Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Encryption-Decryption-Based State Estimation With Multirate Measurements Against Eavesdroppers: A Recursive Minimum-Variance Approach

This article is concerned with the secure state estimation problem for a networked system with multirate measurements. The measurement data are transmitted to the estimator over a communication network, where an eavesdropper could intercept the transmitted information and generate the state estimates based on the overheard signals. In order to protect the privacy of the system state from information leakage, a novel encryptor is proposed to encrypt the measurement signals into codewords before being transmitted, and a decryptor is then adopted at the user side to decrypt the received codewords into the desired measurement signals, based on which a recursive state estimator is developed whose parameter is calculated by solving several coupled difference equations. Here, the secret key for decryption is available to the user but is unknown to the eavesdropper. The encryptor and the estimator are codesigned such that 1) at the user side, the estimation error covariance has an upper bound that is subsequently minimized in the sense of the matrix trace, where the uniform boundedness of the error covariance is also examined; and 2) at the eavesdropper side, the corresponding state estimation error is divergent. Two simulation examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of our developed secure state estimation scheme.
Adverse oral conditions associated with worse emotional and social well-being of Brazilian teenagers: a population-based study in a deprived rural-urban boundary

Abstract Background The relationship between dental appearance and emotional/social well-being in underprivileged areas undergoing rapid urbanization is unknown. Objective To assess if the emotional and social well-being of teenagers living in urban areas might be more affected by unfavorable dental appearance determined by oral conditions. Method A population-based cross-sectional exploratory study with 12-year-old Brazilian schoolchildren was carried out in two poor, underserviced districts of Sao Paulo City, Brazil. Outcome was severity of oral health-related quality of life (QHRQoL) due to the emotional and social well-being and exposures were oral conditions and residence district (rural or urban). Results The impact on severity of QHRQoL due to emotional well-being and due to social well-being, respectively, were 14% and 16% higher for those presenting at least one untreated decayed tooth; 36% and 54% higher for those with unfavorable dental appearance and 25% and 39% higher for those from the urban district. No association between malocclusion and district was observed. Conclusion Despite higher prevalence of untreated dental caries in the rural district, teenagers from the urban district felt that their OHRQoL, adjusted by oral conditions investigated, was more negatively affected. This suggests that urban environmental influences can lead to stressful social pressures stemming from dental appearance, leading to diminished emotional and social well-being.
Ambipolar SnOx thin-film transistors achieved at high sputtering power

SnO is the only oxide semiconductor to date that has exhibited ambipolar behavior in thin-film transistors (TFTs). In this work, ambipolar behavior was observed in SnOx TFTs fabricated at a high sputtering power of 200 W and post-annealed at 150–250 °C in ambient air. X-ray-diffraction patterns showed polycrystallisation of SnO and Sn in the annealed SnOx films. Scanning-electron-microscopy images revealed that microgrooves appeared after the films were annealed. Clusters subsequently segregated along the microgrooves, and our experiments suggest that they were most likely Sn clusters. Atomic force microscopy images indicate an abrupt increase in film roughness due to the cluster segregations. An important implication of this work is that excess Sn in the film, which has generally been thought to be detrimental to the film quality, may promote the ambipolar conduction when it is segregated from the film to enhance the stoichiometric balance.SnO is the only oxide semiconductor to date that has exhibited ambipolar behavior in thin-film transistors (TFTs). In this work, ambipolar behavior was observed in SnOx TFTs fabricated at a high sputtering power of 200 W and post-annealed at 150–250 °C in ambient air. X-ray-diffraction patterns showed polycrystallisation of SnO and Sn in the annealed SnOx films. Scanning-electron-microscopy images revealed that microgrooves appeared after the films were annealed. Clusters subsequently segregated along the microgrooves, and our experiments suggest that they were most likely Sn clusters. Atomic force microscopy images indicate an abrupt increase in film roughness due to the cluster segregations. An important implication of this work is that excess Sn in the film, which has generally been thought to be detrimental to the film quality, may promote the ambipolar conduction when it is segregated from the film to enhance the stoichiometric balance.
Adaptive PID-like fault-tolerant control for robot manipulators with given performance specifications

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the trajectory tracking problem of rigid robot manipulators with unknown dynamics and actuator failures. The goal is to achieve desirable tracking performance with a simple and low-cost control strategy. By introducing a new form of parameter estimation error, together with an error transformation, a robust adaptive and fault-tolerant control scheme is developed without the need for fault information nor precise robotic mathematical model. It is shown that, with the proposed control, the tracking error is ensured to converge to an adjustable residual set within prescribed finite time at a user pre-assignable decay rate. The appealing feature of the developed control also lies in its simplicity in structure (i.e. PID form) and effectiveness in dealing with modelling uncertainties as well as actuation faults.
Shockwave Lithotripsy for De-Novo Urolithiasis after Kidney Transplantation: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Background: Allograft urolithiasis is an uncommon, challenging, and potentially dangerous clinical problem. Treatment of allograft stones includes external shockwave lithotripsy (SWL), flexible ureteroscopy and lasertripsy (fURSL), or percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL). A gap in the literature and guidelines exists regarding the treatment of patients in this setting. The aim of this systematic review was to collect preoperative and treatment characteristics and evaluate the outcomes of post-transplant SWL for stone disease. Methods: A systematic search in the literature was performed, including articles up to March 2023. Only original English articles were selected. Results: Eight articles (81 patients) were included in the review. Patients were mainly male, with a mean age of 41.9 years (±7.07). The mean stone size was 13.18 mm (±2.28 mm). Stones were predominantly located in the kidney (n = 18, 62%). The overall stone-free rate and complication rates were 81% (range: 50–100%) and 17.2% (14/81), respectively, with only one major complication reported. A pre-operative drainage was placed in eleven (13.5%) patients. Five patients (6.71%) required a second treatment for residual fragments. Conclusions: SWL is a safe and effective option to treat de novo stones after transplantation. Larger studies are needed to better address allograft urolithiasis management.
Research and Implementation on a Real-Time OSDM MODEM for Underwater Acoustic Communications

With the increasing demand for marine-sensing information, more and more research has been investigated on underwater wireless sensor networks (UWSNs). Underwater acoustic communication (UWAC) modulators & demodulators (MODEMs) that are used to exchange marine-sensing data have attracted wide attention because they are the most important part of UWSNs. Orthogonal signal-division multiplexing (OSDM) is a compromise between single-carrier communication and multiple-carrier communication. The OSDM communication system is less sensitive to multipath and Doppler shift and has lower peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR). The OSDM UWAC recently has been investigated in theoretical analysis, but as far as we know, there is extremely limited research on real-time OSDM UWAC MODEM design. Aiming at addressing this gap, in this article, a real-time OSDM MODEM is researched and implemented for UWAC, including hardware and software. Specifically, the preamplifier, the bandpass filter, the power amplifier, and the signal processor are introduced. Moreover, detailed procedures for modulation and demodulation are also presented. In addition, to accommodate the different underwater acoustic channels and to get the balance between bit error rate (BER) and data rate, the parameters such as the number of zero vectors and pilot vectors are investigated. Our OSDM MODEM achieves error-free with the data rate of 4.35 kb/s by using the minimum-mean-square-error (MMSE) equalizer and polar decoding under slow time-varying channels, and the communication range reaches larger than 5 km.
Ro-vibrational excitation of H2 by H extended to high temperatures

Collisions between H2 and H are crucial to the thermal balance of astrophysical media, especially that of the early Universe. We report Quasi-Classical Trajectory (QCT) calculations of rate coefficients for the collisional (de-)excitation of H2 by H – including the three-body collisional dissociation – on a highly accurate H3 potential energy surface (PES). Translational temperatures ranging from 100 to 15 000 K, and ro-vibrational energy levels of H2 up to ≈50 000 K are considered. Our QCT rate coefficients agree well with those obtained from previous quantum calculations on the same PES. This good agreement supports our claim that, in order to study the 5000 to 15 000 K temperature range, typical of the early Universe, inexpensive QCT calculations should be preferred to extrapolation of costly quantum calculations run at lower temperatures. The new collisional rate coefficients should enhance our ability to model the cooling and heating budget of the primordial gas.
Passivity-Based Robust Sampled-Data Control for Markovian Jump Systems

In this paper, the problem of passivity-based robust sampled-data control is investigated for continuous-time Markovian jump systems (MJSs). First, using parameters-dependent Lyapunov functionals consisting of looped-functionals, stochastic sufficient passivity criteria for continuous-time polytopic uncertain MJSs are proposed. As a corollary, we get the stochastic sufficient passivity criteria for continuous-time nominal MJSs. Based on the obtained stochastic sufficient passivity criteria, time-independent state feedback sampled-data controllers are designed. Then, in order to get a time-dependent state feedback sampled-data controller, parameters-dependent time-scheduled Lyapunov functionals consisting of looped-functionals are developed. New stochastic sufficient passivity criteria are obtained. Furthermore, based on the stochastic sufficient passivity criteria, the time-dependent state feedback sampled-data controllers are designed. Four numerical simulation examples are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Laser-driven ion acceleration via target normal sheath acceleration in the relativistic transparency regime

We present an experimental study investigating laser-driven proton acceleration via target normal sheath acceleration (TNSA) over a target thickness range spanning the typical TNSA-dominant regime (∼1 μm) down to below the onset of relativistic laser-transparency (<40 nm). This is done with a single target material in the form of freely adjustable films of liquid crystals along with high contrast (via plasma mirror) laser interaction (∼2.65 J, 30 fs, I > 1 × 10 21 W cm−2). Thickness dependent maximum proton energies scale well with TNSA models down to the thinnest targets, while those under ∼40 nm indicate the influence of relativistic transparency on TNSA, observed via differences in light transmission, maximum proton energy, and proton beam spatial profile. Oblique laser incidence (45°) allowed the fielding of numerous diagnostics to determine the interaction quality and details: ion energy and spatial distribution was measured along the laser axis and both front and rear target normal directions; these along with reflected and transmitted light measurements on-shot verify TNSA as dominant during high contrast interaction, even for ultra-thin targets. Additionally, 3D particle-in-cell simulations qualitatively support the experimental observations of target-normal-directed proton acceleration from ultra-thin films.
Statistical analysis of a spatial birth-and-death process model with a view to modelling linear dune fields

Statistical inference for parametric models of spatial birth-and-death processes is discussed in detail. In particular, a flexible and statistically tractable parametric class of such processes, defined on the real line, is presented and analysed by likelihood and partial likelihood methods. The suggested methods are illustrated by applying them to two sets of data given in the form of aerial photographs from the Kalahari Desert.
Protonation-State Dependence of Hydration and Interactions in the Two Proton-Conducting Channels of Cytochrome c Oxidase

Cytochrome c Oxidase (CcO), a membrane protein of the respiratory chain, pumps protons against an electrochemical gradient by using the energy of oxygen reduction to water. The (“chemical”) protons required for this reaction and those pumped are taken up via two distinct channels, named D-channel and K-channel, in a step-wise and highly regulated fashion. In the reductive phase of the catalytic cycle, both channels transport protons so that the pumped proton passes the D-channel before the “chemical” proton has crossed the K-channel. By performing molecular dynamics simulations of CcO in the O→E redox state (after the arrival of the first reducing electron) with various combinations of protonation states of the D- and K-channels, we analysed the effect of protonation on the two channels. In agreement with previous work, the amount of water observed in the D-channel was significantly higher when the terminal residue E286 was not (yet) protonated than when the proton arrived at this end of the D-channel and E286 was neutral. Since a sufficient number of water molecules in the channel is necessary for proton transport, this can be understood as E286 facilitating its own protonation. K-channel hydration shows an even higher dependence on the location of the excess proton in the K-channel. Also in agreement with previous work, the K-channel exhibits a very low hydration level that likely hinders proton transfer when the excess proton is located in the lower part of the K-channel, that is, on the N-side of S365. Once the proton has passed S365 (towards the reaction site, the bi-nuclear centre (BNC)), the amount of water in the K-channel provides hydrogen-bond connectivity that renders proton transfer up to Y288 at the BNC feasible. No significant direct effect of the protonation state of one channel on the hydration level, hydrogen-bond connectivity, or interactions between protein residues in the other channel could be observed, rendering proton conductivity in the two channels independent of each other. Regulation of the order of proton uptake and proton passage in the two channels such that the “chemical” proton leaves its channel last must, therefore, be achieved by other means of communication, such as the location of the reducing electron.
Evidence for Planck-scale resonant particle production during inflation from the CMB power spectrum

The power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background from both the Planck and WMAP data exhibits a slight dip for multipoles in the range of l = 10 30. We show that such a dip could be the result of the resonant creation of massive particles that couple to the inflaton field. For our best-fit models, the epoch of resonant particle creation reenters the horizon at a wave number of k� � 0.0011 ± 0.0004 (h Mpc 1 ). The amplitude and location of this feature corresponds to the creation of a number of degenerate fermion species of mass � (8 11)/λ 3/2 mpl during inflation where λ � (1.0 ± 0.5)N 2/5 is the coupling constant between the inflaton field and the created fermion species, while N is the number of degenerate species. Although the evidence is of marginal statistical significance, this could constitute new observational hints of unexplored physics beyond the Planck scale.
Efficient Methods for Prediction and Control in Partially Observable Environments

State estimation and tracking (also known as filtering) is an integral part of any system performing inference in a partially observable environment, whether it is a robot that is gauging an environment through noisy sensors or a natural language processing system that is trying to model a sequence of characters without full knowledge of the syntactic or semantic state of the text. In this work, we develop a framework for constructing state estimators. The framework consists of a model class, referred to as predictive state models, and a learning algorithm, referred to as two-stage regression. Our framework is based on two key concepts: (1) predictive state: where our belief about the latent state of the environment is represented as a prediction of future observation features and (2) instrumental regression: where features of previous observations are used to remove sampling noise from future observation statistics, allowing for unbiased estimation of system dynamics. These two concepts allow us to develop efficient and tractable learning methods that reduce the unsupervised problem of learning an environment model to a supervised regression problem: first, a regressor is used to remove noise from future observation statistics. Then another regressor uses the denoised observation features to estimate the dynamics of the environment. We show that our proposed framework enjoys a number of theoretical and practical advantages over existing methods, and we demonstrate its efficacy in a prediction setting, where the task is to predict future observations, as well as a control setting, where the task is to optimize a control policy via reinforcement learning. April 18, 2018 DRAFT
Genotype × Environment Interaction and Stability Analysis of Selected Cassava Cultivars in South Africa

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is an important root crop worldwide. It is adapted to a wide range of environmental conditions, exhibiting differential genotypic responses to varying environmental conditions. The objectives of this study were: (1) to examine the effect of genotype, environment and genotype × environment interaction (GEI) on fresh root yield (FRY) and dry matter content (DMC); and (2) to identify superior genotypes that exhibit high performance for the traits of interest using the genetic tools of additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) and genotype stability index (GSI) analysis. Eleven cassava genotypes were evaluated in a randomized complete block design at six trial sites in South Africa. The combined analysis of variance based on AMMI revealed significant genotype, environment and GEI for the traits. The percentage variation due to GEI was higher than the percentage variation due to genotype for FRY, reflecting differential genotypic responses across the experimental sites. The proportion of variance due to genotype variation was larger for DMC. Genotype stability index (GSI) showed that UKF3 (G6), 98/0002 (G2) and P4/10 (G5) were the highest yielding and most stable genotypes for FRY, and 98/0002 (G1), UKF3 (G6) and UKF9 (G11) were the highest yielding and most stable genotypes for DMC. Cultivars 98/0002 and UKF3 were identified as providing high stability with superior fresh root yield and DMC. These genotypes could be recommended to farmers for food, feed and industrial applications without the need for further breeding. The AMMI-2 model clustered the testing environments into three mega-environments based on the winning genotypes for FRY and DMC. Mabuyeni (KwaZulu-Natal), Shatale (Mpumalanga) and Mandlakazi (Limpopo) would be the best testing sites in future cassava-genotype evaluation and breeding programs. This study provides a baseline for a future study on the GEI of cassava varieties, using a larger set of genotypes, factoring in seasonal variation.
Cross-Task Multimodal Reinforcement for Long Tail Next POI Recommendation

Next Point-of-Interest (POI) recommendation seeks to recommend locations that users are most likely to visit next based on their historical trajectories, providing both users and service providers with substantial benefits. However, most next POI recommendation methods calculate the distances between POIs when mining spatial information and adjust their weights accordingly, ignoring the characteristics and multimedia content features of the regions in which POIs are located. In addition, the next POI recommendations suffer from the long tail effect, in which only a small portion of POIs appear frequently in users' recommendation lists due to their high popularity, while remainders maintain a low presence. To this end, we propose the cross-task multimodal reinforcement method which enriches the representations of regions by incorporating information from auxiliary domains. Moreover, we devise a cross-task reinforcement module to effectively integrate the local representations with pre-trained encoders from auxiliary domains. Actually, the enhanced region representations contain constructive district properties which are helpful to find proper POIs that suit users' tastes and thus alleviate the long tail effect. Experiments conducted on two real-world datasets indicate that our proposed method outperforms the state-of-the-art models in terms of both general performance and that of niche POIs.
Effectiveness and Safety of COVID-19 Vaccinations: An Umbrella Meta-Analysis

Objectives: This umbrella meta-analysis aims to provide comprehensive and synthesized evidence regarding the effectiveness and safety of COVID-19 vaccinations based on current studies. Methods: Studies from the Cochrane Library, PubMed, and EMBASE, published before 10 December 2021, were included in the analysis. The pooled results of effectiveness and safety were estimated and shown in forest plots. Results: We included nineteen studies (fifteen studies regarding safety and nine regarding effectiveness) in the analysis. The mRNA vaccines, adenovirus vector vaccines, subunit vaccines, and inactivated vaccines were found to be effective; however, mRNA vaccines, adenovirus vector vaccines and subunit vaccines were associated with local adverse events and systemic events when compared with inactivated vaccines. Conclusion: Our study suggested that till date, COVID-19 vaccination is still a preferred pharmaceutical way to control the widespread pandemic. However, all reported adverse events should be revisited to provide further evidence for mass vaccinations.