Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The chemical Langevin equation

The stochastic dynamical behavior of a well-stirred mixture of N molecular species that chemically interact through M reaction channels is accurately described by the chemical master equation. It is shown here that, whenever two explicit dynamical conditions are satisfied, the microphysical premise from which the chemical master equation is derived leads directly to an approximate time-evolution equation of the Langevin type. This chemical Langevin equation is the same as one studied earlier by Kurtz, in contradistinction to some other earlier proposed forms that assume a deterministic macroscopic evolution law. The novel aspect of the present analysis is that it shows that the accuracy of the equation depends on the satisfaction of certain specific conditions that can change from moment to moment, rather than on a static system size parameter. The derivation affords a new perspective on the origin and magnitude of noise in a chemically reacting system. It also clarifies the connection between the stochas.
Software process improvement: a systematic mapping study on the state of the art

Software process improvement (SPI) has been around for decades: frameworks are proposed, success factors are studied, and experiences have been reported.However, the sheermass of concepts, approaches, and standards published over the years overwhelms practitioners as well as researchers. What is out there? Are there new trends and emerging approaches? What are open issues? Still, we struggle to answer these questions about the current state of SPI and related research. In this article, we present results from an updated systematic mapping study to shed light on the field of SPI, to develop a big picture of the state of the art, and to draw conclusions for future research directions. An analysis of 769 publications draws a big picture of SPI-related research of the past quarter-century. Our study shows a high number of solution proposals, experience reports, and secondary studies, but only few theories and models on SPI in general. In particular, standard SPImodels likeCMMI and ISO/IEC 15,504 are analyzed, enhanced, and evaluated for applicability in practice, but these standards are also critically discussed, e.g., from the perspective of SPI in small-to-medium-sized companies, which leads to new specialized frameworks. New and specialized frameworks account for the majority of the contributions found (approx. 38%). Furthermore, we find a growing interest in success factors (approx. 16%) to aid companies in conducting SPI and in adapting agile principles and practices for SPI (approx. 10%). Beyond these specific topics, the study results also show an increasing interest into secondary studies with the purpose of aggregating and structuring SPI-related knowledge. Finally, the present study helps directing future research by identifying under-researched topics awaiting further investigation. Subjects Software Engineering
Low bit rate image compression with orthogonal projection pursuit neural networks

A new multiresolution algorithm for image compression based on projection pursuit neural networks is presented. High quality low bit-rate image compression is achieved first by segmenting an image into regions of different sizes based on perceptual variation in each region and then constructing a distinct code for each block by using the orthogonal projection pursuit neural networks. This algorithm allows one to adaptively construct a better approximation for each block by optimally selecting the basis functions from a universal set. The convergence is guaranteed by orthogonalizing the selected bases at each iteration. The coefficients of the approximations are obtained by back-projection with convex combinations. Our experimental results shows that at rates below 0.5 bits/pixel, this algorithm shows excellent performance both in terms of peak S/N ratio and subjective image quality.
Design of broad band SIW couplers with 45° and 90° phase difference

This paper presents a Substrate Integrated Waveguide (SIW) directional coupler with required phase-difference at the output ports. In order to verify the feasibility of this design method, a 45° and a 90° SIW coupler are designed, simulated and optimized. The results of simulations have shown the great performances over a broad operational bandwidth.
Bearing-only SLAM : A fast algorithm without using Extended Кalman filter

In this paper a new method for solving 2D Bearing-only SLAM is proposed. We use only Sequential Monte Carlo Methods to estimate current positions of the robot and for determining the landmarks’ coordinates. The main advantages of the proposed method are the high speed and the trivial generalization to 3D case. Our method has linear complexity growth with respect to number of the landmarks. Key-Words: Bearing-only SLAM, Sequential Monte Carlo Methods, Patricle filters, Rao-Blackwellisation method, Fast SLAM.
A Heat Tram & r Analysis of Animals : Unifying Concepts ad the Appkation of Metabolism Chamber Data to Field Ecology

This paper presents a heat transfer analysis of animals which lies between detailed thermal energy budget analysis and the simph! ied “Newton’s Law of coding” approach. The analysis considers the animal to be composed of two or three thermal layers. Heat transfer by conduction, convection, and thermal radiation are included separately in linearized form. Solar and thermal radiation from the environment and heat production and loss by metabolism and evaporation are included as rates. The solution for body temperature, Tb, is arranged into three parameters: (1) The operative environmental temperature, Te, the effective temperature of the environment for a specific animal, combining conduction, convection, and radiation; (2) the overall thermal conakctance, Ko, giving the thermal insulation of the animal; (3) the efictive dry metabolic heatproduction, M*, the algebraic sum of the metabolic heat production and evaporative cooling, corrected for the partitioning of evaporative cooling between the body core and the environment. For Tb constant, T# and Ko are combined into a fourth parameter, the standard operative environmental temperature, T,,. This parameter is a measure of the value of M* required to maintain Tb constant, and allows the sensible thermal stress of different environments (e.g. a metabolism chamber and an outdoor habitat) to be compared. The parameters T,, KO, and M* are functionally equivalent to the corresponding parameters in “Newton’s Law”. However, this should not be construed to justify the use of “Newton’s Law”, since the parameters are not measured correctly by traditional procedures. However, it is possible to make direct measurements of T,, KO, T,, and M* with taxidermic models of the animal. These direct measurements allow a simplified approach to many descriptive problems in thermal physiology and eoology, while obtaining results which may be related to detailed energy budget aalalysis.
Adaptive fuzzy terminal-based neuro-sliding mode control of ankle-joint movement using intraspinal micro stimulation

In this study an adaptive fuzzy terminal-based neuro-sliding mode control (AFTNSMC) was proposed for control of ankle joint using intraspinal microstimulation (ISMS). The controller is based on the combination of an adaptive terminal-based neural controller with sliding-mode control (SMC). The most advantage of terminal dynamics is the fast convergence compared to the conventional gradient descent learning algorithm. The experiments were conducted on three rats. Microelectrodes were inserted into the motor pools of dorsiflexor and plantar flexor muscles. The results show that a good tracking performance was obtained using AFTNSMC. The average of tracking error over all trials of experiments and all rats is 4.8° (9.3%).
A seamlessly integrated microfluidic pressure sensor based on an ionic liquid electrofluidic circuit

A novel pressure sensor with electrical readout based on ionic liquid (IL) electrofluidic circuit is reported in this paper. The pressure measurement is achieved by measuring the electrical property variation of the circuit induced by the pressure inside the microfluidic devices. The sensor integrated microfluidic device is made of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), and can be fabricated using the well-developed multilayer soft lithography (MSL) without additional microfabrication processes. Therefore, the pressure sensor is fully disposable, and can be seamlessly integrated into PDMS microfluidic devices. Moreover, an IL electrofluidic Wheatstone bridge is designed to provide the device linear output, great long-term and thermal stability. In this paper, the sensor performance characterization using pressurized gas and liquid flowing in the microfluidic channel have been conducted. The experimental results demonstrate the advantages of the device. The developed pressure sensor has great potentials for the development of next generation sensor-integrated microfluidic systems.
Image Processing Technology for Rear View Camera ( 1 ) : Development of Lane Detection System

In this paper we propose a new lane detection method for expressway lane departure warning. The use of the extended Hough transform and a bird's-eye view image effectively improve the robustness and resolution of lane detection. Hardware cost is reduced by using a rear-view camera from an existing system and by implementing the system on an embedded CPU.
C, N, O abundances in the most metal-poor damped Lyman alpha systems★

This study focuses on some of the most metal-poor damped Lyα (DLA) absorbers known in the spectra of high-redshift QSOs, using new and archival observations obtained with ultraviolet-sensitive echelle spectrographs on the Keck and VLT telescopes. The weakness and simple velocity structure of the absorption lines in these systems allow us to measure the abundances of several elements, and in particular those of C, N and O, a group that is difficult to study in DLAs of more typical metallicities. We find that when the oxygen abundance is less than ∼1/100 of solar, the C/O ratio in high-redshift DLAs and sub-DLAs matches that of halo stars of similar metallicity and shows higher values than expected from galactic chemical evolution models based on conventional stellar yields. Furthermore, there are indications that at these low metallicities the N/O ratio may also be above simple expectations and may exhibit a minimum value, as proposed by Centurion and her collaborators in 2003. Both results can be interpreted as evidence for enhanced production of C and N by massive stars in the first few episodes of star formation, in our Galaxy and in the distant protogalaxies seen as QSO absorbers. The higher stellar yields implied may have an origin in stellar rotation which promotes mixing in the stars' interiors, as considered in some recent model calculations. We briefly discuss the relevance of these results to current ideas on the origin of metals in the intergalactic medium and the universality of the stellar initial mass function.
Genetic background of aggressive behaviour in dogs

The background of aggression is very complicated and the basis of its occurrence has not been well explained yet. It is thought that tendency to aggressiveness is an effect of both environmental and genetic factors. Aggression is a very undesirable behavioural trait in dogs living with humans. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between two polymorphisms: DRD4 intron II VNTR and C/T substitution in exon I HTR2B genes and aggressive behaviour in dogs. The VNTR polymorphism in the DRD4 gene was detected by agarose gel electrophoresis following PCR amplification, whereas C/T substitution in the HTR2B gene was analysed using amplification created restriction sitepolymerase chain reaction (ACRS-PCR). A total of 121 dogs of several breeds were analyzed. All animals were classified based on a veterinary interview and observation in two groups: aggressive (n = 21) and non-aggressive (n = 100). Significant differences in DRD4 genotype frequencies between aggressive and non-aggressive dogs were observed (P < 0.05). The study provides a clear evidence of an association of VNTR polymorphism within intron II of the DRD4 gene with the occurrence of aggressive behaviour in dogs. Moreover, the findings give good justification for further research aimed at evaluation of the possibility of using this genetic marker in Marker-assisted Selection.
Harmonics and interharmonics generation in general VSI/CSI inverters: a new +approach

Interharmonics are defined as non-integer multiplies of fundamental or switching frequencies and have several different effects in PCC connected VSI/CSI systems compared to known harmonics. In order to describe the generation of harmonics and interharmonics in generalized power converters, a new approach is proposed based on the non-linear modulator concept; and the analytical model is derived and discussed for commonly used control scheme of d-q reference frame. Several effects of feedback control and compensation blocks are considered, analyzed and simulated for the analysis validation
Grid search optimization techniques for the indirect vector-controlled induction motor drives

In this paper, a Grid Search Method (GSM) with a Field Oriented Control (FOC) is presented to determine the optimal Proportional-Integral (PI) controller gain parameters for the speed control of an induction motor. This technique is useful in finding the optimal controller gain (proportional and integral) in a closed loop system. The GSM is used to obtain gains required for the adaptive PI by seeking the optimal local minimum of a squared speed error function. The results show that the GSM is very efficient, and gives stable convergence characteristics. It has a good track record of robustness under load variation, fast dynamic response, and high precision in tracking desired speed. Furthermore, the control system, based on the GSM-PI algorithm in FOC for induction motors, can be readily implemented for occasions of frequent load changing, such as in industrial applications.
XRD, AFM, IR and TGA Study of Nanostructured Hydroxyapatite

In this work, the synthetic hydroxyapatite (HAP) was studied using different preparation routes to decrease the crystal size and to study the temperature effect on the HAP nano-sized hydroxyapatite crystallization. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis indicated that all samples were composed by crystalline and amorphous phases . The sample with greater quantity of amorphous phase (40% of total mass) was studied. The nano-sized hydroxyapatite powder was heated and studied at 300, 500, 700, 900 and 1150 °C. All samples were characterized by XRD and their XRD patterns refined using the Rietveld method. The crystallites presented an anisotropic form, being larger in the (001) direction. It was observed that the crystallite size increased continuously with the heating temperature and the eccentricity of the ellipsoidal shape changed from 2.75 at 300 °C to 1.94, 1.43, 1.04 and 1.00 respectively at 500, 700, 900 and 1150 °C. In order to better characterize the morphology of the HAP the samples were also examined using atomic force microscopy (AFM), infrared spectrometry (IR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA).
Validation of TRMM and FEWS Satellite Rainfall Estimates with Rain Gauge Measurement over Ashanti Region, Ghana

Satellite rainfall estimates have predominantly been used for climate impact studies due to poor rain gauge network in sub-Saharan Africa. However, there are limited microscale studies within the sub-region that have assessed the performance of these satellite products, which is the focus of the present study. This paper therefore considers validation of Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and Famine Early Warning System (FEWS) satellite estimates with rain gauge measurements over Ashanti region of Ghana. First, a consistency assessment of the two gauge data products, the Automatic Rain Gauge (ARG) and Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet) Standard Rain Gauge (SRG) measurements, was performed. This showed a very good agreement with correlation coefficient of 0.99. Secondly, satellite rainfall products from TRMM and FEWS were validated with the two gauge measurements. Validation results showed good agreement with correlation coefficients of 0.6 and 0.7 for TRMM and FEWS with SRG, and 0.87 and 0.86 for TRMM and FEWS with ARG respectively. Probability Of Detection (POD) and Volumetric Hit Index (VHI) were found to be greater than 0.9. Volumetric Critical Success Index (VCSI) was 0.9 and 0.8 for TRMM and FEWS respectively with low False Alarm Ratio (FAR) and insignificant Volumetric Miss Index (VMI). In general, relatively low biases and RMSE values were observed. The biases were less than 1.3 and 0.8 for TRMM and FEWS-RFE respectively. These indicate high rainfall detection capabilities of both satellite products. In addition, both TRMM and FEWS were able to capture the onset, peak and cessation of the rainy season, as well as the dry spells. Although TRMM and FEWS sometimes under/overestimated rainfall, they have the potential to be used for agricultural and other hydro-climatic impact studies over the region. The Dynamic-Aerosol-Cloud-Chemistry Interactions in West Africa (DACCIWA) project will provide an improved spatial gauge network database over the study area to enhance future validation and other climate impact studies.
Nucleotide sequence and polymorphism of MHC class II DQB exon 2 alleles in Chinese yakow (Bos grunniens × Bos taurus)

The objective of this study is to describe the gene characteristics of the bovine lymphocyte antigen (BoLA)‐DQB exon 2 locus in Chinese yakow (Bos grunniens × Bos taurus) and to compare it with previously reported patterns in other bovidae species to investigate genetic factors for disease resistance. The exon 2 of the MHC class II DQB gene was cloned and sequenced. It was revealed by sequence analyses that there are 36 DQB exon 2 alleles among 44 Chinese yakow. These alleles exhibited a high degree of nucleotide and amino acid polymorphism with most amino acid variations occurring at positions forming the peptide‐binding sites (PBS). The DQB loci were analysed for patterns of synonymous (dS) and nonsynonymous (dN) substitution. The Chinese yakow was observed to be under strong positive selection in the DQB exon 2 peptide‐binding sites (dN = 0.147, P < 0.01). It appears that this variability among Chinese yakow confers the ability to mount immune responses to a wide variety of peptides or pathogens.
Gradual Refinement Types Extended Version with Proofs

Refinement types are an effective language-based verification technique. However, as any expressive typing discipline, its strength is its weakness, imposing sometimes undesired rigidity. Guided by abstract interpretation, we extend the gradual typing agenda and develop the notion of gradual refinement types, allowing smooth evolution and interoperability between simple types and logicallyrefined types. In doing so, we address two challenges unexplored in the gradual typing literature: dealing with imprecise logical information, and with dependent function types. The first challenge leads to a crucial notion of locality for refinement formulas, and the second yields novel operators related to typeand term-level substitution, identifying new opportunity for runtime errors in gradual dependently-typed languages. The gradual language we present is type safe, type sound, and satisfies the refined criteria for graduallytyped languages of Siek et al. We also explain how to extend our approach to richer refinement logics, anticipating key challenges to consider.
Stabilizing and dispersing methods of TiO2 nanoparticles in biological studies

TiO 2 nanoparticles (NPs) might be considered as the most important photosensitizer due to high photocatalytic and sonocatalytic efficiency, low toxicity, excellent biocompatibility, low cost and high chemical stability. TiO 2 -NPs normally tend to aggregate in physiological medium and which results to decreased cell viability and inducing expression of stress-related genes. Thus dispersion and stability of TiO 2 NPs should be considered in biological application. This paper deals on various dispersing methods such as ultrasonication, electrostatic, steric electrosteric stabilization that suppress agglomeration and stabilizes the dispersed NPs in aqueous medium.Sonication breaks up agglomerated NPs in a solvent. The results showed that probe sonication performs better than bath sonication in dispersing TiO 2 agglomerates, but sonication couldn’t prevent long term aggregation of nanoparticles and in order to form stable dispersions, it is not enough to break nanoparticles apart. Agglomerated NPs can be separated by overcoming the weaker attractive forces by electrostatic, steric or electrosteric interactions. Electrostatic stabilization takes place when charges accumulate at the surface of particles. At values of potential more than 30 mV or less than -30 mV no agglomeration occurs. Ionic strength and pH influence on electrostatic stabilization; when pH is far from the isoelectric point, agglomeration is suppressed. In a sterically stabilized dispersion large molecules such as polymers, surfactants and biomolecules, adsorbed on to the surface of particles suppress re-agglomeration. PEG is a hydrophilic polymer, non-toxic and non-immunogenic, and has favorable pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution. PEGylation of NPs not only prevents agglomeration, but also enhances their biocompatibility and increases the in vivo circulation time.
Evaluation and analysis of IJV marketing performance and its key predictors

The marketing performance of International Joint Ventures (IJVs), particularly those in the South East Asian economies, has not received adequate attention from international business researchers. IJVs have become an important means of market entry for many firms, particularly those seeking entry into Asia. This study identifies the factors influencing the marketing performance of IJVs in Thailand and the relative importance of these factors. The key factors in Thailand were identified as market characteristics, commitment of the partners and the marketing orientation of senior management. Implications for the management of IJVs in the South East Asian countries in general and Thailand in particular are also outlined.
Short Multipath Mitigation Technique Using Feedforward Neural Networks

In this paper a novel approach for mitigation of short multi-path distortions is presented. The technique is applicable to FMCW-based distance measurement systems assuming distinctly separated targets. The effects of spectral distortion caused by short multipath propagation in conjunction with Fourier-based frequency analysis methods are mitigated. For this purpose the distorted spectrum is first analyzed and specific characteristics are calculated. A Feedforward Neural Network processes these characteristics and provides a correction frequency relative to the erroneously shifted maximum in order to estimate the true line-of-sight frequency. A comprehensive analysis was performed by means of a two tone test. Applicability to real world environments was investigated by means of a multi tone test using an IEEE 802.15. 4a channel model.