Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Integrating local and remote worlds through channel blending

Recent advances in ubiquitous technology have greatly changed the way people stay connected. We conducted an in-depth video shadowing study to observe how close-knit groups use all the technology at their disposal to stay in touch and share their lives. We observed a pattern of related behaviors that we call channel blending, the integration of interactions and content over multiple channels into one coherent conversation, often including both local and remote participants. Channel blending is the opposite of multitasking in that it involves merging many lines of focus into one, rather than switching attention between them. We discuss ways technology could better support this emerging style of multichannel content-sharing and communication.
A point-based semi-automatic expertise classification (PBaSE) method for knowledge management of an online Special Interest Group

An online Special Interest Group is a group of people with the same interest gather to form an online community through the Internet. In certain cases where the knowledge is being manipulated, the portal of a Special Interest Group is in a form of knowledge portal. This portal allows interaction among its community members. Interaction through forum in the portal makes activities such as discussion of problems and knowledge sharing among each other possible. The need to classify users’ expertise in a Special Interest Group is crucial task. This paper describes a Point-based Semiautomatic Expertise classification method to classify users’ expertise in a Special Interest Group knowledge portal.
SONAR: Towards User-centric Social Network Analysis and Visualization

Social network analysis (SNA) has attracted a lot of attention over the past years. Existing tools for SNA do not allow a user-centric analysis of the social neighborhood, i.e., the subgraph of the user's friends and friends of a friend. In this paper, we introduce SONAR, an open source Web application for user-centric SNA. Its extensible architecture and flexible data model allows developers to embed SONAR directly into social networking websites. A performance evaluation shows that our application scales well with the number of users and adds only minimal overhead to the SNA algorithms.
Complexity of Comparing Hidden Markov

1 Baskin Center for Computer S ien e and Engineering, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, U.S.A. E-mail: rlyngsoe se.u s . edu 2 BiRC⋆ ⋆ ⋆, Department of Computer S ien e, University of Aarhus, Ny Munkegade, DK-8000 Århus C, Denmark. E-mail: storm daimi.au. dk. Abstra t The basi theory of hidden Markov models was developed and applied to problems in spee h re ognition in the late 1960's, and has sin e then been applied to numerous problems, e.g. biologi al sequen e analysis. In this paper we onsider the problem of omputing the most likely string generated by a given model, and its impli ations on the omplexity of omparing hidden Markov models. We show that omputing the most likely string, and approximating its probability within any onstant fa tor, is NP-hard, and establish the NP-hardness of omparing two hidden Markov models under the L∞and L1-norms. We dis uss the appli ability of the te hnique used to other measures of distan e between probability distributions. In parti ular we show that it annot be used to prove NP-hardness of determining the Kullba k-Leibler distan e between the probability distributions of two hidden Markov models, or of omparing them under the Lk-norm for any xed even integer k.
Minimum distortion clustering technique for orthogonal polynomials transform vector quantizer

Even though Lloyd's algorithm is all pervasive in the design of clustering algorithms like vector quantizers (VQ), it's drawbacks are that the codebook generation time is size dependent and that the initial codebook is not a minimum distortion one. The proposed clustering technique has two objectives-the first objective is to design a codebook in a time that is size-independent and the second one is to produce a minimum distortion, high-quality initial codebook. If the image is transformed into a domain in which its elements are uncorrelated, VQ performs better and so Orthogonal Polynomials Transform (OPT) is applied earlier to vector quantization. The dimensionality reduction coupled with pruning of transform coefficients is indeed an attractive feature of this transform vector quantizer (TVQ). The performance of the proposed technique is observed in the vector space of OPT coefficients and has been compared with other VQs. Experiments done reveal the superiority of the proposed technique in terms of increased PSNR. Results also show that the Mean Squared Error (MSE) decays drastically within the first two iterations with the proposed technique.
Principal-agent Theory and Executive Compensation

We examine executive compensation and the impact of various factors on it, more precisely the influence of extraneous factors and performance indicators. We find that the impact of extraneous factors on our sample of executive compensation of 285 companies and their CEOs in 2003 is above 10%, which is a large impact and shareholders would save substantial value filtering the effect of such factors. We also find that the relation of executive compensation and performance indicators of the company is not very strong, more exactly performance indicators explain about 10-11% of component Bonus, 10% of component Value of Options Granted and 8-9% of Total Executive Compensation. Concluding, there is still space for further rationalizing of executive pay in large US publicly traded companies. Chtěl bych poděkovat za cenné připomínky a rady, které mi poskytli konzultant Ondřej Schneider Ph.D., prof. Michal Mejstřík, Vladimír Halama, Miroslav Plail, Patrik Nový, Filip ike a Dita Fuchsová. Dále bych chtěl poděkovat za poskytnutí volného přístupu k databázím firem AON, Reuters a The Corporate Library ecomponline.com, Reuters a thecorporatelibrary.com. We thank to Ondrej Schneider, Ph.D, Prof. Michal Mejstrik, Vladimir Halama, Miroslav Plasil, Patrik Novy, Filip Zikes and Dita Fuchsova for very helpful discussions and comments. We also thank to companies AON, Reuters and The corporate Library for providing free access to their databases ecomponline.com, Reuters and thecorporatelibrary.com.
Transcription‐ and translation‐dependent changes in membrane dynamics in bacteria: testing the transertion model for domain formation

Cell cycle events have been proposed to be triggered by the formation of membrane domains in the process of coupled transcription, translation and insertion (‘transertion’) of nascent membrane and exported proteins. Disruption of domain structure should lead to changes in membrane dynamics. Membrane viscosity of Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis decreased after inhibition of protein synthesis by chloramphenicol or puromycin, or of RNA initiation by rifampicin, but not after inhibition of RNA elongation by streptolydigin or amino acid starvation of a stringent strain. The decrease caused by inhibitors of protein synthesis was prevented by streptolydigin if added simultaneously, but was not reversed if added later. The drug‐induced decrease in membrane viscosity is energy dependent: it did not happen in KCN‐treated cells. All treatments decreasing membrane viscosity also induced nucleoid compaction and fusion. Inhibition of macromolecular synthesis without membrane perturbation caused nucleoids to expand. Changes in membrane dynamics were also displayed during a nutritional shift‐down transition that causes imbalance in macromolecular syntheses. The results are consistent with the transertion model, predicting dissipation of membrane domains by termination of protein synthesis or detachment of polysomes from DNA; domain structure is conserved if the transertion process is ‘frozen’.
Coordinate Dependence of Variability Analysis

Analysis of motor performance variability in tasks with redundancy affords insight about synergies underlying central nervous system (CNS) control. Preferential distribution of variability in ways that minimally affect task performance suggests sophisticated neural control. Unfortunately, in the analysis of variability the choice of coordinates used to represent multi-dimensional data may profoundly affect analysis, introducing an arbitrariness which compromises its conclusions. This paper assesses the influence of coordinates. Methods based on analyzing a covariance matrix are fundamentally dependent on an investigator's choices. Two reasons are identified: using anisotropy of a covariance matrix as evidence of preferential distribution of variability; and using orthogonality to quantify relevance of variability to task performance. Both are exquisitely sensitive to coordinates. Unless coordinates are known a priori, these methods do not support unambiguous inferences about CNS control. An alternative method uses a two-level approach where variability in task execution (expressed in one coordinate frame) is mapped by a function to its result (expressed in another coordinate frame). An analysis of variability in execution using this function to quantify performance at the level of results offers substantially less sensitivity to coordinates than analysis of a covariance matrix of execution variables. This is an initial step towards developing coordinate-invariant analysis methods for movement neuroscience.
A survey on an ingestible sensor for evaluating medication adherence in elderly people

In this paper, we describe an ingestible sensor system to evaluate medication adherence in elderly people. After drug ingestion, an ingestible sensor, attached on the pill, is activated upon contact with gastric fluid and communicates with a wearable monitor that records ingestion data. The monitor records biometric data (e.g. heart rate, blood pressure) and communicates with a secured server, via cellular phone, for storage and further process. Summary reports can be generated back to the phone or potentially to anyone involved with the aged person caring. Clinical research trials proved the effectiveness of the Ingestible Sensor System in evaluating medication adherence.
AN EFFICIENT M-ARY QIM DATA HIDING ALGORITHM FOR THE APPLICATION TO IMAGE ERROR CONCEALMENT

Methods like edge directed interpolation and projection onto convex sets (POCS) that are widely used for image error concealment to produce better image quality are complex in nature and also time consuming. Moreover, those methods are not suitable for real time error concealment where the decoder may not have sufficient computation power or done in online. In this paper, we propose a data-hiding scheme for error concealment of digital image. Edge direction information of a block is extracted in the encoder and is embedded imperceptibly into the host media using quantization index modulation (QIM), thus reduces work load of the decoder. The system performance in term of fidelity and computational load is improved using M-ary data modulation based on near-orthogonal QIM. The decoder extracts the embedded features (edge information) and those features are then used for recovery of lost data. Experimental results duly support the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.
2 A formal semantics for a C subset

This paper presents a formalisation of a subset of the C programming language, and a corresponding verification calculus, in the theorem prover Isabelle. There are of course many and varied approaches to the verification of safety-critical programs. The characteristics of our approach stem from the application domain: the certification of control software for autonomous mobile robots [3]. This means that firstly, our verification techniques need to stand up to certification by an external agency such as the TÜV; secondly, we can restrict ourselves to a subset of C tailored for safety-critical applications, such as MISRA C [5] (in fact, this is even required by the relevant standard IEC 61508); and thirdly, the algorithms to be verified are comparatively sophisticated for a safety function, involving the calculation of safety zones from a model of the braking behaviour of the robot. Our verification is based on a formalisation of a subset of MISRA C in the theorem prover Isabelle in typed higher-order logic (HOL). Using Isabelle is crucial to our approach: based on the C semantics, we can build a proof calculus and verify its correctness inside Isabelle. Thus, the validation of our verification can focus on the semantics of C as presented here. Further, using Isabelle allows us to use higher-order logic to express our specifications, so we are not tied to a specific specification language.
Comparison of a modified FOCUSS algorithm with constrained and unconstrained dipole solutions on a simulated cortical surface

An inverse problem needs to be solved in order to localise the brain activity that underlies the recorded MagnetoEncephalogram (MEG). However, this inverse problem is non-unique. The non-uniqueness can be reduced by constraining solutions to lie on and be orientated perpendicular to the cortical surface. In practice however, the accuracy to which the true position and orientation of the surface can be determined is limited by MEG-MRI co-registration errors. The FOCUSS [1] and constrained dipole fit algorithms used in this study incorporated constraints by means of a source space. This source space was constructed by placing equivalent current dipoles on a mesh defining a simulated cortical fold. The effects of the choice of the mesh-spacing and errors in the location and local orientation of the source space were examined. Simulated data were used so that the exact location of the target sources was known and the quality of the source reconstructions could therefore be objectively evaluated.
ROBUST ESTIMATION VERSUS OPTIMAL ESTIMATION AND THEIR APPLICATION FOR AIRBORNE GRAVIMETRY

Abstract The efficiency of the robust estimation approach based on the information about the variances of the signal itself and its several derivatives is analyzed. Comprehensive comparison of robust and optimal estimators is performed. It is shown that the robust estimator suggested provides the reliable and precise signal estimation in the presence of noise. The obtained theoretical results are illustrated with an example of an airborne gravimetry problem. Advantages and drawbacks of robust and optimal estimators are demonstrated for various operating conditions.
Demystifying the Master Thesis and Research in General : The Story of Some Master Theses

I don’t think that there is a generically good way of doing a master thesis (nor of doing research in general). Research (like other creative activities) evolves in unpredictable ways, and each research project has its own story. I will tell a few such stories, and naturally I will rely on stories I know from the inside (or close to that). The only lesson that I can offer is maintaining an openness towards ideas that may emerge. (Notes for a talk to be given on January 20, 2008.) 1 My own thesis (1981) In one of my first meeting with my predetermined interim supervisor, Shimon Even (who has later become my Master and Doctorate thesis advisor) tossed to my direction a Rubic Cube and asked if I can arrange it. A few days later, when I described to him a highly wasteful algorithm, the question of the minimum move sequence arose naturally. Phrased in general terms, this yields a computational problem regarding permutation groups, to be described next. A permutation group over a set D is represented by a set of generators; that is, the group generated by a set S of permutation (over D) is defined as 〈S〉 def = {g1 ◦ g2 ◦ · · · ◦ gl : g1, g2, . , gl ∈ S} where ◦ denotes the composition of permutations. For example, in the case of the Rubic Cube, the set of generators corresponds to the 6 × 2 rotations that can be applied to the cube (where each rotation is determined by a rotating side of the cube and a direction of rotation). A shortest move sequence between two permutations π1, π2 ∈ 〈S〉 is the shortest sequence (g1, g2, ., gl) over S such that π2 = gl ◦ · · · ◦ g2 ◦ g1 ◦ π1. A natural computational problem is finding, given S and π1, π2 ∈ 〈S〉, a shortest move sequence from π1 to π2. A computationally equivalent problem refers to finding the shortest sequence of permutations that generates a given permutation. A corresponding decision problem is presented next. Definition 1 (short generating sequence): Given a set of generators S, a permutation π ∈ 〈S〉, and in integer l presented in unary, determine whether or not there exists l′ ≤ l and g1, g2, . , gl′ ∈ S such that π = gl′ ◦ · · · ◦ g2 ◦ g1.
AGLE does Space Efficient LTL Monitoring

We briefly present a rule-based framework, called E AGLE, that has been shown to be capable of defining and implementing finite trace monitoring logics, including future and p ast time temporal logic, extended regular expressions, real-time and metric temporal logics (MTL) , interval logics, forms of quantified temporal logics, and so on. In this paper we show how E AGLE can perform linear temporal logic (LTL) monitoring in an efficient way. For an initial formula of size m, we establish upper bounds of O(m22m logm) and O(m422m log2m) for the space and time complexity, respectively, of single step evaluation o ver an input trace. This bound is close to the lower bound O(2 √ m) for future-time LTL presented in [16]. E AGLE has been successfully used, in both LTL and metric LTL forms, to test a real-time contro ller f an experimental NASA planetary rover. Copyright c © 2003, University of Manchester. All rights reserved. Reproduction ( electronically or by other means) of all or part of this work is permitted for educational or research purposes on ly, on condition that no commercial gain is involved. Recent preprints issued by the Department of Computer Science, Manc hester University, are available on WWW via URL http://www.cs. man.ac. uk/preprints/index.html or by ftp fromftp.cs. man.ac. uk in the directorypub/preprints. This author is most grateful to RIACS/USRA and to the UK’s EPSRC under g rant GR/S40435/01 for the partial support provided to conduct this research. This author is grateful for the support received from RIACS to under tak this research while participating in the Summer Student Research Program at the NASA Ames Research Center.
Introduction to the Virtual Issue: Past and Future Research Agenda on Causal Inference

If you ask political scientists whether a major goal of their empirical research is to test causal relationships, I suspect that most of them answer “yes. ” In contrast, many statisticians would say that their methods may improve predictions but have little to do with causal inference. As a result, even as an increasing number of social scientists use statistical methods to infer causal effects in their empirical research, many of these methods were not originally designed for causal inference. This intellectual gap has been rapidly filled by two “revolutions. ” In the community of empirical researchers, the identification revolution has occurred where the key assumptions for identifying causal quantities are taken much more seriously than before. Problems related to measurement and selection bias are no longer brushed under the table. The discipline has recently witnessed a rise in the use of randomized experiments, and an increasing number of political scientists now choose research designs to improve the credibility of identification assumptions (for example, see the 2009 Political Analysis special issue on “Natural Experiments in Political Science”). Simultaneously, among methodologists in various disciplines, the potential outcomes revolution has taken place where traditional statistical methods are reframed within the formal framework of causal inference. The potential outcomes framework, which originates in the classic works of Neyman and Rubin, makes explicit the fundamental problem of causal inference: to infer causal effects one must estimate counterfactual outcomes from observed data. Along with the development of new methodologies, this revolution has led to re-interpretations of familiar statistical methods such as regression and instrumental variables methods, and clarified the exact conditions under which they can be used to infer causal relationships from observed data. Many political methodologists contributed to these new developments. Here, I selected six articles published in Political Analysis between 2005 and 2010 that represent the leadership taken by political methodologists to contribute to advancement of causal inference. These articles have influenced the way in which political scientists and other social scientists conduct their empirical research, and three of them won the Warren Miller best paper award for 2005, 2007, and 2009. After briefly discussing each article with references to other relevant Political Analysis articles, I identify further research challenges where unresolved and yet important methodological problems await the contributions from political methodologists.
Event video retrieval using global and local descriptors in visual domain

With the advent of affordable multimedia smart phones, it has become common that people take videos when they are at events. The larger the event, the larger is the amount of videos taken there and also, the more videos get shared online. To search in this mass of videos is a challenging topic. In this paper we present and discuss a prototype software for searching in such videos. We focus only on visual information, and we report on experiments based on a research data set. With a small study we show that our prototype demonstrates promising results by identifying the same scene in different videos taken from different angles solely based on content based image retrieval.
The Research of Local Area Storage Grid System

In this project the research of local area storage resource efficiency sharing and design of an applied local area storage grid system were presented. Its architecture, metadata management, storage resource allocation rule, file transfer service were discussed in detail. According to needs, basic functions of system are analyzed for the first step, and then realization of middleware of system structure is studied. This text deeply discusses main functions and realization of grid server, including management of metadata, distribution strategy of storage source, file transfer etc.
Chronic respiratory care for neuromuscular diseases in adults

Neuromuscular diseases (NMD) may affect respiratory muscles, leading to respiratory failure. Studies show that long-term noninvasive mechanical ventilation (NIV) improves symptoms, gas exchange, quality of life and survival. NIV improved these parameters in muscular dystrophies and also in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis without severe bulbar dysfunction. NIV should be started at the onset of nocturnal hypoventilation. In selected cases, NIV may be simpler, better accepted by patients and cheaper than invasive mechanical ventilation, but it cannot be used as an alternative. Tracheostomy may be preferred by patients unable to protect their airways and wishing to survive as long as possible, or by ventilator-dependent patients. Glossopharyngeal breathing consists of taking air and propelling it into the lungs. Chest percussions and vibrations can help to mobilise airway secretions but they cannot substitute coughing. Manually assisted coughing requires substantial lung inflation through air stacking or deep lung insufflation, followed by an abdominal thrust with open glottis. The combination of mechanical in-exsufflation with an abdominal thrust is a mechanically assisted cough. In conclusion, recent advances in respiratory care of NMD have improved prognosis and many caregivers have changed from a traditional noninterventional to a more aggressive, supportive approach.