Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Achieving Improved Mission Robustness

This paper gives background to and outlines a proposed programme of work aimed at exploring biologically inspired approaches to developing a potentially spaceworthy planetary exploration vehi cle A major consideration is in achieving a very high high degree of robustness and reliability In order to develop an improved system level mission design an integration of evolutionary robotics and traditional space mission design methodologies is proposed
Work fluctuations in a nematic liquid crystal

The orientation fluctuations of the director of a liquid crystal are measured, using a sensitive polarization interferometer, close to the Fréedericksz transition, which is a second-order transition driven by an electric field. Using mean field theory, we define the work injected into the system by a change of the electric field and we calibrate it using the fluctuation-dissipation theorem. We show that the work fluctuations satisfy the transient fluctuation theorem. An analytical justification of this result is given. The open problems for the out-of-equilibrium case are then discussed.
THE USE OF MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING IN THE ASSESSMENT OF INTERVERTEBRAL DISC DISEASE AND LOW BACK DYSFUNCTION

Low back pain and pain derived from the lumbar structures are common causes of disability. An accurate diagnosis of the etiology of the dysfunction is often not possible. The advent of magnetic resonance imaging led to an expectation that it was a non-invasive mechanism for the detection of pain. However, it appears that only limited information can be derived from magnetic resonance imaging in this context, and its use should be confined in most cases to pre-operative assessment in the diagnosis of mechanical pain. This paper deals with the assessment of 'low back dysfunction' when fusion is being considered. In doing so, the literature in regard to the use of magnetic resonance imaging in the diagnosis of somatic origin low back pain and low back dysfunction is reviewed. Magnetic resonance imaging has a very limited role in the management of lower back disorders.
Knowledge flow management supporting complex problem solving: learning spectrum and its infrastructure

Knowledge Management (KM) concerns innovating, spreading, sharing and using of knowledge assets. Dynamic knowledge flow management consists of cognition-compliant knowledge transferring and propagation for facilitating problem solving, which is a novel research issue in the KM domain. In this paper, the cognition is treated as the reflection-based knowledge application process related to problem solving and the cognition-compliant knowledge transferring and propagation is implemented through learning. Learning spectrum engaged in knowledge flow is explored from two aspects: depth learning and breadth learning corresponding to meta-cognition and group-cognition, respectively. Our work is based on a motivating example derived from New Product Development (NPD). To meet the globally distributed tendency of complex problem solving with cognitive intention, the infrastructure of Problem Solving Environment (PSE) based on Knowledge Grid (KG) scenarios is explored to facilitate web-based complex problem solving.
A new PWM ZVS full-bridge converter

A soft-switched full-bridge (FB) converter that features zero-voltage-switching (ZVS) of the bridge switches over a wide range of input voltage and output load is introduced. The proposed converter achieves ZVS with substantially reduced duty-cycle loss and circulating current. The control of the proposed converter can be implemented either with the phase-shift (PS) or pulse-width-modulated (PWM) technique. The performance of the proposed topology was verified on a 2-kW (48-V/40-A) experimental PWM FB converter prototype operating at 120 kHz from a 380-V dc input
Symmetric and Folded Tori Connected Torus Network

Hierarchical interconnection networks provide high performance at low cost by exploring the locality that exists in the communication patterns of massively parallel computers. A Symmetric Tori connected Torus Network (STTN) is a 2D-torus network of multiple basic modules, in which the basic modules are 2D-torus networks that are hierarchically interconnected for higher-level networks. We also fold the STTN to minimize the length of the longest wire of STTN. The folded network is called Folded Tori connected Torus Network (FTTN). In this paper, we present the architecture of the STTN and FTTN, addressing of node, routing of message, and evaluate the static network performance of STTN, FTTN, TTN, TESH, mesh, and torus networks. It is shown that both the STTN and FTTN possess several attractive features, including constant node degree, small diameter, low cost, small average distance, moderate bisection width, and high fault tolerant performance than that of other conventional and hierarchical interconnection networks. We further evaluate the longest wire length of FTTN and compare it with other networks. We found that the longest wire length of the FTTN is far lower than that of other networks considered in this paper while keeping good static network performance. It is just about (1 / 2 m th) of its rival STTN.
Flexible Negotiation in Teamwork: Extended Abstract

In a complex, dynamic multi -agent setting, coherent team actions are often jeopardized by agents' conflicting beliefs about different aspects of their environment, about resource availabilit y, and about their own or teammates' capabiliti es and performance. Team members thus need to communicate and negotiate to restore team coherence. This paper focuses on the problem of negotiations in teamwork to resolve such conflicts. The basis of such negotiations is inter-agent argumentation (based on Toulmin's argumentation structure), where agents assert their beliefs to others, with supporting arguments. One key novelty in our work is that agents' argumentation exploits previous research on general, explicit teamwork models. Based on such teamwork models, it is possible categorize the conflicts that arise into different classes, and more importantly provide a generalized and reusable argumentation facilit y based on teamwork constraints. Our approach is implemented in a system called CONSA (COllaborative Negotiation System based on Argumentation).
The Case Against Variable Bit Rate Service

additional advantages of RCBR are that it is easy to implement, since CBR service is well understood and we are merely adding a fast renegotiation component to it. By building on CBR service, we make the network design simple, since neither complex scheduling disciplines nor large network buuers are required for CBR traac. It has recently come to our notice that Chong et al 2] have independently arrived at conclusions similar to ours, that is, compressed VBR traac has sustained peaks, and thus is best carried by a renegotiated service. They have concentrated in their work on coming up with good predictors for rate changes. In contrast, our work has used large deviations analysis for insight into the nature of statistical multiplexing gain and is coupled with a systems perspective. dynamic bandwidth allocation for eecient transport of real-time VBR video over ATM. A novel variable bit rate service for integrated services networks. submitted to the ACM Sigcomm'95. Statistical multiplexing of multiple timescale Markov streams. Preprint. This article was processed using the L a T E X macro package with LLNCS style for lack of space, analysis shows that with careful coding and cleanly designed end-systems and switch controllers, renegotiation overheads are small. Due to the inherent uncertainty in the bandwidth requirements of calls over their lifetime, there is always a possibility that a renegotiation for a higher bandwidth can fail due to unavailable capacity. The probability of renegotiation failure is kept low by admission control, such that there is always excess capacity in the system. The amount of slack can be determined by estimating the renegotiation failure probability using large deviations techniques. For users who do not want to take any risk, they might reserve resources at or close to the peak rate. Note that even if the renegotiation fails, the source can keep whatever bandwidth it already has. For interactive applications, the signaling system can also ask the user or application to temporarily reduce its data rate, such as using an adaptive codec. Thus, we believe that there are a number of techniques we can call upon to deal with renegotiation failures. For more details of the analysis, refer to 4]. We have compared the statistical multiplexing gain (SMG) achievable through our scheme with two other scenarios. The rst scenario multiplexes n streams without any restriction on a server with rate c and buuer size nB. This is used …
How does feature-based attention affect visual processing?

Five experiments are reported from which it is concluded that attending on the basis of a stimulus feature (e.g., red) does not directly affect the sensory quality of stimuli that possess that feature. Feature-based attention was manipulated in a visual search task by providing information about the probability that the target would possess a given feature (e.g., "The target has a 1.0 probability of being red when present.") Feature-based attention failed to aid performance under "data-limited" conditions (i.e., those under which performance was primarily affected by the quality of the stimulus) but did affect performance under conditions that were not data limited (Experiments 1-3). If attending to a feature had affected the sensory quality of stimuli, performance should have been aided under all conditions. Experiments 4 and 5 provided converging support for this conclusion.
Quantum Algorithms for Compositional Natural Language Processing

We propose a new application of quantum computing to the field of natural language processing. Ongoing work in this field attempts to incorporate grammatical structure into algorithms that compute meaning. In (Coecke, Sadrzadeh and Clark, 2010), the authors introduce such a model (the CSC model) based on tensor product composition. While this algorithm has many advantages, its implementation is hampered by the large classical computational resources that it requires. In this work we show how computational shortcomings of the CSC approach could be resolved using quantum computation (possibly in addition to existing techniques for dimension reduction). We address the value of quantum RAM (Giovannetti,2008) for this model and extend an algorithm from Wiebe, Braun and Lloyd (2012) into a quantum algorithm to categorize sentences in CSC. Our new algorithm demonstrates a quadratic speedup over classical methods under certain conditions.
Communicating degraded message sets over multi-access channels with degraded encoder state information

We consider the problem of communicating degraded message sets over multi-access channel with finite input and output alphabets that is controlled by an underlying i.i. d. state process. Inner and outer bounds are presented for the general case where encoders possess non-causal degraded state information. Two special cases of the general setup are then presented where the derived inner bound is shown to be the capacity region.
Channel Asymmetry in Cellular OFDMA-TDD Networks

This paper studies time division duplex- (TDD-) specific interference issues in orthogonal frequency division multiple access- (OFDMA-) TDD cellular networks arising from various uplink (UL)/downlink (DL) traffic asymmetries, considering both line-of-sight (LOS) and non-LOS (NLOS) conditions among base stations (BSs). The study explores aspects both of channel allocation and user scheduling. In particular, a comparison is drawn between the fixed slot allocation (FSA) technique and a dynamic channel allocation (DCA) technique for different UL/DL loads. For the latter, random time slot opposing (RTSO) is assumed due to its simplicity and its low signaling overhead. Both channel allocation techniques do not obviate the need for user scheduling algorithms, therefore, a greedy and a fair scheduling approach are applied to both the RTSO and the FSA. The systems are evaluated based on spectral efficiency, subcarrier utilization, and user outage. The results show that RTSO networks with DL-favored traffic asymmetries outperform FSA networks for all considered metrics and are robust to LOS between BSs. In addition, it is demonstrated that the greedy scheduling algorithm only offers a marginal increase in spectral efficiency as compared to the fair scheduling algorithm, while the latter exhibits up to 20% lower outage.
An improved genetic algorithm for sphericity error evaluation

Sphere is widely used in many engineering applications and its geometric error has a serious effect on the performance of mechanical parts. In this paper, a heuristic approach, that is an improved genetic algorithm (GA), is proposed to implement sphericity error evaluation. Then, the concepts of the minimum zone sphere (MZS), the minimum circumscribed sphere (MCS) and the maximum inscribed sphere (MIS) are clearly defined and their objective function calculation methods are formulated. Finally, the experiment results evaluated by different methods confirmed the proposed GA effectiveness. Compared with conventional evaluation methods, it has the advantages of simple algorithms, strong robustness and high precision. Also, it is a unified approach for other form errors evaluation.
Designing high quality factor MMIC active filter in PHEMT technology

Design and simulation of a new Inductor-Less MMIC band pass filter is proposed which is a good candidate in mobile and radio applications. This filter can realize a small size tunable band pass filter with high quality factor and selectivity at microwave frequencies. In addition, controlling the quality factor and center frequency is outlined in this work and has been done via external controller voltage Cascaded two filters. The optimized gain of 42 dB is achieved at 2.4 GHz.
Audio similarity measure based on Renyi's quadratic entropy

Considering noise interference often exists in audio processing, it is not robust enough to calculate audio similarity by using distance measure directly. In this paper, basing on Renyi's quadratic entropy, a novel scheme for audio similarity measure is proposed. In our work, we extract Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCCs) to represent each audio, and then calculate the similarity based on the entropy of audio samples by probability density function (pdf) of MFCCs which can be estimated by Parzen window. The experimental results show that: (a) our approach has better performance than the one based on Euclidean distance in the common SNR condition, (b) our approach can achieve 94.00% matching accuracy even when the signal to noise ratio (SNR) is 0db. In addition, our algorithm also can be applied in audio retrieval and musical cluster.
A Multi-attribute Vertical Handover Algorithm Based on Adaptive Weight in Heterogeneous Wireless Network

As one of the key issues of users' mobility management in next generation of heterogeneous wireless network, vertical handover has received extensive attention in academic and industrial circles. With the development of mobile terminals, mobile users can simultaneously run different types of applications, which have different requirements on network properties. Therefore, this article proposes an adaptive weight vertical handover algorithm, which can select the most suitable network as target handover network, according to the type of working application and the adaptive calculating weight vector to user's preference. The simulation results show that the presented algorithm can not only automatically select access points that suit mobile users best, but also reduce the unnecessary handovers.
Neuroprotective effects of yoga practice: age-, experience-, and frequency-dependent plasticity

Yoga combines postures, breathing, and meditation. Despite reported health benefits, yoga’s effects on the brain have received little study. We used magnetic resonance imaging to compare age-related gray matter (GM) decline in yogis and controls. We also examined the effect of increasing yoga experience and weekly practice on GM volume and assessed which aspects of weekly practice contributed most to brain size. Controls displayed the well documented age-related global brain GM decline while yogis did not, suggesting that yoga contributes to protect the brain against age-related decline. Years of yoga experience correlated mostly with GM volume differences in the left hemisphere (insula, frontal operculum, and orbitofrontal cortex) suggesting that yoga tunes the brain toward a parasympatically driven mode and positive states. The number of hours of weekly practice correlated with GM volume in the primary somatosensory cortex/superior parietal lobule (S1/SPL), precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), hippocampus, and primary visual cortex (V1). Commonality analyses indicated that the combination of postures and meditation contributed the most to the size of the hippocampus, precuneus/PCC, and S1/SPL while the combination of meditation and breathing exercises contributed the most to V1 volume. Yoga’s potential neuroprotective effects may provide a neural basis for some of its beneficial effects.
Nachdiplom Lecture: Statistics Meets Optimization

A random vector xi ∈ R is said to be drawn from a spiked covariance model if it can written in the form xi = F ∗ √ Γξi + wi where F ∗ ∈ Rd×r is a fixed matrix with orthonormal columns; Γ = diagγ1, . , γr} is a diagonal matrix with γ1 ≥ γ2 ≥ · · · ≥ γr > 0; ξi ∈ R is a zero-mean random vector with identity covariance, and wi is a zero-mean random vector, independent of ξi, and with identity covariance matrix Id. Thus, the random vector xi ∈ R is zero-mean with a covariance matrix of the form Σ = (F ∗ √ Γ⊗ F ∗ √ Γ) + Id×d.
Berührungslose Erfassung vom Lidschlagverhalten als Indikator für psychische Beanspruchung bei Operatortätigkeiten

Das aktuelle Arbeits- und Privatleben ist durchdrungen vom ubiquitaren Einsatz der Technik. Beim Versagen jener Technik ist eine direkte Beeinflussung der subjektiven Erlebensqualitat immanent (vgl. Hoppe 2009). Des Weiteren ist ein zunehmender Anstieg von psychischer Belastung und Beanspruchung in der modernen Arbeitswelt nachweisbar (vgl. BPtK 2015). Erhebungen von psychisch wirkenden Belastungsquellen an jeweiligen Arbeitsplatzen mittels Fragebogen generieren oftmals nur unscharfe und sparlich objektive Ergebnisse. (vgl. Bockelmann & Seibt 2011) Daher mussen zuverlassige, objektive und praktikable Messverfahren fur psychische Konstrukte im Rahmen einer Beanspruchungsanalyse entwickelt und evaluiert werden. Als valide Indikatoren fur die psychische Beanspruchung und Aktivierungseffekte gelten die Herzschlagfrequenz (HF) und die Herzratenvariabilitat (HRV) (vgl. Sammito et al. 2014). Des Weiteren konnte auch eine Korrelation von Belastungssituationen und der Lidschlagfrequenz des menschlichen Auges festgestellt werden (vgl. Haak 2009). Derzeitig verfugbare Messmethoden konnen dem Anspruch einer praktikablen, okonomischen Datenerhebung von einer psychischen Beanspruchung an Arbeitsplatzen nicht genugen, da sie immer mit einer kontaktbehafteten und nicht beruhrungslosen Biosignalerfassung verbunden sind. In diesem Beitrag wird ein Forschungsvorhaben zur objektiven, beruhrungslosen Erhebung motiviert und die Methode zur Datenerfassung sowie erste Ergebnisse aufgezeigt („work in progress“).
A New Mechanism for Massive Binary Black-Hole Evolution

It is still unknown how a binary black hole (BBH) evolves after its semi-major axis has reached the sub-parsec scale, where dynamical friction with neighboring stars is no longer effective (the so-called final-parsec problem). In this paper, we propose a new mechanism by which a massive BBH can naturally coalesce within a Hubble time. We consider the evolution of a BBH with a triple disk composed of an accretion disk around each black hole and one circumbinary disk surrounding them. While the circumbinary disk removes the orbital angular momentum of the BBH via a binary-disk resonant interaction, the mass transfer from the circumbinary disk to each black hole adds some fraction of its angular momentum to the orbital angular momentum of the BBH. We find that there is a critical value of the mass-transfer rate where extraction of the orbital angular momentum from the BBH is balanced with the addition of orbital angular momentum to the BBH. The semi-major axis of the BBH decays with time, whereas the orbital eccentricity of the BBH grows with time, if the mass-transfer rate is smaller than the critical one, and vice versa. Its evolutionary timescale is characterized by the product of the viscous timescale of the circumbinary disk and the ratio of the total black-hole mass to the mass of the circumbinary disk. Most massive BBHs are able to merge within a Hubble time by the proposed mechanism, which helps to solve the final parsec problem.
The Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 7 Allosteric Modulator AMN082: A Monoaminergic Agent in Disguise?

Metabotropic glutamate receptor 7 (mGluR7) remains the most elusive of the eight known mGluRs primarily because of the limited availability of tool compounds to interrogate its potential therapeutic utility. The discovery of N,N′-dibenzhydrylethane-1,2-diamine dihydrochloride (AMN082) as the first orally active, brain-penetrable, mGluR7-selective allosteric agonist by Mitsukawa and colleagues (Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 102:18712–18717, 2005) provides a means to investigate this receptor system directly. AMN082 demonstrates mGluR7 agonist activity in vitro and interestingly has a behavioral profile that supports utility across a broad spectrum of psychiatric disorders including anxiety and depression. The present studies were conducted to extend the in vitro and in vivo characterization of AMN082 by evaluating its pharmacokinetic and metabolite profile. Profiling of AMN082 in rat liver microsomes revealed rapid metabolism (t1/2 < 1 min) to a major metabolite, N-benzhydrylethane-1,2-diamine (Met-1). In vitro selectivity profiling of Met-1 demonstrated physiologically relevant transporter binding affinity at serotonin transporter (SERT), dopamine transporter (DAT), and norepinephrine transporter (NET) (323, 3020, and 3410 nM, respectively); whereas the parent compound AMN082 had appreciable affinity at NET (1385 nM). AMN082 produced antidepressant-like activity and receptor occupancy at SERT up to 4 h postdose, a time point at which AMN082 is significantly reduced in brain and plasma while the concentration of Met-1 continues to increase in brain. Acute Met-1 administration produced antidepressant-like activity as would be expected from its in vitro profile as a mixed SERT, NET, DAT inhibitor. Taken together, these data suggest that the reported in vivo actions of AMN082 should be interpreted with caution, because they may involve other mechanisms in addition to mGluR7.