Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Skin Segmentation Using Color Distance Map and Water-Flow Property

A new approach for skin region segmentation is proposed. It uses color distance map (CDM) and an algorithm based on the property of flow of water. The CDM itself is a grayscale image, which makes the algorithm very simple. However, it is still capable of providing color information based on which some skin and non-skin seed regions can be determined reliably. Then a water-flow based procedure determines skin and non-skin segments completely. The color distance map is robust against variations in imaging conditions and the water-flow procedure efficiently uses the region information to extract solid skin segments without generating much noisy segments.
Decision-level Fusion of Pca and Lda-based Face Recognition Algorithms

In this paper, a face recognition system based on the fusion of two well-known appearance-based algorithms, namely Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), is proposed. Fusion is performed at the decision-level, that is, the outputs of the individual face recognition algorithms are combined. Two main benefits of such fusion are shown. First, the reduction of the dependence on the environmental conditions with respect to the best individual recognizer. Secondly, the overall performance improvement over the best individual recognizer. To this end, fusion is investigated under different environmental conditions, namely, "ideal" conditions, characterized by a very limited variability of environmental parameters, and "real" conditions with large variability of lighting and face expressions.
Comparison of DC-DC-converter architectures of power management circuits for thermoelectric generators

Future wireless sensor nodes will, for certain applications, require only a few microwatts of energy. Micro-machined thermoelectric generators can produce such amount of electrical energy, but variations in the generated power and voltage make a power management circuit necessary to generate a suitable power supply for the sensor node. This paper compares 2 options for such a circuit. We present one power management circuit for a thermoelectric generator that contains a DC-DC-converter with an inductor and one with capacitors. The converter with inductor has the advantage that the conversion factor can be set very precise. But for an efficient implementation, a large inductor is required. This inductor prevents the solution from being small and efficient at the same time. The use of an integrated charge pump however, will allow a more efficient circuit than a DC-DC-converter with an integrated inductor, even though the conversion factor is less flexible. Ultimately, the type of application will impose the type of DC-DC-converter that will be used.
of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society Title Grounding the Ungrounded : Estimating Locations of Unknown Place Names from Linguistic Associations and Grounded Representations Permalink

Spatial locations can be extracted from language statistics, based on the idea that nearby locations are mentioned in similar linguistic contexts, akin to Tobler’s first law of geography. However, the performance of language-based estimates is inferior to human estimates, raising questions about whether human spatial representations can actually be informed by such (inferior) statistics. We show that alternative methods of computing co-occurrence statistics improve language-based estimates, illustrating that simple linguistic associations may in fact inform spatial representations. Most importantly, we show that by bootstrapping from grounded city locations, linguistic associations can be exploited to accurately estimate the locations of unknown cities, as well as human estimates of city locations. These results support the hypothesis that (ungrounded) linguistic associations can be productively combined with pre-existing spatial representations to yield new grounded representations, shedding light on the issue of symbol grounding in cognition.
Development and assessment of a quantitative reverse transcription-PCR assay for simultaneous measurement of four amplicons.

BACKGROUND High-throughput and forward-deployable biological dosimetry capabilities are required for tactical and medical decisions after radiologic events. We previously reported a quantitative reverse transcription (QRT)-PCR assay for human radiation-responsive gene targets using a whole-blood ex vivo irradiation model, but we needed a multitarget assay on a smaller, less costly, real-time PCR detection system. METHODS We developed a quadruplex QRT-PCR assay in a 96-well, closed-plate format suitable for use with RNA extracted from whole blood. Four cDNA targets were simultaneously amplified in a sealed tube by hybridization to exonuclease probes, each conjugated to distinct fluorogenic reporters. A novel primer-limited 18S rRNA reference target was validated from serial dilutions of human total RNA. To test assay precision, we incorporated a positive-control cDNA mimic into duplex and quadruplex PCR reactions. The master mixture was supplemented with more enzyme, MgCl(2), and deoxyribonucleotides. Simultaneous detection of four targets was evaluated in comparison with respective duplex QRT-PCR assays. RESULTS The simultaneous detection of three radiation-responsive genes by quadruplex QRT-PCR was quantitative, with gene expression changes similar to those observed with optimized duplex and triplex QRT-PCR assays. The 18S rRNA and GADD45 calibration curves (threshold cycle vs log(10) cDNA) were linear and reproducible and showed optimal PCR efficiencies as indicated by slopes statistically equivalent to the theoretical value of -3.322. CONCLUSIONS This is the first study of a quadruplex QRT-PCR assay. Our approach has diagnostic utility in the detection of biomarkers, biological and toxicologic agents, and genes of inherited diseases and cancer.
The RNA polymerase III-dependent family of genes in hemiascomycetes: comparative RNomics, decoding strategies, transcription and evolutionary implications

We present the first comprehensive analysis of RNA polymerase III (Pol III) transcribed genes in ten yeast genomes. This set includes all tRNA genes (tDNA) and genes coding for SNR6 (U6), SNR52, SCR1 and RPR1 RNA in the nine hemiascomycetes Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Saccharomyces castellii, Candida glabrata, Kluyveromyces waltii, Kluyveromyces lactis, Eremothecium gossypii, Debaryomyces hansenii, Candida albicans, Yarrowia lipolytica and the archiascomycete Schizosaccharomyces pombe. We systematically analysed sequence specificities of tRNA genes, polymorphism, variability of introns, gene redundancy and gene clustering. Analysis of decoding strategies showed that yeasts close to S.cerevisiae use bacterial decoding rules to read the Leu CUN and Arg CGN codons, in contrast to all other known Eukaryotes. In D.hansenii and C.albicans, we identified a novel tDNA-Leu (AAG), reading the Leu CUU/CUC/CUA codons with an unusual G at position 32. A systematic ‘p-distance tree’ using the 60 variable positions of the tRNA molecule revealed that most tDNAs cluster into amino acid-specific sub-trees, suggesting that, within hemiascomycetes, orthologous tDNAs are more closely related than paralogs. We finally determined the bipartite A- and B-box sequences recognized by TFIIIC. These minimal sequences are nearly conserved throughout hemiascomycetes and were satisfactorily retrieved at appropriate locations in other Pol III genes.
Towards the identification of stress in teachers

Stuart Nattrass, the chair of the Health and Safety Executive's Education Service Committee, at the launch of the report Managing Occupational Stress (HSE, 1990) defined stress 'as the number one health problem amongst teachers'. A survey in January 1991 revealed an increase of about 300 per cent in the numbers of teachers leaving the profession through ill health since 1981 (Teacher's Weekry, 31 January 1991, p. 9). Stress can be defined in many ways. Ellison (1990, p. 109) defines it as:
Performance Analysis of a Beacon and Non Beacon Enabled IEEE 802.15.4 Star WSNs with Different Traffic Loads

This paper deals with IEEE 802.15.4 beacon enabled and non beacon enabled multi-hop star wireless sensor networks with varying traffic loads. For high channel utilization & low power consumption, impact of MAC parameters such as beacon order (BO) and superframe order (SO) has been analyzed. IEEE 802.1. 5.4 MAC works in two modes, beacon and non beacon mode. This paper provides the performance analysis of IEEE 802.15.4 star topology using DYMO protocol by dynamically adjusting the BO and SO values depending on the traffic loads. Various network performance parameters calculated are throughput, average end to end delay, average jitter, total energy consumption, percentage of time in sleep mode, residual battery consumption. Simulation is performed on a Qualnet Simulator version 6.1. The comparative analysis of result shows that it can be concluded that performance of DYMO is better in non beacon enabled mode. For low values of data rates, network performance parameters are better for all BO and SO.
PointsBug versus TangentBug algorithm, a performance comparison in unknown static environment

This paper presents an overview of Bug algorithm family local path planning methodology timeline. The Bug algorithm approach detects the nearest obstacle as a mobile robot moves towards a target with limited information about the environment. It uses obstacle border as guidance toward the target. The robot circumnavigates the obstacle till it finds certain condition to fulfill the algorithm criteria to leave the obstacle towards target point. In addition, this paper presents the performance of a new path planning approach, PointsBug algorithm. The performance of PointsBug was compared to TangentBug in term of duration and distance in various types of environment. TangentBug was selected as the algorithm to be compared to as it is the best performing Bug family algorithm that uses a range sensor similar to PointsBug. The outcomes of the research indicates that PointsBug have outperformed TangentBug in average speed in the selected environment as described in this paper.
Title : How embodied is perceptual decision making ? – Evidence for separate processing of perceptual and motor decisions Running Title : Disentangling perceptual and motor decisions

a Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Lentzeallee 94, Berlin 14195, Germany b School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, NG7 2RD, U.K. c Division of Psychology & Language Sciences, University College London Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Weesperplein 4, 1018XA Amsterdam, The Netherlands. e Dahlem Institute for the Neuroimaging of Emotion, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany f Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, Berlin 14195, Germany
Finite rate of innovation channel models and DoF of MIMO multi-user systems with delayed CSIT feedback

Channel State Information at the Transmitter (CSIT) is of utmost importance in multi-user wireless networks, in which transmission rates at high SNR are characterized by Degrees of Freedom (DoF, the rate prelog). In recent years, a number of ingenious techniques have been proposed to deal with delayed and imperfect CSIT. However, we show that the precise impact of these techniques in these scenarios depends heavily on the channel model (CM). We introduce the use of linear Finite Rate of Information (FRoI) signals (which could also be called Basis Expansion Model (BEM)) to model time-selective channel coefficients. The FRoI dimension turns out to be well matched to Degree of Freedom (DoF) analysis since the FRoI CM allows compressed feedback (FB) and captures the DoF of the channel coefficient time series. Both the block fading model and the stationary bandlimited channel model are special cases of the FRoI CM. However, the fact that FRoI CMs model stationary channel evolutions allows to exploit one more dimension: arbitrary time shifts. In this way, the FroI CM allows to maintain the DoF unaffected in the presence of CSIT feedback (FB) delay, by increasing the FB rate. We call this Foresighted Channel FB (FCFB). FRoI CM relates also to (predictive) filterbanks and we work out the optimization details in the biorthogonal case (different analysis and synthesis filters). The FRoIC model with multiple basis functions accommodates FB delay beyond the coherence time and handling of users with unequal coherence times.
Predicting Energy Measurements of Service-Enabled Devices in the Future Smartgrid

In the future Internet of Things devices will generate massive amounts of data that will flow to enterprise systems and provide a timely view on the execution of business processes. Being able to estimate data generated by devices may have significant effects on planning and execution of business applications. We present some methodologies for mining data gathered from devices in the energy domain i.e. web service enabled smart meters and home appliances. We present here an approach that realise short-term prediction based on neural networks or support vector machines. We consider detailed information about energy consumption coming from service-enabled devices in the broader smart grid envisioned future infrastructure.
A Mobile Ambients-Based Approach for Network Attack Modelling and Simulation

Attack Graphs are an important support for assessment and subsequent improvement of network security. They reveal possible paths an attacker can take to break through security perimeters and traverse a network to reach valuable assets deep inside the network. Although scalability is no longer the main issue, Attack Graphs still have some problems that make them less useful in practice. First, Attack Graphs remain difficult to relate to the network topology. Second, Attack Graphs traditionally only consider the exploitation of vulnerable hosts. Third, Attack Graphs do not rely on automatic identification of potential attack targets. We address these gaps in our MsAMS (Multi-step Attack Modelling and Simulation) tool, based on Mobile Ambients. The tool not only allows the modelling of more static aspects of the network, such as the network topology, but also the dynamics of network attacks. In addition to Mobile Ambients, we use the PageRank algorithm to determine targets and hub scores produced by the HITS (Hypertext Induced Topic Search) algorithm to guide the simulation of an attacker searching for targets.
Modeling and solving diagnosis of discrete-event systems via satisfiability

The diagnosis of a discrete-event system is finding out whether the behavior of the system is normal or faulty, given observations of this behavior. We show how the diagnosis problems can be translated into the propositional satisfiability problem (SAT) and then solved by the state-of-the-art SAT algorithms. Our experiments demonstrate that the SAT algorithms are able to deal with the problems, which are hard for traditional diagnosis algorithms.
Important Cognitive Components of Domain-Specific Search Knowledge

Many users have acquired a sophisticated understanding of searching the Web in specific domains. For example, we often hear of users who can get amazing deals for electronic products on the Web. What knowledge do such users have, and how does it affect their search behavior? To address this question, we observed information retrieval experts in the domains of healthcare and online shopping, while they performed tasks within and outside their domains of expertise. When performing tasks within their domains of expertise, experts used declarative and procedural components of domain-specific search knowledge that enabled them to perform effective searches. In contrast, when they performed tasks outside their domains of expertise, they used a range of general-purpose search methods leading to comparatively less effective search results. The study demonstrates the role of domain-specific search knowledge, and pinpoints its cognitive components. The paper concludes by suggesting approaches that should make the components of domain-specific search knowledge explicit and available to many users.
Comparison of averaging and harmonic balance methods for switched DC-DC converters

Line-to-output and Control-to-output frequency responses describe behavior of DC-DC converters under small-signal perturbation of the input voltage or the duty ratio. The responses are routinely obtained using the state space averaging method, which represents a certain simplification. The paper deals with validity of the obtained responses. Using the harmonic balance method as the reference it will be shown that the responses may be valid even above the Nyquist frequency depending on the structure of state matrices. The analysis has been made for all major types of converters.
Trending Topics: A Cultural Analysis of Being Mary Jane and Black Women's Engagement on Twitter

On July 2, 2013, 4 million viewers tuned in to the pilot premiere of Being Mary Jane, BET’s first original drama starring Gabrielle Union as Mary Jane Paul—a fiercely independent woman forging her way in love, work, and family. In the opening scenes, viewers watch as MJ’s love interest, Andre, comes stumbling drunk to her front door with intentions of what we hope is a booty call. The result is a lovemaking session that journeys through MJ’s lavish home and ends in her bed. The next morning, in an enduring display of vulnerability, MJ prays for a sign that Andre truly belongs to her, to which he wakes up and vomits on her chest. Shortly after cleaning up Andre’s mess—and hearing those three coveted words—viewers see MJ grimace in pain after Andre’s previously hidden wedding band finds its way under her foot. The rest, as they say, is made for TV. Mary Jane’s drama-filled story line includes a string of undeniably attractive love interests, a family whose troubles seem never ending, and untethered career ambition that propels her into the realm of the famous and wealthy. However, for black audiences, the characterization of the protagonist as a black woman serves as a double-edged sword. While many viewers celebrate Mary Jane as one of the few leading black women on television, others may lament how her role appears to oscillate between familiar and stereotypical depictions of black women as jezebels, sapphires, or matriarchs. During the show’s first season, Mary Jane emerges as a contentious, often prideful, mistress before finding her way back to a more agreeable partner in her ex-boyfriend, David—from whom she steals sperm. By the second season, MJ appears to get her head on a bit straighter —foregoing her troubled love life to focus on her career and family, a decision that catapults her career as a journalist into primetime television. Although there were casting changes that may have contributed to the shift between seasons, social media may have also played a role in MJ’s betterment, as viewers flocked to the show’s hashtag on Twitter to participate in public consumption, and criticism, of the popular drama—converging with groundbreaking success that amplified the value in appealing to black audiences’ desire for storylines depicting their complex lives. Such desire for adequate representation on television is warranted. As Stuart Hall indicates, representations via television media do not merely reflect society, but contribute to the way we interpret our daily experiences. However, research has shown that television studios and networks are corporate structures that overwhelmingly lack diversity among those in decision-making positions. As a result, television programming is governed by social norms and ideas that often circumvent contributions from women and
The Fueling of Nuclear Activity: The Bar Properties of Seyfert and Normal Galaxies

We use a recent near-infrared imaging survey of samples of Seyfert and normal galaxies to study the role of bars in the fueling of nuclear activity. The active galaxy sample includes Seyfert galaxies in the Revised Shapely-Ames (RSA) catalog and Sandage & Tammann's extension of this catalog. The normal galaxies were selected to match the Seyfert sample in Hubble type, redshift, inclination, and blue luminosity. All the galaxies in both samples classified as barred in the RSA catalog are also barred in the near-infrared. In addition, ~55% of the galaxies classified as nonbarred in the RSA show evidence for bars at 2.1 μm. Overall, ~70% of the galaxies observed show evidence for bar structures. The incidence of bars in the Seyfert and normal galaxies is similar, suggesting that Seyfert nuclei do not occur preferentially in barred systems. Furthermore, a slightly higher percentage of normal galaxies have multiple-bar structures. A significant percentage of the Seyfert galaxies in our sample show no evidence for the presence of a bar even in the near-infrared. This suggests either that large-scale kiloparsec bars are not a universal fueling mechanism in Seyfert galaxies or that the bars in the nonbarred Seyferts were recently destroyed, possibly by the formation of the central black hole.
LOW POWER AUTO GATED FLIP-FLOP DESIGN USING CLOCK GATING TECHNIQUE

The clock gating can enable the clock signals from the CDN (clock distribution network). This technique could be activating the clock which is needed for the operation of the circuit. The unnecessary clock signals are not activated during the clock gating. This saves the dynamic power of the circuit. The auto gated flip-flops which are to be using clock gating technique for only small power consumption. The novel approach we are going to design the circuit based on look ahead clock gating which is to be used for the timing constraints for each clock pulses. The enabling clock pulses for the derived timing signals to the gated logic which is to be saves the power from the flip-flops. The look ahead technique can also to be reducing the delay and the distortions from the circuit for the achievement of the application level. This could be applied into the parallel bus specific clock gating for application level implementation. This can be adopted for the all sectional view from particular architecture implementation. This process could be available for the structural level implementation for all the CMOS logic gates for the integrated chip. This architecture can be designed and verified by using TANNER EDA tool. Key points: Clock Gating, Auto Gated Flip-Flop, Parallel Bus specific clock gating
Task-Based Language Teaching: From the Practical Perspective

It reported a study on secondary school English teachers' perceptions of task-based language teaching (TBLT) and the impacts of their perceptions on their teaching practice. Based on the study, it explored the main factors that cause the current situation. The findings suggest that the teachers had a scanty knowledge of TBLT, which had a strong impact on their teaching practice. In the light of the problems existing in their perception, the study indicated that the successful implementation of TBLT may be realized if teachers could update education concepts, employ effective assessment and be provided with adequate trainings.