Internal Filters Research Articles

Faithful Counterfactual Visual Explanations (FCVE)

Deep learning models in computer vision have made remarkable progress, but their lack of transparency and interpretability remains a challenge. The development of explainable AI can enhance the understanding and performance of these models. However, existing techniques often struggle to provide convincing explanations that non-experts easily understand, and they cannot accurately identify models’ intrinsic decision-making processes. To address these challenges, we propose to develop a counterfactual explanation (CE) model that balances plausibility and faithfulness. This model generates easy-to-understand visual explanations by making minimum changes necessary in images without altering the pixel data. Instead, the proposed method identifies internal concepts and filters learned by models and leverages them to produce plausible counterfactual explanations. The provided explanations reflect the internal decision-making process of the model, thus ensuring faithfulness to the model.

Laser induced fluorescence spectroscopy of aqueous eosin Y solution

Eosin Yellow (EY) is commonly used for staining in medicine, biology, food industry, textiles, painting and cosmetics. The spectroscopic and photochemical properties of this synthetic dye have also attracted attention, making it an excellent tool for chemical identification and biosensor applications. Since EY is prone to photo-degradation upon illumination by photons at wavelengths near to the main absorption bands, special considerations should be taken into account regarding its optical characterization. In the present report, laser induced fluorescence (LIF) features of aqueous EY solution due to excitation at 405 nm and 532 nm wavelengths, under conditions with the least likelihood of photo-degradation, have been assessed by emphasizing the effect of LIF internal filters. The quantum distribution of LIF emission is demonstrated to be dependent on both the excitation wavelength and EY concentration, as well as the detection line of sight. Since the fluorescence spectrum of EY is a convolution of the monomer and dimer emissions, and those contributions change unevenly under the influence of internal filters, the corresponding spectral changeovers were investigated based on the assessment of spectral asymmetry and the use of difference spectra analysis. The inner filter effects, dimerization, and resonance energy transfer between monomers and dimers were the basis for the discussion of the results.

Förster-free Effect Fluorescence Quenching of 5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrin in Solution.

The absorption of exciting light by an inner filter may be the cause of large errors in estimating the efficiency of fluorescence quenching. We performed fluorescence measurements of 5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrin toluene solution in a wide concentration range. We have shown a Förster-free fluorescence quenching in a right-angle geometry experiment, caused by second order inner filter. We proposed to perform measurements in a front-surface geometry to investigate the nature of quenching not related to the inner filters. We have shown that concentration effects in tetraphenylporphyrin solutions in toluene are not accompanied by a decrease in the fluorescence intensity in a front-surface geometry at concentrations of 10- 3-10- 7mol/l. It was possible to separate the phenomena of the internal filters from the processes occurring in a liquid medium. Our results are of great importance due to the widespread fundamental research of porphyrin-based dyes properties.

Forest conversion into pasture selects dung beetle traits at different biological scales depending on species pool composition.

The conversion of forests into open areas has large effects on the diversity and structure of native communities. The intensity of these effects may vary between regions, depending on the existence of native species adapted to open habitats in the regional pool or the time since habitat change.We assess the differences in species richness and functional diversity of dung beetle communities (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae) between native forests and novel pasturelands of the Atlantic Forest and the Cerrado, two biomes with contrasting histories of human occupation in Brazil. We conducted standardized surveys in seven forest fragments and adjacent pastures in each region and measured 14 traits in individuals collected in each type of habitat at each particular site. We calculated functional richness, functional evenness, functional divergence, and community-weighted mean of traits for each area, and analyzed individual variation through nested variance decomposition and Trait Statistics.Communities were richer and more numerous at the Cerrado. We did not find any consistent relationship between functional diversity and forest conversion beyond the changes in species diversity. Although landscape changes were more recent at the Cerrado, the colonization of the new habitat by native species already adapted to open habitats lessens the functional loss in this biome. This indicates that habitat change's effects on trait diversity depend on the regional species pool rather than on time since land conversion.Forest conversion effects were primarily due to internal filtering. The effects of external filtering only appear at the intraspecific variance level, with contrasting differences between the Cerrado, where traits related to relocation behavior and size are selected, and the Atlantic Forest, where selection operates for traits related to relocation behavior and flight. These results evidence the importance of considering individual variance to address the responses of dung beetle communities to forest conversion.

Determination and use of external color filter for improved camera colorimetry

Most digital cameras have spectral characteristics that make it impossible for the camera to provide accurate colorimetric information of a recorded scene. We extend previous work on using multiple filtered exposures by the use of a newly available capability of creating manufacturable filters using online software. Multiple criteria are considered in the determination of an optimal color filter on a training dataset. These criteria include the Vora-Value, figure of merit (FOM), training average ΔE, and training maximum ΔE. Our method includes the use of a realistic imaging noise model. We use two optimization methods: minimum mean square error (MMSE), which requires knowledge of the color sensitivities of the camera’s internal RGB filters and knowledge of the covariance matrices of the data ensemble and the noise, and a pseudoinverse method that uses only the recorded data and knowledge of the values of the training data. Filters were selected using the training data and the performance is measured on independent testing data. The results from both optimization methods show that filters chosen using the training ΔE criteria consistently outperformed the theoretical FOMs. It is also shown that the MMSE method is very sensitive to small perturbations of the internal filter sensitivities. Real camera images were recorded using the optimally determined filters from both methods. Measured errors provide confirmation of the simulated results.

Модель развития креативности по результатам психологических тренингов

Based on the theory of Markov processes used to describe the learning processes of cognitive systems, a probabilistic model is developed that describes the nature of developing individuals’ creative abilities based on the psychological training results. The stages of developing the theory of creativity are considered, from the standpoint of displaying each person’s creative abilities and intellectual characteristics. The indicators used to evaluate the level of creativity, as well as the reasons and factors that constrain the demonstration of its creative abilities within the framework of the personality’s internal filters are analysed. Reasonable conclusions are made about the creativity phenomenon, as one of a person’s individual abilities, given to her or him by nature, along with an ear for music, predispositions to certain sports, painting, etc. The possibility of further development of a person’s creativity based on the psychological training results is proved. The stages of developing the analytical part of the model using the mathematical apparatus of a simple homogeneous Markov chain are given. The main expressions are obtained that characterize the probabilistic nature of the process of developing creativity in the course of trainings. Graphic material is demonstrated, revealing the essence of the prepared model. The experiment results on developing students’ creative abilities during a-four-session training, obtained on the basis of express testing according to D. Johnson psychodiagnostics method of verbal creativity in E.E. Tunik modification are presented. Directions for further research are determined.

Outdoor and indoor measurements of number particles size distributions and equivalent black carbon (EBC) at a mechanical manufacturing plant

Human exposure to air pollution is of great concern, especially in working places, where many people spend a lot of time. This work describes results obtained during a measurements campaign (February–July 2021) of aerosol number size distributions and equivalent black carbon (EBC), inside and outside a mechanical manufacturing plant, in Southern Italy. Outdoor and indoor EBC data are highly correlated (R2 = 0.98) suggesting the same sources: vehicular traffic, domestic heating and agricultural waste burning (February–April). In these months the outdoor Angstrom absorption exponent (AAE) was highly oscillating (0.64–1.62), with reduced oscillations (0.9–1.5) during warmer months. These last values suggest the influence of a diffuse cloud of aged smoke due to uncontrolled and extended wheat biomass burning, lasting about one month, in the nearby Apulia region. A good correlation between outdoor EBC and NC1 (particles number with D ≤ 1 μm) confirms that EBC has a high contribution to the aerosol size distribution. The same profile of number size distributions in both configurations indicates the same sources but, during cold months, the outdoor ones are characterized by higher values than the warm months, especially in the fine particles range. During working and non-working days, a reduction of indoor particles number concentration over the whole size range is observed throughout the weekend, suggesting manufacturing activities as one of the sources. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis of outdoor and indoor spare internal filters shows the presence of metal particles indicating inside particles are being transported outside.

Сравнительная характеристика функциональных показателей аквариумных фильтров

Aquarium care is a kind of a hobby. Aquariums are filled in with various fish species, invertebrates, plants, so aquarium water contains a huge amount of impurities, bacteria and microorganisms formed during the life of aquarium inhabitants. Currently, there appear the new aquarium filters for water purification with new consumer properties. There are considered the ways of treating water in aquariums by using different types of filters in order to study their functional qualities. Six internal filters of different brands and 1 external one were taken as the objects of study, their technical characteristics being presented. The time parameters of mechanical purification of aquarium water from the bacterial film by different filters were determined, the time limits of which correspond to 2-15 and 168 min. The operating time of the filters was calculated up to the point of deteriorating the quality of water filtration, which ranged within 5-12 min for all samples; one filter coped with the task of water purification in 60 minutes. The period of filter operation until the replacement or cleaning of filter materials has been stated. The minimal result is 168 hours, the maximal - 504 hours.

Evaluation of the Common Mode and the Differential Mode Components From Conducted Emission Measurements

The design of the power supply electromagnetic interference filter needed to mitigate the conducted emission of electronic modules can be performed best if the magnitude of the common mode (CM) and that of the differential mode (DM) interference are known. In common test setups, the two terms can be obtained from the signals measured at the line impedance stabilization networks (LISNs) output ports using DM and CM rejection networks or through the postprocessing of the output signals in the time domain. Both these approaches rely on the perfect matching of the LISNs internal filters, which is not realistic. Indeed, the LISNs mismatch allow the DM to be measured as CM and vice versa. In this work, the influence of the LISNs mismatch on the separation of CM and DM is investigated and a fast and accurate method to do that is proposed.

Optical characterization of the liver tissue affected by fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma based on internal filters of laser-induced fluorescence

Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) spectroscopy has recently gained regards for diagnosis of the cancer in various tissues of the human body. This method in its conventional form, when used for assay of highly scattering media, encounters a lot of noise due to multiple scattering and inner filter effects which overshadows the sensitivity and specificity of the method. Here, angular dependence of the LIF spectral shift due to the reabsorption events have been investigated for characterization of the bio-tissues. The aim was to determine the tissue morphological changeovers due to the cancer progression. The assessment of a rare type of the liver cancer i. e. fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma revealed the significant difference in optical anisotropy of the parenchyma and liver tumor. As a result, utilizing LIF spectroscopy as a fast, highly sensitive and easy-to-use method one can evaluate the optical anisotropy for diagnosing tissues during the cancer progression.

Intraspecific trait variation drives grassland species richness and productivity under changing precipitation

AbstractIt has been increasingly recognized that plant traits and their intraspecific variation play pivotal roles in determining how ecosystem structure and function respond to a changing environment. Yet, it remains unclear how and which plant traits regulate the assembly process and thus affect ecosystem structure and function under climate changes. Here, we selected six steppe sites with snow fences along a precipitation gradient in inner Mongolia. We measured traits including plant height and leaf carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus concentrations. We incorporated intraspecific trait variation to quantify the strength of external filters (assembly processes outside the community at a larger spatial scale), the strength of internal filters (assembly processes within the local community), and functional redundancy (the number of species having a similar function to an ecosystem). We applied these assembly rules to explain the changes in biodiversity and productivity in response to changing precipitation. We found that increased rainfall reduced plant carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorous (P) concentrations, but did not affect plant height. High snowfall increased phosphorous concentration, but did not affect other traits. Latent variable models identified climate (rainfall) and soil nutrient conditions (soil total N and P content) were more important than external filtering processes in predicting species richness. However, external filtering processes were the most important predictor of productivity. More specifically, we found with the increase in steppe productivity, the strength of the external filtering on leaf N increased and on plant height decreased, leading to leaf N converging into a small range but broadening the range of plant height. The internal filters had no significant effects on species richness or productivity. Additionally, we found that low precipitation reduced functional redundancy. We emphasize that intraspecific trait‐variation drives plant productivity and richness responses to precipitation changes by regulating community assemblage. Our finding also underlines the importance to separate the contributions of different functional traits in regulating the responses of ecosystem structure and function to climate changes.

Elemental and microbiota content in indoor and outdoor air using recuperation unit filters

This paper presents the results of a twelve-month measurement campaign conducted at a rural single-family house in Poland. The external and internal filters of a recuperator used to mechanically ventilate the building were used to separate the total suspended particles (TSPs), and the concentrations of fifteen elements and abundance of fungi and bacteria were determined. Lower annual mean concentrations were observed indoors, and the concentrations of most elements did not significantly change between seasons. There were some differences between winter and summer, which may have resulted from changes in the ventilation regimes in the house. The number of bacteria was similar outdoors and indoors, while the amounts of fungi were higher indoors (p < 0.05).The order of metal concentrations outdoors agreed well with observations in other countries, while indoors the metal concentrations order indicated the individual characteristics of the building. The species diversity of fungi was higher than that of bacteria, and different species were found indoors and outdoors, while bacteria were typically present both indoors and outdoors.Different TSP sources were identified indoors and outdoors, suggesting limited penetration between the two environments. However, both environments were affected by traffic.Mechanical ventilation systems with built-in filters (such as recuperators) were useful in assessing the air quality within the building, and the changeable recuperation filters offer an approach to assess the air quality in several houses without any additional cost or discomfort to the residents.

Experimental analysis of the influence of clogging on the filtration process for internal combustion engines

This article presents the analysis of the laboratory tests results carried out to investigate the effects of the clogging phenomenon developed at internal combustion engine filters. A classical filter module from an aspirated engine was used to carry out the tests, composed of air ducts, filter housing and a standard panel filter element made of paper, mounted on the test stand designed by the authors, for analysis of flow state parameters in dynamic mode.

Beyond technical learning: Internship as a liminal zone on the way to become a psychologist

Abstract The internship has become an essential part of university education. In many curricula, internships are a driving force for professional training and theoretical-practical integration. However, other processes and relational dynamics concerning the trainees' experience have an impact on learning. In this paper, we focus on the educational process between the academic system and the professional world, conceptualizing internship as a border zone. We try to explore the psychological and educational dimensions of the internship, with special attention to the meaning-making process, the affective aspects and the professional identity. Nine female psychology trainees in four different countries (Brazil, Denmark, Italy and Spain) were interviewed while doing their internship. The interview was complemented with various tasks aimed at addressing in depth the interviewees' personal experience. As main results, we highlight how the internship is conceived as an element of separation and continuity in professional development, the experience of ambivalence and insecurity in between the student and professional roles, the relevant role of the tutor, the reflection and imagination as main strategies in the transferring theoretical and practical knowledge and the crucial role of emotions in the process of becoming a psychologist. These elements characterize the internship as a liminal zone, where multiple internal filters regulate the ongoing learning process. The student's reflection emerges as a privileged tool to achieve these results. In this vein, some proposals are presented to improve the integration of the different types of knowledge that come into play in this transitional period.

Functional Divergence between Várzea and Igapó Forests: A Study of Functional Trait Diversity in the Colombian Orinoco Basin

Research Highlights: Functional diversity studies help to better understand how organisms respond to different environmental conditions. Conditions in tropical flooded forests are highly variable, including levels of nutrient availability, pH, and flood depth, but few studies have explored the impact of variation in these factors on plant functional diversity. Background and Objectives: In the Orinoco basin, as in the Amazon, floodplain forests have been classified into várzea (white-water rivers, with nutrient-rich soils) and igapó (black-water rivers, associated with nutrient-poor soils). We evaluated the functional diversity of plant species in várzea and igapó, as well as the influence of external and internal filters on the plant community assembly of each forest type, and compared our results with studies in the Amazon basin. Materials and Methods: Six functional traits were recorded in the várzea and igapó forests of the Colombian Orinoco basin (one-hectare plot for each forest type, with no replicates). We evaluated plant species diversity (richness, Fisher’s α, Shannon and Simpson indices), as well as functional diversity (functional richness, functional evenness, functional divergence, and functional dispersion) and the influence of external and internal filters, based on a comparison of variance at different organizational levels. Results: A high functional differentiation between várzea and igapó was found, as well as a high functional divergence within each forest type. We also observed a greater influence of internal filters on the community assembly of both forest types, compared to external filters. Functional traits such as wood density and leaf dry matter content, showed the same patterns as the várzea and igapó forests in the Amazon. Conclusions: Despite the low taxonomic and functional richness, there is high functional divergence within flooded forests. We also show that in forests under stress (e.g., from flooding), internal filters can be key in assembling communities and promote high functional divergence. Given that the functional diversity of the várzea and igapó in the Orinoco is largely unexplored, we highlight the need for more research for the effective conservation of these flooded forests.

A closed loop inductorless equalizer with a modified analysis of power comparator behaviour

SummaryInductorless circuits are gaining advantage in radio frequency (RF) and high‐speed serial link circuits due to the reduced silicon area. This paper presents an inductorless adaptive analog equalizer using an adaptive hybrid filter comprising integrated low pass and high pass filter. The equalizer, designed and fabricated in 180‐nm CMOS technology, is able to adjust the high‐frequency boost (HFB) and cutoff frequency of the internal filters depending on the data rate and the channel loss. The presented equalizer operates at data rates more than 4 Gbps in post‐layout simulation without electrostatic discharge (ESD) and package parasitics. For the test purposes, the equalizer has been packaged in QFN 64 pin package and hence the measurement results are up to 3.125 Gbps. The measurement results show that the equalizer is able to adapt the HFB for the channel losses as high as 5 dB. Average dissipated power of the equalizer at 3.125 Gbps is 18 mW with 1.8‐V supply. After reading this chapter you should be able to understand the merits of the proposed hybrid filter compared with the conventional RC filters in the adaptive equalizer using spectrum balancing technique; theoretical analysis and the impact of short channel effects on the performance of the power comparator; and test results of the adaptive equalizer using the proposed hybrid filter in the spectrum balancing technique.

The impact of household air cleaners on the oxidative potential of PM2.5 and the role of metals and sources associated with indoor and outdoor exposure

The health effects associated with human exposure to airborne fine particulate matter (PM2.5) have been linked to the ability of PM2.5 to facilitate the production of excess cellular reactive oxygen species (oxidative potential). Concern about the adverse human health impacts of PM2.5 has led to the increased use of indoor air cleaners to improve indoor air quality, which can be an important environment for PM2.5 exposure. However, the degree to which the oxidative potential of indoor and personal PM2.5 can be influenced by an indoor air cleaner remains unclear. In this study we enrolled 43 children with physician diagnosed asthma in suburban Shanghai, China and collected two paired-sets of 48-h indoor, outdoor, and personal PM2.5 exposure samples. One set of samples was collected under “real filtration” during which a functioning air cleaner was installed in the child's bedroom, and the other (“false filtration”) with an air cleaner without internal filters. The PM2.5 samples were characterized by inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy for elements, and by an alveolar macrophage assay for oxidative potential. The sources of metals contributing to our samples were determined by the EPA Positive Matrix Factorization model. The oxidative potential was lower under real filtration compared to sham for indoor (median real/sham ratio: 0.260) and personal exposure (0.813) samples. Additionally, the sources of elements in PM2.5 that were reduced indoors and personal exposure samples by the air cleaner (e.g. regional aerosol and roadway emissions) were found by univariate multiple regression models to be among those contributing to the oxidative potential of the samples. An IQR increase in the regional aerosol and roadway emissions sources was associated with a 107% (95% CI: 80.1–138%) and 38.1% (17.6–62.1%) increase in measured oxidative potential respectively. Our results indicate that indoor air cleaners can reduce the oxidative potential of indoor and personal exposure to PM2.5, which may lead to improved human health.

Trait-based community assembly of submersed macrophytes subjected to nutrient enrichment in freshwater lakes: Do traits at the individual level matter?

Abstract Understanding how functional traits distributed across ecological scales as well as environmental gradients are central issues of trait-based assembly processes. However, whether environmental filters act on individuals or species mean traits remains poorly tested. Here, we measured four functional traits – shoot height, specific leaf area, lamina thickness, and leaf dry mass content – of 4432 individuals from 30 submersed macrophyte species across 26 lakes in south China, covering a broad nutrient gradient. We partitioned trait variances into four nested ecological scales (i.e., region, community, species, individual) and assessed how the internal and external filters structured the submersed macrophyte community, either through acting on individual or on species mean traits, and how these processes related to nutrient enrichment. For the four tested traits, 13–60% of trait variability occurred within species (individual level), while 35–86% occurred among species (species level), followed by community and regional level. Species turnover contributed most to the community-wide variance along the nutrient gradient caused considerable intraspecific variations of shoot height. We found significant strong internal filtering effects on the submersed macrophyte community, which increased towards higher nutrient levels. The external filtering effects were only observed at individual level, with lower shoot height, specific leaf area, and leaf dry mass content than expected at low nutrient levels, and lower lamina thickness than expected at high nutrient levels. Our study provides new insight into the assembly processes by showing that niche overlap (i.e., intraspecific interaction) and niche differentiation (i.e., interspecific interaction) can simultaneously occur in different functional traits, both potentially promoting local species diversity. We conclude that an individual trait-based approach can help to detect assembly processes within and among lakes.

Template-switching artifacts resemble alternative polyadenylation

BackgroundAlternative polyadenylation is commonly examined using cDNA sequencing, which is known to be affected by template-switching artifacts. However, the effects of such template-switching artifacts on alternative polyadenylation are generally disregarded, while alternative polyadenylation artifacts are attributed to internal priming.ResultsHere, we analyzed both long-read cDNA sequencing and direct RNA sequencing data of two organisms, generated by different sequencing platforms. We developed a filtering algorithm which takes into consideration that template-switching can be a source of artifactual polyadenylation when filtering out spurious polyadenylation sites. The algorithm outperformed the conventional internal priming filters based on comparison to direct RNA sequencing data. We also showed that the polyadenylation artifacts arise in cDNA sequencing at consecutive stretches of as few as three adenines. There was no substantial difference between the lengths of poly(A) tails at the artifactual and the true transcriptional end sites even though it is expected that internal priming artifacts have shorter poly(A) tails than genuine polyadenylated reads.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that template switching plays an important role in the generation of spurious polyadenylation and support the need for more rigorous filtering of artifactual polyadenylation sites in cDNA data, or that alternative polyadenylation should be annotated using native RNA sequencing.

Functional organization of woody plant assemblages along precipitation and human disturbance gradients in a seasonally dry tropical forest

AbstractChronic anthropogenic disturbances (CAD) and rainfall are important drivers of plant community assembly, but little is known about the role played by inter‐ and intraspecific trait variation as communities respond to these pervasive forces. Here, we examined the hypothesis that lower precipitation and higher CAD reduce both intra‐ and interspecific trait variation in Caatinga dry forests. We sampled woody plants across 15 plots along precipitation and CAD gradients and measured resource‐use traits. The effects of precipitation and CAD on RaoQ functional diversity were decomposed into species turnover and intraspecific variability. We used “T‐statistics” to assess the trait sorting from the regional pool to local communities (i.e., external filtering), and within‐community forces leading to low trait overlap (i.e., internal filtering) at individual and species levels. Intraspecific variability explained at least one‐third of the total trait variation and 46% of variation in multitrait diversity across communities. Increasing disturbance reduced multitrait diversity, while precipitation affected some particular traits, such as wood density. Overall, precipitation determined species sorting across communities, while disturbance relaxed internal filters, leading to higher trait overlap within communities due to higher intraspecific variability. Our results suggest that the woody Caatinga flora contains a substantial amount of both inter‐ and intraspecific trait variation. This variation is not randomly distributed within and across communities, but varies according to rainfall conditions and disturbance intensity. These findings reinforce the emerging idea that human disturbances can reorganize plant communities at multiple scales and highlight trait variability as a key biological asset for the resilience of dry forests.