Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Survey Paper on Visibility Restoration of Underwater Optical Images and Enhancement Techniques

We have investigated the problem of underwater hazy image enhancement and restoration in this paper studied. Underwater image processing has several applications in the field of oceanic research work and scientific applications such as archaeology, geology, underwater environmental assessment, laying of long distance gas pipelines and communication links across the continents which demand geo-referential surveying of the oceanic bed and prospection of ancient shipwreck. There are many difficulties for undersea optical imaging. To submerging a camera in underwater enough space is required. The maneuvering of the camera with the help from remote place or in person at the site is likewise a complex task. However, the major challenge is imposed by underwater medium properties. Underwater haze image enhancement has gained widespread importance with the rapid development of modern imaging equipment. Though, the contrast enhancement of single underwater hazy image is a cumbersome task for scientific exploration and computational application. At extreme depth, because of attenuation in light propagation, the underwater images are susceptible to inferior visibility.
Synthesis of new Amides based on N-Phthaloyl-α-Amino Acids

N-phthaloyl derivatives of aliphatic α-amino acids were synthesized using phthalanhydride under standard conditions. The optimization reaction carried out by the thermal method to obtain the amides of these N-phthaloyl amino acids resulted in transimitted rather than amidation. The target amides of N-phthaloyl-α-amino acids were obtained by acylation of the amine with the corresponding acid chloroanhydrides in dichloromethane. These results were compared with the results of a similar acylation in a non-polar solvent (benzene). The dependence of the direction of the reaction on the duration of the acylation and the amount of amine used was established. The conditions for the formation of the corresponding N-phthaloyl-α-amino acid amides and asymmetric phthalic acid diamides were found. It is noteworthy that the formation of diamides is directly proportional to the equivalent amount of amine and the duration of the reaction, which makes it possible to purposefully control the synthesis in one reactor.
Broadband circularly polarized dielectric resonator antenna with L‐shaped dielectric resonator strips

A broadband circularly polarized dielectric resonator antenna (CP DRA) with L‐shaped dielectric resonator strips (DRS) is presented. The antenna is composed of a square DR, four L‐shaped DRS and a square ground plane etched with cross‐slot. A stepped‐microstrip feeding line is used to adjust the impedance bandwidth (IBW). It is noted that not only the interaction of the cross‐slot and square DR could excite CP resonant points, but the four L‐shaped DRS can also stimulate a CP resonant point in high frequency. Through utilizing these resonant modes, the CP bandwidth of the proposed DRA could be enhanced greatly. The measured results depict the designed DRA has a broad −10‐dB IBW of 44.7% (2.55, 1.98‐3.12 GHz), and a 3‐dB axial‐ratio bandwidth of 38.7% (2.53, 2.04‐3.02 GHz).
Motion-compensated optical coherence tomography based on higher-order regression for real-time volumetric imaging

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) has evolved into a powerful clinical tool, with a wide range of applications in ophthalmology. However, most OCT systems for real-time volumetric (3D) and in vivo imaging suffer from image distortion due to motion artifacts induced by involuntary and physiological movements of the living tissue. Several methods have been proposed to obtain motion-free images, yet they are generally limited in their applicability due to long acquisition times, requiring multiple volumes [1], and/or the need for additional hardware [2]. Here we propose and analyze a motion-compensated 3D-OCT imaging system that uses a higher-order regression analysis and show that it can effectively correct the motion artifacts within 0 to 5 Hz in real time without requiring additional hardware.
Detection of Coliforms and Enteric Pathogens in Favorite Snack Food Sold in Yogyakarta City

Favorite snack food is very popular to Yogyakarta's residents, such as cilok, skewered meatballs, and dumplings. The processing and serving processes of these food does not pay attention to hygiene aspects, therefore, it is necessary to monitor the presence or absence of coliform bacteria and enteric pathogens that often cause digestive disorders. A total of 30 samples were collected from each food from different locations. These samples were then enumerated on a CCA medium to grow all types of coliforms and enteric pathogens. The resulted colonies were then selected on SSA, SMAC, and DFI Agar medium to obtain a single isolate, which were biochemically tested until their genus levels were identified using API 20E. Based on the identification results of 30 food samples, the contamination levels obtained were as follows, Escherichia coli (16.6%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (13.3%), Yersinia enterocolitica (13.3%), Pantoea spp (6.6%). ), Aeromonas hydrophila (6.6%), Enterobacter cloacae (6.6%), Serratia marcescens (6.6%), Bordetella / Alcaligenes / Moraxella spp (6.6%), Serratia liquefaciens (3.3%), Proteus mirabilis (3.3%), Shigella spp (3.3%), and Ewingella Americana (3.3%). Based on these findings, it is necessary to be cautious of street food in Yogyakarta City.
Promoting employee’s self‐change skills: The role of job characteristics, goal clarity and learning goals

Personal growth initiative (PGI), i.e. self-change skills, is necessary for employees to adapt to changing environments, but research examining the antecedents of PGI in an organizational context is limited. The present research investigated the antecedents of PGI in the workplace. Using a two-wave questionnaire survey, data were collected from 204 employees, including nurses, medical technicians, and administrative staff, at six healthcare organizations in Japan. The results of hierarchical regression analyses showed that goal clarity and learning goal orientation were positively related to PGI, whereas autonomy, skill variety, and job complexity were not significantly related to PGI. The results also showed that goal clarity positively moderated the effect of skill variety on PGI, yet negatively moderated the effect of job complexity on PGI. This study contributes to the existing literature by demonstrating how personal and situational factors influence employees’ self-change skills in the workplace.
Unbounded Spatial Data Stream Query Processing using Spatial Semijoins

In this paper, the problem of query processing in spatial data streams is explored, with a focus on the spatial join operation. Although the spatial join has been utilized in many proposed centralized and distributed query processing strategies, for its application to spatial data streams the spatial join operation has received very little attention. One identified limitation with existing strategies is that a bounded region of space (i.e., spatial extent) from which the spatial objects are generated needs to be known in advance. However, this information may not be available. Therefore, two strategies for spatial data stream join processing are proposed where the spatial extent of the spatial object stream is not required to be known in advance. Both strategies estimate the common region that is shared by two or more spatial data streams in order to process the spatial join. An evaluation of both strategies includes a comparison with a recently proposed approach in which the spatial extent of the data set is known. Experimental results show that one of the strategies performs very well at estimating the common region of space using only incoming objects on the spatial data streams. Other limitations of this work are also identified.
Drought Identification through Climatic Variables

Temperature and rainfall are among the climatic variables required in determining the availability of water in an environment, especially for agricultural purposes and domestic consumption by man. However, there are concerns that these variables are being affected by global warming which thus necessitates the need to study their impact on the environment such as the identification of drought. The mean monthly temperature and rainfall data utilized in this work were obtained from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), Lagos, Nigeria for the period 1981 to 2010, and analyzed using the descriptive statistical approach including the rainfall anomalies index. After the analysis, the results showed that a non-uniform pattern of changes in temperature was evident across the different stations considered in which the variations in the local temperature trends were not spatially uniform. Twelve of the stations (Calabar, Port-Harcourt, Owerri, Benin, Enugu, Lagos, Ondo, Ibadan, Ilorin, Maiduguri, Sokoto and Katsina) out of the 18 stations considered have their mean monthly temperature increasing, which shows that majority of these stations are experiencing warming. In essence, the rainfall anomaly index thus showed that there is an evidence of drought in some of these stations considered (Warri, Benin, Enugu, Minna, Nguru, Sokoto and Katsina). However, it is important to continually check for both temperature trends and rainfall anomalies for enhanced and good agricultural planning of a nation since it was discovered that each particular area has unique rainfall and temperature patterns which are non-consistent with each other.
Optical design of automotive augmented reality 3D head-up display with light-field rendering

Although head-up displays (HUDs) have already been installed in some commercial vehicles, their application to augmented reality (AR) is limited owing to the resulting narrow field of view (FoV) and fixed virtual-image distance. The matching of depth between AR information and real objects across wide FoVs is a key feature of AR HUDs to provide a safe driving experience. Meanwhile, current approaches based on the integration of two-plane virtual images and computer-generated holography suffer from problems such as partial depth control and high computational complexity, respectively, which makes them unsuitable for application in fast-moving vehicles. To bridge this gap, here, we propose a light-field-based 3D display technology with eye-tracking. We begin by matching the HUD optics with the light-field display view formation. First, we design mirrors to deliver high-quality virtual images with an FoV of 10 × 5° for a total eyebox size of 140 × 120 mm and compensate for the curved windshield shape. Next, we define the procedure to translate the driver eye position, obtained via eye-tracking, to the plane of the light-field display views. We further implement a lenticular-lens design and the corresponding sub-pixel-allocation-based rendering, for which we construct a simplified model to substitute for the freeform mirror optics. Finally, we present a prototyped device that affords the desired image quality, 3D image depth up to 100 m, and crosstalk level of <1.5%. Our findings indicate that such 3D HUDs can form the mainstream technology for AR HUDs.
Numerical dissipation switch for two-dimensional central-upwind schemes

We propose a numerical dissipation switch, which helps to control the amount of numerical dissipation present in central-upwind schemes. Our main goal is to reduce the numerical dissipation without risking oscillations. This goal is achieved with the help of a more accurate estimate of the local propagation speeds in the parts of the computational domain, which are near contact discontinuities and shears. To this end, we introduce a switch parameter, which depends on the distributions of energy in the x- and y-directions. The resulting new central-upwind is tested on a number of numerical examples, which demonstrate the superiority of the proposed method over the original central-upwind scheme.
Simultaneous recovery of phase and defocus from coherent through-focus intensity images

Phase retrieval methods have been proposed to recover phase from through-focus intensity images measured on a microscope. It requires measuring the defocus distances of intensity images, usually by a z-axis translation stage. However, it complicates the experiment, adds expense, and suffers from error in the z-stage measurement. In this paper, we propose an algorithm to recover phase from only through-focus intensity images without measuring extra parameters such as defocus, wavelength and pixel size. We formulate the phase retrieval as a least-square error optimization problem and propose an alternating update scheme to solve the nonconvex optimization problem. We validate the algorithm with simulation and experiment.
Investigation of the Natural Gas Components Redistribution in the “Gas-Hydrate” System

The paper studies the degree of C2-C4 components redistribution in hydrates during their formation in water and mineralized solutions of hydrocarbonate and chloride types. It was found that in brines of the chloride type, in comparison with hydrocarbonate waters, there is a noticeable concentration of propane and isobutane. Such selective enrichment of hydrate gas with methane homologues leads to increasing in their fat coefficient and calorific value. Compared with the original natural gas, the fat coefficient of gases in hydrates obtained in hydrocarbonate waters increase by 3.0-3.2 times, the combustion heat of gases - by 17.2-18.0%. In brines of the chloride type, the fat coefficient of gases in hydrates in comparison with that one of the natural gas increase by 4.4-4.9 times, and the combustion heat - by 26.2-30.5%. Experimental studies have shown the possibility of using surface and ground waters in the industrial production of hydrates. The use of natural waters in the technological process of hydrates obtaining in special installations makes it possible to exclude the stage of water treatment, which can significantly reduce the cost of the hydrates production. And the selective fractionation of C2-C4 hydrocarbons leads to an increase in the energy value of the "hydrate" fuel.
Discussing treatment burden

Treatment burden is defined as “the workload of healthcare and its effect on patient functioning and well-being” [1, 2]. It has also been defined as “the self-care practices that patients with chronic illness must perform to respond to the requirements of their healthcare providers, as well as the impact that these practices have on patient functioning and well-being” [3]. In this issue of Breathe, there are several articles addressing treatment burden from different perspectives. This Viewpoint article focusses on the discussions between the patient and their healthcare professional (HCP). What are the important topics to cover in discussions about treatment burden? What are the barriers to these discussions? What facilitates a productive conversation about treatment burden? The authors of this article include three patients (with asthma, COPD and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), four HCPs representing different specialties (primary care, secondary and tertiary care, nursing and pharmacy) and a representative of the European Lung Foundation (ELF). This article is based on a video discussion between the authors; it was then refined via e-mail by all the authors. Healthcare professionals should help patients to reach informed decisions about treatments in order to maximise benefits while minimising treatment burden https://bit.ly/2XRtRPK
Erratum: “The Energy-dependent γ-Ray Morphology of the Crab Nebula Observed with the Fermi Large Area Telescope” (2019, ApJ, 875, 123)

In the published article (Yeung & Horns 2019), the superimposed spatial model assigned to the whole Crab (i.e., a superposition of a point component (pulsar) and an extended component (nebula)) followed the analysis scheme of Ackermann et al. (2018). Nevertheless, there is a deficiency in our γ-ray extension measurements for the Crab Nebula that stems from the Crab pulsar’s model. There is not only a deviation in the spectral modeling for the pulsar component, but also inaccuracy in convolving the pulsar’s spatial morphology (i.e. the point source morphology) with the point-spread function (PSF). More specifically, the Crab pulsar’s differential flux above 5 GeV is underpredicted by the spectral model in the published article, and the size of the convolving PSF is underestimated. Ackermann et al. (2018) reported that their measurement of the Crab Nebula’s γ-ray extension and its extension teststatistic were highly sensitive to a change in the convolving PSF. According to Figure 3 of Yeung (2020), the pulsar’s differential flux accounts for ∼(15–72)% of the Crab’s total differential flux from 5 to 40 GeV. Therefore, the aforementioned systematic effect associated with the pulsar component was particularly large for the 5–40 GeV extension measurements reported in the published article. With regards to this issue, we perform follow-up checks for the 5–40 GeV extension sizes by selecting only off-pulse phase data for analyses and, accordingly, removing the pulsar component from the source model. We adopt the timing solution of the Crab pulsar provided entirely by M. Kerr (documented in Appendix A of Yeung 2021). We define the off-pulse phase in the same way as in Yeung & Horns (2020). We perform binned maximum-likelihood analyses, with an angular bin size of 0°. 01, on P8R3 data accumulated over the first 10 years of observations. We adopt the 4FGL point source catalog (Abdollahi et al. 2020), the Galactic diffuse model “gll−iem−v07” and the isotropic diffuse model “iso−P8R2−CLEAN−V6−v07”. Other details of data reduction criteria and analysis procedures roughly follow the published article. The Astrophysical Journal, 909:221 (2pp), 2021 March 10 https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/abea1b
Antibacterial Activity and Time-kill Assay of Terminalia catappa L. and Nigella sativa L. against Selected Human Pathogenic Bacteria

The current investigation aims to test the susceptibility of human pathogenic clinical isolates and MTCC strains to leaf and seed extracts of Terminalia catappa and Nigella sativa. Disc diffusion assay, micro dilution assay and minimum Bactericidal Concentration investigated the susceptibility of bacteria to the test extracts. The active extract was subjected to phytochemical screening, separation of the phytochemicals by Thin Layer Chromatography, bioactivity guided assay and Time- kill assay. Acetone and methanol extracts of T.catappa revealed, significant inhibition of clinical origin Staphylococcus aureus followed by Proteus vulgaris and the MTCC strains Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi, Pseudomonas aeroginosa and Bacillus subtilis. Nigella sativa inhibited the growth of clinical origin Staph.aureus and MTCC strain of Staph.aureus, Salmonella typhi and B.subtilis. Minimum inhibitory concentration for all the test bacteria was reported in the range of 5000μg/ml to 9 μg/ml in T. catappa extract. Most sensitive being the clinical isolate Staph. aureus and Proteus vulgaris. The bactericidal concentration for the test bacteria was found to be between 5000μg/ml and 625μg/ml. Phyto-chemical analysis of leaf extracts of T. catappa found to have dominated by polyphenols (Terpenoids, steroids, flavonoids, flavones, saponins and tannins) and N.sativa extracts recorded the presence of alkaloids, proteins and oils and fats. TLC profiling of the acetone extract revealed many antibacterial active bands. Bands having Retention factor 0.47 and 0.52 were active against the test bacteria. Time kill assay of the acetone extract of T. catappa were carried out for the first time. The extract exhibited dose dependent bactericidal and bacteriostatic activity against the clinical isolates.
Comparing sample bias correction methods for species distribution modeling using virtual species

A key assumption in species distribution modeling (SDM) with presence-background (PB) methods is that sampling of occurrence localities is unbiased and that any sampling bias is proportional to the background distribution of environmental covariates. This assumption is rarely met when SDM practitioners rely on federated museum records from natural history collections for geo-located occurrences due to inherent sampling bias found in these collections. We use a simulation approach to explore the effectiveness of three methods developed to account for sampling bias in SDMwith PB frameworks. Two of the methods rely on careful filtering of observation data—geographic thinning (G-Filter) and environmental thinning (E-Filter) —while a third, FactorBiasOut, creates selection weights for background data to bias locations toward areas where the observation dataset was sampled. While these methods have been assessed previously, evaluation has emphasized spatial predictions of habitat potential. Here, we dig deeper into the effectiveness of these methods by exploring how sampling bias not only affects predictions of habitat potential, but also our understanding of niche characteristics such as which explanatory variables and response curves best represent species–environment relationships. We simulate 100 virtual species ranging from generalist to specialist in their habitat preferences and introduce geographic and environmental bias at three intensity levels to measure the effectiveness of each correction method to (1) predict true probability of occurrence across a study area, (2) recover true species–environment relationships, and (3) identify true explanatory variables. We find that the FactorBiasOut most often showed the greatest improvement in recreating known distributions but did no better at correctly identifying environmental covariates or recreating species–environment relationships than G-Filter or E-Filter methods. Narrow niche species are most problematic for biased calibration datasets, such that correction methods can, in some cases, make predictions worse.
Existence and Uniqueness of Weak Solutions for Novel Anisotropic Nonlinear Diffusion Equations Related to Image Analysis

This paper establishes the existence and uniqueness of weak solutions for the initial-boundary value problem of anisotropic nonlinear diffusion partial differential equations related to image processing and analysis. An implicit iterative method combined with a variational approach has been applied to construct approximate solutions for this problem. Then, under some a priori estimates and a monotonicity condition, the existence of unique weak solutions for this problem has been proven. This work has been complemented by a consistent and stable approximation scheme showing its great significance as an image restoration technique.
Development of method for monitoring of chloride release in the oil refining processes

ABSTRACT During oil refining, equipments are constantly exposed to the action of compounds such as salts, leading corrosion problems and to decrease in equipment service life. Soon, the growing search for productivity increasingly demand more strategies to monitor the processes and minimize costs. This article contributes to the methodology development to study the chlorides released during the oil distillation, in a similar process that occurs in refineries, enabling predict and minimize damage. Oils were evaluated with respect to chloride release during each stage of oil heating. Salinity mass balance were obtained as well as their respective chloride release percentage to each oil.