Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
G-raff: An Elevating Tangible Block for Spatial Tabletop Interaction

We present an elevating tangible block, G-raff that supports spatial interaction in a tabletop computing environment. The elevating head part of G-raff moves according to the given height and angle data. We adopted two rollable metal tape structures to create large movements with a small volume block. On the head part, a smartphone can be mounted either horizontally or vertically. G-raff becomes a device that can connect a mobile device with a tabletop computer, thus a new spatial representation and control interaction is made. This paper introduces the design details, key features and applications of G-raff. We report on the results of a preliminary user study and discuss future work to improve the elevating device. This work contributes to maximizing the availability of augmented reality space above the tabletop display.
Point Location in Well-Shaped Meshes Using Jump-and-Walk

We present results on executing point location queries in well-shaped meshes in R 2 and R 3 using the Jumpand-Walk paradigm. If the jump step is performed on a nearest-neighbour search structure built on the vertices of the mesh, we demonstrate that the walk step can be performed in guaranteed constant time. Constant time for the walk step holds even if the jump step starts with an approximate nearest neighbour.
Context-aware Spoken Language Understanding for Human Robot Interaction

Robots operate in specific environments and the correct interpretation of linguistic interactions depends on physical, cognitive and language-dependent aspects triggered by the environment. In this work, we present LU4R - adaptive spoken Language Understanding 4 Robots, a Spoken Language Understanding chain for the semantic interpretation of robotic commands, that is sensitive to the operational environment. The system has been designed according to a Client/Server architecture in order to be easily integrated with the vast plethora of robotic platforms.
A Bayesian Approach of Hyperanalytic Wavelet Transform Based Denoising

The property of shift-invariance associated with a good directional selectivity is important for the application of a wavelet transform, (WT), in many fields of image processing. Generally, complex wavelet transforms, like for example the double tree complex wavelet transform, (DTCWT), have these good properties. In this paper we propose the use of a new implementation of such a WT, recently introduced, namely the hyperanalytic wavelet transform, (HWT), in denoising applications. The proposed denoising method is very simple, implying three steps: the computation of the forward WT, the filtering in the wavelets domain and the computation of the inverse WT, (IWT). The goal of this paper is the association of a new implementation of the HWT, recently proposed, with a maximum a posteriori (MAP) filter. Some simulation examples and comparisons prove the performances of the proposed denoising method.
Fast and Robust Fixed-Rank Matrix Recovery

We address the problem of efficient sparse fixed-rank (S-FR) matrix decomposition, i.e., splitting a corrupted matrix $M$ into an uncorrupted matrix $L$ of rank $r$ and a sparse matrix of outliers $S$. Fixed-rank constraints are usually imposed by the physical restrictions of the system under study. Here we propose a method to perform accurate and very efficient S-FR decomposition that is more suitable for large-scale problems than existing approaches. Our method is a grateful combination of geometrical and algebraical techniques, which avoids the bottleneck caused by the Truncated SVD (TSVD). Instead, a polar factorization is used to exploit the manifold structure of fixed-rank problems as the product of two Stiefel and an SPD manifold, leading to a better convergence and stability. Then, closed-form projectors help to speed up each iteration of the method. We introduce a novel and fast projector for the $\text{SPD}$ manifold and a proof of its validity. Further acceleration is achieved using a Nystrom scheme. Extensive experiments with synthetic and real data in the context of robust photometric stereo and spectral clustering show that our proposals outperform the state of the art.
Ws96 Project Report Dependency Language Modeling

This report summarizes the work of the Dependency Language Modeling group at the 1996 Summer Speech Workshop at the Center for Language and Speech Processing at Johns Hopkins University (WS96). We motivate and describe a novel statistical language model based on the syntactic dependencies between words. The model is formulated in the maximum entropy framework, which expresses statistical constraints on the frequencies of various type of dependencies, as well the standard N -gram statistics. We describe how this model was applied to the recognition of spontaneous English speech from the Switchboard corpus. Because of implementation constraints, only a reduced version of our model could be tested. The model gave a modest improvement over an N -gram baseline model. A byproduct of the project is the Maximum Entropy Modeling Toolkit (MEMT), a freely available software package for domain-independent maximum entropy modeling.
Improving a Local Learning Technique for QueueWait Time Predictions

Local learning has been proposed as a common framework to predict both application run times and queue wait times based on workload traces [8]. The queue wait time is shown to be more difficult and expensive to predict because its distance calculations typically involve not only job attributes but also resource states. In this paper methods and algorithms are investigated to improve prediction accuracy and prediction performance for queue wait times. Firstly, the so-called "local tuning" is adopted to tune parameters for each training subset divided by a pivot attribute (e.g., group or queue name). Bias-variance analysis of error is conducted on local tuning and its global counterparts - tuning parameters on the whole training set. A method is then developed to select tuning type adaptively based on the generalization error and bias-variance decomposition. Secondly, an efficient search tree structure called "M-Tree" is integrated into our algorithm to speed up k-nearest neighbor search. Experimental studies are conducted to evaluate the proposed methods and algorithms using real-world workload traces, which are collected from the NIKHEF production cluster on the LHC Computing Grid and Blue Horizon in the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC). The results show that adaptive tuning can reduce the average prediction error by 3 to 10 percents compared to global tuning, and that the M-Tree nearest neighbor search is up to 8 times faster than the sequential search.
Moxibustion Reduces Ovarian Granulosa Cell Apoptosis Associated with Perimenopause in a Natural Aging Rat Model

In recent years, concerns about the adverse effects of hormone replacement therapy have increased interest in alternative therapies for the management of the symptoms of perimenopause. Here, we investigated the effects of moxibustion, a traditional Chinese practice that is involved in heated Artemisia vulgaris (mugwort) stimulation, on hormonal imbalance and ovarian granulosa cell (GC) apoptosis in a rat model of perimenopause. Our results showed that mild warm moxibustion (MWM) modulated the circulating levels of estradiol and follicle-stimulating hormone and their receptors and inhibited apoptosis in the ovaries of perimenopausal rats, similar to the effect of estrogen. Further investigation revealed that the effects of MWM on ovary tissues and cultured GCs were mediated by the modulation of the activity of Forkhead box protein O1 and involved the JAK2/STAT3 pathway. Our results provide information on the factors and pathways modulated by MWM and shed light on the mechanism underlying the beneficial effect of moxibustion on the symptoms of perimenopause.
RELATIVISTIC HARMONIC OSCILLATOR MODEL FOR QUARK STARS

The relativistic harmonic oscillator (RHO) model of hadrons is used to study quark stars. The mass–radius relationship is obtained and compared with bag model of quark star, using Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff equation. In this model, the outward degenerate pressure due to discrete Landau levels and Landau degeneracy balances the inward gravitational pressure. Where as in bag model the degenerate pressure is due to the standard continuum levels which balances the combined inward pressure due to gravitation and bag pressure. So in RHO model, the confinement effect is included in the degenerate pressure. We found a qualitative similarity, but quantitative differences in mass–radius relationship of quark stars in these two models. Masses and radii are relatively larger and the central energy densities, required for stable quark stars, are lower in RHO model than that of bag model.
Processual earnings management: A study of R&D spending of French listed companies

Deux modalites de gestion des resultats sont liees aux depenses de R&D : (i) la reduction de ces depenses et (ii) leur activation. L’objectif de cet article est de determiner si les entreprises francaises utilisent ces deux modalites pour atteindre les seuils de resultat (le resultat nul et le resultat de la periode precedente). Les deux modalites sont d’abord etudiees isolement. Les resultats montrent que les depenses de R&D sont activees pour atteindre les seuils. Ensuite, il apparait que les depenses de R&D sont reduites pour atteindre les seuils. Il s’agit ensuite de determiner si ces deux modalites sont utilisees de maniere coordonnee. Il apparait que ces modalites se substituent l’une a l’autre : la faible utilisation d’une modalite de gestion des resultats est compensee par la forte utilisation de l’autre modalite. La principale contribution de l’article reside dans l’identification d’une gestion des resultats en forme de processus dans laquelle plusieurs modalites de gestion des resultats sont utilisees de maniere coordonnee.
Event Search and Analytics: Detecting Events in Semantically Annotated Corpora for Search & Analytics

In this article, I present the questions that I seek to answer in my PhD research. I posit to analyze natural language text with the help of semantic annotations and mine important events for navigating large text corpora. Semantic annotations such as named entities, geographic locations, and temporal expressions can help us mine events from the given corpora. These events thus provide us with useful means to discover the locked knowledge in them. I pose three problems that can help unlock this knowledge vault in semantically annotated text corpora: i. identifying important events; ii. semantic search; iii. and event analytics.
Design of Upper Limb Assistive Device Using a Pneumatic Cylinder

This paper describes the design of a device to support a patient’s upper limb motion. For safety, light weight, and flexibility, it uses a pneumatic cylinder for which the optimum arrangement is presented. This independence-supporting device has two modes corresponding to livelihood support and rehabilitation. Based on human motion, a compliance control system and a position control system are designed for those modes. As described herein, we evaluate the independence-support mode effectiveness through experimentation.
Recovery of Visual Functions in a Mouse Model of Leber Congenital Amaurosis*

The visual process is initiated by the photoisomerization of 11-cis-retinal to all-trans-retinal. For sustained vision the 11-cis-chromophore must be regenerated from all-trans-retinal. This requires RPE65, a dominant retinal pigment epithelium protein. Disruption of the RPE65 gene results in massive accumulation of all-trans-retinyl esters in the retinal pigment epithelium, lack of 11-cis-retinal and therefore rhodopsin, and ultimately blindness. We reported previously (Van Hooser, J. P., Aleman, T. S., He, Y. G., Cideciyan, A. V., Kuksa, V., Pittler, S. J., Stone, E. M., Jacobson, S. G., and Palczewski, K. (2000) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 97, 8623–8628) that inRpe65−/− mice, oral administration of 9-cis-retinal generated isorhodopsin, a rod photopigment, and restored light sensitivity to the electroretinogram. Here, we provide evidence that early intervention by 9-cis-retinal administration significantly attenuated retinal ester accumulation and supported rod retinal function for more than 6 months post-treatment. In single cell recordings rod light sensitivity was shown to be a function of the amount of regenerated isorhodopsin; high doses restored rod responses with normal sensitivity and kinetics. Highly attenuated residual rod function was observed in untreated Rpe65−/− mice. This rod function is likely a consequence of low efficiency production of 11-cis-retinal by photo-conversion of all-trans-retinal in the retina as demonstrated by retinoid analysis. These studies show that pharmacological intervention produces long lasting preservation of visual function in dark-reared Rpe65−/− mice and may be a useful therapeutic strategy in recovering vision in humans diagnosed with Leber congenital amaurosis caused by mutations in theRPE65 gene, an inherited group of early onset blinding and retinal degenerations.
Normothermic Versus Hypothermic Cardiopulmonary Bypass in Children Undergoing Open Heart Surgery (Thermic-2): Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

Background During open heart surgery, patients are connected to a heart-lung bypass machine that pumps blood around the body (“perfusion”) while the heart is stopped. Typically the blood is cooled during this procedure (“hypothermia”) and warmed to normal body temperature once the operation has been completed. The main rationale for “whole body cooling” is to protect organs such as the brain, kidneys, lungs, and heart from injury during bypass by reducing the body’s metabolic rate and decreasing oxygen consumption. However, hypothermic perfusion also has disadvantages that can contribute toward an extended postoperative hospital stay. Research in adults and small randomized controlled trials in children suggest some benefits to keeping the blood at normal body temperature throughout surgery (“normothermia”). However, the two techniques have not been extensively compared in children. Objective The Thermic-2 study will test the hypothesis that the whole body inflammatory response to the nonphysiological bypass and its detrimental effects on different organ functions may be attenuated by maintaining the body at 35°C-37°C (normothermic) rather than 28°C (hypothermic) during pediatric complex open heart surgery. Methods This is a single-center, randomized controlled trial comparing the effectiveness and acceptability of normothermic versus hypothermic bypass in 141 children with congenital heart disease undergoing open heart surgery. Children having scheduled surgery to repair a heart defect not requiring deep hypothermic circulatory arrest represent the target study population. The co-primary clinical outcomes are duration of inotropic support, intubation time, and postoperative hospital stay. Secondary outcomes are in-hospital mortality and morbidity, blood loss and transfusion requirements, pre- and post-operative echocardiographic findings, routine blood gas and blood test results, renal function, cerebral function, regional oxygen saturation of blood in the cerebral cortex, assessment of genomic expression changes in cardiac tissue biopsies, and neuropsychological development. Results A total of 141 patients have been successfully randomized over 2 years and 10 months and are now being followed-up for 1 year. Results will be published in 2015. Conclusions We believe this to be the first large pragmatic study comparing clinical outcomes during normothermic versus hypothermic bypass in complex open heart surgery in children. It is expected that this work will provide important information to improve strategies of cardiopulmonary bypass perfusion and therefore decrease the inevitable organ damage that occurs during nonphysiological body perfusion. Trial Registration ISRCTN Registry: ISRCTN93129502, http://www.isrctn. com/ISRCTN93129502 (Archived by WebCitation at http://www.webcitation.org/6Yf5VSyyG).
Customizable output generation in modeling environments using pipelined domains

Domain-specific modeling and metamodeling environments most often base their output generation capability on wizards, output templates, grammar-based transformers, or hard-coded output generators. The complexity of the specification process for such generators, and their dependence on the domain do not encourage customization, flexibility, and reuse. This paper proposes a solution to this problem. In the proposed approach, the domains are (meta) modeled using the standard object-oriented paradigm. Second, the generation of a model in the target domain from a model in the source domain is specified using extended UML object diagrams that allow specification of conditional, repetitive, and sequential creation of instances of the target domain's abstractions. Finally, the transformation of models may be performed in a pipelined fashion, where each domain model and mapping may be either created from the scratch or reused from the repository. This approach allows more efficient, incremental building of more abstract domains and their mapping into less abstract domains, because each transformation step is much less complicated to specify, maintain, and reuse. Furthermore, by simple choosing another pipeline, different versions of the ultimate implementation from the same initial high-level, user-defined model may be obtained automatically. A prototypal supporting tool has been implemented and briefly presented in the paper.
Strategies to minimise the incidence of suicide and suicidal behaviour

What we know • The mental health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people has been severely affected by the impact of colonisation, relocation of people to missions and reserves, transgenerational grief and trauma resulting from the removal of children, racism and continued socioeconomic disadvantage. • Suicide is an extremely distressing event that can profoundly disrupt the family, friends and communities of those who take their own lives. • The Indigenous suicide rate is not accurately known due to quality issues with Indigenous deaths data and Indigenous population estimates. Available data indicate that the Indigenous suicide rate is about double that of the non-Indigenous population. • Almost 4 in 5 Indigenous people who complete suicide are males, with the highest suicide rates occurring in younger age groups. • Indigenous suicide can be associated with alcohol or other drug use and chronic mental illness, so these are appropriate targets for intervention. • There are few evaluations of Indigenous-specific suicide prevention programs in Australia. A number of effective non-Indigenous-specific programs have been shown to be culturally appropriate and acceptable to Indigenous people. 2 Strategies to minimise the incidence of suicide and suicidal behaviour What works • Community programs that focus on the social, emotional, cultural and spiritual underpinnings of community wellbeing can be effective in preventing suicide. • A culturally adapted brief intervention comprising motivational care planning, has been effective in improving wellbeing and decreasing alcohol and cannabis dependence among Indigenous people with chronic mental illness, in three remote communities in northern Australia. • Programs that are not culturally competent and do not have a high level of Indigenous ownership and community support are unlikely to be effective. What we don't know • How important Indigenous language retention is in preventing youth suicide in Australia. • How effective good practice Indigenous-specific programs, such as Alive and Kicking Goals! , Indigenous Mental Health First Aid and Indigenous community gatekeeper training, are in preventing suicides. • To what extent Indigenous people at risk of suicide use telephone crisis lines and web-based counselling services and forums. • How effective non-Indigenous specific holistic mental health services (such as headspace) are in treating mental illness among Indigenous young people. • Whether providing long-term follow-up care to Indigenous people who have attempted suicide or have been discharged from acute mental health care prevents suicides. • Whether training primary health care practitioners to better recognise and treat depression …
Exploring Behavioral Patterns Through Entropy in Multimedia Peer-to-Peer Traffic

The inclusion of encryption or evasive techniques in popular applications increased the importance of characterizing network traffic based on behavior. This study aims to characterize peer-to-peer (P2P) traffic from the perspective of host computers by focusing on the packet lengths. The article explores the dissimilarities between the lengths of Internet Protocol (IP) packets generated by P2P and non-P2P applications. The heterogeneity of those lengths was assessed using entropy and compared for different classes of applications, through the implementation of a sliding analysis window. Initial observations show that the lengths of the packets generated by P2P applications are more varied than those of non-P2P applications. These patterns were used to implement a method to identify hosts running P2P applications. Unlike previous studies on this area, we used the heterogeneity of the packet lengths instead of the length value per se, and a sliding window calculation procedure was adopted to allow real-time processing. The results of this study can be used for the characterization of traffic generated by P2P applications, as well as for traffic classification and management purposes.
“ SuperSizing ” International Trade

This paper develops a monopolistically competitive model of international trade where firms give consumers the option to “super-size” their consumption. Such a strategy is a response to consumer heterogeneity (e.g. income differences) and is implemented via second degree price discrimination (i.e. offering a menu of products to choose from). Allowing firms this option not only has implications for outcomes in an open economy, but also more broadly for models of competition and price discrimination. Compared to a monopoly model of second degree price discrimination it is shown that a firm always offers a complete product-line (i.e. all types are served in equilibrium). Hence, competition is associated with greater firm scope. However, the principle of “no distortion at the top” no longer applies, with high types offered an excessively lavish product at the same time low types receive an inferior product relative to the first best. Thus distortions are pervasive in this setting and occur in both directions. Allowing firms to offer “super-sized” products also has a number of important implications for how international integration is perceived. Relative to the standard model of single product firms it is shown that the volume of trade, number of varieties and welfare are all higher when firms use a product-line to indirectly discriminate. This suggests that the standard model substantially under-predicts the potential benefits of international integration. In addition, it is shown that a country’s distribution of income is an important determinant of the gains from trade. In particular, countries with a “good” distribution of income receive magnified gains while those with a “bad” distribution have their gains diminished.