Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Acoustic emission monitoring of damage progression in CFRPretrofitted RC beams

The increased use of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) in retrofitting reinforced concrete (RC) members has led to the need to develop non-destructive techniques that can monitor and characterize the unique damage mechanisms exhibited by such structural systems. This paper presented the damage characterization results of six CFRP retrofitted RC beam specimens tested in the laboratory and monitored using acoustic emission (AE). The focus of this study was to continuously monitor the change in AE parameters and analyze them both qualitatively and quantitatively, when brittle failure modes such as debonding occur in these beams. Although deterioration of structural integrity was traceable and can be quantified by monitoring the AE data, individual failure mode characteristics could not be identified due to the complexity of the system failure modes. In all, AE was an effective non-destructive monitoring tool that can trace the failure progression in RC beams retrofitted with CFRP. It would be advantageous to isolate signals originating from the CFRP and concrete, leading to a more clear understanding of the progression of the brittle damage mechanism involved in such a structural system. For practical applications, future studies should focus on spectral analysis of AE data from broadband sensors and automated pattern recognition tools to classify and better correlate AE parameters to failure modes observed.
A primer set to determine sex in the small Indian mongoose, Herpestes auropunctatus

To enable the accurate sexing of individuals of introduced populations of the small Indian mongoose, Herpestes auropunctatus, we designed a primer set for the amplification of the sex‐specific fragments EIF2S3Y and EIF2S3X. Using this primer set, the expected amplification products were obtained for all samples of genomic DNA tested: males yielded two bands and females a single band. Sequencing of each PCR product confirmed that the 769‐bp fragment amplified from DNA samples of both sexes was derived from EIF2S3X, whereas the 546‐bp fragment amplified only from male DNA samples was derived from EIF2S3Y. The results indicated that this primer set is useful for sex identification in this species.
Searching for Periodic Flows in an Internet Backbone

If questioned on a traffic pattern occurring every day at prec isely the same time, one would intuitively attribute it to some timed application su ch as e.g. a mirror update. Nonetheless has research so far neglected to investigate the key pro perties of above, apparently obvious, phenomenon. This report presents a methodology fo r detecting traffic exchanges at periodical intervals between hosts. We applied the metho dology on NetFlow statistics of an Internet backbone. We discovered about 15% of the TCP tr affic on a border router to be periodic; moreover, comparably few flows contribute to this phenomenon. With the prospect of traffic engineering we examined the traffic’s pro pe ty of time persistence.
An experimental investigation of density‐stratified inertial gravity currents

Turbidity currents and pyroclastic density currents may originate as stratified flows or develop stratification during propagation. Analogue, density‐stratified laboratory currents are described, using layers of salt solutions with different concentrations and depths to create the initial vertical stratification. The evolving structure of the flow depends on the distribution of the driving buoyancy between the layers, B* (proportional to the layer volumes and densities), and their density ratio, ρ*. When the lower layer contains more salt than the upper layer, and so has a greater proportion of the driving buoyancy (B* < 0·5), this layer can run ahead leading to streamwise or longitudinal stratification (ρ*→0), or the layers can mix to produce a homogeneous current (ρ*→1). If the upper layer contains more salt and thus buoyancy (B* > 0·5), this layer travels to the nose of the current by mixing into the back of the head along the body/wake density interface to produce a homogeneous flow (ρ*→1) or overtaking, leading to streamwise stratification (ρ*→0). Timescales describing the mixing between the layers and the streamwise separation of the layers are used to understand these flow behaviours and are in accordance with the experimental observations. Distance–time measurements of the flow front show that strongly stratified flows initially travel faster than weakly stratified flows but, during their later stages, they travel more slowly. In natural flows that are stratified in concentration and grain size, internal features, such as stepwise grading, gradual upward fining and reverse grading, could be produced depending on B* and ρ*. Stratification may also be expected to affect interactions with topography and overall fan architecture.
Practical

the radiating antenna field. I hope you enjoy reading the three papers in the first issue of the new year. Very soon you can submit EMC Magazine papers directly to the IEEE ScholarOne portal - do look out for the official announcement from the IEEE EMC Society. With the ease of the new paper submission process, I look forward to receiving many interesting papers from the EMC community.
The Design of Man-Machine Finger-Guessing Game Based on the Hand Gesture of the IntelliSense

On the basis of research on gesture recognition algorithm to the static gesture as a breakthrough idea of using static gesture recognition to identify the dynamic gestures. Firstly, this paper used Kinect to obtain depth image and RGB color image segmenting a hand. After this , for each frame this paper used the skin color segmentation method to process the image. After extracting the hand images, we used the method of density distribution feature and recognition of fingers' numbers based on the binary images to extract the hand gesture feature, then with pre-established gesture library template matching, the final choice of the closest gesture is the recognition of hand gestures. Experimental results demonstrate the accuracy of the proposed algorithm is higher, and successfully applied to the man-machine finger-guessing game,which made a good user experience.
Projected PID controller for Tendon-Driven Manipulators actuated by magneto-rheological clutches

Tendon-Driven Manipulators (TDM) have been used in various applications requiring low inertia robots having multiple degrees-of-freedom (DOF) and redundancy. TDMs are generally actuated by gear electric motors placed at the base of the robot, and consequently require complex cable tension feedback from force sensors or dynamic modelling to maintain cables under tension. This paper presents a high performance TDM actuated by magneto-rheological clutches along with a specialized motion control algorithm, termed Projected PID, that requires no tension feedback. A 2-DOF proof-of-concept TDM powered by magneto-rheological clutches is used to demonstrate overall controller performance, and a reconfigurable 2-DOF TDM powered by direct-drive electric motors is used to demonstrate the controller's ability to compensate for configuration variations and actuator failure. Experimental results also demonstrate the ability of Projected PID to control magneto-rheological cable-driven TDMs with high accuracy.
In-plane artifacts in breast tomosynthesis quantified with a novel contrast-detail phantom

The purpose of this work was to develop a contrast-detail phantom that can be used to evaluate image quality in breast tomosynthesis (BT) and as a first step use it to evaluate in-plane artifacts with respect to object size and contrast. The phantom was constructed using a Polylite® resin as bulk material, as it has x-ray mass attenuation properties similar to polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), a common phantom material in mammography. Six different materials - polyoxymethylene (POM), bakelite®, nylon, polycarbonate (PC), acrylonitrilebutadienestyrene (ABS) and polyethene (PE) - were selected to form the phantom details. For each of the six materials, five spherical objects were manufactured (diameters of 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20 mm) resulting in 30 objects that were embedded with their centres approximately aligned at the central plane of a 26 mm thick Polylite® block (210 mm x 300 mm). A 20 mm thick PMMA block was added to yield a phantom with attenuation properties similar to 45 mm PMMA that could simulate a so-called standard breast (50 mm thick, 50% glandular tissue). Images of the phantom were acquired using a BT prototype system that employs filtered backprojection for image reconstruction. The magnitude of the in-plane artifacts was evaluated and was found to increase linearly with increasing contrast (signal) level and size of the embedded objects. The contrast-detail phantom was found to be a useful tool for evaluating BT in-plane artifacts and might also be used to study out-of-plane artifacts and the effect of different acquisition and reconstruction parameters on image quality in BT.
Replication regulation of Vibrio cholerae chromosome II involves initiator binding to the origin both as monomer and as dimer

The origin region of Vibrio cholerae chromosome II (chrII) resembles plasmid origins that have repeated initiator-binding sites (iterons). Iterons are essential for initiation as well as preventing over-initiation of plasmid replication. In chrII, iterons are also essential for initiation but over-initiation is prevented by sites called 39-mers. Both iterons and 39-mers are binding sites of the chrII specific initiator, RctB. Here, we have isolated RctB mutants that permit over-initiation in the presence of 39-mers. Characterization of two of the mutants showed that both are defective in 39-mer binding, which helps to explain their over-initiation phenotype. In vitro, RctB bound to 39-mers as monomers, and to iterons as both monomers and dimers. Monomer binding to iterons increased in both the mutants, suggesting that monomers are likely to be the initiators. We suggest that dimers might be competitive inhibitors of monomer binding to iterons and thus help control replication negatively. ChrII replication was found to be dependent on chaperones DnaJ and DnaK in vivo. The chaperones preferentially improved dimer binding in vitro, further suggesting the importance of dimer binding in the control of chrII replication.
Assessment of Diaphragm and External Intercostals Fatigue from Surface EMG using Cervical Magnetic Stimulation

This study was designed: (1) to test the reliability of surface electromyography (sEMG) recording of the diaphragm and external intercostals contractions response to cervical magnetic stimulation (CMS), (2) to examine the amount and the types of inspiratory muscle fatigue that developed after maximum voluntary ventilation (MVV) maneuvers. Ten male college students without physical disability (22.1±2.0 years old) participated in the study and each completed a control (quiet breathing) trial and a fatigue (MVV maneuvers) trial sequentially. In the quiet breathing trial, the subjects maintained quiet breathing for five minutes. The subjects performed five maximal static inspiratory efforts and received five CMS before and after the quiet breathing. In the MVV trial, subjects performed five maximal inspiratory efforts and received five CMS before, immediately after, and ten minutes after two sets of MVV maneuvers performed five minutes apart. Maximal inspiratory pressure (PImax), sEMG of diaphragm and external intercostals during maximal static inspiratory efforts and during CMS were recorded. In the quiet breathing trial, high intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC=0.95-0.99) were observed in all the variables. In the MVV trial, the PImax, the EMG amplitude and the median power frequency during maximal static inspiratory efforts significantly decreased in both the diaphragm and the external intercostals immediately after the MVV maneuvers (P<0.05) and remained decreased in the diaphragm but not in the external intercostals after ten minutes of recovery. MVV maneuvers induced no EMG changes during CMS in either the diaphragm or the external intercostals (P>0.05). It is concluded that the sEMG recordings of the diaphragm during maximal static inspiratory efforts and in response to CMS allow reproducible sequential assessment of diaphragm contractility. MVV maneuvers resulted in inspiratory muscles fatigue, possibly central fatigue.
Towards a Generic Framework for Wireless Sensor Network Multi-Criteria Routing

Most of the research in sensor networks has focused on the energy problem at the expense of other aspects such as reliability, security, or semantics. The increasing number of applications has introduced new challenges and new requirements which require evolving from single purpose deployments to multiple goals. In this paper we do not propose a new multi-criteria protocol, but rather a generic routing framework which is flexible and easy to implement over multiple existing routing protocols. The chosen criteria are tightly coupled to the WSN requirements.
A Learning-to-Rank Approach for Image Color Enhancement

We present a machine-learned ranking approach for automatically enhancing the color of a photograph. Unlike previous techniques that train on pairs of images before and after adjustment by a human user, our method takes into account the intermediate steps taken in the enhancement process, which provide detailed information on the person's color preferences. To make use of this data, we formulate the color enhancement task as a learning-to-rank problem in which ordered pairs of images are used for training, and then various color enhancements of a novel input image can be evaluated from their corresponding rank values. From the parallels between the decision tree structures we use for ranking and the decisions made by a human during the editing process, we posit that breaking a full enhancement sequence into individual steps can facilitate training. Our experiments show that this approach compares well to existing methods for automatic color enhancement.
MODELLING THE MECHANICAL AND HISTOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF CARROT TISSUE DURING COOKING IN RELATION TO TEXTURE AND CELL WALL CHANGES

A tensile test was used to measure four mechanical properties of carrot tissue cooked under various time-temperature conditions. A kinetic model describing the changes of these mechanical properties measured during cooking was developed. The histological properties of the rupture surfaces caused by the mechanical testing were investigated. The kinetic model was found capable of predicting the changes in the rupture mechanism of the cell walls. Determining the percentage of cell wall ruptures proved to be an accurate method to assess the textural state of carrot tissue during cooking as compared to the measurement of the mechanical properties.
Synthesis of a photo‐crosslinked stable nonlinear optical polymer and application to external electro‐optic measurement

A photo-crosslinked side-chain second-order nonlinear optical polymer was synthesized with bis-phenol-A as the polymer backbone, p-nitroaniline as the chromophore and cinnamyl group as the photo-sensitizer. The characterization of the polymer was made by nuclear magnetic resonance, infrared, ultraviolet-vis, and dynamic mechanical analysis methods. An electro-optic film was obtained by spin coating of the polymer and corona poling then photo-crosslinking reaction. An external electro-optic measurement system was established based on the film and reflective light path configuration, and successfully applied to measure the electrical signals propagating on the under-test circuits. The poled and crosslinked film showed high glass transition temperature (160°C) and improved chromophore orientation stability. The measuring principle was analyzed by electro-optic tensor matrix and index ellipsoid methods. The results showed that the designed polymer film had the linear electro-optic effect, the voltage sensitivity of the system was measured to be 5 mv/ at the condition of 1 kHz input signal. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 77: 1506–1512, 2000
Power Control for Cognitive Radios in Nakagami Fading Channels with Outage Probability Requirement

We study and propose power control schemes for cognitive radios in Nakagami fading channels. A general model is adopted, which includes the effects of transmit power control from the primary user (PU) transmitter, as well as the transmit power control from multiple secondary user (SU) transmitters, to the PU and each SU. We found that for high signal-to-interference-ratio (SIR) case in Nakagami and Rayleigh fading channels, the outage probability constraint can be upper bounded by an equivalent interference constraint, and the problem for maximizing the total SU spectrum utility can be written as a convex optimization problem which can be solved efficiently. An iterative power control scheme is also presented to maximize the total spectrum utility of the SUs, and to guarantee the quality of service (QoS) of the PU in terms of outage probability.
Influence of extracellular oscillations on neural communication: a computational perspective

Neural communication generates oscillations of electric potential in the extracellular medium. In feedback, these oscillations affect the electrochemical processes within the neurons, influencing the timing and the number of action potentials. It is unclear whether this influence should be considered only as noise or it has some functional role in neural communication. Through computer simulations we investigated the effect of various sinusoidal extracellular oscillations on the timing and number of action potentials. Each simulation is based on a multicompartment model of a single neuron, which is stimulated through spatially distributed synaptic activations. A thorough analysis is conducted on a large number of simulations with different models of CA3 and CA1 pyramidal neurons which are modeled using realistic morphologies and active ion conductances. We demonstrated that the influence of the weak extracellular oscillations, which are commonly present in the brain, is rather stochastic and modest. We found that the stronger fields, which are spontaneously present in the brain only in some particular cases (e.g., during seizures) or that can be induced externally, could significantly modulate spike timings.
Accurate Characterization of Attenuation Constants of Substrate Integrated Waveguide Using Resonator Method

A novel resonator method is presented to extract the attenuation constants of the substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) transmission lines, providing an alternative way to investigate the propagation properties of SIW. The losses of SIW transmission line and cavity resonator have been investigated with theoretical analysis. Then a formula is derived for establishing the relationship between the attenuation constant of the SIW transmission line and the unloaded Q-factor of SIW cavity resonator at its resonant frequency. Thus, the attenuation constant of SIW transmission line can be extracted using SIW cavity resonator. Good agreement between the resonator method and Thru-Line (TL) method has been achieved in both full-wave simulation and experimental results. Besides, good robustness of the resonator method has been demonstrated, suggesting it is a promising technique for investigation of the propagation properties of SIW.
Deformation and Energy Absorption of Aluminum Foam Filled Square Tubes

Modeling and numerical simulation of aluminum foam filled square tubes under axial impact loading is presented. The foam-filled thin-walled square tubes are modeled as shell wherein, foam core is modeled by incorporating visco-elastic plastic foam model in Altair® RADIOSS. Deformation and energy absorption studies with single, bi-tubular, and multi-tube structure with and without aluminum foam core are carried out for assessing its effectiveness in crashworthiness under the identical conditions. It is observed that the multi-tube structure with foam core modify the deformation modes considerably and results in substantial increase in energy absorption capacity in comparison with the single and multi-tube without foam core. Moreover, the multi-tube foam filled structure shows complicated deformation modes due to the significant effect of stress wave propagation. This study will help automotive industry to design superior crashworthy components with multi-tube foam filled structures and will reduce the experimental trials by conducting the numerical simulations.
Smartphone Inertial Sensor-Based Indoor Localization and Tracking With iBeacon Corrections

The Global Positioning System (GPS) can be readily used for outdoor localization, but GPS signals are degraded in indoor environments. How to develop a robust and accurate indoor localization system is an emergent task. In this paper, we propose a smartphone inertial sensor-based indoor localization and tracking system with occasional iBeacon corrections. Some important issues in a smartphone-based pedestrian dead reckoning (PDR) approach, i.e., step detection, walking direction estimation, and initial point estimation, are studied. One problem of the PDR approach is the drift with walking distance. We apply a recent technology, iBeacon, to occasionally calibrate the drift of the PDR approach. By analyzing iBeacon measurements, we define an efficient calibration range where an extended Kalman filter is utilized. The proposed localization and tracking system can be implemented in resource-limited smartphones. To evaluate the performance of the proposed approach, real experiments under two different environments have been conducted. The experimental results demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed approach. We also tested the localization accuracy with respect to the number of iBeacons.
From Blogs to News: Identifying Hot Topics in the Blogosphere

We describe the participation of the University of Amsterdam’s ILPS group in the blog track at TREC 2009. We focus on the top stories identification task, and take an approach that does not require the headlines of top stories to be known beforehand. We explore the feasibility of a so-called blogs to news approach: given a date and a set of blog posts, identify the main topics for that date. This approach is more general than just finding top stories, but it can still be applied to the task of headline ranking. Results show that this general approach, applied to the task at hand, is among the top performing approaches in this year’s TREC.
An Improved FVS-KPCA Method of Fault Detection on TE Process

For complex nonlinear systems of chemical industry process, traditional kernel principal component analysis (KPCA) methods are very difficult to calculate the kernel matrix for fault detection with large sample sets. So an improved fault detection method based on feature vector selection-KPCA (FVS-KPCA) is developed. This method can evidently reduce calculational complexity of fault detection and is applied to the benchmark of Tennessee Eastman (TE) processes. The simulation results show that the proposed method can effectively improve the speed of fault detection.
Automatic Location of the Talairach Cortical Landmarks from T2-Weighted MR Images

For labeling the T2-weighted MR images using human brain atlas, it is prerequisite to the foundation of the Talairach space for T2W MR images, and the basic condition to found Talairach space is the location of Talairach cortical landmarks from T2W MR images. A method to locate the Talairach cortical landmarks from T2W MR images is proposed, it consists of three aspects: Firstly, determine the planes including the six cortical landmarks ; segment the planes based on fuzzy C-means clustering algorithm, gray level projection, watershed algorithm, region merging, thresholding, and morphologic operations; locate the cortical landmarks from the segmented planes. The algorithm has been validated quantitatively with 20 T2W MR images data sets. The mean errors of the Talairach cortical landmarks were below 1.00 mm. It took about 8 seconds for identifying them on P4 3.0 GHz. This fast, robust algorithm is potentially useful in clinic and for research.