Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Heterogeneous SRAM Cell Sizing for Low-Power H.264 Applications

In low-voltage operation, static random-access memory (SRAM) bit-cells suffer from large failure probabilities with technology scaling. With the increasing failures, conventional SRAM memory is still designed without considering the importance differences found among the data stored in the SRAM bit-cells. This paper presents a heterogeneous SRAM sizing approach for the embedded memory of H.264 video processor, where the more important higher order data bits are stored in the relatively larger SRAM bit-cells and the less important bits are stored in the smaller ones. As a result, the failure probabilities significantly decrease for the SRAM cells storing the more important bits, which allows us to obtain the better video quality even in lower voltage operation. In order to find the SRAM bit-cell sizes that achieve the best video quality under SRAM area constraint, we propose a heterogeneous SRAM sizing algorithm based on a dynamic programming. Compared to the brute-force search, the proposed algorithm greatly reduces the computation time needed to select the SRAM bit-cell sizes of 8 bit pixel. Experimental results show that under iso-area condition, the heterogeneous SRAM array achieves significant PSNR improvements (average 4.49 dB at 900-mV operation) compared to the conventional one with identical cell sizing.
Plasmonic thermal emitter using perfect absorber made of metallic disk on SiO2

It is shown that the metallic disk structure can be used as an efficient narrow-band thermal emitter in the IR region. The absorption spectra of such structure are investigated both theoretically and experimentally. Calculations of thermal radiation properties of the metallic disk show that the metallic disk is a perfect emitter at a specific wavelength. The metallic disk exhibits only one significant localized surface plasmon polariton mode for both TM and TE polarizations simultaneously.
Chronic Morphine Treatment Alters NMDA Receptor-Mediated Synaptic Transmission in the Nucleus Accumbens

In a study of a possible substrate underlying morphine addiction, we examined NMDA receptor-mediated synaptic transmission of core nucleus accumbens neurons after chronic morphine treatment, using intracellular recording in a slice preparation of rat. We evoked pharmacologically isolated NMDA EPSCs by local stimulation and elicited inward currents by NMDA superfusion. In control slices, Mg2+ and phorbol 12,13-diacetate (PDAc), a protein kinase C activator, strongly inhibited and increased, respectively, NMDA EPSC amplitudes. The PDAc effects were likely postsynaptic because PDAc enhanced the currents evoked by superfused NMDA to the same extent that it did the NMDA EPSCs. Chronic morphine treatment significantly decreased NMDA EPSC amplitudes and the sensitivity of NMDA EPSCs to Mg2+ and PDAc, as well as the kinetics of the decay (inactivation rate) of the EPSCs (from 97 ± 2.5 msec in untreated rats to 78.7 ± 1.8 msec in slices from treated rats). One week after withdrawal, the Mg2+ and PDAc effects were still significantly less than those in control slices. Interestingly, 1 week of withdrawal led to an increased NMDA EPSC inactivation rate compared with controls. These data demonstrate that chronic morphine treatment significantly alters NMDA receptor-mediated synaptic transmission in the accumbens, and these effects persist 1 week after withdrawal. These long-term effects may represent an important neuroadaptation in opiate dependence.
Using Non-supervised Artificial Neural Network for Determination of Anthropogenic Disturbance in a River System

The study of river water quality plays an important role in assessing the pollution status and health of the water bodies. Human-induced activities such as domestic activities, aquaculture, agriculture and industries have detrimentally affected the river water quality. Pinang River is one of the important rivers in Balik Pulau District that supplies freshwater for human consumption. A total of 442 physical and chemical parameters data of the Pinang River, Balik Pulau catchment were analysed to determine the sources of pollutants entering the river. Non-supervised artificial neural network (ANN) was employed to classify and cluster the river into upstream, middle-stream and downstream zones. The monitored data and non-supervised ANN analysis demonstrated that the source of nitrate was derived from the upper part of the Pinang River, Balik Pulau while the sources of nitrite, ammonia and ortho-phosphate are predominant at the middle-stream of the river system. Meanwhile, the sources of high total suspended solid and biological oxygen demand were concentrated at the downstream of the river.
Recurrency in transient global amnesia: a retrospective study

Transient global amnesia (TGA) is a well‐defined clinical syndrome of unknown etiology, which often occurs once in life. Several mechanisms have been proposed but only trigger events have been clearly associated with the attack such as physical exertion, emotional stress, sexual intercourse or immersion in cold water. According to our knowledge, this is the first study, which associates trigger events and TGA recurrency. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the risk factors which contribute to TGA recurrency. TGA patients consecutively admitted, performed clinical and neurological evaluation, electroencephalogram and structural brain imaging scan. TGA‐trigger events were evaluated and comorbidities were carefully recorded. The risk factor sum was calculated as the sum of the considered triggers. Eighty‐five TGA patients were grouped according to the presence of single TGA (n = 73) or two episodes of TGA (n = 12). The 14.11% of patients experienced two episodes. A logistic regression analysis showed that the more increased number of TGA the more number of trigger events (P < 0.11; χ2 = 6.38; β = −3.29). These observations claim that TGA may be considered a complex epiphenomenon, and the sum of the trigger factors can be responsible for recurring of this almost unique‐in‐life event.
The MiTable Multi-Touch Gestures Engine

From smartphones to large multi-touch surfaces, different devices and applications need a technique to match the input from each user to a known action. The multi-touch gestures recognition problem has been studied for a long time and has obtained its most expressive results in the past decade. However, the multi-user scenario for large multi-touch tables imposes several challenges to existing gestures recognizers. In this paper, we propose a new multi-touch gestures engine which is capable of adding multi-user capabilities to existing state-of-art gestures recognizers.
Outcomes of a Peer Support Program in Multiple Sclerosis in an Australian Community Cohort: A Prospective Study

Background/Objectives. This pilot study evaluated the impact of a peer support program on improving multiple sclerosis (MS) related psychological functions (depression, anxiety, and stress) and enhancing quality of life. Methodology. Participants (n = 33) were recruited prospectively and received an 8-week group face-to-face peer support program. Assessments were at baseline (T1), 6 weeks after program (T2), and 12 months after program (T3), using validated questionnaires: Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS), McGill Quality of Life (MQOL), and Brief COPE. Results. Participants' mean age was 52; the majority were female (64%) and married (64%). Median time since MS diagnosis was 16 years. At T2, participants reported improved psychological functioning (DASS “depression,” “anxiety,” and “stress” subscales, z values −2.36, −2.22, and −2.54, moderate effect sizes (r) 0.29, 0.28, and 0.32, resp. ) and quality of life (MQOL SIS z score −2.07, r = 0.26) and were less likely to use “self-blame” as a coping mechanism (Brief COPE z score −2.37, r = 0.29). At T3, the positive improvements in stress (DASS stress subscale z score −2.41, r = 0.31) and quality of life were maintained (MQOL SIS, z score −2.30, r = 0.29). There were no adverse effects reported.
Analysis of Access Delay and Delay Jitter for the CSMA/CA Mechanism with Inactive Period

Owing to the distributed features and flexibility, carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) mechanisms have been widely adopted in wireless networks. Considering energy consumption, we devote to exploring an energy efficient carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (EE-CSMA/CA) mechanism. The access delay and delay jitter are two of most important quality of service (QoS) metrics. EE-CSMA/CA inevitably experiences the tortures bred from its delay and delay jitter performance, because its frame structure with inactive period brings delay. In this paper, we aim to analyze the access delay and delay jitter of packets for the CSMA/CA with inactive period under the unsaturated conditions. Based on the Markov theory, we model the mechanism of EE-CSMA/CA as a fourdimensional Markov chain, and the fourth variable of Markov chain differentiates the active period and the inactive period of EECSMA/CA. Then, deriving in probability generation domain, we get the probability distribution of service time and obtain the access delay. Finally, the queue in a node is decoupled, and two queues with different states of empty and non-empty are configured logically, which helps to enable the complex analysis of delay jitter. Based on the whole probability analysis, the probability distribution of delay jitter is obtained. We show that the active ratio (active time over whole frame time) affects the access delay and delay jitter. When the active ratio is constant, the duration of active period has less effect on the access delay while it deteriorates delay jitter performance.
Platform for Full-Syntax Grammar Development Using Meta-grammar Constructs

This paper describes a combination of tools necessary for full or deep syntactic parsing of natural language -- the syntactic parser synt, the graphical Grammar Development Workbench, GDW and the VerbaLex verb valency lexicon tools. We describe the development of the mentioned tools and how they integrate into one system that allows a team of experts (computational linguists as well as programmers) to cooperate on the development of grammar covering all Czech language phenomena.
The Issues of Solving Staffing and Scheduling Problems in Software Development Projects

Search-Based Software Engineering (SBSE) applies search-based optimization techniques in order to solve complex Software Engineering problems. In the recent years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of SBSE applications in areas such as Software Test, Requirements Engineering, and Project Planning. Our focus is on the analysis of the literature in Project Planning, specifically the researches conducted in software project scheduling and resource allocation. SBSE project scheduling and resource allocation solutions basically use optimization algorithms. Considering the results of a previous Systematic Literature Review, in this work, we analyze the issues of adopting these optimization algorithms in what is considered typical settings found in software development organizations. We found few evidence signaling that the expectations of software development organizations are being attended.
Effects of insulin resistance on the association between the circulating retinol‐binding protein 4 level and clustering of pediatric cardiometabolic risk factors

Retinol‐binding protein 4 (RBP4) and insulin resistance (IR) are clinical parameters associated with cardiometabolic diseases. The mediating and modifying roles of IR on children’s susceptibility to cardiometabolic disorders are undetermined. This study investigated the mediating and modifying effects of the homeostatic model assessment of IR (HOMA‐IR) on the relationship between the serum RBP4 level and clustering of pediatric cardiometabolic risk factors.
Buybacks of domestic debt in public debt management

Abstract This paper shows how public debt repurchases can be used to reduce the costs of debt service under the hypothesis that the government could be of two types and that there is asymmetric information between the government and the private sector. For example, at the beginning of a fiscal stabilization a government typically does not enjoy full credibility among investors and high interest rates on longterm bonds may reflect credibility problem rather than term premia. In a two-period framework, this paper suggests that buybacks could be used to reduce the risk premia since they can signal government commitment to a previously-announced policy.
Extensive in vitro gastrointestinal digestion markedly reduces the immune-toxicity of Triticum monococcum wheat: implication for celiac disease.

SCOPE The ancient diploid Triticum monococcum is of special interest as a candidate low-toxic wheat species for celiac disease patients. Here, we investigated how an in vitro gastro-intestinal digestion, affected the immune toxic properties of gliadin from diploid compared to hexaploid wheat. METHODS AND RESULTS Gliadins from Triticum monococcum, and Triticum aestivum cultivars were digested using either a partial proteolysis with pepsin-chymotrypsin, or an extensive degradation that used gastrointestinal enzymes including the brush border membrane enzymes. The immune stimulatory properties of the digested samples were investigated on T-cell lines and jejunal biopsies from celiac disease patients. The T-cell response profile to the Triticum monococcum gliadin was comparable to that obtained with Triticum aestivum gliadin after the partial pepsin-chymotrypsin digestion. In contrast, the extensive gastrointestinal hydrolysis drastically reduced the immune stimulatory properties of Triticum monococcum gliadin. MS-based analysis showed that several Triticum monococcum peptides, including known T-cell epitopes, were degraded during the gastrointestinal treatment, whereas many of Triticum aestivum gliadin survived the gastrointestinal digestion. CONCLUSION The pattern of Triticum monococcum gliadin proteins is sufficiently different from those of common hexaploid wheat to determine a lower toxicity in celiac disease patients following in vitro simulation of human digestion.
Mesh puppetry: cascading optimization of mesh deformation with inverse kinematics

We present mesh puppetry, a variational framework for detail-preserving mesh manipulation through a set of high-level, intuitive, and interactive design tools. Our approach builds upon traditional rigging by optimizing skeleton position and vertex weights in an integrated manner. New poses and animations are created by specifying a few desired constraints on vertex positions, balance of the character, length and rigidity preservation, joint limits, and/or self-collision avoidance. Our algorithm then adjusts the skeleton and solves for the deformed mesh simultaneously through a novel cascading optimization procedure, allowing realtime manipulation of meshes with 50K+ vertices for fast design of pleasing and realistic poses. We demonstrate the potential of our framework through an interactive deformation platform and various applications such as deformation transfer and motion retargeting.
Fast rise of broadly cross-reactive antibodies after boosting long-lived human memory B cells primed by an MF59 adjuvanted prepandemic vaccine

Proactive priming before the next pandemic could induce immune memory responses to novel influenza antigens. In an open-label study, we analyzed B cell memory and antibody responses of 54 adults who received 2 7.5-μg doses of MF59-adjuvanted A/Vietnam/1194/2004 clade 1 (H5N1) vaccine. Twenty-four subjects had been previously primed with MF59-adjuvanted or plain clade 0-like A/duck/Singapore/1997 (H5N3) vaccine during 1999–2001. The prevaccination frequency of circulating memory B cells reactive to A/Vietnam/1194/2004 was low in both primed and unprimed individuals. However, at day 21 after boosting, MF59-adjuvanted primed subjects displayed a higher frequency of H5N1-specific memory B cells than plain-primed or unprimed subjects. The immune memory was rapidly mobilized by a single vaccine administration and resulted in high titers of neutralizing antibodies to antigenically diverse clade 0, 1, and 2 H5N1 viruses already at day 7. In general, postvaccination antibody titers were significantly higher in primed subjects than in unprimed subjects. Subjects primed with MF59-adjuvanted vaccine responded significantly better than those primed with plain vaccine, most notably in early induction and duration of cross-reacting antibody responses. After 6 months, high titers of cross-reactive antibody remained detectable among MF59-primed subjects. We conclude that distant priming with clade 0-like H5N3 induces a pool of cross-reactive memory B cells that can be boosted rapidly years afterward by a mismatched MF59-adjuvanted vaccine to generate high titers of cross-reactive neutralizing antibodies rapidly. These results suggest that pre-pandemic vaccination strategies should be considered.
Botryotrichum domesticum sp. nov., a new hyphomycete from an indoor environment

Here we report on a fungus that is new to science and was isolated from a swab sample collected in a Massachusetts (USA) residence. Morphological characters of the fungus were studied and DNA sequences generated from internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and large subunit (LSU) ribosomal loci and from rpb2 and tub2 loci were used to establish a proper phylogenetic relationship with allied genera. The fungus was named Botryotrichum domesticum. The newly named species has thick-walled conidia globose to subglobose, 17.7 μm ± 2.6 μm × 17.3 μm ± 2.5 μm, developing on both aerial and immersed hyphae, with an absence of setae.
Crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction study of two complexes of a TAXI-type xylanase inhibitor with glycoside hydrolase family 11 xylanases from Aspergillus niger and Bacillus subtilis.

Endo-beta-1,4-xylanases hydrolyze arabinoxylan, a major constituent of cereal cell walls, and are nowadays widely used in biotechnological processes. Purified complexes of family 11 xylanases from Aspergillus niger and Bacillus subtilis with TAXI I, a TAXI-type xylanase inhibitor from Triticum aestivum L. , were prepared. In both cases the complex was crystallized using the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method. The needle-like crystals of TAXI I in complex with A. niger xylanase belong to the trigonal space group P3(1) or P3(2), with unit-cell parameters a = b = 88.43, c = 128.99 A, and diffract to 1.8 A resolution. TAXI I in complex with B. subtilis xylanase crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2, with a = 107.89, b = 95.33, c = 66.31 A, beta = 122.24 degrees. Complete data sets were collected for both crystal types using synchrotron radiation.
Nitric oxide is the primary mediator of cytotoxicity induced by GSH depletion in neuronal cells

Glutathione (GSH) levels progressively decline during aging and in neurodegenerative disorders. However, the contribution of such event in mediating neuronal cell death is still uncertain. In this report, we show that, in neuroblastoma cells as well as in primary mouse cortical neurons, GSH decrease, induced by buthionine sulfoximine (BSO), causes protein nitration, S-nitrosylation and DNA strand breaks. Such alterations are also associated with inhibition of cytochrome c oxidase activity and microtubule network disassembly, which are considered hallmarks of nitric oxide (NO) toxicity. In neuroblastoma cells, BSO treatment also induces cell proliferation arrest through the ERK1/2-p53 pathway that finally results in caspase-independent apoptosis, as evident from the translocation of apoptosis-inducing factor from mitochondria towards nuclei. A deeper analysis of the signaling processes indicates that the NO-cGMP pathway is involved in cell proliferation arrest and death. In fact, these events are completely reversed by L-NAME, a specific NO synthase inhibitor, indicating that NO, rather than the depletion of GSH per se, is the primary mediator of cell damage. In addition, the guanylate cyclase (GC) inhibitor LY83583 is able to completely block activation of ERK1/2 and counteract BSO toxicity. In cortical neurons, NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartic acid) treatment results in GSH decrease and BSO-mediated NO cytotoxicity is enhanced by either epidermal growth factor (EGF) or NMDA. These findings support the idea that GSH might represent the most important buffer of NO toxicity in neuronal cells, and indicate that the disruption of cellular redox buffering controlled by GSH makes neuronal cells susceptible to endogenous physiological flux of NO.
Robust smooth segmentation approach for array CGH data analysis

MOTIVATION Array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) provides a genome-wide technique to screen for copy number alteration. The existing segmentation approaches for analyzing aCGH data are based on modeling data as a series of discrete segments with unknown boundaries and unknown heights. Although the biological process of copy number alteration is discrete, in reality a variety of biological and experimental factors can cause the signal to deviate from a stepwise function. To take this into account, we propose a smooth segmentation (smoothseg) approach. METHODS To achieve a robust segmentation, we use a doubly heavy-tailed random-effect model. The first heavy-tailed structure on the errors deals with outliers in the observations, and the second deals with possible jumps in the underlying pattern associated with different segments. We develop a fast and reliable computational procedure based on the iterative weighted least-squares algorithm with band-limited matrix inversion. RESULTS Using simulated and real data sets, we demonstrate how smoothseg can aid in identification of regions with genomic alteration and in classification of samples. For the real data sets, smoothseg leads to smaller false discovery rate and classification error rate than the circular binary segmentation (CBS) algorithm. In a realistic simulation setting, smoothseg is better than wavelet smoothing and CBS in identification of regions with genomic alterations and better than CBS in classification of samples. For comparative analyses, we demonstrate that segmenting the t-statistics performs better than segmenting the data. AVAILABILITY The R package smoothseg to perform smooth segmentation is available from http://www.meb. ki.se/~yudpaw.
A comparative study of caregiver burden and self-efficacy in chronic psychiatric illness and chronic medical illness: A pilot study

Background: A caregiver is an individual who provides assistance and assumes the responsibility for the physical and emotional needs of another individual who is incapable of self-care. Caregiver burden is a universal phenomenon and more than half of the caregivers experience burden in their role as caregivers. There is a paucity of studies to understand the burden and coping strategies of caregivers in chronic psychiatric illness and chronic medical illnesses, especially in the Indian scenario. Aims and Objectives: (i) To compare the caregiver burden in chronic psychiatric illness and chronic medical illness (ii) To compare the caregiver efficacy in chronic psychiatric illness and chronic medical illness. Materials and Methods: The study sample included caregivers of inpatients admitted in a tertiary care hospital in South India. A total of 120 caregivers were included in the study with 60 caregivers from psychiatric ward and medicine ward, respectively. The caregivers were then assessed using the Caregiver Burden Scale and the Revised Caregiver Self-efficacy Scale Results and Conclusion: We found that majority of the caregivers were first-degree relatives and women constituted a major part of the caregiver group. Caregiver burden was significantly higher in psychiatric illnesses compared to medical illnesses. Caregiver efficacy was similar in both study groups. Interventions to reduce caregiver burden and to improve caregiver efficacy should be implemented to ensure optimal management of both patient and caregiver.