Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hair Segmentation and Removal in Dermoscopic Images Using Deep Learning

Melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers have shown a rapidly increasing incidence rate, pointing to skin cancer as a major problem for public health. When analyzing these lesions in dermoscopic images, the hairs and their shadows on the skin may occlude relevant information about the lesion at the time of diagnosis, reducing the ability of automated classification and diagnosis systems. In this work, we present a new approach for the task of hair removal on dermoscopic images based on deep learning techniques. Our proposed model relies on an encoder-decoder architecture, with convolutional neural networks, for the detection and posterior restoration of hair’s pixels from the images. Moreover, we introduce a new combined loss function in the network’s training phase that combines the $L_{1}$ distance, the total variation loss, and a loss function based on the structural similarity index metric. Currently, there are no datasets that contain the same images with and without hair, which is necessary to quantitatively evaluate our model. Thus, we simulate the presence of hair in hairless images extracted from publicly known datasets. We compare our results with six state-of-the-art algorithms based on traditional computer vision techniques by means of similarity measures that compare the reference hairless image and the one with simulated hair. Finally, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test is used to compare the methods. The results, both qualitatively and quantitatively, demonstrate the effectiveness of our model and how our loss function improves the restoration ability of the proposed model.
Analysis of the Experimental Results of the Traveling-Wave Fault Location in Tree-like Hybrid Distribution Network

Traveling-wave methods of fault location prove their effectiveness when used in high-voltage power transmission lines and show their efficiency when implemented in distribution networks. This paper discusses the results of the trial operation of the hardware-software system for fault location by the multiterminal traveling-wave method in a tree-like hybrid electric network of 10 kV. The advantages and disadvantages of this method are shown when it is used in real networks and the further prospects of its development are noted
Temperature Coefficients of Solar Cell Parameters at Maximum Power Point

Analytical expressions for the temperature coefficients of the maximum power point voltage and current are presented. The temperature coefficients are calculated assuming the bandgap to be a linear function of the temperature and accounting for energy losses of non-radiative nature. The latter are introduced in the model through the External Radiative Efficiency. The so-called $\gamma$ parameter, which has been shown to account for the thermal sensitivity of all mechanisms determining the open-circuit voltage, appears to also play a role in the temperature coefficient of the maximum power point voltage and current. Numerical results and a comparison with experimental measurements are also presented.
Quasi-elastic neutron scattering study of the molecular motions of methanol adsorbed on H-ZSM-5

The rotational and translational dynamics of methanol adsorbed on H-ZSM-5 have been studied by incoherent quasi-elastic neutron scattering. From the variation of the elastic incoherent structure factor (EISF), two methanol species are characterized: (i) adsorbed molecules interacting with the zeolite via hydrogen bonds and (ii) mobile molecules diffusing within a sphere of diameter 4.8 +/- 0.4 A. The proportion of mobile molecules was determined, in the temperature range 273-425 K, from the variation of the experimental EISF with temperature. The correlation times have been obtained for the two methanol species, for the rotational motions, by fitting the quasi-elastic profile. The translational motion has been characterized by studying the same system on a spectrometer with a longer time scale. The methanol molecules jump from one site to another, across the channel (jump distance approx. = 5 A), and they diffuse along the channels with a diffusion coefficient of the order of 10/sup -7/ cm/sup 2/ s/sup -1/. 35 references, 13 figures.
Kinematics and chemistry of the hot core in G20.08–0.14N

We present Submillimeter Array observations of the massive star-forming region G20.08-0.14N at 335 and 345 GHz. With the SMA data, 41 molecular transitions were detected related to 11 molecular species and their isotopologues, including SO2, SO, C34S, NS, C17O, SiO, CH3OH, HC3N, H13CO+, HCOOCH3 and NH2CHO. In G20.08-0.14N, 10 transition lines of the detected 41 transition lines belong to SO2, which dominates the appearance of the submillimeter-wave spectrum. To obtain the spatial kinematic distribution of molecules in G20.08-0.14N, we chose the strongest and unblended lines for the channel maps. The channel maps of C34S an SiO, together with their position-velocity diagrams, present that there are two accretion flows in G20.08-0.14N. Additionally, SiO emission shows a collimated outflow at the NE-SW direction. The direction of the outflow is for the first time revealed. The rotational temperature and the column density of CH3OH are 105 K and 3.1*10^{17} cm^{-2}, respectively. Our results confirm that a hot core is associated with G20.08-0.14N. The hot core is heated by a protostar radiation at it center, not by the external excitation from shocks. The images of the spatial distribution of different species have shown that the different molecules are located at the different positions of the hot core. Through comparing the spatial distributions and abundances of the molecules, we discuss possible chemical processes for producing the complex sulfur-bearing, nitrogen-bearing and oxygen-bearing molecules in G20.08-0.14N.
Development of a Novel Biodegradable Superporous Hydrogel for Gastroretentive Application

The objective of the study was to design and evaluate a novel superporous hydrogels (SPHs) for application as gastroretentive dosage form of losartan potassium. The semi-interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) SPHs of polyvinyl pyrrolidone and chitosan was synthesized by crosslinking chitosan with glyoxal. SEM photographs show the presence of interconnected pores. The prepared SPHs were highly sensitive to pH of swelling media, and showed reversible swelling and deswelling behaviors maintaining their mechanical stability. Drug release fitted best to the Korsmeyer-Peppas model. The studies showed that semi-IPN SPHs could be used as a gastroretentive drug delivery system.
COLLAGEN CHARACTERISTICS AND MEAT TEXTURE OF PIGS EXPOSED TO DIFFERENT LEVELS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Intramuscular collagen and meat texture were measured in 23 female and 23 entire male pigs, subjected to one of three treatments: individual housing in pens of 2.5 m2 (confined; C), individual housing and regular treadmill training (trained; T) and group housing equal to 0.9 m2/animal (free; F). Treatment T tended (P = 0.13) to increase the activity of citrate synthase (CS) in M. biceps femoris (BF) from female pigs. Moreover, the heat stability of collagen and the mechanical resistance to 60 and 80% compression were increased (P 0.05) by physical activity, however. In BF from female pigs, CS activity, collagen content and resistance to compression were lower (P<0.01) than in male pigs. In M. longissimus thoracis et lumborum, there was no effect of either physical activity or sex. Depending on muscle type and sex, physical activity affects meat texture.
Rheological Properties of Very High-Strength Portland Cement Pastes: Influence of Very Effective Superplasticizers

The influence of the addition of very effective superplasticizers, that are commercially available, employed for maximising the solid loading of very high-strength Portland cement pastes, has been investigated. Cement pastes were prepared from deionized water and a commercially manufactured Portland cement (Ultracem 52.5 R). Cement and water were mixed with a vane stirrer according to ASTM Standard C305. The 0.38 to 0.44 water/cement ratio range was investigated. Three commercial superplasticizing agents produced by Ruredil S.p.a. were used. They are based on a melamine resin (Fluiment 33 M), on a modified lignosulphonate (Concretan 200 L), and on a modified polyacrylate (Ergomix 1000). Rheological tests were performed at 25°C by using the rate controlled coaxial cylinder viscometer Rotovisko-Haake 20, system M5-osc. , measuring device MV2P with serrated surfaces. The tests were carried out under continuous flow conditions. The results of this study were compared with those obtained in a previous article for an ordinary Portland cement paste.
Surface Plasmon Coupling and Its Universal Size Scaling in Metal Nanostructures of Complex Geometry: Elongated Particle Pairs and Nanosphere Trimers

Recently, we showed that the plasmon resonance coupling between two interacting metal nanoparticles decays with the interparticle separation (in units of particle size) with the same universal trend independent of particle size or shape, metal type, or medium. This universal scaling behavior has been shown to apply to lithographically fabricated nanoparticle pairs, the metal nanoshell, plasmonic dielectric sensors, and the plasmon ruler useful in determining intersite distances in biological systems. In this article, we use electrodynamic simulations to examine the general applicability of this universal scaling behavior to more complex nanostructure geometries, for example, head-to-tail dimers of elongated particles of different aspect ratios and curvatures and a trimer of nanospheres. We find that the plasmon coupling between two elongated nanoparticles interacting head-to-tail decays according to the same universal law if the interparticle separation is scaled by the particle long-axis dimension. The a.
Quantitative absorption spectroscopy and dissociation dynamics of I2 van der Waals complexes with He, Ar, Kr, and Xe

Noble gas (He, Ar, Kr, and Xe) van der Waals (vdW) complexes of I2 formed in axiosymmetric, pulsed jet expansions were studied by absorption using intracavity laser spectroscopy (ILS). Absorption spectra of I2He, I2Ar, I2Ar2, and I2Ar3 as well as previously undetected I2Kr, I2Kr2, I2Kr3, I2Xe, and I2Xe2 were recorded using B(3Π+0u)←X transitions (Figs. 2–4 and Table I). The formation efficiencies of nine I2–noble gas vdW complexes were studied as a function of expansion conditions (Table II). Comparisons of absorption and laser‐induced fluorescence data provide an analysis of excited‐state dissociation mechanisms for the overall He, Ar, Kr, and Xe chemical series and as a function of vibrational level populated in the B(3Π+0u) state for I2He and I2Ar. The competition between the electronic and vibrational predissociation of the vdW complex is discussed with respect to absorption data.
Separation of Pig Slurry and Plant Utilization and Loss of Nitrogen‐15‐labeled Slurry Nitrogen

Separation of slurry by centrifugation concentrates nutrients and facilitates the transport of surplus nutrients away from livestock farms. Nitrogen-15 labeled pig slurries containing urine 1 5 N or fecal 1 5 N were produced to compare the utilization and fate of N in separated and unseparated pig slurry. There was good agreement between the mineral fertilizer equivalence (MFE) of manure fractions estimated from 1 5 N uptake and by a traditional non-isotopic method, but the 1 5 N method was more precise. The weighted utilization of N in separated slurry was similar to the N utilization in unseparated slurry. The MFE of slurry total N was 75 to 79% after incorporation before sowing spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and 59 to 64% after surface application in winter wheat (Tritium aestivum L.). Both the origin of the slurry N and the fractionation influenced the N availability. The uptake of urinary 1 5 N in the first barley crop was 35 to 53% and the uptake of fecal 1 5 N 21 to 44% with the lowest availability of 1 5 N in the dry-matter-rich fraction (DMR). The uptake of "N in the following cover crop and barley crop was low (1-4.5%). The residual N effect of the manures in the year after application (MFE) was equivalent to 1% for the liquid fraction, 3% for the slurry, and 5% for the DMR. The amount of 1 5 N remaining in soil 15 mo after application was 30 to 53% for urinary N and 44 to 61% for fecal N. It is concluded that the overall utilization of N is unaffected by slurry separation, but the separation facilitates a better distribution of nutrients.
High Molecular Permeance in a Poreless Ceramic Membrane

Hydrogen-separation membranes have been the subject of considerable research because of the importance of hydrogen in the refining and chemical industries and because of its potential as a clean, renewable fuel. Many hydrogen-producing reactions such as steam reforming, dehydrogenation, and aromatization, are endothermic, equilibrium-limited reactions that could be enhanced by simultaneous reaction and separation. Hence, there is particular need for membranes that are stable at the high temperatures (773–973 K) required for these reactions, and there has been considerable work in this area. Silica-based membranes have been found to have good permeance for hydrogen at high temperatures and have received considerable attention. The first membranes were prepared on porous Vycor glass substrates by the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) at relatively low temperatures (473 K) using co-reagents such as H2O, [7] O2, [8]
Nitrate Sorption in a Mexican Allophanic Andisol using Intact and Packed Columns

Abstract Contamination of groundwater by nitrate is a worldwide environmental issue. A better knowledge of nitrate sorption characteristics by soils contributes to efficient fertilizer use and prevents aquifer contamination. In volcanic soils, nitrate sorption is induced by variable charges due to the presence of amorphous materials and aluminum (Al) and iron (Fe) oxides. Anion transport in packed and intact columns was investigated in a Mexican Allophanic Andisol, under different permanent flow regimes in unsaturated conditions and several NO3 −‐N and Br− input concentrations. In the packed columns, the NO3 −‐N adsorption in the soil was nonlinear. In the intact columns, the retardation coefficient variation was directly correlated to the increase of amorphous material with depth. The presence of preferential flow in the intact columns significantly increased the mobility and velocity of nitrate moving through the columns, whereas in the packed columns, NO3 −‐N fate was only affected by soil chemical composition and mineralogy.
Adversarial and Adaptive Tone Mapping Operator for High Dynamic Range Images

This work addresses tone mapping, a common approach to convert high dynamic range (HDR) images into low dynamic range (LDR) images. We approach this problem by using adaptive tone mapping. We propose to deploy a conditional generative adversarial networks to build an adversarial and adaptive tone mapping operator (adTMO) that converts HDR into LDR images. We use an objective quality metric called the Tone Mapped Image Quality Index (TMQI) to evaluate our adTMO. Trained with 256*256 images, adTMO is able to generate 256*256 and high-resolution 1024*2048 LDR images. Given 1024*2048 HDR images, TMQI of the generated LDR images reaches the value of 0.90, which outperforms all other contemporary tone mapping operators.
Opinion Dynamics With Competitive Relationship and Switching Topologies

In this paper, the discrete-time opinion dynamics model with competitive relationship and switching topologies is investigated. Different from the usual DeGroot model, competition between individuals and the switching topologies are considered in a social network. Furthermore, the structurally balanced and unbalanced network topologies are investigated simultaneously. It is shown that if all network topologies are structurally balanced and include a spanning tree, then there may appear polarization, neutralization or fluctuation. And we also find conditions under which the group is split into two clusters at most, specifically, opinions will reach polarization (bipartite consensus) or all individuals will remain neutrality (consensus). If there exist the structurally unbalanced network topologies in social networks, we obtain the condition in which all individuals will finally hold the neutral attitude on the discussed topic. Two examples are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the obtained results.
A Smart Scheme for Variable Selection in Partial Opposition-based Differential Evolution

The concept of opposition-based learning (OBL) has been applied to a growing number of research works, as such we proposed a new scheme which improves effectiveness of a population-based optimization algorithm, called Differential Evolution. In this paper, we propose a novel partial oppositionbased DE scheme. Given that the partial OBL reduces the likelihood of converting good variables to their opposites, the main challenge of this technique is still the selection of variables which should be replaced with their opposites. The proposed scheme addresses this issue by creating a reference solution using averaging on the best candidate solutions. This reference solution plays a crucial role in intelligent selection of variables to compute their corresponding the opposite value based on their distance to the set of best solutions. The proposed partial opposition-based scheme is embedded in Differential Evolution (DE) algorithm and compared with opposition-based DE (ODE) and DE using the set of CEC-2014 benchmark functions on dimensions 30, 50, and 100. Experimental results indicate a promising improvement over DE and ODE.
Morphology, Optical and Electronic Characteristics of Nanocellulose Filled with Microcrystalline Cellulose and Graphene Oxide

The morphology, optical absorption and luminescence properties were used to determine spectral characteristics of optical transmittance and absorbance, coefficient of absorption, the values of the optical band gap and Urbach energy of thin nanocellulose films and nanocellulose filled with microcrystalline cellulose or graphene oxide. The influence of noted additives on the spectral properties of composites and the characteristics of the optical band gap has been discussed. It was suggested that the difference in the effect of these additives on the properties of composites could be caused by different mechanisms of interaction of additives with the surface of nanocellulose particles.
UV-Fluorescence Imaging of Silicon PV Modules After Outdoor Aging and Accelerated Stress Testing

Fast, non-destructive, outdoor-compatible methods for photovoltaic module characterization are essential for monitoring module quality without disrupting energy production. UV-fluorescence (UVF) imaging of the encapsulant layer can be used for solar cell crack detection in the field. We show that UVF patterns vary widely between modules and types of applied stress. We propose that combining accelerated stress testing (e.g. thermal cycling and damp heat) with field investigations can help build understanding of different types of UVF and the rates of UVF formation and quenching. Ultimately, further understanding could enable estimating the age and propagation rates of cracks.
A potential gene delivery vector: N‐isopropylacrylamide‐ethyleneimine block copolymers

N-Isopropylacrylamide (NIPA) homopolymers having carboxylic acid end-groups were synthesized by using mercaptoacetic acid as chain transfer agent. Polymerization was achieved in ethanol using 2,2'-azoisobutyronitrile as initiator. Viscosity-average molecular weights of these homopolymers were in the range of 13 × 10 3 -40 × 10 3 . Change in the initiator concentration did not cause any significant change in the molecular weight, while decrease in the concentration of the chain transfer agent resulted polymers with higher molecular weights. The carboxylic acid-ended poly(NIPA) was then copolymerized with polyethyleneimine (PEI, MW: 2 000) using a water soluble carbodiimide. Viscosity-average molecular weights of these copolymers were in the range of 23 × 10 3 -57 × 10 3 . With respect to carboxyl-ended poly- (NIPA), the block copolymers exhibited a pH-dependent temperature sensitivity and higher LCST values in acidic pH.
3D Simulation of Electric Arcing and Pressure increase in an Automotive HVDC Relay During a Short Circuit Situation

A short circuit situation in an electric vehicle can lead to several undesirable occurrences. One of such is the formation of high temperature electric arcs between the contacts of the high voltage direct current (HVDC) relays in the circuit. These arcs significantly vaporize the contacts within a few milliseconds. As a result, the pressure of the gas within the relay chamber significantly increases. Depending on the magnitude of the short circuit current, the pressure increase may lead to an explosion of the relay. To understand and quantify the pressure increase, a Panasonic AEV14012 relay is investigated. A short circuit experiment is conducted on the relay. The test results are compared with a numerical model established in COMSOL to simulate the electric arcing process. The temperature of the arcs is used to estimate the resulting vaporization. The simulation results show the arcing process and the resulting pressure increase within the relay chamber.
Fusion of Panchromatic and Multispectral Images Using Multiscale Convolution Sparse Decomposition

In this article, we proposed a novel image fusion method based on multiscale convolution sparse decomposition (MCSD). A unified framework based on MCSD is first utilized to decompose panchromatic (PAN) image and the spatial component of upsampled low spatial resolution multispectral (LR MS) images, which can produce the corresponding low frequencies and feature maps. By combining convolution sparse decomposition with multiscale analysis, MCSD can efficiently approximate the spatial and spectral information in images. Next, a binary map generated from gradient information is utilized to integrate the low frequencies of LR MS and PAN images. For feature maps, the fusion gain for each pixel is calculated according to the similarity between the local patches from them. Finally, the fused image is reconstructed by the sum of fused low frequency and feature maps. Some experiments are conducted on QuickBird and GeoEye-1 satellite datasets. Compared with other methods, the proposed method performs better in visual and numerical evaluations.