Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Deviation in Propagation Delay Due to Process Induced Driver Width Variation

The performance of VLSI/ULSI chip is becoming less predictable as device dimensions shrinks below the sub-100-nm scale. Process variation is considered to be a major concern in the design of circuits including interconnect pipelines in current deep submicron regime. Process variation results in uncertainties of circuit performances such as propagation delay. The reduced predictability can be attributed to poor control of the physical features of devices and interconnects during the manufacturing process. Variations in these quantities maps to variations in the electrical behavior of circuits. The channel width of MOSFET varies due to changes in drain/source thickness; substrate, polysilicon and implant impurity level; and surface charge. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the effect of channel width variation on the propagation delay through driver-interconnect-load (DIL) system. The impact of process induced driver width variations on propagation delay of the cicuit is discussed for three different technologies i.e 130nm, 70nm and 45nm. The comparison of results between these three technologies shows that as device size shrinks, the process variation issues becomes dominant during design cycle and subsequently increases the uncertainty of the delays. The feature size of integrated circuits has been aggressively reduced in the pursuit of improved speed, power, silicon area and cost characteristics [1]. Semiconductor technologies with feature sizes of several tens of nanometers are currently in development. As per, International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS), the future nanometer scale circuits will contain more than a billion transistors and will operate at clock speeds well over 10GHz. Variability in modern nanometer sized circuits has not scaled down in proportion to the scaling down of their feature sizes. Manufacturing process variations (e.g. driver width, effective channel length), environmental variations (e.g., supply voltage, temperature), and device fatigue phenomenon contribute to uncertainties. Uncertainty due to parametric variations deeply impacts the timing characteristics of a circuit and makes timing verification extremely difficult. This necessitates the consideration of the parametric variations in timing analysis for accurate timing estimation. The performance of a high-speed chip is highly dependent on the interconnects, which connect different macro cells within a VLSI/ULSI chip. With ever-growing length of interconnects and clock frequency on a chip, the effects of interconnects cannot be restricted to RC models [2, 3]. The importance of on-chip inductance is continuously increasing with faster on-chip rise times, wider wires, and the introduction of new materials for low resistance interconnects. It has become well accepted that …
Intrathecal Delivery of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Protects the Structure of Altered Perineuronal Nets in SOD1 Rats and Amends the Course of ALS

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder resulting in a lethal outcome. We studied changes in ventral horn perineuronal nets (PNNs) of superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) rats during the normal disease course and after the intrathecal application (5 × 105 cells) of human bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) postsymptom manifestation. We found that MSCs ameliorated disease progression, significantly improved motor activity, and prolonged survival. For the first time, we report that SOD1 rats have an abnormal disorganized PNN structure around the spinal motoneurons and give different expression profiles of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs), such as versican, aggrecan, and phosphacan, but not link protein‐1. Additionally, SOD1 rats had different profiles for CSPG gene expression (Versican, Hapln1, Neurocan, and Tenascin‐R), whereas Aggrecan and Brevican profiles remained unchanged. The application of MSCs preserved PNN structure, accompanied by better survival of motorneurons. We measured the concentration of cytokines (IL‐1α, MCP‐1, TNF‐α, GM‐CSF, IL‐4, and IFN‐γ) in the rats' cerebrospinal fluid and found significantly higher concentrations of IL‐1α and MCP‐1. Our results show that PNN and cytokine homeostasis are altered in the SOD1 rat model of ALS. These changes could potentially serve as biological markers for the diagnosis, assessment of treatment efficacy, and prognosis of ALS. We also show that the administration of human MSCs is a safe procedure that delays the loss of motor function and increases the overall survival of symptomatic ALS animals, by remodeling the recipients' pattern of gene expression and having neuroprotective and immunomodulatory effects. Stem Cells 2014;32:3163–3172
Subject-specific assessment of loading variation in the knee ligaments with a view to preoperative planning

The human knee joint is a complex joint of the human body that experiences large loads. The knee stability is mainly ensured by four major ligaments, which all play vital roles to enable a proper joint articulation. As such, the interactions between the mechanical loading in these ligaments needs to be taken into account in order to obtain an adequate assessment of rehabilitation after injury or preoperative planning to restore the function of a damaged ligament. However, the combined effect of knee ligaments during movement has not yet been investigated in detail. In this study, we present a three-dimensional finite element model of a healthy human knee including the four major ligaments. The geometric model of the knee was reconstructed from volumetric data obtained from MR scans. Transversely isotropic Mooney-Rivlin material with fiber orientation was used to represent the mechanical response of the ligaments. For validation, anterior-posterior tibia translations were compared with the results obtained with an in vitro technique performed on cadavers. The purpose of these simulations is to simultaneously evaluate the mechanical behavior of the major ligaments of the knee. The good agreement between the 3D model and the in vitro measurements supports the potential for clinical applications of the model for evaluation of interventions or treatments.
Power-Efficiency Driven Device Sizing of Pass-Transistor Digital Circuits in Low-Voltage CMOS

This paper presents the results of a comprehensive investigation of the effects device sizing, complexity and scalability on the driver capacitance (Cd) to the total load capacitance (Ctotal) ratio and its impact on maximum power-efficiency of pass transistor digital circuits in low-voltage CMOS. The study also analyzes the impact of temperature variations on the optimum supply voltage and on the maximum power-efficiency. It was found that the previously proposed low-power design methodology by Rabaey and Pedram does not hold under certain conditions in pass-transistor circuits in low-voltage CMOS. Specifically, a significant variation from the previously defined Cd=0.5Ctotal has been observed with respect to a complexity and scalability. In addition, it was also found, that the power-efficiency of a device or a system deteriorates rapidly with increased temperature (room temp to 110C) by up to 32% in 0. 25μm CMOS. As a result of this effect, the optimum supply voltage shifts as well. The findings have been analytically and experimentally verified using Double Pass Transistor Logic gate chains with various fanouts and fanins and fabricated in 0. 35μm and 0. 25μm CMOS technology.
Postoperative residual curarization from intermediate-acting neuromuscular blocking agents delays recovery room discharge.

BACKGROUND Postoperative residual curarization (PORC) [train-of-four ratio (T4/T1) <0.9] is associated with increased morbidity and may delay postoperative recovery room (PACU) discharge. We tested the hypothesis that postoperative T4/T1 <0.9 increases PACU length of stay. METHODS At admission to the PACU, neuromuscular transmission was assessed by acceleromyography (stimulation current: 30 mA) in 246 consecutive patients. The potential consequences of PORC-induced increases in PACU length of stay on PACU throughput were estimated by application of a validated queuing model taking into account the rate of PACU admissions and mean length of stay in the joint system of the PACU plus patients recovering in operation theatre waiting for PACU beds. RESULTS PACU length of stay was significantly longer in patients with T4/T1 <0.9 (323 min), compared with patients with adequate recovery of neuromuscular transmission (243 min). Age (P=0.021) and diagnosis of T4/T1 <0.9 (P=0.027), but not the type of neuromuscular blocking agent, were independently associated with PACU length of stay. The incidence of T4/T1 <0.9 was higher in patients receiving vecuronium. Delayed discharge significantly increases the chances of patients having to wait to enter the PACU. The presence of PORC is estimated to be associated with significant delays in recovery room admission. CONCLUSIONS PORC is associated with a delayed PACU discharge. The magnitude of the effect is clinically significant. In our system, PORC increases the chances of patients having to wait to enter the PACU.
Africa and the United States: Assessing AGOA

Abstract:The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) provides an important economic avenue for trade and cooperation between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa. Signed in 2000, it has helped increase trade, but it has not reached its full potential in enhancing the development of most African states. Relying on relevant data for the period between 2000 and 2015, this article assesses AGOA's performance and considers factors hampering its effectiveness. We discuss prospects for AGOA following its renewal in 2015 and how President Trump's antipathy to trade pacts and globalization may affect AGOA and its future beyond 2025. We end by offering policy recommendations to improve AGOA's performance.
Automatic Kaposi's sarcoma detection using texture distinctiveness

There is a growing emphasis on skin cancer diagnosis and Kaposi's sarcoma has recently received increasing attention. Kaposi's sarcoma is one form of skin cancer. The time and costs required for medical experts to screen all patients for Kaposi's sarcoma are prohibitively expensive. Dermatologists need an automatic diagnosis system to assess a patient's risk of Kaposi's sarcoma without using special or costly equipment. One challenge in implementing such a system is locating the skin lesion. We propose Texture Distinctiveness Lesion Segmentation Algorithm (TDS-KS) to automatically locate skin lesions from the photograph. TDS-KS algorithm consists of two main steps. First a set of representative texture distributions are learned from the input skin lesion image and texture distinctiveness metric is calculated for each distribution. Then a texture-based segmentation algorithm classifies regions the input image as normal skin or lesion based on the occurrence of representative texture distributions. The input images are taken from dermquest database which has images of different skin diseases.
Stroke Genomics: Approaches to Identify, Validate, and Understand Ischemic Stroke Gene Expression

Sequencing of the human genome is nearing completion and biologists, molecular biologists, and bioinformatics specialists have teamed up to develop global genomic technologies to help decipher the complex nature of pathophysiologic gene function. This review will focus on differential gene expression in ischemic stroke. It will discuss inheritance in the broader stroke population, how experimental models of spontaneous stroke might be applied to humans to identify chromosomal loci of increased risk and ischemic sensitivity, and also how the gene expression induced by stroke is related to the poststroke processes of brain injury, repair, and recovery. In addition, we discuss and summarise the literature of experimental stroke genomics and compare several approaches of differential gene expression analyzes. These include a comparison of representational difference analysis we have provided using an experimental stroke model that is representative of stroke evolution observed most often in man, and a summary of available data on stroke differential gene expression. Issues regarding validation of potential genes as stroke targets, the verification of message translation to protein products, the relevance of the expression of neuroprotective and neurodestructive genes and their specific timings, and the emerging problems of handling novel genes that may be discovered during differential gene expression analyses will also be addressed.
Registration of multispectral satellite images with Orientation-Restricted SIFT

In this study, a modified version of the popular SIFT algorithm is introduced. The algorithm is robust to nonlinear intensity changes between images which makes it a strong candidate for multispectral image registration. The proposed Orientation Restricted SIFT algorithm combines the SIFT descriptor vector elements in opposite directions. In this way, better feature matching performance is achieved with shorter descriptor vectors which translate into shorter matching complexity. The effect of scale restriction and contrast stretching is demonstrated on multispectral satellite images and scale restriction is found to be useful in eliminating incorrectly matched features.
Genatically optimized approximants using dominant pole retention method

A mixed method of model order reduction for linear SISO system with real distinct poles is proposed in this paper. The denominator of the reduced model is selected by retaining dominant poles. An error function is constructed between time moments and Markov parameters. This function is minimized using genetic algorithm (GA) along with a steady state constraint for numerator terms of the reduced order model. Examples illustrate the method.
Potential-Based Reward Shaping for POMDPs (Extended Abstract)

We address the problem of suboptimal behavior caused by short horizons during online POMDP planning. Our solution extends potential-based reward shaping from the related field of reinforcement learning to online POMDP planning in order to improve planning without increasing the planning horizon. In our extension, information about the quality of belief states is added to the function optimized by the agent during planning. This information provides hints of where the agent might find high future rewards, and thus achieve greater cumulative rewards.
Algorithms for structure theory

These are draft notes for the first part of the Atlas of reductive Lie groups project, dealing with the structure theory part of the program. Computationaly, most of this should be very light, and certainly much or all of it could be implemented in a high-level environment such as Maple or GAP. However, since the structure theory things lie at the very heart of the program, it is neceesary to have them available at the C++ level as well.
The application of Toll like receptors for cancer therapy

Toll-like receptor (TLR) proteins play key roles in immune responses against infection. Using TLR proteins, host can recognize the conserved molecular structures found in pathogens called pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). At the same time, some TLRs are able to detect specific host molecules, such as high-mobility group box protein 1 (HMGB1) and heat shock proteins (hsp), and lead to inflammatory responses. Thus, it has been suggested that TLRs are involved in the development of many pathogenic conditions. Recent advances in TLR-related research not only provide us with scientific information, but also show the therapeutic potential against diseases, such as autoimmune disease and cancer. In this mini review, we demonstrate how TLRs pathways could be involved in cancer development and their therapeutic application, and discuss recent patentable subjects, in particular, that are targeting this unique pathway.
Conversation, cognition and cultural evolution: a model of the cultural evolution of word order through pressures imposed from turn taking in conversation

This paper outlines a first attempt to model the special constraints that arise in language processing in conversation, and to explore the implications such functional considerations may have on language typology and language change. In particular, we focus on processing pressures imposed by conversational turn-taking and their consequences for the cultural evolution of the structural properties of language. We present an agent-based model of cultural evolution where agents take turns at talk in conversation. When the start of planning for the next turn is constrained by the position of the verb, the stable distribution of dominant word orders across languages evolves to match the actual distribution reasonably well. We suggest that the interface of cognition and interaction should be a more central part of the story of language evolution.
Combining the Missing Link: An Incremental Topic Model of Document Content and Hyperlink

The content and structure of linked information such as sets of web pages or research paper archives are dynamic and keep on changing. Even though different methods are proposed to exploit both the link structure and the content information, no existing approach can effectively deal with this evolution. We propose a novel joint model, called Link-IPLSI, to combine texts and links in a topic modeling framework incrementally. The model takes advantage of a novel link updating technique that can cope with dynamic changes of online document streams in a faster and scalable way. Furthermore, an adaptive asymmetric learning method is adopted to freely control the assignment of weights to terms and citations. Experimental results on two different sources of online information demonstrate the time saving strength of our method and indicate that our model leads to systematic improvements in the quality of classification and link prediction.
Social Loafing Construct Validity in Higher Education: How Well Do Three Measures of Social Loafing Stand Up to Scrutiny?

ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v TABLE OF CONTENTS vi LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES viii LIST OF APPENDICES x CHAPTER I: STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM 1 Purpose 6 Educational Significance 7 Theoretical Framework 8 Background and Need 14 Research Questions 28 Definitions 28 CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW 31 Social Loafing, Free Riding, Sucker Effect, and Perceived Social Loafing 31 Social Loafing 32 Free Riding 34 Sucker Effect 35 Perceived Social Loafing 39 Social Loafing in Teams 41 Construct Validity of the Social Loafing Construct 68 George (1992) 68 Mulvey and Klein (1998) 70 Jassawalla et al. (2009) 72 Summary 74 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY 76 Research Design 77 Sample 78 Protection of Human Subjects 79 Instrumentation 80 George 81 Mulvey 82 Jassawalla 85 Pilot Study 88 Procedures 89 Preliminary Data Analysis 90 Description of Factor Analysis 93 vii Factor Labels 96 CHAPTER 1V: RESULTS 98 Analysis Related to Research Question 1 99 Analysis Related to Research Question 2 101 George 101 Mulvey 104 Jassawalla 110 Analysis Related to Research Question 3 115 Summary 121 CHAPTER V: SUMMARY, FINDINGS, DISCUSSION & IMPLICATIONS 122 Summary of Study 122 Findings 134 Discussion 138 Conclusion 147 Implications For Research 148 Implications For Practice 149 REFERENCES 151 APPENDICES 163
Once-yearly zoledronic acid in hip fracture prevention

Osteoporosis is an escalating global problem. Hip fractures, the most catastrophic complication of osteoporosis, continue to cause significant mortality and morbidity despite increasing availability of effective preventative agents. Among these agents, oral bisphosphonates have been the first choice for the treatment and prevention of osteoporotic fractures. However, the use of oral bisphosphonates, especially in the older population, has been limited by their side effects and method of administration thus compromising their persistent use. The resultant low adherence by patients has undermined their full potential and has been associated with an increase in the incidence of fragility fractures. Recently, annual intravenous zoledronic acid (ZOL) has been approved for osteoporosis. Randomized controlled trials have demonstrated ZOL to be safe, have good tolerability and produce significant effect on bone mass and microarchitecture. Adherence has also been shown to be better with ZOL. Furthermore two large trials firmly demonstrated significant anti-osteoporotic effect (∼59% relative risk reduction of hip fractures) and mortality benefit (28% reduction in mortality) of ZOL in older persons with recent hip fractures. In this review, we report the current evidence on the use of ZOL for the prevention of hip fractures in the elderly. We also report the pharmacological characteristics and the advantages and disadvantages of ZOL in this particular group.
Identification and Characterization of a Novel ABC Iron Transport System, fit, in Escherichia coli

ABSTRACT A putative ABC transporter, fit, with significant homology to several bacterial iron transporters was identified in Escherichia coli. The E. coli fit system consists of six genes designated fitA, -B, -C, -D, -E, and -R. Based on DNA sequence analysis, fit encodes an outer membrane protein (FitA), a periplasmic binding protein (FitE), two permease proteins (FitC and -D), an ATPase (FitB), and a hypothetical protein (FitR). Introduction of the E. coli fit system into E. coli strain K-12 increased intracellular iron content and transformed bacteria were more sensitive to streptonigrin, which suggested that fit transports iron in E. coli. Expression of fit was studied using a lacZ reporter assay. A functional, bidirectional promoter was identified in the intergenic region between genes fitA and fitB. The expression of the E. coli fit system was found to be induced by iron limitation and repressed when Fe2+ was added to minimal medium. Several fit mutants were created in E. coli using an in vitro transposon mutagenesis strategy. Mutations in fit did not affect bacterial growth in iron-restricted media. Using a growth promotion test, it was found that fit was not able to transport enterobactin, ferrichrome, transferrin, and lactoferrin in E. coli.
A single observer passive tracking algorithm based on maneuvering detection

Single-Station passive location is a hot topic in target tracking research. A new tracking filter method was proposed for the high non-linear singer observer passive location and tracking (SOPLAT) system, where the traditional tracking filters are easy divergence and low tracking precision. The proposed method used the sequential importance resampling particle filter(SIRPF) to track the target in the initial phase, and then switch to different filter algorithms (including extended Kalman Filter (EKF) and unscented Kalman Filter (UKF)) to keep the tracking of the target according to the maneuver values. At the same time monitoring the target when the target's maneuver values are larger than the critical value return to SIRPF algorithm recapture the target. The proposed algorithm improved the precision of the tracking for the EKF and UKF and reduced the computational complexity for the SIRPF. The computer simulations reveal that this algorithm is effective.