Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimized Color Filter Arrays for Sparse Representation-Based Demosaicking

Demosaicking is the problem of reconstructing a color image from the raw image captured by a digital color camera that covers its only imaging sensor with a color filter array (CFA). Sparse representation-based demosaicking has been shown to produce superior reconstruction quality. However, almost all existing algorithms in this category use the CFAs, which are not specifically optimized for the algorithms. In this paper, we consider optimally designing CFAs for sparse representation-based demosaicking, where the dictionary is well-chosen. The fact that CFAs correspond to the projection matrices used in compressed sensing inspires us to optimize CFAs via minimizing the mutual coherence. This is more challenging than that for traditional projection matrices because CFAs have physical realizability constraints. However, most of the existing methods for minimizing the mutual coherence require that the projection matrices should be unconstrained, making them inapplicable for designing CFAs. We consider directly minimizing the mutual coherence with the CFA’s physical realizability constraints as a generalized fractional programming problem, which needs to find sufficiently accurate solutions to a sequence of nonconvex nonsmooth minimization problems. We adapt the redistributed proximal bundle method to address this issue. Experiments on benchmark images testify to the superiority of the proposed method. In particular, we show that a simple sparse representation-based demosaicking algorithm with our specifically optimized CFA can outperform LSSC [1]. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first sparse representation-based demosaicking algorithm that beats LSSC in terms of CPSNR.
Soft Hint Enabled Adaptive Visible Light Communication over Screen-Camera Links

Screen-camera links for Visible Light Communication (VLC) are diverse, as the link quality varies according to many factors, such as ambient light and camera's performance. This paper presents SoftLight, a channel coding approach that considers the unique channel characteristics of VLC links and automatically adapts the transmission data rate to the link qualities of various scenarios. SoftLight incorporates two new ideas: (1) an expanded color modulation interface that provides soft hint about its confidence in each demodulated bit and establishes a bit-level VLC erasure channel, and (2) a rateless coding scheme that achieves bit-level rateless transmissions with low computation complexity and tolerates the false positive of bits provided by the soft hint enabled erasure channel. SoftLight is orthogonal to the visual coding schemes and can be applied atop any barcode layouts. We implement SoftLight on Android smartphones and evaluate its performance under a variety of environments. The experiment results show that SoftLight can correctly transmit a 22-KByte photo between two smartphones within 0.6 second and improves the average goodput of the state-of-the-art screen-camera VLC solution by 2.2<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\times$</tex-math> <alternatives><inline-graphic xlink:href="du-ieq1-2551750.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>.
Assessing Big Data SQL Frameworks for Analyzing Event Logs

Performing Process Mining by analyzing event logs generated by various systems is a very computation and I/O intensive task. Distributed computing and Big Data processing frameworks make it possible to distribute all kinds of computation tasks to multiple computers instead of performing the whole task in a single computer. This paper assesses whether contemporary structured query language (SQL) supporting Big Data processing frameworks are mature enough to be efficiently used to distribute computation of two central Process Mining tasks to two dissimilar clusters of computers providing BPM as a service in the cloud. Tests are performed by using a novel automatic testing framework detailed in this paper and its supporting materials. As a result, an assessment is made on how well selected Big Data processing frameworks manage to process and to parallelize the analysis work required by Process Mining tasks.
Introduction to the Special Issue on Web Surveys

In 1997 as an untenured assistant professor of sociology at Northwestern University, I was contacted by an editor at the National Geographic Society’s Web site. The editor heard I had training in demography and experience working with survey data. As part of the Society’s coverage of the upcoming millennium, they were exploring the idea of using the Web to collect survey data, in particular survey data on the impact of migration on cultural identity. With considerable programming support from Northwestern, editorial assistance from the National Geographic, and a measure of naiveté but no real budget, I agreed to take on the challenge. Survey2000 was created with content advice and encouragement from a diverse group of senior colleagues, including William Sims Bainbridge (the National Science Foundation), Wendy Griswold (Northwestern University), Richard Peterson (Vanderbilt University), and Barry Wellman (University of Toronto). Built on a mixture of static HTML pages and Pearl programming, Survey2000 went live in 1998 and was scheduled to collect data in time for coverage in the December 1999 edition of the National Geographic magazine. From my perspective, at that time the key research question regarding Survey2000 was to see if complex survey data could be collected using the Web in a wide-open environment. Quite simply, could the contraption fly? And, in fact, it did fly. Over a 10-week period, more than 87,000 individuals in 178 countries took part in the survey. The average respondent spent nearly 45 minutes on the survey (Witte et al. 2000). In Contemporary Sociology Bainbridge (1999:664) described the project as an example of ‘‘innovating in the use of the new computerized media for research’’ rather than ‘‘retreating into a narrow niche in the university curriculum while other disciplines become the social science of the future. ’’ Datacollected Sociological Methods & Research Volume 37 Number 3 February 2009 283-290 © 2009 Sage Publications 10.1177/0049124108328896 http://smr.sagepub. com hosted at http://online.sagepub. com
Protecs, a comprehensive and powerful storage and analysis system for OMICS data, applied for profiling the anaerobiosis response of Staphylococcus aureus COL

Broad functional genomic studies call for comprehensive and powerful data repositories for storage of genome sequences, experimental information, protein identification data, protein properties and expression values. The better such data repositories can integrate and display complex data in a clear and structured way the more biologically meaningful conclusions or novel hypotheses can be derived from extensive omics data sets. This work presents the web accessible database system Protecs and how it was used to support analysis of 50 samples drawn from four Staphylococcus aureus cultivations under anaerobiosis. Protecs incorporates findings from visualization science, e.g. micro charts and heat maps in the user interface. Its integrated tools for expression data analysis in combination with TIGR Multi Experiment Viewer were used to highlight similar gene expression profiles in single or multiple experiments based on the continuously updated S. aureus master gel. Raw data analysis results are available online at www.protecs. uni‐greifswald.de. Our meta‐study revealed that S. aureus responds in different anaerobiotic experimental setups (growth without oxygen; growth without oxygen but with supplemental pyruvate and uracil; growth without oxygen but with NO 3− ; growth without oxygen but with NO 3− and without functional nreABC genes) with a general anaerobiosis response. Among others, this response is characterized by an induction of fermentation enzymes (PflB, Ldh1, SACOL0135, SACOL0660) as well as the response regulator SrrA. Interestingly, especially genes with a high codon adaptation index highly overlap with anaerobically induced genes.
Effects and Determinants of Outcomes-Focused Learning Environments.

A common line of past learning environment research has involved associations between the learning environment and student outcomes (i.e. the effects of learning environment). It is one thing to advocate that teachers establish outcomes-focused learning environments, but it is important to know whether the creation of such learning environments are associated with more positive student attitudes and higher achievement. Consequently, the first aim of this article is to report our investigation of associations between emphases in outcomes-focused classroom learning environments (as assessed by the Technology-Rich Outcomes-Focused Learning Environment Inventory, TROFLEI, and the student outcomes of attitudes and achievement. Because many past learning environment studies focused on determinants of classroom environments, our study of outcomes-focused classroom environments also employed the scales of the TROFLEI as dependent variables in investigating whether differences exist in perceived learning environment, preferred learning environment and attitudes between: (a) males and females and (b) students enrolled in university-entrance examination subjects and wholly school-assessed subjects.
Perceptions of successful ageing and implications for late-life learning

This paper draws upon a small-scale investigation to shed light on the perceptions of successful ageing by a group of senior adults in Hong Kong. It also identifies attributes that are associated with ageing well and examines the extent to which education or learning is perceived as important in the ageing process. To this end, the research has taken on an educational perspective to find out what older people themselves want and need to learn, what motivates them and what poses as barriers to their participation in learning. By making such data available, policy-makers and educational providers alike will be better placed to understand and determine the role of learning in the ageing process and to plan appropriate interventions in support of late-life learning for and by the elderly.
Pneumatically powered robotic exercise device to induce a specific force profile in target lower extremity muscles

SUMMARY The goal of this research is to establish a methodology to actively control a pneumatically driven robotic device that can induce specific muscle force patterns in target muscles during a subject's voluntary movement. In this paper, the generation of constant forces in the rectus femoris muscle throughout the knee extension, i.e., isotonic contractions, was studied. Due to a highly nonlinear nature of mapping the joint torque to muscle force, a simple application of constant torques to the knee joint would not realize isotonic contractions. The proposed robotic exercise accounted for nonlinear moment arms of muscles as functions of joint angles and nonlinear coordination of multiple muscles in the neuromuscular system to accomplish individual muscle control. A pneumatically powered one degree-of-freedom device that can impose active force feedback control has been designed and built. An exercise-planning algorithm has been developed that involved a musculoskeletal model of the lower body, and the dynamics of a pneumatic actuator. Five constant force profiles were tested for 20 healthy volunteers and electromyographic signals were collected while the device was applying calculated force profiles.
Principles of ergonomic instrument handles

Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) has become firmly established during the last decade. The advantages for patients are well recognised. Surgeons, however, must cope with disadvantages caused by an unergonomic working place. This includes architecture, operating room (OR) design, team interaction, equipment and, finally, posture and instrument handles. To prevent pressure areas, persisting nerve lesions, muscle cramps and fatigue caused by unergonomic tools it is necessary for the surgeon, both as a purchaser and user of laparoscopic instruments, to know the principles of ergonomically designed handles for MIS instruments. Anatomical, physiological and ergonomic facts are presented. An ideal ergonomic working posture for the laparoscopic surgeon and an optimal grasp for manipulating the instrument's functional elements are recommended. Criteria for genuine 'ergonomic handles' are established. These criteria enable the surgeon to evaluate ergonomic handles for MIS instruments according to his/her particular needs.
Dietary restriction improves repopulation but impairs lymphoid differentiation capacity of hematopoietic stem cells in early aging

Tang et al. report that dietary restriction increases hematopoietic stem cell quiescence and their repopulation capacity during aging but impairs hematopoietic stem cell differentiation into lymphoid lineages and inhibits proliferation of lymphoid progenitors, resulting in decreased production of peripheral B lymphocytes and impaired immune function.
Brief Intervention Experiences of Young High-Frequency Cannabis Users in a Canadian Setting

High-frequency cannabis use is prevalent among young adults and has been linked to negative health consequences, yet effective therapeutic interventions are currently limited. Brief Interventions (BIs) for problematic substance use have shown promise, but are typically limited to quantitative outcome measures. This study aims to document the qualitative experiences of young, high-frequency cannabis users with BIs. Sixty-two high-frequency cannabis users, recruited from university student populations, participated in one of two newly developed cannabis BIs and were surveyed qualitatively at the 3-month post-intervention follow-up. Results show that 69.4% of the respondents believed they had undergone changes in actions/thinking/attitudes regarding their cannabis use, with diversion to potentially less harmful cannabis use patterns—including reductions in the frequency/quantity of use and declines in deep-inhalation/breath-holding techniques—being reported. Findings suggest that a personalized, interactive, culturally appropriate format may be a promising BI template for this population. Future qualitative research on BI experiences is urgently needed.
A Comparison of Successful and Unsuccessful Placements of Secondary Students with Mental Handicaps into Competitive Employment

women (Komarovsky, 1973), Blacks and Hispanics (Cain, 1984, U.S. Department of Labor, 1982), and immigrant Southeast Asians (Hirschman & Wong, 1981). Similarly, many individuals with mental retardation are either unemployed or underemployed. Indeed, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (1983) reported that only 25% to 50% of adults with handicaps in the United States are employed. Although this figure may be exaggerated (cf. Conley, 1973; Edgar, 1988; Hasazi, Gordon, & Roe, 1985), the fact remains that a large number of individuals with mental retardation are not encouraged to contribute to their own economic independence nor to fulfill societal expectations for employment. Indeed, the 50% employment rate for graduates from secondary special education programs must be interpreted in view of the 70% employment rate of youths in general (Edgar, 1987). Loss of human resources and individual stories of unfulfilled promises prompted Will (1984) to encourage the development of transition services from secondary schools to community settings. To date, more than 200 model programs have been funded by the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) to stimulate the development of model programs for high school stu-
Governing the present: activism, neoliberalism, and the problem of power and consent

This article begins by tracing some of the different standpoints from which a critical engagement with ‘governance’ has been developed; then goes on to assess the potential contribution of some strands of feminist cultural and political theory. Such theory, used to frame the findings of a particular research project, offers a challenge to power-resistance models of politics, showing instead how social movement activism is both implicated in, and stands in opposition to, transformative governing projects. The article shows how this form of analysis might approach the understanding of current struggles for power and consent, drawing on notions of hegemonic projects and conjunctural analysis. The article ends by arguing against the forms of ‘strong theory’ that characterize much contemporary analysis of neoliberal governance, arguing instead for a combination of ‘critique’ and ‘criticality’ within – and beyond – the academy.
Forms of Introduction in Dialogues: Their Discourse Contexts and Communicative Consequences.

Abstract For effective communication to occur, speakers must share enough knowledge to understand one another's contributions-they must achieve “mutual knowledge”. A critical point in a dialogue is therefore when one speaker wishes to introduce a new item. Previous research has shown how speakers collaborate to achieve mutual knowledge at points in a diaglogue. In this paper, we show that speakers vary in how effectively they collaborate with their partners on a communicative task. We demonstrate that there are a number of different ways in which new information can be introduced and that the choices speakers make influence how successful such collaborations are likely to be. Speakers who use question form introductions are more likely to elicit informative feedback from their partners and to communicate successfully.
Emerging Owners , Eclipsing Markets ? Corporate Governance in Central and Eastern Europe

New comparable data on ownership and control and financing patterns shows that the emerging capitalist systems in Central and Eastern Europe share many features. While the extent of remaining government ownership differs from one country to another, private ownership dominates everywhere. Ownership and control are becoming increasingly concentrated, with the emergence of corporate groupings and significant foreign owners in most countries. The emerging ownership and control structures have important implications for corporate governance. The fundamental tradeoff is between providing incentives to entrepreneurship and protection of minority investors. Our main message is that ownership and control is and will remain concentrated for the foreseeable future, and regulatory intervention should focus on eliminating outright fraud while maintaining the incentives for entrepreneurship and large shareholder monitoring. In particular, there is a strong need to make the emerging control structures and what controlling owners do more transparent.
Introduction to the special issue on employment discrimination against immigrants

Purpose – This editorial aims to introduce the special issue on employment discrimination against immigrants.Design/methodology/approach – The first part is a commentary on key issues in the study of employment discrimination against immigrants. The second part presents the five articles in the special issue.Findings – The papers in this special issue focus on a variety of issues associated with employment discrimination against immigrants. For example, they consider: discrimination based on accents; differences among justice perceptions among immigrants and non‐immigrants; the effects of negative stereotypes on workplace outcomes; the treatment of Hispanic immigrants; and the reasons for the lack of research on Hispanic immigrants.Research limitations/implications – The author comments on key issues that researchers of employment discrimination against immigrants have to take into account. These issues include: the appreciation of the diversity among immigrants; an understanding of the complexity of empl.
Linear analysis of lateral vehicle dynamics

Systematic analysis of lateral dynamics of a ground vehicle (e.g. passenger car) is presented in this paper. The results are based on the simplest possible single-track model. Effects of variations in the physical parameters — mass, the moment of inertia, tire priorities, vehicle geometry — on the response times, damping ratios, natural frequencies and other dynamical characteristics are presented and confronted with intuitive and “common sense” expectations and with real-life experience of race car drivers and constructors. We believe that such a report is quite unique and useful by itself: we are not aware of any similar existing report which would provide this systems- and-controls viewpoint on the vehicle dynamics phenomena. In addition, future plans are to apply modern systematic model-based control design approaches to come up with active dynamics modifications solutions — using for instance torque vectoring — surpassing current approaches based mainly on mechanical redesigns and, to some extent, simplest possible local feedback controllers.
Examining the Contribution of Critical Visualisation to Information Security

This paper examines the use of visualisations in the field of information security and in particular focuses on the practice of information security risk assessment. We examine the current roles of information security visualisations and place these roles in the wider information visualisation discourse. We present an analytic lens which divides visualisations into three categories: journalistic, scientific and critical visualisations. We then present a case study that uses these three categories of visualisations to further support information security practice. Two significant results emerge from this case study: (1) visualisations that promote critical thinking and reflection (a form of critical visualisation) support the multi-stakeholder nature of risk assessment and (2) a preparatory stage in risk assessment is sometimes needed by service designers in order to establish the service design before conducting a formal risk assessment. The reader is invited to explore the images in the digital version of this paper where they can zoom in to particular aspects of the images and view the images in colour.
Comparison of the ESP and BACTEC Systems for Testing Susceptibilities of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex Isolates to Pyrazinamide

ABSTRACT Fifty isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex were tested for susceptibility to pyrazinamide (PZA) by the ESP (Trek Diagnostic Systems, Westlake, Ohio) and BACTEC (BD Biosciences, Sparks, Md.) test systems. Initial results showed concordance for 48 of the isolates. On retest, the two discordant isolates were resolved in favor of the ESP system. The ESP Myco susceptibility test system generates rapid, reliable PZA test results.
Clamping Improves TRW and Mean Field Approximations

We examine the effect of clamping variables for approximate inference in undirected graphical models with pairwise relationships and discrete variables. For any number of variable labels, we demonstrate that clamping and summing approximate sub-partition functions can lead only to a decrease in the partition function estimate for TRW, and an increase for the naive mean field method, in each case guaranteeing an improvement in the approximation and bound. We next focus on binary variables, add the Bethe approximation to consideration and examine ways to choose good variables to clamp, introducing new methods. We show the importance of identifying highly frustrated cycles, and of checking the singleton entropy of a variable. We explore the value of our methods by empirical analysis and draw lessons to guide practitioners.