Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Probabilistic Modeling of Multicamera Interference for Time-of-Flight Sensors

The behavior of multicamera interference in 3D images (e.g., depth maps), which is based on infrared (IR) light, is not well understood. In 3D images, when multicamera interference is present, there is an increase in the amount of zero-value pixels, resulting in a loss of depth information. In this work, we demonstrate a framework for synthetically generating direct and indirect multicamera interference using a combination of a probabilistic model and ray tracing. Our mathematical model predicts the locations and probabilities of zero-value pixels in depth maps that contain multicamera interference. Our model accurately predicts where depth information may be lost in a depth map when multicamera interference is present. We compare the proposed synthetic 3D interference images with controlled 3D interference images captured in our laboratory. The proposed framework achieves an average root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.0625, an average peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) of 24.1277 dB, and an average structural similarity index measure (SSIM) of 0.9007 for predicting direct multicamera interference, and an average RMSE of 0.0312, an average PSNR of 26.2280 dB, and an average SSIM of 0.9064 for predicting indirect multicamera interference. The proposed framework can be used to develop and test interference mitigation techniques that will be crucial for the successful proliferation of these devices.
Eponges de la méditerranée Nord-Occidentale récoltées par le « Président-Théodore-Tissier » (1958)

Les Eponges dont l'etude m'a ete confiee par l'Institut des Peches proviennent de la campagne de chalutage effectuee en Corse et dans le golfe du Lion durant les mois d'octobre et de novembre 1958 (1). L'interet de cette petite collection est du surtout a la profondeur de plusieurs stations; en effet, neuf des coups de chalut qui ont ramene des Spongiaires ont ete effectues entre 150 et 860 m. profondeurs relativement peu importantes, mais interessantes car la Mediterranee profonde n'a ete exploree que par de tres rares chalutages, plus productifs a ces profondeurs que les dragages, etant donne la dispersion de la faune en dessous de 150-200 m. Ceci explique peut-etre que beaucoup d'especes semblent descendre plus profondement en Atlantique. Les resultats de ces chalutages confirment que la faune d'eponges profondes est beaucoup plus pauvre qu'en Atlantique car de nombreuses stations n'ont produit aucune espece, Toutefois, la station K 211 a fourni un grand nombre de l'Hexactinellide Pheronema grayi, recoltee aussi aux stations K204 et K 226, et qui n'est donc pas aussi rare qu'on le pensait en Mediterranee ou elle peut constituer de veritables facies locaux des vases epibathyales. Les autres especes interessantes sont Siphonidium ramosum (St. K 210), Laxosuberites ectyoninus et Acanthacarnus levii n. sp. Hamacantha falcula (St. K 219) confirme sa localisation, en Mediterranee, dans les niveaux superieurs des etages profonds. Les chalutages plus littoraux acquierent un certain interet par Weberella verrucosa n. sp. et Rhizaxinella gracilis qui n'etait connue que de l'Adriatique; Desmacidon fruticosum, recoltee une seule fois par TOPSENT a Banyuls, figure dans quatre stations differentes. La pauvrete relative de ces coups de chalut s'explique par la nature meuble des fonds explores. Au point de vue biocoenotique, il est interessant de noter l'extraordinaire abondance de Sigmataxelia annexa dans le facies a Ophiothrix quinquemaculata entre 80 et 100 m (St.
The Role of Country, Regional and Global Market Risks in the Dynamics of Latin American Yield Spreads

We analyze the joint impact of country, regional and global market risks on daily changes in yield spreads of Mexico, Colombia and Brazil. In contrast to previous studies, we consider a homogenous set of liquid Eurobonds which are representative of current emerging bond markets. All risk-factor groups are significant but country-specific differences exist. Spread changes of all three countries are mainly driven by global risk. The second most important contributor to spread changes is country risk for Mexico and Brazil but regional risk for Colombia. The sensitivity of spread changes to risk factors varies with bond maturity.
Battles of the New Republic: A Contemporary History of Nepal

Battles of the New Republic: A Contemporary History of Nepal is a story of Nepal's transformation from war to peace, monarchy to republic, a Hindu kingdom to a secular state, and a unitary to a potentially federal state. Part-reportage, part-history, part-analysis, part-memoir, and part-biography of the key characters, the book breaks new ground in political writing from the region. With access to the most powerful leaders in the country as well as diplomats, it gives an unprecedented glimpse into Kathmandu's high politics. But this is coupled with ground-level reportage on the lives of ordinary citizens of the hills and the plains, striving for a democratic, just and equitable society. It tracks the hard grind of political negotiations at the heart of the instability in Nepal. It traces the rise of a popular rebellion, its integration into the mainstream, and its steady decline. It investigates Nepal's status as a partly-sovereign country, and reveals India's overwhelming role. It examines the angst of having to prove one's loyalties to one's own country, and exposes the Hindu hill upper-caste dominated power structures. Battles of the New Republic is a story of the deepening of democracy, of the death of a dream, and of that fundamental political dilemma - who exercises power, to what end, and for whose benefit.
Hidden object doppler : estimating motion, size and material properties of moving non-line-of-sight objects in cluttered environments

The thesis presents a framework for Non-Line-of-Sight Computer Vision techniques using wave fronts. Using short-pulse illumination and a high speed time-of-flight camera, we propose algorithms that use multi path light transport analysis to explore the environments beyond line of sight. What is moving around the corner interests everyone including a driver taking a turn, a surgeon performing laparoscopy and a soldier entering enemy base. State of the art techniques that do range imaging are limited by (i) inability to handle multiple diffused bounces [LIDAR] (ii) Wavelength dependent resolution limits [RADAR] and (iii) inability to map real life objects [Diffused Optical Tomography]. This work presents a framework for (a) Imaging the changing Space-time-impulse-responses of moving objects to pulsed illumination (b) Tracking motion along with absolute positions of these hidden objects and (c) recognizing their default properties like material and size and reflectance. We capture gated space-time impulse responses of the scene and their time differentials allow us to gauge absolute positions of moving objects with knowledge of only relative times of arrival (as absolute times are hard to synchronize at femto second intervals). Since we record responses at very short time intervals we collect multiple readings from different points of illumination and thus capturing multi-perspective responses allowing us to estimate reflectance properties. Using this, we categorize and give parametric models of the materials around corner. We hope this work inspires further exploration of NLOS computer vision techniques. Thesis Supervisor: Prof. Ramesh Raskar Title: Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, Program in Media Arts and Sciences
Continuing education meetings and workshops: Effects on professional practice and health care outcomes (Cochrane review)

&NA; A substantive amendment to this systematic review was last made on 09 November 2000. Cochrane reviews are regularly checked and updated if necessary. Background: Educational meetings and printed educational materials are the two most common types of continuing education for health professionals. An important aim of continuing education is to improve professional practice so that patients can receive improved health care. Objectives: To assess the effects of educational meetings on professional practice and health care outcomes. Search strategy: We searched the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care Group specialised register, MEDLINE (from 1966), the Research and Development Resource Base in Continuing Medical Education in January 1999 and reference lists of articles. Selection criteria: Randomised trials or well designed quasi‐experimental studies examining the effect of continuing education meetings (including lectures, workshops, and courses) on the clinical practice of health professionals or health care outcomes. Data collection and analysis: Two reviewers independently applied inclusion criteria, assessed the quality of each study, and extracted study data. We attempted to collect missing data from investigators. We conducted both qualitative and quantitative analyses. Main results: Thirty‐two studies were included with a total of 36 comparisons. The studies involved from 13 to 411 health professionals (total N = 2995) and were judged to be of moderate or high quality, although methods were generally poorly reported. There was substantial variation in the complexity of the targeted behaviours, baseline compliance, the characteristics of the interventions and the results. The heterogeneity of the results was best explained by differences in the interventions. For 10 comparisons of interactive workshops, there were moderate or moderately large effects in six (all of which were statistically significant) and small effects in four (one of which was statistically significant). For interventions that combined workshops and didactic presentations, there were moderate or moderately large effects in 12 comparisons (eleven of which were statistically significant) and small effects in seven comparisons (one of which was statistically significant). In seven comparisons of didactic presentations, there were no statistically significant effects, with the exception of one out of four outcome measures in one study. Reviewers' conclusions: Interactive workshops can result in moderately large changes in professional practice. Didactic sessions alone are unlikely to change professional practice. Citation: Thomson O'Brien MA, Freemantle N, Oxman AD, Wolf F, Davis DA, Herrin J. Continuing education meetings and workshops: effects on professional practice and health care outcomes (Cochrane Review). In: The Cochrane Library, 2, 2001. Oxford: Update Software.
Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Gynecologic Carcinosarcoma: A Single-Institution Experience

Simple Summary Carcinosarcoma is a rare and aggressive gynecologic cancer that may arise in any of the organs of the female reproductive tract. Most commonly, gynecologic carcinosarcoma is of uterine origin and was previously known as malignant mixed Mullerian tumor. Uterine carcinosarcoma accounts for less than 5% of all uterine malignancies. Because of the rarity of this diagnosis, gynecologic carcinosarcomas have been understudied. We aimed to determine the incidence, treatment course, and quantitate treatment outcomes via progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of gynecologic carcinosarcoma in a primarily minority patient population. Abstract We aimed to determine the incidence, treatment regimen, and treatment outcomes (including progression-free survival and overall survival) of gynecologic carcinosarcoma, a rare, aggressive, and understudied gynecologic malignancy. This retrospective review included all patients with gynecologic cancers diagnosed and treated at a single tertiary care comprehensive cancer center between January 2012 and May 2021. A total of 2116 patients were eligible for review, of which 84 cases were identified as carcinosarcoma: 66 were uterine (5.2% of uterine cancers), 17 were ovarian (3.6% of ovarian cancers), 1 was cervical (0.28% of cervical cancers), and 1 was untyped. Of the patients, 76.2% presented advanced-stage disease (stage III/IV) at the time of diagnosis. Minority patients were more likely to present with stage III/IV (p < 0.0001). The majority of patients underwent surgical resection followed by systemic chemotherapy with carboplatin and paclitaxel. The median PFS was 7.5 months. Of the patients, 55% were alive 1 year after diagnosis, and 45% were alive at 5 years. In the studied population, minorities were more likely to present with more advanced disease. The rate of gynecologic carcinosarcomas was consistent with historical reports.
Ground tilt changes in Japan caused by the 2010 Maule, Chile, earthquake tsunami

Oscillating ground tilt perturbations accompanied by the 2010 Maule, Chile, earthquake tsunami were observed over a broad inland area facing the Pacific Ocean coast in Japan by a high‐density tiltmeter network. Through an analysis of ground tilt data observed at more than 500 stations, we were able to obtain a detailed spatiotemporal distribution of the tsunami‐induced tilt changes and reveal a relationship between the tilt amplitude and the distance from the coast. At distances of 1 km or less, the peak tilt amplitudes were ~5 × 10–2 µrad and were almost constant with respect to the distance. At distances greater than 3 km, amplitudes were inversely proportional to the distance and reached ~5 × 10–3 µrad approximately 50 km away from the coast. The dominant ground tilting directions were almost the same as the direction orthogonal to the coastline. These observed ground tilt changes and their characteristics were successfully modeled with a loading deformation caused by sea level variations accompanied by the tsunami. Applying a two‐dimensional boxcar tsunami model to the observed data, we estimated the water volume per unit length of coast for the Maule earthquake tsunami to be 2–7 × 103 m3/m within the distance of 14–20 km seaward of the coastline.
An improved lattice Boltzmann model for multicomponent reactive transport in porous media at the pore scale

In this paper, we improve the lattice Boltzmann pore‐scale model for multicomponent reactive transport in porous media developed in a previous study. Instead of applying a thermal boundary condition to solute transport, we rigorously derive the distribution function boundary condition for the total solute concentration. This is achieved first by correcting an expression of the particle distribution function in terms of the corresponding concentration and its gradient and then by deriving and using the relation that the nonequilibrium portion of the distribution function in opposite directions takes on opposite signs. We implement the new boundary condition in both the two‐dimensional nine‐speed (D2Q9) and four‐speed (D2Q4) lattices. Simulations of reactive transport in various chemical and geometrical systems using different models are carried out, and results are compared to analytic expressions or two‐dimensional FLOTRAN simulations. It is found that with this new boundary condition, the solute mass is strictly conserved by heterogeneous reactions, as was not the case using the thermal boundary condition. It is also found that compared with the D2Q9 model, the D2Q4 model has comparable accuracy and better computational efficiency.
DREAM differently regulates spinal and trigeminal nociception

El regresor transcripcional DREAM regula de forma distinta la nocicepcion en la medula espinal y en el ganglio trigemino a traves del control sobre sus genes diana, entre ello BDNF, el sistma opioide y los canalaes de postasio Kv4.
Nitrous oxide in the surface layer of the tropical North Atlantic Ocean along a west to east transect

Nitrous oxide (N2O) was measured during the first German SOLAS (Surface Ocean – Lower Atmosphere Study) cruise in the tropical North Atlantic Ocean on board R/V Meteor during October/November 2002. About 900 atmospheric and dissolved N2O measurements were performed with a semi‐continuous GC‐ECD system equipped with a seawater‐gas equilibrator. Surface waters along the main transect at 10°N showed no distinct longitudinal gradient. Instead, N2O saturations were highly variable ranging from 97% to 118% (in the Guinea Dome Area, 11°N, 24°W). When approaching the continental shelf of West Africa, N2O surface saturations went up to 113%. N2O saturations in the region of the equatorial upwelling (at 0–1.5°N, 23.5–26°W) were correlated with decreasing sea surface temperatures and showed saturations up to 109%. The overall mean N2O saturation was 104 ± 4% indicating that the tropical North Atlantic Ocean is a net source of atmospheric N2O.
A non‐stationary epidemic type aftershock sequence model for seismicity prior to the December 26, 2004 M 9.1 Sumatra‐Andaman Islands mega‐earthquake

We study temporal changes in seismicity in Sumatra‐Andaman Islands region before the M 9.1 earthquake of December 26, 2004. We applied the epidemic type aftershock sequence (ETAS) models to the seismicity. The two‐stage non‐stationary ETAS model with a single change‐point provides a better statistical fit to the seismicity data than the stationary ETAS model throughout the whole period. We made further change‐point analysis of data sets by dividing into two sub‐regions. The best fitted models suggest that the seismic activation relative to the ETAS rates started in the middle of July 2000 (about 4.5 years before the M 9.1 earthquake). This includes an increase in the background seismicity rates, particularly in the southern part of the seismogenic zone near the epicenter. A space‐time ETAS model also suggests that the background seismicity throughout the entire Sumatra‐Andaman Islands area had increased after the change‐point time.
Room-temperature solution-phase epitaxial nucleation of PbS quantum dots on rutile TiO2 (100)

Owing to its simplicity and versatility, the successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method is increasingly being employed to develop low-cost hetero-nanostructured sensitized oxide systems for solar energy conversion, such as solar cells and solar fuels schemes. Understanding the nature of the SILAR quantum dot (QD) nucleation and growth on an insulating oxide is then critical as it will determine the QD density and spatial distribution, as well as the optoelectronic properties of the QD/oxide interfaces (e.g. QD bandgap onset). Here, we demonstrate epitaxial nucleation of lead sulfide (PbS) QDs onto a planar rutile titanium dioxide (100) surface employing the SILAR method. The QDs nucleated by SILAR are crystalline structures characterized by a truncated pyramidal shape, with nucleation occurring preferentially along the rutile (010) and (001) crystal orientations. The PbS QD size distribution is constrained by lattice mismatch causing strain in the lead sulfide. These results highlight the potential of SILAR for the facile growth of high-quality epitaxial nanostructures in liquid phase, under ambient conditions and at room temperature.
Climate Mitigation and Adaptation in Africa: Evidence from Patent Data

This paper presents comparative data on innovation in selected climate change mitigation and adaptation technologies in the context of Africa. Such analysis informs policy aimed at encouraging international technology transfer and development of domestic innovation capacities. We present detailed analysis of the role of Africa in development of these technologies (invention), and then move on to examine Africa as a technology market (as reflected in patenting). In addition, we briefly touch upon the question of cross-border technology development (co-invention) in Africa. Despite Africa’s generally low volume of inventive activity in these fields in comparison with other countries, inventive activity is disproportionately directed towards mitigation and adaptation technologies. In addition, the rate of international co-invention for most mitigation and adaptation technologies is much higher in Africa than in the rest of the world. And finally, rates of protection of climate technologies at African intellectual property offices are high relative to other technologies. Nonetheless, it must be emphasized that a relatively small number of inventions are protected in Africa, providing evidence that IP is not a barrier to technology transfer and diffusion. Ce rapport livre des donnees comparatives sur l’innovation concernant certaines technologies d’attenuation du changement climatique et d’adaptation a ses effets dans le contexte de l’Afrique. L’analyse de ces donnees eclaire l’elaboration des politiques visant a encourager les transferts internationaux de technologies et le renforcement des capacites nationales d’innovation. Nous proposons une analyse detaillee du role de l’Afrique dans la mise au point de ces technologies (invention), avant d’etudier le marche technologique qu’elle represente (a l’aune des depots de brevets). Nous abordons en outre brievement la question du developpement de technologies au niveau international (co-invention) en Afrique. Si l’activite inventive des pays africains dans ces domaines est generalement faible par rapport a d’autres pays, les technologies d’attenuation et d’adaptation y tiennent toutefois une place primordiale. Qui plus est, la co-invention internationale concernant la plupart de ces technologies est bien plus frequente en Afrique que dans le reste du monde. Enfin, les offices africains de la propriete intellectuelle delivrent davantage de brevets aux technologies climatiques qu’aux autres technologies. Soulignons cependant que les inventions protegees sont relativement peu nombreuses en Afrique, et que la propriete intellectuelle n’y dresse donc pas d’obstacle au transfert et a la diffusion des technologies
Moving close to parents and adult children in the Netherlands: the influence of support needs

In this paper, the extent to which support needs lead to moves of adult children (aged 30 and above) to within one kilometer of their parents and vice versa is examined. Using Netherlands population data from 2004 and 2005, it is found that the divorce of the adult child increases the likelihood of moving close to parents, especially in the event of recent divorce. A recent first birth in the adult child’s household also leads to moving close to parents, whereas having children aged one and above makes moves of the parents close to the adult child more likely.
Analytical Cache Models with Applications to Cache Partitioning in Time-Shared Systems by Gookwon

This thesis proposes an analytical cache model for time-shared systems, which estimates the overall cache miss-rate from the isolated miss-rate curve of each process when multiple processes share a cache. Unlike previous models, our model works for any cache size and any time quantum. Trace-driven simulations demonstrate that the estimated miss-rate is very accurate for fully-associative caches. Since the model provides a fast and accurate way to estimate the effect of context switching, it is useful for both understanding the effect of context switching on caches and optimizing cache performance for time-shared systems. The model is applied to the cache partitioning problem. First, the problems of the LRU replacement policy is studied based on the model. The study shows that proper cache partitioning can enable substantial performance improvements for short or midrange time quanta. Second, the model-based partitioning mechanism is implemented and evaluated through simulations. In our example, the model-based partitioning improves the cache miss-rate up to 20% over the normal LRU replacement policy. Thesis Supervisor: Srinivas Devadas Title: Professor of Computer Science Thesis Supervisor: Larry Rudolph Title: Principal Research Scientist