Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
22.7 DL-VOPU: An Energy-Efficient Domain-Specific Deep-Learning-Based Visual Object Processing Unit Supporting Multi-Scale Semantic Feature Extraction for Mobile Object Detection/Tracking Applications

In the recent years, deep learning-based visual object detection/tracking (VODT) has been widely used in intelligent applications such as autonomous driving, UAV, smart robot and $\text{VR}/\text{AR}$. As general Al hardware platforms, GPUs and general Al processors are often used for accelerating VODT. However, without a domain-specific architecture, it is difficult for these processors to achieve high energy efficiency, making them unsuitable for mobile VODT applications. Recently, some dedicated VODT processors have been proposed with improved energy efficiency [1]–[3]. As shown in $\text{Fig}. 22.7. 1$, these designs have several issues: 1) they only support a single task (either detection or tracking), 2) they lack full support for multi-scale semantic feature extraction $(\text{MSFE}){-}$ based state-of-the-art VODT frameworks [4], and 3) they do not sufficiently exploit domain-specific features for energy efficiency optimization. To address these issues, in this work, a deep learning-based visual object processor (named DL-VOPU) is proposed for mobile VODT applications. It exploits diverse domain-specific features to achieve record-high energy efficiency for VODT, while supporting MSFE-based VODT frameworks with a programmable backbone network. The DL-VOPU features: 1) an energy-efficient MSFE-aware Al architecture, 2) an object-oriented adaptive computing technique for energy-efficient object tracking, 3) a parallel frame-difference computing technique for energy-efficient neural network (NN) computation on video streams, and 4) a unified data compression & computing technique to address data redundancy in VODT processing.
MANAGEMENT FORMATION OF INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO ENTERPRISES IN UKRAINE

У статті досліджено процес управління формуванням інвестиційного портфеля підприємства в Україні, на прикладі вітчизняної фінтех-компанії «BB TEAM PRO». Виділено найліквідніші активи для здійснення торгівлі на валютному ринку. Проаналізовано актуальність інвестування в цінні папери сучасних технологічних компаній та кріптовалют. Розроблено та описано поведінкову модель сприйняття будь-яких новітніх технологій. Спочатку це революція, потім увага усіх ЗМІ і тільки після ринкових потрясінь та обвалів вартості активу, іде прийняття технології, та активне її використання. Проведено порівняльну характеристику епохи компаній dot-com та розвитку Bitcoin. Аргументовано чому варто звернути увагу на ринок кріптовалют при виборі активів для інвестування вже сьогодні.
Identification of differentially expressed genes for fescue toxicosis in high and low tolerant Angus cows

Background Fescue toxicosis (FT) is the multifaceted syndrome that causes the major loss of revenue in beef industry. Management of FT has been substantial challenge for the beef industry. Little research has been conducted to identify host genetic variation for FT response. Therefore, the objectives of this study were 1) to identify differentially expressed genes (DEG) in animals with contrasting response to fescue toxicosis, 2) to assess the biological relevance of DEG and 3) to investigate the relationships of DEG through gene networks in Angus cows. Results Genotype-by-location-by-time interaction was evident, with one location (2,296) having much greater number of DEG (q-value < 0.1) between HT and LT animals than the other (554). In addition, there was a greater number of DEG (q-value < 0.1) between HT and LT animals on week 5 (3,892) than on weeks 1(1,413), 9 (1,384), and 13 (573). So, further analyses focused on DEG between HT and LT animals on week 5 at the most toxic location. The most significant DEG between HT and LT animals had relevant functions associated with FT: cellular growth (SPDYC, HEYL, ANXA13), cardiovascular function (FGB, HBA, WNT11, BPIFB4, MESP2), protein metabolism (ENPP6, MMP8), and immune response (CTBS, SDC2, CXCL13, IL-13, JAKMIP2). The strongest positive partial correlation (0.99) was between CTBS and CXCL13, where CTBS is involved in carbohydrate metabolism and immune function, and CXCL13 is involved in immune, inflammatory, and defense response, and G-protein coupled pathway. The regulation of the most significant DEG between HT and LT animals on week 5 are highly correlated, indicating a complex interaction between. When all DEG were analyzed, the enriched biological processes associated with fescue toxicosis included immune response, cardiovascular function and development, metabolic, cellular and biological processes, and fertilization. Conclusions These findings provide potential biomarkers that should be evaluated for selection of cattle with greater tolerance to fescue toxicosis which will help to establish the herd with fescue tolerant cows in regions where high endophyte infected pasture is present.
Die deutsche Version des Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (RFQ): Eine teststatistische Überprüfung in der Allgemeinbevölkerung

Zusammenfassung Das Mentalisierungskonzept ist sowohl in der Praxis als auch der Wissenschaft breit rezipiert worden, u. a. wegen seiner hohen klinisch-therapeutischen Relevanz. Um dieses Konzept der empirisch-quantifizierenden Forschung zugänglich zu machen ist u. a. der Reflective Functioning Questionnaire mit 8 Items (RFQ-8) entwickelt worden, der 2 Skalen (Unsicherheit über mentale Zustände bzw. Hypomentalisieren und Gewissheit über mentale Zustände respektive Hypermentalisieren) umfasst. Während erste, methodisch jedoch kritisch zu bewertende teststatistische Untersuchungen dieses Selbstbeurteilungsverfahren weitgehend positiv beurteilen, stehen Analysen zur deutschen Version aus. In dieser Studie wurde die deutsche Version des RFQ-8 erstmals an einer großen Allgemeinbevölkerungsstichprobe (n=2477) psychometrisch evaluiert. Diverse konfirmatorische und explorative Faktorenanalysen zeigten, dass die ursprünglich vorgeschlagene 2-Faktoren-Lösung fehlspezifiziert ist; vielmehr ist davon auszugehen, dass der RFQ-8 ein eindimensionales Konstrukt abbildet. Nach Ausschluss von 2 teststatistisch ungenügenden Items zeigte die Skala mit 6 Items (RFQ-6) eine hohe interne Konsistenz (McDonald’s ω=0,88) sowie substantielle Rangkorrelationen mit Depressivität, Ängstlichkeit und körperlichen Beschwerden. Wir diskutieren, warum der Einsatz des RFQ-8 in Klinik und Forschung angesichts der teststatistischen Mängel sehr kritisch zu sehen ist, insbesondere was die Erfassung von Hypermentalisieren angeht.
DESIGN-BUILD CONTRACT AWARD METHODS FOR TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS. TECHNICAL NOTE

A nationwide survey of state Departments of Transportation found that 15 states are using design-build (DB) to procure highway construction projects. Analysis of their methods yielded three different systems to advertise and award DB highway projects. The methods are low-bid DB, adjusted-score DB, and best-value DB. The paper details the three methods and compares their strengths and weaknesses. It is concluded that each method is a valid system for procuring highway construction projects and that each method can be matched with certain project characteristics to optimize the project delivery method with respect to the salient aspects of the project.
Ecology of Caracals and Their Distribution in Africa: A Review Paper

Caracals (Felis caracal, Schreber 1776) are medium-sized wild cats. They are placed in the family felidae and subfamily felinae. These species were first described by German naturalist Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber as Felis caracal. Caracals occur in northern Africa, Asia and at least 36 sub-Saharan African countries, yet little has been published regarding their spatial ecology. Caracal occupies a wide variety of habitats, from semi-desert to relatively open savannah and scrubland to moist woodland and thicket, evergreen forest, montane grassland, and arid mountains. Its habitat is mostly arid areas and it has a key role in the control of rodent populations. They typically ranges up to 2,500 m and 3,000 m above sea level. The conservation status of caracal populations is not clear across most of the range, but the Asiatic population is threatened and listed in CITES Appendix I and all others as Appendix II. The main threats for the caracal are habitat loss and human conflict due to frequent livestock attacks. Lack of knowledge about the caracal and the unknown impacts of the conflict on its population may drive the species to an endangered situation. Possessing tremendous speed and agility, the caracal is a formidable predator capable of tackling prey two to three times larger than its size. Their long, powerful hind legs enable them to make incredible leaps up to three metres high and catch birds in flight by batting them from the air with its large paws. Similar to all other species in the family felidae, caracals are strict carnivores. Caracals are usually nocturnal, being active from dusk to dawn and early morning and resting during the day in dense vegetation or rock crevices. Caracals prey mainly on small- to medium-sized mammals, from small murids to antelope up to ~50 kg, but they will also feed upon birds, reptiles, invertebrates, fish, small-sized carnivores and some plant matter. Camouflage is a primary defence against predators. They are polygynandrous (promiscuous). Both sexes become sexually mature by the time they are a year old; production of gametes begins even earlier at seven to ten months, the earliest successful copulation occur around 14 to 15 months of age. These species are classified as problem animals in Africa and are commonly regarded as vermin because of occasional predation upon small stock. This negative perception has resulted in extensive persecution of caracals.
An exploration of a Graphical User Interface (GUI) to facilitate the creation of Internet interventions

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Trajectory-Oriented Approach to Managing Traffic Complexity Operational Concept and Preliminary Metrics Definition

This document describes preliminary research on a distributed, trajectory-oriented approach for traffic complexity management. The approach is to manage traffic complexity in a distributed control environment, based on preserving trajectory flexibility and minimizing constraints. In particular, the document presents an analytical framework to study trajectory flexibility and the impact of trajectory constraints on it. The document proposes preliminary flexibility metrics that can be interpreted and measured within the framework.
Comparative proteomic analysis revealed maize (Zea mays L.) response to Setosphaeria turcica early infection

Background Globally, maize (Zea mays L.) is an important crop. Maize production is severely affected by northern corn leaf blight (NCLB), a destructive foliar disease caused by Setosphaeria turcica. Interaction between maize and S. turcica has not been characterised at protein level. Results We used tandem mass tag labelling and liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry to investigate the proteomes of maize leaves at 24 and 72 h post-inoculation (hpi) with S. turcica. In total, 4,740 proteins were quantified which encoded by 4,711 genes. Clustering analyses provided insight into the dynamic reprogramming of leaves proteomes by revealing the functions of different proteins during S. turcica infection. Screening and classification of differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) revealed that numerous defence-related proteins, including defence marker proteins, proteins related to the phenylpropanoid lignin biosynthesis, benzoxazinone biosynthesis and jasmonic acid signal pathway, participated in the defence responses of maize to S. turcica infection. Furthermore, the early induction of GST family proteins could contribute to the resistance of S. turcica. In addition, the protein–protein interaction network of DEPs suggested that some defence-related proteins, e.g. ZmGEB1, play key roles in defence responses against S. turcica infection. Conclusion This study provides insight into the complex defence responses triggered by S. turcica at the protein level, as well as a new basis for studying the interaction process between maize and S. turcica at the earlier stage of infection.
PrivacyGuard: A VPN-Based Approach to Detect Privacy Leakages on Android Devices

The Internet is now the most important and e cient way to gain information, and mobile devices are the easiest way to access the Internet. Furthermore, wearable devices, which can be considered to be the next generation of mobile devices, are becoming popular. The more people rely on mobile devices, the more private information about these people can be gathered from their devices. If a device is lost or compromised, much private information is revealed. Although today’s smartphone operating systems are trying to provide a secure environment, they still fail to provide users with adequate control over and visibility into how third-party applications use their private data. The privacy leakage problem on mobile devices is still severe. For example, according a field study [1] done by CMU recently, Android applications track users’ location every three minutes in average. After the PRISM program, a surveillance program done by NSA, is exposed, people are becoming increasingly aware of the mobile privacy leakages. However, there are few tools available to average users for privacy preserving. Most tools developed by recent work have some problems (details can be found in chapter 2). To address these problems, we present PrivacyGuard, an e cient way to simultaneously detect leakage of multiple types of sensitive data, such as a phone’s IMEI number or location data. PrivacyGuard provides real-time protection. It is possible to modify the leaked information and replace it with crafted data to achieve protection. PrivacyGuard is configurable, extensible and useful for other research. We implement PrivacyGuard on the Android platform by taking advantage of the VPNService class provided by the Android SDK. PrivacyGuard does not require root permissions to run on a device and does not require any knowledge about VPN technology from users either. The VPN server runs on the device locally. No external servers are required. According to our experiments, PrivacyGuard can e↵ectively detect privacy leakages of most applications and advertisement libraries with almost no overhead on power consumption and reasonable overhead on network speed.
Older American Drivers and Traffic Safety Culture: A LongROAD Study

According to research by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 86% of Americans ages 65 and older still drive, meaning that there are presently approximately 36 million drivers ages 65 and older. As older people remain healthier for longer, driving will undoubtedly continue to play a major role in their ability to stay mobile, independent, and engaged in their community. Hence, there is a need to better understand and delineate the changes that occur in the attitudes and perceptions of older drivers as they continue to age. The majority of previous studies have treated drivers aged 65 and older as a single group. However, “older senior drivers” (e.g., ages 80 and older) might differ in important ways from “younger senior drivers. ” The purpose of the research reported here was to examine the extent and nature of the variability in driving behaviors and safety-related attitudes among drivers ages 65-69, 70-74, and 75+, using data from the AAA Foundation’s annual Traffic Safety Culture Index survey.
On Organization of Information: Approach and Early Work

In this report we describe an approach for organizing information for presentation and display. "e approach stems from the observation that there is a stepwise progression in the way signals (from the environment and the system under consideration) are extracted and transformed into data, and then analyzed and abstracted to form representations (e.g., indications and icons) on the user interface. In physical environments such as aerospace and process control, many system components and their corresponding data and information are interrelated (e.g., an increase in a chamber s temperature results in an increase in its pressure). "ese interrelationships, when presented clearly, allow users to understand linkages among system components and how they may affect one another. Organization of these interrelationships by means of an orderly structure provides for the so-called "big picture" that pilots, astronauts, and operators strive for.
Flight Evaluation of a Simple Total Energy-Rate System With Potential Wind-Shear Application

Wind shears can create havoc during aircraft terminal area operations and have been cited as the primary cause of several major aircraft accidents. A simple sensor, potentially having application to the wind-shear problem, was developed to rapidly measure aircraft total energy relative to the air mass. Combining this sensor with either a variometer or a rate-of-climb indicator provides a total energy-rate system which was successfully applied in soaring flight. The measured rate of change of aircraft energy can potentially be used on display/control systems of powered aircraft to reduce glide-slope deviations caused by wind shear. The experimental flight configuration and evaluations of the energy-rate system are described. Two mathematical models are developed: the first describes operation of the energy probe in a linear design region and the second model is for the nonlinear region. The calculated total rate is compared with measured signals for many different flight tests. Time history plots show the tow curves to be almost the same for the linear operating region and very close for the nonlinear region.
High levels of immuno-inflammatory markers predicts unfavorable short-term outcomes in patients with acute ischemic stroke

Background Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory process that occurs in the arterial wall. This immuno-inflammatory process plays a role throughout all stages of stroke. Neutrophils, lymphocytes, and platelets are crucial blood cells for innate and adaptive immunity. This study investigated the associations of four types of immuno-inflammatory markers, namely the systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and neutrophil count (NC), with clinical outcomes in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Methods In this retrospective study, we enrolled 2903 inpatients with acute ischemic stroke from May 2010 to May 2019. Data included risk factors, laboratory parameters, and clinical features during hospitalization. The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), and modified Rankin Scale (mRS) were used to assess stroke severity and outcomes. Results All four immuno-inflammatory markers exhibited positive linear correlations with age, glucose, creatinine, length of hospital stay, NIHSS score on admission, and mRS score at discharge. The levels of the four immuno-inflammatory markers were significantly higher in patients with large-artery atherosclerosis and cardioembolism and were highest in patients with other determined etiology. Patients with levels of immuno-inflammatory markers higher than their cutoff values for unfavorable outcomes also exhibited higher rates of cancer history (except for SII and NC), uremia (except for NC), elevated troponin I, and in-hospital complications. Multivariate analysis including SII revealed that admission NIHSS score ≥ 5, age > 75 years, SII > 724, diabetes mellitus, female sex, elevated troponin I, heart disease, and prior stroke were significant predictors for unfavorable outcomes. These significant predictors were retained after replacing SII > 724 with NLR > 143, PLR > 3.5, or NC > 6 × 10 3 /mL, except for prior stroke. For a basic model comprising seven significant predictors of unfavorable outcomes, the C-statistic was 0.860. The addition of SII, NLR, and PLR to the basic model resulted in a significant improvement in the prediction performance to 0.864, 0.863, and 0.863, respectively. Conclusions Immuno-inflammatory markers provide more useful information than conventional risk factors and other laboratory parameters for the prediction of stroke outcomes. SII > 724 is the most appropriate marker when combined with other predictors.
Composite materials for the extravehicular mobility unit

The extravehicular mobility unit (EMU), commonly known as the astronaut space suit assembly (SSA) and primary life support system (PLSS), has evolved through the years to incorporate new and innovative materials in order to meet the demands of the space environment. The space shuttle program which is seeing an increasing level of extravehicular activity (EVA), also called space walks, along with interest in an EMU for Lunar-Mars missions means even more demanding conditions are being placed on the suit and PLSS. The project for this NASA-ASEE Summer Program was to investigate new materials for these applications. The focus was to emphasize the use of composite materials for every component of the EMU to enhance the properties while reducing the total weight of the EMU. To accomplish this, development of new materials called fullerene reinforced materials (FRM's) was initiated. Fullerenes are carbon molecules which when added to a material significantly reduce the weight of that material. The Faculty Fellow worked directly on the development of the fullerene reinforced materials. A chamber for fullerene production was designed and assembled and first generation samples were processed. He also supervised with the JSC Colleague, a study of composite materials for the EMU conducted by the student participant in the NASA-ASEE Program, Hector Tello a Rice University graduate student, and by a NASA Aerospace Technologist (Materials Engineer) Evelyne Orndoff, in the Systems Engineering Analysis Office (EC7), also a Rice University graduate student. Hector Tello conducted a study on beryllium and Be alloys and initiated a study of carbon and glass reinforced composites for space applications. Evelyne Orndoff compiled an inventory of the materials on the SSA. Ms. Orndoff also reviewed SSA material requirements and cited aspects of the SSA design where composite materials might be further considered. Hector Tello spent part of his time investigating the solar radiation sensitivity of anodic coatings. This project was directed toward the effects of ultra-violet radiation on high emissivity anodic coatings. The work of both Evelyne Orndoff and Hector Tello is of interest to the Engineering Directorate at NASA/JSC and is also directed toward their research as Rice University graduate students.
ONE-SIDED WEAVING ANALYSIS ON ONE-WAY FRONTAGE ROADS. INTERIM REPORT

Over the past few years, there have been many studies concerning the effects of weaving on freeway operations; however, there have been few attempts to study the effects of weaving at "non-freeway" sites, such as freeway frontage roads. As part of a larger study that is developing a level of service evaluation procedure for freeway frontage roads, this report addresses the issues associated with one-sided weaving on one-way frontage roads. The objectives of this study were to develop a technique for evaluating one-sided weaving operations, and to develop recommendations on minimum and desirable ramp spacing. To meet these objectives, both field data and computer simulation were used. From the results of this study, the following three levels of service were defined: unconstrained (weaving volume 3000 vph). Concerning ramp spacing, the results revealed that it is desirable to have a weaving length greater than 300 m with a minimum value of 200 m.