Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Improved accuracy for finite element modeling in virtual air gap lenght computation

Virtual airgap offers a promising approach for continuous control of an inductance using embedded DC auxiliary windings that locally saturate the core. Of interest to designers, it can be thought to be equal to a physical airgap length. Compared to experimental data, a previous attempt to calculate equivalent airgap length using FEM provided inaccurate results. In this paper, the factors contributing to the discrepancy are evaluated and it is shown that although neglecting power loss do not cause serious error in the method, considering magnetic anisotropy in the core steel can noticeably improve the accuracy of the approach.
Effect of native and allochthonous arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on Casuarina equisetifolia growth and its root bacterial community

ABSTRACT Exotic trees are often planted to recover degraded lands. Inoculation with mycorrhizal fungi can improve their survival. Plant growth is partly dependent on the strain used, but little attention has been paid to the selection of mycorrhizal fungi. The aim of this study was to determine whether the growth of Casuarina equisetifolia L. (Johnson) is affected by two different mycorrhizal inocula generated using fungal spores retrieved from an Australian site (allochthonous soil) and a Senegalese site (native soil) under C. equisetifolia trees. Comparative experiments were conducted with plants in a Senegalese soil, previously sterilized or not, and grown in a greenhouse. At harvest, parameters related to plant growth and mycorrhization were evaluated and soil bacterial communities were compared. Tree growth was significantly influenced by both types of inoculants. In unsterilized soil, plants inoculated with the native inoculant were taller than plants inoculated with the allochthonous inoculant and control plants. The frequency of mycorrhization with both inoculants was higher in unsterilized soil. The strongest effects of the mycorhizosphere on the soil microbiome were obtained with the allochthonous inoculum, and analysis of the taxonomic composition revealed mycorrhizal communities specific to each inoculum. These results suggest that the development of C. equisetifolia and its root bacterial community are dependent on the composition of the mycorrhizal inoculum. The functional consequences of this rhizosphere effect in terms of soil fertility should be further studied to better guide reforestation operations.
Surface EMG Based Hand Manipulation Identification Via Nonlinear Feature Extraction and Classification

This paper proposes and evaluates methods of nonlinear feature extraction and nonlinear classification to identify different hand manipulations based on surface electromyography (sEMG) signals. The nonlinear measures are achieved based on the recurrence plot to represent dynamical characteristics of sEMG during hand movements. Fuzzy Gaussian Mixture Models (FGMMs) are proposed and employed as a nonlinear classifier to recognise different hand grasps and in-hand manipulations captured from different subjects. Various experiments are conducted to evaluate their performance by comparing 14 individual features, 19 multifeatures and 4 different classifiers. The experimental results demonstrate the proposed nonlinear measures provide important supplemental information and they are essential to the good performance in multifeatures. It is also shown that FGMMs outperform commonly used approaches including Linear Discriminant Analysis, Gaussian Mixture Models and Support Vector Machine in terms of the recognition rate. The best performance with the recognition rate of 96.7% is achieved by using FGMMs with the multifeature combining Willison Amplitude and Determinism.
Patterns of Creative Design: Predicting Ideation From Problem Formulation

The main objective of our research is to understand the role of problem formulation in creative design ideation. To that end, we have used the web-based testbed of the Problem Map (P-map) computational framework which represents designers’ problem formulation in terms of a series of state models, where each state consists of six types of entities in addition to relations within and between different entity types. We gave two design problems to twenty five graduate students in an advanced product design course. We collected their problem formulation data in the P-map testbed and their ideation data through concept sketches. We conducted correlation analysis between variables extracted from the P-maps, and the ideation metrics. We also built regression models for each of the ideation metrics as the dependent variable, and the P-map variables as the independent variables. We used the data from the first problem to predict the ideation scores for the second problem. The predicted results were compared to the actual outcome reported by an independent panel of judges. Models of variety, average and max quality had more accurate predictions while average novelty, average and max quality had statistically more reliable models.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Information Choice and Portfolio Bias in a Dynamic World

Contrary to standard theory, observed portfolios are concentrated in asset classes which comove strongly with the non-financial income of investors – e.g. home bias in equities. As an explanation, I propose a dynamic framework of endogenously generated information asymmetry, where rational agents optimally choose to focus their limited attention on (home) factors that drive both their non-financial income and some of the risky asset payoffs. In turn, the agents concentrate their portfolios in assets driven by those endogenously familiar factors. I build on the existing literature of endogenous information and portfolio choice by considering a dynamic framework. I show that introducing dynamics naturally leads to decreasing returns to information, in contrast to the increasing returns that typically arise in the standard static framework. This is an important distinction, as the decreasing returns are important for an information-based explanation of portfolio concentration that is consistent with the secular decline in the home bias in equities and salient empirical regularities in household-level portfolios. JEL Codes: F3, G11, G15, D8, D83
Cryptic sympatric species across the Australian range of the global estuarine invader Ficopomatus enigmaticus (Fauvel, 1923) (Serpulidae, Annelida)

Ficopomatus enigmaticus (Fauvel, 1923) is a reef-building serpulid polychaete that has invaded estuaries worldwide, causing environmental and economic harm. Although Australia has long been suggested as a place of origin for the species, this remains unclear. We tested for genetic patterns across the range of F. enigmaticus in southern Australia, predicting that if the species is an Australian native, it would show evidence of (east-west) phylogeographic patterns often observed in native marine species in southern Australia. Unexpectedly, concordant patterns from mitochondrial (Cyt B) sequencing and nuclear marker (iSSR) profiles suggested the presence of at least three genetic groups (putative species), not distributed simply as “east” or “west”. Two common (and closely related) groups were present across Australia and were often found together in the same aggregations. A third group was only found in southeast Australia and was morphologically similar to F. uschakovi (Pillai, 1960), a species previously reported from tropical areas. The discovery of multiple cryptic species with overlapping ranges means that more work is needed to resolve whether any of the F. enigmaticus sensu lato group has an Australian origin and to determine how they are related to invasive populations of F. enigmaticus elsewhere.
The Google Similarity Distance

Words and phrases acquire meaning from the way they are used in society, from their relative semantics to other words and phrases. For computers, the equivalent of "society" is "database," and the equivalent of "use" is "a way to search the database". We present a new theory of similarity between words and phrases based on information distance and Kolmogorov complexity. To fix thoughts, we use the World Wide Web (WWW) as the database, and Google as the search engine. The method is also applicable to other search engines and databases. This theory is then applied to construct a method to automatically extract similarity, the Google similarity distance, of words and phrases from the WWW using Google page counts. The WWW is the largest database on earth, and the context information entered by millions of independent users averages out to provide automatic semantics of useful quality. We give applications in hierarchical clustering, classification, and language translation. We give examples to distinguish between colors and numbers, cluster names of paintings by 17th century Dutch masters and names of books by English novelists, the ability to understand emergencies and primes, and we demonstrate the ability to do a simple automatic English-Spanish translation. Finally, we use the WordNet database as an objective baseline against which to judge the performance of our method. We conduct a massive randomized trial in binary classification using support vector machines to learn categories based on our Google distance, resulting in an a mean agreement of 87 percent with the expert crafted WordNet categories
Garside monoids vs divisibility monoids

Divisibility monoids are a natural algebraic generalisation of Mazurkiewicz trace monoids, namely monoids in which the distributivity of the underlying lattices is kept as a hypothesis, but the relations between the generators are not necessarily supposed to be commutations. Garside monoids are a natural algebraic generalisation of spherical Artin monoids, namely monoids in which the existence of common multiples is kept as a hypothesis, but the relations between the generators are not necessarily supposed to be of Coxeter type. Here, we show that the quasi-centre of these monoids can be studied and described in a similar way, and then we exhibit the intersection between the two classes of monoids.
First- and second-order PMD statistical properties of constantly spun randomly birefringent fibers

Polarization-mode dispersion (PMD) causes significant impairment for high bit-rate optical telecommunications systems. It is known that PMD can be strongly reduced by spinning the fiber as it is drawn. In this paper, we focus on the case of randomly birefringent fibers spun at a constant rate, providing analytical expressions for the asymptotic statistical properties of PMD. In particular, we investigate the behavior of the first- and second-order PMD, demonstrating that a constantly spun fiber behaves asymptotically as an unspun fiber. Conversely, we show that the distance at which the PMD reaches its asymptotic trend increases with the spin rate up to lengths of several kilometers.
Purification and Characterization of Cytoplasmic NADP+-Isocitrate Dehydrogenase, and Amplification of the Nadp+-IDH Gene from the Wing-Dimorphic Sand Field Cricket, Gryllus firmus

Abstract Cytoplasmic NADP+-isocitrate dehydrogenase (NADP+-IDH) has been purified and characterized, and its gene sequenced in many animal, plant, and yeast species. However, much less information is available on this enzyme-gene in insects. As a first step in investigating the biochemical and molecular mechanisms by which NADP+-IDH contributes to adaptations for flight vs. reproduction in insects, the enzyme was purified to homogeneity in the wing-dimorphic cricket, Gryllus firmus, characterized, and its corresponding gene sequenced. Using a combination of polyethylene glycol precipitation, Cibacron-Blue affinity chromatography, and hydrophobic interaction chromatography the enzyme was purified 291-fold (7% yield; specific activity = 15.8 µmol NADPH/min/mg protein). The purified enzyme exhibited a single band on SDS PAGE (46.3 kD), but consisted of two N-terminal amino acid sequences that differed in the first two amino acids. Purified enzyme exhibited standard Michaelis-Menten kinetics at pH 8.0 and 28° C (KM(NADP+) = 2.3 ± 0.4 µM; KM(Na+-Isocitrate) = 14.7 + 1.8 µM). Subunit molecular mass and KMS were similar to published values for NADP+-IDHs from a variety of vertebrate and two insect species. PCR amplification of an internal sequence using genomic DNA followed by 3′ and 5′ RACE yielded a nucleotide sequence of the mature protein and translated amino-acid sequences that exhibited high similarity (40–50% and 70–80%, respectively) to sequences from insect and vertebrate NADP+-IDHs. Two potential ATG start codons were identified. Both Nterminal amino-acid sequences matched the nucleotide sequence, consistent with both enzyme forms being transcribed from the same gene, although these variants could also be encoded by different genes. Bioinformatic analyses and differential centrifugation indicated that the majority, if not all, of the enzyme is cytoplasmic. The enzyme exhibited high specific activity in fat body, head and gut, and a single band on native PAGE.
Automatic Face Recognition System Based on Local Fourier-Bessel Feature

We present an automatic face verification system inspired by known properties of biological systems. In the proposed algorithm the whole image is converted from the spatial to polar frequency domain by a Fourier-Bessel Transform (FBT). Using the whole image is compared to the case where only face image regions (local analysis) are considered. The resulting representations are embedded in a dissimilarity space, where each image is represented by its distance to all the other images, and a Pseudo-Fisher discriminator is built. Verification test results on the FERET database showed that the local-based algorithm outperforms the global-FBT version. The local-FBT algorithm performed as state-of-the-art methods under different testing conditions, indicating that the proposed system is highly robust for expression, age, and illumination variations. We also evaluated the performance of the proposed system under strong occlusion conditions and found that it is highly robust for up to 50% of face occlusion. Finally, we automated completely the verification system by implementing face and eye detection algorithms. Under this condition, the local approach was only slightly superior to the global approach.
Biomimetic Navigation Models and Strategies in Animats

This paper describes a hierarchy of four navigation strategies – guidance, place recognitiondtriggered response, topological navigation and metric navigation. Such a hierarchy can be used to categorize models that are inspired by current knowledge about the way animals navigate in their environments. The main mechanisms implemented in each model are described, together with the basic adaptive capacities that the corresponding strategy affords. Because biomimetic models have seldom been implemented in real robots, it is premature to compare their merits with those of traditional engineering solutions to the navigation problem. Nevertheless, the methodological options that such implementations would entail are discussed in the text.
Neuronal Apoptosis Inhibitory Protein is Overexpressed in Patients with Unfavorable Prognostic Factors in Breast Cancer

Neuronal apoptosis inhibitory protein (NAIP) is a recently identified inhibitor of apoptosis protein. However, the clinical relevance of NAIP expression is not completely understood. In an attempt to determine the clinical relevance of NAIP expression in breast cancer, the levels of NAIP and survivin expression were measured in 117 breast cancer samples and 10 normal breast tissues using quantitative reverse-transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. While there was no evidence of NAIP expression in the normal breast tissue, NAIP was expressed in all breast cancer samples. The level of NAIP expression in breast cancer was significantly higher (257 times) than in the universal tumor control. There was a strong correlation between the level of NAIP expression and the level of survivin expression (p=0.001). The level of NAIP expression in patients with a large tumor (≥T2) and patients with an unfavorable histology (nuclear grade III) was significantly higher than in those patients with a small tumor (T1) and patients with a favorable histology (nuclear grade I, II) (p=0.026 and p=0.050, respectively). Although the level of NAIP expression was higher in patients with other unfavorable prognostic factors, it was not significant. The three-year relapse-free survival rate was not significantly the patients showing high NAIP expression and patients showing low NAIP expression (86.47±4.79% vs. 78.74±6.57%). Further studies should include the expressions of NAIP in a larger number of patients and for a longer period of follow-up to evaluate correlation with metastasis and treatment outcome. In conclusion, NAIP is overexpressed in breast cancer patients with unfavorable clinical features such as stage and tumor size, suggesting that NAIP would play a role in the disease manifestation.
A Comparison of Logic Programming Approaches for Representation and Solving of Constraint Satisfaction Problems

Many logic programming based approaches can be used to describe and solve combinatorial search problems. On the one hand there are definite programs and constraint logic programs that compute a solution as an answer substitution to a query containing the variables of the constraint satisfaction problem. On the other hand there are approaches based on stable model semantics, abduction, and first-order logic model generation that compute solutions as models of some theory. This paper compares these different approaches from point of view of knowledge representation (how declarative are the programs) and from point of view of performance (how good are they at solving typical problems).
High-Resolution Ultrasound in Evaluation of Peripheral Neuropathy in Patients of Hansen’s Disease

Introduction: Hansen’s disease (HD) is a major public health problem in developing countries. It causes peripheral neuropathy, and if left untreated, it leads to deformities. It is important to diagnose such cases early, and prompt treatment should be given to patients to preserve nerve function. Materials and Methods: A total of 40 patients with HD who were already on multi-drug therapy (MDT) or treatment-naive were included in this study. These were clinically diagnosed cases of HD as per the Ridley–Jopling classification, and these patients were subjected to high-resolution ultrasonography (HRUS). A total of 19 controls were also included. The patients were clinically evaluated, and HRUS of bilateral ulnar nerves (UNs) was performed in all cases and controls. The other peripheral nerves, if clinically thickened, were evaluated using HRUS. Results: The cross-sectional area (CSA) of the UN in cases was significantly thickened as compared to controls. There was no difference in the CSA of patients on MDT as compared to treatment naïve patients. In two patients with pure neuritic HD, the clinical examination missed the bilateral nerve enlargement, and only unilateral nerve thickening was clinically appreciated. However, bilateral thickening was detected on HRUS. Conclusion: HRUS is a non-invasive and sensitive diagnostic tool that gives significant information on nerve structure and morphology. HRUS adds a new dimension to diagnosing HD, particularly the pure neuritic type, with the assessment of early nerve damage, which can prevent disabilities. HRUS is an objective diagnostic tool that can complement the clinical examination.
The Striatal Balancing Act in Drug Addiction: Distinct Roles of Direct and Indirect Pathway Medium Spiny Neurons

The striatum plays a key role in mediating the acute and chronic effects of addictive drugs, with drugs of abuse causing long-lasting molecular and cellular alterations in both dorsal striatum and nucleus accumbens (ventral striatum). Despite the wealth of research on the biological actions of abused drugs in striatum, until recently, the distinct roles of the striatum’s two major subtypes of medium spiny neurons (MSNs) in drug addiction remained elusive. Recent advances in cell-type-specific technologies, including fluorescent reporter mice, transgenic, or knockout mice, and viral-mediated gene transfer, have advanced the field toward a more comprehensive understanding of the two MSN subtypes in the long-term actions of drugs of abuse. Here we review progress in defining the distinct molecular and functional contributions of the two MSN subtypes in mediating addiction.
The sclera, the prion, and the ophthalmologist

Prions have emerged in the past 5 years as serious transmissible infective agents. Ocular tissue transplantation has come under scrutiny after potential infected tissue was transplanted into healthy patients. In this review we examine the evidence for the risk of transmission of prions after scleral transplantation and explore alternative materials that may be used in ocular surgery.
THEORY An ecological illustration of dynamical interactions characterized by lags

The hypothesis that population pressure causes increased warfare has been recently criticized on the empirical grounds. Both studies focusing on specific historical societies and analyses of cross-cultural data fail to find positive correlation between population density and incidence of warfare. In this paper we argue that such negative results do not falsify the population-warfare hypothesis. Population and warfare are dynamical variables, and if their interaction causes sustained oscillations, then we do not in general expect to find strong correlation between the two variables measured at the same time (that is, unlagged). We explore mathematically what the dynamical patterns of interaction between population and warfare (focusing on internal warfare) might be in both stateless and state societies. Next, we test the model predictions in several empirical case studies: early modern England, Han and Tang China, and the Roman Empire. Our empirical results support the population-warfare theory: we find that there is a tendency for population numbers and internal warfare intensity to oscillate with the same period but shifted in phase (with warfare peaks following population peaks). Furthermore, the rates of change of the two variables behave precisely as predicted by the theory: population rate of change is negatively affected by warfare intensity, while warfare rate of change is positively affected by population density. PETER TURCHIN is Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA ANDREY KOROTAYEV is Professor and Head of the “Anthropology of the Orient” Program, Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow, Russia. Currently (until June 1, 2004) he is a Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ.
Trainable Methods for Surface Natural Language Generation

We present three systems for surface natural language generation that are trainable from annotated corpora. The first two systems, called NLG1 and NLG2, require a corpus marked only with domainspecific semantic attributes, while the last system, called NLG3, requires a corpus marked with both semantic attributes and syntactic dependency information. All systems attempt to produce a grammatical natural language phrase from a domain-specific semantic representation. NLG1 serves a baseline system and uses phrase frequencies to generate a whole phrase in one step, while NLG2 and NLG3 use maximum entropy probability models to individually generate each word in the phrase. The systems NLG2 and NLG3 learn to determine both the word choice and the word order of the phrase. We present experiments in which we generate phrases to describe flights in the air travel domain.