Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Formation of a geometric pattern with a mobile wireless sensor network

Mobile wireless sensor networks (MWSNs) will enable information systems to gather detailed information about the environment on an unprecedented scale. These self-organizing, distributed networks of sensors, processors, and actuators that are capable of movement have a broad range of potential applications, including military reconnaissance, surveillance, planetary exploration, and geophysical mapping. In many of the foreseen applications, the MWSN will need to form a geometric pattern without assistance from the user. In military reconnaissance, for example, the nodes will be dropped onto the battlefield from a plane and land at random positions. The nodes will be expected to arrange themselves into a predetermined formation in order to perform a specific task. Thus, we present algorithms for forming a line, circle, and regular polygon from a given set of random positions. The algorithms are distributed and use no communication between the nodes to minimize energy consumption. Unlike past studies of geometric problems where algorithms are either tested in simulations where each node has global knowledge of all the other nodes or implemented on a small number of robots, the robustness of our algorithms has been studied with simulations that model the sensor system in detail. The simulations demonstrate that the algorithms are robust against random errors in the sensors and actuators. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Shape and Size Computation of Planar Robot Workspace

The workspace of a robot is an important criterion in evaluating manipulator geometry and kinematic performance. A systematical approach was presented in the paper to computing the shape and size of the workspace of planar robot manipulator. Firstly, a novel algorism based on the Monte Carlo method was proposed to depict the boundary curves of robot workspace. Then, two methods for calculating area of the workspace were presented. One method based on numerical integration algorithm on closed curves. And the second method, the area can be estimated by probability and statistics. A planar robot manipulator consisting of 3 revolute joints was used as an example to illustrate the systematical approach.
Feature Extraction of Capnogram for Asthmatic Patient

In this paper, a total of 13 features were studied and automatically extracted to differentiate the asthmatic and nonasthmatic capnogram. From the results, slope ratio (SR) and the newly introduced Hjorth Parameters (HP2 - Mobility) are found to be the best among the investigated parameters in differentiating the two groups. Ongoing results show that parameters that associate with the slope of the capnogram are good index in differentiating the asthmatic and non-asthmatic capnogram.
Comparing verification techniques for model transformations

Model transformations are a central element of model-driven development (MDD) approaches. The correctness of model transformations is critical to their effective use in practical software development, since users must be able to rely upon transformations correctly preserving the semantics of source models and producing valid target models. In this paper we provide techniques for proving the termination, confluence and correctness of declaratively-specified model transformations, relative to a formal semantics for UML and OCL. We compare the effectiveness of syntactic analysis techniques, interactive verification tools and automated proof tools.
The satellite cursor: achieving MAGIC pointing without gaze tracking using multiple cursors

We present the satellite cursor - a novel technique that uses multiple cursors to improve pointing performance by reducing input movement. The satellite cursor associates every target with a separate cursor in its vicinity for pointing, which realizes the MAGIC (manual and gaze input cascade) pointing method without gaze tracking. We discuss the problem of visual clutter caused by multiple cursors and propose several designs to mitigate it. Two controlled experiments were conducted to evaluate satellite cursor performance in a simple reciprocal pointing task and a complex task with multiple targets of varying layout densities. Results show the satellite cursor can save significant mouse movement and consequently pointing time, especially for sparse target layouts, and that satellite cursor performance can be accurately modeled by Fitts' Law.
Generation of the optimal trajectory for the biped robot

This paper proposes the methods of generation of the energy-efficient trajectory and the centroid trajectory for the biped robot. Based on the function approximation method, the energy-efficient trajectory between the initial state and the terminal state is generated by converting minimization of energy consuming to minimization of input torques. Reducing the biped robot to an inverted pendulum, the relationship between the energy and the centroid motion for the simplified model is analyzed. And the switch conditions for the stance leg are analyzed too. Then the continuous centriod trajectory can be obtained to avoid the forward or backward falling. Simulation results show that the methods proposed in this paper are valid.
Prediction of Peak Oxygen Uptake from Submaximal Exercise Tests in Older Men and Women

The purpose of this study was to determine the accuracy of two submaximal exercise tests, the Sitting-Chair Step Test (Smith & Gilligan. 1983) and the Modified Step Test (Amundsen, DeVahl, & Ellingham, 1989) to predict peak oxygen uptake (VO2 peak) in 28 adults ages 60 to 85 years. VO2 peak was measured by indirect calorimetry during a treadmill maximal graded exercise test (VO2 peak, range 11.6–31.1 ml · kg −l · min−1). In each of the submaximal tests, VO2 was predicted by plotting stage-by-stage submaximal heart rate (HR) and perceived exertion (RPE) data against VO2 for each stage and extrapolating the data to respective age-predicted maximal HR or RPE values. In the Sitting-Chair Step Test (n = 23), no significant differences were observed between measured and predicted VO2 peak values (p > .05). However, predicted VO2 peak values from the HR were 4.3 ml · kg−1 · min−1 higher than VO2 peak values predicted from the RPE data (p < .05). In the Modified Step Test (n = 22), no significant differences were.
Changes in platelet CD 62P expression and soluble P-selectin concentration in surgically treated colorectal carcinoma.

PURPOSE The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of tumor advancement and surgery treatment on P-selectin expression (CD 62P), level of sP-selectin and platelet count. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study involved 27 colorectal cancer patients (CRC). They were divided into two groups: group B1--18 patients (T2-3N0M0) and group B2--9 patients (T2-4N+M0). In CRC patients the blood was collected three times: 1) before surgery (A0), 2) 3 days after surgery and 3) 12 days after surgery. RESULTS The results obtained showed that CD 62P expression in CRC patients was twice higher (5.36%) than in control (2.58%) (p < 0.001). The level of sP-selectin concentration in both groups (B1--74.22 ng/mL and B2--70.33 ng/mL) was significantly higher than in control (46.01 ng/mL) (p < 0.001). There was no significant differences in CD 62P expression, plasma sP-selectin concentration and in PLT count between group B1 and B2. Three days after surgery in both groups of patients we observed decreased CD 62P expression and sP-selectin level compared to the results before surgery (p < 0.05). Twelve days after surgery we found an increase in the CD 62P-positive platelets and sP-selectin in group B1 and B2. We found positive correlation between plasma sP-selectin concentration and PLT count in CRC. CONCLUSIONS In the current study on colorectal cancer we observed platelet hyperactivation, irrespective of tumor clinical advancement. Surgical procedure, in the early period following radical tumor resection, does not totally eliminate platelet activation in vivo.
Out-of-plane visual servoing method for tracking the carotid artery with a robot-assisted ultrasound diagnostic system

Up to now, there are different kinds of robot-assisted ultrasound diagnostic systems proposed in the last decade. However, the compensation of the ultrasound probe position according to the patient movement is still one of the most important and useful functions required for those systems. For this purpose, in this research, we aim at developing an automated diagnostic system for the measurement of the wave intensity which is usually measured at the common carotid artery. In particular, in this paper, we focus on proposing a robust visual servoing method for tracking out-of-plane motion for a robot-assisted medical ultrasound diagnostic system by using a conventional 2D probe. A robotic device which manipulates the ultrasound probe firstly scans a small area around the target position and records several B-mode images at a regular interval. In order to track the out-of-plane motion, an inter-frame block matching method has been proposed and implemented on the Waseda-Tokyo Women's Medical-Aloka Blood Flow Measurement System No. 2 Refined (WTA-2R). A set of experiments was proposed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. From the experimental results, we could confirm its robustness while doing the task with real human tissues.
Brain Computer Interfacing : State of the Art , Probabilistic Advances and Future Perspectives

Brain computer interface (BCI) research, carried out in our group, has focused on two aspects. In terms of signal processing, we focused on improving BCI performance by using advanced probabilistic machine learning approaches. On the other hand even the most advance signal processing can only recover information which is actually contained in the data. Hence a second central research direction of the project was concerned with the statistical evaluation of different neuro-cognitive experimental settings that were proposed by our clinical partners1.
A NEAR-FIELD 3D CIRCULAR SAR IMAGING TECHNIQUE BASED ON SPHERICAL WAVE DECOMPOSITION

A near-fleld three dimensional imaging algorithm for circular SAR is proposed in this paper. It adopts the theory of spherical wave decomposition to transform Green function to a superposition of plane wave components. Using this relation, the image-reconstruction can be implemented in frequency domain instead of in spatial domain, which simplifles the solving process of target re∞ectivity function, and allows for the target to be near to the radar. Through compensating phase factor and flltering at each elevation, we flrstly get the ground CSAR signal of each elevation in frequency domain. Then, performing two dimensional inverse nonuniform fast Fourier transform and accumulating the results of all azimuth angles, the reconstructed two dimensional image corresponding to an elevation is achieved. Finally, using reconstructed image datum of all elevation, the three dimensional image of target is obtained. To demonstrate the imaging performance of our method, numerical simulations and experiments are conducted. By comparing the results with the focusing operator algorithm and the back-projection algorithm, it is found that the proposed algorithm is more e-cient and can obtain a good imaging performance.
Regularization and Scale Space

Computational vision often needs to deal with derivatives of digital images. Derivatives are not intrinsic properties of a digital image; a paradigm is required to make them well-defined. Normally, a linear filtering is applied. This can be formulated in terms of scale space, functional minimization or edge detection filters. In this paper, we take regularization (or functional minimization) as a starting point, and show that it boils down to a ordered set of linear filters of which the Gaussian is the first if we require the semi group constraint to be fulfilled. This regularization implies the minimization of a functional which contains terms up to infinite order of differentiation. If the functional is truncated at second order, the Canny-Deriche filter arises. Furthermore, we show that the $n$th order Canny-optimal edge detection filter implements $n$th order regularization. We also show, that higher dimensional regularization in its most general form boils down to a rotation of the one dimensional case, when Cartesian invariance is imposed. This means that results from 1D regularization are easily generalized to higher dimensions. Finally, we show that regularization in its most general form can be implemented as recursive filtering without any approximation.
Application of VSC/SMC controllers for automatic generation control in deregulated environment

This paper presents a variable structure/sliding mode controller-based approach to the Load Frequency Control (LFC) problem in interconnected electric power generation systems. This approach combines the salient features of both variable structure and sliding mode control to achieve high-performance and robustness of the LFC. Simulation results indicate that the control scheme is able to substantially enhance control performance in two-area interconnected systems under deregulated operating conditions. Furthermore, it is shown under different case studies that the responses of the system employing the proposed controllers are quite insensitive to parameter changes and speed governor deadband, with or without generation rate constraints. The control strategy requires low computational cost and is amenable for practical implementation.
Real Time Digital Image Processing Using Point Operations in Multithreaded Systems

This paper deals with real-time digital image processing using multi-threading for efficient and reliable real-time output. Two types of classes are dealt with: class A where processing is based on single pixel operations and class B where output is based on neighborhood pixel values, which is dedicated to convolution operations. Partitioning an image into sub-images to process it using multiple threads is not as simple as it looks. One issue is of information loss, which occurs during partition, especially at boundary pixels. Calculation of optimal size of sub-images is another issue. Whereas, writing code for gaining maximum performance via multi-threading is also cumbersome. In this paper, issue of how loss affects the speed of output with limited or desired number of resources is tackled. The aim is to reduce the information loss and improve performance. A generic multi-threaded API, to handle different image operations, is tested on images of different sizes and performance is compared with single-threaded approach. Experimental results demonstrate better execution time without data loss.
DevStore: Distributed storage system for desktop virtualization

With the development of desktop virtualization technology, more and more companies begins to deploy virtual desktop. Traditional NAS and SAN storages can only support small-scale users due to network bandwidth limit and poor scalability. Another disadvantage is that NAS and SAN storages are very expensive. The distributed file systems such as GFS, PVFS, and Lustre are with low cost, high scalability and mass storage, but they are only designed for specific scenarios and can not meet the need of desktop virtualization storage. The characteristics of virtual desktop 1/0 are small random 1/0, high lOPS, snapshot needed and frequent access of the root image. Based on these 1/0 characteristics, DevStore is designed for desktop virtualization, and aims to be low cost, good scalability and performance. Experiments show that DevStore image's write performance is 70MB/s and read performance is 60MB/s in gigabit Ethernet. The snapshot time of DevStore is less than lms. DevStore is also easy to expand. Experiments also show that DevStore is better than QCOW in NFS environment and meets the desktop virtualization storage need.
Methodology Choices in Health Related ICT-Design

ICT-supported health promotion has diverse development challenges. Methodological selections guide the design and development of solutions and artefacts and are critical in area where utility and cost-effectiveness are required of applications and systems. The article gives an example of an ICT-project at the occupational health which methodological choices and framing was considered from view of one popular guideline frame [11] in design science research in Information Systems. Good familiarity and understanding of the ideology of the frame are essential when trying to reach more sinew with aid of it.
A novel mixed FDTD absorbing boundary condition based on mur and PML

The paper advanced a novel mixed FDTD absorbing boundary condition based on mur and PML, and the analysis of dispersion characteristic of coplanar waveguide (CPW) are presented. The transient propagating waveforms along the CPW, which are excited by retarded gaussian pulse, are found in the time domain. After the time-domain field distributions are obtained, frequency-domain parameters such as the characteristic impedance are calculated using Fourier transformations. The results of theoretical calculation show very good agreement with XFDTD formulation and experimental data over a wide frequency range. And the time of calculation of the FDTD method is about one fourth of XFDTD formulation. So the FDTD method based on mixed absorbing boundary condition has proved to be superior to XFDTD on calculation efficiency.
An exactly solvable model for the dynamics of two spin- particles embedded in separate spin star environments

Exact analytical results for the dynamics of two interacting qubits, each of which is embedded in its own spin star bath, are presented. The time evolution of the concurrence and the purity of the two-qubit system are investigated for finite and infinite numbers of environmental spins. The effect of qubit–qubit interactions on the steady state of the central system is investigated.
The effects of spatial structure, frequency dependence and resistance evolution on the dynamics of toxin-mediated microbial invasions

Recent evidence suggests that interference competition between bacteria shapes the distribution of the opportunistic pathogen Staphylococcus aureus in the lower nasal airway of humans, either by preventing colonization or by driving displacement. This competition within the nasal microbial community would add to known host factors that affect colonization. We tested the role of toxin‐mediated interference competition in both structured and unstructured environments, by culturing S. aureus with toxin‐producing or nonproducing Staphylococcus epidermidis nasal isolates. Toxin‐producing S. epidermidis invaded S. aureus populations more successfully than nonproducers, and invasion was promoted by spatial structure. Complete displacement of S. aureus was prevented by the evolution of toxin resistance. Conversely, toxin‐producing S. epidermidis restricted S. aureus invasion. Invasion of toxin‐producing S. epidermidis populations by S. aureus resulted from the evolution of toxin resistance, which was favoured by high initial frequency and low spatial structure. Enhanced toxin production also evolved in some invading populations of S. epidermidis. Toxin production therefore promoted invasion by, and constrained invasion into, populations of producers. Spatial structure enhanced both of these invasion effects. Our findings suggest that manipulation of the nasal microbial community could be used to limit colonization by S. aureus, which might limit transmission and infection rates.
Wnt-Responsive Lgr5+ Globose Basal Cells Function as Multipotent Olfactory Epithelium Progenitor Cells

Persistent neurogenesis in the olfactory epithelium provides a unique model to study neural stem cell self-renewal and fate determination. In the olfactory neuroepithelium, globose basal cells (GBCs) are considered to be the direct progenitors of olfactory neurons. However, the study of neurogenesis from GBCs has been impeded by the paucity of GBC-specific markers. Here we report that Lgr5, a recently discovered adult stem cell marker, is exclusively expressed in GBCs in neonatal and adult mice. Lgr5+ cells display characteristics of cycling stem cells, including Ki67 expression and EdU incorporation. Lineage tracing analysis demonstrates that Lgr5+ GBCs regenerate multiple cell types under normal turnover condition or after olfactory lesion. Furthermore, upregulation or downregulation of Wnt signaling in vivo indicates a key role of Wnt signaling not only in maintaining Lgr5+ cell proliferation and promoting neuroregeneration, but also in delaying sensory neuron maturation. Together, our observations provided new insights into the dynamics of neurogenesis in the olfactory epithelium.
The Benefits of Humanized Yeast Models to Study Parkinson's Disease

Over the past decade, the baker's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has proven to be a useful model system to investigate fundamental questions concerning the pathogenic role of human proteins in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease (PD). These so-called humanized yeast models for PD initially focused on α-synuclein, which plays a key role in the etiology of PD. Upon expression of this human protein in the baker's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the events leading to aggregation and the molecular mechanisms that result in cellular toxicity are faithfully reproduced. More recently, a similar model to study the presumed pathobiology of the α-synuclein interaction partner synphilin-1 has been established. In this review we will discuss recent advances using these humanized yeast models, pointing to new roles for cell wall integrity signaling, Ca2+ homeostasis, mitophagy, and the cytoskeleton.
A quantitative comparison of virtual network environments based on performance measurements

Virtualization tools can be an alternative to impl ement networking scenarios, with the purpose of making measurement e xperiments similar to those in real networks. For this, it is important t o use the virtualization tool that consumes fewer resources. In this work, we have obt ained a quantitative comparison of the CPU and memory consumption of those virtualization tools during the boot up and execution of a concrete virtual scenario.
MHC heterozygosity confers a selective advantage against multiple-strain infections

Genetic heterozygosity is thought to enhance resistance of hosts to infectious diseases, but few tests of this idea exist. In particular, heterozygosity at the MHC, the highly polymorphic loci that control immunological recognition of pathogens, is suspected to confer a selective advantage by enhancing resistance to infectious diseases (the “heterozygote advantage” hypothesis). To test this hypothesis, we released mice into large population enclosures and challenged them with multiple strains of Salmonella and one of Listeria. We found that during Salmonella infections with three avirulent strains, MHC heterozygotes had greater survival and weight than homozygotes (unlike sham controls), and they were more likely to clear chronic Salmonella infection than homozygotes. In laboratory experiments, we found that MHC heterozygosity enhanced the clearance of multiple-strain Salmonella infections. Yet, contrary to what is widely assumed, the benefits of heterozygosity were due to resistance being dominant rather than overdominant, i.e., heterozygotes were more resistant than the average of parental homozygotes, but they were not more resistant than both. The fact that MHC heterozygotes were more resistant to infection and had higher fitness than homozygotes provides a functional explanation for MHC-disassortative mating preferences.