Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Consumer graphics cards for fast image processing based on the Pixel Shader 3 . 0 standard

Optical inspection and metrology for industrial applications often require fast image processing. Today this is mostly reached by special developed hardware, which represents a relevant cost factor in image processing systems. Furthermore, such special solutions often cannot be easily adapted to new requirements. Otherwise, CPU based systems feature a good programmability but often not enough processing power for real time purposes. The required computational performance and flexibility can be provided by the latest issue of consumer graphics cards for personal computers equipped with a fourth generation Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) supporting the Pixel Shader 3.0 standard. The GPU contains freely programmable units for geometrical and mathematical processing of textured objects by shader programs. The objective of this paper is to show that the 3.0 standard shaders are now ready to be integrated in industrial environments for real time imaging applications. To this end, we focus on common image processing algorithms, such as linear and nonlinear filters. A benchmark has been implemented to compare the speed of GPU shader algorithms to those running on CPU systems.
TNNT2 Gene Polymorphisms are Associated with Susceptibility to Idiopathic Dilated Cardiomyopathy in Kazak and Han Chinese

Background Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is characterized by left ventricular enlargement, systolic dysfunction, and heart failure. Both genetic and non-genetic factors have been linked to DCM pathogenesis. Familial DCM (FDCM) accounts for 20%–50% of all DCM cases, highlighting the importance of genetics in pathogenesis. Indeed, more than 40 DCM-associated genes have been identified, including the gene encoding cardiac troponin T type-2 (TNNT2). We examined polymorphisms of the TNNT2 gene in idiopathic DCM (IDCM) patients of Kazak and Han ethnicity compared with healthy Kazak and Han controls. Material/Methods Peripheral blood samples were collected from 180 patients with IDCM (90 Kazak and 90 Han), and 180 healthy controls (90 Kazak and 90 Han). PCR was used to amplify 15 exons and nearby introns of the TNNT2 gene. The amplified products were sequenced and compared to the standard sequence in PubMed by BLAST and CHROMAS software, to identify mutation sites. Results Results from Kazak and Han IDCM patients were complied for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium analysis. There was a significant difference in the genotype distribution (χ2=6.67, P=0.015) and allele frequency (χ2=5.71, P=0.017) between Kazaks with IDCM and Kazak controls of SNP rs3729547. There was also a difference in the genotype distribution (χ2=6.62, P=0.036) and allele frequency (χ2=4.91, P=0.018) between Han with IDCM and Han controls. The TNNT2 gene polymorphism loci rs3729547 may be associated with the IDCM onset in Kazak and Han patients (OR=2.5, 95% CI: 1.233~5.068). Conclusions The TNNT2 polymorphisms might play an important role in susceptibility to DCM in Xinjiang Kazak and Han patients.
Seladin-1/DHCR24 protects neuroblastoma cells against Aβ toxicity by increasing membrane cholesterol content

The role of brain cholesterol in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is currently a matter of debate. Experimental evidence suggests that reducing circulating and brain cholesterol protects against AD, however recent data indicate that low membrane cholesterol results in neurode‐generation and that the cholesterol synthesis catalyst seladin‐1 is down‐regulated in AD‐affected brain regions. We previously reported a significant correlation between resistance to amyloid toxicity and content of membrane cholesterol in differing cultured cell types. Here we provide evidence that Aβ42 pre‐fibrillar aggregates accumulate more slowly and in reduced amount at the plasma membrane of human SH‐SY5Y neuroblastoma cells overexpressing seladin‐1 or treated with PEG‐cholesterol than at the membrane of control cells. The accumulation was significantly increased in cholesterol‐depleted cells following treatment with the specific seladin‐1 inhibitor 5,22E‐cholestadien‐3‐ol or with methyl‐β‐cyclodextrin. The resistance to amyloid toxicity and the early cytosolic Ca2+ rise following exposure to Aβ42 aggregates were increased and prevented, respectively, by increasing membrane cholesterol whereas the opposite effects were found in cholesterol‐depleted cells. These results suggest that seladin‐1‐dependent cholesterol synthesis reduces membrane‐aggregate interaction and cell damage associated to amyloid‐induced imbalance of cytosolic Ca2+. Our findings extend recently reported data indicating that seladin‐1 overexpression directly enhances the resistance to Aβ toxicity featuring seladin‐1/DHCR 24 as a possible new susceptibility gene for sporadic AD.
Estimating Real Production and Expenditures across Nations: A Proposal for Improving the Penn World Tables

We propose a new approach to the international comparison of real GDP, as measured from the output-side. The traditional Gary-Khamis system, which measures real GDP from the expenditure-side, is modified to include differences in the terms of trade between countries. It is shown that this system has a strictly positive solution under mild assumptions. On the basis of a sample of 151 countries in 1996, it is shown that differences between real GDP measured from the expenditure-side and output-side can be substantial, especially for small open economies. We also obtain cross-country measures of real openness and the terms of trade.
The efficient search method for high risk events of power systems caused by natural disasters

Power systems become large and complex, so the occurrence rates of a great deal of energy loss caused by faults become high. In this situation, the development of the efficient search method for high risk events of power systems is strongly required. Risk is defined as the product of energy loss and its occurrence rate, considering that the goal of power systems is the stable supply of power. This paper presents the developed method which can search accurately and efficiently high risk events of power systems resulted from the loss of transient stability caused by natural disasters. It was applied to the model system composed of 3 generators and 9 buses. The results of application have clarified its effectiveness.
The Learning Community as a Local Development Strategy

The phenomenon of connected communities shows that the Internet can be a powerful tool in promoting cohesiveness between community actors. Since a community's capability to initiate development projects depends to a significant degree on the quality of the relational framework in which the actors operate, we maintain that it is possible to go beyond the instrumental character of Internet applications and to give a developmental character to processing for designing and developing a collective portal. A learning community is a completed form of connected community that promotes local actors to develop a creative synergy that can yield ideas, collaboration, and development projects.
A Comparative Study of All Optical Signal Regeneration Techniques

An efficient optical signal regenerator can mitigate the effect of signal degradation and increase the performance of optical communication system. All optical signal regenerators have been studied and developed for maintaining good quality signal in long haul optical communication. Fiber nonlinearity has some inherent properties for signal regeneration and it has an enormous potential for ultra-high speed optical communication. In this paper, all optical signal regeneration techniques using self-phase modulation (SPM) are examined. Major drawbacks of the existing regenerators have also been identified.
Dying to Kill: The Allure of Suicide Terror

AcknowledgmentsAbbreviationsChapter 1. Introduction: The Historical Antecedents of TerrorChapter 2. Palestinian Suicide Bombing: Public Support, Market Share and OutbiddingChapter 3. Ethnic Conflict, State Terror and Suicide Bombing in Sri LankaChapter 4.Devising a Theory of Suicide TerrorChapter 5. Halting Suicide Terror from Within: the PKK in TurkeyChapter 6. Terror 101: Transnational Contagion Effects of Suicide BombingChapter 7. Feminism, Rape and War: Engendering Suicide Terror? Chapter 8. Conclusions and Prospects for the Future: Will Iraq Cause Suicide Terror at Home? AppendixNotesIndex
Protecting DNS from Routing Attacks: A Comparison of Two Alternative Anycast Implementations

DNS is a critical piece of the Internet supporting the majority of Internet applications. Because it is organized in a hierarchy, its correct operation is dependent on the availability of a small number of servers at the upper levels of the hierarchy. These \emph{backbone} servers are vulnerable to routing attacks in which adversaries controlling part of the routing system try to hijack the server address space. Using routing attacks in this way, an adversary can compromise the Internet's availability and integrity at a global scale. In this article, we evaluate the relative resilience to routing attacks of two alternative anycast implementations of DNS, the first operating at the network layer and the second operating at the application layer. Our evaluation informs fundamental DNS design decisions and an important debate on the routing architecture of the Internet.
Management and managing : leadership in the NHS

Part 1 The nature of management: why management and leadership matter landmark theories and ideas management functions how managers spend their time management and the health professions. Part 2 The nature of organizations what are organizations anyway? organizational dynamics politics, power and influence the culture of the organization. Part 3 Business-management processes departments, teams and groups at work strategy development and business planning how decisions are made finance and budgets. Part 4 Working in organizations where do I fit in? (the individual and the organization) working with others and working with myself attentive listening and firm asserting addressing differences and conflicts coaching and counselling at work client care through self care. Part 5 Helping change happen diagnosing the organization clarifying the need for change helping change happen health-care management and leadership work motivation the health professional as leader management and leadership in health care.
WATERMARK SYNCHRONIZATION IN CAMERA PHONES AND SCANNING DEVICES

The development of Internet and numerous hardware and software applications have created a need for copy and copyright protection of the content. One possible way to fill this need is to use watermarking. The idea of digital image watermarking is to hide information to the image so that a human eye cannot detect the transformations made to the image, but a computer can read the hidden information. This work is focused on the use of watermarking in value-adding services instead of copy and copyright protection applications. The value-adding services offer extra services to the user. Therefore the user does not want to remove the embedded information but prefer to read it and gain access to the hidden data. In this work, two watermarking methods for digital images were developed and analysed. The first method is robust against a print-scan attack, where the image is printed and then scanned before extraction of the watermark. The second method is robust against a print-cam attack, where the image is first printed and then captured with a camera phone. In both methods, multiple watermarking methods are applied in which multiple watermarks are embedded in the image. In this case, from two to three watermarks are embedded in the image out of which one is so called message watermark that contains a service message such as a link to a website or extra information about the image. Other watermarks are embedded in order to correct the geometrical distortions inflicted to the image by the scanning phase. The results obtained were promising and success ratios high in both of the methods. Both methods were tested against various unintentional attacks, and it was concluded that both of the methods are robust against geometrical distortions and JPEG compression.
Familial Clustering of Type 2 Diabetes in Korean Women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Background/Aims This study was conducted to examine the relationship between family history of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and risk of developing gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in Korean women. Methods We performed a 100-g oral glucose tolerance test in 858 pregnant women who had abnormal glucose tolerance in 50-g oral glucose challenge. In addition, we reviewed the incidence of T2DM in the parents and siblings and analyzed the association between the familial history of T2DM and the risk of GDM. Results Of the 858 subjects, 427 were normal, and 431 were diagnosed with GDM. Compared with women with no family history of T2DM, women with first degree family history of T2DM displayed higher risk of T2DM (odd ratio: parent only 1.91, sibling only 6.24, any 2.27). Conclusions The risk of developing GDM was significantly increased in Korean women with a family history of T2DM in first-degree relatives.
Extracting clean supernova spectra - Towards a quantitative analysis of high-redshift Type Ia supernova spectra

LPNHE CNRS/IN2P3, Universite´ Paris VI & VII, 4 Place Jussieu, 75252 Paris Cedex 05, Francee-mail:sainton@in2p3.frReceived / AcceptedAbstract. We use a new technique to extract the spectrum of a supernova from that of the contaminating background of itshost galaxy, and apply it to the speciﬁc case of high-redshift Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) spectroscopy. The algorithm is basedon a two-channel iterative technique employing the Richardson-Lucy restoration method and is implemented in the IRAF codespecinholucy. We run the code both on simulated (SN Ia at z = 0.5 embedded in a bright host galaxy) and observed (SNe Ia atvarious phases up to z = 0.236) data taken with VLT+FORS1and show the advantages of using such a deconvolution techniquein comparison with less elaborate methods. This paper is motivated by the need for optimal supernova spectroscopic datareduction in order to make meaningful comparisons between the low and high-redshift SN Ia samples. This may reveal subtleevolutionary and systematic eﬀects that could depend on redshift and bias the cosmological results derived from comparisonsof local and high-z SNe Ia in recent years. We describe the various aspects of the extraction in some detail as guidelines for theﬁrst-time user and present an optimal observing strategy for successful implementation of this method in future high-z SN Iaspectroscopic follow-up programmes.Key words. supernovae: general – supernovae: individual: SN 2002bo, SN 2002go, SN 2002gr – instrumentation: spectro-graphs – methods: data analysis – techniques: spectroscopi c
Feeding through your gills and turning a toxicant into a resource: how the dogfish shark scavenges ammonia from its environment

ABSTRACT Nitrogen (N) appears to be a limiting dietary resource for elasmobranchs, required not only for protein growth but also for urea-based osmoregulation. Building on recent evidence that the toxicant ammonia can be taken up actively at the gills of the shark and made into the valuable osmolyte urea, we demonstrate that the uptake exhibits classic Michaelis–Menten saturation kinetics with an affinity constant (Km) of 379 µmol l−1, resulting in net N retention at environmentally realistic ammonia concentrations (100–400 µmol l−1) and net N loss through stimulated urea-N excretion at higher levels. Ammonia-N uptake rate increased or decreased with alterations in seawater pH, but the changes were much less than predicted by the associated changes in seawater PNH3, and more closely paralleled changes in seawater NH4+ concentration. Ammonia-N uptake rate was insensitive to amiloride (0.1 mmol l−1) or to a 10-fold elevation in seawater K+ concentration (to 100 mmol l−1), suggesting that the mechanism does not directly involve Na+ or K+ transporters, but was inhibited by blockade of glutamine synthetase, the enzyme that traps ammonia-N to fuel the ornithine–urea cycle. High seawater ammonia inhibited uptake of the ammonia analogue [14C]methylamine. The results suggest that branchial ammonia-N uptake may significantly supplement dietary N intake, amounting to about 31% of the nitrogen acquired from the diet. They further indicate the involvement of Rh glycoproteins (ammonia channels), which are expressed in dogfish gills, in normal ammonia-N uptake and retention. Highlighted Article: Elasmobranchs, which are nitrogen-limited in nature, take up the toxicant ammonia across their gills from environmentally realistic levels in seawater, using it to make urea, an essential osmolyte.
Identification and estimation of a model of hyperinflation with a continuum of \\"sunspot\\" equilibrium

This paper constructs a model with two structural equations: the Government budget constraint and a linear version of Cagan’s portfolio balance equation. The model contains a continuum of equilibria with “sunspot equilibria. ” Closed forms for the solutions are found. Even though there is a continuum of equilibria, the model is overidentified econometrically, so that the model restricts time series data on price levels and currency stocks. We describe how the free parameters of the model can be estimated, including some parameters that serve to index particular members of the continuum of equilibria. The sunspot equilibria hold out some promise of explaining anomalies in the observed behavior of inflation and real balances during hyperinflations.
DPCM – DCT FOR SATELLITE IMAGE COMPRESSION

There are many ways to encode, represent, and compress satellite images. Today, with the huge technological advance, algorithms are used to perform many calculations to compress and decompress a satellite image. The future of the compression can take place only through mathematical algorithms, and the progress of mathematical research undoubtedly will lead to an advance in image and file compression. In this paper, we propose a hybrid DPCM-DCT predictive coding and discrete cosine transform DCT and, run-length encoding (RLE) for satellite image compression.
AC/RL HW 1: Tetris

Although the statement is succinct, there are a number of challenges that make this an intruiging problem. For example, each game drops a random series of pieces. Small variations in this series can lead to a large difference in score, even while using the same strategy. The reader has likely experienced this during a game of tetris; over time it is common to develop a deep empty slot that needs to be filled in. There is only one piece (the 1x4 ‘rod’) that can fit in this slot, and the game can spiral out of control if that piece does not drop quickly.
Staying the Course: Quebec's Fiscal Balance Challenge

In its upcoming budget, Quebec must stay on a tough road to fiscal balance.This study examines how Quebec’s fiscal balance has deteriorated. By 2009, after 10 years of balanced budgets, the province faced an unsustainable structural deficit which, if left unchecked, would reach a staggering $12 billion in 2013, increasing to $27 billion in 2019. This budgetary imbalance, says Fortin, surfaced even though Quebec’s economy performed relatively well for the last 20 years and amid the recent global crisis. To explain the budgetary slump, the author points to population aging, previous tax cuts, the multiplication of infrastructure investments, program spending growth, expected slowdown of federal transfers, and expected rising interest rates on the public debt. Professor Fortin believes Quebec’s government should stay the course on restoring budgetary balance by 2013/14, while launching healthcare reforms and promoting productivity growth by concentrating its interventions in education, access to foreign markets, competition, taxation, and public infrastructure.
A 266nW multi-chopper amplifier with 1.38 noise efficiency factor for neural signal recording

A low power high efficiency neural signal recording amplifier with a novel multi-chopper technique is proposed and implemented in 180nm CMOS. The input referred rms noise is 1. 54μV (1-500Hz) with 266nA tail current. The result corresponds to a 1.38 noise efficiency factor, which is the best reported among current state-of-the-art amplifiers.
Trust Origin and Establishment with JavaScript Applications

Applications written with Web technologies are a growing trend. Web technologies include the JavaScript programming language which has become popular due to its support in modern Web browsers. Today JavaScript is also used to implement installable stand-alone applications in addition to Ajax-style programming. An example of such stand-alone applications are widgets that conform to the W3C Widgets 1.0 specification. Security is a key concern with these kind of applications because they often have an access to sensitive and valuable information through Web or platform interfaces. One of the main challenges is to determine how to establish trust towards an application. Applications can be benevolent or malicious, but the difference is hard to tell by an end-user. Digital signatures and certificates have been used to help end-users in making a trust decision and to delegate trustworthiness evaluation to trusted parties. These mechanisms have drawbacks that make application development , distribution and adoption more difficult. In this thesis a new trust establishment mechanism is proposed that helps to deal with the drawbacks. It is based on the Domain Name System and utilizes the originating domain of applications. An implementation of the proposed mechanism is provided on top of the W3C Widgets 1.0 specification and the implementation is evaluated against design requirements. The new mechanism is recognized to bring many benefits to the different parties of the widget ecosystem.
Inhomogeneous deformation in metallic glasses

The present study provides a theoretical framework for the inhomogeneous deformation in metallic glasses. The free volume concentration is adopted as the order parameter, which is a function of position and time. The three processes that can change the local free volume concentration are di4usion, annihilation, and stress-driven creation. The rate functions for free volume generation and plastic 5ow depend on the underlying microscopic model, but the framework is generally valid for di4erent models. A simple shear problem is solved as an example. A linear stability analysis is performed on the basis of the homogeneous solution. An inhomogeneous solution is obtained with a 6nite amplitude disturbance to the initial free volume distribution. Numerical simulation shows the development of the inhomogeneous deformation and strain localization. 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Aerodynamic shape optimization of rotary wing aircraft components using an advanced multiobjective evolutionary approach

In the framework of my Ph.D. course, I developed a novel Multi-objective Evolutionary Algorithm (MOEA), namely the GeDEA-II, which features a Simplex-based crossover operator. The comparison among GeDEA-II and three modern elitist methods, on state-of-the-art multi-objective problems, clearly indicates that the performance of GeDEA-II is superior. Finally, a test case is presented, regarding the aerodynamic shape optimization of the AgustaWestland 101 helicopter left air intake.