Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Source localization in reverberant environments: modeling and statistical analysis

Room reverberation is typically the main obstacle for designing robust microphone-based source localization systems. The purpose of the paper is to analyze the achievable performance of acoustical source localization methods when room reverberation is present. To facilitate the analysis, we apply well known results from room acoustics to develop a simple but useful statistical model for the room transfer function. The properties of the statistical model are found to correlate well with results from real data measurements. The room transfer function model is further applied to analyze the statistical properties of some existing methods for source localization. In this respect we consider especially the asymptotic error variance and the probability of an anomalous estimate. A noteworthy outcome of the analysis is that the so-called PHAT time-delay estimator is shown to be optimal among a class of cross-correlation based time-delay estimators. To verify our results on the error variance and the outlier probability we apply the image method for simulation of the room transfer function.
A Review of Intelligent Walking Support Robots: Aiding Sit-to-Stand Transition and Walking

Nowadays, numerous countries are facing the challenge of aging population. Additionally, the number of people with reduced mobility due to physical illness is increasing. In response to this issue, robots used for walking assistance and sit-to-stand (STS) transition have been introduced in nursing to assist these individuals with walking. Given the shared characteristics of these robots, this paper collectively refers to them as Walking Support Robots (WSR). Additionally, service robots with assisting functions have been included in the scope of this review. WSR are a crucial element of modern nursing assistants and have received significant research attention. Unlike passive walkers that require much user’s strength to move, WSR can autonomously perceive the state of the user and environment, and select appropriate control strategies to assist the user in maintaining balance and movement. This paper offers a comprehensive review of recent literature on WSR, encompassing an analysis of structure design, perception methods, control strategies and safety & comfort features. In conclusion, it summarizes the key findings, current challenges and discusses potential future research directions in this field.
Biomedical Ontologies in Action: Role in Knowledge Management, Data Integration and Decision Support

Summary Objectives To provide typical examples of biomedical ontologies in action, emphasizing the role played by biomedical ontologies in knowledge management, data integration and decision support. MethodsBiomedical ontologies selected for their practical impact are examined from a functional perspective. Examples of applications are taken from operational systems and the biomedical literature, with a bias towards recent journal articles. Results The ontologies under investigation in this survey include SNOMED CT, the Logical Observation Identifiers, Names, and Codes (LOINC), the Foundational Model of Anatomy, the Gene Ontology, RxNorm, the National Cancer Institute Thesaurus, the International Classification of Diseases, the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS). The roles played by biomedical ontologies are classified into three major categories: knowledge management (indexing and retrieval of data and information, access to information, mapping among ontologies); data integration, exchange and semantic interoperability; and decision support and reasoning (data selection and aggregation, decision support, natural language processing applications, knowledge discovery). Conclusions Ontologies play an important role in biomedical research through a variety of applications. While ontologies are used primarily as a source of vocabulary for standardization and integration purposes, many applications also use them as a source of computable knowledge. Barriers to the use of ontologies in biomedical applications are discussed. Geissbuhler A, Kulikowski C, editors. IMIA Year book of Medical Informatics 2008.
Analysis of channel estimation in mobile communication systems with users moving at various speeds

In order to provide a reliable reception and decrease the packet retransmission, the wireless communication system should guaranty the accuracy of channel estimation. This implies that the channel estimation mean-square error (MSE) of the mobile terminals with various speeds should remain lower than a threshold. This usually causes higher pilot overhead in terms of more bandwidth and transmit power. In this paper, a commonly used time multiplexing pilot pattern is reconsidered from a different point of view in contrast with the previous studies. In a frame, the intervals between each data time slot and the nearest pilot time slot are different, and thus the tracking abilities of each data time slot are also different. Therefore, a system is able to support a number of levels of users' moving speed, even though using a fixed pilot pattern. In order to analyze the tracking ability of each time slot, the MSE for two interpolation methods, i.e., linear minimum MSE and linear interpolation, is derived. Based on the derived analytical results, a novel criterion for pilot spacing design is presented, and a novel scheduling algorithm based on user moving speeds is also proposed. Simulation results show that the proposed pilot design and scheduling algorithm can achieve significant performance improvement.
“It's Not What You Say, But How You Say it”: A Reciprocal Temporo-frontal Network for Affective Prosody

Humans communicate emotion vocally by modulating acoustic cues such as pitch, intensity and voice quality. Research has documented how the relative presence or absence of such cues alters the likelihood of perceiving an emotion, but the neural underpinnings of acoustic cue-dependent emotion perception remain obscure. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging in 20 subjects we examined a reciprocal circuit consisting of superior temporal cortex, amygdala and inferior frontal gyrus that may underlie affective prosodic comprehension. Results showed that increased saliency of emotion-specific acoustic cues was associated with increased activation in superior temporal cortex [planum temporale (PT), posterior superior temporal gyrus (pSTG), and posterior superior middle gyrus (pMTG)] and amygdala, whereas decreased saliency of acoustic cues was associated with increased inferior frontal activity and temporo-frontal connectivity. These results suggest that sensory-integrative processing is facilitated when the acoustic signal is rich in affective information, yielding increased activation in temporal cortex and amygdala. Conversely, when the acoustic signal is ambiguous, greater evaluative processes are recruited, increasing activation in inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and IFG STG connectivity. Auditory regions may thus integrate acoustic information with amygdala input to form emotion-specific representations, which are evaluated within inferior frontal regions.
Unconscious errors enhance prefrontal-occipital oscillatory synchrony

we examined whether long-range neurophysiological oscillatory synchrony is a plausible mechanism by which the MFC engages top-down control over sensory processing following errors. The adaptive change in cognitive control that occurs after errors has traditionally been conceptualized as an effortful process, requiring conscious awareness that an error was made or negative performance feedback was given. However, conscious awareness may not be necessary for all aspects of cognitive control. Indeed, non-consciously perceived confl ict or error signals modulate activity in the motor system (Dehaene et al. of high-level cognitive control, such as response inhibition and task-switching, may also occur in absence of conscious awareness (Lau and Passingham, 2007; van Gaal et al., 2008). However, such unconscious processes are thought to be ephemeral, lasting only a few hundred milliseconds (Greenwald et al. The extent to which unconsciously made errors can engage top-down control remains unknown. We recorded EEG from human subjects while they performed a visually signaled Go/No-Go task, in which one half of the No-Go cues were presented in a way that evaded conscious awareness. We examined oscillatory phase synchrony – a measure of frequency-band specifi c functional connectivity – between the MFC and occipital cortex (OCC) on correctly responded Go trials that followed conscious errors, unconscious errors, or other correct
Modular typechecking for hierarchically extensible datatypes and functions

One promising approach for adding object-oriented (OO) facilities to functional languages like ML is to generalize the existing datatype and function constructs to be hierarchical and extensible, so that datatype variants simulate classes and function cases simulate methods. This approach allows existing datatypes to be easily extended with both new operations and new variants, resolving a long-standing conflict between the functional and OO styles. However, previous designs based on this approach have been forced to give up modular typechecking, requiring whole-program checks to ensure type safety. We describe Extensible ML (eml), an ML-like language that supports hierarchical, extensible datatypes and functions while preserving purely modular typechecking. To achieve this result, eml's type system imposes a few requirements on datatype and function extensibility, but eml is still able to express both traditional functional and OO idioms. We have formalized a core version of eml and proven the associated type system sound, and we have developed a prototype interpreter for the language.
Trends in HIV Prevalence, Estimated HIV Incidence, and Risk Behavior Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in Bangkok, Thailand, 2003–2007

Background:Men who have sex with men (MSM) continue to be at high risk for HIV infection. Here we evaluate trends in HIV prevalence, estimated HIV incidence, and risk behavior among MSM in Bangkok, Thailand. Methods:Between 2003 and 2007, 3 biennial cross-sectional HIV prevalence assessments were conducted among MSM in Bangkok, Thailand, using venue-day-time sampling. Oral fluid was tested for HIV infection; demographic and behavioral data were self-collected using hand-held computers. Estimates of annual HIV incidence in young MSM were derived as follows: (number of HIV infections/sum of [current age-age at start of anal intercourse]) × 100). Logistic and Poisson regression was used to evaluate trends in HIV prevalence, estimated HIV incidence, and risk behavior. Findings:The overall HIV prevalence increased from 17.3% in 2003 to 28.3% in 2005 to 30.8% in 2007 (P < 0.001 for trend). The estimated HIV incidence among young MSM increased from 4.1% in 2003 to 6.4% in 2005, to 7.7% in 2007 (P < 0.02 for trend). The increase in HIV prevalence from 2005 to 2007 was not statistically significant. The proportion of men reporting anal sex and casual or steady male sex partners in the past 3 months significantly decreased, whereas the proportion reporting drug use and drug use during sex significantly increased. No increase was observed in the proportion of men reporting consistent condom use. Interpretation:Our data suggest that after a strong increase from 2003 to 2005, the HIV prevalence among MSM in Bangkok may have begun to stabilize. Given the continuing high levels of risk behavior and the estimated high HIV incidence in young MSM, additional HIV preventive interventions are necessary.
An Experimental Analysis on Nusselt Number of Natural Circulation Flow in Transient Condition Based on the Height Differences between Heater and Cooler

A better understanding on the phenomenon of natural circulation flow for cooling systems is necessary prior to improving the safety of nuclear power plant, not only in normal operation but also in accident conditions. One way to understand this phenomenon is by analyzing the Nusselt number in various geometrical dimensions through experimentation. The purpose of this study is to understand natural circulation phenomenon in transient condition by varying height differences between heater and cooler. To achieve this purpose, an experiment apparatus called NC-Queen was developed and arranged to enable three variations of height differences between heater and cooler, i.e . , 1.4 m, 1.0 m, and 0.3 m. It is made of a stainless steel tube with a diameter of 1 inch, arranged in rectangular shape 6.4 m in length, and uses water as coolant. The initial temperature of the heater was set at 90 °C. The Nusselt number was obtained by calculating the flow rate as a function of transient temperature. The results confirm that height differences affect thermal properties and flow region based kinetics characteristics of water. In initial condition, decreasing height difference from 1.4 m to 1.0 m resulted in flow rate reduction of 16.7 %, while decreasing height difference from 1.4 m to 0.3 m resulted in a 39.1 % flow rate reduction. In final condition, the flow rate reductions were 75 % and 82.6 %, respectively. Meanwhile, in initial condition, the Nusselt number for height difference reduction from 1.4 m to 1.0 m and from 1.4 m to 0.3 m decreased by 30.5 % and 74.6 %, respectively, while for final condition, the Nusselt number decreased by 11.9 % and 67.4 %, respectively. The new constants in relationship between Nusselt number and the height difference are a = 20.06 and b = 0.56. The dominance of turbulent flow provides a good safety margin with indications of the large amount of heat released.
Healthcare utilization and mortality among veterans of the Gulf War

The authors conducted an extensive search for published works concerning healthcare utilization and mortality among Gulf War veterans of the Coalition forces who served during the1990–1991 Gulf War. Reports concerning the health experience of US, UK, Canadian, Saudi and Australian veterans were reviewed. This report summarizes 15 years of observations and research in four categories: Gulf War veteran healthcare registry studies, hospitalization studies, outpatient studies and mortality studies. A total of 149 728 (19.8%) of 756 373 US, UK, Canadian and Australian Gulf War veterans received health registry evaluations revealing a vast number of symptoms and clinical conditions but no suggestion that a new unique illness was associated with service during the Gulf War. Additionally, no Gulf War exposure was uniquely implicated as a cause for post-war morbidity. Numerous large, controlled studies of US Gulf War veterans' hospitalizations, often involving more than a million veterans, have been conducted. They revealed an increased post-war risk for mental health diagnoses, multi-symptom conditions and musculoskeletal disorders. Again, these data failed to demonstrate that Gulf War veterans suffered from a unique Gulf War-related illness. The sparsely available ambulatory care reports documented that respiratory and gastrointestinal complaints were quite common during deployment. Using perhaps the most reliable data, controlled mortality studies have revealed that Gulf War veterans were at increased risk of injuries, especially those due to vehicular accidents. In general, healthcare utilization data are now exhausted. These findings have now been incorporated into preventive measures in support of current military forces. With a few diagnostic exceptions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, mental disorders and cancer, it now seems time to cease examining Gulf War veteran morbidity and to direct future research efforts to preventing illness among current and future military personnel.
Multi-agent multi-issue negotiations with incomplete information: A Genetic Algorithm based on discrete surrogate approach

In this paper we present a negotiation agent based on Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Surrogate Modelling for a multi-player multi-issue negotiation model under incomplete information scenarios to solve a resource-allocation problem. We consider a multi-lateral negotiation protocol by which agents make offers sequentially in consecutive rounds until the deadline is reached. Agents' offers represent suggestions about how to divide the available resources among all agents participating in the negotiation. Each agent may “Accept” or “Reject” the offers made by its opponents through selecting the “Accept” or “Reject” option. The GA is used to explore the space of offers and surrogates used to model the behaviours of individual opponent agents for enhanced genetic evolution of offers that is agreeable upon all agents. The GA population comprises of solution individuals that are formulated as matrices where a specialised three different search operators that take the matrix representation into considerations are considered. Experimental studies of the proposed negotiation agent under different scenarios demonstrated that the negotiations by the agents completed in agreement before the deadline is reached, while at the same time, maximising profits.
Crustal intrinsic and scattering attenuation of high‐frequency shear waves in the contiguous United States

We use 10 years of data of the USArray project to estimate the areal distribution of crustal intrinsic and scattering attenuation of shear waves for frequencies between 1 Hz and 20 Hz in the contiguous United States. Additionally, we report energy site amplification factors and estimate moment magnitudes for small earthquakes (M 1.5 to M 3.5). The Qopen method is used to invert for intrinsic and scattering attenuation for each event and nearby stations. Observations are collected for around 25,000 events, averaged at each station and interpolated between station locations. In a second inversion, energy site amplifications and moment magnitudes are corrected by assuming that site amplifications for one station and frequency are the same for different earthquakes. We observe a west‐east decline of intrinsic attenuation for high frequencies which reflects the west‐east transition from young, hot to old and cold crust. Scattering attenuation for high frequencies is stronger in the east with an extraordinary high attenuation around the southern part of the Appalachian Highlands and the Interior Low Plateaus. Results at low frequencies do not show clear trends. A large site amplification is observed at high frequencies in parts of the eastern United States. Estimated moment magnitudes show a good agreement to moment magnitudes independently derived from moment tensor inversion. Moment magnitudes in the west are higher than in the east for the same Richter magnitudes.
Role of an audience response system in didactic attendance and assessment.

BACKGROUND The Residency Review Committee for Emergency Medicine mandates conference participation, but tracking attendance is difficult and fraught with errors. Feedback on didactic sessions, if not collected in real time, is challenging to obtain. OBJECTIVE We assessed whether an audience response system (ARS) would (1) encourage residents to arrive on time for lectures, and (2) increase anonymous real-time audience feedback. METHODS The ARS (Poll Everywhere) provided date/time-stamped responses to polls from residents, including a question to verify attendance and questions to gather immediate, anonymous postconference evaluations. Fisher exact test was used to calculate proportions. RESULTS The proportion of residents who completed evaluations prior to the institution of the ARS was 8.75, and it was 59.42 after (P < .001). The proportion of faculty who completed evaluations prior to using the ARS was 6.12, and it was 85.71 after (P < .001). The proportion of residents who reported they had attended the conference session was 55 for the 3 weeks prior to initiating the ARS, decreasing to 46.67 for the 3 weeks during which the ARS was used to take attendance (P = .46). The proportion of faculty who reported attending the conference was 5.56 for the 3 weeks prior to ARS initiation, decreasing to 4.44 for the 3 weeks while using the ARS (P = .81). CONCLUSIONS Audience response systems are an effective way to verify attendance and tardiness, eliminating the subjective effect of attendance takers' leniency and increasing completion of evaluations for didactic sessions.
Estimating human joint moments unifies exoskeleton control, reducing user effort

Robotic lower-limb exoskeletons can augment human mobility, but current systems require extensive, context-specific considerations, limiting their real-world viability. Here, we present a unified exoskeleton control framework that autonomously adapts assistance on the basis of instantaneous user joint moment estimates from a temporal convolutional network (TCN). When deployed on our hip exoskeleton, the TCN achieved an average root mean square error of 0.142 newton-meters per kilogram across 35 ambulatory conditions without any user-specific calibration. Further, the unified controller significantly reduced user metabolic cost and lower-limb positive work during level-ground and incline walking compared with walking without wearing the exoskeleton. This advancement bridges the gap between in-lab exoskeleton technology and real-world human ambulation, making exoskeleton control technology viable for a broad community. A unified exoskeleton controller autonomously adapts assistance with changing ambulation mode and intensity. Editor’s summary Exoskeleton suits that personalize the assistance provided to users depending on the anatomical and environmental needs have the potential to improve user mobility. However, controllers for these suits are not optimized for all of the possible ambulation modes that the user will encounter. Molinaro et al. have now developed a unified lower limb exoskeleton control framework that relies on deep learning to adapt autonomously to user needs for a wide range of ambulatory conditions. The neural network could estimate the total hip flexion/extension moments without the need for user-specific calibration and was shown to be capable of reducing user metabolic cost. —Amos Matsiko
Employing semi-supervised learning for high-resolution segmentation of crystal defects

Materials characterization using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) requires indexing the orientation of the measured region from Kikuchi patterns. In the presence of defects the quality of the Kikuchi patterns can degrade. Or if the measured region contains a grain boundary, two or more orientations can cause pattern overlap which may lead to erroneous orientation calculations. In this work we show that constrained non-negative matrix factorization can be successfully employed to characterize such measurements containing signals from multiple crystallographic orientations, particularly if the misorientation is very small<1 deg. Using simulated patterns, we demonstrate the resolution limit of the method and subsequently showcase a computationally efficient segmentation of a dendritic microstructure, which is on par with high resolution EBSD. By analysis of the weight metrics of the components across a grain boundary or dendrites, we demonstrate how very small misorientations/low-angle grain boundaries can be resolved at a pixel level. Our approach constitutes a versatile and robust tool complementing other fast indexing methods for microstructure characterization.