Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Processing obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) data

In this study, the EEG signals were processed. Thirteen ICA algorithms were tested to verify the performance efficiency. The EEG signals were recorder using 10/20 international system, based on a 20 minute sleep recording of a severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS) during NREM and REM sleep. Seven channels were used to record the EEG signals which are sampled at 100 Hz. The performance analysis of the algorithms were investigated to eliminate the loss of the informative EEG signal during the data processing. The denoising results were magnified with the purpose of evaluating the robustness of the denoising algorithms. From the result we obtained, we are able to understand the denoising algorithm is more suitable to process the EEG signal with lower amplitude.
Prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes and Physical Activity Status in Elderly Men and Women from Cyprus (the MEDIS STUDY)

Our aim is to investigate the association of being physically active on the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes mellitus among elderly people. We enrolled 53 men and 97 women, aged 65 to 100, from various areas of Cyprus. Physical activity was evaluated through a validated questionnaire (the short International Physical Activity Questionnaire, IPAQ). Prevalence of diabetes was 26% in men and 18% in women, while 55% of men and 50% of women were reported as being moderately or vigorously active. Furthermore, 5% of the participants reported that they smoked, 4% had stopped smoking, and 8% reported alcohol consumption. People in the upper tertile of the IPAQ score were 0.26 times less likely to have diabetes (p < 0.05); on the other hand people in the lower tertile of the score were 1.7 times more likely to have diabetes (p < 0.05). Our findings support the notion of a beneficial effect of physical activity on the burden of diabetes in the elderly. Asia Pac J Public Health 2007; 19(3): 22-28.
A Comparative study for approaches for Hand Sign Language

The sign language recognition and translation can be achieved which involves static and dynamic gesture recognition in which static gestures can easily be interpreted. But, for Dynamic gestures the sign language can be recognized with motion of the hands or movement of it for which Image based i.e. vision based mechanism can be applied. The Vision based technique involves either capturing the image of action or position or even directly visually recognizing the action. This technique which is very easy to understand as vision based can include both images as well as sequences of actions. Then, the feature i.e. signs action extraction and processing can be done according to type of sign recognized during visual gestures. Then compare with existing gestures and display the message and can be translated into text and speech as well. Also different image preprocessing algorithms can be developed.
Theory of mind selectively predicts preschoolers' knowledge-based selective word learning.

Children can selectively attend to various attributes of a model, such as past accuracy or physical strength, to guide their social learning. There is a debate regarding whether a relation exists between theory-of-mind skills and selective learning. We hypothesized that high performance on theory-of-mind tasks would predict preference for learning new words from accurate informants (an epistemic attribute), but not from physically strong informants (a non-epistemic attribute). Three- and 4-year-olds (N = 65) completed two selective learning tasks, and their theory-of-mind abilities were assessed. As expected, performance on a theory-of-mind battery predicted children's preference to learn from more accurate informants but not from physically stronger informants. Results thus suggest that preschoolers with more advanced theory of mind have a better understanding of knowledge and apply that understanding to guide their selection of informants. This work has important implications for research on children's developing social cognition and early learning.
DmF Cooperation Based on Joint Network-Channel Coding in Wireless Communication

In this paper, we study the strategy of Demodulation-and-Forward(DmF) based on joint network and channel coding and extend it to multi-user access relay channel . In DmF model, there are two users accessing the relay. Users encode original signals using LDPC codes. In the relay, we conduct demodulation instead of decoding and implement network coding that is the Demodulation-and-Forward(DmF) method which based on joint network-channel coding. Throughout the whole DmF system, we implement encoding with LDPC codes only once in users. And at the base station, we only use one matrix H to decode all of these signals from the users and the relay jointly. Finally, we extend the DmF model to cases of three users and four and take some improvement in the relay and base station which is called extended DmF model. In the extended model, we encode the codeword using LDPC codes again after network coding in the relay, namely, we encode signals twice using LDPC codes througout the whole system. In the base station, we redesign the parity check matrix H which can also decode all of signals from the users and relay jointly. The result shows us that the DmF model has lower hardware complexity and more practicability than DF. And we can apply it to multi-user access relay channel effectively.
Preserved performance in a hippocampal‐dependent spatial task despite complete place cell remapping

The spatially localized firing of hippocampal place cells is thought to underlie the navigational function of the hippocampus. Performance on a spatial task learned using a particular place cell map should therefore deteriorate if the map is disrupted. To test this prediction, we trained rats on a hippocampal‐dependent spatial task in a black box and tested them in a white box. Although the change from black to white induced remapping of most place cells, navigational performance remained essentially intact. Furthermore, place cell activity was also unrelated to specific aspects of the task such as tone onset, response, or goal location. Together, these results imply that the spatial information needed to solve this navigation task is represented outside the hippocampus and suggest that the place cells encode some other aspect, such as the spatial context. Hippocampus 2003;13:175–189. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Multi-fingered hand system for telepresence based on tactile information

In the bilateral teleoperator systems, transferring tactile information from a slave to a human operator is very important in order to improve the presence in the master side. The coiled nerve structure of the Meissner corpuscles can separately detect stretch and shear deformation of the skin that is caused by various frictional conditions. Based on this property, a biomimetic coiled tactile sensor involved in the non-uniform elastic skin has been developed in this study. In this paper, it is confirmed that this novel sensor can measure a friction coefficient just after the contact. Furthermore, the lifting of the slippery tapered object by the pinch grip is dealt with as a precision task. In the experiment of teleoperation, the human subject could adequately regulate the coordination between the grip force and the vertical lifting force by utilizing the frictional information from the tactile display.
Architectural Exploration of Large-Scale Hierarchical Chip Multiprocessors

The continuous scaling of nanoelectronics is increasing the complexity of chip multiprocessors (CMPs) and exacerbating the memory wall problem. As CMPs become more complex, the memory subsystem is organized into more hierarchical structures to better exploit locality. To efficiently discover promising architectures within the rapidly growing search space, exhaustive exploration is replaced with tools that implement intelligent search strategies. Moreover, faster analytical models are preferred to costly simulations for estimating the performance and power of CMP architectures. The memory traffic generated by CMP cores has a cyclic dependency with the latency of the memory subsystem, which critically affects the overall system performance. Based on this observation, a novel scalable analytical method is proposed to estimate the performance of highly parallel CMPs (hundreds or thousands of cores) with hierarchical interconnect networks. The method can use customizable probabilistic models and solves the cyclic dependencies between traffic and latency by using a fixed-point strategy. By using the analytical model as a performance and power estimator, an efficient metaheuristic-based search is proposed for the exploration of large design spaces. The proposed techniques are shown to be very accurate and a promising strategy when compared to the results obtained by simulation.
A novel TOA-based indoor tracking system over IEEE 802.11 networks

Accurate indoor positioning is required for some critical applications such as emergency rescue, fire brigade or incident management. This paper presents an innovative TOA-based tracking system over IEEE 802.11 networks intended to satisfy those requirements. The system is mainly composed of ranging and tracking. The proposed ranging technique is based on RTT measurements using standard IEEE 802.11 link layer frames and a statistical post-processing step to mitigate the noise. The tracking engine consists of a Kalman-based tracking algorithm with a new prediction step. Results obtained from a ranging measurements campaign combined with tracking simulations show an encouraging achievable accuracy of less than 0.9 m. of error for the 66% of the cases.
DELAY DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS AND THEIR APPLICATION TO MICRO ELECTRO MECHANICAL SYSTEMS

Delay differential equations have a wide range of applications in engineering. This work is devoted to the analysis of delay Duffing equation, which plays a crucial role in modeling performance on demand Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS). We start with the stability analysis of a linear delay model. We also show that in certain cases the delay model can be efficiently approximated with a much simpler model without delay. We proceed with the analysis of a non-linear Duffing equation. This model is a significantly more complex mathematical model. For instance, the existence of a periodic solution for this equation is a highly nontrivial question, which was established by Struwe [3]. The main result of this work is to establish the existence of a periodic solution to delay Duffing equation. The paper [7] claimed to establish the existence of such solutions, however their argument is wrong. In this work we establish the existence of a periodic solution under the assumption that the delay is sufficiently small. Chapter
The Pleiotropic Effects of Vitamin D in Gynaecological and Obstetric Diseases: An Overview on a Hot Topic

The traditionally recognized role of vitamin D consists in the regulation of bone metabolism and calcium-phosphorus homeostasis but recently a lot of in vitro and in vivo studies recognized several “noncalcemic” effects of vitamin D metabolites. Accumulating evidence suggests that the metabolic pathways of this vitamin may play a key role in the developing of gynaecological/obstetric diseases. VDR-mediated signalling pathways and vitamin D levels seem to (deeply) affect the risk of several gynaecological diseases, such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis, and ovarian and even breast cancer. On the other hand, since also the maternal-fetal unit is under the influence of vitamin D, a breakdown in its homeostasis may underlie infertility, preeclampsia, and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). According to our literature review, the relationship between vitamin D and gynaecological/obstetric diseases must be replicated in future studies which could clarify the molecular machineries behind their development. We suggest that further investigation should take into account the different serum levels of this vitamin, the several actions which arise from the binding between it and its receptor (taking into account its possible polymorphism), and finally the interplay between vitamin D metabolism and other hormonal and metabolic pathways.
Ju l 2 00 6 DIOS : the Diffuse Intergalactic Oxygen Surveyor

We present our proposal for a small X-ray mission DIOS (Diffuse Intergalactic Oxygen Surveyor), consisting of a 4-stage X-ray telescope and an array of TES microcalorimeters, cooled with mechanical coolers, with a total weight of about 400 kg. The mission will perform survey observations of warm-hot intergalactic medium using OVII and OVIII emission lines, with the energy coverage up to 1.5 keV. The wide field of view of about 50 diameter, superior energy resolution close to 2 eV FWHM, and very low background will together enable us a wide range of science for diffuse X-ray sources. We briefly describe the design of the satellite, performance of the subsystems and the expected results.
SmartPlayer: user-centric video fast-forwarding

In this paper we propose a new video interaction model called adaptive fast-forwarding to help people quickly browse videos with predefined semantic rules. This model is designed around the metaphor of scenic car driving, in which the driver slows down near areas of interest and speeds through unexciting areas. Results from a preliminary user study of our video player suggest the following: (1) the player should adaptively adjust the current playback speed based on the complexity of the present scene and predefined semantic events; (2) the player should learn user preferences about predefined event types as well as a suitable playback speed; (3) the player should fast-forward the video continuously with a playback rate acceptable to the user to avoid missing any undefined events or areas of interest. Furthermore, our user study results suggest that for certain types of video, our SmartPlayer yields better user experiences in browsing and fast-forwarding videos than existing video players' interaction models.
Chemical Genetics Reveals Bacterial and Host Cell Functions Critical for Type IV Effector Translocation by Legionella pneumophila

Delivery of effector proteins is a process widely used by bacterial pathogens to subvert host cell functions and cause disease. Effector delivery is achieved by elaborate injection devices and can often be triggered by environmental stimuli. However, effector export by the L. pneumophila Icm/Dot Type IVB secretion system cannot be detected until the bacterium encounters a target host cell. We used chemical genetics, a perturbation strategy that utilizes small molecule inhibitors, to determine the mechanisms critical for L. pneumophila Icm/Dot activity. From a collection of more than 2,500 annotated molecules we identified specific inhibitors of effector translocation. We found that L. pneumophila effector translocation in macrophages requires host cell factors known to be involved in phagocytosis such as phosphoinositide 3-kinases, actin and tubulin. Moreover, we found that L. pneumophila phagocytosis and effector translocation also specifically require the receptor protein tyrosine phosphate phosphatases CD45 and CD148. We further show that phagocytosis is required to trigger effector delivery unless intimate contact between the bacteria and the host is artificially generated. In addition, real-time analysis of effector translocation suggests that effector export is rate-limited by phagocytosis. We propose a model in which L. pneumophila utilizes phagocytosis to initiate an intimate contact event required for the translocation of pre-synthesized effector molecules. We discuss the need for host cell participation in the initial step of the infection and its implications in the L. pneumophila lifestyle. Chemical genetic screening provides a novel approach to probe the host cell functions and factors involved in host–pathogen interactions.
Discovering Non-Redundant Association Rules using MinMax Approximation Rules

Dept. Of Comp. Sci. & Eng. Vaagdevi college of Eng. Warangal, India ssvn.sarma@gmail.com Abstract Frequent pattern mining is an important area of data mining used to generate the Association Rules. The extracted Frequent Patterns quality is a big concern, as it generates huge sets of rules and many of them are redundant. Mining Non-Redundant Frequent patterns is a big concern in the area of Association rule mining. In this paper we proposed a method to eliminate the redundant Frequent patterns using MinMax rule approach, to generate the quality Association Rules.
Variation of cellulose microfibril angles in softwoods and hardwoods-a possible strategy of mechanical optimization.

Position-resolved small-angle X-ray scattering was used to investigate the nanostructure of the wood cell wall in two softwood species (Norwegian spruce and Scots pine) and two hardwood species (pedunculate oak and copper beech). The tilt angle of the cellulose fibrils in the wood cell wall versus the longitudinal cell axis (microfibril angle) was systematically studied over a wide range of annual rings in each tree. The measured angles were correlated with the distance from the pith and the results were compared. The microfibril angle was found to decrease from pith to bark in all four trees, but was generally higher in the softwood than in the hardwood. In Norwegian spruce, the microfibril angles were higher in late wood than in early wood; in Scots pine the opposite was observed. In pedunculate oak and copper beech, low angles were found in the major part of the stem, except for the very first annual rings in pedunculate oak. The results are interpreted in terms of mechanical optimization. An attempt was made to give a quantitative estimation for the mechanical constraints imposed on a tree of given dimensions and to establish a model that could explain the general decrease of microfibril angles from pith to bark.
The pursuit of a good possible world: extracting representative instances of uncertain graphs

Data in several applications can be represented as an uncertain graph, whose edges are labeled with a probability of existence. Exact query processing on uncertain graphs is prohibitive for most applications, as it involves evaluation over an exponential number of instantiations. Even approximate processing based on sampling is usually extremely expensive since it requires a vast number of samples to achieve reasonable quality guarantees. To overcome these problems, we propose algorithms for creating deterministic representative instances of uncertain graphs that maintain the underlying graph properties. Specifically, our algorithms aim at preserving the expected vertex degrees because they capture well the graph topology. Conventional processing techniques can then be applied on these instances to closely approximate the result on the uncertain graph. We experimentally demonstrate, with real and synthetic uncertain graphs, that indeed the representative instances can be used to answer, efficiently and accurately, queries based on several properties such as shortest path distance, clustering coefficient and betweenness centrality.
Application research of MODIS data in monitoring land use change in Fujian

It was necessary and significant to explore the low-cost, high-precision and real-time access method of land-use/cover using the MODIS data multi-temporal and multi-spectral for quickly assess regional land use/cover change. Firstly, the study used maximum values compose (MVC) to select the optimal MODIS data in Fujian study area because there were mountainous landform and cloudy climatic condition in study area. Secondly, the characteristic variables of surface albedo, vegetation index(NDVI), water index(NDWI) and so on were combined, Moreover, the decision tree classifier system was established based on multi-factors composition for land cover/use classification in Fujian province. The results showed that the decision tree classifier was better than conventional maximum likelihood classifier, and was well applied the MODIS data to classify the land-use/cover of Fujian, because the decision tree classifier system took advantage of the MODIS multi-spectrum characters and artificial intelligence and could achieve a certain high precision, which made an important impact on monitoring land change and protecting arable land.
Theoretical and Experimental Evaluation of Pulsating Torque Produced by Induction Motor Drives Controlled With Advanced Bus-Clamping Pulsewidth Modulation

This paper investigates possible reduction of pulsating torque in open-loop and vector-controlled induction motor drives through deployment of certain advanced bus-clamping pulsewidth modulation (ABCPWM) method. Toward this goal, a simple and machine-independent method is proposed to analyze the torque harmonic spectrum of a voltage source inverter fed induction motor, operated with any real-time pulsewidth modulation (PWM) method. The analytically evaluated torque harmonic spectra, pertaining to conventional space vector PWM (CSVPWM), bus-clamping PWM (BCPWM), and ABCPWM, are validated through simulation and experimental results. Theoretical and experimental studies bring out the superiority of the ABCPWM in terms of torque harmonics over CSVPWM and BCPWM. The magnitude of the dominant torque harmonic with the ABCPWM scheme is shown to be significantly lower than that with CSVPWM, over a wide range of speed. The rms torque ripple (i.e., total rms value of all harmonic torques) is lower with ABCPWM than with BCPWM over the entire range of speed.
Multi-Robot Adversarial Coverage

This work discusses the problem of adversarial coverage, in which one or more robots are required to visit every point of a given area, which contains threats that might stop the robots. The objective of the robots is to cover the target area as quickly as possible, while maximizing the percentage of covered area before they are stopped. This problem has many real-world applications, from performing coverage missions in hazardous fields such as nuclear power plants, to surveillance of enemy forces in the battlefield and field demining. Previous studies of the problem dealt with singlerobot coverage. Using a multi-robot team for the coverage has clear advantages in terms of both coverage time and robustness: even if one robot is totally damaged, others may take over its coverage subtask. Hence, in this paper we describe a multi-robot coverage algorithm for adversarial environments that tries to maximize the percentage of covered area before the team is stopped, while minimizing the coverage time. We analytically show that the algorithm is robust, in that as long as a single robot is able to move, the coverage will be completed. We also establish theoretical bounds on the minimum covered area guaranteed by the algorithm and on the coverage time. Lastly, we evaluate the effectiveness of the algorithm in an extensive set of environments and settings.