Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Feature Extraction based on Diagonal Direction for Handwritten Recognition System using Neural Network

An off-line handwritten character recognition system using multilayer feed forward neural network is described in the paper. A new method feature extraction based on diagonal directions is introduced for extracting the features of the handwritten characters. The proposed recognition system performs quite well yielding higher levels of recognition accuracy compared to the systems employing the conventional horizontal and vertical methods of feature extraction. This system will be suitable for converting handwritten documents into structural text form and recognizing handwritten names.
On the motivation behind Clustering Protocols in Ad-Hoc Networks

Though ad-hoc networks have been studied in great details by researchers all over the world, not much work has been done in analytically understanding the behaviour of the routing protocols. In this work, we analytically analyse the performance of hierarchical routing protocols vis a vis reactive routing protocols. We formulate the problem in a general framework and derive conditions under which one will be preferable over the other. We also comment on the various parameters involved and how can they be modelled. The results should be useful for generic as well as spe- cific performance comparison studies between clustering and reactive protocols.
Personnel security and open source intelligence: Employing social media analytics in pre-employment screening and selection

ABSTRACT Inarguably, social networking sites have become immensely popular. The proliferation of the type and number of social media venues are well exceeded by the quantity of data they produce. Moreover, these sites engender collateral information previously unavailable to personnel security professionals. While a recent literature review suggests this data is increasingly used in background investigations, its analysis appears devoid of any standardized protocol. The absence of any uniform procedure appears confirmed via a recent review of background investigation manuals from state peace officer accreditation organizations. As a result, specific resources, techniques, and case examples are discussed, and the federal security clearance process is provided as a recommended protocol for investigators.
Vitamin D Supplements Intake among Americans: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001-2002, 2003-2004 and 2005-2006

Younghee Kim, Advisor Americans of all ages, races, and genders have insufficient to deficient levels of serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D3 (25(OH)D3). Americans choose to take vitamin D supplements to combat low serum vitamin D levels, meet physiological needs and prevent diseases. The purpose of this research was to study the racial, gender, age, income, and education level differences in the prevalence of vitamin D supplement intake and mean amount of vitamin D supplement taken in the American population from the file, Dietary Supplement Questionnaire, NHANES 20012002, 2003-2004, 2005-2006 data. The statistical software, SUDDAN was used to control the weights of the samples. The data of 21,455 participants included in the sample, 2 years of age and older derived from the surveys were analyzed in this study to assess vitamin D supplement intake by Americans. According to the analysis, 33.7% (n=5,467) of the respondents reported consuming a vitamin D supplement. In this study, a higher percent of vitamin D supplement takers were females [37.7%], non-Hispanic whites [38.5%], elderly [53.3% of 71-85 years], college graduates [50%], and household incomes greater than $65,000 [41.6%]. The lowest percent of vitamin D supplement takers were males [29.7%], Mexican-Americans [19.2%], adolescents [16.6%], people with less than high school education [20.7%], and those with household incomes less than $20,000 [22.7%]. The groups that took the highest mean amount of vitamin D supplements were females [413.2 ± 9.7 IU], non-Hispanic whites [391.1 ± 6.8 IU], the elderly [485 ± 16.1 IU], high school graduates [426.4 ± 14.1], and household incomes greater than $65,000 [393 ± 9.5 IU]. The groups who took the least amount of vitamin D supplements were males [359.9 ± 7.1 IU],
Diagnostic biologique des hémoglobinopathies par analyse du phénotype

Les hemoglobinopathies sont definies par la presence d'anomalies qualitatives et/ou quantitatives touchant les chaines de globine. Leur diagnostic biologique repose dans la majorite des cas sur l'analyse du phenotype. L'origine ethnique du patient, quelques renseignements cliniques, un hemogramme recent a distance de toute transfusion, la notion de carence martiale doivent accompagner la demande d'examens. L'electrophorese en milieu alcalin est l'examen de premiere intention et permet de detecter de nombreux variants de l'hemoglobine, grâce a la visualisation de bandes anormales par rapport a des temoins normaux. Certains laboratoires lui preferent la focalisation isoelectrique, technique plus delicate a mettre en œuvre, mais plus resolutive. Lors de l'observation de bandes anormales, une electrophorese en gel d'agar a pH acide doit etre mise en œuvre. Les methodes chromatographiques, sur microcolonnes notamment, permettent la quantification de differentes fractions de l'hemoglobine (Hb A2, F, S.). D'autres examens, tels les tests de falciformation, de solubilite, d'instabilite, le test de Kleihauer-Betke, sont, dans certains cas, d'utiles examens complementaires. L'interpretation des resultats doit prendre en compte l'ensemble des donnees. En Ile-de-France, 80 % des variants sont des drepanocytaires, le plus souvent a l'etat heterozygote. Les syndromes thalassemiques sont egalement frequents. La detection precoce des sujets SS, Sbeta0, SOArab, SDPunjab, SC, ou thalassemiques majeurs notamment, permet leur rapide prise en charge par des equipes specialisees.
Toward a taxonomy of given-new information

A warp knitting machine is adapted for the production of looped fabric by providing filler sinkers to supply filler threads extending over the entire width of the machine in parallel relationship. The filler threads arrive consecutively at the needle zone, and basic fabric and loops are produced simultaneously using warp threads and pile yarn, respectively. The filler sinkers perform a substantially rectangular movement ensuring a fail-safe operation with high operating speeds.
The Effect of Pycnogenol® on Spatial Learning and Memory in Rats with Experimental Closed Head Injury

Copyright 2017 by The Medical Bulletin of University of Health Sciences Haseki Training and Research Hospital The Medical Bulletin of Haseki published by Galenos Yayınevi. Telif Hakkı 2017 Sağlık Bilimleri Üniversitesi Haseki Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi Haseki Tıp Bülteni, Galenos Yayınevi tarafından basılmıştır. Ad­dress­for­Cor­res­pon­den­ce/Ya­z›fl­ma­Ad­re­si:­Afşin Emre Kayıpmaz Başkent University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Ankara, Turkey Phone: +90 312 203 68 68 E-mail: aekayipmaz@baskent.edu. tr Received/Gelifl­Tarihi:­08 September 2016 Ac­cep­ted/Ka­bul­Ta­ri­hi:­24 October 2016 DOI: 10.4274/haseki.3446 Med Bull Haseki 2017;55:101-5
IMORC: An infrastructure for performance monitoring and optimization of reconfigurable computers

For many years academic research has studied the use of application-specific coprocessors based on field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) to accelerate high-performance computing (HPC) applications. Since major supercomputer vendors now provide servers with integrated reconfigurable accelerators, this technology is available to a much broader group of users. Still, designing an accelerator and optimizing its performance remains a difficult task requiring significant hardware design expertise. We aim at guiding the accelerator design process with a model-based approach that enables performance optimization throughout the design flow. Our approach uses an application model and an architectural model to estimate the effects of different architectural decisions and varying system parameters [1]. We target applications that are partitioned into communicating software tasks and hardware tasks (cores) that are implemented in reconfigurable hardware. While generally the interaction between the tasks is defined by their data-flow, more formalized models such as process networks, synchronous data-flow graphs, etc., can also be used. Maximizing the performance of an application consisting of many tasks is challenging since the cores affect each other when accessing shared resources. Hence, meticulous care has to be taken to avoid bottlenecks in an implementation. In this paper we introduce a communication infrastructure suitable for implementing and optimizing reconfigurable accelerators in HPC applications. This infrastructure provides a multi-bus interconnection network for connecting hardware cores and provides performance counters for monitoring resource usage at runtime. The collected statistics are used for performance optimization. The infrastructure is not tied to a particular FPGA technology or platform, which facilitates porting applications.
Distributed Port Scanning Detection

DISTRIBUTED PORT SCANNING DETECTION by Himanshu Singh Conventional Network Intrusion Detection System (NIDS) have heavyweight processing and memory requirements as they maintain per ow state using data structures like linked lists or trees. This is required for some specialized jobs such as Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) where the network communications between entities are recreated in its entirety to inspect application level data. The downside to this approach is that the NIDS must be in a position to view all inbound and outbound tra c of the protected network. The NIDS can be overwhelmed by a DDoS attack since most of these try and exhaust the available state of network entities. For some applications like port scan detection, we do not require to reconstruct the complete network tra c. We propose to integrate a detector into all routers so that a more distributed detection approach can be achieved. Since routers are devices with limited memory and processing capabilities, conventional NIDS approaches do not work while integrating a detector in them. We describe a method to detect port scans using aggregation. A data structure called a Partial Completion Filter(PCF) or a counting Bloom lter is used to reduce the per ow state.
Customer Information Management using Semantic Web and Enhanced Data Storage Along With Tag-Based Data Retrieval in E-Commerce

- With this paper, we try to present a new model to improve the current scenario, with utilizing concepts like semantic web and tag-based data handling techniques. The growth of conventional e-Commerce has not been at par with the high pace at which the amount of data has been growing over the internet. As a result, it fails to meet the high demands of precise data exchange activities. The proposed system differs from the conventional one as it inculcates automatic content generation based on patent search activities along with semantic annotation of information. All these renewed features transform e-Commerce into a ‘Smart Space’ platform to improve all the transactions happening over it.
Reliable Stream Transmission in Mobile Computing Environments

Providing reliable stream transmission in the IP-based mobile computing environment presenr.s a significant obstacle to the development of a practical mobile Internet system [B3C94], [MS93], [193]. In tllls paper, we propose a protocol for reliable stream transmission in the mobile computing environment. By caching packets passing through the base station, we can not only establish a reliable stream transmission connection belween the mobile host and its partner in the Internet, but can also guarantee the normal behavior of the TCP protocol in the Internet. Minimizing the compUlational overhead related to packet interception al the base station is also addressed in section "Implementation". Despite an increase in caching overhead at me base station. our malhematical model prodicts an overall improvement in communicaiton performance.
The Italic I – between liveness and the lens

ABSTRACT In this article, the question of ‘the alternative document’ is addressed with reference to The Italic I, a collaboration between writer-artist Emma Cocker and interdisciplinary artist Clare Thornton for exploring the performed event of repeatedly falling. Within The Italic I, the live performance of falling is not shared with an audience; this enquiry explores the specificity of experience communicable in the mediation of performance through its documents, photographic and textual. Less as an indexical record of ‘being there’, within The Italic I, the performance document is approached as a malleable material that is brought into new configurations through repeated staging and restaging. The article explores how various ‘alternative documents’ operate within The Italic I through the interwoven questions: How to present the experiential nature of falling as a force rather than simply representing its form? How to develop a mode of linguistic expression – a poetic textual document – that embodies the live experience that it seeks to articulate? How does restaging different performance documents give rise to alternative modalities of performance and performativity? Indeed, what is at stake at the threshold where live and lens meet, in the interval between live performance and lens-based mediation, between event and document.
Development of environmental health strategies for prevention of childhood diarrhoea in Sebeta town, Ethiopia

The aim of this study was to assess and explore the household environmental health factors associated with the occurrence of diarrhoea in under five children in Sebeta town of Ethiopia, in order to develop environmental health strategies for prevention of childhood diarrhoea. A descriptive, quantitative, contextual and cross-sectional study, using stratified random sampling method, was used to conduct the research. The data collection was carried out from November 6 to 28, 2013 using structured interview schedules and a total of 477 households’ mothers/caregivers with under five children had participated in the study. In analyzing data, both bivariate and multivariate analyses were employed using SPSS software. The finding of the study shows that the prevalence of childhood diarrhoea was 9.9%. A number of risk factors including socio-demographic variables, water and hygienic practices, and knowledge risk factors showed significant association with childhood diarrhoea on bivariate analysis using chi-squared and Fischer's exact tests. Multivariate analysis using binary logistic regression was conducted to examine the significance of identified risk factors in bivariate analysis. The results of multivariate regression analysis shows that four variables were associated with risk of childhood diarrhoea; including type of toilet facility (AOR: 0.37; 95% CI 0.16 – 0.87; p=0.023), availability of specific place for handwashing (AOR: 0.40; 95% CI 0.18 – 0.90; p=0.026), availability of handwashing facility (AOR: 0.20; 95% CI 0.06 – 0.70; p=0.012) and mothers’ knowledge on diarrhoea causation (AOR: 3.09; 95% CI 1.24 – 7.68; p=0.015). Although childhood diarrhoea was found to be less prevalent as compared to national and regional prevalence rates, diarrhoea remains one of the causes of morbidity in children of the studied households. The findings of the study concludes that childhood diarrhoea has a number of environmental determinants, notably due to environmental health risk factors associated with lack of improved sanitation and hand-washing facilities and poor knowledge on diarrhoea causation. The study thus recommends that effective measures to curtail prevalence of diarrhoea in urban contexts should be substantially increased by enhancing urban sanitation promotion programmes with emphasis on accelerating universal access to improved sanitation and handwashing facilities, together with efforts in promoting proper hygiene behaviours.
Skyline Path Queries for Location-based Services

A skyline query finds objects that are not dominated by another object from a given set of objects. Skyline queries help us to filter unnecessary information efficiently and provide us clues for various decision making tasks. In this paper, we consider skyline queries for location-based services and proposed a framework that can efficiently compute all non-dominated paths in road networks. A path p is said to dominate another path q if p is not worse than q in any of the k dimensions and p is better than q in at least one of the k dimensions. Our proposed skyline framework considers several features related to road networks and return all non-dominated paths from the road networks. In our work, we compute skylines considering two different perspectives: business perspective and individual user’s perspective. We have conducted several experiments to show the effectiveness of our method. From the experimental results, we can say that our system can perform efficient computation of skyline paths from road networks.
Aesthetic color templates for enhancing casual videos

In this study, we analyze color characteristics of professional videos in comparison to casual videos in the viewpoint of their aesthetic quality. It is shown that the saturation and brightness components have larger differences between amateur and professional videos than the hue component. Then, we propose aesthetic color templates that are obtained from professional videos. We provide showcases where casual videos are made closer to professional videos in terms of aesthetic appearance based on the proposed templates. The results demonstrate that employing our color templates is beneficial to enhance video aesthetics.
Learning and Optimization for Mixed Autonomy Systems - A Mobility Context

Author(s): Wu, Cathy | Advisor(s): Bayen, Alexandre M | Abstract: Mixed autonomy characterizes problems surrounding the gradual and complex integration of automation and AI into existing systems. In the context of mobility, we consider: how will the gradual introduction of self-driving cars change urban mobility? In this dissertation, we develop machine learning and optimization techniques to address three key challenges: 1) quantifying the behavior of such complex systems, 2) addressing inherent sensing limitations, and 3) mitigating negative effects of introducing the automation.We demonstrate that deep reinforcement learning (RL) can serve as a unifying framework for studying the behavior of disparate and complex scenarios common in mixed autonomy systems. In particular, using deep RL, we find that automating a small fraction of vehicles in various traffic scenarios can result in a significant system-level velocity increase and numerous emergent driving behaviors. We demonstrate through the development of variance reduction techniques for policy gradient methods, that deep RL has the potential to scale to high-dimensional control systems, such as traffic networks and other mixed autonomy systems. We additionally present Flow, an open source RL platform with the goal of easing the design and study of disparate traffic scenarios. To address sensing limitations inherent when only parts of a system are automated, sensor fusion is explored. In particular, we introduce a convex optimization method for cellular network measurements from ATaT at the scale of the Greater Los Angeles Area, to address a flow estimation problem previously believed to be intractable. Finally, when automation reduces the cost of the activity (of transport), anticipated negative effects include induced demand and increased energy consumption. We study how the design of the mobility system itself can mitigate these effects. In particular, joint work with Microsoft Research provides insight into how high-occupancy vehicle lanes can simultaneously satisfy comfort and time preferences of users, and provide system benefits. We introduce combinatorial optimization methods based on clustering and local search for the resulting ridesharing problem. Together, these learning and optimization methods demonstrate that a small number of vehicles and sensors can be harnessed for significant impact on urban mobility, and shed light into the future study of mixed autonomy systems.
Calibration of polarimetric SAR images by means of distributed target statistics and scatterometer measurements

Presents a method the authors have developed to fully calibrate polarimetric SAR images, which relies only on distributed target backscatter and makes use of comparison with corresponding scatterometer data. First, within the developed framework of full polarimetric calibration, the need to deal with statistically homogeneous targets is stressed in order to perform the calibration parameters estimation. The authors suggest a slight modification of Klein's algorithm which removes the scattering reciprocity assumption, for the cross-talk reduction step. Then, from preliminary analysis of the MAC-Europe campaign on the Orgeval site (1991), it is shown that radiometric cross-comparison with scatterometer data is feasible. <<ETX>>
Bandwidth Extension for Transimpedance Amplifiers

This chapter aims to introduce optical receivers in general and application of electronic circuits in these receivers then some important parts of these electronic circuits which are the amplifiers are discussed. An attempt has been made in this chapter to provide some useful information about different aspects of the optical communication in our life and the importance of high speed wideband aspects in such systems. Eventually the role of transimpedance amplifiers in a typical optical communication receiver is discussed.