Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Consensus tracking for general linear stochastic multi-agent systems: a sliding mode variable structure approach

This study deals with the consensus tracking problem for general linear multi-agent systems driven by Brownian motion. A directed graph is used to represent the communication topology of the multi-agent network. To solve the consensus tracking problem, an innovative concept of the sub-reachability of the sliding motion to approach approximately the specified sliding surface is introduced. Under the concept of sub-reachability, the sliding mode variable structure consensus tracking protocol is synthesised to guarantee the sub-reachability of the sliding motion in a finite time. By using the auxiliary function method and stochastic It o ^ integrals techniques with respect to Brownian motion, a sufficient condition for mean square asymptotic consensus tracking is derived. In particular, the consensus tracking criteria are very concise and can be implemented easily. Finally, a simulation example is utilised to illustrate the usefulness of the proposed control protocol.
Three-dimensional effects associated with the low-frequency breathing motion of a turbulent separation bubble

In this article, we address the low-frequency dynamics of a turbulent separation bubble (TSB) with a mean length of Lb ≈ 0.18 m that occurs in a one-sided diffuser at an inflow velocity of U∞ = 20 m/s. Distinct low-frequency content at Strouhal numbers of O(f Lb/U∞) = 0.01 is detected through time-resolved wall pressure measurements. By applying Spectral Proper Orthogonal Decomposition to velocity fluctuations in the diffuser symmetry plane, these pressure fluctuations can be linked to a large-scale longitudinal contraction/expansion motion falling into the same frequency range. Further velocity field measurements in cross-sections of one diffuser half-plane indicate that the mean flow field of the TSB is characterized by a near-surface outward-directed velocity component and a large-scale streamwise side wall vortex. During the expanded TSB state, however, these flow features are suppressed as the streamwise velocity is temporarily increased near the side wall but reduced near the symmetry plane. The results presented in this article suggest that the low-frequency breathing motion is a highly three-dimensional phenomenon. Future studies should address the associated complex dynamics that are shown to be governed by aperiodic events of temporary TSB expansion.
Non-uniform Knowledge in the Situation Calculus

Knowledge Representation and Reasoning is the field of AI concerned with storing information in a way which can be actioned upon by an agent. The situation calculus is a popular logical language for reasoning about action. A prior work by Scherl and Levesque demonstrates how the situation calculus can be used to model knowledge and knowledgeproducing actions while solving the frame problem. This approach is limited in that it can only represent knowledge pertaining to the same situation in which it is held. Shapiro et al. have demonstrated how retrospection can be represented, but not so for prospection. We present an extension of Scherl and Levesque’s approach which allows for prospection and reasoning hypothetically about the outcomes of actions before they are taken.
Supplementary Information to: Field-free deterministic ultra fast creation of skyrmions by spin orbit torques

Here, γ = 1.76 × 1011 As/kg is the gyromagnetic ratio and Heff is the effective magnetostatic field that includes the effect of anisotropy, exchange, demagnetization, and DMI. p is a unit vector in the direction of the magnetic moments that are injected into the ferromagnet, determined by p = sign(θSH)j × n, where n is the surface normal of the heavy metal. Assuming a material with positive θSH (such as Pt) below the ferromagnet ∗These authors contributed equally to this work
Global Public Health Burden of Heart Failure: An Updated Review

Heart failure (HF) is a rapidly growing public health issue with an estimated prevalence of 64 million people globally. Although the incidence of HF has stabilised worldwide and seems to be declining in developed countries, the prevalence is increasing due to the ageing of the population, improved survival after MI and improved treatment and survival of patients with HF. Yet, HF remains associated with high mortality and morbidity, poor quality of life and functional capacity, and confers a substantial burden to the healthcare system. The prevalence, incidence, mortality and morbidity rates reported show geographical variations, depending on the different aetiologies and clinical characteristics observed among patients with HF. In this review, we provide an overview of the global epidemiology of HF with updated data on prevalence, incidence, mortality and morbidity worldwide.
Automatic Segmentation of Cell Images by Improved Graph Cut-Based Approach

Cell segmentation provides an opportunity to reveal object of interest from the background of an image. In the traditional graph cut segmentation approach, the user initiates the segmentation process by selecting pixels for foreground and background. However, one of the problems of traditional graph cut is that it is time consuming, especially on a large dataset. Thus, we propose a fully automatic technique for cell segmentation on graph cut to automate the selection of sample foreground and background pixels. In order to achieve this, a combination of two methods namely Otsu thresholding and kmeans clustering algorithm is explored. The Otsu thresholding and the k-means provides an initial cell segmentation, creating a platform to automatically select sample foreground and background pixels initiating the graph cut segmentation. Experimental results on two public datasets suggest promising results.
Distance-Based Subset Selection for Benchmarking in Evolutionary Multi/Many-Objective Optimization

A number of real-world problems involve extremization of multiple conflicting objectives, referred to as multiobjective optimization problems. Multiobjective evolutionary algorithms (MOEAs) have been widely adopted to obtain Pareto front (PF) approximation for such problems. An indispensable step in development and evaluation of MOEAs is benchmarking, which involves comparisons with peer algorithms using performance metrics, such as hypervolume (HV) and inverted generational distance (IGD). However, the de-facto practice is to use the final population of an algorithm for evaluating these metrics even though a better PF approximation may exist within the archive of all evaluated solutions. In a recent study, a distance-based subset selection (DSS) method was discussed for selecting prespecified number of solutions from an archive for benchmarking. This letter aims to contribute toward this direction in two ways. First is to develop a theoretical understanding of DSS and reveal some of its interesting and desirable properties. These include conditional equivalence to optimal HV/IGD subset selection, inclusion of PF extremities and invariance to convexity/concavity and orientation of the PF. Secondly, we present numerical experiments on problems with regular and irregular PFs up to ten objectives, and compare the approach with other selection techniques to demonstrate its potential benefits. The results clearly indicate the importance of considering the archive of solutions and appropriate selection mechanisms, in particular for problems with irregular PFs, to avoid misjudgments about relative performances. With increasing emphasis on tackling such problems in the field, we believe that this observation and analysis is timely and significant, not only for benchmarking, but also for subsequent improvements in decision-making and algorithm design.
Dark matter search towards the Sun using Machine Learning reconstructions of single-line events in ANTARES

The ANTARES neutrino telescope stopped gathering data in February 2022, after nearly 16 years of operation. The detector consisted of 12 vertical lines forming a 3D array of photo-sensors, which instrumented about 10 megatons of Mediterranean seawater. We present a method using deep learning that improves the direction reconstruction of low-energy single-line events, for which the reconstruction of the azimuth angle of the incoming neutrino is particularly diﬃcult. We also present a combination of machine learning techniques to reconstruct the energy of the same kind of events. Our results enhance the resolution of former reconstruction techniques, at least doubling our sensitivity in the range of energy of tens of GeV, which is highly relevant for dark matter searches and other physics studies. Here, we propose a binned Dark Matter (DM) search towards the Sun for ANTARES single-line events using the new reconstruction methods. We compute the neutrino ﬂux sensitivity for diﬀerent DM annihilation channels and particle candidate masses. In this ﬁrst trial, the methodology is applied to a subset of ANTARES data: these results anticipate better sensitivities for low masses of DM candidates (below ∼ 150 GeV) and/or soft spectrum channels compared to those obtained based on standard reconstruction techniques once the method is applied to the whole ANTARES dataset.
Quadruplex Real-Time TaqMan® RT-qPCR Assay for Differentiation of Equine Group A and B Rotaviruses and Identification of Group A G3 and G14 Genotypes

Equine rotavirus A (ERVA) is the leading cause of diarrhea in foals, with G3P[12] and G14P[12] genotypes being the most prevalent. Recently, equine G3-like RVA was recognized as an emerging infection in children, and a group B equine rotavirus (ERVB) was identified as an emergent cause of foal diarrhea in the US. Thus, there is a need to adapt molecular diagnostic tools for improved detection and surveillance to identify emerging strains, understand their molecular epidemiology, and inform future vaccine development. We developed a quadruplex TaqMan® RT-qPCR assay for differentiation of ERVA and ERVB and simultaneous G-typing of ERVA strains, evaluated its analytical and clinical performance, and compared it to (1) a previously established ERVA triplex RT-qPCR assay and (2) standard RT-PCR assay and Sanger sequencing of PCR products. This quadruplex RT-qPCR assay demonstrated high sensitivity (>90%)/specificity (100%) for every target and high overall agreement (>96%). Comparison between the triplex and quadruplex assays revealed only a slightly higher sensitivity for the ERVA NSP3 target using the triplex format (p-value 0.008) while no significant differences were detected for other targets. This quadruplex RT-qPCR assay will significantly enhance rapid surveillance of both ERVA and ERVB circulating and emerging strains with potential for interspecies transmission.
Motor Current Signature Analysis Using Robust Modulation Spectrum Correlation Gram for Gearbox Fault Detection

Spectrum correlation (SC), as a typical demodulation algorithm, has been investigated for fault extraction by restraining interference components. However, SC ignores the uneven distribution of fault features in the entire frequency range, which makes the results vulnerable to interference components. To overcome these shortcomings, a novel robust modulation spectrum correlation (RMSC) gram is proposed. First, the signal is demodulated into a bispectral map display containing fundamental and modulation frequency through RMSC, and a finite impulse response filter on fundamental frequency is utilized to obtain RMSC subbands. Subsequently, the fault feature index of subbands under healthy and fault conditions is calculated, and its failure signature ratio (FSR) to generate RMSC gram is utilized. Finally, the RMSC with the maximum FSR is selected as an optimal subband, and envelope analysis is executed on the subband to obtain fault features. Simulations and experiments are performed to validate the effectiveness of RMSC in comparison with the state-of-the-art methods.
Bent Functions: Fundamentals and Results

This book gives a detailed survey of the main results on bent functions over finite fields, presents a systematic overview of their generalizations, variations and applications, considers open problems in classification and systematization of bent functions, and discusses proofs of several results. This book uniquely provides a necessary comprehensive coverage of bent functions. It serves as a useful reference for researchers in discrete mathematics, coding and cryptography. Students and professors in mathematics and computer science will also find the content valuable, especially those interested in mathematical foundations of cryptography. It can be used as a supplementary text for university courses on discrete mathematics, Boolean functions, or cryptography, and is appropriate for both basic classes for under-graduate students and advanced courses for specialists in cryptography and mathematics.
Research on speech enhancement based on nonnegative matrix factorization and improved genetic algorithm

In order to improve the speech enhancement effect and overcome the weakness of falling into the local optimum of the traditional nonnegative matrix factorization, this paper presents speech enhancement methodology based on nonnegative matrix factorization combined with the improved genetic algorithm. The methodology consists of training stage and enhancement stage. In the training stage, instead of gradient descent, iterative learning is achieved by selecting several directions in super flat close to deflector cone as the mutation. By adding the mutation operator and simulated annealing operator to NMF, the proposed algorithm is used to acquire the accurate noise dictionary as prior information. In the de-noising stage, NMF-IGA is used to evaluate the dictionary matrix and the activation matrix of the de-noised speech. Then using the dictionary of de-noised speech to get the enhanced speech spectrogram and reconstruct the enhanced speech. It is verified that the proposed algorithm yields less residual noise and better speech quality than traditional nonnegative matrix factorization and Bayes nonnegative matrix factorization algorithm.
Validation of current body composition estimation equations for men over 60 years of age

This study compared five skinfold estim ation equations for body composition (Jackson and Pollock's Sum of 7 and Sum of 3; Jackson & Pollock's Sum of 4 and Sum of 3 for the YMCA, and Durnin and W om ersley’s Sum of 7) with percent fat obtained from underwater weighing in older males. Subjects were ninety-seven adult males, aged 60-80 years (M=66, SD=4.53) and varying in height (M=174.5 cm, SD=5.99) and weight (M=80.95 kg, SD=13.37). Skinfold measurements were taken with Lange calipers at biceps, triceps, chest, subscapular, abdominal, suprailiac, midaxilla, and thigh sites. Underwater weight was determined in a seated position utilizing a load cell system with residual volume (RV) measured at the time of weighing. Each subject performed ten trials with the last six trials averaged for calculations. Correlation analysis indicated that the skinfold estim ation equations achieved a mean correlation of . 74 with underw ater weighing. Jackson and Pollock's Sum of 7 equation (JP£7) yielded the highest correlation with underwater weighing (.78) and Durnin and Womersley's equation (DW) the lowest correlation (.72). A one-way repeated measures analysis of variance indicated that all five equations used with the present studies population produced significantly different results than underwater weighing. A followup test indicated that a) the YMCA's Sum of 4 and Sum of 3 equations were not significantly different from each other, nor were b) Jackson and Pollock’s Sum of 7 and Sum of 3, however, a and b were significantly different from each other. The data showed that these equations are not as valid with the present study's population as with those from which the equations were derived.
An analytical design method of thin, isotropic press-fit retention sleeve for surface-mounted permanent magnet drives

Abstract Electric drives with surface-mounted permanent magnets feature magnet retention sleeves found in the air gap between the rotor and the stator. The design of these components, whose thickness affects the size of the magnetic air gap, has thus significant implications for the overall drive performance. The present work proposes a systematic analytical method for the mechanical design of press-fit retention sleeves for surface-mounted permanent magnet drives. The model relies on the premise that the sleeve is thin and mounted on a much stiffer rotor-magnet assembly. This leads to the assumption of constant thickness before and after the interference fit, as well as the only significant deformation being the hoop extension of the sleeve induced by the press fit. The proposed design method allows for rapid estimations of such sleeve parameters as the thickness and effective overlap, providing critical design points to be verified by subsequent high fidelity approaches. Accordingly, finite-element analysis results are provided as verification of the analytical approach, demonstrating very good agreement between the two approaches.
The Effectiveness of the Prosocial Goals Intervention

Abstract. The aim of our study was to test the effectiveness of the prosocial goals intervention in adolescents. We tested its effects on prosocial behavior as assessed by the decomposed game (DG) and the Efforts for Charity Index (ECI) capturing actual behavior leading to charitable donations. We applied a randomized controlled trial with four measurements. The results showed statistically significant effects of the intervention on the ECI, even when the baseline level of prosocial behavior and participants’ age were controlled for, but revealed no significant effects on the DG. The ECI proved to be a reliable and sensitive behavioral tool assessing changes in prosocial behavior. This short intervention facilitating prosocial goal realization may be useful for practitioners working with adolescents.
The world in two and a way out: the concept of duality in organization theory and practice

The current challenges of organizational life are often described in terms of dualities. This paper offers a conceptual framework in which the dualities, found in organizational literature, are distinguished along a structural, cultural, and personal dimension. Within each group, we discuss how the different dualities relate to each other and how recent trends in organizational practice and theory are transforming classic dualities into new dualities. We review ways in which organizations can cope with dualities, and make a distinction between strategies that remain within or go beyond the polarity. On the basis of the latter strategies, we present a trialectic management approach.
Chaotic synchronization problem of finite-time convergence based on fuzzy sliding mode

The problem of finite-time synchronization for chaotic system is proposed. By applying the global sliding mode control technique and selecting the exponential fast terminal sliding mode reaching law, a global sliding mode controller is designed and applied to synchronization of a class of chaotic systems. Aimed at the chaotic system with parameter uncertainties and disturbance, fuzzy basis function network is introduced to on-line estimate the parameter bound. The design scheme eliminates the reaching phase of sliding mode control. The tracking error stays on the sliding mode surface and tends to zero in finite time. To verify the feasibility and effectivness of this control strategy, the synchronization for Duffing chaotic system is illustrated.
Non-Targeted Metabolomics Combined with Chemometrics by UHPLC–Orbitrap–HRMS and Antioxidant Activity of Atractylodes chinensis (DC.) Koidez. from Eight Origins

Atractylodes chinensis (DC.) Koidez. (AC) is a type of Atractylodis Rhizoma that is widely used in China to treat diarrhea and arthritis, as well as a nutritional supplement. The objective of this study was to investigate and identify the phytochemicals in the aqueous extract of AC using an ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC)–Orbitrap–HRMS platform based on a non-targeted metabolomic approach. There were 76 compounds in the AC, the majority of which were phenylpropanoids (16) and terpenoids (15). The hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) results revealed variations across eight AC samples and classified them into four groups. Using Pareto modeling, the orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) identified 11 distinct AC compounds. Furthermore, the antioxidant activity of eight AC samples was assessed using ABTS, DPPH, and OH· methods. The AC samples with concentrations ranging from 0 to 25 mg/mL had no toxic effects on A549 cells. They have a strong therapeutic potential against oxidation-related diseases, and further research on AC is warranted.
Slow and fast light in photorefractive SBN:60

We demonstrate slow and fast light at room temperature by dispersive phase-coupling in a photorefractive SBN:60 crystal. Non-degenerated wave-mixing is used to obtain delayed and amplified pulses with reduced or increased group velocity of vg = 0.2 cm s − 1 and vg = − 1.3 cm s − 1, respectively. The gain spectrum is modulated by using multiple frequency shifted pumps simultaneously. The complete dispersion of the spectrum is determined via the phase modulation technique. We compare the experimental results to numerical simulations based on coupled-wave equations.
Complex dissolved organic matter (DOM) on the roof of the world – Tibetan DOM molecular characteristics indicate sources, land use effects, and processing along the fluvial–limnic continuum

Abstract. The Tibetan Plateau (TP) is the world's largest and highest plateau, comprising the earth's biggest alpine pasture system. It is sensitive to the impacts of climate change and anthropogenic pressure. Carbon cycling on the TP is influenced by glaciation and degradation of the pasture ecosystem. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) connects carbon reservoirs, following the hydrological continuum from glaciers and headwaters to lakes. Due to its complexity, DOM cycling along the aquatic continuum and the impact of land use and climate change on DOM characteristics are still not well understood. Here, we study solid phase extracted (SPE) DOM molecular characteristics using ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS) along the TP hydrological continuum from glaciers, groundwater springs, and wetlands, including pastures and alpine steppes, to the endorheic Lake Nam Co. Our study revealed that the SPE-DOM composition was largely influenced by local sources of glaciers, wetlands, and groundwater springs as well as pasture degradation. Glacial meltwater SPE-DOM contained more saturated compounds suggesting microbial sources together with aromatic compounds probably derived from aeolian deposition. In comparison, wetland and stream SPE-DOM were characterised by a higher percentage of highly unsaturated and aromatic molecular formulae. These were likely derived from inputs of vascular plants and soils. Groundwater spring SPE-DOM from degraded pastures differed from intact pasture samples. In degraded systems a strongly oxidised signature with the lowest counts of P heteroatoms, a lower O/C ratio, and a higher aromaticity of SPE-DOM together with a high degradation index suggested a strong transformation of SPE-DOM. SPE-DOM of the endorheic lake was richer in unsaturated molecular formulae compared to the tributaries. This suggests algae and microbial sources and production in the lake. The SPE-DOM rich in aromatic and highly unsaturated formulae visible in the brackish zone of the lake shore contrasted sharply with that of the lake. Aromatic molecular formulae were strongly depleted in the lake deep water suggesting photooxidation of riverine SPE-DOM. This indicates that alpine SPE-DOM signatures are shaped by small-scale catchment properties, land degradation, and the influence of glaciers and wetlands. The close link of alpine SPE-DOM composition to landscape properties is indicative of a strong susceptibility of DOM characteristics to climatic and land use changes in High Asia.