Motion estimation and CABAC VLSI co-processors for real-time high-quality H.264/AVC video coding

Real-time and high-quality video coding is gaining a wide interest in the research and industrial community for different applications. H.264/AVC, a recent standard for high performance video coding, can be successfully exploited in several scenarios including digital video broadcasting, high-definition TV and DVD-based systems, which require to sustain up to tens of Mbits/s. To that purpose this paper proposes optimized architectures for H.264/AVC most critical tasks, Motion estimation and context adaptive binary arithmetic coding. Post synthesis results on sub-micron CMOS standard-cells technologies show that the proposed architectures can actually process in real-time 720 × 480 video sequences at 30 frames/s and grant more than 50 Mbits/s. The achieved circuit complexity and power consumption budgets are suitable for their integration in complex VLSI multimedia systems based either on AHB bus centric on-chip communication system or on novel Network-on-Chip (NoC) infrastructures for MPSoC (Multi-Processor System on Chip

General models of Einstein gravity with a non-Newtonian weak-field limit

We investigate Einstein theories of gravity, coupled to a scalar field \vphi and point-like matter, which are characterized by a scalar field-dependent matter coupling function e^{H(\vphi)}. We show that under mild constraints on the form of the potential for the scalar field, there are a broad class of Einstein-like gravity models -characterized by the asymptotic behavior of H- which allow for a non-Newtonian weak-field limit with the gravitational potential behaving for large distances as ln r. The Newtonian term GM/r appears only as sub-leading. We point out that this behavior is also shared by gravity models described by f(R) Lagrangians. The relevance of our results for the building of infrared modified theories of gravity and for modified Newtonian dynamics is also discussed.Comment: 9 page

Combined GW and dynamical mean field theory: Dynamical screening effects in transition metal oxides

We present the first dynamical implementation of the combined GW and dynamical mean field scheme ("GW+DMFT") for first principles calculations of the electronic properties of correlated materials. The application to the ternary transition metal oxide SrVO3 demonstrates that this schemes inherits the virtues of its two parent theories: a good description of the local low energy correlation physics encoded in a renormalized quasi-particle band structure, spectral weight transfer to Hubbard bands, and the physics of screening driven by long-range Coulomb interactions. Our data is in good agreement with available photoemission and inverse photoemission spectra; our analysis leads to a reinterpretation of the commonly accepted "three-peak structure" as originating from orbital effects rather than from the electron addition peak within the t2g manifold.Comment: replaced with published version (6 pages, 3 figures); first version was submitted to PRL on June 19, 201

How to frame the governance dimension of social innovation: theoretical considerations and empirical evidence

Social innovation approach has been increasingly used by governments in delivery of public services, since the development of more and more complex societal challenges requires the establishment of new multi-actor implementation structures and arrangements. More recently, a call for a more robust analytical framework emerged in order to enable evaluation of the growing number and types of socially innovative practices implemented in different European contexts. This article takes up this challenge by assuming the governance perspective on social innovation, i.e. the establishment of new implementation arrangements in relations between the public and non-profit sectors. Drawing on the public governance literature, the article describes a three-step methodology with which to design and implement socially innovative oriented governance, and it illustrates an empirical application to the issue of refugee integration. The article argues that the proposed methodology is suitable both for assessing if and to what extent civil society organizations are actually involved in horizontal and cooperative relations with public actors when new implementation tasks are required, and for guiding scholars and practitioners in investigating what should be improved to achieve socially innovative governance within a public policy process

Institutionalizing innovation in welfare local services through co-production: toward a Neo-Weberian state?

Innovative practices based on the involvement of citizens as co-producers of welfare local services have been increasingly adopted by the public sector to effectively tackle emerging social problems. Despite the development in the literature on this subject, recent studies still do not clearly indicate which are the challenges for the institutionalization of such practices. By applying a governance lens to the analysis of co-production of local public services, this article aims to contribute to bridging this gap through the empirical analysis of the childcare experience in four European cities. More in detail, it debates the concepts of co-production and innovation in public service delivery within the context of the different waves of public administration reforms; and it investigates how three different sets of conditions – namely, state support and capacity; organizational cultures which support innovation; and integration with facilitative technologies – integrate to facilitate or hinder the institutionalization of co-production initiatives. The findings show that the enabling role of the state actor is a sine qua non to guarantee an institutionalization of these practices, particularly concerning the promotion of trust-building processes. Doing so, the article contributes to the international debate about the possible co-existing of the paradigms of public administration that are arising in the last decades to remedy the problems with the New Public Management; and it provides professionals working in public management and administration with key policy recommendations for the elaboration of new governance systems for the provision of social and welfare services

Understanding social innovation in refugee integration: actors, practices, politics in Europe

The so-called ' refugee crisis ' marked a crucial juncture in migration governance across Europe. Policy-makers and local communities face the challenge of receiving and integrating migrants (often in extremely vulnerable conditions) in a context of poor governance arrangements and rising skepticism, or even hostility. In the light of such a complex scenario, this special issue explores social innovation as a promising approach to refugee integration. Socially innovative practices are indeed based on the active engagement of policy-makers and assorted stakeholders-including target groups through co-creation. In the realm of asylum policies, social innovation can thus facilitate the meeting of refugees ' needs as well as the benevolence of receiving communities, ultimately strengthening social cohesion in regions of settlement. Families hosting migrants at home, community-based cooperatives, and self-managed social spaces are all instances of socially innovative practices that are often initiated by non-state actors but that might be upscaled and transformed into fully fledged public policies-especially by policy-makers at the local and regional levels. The special issue will focus on labor, housing, and social integration of refugees (especially in the stages after their first reception) in the context of Central European cities and regions. The purpose is to develop conceptual tools for evaluating and designing socially innovative practices that might ultimately improve the social innovation capacity of local and regional governments. As the ' social innovation ' concept risks to be ambiguous, the special issue will also allow researchers to develop a set of empirically grounded indicators for measuring social innovation capacity-especially based on the analysis of best practices that can be upscaled and replicated through mutual learning

Resonating Valence Bond wave function with molecular orbitals: application to first-row molecules

We introduce a method for accurate quantum chemical calculations based on a simple variational wave function, defined by a single geminal that couples all the electrons into singlet pairs, combined with a real space correlation factor. The method uses a constrained variational optimization, based on an expansion of the geminal in terms of molecular orbitals. It is shown that the most relevant non-dynamical correlations are correctly reproduced once an appropriate number n of molecular orbitals is considered. The value of n is determined by requiring that, in the atomization limit, the atoms are described by Hartree-Fock Slater determinants with Jastrow correlations. The energetics, as well as other physical and chemical properties, are then given by an efficient variational approach based on standard quantum Monte Carlo techniques. We test this method on a set of homonuclear (Be2, B2, C2, N2, O2, and F2) and heteronuclear (LiF, and CN) dimers for which strong non-dynamical correlations and/or weak van der Waals interactions are present

Correlation effects in quasi one dimensional electron wires

We explore the role of electron correlation in quasi one dimensional quantum wires as the range of the interaction potential is changed and their thickness is varied by performing exact quantum Monte Carlo simulations at various electronic densities. In the case of unscreened interactions with a long range 1/x tail there is a crossover from a liquid to a quasi Wigner crystal state as the density decreases. When this interaction is screened, quasi long range order is prevented from forming, although a significant correlation with 4 k_F periodicity is still present at low densities. At even lower electron concentration, exchange is suppressed and the spin-dependent interactions become negligible, making the electrons behave like spinless fermions. We show that this behavior is shared by the long range and screened interactions by studying the spin and charge excitations of the system in both cases. Finally, we study the effect of electron correlations in the double quantum wire experiment [Steinberg et al., Phys. Rev. B 77, 113307 (2006)], by introducing an accurate model for the screening in the experiment and explicitly including the finite length of the system in our simulations. We find that decreasing the electron density drives the system from a liquid to a state with quite strong 4 k_F correlations. This crossover takes place around $20 \mu m^{-1}$, the density where the electron localization occurs in the experiment. The charge and spin velocities are also in remarkable agreement with the experimental findings in the proximity of the crossover. We argue that correlation effects play an important role at the onset of the localization transition.Comment: minor improvements, 13 pages, 12 figure

Familial hypercholesterolemia: The Italian Atherosclerosis Society Network (LIPIGEN)

Primary dyslipidemias are a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by abnormal levels of circulating lipoproteins. Among them, familial hypercholesterolemia is the most common lipid disorder that predisposes for premature cardiovascular disease. We set up an Italian nationwide network aimed at facilitating the clinical and genetic diagnosis of genetic dyslipidemias named LIPIGEN (LIpid TransPort Disorders Italian GEnetic Network)