Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Automating support for e-business contracts

If e-business contracts are to be widely used, they need to be supported by the IT infrastructure of the organizations concerned. This implies that the interactions between systems in different organizations must be guided by the contract and there must be sufficiently strong checks and balances to ensure that the contract is in fact obeyed. This includes facilities for the unbiased monitoring of correct behaviour and the reporting of exceptions. One of the ways to provide this support is to generate it directly from the agreed contract. This paper considers the steps necessary to provide sufficient automation in the support and checking of e-Business contracts for them to offer efficiency gains and so to become widely used. It focuses on the role of models, taking a model-driven approach to development and discussing both the source and target models and the transformational pathways needed to support the contract-based business processes.
On the relation between XML and database integration

In this article we compare XML integration with database integration. The database integration process as well as the XML integration process are explained and a number of XML integration meth-ods are reviewed and compared with previous database integration methods. We found that the reviewed XML integration methods often use the same process as the database integration methods, that the criteria that apply to the result are the same as well as the problems that may arise. The concrete rules for integrating schemas however are newly developed.
Landmark based localization: LBA refinement using MCMC-optimized projections of RJMCMC-extracted road marks

Precise localization in dense urban areas is a challenging task for both mobile mapping and driver assistance systems. This paper proposes a strategy to use road markings as localization landmarks for vision based systems. First step consists in reconstructing a map of road marks. A mobile mapping system equipped with precise georeferencing devices is applied to scan the scene in 3D and to generate an ortho-image of the road surface. A RJMCMC sampler that is coupled with a simulated annealing method is applied to detect occurrences of road marking templates instanced from an extensible database of road mark patterns. The detected objects are reconstructed in 3D using the height information obtained from 3D points. A calibrated camera and a low cost GPS receiver are embedded on a vehicle and used as localization devices. Local bundle adjustment (LBA) is applied to estimate the trajectory of the vehicle. In order to reduce the drift of the trajectory, images are matched with the reconstructed road marks frequently. The matching is initialized by the initial poses that are estimated by LBA and optimized by a MCMC algorithm. The matching provides ground control points that are integrated in the LBA in order to refine the pose parameters. The method is evaluated on a set of images acquired in a real urban area and is compared with a precise ground-truth.
Pumping Optimization in Saltwater Intruded Aquifers by Simple Genetic Algorithm — Deterministic Model

A management model with the economic objective of maximizing the benefit from pumped freshwater volume and minimizing the utility cost in coastal aquifers threatened by saltwater intrusion is developed. The saltwater intrusion model is based on sharp interface assumption and vertically integrated flow, namely the Strack model, reducing the problem to solving potential flow with a search in 2-D space for the saltwater toe location. When a well is intruded, it is shut down. Since the search space is discontinuous, huge, and contains numerous local minima, a Simple Genetic Algorithm is used in the search of near-optimal solution. A few test cases are conducted and show that genetic algorithm can be effectively used to obtain nearoptimal global solutions to groundwater management problems. The developed model is then applied to the management of the coastal aquifer underlying the city of Miami Beach in the northeast of Spain.
An Analysis of Algorithms for In Vivo Fibre

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a relatively new imaging technique which is used to measure the water diffusion in the brain. Since water diffusion is influenced by the micro-structure of tissue DTI can be used to identify nerve fibre tracts in the brain. Over recent years many fibre tracking techniques have been proposed, but little work has been done to evaluate and compare these techniques. In this paper we present a framework for designing virtual nerve fibre tracts and for simulating noisy DTI data sets for evaluating and comparing nerve fibre tracking techniques. We have implemented three classes of fibre tractography algorithms, streamlines, tensorlines and tensor deflection, and we devise several error metrics for comparing them. Our analysis shows that all methods are very sensitive to noise and that streamlines fail in regions where nerve fibres cross, whereas tensorlines and tensor deflection cope well with the tested tract topologies.
Approaching Near Optimal Detection Performance via Stochastic Resonance

This paper considers the stochastic resonance (SR) effect in the two hypotheses signal detection problem. Performance of a SR enhanced detector is derived in terms of the probability of detection PD and the probability of false alarm PFA. Furthermore, the conditions required for potential performance improvement using SR are developed. Expression for the optimal stochastic resonance noise pdf which renders the maximum po without increasing PFA is derived. By further strengthening the conditions, this approach yields the constant false alarm rate (CFAR) receiver. Finally, detector performance comparisons are made between the optimal SR noise, Gaussian, uniform and optimal symmetric pdf noises
1989 Allen Award address: the American Society of Human Genetics annual meeting, Baltimore.

You have done Ray White and me a great honor in selecting us for the Allen Award this year, and I want first of all to express my appreciation of it. Even though I received my Ph.D. from the Human Genetics Department at the University of Michigan, I never imagined that I would contribute directly to the field of human genetics, let alone receive the Allen Award. The chairman of the department at Michigan in those days was Jim Neel, who believed that the discipline of "human genetics" made sense only in the context of the larger discipline, "genetics", that covered the study of inheritance in all living things. In this talk, I will tell you how the idea of making a genetic map by using restriction-fragment polymorphisms arose out of a fusion of classical and molecular genetics in other "model" organisms. I will try to show you that the basic ideas underlying RFLP mapping have a distinguished history dating back to the beginning of this century. My conclusion is that through the advent of DNA-based technology the study of human genetics, from the point ofview ofexperimental practice and not just basic principle, has become reunified with general genetics, just as Jim Neel always imagined it must. The rediscovery of Mendel in the first years of this century was immediately followed by the recognition that some human traits, indeed some human diseases, are inherited according to Mendel's laws. It soon became unmistakably clear that the mechanisms of heredity in humans are entirely typical of those in all higher eukaryotes. Among the earliest post-Mendelian discoveries was the principle of genetic linkage and the idea of a linkage map (Sturtevant 1913). Yet linkage mapping in humans was not practiced on a large scale until after 1980, even though the applicability of the
3D Inference and Modelling for Video Retrieval

A new scheme is proposed for extracting planar surfaces from 2D image sequences. We firstly perform feature correspondence over two neighboring frames, followed by the estimation of disparity and depth maps, provided a calibrated camera. We then apply iterative random sample consensus (RANSAC) plane fitting to the generated 3D points to find a dominant plane in a maximum likelihood estimation style. Object points on or off this dominant plane are determined by measuring their Euclidean distance to the plane. Experimental work shows that the proposed scheme leads to better plane fitting results than the classical RANSAC method.
A priori wirelength and interconnect estimation based on circuit characteristics

Interconnect prediction is very important for early feasibility studies in modern design flows. Most of the current interconnect estimation techniques estimate either the average or the total wirelength and some qualitative measure of routing demand for circuits. A priori techniques estimate these parameters without actually performing circuit placement. We propose a new a priori interconnect and wirelength estimation methodology for island style field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). For a given design, we estimate bounding box semiperimeter wirelengths of all nets for an optimized placement and the minimum number of tracks per channel required for successful routing on an FPGA device. We analyze the structural characteristics of circuits and limitations posed by the FPGA architecture to derive a consistent model for wirelength and routing demand estimation. We identify reconvergences present in a circuit as an important global circuit characteristic in wirelength prediction. Our overall results show that we have an average error of 11.6% w.r. t. semiperimeter wirelength measured from the optimized layout using VPR. Also, the number of routing tracks per channel is predicted with an average error of 13.2% of the detailed routing results from VPR.
Irrigated Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation Guided by Electroanatomic Mapping for Recurrent Ventricular Tachycardia After Myocardial Infarction: The Multicenter Thermocool Ventricular Tachycardia Ablation Trial

Background— Recurrent ventricular tachycardia (VT) is an important cause of mortality and morbidity late after myocardial infarction. With frequent use of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators, these VTs are often poorly defined and not tolerated for mapping, factors previously viewed as relative contraindications to ablation. This observational multicenter study assessed the outcome of VT ablation with a saline-irrigated catheter combined with an electroanatomic mapping system. Methods and Results— Two hundred thirty-one patients (median LV ejection fraction, 0.25; heart failure in 62%) with recurrent episodes of monomorphic VT (median, 11 in the preceding 6 months) caused by prior myocardial infarction were enrolled. All inducible monomorphic VTs with a rate approximating or slower than any spontaneous VTs were targeted for ablation guided by electroanatomic mapping during sinus rhythm and/or VT. Patients were not excluded for multiple VTs (median, 3 per patient) or unmappable VT (present in 69% of patients). Ablation abolished all inducible VTs in 49% of patients. The primary end point of freedom from recurrent incessant VT or intermittent VT after 6 months of follow-up was achieved for 123 patients (53%). In 142 patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators before and after ablation for intermittent VT who survived 6 months, VT episodes were reduced from a median of 11.5 to 0 (P<0.0001). The 1-year mortality rate was 18%, with 72.5% of deaths attributed to ventricular arrhythmias or heart failure. The procedure mortality rate was 3%, with no strokes. Conclusions— Catheter ablation is a reasonable option to reduce episodes of recurrent VT in patients with prior myocardial infarction, even when multiple and/or unmappable VTs are present. This population remains at high risk for death, warranting surveillance and further study.
Spoken Conversational Search: Speech-only Interactive Information Retrieval

This research investigates a new interface paradigm for interactive information retrieval (IIR) which forces us to shift away from the classic "ten blue links" search engine results page. Instead we investigate how to present search results through a conversation over a speech-only communication channel where no screen is available. Accessing information via speech is becoming increasingly pervasive and is already important for people with a visual impairment. However, presenting search results over a speech-only communication channel is challenging due to cognitive limitations and the transient nature of audio. Studies have indicated that the implementation of speech recognizers and screen readers must be carefully designed and cannot simply be added to an existing system. Therefore the aim of this research is to develop a new interaction framework for effective and efficient IIR over a speech-only channel: a Spoken Conversational Search System (SCSS) which provides a conversational approach to defining user information needs, presenting results and enabling search reformulations. In order to contribute to a more efficient and effective search experience when using a SCSS, we intend for a tighter integration between document search and conversational processes.
Observed multivariable signals of late 20th and early 21st century volcanic activity

The relatively muted warming of the surface and lower troposphere since 1998 has attracted considerable attention. One contributory factor to this “warming hiatus” is an increase in volcanically induced cooling over the early 21st century. Here we identify the signals of late 20th and early 21st century volcanic activity in multiple observed climate variables. Volcanic signals are statistically discernible in spatial averages of tropical and near‐global SST, tropospheric temperature, net clear‐sky short‐wave radiation, and atmospheric water vapor. Signals of late 20th and early 21st century volcanic eruptions are also detectable in near‐global averages of rainfall. In tropical average rainfall, however, only a Pinatubo‐caused drying signal is identifiable. Successful volcanic signal detection is critically dependent on removal of variability induced by the El Niño–Southern Oscillation.
Rectification of El Niño–Southern Oscillation into Climate Anomalies of Decadal and Longer Time Scales: Results from Forced Ocean GCM Experiments

To better understand the causes of climate change in the tropical Pacific on the decadal and longer time scales, the rectification effect of ENSO events is delineated by contrasting the time-mean state of two forced ocean GCM experiments. In one of them, the long-term mean surface wind stress of 1950-2011 is applied, while in the other, the surface wind stress used is the long-term mean surface wind stress of 1950-2011 plus the interannual monthly anomalies over the period. Thus, the long-term means of the surface wind stress in the two runs are identical. The two experiments also use the same relaxation boundary conditions, that is, the SST is restored to the same prescribed values. The two runs, however, are found to yield significantly different mean climate for the tropical Pacific. The mean state of the run with interannual fluctuations in the surface winds is found to have a cooler warm pool, warmer thermocline water, and warmer eastern surface Pacific than the run without interannual fluctuations in the surface winds. The warming of the eastern Pacific has a pattern that resembles the observed decadal warming. In particular, the pattern features an off-equator maximum as the observed decadal warming. The spatial pattern of the time-mean upper-ocean temperature differences between the two experiments is shown to resemble that of the differences in the nonlinear dynamic heating, underscoring the role of the nonlinear ocean dynamics in the rectification. The study strengthens the suggestion that rectification of ENSO can be a viable mechanism for climate change of decadal and longer time scales.
An expression transformation for improving the recognition of expression-variant faces from one sample image per person

It is known that when only one sample image per gallery person is available, as a result of the small sample size problem, the recognition performance of discriminant feature extraction methods substantially degrades. This is particularly the case when the images are under drastic facial expression variation. To address this problem, this paper introduces an appearance-based expression transformation method to synthesize new expression images from the probe image. By feeding the synthesized images to discriminant feature extractor, a more robust recognition of gallery images with single sample image is achieved. The effectiveness of the proposed transformation method is demonstrated using the Cohn-Kanade facial expression database.
When Consumers Produce on the Internet : An Inquiry into Motivational Sources of Contribution to Joint-Innovation

Consumers increasingly engage in joint innovative behavior on the Net. Understanding the motivations for their contributions is crucial in order to develop appropriate marketing strategies to target these consumers and to promote others to become involved. We conceptualize and offer empirical evidence of these motivations for innovative behavior on the Internet. An Internet survey with 1486 respondents revealed intrinsic and extrinsic, immediate and long-term task-related rewards, values and beliefs, as well as socio-emotional factors as motivational sources of consumer innovativeness. Furthermore, the results indicate that the extent of contribution to joint-innovation is strongly related to the structure and strength of relationships between different motivational sources. Especially the relation between selfand others-concern is distinctive for the level of contribution to on-line innovation projects. Theoretical and practical implications for marketing strategy and communication conclude the paper. Acknowledgements *Andrea Hemetsberger is assistant professor at Innsbruck University, Austria. Rik Pieters is professor of marketing at Tilburg University, The Netherlands. This research has been supported by a Marie Curie Fellowship of the European Community programme “Improving Human Research Potential and the SocioEconomic Knowledge Base” under contract number MCFI-1999-00864 to the first author. The research on which this paper is based was conducted while the first author was on sabbatical leave at the department of marketing at Tilburg University, the Netherlands. The authors would especially like to thank Ken Coar for making his survey publically available on which our empirical analysis is based. Address correspondence to Andrea Hemetsberger, department of Marketing, Innsbruck University, Universitätsstraße 15, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria; e-mail: andrea.hemetsberger@uibk.ac. at
No . 646 “ The Stairways to Heaven : A Model of Career Choice in Sports and Games , with an Application to Chess

We model individual careers in sports and games from initial entry to eventual exit or success as a discrete choice, finite horizon optimization problem. We apply this model to the international game of chess and study cross country differences in the relative success of players. While we find no evidence that the players in our sample from the ex-Warsaw Pact are more talented than European and American players, there is evidence that they face lower training costs. •
Extracting sentiment from healthcare survey data: An evaluation of sentiment analysis tools

Sentiment analysis is an emerging discipline with many analytical tools available. This project aimed to examine a number of tools regarding their suitability for healthcare data. A comparison between commercial and non-commercial tools was made using responses from an online survey which evaluated design changes made to a clinical information service. The commercial tools were Semantria and TheySay and the noncommercial tools were WEKA and Google Prediction API. Different approaches were followed for each tool to determine the polarity of each response (i.e. positive, negative or neutral). Overall, the non-commercial tools outperformed their commercial counterparts. However, due to the different features offered by the tools, specific recommendations are made for each. In addition, single-sentence responses were tested in isolation to determine the extent to which they more clearly express a single polarity. Further work can be done to establish the relationship between single-sentence responses and the sentiment they express.
Design of low power based VLSI architecture for constant multiplier and high speed implementation using retiming technique

This paper comprises of new low power multiplication algorithm and VLSI architecture. The one less than previous is foundation to built the proposed algorithm. The algorithm is simple straightforward to find NxN unsigned binary number multiplication using 2n-1 constant number which is used recursively for both multiplicand and multiplier. It revealed that reusability of the hardware resource results low power consumption and better power delay product compared to conventional multiplier. Apply the knowledge of data flow graph for the mathematical expression of the proposed algorithm to construct a set of hardware block. The performance of the 256 bit multiplication yields a savings of 46.34% in power and 47.5% in power delay product over the existing conventional multiplier. Further, the art of optimization technique, like retiming approach is adopted to design fast multiplication. The proposed algorithm with retiming analysis results are compared with conventional multiplier as well as constant multiplier. The functional verification and sythesization of the proposed architecture is analyzed using cadence EDA tools and implemented using 45nm technology libraries. The retiming approach for the proposed algorithm gives 86.9% in power delay product compared to conventional method and a reduction of 75.05% in power delay product over the proposed work.
Gene diversity patterns at 10 X-chromosomal loci in humans and chimpanzees.

We have investigated the pattern and extent of nucleotide diversity in 10 X-chromosomal genes where mutations are known to cause mental retardation in humans. For each gene, we sequenced the entire coding region from cDNA in humans, chimpanzees, and orangutans, as well as about 3 kb of genomic DNA in 20 humans sampled worldwide and in 10 chimpanzees representing two "subspecies. " Overall nucleotide diversity in these genes is about twofold lower in humans than in chimpanzees, and nucleotide diversity within and between species is low, suggesting that a high level of functional constraint acts on these genes. Strikingly, we find that a summary of the allele frequency spectrum is significantly correlated in humans and chimpanzees, perhaps reflecting very similar levels of constraint at these genes in the two species. A possible exception is FMR2, which shows a higher number of nonsynonymous than synonymous substitutions on the human lineage, suggesting the action of positive selection.
Optimization of color quantization with total luminance for DLP projector and its evaluation system

In order to design a color quantization method that addresses total luminance for digital light processing (DLP) projectors, we propose a framework for optimizing color quantization and light emitted diode (LED) luminance. We evaluate the proposed method and a system using a DLP projector and a CMOS camera. Experimental results indicate that our method improves the total luminance of a projected image approximately 120% when compared with results achieved using previous models and produces better image quality.