Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Drones´Deployment by Frontex and Fundamental Rights and Civil Liberties

To the wide public, drones are known mainly in the context of combat zone. Nowadays, their application is being introduced also into the civil airspace. The European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union (Frontex) and several southern EU member states consider the drones´ deployment or even deployed them already for the surveillance of the EU´ southern external maritime borders to combat cross-border crime and illegal migration or to safe migrants´ lives. Presented thesis introduces the situation at the EU´ southern maritime border giving regard to the problems of big migrant inflows. The activities of Frontex and of the EU on drones since 2007 are also in detail mapped, and according to that the thesis tries to indicate the possible design of the for-real deployment of drones at the EU´ southern border. The main part of the thesis analyses the potential impact of drones´ deployment on the civil liberties and fundamental rights driving also focus to the cooperation between the member states, Frontex and non-EU countries. The drones´ deployment seems to be the reality of the near future. The thesis, however, finds that, though the serious situation at the southern borders, the threats imposed by the drones´ deployment to civil liberties and fundamental rights are too wide to sacrifice the objectives of their deployment. The current legal framework, mainly on data protection, does not clearly address the possibility of drones for border surveillance, lacks instruments for effective search and rescue operations, and does not sufficiently protect fundamental rights and civil liberties making the use of various exceptions possible. Drones would therefore serve more security related objectives than the humanitarian ones.
Feasibility assessment of Atrial Septal Defect by 3D echocardiographic virtual endoscopy

Congenital heart disease is the most common cause of death in infants. Three-dimensional echocardiography may provide reliable information than two-dimensional methods. The purpose of the study was attempted to evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of the 3D echocardiographic virtual endoscopy in Atrial Septal Defect (ASD). An improved fuzzy C-means clustering algorithm brFCM was adopted to accelerate the speed of the FCM algorithm, as well as the equivalent calculation results of the traditional method. The minimum, maximum diameter and are of ASD measured by VE were correlated well measured data. (r>0.95, P<0.01) In conclusion, 3DE IESS is a new technique in the field of measurement of ASD in congenital heart disease.
Simulated annealing based approach for near-optimal sensor selection in Gaussian Processes

This paper addresses the sensor selection problem associated with monitoring spatial phenomena, where a subset of k sensor measurements from among a set of n potential sensor measurements is to be chosen such that the root mean square prediction error is minimised. It is proposed that the spatial phenomena to be monitored is modelled using a Gaussian Process and a simulated annealing based approximately heuristic algorithm is used to solve the resulting minimisation problem. The algorithm is shown to be computationally efficient and is illustrated using both indoor and outdoor environment monitoring scenarios. It is shown that, although the proposed algorithm is not guaranteed to find the optimum, it always provides accurate solutions for broad range real-world and computer generated datasets.
Implicit Preference Labels for Learning Highly Selective Personalized Rankers

Interaction data such as clicks and dwells provide valuable signals for learning and evaluating personalized models. However, while models of personalization typically distinguish between clicked and non-clicked results, no preference distinctions within the non-clicked results are made and all are treated as equally non-relevant. In this paper, we demonstrate that failing to enforce a prior on preferences among non-clicked results leads to learning models that often personalize with no measurable gain at the risk that the personalized ranking is worse than the non-personalized ranking. To address this, we develop an implicit preference-based framework that enables learning highly selective rankers that yield large reductions in risk such as the percentage of queries personalized. We demonstrate theoretically how our framework can be derived from a small number of basic axioms that give rise to well-founded target rankings which combine a weight on prior preferences with the implicit preferences inferred from behavioral data. Additionally, we conduct an empirical analysis to demonstrate that models learned with this approach yield comparable gains on click-based performance measures to standard methods with far fewer queries personalized. On three real-world commercial search engine logs, the method leads to substantial reductions in the number of queries re-ranked (2x - 7x fewer queries re-ranked) while maintaining 85-95% of the total gain achieved by the standard approach.
Isophotal Shapes of Elliptical/S0 Galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

We revisit the shapes of isophotes for elliptical (E) and lenticular (S0) galaxies by studying 847 nearby early-type galaxies selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 4 with velocity dispersions above 200 km/s. The IRAF task {\tt ellipse} was used to derive the deviations of the isophotes from pure ellipses (Fourier coefficients a_3/a and a_4/a), position angles and ellipticities as a function of radius. We show the statistical distributions of the a_3/a and a_4/a parameters as a function of velocity dispersion, magnitude, and colour. The a_4/a parameter is correlated with the ellipticity and absolute Petrosian magnitude of galaxies. No significant correlation was found between the a_4/a parameter with colour and velocity dispersion. A cross-correlation between the FIRST survey and the SDSS data reveals a lack of powerful radio emitters in discy E/S0s, as previously found by Bender et al. We also find that boxy E/S0s favor denser environments while discy E/S0s favor more isolated environments. The median values of changes in the ellipticity and position angle between one and one and a half Petrosian half-light radii in the isophotes are about -0.023 and 1.61 degree respectively. The average change in the position angle is much larger, about 4.12 degree, due to an extended tail. The change in ellipticity is weakly correlated with the ellipticity itself, with an increasing ellipticity for galaxies with higher ellipticity as the radius increases. The isophote parameters for the 847 galaxies are available online.
Identification and Semiparametric Estimation of Equilibrium Models of Local Jurisdictions

We develop a new model of household sorting in a system of residential neighborhoods. We show that this model is partially identified without imposing parametric restrictions on the distribution of unobserved tastes for neighborhood quality and the shape of the indirect utility function. The proof of identification is constructive and can be used to derive a new semiparameteric estimator. Our empirical application focuses on residential choices in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. We find that sorting of households with children exhibit more stratification by income than sorting of households without children. (JEL C51, D12, H41, J12, R21, R23)
In vitro and in vivo pharmacological characterization of BM-613, a novel dual thromboxane synthase inhibitor and thromboxane receptor antagonist

Thromboxane (TXA 2 ) is a key mediator of platelet aggregation and smooth muscle contraction. Its action is mediated by its G-protein coupled receptor of which two isoforms, termed TP α and TP β , occur in humans. TXA 2 has been implicated in pathologies such as cardiovascular diseases, pulmonary embolism, atherosclerosis and asthma. This study describes the pharmacological characterization of BM-613, a new combined TXA 2 receptor antagonist and TXA 2 synthase inhibitor. It exhibits a strong affinity for human platelet TP receptors (IC 50 : 1.4 nM), TP α and TP β expressed in COS-7 cells (IC 50 : 2.06 nM and 3.1 nM, respectively) and TPs expressed in human coronary artery smooth muscle cells (IC 50 : 29 µM). BM-613 shows a weak ability to prevent contraction of isolated rat aorta (ED 50 : 1.52 µ M) and guinea-pig trachea (ED 50 : 2.5 µ M) induced by TXA 2 agonist U-46619. Besides, BM-613 antagonizes TP α (IC 50 : 0.11 µM) and TP β (IC 50 : 0.17 µM) calcium mobilization induced by U-46619 and inhibits human platelet aggregation induced by U-46619 (ED 50 : 0.278 µM), arachidonic acid (ED 50 : 0.375 µM) and the second wave of ADP. BM-613 also dose-dependently prevents TXA 2 production by human platelets (IC 50 : 0.15 µM). In a rat model of ferric chloride induced thrombosis, BM-613 significantly reduces weight of formed thrombus by 79%, 49% and 28% at 5, 2 and 1 mg/kg (i.v.), respectively. In conclusion, BM-613 is a dual and potent TP receptor antagonist and TXA 2 synthase inhibitor characterized by a strong antiplatelet and antithrombotic potency. These results suggest that BM-613 could be a potential therapeutic drug for thrombotic
TERT-CLPTM1L Polymorphism rs401681 Contributes to Cancers Risk: Evidence from a Meta-Analysis Based on 29 Publications

Background Some common genetic variants of TERT-CLPTM1L gene, which encode key protein subunits of telomerase, have been suggested to play a crucial role in tumorigenesis. The TERT-CLPTM1L polymorphism rs401681 was of special interest for cancers risk but with inconclusive results. Methodology/Principal Findings We performed a comprehensive meta-analysis of 29 publications with a total of 91263 cases and 735952 controls. We assessed the strength of the association between rs401681 and overall cancers risk and performed subgroup analyses by cancer type, ethnicity, source of control, sample size and expected power. Rs401681 C allele was found to be associated with marginally increased cancers risk, with per allele OR of 1.04 (95%CI = 1.00–1.08, P heterogeneity<0.001) and an expected power of 1.000. Following further stratified analyses, the increased cancers risk were discovered in subgroups of lung, bladder, prostate, basal cell carcinomas and Asians, while a declined risk of pancreatic cancer and melanoma were detected. Conclusions/Significance These findings suggested that rs401681 C allele was a low-penetrance risk allele for the development of cancers of lung, bladder, prostate and basal cell carcinoma, but a potential protective allele for melanoma and pancreatic cancer.
Searching for the Intragroup Medium in Loose Groups of Galaxies

We have conducted a study with the Very Large Array (VLA), the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory Synthesis Telescope, and the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) satellite to search for the intragroup medium in two loose groups of galaxies: GH 144 and GH 158. The VLA observations provide a census of the dense H I content of these groups in the form of individual galaxies and free-floating H I clouds as traced by the 21 cm H I line, while the FUSE observations trace the diffuse neutral and hot ionized gas that may fill the intragroup medium, populate the halos of individual galaxies, or reside in a skin around denser, neutral clouds. While nothing was detected in GH 158, in GH 144 we detected two previously unknown H I–rich low surface brightness group galaxies. In addition, Lyα, Lyβ, C III, and N V were detected toward GH 144. Using this suite of data, we were able to place limits on the mass of various portions of this group. If virialized, GH 144 has a mass of 2 × 1012 M⊙. Of that mass, 8% lies in the individual cataloged galaxies, and no more than that same fraction again could lie in the dense, neutral medium as constrained by our VLA observations. The absorption lines imply a diffuse gas with a volume density greater than 10-5.2 cm-3 from a layer less than 22 kpc thick, assuming a metallicity of 0.4 Z⊙. While the extent of this gas is uncertain, it seems unlikely that this diffuse gas contributes a significant fraction of the group mass. Given the depth of the absorbing material and its separation from the nearest galaxies, it seems most likely that it originates from a small clump in the intragroup medium; perhaps an ionized high-velocity cloud, but it may be associated with one of our new H I detections. This was our ambitious first attempt to search for the intergalactic medium in emission and absorption, and while it was only partially successful, we show what is possible and what more is needed for its success.
Multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii infection in intensive care unit patients in a hospital with building construction: is there an association?

Background Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) has emerged globally as a significant pathogen in hospitals. It is also present in soil and water. In a previous study, we discovered that the A. baumannii class 2 integron occurred most frequently. Here, we determined whether the A. baumannii class 2 integron is in the soil around our hospital, and if the soil is the cause for increasing numbers of A. baumannii infections in our intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Methods This cross-sectional prospective study was conducted in two ICUs at Loghman-Hakim Hospital, Tehran, Iran, from November 2012 to March 2013. Patient, soil, and hospital environment samples were collected. All isolates were identified using standard bacteriologic and biochemical methods. The phenotypes and genotypes were characterized. The standard disc diffusion method was utilized to test antimicrobial susceptibility. Integron identification was performed by multiplex polymerase chain reaction. Results A total of 42 A. baumannii clinical strains were isolated, all from patient samples; 65% of the isolated species were classified as class 2 integrons. The strains were 100% resistant to piperacillin, piperacillin-tazobactam, ceftazidime, ceftriaxone, cotrimoxazole, cefepime, ceropenem, and cefotaxime. However, all of the strains were sensitive to polymyxin B. A. baumannii was detected around the lip of one patient. Conclusions Further research is necessary to establish a relationship between A. baumannii and soil, (especially in regards to its bioremediation), as well as to determine its importance in nosocomial infections and outbreaks in the ICU.
Development of Collaborative Defensible Services based on P2P Systems

network security problems have also developed simultaneously, causing severe damage, thus reducing the efficiency of the networks and also the nodes in the networks. Protection provided at the nodes is not sufficient to completely protect the node from external attacks, hence a collaborative approach, is used to solve the network security problems. This paper explains the implementation of collaborative network security platform based on a Peer-toPeer (P2P) network. An experiment is demonstrated where-in a peer can download a required file from a central server; these files may contain malicious software that could affect the peer. The services required to deal with the malicious software is provided by another server.
Adaptive Activity and Environment Recognition for Mobile Phones

In this paper, an adaptive activity and environment recognition algorithm running on a mobile phone is presented. The algorithm makes inferences based on sensor and radio receiver data provided by the phone. A wide set of features that can be extracted from these data sources were investigated, and a Bayesian maximum a posteriori classifier was used for classifying between several user activities and environments. The accuracy of the method was evaluated on a dataset collected in a real-life trial. In addition, comparison to other state-of-the-art classifiers, namely support vector machines and decision trees, was performed. To make the system adaptive for individual user characteristics, an adaptation algorithm for context model parameters was designed. Moreover, a confidence measure for the classification correctness was designed. The proposed adaptation algorithm and confidence measure were evaluated on a second dataset obtained from another real-life trial, where the users were requested to provide binary feedback on the classification correctness. The results show that the proposed adaptation algorithm is effective at improving the classification accuracy.
Smooth transitions between bump rendering algorithms

A method is described for switching smoothly between rendering algorithms as required by the amount of visible surface detail. The result will be more realism with less computation for displaying objects whose surface detail can be described by one or more bump maps. The three rendering algorithms considered are a BRDF, bump mapping, and displacement mapping. The bump mapping has been modified to make it consistent with the other two. For a given viewpoint, one of these algorithms will show a better trade-off between quality, computation time, and aliasing than the other two. The decision as to which algorithm is appropriate is a function of distance, viewing angle, and the frequency of bumps in the bump map.
FUZZY ADAPTATION THROUGH GENETIC EXPLORATION

A novel paradigm for adaptation in discrete event dynamic systems control is presented. The general idea is then applied, through simulations, to an inventory system. A fuzzy adaptation module is built from few optimal examples generated using a genetic algorithm. The fuzzy module is then capable of adapting the inventory policy achieving much better results than a static policy.
Power Laws and the Granular Origins of Aggregate Fluctuations

If firm sizes have a small dispersion, idiosyncratic firm-level shocks lead to negligible aggregate fluctuations. This has led economists to appeal to macroeconomic (sectoral or aggregate shocks) shocks to explain aggregate fluctuations. However, the empirical distribution of firms is fat-tailed. This paper shows how, in a world with fat-tailed firm size distribution, idiosyncratic firm-level fluctuations aggregate up to non-trivial aggregate fluctuations. We illustrate why and how this happens, and contend that aggreage fluctuations come in large part from idiosyncratic shocks to firms. We show empirically that idiosyncratic volatility is indeed large enough to account for GDP volatility.This “granular” hypothesis suggests new directions for macroeconomic research, in particular that macroeconomic questions will be clarified by looking at the behavior of large firms. This mechanism might be useful understanding the fluctuations of many aggregate quantities, such as business cycle fluctuations, inventories, inflation, short or long run movements in productivity, and the current account.
Three-Dimensional Vibrational Imaging by Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Scattering

Confocal [1] and multiphoton [2] fluorescence microscopy have become powerful techniques for threedimensional imaging of chemical and biological samples, especially for live cells. This coincides with developments of various natural and artificial fluorescent probes for cellular constituents [3]. For chemical species or cellular components that either do not fluoresce or cannot tolerate labeling, infrared microscopy and spontaneous Raman microscopy can be used as contrast mechanisms based on vibrational properties. Conventional infrared microscopy is limited to low spatial resolution because of the long wavelength of light used. High resolution Raman microscopy of biological samples has been demonstrated with a confocal microscope [4]. However, the intrinsically weak Raman signal necessitates high laser powers (typically .10 mW) and is often overwhelmed by the fluorescence background of the sample. A multiphoton microscopy based on coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) [5] was put forward as an alternative way of providing vibrational contrast [6]. However, the sensitivity of CARS microscopy was limited by the nonresonant background signal, and high resolution three-dimensional sectioning was not achieved. In the study reported here, we demonstrate CARS microscopy in the chemically interesting vibrational spectral region around 3000 cm21 with high spatial resolution and three-dimensional sectioning capability. Most importantly, the use of near-infrared laser pulses generated by a Ti:sapphire laser s,855 nmd and an optical parametric oscillator/amplifier s,1.2 mmd allows a significant improvement in signal to background ratio in CARS detection. Unlike spontaneous Raman microscopy, the highly sensitive CARS microscopy requires only a moderate average power for excitation s,0.1 mWd, tolerable by most biological samples. CARS spectroscopy has been extensively used as a spectroscopic tool for chemical analyses in the condensed and gas phases [7]. In doing CARS spectroscopy, a pump laser and a Stokes laser beam, with center frequencies of np and nS , respectively, are spatially overlapped. The CARS signal at 2np 2 nS is generated in a direction determined by the phase-matching conditions. When the frequency difference np 2 nS coincides with the frequency of a molecular vibration of the sample, the CARS
Separation of Transparent Layers by Polarization Analysis

Consider the phenomenon of a virtual image, semi-re ected by a transparent medium (e.g, a glass window) present in the scene. The semire ected image is superimposed on the image of the object that is behind the transparent medium. A novel approach is proposed for the recovery of the superimposed layers. An initial separation of the layers is obtained using the raw output of a polarizing lter placed in front of the camera at two polarizer orientations. This separation is insuÆcient at most incidence angles. However, each pixel value in the two raw images is a linear combination of the corresponding pixel values in the separate layers. The corresponding weights depend on the re ection coeÆcients of each polarization component. The re ection coeÆcients are modi ed to account for changes in the re ection and polarizing properties due to internal re ections within the medium. In principle, the separate layers are obtained by pixel-wise inversion of the image formation process. Experimental results, obtained using real photos of actual objects, demonstrate the great superiority of the suggested method over using only raw optical data.
Texture Metaphors and Tangible Interaction: No Smooth Relationship?

Conceptual Metaphor Theory is able to predict how physical object properties can trigger associated abstract content. Based on prior research on texture metaphors, we hypothesised that even incidental sensations of texture can influence the subjective evaluation of user experience and the interpretation of an ambiguous social situation. In three studies users interacted with smooth and rough versions of cases of mobile devices (Study 1), trackpads (Study 2) and tangibles for interactive gameplay (Study 3). Despite convincing evidence collected in earlier studies, the results confirmed none of the hypotheses in any of the three studies. Possible reasons and their relevance for the use of metaphors in HCI and tangible interfaces are discussed and conclusions for further applications of rough/smooth metaphors are drawn.