Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Physical design optimizations for a high-resolution third-order sigma-delta modulator

A 3rd-order single-bit sigma-delta modulator is designed using TSMC 0.35-μm 2P4M process, which achieves a 97-dB SNR in a signal bandwidth of 20 kHz and with a sampling frequency of 5.12 MHz. The modulator is implemented by a fully-differential switched-capacitor CIFB architecture, which possesses two separate paths for realizing different coefficients, and the original DAC in the feedback path is implemented by one of them. Considering of circuit performance, physical design optimizations such as matching, noise shielding, latch-up prevention for internal circuits, and the construction of internal ESD protection structure are employed. At the same time, it also deals with the problems that designers are not able to take care of at work. The result shows that a perfect performance consistency with only 8-dB loss is attained.
Disconnections in simple and complex structures

Disconnections are interfacial defects with dislocation and step character; for example, twinning dislocations in homo-phase and transformation dislocations in hetero-phase materials. They play important structural roles and are classified as either ‘perfect’, separating energetically degenerate regions of interface, or ‘partial’, bounding a faulted region. In kinetic mechanisms, disconnection motion can be glissile, by conservative climb or climb. In the present paper, disconnection mobility is analyzed in terms of shear and shuffle-type atomic displacements and diffusional flux. This is applied to a sequence of hetero-phase materials with increasing structural complexity, namely the β to α transformation in Ti, θ′ precipitation in Al(Cu) and the orthorhombic to monoclinic martensitic transformation in ZrO2. A disconnection source mechanism in Ti, involving conservative climb, is also described. 1Recently moved to Institute of Science and Technology, School of Mechanical Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China.
A Preliminary Study of Muscular Artifact Cancellation in Single-Channel EEG

Electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings are often contaminated with muscular artifacts that strongly obscure the EEG signals and complicates their analysis. For the conventional case, where the EEG recordings are obtained simultaneously over many EEG channels, there exists a considerable range of methods for removing muscular artifacts. In recent years, there has been an increasing trend to use EEG information in ambulatory healthcare and related physiological signal monitoring systems. For practical reasons, a single EEG channel system must be used in these situations. Unfortunately, there exist few studies for muscular artifact cancellation in single-channel EEG recordings. To address this issue, in this preliminary study, we propose a simple, yet effective, method to achieve the muscular artifact cancellation for the single-channel EEG case. This method is a combination of the ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) and the joint blind source separation (JBSS) techniques. We also conduct a study that compares and investigates all possible single-channel solutions and demonstrate the performance of these methods using numerical simulations and real-life applications. The proposed method is shown to significantly outperform all other methods. It can successfully remove muscular artifacts without altering the underlying EEG activity. It is thus a promising tool for use in ambulatory healthcare systems.
Aspectual Oriented weaving technology in Model Driven Architecture

Model Driven Architecture (MDA) is a development methodology taking model as center, it shift the focus of software development activity from coding to modeling, which is initiated by the Object Manage Group and based on UML and other standard etc. Aspect-Oriented Programming (AOP) is an emerging software engineering paradigm that improves separation of cross-cutting concerns as aspect in a program. Separation of concerns is an important principle for designing high quality software systems and is both applied in the MDA and Aspect-Oriented Software Development (AOSD). The AOSD and MDA techniques seem to be complementary to each other; We provided a weaving-based model composition framework, adopted weaving technology in model composition. Model composition could be carried out automatically through model weaving framework. This is also an attempt to combine model transformation and model composition.
HisT/PLIER: A Two-Fold Provenance Approach for Grid-Enabled Scientific Workflows Using WS-VLAM

Large scale scientific applications are frequently modeled as a workflow that is executed under the control of a workflow management system. One crucial requirement is the validation of the generated results, e.g. The trace ability of the experiment execution path. The automated tracking and storage of provenance information during workflow execution could satisfy this requirement. To collect provenance data using the grid-enabled scientific workflow management system WS-VLAM, experimentations were made with two different implementations of the provenance concepts. The first one, adopts the Open Provenance Model (OPM) using the Provenance Layer Infrastructure for e-Science Resources (PLIER). The second one is the history-tracing XML (HisT). This paper describes how these two provenance models are integrated into WS-VLAM.
From Secure Business Process Modeling to Design-Level Security Verification

Tracing and integrating security requirements throughout the development process is a key challenge in security engineering. In socio-technical systems, security requirements for the organizational and technical aspects of a system are currently dealt with separately, giving rise to substantial misconceptions and errors. In this paper, we present a model-based security engineering framework for supporting the system design on the organizational and technical level. The key idea is to allow the involved experts to specify security requirements in the languages they are familiar with: business analysts use BPMN for procedural system descriptions; system developers use UML to design and implement the system architecture. Security requirements are captured via the language extensions SecBPMN2 and UMLsec. We provide a model transformation to bridge the conceptual gap between SecBPMN2 and UMLsec. Using UMLsec policies, various security properties of the resulting architecture can be verified. In a case study featuring an air traffic management system, we show how our framework can be practically applied.
Regulation of Life-Span by Germ-Line Stem Cells in Caenorhabditis elegans

The germ line of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegansinfluences life-span; when the germ-line precursor cells are removed, life-span is increased dramatically. We find that neither sperm, nor oocytes, nor meiotic precursor cells are responsible for this effect. Rather life-span is influenced by the proliferating germ-line stem cells. These cells, as well as a downstream transcriptional regulator, act in the adult to influence aging, indicating that the aging process remains plastic during adulthood. We propose that the germ-line stem cells affect life-span by influencing the production of, or the response to, a steroid hormone that promotes longevity.
[Surgical analysis of sinonasal inverting papilloma with recurrence].

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effectiveness of intranasal endoscopic surgery of sinonasal inverting papilloma with recurrence. METHOD Retrospective comparative analysis of intranasal endoscopic surgery on 7 patients and lateral rhinotomy on 14 patients of sinonasal inverting papilloma with recurrence. RESULT All the 21 cases with recurrence had suffered sinonasal surgery such as lateral rhinotomy, endoscopic surgery, intranasal surgery, Caldwell-Luc operation and nasal polypectomy. Among them, 14 cases recurred once, 4 cases recurred 2 times, 2 cases recurred 3 times and 1 case recurred 5 times. The recurrence time ranged from 1 month to 12 years, and the mean time was 20 months. There was no recurrence both in 7 patients with intranasal endoscopic surgery during 1-3 years' follow-up and in 14 patients with lateral rhinotomy during 1-10 years' follow-up. CONCLUSION The intranasal endoscopic surgery is an effective management for sinonasal inverting papilloma with recurrence.
A Prospective Study

Objective: There may be ethical issues associated with allowing certain inpatients to vote as some may be cognitively impaired. During the 2007 elections in France, we conducted a prospective observational study on voting among hospitalized patients. Method: Patients hospitalized in an Internal Medicine and Geriatric Department on election day were included. The primary outcome was the turnout among registered inpatients, and secondary outcomes were Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores and reasons for abstention. Results: Of 142 inpatients (mean age 73 years), 84 were eligible to vote, and 22 actually voted (turnout 25.2%). Among the voters, 23% had an MMSE score of less than 12; 58% of abstentions were procedure-related. Discussion: In our study, some inpatients did not vote as a result of procedural issues. When patients with severe cognitive impairment vote, there is a potential risk of vote diversion. Voting procedures should be improved to give inpatients easier access to the ballot while protecting them from the risk of fraud.
Autoscaling Web Applications in Heterogeneous Cloud Infrastructures

Improving resource provisioning of heterogeneous cloud infrastructures is an important research challenge. The wide diversity of cloud-based applications and customers with different QoS requirements have recently exhibited the weaknesses of current provisioning systems. Today's cloud infrastructures provide provisioning systems that dynamically adapt the computational power of applications by adding or releasing resources. Unfortunately, these scaling systems are fairly limited:(i) They restrict themselves to a single type of resource, (ii)they are unable to fulfill QoS requirements in face of spiky workload, and (iii) they offer the same QoS level to all their customers, independent of customer preferences such as different levels of service availability and performance. In this paper, we present an autoscaling system that overcomes these limitations by exploiting heterogeneous types of resources, and by defining multiple levels of QoS requirements. The proposed system selects a resource scaling plan according to both workload and customer requirements. Our experiments conducted on both public and private infrastructures show significant reductions in QoS-level violations when faced with highly variable workloads.
An Optimization Model for Maximizing the Benefits of Fast-tracking Construction Projects

Fast-track construction projects have become more popular in recent years in response to growing industry demand. By allowing a downstream activity to start with incomplete information from upstream activities, fast-tracking allows for shortening the project duration at the expense of an increased likelihood of rework. This leaves practitioners with the challenge of determining the optimal fast-tracking strategy, which meets project schedule requirements and does not cause excessive amounts of rework. This paper presents an optimization based model that serves as a decision support tool in scheduling fast-track construction projects. The model takes into consideration information exchange between upstream and downstream activities. The objective function of the model is to maximize the net benefits from fast-tracking. Rework time and cost are deduced from the literature on rework in construction projects. The model is illustrated on a small scale case study, which was analyzed under various scenarios. The paper concludes with a discussion of the applicability of the model on complex construction projects.
A study on improving DEM-based forest biomass estimation using PALSAR and forest inventory data

The purpose of this study is to estimate forest biomass using ALOS PALSAR imagery and forest inventory data. Above all, it is only appropriate for farmland which is small biomass values in the case of SAR Sigma-nought(σ0), and is affected by shadow of bidirectional effects. On the other side, the terrain slope parameters are calculated using an estimation of the gradients in the two directions of the coordinate plane of the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and so reduces the shadow phenomenon of topographic effects and revises it. To estimate forest biomass, topographic effects should be considered in SAR data processing, because most forests are located on mountainous areas in Korea. This study is for region of Unduryeong forest, and divided directions using DEM. That is, revision of directional effect by incidence angle is needed therefore SAR images are separated in fore-slope(here, west-slope) and far-slope(here, east-slope). As a result, the gamma-nought(γ0) values are always lower compared to the sigma-nought values at all polarizations for Unduryeong forest areas of the fore-slope and are always higher in case of far-slope. Backscatter coefficient shows saturations in about 302.56ton/ha, and it is useful in REDD++ mechanism because forest biomass values based on estimated gamma-nought include the information of location coordinate.
Synthesis, characterization and swelling behaviour of poly(acrylamide-comethacrylicacid) grafted Gum ghatti based superabsorbent hydrogels

A mixture of acrylamide (AAm) and methacrylic acid (MAA) was crosslinked onto Gum ghatti (Gg) using N, N’-methylene-bis-acrylamide (MBA) as a crosslinker and ascorbic acid (ABC) and potassium persulphate (KPS) redox pair as an initiator. Optimized reaction parameters for the graft copolymerization of Gum ghatti with AAm were time (min)=90; temperature (0C)=50; pH=7.0; deionized water (ml)=10; molar ratio of initiators (ABC:KPS mol:mol)=1:1; [AAm] (molL-1)=0.7746; [MBA] (molL-1)=0.0974. After that molar ratio of AAm-co-MAA keeping AAm as the principle monomer was optimized and was found to be 0.77+5.85 molL-1. Synthesized superabsorbent hydrogel was characterized by FTIR, SEM, TGA/DTA and XRD. Water absorption capacity of Gg-cl-poly(AAm-co-MAA) was investigated in deionized water and the polymer was found to show maximum swelling of 1312%. Effect of the ionic strength of various cations (Na+, Ba+2, Fe+3 and Sn+4) on Ps in different choride salt solutions (NaCl, BaCl2, FeCl3 and SnCl4) was studied. The hydrogel exhibited salt-sensitivity and cation exchange properties. pH responsive and on-off switching properties of the superabsorbing hydrogel was studied as well.
MINDS Workshops Machine Translation Working Group Final Report

This report is one of five reports that were based on the MINDS workshops, led by Donna Harman (NIST) and sponsored by Heather McCallum-Bayliss of the Disruptive Technology Office of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence's Office of Science and Technology (ODNI/ADDNI/S&T/DTO). To find the rest of the reports, and an executive overview, please see http://www.itl. nist.gov/iaui/894.02/minds.html.
The Determinants of Firm Performance: Unions, Works Councils, and Employee Involvement/High Performance Work Practices

Drawing on evidence from the United States and Germany, this paper offers a survey of the effects of worker representation (in unions and works councils) and innovative work practices on firm performance. The focus is on the growing links between these two historically separate literatures. The interaction between worker representation and high performance work practices provides a practical means of peering inside the black box of collective voice, even if there is as yet no well-determined hierarchy for productivity performance and certainly no blue-print for the future of unions.
Large wireless networks under fading, mobility, and delay constraints

We study wireless ad hoc networks with a large number of nodes. We first focus on a network of n immobile nodes, each with a destination node chosen in random. We develop a scheme under which, in the absence of fading, the network can provide each node with a traffic rate /spl lambda//sub 1/(n)=K/sub 1/(nlog n)/sup -1/ 2/. This result was first shown in J. Hightower and G. Borriello (2001) under a similar setting, however the proof presented here is shorter and uses only basic probability tools. We then proceed to show that, under a general model of fading, each node can send data to its destination with a rate /spl lambda//sub 2/(n)=K/sub 2/n/sup -1// /sup 2/(log n)/sup -3/2/. Next, we extend our formulation to study the effects of node mobility. We first develop a simple scheme under which each of the a mobile nodes can send data to a randomly chosen destination node with a rate /spl lambda//sub 3/(n)=K/sub 3/n/sup -1/2/(log n)/sup -3/2/, and with a fixed upper bound on the packet delay d/sub max/ that does not depend on n. We subsequently develop a scheme under which each of the nodes can send data to its destination with a rate /spl lambda//sub 4/(n)=K/sub 4/n/sup (d-1)/ 2/(log n)/sup -5/ 2 /provided that nodes are willing to tolerate packet delays smaller than d/sub max/(n)<K/sub 5/n/sup d/, where 0<d<1. With both schemes, a general model of fading is assumed. In addition, nodes require no global topology or routing information, and only need to coordinate locally. The above results hold for an appropriate choice of values for the constants K/sub i/, and with probability approaching 1 as the number of nodes n approaches infinity.
Deforolimus (AP23573) a novel mTOR inhibitor in clinical development

mTOR was determined to be a promising anticancer target and several drug inhibitors of mTOR are currently in clinical development. Rapamycin (RAP) was the first mTOR inhibitor discovered. However, RAP has poor aqueous solubility and chemical stability and therefore its utilization at doses susceptible to produce an effect as an anticancer agent is limited. This represented the main rationale for developing new RAP analogs. The RAP analogs currently in clinical development as anticancer agents include temsirolimus (CCI-779), everolimus (RAD-001), and deforolimus (AP23573). These agents have demonstrated antiproliferative activity against a diverse range of malignancies in preclinical studies, and clinical evaluations have been very encouraging thus far. Deforolimus (AP23573), a non-RAP prodrug, has been tested in Phase I and II clinical trials and shows promising results in several tumor types including sarcoma. A Phase III study in patients with sarcoma is currently ongoing. The preclinical and clinical studies with deforolimus will be presented.
When a video game transforms to mobile phone controlled team experience

An existing rhythm game is modified to provide a new kind of collective experience. In addition to providing a novel collective experience, this study seeks answers to the following research question; how could the game be modified so that it would enhance social interaction between players? In order to obtain answer to the question, the game modification was based on an extraordinary custom-made user-interface that involves players in cooperation. According to players, the modified multiplayer version of the game was both engaging in action and enjoyable. Totally out of the context of the game, controllers offered amusing game experience. Finally, cooperation through modification of the game was the answer to the proposed research question.
Discrimination power of measures for nonlinearity in a time series

The performance of a number of different measures of nonlinearity in a time series is compared numerically. Their power to distinguish noisy chaotic data from linear stochastic surrogates is determined by Monte Carlo simulation for a number of typical data problems. The main result is that the ratings of the different measures vary from example to example. It seems therefore preferable to use an algorithm with good overall performance, that is, higher order autocorrelations or nonlinear prediction errors.
Income, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and Infant Health

This paper evaluates the health impact of a central piece in the U.S. safety net for families with children: the Earned Income Tax Credit. Using tax-reform induced variation in the federal EITC, we examine the impact of the credit on infant health outcomes. We find that increased EITC income reduces the incidence of low birth weight and increases mean birth weight. For single low education (
HPP: HTML Macro-Preprocessing to Support Dynamic Document Caching

A number of techniques are available for reducing latency and bandwidth requirements for resources on the World Wide Web, including caching, compression, and delta-encoding [12]. These approaches are limited: much data on the Web is dynamic, for which traditional caching is of limited use, and delta-encoding requires both a common version base against which to apply a delta and the complete generation of the resource prior to encoding it. In contrast to these approaches, we take an application-specific view, in which we separate the static and dynamic portions of a resource. The static portions (called the template) can then be cached, with (presumably small) dynamic portions obtained on each access. Our HTML extension, which we refer to as HPP (for HTML Pre-Processing) supports resources that contain variable number of static and dynamic elements, such as query responses. Results with macro-encoding of query response resources from local CGI scripts and two popular search engines indicate that our approach promises a substantial reduction of network traffic, server load, and access latency for dynamic documents. The size of network transfers using HPP are comparable to delta-encoding (factors of 2-8 smaller than the original resource), while the data generated by content providers is simpler, and the load on the end-servers is slightly lower.
Recent innovations in speech-to-text transcription at SRI-ICSI-UW

We summarize recent progress in automatic speech-to-text transcription at SRI, ICSI, and the University of Washington. The work encompasses all components of speech modeling found in a state-of-the-art recognition system, from acoustic features, to acoustic modeling and adaptation, to language modeling. In the front end, we experimented with nonstandard features, including various measures of voicing, discriminative phone posterior features estimated by multilayer perceptrons, and a novel phone-level macro-averaging for cepstral normalization. Acoustic modeling was improved with combinations of front ends operating at multiple frame rates, as well as by modifications to the standard methods for discriminative Gaussian estimation. We show that acoustic adaptation can be improved by predicting the optimal regression class complexity for a given speaker. Language modeling innovations include the use of a syntax-motivated almost-parsing language model, as well as principled vocabulary-selection techniques. Finally, we address portability issues, such as the use of imperfect training transcripts, and language-specific adjustments required for recognition of Arabic and Mandarin