Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Low-Complexity Implementation of the Improved Multiband-Structured Subband Adaptive Filter Algorithm

Previously, we proposed an improved multiband-structured subband adaptive filter (IMSAF) algorithm to accelerate the convergence rate of the MSAF algorithm. When the projection order and/or the number of subbands is increased, the convergence rate of the IMSAF algorithm improves at the cost of increased complexity. Thus, this paper proposes several approaches to reduce the complexity of the IMSAF algorithm, both in error vector calculation and matrix inversion operation. Specifically, three approaches are developed to efficiently calculate error vector. The first approach gives an approximate filtering, whereas the other two approaches can provide a fast exact filtering with or without update of the weight vector explicitly based on a recursive scheme. The decorrelation property of IMSAF is determined, and two simplified variants are developed to reduce the complexity as by-products, i.e., the simplified IMSAF (SIMSAF) and pseudo IMSAF algorithms. Then, we discuss the problem of solving a linear system of equations. The performance advantages, limitations, and preferable applications of various methods are analyzed and discussed. Computer simulations are conducted in the context of system identification to determine the principle and efficiency of the proposed fast algorithms.
ADAPTATION AND PLASTICITY OF ANIMAL COMMUNICATION IN FLUCTUATING ENVIRONMENTS

Adaptations that facilitate the reception of long‐range signals under challenging conditions are expected to generate signal diversity when species communicate in different habitats. Although we have a general understanding of how individual communicating animals cope with conditions influencing signal detection, the extent to which plasticity and evolutionary changes in signal characteristics contribute to interspecific differences in signaling behavior is unclear. We quantified the visual displays of free‐living lizards and environmental variables known to influence display detection for multiple species from two separate island radiations. We found evidence of both adaptive evolution and adaptive plasticity in display characteristics as a function of environmental conditions, but plasticity accounted for most of the observed differences in display behavior across species. At the same time, prominent differences between the two island radiations existed in aspects of signaling behavior, unrelated to the environment. Past evolutionary events have therefore played an important role in shaping the way lizards adjust their signals to challenges in present‐day environments. In addition to showing how plasticity contributes to interspecific differences in communication signals, our findings suggest the vagaries of evolution can in itself lead to signal variation between species.
Fuzzy systems-based adaptive fault-tolerant dynamic surface control for a class of high-order nonlinear systems with actuator fault

The problem of adaptive fault-tolerant dynamic surface control (DSC) for a class of high-order nonlinear uncertain systems with actuator fault is discussed, and a novel design scheme of adaptive fuzzy controller is proposed in this paper. First, the approach removes the condition that the upper or low boundary of fault is known. Moreover, the problem of explosion of complexity in traditional backstepping design is overcome by introducing the first order filter, and the possible controller singularity in feedback linearization is avoided without projection algorithm. In addition, the approach removes the assumption that the control coefficients are known exactly or unknown but lower bounded by known positive constants. By theoretical analysis, the closed-loop systems is shown to be semi-globally uniformly ultimately bounded, with tracking errors converging to a small neighborhood of origin by appropriately choosing design constants. Finally, simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
A novel variable stiffness mechanism capable of an infinite stiffness range and unlimited decoupled output motion

In this paper, a novel variable stiffness mechanism is presented, which is capable of achieving an output stiffness with infinite range and an unlimited output motion, i.e., the mechanism output is completely decoupled from the rotor motion, in the zero stiffness configuration. The mechanism makes use of leaf springs, which are engaged at different positions by means of two movable supports, to realize the variable output stiffness. The Euler–Bernoulli leaf spring model is derived and validated through experimental data. By shaping the leaf springs, it is shown that the stiffness characteristic of the mechanism can be changed to fulfill different application requirements. Alternative designs can achieve the same behavior with only one leaf spring and one movable support pin.
GFG-Assisted Human Tracking Using Smart Phones

Mobile phones are increasingly being equipped with hardware and software services that allow them to determine their locations; however, support for building location-based applications remains a challenging problem. The most widely used localization technology in smart phones is GPS, but it rarely works indoors and provides low energy efficiency. Cell tower-based localization is widely available, but can provide very poor accuracy without a fingerprint profile. WiFi localization, when available, provides reasonable accuracy, but is also much less effective in other areas. Constandache et al. proposed an Escort system to assist in localizing and tracking others in a public place without requiring either GPS, WiFi, war-driving, maps, or floor plans. However, the Escort system may route one person on a long path even though the person being tracked may be close by. In this paper, we will investigate the problem of linding better tracking paths in the Escort system. We propose a GFG routing assisted human tracking algorithm to reduce the length of the tracking path for every pair of users using smart phones in mobile social networks. Through adding one seeker in the Escort system. whose main function is to find better paths between any pair of two intersections by applying the GFG routing algorithm, the localization and tracking algorithm in the Escort system is more effective than the original algorithm. Finally, we conduct simulations of our proposed algorithm at the main campus of Temple University with different numbers of mobile users and different duration times. The simulation results show that the human tracking performance has been greatly enhanced.
The Paradox of Epimenides Discussion Remarks on Tutorial D A remark on The Third Manifesto References

This paper is a response to certain criticisms that have been made of (a) The Third Manifesto— see reference [4]—and (b) the language Tutorial D, which is used in reference [4] to illustrate Third Manifesto ideas. The criticisms in question appear in reference [6] and can be summarized thus: The Third Manifesto in general, and Tutorial D in particular, both permit the formulation of expressions that are paradoxical, and hence undecidable. The Paradox of Epimenides Discussion Remarks on Tutorial D A remark on The Third Manifesto References THE PARADOX OF EPIMENIDES Consider the following example:  Let P be the predicate "There are no true instantiations of predicate P." Assume for now that P is indeed a valid predicate (I'll examine this assumption in the next section); then in fact it's not only a predicate but a proposition, because it has no parameters.  Let r be the relation corresponding to P (i.e., the relation whose body contains all and only those tuples that represent true instantiations of P). Since P has no parameters, r has no attributes (i.e., it's of degree zero), and so it must be either TABLE_DEE or TABLE_DUM—where, just to remind you, TABLE_DEE is the unique relation with no
Robot Vision Applications using the CSEM SwissRanger Camera

The SwissRanger is new type of depth vision camera using the Time-of-Flight (TOF) principle. It acquires in real time both normal intensity images and 3D range images. It is an active range under with a harmless light source emitting near infrared light at under 1W. Most other active range finders are laser based and have much higher latency. The SwissRangers usefulness is proved here by solving two diverse robot vision applications: The mobile robot localization problem and the 3D object pose estimation problem. The robots localization is found by segmenting range images; into planar surfaces. The segmentation is done by calculating the local surface normals at each pixel, grouping the image into regions and robustly fitting to planes using RANSAC. From these planes a map of the robots environment is constructed. For a robot to handle an object it has to recognize the objects pose or orientation in space. This is approached by using a dimensionality reduction method called Local Linear Embedding (LLE). A dataset, with range images of an object can be seen as points in a very high dimensional pixel space. It has been shown that for 3D objects such points lie on nonlinear manifolds in the high dimensional space. The LLE technique reduces the dimensionality down to a true dimensionality of the manifold and reveals the separating characteristic in each point namely its pose. The pose of a new objects can then be detected by mapping it to this low dimensional space.
Robust estimation of variable stiffness in flexible joints

We consider the problem of estimating on line the nonlinear stiffness of flexible transmissions in robot joints, with special reference to actuation devices with adjustable stiffness in serial configuration. These joints are characterized by a principal motor for controlling the link motion and secondary motor for adjusting the stiffness. In this actuation configuration, the flexible transmission undergoes relatively small deformations and the stiffness estimation problem is more challenging due to poor excitation conditions. We improve our previous general approach, combining a residual-based flexibility torque estimator that uses also a kinematic Kalman filter to handle discretization and quantization errors with an enhanced recursive least squares algorithm that does not suffer from lack of persistent excitation. As a result, stiffness is estimated in a more robust way using only position measurements on the motor sides and motor dynamic parameters. The performance of the proposed estimation method is illustrated through simulations and experiments on the AwAS joint developed at IIT.
Expression of ataxin‐2 in brains from normal individuals and patients with Alzheimer's disease and spinocerebellar ataxia 2

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 (SCA2) is caused by expansion of a CAG trinucleotide repeat located in the coding region of the human SCA2 gene. The SCA2 gene product, ataxin‐2, is a basic protein with two domains (Sm1 and Sm2) implicated in RNA splicing and protein interaction. However, the wild‐type function of ataxin‐2 is yet to be determined. To help clarify the function of ataxin‐2, we produced antibodies to three antigenic peptides of ataxin‐2 and analyzed the expression pattern of ataxin‐2 in normal and SCA2 adult brains and cerebellum at different developmental stages. These studies revealed that (1) both wild‐type and mutant forms of ataxin‐2 were synthesized; (2) the wild‐type ataxin‐2 was localized in the cytoplasm in specific neuronal groups with strong labeling of Purkinje cells; (3) the level of ataxin‐2 increased with age in Purkinje cells of normal individuals; and (4) ataxin‐2‐like immunoreactivity in SCA2 brain tissues was more intense than in normal brain tissues, and intranuclear ubiquitinated inclusions were not seen in SCA2 brain tissues. Ann Neurol 1999;45:232–241
A machine translationness typology for MT evaluations

In this article we present machine translationness (MTness, henceforth) as an approach for MT evaluations, in contrast to the notion of human likeness which is the basic criteria for state-of-the-art automatic evaluations. Our approach is based on the detection of phenomena that contribute to the MTness of a translation and, consequently, its poor fluency. We present here a typology of MTness based on an empirical study in which human and machine translations were Turing tested. We also discuss the types of the typology that should be focused on in MT evaluations, the subjective quality of the human likeness assumption, and the advantages of the MTness approach, in terms of time and financial costs.
Adult hippocampal glucocorticoid receptor expression and dentate synaptic plasticity correlate with maternal care received by individuals early in life

Maternal care in mammals is the prevailing environmental influence during perinatal development. The adult rat offspring of mothers exhibiting increased levels of pup licking/grooming (LG; High LG mothers), compared to those reared by Low LG dams, show increased hippocampal glucocorticoid receptor expression, complex dendritic tree structure, and an enhanced capacity for synaptic potentiation. However, these data were derived from studies using the total amount of maternal care directed toward the entire litter, thus ignoring possible within‐litter variation. We show that the amount of LG received by individual pups within a litter varies considerably. Therefore, we questioned if the amount of LG received by individual pups correlates with and thus putatively predicts later hippocampal structure and function. To this end, LG‐scores were determined during the first postnatal week for all pups in 32 litters and correlated with neuroendocrine and hippocampal parameters in young‐adulthood. Pup LG‐score positively correlated with the glucocorticoid receptor mRNA expression in the adult hippocampus. Moreover, the ability to induce synaptic potentiation in the dentate gyrus in vitro was enhanced in animals with high LG‐scores. Structural plasticity correlated less reliably with LG‐scores early in life and differed between sexes. Male offspring with high LG‐scores displayed fewer newborn neurons, higher brain derived neurotrophic factor expression and tended to have more complex granule cell dendritic trees. We conclude that even moderate variations in early life environment have a major impact on adult hippocampal function. This principle could provide a mechanistic basis for individual differences in susceptibility to psychopathology. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Enterprise and desktop search

With the growing amount of information on users' desktops and increasing scale and complexity of intranets, Enterprise and Desktop Search are becoming two increasingly important Information Retrieval applications. While the challenges arising there are not completely different from those that the web community has faced for years, advanced web search solutions are often unable to address them properly. In this tutorial we give a research prospective on distinctive features of both Enterprise and Desktop Search, explain typical search scenarios, and review existing ranking techniques and algorithms.
Predicting onset of cannabis use in early adolescence: the interrelation between high-intensity pleasure and disruptive behavior. The TRAILS Study.

OBJECTIVE Increased knowledge about the mechanisms by which some individuals are at risk for early onset of cannabis use might contribute to the improvement of prevention efforts. We focus on the roles of early-adolescent high-intensity pleasure, disruptive behavior, and their interplay in the prediction of onset of cannabis use 2 years later. METHOD Data from 81% (n = 1,804) of the participants (51.9% girls) of the Tracking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS), a prospective general population study in the north of The Netherlands, were analyzed. Measures included parent-reported high-intensity pleasure, and parent- and self-reported general disruptive behavior, attention-deficit hyperactivity, oppositional problems, and conduct problems (Child Behavior Checklist/6-18 and Youth Self-Report) at ages 10-12. Onset of cannabis use was assessed at age 12-14 by means of self-reports. Analyses were carried out in Mplus. RESULTS Early adolescent high-intensity pleasure and disruptive behavior, mainly conduct problems and to some extent attention-deficit hyperactivity, predicted the onset of cannabis use in adolescence. Although we found some mediation by general disruptive behavior, conduct problems, and attention-deficit hyperactivity, the contribution of high-intensity pleasure in predicting the onset of cannabis use was found to be mainly independent from disruptive behavior. CONCLUSIONS The unique contribution of both high-intensity pleasure and disruptive behavior points in the direction of different pathways toward onset of cannabis use.
The development of the situated learning materials in the Nursing and Communication course

The situated teaching is a student-centered approach. Using the real cases let students read them and discuss in the class is one kind of the situated teaching. The Nursing and Communication course is suitable for the situated teaching. Nurses observe the patients and give them the right information to help them to take good care of themselves. Students can find a suitable communication by watching the real case videos and discussing the cases in the class. Therefore, producing good situated teaching videos are an important topic. This study edited the videos which were recorded in the hospitals and their content are the communication of nurses and patients. Some professors with nursing expertise aided us to edit these videos. This study also produced the animations to introduce the background of the patients and nurses. And we suggest a teaching flow to show that how to use these video in the class.
What Is a Commercial Social Network Profile ?

Social-networking sites have become an integral part of many users’ daily internet routine. Commercial enterprises have been quick to recognize this and are subsequently creating profiles for many of their products and services. Commercial enterprises use social network profiles to target and interact with potential customers as well as to provide a gateway for users of the product or service to interact with each other. Many commercial enterprises use the statistics from their product or service’s social network profile to tout the popularity and success of the product or service being showcased. They will use statistics such as number of friends, number of daily visits, number of interactions, and other similar measurements to quantify their claims. These statistics are often not a clear indication of the true popularity and success of the product. In this chapter the term product is used to refer to any tangible or intangible product, service, celebrity, personality, film, book, or other entity produced by a commercial enterprise. Social network profiles are complex entities that require one to use heuristics in addition to traditional statistics in order to assess the success and popularity of the product showcased in the profile. For example, a product’s profile may have one million friends; using only quantitative analysis, this would lead one to believe that the product showcased has achieved a great deal of success. Using heuristic techniques one can sift through subsets of the profile’s friend list and take into account things such as, the number of friends that are not other commercial profiles which interact at least bi-weekly with the profile being analyzed. This will yield a new measurement that may be orders of magnitude lower than the initial one million friends claimed. Thus, showing the success of the product was not as
Effects of atomic disorder on carrier transport in Si nanowire transistors

Effects of oxidation-process-induced atomic disorder on extended electronic states in the channel region of narrow Si nanowire (NW) field-effect-transistors (FETs) are theoretically investigated by using the molecular dynamics, empirical tight-binding, and non-equilibrium Green's function methods. Simulation results show that the injection velocity in n-type Si NW FETs is less affected by the disorder compared to p-type devices, which can be attributed to differences in the in-plane carrier profile.
Adaptivity at every layer: a modular approach for evolving societies of learning autonomous systems

We describe a developmental architecture that enables individual robots to fulfill tasks assigned to the robot society in a robust, decentralized manner. The architecture is meant to show emergent properties according to Organic Computing principles that are positive for the society's robustness and performance. This requires the architecture to feature those adaptation and learning processes that are not only selfishly useful for the individual robot, but also incorporate the robot society's actual needs at all layers.
The Performance of Merger Acquirers : Evidence from Japan ’ s Banking Crisis in the 1990 s

This paper investigates the characteristics and performance of merger acquirers during Japan’s banking crisis in the 1990s. The paper reports the following findings. First, there was a prevalent connection between acquirers and targets via their banks, which were dismally unhealthy. Second, based on various measures of wealth gain, acquiring firms did not gain from their acquisitions. Third, acquirers with stronger bank ties experienced more negative wealth effect than those with weaker bank ties. The overall results shed light on the role of banks in mergers during Japan’s banking crisis. JEL G21, G34, N25 Acknowledgement: A prior version of this paper has benefited from comments by Karan Bhanot, Oyvind Bohren, Larry Brown, Froystein Gjesdal, Don Herrmann, Jun-Koo Kang, Koji Kojima, Erlend Kvaal, John-Christian Langli, Svein Loken, Kankana Mukherjee, Mattias Nilsson, Oghenovo Obrimah, Bernt Arne Odegaard, Katsuhiko Okada, David Reeb, Bill Stammerjohan, Cindy Yoshiko Shirata, Susumu Tokusaki, Wayne Thomas, Takashi Yaekura, Noriaki Yamaji, and participants in meetings sponsored by Kwansei Gakuin University, Louisiana Polytechnic Universtiy, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration (NHH), Norwegian School of Management (BI), and the Washington Area Finance Association. The data collection assistance of Madhurima Bhutkar and Sunny Khan is appreciated.