Amplidiff: an optimized amplicon sequencing approach to estimating lineage abundances in viral metagenomes

Background: Metagenomic profiling algorithms commonly rely on genomic differences between lineages, strains, or species to infer the relative abundances of sequences present in a sample. This observation plays an important role in the analysis of diverse microbial communities, where targeted sequencing of 16S and 18S rRNA, both well-known...

Zooming in on style: Exploring style perception using details of paintings

Most studies on the perception of style have used whole scenes/entire paintings; in our study, we isolated a single motif (an apple) to reduce or even eliminate the influence of composition, iconography, and other contextual information. In this article, we empirically address two fundamental questions of the existence (Experiment 1) and...

On the integrity of deformation monitoring

In safety-critical applications, deformation monitoring systems are required to issue timely alerts when a deformation beyond a critical threshold occurs. Only a very small probability of failing to issue an alert when in fact one should have been given, is acceptable. This probability is referred to as integrity risk. In this contribution,...

Positioning in a Multipath Channel Using OFDM Signals with Carrier Phase Tracking

In developing a high accuracy terrestrial radio navigation system, as a complement to a global navigation satellite system (GNSS), it is recognized that the performance of time delay estimation is proportional to, and thereby limited by, the signal bandwidth. Given a possibly narrow signal bandwidth, the central carrier phase can,...

In-flight model parameter and state estimation using gradient descent for high-speed flight

High-speed flight in GPS-denied environments is currently an important frontier in the research on autonomous flight of micro air vehicles. Autonomous drone races stimulate the advances in this area by representing a very challenging case with tight turns, texture-less floors, and dynamic spectators around the track. These properties hamper...

Analysis and modelling of performances of the HL (Hyperloop) transport system

Introduction: Hyperloop (HL) is presented as an efficient alternative of HSR (High Speed Rail) and APT (Air Passenger Transport) systems for long-distance passenger transport. This paper explores the performances of HL and compares these performances to HSR and APT. Methods: The following performances of the HL system are analytically modeled...

Evidence in support of the Independent Channel Model describing the sensorimotor control of human stance using a humanoid robot

The Independent Channel (IC) model is a commonly used linear balance control model in the frequency domain to analyze human balance control using system identification and parameter estimation. The IC model is a rudimentary and noise-free description of balance behavior in the frequency domain, where a stable model representation is not...

Constraining Conceptual Hydrological Models With Multiple Information Sources

The calibration of hydrological models without streamflow observations is problematic, and the simultaneous, combined use of remotely sensed products for this purpose has not been exhaustively tested thus far. Our hypothesis is that the combined use of products can (1) reduce the parameter search space and (2) improve the representation of...

Observing the state of balance with a single upper-body sensor

The occurrence of falls is an urgent challenge in our aging society. For wearable devices that actively prevent falls or mitigate their consequences, a critical prerequisite is knowledge on the user’s current state of balance. To keep such wearable systems practical and to achieve high acceptance, only very limited sensor instrumentation is...