Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DESIGN AND SIMULATION OF MEMBRANE SUPPORTED TRANSMISSION LINES FOR INTERCONNECTS IN A MM-WAVE MULTICHIP MODULE

Investigations are conducted into low-loss, low-dispersion fully shielded membrane-supported striplines designed for use in a millimeter-wave multi-chip-module. Two types of transmission line are studied: a membrane-supported shielded stripline and a novel variation of this where the membrane material is removed in areas of little mechanical importance to reduce attenuation and dispersion. The latter is possible through the exploitation of a versatile micromachining technique using SU-8 for both the membrane and the shielding. The micromachining techniques used for the fabrication of the microshielding allows for the conformal packaging of lines and devices, with the ultimate aim of the realization of novel components for 3D system-in-a-package type modules. Extensive simulated results obtained from rigorous electromagnetic modeling are presented that fully characterize both types of line and, where possible, are compared to measured results. Loss mechanisms are investigated for both line types and simulations suggest that losses as low as 0.39 dB/cm and effective relative permittivities of less than 1.05 are possible at a frequency of 100 GHz, comparing well with other demonstrated membrane supported transmission lines. The methods used for investigation of line characteristics and analysis of single-mode, nonleaky frequency range are applicable to any variety of membrane supported transmission line. The basics of line fabrication are given along with measurement results and de-embedding techniques used at V-band. Received 27 October 2010, Accepted 24 November 2010, Scheduled 1 December 2010 Corresponding author: Novak E. S. Farrington (novak.farrington@e2v.com). 166 Farrington and Iezekiel
A feedback approach to bifurcation analysis in biochemical networks with many parameters

Feedback circuits in biochemical networks which underly cellular signaling pathways are important elements in creating complex behavior. A specific aspect thereof is how stability of equilibrium points depends on model parameters. For biochemical networks, which are modelled using many parameters, it is typically very difficult to estimate the influence of parameters on stability. Finding parameters which result in a change in stability is a key step for a meaningful bifurcation analysis. We describe a method based on well known approaches from control theory, which can locate parameters leading to a change in stability. The method considers a feedback circuit in the biochemical network and relates stability properties to the control system obtained by loop--breaking. The method is applied to a model of a MAPK cascade as an illustrative example.
REAL-TIME IMPLEMENTATION OF A SOURCE SEPARATION ALGORITHM

Source separation out of a mix of signals has been under development for many years with different approaches. We use timefrequency representations of two microphone signals to estimate the mixing parameters of the source signals. In order to evaluate the robustness of the algorithm under real-world conditions we built a real-time implementation, which is suitable to detect the sources, their mixing parameters and performs the source separation based on the mixing parameters. Our implementation only needs a few parameters and then works as a stand-alone solution with the opportunity to apply further post-processing or digital audio effects to the source signals.
Robust localization algorithms for an autonomous campus tour guide

This paper describes a robust localization method for an outdoor robot that gives tours of the Rice University campus. The robot fuses odometry and GPS data using extended Kalman filtering. We propose and experimentally test a technique for handling two types of nonstationarity in GPS data quality: abrupt changes in GPS position readings caused by sudden obstructions to line of sight access to satellites, and more gradual changes caused by disparities in atmospheric conditions. We construct measurement error covariance matrices indexed by number of visible satellites and switch them into the localization computation automatically. The matrices are built by sampling GPS data repeatedly along the route and are updated continuously to handle drift in GPS data quality. We demonstrate that our approach performs better than extended Kalman filters that use only a single error covariance matrix. With a GPS receiver that delivers 1 meter accuracy, we have been able to localize to 40 cm through a challenging route in the Engineering Quadrangle of Rice University.
Three-Letter-Pattern-Avoiding Permutations and Functional Equations

We present an algorithm for finding a system of recurrence relations for the number of permutations of length $n$ that satisfy a certain set of conditions. A rewriting of these relations automatically gives a system of functional equations satisfied by the multivariate generating function that counts permutations by their length and the indices of the corresponding recurrence relations. We propose an approach to describing such equations. In several interesting cases the algorithm recovers and refines, in a unified way, results on $\tau$-avoiding permutations and permutations containing $\tau$ exactly once, where $\tau$ is any classical, generalized, and distanced pattern of length three.
Virtual viewpoint synthesis using CUDA acceleration

Depth image based rendering (DIBR) is an effective method for virtual view synthesis. But synthetic images often contain ghost effect and some holes of varying sizes. To cope with the ghost effect, this paper first uses color correction of reference views, and then combines of two fusion methods which are depth-based color image fusion and directly color image fusion. In order to fill the remaining disocclusions, this paper uses the image inpainting with depth map. Because the process of image inpainting is time-consuming, this paper implements the inpainting algorithm on GPU to accelerate the inpainting process based on Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA). The experiment results show that our proposed method improved the quality of virtual view synthetic images, and the image inpainting algorithm based on CUDA implemented also significantly reduce the time of hole filling.
Dynamic software updates for C applications

A common inconvenience of keeping a computer system’s installed applications updated is the loss of the availability of services while the respective application is updating. Typically, the user has a hard choice to make: Accept the downtime or pay the cost of a redundant system. Many regular applications are not well suited to be run in a truly redundant way, but even when a redundant system is available, updating carries the risk of total loss of service in case of a failure in the part which remains online. This article presents a solution in the form of Dynamic Software Updates for applications written in C. Several implementations of dynamic software updates are discussed, and their applicability to some common applications is explored. The tools necessary to create patches between versions are also scrutinized, along with performance characteristics of the individual approaches and the required time to conduct an update. Special attention is given to applications employing concurrency, as the added complexity of threads which are interacting with each other needs to be addressed to guarantee the safety of an update process.
Exploring the usability of immersive interactive storytelling

The Entertainment potential of Virtual Reality is yet to be fully realised. In recent years, this potential has been described through the Holodeck#8482; metaphor, without however addressing the issue of content creation and gameplay. Recent progress in Interactive Narrative technology makes it possible to envision immersive systems. Yet, little is known about the usability of such systems or which paradigms should be adopted for gameplay and interaction. We report user experiments carried out with a fully immersive Interactive Narrative system based on a CAVE-like system, which explore two interactivity paradigms for user involvement (Actor and Ghost). Our results confirm the potential of immersive Interactive Narratives in terms of performance but also of user acceptance.
Compact Java binaries for embedded systems

Embedded systems bring special purpose computing power to consumer electronics devices such as smartcards, CD players and pagers. Java is being aggressively targeted at such systems with initiatives such as the Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition, which introduces certain efficiency optimizations to the Java Virtual Machine. Code size reduction has been identified as an important future goal for ensuring Java's success on embedded systems [20]. However, limited processing power and timing constraints often make traditional compression techniques untenable. An effective solution must meet the conflicting requirements of size reduction and execution performance. We propose modifications to the file format for Java binaries that achieve significant size reduction with little or no performance penalty. Experiments conducted on several large Java class libraries show a typical 25% size reduction for class files and a 50% size reduction for JAR files.
Search Personalization

Online search or information retrieval is one of the most common activities on the web. Over 18 billion searches are made each month, and search generates over $4 billion dollars in quarterly revenues. Nevertheless, a signicant portion of search sessions are not only long (consisting of repeated queries from the user), but are also unsuccessful, i.e., do not provide answers that the user was looking for. This presents challenges to search engine marketers, whose competitive edge depends on the quality of their search engine results. In this paper, we present a machine learning algorithm that improves search results through automated personalization using gradient-based ranking. We personalize results based on both short-term or “within-session” behavior, as well as long-term or “across-session” behavior of the user. We implement our algorithm on data from the premier search engine, Yandex, and show that it improves search results signicantly compared to non-personalized results.
The Correlation Between Depression and Hopelessness Scores and Cytological Features of Exfoliated Buccal Cells in Females

Background: Depression is a mental health disorder, which affects all the communities around the world. One of the major components of depression is hopelessness. There is evidence that depression is accompanied by increased reactive oxygen species, which contribute to DNA damage. Objectives: This study aimed at evaluating whether depression and hopelessness are associated with markers of DNA damage, proliferative potential, and cell death. Methods: The sample included 59 healthy females from Fars province, southern Iran. Depression and hopelessness scores were measured using Beck’s depression inventory and Beck’s hopelessness scales, respectively. Smears were taken from the buccal mucosa of participants, and using micronucleus assay, they were analyzed for various cell population and genome damage markers, including cytokinetic defects (binucleated cells), proliferative potential (basal cell frequency), cell death (condensed chromatin, karyorrhectic, pyknotic, and karyolitic cells), and biomarkers of DNA damage (micronuclei and nuclear buds). Results: None of the micronucleus (MN) assay parameters had an association with depression scores. There was a significant negative correlation between the frequency of basal cells and hopelessness scores (r = -0.323, P = 0.012). Other parameters of MN assay showed no association with hopelessness scores. Conclusions: As the basal cells are biomarkers of proliferative potential, the results suggest that cellular regeneration is decreased in buccal mucosa of people with high level of hopelessness. However, more studies with larger sample sizes are required to verify this conclusion.
Botnet master detection using a mashup-based approach

Botnets are considered by specialists, in both industry and academy, as one of the greatest threats to security on the Internet. These networks are composed by a large number of malware-infected hosts acting under a central command. They are usually employed to perform DDoS attacks or phishing scams. The behaviour of these botnets evolves due the adoption of new and sophisticated infection methods, changing of network protocols, and the employment of different command and control mechanisms. The security community, thus, is always dealing with such constant change. However, most botnet mitigation methods address just specific infection types or C&C protocols. We, therefore, propose a botnet mitigation approach based on the dynamic integration of pre-existing tools that can be employed together to achieve a more efficiently detection solution. To such end, we base our approach on a novel Web 2.0 technology called mashups to perform the information correlation. The proposal is extensible enough to allow even non-security information such as online mapping APIs be integrated to create more sophisticated compositions, and displaying the results in a more meaningful way.
Evaluation of morpho-physiological characters in sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor (l.) Moench) genotypes under post-flowering drought stress

Post-flowering drought adaptation in sorghum is associated with the stay-green phenotype. Plants with stay green resist droughtinduced premature plant senescence. Sorghum varietal improvement for drought conditions could be achieved more efficiently if the trait associated with drought resistance could be identified and utilized as selection criteria. Hence, field studies were carried out in a randomized block design with two replications during the post-rainy season to evaluate responses among 100 sorghum genotypes under post-flowering drought stress which include B35 and CO26 as a drought resistant and susceptible check respectively. A total of 15 morpho-physiological characters putatively related with crop performance under drought were studied. Significant variations were found in all the traits among the sorghum genotypes studied. Based on the per se performance the genotypes MS73, CO21, CO22, Tenkasi1, AS2059, AS5078, AS2752, AS5057, AS4289, MS7819, IS5379, AS8038, AS6616, K3, MS7837, Murungapatti local, Uppam chloam, VS1564, VS1560, CO24 and CO1 exhibited high mean values for relative water content, SPAD chlorophyll reading, root length, root volume, root dry weight, 1000 grain weight, grain yield, and lower score for stay-green when compared to other genotypes under stress. These genotypes also recorded low drought susceptibility index, high relative yield, stress tolerance index and yield stability ratio and they can be used as the parents for future breeding programmes.
The Emotiv mind: Investigating the accuracy of the Emotiv EPOC in identifying emotions and its use i

Emotion is one of the key elements involved in learning and education; it affects our decision making, our communication and our ability to learn. Therefore in this project we proposed the use of an electroencephalography (EEG) device called the Emotiv EPOC to detect a user's emotions via brainwaves in an Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS). We aimed to test the accuracy and applicability of this device in an ITS called EER-Tutor. First we aimed to test the EPOC's accuracy in detecting emotions by comparing EPOC's emotional values with participants' self-reported scores. Emotions were induced using the International Affective Picture System (IAPS). Due to a lack of reliable data this study was then improved upon and re-conducted. The improved study still resulted in no significant findings as a relationship between self-report scores and EPOC emotional values could not be found. Therefore a different approach was adopted to test the accuracy and applicability of the EPOC. In our third study we tested the EPOC in EER-Tutor using a think-aloud protocol. The utterances of participants were compared to the emotional values EPOC produced. These utterances were defined by context of statement, action taken and timing and placed into categories. No significant difference was found between categories. The variances of the readings for various categories were also quite large, showing that individuals emotional responses can vary greatly and a single emotional model cannot be developed for a group of people. Even though no significant findings were found, certain limitations of the EPOC allowed us conclude its unsuitability for use in ITSs. Abstract Acknowledgements
Reducing L1 caches power by exploiting software semantics

To access a set-associative L1 cache in a high-performance processor, all ways of the selected set are searched and fetched in parallel using physical address bits. Such a cache is oblivious of memory references' software semantics such as stack-heap bifurcation of the memory space, and user-kernel ring levels. This constitutes a waste of energy since e.g., a user-mode instruction fetch will never hit a cache block that contains kernel code. Similarly, a stack access will not hit a cacheline that contains heap data. We propose to exploit software semantics in cache design to avoid unnecessary associative searches, thus reducing dynamic power consumption. Specifically, we utilize virtual memory region properties to optimize the data cache and ring level information to optimize the instruction cache. Our design does not impact performance, and incurs very small hardware cost. Simulations results using SPEC CPU and SPECjapps indicate that the proposed designs help to reduce cache block fetches from DL1 and IL1 by 27% and 57% respectively, resulting in average savings of 15% of DL1 power and more than 30% of IL1 power compared to an aggressively clock-gated baseline.
Evaluating the performance of optimal control based sensor deployment algorithms for realistic terrain model

The extensive use of sensor networks in detection and surveillance systems has made optimal sensor deployment a key issue. A lot of sensor deployment techniques have been devised. While a number of mobile sensor networks consider the presence of obstacles and other terrain features in the region of interest, most static sensor networks either consider an idealistic basic terrain model or model the obstacles as straight lines. The aim of this paper is to extend upon a previously proposed optimal sensor deployment technique and incorporate into it a more realistic terrain model. This paper considers only those terrain features which can be modeled by convex polygons. Optimal sensor deployment together with a realistic terrain model makes sensor deployment more practical and robust. Simulation results show that the the number of sensors, their locations and the node density change in presence of obstacles.
Experience Teaching a Semester-Long Inferno Course

In the spring of 2004, a semester-long course for undergraduates was organized as part of CMU’s student-taught StuCo (student college) curriculum. The course covered material ranging from a historical background on Inferno’s development, the Limbo programming language and related systems such as Communicating Sequential Processes (CSP), to the implementations of the Inferno emulator and native operating system. This paper details the structure of the course, lessons learned explaining concepts about the Inferno and Plan 9 operating systems and presents examples of questions raised and misconceptions incurred by students during the 12 week course
Botulinum neurotoxin C initiates two different programs for neurite degeneration and neuronal apoptosis

Clostridial neurotoxins are bacterial endopeptidases that cleave the major SNARE proteins in peripheral motorneurons. Here, we show that disruption of synaptic architecture by botulinum neurotoxin C1 (BoNT/C) in central nervous system neurons activates distinct neurodegenerative programs in the axo-dendritic network and in the cell bodies. Neurites degenerate at an early stage by an active caspase-independent fragmentation characterized by segregation of energy competent mitochondria. Later, the cell body mitochondria release cytochrome c, which is followed by caspase activation, apoptotic nuclear condensation, loss of membrane potential, and, finally, cell swelling and lysis. Recognition and scavenging of dying processes by glia also precede the removal of apoptotic cell bodies, in line with a temporal and spatial segregation of different degenerative processes. Our results suggest that, in response to widespread synaptic damage, neurons first dismantle their connections and finally undergo apoptosis, when their spatial relationships are lost.
Dynamics in Physical Functioning Limitations

The extent to which physical functioning limitations result in permanent job loss, lowered lifetime income and assets, in part, depends upon the extent to which onset of these limitations becomes permanent. This paper uses five rounds of data from Malawi to examine path dependence in physical functioning limitations. We do so using a dynamic linear panel data model where the coefficient on the one-period lagged health outcome captures path dependence in functional limitations. Our preferred estimates indicate – (a) partial recovery from onset of functional limitations for males, (b) there is less recovery in severe limitations than moderate limitations for males, (c) perfect recovery from both moderate and severe functional limitation for females.
Accuracy and reliability of a videogrammetry system in the analysis of displacement of Wistar rats

Abstract — Aims : The behavior of laboratory animals has been studied through displacement, with different objectives by researchers. Methods: Although different methods have already been used in the tracking of laboratory animals, manual tracking mode videogrammetry for 2D analysis of displacement has not been observed in animal studies. The aim of this study was to verify the accuracy and reliability of determining the displacement of Wistar rats by means of videogrammetry software Dvideo. The accuracy (between the known distance and distance traced) was determined by 3 different evaluators twice consecutive, by videoing a course of 10 meters in the enriched environment together with further analysis of the displacement of the midpoint marked on an apparatus. To calculate reliability (accuracy of the measurement system) and reproducibility (precision of the evaluators) to obtain the ratio of precision to tolerance (P/T), eight animals were filmed for 10 minutes in the enriched environment and analysis of distance covered by one of the animals by three different reviewers thrice consecutive.
Point defects in Sc2O3 thin films by ion beam sputtering.

We show that the concentration of oxygen interstitials trapped in Sc2O3 films by ion beam sputtering from metal targets can be controlled by modifying deposition conditions. We have identified point defects in the form of oxygen interstitials that are present in Sc2O3 films, in significantly high concentrations, i.e., ∼10(18) cm(-3). These results show a correlation between the increase of oxygen interstitials and the increase in stress and optical absorption in the films. Sc2O3 films with the lowest stress and optical absorption loss at 1 μm wavelength were obtained when using a low oxygen partial pressure and low beam voltage.