Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hearing properties, effects, or parts?

Sounds are audible, and sound sources are audible. What is the audible relation between audible sounds and audible sources? Common talk and philosophy suggest three candidates. The first is that sounds audibly are properties instantiated by their sources. I argue that sounds are audible individuals and thus are not audibly instantiated by audible sources. The second is that sounds audibly are effects of their sources. I argue that auditory experience presents no compelling evidence that sounds audibly are causally related to audible sources. The third is that sounds audibly are related mereologically to their sources. I present and offer a defense of this third candidate. 1 Hearing sounds and hearing sources Sounds are audible. By sounds I mean ordinary squeaks, blips, clatters, jingles, and burbles. Sounds have sources. By sources I mean things like floorboards, electronics, collisions, jiggled keys, and speeches. It is plausible that sound sources also are audible. Spoken language permits saying you hear floorboards, electronics, collisions, jiggled keys, and speeches rather than just their sounds. Audition prompts you to form thoughts about material bodies and happenings. Certain aspects of auditory experience, such as the way things appear grouped auditorily, are attuned to features of material objects and events rather than merely to features of sounds. Hearing informs you about the activities of material things, and it guides action accordingly without explicit reasoning on your part. You duck reflexively from something heard to approach from behind and turn without conscious thought towards the sources of sounds. Material things and happenings meet causal requirements on auditory perception, and it would be severe to deny they belong among what it seems to us we hear. I therefore assume in what follows that humans sometimes
Experimental Assessment of Battery Cycle Life Within the SIMSTOCK Research Program

The steadiness over time, of on-board Energy Storage Systems (ESS) performances is a major issue fora successful and massive diffusion of electrified, hybrid and electric vehicles. Capacity fade and internal resistance increase due to ageing will directly affect vehicle range and performances. Therefore, ESS ageing forecasting remains an important area of investigations. Reaching this goal involves fundamental research on materials, experimentation, simulation and design by the end users. This paper describes the main results of a 3.5-year, 4.2 M€ collaborative research program on battery ageing, SIMSTOCK, which was finished in fall 2011. This program has involved 15 partners among which, research labs, ESS manufacturers, automotive components suppliers and vehicle manufacturers, with the support of the French agency ADEME.This paper will then focus mainly on modeling and simulation of a lithium-ion high power cell tested within the program. First, it describes the development of a numerical equivalent electrical circuit model of battery, associated with a calibration tool and its experimental validation. Secondly, it describes the construction of a Design of Experiments (DOE), its use and validation, for defining mathematical expressions, representing the battery model parameters evolutions, as a function of battery ageing. Thirdly, the paper details a mathematical method created with the aim to take into account the cycling and the calendar effects on battery characteristics during the experiment on tests benches. Finally, the battery model is integrated in a full hybrid vehicle model, on Imagine Lab AMESim simulation platform, to determine, with realistic driving conditions, the impact of battery ageing on the vehicle performance and fuel consumption.
Activity Recognition for the Smart Hospital

Although researchers have developed robust approaches for estimating, location, and user identity, estimating user activities has proven much more challenging. Human activities are so complex and dynamic that it's often unclear what information is even relevant for modeling activities. Robust approaches to recognize user activities requires identifying the relevant information to be sensed and the appropriate sensing technologies. In our effort to develop an approach for automatically estimating hospital-staff activities, we trained a discrete hidden Markov model (HMM) to map contextual information to a user activity. We trained the model and evaluated it using data captured from almost 200 hours of detailed observation and documentation of hospital workers. In this article, we discuss our approach, the results, and how activity recognition could empower our vision of the hospital as a smart environment.
Alternative polarisation retrieval for SCIAMACHY in the ultraviolet

Abstract. We introduce an alternative method for the retrieval of polarisation in the ultraviolet by the satellite spectrometer SCIAMACHY. Unlike the operational polarisation retrieval algorithm, this method does not use the Polarisation Measurement Devices (PMDs) onboard SCIAMACHY, but only requires the reflectance signal. This makes the algorithm more robust and less sensitive to calibration errors caused by either improper characterisation of the instrument's response functions (key data) or degradation of the optical components. The alternative polarisation retrieval is able to retrieve the full state of atmospheric polarisation in the wavelength range between 330 and 400 nm, which is essentially the wavelength region covered by SCIAMACHY's PMD 1. This allows a direct comparison with the current operational product. When we compare the alternative polarisation algorithm with the operational algorithm, we find in some cases agreement, but not in other cases. The alternative algorithm compares well with an analytical model of the polarisation of a cloud-free scene. Using the alternative algorithm the polarisation-sensitive feature in the SCIAMACHY reflectance around 350 nm is automatically corrected for.
Dynamics of epigenetic phenomena: intergenerational and intragenerational phenotype ‘washout’

Epigenetic studies of both intragenerational and transgenerational epigenetic phenotypic modifications have proliferated in the last few decades. However, the strong reductionist focus on mechanism that prevails in many epigenetic studies to date has diverted attention away what might be called the ‘dynamics’ of epigenetics and its role in comparative biology. Epigenetic dynamics describes how both transgenerational and intragenerational epigenetic phenotypic modifications change in non-linear patterns over time. Importantly, a dynamic perspective suggests that epigenetic phenomena should not be regarded as ‘digital’ (on–off), in which a modified trait necessarily suddenly disappears between one generation and the next. Rather, dynamic epigenetic phenomena may be better depicted by graded, time-related changes that can potentially involve the ‘washout’ of modified phenotype both within and across generations. Conceivably, an epigenetic effect might also ‘wash-in’ over multiple generations, and there may be unexplored additive effects resulting from the pressures of environmental stressors that wax, wane and then wax again across multiple generations. Recognition of epigenetic dynamics is also highly dependent on the threshold for detection of the phenotypic modification of interest, especially when phenotypes wash out or wash in. Thus, studies of transgenerational epigenetic effects (and intragenerational effects, for that matter) that search for persistence of the phenomenon are best conducted with highly sensitive, precise quantitative methods. All of the scenarios in this review representing epigenetic dynamics are possible and some even likely. Focused investigations that concentrate on the time course will reveal much about both the impact and mechanisms of epigenetic phenomena.
Researching Entrepreneurship through Phenomenological Inquiry

In recent years, the study of entrepreneurship and small business has witnessed an emerging body of research that operates within an interpretive paradigm. In contributing to this research tradition, this article explicates an interpretive, phenomenological form of inquiry, described by Thompson et al. (1989) as the ‘phenomenological interview’. Particular attention is paid to the ontological and epistemological foundations of this qualitative approach, illustrating the evolution from philosophy to methodology. The article demonstrates how a phenomenological commitment to research translates into a set of issues that provide the methodological context for these in-depth, unstructured interviews. The application of this method is then demonstrated with reference to case study research conducted with six practising entrepreneurs, which utilized phenomenological interviews as the primary research tool. The article concludes with a discussion of some important caveats that surround the use of the phenomenological interview.
An embedded extension algorithm for the lifting based Discrete Wavelet Transform in JPEG2000

This paper presents a novel algorithmic technique for reducing power and area consumption of the Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) when implemented in VLSI hardware. The technique reduces power by combining the data-extension procedure into the lifting-based DWT core resulting in a significant reduction in the amount of memory requirements and associated read/write operation together with a reduction in the number of arithmetic operations. This in turn has the effect of reducing the amount of switched capacitance within the hardware unit. We demonstrate that the new algorithm can be used to obtain more than 50% reduction in the amount of memory required leading to significant reduction in area and power.
Dynamic Modeling and Simulation Study of Falling Film Evaporation and Condensation

Falling film evaporators and condensers have demonstrated a good performance in air-conditioning and refrigeration. A study of falling film evaporation and condensation models is presented in this document. Two different evaporator models and a condenser model are being developed considering a trade-off between efficiency and accuracy. These models are based on classical Newton's viscosity law and Nusselt falling film theory. Two libraries, with evaporator and condenser components, compatible with Modelica. Fluid, Modelica. Thermal and Modelica. Media have been implemented. The presented simulations have the expected behaviour. These models will be used to complete a model of a heat pump.
TCP performance evaluation over multihomed networks

Current Internet nodes can be considered as multihomed end-hosts as they are equipped with several wireless interfaces, each one related with a distinct access technology. The Transport Control Protocol (TCP) is considered as the cornerstone of Internet. However, current TCP implementations do not take into account the multihoming aspect of the current Internet nodes. In this paper we target to quantify the impact of the multhoming nature of the end-hosts on TCP. For this purpose, we design a novel multi-interfaced mobile node in the OMNeT++ network simulator. Our model relies on Layer 2 virtualization approach in order to implement an abstraction of the available wireless interfaces towards the upper-layers protocols. Obtained results shows that Layer 2 virtualization mitigate some of the TCP misbehavior on a multihomed environment.
Aflatoxin B1 Degradation by Metabolites of Phoma glomerata PG41 Isolated From Natural Substrate Colonized by Aflatoxigenic Aspergillus flavus

Background: Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), produced by Aspergillus flavus, is one of the most life threatening food contaminants causing significant economic losses worldwide. Biological AFB1 degradation by microorganisms, or preferably microbial enzymes, is considered as one of the most promising approaches. Objectives: The current work aimed to study the AFB1-degrading metabolites, produced by Phoma glomerata PG41, sharing a natural substrate with aflatoxigenic A. flavus, and the preliminary determination of the nature of these metabolites. Materials and Methods: The AFB1-degrading potential of PG41 metabolites was determined by a quantitative high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) of residual AFB1 after 72 hours incubation at 27ºC. The effects of pH, heat, and protease treatment on the AFB1-destroying activity of extracellular metabolites were examined. Results: The AFB1-degrading activity of protein-enriched fractions, isolated from culture liquid filtrate and cell-free extract, is associated with high-molecular-weight components, is time- and pH-dependent, thermolabile, and is significantly reduced by proteinase K treatment. The AFB1 degradation efficiency of these fractions reaches 78% and 66%, respectively. Conclusions: Phoma glomerata PG41 strain sharing natural substrate with toxigenic A. flavus secretes metabolites possessing a significant aflatoxin-degrading activity. The activity is associated mainly with a protein-enriched high-molecular-weight fraction of extracellular metabolites and appears to be of enzymatic origin.
A Study of Variability Models and Languages in the Systems Software Domain

Variability models represent the common and variable features of products in a product line. Since the introduction of FODA in 1990, several variability modeling languages have been proposed in academia and industry, followed by hundreds of research papers on variability models and modeling. However, little is known about the practical use of such languages. We study the constructs, semantics, usage, and associated tools of two variability modeling languages, Kconfig and CDL, which are independently developed outside academia and used in large and significant software projects. We analyze 128 variability models found in 12 open--source projects using these languages. Our study 1) supports variability modeling research with empirical data on the real-world use of its flagship concepts. However, we 2) also provide requirements for concepts and mechanisms that are not commonly considered in academic techniques, and 3) challenge assumptions about size and complexity of variability models made in academic papers. These results are of interest to researchers working on variability modeling and analysis techniques and to designers of tools, such as feature dependency checkers and interactive product configurators.
Gauge coupling renormalization in orbifold field theories

We investigate the gauge coupling renormalization in orbifold field theory preserving 4-dimensional N = 1 supersymmetry in the framework of 4-dimensional effective supergravity. As a concrete example, we consider the 5-dimensional Super-Yang-Mills theory on a slice of AdS5. In our approach, one-loop gauge couplings can be determined by the loop-induced axion couplings and the tree level properties of 4-dimensional effective supergravity which are much easier to be computed.
D3.7 An interdisciplinary framework for comparisons and cross-fertilization strategies of MAZI pilots (version 3)

[Executive summary] The 1st version of this deliverable focused on framing and carrying out exercises of self-reflection across all MAZI pilots, which aimed to gather comparable knowledge of the respective partner‘s visions and anticipation of the pilot activities. This allowed us to draw comparisons that proved valuable as a starting point for the cross-fertilisation events, in which multiple partners met with the goal to work on the interdisciplinary aspects of MAZI as a project. In this second version, we make one step further toward four directions: a) we analyze the material included in D3.2 and D3.5 in light of further developments and interactions toward comparing the individual perspectives of partners on key concepts such as DIY networking, as well as the different pilot studies; b) we describe and analyse the cross-fertilization events that took place during the first year and the initial lessons learned from the pilots; c) we try to capture the similarities and differences between the disciplinary perspectives of the academic partners; and d) we identify important tensions between research and action as they have manifested during the crossfertilization events of the first year. Based on this material, we propose certain enhancements of our interdisciplinary framework, i.e., the deconstruction of the pilot studies into their core elements, the placement of MAZI toolkit as a boundary object between different subsets of actors in MAZI, and two self-reflection exercises to be carried out in the following months and to be documented in the Deliverable D3.11.
Fast algorithms for hierarchical range histogram construction

Data Warehousing and OLAP applications typically view data an having multiple logical dimensions (e.g., product, location) with natural hierarchies defined on each dimension. OLAP queries usually involve hierarchical selections on some of the dimensions, and often aggregate measure attributes (e.g., sales, volume). Accurately estimating the distribution of measure attributes, under hierarchical selections, is important in a variety of scenarios, including approximate query evaluation and cost-based optimization of queries.In this paper, we propose fast (near linear time) algorithms for the problem of approximating the distribution of measure attributes with hierarchies defined on them, using histograms. Our algorithms are based on dynamic programming and a novel notion of sparse intervals that we introduce, and are the first practical algorithms for this problem. They effectively trade space for construction time without compromising histogram accuracy. We complement our analytical contributions with an experimental evaluation using real data sets, demonstrating the superiority of our approach.
Seesaw: An Area-Optimized FPGA Viterbi Decoder for PUFs

Physical Unclonable Functions PUFs are popular security primitives to provide cryptographic keys on FPGAs. However, PUFs require error correction to create reliable cryptographic keys. This work presents a highly optimized Viterbi decoder, adapted to the constraints of PUFs on FPGAs, primarily area but also low power. Our Seesaw architecture contains two block RAMs that are connected through a custom low-area data path. As main result, alternating data access patterns reduce the complexity of the data handling in the Viterbi decoder. Instead of translating through the entire trellis, we introduce a method that only operates on the last state. The new access pattern permits to store the intermediate results in block RAM and leads to a compact overall footprint with low register count. Synthesis results for one legacy and one state-of-the art FPGA, and a comparison to state-of-the-art implementations demonstrate the efficiency of our new Seesaw architecture. Our decoder requires only 65 FPGA slices and 2 block RAMs to carry out the entire Viterbi decoding for a popular (2, 1, [7]) convolutional code.
SRAM retention testing: zero incremental time integration with March algorithms

Testing data retention faults (DRFs), particularly in integrated systems on chip comprised of very large number of various sizes and types of embedded SRAMs is challenging and typically time-consuming due to the required pause time that needs to be introduced in the test session. This paper proposes a novel technique, referred to as pre-discharge write test mode (PDWTM), that effectively integrates the testing of DRF within "regular" March algorithms such that the rate (speed) of the latter remains unaltered. That is, the PDWTM enables DRF testing without incurring the additional cycles or pauses in the March test execution thereby enabling additional coverage at no expense in terms of overall test time. We show that DRFs can be easily detected by pre-discharging bit lines before a write operation. Here, the PDWTM is evaluated using both high-speed and low power memory cells, representing two extreme cases based on the typical memory design methodologies.
Using Clarke and Wright's Algorithm to Minimize the Machining Time of Free-Form Surfaces in 3-Axis Milling

During the machining of free-form surfaces by 3axis milling, the choice of machining parameters such as feed direction is sensitive. The object of this study is to minimize the machining time ensuring roughness criterium. The optimal feed direction has a direct influence on the effective radius and then on the machining time. This direction depends on the topology of the surface, indeed the optimal feed direction for one point of a path can be very far from the optimal feed direction for another point on the same part. The relation between the effective radius and step-over distance is established. The more the stepover distance increases, the more the effective radius increases generating a decrease of the machining time. Therefore the effective radius is chosen as optimization parameter instead of time. To get an optimal feed direction at any point, this study concerns the machining with zones. Clarke and Wright’s algorithm is used to solve this problem. A concrete example is illustrated.
Extracting Bacteria Biotopes with Semi-supervised Named Entity Recognition and Coreference Resolution

This paper describes our event extraction system that participated in the bacteria biotopes task in BioNLP Shared Task 2011. The system performs semi-supervised named entity recognition by leveraging additional information derived from external resources including a large amount of raw text. We also perform coreference resolution to deal with events having a large textual scope, which may span over several sentences (or even paragraphs). To create the training data for coreference resolution, we have manually annotated the corpus with coreference links. The overall F-score of event extraction was 33.2 at the official evaluation of the shared task, but it has been improved to 33.8 thanks to the refinement made after the submission deadline.
Functional Characterization of Domains of IPS-1 Using an Inducible Oligomerization System

The innate immune system recognizes viral nucleic acids and stimulates cellular antiviral responses. Intracellular detection of viral RNA is mediated by the Retinoic acid inducible gene (RIG)-I Like Receptor (RLR), leading to production of type I interferon (IFN) and pro-inflammatory cytokines. Once cells are infected with a virus, RIG-I and MDA5 bind to viral RNA and undergo conformational change to transmit a signal through direct interaction with downstream CARD-containing adaptor protein, IFN-β promoter stimulator-1 (IPS-1, also referred as MAVS/VISA/Cardif). IPS-1 is composed of N-terminal Caspase Activation and Recruitment Domain (CARD), proline-rich domain, intermediate domain, and C-terminal transmembrane (TM) domain. The TM domain of IPS-1 anchors it to the mitochondrial outer membrane. It has been hypothesized that activated RLR triggers the accumulation of IPS-1, which forms oligomer as a scaffold for downstream signal proteins. However, the exact mechanisms of IPS-1-mediated signaling remain controversial. In this study, to reveal the details of IPS-1 signaling, we used an artificial oligomerization system to induce oligomerization of IPS-1 in cells. Artificial oligomerization of IPS-1 activated antiviral signaling without a viral infection. Using this system, we investigated the domain-requirement of IPS-1 for its signaling. We discovered that artificial oligomerization of IPS-1 could overcome the requirement of CARD and the TM domain. Moreover, from deletion- and point-mutant analyses, the C-terminal Tumor necrosis factor Receptor-Associated Factor (TRAF) binding motif of IPS-1 (aa. 453–460) present in the intermediate domain is critical for downstream signal transduction. Our results suggest that IPS-1 oligomerization is essential for the formation of a multiprotein signaling complex and enables downstream activation of transcription factors, Interferon Regulatory Factor 3 (IRF3) and Nuclear Factor-κB (NF-κB), leading to type I IFN and pro-inflammatory cytokine production.