gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Robust and interoperable fingerprint spoof detection via convolutional neural networks (2016)

Fingerprint recognition for automated border control and other high-security applications needs robust integrated anti-spoofing capability. Facing the threat of presentation attacks, two key challenges to be solved are sensor interoperability and robustness versus new fabrication materials. This paper proposes convolutional neural networks for this task and presents an exhaustive comparison on latest LivDet 2011 and 2013 databases. Apart from classical classification nets, also metric-based deep siamese networks are evaluated learning a distance metric enforcing live-spoof pairs to be of higher distance than live-live pairs. This is useful for attended enrollment scenarios where a live gallery image is available (e.g. trusted-source fingerprint reference on the passport chip). Experiments reveal remarkable accuracy for all Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) CaffeNet (96.5%), GoogLeNet (96.6%), Siamese (93.1%), good material robustness (max. 5.6% diff.) but weak sensor-interoperability.
Iterative Spline approximation for high quality image data compression (1987)

This paper presents a method of compressing digital image data under the condition that compressed data keep prescribed fidelity, and of reconstructing a image at high speed from the compressed data. Compression rate varies automatically with complexity of texture of original image and with prescribed fidelity of reconstructed image. In experiments, compression rate of a girl's face is 33% and that of a car is 79% under the condition where we hardly notice the difference between original images and reconstructed images. The present, method is classified into three stages: (1) extracting the intervals which is suitable for functional approximation, (2) approximating the extracted intervals by quadratic spline functions in least square rule, and storing B-spline coefficients as compressed image data, and (3) reconstructing an image at high speed by using the merit of equispaced knots.
Identification and genome organization of saponin pathway genes from a wild crucifer, and their use for transient production of saponins in <i>Nicotiana benthamiana</i> (2015)

The ability to evolve novel metabolites has been instrumental for the defence of plants against antagonists. A few species in the Barbarea genus are the only crucifers known to produce saponins, some of which make plants resistant to specialist herbivores, like Plutella xylostella, the diamondback moth. Genetic mapping in Barbarea vulgaris revealed that genes for saponin biosynthesis are not clustered but are located in different linkage groups. Using co-location with quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for resistance, transcriptome and genome sequences, we identified two 2,3-oxidosqualene cyclases that form the major triterpenoid backbones. LUP2 mainly produces lupeol, and is preferentially expressed in insect-susceptible B. vulgaris plants, whereas LUP5 produces β-amyrin and α-amyrin, and is preferentially expressed in resistant plants; β-amyrin is the backbone for the resistance-conferring saponins in Barbarea. Two loci for cytochromes P450, predicted to add functional groups to the saponin backbone, were identified: CYP72As co-localized with insect resistance, whereas CYP716As did not. When B. vulgaris sapogenin biosynthesis genes were transiently expressed by CPMV-HT technology in Nicotiana benthamiana, high levels of hydroxylated and carboxylated triterpenoid structures accumulated, including oleanolic acid, which is a precursor of the major resistance-conferring saponins. When the B. vulgaris gene for sapogenin 3-O-glucosylation was co-expressed, the insect deterrent 3-O-oleanolic acid monoglucoside accumulated, as well as triterpene structures with up to six hexoses, demonstrating that N. benthamiana further decorates the monoglucosides. We argue that saponin biosynthesis in the Barbarea genus evolved by a neofunctionalized glucosyl transferase, whereas the difference between resistant and susceptible B. vulgaris chemotypes evolved by different expression of oxidosqualene cyclases (OSCs).
Benefits of Coherent Low-IF for Vital Signs Monitoring Using Doppler Radar (2014)

Homodyne receiver systems have been used extensively in wireless life signs monitoring applications. The main advantage of a homodyne system is range correlation resulting in cancellation of the oscillator phase noise. However, direct down-conversion to dc and the subsequent baseband amplification circuit will introduce additional flicker noise to the signal. Physiological signals have significant content around dc that will make them susceptible to 1/f noise. A coherent low-IF system is applied to solve this problem. This architecture has the range correlation benefits of the homodyne system, while minimizing the baseband flicker noise. Measurements on a mechanical target and a human subject demonstrate a signal-to-noise ratio improvement of 7 dB, which can increase the range of operation by 50%. Measurements on a human subject have demonstrated low-IF heart rate detection with a root-mean-square error of less than 0.8 beats/min at a distance of almost 3 m with transmit power of 0.1 mW, whereas direct conversion architecture output completely failed in this case.
Transparent result caching (1997)

The goal of this work is to develop a general framework for transparently managing the interactions and dependencies among input files, development tools, and output files. By unobtrusively monitoring the execution of unmodified programs, we are able to track process lineage---each process&apos;s parent, children, input files, and output files, and file dependency---for each file, the sequence of operations and the set of input files used to create the file. We use this information to implement Transparent Result Caching (TREC) and describe how TREC is used to build a number of useful user utilities. Unmake allows users to query TREC for file lineage information, including the full sequence of programs executed to create a particular output file. Transparent Make uses TREC to automatically generate dependency information by observing program execution, freeing end users from the need to explicitly specify dependency information (i.e., Makefiles can be replaced by shell scripts). Dynamic We...
BER Analysis of Cooperative Systems in Free-Space Optical Networks (2009)

Free-space optical (FSO) communication suffers from several challenges in practical deployment; the major of them is fading or scintillation. To overcome such limitations, spatial diversity based on MIMO techniques has been proposed for FSO systems. User cooperation diversity is a new form of spatial diversity which is introduced to overcome some limitations of MIMO structures. Although the promising effects of cooperative transmission in RF communications have greatly been considered so far, there have been a few notable research on cooperative diversity in FSO. In this paper, we first consider a 3-way FSO communication setup, in which the cooperative protocol can be applied to achieve the spatial diversity without much increase in hardware, compared to their regular transmission. Then, we introduce different cooperative strategies and investigate their bit error rate (BER) performance in the presence of shot noise, using the photon-count method. We compare the results with those of the direct path link (non-cooperative scheme) and the two transmitters case, which are the upper and lower bounds on the BER of the cooperative scheme, respectively. The results illustrate the advantages of cooperation under a number of different scenarios for realistic SNRs.
Precise tip shape transformation of nanopillars for enhanced dry adhesion strength (2012)

We present a simple, yet robust, technique for controlling the tip geometry of nanopillars by utilizing a two-step process of partial photopolymerization of UV-curable polyurethane acrylate (PUA) resin and subsequent tip shape modification. With this technique, head structures of nanopillars were precisely transformed from hemispherical to protruding, mushroom-like tips without any loss in structural integrity of the nanopillars. Nanoscopic and macroscopic adhesion measurements for angled nanopillars with modified tips demonstrated that mushroom-like structures fabricated by our approach could greatly enhance adhesion strengths as compared to unmodified, round head structures. Also, directional adhesion characteristics of angled nanopillars were maintained regardless of tip shapes.
Ultra low power digital signal processing (2002)

The explosive growth of portable wireless devices has elevated power consumption to be one of the most critical design parameters. This paper presents several techniques to implement DSP functions with the lowest possible power consumption. Since power is consumed only when capacitance is being switched, power can be reduced by minimizing this capacitance through operation reduction, choice of data representation, exploitation of spatial and temporal signal correlations, re-synchronization to minimize glitching, and logic, circuit and physical design. Aggressive voltage scaling to 1 V and below through circuit and architecture optimization is the key to low-power design. A systems approach to low-power design can result in orders of magnitude power reduction.
Optimized linear receivers and power allocation for two Multi-User MIMO downlink schemes with linear precoding (2010)

In this paper, we propose some ameliorations and a comparison of linear closed form precoding techniques for Multi-User MIMO (MU-MIMO) systems. In fact, the sum-rate, one of the most important parameters in the design of communication systems, is analysed through the study of two existing linear precoding schemes. These schemes are the PU-MMSE precoder named PU-MMSE and the Max SJNR scheme (Signal to Jamming plus Noise ratio). Two major improvements are introduced to the existing algorithms in order to increase the throughput of the system. The first modification consists in proposing an alternate receiver namely an MMSE receiver to enhance the performance. The second modification consists in introducing a power optimization involving a user selection procedure at the transmitter. Finally, these improvements have been validated by means of simulations. Indeed, important performance improvements are obtained thanks to these modifications. Moreover, this allows us to perform a comparison of these two linear precoding techniques. The comparision demonstrates that the SJNR precoder is offering better system throughputs than the PU-MMSE precoder.
Broken-Gap Tunnel MOSFET: A Constant-Slope Sub-60-mV/decade Transistor (2011)

We propose a novel low-power transistor device, called the broken-gap tunnel MOSFET (BG-TMOS), which is capable of achieving constant sub-60-mV/decade inverse subthreshold slopes S at room temperature. Structurally, the device resembles an ungated broken-gap heterostructure Esaki region in series with a conventional MOSFET. The gate voltage independence of the energy spacing between the conduction and valence bands at the heterojunction is the key to producing a constant S <; 60 mV/decade, which can be tuned by properly engineering the material composition at this interface. In contrast to the tunneling field-effect transistor, the tunnel junction in the BG-TMOS is independent of the electrostatics in the channel region, enabling the use of 2-D architectures for improved current drive without degradation of S -attractive features from a circuit design perspective. Simulations show that the BG-TMOS can exceed MOSFET performance at low supply voltages.
PEDOT–CNT Composite Microelectrodes for Recording and Electrostimulation Applications: Fabrication, Morphology, and Electrical Properties (2012)

Composites of carbon nanotubes and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene, PEDOT) and layers of PEDOT are deposited onto microelectrodes by electropolymerization of ethylenedioxythiophene in the presence of a suspension of carbon nanotubes and polystyrene sulfonate. Analysis by FIB and SEM demonstrates that CNT-PEDOT composites exhibit a porous morphology whereas PEDOT layers are more compact. Accordingly, capacitance and charge injection capacity of the composite material exceed those of pure PEDOT layers. In vitro cell culture experiments reveal excellent biocompatibility and adhesion of both PEDOT and PEDOT-CNT electrodes. Signals recorded from heart muscle cells demonstrate the high S/N ratio achievable with these electrodes. Long-term pulsing experiments confirm stability of charge injection capacity. In conclusion, a robust fabrication procedure for composite PEDOT-CNT electrodes is demonstrated and results show that these electrodes are well suited for stimulation and recording in cardiac and neurophysiological research.
Evaluation of Lipid-coated Microbubbles As a Delivery Vehicle for Taxol in Brain Tumor Therapy (1997)

Both in vitro and in vivo data indicate that Taxol can be incorporated into LCM, can be delivered to the tumor site, and can exert a measurable antitumor biological effect.
The Foraminifera of the Haslam, Qualicum, and Trent River Formations, Vancouver Island, British Columbia (1974)

ABSTRACT Sixty-eight species of Foraminifera, and one species of problematical organism, are described from the Haslam, Qualicum, and Trent River formations of Vancouver Island (Santonian - Early Campanian). A new species is described for each of the genera Hagenowina, Cyclogyra, Lenticulina and Bullopora?, and a new species Mammilla hemispherica is erected for the problematical organism. High values of faunal diversity and calcareous benthic/agglutinated ratio are treated as indicating relatively deep neritic water, whereas low values indicate shallow neritic water. On this basis the Foraminifera are listed in order of increasing water-depth, and a paleogeographic reconstruction is made which indicates that, where the mountainous core of Vancouver Island now exists, there was at this time a landmass with a seaway in the region of the Strait of Georgia, and that two headlands projected northward from this landmass into the seaway -- thus causing the threefold geographic division of the sediments into Haslam, Qualicum, and Trent River formations.
An on-line evaluation system for optical see-through augmented reality (2004)

This work introduces a technique that allows final users to evaluate and recalibrate their AR system as frequently as needed. We developed an interactive game as a prototype for such evaluation system and explain how this technique can be implemented to be used in real life.
Nonparametric Density Estimation: Toward Computational Tractability (2003)

Density estimation is a core operation of virtually all probabilistic learning methods (as opposed to discriminative methods). Approaches to density estimation can be divided into two principal classes, parametric methods, such as Bayesian networks, and nonparametric methods such as kernel density estimation and smoothing splines. While neither choice should be universally preferred for all situations, a well-known benefit of nonparametric methods is their ability to achieve estimation optimality for ANY input distribution as more data are observed, a property that no model with a parametric assumption can have, and one of great importance in exploratory data analysis and mining where the underlying distribution is decidedly unknown. To date, however, despite a wealth of advanced underlying statistical theory, the use of nonparametric methods has been limited by their computational intractibility for all but the smallest datasets. In this paper, we present an algorithm for kernel density estimation, the chief nonparametric approach, which is dramatically faster than previous algorithmic approaches in terms of both dataset size and dimensionality. Furthermore, the algorithm provides arbitrarily tight accuracy guarantees, provides anytime convergence, works for all common kernel choices, and requires no parameter tuning. The algorithm is an instance of a new principle of algorithm design: multi-recursion, or higher-order divide-and-conquer.
Ignition and Combustion Characterization of Nano-Al-AP and Nano-Al-CuO-AP Micro-sized Composites Produced by Electrospray Technique (2015)

Metal powders such as aluminum nanoparticles (Al NPs) have been found huge potential as reactive additives to highly increase energy density in various energetic systems such as propellants, explosives and pyrotechnics. However, it is suffering issues of agglomeration and post-combustion aggregates, which largely reduce the energy utilization efficiency and the energy release rate. One option to eliminate this disadvantage is to coat the nanoparticles with gas generator which can produce gas to prevent the sintering. This work use electrospray technique to assemble Al NPs and Al-CuO NPs into microparticles, with coating of gas generator-ammonium perchlorate (AP) to produce gas to prevent possible sintering, thus obtaining a highly reactive Al-based composites. The Al/CuO NPs composites are ignited in a confined cell to measure its combustion pressure history. The peak pressure and the pressurization rate of Al/CuO/AP is more than 3X higher and faster, compared to the physically mixed Al/CuO nanothermite. This work provides an ideal approach to prepare Al NPs based energetic materials such as solid propellant or solid fuel air explosives.
Purification and characterization of group A streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxin type C (1977)

Group A streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxin (SPE) type C was partially purified by differential solubility in ethanol and acetate-buffered saline. Toxin prepared in this way consisted of protein and hyaluronic acid. After removal of hyaluronic acid, the toxin remained pyrogenic, enhanced susceptibility of rabbits to letahl endotoxin shock, was stable when treated with acid, base, or pepsin, but was inactivated by heat. Toxin further purified by thin-layer isoelectric focusing was pyrogenic and enhanced the susceptibility of rabbits to lethal endotoxin shock. Purified type C toxin appeared homogeneous when tested by Ouchterlony immunodiffusion and migrated as a single protein band in isoelectric focusing polyacrylamide gels (isoelectric point, 6.7) and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels (molecular weight, 13,200). The purified toxin was antigenically distinct from A and B SPE, and antisera raised against the purified toxin neutralized pyrogenic activity. The amino acid composition was determined.
Methicillin-resistant<i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>(MRSA) in food production animals (2010)

Until recently, reports on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in food production animals were mainly limited to occasional detections in dairy cattle mastitis. However, since 2005 a MRSA clone, CC398, has been reported colonizing pigs, veal calves and broiler chickens and infecting dairy cows. Many aspects of its prevalence in pigs remain unclear. In other livestock, colonizing capacity and reservoir status still require elucidation. MRSA CC398 has also been detected in meat, but, as for other MRSA, the risk this poses is somewhat unclear. Currently, the most worrying aspect of MRSA CC398 appears to be its capacity to spread to humans. This might complicate MRSA control measures in human healthcare, urging research into risk factors and transmission routes. Although infections with MRSA CC398 are much less reported than carriage, more investigation into its pathogenic potential is required. Moreover, the origin and evolution of this clone remain unknown.
Glucose and Tolbutamide Induce Apoptosis in Pancreatic β-Cells (1998)

High concentrations of glucose are considered to be toxic for the pancreatic beta-cell. However, the mechanisms underlying beta-cell dysfunction and resulting cell death are not fully characterized. In the present study we have demonstrated that incubation of pancreatic islets and beta-cells from ob/ob mice and Wistar rats with glucose induced a process of apoptotic beta-cell death, as shown by DNA laddering, TdT-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end-labeling (TUNEL) technique, and by using DNA-staining dye HOECHST 33342. The obtained results show that the percentage of apoptotic cells was dependent on glucose concentration, being minimal at 11 mM glucose. At a concentration of 100 microM, aurintricarboxylic acid, an inhibitor of endonuclease activity, almost completely inhibited apoptosis triggered by 17 mM glucose. We have also shown that long term incubation with 100 microM sulfonylurea, tolbutamide, triggered apoptosis in pancreatic beta-cells. The process of beta-cell death induced by high glucose concentration and tolbutamide were Ca2+-dependent, because introduction to the culture medium of 50 microM D-600 or 200 microM diazoxide, which blocked glucose- and tolbutamide-induced [Ca2+]i increase, inhibited apoptosis. Thus, this study shows for the first time that high glucose concentrations and tolbutamide induce apoptosis in pancreatic beta-cells, and that this process is Ca2+-dependent.
Design of a 28 V-to-300 V/12 kW Multicell Interleaved Flyback Converter Using Intercell Transformers (2010)

A low-input voltage high-power realization is presented with the aim to demonstrate the feasibility and the interest of topologies using intercell transformer. They constitute a promising option to interleave converter stages, and therefore, can answer to the specifications considered in this paper. These specifications require a galvanic insulation and the chosen topology is the Intercell Transformer (ICT) flyback converter, previously proposed by the authors. In a first part, the operating principle of the ICT flyback converter is recalled. The second part presents briefly the main features of the intercell transformer design, more precisely described in a previous paper. This part includes a discussion about the choice of the cell number. The last part presents the design and the implementation of the complete flyback converter using eight cells. A preliminary work concerns the choice, the design, and the test of each cell elements, mainly the transformer and the primary switching stage. In the end, the experimental results are presented and discussed. They demonstrate the potential of this original topology that needs only one level of magnetic components. Considering the suitability of the converter interleaving for the high-power-low-voltage applications, the ICT flyback converter constitutes a good candidate in that field.
Seeing the Forest for the Trees in CERCLA Liability (1993)

The determination of CERCLA liability for corporate subsidiaries, individual corporate actors, lenders, and others who do not actually own or operate a hazardous waste site has proven to be a particularly vexing problem. Cases dealing with these categories of individuals or companies present different fact patterns and have, for the most part, each been subject to a separate analysis for liability. Thus, for example, one finds that cases involving corporate actor liability are based on the case law concerning corporate actors, and cases involving lender liability are based on the case law for this category of individual or institution. The result is a confusing array of separate liability rules for corporate subsidiaries, individual corporate actors, lenders, and other involved parties. By surveying all these categories of liability cases, the authors demonstrate that the confusion is replaced by the revelation that general liability principles, do, in fact, exist. First, CERCLA liability extends to those who directly manage the general business operations. Second, liability will reach all those who assume and exercise responsibility for handling hazardous substances. Analyzing the case law from the standpoint of these two principles will demystify the subject of CERCLA liability and provide greater certainty for all parties who face the potential risk of liability under the statute.