Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reconciling the local galaxy population with damped Lyman α cross-sections and metal abundances

A comprehensive analysis of 355 high-quality Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT) HI 21-cm line maps of nearby galaxies shows that the properties and incident rate of damped Lyman alpha absorption systems (DLAs) observed in the spectra of high-redshift QSOs are in good agreement with DLAs originating in gas discs of galaxies like those in the z approximate to 0 population. Comparison of low-z DLA statistics with the HI incidence rate and column density distribution f(N (HI)) for the local galaxy sample shows no evidence for evolution in the integral 'cross-section density' = l(-1) (l = mean free path between absorbers) below z approximate to 1.5, implying that there is no need for a hidden population of galaxies or H I clouds to contribute significantly to the DLA cross-section. Compared with z approximate to 4, our data indicate evolution of a factor of 2 in the comoving density along a line of sight. We find that dN/dz(z = 0) = 0.045 +/- 0.006. The idea that the local galaxy population can explain the DLAs is further strengthened by comparing the properties of DLAs and DLA galaxies with the expectations based on our analysis of local galaxies. The distribution of luminosities of DLA host galaxies, and of impact parameters between QSOs and the centres of DLA galaxies, is in good agreement with what is expected from local galaxies. Approximately 87 per cent of low-z DLA galaxies are expected to be fainter than L-*, and 37 per cent have impact parameters less than 1 arcsec at z = 0.5. The analysis shows that some host galaxies with very low impact parameters and low luminosities are expected to be missed in optical follow-up surveys. The well-known metallicity-luminosity relation in galaxies, in combination with metallicity gradients in galaxy discs, causes the expected median metallicity of low-z DLAs to be low (similar to 1/7 solar), which is also in good agreement with observations of low-z DLAs. We find that f(N H I) can be fitted satisfactorily with a gamma distribution, a single power law is not a good fit at the highest column densities N H I > 10(21) cm(-2). The vast majority (approximate to 81 per cent) of the H I gas in the local Universe resides in column densities above the classical DLA limit (N (H I) > 2 x 10(20) cm(-2)), with N (H I) similar to 10(21) cm(-2) dominating the cosmic H I mass density.
Sabotage-tolerance mechanisms for volunteer computing systems

We address the new problem of protecting volunteer computing systems from malicious volunteers who submit erroneous results by presenting sabotage-tolerance mechanisms that work without depending on checksums or cryptographic techniques. We first analyze the traditional technique of voting, and show how it reduces error rates exponentially with redundancy, but requires all work to be done at least twice, and does not work well when there are many saboteurs. We then present a new technique called spot-checking which reduces the error rate linearly (i.e., inversely) with the amount of work to be done, while only costing an extra function of the original time. We then integrate these mechanisms by presenting the new idea of credibility-based fault-tolerance, which uses probability estimates to efficiently limit and direct the use of redundancy. By using voting and spot-checking together credibility-based fault-tolerance effectively allows us to exponentially shrink an already linearly-reduced error rate, and thus achieve error-rates that are orders-of-magnitude smaller than those offered by voting or spot-checking alone. We validate this new idea with Monte Carlo simulations, and discuss how credibility-based fault tolerance can be used with other mechanisms and in other applications.
A note on the existence of a closed form conditional transition density for the Milstein scheme

This paper is concerned with the estimation of stochastic differential equations when only discrete observations are available. It primarily focuses on deriving a closed form solution for the one-step ahead conditional transition density using the Milstein scheme. This higher order Taylor approximation enables us to obtain an order of improvement in accuracy in estimating the parameters in a non-linear diffusion, as compared to use of the Euler-Maruyama discretization scheme. Examples using simulated data are presented. The method can easily be extended to the situation where auxiliary points are introduced between the observed values. The Milstein scheme can be used to obtain the approximate transition density as in a Pedersen (1995) type of simulated likelihood method or within an MCMC method as propose din Elerian, Chib and Shephard (1998).
Variational methods for image-guided adaptive radiotherapy

Advances in radiotherapy technology and the development of intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) planning and delivery systems have led to the emergence of image-guided and adaptive radiotherapy (IGART) to meet the new requirements of precise localization and definition of tumor targets while sparing surrounding critical structures during radiation delivery. While these technological advances have created new opportunities in radiotherapy treatment planning and delivery, however, availability of computationally efficient software algorithms is still lagging. In this work, we focus on the application and potentials of variational methods particularly level sets for IGART.
An Architectural Approach to Improving the Availability of Parity-Based RAID Systems

In this paper, we propose an architectural approach, Supplementary Partial Parity (SPP), to addressing the availability issue of parity encoded RAID systems. SPP exploits free storage space and idle time to generate and update a set of partial parity units that cover a subset of disks (or data stripe units) during failure-free and idle/lightly-loaded periods, thus supplementing the existing full parity units for improved availability. By applying the exclusive OR operations appropriately among partial parity, full parity and data units, SPP can reconstruct the data on the failed disks with a fraction of the original overhead that is proportional to the partial parity coverage, thus significantly reducing the overhead of data regeneration, especially under heavy workload. By providing redundant parity coverage, SPP can potentially tolerate more than one disk failure with much better flexibility, thus significantly improving the system’s reliability and availability. Due to its supplementary nature, SPP provides a more efficient and flexible redundancy protection mechanism than the conventional full parity approach. SPP offers multiple optional levels depending on partial parity coverage and performance/cost targets. According to the actual workload and the available resource, the SPP approach can be adaptively and dynamically activated, deactivated and adjusted while the original RAID system continues to serve user requests on-line. We conduct extensive trace-driven experiments to evaluate the performance of the SPP approach. The experiments results demonstrate that SPP significantly improves the reconstruction time and user response time simultaneously.
Coalescence of Black Hole-Neutron Star Binaries

We review the current status of general relativistic studies for the coalescence of black hole-neutron star (BH-NS) binaries. First, procedures for a solution of BH-NS binaries in quasi-equilibrium circular orbits and the numerical results, such as quasi-equilibrium sequence and mass-shedding limit, of the high-precision computation, are summarized. Then, the current status of numerical-relativity simulations for the merger of BH-NS binaries is described. We summarize our understanding for the merger and/or tidal disruption processes, the criterion for tidal disruption, the properties of the remnant formed after the tidal disruption, gravitational waveform, and gravitational-wave spectrum.
Acoustic echo cancellation in distributed network using improved diffusion subband adaptive filtering algorithm

This paper proposes an improved diffusion subband adaptive filtering algorithm for an acoustic echo cancellation (AEC) in distributed network. For the adaptation step, a variable individual step size that takes account of the characteristics of speech input signals is derived by minimizing the upper bound of the mean-square deviation. For the combination step, an error-variance-based combination method is proposed that enables to reflect information on the sudden interferences such as double talk. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms the existing diffusion adaptive filtering algorithms in terms of the convergence rate and the steady-state errors in various AEC environment.
Age-Related Reduction of NO Availability and Oxidative Stress in Humans

Abstract—Age-related endothelial dysfunction could be caused by an alteration in the l-arginine-NO system and the production of oxidative stress in both normotensive and hypertensive individuals. In 47 normotensive subjects and 49 patients with essential hypertension, we evaluated forearm blood flow (by strain-gauge plethysmography) modifications induced by intrabrachial sodium nitroprusside (1, 2, and 4 &mgr;g/100 mL per minute) and acetylcholine (0.15, 0.45, 1.5, 4.5, and 15 &mgr;g/100 mL per minute), an endothelium-independent vasodilator and an endothelium-dependent vasodilator, respectively. Acetylcholine was repeated in the presence of the NO synthase inhibitor NG-monomethyl-l-arginine (L-NMMA, 100 &mgr;g/100 mL per minute), the antioxidant vitamin C (8 mg/100 mL per minute), or both. Vasodilation to acetylcholine, but not to sodium nitroprusside, was lower (P <0.01) in hypertensive patients compared with control subjects. Moreover, in both groups, endothelium-dependent vasodilation declined with aging. In normotensive subjects, the inhibiting effect of L-NMMA on response to acetylcholine decreased in parallel with advancing age, whereas vitamin C increased vasodilation to acetylcholine in only the oldest group (age >60 years). In young hypertensive patients (age <30 years), vasodilation to acetylcholine was sensitive to L-NMMA, whereas in hypertensive patients age >30 years, vitamin C enhanced endothelium-dependent vasodilation and restored the inhibiting effect of L-NMMA on response to acetylcholine. In normotensive individuals, an earlier primary dysfunction of the NO system and a later production of oxidative stress cause age-related reduction in endothelium-dependent vasodilation. These alterations are similar but anticipated in hypertensive patients compared with normotensive subjects.
A keyword-boosted sMBR criterion to enhance keyword search performance in deep neural network based acoustic modeling

We propose a keyword-boosted state-level minimum Bayes risk (sMBR) criterion for training DNN-HMM hybrid keyword search systems by enhancing acoustic detail of a given list of target keyword terms. The rationale behind the proposed discriminative training strategy is to place more acoustic modeling emphasis on states appearing in the given keywords. We observed a relative gain of 1.7 ~ 6.1% in actual term weighted value (ATWV) performance with the proposed keyword-boosted sMBR training over the conventional sMBR systems when tested on the IARPA Babel program's Vietnamese limited-language-pack task. A detailed result analysis suggests that the proposed sMBR objective function effectively improves the ATWV scores by boosting the probability of detecting keywords appearing in the system output with an increased correct and insertion rates in the decoded lattices.
Experiences designing a voice interface for rural India

In this paper we describe our experiences designing a voice interface in rural India. We outline our design process from initial contextual inquiry to a formal user evaluation, and use this discussion to motivate research guidelines for others designing voice interfaces in developing regions. Our three guidelines are to build around existing information systems, to iterate on the design through user testing, and to explore design alternatives through empirical analysis. We also share some practical lessons learned in designing, implementing, and evaluating information systems for developing regions in general.
RelayCast : Scalable Multicast Routing in Delay Tolerant Coalition Networks

Mobile wireless networks with intermittent connectivity, often called Delay/Disruption Tolerant Networks (DTNs), have recently received a lot of attention because of their applicability in various applications, including multicasting. To overcome intermittent connectivity, DTN routing protocols utilize mobility-assist routing by letting the nodes carry and forward the data. In this paper, we study the scalability of DTN multicast routing. As Gupta and Kumar showed that unicast routing is not scalable, recent reports on multicast routing also showed that the use of a multicast tree results in a poor scaling behavior. However, Grossglauser and Tse showed that in delay tolerant applications, the unicast routing overhead can be relaxed using the two-hop relay routing where a source forwards packets to relay nodes and the relay nodes in turn deliver packets to the destination via mobility, thus achieving a perfect scaling behavior of Θ(1). Inspired by this result, we seek to improve the throughput bound of wireless multicast in a delay tolerant setting using mobility-assist routing. In this paper, we propose RelayCast, a routing scheme that extends the two-hop relay algorithm in the multicast scenario. Given that there are ns sources each of which is associated with nd random destinations, our results show that RelayCast can achieve the throughput upper bound of Θ(min(1, n nsnd )). RelayCast is then extended to delay tolerant coalition networks where multiple domains exist, and nodes communicate with other nodes in different domains via gateways due to security concerns and policy reasons. We find the throughput and delay scaling properties of inter-domain RelayCast and report that there is an optimal inter-domain networking configuration that achieves the same scaling behavior as single domain multicast.
Beamforming for Sonar Based on Highlight Model

The highlight model can be expressed by transfer function when the echoes obey the linear acoustic law. This paper aims to present a new beam forming method based on highlight model via the combination of transfer function of highlight model and beam forming technology. Information such as the azimuth of target can be obtained by beam forming using a few highlight. And this paper simulates the beam pattern by using conventional beam forming under the condition that there does not exist interference, and Minimum Variance Distortion less Response beam forming under the condition that there exist the interference. The results show the feasibility of this method.
Dendritic Remodeling and Growth of Motoneurons during Metamorphosis of Drosophila melanogaster

Insect motoneurons display dramatic dendritic plasticity during metamorphosis. Many larval motoneurons survive to adulthood but undergo dendritic regression and outgrowth as they are incorporated into developing circuits. This study explores the dendritic remodeling and development of Drosophila motoneurons MN1–MN5, which innervate indirect flight muscles of the adult. MN1–MN5 are persistent larval neurons exhibiting two distinct metamorphic histories. MN1–MN4 are born in the embryo, innervate larval muscles, and undergo dendritic regression and regrowth during metamorphosis. MN5, which was identified through a combination of intracellular dye injection and retrograde staining at all stages, is also born embryonically but remains developmentally arrested until the onset of metamorphosis. In the larva, MN5 lacks dendrites, and its axon stops in the mesothoracic nerve without innervating a target muscle. It is dye coupled to the peripherally synapsing interneuron, which will become part of the giant fiber escape circuit of the adult fly. During pupal development, MN5 undergoes de novo dendritic growth and extension of its axon to innervate the developing target muscle. Its unique developmental history and identifiability make MN5 well suited for the study of dendritic growth using genetic and neurophysiological approaches.
A pragmatic approach for message modeling - A case study in an agile organization

This case-study describes how to introduce a pragmatic Model Driven Development (MDD) approach in a large, world-wide financial services software company with a conservative culture and high time-to-market constraints. By the application of agile principles a pragmatic simplified approach was produced by using only a single modeling level and using XML as modeling language. Although simplified, this approach could still significantly improve the application architecture of financial message structure definitions by reducing duplication and automating development tasks.
Determining the cosmic equation of state using future gravitational wave detectors

The expected chirp mass distribution of observed events for future gravitational wave detectors is extensively investigated in the presence of an exotic fluid component with an arbitrary equation of state, 1 ! x px=x < 0, i.e., the so-called dark energy component. The results for a flat model dominated by dark energy are compared to those for the standard flat model dominated by cold dark matter. It is found that for a flat universe the chirp mass distribution shows a sensitive dependence on ! x, which may provide an independent and robust constraint on the cosmic equation of state.
Stereo vision based SLAM in outdoor environments

Simultaneous localization and mapping is a well studied problem as it is considered by many to be an essential capability for autonomous robots. In this paper, we present an algorithm using a stereo camera based on Rao-Blackwelltion particle filter, It can realize three dimensional stereo vision SLAM for mobile robot in unknown outdoor environments. Firstly, we determine the initial motion estimation between two adjacent frames through the multiple view geometry utilizing the matched SIFT point pairs. Then, the 3D positions of landmarks are constructed directly through triangulation methodology. With accurate data association, the camera's state and the landmark positions are updated recursively. Finally, an efficient particle resamping algorithm MPR (the modified particle resampling algorithm) is proposed to deal with the degeneracy of particles.
The energetic costs of trunk and distal-limb loading during walking and running in guinea fowl Numida meleagris

SUMMARY We examined the energetic cost of loading the trunk or distal portion of the leg in walking and running guinea fowl (Numida meleagris). These different loading regimes were designed to separately influence the energy use by muscles used during the stance and swing phases of the stride. Metabolic rate, estimated from oxygen consumption, was measured while birds locomoted on a motorized treadmill at speeds from 0.5 to 2.0 m s-1, either unloaded, or with a mass equivalent to 23% of their body mass carried on their backs, or with masses equal to approximately 2.5% of their body mass attached to each tarsometatarsal segment. In separate experiments, we also measured the duration of stance and swing in unloaded, trunk-loaded, or limb-loaded birds. In the unloaded and limb-loaded birds, we also calculated the mechanical energy of the tarsometatarsal segment throughout the stride. Trunk and limb loads caused similar increases in metabolic rate. During trunk loading, the net metabolic rate (gross metabolic rate - resting metabolic rate) increased by 17% above the unloaded value across all speeds. This percentage increase is less than has been found in most studies of humans and other mammals. The economical load carriage of guinea fowl is consistent with predictions based on the relative cost of the stance and swing phases of the stride in this species. However, the available comparative data and considerations of the factors that determine the cost of carrying extra mass lead us to the conclusion that the cost of load carrying is unlikely to be a reliable indicator of the distribution of energy use in stance and swing. Both loading regimes caused small changes in the swing and/or stance durations, but these changes were less than 10%. Loading the tarsometatarsal segment increased its segmental energy by 4.1 times and the segmental mechanical power averaged over the stride by 3.8 times. The increases in metabolism associated with limb loading appear to be linked to the increases in mechanical power. The delta efficiency (change in mechanical power divided by the change in metabolic power) of producing this power increased from 11% in walking to approximately 25% in running. Although tarsometatarsal loading was designed to increase the mechanical energy during swing phase, 40% of the increase in segmental energy occurred during late stance. Thus, the increased energy demand of distal limb loading in guinea fowl is predicted to cause increases in energy use by both stance- and swing-phase muscles.
Ordering of Human Bone Marrow B Lymphocyte Precursors by Single-Cell Polymerase Chain Reaction Analyses of the Rearrangement Status of the Immunoglobulin H and L Chain Gene Loci

CD19+CD10+ human B lineage bone marrow cells were separated into cycling or resting cells, which differ in their expression of CD34, VpreB, recombination activating gene (RAG-1), and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT). Polymerase chain reaction analyses developed for DHJH and VκJκ, VκJκK(de) and VκK(de) rearrangements with DNA of single cells and a comparison with B lineage cell development in mouse bone marrow, allow to delineate the human B lymphocyte pathway of development as follows: CD34+VpreB +RAG-1+TdT+, DHJH-rearranged, κL germline cycling pre-B I cells → CD34−VpreB +μH chain+ (pre-B receptor+) RAG-1−TdT−, VHDHJH-rearranged, κL germline, cycling pre-B II cells → CD34−VpreB −, intracytoplasmic μH chain+ (pre-B receptor−) RAG-1+/− TdT−, VHDHJH-rearranged, mainly κL germline cycling pre-B II cells → CD34−VpreB − intracytoplasmic μH chain+, RAG-1+TdT−, VHDHJH-rearranged, VκJκ-rearranged, IgM−, resting pre-B II cells CD34+VpreB −, sIgM+, RAG-1+TdT−, VHDHJH- and VκJκ-rearranged IgM+ immature B cells → CD34−, CD10−, sIgM+/sIgD+ mature B cells. This order, for the first time established for human B lineage cells, shows striking similarities with that established for mouse B lineage cells in bone marrow.
A lightweight software architecture for robot navigation and visual logging through environmental landmarks recognition

A robot architecture with real-time performance in navigation tasks is presented. The system architecture is multi-threaded with shared memory and fast message passing through static signalling. In this paper, we focused on the reactive layer components and its straightforward implementation. The proposed architecture is described with reference to an experimental setup, in which the robot task is visual logging of environmental landmarks detected on the basis of sensor readings. Our experimental results show how the robot is able to identify, make snapshots and log a set of landmarks by matching 2D geometric patterns