Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Passive driver gaze tracking with active appearance models

Monocular gaze estimation is usually performed by locating the pupils, and the inner and outer eye corners in the image of the driver’s head. Of these feature points, the eye corners are just as important, and perhaps harder to detect, than the pupils. The eye corners are usually found using local feature detectors and trackers. In this paper, we describe a monocular driver gaze tracking system which uses a global head model, specifically an Active Appearance Model (AAM), to track the whole head. From the AAM, the eye corners, eye region, and head pose are robustly extracted and then used to estimate the gaze.
Predicting Romanian Financial Distressed Companies

The study consisted in collecting financial information for a group of distressed and non-distressed Romanian listed companies during the period 2006–2008, in order to create early warning signals for financial distressed companies using the following methodologies: the Logistic and the Hazard model, the CHAID decision tree model and the Artificial Neural Network model (ANN). For each company a set of 14 financial ratios, that reflect the company’s profitability, solvency, asset utilization, growth ability and size, were calculated and then used in the study. A Principal Component Analysis was also used to reduce the dimensionality of the data space and to allow seeing that the 2 types of companies do form 2 distinct groups suggesting that the ratios used are useful enough to predict financial distress. The following 4 data sets were separately analyzed: first-year data to predict distress one year ahead, second-year data for a 2 year-ahead prediction, third-year data for a 3 year-ahead prediction, as well as cumulative three-year data to predict distress 1 year ahead by letting the ratios vary in time. For each data set, several prediction models were created using CHAID, the Logit and Hazard models as well as the ANN and the hybrid-ANN. The results are consistent with the theory and also to previous studies and the out-of-sample forecast accuracy of the estimated models of 73%-100% indicates that the proposed early warning models for the Romanian listed companies are quite efficient.
Malnutrition in Hospital

Clinical studies, multivariate, and meta-analyses clearly prove that malnutrition is a relevant independent risk and cost factor with significant clinical and economic consequences. The prevalence of malnutrition in hospital is high (25 % on admission! ) with significant impact on infection rate, tolerance of therapy, immune competence, rate of complications, morbidity, mortality, prognosis, and quality of life for patients involved. Early recognition of malnutrition by easy, established screening tools (SGA, NRS 2002) as well as targeted nutritional intervention based on the recommended and established step-up sequence of therapeutic tools are - based on our present scientific knowledge - an integral, highly effective part of general medical therapy and prevention. Various committees of the EU clearly declare the high prevalence of malnutrition in European hospitals as inacceptable and emphasize even from the political point of view the scientifically proven clinical, economical, social, and health care related consequences of malnutrition. For adequate and effective treatment of malnutrition several easy to perform and cost effective procedures are clinically established and are systematically described in detail.
A systematic review of parenting interventions used by social workers to support vulnerable children

This paper reports on the findings from a systematic review of parenting interventions used by social workers to support vulnerable children in the United Kingdom. The study focused on children from birth to 11 years and 11 months based on Munro's rationale for early intervention. From the 423 papers initially identified, twelve met the inclusion criteria for this review. Four common themes were identified: developing relationships, the effectiveness of parenting interventions, societal impact on families and health and psychological concerns. The importance of effective relationships between parents and social workers was identified as key to effective parental interventions but there was limited evidence of improved outcomes for children despite this. A common factor in the studies was the level of parental deprivation which in many cases was associated with a range of mental health issues frequently seen in association with drug and alcohol abuse and domestic violence. The review identified a number of successful outcomes across a range of parenting interventions. However, what was surprising was the limited input from the children themselves within this review. Applying our findings to practice, the authors recommend a number of ways to contribute to the development of parenting interventions.
An information-theoretic approach to data fusion and sensor management

﻿The use of multi-sensor systems entails a Data Fusion and Sensor Management requirement in order to optimize the use of resources and allow the synergistic operation of sensors. To date, data fusion and sensor management have largely been dealt with separately and primarily for centralized and hierarchical systems. Although work has recently been done in distributed and decentralized data fusion, very little of it has addressed sensor management. In decentralized systems, a consistent and coherent approach is essential and the ad hoc methods used in other systems become unsatisfactory. This thesis concerns the development of a unified approach to data fusion and sensor management in multi-sensor systems in general and decentralized systems in particular, within a single consistent information-theoretic framework. Our approach is based on considering information and its gain as the main goal of multi-sensor systems. We develop a probabilistic information update paradigm from which we derive directly architectures and algorithms for decentralized data fusion and, most importantly, address sensor management. Presented with several alternatives, the question of how to make decisions leading to the best sensing configuration or actions, defines the management problem. We discuss the issues in decentralized decision making and present a normative method for decentralized sensor management based on information as expected utility. We discuss several ways of realizing the solution culminating in an iterative method akin to bargaining for a general decentralized system. Underlying this is the need for a good sensor model detailing a sensor's physical operation and the phenomenological nature of measurements vis-a-vis the probabilistic information the sensor provides. Also, implicit in a sensor management problem is the existence of several sensing alternatives such as those provided by agile or multi-mode sensors. With our application in mind, we detail such a sensor model for a novel Tracking Sonar with precisely these capabilities making it ideal for managed data fusion. As an application, we consider vehicle navigation, specifically localization and map-building. Implementation is on the OxNav vehicle (JTR) which we are currently developing. The results show, firstly, how with managed data fusion, localization is greatly speeded up compared to previous published work and secondly, how synergistic operation such as sensor-feature assignments, hand-off and cueing can be realised decentrally. This implementation provides new ways of addressing vehicle navigation, while the theoretical results are applicable to a variety of multi-sensing problems.
An experimental investigation of gas turbine airfoil aero-thermal film cooling performance

Keywords: Turbomachinery ; Heat Transfer These Ecole polytechnique federale de Lausanne EPFL, n° 1817 (1998)Laboratoire de thermique appliquee et de turbomachines Reference doi:10.5075/epfl-thesis-1817Print copy in library catalog Record created on 2007-04-25, modified on 2016-08-08
Predicting Young Children’s Externalizing Problems: Interactions among Effortful Control, Parenting, and Child Gender

This study investigated interactions between observed temperamental effortful control and observed parenting in the prediction of externalizing problems. Child gender effects on these relations were examined. The relations were examined concurrently when the child was 3 years old and longitudinally at 4.5 years. The sample included 89 two-parent families and their firstborn children. Children with a low level of effortful control were most at risk of displaying externalizing problems. However, more parental positive control seemed to buffer this risk. Boys were at risk of displaying externalizing problems, but again this was buffered by parental positive control. Effortful control was more strongly related to concurrent externalizing problems in boys than in girls, but girls’ effortful control had a greater long-term effect on externalizing problems.
Role of Diabetes Mellitus in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction: A Review Article

The pathophysiology of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is complex and poorly understood. There is a high prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus (DM) in patients with HFpEF, and the presence of DM has been shown to increase mortality of patients with HFpEF by 30%-50% even after adjustment for age, gender, hospital factors, and other patient characteristics. Since the prevalence of both entities is increasing worldwide, there is a need to explore their intricate relationship in order to elucidate potential management strategies to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with this duo. In this review article, we explore the role of DM in the pathophysiology of HFpEF, ethnic and gender differences, and some therapeutic strategies in the management of patients with HFpEF and DM.
Investigating the Performance of a Questionnaire for Hearing Screening of Schoolchildren in China

This study aimed to develop and evaluate a questionnaire for mass screening of rural school children in China. A total of 154 children, ages ranging from 6-13 years (mean = 9.3 years, SD = 1.7), were screened using the Chinese Hearing Questionnaire for School Children (CHQS-II). The CHQS-II was designed to detect cases at risk of otitis media with effusion and/or at least a moderate hearing loss in one or both ears. The test performance of the questionnaire was determined through comparison with 'gold standard' assessments. The diagnostic protocol was failed by 9.7% of participants, whilst the questionnaire was failed by 47.4%. Overall, the CHQS-II was found to be only moderately accurate (.62) as a screening system. When compared with standard diagnostic tests, its sensitivity was moderate but its efficiency was poor. Therefore, it cannot be recommended as a technique for mass hearing screening of rural school children in China.
HUBUNGAN PERILAKU TENTANG KESEHATAN GIGI DAN MULUT DENGAN KEJADIAN KARIES GIGI ANAK DI SD CINTA RAKYAT 4 KELAS IV DAN V

Cases of tooth decay in children are still needed and children whose teeth are damaged and rotten because they like sweet foods are common in our society. Many parents do not need to do dental treatment because the teeth will change with permanent teeth after a large child. Unhealthy teeth will affect the process and processing of food. Early dental care has been done to avoid other dental problems: cavities, kropos, and swelling of the gums. This research used cross sectional approach method. The research was done at SD Cinta Rakyat 4 Pematangsiantar. The sample in this study were 94 people. The variables that have relationship with dental caries incidence are knowledge variable p = 0,008, attitude p = 0,037 and from multivariate test variable which has the most dominant relationship is knowledge variable with p value = 0,046 Exp value (B) = 16.230. Suggestion given The need for counseling and socialization to the school and parents especially on school children about the importance of oral health since early and expected the school participate actively participate by cooperating cross program and cross sector to support effort of dental caries prevention in child.
Lifetime Major Discrimination Experiences Moderate the Impact of Depressive Symptoms on Chronic Conditions among Black Americans

To clarify the ways in which Black Americans’ experiences of structural racism may influence their mental and physical health in distinct ways, the present study evaluated whether major discrimination moderates the association between depressive symptoms and chronic physical health conditions among this population. t-tests and chi-squared tests of significance were used to determine significant differences between women and men. The association between major discrimination and depressive symptoms was examined by assessing mean depressive symptoms scores across levels of major discrimination. ANOVA tests indicated whether there were significant differences in symptom scores across each discrimination category. Additional t-tests determined significant gender differences within each level of discrimination. Gender-stratified negative binomial models were used, and odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated for the relationship between depressive symptoms, major discrimination, and chronic conditions. Our findings indicated that the association between depressive symptoms and chronic conditions depends on lifetime experiences of major discrimination among Black Americans and varies significantly between women and men. Considering that major discrimination conditioned the depressive symptom-chronic conditions association among our sample, this provides insight into potential pathways for intervention in efforts to offset the detrimental mental and physical consequences of experiencing racism.
Boron as a primary source of radiation in high density DRAMs

The interaction of cosmic ray thermal neutrons and boron is demonstrated as the primary source of radiation in devices containing borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG). Simulations indicated that this source of radiation generates enough charge to induce soft errors in memory devices. The results of a study of DRAM devices also demonstrated that this radiation is capable of inducing soft errors. A simple process change that significantly reduces this source of radiation is proposed.
Controller design for underwater vehicle systems with communication constraints

Real-time cooperation between autonomous vehicles can enable time-critical missions such as tracking and pursuit of a dynamic target or environmental feature, but relies on wireless communications. Underwater, communication over distances beyond about one hundred meters is almost exclusively accomplished through acoustics, which bring challenges such as propagation delays, low data rates, packet loss, and scheduling constraints due to interference and limited bandwidth. These limitations make underwater pursuit missions preeminent applications of networked control. Motivated by such applications, this thesis presents contributions towards multi-vehicle feedback control in the presence of severe communication constraints. The first major area of work considers the formulation and solution of new underwater multi-vehicle tracking and pursuit problems using closed-loop control. We begin with a centralized robust optimization approach for multicast routing and power control which is suitable for integration with vehicle control. Next, we describe field experiments in range-based target pursuit at high tracking bandwidths in a challenging shallow-water environment. Finally, we present a methodology for pursuit of dynamic ocean features such as fronts, which we validate using hindcast ocean model data. The primary innovation is a projection algorithm which carries out linearization of ocean model forecast dynamics and uncertainty directly in vehicle coordinates via a forward model technique. The resulting coupled linear stochastic system is suitable for networked control. The second area of work presents a unified formalism for multi-vehicle control and estimation with measurement, control, and acknowledgment packets all subject to scheduling, delays and packet loss. The modular framework we develop is built around a jump linear system description incorporating receding horizon optimization and buffering at actuators. Integration of these elements enables synthesis of a novel technique for estimation using delayed and lossy control acknowledgments—a desirable and practical capability of fielded systems that has not been considered to date. Simulations and field experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach.
The Shorter Working Week in Engineering: Surrender without Sacrifice

The paper examines the effect of the recent reductions in the working week of manual workers on the competitiveness of the engineering industry. The reductions, generally from 39 to 37 hours, were the result of a campaign by the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions after the break-down of national bargaining. There were substantial provisions to offset the cost of shorter hours in a large majority of the agreements which were analyzed as the first stage of the research. This analysis was followed by a number of factory visits to obtain a management perspective on what lay behind the collective agreements and on their effects. The results of these visits were used in the design of a postal survey of factory-level managers. The survey shows that the managers expected that over half the costs of the reduction would be absorbed by productivity improvements and lower wage increases linked to the cut in the working week. The two-hour reduction added less than one per cent to expected manual labour costs when the response were weighted by factory size. Expected costs were less for larger factories in particularly turbulent circumstances (that is reporting a greater than average increase in competitive pressures and considering major changes in work organisation) and where managers judged that union resistance to change had declined. Indeed, in factories to which all three of these factors applied managers thought that the shorter working week would actually lead to a fall, or most no increase in labour costs.
Pyrrhotite–silicate melt partitioning of rhenium and the deep
rhenium cycle in subduction zone

The Re-Os isotopic system serves as an important tracer of recycled crust in Earth’s deep mantle because of the large Re/Os ratios and time-integrated enrichment of radiogenic Os in Earth’s crust. However, the Re distribution in Earth’s known reservoirs is mass imbalanced, and the behavior of Re during subduction remains little understood. We performed laboratory experiments to determine the partition coefficients of Re between pyrrhotite and silicate melt (DRepo/sm) at 950–1080 °C, 1–3 GPa, and oxygen fugacities (in log units relative to the fayalite-magnetite-quartz [FMQ] buffer) of FMQ –1.3 to FMQ +2. The obtained DRepo/sm values are 200–25,000, which increase with decreasing oxygen fugacity and the total iron content (FeOtot) of silicate melt but decrease with increasing temperature or decreasing pressure. Applying DRepo/sm to constrain the behavior of Re during slab melting demonstrates that slab melts contribute minimal Re to the sub-arc mantle, with most Re dissolved in sulfides subducted into Earth’s deep mantle. Deep storage of recycled oceanic basalts and sediments can explain the mass imbalance of Re in Earth’s primitive mantle, depleted mantle, and crust.
Pathogenic Basis of Thromboinflammation and Endothelial Injury in COVID-19: Current Findings and Therapeutic Implications

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has become a global pandemic with a great impact on social and economic activities, as well as public health. In most patients, the symptoms of COVID-19 are a high-grade fever and a dry cough, and spontaneously resolve within ten days. However, in severe cases, COVID-19 leads to atypical bilateral interstitial pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and systemic thromboembolism, resulting in multiple organ failure with high mortality and morbidity. SARS-CoV-2 has immune evasion mechanisms, including inhibition of interferon signaling and suppression of T cell and B cell responses. SARS-CoV-2 infection directly and indirectly causes dysregulated immune responses, platelet hyperactivation, and endothelial dysfunction, which interact with each other and are exacerbated by cardiovascular risk factors. In this review, we summarize current knowledge on the pathogenic basis of thromboinflammation and endothelial injury in COVID-19. We highlight the distinct contributions of dysregulated immune responses, platelet hyperactivation, and endothelial dysfunction to the pathogenesis of COVID-19. In addition, we discuss potential therapeutic strategies targeting these mechanisms.
Multi-item production routing problem with backordering: a MILP approach

The aim of this paper is to present mixed integer linear programming formulations for the production routing problem with backordering (PRP-B) and a new hybrid heuristic to solve the problem. The PRP-B is considered in the context of a supply chain consisting of a production facility with limited production and storage capacities and geographically dispersed points of sale with limited storage capacities. The PRP-B integrates multiple item lot sizing decisions and vehicle routing decisions to the points of sale, where backordering of end customer demands is allowed at a penalty. Two integrated mixed integer programming models are formulated and a solution procedure consisting of a relax-and-fix heuristic combined with a local search algorithm is proposed. The numerical results show that this hybrid heuristic outperforms a state-of-the-art MIP commercial solver, in terms of solution quality and CPU times.
Assessment of potentially cutting GHG emissions from shipping in relation to energy consumption trends using Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process

ABSTRACT Maritime shipping is one of the most important activities of the global economy, with outstanding advantages in terms of volume and distance. According to projections by the International Transport Forum, Global demand for marine transportation is expected to grow dramatically over the next three decades. Along with that, maritime activities emit large amounts of greenhouse gases and other harmful emissions, causing negative impacts on the environment. Energy consumption trends (ECT) are formed by the application of potential emission reduction solutions such as technical improvement, use of alternative fuels, efficient and economical use of fuel and optimal vessel operation. However, ECT is, an issue related to various criteria to be assessed. The goal of this study is to make science assessment of ECT which can be developed national ship emission reduction strategy. Availability of energy supply and use, emission reduction potential, economic efficiency were simultaneously considered to evaluating ECT to cut GHG emission from shipping by using Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process combined with opinions of 46 experts. The results show that hydrogen fuel ranks highest in ECT as the future fuel of the maritime industry. The findings of this study are expected as an important platform to develop national ship emission reduction strategy planning.