Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Data Fusion for Visual Tracking dedicated to Human-Robot Interaction

The interaction between men and machines has become an important topic for the robotics community as it can generalize the use of robots. In this context, advanced robots must integrate capabilities to interpret humans motion as well as persons gestures in order to perform tasks for the humans or in synergy with them. The purpose of this paper is to show a real-time system for face/hand tracking and hand gesture recognition in the particle filtering framework. We introduce mechanisms for visual data fusion within particle filtering to develop trackers combining in a novel way color and shape cues, skin blobs or frontal face detection. For the purpose of face tracking, the fusion of modalities based on color and shape allows to avoid noticeable drift, even possible subsequent loss in the worst case. For gestures interpretation, an extension is proposed to achieve in the tracking loop the recognition of the current hand posture and of its motion in the video stream. In both tracking scenarios, the combination or fusion of cues proves to be more robust in cluttered environments than any of the cues individually. The global performances of the proposed trackers and future works are also discussed.
Analysis of low-rate TCP DoS attack against FAST TCP

Low rate TCP DoS attack is a novel kind of attacks discovered by Kuzmanovic. According to several experiments, it is very effective in degrading the normal TCP sender's throughput. FAST TCP is a delay-based transport layer protocol; it is used to transfer data in high bandwidth-delay environment. FAST TCP has a different congestion control mechanism from TCP Reno. Through simulations and test-bed experiments we demonstrate the low rate TCP DoS attack to FAST TCP in high speed network. Analyses indicate that this kind of attack can affect the performance of FAST TCP. We also analyze the performance of the attack. At the end of this paper, two methods are proposed to mitigate the attack
Computing the advertising value of users by tapping on RTB

Online advertising is progressively moving towards a targeted model of programmatic ad buying in which advertisers bid for ad-slots on a per-impression basis. This model runs over the Real Time Bidding (RTB) protocol and is driven by the information provided by a large ecosystem of data collection companies that track users online. Concern about online tracking has spurred a huge public debate around data protection, as well as intense innovation around personal information management systems, markets, and business models. Core to all the above is being able to know the value of users’ personal information. In this study, we develop a first of its kind methodology for computing exactly that – the value of a single user for the programmatic ad buying ecosystem. Our goal is to increase user awareness for the value of their data as well as to inspire new online economies where users give access to their data in exchange for discounted services. Our approach is based on tapping on the RTB protocol to collect cleartext and encrypted prices for winning bids. To estimate the value of the latter, we train a machine learning model using as ground truth prices obtained by running our own “probe” ad-campaigns. We validate our methodology using a one year long trace of mobile user browsing data as well as two real world mobile ad-campaigns.
The impact of ice uptake of nitric acid on atmospheric chemistry

The potential impact of the uptake of HNO 3 on ice on the distribution of NO y species, ozone and OH has been assessed using the global scale chemistry-transport model MATCH-MPIC. Assuming equilibrium uptake according to dissociative Langmuir theory results in significant reductions of gas phase HNO 3 . Comparison to a large set of observations provides support that significant uptake of HNO 3 on ice is occurring, but the degree of the uptake cannot be inferred from this comparison alone. Sensitivity simulations show that the uncertainties in the total amount of ice formation in the atmosphere and the actual expression of the settling velocity of ice particles only result in small changes in our results. The largest uncertainty is likely to be linked to the actual theory describing the uptake process and the value of the initial uptake coefficient. The inclusion of non-methane hydrocarbon chemistry partially compensates for the absence of HNO 3 uptake on ice when this is neglected in the model. The calculated overall effect on upper tropospheric ozone concentrations and the tropospheric methane lifetime are moderate to low. These results support a shift in the motivation for future experimental and theoretical studies of HNO 3 -ice interaction towards the role of HNO 3 in hydrometeor surface physics.
A Hybrid Approach to Live Migration of Virtual Machines

We present, discuss and evaluate a hybrid approach of live migrating a virtual machine across hosts in a Gigabit LAN. Our hybrid approach takes the best of both the traditional methods of live migration - pre and post-copy. In pre-copy, the cpu state and memory is transferred before spawning the VM on destination host whereas the latter is exactly opposite and spawns the VM on destination right after transferring processor state. In our approach, in addition to processor state, we bundle a lot of useful state information. This includes devices and frequently accessed pages of the VM, aka the working set. This drastically reduces the number of page faults over network while we actively transfer memory. Additionally, on every page fault over the network we transfer a set of pages in its locality in addition to the page itself. We propose a prototype design on KVM/Qemu and present a comparative analysis of pre-copy, post-copy and our hybrid approach.
Matte based generation of land cover maps

A novel supervised technique for the generation of spatially consistent land cover maps based on class-matting is presented in this paper. This method takes advantage of both standard supervised classification technique and natural image matting. It adaptively exploits the spatial contextual information contained in the neighborhood of each pixel through the use of image matting to reduce the incongruence inherent in pixel-wise, radiometric classification of multi-spectral remote sensing data, providing a more spatially homogeneous land-cover map besides yielding a better accuracy. In order to make image matting possible for N-class land cover map generation, we extend the basic alpha matting problem into N independent matting problems, each conforming to one particular class. The user input required for the alpha matting algorithm in terms of initially identifying a few sample regions belonging to a particular class (known as the foreground object in matting) is obtained automatically using the supervised ML classifier. Experimental results obtained on multispectral data sets confirm the effectiveness of the proposed system.
Genetic Algorithm and Confusion Matrix for Document Clustering

Text mining is one of the most important tools in Information Retrieval. Text clustering is the process of classifying documents into predefined categories according to their content. Existing supervised learning algorithms to automatically classify text requires sufficient documentation to learn exactly. In this paper, Niching memetic algorithm and Genetic algorithm (GA) is presented in which feature selection an integral part of the global clustering search procedure that attempts to overcome the problem of finding optimal solutions at the local less promising in both clustering and feature selection. The concept of confusion matrix is then used for derivative works, and finally, hybrid GA is included for the final classification. Experimental results show benefits by using the proposed method which evaluates F-measure, purity and results better performance in terms of False positive, False negative, True positive and True negative.
Reliability and construct validity of Turkish version of physical education activities scale

This research was conducted to examine the reliability and construct validity of Turkish version of physical education activities scale (PEAS) which was developed by Thomason (2008). Participants in this study included 313 secondary and high school students from 7th to 11th grades. To analyse the data, confirmatory factor analysis, post hoc analysis and modification indices were conducted by AMOS Software 21.0 and internal consistency for reliability was tested by SPSS 13.0. Findings showed that GFI (.885), CFI (.923), RMR (.227), and RMSEA (.055) of four factor correlation model was best for representing Turkish version of PEAS factorial structure. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of the subscales (behavioral control: .74; social-norms: .75; physical education enjoyment: .85; self-efficacy: .50) and the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the total scale (.90) proved that Turkish Version of Physical Education Activity Scale had internal consistency. As a result, Turkish version of PEAS including four subscales and 24 items was reliable and had construct validity to measure 13 to 18 years old adolescents’ perceptions of environmental factors that influence their behavior directly or indirectly when they participate in physical activities in physical education classes. Key words: Physical education activities scale, physical education, physical activity, enjoyment of physical education
Rutting evaluation of dense graded hot mix asphalt mixture

Rutting is one of the common pavement distresses which led to lower riding comfort for road users and high maintenance costs. One of the widely used tests is the simulation test using the wheel tracking device. In this study, efforts have been made to evaluate rutting of dense graded hot mix asphalt (HMA) using the dynamic modulus Simple Performance test (SPT). Granite aggregates from Klang Valley located in the central region of Peninsular Malaysia were used to produce the HMA mixtures with two different types of aggregate gradation designed using Superpave and Marshall mix design method. The rut evaluation was selected from SPT dyna mic modulus test conducted at 40°C, 45°C and 50°C and 5Hz, 2Hz, 1Hz and 0.5Hz loading frequencies. Results from the study indicated that a correlation was found between the rut stiffness factor from SPT dynamic modulus test when tested at 5 Hz loading frequencies with temperature of 40°C, 45°C and 50°C and the rut depth from Wessex wheel tracking test.
Language Shapes Thought: Rethinking on Linguistic Relativity

We reviewed the researches on linguistic relativity in color, space and time domains, and rethink the relationship between language and perception to support the idea that language interact with other cognitive processes and shape the perception and thought of human. Language, perception and action are not separated systems, but are closely interconnected and highly interacted to some extent. And language plays a constructive role in object affordances, which do not only require low-level processes of action and motor control, but depend on the language knowledge as well. 
Using Sense-labeled Discourse Connectives for Statistical Machine Translation

This article shows how the automatic disambiguation of discourse connectives can improve Statistical Machine Translation (SMT) from English to French. Connectives are firstly disambiguated in terms of the discourse relation they signal between segments. Several classifiers trained using syntactic and semantic features reach state-of-the-art performance, with F1 scores of 0.6 to 0.8 over thirteen ambiguous English connectives. Labeled connectives are then used into SMT systems either by modifying their phrase table, or by training them on labeled corpora. The best modified SMT systems improve the translation of connectives without degrading BLEU scores. A threshold-based SMT system using only high-confidence labels improves BLEU scores by 0.2--0.4 points.
Plasma-exchange therapy in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy. A double-blind, sham-controlled, cross-over study.

Eighteen patients with definite, untreated chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) of chronic progressive (nine patients) or relapsing course (nine patients) were randomized prospectively to receive 10 plasma-exchange (PE) or sham plasma-exchange (SPE) treatments over 4 weeks in a double-blind trial. After a wash-out period of 5 weeks or when they returned to baseline scores, patients were crossed over to the alternate treatments. Neurological function was assessed serially using a quantitative neurological disability score (NDS), a functional clinical grade (CG) and grip strength (GS) measurements. Electrophysiological studies were done at the beginning and end of each treatment. A primary 'intention to treat' analysis showed significant improvement with PE in all clinical outcome measures: NDS by 38 points, P < 0.001; CG by 1.6 points, P < 0.001; GS by +13 kg, P < 0.003 and in selected electrophysiological measurements, sigma proximal CMAP, P < 0.01; sigma motor conduction velocities, P < 0.006; sigma distal motor latencies, P < 0.01. Fifteen patients completed the trial and of those, 12 patients (80%) improved substantially with PE; i.e. five out of seven patients with chronic progressive course and seven out of eight patients with relapsing CIDP improved. There were three drop-outs; one patient lost venous access; one patient suffered a stroke and one patient left the trial to receive open treatment elsewhere. The improvement in motor functions correlated with the electrophysiological data, i.e. with improved motor conduction velocities and reversal of conduction block. Eight of 12 PE responders (66%) relapsed within 7-14 days after stopping PE. All improved with subsequent open label PE; all but two patients required long-term immunosuppressive drug therapy for stabilization. The PE non-responders improved with prednisone. We conclude that PE is a very effective adjuvant therapy for CIDP of both chronic progressive and relapsing course; concurrent immunosuppressive drug treatment is required. Exchange treatments should be given two to three times per week until improvement is established; the treatment frequency should then be tapered over several months.
The Molecular Basis of Host Adaptation in Cactophilic Drosophila: Molecular Evolution of a Glutathione S-Transferase Gene (GstD1) in Drosophila mojavensis

Drosophila mojavensis is a cactophilic fly endemic to the northwestern deserts of North America. This species includes four genetically isolated cactus host races each individually specializing on the necrotic tissues of a different cactus species. The necrosis of each cactus species provides the resident D. mojavensis populations with a distinct chemical environment. A previous investigation of the role of transcriptional variation in the adaptation of D. mojavensis to its hosts produced a set of candidate loci that are differentially expressed in response to host shifts, and among them was glutathione S-transferase D1 (GstD1). In both D. melanogaster and Anopheles gambiae, GstD1 has been implicated in the resistance of these species to the insecticide dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT). The pattern of sequence variation of the GstD1 locus from all four D. mojavensis populations, D. arizonae (sister species), and D. navojoa (outgroup) has been examined. The data suggest that in two populations of D. mojavensis GstD1 has gone through a period of adaptive amino acid evolution. Further analyses indicate that of the seven amino acid fixations that occurred in the D. mojavensis lineage, two of them occur in the active site pocket, potentially having a significant effect on substrate specificity and in the adaptation to alternative cactus hosts.
The Oral Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 Inhibitor Sitagliptin Increases Circulating Endothelial Progenitor Cells in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE Vasculoprotective endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are regulated by stromal-derived factor-1α (SDF-1α) and are reduced in type 2 diabetes. Because SDF-1α is a substrate of dipeptidyl-peptidase-4 (DPP-4), we investigated whether the DPP-4 inhibitor sitagliptin modulates EPC levels in type 2 diabetic patients. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS This was a controlled, nonrandomized clinical trial comparing 4-week sitagliptin (n = 16) versus no additional treatment (n = 16) in addition to metformin and/or secretagogues in type 2 diabetic patients. We determined circulating EPC levels and plasma concentrations of SDF-1α, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and nitrites/nitrates. RESULTS There was no difference in clinical baseline data between the sitagliptin and control arms. After 4 weeks, as compared with control subjects, patients receiving sitagliptin showed a significant increase in EPCs and SDF-1α and a decrease in MCP-1. CONCLUSIONS Sitagliptin increases circulating EPCs in type 2 diabetic patients with concomitant upregulation of SDF-1α. This ancillary effect of DPP-4 inhibition might have potential favorable cardiovascular implications.
A self appreciating approach of text classifier based on concept mining

A good text classifier is a classifier that efficiently categorizes large sets of text documents in a reasonable time frame and with an acceptable accuracy. Most of the text classification approaches are based on the statistical analysis of a term, either a word or a phrase. Though statistical term analysis shows the importance of the term, it is tedious to analyze when more than one term has the same frequency level but one may contribute more meaning than the other. When analyzing by concept based mining it is easy to identify the most contributable term of the document. The performance of the categorizer is mostly depends on how well the system is trained for different categories. This paper introduces a novel approach of self appreciating model in which each of the positive testing is redirected to the training system to make the training stronger and stronger at all possible test events.
RASSF1A Suppresses Cell Migration through Inactivation of HDAC6 and Increase of Acetylated α-Tubulin

Purpose The RAS association domain family protein 1 (RASSF1) has been implicated in a tumor-suppressive function through the induction of acetylated α-tubulin and modulation of cell migration. However, the mechanisms of how RASSF1A is associated with acetylation of α-tubulin for controlling cell migration have not yet been elucidated. In this study, we found that RASSF1A regulated cell migration through the regulation of histon deacetylase 6 (HDAC6), which functions as a tubulin deacetylase. Materials and Methods The cell migration was assessed using wound-healing and transwell assays. The role of RASSF1A on cell migration was examined by immunofluorescence staining, HDAC activity assay and western blot analysis. Results Cell migration was inhibited and cell morphology was changed in RASSF1A-transfected H1299 cells, compared with controls, whereas HDAC6 protein expression was not changed by RASSF1A transfection in these cells. However, RASSF1A inhibited deacetylating activity of HDAC6 protein and induced acetylated α-tubulin expression. Furthermore, acetylated α-tubulin and HDAC6 protein were co-localized in the cytoplasm in RASSF1A-transfected H1299 cells. Conversely, when the endogenous RASSF1A expression in HeLa cells was blocked with RASSF1A siRNA treatment, acetylated α-tubulin was co-localized with HDAC6 protein throughout the whole cells, including the nucleus, compared with scramble siRNA-treated HeLa cells. The restoration of RASSF1A by 5-Aza-dC treatment also induced acetylated α-tubulin through inhibition of HDAC6 activity that finally resulted in suppressing cell migration in H1299 cells. To further confirm the role of HDAC6 in RASSF1A-mediated cell migration, the HDAC6 expression in H1299 cells was suppressed by using HDAC6 siRNA, and cell motility was found to be decreased through enhanced acetylated α-tubulin. Conclusion The results of this study suggest that the inactivation of HDAC6 by RASSF1A regulates cell migration through increased acetylated α-tubulin protein.
Evaluation of Uncertainty in Temporal Waveforms of Microwave Transistors

We evaluate the uncertainty in on-wafer vector-calibrated nonlinear measurements with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Microwave Uncertainty Framework. We include in our analysis uncertainties in the passive calibration standards, power meter, NIST-traceable phase calibration reference, cable bending, and probe alignment. These uncertainties are propagated first to the electrical quantities across the terminals of the device-under-test, which was an on-wafer microwave transistor. Next, we propagate uncertainties to the transistor current-generator plane, whose temporal voltage/current waveforms and impedances are of interest for the design of power amplifiers.
Spatiotemporal dynamics of processing nonsymbolic number: An event‐related potential source localization study

Coordinated studies with adults, infants, and nonhuman animals provide evidence for two distinct systems of nonverbal number representation. The “parallel individuation” (PI) system selects and retains information about one to three individual entities and the “numerical magnitude” system establishes representations of the approximate cardinal value of a group. Recent event‐related potential (ERP) work has demonstrated that these systems reliably evoke functionally and temporally distinct patterns of brain response that correspond to established behavioral signatures. However, relatively little is known about the neural generators of these ERP signatures. To address this question, we targeted known ERP signatures of these systems, by contrasting processing of small versus large nonsymbolic numbers, and used a source localization algorithm (LORETA) to identify their cortical origins. Early processing of small numbers, showing the signature effects of PI on the N1 (∼150 ms), was localized primarily to extrastriate visual regions. In contrast, qualitatively and temporally distinct processing of large numbers, showing the signatures of approximate number representation on the mid‐latency P2p (∼200–250 ms), was localized primarily to right intraparietal regions. In comparison, mid‐latency small number processing was localized to the right temporal–parietal junction and left‐lateralized intraparietal regions. These results add spatial information to the emerging ERP literature documenting the process by which we represent number. Furthermore, these results substantiate recent claims that early attentional processes determine whether a collection of objects will be represented through PI or as an approximate numerical magnitude by providing evidence that downstream processing diverges to distinct cortical regions. Hum Brain Mapp 33:2189–2203, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
PR ] 3 1 O ct 2 01 1 Submitted to the Annals of Probability INHOMOGENEOUS BOND PERCOLATION ON SQUARE , TRIANGULAR , AND HEXAGONAL LATTICES By

The star–triangle transformation is used to obtain an equivalence extending over the set of all (in)homogeneous bond percolation models on the square, triangular, and hexagonal lattices. Amongst the consequences are box-crossing (RSW) inequalities for such models with parameter-values at which the transformation is valid. This is a step towards proving the universality and conformality of these processes. It implies criticality of such values, thereby providing a new proof of the critical point of inhomogeneous systems. The proofs extend to certain isoradial models to which previous methods do not apply.