Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
High performance bit-sliced pipelined comparator tree for FPGAs

In this paper, we have implemented high performance FPGA based pipelined tree architectures for a combined unsigned and two's complement comparator, and an equality comparator which checks whether the sum of two numbers is equal to a third number. The comparator architectures deviate from the combined Look-Up Table (LUT) and carry chain based implementation which is inferred by the Xilinx Synthesis Tool. The feasibility of this work comes from the increased device density offered by the 6 and 7 series FPGA architectures from Xilinx, where every dual output function derived from a single LUT can be registered using a flip-flop present within the same slice as that of the LUT. Pipelining a tree based architecture completely eliminates the requirement of any synchronization registers for balancing the arrival time of the inputs and outputs, and their associated placement and routing challenges. The architecture has been realized through primitive instantiation of the logic elements to ensure packing of the dual output functions into a single LUT wherever possible, and the placement of the LUTs on the FPGA fabric using appropriate placement constraints. Implementation results clearly reveal the superiority of our design paradigm over behavioral style of modeling, where our proposed architectures consume less area, and operates at a higher speed in comparison to an identical circuit realized using behavioral descriptions.
Distance-based reputation metrics are practical in P2P environments

This article considers computational aspects of web-of-trust-like approaches in distributed, peer-to-peer environments. The key algorithmic issue here is finding the shortest trusted path between two participants. This is a kind of all-pairs-shortest-path problem and it is found to be resolvable assuming scale-free social graph topology and sublinear per-node resource constraints.
Characterisation of human body and environmental effects on the performance of mobile terminal antennas

Provision of efficient services to the user anywhere at anytime is being a centre of research and development in Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPAN) and Wireless Body Area Networks (WBAN). Antenna is the essential part of WPAN/WBAN applications that got affected by two major factors: human body presence and nature of the surrounding environment. The presence of the human body in the proximity of the antenna causes electromagnetic (EM) reflections from the body surface and absorptions in the lossy body tissues resulting in antenna detuning, radiation pattern degradations and impedance mismatch. On the other hand, incident radio waves undergo reflections, diffractions and scattering from the surrounding environment objects including buildings, trees, vehicles and ground, causing multipath fading. The thesis gives an overview of the main investigations, results and analyses accomplished in a study concerning the commercially available Bluetooth and GPS antennas working in the vicinity of the human body. Detailed numerical modelling process is adopted followed by measurements for validation. The thesis highlights the role of surface waves as a potential transmission medium in an on-body Bluetooth wireless communication link taking into account the effects of antenna-body separations and presence of the surrounding objects blocking the direct communication path. The thesis also presents a novel statistical model to evaluate the performance of GPS mobile terminal antennas in the multipath environment. This model characterises the antenna performance and identifies the key factors that can be used to enhance it, in a real working environment outside an anechoic chamber. The study also deals with presence of the human body in the multipath environment and its effects on the operation of the GPS antennas.
0.12 /spl mu/m raised gate/source/drain epitaxial channel NMOS technology

We introduce a 0.12 /spl mu/m nMOS technology with multi-Vth's for mixed high-speed digital and RF-analog applications. Though basically device parameter was determined by SIA roadmap, new structures such as undoped epitaxial channel and raised gate/source/drain were applied to a 0.12 /spl mu/m nMOS. This device has high fT and low noise figure which are very important for RF analog circuit design. High Idrive/Ioff ratio for drain current was also realized.
Warp Scheduler + Vector Dispatch SIMT Vector Lanes Memory Coalescer Spatial Dataflow Scalar Dispatch Distributed PEs Stream-Dataflow Command Core Scratchpad Coarse Grain Reconfig

Demand for low-power data processing hardware continues to rise inexorably. Existing programmable and “general purpose” solutions (eg. SIMD, GPGPUs) are insufficient, as evidenced by the orderof-magnitude improvements and industry adoption of application and domain-specific accelerators in important areas like machine learning, computer vision and big data. The stark tradeoffs between efficiency and generality at these two extremes poses a difficult question: how could domain-specific hardware efficiency be achieved without domain-specific hardware solutions? In this work, we rely on the insight that “acceleratable” algorithms have broad common properties: high computational intensity with long phases, simple control patterns and dependences, and simple streaming memory access and reuse patterns. We define a general architecture (a hardware-software interface) which can more efficiently expresses programs with these properties called streamdataflow. The dataflow component of this architecture enables high concurrency, and the stream component enables communication and coordination at very-low power and area overhead. This paper explores the hardware and software implications, describes its detailed microarchitecture, and evaluates an implementation. Compared to a state-of-the-art domain specific accelerator (DianNao), and fixed-function accelerators for MachSuite, Softbrain can match their performance with only 2× power overhead on average. CCS CONCEPTS • Computer systems organization → Heterogeneous (hybrid) systems; Reconfigurable computing; Data flow architectures; Single instruction, multiple data; Special purpose systems;
Use of oral buprenorphine ('buprenorphine jello') for postoperative analgesia in rats-a clinical trial

Buprenorphine (0.l, 0.2, 0.3 or 0.4 mg/kg) in a flavoured gelatin base was administered preoperatively to rats undergoing a flank laparotomy. A control group of animals underwent surgery and received only flavoured gelatin. Body weight loss was significantly greater in the group which received no analgesia than in any of the analgesic-treated groups (P < 0.01). Food consumption was reduced significantly in all groups except in those animals which received 0.3 mg/kg buprenorphine. Water consumption was significantly reduced in the control (no analgesia) group (P < 0.001), but was not significantly depressed in the analgesic-treated groups (P > 0.05). Between-group comparisons did not show any significant difference between the different dose rates of analgesia used on either the change in body weight or the reduction in food or water consumption. The results of this study support the use of buprenorphine jelly for post-surgical analgesia in rats. This route of delivery is easy to use, and causes a minimum of stress to the rats.
Joan Robinson on "History versus Equilibrium"

Joan Robinson’s endeavor to expose a lacuna between “history” and “equilibrium” constitutes a significant plank in her overall critique of orthodox economic theory. It also goes beyond the hornet’s nest she successfully exposed in her celebrated critique of the treatment of “capital” in neoclassical theory. I argue in this paper that, instead of a closed circle of equilibrium relations, universally applicable and independent of time and place, Robinson sought to develop a system of analysis that is more eclectic and open to history in a very definite sense. Indeed, the hard core of her work is really an attempt to outline an alternative approach to economics that provides a way of understanding economic history in all its richness and diversity. She herself did not manage to advance this approach to any significant extent. Much work has been done since then that strongly bears out her concerns, advances her effort, and serves to clarify and give deeper insights into the nature of the problems she posed. These problems remain till today the most challenging in economic theory.
A Selective Inhibitor of Na+/Ca2+ Exchanger, SEA0400, Preserves Cardiac Function and High-Energy Phosphates against Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury

The Ca2+ overload by Ca2+ influx via Na+/Ca2+ exchanger (NCX) is a critical mechanism in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury. We investigated protective effects of a novel selective inhibitor of NCX, SEA0400, on cardiac function and energy metabolism during ischemia and reperfusion. Langendorff-perfused rat hearts were exposed to 35 minutes global ischemia and 40 minutes reperfusion. Using 31P nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, cardiac phosphocreatine (PCr), ATP, and pHi were monitored. SEA0400 did not change the basic cardiac function, but improved the recovery of left ventricular developed pressure (LVDP) after reperfusion (27.6 ± 4.9 mm Hg in control, 101.2 ± 19.3 mm Hg in 0.1μM, and 115.5 ± 13.3 mm Hg in 1μM SEA0400, means ± SE, n = 6, P < 0.05). SEA0400 reduced left ventricular end-diastolic pressure and increased coronary flow after reperfusion. SEA0400 improved the recoveries of cardiac phosphocreatine and ATP after reperfusion, but did not affect pHi. There were significant linear correlations between left ventricular developed pressure and cardiac phosphocreatine (r = 0.79, P < 0.05), and left ventricular developed pressure and ATP (r = 0.80, P < 0.05). However, SEA0400 increased the incidence and duration of reperfusion ventricular arrhythmias. SEA0400 added only after reperfusion also improved both the contractile function and energy metabolism. It is concluded that the selective inhibition of NCX may be effective to preserve high-energy phosphates and to improve cardiac function after reperfusion, but may not be able to prevent fatal arrhythmias.
The Effects of Spent Engine Oil on Soil Properties and Growth of Maize (Zea mays L.)

The effect of spent engine oil (SEO) on soil properties and growth of maize (Zea mays L.) was investigated. Five treatments (0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 l/kg) of the spent oil were applied to soil in perforated poly bags with maize stands at four weeks after sowing. Soil analysis showed that SEO had no effect on both the pH and texture of the soil. Organic C, N and Mg in the contaminated soils increased compared to the control. There was decrease in concentration of P due to soil contamination. Heavy metals (Fe, Cu, Zn and Pb) concentrations of soil increased with increasing concentration of oil. Plant height, root number and root length of maize plants grown in the contaminated soils were adversely affected. The grain yield of the plants in the contaminated soils was significantly reduced
Cloning and characterization of a novel cellular protein, TDP-43, that binds to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 TAR DNA sequence motifs

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) gene expression is modulated by both viral and cellular factors. A regulatory element in the HIV-1 long terminal repeat known as TAR, which extends from nucleotides -18 to +80, is critical for the activation of gene expression by the transactivator protein, Tat. RNA transcribed from TAR forms a stable stem-loop structure which serves as the binding site for both Tat and cellular factors. Although TAR RNA is critical for Tat activation, the role that TAR DNA plays in regulating HIV-1 gene expression is not clear. Several studies have demonstrated that TAR DNA can bind cellular proteins, such as UBP-1/LBP-1, which repress HIV-1 gene expression and other factors which are involved in the generation of short, nonprocessive transcripts. In an attempt to characterize additional cellular factors that bind to TAR DNA, a lambda gt11 expression cloning strategy involving the use of a portion of TAR DNA extending from -18 to +28 to probe a HeLa cDNA library was used. We identified a cDNA, designated TAR DNA-binding protein (TDP-43), which encodes a cellular factor of 43 kDa that binds specifically to pyrimidine-rich motifs in TAR. Antibody to TDP-43 was used in gel retardation assays to demonstrate that endogenous TDP-43, present in HeLa nuclear extract, also bound to TAR DNA. Although TDP-43 bound strongly to double-stranded TAR DNA via its ribonucleoprotein protein-binding motifs, it did not bind to TAR RNA extending from +1 to +80. To determine the function of TDP-43 in regulating HIV-1 gene expression, in vitro transcription analysis was performed. TDP-43 repressed in vitro transcription from the HIV-1 long terminal repeat in both the presence and absence of Tat, but it did not repress transcription from other promoters such as the adenovirus major late promoter. In addition, transfection of a vector which expressed TDP-43 resulted in the repression of gene expression from an HIV-1 provirus. These results indicate that TDP-43 is capable of modulating both in vitro and in vivo HIV-1 gene expression by either altering or blocking the assembly of transcription complexes that are capable of responding to Tat.
A review of existing methods for study and analysis of thermal design of LED lighting products

The lifetime of LED luminaires, made of high power LED arrays, operating under hostile conditions is determined by their thermal design, operating junction temperature and thermal transients managed by the thermal system. Thermal transient characterization is a noninvasive study of the thermal resistance characteristics or thermal design of the LED luminaire. This procedure can identify anomalies in the thermal design or irregularities in the heat conduction path from the LED junction to the ambient. Any increase of thermal resistance along the heat conduction path can cause excessive junction temperature build up and cause early failure or increased degradation of device. The scope of this work is study the existing method for thermal transient characterization and analysis using the evaluation of the structure function of the heat conduction path of LED lighting product. It can be concluded that structure function approach is a very superior procedure for thermal transients characterizing the heat conduction path and estimating junction-to-ambient thermal resistances.
Multiresolution data aggregation for analytical exploration of large relational data

Analytical exploration of large data sets poses fundamental challenges to both database and data visualization. This paper introduces multiresolution data aggregation as an efficient representation of large relational data for interactive data exploration. Such a multiresolution data representation has build-in support of data scalability. Data aggregated at multiple resolutions are stored in internal nodes of a partition-based high dimensional tree index. Such a piggyback ride of aggregated data efficiently supports resolution-based data access patterns such as overview-and-drill-down. A software tool is developed to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of this technique for multiresolution visual exploration of general purpose relational data sets.
Detecting malware variants via function-call graph similarity

Currently, signature-based malware scanning is still the dominant approach to identify malware samples in the wild due to its low false positive rate. However, this approach concentrates on programs' specific instructions, and lacks insight into high level semantics; it is enduring challenges from advanced code obfuscation techniques such as polymorphism and metamorphism. To overcome this shortcoming, this paper extracts a program's function-call graph as its signature. The paper presents a method to compute similarity between two binaries on basis of their function-call graph similarity. The proposed method relies on static analysis of a program, it first disassembles the program into assemble code, and then it uses a novel algorithm to construct the function-call graph from the assembly instructions. After that, it proposes a simple but effective graph matching method to compute similarity between two binaries. A prototype is implemented and evaluated on several well-known malware families and benign programs.
Impact of epidermal growth factor receptor and transforming growth factor–α on hepatitis C virus‐induced hepatocarcinogenesis

Epidermal growth factor receptor system plays a central hepato‐protective and pro‐regenerative role in liver. Transforming growth factor‐α (TGF‐α) is an important autocrine growth regulator of hepatocytes that plays a role in development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) among patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). This study was done on 40 core liver biopsies from patients with CHC, 20 liver specimens from HCC cases on top of CHC as well as five normal controls. All were immunohistochemically stained with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and TGF‐α antibodies. Some selected HCC cases were submitted for FISH technique to detect EGFR gene alteration. By immunohistochemistry EGFR and TGF‐α were overexpressed in HCC and cirrhotic cases compared to CHC cases without cirrhosis. Also, their expression was stronger in CHC cases with higher grades of activity and stages of fibrosis compared to lower ones. FISH positive results for EGFR were detected in 33.3% of the examined HCC cases. EGFR and TGF‐α can be used as predictive markers for activity, fibrosis, and carcinogenesis in CHC patients. Overexpression of EGFR in HCC patients can be promising in selecting those who can get benefit from anti‐EGFR target therapy.
Mineralogy-based brittleness prediction from surface seismic data: Application to the Barnett Shale

AbstractDifferentiating brittle and ductile rocks from surface seismic data is the key to efficient well location and completion. Brittleness average estimates based only on elastic parameters are easy to use but require empirical calibration. In contrast, brittleness index (BI) estimates are based on mineralogy laboratory measurements and, indeed, cannot be directly measured from surface seismic data. These two measures correlate reasonably well in the quartz-rich Barnett Shale, but they provide conflicting estimates of brittleness in the calcite-rich Viola, Forestburg, Upper Barnett, and Marble Falls limestone formations. Specifically, the BI accurately predicts limestone formations that form fracture barriers to be ductile, whereas the brittleness average does not. We used elemental capture spectroscopy and elastic logs measured in the same cored well to design a 2D λρ–μρ to brittleness template. We computed λρ and μρ volumes through prestack seismic inversion and calibrate the results with the λρ–μρ t.
Effect of parameters on three-beam laser interference

Three-beam laser interference is used to create spot or grating patterns by three laser beams. In this paper, effect of parameters on three-beam laser interference is discussed. Computer simulation results have shown that the parameters and their deviations of incident angles, azimuthal angles and polarization states will affect the period, contrast, shape and direction of the spots of three-beam interference patterns. The patterns can be useful for the structuring of different surface patterns in three-beam laser interference lithography.
Psychological well-being of caregivers of children with intellectual disabilities: Using parental stress as a mediating factor

Parental stress has been identified as a major affecter of caregivers’ psychological well-being and a risk increaser for unwillingly placing children with disabilities in the care of others. Recognition of effective means to ease caregiving burdens must guide policymaking and will help to provide better and tailored support and intervention for the children. This study aims to characterize caregivers of children with intellectual disabilities who are about to seek outside support and care and to identify the conditions under which psychological well-being and parental stress are affected using parental stress as a mediating factor. We found that parental stress and the child’s depressive feelings strongly affected psychological well-being. We also found an indirect relation of restricted caregiver social activities through parental stress. To protect psychological well-being of caregivers, support services should address depressive feelings among children with intellectual disabilities, facilitate caregivers’ social activity, and reduce stress.
Dynamics of helping behavior and cooperation across culture

Prior research shows variation in helping behavior across culture due to cultural differences in values, perceptions, and motivations [12]. Our study extends on past research by examining how culture and fusion with one's culture influences helping behavior (help request and help given) when interacting with a cooperative versus non-cooperative counterpart. Canadian, Chinese and Indian participants engaged in an intracultural dyadic interaction using a virtual decision making game, FireSim, where they had to protect their village and its assets from seasonal fires with the option of requesting help and/or providing help to a neighboring village (counterpart). The results illustrate that Canadians (individualists) were less influenced by the situation, as their helping behavior was not significantly affected by partner's helping behavior, compared to Chinese and Indian individuals (collectivists). Moreover, Canadians were less likely to request for help but overall received more help compared to individuals from collectivistic cultures. We also found that the more a person was fused with his or her culture, the more likely that individual would provide help, if partner was cooperative. Potential implications and further research for inter-cultural helping behavior is discussed.
Rhodococcus equi Pneumonia

Rhodococcus equi is the most devastating cause of pneumonia in foals between 3 weeks and 5 months of age. Much progress has been made in recent years in understanding the epizootiology and pathogenesis of R. equi infections. This article reviews recent advances with emphasis on diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of R. equi infections. Author’s address: Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, College of
Therapeutic impact of percutaneous spinal biopsy in spinal infection

Objective: To investigate the therapeutic impact of percutaneous spinal biopsy in patients with suspected spinal infection. Design and patients: A review of the case notes and imaging features of 36 patients who underwent percutaneous spinal biopsy was performed. From this group 20 patients with a prebiopsy diagnosis of spinal osteomyelitis were identified. Management before biopsy was noted including the use of antimicrobial therapy. The results of the histology and microbiology were noted along with the subsequent diagnosis and management. Results: Eight of the 20 patients (40%) had received antibiotics before the biopsy. An organism was isolated in 8/20 cases (40%). Of the eight patients on antibiotics, two grew an organism (25%), including one case of candida in a patient receiving flucloxacillin. Out of 12 patients not on antibiotics there were six cases where an organism was isolated (50%). The result of the biopsy led to a change in management in seven of the 20 patients (35%). Conclusions: Many clinicians are treating spinal osteomyelitis empirically with antibiotics before biopsy, but this reduces the chance of isolating an organism and determining antibiotic sensitivity. Despite this biopsy led to a change in management in 35% of cases.