Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Handwriting identification, matching, and indexing in noisy document images

Throughout history, handwriting has been the primary means of recording information that is persevered across both time and space. With the coming of the electronic document era, we are challenged with making an enormous amount of handwritten documents available for electronic access. Though many handwritten documents contain only handwriting, now, more are mixed with printed text, noise, and background patterns. The mixture of handwriting with other components presents a great challenge for making an original document electronically accessible. Many handwritten documents come together with a special background pattern, rule lines, which are printed on the paper to guide writing. After digitization, rule lines will touch text and cause problems for further document image analysis if they are not detected and removed. In this dissertation, we present a rule line detection algorithm based on hidden Markov model (HMM) decoding, achieving both high detection accuracy and a low false alarm rate. After detection, line removal is performed by line width thresholding. Handwriting often mixes with printed text, such as signatures and annotations on a business letter. Handwriting in a printed document often indicates corrections, additions, or other supplemental information that should be treated differently from the main content. The data set we are processing is noisy, which makes the problem more challenging. In this dissertation, we first segment the document at a suitable level, and then classify
Research on the Kinematics and Dynamics of a 7-DOF Arm of Humanoid Robot

We have developed a highly flexible anthropomorphic 7-DOF robotic arm for a mobile humanoid robot. The kinematics of the arm such as workspace, singularity, the number and physical nature of self-motion are presented. The concepts and methodology of the inverse kinematics base on the self-motion of the arm are described. By this method the task and motion scheduling can simply be done. The formulations of dynamics and the dynamic effect due to the arm's dead weight were analyzed.
Knowledge-driven geospatial location resolution for phylogeographic models of virus migration

Summary: Diseases caused by zoonotic viruses (viruses transmittable between humans and animals) are a major threat to public health throughout the world. By studying virus migration and mutation patterns, the field of phylogeography provides a valuable tool for improving their surveillance. A key component in phylogeographic analysis of zoonotic viruses involves identifying the specific locations of relevant viral sequences. This is usually accomplished by querying public databases such as GenBank and examining the geospatial metadata in the record. When sufficient detail is not available, a logical next step is for the researcher to conduct a manual survey of the corresponding published articles. Motivation: In this article, we present a system for detection and disambiguation of locations (toponym resolution) in full-text articles to automate the retrieval of sufficient metadata. Our system has been tested on a manually annotated corpus of journal articles related to phylogeography using integrated heuristics for location disambiguation including a distance heuristic, a population heuristic and a novel heuristic utilizing knowledge obtained from GenBank metadata (i.e. a ‘metadata heuristic’). Results: For detecting and disambiguating locations, our system performed best using the metadata heuristic (0.54 Precision, 0.89 Recall and 0.68 F-score). Precision reaches 0.88 when examining only the disambiguation of location names. Our error analysis showed that a noticeable increase in the accuracy of toponym resolution is possible by improving the geospatial location detection. By improving these fundamental automated tasks, our system can be a useful resource to phylogeographers that rely on geospatial metadata of GenBank sequences. Contact: davy.weissenbacher@asu.edu
In Staphylococcus aureus, Fur Is an Interactive Regulator with PerR, Contributes to Virulence, and Is Necessary for Oxidative Stress Resistance through Positive Regulation of Catalase and Iron Homeostasis

ABSTRACT The Staphylococcus aureus genome encodes three ferric uptake repressor (Fur) homologues: Fur, PerR, and Zur. To determine the exact role of Fur in S. aureus, we inactivated thefur gene by allelic replacement using a tetracycline resistance cassette, creating strain MJH010 (fur). The mutant had a growth defect in rich medium, and this defect was exacerbated in metal-depleted CL medium. This growth defect was partially suppressed by manganous ion, a metal ion with known antioxidant properties. This suggests that the fur mutation leads to an oxidative stress condition. Indeed, MJH010 (fur) has reduced levels of catalase activity resulting from decreased katA transcription. Using akatA-lacZ fusion we have determined that Fur functions, either directly or indirectly, as an iron-dependent positive regulator of katA expression. Transcription of katA is coregulated by Fur and PerR, since in MJH010 (fur) transcription was still repressed by manganese while transcription in MJH201 (fur perR) was unresponsive to the presence of iron or manganese. Siderophore biosynthesis was repressed by iron in 8325-4 (wild-type) but in MJH010 (fur) was constitutive. A number of putative Fur-regulated genes were identified in the incomplete genome databases using known S. aureus Fur box sequences. Of those tested, the sstABCD andsirABC operons and the fhuD2 andorf4 genes were found to have Fur-regulated expression. MJH010 (fur) was attenuated (P < 0.04) in a murine skin abscess model of infection, as was double-mutant MJH201 (fur perR) (P < 0.03). This demonstrates the importance in vivo of iron homeostasis and oxidative stress resistance regulation in S. aureus.
Hierarchical geometric models for visible surface algorithms

The research described in this paper addresses the problems associated with the design of systems for efficiently producing computer-generated pictures and picture sequences of very complex, three-dimensional environments. The thesis of the research is that the geometric structure inherent in the definition of the shapes of three-dimensional objects and environments must be used not just to define their relative motion and placement but also to assist in solving many other problems of systems for producing pictures by computer.The implications are that by using an extension of traditional structure information, or a geometric hierarchy, five significant improvements to current techniques are possible. First, the range of complexity of an environment is greatly increased while the visible complexity of any given scene is kept within a fixed upper limit. Second, a meaningful way is provided to vary the amount of detail presented in a scene both according to the screen area occupied by the objects in the scene and according to camera and object motions. Third, by using the geometric hierarchy, "clipping" becomes a very fast logarithmic search for the resolvable parts of the environment within the field-of-view. Fourth, by using this positional hierarchy in conjunction with a storage hierarchy of the sort used in virtual memory computing systems, frame-to-frame coherence and clipping define a graphical "working set", or fraction of the total structure that should be present in primary store for immediate access by the visible-surface algorithms. Finally, the proposed structural framework suggests a new recursive descent visible-surface algorithm in which the computation time grows almost linearly with a scene's visible complexity rather than as a worse than linear function of its object-space complexity.
Improving internet-wide routing protocols convergence with MRPC timers

The behavior of routing protocols during convergence is critical as it impacts end-to-end performance. Network convergence is particularly important in BGP, the current interdomain routing protocol. In order to decrease the amount of exchanged routing messages and transient routes, BGP routers rely on MRAI timers and route flap damping. These timers are intended to limit the exchange of transient routing messages. In practice, these timers have been shown to be partly ineffective at improving convergence, making it even slower in some situations. In this paper, we propose to add a timer mechanism to routing protocols, that enforces an ordering of the routing messages such that path exploration is drastically reduced while controlling convergence time. Our approach is based on known results in generalized path algorithms and endomorphism semi-rings. Our timers, called MRPC (metrics and routing policies compliant), are set independently by each router and depend only on the metrics of the routes received by the router as well as the routing policies of the router. No sharing of information about routing policies between neighboring ASs is required by our solution. Similarly to the case of routing policies that may lead to BGP convergence problems, arbitrary routing policies can also make it impossible to enforce an ordering of the messages that will prevent path exploration to occur. We explain under which conditions path exploration can be avoided with our timers, and provide simulations to understand how they compare to MRAI.
Visibility and Concealment Algorithms for 3D Simulations

Abstract : Many military simulations and computer entertainment products share a need to model the ability of individual entities (men, tanks, planes, etc.) to see one another and to hide from one another in a 3D virtual environment. The traditional line-of-sight (LOS) visibility model can cause serious problems with hiding behavior. Three alternative visibility models and corresponding algorithms for computing the locations of concealment opportunities are described. Under additional assumptions, these algorithms can compute locations that provide cover from direct fire as well. Our experience implementing one of these algorithms is described.
Cochlear Implantation through the Middle Fossa Approach: A Review of Related Temporal Bone Studies and Reported Cases

Abstract Introduction Middle fossa approach has been suggested as an alternative for patients in whom other routes of electrode insertion are contraindicated. Even though there are temporal bone studies about the feasibility of introducing the cochlear implant through the middle fossa, until now, very few studies have described results when cochlear implant surgery is done through this approach. Objective The objective of this study is to review a series of temporal bone studies related to cochlear implantation through the middle fossa and the results obtained by different surgical groups after cochlear implantation through this approach. Data Sources PubMed, MD consult and Ovid-SP databases. Data Synthesis A total of 8 human cadaveric temporal bone studies and 6 studies reporting cochlear implant surgery through the middle fossa approach met the inclusion criteria. Temporal bone studies show that it is feasible to perform cochlear implantation through this route. So far, only two surgical groups have performed cochlear implantation through the middle fossa with a total of 15 implanted patients. One group entered the cochlea in the most upper part of the basal turn, inserting the implant in the direction of the middle and apical turns; meanwhile, the other group inserted the implant in the apical turn directed in a retrograde fashion to the middle and basal turns. Results obtained in both groups were similar. Conclusions The middle fossa approach is a good alternative for cochlear implantation when other routes of electrode insertion are contraindicated.
Fine structure of a periciliary ridge complex of frog retinal rod cells revealed by ultrahigh resolution scanning electron microscopy

We studied the junctional region between rod inner segments (RIS) and outer segments (ROS) in frog retinas by high resolution scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Retinas of dark adapted or light exposed Rana pipiens were critical-point-dried and RIS and ROS were split and coated with ultrathin metal films of niobium and chromium--or decorated with gold--and imaged in a new SE-I imaging mode. The connecting cilium (CC) usually broke at the base of the RIS and remained attached to the ROS. The outer part of the CC plasmalemma expanded to form liplike protrusions beyond which disks evaginated with successively larger diameter until they reached the full width of the ROS. The CC rose out from an invagination of the RIS apical plasma membrane (PM). On the lateral walls of this invagination, a highly ordered complex of nine symmetrically arrayed ridges and grooves rose steeply and extended laterally approximately 0.4-1 micron on the adjacent RIS PM. On the apical plasmalemma, the ridges and grooves formed groups of three to four parallel rows that surrounded the invagination. The grooves were bridged by filaments anchored at the top edges of the ridges. This highly ordered structure we term the periciliary ridge complex (PRC). Its ninefold symmetry apparently reflects the 9 + 0 microtubule organization of the CC axoneme. The three-dimensional structure revealed by SEM was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of sections of Epon-embedded retinas. TEM-immunocytochemistry on thin sections of retinas embedded in glutaraldehyde cross-linked albumin suggested that the PRC and the CC may participate in opsin transport and disk morphogenesis.
A Mosaic Pathogenicity Island Made Up of the Locus of Enterocyte Effacement and a Pathogenicity Island of Escherichiacoli O157:H7 Is Frequently Present in Attaching and Effacing E. coli

ABSTRACT Enteropathogenic Escherichiacoli (EPEC) and enterohemorragic E. coli (EHEC) possess a pathogenicity island (PAI), termed the locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE), which confers the capability to cause the characteristic attaching and effacing lesions of the brush border. Due to this common property, these organisms are also termed attaching and effacing E. coli (AEEC). Sequencing of the EHEC O157 genome recently revealed the presence of other putative PAIs in the chromosome of this organism. In this article, we report on the presence of four of those PAIs in a panel of 133 E. coli strains belonging to different pathogroups and serotypes. One of these PAIs, termed O122 in strain EDL 933 and SpLE3 in strain Sakai, was observed in most of the AEEC strains examined but not in the other groups of E. coli. It was also found to contain the virulence-associated gene efa1/lifA. In EHEC O157, PAI O122 is located 0.7 Mb away from the LEE. Conversely, we demonstrated that in many EHEC non-O157 strains and EPEC strains belonging to eight serogroups, PAI O122 and the LEE are physically linked to form a cointegrated structure. This structure can be considered a mosaic PAI that could have been acquired originally by AEEC. In some clones, such as EHEC O157, the LEE-O122 mosaic PAI might have undergone recombinational events, resulting in the insertion of the portion referred to as PAI O122 in a different location.
Myosin V motor proteins

Mammalian myosin V motors transport cargo processively along actin filaments. Recent biophysical and structural studies have led to a detailed understanding of the mechanism of myosin V, making it perhaps the best understood cytoskeletal motor. In addition to describing the mechanism, this review will illustrate how “dynamic” single molecule measurements can synergize with “static” protein structural studies to produce amazingly clear information on the workings of a nanometer-scale machine.
DC current suppression circuit in HVDC power transmission system

To increase the popularity of HVDC power transmission system, the Multi-Terminal Direct Current (MTDC) power transmission system is expected to be installed. Since the Voltage Source Converter HVDC (VSC-HVDC) is available, the MTDC systems are much more likely to be installed soon. However, an efficient Direct Current blocking measure such as DC circuit breaker remains as the most critical hurdle to implement MTDC system. In this paper, a new DC current suppression circuit is proposed. This circuit is a kind of the semiconductor DC circuit breaker, and can be used for very quickly interrupting the DC current against the short circuit fault condition at the cost of minimum conduction loss at the normal operation. Because of the modular configuration, the proposed circuit has inherent redundancy and no need of the series-connection of the semiconductor switches and bulky surge voltage arrestor bank.
Bridging the gap from frog research to human therapy: A tale of neural differentiation in Xenopus animal caps and human pluripotent cells

Over the last decade, much progress has been made toward an understanding of the mechanism of regulation of neural differentiation. In this article, following a brief overview of neural induction research, I would like to discuss the potential contribution of basic embryological research to the progress of human therapeutic development in the present and future, focusing on the medical application of in vitro differentiation of neural tissues. This kind of linkage between basic and medical research will probably be strengthened even more by the recent emergence of human induced pluripotent stem cells. Human pluripotent stem cells are powerful tools for bridging the gap from our accumulated knowledge of embryology to regenerative medicine, as well as to a wide spectrum of medical and pharmaceutical research and development. In this commentary, I describe these issues with a particular emphasis on the contributions made by Japanese scientists.
A strong converse for a collection of network source coding problems

We prove a strong converse for particular source coding problems: the Ahlswede-Körner (coded side information) problem, lossless source coding for multicast networks with side-information at the end nodes, and the Gray-Wyner problem. Source and side-information sequences are drawn i.i. d. according to a given distribution on a finite alphabet. The strong converse discussed here states that when a given rate vector R is not D-achievable, the probability of observing distortion D for any sequence of block codes at rate R must decrease exponentially to 0 as the block length grows without bound. This strong converse implies the prior strong converses for the point-to-point network, Slepian-Wolf problem, and Ahlswede-Körner (coded side information) problem.
Translation Rules with Right-Hand Side Lattices

In Corpus-Based Machine Translation, the search space of the translation candidates for a given input sentence is often defined by a set of (cyclefree) context-free grammar rules. This happens naturally in Syntax-Based Machine Translation and Hierarchical Phrase-Based Machine Translation (where the representation will be the set of the target-side half of the synchronous rules used to parse the input sentence). But it is also possible to describe Phrase-Based Machine Translation in this framework. We propose a natural extension to this representation by using lattice-rules that allow to easily encode an exponential number of variations of each rules. We also demonstrate how the representation of the search space has an impact on decoding efficiency, and how it is possible to optimize this representation.
Generalized Quasi-likelihood ( GQL ) Inference * by

QL Estimation for Independent Data. For i = 1, . ,K, let Yi denote the response variable for the ith individual, and xi = (xi1, . . . , xiv , . . . , xip) ′ be the associated p−dimensional covariate vector. Also, let β be the p−dimensional vector of regression effects of xi on yi. Further suppose that the responses are collected from K independent individuals. It is understandable that if the probability distribution of Yi is not known, then one can not use the well known likelihood approach to estimate the underlying regression parameter β. Next suppose that only two moments of the data, that is, the mean and the variance functions of the response variable Yi for all i = 1, . ,K, are known, and for a known functional form a(·), these moments are given by
Compositions of n with no occurrence of k

A composition of n is an ordered collection of one or more positive integers whose sum is n. The number of summands is called the number of parts of the composition. A palindromic composition or palindrome is a composition in which the summands are the same in the given or in reverse order. Compositions may be viewed as tilings of 1-by-n rectangles with 1-by-i rectangles, 1 i n ≤ ≤. We count the number of compositions and the number of palindromes of n that do not contain any occurrence of a particular positive integer k. We also count the total number of occurrences of each positive integer among all the compositions of n without occurrences of k. This counting problem corresponds to the number of rectangles of each allowable size among the tilings of length n without 1-by-k tiles. Finally we count the number of compositions without k having a fixed number of parts, and explore some patterns involving the number of parts in compositions without k. 1. Introduction A composition of n is an ordered collection of one or more positive integers whose sum is n. The number of summands is called the number of parts of the composition. A palindromic composition or palindrome is a composition in which the summands are the same in the given or in reverse order. Compositions may be viewed as tilings of 1-by-n rectangles with 1-by-i rectangles, 1 i n ≤ ≤. In this view, a palindromic composition is one corresponding to a symmetric tiling. Because of the relation of compositions to tilings, we sometimes refer to a composition of n as a composition of length n. Grimaldi [5] explores the question of how many compositions of n exist when no 1's are allowed in the composition. In [4], the authors explore the question of how many compositions of n exist when no 2's are allowed in the composition. In this paper we explore the general question of how many compositions of n exist when no k's are allowed in the composition. Related to this question we will also explore how many of these compositions are palindromes. We count the number of compositions and the number of palindromes without k, as well as the total number of occurrences of each positive integer among all the compositions of n with no k's. The preceding two counting problems correspond respectively to the number of 1-by-n …