Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quantitative analysis of anterior segment optical coherence tomography images: the Zhongshan Angle Assessment Program

Aim: To describe a new image analysis method and software for anterior chamber images obtained by the anterior-segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) and to assess its intraobserver and interobserver measurement reproducibility. Methods: Twenty 8-bit greyscale 600×300 AS-OCT images with apparent wide angles and 20 images with apparent narrow angles were consecutively selected from a database. Two glaucoma fellowship-trained ophthalmologists used proprietary image analysis software to analyse the images twice. Algorithms defined the borders and curvatures of anterior chamber (AC) structures and measured AC parameters using scleral spur location as the only observer input. The intraobserver and interobserver reproducibility of scleral spur location and angle parameters was calculated in terms of limits of agreement (LOA; mean of differences±1.96SD of differences) and coefficient of variation (CV; SD of differences/overall mean). Results: The analysis software successfully measured all parameters in all images. When the same image was assessed twice by the same grader, the mean differences ranged from 0 to 0.010 mm in linear measurements and 0.001 to 0.006 mm2 in angle area measurements. LOA tended to be greater in the wider angles. The upper and lower limit values of LOAs were approximately 1/5 to 1/4 of the overall mean. Measurements between two graders had a higher variance. Reproducibility in terms of CV was better in wide angles when compared with narrow angles. The reproducibility of scleral spur placement between observers was poorer in narrow angles (p = 0.001). About 50% of the interobserver variance in angle-area measurements was attributable to the variance of scleral spur placement, while this proportion was only 10–20% in linear measurements. Conclusions: Determination of angle parameters using semiautomated software leads to variability in measurement. Variability increases when more than one observer identifies the scleral spur. Variability differs in narrow and open angles, and so including both types is essential when evaluating angle-assessment software. A fully automated analysis and higher image resolution would likely improve quantification of Visante AS-OCT images.
Database anomalous activities detection and quantification

The disclosure of sensitive data to unauthorized entities is a critical issue for organizations. Timely detection of data leakage is crucial to reduce possible damages. Therefore, breaches should be detected as early as possible, e.g., when data are leaving the database. In this paper, we focus on data leakage detection by monitoring database activities. We present a framework that automatically learns normal user behavior, in terms of database activities, and detects anomalies as deviation from such behavior. In addition, our approach explicitly indicates the root cause of an anomaly. Finally, the framework assesses the severity of data leakages based on the sensitivity of the disclosed data.
Sensor-Fusion-Based Simultaneous Positioning and Vibration Suppression Method for a Three-Degrees-of-Freedom Isolator

For vibration isolation systems, vibration suppression and platform positioning are both important. Since absolute velocity feedback causes difficulty in achieving positioning while suppressing vibration, an H∞ control strategy based on sensor fusion feedback is proposed in this paper. The signals of inertial and displacement sensors are fused through a pair of complementary filters. Thus, active control based on the fusion signal could concurrently achieve vibration and position control since it is a displacement signal. In addition, the obtained fusion signals have a lower noise level. In this way, simultaneous positioning and vibration suppression can be established using the sensor fusion strategy. On this basis, in order to obtain an optimal H∞ controller, system damping can be maximized by using the performance weight function to attenuate noise; the system bandwidth is determined by the uncertainty weight function, which can avoid the effect of high-frequency modes of the system. The effectiveness of the proposed strategy is verified by comparing it with the conventional absolute velocity feedback strategy on a 3-DOF isolator.
Stochastic approximation control of power and tardiness in a three-tier web-hosting cluster

Large-scale web-hosting and data centers are increasingly challenged to reduce power consumption while maintaining a minimum quality of service. Dynamic voltage and frequency scaling provides one technique to curb power consumption by limiting the power supply and/or frequency of the CPU at the expense of lower execution speed. Model-based approaches often require tedious offline profiling, and generating an accurate model under all conditions may be infeasible. This paper develops a stochastic feedback-control algorithm, and couples it with a method of stochastic optimization to minimize power consumption while maintaining tardiness in a three-tier system. Our approach assumes nothing about the system and the application, treating each as a 'black box. ' The scheme is effective under limited dynamic workload conditions that can alter the response times and power consumption to be approximated. With little overhead, the control scheme is able to maintain a specified quantile of tardiness under a desired threshold, while suppressing power consumption to within 1% of its theoretical minima.
3d Model Similarity Matching Based on Multiple Characteristic Views

If two 3d models are similar, they look similar from all angles of view. In this paper, a method for 3d polygon model retrieval based on multiple characteristic views is proposed. First, a model called NCM (New Canonical Model) is obtained by preprocess to an original model, and the range images under 21 different angles of view based on NCM are obtained. Secondly, the features of 3d model called phFT are computed by using Fourier Transform based on the corresponding phase-encoded range image of model, which are composed of a set of histograms and reflect the distribution of the normal orientation and area of facets of 3d modes. Last, Similarity Measurement is calculated by using Image correlation technique. Experiment results show that our method is robust to the translation, rotation and scaling of 3d models, and provides better performance than some competing approaches in 3d models similarity matching.
Urine Test Strip Quantitative Assay with a Smartphone Camera

Urine test strips for urinalysis are a common diagnostic tool with minimal costs and are used in various situations including homecare and hospitalization. The coloration scaled by the naked eye is simple, but it is suitable for semiquantitative analysis only. In this paper, a colorimetric assay is developed based on a smartphone digital camera and urine test strips. Assays of pH, albumin, glucose, and lipase activity were performed as a tool for the diagnosis of aciduria, alkaluria, glycosuria, proteinuria, and leukocyturia. The RGB color channels were analyzed in the colorimetric assay, and the assay exerted good sensitivity, and all the particular diagnoses proved to be reliable. The limits of detection for glucose (0.11 mmol/L), albumin (0.15 g/L), and lipase (2.50 U/μL) were low enough to cover the expected physiological concentration, and the range for pH was also satisfactory. The urine test strips with a camera as an output detector proved applicability to spiked urine samples, and the results were also well in comparison to the standard assays which confirms the practical relevance of the presented findings.
Privacy-Preserving Content-Based Image Retrieval in the Cloud

Storage requirements for visual data have been increasing in recent years, following the emergence of many new highly interactive multimedia services and applications for both personal and corporate use. This has been a key driving factor for the adoption of cloud-based data outsourcing solutions. However, outsourcing data storage to the Cloud also leads to new challenges that must be carefully addressed, especially regarding privacy. In this paper we propose a secure framework for outsourced privacy-preserving storage and retrieval in large image repositories. Our proposal is based on IES-CBIR, a novel Image Encryption Scheme that displays Content-Based Image Retrieval properties. Our solution enables both encrypted storage and searching using CBIR queries while preserving privacy. We have built a prototype of the proposed framework, formally analyzed and proven its security properties, and experimentally evaluated its performance and precision. Our results show that IES-CBIR is provably secure, allows more efficient operations than existing proposals, both in terms of time and space complexity, and enables more reliable practical application scenarios.
NTT's Japanese-English Cross-Language Question Answering System

This paper describes NTT’s Japanese-English Cross-Language Question Answering System SAIQAJ/E. The system performed best among eight systems that participated in the Japanese-English subtask of the NTCIR Cross-Language Question Answering task. For cross-language document retrieval, we used a dictionary-based approach without word sense disambiguation. We used a synonym operator to represent translation alternatives. Our experiments show that the synonym operator improved the retrieval precision of our proximity-based document retrieval module. We also developed a web-based back-transliteration submodule for unknown katakana words.
Power grid vulnerability to geographically correlated failures — Analysis and control implications

We consider line outages in the transmission network of the power grid, and specifically those caused by natural disasters or large-scale physical attacks. In such networks, an outage of a line may lead to overload on other lines, thereby leading to their outage. Such a cascade may have devastating effects not only on the power grid but also on the interconnected communication networks. We study a model of such failures and show that it differs from other models used to analyze cascades (e.g., epidemic/percolation-based models). Inspired by methods developed for network-survivability analysis, we show how to identify the most vulnerable locations in the network. We also perform extensive numerical experiments with real grid data to estimate the effects of geographically correlated outages and briefly discuss mitigation methods. The developed techniques can indicate potential locations for grid monitoring, and hence, will have impact on the deployment of the smart-grid networking infrastructure.
CEO Power and Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG): A Systematic Review

Objectives: Researchers have increasingly underlined the importance of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance in corporate sustainability. This article explores trends and findings in the academic literature on CEO power as a driver of ESG performance based on the publication period and research standpoint. This paper reviews and summarizes 120 pieces of literature on the relationship between CEO power and ESG performance, and it presents research suggestions. Research Design and Methods: The research approach was built on a comprehensive review of the literature. In three processes, relevant articles are discovered and categorized. These samples are then reviewed and interpreted in order to illustrate the concepts of CEO and ESG performance and ESG disclosure, and recommendations for more research are made as a consequence. Findings: Many contemporary businesses do poorly in terms of ESG. CEOs must handle these concerns while maintaining corporate objectives and stakeholder trust. CEOs are essential to corporate governance because they safeguard shareholders while also improving performance. A chief executive officer may serve as both chairman and CEO at the same time. On this subject, the literature is split. More women and foreign CEOs increase ESG performance and disclosures, but their numbers may not be enough. The majority of academics agree. Some studies say that a CEO's dual function raises institutional frictions and impedes ESG transformation, while others believe that expediting board decision implementation reduces the CEO's power and aids ESG transition. CEO training and competencies prepare for this. Finally, CEOs are acquiring authority, which might help to build environmental and social policies. Contribution and added value: By exploring t he effect of key CEO power on organizations’ ESG performance and disclosure quality, this paper contributes to the ESG performance literature and broadens the subject of future research. Furthermore, the report outlines some unresolved research challenges for further investigation
The New Neighborhood Watch: An Exploratory Study of the Nextdoor App and Crime Narratives

Community members use the Nextdoor App to prevent crime and circulate information when suspicious activity or criminal misconduct is afoot. The Nextdoor App operates like other popular social media platforms, but unlike Facebook and Twitter, it connects citizens based on geography instead of areas of interest. One unique aspect of the app is posting events and perceptions of suspicious behavior and criminal acts. User posts can provide narratives on feelings, incidents, and perceptions of crime in designated neighborhoods. This exploratory study focuses on how community members in an urban Colorado area use the app as a high-tech Neighborhood Watch. A qualitative research approach with a thematic analysis is implemented to examine neighbors’ perceptions of crime events and community safety. The findings depict that citizens engaged in Nextdoor communications are frustrated with petty community incivilities, property crimes, and law enforcement actions. In addition, the results show that lessons in being a capable guardian, possible increases in fear levels, and surveillance activities are important aspects of understanding social media and crime.
Orientation Dependence of the Low Field Mobility in Double-and Single-gate SOI FETs

The low field mobility in double- and single-gate structures is analyzed for (100) and (110) SOI substrate orientation. Due to volume inversion, mobility in double-gate ultra-thin body (110) SOI FETs is enhanced in comparison with the mobility of single-gate structures in the whole effective field range. In double-gate (100) structures the mobility decreases below the single-gate value for high effective fields. It is argued that the twice as high carrier concentration in double-gate FETs causes significant occupation of higher subbands, where mobility is low, and that additional intersubband scattering channels for the lowest subband are opened. These effects partly compensate the mobility enhancement due to volume inversion and lead to a mobility decrease in double-gate (100) structures
Data-Driven Tuning of Deep Unfolding-Aided Blind Signal Separation for Short Data Length

This paper proposes deep unfolding (DU)-aided blind signal separation (BSS) for short data block communications of multi-user multi-input multi-output (MU-MIMO) transmission. Independent component analysis (ICA) is a BSS technique that does not require a pilot signal for channel estimation. However, when applying ICA to short data length, inaccurate non-Gaussianity evaluations deteriorate the performance of BSS. To compensate for this drawback, we design a novel DU-aided BSS algorithm as trainable ICA (TICA) that incorporates a data-driven design based on deep learning and learning optimization of internal trainable parameters. Considering that the weight matrix obtained as the outcome of ICA does not converge to an appropriate value for short data length, we introduce two trainable parameters: one for correcting the non-Gaussian evaluation and the other for damping to suppress oscillations. Numerical results show that the proposed algorithm substantially improves the bit error rate (BER) performance with trainable parameter optimization using DU techniques.
The Semantic Web: The Roles of XML and RDF

XML and RDF are the current standards for establishing semantic interoperability on the Web, but XML addresses only document structure. RDF better facilitates interoperation because it provides a data model that can be extended to address sophisticated ontology representation techniques. We explain the role of ontologies in the architecture of the Semantic Web. We then briefly summarize key elements of XML and RDF, showing why using XML as a tool for semantic interoperability will be ineffective in the long run. We argue that a further representation and inference layer is needed on top of the Web's current layers, and to establish such a layer, we propose a general method for encoding ontology representation languages into RDF/RDF schema. We illustrate the extension method by applying it to Ontology Interchange Language, an ontology representation and inference language.
The Effect of Clofibrate on Decreasing Serum Bilirubin in Healthy Term Neonates under Home Phototherapy

Objective This study was designed to determine the effect of clofibrate on neonatal uncomplicated jaundice treated with home phototherapy. Methods This clinical trial study was performed on 60 newborns with jaundice that received home phototherapy. Inclusion criteria were body weight between 2500 to 4000 gr, breastfed, total serum bilirubin (TSB) between 14 to 20 mg/dl, aged over 72 hours. The neonates were randomly divided into two groups. All received home phototherapy. Group I received a single dose of 50 mg/kg clofibrate and the other group served as control group. Total serum bilirubin level was measured every 24 hours. Findings Two groups were matched regarding weight, sex, age and first TSB. At 24 and 48 hours of treatment, the mean values of TSB in the clofibrate group were 13.72 (1.56), 9.5 (0.56) and in the control group 15.30 (1.44), 12.6 (1.44). The results show that TSB was significantly decreased after 24 and 48 hours in clofibrate group (P<0.001). The mean duration of phototherapy in group I was 72(0.0) hours and in the control group 76.80 (±9.76) hours. The duration of phototherapy was significantly shorter in clofibrate group (P<0.001). Conclusion Clofibrate is effective for outpatients with neonatal hyperbilirubinemia who are under home phototherapy. Of course, further studies are needed for approved routine use of this drug in the treatment of neonatal jaundice.
Pearls & Oy-sters: Cerebral venous air embolism after central catheter removal

A 95-year-old woman with a history of hypertension presented from a long-term care facility for altered mental status in the context of dehydration and hypoglycemia. Multiple attempts to obtain a peripheral IV failed, and a triple lumen catheter was placed into the right internal jugular vein using the Seldinger technique under ultrasound guidance. No complications followed the procedure. The patient was then rehydrated and given multiple ampules of D50, leading to prompt resolution of the hypoglycemia and improvement in her mental status. After resolution of symptoms, the central line was removed, with the head of the bed at 30°. Within minutes of removal of the central line, the patient developed severe respiratory distress and hypoxia with desaturation to 80% on a non-rebreather mask with 100% oxygen. On examination, the patient was unconscious and gasping for air with severe suprasternal retractions; she was tachypneic and tachycardic, and her blood pressure was 210/100 mm Hg. All limbs were flaccid. She was placed in the left lateral decubitus position as resuscitation efforts were activated. She was then intubated and transferred to the intensive care unit. A stat CT angiogram of the head and neck did not show signs of stroke, bleeding, or vascular occlusion. Chest CT with contrast showed dilation of the distal esophagus with fluid and debris within the distal trachea and left mainstem bronchus, without evidence of pulmonary embolism, and consistent with aspiration. An echocardiogram revealed an ejection fraction of 79%, normal left ventricular function, and mildly dilated left atrium, but no thrombi, vegetations, or evidence of patent foramen ovale (PFO) with agitated saline contrast. Troponin I peaked about 8 hours after the event (0.468, normal range 0–0.034), simultaneous creatine kinase MB was elevated (4.92, normal range 0–2.30), and multiple EKGs were consistent with non-ST elevation myocardial infarction. Prolonged cardiac telemetry failed to show atrial fibrillation.
Handwritten Arabic word recognition based on Ridgelet transform and support vector machines

We propose a method for handwritten Arabic word recognition based on the combination of the Ridgelet transform and SVMs. Ridgelets are used for generating pertinent features of handwritten words while the classification stage is based on the One-Against-All multiclass implementation of SVMs. The experimental investigation is conducted on a vocabulary of twenty-four words extracted from the IFN/ENIT database. The Ridgelet performance is assessed comparatively to the results obtained for Radon and uniform grid (zoning) features. Results highlight the reliability of the Ridgelet-SVM combination for handwritten Arabic word recognition.
Monthly Variations of Phytoplankton Community in Geoje-Hansan Bay of the Southern Part of Korea Based on HPLC Pigment Analysis

ABSTRACT Kang, J.J.; Lee, J.H. ; Kim, H.C. ; Lee, W.C. ; Lee, D. ; Jo, N. ; Min, J.-O. , and Lee, S.H. , 2018. Monthly variations of phytoplankton community in Geoje-Hansan bay of the southern part of Korea based on HPLC pigment analysis. In: Shim, J.-S. ; Chun, I. , and Lim, H.S. (eds.), Proceedings from the International Coastal Symposium (ICS) 2018 (Busan, Republic of Korea). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 85, pp. 356–360. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Seasonal variations in environmental parameters such as temperature, salinity, and nutrients can significantly affect the community structure of phytoplankton, the primary food source of a marine ecosystem. To understand the influences of environmental factors on phytoplankton community structure, phytoplankton pigments analysis were conducted in the Geoje-Hansan bay situated at the southern part of Korea during January to December, 2016 on monthly basis. Salinity in the water was observed to be fairly stable throughout the study period except for the rainy periods during the summer season (August: 30.3 ± 0.3 and September: 31.1 ± 0.2 psu). Water temperature showed typical seasonal patterns similar to the temperate oceans with maximum values during summer seasons (24.9 ± 0.9 °C). Major nutrients (nitrogen, phosphate, and silicate; hereafter N, P, Si) showed similar patterns of seasonal variation with averages of 3.677 ± 2. 707μM, 0.338 ± 0.270μM, and 17.614 ± 9. 287μM, respectively, with peak values during December. Phytoplankton community composition estimated using the CHEMTAX program showed distinctive seasonal variations during the study period. The results showed a dominance of dinoflagellates during November – March (>64%) with an exception in December whereas diatoms appeared to be dominant during May – October (60.1%). Dinoflagellates exhibited a negative correlation with temperature, whereas diatoms showed a positive correlation with temperature based on principal components analysis (PCA). Given these findings, a diatom-dominant ecosystem would be expected throughout the year under ongoing ocean warming conditions, which could provide different food qualities to upper trophic levels in the Geoje-Hansan bay.