Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Aerodynamic Validation of a Parametric Airfoil Description

This paper reports the aerodynamic validation of a parameterized modelling of wing profiles. The parameterization uses 4 piece-wise C1 continuous cubic Bézier curves to model the wing profile envelope. A large set of wing profiles were compared with respect to geometric and aerodynamic similarity between parametric model and point cloud representation. In particular boundary layer properties such as transition point position and drag coefficient; also the critical Mach number is compared between the two sets of wing profile modelling in order to support the conclusion that the two methods of geometrical representation are equivalent.
Loss of Olfactory Tract Integrity Affects Cortical Metabolism in the Brain and Olfactory Regions in Aging and Mild Cognitive Impairment

Olfactory dysfunction is an early feature of Alzheimer disease. This study used multimodal imaging of PET and 18F-FDG combined with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to investigate the association of fiber tract integrity in the olfactory tract with cortical glucose metabolism in subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and normal controls. We hypothesized that MCI subjects would show loss of olfactory tract integrity and may have altered associations with glucose metabolism. Methods: Subjects diagnosed with amnestic MCI (n = 12) and normal controls (n = 23) received standard brain 18F-FDG PET and DTI with 32 gradient directions on a 3-T MR imaging scanner. Fractional anisotropy (FA) maps were generated. Voxelwise correlation analysis of olfactory tract FA values with 18F-FDG PET images was performed. Results: Integrated analysis over all subjects indicated a positive correlation between white matter integrity in the olfactory tract and metabolic activity in olfactory processing structures, including the rostral prefrontal cortex, dorsomedial thalamus, hypothalamus, orbitofrontal cortex, and uncus, and in the superior temporal gyrus, insula, and anterior cingulate cortex. Subjects with MCI, compared with normal controls, showed differential associations of olfactory tract integrity with medial temporal lobe and posterior cortical structures. Conclusion: These findings indicate that impairment of axonal integrity or neuronal loss may be linked to functional metabolic changes and that disease-specific neurodegeneration may affect this relationship. Multimodal imaging using 18F-FDG PET and DTI may provide better insights into aging and neurodegenerative processes.
Design of a Varying Die-plate Fish Feed Pelletizer and Performance Evaluation Using a Non-conventional Feed Sources

An electrically-operated fish feed pelletizer was designed, fabricated and tested. The machine was incorporated with an easily detachable die plates capable of extruding different sized feed. Performance evaluation of the machine was carried out using a non-conventional feed resources of fermented citrus and plantain peels each formulated with fish feed constituents such as fish oil and groundnut cake prepared at a moisture content of 20% wet basis. The performance indices considered in the evaluation of the pelletizer were pelleting efficiency, percentage recovery and percentage of unpelleted feed. Results obtained when 250 g of formulated feed was introduced into the pelletizer showed an higher pelleting efficiency (91.50%), percentage recovery (73.20%) and a lower percentage of unpelleted feed (26.81%) when die plate having screen size of 5 mm holes was used. Evaluation using die plate having 3 mm holes showed that the average values for pelleting efficiency, percentage recovery, and percentage unpelleted feed were 82.09, 65.67 and 35.73% respectively. Statistical analysis of the performance indices with respect to the 3 mm and 5 mm die sizes showed that performance indices had significant difference on formulated feed having fermented citrus peel while not statistically significant for feed formulated with fermented plantain peel at p < 0.05.
Recombinant human erythropoietin reduces plasminogen activator inhibitor and ameliorates pro-inflammatory responses following trauma

Background and the purpose of the study sBesides its hematopoietic effects, erythropoietin (EPO) by mobilization of iron and modulation of some inflammatory cytokines has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The purpose of this study was to evaluate these effects of erythropoietin and its impact on organ function in traumatized patients. Methods Twenty-six ICU-admitted traumatized patients within 24 hrs after trauma were randomly assigned to the EPO (received EPO, 300 units/Kg/day) and Control (not received EPO) groups. The inflammatory biomarkers including Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha (TNF-α), Interleukin 1 (IL-1), Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1 (PAI-1) and Nitrotyrosine were recorded at the admission, 3, 6 and 9 days thereafter. Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE II) and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) scores were also recorded. Results Among 12 patients (EPO group) TNF-α level at the day of 9 (P=0.046), and within EPO group at the days of 3 (P=0.026 ameliorate), 6 (P=0.016), and 9 (P=0.052) were significantly lowered. Level of IL-1 and PAI-1 decreased significantly at days of 3, 6 and 9 post intervention. Also there were significant differences between two groups in the SOFA score during three measured time intervals (the first, third and seventh days). Conclusion From the results of this study it seems that injection of erythrocyte stimulating agent is well tolerated and inhibits the inflammatory response and oxidative stress following trauma.
Integration of Apriori Algorithms with Case-based Reasoning for Flight Accident Investigation

The analysis of flight accidents has been demonstrated to be a crucial tool for improving flight safety. The utilization of visual decision support systems potentially assists investigators in quickly and accurately identifying the underlying causes of accidents. This study aims at supplying a visual decision support system, based on the Apriori and case-based reasoning approaches, for assisting investigators in analyzing human injuries in flight accidents. We demonstrate our approach using the aircraft configuration of flight CI611. The experimental results show that the proposed approach provides support for quick decisions by investigators on the basis of a visualization system.
Regularity-Driven Building Facade Matching between Aerial and Street Views

We present an approach for detecting and matching building facades between aerial view and street-view images. We exploit the regularity of urban scene facades as captured by their lattice structures and deduced from median-tiles' shape context, color, texture and spatial similarities. Our experimental results demonstrate effective matching of oblique and partially-occluded facades between aerial and ground views. Quantitative comparisons for automated urban scene facade matching from three cities show superior performance of our method over baseline SIFT, Root-SIFT and the more sophisticated Scale-Selective Self-Similarity and Binary Coherent Edge descriptors. We also illustrate regularity-based applications of occlusion removal from street views and higher-resolution texture-replacement in aerial views.
Combining acoustic echo cancellation and adaptive beamforming for achieving robust speech interface in mobile robot

This paper proposes a combined scheme in which adaptive beamforming and acoustic echo canceller are integrated in order to achieve a robust full-duplex speech interface between user and mobile robot. In particular, this paper addresses the situation in which an echo signal and the userpsilas voice are propagated from the same direction toward a linear array of microphones. We propose a cascading scheme that uses an acoustic echo canceller followed by an adaptive beamformer. By using the system output to adapt echo canceller, and by controlling the adaptive mode of each adaptive filter in the beamformer and in the echo canceller, we can recover the original speech, which would otherwise have remained contaminated by both noise and echoes. In addition, a double-talk detector is proposed so that effective acoustic echo cancellation may be attained without generating error divergence when the userpsilas voice and the echo are present simultaneously. Representative experimental results with real data demonstrate the validity of the proposed scheme.
Wearable Stretch Sensors for Motion Measurement of the Wrist Joint Based on Dielectric Elastomers

Motion capture of the human body potentially holds great significance for exoskeleton robots, human-computer interaction, sports analysis, rehabilitation research, and many other areas. Dielectric elastomer sensors (DESs) are excellent candidates for wearable human motion capture systems because of their intrinsic characteristics of softness, light weight, and compliance. In this paper, DESs were applied to measure all component motions of the wrist joints. Five sensors were mounted to different positions on the wrist, and each one is for one component motion. To find the best position to mount the sensors, the distribution of the muscles is analyzed. Even so, the component motions and the deformation of the sensors are coupled; therefore, a decoupling method was developed. By the decoupling algorithm, all component motions can be measured with a precision of 5°, which meets the requirements of general motion capture systems.
Surface parameters measurement of braided preform based on local edge extreme

Abstract This paper proposes a local edge extreme-based method to automatically measure the pitch length and surface braiding angle of braided preforms. The Lab space transform and an artistic edge and corner enhancing filter are used first to pre-process the original acquired images. An algorithm based on local edge extreme is then used to detect corners. Finally, the pitch lengths and surface braiding angles are measured based on the detected corner maps. Experimental results show that the proposed method achieves automatic measurements of pitch lengths and surface braiding angles of biaxial braided carbon-fiber preforms with good accuracy.
Learning Bayesian Belief Networks Based on the Minimum Description Length Principle: Basic Properties

This paper addresses the problem of learning Bayesian belief networks (BBN) based on the minimum description length (MDL) principle. First, we give a formula of description length based on which the MDL-based procedure learns a BBN. Secondly, we point out that the difference between the MDL-based and Cooper and Herskovits procedures is essentially in the priors rather than in the approaches (MDL and Bayesian), and recommend a class of priors from which the formula is obtained. Finally, we show as a merit of using the formula that a modified version of the Chow and Liu algorithm is obtained. The modified algorithm finds a set of trees rather than a spanning tree based on the MDL principle. key words: minimum description length principle, Bayesian belief network, Chow and Liu algorithm, Cooper and Herskovits procedure, MDL-based procedure, stochastic rule learning
Peroxiredoxin Tsa1 Is the Key Peroxidase Suppressing Genome Instability and Protecting against Cell Death in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Peroxiredoxins (Prxs) constitute a family of thiol-specific peroxidases that utilize cysteine (Cys) as the primary site of oxidation during the reduction of peroxides. To gain more insight into the physiological role of the five Prxs in budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we performed a comparative study and found that Tsa1 was distinguished from the other Prxs in that by itself it played a key role in maintaining genome stability and in sustaining aerobic viability of rad51 mutants that are deficient in recombinational repair. Tsa2 and Dot5 played minor but distinct roles in suppressing the accumulation of mutations in cooperation with Tsa1. Tsa2 was capable of largely complementing the absence of Tsa1 when expressed under the control of the Tsa1 promoter. The presence of peroxidatic cysteine (Cys47) was essential for Tsa1 activity, while Tsa1C170S lacking the resolving Cys was partially functional. In the absence of Tsa1 activity (tsa1 or tsa1CCS lacking the peroxidatic and resolving Cys) and recombinational repair (rad51), dying cells displayed irregular cell size/shape, abnormal cell cycle progression, and significant increase of phosphatidylserine externalization, an early marker of apoptosis-like cell death. The tsa1CCS rad51– or tsa1 rad51–induced cell death did not depend on the caspase Yca1 and Ste20 kinase, while the absence of the checkpoint protein Rad9 accelerated the cell death processes. These results indicate that the peroxiredoxin Tsa1, in cooperation with appropriate DNA repair and checkpoint mechanisms, acts to protect S. cerevisiae cells against toxic levels of DNA damage that occur during aerobic growth.
Indirect Acquisition of Violin Instrumental Controls from Audio Signal with Hidden Markov Models

Acquisition of instrumental gestures in musical performances is a field of increasing interest with applications in different areas ranging from acoustics and sound synthesis to motor learning or artistic performances. Direct acquisition approaches are based on measurements with sensors attached on the instrument or the performer, a process that usually involves the use of expensive sensing systems and complex setups that are generally intrusive in practice. An alternative is the indirect acquisition without sensors based on analysis of the audio signal. This paper reports a novel indirect acquisition method for the estimation of continuous violin controls from audio-signal analysis based on the training of statistical models with a database of previously recorded violin performances. The database contains synchronized streams of audio features and instrumental controls. Audio signal was captured with a vibration transducer built into the violin bridge, and instrumental controls were measured with sensors. The controls include bowing parameters (played string, bowing velocity, bowing force, and bowing distance to the bridge) as well as fingering position. Once the model is trained for a specific violin, we can perform indirect acquisition from analysis of the signal captured with its embedded transducer without the need for the sensors any more. The statistical methods used are Hidden Markov Models (HMM) with observation distributions parameterized as Multivariate Gaussian Mixtures (GM). HMMs provide a means for note recognition and following and parameter prediction is based on GM regression. Results show that the presented method constitutes an accurate, non-intrusive and low-cost alternative for instrumental control acquisition of a previously calibrated violin and recording device.
Music Mood Representations from Social Tags

ABSTRACTThis paper presents ndings about mood representations.We aim to analyze how do people tag music by mood, tocreate representations based on this data and to study theagreement between experts and a large community. Forthispurpose,wecreateasemanticmoodspacefromlast.fmtags using Latent Semantic Analysis. With an unsuper-vised clustering approach, we derive from this space anideal categorical representation. We compare our commu-nitybasedsemanticspacewithexpertrepresentationsfromHevner and the clusters from the MIREX Audio MoodClassication task. Using dimensional reduction with aSelf-Organizing Map, we obtain a 2D representation thatwe compare with the dimensional model from Russell. Wepresent as well a tree diagram of the mood tags obtainedwith a hierarchical clustering approach. All these resultsshow a consistency between the community and the ex-perts as well as some limitations of current expert models.This study demonstrates a particular relevancy of the basicemotions model with four mood clusters that can be sum-marized as: happy, sad, angry and tender. This outcomecan help to create better ground truth and to provide morerealistic mood classication algorithms. Furthermore, thismethod can be applied to other types of representations tobuild better computational models.1. INTRODUCTIONMusicclassicationbymood
The Frequency of Nuclear Star Formation in Seyfert 2 Galaxies

We investigate the detectability of starburst signatures in the nuclear spectrum of Seyfert 2 galaxies by constructing spectral models in the wavelength range λλ3500-4100, combining the spectrum of a bulge population (of age ≈10 Gyr) with that of younger stellar populations, spanning ages from ≈3 Myr to 1 Gyr. The major constraints in the analysis are (1) the continuum ratio λλ3660/4020, which efficiently discriminates between models combining a bulge spectrum with a stellar population younger than ≈50 Myr and those with older stellar populations; (2) the presence of the Balmer lines H8, H9, and H10 in absorption, which are unambiguous signatures of stellar populations with ages in the range 10 Myr-1 Gyr for the relevant metallicities. Their detectability depends both on the age of the young component and on its contribution to the total flux relative to that of the bulge. We also construct models combining the bulge template with a power-law (PL) continuum, which is observed in some Seyfert 2 galaxies in polarized light, contributing with typically 10%-40% of the flux at 4020 Å. We conclude that such continuum cannot be distinguished from that of a very young stellar population (age ≤ 10 Myr), contributing with less than ≈0.02% of the mass of the bulge. The models are compared with nuclear spectra—corresponding to a radius of 200-300 pc at the galaxy—of 20 Seyfert 2 galaxies, in which we specifically look for the signatures above of young- to intermediate-aged stellar populations. We find them in 10 galaxies, thus 50% of the sample. But only in six cases (30% of the sample) can they be attributed to young stars (age < 500 Myr): Mrk 1210, ESO 362-G8, NGC 5135, NGC 5643, NGC 7130, and NGC 7582. In the remaining four cases, the signatures are caused by intermediate-aged stars (≈1 Gyr). We find a tendency for the young stars to be found more frequently among the late-type Seyfert galaxies, a well-known effect in the nuclei of normal galaxies. This tendency is supported by a comparison between the equivalent widths (W) of absorption lines of the nuclear spectra of the Seyfert 2 galaxies with those of normal galaxies of the same Hubble type. For the late-type galaxies, the W values of the Seyfert galaxies are within the observed range of the normal galaxies, suggesting a similar stellar population. On the other hand, the W values are lower than those of the normal galaxies for seven out of the 11 Seyferts in early-type galaxies.
The Bio-PEPA Tool Suite

Bio-PEPA is a timed process algebra designedspecifically for the description of biological phenomena and theiranalysis through quantitative methods such asstochastic simulation and probabilistic model-checking.Two software tools are available for modelling with Bio-PEPA, theBio-PEPA Workbench and the Bio-PEPA Eclipse Plugin. The Bio-PEPAWorkbench is the research prototype tool which allows us to try outnew language features and new types of analysis through rapidprototyping. The Bio-PEPA Eclipse Plugin is a polished modellingenvironment which targets end-users who wish to do Bio-PEPA modellingsupported by a comprehensive integrated development environment. Bothmodelling tools allow the user to analyse their model both in thediscrete stochastic regime and in the sure continuous regime whilemaintaining only a single source in the Bio-PEPA language.
The sound of touch: on-body touch and gesture sensing based on transdermal ultrasound propagation

Recent work has shown that the body provides an interesting interaction platform. We propose a novel sensing technique based on transdermal low-frequency ultrasound propagation. This technique enables pressure-aware continuous touch sensing as well as arm-grasping hand gestures on the human body. We describe the phenomena we leverage as well as the system that produces ultrasound signals on one part of the body and measures this signal on another. The measured signal varies according to the measurement location, forming distinctive propagation profiles which are useful to infer on-body touch locations and on-body gestures. We also report on a series of experimental studies with 20 participants that characterize the signal, and show robust touch and gesture classification along the forearm.
Assessment of the Clinical Performance of Platelet Concentrates Treated by Pathogen Reduction Technology in Santiago de Compostela

Introduction: This study assessed the feasibility, performance, and safety of Mirasol®-treated platelet concentrates (M-PC) stored for up to 7 days. Methods: This prospective observational study was approved by the ethical committee of the University Clinic of Santiago de Compostela. Informed consent was asked from patients receiving M-PC. M-PCs were treated with the Mirasol system according to the manufacturer's instructions. Thrombocytopenic patients were transfused according to the Spanish transfusion guidelines. Post-transfusion platelet counts were measured at 1 h and/or 24 h after transfusion. Post-transfusion surveillance of patients was maintained during the study. Results: Data from 54 evaluable patients and 135 transfusions were analyzed. The mean age of patients was 58 years. The mean age of M-PC at transfusion was 3.6 days. The mean platelet dose was 3.7 × 1011. The transfusion responses measured as mean corrected count increment 1 h after transfusion (CCI1h) and CCI24h were 9,659 and 4,751, respectively. 65% of transfusions resulted in CCI1h values ≥ 7,500. 51% of transfusions resulted in CCI24h values ≥ 4,500. Conclusion: The use of M-PC in the supportive treatment proved to be safe and effective for this cohort of thrombocytopenic patients.
Reference Encryption for Access Right Segregation and Domain Representation

With reference to a protection model featuring processes, objects and domains, we consider the salient aspects of the protection problem, domain representation and access right segregation in memory. We propose a solution based on protected references, each consisting of the identifier of an object and the specification of a collection of access rights for this object. The protection system associates an encryption key with each object and each domain. A protected reference for a given object is always part of a domain, and is stored in memory in the ciphertext form that results from application of a double encryption using both the object key and the domain key.
Rapid Method for Screening Large Numbers of Escherichia coli Colonies for Production of Plasmid-Mediated β-Lactamases

A rapid, simple assay for screening large numbers of Escherichia coli colonies for production of certain plasmid-mediated β-lactamases (including TEM-1, TEM-2, HMS-1, SHV-1, OXA-1, PSE-1, PSE-4, and CEP-2) is described. The technique, a modification of the method of Slack et al. for detection of β-lactamase in limited numbers of Haemophilus influenzae clinical isolates (Lancet ii:906, 1977), uses filter paper impregnated with benzylpenicillin and a pH indicator dye (bromocresol purple) that changes color in the presence of β-lactamase activity. The test paper is briefly applied to an agar surface containing bacterial colonies which are subsequently scored individually on the paper by color: yellow indicates the presence of β-lactamase, dark green its absence, and variegation (yellow and dark green) a mixed population. Concordance of the results of this assay with those of replica plating for antibiotic resistance was over 99%. Hundreds of colonies per plate can be scored quickly and remain viable for further evaluation. The assay appears to be useful for studies of the stability of plasmids encoding β-lactamases and in cloning with vectors such as pBR322 in which insertion of DNA fragments can be detected by inactivation of the β-lactamase gene. Whenever the assay is to be used, results should always be confirmed initially by another method, such as replica plating, because the test paper assay does not detect three β-lactamases (OXA-2, OXA-3, and PSE-2) and also would miss intrinsic penicillin resistance.