Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cellulose Nanocrystals/ZnO as a Bifunctional Reinforcing Nanocomposite for Poly(vinyl alcohol)/Chitosan Blend Films: Fabrication, Characterization and Properties

In this study, cellulose nanocrystals/zinc oxide (CNCs/ZnO) nanocomposites were dispersed as bifunctional nano-sized fillers into poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and chitosan (Cs) blend by a solvent casting method to prepare PVA/Cs/CNCs/ZnO bio-nanocomposites films. The morphology, thermal, mechanical and UV-vis absorption properties, as well antimicrobial effects of the bio-nanocomposite films were investigated. It demonstrated that CNCs/ZnO were compatible with PVA/Cs and dispersed homogeneously in the polymer blend matrix. CNCs/ZnO improved tensile strength and modulus of PVA/Cs significantly. Tensile strength and modulus of bio-nanocomposite films increased from 55.0 to 153.2 MPa and from 395 to 932 MPa, respectively with increasing nano-sized filler amount from 0 to 5.0 wt %. The thermal stability of PVA/Cs was also enhanced at 1.0 wt % CNCs/ZnO loading. UV light can be efficiently absorbed by incorporating ZnO nanoparticles into a PVA/Cs matrix, signifying that these bio-nanocomposite films show good UV-shielding effects. Moreover, the biocomposites films showed antibacterial activity toward the bacterial species Salmonella choleraesuis and Staphylococcus aureus. The improved physical properties obtained by incorporating CNCs/ZnO can be useful in variety uses.
Solving the advection PDE on the cell broadband engine

In this paper we present the venture of porting two different algorithms for solving the two-dimensional advection PDE on the CBE platform, an in-place and an out-of-place one, and compare their computational performance, completion time and code productivity. Study of the advection equation reveals data dependencies which lead to limited performance and inefficient scaling to parallel architectures. We explore programming techniques and optimizations which maximize performance for these solver versions. The out-of-place version is straightforward to implement and achieves greater raw performance than the in-place one, but requires more computational steps to converge. In both cases, achieving high computational performance relies heavily on manual source code optimization, due to compiler incapability to do data vectorization and efficient instruction scheduling. The latter proves to be a key factor in pursuit of high GFLOPS measurements.
Random walk based context-aware activity recommendation for location based social networks

The pervasiveness of location-acquisition technologies enable location-based social networks (LBSN) to become increasingly popular in recent years. Users are able to check-in their current location and share information with other users through these networks. LBSN check-in data can be used for the benefit of users by providing personalized recommendations. There are several location recommendation algorithms that employ LBSN data in the literature. However, there are few number of proposed activity recommendation algorithms. In this paper, we propose a random walk based context-aware activity recommendation algorithm, namely RWCAR, for LBSNs. RWCAR considers the current context (i.e. social relations, personal preferences, and current location) of the user to provide recommendations. We propose a graph model for representing LBSN data that contains users, locations and activities. We build a graph according to the current context of the user depending on this LBSN model. A random walk approach is employed to predict the recommendation scores of the activities. A list of activities are recommended in decreasing order of calculated recommendation score. In experimental evaluation, we compare RWCAR with friend-based, expert-based and popularity-based activity recommendation algorithms. The proposed algorithm performs better in terms of activity recommendation accuracy in all of the experiments.
Multiresolution sinusoidal model with dynamic segmentation for timescale modification of polyphonic audio signals

In this paper, we propose an efficient sinusoidal model of polyphonic audio signals especially good for the application of timescale modification. One of the critical problem of sinusoidal modeling is that the signal is smeared during the synthesis frame, which is a very undesirable effect for transient parts. We solve this problem by introducing multiresolution analysis-synthesis and dynamic segmentation methods. A signal is modeled with a sinusoidal component and a noise component. A multiresolution filter bank is applied to an input signal which splits it into octave-spaced subbands without causing aliasing and then sinusoidal analysis is applied to each subband signal. To alleviate smearing of transients during synthesis, a dynamic segmentation method is applied to the subband signals that determines the optimal analysis-synthesis frame size adaptively to fit its time-frequency characteristics. To extract sinusoidal components and calculate respective parameters, a matching pursuit algorithm is applied to each analysis frame of the subband signal. A psychoacoustic model implementing frequency masking is incorporated with matching pursuit to provide a reasonable stop condition of iteration and reduce the number of sinusoids. The noise component obtained by subtracting the synthesized signal with sinusoidal components from the original signal is modeled by a line-segment model of short time spectrum envelope. For various polyphonic audio signals, the results of simulation shows the proposed sinusoidal modeling can synthesize original signals without loss of perceptual quality and do more robust and high-quality timescale modification for large scale factors.
Extraterrestrial Cause for the Cretaceous-Tertiary Extinction

Platinum metals are depleted in the earth's crust relative to their cosmic abundance; concentrations of these elements in deep-sea sediments may thus indicate influxes of extraterrestrial material. Deep-sea limestones exposed in Italy, Denmark, and New Zealand show iridium increases of about 30, 160, and 20 times, respectively, above the background level at precisely the time of the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinctions, 65 million years ago. Reasons are given to indicate that this iridium is of extraterrestrial origin, but did not come from a nearby supernova. A hypothesis is suggested which accounts for the extinctions and the iridium observations. Impact of a large earth-crossing asteroid would inject about 60 times the object's mass into the atmosphere as pulverized rock; a fraction of this dust would stay in the stratosphere for several years and be distributed worldwide. The resulting darkness would suppress photosynthesis, and the expected biological consequences match quite closely the extinctions observed in the paleontological record. One prediction of this hypothesis has been verified: the chemical composition of the boundary clay, which is thought to come from the stratospheric dust, is markedly different from that of clay mixed with the Cretaceous and Tertiary limestones, which are chemically similar to each other. Four different independent estimates of the diameter of the asteroid give values that lie in the range 10 � 4 kilometers.
Audio augmented reality: a prototype automated tour guide

Augmented reality (or computer augmented environments as it is sometimes called) uses computers to enhance the richness of the real world. It differs from virtual reality in that it doesn’t attempt to replace the real world. Our prototype automated tour guide superimposes audio on the world based on where a user is located. We propose this technique for use as an automated tour guide in museums and expect it will enhance the social aspects of museum visits, compared to taped tour guides.
Red and Reddened Quasars in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

We investigate the overall continuum and emission-line properties of quasars as a function of their optical/UV spectral energy distributions. Our sample consists of 4576 quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) that were chosen using homogeneous selection criteria. Expanding on our previous work, which demonstrated that the optical/UV color distribution of quasars is roughly Gaussian but with a red tail, here we distinguish between (1) quasars that have intrinsically blue (optically flat) power-law continua, (2) quasars that have intrinsically red (optically steep) power-law continua, and (3) quasars whose colors are inconsistent with a single power-law continuum. We find that 273 (6.0%) of the quasars in our sample fall into the latter category and appear to be redder because of SMC-like dust extinction and reddening rather than because of synchrotron emission. Even though the SDSS quasar survey is optically selected and flux-limited, we demonstrate that it is sensitive to dust reddened quasars with E(B-V) ≲ 0.5, assuming a classical SMC extinction curve. The color distribution of our SDSS quasar sample suggests that the population of moderately dust reddened, but otherwise normal (i.e., type 1) quasars is smaller than the population of unobscured quasars: we estimate that a further 10% of the quasar population with Mi < -25.61 is missing from the SDSS sample because of extinction, bringing the total fraction of dust-reddened quasars to 15% of broad-line quasars. We also investigate the emission- and absorption-line properties of these quasars as a function of color and comment on how some of these results relate to Boroson-Green–type eigenvectors. Quasars with intrinsically red (optically steep) power-law continua tend to have narrower Balmer lines and weaker C IV, C III], He II, and 3000 Å bump emission as compared with bluer (optically flatter) quasars. The change in strength of the 3000 Å bump appears to be dominated by the Balmer continuum and not by Fe II emission. The dust-reddened quasars have even narrower Balmer lines and weaker 3000 Å bumps, in addition to having considerably larger equivalent widths of [O II] and [O III] emission. The fraction of broad absorption line quasars (BALQSOs) increases from ∼3.4% for the bluest quasars to perhaps as large as 20% for the dust-reddened quasars, but the intrinsic color distribution will be much bluer if all BALQSOs are affected by dust reddening.
Use of Tree-based Algorithms for Internal Sorting

Most of the large number of internal sorting algorithms are based on the use of arrays or linked lists. This report highlights the use of tree structures for internal sorting. It is shown that the ordered binary tree can be used very effectively for sorting data, whatever the initial ordering of the input may be. It is also shown that the B-Trees, normally used to process large files on disks, can also be effectively employed to sort data in main memory. In both cases, a simple inorder traversal of the tree can retrieve data in sorted order. Algorithms based on binaryand B-tree structure are compared with Quick Sort and Heap Sort algorithms in terms of times required to sort various input lists. Input lists of various sizes and degrees of 'presortedness' were used in the comparison tests. It is shown that the times required to build balanced ordered binary trees are the same as or less than the times required to sort the data using Quick Sort and always better than the times required using Heap Sort. The time required to build a BTree varies with the order of the B-Tree. B-Trees of order 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16 have been compared to find that B-Trees of order 4 are most suitable. The times to build B-Trees of order 4 are shown to be same as or better than Heap Sort and slightly slower than Quick Sort. Further tests conducted to compare the times required for a complete processing task also found the ordered binary tree performance close to Quick Sort and the B-Tree performance as good as or better than Heap Sort.
Lp-Stabilization of Integrator Chains Subject to Input Saturation Using Lyapunov-Based Homogeneous Design

Consider the $n$th integrator $\dot x=J_nx+\sigma(u)e_n$, where $x\in\mathbb{R}^n$, $u\in\mathbb{R}$, $J_n$ is the $n$th Jordan block and $e_n=(0\ \cdots 0\ 1)^T\in\mathbb{R}^n$. We provide easily implementable state feedback laws $u=k(x)$ which not only render the closed-loop system globally asymptotically stable but also are finite-gain $L_p$-stabilizing with arbitrarily small gain, as in [A. Saberi, P. Hou, and A. Stoorvogel, IEEE Trans. Automat. Control, 45 (2000), pp. 1042--1052]. These $L_p$-stabilizing state feedbacks are built from homogeneous feedbacks appearing in finite-time stabilization of linear systems. We also provide additional $L_\infty$-stabilization results for the case of both internal and external disturbances of the $n$th integrator, namely, for the perturbed system $\dot x=J_nx+e_n\sigma (k(x)+d)+D$, where $d\in\mathbb{R}$ and $D\in\mathbb{R}^n$.
Novel Mutation of Cleidocranial Dysplasia-related Frameshift Runt-related Transcription Factor 2 in a Sporadic Chinese Case

Background: Cleidocranial dysplasia (CCD) is an autosomal dominant disease that affects the skeletal system. Common symptoms of CCD include hypoplasia or aplasia of the clavicles, delayed or even absent closure of the fontanels, midface hypoplasia, short stature, and delayed eruption of permanent and supernumerary teeth. Previous studies reported a connection between CCD and the haploinsufficiency of runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2). Here, we report a sporadic Chinese case presenting typical symptoms of CCD. Methods: We made genetic testing on this sporadic Chinese case and identified a novel RUNX2 frameshift mutation: c.1111dupT. In situ immunofluorescence microscopy and osteocalcin promoter luciferase assay were performed to compare the functions of the RUNX2 mutation with those of wild-type RUNX2. Results: RUNX2 mutation was observed in the perinuclear region, cytoplasm, and nuclei. In contrast, wild-type RUNX2 was confined in the nuclei, which indicated that the subcellular compartmentalization of RUNX2 mutation was partially perturbed. The transactivation function on osteocalcin promoter of the RUNX2 mutation was obviously abrogated. Conclusions: We identified a sporadic CCD patient carrying a novel insertion/frameshift mutation of RUNX2. This finding expanded our understanding of CCD-related phenotypes.
A CMOS VCO with 48% tuning range for modern broadband systems

This paper presents a CMOS VCO in a 0.35 /spl mu/m process which achieves a tuning range of 2.8 GHz-4.55 GHz and phase noise of -142dBc/Hz at 3 MHz offset (from a 1.8 GHz carrier). 5-bit digital coarse-tuning and accumulation-type MOS varactors allow for a 48% tuning range. An integrated regulator provides low supply pushing (100 kHz/V), reduces AM-to-PM sensitivity from the supply, and ensures optimum operation on multi-band/multi-standard single-chip transceivers with simultaneous operation. A model for the hand analysis of VCO noise is presented giving excellent agreement with measurements.
A Weighted Raw Reputation Generating Approach Based on Similarity

In the anti-spam field, raw reputation is the current mailing behavior of one email server. Meanwhile, it is the foundation of the distributed spam processing technology based on reputation mechanism. In this paper, the advantages and disadvantages of the existing several raw reputation generating approaches are analyzed, and a new method: MSGuard is proposed. MSGuard is a weighted raw reputation generating approach based on similarity. Simulation results demonstrate that: in the scenario which the malicious nodes provide inauthentic evaluations, the average differences between the expectations and the raw reputations calculated by TrustGuard and MSRep are 0.4 and 0.5 respectively. And the difference of either EigenTrust or MSGuard is only approximate 0.05. In the scenario which the collusive and disguised malicious nodes exist, the difference between the expectation and the raw reputation calculated by EigenTrust is 0.25, and it is less than 0.1 by MSGuard. MSGuard can reflect nodes’ actual mailing situations more accurately.
Methods and Measures of a Prescriptive Learning Theory

ion, perception-based knowledge would turn into explicit description. However, we have failed to find evidence of bootstrapping from first-hand knowledge to secondhand knowledge. For example, we asked people to reason about chains of gears (Schwartz & J. Black, 1996). We asked, “Imagine a horizontal chain of five gears. If the gear on the far right tries to turn clockwise, what will the gear on the far left do? ” Over multiple trials with differing numbers of gears, most people induced a parity rule; for even chains of
Role of Cardiac Magnetic Resonance in the Evaluation of Dilated Cardiomyopathy: Diagnostic Contribution and Prognostic Significance

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) represents the final common morphofunctional pathway of various pathological conditions in which a combination of myocyte injury and necrosis associated with tissue fibrosis results in impaired mechanical function. Recognition of the underlying aetiology of disease and accurate disease monitoring may be crucial to individually optimize therapeutic strategies and stratify patient's prognosis. In this regard, CMR has emerged as a new reference gold standard providing important information for differential diagnosis and new insight about individual risk stratification. The present review article will focus on the role of CMR in the evaluation of present condition, analysing respective strengths and limitations in the light of current literature and technological developments.
Implementation of High Accuracy Radar Detectors for Traffic Safety Countermeasure Evaluation

Rural roadways account for a significant portion of fatal crashes in the United States despite carrying lower total vehicle miles traveled than urban roads. An important contributor to this is excessive speeds at horizontal and vertical curves. While geometric design has established norms for handling these curves, the message is still often difficult to communicate to drivers. Recent technologies have been developed to enhance this communication on horizontal curves; however, treatments for vertical curves have not yet experienced similar advancements. A new approach, involving chevron signs, is being considered by Washington County, Minnesota. To accurately assess the impact of these signs on driver behavior, a before-after study must be implemented on one or more vertical curve locations. Given that such a study must reflect driver reactions to roadway messages, detailed vehicle trajectories must be collected. To capture speed trajectories of vehicles traversing vertical curves, the Minnesota Traffic Observatory developed radar-based, data-collection stations. These stations use automotive radar devices along with custom recording equipment and battery power mounted in weatherized cases to quickly and easily collect vehicle trajectory data for analysis. Through control-vehicle passes and instantaneous radar gun measurements, these stations have been shown to reliably measure the speed and position of vehicles traversing a vertical curve. With the two stations developed, a full field implementation could be developed to collect trajectories for analysis both before and after implementation of a new traffic-control device. For larger-scale implementations of these systems, the methodologies in this report could be used for capturing and post-processing of vehicle trajectories, although additional tools for cleaning and analyzing multiple simultaneous vehicle trajectories would be advised.
Equilibrium Models with Singular Asset Prices

General equilibrium models in which economic agents have finite marginal utility from consumption at the origin lead to financial assets having continuous prices with singular components. In particular, there is no bona fide "interest rate" in such models, although asset prices can be determined by equilibrium considerations (and uniquely, up to the formation of mutual funds). the singularly continuous processes in question charge precisely the set of time points at which some agent "drops out" of the economy, or "comes back" into it, between intervals of zero consumption. Not surprisingly, these processes are governed by local time. Copyright 1991 Blackwell Publishers.
La responsabilidad social empresarial y la sostenibilidad, criterios habilitantes en la gerencia de proyectos

El articulo esta orientado a proponer unos criterios de alto nivel, llamados habilitantes, que permitan tomar decisiones con respecto a la utilizacion de diferentes metodologias, metodos y estandares existentes para la gerencia de proyectos. Para ello, se abordo una investigacion exploratoria, descriptiva y propositiva, utilizando la tecnica de revision documental. Con base en ella, se establecen 32 criterios tecnicos, derivados de diez factores que hacen parte de tres categorias. Se concluye que los criterios habilitantes para la toma de decisiones deben ser la responsabilidad social empresarial y la sostenibilidad, tendencias que conjugan la satisfaccion de los intereses de los stakeholders externos e internos; al respecto se sugiere una guia para su validacion en la gerencia de proyectos. Se recomienda como lineas futuras de investigacion, la contrastacion empirica de la propuesta, asi como la incorporacion de las practicas de la responsabilidad social empresarial y la sostenibilidad en la gerencia de proyectos.
The sense of humor : Explorations of a personality characteristic

This volume brings together the current approaches to the definition and measurement of the sense of humor and its components. It provides both an overview of historic approaches and a compendium of current humor inventories and humor traits that have been studied. Presenting the only available overview and analysis of this significant facet of human behavior, this volume will interest researchers from the fields of humor and personality studies as well as those interested in the clinical or abstract implications of the subject.
14-3-3γ Is Stimulated by IL-3 and Promotes Cell Proliferation1

IL-3 plays important roles in the growth and survival of hematopoietic progenitor cells, processes modeled in studies of the IL-3-dependent cell line Ba/F3. To gain insights into molecular mechanisms governing cell fate, we examined the patterns of proteins up-regulated following stimulation of Ba/F3 cells with IL-3. Through two-dimensional electrophoresis and proteomics-based approaches, we identified 11 proteins. Of these, expression of 14-3-3γ was significantly increased by IL-3 stimulation at both the transcriptional and translational levels. 14-3-3γ overexpression in Ba/F3 cells abrogated dependence on IL-3 and was associated with activation of PI3K and MAPK signaling cascades, suggesting that the functions of 14-3-3γ in normal hematopoietic progenitors are to promote survival and growth through the activation of distinct signaling pathways. Additionally, the up-regulation of Bax and Bad was seen with the ablation of 14-3-3γ, resulting in cell death. These results indicate that deregulated expression of 14-3-3γ may contribute to malignant transformation, possibly providing a new target for therapeutic intervention in hematopoietic neoplasms.