Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Segmentation and recognition of handwritten dates

Presents an HMM-MLP hybrid system to recognize complex date images written on Brazilian bank cheques. The system first segments implicitly a date image into sub-fields through the recognition process based on an HMM-based approach. Afterwards, the three obligatory date sub-fields are processed by the system (day, month and year). A neural approach has been adopted to work with strings of digits and a Markovian strategy to recognize and verify words. We also introduce the concept of meta-classes of digits, which is used to reduce the lexicon size of the day and year and improve the precision of their segmentation and recognition. Experiments show interesting results on date recognition.
Trust-enhanced intelligent security model

In this paper we propose a trust-enhancement of access control to protect both integrity and confidentiality based on trustworthiness of users performing operations and documents' content analysis. We propose to utilize trustworthiness opinions from subjective logic and express levels of integrity as levels of trustworthiness. We assign confidentiality levels based on contents of documents and use opinions to express trustworthiness of such assignments.
Quantitative image analysis of laser-induced choroidal neovascularization in rat.

Rodent models of laser-induced choroidal neovascularization (CNV) are now extensively used to identify angiogenic proteins, determine the role of specific genes with knockout mice, and evaluate the efficacy and safety of anti-angiogenic therapies. CNV is typically evaluated by fluorescein angiography or vascular endothelial cell labeling in histologic sections. The current study examined an alternative method using high molecular weight FITC-dextran (MW 2 x 10(6)) for high resolution angiography in RPE-choroid-sclera flat mounts. At 24 hr after lasering, the lesions appeared as a circular weakly fluorescent area of approximately equal diameter to the laser spot. No FITC-dextran labeled blood vessels were visible in the lesion at day 1. Three days after lasering, 47% of the lesions showed FITC-dextran labeling indicative of CNV. The incidence (71%) and extent of CNV increased by day 6, and by day 10 all lesions were vascularized, and the maximal area was attained. No significant change followed day 10, and the neovascular area remained constant through day 31. The highest rate of blood vessel growth (between 3 and 10 days after laser) correlates with the peak expression of VEGF, bFGF, and their receptors shown in previous studies. Morphologic analysis of flat mounts and histologic sections showed that the neovascular plexus in most lesions originates from deeper choroidal vessels in the center of the lesion, grows towards the neural retina, then branches circumferentially to anastamose with uninjured choriocapillaris. The microvessels in these lesions are broad and flat, similar to normal choriocapillaris. In a separate study, rats were treated daily with the angiostatic corticosteroid dexamethasone (20-500 microg kg(-1)day(-1)), and CNV was examined at day 10 in FITC-dextran labeled flat mounts and histologic sections. Dexamethasone dose-dependently inhibited CNV, and its highest dose inhibited approximately 95% of CNV labeled by FITC-dextran and resulted in lesions with no detectable Factor VIII immunostaining. High resolution angiography with FITC-dextran is reproducible and quantifiable, and it may accelerate the discovery of therapeutic agents that modulate choroidal neovascularization.
The Access Paradox in Analogical Reasoning and Transfer: Whither Invariance?

Despite the burgeoning research in recent years on what is called analogical reasoning and transfer, the problem of how invariant or similarity relations are fundamentally accessed is typically either unrecognized, or ignored in computational cognitive science and artificial intelligence. This problematic is not a new one, being outlined by the epistemological learning paradox found in Plato’s Meno. In order to understand the analogical-access problematic, it is suggested that the concept of analogical reasoning needs to be reconceptualized as a subset of a higher order domain including the lexical concept metaphor, isomorphic relation in mathematics, the concept of homology in biology, stimulus generalization in psychology, transfer of learning in education, and transposition phenomena in perception, as all share the problem of how invariance relations are generated and accessed. A solution is suggested based on two specific evolutionary and neurological models, coupled with findings regarding the cognitive importance of knowledge-base. The paper constitutes a reciprocal complementarity theory to a previous paper on metaphor, suggesting the neurological origins and a reconceptualization of what are commonly called analogical and metaphorical reasoning. The paper also introduces a higher order form of analogical reasoning called analogical progression. Implications for research on analogical reasoning are discussed indicating the need for a paradigm shift in analogical reasoning research. The paper concludes with a four-stage model of analogical access.
Approximations for heavily loaded G/GI/n + GI queues

Motivated by applications to service systems, we develop simple engineering approximation formulas for the steady‐state performance of heavily loaded G/GI/n+GI multiserver queues, which can have non‐Poisson and nonrenewal arrivals and non‐exponential service‐time and patience‐time distributions. The formulas are based on recently established Gaussian many‐server heavy‐traffic limits in the efficiency‐driven (ED) regime, where the traffic intensity is fixed at ρ > 1, but the approximations also apply to systems in the quality‐and‐ED regime, where ρ > 1 but ρ is close to 1. Good performance across a wide range of parameters is obtained by making heuristic refinements, the main one being truncation of the queue length and waiting time approximations to nonnegative values. Simulation experiments show that the proposed approximations are effective for large‐scale queuing systems for a significant range of the traffic intensity ρ and the abandonment rate θ, roughly for ρ > 1.02 and θ > 2.0. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 63: 187–217, 2016
Lessons from African Union–United Nations cooperation in peace operations in the Central African Republic

ABSTRACT Having hosted nearly a dozen peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts since the mid-1990s, the Central African Republic (CAR) has been a laboratory for peace interventions – an ‘early adopter’ of various peace initiatives. It is thus a useful case from which to draw preliminary conclusions about the roles of the United Nations (UN) and regional organisations in resolving conflicts that involve entire regions. This article examines the roles of the UN and the African Union (AU) in CAR, where there is a long history of successive conflict resolution efforts that have been overseen by the international community and the region alternatively. The AU, regional economic communities (RECs) such as the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), and regional leaders have also played important roles during the many initiatives aimed at resolving conflict in CAR. This article analyses the responses and relationship between these institutions and actors, beginning with the deployment of an inter-African monitoring mission in 1997. It is argued that peace operations in CAR have lacked a clear political strategy and a clear understanding of the situation, as well as the necessary sustained engagement from both regional and international actors. It is further argued that each subsequent intervention has added an additional layer to the previous one, thus creating a proliferation of peace operations whose mandates, troop contingents and leadership have not always been fit for purpose.
Full Prescription Coverage Versus Usual Prescription Coverage After Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery: Analysis From the Post-Myocardial Infarction Free Rx Event and Economic Evaluation (FREEE) Randomized Trial

Background— Eliminating out-of-pocket costs for patients after myocardial infarction (MI) improves adherence to preventive therapies and reduces clinical events. Because adherence to medical therapy is low among patients treated with coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG), we evaluated the impact of providing full prescription coverage to this patient subgroup. Methods and Results— The MI Free Rx Event and Economic Evaluation (FREEE) trial randomly assigned 5855 patients with MI to full prescription coverage or usual formulary coverage for all statins, &bgr;-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, or angiotensin receptor blockers. We assessed the impact of full prescription coverage on adherence, clinical outcomes, and healthcare costs using adjusted models among the 1052 patients who underwent CABG at the index hospitalization and 4803 who did not. CABG patients were older and had more comorbid illness (P<0.01). After MI, CABG patients were significantly more likely to receive &bgr;-blockers and statins but were less likely to receive angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin receptor blocker therapy (P<0.01). Receiving full drug coverage increased rates of adherence to all preventative medications after CABG (all P<0.05). Full coverage was also associated with nonsignificant reductions in the rate of major vascular events or revascularization for patients treated with CABG (hazard ratio, 0.91; 95% confidence interval, 0.66–1.25) or without CABG (hazard ratio, 0.93; 95% confidence interval, 0.82–1.06), with no interaction noted (Pint=NS). After CABG, full prescription coverage significantly reduced patient out-of-pocket spending for drugs (P=0.001) without increasing overall health expenditures (P=NS). Conclusions— Eliminating drug copayments after MI provides consistent benefits to patients treated with or without CABG, leading to increased medication adherence, trends toward improved clinical outcomes, and reduced patient out-of-pocket expenses.
. Agency Use Only(leave Blank) 2. Report Date 3. Report Type and Dates Covered Identiication of Linear Systems by an Asymptotically Stable Observer

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, This paper presents a formulation for the identiication of a linear multivariable system from single or multiple sets of input-output data. The system input-output relationship is expressed in terms of an observer, which is made asymptotically stable by an embedded eigenvalue assignment procedure. The prescribed eigenvalues for the observer may be real, complex, mixed real and complex, or zero. In this formulation, the Markov parameters of the observer are identiied from input-output data. The Markov parameters of the actual system are then recovered from those of the observer and used to obtain a state space model of the system by standard realization techniques. The basic mathematical formulation is derived, and extensive numerical examples using simulated noise-free data are presented to illustrate the proposed method.
Ketamine in Chronic Pain Management: An Evidence-Based Review

Ketamine has diverse effects that may be of relevance to chronic pain including:N-methyl-d-aspartic acid, &agr;-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid, kainate, &ggr;-aminobutyric acidA receptors; inhibition of voltage gated Na+ and K+ channels and serotonin, dopamine re-uptake. Ketamine has been in clinical practice for over 30 yr; however, there has been little formal research on the effectiveness of ketamine for chronic pain management. In this review we evaluate the available clinical data as a basis for defining the potential use of ketamine for chronic pain. Literature referenced in this review was obtained from a computer search of EMBASE and MEDLINE from 1966 through August, 2002. Search terms included ketamine, ketalar, pain, painful, analgesic, and analgesia. Abstracts were screened for relevance and publications relating to chronic pain use were obtained. Levels of evidence were stratified according to accepted guidelines (level I-IV). For central pain, there is level II and level IV evidence of efficacy for parenteral and oral ketamine. For complex regional pain syndromes, there is only level IV evidence of efficacy of epidural ketamine. For fibromyalgia, there is level II evidence of pain relief, reduced tenderness at trigger points, and increased endurance. For ischemic pain, a level II study reported a potent dose-dependent analgesic effect, but with a narrow therapeutic window. For nonspecific neuropathic pain, level II and level IV studies reported divergent results with questionable long-term effects on pain. For phantom limb pain and postherpetic neuralgia, level II and level II studies provided objective evidence of reduced hyperpathia and pain relief was usually substantial either after parenteral or oral ketamine. Acute on chronic episodes of severe neuropathic pain represented the most frequent use of ketamine as a “third line analgesic,” often by IV or subcutaneous infusion (level IV). In conclusion, the evidence for efficacy of ketamine for treatment of chronic pain is moderate to weak. However, in situations where standard analgesic options have failed ketamine is a reasonable “third line” option. Further controlled studies are needed.
Constraint Reuse in DL-Lite Core with Arbitrary Number Restrictions

The process of reusing an ontology involves two issues: (1) selecting a set of terms from the ontology vocabulary; and (2) using the ontology constraints to derive those that apply to such terms. The first issue corresponds to the familiar practice of importing namespaces. This paper proposes to address the second issue by introducing a set of operations over ontologies, treated as theories and not just as vocabularies. It discusses how to compute the operations for a class of ontologies built upon DL-Lite core with arbitrary number restrictions. Finally, for this class of ontologies, the paper addresses the question of minimizing the set of constraints which results from an operation.
Distributed, collaborative learning environments using ad hoc networks

Computer assisted distributed or collaborative learning environments have been in existence for some time, however one impediment to more widespread use has been the need for a permanent wired network infrastructure. In this paper we discuss the development of a prototype tool that allows the formation of an ad hoc network at any time, and in any locale.
Simplified ink spreading equations for CMYK halftone prints

The Yule-Nielsen modified spectral Neugebauer model enables predicting reflectance spectra from surface coverages. In order to provide high prediction accuracy, this model is enhanced with an ink spreading model accounting for physical dot gain. Traditionally, physical dot gain, also called mechanical dot gain, is modeled by one ink spreading curve per ink. An ink spreading curve represents the mapping between nominal to effective dot surface coverages when an ink halftone wedge is printed. In previous publications, we have shown that using one ink spreading curve per ink is not sufficient to accurately model physical dot gain, and that the physical dot gain of a specific ink is modified by the presence of other inks. We therefore proposed an ink spreading model taking all the ink superposition conditions into account. We now show that not all superposition conditions are useful and necessary when working with cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks. We therefore study the influence of ink spreading in different superposition conditions on the accuracy of the spectral prediction model. Finally,
The effects of party line communication on flight task performance

Cognitive streaming is an approach to human information processing that regards short-term memory as a series of cognitive processes rather than stores. The approach is used as the theoretical basis for a series of experiments, both laboratory and simulator based, that assessed the disruptive effects of the party line on flight task performance. Initial laboratory work using a computer-based visual monitoring task, a communication task and a conflict detection task demonstrated that meaningful background speech was more disruptive to performance than meaningless reversed background speech or quiet. Moreover, the negative effect of the party line was further substantiated in a more realistic flight simulator study involving eight pilots: The party line condition resulted in a greater deviation from the touchdown point on the runway, and was associated with self reports of increased distraction and workload. Furthermore, an increase in flight checklist completion time was observed when background radio/telephony (R/T) was present, and also slightly more air traffic control (ATC) calls were missed or queried in this condition. The current theme of work extends laboratory findings on the ‘irrelevant sound effect’ to the aviation domain, and suggests that background sound in the party line not only adds to pilot workload but may also impair flight task mental activities.
CEO Option Compensation, Risk-Taking Incentives, and Systemic Risk in the Banking Industry

This study predicts and finds that chief executive officer (CEO) risk-taking incentives induced by stock option compensation increase a bank's contribution to systemic distress risk and systemic crash risk. We also predict and find that this CEO incentive systemic risk relation operates through three channels (i) a bank's engagement in non-interest income-generating activities, (ii) investments in innovative financial products such as collateralized debt obligations and credit default swaps, and (iii) maturity mismatch associated with on short-term debt financing. Finally, the CEO incentive-systemic risk relation is moderated by information transparency, bank size, market liquidity, and financial crisis. We also discuss relevant policy implications.
Directing Zeolite Structures into Hierarchically Nanoporous Architectures

Bifunctional surfactants are used to synthesize zeolites with multiple scales of porosity and enhanced catalytic activity. Crystalline mesoporous molecular sieves have long been sought as solid acid catalysts for organic reactions involving large molecules. We synthesized a series of mesoporous molecular sieves that possess crystalline microporous walls with zeolitelike frameworks, extending the application of zeolites to the mesoporous range of 2 to 50 nanometers. Hexagonally ordered or disordered mesopores are generated by surfactant aggregates, whereas multiple cationic moieties in the surfactant head groups direct the crystallization of microporous aluminosilicate frameworks. The wall thicknesses, framework topologies, and mesopore sizes can be controlled with different surfactants. The molecular sieves are highly active as catalysts for various acid-catalyzed reactions of bulky molecular substrates, compared with conventional zeolites and ordered mesoporous amorphous materials.
Fast MCMC sampling for Markov jump processes and extensions

Markov jump processes (or continuous-time Markov chains) are a simple and important class of continuous-time dynamical systems. In this paper, we tackle the problem of simulating from the posterior distribution over paths in these models, given partial and noisy observations. Our approach is an auxiliary variable Gibbs sampler, and is based on the idea of uniformization. This sets up a Markov chain over paths by alternately sampling a finite set of virtual jump times given the current path, and then sampling a new path given the set of extant and virtual jump times. The first step involves simulating a piecewise-constant inhomogeneous Poisson process, while for the second, we use a standard hidden Markov model forward filtering-backward sampling algorithm. Our method is exact and does not involve approximations like time-discretization. We demonstrate how our sampler extends naturally to MJP-based models like Markov-modulated Poisson processes and continuous-time Bayesian networks, and show significant computational benefits over state-of-the-art MCMC samplers for these models.
Induction of immunoglobulin G4 in human filariasis: an indicator of immunoregulation

Abstract Filarial parasites are known to induce a large range of immunoregulatory mechanisms, including the induction of alternatively activated macrophages and regulatory T cells. These mechanisms are used to evade and down-modulate the host's immune system, to support parasite survival. Several reports have focused on some of these mechanisms, in humans and murine models, but the complex immunoregulatory networks associated with filarial infections remain unclear. Recent publications have conferred a role for regulatory T cells in the ability of helminth parasites to modulate human immune responses, such cells promoting the induction of the non-complement-fixing immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4). High plasma concentrations of IgG4 have been reported in hypo-responsive and asymptomatic cases of helminth infection. In both human lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis, the asymptomatic infections are characterised by high plasma concentrations of IgG4 (compared with those of IgE) and of the complement-fixing antibodies IgG1, IgG2 and IgG3. In asymptomatic filarial infection, elevations in IgG4 are also often associated with high worm loads and with high plasma levels of the immunomodulatory interleukin-10. Here, various aspects of the induction of IgG4 in humans and it roles in the immunomodulation of the human responses to filarial parasites are reviewed.
The Growth of Transition Metals on H‐Passivated Si(111) Substrates

To optimize the structure±property relationship of layered systems exhibiting giant magnetoresistance (GMR) or tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR), there is a call for textured or epitaxial ferromagnetic layers deposited on semiconductor substrates. For high-performance GMR and TMR devices the interface properties (roughness, electronic interface states, spin polarization, phase purity, etc.) of the ferromagnetic/non-ferromagnetic metal layers (GMR) and ferromagnetic metal/insulator hybrid structures (TMR) play a crucial role. Currently, the astate-of-the-arto theoretical models for GMR and TMR systems are mainly developing calculations for epitaxial layers. Therefore the experimental investigation of epitaxial model systems becomes indispensable. In order to grow high-quality (textured or epitaxial) Co thin films on oxide-free Si substrates the possible advantages of Hpassivated Si(111) substrates have been explored. The latter can be prepared by aex situo wet-chemical processes and introduced easily into ultra high vacuum (UHV). The most reliable and reproducible results have been achieved on H-passivated Si(111) surfaces, although this crystal orientation may not yield continuous epitaxial growth of face-centered cubic (fcc) metal layers. In order to avoid silicide formation at the Co±Si interface, the influence of Ag buffer layers has been investigated. The influence of Ag deposition at elevated temperatures (ahoto Ag deposition at T = 550 C) on the formation of Si(111)-(2n+1)(2n+1) reconstructions will be discussed and compared with the results of the reconstruction formation on a H-Si(111) surface after H-desorption by thermal annealing. The influence of Ag deposited at a lower temperature (acoldo Ag deposition at T = 250 C) on the awet preparedo H-Si(111) surface has also been investigated and compared with the hot Ag deposition at 550 C on H-Si(111). In this paper, growth modes of Co and Ag on H-passivated Si(111) substrates will be presented and discussed with regard to possible applications for magnetoelectronic devices.