Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A global optimization approach for construction of panoramic mosaics

A global optimization approach for construction of a 360° full-view panoramic mosaic is presented with global consistency in this paper. There are three primary steps in this approach. The first is a local registration using SIFT. In the second step, an efficient algorithm for finding a global consistent registration of all images is developed. The local registration matrices with the boundary condition are used for computing the initial parameters of the iterative optimization for the global consistent registration, to adjust/reduce the alignment error accumulated by the local registering and stitching of adjacent two images. Lastly, the overlapping areas of the images are stitched by the graph cut algorithm and blended with a multi-resolution method. It is proven by the experiment results in this paper that the presented approach can effectively construct panoramic mosaics with global end-to-end consistency.
App-based Ride-Sharing Adoption Behaviour of Commuters: Evaluating through TAM Approach

: The purpose of the present study is to identify the antecedents of the behavioural intention in using app-based services used for ride-sharing in an Indian context. The basic TAM model in extended form has been examined for studying the impact of the various factors on attitude formation and behavioural intention to use app-based ride-sharing. The constructs used in the structural model were tested by using software SPSS & AMOS. A total sample of 351 respondents was collected from the Indian capital region who have behavioural intentions in using app-based ride-sharing. The study established that societal influence and ecological concern for the environment are the prime factors for people in making positive attitudes toward using ride-sharing apps. App based ride-sharing providers can provide social media interface to increase the usage of such apps among the masses. This study proposes three additional factors; societal influence, ecological concern, and economical benefits along with existing perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness as an antecedent of app-based ride-sharing service adoption behaviour.
Effective theories with maximal analyticity

In this paper (the second in the series), we study the properties of the tree-level binary amplitudes of the infinite-component effective field theory of strong interactions obeying the requirements of quark-hadron duality and maximal analyticity. In contrast with the previous paper, here we derive the results following from less restrictive \char22{} Regge-like \char22{} boundedness conditions. We develop the technique of Cauchy's forms in two variables and show the stringlike structure of the theory. Next, we derive the full set of bootstrap constraints for the resonance parameters in the $(\ensuremath{\pi},K)$ system. A numerical test shows (1) these constraints are consistent with data on well-established vector resonances, and (2) two light broad resonances \char22{} $\ensuremath{\sigma}$ and $\ensuremath{\kappa}$ \char22{} are needed to saturate the sum rules following from chiral symmetry and analyticity. This latter term is understood \char22{} in the customary field-theoretical sense \char22{} as meromorphy and polynomial boundedness of the tree-level amplitudes. As a by-product, we obtain expressions for the parameters of chiral expansions and give corresponding estimates.
A COMPACT MATRIX FORMULATION USING THE IMPEDANCE AND MOBILITY APPROACH FOR THE ANALYSIS OF STRUCTURAL-ACOUSTIC SYSTEMS

Abstract This paper describes a compact matrix formulation for the steady-state analysis of structural-acoustic systems. A new approach to the problem is adopted that uses impedance and mobility methods commonly found in the analysis of purely structural or purely acoustic systems. The advantages of the approach are that an investigation into the coupling between the structural and acoustic systems is made easier, and it facilitates improved physical insight into the behaviour of structural-acoustic systems. In addition, because the equations describing the complete system are in matrix form, they can be solved easily using a computer. Due to the mismatch of dimensions between structural mobility and acoustic impedance, new terms are introduced for the coupled system analysis; the coupled acoustic impedance and the coupled structural mobility.F-u(force-velocity) andp-Q(pressure-source strength) diagrams are also introduced for impedance and mobility representations of a complete coupled system. Experimental work is presented, in which a simple rectangular acoustic enclosure with five rigid and one flexible side was used, to validate the analytical model and to investigate structural-acoustic coupling.
Controllable graphene N-doping with ammonia plasma

Here we show that gas-phase doping by means of NH3 plasma exposure is a highly flexible and manufacturable process for graphene electronics. The nitrogen-containing radicals can readily form covalent bonds with the carbon lattice and keep stable in the postannealing for damage restoration. The amount of charge transfer can be fine tuned by controlling the exposure time and monitored by the systematic shift in the Raman G mode and the Gds−Vg curves in transport measurements. The maximum doping level can reach 1.5×1013 cm−2.
Suppression of current fluctuations in an intense electron beam

When an intense beam encounters an aperture, the transmitted current depends on the properties of the beam and the transport channel, as well as those of the aperture itself. In some cases, an increase in the incident beam current will be exactly compensated by an increase in the incident beam area, so that the current density at the aperture remains unchanged. When this occurs, the transmitted beam current becomes independent of changes in the incident beam current, providing a passive means for suppressing current fluctuations in the beam. In this article, a key requirement for the existence of this condition is derived. This requirement is shown to be fulfilled in the case of an idealized uniform focusing channel in the small-signal limit, but to be violated when the current fluctuations are not small. Even in this case, the apertured transport system retains the ability to suppress—but not totally eliminate—fluctuations in the transmitted beam current for a wide range of incident beam currents.
Decoupling control for a three-axis inertially stabilized platform used for aerial remote sensing

A three-axis inertially stabilized platform (ISP) is an important component in an aerial remote sensing system, used for isolating the influences of various disturbances on imaging sensors. In order to deal with the coupling torques and improve the control precision of the ISP, a decoupling control method based on feedforward compensation is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the kinematic and dynamic model of three-axis ISP is developed by using a Lagrange equation. Then, the coupling effects among the three gimbals and base are analysed. Depending on the analysis of the model, the major coupling components are obtained and the dynamic model is simplified. Finally, a decoupling controller based on the feedforward compensation method is designed and applied to the ISP control system. Simulation and experimental results show that the stability and precision of the ISP are effectively improved.
Morphological pyramids for image coding

This paper presents a method to compute a partition intended to be used in a region-based coding system where the number of regions is a design constraint. A new flat zone approach is introduced that (a) selects a subset of those flat zones (regions) that are present in the output of a multiscale connected filter, and that (b) assigns the rest of the regions to one among those selected by using flat zone merging procedures. The filters used are connected sequential alternating filters and a new connected filter recently presented. These are flat operators, invariant under anamorphosis, that act on a function by extending its flat zones exclusively. A new theoretical proposition is stated. Our segmentation approach behaves like a connected operator and it preserves the flat zone inclusion property between the input and the output partition. Moreover, regions computed at the highest resolution level can be imposed in successive coarser levels. Among the flat zones which are present at the output of a connected filter, the most significant ones with respect to several criteria are distinguished. This region selection is based solely on an ordering of the regions. Absolute thresholding is avoided, and the proposed approach computes with linear dynamic changes.
The symbolism of fear-themed drawings of Turkish and Polish children

W artykule przedstawiono wyniki badań nad rysunkiem o tematyce lęku przeprowadzonych w grupie dzieci tureckich i dzieci polskich. Celem badań było poznanie lęków dzieci w wieku 6-10 lat. Badania polegały na porównaniu symboli rozpoznanych na rysunkach dzieci obu narodowości oraz ich interpretacji uwzględniającej kontekst kulturowy. Na potrzeby analizy porównawczej sformułowane zostały następujące pytania: Jaka symbolika występuje na rysunkach badanych dzieci? Jakie są podobieństwa i różnice w symbolice przedstawionej na rysunkach? Jak można zinterpretować rozpoznane symbole? Najwięcej zidentyfikowanych symboli lęku związanych było z kategorią zwierząt. Podczas próby interpretacji znaczenia symboli autorzy badań przyjęli, że uchwycone podobieństwa wynikają z ewolucyjnego pochodzenia lęku przed zwierzętami. Natomiast zaobserwowane różnice w użytej symbolice lęku mogą być spowodowane czynnikami kulturowymi.
Dysregulation of miR-155 Expression in Professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Fighters

Psychological and physical stress can induce dysregulation of gene expression via changes in DNA methylation and microRNA (miRNA) expression. Such epigenetic modifications are yet to be investigated in professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighters subject to highly stressful training involving repetitive head impacts. This study examined differences in DNA methylation and miRNA expression in elite MMA fighters compared to active controls. Global methylation differences between groups were assessed via a LINE-1 assay. At the same time, PCR arrays were used to estimate differential expression in samples of 21 fighters and 15 controls for 192 different miRNAs associated with inflammatory diseases. An Independent-Samples t-Test found no significant difference in LINE-1 methylation between groups. However, an Independent-Samples Mann-Whitney U Test revealed a significant upregulation in the expression of miR-155 in MMA fighter plasma. Since miR-155 has been recognized as an important regulator of neuroinflammation, this dysregulation suggests a possible epigenetic mechanism responsible for chronic inflammation associated with professional-level MMA training. Consistent with other published works, this study highlights the potential of miR-155 not only as a biomarker for monitoring long-term health risks linked to head trauma but also as a target to remediate the impact of chronic neuroinflammation.
Large-eddy simulation of sheared interfacial flow

Large-eddy simulations (LES) of a turbulent interfacial gas-liquid flows are described in this paper. The variational multiscale approach (VMS) introduced by Hughes for single-phase flows is systematically assessed against direct numerical simulation (DNS) data obtained at a shear Reynolds number Re⋆=171, and compared to LES results obtained with the Smagorinsky model, modified by a near-interface turbulence decay treatment. The models are incorporated in the same pseudospectral DNS solver built within the boundary fitting method used by Fulgosi et al. for air-water flow. The LES are performed for physical conditions allowing low interface deformations that fall in the range of capillary waves of wave slope ak=0.01. The LES results show that both the modified Smagorinsky model and the VMS are capable to predict the boundary layer structure in the gas side, including the decay process, and to cope with the anisotropy of turbulence in the liquid blockage layer underneath the interface. Higher-order turbulen.
The discipline vs complement role of product market competition and market power: Evidence from real earnings management in an emerging market

Abstract We empirically study the role of product market competition and market power, discipline vs complement role, on real earnings management (REM) in Indonesia. Using 1800 firm-year observations from 2012 to 2020, we discover that the competition has an inverse association with REM, implying that product market competition plays a role in disciplining managers from engaging REM. Despite the negative association observed, we do not have evidence of any significant relationship between market power and REM. These findings hold for a set of robustness tests. We also evidenced that the discipline role of competition in REM will be more pronounced after the Economic ASEAN Community (EAC) period and pre-COVID-19 as well as in small firms and income-increasing firms. Although we cannot include corporate governance variable in our model due to data constrain, to the best of our knowledge, the current study will be the first study examining the role of market competition and market power on REM by considering the external shock, EAC period and COVID19, in emerging market such as Indonesia. This study implies that government and capital market regulators need to design and issue new laws or regulations that can encourage the internal governance structure to maximize the potential role of market power to mitigate REM.
A Case of Cerebral Air Embolism After Dental Procedure

Air embolism is a rare and life-threatening event that occurs when air enters the cardiovascular system, usually secondary to iatrogenic vascular procedures. We present a 58-year-old woman who underwent a dental procedure (devitalization of a tooth) under local anesthesia, with a sudden onset of coma during manipulation and documentation of air in the vessels of the right frontal convexity sulci. After cerebral air embolism was confirmed, she received hyperbaric oxygen therapy, with resorption of the gas, but clinically she developed a super-refractory status epilepticus with a persistent coma. The slow clinical course required the exclusion of other etiologies of coma. The pathophysiology is not well known; however, it appears to be related to the injection of air by the high-speed dental drill through the soft tissue adjacent to the roots of the teeth, nearby the bloodstream. We highlight this event because of this unlikely association, which may delay diagnosis and the good results of hyperbaric medicine on prognosis.
Measuring symptoms of obsessive-compulsive and related disorders using a single dimensional self-report scale

Background Obsessions and compulsions are heterogenous but can be classified into obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), hoarding disorder (HD), hair-pulling disorder (HPD), and skin-picking disorder (SPD). OCD is in itself heterogenous, with symptoms clustering around four major symptom dimensions: contamination/cleaning, symmetry/ordering, taboo obsessions, and harm/checking. No single self-report scale captures the full heterogeneity of OCD and related disorders, limiting assessment in clinical practice and research on nosological relations among the disorders. Methods To provide a single self-report scale of OCD and related disorders that respects the heterogeneity of OCD, we expanded the DSM-5-based Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders-Dimensional Scales (OCRD-D) so that is also includes the four major symptom dimensions of OCD. A psychometric evaluation and an exploration of the overarching relations among the dimensions were conducted using an online survey which was completed by 1,454 Spanish adolescents and adults (age span = 15–74 years). Approximately 8 months after the initial survey, 416 participants completed the scale again. Results The expanded scale showed excellent internal psychometric properties, adequate test-retest correlations, known groups validity, and correlations in the expected directions with well-being, depression/anxiety symptoms, and satisfaction with life. The higher-order structure of the measure indicated that harm/checking and taboo obsessions formed a common disturbing thoughts factor and that HPD and SPD formed a common body-focused repetitive behaviors factor. Conclusion The expanded OCRD-D (OCRD-D-E) shows promise as a unified way to assess symptoms across the major symptom dimensions of OCD and related disorders. The measure may be useful in clinical practice (e.g., screening) and research, but more research on construct validity, incremental validity, and clinical utility is needed.
Sustainable Development:
R&D Internationalization and Innovation

R&D internationalization is an important way for enterprises in emerging economies to achieve technology catch-up and maintain sustainable development. The direct relationship between R&D internationalization and innovation performance has been widely explored, but the research on the influence of the mechanism between these two elements above is relatively less. This paper takes China’s knowledge-intensive listed enterprises from 2009 to 2015 as the research object and uses Poisson fixed effect regression, hierarchical regression, and bootstrap methods to study the mechanism of knowledge base between enterprise R&D internationalization and innovation performance and the moderating effects of institutional distance on the mechanism effect. The results show that: (1) Enterprises’ innovation performance can be promoted with the increase of R&D internationalization degree and diversity. (2) Knowledge Base (scope and entropy) plays a mechanism function between R&D internationalization and innovation performance. (3) By negatively moderating the relationship between the knowledge base and innovation performance, the institutional distance between home and host country negatively moderates the knowledge base’s mechanism function.
First Demonstration of Semipolar Deep Ultraviolet Light Emitting Diode on m-Plane Sapphire with AlGaN Multiple Quantum Wells

We report on the first demonstration of a semipolar AlGaN based deep ultraviolet (UV) light emitting diode (LED), with a peak emission wavelength of 307 nm. The LED structure was grown on an m-plane sapphire substrate using metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). A combination of pulsed MOCVD (PMOCVD) grown AlN and a short period AlN/AlGaN superlattice structure was found to be instrumental in achieving singular semipolar structural phase of (1122) with a defect density low enough to fabricate the light emitting device. The on-wafer optical output power of the fabricated LED was ∼20 µW at a dc pump current of 20 mA.
Unified shunt compensator algorithm based on generalised instantaneous reactive power theory

The various compensation strategies for shunt compensators using a generalised instantaneous reactive power theory are discussed. A general instantaneous vector expression for compensator current in terms of active and reactive source powers is given. The equivalent general time domain expressions for compensator reference currents are also derived. Detailed simulation results using MATLAB have been presented to validate the proposed reference current algorithm. The algorithm is implemented in real time on a PC. The experimental generation of ideal compensator currents demonstrates its suitability for practical shunt compensators. A prototype model of the compensator has been implemented in the laboratory with a voltage source inverter. Simulated and experimental results are presented and compared.
Acoustical Measurements of Material Nonlinearity and Nonequilibrium Recovery

A damaged material or a material with non perfect atomic geometry, dislocations or cracks, exhibits two types of characteristic responses to acoustic excitations. First is the fast nonlinear dynamics response that is present as long as the material is excited. As soon as the excitation stops the response disappear. Second is the Slow Dynamics, which detects alterations of the material properties. The properties are affected by, for example, a mechanical pulse, changes in temperature, pressure or humidity. When the cause of alteration stops the material is recovering towards its equilibrium state. This recovering can exist over a long period of time, much longer than the vibration from a mechanical pulse. The techniques used here, both the fast and Slow Dynamics, have been used for NonDestructive Testing to detect damage in objects. All of them are suitable for this purpose, but for different material and geometry different techniques can be advantageous. They offer the possibility to use relatively low frequencies which is advantageous because attenuation and diffraction effects are smaller for low frequencies. Therefore large and multi-layered complete objects can be investigated. Sometimes the position of the damage is required, but it is in general difficult to limit the geometrical extent of low-frequency acoustic waves. A technique is presented that constrains the wave field to a localized trapped mode so that damage can be located. The existence of trapped modes is shown using an open resonator concept and the localization is shown to be successful. The problem with intermittent and changing amplitudes, even when very small, is that the material is really never at equilibrium, or even at steady state. The measurement signal influences the outcome. The material is affected by its strain history and its constantly changing state, the fast and Slow Dynamics are hard to separate. A measurement technique keeping the internal strain constant has been used to minimize the influence of Slow Dynamics allowing observations of only nonlinearity. The influence of temperature is also studied with this technique.
We don’t need no education? Education policies of Western European populist radical right parties

Abstract Populist radical right parties (PRRPs) have become more mainstream, increasing their relevance in European politics. While a lot is already known about them, there are still gaps in our knowledge. This article addresses one such gap by studying Western European PRRPs’ positions on education policy. It focuses on the salience of education in election manifestos, substantive positions that parties hold, and in how far these positions reflect their core ideology. Constructing a novel framework based on core ideologies and three dimensions of education policies, including an often-neglected content dimension, the article presents results from a qualitative content analysis of 15 manifestos. The results show that education policy is relevant for PRRPs, albeit to varying degrees, and that their policies are informed by their core ideologies. The findings have important implications for understanding education policy dynamics in liberal democracies as PRRPs fundamentally challenge normative foundations of Western European education systems.
Wavelet packets and multiresolution criterion for color image compression

We present in this paper a wavelet packet transform algorithm for color still image and we show how and with what performances the transformed image tree can be pruned and the imagets altered in order to obtain a compression/decompression algorithm respectful of human psychovisual image perception. In the first part we present the basic assumptions for human vision on which we have constructed our algorithm; the second part deals with the color transformation we used before applying wavelet packet transform and in the third part we show that a quasi lossless compression/decompression scheme can be easily obtained with compression ratio up to 1:10 (quantization step was not considered here). Finally, we propose a new quality criterion based upon the results of our tests on human sensitivity to various scale and color image details. This figure of merit can be considered as a multiresolution release of the most commonly used PSNR criterion.