Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
FIB and CVD Fabrication of Carbon Nanostructures on Diamond and Quartz Substrates

Abstract : Electronic carbon nanostructures have been fabricated on diamond substrates by focused ion beam (FIB) irradiation. Fabrication of planar nanowire/nanodot structures at a scale below 10 nm (e.g. all-carbon single electron transistor with island size of 7 nm) has been shown. FIB-written carbon nanostructures may reveal non-linear conductivity, current injection trough insulating diamond, bistability of current flow, and coulomb blockade at room temperature. Also we developed methods of fabrication of large uniform areas of amorphous carbon and/or graphene films on diamond and quartz substrates using combination of graphitization/CVD deposition/plasma etching processes. Arrays of carbon nanowires/nanodots, amorphous carbon films on diamond and graphene films on quartz have been shown to possess remarkable electronic properties and selective chemical sensitivity. A model of continuum carbon phase transitions has been developed to explain the experimental data. The problem of two-dimensional (2D) nucleation has been approached theoretically using the concept of escape time (phase-transition time) and direct computer simulations. It is shown that the transition state of graphite/diamond phase system gains thermodynamic stability in a closed nano-volume and, in case of 2D nucleation, there is a critical thickness above which the growing layer manifests the stable phase.
Case study of customer input for a successful product

Both agile development and user centered design stress collaboration between customers and product teams, but getting these methodologies to work well together is not easy. This paper describes one company's efforts to merge these processes by creating interconnected parallel design and development tracks. The benefits of this approach are demonstrated by showing how, when and why customer input was incorporated during the release of a successful software product.
Feasibility and Outcome of Reduced‐Intensity Conditioning in Haploidentical Transplantation

Abstract: Allogeneic stem cell transplantation is for a number of patients with malignant and nonmalignant diseases the only curative approach. For those patients who do not have an HLA‐identical–related or –unrelated stem cell donor, a related three‐loci mismatch haploidentical stem cell transplantation with T cell‐depleted stem cells is a viable option. T cell depletion either by CD34+ positive selection or by CD3‐negative depletion strategies is available and has been investigated. We have shown that reduced‐intensity conditioning haploidentical transplantation using mobilized peripheral stem cells negatively depleted from T and B lymphocytes is associated with a rapid immune reconstitution, a low transplant‐related mortality rate, and a favorable outcome in patients in remission at the time of transplant. For chemorefractory patients, additional posttransplant cellular and humoral immunotherapeutic strategies are needed for prevention of relapse after transplantation.
Study of the intraplantar injection of lidocaine and morphine on pain perception and the influence of morphine dependence and withdrawal on lidocaine-induced analgesia in rats.

BACKGROUND Morphine and lidocaine are known to influence the perception of pain. The present study sought to determine the influence of local administration of morphine on lidocaine-induced analgesia in morphine non-dependent (MND), morphine dependent (MD) and morphine withdrawal (MW) animals. METHODS Adult male Wistar rats were divided into four groups: Control, MND, MD and MW rats. Lidocaine (0.5, 1 and 2%) and morphine (200, 400 and 800 µg) were injected in the plantar surface of the right paw. MD animals received chronic oral morphine (0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 mg/ml in their drinking water) for 20 days. Twenty four hours before experiment, the animals in the MW group were deprived of morphine in their drinking water (physical dependence was observed by precipitating an abstinence syndrome with naloxone 2 mg/kg i.p.). Analgesia was assessed using hot-plate apparatus. RESULTS Morphine (400 µg) and lidocaine (2%) produce local analgesia in MND group. In MND rats, non-analgesic doses of each drug (200 µg morphine and 1% lidocaine) were used in combination and produced analgesia. In MD animals, all doses of lidocaine produced analgesia, while in MW animals, it failed to produce analgesia. In this situation, local administration of morphine could eventually influence the analgesic effect of lidocaine. CONCLUSION Opioid withdrawal is one of the most common problems in clinic. This study determined the analgesic effect of lidocaine in MW animals in which lidocaine had no analgesic effect. In this regard, local administration of morphine with combination of lidocaine could probably produce an effective analgesia.
Highly-integrated power cell for high-power wide band-gap power converters

The fast switching speeds and low specific conduction losses of wide band-gap semiconductors allow the realisation of high-frequency, high power-density switching converters with dramatically reduced passive component requirements compared to Silicon technology. However, careful attention must be paid to switching cell design to mitigate the effects of circuit parasitics and fast voltage transitions which would otherwise limit the attainable switching speed and lead to increased levels of EMI. This paper presents a modular, power-cell solution which allows the creation of any two-level topology converter. The cell structure enables fast switching of wide bandgap semiconductor devices while allowing high power converters to be fabricated using multiple, smaller commutation cells. Close integration of semiconductor dies, decoupling capacitors, gate drives and an output filter with a single ceramic substrate to act as the thermal path allows dramatic increases in power density without compromising converter performance.
Levels of detail in reducing cost of haptic rendering: a preliminary user study

Haptic rendering complex objects in virtual environments is computationally intensive. We start the investigation of a new category of approach to reducing the computation in haptic rendering. Our approach is based on the hypothesis that the accuracy of haptic perception might be limited. Results of the experiments described in this paper suggest that subjects might not be able to distinguish two haptic objects if they are beyond some refinement level. This limitation of haptic perception may be taken advantage of in haptic rendering by replacing a fine object with a coarser object to reduce scene complexity.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Early Detection of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the modality of choice in early diagnosis and management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The pathologic processes in RA involve synovitis, joint effusion, proliferation of fibrovascular connective tissue, and the formation of pannus. Other imaging techniques available for imaging of RA include ultrasound, scintigraphy, computed tomography, and plain radiography (PR). MRI provides high sensitivity in detecting inflammatory changes in the joints. Several studies report high intra- and interobserver reliability and low variation for MRI. MRI allows detection and, in some cases, quantification of synovial changes. Dynamic MRI is a new technique that utilizes rate of synovial enhancement in evaluation of inflammatory changes. MRI allows visualization of erosions in three orthogonal planes. MRI has been shown in many studies to have much greater sensitivity than PR in detecting erosions. Use of a contrast agent further increases the sensitivity in detecting erosions and differentiates and outlines synovial proliferation from fluid collection. Other manifestations of RA such as intraosseous cysts, tenosynovitis, bone marrow edema, and carpal tunnel syndrome can also be visualized on magnetic resonance images. Advances in MRI include contrast-enhancement, dynamic, and quantitative techniques. MRI assists in the early detection of RA, which allows earlier initiation of treatment with disease-modifying therapies.
Quantized control via robust controlled invariance

A MIMO LTI system in discrete time is controlled remotely with a transmission capacity constraint N, equal to the number of different symbols available to encode the state vector. In the assumption that only one symbol can be transmitted at each point in time without delay, a controller is found to guarantee practical stability with static quantization and control amplitudes bounded by a saturation constraint. A dynamic quantization scheme is developed to achieve asymptotic stability with bounded capacity N
A novel approach for power control in a multi-user data transmission system

In this paper, we present a novel approach for power control in a multi-user data transmission system. The main objective of our approach is to distribute the overall transmission power among the lines in a way, such that a certain ratio between the bit rate of the lines is achieved. Given the maximum transmission power per line and the ratio of the bit rates both the transmission power and the achievable bit rate for each line are found by an iterative optimization. We show the impact of our novel power control in an experimental section, where the approach is used for finding the transmission power for a ten-line VDSL-2 system with various bit rate distributions.
A review of fragile X premutation disorders: expanding the psychiatric perspective.

CONTEXT Fragile X premutation conditions are associated with a significant degree of psychopathology and thus are of interest to the psychiatrist. Remarkable advances at the molecular level have enhanced our understanding of fragile X premutation disorders. OBJECTIVE The authors review the genetic, molecular, neuroimaging, and clinical (systemic, neurologic, and psychiatric) manifestations of the premutation carrier state (55-200 CGG repeats) of the fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1) gene. DATA SOURCES The search for the psychiatric clinical manifestations of fragile X-associated conditions was accomplished by PubMed for clinical papers published between 1970 and 2008 with the following search terms: Fragile X syndrome, depression, psychosis, anxiety, and dementia. STUDY SELECTION Articles addressing psychiatric symptoms in premutation carriers based on review of the abstracts were reviewed. As the majority of the literature on this topic is based on case reports and small case series, these were included in the database. RESULTS Reported clinical manifestations of psychiatric illness in premutation carriers include an apparently significant rate of cognitive, mood, anxiety, and other psychiatric disorders. Fragile X premutation-associated conditions are part of the clinical differential diagnosis of several psychiatric syndromes, particularly in pedigrees with known fragile X syndrome cases. CONCLUSIONS Fragile X-associated psychiatric manifestations serve as a useful model for a molecular genesis of neuropsychiatric illness. Because of the multigenerational expression of fragile X-associated neuropsychiatric illness, there is a prominent role for genetic testing and genetic counseling of patients and their relatives. Genetic testing is confirmatory of the FMR1 premutation and is an essential component of the clinical evaluation. Psychopharmacologic and psychotherapeutic treatment of fragile X-associated psychiatric illnesses may improve patient function and assist in adaptation to the burden of a genetic neuropsychiatric illness.
A VALUATION THEORETIC CHARACTERIZATION OF RECURSIVELY SATURATED REAL CLOSED FIELDS

Abstract We give a valuation theoretic characterization for a real closed field to be recursively saturated. This builds on work in [9], where the authors gave such a characterization for κ-saturation, for a cardinal $\kappa \ge \aleph _0 $. Our result extends the characterization of Harnik and Ressayre [7] for a divisible ordered abelian group to be recursively saturated.
Uncertainty in Rank-Biased Precision

Information retrieval metrics that provide uncertainty intervals when faced with unjudged documents, such as Rank-Biased Precision (RBP), provide us with an indication of the upper and lower bound of the system score. Unfortunately, the uncertainty is disregarded when examining the mean over a set of queries. In this article, we examine the distribution of the uncertainty per query and averaged over all queries, under the assumption that each unjudged document has the same probability of being relevant. We also derive equations for the mean, variance, and distribution of Mean RBP uncertainty. Finally, the impact of our assumption is assessed using simulation. We find that by removing the assumption of equal probability of relevance, we obtain a scaled form of the previously defined mean and standard deviation for the distribution of Mean RBP uncertainty.
Comparison of Electroanatomic Contact and Noncontact Mapping of Ventricular Scar in a Postinfarct Ovine Model With Intramural Needle Electrode Recording and Histological Validation

Background—Substrate-based ablation is useful for nonhemodynamically tolerated postinfarct ventricular tachycardia. We assessed the accuracy of the CARTO contact and EnSite noncontact systems at identifying scar in a chronic ovine model with intramural plunge needle electrode recording and histological validation. Methods and Results—Scar mapping was performed on 8 male sheep with previous percutaneous-induced myocardial infarction. Up to 20 plunge needles were inserted into the left ventricle of each animal in areas of dense scar, scar border, and normal myocardium. A simultaneous CARTO map and EnSite geometry were acquired using a single catheter, and needle electrode locations were registered. A dynamic substrate map was constructed using ratiometric 50% peak negative voltage. The scar percentage around each needle location was quantified histologically. Analysis was performed on 152 plunge needles and corresponding histological blocks. Spearman correlation with histology was 0.690 (P<0.001) for needle electrode peak-to-peak voltage (PPV), 0.362 (P<0.001) and 0.492 (P<0.001) for CARTO bipolar and unipolar PPV, and 0.381 (P<0.001) for EnSite dynamic substrate map (≤40 mm from array). The area under the receiver operator characteristics curve (<50% and ≥50% scar) was 0.896 for needle electrode PPV, 0.726 and 0.697 for CARTO bipolar and unipolar PPV, and 0.703 for EnSite dynamic substrate map (≤40 mm from array). Conclusions—Both the CARTO contact and EnSite noncontact systems were moderately accurate in identifying postinfarct scar when compared with intramural electrodes and confirmed with histology. The EnSite dynamic substrate map was comparable to the CARTO contact bipolar PPV when points >40 mm from the array were excluded.
Mobile Intelligence Architecture

Artificial intelligence with Human-computer interaction is a discipline concerned with the design, evaluation and implementation of interactive computing systems for human use and with the study of major phenomena surrounding them. Current mobile computing devices such as palmtop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and mobile phones, and future devices such as Blue tooth and GSM enabled cameras, and music players enabled have many implications for the design of the user interface. No longer can designers base computing designs around the traditional model of a single user working with a personal computer at his/her workplace. In addition to mobility and size requirements, mobile devices will also typically be used by a larger population spread than traditional PCs and without any training or support networks, whether formal or informal. Furthermore, unlike early computers which had many users per computer, and PCs with usually one computer per user, a single user is likely to own many mobiles devices which they interact with indifferent ways and for different tasks. Mobile devices present human-computer interaction (HCI). Using Artificial Intelligence Multitasking and support for task interruption is one of the keys to successful Synthesis Based Mobile Architecture.
High level hardware/software communication estimation in shared memory architecture

The paper presents a method of modeling on-chip communication behavior of a system as a set of communicating processes to find an optimal bus width and interface buffer size for the communication bus. An assumption for the modeling is that the system has already been partitioned and mapped onto the appropriate components of an SoC. We parameterize the communication behavior of a mixed Hw/Sw system considering the amount of data to be transferred, on-chip bus width, computation time of synthesized hardwares, bus topology and bus protocol. With these parameters, we estimate the transition probabilities between the communicating processes and model the overall communication behavior of a system by a Markov chain. This model is used to estimate the round trip communication delay and buffer size in the bus-interfaces for different bus widths. From the estimated figures, we select the optimal values for those parameters that satisfy given design constraints. The results of applying this approach to an Ogg Vorbis decoder clearly demonstrate the utility of our techniques for modeling communication behavior in order to estimate the bus width and buffer requirements of a complex system.
Collaborative Deep Networks for Pedestrian Detection

Conventional pedestrian detection methods construct models based on hand-crafted features or deep learning. They are powerful but limited due to finite capabilities of single classifiers. Ensemble models escape these problems by assembling multiple classifiers using some man-made criteria which synthetically utilize information from all combined models. However, these criteria lack theoretical support. Therefore, we propose a novel ensemble deep model called collaborative deep networks where multiple deep networks are meaningfully combined in a fully-connected network. For maximizing the abilities of these deep models, we incorporate a resampling process to prepare diverse datasets and pre-train them using these resampled data. Finally, a collaborative learning method is presented to train the entire model. Experimental results prove that our approach can improve the performance of single classifiers and outperform state-of-the-art methods both on Caltech dataset and ETH dataset.
Stable Configuration of a Li-Ion Series Battery Pack Based on a Screening Process for Improved Voltage/SOC Balancing

Differences in electrochemical characteristics among Li-ion cells inevitably result in state-of-charge (SOC) imbalance when the existing voltage balancing technique is used. This paper presents a new approach based on a screening process for improved voltage/SOC balancing of a Li-ion series battery pack. Two kinds of screening processes, capacity screening and resistance screening, are implemented in an orderly manner. The capacity screening process matches open-circuit voltage (OCV)-SOC relation for achievement of voltage/SOC balancing. In the resistance screening process, pulse-type discharging/charging currents are applied to various SOC points to select the cells with similar voltage variance. Through two screening processes, the cells that have similar electrochemical characteristics are finally selected, and can be used for stable configuration of a Li-ion series battery pack. The proposed screening process has been validated by extensive experimental results and SOC estimation results based on extended Kalman filter.
A HLS-Based Toolflow to Design Next-Generation Heterogeneous Many-Core Platforms with Shared Memory

This work describes how we use High-Level Synthesis to support design space exploration (DSE) of heterogeneous many-core systems. Modern embedded systems increasingly couple hardware accelerators and processing cores on the same chip, to trade specialization of the platform to an application domain for increased performance and energy efficiency. However, the process of designing such a platform is complex and error-prone, and requires skills on algorithmic aspects, hardware synthesis, and software engineering. DSE can partially be automated, and thus simplified, by coupling the use of HLS tools and virtual prototyping platforms. In this paper we enable the design space exploration of heterogeneous many-cores adopting a shared-memory architecture template, where communication and synchronization between the hardware accelerators and the cores happens through L1 shared memory. This communication infrastructure leverages a "zero-copy" scheme, which simplifies both the design process of the platform and the development of applications on top of it. Moreover, the shared-memory template perfectly fits the semantics of several high-level programming models, such as OpenMP. We provide programmers with simple yet powerful abstractions to exploit accelerators from within an OpenMP application, and propose a low-cost implementation of the necessary runtime support. An HLS-based automatic design flow is set up, to quickly explore the design space using a cycle-accurate virtual platform.
Central Limits and Homogenization in Random Media

We consider the perturbation of elliptic operators of the form $P(\bx,\bD)$ by random, rapidly varying, sufficiently mixing, potentials of the form $q(\frac{\bx}\eps,\omega)$. We analyze the source and spectral problems associated to such operators and show that the properly renormalized difference between the perturbed and unperturbed solutions may be written asymptotically as $\eps\to0$ as explicit Gaussian processes. Such results may be seen as central limit corrections to the homogenization (law of large numbers) process. Similar results are derived for more general elliptic equations in one dimension of space. The results are based on the availability of a rapidly converging integral formulation for the perturbed solutions and on the use of classical central limit results for random processes with appropriate mixing conditions.
Kuwait is the Past, Dubai is the Present, Doha is the Future: Informational Cities on the Arabian Gulf

Many cities in the world define themselves as 'smart. ' Is this term appropriate for cities in the emergent Gulf region? This article investigates seven Gulf cities Kuwait City, Manama, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, and Muscat that have once grown rich due to large reserves of oil and gas. Now, with the threat of ending resources, governments focus on the development towards a knowledge society. The authors analyzed the cities in terms of their 'smartness' or 'informativeness' by a quantitative survey and by in-depth qualitative interviews N = 34. Especially Doha in Qatar is well on its way towards an informational city, but also Dubai and Sharjah both in the United Arab Emirates make good scores.
Computation of one-dimensional consolidation of double layered ground using differential quadrature method

The authors give the solution to the problem of one-dimensional consolidation of double-layered ground with the use of the differential quadrature method. Case studies showed that the computational results for pore-water pressure in soil layer agreed with those of analytical solution; and that in the computational results for the interface of soil layer also agreed with those of the analytical solution except for the small discrepancies during shortly after the start of computation. The advantages of the solution presented in this paper are that compared with the analytical solution, it avoids the cumbersome work in solving the transcendental equation for eigenvalues, and in the case of the Laplace transform solution, it can resolve the precision problem in the numerical solution of long time inverse Laplace transform. Because of the matrix form of the solution in this paper, it is convenient for formulating computational program for engineering practice. The formulas for calculating double-layered ground consolidation may be easily extended to the case of multi-layered soils.