Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Color Adjustment of Colored Range Images

With the increased availability of imaging systems for three dimensional objects, virtual models of statues, buildings, archaeological excavation sites, or even whole cities can be created. A popular technique to build up these models is to generate a point cloud by combining multiple scans from a 3D scanner. The number of necessary scans depends on the size of the original object. The combination of the single scans leads to various color discontinuities in the overall model, which have to be corrected by post-processing. This thesis shows two different approaches to automate the color correction process and improve the visual appearance of a point cloud. The first approach concentrates on the images for the colorization of the discrete scans, and tries to adjust them in a way to a achieve a common light situation for all of the images. A model created from point clouds which are colored by the use of the processed images, shows less color discontinuities. In contrast to the first approach the second approach affects the points of an already colored point cloud. The basic idea is to recolor the single points according to the surrounding points and a specific filter. The result of the second approach depends on a number of settings and the choice of the applied filter. An appropriate combination of these factors should change the colors of a point cloud and make them appear smoother and less noisy. Several point clouds together with the photos which were used to colorize them are employed to test and validate these two approaches.
Detection of Endogenous Human Cytomegalovirus in Cd34 + Bone Marrow Progenitors

The cellular sites and mechanisms of human cyto-megalovirus (HCMV) latency are still poorly defined. Although evidence suggests that peripheral blood monocytes are one site of latency in the healthy carrier, it is unlikely that monocytes represent a site of primary HCMV infection. Consequently, we have analysed CD34 + bone marrow progenitors, precursors of monocytes, to determine whether they are a site of HCMV carriage in normal virus carriers. For the first time, we demonstrate the presence of endogenous HCMV within bone marrow progenitors in the absence of HCMV lyric gene expression. These findings are consistent with previous evidence showing that the permissiveness of myeloid cells for HCMV is critically dependent on the differentiation state of the cell. Following primary infection, human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), establishes a lifelong latent infection in the host. In contrast to knowledge of the cellular sites of lytic infection during active disease (Myerson et al., 1984; Sinzger et al., 1995; Wiley et al., 1986), cellular sites of latency are poorly defined. Our previous in vivo studies identified monocytes as a major site of persistence in normal virus carriers (Taylor-Wiedeman et al., 1991). Subsequent studies showed no evidence of endogenous HCMV lytic gene expression in monocytes, although immediate early (IE) gene expression could be induced on differentiation of these cells to monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) (Taylor-Wiedeman et al., 1994). These results are consistent with in vitro studies demonstrating that HCMV lyric gene expression was dependent on the differentiation state of the cell (Gonczol et al., 1984; Shelboum et al., 1989; Sinclair et al., 1992). Monocytes only circulate in the peripheral blood for 1-3 days and HCMV cannot be reproducibly isolated from the peripheral blood of healthy virus carriers. In addition, monocytes are unable to be efficiently infected with HCMV in vitro (Einhorn & Ost, 1984). It is therefore difficult to postulate that the carriage of virus by monocytes results from direct primary infection. We have previously suggested that HCMV infects myeloid cells earlier in their lineage, as bone marrow progenitors (Sinclair & Sissons, 1994), a hypothesis supported by experiments showing that bone marrow progenitors could be infected by HCMV in vitro and, with the exception of one report (Maciejewski et al., 1992), could carry the virus in the absence of lytic virus gene expression (Kondo et aL, 1994; Minton et aL, 1994). In addition, monocytes grown out from bone marrow mono-nuclear cells (BMMC) in long-term culture were shown to …
Blind source separation for interference cancellation in CDMA systems

Communication is the science of “reliable” transfer of information between two parties, in the sense that the information reaches the intended party with as few errors as possible. Modern wireless systems have many interfering sources that hinder reliable communication. The performance of receivers severely deteriorates in the presence of unknown or unaccounted interference. The goal of a receiver is then to combat these sources of interference in a robust manner while trying to optimize the trade-off between gain and computational complexity. Conventional methods mitigate these sources of interference by taking into account all available information and at times seeking additional information e.g., channel characteristics, direction of arrival, etc. This usually costs bandwidth. This thesis examines the issue of developing mitigating algorithms that utilize as little as possible or no prior information about the nature of the interference. These methods are either semi-blind, in the former case, or blind in the latter case. Blind source separation (BSS) involves solving a source separation problem with very little prior information. A popular framework for solving the BSS problem is independent component analysis (ICA). This thesis combines techniques of ICA with conventional signal detection to cancel out unaccounted sources of interference. Combining an ICA element to standard techniques enables a robust and computationally efficient structure. This thesis proposes switching techniques based on BSS/ICA effectively to combat interference. Additionally, a structure based on a generalized framework termed as denoising source separation (DSS) is presented. In cases where more information is known about the nature of interference, it is natural to incorporate this knowledge in the separation process, so finally this thesis looks at the issue of using some prior knowledge in these techniques. In the simple case, the advantage of using priors should at least lead to faster algorithms.
Decline of Pseudodiaptomus Hessei (copepoda, Calanoida) in Two Water Bodies Located in the Senegal River Hydrosystem (west Africa): Hypotheses and Perspectives

Keywords: Pseudodiaptomus hessei distribution salinity and chemical changes cyclopid predation cyanobacteria and diatom effects West Africa 16 N 15 W a b s t r a c t Pseudodiaptomus hessei is a key species in many water bodies in the Senegal River hydrosystem but it became rare or completely disappeared from two ecosystems (Lake Guiers and Dakar Bango Reservoir; Senegal, West Africa) after major hydrological changes caused by human action, mainly impoundments on the river in 1985, and the opening of a new estuary mouth in 2003. Kâ et al. Zooplankton distribution related to environmental factors and phytoplankton in a shallow tropical lake (Lake Guiers, Senegal, West Africa). International Review of Hydrobiology 91(5), 389–405] put forward several hypotheses to explain the reasons for this decline: salinity and chemical changes in the water, predation by a cyclopid predator Mesocyclops ogunnus and/or the inhibiting effects of cyano-bacteria and/or diatoms (allelopathy). This study assessed these hypotheses by studying the distribution of P. hessei in 13 stations (including the Dakar Bango reservoir and Lake Guiers) in relation to physical, chemical and biological (phyto-and zooplanktons) factors at each station. We produced a distribution pattern for this species in the Senegal River hydrosystem. Rank correlations and principal component analysis showed that P. hessei was not correlated with conductivity but was positively correlated with pH and alkalinity, suggesting chemical effects. The clear association with two filamentous cyanobacteria (Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii and Anabaena sp.) did not appear to support the hypothesis of cyano-bacteria inhibition but blooming conditions were never encountered during the study. Negative correlation with diatoms (especially with Fragilaria sp.) suggested that aldehyde producing diatoms had a negative effect. Negative correlations with cyclopids such as Mesocyclops supported the hypothesis of cyclopid predation to explain the decline of P. hessei. This study proposes several lines of research for future studies to test these hypotheses. Pseudodiaptomus hessei (Mrá zek) is a common calanoid copepod found in African brackish coastal waters (lagoons, coastal lakes, estuaries) (Grindley, 1981). It was first recorded by Mrá zek in 1894 in a small lagoon (Banana Creek) at the mouth of the Congo River (in Grindley, 1963). In South Africa, it is the dominant zooplankton taxon in many temperate or subtropical temporarily open/closed or permanently open tidal estuaries (Perissinotto et al., where it can be considered as an estuarine relict species. In the Ivory Coast, it is one of the dominant copepods in large coastal lagoons …
Relationship of Interleukin-6 and Tumor Necrosis Factor- (cid:2) With Muscle Mass and Muscle Strength in Elderly Men and Women: The Health ABC Study

Background. A decline in muscle mass and muscle strength characterizes normal aging. As clinical and animal stud- ies show a relationship between higher cytokine levels and low muscle mass, the aim of this study was to investigate whether markers of inflammation are associated with muscle mass and strength in well-functioning elderly persons. Methods. We used baseline data (1997–1998) of the Health, Aging, and Body Composition (Health ABC) Study on 3075 black and white men and women aged 70–79 years. Midthigh muscle cross-sectional area (computed tomography), appendicular muscle mass (dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry), isokinetic knee extensor strength (KinCom), and isomet- ric grip strength were measured. Plasma levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor- (cid:2) (TNF- (cid:2) ) were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results. Higher cytokine levels were generally associated with lower muscle mass and lower muscle strength. The most consistent relationship across the gender and
Net terrestrial CO2 exchange over China during 2001–2010 estimated with an ensemble data assimilation system for atmospheric CO2

In this paper we present an estimate of net ecosystem CO2 exchange over China for the years 2001–2010 using the CarbonTracker Data Assimilation System for CO2 (CTDAS). Additional Chinese and Asian CO2 observations are used in CTDAS to improve our estimate. We found that the combined terrestrial ecosystems in China absorbed about −0.33 Pg C yr−1 during 2001–2010. The uncertainty on Chinese terrestrial carbon exchange estimates as derived from a set of sensitivity experiments suggests a range of −0.29 to −0.64 Pg C yr−1. This total Chinese terrestrial CO2 sink is attributed to the three major biomes (forests, croplands, and grass/shrublands) with estimated CO2 fluxes of −0.12 Pg C yr−1 (range from −0.09 to −0.19 Pg C yr−1), −0.12 Pg C yr−1 (range from −0.09 to −0.26 Pg C yr−1), and −0.09 Pg C yr−1 (range from −0.09 to −0.17 Pg C yr−1), respectively. The peak‐to‐peak amplitude of interannual variability of the Chinese terrestrial ecosystem carbon flux is 0.21 Pg C yr−1 (~64% of mean annual average), with the smallest CO2 sink (−0.19 Pg C yr−1) in 2003 and the largest CO2 sink (−0.40 Pg C yr−1) in 2007. We stress that our estimate of terrestrial ecosystem CO2 uptake based on inverse modeling strongly depends on a limited number of atmospheric CO2 observations used. More observations in China specifically and in Asia in general are needed to improve the accuracy of terrestrial carbon budgeting for this region.
Rückstaulängenschätzung an Lichtsignalanlagen mit Floating-Car-Daten

Verkehr und Mobilitat sind ein wichtiger Teil unseres taglichen Lebens. Zugleich leiden Menschen und Umwelt an deren negativen Folgen. Speziell im Strasenverkehr sind die Probleme haufig kaum zu ubersehen. Entsprechend kommt dem Verkehrsmanagement als integraler Bestandteil der Verkehrsplanung und -steuerung eine wachsende Bedeutung zu. Ziel ist es, durch intelligente Ansatze die negativen Auswirkungen moderner Mobilitat moglichst zu vermeiden oder wenigstens zu reduzieren. Ein effizientes Verkehrsmanagement benotigt dazu eine verlassliche Verkehrsdatenerfassung, wobei das innerstadtische Verkehrsmonitoring wegen finanzieller und technologischer Beschrankungen derzeit haufig grundlegende Defizite aufweist. Engmaschige Verkehrsnetze mit einer komplexen Verkehrsdynamik erschweren hier eine flachendeckende Verkehrslageerfassung mit herkommlichen Mitteln. Die vorliegende Arbeit entwickelt daher basierend auf sogenannten Floating-Car-Daten (FCD) eine alternative Methode, die bei Bedarf in flexibler Weise zusatzlich Informationen aus beliebigen weiteren Quellen qualitatssteigernd fusionieren kann. Es ergibt sich ein kosteneffizientes, erweiterbares Verfahren zur Schatzung von Ruckstaulangen an lichtsignalgeregelten Netzknoten. Dessen Kernidee ist es, beobachtete GPS-Positionen einzelner Fahrzeuge mit geeigneten, modellbasierten Profilen der lokalen Verkehrsdichte zu vergleichen. Dies erlaubt die Schatzung einer virtuellen Verkehrsnachfrage, die mit Hilfe eines Verkehrsflussmodells konsistent in die gesuchte Verkehrskenngrose umgerechnet werden kann. Die Theorie des neuen Verfahrens wird detailliert beschrieben. Daruber hinaus werden im Zuge umfangreicher Analysen mit simulierten und realen Verkehrsdaten systematisch die Potentiale des neuen Ansatzes bewertet. Insgesamt zeigt sich, dass sowohl in der Simulation als auch unter realen Bedingungen schon mit sehr niedrigen FCD-Abdeckungsgraden vielversprechende Ergebnisse erzielt werden konnen.
Trends in Earnings Management and Informativeness of Earnings Announcements in the Pre-and Post-sarbanes Oxley Periods Trends in Earnings Management and Informativeness of Earnings Announcements in the Pre-and Post-sarbanes Oxley Periods

A previous version of this paper was titled " The Effect of the Sarbanes Oxley Act on Earnings Management: What has Changed? " We acknowledge helpful comments from Eddie Riedl, Jerry Zimmermann (the editor), an anonymous referee and participants at the HBS Accounting and Control seminar. All remaining errors are our own. Abstract We document that firms' management of accounting earnings increased steadily from 1987 until the passage of the Sarbanes Oxley Act (SOX), with a significant increase during the period prior to SOX, followed by a significant decline after passage of SOX. However, the increase in earnings management preceding SOX was primarily in poorly performing industries. We also show that the informativeness of earnings increased steadily over time, and there was no significant change in earnings informativeness following the passage of SOX. Further, we find that earnings management increased the absolute informativeness of earnings, but reduced the informativeness for a given earnings surprise, as well as reduced the abnormal return for a given amount of earnings surprise. Finally, the evidence supports the hypothesis that the opportunistic behavior of managers, primarily related to the fraction of compensation derived from options, was one of the determinants of earnings management in the period preceding SOX.
Towards the discovery of novel B c states: radiative and hadronic transitions

(Dated: The properties of the B c -meson family ( c ¯ b ) are still not well determined experimentally because the speciﬁc mechanisms of formation and decay remain poorly understood. Unlike heavy quarkonia, i.e. the hidden heavy quark-antiquark sectors of charmonium ( c ¯ c ) and bottomonium ( b ¯ b ), the B c mesons cannot annihilate into gluons and they are, consequently, more stable. The excited B c states, lying below the lowest strong-decay BD -threshold, can only undergo through radiative decays and hadronic transitions to the B c ground state, which then decays weakly. As a result of this, a rich spectrum of narrow excited states below the BD -threshold appear, whose total widths are two orders of magnitude smaller than those of the excited levels of charmonium and bottomonium. In a diﬀerent article, we determined bottom-charmed meson masses using a non-relativistic constituent quark model which has been applied to a wide range of hadron physical observables, and thus the model parameters are completely constrained. Herein, continuing to our study of the B c sector, we calculate the relevant radiative decay widths and hadronic transition rates between c ¯ b states which are below BD -threshold. This shall provide the most promising signals for discovering excited B c states that are below the lowest strong-decay BD -threshold. Finally, our results are compared with other models to measure the reliability of the predictions and point out diﬀerences.
Techniques for evaluating the differences in consumption-based accounts: a comparative evaluation of Eora, GTAP and WIOD

The Eora, GTAP and WIOD multiregional input-output (MRIO) databases calculate different national level CO2 consumption-based accounts (CBA). If these outcomes are to be used as evidence in climate policy, analysts need to be confident as to the accuracy of the databases and to understand why the results differ. This thesis explores the different data sources, database structures and construction techniques used to build Eora, GTAP and WIOD. Analytical techniques, such as matrix difference statistics, structural decomposition analysis and structural path decomposition are used to quantify the nature of the difference and determine the cause of outcome difference. To make meaningful comparisons between the three MRIO databases, each is mapped to a consistent classification system comprising 40 countries and 17 sectors. The effect of this aggregation is shown to be fairly minimal, giving confidence that the aggregated versions of each database reflect the full-sized versions. This study finds that the main cause of difference in the CO2 CBA as calculated by different MRIO databases lies in the different emissions extension vectors used. Not only is the global emissions total different, but the distribution of emissions by industrial and the household sector differs depending on whether the particular database takes the territorial or residence principle to emissions allocation. The effect of differing global totals can be observed in the national CO2 CBA calculated for the same country being different in each database. The effect of the territorial or residence principle is evident when results are compared at the supply chain level. At this level of detail, it is also possible to quantify the effect of differing construction techniques used to populate data in the economic matrices. The thesis concludes by making recommendations as to how future MRIO databases could be constructed in an accurate and consistent manner and how they should be used in policy in light of the findings.
Improved Fault Segmentation Using a Dip Guided And Modified 3D Sobel Filter

Automatic fault detection and extraction is still considered to be a major challenge in the industry. Faults are usually detected with the use of edge detection attributes like variance, coherence, chaos, and semblance. This abstract presents the results of a modification of a classical edge detector, namely Sobel. The detector is modified with weighting, normalization and dip guiding to achieve the presented results.
Hospice: the nursing perspective.

Depression is a clinical illness characterized by a number of specific symptoms that last for at least 2 weeks and which leads to impairment in occupational, social, or other areas of functioning. Depression is defined by the daily persistence of depressed mood throughout the day, or the marked and regular loss of interest or pleasure in regular daily activities (Stuart, 1994). Depressive factors are emerging as an independent risk factor for outcome in patients with various clinical disorders, including following liver transplant (Saur et al., 2001). Research demonstrates that appropriate treatment for depression improves functional outcomes, thereby reducing the cost of morbidity associated with the disorder (Zhang, Rost, Fortney, & Smith, 1999).
Extending long-range phasing and haplotype library imputation algorithms to very large and heterogeneous datasets

Background This paper describes the latest improvements to the long-range phasing and haplotype library imputation algorithms that enable them to successfully phase both datasets with one million individuals and datasets genotyped using different sets of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Previous publicly available implementations of long-range phasing could not phase large datasets due to the computational cost of defining surrogate parents by exhaustive all-against-all searches. Further, both long-range phasing and haplotype library imputation were not designed to deal with large amounts of missing data, which is inherent when using multiple SNP arrays. Methods Here, we developed methods which avoid the need for all-against-all searches by performing long-range phasing on subsets of individuals and then combing results. We also extended long-range phasing and haplotype library imputation algorithms to enable them to use different sets of markers, including missing values, when determining surrogate parents and identifying haplotypes. We implemented and tested these extensions in an updated version of our phasing software AlphaPhase. Results A simulated dataset with one million individuals genotyped with the same set of 6,711 SNP for a single chromosome took two days to phase. A larger dataset with one million individuals genotyped with 49,579 SNP for a single chromosome took 14 days to phase. The percentage of correctly phased alleles at heterozygous loci was respectively 90.5% and 90.0% for the two datasets, which is comparable to the accuracy achieved with previous versions of AlphaPhase on smaller datasets. The phasing accuracy for datasets with different sets of markers was generally lower than that for datasets with one set of markers. For a simulated dataset with three sets of markers 2.8% of alleles at heterozygous positions were phased incorrectly whereas the equivalent figure with one set of markers was 0.6%. Conclusions The improved long-range phasing and haplotype library imputation algorithms enable AlphaPhase to quickly and accurately phase very large and heterogeneous datasets. This will enable more powerful breeding and genetics research and application.
Influences of Summer Water Temperatures on the Movement, Distribution, and Resource Use of Fluvial Westslope Cutthroat Trout in the South Fork Clearwater River Basin

AbstractAlthough many Westslope Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi populations in Idaho are robust and stable, population densities in some systems remain below management objectives. In many of those systems, such as in the South Fork Clearwater River (SFCR) system, environmental conditions (e.g., summer temperatures) are hypothesized to limit populations of Westslope Cutthroat Trout. Radiotelemetry and snorkeling methods were used to describe seasonal movement patterns, distribution, and habitat use of Westslope Cutthroat Trout in the SFCR during the summers of 2013 and 2014. Sixty-six radio transmitters were surgically implanted into Westslope Cutthroat Trout (170–405 mm TL) from May 30–June 25, 2013, and June 20–July 6, 2014. Sedentary and mobile summer movement patterns by Westslope Cutthroat Trout were observed in the SFCR. Westslope Cutthroat Trout were generally absent from the lower SFCR. In the upper region of the SFCR, fish generally moved from the main-stem SFCR into tributaries as wa.