Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PHASE CORRELATION BASED LOCAL ILLUMINATION-INVARIANT METHOD FOR MULTI-TEMPRO REMOTE SENSING IMAGE MATCHING

Abstract. This paper aims at image matching under significantly different illumination conditions, especially illumination angle changes, without prior knowledge of lighting conditions. We investigated the illumination impact on Phase Correlation (PC) matrix by mathematical derivation and from which, we decomposed PC matrix as the multiplication product of the illumination impact matrix and the translation matrix. Thus the robustness to illumination variation of the widely used Absolute Dirichlet Curve-fitting (AD-CF) algorithm for pixel-wise disparity estimation is proved. Further, an improved PC matching algorithm is proposed: Absolute Dirichlet SVD (AD-SVD), to achieve illumination invariant image alignment. Experiments of matching DEM simulated terrain shading images under very different illumination angles demonstrated that AD-SVD achieved 1/20 pixels accuracy for image alignment and it is nearly entirely invariant to daily and seasonal solar position variation. The AD-CF algorithm was tested for generating disparity map from multi-illumination angle stereo pairs and the results demonstrated high fidelity to the original DEM and the Normalised Correlation Coefficient (NCC) between the two is 0.96.
Changing Routine: Reframing Performance Management within a Multinational

This paper seeks to extend the literature on how change occurs in organizational routines by examining the link between routines and schemata and showing the cognitive and motivational factors involved. Using an in-depth analysis of a Japanese multinational, we develop an account of how a newly-implemented centralized performance management routine is interpreted by managers at two subsidiaries. We show how different performances of subroutines emerge into a new ostensive pattern of a routine, and how the cognitive and motivational aspects of individual agency are manifested in this process and how they affect the espoused organizational schema.
Eligibility of Historically Underrepresented Students Referred for Gifted Education in a Rural School District: A Case Study

This case study describes a rural school district's efforts to identify historically underrepresented gifted students (HUGS) more effectively than in the past. The district developed new policy; disseminated the policy with lists of characteristics of HUGS; provided a workshop for first-grade teachers to encourage early referrals; and provided alternative tests to students who were referred for evaluation and who scored at least one standard deviation above the mean on an individually administered comprehensive intelligence test, but who did not score high enough to qualify for placement according to state regulations. Of the historically underrepresented children referred for testing, 29% qualified for placement in the gifted program. The county's efforts appeared to increase placement of HUGS; however, the new policy excluded some HUGS who would have been identified under the old policy. Consequently, the county made a decision to combine elements of the new and old policies.
Diagnostic transitions in mild cognitive impairment subtypes

ABSTRACT Background: At least for a subset of patients, the clinical diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) may represent an intermediate stage between normal aging and dementia. Nevertheless, the patterns of transition of cognitive states between normal cognitive aging and MCI to dementia are not well established. In this study we address the pattern of transitions between cognitive states in patients with MCI and healthy controls, prior to the conversion to dementia. Methods: 139 subjects (78% women, mean age, 68.5 ± 6.1 years; mean educational level, 11.7 ± 5.4 years) were consecutively assessed in a memory clinic with a standardized clinical and neuropsychological protocol, and classified as cognitively healthy (normal controls) or with MCI (including subtypes) at baseline. These subjects underwent annual reassessments (mean duration of follow-up: 2.7 ± 1.1 years), in which cognitive state was ascertained independently of prior diagnoses. The pattern of transitions of the cognitive state was determined by Markov chain analysis. Results: The transitions from one cognitive state to another varied substantially between MCI subtypes. Single-domain MCI (amnestic and non-amnestic) more frequently returned to normal cognitive state upon follow-up (22.5% and 21%, respectively). Among subjects who progressed to Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common diagnosis immediately prior conversion was multiple-domain MCI (85%). Conclusion: The clinical diagnosis of MCI and its subtypes yields groups of patients with heterogeneous patterns of transitions between one given cognitive state to another. The presence of more severe and widespread cognitive deficits, as indicated by the group of multiple-domain amnestic MCI may be a better predictor of AD than single-domain amnestic or non-amnestic deficits. These higher-risk individuals could probably be the best candidates for the development of preventive strategies and early treatment for the disease.
Formation of gas-phase carbonyls from heterogeneous oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids at the air–water interface and of the sea surface microlayer

Abstract. Motivated by the potential for reactive heterogeneous chemistry occurring at the ocean surface, gas-phase products were observed when a reactive sea surface microlayer (SML) component, i.e. the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) linoleic acid (LA), was exposed to gas-phase ozone at the air–seawater interface. Similar oxidation experiments were conducted with SML samples collected from two different oceanic locations, in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean and from the west coast of Canada. Online proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) University of Colorado light-emitting diode cavity-enhanced differential optical absorption spectroscopy (LED-CE-DOAS) were used to detect oxygenated gas-phase products from the ozonolysis reactions. The LA studies indicate that oxidation of a PUFA monolayer on seawater gives rise to prompt and efficient formation of gas-phase aldehydes. The products are formed via the decomposition of primary ozonides which form upon the initial reaction of ozone with the carbon–carbon double bonds in the PUFA molecules. In addition, two highly reactive dicarbonyls, malondialdehyde (MDA) and glyoxal, were also generated, likely as secondary products. Specific yields relative to reactant loss were 78%, 29%, 4% and
Agility in a small software firm: a sense-and-respond analysis

Small software firms are vulnerable to environmental uncertainty. While agile methods and other technologies offer suggestions to this challenge, we know little about how these firms combine project and firm level capabilities to effectively respond to changes. On this backdrop, we examine a small Danish software firm, TeachTech Inc., through the lens of Haeckel's sense-and-respond approach. Our analysis suggests that: the firm has appropriate sense-and-respond cycles, but improving process modularity and human resource flexibility, could increase its ability to respond faster and more effectively; the firm focuses on specific business goals, but these are not clearly explicated and expressed as empowering governing values enabling a quick and coordinated response; complex and demanding challenges are related to dynamically reassigning commitments and the supporting mechanisms are insufficient; a modularised product portfolio leverage some of the impeding restrictions. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of these findings for theory and practice.
The Awareness and Want Analysis of Ubiquitous e-Services in Taiwan

This study attempts to establish a framework for ubiquitous e-Services in the future then use a two-dimensional cross analysis called the “awareness and want matrix” to explore people’s awareness and want for e-Services simultaneously, as well as to offer policy recommendations for the future adjustment of national digital services and technology. The study’s result shows that, currently, both the “Digital family and home safety service” and “Internet and communication service” have high awareness at present and high want in the future in Taiwan; they are considered the “Super Star Service. ” This means that the government’s promotional efforts for these two services have been excellent and that its promotional strategy should be to “keep up the good work. ” There is no e-Service located in the low awareness area or in the low want area. Generally speaking, the performance of e-Services promotion is very effective in Taiwan.
Accelerating More Secure RC4 : Implementation of Seven FPGA Designs in Stages upto 8 byte per clock

RC4 can be made more secured if an additional RC4-like Post-KSA Random Shuffing (PKRS) process is introduced between KSA and PRGA. It can also be made significantly faster if RC4 bytes are processed in a FPGA embedded system using multiple coprocessors functioning in parallel. The PKRS process is tuned to form as many S-boxes as required by particular design architectures involving multiple coprocessors, each one undertaking byte-by-byte processing. Following a ecent idea [1] [2] the speed of execution of each processor is also enhanced by another fold if the byte-by-byte processing is replaced by a scheme of processing two consecutive bytes together. Adopting some new innovative concepts, three hardware design architectures are proposed in a suitable FPGA embedded system involving 1, 2 and 4 coprocessors functioning in parallel and a study is made on accelerating RC4 by processing bytes in byte-by-byte mode achieving throughputs from 1-byte-in-1-clock to 4-bytes-in-1-clock. The hardware designs are appropriately upgraded to accelerate RC4 further by processing 2 onsecutive RC4 bytes together and it has been possible to achieve a maximum throughput of 8-bytes per clock in Xilinx Virtex-5 LX110t FPGA [3] architecture followed by secured data communication between two FPGA boards.
Unraveling the Immigrant Paradox

Many studies have pointed to a troubling phenomenon known as the “immigrant paradox. ” Despite an initial advantage length of residence in the United States appears to be associated with declining academic achievement and aspirations. To date, this line of research has taken a largely cross-sectional approach, comparing first, second, and third generations. The Longitudinal Immigrant Student Adaptation Study (LISA) combines longitudinal, interdisciplinary, and comparative approaches to document the patterns of adaptation of 408 recently arrived immigrant origin youth from Central America, China, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Mexico over the course of five years. Here, we present data that demonstrate patterns of academic engagement and achievement of these youths over time, as well as a structural equations model (SEM) that sheds light on the factors contributing to these patterns. These data suggest that supportive relationships significantly mediate the academic engagement and outcomes of immigrant youth. Implications and future directions are discussed.
Error analysis of noncoherent M-ary FSK with postdetection EGC over correlated Nakagami and Rician channels

We analyze the error performance for the noncoherent reception of M-ary orthogonal frequency shift keying with postdetection equal gain combining (EGC) over a correlated fading channel. Two kinds of correlated fading statistics are considered: (1) Nakagami fading in which the diversity branches can have different m-parameters, (2) Rician fading in which the in-phase component of the complex channel gain of any branch can be correlated with the quadrature components of the gains of all other branches. Using the characteristic function of the combiner output signal-to-noise-ratio, closed-form expressions for the symbol error probability are obtained.
WAN-optimized replication of backup datasets using stream-informed delta compression

Replicating data off site is critical for disaster recovery reasons, but the current approach of transferring tapes is cumbersome and error prone. Replicating across a wide area network (WAN) is a promising alternative, but fast network connections are expensive or impractical in many remote locations, so improved compression is needed to make WAN replication truly practical. We present a new technique for replicating backup datasets across a WAN that not only eliminates duplicate regions of files (deduplication) but also compresses similar regions of files with delta compression, which is available as a feature of EMC Data Domain systems. Our main contribution is an architecture that adds stream-informed delta compression to already existing deduplication systems and eliminates the need for new, persistent indexes. Unlike techniques based on knowing a file's version or that use a memory cache, our approach achieves delta compression across all data replicated to a server at any time in the past. From a detailed analysis of datasets and statistics from hundreds of customers using our product, we achieve an additional 2X compression from delta compression beyond deduplication and local compression, which enables customers to replicate data that would otherwise fail to complete within their backup window.
An efficient equivalence checker for combinational circuits

This paper describes a novel equivalence checking method for combinational circuits, which utilizes relations among internal signals represented by binary decision diagrams. To verify circuits efficiently, a proper set of internal signals that are independent with each other should be chosen. A heuristic based on analysis of circuit structure is proposed to select such a set of internal signals. The proposed verifier requires only a minute for equivalence checking of all the ISCAS'85 benchmarks on SUN-4/10.
Aggregation of [Au(CN)4]- anions: examination by crystallography and 15N CP-MAS NMR and the structural factors influencing intermolecular Au···N interactions.

To investigate the factors influencing the formation of intermolecular Au···NC interactions between [Au(CN)(4)](-) units, a series of [cation](n+)[Au(CN)(4)](n) double salts was synthesized, structurally characterized and probed by IR and (15)N{(1)H} CP-MAS NMR spectroscopy. Thus, [(n)Bu(4)N][Au(CN)(4)], [AsPh(4)][Au(CN)(4)], [N(PPh(3))(2)][Au(CN)(4)], [Co(1,10-phenanthroline)(3)][Au(CN)(4)](2), and [Mn(2,2';6',2''-terpyridine)(2)][Au(CN)(4)](2) show [Au(CN)(4)](-) anions that are well-separated from one another; no Au-Au or Au···NC interactions are present. trans-[Co(1,2-diaminoethane)(2)Cl(2)][Au(CN)(4)] forms a supramolecular structure, where trans-[Co(en)(2)Cl(2)](+) and [Au(CN)(4)](-) ions are found in separate layers connected by Au-CN···H-N hydrogen-bonding; weak Au···NC coordinate bonds complete octahedral Au(III) centers, and support a 2-D (4,4) network motif of [Au(CN)(4)](-)-units. A similar structure-type is formed by [Co(NH(3))(6)][Au(CN)(4)](3)·(H(2)O)(4). In [Ni(1,2-diaminoethane)(3)][Au(CN)(4)](2), intermolecular Au···NC interactions facilitate formation of 1-D chains of [Au(CN)(4)](-) anions in the supramolecular structure, which are separated from one another by [Ni(en)(3)](2+) cations. In [1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2. 2]octane-H][Au(CN)(4)], the monoprotonated amine cation forms a hydrogen-bond to the [Au(CN)(4)](-) unit on one side, while coordinating to the axial sites of the gold(III) center through the unprotonated amine on the other, thereby generating a 2-D (4,4) net of cations and anions; an additional, uncoordinated [Au(CN)(4)](-)-unit lies in the central space of each grid. This body of structural data indicates that cations with hydrogen-bonding groups can induce intermolecular Au···NC interactions, while the cationic charge, shape, size, and aromaticity have little effect. While the ν(CN) values are poor indicators of the presence or absence of N-cyano bridging between [Au(CN)(4)](-)-units (partly because of the very low intensity of the observed bands), (15)N{(1)H} CP-MAS NMR reveals well-defined, ordered cyanide groups in the six diamagnetic compounds with chemical shifts between 250 and 275 ppm; the resonances between 260 and 275 ppm can be assigned to C-bound terminal ligands, while those subject to CN···H-N bonding resonate lower, around 250-257 ppm. The (15)N chemical shift also correlates with the intermolecular Au···N distances: the shortest Au-N distances also shift the (15)N peak to lower frequency. This provides a real, spectroscopically measurable electronic effect associated with the crystallographic observation of intermolecular Au···NC interactions, thereby lending support for their viability.
Linear motion guide

In the present invention, the linear motion guide (10) for guiding a linear movement includes a track rail (20) and a carrier (40). The track rail (20) includes a rail groove for setting a rod member therein. The rail groove (28) includes an engaging shoulder portion for thereby preventing the rod member (30) from being escaped. The carrier (40) moves along the track rail (20). The track rail (20) includes a rod member (30), a frame member (22) and a support (24) engaged with the frame member (22). The frame member (22) is engaged with the support (24) for thereby forming a rail groove (28) into which the rod member (30) is inserted.
A Multilevel NOSQL Cache Design Combining In-NIC and In-Kernel Caches

Since a large-scale in-memory data store, such as key-value store (KVS), is an important software platform for data centers, this paper focuses on an FPGA-based custom hardware to further improve the efficiency of KVS. Although such FPGA-based KVS accelerators have been studied and shown a high performance per Watt compared to software-based processing, since their cache capacity is strictly limited by the DRAMs implemented on FPGA boards, their application domain is also limited. To address this issue, in this paper, we propose a multilevel NOSQL cache architecture that utilizes both the FPGA-based hardware cache and an in-kernel software cache in a complementary style. They are referred as L1 and L2 NOSQL caches, respectively. The proposed multilevel NOSQL cache architecture motivates us to explore various design options, such as cache write and inclusion policies between L1 and L2 NOSQL caches. We implemented a prototype system of the proposed multilevel NOSQL cache using NetFPGA-10G board and Linux Netfilter framework. Based on the prototype implementation, we explore the various design options for the multilevel NOSQL caches. Simulation results show that our multilevel NOSQL cache design reduces the cache miss ratio and improves the throughput compared to the non-hierarchical design.
Patient Load Effects on Response Time to Critical Arrhythmias in Cardiac Telemetry: A Randomized Trial

Objectives: Remotely monitored patients may be at risk for a delayed response to critical arrhythmias if the telemetry watchers who monitor them are subject to an excessive patient load. There are no guidelines or studies regarding the appropriate number of patients that a single watcher may safely and effectively monitor. Our objective was to determine the impact of increasing the number of patients monitored on response time to simulated cardiac arrest. Design: Randomized trial. Setting: Laboratory-based experiment. Subjects: Forty-two remote telemetry technicians and nurses from cardiac units. Interventions: Number of patients monitored in a simulation of cardiac telemetry monitoring work. Measurements and Main Results: We carried out a study to compare response times to ventricular fibrillation across five patient loads: 16, 24, 32, 40, and 48 patients. The simulation replicated the work of telemetry watchers using a combination of real recorded patient electrocardiogram signals and a simulated patient experiencing ventricular fibrillation. Study participants were assigned to one of the five patient loads and completed a 4-hour monitoring session, during which they performed tasks—including event documentation and phone calls to report events—similar to real monitoring work. When the simulated patient sustained ventricular fibrillation, the time required to report this arrhythmia was recorded. As patient loads increased, there was a statistically significant increase in response times to the ventricular fibrillation. In addition, frequency of failure to meet a response time goal of less than 20 seconds was significantly higher in the 48-patient condition than in all other conditions. Task performance decreased as patient load increased. Conclusions: As participants monitored more patients in a laboratory setting, their performance with respect to recognizing critical and noncritical events declined. This study has implications for the design of remote telemetry work and other patient monitoring tasks in critical and intermediate care units.
Exploring the Further Integration of Machine Translation in Multilingual Information Access Daqing He

Machine Translation (MT) has been identified as a very important related technology for Multilingual Information Access (MLIA). Over the past decade, the usages of MT in MLIA are still largely concentrated on its capabilities for document translation, selection and examination. In this paper, by using a common evaluation framework, we explored the applications of MT in several unexplored or underexplored areas, which include query translation, relevance feedback, and out of vocabulary term resolution. Our experimental results demonstrate the unique contributions that MT can provide in those areas, and at the same time raise more interesting questions about how MT can be optimally integrated with MLIA.
Isolation and characterization of platelet-derived extracellular vesicles

Background Platelet-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) participate, for example, in haemostasis, immunity and development. Most studies of platelet EVs have targeted microparticles, whereas exosomes and EV characterization under various conditions have been less analyzed. Studies have been hampered by the difficulty in obtaining EVs free from contaminating cells and platelet remnants. Therefore, we optimized an EV isolation protocol and compared the quantity and protein content of EVs induced by different agonists. Methods Platelets isolated with iodixanol gradient were activated by thrombin and collagen, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or Ca2+ ionophore. Microparticles and exosomes were isolated by differential centrifugations. EVs were quantitated by nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) and total protein. Size distributions were determined by NTA and electron microscopy. Proteomics was used to characterize the differentially induced EVs. Results The main EV populations were 100–250 nm and over 90% were <500 nm irrespective of the activation. However, activation pathways differentially regulated the quantity and the quality of EVs, which also formed constitutively. Thrombogenic activation was the most potent physiological EV-generator. LPS was a weak inducer of EVs, which had a selective protein content from the thrombogenic EVs. Ca2+ ionophore generated a large population of protein-poor and unselectively packed EVs. By proteomic analysis, EVs were highly heterogeneous after the different activations and between the vesicle subpopulations. Conclusions Although platelets constitutively release EVs, vesiculation can be increased, and the activation pathway determines the number and the cargo of the formed EVs. These activation-dependent variations render the use of protein content in sample normalization invalid. Since most platelet EVs are 100–250 nm, only a fraction has been analyzed by previously used methods, for example, flow cytometry. As the EV subpopulations could not be distinguished and large vesicle populations may be lost by differential centrifugation, novel methods are required for the isolation and the differentiation of all EVs.