A new hybrid and dynamic fusion of multiple experts for intelligent porch system

Intelligent porch research is an important issue in smart home development; however, such a field was rarely investigated in the literature. This investigation proposes a new hybrid and dynamic fusion of multiple experts for the intelligent porch system. First, a new hybrid priority tree with decision fusion (HPTD-fusion) is proposed to eliminate the problems of tag-based authentication outdoors. The HPTD-fusion first verifies the vocal entrance code (VEC), and subsequently the remaining experts are performed in the cases of AND, OR or majority voting for decision fusion. Second, the post-mapping dynamic weighted fusion (PMDW-fusion) scheme is presented to adapt the indoor porch audio-visual environment. The PMDW-fusion dynamically assigns the higher weight to experts with higher performance, and then sums all participating experts for score fusion. The experimental results demonstrate that FRR and FAR can reach up to 0.18 and 0.19, respectively, when the system is tested in the outdoor environment. Furthermore, the indoor recognition accuracy can be increased to 86.1% using the proposed fusion scheme. The experiments have verified the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed system. Restated, the contribution of this work is to develop a novel intelligent porch system incorporating a natural and unobtrusive method for identity recognition. The proposed system has been installed and tested in a real-world environment in the Technologies for Ubiquitous Computing and Humanity (TOUCH) Center at National Cheng Kung University.     

An interactive agent-based system for concept-based web search

Search engines are useful tools in looking for information from the Internet. However, due to the difficulties of specifying appropriate queries and the problems of keyword-based similarity ranking presently encountered by search engines, general users are still not satisfied with the results retrieved. To remedy the above difficulties and problems, in this paper we present a multi-agent framework in which an interactive approach is proposed to iteratively collect a user's feedback from the pages he has identified. By analyzing the pages gathered, the system can then gradually formulate queries to efficiently describe the content a user is looking for. In our framework, the evolution strategies are employed to evolve critical feature words for concept modeling in query formulation. The experimental results show that the framework developed is efficient and useful to enhance the quality of web search, and the concept-based semantic search can thus be achieved.     

Oscillation in nonlinear difference equations

In this paper, we shall discuss oscillatory behavior of the solutions of difference equations, including the self-adjoint second-order linear equation and the discrete version of the nonlinear wave equation. Our work is to give sufficient conditions such that every nontrivial solution of the equations oscillates.     

Electrostatic actuation of three-dimensional MEMS mirrors using sidewall electrodes

We propose and demonstrate electrostatic sidewall-electrodes actuation of three-dimensional (3-D) microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) gimbal mirrors. The linearity of the mirror angle dependence on actuation voltage is improved with the sidewall-electrodes actuation. In addition, the undesired spring-softening effect commonly found in electrostatic actuation, where the mirror resonance frequency decreases with increased tilt angle, is significantly reduced. Sidewall actuation enables superior performance of 3-D MEMS mirrors including large pull-in angles, reduced actuation voltages, improved device reliability, and fast switching times.     

The super-connected property of recursive circulant graphs

In a graph G, a k-container C_k(u,v) is a set of k disjoint paths joining u and v. A k-container C_k(u,v) is k∗-container if every vertex of G is passed by some path in C_k(u,v). A graph G is k∗-connected if there exists a k∗-container between any two vertices. An m-regular graph G is super-connected if G is k∗-connected for any k with 1?k?m. In this paper, we prove that the recursive circulant graphs G(2^m,4), proposed by Park and Chwa [Theoret. Comput. Sci. 244 (2000) 35-62], are super-connected if and only if m≠2.     

Molecular dynamics studies of atomic-scale tribological characteristics for different sliding systems

A slider-slab sliding model for hard-to-soft and soft-to-soft sliding systems with abrasive and non-abrasive wear conditions is used to investigate atomic-scale friction. The molecular dynamics simulation uses the Morse potential to calculate interatomic forces between atoms. Separation distance between the slider and the slab is changed to simulate repulsive and attractive interactive force fields exerted on interface between two sliding components. Effects of the interaction potential parameters on the sliding friction are investigated. The relationship of frictional force, normal force and temperature rise of the slider and the slab during sliding are established. Comparison of the hard-to-soft and the soft-to-soft sliding system are carried out and shows different tribological phenomena.     

HSPA4 Is a Biomarker of Placenta Accreta and Enhances the Angiogenesis Ability of Vessel Endothelial Cells

Placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) accounts for 7% of maternal mortality and is associated with intraoperative and postoperative morbidity caused by massive blood loss, infection, and adjacent organ damage. The aims of this study were to identify the protein biomarkers of PAS and to further explore their pathogenetic roles in PAS. For this purpose, we collected five placentas from pregnant subjects with PAS complications and another five placentas from normal pregnancy (NP) cases. Then, we enriched protein samples by specifically isolating the trophoblast villous, deeply invading into the uterine muscle layer in the PAS patients. Next, fluorescence-based two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) and MALDI-TOF/MS were used to identify the proteins differentially abundant between PAS and NP placenta tissues. As a result, nineteen spots were determined as differentially abundant proteins, ten and nine of which were more abundant in PAS and NP placenta tissues, respectively. Then, specific validation with western blot assay and immunohisto/cytochemistry (IHC) assay confirmed that heat shock 70 kDa protein 4 (HSPA4) and chorionic somatomammotropin hormone (CSH) were PAS protein biomarkers. Further tube formation assays demonstrated that HSPA4 promoted the in vitro angiogenesis ability of vessel endothelial cells, which is consistent with the in vivo scenario of PAS complications. In this study, we not only identified PAS protein biomarkers but also connected the promoted angiogenesis with placenta invasion, investigating the pathogenetic mechanism of PAS.     

Transparent polyimide/graphene oxide nanocomposite with improved moisture barrier property

Colorless and organo-soluble polyimide (PI) films have been synthesized from an alicyclic dianhydride BCDA and aromatic diamine 3,4′-ODA in the cosolvent of DMAc and GBL via one-step process. The graphene oxide (GO) was mixed with the above PI in DMAc solution to fabricate the PI/GO nanocomposite films. With the addition of only 0.001 wt% of GO in PI matrix, the resultant nanocomposite (PI/GO-0.001) exhibits not only the enhanced resistance to moisture but also retains superior visible light transmission, enhanced mechanical strength, and excellent dimensional stability, simultaneously. The water-vapor-transmission-rate (WVTR) significantly reduced to 30 g mil m⁻² day⁻¹ for this nanocomposite compared to 181 g mil m⁻² day⁻¹ for pure PI. Notably, the PI/GO-0.001 nanocomposite also exhibits low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of 41 ppm °C⁻¹, which is benefited from the homogeneous distribution of ultrathin GO nanosheets in PI matrix.     

An adaptive robustizing approach to kalman filtering

The performance of a linear Kalman filter will degrade when the dynamic noise is not Gaussian. A robust Kalman filter based on the m-interval polynomial approximation (MIPA) method for unknown non-Gaussian noise is proposed. Two situations are considered: (a) the state is Gaussian and the observation noise is non-Gaussian; (b) the state is non-Gaussian and the observation noise is Gaussian. It is shown, as compared with other non-Gaussian filters, the MIPA Kalman filter is computationally feasible, unbiased, more efficient and robust. For the scalar model, Monte Carlo simulations are given to demonstrate the ideas involved.     

Phase characterisation of metalenses

Metalenses have emerged as a new optical element or system in recent years, showing superior performance and abundant applications. However, the phase distribut...