Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rapid hand posture recognition using Adaptive Histogram Template of Skin and hand edge contour

In this paper, we propose a real-time vision-based hand posture recognition approach, based on appearance-based features of hand. Our approach has three main steps: hand segmentation, feature extraction and posture recognition. For the hand segmentation, we introduce “Adaptive Histogram Template of Skin” which tries to extract histogram of the subject hand by sampling its color and texture. With this template, we can use back projection method to find skin color areas in an image. In the feature extraction step, we extract global hand's features using hand's edge contour, and hand's edge convex hull. The hand can be classified into one of the ten posture classes in the recognition step. Each posture class has a representative template which is used as reference for comparing to subject hand features. This approach is simple and fast enough to provide real-time recognition.
Evaluation of an integrated multi-task machine learning system with humans in the loop

Performance of a cognitive personal assistant, RADAR, consisting of multiple machine learning components, natural language processing, and optimization was examined with a test explicitly developed to measure the impact of integrated machine learning when used by a human user in a real world setting. Three conditions (conventional tools, Radar without learning, and Radar with learning) were evaluated in a large-scale, between-subjects study. The study revealed that integrated machine learning does produce a positive impact on overall performance. This paper also discusses how specific machine learning components contributed to human-system performance.
MyoD-induced expression of p21 inhibits cyclin-dependent kinase activity upon myocyte terminal differentiation

The terminal differentiation of C2C12 skeletal muscle cells involves the activation of unique sets of genes and an irreversible withdrawal from the cell cycle. This process is associated with a decrease in cdk2 activity in cell extracts. The decrease in cdk2 activity correlates with diminished levels of cdk2 and cyclin A and with a marked induction of the p21 cyclin-dependent kinase (cdk) inhibitor. The upregulation of p21 occurred at the levels of mRNA and protein, and p21 formed a complex with the cyclin kinases in myotubes. Further, the immunodepletion of p21 from myotube extracts neutralized the heat-stable cdk2 inhibitory activity that was induced upon myogenic differentiation. The levels of p21 mRNA, protein, and activity remained constant in myotubes when they were reexposed to mitogen-rich growth medium, indicating that permanent changes in the cell's genetic program contribute to its sustained expression following terminal differentiation. Indeed, 10T1/2 fibroblasts transformed with the myogenic factor MyoD, but not the parental multipotent cells, upregulated p21 transcript levels when induced to differentiate by serum withdrawal, demonstrating that the upregulation is an integral feature of myogenic commitment and differentiation. The functional consequences of this upregulation were indicated by ectopically expressing p21 in myoblasts; this was sufficient for cell cycle arrest in mitogen-rich growth medium. The induction and sustained expression of p21 appears to be a contributory mechanism by which myocytes irreversibly exit the cell cycle upon terminal differentiation.
A Proposal of Method for Suspicious Person Detection on P2P Security Camera Network System

Recently, the communication among neighbors is now rare, and is become difficult to watch for suspicious person by neighbor residents themselves. Therefore, we proposed a P2P Security Camera Network System that is detects suspicious person by using video data recorded by a camera on neighbor houses. In this paper, we propose four ways to detect suspicious persons based on classification methods using Local Outlier Factor (LOF) for trajectories of moving objects. And, we evaluate proposing methods the effects of useful dimensions and the number of incorrect judgment result on classification of trajectory pattern of moving objects.
Symbol diversification of linux binaries

In this paper, we advocate large-scale diversification as a method to protect operating systems and render malicious programs ineffective. The idea is to diversify all the indirect library entry points to the system calls on a specific computer. As a result, it becomes very difficult for a piece of malware to access resources. The diversification of indirect system call entry points in operating system libraries is unique for each computer. Therefore, a piece of malware no longer works on several computers and becomes incompatible with their environment. We also present a concrete diversification tool and results on successful diversification. We conclude that despite some challenges, our tool can successfully diversify symbols in binaries and associated libraries in order to protect the system from attacks.
Response to Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy: The Muscular Metabolic Pathway

Background. Changes in peripheral muscle in heart failure lead to a shift from aerobic to early anaerobic metabolism during exercise leading to ergoreflex overactivation and exaggerated hyperventilation evaluated by the VE/VCO2 slope. Methods. 50 patients (38 males, 59 ± 12 years) performed cardio-pulmonary exercise test with gaz exchange measurement and echocardiographic evaluation before and 6 months after CRT. Results. The peak respiratory exchange (VCO2/ VO2) ratio was significantly reduced from 1.16 ± 0.14 to 1.11 ± 0.07 (P < .05) and the time to the anaerobic threshold was increased from 153 ± 82 to 245 ± 140 seconds (P = .01). Peak VO2, VE/VCO2, peak circulatory power and NYHA were improved after CRT (13 ± 4 to16 ± 5 ml/kg/min (P < .05), 45 ± 16 to 39 ± 13 (P < .01), 1805 ± 844 to 2225 ± 1171 mmHg.ml/kg/min (P < .01) and 3 ± 0.35 to 1.88 ± 0.4 (P = .01)). In addition, left ventricular ejection fraction and end-systolic volumes were improved from 24 ± 8 to 29 ± 7% (P < .01) and from 157 ± 69 to 122 ± 55 ml (P < .01). Conclusion. We suggest that CRT leads to an increase in oxidative muscular metabolism and postponed anaerobic threshold reducing exaggerated hyperventilation during exercise.
Control of single active switch cascade boost converter for fuel cell applications

In this paper, a controller for a three-stage cascade boost converter connected in cascaded with a single active switch is proposed to step-up the unregulated voltage supply produced by a fuel cell system. The proposed hybrid controller is able to work in several operation regions while having the feature of a simple structure easy to implement. The controller description and experimental results in a 100W prototype are given within.
Joint transceiver design for simultaneous wireless information and power transfer in multi-user MIMO interference networks

In this paper, we investigate the simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT) in multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) interference networks. In this system, each transmitter sends one data stream to its targeted receiver through beamforming, while each receiver divides the received signal into two signal flows via power splitting (PS), for information decoding (ID) and energy harvesting (EH), respectively. Different from the existing work in [1], each receiver is equipped with multiple receive antennas, and leverages a receive filter to recover information symbols. Our objective is thus to minimize the total transmit power of all transmitters by jointly designing beamformers, power splitters and receive filters, subject to the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) constraint for ID and the harvested power constraint for EH at each receiver. To solve this non-convex joint transceiver design problem, an efficient alternating optimization algorithm is proposed via iteratively solving its two convex sub-problems. We prove that the first subproblem relaxed by semidefinite relaxation (SDR) always has a rank-one solution, which indicates the relaxation is actually tight. Numerical results show that the proposed algorithm can save more total transmit power than the existing scheme [1], and its convergence speed is also desirable.
Eliminating Duplicates in Information Integration: An Adaptive, Extensible Framework

Data cleaning is an inevitable problem when integrating data from distributed operational databases, because no unified set of standards spans all the distributed sources. One of the most challenging phases of data cleaning is removing fuzzy duplicate records. Approximate or fuzzy duplicates pertain to two or more tuples that describe the same real-world entity using different syntaxes. In other words, they have the same semantics but different syntaxes. Eliminating fuzzy duplicates is applicable in any database but is critical in data-integration and analytical-processing domains, which involve data warehouses, data mining applications, and decision support systems. Earlier approaches, which required hard coding rules based on a schema, were time consuming and tedious, and you couldn't later adapt the rules. We propose a novel duplicate-elimination framework which exploits fuzzy inference and includes unique machine learning capabilities to let users clean their data flexibly and effortlessly without requiring any coding
Clustered routing protocol based on improved K-means algorithm for underwater wireless sensor networks

Due to the problem of balance for energy consumption in underwater wireless sensor networks (UWSNs), a cluster-based routing protocol for UWSNs based on an improved K-means algorithm was proposed. This algorithm was used for clustering in underwater sensor networks to avoid unbalanced clustering which could happen in LEACH protocol. Considering the depth of nodes and their densities around, the initial centers of clusters can be selected by the maximum distance method. The master cluster heads and the aided cluster heads can be chosen with the consideration of the residual energy of nodes, the distance between nodes and the cluster center and the distance between nodes and the base station. It can share the energy consumption reasonably. The network simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can effectively balance the energy consumption, prolong the network lifetime, and increase the amount of data transmission compared with LEACH and LEACH_L protocols.
Transforming growth factor beta 1-induced changes in cell migration, proliferation, and angiogenesis in the chicken chorioallantoic membrane

Application of TGF beta 1 (10-100 ng) to the chicken chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) for 72 h resulted in a dose-dependent, gross angiogenic response. The vascular effects induced by TGF beta 1 were qualitatively different than those induced by maximal doses of basic FGF (bFGF) (500 ng). While TGF beta 1 induced the formation of large blood vessels by 72 h, bFGF induced primarily small blood vessels. Histologic analysis revealed that TGF beta 1 stimulated pleiotropic cellular responses in the CAM. Increases in fibroblast and epithelial cell density in the area of TGF beta 1 delivery were observed as early as 4 h after TGF beta 1 treatment. By 8 h, these cell types also demonstrated altered morphology and marked inhibition of proliferation as evidenced by 3H- thymidine labeling. Thus, the TGF beta 1-stimulated accumulation of these cell types was the result of cellular chemotaxis from peripheral areas into the area of TGF beta 1 delivery. Microscopic angiogenesis in the form of capillary sprouts and increased endothelial cell density first became evident at 16 h. By 24 h, capillary cords appeared within the mesenchyme of the CAM, extending towards the point of TGF beta 1 delivery. 3H-thymidine labeling revealed that the growth of these capillary cords was due to endothelial cell proliferation. Finally, perivascular mononuclear inflammation did not become evident until 48 h of treatment, and its presence correlated spatially and temporally with the gross and histological remodelling of newly formed capillary cords into larger blood vessels. In summary, these data suggest that, in the chicken CAM, TGF beta 1 initiates a sequence of cellular responses that results in growth inhibition, cellular accumulation through migration, and microvascular angiogenesis.
Wire-speed statistical classification of network traffic on commodity hardware

In this paper we present a software-based traffic classification engine running on commodity multi-core hardware, able to process in real-time aggregates of up to 14.2 Mpps over a single 10 Gbps interface -- i.e., the maximum possible packet rate over a 10 Gbps Ethernet links given the minimum frame size of 64 Bytes. This significant advance with respect to the current state of the art in terms of achieved classification rates are made possible by:(i) the use of an improved network driver, PacketShader, to efficiently move batches of packets from the NIC to the main CPU;(ii) the use of lightweight statistical classification techniques exploiting the size of the first few packets of every observed flow;(iii) a careful tuning of critical parameters of the hardware environment and the software application itself.
Time-Domain Approximation by Iterative Methods

An iterative procedure is presented which permits the determination of a rational transfer function in the Laplace transform variable s which is optimal with respect to given input and output time-functions. The optimal system of a particular order is defined as the one whose output when subjected to the known input function is nearest in the time integral square sense to the desired output function. The method is thus applicable to a number of problems involving the minimization of an integral square error. To illustrate the technique, a set of optimal lumped-parameter delay lines is synthesized and their characteristics investigated; the behavior and convergence of the iteration in these problems is also studied. A comparison of other iterative methods applicable to the same problems leads to the conclusion that the proposed procedure has real advantages in computational simplicity and speed of convergence.
Wybrane determinanty polaryzacji samooceny w grupie wychowanków Młodzieżowych Ośrodków Wychowawczych i Socjoterapeutycznych

The article analyzes the socio-demographic and personality determinants/correlates of self-esteem among pupils MOW and MOS. The analysis of the level and the dimensions of self-esteem was done first (self-esteem general non-specific, global specific, partial non-specific: physical, cognitive-intellectual, characterological, socio-moral) people with conduct disorder, using the method of k-means, most often used in taxonomic practice of grouping method. In the course of analysis there were selected three groups of self-assessment, which are initially defined as: negative “reflected I” (“I am the worst”), positive “defensive I” (“I am the best”) and “I not specified – unstable” (“Who I am”), which differ in terms of the level and the internal arrangement of different types of self-assessment. Then the analysis of differences in selected clusters was conducted conditioned by a place of residence, attitude to faith, level of religiosity and attitude towards the world, one’s own life and other people.
Two-Layer Shallow Water System: A Relaxation Approach

The two-layer shallow water system is an averaged flow model. It forms a nonconservative system which is only conditionally hyperbolic. The coupling between the layers, due to the hydrostatic pressure assumption, does not provide explicit access to the system eigenstructure, which is inconvenient for Riemann solution based numerical schemes. We consider a relaxation approach which offers greater decoupling and accessible eigenstructure. The stability of the model is discussed. Numerical results are shown for unsteady flows as well as for smooth and nonsmooth steady flows.
Analyzing voice transmission capacity on ad hoc networks

This paper analyzes voice transmission capacity on ad hoc networks by performing simulations related to delay and jitter. We evaluate the influence of QoS provision and mobility on the number of voice transmitting sources. Results show that the maximum number of voice transmissions can be increased when medium access time is reduced by means of a service differentiation mechanism applied to the MAC layer. Also, mobility and network load variations degrade the network capacity for voice transmission, mainly on multihop mobile networks.
Provisioning concepts for the Future Internet IIP initiative

The paper presents the network provisioning proposed for the Future Internet solution called System IIP. The relation of the provisioning rule to the management strategy is described. The required input parameters as well as two proposed approaches to provisioning are given. The first approach formulates an optimization problem with the goal function minimizing total power consumption. The second solution is based on a heuristic approach to allocate resources sequentially. Implementation and computational issues are also briefly addressed.
Development and Validation of a Performance-Based Test to Assess Instrumental Activities of Daily Living in Spanish Older Adults

A key feature of the autonomy and quality of life of the elderly is their ability to perform instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs). When older people have difficulty in performing IADLs, many of their social and community activities may be affected, leading to their progressive isolation from society. This study describes the development and validation of a test that assesses six areas of daily functioning in the elderly: use of medication and healthcare management, administrative, financial management, transportation, meal preparation, and shopping. The study evaluated 164 healthy individuals without cognitive impairment using an extensive cognitive battery. The construct validity and reliability of test were examined. Findings revealed a good internal consistency and high inter-rater and test-retest reliability. As for construct validity, the instrument tasks were grouped into two dimensions, based on the cognitive components involved in each task: fluid and episodic memory tasks and crystallized tasks. The developed instrument may be useful for evaluating IADLs in those elderly who live at home and are somewhat dependent.
“THE MAN CAN USE THAT POWER”, “SHE GOT COURAGE” AND “INIMBA”: DISCURSIVE RESOURCES IN COUNSELLORS’ TALK OF INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE: IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

Given the high rate of intimate partner violence (IPV), understanding how counsellors talk about IPV and their interventions is important. The authors conducted narrative interviews with eight counsellors from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working with IPV. Using narrative-discursive methodology, this qualitative study paid attention to the discursive resources that the participants drew upon. Two broad clusters of discursive resources and one contradictory (‘nurturing femininity’) discourse emerged. The first cluster engenders a sense of helplessness in the face of overwhelming power relations; the second enables the counsellors to foresee positive outcomes for their counselling. Implications for counselling include emphasising enabling discourses, highlighting multiplicities of gender, and wider-scale interventions.
An Energy-Efficient Topology Construction Algorithm in Wireless Sensor Network

Topology control is an efficiency method that can extend the network lifetime in a wireless sensor network. There are several researches involve the topology control problem. In this paper, we design an energy-efficient topology control algorithm both take into consider with topology construction and count infinity problem. In the topology construction, we build a reliable topology to reduce the packet retransmission. We use intermittently links and natural of wireless network. Each node can receive the packet, when it in someone’s coverage. Therefore, we combined these features to build a high network reachable probability. It can enhance the network efficiency. In addition to, we consider count infinity problem during the process of topology construction. Nodes can remove the redundant component to ensure avoiding count infinity. Our proposed method can obtain the high network reachable probability and to extend the network lifetime. Experiments indicate the superiority of the proposed algorithm in terms of average energy consumption and network lifetime.
An agile approach for web systems engineering

In the last few years, Web applications have evolved from static hypertext documents to complex information systems. This evolution leads to the necessity of methodologies specifically designed for development of Web-based systems, focusing on agility in the process. This paper presents an agile approach for the development of Web applications that applies the concept of agile modeling, adopts a standard software architecture and is heavily based on frameworks, speeding up system analysis, design and implementation.
Co-evolving checkers-playing programs using only win, lose, or draw

This paper details efforts made to evolve neural networks for playing checkers. In particular, multilayer perceptrons were used as evaluation functions to compare the worth of alternative boards. The weights of these neural networks were evolved in a co-evolutionary manner, which networks competing only against other extant networks in the population. No external 'expert system' was used for comparison or evaluation. Feedback to the networks was limited to an overall point score based on the outcome of 10 games at each generation. No attempt was made to give credit to moves in isolation or to prescribe useful features beyond the possible inclusion of piece differential. When played in 100 games against rated human opponents, the final rating for the best evolved network was 1750, placing it as a Class B player. This level of performance is competitive with many humans.
The ECORP approach to Petri net tool evaluation

ECORP is a comprehensive approach for evaluating Petri net (PN) tools, i.e. CASE tools based on the PN formalism. Technical, managerial, and usage issues are addressed by way of an evaluation questionnaire defined by an extensive list of fine grained yes/no questions together with comment fields. In addition, we have defined two 'canonical' examples based on previous project experience at CRIM, related to the formal modelling and analysis of business organisations and of computerized control for rail transport. Only by implementing the very same examples using the various tools, does it becomes possible to compare them in a sufficiently detailed way to make their strengths and weaknesses apparent. By way of conclusion, we suggest guidelines suitable for choosing from among the various tools available according to the nature of the application at hand. <<ETX>>