Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Time-evolution of entanglement and quantum discord of bipartite systems subject to 1/fα noise

We study the dynamics of quantum correlations for two non interacting qubits initially prepared in a maximally entangled state and then coupled with an external environment characterized by a noise spectrum of the form 1/fα. The noise spectrum is due to the interaction of each qubit with a collection of Nf classical fluctuators with fixed switching rates. We find that, depending on the characteristic of the noise spectrum considered, both entanglement and quantum discord display either a monotonic decay or the phenomena of sudden death and revivals.
On spectrum sensing, secondary and primary throughput, under outage constraint with noise uncertainty and flat fading

Sensing-throughput tradeoff under outage detection constraint has been studied before by assuming no uncertainty in estimation of the noise power, but this might not be the case in practice for an energy detector (ED). In this paper we examine analytically the effect of spectrum sensing on both the secondary user (SU) and the primary user (PU) throughputs under outage detection probability constraint in the presence of noise uncertainty and flat fading channels. First, we apply Jensen's Inequality to derive a new tight closed-form bound for the energy threshold that satisfies a certain outage detection probability. In addition, we derive both the secondary and the primary throughputs over flat fading channels in terms of the new threshold. The simulation results show that there exists an optimum sensing time that maximizes the secondary throughput. Finally, we show that the secondary throughput is more sensitive to noise uncertainty compared to the primary throughput.
Comparison of three procedures for the identification of hybrid systems

In This work, three recently proposed procedures for the identification of piece-wise autoregressive exogenous (PWARX) models are compared. Quantitative measures for the quality of the obtained models are proposed. Using one dimensional examples, specific behaviors of the methods are pointed out. An experimental example is considered as well.
Valuing environmental management practices through contingent valuation. A review of recent applications

The aim of this paper is to analyse empirical application of contingent valuation method to assess environmental management practices in order to: 1) contribute to an understanding of the importance that intangible aspects have for the assessment of environmental management practices; 2) identify gaps that lead us to propose actions to guide future research in this field. A literature review of scientific production in international journals for the period 2000-2011 has been undertaken. Some of our findings show that: empirical applications are scarce and even more so if they focus in projects promoted by the business sector; there are no longitudinal studies that could facilitate application of contingent valuation method in the private business sector; and only a small number of the studies analysed apply the results to measuring the performance of the proposed project through a cost-benefit analysis.
Hypothesis Testing for Parsimonious Gaussian Mixture Models

Gaussian mixture models with eigen-decomposed covariance structures make up the most popular family of mixture models for clustering and classification, i.e., the Gaussian parsimonious clustering models (GPCM). Although the GPCM family has been used for almost 20 years, selecting the best member of the family in a given situation remains a troublesome problem. Likelihood ratio tests are developed to tackle this problems. These likelihood ratio tests use the heteroscedastic model under the alternative hypothesis but provide much more flexibility and real-world applicability than previous approaches that compare the homoscedastic Gaussian mixture versus the heteroscedastic one. Along the way, a novel maximum likelihood estimation procedure is developed for two members of the GPCM family. Simulations show that the $\chi^2$ reference distribution gives reasonable approximation for the LR statistics only when the sample size is considerable and when the mixture components are well separated; accordingly, following Lo (2008), a parametric bootstrap is adopted. Furthermore, by generalizing the idea of Greselin and Punzo (2013) to the clustering context, a closed testing procedure, having the defined likelihood ratio tests as local tests, is introduced to assess a unique model in the general family. The advantages of this likelihood ratio testing procedure are illustrated via an application to the well-known Iris data set.
A fifth-order 880MHz/1.76GHz active lowpass filter for 60GHz communications in 40nm digital CMOS

For the analog baseband section of a 60GHz receiver for fast download applications, two 5th order Butterworth filters with cutoff frequency of 880MHz and 1.76GHz for 60GHz radios are implemented in 40nm low power digital CMOS, using Sallen and Key biquads. Drawing 25/21mA from a 1.1V supply, an IIP3 of −13/−12dBV to −16.7/−18.3dBV and an input-referred noise of 320/280µVrms are measured for the 880/1760MHz filter.
Cancer Therapy : Preclinical Ef fi cacy of BET Bromodomain Inhibition in Kras-Mutant Non – Small Cell Lung Cancer

Purpose: Amplification of MYC is one of the most common genetic alterations in lung cancer, contributing to a myriad of phenotypes associated with growth, invasion, and drug resistance. Murine genetics has established both the centrality of somatic alterations of Kras in lung cancer, as well as the dependency ofmutantKras tumors onMYC function.Unfortunately, drug-like small-molecule inhibitors of KRAS and MYC have yet to be realized. The recent discovery, in hematologic malignancies, that bromodomain and extra-terminal (BET) bromodomain inhibition impairs MYC expression and MYC transcriptional function established the rationale of targetingKRAS-driven non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)with
Corpus luteum development and its morphology after aspiration of a preovulatory follicle is related to size and steroid content of the follicle in dairy cows

Secretion of adequate levels of progesterone from a proper corpus luteum (CL), which develops out of the cells of a healthy preovulatory follicle, is a key-factor for establishment of a pregnancy. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between morphological and secretory characteristics of preovulatory follicles and their corresponding corpus luteum with regard to the post-partum period in high-yielding dairy cows. There- fore, ultrasound-guided aspirations of preovulatory follicles were performed repeatedly, using 20 first lactating cows between 26 and 121 days after parturition. Heat was induced with a PGF analogon followed by administra- tion of a GnRH analogon. The dominant follicle was aspirated 21 h after administration of the GnRH analogon. The diameters of the follicles were estimated at aspiration and the morphology of the resulting luteal tissue was examined on day 14 after follicle aspiration using ultrasonographic examinations. Concentrations of progesterone (P 4 ) and 17-beta-oestradiol (E 2 ) were determined in the follicular fluids (FF) and P 4 concentration was estimated at the time of CL examination in plasma. A CL development occurred in 82% after dominant follicle aspiration. The interval of time between parturition and follicle aspiration did not affect the investigated variables. The diameter of the aspirated preovulatory follicle was positively correlated to the cross-section area of the developed luteal tissue (R = 0.60; P < 0.01) as well as to the plasma P 4 concentration on day 14 after follicle aspiration (R = 0.47; P < 0.05). Also, E 2 concentrations in FF were positively correlated to cross-section area of the luteal tissue (R = 0.54; P < 0.05). Comparing the FF of the follicles that gave rise to a CL after aspiration to follicles that did not, both types had comparable P 4 , but the former type harboured higher E 2 concentrations. In conclusion, preovulatory follicle diameter as well as steroid concentrations in the follicular fluid could be used prospectively to identify cows which will have well-developed CLs and high plasma P 4 levels later. On the other hand, CL development after follicle aspiration can be used as a retrospective quality parameter of dominant follicles. These results will help to identify suitable animals for breeding or recipients for embryo transfer.
Assembly Bonded at the Ends: Could Thinner and Longer Legs Result in a Lower Thermal Stress in a Thermoelectric Module Design?

An analytical (mathematical) thermal stress model has been developed for an electronic assembly comprised of identical components bonded at their end portions and subjected to different temperatures. The model is used to assess the effect of the size (dimension in the x-direction) and compliance of the bonded regions (legs) on the maximum interfacial shearing stress that is supposedly responsible for the mechanical robustness of the assembly. The numerical example is carried out for a simplified two-legged Bismuth-Telluride-Alloy (BTA)-based thermoelectric module (TEM) design. It has been determined that thinner (dimension in the horizontal, x-direction) and longer (dimension in the vertical, y-direction) bonds (legs) could result in a considerable relief in the interfacial stress. In the numerical example carried out for a 10 mm long (dimension in the x-direction) TEM assembly with two peripheral 1 mm thick (dimension in the x-direction) legs, the predicted maximum interfacial shearing stress is only about 40% of the maximum stress in the corresponding homogeneously bonded assembly, when the bond occupies the entire interface between the assembly components. It has been determined also that if thickand-short legs are employed, the maximum interfacial shearing stress might not be very much different from the stress in a homogeneously bonded assembly, so that there is no need, as far as physical design and robustness of the assembly is concerned, to use a homogeneous bond or a multileg system. The application of such a system might be needed, however, for the satisfactory functional (thermo-electrical) performance of the device. In any event, it is imperative that sufficient bonding strength is assured in the assembly. If very thin legs are considered for lower stresses, the minimum acceptable size (real estate) of the interfaces (in the horizontal plane) should be experimentally determined (say, by shear-off testing) so that this strength is not compromised. On the other hand, owing to a lower stress level in an assembly with thin-and-long legs, assurance of its interfacial strength is less of a challenge than for an assembly with a homogeneous bond or with stiff thick-and-short legs. The obtained results could be used particularly for considering, based on the suggested predictive model, an alternative to the existing TEM designs, which are characterized by multiple big (thick-and-long) legs. In our novel design, fewer small (thin-and-short) legs could be employed, so that the size and thickness of the TEM is reduced for the acceptable stress level. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4006597]
Look Before You Authorize : Using Eye-Tracking To Enforce User Attention Towards Application

Habituation is a key factor behind the lack of attention towards permission authorization dialogs during third party application installation. Various solutions have been proposed to combat the problem of achieving attention switch towards permissions. However, users continue to ignore these dialogs, and authorize dangerous permissions, which leads to security and privacy breaches. We leverage eye-tracking to approach this problem, and propose a mechanism for enforcing user attention towards application permissions before users are able to authorize them. We deactivate the dialog’s decision buttons initially, and use feedback from the eye-tracker to ensure that the user has looked at the permissions. After determining user attention, the buttons are activated. We implemented a prototype of our approach as a Chrome browser extension, and conducted a user study on Facebook’s application authorization dialogs. Using participants’ permission identification, eye-gaze fixations, and authorization decisions, we evaluate participants’ attention towards permissions. The participants who used our approach on authorization dialogs were able to identify the permissions better, compared to the rest of the participants, even after the habituation period. Their average number of eye-gaze fixations on the permission text was significantly higher than the other group participants. However, examining the rate in which participants denied a dangerous and unnecessary permission, the hypothesized increase from the control group to the treatment group was not statistically significant.
Hardware implementation of pulse mode RBFNN based edge detection system on virtex V platform

In this paper, we have proposed a new architecture of RBFNN. Neural network efficiency in embedded systems offers the possibility of reconfiguration and the genericity of the solution. Indeed, the same integrated system can approximate any input-output function thanks to the parameters update on the chip. RBF neural networks constitute a subset of the neuronal networks, which has a great potential in reducing the size of the network. Pulse mode neural networks reduce significantly hardware resources by replacing the conventional huge multiplier by a simple frequency multiplier. As application, we approximate with the proposed RBF network, a Canny operator based edge detection, which is an important step in image processing. Acceptable edge detection approximation was done, with a mean generalization error of (4,604 %) on the Wang image database. Moreover, a design synthesis on FPGA virtex V platform was done, the results of implementation lead to an operating frequency of 445,295 MHz, which offers real time application performances.
A primary exploration for virtual human’s mental variables

Human's soul is very complex, it is related to stimulus and mental process. In this paper, a primary exploration for virtual human 's mental variables is presented, mental variables include emotion, motivation, and personality. For example, modeling emotion is an interesting topic in many fields. Emotion decision includes uncertain information, and grey number is suitable to express uncertain information in mental process. Cognitive structure of human is presented, some new concepts on emotion's formalization are proposed. The grey system method is introduced to model human's mental variables. As a result, an emotional animation demo of a virtual human is realized on PC.
Evaluation of Geostatistical Analysis Capability in Wireless Signal Propagation Modeling

Radio signal path loss is a particularly important element in the design of any radio communication system or wireless system, and it is necessary to be able to determine the levels of the signal loss for a give radio path. The more accurate model the better decision making will occur for the network rollout, planning and optimization. The radio signal path loss could be estimated by many elements of the radio communications system in particular the transmitter power, and the antennas, especially their gain pattern, height, azimuth and also are highly influenced by clutters (land use), terrain height and morphology, spatially related parameters. Okumura-Hata empirical model, which has many parameters, is the most common model for prediction and estimation of this complicated phenomenon. On the other hand, geostatistical techniques offer interpolation methods for describing the continuity of spatially/temporarily variable data which is essential feature of many natural phenomena. Over the last decades, this theoretical framework has been successfully applied in other type of spatial problems (Konak, 2010). As it is mentioned above signal path loss is highly influenced by spatial parameters, therefore geostatistics has high potential to be implemented for such purpose (Arpee J. et al., 2000). There are few researches conducted using geostatistical techniques for modelling wireless propagation models. In a recent paper, Konak (2009) reports that ordinary kriging is competitive with radial basis ANNs to estimate the signal-to-noise ratio in cellular wireless networks. Konak in 2010 extends the ordinary kriging approach proposed in 2009 by considering path loss due to obstacles and other factors in indoor environments. In this paper we have compared the result of different spatial and non-spatial interpolation techniques with Okumura-Hata empirical model to evaluate geostatistical analysis capability to find a way of having more accurate mobile coverage models. As the result, this research will help us to have RF path loss trend estimation which is extracted from sampled data to describe data variability across the entire cellular system areas. The area of interest is a city in west of Iran. Okumura-Hata, Inverse Distance Weighting (IDWa non-spatial interpolation technique) with different power and number of neighbour and different type of kriging (ordinary & universal) with different semi-variogram model and GeoComputation 2011
A New Predictive Current Control Technique for Multilevel Converters

In this paper, a novel predictive current control technique is proposed for a three-phase multilevel inverter, which controls the capacitors' voltages and load currents with low switching losses. The advantage of this contribution is that the technique can be applied to more voltage levels without significantly changing the control circuit. The three-phase three-level inverter with a pure inductive load has been implemented to track reference currents using analogue circuits and programmable logic device
Sulfur dioxide emissions in China and sulfur trends in East Asia since 2000

Abstract. With the rapid development of the economy, the sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission from China since 2000 is of increasing concern. In this study, we estimate the annual SO2 emission in China after 2000 using a technology-based methodology specifically for China. From 2000 to 2006, total SO2 emission in China increased by 53%, from 21.7 Tg to 33.2 Tg, at an annual growth rate of 7.3%. Emissions from power plants are the main sources of SO2 in China and they increased from 10.6 Tg to 18.6 Tg in the same period. Geographically, emission from north China increased by 85%, whereas that from the south increased by only 28%. The emission growth rate slowed around 2005, and emissions began to decrease after 2006 mainly due to the wide application of flue-gas desulfurization (FGD) devices in power plants in response to a new policy of China's government. This paper shows that the trend of estimated SO2 emission in China is consistent with the trends of SO2 concentration and acid rain pH and frequency in China, as well as with the increasing trends of background SO2 and sulfate concentration in East Asia. A longitudinal gradient in the percentage change of urban SO2 concentration in Japan is found during 2000–2007, indicating that the decrease of urban SO2 is lower in areas close to the Asian continent. This implies that the transport of increasing SO2 from the Asian continent partially counteracts the local reduction of SO2 emission downwind. The aerosol optical depth (AOD) products of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) are found to be highly correlated with the surface solar radiation (SSR) measurements in East Asia. Using MODIS AOD data as a surrogate of SSR, we found that China and East Asia excluding Japan underwent a continuous dimming after 2000, which is in line with the dramatic increase in SO2 emission in East Asia. The trends of AOD from both satellite retrievals and model over East Asia are also consistent with the trend of SO2 emission in China, especially during the second half of the year, when sulfur contributes the largest fraction of AOD. The arrested growth in SO2 emissions since 2006 is also reflected in the decreasing trends of SO2 and SO42− concentrations, acid rain pH values and frequencies, and AOD over East Asia.
Parameters analysis of Gaussian pulse circuit based on avalanche transistors

Marx circuit based on avalanche transistors could be used to produce high power-nanosecond-Gaussian pulse. In this paper, theoretical calculations and software simulation of circuit parameters on the impact of the pulse waveform parameters are analyzed. The results show us that the charging voltage mainly affect amplitude and rise time of the pulse generated, the charging capacitor mainly impact the amplitude and fall time of the pulse, charging resistors could limit the maximum pulse repetition frequency. This paper provides a theoretical reference for the selection of components in the design of pulse source circuit and the researches of adjustable Gaussian pulse source.
SIP (Simplicity, Imagination and Physicality): A Teaching Approach for Improving Student Engagement and Learning Outcomes in the Pronunciation Classroom

Many pronunciation teachers today face the dilemma of how to teach pronunciation in a way that allows students to get the repetitive practice they need without diminishing student motivation. The SIP approach aims to explore this question. SIP stands for simplicity, imagination and physicality. It is a pedagogical protocol that was inspired by Kieran Egan who wrote, “to bring knowledge to life in students’ minds, we must introduce it to students in the context of the human hopes, fears and passions in which it finds its fullest meaning. The best tool for this is the imagination” [1]. Cognitive learning theory and experiential learning theory also contributed to the SIP framework. Two SIP based classroom activities were given to the students to complete in the classroom. 70 students were surveyed to determine how they defined imaginative teaching and how much they valued it. They were also asked to evaluate the SIP activities. The results showed that 100% of those surveyed believed imaginative lessons helped them feel motivated. A majority of the respondents also stated that the two SIP based activities helped them to better visualize and recall the key pronunciation points that had been taught and practiced through the activities
Can Ophthalmologists Repair the Brain Infantile Esotropia ? Early Surger Stereopsis , Monofixation Syndrome , and t Legacy of Marshall Par

Can ophthalmologists repair defects of visual cortex circuitry in infants who have esotropia? The answer t question encompasses both sensory and motor behaviors because the clinical hallmarks of the disorde stereoblindness and absence of motor fusion, which manifests as convergently deviated eyes. Functional rec of sensory and motor fusion in infantile esotropia was a consuming interest, if not career-defining passi Marshall Parks. The purpose of this work is to pay tribute to Parks’ legacy by showing how human and a studies, conducted largely during the last 25 years, support both his clinical insights and treatment philos (J AAPOS 2005;9:510-521)