Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
EM‐based adaptive divided difference filter for nonlinear system with multiplicative parameter

This paper is concerned with application of expectation maximization (EM) algorithm for deriving an adaptive version of divided difference filter for joint state estimation and multiplicative parameter identification of nonlinear system with the colored measurement noise. Owing to the fact that there exist a mutual coupling and interaction of state and parameter on each other, it requires a joint or simultaneous estimation of both state and parameter by a mutual iteration, and justly, EM iterates Expectation (E‐)step and Maximization (M‐)step to meet such requirement. Firstly, E‐step involves state filtering and smoothing issues under knowing the previous parameter identification results, which is well solved by resorting to the Gaussian approximation with a trade‐off between accuracy and complexity. Further, such Gaussian approximation estimators are applied for evaluating the condition expectation of complete‐data likelihood function, nonlinearly characterized by the multiplicative parameter needed to be optimized. Secondly, M‐step deals with the maximization of the condition expectation by directly making its derivative as zero to obtain the current general parameter identification equation as the nonlinear integral. Thirdly, by iteratively operating E‐step and M‐step, an adaptive divided difference filter is proposed for joint state estimation and parameter identification by using the second‐order Stirling interpolation to compute the associated nonlinear integral. Finally, the robust performance of the EM‐based adaptive version of divided difference filter to the unknown or time‐varying multiplicative parameter, as compared with the standard augmentation method, is demonstrated by a maneuvering target tracking example. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
HEALTH CLAIM INSURANCE PREDICTION USING SUPPORT VECTOR MACHINE WITH PARTICLE SWARM OPTIMIZATION

The number of claims plays an important role the profit achievement of health insurance companies. Prediction of the number of claims could give the signiﬁcant implications in the profit margins generated by the health insurance company. Therefore, the prediction of claim submission by insurance users in that year needs to be done by insurance companies. Machine learning methods promise the great solution for claim prediction of the health insurance users. There are several machine learning methods that can be used for claim prediction, such as the Naïve Bayes method, Decision Tree (DT), Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Support Vector Machine (SVM). The previous studies show that the SVM has some advantages over the other methods. However, the performance of the SVM is determined by some parameters. Parameter selection of SVM is normally done by trial and error so that the performance is less than optimal. Some optimization algorithms based heuristic optimization can be used to determine the best parameter values of SVM, for example Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Genetic Algorithm (GA). They are able to search the global optimum, easy to be implemented. The derivatives aren’t needed in its computation. Several researches show that PSO give the better solutions if it is compared with GA. All particles in the PSO are able to find the solution near global optimal. For these reasons, this article proposes the health claim insurance prediction using SVM with PSO. The experimental results show that the SVM with PSO gives the great performance in the health claim insurance prediction and it has been proven that the SVM with PSO give better performance than the SVM standard.
Information Vs Investor Sentiment Effect on Stock Market Liquidity During Covid-19 Pandemic

: Stock markets are known to be very uncertain. Not only are they affected by announced facts and events but also they are affected by investor sentiment. The present research examines the extent to which announced information and investor sentiment affect stock market liquidity. The study took place during the outbreak of covid-19 during which there was lack of information. During this period there was a little some of information all about the number of new patients, the cumulative number of patients, the number of new deaths and the cumulative number of deaths. Accordingly, many investors based on their sentiment to compensate for this lack of information. The present study asserts that both developed and developing countries stock markets are affected by investor sentiment. The study uncovers the existence of a negative relationship between investors sentiment and the market liquidity and, therefore, it adds to the literature related to the controversy between traditional finance and behavioral finance.
Digital transformation in foreign language education: Examining the position of the EFL teacher in ICT literacy diffusion

Digital transformation and ICT adoption in Japanese higher education has lagged behind other developed countries. Drawing on Diffusion of Innovation theory, this preliminary case study examines the role of English foreign language (EFL) teachers as opinion leaders in information communication technology (ICT) literacy diffusion in the Japanese university context. The preliminary findings indicate EFL teachers enhance ICT literacy in breadth and depth for both teachers and students. With these findings this study proposes a tentative conceptual model that adds to the current scholarship on ICT utilization in Japanese higher education by illuminating how teachers can support digital transformation to expand the breadth and depth of ICT literacy, and cross-cultural diffusion of technology. Policy and pedagogical implications for in-service teacher professional development are discussed.
Root Segment Cuttings of Bombax costatum Pellegr. & Vuillet: Effects of Diameter and Alignment

Bombax costatum is a very important agroforestry species in the Guinean savannahs highland of Adamawa. The objective of this work is to contribute to the domestication of this species by cuttings of root segment. The cuttings of root segment of this species were carried out according to a split-plot design with three replications. The diameter range of cuttings used (0.5-1.1 cm; 1.2-2 cm and 2.1-3.8 cm) and the alignment of the cuttings (vertical, horizontal and oblique) in the substrate consisting of sand/sawdust represented the main treatment and the secondary treatment respectively. The experimental unit was 10 cuttings. The result showed that cuttings with large diameters between 2.1 and 3.8 cm (62.22±1.75%) are the best for budding. The diameter significantly influences the budding of the cuttings (0.0004 < 0.001). Regarding the alignment of the cuttings in the substrate, the maximum budding (52.22±2.01%) is obtained in those placed in an oblique alignment. However, this alignment did not significantly influence the budding of root segment cuttings (0.33 > 0.05). Regarding the rooting of cuttings, a high rate (28.88±1.36%) is observed in cuttings whose diameter class is between 2.1 and 3.8 cm. The diameter range significantly influences rooting (0.002 < 0.01). The alignment of the cuttings in the substrate did not significantly impact the rooting of the cuttings (0.90 > 0.05). These results show that vegetative propagation of Bombax costatum from root segment cuttings is possible. This is an important step for the domestication of this species.
Reality of gravity-like fields? Part I: Recent experiments that challenge current physics

In this paper a set of recent experiments/observations is presented that seem to indicate the existence of novel physics outside general relativity as well as the standard model of particle physics and the standard model of cosmology. The approach chosen in the present paper is unique, since the existence of new physics is based on various experiments reported from widely different areas, and not a priori on the introduction of novel physical concepts. If confirmed, new concepts might be required and drastic extensions to current physics would become necessary, for instance, in form of novel gravity-like fields. Such fields could provide the basis for propellantless propulsion that is, gravitational field propulsion might become a possibility. A total of eleven experiments both from cosmological observations and high particle physics has been identified that seem to require an extension of general relativity and also might contradict key predictions of the so called advanced physical theories like string theory, supersmmetry, or quantum gravity. The paper also discusses in how far the existence of additional extreme gravitomagnetic and gravity-like fields outside general relativity together with novel types of matter is supported by experimental facts based on the results of three recent experiments that might have measured these extreme gravitomagnetic fields (see the in depth analysis of these experiments in the accompanying paper by J. Hauser in this special issue).
Active Power-Decoupling Methods for Photovoltaic-Connected Applications: An Overview

This study compares ripple port, stacked switched capacitor, and capacitive energy storage architectures for active power decoupling, comparing the number of components, performance, energy density, DC-link capacitor reduction, efficiency, and frequency operation to highlight their main benefits and drawbacks for single-phase grid-connected applications. The overview reveals equivalent effective energy density without electrolytic capacitors, as well as enhanced simplicity, performance, and durability, thereby providing stacked switched capacitors as an attractive power-decoupling alternative for multi-stage connected applications, based on the principle that its individual buffer capacitors absorb and deliver energy without tightly constraining their individual terminal voltages, while maintaining a narrow range voltage at the buffer DC port.
Local Non-Equilibrium Heat Transfer in an Anisotropic Half-Space Affected by a Non-Steady State Point Heat Source

The study applies a new analytical solution to investigating a local thermal non-equilibrium occurring when wave heat transfer takes place in the vicinity of spacetime boundaries of an anisotropic half-space affected by a time-dependent point heat source. The time delay between the heat flow and the temperature gradient, which is equal to the relaxation time, causes the local non-equilibrium. It may be clearly observed in the vicinity of the boundaries when the time is short and thus comparable to the relaxation time. We show how the non-steady-state temperature field initially forms; considerably differing from that in the cases when there is no relaxation time, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Specifically, at the boundaries of moving fronts the temperature field undergoes discontinuities of the first kind, characteristic of the wave heat transfer. These discontinuity magnitudes tend towards zero over time; however, the second derivatives of the temperature profile with respect to spacelike variables are not continuous anyway. We analyse new numerical results. The paper is pertinent in the field of fast processes of relativistic mechanics
Sliding mode control for systems with mismatched time-varying uncertainties via a self-learning disturbance observer

This paper presents a novel sliding mode control (SMC) algorithm to handle mismatched uncertainties in systems via a novel self-learning disturbance observer (SLDO). A computationally efficient SLDO is developed within a framework of feedback-error learning scheme in which a conventional estimation law and a neuro-fuzzy structure (NFS) work in parallel. In this framework, the NFS estimates the mismatched disturbances and becomes the leading disturbance estimator while the former feeds the learning error to the NFS to learn system behaviour. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed SMC based on SLDO (SMC-SLDO) ensures robust control performance in the presence of mismatched time-varying uncertainties when compared to SMC, integral SMC (ISMC) and SMC based on a basic nonlinear disturbance observer (SMC-BNDO), and also remains the nominal control performance in the absence of mismatched uncertainties. Additionally, the SMC-SLDO not only counteracts mismatched time-varying uncertainties, but also improve the transient response performance in the presence of mismatched time-invariant uncertainties. Moreover, the controller gain of the SMC-SLDO is required to be selected larger than the upper bound of the disturbance estimation error rather than the upper bound of the actual disturbance to guarantee system stability, which results in eliminating the chattering effects on the control signal.
Analysis of ENF Signal Extraction From Videos Acquired by Rolling Shutters

Electric network frequency (ENF) analysis is a promising forensic technique for authenticating multimedia recordings and detecting tampering. The validity of the ENF analysis heavily relies on the capability of extracting high-quality ENF signals from multimedia recordings. This paper analyzes and compares two representative methods for extracting ENF signals from visual signals acquired by cameras using the rolling-shutter mechanism. The first method proposed in prior work, direct concatenation, ignores the idle period of each frame. The second method proposed in this paper, periodic zeroing-out, inserts zeros to missing sample points instead of ignoring the idle period. Our theoretical analyses of using multirate signal processing reveal and experiments confirm that while the first method can extract ENF signals without knowing the exact value of camera read-out time, there exists some mild distortion to extracted ENF signals. In contrast, the second method taking the read-out time as the additional input is capable of extracting distortion-free ENF signals, and its frequency component of the highest strength is always located at the nominal frequency. Additionally, we examine aliased DC and negative ENF components caused by the two methods and show that their impact on the accuracy of frequency estimation is minimum. This paper facilitates the fundamental understanding of extracting ENF signals from videos. The research findings imply that the periodic zeroing-out method offers more accurate frequency estimates, but the performance improvement is moderate.
Rare Sequelae of Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography: Polymicrobial Bloodstream Infection and Hepatic Abscess in an Elderly Individual

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is an advanced technique using a side-viewing upper endoscope to diagnose and treat pancreaticobiliary diseases. ERCP is generally considered a safe procedure; however, it is associated with risks of certain complications such as pancreatitis, bowel perforation, bleeding, and infections. Very rarely, ERCP can result in abscess formation in different organs, such as the pancreas, liver, and intestines. Physicians should be vigilant for rare post-ERCP complications such as clinically significant bacteremia and hepatic abscess, especially in high-risk populations, as if left untreated, they can result in significant morbidity and mortality. We present an interesting and rare case of an 80-year-old patient who presented with nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain post-ERCP and was found to have a polymicrobial bloodstream infection and a hepatic abscess. The patient was treated with medical therapy alone, with an appropriate clinical response.
Estimation des paramètres d'une diffusion par des contrastes corrigés

Pour l'estimation des parametres d'une diffusion discretisee dans le cas ou le pas de discretisation tend vers zero, nous proposons des contrastes comportant des corrections differentes suivant la vitesse de decroissance du pas vers zero et qui fournissent des estimateurs asymptotiquement efficaces
Investigation of the source of histotripsy acoustic backscatter signals

Recent work has demonstrated that acoustic backscatter signals from histotripsy-generated bubble clouds may be used to localize generated bubble clouds and perform non-invasive aberration correction transcranially. However, the primary source of the measured signals, whether from emissions generated during bubble expansion, or scattering of the incoming pulses off of the incipient bubble clouds, remains to be determined and may have important implications for how the acquired signals may be used. Here, we present results from experiments comparing the acoustic emissions and growth-collapse curves of single bubbles generated optically to those generated via histotripsy. Histotripsy bubbles were generated using a 32-element, 1.5 MHz spherical transducer with pulse durations <2-cycles; optical bubbles were nucleated using a pulsed Nd:YAG laser focused at the center of the histotripsy transducer. Optical imaging was used to capture the time evolution of the generated bubbles from inception to collapse. Acoust.
EVAULATION OF VARIOUS PREANAESTHETIC COMBINATIONS FOR PROPOFOL – ISOFLURANE ANAESTHESIA IN DOGS: A HAEMATOBIOCHEMICAL STUDY

The present study was conducted to evaluate and compare four different balanced anaesthetic protocols in clinical cases of dogs undergoing various surgical procedures. In all groups glycopyrrolate was administerd followed by xylazine and pentazocinein subgroups X1 and X2, and diazepam and fentanyl citrate in subgroups D1 and D2 intravenously after 15 min. Anaesthesia was induced with propofol and maintained with isoflurane. Changes in different haematobiochemical parameters were comparable and did not cause any serious impact and are approved for routine surgical procedures lasting about 60 min in dogs.
User Acceptance of Blockchain Video Direct Observation Therapy mHealth App for Tuberculosis Patient Monitoring: A Pre-Implementation Phase Empirical Study

Blockchain-based healthcare applications seem promising in remote patient monitoring. However, factors influencing users' acceptance of blackchin-enabled mHealth apps are poorly understood. This study aimed to develop and empirically test a theoretical model by extending the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Usage of Technology (UTAUT) with perceived benefit and perceived trust from Initial Trust Model (ITM) in understanding the potential users' readiness to adopt blockchain video direct observation therapy (blockchain VDOT) app. This cross-sectional study yielded data from users familiar with tuberculosis and its treatment procedure from Selangor and the federal territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A self-administered online questionnaire was designed based on validated measurement scales from past studies. Data from 160 valid samples were analysed using SPSS 27. The results indicated that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, perceived benefit, and perceived trust influence behavioural intention with p <0.05. Facilitating condition does not affect behavioural intention ( p >0.05). Besides, p values of moderator age and gender are above 0.05, thus showing no moderation. The key findings showed that users' acceptance of blockchain-based VTOD apps was influenced by the perception of performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, perceived benefit, and initial trust. The social influence's direct relationship with behavioural intention remains unestablished. Additionally, age and gender did not moderate any direct associations of the framework. The contribution to knowledge and practice, along with study limitations and future research direction, has been included in this study
Sur la cohomologie galoisienne des corps $p$-adiques

Ce travail fait suite a l'article de J.-M. Fontaine paru dans la Grothendieck Festschrift, ou il construit une equivalence entre la categorie des representations p-adiques du groupe de Galois absolu G K d'un corps local K d'inegale caracteristique (0, p > 0) et une categorie de modules sur un certain anneau, munis de deux operateurs aux proprietes particulieres. Nous donnons ici a l'aide de ces nouveaux objets une construction explicite des groupes de cohomologie galoisienne d'une representation Z p -adique de p-torsion de G K . Lorsque K est une extension finie de Q p , nous montrons ensuite comment on peut retrouver a partir de la les resultats classiques de Tate concernant ces groupes: la finitude et le calcul de la caracteristique d'Euler-Poincare. Les methodes utilisees semblent etre plus simples que les arguments cohomologiques habituels, ne serait-ce que parce que l'on ne se sert pas de la theorie sophistiquee du corps de classe local et que tout est essentiellement explicite. Nous obtenons aussi au passage des resultats importants concernant la structure des modules associes aux representations, ainsi qu'une filtration en trois crans sur leur cohomologie.
Partially hyperbolic sets with a dynamically minimal lamination

We study partially hyperbolic sets of \begin{document}$C^1$\end{document} -diffeomorphisms. For these sets there are defined the strong stable and strong unstable laminations.A lamination is called dynamically minimal when the orbit of each leaf intersects the set densely. We prove that partially hyperbolic sets having a dynamically minimal lamination have empty interior. We also study the Lebesgue measure and the spectral decomposition of these sets. These results can be applied to \begin{document}$C^1$\end{document} -generic/robustly transitive attractors with one-dimensional center bundle.
Measurement of unsteady forces on a circular cylinder in cross flow at subcritical Reynolds numbers

A transducer has been developed to measure the unsteady forces associated with vortex shedding from a cylinder in cross flow. The transducer senses the force on a small isolated section of the instrumented test cylinder and operates in conjunction with an accelerometer implanted in the test cylinder to generate a simultaneous measurement of local force and cylinder motion. An aeroacoustic measurement program was carried out in the MIT Acoustics and Vibration Laboratory's low noise, low turbulence wind tunnel. The sectional force coefficients, correlation lengths, and radiated sound intensities were determined over a Reynolds number range from 20,000 to 50,000. The sectional lift coefficient was determined to increase with increasing turbulent intensity. The effect of large amplitude cylinder motion on the vortex shedding process was investigated by using a suitably modified transducer in the Marine Hydrodynamics Laboratory's closed circuit water tunnel. The test cylinder was subjected to forced harmonic motion in a direction transverse to the cross flow at amplitude to diameter ratios of up to 0.5 in the frequency range 0.1 < fd/U0 < 0.3. Lock-in boundaries were determined for a Reynolds number of 19,300. Both the locked-in and non locked-in behaviours were investigated. The test cylinder was spring mounted in the water tunnel to determine its vibratory response to vortex shedding excitation. The system showed hysteresis in that the response was different for increasing flow velocities as compared to decreasing flow velocities. The forced vibration data were used to explain this hysteretic behaviour. Thesis Supervisor: Patrick Leehey Title: Professorof Mechanical and Ocean Engineering
Application de théorèmes de prolongement d'opérateurs linéaires au problème des moments et à une généralisation d'un théorème de Mazur-Orlicz

Dans cette Note nous appliquons les theoremes generaux [13], th. 2, p. 514 et [14], th. I. 1, p. 956; th. I. 3, p. 963, aux problemes abstraits et classiques des moments, et aussi a un theoreme de Mazur-Orlicz. On generalise ainsi des resultats de [5], [8], [10], [11], [12]. Nous appliquons aussi des resultats de [7] au probleme classique des moments