Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Integrating visual and range data for road detection

This paper presents a new method for detecting drivable road surfaces in a single image. The method takes advantage of range and visual information so that reliable results are achieved. Specifically, given LIDAR data and an aligned image, it first makes use of 3D points to estimate the ground plane and determine the horizon. Then, subsets of road and obstacle points are extracted from the 3D points based on the plane and LIDAR properties. The pixels registered to the extracted points are used to build apriori road and non-road appearance models. The road detection problem is further formulated using Markov random field whose energy function is defined based on the learned models. Constraints are also added on the energy function to place high confidence on the pixels that are registered to extracted 3D points. Extensive experiments on urban roads and highways show that our method is robust even in complicated environments.
Effect of play between bracket and archwire on anterior tooth movement in sliding mechanics: A three-dimensional finite element study

Objectives The aim of this study was to clarify the effect of the play between the bracket and the archwire on anterior tooth movement subjected to the retraction force from various lengths of power arms in sliding mechanics. Materials and Methods A three-dimensional finite element method was used to simulate en masse anterior tooth retraction in sliding mechanics. The displacements of the maxillary incisor and the archwire deformation were calculated when the retraction force was applied. Results When a play did not exist, bodily movement was obtained at 5.0 mm length of power arm. In case a play existed, bodily movement was observed at the power arm length of 11.0 mm. Conclusions In the actual clinical situation, a bracket/archwire play and the torsion of the archwire within the bracket slot should be taken into consideration to prescribe an optimal power arm length and to achieve effective anterior tooth movement.
EMILIA-ROMAGNA IN THE TIME OF THE CRISIS: THE INDICATOR OF REGIONAL ECONOMIC ACTIVITY AND THE SPECIALISATION OF PRODUCTION AND TRADE

This paper aims at providing some evidence of the short-term and long-term changes occurred in the Italian regional economies following the economic downturn. Our analysis will combine the use of structural and coincident indicators to describe the specialization of the region Emilia Romagna and its economic performance during the crisis. We adopt the Indicator of the Regional Economic Activity â€“ IREA (Brasili, Benni 2006) to proxy the regional business cycle and give a timely picture of its economic performance till September 2010. The IRAE overcomes the deficit of the regional GDP â€“ which is released with considerable delays by the national statistical authorities â€“ by using a set of timely and high-frequency variables that tend to move in concert with the GDP. For our assessment of the regional specialization, we will proceed to the reconstruction of a pre-crisis scenario of specialization, using a set of structural indexes. Then, we will study the conjunctural changes occurred in the main sectors of specialization. We will complement our analysis by studying the evolution of the trade specialization through the index of "relative comparative advantages" (Lafay 1992). In the final section, we will compare the specialization models of Emilia-Romagna, Toscana and Lombardia and discuss their vulnerability to disruptive shocks in the short and long term.
Global path planning methods of UUV in coastal environment

In coastal environment, the motion of unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) is influenced significantly by complex current. The operational performance of UUV can be greatly improved when the impact of ocean current is considered. A global path planning method of the static obstacle environmental space is addressed in the paper. Firstly, according to the typically coastal vortex, a model of ocean current is proposed and the influence to the motion of UUV is analyzed. Secondly, to satisfy the rapid requirement in path planning, a heuristic A* algorithm is used to design global planning path with multiple constraints. Besides, to meet the UUV's smooth path requirement, Bezier curve theory is applied. Simulation experiments are performed to illustrate the feasibility of the algorithm in the steady current and vortex environment.
Integrating Theory and Experiment to Explain the Breakdown of Population Synchrony in a Complex Microbial Community

We consider the extension of the `Moran effect', where correlated noise generates synchrony between isolated single species populations, to the study of synchrony between populations embedded in multi-species communities. In laboratory experiments on complex microbial communities, comprising both predators (protozoa) and prey (bacteria), we observe synchrony in abundances between isolated replicates. A breakdown in synchrony occurs for both predator and prey as the reactor dilution rate increases, which corresponds to both an increased rate of input of external resources and an increased effective mortality though washout. The breakdown is more rapid, however, for the lower trophic level. We can explain this phenomenon using a mathematical framework for determining synchrony between populations in multi-species communities at equilibrium. We assume that there are multiple sources of environmental noise with different degrees of correlation that affect the individual species population dynamics differently. The deterministic dynamics can then influence the degree of synchrony between species in different communities. In the case of a stable equilibrium community synchrony is controlled by the eigenvalue with smallest negative real part. Intuitively fluctuations are minimally damped in this direction. We show that the experimental observations are consistent with this framework but only for multiplicative noise.
Gradient Color Tensor based Approach for Spectral Matting

Image matting aims to extract foreground objects from a given image in a fuzzy mode. One of the major state-of-the-art methods in this field is spectral matting. It automatically computes fuzzy matting components by using the smallest eigenvectors of a defined Laplacian matrix that is generated from affinities computation between adjacent pixels in an image. Results obtained by such approach are coarsely related to the ability of defining an affinity matrix that it should be able to well separate between different pixels’ clusters. To accomplish better matting and get better results, we propose a new spectral matting approach. We use a color tensor gradient of color images in order to enhance the affinity computation
Constructing correct and efficient concurrent programs

A method is presented for programming correct and efficient cooperation in a set of sequential modules, on the basis of an invariant assertion, by means of formal and static deductions. For each sequential module, the pre- and post-assertions are computed from the invariant. Whereas the pre-assertion gives the synchronizing condition required before execution in order to preserve the invariant, the post-assertion expresses the “contribution” of this execution. Other assertions, called firing conditions, are derived which connect that contribution to the needs of waiting processes as expressed in their synchronizing conditions. A sequential module and its synchronizing and firing conditions are then integrated in a high-level synchronizing construct close to conditional critical regions, but allowing explicit control over the synchronizing conditions to be reevaluated at the exit for process resumption. Three levels of static elimination of useless condition reevaluations are then presented. These eliminations essentially use the information contained in firing conditions; they are shown to preserve partial correctness. The combined use of the notation and of the techniques proposed is illustrated through three examples.
Clustering induces a lateral redistribution of α 2 β 1 integrin from membrane rafts to caveolae and subsequent PKC-dependent internalization

Integrin α2β1 mediates the binding of several epithelial and mesenchymal cell types to collagen. The composition of the surrounding plasma membrane, especially caveolin-1 and cholesterol containing membrane structures called caveolae, may be important to integrin signaling. On cell surface α2β1 integrin was located in the raft like membrane domain, rich in GPI-anchored proteins, rather than in caveolae. However, when antibodies were used to generate clusters of α2β1 integrin, they started to move laterally on cell surface along actin filaments. During the lateral movement small clusters fused together. Finally α2β1 integrin was found inside caveolae and subsequently internalized into caveosome like perinuclear structures. The internalization process, unlike cluster formation or lateral redistribution, was dependent on protein kinase Cα activity. Caveolae are known to be highly immobile structures and α2β1 integrin clusters represent a previously unknown mechanism to activate endocytic trafficking via caveolae. The process was specific to α2β1 integrin, since the antibody mediated formation of αV integrin clusters activated their internalization in coated vesicles and early endosomes. In addition to natural ligands human echovirus-1 (EV1) gains entry into the cell by binding to α2β1 and taking advantage of α2β1 internalization via caveolae.
Division by current: A new approach to FET capacitance modeling

This paper introduces a new approach to the modeling of capacitance in FET devices, which we call division by current. It avoids the significant disadvantages of existing formulations, which we call division by capacitance and division by charge. The new method involves the use of a single nonlinear capacitance for the gate charge, and splitting the reactive gate current between the source and drain by a pair of nonlinear functions.
Fuzzy Rankings: Properties and Applications

In practice, a ranking of objects with respect to given set of criteria is of considerable importance. However, due to lack of knowledge, information of time pressure, decision makers might not be able to provide a (crisp) ranking of objects from the top to the bottom. Instead, some objects might be ranked equally, or better than other objects only to some degree. In such cases, a generalization of crisp rankings to fuzzy rankings can be more useful. The aim of the article is to introduce the notion of a fuzzy ranking and to discuss its several properties, namely orderings, similarity and indecisiveness. The proposed approach can be used both for group decision making or multiple criteria decision making when uncertainty is involved.
Contingent valuation studies and health policy

This short comment argues that both cost-benefit analysis (CBA) and cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) should be seen as imperfect tools for evaluating health policy. This is true, not only for extra-welfarists, but even for welfarists, since both CBA and CEA can deviate from the use of social welfare functions (SWF). A simple model is provided to illustrate the divergence between CBA, CEA, and the SWF approach. With this insight in mind, the comment considers the appropriate role of contingent-valuation studies.
Task reconstruction method for real-time singularity avoidance for robotic manipulators

The kinematic (KS) and algorithmic singularities (AS) in controlling robotic manipulators have been investigated intensively because they are not predictable or difficult to avoid. The problem with handling these singularities is an unnecessary performance reduction in the non-singular region and the difficulty in performance tuning. In this paper, we propose a method of avoiding KS and AS by applying a task reconstruction approach while maximizing the task performance by calculating singularity measures. The proposed method is implemented by removing the component approaching the singularity calculated by using a singularity measure in real-time. The outstanding feature of the proposed task reconstruction (TR) method is that it is based on a local TR as opposed to the local joint reconstruction of many other approaches. This method has a dynamic task priority assignment feature which ensures system stability under singular regions due to the change of task priority. The TR method enables us to increase the task controller gain to improve the task performance, whereas this increase can destabilize the system for conventional algorithms in real experiments. In addition, the physical meaning of tuning parameters is very straightforward. Hence, we can maximize task performance even near the singular region while simultaneously obtaining the singularity-free motion. The advantage of the proposed method is experimentally tested by using a 7-d. o. f. spatial manipulator and the result shows that the new method improves the performance several times over the existing algorithms.
Real-time video mosaicing with a high-resolution microendoscope

Microendoscopes allow clinicians to view subcellular features in vivo and in real-time, but their field-of-view is inherently limited by the small size of the probe’s distal end. Video mosaicing has emerged as an effective technique to increase the acquired image size. Current implementations are performed post-procedure, which removes the benefits of live imaging. In this manuscript we present an algorithm for real-time video mosaicing using a low-cost high-resolution microendoscope. We present algorithm execution times and show image results obtained from in vivo tissue.
REAL-TIME 3 D GRAPHICS STREAMING USING MPEG 4

In this paper, we consider a real-time MPEG4 streaming architecture to facilitate remote visualization of large scale 3D models on thin clients, which denote most of the hand-held devices that have limited computing resource s. MPEG-4 serves as a key component to handle the compression, transmission, and visualization of the high-end supercomp uter rendered image sequence, allowing the synchronization of t he data in both the terminal and the server. The MPEG-4 encoding speed is thus the bottleneck of the system, in particular, th e motion estimation process takes more than half of the total encoding time. We propose a fast motion estimation algorith m that expedites the MPEG-4 encoding process. Our algorithm utilizes the 3D data available at the server and is able to dir ectly calculate the motion vector on a block basis without having t o employ the expensive MPEG motion searching procedure. In addition, our algorithm can be implemented on the Graphic Processor Units(GPUs) such that most of the motion estimati on process can be done in parallel to the encoding process. Our preliminary results show that the proposed motion estimati on is able to significantly speed up the encoding process while maintaining the encoding quality.
A mobile agents approach for 2D geometrical figures recognition

The importance of 2D geometrical figures recognition in virtual reality and computational vision was a long motivation for researchers. In this paper the figures recognition using a mobile agents technology is presented. The 2D figures are represented with a graphical user interface implemented in Java. The Mobile Agents are used to extract information about geometrical figures drawn in the graphical interface and using this information to clarify what they represent. The users can design the figure on the interface and the application, using mobile agents, return the name of the figure, if there are recognized. A lot of geometrical 2D figures are visualized and recognized using mobile agents application.
Collaborative Search in Large-scale Unstructured Peer-to-Peer Networks

Searching in large-scale unstructured peer-to-peer networks is challenging due to the lack of effective hint information to guide queries. In this paper, we propose POP, a Parallel, collaborative and Probabilistic search mechanism, in which query messages are viewed as search units to collaborate with each other and aggregate the distributed hints during the search process. A scheme called distributed Bloom filter (DBF) is presented to propagate the hints with a bandwidth-aware manner, in which a node divides the received Bloom filter vector into subvectors and disseminates the fragments to its neighbors according to their bandwidth capacity. The effectiveness of POP is demonstrated through theoretical analysis and extensive simulations.
Handbook of Military Administration

Introduction. Professionals, Bureaucrats, and Citizen Soldiers: The Countervailing Patterns of American Military Administration. Military Administration 1850 - 1900. Reshaping the Defense Enterprise. Strategic Planning by the Chairmen, Joint Chiefs Staffs, 1990 - 2005. The Leviathan's Bit: The U.S. Defense Budget. Human Capital: DoD's National Security Personnel System Faces Implementation Challenges. The History and Role of TRADOC Systems Manager Abrams. Private Military Companies. Defense Policy and Doctrinal Insulation. Military and Homeland Security. Civil-Military Relations Theory and Military Effectiveness. Application of the Military for Countering Non-State Terrorist and Guerilla Networks. Military Leadership and Culture. The Profession of Arms and the Management of Violence. Regional Defense Policy: The European Security and Defense Policy. Transformation at Last? Achieving Radical Military Reform in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Overview of Latin America's Military Administration. National Defense: People's Republic of China.
Greenland ice sheet contribution to sea-level rise from a new-generation ice-sheet model

Over the last two decades, the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) has been losing mass at an increasing rate, enhancing its contribution to sea-level rise (SLR). The recent increases in ice loss appear to be due to changes in both the surface mass balance of the ice sheet and ice discharge (ice flux to the ocean). Rapid ice flow directly affects the discharge, but also alters ice-sheet geometry and so affects climate and surface mass balance. Present-day ice-sheet models only represent rapid ice flow in an approximate fashion and, as a consequence, have never explicitly addressed the role of ice discharge on the total GrIS mass balance, especially at the scale of individual outlet glaciers. Here, we present a new-generation prognostic ice-sheet model which reproduces the current patterns of rapid ice flow. This requires three essential developments: the complete solution of the full system of equations governing ice deformation; a variable resolution unstructured mesh to resolve outlet glaciers and the use of inverse methods to better constrain poorly known parameters using observations. The modelled ice discharge is in good agreement with observations on the continental scale and for individual outlets. From this initial state, we investigate possible bounds for the next century ice-sheet mass loss. We run sensitivity experiments of the GrIS dynamical response to perturbations in climate and basal lubrication, assuming a fixed position of the marine termini. We find that increasing ablation tends to reduce outflow and thus decreases the ice-sheet imbalance. In our experiments, the GrIS initial mass (im)balance is preserved throughout the whole century in the absence of reinforced forcing, allowing us to estimate a lower bound of 75 mm for the GrIS contribution to SLR by 2100. In one experiment, we show that the current increase in the rate of ice loss can be reproduced and maintained throughout the whole century. However, this requires a very unlikely perturbation of basal lubrication. From this result we are able to estimate an upper bound of 140 mm from dynamics only for the GrIS contribution to SLR by 2100.
Interleukin 10 responses are associated with sustained CD4 T-cell counts in treated HIV infection.

BACKGROUND Inflammation persists in treated human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and may contribute to an increased risk for non-AIDS-related pathologies. We investigated the correlation of cytokine responses with changes in CD4 T-cell levels and coinfection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) during highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART). METHODS A total of 383 participants in the Women's Interagency HIV Study (212 with HIV monoinfection, 56 with HCV monoinfection, and 115 with HIV/HCV coinfection) were studied. HIV-infected women had <1000 HIV RNA copies/mL, 99.7% had >200 CD4 T cells/μL; 98% were receiving HAART at baseline. Changes in CD4 T-cell count between baseline and 2-4 years later were calculated. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) obtained at baseline were used to measure interleukin 1β (IL-1β), interleukin 6 (IL-6), interleukin 10 (IL-10), interleukin 12 (IL-12), and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) responses to Toll-like receptor (TLR) 3 and TLR4 stimulation. RESULTS Undetectable HIV RNA (<80 copies/mL) at baseline and secretion of IL-10 by PBMCs were positively associated with gains in CD4 T-cell counts at follow-up. Inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-12, and TNF-α) were also produced in TLR-stimulated cultures, but only IL-10 was significantly associated with sustained increases in CD4 T-cell levels. This association was significant only in women with HIV monoinfection, indicating that HCV coinfection is an important factor limiting gains in CD4 T-cell counts, possibly by contributing to unbalanced persistent inflammation. CONCLUSIONS Secreted IL-10 from PBMCs may balance the inflammatory environment of HIV, resulting in CD4 T-cell stability.
Brains With Medial Temporal Lobe Neurofibrillary Tangles But No Neuritic Amyloid Plaques Are a Diagnostic Dilemma But May Have Pathogenetic Aspects Distinct From Alzheimer Disease

Brains that have many neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) in medial temporal lobe structures (Braak stage III or IV) but no cortical neuritic plaques (NPs) may be a diagnostic dilemma; they also raise questions about the amyloid cascade hypothesis of Alzheimer disease (AD) in which NFT development is thought to occur downstream of the development of amyloid plaques. To determine the clinical, demographic, and biological factors related to NFT+/NP− cases, we analyzed 26 NFT+/NP− patient brains identified from the University of Kentucky AD Center autopsy cohort (n = 502); most of these patients were at least 85 years old and lacked profound antemortem cognitive impairment. A subset of the cases had NFTs in the medulla oblongata. Aberrant trans-activator regulatory DNA-binding protein 43 immunohistochemical staining was seen in 5 of the 26 cases with the clinical diagnoses of AD or mild cognitive impairment. We also queried cases in the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center Registry (n = 5,108) and found 219 NFT+/NP− cases. Those patients had a relatively high likelihood of belonging to a birth cohort with the highest incidence of influenza infection during the 1918 to 1919 pandemic. This observation may link the pathogenesis in NFT+/NP− cases to encephalitis during childhood. We conclude that NFT+/NP− cases comprise approximately 5% of aged individuals in multiple data sets; these cases are not necessarily within the spectrum of AD.