Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Frequency domain crosstalk canceling between VDSL2 systems with different symbol rates

ITU-T recently published recommendation G.993. 5 for frequency-domain crosstalk cancellation, to be used in conjunction with VDSL2. This standard assumes identical symbol rates for all systems. After a brief review of G.993. 5, we discuss an extension of frequency-domain crosstalk cancellation to cover the different symbol rates specified for VDSL2.
Development of Hydroxyapatite Layer on Superplastic Ti-6Al-4V for Biomaterials Applications

In this study, HA is embedded onto superplastic Ti-6Al-4V through continuous pressing technique at temperature below the allographic temperature to improve the poor bonding strength obtained by the commercial methods. The cross section morphologies of the HA layer show uniform structure without any delamination or cracks at the interface with the surface hardness of approximately 500±5HV. The EDX and line scan analysis shows that interfacial reaction occur between the HA layer and the substrate. Wear test evaluations show that embedded layer on superplastic Ti-6Al-4V substrate can withstand higher pressure compared to the as-received substrate.
Diagnosis and Management of Autoimmune Hepatitis: Current Status and Future Directions

Autoimmune hepatitis is characterized by autoantibodies, hypergammaglobulinemia, and interface hepatitis on histological examination. The features lack diagnostic specificity, and other diseases that may resemble autoimmune hepatitis must be excluded. The clinical presentation may be acute, acute severe (fulminant), or asymptomatic; conventional autoantibodies may be absent; centrilobular necrosis and bile duct changes may be present; and the disease may occur after liver transplantation or with features that suggest overlapping disorders. The diagnostic criteria have been codified, and diagnostic scoring systems can support clinical judgment. Nonstandard autoantibodies, including antibodies to actin, α-actinin, soluble liver antigen, perinuclear antineutrophil antigen, asialoglycoprotein receptor, and liver cytosol type 1, are tools that can support the diagnosis, especially in patients with atypical features. Prednisone or prednisolone in combination with azathioprine is the preferred treatment, and strategies using these medications in various doses can ameliorate treatment failure, incomplete response, drug intolerance, and relapse after drug withdrawal. Budesonide, mycophenolate mofetil, and calcineurin inhibitors can be considered in selected patients as frontline or salvage therapies. Molecular (recombinant proteins and monoclonal antibodies), cellular (adoptive transfer and antigenic manipulation), and pharmacological (antioxidants, antifibrotics, and antiapoptotic agents) interventions constitute future directions in management. The evolving knowledge of the pathogenic pathways and the advances in technology promise new management algorithms.
Statistical mechanics approaches to granular media: between micromechanics and macromechanics

The mechanical behavior of granular materials has been traditionally approached through two theoretical and computational frameworks: macromechanics and micromechanics. Macromechanics focuses on continuum based models. In consequence it is assumed that the matter in the granular material is homogeneous and continuously distributed over its volume so that the smallest element cut from the body possesses the same physical properties as the body. In particular, it has some equivalent mechanical properties, represented by complex and non-linear constitutive relationships. Engineering problems are usually solved using computational methods such as FEM or FDM. On the other hand, micromechanics is the analysis of heterogeneous materials on the level of their individual constituents. In granular materials, if the properties of particles are known, a micromechanical approach can lead to a predictive response of the whole heterogeneous material. Two classes of numerical techniques can be differentiated: computational micromechanics, which consists on applying continuum mechanics on each of the phases of a representative volume element and then solving numerically the equations, and atomistic methods (DEM), which consist on applying rigid body dynamics together with interaction potentials to the particles. Statistical mechanics approaches arise between micro and macromechanics. It tries to state which the expected macroscopic properties of a granular system are, by starting from a micromechanical analysis of the features of the particles and the interactions. The main objective of this paper is to introduce this approach.
Transformations for early reply and forward message passing mechanisms

Message passing notations (language, package, etc.) typically include some form of asynchronous or synchronous invocation. In a synchronous invocation, the invoker waits for the invocation's servicer to pass back results. Some message passing notations also include early reply or deferred reply (including forwarding), which alters how and when the servicer passes back its results; this additional flexibility is useful in realistic applications. It is well known how to transform a synchronous invocation into only asynchronous invocations. This paper extends such transformations to early reply and forward. This paper also describes the use of these transformations within the implementations of programming notations. Using the transformation simplifies the implementation without significantly affecting run‐time costs. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Effect of driving experience on collision avoidance braking: an experimental investigation and computational modelling

Information technologies have been developed to facilitate driving performance and improve safety. However, there is a lack of computational methods that can take into account drivers’ adaptation to driving. That is, how behaviour changes with experience. Modelling the effect of driving experience on driver behaviour is important to the development of in-vehicle information technologies, because drivers at different skill levels may need different types or levels of assistance. Cognitive-architecture-based human performance modelling is a valuable method that can integrate different cognitive aspects underlying human behaviour such as skill levels and support quantitative simulation of behaviour. The study reported in this paper tested and examined computational models built in ACT-R (Adaptive Control of Thought-Rational) to account for the effect of driving experience on collision avoidance braking behaviour. The modelling results were compared with human data collected from a simulated driving experiment. The models produced braking behavioural results similar to the human results. Moreover, model predictions of three other emergent-braking scenarios were generally similar to and in the same order with the empirical results reported in previous studies. Future research can further integrate the method and results into intelligent driver assistance systems such as collision warning systems to better adjust the systems to the need of different drivers with different skill levels.
A novel estimation method of road condition for pedestrian navigation

In this paper, we design and develop a ground surface condition recognition algorithm using shoe-mounted inertial sensors. We use a pair of small sensor boxes mounted on feet with accelerometers and gyro sensors inside and detect walking steps using them. Firstly, we detect stationary stance phase using accelerometers and gyro sensors. Then, based on this information, we estimate the “Angle of Inclination” (AoI) and stability of the ground. Moreover, we estimate whether the road surface is flat or not(unstable or unpaved (covered by gravel rubble or dirt) otherwise) based on variance of AoI. In addition, as for small undulation of surface due to dips, humps and bumps, which is hard to recognize only by a few samplings, we rely on continuous sensing data aggregated spatially from multiple users based on dead-reckoning techniques. We have developed a prototype of the proposed method. In the experiments, we show that our method cannot estimate not only walking steps correctly and but also AoIs of roads in rough trends.
An effective approach to pedestrian detection in thermal imagery

In this paper, an integrated algorithm to detect humans in thermal imagery was introduced. In recent years, histogram of oriented gradient (HOG) is a quite popular algorithm for person detection in visible imagery. We implement the pedestrian detection in infrared imagery with this algorithm by adjusting the parameters. Simultaneously, we have increased some other geometric characteristics, such as mean contrast, which is used as features for the detection. After analyzing the property of the infrared imagery, which is designed to meet the shortfall of the HOG in infrared imagery, the combined vectors are fed to a linear SVM for object/non-object classification and we get the detector at the same time. After that, the detection window is scanned across the image at multiple positions and scales, which is followed by the combination of the overlapping detections. At last, a pedestrian is described by a final detection, and we have detected the pedestrians in the thermal imagery. Experimental results with OSU Thermal Pedestrian Database are reported to demonstrate the excellent performance of our algorithms.
Validation of Automation Systems using Temporal Logic Model Checking and Groebner Bases

Validation of an automation system is an important issue. The goal is to check if the system under investigation, modeled by a Petri net, never enters the undesired states. Usually, tools dedicated to Petri nets such as DESIGN/CPN are used to make reachability analysis. The biggest problem with this approach is that it is impossible to generate the full occurence graph of the system because it is too large. In this paper, we show how computational methods such as temporal logic model checking and Groebner bases can be used to verify the correctness of the design of an automation system. We report our experimental results with two automation systems: the Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) system and the traffic light system. Validation of these two systems ranged from 10 to 30 seconds on a PC depending on the optimizing parameters. Keywords—Computational Intelligence, Temporal Logic Reasoning, Model Checking, Groebner Bases.
Morphological instability of a whisker

A thin stressed solid cylinder, a whisker, is subject to mass transport by curvature– and elastic–stress–driven surface diffusion. The stability of the cylindrical surface is examined using linear stability theory. The presence of elastic strains can excite non–axisymmetric modes, which, under certain conditions, are preferred and can give rise to helical surfaces.
Visco-hypoplastic model for structured soils.

The Visco-hypoplastic constitutive model is developed for fine-grained soils and reproduces the viscous behavior of these materials such as creep, relaxation and rate dependence. The model adjusts to the Butterfield's compression law at isotropic states. Nevertheless, it is not able to simulate the influence of the structure in the materials mechanical behavior and hence, an extension has been proposed herein. This extension introduces a new state variable representing the material structure defined as the ratio of the preconsolidated mean stress at intact and remolded states for the same material. The structure follows a degradation law which accelerates after yielding and decreases until the remolded state is reached. The overconsolidation ratio OCR and the material stiffness increase along with the structure values. The structure influence in the stiffness is reproduced by modifying the Butterfield's compression law at the elastic range. Simulations on a high structured soil show satisfactory results, and a numerical implementation for FEM has been developed.
Smooth UCT Search in Computer Poker

Self-play Monte Carlo Tree Search (MCTS) has been successful in many perfect-information two-player games. Although these methods have been extended to imperfect-information games, so far they have not achieved the same level of practical success or theoretical convergence guarantees as competing methods. In this paper we introduce Smooth UCT, a variant of the established Upper Confidence Bounds Applied to Trees (UCT) algorithm. Smooth UCT agents mix in their average policy during self-play and the resulting planning process resembles game-theoretic fictitious play. When applied to Kuhn and Leduc poker, Smooth UCT approached a Nash equilibrium, whereas UCT diverged. In addition, Smooth UCT outperformed UCT in Limit Texas Hold'em and won 3 silver medals in the 2014 Annual Computer Poker Competition.
Combination of heterogeneous multiple classifiers based on evidence theory

In the field of multiple classifiers combination, diversity among member classifiers is known to be a necessary condition for improving ensemble performance. In this paper we use different types of member classifiers based on heterogeneous features to increase the diversity when we implement the multiple classifier system (MCS). Member classifiers adopted in this paper include the k-NN classifier and the BP network classifier. The combination algorithm is based on Dempster rule of combination. The approaches to generating mass functions corresponding to the type of member classifiers are proposed. It is shown experimentally that the proposed approaches are rational and effective. The approaches proposed in this paper provide a new way to combine the two different types of classifiers: the k-NN classifiers and the BP network classifiers. Thus their corresponding strengths can be fully utilized and their corresponding drawbacks can be counteracted.
Adaptation of radiation field analyser (RFA) as optical CT scanner for gel dosimetry

Optical scanning is one of the emerging evaluation tools used for obtaining dose distributions in gel dosimetry. A radiation field analyzer adapted into an optical CT scanner to evaluate an irradiated Fricke gel has been already reported by others. This prototype optical CT scanner functions like a first generation x-ray CT scanner in the translate-rotate fashion. A similar scanner was constructed in our department for optical scanning of irradiated FX gel. At first, an aquarium was constructed and fitted into the water phantom of the RFA with provision to place the gel phantom to be scanned along with a light source and detector. The movements of the RFA were utilized to scan the gel phantom. A scan of a cuvette filled with colored solution was carried out and the resulting images were reconstructed and profiles obtained to evaluate the working of the optical scanner. A scan of the gel phantom was then obtained to evaluate the performance of the scanner. Thus a radiation field analyzer (DYNASCAN) was successfully adapted to an optical scanner to evaluate Fricke gels in our department.
Author's Personal Copy Computer-aided Design a Unified Method for Hybrid Subdivision Surface Design Using Geometric Partial Differential Equations

In most cases authors are permitted to post their version of the article (e.g. in Word or Tex form) to their personal website or institutional repository. Authors requiring further information regarding Elsevier's archiving and manuscript policies are encouraged to visit: • We composite surface subdivision and the GPDE to form a unified method for freeform surface design. • We present a novel technique to evaluate the finite element basis functions. • This is a first attempt for constructing the GPDE subdivision surface with hybrid control meshes. a b s t r a c t Surface subdivision gains popularity in surface design owing to its flexible applications for geometry with complicated topology and simple computational scheme, and the geometric partial differential equation (GPDE) method is an advanced technology for constructing high-quality smooth surfaces. In this paper, we composite these two ingredients to form a unified method for freeform surface design. We choose the mean curvature flow and Willmore flow as our driven GPDEs, and the finite element method coupled with a hybrid Loop and Catmull–Clark subdivision algorithm as the numerical simulation method. This research presents a novel technique to evaluate the finite element basis functions and the first attempt for constructing the GPDE subdivision surface with hybrid control meshes consisting of triangles and quadrilaterals. Numerical experiments show that the construction method is efficient and robust, yielding high-quality hybrid subdivision surfaces.
On the steady-state continuous casting Stefan problem with nonlinear cooling

A steady-state, one-phase, Stefan problem corresponding to the solidification process of an ingot of pure metal by continuous casting with nonlinear lateral cooling is considered via the weak formulation introduced by H. Brezis et al . [C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris Ser. A 287 (1978), no. 9, 711--714] for the dam problem. Two existence results are obtained, for a general nonlinear flux and for a maximal monotone flux. Comparison results and the regularity of the free boundary are discussed. A uniqueness theorem is given for the monotone case.
The Sodium‐Calcium Exchanger and Glutamate‐Induced Calcium Loads in Aged Hippocampal Neurons In Vitro a

Aging is associated with a decline of sensory, motor and cognitive faculties which in their most severe form culminate in profound intellectual deterioration. While the problem of age-related changes in brain function is an active area of biological research, understanding the underlying cellular and molecular basis of aging has proved difficult. One mechanism that has long been regarded as a potential source of age-related alterations in the brain is neuronal calcium regulat i ~ n . ' ~ The calcium hypothesis of brain aging (see Ref. 3) postulates that changes in the cellular mechanisms that regulate neuronal calcium homeostasis play a critical role in brain aging. This hypothesis is based upon the recognition that intracellular calcium (Cai2') regulates multiple essential neuronal functions including differential gene expres~ i o n , ~ e~ci tab i l i ty ,~ release of neurotransmitter^,^-^ neuronal migration,8 specific growth cone behaviors and neurite o u t g r o ~ t h , ~ , ' ~ but also plays a key role in those cellular changes that lead to degeneration and cell death. l1-I3 Given these relationships it is evident that even small alterations in the regulation of Cai2+ could profoundly alter the nervous system. Such changes could be the basis for the subtle changes in neuronal morphology that occur during development and neuronal plasticity as well as the aberrant morphology observed in aging and a variety of neurodegenerative disease^. ^-'^-'^ Implicit in this concept is the idea that brain aging is likely the result of a series of events that, occurring in combination, or in sequence, over a long period, culminate in a disruption in calcium homeostasis. Studies using subcellular preparations have provided direct evidence for age-related changes in multiple components of calcium regulation including calcium channels," the sodium-calcium ex(but see Ref. 20), calcium uptake by organelles,2'. 22 and calcium binding proteins.23 A variety of indirect evidence also links changes in neuronal calcium regulation and aging.3. 24*25 However, studies assessing neuronal calcium
Revisiting the Sanders-Bogolyubov-Ruzsa theorem in Fpn and its application to non-malleable codes

Non-malleable codes (NMCs) protect sensitive data against degrees of corruption that prohibit error detection, ensuring instead that a corrupted codeword decodes correctly or to something that bears little relation to the original message. The split-state model, in which codewords consist of two blocks, considers adversaries who tamper with either block arbitrarily but independently of the other. The simplest construction in this model, due to Aggarwal, Dodis, and Lovett (STOC'14), was shown to give NMCs sending k-bit messages to O(k7)-bit codewords. It is conjectured, however, that the construction allows linear-length codewords. Towards resolving this conjecture, we show that the construction allows for code-length O(k5). This is achieved by analysing a special case of Sanders's Bogolyubov-Ruzsa theorem for general Abelian groups. Closely following the excellent exposition of this result for the group F2n by Lovett, we expose its dependence on p for the group Fpn, where p is a prime.linear-length codewords.Bogolyubov-Ruzsa theorem
The functional basis of pulmonary sounds.

T he sounds radiated by diseased lungs are regarded by many clinicians as signs of relatively low diagnostic value. In comparison with radiographic and laboratory procedures, such sounds appear to lack precision, so that auscultation is often performed as a bedside ritual, in deference to tradition. Most textbooks of pulmonary diseases dismiss lung sounds in a few short paragraphs written in the language of the last century. The custom of interpreting clinical signs in morbid anatomic terms persisted longer in respiratory medicine than in most other specialties. There
On Term Selection for Query Expansion

In the framework of a relevance feedback system, term values or term weights may be used to (a) select new terms for inclusion in a query, and/or (b) weight the terms for retrieval purposes once selected. It has sometimes been assumed that the same weighting formula should be used for both purposes. This paper sketches a quantitative argument which suggests that the two purposes require different weighting formulae.
Remote Sensing Snow Cover Maps from Modis Images at 250 M Resolution, Part 1: Algorithm Description

A new algorithm for snow cover monitoring at 250 m resolution based on Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) images is presented. In contrast to the 500 m resolution MODIS snow products of NASA (MOD10 and MYD10), the main goal was to maintain the resolution as high as possible to allow for a more accurate detection of snow covered area (SCA). This is especially important in mountainous regions characterized by extreme landscape heterogeneity, where maps at a resolution of 500 m could not provide the desired amount of spatial details. Therefore, the algorithm exploits only the 250 m resolution bands of MODIS in the red (B1) and infrared (B2) spectrum, as well as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) for snow detection, while clouds are classified using also bands at 500 m and 1 km resolution. The algorithm is tailored to process MODIS data received in real-time through the EURAC receiving station close to Bolzano, Italy, but also standard MODIS products are supported. It is divided into three steps: first the data is preprocessed, including reprojection, calculation of physical reflectance values and masking of water bodies. In a second step, the actual classification 111 of snow, snow in forested areas, and clouds takes place based on MODIS images both from Terra and Aqua satellites. In the third step, snow cover maps derived from images of both sensors of the same day are combined to reduce cloud coverage in the final SCA product. Four different quality indices are calculated to verify the reliability of input data, snow classification, cloud detection and viewing geometry. Using the data received through their own station, EURAC can provide SCA maps of central Europe to end users in near real-time. Validation of the algorithm is outlined in a companion paper and indicates good performance with accuracies ranging from 94% to around 82% compared to in situ snow depth measurements, and around 93% compared to SCA derived from Landsat ETM+ images.