Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Automatic conversion of IFC datasets to geometrically and semantically correct CityGML LOD3 buildings

Although the international standard CityGML has five levels of detail (LODs), the vast majority of available models are the coarse ones (up to LOD2, i.e. block‐shaped buildings with roofs). LOD3 and LOD4 models, which contain architectural details such as balconies, windows and rooms, rarely exist because, unlike coarser LODs, their construction requires several datasets that must be acquired with different technologies, and often extensive manual work is needed. In this article we investigate an alternative to obtaining CityGML LOD3 models: the automatic conversion from already existing architectural models (stored in the IFC format). Existing conversion algorithms mostly focus on the semantic mappings and convert all the geometries, which yields CityGML models having poor usability in practice (spatial analysis, for instance, is not possible). We present a conversion algorithm that accurately applies the correct semantics from IFC models and that constructs valid CityGML LOD3 buildings by performing a series of geometric operations in 3D. We have implemented our algorithm and we demonstrate its effectiveness with several real‐world datasets. We also propose specific improvements to both standards to foster their integration in the future.
Homogeneity and heterogeneity in disciplinary discourse: tracking the management of intertextuality in undergraduate academic lectures

Using a corpus of twenty-four lectures drawn from The BASE corpus*, this study is an analysis and inter-disciplinary comparison of the management of Intertextuality in the genre of the undergraduate lecture. Theorising Intertextuality as central within the discursive (re-)construction of disciplinary knowledge, the investigation of Intertextuality is viewed as the investigation of the discursively-mediated interaction(s) of a current lecturer with original knowledge-constituting discourses, and with their agents too, of an academic community. As there is no holistic and comprehensive methodology for assessing the management of Intertextuality in academic discourse both qualitatively and quantitatively, this study uses two further lectures to devise such a methodology. This involves segregating lecture discourse into consistent independent units and then coding each unit according both to its function in the discourse and the participant voice(s) behind it. Applying this comprehensive scheme shows that independent units in lecture discourse are classifiable under three broad functional areas, Intertextuality (units realising propositional input), Intratextuality (units realising the mechanics of text and discursive interaction), and Metatextuality (units realising unit-length evaluation of emerging discourse). These functional areas and the functions within them are manageable via different participant voice(s), the manifestations and pragmatic effects of which in discourse vary, meaning the management of Intertextuality can be assessed qualitatively and quantitatively using the coherent, consistent and data-driven coding scheme derived from these analyses. This methodology, applied qualitatively and quantitatively to the corpus, reveals management similarities broadly between Arts & Humanities and Social Sciences lectures, typically a dialogic management, and management differences broadly between these two groupings and Physical Sciences lectures, typically a monophonic management. These management choices are understood as both constituted by and as reconstitutive of the social and epistemological landscapes behind lectures, meaning the management of Intertextuality is viewed as the dominant influence in shaping disciplinary discourse. * The BASE (British Academic Spoken English) corpus is a corpus of authentic academic speech events currently being developed at the universities of Warwick and Reading in The UK with funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Board.
Biomechanics of the peafowl’s crest: a potential mechanosensory role for feathers during social displays

22 Feathers act as vibrotactile sensors that can detect mechanical stimuli during avian flight and tactile navigation, suggesting that they may also function to detect signals during social 24 displays. We explored this novel sensory modality using the crest plumage of Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus). We first determined whether the airborne stimuli generated by peafowl 26 courtship and social displays couple efficiently via resonance to the vibrational response of feather crests from the heads of peafowl. Peafowl crests were found to have fundamental 28 resonant modes with frequencies that could be driven near-optimally by the shaking frequencies used by peafowl performing train vibrating displays. Crests also were driven to vibrate near 30 resonance when audio recordings of sounds generated by these displays were played back in the acoustic near-field, where such displays are experienced in vivo. When peacock wing-shaking 32 courtship behaviour was simulated in the laboratory, the resulting directional airflow excited measurable vibrations of crest feathers. These results suggest that peafowl crests have properties 34 that make them suitable mechanosensors for airborne stimuli generated during social displays. Such stimuli could complement acoustic perception, thereby enhancing detection and 36 interpretation of social displays. Diverse feather crests are found in many bird species that perform similar displays, suggesting that this proposed sensory modality may be widespread, and 38 possibly derived from flow sensing in other contexts. We suggest behavioral studies to further explore these ideas and their functional implications. 40
Tighter Regret Bounds for Influence Maximization and Other Combinatorial Semi-Bandits with Probabilistically Triggered Arms

We study combinatorial multi-armed bandit with probabilistically triggered arms (CMAB-T) and semi-bandit feedback. We resolve a serious issue in the prior CMAB-T studies where the regret bounds contain a possibly exponentially large factor of $1/p^*$, where $p^*$ is the minimum positive probability that an arm is triggered by any action. We address this issue by introducing triggering probability moderated (TPM) bounded smoothness conditions into the general CMAB-T framework, and show that many applications such as influence maximization bandit and combinatorial cascading bandit satisfy such TPM conditions. As a result, we completely remove the factor of $1/p^*$ from the regret bounds, achieving significantly better regret bounds for influence maximization and cascading bandits than before. Finally, we provide lower bound results showing that the factor $1/p^*$ is unavoidable for general CMAB-T problems, suggesting that TPM conditions are crucial in removing this factor.
Gaze behavior analysis in multiple-answer tests: An Eye tracking investigation

In this paper we present an eye tracking study aimed at examining learners' behaviors while searching for the right answer in multiple-choice tests. In particular, the analysis is focused on a geometry problem characterized by four graphical solutions. The data gathered through several experiments have allowed us to find interesting relationships between answers and testers' performance (especially with regard to time spent watching the available options and gaze wavering between the two most plausible choices), as well as to identify otherwise hidden similarities among testers themselves. Providing a better understanding of students' learning processes, the obtained results can potentially be exploited to improve the design of assessment tasks and to train intelligent tutoring systems.
Relation between polymer and Fock excitations

To bridge the gap between background-independent, non-perturbative quantum gravity and low-energy physics described by perturbative field theory in Minkowski spacetime, Minkowskian Fock states are located, analysed and used in the background-independent framework. This approach to the analysis of semiclassical issues is motivated by the recent results of Varadarajan (Varadarajan M and Zapata J A 2000 Class.? Quantum Grav.? 17 4085-109). As in that work, we use the simpler U(1) example to illustrate our constructions but, in contrast to that work, we formulate the theory in such a way that it can be extended to full general relativity.
INVESTIGATION OF ASPHALT PAVEMENT WITH ADDED CRUMB RUBBER

Waste tires must be recycled in environmentally safe ways that meet civil engineering concerns while fulfilling standards for construction materials. Used tires can be processed into rubber powders with particle sizes of 0–2 mm, a suitable fine aggregate for mixing into road pavements. We tested asphalt mixtures with rubber added using the dry method, comparing their properties with a traditional mixture. We tested asphalt–rubber mixtures with rubber incorporated at either ambient temperature or preheated. Rubberized and traditional asphalt concretes compared well in void content, indirect tensile strength ratio, rut depth, and wheel-track slope. After optimizing the rubber content added, we laid an experimental road course with the asphalt–rubber mixture.
Ellis-van Creveld syndrome: A rare clinical entity

Ellis-van Creveld (EVC) syndrome is a genetic disorder with autosomal recessive transmission, which may clinically present as small stature, short limbs, fine sparse hair, hypoplastic fingernails, multiple musculofibrous frenula, conical teeth, hypoplasia of the enamel, hypodontia, and malocclusion. Heart defects, especially abnormalities of atrial septation, have been found in about 60% of cases. The mutation in EVC and EVC2 gene is responsible for this syndrome. The presence of multiple orodental findings makes this syndrome important for dentists. The aim of this article is to present a rare case of EVC syndrome in a 10-year-old girl along with the review of literature.
Mortality from cancer and other causes in parents of children with cancer: a population-based study in Piedmont, Italy

This population-based study (the largest on this issue conducted in Southern Europe) has examined mortality among the parents of 2622 children diagnosed with cancer in Piedmont during 1967–1994. Parents were followed up from the date of the index child's birth until the end of 2000, yielding a total of 118 090.7 person-years of observation. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were estimated using mortality rates for the whole population of Piedmont as the reference. Among mothers, total mortality was similar to that expected [SMR 1.02, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.85–1.23, 117 cases]. A reduced risk of mortality was seen in fathers (SMR 0.91, 95% CI 0.81–1.02, 293 cases); this was largely due to causes other than cancer and the reduction in risk disappeared after the index child's death (SMR 0.98, 95% CI 0.84–1.15, 168 cases). Deaths from cancers of the lymphohaematopoietic system were in excess among mothers (SMR=2.13, 95% CI 1.02–3.92, 10 cases) and breast cancer deaths were in excess specifically among mothers of leukaemic children (SMR 2.32, 95% CI 1.16–4.14, 11 cases). Three mothers dying with breast cancer had index children who had been diagnosed with a bone sarcoma. Parental cancer of the respiratory tract was significantly associated with both tumours of the central nervous system and Hodgkin's lymphoma in the index child. The excess risks identified here may be due to genetic factors or due to parental psychological stress consequent to cancer in a child that may lead to increased mortality either through the direct effects of stress or through consequent changes in lifestyle.
Gastrojejunocutaneous fistula following polya gastrectomy

BREAKDOWN of a gastrojejunal anastomosis with or without an external fistula is an extremely serious complication, carrying a poor prognosis. Without external drainage, generalized peritonitis would lead to inevitable death, and we are concerned with the situation where operative drainage has led to the development of an external fistula. High-output external fistula must be distinguished from minor anastomotic leak, itself an unwelcome but not necessarily as serious a complication. The incidence of true fistulation is, fortunately, rare and we are unable to present a series of any magnitude. In view of the poor outlook we feel that the fresh approach here suggested might be more widely tried in a genuine expectation of improved results.
Privacy-Preserving Cross-Domain Routing Optimization - A Cryptographic Approach

Today's large-scale enterprise networks, data center networks, and wide area networks can be decomposed into multiple administrative or geographical domains. Domains may be owned by different administrative units or organizations. Hence protecting domain information is an important concern. Existing general-purpose Secure Multi-Party Computation (SMPC) methods that preserves privacy for domains are extremely slow for cross-domain routing problems. In this paper we present PYCRO, a cryptographic protocol specifically designed for privacy-preserving cross-domain routing optimization in Software Defined Networking (SDN) environments. PYCRO provides two fundamental routing functions, policy-compliant shortest path computing and bandwidth allocation, while ensuring strong protection for the private information of domains. We rigorously prove the privacy guarantee of our protocol. We have implemented a prototype system that runs PYCRO on servers in a campus network. Experimental results using real ISP network topologies show that PYCRO is very efficient in computation and communication costs.
Do Age Effects on Youth Secondary Exposure to Violence Vary across Social Context?

Many studies have documented an increasing prevalence of secondary exposure to community violence from childhood through young adulthood. Yet inconsistencies exist in the findings, with some studies reporting a weak association, or no association, between age and exposure to community violence. This study investigates whether the disparate study findings reflect unmeasured but consequential neighborhood dynamics for the relationship between age and exposure to violence. Using data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods, this study contributes to the literature by examining variability in the relationship between age and exposure to community violence across neighborhood context. The results of hierarchical Poisson models support the hypothesis that age disparities in exposure to violence are attenuated in more disadvantaged neighborhoods. Results further indicate that high levels of community violence are responsible for the suppression of individual variation in age in extremely disadvantaged communities.
DRIVE: Directly Reaching Into Virtual Environment with bare hand manipulation behind mobile display

We present DRIVE, an interaction method that allows a user to manipulate virtual content by reaching behind a mobile display device such as a cellphone, tablet PC, etc. Unlike prior work that uses front volume as well as front, side, and back surfaces, DRIVE utilizes the back volume of the device. Together with face tracking, out system creates the illusion that the user's hand is co-located with virtual volumetric content.
Energy analysis of multimedia watermarking on mobile handheld devices

The growth of Internet-enabled handheld devices has increased the need for the projection of digital media and intellectual property rights. One way to ensure this protection is via digital watermarking, a process that embeds an imperceptible signature or watermark in a digital file containing audio, image, text or video data. The signature is later used to authenticate the data file and for tamper detection. Effective watermarking can be computationally expensive and place additional drain on the available energy in handheld devices. We present a detailed analysis of the energy requirements and performance of a range of prevalent and proposed algorithms for signature embedding, extraction, and authentication for images. We also discuss the security versus energy trade-offs of these algorithms and study the impact of image resolution on energy and performance.
Interaction design in service compositions

This thesis proposes a concept and transformations for designing interactions in a service composition at related abstraction levels. The concept and transformations are aimed at helping designers to bridge the conceptual gap between the business and software domains. In this way, the complexity of an interaction design can be managed adequately. A service composition is specified as one or more interactions between application components. Interaction design is therefore the central activity in the design of a service composition. Interaction design at related abstraction level requires an interaction concept that can model interactions at a higher abstraction level (called abstract interactions) and interactions at a lower abstraction level (called concrete interactions), in order to avoid any conceptual gap between abstraction levels. An interaction is defined as a unit of activity that is performed by multiple entities or participants in cooperation to establish a common result. Different participants can have different views on the established result. Two design transformations are defined, namely interaction refinement and interaction abstraction. Interaction refinement replaces an abstract interaction with a concrete interaction structure. Interaction abstraction replaces a concrete interaction structure with an abstract interaction. A set of conformance requirements and a conformance assessment method are defined to check the conformance between an abstract interaction and concrete interaction structure. To facilitate the development process of a service composition, this thesis also provides (i) patterns for interaction refinement; (ii) abstract representations of interaction mechanisms; and (iii) a transformation tool to transform an interaction design at an implementation level to an executable implementation. The use of the interaction concept and design transformations are illustrated with two case studies. In the first case study, we design a travel reservation application as a service composition. In the second case study, we design enterprise application integration for an order management by using our interaction concept in an integration approach. The obtained integration solution is then transformed to an executable implementation using our transformation tool.
A Mean Field Game Theoretic Approach to Electric Vehicles Charging

Electric vehicles (EVs) provide environmentally friendly transport and they are considered to be an important component of distributed and mobile electric energy storage and supply system. It is possible that EVs can be used to store and transport energy from one geographical area to another as a supportive energy supply. Electricity consumption management should consider carefully the inclusion of EVs. One critical challenge in the consumption management for EVs is the optimization of battery charging. This paper provides a dynamic game theoretic optimization framework to formulate the optimal charging problem. The optimization considers a charging scenario where a large number of EVs charge simultaneously during a flexible period of time. Based on stochastic mean field game theory, the optimization will provide an optimal charging strategy for the EVs to proactively control their charging speed in order to minimize the cost of charging. Numerical results are presented to demonstrate the performance of the proposed framework.
Exploring Hilbert envelope based acoustic features in i-vector speaker verification using HT-PLDA

In this study we evaluate the effectiveness of our recently introduced Mean Hilbert Envelope Coefficients (MHEC) in i-vector speaker verification using heavy-tailed probabilistic linear discriminant analysis (HT-PLDA) as the compensation/backend framework. The i-vectors are estimated for MHECs, and also the conventional and widely used MFCCs for comparison. The linear discriminant analysis (LDA) is employed for dimensionality reduction, and followed by the within class covariance normalization (WCCN) scheme to reduce the intra-speaker variability. Finally, scoring the i-vectors is accomplished through: 1) the cosine distance (CD) measure, and 2) the HT-PLDA framework. The impact of i-vector dimension on system performance is explored with the simple yet effective CD scoring. We report speaker verification performance on NIST SRE-2010 extended telephone and microphone trials. Experimental results confirm superiority of MHECs to traditional MFCCs in i-vector speaker verification. Finally, HT-PLDA framework provides significant performance improvement by effectively modeling total space of i-vectors.
Transcriptome Sequencing and Identification of Cold Tolerance Genes in Hardy Corylus Species (C. heterophylla Fisch) Floral Buds

Background The genus Corylus is an important woody species in Northeast China. Its products, hazelnuts, constitute one of the most important raw materials for the pastry and chocolate industry. However, limited genetic research has focused on Corylus because of the lack of genomic resources. The advent of high-throughput sequencing technologies provides a turning point for Corylus research. In the present study, we performed de novo transcriptome sequencing for the first time to produce a comprehensive database for the Corylus heterophylla Fisch floral buds. Results The C. heterophylla Fisch floral buds transcriptome was sequenced using the Illumina paired-end sequencing technology. We produced 28,930,890 raw reads and assembled them into 82,684 contigs. A total of 40,941 unigenes were identified, among which 30,549 were annotated in the NCBI Non-redundant (Nr) protein database and 18,581 were annotated in the Swiss-Prot database. Of these annotated unigenes, 25,311 and 10,514 unigenes were assigned to gene ontology (GO) categories and clusters of orthologous groups (COG), respectively. We could map 17,207 unigenes onto 128 pathways using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes Pathway (KEGG) database. Additionally, based on the transcriptome, we constructed a candidate cold tolerance gene set of C. heterophylla Fisch floral buds. The expression patterns of selected genes during four stages of cold acclimation suggested that these genes might be involved in different cold responsive stages in C. heterophylla Fisch floral buds. Conclusion The transcriptome of C. heterophylla Fisch floral buds was deep sequenced, de novo assembled, and annotated, providing abundant data to better understand the C. heterophylla Fisch floral buds transcriptome. Candidate genes potentially involved in cold tolerance were identified, providing a material basis for future molecular mechanism analysis of C. heterophylla Fisch floral buds tolerant to cold stress.