Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Range Images

While range images can easily be captured through readily available commercial off-the-shelf range cameras/sensors/finders nowadays, it is not immediate for the user to appreciate and understand the technological challenges involved in range imaging. This article gives an overview of range imaging techniques with an aim to let the reader better understand how the difficult issue, such as the registration of overlapping range images, can be approached and solved. This article firstly introduces the characteristics of range images and highlights examples of 3D image visualizations, associated technical issues, applications and the differences of range imaging with respect to the traditional digital broadband imaging. Subsequently, one of the most popular feature extraction and matching methods, the signature of histograms of orientations (SHOT) method, is then outlined. However, the “matched” points generated by SHOT usually generates high proportion of false positives due to various factors such as imaging noise, lack of features and cluttered backgrounds. Thus the article discusses more about image matching issues particularly to emphasize how the widely employed range image alignment technique, the random sample consensus (RANSAC) method, is compared with a simple yet effective technique based on normalized error penalization (NEP). This simple NEP method utilizes a strategy to penalise point matches whose errors are far away from the majority. The capability of the method for the evaluation of point matches between overlapping range images is illustrated by experiments using real range image data sets. Interestingly enough, these range images appear to be easier to register than expected. Finally, some conclusions have been drawn and further readings for other fundamental techniques and concepts have been suggested.
Discriminative statistical approaches for multilingual speech understanding (Approches statistiques discriminantes pour l’interprétation sémantique multilingue de la parole) [in French]

Discriminative statistical approaches for multilingual speech understanding Statistical approaches are now widespread in the various applications of natural language processing and the elicitation of an approach usually depends on the targeted task. This paper presents a comparison between the methods used for machine translation and speech understanding. This comparison allows to propose a unified approach to perform a joint decoding which translates a sentence and assign semantic tags to the translation at the same time. This decoding is achieved through a finite-state transducer approach which allows to compose a translation graph with an understanding graph. This representation can be generalized to allow the rich transmission of information between the components of a human-machine vocal interface.
Breeding and Production of Kurume Azaleas ( Rhododendron obtusum Planch . )

“Kurume azalea” is a brand name for evergreen azalea cultivars bred in Kurume, Fukuoka, which is located in northern Kyushu, and belong to Rhododendron obtusum Planch. with small to medium sized flowers. It is generally accepted that their foundation stocks are hybrids between R. kiusianum Makino and R. kaempferi Planch. , and R. sataense Nakai. However, it was recently clarified that some cultivars show characteristics of R. macrosepalum Maxim. and R. ripense Makino. Kurume azaleas were created about 170 years ago, in the end of Edo era and appreciated indoors as potted plants (bonsai). Originally, they had been grown as a hobby among plant lovers. In the 1900's, breeding improvement, production and marketing were greatly advanced by eager floricultural growers. The production of Kurume azaleas has outstandingly increased since the 1950's because of a great demand as a green plant for parks and other public spaces. Kurume azaleas were introduced to Europe and the United States in the 1870's. In Europe, they were loved as a pot culture, and were thus called Belgian florist azaleas. On the other hand, Kurume azaleas were to be loved in the United States because improvement of florist azaleas in Europe were for reduced height and cold hardiness. They are also used as parents to breed evergreen azaleas with increased cold hardiness and flower quality for gardens. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Monolithic Integration of SiC Power BJT and Small-Signal BJTs for Power ICs

Monolithic integration of power transistor and specific functional integrated circuits (power ICs) offers unique advantages for wide bandgap power devices. However, few publications have reported the power ICs based on SiC because of several challenging problems such as fabrication process and cost. This paper explores the monolithic integration possibility of 4H-SiC lateral small-signal bipolar junction transistors (BJTs) and vertical power BJT without extra mask or processing step other than Vanadium isolation implantation. A new monolithic power integration architecture is proposed and optimized using TCAD simulations first, and then both the vertical and lateral SiC BJT types are fabricated on the same wafer using the standard power BJT process to experimentally verify the feasibility of the monolithic integration method. The SiC power BJT demonstrates a breakdown voltage of 1320 V and a peak common-emitter current gain of 13.1 while the lateral SiC BJT demonstrated a breakdown voltage of 25 V and a peak common-emitter current gain of 3.8 at room temperature. While the device performance can be further improved, the fact that they can be successfully fabricated on the same wafer without much process modification shows a great promise of realizing monolithic SiC power ICs, which will greatly benefit the next-generation power electronics systems.
Monaural and binaural subjective modulation transfer functions in simple reverberation

The temporal intensity envelope of a signal is filtered by the transmission channel through which it passes. The amount of reduction for a given envelope, or modulation, frequency has been called the modulation transfer function (MTF) and can be derived from the impulse response of the transmission channel [Schroeder, M.R. (1981) Modulation transfer-functions: De nition and measurement, Acustica, 49, 179-182]. The envelope of a speech signal is critical for intelligibility, and the speech transmission index (STI) predicts the intelligibility of speech through a given transmission channel based on its MTF [Houtgast, T. and Steeneken, H.J.M. (1973) Modulation transfer-function in room acoustics as a predictor of speech intelligibility, Acustica, 28, 66-73]. In the present study, the results of intensity modulation detection experiments with broadband noise carriers are reported in monaural and binaural conditions, with single reflections at different arrival times in the two ears and with a simulated room impulse response. The monaural data describe a subjective MTF, which is similar to the physical MTF. Binaurally, the thresholds are consistently lower than the monaural thresholds, especially at frequencies where there is a large interaural modulation phase difference. These data show that binaural detection thresholds can be better than either ear alone and better than the predictions from either ear’s physical MTF.
Data Management Techniques in Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless Sensor Networks(WSNs) is applied to environment monitoring and controlling. Since large amount of data is produced when network running,data management is essential to improve the performance of WSNs. This article discusses developments of data management in WSNs,analyzes differences between data management in WSNs and traditional distributed database management system,elucidates the key technologies and main challenges in this area,introduces recent developments in this area,and points out deficiencies about these technologies. Challenge and future research directions of data management techniques in WSNs are outlined.
Anisotropic etching of Si

In this paper, the structure of silicon crystal and the course of anisotropic etching have been presented in a simple way. Connections between etching anisotropy and surface morphology along with these between etching anisotropy and solution composition are shown. Correlation between solution composition and both morphology of the etched surface and shape of structures etched anisotropically using an oxide mask is analyzed. A simple scheme for designing cross-sections of etched structures and a simplified geometrical model of etching concave and convex structures are demonstrated. KOH and TMAH etching solutions, along with solutions containing additions of tensioactive compounds are compared. Special attention is paid to differences among these solutions.
An Insight into Language: Investigating Lexical and Morphological Effects in Compound Remote Associate Problem Solving

Understanding the processes leading to insight has remained one of psychology’s greatest challenges. In this study, we examined how different lexical properties affect cognitive processes involved in a popular class of insight problems: Compound Remote Associates (CRAs). These properties were familiarity, lexeme meaning dominance, and semantic transparency. We found that a higher proportion of problems were solved when they were presented beginning with the most familiar cues, but not when they began with right-headed dominant or the most semantically transparent cues. Further, we found that participants focused their efforts disproportionately on first and last cues, that subjective ratings of insight decreased as trial times elapsed, and that the magnitude of reported insight increased with the number of cues successfully solved. This suggests that participants can monitor their progress in such problems. These results contest longstanding assumptions of requisite periods of impasse and the absence of incremental progress in insightful problem solving.
Characterization of MWCNT-PEDOT: PSS Nanocomposite Flexible Thin Film for Piezoresistive Strain Sensing Application

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were synthesized by the reduction of ethyl alcohol with sodium borohydride (NaBH4) under a strong basic solvent with the high concentration of sodium hydroxide (NaOH). Nanocomposites of different concentration of MWCNT dispersed in poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) polymerized with poly(4-styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) were prepared and deposited on a flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) polymer substrates by the spin coating method. The thin films were characterized for their nanostructure and subsequently evaluated for their piezoresistive response. The films were subjected to an incremental strain from 0 to 6% at speed of 0.2 mm/min. The nanocomposite thin film with 0.1 wt% of MWCNT exhibits the highest gauge factor of 22.8 at 6% strain as well as the highest conductivity of 13.5 S/m. Hence, the fabricated thin film was found to be suitable for piezoresistive flexible strain sensing applications.
Fault Diagnosis of Analog Circuit Based on Wavelet Support Vector Machine

It is proposed to use the combination of wavelet and Support Vector Machine(SVM) for analog circuit fault diagnosis.The wavelet transform was used to extract the features of the signal,and the obtained feature vector was used as the training vector of SVM for obtaining the fault grader.The stimuli should be able to excite the Circuit Under Test(CUT) so that the faulty-induced effect can be detected.A general excitation signal,a continuous multi-sampling function,was proposed in this paper.The spectrum distribution of sampling function is uniform and energy is the same,so that the signal can be a good stimulus.The results of simulation showed that this signal can excite CUT efficiently,and accuracy of classification of wavelet SVM was good.
Indoor Particle Size Distribution and Ionic Content of Particles in the Laboratory of ISTAC Composting Facility

Particulate matter can be generated through several processes. Formation processes determines the size distribution of the particles. The size distribution gives us important data about the fate of the particles. Composition of the particulate matter includes forensic about their actual sources. The aim of this study is to determine the impact of composting process to laboratory indoor air quality in close proximity to composting process. For this purpose, sampling was conducted at two different points; one of them wass inside the laboratory, whereas the other one was in the composting facility. A low volume cascade impactor was used to collect particulate matter according to their sizes. The impactor was operated for one week at each sampling point. Particles of 10 µm was dominant in the composting facility. The dominant particle size was 5.8 µm inside the laboratory. Particles were ultrasonically extracted in deionized water in order to determine ion concentrations. Ions were quantified in Dionex ICS-3000 ion chromatograph. Ca +2 , NH 4 + and SO 4 -2 were investigated. NH 4 + and SO 4 -2 had highest share in the finest size fraction at both laboratory and plant. Particles of 3.3 µm were enriched with Ca +2 . Biological decomposition products were effective in the ionic composition of the fine particles, whereas mechanically generated dusts formed the coarse particle fraction.
Mesoscopic Organization and Dynamics in Structured Liquids

An increasing number of liquids of both natural and technological importance are known to exhibit spatial and dynamic heterogeneity at the mesoscale due to specific non-covalent intermolecular interactions such as hydrogen-bonding, coulombic interactions, or solvophobic exclusion. However, there is little understanding as to how the organization and dynamics at the mesoscale influence the physical and chemical properties of the bulk liquids. In this dissertation, two classes of materials, ionic liquids and imidazoles, are selected as case studies and investigated by a combination of experimental techniques which provide insight into the interplay of mesoscale organization, dynamics, and physicochemical properties. The mesoscale organization in these materials originates primarily from two different types of noncovalent interactions. For ionic liquids (ILs), this interaction is the solvophobic exclusion of extended aliphatic chains substituted on the cation from regions occupied by the polar ions. Here, new experimental signatures of mesoscale solvophobic aggregate dynamics are identified in the dielectric and dynamic-mechanical spectra. Using these signatures, it is found for instance, in phosphonium-based ionic liquids, that the formation of long-lived aggregates depends not only on the volume fraction of aliphatic groups, but also on the formation of a well-defined polar phase through strong coulombic interactions of the cation and anion charge centers. Finally, the ability to tune physicochemical properties, notably the static dielectric permittivity, by compositiondependent control of mesoscale aggregate morphology and dynamics in binary IL mixtures, is demonstrated. In imidazoles, the organization is driven by intermolecular hydrogen-bonds resulting in supramolecular chains of imidazole molecules. The existence of these chains is commonly believed to promote proton conductivity by a fast intermolecular proton transfer mechanism. A detailed analysis of neat 2-ethyl-4-methylimidazole and mixtures with minute amounts of levulinic acid and butyramide reveal an inverse relation between the average hydrogen-bonded chain length
Determination of Holmquist–Johnson–Cook Constitutive Parameters of Coal: Laboratory Study and Numerical Simulation

The main sensitivity parameters of the Holmquist–Johnson–Cook constitutive model for coal were obtained from a variety of tests such as uniaxial compression, uniaxial cyclic loading, splitting and triaxial compression tests, as well as the indirect derivation equation of a briquette. The mechanical properties of briquettes under dynamic impact were investigated using a split Hopkinson pressure bar experiment. Based on the experimental measurement of the Holmquist–Johnson–Cook constitutive model, the numerical simulation of briquette was performed using ANSYS/LS-DYNA software. A comparison between experimental and simulation results verified the correctness of simulation parameters. This research concluded that the failure of briquette at different impact velocities started from an axial crack in the middle of the coal body, and the sample was swollen to some extent. By the increase of impact velocity, the severity of damage in the coal body was increased, while the size of the coal block was decreased. Moreover, there was good compliance between experimental and simulated stress wave curves in terms of coal sample failure and fracture morphology at different speeds. Finally, the parameters of the validated Holmquist–Johnson–Cook constitutive model were applied to the numerical simulation model of the impact damage of heading face and the process of coal seam damage in the roadway was visually displayed. The obtained results showed that the Holmquist–Johnson–Cook constitutive model parameters suitable for the prominent coal body were of great significance for the improvement and exploration of the occurrence mechanism of coal and rock dynamic disasters.
DNA nanostructures for biotechnological applications

3 Impact Statement . 4 Acknowledgements . 5 Table of tables. 11 Table of equations . 12 Table of figures . 13 Chapter 1 . 22 Introduction . 22 1.1 Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). 22 1.1.1 DNA for the construction of nanoscale architectures hierarchal assembly based on DNA motifs or tiles . 25 1.1.2 Scaffold based DNA nanostructure . 26 1.1.3 Enzymatically derived DNA nanostructures and other methods for the construction of DNA based structures . 29 1.2 Functionalized DNA nanostructures . 30 1.2.1 Methods for the functionalization of DNA with biomolecules . 31 1.3 Enzyme immobilization . 34 1.4 Enzymes immobilized on DNA nanostructures inspiration from nature . 35 1.4. 1 Enzyme cascades in vivo . 35 1.4. 2 Spatial organisation of enzymes on DNA nanostructures . 39 1.4. 3 Modulating enzyme activity through DNA nanostructures . 41 1.4. 4 The basis for rate enhancements of enzyme cascades on DNA scaffolds . 43 1.5 Aims of thesis . 44 Chapter 2 . 45 Materials and methods . 45 2.1 List of materials . 45
The Incidental Grammar Acquisition in Focus on Form and Focus on Forms Instruction for Young Beginner Learners (pages 115-140)

Incidental grammar acquisition involves learners “picking up” a grammatical feature while their primary focus is on some other aspect of language—either message content or another language feature that is taught directly. This article reports a study of children's incidental grammar acquisition of two grammatical features—plural -s and copula be—in two types of instruction—focus on form (FonF) and focus on forms (FonFs). The two features were not directly taught, but opportunities for learning them occurred in classroom interactions. Thirty young beginner Japanese learners were divided into two groups (FonF and FonFs) and received nine repeated lessons over 5 weeks. The study examined learners' acquisition of the two structures as measured by tests and sought explanations for the results in terms of the differences in interactions that arose in the two instructional contexts and, in particular, opportunities for attending to the two grammatical features in these interactions. The children in the FonF classroom demonstrated acquisition of plural -s but not of copula be. Neither structure was acquired by the children in the FonFs classroom. Analysis of the classroom interactions show that there was a functional need to attend to plural -s (but not copula be) only in the FonF classroom.
Regulation of SmpB on acidogenic / aciduric ability and expression and activity of aciduric virulence factor in Streptococcus mutans from caries-sensitive children

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the roles of SmpB on the acidogenic/aciduric ability and expression of aciduric virulence factor in Streptococcus mutans from caries-sensitive children. Methods: Four hundred and seventy-four children, between the ages of 3 and 5, were randomly selected from kindergarten. Non-irritating saliva was collected to identify those with streptococcus mutans. The ability to produce acid of different strains of streptococcus mutans was compared. A mutant strain of streptococcus mutans with ΔSmpB deficiency was constructed. Streptococcus mutans and strains without SmpB were sampled at the logarithmic growth stage and stable stage, respectively. Streptococcus mutans and train SmpB knockout strains were sampled at the logarithmic growth stage and stable stage, respectively. Expression of F-ATPase was determined by real-time PCR. Enzymatic activity of F-ATPase was also determined. Results: Children were divided into the high caries group and caries-free group. When pH was between 6.0 and 7.0, there were no significant differences in acid-producing and acid-resistance between the high caries group and caries-free group at the same PH. When pH was between 5.0 and 5.5, acidproducing and acid-resistant abilities of bacteria, in the two groups, were significantly inhibited by acid. Knockout of SmpB inhibited the growth of streptococcus mutans and significantly reduced acid-producing and acid-resistant abilities of streptococcus mutans. Expression and activity of F-ATPase in ΔSmpB deficiency strain decreased markedly. Conclusion: SmpB plays critical roles in the regulation of acidogenic/aciduric ability and F-ATPase expression activity during the cariogenic process.
Graph Edge Bundling by Medial Axes

We present a new method for bundling edges of general graphs, based on 2D medial axes of edge sets which are similar in terms of position. We combine edge clustering, distance fields, and 2D medial axes to progressively bundle general graphs by attracting edges towards the centerlines of level sets of their distance fields. Our method allows for an efficient GPU implementation. We illustrate our method on several large real-world graphs.
Photocatalytic and Antimicrobial Activities of Polyaniline Nanocomposites with Molybdates

Article history: Received 20 March 2019 Accepted 29 April 2019 Available online 04 June 2019 The present study describes the process for the formation of PANI nanocomposite incorporated with metal (Cd, Bi, Ba) molybdates of binary metal oxide. The PANI and its nanocomposites were prepared by 0.1 M aniline in 100 mL of 1 M sulphuric acid in the presence or absence of 50 mg of metal molybdate by chemical polymerization using 0.1 M APS as oxidant in 100 mL of 1 M sulphuric acid. The polymerisation yields are increased due to incorporation of metal molybdates. The growth of polymerization is also enhanced. The interaction of metal molybdates into PANI matrix leads to increase in very high conductivity, heavy interaction between the two-polymer chain lead to increase in stability of the polymer. In the incorporation of metal molybdate into the polymer matrix leads to increase in conductivity of about 5, 4 and 2 times with respect to the original sample (PANI) as in PANI-CdMoO4, PANI-BiMoO4 and PANI-BaMoO4 respectively. The incorporation of metal molybdates is confirmed by XRD and UV-VIS spectral studies. The XRD studies are also suggested the presence of chemical interaction between polymer chain and incorporated metal molybdates. The antimicrobial activity of the synthesized material PANI and PANI-nanocomposites were tested against four bacteria, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, P. aeruginosa and Proteus vulgaris using disc diffusion method. The nanocomposite doped polymer possesses excellent antibacterial property. The results on MB dye degradation showed that PANI-SO4/CdMoO4 photocatalyst, under visible light degraded 80.2 % of MB dye after 180 min. The photo-degradation study, thus, suggests that the light absorption of PANI and catalytic role of CdMoO4 could be coupled for high photo-catalytic functionality. This work opens a new avenue for the design of new modified photo-catalysts with high activity for the large-scale water treatment and other applications.