Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Learning robust policies when losing control

Many real-world applications require control strategies that provide robustness against a model of potential temporary external control, such as failures of the designed controller or malicious attacks. In this article we assume a Markovian control model as a stepping stone towards extending Q-learning akin to the options framework, but addressing the risk of losing control involuntarily to possibly malicious ‘options’. The resulting reinforcement learning algorithm maximises expected return, and is model-free with respect to domain dynamics, but model-based with respect to control transitions. Our model allows to exploit parallel off-policy updates to efficiently learn from experience. Results demonstrate that effective safe strategies can be learned from mistakes, possibly even before attacks occur. Our algorithm compares favourably to on-policies SARSA and Expected SARSA and off-policy Q-learning in a multi-agent benchmark, can be trained using forward domain models, and is compatible with many state of the art extensions, such as deep learning, Retrace(λ), or Q(σ ). We thus pave the way to learn robust strategies in critical multi-agent domains, such as smart grids, where graceful degradation is a prerequisite.
A novel weighted method for layered SAW filters using slanted finger interdigital transducers

In this paper, we propose a novel weighted method to improve the inclined pass-band problem that is intrinsic to surface acoustic wave (SAW) filters with slanted finger interdigital transducers (SFITs). By the dispersive characteristics of SAW in layered piezoelectric substrates, the present method could make the inclined pass-band flatter or the bandwidth wider. We derived a coupling-of-modes model for the calculation of the frequency responses of layered SAW devices with SFITs and calculated the dispersive characteristics of an AlN/silicon layered piezoelectric substrate, such as the phase velocity and the electromechanical coupling coefficient. Then we utilized the dispersive electromechanical coupling coefficient to flatten the inclined pass-band and the dispersive phase velocity to widen the bandwidth. Two designed examples of wide-band layered SAW filters using SFITs on AlN/silicon substrates are presented to prove the validity of the proposed method: one is designed to flatten the inclination of the pass-band; the other, to widen the bandwidth. Results show that the dispersions of layered piezoelectric media are favourable for improving the performance of SFIT-based SAW filters.
Overview of Gynaecological Emergencies

Gynaecological emergencies are disease conditions of the female reproductive system that threaten the life of the woman, her sexual function and the perpetuation of her fertility. Common gynaecological emergencies present as acute abdomen, abnormal vaginal bleeding, or a combination of both, and are often related to early pregnancy complications, pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and contraceptive issues.
Large-Scale Animation of Autonomous Pedestrians in Urban Environments Anonymous

We address the difficult open problem of emulating real pedestrians in urban environments. Our approach, which dramatically advances the state of the art of pedestrian animation in terms of its scope, scale, robustness, and efficiency, is one of comprehensive artificial life modeling, integrating motor, perceptual, behavioral, and cognitive components. Our major contribution in this paper is a sophisticated new model of autonomous pedestrians that includes innovations in each of these components, as well as in their combination, yielding results of unprecedented fidelity and complexity for fully autonomous multi-human animation in largescale virtual worlds. To support a variety of natural interactions among pedestrians in an extensive and highly dynamic environment, we represent the latter using hierarchical data structures that efficiently execute the perceptual queries of autonomous pedestrians to sustain their behavioral responses and to enable them to plan their actions on global and local scales. We present a virtual human animation system that can automatically synthesize a rich variety of activities involving multitudes of autonomous pedestrians populating a realistically modeled train station environment. Our autonomous virtual human animation system has applications both inside and outside the field of computer graphics. CR Categories: 1.3. 7 [Computer Graphics]: Three-Dimensional Graphics and Realism—Animation; 1.6. 8 [Simulation and Modeling]: Types of Simulation—Animation.
Bridging the Gap between ASIC and GPP: A High-Performance and C-Programmable ASIP for Image Processing

Emerging digital signal applications nowadays require not only massive computational load but also a significant level of flexibility and programmability. ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) and GPP (General Purpose Processor) have been widely used as the two main countermeasures to fulfill those requirements. Unfortunately, the gap between these two mainstreams is deliberately big. While ASIC can fulfill the requirement of ultra-high performance, it lacks the flexibility and programmability. On the other hand, the performance of GPP is not competitive despite it offering an excellent level of flexibility and programmability. In this paper, we present ASIP (Application Specific Instruction-set Processor) for image processing as a solution in bridging the gap between ASIC and GPP. The designed ASIP constitutes the appropriate solution for fulfilling both the flexibility and performance constraints of emerging and future image processing applications. Based on the simulation result, we found that our ASIP can achieve 16 times better performance of conventional RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computing) Processor as well as providing a high level of flexibility and programmability that ASIC lacks. Keywords: microprocessor, ASIP, embedded system, reconfigurable system, high-level synthesis
Phylogeny and phylogeography of Aethalops from Sundaland using mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene.

One of the smallest fruit bats in Pteropodidae is Aethalops. This genus is known to be confined in montane forest, which is generally above 1000 meters above sea level (m.a.s.l.). Bornean Aethalops is generally known as Aethalops alecto in most previous literature. This study aimed at constructing the phylogenetic relationship of A. alecto and A. aequalis in Sundaland and determining gene flow within Bornean A. aequalis using partial mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene. Seven populations of A. aequalis, representing Sabah and Sarawak and a single population from Kalimantan were observed, whereas A. alecto were represented by four populations from Indonesian islands. From the phylogenetic analyses and minimum spanning network, there were two major clusters within the genus, with Aethalops. A. aequalis in Borneo were clearly distinguished from A. alecto from the islands of Indonesia. However, phylogenetic analyses within A. aequalis were unresolved at the population levels in Sabah and Sarawak. Therefore, it can be concluded that A. aequalis is the species found only in Borneo. High genetic similarities were detected among the populations of A. aequalis in Sabah and Sarawak. Hypothetically, the Kalimantan harbors ancestral populations of A. aequalis in Borneo, with high genetic divergence from Sabah and Sarawak populations.
In-Layer Multi-Buffer Framework for Rate-Controlled Scalable Video Coding

Temporal scalability is supported in scalable video coding (SVC) by means of hierarchical prediction structures, where the higher layers can be ignored for frame rate reduction. Nevertheless, this kind of scalability is not totally exploited by the rate control (RC) algorithms since the hypothetical reference decoder (HRD) requirement is only satisfied for the highest frame rate sub-stream of every dependency (spatial or coarse grain scalability) layer. In this paper we propose a novel RC approach that aims to deliver several HRD-compliant temporal resolutions within a particular dependency layer. Instead of using the common SVC encoder configuration consisting of a dependency layer per each temporal resolution, a compact configuration that does not require additional dependency layers for providing different HRD-compliant temporal resolutions is proposed. Specifically, the proposed framework for rate-controlled SVC uses a set of virtual buffers within a dependency layer so that their levels can be simultaneously controlled for overflow and underflow prevention while minimizing the reconstructed video distortion of the corresponding sub-streams. This in-layer multi-buffer approach has been built on top of a baseline H.264/SVC RC algorithm for variable bit rate applications. The experimental results show that our proposal achieves a good performance in terms of mean quality, quality consistency, and buffer control using a reduced number of layers.
Common and Privatized: Conditions for Wise Management of Matsutake Mushrooms in Northwest Yunnan Province, China

Since Hardin's (1968) paper on the "Tragedy of the Commons," property rights of common-pool resources have been a central concern for natural resource management scholars. Matsutake, a common-pool resource, is an economically important mushroom in several locations around the world. Driven by growing international demand over the last few decades, matsutake management is a relatively new practice both for local communities and government agencies. In Northwest Yunnan, China, one of the most productive areas for matsutake globally, numerous local practices and systems have emerged in the last two to three decades. In this study, we investigate the differences between management systems in eight communities and the factors associated with them. The methods used for field research included key-informant interviews, household surveys, and questionnaires. Three main management patterns were identified through use of statistical clustering based on indicators such as physical environment, resource characteristics, tenure arrangements, regulations and implementation, harvesting behavior, income, and market regulation. It was found that private access-the principal characteristic of which is the exclusive use of resources-results in more income at lower labor cost per household than either of the other open-access management patterns. Even though under the context of ongoing Second Forest Tenure Reform in China-in which collective forest privatization is the key task-application of private-access regimes is limited because of site conditions including physical, institutional, and market environments. Common-access management systems have advantages in terms of managing conflict and balancing equity needs. No matter the type of access right, the key issue for wise matsutake management is institutional. Locally rooted innovative strategies should be encouraged, and institutional capacity building should be carried out to support innovations in matsutake management.
Control of Active Multi-Point-Contact Feet for Quadrupedal Locomotion

With increasing sensing, motion, and processing capabilities, robots start to master more and more complex tasks in difficult applications. Especially working in hazardous environments, such as exploring extraterrestrial planets or nuclear disaster sites, demand robotic solutions with advanced locomotion capabilities in unstructured terrain. Four-legged systems can provide the desired mobility. The hominid robot Charlie has, in contrast to most quadrupeds, an active ankle joint with Multi-Contact-PointFeet to support four-legged as well as two-legged locomotion. In this paper, the advantages of this foot design for fourlegged locomotion is analyzed. The paper summarizes briefly Charlie's hardware and software components. In detail, the foot design and the behavior modules which utilize the possibilities of actively controlled Multi-ContactPoint-Feet are described. The experimental results show that a positive effect on traction and range of motion are achieved which improve the mobility of quadrupeds. 
Source‐Gated Transistors Based on Solution Processed Silicon Nanowires for Low Power Applications

The solution‐based assembly of field‐effect transistors using nanowire inks, processed at low temperatures, offers an enormous potential for low power applications envisioned for the “Internet of Things,” including power management sensor circuits and electronics for in vivo bioimplants. Such low‐temperature assembly, however, yields substantial contact potential barriers, with limited capacity for high current applications. In this study, the Schottky effect in a specific transistor configuration is utilized to achieve much reduced power consumption, with low saturation voltages (≈1 V), with relatively thick 230‐nm SiO2 dielectrics. These source‐gated transistors (SGTs) employ solution‐deposited silicon nanowire arrays. A range of metal electrode work functions are investigated as device contacts and SGT operation is realized only in the structures with high source contact barriers. Such devices show very early drain current pinch‐off, abruptly saturating at low drain voltages. The authors show that drain‐current modulation is achieved via the gate field acting on the source barrier and lowering it through image force effects. Activation energy measurements reveal gate‐induced source barrier lowering of ≈3 meV V−1. Numerical simulations show excellent correlation with the experimental data. These features, coupled with flat current saturation characteristics, are ideal for a range of low power applications, including wearable electronics and autonomous systems.
What is the scope for addressing menstrual hygiene management in complex humanitarian emergencies? A global review

Global attention on improving the integration of menstrual hygiene management (MHM) into humanitarian response is growing. However, there continues to be a lack of consensus on how best to approach MHM inclusion within response activities. This global review assessed the landscape of MHM practice, policy, and research within the field of humanitarian response. This included an analysis of the limited existing documentation and research on MHM in emergencies and global key informant interviews (n=29) conducted with humanitarian actors from relevant sectors (water, sanitation, and hygiene; women’s protection; child protection; health; education; non-food items; camp management). The findings indicate that despite a growing dialogue around MHM in emergencies, there remains a lack of clarity on the key components for a complete MHM response, the responsible sectoral actors to implement MHM activities, and the most effective interventions to adapt in emergency contexts, and insufficient guidance on monitoring .
On the convectively unstable nature of optimal streaks in boundary layers

The objective of the study is to determine the absolute/convective nature of the secondary instability experienced by finite-amplitude streaks in the flat-plate boundary layer. A family of parallel streaky base flows is defined by extracting velocity profiles from direct numerical simulations of nonlinearly saturated optimal streaks. The computed impulse response of the streaky base flows is then determined as a function of streak amplitude and streamwise station. Both the temporal and spatio-temporal instability properties are directly retrieved from the impulse response wave packet, without solving the dispersion relation or applying the pinching point criterion in the complex wavenumber plane. The instability of optimal streaks is found to be unambiguously convective for all streak amplitudes and streamwise stations. It is more convective than the Blasius boundary layer in the absence of streaks; the trailing edge-velocity of a Tollmien–Schlichting wave packet in the Blasius boundary layer is around 35% of the free-stream velocity, while that of the wave packet riding on the streaky base flow is around 70%. This is because the streak instability is primarily induced by the spanwise shear and the associated Reynolds stress production term is located further away from the wall, in a larger velocity region, than for the Tollmien–Schlichting instability. The streak impulse response consists of the sinuous mode of instability triggered by the spanwise wake-like profile, as confirmed by comparing the numerical results with the absolute/convective instability properties of the family of two-dimensional wakes introduced by Monkewitz (1988). The convective nature of the secondary streak instability implies that the type of bypass transition studied here involves streaks that behave as amplifiers of external noise.
A Tri-Band-Pass Microstrip Filter for Microwave Applications

In this paper, a tri-band-pass filter suitable for microwave applications is presented. The proposed band pass filter consists of four rectangular patches (cells) separated by four rectangular slots. The selectivity of the pass bands is adjusted by adjusting the position of transmission zeros (TZs). The locations of the TZs can be adjusted for different selectivity of the filter, by adjusting the dimensions of the rectangular cells. Also, the band pass filter’s centre frequency and bandwidth of the tri pass bands are independently adjusted by changing the length and width between pass band edges, which makes the design very simple. Measured results merely agree with the simulated values.
The impact of roads and sediment basins on simulated river discharge and sediment flux in an experimental catchment designed to improve ecosystem services

Abstract. Payment of Environmental Services (PES) projects have grown our perception on the dependency of nature, yet the quantification and valuation of Environmental Services (ES) are key to evidence-base management. The modelling of the effect of deforestation in the water and sediment budgets of rural catchments usually prescribes baseline scenarios with fully pristine vegetation. Such comparison however is hardly associated with the landscape conditions where observational data is collected to provide model calibration. For example, the existence of unpaved roads and small water retention basins (containments) are potential controls of runoff and erosion in small catchments. This work shows the impact of roads and barraginhas (small sediment retention basins nearby the roads) on the water and sediment fluxes in a 12 km 2 catchment area in Extrema city, Brazil, which provides water for the Cantareira System's water reservoirs that supply about 50 % for the Sao Paulo megacity, and enrolled in the Water Producer Program (Water National Agency) as the first Brazilian PES project. Simulations with the InVEST model using high spatial resolution (5 m × 5 m) included the description of unpaved roads and barraginhas . Calibration used river discharge and sediment flux estimated from water turbidity measurements. Sediment concentration was estimated both with the observation and simulations, and annual comparisons seemed reasonable for mean annual estimates. Unpaved roads produced sediment export 5 times higher compared to a scenario with no roads, and potentiated the effect of barraginhas on sediment reduction. This study showed the benefit from understanding effects of representation of the landscape particularities in modelling such as the roads, which apart from affecting calibration, are important issue for providing efficient modelling of the effect of the Best Management Practices in the landscape scale. We also demonstrated usefulness of our research methodology and its possible applications on simulations of sediment concentration and streamflow in InVEST with few samples of observed data and thus quantify the impacts of land use change on hydrology in any other watershed.
Species delimitation and DNA barcoding of Atlantic Ensis (Bivalvia, Pharidae)

Ensis Schumacher, 1817 razor shells occur at both sides of the Atlantic and along the Pacific coasts of tropical west America, Peru, and Chile. Many of them are marketed in various regions. However, the absence of clear autapomorphies in the shell and the sympatric distributions of some species often prevent a correct identification of specimens. As a consequence, populations cannot be properly managed, and edible species are almost always mislabelled along the production chain. In this work, we studied whether the currently accepted Atlantic Ensis morphospecies are different evolutionary lineages, to clarify their taxonomic status and enable molecular identifications through DNA barcoding. For this, we studied 109 specimens sampled at 27 sites, which were identified as belonging to nine of those morphospecies. We analysed nucleotide variation at four nuclear (18S, 5.8S, ITS1, and ITS2) and two mitochondrial (COI and 16S) regions, although the 18S and 5.8S regions were not informative at the species level and were not further considered. The phylogenetic trees and networks obtained supported all morphospecies as separately evolving lineages. Phylogenetic trees recovered Ensis at each side of the Atlantic as reciprocally monophyletic. Remarkably, we confirm the co‐occurrence of the morphologically similar E. minor (Chenu, 1843) and E. siliqua (Linné, 1758) along the NW Iberian coast, a fact that has been often overlooked. In South America, a relevant divergence between E. macha (Molina, 1792) individuals from Chile and Argentina was unveiled and suggests incipient speciation. We also confirm the occurrence of the North American species E. directus (Conrad, 1843) as far south as north‐eastern Florida. Among the genomic regions analysed, we suggest COI as the most suitable DNA barcode for Atlantic Ensis. Our results will contribute to the conservation and management of Ensis populations and will enable reliable identifications of the edible species, even in the absence of the valves. The name Ensis coseli Vierna nom. nov. is proposed to replace E. minor Dall, 1899 non (Chenu, 1843).
Enhanced Solubility and Dissolution Rate of Clopidogrel by Nanosuspension: Formulation via High Pressure Homogenization Technique and Optimization Using Box Behnken Design Response Surface Methodology -

The present study was aimed to formulate nanosuspensions using high pressure homogenization (HPH, Top down) technique for enhancement of dissolution rate and solubility of clopidogrel using Pluronic F127 as stabiliser. Clopidogrel is categorized as a BCS class II agent having oral bioavailability less than 50%. The formulation scheme was generated by Box- Behnken design of response surface methodology. The produced nanosuspensions based on the formulation scheme were assessed on particle size, polydispersity index, and zeta potential. Three formulations were selected based on different predicted particle size with manipulation of parameters using response optimiser. The selected nanosuspension formulations were checked on the basis of percentage of bias in between predicted value and observed value and evaluated based on drug content test, drug entrapment efficiency and in vitro dissolution study. The formulation was optimized based on the smallest particle size and highest percentage of in vitro cumulative drug release. Formulation FF3 was selected as optimized formulation which attributed to the smallest particle size (478.1 nm) and the highest % CDR in both 0.1 N HCl (98.37%) and phosphate buffer (48.67%). The optimised formulation has shown a significant 2 folds enhancement in dissolution rate in 0.1 N HCl and 10 folds improvement in pH 6.8 phosphate buffers with 0.1% w/v Tween 80 compared to pure drug suspension.