Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rate-Distortion Optimal Video Transport Over IP Allowing Packets With Bit Errors

We propose new models and methods for rate-distortion (RD) optimal video delivery over IP, when packets with bit errors are also delivered. In particular, we propose RD optimal methods for slicing and unequal error protection (UEP) of packets over IP allowing transmission of packets with bit errors. The proposed framework can be employed in a classical independent-layer transport model for optimal slicing, as well as in a cross-layer transport model for optimal slicing and UEP, where the forward error correction (FEC) coding is performed at the link layer, but the application controls the FEC code rate with the constraint that a given IP packet is subject to constant channel protection. The proposed method uses a novel dynamic programming approach to determine the optimal slicing and UEP configuration for each video frame in a practical manner, that is compliant with the AVC/H.264 standard. We also propose new rate and distortion estimation techniques at the encoder side in order to efficiently evaluate the objective function for a slice configuration. The cross-layer formulation option effectively determines which regions of a frame should be protected better; hence, it can be considered as a spatial UEP scheme. We successfully demonstrate, by means of experimental results, that each component of the proposed system provides significant gains, up to 2.0 dB, compared to competitive methods
HMM Specialization with Selective Lexicalization

We present a technique which complements Hidden Markov Models by incorporating some lexicalized states representing syntactically uncommon words. Our approach examines the distribution of transitions, selects the uncommon words, and makes lexicalized states for the words. We performed a part-of-speech tagging experiment on the Brown corpus to evaluate the resultant language model and discovered that this technique improved the tagging accuracy by 0.21% at the 95% level of confidence.
A Broadband Transmitarray Antenna Using a Metasurface-Based Element for Millimeter-Wave Applications

In this manuscript, a broadband transmitarray antenna (TA) using a metasurface-based element is presented for millimeter-wave communication applications. The metasurface-based TA element adopts a receiver–transmitter configuration: metasurfaces are applied as the receiver and transmitter, and slot-coupled differentially fed striplines are used as the phase compensation. The designed TA element achieves good transmission performance with a more than 360° transmission phase shift range and less than 1-dB transmission insertion loss within a wide frequency range. To verify the proposed TA, a prototype is fabricated based on the conventional printed circuit board (PCB) process, and a pyramid horn is designed as the source. The measured results show that the proposed TA with the differential feed network presents a 1-dB gain bandwidth of 26.2% from 23.5 to 30.5 GHz and a peak gain of 24.5 dBi. The designed TA is a promising alternative for millimeter-wave communications applications because of its high gain, broad bandwidth, low costs, and convenient integration with other circuits.
Rare-Allele Detection Using Compressed Se(que)nsing

Detection of rare variants by resequencing is important for the identification of individuals carrying disease variants. Rapid sequencing by new technologies enables low-cost resequencing of target regions, although it is still prohibitive to test more than a few individuals. In order to improve cost trade-offs, it has recently been suggested to apply pooling designs which enable the detection of carriers of rare alleles in groups of individuals. However, this was shown to hold only for a relatively low number of individuals in a pool, and requires the design of pooling schemes for particular cases. We propose a novel pooling design, based on a compressed sensing approach, which is both general, simple and efficient. We model the experimental procedure and show via computer simulations that it enables the recovery of rare allele carriers out of larger groups than were possible before, especially in situations where high coverage is obtained for each individual. Our approach can also be combined with barcoding techniques to enhance performance and provide a feasible solution based on current resequencing costs. For example, when targeting a small enough genomic region (~100 base-pairs) and using only ~10 sequencing lanes and ~10 distinct barcodes, one can recover the identity of 4 rare allele carriers out of a population of over 4000 individuals.
Etiology of Ulcerative Dermal Necrosis (UDN) in Brown Trout (Salmo trutta Morpha trutta)—Preliminary Results

Every year, ulcerative dermal necrosis (UDN) affects salmonids that spend most of their lives in the sea during their migration to the rivers of northern Poland to spawn. The clinical form of the disease manifests itself in ulcerative skin lesions, which lead to significant weakening of the fish and, in most cases, result in their death. This study was carried out on samples taken from sea trout in the Słupia River in northern Poland. In order to identify the pathogen, experiments on the transmission of the disease were carried out, and additional histopathological, microbiological and electron microscopic examinations were performed. As a result of these studies, it was possible to experimentally transfer the disease from sick to healthy fish. The results indicate a complex etiology of the disease (lack of a clearly defined pathogen), in which the change in the environment from salty to freshwater triggers the related changes in skin physiology, which are the main causes of increased susceptibility to the development of the disease.
Taking Initiative in Human-Robot Action Teams: How Proactive Robot Behaviors Affect Teamwork

People coordinate in action teams to accomplish shared goals in safety-and time-critical contexts such as healthcare and firefighting. Operational failures in these teams can cost lives. Therefore, in our work, we explore how robots that take initiative to support team and task success can augment action teams. We designed and studied proactive robot behaviors in non-dyadic (three humans and a robot) action teams to better understand factors that support the acceptance and effectiveness of proactive robots. Our work will support better human-robot teaming in action teams by addressing gaps in how robot initiative impacts team dynamics, preferences for proactive robot behaviors, and how proactive robots can take initiative based on task states to empower their teammates.
Joint user association and rate allocation for HTTP adaptive streaming in heterogeneous cellular networks

Hypertext transfer protocol based (HTTP) adaptive streaming (HAS) of video over wireless networks has brings huge challenge for the mobile networks. Although some works have been done for video streaming delivery in heterogeneous cellular networks, most of them are focus on the video streaming scheduling or the caching strategy design. The problem of joint user association and rate allocation to maximize the system utility while satisfying the requirement of the quality of experience of users is largely ignored. In this paper, the problem of joint user association and rate allocation for HTTP adaptive streaming in heterogeneous cellular networks is studied, we model the optimization problem as a mixed integer programming problem. To reduce the computational complexity, an optimal rate allocation using the Lagrangian dual method under the assumption of knowing user association for BSs is first solved. Then we use the many-to-one matching model to analyze the user association problem, and the joint user association and rate allocation based on the distributed greedy matching algorithm is proposed. Finally, extensive simulation results are illustrated to demonstrate the performance of the proposed scheme.
Relation of body mass index and skinfold thicknesses to cardiovascular disease risk factors in children: the Bogalusa Heart Study.

BACKGROUND Adverse levels of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors are related to skinfold thicknesses and body mass index (BMI) among children, but the relative strengths of these associations are unknown. OBJECTIVE The objective was to determine whether the sum of the triceps and subscapular skinfold thicknesses (SF sum) is more strongly related to levels of 6 risk factors (triglycerides, LDL and HDL cholesterol, insulin, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure) than is BMI. DESIGN Cross-sectional analyses of schoolchildren examined in the Bogalusa Heart Study from 1981 to 1994 (n = 6866) were conducted. A risk factor summary index was derived by using principal components analysis. RESULTS After race, sex, study period, and age were controlled for, almost all comparisons indicated that BMI was more strongly related to risk factor levels than was the SF sum. Although the differences were generally small, many were statistically significant. Associations with the risk factor summary, for example, were r = 0.50 for BMI and r = 0.47 for SF sum (P < 0.001 for difference). Furthermore, an adverse risk factor summary was observed among 62% of the children with the highest (upper 5%) BMI levels but among only 54% of children with the highest SF sum levels. CONCLUSIONS BMI is at least as accurate as SF sum in identifying children and adolescents who are at metabolic risk. Because of the training and errors associated with skinfold-thickness measurements, the advantages of BMI should be considered in the design and interpretation of clinical and epidemiologic studies.
Voluntourism in the Context of Community-Based Tourism, and Regenerative Tourism: A Theoretical Exploration Focusing on Responsibility

The paper examines the theoretical interconnection between the concepts of voluntourism, community-based tourism, and regenerative tourism. Voluntourism, widely criticized for its implementations unethical towards local environment and community, is re-evaluated in the light of community-based and regenerative tourism principles including unequal power dynamics and questionable long-term benefits to host communities. This paper claims that re-imagining voluntourism within the framework of regenerative tourism offers a new perspective. Regenerative tourism, characterized by its commitment to restoring, revitalizing, and enhancing the wellbeing of both natural environments and local communities, can serve as a guiding principle for voluntourism programs. Community-based tourism is integral to this theoretical exploration, as it emphasizes local participation, cultural and natural preservation, and economic empowerment. When voluntourism aligns with community-based tourism principles, it shifts its focus from short-term, self-serving actions to responsible community-driven initiatives. By channelling the motivation and resources of volunteers towards community-led regenerative initiatives, voluntourism can contribute to positive, lasting impacts. Ethical reflection is done within the actors only. This paper is theoretical; however, its purpose is in the pragmatism of tourism concept development. It concludes to enhance the understanding of voluntourism's potential to transition from a problematic form of tourism to an ethical and responsible force for change. By reconciling voluntourism with the principles of regenerative tourism and community-based tourism, this paper aims to provide a theoretical foundation for the development of more responsible and sustainable tourism practices. In doing so, it strives to contribute to the theoretical knowledge surrounding alternative and socially sustainable tourism concepts.
Properties of the dorsalizing signal in gastrulae of Xenopus laevis.

According to the 'three signal model', the regional specification of tissue type within the mesoderm of Xenopus laevis occurs in a process called 'dorsalization'. We have studied the timing and transmission characteristics of this signal, and assessed the dorsalizing activity of the lithium ion and a panel of cytokines.The marginal zone has been fate mapped during gastrulation by colloidal gold labelling and it is shown that the ventral tissue undergoes substantial circumferential expansion. The fate map information is used to provide tissues of constant cellular composition for experiments conducted at different stages.The stage at which dorsalization can occur has been investigated by means of heterochronic dorsal-ventral combinations. The results indicate that the interaction occurs during gastrulation, with a decline in both signal strength and competence of the ventral marginal zone to respond as gastrulation proceeds.The signal is capable of passing through arrangements of membranes that exclude the possibility of cytoplasmic contact, implying that it can be carried by a diffusible morphogen.The effect on the ventral marginal zone of lithium and a number of cytokines has also been studied. While none appears to function as a dorsalizing signal, lithium acts during blastula stages to alter the response to the mesoderm-inducing signal such that the inductions are of a more dorsal character.These data confirm that the dorsalizing signal is independent of and operates later than the signal(s) from the vegetal hemisphere that induce mesoderm during the blastula stages.
Space Shift Keying (SSK) Transmission Over Rayleigh Fading Channels and Symmetric Alpha-Stable Noise

This paper presents a comprehensive analytical study of the average bit error probability (ABEP) performance of multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) communication systems employing Space Shift Keying (SSK) modulation operating over a mixture of Rayleigh fading and impulsive noise channels modelled by the symmetric alpha-stable distribution. By considering three key receiver structures, namely the genie-aided (GA), minimum distance (MD) and maximum likelihood (ML) type of receivers various analytical ABEP performance evaluation results are presented. Firstly, a novel analytical approach for evaluating the ABEP of SSK-MIMO systems, for the ideal benchmark GA receiver which has a-priori knowledge of both channel and noise coefficients, is introduced. The proposed methodology yields exact expressions for the ABEP performance of multiple-input single output (MISO) systems with two transmit antennas. For the general case of MIMO systems which employ an arbitrary number of transmit and/or receive antennas, accurate approximations and tight upper performance bounds are derived and their ABEP performance is analyzed. An asymptotic ABEP analysis is also carried out from which the diversity and the coding gains are derived. Secondly, a general class of minimum distance (MD) receivers, namely the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$L_{p}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-norm receivers, is considered. An approximate analytical expression for the ABEP of the special case of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$L_{p}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-norm (matched filter) receivers, whose performance is optimal for the additive white Gaussian noise channel (AWGN), is derived. For the general case of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$L_{p}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-norm receivers, their ABEP performance is evaluated by means of Monte Carlo simulations, revealing that they significantly outperform the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$L_{2}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-norm receivers. Thirdly, by considering the maximum-likelihood (ML) receiver, since its implementation complexity turns out to be prohibitively high, simple, suboptimal receiver configurations structures of the ML receiver are instead proposed. Analytical evaluation results verified by complementary computer simulations have shown that their ABEP performance is asymptotically, i.e., at high signal-to-noise ratios (SNR), optimal. For the GA, suboptimal ML and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$L_{p}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-norm receiver structures, the impact of spatial correlation on their ABEP performance has also been analyzed and evaluated. The accuracy of the analytical approaches used in deriving the proposed receivers has been validated by equivalent numerical ABEP performance evaluation results accompanied by complementary Monte Carlo simulations.
Optimizing optimal reduction: A type inference algorithm for elementary affine logic

We propose a type inference algorithm for lambda terms in elementary affine logic (EAL). The algorithm decorates the syntax tree of a simple typed lambda term and collects a set of linear constraints. The result is a parametric elementary type that can be instantiated with any solution of the set of collected constraints.We point out that the typeability of lambda terms in EAL has a practical counterpart, since it is possible to reduce any EAL-typeable lambda terms with the Lamping's abstract algorithm obtaining a substantial increase of performances.We show how to apply the same techniques to obtain decorations of intuitionistic proofs into linear logic proofs.
A Scheduler for Smart Home Appliances Based on a Novel Concept of Tariff Space

The background of this work is related to the scheduling of household appliances, taking into account variations in energy costs during the day from official Brazilian domestic tariffs: constant and white. The white tariff can reach an average price of around 17% lower than the constant, but charges twice its value at peak hours. In addition to cost reduction, we propose a methodology to reduce user discomfort due to time-shifting of controllable devices, presenting a balanced solution through the analytical analysis of a new method referred to as tariff space, derived from white tariff posts. To achieve this goal, we explore the geometric properties of the movement of devices through the tariff space (geometric locus of the load), over which we can define a limited region in which the cost of a load under the white tariff will be equal to or less than the constant tariff. As a trial for the efficiency of this new methodology, we collected some benchmarks (such as execution time and memory usage) against a classic multi-objective algorithm (hierarchical) available in the language portfolio in which the project has been executed (the Julia language). As a result, while both methodologies yield similar results, the approach presented in this article demonstrates a significant reduction in processing time and memory usage, which could lead to the future implementation of the solution in a simple, low-cost embedded system like an ARM cortex M.
Face cooling increases blood pressure during central hypovolemia.

A reduction in central blood volume can lead to cardiovascular decompensation (i.e., failure to maintain blood pressure). Cooling the forehead and cheeks using ice water raises blood pressure. Therefore, face cooling (FC) could be used to mitigate decreases in blood pressure during central hypovolemia. We tested the hypothesis that FC during central hypovolemia induced by lower-body negative pressure (LBNP) would increase blood pressure. Ten healthy participants (22 ± 2 yr, three women, seven men) completed two randomized LBNP trials on separate days. Trials began with 30 mmHg of LBNP for 6 min. Then, a 2.5-liter plastic bag of ice water (0 ± 0°C) (LBNP+FC) or thermoneutral water (34 ± 1°C) (LBNP+Sham) was placed on the forehead, eyes, and cheeks during 15 min of LBNP at 30 mmHg. Forehead temperature was lower during LBNP+FC than LBNP+Sham, with the greatest difference at 21 min of LBNP (11.1 ± 1.6 vs. 33.9 ± 1.4°C, P < 0.001). Mean arterial pressure was greater during LBNP+FC than LBNP+Sham, with the greatest difference at 8 min of LBNP (98 ± 15 vs. 80 ± 8 mmHg, P < 0.001). Cardiac output was higher during LBNP+FC than LBNP+Sham with the greatest difference at 18 min of LBNP (5.9 ± 1.4 vs. 4.9 ± 1.0 liter/min, P = 0.005). Forearm cutaneous vascular resistance was greater during LBNP+FC than LBNP+Sham, with the greatest difference at 15 min of LBNP (7.2 ± 3.4 vs. 4.9 ± 2.7 mmHg/perfusion units (PU), P < 0.001). Face cooling during LBNP increases blood pressure through increases in cardiac output and vascular resistance.
Service-Outage-Based Power and Rate Control for Poisson Fading Channels

A single-input-single-output (SISO) Poisson fading channel with perfect channel state information (CSI) at the transmitter and the receiver is considered. For a fixed basic rate r 0, a service outage occurs when the instantaneous transmission rate falls below the rate r 0. The objective of this paper is to maximize the expected transmission rate subject to peak and average transmitter power constraints and a constraint on the service outage probability. The optimal power allocation scheme is shown to be a combination of the ergodic capacity-achieving power allocation and the outage capacity-achieving power allocation schemes with a randomization between the two deterministic schemes in a boundary set. This randomization is not necessary when the channel fade distribution is continuous. By combining the concepts of ergodic and outage capacity, the proposed optimal scheme judiciously resolves the conflicting objectives of high expected transmission rate and low outage probability.
Interconnections of Hybrid Systems : Some Challenges and Recent Results

This paper provides an overview of the problem of interconnecting hybrid systems. Hybrid systems are given in terms of constrained differential and difference equations with inputs and outputs. Issues on existence of solutions and mismatch of time domains of their solutions are discussed. An input/output stability notion for such systems is presented and a small gain theorem for analyzing interconnections of hybrid systems is presented.