Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Deep Learning with a DAG Structure for Segmentation and Classification of Prostate Cancer

Deep learning is a machine learning technique inspired by the biological nervous system. The method has been used more and more over the last decades. Within this thesis, convolutional neural networks (CNN:s) are used for Gleason classification of prostate cancer in histopathological images. The data that has been used consists of digitalized microscopic images of prostate biopsies stained with haematoxylin-eosin (H&E). There are separate samples containing benign, Gleason 3, Gleason 4 and Gleason 5 tissue. More specifically, the potential of a directed acyclic graph (DAG) structure for the classifying CNN has been investigated. In this network a segmentation image has been used as a second label in the middle of the network, and the backpropagation has thus been performed using two different outputs. Hence, as a buildup, a CNN with a simple structure was created for segmentation of different components in benign prostate tissue. The structure and trained weights of this segmentation network were then used in the classifying DAG net. No final fine-tuning of the hyper-parameters or optimization of the network has been performed, but the cost function showed a decreasing trend when the training was carried out. Therefore it was concluded that the DAG structure does have potential and that further development of the method could yield a high performance network. (Less)
VERIFICATION OF THE ASTROMETRIC PERFORMANCE OF THE KOREAN VLBI NETWORK, USING COMPARATIVE SFPR STUDIES WITH THE VLBA AT 14/7 mm

The Korean VLBI Network (KVN) is a new millimeter VLBI dedicated array with the capability to simultaneously observe at multiple frequencies, up to 129 GHz. The innovative multi-channel receivers present significant benefits for astrometric measurements in the frequency domain. The aim of this work is to verify the astrometric performance of the KVN using a comparative study with the VLBA, a well-established instrument. For that purpose, we carried out nearly contemporaneous observations with the KVN and the VLBA, at 14/7 mm, in 2013 April. The KVN observations consisted of simultaneous dual frequency observations, while the VLBA used fast frequency switching observations. We used the Source Frequency Phase Referencing technique for the observational and analysis strategy. We find that having simultaneous observations results in superior compensation for all atmospheric terms in the observables, in addition to offering other significant benefits for astrometric analysis. We have compared the KVN astrometry measurements to those from the VLBA. We find that the structure blending effects introduce dominant systematic astrometric shifts, and these need to be taken into account. We have tested multiple analytical routes to characterize the impact of the low-resolution effects for extended sources in the astrometric measurements. The results from the analysis of the KVN and full VLBA data sets agree within 2σ of the thermal error estimate. We interpret the discrepancy as arising from the different resolutions. We find that the KVN provides astrometric results with excellent agreement, within 1σ, when compared to a VLBA configuration that has a similar resolution. Therefore, this comparative study verifies the astrometric performance of the KVN using SFPR at 14/7 mm, and validates the KVN as an astrometric instrument.
Affinity Preserving Quantization for Hashing: A Vector Quantization Approach to Compact Learn Binary Codes

Hashing techniques are powerful for approximate nearest neighbour (ANN) search.Existing quantization methods in hashing are all focused on scalar quantization (SQ) which is inferior in utilizing the inherent data distribution.In this paper, we propose a novel vector quantization (VQ) method named affinity preserving quantization (APQ) to improve the quantization quality of projection values, which has significantly boosted the performance of state-of-the-art hashing techniques.In particular, our method incorporates the neighbourhood structure in the pre- and post-projection data space into vector quantization.APQ minimizes the quantization errors of projection values as well as the loss of affinity property of original space.An effective algorithm has been proposed to solve the joint optimization problem in APQ, and the extension to larger binary codes has been resolved by applying product quantization to APQ.Extensive experiments have shown that APQ consistently outperforms the state-of-the-art quantization methods, and has significantly improved the performance of various hashing techniques.
Microstructure of soil using SEM images based on Matlab

The physical and mechanical properties of soil are determined by soil microstructure.Soil microstructure study is conducted mainly through the qualitative and quantitative analyses of the SEM images of soil.The SEM images cannot be directly used for quantitative analysis because too many factors may affect its quality.A better quantitative expression of soil pore and grain is obtained through image processing technique and optimization of imaging.By using Matlab,the whole process of image processing is presented in this paper,considering the characteristics of the soil SEM images.The results show a three-segmentation processing:image preprocessing,image segmentation,and optimizing and image quantitative statistics.This paper presents the functions and methods that are appropriate for non-uniform background elimination,contrast adjustment,image noise reduction,image binary,optimize imaging,and quantitative analysis,etc.They can be used to support the qualitative and quantitative analyses of the soil microstructure image.
Système multicapteur utilisant les réseaux de neurones artificiels pour la surveillance des eaux potables

Résumé : Le domaine de surveillance de l’eau potable acquiert depuis quelques temps une importance particulière. Dans les usines de production et de distribution, on s’intéresse de plus en plus à la qualité de cette ressource vitale dans le but d’une maîtrise des risques. Pour cela, plusieurs méthodes et techniques de surveillance ont été mises en œuvre. On présente dans cet article une technique à base de réseaux de neurones artificiels (RNAs) implantée au niveau d’un système multicapteur de surveillance. Il s’agit d’une méthode d’apprentissage statistique qui affiche des performances d’entraînement et de généralisation optimales dans plusieurs domaines, entre autres le domaine de reconnaissance de formes. Appliquée comme outil de classification, cette technique assure au sein du système un contrôle direct et quasi permanent de la qualité de l’eau. Pour sa validation, une étude en simulation est effectuée sur le temps d’apprentissage, le taux de reconnaissance, et la sensibilité au bruit. Dans le but de montrer son bon fonctionnement, une application est présentée. Mots clés : Système multicapteur, Surveillance des eaux potables, RNAs, Classification, Simulation.
Influence of Nitrogen Fertility Practices on Hop Cone Quality

Abstract A multi-year field study was conducted in Oregon and Washington to evaluate the influence of nitrogen fertilization rate and timing on cone quality and nitrate accumulation in cones. The impact of nitrogen rate on cone yield, levels of hop acids, total oil content, color, and nitrate level were year dependent. However, when data were aggregated over years and analyzed using a mixed effect model, α-acids, β-acids, and total oil volume decreased linearly with increasing nitrogen rate; while cone color, expressed as the degree of greenness of cones, and nitrate content of cones increased linearly with nitrogen rate. Yield was not improved with the highest nitrogen rate. In one of four studies, panelists used triangle tests to evaluate hop aroma of ground hop cones and detected a difference among treatments. The α- and β-acids decreased and nitrate concentration increased when nitrogen was applied after bloom. One harvest showed that fertilizer timing led to differences in the aroma of the hop cones although this difference was within the standard aroma variation for the variety. Overall, this research indicates that applying the lowest feasible nitrogen rate and ceasing nitrogen applications before or at bloom may optimize certain cone quality factors while minimizing nitrate accumulation.
Effect of the Number of Maxima and Stimulation Rate on Phoneme Perception Patterns Using Cochlear Implant Simulation

Over the past few decades, cochlear implants (CIs) have become an alternate solution to hearing aids for people with severe-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss. Despite scientists’ continuous efforts to facilitate hearing ability, however, there are still unresolved issues that CI users’ experience (e.g., fine speech perception, speech perception in noise, and music perception). When CI patients complain about these issues, one of the primary methods audiologists can employ is to adjust the mapping parameters to resolve their perceptual complaints. Numerous investigations have studied changes in signal processing strategies Purpose: Maximizing speech perception for cochlear implant (CI) users can be achieved by adjusting mapping parameters. The object of this study was to investigate optimal sets of parameters of stimulation rate and the number of maxima in the CI system.
E-LEARNING SYSTEMS’ ACCEPTANCE: THE CASE OF EDUWAVE IN JORDAN

E-learning is the new picture of education in the 21st century. Schools and universities are adopting e-learning systems to improve education processes, reduce costs, make teaching and learning more convenient, provide new tools for the new educational methods. EduWave is a system implemented by Jordan, like many Arab countries, to be used by teachers, students and other stakeholders in public schools in the country. This study tried to measure students perceptions towards the intention to use EduWave and the factors affecting it. This study utilized 347 surveys administered in 3 public schools in Jordan, where students rated their perceptions towards using the EduWave system as part of their learning process. The study used a 5 point Likert scale, and included 2 parts: a demographic and general questions section, and a set of questions probing students’ attitudes towards four variables: intention to use EduWave (ITU, 3 items), perceived usefulness (PU, 5 items), perceived ease of use (PEOU, 3 items), and perceived trust (PT, 3 items). The distribution of sample according to gender was 202 male students (58.2%) and 145 female students (41.8%). The following table shows responses of students to various questions related to their usage of EduWave. This study aimed at exploring Jordanian public school students towards using EduWave, an e-learning portal utilized by the Ministry of Education. Data collected indicated conflicting results concerning the usage of EduWave, as many tasks were not utilized properly like: sending e-mails, exchanging work, uploading files, calendaring, and discussions. On the other hand, the sample showed that schools pushed the registration on the system (having an ID and password), and used it for grades only. This indicates that the most utilized task/process is assessment. This study also hypothesized that PU, PEOU and PT will influence students’ intentions to use EduWave, Results supported only PU and PEOU, and failed to support the influence of PT. Analysis indicated that PU has the largest effect on ITU (beta = 0.367), followed by PEOU (beta = 0.199). Such results support the original TAM proposed by Davis (1989). It seems that students are not keen on trust issues, which might be because of their age, or they trust the system (government) and don’t think it is a driver for future usage. On the other hand, usefulness is an important predictor of future usage, but seems that students’ perceptions of EduWave that it is not useful (low mean = 2.413). This study needs confirmation especially with such results; wider sample might yield different conclusions. Wider sample means better demographics, mix of private and public schools, and maybe different grades. Also, a different research method might yield more insights, like interviews, or discussion groups, where issues are explored in depth.
Surface solitons in quasiperiodic nonlinear photonic lattices

We study discrete surface solitons in semi-infinite, one-dimensional, nonlinear (Kerr), quasiperiodic waveguide arrays of the Fibonacci and Aubry-Andr\'e types, and explore different families of localized surface modes, as a function of optical power content (`nonlinearity') and quasiperiodic strength (`disorder'). We find a strong asymmetry in the power content of the mode as a function of the propagation constant, between the cases of focussing and defocussing nonlinearity, in both models. We also examine the dynamical evolution of a completely-localized initial excitation at the array surface. We find that in general, for a given optical power, a smaller quasiperiodic strength is required to effect localization at the surface than in the bulk. Also, for fixed quasiperiodic strength, a smaller optical power is needed to localize the excitation at the edge than inside the bulk.
When Celebrities Speak: A Nationwide Twitter Experiment Promoting Vaccination in Indonesia

Celebrity endorsements are often sought to influence public opinion. We ask whether celebrity endorsement per se has an effect beyond the fact that their statements are seen by many, and whether on net their statements actually lead people to change their beliefs. To do so, we conducted a nationwide Twitter experiment in Indonesia with 46 high-profile celebrities and organizations, with a total of 7.8 million followers, who agreed to let us randomly tweet or retweet content promoting immunization from their accounts. Our design exploits the structure of what information is passed on along a retweet chain on Twitter to parse reach versus endorsement effects. Endorsements matter: tweets that users can identify as being originated by a celebrity are far more likely to be liked or retweeted by users than similar tweets seen by the same users but without the celebrities' imprimatur. By contrast, explicitly citing sources in the tweets actually reduces diffusion. By randomizing which celebrities tweeted when, we find suggestive evidence that overall exposure to the campaign may influence beliefs about vaccination and knowledge of immunization-seeking behavior by one's network. Taken together, the findings suggest an important role for celebrity endorsement.
Anyonic glueballs from an effective string model

Relying on an effective-string approach in which glueballs --- bound states of pure Yang-Mills theory --- are modelled by closed strings, we give arguments suggesting that anyonic glueballs, \textit{i.e.} glueballs with arbitrary spin, may exist in $(2+1)$-$\,$dimensional Yang-Mills theory. We then focus on the large$\,$-$N_c$ limit of $SU$($N_c$) Yang-Mills theory and show that our model leads to a mass spectrum in good agreement with lattice data in the scalar sector, while it predicts the masses and spins of anyonic glueball states.
Tetraalkyl-p-urazines and their cation radicals

X-ray structures for tetramethyl-p-urazine and its dithia derivative show these compounds to exist in significantly tiwsted boat structures with nearly plarnar nitrogens. The X-ray structure of the fused bicycloco-[2.2. 2]octyl derivative cation radical 4 •+ is consistent with a delocalized structure having equivalent N-N bonds and planar nitrogens. ESR and ENDOR data are consistent with delocalized cation radicals in solution
The effect of primordial antibiasing on the local measurement of the key cosmological parameters

The best-fit values of the density parameter and the amplitude of the linear density power spectrum obtained from the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) temperature field scanned by the Planck satellite are found to notably disagree with those estimated from the abundance of galaxy clusters observed in the local universe. Basically, the observed cluster counts are significantly lower than the prediction of the standard flat LambdaCDM model with the key cosmological parameters set at the Planck best-fit values. We show that this inconsistency between the local and the early universe can be well resolved without failing the currently favored flat LambdaCDM cosmology if the local universe corresponds to a region embedded in a crest of the primordial gravitational potential field. Incorporating the condition of positive primordial potential into the theoretical prediction for the mass function of cluster halos, we show that the observed lower number densities of the galaxy clusters are in fact fully consistent with the Planck universe.
THE FUNCTIONAL SIGNIFICANCE OF AN ALTERNATELY SPLICED PRODUCT OF THE HDM2 GENE

iii Acknowledgements . v List of Tables . ix List of Figures.x Chapter 1: Introduction . 1 1.1 A dilemma of multicellularity.2 1.2 Underlying causes of cancer . 3 1.3 Loss of p53 function in tumors . 4 1.4 Protective mechanisms of the p53 network . 5 1.4. 1 Activation of the p53 circuit . 7 1.4. 2 Downstream effectors of the p53 circuit.10 1.5 Control of p53 activity . 15 1.6 The p53-HDM2 negative feedback loop.18 1.7 Oscillations in the p53-HDM2 feedback loop . 20 1.8 The hdm2/mdm2 gene . 21 1.8. 1 Genomic organization.23 1.8. 2 Transcriptional regulation.23 1.8. 3 Post-transcriptional regulation . 26 1.8. 4 Post-translational regulation . 31 1.8. 5 p53-independent functions.33 1.9 Contradictory effects of HDM2 expression . 35
Synthesis, In Vitro Biological Stability, and Anti-HIV Activity of 5-Halo (or Methoxy)-6-Alkoxy (Azido or Hydroxy)-5,6-Dihydro-2′,3′-Didehydro-3′-Deoxythymidine Diastereomers as Potential Prodrugs of 2′,3′-Didehydro-3′-deoxythymidine (D4T)

Abstract A new class of 5-halo (or methoxy)-6-alkoxy (azido or hydroxy)-5,6-dihydro-2′,3′-didehydro-3′-deoxythymidines (4–17) were investigated as potential anti-AIDS drugs. These 5,6-dihydro derivatives, which are also potential prodmgs of 2′,3′-didehydro-3′-deoxythymidine (D4T) were designed to have properties which would enhance their duration of action, lipophilicity and cephalic delivery to the central nervous system. The 5,6-dihydro derivatives of D4T (4–15), which differ in configuration at the C-5 and C-6 positions, were synthesized by the regiospecific addition of XR (X = Br, Cl, I; R = OMe, OEt, N3, OH) to the 5,6-olefinic bond of D4T. These 5,6-disubstituted-5,6-dihydro analogs of D4T are more lipophilic (P = 0.70 – 4.0 range) than D4T (P = 0.12) and are stable to E. coli thymidine phosphorylase. Regeneration of the 5,6-olefinic bond to give D4T, upon incubation of the 5-bromo- and 5-iodo-6-methoxy-5,6-dihydro derivatives (6, 7, 10, 11) with glutathione or a mouse liver soluble enzyme fraction,.
Formal Analysis on Safety Communication Protocol in Train Control System

The safety communication protocol is a main factor affecting the communication safety of the train control system.Its properties and final implementation of formal verification are of great significance to the train control system.After explicitely specifying the requirements which have not been defined as mandatory terms in the EURORADIO specification,the hierarchy model of the wireless communication system with the hierarchy timed Colored Petri Net(CPN) is proposed,combining the models of safety layer,channel,and application layer.The time property of safety connection in the advanced safety communication protocol is analyzed according to the parameters of the channels and application models.Analysis results show that in the case of the probability of data loss in a channel being 0.1,0.05,and 0.01,the time characteristic for safety connection of the advanced safety communication protocol can fulfill the requiremerrts of the requirements of the specification.
Techniques to improve subject retrieval in online catalogs: flexible access to elements in the bibliographic record

A paragraph description of «what the book is about» taken from Book Review Digest is used to evaluate information on the bibliographic record. It is first determined to what extent book descriptions match either subject headings or keywords in the title. Segments of the bibliographic record are then examined to determine their potential for retrieving the book described. The combination of approaches used to simulate manipulation of the data in the record increased recall in the sample by 20%. Keyword matching in the personal name and corporate name subject fields in a way to increase both precision and recall
Predicting Fine-Grained Traffic Conditions via Spatio-Temporal LSTM

Predicting traffic conditions for road segments is the prelude of working on intelligent transportation. Many existing methods can be used for short-term or long-term traffic prediction, but they focus more on regions than on road segments. The lack of fine-grained traffic predicting approach hinders the development of ITS. Therefore, MapLSTM, a spatio-temporal long short-term memory network preluded by map-matching, is proposed in this paper to predict fine-grained traffic conditions. MapLSTM first obtains the historical and real-time traffic conditions of road segments via map-matching. Then LSTM is used to predict the conditions of the corresponding road segments in the future. Breaking the single-index forecasting, MapLSTM can predict the vehicle speed, traffic volume, and the travel time in different directions of road segments simultaneously. Experiments confirmed MapLSTM can not only achieve prediction for road segments based a large scale of GPS trajectories effectively but also have higher predicting accuracy than GPR and ConvLSTM. Moreover, we demonstrate that MapLSTM can serve various applications in a lightweight way, such as cognizing driving preferences, learning navigation, and inferring traffic emissions.
Exploring the explicit and implicit inclusion of the cultural component through materials in EFL content-based and english as a subject matter classrooms for pre-service teachers at a public university (a colombian case)

The present paper aimed to explore in the EFL language classrooms the inclusion of the cultural aspects of teaching a foreign language. Specifically, it aimed to determine if such cultural features were explicitly or implicitly included in two content-based, and two English as a subject matter courses. In order to do this, the project departed from two guiding questions. The first one is: to what extent is the cultural aspect of teaching a foreign language explicitly included in the EFL classrooms in the PLI program? Besides, is learners‟ C1 explicitly included in the EFL classrooms? Second question: What type of teaching tools (material and non-material) does the teacher bring into the classroom to present (explicitly or implicitly) the L1 and L2 cultural aspects. Besides, are the materials updated, engaging, include elements of the C1 and C2, and were they used for conducting contrastive analyses for developing thirdness? In order to collect the data interviews and observations were conducted, and samples of materials were gathered. As this project was gathering data alongside with another bigger project whose target was also to explore the cultural factor in EFL classrooms, the collected information was analyzed in conjunction with researchers of the parallel project. However, the findings and discussion in this project were carried out only by the researcher of this work. The results of the investigation showed that in all the classrooms there were very interesting manifestations of learners‟ own culture, and the culture of the target language. Nevertheless, in a large degree such manifestations were implicit. Moreover, according to the criteria designed in the project for the analysis of the materials, it was evidenced that they actually served as a channel to present culture. However, in certain cases these tools by themselves did not contain enough information in terms of learners‟ own and target culture for carrying on a complete task (with cultural content) in a lesson.