Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PARTICLE SIZE MEASURING USING GRAY-SCALE DIFFERENCE METHOD OF PARTICLE IMAGE

and ABSTRACT This paper presents a method for the particle size measurement basing on the gray-scale difference method (GDM) of particle image. Basing on the fact that the gray-scale of particle image can provide the implicit information of particle size, the principle of GDM is an analytical expression of the reflected light energy from an actual particle. Derived from the Mie scattering theory, the analytical expression contains the information of actual particle size. By using the gray-scale difference between two images of a particle (particle pair/particle couple) caused by the different output energy at the optical exit of each laser, a pair of equation of the above analytical expression is achieved. After the gray-scale operation of the above equations, the configurable parameters of imaging system are eliminated, and consequently the actual particle size is calculated. The particle size field of a measuring area is obtained after a continuous interrogation for each particle pair. Combined with the velocity determination by the grey-scale classification (GSC) of particle image, both the velocity and size of particle is measured simultaneously. The GDM is evaluated by the application for the seeded water channel, and subsequently verified by the results.
Asynchronous Planar Motion Estimation using Address Event Sensors

Motion estimation is a central problem of computer vision essential to many applications, such as optical flow and egomotion estimation. In traditional frame-based cameras, motion estimation relies on the brightness constancy assumption. An inherent limitation of this assumption is that its temporal resolution is bounded by the fixed frame-rate of the camera. Address Event Sensors (AES) are bio-inspired vision sensors characterized by low latency, high dynamic range and high resilience to motion blur. Contrary to traditional frame-based cameras which output frames at fixed time intervals, AES generates asynchronous events at microsecond resolution each time the local brightness of a pixel changes. However, most of the current Address Event (AE) approaches to estimate motion have not been effective at exploiting these characteristics. They mostly rely on spatial smoothness that require accumulating events into grid-like representations for processing, eliminating most of the AES advantages. We conjecture that processing events asynchronously as they arrive should lead to better use of the camera’s temporal resolution and hence result in motion estimates that are more resilient to rapid and shaky motions. In this paper, we present an asynchronous particle filter approach using BCE-based likelihood function, to solve for planar motion velocities using AES. It uses the AE data as the only source of information relying on a single event track, while freeing events from the spatial smoothness assumption. It is, thus, capable of exploiting the advantages offered by AES for motion estimation. Our results for general planar motion estimation are on par with state-of-the-art results.
Review on the Neural Mechanism of Focus Processing

: In recent years, as more and more researchers pay attention to the linguistic phenomenon that different components in sentences are differentially processed, the processing mechanism of focal components has also been extensively focused. This paper reviews the researches on the neural mechanism of focus processing from the perspective of native speakers and second language speakers, combs several ERP components closely related to focus processing, and summarizes the mechanism of focus processing.
STRUCTURAL AND THERMOCHRONOLOGIC EVIDENCE OF PALEOGENE-NEOGENE FAULTING AND EXHUMATION OF THE KLAMATH MOUNTAIN PROVINCE By

The Klamath Mountains Province (KMP), located at the southern end of the forearc of the Cascadia Subduction Zone, displays a distinct topographic and geologic signature. Compared to the forearc in the north, the KMP comprises Paleozoic-Mesozoic basement rocks with relatively high modern elevation and relief. This study investigates the pattern of rock cooling in the KMP by using thermochronology on plutons exhumed by faults and plutons outside of mapped faults. In this study I target three regions in the KMP: the Ashland pluton offset by the Siskiyou Summit fault in the northeast KMP, the Grayback pluton in the northwest KMP, and the China Creek pluton offset by the Browns Meadow fault in the southern KMP. Zircon (ZHe) and apatite (AHe) (U-Th)/He ages from these plutons record post emplacement cooling during the late Early Cretaceous and tectonic exhumation during the late Oligocene to early Miocene. Cooling ages from this study are compiled with available thermochronologic data to identify spatial and temporal patterns of exhumation. This comparison shows a late Oligocene to early Miocene cooling signal throughout the KMP, with the exception of a geographic cluster of late Eocene to early Oligocene AHe ages found in the south-central core of the KMP. This cluster of older cooling ages is bound by the Browns Meadow fault and La Grange
Fully electronically controllable Schmitt trigger circuit with dual hysteresis

A new Schmitt trigger circuit comprises of single multiple output current follower differential input transconductance amplifier and one grounded resistor is presented. The presented circuit provides both clockwise and anticlockwise hysteresis simultaneously with independent and electronic control of threshold levels. The amplitudes of output currents are also independent and electronically controllable. Experimental results using commercial ICs have been depicted to confirm theoretical analyses.
Engineering design in the primary school: applying stem concepts to build an optical instrument

ABSTRACT Internationally there is a need for research that focuses on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education to equip students with the skills needed for a rapidly changing future. One way to do this is through designing engineering activities that reflect real-world problems and contextualise students’ learning of STEM concepts. As such, this study examined the learning that occurred when fifth-grade students completed an optical engineering activity using an iterative engineering design model. Through a qualitative methodology using a case study design, we analysed multiple data sources including students’ design sketches from eight focus groups. Three key findings emerged: first, the collaborative process of the first design sketch enabled students to apply core STEM concepts to model construction; second, during the construction stage students used experimentation for the positioning of lenses, mirrors and tubes resulting in a simpler ‘working’ model; and third, the redesign process enabled students to apply structural changes to their design. The engineering design model was useful for structuring stages of design, construction and redesign; however, we suggest a more flexible approach for advanced applications of STEM concepts in the future.
A Memory Evolutive System-Model of Immunocompetence with Applications to SARS-CoV-2 Immunity

The immune system of higher vertebrates is one of the most complex biological networks known and undoubtedly plays a determining role in the survival of our species in the face of continuous pressure from pathogenic microorganisms to which we are exposed. The adequate immune response, known as immunological fitness or immunocompetence, is a central concept in immunology, but its use, although widespread, does not have a formal operational definition. In the present work, A qualitative mathematical model of the notion of immunocompetence is developed, based on the formalism of Memory Evolutive Systems (MES), from which, immune fitness is defined as an emergent structure of a higher order arising from the signal networks that are established between effector cells and molecules of the immune response in the presence of an antigen. In addition, a mechanism is proposed, which may explain how immunocompetence is achieved in an organism endowed with innate and adaptive components of its immune system. Finally, a practical method to measure the immunocompetence status was established, using elements of the theory of small random graphs and considering the characteristics of the immune networks, established through transcriptional studies, of patients with severe COVID-19 and healthy patients, assuming that both types of patients were vaccinated with an effective biological against SARS-CoV-2.
Representations and Representation Learning

The state of a dynamical system is basically a compressed description and captures the key aspects of this system. These aspects may be time-varying or fixed parameters. Consider the system shown in Figure 1: a walking robot moving along a vertical plane. In this example, the time-varying quantities may consist of information about the robot’s current pose (position and orientation) in space, joint configuration and velocity. Fixed parameters may be the length of the robot’s limbs, the weight of each limb or joint friction. Numerous representations are possible for the system’s state; for instance, we could choose to use any selection of joint angles, velocities, positions or the pose of the robot. Furthermore, these quantities could be represented in different ways. For example, orientations of the robot body could be given as Euler angles, in the angle-axis representation or as a quaternion. Positions could be provided as spatial or polar coordinates. Which representation you choose often depends on the task at hand. Finally, a state representation could also be learned which we will come back to later. The state of a dynamical system is not static and evolves over time. For the example of the walker, its pose and joint configuration are time-varying. We denote the state at time t as xt. A common assumption for such dynamical
Female Genital Tract and Immune Cell Subsets in the Blood and Virus Type 2 Infection on Mucosal Homing Impact of Asymptomatic Herpes Simplex

HSV-2 infection is common and generally asymptomatic, but it is associated with increased HIV susceptibility and disease progression. This may relate to herpes-mediated changes in genital and systemic immunology. Cervical cytobrushes and blood were collected from HIV-uninfected African/Caribbean women in Toronto, and immune cell subsets were enumerated blindly by ﬂow cytometry. Immune differences between groups were assessed by univariate analysis and conﬁrmed using a multivariate model. Study participants consisted of 46 women, of whom 54% were infected with HSV-2. T cell activation and expression of the mucosal homing integrin a 4 b 7 (19.60 versus 8.76%; p < 0.001) were increased in the blood of HSV-2–infected women. Furthermore, expression of a 4 b 7 on blood T cells correlated with increased numbers of activated (coexpressing CD38/HLA-DR; p = 0.004) and CCR5 + ( p = 0.005) cervical CD4 + T cells. HSV-2–infected women exhibited an increase in the number of cervical CD4 + T cells (715 versus 262 cells/cytobrush; p = 0.016), as well as an increase in the number and proportion of cervical CD4 + T cells that expressed CCR5 + (406 versus 131 cells, p = 0.001; and 50.70 versus 34.90%, p = 0.004) and were activated (112 versus 13 cells, p < 0.001; and 9.84 versus 4.86%, p = 0.009). Mannose
HUMAN AND CLINICAL NUTRITION Dietary patterns and physical inactivity, two contributing factors to the double burden of malnutrition among adults in Burkina Faso, West Africa JOURNAL OF NUTRITIONAL SCIENCE

A population-based cross-sectional study was carried out in the northern neighbourhoods of Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), to examine the relationship of nutritional de ﬁ ciencies and cardiometabolic risk factors (CMRF) with lifestyle in adults. We randomly selected 330 households strati ﬁ ed by income tertile. In each income stratum, 110 individuals aged 25 – 60 years and having lived in Ouagadougou for at least 6 months were randomly selected. We performed anthropometric, dietary intake and physical activity measurements, and blood sample collection. Cluster analysis of dietary intake identi ﬁ ed two dietary patterns: ‘ urban ’ (29 % of subjects) and ‘ traditional ’ (71 %). The ‘ urban ’ cluster exhibited a higher intake of fat and sugar, whereas a higher intake of plant protein, complex carbohydrate and ﬁ bre was observed in the ‘ traditional ’ pattern. Female sex, low income and lack of education were associated with the ‘ traditional ’ cluster, as well as Fe and vitamin A de ﬁ ciency. CMRF prevalence (abdominal obesity, hypertension, hyperglycaemia, dyslipidaemia) was similar in both clusters. Subjects in the ‘ traditional ’ cluster spent more time in physical activity and had less sedentary time than those in the ‘ urban ’ cluster. ‘ Traditional ’ dietary pattern, low income, female sex and sedentary time were signi ﬁ cant contributing factors to the double burden of malnutrition. The rapid nutrition transition is re ﬂ ected in this co-occurrence of CMRF and nutritional de ﬁ ciencies. This stresses the need for prevention strategies addressing both ends of the nutrition spectrum.
A Survey on Website Attacks Detection And Prevention

Securing web applications has become extremely important as the information processed by web applications has become critical to corporations, customers, organizations, and countries. Web applications manage a wide array of information including financial data, medical records, social security numbers, intellectual property and national security data. Web based attacks are considered by security experts to be the greatest and least understood of all risks related to confidentiality, availability, and integrity. This paper will introduce and address web based attacks from attack to detection and solutions for the same. Attacks covered are SQL Injection (SQLI), Cross Site Scripting(CSS), Cross Site Request Forgery(CSRF), Directory Traversal, Unvalidated Input, Broken Access Control, Broken Authentication and Session Management and Parameter Modification.
Title: It Takes Two to Borrow: The Effects of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act on Homeownership and Mortgage Debt of Married Couples

Until the 1970s, U.S. mortgage lenders commonly discounted the wife’s income in couples’ joint mortgage applications. This changed with the introduction of anti-discrimination legislation in the 1970s. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974 prohibited credit discrimination related to marital status and sex, providing a nat-ural experiment to study the relaxation of income-related borrowing constraints. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, I find positive e˙ects on mort-gage borrowing and homeownership rates of married couples with working wives. Di˙erence-in-di˙erence results at the national level are supported by event study regressions exploiting variation in hand-collected state laws. My results imply that the new legislation initially enabled more than a million households to move to their own home. I further built a life-cycle model of married households’ homeownership and mortgage choices to explore the labor supply incentives for wives entailed by relaxing debt-to-income constraints via the creditable share of their income. The results show a positive e˙ect on married women’s labor force participation, which strongly amplifies the homeownership and borrowing e˙ects. Abstract Until the 1970s, U.S. mortgage lenders commonly discounted the wife’s income in couples’ joint mortgage applications. This changed with the introduction of anti-discrimination legislation in the 1970s. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974 prohibited credit discrimination related to marital status and sex, providing a natural experiment to study the relaxation of income-related borrowing constraints. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, I ﬁnd positive eﬀects on mortgage borrowing and homeownership rates of married couples with working wives. Diﬀerence-in-diﬀerence results at the national level are supported by event study regressions exploiting variation in hand-collected state laws. My results imply that the new legislation initially enabled more than a million households to move to their own home. I further built a life-cycle model of married households’ homeownership and mortgage choices to explore the labor supply incentives for wives entailed by relaxing debt-to-income constraints via the creditable share of their income. The results show a positive eﬀect on married women’s labor force participation, which strongly ampliﬁes the homeownership and borrowing eﬀects.
Slime Mould Optimization Algorithms for Optimal Distributed Generation Integration in Distribution Electrical Network

— This document proposes a method for determining the optimal point of integration of distributed generation (DG) in distribution grid. Slime mould optimization is applied to determine best node in case of one and two injection point. Problem has been modeled as an optimization problem where the objective is to minimize joule loses and main constraint is to regulate voltage in each point. The proposed method has been implemented in MATLAB and applied in IEEE network 33 and 69 nodes. Comparing results obtained with other algorithms showed that slime mould optimization algorithms (SMOA) have the best reduction of power losses and good amelioration of voltage profile.
Design and Implementation of a Closed Loop Sensor-less Position/Speed/Current Control of a DC Motor using Neural Network for Robotic Applications

This paper present a concise review of the control techniques of DC motors with the various control methods and optimisation techniques used in the literature. The paper presents a block diagram relating these control techniques. The paper then presents the closed loop control of a DC motor using Artificial Neural Networks (ANN). The closed loop control takes into account all three loops pertaining to current, speed and position control of the DC motor used for robotic applications. The proposed controller uses feedback data from an ANN estimator of the DC motor model, hence eliminating the need for mechanical feedback sensors, which is very advantageous in robotic applications. Simulation results are presented in the course of the paper for each of the control cases. The paper presents a performance comparison between the classically tuned PID controllers and the proposed ANN controller with and without the ANN DC motor estimator.
Identifying Tourism and Economic Growth Nexus: Hurlin-Venet Approach

: This paper seeks to identify causality between tourism and economic growth within Hurlin-Venet approach using the panel data of 135 countries for the period 1995–2008. Countries are classified by income levels. The unidirectional causality from economic growth to tourism revenue is found only in case of high income countries group.
Children’s and adults’ use of fictional discourse and semantic knowledge for 1 prediction in language processing 2

22 Using real-time eye-movement measures, we asked how a fantastical discourse context 23 competes with stored representations of real-world events to influence the moment-by-moment 24 interpretation of a story by 7-year-old children and adults. Seven-year-olds were less effective at 25 bypassing stored real-world knowledge during real-time interpretation than adults. Our results 26 suggest that children privilege stored semantic knowledge over situation-specific information 27 presented in a fictional story context. We suggest that 7-year-olds’ canonical semantic and 28 conceptual relations are sufficiently strongly rooted in statistical patterns in language that have 29 consolidated over time that they overwhelm new and unexpected information even when the 30 latter is fantastical and highly salient. 31
Trends in Academic and Industrial Research on Business Process Management - A Computational Literature Analysis

An important aspect of enterprise information systems is the management and execution of business processes. For exploring the evolution of topics in business process management in academia and industry, we present the ﬁndings from a computational literature analysis. For this purpose, we revert to the full texts and metadata of the proceedings of the International Conference on Business Process Management and its workshops as a sample. In addition, the data has been enriched with data on the academic or industrial provenance of the authors. For identifying the most important topics in business process management, we performed a content-based analysis of over 1,200 papers using Latent Dirichlet Allocation. This analysis gives insights into the development of topics over time and identiﬁes recently emerging topics.
Assessing the test-retest reliability of the social value orientation
 slider measure

Decades of research show that (i) social value orientation (SVO) is related to important behavioral outcomes such as cooperation and charitable giving, and (ii) individuals differ in terms of SVO. A prominent scale to measure SVO is the social value orientation slider measure (SVOSM). The central premise is that SVOSM captures a stable trait. But it is unknown how reliable the SVOSM is over repeated measurements more than one week apart. To fill this knowledge gap, we followed a sample of N = 495 over 6 months with monthly SVO measurements. We find that continuous SVO scores are similarly distributed (Anderson-Darling k-sample p = 0.57) and highly correlated (r ≥ 0.66) across waves. The intra-class correlation coefficient of 0.78 attests to a high test-retest reliability. Using multilevel modeling and multiple visualizations, we furthermore find that one’s prior SVO score is highly indicative of SVO in future waves, suggesting that the slider measure consistently captures one’s SVO. Our analyses validate the slider measure as a reliable SVO scale.
The E ﬀ ect of Exercise on Glucoregulatory Hormones: A Countermeasure to Human Aging: Insights from a Comprehensive Review of the Literature

: Hormones are secreted in a circadian rhythm, but also follow larger-scale timetables, such as monthly (hormones of the menstrual cycle), seasonal (i.e., winter, summer), and, ultimately, lifespan-related patterns. Several contexts modulate their secretion, such as genetics, lifestyle, environment, diet, and exercise. They play signiﬁcant roles in human physiology, inﬂuencing growth of muscle, bone, and regulating metabolism. Exercise training alters hormone secretion, depending on the frequency, duration, intensity, and mode of training which has an impact on the magnitude of the secretion. However, there remains ambiguity over the e ﬀ ects of exercise training on certain hormones such as glucoregulatory hormones in aging adults. With advancing age, there are many alterations with the endocrine system, which may ultimately alter human physiology. Some recent studies have reported an anti-aging e ﬀ ect of exercise training on the endocrine system and especially cortisol, growth hormone and insulin. As such, this review examines the e ﬀ ects of endurance, interval, resistance and combined training on hormones (i.e., at rest and after) exercise in older individuals. We summarize the inﬂuence of age on glucoregulatory hormones, the inﬂuence of exercise training, and where possible, examine masters’ athletes’ endocrinological proﬁle.