gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
On robust Monte Carlo algorithms for multi-pass global illumination (2002)

Computer-generated realistic images are being used increasingly in applications such as architecture, lighting design and visual effects in the movie industry. Therefore, realistic image synthesis, the subject of this dissertation, has remained one of the most important research areas in computer graphics for many years. Realistic image synthesis takes as input a description of a three-dimensional scene and a virtual camera looking upon that scene. By simulating the light transport, the intensity of each pixel in the image as seen by the camera can be computed. Light transport can be described by an integral equation, often called the rendering equation. Algorithms that compute all possible interreflections of light in the scene and thus provide a full solution to the rendering equation, are called global illumination algorithms. Such algorithms produce images that are virtually indistinguishable from a real photograph, but unfortunately they are slow. In this dissertation we present several new techniques to construct more robust and more efficient global illumination algorithms. Our work focuses on Monte Carlo algorithms and multi-pass methods. Monte Carlo algorithms statistically estimate integrals and are very well suited for solving transport problems. Multi-pass methods combine several rendering algorithms into a single method. A good multi-pass configuration will preserve the strengths of each individual component, while avoiding its weaknesses. First, new techniques for designing better multi-pass methods are presented, including weighted multi- pass methods that weight the contributions of different algorithms automatically in a provably good manner. Second, path differentials are introduced. They allow to augment light transport paths with neighborhood information which is useful in many global illumination algorithms. Finally a technique is presented to reduce the memory requirements and to control the error in photon mapping, an efficient and popular global illumination algorithm. All these techniques result in more robust and efficient global illumination algorithms and contribute to the increasing use of these algorithms in computer graphics applications.
High-Density Microcavity Array for Cell Detection: Single-Cell Analysis of Hematopoietic Stem Cells in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (2009)

Detection and isolation of specific cell types from limited biological samples have become a major challenge in clinical diagnosis and cell biology research. Here, we report a high-density microcavity array for target cell detection in which thousands of single cells were neatly arrayed onto 10,000 microcavities with high efficiency at approximately 90% of the loaded cells. Cell-specific immunophenotypes were exclusively identified at the single-cell level by measuring fluorescence intensities of cells labeled with antibodies targeting cell surface markers, and the purity of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) within human peripheral blood analyzed by this system was correlated with those obtained by conventional flow cytometry. Furthermore, gene expression of the stem cell marker, CD34, was determined from HSCs by isolating single cells using a micromanipulator. This technology has proven to be an effective tool for target cell detection and subsequent cellular analytical research at the single-cell level.
Characterization of the <i>Aspergillus nidulans</i> Monodictyphenone Gene Cluster (2010)

Deletion of cclA, a component of the COMPASS complex of Aspergillus nidulans, results in the production of monodictyphenone and emodin derivatives. Through a set of targeted deletions in a cclA deletion strain, we have identified the genes required for monodictyphenone and emodin analog biosynthesis. Identification of an intermediate, endocrocin, from an mdpHDelta strain suggests that mdpH might encode a decarboxylase. Furthermore, by replacing the promoter of mdpA (a putative aflJ homolog) and mdpE (a putative aflR homolog) with the inducible alcA promoter, we have confirmed that MdpA functions as a coactivator. We propose a biosynthetic pathway for monodictyphenone and emodin derivatives based on bioinformatic analysis and characterization of biosynthetic intermediates.
Thermodynamics of the denaturation of lysozyme in alcohol-water mixtures (1979)

The thermal denaturation of lysozyme was studied at pH 2 in aqueous mixtures of methanol, ethanol, and 1-propanol by high sensitivity differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The most obvious effect of alcohols was the lowering of Td, the temperature of denaturation, increasingly with higher alcohol concentration and longer alkyl chain. Both the calorimetric and van't Hoff enthalpies of denaturation initially increased and then decreased with increasing alcohol concentration, the ratio of the two enthalpies being nearly unity, 1.007 +/- 0.011, indicating the validity of the two-state approximation for the unfolding of lysozyme in these solvent systems. The reversibility of the denaturation was demonstrated by the reversibility of the DSC curves and the complete recovery of enzymic activity on cooling. The changes in heat capacity on unfolding decreased with increasing alcohol concentration for each alcohol. Experimentally determined values of denaturation temperature and of entropy and heat capacity changes were used to derive the additional thermodynamic parameters delta G degrees and delta S degrees for denaturation as a function of temperature for each alcohol--water mixture. Comparison of the thermodynamic parameters with those reported [Pfeil, W., & Privalov, P.L. (1976) Biophys. Chem. 4, 23--50] in aqueous solution at various values of pH and guanidine hydrochloride concentration showed that these latter changes have no effect on the heat capacity changes, whereas the addition of alcohols causes a sharp decrease.
An Intelligent Query System Based on Chinese Short Message Service for Restaurant Recommendation (2007)

With the development of modern communication technology, the mobile communication market has grown impressively in China. China mobile and China Unicom have set up the largest mobile communication networks in the world. Concurrently, the number of Chinese short message service (SMS) user has been increased rapidly in recent 10 years. This huge customer infrastructure means immensurable market potential. The SMS-based restaurant recommendation is one of such services with potential market in China. With the promotion of their living level, more and more Chinese people spend their spare time on exciting trips to experience different custom and culture, especially the splendid catering culture in China. Therefore, they are most interested in where they can enjoy their favorite food while traveling in an unfamiliar city, which brings new commercial opportunities. We develop a SMS-based prototype system to help travelers find suitable restaurants. The architecture of the restaurant recommendation system. We choose SMS as the commutation technique between mobile devices and the restaurant recommendation server. As an unnecessarily advanced technology, SMS provides an agile communication way at a lower price (communication service providers charge for sending a short message much less than connecting a call between different cities in China), and is popular among Chinese people, especially among the youth. The most important feature of this system is the ability to deal with the complexities of Chinese language query. A natural language interface of database query is adopted to simplify the user's interaction with the system. Users can send their special requirements to the restaurant recommendation server in constrained Chinese natural language form. The system then analyzes the words, grammar and semantic content of the message in order to precisely determine the most adequate choice. Moreover, the intelligence of the system is enhanced to meet users' needs. Before returning the results, the server will carry out a knowledge-based reasoning process to find out the restaurants that qualify for supplying user's favorite dishes with appropriate prices. A fuzzy method is introduced to solve the problem of understanding uncertain expressions of human languages, which makes the results of reasoning fit users' requirements more closely. Furthermore, the system will also offer a user the shortest paths to the suitable restaurants if the user's mobile terminal is equipped with GIS/GPS modules. This work provides a new applicable field for mobile devices and improves the intelligence of their services. Its application will provide new opportunities for both users and providers of recommendation service in tourism industries.
A graphical methodology for simulating communication networks (1988)

A novel approach for simulating communication networks is discussed and illustrated with two examples of a token-passing network. The method is based on a graphical representation of the network consisting of three components: topology, nodes, and protocols. The topology and nodes are drawn to a network specification. The protocols are drawn by using Petri nets with some extended features. A simulation model can be automatically generated from this representation. Results of the simulation are compared to those of an analytical model, showing excellent agreement.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">></ETX>
An improved FDTD model for the feeding gap of a thin-wire antenna (1998)

In calculations using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method, the feeding gap of a thin-wire antenna is often modeled by a so-called "one-cell gap" which lets the feeding gap to be one interval of Yee's lattice. This is often inconsistent with the actual situation and it causes error in FDTD calculation results. This work shows that the error due to the one-cell gap model is strongly dependent on the cell size, and we present an improved FDTD model which assumes an infinitesimally narrow feeding gap. We show that the antenna input impedance calculated with the new gap model is barely affected by the cell size and agrees well with the method of moments (MoM) calculation results for an infinitesimal gap. Furthermore, we clarify the dependence of error of a one-cell gap on the cell size on the basis of the proposed model.
On web services UI in user interface generation in standalone applications (2015)

Every production-level software application is like a living organism that changes and evolves throughout its lifecycle. Most of the changes related to application data impact the User Interface (UI). Usually, the change propagation to UI relates to input validations, data consistency as well as the UI behavior. In the case that UI involves data transfer from web services then the provided data format must correlate. This paper presents an approach that involves Model-Driven Development (MDD) to generate platform-independent definitions and provides these definitions to clients through web services. These definitions are generated based on templates, data types, annotations, security and application context using code-inspection. This approach decreases the effort involved in the development phase as well as in maintenance. Next, it prevents data inconsistencies and it makes it possible to specify the client's UI at runtime by the server. We consider the message format, input validation rules, type safety and then evaluate the proposed solution through a prototype and present its abilities, advantages and limitations from the UI perspective. Furthermore, we perform usability tests to determine suitability of the proposed approach for practical usage.
New Methods for the Production of Comfortable Car Seats (1985)

<div class="htmlview paragraph">Molded PUR-Foam has to be considered the cushioning material #1 for car seats today. Worldwide, efforts are made to improve the economics of manufacturing a finished car seat as well as to achieve the best ride support and comfort. Recent developments in these areas will be discussed, putting main emphasis on “foam-in-cover” technologies, “dual hardness seats” and modifications thereof with respect to the related process and resulting seating comfort. <figure id="F1" class="figure"> <div class="graphic-wrapper"><img class="article-figure figure" src="850486_fig0001.jpg" alt="No Caption Available"/></div> </figure> <figure id="F2" class="figure"> <div class="graphic-wrapper"><img class="article-figure figure" src="850486_fig0002.jpg" alt="No Caption Available"/></div> </figure></div>
LRP1 Functions as an Atheroprotective Integrator of TGFβ and PDGF Signals in the Vascular Wall: Implications for Marfan Syndrome (2007)

Our findings are consistent with an activation of TGFbeta signals in the LRP1-deficient vascular wall. LRP1 may function as an integrator of proliferative and anti-proliferative signals that control physiological mechanisms common to the pathogenesis of Marfan syndrome and atherosclerosis, and this is essential for maintaining vascular wall integrity.
Modulation of suppressor cell activities by cyclophosphamide in breast cancer patients (1994)

We investigated the immunomodulatory effect of cyclophosphamide on the induction of suppressor cell activities in peripheral blood lymphocytes. The sera from advanced breast cancer patients as well as concanavalin-A (Con-A) induced suppressor cell activities in lymphocytes from healthy volunteers. Pretreatment of these lymphocytes, including CD4+ T cells with 4-hydroperoxycyclophosphamide (4-HC), an active form of cyclophosphamide, abrogated the induction of suppressor cell activities by either cancer sera or Con-A. A decrease in CD4+CD45RA+ suppressor/inducer T cells and reduction of Con-A induced suppressor cell activities were observed in breast cancer patients with metastases that were treated with cyclophosphamide (CPM). These results suggest that cyclophosphamide may modulate the immune responses of breast cancer patients by interference with suppressor/inducer T cells.
On-line analysis of the TCP acknowledgment delay problem (2001)

We study an on-line problem that is motivated by the networking problem of dynamically adjusting of acknowledgments in the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). We provide a theoretical model for this problem in which the goal is to send acks at a time that minimize a linear combination of the cost for the number of acknowledgments sent and the cost for the additional latency introduced by delaying acknowledgments. To study the usefulness of applying packet arrival time prediction to this problem, we assume there is an oracle that provides the algorithm with the times of the next L arrivals, for some L ≥ 0. We give two different objective functions for measuring the cost of a solution, each with its own measure of latency cost. For each objective function we first give an O(n 2 ) -time dynamic programming algorithm for optimally solving the off-line problem. Then we describe an on-line algorithm that greedily acknowledges exactly when the cost for an acknowledgment is less than the latency cost incurred by not acknowledging. We show that for this algorithm there is a sequence of n packet arrivals for which it is Ω (***)-competitive for the first objective function, 2-competitive for the second function for L = 0, and 1-competitivefor the second function for L = 1. Next we present a second on-line algorithm which is a slight modification of the first, and we prove that it is 2-competitive for both objective functions for all L . We also give lower bounds on the competitive ratio for any deterministic on-line algorithm. These results show that for each objective function, at least one of our algorithms is optimal. Finally, we give some initial empirical results using arrival sequences from real network traffic where we compare the two methods used in TCP for acknowledgment delay with our two on-line algorithms. In all cases we examine performance with L = 0 and L = 1.
The Reality of Brands: Towards an Ontology of Marketing (1999)

The ontology of marketing, particularly the question of what products and brands are, is still largely unexplored. The ontological status of brands hinges on their relationship with products. Idealists about brands see perceptual or cognitive acts of consumers grouped under the heading ‘brand awareness’ or ‘brand image’ as constitutive for the existence of brands so that, in their view, tools of the marketing mix can influence relevant mental dispositions and attitudes. Brand realists, on the other hand, reject the view of brands as mere marks or names and interpret them as emergent products with properties that afford branding in the sense of Gibson’s ecological psychology. Brand strength is a function of the degree to which brands occupy defensible niches in product space. Branding as a process involves changing external or internal boundaries of products. Several arguments are proposed in favor of brand realism. The fragments of an ontology of marketing are developed in a broadly Aristotelian framework. Brand realism has significant implications for a new understanding of issues ranging from the effects of advertising to financial brand valuation, the nature of trademarks, and marketing strategy in general. It permits one to treat brand equity as a real phenomenon not dependent on associations, attitudinal states such as brand loyalty, or spurious constructs such as brand character or personality.
Glue: a deductive database programming language (1992)

A deductive database uses a relational style database to store base tuples, and a variant of first-order logic as a query language. Deductive databases are declarative systems, meaning that the programmer need not (cannot) specify the actual path of execution states. Unfortunately there are many applications that require a knowledge of state, two examples being input-output and database updates. The programmer must be able to specify the order of such operations. Non-declarative operations can be grafted on to a previously declarative language, but these new operations usually do not blend well with the rest of the language.
Glue takes a different approach. If it is necessary to program procedurally, then we should admit it and do a good job of it. Hence Glue is a procedural language for deductive databases. It is designed to complement the purely declarative Nail query language. The two languages combined are sufficient to write a complete application.
Glue was designed to be as close to Nail as possible, therefore minimizing the impedance-mismatch problem. Pseudo-higher order programming is available in both languages, using the Nailog term system. Nailog is a restriction of HiLog. Nailog cleanly handles set-valued attributes.
An optimizing compiler was written, using Prolog and C++. Optimization strategies include relation cardinality analysis, partial unification at compile time, and variations of data flow analysis.
Several test applications were also written, both to test the practical expressiveness of the language, and to provide execution traces for research into optimization. We conclude that medium-scale applications can be written in Glue-Nail, and will run at an acceptable speed.
Purification and characterization of a collagenase extracted from rabbit tumours (1975)

A collagenase was purified from homogenates of V2 ascites-cell carcinoma growing in rabbit muscle. (NH4)2SO4 precipitation, ion-exchange and gel-filtration chromatography, and affinity chromatography (by using the CB7 CNBr) cleavage fragment of α1(I) collagen linked to agarose) gave a 268000-fold purification and a sevenfold increase in total enzyme units recovered. The specific activity, defined as μmol of collagen in solution cleaved/h per mg of enzyme at 35°C, WAS 1.74.2. The collagenase had a broad pH optimum from pH7.0 to 9.5, and a mol.wt. of between 33000 and 35000. It was inhibited by dithiothreitol, L-cysteine, D-penicillamine, EDTA and 1,10-phenanthroline, and by both rabbit and human serum. 3. Removal of cations by a chelating resin (Chelex 100) produced as inactive enzyme that could be reactiviated by the addition of Ca2+ ions at concentrations as low as 1μM. Other bivalent cations were not effective. 4. The purified collagenase cleaved peptides α2 and α1-CB7 (denatured polypeptides of collagen) at 37 degrees C at one site only. [α1 (I)]2α2 and [α1(III)]3 collagens in solution were cleaved at the same site approximately five times more rapidly than [α1 (II)]3. 5. An inhibitor of the enzyme in the tumour extracts, which was dissociable from the enzyme at the (NH4)2SO4 precipitation step of purification, had a mol. wt. of between 40000 and 50000 but was distinct from the α1 trypsin inhibitor. 6. Studies with zonal density-gradient centrifugation suggested that the enzyme was bound to fibrillar substrate (collagen) extracellularly, but that it was not associated with enzymes originating in cell mitochondria, microsomal preparations or lysosomes.
Low-cost and efficient architectural support for correctness and performance debugging (2009)

With rapid growth in computer hardware technologies and architectures, software programs have become increasingly complex and error-prone. This software complexity has resulted in program crashes and even security threats. Correctness Debugging is making sure that the program does not exhibit any unintended behavior at runtime. A fully correct program without good performance does not lend any commercial success to the software product. Performance Debugging ensures good performance on hardware platforms. \n\nA number of prior debugging solutions either suffer from huge performance overheads or incur high implementation costs. We propose low-cost and efficient hardware solutions that target three specific correctness and performance problems, namely, memory debugging, taint propagation and comprehensive cache miss classification. Experiments show that our mechanisms incur low performance overheads and can be designed with minimal changes to existing processor hardware. While architects invest time and resources into designing high-end architectures, we show that it is equally important to incorporate useful debugging features into these processors in order to enhance the ease of use for programmers.
Papeles de POBLACIÓN en sus 50 números (2006)

Americanae nace como un proyecto conjunto que surge dentro de la Red Europea de Información y Documentación sobre América Latina (REDIAL), y que ha afrontado la Biblioteca de la Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo (AECID). Esta nueva biblioteca virtual hace más accesibles los libros digitales de tema americanista a los investigadores y usuarios interesados de cualquier parte del mundo.