Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multiwavelength Laser Module Based on Distribute Feedback Laser Diode for Broadcast and Communication Systems

In this paper, we proposed a cost-effective broadcast signal transmission scheme using a distributed feedback laser diode (DFB-LD) for wavelength-division-multiplexing passive optical network (WDM-PON) systems. The DFB-LD is directly modulated with a single-tone radio frequency signal to generate multiple optical carriers. An optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) is enhanced using a delay interferometer as a double-pass interferometer. Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) and on-off keying (OOK) signals are experimentally demonstrated to test the broadcasting scheme. We measured the bit-error-rate (BER) and the power penalty after the broadcasting OFDM and OOK signals are transmitted through a 25-km single-mode fiber. An excellent performance of BER is achieved for both OOK and OFDM signals. The proposed scheme is a practical and cost-effective solution for broadcast signal transmissions in WDM-PON systems.
Parameter estimation for autoregressive Gaussian-mixture processes: the EMAX algorithm

The problem of estimating parameters of discrete-time non-Gaussian autoregressive (AR) processes is addressed. The subclass of such processes considered is restricted to those whose driving noise samples are statistically independent and identically distributed according to a Gaussian-mixture probability density function (PDF). Because the likelihood function for this problem is typically unbounded in the vicinity of undesirable, degenerate parameter estimates, a global maximum likelihood approach is not appropriate. Hence, an alternative approach is taken whereby a finite local maximum of the likelihood surface is sought. This approach, which is termed the quasi-maximum likelihood (QML) approach, is used to obtain estimates of the AR parameters as well as the means, variances, and weighting coefficients that define the Gaussian-mixture PDF. A technique for generating solutions to the QML problem is derived using a generalized version of the expectation-maximization principle.
Drift modelling of marine mammal carcases in coastal waters

A floating object’s drift is governed by its buoyancy, shape, and the wind, waves and currents it experiences. Here, I develop a drift modelling framework for marine mammal carcases in coastal waters. The resulting models were run forwards and backwards in time to provide insights into strategies for environmental monitoring under two scenarios. The first explored the beach search options for carcases resulting from potentially fatal collisions between tidal-stream turbines and marine mammals. The second applied the reverse problem for known-location mass strandings to highlight potential at-sea mortality sites. The drift properties of carcase-like objects were assessed in at-sea experiments. Wave transport was found to be greater than Stokes drift alone and in a complex coastal area could not be represented by a downwind multiplier as many previous models have assumed. A high resolution unstructured grid wave model was set up to complement existing wind and current models for the West Coast of Scotland, and these components were combined to build a carcase drift model. In the forward case, from tidal turbine locations, the drift model showed a wide spread of potential stranding sites, suggesting monitoring a limited number of beaches is unlikely to be fruitful. However, selecting beaches in response to immediate wind direction would improve efficiency.
The Papez Circuit in First-Episode, Treatment-Naive Adults with Major Depressive Disorder: Combined Atlas-Based Tract-Specific Quantification Analysis and Voxel-Based Analysis

Previous findings suggest that the Papez Circuit may have a role in major depressive disorders. We used atlas-based tract-specific quantification analysis and voxel-based analysis to examine the integrity of white matter tracts involved in mood regulation (including tracts in the Papez Circuit). Diffusion tensor imaging acquired from 35 first-episode, treatment-naive adults with major depressive disorders and 34 healthy adult controls were compared. Our statistical approach compared structural integrity of 11 major white matter tracts between the major depressive disorder and adult controls, as well as illness duration influence in patients. Fractional anisotropy was decreased in the hippocampal cingulum and in the anterior thalamic radiation according to both analytical approaches, all of which were important tracts included in the Papez Circuit. Our results support the role of the Papez Circuit in major depressive disorders with the minimal probability of false positive due to similar findings in both analyses that have complementary advantages. Dysfunction of the Papez Circuit may be a potential marker for studying the pathogenesis of major depressive disorders.
State-transition cost functions and an application to language translation

We define a general method for ranking the solutions of a search process by associating costs with equivalence classes of state transitions of the process. We show how the method accommodates models based on probabilistic, discriminative, and distance cost functions, including assignment of costs to unseen events. By applying the method to our machine translation prototype, we are able to experiment with different cost functions and training procedures, including an unsupervised procedure for training the numerical parameters of our English-Chinese translation model. Results from these experiments show that the choice of cost function leads to significant differences in translation quality.
Three Strategies to Success: Learning Adversary Models in Security Games

State-of-the-art applications of Stackelberg security games -- including wildlife protection -- offer a wealth of data, which can be used to learn the behavior of the adversary. But existing approaches either make strong assumptions about the structure of the data, or gather new data through online algorithms that are likely to play severely suboptimal strategies. We develop a new approach to learning the parameters of the behavioral model of a bounded rational attacker (thereby pinpointing a near optimal strategy), by observing how the attacker responds to only three defender strategies. We also validate our approach using experiments on real and synthetic data.
Watershed Strokes After Cardiac Surgery: Diagnosis, Etiology, and Outcome

Background and Purpose— Watershed strokes are more prevalent after cardiac surgery than in other stroke populations, but their mechanism in this setting is not understood. We investigated the role of intraoperative blood pressure in the development of watershed strokes and used MRI to evaluate diagnosis and outcomes associated with this stroke subtype. Methods— From 1998 to 2003 we studied 98 patients with clinical stroke after cardiac surgery who underwent MRI with diffusion-weighted imaging. We used logistic regression to explore the relationship between mean arterial pressure and watershed infarcts, between watershed infarcts and outcome, and &khgr;2 analyses to compare detection by MRI versus CT of watershed infarcts. Results— Bilateral watershed infarcts were present on 48% of MRIs and 22% of CTs (P<0.0001). Perioperative stroke patients with bilateral watershed infarcts, compared with those with other infarct patterns, were 17.3 times more likely to die, 12.5 and 6.2 times more likely to be discharged to a skilled nursing facility and to acute rehabilitation, respectively, than to be discharged home (P=0.0004). Patients with a decrease in mean arterial pressure of at least 10 mm Hg (intraoperative compared with preoperative) were 4.1 times more likely to have bilateral watershed infarcts than other infarct patterns. Conclusions— Bilateral watershed infarcts after cardiac surgery are most reliably detected by diffusion-weighted imaging MRI and are associated with poor short-term outcome, compared with other infarct types. The mechanism may include an intraoperative drop in blood pressure from a patient's baseline. These findings have implications for future clinical practice and research.
Electron microscopic evidence for externalization of the transferrin receptor in vesicular form in sheep reticulocytes

Using ferritin-labeled protein A and colloidal gold-labeled anti-rabbit IgG, the fate of the sheep transferrin receptor has been followed microscopically during reticulocyte maturation in vitro. After a few minutes of incubation at 37 degrees C, the receptor is found on the cell surface or in simple vesicles of 100-200 nm, in which the receptor appears to line the limiting membrane of the vesicles. With time (60 min or longer), large multivesicular elements (MVEs) appear whose diameter may reach 1-1.5 micron. Inside these large MVEs are round bodies of approximately 50-nm diam that bear the receptor at their external surfaces. The limiting membrane of the large MVEs is relatively free from receptor. When the large MVEs fuse with the plasma membrane, their contents, the 50-nm bodies, are released into the medium. The 50-nm bodies appear to arise by budding from the limiting membrane of the intracellular vesicles. Removal of surface receptor with pronase does not prevent exocytosis of internalized receptor. It is proposed that the exocytosis of the approximately 50-nm bodies represents the mechanism by which the transferrin receptor is shed during reticulocyte maturation.
Geometric Complexity Theory VI : The flip via positivity Dedicated to Sri

Geometric complexity theory (GCT) is an approach to the fundamental hardness problems in complexity theory. The article [42] describes its abstract strategy, called the flip, to resolve the self referential paradox, which is the root difficulty in the P vs. NP and related problems. This article describes an approach based on positivity hypotheses in algebraic geometry and representation theory to implement the flip and thereby resolve the self referential paradox when the underlying field of computation is of characteristic zero.
Solving small and large scale constraint satisfaction problems using a heuristic-based microgenetic algorithm

Microgenetic algorithms (MGAs) are genetic algorithms that use a very small population size (population size < 10). Recently, interest in MGAs has grown because, for some problems, they are able to find solutions with fewer evaluations than genetic algorithms with larger population sizes. This paper introduces two heuristic-based MGAs which quickly find solutions to constraint satisfaction problems. Both of these algorithms outperform a well-known algorithm, the iterative descent method, on most instances of the N-queens problem. We compare these three algorithm on the basis of the mean number of evaluations needed to find solutions to several instances of the N-queens problem. <<ETX>>
Multichannel Boron Doped Nanocrystalline Diamond Ultramicroelectrode Arrays: Design, Fabrication and Characterization

We report on the fabrication and characterization of an 8 × 8 multichannel Boron Doped Diamond (BDD) ultramicro-electrode array (UMEA). The device combines both the assets of microelectrodes, resulting from conditions in mass transport from the bulk solution toward the electrode, and of BDD's remarkable intrinsic electrochemical properties. The UMEAs were fabricated using an original approach relying on the selective growth of diamond over pre-processed 4 inches silicon substrates. The prepared UMEAs were characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results demonstrated that the electrodes have exhibited a very fast electrode transfer rate (k0) up to 0.05 cm·s−1 (in a fast redox couple) and on average, a steady state limiting current (in a 0.5 M potassium chloride aqueous solution containing 1 mM Fe(CN)64− ion at 100 mV·s−1) of 1.8 nA. The UMEAs are targeted for electrophysiological as well as analytical applications.
QSF Processes with Level Product Form Stationary Distribution : Analysis of the E k / M / 1 and D / M / 1 Queues

In this paper we study Quasi-Skipfree (QSF) processes, which are a generalization of QuasiBirth-Death (QBD) processes, where jumps to higher levels are allowed. Under homogeneity and irreducibility assumptions we show that the stationary distribution of the QSF process has a product form as a function of the level. For an application, we will discuss the Ek/M/1-queue, that can be modeled as a QBD process on a two-dimensional state space. In particular we study the properties of the stationary distribution and derive the monotonicity of the mean number of the customers in the queue and the mean sojourn time as a function of k.
Antarctic Cloud Macrophysical, Thermodynamic Phase, and Atmospheric Inversion Coupling Properties at McMurdo Station: I. Principal Data Processing and Climatology

Polar cloud radiative forcing plays a crucial role in the determination of the surface and atmospheric energy balance through processes which are not yet fully understood. While there is a broad and fairly complete database of cloud measurements from several Arctic sites and field campaigns through the past two decades, the recent one‐year long U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) West Antarctic Radiation Experiment (AWARE) field campaign at McMurdo Station has provided a hitherto unmatched multiple‐instrument set of ground‐based Antarctic cloud measurements. These observations are processed and used to derive the main cloud and liquid containing layer properties: occurrence fraction, cloud persistence and boundaries, and configuration relative to temperature and moisture inversions. The results are compared to previous Arctic observations. It is concluded that clouds and liquid‐bearing layers over McMurdo Station are essentially less prevalent and persistent than their Arctic counterparts. However, they typically have higher bases and show a weaker temperature dependence than in the Arctic, suggesting a more “pristine” Antarctic atmosphere. In addition, the clouds (including both water phases) typically extend toward relatively lower altitudes, and their relation to inversions near cloud top is often similar to those observed in the Arctic.
MICB Allele Genotyping on Microarrays by Improving the Specificity of Extension Primers

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I chain-related gene B (MICB) encodes a ligand for activating NKG2D that expressed in natural killer cells, γδ T cells, and αβ CD8+ T cells, which is associated with autoimmune diseases, cancer, and infectious diseases. Here, we have established a system for genotyping MICB alleles using allele-specific primer extension (ASPE) on microarrays. Thirty-six high quality, allele-specific extension primers were evaluated using strict and reliable cut-off values using mean fluorescence intensity (MFI), whereby an MFI >30,000 represented a positive signal and an MFI <10,000 represented a negative signal. Eight allele-specific extension primers were found to be false positives, five of which were improved by adjusting their length, and three of which were optimized by refractory modification. The MICB alleles (*002:01, *003, *005:02/*010, *005:03, *008, *009N, *018, and *024) present in the quality control panel could be exactly defined by 22 allele-specific extension primers. MICB genotypes that were identified by ASPE on microarrays were in full concordance with those identified by PCR-sequence-based typing. In conclusion, we have developed a method for genotyping MICB alleles using ASPE on microarrays; which can be applicable for large-scale single nucleotide polymorphism typing studies of population and disease associations.
Caractérisation et amélioration d'un polarimètre à modulation photo-élastique pour l'Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic

The work accomplished in the scope of this master's thesis in astrophysics was done with a goal in mind: to upgrade and characterize the next astro-polarimeter of the Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic. POMM (Polarimètre de l'Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic), the result of a collaboration between the Institut Nationnal d'Optique (INO) and the Université de Montréal, has been built as an upgraded version of PlanetPOL as presented in the Hough et al. 2007 paper. With this objective set, the whole cabling work has been re-thought and done in two stages. A characterization of the observational data has been made after each major update to the instrument. Half of the data acquisition system for the critical signals was replaced by a more precise component. A data reduction code was written, enabling the transition from the bulk signals to usable polarization measurements. Moreover, commissioning and observational time was obtained at the Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic. The time was used to integrate POMM to the OMM's available intruments, to test its response in real situations and to obtain scienti c data on diverse astronomical objects. Following the upgrades, POMM's working is more optimised and the instrument can be installed and used more easily by the OMM's researchers.
Nonintrusive appliance load monitoring for smart homes: recent advances and future issues

In recent years, as Cloud Computing and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies develop rapidly, smart home technology has entered a new stage: smart electric power usage, which will break the traditional extensive management situation for electric power loads, particularly under the background of an energy crisis. People will gradually gravitate towards the demands for more energy-related and intelligent services in smart home systems such as energy saving, improved understanding of electrical consumption and electrical safety of appliances. When the power consumption is considered by a smart grid, detailed electrical information of power loads will be perceived for demand management and optimization. To address these issues, measuring and monitoring the power of residential individual appliances are highly demanded by many applications.
[Change of available pool of heavy metals in paddy soils under human land use impacts from the Taihu Lake region, Jiangsu Province, China].

A number of representative farms under various human land uses were selected through a general survey in the Taihu Lake region, Jiangsu Province, China. The land uses covered vicinity of smelt industry and township industry, long history of high-yielding performance, long term fertilization treatments. Top layers of the paddy soils were sampled for analysis of available pool of heavy metals. A prevalent trend of increasing availability was observed of heavy metals by a degree of 30% up to 200% in the soils under these human impacts as compared with that under relative conserved conditions. This increasing trend was most remarkably exhibited in the top sub-layer of the paddy soils. The highest rise of the available pool largest was found in those under smelt industry impact and under long term chemical fertilization alone. The result showed that available pool of surface soil Cu and Pb under these impacts were 7.96-2.15 mg.kg-1, 24.7-3.47 mg.kg-1 and 8.34-4.42 mg.kg-1, 9.01-4.95 mg.kg-1 respectively. The dramatic rise of the availability with the increasing trend of the total (as previously reported) might stand for contemporary soil environmental quality and, thus, require severe concerns for agriculture and food security in this rapidly developing region.
Therapeutic drug monitoring of antiretroviral drugs in HIV-infected patients

ABSTRACT Introduction: Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) may be beneficial when applied to antiretroviral (ARV). Even though TDM can be a valuable strategy in HIV management, its role remains controversial. Areas covered: This review provides a comprehensive update on important issues relating to TDM of ARV drugs in HIV-infected patients. Articles from PubMed with keywords relevant to each topic section were reviewed. Search strategies limited to articles published in English. Expert commentary: There is evidence supporting the use of TDM in HIV treatment. However, some limitations need to be considered. The evidence supporting the use of routine TDM for all patients is limited, as it is not clear that this strategy offers any advantages over TDM for selected indications. Selected groups of patients including patients with physiological changes, patients with drug-drug interactions or toxicity, and the elderly could potentially benefit from TDM, as optimized dosing is challenging in these populations.
CUTE: Traffic Classification Using TErms

Among different traffic classification approaches, Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) methods are considered as the most accurate. These methods, however, have two drawbacks: (i) they are not efficient since they use complex regular expressions as protocol signatures, and (ii) they require manual intervention to generate and maintain signatures, partly due to the signature complexity. In this paper, we present CUTE, an automatic traffic classification method, which relies on sets of weighted terms as protocol signatures. The key idea behind CUTE is an observation that, given appropriate weights, the occurrence of a specific term is more important than the relative location of terms in a flow. This observation is based on experimental evaluations as well as theoretical analysis, and leads to several key advantages over previous classification techniques: (i) CUTE is extremely faster than other classification schemes since matching flows with weighed terms is significantly faster than matching regular expressions; (ii) CUTE can classify network traffic using only the first few bytes of the flows in most cases; and (iii) Unlike most existing classification techniques, CUTE can be used to classify partial (or even slightly modified) flows. Even though CUTE replaces complex regular expressions with a set of simple terms, using theoretical analysis and experimental evaluations (based on two large packet traces from tier-one ISPs), we show that its accuracy is as good as or better than existing complex classification schemes, i.e. CUTE achieves precision and recall rates of more than 90%. Additionally, CUTE can successfully classify more than half of flows that other DPI methods fail to classify.
Fast illegal state identification for improving SAT-based induction

In this paper, we propose a novel framework to quickly extract illegal states of a sequential circuit and then use them as constraints during the SAT-based induction runs. First, we employ a low-cost combinational ATPG to identify unreachable partial-states among groups of related flip-flops. Second, we propose the concept of necessary-assignment looping to identify additional unachievable partial-states. Third, we extend the above unachievability theory to capture new non-trivial sequential logic dependencies among the circuit signals. Finally, we use a unified framework that utilizes all the above information and aims at maximizing the learning. All the learned illegal states are converted into constraint clauses and are replicated at all the unrolled transition relations to prune the search-space. Experimental results show that, due to the added constraints, many safety properties can be proved at earlier depths and the induction run-times can be significantly reduced