Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cloud removal for single images based on dual tree complex wavelet transform

Clouds can obscure ground information during remote sensing imaging. Cloud removal technology for a single image becomes significant when no images containing cloud-free regions are available. After the fundamental principle of dual tree complex wavelet transform (DTCWT) was reviewed, and the frequency relationships between clouds and ground objects in remote sensing images were analyzed, a novel algorithm to remove clouds from a single remote sensing image was proposed. The algorithm divided the cloud-contaminated image into low level high frequency sub-bands, high level high frequency sub-bands and low frequency sub-band by DTCWT. The low level high frequency sub-bands were filtered to enhance the ground object information by Laplacian filtering. The other two types of sub-bands were processed to remove cloud by applying the method of cloud layer coefficient weighting (CLCW). Image processing experiments were implemented. Their results were analyzed. It proved the Laplacian contributes to enhancing ground object information adaptively. CLCW has the ability to remove clouds while preserving the ground object information outside the cloud cover. The proposed algorithm is greatly superior to algorithms based on traditional wavelet transform and the wavelet threshold theory.
An experimental environment for teaching Java security

In many fields of Computer Engineering education it is crucial that students gain both conceptual understanding and practical skills. To this end, an effective teaching approach relies on a blended-learning strategy that combines face-to-face lessons with students' practice on some suitable educational tool. Such a tool should support students through the whole learning process, and help them to improve their modelling ability along with their programming expertise. In this paper we describe S-vLab, a virtual laboratory for supporting teaching and learning in several applicative domains; in particular, we analyse S-vLab applied to the Information Security field. In this context, one of its main goals is to help students in dealing with the Java Security Platform, supporting different learning styles and allowing multiple formative paths. Using S-vLab students can, in various steps, model a secure system, simulate its behaviour and evaluate its performance, and finally build and test a software prototype by leveraging numerous facilities. These include the provision of extracts of sample Java code, the availability of supporting resources and a continuous and immediate feedback, aimed at pointing out possible errors and suggesting solutions. After describing more in detail the features provided by S-vLab, as well as how the depicted functionalities can help in achieving the settled learning goals, we refer on the results obtained in an experimentation of the virtual lab during a course on Information Security with about 150 students.
TSP : Three Evolutionary Approaches vs . Local Search

In this document they are revised three evolutionary approaches to solve optimization problems named genetic algorithms, particle swarm optimization and ant colony optimization, as well as a local search heuristic called 2-change. All these methods are used to solve the well-known TSP problem. Experimental set-up and results are also shown. The objective of this document is to familiarize with these computational methods, to know what their performance is when applied to the TSP, and to compare their results.
Sex of children: prior uncertainty and subsequent fertility behavior.

2 general questions are addressed: (1) Is there statistical support for the notion that families differ in their intrinsic chances for having boys? (2) In the process of family formation is there evidence that subsequent fertility behavior is affected by the sex composition of the children already in the family? There has been considerable discussion in the demographic literature to suggest that a hypothetical ability to predetermine sex would sharply reduce birthrates. Based on U.S. Census data the evidence is that the probability that a newborn child is a boy on average is . 512. The interpretation of the U.S. data presented in this report is that if birthrates were reduced the reduction would be trivial. The data for Bangladesh however indicates that birth intervals are effected by the sex and survival may depend on its sex and on the sex composition of its siblings.
System-level Support for Macroprogramming of Networked Sensing Applications

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) provide low-cost, embedded sense-and-respond capability, and are therefore an integral part of the vision of pervasive computing. Most research on WSNs to date has focused on the development of efficient protocols for infrastructure establishment. Application development for WSNs is still very daunting for the non-expert. This paper proposes hierarchical layers of abstractions to categorize the functionality of various WSN protocols from a programming perspective. We then address the issue of systemlevel support for programming models in sensor networks, and describe the design of the DART runtime system, which supports a macroprogramming model called the Abstract Task Graph. DART prototypes for two different target platforms have been implemented. The modular structure of the runtime is inspired by our proposed layers of programming abstraction. The design of DART simplifies software synthesis of ATaG programs, and enables near plug-and-play integration of different protocols and services at the lower layers with minimal impact on the higher layers.
Effect of point of care testing for C reactive protein and training in communication skills on antibiotic use in lower respiratory tract infections: cluster randomised trial

Objective To assess the effect of general practitioner testing for C reactive protein (disease approach) and receiving training in enhanced communication skills (illness approach) on antibiotic prescribing for lower respiratory tract infection. Design Pragmatic, 2×2 factorial, cluster randomised controlled trial. Setting 20 general practices in the Netherlands. Participants 40 general practitioners from 20 practices recruited 431 patients with lower respiratory tract infection. Main outcome measures The primary outcome was antibiotic prescribing at the index consultation. Secondary outcomes were antibiotic prescribing during 28 days’ follow-up, reconsultation, clinical recovery, and patients’ satisfaction and enablement. Interventions General practitioners’ use of C reactive protein point of care testing and training in enhanced communication skills separately and combined, and usual care. Results General practitioners in the C reactive protein test group prescribed antibiotics to 31% of patients compared with 53% in the no test group (P=0.02). General practitioners trained in enhanced communication skills prescribed antibiotics to 27% of patients compared with 54% in the no training group (P<0.01). Both interventions showed a statistically significant effect on antibiotic prescribing at any point during the 28 days’ follow-up. Clinicians in the combined intervention group prescribed antibiotics to 23% of patients (interaction term was non-significant). Patients’ recovery and satisfaction were similar in all study groups. Conclusion Both general practitioners’ use of point of care testing for C reactive protein and training in enhanced communication skills significantly reduced antibiotic prescribing for lower respiratory tract infection without compromising patients’ recovery and satisfaction with care. A combination of the illness and disease focused approaches may be necessary to achieve the greatest reduction in antibiotic prescribing for this common condition in primary care. Trial registration Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN85154857.
Lie-groups as Spin groups.

It is shown that every Lie algebra can be represented as a bivector algebra; hence every Lie group can be represented as a spin group. Thus, the computational power of geometric algebra is available to simplify the analysis and applications of Lie groups and Lie algebras. The spin version of the general linear group is thoroughly analyzed, and an invariant method for constructing real spin representations of other classical groups is developed. Moreover, it is demonstrated that every linear transformation can be represented as a monomial of vectors in geometric algebra.
Modeling of the thorax of human body at 433 MHz

Nowadays, communication networks have become indispensable in our daily lives. In the last years, new networks have been developed, such as the body wireless sensor network “BAN”. So it will be necessary to highlight the influence of the body on the radiation pattern, performance and adaptation of the antenna. To understand the interaction between electromagnetic waves and the human body, it is important to have knowledge about the physical properties of biological tissues which can be seen as multilayer structures. This will be well detailed in this paper. Each layer has its own dielectric characteristics. Those properties are represented by the relative permittivity and conductivity. So to characterize tissues, we must study its properties. Then, a study of the attenuation factor is made, based on a comparison between HFSS and ADS.
A model of SDN controllers supporting for processing of flows based on the IMS

The IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) is a kind of Multimedia business form and it is an architectural framework for delivering IP multimedia services. In order to increase flexibility and reliability, in this paper we propose a different perspective which maintains the existing IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) based signaling platform while processing flow via distributed SDN controllers. Software Define Network (SDN) requires some methods for the control plane to communicate with the data plane. One such mechanism is OpenFlow which is a standard interface for controlling computer networking switches. The OpenFlow protocol can manage resources by slicing them in a virtualized manner and that aspect of the OpenFlow protocol can be integrated in an IMS infrastructure. Under such infrastructure, the IMS is considered to correlate with the OpenFlow controller, and the OpenFlow controller will be able to dynamically reroute the traffic to alternate network resources, or a different `network slice' in cases of congestion or applying QoS in the IMS networks through the IMS policy network.
Effectiveness of Distributed Pressure and Slippage Force Presentation in Tactile Virtual Reality

In pervious virtual reality systems, haptic presentation devices have already been developed and their usage discussed. However, the combination effects of distributed pressure and slippage force sensations have not been investigated in spite of their possibilities for virtual reality systems. In this study, we developed a mouse capable of presenting combined stimulation to discuss the combination effects on virtual reality. The mouse was equipped with a bimorph-piezoelectric-actuator-array and a two-dimensional electro-magnetic-linear-motor to present pressure and slippage force, respectively. In order to evaluate the presentation accuracy of the mouse, we performed a series of tracing experiments of virtual figure contours. Since the deviation errors of the combination presentation were smaller than that of pressure presentation only, the combination presentation was effective for virtual reality because of the edge tracing easiness induced by the slippage force used on the edges.
Developmental differences in relations among parental protectiveness, attachment, social skills, social anxiety and social competence in juveniles with asthma or diabetes

Developmental Differences in Relations among Parent Protectiveness, Attachment, Social Skills, Social Anxiety, and Social Competence in Juveniles with Asthma or Diabetes. (August 2007) Jonhenry C. Grizzle, B.S., University of Texas at Dallas; M.S., Texas A&M University Co-Chairs of Advisory Committee: Dr. Robert W. Heffer Dr. Emily S. Davidson Previous research has elucidated social competence as a prominent variable contributing to psychosocial adjustment in juveniles with chronic illness. In particular, early interactions with parents and peers play a large role in the development of social competence by teaching young people how to initiate and maintain satisfying and warm relationships. The current study examined developmental differences in relations among parent-child relationship variables (parental protectiveness), peer interaction variables (social skills, social anxiety), and social competence in juveniles with asthma and diabetes. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to evaluate mediated models using data from a sample of 178 preadolescent (ages 7-11) and adolescent (ages 12-16) juveniles. Results indicated that social anxiety and social skills mediated the relation between parental protectiveness and social competence in the adolescent age group, but not in the preadolescent age group. In contrast, social skills mediated the relation
Brolin's theorem for curves in two complex dimensions

Pour toute application f : P 2 → P 2 de degre d ≥ 2 nous donnons des conditions suffisantes sur un courant positif ferme S de bidegre (1,1), pour que la suite d -n f n *S converge vers le courant de Green lorsque n → ∞. Nous conjecturons aussi des conditions necessaires pour ce probleme de convergence.
BMC Evolutionary Biology

Background: Gene trees that arise in the context of reconstructing the evolutionary history of polyploid species are often multiply-labeled, that is, the same leaf label can occur several times in a single tree. This property considerably complicates the task of forming a consensus of a collection of such trees compared to usual phylogenetic trees. Results: We present a method for computing a consensus tree of multiply-labeled trees. As with the well-known greedy consensus tree approach for phylogenetic trees, our method first breaks the given collection of gene trees into a set of clusters. It then aims to insert these clusters one at a time into a tree, starting with the clusters that are supported by most of the gene trees. As the problem to decide whether a cluster can be inserted into a multiply-labeled tree is computationally hard, we have developed a heuristic method for solving this problem. Conclusion: We illustrate the applicability of our method using two collections of trees for plants of the genus Silene , that involve several allopolyploids at different levels.
PRELIMINARY EXPERIENCE WITH HYDRAULICALLY DRIVEN HAND PROSTHESES

INTRODUCTION The need for further development of prosthetic hands with enhanced functionalities and better cosmetic appearance than conventional prosthetic hands became evident in many investigations of this topic [1-3]. Consequently, a new generation of multi-articulated hands for prosthetic application were designed in the past decade. Some of these hands are characterized by a multitude of miniature DC gear motors integrated into the hand [4-8], or by an underactuated mechanism driven by a single DC motor [4,9]. However, the transition from an experimental hand to a clinically viable hand is a crucial test for any new development. Different approaches using fluidic actuators were chosen by [10] and by our research group [11]. Unlike [10], we do not use a pneumatic drive system powered by pressurized CO2 from disposable cartridges, but a compact electro-hydraulic system. Its components are micropump(s), microvalve(s), a reservoir, a controller, and small flexible fluidic actuators integrated into the finger joints. The flexible fluidic actuators expand during inflation, generating the flexion movement of the digits, whereas the extension movement is achieved by elastic elements [11]. Publications on standards for prosthetic hands and criteria to meet user requirements [1-3, 12] were analyzed and taken into consideration in designing new experimental hands. The results obtained in the first year with three hydraulically driven experimental hands are displayed and test experiences are presented.
Implementation of generalized uniform Bandpass Sampling with complex FIR and IIR Filtering

Bandpass sampling (BPS) realizes frequency down-conversion in radio receiver front-ends by a sampling rate that can be slightly larger than twice the information bandwidth compared to twice the highest frequency for traditional lowpass sampling (LPS). However, some implementation problems, harmful signal spectral folding, noise aliasing and sampling jitter, are unavoidably present in conventional BPS systems. Under recent research, generalized bandpass sampling combined with filtering has been proposed for dealing with these problems. In this paper, the novel sampling architectures with intrinsic filtering are implemented using a sampled-data technique called switched-capacitor (SC) circuit technique. Specifically complex SC filtering is designed and analyzed. Both the analysis and simulation results show that the designed complex SC filter fulfils the expectations of generalized bandpass sampling.
The View from the Crossroads of Public Health and Vision (Re)habilitation

This special issue of the Journal of Vi­ sual Impairment & Blindness is a first attempt to bridge the fields of vision re­ habilitation and public health. As such, it has a dual audience and a dual purpose: 1) to persuade members of the vision rehabilitation field that collaborating with the public health community will help to meet the needs of people with visual impairments, and 2) to convince those in public health that their mission to serve the public will be more fully realized if they include people with dis­ abilities within their conception of health and ensure accessibility throughout their programs and services. As obvious as this type of mutual benefit may sound to some, it has been questioned, and cer­ tainly has not yet had a chance to develop in practice. A number of seemingly unrelated phe­ nomena point to the need for cross-, if not multidisciplinary, collaboration. Anyone who has studied vision rehabilitation or special education, written a grant appli­ cation, or attended in-service training in the vision field has encountered the chal­ lenge of describing the number, employ­ ment status, education level, and needs of
Handling Data Spatially: Spatializating User Interfaces

The impact of GIS research extends beyond GIS. Our expertise about space, spatial relations, and spatial knowledge needs to be shared with other domains who can benefit from it, even if their problems are not inherently spatial. This paper discusses the needs for spatial expertise in the field of human-computer interaction. Modern user interface design increasingly employs spatial metaphors to structure objects and operations in understandable and useful ways. Spatialized user interfaces create a virtual space in which users perceive, operate, and move while they solve their application problems. The designers of these virtual spaces need to be informed about human spatial cognition and properties of spaces in order to design "usable" and credible spaces. They also need technological support for implementing spatial data structures or databases and procedures for accessing, navigating, and visualizing them. The paper investigates these needs, proposes a theory to address them, and shows how spatial data handling expertise helps to handle data spatially. : Spatialization, spatial metaphors, user interfaces, usability, task analysis.
Chronic productive cough and extensive cysts in left lung

Bronchiectasis refers to dilated and thickened airways due to chronic inflammation and infections, with anatomic distortion of the bronchi. Here, we describe a 29-year-old man with a history of multiple hospitalizations for lung infection who presented to the pulmonary clinic with a complaint of worsening chronic productive cough in the previous year. This case presentation prompted a review of the etiologies of bronchiectasis in 291 recent cases admitted to Masih Daneshvari Hospital, Tehran.
LitMiner and WikiGene: identifying problem-related key players of gene regulation using publication abstracts

The LitMiner software is a literature data-mining tool that facilitates the identification of major gene regulation key players related to a user-defined field of interest in PubMed abstracts. The prediction of gene-regulatory relationships is based on co-occurrence analysis of key terms within the abstracts. LitMiner predicts relationships between key terms from the biomedical domain in four categories (genes, chemical compounds, diseases and tissues). Owing to the limitations (no direction, unverified automatic prediction) of the co-occurrence approach, the primary data in the LitMiner database represent postulated basic gene–gene relationships. The usefulness of the LitMiner system has been demonstrated recently in a study that reconstructed disease-related regulatory networks by promoter modelling that was initiated by a LitMiner generated primary gene list. To overcome the limitations and to verify and improve the data, we developed WikiGene, a Wiki-based curation tool that allows revision of the data by expert users over the Internet. LitMiner () and WikiGene () can be used unrestricted with any Internet browser.
jpHMM: recombination analysis in viruses with circular genomes such as the hepatitis B virus

jpHMM is a very accurate and widely used tool for recombination detection in genomic sequences of HIV-1. Here, we present an extension of jpHMM to analyze recombinations in viruses with circular genomes such as the hepatitis B virus (HBV). Sequence analysis of circular genomes is usually performed on linearized sequences using linear models. Since linear models are unable to model dependencies between nucleotides at the 5′- and 3′-end of a sequence, this can result in inaccurate predictions of recombination breakpoints and thus in incorrect classification of viruses with circular genomes. The proposed circular jpHMM takes into account the circularity of the genome and is not biased against recombination breakpoints close to the 5′- or 3′-end of the linearized version of the circular genome. It can be applied automatically to any query sequence without assuming a specific origin for the sequence coordinates. We apply the method to genomic sequences of HBV and visualize its output in a circular form. jpHMM is available online at http://jphmm.gobics. de for download and as a web server for HIV-1 and HBV sequences.
Segmentation of Brain Tumour from MRI image – Analysis of K-means and DBSCAN Clustering

We have applied K-means clustering and DBSCAN to the problem of clustering and segmenting Brain Tumour from Magnetic Resonance images of human brain. For our experiments we used a large number of MR images from the ―radiopaedia image database‖, which is freely available collection of Radio images of different human anatomies specifically for research purpose. We ran the algorithms with varying values on their parameters and studied the effects and did a comparative study of the two algorithms. The resulting cluster were analysed anf for K-means we found three types of cluster. Although the results from K-means were quite noisy, many of the clusters could be used for further analysis. The results from DBSCAN proved to be more satisfactory as the clustering method is density based and the density of clusters in input data are highly specially concentrated. Further study of other clustering algorithms applied to the same data would shed light on the actual effectiveness of the algorithms studied here.