Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ti Coatings with Macropores for Improved Implant Fixation Obtained by Electrophoretic Deposition of TiH2 Stabilized Emulsions

Current implant technology focuses on enhancing the fixation between implant and surrounding tissue in order to reduce the risk of implant loosening and subsequent failing. Modifying the implant's surfaces with a macroporous metallic coating can provide a mechanical anchorage by bone ingrowth and at the same time improves the loading capacity for antibacterial drugs or bone growth stimulating agents. In this work, pure Ti coatings with spherical macropores are applied on dense Ti6Al4V substrates by electrophoretic deposition of TiH2 stabilized emulsions, followed by drying, dehydrogenation, and subsequent vacuum sintering at 850 °C. The obtained Ti coatings exhibit a porous network with an open porosity varying from 50 to 65% and a mean spherical pore size changeable from 50 to 80 µm. The morphology of the coating is easily adapted by changing the powder particle size, the emulsion droplet size, and the deposition parameters. Since the coatings are produced in the frame of optimizing implant technology, a good adhesion between the substrate and the coating is a crucial prerequisite. Measurements show that the obtained tensile adhesion strength is >29 MPa.
The tyrosine phosphorylation substrate p36 is developmentally regulated in embryonic avian limb and is induced in cell culture

The 36-kD protein-tyrosine kinase substrate p36 has been variously postulated to be involved in membrane-cytoskeletal interactions, membrane traffic, and the regulation of phospholipase A2, and its phosphorylation may play some role in malignant transformation by avian sarcoma viruses. Because embryonic tissues are resistant to transformation by avian sarcoma viruses, we have examined the expression of p36 in the developing avian embryonic limb. The level of p36 increased progressively from day 5 to day 14 of development. It was largely absent from day-5 mesenchyme, and was induced during the differentiation of mesenchymal cells into connective tissue and cartilage, but was not induced in differentiating muscle. In contrast, p36 was detected in ectodermal cells at all developmental stages examined. When day-5 limbs were dissociated and cultured, p36 was induced in all adherent cells, beginning at 2-4 h after plating, and reaching levels comparable to those observed with intact day-14 limb tissue within 48 h. The accumulation of p36 in culture was dependent on substratum adherence, suggesting that its stability is regulated by cell attachment or spreading. These findings are consistent with a structural or mechanical role for p36.
A Study of Wireless Mesh Network Routing Protocols for Push-to-Talk Traffic

Wireless mesh networks (WMNs) are becoming well-known as a new broadband Internet access technology through multihop transmission nowadays. With the tremendous popularity of the group communication, such as Push-to-Talk service, the need to deliver the traffic of push-to-talk over WMNs is becoming important. Since the push-to-talk traffic over WMNs is delay-sensitive traffic, a proactive routing protocol that keep routes continuously updated is ideally best-suited protocol. Among the proactive routing protocols, a tree-based routing (TBR) protocol is a viable routing protocol for WMNs because traffic that is directed to/from a wired network can be well-handled via a portal (a root). However, the performance of TBR protocol can be degraded rapidly when the number of group talking increases, which also leads to the intra-mesh traffics increases in the network. To mitigate this problem, we proposed a centralized tree-based routing protocol, which enables the root to provide the best metric route for intra-mesh traffics. In other words, the proposed protocol can disperse the intra-mesh traffics around the root when an overwhelming traffic volume occurred. Our simulation studies reveal that the proposed protocol outperforms both AODV and TBR protocols in terms of packet delivery ratio, average end-to-end delay, and data throughput as the number of active users becomes larger.
Simpler and better approximation algorithms for network design

We give simple and easy-to-analyze randomized approximation algorithms for several well-studied NP-hard network design problems. Our algorithms improve over the previously best known approximation ratios. Our main results are the following.We give a randomized 3.55-approximation algorithm for the connected facility location problem. The algorithm requires three lines to state, one page to analyze, and improves the best-known performance guarantee for the problem.We give a 5.55-approximation algorithm for virtual private network design. Previously, constant-factor approximation algorithms were known only for special cases of this problem.We give a simple constant-factor approximation algorithm for the single-sink buy-at-bulk network design problem. Our performance guarantee improves over what was previously known, and is an order of magnitude improvement over previous combinatorial approximation algorithms for the problem.
Deep Artwork Detection and Retrieval for Automatic Context-Aware Audio Guides

In this article, we address the problem of creating a smart audio guide that adapts to the actions and interests of museum visitors. As an autonomous agent, our guide perceives the context and is able to interact with users in an appropriate fashion. To do so, it understands what the visitor is looking at, if the visitor is moving inside the museum hall, or if he or she is talking with a friend. The guide performs automatic recognition of artworks, and it provides configurable interface features to improve the user experience and the fruition of multimedia materials through semi-automatic interaction. Our smart audio guide is backed by a computer vision system capable of working in real time on a mobile device, coupled with audio and motion sensors. We propose the use of a compact Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) that performs object classification and localization. Using the same CNN features computed for these tasks, we perform also robust artwork recognition. To improve the recognition accuracy, we perform additional video processing using shape-based filtering, artwork tracking, and temporal filtering. The system has been deployed on an NVIDIA Jetson TK1 and a NVIDIA Shield Tablet K1 and tested in a real-world environment (Bargello Museum of Florence).
Origin of the Electrocatalytic Oxygen Reduction Activity of Graphene-Based Catalysts: A Roadmap to Achieve the Best Performance

The mutually corroborated electrochemical measurements and density functional theory (DFT) calculations were used to uncover the origin of electrocatalytic activity of graphene-based electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). A series of graphenes doped with nonmetal elements was designed and synthesized, and their ORR performance was evaluated in terms of four electrochemical descriptors: exchange current density, on-set potential, reaction pathway selectivity and kinetic current density. It is shown that these descriptors are in good agreement with DFT calculations, allowing derivation of a volcano plot between the ORR activity and the adsorption free energy of intermediates on metal-free materials, similarly as in the case of metallic catalysts. The molecular orbital concept was used to justify this volcano plot, and to theoretically predict the ORR performance of an ideal graphene-based catalyst, the ORR activity of which is comparable to the state-of-the-art Pt catalyst. Moreover, this study may stimulate the development of metal-free electrocatalysts for other key energy conversion processes including hydrogen evolution and oxygen evolution reactions and largely expand the spectrum of catalysts for energy-related electrocatalysis reactions.
Narrowband Interference Suppression in Transmitted Reference UWB Systems with Inter-Pulse Interference

In this paper we study the performance degradation introduced by narrowband interference to a transmitted reference ultra-wideband system with inter-pulse interference mitigation capability operating under the IEEE 802.15. 4a channel model. The degradation is mainly due to the cross correlation of interference and noise components in the auto-correlation receiver. System performance can be improved drastically by applying either FIR or IIR notch filter. The bit-error-rate sensitivity to the design parameters of the notch filter is explored. In addition, system performance is analyzed when the interference is completely removed.
Multi-Agent Robot Architectures: The Decomposition Issue and a Case Study

In this paper, some fundamental issues of modern multi-agent robot architectures are discussed. It is argued that the multi-agent approach provides the necessary flexibility and adaptivity for such architectures, and that the primary issue in designing a multi-agent robot architecture is the selection of the granularity level, i.e., the decision on decomposing the overall desired functionality physically or across tasks. It is explained why at the various system levels different decomposition grains are needed; physical components, tasks or hybrid. This granularity decision is made on the basis of specific criteria of control localization, knowledge decoupling and interaction minimization so as to identify the decision points of the overall functionality. The above criteria lead to a dual composition-decomposition relation, which provides a good basis for system scaling. The paper specializes the discussion to a proposed neuro-fuzzy multi-agent architecture, which is then applied to design the local path planning system of an indoor mobile robot.
Time-Frequency Masking for Speech Separation and Its Potential for Hearing Aid Design

A new approach to the separation of speech from speech-in-noise mixtures is the use of time-frequency (T-F) masking. Originated in the field of computational auditory scene analysis, T-F masking performs separation in the time-frequency domain. This article introduces the T-F masking concept and reviews T-F masking algorithms that separate target speech from either monaural or binaural mixtures, as well as microphone-array recordings. The review emphasizes techniques that are promising for hearing aid design. This article also surveys recent studies that evaluate the perceptual effects of T-F masking techniques, particularly their effectiveness in improving human speech recognition in noise. An assessment is made of the potential benefits of T-F masking methods for the hearing impaired in light of the processing constraints of hearing aids. Finally, several issues pertinent to T-F masking are discussed.
Modified Therapeutic Community for Mentally Ill Chemical Abusers: Outcomes and Costs

Several studies have established that the personal and social consequences of substance abuse are extensive and costly. These consequences are frequently compounded by mental illness. Although interventions that target mentally ill chemical abusers (MICAs) present several challenges, the potential benefits of successful interventions are significant. This article presents outcomes and costs of a modified therapeutic community (TC) intervention for homeless MICAs. Outcomes at follow-up are compared with those for a control group of homeless MICAs receiving standard services in a “treatment-as-usual” (TAU) condition. Annual economic costs for the modified TC and the average weekly cost of treating a single client are estimated. Treatment and other health service costs at 12 months postbaseline are compared for modified TC and TAU clients. The results of this study indicate that, suitably modified, the TC approach is an effective treatment alternative for homeless MICAs, with the potential to be highly cost-effective relative to standard services.
Customizing Multiprocessor Implementation of an Automated Video Surveillance System

This paper reports on the development of an automated embedded video surveillance system using two customized embedded RISC processors. The application is partitioned into object tracking and video stream encoding subsystems. The real-time object tracker is able to detect and track moving objects by video images of scenes taken by stationary cameras. It is based on the block-matching algorithm. The video stream encoding involves the optimization of an international telecommunications union (ITU)-T H.263 baseline video encoder for quarter common intermediate format (QCIF) and common intermediate format (CIF) resolution images. The two subsystems running on two processor cores were integrated and a simple protocol was added to realize the automated video surveillance system. The experimental results show that the system is capable of detecting, tracking, and encoding QCIF and CIF resolution images with object movements in them in real-time. With low cycle-count, low-transistor count, and low-power consumption requirements, the system is ideal for deployment in remote locations.
Influence of Volume Fraction of Piezoelectric Ceramics on Poperties of PZT672/Epoxy1-3 Piezocomposite

PZT672/epoxy 1-3 piezoelectric composites were fabricated by the cut-filling method. The parameters of PZT672/epoxy 1-3 piezoelectric composites varying with different PZT volume fractions have been measured and compared with theoretical values. The results show a good match between theoretical values and measurements. The authors conclude the regular of the properties of composites varying with PZT volume fraction.
PHACK: An Efficient Scheme for Selective Forwarding Attack Detection in WSNs

In this paper, a Per-Hop Acknowledgement (PHACK)-based scheme is proposed for each packet transmission to detect selective forwarding attacks. In our scheme, the sink and each node along the forwarding path generate an acknowledgement (ACK) message for each received packet to confirm the normal packet transmission. The scheme, in which each ACK is returned to the source node along a different routing path, can significantly increase the resilience against attacks because it prevents an attacker from compromising nodes in the return routing path, which can otherwise interrupt the return of nodes’ ACK packets. For this case, the PHACK scheme also has better potential to detect abnormal packet loss and identify suspect nodes as well as better resilience against attacks. Another pivotal issue is the network lifetime of the PHACK scheme, as it generates more acknowledgements than previous ACK-based schemes. We demonstrate that the network lifetime of the PHACK scheme is not lower than that of other ACK-based schemes because the scheme just increases the energy consumption in non-hotspot areas and does not increase the energy consumption in hotspot areas. Moreover, the PHACK scheme greatly simplifies the protocol and is easy to implement. Both theoretical and simulation results are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme in terms of high detection probability and the ability to identify suspect nodes.
Robust image matching via feature guided Gaussian mixture model

In this paper, we propose a novel feature guided Gaussian mixture model (FG-GMM) for image matching, which typically requires matching two sets of feature points extracted from the given images. We formulate the problem as estimation of a feature guided mixture of densities: a GMM is fitted to one point set, such that both the centers and local features of the Gaussian densities are constrained to coincide with the other point set. The problem is solved under a unified maximum-likelihood framework together with an iterative semi-supervised Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm initialized by the confident feature correspondences. The image transformation is specified in a reproducing kernel Hilbert space and a sparse approximation is adopted to achieve a fast implementation. Extensive experiments on various real images show the robustness of our approach, which consistently outperforms other state-of-the-art methods.
A Cytochrome P450‐Mediated Intramolecular Carbon–Carbon Ring Closure in the Biosynthesis of Multidrug‐Resistance‐Reversing Lathyrane Diterpenoids

The Euphorbiaceae produce a wide variety of bioactive diterpenoids. These include the lathyranes, which have received much interest due to their ability to inhibit the ABC transporters responsible for the loss of efficacy of many chemotherapy drugs. The lathyranes are also intermediates in the biosynthesis of range of other bioactive diterpenoids with potential applications in the treatment of pain, HIV and cancer. We report here a gene cluster from Jatropha curcas that contains the genes required to convert geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate into a number of diterpenoids, including the lathyranes jolkinol C and epi‐jolkinol C. The conversion of casbene to the lathyranes involves an intramolecular carbon–carbon ring closure. This requires the activity of two cytochrome P450s that we propose form a 6‐hydroxy‐5,9‐diketocasbene intermediate, which then undergoes an aldol reaction. The discovery of the P450 genes required to convert casbene to lathyranes will allow the scalable heterologous production of these potential anticancer drugs, which can often only be sourced in limited quantities from their native plant.
Time-Independent and Language-Independent Extraction of Multiword Expressions From Twitter

Multiword Expressions (MWEs) are crucial lexico-semantic units in any language. However, most work on MWEs has been focused on standard monolingual corpora. In this work, we examine MWE usage on Twitter - an inherently multilingual medium with an extremely short average text length that is often replete with grammatical errors. In this work we present a new graph based, language agnostic method for automatically extracting MWEs from tweets. We show how our method outperforms standard Association Measures. We also present a novel unsupervised evaluation technique to ascertain the accuracy of MWE extraction.
Efficient Collision Detection Using Bounding Volume Hierarchies of k-DOPs

Collision detection is of paramount importance for many applications in computer graphics and visualization. Typically, the input to a collision detection algorithm is a large number of geometric objects comprising an environment, together with a set of objects moving within the environment. In addition to determining accurately the contacts that occur between pairs of objects, one needs also to do so at real-time rates. Applications such as haptic force feedback can require over 1000 collision queries per second. We develop and analyze a method, based on bounding-volume hierarchies, for efficient collision detection for objects moving within highly complex environments. Our choice of bounding volume is to use a discrete orientation polytope (k-DOP), a convex polytope whose facets are determined by halfspaces whose outward normals come from a small fixed set of k orientations. We compare a variety of methods for constructing hierarchies (BV-trees) of bounding k-DOPs. Further, we propose algorithms for maintaining an effective BV-tree of k-DOPs for moving objects, as they rotate, and for performing fast collision detection using BV-trees of the moving objects and of the environment. Our algorithms have been implemented and tested. We provide experimental evidence showing that our approach yields substantially faster collision detection than previous methods.
On the Affinity between 3D Detectors and Descriptors

The literature on local invariant 3D features is growing, also fostered by the advent of cheap off-the-shelf 3D sensors. Although several recent proposals in the field include both a detector and a descriptor, some of the most successful and used descriptors do not define a companion detector. Moreover, as vouched by the related field of image features, detectors and descriptors defined within the same proposal do not necessarily yield the highest performance when used together. Hence, in this work we investigate on the effectiveness of the many possible combinations between state-of-the-art 3D detectors and descriptors, so as to identify optimal pairs as well as highlight well-matched detectors for those descriptors lacking a companion feature detection algorithm.
Comparison of engineering and durability properties of fly ash blended cement concrete made in UK and Malaysia

Annual global production of fly ash is ∼6 × 108 ton out of which only 20 to 25% is utilised in the construction industry. Largely it is used as a partial replacement of cement for producing concrete. Properties of such concrete depend on the chemical composition of fly ash, source and method of burning of coal in power stations, etc. The present paper presents a comparative study on the properties on concrete containing fly ash obtained from two different sources, Drax Power Station, UK and Manjung Power Station, Malaysia. Fly ash obtained from Malaysia contained 11˙47%CaO and its particles were coarser than the fly ash obtained from Drax, UK, which contained less calcium oxide (2˙55%). Malaysian fly ash concrete required more water to achieve the targeted slump of 55 ± 5 mm of fresh concrete, such concrete showed 4 to 7% high porosity and 27 to 36% low compressive strength as compared with the porosity and compressive strength of the concrete made with Drax, UK fly ash.
Optimal Feature Selection for Decision Robustness in Bayesian Networks

In many applications, one can define a large set of features to support the classification task at hand. At test time, however, these become prohibitively expensive to evaluate, and only a small subset of features is used, often selected for their information-theoretic value. For threshold-based, Naive Bayes classifiers, recent work has suggested selecting features that maximize the expected robustness of the classifier, that is, the expected probability it maintains its decision after seeing more features. We propose the first algorithm to compute this expected same-decision probability for general Bayesian network classifiers, based on compiling the network into a tractable circuit representation. Moreover, we develop a search algorithm for optimal feature selection that utilizes efficient incremental circuit modifications. Experiments on Naive Bayes, as well as more general networks, show the efficacy and distinct behavior of this decision-making approach.
A discussion on design factors of client-server software testability

We have well established methods for testing the software for centralized systems in which all the software components resides on a single computer. But client-server software systems are different from centralized software systems because in client-server systems, software components may be distributed among different machines. Therefore, testing client-server software cannot be planned from the perspective of traditional integrated testing activities. In this paper, we have presented some design factors that can affect the testing of client-server software systems. These factors should be taken into consideration during design as it can lead to better testability in client-server software systems.
GP 2 S: Generic Privacy-Preservation Solutions for Approximate Aggregation of Sensor Data ∗

Protecting privacy in sensor networks poses new challenges because of the potential incompatibilities between new privacy-preserving mechanisms and mechanisms already implemented in sensor networks (such as in-network data aggregation). To address this problem, we propose in this paper a set of new privacy-preservation data aggregation schemes. Different from past research, our solutions have the following features: supporting data aggregation for a variety of queries; providing privacy protection for both individual data and aggregate data; being resilient to any number of node collusion; being highly efficient.