Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Research on Local Self-Similarity Descriptors in Images

Local self-similarity descriptors use image patch as the basic unit for measuring internal self-similarities, which can capture more meaningful image patterns than individual pixel. But computation speed of the current method is slow. In order to improve the current method in extracting local self-similarity, we present a new approach. In our approach, we first obtain an image region centered at every pixel. Then every image region is divided into several patches and self-similarities are extracted from each patch. At last all of the self-similarities form a vector to describe image region. The results of simulation show feasibility of the approach.
Performance Analysis of an InGaAs Based pi-n Photodetector

an InGaAs based p-i-n photodetector model is chosen in order to find out quantum efficiency, photocurrent density, and normalized frequency response with and without RC effect. Normalized frequency response is the most important factor in order to analysis the performance of p-i-n photodetector. Quantum efficiency, photocurrent density, normalized frequency response curves are obtained by formulation which is done from structure and MATLAB simulation. A relation for the fiber-to-waveguide coupling efficiency has also been used to calculate the overall quantum-efficiency of waveguide photodetector [1]. Normalized frequency response is obtained by varying value of frequency dependent transfer function of equivalent circuit model of p-i-n photodetector with frequency. For enhancing bandwidth of photodetector, the parametric values of photodetector such as reverse bias junction capacitance and resistance, has been optimized. The effect of carrier trapping at a heterointerface has also been considered to study the frequency dependence of the photocurrent at low-bias voltages [1].
Antioxidant and Renoprotective Effects of Mushroom Extract: Implication in Prevention of Nephrolithiasis

Background The pathogenesis of nephrolithiasis (kidney stone) remains elusive, while several therapeutic options are available but not effective as we expected. Accumulating data yet suggest that oxidative stress (generation of oxygen free radicals) may play a primary role in its occurrence. Particularly, calcium oxalate (CaOx) is a key element in the most common form (> 75%) of kidney stones, and its crystal form known as CaOx monohydrate (COM) has been shown to exert oxidative stress, facilitating CaOx stone formation. Hence, diminishing oxidative stress with certain antioxidants could be a potential strategic approach. We are interested in a bioactive extract of Poria mushroom, PE, which has been shown to have antioxidant and renoprotective activities. Accordingly, we investigated if PE might have antioxidant activity that would have implication in prevention of kidney stone formation. Methods Renal epithelial LLC-PK1 cells were employed and exposed to COM or hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as a positive control capable of exerting oxidative stress. Possible antioxidant and protective effects of PE against oxidative stress (exerted by COM or H2O2) were assessed by cell viability test and lipid peroxidation (LPO) assay. To explore its protective mechanism, two glycolytic parameters, hexokinase (HK) activity and ATP synthesis, were examined and cell cycle analysis was also performed. Results Both H2O2 and COM led to a significant (P < 0.05) reduction in cell viability, accompanied by severe oxidative stress assessed by LPO assay. Such oxidative stress also caused the significant decline in HK activity and cellular ATP level, indicating the inhibition of glycolysis. Cell cycle analysis further indicated that oxidative stress interfered with cell cycle, inducing a G1 cell cycle arrest that presumably results in the cessation of cell proliferation. However, PE was capable of significantly preventing or diminishing all these cellular effects mediated through oxidative stress (exerted by H2O2 and COM). Conclusions The present study shows that the mushroom extract PE appears to have antioxidant and renoprotective effects against oxidative stress exerted by COM in renal cells. Therefore, PE with antioxidant activity is considered a promising natural agent that may have clinical implications in prevention of nephrolithiasis primarily induced by oxidative stress.
Adaptive Steganalysis of Least Significant Bit Replacement in Grayscale Natural Images

This paper deals with the detection of hidden bits in the Least Significant Bit (LSB) plane of a natural image. The mean level and the covariance matrix of the image, considered as a quantized Gaussian random matrix, are unknown. An adaptive statistical test is designed such that its probability distribution is always independent of the unknown image parameters, while ensuring a high probability of hidden bits detection. This test is based on the likelihood ratio test except that the unknown parameters are replaced by estimates based on a local linear regression model. It is shown that this test maximizes the probability of detection as the image size becomes arbitrarily large and the quantization step vanishes. This provides an asymptotic upper-bound for the detection of hidden bits based on the LSB replacement mechanism. Numerical results on real natural images show the relevance of the method and the sharpness of the asymptotic expression for the probability of detection.
Data throughputs using multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) techniques in a noise-limited cellular environment

We present a general framework to quantify the data throughput capabilities of a wireless communication system when it combines: (1) multiple transmit signals; (2) adaptive modulation for each signal; and (3) adaptive array processing at the receiver. We assume a noise-limited environment, corresponding to either an isolated cell or a multicell system whose out-of-cell interference is small compared with the thermal noise. We focus on the user data throughput, in bits per second/Hertz (bps/Hz), and its average over multipath fading, which we call the user spectral efficiency. First, an analysis method is developed to find the probability distribution and mean value of the spectral efficiency over the user positions and shadow fadings, both as a function of user distance from its serving base station and averaged over the cell coverage area. We assume fading conditions and receiver processing that lend themselves to closed-form analysis. The resulting formulas are simple and straightforward to compute, and they provide a number of valuable insights. Next, we run Monte Carlo simulations, both to confirm the analysis and to treat cases less amenable to simple analysis. A key contribution of this paper is a simple formula for the mean spectral efficiency in terms of the propagation exponent, mean signal-to-noise ratio at the cell boundary, number of antennas, and type of coding. Under typical propagation conditions, the mean spectral efficiency using three transmit and three receive antennas ranges from 19.2 bps/Hz (uncoded) to 26.8 bps/Hz (ideally coded), highlighting the potential benefits of multiple transmissions combined with adaptive techniques. This is much higher than the spectral efficiencies for a link using a single transmitter and a threefold receive diversity under the same conditions, where the range is from 8.77 bps/Hz to 11.4 bps/Hz. Moreover, the latter results are not nearly as practical to achieve, as they can for large signal constellations that would be highly vulnerable to impairments.
Latent influence propagation on dynamic networks

With the proliferation of diversified social network services, understanding how the influence is propagated helps us better understand the network evolution mechanism and the social impact of different kinds of information. Existing models are mostly built on the static network structure. They fail to catch the temporal dynamic property of social network. In this paper, we design a new kind of latent influence propagation, and propose a general framework based on latent feature model which performs the influence propagation on dynamic social network. Extensive experiments demonstrate our model can achieve better approximation of influence propagation and more accurate link prediction.
Dynamic consensus for merging visual maps under limited communications

In this paper we present an algorithm for merging visual maps in a robot network. Along the operation, each robot observes the environment and builds and maintains its local map. Simultaneously, the robots communicate and build a global map of the environment. The communication between the robots is limited, and, at every time instant, each robot can only exchange data with its neighboring robots. We provide a distributed solution to the problem which does not rely on any particular communication topology and is robust to changes in the topology. Each robot computes and tracks the global map based on local interactions with its neighbors. Our contribution is the extension of distributed sensor fusion ideas to the problem of dynamic map merging. Under mild connectivity conditions on the communication graph, this algorithm asymptotically converges to the global map. The real experiments have been carried out with visual information, which is of special interest in robotics.
Concern-Based Assessment of Architectural Stability: A Comparative Study

A concern is any consideration that can impact the software architecture and other artefacts. Sustaining stability of concerns realised in architectural designs is essential to obtain long-lasting software products. It is often assumed that concern assessment mechanisms are effective to predict architecture stability. They ought to exert a positive or detrimental effect on software stability. In fact, there is a growing variety of concern assessment mechanisms to support the quantification of concern properties in software artefacts. They range from metrics that compute basic concern characteristics – such as concern tangling and scattering – to patterns that represent recurring concern structures. However, the vast majority of concern assessment mechanisms has not been empirically validated yet. This paper presents a comparative study on the efficacy of a family of concern metrics and patterns to support architectural stability analysis. The correlation of concern properties and architecture instabilities is determined by quantifying the Spearman Correlation indicator. This study relies on several releases of two evolving software systems, where the architectural instabilities have been previously and independently documented.
On Full Abstractness for Fair Testing

Fair-testing preorders were introduced in 13, 3] in order to overcome diiculties that traditional testing/failures preorders have in tackling divergent behavior. This paper establishes the appropriateness and \optimality" of the fair-must precongruence by proving that it is the coarsest precongruence respecting a natural notion of observable behavior (maximal traces) under a non-catastrophic interpretation of divergence. This result follows from a new and elegant characterization of fair-must preorder.
Un modèle de processus de gestion de profils d'apprenants

Notre recherche se situe dans le champ des EIAH (Environnements Informatiques pour l'Apprentissage Humain). Nous nous interessons a la question de la reutilisation et de l'exploitation de profils d'apprenants existants par les differents acteurs de la situation d'apprentissage, enseignant, apprenant, famille, institution ou chercheurs. Nous presentons dans cet article les difficultes liees a la reutilisation de profils heterogenes en terme de structure ou de contenu. Nous proposons un modele de processus de gestion de profils d'apprenants permettant de lever ces difficultes, le modele REPro. Nous presentons sa mise en ½uvre dans un environnement informatique operationnel, ainsi que les resultats des experimentations realisees.
An effective forwarding architecture for SMP Linux routers

Recent technological advances provide an excellent opportunity to achieve truly effective results in the field of open Internet devices based on PC COTS Hardware, also known as Open Routers. In this environment, new interesting research topics, like parallel computing optimization, are related to the rapid migration of CPU architectures to the multi-core paradigm. Thus, with this idea, this contribution focuses on the packet forwarding performance in SMP Linux kernels, trying to identify and to characterize its architectural bottlenecks. Starting from this analysis, we propose an innovative architecture to optimize the forwarding performance when multi-processor or multi-core systems are used.
Star formation history of Canis Major R1 I. Wide-Field X-ray study of the young stellar population

Aims. The CMa R1 star-forming region contains several compact clusters as well as many young early-B stars. It is associated with a well-known bright rimmed nebula, the nature of which is unclear (fossil HII region or supernova remnant). To help elucidate the nature of the nebula, our goal was to reconstruct the star-formation history of the CMa R1 region, including the previously unknown older, fainter low-mass stellar population, using X-rays. Methods. We analyzed images obtained with the ROSAT satellite, covering ∼5 sq. deg. Complementary VRI photometry was performed with the Gemini South telescope. Colour-magnitude and colour-colour diagrams were used in conjunction with pre-main sequence evolutionary tracks to derive the masses and ages of the X-ray sources. Results. The ROSAT images show two distinct clusters. One is associated with the known optical clusters near Z CMa, to which ∼40 members are added. The other, which we name the “GU CMa” cluster, is new, and contains ∼60 members. The ROSAT sources are young stars with masses down to M� ∼ 0.5 M� , and ages up to 10 Myr. The mass functions of the two clusters are similar, but the GU CMa cluster is older than the cluster around Z CMa by at least a few Myr. Also, the GU CMa cluster is away from any molecular cloud, implying that star formation must have ceased; on the contrary (as already known), star formation is very active in the Z CMa region.
Code-Assisted Blind Synchronization for UWB Systems

Synchronization is a critical issue in ultra-wideband (UWB) communications. In conventional UWB systems employing time-hopping, the time-shifted pulses in each symbol interval have the same polarity. Here, to ease synchronization, we modify the polarity of the pulses using carefully designed binary codes. The proposed algorithm is based on the correlation of the received waveform and the code template. The proposed code-assisted blind synchronization (CABS) requires symbol sampling rate only, and it is shown via simulations to significantly outperform existing blind synchronization methods in terms of both mean-square errors and bit error rate, at the expense of a moderate increase in computational complexity.
Adaptive key generation based on quantization of channel characteristics

Length and mismatch rate of secret bit strings derived from channel characteristics by legitimate users for key generation are affected by quantization algorithm significantly. Existing schemes cannot achieve both a string and a low mismatch rate at the same time because of the static quantization method. In this paper we first propose an adaptive quantization algorithm formed of an quantizer offset with the quantization noise at one side and a quantization-level optimizing method, which maximize the length of secret bit string under the constraint of mismatch rate. Based on this algorithm, a key agreement scheme selection approach is presented to harvest longer bit strings. As a result, an adaptive key generation scheme based on quantization of channel characteristics is proposed using the above methods. With this scheme, bit strings with length close to theoretical limit can be generated, and the mismatch rate is lower than 5%.
Application of modified som neural networks on acyclic data structures

Graphs as data structures are used in many applications, for example image analysis, scene description, natural language processing. The paper deals with Acyclic Graph Data Structures (AGDS) and with a learning process in a model of a Self-Organizing Map (SOM) that has been modified for processing of AGDS. To the modified SOM Neural Network (SOM NN), there are added contexts and counters which are built in a training phase of the neural network. The trained SOM NN in active phase can compute information which is used to built some acyclic substructure. The prepared application was tested on the real data of study programs, the test results are evaluated using a winner differentiation and a confidence criterion.
Ética empresarial e a postura dos colaboradores na era digital

This teaching case presents the history of a family metallurgy business in the industrial valves sector, the formation of its corporate structure and trajectory over 48 years of operations. The company is reported as ACDC, fictitious name. This is a true case, and the privacy of those involved has been preserved. This research addresses the progress of an employee of the company, discussing his evolution in the career from being office assistant to industrial manager of the company and considering that his trajectory resulted from the development of personal skills and his commitment to achieve business results ethically. The purpose of the case is to surface the discussion about the challenges that companies face to maintain the ethical behavior of employees, especially those in the sales area, while they endeavor to obtain high market and financial performance.
A case study of lessons learnt from implementing a routine outcome monitoring system for psychotherapy in a South African community clinic

Monitoring outcomes in psychotherapy is important for advancing research into empirically supported treatments, collecting data to inform practice-based evidence and for monitoring patient treatment responses during routine care. We implemented two routine outcome monitoring measures in a community psychology clinic in South Africa, namely, the Outcome Rating Scale and Kessler Psychological Distress Scale. In this article, we adopt a case study methodology to describe and critically reflect on the implementation process and evaluate the utility of the outcome data collected during the first year of implementation. Our findings suggest that the measures have some utility but that there were significant problems with implementation. We found that Outcome Rating Scale and Kessler Psychological Distress Scale scores correlated in the expected direction; however, Outcome Rating Scale intake scores for the present population were at odds with the measure’s norms. The findings highlight the care that needs to be taken to change routine clinical practice when outcome measures are implemented in local settings and the need for research to validate the use of these ROM measures in South African clinical settings.
Voice-pathology analysis based on AR-HMM

Voice-pathology detection from a subject's voice is a promising technology for pre-diagnosis of larynx diseases. Glottal source estimation in particular plays a very important role in voice-pathology analysis. For more accurate estimation of the spectral envelope and glottal source of the pathology voice, we propose a method that can automatically generate the topology of the glottal source Hidden Markov Model (HMM), as well as estimate the Auto-Regressive (AR)-HMM parameter by combining AR-HMM parameter estimation and the Minimum Description Length-based Successive State Splitting (MDL-SSS) algorithm. The AR-HMM adopts a single Gaussian distribution for the output Probability Distribution Function (PDF) of each state in the glottal source HMM. In this paper, we propose a novel voice-pathology detection method based on the AR-HMM with automatic topology generation, which utilizes the output PDF variances normalized with regard to the maximum variance as clues for voice-pathology detection. We experimentally demonstrate that for normal voices, other normalized variances are distributed around a lower range than the maximum variance. This is because the PDF of the state just following vocal fold closure tends to have a maximum variance far greater than other variances. For pathology voices, the maximum variance and other variances are more closely distributed than for normal voices, possibly due to air leaking through the vocal folds. The experiment results confirmed the feasibility and fundamental validity of the proposed method.
Violence by intimate partners.

One of the most common forms of violence against women is that performed by a husband or an intimate male partner. This is in stark contrast to the situation for men who in general are much more likely to be attacked by a stranger or acquaintance than by someone within their close circle of relationships. The fact that women are often emotionally involved with and economically dependent on those who victimize them has major implications for both the dynamics of abuse and the approaches to dealing with it. Intimate partner violence occurs in all countries irrespective of social economic religious or cultural group. Although women can be violent in relationships with men and violence is also sometimes found in same-sex partnerships the overwhelming burden of partner violence is borne by women at the hands of men. For that reason this chapter will deal with the question of violence by men against their female partners. Women’s organizations around the world have long drawn attention to violence against women and to intimate partner violence in particular. Through their efforts violence against women has now become an issue of international concern. Initially viewed largely as a human rights issue partner violence is increasingly seen as an important public health problem. (excerpt)
Comparison of postoperative complication between Laryngeal Mask Airway and endotracheal tube during low-flow anesthesia with controlled ventilation

Objective: To compare the postoperative complications between Laryngeal Mask Airway (LMA) and endotracheal tube (ETT) during low-flow anesthesia with controlled ventilation. Methodology: Eighty adult Patients with ASA class I or II were randomly allocated into two forty-patient groups (ETT or LMA). Cuff pressure was monitored during anesthesia. After high uptake period, fresh gas flow (FGF) was decreased to 1 lit/min and isoflurane set to 1%. Monitoring during anesthesia included non-invasive blood pressure, ECG, ETCO2 and pulse oximetry. System leakage (>100 ml/min), rebreathing and any attempt to increase FGF to overcome the leak were monitored during anesthesia. Later, patients were extubated and transferred to Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU). In PACU, the incidence of sore throat, cough, difficulty in swallowing and shivering was monitored for all patients. Results: Leakage was observed in two and three cases in ETT and LMA groups respectively (P>0.05). Postoperative cough, sore throat and difficulty in swallowing were significantly less in LMA than ETT group. No significant difference was observed regarding ETCo2 values between 2 groups. Conclusion: If careful measures regarding insertion techniques, correct LMA position and routine monitoring of LMA cuff pressure are taken, LMA can be used as a safe alternative with lower incidence of post operation complication compared with ETT during low-flow controlled anesthesia with modern anesthetic machines.