Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cost-effective localization in underground mines using new SIMO/MIMO-like fingerprints and artificial neural networks

Safety measures have always been a main concern in the mining industry that, despite the modern practices, utilizes old-fashioned surveillance and monitoring systems. Our mission in underground mines stems from the profound need of geo-positioning systems that can accurately localize endangered miners and their heavy machinery in one of Earth's most harsh and rough environments. In underground mines, complex channels' responses to wireless transmitted signals challenge traditional localization techniques, yet they fail to defeat our innovative, cost-effective and accurate fingerprint-based positioning techniques that use artificial neural networks (ANNs) and exploit space-time diversity. Being among the pioneers in underground communications research, we bring forward a more sophisticated and accurate fingerprint-based positioning technique that exploits spatial transmission diversity in the presence of more than one transmitter Tx and/or receiver Rx antenna, such as in the case of single/multiple input multiple output (SIMO/MIMO) communication systems. More importantly, an advanced study is conducted to reduce the cost of fingerprint-acquisition trading off pinpoint accuracy for lower complexity and better ANNs' design. By challenging the localization system using less data measurements, we prove that ANNs, when properly designed, succeed to attain high positioning accuracies even when localizing in measurement gaps that were not seen in the training phase.
Triplet Lexicon Models for Statistical Machine Translation

This paper describes a lexical trigger model for statistical machine translation. We present various methods using triplets incorporating long-distance dependencies that can go beyond the local context of phrases or n-gram based language models. We evaluate the presented methods on two translation tasks in a reranking framework and compare it to the related IBM model 1. We show slightly improved translation quality in terms of BLEU and TER and address various constraints to speed up the training based on Expectation-Maximization and to lower the overall number of triplets without loss in translation performance.
Observations on the factors that control the generation of triiodothyronine from thyroxine in rat liver and the nature of the defect induced by fasting.

Studies were performed to explore the mechanism underlying the impaired generation of 125-I-3,5,3'-triiodothyronine (T3) from 125I-thyroxine (T4) (T3-neogenesis)) in preparations of liver from rats fasted for 48 h and the prevention of this effect by the feeding of glucose. T3-neogenesis in livers from fasted animals and those fed chow or glucose was assessed in various mixtures of crude microsomal fractions with either buffer or cytosols. T3-neogenesis was mediated by an enzyme present in the microsomal fraction whose activity was enhanced by cytosolic cofactor(s). In livers from animals fasted for 48 h, the supporting activity of cytosol was decreased, whereas the activity of the enzyme was unaffected. Administration of glucose as the sole nutritional source prevented the decrease in the supporting activity of hepatic cytosol that was regularly observed in the case of animals totally deprived of food. The diminished supporting activity for T3-neogenesis provided by liver cytosol from fasted animals was restored to normal by enrichment with either NADPH or GSH, but the two cofactors appeared to act at different loci. GSH stimulated T3-neogenesis in microsomes incubated in the absence of cytosol, i.e., in buffer, whereas NADPH did not. The stimulatory effect of both agents was blocked by the sulfhydryl oxidant, diamide, which also inhibited T3-neogenesis in mixtures of microsomes with cytosols. Taken together, these observations suggest that GSH acts directly on the enzyme in the crude microsomal fraction, whereas NADPH acts within the cytosol, possibly by increasing the concentration of GSH through the action of the enzyme glutathione reductase, for which NADPH is a cofactor. In this light, the decreased supporting activity of hepatic cytosol from starved animals appears to reflect, at least partly, a decreased concentration of one or both cofactors. The direct stimulation of enzyme activity by GSH, and the apparent lack of inhibition of unstimulated activity by diamide, suggests that the 5'-monodeiodinase for thyroxine that mediates T3-neogenesis may be a GSH transhydrogenase.
Biodegradable Polymers

Biodegradable materials are used in packaging, agriculture, medicine and other areas. In recent years there has been an increase in interest in biodegradable polymers. Two classes of biodegradable polymers can be distinguished: synthetic or natural polymers. There are polymers produced from feedstocks derived either from petroleum resources (non renewable resources) or from biological resources (renewable resources). In general natural polymers offer fewer advantages than synthetic polymers. The following review presents an overview of the different biodegradable polymers that are currently being used and their properties, as well as new developments in their synthesis and applications.
Interactive Selective Pressures of Hla-Restricted Immune Responses and Antiretroviral Drugs on HIV-1

HIV-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses mediated by human leukocyte antigen (HLA) recognition and antiretroviral drugs exert selection pressure on HIV-1 in vivo. The selection of CTL escape mutations strongly underpins the failure of CTL control in most untreated infections whilst drug-resistance mutations predict failure of drug control. These two evolutionary forces share common target residues in HIV-1 at which their selection effects could be synergistic or antagonistic, such that the propensity to develop drug resistance and virological treatment failure may be influenced by HLA type. We examined HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) and protease sequences in a large clinical observational cohort of 487 HIV-infected individuals and found evidence of site-specific interactions between specific antiretroviral drug exposures, HLA alleles and HIV sequence diversity at population level. Such interactions may have general and specific implications for explaining in vivo/in vitro discordance of drug resistance, host-specific susceptibility to drug resistance, individualization of therapy and therapeutic vaccine design.
Joint power control-allocation for green cognitive wireless networks using mean field theory

The purpose of this paper is to show how key concepts from control theory, game theory, and mean field theory can be exploited to design joint control-allocation policies in cognitive wireless networks. One of the key features of the proposed approach is that transmitters (which are assumed to be cognitive and autonomous decisionnally speaking) have a certain knowledge of the channel evolution law and want to reach a certain transmission rate target while minimizing the energy consumed by the power supply and not the one corresponding to radio-frequency signals (which is known to be important to design green wireless networks). The optimal centralized policy is derived in order to have an upper bound on the performance of the decentralized system. Then, the Nash equilibrium of the cognitive network is determined by using recent results from mean field theory (MFT). In order to evaluate the performance gap between decentralized and centralized policies we introduce and evaluate the MFT-based asymptotic price of anarchy (APoA).
Expression of functional soluble human leucocyte antigen‐G molecules in lymphoproliferative disorders

Membrane‐bound and soluble human leucocyte antigen‐G (sHLA‐G) molecules display immunotolerant properties favouring tumour cell escape from immune surveillance. sHLA‐G molecules have been detected in several tumour pathologies; this study aimed to evaluate sHLA‐G expression in lymphoproliferative disorders. sHLA‐G plasma level was significantly increased in 110 of 178 newly diagnosed lymphoid proliferations cases i.e. 59% of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, 65% of B non‐Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL) and 58% of T‐NHL. To assess the mechanisms involved in this secretion, the differential effect of cytokines was tested in in vitro cultures of NHL cells. A significant induction of sHLA‐G level was shown in T‐NHL in contrast with B‐NHL and normal equivalent cells, after cytokine stimulation with (i) interferonγ (IFNγ), interleukin‐2 (IL‐2) and granulocyte‐macrophage colony‐stimulating factor, (ii) IL‐10 and (iii) transforming growth factor β. An impact of microenvironment on sHLA‐G expression was found in B‐NHL as shown by the in vitro effect of addition of normal monocytes. Finally, a functional effect of sHLA‐G molecules purified from pathologic plasma was demonstrated by their strong capacity to inhibit T‐cell proliferation at concentrations currently observed during these disorders. These results suggest that functional sHLA‐G molecules are upregulated in lymphoproliferative disorders which can support their potential immunomodulatory role during this pathology.
Gaussian Light Field: Estimation of Viewpoint-Dependent Blur for Optical See-Through Head-Mounted Displays

We propose a method to calibrate viewpoint-dependent, channel-wise image blur of near-eye displays, especially of Optical See-Through Head-Mounted Displays (OST-HMDs). Imperfections in HMD optics cause channel-wise image shift and blur that degrade the image quality of the display at a user's viewpoint. If we can estimate such characteristics perfectly, we could mitigate the effect by applying correction techniques from the computational photography in computer vision as analogous to cameras. Unfortunately, directly applying existing calibration techniques of cameras to OST-HMDs is not a straightforward task. Unlike ordinary imaging systems, image blur in OST-HMDs is viewpoint-dependent, i.e., the optical characteristic of a display dynamically changes depending on the current viewpoint of the user. This constraint makes the problem challenging since we must measure image blur of an HMD, ideally, over the entire 3D eyebox in which a user can see an image. To overcome this problem, we model the viewpoint-dependent blur as a Gaussian Light Field (GLF) that stores spatial information of the display screen as a (4D) light field with depth information and the blur as point-spread functions in the form of Gaussian kernels, respectively. We first describe both our GLF model and a calibration procedure to learn a GLF for a given OST-HMD. We then apply our calibration method to two HMDs that use different optics: a cubic prism or holographic gratings. The results show that our method achieves significantly better accuracy in Point-Spread Function (PSF) estimations with an accuracy about 2 to 7 dB in Peak SNR.
Effect of Leptin on Vascular Calcification in Apolipoprotein E–Deficient Mice

Objective—The adipocytokine leptin has been proposed to increase cardiovascular risk in both obese and diabetic individuals. In the current study, therefore, we used apoE-deficient mice to examine the effects of leptin on both lesion size and calcification. Methods and Results—Mice were treated with once daily intraperitoneal injections of leptin (125 &mgr;g/mouse/d) for 2 months. The mice were then euthanized, and sections of the aortic root and thoracic aorta analyzed histomorphometrically. Measurements of lesion size and surface area occupied by atherosclerotic lesions did not reveal any differences between nontreated and leptin-treated animals. However, von Kossa staining of the aortic root demonstrated an 8.3±2.0-fold increase in lesion calcification as well as a 2.5±0.6-fold increase in valvular calcification in those animals treated with leptin. In addition, the percent total lesion area demonstrating ALP-positive staining was 5.4±2.1-fold greater in leptin-treated mice when compared to nontreated control mice. This increase in ALP staining was also accompanied by an increase in the expression of the osteoblast-specific markers, osteocalcin, and osteopontin. Conclusions—Based on these observations, we conclude that leptin may increase cardiovascular risk by promoting osteogenic differentiation and thus vascular calcification.
Chemolithotrophy in the continental deep subsurface: Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF), USA

The deep subsurface is an enormous repository of microbial life. However, the metabolic capabilities of these microorganisms and the degree to which they are dependent on surface processes are largely unknown. Due to the logistical difficulty of sampling and inherent heterogeneity, the microbial populations of the terrestrial subsurface are poorly characterized. In an effort to better understand the biogeochemistry of deep terrestrial habitats, we evaluate the energetic yield of chemolithotrophic metabolisms and microbial diversity in the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in the former Homestake Gold Mine, SD, USA. Geochemical data, energetic modeling, and DNA sequencing were combined with principle component analysis to describe this deep (down to 8100 ft below surface), terrestrial environment. SURF provides access into an iron-rich Paleoproterozoic metasedimentary deposit that contains deeply circulating groundwater. Geochemical analyses of subsurface fluids reveal enormous geochemical diversity ranging widely in salinity, oxidation state (ORP 330 to −328 mV), and concentrations of redox sensitive species (e.g., Fe2+ from near 0 to 6.2 mg/L and Σ S2- from 7 to 2778μg/L). As a direct result of this compositional buffet, Gibbs energy calculations reveal an abundance of energy for microorganisms from the oxidation of sulfur, iron, nitrogen, methane, and manganese. Pyrotag DNA sequencing reveals diverse communities of chemolithoautotrophs, thermophiles, aerobic and anaerobic heterotrophs, and numerous uncultivated clades. Extrapolated across the mine footprint, these data suggest a complex spatial mosaic of subsurface primary productivity that is in good agreement with predicted energy yields. Notably, we report Gibbs energy normalized both per mole of reaction and per kg fluid (energy density) and find the later to be more consistent with observed physiologies and environmental conditions. Further application of this approach will significantly expand our understanding of the deep terrestrial biosphere.
Measuring tip and side forces of a novel catheter prototype: A feasibility study

Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) and robot surgery have opened new ways to perform surgical operations in a safer and simultaneously faster manner. In an effort to follow this minimally invasive trend, this paper presents the feasibility study of a novel fibre-optic catheter prototype. This prototype sensor has the ability to measure forces from the sides and tip. Classification of forces from multiple positions on a catheter provides valuable information for safe navigation inside the vasculature and heart of a patient. This sensor employs two fibre-optic schemes, one for the tip and one for the sides of the catheter; it is made entirely of plastic, making it compatible with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). A test bench was used to determine the linearity coefficients during static loading. These initial experiments on the prototype gave rise to an ideal linear force response coupled with low hysteresis. Finally, an experiment which tries to simulate the human blood vessel achieved satisfying results during dynamic sensor movement.
Visuomotor learning by passive motor experience

Humans can adapt to unfamiliar dynamic and/or kinematic transformations through the active motor experience. Recent studies of neurorehabilitation using robots or brain-computer interface (BCI) technology suggest that passive motor experience would play a measurable role in motor recovery, however our knowledge of passive motor learning is limited. To clarify the effects of passive motor experience on human motor learning, we performed arm reaching experiments guided by a robotic manipulandum. The results showed that the passive motor experience had an anterograde transfer effect on the subsequent motor execution, whereas no retrograde interference was confirmed in the ABA paradigm experiment. This suggests that the passive experience of the error between visual and proprioceptive sensations leads to the limited but actual compensation of behavior, although it is fragile and cannot be consolidated as a persistent motor memory.
Server-Side Log Data Analytics for I/O Workload Characterization and Coordination on Large Shared Storage Systems

Inter-application I/O contention and performance interference have been recognized as severe problems. In this work, we demonstrate, through measurement from Titan (world's No. 3 supercomputer), that high I/O variance co-exists with the fact that individual storage units remain under-utilized for the majority of the time. This motivates us to propose AID, a system that performs automatic application I/O characterization and I/O-aware job scheduling. AID analyzes existing I/O traffic and batch job history logs, without any prior knowledge on applications or user/developer involvement. It identifies the small set of I/O-intensive candidates among all applications running on a supercomputer and subsequently mines their I/O patterns, using more detailed per-I/O-node traffic logs. Based on such auto-extracted information, AID provides online I/O-aware scheduling recommendations to steer I/O-intensive applications away from heavy ongoing I/O activities. We evaluate AID on Titan, using both real applications (with extracted I/O patterns validated by contacting users) and our own pseudo-applications. Our results confirm that AID is able to (1) identify I/O-intensive applications and their detailed I/O characteristics, and (2) significantly reduce these applications' I/O performance degradation/variance by jointly evaluating outstanding applications' I/O pattern and real-time system l/O load.
A temperature dependent simple spice based modeling platform for power IGBT modules

This paper deals with the development of a PSpice based temperature dependent modelling platform for the evaluation of silicon based IGBT power modules. The developed device modelling platform is intended to be used for the design and assessment of converter valves/cells for potential high power applications in transmission and distribution networks. An extended version of a previous modelling platform implemented in PSpice is presented here taking into account temperature dependence up to (and even beyond) the specified junction temperature of 125°C of 4.5kV StakPak power modules. A set of device modelling parameters (both for IGBTs and diodes) have first been extracted and verified with static and dynamic comparison of experimental data from 4.5kV and 2.0kA Si based IGBT power modules. An overall fair comparison is achieved with varying set of bus voltages and load currents and at different temperatures.
Mutants in the ADP-ribosyltransferase Cleft of Cholera Toxin Lack Diarrheagenicity but Retain Adjuvanticity

Cholera toxin (CT), the most commonly used mucosal adjuvant in experimental animals, is unsuitable for humans because of potent diarrhea-inducing properties. We have constructed two CT-A subunit mutants, e.g., serine→ phenylalanine at position 61 (S61F), and glutamic acid→ lysine at 112 (E112K) by site-directed mutagenesis. Neither mutant CT (mCT), in contrast to native CT (nCT), induced adenosine diphosphate-ribosylation, cyclic adenosine monophosphate formation, or fluid accumulation in ligated mouse ileal loops. Both mCTs retained adjuvant properties, since mice given ovalbumin (OVA) subcutaneously with mCTs or nCT, but not OVA alone developed high-titered serum anti-OVA immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies (Abs) which were largely of IgG1 and IgG2b subclasses. Although nCT induced brisk IgE Ab responses, both mCTs elicited lower anti-OVA IgE Abs. OVA-specific CD4+ T cells were induced by nCT and by mCTs, and quantitative analysis of secreted cytokines and mRNA revealed a T helper cell 2 (Th2)-type response. These results now show that the toxic properties of CT can be separated from adjuvanticity, and the mCTs induce Ab responses via a Th2 cell pathway.
Impact evaluation of noise uncertainty in spectrum sensing under middleton class a noise

Reliable spectrum sensing is required to enable the effective use of Cognitive Radio (CR) networks. In practice, CRs not only have to cope with impulsive noises but also need to consider noise uncertainties. Small uncertainties of noise parameters are inevitable in any practical detector and the impact of these must be considered. This paper considers the energy detector based spectrum sensing under Middleton Class A noise with parameter uncertainties. Firstly, we show how analytical expressions of the probabilities of detection and false alarm can be derived. Secondly, we show that the mismatch of impulsive parameters A and Γ have little impact on performance and can thus generally be ignored but the uncertainty of noise power σZ2 can induce SNR Walls to the detector, which means that, no matter how many observations are obtained, the detector cannot robustly detect the primary signal. These results have implications for designing an enhanced energy detector for robust spectrum sensing.
A Pub/Sub extension to NDN for efficient data collection and dissemination in V2X networks

Named Data Networking (NDN) gives more importance to content instead of its location. On the other hand, V2X networks carry a wide variety of content such as events, traffic information and infotainment content. Therefore, NDN native capabilities in terms of caching and multicast can reduce traffic load in V2X networks and consequently decrease congestion risk. However, the communication in NDN is based on a request-response pattern while it is event based in V2X. Thus, this paper extends NDN with a Pub/Sub capability in order to provide an efficient data collection and dissemination in V2X networks. In this paper, we study the limitations of using NDN and the challenges of extending it with Pub/Sub and propose a new protocol that handles V2X characteristics. Simulation results of data dissemination shows that the number of Subscribe messages generated in vehicles present at most the one tenth of the total received Publish messages while, without the Pub/Sub extension, the number of Interests will be equal to the number of Data messages without considering message losses.