Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Deploying Multi-tenant FPGAs within Linux-based Cloud Infrastructure

Cloud deployments now increasingly exploit Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) accelerators as part of virtual instances. While cloud FPGAs are still essentially single-tenant, the growing demand for efficient hardware acceleration paves the way to FPGA multi-tenancy. It then becomes necessary to explore architectures, design flows, and resource management features that aim at exposing multi-tenant FPGAs to the cloud users. In this article, we discuss a hardware/software architecture that supports provisioning space-shared FPGAs in Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) clouds. The proposed hardware/software architecture introduces an FPGA organization that improves hardware consolidation and support hardware elasticity with minimal data movement overhead. It also relies on VirtIO to decrease communication latency between hardware and software domains. Prototyping the proposed architecture with a Virtex UltraScale+ FPGA demonstrated near specification maximum frequency for on-chip data movement and high throughput in virtual instance access to hardware accelerators. We demonstrate similar performance compared to single-tenant deployment while increasing FPGA utilization, which is one of the goals of virtualization. Overall, our FPGA design achieved about 2× higher maximum frequency than the state of the art and a bandwidth reaching up to 28 Gbps on 32-bit data width.
Etiological research in pediatric multiple sclerosis: A tool to assess environmental exposures (PEDiatric Italian Genetic and enviRonment ExposurE Questionnaire)

Background The etiology of pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis is unknown although putative genetic and environmental factors appear to be involved. Among children multiple sclerosis onset occurs closer to the susceptibility window thank in adults and the exposure to etiological environmental factors is more informative. An Italian multicentre case-control study (the PEDiatric Italian Genetic and enviRonment ExposurE, PEDIGREE study) was designed to investigate environmental exposures in pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis and their interaction with genetics. Objectives To collect evidence on exposures to environmental risk factors in pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis, a questionnaire was developed for the Italian population (PEDIGREE Questionnaire) and is presented. Methods PEDIGREE Questionnaire develops from an existing tool used in case-control studies on pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis in US Americans, and was translated, adapted and tested for the contents perceived relevance, acceptability, feasibility and reliability in a population of Italian pediatric subjects and their parents recruited from clinics and general population. Results PEDIGREE Questionnaire contents were overall deemed relevant by the study population, acceptable for 100% participants and feasible for at least 98%. PEDIGREE Questionnaire degree of reliability ranged 56% to 72%. Conclusion PEDIGREE Questionnaire proves to be an efficient tool to assess environmental exposures in the Italian pediatric population. We encourage the dissemination of population-specific questionnaires and shared methodology to optimize efforts in MS etiological research.
Wetdeck slamming of high-speed catamarans with a centre bow

The influence of a centre bow on the severe wetdeck slamming behaviour for a range of hull forms based on an INCAT fast catamaran ferry has been studied with full-scale trials, experimental drop tests and computationally. Particular attention was paid to the effect centre bow geometry has on the severity of slam events. Full-scale trial data from a 96m INCAT vessel was analysed. The influence of vessel Froude number, wave height, relative centre bow impact velocity, relative centre bow submergence and instantaneous wave height on the slamming behaviour of the vessel was identified. Severe slams were found to be caused by wetdeck slamming. The average relative motion between the centre bow and the instantaneous water surface during slamming was calculated and this was used for scaling of the experimental drop tests. Two-dimensional drop tests were used to experimentally investigate the behaviour of seven realistic bow geometries for catamarans with centre bow, and two vee wedge geometries. Drop tests were made under gravity with varied drop heights and mass into a long thin tank of calm water. Acceleration and surface pressure measurements and high-speed photography flow visualisation were used to detail model behaviour. The most significant observations were that the highest point in the arch should be located as far outboard as possible to minimise peak acceleration and that models with large centre bows experience peak acceleration at a lower relative initial water surface penetration depth than models with small centre bows. The trapped air in the top of the arch was also found to be important in attenuating peak acceleration. Two theoretical models were developed to model the drop tests; a one-dimensional added mass theory and a two-dimensional volume of fluid method. The added mass theory was based on von Karman's impact theory coupled with a potential flow model to account for the upwash of water during entry and a compressible air model to describe the effect of trapped air in the arch between the hulls. This theory was found to capture the trends displayed in the drop test experiments adequately. The volume of fluid method modelled the drop tests by solution of the Euler equations on a rectangular grid. The model was validated against the broken dam problem, the run up of a Laitone wave and the wedge entry problem.
Development trend of the permanent magnet synchronous motor for railway traction

Owing to the resent progress in power electronics and permanent magnet materials, a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) that is lighter, smaller, and more efficient than the conventional induction motor has become realistic as a traction motor. We are making research and development effort on the introduction of the PMSM to rail vehicle traction. The recent development trend of the permanent magnet synchronous traction motor is reviewed. Copyright © 2007 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Methylation of BDNF and SLC6A4 Gene Promoters in Brazilian Patients With Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Presenting or Not Psychiatric Comorbidities

The relationship between epilepsy and psychiatric comorbidities has been recognized for centuries, but its pathophysiological mechanisms are still misunderstood. It is biologically plausible that genetic or epigenetic variations in genes that codify important neurotransmitters involved in epilepsy as well as in psychiatric disorders may influence the development of the latter in patients with epilepsy. However, this possibility remains poorly investigated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the methylation profile of the BDNF and SLC6A4, two genes importantly involved in neuroplasticity, in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) regarding the development or not of psychiatric comorbidities. One hundred and thirty-nine patients with TLE, 90 females and 45 males, were included in the study. The mean age of patients was 44.0 (+12.0) years, and mean duration of epilepsy was 25.7 (+13.3) years. The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV shows that 83 patients (59.7%) had neuropsychiatric disorders and 56 (40.3%) showed no psychiatric comorbidity. Mood disorders were the most common psychiatric disorder observed, being present in 64 (46.0%) of all 139 patients. Thirty-three (23.7%) patients showed anxiety disorders, 10 (7.2%) patients showed history of psychosis and 8 (5.8%) patients showed history of alcohol//drug abuse. Considering all 139 patients, 18 (12.9%) demonstrated methylation of the promoter region of both BDNF and SLC6A4 genes. A significant decreased methylation profile was observed only in TLE patients with mood disorders when compared with TLE patients without a history of mood disorders (O.R. = 3.45; 95% C.I. = 1.08–11.11; p = 0.04). A sub-analysis showed that TLE patients with major depressive disorder mostly account for this result (O.R. = 7.20; 95% C.I. = 1.01–56.16; p = 0.042). A logistic regression analysis showed that the independent factors associated with a history of depression in our TLE patients was female sex (O.R. = 2.30; 95% C.I. = 1.02–5.18; p = 0.044), not controlled seizures (O.R. = 2.51; 95% C.I. = 1.16–5.41; p = 0.019) and decreased methylation in BDNF and SLC6A4 genes (O.R. = 5.32; 95% C.I. = 1.14–25.00; p = 0.033). Our results suggest that BDNF or SLC6A4 genes profile methylation is independently associated with depressive disorders in patients with epilepsy. Further studies are necessary to clarify these matters.
Nanotherapeutics for Nose-to-Brain Drug Delivery: An Approach to Bypass the Blood Brain Barrier

Treatment of neurodegenerative diseases or other central nervous system (CNS) disorders has always been a significant challenge. The nature of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) limits the penetration of therapeutic molecules to the brain after oral or parenteral administration, which, in combination with hepatic metabolism and drug elimination and inactivation during its journey in the systemic circulation, decreases the efficacy of the treatment, requires high drug doses and often induces adverse side effects. Nose-to-brain drug delivery allows the direct transport of therapeutic molecules by bypassing the BBB and increases drug concentration in the brain. The present review describes mechanisms of nose-to-brain drug delivery and discusses recent advances in this area with especial emphasis on nanotechnology-based approaches.
Leaning against the Bubble: Central Bank Intervention in Walrasian Asset Markets

The paper presents a two-period Walrasian financial market model composed of informed and uninformed rational investors, and noise traders. The rational investors maximize second period consumption utility from the payoffs of trading risk-free holdings to risky assets in the first period. The central bank reacts directly to asset price movements by selling or buying assets to stabilize the market price. It is found that the intervention makes the risky asset’s market price per share less sensitive to information shocks, which presses the market price towards its average price thus reducing price variance. The informed investors’ prediction coefficient remains unaffected, but that of the uninformed investors is magnified, which cancels out the negative effect on shock sensitivity thus keeping the expected value of the risky asset’s dividend constant. Finally, the introduction of the policy rule does not affect rational investors’ risk per share. A general conclusion is that the central bank’s policy can be regarded as an effective automatic stabilizer of financial markets.
High Compliance Pneumatic Actuators to Promote Finger Extension in Stroke Survivors

Compliant pneumatic systems are well suited for wearable robotic applications. The actuators are lightweight, conformable to irregular shapes, and tolerant of uncontrolled degrees of freedom. These attributes are especially desirable for hand exoskeletons given their space and mass constraints. Creating active digit extension with these exoskeletons is especially critical for clinical populations such as stroke survivors who often have great difficulty opening their paretic hand. To achieve active digit extension with a soft actuator, we have created pneumatic chambers that lie along the palmar surface of the digits. These chambers can directly extend the digits when pressurized. We present a characterization of the extension force and passive flexion resistance generated by these pneumatic chambers across a range of joint angles as a function of cross-sectional shape, dimension, and wall thickness. The chambers were fabricated out of DragonSkin 20 using custom molds and were tested on a custom jig. Extension forces created at the end of the chamber (where fingertip contact would occur) exceeded 3.00 N at relatively low pressure (48.3 kPa). A rectangular cross-section generated higher extension force than a semi-obround cross-sectional shape. Extension force was significantly higher (p < 0.05) for actuators with the highest wall thickness compared to those with the thinnest walls. In comparison to previously used polyurethane actuators, the DragonSkin actuators had a much higher extension force for a similar passive bending resistance. Passive bending resistance of the chamber (simulating finger flexion) did not vary significantly with actuator shape, wall thickness, width, or depth. The flexion resistance, however, could be significantly reduced by applying a vacuum. These results provide guidance in designing pneumatic actuators for assisting finger extension and resisting unwanted flexion in the fingers.
U-net for auricular elements segmentation: a proof-of-concept study

Convolutional neural networks are increasingly used in the medical field for the automatic segmentation of several anatomical regions on diagnostic and non-diagnostic images. Such automatic algorithms allow to speed up time-consuming processes and to avoid the presence of expert personnel, reducing time and costs. The present work proposes the use of a convolutional neural network, the U-net architecture, for the segmentation of ear elements. The auricular elements segmentation process is a crucial step of a wider procedure, already automated by the authors, that has as final goal the realization of surgical guides designed to assist surgeons in the reconstruction of the external ear. The segmentation, performed on depth map images of 3D ear models, aims to define of the contour of the helix, antihelix, tragus-antitragus and concha. A dataset of 131 ear depth map was created;70% of the data are used as the training set, 15% composes the validation set, and the remaining 15% is used as testing set. The network showed excellent performance, achieving 97% accuracy on the validation test.
Effects of aftershocks on peak ductility demand due to strong ground motion records from shallow crustal earthquakes

Aftershocks induced by a large mainshock can cause additional damage to structures and infrastructure, hampering building reoccupation and restoration activities in a post‐disaster situation. To assess the nonlinear damage potential due to aftershocks, this study investigates the effects of aftershocks by using real as well as artificially generated mainshock–aftershock sequences. The real mainshock–aftershock sequences are constructed from the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center—Next Generation Attenuation database for worldwide shallow crustal earthquakes; however, they are deemed to be incomplete because of missing records. To supplement incomplete real dataset, artificial sequences are generated on the basis of the generalized Omori's law, and a suitable aftershock record selection procedure is then devised to simulate time‐series data for mainshock–aftershock sequences. The results from nonlinear dynamic analysis of inelastic single‐degree‐of‐freedom systems using real and artificial sequences indicate that the incremental effects of aftershocks on peak ductility demand using the real sequences are relatively minor and that peak ductility demand estimates based on the generalized Omori's law are greater, particularly in the upper tail, than those for the real sequences. The results based on the generalized Omori's law also suggest that the aftershock effects based on the real sequences might underestimate the aftershock impact because of the incompleteness of the real dataset. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Research on Navigation and Crawl Underwater Unmanned Vehicle Design and CPG-based Motion Mode Switching method

In order to improve the efficiency and quality of underwater operations, this paper proposes and designs a new underwater robot, the navigation and crawl underwater unmanned vehicle (NCUUV), it has two motion modes: swimming and crawling. The upper controller selects the CPG network in the middle controller according to the height information by the acoustic rangefinder. The middle controller includes two CPG networks, which control the swimming and crawling of NCUUV respectively. The CPG network selected by the upper controller gradually vibrates, and the vibration of the unselected CPG network is gradually suppressed, thereby completing the smooth switching between swimming and crawling. The experimental result shows that this control mechanism of motion mode switching can enable NCUUV to stably realize motion mode switching and the switching process is smooth and reliable.
Decoupling the effects of alteration on the mineralogy and flotation performance of Great Dyke PGE ores

Ores from a single deposit may exhibit extensive variability in their mineralogy and texture. The ability to quantify this variability and link it to mineral processing performance is one of the primary goals of process mineralogy. This study focuses on the effect of alteration in three platinum group element ore samples from the Great Dyke in Zimbabwe - two of which were more pristine compared to the third, which was locally classified as 'oxidized' ore. These ores are known to be characterized by varying degrees of alteration, resulting in numerous challenges in flotation and affecting both grade and recovery. Alteration, by near-surface oxidation, of the valuable base metal sulphides and platinum group minerals resulted in lower flotation recoveries of Cu, Ni, Pt, and Pd. Evidence of incipient oxidation was more readily observed in the base metal sulphide assemblage than the platinum group mineral assemblage, even though the loss in recovery (because of oxidation) was most significant for Pd. Alteration through hydration resulted in a significant increase in mass pull and dilution of concentrate grade through the inadvertent recovery of naturally floating gangue comprising composite orthopyroxene and talc particles. In this study, the amount of naturally floating gangue was more strongly correlated with the talc grain size distribution than the grade of talc in the flotation feed. The oxidation and hydration alteration reactions are not necessarily mutually exclusive, although one may be more dominant than the other, giving rise to ore variability.
Deep Learning Proteins using a Triplet-BERT network

Modern sequencing technology has produced a vast quantity of proteomic data, which has been key to the development of various deep learning models within the field. However, there are still challenges to overcome with regards to modelling the properties of a protein, especially when labelled resources are scarce. Developing interpretable deep learning models is an essential criterion, as proteomics research requires methods to understand the functional properties of proteins. The ability to derive quality information from both the model and the data will play a vital role in the advancement of proteomics research. In this paper, we seek to leverage a BERT model that has been pre-trained on a vast quantity of proteomic data, to model a collection of regression tasks using only a minimal amount of data. We adopt a triplet network structure to fine-tune the BERT model for each dataset and evaluate its performance on a set of downstream task predictions: plasma membrane localisation, thermostability, peak absorption wavelength, and enantioselectivity. Our results significantly improve upon the original BERT baseline as well as the previous state-of-the-art models for each task, demonstrating the benefits of using a triplet network for refining such a large pre-trained model on a limited dataset. As a form of white-box deep learning, we also visualise how the model attends to specific parts of the protein and how the model detects critical modifications that change its overall function.
Prognostic Value of Immunoglobulin G (IgG) Patterns by Western Blotting Immunodetection in Treated Dogs Previously Infected with Leishmania infantum

Leishmaniasis is a heterogeneous group of neglected tropical diseases with various clinical syndromes, which is caused by obligate intracellular protozoa of the genus Leishmania and transmitted by the bite of a female phlebotomine sandfly. Humans and several animal species are considered as reservoirs of the disease. Among other animal species, dogs are the most important reservoirs in a domestic environment, maintaining the endemic focus of the parasite. The behavior of the disease progression and the clinical symptoms of the disease in the infected dog is mainly associated with depressed cellular immunity and strong humoral response. This study aimed to assess the role of Western blotting in the analysis of the idiotype expression of the two main immunoglobulins (IgG1 and IgG2) in dogs that are naturally infected with Leishmania infantum (L. infantum) and treated with N-methyl meglumine antimoniate. Interestingly, for the first time, our study identified several L. infantum antigen polypeptides (14, 31, 33, 49, 64, 66, 99, and 169 kDa) that more frequently stimulate an immune reaction in recovered dogs after treatment, whereas in the non-recovered group of dogs, four antigen polypeptides of L. infantum with molecular weights of 31, 49, 66, and 115 kDa with unfavorable prognosis were identified. Clearly, these interesting findings confirm the strong association between the detected immunodominant bands and the successful recovery in treated dogs that can be used for differentiating the treated dogs from the untreated dogs, as well as the markers of a favorable or unfavorable prognosis and, as a consequence, the prediction of the clinical outcome of the disease. Likewise, these data could be helpful in the implementation of novel vaccines from the detected antigens.
ETHNO-LINGUISTIC NEUTRALITY IN CENTRAL NIGERIA

There is evidence that contemporary Nigeria is drifting towards a society of monolingual English users, a component of which could be defined as lacking in ethno-linguistic identity. This trend is found among a generation of young Nigerian urban dwellers (between the age bracket of (12 and 25) who can neither communicate in their parents’ native language(s) nor in any other Nigerian indigenous language; their only medium of communication is English. Although based on their childhood exposure to the English language and their relative competence in it, English can be described as their ‘‘mother tongue’’ but the fact that they are not native speakers given the socio-geographical circumstances of their birth excludes them from Kachru’s (1988) Inner Circle classification of native speakers. Consequently, these Nigerians are left without a clearly defined ethno-linguistic affiliation. This paper interrogates this emerging sociolinguistic phenomenon in especially Central Nigeria, with the aim of stimulating scholarly consciousness on the ethno-linguistic identity of this category of Nigerians, and its implications for English usage among them. The submission of the paper is that another circle, “the intersecting circle”, be created for them since they bestride both the inner circle in having English as their “mother tongue” and yet they are not native speakers of the language.
An universal active power line conditioner

The power circuit of a general active power line conditioner (APLC) is based on series and shunt power converters that share a single DC link. In the present paper, a generic control concept for these series and shunt converters is proposed. It is based on the instantaneous real and imaginary power theory. In fact, the resulting equipment deals with the custom power and FACTS concepts. This equipment incorporates not only the compensation functions at the fundamental frequency like a unified power flow controller (UPFC), but also provides active harmonic mitigation capabilities. For these reasons, the compensator proposed here is called the universal active power line conditioner (UPLC). Simulation and experimental results are presented to confirm that the new approach has better performance than those obtained by controllers based on traditional concepts of active and reactive power.