Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Machine Learning Approach to Recovery of Scene Geometry from Images

Recovering the 3D structure of the scene from images yields useful information for tasks such as shape and scene recognition, object detection, or motion planning and object grasping in robotics. In this thesis, we introduce a general machine learning approach called unsupervised CRF learning based on maximizing the conditional likelihood. We apply our approach to computer vision systems that recover the 3-D scene geometry from images. We focus on recovering 3D geometry from single images, stereo pairs and video sequences. Building these systems requires algorithms for doing inference as well as learning the parameters of conditional Markov random fields (MRF). Our system is trained unsupervisedly without using ground-truth labeled data. We employ a slanted-plane stereo vision model in which we use a fixed over-segmentation to segment the left image into coherent regions called superpixels, then assign a disparity plane for each superpixel. Plane parameters are estimated by solving an MRF labelling problem, through minimizing an energy fuction. We demonstrate the use of our unsupervised CRF learning algorithm for a parameterized slanted-plane stereo vision model involving shape from texture cues. Our stereo model with texture cues, only by unsupervised training, outperforms the results in related work on the same stereo dataset. In this thesis, we also formulate structure and motion estimation as an energy minimization problem, in which the model is an extension of our slanted-plane stereo vision model that also handles surface velocity. Velocity estimation is achieved by solving an MRF labeling problem using Loopy BP. Performance analysis is done using our novel evaluation metrics based on the notion of view prediction error. Experiments on road-driving stereo sequences show encouraging results.
Retraction Retraction : Dose dependency of Disp 1 and genetic interaction between Disp 1 and other hedgehog signaling components in the mouse

The principal conclusions in Tian et al., 2005 are supported by appropriate documentation. Nevertheless, to confirm the conclusions drawn from Dr Tian’s primary data on the tissue requirement for Dispatched in facial development, we will repeat the experiments documented in Figure 2 of Tian et al., 2005, and will report our findings to the journal once these experiments have been concluded. We do not expect this re-analysis to change the conclusions drawn in this paper.
Da fala do outro ao texto negociado: discussões sobre a entrevista na pesquisa qualitativa

The article discusses the interview as a qualitative technique in the apprehension of perception and personal experience of world situations and events. The intersubjective relation, interviewer and interviewee, is of fundamental importance for allowing the access to the signs attributed by persons to the world events, as such product is the result of mutual influences in the interacting process in interview. The first section discusses the qualitative approach of the research and points the main differences towards the quantitative approach, as well as the theorical-methodological implications for using the interview as a technique for research. The second characterizes the qualitative interviews within the structure, types, participants role, and also discusses criteria in selecting the interviewees, representativity, validity, and trustworthiness in the results of the interpretations. The last section presents some considerations about the limits and possibilities in using the technique.
QoS Expectations in IP Networks: A Practical View

Traditionally, Internet has provided best-effort service to every user regardless of its requirements. However, as Internet becomes universally available, users demand more bandwidth and applications require more and more resources, and interest has developed in having the Internet provide some degree of Quality of Service. Although QoS is an important issue, the question of how it will be brought into the Internet has not been solved yet. Researches, due to the rapid advances in technology are proposing new and more desirable capabilities for the next generation of IP infrastructures. But neither all applications demand the same amount of resources, nor all users are service providers. In this way, this paper is the first of a series of papers that presents an architecture as a first step to the optimization of QoS in the Internet environment as a solution to a SMSE ́s problem whose objective is to provide public service to internet with certain Quality of Service expectations. The service provides new business opportunities, but also presents new challenges. We have designed and implemented a scalable service framework that supports adaptive bandwidth based on user demands, and the billing based on usage and on QoS. The developed application has been evaluated and the results show that traffic limiting works at optimum and so it does exceeding bandwidth distribution. However, some considerations are done and currently research is under way in two basic areas: (i) development and testing new transfer protocols, and (ii) developing new strategies for traffic improvements based on service differentiation. Keywords—Differentiated Services, Linux, Quality of Service, queueing disciplines, web application.
A note on the space of evolutionary operators in population genetics and folding dynamics

Discrete dynamical systems defined by the iteration of a polynomial map of the unit simplex to itself appear in the context of population genetic systems evolving under mutation, recombination and weak selection. Although exceptional progress has been made in finding particular solutions to these systems, our knowledge of the general properties of the space of all possible dynamical systems of this kind is still limited. We prove that the space of bounded-degree polynomial maps of the unit simplex to itself is a compact and convex subset of a Euclidean space. We provide an explicit characterization of such a space and of its boundary. A special class of maps in the boundary, the folding maps, which generalize the logistic map for any dimension and degree are defined and constructed. Finally, we use numerical methods to study the ergodic and mixing properties of maps in the neighborhood of several of these folding maps.
Detecting denial-of-service attacks with incomplete audit data

With the ever increasing deployment and usage of gigabit networks, traditional network anomaly detection based intrusion detection systems have not scaled accordingly. Most, if not all, systems deployed assume the availability of complete and clean data for the purpose of intrusion detection. We contend that this assumption is not valid. Factors like noise in the audit data, mobility of the nodes and the large amount of network data generated by the network make it difficult to build a normal traffic profile of the network for the purpose of anomaly detection. From this perspective, we present an anomaly detection scheme, called SCAN (stochastic clustering algorithm for network anomaly detection), that has the capability to detect intrusions with high accuracy even when audit data is not complete. We use the expectation-maximization algorithm to cluster the incoming audit data and compute the missing values in the audit data. We improve the speed of convergence of the clustering process by using Bloom filters and data summaries. We evaluate SCAN using the 1999 DARPA/Lincoln Laboratory intrusion detection evaluation dataset.
Locating Sources in Online Social Networks via Random Walk

To locate source nodes of influence propagation given an observation set in online social networks is the source location problem. It is increasingly critical to control the diffusion of malicious information in terms of source nodes with the popularity of online social networks. In this paper, we focus on multi-source location with incomplete information. First, to track the causes that make node activation, we propose the Bayes backtracking model (BBM), where the posterior probabilities of activation causes are formulated. Then, we employ random walk to represent the source backtracking process and present the corresponding backtracking algorithm for source location by taking the posterior probability in BBM as the transition probability in random walk. Finally, we test the effectiveness of our method on real online social networks and make performance studies.
Editorial letter: Publishing at EJWOP

Welcome to the 2013 EJWOP first issue. As I write this editorial note, EJWOP has already processed 314 original manuscripts, which will be around 350 by the end of December 2012. This past year, we redoubled our efforts for developing a better journal by consolidating our Editorial Board in two areas. First, we have begun a renewal of the Consulting Editors Board, to be finished in 2013. Second, we have added two new Associate Editors: Ana Cristina Costa and Dieter Zapf. These two new Associate Editors will replace Pascale Le Blanc, Birgit Schyns, and Christian Vandenberghe, for whom we have much gratitude for their outstanding work for the journal in the past 4 years. We increased again the journal impact factor reported in the Journal of Citation Reports, from 1.489 to 1.962, while reducing manuscript turnaround times from 69 in 2011 to 51 days in 2012. In addition, we modified the process for submission and selection of Special Issues in our journal. In continuing this growing and development, it is our desire at EJWOP to strive in publishing the highest quality manuscripts possible, and to give our readers timely and quality feedback by creating added value in the review process so they can improve their work. As a means of accomplishing these goals, we discussed and agreed, as a Review Board, that our authors will be better helped if we clearly communicate our expectations about submissions. With this goal in mind, we seek to make explicit the minimum requirements that an article submitted to EJWOP should meet to successfully start and progress through the review process. The following 10 points summarize the results of our debate:
Microwave band radiative transfer in the rain medium: Implications for radar sounding and radiometry

In the present paper, the problems of formation and observation of spatial and angular distribution of thermal radiation of raining atmosphere in the millimeter wave band are addressed. Radiative transfer of microwave thermal radiation in three-dimensional dichroic medium is simulated numerically. Governing role of three dimensional cellular inhomogeneity of the precipitating atmosphere in the formation of thermal radiation field is shown.
Taxol and Taurine Protect the Renal Tissue of Rats after Unilateral Ureteral Obstruction: A Stereological Survey

Purpose Blockage of the urinary tract induces changes in renal structure including tubular dilatation or atrophy, tubular cell death, inflammatory processes, and progressive interstitial fibrosis with the loss of renal parenchyma. The present study was conducted to survey the protective effects of Taxol and taurine on the renal structure after unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO). Materials and Methods UUO was induced in three groups of rats (n=6) who then received distilled water, Taxol (0.3 mg/kg/d), or taurine (7.5 mg/kg/d). Stereological methods were used to gather quantitative as well as comparative data. Results Less than -8% of the volume of the glomeruli, proximal convoluted tubules (PCT), distal convoluted tubules (DCT), Henle's loop, and collecting ducts were preserved after UUO. After treatment of the UUO rats with Taxol, between -32% and 88% of the parameters mentioned above remained intact, and after treatment of the UUO rats with taurine, between -16% and 46% of the parameters remained intact (p<0.01). Compared with the untreated UUO animals, the volume of necrotic and fibrotic tissues decreased -53% and -63% in the UUO rats treated with Taxol and taurine, respectively (p<0.01). Less than -3% of the lengths of the renal tubules (PCT, DCT, Henle's loop, and collecting) were preserved in the UUO rats. After treatment with Taxol and taurine, -61% to 70% and -43% to 53% of the length of the renal tubules were preserved, respectively (p<0.01). Conclusions Taurine and Taxol are effective in preventing some structural renal damage in a direct ureteral obstruction model. Taxol was more effective in renal protection.
Approximating low-dimensional coverage problems

We study the complexity of the maximum coverage problem, restricted to set systems of bounded VC-dimension. Our main result is a fixed-parameter tractable approximation scheme: an algorithm that outputs a (1-ε)-approximation to the maximum-cardinality union of k sets, in running time $O(f(ε,k,d)⋅ poly(n)) where n is the problem size, d is the VC-dimension of the set system, and f(ε,k,d) is exponential in (kd/ε)c for some constant c. We complement this positive result by showing that the function f(ε,k,d) in the running-time bound cannot be replaced by a function depending only on (ε,d) or on (k,d), under standard complexity assumptions. We also present an improved upper bound on the approximation ratio of the greedy algorithm in special cases of the problem, including when the sets have bounded cardinality and when they are two-dimensional halfspaces. Complementing these positive results, we show that when the sets are four-dimensional halfspaces neither the greedy algorithm nor local search is capable of improving the worst-case approximation ratio of 1-1/e that the greedy algorithm achieves on arbitrary instances of maximum coverage.
Antecedents of Production Innovation during Web Based Application Development

Internet technology is changing the way of product development, ranging from information gathering, product innovation and commerce to product development. Production innovations are crucial for success of companies operating in turbulent and uncertain environments. These production innovations need to be introduced at a rapid pace while at the same time companies have to absorb market information and integrate knowledge during Web based application development. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to develop a general model on the critical antecedents of production innovation via combining organizational learning theory and knowledge-based perspectives during Web based application development. Using structural equations modeling with data collected 208 Chinese firms, the result show that knowledge integration plays a perfect mediating role between learning orientation and production innovation. Managerial implications are explored and future research directions are also identified.
Basic readout circuit applied on FGMOS-based CMOS-MEMS inertial sensing prototypes

In this work is reported a brief summary of considerations for the design of a basic readout CMOS integrated system applied for the conditioning of small signals taken from a floating-gate based CMOS-MEMS capacitive structure intended for inertial measurement. Both the electromechanical structure and the readout circuit (consisting in a variable capacitor coupled to the gate of a MOSFET and a conventional CMOS amplification stage, respectively) were designed for and fabricated in the 0.5um standard CMOS MPW platform available in ON Semi. Simulation results for every component are presented as well as a comparison with measurements for the second stage of the readout system since the mobile capacitive structure (first stage) needs further post-processing to reach its proper functioning and desired behavior.
Integrated Wireless Rogue Access Point Detection and Counterattack System

In this paper we propose the integrated solution for detection and counterattack the rogue access points. Classification of rogue access point and related risk assessment is analyzed. Rogue detection algorithm is also proposed. Our proposed solution is effective and low cost. It is designed to utilize the existing wireless LAN infrastructure. There is no need to acquire the new RF devices or dedicated wireless detection sensors. The experiments in the real system are demonstrated.
A study of Q-range ambiguity in the Radio Interferometric Positioning System

The Radio Interferometric Positioning System (RIPS) was developed by Maroti et al. for the purpose of node localization in wireless sensor networks. They theorized that RIPS would produce ambiguous measurements when distances between nodes exceeded a carrier wavelength. This paper investigates this effect. In this investigation patterns in these invalid measurements are studied and then explained by looking at the mathematics behind RIPS. Findings made, provide a characterization of ambiguity in RIPS as well as new methods to extend the range of RIPS measurements beyond one carrier wavelength.
Procainamide and Retrograde Atrioventricular Nodal Conduction in Man

Recent studies that show a depressant effect of procainamide (PA) on retrograde conduction in patients with atrioventricular (AV) nodal reentrant tachycardia (RT) have suggested possible incorporation of AV nodal bypass tracts. Electrophysiologic effects of i.v. PA, 10 mg/kg, on retrograde AV nodal conduction were examined in 13 patients without RT, demonstrable AV nodal refractory period curves, or accessory pathways. Ventriculoatrial (VA) conduction was recorded before and after PA using intracardiac electrograms, incremental ventricular pacing and extrastimulation. With incremental pacing during the control, VA block occurred at a mean cycle length (CL) of 364.6 ± 87.9 msec. After PA, VA conduction was abolished in five of 13 patients due to onset of retrograde block in the AV node; in seven of 13, VA block occurred at a longer paced CL after PA (344.2 ± 51.2 msec vs 477.1 ± 93.2 msec). In one patient, PA did not affect VA conduction. PA invariably produced prolongation in the VA interval at comparable CL of pacing. With ventricular premature stimulation, the retrograde H2A2 intervals during the control period were short (< 50 msec) in seven of 13, intermediate (60-100 msec) in three of 13 and long (> 100 msec) in three of 13 cases. PA either abolished H2A2 conduction (H2 but no A2) or prolonged the H2A2 intervals by 5-20 msec in most cases in this series. The data suggest that i.v. PA almost uniformly depresses retrograde AV nodal conduction in the intact human heart. This depressant response to PA is not indicative of presence of partial or complete AV nodal bypass tracts.
Cerebrovascular CO2 Reactivity in Normotensive and Hypertensive Man

Cerebrovascular reactivity to CO2 inhalation and voluntary hyperventilation was studied in seven normotensive subjects and nine hypertensive patients without clinical or angiographical signs of arteriosclerosis. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) was measured by the intracarotid 133Xe clearance method and calculated as the initial slope index. Three to five CBF measurements were made in each patient in the Paco2 range of 20 to 55 mm Hg. No difference was observed in reactivity between hypertensive and normotensive patients, either during CO, inhalation or during hyperventilation. The shape of the CBF:Paco2 curve suggested a decrease in reactivity below a Paco2 of 30 to 35 mm Hg in both groups. Above a Paco2 of 35 mm Hg, exponential regression analysis yielded a mean reactivity of 6 ± 2%, whereas below a Paco2 of 30 mm Hg it was about 2%. The rise in CBF during CO2 inhalation was not influenced by the intravenous infusion of a small dose of trimethaphan which blocked the concomitant rise in blood pressure.
AR-PCA-HMM Approach for Sensorimotor Task Classification in EEG-based Brain-Computer Interfaces

We propose an approach based on Hidden Markov models (HMMs) combined with principal component analysis (PCA) for classification of four-class single trial motor imagery EEG data for brain computer interfacing (BCI) purposes. We extract autoregressive (AR) parameters from EEG data and use PCA to decrease the number of features for better training of HMMs. We present experimental results demonstrating the improvements provided by our approach over an existing HMM-based EEG single trial classification approach as well as over state-of-the-art classification methods.
The Impact of Sexual Imagery in Advertising: Comparing Hispanics’ and Non-Hispanics’ Attitudes and Responses Toward Print Ads

The purpose of this study was to examine differences in attitudinal responses to sexual imagery in advertising by young adult Hispanics and non-Hispanics and establish whether any gender differences exist. A quantitative methodology was used. Results show that the lack of influence of the ethnicity variable suggests that respondents appear to overwhelm Hispanic cultural predispositions. Although males were more accepting of the sexual imagery, this did not translate as influence by the advertisements. Although undefined by this research, the reptilian ad appears to exceed some tolerance levels. As a result advertisers and marketing managers should be wary of utilizing strong sexual appeals.
Real-time Object Tracking in Videos using Deep Learning and Optical Flow

Precise tracking of objects in real-time videos is a challenging task. This study presents an integrated system that fuses computer vision and deep learning techniques to enhance object tracking in videos. Leveraging deep learning using YOLOv8 architecture, we first extract object position by predicting the location of bounding boxes in video frames. We then employ blurring and optical flow for precise object tracking. Optical flow analysis aids in mapping the object's movement across frames, allowing for accurate trajectory tracing. This comprehensive approach ensures the object's consistent identification throughout the video. The proposed method is trained and validated on DFL Soccer ball detection dataset. The work shows promising results in real-time tracking of football in the football match videos. The proposed system combines computer vision and deep learning technologies to provide an efficient and reliable method for tracking objects in dynamic video environments, with potential applications in surveillance, autonomous navigation, and more.
Effect of genetic subtypes and growth hormone treatment on bone mineral density in Prader-Willi syndrome

Abstract Background: Currently, there is limited information on the effects of growth hormone and of the different genetic subtypes on bone mineral density (BMD) in Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). Methods: We evaluated BMD in 79 individuals with the common subtypes of PWS (48 with deletion and 27 with UPD) and the effect of growth hormone treatment (n=46) vs. no growth hormone treatment. Results: Forty-four percent of the individuals studied had whole body, hip, or spine BMD <–1 standard deviation (SD) and 10% had a BMD <–2 SD. BMD Z-scores and total BMD (g/cm2) of the spine were significantly higher in the growth hormone group. With each year of growth hormone treatment, these values increased by a factor of 0.207 and 0.011 (p=0.006 and 0.032), respectively. Individuals with uniparental disomy revealed higher spine BMD compared with deletion subclass; however, the differences were not significant. Conclusion: This study emphasizes the importance of evaluating bone mineralization in individuals with PWS and the beneficial effects of prolonged treatment with growth hormone. There was a trend for a higher BMD in individuals with uniparental disomy.
Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Logic for Control Applications

Type-2 fuzzy sets are used for modeling uncertainty and imprecision in a better way. These type-2 fuzzy sets were originally presented by Zadeh in 1975 and are essentially “fuzzy fuzzy” sets where the fuzzy degree of membership is a type-1 fuzzy set. The new concepts were introduced by Mendel and Liang allowing the characterization of a type-2 fuzzy set with a superior membership function and an inferior membership function, these two functions can be represented each one by a type-1 fuzzy set membership function. The interval between these two functions represents the footprint of uncertainty (FOU), which is used to characterize a type-2 fuzzy set. Type-2 fuzzy logic can be used with success in control applications.