Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reconstruction and simplification of urban scene models based on oblique images

Abstract. We describe a multi-view stereo reconstruction and simplification algorithms for urban scene models based on oblique images. The complexity, diversity, and density within the urban scene, it increases the difficulty to build the city models using the oblique images. But there are a lot of flat surfaces existing in the urban scene. One of our key contributions is that a dense matching algorithm based on Self-Adaptive Patch in view of the urban scene is proposed. The basic idea of matching propagating based on Self-Adaptive Patch is to build patches centred by seed points which are already matched. The extent and shape of the patches can adapt to the objects of urban scene automatically: when the surface is flat, the extent of the patch would become bigger; while the surface is very rough, the extent of the patch would become smaller. The other contribution is that the mesh generated by Graph Cuts is 2-manifold surface satisfied the half edge data structure. It is solved by clustering and re-marking tetrahedrons in s-t graph. The purpose of getting 2- manifold surface is to simply the mesh by edge collapse algorithm which can preserve and stand out the features of buildings.
Germanium-on-silicon planar concave grating wavelength (de)multiplexers in the mid-infrared

Mid-infrared wavelength (de)multiplexers based on planar concave gratings (PCGs) fabricated on a germanium-on-silicon waveguide platform are presented. PCGs with two different types of gratings (flat facet and distributed bragg reflectors) are analyzed for both transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) polarizations. The insertion loss and cross talk for flat facet PCGs are found to be −7.6/−6.4 dB and 27/21 dB for TE/TM polarization. For distributed bragg reflector PCGs the insertion loss and cross talk are found to be −4.9/−4.2 dB and 22/23 dB for TE/TM polarization.
Study of Optical Properties for ( PVA-PEG-ZnO ) Nanocomposites

The aim of this paper, study the effect of zinc oxide on optical properties of (PVA-PEG-ZnO) nanocomposites. The zinc oxide nanoparticle was added to the polymers maxture (polyvinyl alcohol 88wt.% and Polyethylene glycol 12wt.%) with different weight percentages are (0, 2, 4, 6) wt. %. The optical properties were measured in the wavelength range (200-800) nm. The results show that the absorbance (A), absorption coefficient (α), extinction coefficient (k), refractive index (n) and real and imaginary dielectric constants (ε1 and ε2) of (PVA-PEG) blend are increasing with the increase of the weight percentages of zinc oxide nanoparticle. The energy gap (Eg) of (PVAPEG-ZnO) nanocomposites is decreased with the increase of the zinc oxide nanaparticles concentrations. Keyword: Nanocomposite, Optical Properties, Polyvinyl alcohol, Polyethylene glycol, Zinc Oxide.
An Optimized Ranking Strategy for Expert Search on the Web with NLP Techniques

The most important thought of this strategy is to find experts for variety of domains on the web, where large numbers of WebPages and people names are considered. It has mainly two difficult issues: WebPages could be of unreliable quality and full of noises; the expertise evidences scattered in WebPages are usually formless and uncertain. We propose to control the large amount of co- occurrence information to evaluate relevance and reputation of a person name for a query topic. The objective is to design a system providing functionality of the expert search engine.NLP techniques can be applied for the same with name queries. Performance is optimized by effective crawling and deep parsing of web pages in order to adjust the association scores among people names and words. Global occurrences of experts are exercised so as to support the accuracy and relevancy of results. The proposed system also tries to boost performance by user rating based on user feedback. Finally we propose a unified approach for Person name Extraction where crawled data from web is applied to module which uses 3 class models which is used for building code for developing sequence models.
DDR and the Internal Organization of Non-State Armed Groups

This paper argues that demobilization, disarmament and reintegration (DDR) trajectories of non-state armed groups are shaped by a group’s internal organization. Extensive research by political scientists has demonstrated a correlation between internal features of armed groups and their behaviour (e.g. extent of violence used against local communities). I extend this analysis to DDR outcomes by illustrating how two features of an armed group’s internal organization – command profile and financing architecture – influence post-conflict DDR trajectories. To substantiate the theory, four case studies from Colombia, Nepal and Libya are reviewed. The article concludes with the limitations and opportunities of this approach, including the potential of predicting DDR challenges.
Pricing of Reinsurance Contracts in the Presence of Catastrophe Bonds

Abstract A methodology for pricing of reinsurance contracts in the presence of a catastrophe bond is developed. An important advantage of this approach is that it allows for the pricing of reinsurance contracts consistent with the observed market prices of catastrophe bonds on the same underlying risk process. Within the proposed methodology, an appropriate financial pricing formula is derived, under a market implied risk neutral probability measure for both a catastrophe bond and an aggregate excess of loss reinsurance contract, using a generalised Fourier transform. Efficient numerical methods for the evaluation of this formula, such as the Fast Fourier transform and Fractional Fast Fourier transform, are considered. The methodology is illustrated on several examples including Pareto and Gamma claim severities.
Cloning and Expression of Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase 4 ( MAPK 4 ) in Response to High Temperature in Lettuce ( Lactuca sativa L . )

A cool temperature is preferred for lettuce cultivation, while high temperatures can cause premature bolting. To investigate the function of the lettuce LsMAPK4 gene in bolting at high temperature, multiple bioinformatics tools were employed and realtime fluorescence quantitative PCR was applied to analyze expression patterns. The full-length LsMAPK4 gene sequence was cloned from the lettuce strain GB-30. Sequence analysis showed that the full-length sequence was 1641 bp and the open reading frame was 1134 bp; the latter encoded 379 amino acids and had conserved mitogen-activated protein kinase domains. qRT-PCR analysis revealed that the expression of LsMAPK4 in stems was significantly higher than in root and leaf. The expression of this gene in stem under high temperature treatment was significantly higher than that of control group. LsMAPK4 may be intimately associated with high-temperature bolting in lettuce crop. © 2018 Friends Science Publishers
Social Learning and Water Resources Management

Natural resources management in general, and water resources management in particular, are currently undergoing a major paradigm shift. Management practices have largely been developed and implemented by experts using technical means based on designing systems that can be predicted and controlled. In recent years, stakeholder involvement has gained increasing importance. Collaborative governance is considered to be more appropriate for integrated and adaptive management regimes needed to cope with the complexity of social-ecological systems. The paper presents a concept for social learning and collaborative governance developed in the European project HarmoniCOP (Harmonizing COllaborative Planning). The concept is rooted in the more interpretive strands of the social sciences emphasizing the context dependence of knowledge. The role of frames and boundary management in processes of learning at different levels and time scales is investigated. The foundation of social learning as investigated in the HarmoniCOP project is multiparty collaboration processes that are perceived to be the nuclei of learning processes. Such processes take place in networks or “communities of practice” and are influenced by the governance structure in which they are embedded. Requirements for social learning include institutional settings that guarantee some degree of stability and certainty without being rigid and inflexible. Our analyses, which are based on conceptual considerations and empirical insights, suggest that the development of such institutional settings involves continued processes of social learning. In these processes, stakeholders at different scales are connected in flexible networks that allow them to develop the capacity and trust they need to collaborate in a wide range of formal and informal relationships ranging from formal legal structures and contracts to informal, voluntary agreements.
EFFICACY OF QUERCETIN ON ALVEOLAR BONE STRUCTURE OF RATS WITH INDUCED DIABETES

INTRODUCTION: Diabetic osteopenia is the sixth classic complication of Diabetes mellitus. High glucose level is capable of triggering increased oxidative stress which induce osteoblast apoptosis. Quercetin, a powerful natural antioxidant, can protect many organs against oxidative damage, including bone. OBJECTIVES: The present study is designed to investigate the effect of quercetin administration on the alveolar bone in rats with induced diabetes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-four adult male rats were divided into three equal groups (8 rats each) as follows: Group I: Control group, Group II: diabetic group (with no treatment), Group III: quercetin treated group (induction of diabetes with oral administration of quercetin dose 100mg/ kg/ day for 12 weeks). Diabetes was induced in group II and group III by a single intraperitoneal injection of Streptozotocin (STZ). After 12 weeks all rats were sacrificed and the mandibles were dissected out and prepared for histological analysis using scanning electron microscope (SEM), and energy dispersive x-ray microanalysis (EDX). RESULTS: In diabetic group, there was significant increase in blood sugar level. Bone surface revealed irregular surface with multiple resorptive pits. Moreover, there was significant decrease in calcium level and increase in phosphorous level while in quercetin group. Both blood sugar level and alveolar bone surface relatively returned back to normal. Also there was slight decrease in calcium and increase in phosphorous in comparison to control group. CONCLUSIONS: Quercetin exerts protective effects on STZ-induced oxidative stress in diabetic rats restoring the architecture of bone. KEYWORDS: Quercetin, Streptozotocin, Diabetes, Alveolar bone.
Evaluation of RDF Archiving strategies with Spark

Over the last decade, the published RDF data in the Web is continuously evolving leading to an important number of RDF datasets in the Linked Open Data (LOD). There is an emergent need for eﬃcient RDF data archiving systems. In fact, applications need to access to not only the actual version of a dataset but equally to the previous ones in order to query and track data over time. Querying RDF dataset archives involves performance and scalability. The proposed RDF archiving systems or benchmarks are built on top of existing RDF query processing engine. Nevertheless, eﬃciently processing a time-traversing query over Big RDF data archives is more challenging than processing the same query over an RDF datastore. We propose in this paper to use a distributed system, namely Apache Spark, in order to evaluate RDF archiving strategies. We propose and compare diﬀerent query processing approaches with a detailed experimentation.
The Role of Subjective Norms in the Relationship between Personal Values, Organizational Climate and Knowledge Sharing Behavior

This study examines the direct relationship between personal values, organizational climate and knowledge sharing behavior.The study also investigates the mediating effect of subjective norms on the relationship between personal values, organizational climate and knowledge sharing behavior. A total of 650 questionnaires were personally distributed to respondents from five Tanzanian public hospitals (Muhimbili National Hospital, Ligula Referral Hospital, Mnazi Mmoja Hospital, Sekou Toure Reginal Hospital Mwanza and Mbeya Referral Hospital) after permission was granted by the hospital management. Hypotheses for this study were tested using Partial least squarestructural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results show that personal values, organizational climate and subjective norms were positively significantly related to knowledge sharing behavior.Also, both personal values and organizational climate were positively related to subjective norms.Meanwhile, the findings for mediating effect showed that subjective norms mediate the relationship between personal values and knowledge sharing behavior and between organizational climate and knowledge sharing behavior.
Generation of supercontinuum light in photonic crystal bers

I summarize the recent studies on the supercontinuum generation (SC) in photonic crystal fibers (PCF) with emphasis on the studies of nonlinear optical effects responsible for the supercontinuum generation, including self-phase modulation (SPM), fourwave mixing (FWM) and stimulated Raman scattering (SRC).
Implementation of regularized isogeometric boundary element methods for gradient‐based shape optimization in two‐dimensional linear elasticity

The present work addresses shape sensitivity analysis and optimization in two‐dimensional elasticity with a regularized isogeometric boundary element method (IGABEM). Non‐uniform rational B‐splines are used both for the geometry and the basis functions to discretize the regularized boundary integral equations. With the advantage of tight integration of design and analysis, the application of IGABEM in shape optimization reduces the mesh generation/regeneration burden greatly. The work is distinct from the previous literatures in IGABEM shape optimization mainly in two aspects: (1) the structural and sensitivity analysis takes advantage of the regularized form of the boundary integral equations, eliminating completely the need of evaluating strongly singular integrals and jump terms and their shape derivatives, which were the main implementation difficulty in IGABEM, and (2) although based on the same Computer Aided Design (CAD) model, the mesh for structural and shape sensitivity analysis is separated from the geometrical design mesh, thus achieving a balance between less design variables for efficiency and refined mesh for accuracy. This technique was initially used in isogeometric finite element method and was incorporated into the present IGABEM implementation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Genetic variability and distance between Lactuca serriola L. populations from Sweden and Slovenia assessed by SSR and AFLP markers

Abstract The study involved 121 samples of the common weed, Lactuca serriola L. (prickly lettuce), representing 53 populations from Sweden and Slovenia. The seed materials, originating from different habitats, were regenerated and taxonomically validated at the Department of Botany, Palacký University in Olomouc, Czech Republic. The morphological characterizations of the collected plant materials classified all 121 samples as L. serriola f. serriola; one sample was heterogeneous, and also present was L. serriola f. integrifolia. Differences in the amount and distribution of the genetic variations between the two regions were analyzed using 257 amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and 7 microsatellite (SSRs) markers. Bayesian clustering and Neighbor-Network were used for visualization of the differences among the samples by country. Under the Bayesian approach, the best partitioning (according to the most frequent signals) was resolved into three groups. While the absence of an admixture or low admixture was detected in the Slovenian samples, and the majority of the Swedish samples, a significant admixture was detected in the profiles of five Swedish samples collected near Malmö, which bore unique morphological features of their rosette leaves. The Neighbor-Network analysis divided the samples into 6 groups, each consisting of samples coming from a particular country. Reflection of morphology and eco-geographical conditions in genetic variation are also discussed.
Procedure to develop and maintain the Label Generation Rules for the DNS root zone in respect of IDNA labels

This document provides a procedure for establishing some of the label generation rules for the root zone. The label generation rules govern the way a zone is operated. The procedure below provides a mechanism for creating and maintaining the rules with respect to IDN labels for the root. This mechanism can be used to determine which Unicode code points are permitted for use in U-labels in the root zone, what variants (if any) are possible to allocate in the root zone, and what variants (if any) are automatically blocked. The mechanism is not the last stage in making determinations about IDN labels for the root. Rather, its output is to be consumed by other ICANN procedures that actually determine whether a particular label is allocated to someone, and whether it is delegated in the root. The procedure uses two classes of panel to make the determinations. The design is extremely conservative: the panels are arranged so that the natural and automatic answer is to refuse to include a code point or a variant rule. This is in keeping with principles the Internet Architecture Board has proposed for operation of zones, as well as ICANN’s general responsibilities for the security and stability of the root. It is also designed to restrict additions to the root zone to those writing systems where there is a clear interest, possibly to the disadvantage of some language communities (particularly those that are endangered). At the same time, the procedure is intended to permit movement on some kinds of labels without waiting for every language community in the world to be ready.
IMITATIVE MODELS: PERCEPTION-DRIVEN FORE-

Imitation learning provides an appealing framework for autonomous control: in many tasks, demonstrations can be readily obtained from human experts, and using demonstration data removes the need for costly and potentially dangerous onpolicy trials in the real world. On the other hand, model-based reinforcement learning offers considerably more flexibility: a model learned from data can be reused at test-time to achieve a wide variety of goals. In this paper, we aim to combine these benefits to learn imitative models: predictive models that can be used to plan behaviors at test-time that achieve user specified goals, while remaining close to the distribution of behaviors seen in the demonstration data. We find that this method substantially improves on the performance of both direct imitation and model-based RL in a simulated driving task, and can be learned efficiently and safely using only demonstration data without on-policy data collection.
Actigraphy-Measured Sleep Duration in Relation to General and Central Obesity in Patagonian Children with Disabilities

Purpose: To evaluate the prevalence of obesity and to examine whether actigraphy-measured sleep duration was related to obesity measures among children with disabilities. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 125 children aged 6-12 years (boys: 55.2%) receiving care at a rehabilitation center in Chile. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated from measured weight and height. Body fat percentage was assessed using bioelectrical impedance. One-week wrist actigraphy was used to measure sleep duration. Interviewer-administered questionnaires were used to collect information on sociodemographic and lifestyle factors from caregivers. Linear and logistic regression models were fitted to evaluate associations between sleep duration and obesity with adjustment for covariates from children and caregivers. Results: Approximately 31.2% of children had general obesity (BMI ≥95th percentile). Adjusted means of children’s BMI were 22.5 kg/m2 (standard error [SE]=1.2) for sleep <7 hours, 19.9 kg/m2 (SE=0.6) for sleep 7-8 hours, and 19.5 kg/m2 (SE=0.5) for sleep ≥8 hours. Adjusted means of body fat percentage were 28.3% (SE=2.4) for children with sleep <7 hours, 26.5% (SE=1.1) for children with sleep 7-8 hours, and 24.6% (SE=1.0) for children with sleep ≥8 hours. Children who slept <7 hours had significantly higher BMI (beta=3.02, SE=1.32; P=0.025) than children with sleep ≥8 hours. Children with short sleep had high odds of general obesity and central obesity (upper quartile of body fat percentage). Conclusions: Actigraphy-measured sleep duration was inversely associated with both general and central obesity measures among children with disabilities. Further research is needed to examine effects of sleep interventions on obesity in this vulnerable population.
Bioconductor Project Bioconductor Project Working Papers Year Paper Differential Expression with the Bioconductor Project

A basic, yet challenging task in the analysis of microarray gene expression data is the identification of changes in gene expression that are associated with particular biological conditions. We discuss different approaches to this task and illustrate how they can be applied using software from the Bioconductor Project. A central problem is the high dimensionality of gene expression space, which prohibits a comprehensive statistical analysis without focusing on particular aspects of the joint distribution of the genes expression levels. Possible strategies are to do univariate gene-by-gene analysis, and to perform data-driven nonspecific filtering of genes before the actual statistical analysis. However, more focused strategies that make use of biologically relevant knowledge are more likely to increase our understanding of the data. Differential Expression with the Bioconductor Project Anja von Heydebreck, Wolfgang Huber, Robert Gentleman 1 Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Department of Computational Molecular Biology, 14195 Berlin, Germany Current address: Department of Bio– and Chemoinformatics, Merck KGaA, 64271 Darmstadt, Germany Phone +49 6151 72 3235, Fax +49 6151 72 3329, anja.von. heydebreck@merck.de 2 German Cancer Research Center, Department of Molecular Genome Analysis, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany Phone +49 6221 42 4709, Fax +49 6221 4252 4709, w.huber@dkfz.de 3 Department of Biostatistical Science, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard School of Public Health, 44 Binney Str. , Boston MA 02115-6084 Phone +1 617 632 5250, Fax +1 617 632 2444, rgentlem@jimmy.harvard. edu
Wavelet Multiresolution Analysis of Spray Images from a Diesel Injector

Wavelet multiresolution analysis has been applied to digital images of ethanol sprays injected into air at atmospheric pressure and at room temperature. The imaging was performed with laser-sheet imaging by using the 308 nm light from a XeCl excimer laser. Image capturing was performed with a CCD-camera. The importance of different scales in the turbulent structure of the sprays was easily recognized when using wavelet multiresolution analysis. It was observed that the intermediate and small-scale levels contained information of such important phenomena as spray break-up. This was not easily recognized in the original images, due to averaging over all scales.