Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An interactive belt-worn badge with a retractable string-based input mechanism

In this paper we explore a new type of wearable computing device, an interactive identity badge. An embedded LCD presents dynamic information to the wearer and interaction is facilitated by sensing movement of the retractable string which attaches the unit to the wearer's belt. This form-factor makes it possible to interact using a single hand, providing lightweight and immediate access to a variety of information when it's not convenient to pick up, unlock and interact directly with a device like a smartphone. In this paper we present our prototype interactive badge, demonstrate the underlying technology and describe a number of usage scenarios and interaction techniques
Efficient Key-Rotatable and Security-Updatable Homomorphic Encryption

In this paper we presents the notion of key-rotatable and security-updatable homomorphic encryption (KR-SU-HE) scheme, which is a class of public-key homomorphic encryption in which the keys and the security of any ciphertext can be rotated and updated while still keeping the underlying plaintext intact and unrevealed. We formalise syntax and security notions for KR-SU-HE schemes and then build a concrete scheme based on the Learning With Errors assumption. We then perform testing implementation to show that our proposed scheme is efficiently practical.
A Metabolomic Approach (1H HRMAS NMR Spectroscopy) Supported by Histology to Study Early Post-transplantation Responses in Islet-transplanted Livers

Intrahepatic transplantation of islets requires a lot of islets because more than 50% of the graft is lost during the 24 hours following transplantation. We analyzed, in a rat model, early post-transplantation inflammation using systemic inflammatory markers, or directly in islet-transplanted livers by immunohistochemistry. 1H HRMAS NMR was employed to investigate metabolic responses associated with the transplantation. Inflammatory markers (Interleukin-6, α2-macroglobulin) are not suitable to follow islet reactions as they are not islet specific. To study islet specific inflammatory events, immunohistochemistry was performed on sections of islet transplanted livers for thrombin (indicator of the instant blood-mediated inflammatory reaction (IBMIR)) and granulocytes and macrophages. We observed a specific correlation between IBMIR and granulocyte and macrophage infiltration after 12 h. In parallel, we identified a metabolic response associated with transplantation: after 12 h, glucose, alanine, aspartate, glutamate and glutathione were significantly increased. An increase of glucose is a marker of tissue degradation, and could be explained by immune cell infiltration. Alanine, aspartate and glutamate are inter-connected in a common metabolic pathway known to be activated during hypoxia. An increase of glutathione revealed the presence of antioxidant protection. In this study, IBMIR visualization combined with 1H HRMAS NMR facilitated the characterization of cellular and molecular pathways recruited following islet transplantation.
E-government Adoption in Romania

The Romanian government has been making significant attempts to make its services and information available on the Internet. According to the UN e-government survey conducted in 2008, Romania comes under mid range countries by utilization of egovernment (percent of utilization 41%). Romania’s national portal www.e-guvernare.ro aims at progressively making all services and information accessible through the portal. However, the success of these efforts depends, to a great extent, on how well the targeted users for such services, citizens in general, make use of them. For this reason, the purpose of the presented study was to identify what factors could affect the citizens' adoption of e-government services. The study is an extension of the Technology Acceptance Model. The proposed model was validated using data collected from 481 citizens. The results provided substantial support for all proposed hypotheses and showed the significance of the extended constructs. Keywords—e-government, citizen’s adoption, Technology Acceptance model.
Orientation and Dense Reconstruction of Unordered Terrestrial and Aerial Wide Baseline Image Sets

In this paper we present an approach for detailed and precise automatic dense 3D reconstruction using images from consumer cameras. The major difference between our approach and many others is that we focus on wide-baseline image sets. We have combined and improved several methods, particularly, least squares matching, RANSAC, scale-space maxima and bundle adjustment, for robust matching and parameter estimation. Point correspondences and the five-point algorithm lead to relative orientation. Due to our robust matching method it is possible to orient images under much more unfavorable conditions, for instance concerning illumination changes or scale differences, than for often used operators such as SIFT. For dense reconstruction, we use our orientation as input for Semiglobal Matching (SGM) resulting into dense depth images. The latter can be fused into a 2.5D model for eliminating the redundancy of the highly overlapping depth images. However, some applications require full 3D models. A solution to this problem is part of our current work, for which preliminary results are presented in this paper. With very small unmanned aerial systems (Micro UAS) it is possible to acquire images which have a perspective similar to terrestrial images and can thus be combined with them. Such a combination is useful for an almost complete 3D reconstruction of urban scenes. We have applied our approach to several hundred aerial and terrestrial images and have generated detailed 2.5D and 3D models of urban areas.
iShare: An ad-hoc sharing system for internet connectivity

As the Web 2.0 technology is becoming popular, people are eager to access the Internet at anytime and anyplace. In this paper, we present an Internet connectivity sharing system, called iShare, based on the concept of ad-hoc networking. In iShare, the efficiency and load-balancing issues are considered. Also, the functionalities of gateway discovery/selection and routing inter-operability as well as address assignment, IP tunneling, and firewall/NAT are designed and implemented. The experimental results for our implementation prototype indicate that the performance of our iShare system is acceptable for Internet connectivity to access HTTP services.
On the Computational Complexity of Designing Bounded Agents

In this paper, we determine the computational complexity of the agent design problem for several classes of bounded agents. Agent design is the problem of determining, for a given representation of an environment and representation of a task to be carried out in this environment, whether it is possible to construct an agent that can be guaranteed to accomplish the task in the environment. Previous research has determined the complexity of the agent design problem for various classes of environment and task, but where the agent was permitted perfect recall of prior events. In this paper, we investigate the complexity of the problem for agents that have various bounds placed on their memory. Specifically, we determine the complexity of the agent design problem for reactive agents, (which must make a decision about what to do based solely on the current environment state), k-reactive agents (which must make a decision based on the last k environment states), and oblivious agents (which have no information about the environment at all).
SAX Discretization Does Not Guarantee Equiprobable Symbols

In time series analysis research, there is a strong interest in discrete representations of real valued data streams. One approach still considered state-of-the-art is the Symbolic Aggregate Approximation (SAX) algorithm. The interest of this paper concerns the SAX assumption of data being highly Gaussian and the use of the standard normal curve to choose partitions to discretize the data. The SAX approach chooses partitions on the standard normal curve that would produce an equal probability for each symbol. This procedure is generally valid as a time series is normalized to have μ = 0 and σ = 1. However, there exists a caveat to this assumption of equi-probability due to the intermediate step of Piecewise Aggregate Approximation (PAA). We show in this paper that when PAA is applied, the distribution of the data is altered, resulting in a shrinking standard deviation that is proportional to the number of points used to create a segment of the PAA representation and the degree of auto-correlation within the series. Data that exhibits statistically significant auto-correlation is less affected by this shrinking distribution. As the standard deviation of the data contracts, the mean remains the same, however the distribution is no longer standard normal and therefore the partitions based on the standard normal curve are no longer valid for the assumption of equal probability.
Strip thickness control based on optimal fuzzy-PID controller

This paper introduces optimal fuzzy-PID control strategy into automatic gauge control system of cold steel rolling for improving control performances. Simulation results from MATLAB show that the PID controller has a better precision than the fuzzy-PID controller for an ideal model, but optimal fuzzy-PID controller has more robustness than the PID controller when there is noise and unmodelled dynamic in the control system.
RSVM: A Region-based Software Virtual Memory for GPU

While Graphics Processing Units (GPU) have gained much success in general purpose computing in recent years, their programming is still difficult, due to, particularly, explicitly managed GPU memory and manual CPU-GPU data transfer. Despite recent calls for managing GPU resources as first-class citizens in the operating system, a mature GPU memory management mechanism is still missing, which leads to reinventing the wheels in various GPU system software. Meanwhile, due to ever enlarging problem sizes, we urgently need a system-level mechanism for unified CPU-GPU memory management. In this work, we present the design of Region-based Software Virtual Memory (RSVM), a software virtual memory running on both CPU and GPU in a distributed and cooperative way. In addition to automatic GPU memory management and GPU-CPU data transfer, RSVM offers two novel features: 1) GPU kernel-issued on-demand data fetching from the host into the GPU memory, and 2) intra-kernel transparent GPU memory swapping into the main memory. Our study reveals important insights on the challenges and opportunities of building unified virtual memory systems for heterogeneous computing. Experimental results on real GPU benchmarks demonstrate that, though it incurs a small overhead, RSVM can transparently scale GPU kernels to large problem sizes exceeding the device memory size limit; developers write the same code for different problem sizes, but still can optimize on data layout definition accordingly. Our evaluation also identifies missing GPU architecture features for better system software efficiency.
The Stellar Mass Assembly of Galaxies from z = 0 to z = 4: Analysis of a Sample Selected in the Rest-Frame Near-Infrared with Spitzer

Using a sample of ~28,000 sources selected at 3.6-4.5 μm with Spitzer observations of the Hubble Deep Field North, the Chandra Deep Field South, and the Lockman Hole (surveyed area ~664 arcmin2), we study the evolution of the stellar mass content of the universe at 0 < z < 4. We calculate stellar masses and photometric redshifts, based on ~2000 templates built with stellar population and dust emission models fitting the ultraviolet to mid-infrared spectral energy distributions of galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts. We estimate stellar mass functions for different redshift intervals. We find that 50% of the local stellar mass density was assembled at 0 < z < 1 (average star formation rate [SFR] 0.048 M☉ yr−1 Mpc−3), and at least another 40% at 1 < z < 4 (average SFR 0.074 M☉ yr−1 Mpc−3). Our results confirm and quantify the “downsizing” scenario of galaxy formation. The most massive galaxies (M > 1012.0 M☉) assembled the bulk of their stellar content rapidly (in 1-2 Gyr) beyond z ∼ 3 in very intense star formation events (producing high specific SFRs). Galaxies with 1011.5 < M < 1012.0 M☉ assembled half of their stellar mass before z ∼ 1.5, and more than 90% of their mass was already in place at z ∼ 0.6. Galaxies with M < 1011.5 M☉ evolved more slowly (presenting smaller specific SFRs), assembling half of their stellar mass below z ∼ 1. About 40% of the local stellar mass density of 109.0 < M < 1011.0 M☉ galaxies was assembled below z ∼ 0.4, most probably through accretion of small satellites producing little star formation. The cosmic stellar mass density at z > 2.5 is dominated by optically faint (R≳ 25) red galaxies (distant red galaxies or BzK sources), which account for ~30% of the global population of galaxies, but contribute at least 60% of the cosmic stellar mass density. Bluer galaxies (e.g., Lyman break galaxies) are more numerous but less massive, contributing less than 50% of the global stellar mass density at high redshift.
Effects of Nicotine, Its Metabolites and Tobacco Extracts on Human Platelet Function in Vitro Effects of Nicotine, Its Metabolites and Tobacco Extracts on Human Platelet Function in Vitro

HIGHLIGHTS-Tobacco extracts inhibit platelet adhesion to proteins surfaces. -This effect is independent of nitric oxide and a platelet nicotine receptor. -Nicotine and nicotine metabolites have limited effect on platelet activity in vitro. 2 ABSTRACT Cigarette smoking is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease. The cardiovascular effects of smoking are probably multifactorial, including effects on platelets. Previous reports investigating the effects of nicotine and tobacco on platelet function are inconsistent. The present study investigated in vitro effects of nicotine, its major metabolites, tobacco extracts and extract of tobacco-free snuff on human platelets. None of the metabolites cotinine, cotinine-N-oxide, nicotine-1´-N-oxide or trans-3´-hydroxycotinine (0.1-10 µM) affected platelet aggregation or P-selectin expression. Nicotine (10 µM) weakly increased platelet aggregation, whereas trans-3´-hydroxycotinine (0.1 µM) and nicotine-1´-N-oxide (1-10 µM) weakly inhibited adhesion to fibrinogen. To elucidate the influence of other tobacco compounds, we investigated the impact of moist tobacco and smoke extracts on platelet function. Filtered extracts of oral snuff, cigarette smoke and tobacco free snuff inhibited platelet adhesion concentration-dependently. The inhibitory effects of tobacco extracts on platelet adhesion were independent of nicotine content and the nitric-oxide-pathway and not mediated through a platelet-nicotine-receptor. Taken together, tobacco extracts inhibit platelet activation during short-term in vitro challenge. As only limited effects of nicotine and nicotine metabolites were seen, the tobacco-induced platelet inhibition are likely induced by other compounds present in tobacco and tobacco free snuff. INTRODUCTION There is no doubt about the harmful effects of smoking on the cardiovascular system. The exact mechanisms by which smoking induces cardiovascular disease are not entirely known, but are most likely multifactorial. The effects of cigarette smoke on platelets have been investigated in numerous studies, but the results are somewhat contradictory. Cigarette smoke has been shown to activate platelets, which results in increased clot strength ex vivo (Barua et al., 2010) and increased P-selectin expression (Lupia et al., 2010). In addition, smokers show increased spontaneous aggregation ex vivo (Fusegawa et al., 1999) and smoking has been found to increase agonist induced platelet aggregation in vitro (Hung et al., 1995). However, there are also studies showing that platelet aggregation after in vitro activation, as well as in vitro bleeding time is either unchanged or decreased in smokers compared to non-smokers (Brockmann et al., 2001; Nair et al., 2001). Smokeless oral tobacco is probably less harmful than cigarettes, although long-term use of oral snuff, has been shown to increase the risk of fatal myocardial infarction (Hergens …
Detection of rail faults using morphological feature extraction based image processing

Determining the rail's breakdown has a big importance in railway access. The breakdowns of rails bring about problems such as insecurity, delay of access, and expenditure. In this work, in order to determine the breakdowns of rails using Morphological feature extraction based image processing algorithm is offered. The rail is determined through applying the image processing methods and Hough transform to the received images of rail. Headcheck breakage, apletilik and undulation of defects are determined by proposed method. Faulty regions is determined through extracting features of regions in images by applying Morphological operations to detected rail images. In this work, all steps of the offered method is applied to the images of rail under different direction and lighting, and with maximum accuracy and minimum working time, the results are acquired.
Visual attention in edited dynamical images

Edited (or cut) dynamical images are created by changing perspectives in imaging devices, such as videos, or graphical animations. They are abundant in everyday and working life. However little is known about how attention is steered with regard to this material. Here we propose a simple two-step architecture of gaze control for this situation. This model relies on (1) a down-weighting of repeated information contained in optic flow within takes (between cuts), and (2) an up-weighting of repeated information between takes (across cuts). This architecture is both parsimonious and realistic. We outline the evidence speaking for this architecture and also identify the outstanding questions.
Career barriers for social work students in China

Summary The current research aimed to develop a multi-dimensional scale on the career barriers of social work undergraduates in China. In Study 1, an open-ended survey (N = 202) and group discussion (N = 6) among social work undergraduates were conducted, which generated 37 items on career barriers. Based on these items, a scale was developed in Study 2 through a survey study among another sample of Chinese undergraduates majoring in social work (N = 415). Findings Results from principal component analysis revealed a three-factor structure underlying these items (attitudinal barriers, normative barriers, and control barriers). It was also found that attitudinal barriers and normative barriers served as significant predictors for satisfaction with academic major and occupational intention. Satisfaction with academic major also mediated the relations between these two types of career barriers and occupational intention. Results related to the predictive validity of control barriers were mixed. Applications These findings carry both theoretical and practical implications for career education and career counseling practices. This research developed a scale on career barriers for Chinese undergraduates majoring in social work. In career counseling practice, this instrument may serve as a tool to identify individuals' specific career barriers, and may guide counselor's further intervention for clients.
The mass and anisotropy profiles of galaxy clusters from the projected phase-space density: testing the method on simulated data

We present a new method of constraining the mass and velocity anisotropy profiles of galaxy clusters from kinematic data. The method is based on a model of the phase-space density, which allows the anisotropy to vary with radius between two asymptotic values. The characteristic scale of transition between these asymptotes is fixed and tuned to a typical anisotropy profile resulting from cosmological simulations. The model is parametrized by two values of anisotropy, at the centre of the cluster and at infinity, and two parameters of the NFW density profile, the scale radius and the scale mass. In order to test the performance of the method in reconstructing the true cluster parameters, we analyse mock kinematic data for 20 relaxed
Proteomics in epigenetics: new perspectives for cancer research

The involvement of epigenetic processes in the origin and progression of cancer is now widely appreciated. Consequently, targeting the enzymatic machinery that controls the epigenetic regulation of the genome has emerged as an attractive new strategy for therapeutic intervention. The development of epigenetic drugs requires a detailed knowledge of the processes that govern chromatin regulation. Over the recent years, mass spectrometry (MS) has become an indispensable tool in epigenetics research. In this review, we will give an overview of the applications of MS-based proteomics in studying various aspects of chromatin biology. We will focus on the use of MS in the discovery and mapping of histone modifications and how novel proteomic approaches are being utilized to identify and study chromatin-associated proteins and multi-subunit complexes. Finally, we will discuss the application of proteomic methods in the diagnosis and prognosis of cancer based on epigenetic biomarkers and comment on their future impact on cancer epigenetics.
KM strategy and instruments alignment: helping SMEs to choose

The aim of the present study is to analyse the relationship between Knowledge Management (KM) strategy and business strategy so that organisations could obtain higher performance. After reviewing the main KM instruments and orientations, as well as literature about strategy at business level, a preliminary theoretical framework is empirically analysed through case study research. Evidence from 4 Spanish SMEs shows that there are factors, such as firm size, age, and industry, that moderate the link between KM-business strategic alignment and corporate performance. Thus, SMEs should consider these factors in order to take profit of their KM
Efficient targeted search using a focus and context video browser

Currently there are several interactive content-based video retrieval techniques and systems available. However, retrieval performance depends heavily on the means of interaction. We argue that effective CBVR requires efficient, specialized user interfaces. In this article we propose guidelines for such an interface, and we propose an effective CBVR engine: the ForkBrowser, which builds upon the principle of focus and context. This browser is evaluated using a combination of user simulation and real user evaluation. Results indicate that the ideas have merit, and that the browser performs very well when compared to the state-of-the-art in video retrieval.