Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Control and Cybernetics Inverse Shape Optimization Problems and Application to Airfoils

We consider a set of parameterized planar arcs (x(t), y(t)) (0 ≤ t ≤ 1), satisfying certain smoothness, regularity and mono-tonicity conditions (in particuler x(t) is monotone increasing, and y(t) positive and unimodal), and a functional J (y) involving an adjustable weighting function ω(t) and a positive constant α > 1. We first prove the strict convexity of the functional for α ≥ 2. Under the less stringent condition α > 1, we derive the stationarity condition and the formal expression for the Hessian, and prove that if a point exists at which the functional is stationary w.r. t. variations in y = y(t), for fixed x = x(t), then it is unique and realizes a global minimum; the functional is then unimodal. We also observe that the stationarity condition (Euler-Lagrange equation) is an integral-differential equation depending only on the arc shape and not on the parameterization per se, which gives the variational problem a certain intrinsic character. Then, we solve the inverse problem: given an admissible parameterized arc, we construct a smooth weighting function ω(t) for which the stationarity condition is satisfied, thus making the functional unimodal, and derive certain asymptotics. A numerical example pertaining to optimum-shape design in aerodynamics is computed for illustration. Simple variational problems are proposed as models, mostly for analysis in shape optimization purposes. In more general and complex settings, the shape would affect the solution of a physically relevant PDE. Utilizing such models is envisaged in future works in particular: (i) to test numerical algorithms for shape optimization in a simplified computational context bearing the geometrical characteristics of another, more complex problem, as in Bélahcène and Désidéri
Structure Optimization and Characteristic Research of the Asymmetric Cylinder Controlled by the Digital Valve System

This paper introduces a new dual-motor digital valve and applies it to the asymmetric cylinder position control system. Because it could suppress the commutation pressure impact to use the asymmetric valve to control the asymmetrical cylinder, two kinds of asymmetric spools were designed: stepped cylindrical spool and cone spool, in order to improve the control performance of the digital valve. Through theoretical calculations and model simulation, it was proved that both asymmetric digital valves can suppress the commutation pressure impact effectively and expand the load boundary without affecting the control accuracy of the system.
Runtime Defense against Code Injection Attacks Using Replicated Execution

The number and complexity of attacks on computer systems are increasing. This growth necessitates proper defense mechanisms. Intrusion detection systems play an important role in detecting and disrupting attacks before they can compromise software. Multivariant execution is an intrusion detection mechanism that executes several slightly different versions, called variants, of the same program in lockstep. The variants are built to have identical behavior under normal execution conditions. However, when the variants are under attack, there are detectable differences in their execution behavior. At runtime, a monitor compares the behavior of the variants at certain synchronization points and raises an alarm when a discrepancy is detected. We present a monitoring mechanism that does not need any kernel privileges to supervise the variants. Many sources of inconsistencies, including asynchronous signals and scheduling of multithreaded or multiprocess applications, can cause divergence in behavior of variants. These divergences cause false alarms. We provide solutions to remove these false alarms. Our experiments show that the multivariant execution technique is effective in detecting and preventing code injection attacks. The empirical results demonstrate that dual-variant execution has on average 17 percent performance overhead when deployed on multicore processors.
Temporal scaling properties and spatial synchronization of spontaneous blood oxygenation level‐dependent (BOLD) signal fluctuations in rat sensorimotor network at different levels of isoflurane anesthesia

Spontaneous fluctuations in the blood oxygenation level‐dependent (BOLD) MRI signal during the resting state are increasingly being studied in healthy and diseased brain in humans and animal models. Yet, the relationship between functional brain status and the characteristics of spontaneous BOLD fluctuations remains poorly understood. In order to obtain more insights into this relationship and, in particular, the effects of anesthesia thereupon, we investigated the spatial and temporal correlations of spontaneous BOLD fluctuations in somatosensory and motor regions of rat brain at different inhalation levels of the frequently applied anesthetic isoflurane. We found that the temporal scaling, characterized by the Hurst exponent (H), showed persistent behavior (H > 0.5) at 0.5–1.0% isoflurane. Furthermore, low‐pass‐filtered spontaneous BOLD oscillations were correlated significantly in bilateral somatosensory and bilateral motor cortices, reflective of interhemispheric functional connectivity. Under 2.9% isoflurane anesthesia, the temporal scaling characteristics approached those of Gaussian white noise (H = 0.5), the relative amplitude of BOLD low‐frequency fluctuations declined, and cross‐correlations of these oscillations between functionally connected regions decreased significantly. Loss of interhemispheric functional connectivity at 2.9% isoflurane anesthesia was stronger between bilateral motor regions than between bilateral somatosensory regions, which points to distinct effects of anesthesia on differentially organized neuronal networks. Although we cannot completely rule out a possible contribution from hemodynamic signals with a non‐neuronal origin, our results emphasize that spatiotemporal characteristics of spontaneous BOLD fluctuations are related to the brain's specific functional status and network organization, and demonstrate that these are largely preserved under light to mild anesthesia with isoflurane. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Recovery of Viral RNA and Infectious Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus from Positive Lateral-Flow Devices

Foot-and-mouth disease Virus (FMDV) is an economically important, highly contagious picornavirus that affects both wild and domesticated cloven hooved animals. In developing countries, the effective laboratory diagnosis of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is often hindered by inadequate sample preservation due to difficulties in the transportation and storage of clinical material. These factors can compromise the ability to detect and characterise FMD virus in countries where the disease is endemic. Furthermore, the high cost of sending infectious virus material and the biosecurity risk it presents emphasises the need for a thermo-stable, non-infectious mode of transporting diagnostic samples. This paper investigates the potential of using FMDV lateral-flow devices (LFDs) for dry transportation of clinical samples for subsequent nucleic acid amplification, sequencing and recovery of infectious virus by electroporation. FMDV positive samples (epithelial suspensions and cell culture isolates) representing four FMDV serotypes were applied to antigen LFDs: after which it was possible to recover viral RNA that could be detected using real-time RT-PCR. Using this nucleic acid, it was also possible to recover VP1 sequences and also successfully utilise protocols for amplification of complete FMD virus genomes. It was not possible to recover infectious FMDV directly from the LFDs, however following electroporation into BHK-21 cells and subsequent cell passage, infectious virus could be recovered. Therefore, these results support the use of the antigen LFD for the dry, non-hazardous transportation of samples from FMD endemic countries to international reference laboratories.
Semi-Supervised Dimensionality Reduction of Hyperspectral Image Based on Sparse Multi-Manifold Learning

In this paper, we proposed a new semi-supervised multi-manifold learning method, called semi- supervised sparse multi-manifold embedding (S3MME), for dimensionality reduction of hyperspectral image data. S3MME exploits both the labeled and unlabeled data to adaptively find neighbors of each sample from the same manifold by using an optimization program based on sparse representation, and naturally gives relative importance to the labeled ones through a graph-based methodology. Then it tries to extract discriminative features on each manifold such that the data points in the same manifold become closer. The effectiveness of the proposed multi-manifold learning algorithm is demonstrated and compared through experiments on a real hyperspectral images.
A framework for human action detection via extraction of multimodal features.

This work discusses the application of an Artificial Intelligence technique called data extraction and a process-based ontology in constructing experimental qualitative models for video retrieval and detection. We present a framework architecture that uses multimodality features as the knowledge representation scheme to model the behaviors of a number of human actions in the video scenes. The main focus of this paper placed on the design of two main components (model classifier and inference engine) for a tool abbreviated as VASD (Video Action Scene Detector) for retrieving and detecting human actions from video scenes. The discussion starts by presenting the workflow of the retrieving and detection process and the automated model classifier construction logic. We then move on to demonstrate how the constructed classifiers can be used with multimodality features for detecting human actions. Finally, behavioral explanation manifestation is discussed. The simulator is implemented in bilingual; Math Lab and C++ are at the backend supplying data and theories while Java handles all front-end GUI and action pattern updating. To compare the usefulness of the proposed framework, several experiments were conducted and the results were obtained by using visual features only (77.89% for precision; 72.10% for recall), audio features only (62.52% for precision; 48.93% for recall) and combined audiovisual (90.35% for precision; 90.65% for recall).
A simple near-capacity concatenation scheme over MISO channels

This paper proposes a capacity-approaching, yet simple scheme over a multiple-input single-output (MISO) wireless fading channel, which is very common in the downlink of a cellular system. The proposed scheme is based on a concatenation of a mixture of short memory-length convolutional codes or repetition codes and a short, and simple rate-1 linear block code, followed by either 1-dimensional (1-D) anti-Gray or Gray mapping of quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK) modulation. By interpreting rate-1 code together with 1-D mapping as a multi-D mapping performed over multiple transmit antennas, the error performance is analyzed in the turbo pinch-off region using EXIT chart. At first, a simple design criterion on the bit-wise mutual information with perfect a priori information is derived. Based on the obtained design criterion, an optimal rate-1 code for each 1-D mapping is then constructed to maximize the bit-wise mutual information with perfect a priori information. The combination of optimal rate-1 code and 1-D mapping results in a steep inner detector's EXIT curve over an MISO channel, which matches very well to that of a simple outer code. It is demonstrated that the simple concatenation scheme can achieve a near-capacity performance over the MISO channels. In some cases, the selected mixed code is just a simple repetition code.
A Context-Aware Baby Monitor for the Automatic Selective Archiving of the Language of Infants

Understanding the language of a newborn is not an easy task, and parents use baby monitors to monitor the language of their baby and infer the baby's needs. Available baby monitors trying to identify the language of babies consider the information after the baby is crying, and according to pediatricians the sounds and movements before crying define what the baby wants. In this paper, we explore the automatic selective archiving of the movements and sounds infants make before crying to give parents information they could later use to reflect on these behaviors and determine what the infant wants. Following a user-centered design methodology we developed a capture and access tool that uses accelerometers to detect when the infant is moving, and an algorithm to detect when the infant is crying. The movement detection algorithm uses a motion shimmer sensor and computes the magnitude exerted over the three axes, and the cry detection algorithm uses a Multi-Band Spectral Entropy Signature (MBSES) and a Support Vector Machine (SVM) to detect sustained crying. To show the feasibility of the performance of our system under realistic conditions, we tested how our sound algorithm performs under noise scenarios. The results show our algorithm is accurate, 98% precision, and performs better than algoritms using the MFCC feature. We close discussing directions for future work.
Susceptibility of β-lactamase to core amino acid substitutions

4 To whom correspondence should be addressed To determine which amino acids in TEM-1 b-lactamase are important for its structure and function, random libraries were previously constructed which systematically randomized the 263 codons of the mature enzyme. A comprehensive screening of these libraries identified several TEM-1 b-lactamase core positions, including F66 and L76, which are strictly required for wild-type levels of hydrolytic activity. An examination of positions 66 and 76 in the class A b-lactamase gene family shows that a phenylalanine at position 66 is strongly conserved while position 76 varies considerably among other b-lactamases. It is possible that position 76 varies in the gene family because b-lactamase mutants with non-conservative substitutions at position 76 retain partial function. In contrast, position 66 may remain unchanged in the gene family because non-conservative substitutions at this location are detrimental for enzyme structure and function. By determining the b-lactam resistance levels of the 38 possible mutants at positions 66 and 76 in the TEM-1 enzyme, it was confirmed that position 76 is indeed more tolerant of non-conservative substitutions. An analysis of the Protein Data Bank files for three class A b-lactamases indicates that volume constraints at position 66 are at least partly responsible for the low tolerance of substitutions at this position.
On the linear profile of indices for the prediction of saddle-node and limit-induced bifurcation points in power systems

This brief analyzes the linear profiles presented by certain classes of bifurcation indices with respect to the variation of the loading parameter in power systems. The bifurcation indices discussed here are used in practice to predict proximity to saddle-node and some types of limit-induced bifurcations, given their special profiles. Thus, the linearity of these indices is studied with the help of a simple generic test system. Local analyses and observations are also presented and discussed for realistic power-system models.
Horizontal Cell Feedback without Cone Type-Selective Inhibition Mediates “Red–Green” Color Opponency in Midget Ganglion Cells of the Primate Retina

The distinctive red–green dimension of human and nonhuman primate color perception arose relatively recently in the primate lineage with the appearance of separate long (L) and middle (M) wavelength-sensitive cone photoreceptor types. “Midget” ganglion cells of the retina use center–surround receptive field structure to combine L and M cone signals antagonistically and thereby establish a “red–green, color-opponent” visual pathway. However, the synaptic origin of red–green opponency is unknown, and conflicting evidence for either random or L versus M cone-selective inhibitory circuits has divergent implications for the developmental and evolutionary origins of trichromatic color vision. Here we directly measure the synaptic conductances evoked by selective L or M cone stimulation in the midget ganglion cell dendritic tree and show that L versus M cone opponency arises presynaptic to the midget cell and is transmitted entirely by modulation of an excitatory conductance. L and M cone synaptic inhibition is feedforward and thus occurs in phase with excitation for both cone types. Block of GABAergic and glycinergic receptors does not attenuate or modify L versus M cone antagonism, discounting both presynaptic and postsynaptic inhibition as sources of cone opponency. In sharp contrast, enrichment of retinal pH-buffering capacity, to attenuate negative feedback from horizontal cells that sum L and M cone inputs linearly and without selectivity, completely abolished both the midget cell surround and all chromatic opponency. Thus, red–green opponency appears to arise via outer retinal horizontal cell feedback that is not cone type selective without recourse to any inner retinal L versus M cone inhibitory pathways.
CAP: Color-aware task partitioning for multicore real-time applications

Modern multicore platforms feature multiple levels of cache memory placed between the processor and main memory to hide the latency of ordinary memory systems. The primary goal of this cache hierarchy is to improve average execution time (at the cost of predictability). The uncontrolled use of the cache hierarchy by real-time tasks may impact the estimation of their worst-case execution times (WCET). Software cache partitioning through page coloring has been considered a promising approach to isolate task workloads and thus improve WCET estimation. However, when real-time tasks share cache partitions due to false or true sharing, the inter-core delay caused by the cache coherence protocol may cause deadline losses. In this paper, we propose a Color-Aware task Partitioning (CAP) algorithm that assigns tasks to cores respecting their usage of cache partitions (i.e., colors). Tasks that share one or more colors are grouped together and the whole group is assigned to the same processor. Thus, it is possible to avoid inter-core interference. We compared the deadline miss ratio of several generated task sets partitioned by the CAP algorithm and by the worst-fit decreasing heuristic. We executed the partitioned task sets in a modern 8-core processor with shared L3-cache using a real-time operating system. Our results indicate that a color-aware task partitioning algorithm can avoid deadline misses in a multicore processor with shared cache.
Towards the transformation of onions ( Allium cepa )

This review outlines the potential for developing a reliable transformation system for onions (Allium cepa). A summary of the onion tissue culture literature is presented along with descriptions of the gene transfer systems available. The most suitable regulatory sequences and selective genes that could be used for onion transformation are described, together with the problems which may be encountered following the integration into the particularly large genome of onion. The review proposes likely routes by which transformation and regeneration may be achieved, and suggests possible characteristics of onions which may be altered using such a technique.
Comparison of the Clinical Effects of Open and Closed Chain Exercises after Medial Patellofemoral Ligament Reconstruction

[Purpose] To compare the effects of open-chain exercise (OCE) and closed-chain exercise (CCE) for patients after medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) reconstruction. [Subjects and Methods] Forty patients after MPFL reconstruction were randomly divided into an OCE group and a CCE group. All the patients were evaluated at four different time points. [Results] The mean change of thigh circumference decrease in the CCE group was lower than that in the OCE group at both the 3rd and 6th month after surgery. The Lysholm score of the CCE group was higher than that of the OCE group at both the 3rd and 6th month. At the 3rd month after surgery, the visual analog scale score of the CCE group was lower than that of the OCE group. [Conclusion] CCE is better than OCE for both short and long term outcomes of patients after MPFL reconstruction.
MODELING, VISUALIZING, AND MINING HYDROLOGIC SPATIAL HIERARCHIES FOR WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Water quality managers analyze data collected in the field to assess environmental conditions and enact policy based on water quality impairments identified in this analysis. Water quality is often based on measures of water chemistry and the health of biological communities. There are many factors spread across the landscape that contribute to water quality. This adds a spatial dimension to the problem. Furthermore, data are often analyzed based on aggregations of site level data to multiple hierarchies of watersheds. This paper presents a multidimensional data model which incorporates hydrological spatial hierarchies for the purpose of analyzing water quality data at multiple resolutions. The data model was implemented in a relational database management system and linked with a geographic information system to provide visual exploration of data across multiple levels within the spatial hierarchy. Data mining techniques such as classification and association rule generation were applied to data at multiple levels of the hydrologic spatial hierarchy. Classification was applied to predict the health of fish communities based on site habitat characteristics and measures of water chemistry. Association rules were developed to determine relationships between site characteristic and water quality variables and fish community health. The results of the classification and association rules were then compared across two levels of the hydrographic spatial hierarchy.
How victimization, climate, and safety around sexual orientation and gender expression relate to truancy

ABSTRACT Victimization based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender expression (SOGE) carries significant consequences. In this study, we examined how SOGE-based victimization and contextual factors predicted truancy among 886 Chilean students (Mage = 16.00, SD = 1.30) in four high schools. Victimization predicted truancy indirectly through its associations with students feeling unsafe at school—in general and specifically related to their SOGE. Furthermore, perceptions of a negative SOGE-based school climate predicted greater truancy, almost entirely indirectly through students feeling more unsafe at school in general and specifically related to their SOGE.
Audio feedback and illusion of virtual body ownership in mixed reality

This paper presents an exploratory experiment measuring the role of audio feedback on the illusion of virtual body ownership (IVBO) under non-immersive mixed reality (MR) settings with Human and Non-Human avatars. Our preliminary results revealed that all avatars elicited a similar level of IVBO, despite the addition of audio feedback.
An Approach to Combine Heterogeneous Specification Components

In this report, we advocate an approach to combine formal spe cification components. Our work aims at building or reusing specification components, and compose them with a gluing language constituted of a minimal but sufficient set of operators. The glue allows to have at one’s disp osal a global formal specification with heterogeneous components as basic entities. The interests are manifold: m o elling the different aspects of systems, allowing the use of many existing specification languages, formalizing t he links between components in an easy and graphical way, making the reuse of components easier. A case study abou t vending machine is specified to illustrate how this approach could be practically used.