions of the diffraction laser lights on the collimation-type sensor and the quadrant detector, a straightness error and the three rotational errors can be solved simultaneously.
Inflows, Outflows, and a Giant Donor in the Remarkable Recurrent Nova M31N 2008-12a?—Hubble Space Telescope Photometry of the 2015 Eruption

The recurrent nova M31N 2008-12a experiences annual eruptions, contains a near-Chandrasekhar-mass white dwarf, and has the largest mass accretion rate in any nova system. In this paper, we present Hubble Space Telescope (HST) WFC3/UVIS photometry of the late decline of the 2015 eruption. We couple these new data with archival HST observations of the quiescent system and Keck spectroscopy of the 2014 eruption. The late-time photometry reveals a rapid decline to a minimum luminosity state, before a possible recovery/rebrightening in the run up to the next eruption. Comparison with accretion disk models supports the survival of the accretion disk during the eruptions, and uncovers a quiescent disk mass accretion rate of the order of 10 − 6 M ⊙ yr − 1 , which may rise beyond 10 − 5 M ⊙ yr − 1 during the super-soft source phase—both of which could be problematic for a number of well-established nova eruption models. Such large accretion rates, close to the Eddington limit, might be expected to be accompanied by additional mass loss from the disk through a wind and even through collimated outflows. The archival HST observations, combined with the disk modeling, provide the first constraints on the mass donor: L donor = 103 − 11 + 12 L ⊙ , R donor = 14.14 − 0.47 + 0.46 R ⊙ , and T eff , donor = 4890 ± 110 K, which may be consistent with an irradiated M31 red-clump star. Such a donor would require a system orbital period ≳ 5 days. Our updated analysis predicts that the M31N 2008-12a WD could reach the Chandrasekhar mass in < 20 kyr.
Nanopore Devices for Single Molecule Sensing

Protein nanopores spanning a lipid bilayer membrane have been demonstrated as single molecule sensors that are highly sensitive to minute differences in the chemical and physical properties of the passing molecules. Nevertheless, their fixed aperture size, delicate physico-chemical, mechanical and electrical properties greatly limit the range of analytes and the repertoire of experimental possibilities. To overcome these limitations, nanoscale apertures on solid-state materials have been fabricated using state-of-the-art nanotechnologies, and have been used to probe the molecular characteristics of single nucleic acid chains.
Parameterization of mixed layer eddies. Part II: Prognosis and, impact

Abstract The authors propose a parameterization for restratification by mixed layer eddies that develop from baroclinic instabilities of ocean fronts. The parameterization is cast as an overturning streamfunction that is proportional to the product of horizontal buoyancy gradient, mixed layer depth, and inertial period. The parameterization has remarkable skill for an extremely wide range of mixed layer depths, rotation rates, and vertical and horizontal stratifications. In this paper a coarse resolution prognostic model of the parameterization is compared with submesoscale mixed layer eddy resolving simulations. The parameterization proves accurate in predicting changes to the buoyancy. The climate implications of the proposed parameterization are estimated by applying the restratification scaling to observations: the mixed layer depth is estimated from climatology, and the buoyancy gradients are from satellite altimetry. The vertical fluxes are comparable to monthly mean air–sea fluxes in large areas of.
Bilateral intravesical ureterocele associated with unilateral partial duplication of the ureter and other anomalies: proposal of a new variant to the classification of ureterocles based on a perinatal autopsy, review of the literature and embryology

Jaiman S, Ulhøj BP. Bilateral intravesical ureterocele associated with unilateral partial duplication of the ureter and other anomalies: proposal of a new variant to the classification of ureterocles based on a perinatal autopsy, review of the literature and embryology. APMIS 2010; 118: 809–14.
The organizational structure and governing principles of the Food and Drug Administration's Mini‐Sentinel pilot program

The US Food and Drug Administration's Mini‐Sentinel pilot program is developing an organizational structure as well as principles and policies to govern its operations. These will inform the structure and function of the eventual Sentinel System. Mini‐Sentinel is a collaboration that includes 25 participating institutions. We describe the program's current organizational structure and its major principles and policies. The organization includes a coordinating center with program leadership provided by a principal investigator; a planning board and subcommittees; an operations center; and data, methods, and protocol cores. Ad hoc workgroups are created as needed. A privacy panel advises about protection of individual health information. Principles and policies are intended to ensure that Mini‐Sentinel conforms to the principles of fair information practices, protects the privacy of individual health information, maintains the security and integrity of data, assures the confidentiality of proprietary information, provides accurate and timely communications, prevents or manages conflicts of interest, and preserves respect for intellectual property rights. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Learning to Predict the Stock Market Dow Jones Index Detecting and Mining Relevant Tweets

Stock market analysis is a primary interest for finance and such a challenging task that has always attracted many researchers. Historically, this task was accomplished by means of trend analysis, but in the last years text mining is emerging as a promising way to predict the stock price movements. Indeed, previous works showed not only a strong correlation between financial news and their impacts to the movements of stock prices, but also that the analysis of social network posts can help to predict them. These latest methods are mainly based on complex techniques to extract the semantic content and/or the sentiment of the social network posts. Differently, in this paper we describe a method to predict the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) price movements based on simpler mining techniques and text similarity measures, in order to detect and characterise relevant tweets that lead to increments and decrements of DJIA. Considering the high level of noise in the social network data, we also introduce a noise detection method based on a two steps classification. We tested our method on 10 millions twitter posts spanning one year, achieving an accuracy of 88.9% in the Dow Jones daily prediction, that is, to the best our knowledge, the best result in the literature approaches based
Alleviation of Wind Turbines Loads with a LQG Controller associated to Intelligent Micro Sensors

This paper presents the first results of a research project leaded by LIPSI-ESTIA concerning the use of intelligent micro sensors to optimize the design of Wind Turbines (WTs) controllers. The sensors situated on the blades are above all used to alleviate WT fatigue loads in above rated wind speed operating area. Two LQG controllers are designed. One is associated to a sensor situated in the tower. The second controller is associated to sensors placed at the end of the blades. Some simulations are realized on a model of a two-bladed WT. They show that the second controller with sensors placed on the blades allow considerably alleviating WT fatigue loads.
Narrowing of a Dark Resonance in a Cell with Anti-Relaxation Wall Coating

This paper is dedicated to the investigation of CPT resonance narrowing in a coated cell without buffer gas. We found that there are two different mechanisms of this narrowing: the laser-induced narrowing for lasers with narrow spectral width and the Dicke narrowing for wide laser spectrum width and gas cell length less than the microwave length.
Microdeletion and microduplication 22q11.2 screening in 295 patients with clinical features of DiGeorge/Velocardiofacial syndrome

The 22q11.2 region is susceptible to chromosomal rearrangements, leading to various types of congenital malformation and mental retardation. The most common anomaly is 22q11.2 microdeletion, associated with DiGeorge/Velocardiofacial syndrome (DG/VCFS). Recently the microduplication 22q11.2 syndrome has been identified. Some clinical features in patients with this new chromosomal disorder present a substantial overlap with DG/VCFS. The aim of this hospital‐based study was to evaluate the incidence of deletions and duplications on 22q11.2 in patients with DG/VCFS features. We investigated a group of 295 patients with widely variable manifestations associated with DG/VCFS. Along with the clinical diagnoses different anomalies were noted such as conotruncal cardiac anomaly, velopharyngeal insufficiency, characteristic facial dysmorphic features, language impairment, developmental delay/learning difficulties, and immunologic anomalies or thymic hypoplasia. Laboratory studies included conventional cytogenetic and FISH testing. Metaphase and interphase cells were analyzed for the presence of 22q11.2 microdeletion or microduplication. There were 12 patients who carried 22q11.2 microdeletion and no microduplication in the region was identified. Other chromosomal anomalies were reported in five patients with an overlapped DG/VCFS phenotype. All patients with 22q11.2 microdeletion showed a characteristic phenotype of DG/VCFS. We did not identify 22q11.2 microduplication, suggesting that this is a rare event in patients with DG/VCFS features. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.