Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Earthquake Disaster based Efficient Resource Utilization Technique in IaaS Cloud

Cloud Computing is an emerging area. The main aim of the initial search-and-rescue period after strong earthquakes is to reduce the whole number of mortalities. One main trouble rising in this period is to and the greatest assignment of available resources to functioning zones. For this issue a dynamic optimization model is presented. The model uses thorough descriptions of the operational zones and of the available resources to determine the resource performance and efficiency for different workloads related to the response. A suitable solution method for the model is offered as well. In this paper, Earthquake Disaster Based Resource Scheduling (EDBRS) Framework has been proposed. The allocation of resources to cloud workloads based on urgency (emergency during Earthquake Disaster). Based on this criterion, the resource scheduling algorithm has been proposed. The performance of the proposed algorithm has been assessed with the existing common scheduling algorithms through the CloudSim. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms the existing algorithms by reducing execution cost and time of cloud consumer workloads submitted to the cloud.
X-Ray and Infrared Point Source Identification and Characteristics in the Embedded, Massive Star-Forming Region RCW 38

We report on results of a 96.7 ks Chandra observation of one of the youngest, most embedded, and most massive young stellar clusters studied in X-rays: RCW 38. We detect 460 sources in the field, of which 360 are confirmed to be associated with the RCW 38 cluster. The cluster members range in luminosity from 1030 to 1033.5 ergs s-1. Over 10% of the cluster members with over 100 counts exhibit flares, while about 15% of the cluster members with over 30 counts are variable. Of the sources identified as cluster members, 160 have near-infrared (NIR) counterparts either in the Two Micron All Sky Survey database or detected via Very Large Telescope observations. Of these, about 20% appear to have optically thick disks. An additional 353 members are identified through NIR observations, of which at least 50% possess optically thick disks. We fit over 100 X-ray sources as absorbed Raymond-Smith-type plasmas and find that the column to the cluster members varies from 1021.5 to 1023 cm-2. We compare the gas to dust absorption signatures in these stars and find NH = AV cm-2. We find that the cluster contains 31 candidate OB stars and is centered about 10″ (0.1 pc) west of the primary source of the ionization, the O5 star IRS 2. The cluster has a peak central density of about 400 X-ray sources pc-2. We estimate that the total cluster membership exceeds 2000 stars.
The Fraction of Ionizing Photons Escaping from High-Redshift Galaxies

Abstract The fraction (fesc) of ionizing photons that escape their host galaxy and so are able to ionize hydrogen in the intergalactic medium is a critical parameter in studies of the reionization era. In this paper we constrain fesc at high redshift by modelling the observed Lyα transmission. Using an N-body simulation of the cosmic web, we first model an ionizing background due to star-bursting galaxies. We then extract an ensemble of mock absorption spectra from the simulation and compute the mean transmission. We adjust the free parameter, fesc in our model of the ionizing background to reproduce the observed transmission. We find that fesc increases with the minimum galaxy mass considered to contribute to the ionizing background, and that at high redshift fesc must be greater than 5% irrespective of galaxy mass. Based on our numerical results we calibrate a semi-analytic model which shows that the ionizing background observed at z ∼ 5.5–6 implies a sufficient number of ionizing photons to have reionized the Universe by z ∼ 6. However, if the minimum mass for star-formation were ≳109 M⊙, the ionizing background would be over-produced at z ≲ 5. In summary, our results indicate that the Universe was reionized by low mass galaxies.
Managing Word Form Variation of Text Retrieval in Practice - why Five Character Truncation Takes it all?

This paper discusses different methods that have been used for management of word form variation in information retrieval during the history of textual information retrieval. The techniques have been characterized in many ways during the history of IR. We pinpoint the most meaningful features of the approaches and make comparisons that have practical value. In the discussion we characterize word form variation management methods in different ways and offer the reader an overall practical guide for choosing between different methods to be used.
A new method for robust far-distance road course estimation in advanced driver assistance systems

An advanced method for road course estimation is presented. It is based on the state-of-the-art Kalman filter lane detection and allows for a robust sensor-based estimation of road courses in great distances. Only the parameters for the road course are estimated which results in a reduced parameter space and therewith more robustness. Instead of laterally displaced single feature points tangential structures are used as measurements in the filter model. Therefore the method is translation-invariant and applicable for all continuous differentiable road course models. As shown with video and radar input examples it is also sensor-independent and particularly suitable for sensor fusion approaches. For accuracy estimations an advanced method based on inertial navigation is used which is independent of lateral movements of the host vehicle and the road model.
Branch Code: A Labeling Scheme for Efficient Query Answering on Trees

Labeling schemes lie at the core of query processing for many tree-structured data such as XML data that is flooding the web. A labeling scheme that can simultaneously and efficiently support various relationship queries on trees (such as parent/children, descendant/ancestor, etc.), computation of lowest common ancestors (LCA) and update of trees, is desired for effective and efficient management of tree-structured data. Although a variety of labeling schemes such as prefix-based labeling, interval-based labeling and prime-based labeling as well as their variants have been available to us for encoding static and dynamic trees, these labeling schemes usually show weakness in one aspect or another. In this paper, we propose an integer-based labeling scheme branch code as well as its compressed version as our major solution to simultaneously support efficient query processing on both static and dynamic ordered trees with affordable storage cost. The proposed branch code can answer common queries on ordered trees in constant time, which comes at the cost of consuming O(N log N) storage. To reduce storage cost to O(N), a compressed branch code is further developed. We also give a relationship determination algorithm purely using compressed branch code, which is of quite low possibility to produce false positive results as verified by experimental results. With the support of splay trees, branch code can also support dynamic trees so that updates and queries can be implemented with O(log N) amortized cost. All the results above are either theoretically proved or verified by experimental studies.
Integration of relational databases and Web site content for product and page recommendation

The World Wide Web is the most popular area to which information retrieval and recommending systems are applied. The majority of techniques uses the Web site content and usage as a source of data. Nevertheless, modern Websites cooperate with more structured relational databases which can successfully enrich traditional approaches. In This work a new technique integrating Web page content, site usage and relational textual and nontextual data in one coherent system is presented. The final goal is to recommend Web pages and products in an e-commerce site using unified data within the agent based ROSA system.
Inline updates for HMMs

Most training algorithms for HMMs assume that the whole batch of observation sequences is given ahead of time. This is particularly the case for the the standard EM algorithm. However, in many applications such as speech, the data is generated by a temporal process. Singer and Warmuth developed online updates for HMMs that process a single observation sequence in each update. In this paper we take this approach one step further and develop an inline update for training HMMs. Now the parameters are updated after processing a single symbol of the current observation sequence. The methodology for deriving the online and the new inline update is quite different from the standard EM motivation. We show experimentally on speech data that even when all observation sequences are available (batch mode), then the online update converges faster than the batch update, and the inline update converges even faster. The standard batch EM update exhibits the slowest
Please Scroll down for Article Connection Science beyond the Individual: New Insights on Language, Cognition and Robots beyond the Individual: New Insights on Language, Cognition and Robots

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Freezing thresholds and cirrus cloud formation mechanisms inferred from in situ measurements of relative humidity

Factors controlling the microphysical link between distributions of relative humidity above ice saturation in the upper troposphere and lowermost stratosphere and cirrus clouds are examined with the help of microphysical trajectory simulations. Our findings are related to results from aircraft measurements and global model studies. We suggest that the relative humidities at which ice crystals form in the atmosphere can be inferred from in situ measurements of water vapor and temperature close to, but outside of, cirrus clouds. The comparison with concomitant measurements performed inside cirrus clouds provides a clue to freezing mechanisms active in cirrus. The analysis of field data taken at northern and southern midlatitudes in fall 2000 reveals distinct differences in cirrus cloud freezing thresholds. Homogeneous freezing is found to be the most likely mechanism by which cirrus form at southern hemisphere midlatitudes. The results provide evidence for the existence of heterogeneous freezing in cirrus in parts of the polluted northern hemisphere, but do not suggest that cirrus clouds in this region form exclusively on heterogeneous ice nuclei, thereby emphasizing the crucial importance of homogeneous freezing. The key features of distributions of upper tropospheric relative humidity simulated by a global climate model are shown to be in general agreement with both, microphysical simulations and field observations, delineating a feasible method to include and validate ice supersaturation in other large-scale atmospheric models, in particular chemistry-transport and weather forecast models.
High prevalence of somatic symptoms in a semi-rural Chilean population and its association with depression and anxiety†

ABSTRACT Our purpose was to study the prevalence of mental disorders with an emphasis on somatic symptoms and their association with social support in a Chilean semi-rural area. We studied a sample of 796 adults born between 1974 and 1978 in Limache, Chile. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, the Patient Health Questionnaire-15 and the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Scale test were used to assess depression, anxiety, somatic symptoms and social support, respectively. We found that the prevalence of psychosomatic symptoms was 63.8% in women (most of them in the severe range) and 34.1% in men. The rates of depression and anxiety were 17.7 and 21.7%, respectively. Psychosomatic symptoms were strongly associated with depression (male OR:10.33, CI 95%:2.91–34.54; female OR:6.19, CI 95%:2.64–14.52) and anxiety (male OR:2.63, CI 95%:1.04–6.63; female OR:3.97, CI 95%:2.02–7.78). The association between psychosomatic symptoms and functional impairment was mainly due to symptoms of depression and anxiety. Mental disorders were inversely associated with social support. We conclude that psychosomatic symptoms were the norm, especially in women. Social support is marginally lower in those with a mental disorder, but still perceived as high. Physical complains in these communities are frequently the expression of depression and anxiety.
Using Example-Based MT to Support Statistical MT when Translating Homogeneous Data in a Resource-Poor Setting

In this paper, we address the issue of applying example-based machine translation (EBMT) methods to overcome some of the difficulties encountered with statistical machine translation (SMT) techniques. We adopt two different EBMT approaches and present an approach to augment output quality by strategically combining both EBMT approaches with the SMT system to handle issues arising from the use of SMT. We use these approaches for English to Turkish translation using the IWSLT09 dataset. Improved evaluation scores (4% relative BLEU improvement) were achieved when EBMT was used to translate sentences for which SMT failed to produce an adequate translation.
Adaptive Foreground and Shadow Detection in Image Sequences

This paper presents a novel method of foreground segmentation that distinguishes moving objects from their moving cast shadows in monocular image sequences. The models of background, edge information, and shadow are set up and adaptively updated. A Bayesian belief network is proposed to describe the relationships among the segmentation label, background, intensity, and edge information. The notion of Markov random field is used to encourage the spatial connectivity of the segmented regions. The solution is obtained by maximizing the posterior possibility density of the segmentation field.
Statistical KPIs in HMI panels

Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data and Data Analytics have become topics of interest in the Industrial Automation world. “Analytics for Industrial Automation” is significantly different from Analytics for Social Media and similar applications which can be generalized as “Analytics for IT”. Of late there are several products and solutions from automation solution providers to address analytic needs of manufacturing (discrete) and process (continuous) industries. However such solutions are primarily positioned in the Manufacturing Execution System (MES) and higher layers of the automation pyramid. Certain solutions are provided as a stand-alone tool which doesn't fit in traditional automation pyramid. This paper motivates the need for analytics solutions in the lower automation layers and proposes an analytics solution for calculating statistical Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in the Human Machine Interface (HMI) layer. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is used as a technique for KPI calculation. Experiment setup and results obtained using automation tools of Siemens are also provided.
TGFβ-Stimulated MicroRNA-21 Utilizes PTEN to Orchestrate AKT/mTORC1 Signaling for Mesangial Cell Hypertrophy and Matrix Expansion

Transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ) promotes glomerular hypertrophy and matrix expansion, leading to glomerulosclerosis. MicroRNAs are well suited to promote fibrosis because they can repress gene expression, which negatively regulate the fibrotic process. Recent cellular and animal studies have revealed enhanced expression of microRNA, miR-21, in renal cells in response to TGFβ. Specific miR-21 targets downstream of TGFβ receptor activation that control cell hypertrophy and matrix protein expression have not been studied. Using 3′UTR-driven luciferase reporter, we identified the tumor suppressor protein PTEN as a target of TGFβ-stimulated miR-21 in glomerular mesangial cells. Expression of miR-21 Sponge, which quenches endogenous miR-21 levels, reversed TGFβ-induced suppression of PTEN. Additionally, miR-21 Sponge inhibited TGFβ-stimulated phosphorylation of Akt kinase, resulting in attenuation of phosphorylation of its substrate GSK3β. Tuberin and PRAS40, two other Akt substrates, and endogenous inhibitors of mTORC1, regulate mesangial cell hypertrophy. Neutralization of endogenous miR-21 abrogated TGFβ-stimulated phosphorylation of tuberin and PRAS40, leading to inhibition of phosphorylation of S6 kinase, mTOR and 4EBP-1. Moreover, downregulation of miR-21 significantly suppressed TGFβ-induced protein synthesis and hypertrophy, which were reversed by siRNA-targeted inhibition of PTEN expression. Similarly, expression of constitutively active Akt kinase reversed the miR-21 Sponge-mediated inhibition of TGFβ-induced protein synthesis and hypertrophy. Furthermore, expression of constitutively active mTORC1 prevented the miR-21 Sponge-induced suppression of mesangial cell protein synthesis and hypertrophy by TGFβ. Finally, we show that miR-21 Sponge inhibited TGFβ-stimulated fibronectin and collagen expression. Suppression of PTEN expression and expression of both constitutively active Akt kinase and mTORC1 independently reversed this miR-21-mediated inhibition of TGFβ-induced fibronectin and collagen expression. Our results uncover an essential role of TGFβ-induced expression of miR-21, which targets PTEN to initiate a non-canonical signaling circuit involving Akt/mTORC1 axis for mesangial cell hypertrophy and matrix protein synthesis.
Deployable helical antennas for cubesats

This paper explores the behavior of a self-deploying helical pantograph antenna for CubeSats. The helical pantograph concept is described along with concepts for attachment to the satellite bus. Finite element folding simulations of a pantograph consisting of eight helices are presented and compared to compaction force experiments done on a prototype antenna. Reflection coefficient tests are also presented, demonstrating the operating frequency range of the prototype antenna. The helical pantograph is shown to be a promising alternative to current small satellite antenna solutions.
Hair Enhancement in Dermoscopic Images Using Dual-Channel Quaternion Tubularness Filters and MRF-Based Multilabel Optimization

Hair occlusion is one of the main challenges facing automatic lesion segmentation and feature extraction for skin cancer applications. We propose a novel method for simultaneously enhancing both light and dark hairs with variable widths, from dermoscopic images, without the prior knowledge of the hair color. We measure hair tubularness using a quaternion color curvature filter. We extract optimal hair features (tubularness, scale, and orientation) using Markov random field theory and multilabel optimization. We also develop a novel dual-channel matched filter to enhance hair pixels in the dermoscopic images while suppressing irrelevant skin pixels. We evaluate the hair enhancement capabilities of our method on hair-occluded images generated via our new hair simulation algorithm. Since hair enhancement is an intermediate step in a computer-aided diagnosis system for analyzing dermoscopic images, we validate our method and compare it to other methods by studying its effect on: 1) hair segmentation accuracy; 2) image inpainting quality; and 3) image classification accuracy. The validation results on 40 real clinical dermoscopic images and 94 synthetic data demonstrate that our approach outperforms competing hair enhancement methods.
Using a flexibility measure for network design space analysis of SDN and NFV

Flexibility is often claimed as a competitive advantage when proposing new network designs. However, most proposals provide only qualitative arguments for their improved support of flexibility. Quantitative arguments can quite vary among different proposals. A general understanding of flexibility is not yet clearly defined, leaving it to the reader to draw the right conclusions based on background information. The term flexibility is commonly defined as the ability to adapt to changes. For networks, flexibility would refer to the ability to adapt the available network resources, such as flows or topology, to changes of design requirements, e.g., shorter latency budgets or different traffic distributions. Recent concepts such as Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) have emerged to provide more flexibility in networks. Nevertheless, a deeper understanding of what flexibility means and how it could be quantified to compare different network designs remains open. In this paper, we propose a flexibility measure for network design space analysis and show its application. As it is quite challenging to formulate a flexibility measure that covers all network characteristics, we propose an initial set of flexibility aspects targeted to SDN and NFV. Moreover, we present the results of a detailed analysis of network function placement following either an SDN-based or an NFV-based approach. Our study reveals that in a logically centralized deployment scenario a mix of SDN and NFV provides the highest flexibility, with respect to our selected flexibility aspect.
Communicating Academic Achievement of Schools to Stakeholders: The Use of Weighted Average.

This paper examined the statistical approach adopted by schools to communicate their academic achievement to stakeholders. The paper looked at the most frequently adopted method, the use of percentage scores, and discussed the limitations of its usage. The paper also explored the use of the weighted average of scores and compared it to the use of percentage scores. Data from the West Africa Examinations Council and standardised test scores from a selected high school were used for the paper’s analyses and illustrations. The paper demonstrated that the weighted average of scores accounted for quality of grades obtained as well as the number of candidates presented by a school. The paper identified the use of weighted average of scores as a preferred option to percentage scores in communicating academic achievement to stakeholders.
Towards reduction of Paradigm coordination models

htmlabstractThe coordination modelling language Paradigm addresses collaboration between components in terms of dynamic constraints. Within a Paradigm model, component dynamics are consistently specified at a detailed and a global level of abstraction. To enable automated verification of Paradigm models, a translation of Paradigm into process algebra has been defined in previous work. In this paper we investigate, guided by a client-server example, reduction of Paradigm models based on a notion of global inertness. Representation of Paradigm models as process algebraic specifications helps to establish a property-preserving equivalence relation between the original and the reduced Paradigm model. Experiments indicate that in this way larger Paradigm models can be analyzed.