Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Model-based Algorithm Development with Focus on Biosignal Processing

In recent years, the development of cheap and robust sensors combined with the ever increasing availability of the internet led to a revolution in information technology, giving rise to an amount of data, which was unimaginable just a decade ago. This explosion in data lead to an increased demand for algorithms for processing this data. However, an often overlooked aspect is that with ever sophisticated algorithms there is associated a demand for equally sophisticated mathematical modelling. In this thesis, we explore the interaction between algorithm design and modelling. Although, the models and methods discussed here are not limited to any single domain of application, we will base our discussion on example applications from the domain of biomedical engineering. This is because the analysis of physiological time series is characterised by two problems which help to highlight the importance of modelling. First, the high noise level of biological signals requires strong regularization, which can be provided via a model. Second, in many medical applications the value of interest is not directly observable. Thus, these latent variables have to be estimated, e.g. with the help of a model. In the course of our discussion, we will encounter two major modalities. The first one is Ballistocardiography (BCG), a modality often used in home monitoring applications, which is based on simple pressure sensors, yielding a scalar signal. The second modality is functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a complex and highly sophisticated method, capable of generating images of brain functionality. In the first half of this thesis, we will focus on signal separation and denoising methods for BCG. The performance of these methods is then verified with model generated data, which provides a very common example of how modelling interacts with algorithm design. However, the relationship between algorithms and modelling goes much deeper, since new insights
ICT, TEACHING PHYSICS AND THE INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN

: Adapting the teaching of physics to students' learning styles (auditory, visual, and kinesthetic) is improved by using the computer and the SMART whiteboard, who they allow showing the specific materials of these types of learning and helps to increase students’ interest for the lesson. Using of ICT, offers to students: resume, reviewing movies containing real experiments, virtual experiments, the simulations, texts, demonstrations. All these opportunities provide an increased quality of education only if they are integrated into a class project, designed taking into account students capacities for understanding, learning, age-specific memory. Benefits of ICT integration in teaching physics are discussed in this article.
Trajectory generation for networked UAVs using online learning for delay compensation

This paper presents a trajectory generation mechanism based on machine learning for a network of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). For delay compensation, we apply an online regression technique to learn a pattern of network-induced effects on UAV maneuvers. Due to online learning, the control system not only adapts to changes to the environment, but also maintains a fixed amount of training data. The proposed algorithm is evaluated on a collaborative trajectory tracking task for two UAVs. Improved tracking is achieved in comparison to a conventional linear compensation algorithm.
Semantic SLAM Model for Autonomous Mobile Robots using Content Based Image Retrieval Techniques: A Performance Analysis

In the image retrieval domain, Content-Based Image Retrieval (CBIR) methods have been proven to be a fast, efficient and reliable technique of indexing a large number of images without necessarily understanding the contents of the images. These methods are therefore; quite useful in the domain of Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) as it handles a large amount of data in real-time. It also provides a convenient initial approach to conducting semantic-based SLAM as object recognition methods applied to SLAM have not been proved to be effective either. Therefore, we have developed a model to conduct SLAM on an autonomous mobile robot equipped with vision sensors. In this paper, we give a brief overview of the model and describe some of our initial experimental results.
Effective Translation of the Second Cistron in Two Drosophila Dicistronic Transcripts Is Determined by the Absence of In-frame AUG Codons in the First Cistron*

The novel dicistronic transcript encoded by the Drosophila melanogaster stoned gene was recognized as being unusual in that the protein encoded by the first open reading frame, stoned-A (STNA), contains no internal methionine residues in a protein of 93 kDa. The dicistronic nature of the stoned locus and the lack of methionine residues in STNA is conserved across dipteran species. A second methionine-free cistron, encoding Snapin, was identified in Drosophila and also found to be dicistronic, the second open reading frame (ORF) encoding a methyltransferase. We have replaced the methyltransferase cistron with green fluorescent protein (GFP) and used this dicistronic construct to show that the GFP cistron is translated in Drosophila S2 cells. The insertion of in-frame AUG codons into the snapin ORF attenuates the translation of GFP, and the level of attenuation correlates with the number of inserted AUGs. Increasing the efficiency of translation-initiation of the Snapin cistron also attenuates the translation of GFP. This indicates that failure to initiate translation at the first AUG allows ribosomes to scan through the Snapin ORF and to initiate translation of the second cistron, unless new AUG codons are inserted. These data are used to interpret the expression of the stoned locus and in particular, to explain the altered stoned protein levels in the stoned-temperature-sensitive mutant allele, which replaces a lysine with a methionine codon early in the first, stonedA, cistron.
Scaffoldless engineered enzyme assembly for enhanced methanol utilization

Significance Methane, the major natural-gas component, can be converted industrially to syngas (a mixture of CO2, CO, and H2), which is used to produce methanol, an important industrial precursor for producing commodity and specialty chemicals. Unlike methanol’s chemical conversion, which requires high temperature and pressure, its biological conversion, proceeding through its oxidation to formaldehyde, takes place at ambient conditions but suffers from relative low rates. As metabolite biosynthesis by industrial organisms utilizes NADH as an electron donor, methanol oxidation must be carried out by NAD-dependent methanol dehydrogenases, which have poor thermodynamic characteristics at mesophilic conditions. To solve this problem, we developed an engineering strategy for supramolecular enzyme assembly to dramatically enhance the carbon flux from methanol to the key intermediate fructose-6-phosphate. Methanol is an important feedstock derived from natural gas and can be chemically converted into commodity and specialty chemicals at high pressure and temperature. Although biological conversion of methanol can proceed at ambient conditions, there is a dearth of engineered microorganisms that use methanol to produce metabolites. In nature, methanol dehydrogenase (Mdh), which converts methanol to formaldehyde, highly favors the reverse reaction. Thus, efficient coupling with the irreversible sequestration of formaldehyde by 3-hexulose-6-phosphate synthase (Hps) and 6-phospho-3-hexuloseisomerase (Phi) serves as the key driving force to pull the pathway equilibrium toward central metabolism. An emerging strategy to promote efficient substrate channeling is to spatially organize pathway enzymes in an engineered assembly to provide kinetic driving forces that promote carbon flux in a desirable direction. Here, we report a scaffoldless, self-assembly strategy to organize Mdh, Hps, and Phi into an engineered supramolecular enzyme complex using an SH3–ligand interaction pair, which enhances methanol conversion to fructose-6-phosphate (F6P). To increase methanol consumption, an “NADH Sink” was created using Escherichia coli lactate dehydrogenase as an NADH scavenger, thereby preventing reversible formaldehyde reduction. Combination of the two strategies improved in vitro F6P production by 97-fold compared with unassembled enzymes. The beneficial effect of supramolecular enzyme assembly was also realized in vivo as the engineered enzyme assembly improved whole-cell methanol consumption rate by ninefold. This approach will ultimately allow direct coupling of enhanced F6P synthesis with other metabolic engineering strategies for the production of many desired metabolites from methanol.
On Pairing-Based Signature and Aggregate Signature Schemes

In 2001, Boneh, Lynn, and Shacham presented a pairing-based signature scheme known as the BLS signature scheme. In 2003, Boneh, Gentry, Lynn, and Shacham presented the first aggregate signature scheme called the BGLS aggregate signature scheme. The BGLS scheme allows for N users with N signatures to combine their signatures into a single signature. The size of the resulting signature is independent of N . The BGLS signature scheme enjoys roughly the same level of security as the BLS scheme. In 2005, Waters presented a pairing-based signature scheme which does not assume the existence of random oracles. In 2007, Lu, Ostrovsky, Sahai, Shacham, and Waters presented the LOSSW aggregate signature scheme which does not assume the existence of random oracles. The BLS, BGLS, Waters, and LOSSW authors each chose to work with a restricted class of pairings. In each scheme, it is clear that the scheme extend to arbitrary pairings. We present the schemes in their full generality, explore variations of the schemes, and discuss optimizations that can be made when using specific pairings. Each of the schemes we discuss is secure assuming that the computational DiffieHellman (CDH) assumption holds. We improve on the security reduction for a variation of the BGLS signature scheme which allows for some restrictions of the BGLS signature scheme can be dropped and provides a stronger guarantee of security. We show that the BGLS scheme can be modified to reduce public-key size in presence of a certifying authority, when a certain type of pairing is used. We show that patient-free bit-compression can be applied to each of the scheme with a few modifications.
Lifetime reliability of thin-film SOI nMOSFET's

The dc device lifetime reliability of thin-film SOI MOSFET's is investigated over a wide range of drain stress from just below the SOI breakdown voltage up to typical accelerated stress voltages. Unique hot-carrier degradation behaviors were observed for different ranges of applied drain stress. The degradation behavior and mechanism are found to dynamically change from one type observed under low drain stress (realistic operation range) to a different type observed under high drain stress (strong breakdown operation). This causes the SOI MOSFET to exhibit a two slope lifetime versus reciprocal drain voltage behavior which could have strong implications on the hot-carrier stressing methodology and reliability study of these devices. <<ETX>>
Derivation of Theoretical Formulas of the Frequency Component Contained in the Overvoltage Related to Long EHV Cables

Recent studies of long extremely high-voltage (EHV) cables show the importance of performing temporary overvoltage analyses. As the switching of EHV cables can trigger temporary overvoltages, it is important to find the dominant frequency component contained in the switching overvoltages of these cables. Since there are no theoretical formulas to find the dominant frequency, it is generally found by means of time domain simulations or frequency scans. The derivation of theoretical formulas has been desired as the formulas would be useful in verifying the results of time-domain simulations or frequency scans. In addition, the formulas could eliminate the necessity of building simulation models of some network components. In order to address this need, this paper derives theoretical formulas to find the dominant frequency in long cable energization overvoltages. The accuracy and practical usefulness of the formulas are confirmed by comparing them with the results of time-domain simulations.
An empirical study of the expressiveness of the functional basis

Abstract Function models are frequently used in engineering design to describe the technical functions that a product performs. This paper investigates the use of the functional basis, a function vocabulary developed to aid in communication and archiving of product function information, in describing consumer products that have been decomposed, analyzed, modeled functionally, and stored in a Web-based design repository. The frequency of use of function terms and phrases in 11 graphical and 110 list-based representations in the repository is examined and used to analyze the organization and expressiveness of the functional basis and function models. Within the context of reverse engineering, we determined that the modeling resolution provided by the hierarchical levels, especially the tertiary level, is inadequate for function modeling; the tertiary terms are inappropriate for capturing sufficient details desired by modelers for archiving and reuse, and there is a need for a more expressive flow terms and flow qualifiers in the vocabulary. A critical comparison is also presented of two representations in the design repository: function structures and function lists. The conclusions are used to identify new research opportunities, including the extension of the vocabulary to incorporate flow qualifiers in addition to more expressive terms.
Two Examples of Application of TOPSIS to Decision Making Problems

— In this work, we apply the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) to two case studies. The first example is concerned with the evaluation of the best response alternatives in case of accident with oil spill in the sea. The second example considers the rental evaluation of residential properties. Simulations results are promising and show the feasibility of the technique.
Cut‐off value for needle washout thyroglobulin in athyrotropic patients

The purpose of this study was to determine the appropriate cut‐off value for fine needle aspiration‐thyroglobulin (FNA‐Tg) associated with postoperative recurrences and validate the diagnostic efficacy of FNA‐Tg in patients after total thyroidectomy compared with concomitant cytology (C).
Multiple Francisella tularensis Subspecies and Clades, Tularemia Outbreak, Utah

In July 2007, a deer fly–associated outbreak of tularemia occurred in Utah. Human infections were caused by 2 clades (A1 and A2) of Francisella tularensis subsp. tularensis. Lagomorph carcasses from the area yielded evidence of infection with A1 and A2, as well as F. tularensis subsp. holarctica. These findings indicate that multiple subspecies and clades can cause disease in a localized outbreak of tularemia.
The prevalence of anemia among pregnant women at booking in Enugu, South Eastern Nigeria.

BACKGROUND More than half of the pregnant women in the world have hemoglobin levels indicative of anemia. Knowledge of the current situation of the condition in our environment is necessary. This knowledge will motivate antenatal caregivers toward early detection and prompt management of anemia in pregnancy. AIMS Our aim was to determine the prevalence of anemia among pregnant women at registration for antenatal care at a major tertiary healthcare center in Enugu, southeastern Nigeria. METHODS This was a retrospective study of 530 normal pregnant women registered with the antenatal unit of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, between January 1, 2005 and October 30, 2005. Data on the age, parity, gestational age at booking, interval between last confinement and last menstrual period in the index pregnancy, hemoglobin concentration at booking, and HIV status were obtained and analyzed. RESULTS The mean gestational age at booking was 21.7 +/- 7.1 weeks (range, 6-37). Two hundred fourteen (40.4%) of the women were anemic (hemoglobin [Hb] < 11.0 g/dL). The majority (90.7%) of these anemic patients were mildly anemic, whereas 9.3% were moderately anemic. There was no case of severe anemia (Hb < 7.0 g/dL). The prevalence of anemia at booking was significantly higher in those who registered for antenatal care in the third trimester than in those who registered in the second trimester, and in HIV-positive pregnant women than in HIV-negative ones (P = .00). The patients' age, parity, and the interval between the last confinement and the index pregnancy had no significant relationship with the hemoglobin concentration of pregnant women at booking (P > .05). CONCLUSION The prevalence of anemia in pregnancy at booking is still high in Enugu. Preconception care, including iron and folic acid supplementation, is advocated to reduce this problem. Early antenatal booking and improved antenatal care are also necessary for early diagnosis and treatment of the condition. All would ensure safe motherhood.
InP/InAsP Nanowire-Based Spatially Separate Absorption and Multiplication Avalanche Photodetectors

Avalanche photodetectors (APDs) are key components in optical communication systems due to their increased photocurrent gain and short response time as compared to conventional photodetectors. A detector design where the multiplication region is implemented in a large band gap material is desired to avoid detrimental Zener tunneling leakage currents, a concern otherwise in smaller band gap materials required for absorption at 1.3/1.55 μm. Self-assembled III–V semiconductor nanowires offer key advantages such as enhanced absorption due to optical resonance effects, strain-relaxed heterostructures, and compatibility with mainstream silicon technology. Here, we present electrical and optical characteristics of single InP and InP/InAsP nanowire APD structures. Temperature-dependent breakdown characteristics of p+-n-n+ InP nanowire devices were investigated first. A clear trap-induced shift in breakdown voltage was inferred from I–V measurements. An improved contact formation to the p+-InP segment was observed.
Color Active Contour Models Based Tongue Segmentation in Traditional Chinese Medicine

Automated tongue image segmentation in tongue diagnosis system of traditional Chinese medicine is difficult due to two factors: There are lots of pathological details on the surface of tongue, and the shapes of tongue bodies are quite different. By adequately considering color information of tongue images, knowledge-based initial tongue body boundary detection and a color gradient are introduced into the gradient vector flow snake. The roughly detected tongue body boundary is employed to lead the usage of color gradient and the convergence of snake. The experiments results show robustness and accuracy of the algorithm. This work establishes a solid foundation for feature analysis of tongue diagnosis.
DES : Discrete Event Simulation METBF : Mean Elapsed Time Between failures OM : Opportunistic Maintenance PM : Preventive Maintenance TTF : Time To Failure SA : Simulated Annealing

Existing approaches for modelling maintenance rely on oversimplified assumptions which prevent them from reflecting the complexity found in industrial systems. In this paper, we propose a novel approach that enables the modelling of non-identical multi-unit systems without restrictive assumptions on the number of units or their maintenance characteristics. Modelling complex interactions between maintenance strategies and their effects on assets in the system is achieved by accessing event queues in Discrete Event Simulation (DES). The approach utilises the wide success DES has achieved in manufacturing by allowing integration with models that are closely related to maintenance such as production and spare parts systems. Additional advantages of using DES include rapid modelling and visual interactive simulation. The proposed approach is demonstrated in a simulation based optimisation study of a published case. The current research is one of the first to optimise maintenance strategies simultaneously with their parameters while considering production dynamics and spare parts management. The findings of this research provide insights for non-conflicting objectives in maintenance systems. In addition, the proposed approach can be used to facilitate the simulation and optimisation of industrial maintenance systems.
A perpendicular aperture-fed patch antenna for quasi-optical amplifier arrays

A feed structure for an aperture coupled patch antenna is analyzed for applications in quasi-optical power combining arrays. The antenna feed provides a means of separating the active components from the radiating elements using a brick approach employed in the construction of phased array antennas. Simulated results show the applicability of the feed at Ka-band. Furthermore, measured results, which verify simulations performed at X-band, are presented.
Speech Translation between English and Sepedi

Language statistics in South Africa show a clear need for the translation between English speech and native South African languages. In this paper, approaches of using Hidden Markov Model (HMM) and Neural Network for implementing the speech recognition portion of a computer based speech translation system between English and Sepedi are compared. An isolated-word, single-speaker speech recognition system with a vocabulary size of 10 words was designed and implemented for each of the Neural Network and Hidden Markov Model methods. An accuracy of 94% and 99.33% respectively was achieved.
Enigmas of mammalian gamete form and function

The gametes of man and some other Eutheria have been manipulated successfully for practical reasons, but many gaps remain in our basic understanding of the way that they function. This situation stems not least from a failure to recognize the extent to which eutherian spermatozoa and eggs, and elements related to their operation, have come to differ from those of other groups. Novel features in the male that reflect this include a radical design of the sperm head with the acrosome seeming to function primarily in egg‐coat binding rather than its lysis, a multifaceted post‐testicular sperm maturation and an androgen/low‐temperature‐regulated system of sperm storage – both tied to the epididymis, a variable male accessory sex gland complex, and descent of the testis and epididymis to a scrotum. In the female, such novelties are represented in a need for sperm capacitation, in an unusual regulation of sperm transport within the oviduct, in the cumulus oophorus and character of the zona pellucida around the small egg, and in a unique configuration of gamete fusion.
Overvoltage protection scheme for back to back converter of grid connected DFIG

This paper deals with the behavior of DFIG under normal and abnormal condition of grid based on the parameters of DFIG such as power flow, stator and rotor current and DC link voltage. The stator side, rotor side and DC link are realized by their equivalent circuit for analysis under normal and dip condition. It is observed that during abnormal condition there is unbalance in stator and rotor current due to which DC link voltage fluctuates. To overcome this problem an effective solution is suggested in the term of DC chopper. The DC chopper integrates with DC link circuitry to control DC link voltage. An extensive digital simulation has been carried out using MATLAB environment in order to study the behavior of DFIG with DC chopper under normal and abnormal conditions. The satisfactory system performance proves the suitability of DC chopper for maintaining DC link voltage of DFIG.