Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A time domain beamforming method of UWB pulse array

The principle of space-time processing is discussed here after a realistic UWB pulse model introduced in the paper. The problem of realization of variable delay circuits is addressed. Delay line is not enough for accurately beam steering. A digital filter method by compensating channel dispersed delay for time domain beamforming is presented here. An ideal system with fractional sample delay hat occurs in insufficient sample of UWB pulse signal is not realizable. The two filter approaches involving FIR and allpass filter are given to approximate casual and stable system with the fractional delay. The Lagrange interpolation for FIR filter and complex cepstral computation for allpass filter are examined. A comparison of UWB pulse array directivity versus conventional phased array directivity has been done. The effect of different sampling rate and noise level is discussed. In the experiment, the FIR and allpass filter with a capability of accurate propagation delay compensation improved the beamforming performance remarkably. The results indicate the feasibility and effectiveness of the method.
Accuracy in Predicting Situational Variations in Help-Seekers' Responses

Over 300 subjects at four different age levels predicted situational variations in two different self-reported responses of persons asking for help. Accuracy at this task was substantially better than chance. Subjects were more accurate in predicting the importance to askers of getting help than their feelings about asking for help. Predictions of importance were relatively more accurate in same-sex giver-asker dyads, while predictions of feelings were relatively more accurate in opposite-sex dyads. Females were more accurate predictors than males, and they were more accurately judged than males.
Plant Virus Expression Vector Development: New Perspectives

Plant made biologics have elicited much attention over recent years for their potential in assisting those in developing countries who have poor access to modern medicine. Additional applications such as the stockpiling of vaccines against pandemic infectious diseases or potential biological warfare agents are also under investigation. Plant virus expression vectors represent a technology that enables high levels of pharmaceutical proteins to be produced in a very short period of time. Recent advances in research and development have brought about the generation of superior virus expression systems which can be readily delivered to the host plant in a manner that is both efficient and cost effective. This review presents recent innovations in plant virus expression systems and their uses for producing biologics from plants.
A Hybrid Feature Selection Scheme for Reducing Diagnostic Performance Deterioration Caused by Outliers in Data-Driven Diagnostics

In practice, outliers, defined as data points that are distant from the other agglomerated data points in the same class, can seriously degrade diagnostic performance. To reduce diagnostic performance deterioration caused by outliers in data-driven diagnostics, an outlier-insensitive hybrid feature selection (OIHFS) methodology is developed to assess feature subset quality. In addition, a new feature evaluation metric is created as the ratio of the intraclass compactness to the interclass separability estimated by understanding the relationship between data points and outliers. The efficacy of the developed methodology is verified with a fault diagnosis application by identifying defect-free and defective rolling element bearings under various conditions.
Particle filter-based trajectory estimation with passive UHF RFID fingerprints in unknown environments

In this paper we present a novel approach to estimating the trajectory of a robot by means of inexpensive passive RFID tags and odometry in unknown environments. We show how trajectory estimation, a prerequisite of mapping RFID transponder positions without a reference positioning system, can be achieved using a particle filter. The presented technique is based on a non-parametric model of spatial relationships between RFID measurements. It overcomes the noisy nature of RFID measurements and the absence of distance and bearing information. The accuracy of our method is investigated in a series of experiments with a mobile robot.
New chronology for Ksâr ‘Akil (Lebanon) supports Levantine route of modern human dispersal into Europe

Significance Bayesian modeling of AMS radiocarbon dates on the marine mollusk Phorcus turbinatus from Ksâr ‘Akil (Lebanon) indicates that the earliest presence of Upper Paleolithic (UP) modern humans in the Levant predates 45,900 cal B.P. Similarities in early UP lithic technology and material culture suggest population dispersals between the Levant and Europe around 50,000–40,000 cal B.P. Our data confirm the presence of modern humans carrying a UP toolkit in the Levant prior to any known European modern human fossils and allow rejection of recent claims that European UP modern humans predate those in the Levant. This result, in turn, suggests the Levant served as a corridor for the dispersal of modern humans out of Africa and into Eurasia. Modern human dispersal into Europe is thought to have occurred with the start of the Upper Paleolithic around 50,000–40,000 y ago. The Levantine corridor hypothesis suggests that modern humans from Africa spread into Europe via the Levant. Ksâr ‘Akil (Lebanon), with its deeply stratified Initial (IUP) and Early (EUP) Upper Paleolithic sequence containing modern human remains, has played an important part in the debate. The latest chronology for the site, based on AMS radiocarbon dates of shell ornaments, suggests that the appearance of the Levantine IUP is later than the start of the first Upper Paleolithic in Europe, thus questioning the Levantine corridor hypothesis. Here we report a series of AMS radiocarbon dates on the marine gastropod Phorcus turbinatus associated with modern human remains and IUP and EUP stone tools from Ksâr ‘Akil. Our results, supported by an evaluation of individual sample integrity, place the EUP layer containing the skeleton known as “Egbert” between 43,200 and 42,900 cal B.P. and the IUP-associated modern human maxilla known as “Ethelruda” before ∼45,900 cal B.P. This chronology is in line with those of other Levantine IUP and EUP sites and demonstrates that the presence of modern humans associated with Upper Paleolithic toolkits in the Levant predates all modern human fossils from Europe. The age of the IUP-associated Ethelruda fossil is significant for the spread of modern humans carrying the IUP into Europe and suggests a rapid initial colonization of Europe by our species.
A Geometric Localization Method with Monocular Vision for Robots

Robot soccer is a classical problem in artificial intelligence. In robot soccer competitions, how to locate the robot properly is a key problem. This paper proposes a geometric localization method with monocular vision for robots. Firstly, the image is segmented and attributes are obtained by converting color space and RLE algorithm. Then a monocular vision localization model is built, in which both the pitch angle and direction angle of the head are not equivalent to zero. After that, we calculate the target coordinates and the corresponding pitch angle and direction angel by rotating the image plate, obtaining the relative position of the target. The simulation result shows that the proposed method reach high accuracy in localization.
Workspace comparisons of setup configurations for human-robot interaction

In virtual assembly verification or remote maintenance tasks, bimanual haptic interfaces play a crucial role in successful task completion. This paper proposes a method for objectively comparing how well a haptic interface covers the reachable workspace of human arms. Two system configurations are analyzed for a recently introduced haptic device that is based on two DLR-KUKA light weight robots: the standard configuration, where the device is opposite the human operator, and the ergonomic configuration, where the haptic device is mounted behind the human operator. The human operator directly controls the robotic arms using handles. The analysis is performed using a representation of the robot arm workspace. The merits of restricting the comparisons to the most significant regions of the human workspace are discussed. Using this method, a greater workspace correspondence for the ergonomic configuration was shown.
Automotive software and systems engineering

Information technology has become the driving force of innovation in many areas of technology and, in particular, in the form of embedded systems in vehicles. Embedded hardware/software systems control innovative functions in cars, support and assist the driver and realize new features for information and entertainment. A rapid development brought more and more digital hardware and software into a modern car only within little more than two decades. Systems and software engineering for embedded systems in vehicles is today one of the great scientific, methodological, and technical challenges. In modern cars we find all issues of software systems in a nutshell. This brings a wide spectrum of challenges for the automotive industry, including business, management, and technical issues. In the following we outline the main problems, research challenges and approaches to deal with them.
Les controverses du « mariage pour tous »

L’ouverture du mariage aux couples de meme sexe invite a s’interroger sur le mariage lui-meme : est-il une celebration de l’amour ou la fondation de la famille ? On voit bien que c’est sur ce terrain que se deplace le debat, autour des questions de procreation et de filiation, de rapport au corps et de droit de l’enfant. Encore faut-il savoir si le droit seul est veritablement en mesure de les trancher.
Quantitative Trait Loci for Cuticular Hydrocarbons Associated With Sexual Isolation Between Drosophila simulans and D. sechellia

The identification of genes with large effects on sexual isolation and speciation is an important link between classic evolutionary genetics and molecular biology. Few genes that affect sexual isolation and speciation have been identified, perhaps because many traits influencing sexual isolation are complex behaviors. Cuticular hydrocarbons (CHs) of species of the Drosophila melanogaster group play a large role in sexual isolation by functioning as contact pheromones influencing mate recognition. Some of the genes that play key roles in determining species-specific CHs have been identified. We have performed separate quantitative trait locus (QTL) analyses of 7-tricosene (7-T) and 7,11-heptacosadiene (7,11-HD), the two major female CHs differing between D. simulans and D. sechellia. We find that ∼40% of the phenotypic variance in each CH is associated with two to four chromosomal regions. A region on the right arm of chromosome 3 contains QTL that affect both traits, but other QTL are in distinct chromosomal regions. Epistatic interactions were detected between two pairs of QTL for 7,11-HD such that if either were homozygous for the D. simulans allele, the fly was similar to D. simulans in phenotype, with a low level of 7,11-HD. We discuss the location of these regions with regard to candidate genes for CH production, including those for desaturases.
Source Separation Using Sparse Discrete Prior Models

In this paper we present a new source separation method based on dynamic sparse source signal models. Source signals are modeled in frequency domain as a product of a Bernoulli selection variable with a deterministic but unknown spectral amplitude. The Bernoulli variables are modeled in turn by first order Markov processes with transition probabilities learned from a training database. We consider a video conferencing scenario where the mixing parameters are estimated by the video system. We obtain the MAP signal estimators and show they are implemented by a Vitterbi decoding scheme. We validate this approach by simulations using TIMIT database, and compare the separation performance of this algorithm with our previous extended DUET method
Reliable broadcast in mobile multihop packet networks

We describe a reliable broadcast protocol for mobile multi- hop packet radio networks. The reliable broadcast service ensures that all the hosts in a group deliver the same set of messages to the upper layer. It represents the building block to construct fault tolerant distributed applications,, whose demand is growing in a mobile environment too. The proto- col is intended for use in networks where the host mobility arbitrarily changes the network connectivity and where the rate of change is not so fast as to impose flooding as the only option. In this context, our protocol is a iirst attempt to show that a mechanism more flexible than spanning tree and more efficient than flooding is possible and a service such as the reliable broadcast can be obtained. The protocol is constructed on top of a multi-hop, multi- cluster architecture. It provides an exactly once message delivery semantics and tolerates communication failures and host mobility. Temporaneous disconnections and network partitions are also tolerated under the assumption that they are eventually repaired.
Bi-chromatic minimum spanning trees

Let G be a set of disjoint bi-chromatic straight line segments and H be a set of red and blue points in the plane, no three points are collinear. We give tight upper bounds on the maximum degree of a node in the color conforming minimum weight spanning tree (MST) formed by G and H. We also consider bounds on the total length of the edges of 1) the planar MST and the unrestricted MST, 2) the greedy planar spanning tree and the unrestricted MST, 3) the greedy planar spanning tree and the planar MST.
Mentoring and women managers: another look at the field

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a discussion of some salient research relating to mentoring for women managers.Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws mainly upon writing and research from the UK, USA, Canada and Australia to explore some of the issues that continue to be pertinent for the mentoring of women managers.Findings – The paper explores some of the early arguments promoting mentoring for women in the light of more recent research. From the literature, three key issues that have important implications for women in mentoring relationships are considered. These are identifying the nature and focus of mentoring relationships; managing cross‐gender mentoring and negotiating the power dimension that underpins the mentoring relationship.Practical implications – The paper provides a discussion of the practical implications of three key issues that are significant for women managers.Originality/value – The paper draws together work in the field and distils a number of issues and t.
The Role of Conversational Involvement in Deceptive Interpersonal Interactions

Interpersonal Deception Theory (IDT) postulates that interactive deception differs from noninteractive deception due to combined influences of deceiver goals and social skills, mutual influence processes between sender and receiver, feedback, and interaction dynamics. An experiment tested hypotheses that (a) interactive deception displays differ from truthful ones only at the outset of interaction and approximate truthful displays over time, (b) displays are moderated by deceiver social skills, (c) deceivers adapt to receiver communication with reciprocal or compensatory displays, (d) low involvement by receivers conveys negative feedback that instigates more behavioral adjustments by deceivers than does high involvement, and (e) receivers’ postinteraction judgments of deceivers are directly related to deceiver behavioral displays. An experiment in which senders alternated between telling the truth and deceiving, and partners varied their own level of involvement, produced supportive results that have implications for the stability of, and causal mechanisms underlying, deception displays and interpersonal communication generally.
Hypolipidemic Effect of Tomato Juice in Hamsters in High Cholesterol Diet-Induced Hyperlipidemia

Tomato is a globally famous food and contains several phytonutrients including lycopene, β-carotene, anthocyanin, and flavonoids. The increased temperature used to produce tomato juice, ketchup, tomato paste and canned tomato enhances the bioactive composition. We aimed to verify the beneficial effects of processed tomato juice from Kagome Ltd. (KOT) on hypolipidemic action in hamsters with hyperlipidemia induced by a 0.2% cholesterol and 10% lard diet (i.e., high-cholesterol diet (HCD)). Male Golden Syrian hamsters were randomly divided into two groups for treatment: normal (n = 8), standard diet (control); and experimental (n = 32), HCD. The 32 hamsters were further divided into four groups (n = 8 per group) to receive vehicle or KOT by oral gavage at 2787, 5573, or 13,934 mg/kg/day for six weeks, designated the HCD-1X, -2X and -5X groups, respectively. The efficacy and safety of KOT supplementation was evaluated by lipid profiles of serum, liver and feces and by clinical biochemistry and histopathology. HCD significantly increased serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), triacylglycerol (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), LDL-C/HDL-C ratio, hepatic and fetal TC and TG levels, and degree of fatty liver as compared with controls. KOT supplementation dose-dependently decreased serum TC, TG, LDL-C levels, LDL-C/HDL-C ratio, hepatic TC and TG levels, and fecal TG level. Our study provides experiment-based evidence to support that KOT may be useful in treating or preventing the onset of hyperlipidemia.
Myth‐making and opiate abuse: An early symbolic interactionist theory of addiction in the fieldwork of Alfred Lindesmith and its opposition

The personal files and notes from Alfred Lindesmith’s only excursion into the field (1935–1937) give a particularly informative view of addiction and addict mythmaking about opiates and opiate addiction. Lindesmith’s work, overseen by Herbert Blumer, was the first empirical validation of the symbolic interactionist perspective and produced a theory of opiate addiction that is still respected and used by sociologists, psychologists, and substance abuse experts. The theory itself produced its own mythmaking in the attempts of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics to refute and suppress Lindesmith’s work and in the construction of its own euphoria mythology of addiction, addicts, and Lindesmith.
Autismo: uma avaliação transdisciplinar baseada no programa TEACCH

OBJETIVO: apresentar protocolo de avaliacao transdisciplinar no autismo baseado no programa denominado Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communicattion handicapped Children - TEACCH e sua aplicacao no programa desenvolvido na Organizacao Nao -Governamental Centro de Referencia e Apoio as Desordens do Desenvolvimento - CRADD. METODOS: foram escolhidos seis individuos, entre sete e doze anos, com diagnostico de autismo que frequentam o programa da referida e que foram avaliados em tres momentos durante o ano (janeiro, junho e dezembro). RESULTADOS: foram verificados os progressos de cada um deles nas areas de interacao social, comportamento, aspecto cognitivo e linguagem. CONCLUSAO: independente do grau e do tipo de autismo, a aplicacao da abordagem transdisciplinar nos sujeitos, demonstrou que existe desenvolvimento em todas as areas avaliadas, proporcionando o efetivo estabelecimento das suas funcoes comunicativas.
Increased Air Temperature during Simulated Autumn Conditions Does Not Increase Photosynthetic Carbon Gain But Affects the Dissipation of Excess Energy in Seedlings of the Evergreen Conifer Jack Pine1[OA]

Temperature and daylength act as environmental signals that determine the length of the growing season in boreal evergreen conifers. Climate change might affect the seasonal development of these trees, as they will experience naturally decreasing daylength during autumn, while at the same time warmer air temperature will maintain photosynthesis and respiration. We characterized the down-regulation of photosynthetic gas exchange and the mechanisms involved in the dissipation of energy in Jack pine (Pinus banksiana) in controlled environments during a simulated summer-autumn transition under natural conditions and conditions with altered air temperature and photoperiod. Using a factorial design, we dissected the effects of daylength and temperature. Control plants were grown at either warm summer conditions with 16-h photoperiod and 22°C or conditions representing a cool autumn with 8 h/7°C. To assess the impact of photoperiod and temperature on photosynthesis and energy dissipation, plants were also grown under either cold summer (16-h photoperiod/7°C) or warm autumn conditions (8-h photoperiod/22°C). Photosynthetic gas exchange was affected by both daylength and temperature. Assimilation and respiration rates under warm autumn conditions were only about one-half of the summer values but were similar to values obtained for cold summer and natural autumn treatments. In contrast, photosynthetic efficiency was largely determined by temperature but not by daylength. Plants of different treatments followed different strategies for dissipating excess energy. Whereas in the warm summer treatment safe dissipation of excess energy was facilitated via zeaxanthin, in all other treatments dissipation of excess energy was facilitated predominantly via increased aggregation of the light-harvesting complex of photosystem II. These differences were accompanied by a lower deepoxidation state and larger amounts of β-carotene in the warm autumn treatment as well as by changes in the abundance of thylakoid membrane proteins compared to the summer condition. We conclude that photoperiod control of dormancy in Jack pine appears to negate any potential for an increased carbon gain associated with higher temperatures during the autumn season.
‘Reading the word and the world’ – how mind and culture are mediated through the use of dual-language storybooks

This article presents a socio-cultural study of parental involvement in reading by examining the reciprocal mediation between a Chinese mother and her daughter in the reading of a dual-language storybook. The findings reveal a child learning in the ‘interplay of her contexts’ that reflects dynamics of collaborative involvement in meaning making. With the aid of the dual-language storybook, the mother, not literate in English, is enabled to scaffold her child's learning in ways that enhance both the child's understanding of the English text and her knowledge of their heritage language, while the child herself assists her mother's learning of English. The article provides detailed explanations of ways in which inter-subjectivity (mutual understanding) arises from interpersonal communication, i.e. how ‘reading’ becomes transformed into a meaning-making activity from what can be a de-contextualised task. The article includes implications for developing approaches that minority-ethnic parents can use when reading with their children, alongside reading strategies that can be adapted for use by monolingual teachers and bilingual assistants in mainstream schools.
Perfect Matchings in Random r-regular, s-uniform Hypergraphs

We show that r-regular, s-uniform hypergraphs contain a perfect matching with high probability (whp), provided The Proof is based on the application of a technique of Robinson and Wormald [7, 8]. The space of hypergraphs is partitioned into subsets according to the number of small cycles in the hypergraph. The difference in the expected number of perfect matchings between these subsets explains most of the variance of the number of perfect matchings in the space of hypergraphs, and is sufficient to prove existence (whp), using the Chebychev Inequality.