Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Symbol Descriptor Based on Shape Context and Vector Model of Information Retrieval

In this paper we present an adaptive method for graphic symbol representation based on shape contexts. The proposed descriptor is invariant under classical geometric transforms (rotation, scale) and based on interest points. To reduce the complexity of matching a symbol to a largeset of candidates we use the popular vector model for information retrieval. In this way, on the set of shape descriptors we build a visual vocabulary where each symbol is retrieved on visual words. Experimental results on complex and occluded symbols show that the approach is very promising.
Preliminary Design of Cracked-Lap Shear Specimen Thickness for Determination of Interlaminar Fracture Toughness

This paper outlines a technique for preliminary sizing of the adherends for cracked-lap-shear specimen to assure delamination instead of adherend failure. The cracked-lap-shear specimen is a popular specimen used for determination of mixed mode interlaminar fracture toughness of composites. Thin adherends, on the order of three plies thick, have been used successfully in the past for determination of fracture toughness of rather brittle matrix systems. However, the tougher matrices now being considered for composite applications require thicker adherends in order to get composite delamination rather than adherend failure. The optimum thickness is obtained on the basis that the critical value of the strain energy release rate is reached at the delamination front before the ultimate strength is reached in the adherend. By proper design the specimen would delaminate and not use excessive material or load. A simple analysis for the optimum adherend thickness and experimental verification are included.
Quantum communication

— A frequent and common aspect in the world of cybercrime is the hacking of sensitive information. Transmission of personal and financial information without the knowledge or permission of an individual or organization can have unconceivable pernicious effects. Money can be stolen, and personal information can be used for unlawful purposes. The enormous threat caused by cybercrime or cyber-attacks is pressing various government organizations, businesses, and other vulnerable departments to discover more reliable means of communicating and transmitting the information. The laws of quantum physics are used for protecting data in quantum communication. The quantum mechanical counterpart of a classical bit is a quantum bit or a qubit that can exist in a state of superposition. A qubit can be in a state of 0 or 1 or a linear combination of both.
New results on dynamic planar point location

A point location scheme is presented for an n-vertex dynamic planar subdivision whose underlying graph is only required to be connected. The scheme uses O(n) space and yields an O(log/sup 2/n) query time and an O(log n) update time. Insertion (respectively, deletion) of an arbitrary k-edge chain inside a region can be performed in O(k log(n+k)) (respectively, O(k log n)) time. The scheme is then extended to speed up the insertion/deletion of a k-edge monotone chain to O(log/sup 2/n log log n+k) time (or O(log n log log n+k) time for an alternative model of input), but at the expense of increasing the other time bounds slightly. All bounds are worst case. Additional results include a generalization to planar subdivisions consisting of algebraic segments of bounded degree and a persistent scheme for planar point location. <<ETX>>
Using the bipartite line graph to visualise 2-mode social networks

This paper surveys the range of techniques available for the analysis of 2-mode (actor-by-event) datasets and proposes an additional option for visualization and analysis that uses the line-graph of the bipartite adjacency matrix. The nodes of this line-graph are roles or statuses conferred on actors through their participation in events or recognition of their group membership. The line-graph can be structured to have two sets of edges. One set of edges shows the connections between actors created by their common participations or group memberships. The second set of edges show which statuses (memberships) in different groups are connected because the same actor holds both. The paper shows how to generate the line graph using UCINET procedures but also assembles 2-mode data to show details in the line graph not readily available through UCINET procedures.
Curve skeleton extraction from incomplete point cloud

We present an algorithm for curve skeleton extraction from imperfect point clouds where large portions of the data may be missing. Our construction is primarily based on a novel notion of generalized rotational symmetry axis (ROSA) of an oriented point set. Specifically, given a subset S of oriented points, we introduce a variational definition for an oriented point that is most rotationally symmetric with respect to S. Our formulation effectively utilizes normal information to compensate for the missing data and leads to robust curve skeleton computation over regions of a shape that are generally cylindrical. We present an iterative algorithm via planar cuts to compute the ROSA of a point cloud. This is complemented by special handling of non-cylindrical joint regions to obtain a centered, topologically clean, and complete 1D skeleton. We demonstrate that quality curve skeletons can be extracted from a variety of shapes captured by incomplete point clouds. Finally, we show how our algorithm assists in shape completion under these challenges by developing a skeleton-driven point cloud completion scheme.
Protect e-commerce against DDoS attacks with improved D-WARD detection system

DDoS attack has caused severe damage to e-commerce and e-service and is great intimidation to the development of them. After analyzing the detection algorithm of D-WARD, a representative source-end DDoS detection system, we introduced a nonparametric change point detection method in statistics and improved D-WARD with nonparametric recursive CUSUM algorithm and compared their respective performance. Experiments proved that the improved system is lower in false-positive rate and false-negative rate, which is more accurate and could adapt to more complex network environments. This improved system could be utilized in the protection of e-commerce against DDoS attacks.
Indirect adaptive model predictive control for linear systems with polytopic uncertainty

We develop an indirect adaptive model predictive control algorithm for uncertain linear systems subject to constraints. The system is modeled as a polytopic linear parameter varying system where the convex combination vector is constant but unknown. The terminal cost and set are constructed from a parameter-dependent Lyapunov function and the associated control law, and robust control invariant set constraints are enforced. The proposed design ensures robust constraint satisfaction and recursive feasibility, is input-to-state stable with respect to the parameter estimation error and it only requires the online solution of quadratic programs.
Autophagy, immunity and human disease

Purpose of review To give an overview of autophagy and its effects on innate and adaptive immunity and touch on some of the roles of autophagy in disease. Recent findings Precise regulation of autophagy is necessary to maintain metabolic equilibrium, immune homeostasis, delineate cell fate and influence host cell responses to cytosolic pathogens. A growing number of studies have implicated that inactivation of autophagy-selective responses contributes to inflammatory disorders, neurodegeneration and cancer, but the precise steps at which disease-associated autophagy-related (ATG) genes affect autophagy pathways is unknown at present. Summary In eukaryotic cells autophagy is constitutively active at low levels, whereas significant up-regulation occurs in response to a multitude of stresses. Autophagy has achieved notoriety as a perturbed biological process in many disease states and an exponential increase of studies attribute roles for autophagy in innate and adaptive immunity. Understanding how individual disease-associated ATG genes function will lead to a better understanding of and potentially novel therapies for treating the diseases in which they are involved.
Adults with dyslexia

Adults with severe dyslexia were compared with age‐, sex‐, IQ‐ and SES‐matched controls on a neuropsychological and neuromotor test battery, and a contrast group who had recovered from dyslexia was also included. The severely dyslexic group was substantially impaired on tests of verbal fluency and learning, as well as on non‐verbal temporal order judgements. These test scores were strong predictors of the degree of reading impairment, as was the rate of repetitive movement of the right hand and foot. The results suggest that adult dyslexia is not ‘isolated’, but is one expression of a widespread left‐hemisphere dysfunction.
Evaluation of 3- and 5-axis sculptured surface machining in CAM environment through design of experiments

Sculptured surface machining (SSM) is an operation widely applied to several industrial fields such as aerospace, automotive and mould/die. The number of the parameters and strategies involved to program such machining operations can be enormously large owing to surface complexity and advanced design features. This study focuses on the examination of machining strategies and related parameters for the assessment of roughing and finishing stages. A fractional factorial design implementing an L27 Taguchi orthogonal array (OA) was established to conduct machining experiments with the use of a computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software. Fractional factorial design specifics involve the statistical elimination of unimportant parameters, thus reducing experimental runs without the loss of useful information. Two scenarios were considered to machine a sculptured part; one involving 3-axis roughing/3-axis finish machining experiments and the other one involving 3-axis roughing/5-axis finish machining experiments. Roughing operation was common for both scenarios. The problem was subjected to discrete technological constraints to reflect the actual industrial status. For each machining phase, two quality objectives reflecting productivity and part quality were determined. Roughing experiments were tested to minimise machining time and remaining volume, whilst finishing experiments were subjected to minimise machining time and surface deviation between the designed and the machined 3D model. Quality characteristics were properly weighted to formulate a single objective criterion for both machining phases. Results indicated that DOE applied to CAM software, enables NC programmers to have a clear understanding about the influence of process parameters for SSM operations, thus generating efficient toolpaths to improve productivity, part quality and process efficiency. Practically the work contributes to machining improvement by through the proposition of machining experimentation methods using safe and useful platforms such as CAM systems; the investigation of approaches to avoid problem oversimplification mainly when large number of machining parameters should be exploited and the evaluation of quality criteria which allow their assessment directly form CAM software.
A Sequence Labelling Approach to Quote Attribution

Quote extraction and attribution is the task of automatically extracting quotes from text and attributing each quote to its correct speaker. The present state-of-the-art system uses gold standard information from previous decisions in its features, which, when removed, results in a large drop in performance. We treat the problem as a sequence labelling task, which allows us to incorporate sequence features without using gold standard information. We present results on two new corpora and an augmented version of a third, achieving a new state-of-the-art for systems using only realistic features.
Knowledge management in action: integrating knowledge across communities

This paper offers a brief overview and critique of dominant approaches to knowledge management (KM) and its links with innovation. It then draws upon a case study example to offer a closer analysis of the link between KM and the development of communities of practice during processes of innovation. The paper argues, first, that in many cases innovation is an interactive process requiring knowledge and expertise from different functions and layers across the organization. In such cases critical problems concern the integration of knowledge across disparate communities, rather than the sharing of knowledge within communities. Second that if knowledge integration across communities is to develop, a more action-oriented perspective on KM and the development of KM tools is needed.
Analytic Methods and Medical Education

to contribute to its growth. This paper is a personal report on the state of education in the field of medical decision making-a mixture of facts and opinions on progress in disseminating to the medical community the point of view and methods of analysis represented in the research conducted by the members of the Society. In a sense, these remarks are a follow-up to my editorial on &dquo;Decision Making as Educational Subject Matter&dquo; [1]. The first part of my address is based in particular on impressions formed at three conferences held over the summer of 1982: a Macy Conference held in June at the Quail Roost Conference Center of the University of North Carolina on &dquo;Teaching the New Biology&dquo;; the AIM Workshop at the University of Pittsburgh in August; and a conference on instruction in medical decision making held at Michigan State University in September. I shall then turn to discuss some underlying conceptual issues in this emerging field. I have no expectation of solving in the near term the problems identified, but I do hope that identifying them accurately will enable us to make some progress on them. There is some good news in the field of medical decision making. Curiosity about it is increasing and a conviction is spreading that it just may have something to offer clinical practice. Students are now asking why we
Waterborne Pathogen Detection by Use of Oligonucleotide-Based Microarrays

ABSTRACT A small-oligonucleotide microarray prototype was designed with probes specific for the universal 16S rRNA and cpn60 genes of several pathogens that are usually encountered in wastewaters. In addition to these two targets, wecE-specific oligonucleotide probes were included in the microarray to enhance its discriminating power within the Enterobacteriaceae family. Universal PCR primers were used to amplify variable regions of 16S rRNA, cpn60, and wecE genes directly in Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium genomic DNA mixtures (binary); E. coli, S. enterica serovar Typhimurium, and Yersinia enterocolitica genomic DNA mixtures (ternary); or wastewater total DNA. Amplified products were fluorescently labeled and hybridized on the prototype chip. The detection sensitivity for S. enterica serovar Typhimurium was estimated to be on the order of 0.1% (104S. enterica genomes) of the total DNA for the combination of PCR followed by microarray hybridization. The sensitivity of the prototype could be increased by hybridizing amplicons generated by PCR targeting genes specific for a bacterial subgroup, such as wecE genes, instead of universal taxonomic amplicons. However, there was evidence of PCR bias affecting the detection limits of a given pathogen as increasing amounts of a different pathogen were spiked into the test samples. These results demonstrate the feasibility of using DNA microarrays in the detection of waterborne pathogens within mixed populations but also raise the problem of PCR bias in such experiments.
A bitstream reconfigurable FPGA implementation of the WSAT algorithm

A field programmable gate array (FPGA) implementation of a coprocessor which uses the WSAT algorithm to solve Boolean satisfiability problems is presented. The input is a SAT problem description file from which a software program directly generates a problem-specific circuit design which can be downloaded to a Xilinx Virtex FPGA device and executed to find a solution. On an XCV300, problems of 50 variables and 170 clauses can be solved. Compared with previous approaches, it avoids the need for resynthesis, placement, and routing for different constraints. Our coprocessor is eminently suitable for embedded applications where energy, weight and real-time response are of concern.
Flows in undirected unit capacity networks

We describe an O(min(m, n/sup 3/2/)m/sup 1/2/)-time algorithm for finding maximum flows in undirected networks with unit capacities and no parallel edges. This improves upon the previous bound of Karzanov and Even and Tarjan when m=/spl omega/(n/sup 3/2/), and upon a randomized bound of Karger when /spl upsi/=/spl Omega/(n/sup 7/4//m/sup 1/2/).
A comparative evaluation of NB30, NB54 and PTC124 in translational read-through efficacy for treatment of an USH1C nonsense mutation

Translational read‐through‐inducing drugs (TRIDs) promote read‐through of nonsense mutations, placing them in the spotlight of current gene‐based therapeutic research. Here, we compare for the first time the relative efficacies of new‐generation aminoglycosides NB30, NB54 and the chemical compound PTC124 on retinal toxicity and read‐through efficacy of a nonsense mutation in the USH1C gene, which encodes the scaffold protein harmonin. This mutation causes the human Usher syndrome, the most common form of inherited deaf‐blindness. We quantify read‐through efficacy of the TRIDs in cell culture and show the restoration of harmonin function. We do not observe significant differences in the read‐through efficacy of the TRIDs in retinal cultures; however, we show an excellent biocompatibility in retinal cultures with read‐through versus toxicity evidently superior for NB54 and PTC124. In addition, in vivo administration of NB54 and PTC124 induced recovery of the full‐length harmonin a1 with the same efficacy. The high biocompatibilities combined with the sustained read‐through efficacies of these drugs emphasize the potential of NB54 and PTC124 in treating nonsense mutation‐based retinal disorders.
An Efficient Cloud Market Mechanism for Computing Jobs With Soft Deadlines

This paper studies the cloud market for computing jobs with completion deadlines, and designs efficient online auctions for cloud resource provisioning. A cloud user bids for future cloud resources to execute its job. Each bid includes: 1) a utility, reflecting the amount that the user is willing to pay for executing its job and 2) a soft deadline, specifying the preferred finish time of the job, as well as a penalty function that characterizes the cost of violating the deadline. We target cloud job auctions that executes in an online fashion, runs in polynomial time, provides truthfulness guarantee, and achieves optimal social welfare for the cloud ecosystem. Towards these goals, we leverage the following classic and new auction design techniques. First, we adapt the posted pricing auction framework for eliciting truthful online bids. Second, we address the challenge posed by soft deadline constraints through a new technique of compact exponential-size LPs coupled with dual separation oracles. Third, we develop efficient social welfare approximation algorithms using the classic primal-dual framework based on both LP duals and Fenchel duals. Empirical studies driven by real-world traces verify the efficacy of our online auction design.
Simulation of Recent Southern Hemisphere Climate Change

Recent observations indicate that climate change over the high latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere is dominated by a strengthening of the circumpolar westerly flow that extends from the surface to the stratosphere. Here we demonstrate that the seasonality, structure, and amplitude of the observed climate trends are simulated in a state-of-the-art atmospheric model run with high vertical resolution that is forced solely by prescribed stratospheric ozone depletion. The results provide evidence that anthropogenic emissions of ozonedepleting gases have had a distinct impact on climate not only at stratospheric levels but at Earth's surface as well.
GPU accelerated rotation-based emission tomography reconstruction

Stochastic methods based on Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) provide accurate tomographic reconstruction for emission imaging. Moreover methods based on MLE allow to include an accurate physical model of the imaging setup in the reconstruction process, thus enabling quantitative reconstruction of radio-tracer activity distribution. It has been shown that inclusion of a spatially dependent PSF that models dependence of the CDR with distance from the detector, improves the quality of reconstruction in terms of noise and bias. The computational complexity associated with stochastic methods has limited adoption of such algorithms for clinical use and inclusion of the PSF further increases the computational cost. This work proposes an accelerated implementation of a reconstruction algorithm specifically designed to take advantage of the architecture of a General Purpose Graphics Processing Unit (GPGPU).
Dodecyl creatine ester and lipid nanocapsule: a double strategy for the treatment of creatine transporter deficiency.

BACKGROUND Creatine transporter (CT) deficiency is characterized by mutations in the gene encoding CT, leading to impaired transport of creatine at the cell membrane. Patients with this disease would thus benefit from replenishment of creatine inside the brain cells. AIM We report a therapeutic strategy based on the use of dodecyl creatine ester incorporated into lipid nanocapsules (LNCs). MATERIALS & METHODS The dodecyl creatine ester was incorporated in the shells of LNCs using Transcutol(®) (Gattefossé SAS, Saint-Priest, France). The interactions of dodecyl creatine ester encapsulated in LNCs with an in vitro cell-based blood-brain barrier model was studied. The entry of the dodecyl creatine ester encapsulated in LNCs and the conversion of dodecyl creatine ester to creatine in the cells were also studied in the pathological context of CT deficiency. RESULTS & DISCUSSION We showed that these LNCs can cross the blood-brain barrier and enter brain endothelial cells. In human fibroblasts lacking functional CT, all or part of the dodecyl creatine ester was released from the LNCs and biotransformed to creatine, thus indicating the value of this strategy in this therapeutic context.
Identification of Single and Multiple Teeth Damage in a Gear Transmission System

Abstract The main objective of this article is to identify single and multiple gear teeth damage based on vibration signatures analysis of experimental results and their comparison with those by numerical simulations. In this study, vibration signals are experimentally acquired for the case with no tooth damage to cases with multiple teeth damage using the controllable wear/damage gear sets in the 75-HP gear test rig. Vibration signatures for cases similar to the experimental studies are numerically simulated based on a two-spool rotor-bearing model connected by a set of meshing gears. The effects of the wear on the gear tooth surface are numerically represented by the phase change in the gear teeth mesh stiffness during both gear mesh engagement and disengagement. Results from both experimental studies and numerical simulations are examined and compared in the time domain, the frequency domain, and the joint time-frequency domain using the Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD). Based on results of this comparative study, general conclusions are drawn concerning the identification of single and multiple gear teeth damage and their effects in affecting the global dynamics of the gear transmission system.