Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Examining second language development using event-related potentials: a cross-sectional study on the processing of gender and number agreement

This cross-sectional study examines the role of L1-L2 differences and structural distance in the processing of gender and number agreement by English-speaking learners of Spanish at three different levels of proficiency. Preliminary results show that differences between the L1 and L2 impact L2 development, as sensitivity to gender agreement violations, as opposed to number agreement violations, emerges only in learners at advanced levels of proficiency. Results also show that the establishment of agreement dependencies is impacted by the structural distance between the agreeing elements for native speakers and for learners at intermediate and advanced levels of proficiency but not for low proficiency. The overall pattern of results suggests that the linguistic factors examined here impact development but do not constrain ultimate attainment; for advanced learners, results suggest that second language processing is qualitatively similar to native processing.
Self-regulating fuzzy control for forward DC-DC converters using an 8-bit microcontroller

A self-regulating fuzzy control (SRFC) design method is proposed; this control system uses a gradient rule modification method to regulate the fuzzy rules. Moreover, to reduce the number of fuzzy rules and to strengthen the robustness of SRFC, a self-regulating fuzzy sliding-mode control (SRFSMC) design method is also developed. Both the SRFC and SRFSMC systems contain two sets of fuzzy inference logic, one being the control regulator and the other the rule modifier. The proposed SRFC and SRFSMC systems can automatically regulate the fuzzy rules to achieve satisfactory performance and make the computation easy and, hence, they are suitable for real-time control. Finally, the proposed SRFC and SRFSMC systems are applied to control a forward DC-DC converter to illustrate their effectiveness. A microcontroller-based experimental system is implemented. Experimental results show that the proposed SRFC and SRFSMC systems are robust with regard to different input voltages and load resistance variations for the forward DC-DC converter.
A flexible constraint length, foldable Viterbi decoder

The design and implementation of a novel reconfigurable Viterbi decoder which provides programmed flexibility between constraint length and decoder throughput is described. This flexibility is achieved through an architecture which employs a foldable state scheduling scheme allowing a wide range of constraint lengths to be processed by a fixed set of physical hardware at full utilization and with no change in system configuration. In addition, the design affords scalability allowing hardware growth for higher throughput. A rapid prototype implementation using FPGA technology is discussed. Results showing excellent performance of the decoder for a variety of constraint lengths, including K=14 which finds application in deep space communications, are presented. <<ETX>>
Soil Boron Migration as Influenced by Leaching Rate and Soil Characteristics: A Column Study

ABSTRACT Soil boron (B) supply is usually used by farmers to correct B deficiency in many crops. The excessive application of this fertilizer may threaten environment components particularly underground water and soil. This study was undertaken to evaluate B migration at different soil characteristics and leaching levels. Three soils were collected from different southwestern Mediterranean areas. Then, three annual leaching rates were tested for each soil: 35 mm, 237 mm, and 565 mm in a sandy soil; 35 mm, 103 mm, and 247 mm in a silty-clay soil; 35 mm, 70 mm, and 140 mm in a clay-calcareous soil. The experiments were conducted in PVC columns filled with 30 cm of the studied soils. 0.5 mg kg−1 of B was applied to the surface of each soil. The results showed that B migration is mainly related to leaching rate and clay content. The soil B losses (y) can be predicted using the regression model: y (mg kg−1) = 0.001a–0.01b+0.14 (adjusted R2 = 0.92) where a = leaching rates (mm) and b = soil clay content (%). The B leaching threat is higher on sandy soil compared to other soils. However, soil B accumulation risk seems to occur particularly in silty-clay and clay-calcareous soils. Further, bioavailable B enrichment was recorded only on silty-clay soil.
Modelo de un Personaje en un Entorno Virtual Inteligente

In this paper, a character reference model, based on its perception and reasoning, with the objective of achieving visual realism in an Intelligent Virtual Environment (IVE) is proposed. The necessary steps for obtaining the model are: i) to identify the characteristics of the objects and of the virtual character of the IVE; ii) design of the IVE model; iii) specification of the Artificial Intelligence technique (AI); iv) defining the physical level and semantic system for the integration of the character with the environment; v) validation of the proposed model in a prototype; and vi) evaluation of the results. The proposed model allows generating an appropriate dynamics between the character en the elements of the virtual environment, which is required in several applications.
Design methodology for defect tolerant integrated circuits

A single-spot defect which deforms the power of clock connections of a VLSI IC may affect the functionality of an entire die. Typical yield prediction procedures applied to circuits with redundancy do not take this possibility into account. Analysis of the defect's nature combined with the appropriate modifications of the existing models is used to address this problem. Applications of the yield models to ICs with redundancy indicate that direct power-ground or clock shorts are a very important limitation to the maximal size of such circuits. A novel design approach that uses circuit breakers to minimize consequences of shorts in the metallization of the IC with redundancy is indicated as a necessity for large-area defect-tolerant circuits. <<ETX>>
Massive Open Online Librarianship: Emerging Practices in Response to MOOCs

Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs, have recently emerged as a disruptive pedagogy gaining rapid momentum in higher education. In some states, proposed legislations would accredit MOOCs to provide college-credit courses in the name of cost saving, efficiency and access. While debates rage regarding the place of MOOCs in higher education, some librarians are already tasked with supporting student learning within this untried context. Challenges faced by librarians seeking to support MOOCs span all traditional academic librarian roles: instruction, reference and collection development. To successfully serve these new communities of learners, librarians must apply existing best practices established by distance learning librarians as well as develop new skills and approaches. This paper offers a brief introduction to the current state of MOOCs in higher education, explores the needs of MOOC students and discusses possible best practices to be adapted and adopted as librarians prepare to serve this emerging student population.
On data modeling for neurological application

The aim of this paper is to design and implement information system containing large database dedicated to support neurological-psychiatric examinations focused on human brain after stroke. This approach encompasses the following steps: analysis of software requirements, presentation of the problem solving concept, design and implementation of the final information system. Certain experiments were performed in order to verify the correctness of the project ideas. The approach can be considered as an interdisciplinary venture. Elaboration of the system architecture, data model and the tools supporting medical examinations are provided. The achievement of the design goals is demonstrated in the final conclusion.
The Research and Implementation of Particle Effects Algorithm in Virtual Environments

As we know, when using traditional particle system to initiate the natural phenomenon, we need to deal with a lot of computation and data issues, in order solve this problem, we discuses in this chapter to combine the way of particle system and visual particle system, using vertex buffer techniques and texture mapping techniques to design elementary particle systems, which base on Visual C++ as compiler platform. using the Direct3D graphics software library to complete particle system designing ,and it successfully simulated using a small amount of particles in the flame, smoke and other special effects which not only improved the Utilization of System resources ,but also Guaranteed the Verisimilitude and Real-time in the same time.
Synthesis of Bishomobenzoctamine 2-(9,10-Dihydro-9,10-Propanoanthracen-9-yl)-N-Methylethanamine

Tetracyclic bishomobenzoctamine as a homologue of benzoctamine 1 was synthesised. The key intermediate 9-(prop-2-en-1-yl)-9,10-dihydro-9,10-propanoanthracen-12-one was successfully synthesised via [3+4] cycloaddition of tetrabromoacetone on 9-allylanthracene by using ultrasonication at 15–20 °C followed by debromination.
Algorithm Level Evaluation of DPA Resistivity against Cryptosystems

Paul Kocher has proposed a cryptanalysis technique called Differential Power Analysis (DPA), in which attackers derive secret information such as private keys from a statistical analysis of the power consumption by the target device. There is now a demand to evaluate the DPA resistivity of cryptographic device before the device is actually created. In this paper, we focus on simulating DPA with high speed at algorithm level in upstream of the design process. Messerges used Power Leakage Model to obtain power consumption from Hamming Weight for proof of high-order DPA. However, the correctness of the model has not been verified. In this paper, we verify that difference of power consumption in DPA can be obtained from Power Leakage Model by investigating the cause of power consumption of CMOS circuits and transition probability of logic gates. The verification is performed by means of a circuit simulator. Next we describe a method of performing algorithm level simulation which calculates power consumption using Power Leakage Model. We illustrate the effectiveness of the method by applying it to DPA resistivity evaluation of DES implementation.
Integrated Design of Antibodies for Systems Biology Using Ab Designer

In the current era of large-scale biology, systems biology has evolved as a powerful approach to identify complex interactions within biological systems. In addition to high throughput identification and quantification techniques, methods based on high-quality mono-specific antibodies remain an essential element of the approach. To assist the large-scale design and production of peptide-directed antibodies for systems biology studies, we developed a fully integrated online application, AbDesigner (http://helixweb.nih.gov/AbDesigner/), to help researchers select optimal peptide immunogens for antibody generation against relatively disordered regions of target proteins. Here we describe AbDesigner in terms of its features, comparing it to other software tools, and use it to design three antibodies against kidney disease-related proteins in human, viz. nephrin, podocin, and apolipoprotein L1.
Parallel acceleration of diffuse scattering model for indoor radio prediction by CUDA

Radio wave propagation prediction is very important for the design of the mobile communication network. The raytracing algorithm is a commonly used computational method for site-specific prediction of the radio channel characteristics of wireless communication systems. However, it does not consider the diffuse scattering. Therefore, an indoor diffuse scattering model which based on diffuse scattering theory and FDTD is established. The diffuse scattering of indoor walls and ceiling and floor is calculated at a series of discrete time instance in this method. In recent years, the compute unified device architecture (CUDA) of NVIDIA takes advantage of the GPU for parallel computing, and greatly improve the speed of computation. Because there is a large number of data to deal with, in order to reduce the computation time, a GPU-based diffuse scattering model for indoor radio prediction is introduced in this paper, which fully utilizes the parallel processing capabilities of CUDA to further improve the computational efficiency. It can be found that good acceleration effect has been achieved.
Motion control in an electric vehicle with four independently driven in-wheel motors

We study methods of motion control for an electric vehicle (EV) with four independently driven in-wheel motors. First, we propose and simulate a novel robust dynamic yaw-moment control (DYC). DYC is a vehicle attitude control method that generates yaw from torque differences between the right and left wheels. The results of simulations, however, identify a problem with instability on slippery, low /spl mu/ roads. To solve this problem, a new skid detection method is proposed that will be a part of traction control system (TCS) for each drive wheel. The experimental results show that this method can detect a skidding wheel, without any information on chassis velocity. Therefore, this method will be of great help during cornering or braking in a TCS. These methods will be integrated and tested in our new experimental EV.
Taking Advantage of Alice to Teach Programming Concepts

Learning the fundamentals of programming languages has always been a difficult task for students. It is equally challenging for lecturers to teach these concepts. A number of methods have been deployed by teachers to teach these concepts. This article analyses the result of a class test to identify fundamental programming concepts that students have difficulty in understanding. On the basis of this result, an open educational resource, ‘Alice’, was introduced in the class along with C++ in the following semester. This article also provides a sample lecture that was designed using Alice and that corresponded to the objectives of the subject. The objectives of the subject were taken into consideration while designing the lectures, labs and assignment tasks using Alice. Students enrolled in Applied Programming in Summer 2010 were tested on the concepts after the introduction to Alice, and the results were compared with those of Summer 2009, where the traditional style of teaching programming was followed. Analysis of the results shows that Alice is very effective for teaching students programming concepts.
Evolving model architecture for custom output range exploration

In this paper, a methodology for combined online design of experiments and system identification is presented. More specifically, the paper addresses the problem of creating a model automatically that describes an unknown process accurately in a predefined range of its output. Such a model is typically needed for the calibration of combustion engines where only a relatively small emission range is of interest. The presented solution approach consists of two interacting components: first, an evolving local model network is used for creating, refining and extending a data-driven model, based on the incoming measurements; second, model-based approaches are proposed for designing new experiments so that the data-driven model has a high degree of accuracy in a predefined range of its output. The method uses, besides the models, a space-filling to explore untrained areas. The proposed concepts are illustrated and discussed by means of an academic and two real-world examples.
Use of multiple visual features for object tracking

In this paper we present a method of using multiple visual attributes (features) that are present in moving objects for carrying out object tracking, by way of feature substitution. The proposed method, in principle, can make use of many visual cues available from a scene such as texture, color, velocity (monocular features) and disparity, vergence (binocular features). For the present experiments we make use of 3 features, namely, texture, optical flow and color as the main visual features and defocus of objects (blur) as supportive feature. At any instance, tracking is carried out using only one feature and this feature is monitored closely for failures. The feature is substituted with another suitable feature only upon the failure or high uncertainty of the current features. In case of tracking using texture alone, we make use of a histogram based technique called Histogram Intersection Value. This technique is not only computationally simple but provides very good results whenever texture is suitable for tracking. Experimental results with real image sequences show the validity of the proposed method.
AEM: availability enhancing middleware-a prototype for enhancing the availability of software applications

This paper addresses the problem of enhancing the availability of software applications in provider networks. The work results from a research cooperation between the Universitat der Bundeswehr Munchen and the Siemens AG (Information & Communication Networks), Munchen. We propose an AEM-architecture based on actively monitoring the behavior of applications at run-time in order to be able to evaluate their availability and to protect them from each other's faulty behavior. The purpose of our approach is also to maximize the availability of a network node and the whole network using application migration policies. We propose abstractions that promote the dependability in the early phases of software development, too. The focus of this paper will be in sketching our prototypical implementation, which allowed us to verify the feasibility of some of the main concepts of our AEM-architectural proposal.
Optimization of regional navigation satellite constellation by improved NSGA-II algorithm

In this paper, the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II) based on the concept of Pareto optimal is improved. A new algorithm with lower O(MNlogN) computational complexity to construct non-dominated set replaces the NSGA-II original fast non-dominated sorting algorithm with O(MN2) com-putational complexity. The new algorithm improves operating efficiency of NSGA-II significantly. Based on the combination of the improved NSGA-II algorithm and regional navigation satellite constellation design, a new idea to design regional navigation satellite constellation is proposed in this paper. The new idea is implemented by Satellite Tool Kits (STK) and Matlab: the improved NSGA-II algorithm is implemented by Matlab and the calculation of the objective function values is implemented by STK. STK/Connect interface is used to integrate STK and Matlab into one simulation. Simulation results show that new idea has some advantages over the traditional methods, being more efficient, more flexible and more comprehensive.
Intelligent optical networking for multilayer survivability

In recent years, telecommunication networks have faced explosive (IP) traffic growth. As traffic keeps growing, network reliability gains more and more importance. This article investigates to which extent switched connections and fast connection provisioning, typical for intelligent optical networks (IONs), can be used to provide resilience in an IP-over-optical multilayer network scenario. This solution, based on transport network flexibility, is compared with more traditional static multilayer resilience schemes in terms of cost (capacity) requirements and operational (dis)advantages.
Control Scheme for Wide-Speed-Range Operation of Synchronous Reluctance Motor in M-T Frame Synchronized with Stator Flux Linkage

This paper proposes a novel control scheme for wide-speed-range operation of synchronous reluctance motors. The proposed scheme is a combination of maximum torque per ampere control, maximum torque per flux control, fluxweakening control, and torque limiting. These controls are based on a mathematical model in a rotating reference frame that is synchronized with the stator flux-linkage vector. The proposed control scheme is suitable for direct torque control or flux-oriented control. The validity of the control scheme is verified by the experimental results. Influences of parameter variation on the proposed control scheme are discussed. The proposed schemes of flux weakening and torque limiting are insensitive to parameter variation.
GPU Implementation of a Novel Approach to Cramer's Algorithm for Solving Large Scale Linear Systems

Scientific computing often requires solving systems of linear equations. Most software packages for solving large-scale linear systems use Gaussian elimination methods such as LUdecomposition. An alternative method, recently introduced by K. Habgood and I. Arel, involves an application of Cramer’s Rule and Chio’s condensation to achieve a better performing system for solving linear systems on parallel computing platforms. This thesis describes an implementation of this algorithm on an nVidia graphics processor card using the CUDA language. Increased performance, relative to the serial implementation, is demonstrated, paving the way for future parallel realizations of the scheme.
OPTIMAL LAYOUT OF TREE NETWORKS USING GENETIC ALGORITHMS

Two alternative Genetic Algorithm methods for the optimal selection of the layout and connectivity of a dendritic pipe network are presented and compared. Both methods assume that the layout is selected from a directed base graph defining all feasible arcs. The first method uses a conventional binary string to represent the network layout, with the second method using a more efficient integer representation. Comparison with an exact Dynamic Programming formulation is made. The Genetic Algorithm techniques are shown to be very effective search procedures for the class of network optimization problem investigated.
Cybernetics and embodied cognition: on the construction of realities in organisms and robots

Purpose – To point out the relevance of Heinz von Foerster's work to modern embodied cognitive science and artifical intelligence research.Design/methodology/approach – The paper discusses (a) von Foerster's contributions to understanding the limitations of the computer metaphor which has long dominated cognitive science, and (b) his theories concerning how reality is constructed in organizationally closed organisms, and what the underlying neural mechanisms are. The latter is exemplified with a simple neuro‐robotic model that illustrates the constructive and anticipatory nature of memory.Findings – von Foerster's work on the integration of a radical constructivest philosophy of knowledge construction with models of the underlying neurophysiological and sensorimotor mechanisms is still highly relevant to the understanding of embodied cognition and robotic models thereof.Originality/value – This paper identifies conceptual contributions that von Foerster's constructivist cybernetics can make to cognitive s.
The EDD rule for fuzzy job time

Single machine models are an important kind of scheduling models. In this paper, we assume that each of the processing time, the release time and the due date of a single machine model may be fuzzy. For jobs scheduled in a single machine environment, the Earliest Due Date (EDD) rule serves to minimize the maximum lateness among the jobs waiting for processing. A fuzzy EDD algorithm is proposed to manage the scheduling uncertainty. This algorithm yields a scheduling result with a final fuzzy completion time and a fuzzy maximum lateness. Our objective is to find a near optimal schedule and the minimization of the maximum lateness under uncertainty. We are hopeful that the algorithm may help managers to gainxsa broader view of scheduling.