Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Implementation and Performance Evaluation of a Fast Dynamic Control Scheme for Capacitor-Supported Interline DVR

The implementation of a fast dynamic control scheme for capacitor-supported interline dynamic voltage restorer (DVR) is presented in this paper. The power stage of the DVR consists of three inverters sharing the same dc link via a capacitor bank. Each inverter has an individual inner control loop for generating the gate signals for the switches. The inner loop is formed by a boundary controller with second-order switching surface, which can make the load voltage ideally revert to the steady state in two switching actions after supply voltage sags, and also gives output of low harmonic distortion. The load-voltage phase reference is common to all three inner loops and is generated by an outer control loop for regulating the dc-link capacitor voltage. Such structure can make the unsagged phase(s) and the dc-link capacitor to restore the sagged phase(s). Based on the steady-state and small-signal characteristics of the control loops, a set of design procedures will be provided. A 1.5-kVA, 220-V, 50-Hz prototype has been built and tested. The dynamic behaviors of the prototype under different sagged and swelled conditions and depths will be investigated. The quality of the load voltage under unbalanced and distorted phase voltages, and nonlinear inductive loads will be studied.
Trajectory Data Driven Transit-Transportation Planning

Taxi, bus, and subway are the most commonly used public transportation tools for urban residents. All these three transportation tools have their drawbacks. On one hand, the increasing road traffic flows reduces the traveling speed of taxi and bus, especially in rush hours; on the other hand, subway cannot cover all urban locations. Moreover, taxi is much more expensive than bus and subway for long distance travel. To identify the potential solutions to the above issue, a thorough analysis on Shanghai traffic data, including taxi and subway trajectory data, has been conducted. Based on this urban trajectory data analysis, it has been observed that it is benefit to provide public transit-transportation planning service to passengers with various interests. Although the existing public transportation planning services, such as Google and Baidu maps, can provide subway-bus transit planning service, they cannot provide the transit service between subway and taxi. Moreover, the recommended transit services provided by the existing commercial products are not time varying, which does not reflect the reality scenarios. Therefore, we propose a transit-transportation planning scheme between subway and taxi, which not only trades off travel cost and travel time, but also provides relatively bounded travel plans. Moreover, the proposed subway-taxi transit-transportation scheme can encourage urban residents to take public transportation service, as it can provide a relatively timely and bounded travel time based on real urban traffic. Thus, it can mitigate the pressure of urban road networks, reduce the overall energy consumption of the society, and increase the coverage of public transport systems.
Training Signal and Precoder Designs for OFDM Under Colored Noise

Based on convex programming, this paper presents a new training signal design for orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) under colored Gaussian noise. An effective method for OFDM symbol detection with the use of precoding is also described. Both analytical and simulation results show that the proposed training design and detection method can effectively estimate the frequency-selective fading channel and reliably recover the OFDM symbols. The superiority of the proposed design over the previously known design under the colored Gaussian noise is also demonstrated.
Investigation of shear banding in three-dimensional foams

We study the steady flow properties of different three-dimensional aqueous foams in a wide-gap Couette geometry. From local velocity measurements through Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) techniques and from viscosity bifurcation experiments, we find that these foams do not exhibit any observable signature of shear banding. This contrasts with two previous results (Rodts S. et al., Europhys. Lett., 69 (2005) 636 and Da Cruz F. et al., Phys. Rev. E, 66 (2002) 051305); we discuss possible reasons for this discrepancy. Moreover, the foams we studied undergo steady flow for shear rates well below the critical shear rate recently predicted (Denkov D. et al., Phys. Rev. Lett., 103 (2009) 118302). Local measurements of the constitutive law finally show that these foams behave as simple Herschel-Bulkley yield stress fluids.
RowClone: Fast and Efficient In-DRAM Copy and Initialization of Bulk Data

Many programs initialize or copy large amounts of memory data. Initialization and copying are forms of memory operations that do not require computation in order to derive their data-values – they either deal with known data-values (e.g., initialize to zero) or simply move data-values that already exist elsewhere in memory (e.g., copy). Therefore, initialization/copying can potentially be performed entirely within the main memory subsystem without involving the processor or the DMA engines. Unfortunately, existing main memory subsystems are unable to take advantage of this fact. Instead, they unnecessarily transfer large amounts of data between main memory and the processor (or the DMA engine) – thereby consuming large amounts of latency, bandwidth, and energy. In this paper, we make the key observation that DRAM chips – the predominant substrate for main memory – already have the capability to transfer large amounts of data within themselves. Internally, a DRAM chip consists of rows of bits and a row-buffer. To access data from any portion of a particular row, the DRAM chip transfers the entire row (e.g., 4 Kbits) into the equally-sized rowbuffer, and vice versa. While this internal data-transfer between a row and the row-buffer occurs in bulk (i.e., all 4 Kbits at once), an external data-transfer (to/from the processor) is severely serialized due to the very narrow width of the DRAM chip’s data-pins (e.g., 8 bits). Our key idea is to utilize and extend the row-granularity data-transfer in order to quickly initialize or move data one row at a time within a DRAM chip. We call this new mechanism RowClone. By making several relatively unintrusive changes to DRAM chip design (0.026% die-size increase), we accelerate a one-page (4 KByte) copying operation by 11.5x, and a one-page zeroing operation by 5.8x, while also conserving memory bandwidth. In addition, we achieve large energy reductions – 41.5x/74.4x energy reductions for one-page zeroing/copying, respectively. We show that RowClone improves performance on an 8-core system by 27% averaged across 64 copy/initialization-intensive workloads. April 25, 2013 DRAFT
The etiology of severe acute gastroenteritis among adults visiting emergency departments in the United States.

BACKGROUND Acute gastroenteritis (AGE) remains a common cause of clinic visits and hospitalizations in the United States, but the etiology is rarely determined. METHODS We performed a prospective, multicenter emergency department-based study of adults with AGE. Subjects were interviewed on presentation and 3-4 weeks later. Serum samples, rectal swab specimens, and/or whole stool specimens were collected at presentation, and serum was collected 3-4 weeks later. Fecal specimens were tested for a comprehensive panel of viral, bacterial, and parasitic pathogens; serum was tested for calicivirus antibodies. RESULTS Pathogens were detected in 25% of 364 subjects, including 49% who provided a whole stool specimen. The most commonly detected pathogens were norovirus (26%), rotavirus (18%), and Salmonella species (5.3%). Pathogens were detected significantly more often from whole stool samples versus a rectal swab specimen alone. Nine percent of subjects who provided whole stool samples had >1 pathogen identified. CONCLUSIONS Viruses, especially noroviruses, play a major role as agents of severe diarrhea in adults. Further studies to confirm the unexpectedly high prevalence of rotaviruses and to explore the causes of illness among patients from whom a pathogen cannot be determined are needed. Studies of enteric pathogens should require the collection of whole stool samples.
Influence of Statistical Estimators of Mutual Information and Data Heterogeneity on the Inference of Gene Regulatory Networks

The inference of gene regulatory networks from gene expression data is a difficult problem because the performance of the inference algorithms depends on a multitude of different factors. In this paper we study two of these. First, we investigate the influence of discrete mutual information (MI) estimators on the global and local network inference performance of the C3NET algorithm. More precisely, we study different MI estimators (Empirical, Miller-Madow, Shrink and Schürmann-Grassberger) in combination with discretization methods (equal frequency, equal width and global equal width discretization). We observe the best global and local inference performance of C3NET for the Miller-Madow estimator with an equal width discretization. Second, our numerical analysis can be considered as a systems approach because we simulate gene expression data from an underlying gene regulatory network, instead of making a distributional assumption to sample thereof. We demonstrate that despite the popularity of the latter approach, which is the traditional way of studying MI estimators, this is in fact not supported by simulated and biological expression data because of their heterogeneity. Hence, our study provides guidance for an efficient design of a simulation study in the context of network inference, supporting a systems approach.
Curriculum Learning for Handwritten Text Line Recognition

Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN) have recently achieved the best performance in off-line Handwriting Text Recognition. At the same time, learning RNN by gradient descent leads to slow convergence, and training times are particularly long when the training database consists of full lines of text. In this paper, we propose an easy way to accelerate stochastic gradient descent in this set-up, and in the general context of learning to recognize sequences. The principle is called Curriculum Learning, or shaping. The idea is to first learn to recognize short sequences before training on all available training sequences. Experiments on three different handwritten text databases (Rimes, IAM, OpenHaRT) show that a simple implementation of this strategy can significantly speed up the training of RNN for Text Recognition, and even significantly improve performance in some cases.
Optical emission and absorption spectra of Zn–ZnO core-shell nanostructures

The core-shell Zn–ZnO nanostructures were fabricated from Zn-powder embedded in graphite (i.e. carbon matrix) in a thin-films form by an inexpensive vacuum arc technique followed by laser ablation. The grazing incidence X-ray diffraction pattern shows that intensity of Zn-peak decreases, and subtle ZnO-peak increasing with the increase in laser power. The high resolution transmission electron microscopic study clearly exhibits the formation of a core-shell nanostructure as fabricated by laser ablation. The emission characteristics of laser ablated (with different powers) samples show a strong exciton peak at 388 nm, and a few more weak peaks (due to weak defect states in the visible range). The optical absorption spectra were obtained from the excitonic peaks (from 344 nm to 317 nm) on decreasing laser power. These peaks occur due to the coupling of exciton absorption (from ZnO shell layer) and core metal interband absorption. The Zn–ZnO core-shell nanostructure is useful for nanophotonic applications.
Formation Energy Calculations of Impurity Elements at Substitutional or Interstitial Sites in Silicon

One of promising candidates as dopants for forming ultra-shallow and high conductive source/drain in future silicon devices has been proposed to be dimer or trimer co-dopants containing pairs or trios of different impurity elements. Making choice of a combination of the impurity elements with a small ionization energy is essential for the appropriate dimers and trimers. In this work we calculated total energies of silicon with substitutional or ineterstitial impurity elements and derived formation energies for the substitutional and interstitial impurity elements for the atomic number 1 to 83 with the exception of inert gas and lanthanum series elements. We present here the periodic table with the formation energies of the substitutional and interstitial impurity elements for determining the most stable site of the impurity elements in Si lattice. We can use this table as a database for calculating ionization energies of the impurity element.
The relationship between pontic hygiene and mucosal inflammation in fixed bridge recipients.

Professional and personal hygiene measures were instituted in bridge recipients who demonstrated subpontic inflammatory lesions of the mucosa. The study group consisted of 16 participants (10 9♂ 6♀) with 27 pontics in all. Criteria of the Plaque and Gingival Index systems were used to describe the occurrence of plaque and mucosai inflammation. Occurrence of mineralized deposits was determined radiographically. Gram-stained smear preparations were prepared for bacteriological examination. An estimate of the outgrowth of yeasts was obtained by a miniaturized culture test system. After hygiene periods of varying lengths of time, the clinical signs of inflammation disappeared. It is concluded that bacterial plaque is essential for the production of inflammation of the mucosa subjacent to bridge pontics.
An Introduction to the Outcomes of Children with Hearing Loss Study

The landscape of service provision for young children with hearing loss has shifted in recent years as a result of newborn hearing screening and the early provision of interventions, including hearing technologies. It is expected that early service provision will minimize or prevent linguistic delays that typically accompany untreated permanent childhood hearing loss. The post-newborn hearing screening era has seen a resurgence of interest in empirically examining the outcomes of children with hearing loss to determine if service innovations have resulted in expected improvements in children’s functioning. The Outcomes of Children with Hearing Loss (OCHL) project was among these recent research efforts, and this introductory article provides background in the form of literature review and theoretical discussion to support the goals of the study. The Outcomes of Children with Hearing Loss project was designed to examine the language and auditory outcomes of infants and preschool-age children with permanent, bilateral, mild-to-severe hearing loss, and to identify factors that moderate the relationship between hearing loss and longitudinal outcomes. The authors propose that children who are hard of hearing experience limitations in access to linguistic input, which lead to a decrease in uptake of language exposure and an overall reduction in linguistic experience. The authors explore this hypothesis in relation to three primary factors that are proposed to influence children’s access to linguistic input: aided audibility, duration and consistency of hearing aid use, and characteristics of caregiver input.
Hemodynamic, Renal, and Hormonal Responses to Brain Natriuretic Peptide Infusion in Patients With Congestive Heart Failure

BackgroundThis study was designed to examine the hemodynamic, renal, and hormonal effects of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) infusion in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) and in control subjects. Methods and ResultsWe infused synthetic human BNP at a rate of 0.1 ug/kg/min. BNP infusion decreased pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (control, from 5 ± 1 to 2 ± 1 mm Hg, p < 0.01; CHF, from 21 ± 3 to 14 ± 4 mm Hg, p < 0.05) and systemic vascular resistance (control, from 1,264 + 75 to 934 ± 52 dyne · sec · cm−5; CHF, from 2,485 ± 379 to 1,771 ± 195 dyne · sec · cm−5; p < 0.01, respectively) and increased stroke volume index (control, from 49.9 ± 2.7 to 51.5 ± 2.3 ml/m2, p = NS; CHF, from 25.6 ± 3.8 to 32.0 ± 3.9 ml/m2, p < 0.01). BNP infusion significantly increased urine volume (control, from 2.3 ± 0.7 to 7.5 ± 1.9 ml/min; CHF, from 0.8 ± 0.2 to 5.3 ± 1.0 ml/min; p < 0.01, respectively), excretion of sodium (control, from 79.2 + 21.6 to 332.8 ± 70.9 1LEq/min; CHF, from 77.4 ± 20.8 to 753.5 ± 108.0 μEq/min; p < 0.01, respectively), and excretion of chloride (control, from 72.5 ± 18.4 to 256.0 ± 43.3, Eq/min; CHF, from 74.0 + 19.6 to 708.8 ± 103.3 μEq/min; p < 0.01, respectively). Urinary excretion of sodium and of chloride in response to BNP infusion was higher in patients with CHF than in control subjects (p < 0.01, respectively). BNP infusion increased the levels of plasma atrial natriuretic peptide (control, from 65 ± 11 to 84 ± 14 pg/ml; CHF, from 262 ± 65 to 301 ± 62 pg/ml; p < 0.05, respectively) and decreased plasma aldosterone concentrations in both groups (control, from 43.3 ± 12.1 to 27.3 ± 7.1 pg/ml; CHF, from 91.1 ± 34.3 to 66.3 ± 27.2 pg/ml; p < 0.05, respectively). ConclusionsWe conclude that BNP infusion improves left ventricular function in patients with CHF by vasodilation and prominent natriuretic action.
Engineering Linguistic Creativity: Bird Flight and Jet Planes

Man achieved flight by studying how birds fly, and yet the solution that engineers came up with (jet planes) is very different from the one birds apply. In this paper I review a number of efforts in automated story telling and poetry generation, identifying which human abilities are being modelled in each case. In an analogy to the classic example of bird-flight and jet planes, I explore how the computational models relate to (the little we know about) human performance, what the similarities are between the case for linguistic creativity and the case for flight, and what the analogy might have to say about artificial linguistic creativity if it were valid.
An ensemble view of thrombin allostery

Abstract Thrombin is the central protease of the coagulation cascade. Its activity is tightly regulated to ensure rapid blood clotting while preventing uncontrolled thrombosis. Thrombin interacts with multiple substrates and cofactors and is critically involved in both pro- and anticoagulant pathways of the coagulation network. Its allosteric regulation, especially by the monovalent cation Na+, has been the focus of research for more than 30 years. It is believed that thrombin can adopt an anticoagulant (‘slow’) conformation and, after Na+ binding, a structurally distinct procoagulant (‘fast’) state. In the past few years, however, the general view of allostery has evolved from one of rigid structural changes towards thermodynamic ensembles of conformational states. With this background, the view of the allosteric regulation of thrombin has also changed. The static view of the two-state model has been dismissed in favor of a more dynamic view of thrombin allostery. Herein, we review recent data that demonstrate that apo-thrombin is zymogen-like and exists as an ensemble of conformations. Furthermore, we describe how ligand binding to thrombin allosterically stabilizes conformations on the continuum from zymogen to protease.
Polymer-based lab-on-a-chip lasers

The integration of optical transducers is generally considered a key issue in the further development of lab-on-a-chip Microsystems. We present a technology for miniaturized, polymer based lasers, suitable for integration with planar waveguides and microfluidic networks. The lasers rely on the commercial laser dye Rhodamine 6G as active medium, and the laser resonator is defined in a thin film of polymer on a low refractive index substrate. Two types of devices are demonstrated: solid and microfluidic polymer based dye lasers. In the microfluidic dye lasers, the laser dye is dissolved in a suitable solvent and flushed though a microfluidic channel, which has the laser resonator embedded. For solid state dye lasers, the laser dye is dissolved in the polymer forming the laser resonator. The miniaturized dye lasers are optically pumped by a frequency doubled, pulsed Nd:YAG laser (at 532 nm), and emit at wavelengths between 560 nm and 590 nm. The lasers emit in the plane of the chip, and the emitted light is coupled into planar polymer waveguides on the chip. The feasibility of three types of polymers is demonstrated: SU-8, PMMA and a cyclo-olefin co-polymer (COC) - Topas. SU-8 is a negative tone photoresist, allowing patterning with conventional UV lithography. PMMA and Topas are thermoplasts, which are patterned by nanoimprint lithography (NIL). The lasing wavelength of the microfluidic dye lasers can be coarse tuned over 30 nm by varying the concentration of laser dye, and fine tuned by varying the refractive index of the solvent. This is utilized to realize a tunable laser, by on-chip mixing of dye, and two solvents of different index of refraction. The lasers were also integrated with waveguides and microfluidic networks.
Auditory-aware navigation for mobile robots based on reflection-robust sound source localization and visual SLAM

Autonomous robot navigation using Simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) is essential for scene understanding by robots. Most existing systems use visual information, and even though such visual-based technologies are robust and useful for many situations, they have difficulty dealing with certain scenarios such as occluded goal or when the goal is out of frame. Introducing audio information to the navigation system solves these issues effectively. Several audio-based methods have been developed in the past to deal with these issues. However, these existing audio-based methods have been developed with the assumption that the space around the robot is open i.e. no sound reflection occurs. Hence, the invisible goals where the sound reflection can be localized have not been fully considered. This paper proposes a reflection-robust sound source localization method using visual SLAM. This method can deal with sound sources whose direct paths are not available, and using localization, we can set a goal only for the actual sound source. Also, to correct the drift present in the local estimates of Visual Odometry (VO), SLAM was integrated with the system, thus increasing the accuracy and robustness of mapping and navigation of our proposed method. The performance of the proposed system is compared to conventional methods, and it proves to be very efficient and robust especially in extremely reverberant situations. It was found that the integration of VO and SLAM improved the average error of a map by approximately 50 pts, and the accuracy of SSL for direct path of sounds was improved by approximately 8 pts. With the online implementation of these methods we successfully achieved audio visual navigation for the actual sound sources.
Improving example-based machine translation through morphological generalization and adaptation

Example Based Machine Translation (EBMT) is limited by the quantity and scope of its training data. Ev en with a reasonably large corpus, we will not have examples that cover everyt hing we want to translate. This problem is especial ly severe in Arabic due to its rich morphology. We demonstrate a novel method that exploits the regular nature of Arabic morphology t o increase the quality and coverage of machine translation. Through the use of generalization and rewrite rules, we are able to r ecover the English translation of phrases that do not exist in the training corpora. Furthermore, this system shows improvement in BLEU even with a training corpus of 1.4 million sentence pairs.