Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Generalized fusion of heterogeneous sensor measurements for multi target tracking

In this contribution, a multi sensor fusion system for multi target tracking is proposed which is independent of the properties of the attached sensor. This system therefore supports attaching different sensors without the need for any adaption of the system. A previously published approach for such a sensor independent fusion system based on probabilistic models is examined. An extension of the fusion algorithm is presented, which greatly enhances both the state and existence estimation.
Bayesian network structures by estimation of distribution algorithms : An experimental analysis

Learning the structure of a Bayesian network (BN) from a data set is NP-hard. In this paper, we discuss a novel heuristic based on Estimation of Distribution Algorithms (EDA), a new paradigm for Evolutionary Computation that is used as a search engine in the BN structure learning problem. The purpose of this work is to study the parameter setting of the EDA and to fix a "good" set of parameters. For this purpose, the EDAbased procedure is applied on several benchmarks to recover the original structure from data. The quality of the learned structure is assessed using several performance indexes. Bayesian networks, evolutionary computation, EDA, machine learning.
Calcium and Cell Volume Regulation in Alligator Mississippiensis Erythrocytes

Maintenance of proper cell volume is critical for cell survival and proliferation; consequently, animal cells routinely control their volume to maintain homeostasis. For instance, biological processes such as the response to ischemia (insufficient blood flow), lymphocyte activation, and apoptosis (programmed cell death) are associated with changes in cell volume. It has been well established that osmotic swelling associated with a hypotonic medium is followed by a regulated volume decrease (RVD) resulting from the efflux of specific solutes. However, the signaling mechanisms of RVD are ill defined. The effect of calcium on RVD was studied because this ion is a common messenger that plays a key role in the maintenance of a stable intracellular environment. American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) red blood cells’ (RBCs) volume was measured electronically with a Coulter Counter® following hypotonic shock (0.5x Ringer). Studies using different extracellular concentrations of calcium, obtained with the chelator ethylene glycol bis(2aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N'N'-tetraacetic acid (EGTA) (http://www.stanford.edu/~cpatton/maxc.html), showed that low extracellular calcium concentrations inhibited RVD. However, addition of the calcium ionophore A23187 in a normal Ringer caused a significant inhibition of RVD. Interestingly, substitution of the impermeant cation N-methyl-D-glucamine (NMDG) for sodium in the presence of A23187 also inhibited RVD, indicating that cell swelling was not dependent on sodium influx. Additional studies were also conducted to determine the mechanism(s) by which calcium ions cross the plasma membrane. A significant inhibition of RVD occurred in the presence of gadolinium, a blocker of stretch-activated channels. Other experiments with hexokinase (an ATP scavenger) suggested that calcium influx may occur via a purinoreceptor (P2 receptor). In conclusion, RVD by alligator RBCs depends on calcium influx via a stretch-activated channel and/or a P2 receptor.
The mammalian beta-tubulin repertoire: hematopoietic expression of a novel, heterologous beta-tubulin isotype

We describe the structure of a novel and unusually heterologous beta- tubulin isotype (M beta 1) isolated from a mouse bone marrow cDNA library, and a second isotype (M beta 3) isolated from a mouse testis cDNA library. Comparison of M beta 1 and M beta 3 with the completed (M beta 4, M beta 5) or extended (M beta 2) sequence of three previously described beta-tubulin isotypes shows that each includes a distinctive carboxy-terminal region, in addition to multiple amino acid substitutions throughout the polypeptide chain. In every case where a mammalian interspecies comparison can be made, both the carboxy- terminal and internal amino acid substitutions that distinguish one isotype from another are absolutely conserved. We conclude that these characteristic differences are important in determining functional distinctions between different kinds of microtubule. The amino acid homologies between M beta 2, M beta 3, M beta 4, and M beta 5 are in the range of 95-97%; however the homology between M beta 1 and all the other isotypes is very much less (78%). The dramatic divergence in M beta 1 is due to multiple changes that occur throughout the polypeptide chain. The overall level of expression of M beta 1 is low, and is restricted to those tissues (bone marrow, spleen, developing liver and lung) that are active in hematopoiesis in the mouse. We predict that the M beta 1 isotype is functionally specialized for assembly into the mammalian marginal band.
iVectors for Continuous Emotion Recognition

This work proposes the use of the iVectors paradigm for performing continuous emotion recognition. To do so, a segmentation of the audio stream with a fixed-length sliding window is performed, in order to obtain a temporal context which is enough for capturing the emotional information of the speech. These segments are projected into the iVectors space, and the continuous emotion labels are learnt by canonical correlation analysis. A voice activity detection strategy is incorporated to the system in order to ignore the non-speech segments, which do not provide any information about the emotional state of the speaker, and to recreate a real-world scenario. Results on the framework of the Audiovisual Emotion Challenge (AVEC) 2013 show the potential of this approach for the emotion recognition task, obtaining promising results as well as using low-dimensional data representation.
Query-Based Indexing in Collaorative Search

The success of Web search is often limited by a variety of factors. Typical queries are vague and imprecise. At the same time, the Web is a dynamic and unmoderated collection and term-based indexing techniques often fail to produce high quality indices. As a result there is often a significant gap between the query-space and the document-space and the terms used to query a document may vary from those that have been used to index it. In this paper we describe the I-SPY collaborative search engine. It uses information gleaned from the query-space as a supplementary index with which to retrieve documents. We show how prior user selection histories can be used to estimate the relevance of documents to queries, and how this can be used to re-rank documents during search. The results of a live-user trial are presented to demonstrate the potential benefits of I-SPY when compared to more traditional search techniques.
Comparison of TCP and TCP/HA Hybrid Scaffolds for Osteoconductive Activity

Two types of porous ceramic scaffolds were prepared, consisting of β-tricalcium phosphate (TCP) or the mixed powder of TCP and hydroxyapatite (HA) at a 2:1 mass ratio. A variety of methods have been used to fabricate bone scaffolds, while the sintering approach was adopted in this work. An extremely high temperature was used on sintering that proposed to consolidate the ceramic particles. As revealed by SEM, a well opened pore structure was developed within the scaffolds. The θ-values were measured to be of 73.3° and 6.5° for the composite scaffold and TCP sample, respectively. According to XRD patterns, the existence of grains coalescence and partial bonding between HA and TCP powders was demonstrated. Scaffold mechanical property in the term of flexural strength was also determined. The result showed decreasing of the strength by HA supplement, suggesting the more brittle characteristic of HA in comparison with TCP. By soaking the composite scaffold in PBS for a period of 2 weeks, transformation from particles to flank-like crystalline was clearly observed. Such change was found to be favorable for cell attachment, migration, and growth. By implanting cell-seeded scaffolds into nude mice, an abundant osseous extracellular matrix was identified for the composite implants. In contrast, the matrix was minimally detected in TCP implanted samples. Thus, the composite scaffold was found superior for hard tissue regeneration.
Relative Track Metrics to Determine Model Mismatch

Tracking performance is a function of data quality, tracker type, and target maneuverability. Many contemporary tracking methods are useful for various operating conditions. To determine nonlinear tracking performance independent of the scenario, we wish to explore metrics that highlight the tracker capability. With the emerging relative track metrics, as opposed to root-mean-square error (RMS) calculations, we explore the Averaged Normalized Estimation Error Squared (ANESS) and Non Credibility Index (NCI) to determine tracker quality independent of the data. This paper demonstrates the usefulness of relative metrics to determine a model mismatch, or more specifically a bias in the model, using the probabilistic data association filter, the unscented Kalman filter, and the particle filter.
Interaction of nanoparticles on a substrate with an AFM probe: DDA-SI formulation

Motivated by the need for a modeling tool for nanostructures interacting with a substrate and an AFM probe, we developed a MATLAB implementation of the discrete dipole approximation with surface interactions (DDA-SI). The method is applied to investigate the near-field coupling between particles on the surface and an AFM probe. The results presented here explore the effects of a number of physical, geometrical and material properties that can eventually assist nanolithography, particularly in defining the parameters for nano-writing.
Using Multiple Sources of Agreement Information for Sentiment Classification of Political Transcripts

Sentiment classifiers attempt to determine whether a document expresses a generally positive or negative sentiment about its topic. Previous work has shown that overall performance can be improved by combining per-document classifications with information about agreement between documents. This paper explores approaches to sentiment classification of U.S Congressional floor debate transcripts that use a model for incorporating multiple sources of information about agreements between speakers. An empirical evaluation demonstrates accuracy improvements over previously published results.
AN OPTIMIZED SQUARE ROOT ALGORITHM FOR IMPLEMENTATION IN FPGA HARDWARE

This paper presents an optimized digit-by-digit calculation method to solve complicated square root calculation in hardware, as a proposed simple algorithm for implementation in field programmable gate array (FPGA). The main principle of proposed method is two-bit shifting and subtracting-multiplexing operations, in order to achieve a simpler implementation and faster calculation. The proposed algorithm has conducted to implement FPGA based unsigned 32-bit and 64-bit binary square root successfully. The results have shown that proposed method is most efficient of hardware resource compare to other methods. In addition, the strategy can be expanded to larger number easily.
Effect of extreme adaptive frequency compression in bimodal listeners on sound localization and speech perception

Objectives: This study aimed to improve access to high-frequency interaural level differences (ILD), by applying extreme frequency compression (FC) in the hearing aid (HA) of 13 bimodal listeners, using a cochlear implant (CI) and conventional HA in opposite ears. Design: An experimental signal-adaptive frequency-lowering algorithm was tested, compressing frequencies above 160 Hz into the individual audible range of residual hearing, but only for consonants (adaptive FC), thus protecting vowel formants, with the aim to preserve speech perception. In a cross-over design with at least 5 weeks of acclimatization between sessions, bimodal performance with and without adaptive FC was compared for horizontal sound localization, speech understanding in quiet and in noise, and vowel, consonant and voice-pitch perception. Results: On average, adaptive FC did not significantly affect any of the test results. Yet, two subjects who were fitted with a relatively weak frequency compression ratio, showed improved horizontal sound localization. After the study, four subjects preferred adaptive FC, four preferred standard frequency mapping, and four had no preference. Noteworthy, the subjects preferring adaptive FC were those with best performance on all tasks, both with and without adaptive FC. Conclusion: On a group level, extreme adaptive FC did not change sound localization and speech understanding in bimodal listeners. Possible reasons are too strong compression ratios, insufficient residual hearing or that the adaptive switching, although preserving vowel perception, may have been ineffective to produce consistent ILD cues. Individual results suggested that two subjects were able to integrate the frequency-compressed HA input with that of the CI, and benefitted from enhanced binaural cues for horizontal sound localization.
Optical transient grating measurements of micro/nanoscale thermal transport and mechanical properties

The laser-based transient grating technique was used to study phonon mediated thermal transport in bulk and nanostructured semiconductors and surface wave propagation in a monolayer of micron sized spheres. In the transient grating technique two picosecond pulses are crossed to generate a spatially periodic intensity profile. The spatially periodic profile generates a material excitation with a well-defined wavevector. The time dependence of the spatially periodic material response is measured by monitoring the diffracted signal of an incident probe beam. Non-diffusive thermal transport was observed in thin Si membranes as well as bulk GaAs at relatively short (micron) transient grating periods. First-principles calculations of the phonon mean free paths in Si and GaAs were compared with experimental results and showed good agreement. Preliminary measurements on promising thermoelectric materials such as PbTe and Bi2Te 3 are presented showing evidence of non-diffusive transport at short length scales. The transient grating technique was used to measure the thermal conductivity of Si membranes with thickness ranging from 15 nm to 1518 nm. Using the Fuchs-Sondheimer suppression function along with first-principles results, the thermal conductivity as a function of membrane thickness was calculated. The calculations showed excellent agreement with experimental measurements. A convex optimization algorithm was employed to reconstruct the phonon mean free path distribution from experimental measurements. This marks the first experimental determination of the mean free path distribution for a bulk material. Thermal conductivity measurements at low temperatures in a 200 nm Si membrane indicate the breakdown of the diffuse boundary scattering approximation. The transient grating technique was used to generate surface acoustic waves and measure their dispersion in a monolayer of 0.5 1 [m diameter silica spheres. The measured dispersion curves show "avoided crossing" behavior due to the interaction between an axial contact resonance of the microspheres and the surface acoustic wave at a frequency of -200MHz for the 1 [tm spheres and -700 MHz for the 0.5 [m spheres. The experimental measurements were fit with an analytical model in which the contact stiffness was the only fitting parameter. Preliminary results of surface acoustic wave propagation in microsphere waveguides, transmission through a microsphere strip, and evidence of a nonlinear response in a 2D array of microspheres are presented. Thesis Supervisor: Keith A. Nelson Title: Professor of Chemistry
Face recognition using the Weber Local Descriptor

This paper presents a face recognition method using the Weber Local Descriptor (WLD) feature. The WLD consists of differential excitation component and orientation component, which contains abundant local texture information. In our method, we firstly divide face images into a set of sub-regions and extract their WLD features respectively. We introduce the Sobel descriptor to obtain the orientation component. Then each of sub-regions of probe image is recognized by nearest neighborhood method and the results are fused in decision level through voting to yield the final recognition result. The experimental results over ORL and Yale face database verify the effectiveness of our method.
Parameter Estimation of Neuro-Fuzzy Model by Parallel and Series-Parallel Identification Configurations

In this paper combinations of two well-known identification methods namely series-parallel and parallel configurations, are proposed to identify the learning parameters of neuro-fuzzy inference system. Two new configurations out of four possible combinations in identifying parameter of the neuro-fuzzy system are proposed. These two proposed configurations are devised by applying series-parallel configuration to premise part and parallel configuration to consequent part of neuro-fuzzy system and vice versa. The proposed configurations have been compared with already existing, namely series-parallel and parallel configurations (to both premise and consequent part of neuro-fuuzy system) on two non-linear dynamic systems.
Toward Vulnerability Assessment for 5G Mobile Communication Networks

For 5G, Software-Defined Networking have emerged as a future mobile network architecture. It is so called Software-Defined Networking based Mobile Networks (SDN-MN). Because of the dynamic and virtual features of SDN-MN, most traditional network vulnerability assessment methodologies cannot be applied in SDN-MN directly. As a result, a new methodology of vulnerability assessment for SDN-MN is needed. In this paper, an effective vulnerability assessment mechanism is proposed for SDN-MN using attack graph algorithm and analytic hierarchy process (AHP). An optimized attack graph is given to alleviate scalability problem. In order to quantify security level, we define node minimal effort to quantify attack cost and then derive system security level. Aiming to calculate node minimal effort of attack graph in SDN-MN dynamic environment, AHP and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) are integrated into the methodology with regard to dynamic vulnerability factors in SDN-MN. Finally, we offer a case study to validate the methodology. The case study and evaluation show the advantages of the proposed vulnerability assessment mechanism.
A phase II trial of recombinant human granulocyte colony‐stimulating factor in the myelodysplastic syndromes

Summary. We conducted a phase II study of the intravenous administration of a glycosylated recombinant human granulocyte colony‐stimulating factor (rhG‐CSF) for 7–14 d in 41 patients with the myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Administration of rhG‐CSF elicited striking rises in both leucocyte and neutrophil counts in the majority of the patients irrespective of the FAB subtypes of MDS. The rises in neutrophil counts were dose dependent and 5 μg/kg/d of rhG‐CSF yielded approximately an 8‐fold increase in neutrophil counts. Leucocytes and neutrophil counts started to increase shortly after the first injection of 5 μg/kg, was maintained at significantly elevated levels during 14 d of treatment, and returned to the pretreatment levels within several days following discontinuation of rhG‐CSF. The action of rhG‐CSF was specific for neutrophils since leucocytosis was due exclusively to neutrophilic increase associated with an increased marrow myeloid maturation. There were no consistent changes in the monocyte, eosinophil, lymphocyte, platelet or reticulocyte counts. After treatment, the percentage of marrow blast cells was reduced in eight of 13 evaluable patients with refractory anaemia with an excess of blasts (RAEB) or RAEB in transformation (RAEB‐t). No patients developed acute leukaemia during the treatment or in the immediate follow‐up period. The treatment was well tolerated with only minimal toxicity. The results suggest that rhG‐CSF is a safe and effective way to promptly improve neutropenia in MDS patients.
Fundamental Investigations Into Burr Formation and Damage Mechanisms in the Micro-Milling of a Biomedical Grade Polymer

The demand for micro-machined polymer components has been rapidly growing for a number of years in various diverse applications. These polymer components often require high surface finishes and excellent dimensional accuracies, meeting these specifications requires a deeper understanding of material behavior and cutting performance during micro-machining. A lack of published literature relating to polymer machining increases the production challenge as cutting strategies employed are often based on trial and error with heuristic solutions developed. This work explains material behavior and machining outcomes by focusing on the study of the various damage mechanisms encountered during the micro-machining of a biomedical grade polymer. The importance of the material removal mechanism is highlighted with up-milling shown to produce a superior surface finish on average. The role of speed and feed in the generation of machined surfaces is examined with suboptimal settings shown to produce unwanted thermal influences and significant material deformations.
Effect of Tool Geometry and Welding Parameters on Macrostructure and Weld Strength in Friction Stir Welded of High Density Polyethylene Sheets

Abstract Friction stir welding is a solid-state joining process that has gained acceptable progress in recent years. This method which was first used for welding of aluminum and its alloys is now employed for welding of other materials such as polymers and composites. The aim of the present work is to investigate the mechanical properties of butt joints produced by friction stir welding (FSW) in high density polyethylene sheets of 4 mm thickness. The effects of critical welding parameters and tool design have affected on mechanical properties, weld surface and macrostructure of friction stir welded polyethylene. Experiments were performed at tool rotational speeds of 600, 900, 1200, and 1500 r/min and traverse speeds of 30, 45, and 60 mm/min, tool diameters (d) of 4, 5, 6 mm and tool shoulder diameters (D) 20, 25, 30 mm. A strength value of 80% of the base material was achieved at the isolated optimum welding condition. According to the tool design, the welding parameters and the mechanical properties changed to a great extent. The highest tensile strength was achieved at low feed rates, high tool rotation speeds and shoulder diameters/pin diameters ratio.
Multitext Grammars and Synchronous Parsers

Multitext Grammars (MTGs) generate arbitrarily many parallel texts via production rules of arbitrary length. Both ordinary MTGs and their bilexical subclass admit relatively efficient parsers. Yet, MTGs are more expressive than other synchronous formalisms for which parsers have been described in the literature. The combination of greater expressive power and relatively low cost of inference makes MTGs an attractive foundation for practical models of translational equivalence.
tRNAs as Antibiotic Targets

Transfer RNAs (tRNAs) are central players in the protein translation machinery and as such are prominent targets for a large number of natural and synthetic antibiotics. This review focuses on the role of tRNAs in bacterial antibiosis. We will discuss examples of antibiotics that target multiple stages in tRNA biology from tRNA biogenesis and modification, mature tRNAs, aminoacylation of tRNA as well as prevention of proper tRNA function by small molecules binding to the ribosome. Finally, the role of deacylated tRNAs in the bacterial “stringent response” mechanism that can lead to bacteria displaying antibiotic persistence phenotypes will be discussed.