Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dynamic localisation of autonomous guided vehicles

As autonomous guided vehicles become increasingly established within a diverse range of applications, the need for efficient and flexible operation becomes apparent. Existing localisation techniques have tended to offer either "move look update" operation, navigating from an a priori map, or continuous operation dependent upon artificial beacons placed within the environment. We describe an extended Kalman filter based navigation system which maintains a robust position estimate throughout continuous operation. In order to achieve dynamic operation, we exploit the recursive nature of the Kalman filter and utilise the higher data acquisition rate offered by infra red scanning to obtain observations of the operational environment. In order to further enhance performance, the a priori map is segmented into an array of regions containing sub-lists of features which can be rapidly matched with an observation, thus minimising the computation overhead due to data association. <<ETX>>
Preparation and evaluation of fused silica capillary columns for gas chromatography and micellar electrokinetic chromatography

• A submitted manuscript is the author's version of the article upon submission and before peer-review. There can be important differences between the submitted version and the official published version of record. People interested in the research are advised to contact the author for the final version of the publication, or visit the DOI to the publisher's website. • The final author version and the galley proof are versions of the publication after peer review. • The final published version features the final layout of the paper including the volume, issue and page numbers.
Measurement criteria for neural network pruning

A new measure based on hidden-output node activation is proposed for measuring the relevance of hidden nodes in a neural network. The concept has been successfully applied for pruning in several classification problems. The experiments indicate that redundant nodes are pruned down resulting in optimal network topologies. The measure has been compared to the one proposed by Kamimura-Nakanishi (see IEICE Trans. Inf. & Syst., vol.E78-D, no.4, p.484-9, 1995) and also used in the context of a modified cost function where an additional penalty function is added to steer the direction of the hidden node's activation in the process of learning.
Milestones in Matrix Converter Research

The Matrix Converter (MC) evolved from the forced commutated cycloconverters and has been extensively investigated for more than thirty years. In this publication, the milestones in research on MCs in academia and industry are reviewed and presented chronologically and thematically ordered. The major contributions in the fundamental topic areas such as the development of the topology, topological extensions, commutation, modulation, loss calculation, control, or filtering and EMC are compiled and then expanded with examples of the latest activities in the corresponding field of research. In addition, an overview of the publicly reported research on MCs in industry is provided and the development of the commercialized MCs is briefly summarized. This review concludes with a comparison of the MC with the Voltage DC-Link Back-to-Back Converter (V-BBC) and a discussion of the current status of the MC technology and its future potential. The key contributions in the development of the MC can be summarized as follows: the investigation of the basic MC concept by Venturini in 1980 [19], the development of the multi-step commutation by Burany and Oyama et al in 1989 [64,65] to solve the commutation problem of the bidirectional switches, and finally the space vector representation of the modulation by Huber and Boroyevich in [80] to enable a consistent mathematical description of the converter system from the source to the load. With these fundamental features, the MC (CMC) is operational and can be used as a direct ac-ac converter with variable voltage and frequency transformation capability. The world’s first commercial MC was presented by the Japanese drive manufacturer Yaskawa in 2005 with the product name “Varispeed AC”. This converter series is based on the CMC topology and is implemented with RB-IGBTs. One year later in 2006, Fuji Electric announced also a new MC product, the Frenic-MX, which, however, is currently not anymore part of Fuji’s product portfolio. Meanwhile, Yaskawa extended their matrix converter product line with a medium voltage MC series. Despite intensive research for the last three decades, MCs have until now only achieved low market penetration with Yaskawa Electric as the only drive manufacturer currently offering MCs as commercial products. The reason for the low usage of the MC technology in industry is mainly due to the intrinsic, physical limitations given by the MC concept, such Fig. 1. Basic three-phase Matrix Converter topologies: (a) single-stage half-bridge or Conventional (direct) Matrix Converter (CMC) and (b) two-stage Indirect Matrix Converter (IMC)
Future of analog in the VLSI environment

It is argued analog circuits will remain irreplaceable for the implementation of the interface circuitry between digital processing and the external world. Most of their characteristics can be improved with scaled-down processes. Analog circuits will also compete with digital and will remain advantageous for low precision signal processing. Since little precision is required to carry out many cognitive tasks, analog VLSI (very-large-scale integration) will dominate in the implementation of many types of neural networks. <<ETX>>
The Egyptian Ministry of Transport's Technology Department: The Organic Organization Structure

This paper sets out to explore one of the IT-based management approaches—the object-oriented (organic) approach—and to explain how this approach can be adopted to structure and manage the multitude of complex tasks of the virtual organization. Such big organizations need a structure that is fast, reliable, adaptable and deterministic. In addition, these organizations need a structure to allocate resources and maximize their utilization in a way that avoids deadlock and priority inversion. This paper will not only present how the organic approach is capable of meeting the virtual organization’s needs, but it will also outline how this approach can be applied to the technology sector of Egypt’s Ministry of Transport.
Response models based on bagging neural networks

Identifying customers who are likely to respond to a product offering is an important issue in direct marketing.Response models are typically built from historical purchase data. A popular method of choice, logistic regression, is easy to understand and build, but limited in that the model is linear in parameters. Neural networks are nonlinear and have been found to improve predictive accuracies for a variety of business applications. Neural networks have not always demonstrated clear supremacy over traditional statistics competitors, largely because of over-fitting and instability. Combining multiple networksmay alleviate these problems. A systematic method of combining neural networks is proposed, namely bagging or bootstrap aggregating, whereby overfitted multiple neural networks are trained with bootstrap replicas of the original data set and then averaged. We built response models using a publicly available DMEF data set with three methods: bagging neural networks, single neural networks, and conventional logistic regression. The proposed method not only improved but also stabilized the prediction accuracies over the other two.
Comparing motion-interpolation structures for video coding

This paper considers the topic of video compression at bit-rates around 1 Mbps for digital storage/playback applications. The backbone algorithm employed is the well-known motion-compensated prediction-error coder. This approach is considerably enhanced by the incorporation of conditional motion-compensated interpolation (CMCI), where some of the video frames are encoded with prediction-error coding and the remainder are encoded with motion-compensated interpolation and interpolation-error coding. The advantage of this combined technique is that interpolation errors can be coded with much fewer bits than prediction errors for similar reconstructed-picture quality. We consider two different techniques for estimating motion in CMCI- coded frames. In order to facilitate direct interaction with the bit-stream, the input sequence is divided into groups such that one frame in each group is intra-coded. The arrangement of predictive- and CMCI-coded frames can be varied; a study of these arrangements is the major focus of this paper. Structures with one-, two- and four-frame interpolation are compared. Our results indicate that one-frame interpolation is inferior to two-frame interpolation on complex test material. Four-frame interpolation is comparable in performance to two-frame interpolation as long as the motion is compensable.
Calibration of a multispectral camera system using interference filters

The present paper proposes a calibration method of a multispectral camera system using interference filters. A spectral image processing is effective to acquire an inherent information of an object in a general way. However, filter registration error often occurs when the interference filter is used. Therefore, a calibration method is presented for correcting observed images. Moreover, we describe a method for digital archiving of oil paintings based the present imaging system.
Displaying shiny objects under virtual lighting

This paper describes an extension of Image-Based Rendering (IBR) to represent the specularity of a real object in a virtual environment. A captured image of all object contains several kinds of physical information; its shape, color, texture, specularity and the lighting condition. This paper is intended as all investigation of how to preserve the specularity of an object, which is considerably sensitive to the lighting condition. Like IBR, it takes all image set by changing a lighting pattern electronically with a PC projector. When displaying the object, it re-calls the image set and does image retrieval of the most suitable image according to a user assigned lighting condition. As the user is able to change the lighting condition virtually, the appearance with highlight and specularity under the virtual lighting condition is produced on a monitor. Also using a camera observing the real global lighting, the new display can import it into the virtual space and shows the object under pseudo real lighting. The proposed imaging techniques are applicable to virtual museum or digital archives.
Regression Test Reduction for Object-Oriented Software: A Control Call Graph Based Technique and Associated Tool

This paper presents a selective regression testing technique and an associated tool for object-oriented software. The technique is based on the concept of Control Call Graphs, which are a reduced form of traditional Control Flow Graphs. It uses static analysis of the source code of the program. The developed tool (1) identifies the Control Call Paths potentially impacted by changes, (2) selects, from an existing test suite, the appropriate test cases, and (3) generates new JUnit test cases for control call paths that are not covered by existing tests (new ones, or those whose structure has been modified after changes). In this way, the approach supports an incremental update of the test suite. The selected JUnit test cases, including the new ones, are automatically executed. Three concrete case studies are reported to provide evidence of the feasibility of the approach and its benefits in terms of reduction of regression testing effort.
Stable imaging tracking method based on learning online for ground moving target with multi-DSP processing

A stable imaging tracking method based on learning online for ground moving target with multi-DSP processing is presented in this paper. Background window is set to track and predict the background image and supervise the intruder. The target learning online based on background prediction revises the accumulated tracking error. Different tracking strategy during different tracking states and risk level of intruder improves the stability and accuracy of tracking system especially in a long time of continual tracking. The parallel processing based on multiple DSP makes a real-time tracking system be possible.
Angehörige auf Intensivstationen: Auswirkungen und Bewältigung. Eine Literaturübersicht über qualitative Forschungsarbeiten

Wenn ein Mensch auf eine Intensivstation eingeliefert wird, ist nicht nur er selbst, sondern die ganze Familie von diesem Ereignis betroffen. Um einen tieferen Einblick in die Situation Angehoriger auf Intensivstationen zu erhalten, wird in dieser Literaturstudie anhand qualitativ durchgefuhrter Forschungsarbeiten aufgezeigt, welche Auswirkungen es auf die Betroffenen hat, wenn eines ihrer Familienmitglieder auf der Intensivstation liegt und wie sie mit dieser Situation umgehen. Es wurden 15 Studien analysiert. Die Situation ist gekennzeichnet durch Unsicherheit, uberwaltigende Emotionen, das Ubernehmen von zusatzlichen Verantwortlichkeiten und das Ausfullen divergierender Rollen. Dabei zeigt sich, dass Angehorige stets das kranke Familienmitglied in den Vordergrund stellen, die eigene Person wird wahrend dieser Zeit hinten angereiht. Um mit der Situation umzugehen, kommen verschiedene Mechanismen und Strategien zum Tragen. Zentral dabei ist, dass Angehorige ihrem kranken Familienmitglied stets nahe sein .
Neural networks for robust classification of mental tasks

Investigates appropriate neural classifiers for the recognition of mental tasks from on-line spontaneous EEG signals. The classifiers are to be embedded in a portable brain-computer interface called ABI. We evaluate different kinds of classifiers, from statistical approaches to neural networks, with 8 healthy persons. Subjects' performance is analyzed off-line and, for three of them, also on-line in the presence of biofeedback. The proposed ABI robustly recognizes three mental tasks from on-line spontaneous EEG signals. Correct recognition is around 70%. This modest rate is largely compensated by two properties of ABI: wrong responses are below 5% and it makes decisions every 1/2 second. Also, since the subject and his/her personal ABI learn simultaneously from each other, subjects master it rapidly: one of the subjects achieved excellent control in just 5 days of training. Analysis of learned EEG patterns confirms that for a subject to operate satisfactorily an ABI, the latter must fit the individual features of the former. Building individual interfaces greatly increases the likelihood of success, as demonstrated for all subjects we have worked with despite the short training time of most of them.
Process regulation via genealogical decision trees

This paper deals with regulation control on the basis of genealogical decision trees (GDTs). GDTs are a population‐based random search technique for solving sequential multimodal and multivariable trajectory tracking problems, when gradient information is not available or does not exist. A direct application of GDT results in an open‐loop control. In this paper, feedback regulation based on GDT is considered. In the proposed scheme, GDTs are used for solving off‐line a number of predictive control problems; a finite set of initial states is then constructed from these simulations, for each of which an optimal control sequence has been computed. Natural handling of missing state vector measurements is provided. Numerical examples dealing with the van der Vusse CSTR illustrate the feasibility and the efficiency of this feedback control algorithm. A discussion on alternative approaches and a numerical comparison with the Markov‐decision‐process‐based optimal policy are provided. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Internet Use in the State Legislature

Using a survey of state legislators in Iowa, Georgia, and California, this article examines how often legislators use the Internet as a source for policy information, and which legislators tend to make more frequent use of the Internet to gather information. The author finds that there is tremendous variation as to how often state legislators use the Internet to gather policy information. The author did not find evidence of a digital divide as it pertains to urbanism, or gender. It appears that a digital divide remains, however, between young and old legislators—with younger legislators using the Internet more often— and legislators in California versus legislators in Georgia and Iowa. In the end, it appears that the digital divide in the state legislature is shrinking. As the older generation of legislators retires, the author expects that the Internet will become a more institutionalized part of the information environment of state legislators.
Monik Charette (1991). Conditions on phonological government . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp. xi + 232.

Current theories of the syllable attempt to maximise the role of languageuniversal principles and parameters in accounting for the structure and content of syllables. The theory of Phonological Government proposed by Kaye et al. (1990) is one of the important current theories of the syllable to apply this approach. Conditions on phonological government is a study of schwa—zero alternations in French formulated within the theory of Phonological Government. Charette's goal in this book is twofold: to present an explanatory account of French schwa—zero alternations in terms of principles that are applicable to other languages as well, and to provide a test case for an application of Phonological Government to an extensive body of data in one language. The first three chapters introduce Phonological Government and the relevant issues in French phonology. Chapter 1 presents the major tenets of Phonological Government, including a brief but lucid review of Charm theory. This theoretical overview is particularly useful, since, not being part of mainstream phonology, the theory of Phonological Government is likely to be unfamiliar to many readers. Chapter 2 reviews the data on schwa-zero alternations in French again a feature that helps to make the book accessible to readers unfamiliar with French phonology. Chapter 3 reviews the three major previous analyses of French schwa-zero alternations Dell (1973), Selkirk (1978) and Anderson (1982)-which form the inspiration for Charette's analysis. The analysis that Charette develops in Chapter 4 accepts Anderson's argument that schwa cannot be represented underlyingly by either of its phonetic manifestations — [ce] or [e] — but that it is best represented underlyingly as an empty vowel (represented here by /$/)• In Anderson's approach, the phonetic presence or absence of schwa depends on the structure of the syllable of which it is the nucleus. If the empty vowel is in an open syllable, and if (obligatory word-internal) resyllabification moves the onset to the preceding syllable, so that the syllable containing 0 loses all specified material, then schwa is deleted, as in devenir 'to become', which is resyllabified from /da.v0. nir/ to /dav.0. nir/ , with the onset / v / moving to the preceding coda, leaving the empty nucleus stranded. This does not happen in fortement 'strongly', where resyllabification cannot apply to the / t / in /fDr.t0. ma/ to move it to the preceding coda, under the assumption that codas in French do not branch. The resulting empty nucleus is spelled out as schwa. Charette departs from Anderson's approach by making the presence or absence of schwa dependent not on the structure of its own syllable, but on the relation of schwa to neighbouring nuclei. This approach is in line with the fundamental tenet of Phonological Government that syllabification is determined from governing relations among constituents.
Stellenwert der Lungenfunktion in der Abklärung der Atemnot

Die Abklarung der Atemnot kann auch fur erfahrene Arzte eine Herausforderung sein. In bis zu einem Drittel der Falle ist die Atemnot durch verschiedene Ursachen gleichzeitig bedingt. Da mit alleiniger Anamnese oder klinischer Untersuchung z. B. eine Atemwegsobstruktion verpasst wie auch uberschatzt werden kann, ist die Spirometrie im Abklarungsbaum der Dyspnoe ein wichtiger Untersuchungsschritt. Damit die Spirometrie ein hilfreiches Instrument im Abklarungsbaum der Atemnot sein kann, ist eine aussagekraftige und somit qualitativ hochstehende Untersuchung notwendig. Werden entsprechende Qualitatskriterien berucksichtigt, kann aber mit dieser einfachen und billigen Untersuchung ein nutzlicher Baustein in der Abklarung der Atemnot gelegt werden.
The Small-World Problem in a Spatial Context

The small-world problem poses the question: “How many steps does it take to link any two people, selected at random? ” A simulation model is built to examine this question, but focusing on the spatial side of the problem. Four aspects are investigated in detail: the general distribution of steps with parameter changes; channelling effects; the sensitivity of the overall structure to disconnection; and ghettoisation of an area. Some suggestions are made for further possible applications of the model.
How Designers Express Agreement: The role of multimodal communication in communicating agreement and reaching shared understanding during conceptual design

In this paper, we present a study on the role of verbal communication in reaching shared understanding during idea generation in design teams. More specifically, our goal is to investigate specific communication actions designers take in different communication modalities that lead to shared understanding. In order to realize this goal, we conducted a quasi-experimental with 18 participants, who designed in groups of 3. The control groups communicated freely, whereas the test groups were not allowed to use verbal communication. We identified and analyzed communication actions that represent agreement in four different modalities: gestural, verbal, graphical and textual communication. The results suggest that when verbalization is allowed, groups rely on concepts that are generated primarily by individuals, and do not negotiate the type of shared understanding that leads to the co-creation of new concepts. When verbalization is not allowed, they are more likely to build on and advance concepts that are generated by individuals to construct that type of shared understanding, and conceptualize collectively.
Addressing Student Mental Health Needs by Providing Direct and Indirect Services and Building Alliances in the Community

Given that 20% of students experience mental health issues that interfere with school performance and most of these students will turn first to their school for help, school counselors need to consider how they can best serve this population. This article describes how school counselors can address the mental health needs of students by providing direct services, accessing community resources, and working with school staff and community service providers. The article provides case examples and guidelines for building alliances.