Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Distortion-minimizing injective maps between surfaces

The problem of discrete surface parametrization, i.e. mapping a mesh to a planar domain, has been investigated extensively. We address the more general problem of mapping between surfaces. In particular, we provide a formulation that yields a map between two disk-topology meshes, which is continuous and injective by construction and which locally minimizes intrinsic distortion. A common approach is to express such a map as the composition of two maps via a simple intermediate domain such as the plane, and to independently optimize the individual maps. However, even if both individual maps are of minimal distortion, there is potentially high distortion in the composed map. In contrast to many previous works, we minimize distortion in an end-to-end manner, directly optimizing the quality of the composed map. This setting poses additional challenges due to the discrete nature of both the source and the target domain. We propose a formulation that, despite the combinatorial aspects of the problem, allows for a purely continuous optimization. Further, our approach addresses the non-smooth nature of discrete distortion measures in this context which hinders straightforward application of off-the-shelf optimization techniques. We demonstrate that, despite the challenges inherent to the more involved setting, discrete surface-to-surface maps can be optimized effectively.
Images Feature Extraction Geometric Verification Matching Correspondence Search Initialization Outlier Filtering Triangulation Image Registration Bundle Adjustment Incremental Reconstruction Reconstruction Matches Obtained with DeepMatching Modified Correspondence Search Filtering Using Foreground M

This paper reports experiments focusing on 3D reconstruction of vehicles passing in front of a traffic surveillance camera. Calibration process of surveillance camera is first introduced and the relation of automatic calibration with 3D information about observed traffic is described. Afterwards, a set of experiments with feature matching and Structure from Motion algorithm are presented and their results on images of passing vehicles are examined. Modifications to the correspondence search stage of Structure from Motion pipeline are then proposed. Most importantly, instead of using SIFT features, DeepMatching algorithm (originally devised to find quasi-dense point matches in optical flow calculation) is used to obtain point correspondences for subsequent reconstruction phase. As a result of implemented modifications, the overall completeness of reconstructed point cloud model of passing vehicle has improved significantly.
Exploring Factors Influencing the Adoption of Online Shopping with Saudi E-Shops, Female Perspective

Information and communication technology (ICT) is currently the key enabler of most fields and sectors. It contributed to improving the field of commerce by advent, the concept of electronic commerce. The advent of e-commerce contributed to improving the commerce field by enabling customers to conduct their entire business transaction via the internet. Accordingly, e-commerce has become an indicator of the economic growth sought by countries in this digital age. One of the common forms of B2C e-commerce is online shopping in which the customer deals with a website and gets a full shopping experience online. The online shopping environment in Saudi Arabia is expected to grow as a result of the development of ICT, the spread of the Internet, the large proportion of the youth population and the rapid trend of online markets around the world, and in Saudi Arabia in particular. However, it is still immature, and the adoption of online shopping with Saudi e-shops in specific is less than expected. Therefore, this study seeks to explore the factors influencing the adoption of online shopping by females with Saudi e-shops. This study adopted a qualitative methodology, as data were collected by conducting thirty semi-structured interviews with Saudi females and analyzed through applying Thematic Analysis (TA) method using a software tool (NVivo). As a result, the study reported thirteen factors influencing Saudi females to adopt online shopping with Saudi eshops. Those factors were classified under six main themes: products-related factors, logistics-related factors, customer service-related factors, payment-related factors, technology-related factors, and culturerelated factors. Based on the study’s findings, the researcher reported the study contributions and future research recommendations in conclusion.
Chapter 2 The Intestinal Microbiota and Probiotics

The human gastrointestinal (GI) tract consists of the upper and lower GI tracts. The stomach and the small and large intestines are the main organs of the GI tract, which is about 7 m long in adults. Approximately a total of 1014 bacteria (1011 cells per gram of faeces) are estimated to be present in the gut microbiota of an adult individual (Savage 1977). The microbial richness is maximal in the colon, where hundreds of different bacterial species present contain 100-fold more genes than the human genome. It is estimated that the microbial population within a human outnumbers the human cells by a factor of ten (O’Hara and Shanahan 2006). Most of the bacterial taxa present in the GI tract have not yet been successfully cultured, identified, or otherwise characterized (Hayashi et al. 2002). Normally, the majority of bacteria in the GI tract are beneficial or harmless to the host health, while only a minority represents potentially harmful bacteria. The GI microbiota is a complex system that has a major influence on human health. It is known to contribute to e.g. maturation of the gut, nutrition of the host, resistance to pathogens and the maintenance of host health (Stecher and Hardt 2008).
The strategic application of otoacoustic emissions to infants and children

It has been almost 40 years since OAEs were first discovered and reported. They have since been developed into a useful clinical tool for the screening of hearing and the detection of hearing loss. There are two distinct classes of OAEs, nonlinear distortion and linear reflection; using the combined information each can offer might provide advantages. At present, OAEs are underutilized and clinically applied in a rote manner with a highly abbreviated test protocol. Here we discuss how distortion and reflection OAEs are different, and how combining them in a strategic approach and using a more flexible test protocol could improve their clinical utility. There are innovations looming on the horizon that will enhance measurement and analysis of OAEs and facilitate the application of more comprehensive test protocols. 3
Insurance portfolios rate making : Quantile regression approach

Insurance portfolios rate–making frequently based on different multivariate regression models which is more sensitivity to the assumptions which significantly restrict the area of their applications. When error term is non-normal, asymmetric, fat–tailed or in presence of outliers it may have serious consequences for correct inference on the factors impact on endogenous variable. In this paper we analyze three models: generalized linear model (GLM), hierarchical generalized linear model (HGLM) and exponential quantile regression model (EQRM) in ratemaking process. The approach using EQRM is robust to deviations from the classical assumptions (a distribution of error terms is left unspecified, which is the main virtue of the method as far as robustness to outliers is concerned). The aim of this paper is to applied GLM, HGLM and EQRM for rate–making and analyzed real insurance automobile data set. For this data set we adopted cross–validation procedure to compare results of these models according to cross–validation Root MSE criteria.
THE FORMATION OF ANTWREN FLOCKS ON BARRO COLORADO ISLAND, PANAMA

ABSTP,•CT. --The nuclei of antwren flocks, studied on Barro Colorado Island, Panama Canal Zone, between October 1977 and March 1978, consisted of pairs or family groups of two species of antwrens, Myrmotherulafulviventris and Microrhopias quixensis. These species defended completely interspecifically overlapping territories and often displayed simultaneously at common boundaries. This type of association, between pairs of different species, has not been reported previously. The study site contained several abutting joint territories. Many insectivorous species of forest birds joined the antwren flocks, but most species occurred only rarely. Individual wintering Dendroica pensylvanica had territories that almost completely overlapped the antwren territories, but other marked attendant species had either small territories overlapping one or two antwren territories or large widely overlapping home ranges that included many antwren territories. The species with small territories, Thamnophilus punctatus, joined the flock only as the antwrens passed through that portion of their territory. Species with large home ranges, in particular three species of dendrocolaptids and Xenops minutus, moved through their home ranges by travelling with antwren flocks and passing between flocks during the territorial border displays of the neighboring antwrens. The most persistent attendant species in the flocks roosted with the ant-
SNaSI: Social Navigation through Subtle Interactions with an AI agent

: Technology advances have set the stage for intelligent visual agents, with many initial applications being created for people who are blind or have low vision. While most focus on spatial navigation, recent literature suggests that supporting social navigation could be particularly powerful by providing appropriate cues that allow blind and low vision people to enter into and sustain social interaction. › A particularly poignant design challenge to enable social naviga tion is managing agent interaction in a way that augments rather than disturbs social interaction. Usage of existing agent-like technologies have surfaced some of the difficulties in this regard. In particular, it is difficult to talk to a person when an agent is speaking to them. It is also difficult to speak with someone fiddling with a device to manipulate their agent. In this paper we present SNaSI, a wearable designed to provoke the thinking process around how we support social navigation through sub tle interaction. Specifically, we are interested to generate thinking about the triangular relationship between a blind user, an com munication partner and the system containing an AI agent. We explore how notions of subtlety, but not invisibility, can enable this triadic relationship. SNaSI builds upon previous research on sen sory substitution and the work of Bach-y-Rita (Bach-y-Rita 2003) but explores those ideas in the form of a social instrument.
Attempts at Lower-Stretch Spanning Trees

We attempt to improve on prior results of low-stretch spanning trees, as the bound of O(log2 (n) log(log(n))) is rather unsatisfactorily. In our attempts to reach a bound of O(log(n)), we consider a few approaches. We attempt a uniform version of Bourgain's Embedding Theorem, in the hope that it would give rise to a natural method of creating low-stretch spanning trees grown simultaneously from a variety of nodes. However, we were unable to find a way around the non-uniformity requirements of that result. Attempts at using a rank-only approach to coordinate determination failed in such a way as to suggest that any rank-only approach could not result in a successful proof. We are not, however, convinced that a uniform proof of Bourgain's Embedding Theorem is impossible. We further considered the possibility of an inductive, non-constructive proof for an O(log(n)) bound. This led to a proof of some difficulties constructing a good inductive step. We remain optimistic that it would be possible to reach the O(log(n)) bound, and that a construction that reaches it will likely have some fractal structure. I. Low-Stretch Spanning Trees First, let's define a low-stretch spanning tree. Let G = (V, E, l) be a weighted connected graph. V is a set of vertices, E is a set of edges expressed as vertex pairs, and l: E → R assigns a positive length to each edge. We call a subgraph T of G a spanning tree of G iff T is a tree which contains all of the vertices of G. Given a spanning tree T of G, we define the distance between two vertices u, v ∈ V, denoted distT(u, v), as the sum of the lengths of the edges on the path from u to v. Note that the path in a tree is unique. We can then define the stretch of an edge u, v stretchT(u, v) = (distT(u, v))/(l(u, v)) and the average stretch over all edges in E as
Hit Song Prediction Based on Lyrics

The music industry plays a large role in the US economy and as a result, the generation and selection of hit songs is necessary for it to maintain profitability. Some research has been done to see if it is possible to predict hit songs and there are various programs on the web, such as the developers of Hit Song Science, who claim they can predict whether a song will be a hit with a high probability [7]. I explore the use of lyrics mined from the Web to see if word frequency plays a role in whether a song will be a hit or not, where a song is considered a hit if it ever reaches the top 10 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 music chart, which is based on airplay and record sales. In this project, I apply various machine learning and data mining algorithms to see the type of accuracy that can be achieved. With a sample size of 125, generalized boosted modeling had the highest success rate of hit song prediction at a better value than random. This indicates that there may be a correlation between semantic content and the likelihood of a song being hit. However, a larger sample size is required before any real conclusions can be made, as there exist many more songs played on the radio and purchased and they cannot be wholly represented by such a small size. Nonetheless, the results of this experiment provide a reasonable ground on which to pursue a thorough study of the possibility of predicting the success of music based on lyrical content.
MicroRNA-223 inhibits hepatic gluconeogenesis by targeting forkhead box O 1

The gluconeogenesis pathway was considered as a potential therapeutic target for preventing type 2 diabetes (T2D). Recently, the emergence of (miRNAs, miRs) as important regulators of metabolism has garnered much interest. In this study, we explored the physiological functions of miR-223 in hepatic gluconeogenesis in vitro. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blot were used to measure the expression levels of mRNA and protein, respectively. Bioinformatics-based prediction and luciferase reporter assay were carried out to determine the potential target of miR-223. Glucose output assay was performed to detect the glucose production in primary hepatocytes. The results showed that glucagon inhibited the miR-223 expression through protein kinase A (PKA) signaling in primary hepatocytes. Biological function analysis showed that upregulation of miR-223 restrained phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PCK) and glucose-6-phosphatase (G6P) expression and glucose production, and knockdown of miR-223 demonstrated an opposite effect in primary hepatocytes. Furthermore, we found Forkhead Box O1 (FOXO1) was a target of miR-223 and the subsequent functional analysis of FOXO1 verified the regulatory effect of miR-223 on FOXO1. Taken together, our present work highlighted the key role of miR-223 in control of hepatic gluconeogenesis, and, notably, mechanistic analysis revealed that FOXO1 was a direct functional target of miR-223, and miR-223 inhibited PCK and G6P expression, as well as glucose production at least in part by targeting FOXO1. These findings probe the feasibility of miRNA-directed therapy for the treatment of hyperglycemia in T2D.
Competitive Advantage Through Joint Ventures-The Case of Taiwan

Interfirm collaborations are an important source of resources and competitive advantage. Few enterprises have all of the crucial resources to compete effectively with competitors in the current dynamic landscape. Hence, enterprises seek access to the resources needed through joint ventures. Since joint venture as one of the equity alliances, this paper is to examine the relationships between joint venture and competitive advantage of the alliance management employing the theoretical framework transaction costs and strategic behavior. Effective alliance management begins with partnership selecting. Hence, to look further insight into the joint venture as a source of competitive advantage for enterprises, this paper utilize a case study of the Taiwanese fastener enterprises that secure for interfirm collaboration through joint ventures and formed an international marketing company, U-WIN FASTENERS CO., LTD in July 7, 2001. Due to its well-established industrial system and industrial cluster, Taiwanese fastener industry is capable exerting itself production-based competitive advantage. Thus, it has enjoyed an outstanding reputation around the worldwide for “The Kingdom of Fastener” in the total exporting supplies since 1984. Specifically, in the resulting we can see the fastener enterprises adopt joint ventures it indeed not only minimizes the sum of production and transaction costs but also maximizes profits through improving an enterprise’s competitive position.
Disparities Between Monetary and Multidimensional Measurements of Poverty

There has been a rapid expansion in the literature on the measurement of multidimensional poverty in recent years. Nevertheless, researchers have paid little attention to the longitudinal aspects of poverty in multidimensional measure. This study will combine the two strands of multidimensional poverty together with monetary poverty in an application to the developing country of Vietnam. Panel household survey data from years 2007, 2008 and 2010 will be employed in the analyses of the prevalence and the dynamics of both measures of poverty. The estimates show that the monetary poor (or non-poor) are not always multidimensionally poor (or non-poor). Additionally, the monetary poverty shows faster progress as well as a higher level of fluctuation than multidimensional poverty. Monetary poverty is also more sensitive to the changes in a household's characteristics than multidimensional poverty. Moreover, improvements in multidimensional poverty are attributed mainly to the reduction in the incidence of poverty rather than the intensity of poverty. The study conveys that the effects of rapid economic growth are greater and more elastic on monetary poverty than on multidimensional poverty.
Evolving Evidence-based Medicine : Thinking Beyond Randomized Controlled Trials

Evidence-based Medicine (EBM) is focused on the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of the individual patient. Traditionally, it involves the integration of individual clinical expertise, by a practitioner, with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research, where clinical evidence is garnered from randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Unfortunately, the time horizon from RCT design to results publication is typically measured in years, rather than months, days, minutes or seconds. This often means that the production and application of evidence cannot be done in a timely fashion. This paper purports that these factors, plus the advent of advanced analytics that uncover insight from healthcare data sources, warrant the augmentation of EBM to include current data-driven medical techniques and insight.
Toward the Analysis of Embedded Firmware through Automated Re-hosting

Author(s): Gustafson, Eric; Muench, Marius; Spensky, Chad; Redini, Nilo; Machiry, Aravind; Fratantonio, Yanick; Balzarotti, Davide; Francillon, Aurelien; Choe, Yung Ryn; Kruegel, Christopher; Vigna, Giovanni
The osteoinductive potential of collagen based scaffolds for human mesenchymal stromal cells depends on scaffold composition and on the source of the cells ; the need for personalized tests

V. PRUNA , I. TITORENCU , M.G. ALBU (2) , A. LUNGU , V. V. JINGA , R. RADULESCU , M. SIMIONESCU (1) 1 Institute of Cellular Biology and Pathology "Nicolae Simionescu" of the Romanian Academy 2 INCDTP-Lather and Footwear Research Institute, Bucharest, Romania; 3 University Politehnica of Bucharest, Faculty of Applied Chemistry and Material Science; 4 University Hospital, Bucharest, Romania *Corresponding author Vasile Pruna I.B.P.C. Nicolae Simionescu – Regenerative Medicine, B.P.Hasdeu 8 St., Bucharest 050567, Romania
SUPPOSED MAXIMUMMUTUAL INFORMATION FOR IMPROVING GENERALIZATION AND INTERPRETATION OF MULTI-LAYERED NEURAL NETWORKS

The present paper1 aims to propose a new type of information-theoretic method to maximize mutual information between inputs and outputs. The importance of mutual information in neural networks is well known, but the actual implementation of mutual information maximization has been quite difficult to undertake. In addition, mutual information has not extensively been used in neural networks, meaning that its applicability is very limited. To overcome the shortcoming of mutual information maximization, we present it here in a very simplified manner by supposing that mutual information is already maximized before learning, or at least at the beginning of learning. The method was applied to three data sets (crab data set, wholesale data set, and human resources data set) and examined in terms of generalization performance and connection weights. The results showed that by disentangling connection weights, maximizing mutual information made it possible to explicitly interpret the relations between inputs and outputs.
Survey on Logistics Management Industry Overview 4 . 0 Impacts and Investment Opportunities in Turkey

As a natural consequence of the information systems and the digitizing movement, today’s world is in the process of social transformation. This transformation process is developing in a way that will force industrial life to undergo radical changes. There are 4 basic components of the future vision of manufacturing. These develop as “product”, “intelligence”, “communication”, “information network”. Cyber physical systems, sensors, internet of things, machine to machine communication (M2M), intelligent information networks and secure cloud system environments are widely developed to mobilize these four basic components. This trend naturally affects all processes such as product design, process design, quality management and marketing, and process transformation takes place through a comprehensive process innovation. It affects all of the processes of the business as well as the restructuring of the transformation and transformation procurement processes. Particularly, the business models that will lead to the widespread use of 4 Party, 5 Party and 6 Party Logistics services are seen to develop. This article examines the impact of the fourth industry revolution and the impact of innovations on logistics management. In particular, innovative solutions on logistics management, attention to the effects of IT solutions on the sector and attempts to limit the fourth transition in the logistics sector have been tried. On the other hand, a study has been conducted on how the sector actors perceive the effects of the Marmara Fen Bilimleri Dergisi 2018, 2: 145-154 Lojistik Yönetiminde Endüstri 4.0 Etkileri 146 4th Transformation and the logistics world. Information was gathered through the questionnaire and necessary analyzes were made and the results were reported. Findings that will guide this study to enable the logistics industry to actively pursue the new social transformation process in our country are presented. In this context, it is aimed to create a roadmap to implement operations with general lines. The main philosophy of this roadmap will be to point out the elements that are necessary for the application of priority technologies in the logistics sector and the determination of investment strategies in this context.