Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mechanical design and rolling locomotion analyses of a novel reconfigurable mobile robot constructed by a parallel mechanism

Recently, morphology methods were used to improve locomotion capability of a mobile robot by deforming the body into multiple topological structures for various locomotion modes. Rolling mode will provide a fast moving process for flat ground, while the legged mode is more suitable for rough terrain. In this work, a new reconfigurable robot with rolling and legged locomotion modes is proposed based on parallel mechanism method. Four reconfigurable limbs and two platforms are assembled into a parallel manipulator. Based on the reconfigurable properties of such parallel mechanism, the motion branches were planned to switch the robot into different topologies to generate rolling and legged locomotion. In addition, a motion planning method is presented to perform fast and stable rolling locomotion for this reconfigurable robot. A simulation is carried out and verified the design concept.
Pilot Building Powerhouse Kjørbo. As Built Report

This report has been written within the Research Centre on Zero Emission Buildings (ZEB). The authors gratefully acknowledge the support from the Research Council of Norway, BNL – Federation of construction industries, Brodrene Dahl, ByBo, DiBK – Norwegian Building Authority, Caverion Norge AS, DuPont, Entra, Forsvarsbygg, Glava, Husbanken, Isola, Multiconsult, NorDan, Norsk Teknologi, Protan, SAPA Building Systems, Skanska, Snohetta, Statsbygg, Sor-Trondelag Fylkeskommune, and Weber.
Design and Development of a 3dB Quadrature Patch Hybrid Coupler

In this paper a -3 dB, 90-degree phase shift RF quadrature patch hybrid coupler is designed to operate at 2.4GHz. Hybrid coupler is a fourport device, that’s accustomed split a signaling with a resultant 90 degrees’ section shift between output signals whereas maintaining high isolation between the output ports. The RF quadrature patch hybrid coupler is used in various radio frequency applications including mixers, power combiners, dividers, modulators and amplifiers. The desired hybrid coupler is designed using FR-4 substrate with 1.6mm height in High Frequency Structure Simulation (HFSS) and the same is fabricated and tested. The designed Hybrid coupler is examined in terms of parameters like insertion Loss, coupling factor and return Loss. The simulation and measurement results are compared. Major advantages of the RF quadrature patch hybrid couplers are that they are compatible with integrated circuit technology.
Spatial Olfactory Memory and Spatial Olfactory Navigation, Assessed with a Variant of Corsi Test, Is Modulated by Gender and Sporty Activity

Many studies have focused on navigation, spatial skills, and the olfactory system in comparative models, including those concerning the relationship between them and physical activity. Although the results are often in contrast with each other, it is assumed that physical activity can affect cognition in different ways—both indirectly and through a certain influence on some brain structures. In contrast, there is little research that focuses on the relationship between spatial abilities and olfactory abilities in humans. This research aimed to evaluate and compare the performance in working memory tasks of athletes and non-athletes who require good visual–spatial navigation, olfactory–spatial navigation, and olfactory–semantic skills. The study involved 236 participants (83 athletes) between the ages of 18 and 40. All subjects were matched by age or sex. The standard Corsi Block Tapping Test (CBTT) was administrated to investigate the visual-spatial memory. Olfactory–spatial navigation and olfactory–semantic skills were assessed with two modified versions of CBTT: Olfactory CBTT (OCBTT) and Semantic–Olfactory CBTT (SOCBTT) respectively. The results show differences between the CORSI conditions in direction of a poor performance for athletes. A gender effect in favor of men was also found, particularly in the classic version of the CBTT. Both groups performed better in the classic version of the CBTT than OCBTT and SOCBTT. The mean of SOCBTT results is markedly lower, perhaps due to the different information processing systems needed to perform this kind of task. It is possible to explain how sports practice can affect tasks that require spatial skills and olfactory perception differently, thus supporting new hypotheses and opening new scientific horizons.
Thrombus Density in Acute Basilar Artery Occlusion Depends on Slice Thickness and the Method of Manual Thrombus Delineation

Introduction: High thrombus attenuation on CT has been suggested as a predictor of successful recanalization. It is as well speculated that thrombi of different density may be susceptible to different methods of mechanical thrombectomy. In this study we sought to determine the effect of different methods of manual thrombus delineation and reconstructed slice thickness on thrombus density. Material and Methods: Fifty-six patients with acute occlusion of the basilar artery treated with endovascular therapy were retrospectively included. Clinical, demographic, radiological and outcome parameters were collected. Two raters measured absolute and relative thrombus density employing three different methods (one region of interest, three regions of interest, whole thrombus delineation) and using three different reconstructed slice thicknesses (0.625, 2.5 and 5 mm) of the original admission CT. Results: Thirty-nine patients were successfully recanalized (thrombolysis in cerebral infarction score ≥ 2b). Good clinical outcome (modified Rankin scale ≤ 2) occurred significantly more often in the recanalized group (36 vs. 6%, p = 0.023, Fisher’s exact test), in the non-recanalized group symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage occurred more often (9 vs. 29%, p = 0.001, Fisher’s exact test). Absolute and relative thrombus density were largely different between methods and slice thicknesses. Multiple regression showed a decrease of thrombus density with increasing slice thickness (β = −3.98, p < 0.001) and logistic regression showed a statistically significant but very small relation between density and recanalization (β = 0.006, odds ratio (95% confidence interval) = 1.006 (1.003–1.01), p < 0.001). Conclusions: The methods for manual thrombus delineation and reconstructed slice thickness had a significant influence on absolute and relative thrombus density. Density alone may be of limited value as a predictive marker for recanalization success in acute occlusion of the basilar artery. Standards for density measurements must be defined when comparing different studies and when evaluating different methods of mechanical thrombectomy.
Highly conductive epitaxial β-Ga2O3 and β-(Al x Ga1−x )2O3 films by MOCVD

We report on the epitaxial growth of highly conductive degenerated Ge or Si doped β-Ga2O3 and β-(Al x Ga1−x )2O3 films by MOCVD. Highly conductive homoepitaxial β-Ga2O3 layers with record conductivities of 2523 and 1581 S cm−1 were realized using Si and Ge dopants. Highly conductive Si doped β-(Al x Ga1−x )2O3 films were also grown. The incorporation of Si decreased with the increase in Al content and layer thickness. Record high conductivity of 612 S cm−1 was attained for coherently strained β-(Al0.12Ga0.88)2O3.
A Robust Islanding Detection Method for Inverter-Based Distributed Generation Systems Using DC-Link Voltage Perturbation

High penetration of photovoltaic (PV) inverters in the utility grid is happening in several countries. PV inverters must be able to detect the utility grid disconnection and interrupt the injection of active power. This scenario is known as unintentional islanding. However, islanding detection methods (IDM) are still subject to improvement, especially when considering the high penetration of inverters, making vulnerable IDMs not made for this case. Thus, the purpose of this article is to present a new IDM using dc-link voltage perturbation. The proposed method was defined through an algorithm, and its feasibility was tested through simulations and on an experimental setup with multiple inverters. Several scenarios were analyzed, in which the presented method was able to detect grid disconnections, while other methods failed in multiple inverter scenarios. As a result, the method has proven to be robust, even in the presence of several PV inverters connected at the same point. Furthermore, its implementation is easy and can be included in the inverter control firmware, without requiring any additional hardware.
Topographic Object Recognition Through Shape

Automatic structuring (feature coding and object recognition) of topographic data, such as that derived from air survey or raster scanning large-scale paper maps, requires the classification of objects such as buildings, roads, rivers, fields and railways. The recognition of objects in computer vision is largely based on the matching of descriptions of shapes. Fourier descriptors, moment invariants, boundary chain coding and scalar descriptors are methods that have been widely used and have been developed to describe shape irrespective of position, orientation and scale. The applicability of the above four methods to topographic shapes is described and their usefulness evaluated. All methods derive descriptors consisting of a small number of real values from the object's polygonal boundary. Two large corpora representing data sets from Ordnance Survey maps of Purbeck and Plymouth were available. The effectiveness of each description technique was evaluated by using one corpus as a training-set to derive distributions for the values for supervised learning. This was then used to reclassify the objects in both data sets using each individual descriptor to evaluate their effectiveness. No individual descriptor or method produced consistent correct classification. Various models for the fusion of the classification results from individual descriptors were implemented. These were used to experiment with different combinations of descriptors in order to improve results. Overall results show that Moment Invariants fused with the minfusion rule gave the best performance with the two data sets. Much further work remains to be done as enumerated in the concluding section.
Simulation and Experiment of Ultrasonic Critically Refracted Longitudinal Wave Penetration Depth of Carbon Fiber Composite

In this study, the refraction and propagation of ultrasonic waves in anisotropic materials are analyzed through a wedge by finite element simulation. And the characteristics of the propagation depth of the critical refractive longitudinal (LCR) waves are observed through grooves of different depths. LCR waves are excited in two carbon fiber composite plates with two kinds of laminate modes of 0 degrees and 0-90 degrees. The LCR wave penetration depth of these two carbon fiber composites is roughly characterized. This study provides guidance for future research on the detection of surface stress and structural health of carbon fiber composite materials using LCR waves.
Leveraging Reddit for Suicidal Ideation Detection: A Review of Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing Techniques

Suicide is a major public-health problem that exists in virtually every part of the world. Hundreds of thousands of people commit suicide every year. The early detection of suicidal ideation is critical for suicide prevention. However, there are challenges associated with conventional suicide-risk screening methods. At the same time, individuals contemplating suicide are increasingly turning to social media and online forums, such as Reddit, to express their feelings and share their struggles with suicidal thoughts. This prompted research that applies machine learning and natural language processing techniques to detect suicidality among social media and forum users. The objective of this paper is to investigate methods employed to detect suicidal ideations on the Reddit forum. To achieve this objective, we conducted a literature review of the recent articles detailing machine learning and natural language processing techniques applied to Reddit data to detect the presence of suicidal ideations. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, we selected 26 recent studies, published between 2018 and 2022. The findings of the review outline the prevalent methods of data collection, data annotation, data preprocessing, feature engineering, model development, and evaluation. Furthermore, we present several Reddit-based datasets utilized to construct suicidal ideation detection models. Finally, we conclude by discussing the current limitations and future directions in the research of suicidal ideation detection.
Unraveling the Genomic Potential of the Thermophilic Bacterium Anoxybacillus flavithermus from an Antarctic Geothermal Environment

Antarctica is a mosaic of extremes. It harbors active polar volcanoes, such as Deception Island, a marine stratovolcano having notable temperature gradients over very short distances, with the temperature reaching up to 100 °C near the fumaroles and subzero temperatures being noted in the glaciers. From the sediments of Deception Island, we isolated representatives of the genus Anoxybacillus, a widely spread genus that is mainly encountered in thermophilic environments. However, the phylogeny of this genus and its adaptive mechanisms in the geothermal sites of cold environments remain unknown. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to unravel the genomic features and provide insights into the phylogenomics and metabolic potential of members of the genus Anoxybacillus inhabiting the Antarctic thermophilic ecosystem. Here, we report the genome sequencing data of seven A. flavithermus strains isolated from two geothermal sites on Deception Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Their genomes were approximately 3.0 Mb in size, had a G + C ratio of 42%, and were predicted to encode 3500 proteins on average. We observed that the strains were phylogenomically closest to each other (Average Nucleotide Identity (ANI) > 98%) and to A. flavithermus (ANI 95%). In silico genomic analysis revealed 15 resistance and metabolic islands, as well as genes related to genome stabilization, DNA repair systems against UV radiation threats, temperature adaptation, heat- and cold-shock proteins (Csps), and resistance to alkaline conditions. Remarkably, glycosyl hydrolase enzyme-encoding genes, secondary metabolites, and prophage sequences were predicted, revealing metabolic and cellular capabilities for potential biotechnological applications.
MAC‐v1: A new global aerosol climatology for climate studies

The Max‐Planck‐Institute Aerosol Climatology version 1 (MAC‐v1) is introduced. It describes the optical properties of tropospheric aerosols on monthly timescales and with global coverage at a spatial resolution of 1° in latitude and longitude. By providing aerosol radiative properties for any wavelength of the solar (or shortwave) and of the terrestrial (or longwave) radiation spectrum, as needed in radiative transfer applications, this MAC‐v1 data set lends itself to simplified and computationally efficient representations of tropospheric aerosol in climate studies. Estimates of aerosol radiative properties are provided for both total and anthropogenic aerosol in annual time steps from preindustrial times (i.e., starting with year 1860) well into the future (until the year 2100). Central to the aerosol climatology is the merging of monthly statistics of aerosol optical properties for current (year 2000) conditions. Hereby locally sparse but trusted high‐quality data by ground‐based sun‐photometer networks are merged onto complete background maps defined by central data from global modeling with complex aerosol modules. This merging yields 0.13 for the global annual midvisible aerosol optical depth (AOD), with 0.07 attributed to aerosol sizes larger than 1 µm in diameter and 0.06 of attributed to aerosol sizes smaller than 1 µm in diameter. Hereby larger particles are less absorbing with a single scattering albedo (SSA) of 0.98 compared to 0.93 for smaller sizes. Simulation results of a global model are applied to prescribe the vertical distribution and to estimate anthropogenic contributions to the smaller size AOD as a function of time, with a 0.037 value for current conditions. In a demonstration application, the associated aerosol direct radiative effects are determined. For current conditions, total aerosol is estimated to reduce the combined shortwave and longwave net‐flux balance at the top of the atmosphere by about −1.6 W/m2 from which −0.5 W/m2 (with an uncertainty of ±0.2 W/m2) is attributed to anthropogenic activities. Based on past and projected aerosol emission data, the global anthropogenic direct aerosol impact (i.e., ToA cooling) is currently near the maximum and is projected to drop by 2100 to about −0.3 W/m2. The reported global averages are driven by considerable spatial and temporal variability. To better convey this diversity, regional and seasonal distributions of aerosol optical properties and their radiative effects are presented. On regional scales, the anthropogenic direct aerosol forcing can be an order of magnitude stronger than the global average and it can be of either sign. It is also shown that maximum anthropogenic impacts have shifted during the last 30 years from the U.S. and Europe to eastern and southern Asia.
Design Considerations of a Hybrid Piezoelectric-Electromagnetic Tuning System for Vortex Induced Vibration Bladeless Turbines: Morocco Case Study

New technologies are being investigated to increase the efficiency of Vortex Induced Vibrations (VIV) wind generators. The hybridized VIV bladeless turbine is a new system that combines electromagnetic induction and piezoelectric materials to efficiently harvest wind energy. This hybridized system combines the effectiveness of both power generation methods which yields a higher conversion efficiency. However, such systems are only efficient when the wind speed is tuned to their resonant frequency. This paper presents the design of a tuning system for a hybrid piezoelectric-electromagnetic energy harvester. It also investigates the feasibility of this new scheme and analyses its implementation into VIV classical bladeless turbines. Additionally, this paper assesses the efficiency factor and cost-effectiveness of the suggested system. Furthermore, a draft cost study of a case study implementation in Morocco is presented.
Linear Gaussian Models for Speech Recognition

Currently the most popular acoustic model for speech recognition is the hidden Markov model (HMM). However, HMMs are based on a series of assumptions, some of which are known to be poor. In particular, the assumption that successive speech frames are conditionally independent given the discrete state that generated them is not a good assumption for speech recognition. State space models may be used to address some shortcomings of this assumption. State space models are based on a continuous state vector evolving through time according to a state evolution process. The observations are then generated by an observation process, which maps the current continuous state vector onto the observation space. In this work, the state evolution and observation processes are assumed to be linear and noise sources are distributed according to Gaussians or Gaussian mixture models. Two forms of state evolution processes are considered. First, the state evolution process is assumed to be piece-wise constant. All the variations of the state vector about these constant values are modelled as noise. Using this approximation, a new acoustic model called the factor analysed HMM (FAHMM) is presented. In the FAHMM a discrete Markov random variable chooses the continuous state and the observation process parameters. The FAHMM generalises a number of standard covariance models such as the independent factor analysis, shared factor analysis and semi-tied covariance matrix HMMs. Efficient training and recognition algorithms for the FAHMMs are presented along with speech recognition results using various configurations. Second, the state evolution process is assumed to be a linear first-order Gauss-Markov random process. Using Gaussian distributed noise sources and a factor analysis observation process this model corresponds to a linear dynamical system (LDS). For acoustic modelling a discrete Markov random variable is required to choose the LDS parameters. This hybrid model is called the switching linear dynamical system (SLDS). The SLDS is related to the stochastic segment model, which assumes that the segments are independent. In contrast, for the SLDS the continuous state vector is propagated over the segment boundaries, thus providing a better model for co-articulation. Unfortunately, exact inference for the SLDS is intractable due to the exponential growth of posterior components in time. In this work, approximate methods based on both deterministic and stochastic algorithms are described. An efficient proposal mechanism for Gibbs sampling is introduced along with application to parameter optimisation and N-best rescoring. The results of medium vocabulary speech recognition experiments are presented.
Bloch Oscillations in the Chains of Artificial Atoms Dressed with Photons

We present the model of one-dimensional chain of two-level artificial atoms driven with dc field and quantum light simultaneously in strong coupling regime. The interaction of atoms with light leads to entanglement of electron and photon states (dressing of the atoms). The driving via dc field leads to the Bloch oscillations (BO) in the chain of dressed atoms. We considered the mutual influence of dressing and BO and show that scenario of oscillations dramatically differs from predicted by the Jaynes-Cummings and Bloch-Zener models. We study the evolution of the population inversion, tunneling current, photon probability distribution, mean number of photons, photon number variance and show the influence of BO on the quantum-statistical characteristics of light. For example, collapse-revivals picture and vacuum Rabi-oscillations are strongly modulated with Bloch frequency. As a result, quantum properties of light and degree of electron-photon entanglement become controllable via adiabatic dc field turning. On the other hand, the low-frequency tunneling current depends on the quantum light statistics (in particular, for coherent initial state it is modulated accordingly the collapse-revivals picture). The developed model is universal with respect to the physical origin of artificial atom and frequency range of atom-light interaction. The model is adapted to the 2D-heterostructures (THz frequencies), semiconductor quantum dots (optical range), and Josephson junctions (microwaves). The data for numerical simulations are taken from recently published experiments. The obtained results open a new ways in quantum state engineering and nano-photonic spectroscopy.