Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Combining Statistical Hough Transform and Particle Filter for robust lane detection and tracking

Lane detection and tracking is still a challenging task. Here, we combine the recently introduced Statistical Hough transform (SHT) with a Particle Filter (PF) and show its application for robust lane tracking. SHT improves the standard Hough transform (HT) which was shown to work well for lane detection. We use the local descriptors of the SHT as measurement for the PF, and show how a new three kernel density based observation model can be modeled based on the SHT and used with the PF. The application of the former becomes feasible by the reduced computations achieved with the tracking algorithm. We demonstrate the use of the resulting algorithm for lane detection and tracking by applying it to images freed from the perspective effect achieved by applying Inverse Perspective Mapping (IPM). The presented results show the robustness of the presented algorithm.
An Alien in the Group: Eusocial Male Bees Sharing Nonspecific Reproductive Aggregations

Sexual selection predicts that individuals competing for access to sexual partners should maximize their chances of mating by looking for sites where the chances of finding partners are more likely to occur. However, males of stingless bees have been observed sharing nonspecific reproductive aggregations. This uncommon behavior appears to confer no obvious increase of individual fitness. It has been suggested that this reproductive strategy is due to the similarity between male odors common to different stingless bee species. Cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) are candidate odors of interest because their nonvolatile pheromone nature allows them to play an important role in sexual behavior and species recognition. Here, we review the literature to evaluate whether any phylogenetic patterns exist among male stingless bees that aggregate with closely or distantly related species. We also compared the CHC profiles of males of Neotropical stingless bee species (Plebeia sp. Schwarz, Trigona spinipes (F.), Tetragona clavipes (F.), Nannotrigona testaceicornis (Lepeletier), Scaptotrigona aff. depilis (Moure), Tetragonisca angustula (Latreille), and Melipona subnitida (Ducke) to reveal any chemical similarities among their male odors. We found males of 21 stingless bee species involved in interspecific interactions mainly from Neotropical and Indo-Malayan/Australasian regions. Alien males did not necessarily visit host aggregations of closely related species. Furthermore, the CHC profiles of different studied species were very distinct from each other and do not overlapped at all. It is unclear yet why this apparently nonadaptive behavior carried out by some stingless bee males.
Genome-Wide Association Studies Identify Two Novel BMP15 Mutations Responsible for an Atypical Hyperprolificacy Phenotype in Sheep

Some sheep breeds are naturally prolific, and they are very informative for the studies of reproductive genetics and physiology. Major genes increasing litter size (LS) and ovulation rate (OR) were suspected in the French Grivette and the Polish Olkuska sheep populations, respectively. To identify genetic variants responsible for the highly prolific phenotype in these two breeds, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) followed by complementary genetic and functional analyses were performed. Highly prolific ewes (cases) and normal prolific ewes (controls) from each breed were genotyped using the Illumina OvineSNP50 Genotyping Beadchip. In both populations, an X chromosome region, close to the BMP15 gene, harbored clusters of markers with suggestive evidence of association at significance levels between 1E−05 and 1E−07. The BMP15 candidate gene was then sequenced, and two novel non-conservative mutations called FecXGr and FecXO were identified in the Grivette and Olkuska breeds, respectively. The two mutations were associated with the highly prolific phenotype (pFecXGr = 5.98E−06 and pFecXO = 2.55E−08). Homozygous ewes for the mutated allele showed a significantly increased prolificacy (FecXGr/FecXGr, LS = 2.50±0.65 versus FecX+/FecXGr, LS = 1.93±0.42, p<1E−03 and FecXO/FecXO, OR = 3.28±0.85 versus FecX+/FecXO, OR = 2.02±0.47, p<1E−03). Both mutations are located in very well conserved motifs of the protein and altered the BMP15 signaling activity in vitro using a BMP-responsive luciferase test in COV434 granulosa cells. Thus, we have identified two novel mutations in the BMP15 gene associated with increased LS and OR. Notably, homozygous FecXGr/FecXGr Grivette and homozygous FecXO/FecXO Olkuska ewes are hyperprolific in striking contrast with the sterility exhibited by all other known homozygous BMP15 mutations. Our results bring new insights into the key role played by the BMP15 protein in ovarian function and could contribute to a better understanding of the pathogenesis of women′s fertility disorders.
Lambda-Min Decoding Algorithm of Regular and Irregular LDPC Codes

In this paper, the decoding of lowdensity parity-check (LDPC) codes is considered. A new algorithm, named λ−Min algorithm, for updating extrinsic information is proposed. The λ−Min algorithm offers different trade-off performance versus complexity between the belief propagation (BP) algorithm (optimal but complex) and the universal most powerful (UMP) BP-based algorithm (simple but leading to significant performance degradation in some cases). Hardware implementation of the λ−Min algorithm in a serial mode is also discussed. A reduction of up to 75 % of the extrinsic memory information can be obtained with high rate LDPC codes without any significant degradation in performance.
Analysis of Recommender Systems’ Algorithms

— In this work, we will provide a brief review of diﬀerent recommender systems’ algorithms, which have been proposed in the recent literature. First, we will present the basic recommender systems’ challenges and problems. Then, we will give an overview of association rules, memory-based, model-based and hybrid recommendation algorithms. Finally, evaluation metrics to measure the performance of those systems will be discussed.
A batch/recursive algorithm for 3D scene reconstruction

We present a new formulation of sequential least-squares applied to scene and motion reconstruction from image features. We argue that recursive techniques will become more important both for real-time control applications and also interactive vision applications. The aim is to approximate as well as possible the result of the batch bundle adjustment method. In previously published work we described an algorithm which works well if the same features are visible throughout the sequence. Here we show how to deal with new features in a way that avoids deterioration of the results. The main theoretical advance here is showing how to adjust the system information matrix when scene/camera parameters are removed from the reconstruction. We show how this procedure affects the sparseness of the information matrix, and thus how to achieve an efficient recursive solution to the reconstruction problem.
The discriminant value of semiquantitative SPECT data in mild Alzheimer's disease.

UNLABELLED In most semiquantitative SPECT studies, overlap between groups of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and age-matched elderly controls is such that single posterior cortical perfusion measurements lack sensitivity. In the present study, the value of a combination of semiquantitative temporoparietal SPECT parameters was examined. METHODS Supratentorial transaxial perfusion measurements were obtained in frontal, anterior temporal, posterior temporoparietal and occipital cortical areas in both hemispheres, in a baseline population of 10 healthy elderly controls and 30 mild to moderately impaired AD patients, as well as in a prospective group of 15 patients with mild cognitive impairment, 12 patients with a diagnosis of probable AD and individual cases of multi-infarct dementia, dementia-frontal type and paranoid psychosis. A linear discriminant function (LDF) was calculated from the baseline subjects' data to classify control and AD subjects individually. RESULTS Highly significant hypoperfusion was noted in both the anterior temporal and posterior temporoparietal regions of interest in the AD group compared with controls, but with significant overlap. Using an LDF incorporating these perfusion measurements in both hemispheres, 10/10 (100%) controls and 26/30 (87%) AD baseline subjects were correctly classified. Using the baseline LDF in the prospective 15 mildly impaired cases, 11/12 new mild AD cases and none of the 3 non-AD cases were classified in the AD group. CONCLUSION These results support the use of a combination of semiquantitative SPECT perfusion estimates from cortical areas with predictable pathological involvement in AD in a linear discriminant format in the clinical assessment of patients with suspected AD.
ON INTER-SIGNAL TRANSPLANTATION OF VOICE CHARACTERISTICS Werner Verhelst

In this paper we study the concept of inter-signal transplantation of voice characteristics. We describe several example transplantation systems that were used to interchange selected features of the human voice amongst different utterances of a same text by a same or by different speakers. All systems are based on time-domain overlap-add (OLA) algorithms that allow high-quality prosodic modifications of speech and they all use dynamic time warping (DTW) for proper time alignment of the transplanted features. Based on these example implementations, the capabilities and the limitations of the transplantation concept are explored. Examples of successfully transplanted features are the timing and prosody of spoken and sung human voices. Possible application areas for such transplantation systems include postsynchronization in film and video industries and copying of an artist’s singing performance (‘super-karaoke’).
Quantum interfaces

Rational agents acting as observers use ``knowables'' to construct a vision of the outside world. Thereby, they are bound by the information exchanged with what they consider to be objects. The cartesian cut or, in modern terminology, the interface mediating this exchange, is again a construction. It serves as a ``scaffolding,'' an intermediate construction capable of providing the necessary conceptual means. An attempt is made to formalize the interface, in particular the quantum interface and quantum measurements, by a symbolic information exchange. A principle of conservation of information is reviewed and a measure of information flux through the interface is proposed.
Modular software architecture for teams of cooperating, heterogeneous robots

For teams of cooperating autonomous lightweight robots with challenging dynamical locomotion properties a platform independent modular software architecture and platform independent modules for sensor data processing, planning and motion control have been developed. The software architecture allows high level communication between modules on different abstraction levels of the control architecture within one robot system as well as communication between different and heterogeneous robots and computers using wireless network. Very different behavior control paradigms may be realized on the basis of the developed architecture. The application to teams of cooperating small and medium size humanoid robots is investigated in this paper. Scenarios for inter robot communication and cooperative task accomplishment are described.
IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and Security

Members of a criminal organization, who hold central positions in the organization, are usually targeted by criminal investigators for removal or surveillance. This is because they play key and influential roles by acting as commanders who issue instructions or serve as gatekeepers. Removing these central members (i.e., influential members) is most likely to disrupt the organization and put it out of business. Most often, criminal investigators are even more interested in knowing the portion of these influential members, who are the immediate leaders of lower-level criminals. These lower-level criminals are the ones who usually carry out the criminal works; therefore, they are easier to identify. The ultimate goal of investigators is to identify the immediate leaders of these lower-level criminals in order to disrupt future crimes. We propose in this paper a forensic analysis system called SIIMCO that can identify the influential members of a criminal organization. Given a list of lower-level criminals in a criminal organization, SIIMCO can also identify the immediate leaders of these criminals. SIIMCO first constructs a network representing a criminal organization from either Mobile Communication Data that belongs to the organization or from crime incident reports. It adopts the concept space approach to automatically construct a network from crime incident reports. In such a network, a vertex represents an individual criminal and a link represents the relationship between two criminals. SIIMCO employs formulas that quantify the degree of influence/importance of each vertex in the network relative to all other vertices. We present these formulas through a series of refinements. All the formulas incorporate novel-weighting schemes for the edges of networks. We evaluated the quality of SIIMCO by comparing it experimentally with two other systems. Results showed marked improvement.
A scalable mining of frequent quadratic concepts in d-folksonomies

Folksonomy mining is grasping the interest of web 2.0 community since it represents the core data of social resource sharing systems. However, a scrutiny of the related works interested in mining folksonomies unveils that the time stamp dimension has not been considered. For example, the wealthy number of works dedicated to mining tri-concepts from folksonomies did not take into account time dimension. In this paper, we will consider a folksonomy commonly composed of triples and we shall consider the time as a new dimension. We motivate our approach by highlighting the battery of potential applications. Then, we present the foundations for mining quadri-concepts, provide a formal definition of the problem and introduce a new efficient algorithm, called QUADRICONS for its solution to allow for mining folksonomies in time, i.e., d-folksonomies. We also introduce a new closure operator that splits the induced search space into equivalence classes whose smallest elements are the quadri-minimal generators. Carried out experiments on large-scale real-world datasets highlight good performances of our algorithm.
Early executive function: The influence of culture and bilingualism

Evidence suggests that cultural experiences and learning multiple languages have measurable effects on children's development of executive function (EF). However, the precise impact of how bilingualism and culture contribute to observed effects remains inconclusive. The present study aims to investigate how these factors shape the development of early EF constructs longitudinally, between monolingual and bilingual children at ages 3, 3½ and 4 years, with a set of EF tasks that are uniquely relevant to the effects of bilingualism and cultural practices. We hypothesize that the effects of bilingualism and cultural backgrounds (i.e., Eastern) are based on different, though related, cognitive control processes associated with different EF constructs. Results revealed a significant bilingualism effect on cognitive control processes measuring selective attention, switching, and inhibition; while an effect of culture was most pronounced on behavioral regulation/response inhibition. Contributions of bilingualism and cultural experiences on individual EF constructs across development are discussed.
A simulation of Intelligent Power Module under power cycling condition

This paper focuses on the performance of IPM (Intelligent Power Module) under power cycling test which is simulated by a FEA (Finite Element Analysis) method. Through the method of control variables some key parameters about the module's thermal and structure properties can be obtained. The key parameters in the calculation include power dissipation of silicon chip, cycle period, different materials of ceramic substrate and solder layer thickness. A series of factors are adopted in the simulation to evaluate the influence of power cycling test on IPM. The disciplinary conclusion can be a suggestion for package design.
Managing P2P services via the IMS

The key aim of our work was to illustrate the benefits and means to deploy P2P services via the IMS. Having demonstrated the technical viability of P2P-IMS we have also found a way to add a new management dimension to existing P2P systems. P2P-IMS comes with a natural "data management" mechanism, addressing the DRM problem which is still a major hurdle in existing P2P platforms. In P2P-IMS, the IMS manages user registration, authentication, and authorisation, as well as monitoring, charging and billing. The immediate benefit is that P2P-IMS can be used as a building block to deploy managed secure group communication services. By contrast to existing P2P systems, in P2P-IMS group members are authenticated securely. In this way it is possible to manage authorisation policies in P2P communication and data exchange.
Graduate Nurses Experience the Sacred During Transcendental Meditation®*

This qualitative study enhances understanding of lived experiences of graduate nursing students practicing Transcendental Meditation (TM). Findings are viewed through the lens of Perkins’ (2004 2018, in production) perspective of emerging consciousness as found in Unitary Caring Science (Watson, 2012). A. Giorgi’s (2009) descriptive phenomenological method was used to examine journals kept by participants for four months following the introduction of TM. When practicing this simple technique, students found themselves authentically present and balanced with enhanced job performance. Feelings of bliss, peacefulness, and integrity potentiated the experience of sacred space amid daily stressors while care, compassion, grace, gratitude, and appreciation resided within.
Role of fascin in fi lopodial protrusion

Cells generate two major types of actin-based protrusive organelles, lamellipodia and fi lopodia. Sheetlike lamellipodia contain a branched actin network (Svitkina and Borisy, 1999) and are thought to be the major engine for cell locomotion. Spikelike fi lopodia are thought to be the cell’s sensory and guiding organelles, which function to explore the local environment and form cell–substratum or cell–cell interactions (Ridley et al., 2003). Filopodia contain actin fi laments that are organized into parallel bundles (Small, 1988; Lewis and Bridgman, 1992; Small et al., 2002). The proximal part of the bundle is usually embedded in the lamellipodial network, whereas the distal part of the bundle may or may not protrude beyond the leading edge. Nonprotruding fi lopodia are also called microspikes (or ribs), but, as we documented, microspikes and protruding fi lopodia are mechanistically related (Svitkina et al., 2003). Therefore, throughout this paper, we do not distinguish protruding and nonprotruding structures and collectively call them fi lopodia. Based on our recent kinetic and structural investigation, we proposed the convergent elongation mechanism for fi lopodial initiation by reorganization of the lamellipodial dendritic network (Svitkina et al., 2003). The fi rst step in the process is the association of processively elongating actin fi laments at their barbed ends that leads to the formation of the so-called Λ-precursors. Subsequently, these self-segregated fi laments are bundled to make mature fi lopodia. Formation of fi lopodia-like bundles by a similar mechanism was reconstituted in vitro using cytoplasmic extracts or pure proteins (Vignjevic et al., 2003). Crosslinking of actin fi laments is proposed to be a critical step in fi lopodia protrusion because individual long actin fi laments lack the stiffness required to effi ciently push the membrane (Mogilner and Oster, 1996; Mogilner and Rubinstein, 2005). The leading candidate for fi lament bundling in fi lopodia is fascin, which is a 55-kD monomeric protein that cross-links actin fi laments in vitro into unipolar and tightly packed bundles (Bryan and Kane, 1978; Yamashiro-Matsumura and Matsumura, 1985). In various cells, fascin localizes to fi lopodial bundles (Yamashiro-Matsumura and Matsumura, 1986; Sasaki et al., 1996; Yamashiro et al., 1998; Cohan et al., 2001; Kureishy et al., 2002; Svitkina et al., 2003) and is highly expressed in specialized cells that are particularly rich in fi lopodia, such as neurons and mature dendritic cells, as well as in many transformed cells (Kureishy et al., 2002; Hashimoto et al., 2005). Formation of fi lopodia-like bundles in vitro was also dependent on fascin (Vignjevic et al., 2003). However, additional actin cross-linking proteins, including α-actinin, espin, fi mbrin, and villin, are involved in the formation Role of fascin in fi lopodial protrusion
Thermistor based nano-needle for single cell thermal characterization

Cell's intracellular temperature has shown to have a vital role in controlling a cell's conditions, properties, activities, and the cell response towards external stimuli. Yet, Current conventional methods are not able to give accurate or any measurements when spatial resolution decreases to a micro scale. Many researches from different field are trying to develop ways that give high accuracy and high temperature sensitivity. We present here a Nano-needle microfluidic system for single cell temperature measurement; however, here we discussed the optimization using finite element approach of the sensor design using tungsten as the electrodes, and semiconducting metal oxide Co3O4 as the sensing material. The dimension of the sensor that gave the highest voltage thus highest sensitivity were ratio 1:4 of element diameter/electrode cross sectional area, a gap of 450nm between electrodes and a penetration depth of 0.25 in electrode 0.25nm. Furthermore, Voltage response gave results to measure a 0.1°C.
Character formulas and partition functions in higher dimensional conformal field theory

A discussion of character formulas for positive energy, unitary irreducible representations of the conformal group is given, employing Verma modules and Weyl group reflections. Product formulas for various conformal group representations are found. These include generalizations of those found by Flato and Fronsdal for SO(3,2). In even dimensions the products for free representations split into two types depending on whether the dimension is divisible by four or not.
Realization of OFDM Modulator and Demodulator for DSRC Vehicular Communication System Using FPGA Chip

Following the DSRC vehicular communications IEEE802.11p physical layer standards, this paper presents the required computing time estimations of baseband processing modules on the DSP platform and uses this estimation to explain the decision of choosing to implement the 64 point IFFT/FFT module with the FPGA chip. The IFFT/FFT processing time of OFDM modulator/demodulator circuits in applications of DSRC vehicular communication system transceivers must be less than the symbol interval of 8 musec in order to satisfy the requirement of real-time DSRC communications. The 64-IFFT/FFT processing module presented in this paper uses a parallel processing structure of four butterfly circuit units, is capable of processing 16-bit digital signals, and completes 64-IFFT/FFT calculations in 5.33 musec (< 8 musec) with a 24 MHz FPGA chip. Ten short training symbols of the DSRC system are sent through the FPGA IFFT/FFT module to verify its functionality and performance