Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Distributed Rigidity Recovery in Distance-Based Formations Using Configuration Lattice

This article addresses the rigidity recovery problem of a formation controlled over an undirected sensing framework after a link is broken. In the formation control problem, mobile agents are controlled individually such that all interagent distances remain unchanged. The control law used by each agent is designed based on the relative positions of that agent to its neighbors, sensed in its local coordinate system. When the sensing graph is rigid, it has been shown that one can design a distributed control law to guarantee the stability of the formation. However, obtaining sensing measurements is a challenge in the formation control, since these systems are always subjected to sensing constraints, such as line-of-sight requirements and power limitations. This clearly affects the rigidity of the sensing graph, thus affecting the formation. This article proposes an online distributed algorithm based on the lattice of configurations to recover the distance-based controlled formation when a failure in a sensing link causes the network to lose its rigidity. The approach is to recover the rigidity of subframeworks of the formation, i.e., the subframework established by each node and its neighbors within the sensing range, by adding new sensing links locally so as to ensure a rigid formation. This article also proposes a multilayer rigidity recovery technique using a combination of sensing and communication networks, when the lattice of configurations fails due to a lack of neighbors for an agent. An upper bound is established on the delay in this indirect distance-measuring approach, which guarantees the tolerance of the formation against link failures. Simulations on a sample formation support the theoretical results.
Max-independent set and the quantum alternating operator ansatz

The maximum independent set (MIS) problem of graph theory using the quantum alternating operator ansatz is studied. We perform simulations on the Rigetti Forest simulator for the square ring, $K_{2,3}$, and $K_{3,3}$ graphs and analyze the dependence of the algorithm on the depth of the circuit and initial states. The probability distribution of observation of the feasible states representing maximum independent sets is observed to be asymmetric for the MIS problem, which is unlike the Max-Cut problem where the probability distribution of feasible states is symmetric. For asymmetric graphs it is shown that the algorithm clearly favors the independent set with the larger number of elements even for finite circuit depth. We also compare the approximation ratios for the algorithm when we choose different initial states for the square ring graph and show that it is dependent on the choice of the initial state.
Financial crises, debt overhang, and firm growth in transition economies

ABSTRACT We examine the effects of the global financial crisis of 2008 and the European debt crisis of 2011 on the relationship between capital structure, investments, and performance for Eastern European companies. While the existing literature documents how firms’ investments are sensitive to the availability of internal funds and to debt holdings, we further investigate whether this investment sensitivity also translates in different levels of performance, and document that capital structure indeed has both a direct and an indirect effect, mediated by the capital expenditure channel. We show that firms with higher financial flexibility experience higher investments and returns on capital. Over-levered firms instead suffer from a debt overhang condition, forcing them to curb investments, and consequently experiencing lower performance. Overall, we provide evidence on the importance of capital structure and financial flexibility on investments and performance, showing the real consequences of the debt overhang condition on firm value creation. Firms should therefore aim at maintaining adequate financial flexibility in order to be able to pursue future profitable investment opportunities, and avoid the under-investment problem arising from a debt overhang situation.
Technique Review for Differential Drive Crossing Coupling Rectifier in RF Energy Harvester

This paper presents a comprehensive technique review for CCDD rectifier. It includes the challenges for the design of RF-to-DC rectifier and techniques for the efficiency improvement by controlling the gates and bodies of MOS in CCDD rectifier. The comparison of different techniques for efficiency improvement is concluded. The idea for novel CCDD is discussed and simple simulation result is shown in this paper. Introduction Over the past decades, low power design has attracted massive researches to push integrated system to consume as less as power with proper trade-off between parameters. Many low power and low voltage circuits have been reported [1]. However, it is still challenging to maintain these circuits working more than ten years without battery. Though integration has massively been increased driven by Moore’s law and power consumption has aggressively decreased, battery capability has not kept the pace of industry’s development. This trend has severely constrained the deployment of IoT. As the network of IoT requires massive nodes, about several millions, the battery replacement extremely increases the management cost. Figure 1. Main blocks for RF energy harvesting system. Energy harvesting technology is emerging as an excellent candidate to achieve self-sustainable nodes for IoT applications [2]. It has attracted intensive researches among academics. Although wireless energy among the free space features the minimal energy density due to the transmission loss among the above energy sources, RF energy harvesting attracts the researchers’ interests for its potential feasibility and compatibility with RF transceiver as antenna can both achieve signal receiving/transmitting and energy converting, so no extra energy converter component is required. As shown in Fig. 1, a simplified system blocks for RF energy harvesting constitutes with antenna, RF-to-DC rectifier and Power management unit (PMU). Antenna is used to receive the ambient RF energy in open air. RF-to-DC rectifier achieves to obtain the required DC energy. PMU is used to dynamically control the received energy. And high efficiency of RF-to-DC rectifier plays the most important role in RF energy harvesting system. As shown in Fig. 2, RF-to-DC rectifier can be categorized into two branches: single rectifier (Fig. 2a) and CCDD rectifier (Fig. 2b). This paper only focuses on the efficiency improvement techniques for CCDD rectifier. The rest of this paper is organized as follows. In section 2, the challenge for rectifier design will be stated. In section 3, techniques for high efficiency by controlling the gate and body of differential drive crossing coupling rectifier are reviewed. Finally, section 4 concludes this paper.
Cloning of acetyl CoA carboxylase cDNA and the effects of spirodiclofen on the expression of acetyl CoA carboxylase mRNA in Panonychus citri

The citrus red mite, Panonychus citri (McGregor) (Acari: Tetranychidae), is an important pest worldwide. Previous studies showed that acetyl CoA carboxylase (ACCase) may be a critical target of spirodiclofen, a recently introduced insecticide. Therefore, we cloned the PcACCase gene and obtained a full‐length cDNA (Genbank accession number KJ675439). The open reading frame was 6 972 bp, coding for 2 323 amino acids. The PcACCase protein had a theoretical molecular weight of 262.82 kDa and an isoelectric point of 6.31, and it contained six conserved domains and one low‐complexity region. Quantitative real‐time PCR showed that spirodiclofen can up‐regulate the expression levels of ACCase mRNA during all four developmental stages.
Terahertz Single-Pixel Imaging Improved by Using Silicon Wafer with SiO2 Passivation

We demonstrate terahertz single-pixel imaging is improved by using a photomodulator based on silicon passivated with SiO 2 . By exploring various SiO 2 thicknesses, we show that the modulation factor of the as-fabricated terahertz photomodulator can reach 0.9, three times that based on bare silicon. This improvement originates from chemical passivation, as well as anti-reflection. Single-pixel imaging experiments based on the compressed sensing method show that reconstructed images adopting the new photomodulator have better quality than the conventional terahertz modulator based on bare silicon. Since the passivation process is routine and low cost, we expect this work will reduce the cost of terahertz photomodulator and single-pixel THz imaging, and advance their applications.
Characterization and phylogenetic analysis of the mitochondrial genome of Hemitripterus villosus

Abstract Hemitripterus villosus is an important economic fish. With the completion of H. villosus mitochondrial genome sequencing, the full-length mitochondrial genome of H. villosus was assembled and analyzed. All results indicate that the complete mitochondrial genome of H. villosus was 17,228 bp. There were 22 tRNAs and 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), and 2 rRNA. Besides, the phylogenetic tree of 19 teleost fish was constructed. The results showed that H. villosus was clustered with other sculpins, which including Cottus reinii, C. czerskii and Hexagrammos otakii. This mitogenome will contribute to the further systematics and evolution study of H. villosus.
Ultrasonication-Assisted Synthesis of ZnxCd1−xS for Enhanced Visible-Light Photocatalytic Activity

ZnxCd1−xS as a solid solution photocatalyst has attracted widespread attention for its unique adjustable band gap structure and good and stable performance. A novel synthesis approach for ZnxCd1−xS is still required to further improve its performance. In this study, we synthesized a series of ZnxCd1−xS (x = 0−1) solid solutions via an ultrasonication-assisted hydrothermal route. In comparison with conventional methods of preparation, the sample prepared by our innovative method showed enhanced photocatalytic activity for the degradation of a methyl orange (MO) solution under visible light due to its high crystallinity and small crystallite size. Furthermore, the composition and bandgap of ZnxCd1−xS can be tuned by adjusting the mole ratio of Zn2+/Cd2+. Zn0.3Cd0. 7S shows the highest level of activity and stability for the degradation of MO with k = 0.85 h−1, which is 2.2 times higher than that of CdS. The balance between band gap structure-directed redox capacity and light absorption of Zn0.3Cd0. 7S accounts for its high photocatalytic performance, both of which are determined by the composition of the solid solution. Also, a degradation mechanism of MO over the sample is tentatively proposed. This study demonstrates a new strategy to synthesize highly efficient sulfide photocatalysts.
Waterfront concept development with community-based tourism

To achieve sustainable development in urban areas requires the active cooperation of all parties, especially the people. The informal settlements in the Kalisari area of Surabaya are still not optimally handled and organized through community participation. This study was conducted to identify the role of the local community, determine the direction of the development concept and assess whether the proposed design suits the Kalisari waterfront development concept as sustainable ecotourism based on Community-Based Tourism (CBT). Literature study and empirical findings contribute to the theory of CBT for economic, socio-cultural, environmental, and life satisfaction aspects. The research method is descriptive-qualitative using both primary and secondary data. The results showed that people support the concept of the CBT-based waterfront development in Kalisari. By producing the relevant design concepts based on CBT, the areas can develop from unproductive into productive areas in terms of economic, socio-cultural, environmental aspects and life satisfaction.
Tubular/helical architecture construction based on rolled-up AlN nanomembranes and resonance as optical microcavity

Aluminum nitride (AlN) has attracted a great amount of interest due to the fact that these group III–V semiconductors present direct band gap behavior and are compatible with current micro-electro-mechanical systems. In this work, three dimensional (3D) AlN architectures including tubes and helices were constructed by rolling up AlN nanomembranes grown on a silicon-on-insulator wafer via magnetron sputtering. The properties of the AlN membrane were characterized through transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The thickness of AlN nanomembranes could be tuned via the RIE thinning method, and thus micro-tubes with different diameters were fabricated. The intrinsic strain in AlN membranes was investigated via micro-Raman spectroscopy, which agrees well with theory prediction. Whispering gallery mode was observed in AlN tubular optical microcavity in photoluminescence spectrum. A postprocess involving atomic layer deposition and R6G immersion were employed on as-fabricated AlN tubes to promote the Q-factor. The AlN tubular micro-resonators could offer a novel design route for Si-based integrated light sources. In addition, the rolled-up technology paves a new way for AlN 3D structure fabrication, which is promising for AlN application in MEMS and photonics fields.
Performance of Natural Fibre Nonwoven for Oil Sorption from Sea Water

This work deals with the study of the oil sorption behaviour of needlepunched nonwoven fabrics produced from natural fi bres such as cotton, cotton fl at waste, cotton/kapok blend, and nettle fi bres. Polypropylene nonwoven fabric, which is used as a commercial oil sorbent, was also prepared using the same needling parameters for comparison purposes. The eff ect of the type of fi bre, oil, and fabric parameters on oil sorption and retention capacities was investigated. All of the fabrics displayed higher oil sorption capacities for engine oil (high viscosity) than diesel oil (low viscosity). Among natural fi bre nonwovens, cotton and cotton/kapok nonwovens displayed higher oil sorption capacities than that of polypropylene nonwovens, while nettle fi bre nonwoven fabric displayed poor oil sorption capacity. An increase in kapok content in cotton/ kapok nonwovens led to an increase in oil sorption behaviour. More than 95% of the diesel oils adsorbed by the nonwoven fabrics could be recovered by simple compression. Oil sorption capacity of the nonwovens were reduced signifi cantly during repetitive cycles of use due to higher thickness loss. This study indicated that cotton and cotton/kapok nonwovens displayed better oil sorption behaviour than polypropylene, and may be used as an alternative natural oil sorbent material.
Adaptive Frequency Response Calibration Method for Microphone Arrays

Frequency response mismatch among microphones inevitably leads to performance deterioration of signal processing algorithms of microphone arrays, especially for distributed microphone networks. An adaptive frequency response calibration method for microphone arrays based on frequency domain least mean square (FLMS) algorithm is proposed in this paper. Adaptive calibration filters are first introduced to calibrate the frequency response mismatch among microphones, which are concatenated with microphone channels. Then, the frequency response mismatch problem is formulated with a combined spectrum mean square error criterion of pairwise microphone outputs, and an unit-norm constraint is imposed to avoid undesired solutions. Finally, FLMS algorithm is used to design the calibration filter in each microphone channel. This method achieves good frequency response calibration performance even under severe ambient noise and reverberation conditions. Experimental results reveal the validity of the proposed method.
Could a Smart City Ameliorate Urban Traffic Congestion? A Quasi-Natural Experiment Based on a Smart City Pilot Program in China

More countries and regions are joining the bandwagon of smart city construction, which is an important strategy and innovative urban governance concept to solve the problem of rapid urbanization. This paper examines whether smart city innovation is able to ameliorate the traffic congestion faced by a large number of cities. Using panel data for 187 prefecture-level cities in China from 2008 to 2017, this paper tests the effect of implementation of a smart city on urban traffic congestion with the difference-in-difference method. The results show that, firstly, the construction of smart cities have significantly reduced the degree of urban traffic congestion and improved the quality and capacity of public transport. Secondly, information technology and urban innovation are the main mechanisms for smart city implementation to improve urban traffic problems. Thirdly, the improvement effect of smart city implementation on traffic management shows an increasing marginal effect over time. By overcoming the estimation bias in previous studies, this study accurately analyzes the positive role and dynamic effect of smart city construction on traffic improvement. It augments the literature of program evaluation and assessment of smart city implementation. By examining how to improve traffic congestion, it offers some insights that could inspire governments to build smarter cities with better traffic.
DNA Barcoding for Delimitation of Putative Mexican Marine Nematodes Species

Nematode biodiversity is mostly unknown; while about 20,000 nematode species have been described, estimates for species diversity range from 0.1 to 100 million. The study of nematode diversity, like that of meiofaunal organisms in general, has been mostly based on morphology-based taxonomy, a time-consuming and costly task that requires well-trained specialists. This work represents the first study on the taxonomy of Mexican nematodes that integrates morphological and molecular data. We added eleven new records to the Mexican Caribbean nematode species list: Anticomidae sp.1, Catanema sp.1, Enoploides gryphus, Eurystomina sp.1, Haliplectus bickneri, Metachromadora sp.1, Odontophora bermudensis, Oncholaimus sp.1, Onyx litorale, Proplatycoma fleurdelis, and Pontonema cf. simile. We improved the COI database with 57 new sequences from 20 morphotypes. All COI sequences obtained in this work are new entries for the international genetic databases GenBank and BOLD. Among the studied sites, we report the most extensive species record (12 species) at Cozumel. DNA barcoding and species delineation methods supported the occurrence of 20 evolutionary independent entities and confirmed the high taxonomic resolution of the COI gene. Different approaches provided consistent results: ABGD and mPTP methods disentangled 20 entities, whereas Barcode Index Numbers (BINs) recovered 22 genetic species. Results support DNA barcoding being an efficient, fast, and low-cost method to integrate into morphological observations in order to address taxonomical shortfalls in meiofaunal organisms.
Characterizing marine atmospheric boundary layer to support offshore wind energy research

The marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL), under most wind conditions, is characterized by lower shear, less turbulence, and higher winds than its terrestrial counterpart, thereby making offshore wind farms attractive enough to offset higher costs of construction and maintenance. Significant questions, however, remain about the structure and characteristics of the MABL and its impact on wind turbines. This work characterizes the structure of the MABL in the coastal region south of Martha’s Vineyard where offshore wind turbines are planned to operate, using in situ and remotely sensed LIDAR measurements and numerical data generated by high resolution Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) modeling. This work will benefit wind power estimates and short-term energy forecasting.
Segregating patterns of copy number variations in extended autism spectrum disorder (ASD) pedigrees

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a relatively common childhood onset neurodevelopmental disorder with a complex genetic etiology. While progress has been made in identifying the de novo mutational landscape of ASD, the genetic factors that underpin the ASD's tendency to run in families are not well understood. In this study, nine extended pedigrees each with three or more individuals with ASD, and others with a lesser autism phenotype, were phenotyped and genotyped in an attempt to identify heritable copy number variants (CNVs). Although these families have previously generated linkage signals, no rare CNV segregated with these signals in any family. A small number of clinically relevant CNVs were identified. Only one CNV was identified that segregated with ASD phenotype; namely, a duplication overlapping DLGAP2 in three male offspring each with an ASD diagnosis. This gene encodes a synaptic scaffolding protein, part of a group of proteins known to be pathologically implicated in ASD. On the whole, however, the heritable nature of ASD in the families studied remains poorly understood.
Inter-Type Investment Connectedness: A New Perspective on China’s Booming Real Estate Market

ABSTRACT This study explores the inter-type real estate investment connectedness in China. We document that: (1) connectedness is strong and time-varying; (2) the residential investment is instrumental in the inter-type investment connectedness network; (3) the total connectedness has dropped since 2008; and (4) the November 2008 Chinese stimulus package has significantly enhanced the influence of the residential and the industrial and other real estate investments. These results reflect both the economic development strategy of Chinese local governments and the importance of central government intervention, therefore providing a new perspective to understand China's booming real estate market during the past two decades.
Dynamic Update Siamese Networks with Deeper Features

Visual object tracking has been a concern topic these years, and many trackers have achieved good results in various fields. These researches and breakthroughs have made many improvements to solve problems such as drift, lighting, deformation and occlusion. In this paper, we improve the structure of the AlexNet[1] network by designing the three important influencing factors of the receptive field size, total network step size, and feature filling of the twin network. Apart from this, we add a smoothing matrices and a background suppression matrices to effectively learn the features of the first few frames as much as possible. Fuse multilayer feature elements can learn online about target appearance changes and background suppression, and we train them by using continuous video sequences.
Economic cognitive institutions

Abstract This paper introduces the notion of ‘cognitive’ institution and discusses its relevance to institutional economics. Cognitive institutions are conceptually founded on the philosophy of mind notion of extended mind, broadened to also include the distinctly social, institutional, and normative dimensions. Cognitive institutions are defined as institutions that not just allow agents to perform certain cognitive processes in the social domain but, more importantly, without which some of the agents' cognitive processes would not exist or even be possible. The externalist point of view of the extended mind has already had some influence in institutional economics: Arthur Denzau and Douglass North first introduced the notion of institution understood in terms of ‘shared mental models’, and relatedly philosopher Andy Clark introduced the notion of ‘scaffolding institution’. We discuss shared mental models and scaffolding institutions and go a step further by showing that the notion of cognitive institution can capture more fundamental and salient aspects of economic institutions. In particular, we focus on the market as an economic cognitive institution.