gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
End-to-end Optimized Image Compression (2016)

We describe an image compression method, consisting of a nonlinear analysis transformation, a uniform quantizer, and a nonlinear synthesis transformation. The transforms are constructed in three successive stages of convolutional linear filters and nonlinear activation functions. Unlike most convolutional neural networks, the joint nonlinearity is chosen to implement a form of local gain control, inspired by those used to model biological neurons. Using a variant of stochastic gradient descent, we jointly optimize the entire model for rate-distortion performance over a database of training images, introducing a continuous proxy for the discontinuous loss function arising from the quantizer. Under certain conditions, the relaxed loss function may be interpreted as the log likelihood of a generative model, as implemented by a variational autoencoder. Unlike these models, however, the compression model must operate at any given point along the rate-distortion curve, as specified by a trade-off parameter. Across an independent set of test images, we find that the optimized method generally exhibits better rate-distortion performance than the standard JPEG and JPEG 2000 compression methods. More importantly, we observe a dramatic improvement in visual quality for all images at all bit rates, which is supported by objective quality estimates using MS-SSIM.
High silica zeolite Beta (2007)

Congrès : du 07.03.2007 au 09.03.2007
Dihydro-5,6-dehydrokavain (DDK) from Alpinia zerumbet: Its Isolation, Synthesis, and Characterization (2015)

Dihydro-5,6-dehydrokavain (DDK) is the major and most promising component of the tropical plant Alpinia zerumbet (shell ginger), a species of the ginger family Zingiberaceae. Alpinia zerumbet is known for its human use as a traditional herbal medicine, food, and dietary supplement. With its α-lactone ring, DDK belongs to the large chemical group of kavalactones, which are also found in kava (Piper methysticum), another herbal medicine; DDK is characterized by a double-bond linkage at positions 5,6 and the absence of a double-bond linkage at positions 7,8. This dissociates DDK from other kavalactones with their linkages at positions 7,8 and 5,6 that are both either completely saturated or unsaturated, or may have an unsaturated bond at the position 7,8 as well as a saturated bond at the position 5,6. DDK is easily identified and quantified by HPLC and GC. DDK contents in fresh leaves, stems and rhizomes range from 80 to 410 mg/g, requiring solvent extraction procedures to ensure high DDK yield. This is best achieved by hexane extraction from fresh rhizomes that were previously boiled in water, allowing DDK yields of up to 424 mg/g. Successful synthesis of DDK can be achieved by asymmetric pathways, whereas its simple chemical structure facilitates the synthesis of DDK derivatives by HCl hydrolysis. Thus, all synthesized products may be used for various commercial purposes, including the potential development of promising antiobesity pharmaceutical drugs, preparation of specific and safe dietary supplements, and use as effective natural herbicides or fungicides.
GLS and GLSSe ultrafast laser inscribed waveguides for mid-IR supercontinuum generation (2019)

Using the ultrafast laser inscription technique, buried channel waveguides have been fabricated in gallium lanthanum sulfide and gallium lanthanum sulfide selenide glasses to demonstrate the suitability of the materials for supercontinuum generation in the mid-IR. Supercontinuum generation was performed using 100 femtosecond pump pulses with micro-Joule pulse energies and a center wavelength of 4.6 µm, which is in the anomalous dispersion regime for these waveguides. Under such pump conditions, supercontinuum was obtained covering a 25-dB-bandwidth of up to 6.1 um with a long-wavelength edge of 8 µm. To our knowledge, this represents the broadest and the longest-wavelength IR supercontinuum generated from an ultrafast laser inscribed waveguide to date.
Acyclic oxy-cope rearrangement : dependence of E/Z stereoselection on substrate stereochemistry (1991)

The E/Z stereoselection in the acyclic oxy-Cope rearrangement of stereochemically-defined 3-methyl-1,5-heptadien-4-ols, prepared via diastereoselective [2,3]Wittig variants, has been evaluated, thereby permitting to propose a reasonable transition-state model for this type of anionic oxy-Cope variant
Three Activator Protein-1-binding Sites Bound by the Fra-2·JunD Complex Cooperate for the Regulation of Murine Laminin α3A (lama3A) Promoter Activity by Transforming Growth Factor-β (1998)

Several lines of evidence suggest a role for laminin-5 in skin wound healing. We report here that transforming growth factor- (TGF-), which elicits various responses during cutaneous healing, stimulates transcription of the mouse laminin 3A (lama3A) gene. To identify the TGF--responsive elements (TGF-REs) on the lama3A promoter, we have generated a series of 5-deletions of the promoter upstream of the -galactosidase reporter gene. Transient cell transfection assays using mouse PAM212 keratinocytes revealed that TGF-REs lie between nucleotides 297 and 54 relative to the transcription start site. Insertion of the TGF-RE in front of the unresponsive minimal SV40 promoter conferred TGF- inducibility. Computer analysis of the promoter sequence identified three canonical activator protein-1 (AP-1) sites located at nucleotides 277 (AP-1A), 125 (AP-1B), and 69 (AP-1C). Site-directed mutagenesis of either the AP-1A or AP-1C site did not drastically alter the basal activity of the lama3A promoter, but reduced TGF- responsiveness by 50%. Simultaneous mutation of these two AP-1 sites resulted in a 65% decline in the response to TGF-, suggesting a cooperative contribution of each site to the overall promoter activity. In contrast, mutation of the AP-1B site markedly reduced the basal activity of the lama3A promoter, indicating that this AP-1 site is essential for gene expression. Mobility shift assays demonstrated specific binding of Fra-2 and JunD to the AP-1 sites, suggesting for the first time a possible regulatory function for the Fra-2JunD AP-1 complex in a basal keratinocyte-specific gene.
(Invited) Advanced Semiconductor Devices for Future CMOS Technologies (2015)

Device scaling for higher performance and lower power consumption requires the introduction of advanced process modules, new materials new device architectures and finally even the use of alternative device operation principles compared to the standard MOS transistor. Several of these advanced devices will be discussed in view of their scalability and their potential for coping with the ITRS roadmap. Key performance parameters will be investigated.
Formal specification of CORBA services (2000)

CORBA is now established as one of the main contenders in object-oriented middleware. Beyond the definition of this standard for distributed object systems, the Object Management Group (OMG) has specified several object services (Common Object Services, COS) that should foster the interoperability of distributed applications. Based on experiment, the goal of this paper is to show that the OMG's style of specification of the CORBA services is not suited to guarantee that implementers will produce interoperable and substitutable implementations. To illustrate our point, we give an account of an experiment based upon the formal specification of one COS, namely the CORBA Event Service. This formal specification highlights several ambiguities and under-specifications in the OMG document. We then test several commercial and public domain implementations of the CORBA Event Service, in order to assess how the implementers have dealt with these under-specifications. We show that the choices made by the implementers lead to incompatible implementations. We finally suggest a solution to overcome the problem of specification of object services, which satisfies the views of both implementers and users. Specifically, we suggest that the specification of such services be made using a formal description technique, and that implementers be provided with test cases derived from the formal specification.
Cytokine Induction by the Hepatitis B Virus Capsid in Macrophages Is Facilitated by Membrane Heparan Sulfate and Involves TLR2 (2005)

The hepatitis B virus (HBV) core Ag (HBcAg) serves as the structural subunit of the highly immunogenic capsid shell. HBcAg harbors a unique arginine-rich C terminus that was implicated in immune responses induced by the capsid. In this study, we examined the capacity of the HBV capsid to induce proinflammatory and regulatory cytokines in human THP-1 macrophages and the possible underlying mechanism. Full-length HBc capsids, but not HBc-144 capsids lacking the arginine-rich domain of HBcAg, efficiently bound differentiated THP-1 macrophages and strongly induced TNF-alpha, IL-6, and IL-12p40. Capsid binding to macrophages and cytokine induction were independent of the RNA associated with the arginine-rich domain. Soluble heparin and heparan sulfate but not chondroitin sulfates greatly diminished cytokine induction through inhibition of capsid binding to THP-1 macrophages. Furthermore, serine phosphorylation in the arginine-rich domain modulates capsid binding to macrophages and the cytokine response. Induction of cytokines by the capsid involved activation of NF-kappaB, ERK-1/2, and p38 MAPK and did not require endosomal acidification. Finally, NF-kappaB activation by the capsid in HEK 293 cells specifically required expression of TLR2 and was compromised by soluble heparin. Thus, cytokine induction by the HBV capsid in macrophages is facilitated by interaction of its arginine-rich domain with membrane heparan sulfate and involves signaling through TLR2.
Supercharge Pressure Compensation Using a New Wireline Testing Method and Newly Developed Early Time Spherical Flow Model (1996)

Abstract Wireline formation testers are increasingly being used to obtain formation pressure and permeability measurements, which in turn are used in geological evaluations and in designing well completions. It is generally assumed that the pressure measured by the tester probe is near formation pressure. Unfortunately, in many instances, such as in low permeability formations, the mudcake does not adequately isolate the hydrostatic pressure in the wellbore from the formation. As a result, the sandface pressure measured with the formation tester is "supercharged" and not the formation pressure after all. This sandface pressure may be as much as 1,000 psi over the actual formation pressure of interest. This paper demonstrates that a new analytical model can be used along with a new testing technique to correct the measured pressure to actual formation pressure. A high accuracy finite element near-wellbore simulator (NEWS†) is used to test the sensitivity of the analytical model. Log examples are presented to demonstrate the success of the new testing technique.
Acoustic noise suppression for speech enhancement (2001)

Removal of noise from a single channel audio signal is becoming an increasingly important problem due to the proliferation of portable communication devices. Early methods of single channel noise suppression introduced artifacts that could be as annoying as the original noise. Substantial effort has been focused on more effective noise suppression with fewer artifacts, but many difficulties remain and the problems seem far from being solved. For example, nearly all noise suppression techniques actually reduce the intelligibility of the processed signal. This paper investigates the sources of some of the artifacts common with Wiener filtering and proposes a structure to mitigate or eliminate these artifacts and effectively reduce noise without adversely affecting intelligibility. Results of one implementation of such a structure demonstrate significant improvements both in speech recognition performance and perceived speech quality.
Variational Bayesian Methods for Stochastically Constrained System Design Problems (2020)

We study system design problems stated as parameterized stochastic programs with a chance-constraint set. We adopt a Bayesian approach that requires the computation of a posterior predictive integral which is usually intractable. In addition, for the problem to be a well-defined convex program, we must retain the convexity of the feasible set. Consequently, we propose a variational Bayes-based method to approximately compute the posterior predictive integral that ensures tractability and retains the convexity of the feasible set. Under certain regularity conditions, we also show that the solution set obtained using variational Bayes converges to the true solution set as the number of observations tends to infinity. We also provide bounds on the probability of qualifying a true infeasible point (with respect to the true constraints) as feasible under the VB approximation for a given number of samples.
Crude-Oil Emulsions: A State-Of-The-Art Review (2005)

Summary The formation of emulsions during oil production is a costly problem, both in terms of chemicals used and production lost. This paper discusses production and operational problems related to crude-oil emulsions and presents a review that will be useful for practicing engineers. The first part of this paper presents why emulsions form during oil production, the types of emulsions encountered, and new methods for characterizing them. Crude-oil emulsions are stabilized by rigid interfacial films that form a "skin" on water droplets and prevent the droplets from coalescing. The stability of these interfacial films, and hence, the stability of the emulsions, depends on a number of factors, including the heavy material in the crude oil (e.g., asphaltenes, resins, and waxes), solids (e.g., clays, scales, and corrosion products), temperature, droplet size and droplet-size distribution, pH, and oil and brine composition. The effects of these factors on emulsion stability are reviewed within this paper. The second part of this paper presents methods to tackle crude-oil emulsions. The focus is on the destabilization of emulsions and the demulsification process. Emulsions are destabilized by increasing temperature and residence time, removal of solids, and controlling emulsifiers. The mechanisms involved in demulsification (e.g., flocculation, aggregation, sedimentation, creaming, and coalescence) are discussed in terms of the stability of the interfacial films. The methods involved in demulsification—including thermal, mechanical, electrical, and chemical are also presented. Experience and economics determine which methods are used, and to what degree, for emulsion treatment. Finally, a section on field applications also is included that should be useful for the practicing engineer who deals with emulsions either regularly or on a limited basis. Herein the field-emulsion treatment program is discussed, and more importantly, methods to prevent emulsion problems are highlighted. Recommendations are made for reducing and optimizing demulsifier dosage and controlling emulsion problems.
Infectious complications of biological therapy (2009)

Biological medications have a favorable safety profile but continued vigilance is appropriate. Most infectious reported episodes are minor and the risk of infection appears to decrease with duration of treatment.
On Wireless Scheduling Algorithms for Minimizing the Queue-Overflow Probability (2010)

In this paper, we are interested in wireless scheduling algorithms for the downlink of a single cell that can minimize the queue-overflow probability. Specifically, in a large-deviation setting, we are interested in algorithms that maximize the asymptotic decay rate of the queue-overflow probability, as the queue-overflow threshold approaches infinity. We first derive an upper bound on the decay rate of the queue-overflow probability over all scheduling policies. We then focus on a class of scheduling algorithms collectively referred to as the “α-algorithms.” For a given α ≥ 1, the α-algorithm picks the user for service at each time that has the largest product of the transmission rate multiplied by the backlog raised to the power α. We show that when the overflow metric is appropriately modified, the minimum-cost-to-overflow under the α-algorithm can be achieved by a simple linear path, and it can be written as the solution of a vector-optimization problem. Using this structural property, we then show that when α approaches infinity, the α-algorithms asymptotically achieve the largest decay rate of the queue-overflow probability. Finally, this result enables us to design scheduling algorithms that are both close to optimal in terms of the asymptotic decay rate of the overflow probability and empirically shown to maintain small queue-overflow probabilities over queue-length ranges of practical interest.
Modeling and control of a flexible riser with application to marine installation (2012)

This paper investigates the control problem of a marine riser installation system. The riser installation system consisting of a vessel, a flexible riser, a subsea payload is modeled as a distributed parameter system with one partial differential equation (PDE) and four ordinary differential equations (ODEs). Based on the Lyapunov's direct method, robust adaptive boundary control is proposed at the top and bottom boundary of the riser to position the subsea payload to the desired set-point and suppress the riser's vibration. With the proposed control, uniform boundedness of the steady state error between the boundary payload and the desired position is achieved by suitably choosing the design parameters. Numerical simulations are presented for demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed control.
Discovery of CD8+T cell epitopes inChlamydia trachomatisinfection through use of caged class I MHC tetramers (2008)

Class I MHC tetramers allow direct phenotypic identification of CD8(+) T cell populations, but their production remains laborious. A peptide exchange strategy that employs class I MHC products loaded with conditional ligands (caged MHC molecules) provides a fast and straightforward method to obtain diverse arrays of class I MHC tetramers and facilitates CD8(+) T cell epitope discovery. Here, we describe the development of photocleavable analogs of the FAPGNYPAL (SV9) epitope that bind H-2K(b) and H-2D(b) with full retention of their structural and functional integrity. We ranked all possible H-2K(b) octameric and H-2D(b) nonameric epitopes that span the genome of Chlamydia trachomatis and prepared MHC tetramers from approximately 2,000 of the highest scoring peptides by replacement of the SV9 analog with the peptide of choice. The resulting 2,000-member class I MHC tetramer array allowed the discovery of two variants of an epitope derived from polymorphic membrane protein I (PmpI) and an assessment of the kinetics of emergence and the effector function of the corresponding CD8(+) T cells.
Noise calculation model for high-gain column amplifiers of CMOS image sensors (2003)

One of the important features in CMOS image sensors regarding high sensitivity is that the random readout noise can be better than that of the CCD, if the property of narrow noise bandwidth in CMOS active pixel sensors is effectively used. This is especially important for mega-pixel video-rate image sensors. To meet the requirement, the use of high-gain amplifier at the column of the CMOS imager is effective, because the noise due to wideband amplifier at the output of the image sensor can be relatively reduced. However, it has not been clarified how much the column amplifier can contribute to the noise reduction effect. In this paper, we present a noise calculation model of a switched-capacitor type column amplifier. The total noise consists of a noise component due to the noise charge sampled and held at the charge summation node of the amplifier and transferred to the output, and a noise component directly fluctuates the S/H stage at the output of the column amplifier. The analytically calculated noise has well agreement with that of the simulation results using a circuit simulator.
Coherent image synthesis from wave-front sensor measurements of a nonimaged laser speckle field: a laboratory demonstrations (1991)

We report what are to our knowledge the first coherent images recovered in the laboratory from measurements made with a Shack-Hartmann wave-front sensor of the phase and amplitude of a laser speckle wave front. We discuss the design of our wave-front sensor, which can obtain the phase and amplitude of an optical field with a single intensity measurement, and we point out a particular type of phase jump that cannot be detected by the Shack-Hartmann sensor. We also discuss implementations of this technique that may permit near-diffraction-limited imaging through turbulent media.
Coupled Inductors With Crossed Anisotropy ${\rm CoZrTa/SiO}_{2}$ Multilayer Cores (2013)

Four-turn coupled (flux-closed) inductor structures have been fabricated and tested for use in high-power-density integrated voltage regulator (IVR) applications. Our solenoid-like structure is comprised of a laminated magnetic core of four rungs surrounded by four Cu windings creating four coupled inductors. The magnetic core is made of laminations of ultra-high-vacuum-sputtered [5 nm Ta/200 nm Co <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">91.5</sub> Zr <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">4.0</sub> Ta <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">4.5</sub> (CZT)/7 nm SiO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> ] repeated 20 times. Individual CZT layers are deposited under a magnetic bias to induce uniaxial anisotropy. The quad-coupled inductor shows a frequency response with a measured self-inductance of 7.4 nH for one inductor sustained up to 100 MHz and roll-off to half this low-frequency value at ~450 MHz. This inductance is more than 65× higher than what would be calculated from an air-core inductor of equivalent geometry.
Mutants in Phospholipid Signaling Attenuate the Behavioral Response of Adult Drosophila to Trehalose (2010)

In Drosophila melanogaster, gustatory receptor genes (Grs) encode putative G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) that are expressed in gustatory receptor neurons (GRNs). One of the Gr genes, Gr5a, encodes a receptor for trehalose that is expressed in a subset of GRNs. Although a role for the G protein, Gsα, has been shown in Gr5a-expressing taste neurons, there is the residual responses to trehalose in Gsα mutants which could suggest additional transduction mechanisms. Expression and genetic analysis of the heterotrimeric G-protein subunit, Gq, shown here suggest involvement of this Gα subunit in trehalose perception in Drosophila. A green fluorescent protein reporter of Gq expression is detected in gustatory neurons in the labellum, tarsal segments, and wing margins. Animals heterozygous for dgq mutations and RNA interference-mediated knockdown of dgq showed reduced responses to trehalose in the proboscis extension reflex assay and feeding behavior assay. These defects were rescued by targeted expression of the wild-type dgqα transgene in the GRNs. These data together with observations from other mutants in phospholipid signaling provide insights into the mechanisms of taste transduction in Drosophila.