Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Real-time technology for enhancing long-range imagery

Many ISR applications require constant monitoring of targets from long distance. When capturing over long distances, imagery is often degraded by atmospheric turbulence. This adds a time-variant blurring effect to captured data, and can result in a significant loss of information. To recover it, image processing techniques have been developed to enhance sequences of short exposure images or videos in order to remove frame-specific scintillation and warping. While some of these techniques have been shown to be quite effective, the associated computational complexity and required processing power limits the application of these techniques to post-event analysis. To meet the needs of real-time ISR applications, video enhancement must be done in real-time in order to provide actionable intelligence as the scene unfolds. In this paper, we will provide an overview of an algorithm capable of providing the enhancement desired and focus on its real-time implementation. We will discuss the role that GPUs play in enabling real-time performance. This technology can be used to add performance to ISR applications by improving the quality of long-range imagery as it is collected and effectively extending sensor range.
Dronedarone as early rhythm control: post-hoc analysis of the ATHENA trial using EAST-AFNET4 criteria

The EAST-AFNET4 study found that early, systematic rhythm control reduced cardiovascular (CV) outcomes in patients with early atrial fibrillation/atrial flutter (AF) of ≤12 months compared to guideline-recommended usual care. This post-hoc analysis aimed to assess whether antiarrhythmic drug therapy alone (i.e. dronedarone 400 mg BID) improved CV outcomes compared to placebo in patients with early AF in the ATHENA trial (NCT00174785; Ref 2) applying the EAST-AFNET4 criteria. All patients in the randomised, placebo-controlled ATHENA trial with ≥2 CV conditions as defined in the EAST-AFNET 4 inclusion criteria and known AF duration at baseline were identified. Patients were split into early AF (≤12 months duration) and late AF (>12 months duration) subgroups. Outcomes were collected over a mean follow-up of 21 months and included a composite of CV death, stroke, or hospitalisation with worsening of heart failure or acute coronary syndrome; nights spent in hospital per year; and a safety composite endpoint comprising death, stroke, or pre-specified serious adverse events. All analyses were conducted in the intention-to-treat population. Dronedarone treatment was associated with significantly (p=0.014) fewer CV events vs placebo in patients with early AF (Fig 1). There was no interaction with AF duration (p=0.64). Patients on dronedarone spent numerically fewer nights in hospital vs placebo in early (13.4 vs 14.0) and late AF (13.9 vs 16.3), with no treatment interaction between subgroups (p=NS). Dronedarone was associated with more sinus rhythm (SR) at 12 months vs placebo (early AF: 79.9% vs 70.3%; late AF: 60.6% vs 54.0%), and similar rates of SR at 24 months (early AF: 65.8% vs 65.7%; late AF: 54.7% vs 54.1%). For the safety composite endpoint, estimated events/patients were as follows for the early AF group (dronedarone: 153/135; placebo: 182/165) and the late AF group (dronedarone: 86/81; placebo: 95/89). The clinical benefit of early rhythm control found in the EAST-AFNET4 trial can be replicated in this analysis of patients with early AF treated in the ATHENA trial comparing dronedarone to placebo. These data support the use of dronedarone as part of early rhythm control. Type of funding sources: Private company. Main funding source(s): Sanofi
A new delay time distribution for merging neutron stars tested against Galactic and cosmic data

The merging of two neutron stars (MNS) is thought to be the source of short gamma-ray bursts (SGRB) and gravitational wave transients, as well as the main production site of r-process elements like Eu. We have derived a new delay time distribution (DTD) for MNS systems from theoretical considerations and we have tested it against (i) the SGRB redshift distribution and (ii) the Galactic evolution of Eu and Fe, in particular the [Eu/Fe] vs [Fe/H] relation. For comparison, we also tested other DTDs, as proposed in the literature. To address the first item, we have convolved the DTD with the cosmic star formation rate, while for the second we have employed a detailed chemical evolution model of the Milky Way. We have also varied the DTD of Type Ia SNe (the main Fe producers), the contribution to Eu production from core-collapse SNe, as well as explored the effect of a dependence on the metallicity of the occurrence probability of MNS. Our main results can be summarized as follows: (i) the SGRB redshift distribution can be fitted using DTDs for MNS that produce average timescales of 300-500 Myr; (ii) if the MNS are the sole producers of the Galactic Eu and the occurrence probability of MNS is constant the Eu production timescale must be on the order of <30 Myr; (iii) allowing for the Eu production in core-collapse SNe, or adopting a metallicity-dependent occurrence probability, allow us to reproduce both observational constraints, but many uncertainties are still present in both assumptions.
Parametric Aggregation of Random Coefficient Cobb-Douglas Production Functions: Evidence from Manufacturing Industries

A panel data study of parametric aggregation of a production function is presented. A four-factor Cobb-Douglas function with random and jointly normal coefficients and jointly log-normal inputs is used. Since, if the number of micro units is not too small and certain regularity conditions are met, aggregates expressed as arithmetic means can be associated with expectations, we consider conditions ensuring the existence and stability of relationships between expected inputs and expected output and discuss their properties. Existence conditions for and relationships between higher-order moments are considered. An empirical implementation based on panel data for two manufacturing industries gives decomposition and simulation results for expected output and estimates of the aggregate parameters. Illustrations of approximation procedures and aggregation errors are also given.
Tunneling conductance in s- and d-wave superconductor-graphene junctions : Extended Blonder-Tinkham-Klapwijk formalism

This thesis presents some of the main findings from twenty-five research articles. These papers may roughly be categorized into three fields: i) Proximity structures of superconductors and ferromagnets, ii) Interplay between ferromagnetism, noncentrosymmetricity, and superconductivity in bulk materials, and iii) Superconducting proximity-effect in graphene. In all of these cases, emphasis is placed on the thermodynamic properties and the transport properties of the systems. We address in particular how the spin-polarization of ferromagnetic elements may combine with the dissipationless flow of electric current offered by superconducting elements, and also how useful information about the superconducting state is revealed through characteristic fingerprints in the thermodynamic and transport properties of the systems under consideration.
The impact of training and development on employee performance and service delivery at a local municipality in South Africa

There is a growing concern about the lack of skilled municipal employees who can deliver essential services to under-resourced local communities in South Africa. However, coaching and mentoring appear underutilized to train municipal employees to improve service delivery to local communities. The study aims to investigate whether coaching and mentoring could capacitate municipal employees whose performance appraisal reveals a lack of skills to provide essential services. A cross-sectional research design was adopted to conduct a survey. The target population comprised 265 municipal employees, and a stratified random sample of 115 employees completed a questionnaire. The employees held positions of general managers, general assistants, and administrators, with varied years of experience. Cronbach’s Alpha indicated an overall high 0.8 questionnaire reliability score. Using a quantitative method, responses from municipal employees were collected to examine their perceptions of the influence of training and development on employee performance and service delivery. Hypotheses were tested using the bivariant inferential statistical tests of correlation (r) and Chi-square (χ2). The results indicated that training and development were more likely to improve employee performance. Furthermore, the results showed that trained employees were more likely to improve service delivery. In particular, coaching and mentoring could be used to improve performance. Therefore, the study found that the municipality was not providing employees with relevant training and development to enable them to address poor service delivery. Finally, the study recommends that the municipality invests in training and development to enrich employees with new skills and knowledge to improve the quality of service delivery.
Determination of a source’s temporal coherence function via depolarization in liquid crystal

Based on the fact that the degree of polarization of a light source is given in terms of the absolute value of its complex degree of coherence, we design a depolarization experiment using a variable retarder in which we measured the degree of polarization as a function of the retarder’s birefringence. We show that if the incident light is previously linearly polarized we can perform a direct measurement of the light source’s coherence using a Stokes meter.
Dynamic Parameter Identification of Serial Robots Using a Hybrid Approach

Model-based control can provide high-accuracy performance over position-based or velocity-based control. Therefore, to employ model-based control in industrial robots, it is important to estimate the dynamic parameters as accurately as possible. However, traditional estimation methods, such as least squares (LS), are not sufficiently accurate, and the feasibility of dynamic parameters cannot be guaranteed. In this article, an iterative hybrid least square (IHLS) algorithm is proposed to estimate the base parameters of industrial robots by dividing the identification processes into two loops. The inner loop integrates a linear matrix inequality with the semidefinite programming technique to guarantee physical feasibility and reuses the torque deviations between the measured torque and predicted torque to estimate the base parameters of the robot, while the outer loop substitutes the Stribeck friction model for the Coulomb-viscous friction model to estimate the joint friction torque. Moreover, backpropagation neural network (BPNN) is introduced to further estimate the joint friction torque based on the Stribeck friction model. Experiments are conducted on two industrial robots, and four methods are compared in dynamic parameter identification. Experimental results show that the hybrid approach of the IHLS algorithm with the BPNN has the best performance among the four methods.
Single-photon emitters in two-dimensional hexagonal boron nitride: properties, preparations, and applications

Single-photon emitters (SPEs) are key to quantum computation and quantum communication, which have been demonstrated in various two-dimensional (2D) materials. In particular, atomic defects in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) exhibit the characteristics of a typical SPEs at room temperature, drawing great interest due to their potentials in quantum information and photonic applications. This paper reviews the synthetic methods to effectively obtain hBN thin films and deterministically fabricate color centers in 2D hBN. We further introduce their fundamental applications in several fields, such as coupling of surface plasmon to nanowires for quantum integrated circuits and nanoscale sensing. At last, we also discuss the challenges in this field and prospect their future applications.
INCORPORATING AMBIPOLAR AND OHMIC DIFFUSION IN THE AMR MHD CODE RAMSES

We have implemented non-ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) effects in the adaptive mesh refinement code RAMSES, namely, ambipolar diffusion and Ohmic dissipation, as additional source terms in the ideal MHD equations. We describe in details how we have discretized these terms using the adaptive Cartesian mesh, and how the time step is diminished with respect to the ideal case, in order to perform a stable time integration. We have performed a large suite of test runs, featuring the Barenblatt diffusion test, the Ohmic diffusion test, the C-shock test, and the Alfvén wave test. For the latter, we have performed a careful truncation error analysis to estimate the magnitude of the numerical diffusion induced by our Godunov scheme, allowing us to estimate the spatial resolution that is required to address non-ideal MHD effects reliably. We show that our scheme is second-order accurate, and is therefore ideally suited to study non-ideal MHD effects in the context of star formation and molecular cloud dynamics.
Integrated fabrication process with multiple optimized factors for high power density of IPMC actuator

ABSTRACT Ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMCs) are typical smart materials that are commonly used in bionic applications, including soft robots, bionic flapping aircraft, and bionic fish. However, their low output force seriously limits device performance. Stacking of multiple IPMC actuators to improve the overall performance of soft actuators is a strategy that is used in practical applications. Under the energy dissipation condition in the IPMC stacking structure, if each single IPMC in the structure has high power density, the structure will produce excellent performance with high efficiency that can greatly promote wider application of IPMC actuators. To meet this requirement, a method for fabrication process integration with multiple optimized factors was used to obtain IPMC materials in this paper. Carbon nanotube (CNT) doping, isopropyl alcohol-assisted plating, and hot pressing with a mesoscopic structural mold were selected as typical optimization methods for process integration and were initially investigated separately to determine the optimal process parameters. By combining the best process parameters in an integrated process, the IPMC treated by isopropyl alcohol-assisted plating and CNT doping process (No. AC7) showed excellent actuation performance and high work density (~9.71/12.36 gf, ~14.93/31.89 kJ/m3 under 3/4 VDC). The enhanced performance meets the requirements for practical bionic applications. Graphical abstract
Xcep-Dense: a novel lightweight extreme inception model for hyperspectral image classification

ABSTRACT Convolutional neural networks have demonstrated remarkable performance in capturing discriminative features in the hyperspectral domain. Deep learning and CNN have carved out a distinct niche in the remote-sensing community having the potential to classify high-dimensional images. However, the challenge of limited labelled samples and high dimensional hyperspectral data aggravates overfitting in deep networks. Many existing works produce high accuracy but are computationally slower due to the massive computations involved. The Inception model, on the other hand, won the ImageNet Large Scale Visual Recognition Competition (ILSVRC) 2014 challenge and has been validated as a top-tier model by maintaining a trade-off between classification accuracy and computing time. In this paper, we propose a novel lightweight network, Xcep-Dense, a hybrid classification model that combines the core benefits of the extreme version of inception and dense networks. The Xception network employs depth-wise separable convolutions, and the 3D slicing phenomenon, which requires fewer parameters, is computationally efficient and provides excellent classification accuracy. The proposed network is configured with dense network and optimization parameters to alleviate overfitting and gradient vanishing. Xcep-Dense’s performance is validated using two benchmark hyperspectral datasets, Indian Pines and Salinas.
Results from Phenix at Rhic with Implications for Lhc

Results from the PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) in nucleus-nucleus and proton-proton collisions at c.m. energy {radical}s{sub NN} = 200 GeV are presented in the context of the methods of single and two-particle inclusive reactions which were used in the discovery of hard-scattering in p-p collisions at the CERN ISR in the 1970's. These techniques are used at RHIC in A + A collisions because of the huge combinatoric background from the large particle multiplicity. Topics include J/{Psi} suppression, jet quenching in the dense medium (sQGP) as observed with {pi}0 at large transverse momentum, thermal photons, collective flow, two-particle correlations, suppression of heavy quarks at large p{sub T} and its possible relation to Higgs searches at the LHC. The differences and similarities of the measurements in p-p and A + A collisions are presented. The two discussion sessions which followed the lectures on which this article is based are included at the end.
Collective Charge Excitation in a Dimer Mott Insulating System

Charge dynamics in a dimer Mott insulating system, where a nonpolar dimer-Mott (DM) phase and a polar charge-ordered (CO) phase compete with each other, are studied. In particular, collective charge excitations are analyzed in three different models where the internal degree of freedom in a dimer is taken into account. Collective charge excitation exists in both the nonpolar DM and polar CO phases, and softens in the phase boundary. This mode is observable in the optical conductivity spectra when light polarization is parallel to the electric polarization in the polar CO phase. Connections between the present theory and the recent experimental results for κ-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu2(CN)3 are discussed.
Rotation and the Cepheid Mass Discrepancy

Abstract We recently showed that rotation significantly affects most observable Cepheid quantities, and that rotation, in combination with the evolutionary status of the star, can resolve the long-standing Cepheid mass discrepancy problem. We therefore provide a brief overview of our results regarding the problem of Cepheid masses. We also briefly mention the impact of rotation on the Cepheid period-luminosity(-color) relation, which is crucial for determining extragalactic distances, and thus for calibrating the Hubble constant.
Migrant mothers and neoliberal feminism: diasporic audience research on the Korean reality show strangers

ABSTRACT This study analyzes the ways in which media represent maternal femininity under the context of neoliberalism and migration, and how diasporic housewives rework such representations. By employing a mixed method that includes a textual and online audience analysis of the Korean reality show Strangers, we investigate how diasporic Korean women’s online communities (DKWOC) related to the show’s portrayal of Korean female migrants’ racialized and gendered everyday lives in the US as trailing wives. We found that, while a critique of gender politics and class-ignorance in Strangers already existed, overall diasporic women blamed themselves by constantly comparing their motherhood performance to that portrayed on the show, and justified their sacrifice and hardships using the logic of “migration as a family strategy. ” However, the solidarity and comradeship among DKWOC built through positive psychology discourse easily diluted those critical reflections. We argue that a belief in resilience is problematic for the survival of trailing wives, since it casts a blind eye to their real experiences—which includes gender discrimination embedded in both public and domestic spaces—and legitimates backlash narratives, including the belief that the stay-at-home mother position is an active choice, rather than the result of unequal global, legal, and gender infrastructures.
Sexual and reproductive health aspects in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: An integrative review

Abstract Background Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine disorders in women worldwide, affecting their sexual and reproductive health (SRH). Objective This integrative review aimed to identify SRH aspects in women with PCOS by consolidating the findings from previous studies. Materials and Methods The present integrative review was conducted through an electronic systematic review search of 1052 manuscripts published from April 2000 to March 2020 using PubMed, SCOPUS, Web of Science, Embase, Google Scholar, MEDLINE, Science Direct, Ovid, and the Cochrane Library. After at least 2 researchers evaluated the articles based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 27 papers were accepted. The data were analyzed by thematic analysis. Results 9 main themes of SRH were obtained: 1) the impact of PCOS-related complications on reproductive health; 2) the lifelong effect of PCOS on reproductive patterns; 3) PCOS and adverse reproductive and pregnancy outcomes; 4) women's need for understanding complications; 5) the financial burden of the disease; 6) women's life experiences and quality of life; 7) sexual disorders; 8) psychological concerns and issues; and 9) femininity feelings and roles. Conclusion We were able to identify and categorize various aspects of SRH needs for women with PCOS. These categories can facilitate a more comprehensive assessment of SRH, including previously neglected areas. We suggest that these aspects should be considered in the health plans of women with PCOS.
Signature fréquentielle des structures cohérentes-décomposition en modes dynamiques : application à un écoulement en cavité ouverte

La dimension effective de la dynamique d’un ecoulement impactant peut-etre considerablement reduite par les conditions aux limites et les oscillations auto induites qu’elles engendrent. Dans ce cas la signature spectrale de ces oscillations est associee a des structures spatiales remarquables que l’on souhaite identifier. La methode de decomposition en modes dynamique[2, 3] (DMD) utilisant l’operateur de Koopman[1], permet justement d’extraire directement les caracteristiques des modes de Fourier d’un ecoulement qui est etabli et donc non-lineairement sature. Nous appliquons la DMD pour mettre en evidence la contribution spectrale des structures longitudinales et transversales de l’ecoulement en cavite ouverte.