Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Generalised Discount Functions applied to a Monte-Carlo AI u Implementation

In recent years, work has been done to develop the theory of General Reinforcement Learning (GRL). However, there are no examples demonstrating the known results regarding generalised discounting. We have added to the GRL simulation platform (AIXIjs) the functionality to assign an agent arbitrary discount functions, and an environment which can be used to determine the effect of discounting on an agent's policy. Using this, we investigate how geometric, hyperbolic and power discounting affect an informed agent in a simple MDP. We experimentally reproduce a number of theoretical results, and discuss some related subtleties. It was found that the agent's behaviour followed what is expected theoretically, assuming appropriate parameters were chosen for the Monte-Carlo Tree Search (MCTS) planning algorithm.
Passive Immunization with Phospho-Tau Antibodies Reduces Tau Pathology and Functional Deficits in Two Distinct Mouse Tauopathy Models

In Alzheimer’s disease (AD), an extensive accumulation of extracellular amyloid plaques and intraneuronal tau tangles, along with neuronal loss, is evident in distinct brain regions. Staging of tau pathology by postmortem analysis of AD subjects suggests a sequence of initiation and subsequent spread of neurofibrillary tau tangles along defined brain anatomical pathways. Further, the severity of cognitive deficits correlates with the degree and extent of tau pathology. In this study, we demonstrate that phospho-tau (p-tau) antibodies, PHF6 and PHF13, can prevent the induction of tau pathology in primary neuron cultures. The impact of passive immunotherapy on the formation and spread of tau pathology, as well as functional deficits, was subsequently evaluated with these antibodies in two distinct transgenic mouse tauopathy models. The rTg4510 transgenic mouse is characterized by inducible over-expression of P301L mutant tau, and exhibits robust age-dependent brain tau pathology. Systemic treatment with PHF6 and PHF13 from 3 to 6 months of age led to a significant decline in brain and CSF p-tau levels. In a second model, injection of preformed tau fibrils (PFFs) comprised of recombinant tau protein encompassing the microtubule-repeat domains into the cortex and hippocampus of young P301S mutant tau over-expressing mice (PS19) led to robust tau pathology on the ipsilateral side with evidence of spread to distant sites, including the contralateral hippocampus and bilateral entorhinal cortex 4 weeks post-injection. Systemic treatment with PHF13 led to a significant decline in the spread of tau pathology in this model. The reduction in tau species after p-tau antibody treatment was associated with an improvement in novel-object recognition memory test in both models. These studies provide evidence supporting the use of tau immunotherapy as a potential treatment option for AD and other tauopathies.
The pricing strategy for Fuji apple in Shaanxi of Chain under the e-commerce environment

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a new method and model for determining the optimal decision-making for the pricing strategy to the Fuji apple in Shaanxi of Chain which is representing fresh agricultural products under the e-commerce environment. Design/methodology/approach Considering the rapid development of information technology as well as internet that actually motivate the e-commerce, Fuji apple is a distinctive product in China’s Shaanxi; its sales channels have extended to online sales under the wave of e-commerce. Internet trading platforms make it possible to trade online in real time between suppliers and customers who live in different geographical areas. In this paper, the authors study how to price online to maximize the total revenue. The challenge is to optimally price two different qualities of apple. Based on the consumer surplus theory, the authors use the method that builds the function of the relationship between the proportion of consumers purchasing different qualities of products and price. Findings This paper presents a generalized model to determine the optimal pricing that maximizes the total revenue of a fruit grower over a finite planning horizon. The authors divided discount into two intervals and discussed the optimal discounting and pricing at both intervals. Then they determined the optimal pricing strategy for Fuji apple in Shaanxi of Chain under the e-commerce environment. Originality/value This paper makes up for the lack of existing studies of pricing under the e-commerce environment. A new method and approach to the traditional pricing strategy is established and applied to a management decision-making problem with Chinese characteristics in reality.
An efficient automatic traffic sign detection and recognition method for smartphones

The usage of automatic driving assistance systems (ADAS) has become more and more popular in recent years. In the design of ADAS, traffic sign detection (TSD) and traffic sign recognition (TSR) are two important functions and have been widely studied in the literature. This paper addresses the design of a vision-based TSD and recognition (TSDR) system, which is computationally efficient and can run on a common smartphone with real time performance. To achieve this, a novel TSD algorithm is proposed based on the Maximally Stable Extremal Regions (MSER) algorithm to accurately detect all traffic sign candidates in real time. Then, the feature vector of each candidate region is extracted via the Histogram of Oriented Gradient (HOG) algorithm. To recognize the traffic sign, the proposed TSR algorithm is designed by combining a Linear Support Vector Machine (LSVM) classifier with a voting process to improve the traffic sign recognition rate in real-world environments. The proposed TSDR system had been implemented on iOS embedded platform and can operate at an average speed of 30 fps for processing 640 × 480 video streams. Moreover, experimental results show that the proposed system achieves about 96% precision rate for recognition on the German Traffic Sign Recognition Benchmark (GTSRB). Therefore, the proposed TSDR algorithm has a potential to be used in realistic products.
TAK1 restricts spontaneous NLRP3 activation and cell death to control myeloid proliferation

The NOD-like receptor (NLR)–P3 inflammasome is a global sensor of infection and stress. Elevated NLRP3 activation levels are associated with human diseases, but the mechanisms controlling NLRP3 inflammasome activation are largely unknown. Here, we show that TGF-&bgr; activated kinase-1 (TAK1) is a central regulator of NLRP3 inflammasome activation and spontaneous cell death. Absence of TAK1 in macrophages induced spontaneous activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome without requiring toll-like receptor (TLR) priming and subsequent activating signals, suggesting a distinctive role for TAK1 in maintaining NLRP3 inflammasome homeostasis. Autocrine tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling in the absence of TAK1 induced spontaneous RIPK1-dependent NLRP3 inflammasome activation and cell death. We further showed that TAK1 suppressed homeostatic NF-&kgr;B and extracellular signal–related kinase (ERK) activation to limit spontaneous TNF production. Moreover, the spontaneous inflammation resulting from TAK1-deficient macrophages drives myeloid proliferation in mice, and was rescued by RIPK1 deficiency. Overall, these studies identify a critical role for TAK1 in maintaining NLRP3 inflammasome quiescence and preserving cellular homeostasis and survival.
A Study on Configuration and Integration of Sub-Systems to System-of-Systems with Rule Verification

Increasing complexity of today’s software systems is one of the major challenges software engineers have to face. This is aggravated by the fact that formerly isolated systems have to be interconnected to more complex systems, called System-of-Systems (SoS). Those systems are in charge to provide more functionality to the user than all of their independent sub-systems could do. Reducing the complexity of such systems is one goal of the software engineering paradigm called component-based software engineering (CBSE). CBSE enables the developers to treat individual sub-systems as components which interact via interfaces with a simulated environment. Thus those components can be developed and implemented independently from other components. After the implementation a system integrator is able to interconnect the components to a SoS. Despite this much-used approach it is possible to show that constraints, which are valid in an isolated sub-system, are broken after this system is integrated into a SoS. To emphasize this issue we developed a technique based on interconnected timed automata for modelling sub-systems and System-of-Systems in the model checking tool UPPAAL. The presented modelling technique allows it to verify the correctness of single sub-systems as well as the resulting SoS. Additionally we developed a tool which abstracts the complicated timed automata to an easy to read component based language with the goal to help system integrators building and verifying complex SoS.
A Study on Event-Driven TDMA Protocol for Wireless Sensor Networks

MAC protocol controls the activity of wireless radio of sensor nodes directly so that it is the major consumer of sensor energy and the energy efficiency of MAC protocol makes a strong impact on the network performance. TDMA-based MAC protocol is inherently collision-free and can rule out idle listening since nodes know when to transmit. However, conventional TDMA protocol is not suitable for event-driven applications. In this paper, we present ED-TDMA, an event-driven TDMA protocol for wireless sensor networks. Then we conduct extensive simulations to compare it with other MAC protocols such as BMA, S-MAC, and LMAC. Simulation results show that ED-TDMA performs better for event-driven application in wireless sensor networks with high-density deployment and under low traffic.
Dual-band SHF reconfigurable bandpass filter using λ/4 microstrip resonators and chip inductor coupling

For more flexible and efficient use of radio spectrum, reconfigurable RF devices will play an important role in the future wireless systems. In 5G, concurrent operation of multiple RF bands is considered including new SHF bands over wide frequency range. This paper presents an SHF concurrent dual-band bandpass filter (BPF) consisting of a low-SHF three-bit/eight frequencies (3.5–5GHz) reconfigurable BPF and a high-SHF (8.5GHz) BPF. It employs a direct parallel-connected configuration of the two BPFs without divider/combiner. The prototype BPF can switch low-SHF passbands without affecting the high-SHF BPF performance. The low insertion losses from 1.6 to 2.1 dB are achieved for low-SHF frequencies, whereas that for high-SHF BPF is 2.3 dB.
A 65 Gbps QPSK one meter wireless link operating at a 225–255 GHz tunable carrier in a SiGe HBT technology

In this paper we present a fully-electronic one meter wireless link based on a RF chipset working at a tunable carrier frequency of 225 to 255 GHz. It was manufactured in a SiGe 0.13 μm HBT technology with ft/fmax =350/550 GHz. The transmitter has a 3-dB LO/RF BW of 35 GHz and a maximum output power of 8.5 dBm. The receiver has a 3-dB LO/RF BW of 23 GHz, a peak conversion gain of 21 dB and a single side band (SSB) noise figure of 9.5 dB. Each of the modules consists of a single chip, including a broadband silicon lens-integrated on-chip antenna, and a high-speed PCB, which includes a recess to accommodate the chip and wire-bonds compensation structures. The wireless link has a 6-dB BW of 15 GHz measured between the IF input of the Tx and the IF output of the Rx. The maximum achieved data rate was 35 Gbps with an EVM of 27.5 % for BPSK and 65 Gbps with an EVM of 30.4 % for QPSK. For 25 Gbps BPSK the EVM was 7 % and for QPSK a 50 Gbps link was achieved with EVM of 10 %
Plasma Neutrophil Gelatinase–Associated Lipocalin as Early Biomarker for Acute Kidney Injury in Burn Patients

This study evaluated whether measurements of plasma neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) can predict acute kidney injury (AKI) in adult burn patients, and assessed the use of this biomarker in risk stratification. We performed a prospective observational study of consecutive patients with major burns admitted to the burn center within 12 hours of injury. Samples for plasma NGAL assay were obtained three times (at admission, day 3, and day 7). The main outcome measures were occurrence of AKI based on Risk-Injury-Failure classification and mortality. A total 45 patients with burns injury were enrolled. There was a high prevalence (11 of 45, 24.4%) of AKI in burn patients. All patients with AKI developed AKI after hospital day 8. Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that burn size and abbreviated burn severity index were independent risk factors of AKI. Patients who developed AKI had significantly higher admission plasma NGAL levels, hospital day 3 NGAL levels, and hospital day 7 NGAL levels. Especially, hospital day 7 NGAL levels strongly correlated with AKI. For concentration in plasma NGAL at hospital day 7, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.903, sensitivity was 87%, and specificity was 91% for a cutoff value of 125 ng/ml. The mean plasma NGAL at hospital day 7 of patients who died was significantly higher than that of patients who did not (485 ng/ml vs 111 ng/ml, P = .001). Plasma NGAL levels are early predictive biomarkers for AKI and its clinical outcomes after burn injury.
Impact of Rolling Conditions on Propagation of a Potential Crack

The paper reveals information about crack behavior during hot rolling of heavy-gauge products. FEM-based mathematical modeling has been used to investigate the impact of crack shape and rolling parameters on the distribution of the principal tensile stress and the Cockroft-Latham fracture criterion value and on the crack closing capacity. The results clearly show that the crack shape has the most powerful influence on the observed quantities followed by the rolling geometry factors. To find a critical value of the LCK for a specific steel grade and an actual rolling process, a laboratory experiment has been conducted, in which problems related to propagation of initial cracks were detected. It consisted in rolling of wedge-shaped specimens with a notch, which was introduced for the purpose of raising the probability of crack occurrence. In order to find the Critical LCK value in the area of the notch, an additional computer simulation was performed. Results of these experiments led to the conclusion that the steel possesses excellent formability. The Critical LCK values were up to 300 MPa, which is, essentially, an order higher than in actual rolling. As the critical value of LCK depends, among others, on the metallurgical characteristics of the metal, the key to the issue is in the steel microstructure. The findings brought the conclusion that in this specific case the rolling itself affects the crack propagation to a small extent only. The heating process poses a much greater challenge, as it is the likely stage involving the steel overheating.
Investigation of Two-Phase Flow Regimes in Transport Pipe in Oil-Air Lubrication System

In order to reveal oil flow and the diffusing behavior of compressed air in oil,the flow of the mixture of lubricant oil and the compressed air is investigated by experiment and theoretical analysis.By experiments, the flow regime of lubricant oil is correlated closely with the Reynold′s number of compressed air.By means of the analysis of color difference,it shows that the volume fraction of gas dispersed in(lubricant) oil is 4%-6%. The results of numerical solution show that lubricant oil rolls within pipe like a wave,which will give rise to many bubbles between lubricant oil and the wall of the pipe.The pressure(inside) the bubbles is higher than that of ambient pressure.This is the reason for the compressed air diffusing into lubricant oil.And the volume fraction of air in lubricant oil is about 6.12%,which is reasonable and agrees with the results of experiment.
Broad learning system: Structural extensions on single-layer and multi-layer neural networks

Broad Learning System proposed recently [1] demonstrates efficient and effective learning capability. Moreover, fast incremental learning algorithms are developed in broad expansions without an entire retraining of the whole model. Compared with the systems in deep structure, the inspired system provides competitive results in classification. In this paper, the broad learning algorithms and incremental learning algorithms are applied to commonly used neural networks, such as radial basis function neural networks (RBF) and hierarchical extremal learning machine (H-ELM). For RBF, the resulting models, called BLS-RBF, are established by regarding the radial basis function as the mapping in the enhancement nodes, and additional enhancement nodes are added if the network needs expansion widely. For H-ELM, the established model, is developed for the incremental extension of multilayer structure. The developed BLS models and algorithms are very effective and efficient in classification. Finally, experimental results are presented.
Coding Schemes in the Archerfish Optic Tectum

Many studies have yielded valuable knowledge on the early visual system but it is biased since the studies have focused on terrestrial mammals alone. Here, to better account for visual systems in different environments and animal classes, we studied the structure of early visual processing in the archerfish which harnesses its extreme visual ability to hunt by shooting water jets at prey hanging on vegetation above the water. Thus, the archerfish provides a unique opportunity to study visual processing in a vertebrate which is an expert vision-guided predator with a very different brain structure than mammals. The receptive field structures in the archerfish (both sexes) optic tectum, the main visual processing region in the fish brain, were measured and linear non-linear cascades were used to analyze their properties. The findings indicate that the spatial receptive field structures lie on a continuum between circular and elliptical shapes. In addition, the cells' functional properties display a richness of response characteristics, since many cells could be captured by more than a single linear filter. Finally, the non-linear response functions that link linear filters and neuronal responses were found to be similar to the non-linear functions of models that describe terrestrial mammalian single cell activity. Overall our results help to better understand the early visual processing system across vertebrates.
Power consumption analysis for user cooperation aided traffic forwarding over frequency selective fading channels

Recently, user cooperation aided traffic forwarding is widely considered as one of promising techniques to improve energy efficiency in battery-operated mobile terminal (MT). This study tries to theoretically analyze the power consumption of such kind of technique in cellular networks over frequency selective fading channels. We initially derive some expressions to calculate transmission power for non- and cooperative scenarios by a generalized model, in which spatially correlated shadowing, an easily overlooked issue, is considered. Then we mathematically analyze consumed power in aforementioned scenarios with the help of a recent and experiment based Long Term Evolution smartphone power model. Numerical results indicate that the benefits of cooperative forwarding over frequency selective fading channel are substantial, however, due to several physical constraints on MT, such as maximal transmission power, the benefits cannot be fully achieved in realistic environment. Several interesting insights about cooperative forwarding are also obtained in our study.
Spatial-temporal histograms of gradients and HOD-VLAD encoding for human action recognition

Automatic human action recognition is a core functionality of systems for video surveillance and human object interaction. In the whole recognition system, feature description and encoding represent two crucial key steps. In order to construct a powerful action recognition framework it is important that the two steps must provide reliable performance. In this paper, we proposed a new human action feature descriptor which is called spatial-temporal histograms of gradients (SPHOG). SPHOG is based on the spatial and temporal derivation signal, which extracts the gradient changes between consecutive frames. Compare to the traditional descriptors histograms of optical flow, our proposed SPHOG costs less computation resource. Vector of Locally Aggregated Descriptors (VLAD), which is a popular encoding approach for Bag-of-Feature representation. There is a main drawback of VLAD that it only considers the difference between local descriptor and their centroids. In order to resolve the weakness, we proposed a improved VLAD method called HOD-VLAD, which complementary the distribution information of local descriptors by computing a weight histograms of distance. We validated our proposed algorithm for human action recognition on three public available datasets KTH, UCF Sports and HMDB51. The evaluation experiment results indicate that the proposed descriptor and encoding method can improve the efficiency of human action recognition and the recognition accuracy.
Amyloid Structures as Biofilm Matrix Scaffolds

ABSTRACT Recent insights into bacterial biofilm matrix structures have induced a paradigm shift toward the recognition of amyloid fibers as common building block structures that confer stability to the exopolysaccharide matrix. Here we describe the functional amyloid systems related to biofilm matrix formation in both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria and recent knowledge regarding the interaction of amyloids with other biofilm matrix components such as extracellular DNA (eDNA) and the host immune system. In addition, we summarize the efforts to identify compounds that target amyloid fibers for therapeutic purposes and recent developments that take advantage of the amyloid structure to engineer amyloid fibers of bacterial biofilm matrices for biotechnological applications.
Flexible Fuzzy PID Controller (FFPIDC) and a Nature-Inspired Method for Its Construction

In this paper, a new approach to fuzzy controller construction which combines features of proportional-integral-derivative controllers and flexible fuzzy systems is proposed. Flexibility of the fuzzy systems used makes it possible to interpret a control process and reduce the controller structure, which can make hardware implementation easier. The proposed approach uses knowledge about the controlled object and possibilities offered by nature-inspired hybrid population-based algorithms. These algorithms allow us to simultaneously select controller structure and parameters while taking into account a set of evaluation criteria. The criteria can include the quality of control, controller complexity, control process interpretability, etc. This is important in those applications where an atypical controller structure needs to be selected or an extended set of expectations has to be taken into account. This approach was tested using typical control problems.
New method for jiaguwen image segmentation based on MRF and fuzzy clustering

JiaGuWen image segmentation is a challenge because of their illegible writing, serious noises and broken strokes. We propose a new segmentation method based on MRF and fuzzy clustering because of their good performance in image segmentation. The segmentation is based on a new random function considering both ambiguity and spatial relationship of image pieds simultaneously. The New adaptive balance coefficient is computed according to the gray level of the considering pixel and the mean, standard deviation of the neighbor. The final value of the new random function is searching by iteration. The experiments show that the new method has good performance for JiaGuWen image segmentation.