Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Extracting robust features and 3D reconstruction in underwater images

In this paper, we discuss of the classical problem of the reconstruction of natural scenes, but in our case for the non-structured and underwater ones. Using an uncalibrated single camera, we propose to describe a method to firstly, extract robust and stable features based on a multi scale approach, and secondly to reconstruct a 3D projective model of the scene.
CAPTCHA in Security ECIS: Depress Phishing by CAPTCHA with OTP

In this project, a cost saving CAPTCHA authentication application is designed to address recent online banking threats, and is focused on enabling safe online banking authentication for a security unconscious user. The prime challenges of a secure online banking system are to enable safe online banking on a compromised host, and to solve the general ignorance of security warning. There are costly hardware solutions proposed, however most of them may not be practical for home users. Extended CAPTCHA Input System (ECIS) (Leung, 2009a) which offers a low cost software solution is proposed in this paper. Building on previous works (Leung, 2009b,a), the ECIS firstly extended the CAPTCHA idea to defend against Real-Time Man-In-The-Middle (RT-MITM) attack (Schneier, 2005). The trick is to employ a moving CAPTCHA for the input of One Time Password (OTP) with a time restriction, which can depress MITM auto-relaying of information as well as human assisted MITM attack. As ECIS and its session secret are designed to be generated per login session, therefore network and software attack to ECIS are not feasible. The ECIS solution reuses the large scale shipped OTP token device which can save a huge amount of money. ECIS can also be applied to Second Authentication system in SMS and Dual- Password scenarios as a fully software based solution. The objectives of this project were to develop 1) Prototype of ECIS; 2) ECIS Derivatives on combinable authentication techniques; 3) Security Model to evaluate an authentication system. All the objectives were matched.
The appropriateness of built environment tertiary education

Purpose – Construction is a complex process which requires the co‐ordination of and co‐operation between stakeholders. Most construction projects require the skills and services of various built environment disciplines and the effective integration of these skills determines the success of the project. However, built environment students continue to receive discipline‐based education. Construction shapes the built environment; therefore knowledge and understanding, to varying degrees of depth and complexity, of an array of subject areas are one required to suitably equip entrants into the built environment arena. Furthermore, the outdated education system is challenged by academics, built environment practitioners, and media reports. The purpose of this study is to question the suitability of built environment tertiary education in terms of current trends, technologies and practices.Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire developed from literature related to the diverse content, appropriateness, emp.
Offline or online?: EFL students’ perceptions on working in face-to-face and virtual learning modes

Given the intensified number of online learning activities and having inadequate knowledge to identify the details of how it was organized within increased students’ language learning ability; this study focused on identifying the students’ perceptions of learning in two different situations. This study investigated how students perceived working in a new learning mode (online learning activity) compared to the traditional or face-to-face learning mode (offline learning activity) in regards to the learning frameworks, including the depth and comprehensiveness of learning, appropriate length for learning, comfortability of learning, and flexibility of learning. Ten students were selected to be the participants of the current study; all of whom were sixth and eighth semester students at the Department of English Language Education of Universitas Islam Negeri Ar-Raniry Banda Aceh. They were served by several questions related to their experiences working on two different learning modes. The findings revealed that working in offline learning mode was still the common preference among the students and only a few of them preferred online learning. Even more interesting was the finding of one or two students who perceived no differences between participating in offline and online class learning activities. In addition, the findings also indicated that interaction between the course instructors and students still becomes a prominent element on the students’ satisfaction and comfort of learning. The students also suggested that the keys to their satisfactory learning experiences are access to learning materials and to their class instructors. To conclude, this study also provides new insights on what matters the most to the students’ learning experiences with respect to the current online learning trend.
High Efficiency Thermoelectric Radioisotope Power Systems

The work performed and whose results presented in this report is a joint effort between the University of New Mexico s Institute for Space and Nuclear Power Studies (ISNPS) and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), California Institute of Technology. In addition to the development, design, and fabrication of skutterudites and skutterudites-based segmented unicouples this effort included conducting performance tests of these unicouples for hundreds of hours to verify theoretical predictions of the conversion efficiency. The performance predictions of these unicouples are obtained using 1-D and 3-D models developed for that purpose and for estimating the actual performance and side heat losses in the tests conducted at ISNPS. In addition to the performance tests, the development of the 1-D and 3-D models and the development of Advanced Radioisotope Power systems for Beginning-Of-Life (BOM) power of 108 We are carried out at ISNPS. The materials synthesis and fabrication of the unicouples are carried out at JPL. The research conducted at ISNPS is documented in chapters 2-5 and that conducted at JP, in documented in chapter 5. An important consideration in the design and optimization of segmented thermoelectric unicouples (STUs) is determining the relative lengths, cross-section areas, and the interfacial temperatures of the segments of the different materials in the n- and p-legs. These variables are determined using a genetic algorithm (GA) in conjunction with one-dimensional analytical model of STUs that is developed in chapter 2. Results indicated that when optimized for maximum conversion efficiency, the interfacial temperatures between various segments in a STU are close to those at the intersections of the Figure-Of-Merit (FOM), ZT, curves of the thermoelectric materials of the adjacent segments. When optimizing the STUs for maximum electrical power density, however, the interfacial temperatures are different from those at the intersections of the ZT curves, but close to those at the intersections the characteristic power, CP, curves of the thermoelectric materials of the adjacent segments (CP = T(sup 2)Zk and has a unit of W/m). Results also showed that the number of the segments in the n- and p-legs of the STUs optimized for maximum power density are generally fewer than when the same unicouples are optimized for maximum efficiency. These results are obtained using the 1-D optimization model of STUs that is detailed in chapter 2. A three-dimensional model of STUs is developed and incorporated into the ANSYS commercial software (chapter 3). The governing equations are solved, subject to the prescribed
PICAndro: Packet InspeCtion-Based Android Malware Detection

The post-COVID epidemic world has increased dependence on online businesses for day-to-day life transactions over the Internet, especially using the smartphone or handheld devices. This increased dependence has led to new attack surfaces which need to be evaluated by security researchers. The large market share of Android attracts malware authors to launch more sophisticated malware (12000 per day). The need to detect them is becoming crucial. Therefore, in this paper, we propose PICAndro that can enhance the accuracy and the depth of malware detection and categorization using packet inspection of captured network traffic. The identified network interactions are represented as images, which are fed in the CNN engine. It shows improved performance with the accuracy of 99.12% and 98.91% for malware detection and malware class detection, respectively, with high precision.
Evaluation of Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Celery Leaf and Stem Extracts in LPS-Induced RAW 264.7 Cells Using Nitric Oxide Assay and LC-MS Based Metabolomics

The present work demonstrated and compared the anti-inflammatory effects of celery leaf (CLE) and stem (CSE) extracts. LC-MS-based metabolomics were an effective approach to achieve the biomarker identification and pathway elucidation associated with the reduction in inflammatory responses. The celery extracts suppressed LPS-induced NO production in RAW 264.7 cells, and CLE was five times more effective than CSE. Distinct differences were revealed between the control and celery-treated samples among the 24 characteristic metabolites that were identified. In celery-treated LPS cells, reversals of intracellular (citrulline, proline, creatine) and extracellular (citrulline, lysine) metabolites revealed that the therapeutic outcomes were closely linked to arginine metabolism. Reversals of metabolites when treated with CLE (aspartate, proline) indicated targeted effects on the TCA and urea cycles, while, in the case of CSE (histidine, glucose), the glycolysis and the pentose phosphate pathways were implicated. Subsequently, apigenin and bergapten in CLE were identified as potential biomarkers mediating the anti-inflammatory response.
The effects of coupled inductors in parallel interleaved buck converters

Interleaved switching and coupled inductors are proven methods for reducing DC-DC converter output ripple. This paper furthers discussions of these techniques to arrangements of many buck converters connected in parallel. The different possible arrangements of the DC-DC converters are discussed and criteria for fair comparisons between them are chosen. The effects of interleaved switching on ripple values are presented and subsequent effects of coupling the inductors is then investigated. A generalised solution for current ripple in n coupled inductor converters is presented. Simulations are used to verify the solution and characterise the converter and output ripple for all configurations.
Value‐Driven Design and Operational Value

The basic methodology for a Value-Driven Design (VDD) approach within life-cycle-oriented context is presented: Definition, Analysis, Evaluation, and Improvement. This chapter concludes that VDD presents a deeper conceptual quality over the traditional Systems Engineering approach, and offers a step improvement, in that VDD optimizes toward an optimal solution rather than finding one that fits into a broad box of potential solutions that are all equally good. And secondly, it is shown that VDD focuses MDO on the need to actually maximize value rather than losing site of the original goal due to the infinite complexity in deepening the analysis of independent variables, over and above the main issue of predicting and influencing the dependant variable that is identified through the objective value function. However, in terms of VDD delivering true operational value potential, the most important insight highlighted relates to the establishment of three clear principles that include: (1) the Differential Value Principle, (2) the Additive Value Principle, and (3) the Subjective Value Principle. These three Value Principles are proposed in order to help in the formulation of Value Models that truly capture the nature of value analysis and VDD. A case study is presented to demonstrate the application of the VDD approach in terms of an aircraft manufacturers' profit. Keywords: value-driven design; operations research; value engineering; design methodology; cost modeling; aircraft design; integration; systems engineering
Modeling of physical properties of apple slices (Golab variety) using artificial neural networks

Apple is one of the most popular fruits and of high economic value. Sorting and grading of apple is needed for the fruit to be presented to local and foreign markets. A study of apple physical properties therefore is imperative. In this work, some physical properties of apples ( Golab variety ) such as main diameter, mass, volume and fruit density were determined and relation between mass and other parameters were modeled by using artificial neural networks. In this study, we used Feed-Forward Back Propagation (FFBP) network with training algorithms , Levenberg-Marquard and Momentum. The results show that Levenberg-Marquard algorithm give better result than Momentum algorithm do , and Feed-Forward Back Propagation (FFBP) network with topology 3-6-4-1, 3-6-1, 3-4-2-2-1 and 3-6-6-1; and Levenberg-Marquard algorithm could predict relation between mass and other parameters with error percentages 0.999999, 0.999999, 0.999999 and 0.999999; and mean square error 0.000078, 0.000118, 0.000158 and 0.000194. Keywords: apple (Golab variety), artificial neural network, Feed-Forward Back Propagation, Levenberg-Marquard algorithm, Momentum algorithm, physical properties
A Dual‐band and dual‐polarized antenna array for 2G/3G/LTE base stations

A dual‐band antenna array is proposed for the application of base station (BS) in 2G/3G/long term evaluation (LTE) mobile communications. This antenna consists of two independent ±45° dual‐polarized arrays, one of which operates from 1.71 to 2.17 GHz, and the other of which is designed from 2.5 to 2.69 GHz. The proposed BS antenna array has a high isolation of greater than 29 dB and high front‐to‐back ratio of more than 26 dB at the operating frequencies. The measured peak gain is 17.9 and 18.1 dBi for the lower and upper bands, respectively, and the cross polarizations isolation (CPI)(within ±60º of the mainlobe) is 16 dB lower than the broadside co‐polarization. It was confirmed that the proposed antenna array meets the communication standards in China. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 26:154–163, 2016.
Route planning methodology of an advanced traveller information system in Vilnius city

Abstract As a subsystem of an Intelligent Transportation System (ITS), an Advanced Traveller Information System (ATIS) disseminates real‐time traffic information to travellers. To help them with making better decisions on choosing their routes, a strong need to predict traffic congestion and to disseminate the predicted congestion information relating to travellers can be seen. This paper describes a methodology used by drivers for calculating an optimal driven route in Vilnius. The paper discusses how ATIS systems will likely evolve the experience of Information Service Providers (ISP) and optimal route planning calculations. A few methods of route planning have been taken into account. The paper presents the following types of route calculation: 1) the shortest route; 2) the quickest route; 3) the quickest forecasted route according to historical traffic information. Also, the paper deals with the architecture of the WEB based information system for drivers in Vilnius and analyzes data on traffic workfl.
Phylogenetic position of the genera Caryandoides, Paratoacris, Fer and Longchuanacris (Orthoptera : Acrididae) revealed by complete mitogenome sequences

Abstract. Many taxa in the Acrididae have controversial phylogenetic positions. A typical example of such controversies is the phylogenetic positions of the genera Caryandoides, Paratoacris, Fer and Longchuanacris, as well as some other related taxa, which were placed in Oxyinae by some authors, but were considered members of the subfamily Catantopinae by others. In this study, the complete mitogenomes of nine species were sequenced using next-generation sequencing, the characteristics of the newly sequenced mitogenomes are presented briefly, and the phylogeny of the Oxyinae and Catantopinae are reconstructed using a selected dataset of mitogenome sequences under maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference frameworks. The results show that the four controversial genera were consistently assigned to the subfamily Oxyinae rather than Catantopinae in all phylogenetic trees deduced from different datasets under different frameworks, and this finding is entirely consistent with their morphological characters. Therefore, it is more appropriate to place them in Oxyinae rather than Catantopinae. In addition, the results from our analysis also confirm the membership of the genus Apalacris in Coptacrinae rather than Catantopinae, and indicate the uncertainty in the phylogenetic position of the genus Traulia, and a more in-depth study is necessary to resolve the relationship of Traulia with other catantopine groups or Coptacrinae.
Diffuse Optical Tomography Using fNIRS Signals Measured from the Skull Surface of the Macaque Monkey

Abstract Diffuse optical tomography (DOT), as a functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) technique, can estimate three-dimensional (3D) images of the functional hemodynamic response in brain volume from measured optical signals. In this study, we applied DOT algorithms to the fNIRS data recorded from the surface of macaque monkeys’ skulls when the animals performed food retrieval tasks using either the left- or right-hand under head-free conditions. The hemodynamic response images, reconstructed by DOT with a high sampling rate and fine voxel size, demonstrated significant activations at the upper limb regions of the primary motor area in the central sulcus and premotor, and parietal areas contralateral to the hands used in the tasks. The results were also reliable in terms of consistency across different recording dates. Time-series analyses of each brain area revealed preceding activity of premotor area to primary motor area consistent with previous physiological studies. Therefore, the fNIRS–DOT protocol demonstrated in this study provides reliable 3D functional brain images over a period of days under head-free conditions for region-of-interest–based time-series analysis.
Analysis of the Motion Control Methods for Stratospheric Balloon-Borne Gondola Platform

At present, gondola platform is one of the stratospheric balloon-borne platforms being in research focus at home and overseas. Comparing to other stratospheric balloon-borne platforms, such as airship platform, gondola platform has advantages of higher stability, rapid in motion regulation and lower energy cost but disadvantages of less supporting capacity and be incapable of fixation. While all platforms have the same goal of keeping them at accurate angle and right pose for the requirements of instruments and objects installed in the platforms, when platforms rotate round the ground level perpendicular. That is accomplishing motion control. But, platform control system has factors of low damper, excessive and uncertain disturbances by the reason of its being hung over balloon in the air, it is hard to achieve the desired control precision because platform is ease to deviate its benchmark motion. Thus, in the controlling procedure in order to get higher precision, it is crucial to perceive the platform's swing synchronously and rapidly, and restrain the influence of disturbances effectively, keep the platform's pose steadily. Furthermore, while the platform in the air regard control center in the ground as reference object, it is ultimate to select a appropriate reference frame and work out the coordinates and implement the adjustment by the PC104 controller. This paper introduces the methods of the motion control based on stratospheric balloon-borne gondola platform. Firstly, this paper compares the characteristic of the flywheel and CMG and specifies the key methods of obtaining two significant states which are 'orientation stability' state and 'orientation tracking' state for platform motion control procedure using CMG as the control actuator. These two states reduce the deviation amplitude of rotation and swing of gondola's motion relative to original motion due to stratospheric intense atmosphere disturbance. We define it as the first procedure. In next procedure, we use the transfer matrix of earth reference frame to geographic reference frame to transform the data measured by the magnetic orientation sensors and the gyroscope to the space orientations, then the PC104 controller use the space orientations value as feedback to complete revises.
Synthesis and Applications of Porphyrin-Biomacromolecule Conjugates

With potential applications in materials and especially in light-responsive biomedicine that targets cancer tissue selectively, much research has focused on developing covalent conjugation techniques to tether porphyrinoid units to various biomacromolecules. This review details the key synthetic approaches that have been employed in the recent decades to conjugate porphyrinoids with oligonucleotides and peptides/proteins. In addition, we provide succinct discussions on the subsequent applications of such hybrid systems and also give a brief overview of the rapidly progressing field of porphyrin-antibody conjugates. Since nucleic acid and peptide systems vary in structure, connectivity, functional group availability and placement, as well as stability and solubility, tailored synthetic approaches are needed for conjugating to each of these biomacromolecule types. In terms of tethering to ONs, porphyrins are typically attached by employing bioorthogonal chemistry (e.g., using phosphoramidites) that drive solid-phase ON synthesis or by conducting post-synthesis modifications and subsequent reactions (such as amide couplings, hydrazide-carbonyl reactions, and click chemistry). In contrast, peptides and proteins are typically conjugated to porphyrinoids using their native functional groups, especially the thiol and amine side chains. However, bioorthogonal reactions (e.g., Staudinger ligations, and copper or strain promoted alkyne-azide cycloadditions) that utilize de novo introduced functional groups onto peptides/proteins have seen vigorous development, especially for site-specific peptide-porphyrin tethering. While the ON-porphyrin conjugates have largely been explored for programmed nanostructure self-assembly and artificial light-harvesting applications, there are some reports of ON-porphyrin systems targeting clinically translational applications (e.g., antimicrobial biomaterials and site-specific nucleic acid cleavage). Conjugates of porphyrins with proteinaceous moieties, on the other hand, have been predominantly used for therapeutic and diagnostic applications (especially in photodynamic therapy, photodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy, and photothermal therapy). The advancement of the field of porphyrinoid-bioconjugation chemistry from basic academic research to more clinically targeted applications require continuous fine-tuning in terms of synthetic strategies and hence there will continue to be much exciting work on porphyrinoid-biomacromolecule conjugation.