Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Efficient Method for Supervised Hyperspectral Band Selection

Band selection is often applied to reduce the dimensionality of hyperspectral imagery. When the desired object information is known, it can be achieved by finding the bands that contain the most object information. It is expected that these bands can provide an overall satisfactory detection and classification performance. In this letter, we propose a new supervised band-selection algorithm that uses the known class signatures only without examining the original bands or the need of class training samples. Thus, it can complete the task much faster than traditional methods that test bands or band combinations. The experimental result shows that our approach can generally yield better results than other popular supervised band-selection methods in the literature.
A VANET-based emergency vehicle warning system

One often cited use case for vehicular networks are applications that relate to emergency vehicles. In addition to the traditional siren, they could use radio communication to warn other vehicles or to preempt traffic lights. Such an application can reduce accident risks during emergency response trips and also help save valuable time. We outline a comprehensive design of such an emergency vehicle warning system that makes full use of inter-vehicle communication, but also encompasses roadside infrastructure like traffic lights. In our system, other vehicles are not simply warned of an approaching emergency vehicle; they also receive detailed route information. Based on this information, timely and appropriate reaction of other drivers is possible. A prototype of our system has been tested in a traffic environment including emergency vehicles and traffic lights. To identify requirements and evaluate our system, we also conducted a detailed analysis of videos from emergency response trips and an expert survey among members of a local emergency response organization.
Inverse active load-pull in an inverse Doherty amplifier

A dedicated inverse Doherty amplifier is presented in this paper using commercially available 10W GaN HEMT devices. Results show that an emulated 1W peaking amplifier and a 10W carrier amplifier can be used to create a highly efficient amplification architecture. Ideal inverse active load-pull is introduced theoretically with experimental results showing good agreement with the theory. A generic characterization scan of the inverse Doherty amplifier yields state of the art drain and power added efficiency in the output power back-off. A drain and power added efficiency of 60% and 50% are obtained at 10dB output power back-off respectively with a maximum output power of 41dBm at 2.1GHz.
A Privacy-Preserving Framework for Large-Scale Content-Based Information Retrieval

We propose a privacy protection framework for large-scale content-based information retrieval. It offers two layers of protection. First, robust hash values are used as queries to prevent revealing original content or features. Second, the client can choose to omit certain bits in a hash value to further increase the ambiguity for the server. Due to the reduced information, it is computationally difficult for the server to know the client's interest. The server has to return the hash values of all possible candidates to the client. The client performs a search within the candidate list to find the best match. Since only hash values are exchanged between the client and the server, the privacy of both parties is protected. We introduce the concept oftunable privacy, where the privacy protection level can be adjusted according to a policy. It is realized through hash-based piecewise inverted indexing. The idea is to divide a feature vector into pieces and index each piece with a subhash value. Each subhash value is associated with an inverted index list. The framework has been extensively tested using a large image database. We have evaluated both retrieval performance and privacy-preserving performance for a particular content identification application. Two different constructions of robust hash algorithms are used. One is based on random projections; the other is based on the discrete wavelet transform. Both algorithms exhibit satisfactory performance in comparison with state-of-the-art retrieval schemes. The results show that the privacy enhancement slightly improves the retrieval performance. We consider the majority voting attack for estimating the query category and identification. Experiment results show that this attack is a threat when there are near-duplicates, but the success rate decreases with the number of omitted bits and the number of distinct items.
STUDY OF CONNECTIVITY PROPERTIES AND NETWORK TOPOLOGY FOR NEUROIMAGING CLASSIFICATION BY USING ADAPTIVE NERO-FUZZY INFERENCE SYSTEM

Neuro imaging techniques are used to study the structural and functional connectivity of the human brain to identify abnormalities, Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) can be identified by quantitative measurement of brain connectivity. In this paper, Multi kernel based approach is employed. Two types of Kernels i.e., vector based kernel and graph based kernel are used to study the local and global topology properties of a network. Then Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) is adopted for neuroimaging classification. This analyses two different yet complementary properties of the network.
Evaluation of a multiplex polymerase chain reaction for early diagnosis of ventriculostomy-related infections.

OBJECT Diagnosis of ventriculostomy-related infections (VRIs) is challenging due to the lack of rapid, sensitive assays for pathogen detection. The authors report the development of a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for differential diagnosis of common VRI pathogens. METHODS MassTag PCR was used to develop a multiplex assay for detection of 11 VRI pathogens. The assay was established and optimized using cloned template standards and spiked samples and was then evaluated on CSF specimens from ventricular drains. Subjects were grouped into definite VRI, possible VRI, or no VRI based on conventional microbiology, CSF evaluation, and clinical parameters. RESULTS CSF specimens were obtained from 45 subjects (median age 49 years, interquartile range 32-63 years; 51% were male). The assay detected 10-100 genome copies. It detected a pathogen in 100% (6 of 6) of definite VRI cases in which a pathogen targeted by the assay was present; these represented 67% of all definite VRIs (6 of 9). Among subjects with a possible VRI, the assay detected a pathogen in 29% (5 of 17). In subjects without overt infection the presence of a pathogen was detected in 32% of subjects (6 of 19), albeit with lower signal compared with the VRI group. CONCLUSIONS MassTag PCR enabled parallel testing of CSF specimens for 11 pathogens of VRI. The high sensitivity of PCR combined with possible device colonization, specimen contamination, and concurrent antibiotic treatments limit the clinical value of the assay, similar to other current diagnostic approaches. With further optimization, multiplex PCR may provide timely identification of multiple possible VRI pathogens and guide management, complementing classic culture approaches.
Performance Analysis of Hybrid Satellite-Terrestrial FSO Cooperative System

In this letter, the transmission of signals in a hybrid satellite-terrestrial free space optical (FSO) cooperative link is considered. In particular, we address the problem of amplify-and-forward (AF) relaying in a hybrid satellite-terrestrial FSO cooperative link, where a masked destination node receives the relayed transmission from an FSO link. The satellite-relay link is assumed to follow the shadowed-Rician fading, and the irradiance of the FSO link between the relay and destination is assumed to follow the gamma-gamma distribution. The approximate average symbol error rate of the considered AF cooperative scheme for M-ary phase shift keying constellation is derived; analytical diversity order of the hybrid cooperative system is also obtained.
Writing as soul work: training teachers in a group-based career-narrative approach

ABSTRACT Writing as soul work refers to the active engagement of students in transformative writing activities in a group setting with the aim to enable students to develop new, more empowering narratives. This article explains how soul work through writing can be used to foster career adaptability, expressed in the form of increased awareness and self-direction. We summarise the labour market realities that underlie a need for more narrative approaches and introduce writing as soul work as a potential method to respond to these contemporary career challenges. We define what is meant by soul work and writing, illustrate its use with several stories from practice, and make recommendations for teachers and implementation in institutions.
Formal fault tree construction and system safety analysis

Fault Tree Analysis is a traditional deductive safety analysis technique that is applied during the system design stage. However, traditional fault trees often suffer from a lack of formal semantics to check the correctness or consistency of the descriptions. This is especially a problem in safety-critical system analysis. To overcome this limitation, we propose a novel formal fault tree construction method, which is different from traditional methods that focus on providing the formal semantics for the fault tree constructs after the informal fault tree has been built. In our method, the correctness of the fault tree is proved by the construction process itself, and the time relationships among different events are guaranteed by introducing temporal logic notations. Furthermore, by the stepwise deduction process, the hidden domain rules and inattentive design deficiencies can be discovered at an earlier stage, which helps the designers and domain experts effectively check and revise their system design in a timelier manner.
Reduced Proteolysis of Secreted Gelatin and Yps1-Mediated α-Factor Leader Processing in a Pichia pastoris kex2 Disruptant

ABSTRACT Heterologous proteins secreted by yeast and fungal expression hosts are occasionally degraded at basic amino acids. We cloned Pichia pastoris homologs of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae basic residue-specific endoproteases Kex2 and Yps1 to evaluate their involvement in the degradation of a secreted mammalian gelatin. Disruption of the P. pastoris KEX2 gene prevented proteolysis of the foreign protein at specific monoarginylic sites. The S. cerevisiae α-factor preproleader used to direct high-level gelatin secretion was correctly processed at its dibasic site in the absence of the prototypical proprotein convertase Kex2. Disruption of the YPS1 gene had no effect on gelatin degradation or processing of the α-factor propeptide. When both the KEX2 and YPS1 genes were disrupted, correct precursor maturation no longer occurred. The different substrate specificities of both proteases and their mutual redundancy for propeptide processing indicate that P. pastoris kex2 and yps1 single-gene disruptants can be used for the α-factor leader-directed secretion of heterologous proteins otherwise degraded at basic residues.
A Procedure for Determination of Total Sulfur and Inorganic Sulfate Content of Food Stuffs

A procedure for determination of �otal sulfur and a procedure for determination of inorganic sulfate content of the edible portions of foodstuffs common to the American diet were investigated. The test food was New York State variety green cabbage. Total sulfur (as sulfate) was determined by the Parr sulfur bomb atomic absorption spectrophoto­ metric method. The determination was made with and without·added ·sodium· sulfate standard. · ·Good recovery and precision, 101.4 ±2.3%, were obtained by this method. An attempt was made to determine total sulfur (as sulfate) as the sum of the four sulfur components: inorganic sulfate, organic sulfate, ethereal sulfur and amino acid sulfur. The sum of these components was 11.2% higher than the total sulfur obtained by the Parr sulfur bomb atomic absorption spectrophotometric method. Therefore, replications and a recovery experiment were completed on the method for fractionation and determination of inorganic sulfate. ·The determinations were made with and without added sodium sulfate standard; recovery and precision were 101 . 2 ±6.9%. Replications and recovery experiments were not completed on the me.thods for fractionation and determination of organic sulfate, ethereal sulfur and amino acid sulfur.
A randomized and controlled trial of a participative ergonomics intervention to reduce injuries associated with manual tasks: physical risk and legislative compliance

A participative ergonomics approach to reducing injuries associated with manual tasks is widely promoted; however only limited evidence from uncontrolled trials has been available to support the efficacy of such an approach. This paper reports on a randomized and controlled trial of PErforM, a participative ergonomics intervention designed to reduce the risks of injury associated with manual tasks. One hundred and seventeen small to medium sized food, construction, and health workplaces were audited by government inspectors using a manual tasks risk assessment tool (ManTRA). Forty-eight volunteer workplaces were then randomly assigned to Experimental and Control groups with the Experimental group receiving the PErforM program. Inspectors audited the workplaces again, 9 months following the intervention. The results showed a significant decrease in estimates of manual task risk and suggested better legal compliance in the Experimental group.
Virtuosos of the Experience Domain

What is experience? Experience is a subjective event, felt only by the person who has the experience. Experience is ephemeral, i.e., lasting only for the moment. Experiences that have already been lived and felt I will call memories. Experiences not yet lived or felt, but imagined, I will call dreams. Experiencing is the point where memory and imagination meet. Figure 1 shows the full set of experiences (i.e., memories, the current moment and dreams) in the experience domain.
Physical and chemical modification of starches: A review

ABSTRACT The development of green material in the last decade has been increased, which tends to reduce the impact of humans on the environment. Starch as an agro-sourced polymer has become very popular recently due to its characteristics, such as wide availability, low cost, and total compostability without toxic residues. Starch is the most abundant organic compound found in nature after cellulose. Starches are inherently unsuitable for most applications and, therefore, must be modified physically and/or chemically to enhance their positive attributes and/or to minimize their defects. Modification of starches is generally carried out by using physical methods that are simple and inexpensive due to the absence of chemical agents. However, chemical modification involves the exploitation of hydroxyl group present in the starches that brings about the desired results for the utilization of starches for specific applications. All these techniques have the tendency to produce starches with altered physicochemical properties and modified structural attributes for various food and nonfood applications. This paper reviews the recent knowledge and developments using physical modification methods, some chemical modification methods, and a combination of both to produce a novel molecule with substantial applications, in food industry along with future perspectives.
Dictyostelium IQGAP-related Protein Specifically Involved in the Completion of Cytokinesis

The gapA gene encoding a novel RasGTPase-activating protein (RasGAP)–related protein was found to be disrupted in a cytokinesis mutant of Dictyostelium that grows as giant and multinucleate cells in a dish culture. The predicted sequence of the GAPA protein showed considerable homology to those of Gap1/Sar1 from fission yeast and the COOH-terminal half of mammalian IQGAPs, the similarity extending beyond the RasGAP-related domain. In suspension culture, gapA− cells showed normal growth in terms of the increase in cell mass, but cytokinesis inefficiently occurred to produce spherical giant cells. Time-lapse recording of the dynamics of cell division in a dish culture revealed that, in the case of gapA− cells, cytokinesis was very frequently reversed at the step in which the midbody connecting the daughter cells should be severed. Earlier steps of cytokinesis in the gapA− cells seemed to be normal, since myosin II was accumulated at the cleavage furrow. Upon starvation, gapA− cells developed and formed fruiting bodies with viable spores, like the wild-type cells. These results indicate that the GAPA protein is specifically involved in the completion of cytokinesis. Recently, it was reported that IQGAPs are putative effectors for Rac and CDC42, members of the Rho family of GTPases, and participate in reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton. Thus, it is possible that Dictyostelium GAPA participates in the severing of the midbody by regulating the actin cytoskeleton through an interaction with a member of small GTPases.
Pathogenic Role of Store-Operated and Receptor-Operated Ca2+ Channels in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Pulmonary circulation is an important circulatory system in which the body brings in oxygen. Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a progressive and fatal disease that predominantly affects women. Sustained pulmonary vasoconstriction, excessive pulmonary vascular remodeling, in situ thrombosis, and increased pulmonary vascular stiffness are the major causes for the elevated pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) in patients with PAH. The elevated PVR causes an increase in afterload in the right ventricle, leading to right ventricular hypertrophy, right heart failure, and eventually death. Understanding the pathogenic mechanisms of PAH is important for developing more effective therapeutic approach for the disease. An increase in cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]cyt) in pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMC) is a major trigger for pulmonary vasoconstriction and an important stimulus for PASMC migration and proliferation which lead to pulmonary vascular wall thickening and remodeling. It is thus pertinent to define the pathogenic role of Ca2+ signaling in pulmonary vasoconstriction and PASMC proliferation to develop new therapies for PAH. [Ca2+]cyt in PASMC is increased by Ca2+ influx through Ca2+ channels in the plasma membrane and by Ca2+ release or mobilization from the intracellular stores, such as sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) or endoplasmic reticulum (ER). There are two Ca2+ entry pathways, voltage-dependent Ca2+ influx through voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels (VDCC) and voltage-independent Ca2+ influx through store-operated Ca2+ channels (SOC) and receptor-operated Ca2+ channels (ROC). This paper will focus on the potential role of VDCC, SOC, and ROC in the development and progression of sustained pulmonary vasoconstriction and excessive pulmonary vascular remodeling in PAH.
Novel approach to nonlinear/non-Gaussian Bayesian state estimation

An algorithm, the bootstrap filter, is proposed for implementing recursive Bayesian filters. The required density of the state vector is represented as a set of random samples, which are updated and propagated by the algorithm. The method is not restricted by assumptions of linear- ity or Gaussian noise: it may be applied to any state transition or measurement model. A simula- tion example of the bearings only tracking problem is presented. This simulation includes schemes for improving the efficiency of the basic algorithm. For this example, the performance of the bootstrap filter is greatly superior to the standard extended Kalman filter.
Reading queer counter-narratives in the high-school literature classroom: possibilities and challenges

ABSTRACT Drawing on an ethnographic case study of a 13-week Gay and Lesbian Literature course, this paper explores how a high-school teacher and her students engaged with queer-themed literature. Focused on episodes around the class’ engagement with two of the novels read in the course – Rita Mae Brown's Rubyfruit Jungle and Michael Cunningham's The Hours – the paper offers insights into how these queer counter-narratives opened up spaces for unanticipated queer moments which intervened disruptively into the heteronormative space of the English literature classroom, while also revealing the persistency of heteronormative discourses. This research raises questions about the pedagogical frameworks which guide the implementation of curricula focused on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer topics in secondary schools. I suggest that queer counter-narratives provide productive sites where teachers and their student readers can negotiate the paradoxes of contemporary queer subjectivities as they wrestle with notions of identity, normalcy, and norms related to diverse sexualities and genders.
A study of functions for robot returned from parking to store autonomously

Recently, robots are coming into our daily life. Many researches for purpose which is coexistence and cooperation of robots and people have been studied. But in our familiar environment, there is no relation of autonomous mobile robots and us in fact. The purpose of this research is the development of the autonomous mobile robot assuming a shopping cart. This robot can return to where it was by itself, after carrying packages to the car. This paper shows the system which a robot can return autonomously. We developed and evaluated self-localization, estimation of the destination, and obstacle avoidance of these functions.
Finite-memory strategy synthesis for robust multidimensional mean-payoff objectives

Two-player games on graphs provide the mathematical foundation for the study of reactive systems. In the quantitative framework, an objective assigns a value to every play, and the goal of player 1 is to minimize the value of the objective. In this framework, there are two relevant synthesis problems to consider: the quantitative analysis problem is to compute the minimal (or infimum) value that player 1 can assure, and the boolean analysis problem asks whether player 1 can assure that the value of the objective is at most ν (for a given threshold ν). Mean-payoff expression games are played on a multidimensional weighted graph. An atomic mean-payoff expression objective is the mean-payoff value (the long-run average weight) of a certain dimension, and the class of mean-payoff expressions is the closure of atomic mean-payoff expressions under the algebraic operations of max, min, numerical complement and sum. In this work, we study for the first time the strategy synthesis problems for games with robust quantitative objectives, namely, games with mean-payoff expression objectives. While in general, optimal strategies for these games require infinite-memory, in synthesis we are typically interested in the construction of a finite-state system. Hence, we consider games in which player 1 is restricted to finite-memory strategies, and our main contribution is as follows. We prove that for mean-payoff expressions, the quantitative analysis problem is computable, and the boolean analysis problem is inter-reducible with Hilbert's tenth problem over rationals --- a fundamental long-standing open problem in computer science and mathematics.