Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Direct Detection Effect in the Hot-Electron Bolometer Mixer Sensitivity Calibration

We investigate an error in the noise temperature measurements of the hot-electron bolometer mixers caused by the so-called "direct detection effect". The effect originates in the changing of the mixer parameters when the mixer is loaded on calibration black body sources at different temperatures (300 and 77 K). A correction factor was obtained from the mixer output power versus the bias current dependence, measured by: 1) the local oscillator (LO) power tuning: 2) mixer heating: and 3) application of an external RF source. Furthermore, the direct detection effect was assessed by elimination of the heterodyne response using a LO frequency, which is far off the mixer RF band. We show that the direct detection effect can be mitigated by using an isolator between the mixer and the IF amplifier
Fixed point-free isometric actions of topological groups on Banach spaces

We show that every non-precompact topological group admits a fixed point-free continuous action by affine isometries on a suitable Banach space. Thus, precompact groups are defined by the fixed point property for affine isometric actions on Banach spaces. For separable topological groups, in the above statements it is enough to consider affine actions on one particular Banach space: the unique Banach space envelope of the universal Urysohn metric space, known as the Holmes space. At the same time, we show that Polish groups need not admit topologically proper (in particular, free) affine isometric actions on Banach spaces (nor even on complete metric spaces): this is the case for the unitary group of the separable infinite dimensional Hilbert space with strong operator topology, the infinite symmetric group, etc.
Preventing the Revealing of Online Passwords to Inappropriate Websites with LoginInspector

Modern Web browsers do not provide sufficient protection to prevent users from submitting their online passwords to inappropriate websites. As a result, users may accidentally reveal their passwords for high-security websites to inappropriate low-security websites or even phishing websites. In this paper, we address this limitation of modern browsers by proposing LoginInspector, a profiling-based warning mechanism. The key idea of LoginInspector is to continuously monitor a user's login actions and securely store hashed domain-specific successful login information to an in-browser database. Later on, whenever the user attempts to log into a website that does not have the corresponding successful login record, LoginInspector will warn and enable the user to make an informed decision on whether to really send this login information to the website. LoginInspector can also report users' insecure password practices to system administrators so that targeted training and technical assistance can be provided to vulnerable users. We implemented LoginInspector as a Firefox browser extension and evaluated it on 30 popular legitimate websites, 30 sample phishing websites, and one new phishing scam discovered by M86 Security Labs. Our evaluation and analysis indicate that LoginInspector is a secure and useful mechanism that can be easily integrated into modern Web browsers to complement their existing protection mechanisms. Security system administrators in our university commented that such a tool could be very helpful for them to strengthen campus IT security.
Introduction: Illegal Drug Markets, Research and Policy Varieties of User Varieties of Retail Market Varieties of Distribution System Supply, Demand and Enforcement Dependency and Elasticity of Demand Inconvenience Policing

Illicit drug use is widespread across most industrialised countries. The prevalence of illicit use is probably measured best in the United States: at least 14 million people, or 6% of the population, use illicit drugs every month (Office of National Drug Control Policy [ONDCP], 1999). Nor is this pattern of use confined to the U.S. In Britain, for example, around 2 million people use illicit drugs each month, representing 6% of the population aged 16 to 59 (Ramsay and Partridge, 1999). Only the brave would try to make a precise count of global annual production of illicit drugs. There are some "order of magnitude" figures, however. For example the annual global production of heroin has been put at 550 tonnes (metric tons) per year in the 1990s; the corresponding figure for cocaine in 1996 was 1,000 tonnes (United Nations Drug Control Programme [UNDCP], 1997). Some countries have estimated levels of consumption, though these estimates will also be subject to wide margins of error. In the U.S., the figure for expenditure on illicit drugs in 1995 was put at $57 billion (ONDCP, 1997a). The corresponding figure for the U.K. is £3.9 billion to £8.5 million (Office of National Statistics [ONS], 1999). Even allowing for very substantial imprecision, these figures suggest that the illicit
Spectral subtraction and missing feature modeling for speaker verification

This paper addresses the problem of robust text-independent speaker verification when some of the features for the target signal are heavily masked by noise. In the framework of Gaussian mixture models (GMMs), a new approach based on the spectral subtraction technique and the statistical missing feature compensation is presented. The identity of spectral features missing due to noise masking is provided by the spectral subtraction algorithm. Consequently, the statistical missing feature compensation dynamically modifies the probability computations performed in GMM recognizers. The proposed algorithm uses a variation of the generalized spectral subtraction and incorporates in it a criterion based on masking properties of the human auditory system. The originality of the algorithm resides in the fact that instead of using fixed parameters for the noise reduction and missing feature compensation, the noise masking threshold is used to control the enhancement and model compensation processes adaptively, frame-by-frame, hence helping to find the best tradeoff.
Yields of damage to C4′ deoxyribose and to pyrimidines in pUC18 by the direct effect of ionizing radiation

Our mechanistic understanding of damage formation in DNA by the direct effect relies heavily on what is known of free radical intermediates studied by EPR spectroscopy. Bridging this information to stable product formation requires methods with comparable sensitivities, a criterion met by the 32P-post-labeling assay developed by Weinfeld and Soderlind, [Weinfeld,M. and Soderlind,K. -J.M. (1991) 32P-Postlabeling detection of radiation-induced DNA damage: identification and estimation of thymine glycols and phosphoglycolate termini. Biochemistry, 30, 1091–1097] which when applied to the indirect effect, detected phosphoglycolate (pg) and thymine glycol (Tg). Here we applied this assay to the direct effect, measuring product yields in pUC18 films with hydration levels (Γ) of 2.5, 16 or 23 waters per nucleotide and X-irradiated at either 4 K or room temperature (RT). The yields of pg [G(pg)] for Γ ∼ 2.5 were 2.8 ± 0.2 nmol/J (RT) and 0.2 ± 0.3 nmol/J (4 K), which is evidence that the C4′ radical contributes little to the total deoxyribose damage via the direct effect. The yield of detectable base damage [G(B*)] at Γ ∼ 2.5 was found to be 30.2 ± 1.0 nmol/J (RT) and 12.9 ± 0.7 nmol/J (4 K). While the base damage called B*, could be due to either oxidation or reduction, we argue that two reduction products, 5,6-dihydrouracil and 5,6-dihydrothymine, are the most likely candidates.
Size dependent biexciton binding energies in GaN quantum dots

Single GaN/Al(Ga)N quantum dots (QDs) have been investigated by means of microphotoluminescence. Emission spectra related to excitons and biexcitons have been identified by excitation power dependence and polarization resolved spectroscopy. All investigated dots exhibit a strong degree of linear polarization (similar to 90%). The biexciton binding energy scales with the dot size. However, both positive and negative binding energies are found for the studied QDs. These results imply that careful size control of III-Nitride QDs would enable the emission of correlated photons with identical frequencies from the cascade recombination of the biexciton, with potential applications in the area of quantum information processing.
Kinetic Modeling Of Methanol Synthesis From Carbon Monoxide, Carbon Dioxide, And Hydrogen Over A Cu/ZnO/Cr2O3 Catalyst

KINETIC MODELING OF METHANOL SYNTHESIS FROM CARBON MONOXIDE, CARBON DIOXIDE AND HYDROGEN OVER A Cu/ZnO/Cr2O3 CATALYST by Daaniya Rahman The main purpose of this study was to investigate kinetic models proposed in the literature for methanol synthesis and select the best fit model using regression techniques in POLYMATH. Another aim was to use the results from the best fit model to explain some aspects and resolve some questions related to methanol synthesis kinetics. Two statistically sound kinetic models were chosen from literature based on their goodness of fit to the respective kinetic data. POLYMATH, the non-linear regression software, was used to fit published experimental data to different kinetic models and evaluate kinetic parameters. The statistical results from POLYMATH were used for comparison of the models and selection of the best fit model. The results obtained from the best fit kinetic model were then used to analyze the trends and kinetic features related to methanol synthesis. The study was primarily concentrated on the effect of reaction conditions on the relative contribution of CO and CO2 in producing methanol. The combined model that included both CO and CO2 hydrogenation rate terms was the best fit kinetic rate expression that described methanol synthesis kinetics most appropriately. A number of reaction conditions such as conversion, pressure, CO/CO2, and hydrogen content in the feed can have marked effects on the relative contribution of CO and CO2 in synthesizing methanol. Therefore, no generalizations can be made regarding the main carbon source in methanol.
Current Perspectives on rosuvastatin

Rosuvastatin is one of the most potent statins available for reducing circulating low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels, which enables more high-risk patients to achieve their lipid goals. Its favorable balance of effects on atherogenic and protective lipoproteins and its pleiotropic effects, including anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects and improvement in endothelial dysfunction, are associated with slowing of progression of atherosclerosis within the artery wall and have been translated into clinical benefits for cardiovascular outcomes. This review provides an update on the safety and the efficacy of rosuvastatin in recent large clinical trials. It appears that rosuvastatin has a beneficial effect on the progression of atherosclerosis across the clinical dosage range of 2.5–40 mg. It reduced cardiovascular events in relatively low-risk subjects with elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and normal low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. As with other statins, rosuvastatin did not show overall benefit in terms of survival in patients with heart failure, but certain clinical or biochemical markers reflecting underlying disease characteristics may help to identify subgroups of patients that benefit from statin therapy. In patients with end-stage renal disease undergoing chronic hemodialysis, rosuvastatin had no effect on reducing cardiovascular events. Although there is a slightly increased risk of incident diabetes with this class of agents, the absolute benefits of statin therapy on cardiovascular events overweigh the risk in patients with moderate or high cardiovascular risk or with documented cardiovascular disease. As with other statins, rosuvastatin is an appropriate therapy in addition to antihypertensive treatment to reduce cardiovascular risk in hypertensive patients.
Low-Order Stochastic Mode Reduction for a Realistic Barotropic Model Climate

Abstract This study applies a systematic strategy for stochastic modeling of atmospheric low-frequency variability to a realistic barotropic model climate. This barotropic model climate has reasonable approximations of the Arctic Oscillation (AO) and Pacific/North America (PNA) teleconnections as its two leading principal patterns of low-frequency variability. The systematic strategy consists first of the identification of slowly evolving climate modes and faster evolving nonclimate modes by use of an empirical orthogonal function (EOF) decomposition. The low-order stochastic climate model predicts the evolution of these climate modes a priori without any regression fitting of the resolved modes. The systematic stochastic mode reduction strategy determines all correction terms and noises with minimal regression fitting of the variances and correlation times of the unresolved modes. These correction terms and noises account for the neglected interactions between the resolved climate modes and the unresolve.
Missing fundamental stratum of the current forms of the representation of concepts in construction

The generation of concepts in the construction industry involves the interpretation of syntactically defined symbolic notations, such as logic, frames, semantic networks, natural language, and of other forms such as visual rep-resentations. These notations are deliberately organized to define concepts. Models as forms of representations are based on symbols that are aimed at referring to some entities of the world with properties and relations apprehended within them. Models involve grouping a set of relations, which characterize concepts, with the purpose of sharing and understanding these concepts by members of the community. However, models suffer the limitations that logic and the symbolic notations bear, because they cannot capture the richness of the phenomena of the world in their syntactic no-tation nor other intentionality features. Other forms of representations such as visual representations suffer the same limitations. An analysis of the nature of the representations employed in the construction industry suggests the inclusion of the ac-tor’s role in a new stratum for generating representations of construction concepts. This actor, who manipulates or generates the representation for communicating concepts, is committed to the intentionality aspects of the represented concept that are not captured in current forms of the representation. The inclusion of these and other phenomenological aspects concerning the nature of the representation are intended to generate representations for accurate interpreta-tions. The modus operandi with these representations indicates a subsequent interpretation by other actors or project participants. The inclusion of this stratum promises a significant progress in creating efficiency in interoperability on construction projects. The assumption is that the representations are cognitive manifestations of common, shared con-cepts employed by the construction industry community. This analysis is supported and developed through the semiotic theory which addresses the nature of the representations through signs and the role of agents with the representations and with the external physical domain. This study attempts to approximate semiotics as an experience that illustrates the reasoning process from external rep-resentations and the role of intentionality in employing external representations. This experience inquires about the form of the correspondence of the perceived, entity, event, and relations, or, in other words, a correspondence of a phe-nomenon in the world with the concept in the construction participant’s mind. In addition, the purpose of this experi-ence is to provide direction to the method of how semantics aspects should be understood to give interpretations for concepts employed in the construction industry.
COMPARISON OF APPROACHES TO INTRA-BODY COMMUNICATION

Intra-body communication (IBC) is a new, "wireless" communication technique that enables electronic devices on or sometimes near the body to exchange the information. It uses the dielectric properties of human tissues so that human body can be used as the communication channel for data exchange. Transmitting data directly through the skin is can be much more efficient than current wireless transmission technologies (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi), since it requires much less energy. In this paper the concept of Personal Area Networks (PANs) is presented to demonstrate how electronic devices on and near the human body can exchange digital information through the body. Various methods available for Intra-body communication are studied and presented. The advantages of this method over current wireless communication techniques are discussed along with possible limitation. The technology can have a wide range of applications, hence future scope of the system is presented.
A VLSI hardware implementation study of SVDD algorithm using analog Gaussian-cell array for on-chip learning

A feasibility study of VLSI hardware implementation of support vector domain description (SVDD) has been done in this work. The on-chip learning operation of SVDD algorithm was implemented by an analog Gaussian-cell array. By using a compact analog Gaussian-generation circuit, the center, height and width of the generated Gaussian kernel function feature can be programmed. Based on this Gaussian-generation circuit, a fully parallel architecture is developed to implement the on-chip learning operation, which is carried out by the proposed method. In this manner, the learning operation autonomously proceeds without any clock-based iteration, and self-converges with a high speed. A proof-of-concept processor is designed for sixteen learning sample vectors. From the circuit simulation results, the entire learning operation is accomplished within 0.6 μs, and the domain of sample space is described by a reduced number of sample vectors. In addition, the various forms of domain description can be realized by tuning the kernel function feature dynamically.
Manufacturing of bioreactive nanofibers for bioremediation

Recombinant Escherichia coli (E. coli) cells were successfully encapsulated in reactive membranes comprised of electrospun nanofibers that have biocompatible polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)‐based cores entrapping the E. coli and silica‐based, mechanically sturdy porous shells. The reactive membranes were produced in a continuous fashion using a coaxial electrospinning system coupled to a microfluidic timer that mixed and regulated the reaction time of the silica precursor and the PVA solution streams. A factorial design method was employed to investigate the effects of the three critical design parameters of the system (the flow rate of the core solution, protrusion of the core needle, and the viscosity of the core solution) and to optimize these parameters for reproducibly and continuously producing high‐quality core/shell nanofibers. The feasibility of using the reactive membranes manufactured in this fashion for bioremediation of atrazine, a herbicide, was also investigated. The atrazine degradation rate (0.24 µmol/g of E. coli/min) of the encapsulated E. coli cells expressing the atrazine‐dechlorinating enzyme AtzA was measured to be relatively close to that measured with the free cells in solution (0.64 µmol/g of E. coli/min). We show here that the low cost, high flexibility, water insolubility, and high degradation efficiency of the bioreactive membranes manufactured with electrospinning makes it feasible for their wide‐spread use in industrial scale bioremediation of contaminated waters. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2014;111: 1483–1493. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Predictive Planning for Supply Chain Management

Supply chains are ubiquitous in the manufacturing of many complex products. Traditionally, supply chains have been created through the intricate interactions of human representatives of the various companies involved. However recent advances in planning, scheduling, and autonomous agent technologies have sparked an interest, both in academia and in industry, in automating the process. The Trading Agent Competition Supply Chain Management (TAC SCM) scenario provides a unique testbed for studying and prototyping supply chain management agents by providing a competitive environment in which independently created agents can be tested against each other over the course of many simulations. This paper presents the features of TAC SCM from a planning and scheduling perspective and introduces TacTex-05, the champion agent from the 2005 competition. TacTex-05 takes a predictive approach to its many planning and scheduling decisions by estimating future resource availability and constraints. This paper focuses on these aspects of the agent and isolates their impact with controlled empirical tests.
Developing a Mode II Fracture Model for Composite Laminates

PVC foam (Divnycell© H200) was tested under shear loading to mimic the fracture processes which have been observed in mode II delamination growth in carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates. By varying the cross-section geometry of the foam, different load-displacement behaviours and fracture morphologies were produced. The cross-section geometries considered included variations in the size and shape of longitudinal side grooves in the foam. The influence of pre-cracking was also investigated. Cusp formation was observed to begin with the initiation of a series of inclined cracks distributed along the length of the specimen. Propagation of these cracks resulted in S-shaped ligands and the subsequent deformation of these ligands and coalescence of the cracks resulted in cusp features in the fracture surfaces of the foam. Cusp size was found to be influenced by the height and width of the side grooves and these effects were comparable to those observed in mode II delamination of CFRP due to inter-fibre spacing. The results of this study provide understanding and data which can be used in the development and validation of numerical models of the delamination processes in fibre reinforced laminates. Such models may eventually provide the means for optimisation of the interlaminar fracture toughness of CFRP laminates.
Caspase Inhibition Blocks Cell Death and Enhances Mitophagy but Fails to Promote T-Cell Lymphoma

Caspase-9 is a component of the apoptosome that mediates cell death following release of cytochrome c from mitochondria. Inhibition of Caspase-9 with a dominant negative construct (Casp9DN) blocks apoptosome function, promotes viability and has been implicated in carcinogenesis. Inhibition of the apoptosome in vitro impairs mitochondrial function and promotes mitophagy. To examine whether inhibition of the apoptosome would enhance mitophagy and promote oncogenesis in vivo, transgenic mice were generated that express Casp9DN in the T cell lineage. The effects of Casp9DN on thymocyte viability, mitophagy and thymic tumor formation were examined. In primary thymocytes, Casp9DN delayed dexamethasone (Dex)-induced cell death, altered mitochondrial structure, and decreased oxidant production. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed that inhibition of the apoptosome resulted in structurally abnormal mitochondria that in some cases were engulfed by double-membrane structures resembling autophagosomes. Consistent with mitochondria being engulfed by autophagosomes (mitophagy), confocal microscopy showed colocalization of LC3-GFP and mitochondria. However, Casp9DN did not significantly accelerate T-cell lymphoma alone, or in combination with Lck-Bax38/1, or with Beclin 1+/− mice, two tumor-prone strains in which altered mitochondrial function has been implicated in promoting tumor development. In addition, heterozygous disruption of Beclin 1 had no effect on T-cell lymphoma formation in Lck-Bax38/1 mice. Further studies showed that Beclin 1 levels had no effect on Casp9DN-induced loss of mitochondrial function. These results demonstrate that neither inhibition of apoptosome function nor Beclin 1 haploinsufficiency accelerate T-cell lymphoma development in mice.