Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Surface characterization of sulfur and alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers onAu

We demonstrate that it is possible to mechanically exfoliate graphene under ultrahigh vacuum conditions on the atomically well defined surface of single crystalline silicon. The flakes are several hundred nanometers in lateral size and their optical contrast is very faint, in agreement with calculated data. Single-layer graphene is investigated by Raman mapping. The graphene and 2D peaks are shifted and narrowed compared to undoped graphene. With spatially resolved Kelvin probe measurements we show that this is due to p-type doping with hole densities of nh ' 6× 1012 cm−2. The in vacuo preparation technique presented here should open up new possibilities to influence the properties of graphene by introducing adsorbates in a controlled way. (Some figures may appear in colour only in the online journal)
Image moments: a general and useful set of features for visual servoing

In this paper, we determine the analytical form of the interaction matrix related to any moment that can be computed from segmented images. The derivation method we present is based on Green's theorem. We apply this general result to classical geometrical primitives. We then consider using moments in image-based visual servoing. For that, we select six combinations of moments to control the six degrees of freedom of the system. These features are particularly adequate, if we consider a planar object and the configurations such that the object and camera planes are parallel at the desired position. The experimental results we present show that a correct behavior of the system is obtained if we consider either a simple symmetrical object or a planar object with complex and unknown shape.
Growth in Illyria: The Role of Meritocracy in the Accumulation of Human Capital

In this paper we present a dynamic model of cooperative production with human capital accumulation. We assume CES preferences on consumption and leisure in each period. When agents do not care about future generations, sustained growth occurs iff the elasticity of substitution between consumption and leisure is larger or equal than one. Meritocracy always has a positive effect on output, but when the elasticity of substitution is less than one, is only a level effect. When agents care about future generations, under Cobb–Douglas preferences in each period and some extra conditions, there is constant growth at a rate that is larger than the one when future generations do not count. For any discount rate between generations, there is a unique level of meritocracy for which efficiency is achieved.
A High Performance Delta-Sigma Modulator for Neurosensing

Recorded neural data are frequently corrupted by large amplitude artifacts that are triggered by a variety of sources, such as subject movements, organ motions, electromagnetic interferences and discharges at the electrode surface. To prevent the system from saturating and the electronics from malfunctioning due to these large artifacts, a wide dynamic range for data acquisition is demanded, which is quite challenging to achieve and would require excessive circuit area and power for implementation. In this paper, we present a high performance Delta-Sigma modulator along with several design techniques and enabling blocks to reduce circuit area and power. The modulator was fabricated in a 0.18-μm CMOS process. Powered by a 1.0-V supply, the chip can achieve an 85-dB peak signal-to-noise-and-distortion ratio (SNDR) and an 87-dB dynamic range when integrated over a 10-kHz bandwidth. The total power consumption of the modulator is 13 μW, which corresponds to a figure-of-merit (FOM) of 45 fJ/conversion step. These competitive circuit specifications make this design a good candidate for building high precision neurosensors.
A novel method for clustering tweets in Twitter

A popular social networking service called Twitter is used to post short messages that could be useful to someone in the world. These messages have been analysed by the researchers in different ways. This paper proposes a clustering technique to cluster the tweets in the Twitter. The basic aim of performing this clustering is to identify the groups of similar tweets posted and this information is useful to identify various user communities. These user communities can be recommended to the advertisers in Twitter by matching their topic of interest with the advertisers' field. Suffix Tree Clustering STC algorithm is the core web documents clustering algorithm which groups similar documents into clusters by constructing suffix tree. We used STC along with semantic similarity among the posted tweets to identify the topics of interest. The proposed method is compared with STC and Lingo algorithms using intra-cluster distance and inter-cluster distance. Results show that the proposed method performs better than the existing methods with 10.59% reduction in the intra-cluster distance value and 44.99% increase in the inter-cluster distance value.
Imaging of prolonged BOLD response in the somatosensory cortex of the rat

Blood oxygenation level‐dependent (BOLD) functional MRI is a widely employed methodology in experimental and clinical neuroscience, although its nature is not fully understood. To gain insights into BOLD mechanisms and take advantage of the new functional methods, it is of interest to investigate prolonged paradigms of activation suitable for long experimental protocols and to observe any long‐term modifications induced by these functional challenges. While different types of sustained stimulation paradigm have been explored in human studies, the BOLD response is typically limited to a few minutes in animal models, due to fatigue, anesthesia effects and physiological instability. In the present study, the rat forepaw was electrically stimulated for 2 h, which resulted in a prolonged and localized cortical BOLD response over that period. The stimulation paradigm, including an inter‐stimulus interval (ISI) of 10 s, that is 25% of the total time, was applied at constant or variable frequency over 2 h. The steady‐state level of the BOLD response was reached after 15–20 min of stimulation and was maintained until the end of the stimulation. On average, no substantial loss in activated volume was observed at the end of the stimulation, but less variability in the fraction of remaining activated volume and higher steady‐state BOLD amplitude were observed when stimulation frequency was varied between 2 and 3 Hz every 5 min. We conclude that the combination of ISI and variable stimulus frequency reproducibly results in robust, prolonged and localized BOLD activation. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Elsevier Editorial System(tm) for European Journal of Cell Biology Manuscript Draft Crumbs Regulates Polarity and Prevents Light-induced Degeneration of the Simple Eyes of Drosophila, the Ocelli

The evolutionary conserved transmembrane protein Crumbs (Crb) regulates morphogenesis of photoreceptor cells in the compound eye of Drosophila and prevents light-dependent retinal degeneration. Here we examine the role of Crb in the ocelli, the simple eyes of Drosophila. We show that Crb is expressed in ocellar photoreceptor cells, where it defines a stalk membrane apical to the adherens junctions, similar as in photoreceptor cells of the compound eyes. Loss of function of crb disrupts polarity of ocellar photoreceptor cells, and results in mislocalisation of adherens junction proteins. This phenotype is more severe than that observed in mutant photoreceptor cells of the compound eye, and resembles more that of embryonic epithelia lacking crb. Similar as in compound eyes, crb protects ocellar photoreceptors from light induced degeneration, a function that depends on the extracellular portion of the Crb protein. Our data demonstrate that the function of crb in photoreceptor development and homeostasis is conserved in compound eyes and ocelli and underscores the evolutionarily relationship between these visual sense organs of Drosophila. The data will be discussed with respect to the difference in apico-basal organisation of these two cell types. Abstract The evolutionary conserved transmembrane protein Crumbs (Crb) regulates morphogenesis of photoreceptor cells in the compound eye of Drosophila and prevents light-dependent retinal degeneration. Here we examine the role of Crb in the ocelli, the simple eyes of Drosophila. We show that Crb is expressed in ocellar photoreceptor cells, where it defines a stalk membrane apical to the adherens junctions, similar as in photoreceptor cells of the compound eyes. Loss of function of crb disrupts polarity of ocellar photoreceptor cells, and results in mislocalisation of adherens junction proteins. This phenotype is more severe than that observed in mutant photoreceptor cells of the compound eye, and resembles more that of embryonic epithelia lacking crb. Similar as in compound eyes, crb protects ocellar photoreceptors from light induced degeneration, a function that depends on the extracellular portion of the Crb protein. Our data demonstrate that the function of crb in photoreceptor development and homeostasis is conserved in compound eyes and ocelli and underscores the evolutionarily relationship between these visual sense organs of Drosophila. The data will be discussed with respect to the difference in apico-basal organisation of these two cell types.
Predicting Buyers' Repurchase Intentions in Cross-Border E-Commerce: a Valence Framework Perspective

Cross-border e-commerce has become an important channel for promoting international trade. Yet, the factors influencing buyer behavior in cross-border e-commerce have received relatively less research attention than in domestic e-commerce settings. In this paper we draw on the valence framework to develop and test a research model of buyer repeat purchase intentions in cross-border e-commerce. We hypothesized the effects of positive valences (value, monetary saving, convenience and product offerings) along with negative valences (product and transaction-based uncertainties) on repeat purchase intention. Data was collected from users of a popular cross-border e-commerce provider in China. Results (n=169) revealed that positive valences exert the strongest effects on repeat purchase intention, but negative valences are also significant. These include product-based uncertainties and transaction-based uncertainties. Our model explained 69% of the variance in repeat purchase intentions in a cross-border e-commerce platform. Results enhance our understanding of cross-border e-commerce and have important implications for online providers competing in international markets.
On the Coverage of Program Code by Specification-Based Tests

Generating test cases from the specification can be done early in the software development life cycle. A test suite systematically generated from the software specification can be comprehensive in ensuring the intended functions to be exercised. Such a test suite is also instrumental in facilitating early discovery of software defects. On the other hand, an adequate level of code coverage is required to inspire confidence of the testing and quality assurance process. To examine the effectiveness of a specification-based test suite in covering program code, we conducted an exploratory case study which involved many different versions of programs that implemented the same specification. On the basis of the case study, this paper identifies the types of path in the programs, suggests enhancements to the existing test generation methods, and discusses several issues on how the code coverage can be improved.
Nazca: Detecting Malware Distribution in Large-Scale Networks

Malware remains one of the most significant secu- rity threats on the Internet. Antivirus solutions and blacklists, the main weapons of defense against these attacks, have only been (partially) successful. One reason is that cyber-criminals take active steps to bypass defenses, for example, by distribut- ing constantly changing (obfuscated) variants of their malware programs, and by quickly churning through domains and IP addresses that are used for distributing exploit code and botnet commands. We analyze one of the core tasks that malware authors have to achieve to be successful: They must distribute and install malware programs onto as many victim machines as possible. A main vec- tor to accomplish this is through drive-by download attacks where victims are lured onto web pages that launch exploits against the users' web browsers and their components. Once an exploit is successful, the injected shellcode automatically downloads and launches the malware program. While a significant amount of previous work has focused on detecting the drive-by exploit step and the subsequent network traffic produced by malware programs, little attention has been paid to the intermediate step where the malware binary is downloaded. In this paper, we study how clients in real-world networks download and install malware, and present Nazca, a system that detects infections in large scale networks. Nazca does not operate on individual connections, nor looks at properties of the downloaded programs or the reputation of the servers hosting them. Instead, it looks at the telltale signs of the malicious network infrastructures that orchestrate these malware installa- tion that become apparent when looking at the collective traffic produced and becomes apparent when looking at the collective traffic produced by many users in a large network. Being content agnostic, Nazca does not suffer from coverage gaps in reputation databases (blacklists), and is not susceptible to code obfuscation. We have run Nazca on seven days of traffic from a large Internet Service Provider, where it has detected previously-unseen malware with very low false positive rates
[Meta-analysis of the relationship between polymorphisms of 399 point of X-ray repair cross complementing gene group 1 and hepatocellular carcinoma].

OBJECTIVE Discuss the relationship between the X-ray repair cross complementing gene group 1 (XRCC1) 399 point polymorphisms and risk of hepatocellular carcinoma occurrence. METHODS Search the domestic and abroad database to obtain the related cases of XRCC1 gene polymorphisms and risk of hepatocellular carcinoma occurrence, and use the analysis software Review Manager 4. 2. 8 to perform the comprehensive statistic processing and heterogeneity test for each research data included in this meta analysis and calculate the combined OR value (with 95% CI). RESULTS There were 7 literatures conformed to the inclusion criteria. A total of 1133 hepatocellular carcinoma cases and 1747 control cases were included. The meta analysis results showed that compared with the wild-type homozygous Arg/Arg, the combined OR (95% CI) of variant heterozygous genotype Arg/Gln and (Arg/Gln + Gln/Gln) were both 1.00 (0.68, 1.47), and the combined OR (95% CI) of variant homozygous genotype was 1.02 (0.60, 1.72). The relationship between XRCC1 399 point polymorphisms and the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma occurrence was of no statistical significance. CONCLUSION No statistically significant relationship between the genotype of XRCC1 399 point polymorphism and the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma occurrence was found.
Enhancement of noisy speech using sub-band harmonic regeneration and speech presence uncertainty estimator

This paper presents a noise reduction technique based on sub-band harmonic regeneration with Speech Presence Uncertainty (SPU). Harmonic Regeneration (HRNR) overcomes the harmonic distortion, which is significant at low SNR values by preserving harmonics. For further noise suppression at low SNRs, Sub-band modification of HRNR gain with weights calculated using speech presence uncertainty is proposed. Objective (SNR, SegSNR, LLR, WSS) performance measures show that the proposed method provides superiority in noise reduction and measures like SNR and SegSNR shows better speech preservation at high SNRs, better noise suppression at low SNRs.
Mina: A Sensorimotor Robotic Orthosis for Mobility Assistance

While most mobility options for persons with paraplegia or paraparesis employ wheeled solutions, significant adverse health, psychological, and social consequences result from wheelchair confinement. Modern robotic exoskeleton devices for gait assistance and rehabilitation, however, can support legged locomotion systems for those with lower extremity weakness or paralysis. The Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) has developed the Mina, a prototype sensorimotor robotic orthosis for mobility assistance that provides mobility capability for paraplegic and paraparetic users. This paper describes the initial concept, design goals, and methods of this wearable overground robotic mobility device, which uses compliant actuation to power the hip and knee joints. Paralyzed users can balance and walk using the device over level terrain with the assistance of forearm crutches employing a quadrupedal gait. We have initiated sensory substitution feedback mechanisms to augment user sensory perception of his or her lower extremities. Using this sensory feedback, we hypothesize that users will ambulate with a more natural, upright gait and will be able to directly control the gait parameters and respond to perturbations. This may allow bipedal (with minimal support) gait in future prototypes.
Realization of common statistical methods in computational linguistics with functional automata

In this paper we present the functional automata as a general framework for representation, training and exploring of various statistical models as LLM’s, HMM’s, CRF’s, etc. Our contribution is a new construction that allows the representation of the derivatives of a function given by a functional automaton. It preserves the natural representation of the functions and the standard product and sum operations of real numbers. In the same time it requires no additional overhead for the standard dynamic programming techniques that yield the computation of a functional value.
Monitoring anticoagulation of primary haemostasis

Summary This article provides an overview on current commercially available methods to determine primary haemostasis as a target of drug-mediated anticoagulation. It focuses on whole blood methods only, and references the currently major achievements that have been reported with each method in respect to its clinical use. Advantages and disadvantages of the various methods are presented, based on considerations of platelet physiology, and on feasibility of the procedures.
Collaborative calibration of on-chip thermal sensors using performance counters

Thermal sensors are currently deployed in processors to collect thermal information for dynamic thermal management (DTM). The calibration cost for thermal sensors can be prohibitively high as the number of on-chip sensors increases. We propose an on-line multi-sensor calibration method which combines potentially inaccurate temperature values obtained from two sources: temperature readings from thermal sensors and temperature estimations using system performance counters. A data fusion strategy based on Bayesian inference, which combines information from these two sources, is demonstrated along with a temperature estimation approach using performance counters. The approaches are verified via simulation for an AMD Athlon 64 processor with 24 on-chip temperature sensors scaled to a 45nm technology node. Our results show that the standard deviation of temperature sensor measurement errors can be reduced from 3 ~ 4°C to ≤ 1°C using the proposed method. Additionally, our MATLAB implementation shows that the new approach runs at least 67x faster than competing approaches based on Kalman filtering making it highly appropriate for run-time use.
A Workflow for Visual Diagnostics of Binary Classifiers using Instance-Level Explanations

Human-in-the-loop data analysis applications necessitate greater transparency in machine learning models for experts to understand and trust their decisions. To this end, we propose a visual analytics workflow to help data scientists and domain experts explore, diagnose, and understand the decisions made by a binary classifier. The approach leverages “instance-level explanations”, measures of local feature relevance that explain single instances, and uses them to build a set of visual representations that guide the users in their investigation. The workflow is based on three main visual representations and steps: one based on aggregate statistics to see how data distributes across correct / incorrect decisions; one based on explanations to understand which features are used to make these decisions; and one based on raw data, to derive insights on potential root causes for the observed patterns. The workflow is derived from a long-term collaboration with a group of machine learning and healthcare professionals who used our method to make sense of machine learning models they developed. The case study from this collaboration demonstrates that the proposed workflow helps experts derive useful knowledge about the model and the phenomena it describes, thus experts can generate useful hypotheses on how a model can be improved.
Controllability Analysis of Ammonia Synthesis Loops

Present ammonia synthesis loops normally operate under stationary conditions. Generally, ammonia synthesis loops can be slow to ramp up and down due to manual mode operation. Furthermore, load disturbances are not rejected efficiently. The aim of this thesis is to study possible control strategies that can increase the flexibility of ammonia synthesis loops with respect to load changes. A simplified model of the ammonia synthesis loop was developed with CasADi in MATLAB. The model captures the main dynamics associated with load variations. Dynamic open-loop simulations of the model were conducted to analyze when load reduction leads to instability. Instability, in the form of temperature oscillations in the reactor, was visible after a reduction in makeup gas of around 7 % from nominal operation. Based on a dynamic step-response analysis, several control schemes were proposed. The two main control strategies investigated distinguish between operating the system at an open-loop (1) unstable or (2) stable operating point. Both control strategies are able to handle a load range of 30-100 % of nominal capacity. The first strategy only needs temperature control for stabilization. The latter strategy requires a more complex control scheme, with pressure control in addition to temperature control. The drawbacks associated with a more complex control scheme are considered to be outweighed by the benefits of operating at an open-loop stable operating point.
Humanization of health consonant to the social representations of professionals and users: a literary study

Aim: To perform a study that articulates the topic of humanization to the Theory of Social Representation (TSR) in the area of health. Method: A reflective analysis was conducted over researches that dealt with many possible subtopics originating from humanization in health, which are also associated with TSR. Results: It was evident that the topic of humanization relates to TSR and is especially related to health assistance. The social representations provide enough subsidies in important issues regarding the process of humanization in health, thus supporting changes in health professional praxis. These are leveraging elements in psychosocial history in health care. Besides that, humanization enables the possibility of building bonds, autonomy, and integrality in health care. Conclusion: Studies related to the approaches of humanization in the area of health based on TRS enable better performance and valorization of the subjective and social dimensions in health care practices.