Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Can the advantages of RISC be utilized in real time systems?

Within the last few years a lot of improvements have been made for processor architectures. Average and peak performance are increasing continuously. RISC, caching, pipelining and similar features have become indispensable to many systems. In critical real time systems, however, peak and average values are of minor interest. Because strict deadlines have to be met, only those values may be considered, that can be guaranteed even under adverse conditions. Features like reduced instruction set, caching, pipelining etc. are based upon statistical considerations and do not necessarily improve worst case performance. The question arises, whether new powerful processor architectures-especially the RISC architecture-are suitable for real time systems and if so, under which conditions. Some of the most important hardware features are analyzed to find an answer to this question. <<ETX>>
Spherical-wave and plane-wave propagators

This paper explores the equivalence between spherical-wave and plane-wave propagators. Spherical-wave propagators are intimately part of diffraction and boundary scattering theory. They consequently are used almost exclusively in introductory presentations of electromagnetic theory. However, equivalent representations can be constructed from superpositions of propagating plane waves. This leads to two different approaches to diffraction theory. Spherical-wave computations are initiated by induced point sources. Plane-wave computations are initiated by an equivalent-aperture plane field. Subsequent propagation can be computed with Fourier transformations. Sampling requirements ultimately limit the utility of Fourier-domain computations. Examples are presented.
Differential partition of anticoagulant heparan sulfate proteoglycans synthesized by endothelial and fibroblastic cell lines

The heparan sulfate proteoglycans that bind and activate antithrombin III (aHSPGs) are synthesized by endothelial cells as well as other nonvascular cells. We determined the amounts of cell surface–associated and soluble aHSPGs generated by the rat fat pad endothelial (RFP) cell line and the fibroblast (LTA) cell line. The RFP cells exhibit higher levels of cell surface–associated aHSPGs as compared to LTA cells, whereas LTA cells release larger amounts of soluble aHSPGs as compared to RFP cells. After confluence RFP cells show an increase in both cell surface–associated and soluble aHSPGs. In contrast, postconfluent LTA cells maintain a constant level of cell surface–associated and soluble aHSPGs. These observations indicate that different cells types can preferentially accumulate aHSPGs as cell surface–associated or soluble forms which could reflect alternate biological functions.
Sulfate-conjugated methylprednisolone as a colon-targeted methylprednisolone prodrug with improved therapeutic properties against rat colitis

Methylprednisolone (MP) is one of the most widely used corticosteroids for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, systemic adverse effects of MP limit its availability for the disease. In present study, sulfate-conjugated methylprednisolone (MPS) was evaluated in vivo as a colon-targeted prodrug of MP and its therapeutic properties against 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid–induced rat colitis were investigated. Upon oral administration, a large fraction of MPS reached the large intestine, where MPS was converted to MP implying that MPS would deliver MP effectively to the large intestine. The fecal recovery of MP (after MPS administration) was much greater than that after MP administration and the urinary recovery of MP (after MPS administration) was much less than that after MP administration, suggesting that MPS should exhibit enhanced therapeutic activity and reduced systemic adverse effects. Consistent with this notion, MPS was more effective than MP in ameliorating rat colitis. Moreover, the adverse effects of MPS on adrenal function and thymus were much lower than those of MP. Taken together, MPS may be therapeutically superior to MP in IBD treatment.
Evidence for a chromosomal location of polydnavirus DNA in the ichneumonid parasitoid Hyposoter fugitivus

Evidence is presented in support of a chromosomal location for sequences homologous to polydnavirus DNA in the ichneumonid parasitoid Hyposoter fugitivus. In this study, four different viral genome segments were cloned and used as probes against genomic DNA extracted from male parasitoids and digested with a variety of restriction enzymes. Each probe typically identified a single off-size fragment (OSF) in the case of enzymes not cutting viral genome segments, while two OSFs were generated by enzymes cutting at one and two sites. While extra OSFs were occasionally observed, these were invariably found to be due to the presence of polymorphic restriction sites in flanking chromosomal DNA. Analysis of these data suggests that a single, stable chromosomal locus exists for sequences homologous to each viral genome segment; the data also indicate that viral and cognate parasitoid genomic DNAs are largely if not entirely colinear.
Fabrication of electrodes for polymer actuators and sensors via self-assembly

A method for the fabrication of conductive gold electrodes on flexible polymer substrates, using a solution-based self-assembly process, has been developed. This involves the use of functionalized silanes with amino- or mercapto-groups to anchor the gold to the substrate. Colloidal gold particles are deposited from solution and the formation of a conductive film is achieved by reducing more gold onto the attached particles by a "seeding" process. Conductive films have been successfully deposited on materials like Kapton and polyethylene with a surface resistance of 1/spl Omega//sq and good adhesion properties. Films have also been deposited on Nafion, an ionic polymer used in polymer actuators and sensors, for the fabrication of polymer transducers. Preliminary tests using these electrodes on Nafion show sensing and actuation behavior.
Assessment of Learning Outcomes Using a Mathematical Reasoning Concept Inventory

Undergraduate computer science students need to learn analytical reasoning skills to develop high quality software and to understand why the software they develop works as specified. This paper describes a systematic process for introducing reasoning skills into the curriculum and assessing how well the students have learned those skills. It presents a comprehensive Reasoning Concept Inventory (RCI) that captures the finer details of basic skills students need to possess (as a minimum) to reason about software correctness. Elements of the inventory can be taught at various levels of depth across the curriculum. This paper illustrates the use of the inventory over several iterations of a software engineering course and a development foundations course. It summarizes how learning outcomes motivated by the inventory lead to questions that in turn form the basis for a careful analysis of student understanding as well as for fine tuning what is taught.
Development of a vision non-contact sensing system for telerobotic applications

The study presented here describes a novel vision-based motion detection system for telerobotic operations such as distant surgical procedures. The system uses a CCD camera and image processing to detect the motion of a master robot or operator. Colour tags are placed on the arm and head of a human operator to detect the up/down, right/left motion of the head as well as the right/left motion of the arm. The motion of the colour tags are used to actuate a slave robot or a remote system. The determination of the colour tags’ motion is achieved through image processing using eigenvectors and colour system morphology and the relative head, shoulder and wrist rotation angles through inverse dynamics and coordinate transformation. A program is used to transform this motion data into motor control commands and transmit them to a slave robot or remote system through wireless internet. The system performed well even in complex environments with errors that did not exceed 2 pixels with a response time of about 0.1 s. The results of the experiments are available at: http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=yFxLaVWE3f8 and http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=_nvRcOzlWHw
Patterns of Health Services Utilization and Mammography Use Among Women Aged 50 to 59 Years in the Québec Medicare System

Many studies have identified physicians' recommendation as the single most important predictor of mammography use. Health services utilization is a complex phenomenon, and the contribution of the different dimensions of health services utilization on mammography use is underresearched. This study examines the specific contribution of health services utilization variables in a multivariate model of the recency of mammography use for women aged 50 to 59 years. Subjects were respondents of the 1987 Québec Health Survey. Survey data were then linked on an individual basis to the respondent's records of Medicare physicians' claims for health care services for the 3 years before the survey. This unique data set enabled the inclusion of sociodemographic variables, risk factors, health status, healthy lifestyles, and women's patterns of utilization of general and gynecologic health care services. Multivariate predictors of the recency of mammography are: having an education higher than high school, working outside home, not living in a remote area, suffering from benign breast disease, and not perceiving one's own health as good. The volume of general and gynecologic medical care is associated with the recency of mammography in independent logistic models that include women's predisposing, enabling, and need factors. This study shows that even in a universal third-party payer helth care system, physicians are missing opportunities to promote breast cancer screening.
Sputum in severe exacerbations of asthma: kinetics of inflammatory indices after prednisone treatment.

We have investigated the time-course of symptoms, forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), and the airway inflammatory changes in sputum selected from saliva and blood of 10 patients with severe exacerbation of asthma betwen presentation and after 1, 2, 3, 7, and 21 days of treatment. The sputum was induced by a modified standard protocol, and we examined its safety. The severe exacerbation of asthma was defined by the presence of nocturnal symptoms disturbing sleep and/or the need for inhaled short acting beta2-agonist > or = 8 puffs/d and an FEV1 after bronchodilator < 60% of predicted. The treatment consisted of additional prednisone 30 mg daily for 5 d followed by reduction to zero by day 10. Abnormal findings [median (interquartile range)] in spontaneous and induced sputum included low viability of cells [52.0 (34.0)%]; eosinophilia [20.0 (16.4)%]; many free eosinophil granules; and increased levels of fluid-phase ECP [1960 (9204) microg/L], fibrinogen [6045 (10720) microg/L], and IL-5 [160 (212) pg/ml]. Peripheral blood eosinophils [10.4 (7.6)%] and ECP levels [34.0 (35.0) microg/L] were increased. After treatment, symptoms, FEV1, blood eosinophilia, and serum ECP improved in the first 24 h. Sputum eosinophils and ECP did not improve until 48 h and fibrinogen not until 7 d. The improvement in sputum eosinophils and ECP levels was correlated with improvement of FEV1 and in fluid-phase IL-5. Thirty sputum inductions were performed safely in the majority with inhaled isotonic or 3% saline (23.3% or 63.3%, respectively) over a short duration (mean 8.4 min). The patients who had a fall in FEV1 of > or = 10% (10 occasions) after induction differed from those with a fall of < 10% only in the amount of inhaled beta2-agonist used by the patients in the preceding 24 h [8.0 (5.0) versus 4.0 (3.0) puffs/d, p = 0.01]. The results suggest that spontaneous or induced sputum can be used safely to follow the kinetics of effects of antiinflammatory treatment in a severe exacerbation of asthma. The clinical and blood indices improve before those in sputum, raising the possibility that examination of sputum is a better guide in these patients to follow the effects of treatment.
Transcatheter Mitral Valve Repair in Surgical High-Risk Patients: Gender-Specific Acute and Long-Term Outcomes

Background. Analyses emphasizing gender-related differences in acute and long-term outcomes following MitraClip therapy for significant mitral regurgitation (MR) are rare. Methods. 592 consecutive patients (75 ± 8.7 years, 362 men, 230 women) underwent clinical and echocardiographic follow-up for a median of 2.13 (0.99–4.02) years. Results. Significantly higher prevalence of cardiovascular comorbidities, renal failure, and adverse echocardiographic parameters in men resulted in longer device time (p = 0.007) and higher numbers of implanted clips (p = 0.0075), with equal procedural success (p = 1.0). Rehospitalization for heart failure did not differ (p[logrank] = 0.288) while survival was higher in women (p[logrank] = 0.0317). Logarithmic increase of NT-proBNP was a common independent predictor of death. Hypercholesterolemia and peripheral artery disease were predictors of death only in men while ischemic and dilative cardiomyopathy (CM) and age were predictors in women. Independent predictors of rehospitalization for heart failure were severely reduced ejection fraction and success in men while both ischemic and dilative CM, logistic EuroSCORE, and MR severity were predictive in women. Conclusions. Higher numbers of implanted clips and longer device time are likely related to more comorbidities in men. Procedural success and acute and mid-term clinical outcomes were equal. Superior survival for women in long-term analysis is presumably attributable to a comparatively better preprocedural health.
Pharmacokinetics of cefoperazone in ambulatory elderly volunteers compared with young adults

Two groups of 10 healthy ambulatory subjects, i.e., a group of 10 persons less than or equal to 30 years of age (mean age, 27.6 years) and a group of 10 persons greater than or equal to 65 years of age (mean age, 70 years), were randomized in a single-trial crossover design to receive 1 and 2 g of cefoperazone with a 1-week washout between doses. The elderly subjects had both decreased estimated creatinine clearances and decreased albumin concentrations in serum. Cefoperazone concentrations in serum of elderly persons were significantly higher at each interval from 30 min to 6 h for the 2-g dose. Compared with that in younger persons, the total clearance in elderly subjects was significantly lower for both the 1- and 2-g doses, the renal clearance was significantly lower for the 2-g dose, and the area under the curve was significantly higher for the 2-g dose in the elderly persons. The half-life at beta phase was higher in the elderly persons at both the 1- and 2-g doses but not significantly so. Changes in total clearance and area under the curve and higher levels in serum in the elderly persons suggest a longer duration of antimicrobial activity in this age group.
Further Investigations into the Relationship between Depressive Disorders and Anxiety State

Results of two investigations into the relationship between anxiety states and depressive disorders are summarized. In the first study (117 patients), which was confined to neurotic forms of depressive and/or anxious affective disorder, analysis of the findings derived from systematic clinical examination and eight rating scales, seven of them supposedly unidimensional measures of the severity of emotional disturbance, made it possible to achieve clear separation of the patient population into two groups both in the full sample and in two randomly derived subsamples. A number of rating scales have been shown to be effective tools for diagnostic discrimination within the affective disorders. The second enquiry (152 patients) covered the entire range of disorders of affect. Multivariate analyses of data derived from Present State Examination (P.S.E.) differentiated the patient population into three main groups: 1) endogenous depression; 2) neurotic depression; and 3) anxiety neuroses. There was 84% agreement between the classification of patients into the groups "anxiety state" and "depressive disorder" and separation of the 152 patients also was achieved with the aid of ratings on the Maudsley Personality Inventory and the Cattell 16 PF Battery.
The performance of MUSIC in white noise with limited samples and missing data

The Multiple Signal Classification (MUSIC) algorithm is widely used to estimate the direction of arrival (DOA) of signals impinging on a sensor array. In this work, we analyze the performance of the MUSIC algorithm in the presence of white noise, and when only a random, sample independent subset of the entries in the data matrix are observed, in both the sample rich and deficient regimes. We derive a simple, closed form expression for the mean-squared-error (MSE) performance of MUSIC for a single source system, in the asymptotic regime and validate our analysis with simulations.
Officer Friendly and the Tough Cop

ABSTRACT Despite attempts to expand social diversity, policing is still dominated by a white, masculine, heterosexual ethos. As a consequence, employment of lesbians and gay men as police officers may be especially threatening to members of this occupation. Within the context of potential hostility and homophobia, nontraditional officers must negotiate their contradictory presence on the police force. This paper investigates that negotiation. Using the Bem Sex Role Inventory and open-ended survey data from a sample of “out” and “closeted” gay and lesbian police officers, we ask how gays and lesbians manage their images as “good cops” in the face of gender norm violations associated with their sexual orientation. Our findings indicate that masculinity and femininity do not hold together in a cohesive, dichotomous manner for these officers. Instead, other characteristics that enhance policing are emphasized to support their occupational competence. These officers see themselves as “good cops. ” The gendered/sexualized character of their self-perceptions appears to matter less than the context of the job, more than for a comparison sample of heterosexual police officers. We conclude that although gay and lesbian officers see their sexuality as an occupational asset, they are also likely to work harder to prove themselves as crime fighters.
Weighted Constraint Satisfaction for Smart Home Automation and Optimization

Automation of the smart home binds together services of hardware and software to provide support for its human inhabitants. The rise of web technologies offers applicable concepts and technologies for service composition that can be exploited for automated planning of the smart home, which can be further enhanced by implementation based on service oriented architecture SOA. SOA supports loose coupling and late binding of devices, enabling a more declarative approach in defining services and simplifying home configurations. One such declarative approach is to represent and solve automated planning through constraint satisfaction problem CSP, which has the advantage of handling larger domains of home states. But CSP uses hard constraints and thus cannot perform optimization and handle contradictory goals and partial goal fulfillment, which are practical issues smart environments will face if humans are involved. This paper extends this approach to Weighted Constraint Satisfaction Problem WCSP. Branch and bound depth first search is used, where its lower bound is estimated by bacterial memetic algorithm BMA on a relaxed version of the original optimization problem. Experiments up to 16-step planning of home services demonstrate the applicability and practicality of the approach, with the inclusion of local search for trivial service combinations in BMA that produces performance enhancements. Besides, this work aims to set the groundwork for further research in the field.
Design and implementation of human-robot interactive demonstration system based on Kinect

With the development of technology, humanoid robots gradually enter our life, not only for education, but helping people with housework and many other tasks, some of which are inevitable for human. But only few people know how to control and interact with a humanoid robot, which hinders the development of humanoid robot. So a human-robot interactive demonstration system is designed to help non-expert users to control the humanoid robot, Aldebaran humanoid robot Nao in this case. Users just need to use the most natural body gestures to interact with the robot. Microsoft Kinect is applied in this system to recognize different body gestures and generate visual Human-Robot interaction interface, then the controlling signals of different body gesture modules are sent to Nao through wifi, which can stimulate Nao to complete tasks. This kind of system aims to enrich the interactive way between human and robots and help non-expert users to control the robot freely, making Human-Robot interaction much easier.
Rubble Mound Breakwater: Run-Up, Reflection and Overtopping by numerical 3D simulation

From the numerical point of view, the complexity of the fluid dynamic processes involved has so far hindered the direct application of Navier-Stokes equations within the armour blocks, due to the complex geometry and the presence of strongly non stationary flows, free boundaries and turbulence. In the present work the most recent CFD technology is used to provide a new and more reliable approach to the design analysis of breakwaters, especially in connection with run-up and overtopping.
Acute Asthma Exacerbations and Air Pollutants in Children Living in Belfast, Northern Ireland

Abstract The incidence of childhood asthma, a common condition, is on the rise worldwide. Despite reductions in the emission of urban smoke, traffic pollution is now a major worldwide problem. Belfast, Northern Ireland, is an old industrial city with major pollution problems. In this study, the authors investigated the rates of acute asthma admissions to Belfast's major children's emergency department. The admissions were studied, relative to day-to-day fluctuations in thoracic particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, nitric oxide, oxides of nitrogen, ozone, carbon monoxide, benzene, temperature, and rainfall. Daily admissions for acute asthma at the emergency department of the Royal Belfast Hospital and average daily pollution were recorded for the 3-yr period between January 1, 1993, and December 31, 1995. The authors used Poisson regression to assess independent association(s). Individually, small associations were seen for thoracic particulate matter (relative risk = 1.10), sulfur dioxide (relative risk = 1.09), nitrogen dioxide (relative risk =1.11), nitric oxide (relative risk = 1.07), oxides of nitrogen (relative risk = 1.10), carbon monoxide (relative risk = 1.07), and benzene (1.14); no associations were noted between meteorological factors (temperature and rainfall) or ozone and asthma emergency-department admissions. The authors adjusted for the aforementioned parameters, and benzene level was the only variable associated independently with asthma emergency-department admissions in children. Benzene may be a more reliable method of measuring exposure to vehicle exhaust emissions than measurements of other pollutants.
Low temperature metal-based cell integration technology for gigabit and embedded DRAMs

An advanced memory cell structure with poly/metal word lines and metal bit lines is proposed. The thermal processes are carefully designed for the metal-based cell to be consistent with narrow gap filling, wet cleaning, planarity, and the contact process. The extremely low temperature process also helps suppress the short channel effect of the MOS transistors. The fully self-aligned contact and via-hole technology provides the minimum memory cell area. This technology is promising for future gigabit DRAMs and embedded DRAMs.