Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A SPAD-Based QVGA Image Sensor for Single-Photon Counting and Quanta Imaging

A CMOS SPAD-based QVGA image sensor with 8μm pixel pitch and 26.8% fill factor is presented. The combination of analogue pixel electronics and scalable sharedwell SPAD devices facilitate high resolution, high fill-factor SPAD imaging arrays exhibiting photon shot noise limited statistics. The SPAD has 47CPS dark count rate at 1.5V excess bias (EB), 39.5% photon detection probability at 480nm and minimum 1.1ns dead time at 1V EB. Analogue single photon counting imaging is demonstrated with maximum 14.2mV/SPAD event sensitivity and 0.06eminimum equivalent read noise. Binary Quanta Image Sensor (QIS) 16kFPS real-time oversampling is shown, verifying single photon QIS theory with 4.6x over-exposure latitude and 0.168eread noise.
Comparison of UV Index from EP/TOMS with Ground-Based Measurements at Subtropical Location

The purpose of the UV Index estimation is to help people effectively protect themselves from UV radiation, of which excessive exposure causes sunburn. UV index (UVI) has been estimated in Qena, Upper Egypt (26°17' N, 32°43' E, 97 m asl) at noon during the period (Apr. 2000 - Dec. 2005) using EP/TOMS satellite (UVIsat) and ground-based measurements (UVIgrd). Temporal variations of UVIsat and UVIgrd, also, comparison between them have been investigated. In addition, the effect of atmospheric conditions, in the form of cloud cover and aerosol index, on this comparison has been analyzed. The study revealed that, in all sky conditions, average value of UVIsat and UVIgrd were 9.39±2.60 and 8.1±2.4, respectively. While, in cloudless conditions (cloud cover CC = 0 oct.), their values became 9.98±2.39 and 8.53±2.10, respectively. In addition, the value that has more occurrence for UVIsat and UVIgrd, in both conditions (all sky and cloudless conditions), was 12 and 10, respectively. Regarding the comparison between UVIsat and UVIgrd, effects of clouds and aerosols were taken into consideration. So that, four data subsets were analyzed, subset 1: all sky conditions, subset 2: all cloudless cases, subset 3: cloudless cases with low aerosol index and subset 4: cloudy cases with low aerosol index. The study showed that UVIsat values were higher than the UVIgrd during all studied period under all studied conditions. The largest biases were found on heavy overcast days (positive biases reached to 42%).
Oligosaccharide and Substrate Binding in the Starch Debranching Enzyme Barley Limit

Complete hydrolytic degradation of starch requires hydrolysis of both the α-1,4and α-1,6-glucosidic bonds in amylopectin. Limit dextrinase (LD) is the only endogenous barley enzyme capable of hydrolyzing the α-1,6-glucosidic bond during seed germination, and impaired LD activity inevitably reduces the maltose and glucose yields from starch degradation. Crystal structures of barley LD and active-site mutants with natural substrates, products and substrate analogues were sought to better understand the facets of LD–substrate interactions that confine high activity of LD to branched maltooligosaccharides. For the first time, an intact α-1,6-glucosidically linked substrate spanning the active site of a LD or pullulanase has been trapped and characterized by crystallography. The crystal structure reveals both the branch and main-chain binding sites and is used to suggest a mechanism for nucleophilicity enhancement in the active site. The substrate, product and analogue complexes were further used to outline substrate binding subsites and substrate binding restraints and to suggest a mechanism for avoidance of dual α-1,6and α-1,4-hydrolytic activity likely to be a biological necessity during starch synthesis. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Influence of Intrinsic Parameters over Extrinsic Calibration between a Multi-Layer Lidar and a Camera

In this paper, we present an extensive study about the influence and the behavior of the intrinsic camera calibration imprecisions and their propagation into the extrinsic calibration between a camera and a multi-layer lidar. Usually, the extrinsic calibration process involves the pose estimation of a reference object in the Cartesian frame of each sensor. From this fact, it is necessary to know the camera intrinsic parameters for estimating the position of an object on an image. Therefore, the extrinsic calibration process is directly dependent of the intrinsic camera parameters. By using different projective camera models, we estimate the influence with respect to the computation of the extrinsic parameters.
A Distributed Control Strategy for Coordination of an Autonomous LVDC Microgrid Based on Power-Line Signaling

In a microgrid (MG), an energy management control is essential in order to handle the variety of prime movers, which may include different types of renewable energy sources (RESs) and energy storage systems (ESSs). Specifically, the recharging process of the secondary battery, i.e., the most prominent ESS, should be done in a specific manner to preserve its lifetime, the common MG bus voltage must be kept within the bounds, and the energy offered by RES should be utilized as efficiently as possible. This paper proposes a method for coordination of an autonomous low-voltage direct-current (LVDC) MG that consists of a number of sources using power-line signaling (PLS), which is a distributed control strategy in which the units inject sinusoidal signals of specific frequency into the common bus in order to communicate with each other. The control structure that allows the application of this method is revealed, and the optimal range of operating PLS frequencies is specified. In order to achieve a zero steady-state error of injected signals in the common bus, primary control of batteries has been extended with dedicated proportional-resonant controllers that are switched on only during injection period. Finally, a method for coordination among the units using the PLS concept was developed and experimentally tested, confirming its applicability for autonomous LVDC MGs.
Personality accounts for stable preferences and expectations across a range of simple games

Behaviour on even simple experimental games shows considerable individual differences, but previous attempts to link these preferences to stable personality traits have had mixed results. Here we address three limitations of earlier studies, namely: 1) uncertainties concerning the reliability of preferences; 2) use of personality instruments with limited cross-study comparability; and 3) confounds where more than one psychological motive can lead to a particular choice. Sixty-seven participants completed 12 distinct real-money games twice over a two-week interval along with 6 measures concerning their expectations about other players’ choices. Personality was measured using the full NEO-PI-R. Choices were highly stable across time (r = .84). Moreover, choices on the 12 games and 6 expectations reflected a single underlying dimension of “prosocial orientation”, measuring concern for the payoffs received by other players. Scores on the prosocial orientation dimension were related to personality, with openness, (low) neuroticism, and (low) extraversion retained as significant predictors.
Explorer Personality accounts for stable preferences and expectations across a range of simple games

Behaviour on even simple experimental games shows considerable individual differences, but previous attempts to link these preferences to stable personality traits have had mixed results. Here we address three limitations of earlier studies, namely: 1) uncertainties concerning the reliability of preferences; 2) use of personality instruments with limited cross-study comparability; and 3) confounds where more than one psychological motive can lead to a particular choice. Sixty-seven participants completed 12 distinct real-money games twice over a two-week interval along with 6 measures concerning their expectations about other players’ choices. Personality was measured using the full NEO-PI-R. Choices were highly stable across time (r = .84). Moreover, choices on the 12 games and 6 expectations reflected a single underlying dimension of “prosocial orientation”, measuring concern for the payoffs received by other players. Scores on the prosocial orientation dimension were related to personality, with openness, (low) neuroticism, and (low) extraversion retained as significant predictors.
Machine Learning for Physicochemical Property Prediction of Complex Hydrocarbon Mixtures

: 19 Machine learning has proven effective for predicting properties of pure compounds from 20 molecular structures, but properties of mixtures, in particular oil fractions, are rarely dealt with. 21 At best, the bulk properties are estimated based on pure compound properties, linear mixing 22 rules, and a reconstructed composition of the feedstock. As the detailed composition of such 23 mixtures is rarely well determined and often approximated by lumps, the accuracy of the 24 estimated bulk properties can be improved. In this work, we demonstrate for a naphtha case 25 study our bulk property estimation method. First a detailed PIONA composition is delumped 26 into a molecule-level composition, a machine learning based approach is used to predict 27 properties of those molecules, which are further combined in another deep neural network for 28 the prediction of bulk properties. The latter machine learning models are trained on mixture 29 properties using vectors that represent the mixture. The first vector is a linear combination of 30 the molecular representation vectors, and is the representation of the molecular geometries that 31 make up the mixture. The second vector applies linear mixing rules on boiling temperatures, 32 critical temperatures, liquid densities, and vapor pressures that are predicted with machine 33 learning. The last vector consists of a learned distillation curve. We show that an integrated 34 machine learning approach that starts from the molecular structures in the mixture offers 35 significant improvements in predicting mixture properties over existing approaches applied in 36 industry and academia. 37
Feedback loops as dynamic processes of organizational knowledge creation in the context of the innovations’ front-end

Feedback loops are instrumental in the organizational knowledge creation (OKC) process across the highly uncertain and dynamic innovation’s front-end. Therefore, managers should be aware of how these loops unfold, how to recognize meaningful patterns and how to steer them towards planned and emergent outcomes. Easy to say, difficult to practise! In this empirical paper, we focus on knowledge-conceptualization – the new knowledge’s generation-crystallization journey – and develop a unique model of feedback loops as dynamic processes of OKC in the context of the innovations’ front-end. Using 10 qualitatively studied innovations, we identify five front-end OKC stages (generation, evaluation, expansion, refinement and crystallization) and pattern these based on their overlaps to explore the associated feedback loops. Our model distinctively illustrates increasing-decreasing, diverging-converging and frequent negative- cum -positive loops, and illuminates the complex and rich patterns of loops not captured before.
The impact of synthetic amorphous silica ( E 551 ) on differentiated 2 Caco-2 cells , a model for the human intestinal epithelium 3

1 The impact of synthetic amorphous silica (E 551) on differentiated 2 Caco-2 cells, a model for the human intestinal epithelium 3 Claudia Hempt1,2,§ , Jean-Pierre Kaiser1,§, Olivier Scholder3, Tina Buerki-Thurnherr1, 4 Heinrich Hofmann4, Alexandra Rippl1, Tobias B. Schuster5, Peter Wick1, Cordula 5 Hirsch1,# 6 1Laboratory for Particles-Biology Interactions, Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for 7 Materials Science and Technology, Lerchenfeldstrasse 5, 9014 St. Gallen, 8 Switzerland 9 2Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland 10 3Nanoscale Materials Science Laboratory, Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for 11 Materials Science and Technology, Überlandstrasse 129, Dübendorf, Switzerland 12 4Institute of Materials, Powder Technology Laboratory, École Polytechnique Fédérale 13 de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland 14 5Evonik Resource Efficiency GmbH, Rodenbacher Chaussee 4, 63457 Hanau15 Wolfgang, Germany 16 §Contributed equally 17 #Corresponding author: cordula.hirsch@empa.ch 18 +41 58 765 77 91 19 Lerchenfeldstrasse 5 20 CH-9014 St. Gallen 21 Switzerland This document is the accepted manuscript version of the following article: Hempt, C. , Kaiser, J. P., Scholder, O. , Buerki-Thurnherr, T. , Hofmann, H. , Rippl, A. , . Hirsch, C. (2020). The impact of synthetic amorphous silica (E 551) on differentiated Caco-2 cells, a model for the human intestinal epithelium. Toxicology in Vitro, 67, 104903 (14 pp.). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tiv. 2020.104903
Detection of shared antigenic determinants between Mycobacterium leprae heat shock protein 65 and human heat shock protein 60 Rica

In these studies, it was investigated whether M. leprae and man share antigenic determinants which may be located on Heat Shock Proteins (HSPs), and which may be responsible for tissue destruction. Using immunoperoxidase singlestaining technique on cryostat sections it was observed that three antibodies which are directed against HSP 60 (polyclonal antibodies SPA 804 and SPA 805 and monoclonal antibody SPA 807) probably reacted specifically with macrophages and epitheloid cells in leprosy skin sections. On Western Blotting, it was observed that the antibodies against human HSP 60 and monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) against M. leprae HSP 65 (F 47-10, F 67-18, F 88-1) all reacted
Enhancing TCP Performance over Hybrid Wireless Terrestrial-Satellite Networks

This paper addresses the study of TCP performance over a heterogeneous network, where the access to IP based services is provided through the integration of terrestrial and satellite wireless technologies. This architecture is particularly suited for example for emergency communications, but presents some drawbacks in case TCP is used as transport protocol. The analysis of a solution for transport layer performance enhancement adopting TCP splitting agents at the edges of satellite link is discussed, using either a standard TCP or TCP Noordwijk for the inner connection between satellite terminal (ST) and satellite gateway (satGW). TCP-Noordwijk is a new transport protocol designed specifically for the satellite environment. This approach will be compared with a standard end-to-end TCP connection solution. Network Simulator NS-2 has supported the whole analysis and showed results which greatly demonstrate the advantages coming from the use of the split architecture and in particular adopting the TCP-Noordwijk transport protocol as inner connection.
CARE: a novel wearable-derived feature linking circadian amplitude to human cognitive functions

Circadian rhythms play a critical role in regulating physiological and behavioral processes, with amplitude being a key parameter for their characterization. However, accurately quantifying circadian amplitude in natural settings remains a challenge, as traditional melatonin methods require lab settings and are often costly and time-consuming. Wearable devices are a promising alternative as they can collect consecutive 24-h data for multiple days. The most commonly used measure of circadian amplitude from wearable device data, relative amplitude, is subject to the masking effect of behaviors and fails to leverage the rich information in high-dimensional data, as it only uses the sum of activity counts in time windows of pre-specified lengths. Therefore, in this study, we firstly proposed a pipeline to derive a novel feature to characterize circadian amplitude, named circadian activity rhythm energy (CARE), which can well address the above-mentioned challenges by decomposing raw accelerometer time series data, and then we validated the new feature CARE by assessing its correlation with melatonin amplitude (Pearson's r = 0.46, P = 0.007) in a dataset of 33 healthy participants. Secondly, we investigated its association with cognitive functions in two datasets: an adolescent dataset (Chinese SCHEDULE-A, n = 1,703) and an adult dataset (the UK Biobank dataset, n = 92,202), and we found that the CARE was significantly associated with the Global Executive Composite ({beta} = 30.86, P = 0.016) in adolescents, and reasoning ability (OR = 0.01, P < 0.001), short-term memory (OR = 3.42, P < 0.001), and prospective memory (OR = 11.47, P < 0.001) in adults. And finally, we explored the causal relationship using Mendelian randomization analysis in the adult dataset. We identified one genetic locus with 126 SNPs associated with CARE using genome-wide association study (GWAS), of which 109 variants were used as instrumental variables to conduct causal analysis. The results suggested that CARE had a significant causal effect on reasoning ability ({beta} = -59.91, P < 0.0001), short-term memory ({beta} = 7.94, P < 0.0001), and prospective memory ({beta} = 16.85, P < 0.0001). The findings suggested that CARE is an effective wearable-based metric of circadian amplitude with a strong genetic basis and clinical significance, and its adoption can facilitate future circadian studies and potential interventions to improve circadian rhythms and cognitive functions.
The impact of imaging modality (CT vs MRI) and patient position (supine vs prone) on tangential whole breast radiotherapy planning

Please cite this article as: Dundas Kylie, Pogson Elise M, Batumalai Vikneswary, Delaney Geoff P, Boxer Miriam M, Yap Mei Ling, Ahern Verity, Chan Christine, David Steven, Dimigen Marion, Harvey Jennifer A, Koh Eng-Siew, Lim Karen, Papadatos George, Lazarus Elizabeth, Descellar Joseph, Metcalfe Peter, Holloway Lois, The impact of imaging modality (CT vs MRI) and patient position (supine vs prone) on tangential whole breast radiotherapy planning, Practical Radiation Oncology (2017), doi: 10.1016/j.prro. 2017.07. 007
Erratum: ``Prediction of the number of cloud droplets in the ECHAM GCM''

In this paper a prognostic equation for the number of cloud droplets (CDNC) is introduced into the ECHAM general circulation model. The initial CDNC is based on the mechanistic model of Chuang and Penner [1995], providing a more realistical prediction of CDNC than the empirical method previously used. Cloud droplet nucleation is parameterized as a function of total aerosol number concentration, updraft velocity, and a shape parameter, which takes the aerosol composition and size distribution into account. The total number of aerosol particles is obtained as the sum of marine sulfate aerosols produced from dimethyl sulfide, hydrophylic organic and black carbon, submicron dust, and sea-salt aerosols. Anthropogenic sulfate aerosols only add mass to the preexisting aerosols but do not form new particles. The simulated annual mean liquid water path, column CDNC, and effective radius agree well with observations, as does the frequency distributions of column CDNC for clouds over oceans and the variations of cloud optical depth with effective radius.
Does Warrant Strategy Along with IPO Provide Better Performance?

An Initial Public Offering (IPO) can provide limited beneﬁts for companies in the short to medium term. This study aims to evaluate the use of the Package IPO (PIPO) and Shares-only IPO (SIPO) strategy that accompanies the IPO process of companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX). The sample used in this study was all companies that carried out IPOs for the period 2010–2016 as many as 155 companies. Using Paired Sample T-test and Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test the results showed that in the short-term there was a signiﬁ-cant difference in ﬁnancial performance of leverage (DER) and working capital (CR) before and after the IPO, but only in the medium-term CR performance did not show a signiﬁcant difference. Meanwhile, the use of warrant inclusion strategies provides quite diverse results. When the company uses the SIPO strategy, it shows a signiﬁcant difference in the company’s performance in the short-and medium-term. In contrast, the use of other strategies during IPOs in the short-and medium-term does not show a difference in performance.
Area and Length Minimizing Flows for Shape Segmentation

— A number of active contour models have been proposed that unify the curve evolution framework with classical energy minimization techniques for segmentation, such as snakes. The essential idea is to evolve a curve (in two dimensions) or a surface (in three dimensions) under constraints from image forces so that it clings to features of interest in an intensity image. Recently, the evolution equation has been derived from first principles as the gradient flow that minimizes a modified length functional, tailored to features such as edges. However, because the flow may be slow to converge in practice, a constant (hyperbolic) term is added to keep the curve/surface moving in the desired direction. In this paper, we derive a modification of this term based on the gradient flow derived from a weighted area functional, with image dependent weighting factor. When combined with the earlier modified length gradient flow, we obtain a partial differential equation (PDE) that offers a number of advantages, as illustrated by several examples of shape segmentation on medical images. In many cases the weighted area flow may be used on its own, with significant computational savings.
Kinematic analysis of the human thumb with foldable palm to understand its role in grasp affordances

Humans demonstrate remarkable capabilities to use a variety of grasp strategies for a given object depending on the context of the task often referred to as grasp affordances in dexterous hands. The interplay among the nervous system, the morphology of the human hand, and the properties of the object to demonstrate these advanced grasp affordance skills are not well understood yet. A key hypothesis addressed in this paper is that the kinematics of the human thumb together with the foldable palm offer a wide variety of choices for the nervous system to plan grasp affordances. This paper provides a new kinematic model to abstract the complex musculoskeletal arrangement of the human thumb, so that its key morphological contributions to wider grasp affordances can be better understood. It also allows to simplify the grasp affordance control strategies. The model was validated using human grasp data base consisting of demonstrations for sixteen grasp types across five human subjects.