Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Real-Time Rotation Estimation Using Histograms of Oriented Gradients

This paper focuses on real-time rotation estimation for model-based automated visual inspection. In the case of model-based inspection, spatial alignment is essential to distinguish visual defects from normal appearance variations. Defects are detected by comparing the inspected object with its spatially aligned ideal reference model. Rotation estimation is crucial for the inspection of rotationally symmetric objects where mechanical manipulation is unable to ensure the correct object rotation. We propose a novel method for in-plane rotation estimation. Rotation is estimated with an ensemble of nearest-neighbor estimators. Each estimator contains a spatially local representation of an object in a feature space for all rotation angles and is constructed with a semi-supervised self-training approach from a set of unlabeled training images. An individual representation in a feature space is obtained by calculating the Histograms of Oriented Gradients (HOG) over a spatially local region. Each estimator votes separately for the estimated angle; all votes are weighted and accumulated. The final estimation is the angle with the most votes. The method was evaluated on several datasets of pharmaceutical tablets varying in size, shape, and color. The results show that the proposed method is superior in robustness with comparable speed and accuracy to previously proposed methods for rotation estimation of pharmaceutical tablets. Furthermore, all evaluations were performed with the same set of parameters, which implies that the method requires minimal human intervention. Despite the evaluation focused on pharmaceutical tablets, we consider the method useful for any application that requires robust real-time in-plane rotation estimation.
Rotational Broadening of Atomic Spectral Features from Neutron Stars

The discovery of the first gravitationally redshifted spectral line from a neutron star (NS) by Cottam et al. has triggered theoretical studies of the physics of atomic line formation in NS atmospheres. Chang et al. showed that the hydrogenic Fe Hα line formed above the photosphere of a bursting NS is intrinsically broad. We now include rotational broadening within general relativity and compare the resulting profile to that observed during type I bursts from EXO 0748-676. We show that the fine-structure splitting of the line precludes a meaningful constraint on the radius. Our fitting of the data show that the line-forming Fe column is log(NFe, n=2/cm-2) = 17.9 and gravitational redshift 1 + z = 1.345 with 95% confidence. We calculate the detectability of this spectral feature for a large range of spins and inclinations, assuming that the emission comes from the entire surface. We find that at 300 and 600 Hz only 10%-20% and 5%-10% of NSs would have spectral features as deep as those seen in EXO 0748-676.
A hierarchical prediction model for two nodes-based IP mobile networks

In this paper, a new mobility prediction model is investigated. We consider a two nodes (enhanced gateway and base station) mobile network architecture based on intelligent IP framework. The proposed model is based on two complementary algorithms for mobility prediction: a global prediction algorithm and a local one. While the former is implemented in the gateway, the latter is used by the base station. At the gateway level, the algorithm detects the regular movements of the mobile users whereas the algorithm, at the base station level, tracks more closely, within the cell, the movements of the mobile users. Our prediction model gives significant results in both mobility conditions, regular and random movements.
A double-blind randomized clinical trial on the efficacy of magnetic sacral root stimulation for the treatment of Monosymptomatic Nocturnal Enuresis

Abstract Purpose: Purpose of this study was to evaluate the long term efficacy of repetitive sacral root magnetic stimulation (rSMS) in patients with monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis (MNE). Methods: Forty four patients were randomized to receive either sham or real repetitive sacral root magnetic stimulation (rSMS; 15 Hz with a total of 1500 pulses/session) for 10 sessions. Evaluation was performed before starting treatment, immediately after the 5th and 10th treatment session, and 1 month later, using frequency of enuresis/week, visual analogue scale (VAS) and quality of life as outcome measures. Resting and active motor thresholds of gastrocnemius muscles were measured before and after the end of sessions. Results: Both treatment and control groups were comparable for baseline measures of frequency of enuresis, and VAS. The mean number of wet nights/week was significantly reduced in patients who received real rSMS. This improvement was maintained 1 month after the end of treatment. Patients receiving real-rSMS also reported an improvement in VAS ratings and quality of life. A significant reduction of resting motor threshold was recorded after rSMS in the real group while no such changes were observed in the sham group. Conclusion: These findings suggest that rSMS has potential as an adjuvant treatment for MNE and deserves further study.
A comparative EMG study of trunk musculature using exercise equipment

INTRODUCTION This study compares abdominal and cervical muscle activity while performing a traditional crunch with e same activity performed on a commercial device, The Bean. Manufacturers purport that a crunch performed on The Bean TM should produce between 55-72% more activity in upper and lower rectus muscles and oblique muscles. Biomechanical vector analysis comparing the load on cervical muscle long neck flexors may produce different results for the wo activities due to the semi-sitting starting positio n that is recommended for the training device. Electromyography has been used previously to quantify the comparative work done by muscles in performing a crunch using different techniques or devices [1]
Performance Analysis of Various Classifier Technique Used in Handwritten Digit Recognition

Accelerometer based gesture recognition is one of the widely implemented method in the recognition scenario. We have implemented a 3D input digital pen which works on triaxial accelerometer to sense human gesture. This digital pen embedded with triaxial accelerometer, microcontroller, RF wireless transmitter module. The triaxial accelerometer measure acceleration signal along all the 3 axis. Accelerated signal process through microcontroller and serially transmitted through RF transmitter which can be received at remote place RF receiver. With the help of MATLAB tool feature vector are generated from received accelerated signal to recognize handwritten numeric digit and various classifier technique for the best accuracy purpose. Our experimental results shows that the PNN has best accuracy than any other classifier. Keyword: MEMS,PNN,SVM,HMM.
Design, modeling and control of a series elastic actuator for an assistive knee exoskeleton

This paper introduces the design, modeling and control of a novel inherently compliant actuator with the ability to manually reconfigure the level of stiffness (CompAct-ARS). CompAct-ARS is intended to be utilized in assistive devices for legs, which will aid users in different motion tasks such as walking, sit-to-stand movement and squatting and will demonstrate the benefits of passive compliance. The actuator modeling design and mechanics are introduced. Experimental and simulation data are used in order to determine the design specifications of the actuator for its use in a knee exoskeleton system. Finally an assistive control strategy is introduced that will allow the proposed system to provide motion assistance to the subject knee.
Performance analysis in Lytro camera: Empirical and model based approaches to assess refocusing quality

In this paper we investigate the performance of Lytro camera in terms of its refocusing quality. The refocusing quality of the camera is related to the spatial resolution and the depth of field as the contributing parameters. We quantify the spatial resolution profile as a function of depth using empirical and model based approaches. The depth of field is then determined by thresholding the spatial resolution profile. In the model based approach, the previously proposed sampling pattern cube (SPC) model for representation and evaluation of the plenoptic capturing systems is utilized. For the experimental resolution measurements, camera evaluation results are extracted from images rendered by the Lytro full reconstruction rendering method. Results from both the empirical and model based approaches assess the refocusing quality of the Lytro camera consistently, highlighting the usability of the model based approaches for performance analysis of complex capturing systems.
Feedforward and feedback frequency-dependent interactions in a large-scale laminar network of the primate cortex

A large-scale laminar network model sheds light on frequency-dependent interactions in the primate cortex. Interactions between top-down and bottom-up processes in the cerebral cortex hold the key to understanding attentional processes, predictive coding, executive control, and a gamut of other brain functions. However, the underlying circuit mechanism remains poorly understood and represents a major challenge in neuroscience. We approached this problem using a large-scale computational model of the primate cortex constrained by new directed and weighted connectivity data. In our model, the interplay between feedforward and feedback signaling depends on the cortical laminar structure and involves complex dynamics across multiple (intralaminar, interlaminar, interareal, and whole cortex) scales. The model was tested by reproducing, as well as providing insights into, a wide range of neurophysiological findings about frequency-dependent interactions between visual cortical areas, including the observation that feedforward pathways are associated with enhanced gamma (30 to 70 Hz) oscillations, whereas feedback projections selectively modulate alpha/low-beta (8 to 15 Hz) oscillations. Furthermore, the model reproduces a functional hierarchy based on frequency-dependent Granger causality analysis of interareal signaling, as reported in recent monkey and human experiments, and suggests a mechanism for the observed context-dependent hierarchy dynamics. Together, this work highlights the necessity of multiscale approaches and provides a modeling platform for studies of large-scale brain circuit dynamics and functions.
A Formal Approach for Incorporating Architectural Tactics into the Software Architecture

Software architects principally leverage successful architectural design practices systematized in terms of architectural styles and tactics. While architectural tactics focus on particular non-functional properties, styles are typical solutions that generally coverage several aspects. The problem is that we do not yet have a formal account of how styles and tactics interact in a way that is sufficient to enable automated synthesis of architectures from application models and the combination of architectural styles and tactics specifications. The contribution of this paper is an extension of our previous work on formal architectural maps that makes this fundamental relationship clear, and a demonstration that it enables automated formal derivation of architectures. Keywords-Software Architecture; Architectural Styles; Architectural Tactics; Architectural Maps; Alloy Language.
School Violence, Depressive Symptoms, and Help-seeking Behavior: A Gender-stratified Analysis of Biethnic Adolescents in South Korea

Objectives: In South Korea (hereafter Korea), the number of adolescent offspring of immigrants has rapidly increased since the early 1990s, mainly due to international marriage. This research sought to examine the association between the experience of school violence and mental health outcomes, and the role of help-seeking behaviors in the association, among biethnic adolescents in Korea. Methods: We analyzed cross-sectional data of 3627 biethnic adolescents in Korea from the 2012 National Survey of Multicultural Families. Based on the victim’s help-seeking behavior, adolescents who experienced school violence were classified into three groups: ‘seeking help’ group; ‘feeling nothing’ group; ‘not seeking help’ group. Multivariate logistic regression was applied to examine the associations between the experience of school violence and depressive symptoms for males and females separately. Results: In the gender-stratified analysis, school violence was associated with depressive symptoms in the ‘not seeking help’ (odds ratio [OR], 7.05; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.76 to 13.23) and the ‘seeking help’ group (OR, 2.77; 95% CI, 1.73 to 4.44) among male adolescents after adjusting for potential confounders, including the nationality of the immigrant parent and Korean language fluency. Similar associations were observed in the female groups. However, in the ‘feeling nothing’ group, the association was only significant for males (OR, 8.34; 95% CI, 2.82 to 24.69), but not females (OR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.18 to 3.28). Conclusions: This study suggests that experience of school violence is associated with depressive symptoms and that the role of victims’ help-seeking behaviors in the association may differ by gender among biethnic adolescents in Korea.
Capturing Unobserved Heterogeneity in the Austrian Labor Market Using Finite Mixtures of Markov Chain Models

Wage mobility in a labor market describes the chances but also the risks of an individual to move between wage categories. Wage mobility is usually measured on an aggregate level for the whole labor market and little work is done to capture unobserved heterogeneity across individuals. The present study tries to obtain some results on unobserved heterogeneity for the Austrian Labor Market. For each individual, wage mobility is described through a first order Markov chain which is heterogenous across the individuals. We will compare two approaches for capturing unobserved heterogeneity. The first approach is based on using a finite mixture of Markov chains models moving with different speed. In this approach it is assumed that within each hidden group no more heterogeneity is present. This leads to a rather large number of groups which are not easily interpreted. The second approach is based on using finite mixtures of multinomial-Dirichlet distributions. In this approach it is assumed that within each hidden group heterogeneity in wage mobility is still present which may be described through a Dirichlet distribution with an unknown dispersion parameter. Practical implementation in R is based on combing a Bayesian approach with Monte Carlo simulations based on Markov chains.
A dynamic auction for spectrum sharing

We study the design of a dynamic auction for sharing wireless spectrum between a primary high power user and one or more secondary low power users. In this market, the good being auctioned is transmission power which can be either allocated to the secondary users for transmission or bought by the primary user to reduce her interference. In this setting, the primary user may have a non-concave valuation, which prohibits applying standard designs of dynamic auctions. Moreover, a policy concern in such settings is often to prevent collusion and fraudulent bidding. Hence, Vickrey mechanisms may not provide the right incentives. We present a mechanism that selects a core outcome that minimizes the seller revenue. Such an allocation is efficient in equilibrium, limits the incentives to use shills, maximizes incentives for truthful bidding, and is incentive compatible when the Vickrey outcome is in the core.
Financing sustainable energy for all: pay-as-you-go vs. traditional solar finance approaches in Kenya

This paper focuses on finance for Solar Home Systems (SHSs) in Kenya and asks to what extent emerging new finance approaches are likely to address the shortcomings of past approaches. Drawing on the STEPS Pathways Approach we adopt a framing that understands finance within a broader socio-technical context as a necessary but not sufficient component of achieving alternative pathways to sustainable energy access. The paper contributes in four ways. Firstly, it presents a comprehensive overview of past and new emerging approaches to financing SHSs in Kenya and their relative strengths and weaknesses. Secondly, it represents one of the first attempts in the literature to analyse the potential of new, real time monitoring technologies and pay as you go finance models to overcome the barriers faced by conventional consumer finance models for off-grid renewable energy technologies (RETs). Thirdly, by applying for the first time we are aware of a socio-technical approach, via the application of Strategic Niche Management (SNM) theory, to analyse the finance of RETs in developing countries, the analysis considers finance in the context of the social practices poor people seek to fulfil via access to the energy services that off-grid RETs provide, and the ways in which people previously paid for these services (e.g. via kerosene for lighting). This also situates the analysis within the understanding of SHSs as a niche that has to compete with the established regime of energy service provision and its attendant social and political institutional support. The paper therefore also contributes to the small but expanding body of literature that seeks to operationalise socio-technical transitions thinking and SNM within a developing country context.
Down-sizing in galaxy formation at z~1

We use the deep wide-field optical imaging data of the Subaru/XMM‐Newton Deep Survey to discuss the luminosity- (mass-)dependent galaxy colours down to z � = 25.0 (5 × 10 9 h −2 70 M� ) for z ∼ 1 galaxies in colour-selected high-density regions. We find an apparent absence of galaxies on the red colour‐magnitude sequence below z � ∼ 24.2, corresponding to ∼M ∗ + 2( ∼ 10 10 M� ) with respect to passively evolving galaxies at z ∼ 1. Galaxies brighter than M ∗ − 0.5 (8 × 10 10 M� ), however, are predominantly red passively evolving systems, with few blue star-forming galaxies at these magnitudes. This apparent age gradient, where massive galaxies are dominated by old stellar populations while less massive galaxies have more extended star formation histories, supports the ‘downsizing’ idea where the mass of galaxies hosting star formation decreases as the Universe ages. Combined with the lack of evolution in the shape of the stellar mass function for massive galaxies since at least z ∼ 1, it appears that galaxy formation processes (both star formation and mass assembly) should have occurred in an accelerated way in massive systems in highdensity regions, while these processes should have been slower in smaller systems. This result provides an interesting challenge for modern cold dark matter based galaxy formation theories which predict later formation epochs of massive systems, commonly referred to as ‘bottom-up’.
Efficient Hash-Based Signatures on Embedded Devices

Authentication and message integrity are essential building blocks for protocols of many security related veriﬁcation processes like data origin authentication for valid software updates or device authentication. Critical embedded devices - like a brake control unit in a car - must only accept updates from valid issuers. At the same time it is essential - for security and commercial reasons - to prove the authenticity of the device to other integrated systems to prevent product counter-feiting. The most widely used algorithms for digital signatures, RSA and ECDSA, depend on ﬁnite ﬁeld engines. Many embedded devices are powered by 8-bit microprocessors. On this platform the ﬁnite ﬁeld engines either require costly coprocessors, or the implementations become very large and very slow. Hence the need for better methods is highly visible. One alternative to RSA and ECDSA is the Merkle signature scheme which provides digital signatures using hash functions only, without relying on any number theoretic assumptions. In this paper, we present an implementation of the Merkle signature scheme on an 8-bit microprocessor. Our results prove that the Merkle signature scheme can provide very good timings and a higher degree of security compared to previous implementations of RSA and ECDSA, while maintaining a smaller code size.
Patterns of Occurrence of Sharks in Sydney Harbour, a Large Urbanised Estuary

Information about spatial and temporal variability in the distribution and abundance of shark-populations are required for their conservation, management and to update measures designed to mitigate human-shark interactions. However, because some species of sharks are mobile, migratory and occur in relatively small numbers, estimating their patterns of distribution and abundance can be very difficult. In this study, we used a hierarchical sampling design to examine differences in the composition of species, size- and sex-structures of sharks sampled with bottom-set longlines in three different areas with increasing distance from the entrance of Sydney Harbour, a large urbanised estuary. During two years of sampling, we obtained data for four species of sharks (Port Jackson, Heterodontus portusjacksoni; wobbegong, Orectolobus maculatus; dusky whaler, Carcharhinus obscurus and bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas). Only a few O. maculatus and C. obscurus were caught, all in the area closest to the entrance of the Harbour. O. maculatus were caught in all seasons, except summer, while C. obscurus was only caught in summer. Heterodontus portusjacksoni were the most abundant species, caught in the entrance location mostly between July to November, when water temperature was below 21.5°C. This pattern was consistent across both years. C. leucas, the second most abundant species, were captured in all areas of Sydney Harbour but only in summer and autumn when water temperatures were above 23°C. This study quantified, for this first time, how different species utilise different areas of Sydney Harbour, at different times of the year. This information has implications for the management of human-shark interactions, by enabling creation of education programs to modify human behaviour in times of increased risk of potentially dangerous sharks.
An interactive approach to story characterization

We propose an interactive framework where artists can design simple story characters using an agent-based interactive system. The characters' personalities are designed by modifying the dynamics of their internal states while observing their interactions in a virtual environment. This can provide the artist with interesting characters that can be used for further story generation. We also argue that cartoon characters are particularly suited to this kind of generative approach.
Food Insufficiency and Prevalence of Overweight Among Adult Women

A limited number of studies have shown that, in the United States, women in food insufficient households are more likely to be overweight than women in food sufficient households (for example, see Olson; Townsend et al). However, these studies utilized self-reported heights and weights to define overweight. To further examine this paradoxical association between food insufficiency and overweight, we used data from the 1988-94 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III). In that survey, heights and weights were measured. To gain additional insight, we also examined women’s overall diet quality as gauged by the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) and its components.