Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Texture synthesis on surfaces

Many natural and man-made surface patterns are created by interactions between texture elements and surface geometry. We believe that the best way to create such patterns is to synthesize a texture directly on the surface of the model. Given a texture sample in the form of an image, we create a similar texture over an irregular mesh hierarchy that has been placed on a given surface. Our method draws upon texture synthesis methods that use image pyramids, and we use a mesh hierarchy to serve in place of such pyramids. First, we create a hierarchy of points from low to high density over a given surface, and we connect these points to form a hierarchy of meshes. Next, the user specifies a vector field over the surface that indicates the orientation of the texture. The mesh vertices on the surface are then sorted in such a way that visiting the points in order will follow the vector field and will sweep across the surface from one end to the other. Each point is then visited in turn to determine its color. The color of a particular point is found by examining the color of neighboring points and finding the best match to a similar pixel neighborhood in the given texture sample. The color assignment is done in a coarse-to-fine manner using the mesh hierarchy. A texture created this way fits the surface naturally and seamlessly.
On the use of linear prediction for Acoustic Feedback Cancellation in multi-band hearing aids

An efficient approach to mitigate the howling effect in hearing aids is via the use of Acoustic Feedback Cancellation (AFC). In this paper, the use of a Forward Linear Predictor (FLP) is investigated to improve the performance of an AFC system in multi-band hearing aids. The FLP is used to predict the speech input signal before eliminating it from the error signal of the AFC system. Computer simulations demonstrate that more accurate estimation of the acoustic feedback signal than the conventional AFC system can be obtained. In addition, maximum usable gain of hearing aids required by the users can be achieved when employing the proposed multi-band AFC system.
Hemingway: Modeling Distributed Optimization Algorithms

Distributed optimization algorithms are widely used in many industrial machine learning applications. However choosing the appropriate algorithm and cluster size is often difficult for users as the performance and convergence rate of optimization algorithms vary with the size of the cluster. In this paper we make the case for an ML-optimizer that can select the appropriate algorithm and cluster size to use for a given problem. To do this we propose building two models: one that captures the system level characteristics of how computation, communication change as we increase cluster sizes and another that captures how convergence rates change with cluster sizes. We present preliminary results from our prototype implementation called Hemingway and discuss some of the challenges involved in developing such a system.
HCPN Modeling for ERTMS Requirements Specification

Ensuring railway interoperability in Europe implies that the functional specifications have a common understanding by all the stakeholders. One solution to guarantee that point is the formalization of the specification. Under the French project called "PERFECT", we aim to formalize railway specifications and validate various systems in order to determine, using software tools, the compliance between ERTMS and National railway requirements. The big challenge is to provide a user-friendly formalization with verification tools. In this paper, we present our preliminary exploration of the use of Hierarchical Colored Petri Net (HCPN) in modeling ERTMS/ETCS (European Rail Traffic Management System/European Train Control System) functional specifications. The purpose of this contribution is to point the benefits in using HCPNs, which are widely used among railway operators, for understanding the specification and analyzing system safety features. The present work focuses on modeling the functional terms of establishing a communication session between the on-board equipment and the Radio Block Center specified in the System Requirements Specification (SRS).
Rosiglitazone treatment reversed depression- but not psychosis-like behavior of db/db diabetic mice

The objective of the present study was to examine the effect of long-term management of insulin resistance and hyperglycemia on neurobehavioral deficits in db/db mice. In this study, 5-week-old db/db and lean control mice were fed with rosiglitazone (20 mg/kg/day) mixed or standard chow for a duration of 5 weeks. Mice were monitored weekly for blood glucose concentration. Five weeks after the onset of treatment, they were subjected to the forced swim test (FST), pre-pulse inhibition (PPI), open field test (OFT) and fear-potentiated startle (FPS) test to examine for depression, psychosis-like behavior, locomotor activity and emotional learning, respectively. Rosiglitazone normalized hyperglycemia and improved glucose tolerance. Rosiglitazone significantly reduced immobility time in the FST in db/db mice, suggesting an antidepressant-like effect. However, rosiglitazone failed to reverse disruption of PPI in db/db mice, indicating its ineffectiveness against psychosis-like behavior. In the OFT, rosiglitazone did not affect the activity of db/db mice, suggesting its antidepressant-like effect was independent of changes in locomotor activity. In the FPS test, db/db mice showed impaired emotional learning and rosiglitazone failed to correct it. In conclusion, long-term blood glucose management in type-2 diabetics may help to limit the co-occurrence of depression but not the psychotic symptoms and ability to cope with stress.
Efficient Integer Coefficient Search for Compute-and-Forward

Integer coefficient selection is an important decoding step in the implementation of compute-and-forward (C-F) relaying scheme. Choosing the optimal integer coefficients in C-F has been shown to be a shortest vector problem, which is known to be NP-hard in its general form. Exhaustive search of the integer coefficients is only feasible in complexity for small number of users while approximation algorithms, such as Lenstra-Lenstra-Lovász lattice reduction algorithm, only find a vector within an exponential factor of the shortest vector. An optimal deterministic algorithm was proposed for C-F by Sahraei and Gastpar specifically for the real valued channel case. In this paper, we adapt their idea to the complex valued channel and propose an efficient search algorithm to find the optimal integer coefficient vectors over the ring of Gaussian integers and the ring of Eisenstein integers. A second algorithm is then proposed that generalizes our search algorithm to the integer-forcing multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) C-F receiver. Performance and efficiency of the proposed algorithms are evaluated through simulations and theoretical analysis.
Both Size and GC-Content of Minimal Introns Are Selected in Human Populations

Background We previously have studied the insertion and deletion polymorphism by sequencing no more than one hundred introns in a mixed human population and found that the minimal introns tended to maintain length at an optimal size. Here we analyzed re-sequenced 179 individual genomes (from African, European, and Asian populations) from the data released by the 1000 Genome Project to study the size dynamics of minimal introns. Principal Findings We not only confirmed that minimal introns in human populations are selected but also found two major effects in minimal intron evolution: (i) Size-effect: minimal introns longer than an optimal size (87 nt) tend to have a higher ratio of deletion to insertion than those that are shorter than the optimal size; (ii) GC-effect: minimal introns with lower GC content tend to be more frequently deleted than those with higher GC content. The GC-effect results in a higher GC content in minimal introns than their flanking exons as opposed to larger introns (≥125 nt) that always have a lower GC content than that of their flanking exons. We also observed that the two effects are distinguishable but not completely separable within and between populations. Conclusions We validated the unique mutation dynamics of minimal introns in keeping their near-optimal size and GC content, and our observations suggest potentially important functions of human minimal introns in transcript processing and gene regulation.
Acute deep-brain stimulation of the internal and external globus pallidus in primary dystonia: functional mapping of the pallidum.

BACKGROUND Dystonia is a syndrome characterized by prolonged muscle contractions that cause sustained twisting movements and abnormal posturing of body parts. Patients with the severe and generalized forms can benefit from bilateral high-frequency pallidal stimulation. OBJECTIVE To investigate the functional map of the globus pallidus (GP) in patients with primary generalized dystonia. DESIGN Prospective multicenter, double-blind, video-controlled study in patients treated at a university hospital. SETTING University secondary care centers. PATIENTS Twenty-two patients with primary generalized dystonia. INTERVENTIONS Acute internal and external pallidal deep-brain stimulation or pallidal deep-brain stimulation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The clinical effects of acute bilateral high-frequency ventral vs acute dorsal pallidal stimulation were assessed with the Movement subscale of the Burke-Fahn-Marsden Dystonia Rating Scale. Intrapallidal localization of the contacts of the quadripolar electrodes was performed using a 3-dimensional atlas-magnetic resonance imaging coregistration method by investigators blinded to the clinical outcome. RESULTS Bilateral acute ventral stimulation of the GP significantly improved the Burke-Fahn-Marsden Dystonia Rating Scale score by 42% and resulted in stimulation of contacts located in the internal GP or medullary lamina in 18 of 21 patients. Bilateral acute dorsal pallidal stimulation, primarily localized within the external GP, had variable effects across patients, with half demonstrating slight or no improvement or even aggravation of dystonia compared with baseline. CONCLUSIONS Ventral pallidal stimulation, primarily of the internal GP or medullary lamina or both, is the optimal method for the treatment of dystonia. The varying effects across patients of bilateral acute dorsal pallidal stimulation, primarily of the external GP, suggest that unknown factors associated with dystonia could have a role in and contribute to the effects of the electrical stimulation.
Multi-channel speech separation with soft time-frequency masking

This paper addresses the problem of separating concurrent speech through a spatial filtering stage and a subsequent time-frequency masking stage. These stages complement each other by first exploiting the spatial diversity and then making use of the fact that different speech signals rarely occupy the same frequency bins at a time. The novelty of the paper consists in the use of auditorymotivated log-sigmoid masks, whose scale parameters are optimized to maximize the kurtosis of the separated speech. Experiments on the Pascal Speech Separation Challenge II show significant improvements compared to previous approaches with binary masks.
A State Recognition Approach for Complex Equipment Based on a Fuzzy Probabilistic Neural Network

Due to the traditional state recognition approaches for complex electromechanical equipment having had the disadvantages of excessive reliance on complete expert knowledge and insufficient training sets, real-time state identification system was always difficult to be established. The running efficiency cannot be guaranteed and the fault rate cannot be reduced fundamentally especially in some extreme working conditions. To solve these problems, an online state recognition method for complex equipment based on a fuzzy probabilistic neural network (FPNN) was proposed in this paper. The fuzzy rule base for complex equipment was established and a multi-level state space model was constructed. Moreover, a probabilistic neural network (PNN) was applied in state recognition, and the fuzzy functions and quantification matrix were presented. The flowchart of proposed approach was designed. Finally, a simulation example of shearer state recognition and the industrial application with an accuracy of 90.91% were provided and the proposed approach was feasible and efficient.
The Influence of Thermal Sprayed Coats Chemical Composition on the Microstructure and Properties

In the present work, the microstructure, phase composition and microhardness of Cr3C2-NiCr, WCCo, and powdered composite NiCrSiBCr10%,Fe2.5%,Si3.1%,Bi2.1%C; NiCrSiBFe5; NiCrSiBCr5; NiCrSiBFe2.5Cr2. 5; HVOF coatings applied on the Al-Si substrate have been compared. The coating cross-sections were examined by optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron transmission microscopy (TEM). For hard Cr3C2-NiCr and WC-Co coatings, a total microhardness level of about 860 and 1240 HV, respectively, was obtained. The microhardness of composite coatings was essentially lower and comprised in the range of values between 420 and 540 HV. The lowest level of microhardness showed the NiCrSiBFe2.5Cr2. 5 coating. The most refined microstructure was found in Cr3C2 and WC coatings. The mean size of splat granules obtained in Cr3C2-NiCr had the value of about 2.7 m and of 0.5 m in WC-Co. For comparison, the granules obtained in composite coatings had the dimensions of about 30 μm. An Xray diffraction (XRD) revealed the presence of Cr3C2 and WC carbides in Cr3C2-CrNi and WC-Co coatings. In composite coatings, the phases of Cr3Ni5Si2, Ni3Si, FeSi, Fe2B, Cr3Si, BCr as well as other phases were found. The existence of the analyzed phases was additionally confirmed by the selective etching of coating microstructure. The annealing of coatings at 823K resulted in pore disappearance and increased the coating microhardness.
E(7) symmetric area of the black hole horizon.

Extreme black holes with 1/8 of unbroken {ital N}=8 supersymmetry are characterized by the nonvanishing area of the horizon. The central charge matrix has four generic eigenvalues. The area is proportional to the square root of the invariant quartic form of E{sub 7(7)}. It vanishes in all cases when 1/4 or 1/2 of supersymmetry is unbroken. The supergravity nonrenormalization theorem for the area of the horizon in the {ital N}=8 case protects the unique {ital U}-duality invariant. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society. }
Highly Sensitive Detection and Genotyping of HPV by PCR Multiplex and Luminex Technology in a Cohort of Colombian Women with Abnormal Cytology

Cancer of the uterine cervix (CC) is the second most common cancer in women worldwide. In Colombia, CC is the second most frequent cancer among the entire women population and the first among women aged between 15 and 44 years, with an estimated incidence of 24.9 cases/100,000 inhabitants. The main risk factor is infection with one or more high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) types. The aim of this study was to estimate the genotype-specific prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA in patients with cervical pathology using the multiplex PCR and Luminex xMAP technology. In addition, we compared genotyping with Luminex xMAP and with Reverse Line Blot (RLB). A cohort of 160 patients participated in the study, of which 25.6% had no cervical lesions, 35% presented cervical intraepithelial neoplasia of grade I (CIN I), 10% CIN II, 20.6% CIN III and 8.8% CC. The most frequent viral types in all lesion grades were HPV16 and HPV18. Infections by a unique virus were less frequent (19.4%) than multiple infections (80.6%). Single infections were found in 22% of women with no cervical lesions, and in 14.3% of CIN I, 18.7% CIN II, 21.2% CIN III and 28.6% of CC. Multiple infections were observed in 78.0% of cervical samples with negative histopathologic diagnosis, and in 85.7% of CIN I, 81.2% CIN II, 78.8% CIN III and 71.4% CC. All samples analyzed with Luminex xMAP were HPV-positive, while we could detect HPV in only 48.8% of cases with RLB. Of the samples positive by both methods, there was a 67.2% correlation in the viral type(s) detected. In conclusion, Luminex suspension array showed a remarkably higher sensitivity compared with RLB. Multiple infections were unexpectedly common, being HPV types 16 and 18 the most prevalent in all histopathologic grades.
Menger's paths with minimum mergings

For an acyclic directed graph with multiple sources and multiple sinks, we prove that one can choose the Menger's paths between the sources and the sinks such that the number of mergings between these paths is upper bounded by a constant depending only on the min-cuts between the sources and the sinks, regardless of the size and topology of the graph. We also give bounds on the minimum number of mergings between these paths, and discuss how it depends on the min-cuts.
Stimulation of muscle growth by clenbuterol: lack of effect on muscle protein biosynthesis

1. Young rats were offered to appetite a semi-synthetic diet either alone or containing the β2-selective agonist clenbuterol (4-amino-α[t-butylamino) methyl]-3, 5-dichlorobenzyl alcohol). 3. Male rats (starting weight 53 g) received clenbuterol at a daily oral dose of 200 pg/kg body-weight per d. Animals were slaughtered after 0, 4, 8, 11, 18, 21 and 25 d of treatment. At 4, 11, 21 and 25 d muscle protein synthesis was measured by the method of Garlick et al. (1980). Although clenbuterol increased the rate of protein and RNA accretion in gastrocnemius and soleus muscles, protein synthesis was not increased. 4. The results suggested that the drug had a rapid, perhaps direct, inhibitory effect on protein degradation. It is concluded that the growth-promoting effect of clenbuterol may be specific to muscle and that the drug may act in a novel manner which circumvents the physiological mechanisms responsible for the control of muscle growth.
Pseudorandom number generation with self-programmable cellular automata

We propose a new class of cellular automata, self-programming cellular automata (SPCA), with specific application to pseudorandom number generation. By changing a cell's state transition rules in relation to factors such as its neighboring cell's states, behavioral complexity can be increased and utilized. Interplay between the state transition neighborhood and rule selection neighborhood leads to a new composite neighborhood and state transition rule that is the linear combination of two different mappings with different temporal dependencies. It is proved that when the transitional matrices for both the state transition and rule selection neighborhood are nonsingular, SPCA will not exhibit nongroup behavior. Good performance can be obtained using simple neighborhoods with certain CA length, transition rules, etc. Certain configurations of SPCA pass all DIEHARD and ENT tests with an implementation cost lower than current reported work. Output sampling methods are also suggested to improve output efficiency by sampling the outputs of the new rule selection neighborhoods.
Cache‐oblivious matrix algorithms in the age of multicores and many cores

This article highlights the issue of upcoming wider single‐instruction, multiple‐data units as well as steadily increasing core counts on contemporary and future processor architectures. We present the recent port to and latest results of cache‐oblivious algorithms and implementations of our TifaMMy code on four architectures: SGI's UltraViolet distributed shared‐memory machine, Intel's latest x86 architecture code‐named Sandy Bridge, AMD's new Bulldozer architecture, and Intel's future Many Integrated Core architecture. TifaMMy's matrix multiplication and LU decomposition routines have been adapted and tuned with regard to these architectures. Results are discussed and compared with vendors’ architecture‐specific and optimized libraries, Math Kernel Library and AMD Core Math Library, for both a standard C++ version with vectorization compiler switches and TifaMMy's highly optimized vector intrinsics version. We provide insights into architectural properties and comment on the feasibility of heterogeneous cores and accelerators, namely graphics processing units. Besides bare‐metal performance, the test platforms’ ease of use is analyzed in detail, and the portability of our approach to new and upcoming silicon is discussed with regard to required effort on code change abstraction levels.
Infrared Detection Using Transparent and Flexible Field‐Effect Transistor Array with Solution Processable Nanocomposite Channel of Reduced Graphene Oxide and P(VDF‐TrFE)

Photodetectors using optically responsive graphene (Gr) or reduced graphene oxide (R‐GO) on rigid substrates have showed promising results for detection of broad band light including infrared (IR). However, there have been only a few reports on Gr or R‐GO photodetectors with new functionalities such as optical transparency and/or flexibility. Herein, a new kind of transparent and flexible IR photodetector is presented using a field‐effect transistor (FET) structure in which an IR‐responsive nanocomposite layer of R‐GO and poly(vinylidenefluoride‐co‐trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF‐TrFE)) is employed as the channel. The IR photodetector exhibits high IR responsivity, stability, and reproducibility under mechanical strain and ambient conditions. In addition, the capability of measuring the distribution of responses from each device in the transparent and flexible nanocomposite FET array under IR radiation from the human body is also demonstrated. Therefore, the development of a flexible IR photodetector with high responsivity, transparency, ease of integration, and stability in an ambient environment is a suitable alternative approach for achieving the stable monitoring of IR in many flexible and transparent electronic systems.
Antibacterial Activity of Citrus reticulata Peel Extracts

Citrus peels were successively extracted with hexane, chloroform and acetone using a soxhlet extractor. The hexane and chloroform extracts were fractionated into alcohol-soluble and alcohol-insoluble fractions. These fractions were tested against different gram positive and gram negative bacteria. The EtOH-soluble fraction was found to be most effective. Fractionation of EtOH -soluble fraction on silica gel column yielded three polymethoxylated flavones, namely desmethylnobiletin, nobiletin and tangeretin. Their structures were confirm ed by UV, 1H, 13C NMR and mass spectral studies. The findings indicated a potential of these natural compounds as bio preservatives in food applications.
Bluetrees-scatternet formation to enable Bluetooth-based ad hoc networks

Bluetooth is an open specification for short-range wireless communication and networking, mainly intended to be a cable replacement between portable and/or fixed electronic devices. The specification also defines techniques for interconnecting large number of nodes in scatternets, thus enabling the establishment of a mobile ad hoc network (MANET). While several solutions and commercial products have been introduced for one-hop Bluetooth communication, the problem of scatternet formation has not yet been dealt with. This problem concerns the assignment of the roles of master and slave to each node so that the resulting MANET is connected. We introduce two novel protocols for forming connected scatternets. In both cases, the resulting topology is termed a bluetree. In our bluetrees the number of roles each node can assume are limited to two or three (depending on the protocol), thus imposing low slave management overhead. The effectiveness of both protocols in forming MANETs is demonstrated through extensive simulations.