Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adaptive backstepping slide mode control of pneumatic position servo system

With the price decreasing of the pneumatic proportional valve and the high performance micro controller, the simple structure and high tracking performance pneumatic servo system demonstrates more application potential in many fields. However, most existing control methods with high tracking performance need to know the model information and to use pressure sensor. This limits the application of the pneumatic servo system. An adaptive backstepping slide mode control method is proposed for pneumatic position servo system. The proposed method designs adaptive slide mode controller using backstepping design technique. The controller parameter adaptive law is derived from Lyapunov analysis to guarantee the stability of the system. A theorem is testified to show that the state of closed-loop system is uniformly bounded, and the closed-loop system is stable. The advantages of the proposed method include that system dynamic model parameters are not required for the controller design, uncertain parameters bounds are not need, and the bulk and expensive pressure sensor is not needed as well. Experimental results show that the designed controller can achieve better tracking performance, as compared with some existing methods.
Algorithmic prediction of individual diseases

The enormous and increasing cost of health care is burdensome for most low- to middle-income families, especially those families whose members are battling chronic diseases. If effective interventions can be conducted at earlier stages, many costs are avoidable. Correspondingly, predicting the future disease one patient may develop with accuracy is a crucial step towards solving this problem. We have developed a system called CAC, which integrates Clustering, Association analysis and Collaborative filtering to predict patients’ future conditions. The data-set used in this study is health insurance data collected from a provincial capital city of China. Specifically, the data-set includes 151,237 insured patients who have reimbursement records between 2007 and 2014. The patients are artificially classified into acute patients and chronic patients. For both sets of patients, we utilise a training set to generate the prediction rules and a testing set to test the prediction results. The results show that for 71% of acute patients and 82% of chronic patients, their future conditions are predictable.
Broadband circular patch antenna with monopolar radiation pattern for indoor wireless communication

A circular patch antenna with wide impedance bandwidth and monopolar radiation pattern for indoor wireless communication is proposed and analyzed in this paper. The antenna is a combination of circular patch and four capacitive feeds. By incorporating a cross-connected shorted conducting strip over the circular patch, the proposed antenna provides an enhanced impedance width of 65.4%, ranging from 1.46 to 2.88 GHz. Four capacitive feeds improve the design flexibility and make the ripple of horizontal radiation pattern less than 3 dB. A prototype of the proposed structure has been fabricated and measured. Both the simulated and measured results show that the proposed design has a stable monopolar radiation pattern over a wideband frequency range and a peak gain of 5.0 dBi, which can be widely applied for indoor wireless communication such as GSM1800, CDMA2000, WCDMA, and TD-LTE systems.
From the outer ear to the nerve: A complete computer model of the peripheral auditory system

Computer models of the individual components of the peripheral auditory system – the outer, middle, and inner ears and the auditory nerve – have been developed in the past, with varying level of detail, breadth, and faithfulness of the underlying parameters. Building on previous work, we advance the modeling of the ear by presenting a complete, physiologically justified, bottom-up computer model based on up-to-date experimental data that integrates all of these parts together seamlessly. The detailed bottom-up design of the present model allows for the investigation of partial hearing mechanisms and their defects, including genetic, molecular, and microscopic factors. Also, thanks to the completeness of the model, one can study microscopic effects in the context of their implications on hearing as a whole, enabling the correlation with neural recordings and non-invasive psychoacoustic methods. Such a model is instrumental for advancing quantitative understanding of the mechanism of hearing, for investigating various forms of deafness, as well as for devising next generation hearing aids and cochlear implants.
Evaluating Social Sensitivity

Although it is exceedingly important that schools evolve philosophies, determine objectives, and expand educational programs for the purpose of stimulating a growing interest in human welfare and an increasing desire on the part of students that all people shall have an opportunity to lead the "good life," these aims are valuable only to the degree in which they possess meaning in the lives of children. To what extent are the experiences embodied in these aims helping to bring about desirable changes in the behavior of students?
Altered basal ganglia output during self-restraint

Suppressing actions is essential for flexible behavior. Multiple neural circuits involved in behavioral inhibition converge upon a key basal ganglia output nucleus, the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr). To examine how changes in basal ganglia output contribute to self-restraint, we recorded SNr neurons during a proactive behavioral inhibition task. Rats responded to Go! cues with rapid leftward or rightward movements, but also prepared to cancel one of these movement directions on trials when a Stop! cue might occur. This action restraint – visible as direction-selective slowing of reaction times – altered both rates and patterns of SNr spiking. Overall firing rate was elevated before the Go! cue, and this effect was driven by a subpopulation of direction-selective SNr neurons. In neural state space, this corresponded to a shift away from the restrained movement. SNr neurons also showed more variable inter-spike-intervals during proactive inhibition. This corresponded to more variable state-space trajectories, which may slow reaction times via reduced preparation to move. These findings open new perspectives on how basal ganglia dynamics contribute to movement preparation and cognitive control.
Development and diffusion of building-integrated photovoltaics: analysing innovation dynamics in multi-sectoral technologies

The ongoing transformation of the energy system along a more sustainable trajectory requires advancements in a range of technological fields, as well as active involvement of different societal groups. Integration of photovoltaic (PV) systems in the built environment in particular is expected to play a crucial long-term role in the deployment of renewable energy technologies in urban areas, demanding the successful cooperation of planners, architects, engineers, scientists and users. The realisation of that technological change will require innovation at both an individual (within firms and organisations) and a collective (sector) level, giving rise to systemic approaches for its characterisation and analysis of its drivers. This study investigates the processes that either accelerate or hinder the development and diffusion of Building-Integrated PV (BIPV) applications into the market. Affected by developments in both the renewable energy and construction industries, the BIPV innovation system is a multi-sectoral case that has been explored only partially up to now. Acknowledging the fact that drivers of innovation span the globalised BIPV supply chain, this research adopts both an international and a national spatial perspective focusing on the UK. The analysis is based on a novel analytical framework which was developed in order to capture innovation dynamics at different levels, including technological advancements within firms, competition and synergy with other emerging and established innovation systems and pressures from the wider socio-economic configuration. This hybrid functional framework was conceived by combining elements from three academic strands: Technological Innovation Systems, the Multi-Level Perspective and Business Studies. The empirical research is based on various methods, including desktop research, semistructured interviews and in-depth firm-level case studies. A thorough market assessment provides the techno-economic background for the research. The hybrid framework is used as a guide throughout the empirical investigation and is also implemented in the analytical part of the study to organise and interpret the findings, in order to assess the overall functionality of the innovation system.
Sequences and proteins that influence mRNA processing in Trypanosoma brucei: Evolutionary conservation of SR-domain and PTB protein functions

Spliced leader trans splicing is the addition of a short, capped sequence to the 5’ end of mRNAs. It is widespread in eukaryotic evolution, but factors that influence trans splicing acceptor site choice have been little investigated. In Kinetoplastids, all protein-coding mRNAs are 5’ trans spliced. A polypyrimidine tract is usually found upstream of the AG splice acceptor, but there is no branch point consensus; moreover, splicing dictates polyadenylation of the preceding mRNA. We here describe a trans splicing reporter system that can be used for studies and screens concerning the roles of sequences and proteins in processing site choice and efficiency. Splicing was poor with poly(U) tracts less than 9 nt long, and was influenced by nearby secondary structures. A screen for signals resulted in selection of sequences that were on average 45% U and 35% C. Tethering of either the splicing factor SF1, or the cleavage and polyadenylation factor CPSF3 within the intron stimulated processing in the correct positions, while tethering of two possible homologues of Opisthokont PTB inhibited processing. In contrast, tethering of SR-domain proteins RBSR1, RBSR2, or TSR1 or its interaction partner TSR1IP, promoted use of alternative signals upstream of the tethering sites. RBSR1 interacts predominantly with proteins implicated in splicing, whereas the interactome of RBSR2 is more diverse. These results suggest that the functions of PTB and SR-domain proteins in splice site definition were already present in the last eukaryotic common ancestor.
Logodetect: One-shot detection of logos in image and video data

logodetect allows the detection of logos in images and videos after being trained with just one example of a logo. One-shot learning systems are not only great because they require little data, but also because they practically remove the need for specialists whenever the user wants to extend or re-purpose their functionality. This means that the benefits are manifold: the user requires little effort to collect and label training data, there is practically no time or economic costs for the training procedure, and it also provides a strategic benefit for business as they become self-sufficient for a large part of the system maintenance. logodetect comes with pretrained models, data and an interface that allows users to detect logos in images and videos with a single command.
Thermal and QoS-Aware Embedded Systems

While embedded systems such as smartphones and smart cars become essential parts of our lives, they face urgent thermal challenges. Extreme thermal conditions (i.e., both high and low temperatures) degrade system reliability, even risking safety; devices in the cold environments unexpectedly go offline, whereas extremely high device temperatures can cause device failures or battery explosions. These thermal limits become close to the norm because of ever-increasing chip power densities and application complexities. Embedded systems in the wild, however, lack adaptive and effective solutions to overcome such thermal challenges. An adaptive thermal management solution must cope with various runtime thermal scenarios under a changing ambient temperature. An effective solution requires the understanding of the dynamic thermal behaviors of underlying hardware and application workloads to ensure thermal and application quality-of-service (QoS) requirements. This thesis proposes a suite of adaptive and effective thermal management solutions to address different aspects of real-world thermal challenges faced by modern embedded systems. First, we present BPM, a battery-aware power management framework for mobile devices to address the unexpected device shutoffs in cold environments. We develop BPM as a background service that characterizes and controls real-time battery behaviors to maintain operable conditions even in cold environments. We then propose eTEC, building on the thermoelectric cooling solution, which adaptively controls cooling and computational power to avoid mobile devices overheating. For the real-time embedded systems such as cars, we present RT-TRM, a thermal-aware
On the Dynamics of Design of Future‐proof Systems

The ability to cope with uncertainty in the operation of a system is accounted for through appropriate bounds on the parameters set for the non‐functional requirements for the system. The ability to cater for changes throughout a long life, perhaps in a number of life cycles, is generally referred to as future‐proofing—that is, taking account in the current design of some aspect of the future use of the system such that, when the anticipated need does arise, the system will be prepared to some degree. The principal difference between design for uncertainty in non‐functional requirements and for uncertainty in future use is the time at which the system must be able to account for the uncertainty: on deployment for non‐functional requirements and at some time in the future for future‐proof design. This paper provides a brief preliminary investigation into the dynamics of design for uncertainty in non‐functional requirements (using robustness as an example) and for uncertainty in future‐proof design. Based on a simple model of system design and a definition of sufficiency in design and the notion of minimum sufficiency, we use design for robustness as an example of the design considerations required to address uncertainty in the non‐functional requirements of a system. Having addressed design for uncertainty required immediately on deployment of the system, we then show how design for future‐proofing of a system accommodates changes in future operations and support.
Evaluation of in-plane position dependency of image properties in cardiac CT

Poster: "ECR 2014 / C-0659 / Evaluation of in-plane position dependency of image properties in cardiac CT" by: "K. Takada1, K. Ichikawa2, T. Noda1, Y. Okumura1, Y. Morita1, H. Tsuboi1, T. Sone1; 1Ogaki/JP, 2Kanazawa/JP"
WAVEFORM SIGNAL SHAPING USING WAVELET PARAMETERIZATIONS

We explore the idea of matching a scaling function the basic building block of a wavelet function to a desired spectrum. This would allow the scaling function to be used as the signal pulse for a digital communication system that is matched to the channel, avoiding problems such as energy loss or noise amplification due to spectral nulls. An unconstrained parameterization of the scaling function coefficients represents the scaling functions. This parameterization is adapted using gradient descent. Tests indicate that the adaptation is able to capture major features of a desired spectrum, including spectral nulls and major lobes.
Transmission of IPv6 Packets over BLUETOOTH Low Energy

BLUETOOTH Low Energy is a low power air interface technology defined by the BLUETOOTH Special Interest Group (BT-SIG). The standard BLUETOOTH radio has been widely implemented and available in mobile phones, notebook computers, audio headsets and many other devices. The low power version of BLUETOOTH is a new specification that enables the use of this air interface with devices such as sensors, smart meters, appliances, etc. The low power variant of BLUETOOTH is currently specified in the revision 4.0 of the BLUETOOTH specifications (BLUETOOTH 4.0). This document describes how IPv6 is transported over BLUETOOTH Low Energy using 6LoWPAN techniques.
CP patch antenna with controllable polarisation over dual-frequency bands

A dual-band circularly polarised (CP) patch antenna with single layer and single feed is proposed. Different from other methods resorting to two dissimilar radiators, this antenna employs two pairs of degenerate modes, i.e. TM01/TM10 and TM03/TM30 modes, of a single radiator, making it compact size and geometrical symmetry. The antenna is composed of a square patch and four pairs of folded stubs at its four corners. The senses of CP radiation in the lower and upper bands are independently controlled, which can be the same or orthogonal. The influence of stubs loaded on the radiating patch and the design principle are given. To validate the design method, a prototype operating at 2.73 and 4.49 GHz is designed and fabricated. Measured results show that the right-hand CP and left-hand CP radiations can be obtained in the lower and upper bands. Measured results agree well with simulated ones, achieving the radiation gains of about 7.0 and 5.9 dBic in the two bands, respectively.
Supercritical CO2 Cycle for Fast Gas-Cooled Reactors

Brayton cycles are currently being extensively investigated for possible use with nuclear reactors in order to reduce capital cost, shorten construction period and increase nuclear power plant efficiency. The main candidates are the well-known helium Brayton cycle and the less familiar supercritical CO2 cycle, which has been given increased attention in the past several years. The main advantage of the supercritical CO2 cycle is comparable efficiency with the helium Brayton cycle at significantly lower temperature (550°C/823K), but higher pressure (20MPa/200 normal atmospheres). By taking advantage of the abrupt property changes near the critical point of CO2 the compression work can be reduced, which results in a significant efficiency improvement. Among the surveyed compound cycles the recompression cycle offers the highest efficiency, while still retaining simplicity. The turbomachinery is highly compact and achieves efficiencies of more than 90%. Preliminary assessment of the control scheme has been performed as well. It was found that conventional inventory control could not be applied to the supercritical CO2 recompression cycle. The conventional bypass control is applicable. The reference cycle achieves 46% thermal efficiency at the compressor outlet pressure of 20MPa and turbine inlet temperature of 550°C. The sizing of the heat exchangers and turbomachinery has been performed. The recuperator specific volume is 0.39m3 /MWe and pre-cooler specific volume 0.08m3 /MWe . For the reference 600MWth reactor this translates to ∼ 99m3 heat exchanger core for the recuperator and ∼ 21m3 for the pre-cooler. Overall the cycle offers an attractive alternative to the steam cycle. The supercritical CO2 cycle is well suited to any type of nuclear reactor with core outlet temperature above ∼ 500°C. © 2004 ASME
Linearity Detecting System for Deep Holes

The measurement technique of position based on PSD(Position Sensitive Detector) is proposed for measuing the linearity,and the measurement system is also established with laser diode,PSD and self-centering device.The measurement structure and the control system are designed and analyzed.The technique provides a kind of measurement way,which can satisfy measurement requirement and has some prospect in the areas of linearity measurement.
Motivation in Construction Innovation: Commercial Opportunities, Problem-Solving and Passion for Improvement

This article analyses motivations for innovation in construction using the service sector adaptation of the Sectoral System of Innovation (SSI) framework. Interviews and site visits were conducted with four Malaysian firms. Innovation in construction is similar to the service sector. There is evidence of technology-push, capability-push and demand-pull; capability push is the most important. Construction firms innovate to gain commercial opportunities, to solve project-related problems and to improve processes. By simplifying construction work, process innovation saves time and costs, increasing efficiency and productivity, and providing increased competitiveness. Innovation is also motivated by committed and passionate actors within construction firm.
Multidomain Integrated Exercises Decreased the Risk of Falls of Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Aims: To determine effects of a multidomain health promotion (MDHP) scheme for the community elderly in reducing fall risks. Methods: Database from older persons using the scheme was analyzed and categorized as high and low risk of fall groups retrospectively. The main measures included the 30-second chair-stand, 8-ft Up-and-Go, and single-leg stance tests. The effects of training were examined and compared across different age groups. Results: Balance was significantly improved in the high-risk group, especially the young-old and old-old groups. Conclusions: The MDHP program at least 1 hour per week for the older people was promising in reducing the risk of falls.
Correlation between polymorphism of vitamin D receptor TaqI and susceptibility to tuberculosis

Abstract Background: To investigate the association between TaqI polymorphism of the vitamin D receptor gene and tuberculosis (TB). Methods: A systematic search was performed in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Elsevier Science Direct, Cochrane Library, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, and Chongqing VIP databases for case-control study on TaqI gene polymorphism and TB susceptivity. Quality assessment of studies was performed using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale for the methodological assessment of case-control studies, and R 4.0. 5 software was used for the meta-analysis. Results: Among the 243 selected articles, 27 in the meta-analysis. The meta-analysis showed that the TaqI gene polymorphism allene gene model (t vs T, odds ratio [OR]: 1.12, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.99–1.27); dominant model (tt + tT vs TT, OR: 1.12, 95% CI: 0.98–1.29); recessive model (tt vs tT + TT, OR: 1.25, 95% CI: 1.03–1.51); codominant A (tt vs TT, OR: 1.37, 95% CI: 1.00–1.87); codominant B (tT vs TT, OR: 1.09, 95% CI: 0.99–1.19). And subgroup dominant model (tt + tT vs TT, OR: 1.27, 95% CI: 1.03–1.55) in Indianas, recessive model (tt vs tT + TT, OR: 1.49, 95% CI: 1.05–2.11) in Iranians, co-dominant B (tT vs TT, OR: 1.28, 95% CI: 1.03–1.59; OR: 1.42, 95% CI: 1.05–1.93) in Indianas and Iranians. Conclusion: This meta-analysis suggests a significant association between TB and the risk of TaqI in Iranians and Indians, but the vitamin D receptor polymorphism TaqI was not associated with Chinese. Thus, validation studies will be required to confirm these findings.
Implementation of the weighted nuclear norm minimization for image denoising

—In this project the weighted nuclear norm minimization (WNNM) algorithm for image denoising is implemented in Python. Implementation choices are explained and most important components identified. Parameter tuning is performed. The performance of WNNM based denoising is compared to that achieved using Gaussian, Bilateral, and non-local means (NLM) filters. WNNM outperforms the other techniques including NLM approach based on both visual assessment and metric such as peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) and structural similarity index (SSIM). A number of ways in which both computational time and denoising performance of the algorithm could be improved are identified. The code developed can be found at https://github.com/kanavalau/EE367 Project WNNM denoising