Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A vision-based machine learning method for barrier access A vision-based machine learning method for barrier access control using vehicle license plate authentication control using vehicle license plate authentication

: Automatic vehicle license plate recognition is an essential part of intelligent vehicle access control and monitoring systems. With the increasing number of vehicles, it is important that an effective real-time system for automated license plate recognition is developed. Computer vision techniques are typically used for this task. However, it remains a challenging problem, as both high accuracy and low processing time are required in such a system. Here, we propose a method for license plate recognition that seeks to ﬁnd a balance between these two requirements. The proposed method consists of two stages: detection and recognition. In the detection stage, the image is processed so that a region of interest is identiﬁed. In the recognition stage, features are extracted from the region of interest using the histogram of oriented gradients method. These features are then used to train an artiﬁcial neural network to identify characters in the license plate. Experimental results show that the proposed method achieves a high level of accuracy as well as low processing time when compared to existing methods, indicating that it is suitable for real-time applications.
Learning compliant assembly skills from human demonstration

—Robotic assembly is mainly used inside factories where both the environment and the task for each robot stays constant and the batch sizes are large, with car factories presenting a prime example. However, in manufacturing Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) or construction yards the level of automation is very low, mainly due to the changing environment causing two major problems for robots: ﬁrstly, the programming of robots is often difﬁcult and thus it can take too long to make the same robot perform multiple tasks interchangeably. Secondly, the use of robots with traditional control methods requires an accurate model of the environment, which can be either costly to acquire and prone to accidental changes in the real environments (SMEs) or simply infeasible (construction). To enable the use of robots in new environments, robots must be easy to teach and able to adapt to small changes in the environment. In this paper we propose methods to use Learning from Demonstration (LfD) with compliant motions to facilitate the usage of robots in new environments.
BlindSpotEliminator: Collaborative Point Cloud Perception in Cellular-V2X Networks

Multi-agent collaborative perception depends on sharing sensory information to improve perception accuracy and robustness, as well as to extend coverage. However, most collaborative perception methods ignore the limitations of communication networks, such as limited bandwidth and the possibility of wireless conflicts. To fill this gap, this paper proposes BlindSpotEliminator, a conflict-free scheduler over the cellular-V2X networks for supporting practical collaborative point cloud perception to eliminate blind spots. BlindSpotEliminator first identifies the blind spots for each vehicle, then lists the corresponding conflict relationships based on the distribution of the blind spots and communication conflicts, and finally designs an optimized point cloud data transmission strategy to eliminate the blind spots of each vehicle. Extensive experiments show that compared with greedy algorithm and random methods, BlindSpotEliminator achieves better efficiency, i.e., transmitting 20% more point cloud data.
Analysis of elderly’s needs and use patterns of community facilities

— Aging population has become a world-wide challenge for not only social services, but also the built environment of neighborhood. Community facility is a key element of built environment that has significant impact on elderly’s daily lives. However, current planning and design guidelines mainly proposes the requirement of provision of community facilities and is lack of knowledge about older pe ople’s needs, preferences, and use patterns of community facilities. Most relevant studies from western countries cannot be directly applied in the context of Asian cities due to their different urban densities, degrees of car dependence, and culture. This study aims to explore elderly’s needs and characteristics of use pattern of community facilities in local neighborhoods. In addition, this study also intends to identify the key influential factors of elderly’s use of community facilities. Six focus group meetings were conducted in Elderly Community Centers in Kwun Tong from Oct 2019 to Jan 2020. The qualitative analysis method was employed and NVivo was used to analyze the qualitative data obtained from focus group meetings. Elderly centers and open space were found as the most frequently visited community facilities, and the main purposes of using these community facilities were doing physical exercises and gaining knowledge. A list of key factors was identified as influential factors that affect elderly’ s use of community facilities. Among them, Planning and design of community facility was found as the main concern for elderly people, followed by built environment of community. This study could help urban planners and designers to understand elderly’s sp ecial needs and use patterns of community facilities, so that related community planning could be improved to promote aging in place.
Age, growth, and maturity of the gafftopsail catfish, Bagre marinus, in Northwest Florida

The gafftopsail catfish, Bagre marinus , is a particularly abundant species of marine, mouthbrooding catfish found throughout the Gulf of Mexico. In this study, the age, growth, and maturity of this species was determined for a population within Apalachicola Bay, a large highly productive estuary in Northwest Florida designated as a National Estuarine Research Reserve. New age, growth, and maturity data presented for B. marinus is relevant as the continued exploitation of highly sought-after species in the Gulf of Mexico is likely to lead to the development of a fishery targeting B. marinus similar to the marine catfish fisheries of Central and South America. A total of 235 specimens were sampled in this study between April 2018 to August 2019. Age determination through use of counting the growth bands of lapillal otoliths yielded an age range of 1 to 25 years old for females and 1 to 14 years old for males. Growth was modeled with five different length-at-age models with sexes being modeled independently. Akaike information criterion corrected for a small sample size (AICc) was used to directly compare models and determine most appropriate model for the data presented. For females in this study it was found that the two three-parameter von Bertanlanffy growth models (k = 0.171 – 0.015, L ∞ = 515.03 – 7.50 mm (fork length, FL)) yielded the best fits for the length at age data of the females with strong support also for the Gompertz model (k = 0.217 – 0.016, L ∞ = 507.84 – 6.37 mm (FL)). For males in this study, all models excluding the two-parameter von Bertanlanffy growth model exhibited comparable fits of the data with the logistic model yielding the best fit for males (k = 0.429 – 0.056, L ∞ = 470.31 – 11.55 mm (FL)). Maturity ogives calculated within this study suggest that age-at-maturity was 3 years old for females and 2 years old for males . Age and growth results in this study differed from those estimated for other populations of B. marinus in the Gulf of Mexico.
Probing two low-velocity regions with PKP b-caustic amplitudes and scattering

SUMMARY We probe low-velocity regions of the lower mantle with PKP waves using South Pacific earthquakes recorded at stations from the temporary Ethiopia Afar Geoscientific Lithospheric Experiment array in Ethiopia and the German Regional Seismic Network (GRSN; Germany). The Ethiopian stations show strong scattering of PKPab waves, which arrive as precursors to PKPdf . They also show anomalously large amplitude diffractions from the PKP b-caustic. In contrast, the events recorded at the GRSN show scattering of PKPab as precursors to PKPdf but more normal amplitudes in the PKP b-caustic diffractions. To understand the cause for the observed amplitudes, we test a large set of 1-D models with anomalies in P- and S-wave velocities and density in the lowermost mantle and outer core. Structures that can cause the observed large PKP b-caustic amplitudes are low-velocity regions just above the core–mantle boundary, of the order of 50 km thick for the South Pacific to Ethiopia path, with velocity reductions of around 5 per cent for P- and 25 per cent for the S-wave velocity. Alternatively a 30-km-thick lamella, starting at 50 km above the core–mantle boundary with 10 per cent P-wave velocity reduction and 25 per cent S-wave velocity reduction, also produces a good fit to the data. We find that the low-velocity regions act as waveguides, enhancing the amplitude of the PKP b-caustic diffracted waves and causing superposition of PKP b-diffractions with PKPdf . The low-velocity regions cannot be smooth layers but must show a certain degree of small-scale heterogeneity to produce the high-frequency scattering observed in the data. The path to Germany needs small scatterers in the lowermost mantle, but the low-velocity region is less strong compared with the South Pacific-Ethiopia path. A plausible explanation for these low-velocity regions is the presence of melt inclusions, perhaps entrained in small-scale convective systems that act as high-frequency wavefield scatterers. In regions where these inclusions or convective systems are abundant, they appear as a large-scale low-velocity zone to lower-frequency waves. These observations support ideas that ultra-low-velocity zones at the base of the mantle may be heterogeneous regions of melt-rich material.
MICROPHYTIC CRUST INFLUENCE ON WIND EROSION

Wind is a persistent force in arid and semiarid lands. Microphytic crusts have been attributed with the ability to reduce wind erosion because of soil binding qualities. The purpose of this research was to determine if microphytic crusts contribute to soil stability in an arid land setting. Threshold friction velocity is the wind speed necessary for the initiation of soil erosion and, thus, is a measure of soil surface stability. A portable wind tunnel was used to determine threshold friction velocity on soil surfaces consisting of microphytic crusts living and undisturbed (control), chemically killed microphytic crusts but otherwise undisturbed (chemically killed), and microphytic crusts mechanically removed from the soil surface (scalped) to approximate conditions of absence. Significantly lower threshold friction velocities were measured within the scalped treatment than in the control or chemically killed treatments. Threshold friction velocities were not significantly different among control and chemically killed treatments. Significantly more wind-eroded material, entrained in the airstream and trapped by an inline filter, was obtained from the scalped treatment than from chemically killed or control treatments. Additionally, wind erosion occurred at significantly lower wind speeds in the scalped treatment. Microphytic crusts helped contribute to soil stability by binding soil particles, mainly by linked strands of cyanobacteria. Additional designed experiments are warranted to determine how the stabilizing influence of microphytic crusts are affected by type, degree, frequency, and season of disturbance and to answer pragmatic questions of concern to managers, such as determining acceptable levels of crust disruption and the wind speeds associated with erosion.
Entangled Geographies: Empire and Technopolitics in the Global Cold War

The Cold War was not simply a duel of superpowers. It took place not just in Washington and Moscow but also in the social and political arenas of geographically far-flung countries emerging from colonial rule. Moreover, Cold War tensions were manifest not only in global political disputes but also in struggles over technology. Technological systems and expertise offered a powerful way to shape countries politically, economically, socially, and culturally. Entangled Geographies explores how Cold War politics, imperialism, and postcolonial nation building became entangled in technologies and considers the legacies of those entanglements for today's globalized world. The essays address such topics as the islands and atolls taken over for military and technological purposes by the supposedly non-imperial United States, apartheid-era South Africa's efforts to achieve international legitimacy as a nuclear nation, international technical assistance and Cold War politics, the Saudi irrigation system that spurred a Shi'i rebellion, and the momentary technopolitics of emergency as practiced by Medecins sans Frontieres. The contributors to Entangled Geographies offer insights from the anthropology and history of development, from diplomatic history, and from science and technology studies. The book represents a unique synthesis of these three disciplines, providing new perspectives on the global Cold War.
In the aftermath of the end‐Permian extinction: the microbialite refuge?

We present the first study of micro‐crustaceans (ostracods) associated with microbial crusts in the aftermath of the most devastating extinction, the end‐Permian extinction (EPE). These post‐extinction microbialites dominated shallow shelf marine environments and were traditionally considered as devoid of any associated fauna. We present a micro‐palaeontological analysis of a large record from microbial and non‐microbial settings following the EPE. This dataset documents the proliferation of ostracods strictly associated with microbialites. Based on the diet of extant ostracods and uniformitarianism, we propose that the abundant microbes in the mats served as an unlimited food supply. Photosynthetic cyanobacteria may also have locally provided oxygen under low oxygen conditions interpreted by others for the microbialites. Microbialites provided a specialised environment that may have acted as refuge for ostracods in the immediate aftermath of the EPE. The surviving faunas may have been progenitors for the starting of the latter radiation.
The role of competing magnetic interactions on the abnormal expansion properties in manganese antiperovskites, Mn 3+ x A 1 (cid:0) x N ( A = Ni, Sn)

The role of competing magnetic interactions in Mn-doped manganese antiperovskites Mn 3+ x A 1 (cid:0) x N ( A = Ni and Sn) has been explored using magnetometry and dilatometry, with particular focus on their relation to abnormal expansion properties. Rare negative magnetisation phenomena are found in zero-(cid:12)eld-cooled conditions for both A = Sn and Ni when Mn is doped on the A site. Such behaviour is evidence of both competing magnetic sublattices and magnetocrystalline anisotropy. By comparison with other compounds with the antiferromagnetic (cid:0) 5 g magnetic structure, we suggest that competing interactions along with magnetovolume coupling in(cid:13)uence the near-zero thermal expansion behaviour at intermediate temperatures below T N in the A = Ni family.
Geological Features, Deformation Sequence and Evolution of the Minjiang Fault on the Eastern Margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

The longitudinal Minjiang fault is one of the most important faults on the eastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.Study of the geophysical fields and the geological evolution shows that the Minjiang fault is a long-lived fault.In the Late Paleozoic,it began to act as an extension fault,and in the Mesozoic it became a right-lateral strike-slip fault under the NE-trending stress.In the Cenozoic,it is a thrust left-lateral with strike-slip resulting from NW-trending compressive stress.The GPS shows that it is a still left-lateral strike-slip.
Water Quality Assessment of the Lower West Branch – Susquehanna River: Focus on Sewage Treatment

The object of this study was to describe and determine the water quality of the Lower West Branch of the Susquehanna River between Lock Haven and Sunbury. Sites were selected in relation to location of sewage treatment plants along this stretch of river. Water chemistry data (pH, alkalinity, nitrate nitrogen, nitrite nitrogen, dissolved oxygen, temperature, conductivity, orthophosphorus, total phosphorus, total dissolved solids, and turbidity) are presented from 2005 to 2013. Macroinvertebrate kick samples were collected from sample sites in the summer of 2013. These data were subjected to the EPA Rapid Bioassessment Protocol II (RBA-Family Level), Hillsenhoff Biotic Index and Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index in an attempt to describe water quality. All nine of the sewage treatment plants in this section of the river have made improvements to address discharge and combined sewer overflows (CSO's) concerns in the last decade. The overall quality of the water appears to have improved as a number of Chesapeake Bay Initiatives on sewage treatment plants has taken place. Noticeable success of the new standards for sewage treatment plants that have been or are currently being upgraded will need continued monitoring to demonstrate overall water quality improvements.
Crustal spreading in Iceland The dilemma between spreading rate and rock age

Iceland is spreading towards the east and the west, away from rifting axes that transect the country. Consequently the oldest rocks, which date from roughly 14 million years BP, are found on the east and west coasts, 480 km apart. This indicates a spreading rate of 3.4 cm/yr, which differs widely from the generally accepted North Atlantic spreading rate of 1.8 cm/yr. A spreading model for North Iceland is presented, and several example calculations of the spreading rate are shown. They all give similar results. Trajectory calculations of the oldest rocks in East and West Iceland, from their origin near the rift axis to their present locations, yield spreading rates of 3.5 cm/yr and 3.4 cm/yr, respectively, the drift of Anomaly 5 towards the east gives 3.5 cm/yr, and the spreading of the Plio-Pleistocene belt in Northern Iceland indicates 3.5 cm/yr. Other examples give similar values, even for historical time. Although the spreading is strikingly uniform along a reference line from east to west, it varies considerably from north to south, reaching a maximum at the centre of the Iceland hot spot, where the spreading rate may exceed 6 cm/yr. The excess spreading decreases gradually along the rift axes, and reaches the normal value of 1.8 cm/yr some 300-400 km from the centre of the hot spot. The given examples of excess spreading rate are strikingly similar in spite of the different time intervals and types of formations. They seem to evince a steady and long-lasting geological process that has been operating during the last 15 Ma of the geological history of Iceland.
Oxygen Isotope Studies of Fresh and Weathered Submarine Basalts

The 18O/16O ratios of fresh unmetamorphosed basalts from the Reykjanes, Mid-Atlantic, and Gorda Ridges and the East Pacific Rise fall in a narrow range of 5.5–5.9‰ (SMOW), identical to those of basalts from oceanic islands. Large plagioclase xenocrysts in some of the basalts are not in isotopic equilibrium with coexisting olivine. The basalts react with sea water at the ambient sea-floor temperature to form clays, resulting in an increase in δ18O of the basalt of 0.25‰ per m.y. This provides a very sensitive method to detect early stages of weathering, which otherwise might go unnoticed. Advanced submarine weathering of basalt can remove nearly one half of its SiO2, MgO, CaO, and Na2O and lesser amounts of Al2Os and TiO2. Weathering does not proceed deeply enough into the basaltic sea floor to affect the chemical composition of sea water. Since it is likely that large amounts of basaltic debris (less than a few cm in radius) are on the ocean floor, their weathering can affect the ocean-sediment budget of .
Precautionary Saving and Aggregate Demand Warwick. Edouard Challe Acknowledges Financial Support from Investissements D'avenir (anr-11-idex-0003/labex Ecodec/anr-11-labx-0047) and Chaire Fdir. Xavier Ragot Acknowledges Financial Support from the European Com- Mission – Fp7-612796 Macfinrobods. Juan 

We formulate and estimate a tractable macroeconomic model with time-varying precautionary savings. We argue that the latter affect aggregate fluctuations via two main channels: a stabilizing aggregate supply effect working through the supply of capital; and a destabilizing aggregate demand effect generated by a feedback loop between unemployment risk and consumption demand. Using the estimated model to measure the contribution of precautionary savings to the propagation of recent recessions, we find strong aggregate demand effects during the Great Recession and the 1990–1991 recession. In contrast, the supply effect at least offset the demand effect during the 2001 recession. How do fluctuations in households' precautionary wealth contribute to the propagation of aggregate shocks? In this paper, we attempt to answer this question by formulating and estimating a tractable structural macroeconomic model in which the precautionary motive for holding wealth is operative and its quantitative impact on the business cycle can be precisely evaluated. (IAE), the " Programa de Excelencia en Educacion e Investigacion " of the Bank of Spain, and the Spanish ministry of science and technology Ref. ECO2011-30323-c03-01. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as reflecting those of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, the Federal Reserve System, the Banque de France, the Eurosystem, or OFCE.
Multi-criteria analysis with geographic information systems in changing permafrost environments: Opportunities and limits

For northern regions underlain by permafrost, the projected increase in temperatures will greatly impact the physical properties of soils and their capacity to support infrastructure. In this context, the need to identify land parcels to build new housing in a safe and sustainable manner is pressing in Nunavik (northern Quebec, Canada). To guide residential development in these particular settings, this paper presents a GIS-based approach developed to identify terrain sensitivity to thaw-settlement and mass movements, geomorphological processes responsible for costly readaptation or relocation of infrastructure. Land-suitability assessment for residential development in permafrost regions requires the consideration of many factors that may interact in complex ways. Combining factors to assess suitability presents a number of challenges that are especially important to resolve in permafrost-region studies to guide fine-scale decisions. Using an example of a GIS system built for the village of Tasiujaq in Nunavik, this paper illustrates some of the specific challenges to the effective use of GIS for management in permafrost regions. Temporal, existential and representational limits are inherent to the use of GIS and important to consider in land planning for permafrost studies. This paper also demonstrates how permafrost science can benefit from GIS technologies, especially their capacity of adaptation and transformation to any scenarios and changes in environmental parameters.