Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Using Colour Templates for Target Identification and Tracking

A surveillance system is presented which uses colour cues to track people moving in sparse crowd scenes. The erratic motion of the targets, together with their changeable outline, means that they are conventionally difficult to model. However, by examining the colours present in an object in a given frame of a sequence, and looking for these in a later frame, identification and tracking are achieved. The colours are transformed into a template space in which it is easy to match objects to those held in a database, so that even when a person is occluded or disappears totally from view they may be re-located as soon as they can be clearly seen again. A hierarchical approach to template storage and searching reduces the effort required to search through the database and ensures that the system is efficient even with a database containing the templates of hundreds of people. Since work is carried out on a moving sequence, the problems of changing object shape and maintaining colour constancy are minimised by allowing for small changes in these parameters between frames and by continually updating each object’s template.
New Approach to Delay-Dependent Stability Analysis and Stabilization for Continuous-Time Fuzzy Systems With Time-Varying Delay

This paper is concerned with delay-dependent stability analysis and stabilization problems for continuous-time Takagi and Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy systems with a time-varying delay. A new method for the delay-dependent stability analysis and stabilization is suggested, which is less conservative than other existing ones. First, based on a fuzzy Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional (LKF), a delay-dependent stability criterion is derived for the open-loop fuzzy systems. In the derivation process, some free fuzzy weighting matrices are introduced to express the relationships among the terms of the system equation, and among the terms in the Leibniz-Newton formula. Then, a delay-dependent stabilization condition based on the so-called parallel distributed compensation (PDC) scheme is worked out for the closed-loop fuzzy systems. The proposed stability criterion and stabilization condition are represented in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) and compared with the existing ones via two examples. Finally, application to control of a truck-trailer is also given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed design method.
Let's be a virtual juggler

Juggling, which uses both hands to keep several objects in the air at once, is admired by anyone who sees it. However, skillful real‐world juggling requires long, hard practice. Therefore, we propose an interesting method to enable anyone to juggle skillfully in the virtual world. In the real world, the human motion has to follow the motion of the moving objects; in the virtual world, the objects' motion can be adjusted together with the human motion. By using this freedom, we have generated a juggling avatar that can follow the user's motion. The user simply makes juggling‐like motions in front of a motion sensor. Our system then searches for juggling motions that closely match the user's motions and connects them smoothly. We then generate moving objects that both satisfy the laws of physics and are synchronized with the synthesized motion of the avatar. In this way, we can generate a variety of juggling animations by an avatar in real time. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Outcomes in infants listed for liver transplantation: A retrospective cohort study using the United Network for Organ Sharing database

LT in neonates and young infants can be challenging due to a variety of factors. To describe the waitlist mortality rates and outcomes of patients listed and transplanted as infants identified from the UNOS database. Infants listed for LT between January 1985 and September 2010 were identified from the UNOS database. Mortality on the waitlist as well as outcomes post‐LT was compared between infants aged ≤60 days (Group 1), 61–179 days (Group 2), and 180–364 days (Group 3). Of 6763 infants listed for LT (Group 1 n = 496, Group 2 n = 2404, Group 3 n = 3863), mean age at listing was 196 ± 87 days (Group 1, 29 ± 16 days; Group 2, 132 ± 32 days; Group 3, 257 ± 52 days). Waitlist mortality was highest in Group 1 (Group 1 vs. 3 HR 3.01, 95% CI 2.19–4.15, Group 2 vs. Group 3 HR 0.82, 95% CI 0.66–1.03). One‐ and five‐yr graft survival was 59.6% and 42% (Group 1), 66% and 45% (Group 2), and 66.8% and 41% (Group 3) (one‐yr survival p = 0.20; five‐yr survival p = 0.19). Infants listed for LT at age ≤60 days had greater waitlist mortality risk than older infants. Infants undergoing LT at age ≤60 days had similar rates of patient and graft survival to older infants.
Data Dictionaries: An Assessment of Current Practice and Problems

A critical assessment of the current usage of data dictionaries in typical installations reveals a large gulf between practice and promise. The situation is due both to the nature of the data dictionary packages which are commercially available, and to how they are being put to use. The major problem, however, is the lack of a unifying methodology which ties a data dictionary into the systems life cycle.
Modeling the sociological aspects of mobility in ad hoc networks

Many mobility models have been proposed for the simulation of mobile ad hoc networking applications. However, none of the existing models integrates the sociological dimension of user movement. The mobility of a mobile user is highly influenced by his relationships to other users and, thus, by the social network he is embedded in. Therefore, we propose a social mobility model that takes an arbitrarily shaped model of a social network and turns it into a simulation that reflects the relationships between users and their probability to interact. In this paper we motivate the need for social mobility models and we sketch the algorithm that creates the simulation1.
Design of the MUC-6 Evaluation

The sixth in a series of "Message Understanding Conferences", which are designed to promote and evaluate research in information extraction, was held last fall. MUC-6 introduced several innovations over prior MUCs, most notably in the range of different tasks for which evaluations were conducted. We describe the development of the "message understanding" task over the course of the prior MUCs, some of the motivations for the new format, and the steps which led up to the formal evaluation.
Protocols for asymmetric communication channels

In this paper we examine the problem of sending an n-bit data item from a client to a server across an asymmetric communication channel. We demonstrate that there are scenarios in which a high-speed link from the server to the client can be used to greatly reduce the number of bits sent from the client to the server across a slower link. In particular, we assume that the data item is drawn from a probability distribution D that is known to the server but not to the client. We present several protocols in which the expected number of bits transmitted by the server and client are O(n) and O(H(D)+1), respectively, where H(D) is the binary entropy of D (and can range from 0 to n). These protocols are within a small constant factor of optimal in terms of the number of bits sent by the client. The expected number of rounds of communication between the server and client in the simplest of our protocols is O(H(D)). We also give a protocol for which the expected number of rounds is only 0(1), but which requires more computational effort on the part of the server. A third technique provides a tradeoff between the computational effort and the number of rounds.
Epidemiology of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Bloodstream Infection: Secular Trends Over 19 Years at a University Hospital

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bloodstream infection (BSI) is a cause of concern in health systems all over the world, due to the high incidence rates and the associated undesirable outcomes. In our tertiary 900-bed university hospital, all episodes of MRSA-BSI have been prospectively followed up since the identification of the first episode in 1990. We conducted the current study to report changes in the epidemiology of MRSA-BSI over the 19-year period between 1990 and 2008, comparing 4 periods (1990-1994, 1995-1999, 2000-2004, and 2005-2008). Overall, 524 patients developed MRSA-BSI. Cumulative incidence was 10.0 episodes/100,000 patient days (range, 1.3-17.4). Although no trend in the incidence rate was observed between the 4 consecutive periods, significant upward trends in patient age and comorbidities, health care acquisition, and non-intravascular catheter source were all identified (p < 0.05). While the Iberian clone (ST247/SCCmecI) was dominant during the first and second periods, almost all the strains isolated in the subsequent periods belonged to Clonal Complex 5 (ST125/SCCmecIV and ST228/SCCmecI). A significant downward trend in vancomycin geometric minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was also observed from 2.04 mg/L to 0.88 mg/L, coinciding with the clonal replacement and the reduction in the hospital vancomycin prescription. Therefore, no MRSA vancomycin MIC creep was observed since higher MICs were associated with strains belonging to the Iberian clone. Glycopeptides were the most frequently used antibiotics for MRSA-BSI during all 4 periods. No differences in MRSA-BSI outcomes were found, and the mortality rate at 30 days was close to 29% in each of the 4 periods.In conclusion, we identified significant changes in demographic and clinical characteristics and in the molecular epidemiology of MRSA-BSI during the study period, but found no significant trends in cumulative incidence or in overall mortality rate.Abbreviations: BSI = bloodstream infection, CLSI = Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute, EARSS = European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System, hVISA = heterogeneous vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus, ICU = intensive care unit, MIC = minimum inhibitory concentration, MRSA = methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, MSSA = methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus, NCCLS = National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards, PFGE = pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, RP = resistance pattern, SCCmec = staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec, ST = multilocus sequence typing.
Vector quantisation based image enhancement

We present a new algorithm for rescaling images inspired by fractal coding. It uses a statistical model of the relationship between detail at different scales of the image to interpolate detail at one octave above the highest spatial frequency in the original image. We compare it with Bspline and bilinear interpolation techniques and show that it yields a sharper looking rescaled image.
First-principles study of the structural and elastic properties of AuxV1–x and AuxNb1–x alloys

Abstract Ab initio total energy calculations, based on the Exact Muffin-Tin Orbitals (EMTO) method in combination with the coherent potential approximation (CPA), are used to calculate the total energy of AuxV1–x and AuxNb1–x random alloys along the Bain path that connects the body-centred cubic (bcc) and face-centred cubic (fcc) structures as a function of composition x (0 ≤ x ≤ 1). The equilibrium Wigner–Seitz radius and the elastic properties of both systems are determined as a function of composition. Our theoretical prediction in case of pure elements (x = 0 or x = 1) are in good agreement with the available experimental data. For the Au–V system, the equilibrium Wigner–Seitz radius increase as x increases, while for the Au–Nb system, the equilibrium Wigner–Seitz radius is almost constant. The bulk modulus B and C44 for both alloys exhibit nearly parabolic trend. On the other hand, the tetragonal shear elastic constant C′ decreases as x increases and correlates reasonably well with the structural energy difference between fcc and bcc structures. Our results offer a consistent starting point for further theoretical and experimental studies of the elastic and micromechanical properties of Au–V and Au–Nb systems.
Floor Diaphragm In-Plane Modelling Using Elastic Truss Elements

Different methods to model building floor diaphragm in-plane stiffness with truss elements are compared to identify the method most suitable for analysis in design. The methods considered include (i) an elastic diagonal truss element model, and (ii) an elastic diamond truss element model. The truss elements were placed in square blocks and are compared with FEM in terms of stiffness and capturing beam axial forces. It was found that diagonal model transferred some part of diaphragm force directly to the column. The diamond framework superior because it was less sensitive to mesh size, gives a more accurate stiffness with a lower number of elements and a more accurate beam axial force. Furthermore, it better provides information in a better format for design.
Self-reported depressive syndromes in mild cognitive impairment and mild Alzheimer's disease

ABSTRACT Background: There is suggestion that self-reported depressive syndromes can independently manifest in the general population as cognitive/affective or somatic/vegetative. The Beck Depression Inventory, 2nd edition (BDI-II), a self-report measure of depressive symptoms, has been shown to support this two-factor structure. However, this finding has not been examined in an older adult sample with cognitive impairment. In order to determine whether older adults with cognitive impairments exhibit similarly independent cognitive/affective and somatic/vegetative depressive syndromes, we explored the factor structure of the BDI-II in this population. Methods: Participants were 228 older adults (mean age = 74, SD = 7.9) diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI; n = 137) or early Alzheimer's disease (n = 85), who completed the BDI-II as part of an outpatient neuropsychological evaluation. Exploratory principal component factor analysis with direct Oblimin rotation was conducted, and a two-factor solution was specified based on our theoretical conceptualization of the cognitive/affective and somatic/vegetative items from the scale. Results: The first factor represented cognitive/affective symptoms of depression (e.g. self-dislike, pessimism, worthlessness), and accounted for 36% of the variance. Adding the second factor, reflecting somatic/vegetative items (e.g. sleep and appetite changes, loss of energy), accounted for an additional 6.8% of the variance. Conclusion: Results supported the presence of two distinct depressive syndromes, cognitive/affective and somatic/vegetative symptoms. Thus, cognitively impaired older adults report mood symptoms relatively similarly to younger and midlife adults. This supports the validity of self-reported mood in this group, and the results may have implications for psychiatric treatment in this population.
CRISPR/Cas9: A Practical Approach in Date Palm Genome Editing

The genetic modifications through breeding of crop plants have long been used to improve the yield and quality. However, precise genome editing (GE) could be a very useful supplementary tool for improvement of crop plants by targeted genome modifications. Various GE techniques including ZFNs (zinc finger nucleases), TALENs (transcription activator-like effector nucleases), and most recently clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9 (CRISPR-associated protein 9)-based approaches have been successfully employed for various crop plants including fruit trees. CRISPR/Cas9-based approaches hold great potential in GE due to their simplicity, competency, and versatility over other GE techniques. However, to the best of our knowledge no such genetic improvement has ever been developed in date palm—an important fruit crop in Oasis agriculture. The applications of CRISPR/Cas9 can be a challenging task in date palm GE due to its large and complex genome, high rate of heterozygosity and outcrossing, in vitro regeneration and screening of mutants, high frequency of single-nucleotide polymorphism in the genome and ultimately genetic instability. In this review, we addressed the potential application of CRISPR/Cas9-based approaches in date palm GE to improve the sustainable date palm production. The availability of the date palm whole genome sequence has made it feasible to use CRISPR/Cas9 GE approach for genetic improvement in this species. Moreover, the future prospects of GE application in date palm are also addressed in this review.
Sensing Human Activity: GPS Tracking

The enhancement of GPS technology enables the use of GPS devices not only as navigation and orientation tools, but also as instruments used to capture travelled routes: as sensors that measure activity on a city scale or the regional scale. TU Delft developed a process and database architecture for collecting data on pedestrian movement in three European city centres, Norwich, Rouen and Koblenz, and in another experiment for collecting activity data of 13 families in Almere (The Netherlands) for one week. The question posed in this paper is: what is the value of GPS as ‘sensor technology’ measuring activities of people? The conclusion is that GPS offers a widely useable instrument to collect invaluable spatial-temporal data on different scales and in different settings adding new layers of knowledge to urban studies, but the use of GPS-technology and deployment of GPS-devices still offers significant challenges for future research.
MULTI-SCALE REVERSE-TIME-MIGRATION BASED INVERSE SCATTERING USING THE DYADIC PARABOLIC DECOMPOSITION OF PHASE SPACE

We develop a representation of reverse time migration in terms of Fourier integral operators the canonical relations of which are graphs. Through the dyadic parabolic decomposition of phase space, we obtain the solution of the wave equation with a boundary source and homogeneous initial conditions using wave packets. On this basis, we develop a numerical procedure for the reverse time continuation from the boundary of scattering data and for RTM migration. The algorithms are derived from those we recently developed for the discrete approximate evaluation of the action of Fourier integral operators and inherit from their conceptual and numerical properties.
Outcome of Clinical Trials with New Extended Half-Life FVIII/IX Concentrates

The development of a new generation of coagulation factors with improved pharmacokinetic profile will change the paradigm of treatment of persons with hemophilia (PWH). The standard treatment in PWH is represented by regular long-term prophylaxis that, given intravenously twice or thrice weekly, is associated with a not-negligible burden on patients’ quality of life. The availability of drugs with improved pharmacokinetic profile may improve prophylaxis feasibility and protection against bleeding episodes. This article summarizes the main results obtained from clinical trials with modified factor VIII (FVIII) and factor IX (FIX) molecules. Published literature on new molecules for replacement treatment in hemophilia A and B was retrieved using PubMed search, and all ongoing clinical trials have been researched via www.clinicaltrials. gov. Such new molecules are usually engineered to have a longer plasma half-life than that which has been obtained by chemical modification (i.e., conjugation with polyethylene glycol, PEG) or by creating recombinant fusion proteins. Results from phase I/III studies in previously treated adults and children are now available for the vast majority of new products, including the results of their use in a surgical setting. On the contrary, trials involving previously untreated patients are still ongoing for all and results not yet available.
Competitive spectrum sharing in cognitive radio networks: a dynamic game approach

"Cognitive radio" is an emerging technique to improve the utilization of radio frequency spectrum in wireless networks. In this paper, we consider the problem of spectrum sharing among a primary user and multiple secondary users. We formulate this problem as an oligopoly market competition and use a noncooperative game to obtain the spectrum allocation for secondary users. Nash equilibrium is considered as the solution of this game. We first present the formulation of a static game for the case where all secondary users have the current information of the adopted strategies and the payoff of each other. However, this assumption may not be realistic in some cognitive radio systems. Therefore, we consider the case of bounded rationality in which the secondary users gradually and iteratively adjust their strategies based on the observations on their previous strategies. The speed of adjustment of the strategies is controlled by the learning rate. The stability condition of the dynamic behavior for this spectrum sharing scheme is investigated. The numerical results reveal the dynamics of distributed dynamic adaptation of spectrum sharing strategies.
Analyzing Email Patterns with Timelines on Researcher Data

This paper proposes a procedure that easily extracts a feature that helps differentiate between similar researcher names in articles. We examined email patterns and their timelines to identify researchers. Our statistical analysis results show multiple email address usage patterns are found in the case of approximately 43% researchers, and 5% of the patterns are overlapped. Base on the statistics, we conclude that the identification of researchers is still required to enhance performance of the researcher-centric analytics systems and applications.
Refining User and Item Profiles based on Multidimensional Data for Top-N Item Recommendation

In recommender systems based on multidimensional data, additional metadata provides algorithms with more information for better understanding the interaction between users and items. However, most of the profiling approaches in neighbourhood-based recommendation approaches for multidimensional data merely split or project the dimensional data and lack the consideration of latent interaction between the dimensions of the data. In this paper, we propose a novel user/item profiling approach for Collaborative Filtering (CF) item recommendation on multidimensional data. We further present incremental profiling method for updating the profiles. For item recommendation, we seek to delve into different types of relations in data to understand the interaction between users and items more fully, and propose three multidimensional CF recommendation approaches for top-N item recommendations based on the proposed user/item profiles. The proposed multidimensional CF approaches are capable of incorporating not only localized relations of user-user and/or item-item neighbourhoods but also latent interaction between all dimensions of the data. Experimental results show significant improvements in terms of recommendation accuracy.