Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Coexistence of Coherence and Incoherence in Nonlocally Coupled Phase Oscillators

The phase oscillator model with global coupling is extended to the case of finite-range nonlocal coupling. Under suitable conditions, peculiar patterns emerge in which a quasi-continuous array of identical oscillators separates sharply into two domains, one composed of mutually synchronized oscillators with unique frequency and the other composed of desynchronized oscillators with distributed frequencies. We apply a theory similar to the one which successfully explained the onset of collective synchronization in globally coupled phase oscillators with frequency distribution. A space-dependent order parameter is thus introduced, and an exact functional self-consistency equation is derived for this quantity. Its numerical solution is confirmed to reproduce the simulation results accurately.
Pour une théorie de la participation fondée sur le don: l'apport de François Perroux

Dans la lignee des travaux de Francois Perroux, nous discutons des conditions pour fonder une theorie de la participation des salaries sur le don. Nous constatons d'abord l'echec de l'articulation theorique des deux formes de participation des salaries dans l'entreprise : participation aux decisions et a la gestion et participation aux benefices et au capital. Les travaux empiriques constatent la complementarite des deux formes de participation qui ne trouve pas de justification pour les theories contractuelles de l'entreprise. Afin d'expliquer cette complementarite, nous proposons de nous referer a Perroux qui lie don et participation. For a gift based theory of employees' participation Abstract: Following the works of the French economist Francois Perroux, we propose to found a gift based theory of employees' participation. We first notice the failure of the theoretical articulation of the two forms of participation: participation in decision-making and management and financial participation. The empirical works show the complementarity between these two forms of participation which the theories of contracts fail to explain. In order to explain this complementarity, we suggest to refer to Perroux who links gift to participation. _________________________________ 1 Ce travail doit beaucoup a Pierre-Yves Gomez qui l'a inspire et l'a fait evoluer par ses relectures et ses commentaires. Nous remercions egalement Xavier Hollandts, Olivier Masclef et les participants du GRACE pour leurs relectures et suggestions.
Scalable Analytic Models for Performance Efficiency in the Cloud

This paper presents a scalable model-driven approach to quantify the availability of resources and optimal distribution of tasks over these resources, such that the average response time of tasks is minimized. To reduce the complexity of analysis and solution time, we use an integrated stochastic based approach. To achieve this, first we use clustering algorithm to group the tasks into distinct classes with similar characteristics in terms of resource and performance requirements. Second, we quantify the resource availability of cloud center among three states: active (running), idle (turned on, but not ready), and off (turned off). Third, we develop a queuing model for multiple heterogeneous multicore servers, and formulate and solve the optimal load distribution of tasks for multiple heterogeneous multicore servers in a cloud computing data centers. We derive equations that permit us to find optimal load distribution of tasks that their average response time is minimized. We obtain not only detailed assessment of cloud center performance, but also insights into equilibrium arrangement, capacity planning and power consumption to be kept under control.
Feature enhancing aerial lidar point cloud refinement

Raw aerial LiDAR point clouds often suffer from noise and under-sampling, which can be alleviated by feature preserving refinement. However, existing approaches are limited to only preserving normal discontinuous features (ridges, ravines and crest lines) while position discontinuous features (boundaries) are also universal in urban scenes. We present a new refinement approach to accommodate unique properties of aerial LiDAR building points. By extending recent developments in geometry refinement to explicitly regularize boundary points, both normal and position discontinuous features are preserved and enhanced. The refinement includes two steps: i) the smoothing step applies a two-stage feature preserving bilateral filtering, which first filters normals and then updates positions under the guidance of the filtered normals. In a separate similar process, boundary points are smoothed directed by tangent directions of underlying lines, and ii) the up-sampling step interpolates new points to fill gaps/holes for both interior surfaces and boundary lines, through a local gap detector and a feature-aware bilateral projector. Features can be further enhanced by limiting the up-sampling near discontinuities. The refinement operates directly on points with diverse density, shape and complexity. It is memory-efficient, easy to implement, and easily extensible.
Secure Meta-computing in an Extended Secure Meta-computing in an Extended Secure Meta-computing in an Extended Secure Meta-computing in an Extended

A shared design environment enables companies in an Extended Enterprise to view available data and applications, and to easily access them. A key factor for such a design environment is security, obeying the business rules of companies. The solution for such a design environment presented in this paper applies a security approach based upon the developments in the EU project ENHANCE, and SPINEware to facilitate the implementation of the meta-computing environment. A workflow from the EU project ASICA is used to illustrate the usage of such an environment.
Semi-Supervised Apprenticeship Learning

In apprenticeship learning we aim to learn a good policy by observing the behavior of an expert or a set of experts. In particular, we consider the case where the expert acts so as to maximize an unknown reward function defined as a linear combination of a set of state features. In this paper, we consider the setting where we observe many sample trajectories (i.e., sequences of states) but only one or a few of them are labeled as experts’ trajectories. We investigate the conditions under which the remaining unlabeled trajectories can help in learning a policy with a good performance. In particular, we define an extension to the max-margin inverse reinforcement learning proposed by Abbeel and Ng [2004] where, at each iteration, the max-margin optimization step is replaced by a semi-supervised optimization problem which favors classifiers separating clusters of trajectories. Finally, we report empirical results on two grid-world domains showing that the semi-supervised algorithm is able to output a better policy in fewer iterations than the related algorithm that does not take the unlabeled trajectories into account.
Satisfiability Don't Care condition based circuit fingerprinting techniques

Circuit fingerprints allow the authors of design intellectual properties (IPs) to trace each copy of their IPs by embedding features, known as digital fingerprints, which are unique to each device. In this paper, we propose a novel gate replacement approach to encode fingerprints based on the inherent Satisfiability Don't Care (SDC) conditions in the circuit. Moreover, existing fingerprinting schemes all require redesign of the circuit which makes it prohibitively expensive for manufacturing. We develop a practical method to implement our SDC-based circuit fingerprint. First, we introduce flexibilities during the logic synthesis phase by replacing certain library cells with versatile multiplexers (MUXs). The MUX can be configured either as the original gate or one of its replacements with identical functionality except the SDC conditions. Then at the post-silicon stage, we configure these MUXs to create distinct fingerprints. We consider standard benchmark circuits and demonstrate that even on these circuits with limited size, we can find sufficient locations to embed fingerprints. Simulation with TSMC 0. 35μm technology shows non-trivial design overhead, however, such overhead will become negligible for large real-life circuits.
Developmental psychopathology in children with Williams syndrome

Williams syndrome (WS) is a genetic disorder that results in a wide variety of impairments, involving most of the areas of development. Although significant variability has been found among children with Williams syndrome in terms of the phenotype, the idea of a typical WS profile is still predominant in the literature. However, the clinically observed widespread differences have caused clinicians to often speak about partial deletions, atypical deletions or inconclusive cases. In addition, some researchers have put forward the notion that the size of the deleted area might have an influence in both quantitative and qualitative aspects of the phenotypical characteristics. This thesis explores the differences in cognitive ability and attainment of developmental milestones in children with WS. Four experimental studies have been conducted involving a total number of 74 children between the ages of few months to the age of 18 years. Study 1 investigated the effect of deletion size in the cognitive ability of WS children, as this was measured by 4 different IQ tests. Study 2 examined the effect of deletion size in the attainment of developmental milestones, Study 3 examined the longitudinal course of IQ in children with WS and Study 4 examined a clinically observed de novo phenomenon of a strong leftward bias affecting attention and short term visuospatial memory. Studies 1 and 2 demonstrated an effect of deletion size on the cognitive abilities of children with WS. The greater the deletion size in the 7qll.23 area, the lower the performance on measures of cognitive ability and the longer and more problematic the attainment of developmental milestones. Study 3 indicated that there is a significant increase in the IQ scores of children with the typical deletion. The IQ scores remain however to the mild/moderate retardation low average area of the IQ scale. Study 4 examined and tried to offer explanatory ideas in a de novo clinically observed phenomenon of a leftward bias affecting attention and visuospatial short term memory. Children with WS encountered great difficulty in detecting and remembering the position of items presented to the right side of a presentation matrix. These findings suggest that deletion size has an influence on both performance on measures of cognitive ability and attainment of developmental milestones, the cognitive ability of children with WS significantly improves with advance of chronological age and that there is a leftwards bias affecting attention and short term visuospatial memory.
Formation of intracluster globular clusters

We first present the results of numerical simulations on formation processes and physical properties of old globular clusters (GCs) located within clusters of galaxies (‘intracluster GCs’) and in between clusters of galaxies (‘intercluster GCs’). Our high-resolution cosmological simulations with models of GC formation at high redshifts (z > 6) show that about 30 per cent of all GCs in a rich cluster can be regarded as intracluster GCs that can freely drift, being trapped by gravitational potential of the cluster rather than by the cluster member galaxies. The radial surface density profiles of the simulated intracluster GCs are highly likely to be flatter than those of GCs within cluster member galaxies. We also find that about 1 per cent of all GCs formed before z > 6 are not located within any virialized haloes and can be regarded as ‘intercluster’ (or ‘intergalactic’) GCs. We discuss the dependencies of the physical properties of intracluster and intercluster GCs on the initial density profiles of GCs within low-mass dark matter haloes at high redshifts (z > 6).
A model of vowel production under positive pressure breathing

Agile combat aircraft currently in development using speech recognition as part of the cockpit interface will also use positive pressure breathing (PPB) to enable the pilot to remain conscious and function at high G levels. Recogniser performance is seriously affected by PPB even at moderate G levels when the intra-oral pressure is only 10-20 mmHg. This paper describes work which extends the standard n-tube model of vowel production to include the effects of intra-oral pressure. The ultimate aim of this work is to improve speech recogniser performance under these highly stressed conditions. An 8-tube Dynamic Regions and Modes model is used for this work, with the assumption that all regions of the vocal tract wall have the same compliance. A side branch was added to the model at the junction of the larynx tube and the lower pharynx to simulate the oesophagus. The model shows that as the intra-oral pressure is increased, the vowel space in the F1/F2 plane shrinks towards the region of F1 = 400 Hz, F2 = 1200 Hz. Measurements made on real speech recorded from six subjects at pressures up to 30 mmHg show a similar trend, although the reduction in the range of F2 is less than that indicated by the model. Variation in compliance of different regions of the vocal tract wall seems likely to be the main reason for the differences between the predictions of the model and the measured values.
A Spatial Deinterlacing Algorithm Based on Edge Orientation Optimized in Local Area

In this paper, a novel de-interlacing algorithm in spatial domain is proposed based on an edge orientation optimizing strategy. Taking advantage of the resolution invariant character of edge orientation, we calculate the edge orientation in interlaced image by minimizing the cost function, sum of absolute difference (SAD). Under the assumption that edge orientation in local area is stationary, SAD stands for the possibilities of each edge orientation. Interpolation in the orientation with the least SAD will bring in the continuous value of missing pixels. In addition, a threshold is set to distinguish the texture area from edge or plain area, which makes the algorithm more robust.
Gateway Placement and Packet Routing for Multihop In-Vehicle Internet Access

In-vehicle Internet access is one of the main applications of vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs), which aims at providing the vehicle passengers with a low-cost access to the Internet via on-road gateways. This paper introduces a new strategy for deploying Internet gateways on the roads, together with a novel scheme for data packet routing, in order to allow a vehicle to access the Internet via multihop communications in a VANET. The gateway placement strategy is to minimize the total cost of gateway deployment, while ensuring that a vehicle can connect to an Internet gateway (using multihop communications) with a probability greater than a specified threshold. This cost-minimization problem is formulated using binary integer programming, and applied to a realistic city scenario, consisting of the roads around the University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada. To the best of our knowledge, the proposed deployment strategy is the first study to address the probability of multihop connectivity among the vehicles and the deployed gateways. On the other hand, the developed packet routing scheme is based on a multichannel medium access control protocol, known as VeMAC, using time division multiple access. The performance of this cross-layer design is evaluated for a multichannel VANET in a highway scenario, mainly in terms of the end-to-end packet delivery delay. The end-to-end delay is calculated by modeling each relay vehicle as a queuing system, in which the packets are served in batches of no more than a specified maximum batch size. The proposed gateway placement and packet routing schemes represent a step toward providing reliable and ubiquitous in-vehicle Internet connectivity.
An Executable Formalization of the HOL / Nuprl Connection in Twelf

Howe’s HOL/Nuprl connection is an interesting example of a translation between two fundamentally different logics, namely a typed higher-order logic and a polymorphic extensional type theory. In earlier work we have established a proof-theoretic correctness result of the translation in a way that complements Howe’s semantics-based justification and furthermore goes beyond the original HOL/Nuprl connection by providing the foundation for a proof translator. Using the Twelf logical framework, the present paper goes one step further. It presents the first rigorous formalization of this treatment in a logical framework, and hence provides a safe alternative to the translation of proofs.
An Embodied and Grounded Perspective on Concepts

By the mainstream view in psychology and neuroscience, concepts are informational units, rather stable, and are represented in propositional format. In the view I will outline, instead, concepts correspond to patterns of activation of the perception, action and emotional systems which are typically activated when we interact with the entities they refer to. Starting from this embodied and grounded approach to concepts, I will focus on different research lines and present some experimental evidence concerning concepts of objects, concepts of actions, and abstract concepts. I will argue that, in order to account for abstract concepts, embodied and grounded theories should be extended.
Application of Parallel Computing for Space Debris Close Approach Analysis

Collision threat is becoming a serious problem since the amount of space debris increases fast recently. Besides, the detective capabilities are enhanced year by year. Thus calculation time cost on orbital data processing and close approach analysis gets much longer. Single processor cannot meet the requirements to keep the analysis results up to date. We review the procedure of close approach analysis and its time cost on single processor computer, and introduce several methods we've adopted to boost up the entire procedure. Finally we show a system of parallel computing environment on a high performance computer realized in National Astronomical Observatory for the purpose of collision risk assessment.
Dog Pups’ Attractiveness to Humans Peaks at Weaning Age

ABSTRACT The domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris) is characterized by greatly reduced parenting investment compared with the wild type wolf (C. l. lupus) from which it is descended. Unlike wolf pups, which are reared by both parents into their second year of life, dog pups are abandoned by their mother at weaning around eight weeks of age. This relatively small parental involvement may contribute to the high pup mortality observed in dogs not living as pets. We hypothesized that people would find dog pups most attractive around weaning age when conspecific parental care is significantly reduced and pup mortality rate is high. Younger and older pups would benefit less from human intervention because in the former case the mother is providing care, and in the latter their survival is already compromised. To test this hypothesis, 51 participants rated the attractiveness of 39 black and white headshot photographs presented on a computer screen of dog pups from three breeds (Jack Russell Terrier, Cane Corso, and White Shepherd), from birth to 7 months old. In line with our hypothesis, attractiveness of Cane Corsos peaked at 6.3 weeks of age; Jack Russell Terriers’ attractiveness peaked at 7.7 weeks; and White Shepherds were most attractive at 8.3 weeks. There were also differences in attractiveness between the breeds, with Cane Corsos rated less attractive than the other two breeds. If this attractiveness motivates humans to care for the dog pups and thereby improves pup survival, this could confer significant advantages to dogs, and may contribute to our understanding of the process of domestication.
On Large Fan-Out Multicasting

o Broadband access technologies such as DSL, cable modems, Passive Optical Networks (PON) and Fiber- to-The-Home are breaking the last mile bottleneck, en- abling applications that distribute multimedia content over data networks. Several of these applications, like broad- cast video and interactive gaming, require multicast distri- bution of content. An important problem, from the system architecture perspective, is to distribute multicast content over a large number users (i.e. large fan-out multicast) by maintaining low system cost and without deteriorating sys- tem performance. In order to forward multicast packets, the system must replicate the same packet, or pointers of the packet, to multiple interfaces. This function requires signicant speed-up from the memories and the forwarding engines. Previous efforts in solving this problem have only led to statistical solutions, that cannot provide determinis- tic performance. As a result, temporary overload in mul- ticast trafc could lead to unnecessary packet losses, even for unicast connections that share the same interfaces. In this paper, we present a novel algorithm for managing mul- ticast sessions with large fan-out, that offers isolation be- tween interfaces, deterministic performance, and exibility in the offered delays. To the best of our knowledge, this is the rst algorithm ever proposed that can provide deter- ministic performance for multicast sessions.
ICA Mitigation-Based Impulsive Interference for L-DACS

To solve the interference of Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) in L-band Digital Aeronautical Communication System (L-DACS), an impulsive interference method based on Independent Component Analysis (ICA) is proposed. Firstly, the mixed signal is obtained by employing multiply antennas in MIMO systems. Then, the numbers of independent signals is determined according to the MDL criterion. At last, the mix-signals can be separated with FASTICA algorithm. The data transmission with the proposed approach for DME impulsive interference is simulated in the AWGN channel and aeronautical multipath En-Router (ENR) scenario. Simulation results verify valid of the method based on ICA in DME interference mitigation.
An Empirical Study on Dynamic Process of Electronic Brainstorming

Many studies on electronic brainstorming have been carried out in the past two decades. But few studies have examined the dynamic change in the process of idea generation in electronic brainstorming, which may help a facilitator better manage a brainstorming session. This paper reports the results of an empirical study that investigates the relationship between the number of ideas generated and the time taken while groups are performing a single electronic brainstorming task within a single time span. The result shows that the group participation increases then decreases beyond that. The result also shows that the number of idea generated decreases over time but a few peaks may appear. This result may help improve the electronic brainstorming performance.
A Hybrid Patching Scheme for High Dynamic Range Imaging

It is very challenging to synthesize a high dynamic range (HDR) image by using a set of differently exposed low dynamic range (LDR) images that are captured with moving objects. This is due to the fact that the moving objects cause ghosting artifacts in the synthesized HDR image. To remove these artifacts, an anti-ghost algorithm is necessary for detection and patching of motion regions, and the patching plays an important role in the synthesis of an HDR image with moving objects. In this paper, a hybrid scheme for patching of motion regions is introduced. The proposed patching scheme is a scheme which is composed of a pixel level intensity mapping function (IMF) and a block level template matching. Experimental results show that the proposed patching scheme outperforms existing IMF based patching schemes.