Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Femtosecond laser production of metal surfaces having unique surface structures that are broadband absorbers

Femtosecond laser induced modification of surface structure and the optical properties of metals are studied. A Ti:sapphire femtosecond laser is used for ablating bulk aluminum 2024 T3 alloy and highly pure neutron activation quality gold metal samples at different laser irradiation parameters. The ablation parameters are optimized for the two metals to form a low reflection surface in the wavelength range of 0.3–50 μm. “Black aluminum” and “black gold” metal surfaces are formed upon laser ablation, having a unique surface structure with micro- and nanosized features. Sample analysis is performed by several characterization techniques like scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive x ray, profilometry, and integrating sphere reflectance measurements. Correlation is drawn between the laser ablation parameters and the formed surface structure and its properties. The reflection of light is found to depend primarily on the surface structure (roughness) of the highly modified metal surfaces.
Similarity Learning for Product Recommendation and Scoring Using Multi-channel Data

Customers may interact with a retail store through many channels. Technology now makes it is possible to track customer behavior across channels. We propose a system where items are recommended based on learning channel specific similarities between customers and items. This is done by treating recommendations as a learning to rank problem and minimizing rank loss with surrogate loss functions. We build our system using a real world multi-channel data set -- online browse and purchase, and in-store purchase -- from a retail chain. The results show that using learned similarity scores improves the performance of the system over scores generated using standard cosine similarity measures. Finally, using our learning to rank formulation we introduce a product scoring system to measure consumption behavior.
BTN3A2 Expression in Epithelial Ovarian Cancer Is Associated with Higher Tumor Infiltrating T Cells and a Better Prognosis

BTN3A2/BT3.2 butyrophilin mRNA expression by tumoral cells was previously identified as a prognostic factor in a small cohort of high grade serous epithelial ovarian cancer (HG-EOC). Here, we evaluated the prognostic value of BT3.2 at the protein level in specimen from 199 HG-EOC patients. As the only known role of butyrophilin proteins is in immune regulation, we evaluated the association between BT3.2 expression and intratumoral infiltration of immune cells by immunohistochemistry with specific antibodies against BT3.2, CD3, CD4, CD8, CD20, CD68 and CD206. Epithelial BT3.2 expression was significantly associated with longer overall survival and lower risk of disease progression (HR = 0.651, p = 0.006 and HR = 0.642, p = 0.002, respectively) and significantly associated with a higher density of infiltrating T cells, particularly CD4+ cells (0.272, p<0.001). We also observed a strong association between the relative density of CD206+ cells, as evaluated by the ratio of intratumoral CD206+/CD68+ expression, and risk of disease progression (HR = 1.355 p = 0.044, respectively). In conclusion, BT3.2 protein is a potential prognostic biomarker for the identification of HG-EOC patients with better outcome. In contrast, high CD206+/CD68+ expression is associated with high risk of disease progression. While the role of BT3.2 is still unknown, our result suggest that BT3.2 expression by epithelial cells may modulates the intratumoral infiltration of immune cells.
Trust in adoption to judiciary informatics system of senior management users

With the start of performing judiciary informatics in Turkey through information systems, especially the adoption of internal users carrying out these activities started to be significant. Senior management users (Chief Judges, Judges, Attorneys General and Solicitors) form an outstanding user groups which will contribute to solving possible problems in information systems. In this study, besides trust variable which has an effective role in senior management users adoption of information systems, occupation, age and gender variables are analysed. Web based questionnaire, which is prepared as five point Likert type scale including 593 senior management users, is analysed and interpreted through log linear method.
Supporting i*-Based Context Models Construction through the DHARMA Ontology

The construction of enterprise context models, fundamental tool to design of modern information systems, is usually a cumbersome task to lead, largely due to the gap of communication between the administrative staff and technical consultants in charge of its construction. In order to make this task easier previous works encouraging the reuse of i* context elements through the implementation and use of catalogs has been proposed. In this paper, we make use of semantic technologies to exploit such catalog, storing its content in a semantic repository. To support this idea, we have created the DHARMA ontology following the guidelines proposed by NeOn methodology, integrating different domains and their vocabularies.
Immunoprecipitation of [3H]Dihydroartemisinin Translationally Controlled Tumor Protein (TCTP) Adducts from Plasmodium falciparum-Infected Erythrocytes by Using Anti-TCTP Antibodies

ABSTRACT Artemisinin and its derivatives are endoperoxide-containing antimalarial drugs that appear to form adducts in situ with thePlasmodium falciparum translationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP) homolog. Immunoprecipitation with antibody to recombinant TCTP suggests that adducts may form with both monomeric and dimeric TCTP.
An Approach to Help Functionally Illiterate People with Graphical Reading Aids

About half the world’s population is illiterate, and since the command of a (natural) language is necessary for web access, these potential users are being left out of the information society. Such persons have been called the information poor; in developed countries they will be denied access to services such as e-commerce. In developing countries they will not have access to information which can be vital for employment, health, and the participation in political processes. This paper raises issues related to web access for users who have very poor language skills (functionally illiterate people). We present the design and a prototypical implementation of a browser which provides interactive reading aids to such persons.
Design characteristics of SAB and DAB converters

High-frequency isolated DC-DC converters are gaining momentum in applications where the demand of isolation matches with that one of compact and light equipment. A seminal topology, constituted by two bridges operating at high frequency and coupled by a transformer, has emerged as an attractive solution that fulfills the above-mentioned demands. The two most popular versions of such a topology are the Single Active Bridge (SAB) and Dual Active Bridge (DAB) converters. This paper deals with the characteristics of the two converters that are helpful in designing their input and output filters, transistors and diodes. Explicitly, the peak-to-peak ripple and the rms value of the alternate component of current at the converter input and output as well as the peak, average and rms values of current through transistors and diodes of the converter are calculated. All the quantities are expressed as a function of the load current and voltage along the operating range, by referring to an application requiring a unidirectional power flow of buck type. A comparative analysis of the design characteristics of the two converters closes the paper.
High level design space exploration of RVC codec specifications for multi-core heterogeneous platforms

Nowadays, the design flow of complex signal processing embedded systems starts with a specification of the application by means of a large and sequential program (usually in C/C++). As we are entering in the multicore era, sequential programs are no longer the most appropriate way to specify algorithms targeted to run on several processing units. The new ISO/MPEG Reconfigurable Video Coding (RVC) standard is proposing a new paradigm for specifying and designing complex signal processing systems. The RVC standard enables specifying new codecs by assembling blocks, or so called Functional Units (FUs) from a standard Video Tool Library (VTL). Flexibility, reusability, and modularity are the key features of RVC. This new way of specifying algorithms clearly simplifies the task of designing future video coding applications by allowing software and hardware reuse across multiple video coding standards. Specifications are provided in the form of an actor and dataflow-based language called CAL. Although the RVC standard does not imply any specific implementation design flow, it is an appropriate starting point for targeting multiple processing units platforms. This paper describes a new model-driven design flow which considers both algorithm and architecture to map RVC codec specifications onto heterogeneous and multi-core systems.
Altered resting perfusion and functional connectivity of default mode network in youth with autism spectrum disorder

Neuroimaging studies can shed light on the neurobiological underpinnings of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Studies of the resting brain have shown both altered baseline metabolism from PET/SPECT and altered functional connectivity (FC) of intrinsic brain networks based on resting‐state fMRI. To date, however, no study has investigated these two physiological parameters of resting brain function jointly, or explored the relationship between these measures and ASD symptom severity.
Detailed spatial characterization of superficial hip muscle activation during walking: A multi-electrode surface EMG investigation of the gluteal region in healthy older adults

Purpose A multi-electrode array was used to generate spatially resolved Surface electromyography (SEMG) data of the hip muscles in healthy older adults. The cohort was meant to serve as an age-matched, normal control population for future surgical and rehabilitative studies in patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty, in view of the large, continuously increasing number of hip joint replacements. Methods Bilateral hip muscle SEMG activity, including tensor fasciae latae (TFL), gluteus medius (Gmed), and gluteus maximus (Gmax), was measured during locomotion on a walkway at self-selected slow, normal, and fast walking speeds (age-matched cohort of 29 females and 25 males). Eight equally-spaced, vertically oriented bipolar channels were applied on a horizontal line at mid-distance between iliac crest and greater trochanter (length 17.5 cm; named P1 to P8). Time-independent parameters (e.g., mean amplitude) were derived from the amplitude curves expressed as root mean square. Results The acquired SEMG data were not significantly influenced by gender (p = 0.202) or side (p = 0.313) and were therefore pooled. The most ventral to central electrode positions P1 to P5, representing TFL and ventral to central Gmed, showed the highest mean amplitude levels (averaged over the whole stride; 0.001 < p < 0.027 against P6 to P8; Bonferroni-adjusted paired t-test) at all walking speeds. Also, the respective curves showed two distinct amplitude peaks (representing load acceptance and hip stabilization during mid-stance), with a continuous increase of the first peak from P1 to P4 (most pronounced at fast speed) and the second peak from P1 to P3. Independently of the underlying individual muscles, both peaks displayed a continuous time shift from the most dorsal P8 to the most ventral P1 position, with the peaks for the ventral positions occurring at later time points during the normalized stride. Conclusions The continuously changing activation patterns of the superficial muscles in the gluteal region during walking may reflect function-driven, finely tuned coordination patterns of neighboring muscles and muscle segments, rather than independent activation of anatomically defined muscles. This may be important for the definition of specific target parameters for the improvement and/or normalization of muscle function during training and post-injury rehabilitation.
Effect of morphine on conditioned place preference in rhesus monkeys

In rodents, a conditioned place preference (CPP) can be induced by morphine. In the current study, we designed a biased place conditioning paradigm to test the rewarding effects of morphine in freely moving rhesus monkeys. Five monkeys were first placed in three serial rooms with the doors open between them for three days. After this habituation period, during which baseline preference for each of the two end rooms was measured, CPP conditioning occurred when the monkeys were injected intramuscularly with morphine at an increasing dose (1.5, 3, 4.5 mg/kg) before they entered the non‐preferred room and on alternate days, with saline before they entered the preferred room. Morphine and saline treatment lasted for six days, respectively. CPP was tested 24 hours after the end of CPP training. The result showed that in all five monkeys, CPP was induced by the morphine treatment. The preference lasted for at least 15.3 ± 1.7 months.
Probabilistic Latent Sequential Motifs: Discovering Temporal Activity Patterns in Video Scenes

This paper introduces a novel probabilistic activity modeling approach that mines recurrent sequential patterns from documents given as word-time occurrences. In this model, documents are represented as a mixture of sequential activity motifs (or topics) and their starting occurrences. The novelties are threefold. First, unlike previous approaches where topics only modeled the co-occurrence of words at a given time instant, our topics model the co-occurrence and temporal order in which the words occur within a temporal window. Second, our model accounts for the important case where activities occur concurrently in the document. And third, our method explicitly models with latent variables the starting time of the activities within the documents, enabling to implicitly align the occurrences of the same pattern during the joint inference of the temporal topics and their starting times. The model and its robustness to the presence of noise have been validated on synthetic data. Its effectiveness is also illustrated in video activity analysis from low-level motion features, where the discovered topics capture frequent patterns that implicitly represent typical trajectories of scene objects.
Monte Carlo Sampling Methods for Approximating Interactive POMDPs

Partially observable Markov decision processes (POMDPs) provide a principled framework for sequential planning in uncertain single agent settings. An extension of POMDPs to multiagent settings, called interactive POMDPs (I-POMDPs), replaces POMDP belief spaces with interactive hierarchical belief systems which represent an agent's belief about the physical world, about beliefs of other agents, and about their beliefs about others' beliefs. This modification makes the difficulties of obtaining solutions due to complexity of the belief and policy spaces even more acute. We describe a general method for obtaining approximate solutions of I-POMDPs based on particle filtering (PF). We introduce the interactive PF, which descends the levels of the interactive belief hierarchies and samples and propagates beliefs at each level. The interactive PF is able to mitigate the belief space complexity, but it does not address the policy space complexity. To mitigate the policy space complexity - sometimes also called the curse of history - we utilize a complementary method based on sampling likely observations while building the look ahead reachability tree. While this approach does not completely address the curse of history, it beats back the curse's impact substantially. We provide experimental results and chart future work.
CRT monitors: Do they interfere with learning?

Research suggests screen reading is slower and possibly less accurate than reading from paper. Six study and test sessions over 10 months examined correct scores and retrieval responses for learning material presented via these two media. Correct scores did not differ suggesting that close matching of material can eliminate any decrement in reading speed or accuracy from screens. However, the way in which knowledge was retrieved varied between the presentational formats. These differences were time related and suggest that repeated exposure and rehearsal of computer-based information is necessary to equate knowledge application with that achievable from hard copy alternatives. It is suggested that this difference might be due to cognitive interference caused by cathode-ray tube (CRT) monitor characteristics of refresh rates, fluctuating luminance, and contrast levels.
Motion coordination between a human and a mobile robot

In this paper we describe an approach to coordinating the motion of a human with a mobile robot moving in a populated, continuously changing, natural environment. The approach is based on a method for motion planning amongst moving obstacles known as the velocity obstacle approach. We extend this method by a method for tracking a virtual target which allows us to vary the robot's heading and velocity with the locomotion of the accompanied person and the state of the surrounding environment. Our test application is a wheelchair accompanying a person through the concourse of a railway station.
Unrolling lists

Lists are ubiquitous in functional programs, thus supporting lists efficiently is a major concern to compiler writers for functional languages. Lists are normally represented as linked <italic>cons</italic> cells, with each <italic>cons</italic> cell containing a <italic>car</italic> (the data) and a <italic>cdr</italic> (the link); this is inefficient in the use of space, because 50% of the storage is used for links. Loops and recursions on lists are slow on modern machines because of the long chains of control dependencies (in checking for <italic>nil</italic>) and data dependencies (in fetching <italic>cdr</italic> fields). We present a data structure for “unrolled lists”, where each cell has several data items (<italic>car</italic> fields) and one link (<italic>cdr</italic>). This reduces the memory used for links, and it significantly shortens the length of control-dependence and data-dependence chains in operations on lists. We further present an efficient compile-time analysis that transforms programs written for “ordinary” lists into programs on unrolled lists. The use of our new representation requires no change to existing programs. We sketch the proof of soundness of our analysis—which is based on <italic>refinement types</italic>—and present some preliminary measurements of our technique.
Analysis of thermal performance of two fabrics intended for use as protective clothing

Tests were conducted on two fabrics intended for use in protective clothing: an aramid (used extensively in firefighter gear) and a modified viscose cellulosic fabric. Both were exposed to very high heat (temperatures above 400°C) and their performance as thermal insulators was assessed by the temperature transmitted through the fabric, both in their dry state and after being exposed to a water spray. Both fabrics performed satisfactorily, but the modified viscose fabric improved its thermal insulation properties when damp, while the aramid fabric remained unaffected (or perhaps negatively affected) by the water spray. Overall, the modified viscose fabric seemed a better thermal insulator than the aramid. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Cu-Doped ZnO Thin Films Deposited by a Sol-Gel Process Using Two Copper Precursors: Gas-Sensing Performance in a Propane Atmosphere

A study on the propane gas-sensing properties of Cu-doped ZnO thin films is presented in this work. The films were deposited on glass substrates by sol-gel and dip coating methods, using zinc acetate as a zinc precursor, copper acetate and copper chloride as precursors for doping. For higher sensitivity values, two film thickness values are controlled by the six and eight dippings, whereas for doping, three dippings were used, irrespective of the Cu precursor. The film structure was analyzed by X-ray diffractometry, and the analysis of the surface morphology and film composition was made through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), respectively. The sensing properties of Cu-doped ZnO thin films were then characterized in a propane atmosphere, C3H8, at different concentration levels and different operation temperatures of 100, 200 and 300 °C. Cu-doped ZnO films doped with copper chloride presented the highest sensitivity of approximately 6 × 104, confirming a strong dependence on the dopant precursor type. The results obtained in this work show that the use of Cu as a dopant in ZnO films processed by sol-gel produces excellent catalysts for sensing C3H8 gas.
From Swimming to Walking with a Salamander Robot Driven by a Spinal Cord Model

The transition from aquatic to terrestrial locomotion was a key development in vertebrate evolution. We present a spinal cord model and its implementation in an amphibious salamander robot that demonstrates how a primitive neural circuit for swimming can be extended by phylogenetically more recent limb oscillatory centers to explain the ability of salamanders to switch between swimming and walking. The model suggests neural mechanisms for modulation of velocity, direction, and type of gait that are relevant for all tetrapods. It predicts that limb oscillatory centers have lower intrinsic frequencies than body oscillatory centers, and we present biological data supporting this.
Oscillations via Spike-Timing Dependent Plasticity in a Feed-Forward Model

Neuronal oscillatory activity has been reported in relation to a wide range of cognitive processes including the encoding of external stimuli, attention, and learning. Although the specific role of these oscillations has yet to be determined, it is clear that neuronal oscillations are abundant in the central nervous system. This raises the question of the origin of these oscillations: are the mechanisms for generating these oscillations genetically hard-wired or can they be acquired via a learning process? Here, we study the conditions under which oscillatory activity emerges through a process of spike timing dependent plasticity (STDP) in a feed-forward architecture. First, we analyze the effect of oscillations on STDP-driven synaptic dynamics of a single synapse, and study how the parameters that characterize the STDP rule and the oscillations affect the resultant synaptic weight. Next, we analyze STDP-driven synaptic dynamics of a pre-synaptic population of neurons onto a single post-synaptic cell. The pre-synaptic neural population is assumed to be oscillating at the same frequency, albeit with different phases, such that the net activity of the pre-synaptic population is constant in time. Thus, in the homogeneous case in which all synapses are equal, the post-synaptic neuron receives constant input and hence does not oscillate. To investigate the transition to oscillatory activity, we develop a mean-field Fokker-Planck approximation of the synaptic dynamics. We analyze the conditions causing the homogeneous solution to lose its stability. The findings show that oscillatory activity appears through a mechanism of spontaneous symmetry breaking. However, in the general case the homogeneous solution is unstable, and the synaptic dynamics does not converge to a different fixed point, but rather to a limit cycle. We show how the temporal structure of the STDP rule determines the stability of the homogeneous solution and the drift velocity of the limit cycle.