Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sampled-data observer design for delayed output-injection state-affine systems

ABSTRACT We are considering the problem of observer design for a general class of state-affine systems in presence of output delay and sampling. Two novelties characterize the considered class of systems: (i) the state equation is subject to output injection involving future output values (not accessible to measurement); (ii) the injected output values come in the state equation not only through a driving term but also through the state matrix. These novel characteristics entail the loss of the system state-affine nature and lead to a new observer design problem never investigated so far. The solution we develop in this paper is a sampled-data based observer of Kalman-like type, augmented with inter-sample predictors and signal saturations. Using both Lyapunov and small-gain arguments, we show that the observer is exponentially convergent for sufficiently small sampling interval and delay, provided an observability condition is satisfied.
Text Entry Performance and Situation Awareness of a Joint Optical See-Through Head-Mounted Display and Smartphone System

Optical see-through head-mounted displays (OST HMDs) are a popular output medium for mobile Augmented Reality (AR) applications. To date, they lack efficient text entry techniques. Smartphones are a major text entry medium in mobile contexts but attentional demands can contribute to accidents while typing on the go. Mobile multi-display ecologies, such as combined OST HMD-smartphone systems, promise performance and situation awareness benefits over single-device use. We study the joint performance of text entry on mobile phones with text output on optical see-through head-mounted displays. A series of five experiments with a total of 86 participants indicate that, as of today, the challenges in such a joint interactive system outweigh the potential benefits.
Identifying color space for improved image display

Color reproduction is important in many tasks such as images display on the web, photography and textile industry. Ideally, the data about the color space in which an image is encoded can be found in the metadata. Given that information, a display system can convert the image in the appropriate color space for a faithful reproduction. However, when the metadata is missing or damaged, the image will be misrepresented. In this paper, we focus on the identification of RGB color space. Five color spaces are considered namely sRGB, ColorMatch RGB, Adobe RGB, Apple RGB and ProPhoto RGB. We exploit the correlation between the pixels as features.
Elective Cardiac Procedure Patients Have Low Preoperative Cardiorespiratory Fitness

Abstract Preoperative cardiorespiratory fitness may influence the recovery after cardiac procedure. The aim of this study was to investigate the cardiorespiratory fitness of patients scheduled for elective cardiac procedures, using a six-minute walk test, and compare the results with a population-based sample of Finnish adults. Patients (n=234) awaiting percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary angiography, coronary artery bypass grafting, aortic valve replacement or mitral valve surgery performed the six-minute walk test. VO 2 max was calculated based on the walk test. The patients were compared to a population-based sample of 60–69-year-old Finnish adults from the FinFit2017 study. The mean six-minute walk test distances (meters) and VO 2 max (ml/kg/min) of the patient groups were: 452±73 and 24.3±6.9 (coronary artery bypass grafting), 499±84 and 27.6±7.2 (aortic valve replacement), 496±85 and 27.4±7.3 (mitral valve surgery), and 519±90 and 27.3±6.9 (percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary angiography). The population-based sample had significantly greater walk test distance (623±81) and VO 2 max (31.7±6.1) than the four patient groups (all p-values<0.001). All patient groups had lower cardiorespiratory fitness than the reference population of 60–69-year-old Finnish adults. Particularly the coronary artery bypass grafting group had a low cardiorespiratory fitness, and therefore might be prone to complications and challenging rehabilitation after the operation.
Non-Linear Interactions With Backscattered Light: A Truly Single-Ended Brillouin Optical Time-Domain Analysis Technique

The non-linear interaction between a Rayleigh-backscattered wave and a forward-traveling optical pump pulse is explored using sources separated by approximately one Brillouin shift. It is shown that the pump pulse modulates the Rayleigh backscatter at those locations where the frequencies of the counter-propagating waves differ by a Brillouin shift. As a result, a new Brillouin optical time-domain analysis technique is demonstrated that measures the spatial distribution of the Brillouin gain spectrum from one end only of the sensing fiber. In our experiments, spectra were acquired at a rate of 40 spectra per second over a sensing range of order 1 km with a spatial resolution of 3 m. The experimental arrangement and data analysis are described and a dataset is processed to extract the real part of the Brillouin gain spectrum and determine the peak of the gain spectrum as a function of location along the fiber. We also show that the new technique detects local changes in the phase due to the Brillouin interaction. The potential and limitations of the new technique are also discussed.
Randomized, Controlled Trial of the Safety and Effectiveness of a Contact Force–Sensing Irrigated Catheter for Ablation of Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation of the TactiCath Contact Force Ablation Catheter Study for Atrial Fibrillation (TOCCASTAR) Study

catheter real-time A total of 300 patients with symptomatic, drug-refractory, paroxysmal atrial fibrillation enrolled in a prospective, multicenter, randomized, controlled trial and randomized to radiofrequency ablation with either a novel CF-sensing catheter or a non-CF catheter (control). The primary effectiveness end point consisted of acute electrical isolation of all pulmonary veins and freedom from recurrent symptomatic atrial arrhythmia off all antiarrhythmic drugs at 12 months. The primary safety end point included device-related serious adverse events. End points were powered to show noninferiority. All pulmonary veins were isolated in both groups. Effectiveness was achieved in 67.8% and 69.4% of subjects in the CF and control arms, respectively (absolute difference, −1.6%; lower limit of 1-sided 95% confidence interval, −10.7%; P =0.0073 for noninferiority). When the CF arm was stratified into optimal CF ( ≥ 90% ablations with ≥ 10 g) and nonoptimal CF groups, effectiveness was achieved in 75.9% versus 58.1%, respectively ( P =0.018). The primary safety end point occurred in 1.97% and 1.40% of CF patients and control subjects, respectively (absolute difference, 0.57%; upper limit of 1-sided 95% confidence interval, 3.61%; P =0.0004 for noninferiority). Conclusions ― The CF ablation catheter met the primary safety and effectiveness end points. Additionally, optimal CF was associated with improved effectiveness. A worst-case sensitivity analysis was performed on the modified intention-to-treat population. The modified intension-to-treat population included all randomized patients in whom a study device was introduced and PV isolation was attempted. The worst-case situation imputed failures for subjects who terminated early without failure from the study arm and imputed successes for subjects who terminated early without failure from the control arm. An alternative definition of treatment success, referred to as clinically relevant effectiveness, was also used to provide a more clini- cally meaningful measure of effectiveness. The differences between primary and clinically relevant effectiveness failure consist of the following: Failure resulting from AAD use after blanking needs to be associated with documentation of arrhythmia through TTM or ECG, and failure required at least 3 posi-tive TTMs.The primary safety end point included device-related serious adverse events hos- primar-ily and adjudicated Only introduced during the index procedure were included in the analysis of the safety end point (safety population; Figure 1). prospective, multicenter, randomized, controlled trial comparing a real-time CF-sensing
¡Venceremos?: The Erotics of Black Self-Making in Cuba

Acknowledgments ix Introduction. Invoking "A larger freedom" 1 1. Looking (at) "Afro-Cuba(n)" 19 2. Discursive Sleight of Hand: Race, Sex, Gender 41 3. The Erotics and Politics of Self-making 74 4. De Cierta Manera . Hasta Cierto Punto (One Way or Another . Up to a Certain Point) 100 5. Friendship as a Mode of Survival 129 6. Hagamos un Chen! (We Make Change! ) 157 Coda: Vamos a Vencer! (We Will Win! ) 186 Notes 195 References 211 Index 233
Self-organised Mobility aware Device Discovery for Ultra-dense D2D Communication Network

Due to the increasing demand for proximity services, Device-to-device (D2D) communication is considered as a crucial component for the next-generation cellular networks. D2D communication enhances cellular frequency utilization, overall throughput, and energy efficiency. These advantages depend on effectively resolving some of the D2D critical issues. The most difficult issue of them is peer discovery, which aims to find out the D2D communication links. In this paper, we propose a self-organised mobility-aware device discovery mechanism (SMDD), which uses device user equipment (DUE) and ultra-dense network (UDN) characteristics for peer discovery. The propose approach employs nature-inspired glowworm swarm optimization (GSO) and reference point group mobility model (RPGMM). In this scheme, the D2D users are categorised into two layers according to their received signal strength (RSS) and then divided into groups according to their fitness values. The performance of proposed SM-DD is compared with Leach, Ant colony optimization (ACO), and Gray wolf optimizer (GWO) in terms of cluster formation time and energy utilization. The suggested SM-DD scheme significantly improves the peer discovery ratio compared to without-clustering peer discovery, and social-aware peer discovery algorithms.
High-Efficiency and High-Power-Density Semiconductor Converters

The paper describes development of high-efficiency and high-power-density semi-conductor converters intended for a two-stage charging station equipped with gallium nitride-based transistors. It consists of an input PWM rectifier that includes an active power factor correction (part PFC) and an output DC-DC voltage converter with an AC intermediate circuit, containing a single-phase bridge voltage resonant inverter with a series resonant LLC circuit on the primary side of the isolation transformer and a single-phase bridge synchronous rectifier on the secondary side of the transformer. The use of resonant topology significantly reduces the switching losses of transistors. The converter ensures the output voltage according to the requirements of the traction battery and the demanded galvanic isolating the feeding network from the being charged vehicle battery and other equipment. The maximum efficiency of the functional sample of the charging station is 97% and the power density is 3.5 kW per liter.
Polypyrrole-Based Cotton Flexible Pressure Sensor Using In-Situ Chemical Oxidative Polymerization

Polymer-based piezoresistive pressure sensors that possess flexibility and stretchability have received increased recognition in wearable sensing systems. In this paper, we present a flexible pressure sensor designed using polypyrrole-coated cotton (PCC) that was synthesized using in-situ chemical oxidative liquid polymerization. The sensor shows high sensitivity at low-pressure ranges and can measure pressures in the range 160 Pa to 16 kPa. The response time of the sensor was found to be 463 ms. It also exhibits excellent repeatability during continuous loading-unloading for over 1000 cycles. The performance of the sensor was evaluated in terms of resistance change as a function of tensile strain, by applying repeated compression and expansion strains. We report the gauge factor of the resistive sensor to be 0.32 for applied compressive strains from 0% to 99.6%. Such a large compressive strain range can be achieved with cotton because of its fibrous nature. It was observed that there is no change in conductivity, at a given strain, on repeated expansion and compression of the polymer for 20 cycles.
Spatial Shrinkage Prior: A Probabilistic Approach to Model for Categorical Variables with Many Levels

One of the most commonly used methods to prevent overfitting and select relevant variables in regression models with many predictors is the penalized regression technique. Under such approaches, variable selection is performed in a non-probabilistic way, using some optimization criterion. A Bayesian approach to penalized regression has been proposed by assuming a prior distribution for the regression coefficients that plays a similar role as the penalty term in classical statistics: to shrink non-significant coefficients toward zero and assign a significant probability mass to non-negligible coefficients. These prior distributions, called shrinkage priors, usually assume independence among the covariates, which may not be an appropriate assumption in many cases. We propose two shrinkage priors to model the uncertainty about coefficients that are spatially correlated. The proposed priors are considered as an alternative approach to model the uncertainty about the coefficients of categorical variables with many levels. To illustrate their use, we consider the linear regression model. We evaluate the proposed method through several simulation studies.
Current Design of Mixed-Ligand Complexes of Magnesium(II): Synthesis, Crystal Structure, Thermal Properties and Biological Activity against Mycolicibacterium Smegmatis and Bacillus Kochii

The interaction of Mg2+ with 2-furoic acid (HFur) and oligopyridines, depending on the synthesis conditions, leads to the formation of mixed-ligand complexes [Mg(H2O)4(phen)]·2HFur·phen·H2O (1), [Mg(NO3)2(phen)2] (2) and [Mg3(Fur)6(bpy)2]·3CH3CN (3); these structures were determined with an SC X-ray analysis. According to the X-ray diffraction data, in complex 1, obtained in ambient conditions, the magnesium cation coordinated four water molecules and one phenanthroline fragment, while in complexes 2 and 3 (synthesized in an inert atmosphere), the ligand environment of the complexing agent was represented by neutral oligopyridine molecules and acid anions. The thermal behavior of 1 and 2 was studied using a simultaneous thermal analysis (STA). The in vitro biological activity of complexes 1–3 was studied in relation to the non-pathogenic Mycolicibacterium smegmatis and the virulent strain Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv.
Erratum: “TESS Hunt for Young and Maturing Exoplanets (THYME). VII. Membership, Rotation, and Lithium in the Young Cluster Group-X and a New Young Exoplanet” (2022, AJ, 164, 119)

The public, all-sky surveys Gaia and TESS provide the ability to identify new young associations and determine their ages. These associations enable study of planetary evolution by providing new opportunities to discover young exoplanets. A young association was recently identi ﬁ ed by Tang et al. and Fürnkranz et al. using astrometry from Gaia ( called “ Group-X ” by the former ) . In this work, we investigate the age and membership of this association, and we validate the exoplanet TOI 2048 b, which was identi ﬁ ed to transit a young, late G dwarf in Group-X using photometry from TESS. We ﬁ rst identi ﬁ ed new candidate members of Group-X using Gaia EDR3 data. To infer the age of the association, we measured rotation periods for candidate members using TESS data. The clear color – period sequence indicates that the association is the same age as the 300 ± 50 Myr old NGC 3532. We obtained optical spectra for candidate members that show lithium absorption consistent with this young age. Further, we serendipitously identify a new, small association nearby Group-X, which we call MELANGE-2. Lastly
Evaluating Physiological MRI Parameters in Patients with Brain Metastases Undergoing Stereotactic Radiosurgery—A Preliminary Analysis and Case Report

Simple Summary Brain metastases affect up to thirty percent of the adult cancer population. One of the treatment options is stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). To better understand SRS-related side-effects, we used advanced imaging techniques to study both the vascular and metabolic reserve capacity of the brain in nine patients with brain metastases before and three months after SRS. We observed larger declines in both vascular and metabolic markers in healthy brain regions that received a higher dose of SRS, but also saw substantial variation within- and between individuals. Our case analysis showed that the markers used in this study were able to pick up differences between patients who had either tumor growth or tumor shrinkage three months after SRS. These preliminary findings suggest there are no immediate detrimental effects on healthy brain tissue following SRS, but larger groups with a longer follow-up are needed to investigate potential late side-effects. Abstract Brain metastases occur in ten to thirty percent of the adult cancer population. Treatment consists of different (palliative) options, including stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). Sensitive MRI biomarkers are needed to better understand radiotherapy-related effects on cerebral physiology and the subsequent effects on neurocognitive functioning. In the current study, we used physiological imaging techniques to assess cerebral blood flow (CBF), oxygen extraction fraction (OEF), cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO2) and cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) before and three months after SRS in nine patients with brain metastases. The results showed improvement in OEF, CBF and CMRO2 within brain tissue that recovered from edema (all p ≤ 0.04), while CVR remained impacted. We observed a global post-radiotherapy increase in CBF in healthy-appearing brain tissue (p = 0.02). A repeated measures correlation analysis showed larger reductions within regions exposed to higher radiotherapy doses in CBF (rrm = −0.286, p < 0.001), CMRO2 (rrm = −0.254, p < 0.001), and CVR (rrm = −0.346, p < 0.001), but not in OEF (rrm = −0.004, p = 0.954). Case analyses illustrated the impact of brain metastases progression on the post-radiotherapy changes in both physiological MRI measures and cognitive performance. Our preliminary findings suggest no radiotherapy effects on physiological parameters occurred in healthy-appearing brain tissue within 3-months post-radiotherapy. Nevertheless, as radiotherapy can have late side effects, larger patient samples allowing meaningful grouping of patients and longer follow-ups are needed.
A Novel SDWSN-Based Testbed for IoT Smart Applications

Wireless sensor network (WSN) environment monitoring and smart city applications present challenges for maintaining network connectivity when, for example, dynamic events occur. Such applications can benefit from recent technologies such as software-defined networks (SDNs) and network virtualization to support network flexibility and offer validation for a physical network. This paper aims to present a testbed-based, software-defined wireless sensor network (SDWSN) for IoT applications with a focus on promoting the approach of virtual network testing and analysis prior to physical network implementation to monitor and repair any network failures. Herein, physical network implementation employing hardware boards such as Texas Instruments CC2538 (TI CC2538) and TI CC1352R sensor nodes is presented and designed based on virtual WSN- based clustering for stationary and dynamic networks use cases. The key performance indicators such as evaluating node (such as a gateway node to the Internet) connection capability based on packet drop and energy consumption virtually and physically are discussed. According to the test findings, the proposed software-defined physical network benefited from “prior-to-implementation” analysis via virtualization, as the performance of both virtual and physical networks is comparable.
Received Signal Strength Prediction Using Generative Adversarial Networks for Indoor Localization

The popularity of WiFi networks has led to the adoption of fingerprint-based WiFi localization as one primary method for indoor location tracking. However, this technique requires a significant amount of time and effort to collect data at numerous reference points (RPs) to ensure accuracy. To reduce the cost and improve efficiency, generative models can be used to generate received signal strength (RSS) fingerprints. This paper proposes a Deep Convolutional Generative Adversarial Network (DCGAN) based model for building RSS fingerprint maps that can generate a comprehensive fingerprint database using only the location of a wireless access point. The proposed approach is expected to lower the cost and effort involved in the collection of RSS fingerprints while maintaining a high level of accuracy.
Nonlinear THz Generation through Optical Rectification Enhanced by Phonon–Polaritons in Lithium Niobate Thin Films

We investigate nonlinear THz generation from lithium niobate films and crystals of different thicknesses by optical rectification of near-infrared femtosecond pulses. A comparison between numerical studies and polarization-resolved measurements of the generated THz signal reveals a 2 orders of magnitude enhancement in the nonlinear response compared to optical frequencies. We show that this enhancement is due to optical phonon modes at 4.5 and 7.45 THz and is most pronounced for films thinner than 2 μm where optical-to-THz conversion is not limited by self-absorption. These results shed new light on the employment of thin film lithium niobate platforms for the development of new integrated broadband THz emitters and detectors. This may also open the door for further control (e.g., polarization, directivity, and spectral selectivity) of the process in nanophotonic structures, such as nanowires and metasurfaces, realized in the thin film platform. We illustrate this potential by numerically investigating optical-to-THz conversion driven by localized surface phonon–polariton resonances in sub-wavelength lithium niobate rods.
Three-dimensional Reconstruction of Space Targets from Multi-view ISAR Images Using Differentiable Voxel Reconstruction Network

Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR) is an effective remote sensing technique to obtain valuable 3D information of targets such as satellites using multi-view ISAR images. The special imaging mechanism of ISAR makes the target features vary greatly with the view angles. The silhouette, although more robust than scattered point features, relies on accurate projection information for 3D reconstruction of the target. This paper introduces a differentiable voxel reconstruction network that uses a differentiable projection operator to guarantee the backward propagation of the neural network. The view angle is set as a learnable parameter, so that 3D reconstruction can be achieved even for silhouettes with view angle noise. Experiments on simulation data demonstrate that the proposed method are much better than other traditional silhouette-based 3D reconstruction methods under the view angle noise condition.