Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Workplace to support the teamwork in the early stages of the product development process

The teamwork characterizes the early stages of the product development process. The teamwork in these early stages is characterized by simultaneous writing and sketching. Since the work is done on paper a later use of the generated ideas with computer programs is hindered. This represents a break in the logical concatenation of the product development process and thus results in a loss of information. This implies that it is necessary to provide the group with a tool that collects the information already during writing and sketching. A technical workplace is described that uses techniques from virtual reality to allow a real teamwork in these early stages. Using picture acquisition and color separation techniques different pencils can be detected simultaneously in real time on a horizontal surface. Since only active parts are detected by the picture acquisition no quantization errors can occur caused by other objects on the surface like paper, elbow or hands. The realized teamwork space offers an A1-size work area onto which a simultaneous input is possible with four pens of different color. For the construction of the device a material has to be evaluated that is suitable for a back-projection.
Biomathematical Conferences and Schools for Young Scientists at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

This is a brief report on some international meetings in the field of biomathematics and scientific computations organized within the frames of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Most meetings involved both a scientific conference and a School for Young Scientists aiming to attract doctoral students and young scientists and to promote the integration between learning and research activities.
Cortical feedback to superficial layers of V1 contains predictive scene information.

A central characteristic of brain function is the ability to merge sensory input with internal representations of the world, but relatively little is known about cortical feedback channels that facilitate internal representations. We blocked feedforward input to subsections of human primary visual cortex by occluding one quarter of the visual field while participants viewed 384 real-world scenes. Using highresolution 7T fMRI, we show that superficial layers of V1 exhibit predictive response properties unique from those associated with V1 feedforward processing. Our findings suggest that feedback to superficial layers of V1 provides neurons with contextual information not available via feedforward input.
Foraging behaviour of four albatross species by night and day

We integrated information from satellite transmitters, GPS loggers and wet/dry activity loggers to compare the at-sea behaviour of 4 sympatric albatross species by night and day: wander- ing Diomedea exulans, grey-headed Thalassarche chrysostoma, black-browed T. melanophrys and light-mantled sooty Phoebetria palpebrata (in total, 350 foraging trips by 101 individuals). Trip dura- tion, distance and maximum range varied more within species between stages (incubation, brood- guard and post-brood) than between species at the same stage, implying that reproductive con- straints are more important than interspecific competition in shaping foraging behaviour. Wandering albatrosses spent more time on the water in fewer, longer bouts than other species. The proportion of time spent on the water was similar among the 3 smaller species. The partitioning of foraging activ- ity between day and night varied little between species: all landed and took off more often, but spent less time overall on the water during the day than at night. This supports observations that alba- trosses forage most actively during daylight, even though many of their fish and squid prey approach the surface only at night. Albatrosses were more active on bright moonlit nights, seem to have no fixed daily requirement for sleep, rest or digestion time on the water, can navigate in darkness, and are probably unhindered by the slight reduction in mean wind strength at night. They are probably less active at night because their ability to see and capture prey from the air is reduced and it is then more energy-efficient for them to rest or to catch prey using a 'sit-and-wait' foraging strategy.
A Video Processing Based System for Counting Vehicles

- Counting of vehicles passing a particular point is of interest to town/traffic planners. In this paper a new technique for counting of vehicles passing a particular location is described. The proposed methodology processes a video, that captures all the vehicles passing through a point, breaks it down to individual frames and it counts the moving vehicles passing through the point by recognizing a vehicle in previously marked position. The Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) features and neural networks are employed for the task. The results obtained on the videos tested are satisfactory.
A mixing tree-valued process arising under neutral evolution with recombination

The genealogy at a single locus of a constant size $N$ population in equilibrium is given by the well-known Kingman's coalescent. When considering multiple loci under recombination, the ancestral recombination graph encodes the genealogies at all loci in one graph. For a continuous genome $\mathbb G$, we study the tree-valued process $(T^N_u)_{u\in\mathbb{G}}$ of genealogies along the genome in the limit $N\to\infty$. Encoding trees as metric measure spaces, we show convergence to a tree-valued process with cadlag paths. In addition, we study mixing properties of the resulting process for loci which are far apart.
Efficient Proxy Re-encryption with Private Searching in the Untrusted Cloud

As promising as cloud computing is, this paradigm brings forth new security and privacy challenges when operating in the untrusted cloud scenarios. In this paper, we propose a new cryptographic primitive Proxy Reencryption with Private Searching (PRPS for short). The PRPS scheme enables the data users and owners efficiently query and access files storaged in untrusted cloud, while keeping query privacy and data privacy from the cloud providers. The concrete construction is based on proxy re-encryption, public key encryption with keyword search and the dual receiver cryptosystem. The scheme is semantically secure under the BDH assumption.
The approach to the construction of question-answer systems based on the syntagmatic analysis of the text

This article describes the application of the mechanisms of syntagmatic patterns in the construction of various types of question-answer (QA) systems and expert systems. QA systems are systems that can take questions and respond to them in a natural language. In most cases, the principles of building question-answer systems are used in the development of decision support systems. The mechanism of syntagmatic patterns is used when processing open-ended questions and when extracting answers to it from semi-structured resources.
The Formal Semantics and Evolution of the F ? Verification System October 11 , 2018

F [2, 3, 17, 34] is a general-purpose functional programming language with effects aimed at program verification. It puts together the automation of an SMT-backed deductive verification tool with the expressive power of a proof assistant based on dependent types. After verification, F programs can be extracted to efficient OCaml, F#, C or Wasm code [30]. F’s type system includes dependent types, monadic effects, refinement types, and a weakest precondition calculus. Together, these features allow expressing precise and compact specifications for programs, including functional correctness and security properties. The F type-checker allows to prove that programs meet their specifications using a combination of SMT solving and interactive tactic proofs [23]. F is developed collaboratively by Microsoft Research, Inria Paris, and the community at large. It is open source1 and implemented in a common subset of F# and F itself. The main ongoing use case of F* is building a verified, drop-in replacement for the whole HTTPS stack in Project Everest [9], including the underlying cryptographic primitives [38]. While the F verification system shows great promise in practice, its theory is interesting, difficult, and a large extent work in progress. Many challenging conceptual problems remain to be solved, many of which can directly inform the further evolution and design of the language:
Unsupervised Multi-Object Detection for Video Surveillance Using Memory-Based Recurrent Attention Networks

Nowadays, video surveillance has become ubiquitous with the quick development of artificial intelligence. Multi-object detection (MOD) is a key step in video surveillance and has been widely studied for a long time. The majority of existing MOD algorithms follow the “divide and conquer” pipeline and utilize popular machine learning techniques to optimize algorithm parameters. However, this pipeline is usually suboptimal since it decomposes the MOD task into several sub-tasks and does not optimize them jointly. In addition, the frequently used supervised learning methods rely on the labeled data which are scarce and expensive to obtain. Thus, we propose an end-to-end Unsupervised Multi-Object Detection framework for video surveillance, where a neural model learns to detect objects from each video frame by minimizing the image reconstruction error. Moreover, we propose a Memory-Based Recurrent Attention Network to ease detection and training. The proposed model was evaluated on both synthetic and real datasets, exhibiting its potential.
Spatio‐temporal variation in the structure of pollination networks

Pollination networks are representations of all interactions between co-existing plants and their flower visiting animals at a given site. Although the study of networks has become a distinct sub-discipline in pollination biology, few studies have attempted to quantify spatio-temporal variation in species composition and structure of networks. We here investigate patterns of year-to-year change in pollination networks from six different sites spanning a large latitudinal gradient. We quantified level of species persistence and interactions among years, and examined year-to-year variation of network structural parameters in relation to latitude and sampling effort. In addition, we tested for correlations between annual variation in network parameters and short and long-term climate change variables. Numbers of plant and animal species and interactions were roughly constant from one year to another at all sites. However, composition of species and interactions changed from one year to another. Turnover was particularly high for flower visitors and interactions. On the other hand, network structural parameters (connectance, nestedness, modularity and centralization) remained remarkably constant between years, regardless of network size and latitude. Inter-annual variation of network parameters was not related to short or long term variation in climate variables (mean annual temperature and annual precipitation). We thus conclude that pollination networks are highly dynamic and variable in composition of species and interactions among years. However, general patterns of network structure remain constant, indicating that species may be replaced by topologically similar species. These results suggest that pollination networks are to some extent robust against factors affecting species occurrences.
Analysis of Solar Power Optimizer for DC Distribution Generation System

This paper proposes a high step-up solar power optimizer (SPO) that efficiently harvests maximum energy from a photovoltaic (PV) panel then outputs energy to a dc-microgrid. Its structure integrates coupled inductor and switched capacitor technologies to realize high step-up voltage gain. The leakage inductance energy of the coupled inductor can be recycled to reduce voltage stress and power losses. A low voltage rating and low-conduction resistance switch improves system efficiency by employing the incremental conductance method for the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm. Because of its high tracking accuracy, the method is widely used in the energy harvesting of PV systems. laboratory prototypes of the proposed SPO that have an input voltage range of 20 to 40 V and a maximum PV output power of 400 V/300 W are applied. Simulation results are carried out using MATLAB/Simulink model design
Maribavir for Refractory or Resistant Cytomegalovirus Infections in Hematopoietic-cell or Solid-organ Transplant Recipients: A Randomized, Dose-ranging, Double-blind, Phase 2 Study

In this multicenter, dose-ranging study of maribavir for the treatment of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections deemed refractory or resistant to current antivirals, 67% of patients achieved clearance of CMV viremia within 6 weeks, with responses maintained for up to 24 weeks.
Study of Disinfectant Resistance Genes in Ocular Isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Background: The prevalence of disinfectant resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa is on the rise. P. aeruginosa is the most common bacteria isolated from cases of microbial keratitis. Many multi-purpose contact lens disinfectant solutions are available to decontaminate contact lenses before use and to help reduce the incidence of infections. However, with increasing disinfectant resistance, the effect of multi-purpose disinfectant solutions may diminish. The goal of this study was to examine genes associated with disinfectant resistance in ocular isolates of P. aeruginosa and understand the strain’s susceptibility to different multipurpose disinfectant solutions. Methods: Seven potential disinfectant resistance genes were used in BLASTn searches against the whole genomes of 13 eye isolates of P. aeruginosa. A microdilution broth method was used to examine susceptibility to four different multipurpose disinfectant solutions. Results: All strains possessed the sugE2, sugE3 and emrE (qacE) genes. The sugE1 and qacEdelta1 genes were present in 6/13 isolates. No strains contained the qacF or qacG genes. All tested disinfectant solutions had the ability to kill all test strains at 100% concentration, with some strains being susceptible at 1:8 dilutions of the disinfecting solutions. However, the presence of disinfectant resistance genes was not associated with susceptibility to multi-purpose disinfectants. Conclusion: All four tested contact lens disinfectant preparations are effective against P. aeruginosa isolates regardless of the presence of disinfectant resistance genes.
Biocatalytic Production of Biodiesel from Vegetable Oils

Alcoholysis of vegetable oils is an important reaction to produce fatty acid alkyl esters which are excellent substitutes for diesel fuel and valuable intermediates in oleochemistry [1, 2]. Fatty acid methyl esters, a mixture of mono-alkyl esters are also known as biodiesel, obtained from both vegetable oils such as sunflower oil, canola oil, soyabean oil, jatropha oil, palm oil, rapeseed oil, peanut oil, cotton seed oil and animal fats such as beef tallow, and lard. Biodiesel can also be produced from other sources such as waste cooking oil, algae, and greases [3]. Biodiesel production has attracted considerable attention in the past two decades because of biodegradable, renewable, non-toxic, and environmentally friendly and socially responsible fuel [4]. Biodiesel can be produced by several methods: direct use or blending, microemulsion, thermal cracking (pyrolysis), and transesterification including acid-catalyzed processes, basecatalyzed processes, lipase-catalyzed processes, non-ionic base-catalyzed processes, and heterogeneously catalyzed processes [5, 6]. Among these methods, alkali catalyzed process including an alkali catalyst (usally NaOH, KOH, or sodium methoxide) has been accepted industrially due to its high conversion of triglycerides to methyl esters in a short reaction time and high reaction rates. In spite of these advantages of chemical transesterification process, it also possesses some disadvantages such as the need to eliminate the catalyst and salt from the biodiesel phase, to remove saponification products, the difficulty of recycling glycerol, and their energy-intensive nature, leading to development of alternative processes [7-9]. Alcohol‐ ysis is also carried out under acidic conditions, but this process requires higher reaction temperatures. In order to overcome these drawbacks, recently, enzymatic transesterification has attracted much attention for biodiesel production since it produces high purity product and provides an easy separation from the by-product glycerol. The use of enzymes (lipases) as catalysts in biodiesel production overcomes the problems inherent to alkali catalysts. It is reported that the enzymatic reactions are insensitive to free fatty acid (FFA) and water content
Rapid diagnosis of mycobacterium tuberculosis by Gene expert MTB / RIF assay in Western Algeria

Background and Objective: Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the most prevalent infectious diseases worldwide. An alarming rise in the global incidence of infections caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) has prompted the need for rapid diagnostic techniques. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the Xpert MTB/RIF assay for the detection of M. tuberculosis in pulmonary specimens, to compare it with conventional techniques and to determine the prevalence of MDR tuberculosis in positive pulmonary tuberculosis patients. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in service of pneumophtisiology (B) in hospital of Oran (western Algerian). The material of study came from different CHU and different public health sectors of western wilayas . Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) Stained smear microscopy, culture on LJ media and Xpert MTB/RIF assay were performed on samples from these patients. Results: During a period of 24 months (January 2013December 2014), 50 clinically TB suspects were enrolled for Xpert MTB\RIF assay . M. tuberculosis (MTB) was detected by Xpert MTB/RIF test in the entire 50 (100%) cases. Of these (100%) were smear positive on ZN staining and (100%) were positive on LJ cultures. Rifampicin resistance was detected in 21 (42%) patients. All the twenty-one cases were confirmed as MTB-MDR by phenotypic drug susceptibility testing. Conclusion: Xpert MTB/RIF is a sensitive method for rapid diagnosis of Tuberculosis, especially in MDR-TB suspect cases.
Wireless Sensor Networks: An Overview from an Optimization Perspective

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have established themselves as the modern and future standard when it comes to networking applications. Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are self-configured, infrastructure-less and consist of numerous nodes, which form the network structure. They have seen a variety of use in modern measurement and environmental analysis applications over the recent years and such applications of wireless sensor networks are being continuously studied and developed for even better overall performance. The nature and setup of wireless sensor networks allows for some important applications such as monitoring physical and environmental conditions like temperature, sound, vibrations, pressure and motion. As per the wireless sensor network structure, these measurements are then transferred to sinks and base stations from the nodes, for further study and analysis, basically the usage of data. This wireless sensor network standard does come with a few of its own problems, which range from coverage, topology, routing to energy efficiency. This paper discusses wireless sensor networks, and major problems related to the functioning of these networks and some related solutions. This paper also further proposes a theoretical solution to the energy efficiency problem of wireless sensor networks, and further studies how solving this problem can improve on some of the major existing applications of wireless sensor networks.
The Promise of Single Cell Omics for Onco-therapy

Despite extensive research effort and considerable progress, the “war on cancer” that president Nixon declared in 1971 has yet to be optimally integrated into cancer therapeutics and as such cancer remains a major medical challenge for oncologists. The dynamic and complex biology of tumor cells undergoing clonal evolution generates cells with diverse degrees of drug resistance and metastatic potential. This highlights the need to be able to access this clonal density in order to develop effective therapeutics. With this prospective, early phase single cell studies are vital for thoroughly interrogating tumor heterogeneity to uncover more about cancer cell biology and to explore new therapeutic targets leading to more successful treatments. Current evidence supports the notion that clonogenic cells within the tumor mass may potentially give rise to a population of cells with unique genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic features distinct from the rest of the tumor mass. This observation can explain drug resistance after an initial period of primary tumor response. Therefore, completely abrogating or at a minimum achieving long-term, durable control over cancer requires researchers and oncologists to employ a personalized medicine approach that includes both tumor and patient-associated variables to modify current therapeutic regimens. In this review we discuss the importance of omics and in particular single cell genomics which are increasingly promising given recently developed technology advancements to facilitate exploration of cellular heterogeneity and tumor complexity.
Separating homophily and peer influence with latent space

We study the impact of peer behavior on the adoption of mobile apps in a social network. To identify social influence properly, we introduce latent space as an approach to control for latent homophily, the idea that “birds of a feather flock together. ” In a series of simulations, we show that latent space coordinates significantly reduce bias in the estimate of social influence. The intuition is that latent coordinates act as proxy variables for hidden traits that give rise to latent homophily. The approach outperforms existing methods such as including observed covariates, random effects, or fixed effects. We then apply the latent space approach to identify social influence on installation of mobile apps in a social network. We find that peer influence account for 27% of mobile app adoptions, and that latent homophily inflates this estimate by 40% (to 38%). In some samples, ignoring latent homophily can result in overestimation of social effects by over 100%.
The family Deinodontidae, with notice of a new genus from the Cretaceous of Alberta. Bulletin of the AMNH ; v. 46, article 6.

Matthew, W. D. , Brown, B. (1922): The family Deinodontidae, with notice of a new genus from the cretaceous of Alberta. Bulletin of the AMNH 46, No. 6: 367-385, URL: http://www.digitallibrary. amnh.org/bitstream/handle/2246/1300/v2/dspace/ingest/pdfSource/bul/B046a06.pdf? sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Printable anisotropic phantom for EEG with distributed current sources

Presented is the phantom mimicking the electromagnetic properties of the human head. The fabrication is based on the additive manufacturing (3d-printing) technology combined with the electrically conductive gel. The novel key features of the phantom are the controllable anisotropic electrical conductivity of the skull and the densely packed actively multiplexed monopolar current sources permitting interpolation of the measured gain function to any dipolar current source position and orientation within the head. The phantom was tested in realistic environment successfully simulating the possible signals from neural activations situated at any depth within the brain as well as EMI and motion artifacts. The proposed design can be readily repeated in any lab having an access to a standard 100 micron precision 3d-printer. The meshes of the phantom are available from the corresponding author.