Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Recent results and challenges in development of metallic Hall sensors for fusion reactors

Reliable and precise diagnostic of local magnetic field is crucial for successful operation of future thermonuclear fusion reactors based on magnetic confinement. Magnetic sensors at these devices will experience an extremely demanding operational environment with large radiation and thermal loads in combination with required long term, reliable, and service-free performance. Neither present day commercial nor laboratory measurement systems comply with these requirements. Metallic Hall sensors based on e.g. copper or bismuth could potentially satisfy these needs. We present the technology for manufacturing of such sensors and some initial results on characterization of their properties.
Autocrine abscisic acid mediates the UV‐B‐induced inflammatory response in human granulocytes and keratinocytes

UV‐B is an abiotic environmental stress in both plants and animals. Abscisic acid (ABA) is a phytohormone regulating fundamental physiological functions in plants, including response to abiotic stress. We previously demonstrated that ABA is an endogenous stress hormone also in animal cells. Here, we investigated whether autocrine ABA regulates the response to UV‐B of human granulocytes and keratinocytes, the cells involved in UV‐triggered skin inflammation. The intracellular ABA concentration increased in UV‐B‐exposed granulocytes and keratinocytes and ABA was released into the supernatant. The UV‐B‐induced production of NO and of reactive oxygen species (ROS), phagocytosis, and cell migration were strongly inhibited in granulocytes irradiated in the presence of a monoclonal antibody against ABA. Moreover, presence of the same antibody strongly inhibited release of NO, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α) by UV‐B irradiated keratinocytes. Lanthionine synthetase C‐like protein 2 (LANCL2) is required for the activation of the ABA signaling pathway in human granulocytes. Silencing of LANCL2 in human keratinocytes by siRNA was accompanied by abrogation of the UV‐B‐triggered release of PGE2, TNF‐α, and NO and ROS production. These results indicate that UV‐B irradiation induces ABA release from human granulocytes and keratinocytes and that autocrine ABA stimulates cell functions involved in skin inflammation. J. Cell. Physiol. 227: 2502–2510, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Autonomous helicopter control using reinforcement learning policy search methods

Many control problems in the robotics field can be cast as partially observed Markovian decision problems (POMDPs), an optimal control formalism. Finding optimal solutions to such problems in general, however is known to be intractable. It has often been observed that in practice, simple structured controllers suffice for good sub-optimal control, and recent research in the artificial intelligence community has focused on policy search methods as techniques for finding sub-optimal controllers when such structured controllers do exist. Traditional model-based reinforcement learning algorithms make a certainty equivalence assumption on their learned models and calculate optimal policies for a maximum-likelihood Markovian model. We consider algorithms that evaluate and synthesize controllers under distributions of Markovian models. Previous work has demonstrated that algorithms that maximize mean reward with respect to model uncertainty leads to safer and more robust controllers. We consider briefly other performance criterion that emphasize robustness and exploration in the search for controllers, and note the relation with experiment design and active learning. To validate the power of the approach on a robotic application we demonstrate the presented learning control algorithm by flying an autonomous helicopter. We show that the controller learned is robust and delivers good performance in this real-world domain.
Pneumonectomy in children

Objectives: Surgical literature carries relatively scant information on pneumonectomy in children. We reviewed our experience over 7 years, determined the risk/benefit ratio and compared our experience with reports from the literature. Methods: The records of children undergoing pneumonectomy, 14 years and younger, over a 7-year period from January 1991 to December 1997, are analysed, the techniques used to determine the need for and extent of surgery are studied, whilst the problems and outcome of surgery in this age group are determined. Results: Fifty-nine children, 40 males, 19 females, aged 6 months to 14 years, average age of 7.5 years, underwent pneumonectomy. A history of pulmonary infection/s and a chest radiograph suggestive of lung destruction were indicators for investigation by bronchography and/or computerized axial tomography of the chest (HRCT scan). This determined the nature and extent of disease and the possibility and extent of surgery required. Bronchus blockers (22), five others in combination with the prone operating position, prone position (six) and a double lumen tube in one, were used to protect the healthy lung at surgery. Spill of pus was recognized once with a bronchus blocker and the prone position used in combination. Six intra-operative complications (10.1%) were recognized: bronchial spill (one) without consequence, conversion of bi-lobectomy to pneumonectomy due to pulmonary artery injury (one), cardiac arrest (with resuscitation, one), bradycardia with hypotension (one), excessive bleeding (one) and intra-pleural spill of debris (one), the last without consequence. Seven post-operative complications (11.8%) occurred: one empyema (sterilized), bleeding one, pulmonary infection two, suspected but unproven broncho-pleural fistulae two, prolonged antibiotics in one, reason unrecorded. One pneumonectomy through an empyema was uncomplicated. The main histological features were bronchiectasis (38), active tuberculosis (eight), end-stage lung (five), collapse and pulmonary haemorrhage (one), lobar emphysema (one). Histology unrecorded (one). No death occurred. All patients left hospital well. Conclusions: Careful preparation, often including anti-tuberculosis cover, and timing of pneumonectomy are essential. Meticulous anaesthetic and surgical technique and cooperation are critical. Bronchus blockers functioned well but are not without risk. Attention to detail makes pneumonectomy safe in childhood. q 2002 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.
Can indicators on school websites be used to determine the level of ICT integration and ICT leadership in schools

As schools continue to invest resources into the integration of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs), many are also utilizing the Internet as a medium for promoting and marketing their facilities and educational programs to prospective families. Tailored and personalised school websites provide a wide range of information for members of the school community and for any interested members of the public. As a preliminary stage of a larger scale research project, guidelines and evaluation criteria have been formulated to determine if website content and design can be used as an indicator of either novice or expert ICT leadership within a school, and in addition if it reflects the level of ICT integration.
Feature-based image mosaicing

We propose an automatic image mosaicing method which can construct a panoramic image from a collection of digital still images. Our method is fast and robust enough to process a nonplanar scene with unrestricted camera motion. The method includes the following two techniques. First, we use a multiresolution patch-based optical flow estimation for making feature correspondences to obtain a homography automatically. This enabled us to transform images fast and accurately. Second, we have developed a technique to obtain a homography from only three points, instead of four in general, in order to divide a scene into triangles. Experiments using real images confirm the effectiveness of our method. © 2000 Scripta Technica, Syst Comp Jpn, 31(7): 1–9, 2000
Measure Performance of VRS Model using Simulation Approach by Comparing COCOMO Intermediate Model in Software Engineering

Estimation of a software project failure is based on project analogies in the area of software cost estimation. In all software cost estimation approaches important decisions must be made regarding certain approaches in order to obtain reliable estimate. A reliable and accurate estimate can be proved by simulation approach. A simulation modeling approach is proposed for the prediction of software effort productivity indices, such as cost and time-to-market, and the sensitivity analysis of such indices to changes in the organization parameters and user requirements. Simulation provides a controlled environment for evaluating performance. Changes can be made easily to the model and results evaluated quickly. In this paper we measure performance of VRS model through simulation result by comparing standard COCOMO Intermediate-Organic Model. This approach uses a model specification. Results demonstrate the model representativeness, and its usefulness in verifying process conformance to expectations, and in performing continuous process improvement and optimization.
Performance of random sampling for computing low-rank approximations of a dense matrix on GPUs

A low-rank approximation of a dense matrix plays an important role in many applications. To compute such an approximation, a common approach uses the QR factorization with column pivoting (QRCP). Though the reliability and efficiency of QRCP have been demonstrated, this deterministic approach requires costly communication at each step of the factorization. Since such communication is becoming increasingly expensive on modern computers, an alternative approach based on random sampling, which can be implemented using communication-optimal kernels, is becoming attractive. To study its potential, in this paper, we compare the performance of random sampling with that of QRCP on an NVIDIA Kepler GPU. Our performance results demonstrate that random sampling can be up to 12.8x faster than the deterministic approach for computing the approximation of the same accuracy. We also present the parallel scaling of the random sampling over multiple GPUs on a single compute node, showing a speedup of 3.8x over three Kepler GPUs. These results demonstrate the potential of the random sampling as an excellent computational tool for many applications, and its potential is likely to grow on the emerging computers with the increasing communication costs.
Detection algorithms and ASIC designs for MIMO-OFDM downlink receivers

Future wireless systems will require high data rate with low transmit and processing power consumption. A combination of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission with orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is a promising approach for offering better performance in terms of the capacity and quality of service (QoS). The detector in the wireless receiver is one of the highest power consuming parts. In order to minimize the power consumption, it is desirable for the detector to be able to change the detection algorithm to suit the channel conditions. In this thesis work, we study the suitability of different MIMO detection algorithms for adaptive operation. The selective spanning with fast enumeration (SSFE), K-best list sphere detector (LSD), linear minimum mean square error (LMMSE), and successive interference cancellation (SIC) detectors are compared to each other in terms of communications performance in the 4 × 4 and 8 × 8 MIMO–OFDM systems. The impact of least squares (LS) and minimum mean square error (MMSE) channel estimation methods, mobile speed, and transmit precoding at the base station on detector algorithm selection is also considered. The SIC detector is shown to suffer from error propagation in poor channel conditions. The SSFE detector is unable to outperform the K-best LSD and is occasionally outperformed by the LMMSE detector. The LMMSE detector is able to outperform the K-best LSD on the low signal-to-noise (SNR) regime when the mobile speed is high and the spatial channel correlation is low or moderate; it is also found to be more robust against channel estimation errors. Because a realistic adaptive detector is expected to support only two detection algorithms, the K-best LSD and LMMSE are selected based on the performance results for application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) architecture design and further comparison. The chosen algorithms are evaluated by considering the performance and implementation results. The K-best LSD provides good performance under challenging channel conditions with the cost of high complexity and power consumption. The LMMSE detector is energy efficient but performs poorly in correlated channels. However, exceptions exist, and detailed results on when to use a simple detector and when to use a complex detector are provided.
On Con fi rmation Bias and Deviations From Bayesian Updating

Psychologists have documented several biases and heuristics that describe deviations from Bayesian updating in individual decision making under uncertainty. One particular notion, Confirmation Bias, predicts that individuals will exhibit systematic errors in updating despite the existence of learning opportunities. This paper formulates an experimental design to evaluate this behavioral heuristic within a non-strategic environment that motivates subjects financially. Subjects report probability estimates of the state of the world at the draw of each signal which may be conservative relative to a Bayesian. Indeed, pilot data indicate that both conservatism and confirmation bias are present in updating behavior.
Dendritic Cells Expressing Transgenic Galectin-1 Delay Onset of Autoimmune Diabetes in Mice1

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a disease caused by the destruction of the β cells of the pancreas by activated T cells. Dendritic cells (DC) are the APC that initiate the T cell response that triggers T1D. However, DC also participate in T cell tolerance, and genetic engineering of DC to modulate T cell immunity is an area of active research. Galectin-1 (gal-1) is an endogenous lectin with regulatory effects on activated T cells including induction of apoptosis and down-regulation of the Th1 response, characteristics that make gal-1 an ideal transgene to transduce DC to treat T1D. We engineered bone marrow-derived DC to synthesize transgenic gal-1 (gal-1-DC) and tested their potential to prevent T1D through their regulatory effects on activated T cells. NOD-derived gal-1-DC triggered rapid apoptosis of diabetogenic BDC2.5 TCR-transgenic CD4+ T cells by TCR-dependent and -independent mechanisms. Intravenously administered gal-1-DC trafficked to pancreatic lymph nodes and spleen and delayed onset of diabetes and insulitis in the NODrag1−/− lymphocyte adoptive transfer model. The therapeutic effect of gal-1-DC was accompanied by increased percentage of apoptotic T cells and reduced number of IFN-γ-secreting CD4+ T cells in pancreatic lymph nodes. Treatment with gal-1-DC inhibited proliferation and secretion of IFN-γ of T cells in response to β cell Ag. Unlike other DC-based approaches to modulate T cell immunity, the use of the regulatory properties of gal-1-DC on activated T cells might help to delete β cell-reactive T cells at early stages of the disease when the diabetogenic T cells are already activated.
SBVLC: Secure barcode-based visible light communication for smartphones

As an alternative to NFC technology, 2D barcodes have been increasingly used for security-sensitive applications including payments and personal identification. However, the security of barcode-based communication in mobile applications has not been systematically studied. Due to the visual nature, 2D barcodes are subject to eavesdropping when they are displayed on the screen of a smartphone. On the other hand, the fundamental design principles of 2D barcodes make it difficult to add security features. In this paper, we propose SBVLC - a secure system for barcode-based visible light communication (VLC) between smartphones. We formally analyze the security of SBVLC based on geometric models and propose physical security enhancement mechanisms for barcode communication by manipulating screen view angles and leveraging user-induced motions. We then develop two secure data exchange schemes. These schemes are useful in many security-sensitive mobile applications including private information sharing, secure device pairing, and mobile payment. SBVLC is evaluated through extensive experiments on both Android and iOS smartphones.
Bounds on the time for parallel RAM's to compute simple functions

We prove that a parallel RAM with no write conflicts allowed requires -&-Ohgr;(log n) steps to compute the Boolean or of n bits stored in the first n global memory cells. We first argue that this result is subtler than it appears, and in fact the -&-ldquo;obvious-&-rdquo; lower bound of log2n steps can be beaten.
Diminished Reality for Hiding a Pedestrian using Hand-Held Camera

This paper proposes a diminished reality method for hiding a pedestrian from a hand-held camera sequence. In the proposed method, the pedestrian is extracted from each frame of input video sequence using HOG based people detector. The detected area is excluded from each frame by masking, and then two frames are stitched for generating a stitched background image. By using the stitched background image, the pedestrian's mask for hiding is made. It is used for overlaying the background pixel to the pedestrian in the original frame. The presented experimental result is demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Fibulin‐1 is required during cardiac ventricular morphogenesis for versican cleavage, suppression of ErbB2 and Erk1/2 activation, and to attenuate trabecular cardiomyocyte proliferation

Background: Trabeculation is an integral component of cardiac ventricular morphogenesis and is dependent on the matrix metalloproteinase, ADAMTS1. A substrate of ADAMTS1 is the proteoglycan versican which is expressed in the developing ventricle and which has been implicated in trabeculation. Fibulin‐1 is a versican and ADAMTS1‐binding extracellular matrix protein required for ventricular morphogenesis. Here we investigated the involvement of fibulin‐1 in ADAMTS1‐mediated cleavage of versican in vitro, and the involvement of fibulin‐1 in versican cleavage in ventricular morphogenesis. Results: We show that fibulin‐1 is a cofactor for ADAMTS1‐dependent in vitro cleavage of versican V1, yielding a 70‐kDa amino‐terminal fragment. Furthermore, fibulin‐1‐deficiency in mice was found to cause a significant reduction (>90%) in ventricular levels of the 70‐kDa versican V1 cleavage product and a 2‐fold increase in trabecular cardiomyocyte proliferation. Decreased versican V1 cleavage and augmented trabecular cardiomyocyte proliferation in fibulin‐1 null hearts is accompanied by increased ventricular activation of ErbB2 and Erk1/2. By contrast, versican deficiency was found to lead to decreased cardiomyocyte proliferation and reduced ventricular trabeculation. Conclusion: We conclude that fibulin‐1 regulates versican‐dependent events in ventricular morphogenesis by promoting ADAMTS1 cleavage of versican leading to suppression of trabecular cardiomyocyte proliferation mediated by the ErbB2‐Map kinase pathway. Developmental Dynamics 241:303–314, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Minimum Enclosing Spheres Formulations for Support Vector Ordinal Regression

We present two new support vector approaches for ordinal regression. These approaches find the concentric spheres with minimum volume that contain most of the training samples. Both approaches guarantee that the radii of the spheres are properly ordered at the optimal solution. The size of the optimization problem is linear in the number of training samples. The popular SMO algorithm is adapted to solve the resulting optimization problem. Numerical experiments on some real-world data sets verify the usefulness of our approaches for data mining.
Distinct Neural Signatures for Very Small and Very Large Numerosities

Behavioral studies of numerical cognition have shown that perceptual threshold for numerosity discrimination depends on the range of numerical values to be estimated. Discrimination threshold is constant when comparing very small numerosities via the mechanism called subitizing, while it increases as a function of numerosity for numbers beyond that range governed by subitizing. However, when numerosity gets so large that the individual elements start to form a cluttered ensemble, discrimination threshold increases as a function of the square root of numerosity. These behavioral patterns suggest that our sense of number is not based on a unitary mechanism and is rather based on multiple numerosity processing mechanisms depending on the absolute numerosity to be estimated. In this study, we demonstrate neurophysiological evidence for such multiple mechanisms. Participants’ electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded while they viewed arrays containing either very small (1–4) or very large (100–400) number of dots with systematic variations in non-numerical cues. A linear model that tested the effects of numerical and non-numerical cues on the visual-evoked potentials (VEPs) revealed strong neural sensitivity to numerosity around 160–180 ms over right occipito-parietal sites irrespective of the numerical range presented. In contrast, earlier neural responses (~100 ms) showed markedly distinct patterns across the different numerical ranges tested. These results indicate that differences in behavioral response patterns in numerosity estimation across various numerical ranges may arise from the differences in the first stages of visual analysis. Collectively, the findings provide a firmer ground for the idea that there exists a brain system specifically dedicated for numerosity processing, yet they also suggest that multiple early visual cortical mechanisms converge to that numerosity processing stage later in the visual stream.
A New Similarity Measure for Combining Conflicting Evidences

In Dempster-Shafer (DS) theory, multiple infor- mation from the distinct information sources are combined to obtain a single Basic Probability Assignment (BPA) func- tion. The well-known combination rule of Dempster-Shafer (DS) provides the weaker solution to the management of conflicting information at the normalization stage. Even this rule fails and provide the counter intuitive results while combining the highly conflicting information. This paper presents a new similarity measure for the combined average methods, where any distance measure between the body of information can be used. The numerical examples provide the promising and better intuitive results.
Exploring Large-Scale Structure with Billions of Galaxies

We consider cosmological applications of galaxy number density correlations to be inferred from future deep and wide multiband optical surveys. We mostly focus on very large scales as a probe of possible features in the primordial power spectrum. We find the proposed survey of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope may be competitive with future all-sky CMB experiments over a broad range of scales. On very large scales the inferred power spectrum is robust to photometric redshift errors and, given a sufficient number density of galaxies, to angular variations in dust extinction and photometric calibration errors. We also consider other applications, such as constraining dark energy with the two CMB-calibrated standard rulers in the matter power spectrum and controlling the effect of photometric redshift errors to facilitate the interpretation of cosmic shear data. We find that deep photometric surveys over a wide area can provide constraints that are competitive with spectroscopic surveys in small volumes.