Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Social TV: Second Screen and Audience Participation

The vast popularity of social networks and mobile devices has led to a transformation of television, called Social television. Specifically, due to technological innovations, both public and commercial broadcasters are trying to respond through developing cross-media processes, expanding the actual content of their TV shows on social media (Garcia-Aviles, 2012). They increasingly provide a growing level of interactivity, which enhance online audience participation in a variety of ways. In fact, social media allows a wide range of possible interactions, such as sharing, commenting, liking etc. While previous studies have documented audience perception of the integration of social networking sites into television contents, employing vary techniques of analysis (e.g., quantitative descriptive statistics, social network analysis etc.) with the focus on the frequency of tweets, qualitative investigations about audience’s opinions have not been adequately addressed to this day. In this thesis, the dimensions of Italian audience participation on social media was explored. In particular, if and to what extent viewers of a certain TV show are engaged in online interaction with the content and with other viewers and how do they participate. I do so by examining the Italian version of the talent show The voice and its media platforms. The literature review discussed comprehends relevant theories about the topic of Social TV, which partly helped to guide the analysis. A qualitative analysis approach based on the conduction of focus groups was applied. Then a thematic analysis method was used to analyse the data and answer the research questions. In analysing the social media use of the audience, I identified five main themes, namely: program perception, perception of online content, information seeking patterns, communication patterns, motivations to interact. The findings of the research suggest that viewers of the TV show are not as engaged on social media as literature claims, the relationship between Italian audiences and broadcasters is still weak. However, media field is constantly changing and especially in the Italian television and media system there is a lot of room for improvement in the ability of broadcaster of engaging viewers. Online participation initiatives need to increase their efficiency and transparency with more clearly identified goals and following the taste of audiences. Hereby, this research will have a direct implication on the way audience perceive the online content and it can be considered as the first step in a larger one to develop and evaluate the interaction dynamics through second screen between audiences and TV shows.
Whole-Body versus Local DXA-Scan for the Diagnosis of Osteoporosis in COPD Patients

Background. Osteoporosis is an extrapulmonary effect of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Diagnosis of osteoporosis is based on BMD measured by DXA-scan. The best location for BMD measurement in COPD has not been determined. Aim of this study was to assess whole-body BMD and BMD of the hip and lumbar spine (local DXA) in COPD patients and compare the prevalence of osteoporosis at these locations. Methods. Whole body as well as local DXA-scan were made in 168 COPD patients entering pulmonary rehabilitation. Patient-relevant characteristics were assessed. Prevalence of osteoporosis was determined. Characteristics of patients without osteoporosis were compared to patients with osteoporosis on local DXA. Results. A higher prevalence of osteoporosis was found using local DXA compared to whole-body DXA (39% versus 21%). One quarter of patients without osteoporosis on whole body-DXA did have osteoporosis on local DXA. Significant differences in patient characteristics between patients without osteoporosis based on both DXA measurements and patients with osteoporosis based on local DXA only were found. Conclusions. DXA of the hip and lumbar spine should be made to assess bone mineral density in COPD patients. The lowest T-score of these locations should be used to diagnose osteoporosis.
A 2.4 GHz 3.6mW 0.35mm2 Quadrature Front-End RX for ZigBee and WPAN Applications

In the design of a single chip for wireless-sensor-network and WPAN applications (e.g., IEEE 802.15.4), the receiver sensitivity is generally sacrificed in favor of a vanishing power consumption and a low-cost solution. There is a trade off between these two requirements, as the use of resonant loads offers high power efficiency while an inductor-free approach saves die area resulting in a cheaper design. Since an LC-oscillator topology is mandatory to achieve a minimal current draw, the reduction of the number of coils has to be done in the LNA, the mixer and the quadrature generator. In this work, starting from the LNA-Mixer and VCO (LMV) cell topology, a single-coil low-power receiver shares the bias current among all the RF blocks of the analog front-end. The receiver prototype chip consumes 3.6mW and has an active die area of 0.35mm2. It is based on a low-IF architecture and includes a baseband variable-gain complex filter for channel selection.
Potential and mass-matrix in gauged N=4 supergravity

We discuss the potential and mass-matrix of gauged N=4 matter coupled supergravity for the case of six matter multiplets, extending previous work by considering the dependence on all scalars. We consider all semi-simple gauge groups and analyse the potential and its first and second derivatives in the origin of the scalar manifold. Although we find in a number of cases an extremum with a positive cosmological constant, these are not stable under fluctuations of all scalar fields.
Social media and disaster management : US FEMA as a benchmark for its European counterparts ? 11 : 20 – 12 : 00

The enormous quantity of information available today offers an unbelievable treasure of knowledge, which can provide relevant information to companies. The amount of data is however also a problem as it makes it very difficult to identify the relevant data and thus to generate knowledge. We present a comprehensive analysis tool named Topic Analyst® which enables the user to interactively investigate a huge amount of data. It enables the user to identify available topics, their trends and their tonality to make informed decisions.
The Impact of Marketing Strategies and Behavior of Small and Medium Enterprises on their Business Growth

As per the scholars, the economic growth of developing countries can be sustained by the expansion of private sector, as they are the engine of growth. According to the previous studies it has been observed that the SMEs have become a crucial segment and a major section of private sector in developing countries consists of SMEs. As such, it is important to accelerate the growth of SMEs in order to gain sustainable development in the country. But, according to the past research studies there is a high failure rate of SMEs in Sri Lanka. According to the literature, there are several reasons affect for this high failure rate. Implementation of the correct strategies and the behavior of entrepreneurs are important factors to be considered for the growth of SMEs. As per the white paper 2002, the implementations of the correct marketing strategies are vital factor for the growth of SMEs. Therefore the problem centered in this research was to identify the impact of marketing strategies and behavior of SMEs on their business growth in Sri Lanka. This study was based on secondary and primary data. Primary data was collected through the method of sample survey and for this purpose a structured questionnaire was used as the research instrument. Data was gathered by the sample of 100 entrepreneurs in Gampaha district who were engaged in the manufacturing sector. Both descriptive statistics and inferential statistics such as correlation, and partial correlation were applied through SPSS to test the validity of formulated hypotheses. The findings revealed that there was no significant impact of marketing strategies on their business growth. Moreover, there was no impact of the behavior of the entrepreneurs and the business growth.
Localised Leishmaniasis of Oral Mucosa: Report of an Unusual Clinicopathological Entity

The term leishmaniasis comprises of a group of diseases caused by different species of a protozoan called Leishmania. There are three main clinical forms of leishmaniasis: visceral leishmaniasis, cutaneous leishmaniasis, and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis. Exclusive involvement of the mucosa is very rare. We present a case of mucosal leishmaniasis located in the oral cavity. The only manifestation of leishmaniasis disease in the described case was the appearance of an oral lesion. Treatment was provided in the form of antimoniates (oral miltefosine and systemic sodium stibogluconate). A review of literature is made on the subject.
Influence of Naturally Occurring Simian Foamy Viruses (SFVs) on SIV Disease Progression in the Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta) Model

We have investigated the influence of naturally occurring simian foamy viruses (SFVs) on simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection and disease in Indian rhesus macaques. Animals were divided into two groups based upon presence or absence of SFV; in each group, eight monkeys were injected with SIVmac239 virus obtained from a molecular clone and four were injected with medium. Blood was collected every two weeks for evaluation of SIV infection based upon T cell-subsets, plasma viral load, development and persistence of virus-specific antibodies, and clinical changes by physical examination and hematology. Comparative analysis of SFV+/SIV+ and SFV−/SIV+ monkey groups indicated statistically significant differences in the plasma viral load between 6–28 weeks, particularly after reaching plateau at 20–28 weeks, in the CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell numbers over the entire study period (2–43 weeks), and in the survival rates evaluated at 49 weeks. There was an increase in the plasma viral load, a decreasing trend in the CD4+ T cells, and a greater number of animal deaths in the SFV+/SIV+ group. The results, although based upon a small number of animals, indicated that pre-existing SFV infection can influence SIV infection and disease outcome in the rhesus macaque model. The study highlights consideration of the SFV status in evaluating results from SIV pathogenesis and vaccine challenge studies in monkeys and indicates the potential use of the SFV/SIV monkey model to study the dynamics of SFV and HIV-1 dual infections, recently reported in humans.
ATTENTIONAL MANAGEMENT FOR MULTIPLE TARGET TRACKING BY A BINOCULAR VISION HEAD

The development of an attention strategy for multiple target tracking and its integration with a binocular vision head is presented. Monocular motion-based segmentation yields image regions that are further clustered into targets. The emulation of a fovea significantly reduces the computational workload of target segmentation. Attentional management is based on assigning an interest value to each target. Its evaluation weighs binocular disparity, the number of detected moving pixels in a target, its pixel density, velocity and duration along the image sequence. The vision head performs saccades, ballistic motions and smooth pursuit around its tilt and vergence axes with characteristics similar to those of the anthropomorphic visual apparatus. System performance is evaluated on a 166 Mhz PC host with unexpensive off-the- shelf hardware in two situations. In the first case, small targets translate independently over a textured background. In the second, a moving human subject yields multiple targets undergoing rotation, non-rigid motion and scale changes. A processing rate about 0.8 stereo pair per second is attained. The first case shows the tracking and image stabilization capabilities for small translating targets only. The second case reveals the impact of hardware limitations on the system sensitivity to distortions in gray level patterns. It is induced by interframe rotation and changes in the illumination and scale factor as the tracked human subject moves around in the scene. As a consequence, undesired attentional reorientations occur. However, the system succeeds in keeping the subject within the field of view in such conditions though not always stabilized within the image region of fixation.
Growth, Body Composition, and Organoleptic Evaluation of Channel Catfish Fed Diets Containing Different Percentages of Distillers' Grains with Solubles

Juvenile channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) were stocked in twelve 1.25-m3 floating cages at densities of 320 fish/m3 and fed to satiety twice daily for 110 d with one of four diets. Each diet contained a certain percentage (0, 10, 20, or 30%) of distillers 1 grains with solubles (DCS), which partially replaced soybean meal and corn. Individual weights of fish, survival, food conversion (FC, weight of feed given/weight gain by fish), and body composition (percentage moisture, protein, fat, and ash) of waste (head, skin, and viscera) and dressed carcasses were not significantly different (P > 0.05) among treatments. Fish fed a diet containing 10% DCS (mean individual total length, 26.7 cm) were significantly shorter (P 0,05) from fish fed diets with 0 and 20% DCS. Average individual weight was 219 g, survival was 92.1%, and FC was 1.6. Percentage fat (dry-matter basis) in the carcasses of cage-reared channel catfish averaged 38%. Organoleptic evaluation of fillets indicated that the fat complex flavor was of significantly higher intensity (P < 0.05) in cage-reared fish than in pond-raised fish. However, Organoleptic evaluation indicated that DCS impart no adverse taste to channel catfish. These data indicate that DCS can be used in a least-cost diet formulation for channel catfish at rates of up to 30%. This option allows feed producers flexibility in diet formulations for commercial catfish diets. Least-cost diet formulations offer economic ad- vantages in the preparation of a nutritionally com- plete diet by allowing change in diet formulations when ingredient prices fluctuate. Evaluation of al- ternative protein sources remains a high priority for fish nutritionists. Distillers' grains with solu- bles (DGS) are primary fermentation residues from
Geckobot: a gecko inspired climbing robot using elastomer adhesives

In this paper, the design, analysis, and fabrication of a gecko-inspired climbing robot are discussed. The robot has kinematics similar to a gecko's climbing gait. It uses peeling and steering mechanisms and an active tail for robust and agile climbing as a novelty. The advantage of this legged robot is that it can explore irregular terrains more robustly. Novel peeling mechanism of the elastomer adhesive pads, as well as steering and stable climbing using an active tail are explored. The design, fabrication, analysis and test of the robot are reported. Experimental results of walking and climbing up to 85deg sloped acrylic surfaces as well as successful steering and peeling mechanism tests are demonstrated. The potential applications foreseen for this kind of robots are inspection, repair, cleaning, and exploration
Construction of finitely supported biorthogonal wavelets by virtue of multiresolution analysis approach

Aside from the straightforward tensor product construction of Daubechies' wavelets, only a few, specific, construction of multivariate orthonormal wavelet systems exist presently in the literature. In this paper, the notion of biorthogonal vector wavelets is introduced. The existence of finitely supported biorthogonal vector wavelets associated with a pair of biorthogonal finitely supported vector scaling functions is researched. A novel method for designing a class of biorthogonal finitely supported vector wavelet functions is presented by using multiresolution analysis. The biorthogonal compactly supported vector wavelets generalize orthonormal wavelet systems.
Control system design of a conflict-free MAC protocol for a WDM man

In this paper, an efficient slotted WDMA protocol suitable for ring metropolitan area networks that employs a separate wavelength for control information exchange is proposed. Each access node is equipped with a pair of tunable transceivers for data communication and a pair of fixed tuned transceivers for control communication. An efficient access algorithm is applied to avoid both the data wavelengths and the receiver collisions. In our study, the serious scalability problems of many other WDMA protocols are effectively faced. This is achieved since each access node is capable of transmitting and receiving over any of the data wavelengths. Performance measures evaluation is provided via an analytic model and the results are validated by a discrete event simulation model that uses Pareto traffic sources, giving a more realistic study of modern networks traffic. Simulation results show that the proposed protocol manages efficient bandwidth utilization, especially under high load conditions. Comparative simulation results show that our protocol achieves essential performance improvement as compared with other WDMA protocols which restrict transmission over a dedicated data wavelength.
A Plant-Specific Transcription Factor IIB-Related Protein, pBRP2, Is Involved in Endosperm Growth Control

General transcription factor IIB (TFIIB) and TFIIB-related factor (BRF), are conserved RNA polymerase II/III (RNAPII/III) selectivity factors that are involved in polymerase recruitment and transcription initiation in eukaryotes. Recent findings have shown that plants have evolved a third type of B-factor, plant-specific TFIIB-related protein 1 (pBRP1), which seems to be involved in RNAPI transcription. Here, we extend the repertoire of B-factors in plants by reporting the characterization of a novel TFIIB-related protein, plant-specific TFIIB-related protein 2 (pBRP2), which is found to date only in the Brassicacea family. Unlike other B-factors that are ubiquitously expressed, PBRP2 expression is restricted to reproductive organs and seeds as shown by RT-PCR, immunofluorescence labelling and GUS staining experiments. Interestingly, pbrp2 loss-of-function specifically affects the development of the syncytial endosperm, with both parental contributions required for wild-type development. pBRP2, is the first B-factor to exhibit cell-specific expression and regulation in eukaryotes, and might play a role in enforcing bi-parental reproduction in angiosperms.
Online, self-supervised vision-based terrain classification in unstructured environments

Outdoor, unstructured and cross-country environments introduce several challenging problems such as highly complex scene geometry, ground cover variation, uncontrolled lighting, weather conditions and shadows for vision-based terrain classification of Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs). Color stereo vision is mostly used for UGVs, but the present stereo vision technologies and processing algorithms are limited by cameras' field of view and maximum range, which causes the vehicles to get caught in cul-de-sacs that could possibly be avoided if the vehicle had access to information or could make inferences about the terrain well beyond the range of the vision system. The philosophy underlying the proposed strategy in this paper is to use the near-field stereo information associated with the terrain appearance to train a classifier to classify the far-field terrain well beyond the stereo range for each incoming image. To date, strategies based on this concept are limited to using single model construction and classification per frame. Although this single-model-per-frame approach can adapt to the changing environments concurrently, it lacks memory or history of past information. The approach described in this study is to use an online, self-supervised learning algorithm that exploits multiple frames to develop adaptive models that can classify different terrains the robot traverses. Preliminary but promising results of the paradigm proposed is presented using real data sets from the DARPA-LAGR project, which is the current gold standard for vision-based terrain classification using machine-learning techniques. This is followed by a proposal for future work on the development of robust terrain classifiers based on the proposed methodology.
A probability model for census adjustment

The census can be adjusted using capture‐recapture techniques: capture in the census, recapture in a special Post Enumeration Survey (PES) done after the census. The population is estimated using the Dual System Estimator (DSE). Estimates are made separately for demographic groups called post strata; adjustment factors are then applied to these demographic groups within small geographic areas. We offer a probability model for this process, in which several sources of error can be distinguished. In this model, correlation bias arises from behavioral differences between persons counted in the census and persons missed by the census. The first group may on the whole be more likely to respond to the PES: if so, the DSE will be systematically too low, and that is an example of correlation bias. Correlation bias is distinguished from heterogeneity, which occurs if the census has a higher capture rate in some geographic areas than others. Finally, ratio estimator bias and variance are considered. The objective is to clarify the probabilistic foundations of the DSE, and the definitions of certain terms widely used in discussing that estimator.
Predictive compliance for interaction control of robot manipulators

This paper presents the use of context-based predictions for the selection and on-line modification of the compliance of a robot manipulator. The work is partially inspired on current neuroscience hypotheses about the control of the human arm and the computational processes used by the brain. A first experiment uses inspiration from the classical neuroscience experiment of the Waiter Task. In the original experiment, the non-dominant human arm is holding a weight of 1 Kg. When this weight is unloaded by a self-generated action (with the dominant arm), it is observed that the non-dominant arm does not suffer perceptible postural changes. The reason arguably stems from the prediction of the forces occurring at the unloading, since the inherently delayed sensory feedback present in biological systems would not suffice to react in such a short notice as observed. The experiment is reproduced in a robotic platform by means of forward models and compliance adaption via stiffness control as speculated in neuroscience hypotheses. A second experiment uses context-based predictions to modify on-line the compliance of the robot manipulator. For this task, a Bayesian predictor in the form of a Relevance Vector Machine combines the use of prior knowledge and expected sensory feedback to correct for an erroneous compliance in the case of a falsely-predicted context. The results are combined in an architecture called Predictive Context-Based Adaptive Compliance (PCAC).
FACE RECOGNITION TECHNIQUES USING PCA , LDA , HISTOGRAM

Face Recognition is a field of multidimensional applications. Face detection is an integral part of face detection. A lot of work has been done, extensively on the most of details related to face recognition. This idea of face recognition using PCA is one of them. We here implement some standard methods for face recognition and show their respective comparative performances. We implement face recognition using PCA and Eigen core method and then perform recognition using LDA and histogram equalization. At the end of the paper, we compare the accuracy of all implemented methods using Matlab. The focus here is on trying to find advantages and disadvantages with the different approaches. First we start by looking at some of the earliest approaches using simple feature based methods. Then we take a look at some more sophisticated statistical and holistic methods like PCA, Eigen faces, LDA, fisher faces and ICA.