Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stereoscopic Label Placement: Reducing Distraction and Ambiguity in Visually Cluttered Displays

With increasing information density and complexity, computer displays may become visually cluttered, adversely affecting overall usability. Text labels can significantly add to visual clutter in graphical user interfaces, but are generally kept legible through specific label placement algorithms that seek visual separation of labels and other objects in the 2D view plane. This work studies an alternative approach: can overlapping labels be visually segregated by distributing them in stereoscopic depth? The fact that we have two forward-looking eyes yields stereoscopic disparity: each eye has a slightly different perspective on objects in the visual field. Disparity is used for depth perception by the human visual system, and is therefore also provided by stereoscopic 3D displays to produce a sense of depth. This work has shown that a stereoscopic label placement algorithm yields user performance comparable with existing algorithms that separate labels in the view plane. At the same time, such stereoscopic label placement is subjectively rated significantly less disturbing than traditional methods. Furthermore, it does not allow for potentially ambiguous spatial relationships between labels and background objects inherent to labels separated in the view plane. These findings are important for display systems where disturbance, distraction and ambiguity of the overlay can negatively impact safety and efficiency of the system, including the reference application of this work: an augmented vision system for Air Traffic Control towers.
Knowledge modeling through computational agents: application to surveillance systems

Abstract: In this work the concept of computational agent is located within the methodological framework of levels and domains of description of a calculus in the context of different usual paradigms in Artificial Intelligence (symbolic, situated, connectionist, and hybrid). Emphasis in the computable aspects of agent theory is put, leaving open the possibility to the incorporation of other aspects that are still pure cognitive nomenclature without any computational counterpart of equivalent semantic richness. The ideas presented are shown as currently being implemented on semi‐automatic surveillance systems. A case study of a mobile robot application for the detection and following of humans is described.
Hypoxia-Mediated Degradation of Na,K-ATPase via Mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species and the Ubiquitin-Conjugating System

We set out to determine whether cellular hypoxia, via mitochondrial reactive oxygen species, promotes Na,K-ATPase degradation via the ubiquitin-conjugating system. Cells exposed to 1.5% O2 had a decrease in Na,K-ATPase activity and oxygen consumption. The total cell pool of α1 Na,K-ATPase protein decreased on exposure to 1.5% O2 for 30 hours, whereas the plasma membrane Na,K-ATPase was 50% degraded after 2 hours of hypoxia, which was prevented by lysosome and proteasome inhibitors. When Chinese hamster ovary cells that exhibit a temperature-sensitive defect in E1 ubiquitin conjugation enzyme were incubated at 40°C and 1.5% O2, the degradation of the α1 Na,K-ATPase was prevented. Exogenous reactive oxygen species increased the plasma membrane Na,K-ATPase degradation, whereas, in mitochondrial DNA deficient &rgr;0 cells and in cells transfected with small interfering RNA against Rieske iron sulfur protein, the hypoxia-mediated Na,K-ATPase degradation was prevented. The catalase/superoxide dismutase (SOD) mimetic (EUK-134) and glutathione peroxidase overexpression prevented the hypoxia-mediated Na,K-ATPase degradation and overexpression of SOD1, but not SOD2, partially inhibited the Na+ pump degradation. Accordingly, we provide evidence that during hypoxia, mitochondrial reactive oxygen species are necessary to degrade the plasma membrane Na,K-ATPase via the ubiquitin-conjugating system.
Energy Market Impacts of Alternative Greenhouse Gas Intensity Reduction Goals March 2006 Energy Information Administration

This report was prepared by the Energy Information Administration, the independent statistical and analytical agency within the Department of Energy. The information contained herein should be attributed to the Energy Information Administration and should not be construed as advocating or reflecting any policy position of the Department of Energy or any other organization. Service Reports are prepared by the Energy Information Administration upon special request and are based on assumptions specified by the requester. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) is the independent statistical and analytical agency within the Department of Energy. EIA provides timely, high-quality energy information and prepares objective, transparent analyses for use of Congress, the Administration and the public. EIA does not, however, take positions on policy issues. Because of EIAs statutory independence with respect to the content of its energy information program, the analysis presented herein is strictly its own and should not be construed as representing the views of the U.S. Department of Energy or the Administration. The model projections in this report are not statements of what will happen but of what might happen, given the assumptions and methodologies used. The reference case projections are business-as-usual trend forecasts, given known technology, technological and demographic trends, and current laws and regulations. Thus, they provide a policy-neutral starting point that can be used to analyze policy initiatives. EIA does not propose, advocate, or speculate on future legislative and regulatory changes. All laws are assumed to remain as currently enacted; however, the impacts of scheduled regulatory changes, when defined, are reflected.
Load balancing, selection sorting on the hypercube

This paper presents novel load balancing, selection and sorting algorithms for the hypercube with l-port communication. The main result is an algorithm for sorting n values on p processors, $taooth$ort, that runs asymptotically faster (in the worst case) than any previously known algorithm over a wide range of the ratio nip. The load balancing and selection algorithms upon which StmothSort is based are expected to be of independent interest. Although the analysis of our algorithms is llmited to obtaining asymptotic bounds, the constant factors being ignored axe quite tmaalL
Optimal Superimposed Training Sequences for Channel Estimation in MIMO-OFDM Systems

In this work an iterative time domain Least Squares (LS) based channel estimation method using superimposed training (ST) for a Multiple Input Multiple Output Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (MIMO-OFDM) system over time varying frequency selective fading channels is proposed. The performance of the channel estimator is analyzed in terms of the Mean Square Estimation Error (MSEE) and its impact on the uncoded Bit Error Rate (BER) of the MIMO-OFDM system is studied. A new selection criterion for the training sequences that jointly optimizes the MSEE and the BER of the OFDM system is proposed. Chirp based sequences are proposed and shown to satisfy the same. These are compared with the other sequences proposed in the literature and are found to yield a superior performance. The sequences, one for each transmitting antenna, offers fairness through providing equal interference in all the data carriers unlike earlier proposals. The effectiveness of the mathematical analysis presented is demonstrated through a comparison with the simulation studies. Experimental studies are carried out to study and validate the improved performance of the proposed scheme. The scheme is applied to the IEEE 802.16e OFDM standard and a case is made with the required design of the sequence.
On the Algebra of Ghost Fields

We study in detail the algebra of free ghost fields which we realize in a Hilbert-Fock space with positive metric. The investigation of causality clarifies the exact reason for the failure of the spin-statistics theorem and leads to the introduction of the Krein Operator. We study the charge algebra of the ghost fields which gives a representation of ${\rm gl}(2,{\cal C})$. The symmetries of the $S$-matrix in ghost space are pointed out.
Discourse in Web 2.0: Familiar, Reconfigured, and Emergent

Introduction From controversial beginnings, the term Web 2.0 has become associated with a fairly well-defined set of popular Web-based platforms characterized by social interaction and user-generated content. Most of the content on such sites is human discourse, via text, audio, video, and/or static images. It is therefore, in principle, of theoretical and practical interest to scholars of computer-mediated discourse. Yet although discourse-focused studies of individual Web 2.0 environments such as Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, and YouTube are starting to appear (see, e.g., the chapters in Thurlow and Mroczek 2011), systematic consideration of the implications of Web 2.0 for computer-mediated discourse analysis as a whole is lacking. Does discourse in these new environments call for new methods of analysis? New classificatory apparatuses? New theoretical understandings? This paper is a preliminary attempt to address these questions. After defining Web 2.0 and reviewing its development over the past decade, the computer-mediated discourse analysis (CMDA) paradigm developed by the author (Herring 2004) is briefly reviewed, with the ultimate goal of determining whether-and if so, in what ways-it needs to be revised in light of Web 2.0. As a heuristic to address this goal, a three-part classification of Web 2.0 discourse phenomena is introduced: phenomena familiar from older computer-mediated discourse (CMD) modes such as email, chat, and discussion forums that appear to carry over into Web 2.0 environments with minimal differences; CMD phenomena that adapt to and are reconfigured by Web 2.0 environments; and new or emergent phenomena that did not exist-or if they did exist, did not rise to the level of public awareness-prior to the era of Web 2.0. This classification is loosely inspired by Crowston and Williams's (2000) broad classification of web pages into 'reproduced' vs. 'emergent' genres, but with a focus on discourse, rather than genre. For each category of phenomena, the challenges that it raises for CMDA are discussed. In concluding, I suggest that this three-way classification can provide insight into why particular discourse phenomena persist, adapt, or arise anew in technologically-mediated environments over time. In so doing, I invoke technological factors such as multimodality and media convergence, social factors at both the situational and cultural levels, and inherent differences among linguistic phenomena that make them variably sensitive to technological and social effects. Suggestions are also made of practical ways in which the classification might guide researchers to frame their studies and select certain methods of analysis. While the reconfigured and …
Investigating customer click through behaviour with integrated sponsored and nonsponsored results

This paper reports findings from a study investigating the effect of integrating sponsored and nonsponsored search engine links into a single web listing. The premise underlying this research is that web searchers are chiefly interested in relevant results. Given the reported negative bias that web searchers have concerning sponsored links, separate listings may be a disservice to web searchers as it might not direct them to relevant websites. Some web meta-search engines integrate sponsored and nonsponsored links into a single listing. Using a web search engine log of over 7 million interactions from hundreds of thousands of users from a major web meta-search engine, we analysed the click-through patterns for both sponsored and nonsponsored links. We also classified web queries as informational, navigational and transactional based on the expected type of content and analysed the click-through patterns of each classification. The findings show that for more than 35% of queries, there are no clicks on any result. More than 80% of web queries are informational in nature and approximately 10% are transactional, and 10% navigational. Sponsored links account for approximately 15% of all clicks. Integrating sponsored and nonsponsored links does not appear to increase the clicks on sponsored listings. We discuss how these research results could enhance future sponsored search platforms.
Improved effectiveness of cueing by self-explanations when learning from a complex animation

A major problem in learning from instructional animations is that the complex perceptual and cognitive processing exceeds the learner's limited processing capacities. Although attention cueing might help learners in focusing on essential parts of an animation, previous studies have shown that it does not necessarily improve learning performance. This study investigated whether generating self-explanations while studying a cued or an uncued animation might engage learners in cognitive activities necessary for learning. It was hypothesized that learning from a cued animation that reduces working memory load associated with searching for specific elements might be improved by generating self-explanations, whereas self-explaining with an uncued animation would have no positive effect on learning. The results confirmed the hypothesized interaction between cueing and self-explaining. They suggest that self-explanation enhances learning if visual cues are used to structure and highlight the essential parts of an animation.
Design of a decision support system using open source software for a home telehealth application

This article presents a decision support system (DSS) that has been designed to manage patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) using a home telehealth system. The DSS has been developed to assist home telehealth clinical support staff with their workload, and to provide more effective communication between multiple home telehealth users. The three-tier system architecture that consists of a data layer; a business logic layer; and a front-end layer employs a business process model and uses a rule engine for its logic and knowledge base. This paper discusses the design considerations involved in the construction of a DSS for the purpose of home telehealth, and illustrates how it may be developed using entirely open source software.
Physionet Challenge 2011: Improving the quality of electrocardiography data collected using real time QRS-complex and T-Wave detection

The Physionet Challenge [1] focused on discerning between usable and unusable electrocardiography (ECG) data tele-medically from mobile embedded devices. Based on our publications [2,3,4], we have designed a method to determine the quality of ECG data and its usability using an adaptation of the Tompkins et al [5] real time QRS detection algorithm. With our modifications to the algorithm to cater to a very short length of data, out method is able to differentiate with accuracy the usability of ECG data in training set A as well as test set B.
Endothelial cell specific adhesion molecule (ESAM) localizes to platelet–platelet contacts and regulates thrombus formation in vivo

Summary. Background: In resting platelets, endothelial cell specific adhesion molecule (ESAM) is located in alpha granules, increasing its cell surface expression following platelet activation. However, the function of ESAM on platelets is unknown. Objective: To determine whether ESAM has a role in thrombus formation. Methods and results: We found that following platelet activation ESAM localizes to the junctions between adjacent platelets, suggesting a role for this protein in contact‐dependent events that regulate thrombus formation. To test this hypothesis we examined the effect of ESAM deletion on platelet function. In vivo, ESAM−/− mice achieved more stable hemostasis than wild‐type mice following tail transection, and developed larger thrombi following laser injury of cremaster muscle arterioles. In vitro, ESAM−/− platelets aggregated at lower concentrations of G protein‐dependent agonists than wild‐type platelets, and were more resistant to disaggregation. In contrast, agonist‐induced calcium mobilization, αIIbβ3 activation, alpha‐granule secretion and platelet spreading, were normal in ESAM‐deficient platelets. To understand the molecular mechanism by which ESAM regulates platelet activity, we utilized a PDZ domain array to identify the scaffold protein NHERF‐1 as an ESAM binding protein, and further demonstrated that it associates with ESAM in both resting and activated platelets. Conclusions: These findings support a model in which ESAM localizes to platelet contacts following platelet activation in order to limit thrombus growth and stability so that the optimal hemostatic response occurs following vascular injury.
Anaerobic Initial Reaction of n-Alkanes in a Denitrifying Bacterium: Evidence for (1-Methylpentyl)succinate as Initial Product and for Involvement of an Organic Radical in n-Hexane Metabolism

ABSTRACT A novel type of denitrifying bacterium (strain HxN1) with the capacity to oxidize n-alkanes anaerobically with nitrate as the electron acceptor to CO2 formed (1-methylpentyl)succinate (MPS) during growth on n-hexane as the only organic substrate under strict exclusion of air. Identification of MPS by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was based on comparison with a synthetic standard. MPS was not formed during anaerobic growth on n-hexanoate. Anaerobic growth with [1-13C]n-hexane ord14-n-hexane led to a 1-methylpentyl side chain in MPS with one 13C atom or 13 deuterium atoms, respectively. This indicates that the 1-methylpentyl side chain originates directly from n-hexane. Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy revealed the presence of an organic radical in n-hexane-grown cells but not inn-hexanoate-grown cells. Results point at a mechanistic similarity between the anaerobic initial reaction ofn-hexane and that of toluene, even thoughn-hexane is much less reactive; the described initial reaction of toluene in anaerobic bacteria is an addition to fumarate via a radical mechanism yielding benzylsuccinate. We conclude thatn-hexane is activated at its second carbon atom by a radical reaction and presumably added to fumarate as a cosubstrate, yielding MPS as the first stable product. When 2,3-d2-fumarate was added to cultures growing on unlabeled n-hexane, 3-d1-MPS rather than 2,3-d2-MPS was detected, indicating loss of one deuterium atom by an as yet unknown mechanism.
Photo Filter Recommendation by Category-Aware Aesthetic Learning

Nowadays, social media has become a popular platform for the public to share photos. To make photos more visually appealing, users usually apply filters on their photos without domain knowledge. However, due to the growing number of filter types, it becomes a major issue for users to choose the best filter type. For this purpose, filter recommendation for photo aesthetics takes an important role in image quality ranking problems. In these years, several works have declared that convolutional neural networks (CNNs) outperform traditional methods in image aesthetic categorization, which classifies images into high or low quality. Most of them do not consider the effect on filtered images; hence, we propose a novel image aesthetic learning for filter recommendation. Instead of binarizing image quality, we adjust the state-of-the-art CNN architectures and design a pairwise loss function to learn the embedded aesthetic responses in hidden layers for filtered images. Based on our pilot study, we observe image categories (e.g., portrait, landscape, food) will affect user preference on filter selection. We further integrate category classification into our proposed aesthetic-oriented models. To the best of our knowledge, there is no public dataset for aesthetic judgment with filtered images. We create a new dataset called filter aesthetic comparison dataset (FACD). It is the first dataset containing 28 160 filtered images and 42 240 user preference labels. We conduct experiments on the collected FACD for filter recommendation, and the results show that our proposed category-aware aesthetic learning outperforms aesthetic classification methods (e.g., 12% relative improvement).
A probabilistic framework of selecting effective key frames for video browsing and indexing

To represent effectively the video content, for browsing, indexing and video skimming, the most characteristic frames (called key-frames) should be extracted from given shots. This paper, briefly reviews and evaluates the existing approaches of key-frames extraction; and then introduces a framework of selecting effective key-frames using an unsupervised clustering method. The mixture of Gaussians is used to model the temporal variation of the feature vectors of all frames in the shot. As a result, the feature-based representation of the shot is partitioned into several clusters. From each obtained cluster, firstly the closest frame to the median of its frames is selected as a reference key-frame. Then depending on the variation in time and appearance of the cluster content against the reference key-frame multiple frames can be extracted to represent effectively the cluster. The number of clusters is determined automatically by the Bayes Information Criterion. Experimental results on tracked objects in a real-world video stream are presented which illustrate the performance of the proposed technique.
Recombinant Waveguide Power Divider

In this paper, a substrate integrated waveguide power divider is proposed on the basis of a recombinant topology that provides in-phase power division with an odd or even number of branches. The aim is to generate different types of power distribution to control sidelobe level in the antenna array. In this study, several power-divider designs were designed to demonstrate and validate the design approach. Each design consists of a cascade of steps and nfurcations, which were initially designed based on sinusoidal basis functions. These designs were simulated using the High Frequency Structure Simulator (HFSS) and shown to closely match the performance estimated using the basis functions. A substrate with thickness of 0.508 mm and dielectric constant of 2.94 is used. A three-way power divider with a binominal output taper is optimized and fabricated, showing good results in the bandwidth of interest from 72 to 81 GHz. Measurement results for a 3 × 8 slot array antenna designed in conjunction with the proposed feeding network are presented and discussed. This design can be used to build up rectangular waveguide structures. The novel structure is expected to be useful in building sub-arrays of antenna in the development of millimeter-wave automotive radar systems.
WIDE-BAND HARMONIC SINUSOIDAL MODELING

In this paper we propose a method to estimate and transform harmonic components in wide-band conditions, out of a single period of the analyzed signal. This method allows estimating harmonic parameters with higher temporal resolution than typical Short Time Fourier Transform (STFT) based methods. We also discuss transformations and synthesis strategies in such context, focusing on the human voice.