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Data in Brief Dec 2022As e-Commerce continues to shift our shopping preference from the physical to online marketplace, we leave behind digital traces of our personally identifiable details....
As e-Commerce continues to shift our shopping preference from the physical to online marketplace, we leave behind digital traces of our personally identifiable details. For example, the merchant keeps record of your name and address; the payment processor stores your transaction details including account or card information, and every website you visit stores other information such as your device address and type. Cybercriminals constantly steal and use some of this information to commit identity fraud, ultimately leading to devastating consequences to the victims; but also, to the card issuers and payment processors with whom the financial liability most often lies. To this end, we recognise that data is generally compromised in this digital age, and personal data such as card number, password, personal identification number and account details can be easily stolen and used by someone else. However, there is a plethora of data relating to a person's behaviour biometrics that are almost impossible to steal, such as the way they type on a keyboard, move the cursor, or whether they normally do so via a mouse, touchpad or trackball. This data, commonly called keystroke, mouse and touchscreen dynamics, can be used to create a unique profile for the legitimate card owner, that can be utilised as an additional layer of user authentication during online card payments. Machine learning is a powerful technique for analysing such data to gain knowledge; and has been widely used successfully in many sectors for profiling e.g., genome classification in molecular biology and genetics where predictions are made for one or more forms of biochemical activity along the genome. Similar techniques are applicable in the financial sector to detect anomaly in user keyboard and mouse behaviour when entering card details online, such that they can be used to distinguish between a legitimate and an illegitimate card owner. In this article, a behaviour biometrics (i.e., keystroke and mouse dynamics) dataset, collected from 88 individuals, is presented. The dataset holds a total of 1760 instances categorised into two classes (i.e., legitimate and illegitimate card owners' behaviour). The data was collected to facilitate an academic start-up project (called CyberSignature1) which received funding from Innovate UK, under the Cyber Security Academic Startup Accelerator Programme. The dataset could be helpful to researchers who apply machine learning to develop applications using keystroke and mouse dynamics e.g., in cybersecurity to prevent identity theft. The dataset, entitled 'Behaviour Biometrics Dataset', is freely available on the Mendeley Data repository.
PubMed: 36426040
DOI: 10.1016/j.dib.2022.108728 -
Frontiers in Neuroscience 2023A cochlear implant (CI) is a neurotechnological device that restores total sensorineural hearing loss. It contains a sophisticated speech processor that analyzes and...
A cochlear implant (CI) is a neurotechnological device that restores total sensorineural hearing loss. It contains a sophisticated speech processor that analyzes and transforms the acoustic input. It distributes its time-enveloped spectral content to the auditory nerve as electrical pulsed stimulation trains of selected frequency channels on a multi-contact electrode that is surgically inserted in the cochlear duct. This remarkable brain interface enables the deaf to regain hearing and understand speech. However, tuning of the large (>50) number of parameters of the speech processor, so-called "device fitting," is a tedious and complex process, which is mainly carried out in the clinic through 'one-size-fits-all' procedures. Current fitting typically relies on limited and often subjective data that must be collected in limited time. Despite the success of the CI as a hearing-restoration device, variability in speech-recognition scores among users is still very large, and mostly unexplained. The major factors that underly this variability incorporate three levels: (i) variability in auditory-system of CI-users, (ii) variability in the of electrode-to-auditory nerve (EL-AN) activation, and (iii) lack of objective measures to optimize the fitting. We argue that variability in speech recognition can only be alleviated by using objective patient-specific data for an individualized fitting procedure, which incorporates knowledge from all three levels. In this paper, we propose a series of experiments, aimed at collecting a large amount of objective (i.e., quantitative, reproducible, and reliable) data that characterize the three processing levels of the user's auditory system. Machine-learning algorithms that process these data will eventually enable the clinician to derive reliable and personalized characteristics of the user's auditory system, the quality of EL-AN signal transfer, and predictions of the perceptual effects of changes in the current fitting.
PubMed: 37521701
DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1183126 -
Journal of Biological Engineering 2019The green algae balls (), known as Marimo, are large spherical colonies of live photosynthetic filaments, formed by rolling water currents in freshwater lakes....
BACKGROUND
The green algae balls (), known as Marimo, are large spherical colonies of live photosynthetic filaments, formed by rolling water currents in freshwater lakes. Photosynthesis therein produces gas bubbles that can attach to the Marimo, consequently changing its buoyancy. This property allows them to float in the presence of light and sink in its absence.
RESULTS
We demonstrate that this ability can be harnessed to make actuators, biosensors and bioprocessors (oscillator, logic gates). Factors affecting Marimo movement have been studied to enable the design, construction and testing of working prototypes.
CONCLUSIONS
A novel actuator design is reported, incorporating an enhanced bubble retention system and the design and optimisation of a bio-oscillator is demonstrated. A range of logic gates (or, and, nor, nand, xor) implementable with Marimo have been proposed.
PubMed: 31508146
DOI: 10.1186/s13036-019-0200-5 -
Technology and Health Care : Official... 2021Recently, with the increase in the population of hearing impaired people, various types of hearing aids have been rapidly developed. In particular, a fully implantable...
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE
Recently, with the increase in the population of hearing impaired people, various types of hearing aids have been rapidly developed. In particular, a fully implantable middle ear hearing device (F-IMEHD) is developed for people with sensorineural hearing loss. The F-IMEHD system comprises an implantable microphone, a transducer, and a signal processor. The signal processor should have a small size and consume less power for implantation in a human body.
METHODS
In this study, we designed and fabricated a signal-processing chip using the modified FFT algorithm. This algorithm was developed focusing on eliminating time delay and system complexity in the transform process. The designed signal-processing chip comprises a 4-channel WDRC, a fitting memory, a communication 1control part, and a pulse density modulator. Each channel is separated using a 64-point fast Fourier transform (FFT) method and the gain value is matched using the fitting table in the fitting memory.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION
The chip was designed by Verilog-HDL and the designed HDL codes were verified by Modelsim-PE 10.3 (Mentor graphics, USA). The chip was fabricated using a 0.18 μm CMOS process (SMIC, China). Experiments were performed on a cadaver to verify the performance of the fabricated chip.
Topics: Ear, Middle; Hearing; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural; Humans; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; Transducers
PubMed: 33682777
DOI: 10.3233/THC-218038 -
Nature Communications Feb 2024A general-purpose photonic processor can be built integrating a silicon photonic programmable core in a technology stack comprising an electronic monitoring and...
A general-purpose photonic processor can be built integrating a silicon photonic programmable core in a technology stack comprising an electronic monitoring and controlling layer and a software layer for resource control and programming. This processor can leverage the unique properties of photonics in terms of ultra-high bandwidth, high-speed operation, and low power consumption while operating in a complementary and synergistic way with electronic processors. These features are key in applications such as next-generation 5/6 G wireless systems where reconfigurable filtering, frequency conversion, arbitrary waveform generation, and beamforming are currently provided by microwave photonic subsystems that cannot be scaled down. Here we report the first general-purpose programmable processor with the remarkable capability to implement all the required basic functionalities of a microwave photonic system by suitable programming of its resources. The processor is fabricated in silicon photonics and incorporates the full photonic/electronic and software stack.
PubMed: 38378716
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45888-7 -
Nature Communications Nov 2020Since its discovery almost 70 years ago, the hologram has been considered to reproduce the most realistic three dimensional images without visual side effects....
Since its discovery almost 70 years ago, the hologram has been considered to reproduce the most realistic three dimensional images without visual side effects. Holographic video has been extensively researched for commercialization, since Benton et al. at MIT Media Lab developed the first holographic video systems in 1990. However, commercially available holographic video displays have not been introduced yet for several reasons: narrow viewing angle, bulky optics and heavy computing power. Here we present an interactive slim-panel holographic video display using a steering-backlight unit and a holographic video processor to solve the above issues. The steering-backlight unit enables to expand the viewing angle by 30 times and its diffractive waveguide architecture makes a slim display form-factor. The holographic video processor computes high quality holograms in real-time on a single-chip. We suggest that the slim-panel holographic display can provide realistic three-dimensional video in office and household environments.
PubMed: 33173031
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19298-4 -
Molecular Ecology Resources Oct 2021Software tools for linkage disequilibrium (LD) analyses are designed to calculate LD among all genetic variants in a single region. Since compute and memory requirements...
Software tools for linkage disequilibrium (LD) analyses are designed to calculate LD among all genetic variants in a single region. Since compute and memory requirements grow quadratically with the distance between variants, using these tools for long-range LD calculations leads to long execution times and increased allocation of memory resources. Furthermore, widely used tools do not fully utilize the computational resources of modern processors and/or graphics processing cards, limiting future large-scale analyses on thousands of samples. We present quickLD, a stand-alone and open-source software that computes several LD-related statistics, including the commonly used r . quickLD calculates pairwise LD between genetic variants in a single region or in arbitrarily distant regions with negligible memory requirements. Moreover, quickLD achieves up to 95% and 97% of the theoretical peak performance of a CPU and a GPU, respectively, enabling 21.5× faster processing than current state-of-the-art software on a multicore processor and 49.5× faster processing when the aggregate processing power of a multicore CPU and a GPU is harnessed. quickLD can also be used in studies of selection, recombination, genetic drift, inbreeding and gene flow. The software is available at https://github.com/pephco/quickLD.
Topics: Algorithms; Genetic Linkage; Linkage Disequilibrium; Software
PubMed: 34062051
DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.13438 -
Foods (Basel, Switzerland) Oct 2023The EU's goals by 2050 are to ensure food security, prevent bio-diversity loss, and strengthen the EU food system's resilience. Recent scientific research and the...
The EU's goals by 2050 are to ensure food security, prevent bio-diversity loss, and strengthen the EU food system's resilience. Recent scientific research and the situation in the global market show that the cultivation and processing of raspberries is currently completely unsustainable. This sector is experiencing a huge decline in Lithuania. Therefore, we chose the sustainability of raspberry growing (from farm) and processing (to fork) as an object. The aim of this article was (i) to analyze the raw material of the raspberry plant for product sustainable processing, (ii) to create a digital sustainability measurement model, and (iii) to present sustainable development solutions for effective raspberry growing and processing on Lithuanian farms using content and descriptive methods. This paper discusses how to help small raspberry growers and processors achieve sustainable economic, environmental, and social performance from field raw material to processed products. Analysis of the scientific literature has revealed qualitative and quantitative sustainability indicators for improving raspberry production. The assessment of the sustainability according to our created model revealed the (un)sustainable factors and the current situation in raspberry farms on a Likert scale from very unsustainable to very sustainable. Based on the evaluation we have determined sustainable development solutions. Raspberry growing and processing in Lithuania can contribute to environmental conservation, economic growth, and social well-being, fostering a more sustainable and resilient agricultural sector by investing in R&D, improving productivity, creating employment opportunities and supporting rural communities, establishing a robust waste management system, and embracing renewable energy sources. Raspberry growers and processors can use the digital model we created for the sustainability, efficiency, and development directions of their farm.
PubMed: 37959049
DOI: 10.3390/foods12213930 -
Ear and HearingBilateral cochlear implant (BiCI) listeners use independent processors in each ear. This independence and lack of shared hardware prevents control of the timing of...
The Impact of Synchronized Cochlear Implant Sampling and Stimulation on Free-Field Spatial Hearing Outcomes: Comparing the ciPDA Research Processor to Clinical Processors.
OBJECTIVES
Bilateral cochlear implant (BiCI) listeners use independent processors in each ear. This independence and lack of shared hardware prevents control of the timing of sampling and stimulation across ears, which precludes the development of bilaterally-coordinated signal processing strategies. As a result, these devices potentially reduce access to binaural cues and introduce disruptive artifacts. For example, measurements from two clinical processors demonstrate that independently-running processors introduce interaural incoherence. These issues are typically avoided in the laboratory by using research processors with bilaterally-synchronized hardware. However, these research processors do not typically run in real-time and are difficult to take out into the real-world due to their benchtop nature. Hence, the question of whether just applying hardware synchronization to reduce bilateral stimulation artifacts (and thereby potentially improve functional spatial hearing performance) has been difficult to answer. The CI personal digital assistant (ciPDA) research processor, which uses one clock to drive two processors, presented an opportunity to examine whether synchronization of hardware can have an impact on spatial hearing performance.
DESIGN
Free-field sound localization and spatial release from masking (SRM) were assessed in 10 BiCI listeners using both their clinical processors and the synchronized ciPDA processor. For sound localization, localization accuracy was compared within-subject for the two processor types. For SRM, speech reception thresholds were compared for spatially separated and co-located configurations, and the amount of unmasking was compared for synchronized and unsynchronized hardware. There were no deliberate changes of the sound processing strategy on the ciPDA to restore or improve binaural cues.
RESULTS
There was no significant difference in localization accuracy between unsynchronized and synchronized hardware (p = 0.62). Speech reception thresholds were higher with the ciPDA. In addition, although five of eight participants demonstrated improved SRM with synchronized hardware, there was no significant difference in the amount of unmasking due to spatial separation between synchronized and unsynchronized hardware (p = 0.21).
CONCLUSIONS
Using processors with synchronized hardware did not yield an improvement in sound localization or SRM for all individuals, suggesting that mere synchronization of hardware is not sufficient for improving spatial hearing outcomes. Further work is needed to improve sound coding strategies to facilitate access to spatial hearing cues. This study provides a benchmark for spatial hearing performance with real-time, bilaterally-synchronized research processors.
Topics: Cochlear Implantation; Cochlear Implants; Computers, Handheld; Hearing; Humans; Sound Localization; Speech Perception
PubMed: 34882619
DOI: 10.1097/AUD.0000000000001179 -
Journal of Food Protection Nov 2021Kombucha is a sweetened tea beverage fermented by bacterial and yeast cultures. Sweeteners, such as glucose, sucrose, fructose, and others are converted by yeasts into...
ABSTRACT
Kombucha is a sweetened tea beverage fermented by bacterial and yeast cultures. Sweeteners, such as glucose, sucrose, fructose, and others are converted by yeasts into ethanol and then by Acetobacter and other bacterial species into a weak acetic acid solution that is diluted, flavored, and packaged into glass or aluminum cans for consumer consumption. Naturally, fermented kombucha contains 0 to 3% alcohol by volume (ABV). However, kombucha containing ethanol is concerning for pregnant women and young children for whom low levels of ethanol consumption (<3% ABV) create adverse medical outcomes. In the province of British Columbia (BC), Canadian beverages containing >1% ABV are regulated as liquor. This study assessed ethanol concentrations in kombucha collected from processors and purchased at retail venues in BC. Ethanol values were compared with the place of manufacture (country or province) and place of purchase (grocery stores, restaurants, farmers' markets, recreational centers, and processors). Ethanol (n = 684) levels were measured by using a headspace gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method with a detection limit of 0.0002% ABV for ethanol. Overall, teas contained mean and median ethanol of 0.77 and 0.62% ABV, respectively, ranging from nondetectable up to 3.62% ABV. Four kombucha teas (0.6%) made by BC processors tested over 3% ABV, and 31.5% of samples contained ethanol that exceeded the BC regulatory limits for nonalcoholic beverages of 1% ABV. Kombucha manufactured in BC had significantly higher mean ethanol values (1.16% ABV) in comparison to all other places of manufacture. Similarly, mean ethanol tea values obtained from BC processors (1.2% ABV) and restaurants (1.01% ABV) were significantly higher than those obtained at other retail venues. This study demonstrates the potential for alcohol harm to at-risk populations consuming kombucha teas sold in BC.
Topics: Beverages; British Columbia; Child; Child, Preschool; Ethanol; Female; Fermentation; Humans; Kombucha Tea; Pregnancy; Tea
PubMed: 34143179
DOI: 10.4315/JFP-21-130