Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Image Flow Segmentation and Estimation by Constraint Line Clustering

Image flow is the velocity field in the image plane caused by the motion of the observer, objects in the scene, or apparent motion, and can contain discontinuities due to object occlusion in the scene. An algorithm that can estimate the image flow velocity field when there are discontinuities due to occlusions is described. The constraint line clustering algorithm uses a statistical test to estimate the image flow velocity field in the presence of step discontinuities in the image irradiance or velocity field. Particular emphasis is placed on motion estimation and segmentation in situations such as random dot patterns where motion is the only cue to segmentation. Experimental results on a demanding synthetic test case and a real image are presented. A smoothing algorithm for improving the velocity field estimate is also described. The smoothing algorithm constructs a smooth estimate of the velocity field by approximating a surface between step discontinuities. It is noted that the velocity field estimate can be improved using surface reconstruction between velocity field boundaries. >
Syllable-Based Thai-English Machine Transliteration

This article describes the first trial on bidirectional Thai-English machine transliteration applied on the NEWS 2010 transliteration corpus. The system relies on segmenting source-language words into syllable-like units, finding unit's pronunciations, consulting a syllable transliteration table to form target-language word hypotheses, and ranking the hypotheses by using syllable n-gram. The approach yields 84.2% and 70.4% mean F-scores on English-to-Thai and Thai-to-English transliteration. Discussion on existing problems and future solutions are addressed.
Property specification patterns for finite-state verification

Finite-state verification (e.g., model checking) provides a powerful means to detect errors that are often subtle and difficult to reproduce. Nevertheless, the transition of this technology from research to practice has been slow. While there are a number of potential causes for reluctance in adopting such formal methods in practice, we believe that a primary cause rests with the fact that practitioners are unfamiliar with specification processes, notations, and strategies. Recent years have seen growing success in leveraging experience with design and coding patterns. We propose a pattern-based approach to the presentation, codification and reuse of property specifications for finite-state verification.
Biophysics of protein evolution and evolutionary protein biophysics

The study of molecular evolution at the level of protein-coding genes often entails comparing large datasets of sequences to infer their evolutionary relationships. Despite the importance of a protein's structure and conformational dynamics to its function and thus its fitness, common phylogenetic methods embody minimal biophysical knowledge of proteins. To underscore the biophysical constraints on natural selection, we survey effects of protein mutations, highlighting the physical basis for marginal stability of natural globular proteins and how requirement for kinetic stability and avoidance of misfolding and misinteractions might have affected protein evolution. The biophysical underpinnings of these effects have been addressed by models with an explicit coarse-grained spatial representation of the polypeptide chain. Sequence–structure mappings based on such models are powerful conceptual tools that rationalize mutational robustness, evolvability, epistasis, promiscuous function performed by ‘hidden’ conformational states, resolution of adaptive conflicts and conformational switches in the evolution from one protein fold to another. Recently, protein biophysics has been applied to derive more accurate evolutionary accounts of sequence data. Methods have also been developed to exploit sequence-based evolutionary information to predict biophysical behaviours of proteins. The success of these approaches demonstrates a deep synergy between the fields of protein biophysics and protein evolution.
Decentralized Laplacian eigenvalues estimation for networked multi-agent systems

In this paper we present a novel decentralized algorithm to estimate the eigenvalues of the Laplacian of the network topology of a multi-agent system. The basic idea is to provide a local interaction rule among agents so that their state oscillates only at frequencies corresponding to eigenvalues of the network topology. In this way, the problem of decentralized eigenvalue estimation is mapped into a problem of signal processing, solvable by applying the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT).
Factoring Flexible Demand Non-Convexities in Electricity Markets

Uniform marginal pricing cannot generally support competitive equilibrium solutions in markets with non-convexities, yielding surplus sub-optimality effects. Previous work has identified non-convexities associated with the generation side of electricity markets and proposed different approaches to address surplus sub-optimality. This paper extends this concept to incorporate the demand side. Non-convexities of flexible demand (FD) are identified, including options to forgo demand activities as well as discrete and minimum power levels, and resulting surplus sub-optimality effects are demonstrated through simple examples and a larger case study. Generalized uplift and convex hull pricing approaches addressing these effects are extended to account for FD non-convexities. Concerning the former, generalized uplift functions for FD participants are proposed, and a new rule is introduced for equitable distribution of the total surplus loss compensation among market participants. Regarding the latter, it is demonstrated that convex hull prices are flattened at periods when FD is scheduled to eliminate surplus sub-optimality associated with the FD ability to redistribute energy requirements across time.
Architectural evaluations on TSV redundancy for reliability enhancement

Three-dimensional Integrated Circuits (3D-ICs) is a next-generation technology that could be a solution to overcome the scaling problem. It stacks dies with Through-Silicon Vias (TSVs) so that signals can be transmitted through dies vertically. However, researchers have noticed that the aging effect due to the electormigration (EM) may result in faulty TSVs and affect the chip lifetime [1]. Several redundant TSV architectures have been proposed to address this issue. By replacing the faulty TSV with redundant TSVs which are added at design time, chips can achieve better reliability and longer lifetime. In this paper, we will study the tradeoff of various redundant TSV architectures in terms of effectiveness and cost. To allow the measurement of reliability more realistically, we propose a new standard, repair rate, to appraise the redundant TSV architectures. Moreover, to design a more flexible and efficient structure, we enhance the ring-based design [2] that can adjust the size of the TSV block and TSV redundancy.
OverDoSe: A Generic DDoS Protection Service Using an Overlay Network

We present the design and implementation of OverDoSe, an overlay network offering generic DDoS protection for targeted sites. OverDoSe clients and servers are isolated at the IP level. Overlay nodes route packets between a client and a server, and regulate traffic according to the server’s instructions. Through the use of light-weight security primitives, OverDoSe achieves resilience against compromised overlay nodes with a minimal performance overhead. OverDoSe can be deployed by a single ISP who wishes to offer DDoS protection as a value-adding service to its customers.
de Travail du Centre d ’ Economie de la Sorbonne Myths and Facts about Fiscal Discretion : A New Measure of Discretionary Expenditure

In this paper we suggest a new measure of discretionary government spending for OECD countries over the period 1980-2011. To identify the components of discretionary expenditure, we use the volatility and persistence properties of the expenditure series. Discretionary policy cannot be inertial and should be free from prior obligations. Commonly used measures of discretionary fiscal policy do not satisfy these two criteria. We find that discretionary expenditure accounts on average for about 30 per cent of total primary expenditure, suggesting that most government spending is driven by inertial and automatic components. These features help explain why government expenditure is generally not counter-cyclical even in advanced economies. Furthermore, the small share of discretionary expenditure over total expenditure significantly reduces the room of manoeuvre for counter-cyclical fiscal policy during recessions. JEL codes: E32, E62, H5 *A preliminary version of this paper (Coricelli and Fiorito, 2009) was presented at the Case Conference: The Return of History from Consensus to Crisis (November 2009, Warsaw). We gratefully acknowledge the careful research assistance provided by Giovanni Rossi and Francesco Molteni. Documents de Travail du Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne 2013.33
Embodiment, Consciousness, and the Massively Representational Mind

In this paper, I claim that extant empirical data do not support a radically embodied understanding of the mind but, instead, suggest (along with a variety of other results) a massively representational view. According to this massively representational view, the brain is rife with representations that possess overlapping and redundant content, and many of these represent other mental representations or derive their content from them. Moreover, many behavioral phenomena associated with attention and consciousness are best explained by the coordinated activity of units with redundant content. I finish by arguing that this massively representational picture challenges the reliability of a priori theorizing about consciousness.
A review on improved physical and thermal properties of oxide nanoparticles reinforced epoxy composites

Epoxy resins are well-known because of their desirable thermal and mechanical characteristics in a variety of fields, including the automotive, construction, and aerospace sectors. However, the inherent brittle nature of highly cross-linked epoxy resins generally leads to weakness in resisting the formation of cracks and their movement. The brittleness of the epoxy resins is one of the major obstacles inhibiting its use at a wider scale. Therefore, many researchers focused on reinforcement of epoxy resins by different types of nanostructures including carbon nanotubes (CNTs), organic/inorganic nanofillers to provide higher strength, without diminishing other essential thermo-physical characteristics of the nanocomposites. Most of the review articles focused on the CNT-reinforced epoxy composites and very limited review articles are available that focus on the oxide nanofiller reinforced epoxy composites. In this review article, epoxy nanocomposites reinforced with alumina (Al2O3), titania (TiO2), silica (SiO2), and zirconia (ZrO2) nanoparticles have been investigated. The influence of the oxide nanoparticles in modifying the physical and thermal properties of the epoxy nanocomposites has been presented, compared, and critically analysed to optimize the performance of epoxy nanocomposites.
Regionalization of precipitation with determination of homogeneous regions via fuzzy c-means

ABSTRACT Knowledge about precipitation is indispensable for hydrological and climatic studies because precipitation subsidizes projects related to water supply, sanitation, drainage, flood and erosion control, reservoirs, agricultural production, hydroelectric facilities, and waterway transportation and other projects. In this context, methodologies are used to estimate precipitation in unmonitored locations. Thus, the objectives of this work are to i) identify homogeneous regions of precipitation in the Tocantins-Araguaia Hydrographic Region (TAHR) via the fuzzy c-means method, ii) regionalize and estimate the probability of occurrence of monthly and annual average precipitation using probability distribution models, and iii) regionalize and estimate the precipitation height using multiple regression models. Three homogeneous regions of precipitation were identified, and the results of the performance indices from the regional models of probability distribution were satisfactory for estimating average monthly and annual precipitation. The results of the regional multiple regression models showed that the annual mean precipitation was satisfactorily estimated. For the average monthly precipitation, the estimates of multiple regression models were only satisfactory when the months used were distributed in the dry and rainy seasons. Therefore, our results show that the methodology developed can be used to estimate precipitation in unmonitored locations in the TAHR.
Paper Title: Sideway Value Algebra for Object-relational Databases Paper Authors: Ozsoyoglu Topics: Databases and Database Services in New Context (internet and the Www); Text Databases; Information Retrieval with Database Systems Sideway Value Algebra for Object-relational Databases

Using functions in various forms, recent database publications have assigned " scores " , " preference values " , and " probabilistic values " to object-relational database tuples. We generalize these functions and their evaluations as sideway functions and sideway values, respectively. Sideway values represent the advices (recommendations) of data creators or preferences of users, and are employed for the purposes of ranking query outputs and limiting output sizes during query evaluation as well as for application-dependent querying. This paper introduces SQL extensions and a sideway value algebra (SVA) for object-relational databases. SVA operators modify and propagate sideway values of base relations in automated and generic ways. We define the SVA join, and a recursive SVA closure operator, called TClosure. Output tuples of the SVA join operator are assigned sideway values on the basis of the sideway values and similarities of joined tuples, and the operator returns the highest ranking tuples. TClosure operator recursively expands a given set of objects (as tuples) according to a given regular expression of relationship types, and derives sideway values for the set of newly reached objects. We present evaluation algorithms for SVA join and TClosure operators, and report experimental results on the performance of the operators using the DBLP Bibliography data and synthetic data.
Gamma-ray burst jet dynamics and their interaction with the progenitor star

The association of at least some long gamma-ray bursts with type Ic supernova explosions has been established beyond reasonable doubt. Theoretically, the challenge is to explain the presence of a light hyper-relativistic flow propagating through a massive stellar core without losing those properties. We discuss the role of the jet–star interaction in shaping the properties of the outflow emerging on the surface of the star. We show that the nature of the inner engine is hidden from the observer for most of the evolution, well beyond the time of the jet breakout on the stellar surface. The discussion is based on analytical considerations as well as high resolution numerical simulations. Finally, the observational consequences of the scenario are addressed in light of the present capabilities.
Virtual humans growing up: from primary toward secondary emotions

In order to understand and model the role of emotion in cognitive processes we attempt to integrate theoretical approaches originating from different disciplines in an implemented cognitive architecture for embodied agents. Our virtual humanoid agent Max employs this architecture to generate believable human-like behaviors in a variety of situational contexts. In this article, we describe how we go about endowing Max’s architecture with increasingly elaborated kinds of emotions – from primary emotions like happiness and fear, toward secondary emotions like hope and relief.
A survey of active network research

Active networks are a novel approach to network architecture in which the switches (or routers) of the network perform customized computations on the messages flowing through them. This approach is motivated by both lead user applications, which perform user-driven computation at nodes within the network today, and the emergence of mobile code technologies that make dynamic network service innovation attainable. The authors discuss two approaches to the realization of active networks and provide a snapshot of the current research issues and activities. They illustrate how the routers of an IP network could be augmented to perform such customized processing on the datagrams flowing through them. These active routers could also interoperate with legacy routers, which transparently forward datagrams in the traditional manner.
Antiproliferative and Apoptosis-Inducing Effects of Ethanolic Extract of Morus Alba Leaves on Human Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia K-562 Cell Lines

The rate of occurrence and prevalence of chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) are increasing globally, despite it being a rare type of cancer. Morus alba also known as mulberry, has been used in Chinese traditional medicine for a long time to treat various conditions and diseases like hypertension and arthritis. Modern scientific studies have also recognized its medicinal properties, including antioxidant, antidiuretic, antidiabetic, antimicrobial and anticancer. However, its antiproliferative effects on specifically human CML K-562 cell lines remain poorly elucidated. This study aims to determine the antiproliferative effects of M. alba on K-562 cells. In vitro cytotoxicity was evaluated using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Acridine orange and propidium iodide (AO/PI) dual staining were then employed to assess the method of cell death. The ethanolic extract of M. alba leaves exhibited significant antiproliferative activity, with the lowest maximal half inhibitory concentration (IC50) value observed at 72 hours being 23 µg/mL. Notably, AO/PI staining revealed significant morphological changes, such as membrane blebbing, nuclear fragmentation, and indicator of early apoptosis, and late apoptosis. These results demonstrated that ethanolic extract of M. alba leaves induces apoptotic cell death in K-562 cells. Overall, these findings suggested that ethanolic extract of M. alba leaves exerts potent antiproliferative effects on human CML K-562 cells a in time- and dose-dependent manner.
Proposal to sequence the genome of the domestic horse , Equus caballus

I. Introduction and Rationale for the Project We are applying to National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) for funding to produce a draft-2X reference sequence for the genome of the horse that can be integrated with physical and genetic maps. A whole genome shotgun approach is ideal for this approximately 2.5-3.0 billion base pair genome since preliminary data suggests that the genome is not highly repetitive and that most repeats are sufficiently diverged to ensure a random representation and low level assembly of the whole genome with this approach. The fosmid library produced from the reference horse in connection with the shotgun sequencing procedure will also be a valuable tool for the applications described below. Another important part of the project should be discovery of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) generated by conducting further low coverage sequencing of horses from diverse breeds. These SNPs will be essential for investigations using haplotypes in horse populations with well-recorded, deep pedigrees and other quantitative trait loci (QTL) studies. Main points supporting inclusion of the horse among NHGRI-supported mammals with low-coverage full genome sequencing include: 1. The horse is proposed as the representative species of the order Perissodactyla. No other species from this order have yet been sequenced. The order includes both domesticated and wild species, some of which are highly endangered. Investigations of the horse genera have been especially important in evolutionary biology, particularly for the well-preserved fossil record and the karyotypic evidence of rapid chromosomal rearrangements for the genus Equus (MacFadden, 2005). 2. A distinguishing characteristic of the horse compared to other reference animals is its extensive breeding records. Horse breeders have maintained meticulous pedigree records for many horse breeds, some extending back over 300 years. Deep pedigree records coupled with excellent health and performance records provides excellent material for (QTL) studies. The cooperation of horse breeders with participants in the horse genome workshop has been excellent. 3. An organized international community of basic research scientists and veterinary clinicians work in the area of horse genetics. Scientists from over 25 laboratories meet regularly and have been collaborating on equine genome definition and application for the past decade. The major forums for meetings have been in connection with the USDA-NRSP8 program, the International Society for Animal Genetics and the Dorothy Russell Havemeyer Foundation Workshops on horse genomics. More than 150 multi-institutional publications have resulted from these collaborations. 4. Comparison with other mammalian genomes will …
DMS®: Program Transformations for Practical Scalable Software Evolution

While a number of research systems have demonstratedthe potential value of program transformations, very few ofthese systems have made it into practice. The core technologyfor such systems is well understood; what remains isintegration and more importantly, the problem of handlingthe scale of the applications to be processed.This paper describes DMS, a practical, commercialprogram analysis and transformation system, and sketchesa variety of tasks to which it has been applied, from redocumentingto large-scale system migration. Its successderives partly from a vision of design maintenance and theconstruction of infrastructure that appears necessary tosupport that vision. DMS handles program scale by carefulspace management, computational scale via parallelismand knowledge acquisition scale via domains.