Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Active learning for story segmentation of spoken documents

In story segmentation, it is often difficult to gather the segmented data to train a new model for the purpose of supervised learning. Therefore, how to gather the useful data and to reduce the human effort on segmenting stories is an important issue. We apply active learning to selecting the most informative examples to train a supervised model more efficiently. Active learning aims to minimize the number of segmented examples by automatically selecting the examples that are most informative for the story segmenter. By this method, we can decrease the labor effort in boring story segmentation and get the same or better performance in automatic story segmentation. We also consider another problem, namely whether training data in story segmentation can be reusable or not and how the different special structures of the language influence the performance of active learning for story segmentation. The experimental results show that active learning can reduce the number of segmented examples to reach a given level of performance and that reusable training data in story segmentation still contain information that improves the performance. It is a satisfactory result
Robust significance-linked connected component analysis for low complexity progressive image transmission over noisy channels

A highly robust channel coding scheme to be seamlessly integrated into our previously developed high performance wavelet based significance-linked connected component analysis (SLCCA) image coding technique is proposed. The SLCCA source coding algorithm is slightly modified to enable synchronization after each bit-plane. Thus even after uncorrectable errors, the decoding can be continued at the next refinement level. An unequal error protection scheme is also developed by using Reed-Solomon codes. The proposed scheme outperforms P.G. Sherwood and K. Zeger's technique (1997; 1998) by 0.66 dB on average for the "Lena" image in peak signal-to-noise ratio. Furthermore, the proposed codec has very low computational complexity, well applicable for the power constrained mobile scenario.
UnTangle Map: Visual Analysis of Probabilistic Multi-Label Data

Data with multiple probabilistic labels are common in many situations. For example, a movie may be associated with multiple genres with different levels of confidence. Despite their ubiquity, the problem of visualizing probabilistic labels has not been adequately addressed. Existing approaches often either discard the probabilistic information, or map the data to a low-dimensional subspace where their associations with original labels are obscured. In this paper, we propose a novel visual technique, UnTangle Map, for visualizing probabilistic multi-labels. In our proposed visualization, data items are placed inside a web of connected triangles, with labels assigned to the triangle vertices such that nearby labels are more relevant to each other. The positions of the data items are determined based on the probabilistic associations between items and labels. UnTangle Map provides both (a) an automatic label placement algorithm, and (b) adaptive interactions that allow users to control the label positioning for different information needs. Our work makes a unique contribution by providing an effective way to investigate the relationship between data items and their probabilistic labels, as well as the relationships among labels. Our user study suggests that the visualization effectively helps users discover emergent patterns and compare the nuances of probabilistic information in the data labels.
Minor Hypospadias: The “Tip of the Iceberg” of the Partial Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome

Background Androgens are critical in male external genital development. Alterations in the androgen sensitivity pathway have been identified in severely undermasculinized boys, and mutations of the androgen receptor gene (AR) are usually found in partial or complete androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS). Objective The aim of this study was to determine whether even the most minor forms of isolated hypospadias are associated with AR mutations and thus whether all types of hypospadias warrant molecular analysis of the AR. Materials and Methods Two hundred and ninety-two Caucasian children presenting with isolated hypospadias without micropenis or cryptorchidism and 345 controls were included prospectively. Mutational analysis of the AR through direct sequencing (exons 1–8) was performed. In silico and luciferase functional assays were performed for unreported variants. Results Five missense mutations of the AR were identified in 9 patients with glandular or penile anterior (n = 5), penile midshaft (n = 2) and penile posterior (n = 2) hypospadias, i.e., 3%: p.Q58L (c.173A>T), 4 cases of p.P392S (c.1174C>T), 2 cases of p.A475V (c.1424C>T), p.D551H (c.1651G>C) and p.Q799E (c.2395C>G). None of these mutations was present in the control group. One mutation has never been reported to date (p.D551H). It was predicted to be damaging based on 6 in silico models, and in vitro functional studies confirmed the lowered transactivation function of the mutated protein. Three mutations have never been reported in patients with genital malformation but only in isolated infertility: p.Q58L, p.P392S, and p.A475V. It is notable that micropenis, a cardinal sign of AIS, was not present in any patient. Conclusion AR mutations may play a role in the cause of isolated hypospadias, even in the most minor forms. Identification of this underlying genetic alteration may be important for proper diagnosis and longer follow-up is necessary to find out if the mutations cause differences in sexual function and fertility later in life.
A Novel Power Distribution Scheme Combined with Adaptive Modulation Based on Subcarrier Grouping for OFDM Systems

In this paper, we propose to adapt both the modulation scheme and the transmit power in the frequency domain using a heuristic evaluation of the bit error rate (BER) for each subcarrier. The proposed method consists in ordering in terms of fading impact, grouping a certain number of subcarriers and performing local power adaptation in each subcarrier group. The subcarrier grouping is performed in order to equalize the average channel condition of each subcarrier group. Grouping and local power adaptation allow us to take advantage of the channel variations and to reduce the computational complexity of the proposed power distribution scheme, while avoiding the performance degradation due to the suboptimum power adaptation as much as possible. Compared to the conventional power distribution methods, the proposed scheme does not require any iterative process and the power adaptation is directly performed using an analytical formula. Simulations show a gain in terms of BER performance compared to equal power distribution and existing algorithms for power distribution. In addition, due to the subcarrier group specificity, the trade-off between the computational complexity and the performance can be controlled by adjusting the size of the subcarrier groups. Simulation results show significant improvement of BER performance compared to equal power allocation.
Generically sufficient conditions for exact multichannel blind image restoration

We have previously developed an algorithm and sufficient conditions for exact multichannel blind image restoration. In this paper, we use the resultant matrix theorem and techniques of algebraic geometry to prove that the sufficient conditions hold generically given three blurred versions of the same image and some restrictions on the size of the original image. Moreover, the extension to multichannel blind n-dimensional signal restoration is described.
Design and evaluation of 3D cursors and motion parallax for the exploration of desktop virtual environments

The selection and manipulation of 3D content in desktop virtual environments is commonly achieved with 2D mouse cursor-based interaction. However, by interacting with image-based techniques we introduce a conflict between the 2D space in which the 2D cursor lays and the 3D content. For example, the 2D mouse cursor does not provide any information about the depth of the selected objects. In this situation, the user has to rely on the depth cues provided by the virtual environment, such as perspective deformation, shading and shadows. In this paper, we explore new metaphors to improve the depth perception when interacting with 3D content. Our approach focus on the usage of 3D cursors controlled with 2D input devices (the Hand Avatar and the Torch) and a pseudo-motion parallax effect. The additional depth cues provided by the visual feedback of the 3D cursors and the motion parallax are expected to increase the users' depth perception of the environment. The evaluation of proposed techniques showed that users' depth perception was significantly increased. Users were able to better judge the depth ordering of virtual environment. Although 3D cursors showed a decrease of selection performance, it is compensated by the increased depth perception.
Excessive Sensitivity to Uncertain Visual Input in L-DOPA-Induced Dyskinesias in Parkinson’s Disease: Further Implications for Cerebellar Involvement

When faced with visual uncertainty during motor performance, humans rely more on predictive forward models and proprioception and attribute lesser importance to the ambiguous visual feedback. Though disrupted predictive control is typical of patients with cerebellar disease, sensorimotor deficits associated with the involuntary and often unconscious nature of l-DOPA-induced dyskinesias in Parkinson’s disease (PD) suggests dyskinetic subjects may also demonstrate impaired predictive motor control. Methods: We investigated the motor performance of 9 dyskinetic and 10 non-dyskinetic PD subjects on and off l-DOPA, and of 10 age-matched control subjects, during a large-amplitude, overlearned, visually guided tracking task. Ambiguous visual feedback was introduced by adding “jitter” to a moving target that followed a Lissajous pattern. Root mean square (RMS) tracking error was calculated, and ANOVA, robust multivariate linear regression, and linear dynamical system analyses were used to determine the contribution of speed and ambiguity to tracking performance. Results: Increasing target ambiguity and speed contributed significantly more to the RMS error of dyskinetic subjects off medication. l-DOPA improved the RMS tracking performance of both PD groups. At higher speeds, controls and PDs without dyskinesia were able to effectively de-weight ambiguous visual information. Conclusion: PDs’ visually guided motor performance degrades with visual jitter and speed of movement to a greater degree compared to age-matched controls. However, there are fundamental differences in PDs with and without dyskinesia: subjects without dyskinesia are generally slow, and less responsive to dynamic changes in motor task requirements, but in PDs with dyskinesia, there was a trade-off between overall performance and inappropriate reliance on ambiguous visual feedback. This is likely associated with functional changes in posterior parietal–ponto–cerebellar pathways.
Associations of Green Tea and Rock Tea Consumption with Risk of Impaired Fasting Glucose and Impaired Glucose Tolerance in Chinese Men and Women

Objective To explore the associations of green tea and rock tea consumption with risk of impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). Methods A multistage, stratified, cluster, random-sampling method was used to select a representative sample from Fujian Province in China. In total, 4808 subjects without cardiovascular disease, hypertension, cancer, or pancreatic, liver, kidney, or gastrointestinal diseases were enrolled in the study. A standard questionnaire was used to gather data on tea (green, rock, and black) consumption and other relevant factors. The assessment of impaired glucose regulation (IGR) was using 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), the diagnostic criteria of normal glucose tolerance was according to American Diabetes Association. Results Green tea consumption was associated with a lower risk of IFG, while rock tea consumption was associated with a lower risk of IGT. The adjusted odds ratios for IFG for green tea consumption of <1, 1–15, 16–30, and >30 cups per week were 1.0 (reference), 0.42 (95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.27–0.65), 0.23 (95% CI, 0.12–0.46), and 0.41 (95% CI, 0.17–0.93), respectively. The adjusted odds ratios for IGT for rock tea consumption of <1, 1–15, 16–30, and >30 cups per week were 1.0 (reference), 0.69 (95% CI, 0.48–0.98), 0.59 (95% CI, 0.39–0.90), and 0.64 (95% CI, 0.43–0.97), respectively. A U-shaped association was observed, subjects who consumed 16–30 cups of green or rock tea per week having the lowest odds ratios for IFG or IGT. Conclusions Consumption of green or rock tea may protect against the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus in Chinese men and women, particularly in those who drink 16–30 cups per week.
SCARAB: A single cycle adaptive routing and bufferless network

As technology scaling drives the number of processor cores upward, current on-chip routers consume substantial portions of chip area and power budgets. Since existing research has greatly reduced router latency overheads and capitalized on available on-chip bandwidth, power constraints dominate interconnection network design. Recently research has proposed bufferless routers as a means to alleviate these constraints, but to date all designs exhibit poor operational frequency, throughput, or latency. In this paper, we propose an efficient bufferless router which lowers average packet latency by 17.6% and dynamic energy by 18.3% over existing bufferless on-chip network designs. In order to maintain the energy and area benefit of bufferless routers while delivering ultra-low latencies, our router utilizes an opportunistic processor-side buffering technique and an energy-efficient circuit-switched network for delivering negative acknowledgments for dropped packets.
RELATIVE KAZHDAN PROPERTY (PROPRI´´ E (T) RELATIVE)

We perform a systematic investigation of Kazhdan's relative Prop- erty (T) for pairs (G,X), where G a locally compact group and X is any subset. When G is a connected Lie group or a p-adic algebraic group, we provide an explicit characterization of subsets XG such that (G,X) has relative Prop- erty (T). In order to extend this characterization to latticesG, a notion of "resolutions" is introduced, and various characterizations of it are given. Special attention is paid to subgroups of SU(2,1) and SO(4,1). R´´. Nous faisons unesystematique de la notion de propriete (T) relative (de Kazhdan) pour des paires (G,X), ou G est un groupe localement compact et X une partie quelconque. Lorsque G est un groupe de Lie connexe ou un groupe algebrique p-adique, nous caracterisons de facon explicite les par- ties XG telles que (G,X) a la propriete (T) relative. Une notion convenable de "resolutions" permet d'´etendre ces resultats aux reseauxG, et nous en donnons diverses caracterisations. Une attention particuliere est portee aux sous-groupes de SU(2,1) et SO(4,1).
Purdue University Graduate School Thesis/dissertation Acceptance Head of the Graduate Program Date a Multi-stage Non-cooperative Iris Recognition Approach with Enhanced Template Security Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering a Multi-stage Non-cooperative Iris Recognition Approach 

Yang, Kai. M.S.E.C. E. , Purdue University, August 2011. A Multi-stage Non-cooperative Iris Recognition Approach with Enhanced Template Security. Major Professor: Eliza Yingzi Du. Biometrics identifies/verifies a person using his/her physiological or behavioral characteristics. It is becoming an important ally for law enforcement and homeland security. Among all the biometric modalities, iris is tested to be the most accurate one. However, most existing methods are not designed for non-cooperative users and cannot work with off-angle or low quality iris images. In this thesis, we propose a robust multi-stage feature extraction and matching approach for non-cooperative iris recognition. We developed the SURF-like method to extract stable feature points, used Gabor Descriptor method for local feature description, and designed the multistage feature extraction and matching scheme to improve the recognition accuracy and speed. The related experimental results show that the proposed method is very promising. In addition, two template security enhanced schemes for the proposed noncooperative iris recognition are introduced. The related experimental results show that these two schemes can effectively realize cancelability of the enrolled biometric templates while at the same time achieving high accuracy.
Superimposition of eye fundus images for longitudinal analysis from large public health databases

In this paper, a method is presented for superimposition (i.e. registration) of eye fundus images from persons with diabetes screened over many years for diabetic retinopathy. The method is fully automatic and robust to camera changes and colour variations across the images both in space and time. All the stages of the process are designed for longitudinal analysis of cohort public health databases where retinal examinations are made at approximately yearly intervals. The method relies on a model correcting two radial distortions and an affine transformation between pairs of images which is robustly fitted on salient points. Each stage involves linear estimators followed by non-linear optimisation. The model of image warping is also invertible for fast computation. The method has been validated (1) on a simulated montage and (2) on public health databases with 69 patients with high quality images (271 pairs acquired mostly with different types of camera and 268 pairs acquired mostly with the same type of camera) with success rates of 92% and 98%, and five patients (20 pairs) with low quality images with a success rate of 100%. Compared to two state-of-the-art methods, ours gives better results.
Prediction of pollutant emission using partial least squares method

In the general context of a Decision support system (DSS), we applied partial least squares (PLS) as multivariate statistical technique for modeling and evaluation of automotive pollutant emissions. During the development of this activity different problems such as the integration of the micro simulated approach of driving cycles in the structure of the DSS have been addressed. This paper presents some results of PLS, related to a case study of emissive data coming from a data set of EURO 4 cars. Also the emission model predicted values on driving cycles, generated by car-following micro simulating models, are evaluated and compared with COPERT IV curves.
Detection of Puumala Hantavirus Antigen in Human Intestine during Acute Hantavirus Infection

Background Puumala virus (PUUV) is the most important hantavirus species in Central Europe. Nephropathia epidemica (NE), caused by PUUV, is characterized by acute renal injury (AKI) with thrombocytopenia and frequently gastrointestinal symptoms. Methods 456 patients with serologically and clinically confirmed NE were investigated at time of follow-up in a single clinic. The course of the NE was investigated using medical reports. We identified patients who had endoscopy with intestinal biopsy during acute phase of NE. Histopathological, immunohistochemical and molecular analyses of the biopsies were performed. Results Thirteen patients underwent colonoscopy or gastroscopy for abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting during acute phase of NE. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) revealed PUUV nucleocapsid antigen in 11 biopsies from 8 patients; 14 biopsies from 5 patients were negative for PUUV nucleocapsid antigen. IHC localized PUUV nucleocapsid antigen in endothelial cells of capillaries or larger vessels in the lamina propria. Rate of AKI was not higher and severity of AKI was not different in the PUUV-positive compared to the PUUV-negative group. All IHC positive biopsies were positive for PUUV RNA using RT-PCR. Phylogenetic reconstruction revealed clustering of all PUUV strains from this study with viruses previously detected from the South-West of Germany. Long-term outcome was favorable in both groups. Conclusions In patients with NE, PUUV nucleocapsid antigen and PUUV RNA was detected frequently in the intestine. This finding could explain frequent GI-symptoms in NE patients, thus demonstration of a more generalized PUUV infection. The RT-PCR was an effective and sensitive method to detect PUUV RNA in FFPE tissues. Therefore, it can be used as a diagnostic and phylogenetic approach also for archival materials. AKI was not more often present in patients with PUUV-positive IHC. This last finding should be investigated in larger numbers of patients with PUUV infection.
Sensible Decisions: Towar Invariants eoretic Infor

We propose a decision-theoretic notion of invariance in bounded rational decision making. We show how optimal decision making in sensory robotics can be approximately preserved under transformations of the decision rule. In particular, we present a decision theoretic analysis of the use of visual routines in action arbitration in real-time robot soccer. In this domain, stochastic dominance, and therefore decisions, can be sensed approximately from the environment, and we exploit this in our decision making.
Performance audit as a contributor to change and improvement in public administration

The last 30 years of the New Public Management ‘regime’ in many western countries have resulted in increased use of audit and other control mechanisms. These mechanisms are supposed to contribute both to accountability and improvement. In this article, theories of evaluation and organizational learning are used to understand how the dynamics of control affect change processes. We analyse responses to performance audit reports carried out by the country’s Supreme Audit Institution – an important control institution in Norway, as in most other countries. The findings are primarily based on survey data from 353 Norwegian civil servants. The auditees reported that they were mostly positive towards the reports and used them to make improvements in their control systems; however, civil servants also perceived the reports to be unbalanced. The results indicate that the performance audits’ contributions to improvements are less clear than they appear to be at first glance, and that personal and political factors may affect civil servants’ responses.
Document level semantic context for retrieving OOV proper names

Recognition of Proper Names (PNs) in speech is important for content based indexing and browsing of audio-video data. However, many PNs are Out-Of-Vocabulary (OOV) words for LVCSR systems used in these applications due to the diachronic nature of data. By exploiting semantic context of the audio, relevant OOV PNs can be retrieved and then the target PNs can be recovered. To retrieve OOV PNs, we propose to represent their context with document level semantic vectors; and show that this approach is able to handle less frequent OOV PNs in the training data. We study different representations, including Random Projections, LSA, LDA, Skip-gram, CBOW and GloVe. A further evaluation of recovery of target OOV PNs using a phonetic search shows that document level semantic context is reliable for recovery of OOV PNs.