Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Approach to Non-Intrusive Load Monitoring using Factorial Hidden Markov Model

What we measure, we can improve. In accordance to this approach, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore has developed a Micro-grid Monitoring System in the campus through the installation of Smart Meters, covering almost 250 nodes including substations, centers, departments, administration, hostels and other utilities. This will help the institute in various ways such as capacity planning, substation loading, phase imbalance correction, over-voltage monitoring, billing and so on. Smart Meters measure the power consumption at a single point in the building giving a picture of the energy consumption of the building as a whole. It is necessary to also understand the scenario of the constituent loads at the point where the smart meter is installed so that ways could be found to reduce consumption. Personalised, concise and reliable feedback providing appliance level breakdown of energy consumption in the premises is the key in implementing energy efficiency programs. Taking this into consideration the area of Non Intrusive Load Monitoring (NILM) was explored. In NILM the aggregate smart meter data is separated into constituent loads by machine learning techniques. The NILM system is trained through previous data sets and then the algorithm will disaggregate the total power into individual appliances based on its experience. A benchmark NILM algorithm called Factorial Hidden Markov Model was used for proper load disaggregation. Finally an attempt was made to develop a Smartphone app to visualize results and bring the data to the people.
Perception of dental visit pictures in children with autism spectrum disorder and their caretakers: A qualitative study

Objectives: One of the most common ways to communicate to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is by using pictures. This study was conducted to identify the easiest perception of dental visit by children with ASD when using pictures as printed photographs. Materials and Methods: Purposive sampling was used to recruit participants from a school for children with special needs in south Jakarta. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 autistic children aged 13–17 years, 2 parents, and 2 teachers. Open-ended questions were asked to participants regarding pictures of dental clinic personnel and activity. Conversations were noted, tape recorded, and then categorized to extract a theme. The data were analyzed using Dedoose mixed methods software. Results: Most respondents showed a positive perception of the dental visit pictures. Many of the pictures were easily recognized by children with ASD, but some failed to be understood. Caretakers not only gave their perception but also recommendations for improvement of the pictures. Conclusions: Dental visit pictures could be used as useful communication tools for children with ASD. Based on the results, the pictures related to dental visit were generally easy to understand, however, some needed correction to be comprehensible.
A Multi-MHz Wireless Power Transfer System With Mains Power Factor Correction Circuitry on the Receiver

This paper proposes the implementation of a new system topology for multi-MHz inductive power transfer (IPT) systems, which achieves unity power factor when fed from a mains power supply without traditional active circuitry in the front-end as a mains interface. Experiments were performed using an IPT-link which consists of two 20 cm two-turn air-core printed-circuit-board (pcb) coils separated by an air-gap of 13 cm. At the transmit side, a push-pull load-independent Class EF inverter fed from a rectified 60 Hz power supply with no bulk capacitor was designed to drive the transmit coil at 13.56 MHz. This inverter, which has two choke inductors between the voltage source and the two switches, similar to that of an interleaved boost converter, is suitable to be fed directly from a rectified mains source because it tolerates large changes on the input voltage. The IPT rectifier in the experiments was built using a dual current-driven Class D-based topology which allows for higher output voltage when the induced electromotive force (emf) on the receive coil is low. The final power conversion stage on the receive side is a power factor correction (PFC) boost converter that regulates the output voltage and shapes the current waveform at the input of the system. This stage is the only part of the system with closed-loop control. The end-to-end efficiency was measured at 73.3% with 99.2% power factor, when powering a load of 150 W.
AKT1E17K Activates Focal Adhesion Kinase and Promotes Melanoma Brain Metastasis

Alterations in the PI3K/AKT pathway occur in up to 70% of melanomas and are associated with disease progression. The three AKT paralogs are highly conserved but data suggest they have distinct functions. Activating mutations of AKT1 and AKT3 occur in human melanoma but their role in melanoma formation and metastasis remains unclear. Using an established melanoma mouse model, we evaluated E17K, E40K, and Q79K mutations in AKT1, AKT2, and AKT3 and show that mice harboring tumors expressing AKT1E17K had the highest incidence of brain metastasis and lowest mean survival. Tumors expressing AKT1E17K displayed elevated levels of focal adhesion factors and enhanced phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK). AKT1E17K expression in melanoma cells increased invasion and this was reduced by pharmacologic inhibition of either AKT or FAK. These data suggest that the different AKT paralogs have distinct roles in melanoma brain metastasis and that AKT and FAK may be promising therapeutic targets. Implications: This study suggests that AKT1E17K promotes melanoma brain metastasis through activation of FAK and provides a rationale for the therapeutic targeting of AKT and/or FAK to reduce melanoma metastasis.
Examination of the Inventory of Drug Use Consequences with Individuals with Serious and Persistent Mental Illness and Co-Occurring Substance Use Disorders

Background: The Inventory of Drug Use Consequences (InDUC) (1) is a 50-item measure that evaluates lifetime and recent consequences of substance use. Objectives: This study examined the psychometric properties of a modified version of the Inventory of Drug Use Consequences (InDUC-M) in individuals with serious and persistent mental illness (SPMI) and co-occurring substance use disorders (SUDs). Methods: We examined self-reported consequences in the sample, evaluated internal consistency, identified items for a brief form of the InDUC-M, and explored relationships with indicators of substance use severity. Results: InDUC-M Lifetime and Recent subscales showed good internal consistency and were related to other measures of substance use and problems. A brief version of the InDUC-M Recent (SIP-M) showed excellent internal consistency and was highly correlated with both Lifetime and Recent subscales. Conclusion: The InDUC-M and the SIP-M performed well in individuals with SPMI and SUDs. Conclusion and Scientific Significance: Overall, these findings are a useful first step in determining the utility of the InDUC-M in people with SPMI and SUDs.
Transient-Immune GaN Gate Driver and Power Layout

The Wide Band Gap devices present many advantageous characteristics like very fast switching speeds and lower losses compared to Si. However they introduce certain design challenges which differ from standard Si devices. These are due to relatively lower threshold gate voltages and consequent higher susceptibility against unwanted miller turn-on. This paper investigates and compares various layout designs for GaN gate driver loop and power loop using FEM study and justifies their improvements. Various layout design schemes are discussed and their effects in enhancing GaN gate driver immunity against adverse effects of very fast transients are also highlighted experimentally in a Phase Shifted Full Bridge Converter.
Review of Controlled Fusion Power at Megagauss Field Levels

For well over half a century, there has been interest in using megagauss magnetic fields for thermonuclear fusion. Efforts at IAE Kurchatov under E.P. Velikhov for controlled fusion using “theta-pinch with liner” inspired similar work (c. 1970–79) at the Naval Research Laboratory in the Linus program. Apart from the many scientific problems of electrical conductors at megagauss field levels, and the several instabilities that could plague the dynamics of liner implosions, there are issues of converting single-shot technologies into economical fusion power reactors. Linus ended in 1980 because it lacked a proper plasma target for liner compression, but interest has revived recently driven by the recognition that a substantial minimum in cost and size exists in a regime between the mainline fusion approaches of magnetic-confinement (e.g., ITER) and inertial confinement (e.g., NIF). Attainment of this low-cost minimum, which occurs at about a megagauss, requires successfully overcoming three main challenges: 1) combination of the flux compression process with an appropriate plasma target that can be adiabatically compressed to fusion temperatures and densities; 2) repetitive operation of this implosion in an economically useful manner; and 3) protection of the reactor, especially electrical components, from the very high output of high-energy neutrons. Issues of the fusion power reactor and experimental development are discussed.
Physiology and Pharmacology of Myocardial Preconditioning

Perioperative myocardial ischemia and infarction are not only major sources of morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing surgery but also important causes of prolonged hospital stay and resource utilization. Ischemic and pharmacological preconditioning and postconditioning have been known for more than two decades to provide protection against myocardial ischemia and reperfusion and limit myocardial infarct size in many experimental animal models, as well as in clinical studies (1-3). This paper will review the physiology and pharmacology of ischemic and drug-induced preconditioning and postconditioning of the myocardium with special emphasis on the mechanisms by which volatile anesthetics provide myocardial protection. Insights gained from animal and clinical studies will be presented and reviewed and recommendations for the use of perioperative anesthetics and medications will be given.
A Design and Fabrication Approach for Pneumatic Soft Robotic Arms Using 3D Printed Origami Skeletons

Soft robots which employ materials with inherent compliance have demonstrated great potential in a variety of applications such as manipulators, medical tools and wearable devices. This paper presents an origami-folding inspired design and fabrication approach for developing semi-soft robotic arms. The approach starts from a conceptual design by identifying foldable origami structures. This is followed by the kinematic modelling of the selected origami skeleton with base folds of thick panels and flexible hinges. The final step realizes the design by 3D printing the skeleton and laminating the skeleton to flexible membranes on a heated vacuum table. Following the proposed approach, a foldable origami tube structure is designed, modelled and used as the exoskeleton for a pneumatic semi-soft robotic arm. Prototypes are developed by laminating a pair of 3D printed thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) origami skeleton structures with TPU fabric film. The soft arm is actuated by a vacuum pump and its performances is evaluated through quasi-static tests. Experimental results show that the soft robotic arm achieves a maximum contraction ratio of 47.53% providing 23.463 N axial tension force when applying a regulated negative pressure of −1 bar. Two extensible and foldable pneumatic arms are integrated on a micro aerial vehicle (MAV) to obtain a platform with the potential of aerial manipulation capabilities in confined and hard to reach areas.
Angle Measurement Using Monocular Camera and Moiré Pattern Enlarging the Rotation in the Linear Motion

This paper describes an angle measurement system comprising a monocular camera. In robotics engineering, in order to avoid impairing the advantage of the pneumatic actuator, an angle measurement system that does not have an electrical element is required. In the field of human motion measurement, the use of quantitative evaluation is limited because sufficiently accurate systems are expensive and bulky. To overcome this problem, we introduce a Moiré pattern that magnifies angular displacements to compensate for the low resolution of the camera. To facilitate the practical application of the angle measurement system, we use a novel Moiré pattern for magnifying the rotation of the linear motion. We then experimentally verified the robustness of the measurement system results in case of a practical application.
Effect of Vitamin D Receptor Activators on Glomerular Filtration Rate: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review

Background Vitamin D receptor activators (VDRAs) can protect against mineral bone disease, but they are reported to elevate serum creatinine (SCr) and may also reduce glomerular filtration rate (GFR). Methods We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) to evaluate the effect of VDRAs on kidney function and adverse events. MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register were searched for RCTs that evaluate vitamin D receptor activators (alfacalcidol, calcitriol, doxercalciferol, falecalcitriol, maxacalcitol and paricalcitol) up to March 2015. Results We included 31 studies, all of which were performed between 1976 and 2015, which enrolled 2621 patients. Patients receiving VDRAs had lower eGFR (weighted mean difference WMD -1.29 mL/min /1.73 m2, 95% CI -2.42 to -0.17) and elevated serum creatinine (WMD 7.03 μmol/L, 95% CI 0.61 to 13.46) in sensitivity analysis excluding studies with dropout rate more than 30%. Subgroup analysis of the 5 studies that not use SCr-based measures did not indicated lower GFR in the VDRAs group(WMD -0.97 mL/min/1.73 m2, 95% CI -4.85 to 2.92). Compared with control groups, there was no difference in all-cause mortality (relative risk RR 1.41, 95% CI 0.58 to 3.80), cardiovascular disease (RR 0.84, 95% CI 0.42 to 1.71), and severe adverse events (RR 1.15, 95% CI 0.75 to 1.77) for the VDRAs groups. Episodes of hypercalcemia (RR 3.29, 95% CI 2.02 to 5.38) were more common in the VDRAs group than in the control group. Conclusions Administration of VDRAs increased serum creatinine levels. Subgroup analysis of studies that did not use SCr-based measures did not indicate a lower GFR in the VDRA group. Future studies with non-SCr-based measures are needed to assess whether the mild elevations of serum creatinine are of clinical significance.
FSE-RBFNNs-Based Robust Adaptive DSC Design for a Larger Class of Nonlinear Strict-Feedback Systems

A novel set-invariance adaptive neural dynamic surface (DSC) control scheme is presented for an extended class of the periodically disturbed nonlinear MIMO strict-feedback systems whose control gain functions are possibly unbounded. The most advanced is that the restrictive bounds assumption is removed after introducing appropriate compact sets, which are constructed in such a way that all the closed-loop trajectories stay in those sets all the time. To tackle the tracking control problem in the presence of more general periodic disturbances, a novel function approximator is well constructed by combining the radial basis function neural networks (RBFNNs) with the Fourier series expansion (FSE). In addition, the DSC technique is employed to overcome the problem of “explosion of complexity”. Furthermore, the Lyapunov theory and invariant set theorem are utilized to prove the closed-loop systems semi-globally uniformly ultimately bounded (SGUUB) stability, and the tracking errors can converge to an arbitrarily small residual set after appropriately choosing design parameters. Finally, the simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Enhanced Current Capability for Modular Multilevel Converters by a Combined Sorting Algorithm for Capacitor Voltages and Semiconductor Losses

The modular multilevel converter (MMC) has become very attractive for high- and medium-voltage applications, generating excellent waveforms at very high efficiencies. One of the main challenges is the appropriate selection of inserted submodules (SMs), commonly done by capacitor voltage balancing algorithms. However, the semiconductor stress can only be balanced up to a certain degree by conventional algorithms, since the stress is not directly monitored. An uneven stress distribution between the SMs does not only result in different lifetime expectations, but also in increased maximum temperatures, for which each SM needs to be designed. With the goal of more effective utilization of chip area, a new balancing approach is introduced for monitoring and balancing not only the capacitor voltages but also the average power losses in each SM. In this way, the MMC current capability is significantly increased only by software without deteriorating the system performance and efficiency.
Power Curve-Fitting Control Method with Temperature Compensation for All-Metal Induction Heating Systems

In this paper, a control strategy and implementation for all-metal domestic induction heating (IH) system that can heat any kind of metallic pots while considering the temperature variation of the working coil is proposed. Control algorithm using a power curve-fitting method (CFM) is presented to quickly respond to load parameter variations in IH. In addition, a control algorithm is established to compensate the power reference value by reflecting the increase in the working-coil temperature during the heating of the non-ferromagnetic pot. To evaluate the performance of the proposed the control algorithm strategy, experimental results based on a 3.2-kW all-metal IH cooktop are presented.
A Survey of Object Co-Segmentation

It is widely acknowledged that object segmentation is a significant research field for computer vision and a key process for many other visual tasks. In the past unsupervised single-image segmentation, there are often cases where the segmentation result is not good. In the current supervised single-image segmentation, it is necessary to rely on a large number of data annotations and long-term training of the model. Then, people attempted to segment simultaneously the common regions from multiple images. On the one hand, it does not need to use a large amount of labeled data to train in advance. On the other hand, it utilizes the consistency constraint between images to better obtain the object information. This idea can generate better performance than the traditional one did, resulting in many methods related to object co-segmentation. This paper reviews some classic and effective object co-segmentation methods, including saliency-based approaches, joint-processing-based approaches, graph-based approaches, and others. For different methods, we select two or three related models to elaborate, such as a model based on random walks. Moreover, in order to exhibit and evaluate these methods objectively and comprehensively, we not only summarize them in the form of flowcharts and algorithm summaries, but also compare their performance with visualization methods and evaluation metrics, such as intersection-over-union, consistency error, and precision-recall rate. From the experiment, we also attempt to clarify and analyze the existing problems. Finally, we point out the challenges and directions and open new venues for future researchers in the field.
Internally coupled middle ears enhance the range of interaural time differences heard by the chicken

ABSTRACT Interaural time differences (ITDs) are one of several principal cues for localizing sounds. However, ITDs are in the sub-millisecond range for most animals. Because the neural processing of such small ITDs pushes the limit of temporal resolution, the precise ITD range for a given species and its usefulness – relative to other localization cues – has been a powerful selective force in the evolution of the neural circuits involved. Birds and other non-mammals have internally coupled middle ears working as pressure-difference receivers that may significantly enhance ITDs, depending on the precise properties of the interaural connection. Here, the extent of this internal coupling was investigated in chickens, specifically under the same experimental conditions as typically used in investigations of the neurophysiology of ITD-coding circuits, i.e. with headphone stimulation and skull openings. Cochlear microphonics (CM) were recorded simultaneously from both ears of anesthetized chickens under monaural and binaural stimulation, using pure tones from 0.1 to 3 kHz. Interaural transmission peaked at 1.5 kHz at a loss of only −5.5 dB; the mean interaural delay was 264 µs. CM amplitude was strongly modulated as a function of ITD, confirming significant interaural coupling. The ‘ITD heard’ derived from the CM phases in both ears showed enhancement, compared with the acoustic stimuli, by a factor of up to 1.8. However, the experimental conditions impaired interaural transmission at low frequencies (<1 kHz). I identify factors that need to be considered when interpreting neurophysiological data obtained under these conditions and relating them to the natural free-field condition. Summary: The interaural time differences that chickens can use for sound localization are significantly greater than their small head size suggests. Closed-field sound stimulation and skull openings can, however, produce complex artefacts.
Facial Expression Detection and Recognition using Geometry Maps

Processing in faces is done differently compared to other stimuli, because of challenges in differentiating among highly familiar stimuli to recognize the individual since there is a necessity of the society to do it successfully. Since there can be vast growth in the field of machine learning, humans from past few years trying to make computer interaction with the humans. To do so it took various steps whether it is about the facial expression recognition or about other fields of machine learning. We proposed a novel way to deal with distinguishing the feeling in view of the lips structure over the time frame. This paper presents the work done in the field of facial expression recognition with the help of geometric maps representation of the lips portion including the Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier to get more accuracy in the final result and then plot a graph which gives us an approximate estimation of the expression of the humans. The experiment is done on Cohn-Kanade database and obtained 94% accuracy.
Smart Antenna with Dynamic Radiation Pattern Capability for 4G Applications

A 360° beam switching compact planar patch antenna is presented in this paper. The designed antenna consists of three dipole radiators arranged in a hexagonal loop on a low-cost FR4 substrate. It achieves radiation pattern reconfigurability by switching the three PIN diodes. The selective surface current distribution leads to six different radiation modes of the antenna. The fabricated antenna proves beam rotation in entire azimuth plane in six different states at 60° steps. It offers a 100MHz common impedance bandwidth from 2.35GHz to 2.45GHz common between the two resonant modes of the antenna. In this common band maximum measured gain is 2.66dB with over 75% efficiency. The antenna has a compact size of 0. 47λ0 × 0. 47λ0 and a low profile of 0. 012λ0. It has a significant impact on the 2.4GHz wireless applications due to its beamforming and beam rotation capability.