Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Modified Active Contour Model for Cardiac MR Image Segmentation Based on Entropy Information

In this article, a Modified Geodesic Active Contour Model has been presented. Normally, Active Contour-based methods are categorized as either edge-based models or region-based models. Active Contour Models not only uses data on Gradient, but also can use global features of image for evolutionary curve to move and segment target boundaries which leads to detection of their weak ones. This type of function, introduce a window to calculate the average surrounding data on any pixel, and fashion a Signed Pressure Force based on entropy to make the contour reach the boundaries. In order to optimizing the efficiency and stability of the algorithm, this article has provided two sorts of level set methods for segmentation to be done. Simulation results demonstrate that due process can provide precise readings even in cases of inhomogeneity or not well-defined edges.
The Effect of Inorganic Nanoadditives on the Thermal, Mechanical and UV Radiation Barrier Properties of Polypropylene Fibres

The objective of this study of modified polypropylene (PP) fibres using nanoadditives (nano-CaCO3 and Cloisite 30B) was to determine the influence of these additives on thermal and mechanical properties, but especially on the barrier properties of the nanocomposite fibres against UV radiation. The DSC data obtained from measurements of PP/CaCO3 or PP/C30B nanocomposite fibres were used for determination of the constants n and K of the Avrami equation and in the estimation of other thermal properties of the fibres, such as their crystallization half-time t1/2, rate of crystallization t1/2, the necessary time for maximum crystallization tmax and free energy per unit area of surface in the lamella perpen-dicular to the axis of a high-molecular chain se. The nano-CaCO3 or Closite 30B fillers (pre-treated separately in three different solvents: glycerine, acetone and water) did not influence the melting temperatures but caused an increase in PP crystallization temperatures in comparison with the pure PP fibres. The pre-treatments of nanoadditives resulted in increase of n, K, t1/2 values and decrease of t1/2, tmax as well as the values of free surface energies per unit area of the modified PP fibres. There was also observed a decrease in the mechanical properties, however, there was an increase of barrier properties against UV radiation of nanocomposite PP fibres in comparison with neat PP fibres, which was one of the main objectives of the study.
The Study of Configuration Analysis in Art Gallery based on Space Syntax â€”â€”Comparison of Washington national gallery and the Shanghai art gallery

The article provides detailed and accurate design basis for building plan, studies a new theory and technology for the designers by researching from the spatial essentials to mathematically logic of spatial configuration and by using the method of spatially quantitative description, such as convex space, all-line visibility map, etc. The west part of national art gallery in Washington DC and Shanghai art gallery are taken as examples for analyzing spatially variable visibility and describe local space configuration and configurational relationship.
Candidate super star cluster progenitor gas clouds possibly triggered by close passage to Sgr A

Super star clusters are the end product of star formation under the most extreme conditions. As such, studying how their final stellar populations are assembled from their natal progenitor gas clouds can provide strong constraints on star formation theories. An obvious place to look for the initial conditions of such extreme stellar clusters are gas clouds of comparable mass and density, with no star formation activity. We present a method to identify such progenitor gas clouds and demonstrate the technique for the gas in the inner few hundred pc of our Galaxy. The method highlights three clouds in the region with similar global physical properties to the previously identified extreme cloud, G0.253+0.016, as potential young massive cluster (YMC) precursors. The fact that four potential YMC progenitor clouds have been identified in the inner 100 pc of the Galaxy, but no clouds with similar properties have been found in the whole first quadrant despite extensive observational efforts, has implications for cluster formation/destruction rates across the Galaxy. We put forward a scenario to explain how such dense gas clouds can arise in the Galactic centre environment, in which YMC formation is triggered by gas streams passing close to the minimum of the global Galactic gravitational potential at the location of the central supermassive black hole, Sgr A*. If this triggering mechanism can be verified, we can use the known time interval since closest approach to Sgr A* to study the physics of stellar mass assembly in an extreme environment as a function of absolute time.
Poplar Wood Formation Genotypical influences on structure and chemistry

Genotypical effects on wood formation in aspen (Populus tremula x tremuloides) have been studied at morphological, ultrastructural and micro-distributional levels. To characterize transgenically induced modifications, light-, fluorescence-, UV-, scanningand transmission electron microscopy have been applied complemented by immunolabeling, histochemistry, multivariate statistics and image analysis. Tension wood formation in aspen has also been studied with a focus on xyloglucan micro-distribution. To perform quantitative screening of wood immunofluorescence, a novel image analysis protocol was developed and applied. The protocol performs immunosignal isolation to calculate labeling ratio, termed coverage. Coverage is proportional to epitope availability, in relation to immunoprobe performance. The protocol was shown to perform favorably compared to operator supervised analysis and quantification. Morphological characterization of the twelve genotypes showed significant modifications only for fiber properties. Coverage characterization showed significant modifications for LM-10 (xylan) and JIM-5 (pectin) antibody labeling. In the cell wall architecture, structure is often as important as composition. The multivariate analysis confirms previously reported relationships between individual fiber measurements, and highlights novel immunolabeling relationships. The results show that detailed morphological and coverage characterization can be a valuable addition to the semi-high throughput screening of wood tissue. Utilizing two complementary probes the presence of xyloglucan during g-layer formation of tension wood in aspen was shown at the ultrastructural level. The observation of increased xyloglucan labeling between the g-layer and S2 strengthens the hypothesis that xyloglucan acts as conductor of tensional forces between the g-layer and the rest of the fiber wall.
Comparison and Assessment of a Multiple Optimal Coordinated Design Based on PSS and the STATCOM Device for Damping Power System Oscillations

The aim of this study is to present a comprehensive comparison and assessment of the damping function improvement for the multiple damping stabilizers using the simultaneously coordinated design based on Power System Stabilizer (PSS) and Static synchronous Compensator (STATCOM). In electrical power system, the STATCOM device is used to support bus voltage by compensating reactive power; it is also capable of enhancing the stability of the power system by the adding a supplementary damping stabilizer to the internal AC or DC voltage control channel of the STATCOM inputs to serve as a Power Oscillation Damping (POD) controller. Simultaneous coordination can be performed in different ways. First, the dual-coordinated design between PSS and STATCOM AC-POD stabilizer or DC-POD stabilizer is used. Then, coordination between the AC and DC STATCOM-based POD stabilizers are arranged in a single STATCOM device without PSS. Second, the coordinated design has been extended to triple multiple stabilizers among PSS, the AC-based POD and the DC-based POD in a Single Machine Infinite Bus (SMIB). The parameters of the multiple stabilizers have been tuned in the coordinated design by using a Chaotic Particle Swarm Optimization (CPSO) algorithm that optimized the given eigenvalue-based objective function. The simulation results show that the dual-coordinated design provide satisfactory damping performance over the individual control responses. Furthermore, the-triple coordinated design has been shown to be more effective in damping oscillations than the dual damping stabilizers.
A Psycholinguistic Implication of Accentual Phrasing in Japanese

It is commonly recognized that in Japanese there are different types of prosodic units above the level of word: utterance (sentence), intermediate (major) phrase, and accentual (minor) phrase (McCawley 1968; Poser 1984; Pierrehumbert and Beckman 1989). Acoustically, the utterance is characterized as the domain of declination which is about 10 Hz per second (Poser 1984). The intermediate phrase is the domain of catathesis or iterative application of pitch compression caused by an accent (Pierrehumbert and Beckman 1989). The accentual phrase is, then, the domain of an initial rise and the possible occurrence of an accent, which is an acute pitch shift from H tone to L tone. The pitch contour in Figure 1 demonstrates these prosodic units. The whole contour is that of the utterance which consists of two intermediate phrases; ao'i yama-ma'de 'to the blue mountain' and ooi'sogi-de ikima'suka 'do you quickly go? '; of these two, the initial intermediate phrase is a good example showing that it further consists of (two) accentual phrases, the second of which is catathesized due to the accent in the preceding accentual phrase, ao'i 'blue'.
The Role of Real Wage Rigidity and Labor Market Frictions for Inflation Persistence

We analyze the transmission mechanism of wages to inflation within a New Keynesian business cycle model with wage rigidities and labor market frictions. Our main focus is on the channel of real wage rigidities on inflation persistence for which we find the specification of the wage bargaining process to be of crucial importance. Under the standard efficient Nash bargaining, the feedback of wage rigidities on inflation is ambiguous and depends on other labor market variables. However, under the alternative right-to-manage bargaining we find that more rigid wages translate directly into more persistent movements of aggregate inflation. Copyright (c) 2010 The Ohio State University.
Photo-conferencing: a novel approach to interactive photo sharing across 3G mobile networks

This paper describes a novel interaction technique that allows mobile phone users to exchange photos interactively during an active phone conversation. Unlike existing lab based solutions, the one presented in this paper works in the field across existing mobile 3G networks. We believe this technique has the potential to revolutionise media exchange practices and the future of in call mobile interactions.
Design of Memristive Hopfield Neural Network using Memristor Bridges

Artificial Neural Networks are interconnection of neurons inspired from the biological neural network of the brain. ANN is claimed to rule the future, spreads its wings to various areas of interest to name a few such as optimization, information technology, cryptography, image processing and even in medical diagnosis. There are devices which possess synaptic behaviour, one such device is memristor. Bridge circuit of memristors can be combined together to form neurons. Neurons can be made into a network with appropriate parameters to store data or images. Hopfield neural networks are chosen to store the data in associative memory. Hopfield neural networks are a significant feature in ANN which are recurrent in nature and in general are used as associative memory and in solving optimization problems such as the Travelling Salesman Problem. The paper deals on the construction of memristive Hopﬁeld neural network using memristor bridging circuit and its application in the associative memory. This paper also illustrates the experiment with mathematical equations and the associative memory concept of the network using Matlab.
Fuzzy Query Propagation in Sensor Networks

Query-driven information retrieval aims at supporting users to request and retrieve relevant data from sensor networks. Due to energy and capacity constraints that characterize sensor networks, information retrieval should avoid flooding the network with queries, but rather find the most efficient propagation path that maximizes the recall of relevant data while minimizing the number of sensor nodes being accessed. This is the problem of query propagation, for which numerous approaches for sensor networks have been proposed. Although, one unaddressed issue that remains is the issue of fuzziness of users' queries and fuzziness of sensor data. When crisp criteria are used to express queries and select query recipients during propagation, some sensor nodes that are relevant can be "missed. " Therefore, this paper's objective is to integrate a fuzzy semantic mapping mechanism, which has been published in a previous research, into a new, cluster- based fuzzy query propagation approach. The fuzzy query propagation approach avoids the overload of sensor nodes that are near the sink nodes by incorporating a first propagation step towards relevant clusters of sensors, therefore varying the sensor nodes that will have to redistribute the query, followed by an intra-cluster query propagation phase. The approach has been evaluated with a simulation and compared with a crisp version to show the impact of the consideration of fuzziness in the improvement of the recall of relevant nodes while avoiding the increase of propagation cost.
Multiple runoff processes and multiple thresholds control agricultural runoff generation

Abstract. Thresholds and hydrologic connectivity associated with runoff processes are a critical concept for understanding catchment hydrologic response at the event timescale. To date, most attention has focused on single runoff response types, and the role of multiple thresholds and flow path connectivities has not been made explicit. Here we first summarise existing knowledge on the interplay between thresholds, connectivity and runoff processes at the hillslope–small catchment scale into a single figure and use it in examining how runoff response and the catchment threshold response to rainfall affect a suite of runoff generation mechanisms in a small agricultural catchment. A 1.37 ha catchment in the Lang Lang River catchment, Victoria, Australia, was instrumented and hourly data of rainfall, runoff, shallow groundwater level and isotope water samples were collected. The rainfall, runoff and antecedent soil moisture data together with water levels at several shallow piezometers are used to identify runoff processes in the study site. We use isotope and major ion results to further support the findings of the hydrometric data. We analyse 60 rainfall events that produced 38 runoff events over two runoff seasons. Our results show that the catchment hydrologic response was typically controlled by the Antecedent Soil Moisture Index and rainfall characteristics. There was a strong seasonal effect in the antecedent moisture conditions that led to marked seasonal-scale changes in runoff response. Analysis of shallow well data revealed that streamflows early in the runoff season were dominated primarily by saturation excess overland flow from the riparian area. As the runoff season progressed, the catchment soil water storage increased and the hillslopes connected to the riparian area. The hillslopes transferred a significant amount of water to the riparian zone during and following events. Then, during a particularly wet period, this connectivity to the riparian zone, and ultimately to the stream, persisted between events for a period of 1 month. These findings are supported by isotope results which showed the dominance of pre-event water, together with significant contributions of event water early (rising limb and peak) in the event hydrograph. Based on a combination of various hydrometric analyses and some isotope and major ion data, we conclude that event runoff at this site is typically a combination of subsurface event flow and saturation excess overland flow. However, during high intensity rainfall events, flashy catchment flow was observed even though the soil moisture threshold for activation of subsurface flow was not exceeded. We hypothesise that this was due to the activation of infiltration excess overland flow and/or fast lateral flow through preferential pathways on the hillslope and saturation overland flow from the riparian zone.
GUARANTEED EQUITY-LINKED PRODUCTS

Equity-linked products with an asset value guarantee are now becoming very popular in Germany both as pure investment contracts and in the context of life insurance policies. All of these products have a common feature: at maturity, the contract pays off a preagreed (deterministic) amount. In addition, the contract’s payoff is linked - via the so-called index participation rate - to an underlying equity index (or basket). Hence, if the index performs well over the lifetime of the contract, a considerably higher amount might be paid back. This paper shows how the fair rate of index participation x can be calculated within a deterministic interest rate economy. In particular, we discuss two different, popular products, derive explicit pricing formulas and discuss, how x depends on the costs, the preagreed amount, the level of interest rates and the volatility of the index. Indeed, x depends in a continuously differentiable way on these parameters, which is important when marketing the product. We also discuss, how x depends on the maturity of the contract and analyse the products’ historical performance. Building on the ideas of an earlier version of this paper, our group did extensive research in the field of equity-linked life insurance policies in Germany which is of considerable interest for the financial community.
Effective Knowledge Sharing in Multi-Generation Organization

The paper presents the results of literature reviews, a primary data analysis and case studies examining Polish firms from various sectors including agricultural, construction and banking regarding effective knowledge distribution within the organization. Current demographic changes influence the labor market which is diverse in terms of age. It results in the situation when up to five generations of employees are working for the same company. The aim of the research study was to identify the most effective knowledge distribution channel in multigenerational organizations and determine communication methods that best suit each of employees’ generations. The authors developed the matrix that presents preferable communication channels in relation to the cultural conditions in Poland. We have found the concentration of communication forms preferred by each of the generations and the importance of the selection of the appropriate methods that let integrate multigenerational teams of employees.
Efficacy of laryngeal airway mask compared with endotracheal tube in reducing coughing following general anesthesia in adults

Introduction: Coughing is an airway complication that could affect the outcome of surgery following general anesthesia in adults. In this systematic review, we aimed to study the efficacy of applying laryngeal airway mask (LMA) compared with endotracheal tube (ETT) in reducing the postoperative cough in adults under general anesthesia.Method: PubMed was searched for the relevant articles. Inclusion criteria were all the randomized controlled clinical trials, which used LMA and ETT in adults under general anesthesia. Only English language articles were included in this study with no time limitation.Result: Overall, 15 articles were retrieved, which were relevant with the purpose of this study. Efficacy of LMA in reducing coughing was significantly different with ETT in adults under general anesthesia in various types of surgeries. Calculated number needed to treat (NNT) showed that using LMA would significantly reduce coughing even in one adult patient.Conclusions: Coughing has shown various adverse effects on postoperative main results in some surgeries such as cataract, cranial, etc. Applying LMA could positively decrease postoperative coughing in adults.
A Two-mode Buck Converter toward High Efficiency for the Entire Load Range for Low Power Applications

In order to extend the battery life of smart cameras, it is essential to increase the efficiency of power converters, especially at light load. This thesis research investigated a power converter to supply power for the microprocessor of a smart camera. The input voltage of the converter is 5 V, and the output voltage is 1.2 V with the load ranging from 10 mA (12 mW) to 1200 mA (1440 mW). The conventional buck converter is typically optimized for high efficiency at maximum load at the cost of light-load efficiency. A converter is investigated in this thesis to improve light load efficiency, while being able to handle heavy load, to prolong the battery life of smart cameras. The proposed converter employs two modes, a baby-buck mode and a heavy-load mode, in which each mode is optimized for its respective load range to achieve high efficiency throughout entire range. The heavy-load mode converter adopts the conventional synchronous buck approach, as it generally achieves high efficiency at heavy load. However, the synchronous buck approach is inefficient at light load due to the large switching, driving, and controller losses. The proposed baby-buck mode converter employs the following schemes or technique to reduce those losses. First, the baby buck mode converter adopts pulse frequency modulation (PFM) with discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) to lower the switching frequency at light load, so frequency-dependent switching and driving losses are reduced. Second, a simple control scheme, constant on-time V control, is adopted to simplify the controller and hence minimize the controller power dissipation. Third, the top switch of the baby-buck mode uses a small MOSFET, which is optimized for light load, and the bottom switch uses Schottky diode in lieu of a MOSFET to simplify the COT V controller. Fourth, the proposed converter combines the heavy-load and baby-buck mode converter into a single converter with a shared inductor, capacitors, and the feedback controller to save space. Finally, a simple and low power feedback controller with an optimum mode selector, a COT V controller, and gate drivers are designed.
Myocardial-Infraction Based on Intelligent Techniques

Problem statement: Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the world. One of the most common types of heart diseases is Myocardial-Infraction. The ability to automatically identify Myocardial-Infraction from cardiac profiles test is important for clinical diagnosis and treatment. Approach: The aim of this study is to see whether the heart is healthy or not, in another words to verify the presence or the absence of Myocardial-Infraction using selected classification methods (neural networks and support vector machines) and to compare the performance of these used methods. Input layer, consists of input features (measurement of labs. Testing for CK, GOT, LDH, Tr), hidden layer of 2 neurons, output layer of one neuron activated by logistic function, which determine if heart is healthy or not. Result: The classification showed 97% for SVM-nonlinear classifier using radial function, 57% for SVM-linear classifier and 90% for Neural Networks (Back Propagation). Conclusion: The result strongly suggested that nonlinear SVMs can aid in the diagnosis of Myocardial-infraction.