Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Computer network optimization

Computer networks are vital in our everyday lives. It is important to design network configurations with special consideration for their various aspects, such as security, integrity, scalability, and cost. It is especially important for a network to be built as robustly as possible to protect against failures, attacks, and intrusions. In this article, I review methods to assess and improve the robustness and efficiency of computer networks. These methods use computer network analysis, social network analysis, evolutionary computing, statistical methods, and graph theory. Specifically, the aim has been to achieve enhanced network robustness and efficiency with a primary focus on architecture and topology of networks. Metrics have been developed for measuring the robustness and efficiency elements of networks and to construct an evolutionary algorithm for the enhancement of these elements. These methods have been applied to various networks, including random networks, biased networks, and real‐life networks. These networks have been analyzed and enhanced using the evolutionary algorithm. Using the metrics, it is shown how the robustness and efficiency of the networks improve. In addition, through this evolutionary process, certain network parameters, as well as the network topological configuration converge. WIREs Comp Stat 2011 3 34–46 DOI: 10.1002/wics.135
Review of Worksite Weight Management Programs

This article explores worksite weight management programs by reviewing the literature and providing recommendations to address obesity, a major public health challenge. Ten full-text articles published between 2005 and 2013 were reviewed. The literature supports a combination of physical activity, education, and diet to either maintain weight or result in modest weight loss.
Clinical and pharmacokinetic effects of combined warfarin and 5-flourouracil in advanced colon cancer.

Twenty-five patients with advanced measurable adenocarcinoma of the colon were treated with 5-fluorouracil (FUra), 15 to 20 mg/kg/week i.v. , plus warfarin p.o. at a dosage which maintains therapeutic levels of anticoagulation. Sixty-four % of patients achieved either objective response (20%) or stable disease (44%). Overall median survival was 19.2 months. Three patients (all with intraluminal lesions) developed gastrointestinal blood loss requiring transfusion and discontinuation of anticoagulation. The interaction between warfarin and FUra as measured by plasma levels was investigated in seven rabbits and three patients. Plasma samples were obtained for 2 hr after FUra administration, both before and after anticoagulation with warfarin. FUra was measured by gas chromatography, and warfarin was assayed using a thin-layer chromatographic fluorescence method. In rabbits, prolongation of FUra plasma t1/2 was seen with high (0.6 mg/kg/hr) but not low (0.025 mg/kg/hr) rates of warfarin infusion. In patients, FUra t1/2 was not changed by therapeutic warfarin anticoagulation. Thus, (a) plasma clearance interaction between FUra and warfarin does not occur in patients receiving therapeutic levels of anticoagulation; (b) FUra and warfarin anticoagulation can be safely given and frequently result in stable disease status for patients with advanced colon cancer. Further trials of this combination are warranted in adenocarcinoma of the colon.
Built in Test Coverage and Diagnostics Best Practices to Achieve Built in Test Success

Idealy, everyone would like to embed test into their products today, whether it’s to reduce costs, build in support capabilities, ensure better quality, reduce dependacy on expert technicians, or for one of many other intelligent motivations. However, it seems the technology of Built in Test (BIT) has not taken off or been adopted like many believed it would. The reasons for this poor adoption are diverse: some blame it on design, others fault product specifications and even others blame it on the fundementals of the technology itself. The underlying root cause of slow BIT adoption may be a result of an inaccurate belief that designing an embedded test is more difficult than designing any other test. In reality, understanding what to embed is simply a function of knowing the coverage you are seeking and at what level you want to be able to diagnose the problem when a failure occurs. Presented in this paper are several considerations on how to best approach Built in Test. This preferred approach is illustrated by explaining the importance of understanding how to achieve effective and appropriate coverage levels, while also maintaining a useful level of diagnostic resolution. Understanding and application of these concepts will effectively enable optimal design and implementation of Built in Test.
Automatic video to stereoscopic video conversion

In this paper a method to convert a monoscopic video movie to a stereoscopic video movie is presented. This method is based on passively acquired video images using a single camera and may be applied in PC based real time system. Current methods for generating single camera stereoscopic videos and ad-hoc standards are based on creating a depth map. The depth map calculation is based on structure from motion methods. In order to work properly the depth map should be very dense and accurate. Otherwise, local deformations may occur. Our proposed method is based on calculating a planar transformation between images in the sequence and relies on the human capability to sense the residual parallax. Therefore it does not depend on calculation of the depth map. This advantage is of great importance when deformation of even small objects is forbidden as in reconnaissance and medical systems. The proposed method generates stereoscopic image pairs. Each pair consists of the original image and a transformed image. The transformed image is generated from another image of the original sequence. That image is selected by the algorithm such that a considerable parallax is developed between the two original frames. The chosen image is then warped using the planar transformation. Our algorithm assumes a good planar transformation approximation between the images. Thus, residual disparities are related to the distance from the average plane. As such, zooming and rotation are eliminated after the warping process, and the eyes integrate the images to 3D scene based on the disparity. The algorithm has been tested and is demonstrated on aerial scenes as well as terrestrial using a hand held camera.
INTEGRATED PROBABILISTIC LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT AND DURABILITY DESIGN FOR SUSTAINABLE SHCC INFRASTRUCTURE

Strain hardening cementitious composites (SHCC) have demonstrated durability superior to that of conventional reinforced concrete due to their unique cracking behavior which influences transport, as well as corrosion propagation and damage development. In addition to more durable infrastructure, SHCCs can result in more sustainable infrastructure when accounting for life cycle performance. Focusing on numerical modeling of SHCC deterioration, this paper presents an approach to operationalize SHCC design and maintenance for improved sustainability. This framework consists of two types of models: (i) material degradation models and (ii) life cycle assessment models. Numerical modeling of deterioration is used to estimate the time to each repair. These deterioration models are coupled with environmental impact models of a given repair, rehabilitation, or strengthening activity based on a process-based LCA of individual repair activities. All models are formulated stochastically so that the time to repair and total sustainability impact are described by a probability density function. Results facilitate decision-making by infrastructure stakeholders when designing to meet sustainability targets.
Optimum PN sequences for CDMA systems

Most known methods for the design of hopping patterns for frequency-hopped code-division multiple-access (CDMA) systems and for the design of signature sequences for direct-sequence CDMA systems provide sequences that can be viewed as codewords (or the images of codewords) from low-rate Reed-Solomon codes. This paper surveys sequence designs for CDMA systems from this viewpoint. <<ETX>>
Enhanced approach to film flicker removal

Flicker, defined as unnatural temporal fluctuations in perceived image intensity, is a common artifact in old films. Flicker removal is needed due to the high quality requirement of revitalizing old films. In this paper, we propose a least square estimation (LSE) method for eliminating flicker in film archives. The essential point of this method is to estimate flicker parameters for each small region by minimizing the squared error between corrected intensities in previous frames and estimated intensities in current frame. Based on the thresholds of flicker parameters, stationary and motion blocks are detected. For those stationary blocks, a criterion of mean squared error (MSE) is added to strongly restrict the stationary area. These blocks, in which MSEs surpass the threshold, are flagged as motion blocks. Flicker parameters in motion blocks are retrieved by iterative interpolation process. Synthetic and real flicker image sequences are used to evaluate and demonstrate the algorithm's usefulness in terms of average PSNR and visual quality in real-time playback respectively. Moreover, the results gotten from LSE method were compared with those obtained from Roosmalen method. The results of LSE method show an impressive improvement on PSNR in simulated flicker sequence. Meanwhile, no blocky effect and no new artifacts introduced are visible in real-time play back for both synthetic and real sequence.
Error estimates in L 2 of an ADI splitting scheme for the inhomogeneous Maxwell equations

In this paper we investigate an alternating direction implicit (ADI) time integration scheme for the Maxwell equations with currents, charges and conductivity. The main results establish that the scheme converges in L 2 with order two to the solution of the Maxwell system. Moreover, the divergence conditions in the system are preserved with order one. These results are based on a detailed regularity analysis of both the Maxwell system and the discrete scheme.
Studies in VLSI technology economics. IV. Models for gate array design productivity

An empirical model of design productivity is presented and its implications for current and future design are discussed. Model and observed values correlate well (the correlation coefficient is 0.85). The analysis encompasses 70 designs, primarily gate arrays, of up to 25000 gates from five major corporations, designed during 1983-8. The estimate of design productivity enables the determination of normalized productivity, manpower, and schedule. The normalized design productivity adjusts for differences in the design tasks, permitting standardized productivity measurements for planning and for benchmarking. >
Generation of augmented video sequences combining behavioral animation and multi-object tracking

In this paper we present a novel approach to generate augmented video sequences in real-time, involving interactions between virtual and real agents in real scenarios. On the one hand, real agent motion is estimated by means of a multi-object tracking algorithm, which determines real objects' position over the scenario for each time step. On the other hand, virtual agents are provided with behavior models considering their interaction with the environment and with other agents. The resulting framework allows to generate video sequences involving behavior-based virtual agents that react to real agent behavior and has applications in education, simulation, and in the game and movie industries. We show the performance of the proposed approach in an indoor and outdoor scenario simulating human and vehicle agents. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. We present a novel approach to generate augmented video sequences in real-time, involving interactions between virtual and real agents in real scenarios. On the one hand, real agent motion is estimated by means of a multi-object tracking algorithm, which determines real objects' position over the scenario for each time step. On the other hand, virtual agents are provided with behavior models considering their interaction with the environment and with other agents. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Knowledge management of interconnected decisions with application to project management

In this paper we describe a methodology to support decisionmaking in a multiple decision environment using previous experience regarding decisions and their interrelationships. This methodology comprises: (a) new kinds of knowledge which help to better understand the interrelationships between decisions; (b) a human reasoning process incorporating the reuse of past experience in making interrelated decisions; (c) lessons that can be learned or formulated, on the basis of past experience, when current interconnected decisions are to be made. Case-based reasoning (CBR) is used to manage decision knowledge using cases—experience gained from previous decisions. This is complemented by dyad-based reasoning (DBR) to manage the interrelationships between decisions. A dyad is a pair of linked decisions reflecting past experience in making successive decisions. DBR provides a new type of knowledge: the nature and composition of an interconnected set of decisions involving several aspects of a decisionmaking situation. We demonstrate the application of the proposed methodology to a typical example of a multiple decision environment—project management. When a project manager has to make a number of interrelated decisions while carrying out several project management processes, a dyad knowledge base and DBR provide guidance as to the complementary considerations needed to make a multi-faceted set of decisions. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Designing B-Spline Surfaces with Haptics Based on Variational Technique

Due to their 3D nature, many CAD B-Spline surfaces are difficult to design and edit with traditional 2D interfaces, e.g., a 2D mouse. Based on an energy minimization method or variational B-Spline technique, the paper presents the technique of using a haptic device to design B-Spline surfaces. Under complex constraints and without any pre-calculation, the variational B-Spline technique used in the system can solve virtually all practical B-Spline surfaces in a matter of milliseconds. Such results are much more efficient and powerful than previous work in the variational B-Spline field. By using a haptic interface, the system allows a user in a natural 3D environment to directly manipulate/design constraints, e.g., points and curves, and in real time, the system generates energy-minimization B-Spline surfaces in response to haptic operations. The discussed technique delivers all the performance and capacity required for using haptics to design high-quality B-Spline surfaces, and haptic-based surface operat.
Alternating Mixing Stochastic Gradient Descent for Large-scale Matrix Factorization

This paper is concerned with distributed stochastic gradient descent (SGD) for large scale matrix factorization (MF), which seeks to approximate a data matrix V by the product of two low rank matrices W and H . Among many distributed methods, iterative parameter mixing (IPM) has been proven to be one of the most resource-efficient and effective techniques. However, some recent empirical studies showed that IPM fails in MF. The main reason lies in the coupling of W and H , which makes the direct mixing strategy no longer correct in MF. To address the problem, we propose an alternating mixing stochastic gradient descent algorithm for the MF problem, namely AM-SGD. In the new algorithm, matrices W and H are updated alternatively with parameter mixing strategy being applied in both procedures. In this way, the correctness of mixing is guaranteed and the effectiveness of IPM is preserved. Theoretical analysis and experiment results demonstrated that AM-SGD is more efficient and effective compared to state-of-the-art distributed SGD algorithms for MF.
The Role of Corpora in Compiling the Cambridge International Dictionary of English

The interaction between corpora and lexicons in compiling a monolingual learner dictionary, based on the experience of writing the Cambridge International Dictionary of English (1995). Exploitation of search facilities, statistical collocation analysis and analysis of syntactic patterns in a grammatically tagged corpus. Some limitations of corpus-based lexicography. Ways in which dictionary data was exploited in the analysis and enhancement of the corpus. In this project the corpora, software and dictionary were developed simultaneously rather than sequentially. An advantage of this way of working was that the evolution of the software was constantly guided by the needs of lexicographers, and a number of desirable avenues of development for the software tools and for the corpus itself were identified.
iPadiCan: Trialling iPads to support primary and secondary students with disabilities

iPads have only been on the market since April 2010 but have rapidly gained great attention within educational communities. While their potential to support teaching and learning has been advocated by many, as yet little empirical research has been released on their application in primary and secondary classrooms. This paper reports on an action research study which investigated the possible role of iPads in supporting learning for students with disabilities. The project sought to document the practical steps required to implement iPads in classrooms, the applications which might be most educationally effective, together with the perceptions of students, teachers, parents and teaching assistants (TAs). The study provides evidence of the significant potential of the devices for children with a wide range of disabilities and, through a number of brief vignettes, demonstrates their capacity to support both learning and socialisation.
ADJOINT WALL FUNCTIONS : VALIDATION AND APPLICATION TO VEHICLE AERODYNAMICS

This paper presents the continuous adjoint method for computing the sensitivity derivatives of integral functions used in incompressible aerodynamics; the formulation includes the full differentiation of the Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model, based on wall functions. The development of the continuous adjoint method for this turbulence model with wall functions is presented for the first time; the only previous work on adjoint wall functions was presented by the same group for the k-ε model, [1]. Isolated airfoil cases are initially studied, in order to assess the accuracy of the adjoint method which differentiates the turbulence model equations and the law of the wall. Then, the developed method is used to compute drag sensitivity maps of a passenger car.
Rapport de recherche Latece 2017-4 The Codification of Program Dependencies of JSP Custom Tag Libraries in JEE Applications

JSP custom tag libraries aim to improve the code reusability and quality. However, the use of custom tag libraries makes analyzing program dependencies difficult for several reasons. We identified five reasons that are: (1) we need to visit and to parse several files that have different syntaxes to understand the semantic of each custom tag, (2) implicit dependencies of callback methods related to the Web container services, (3) there are many different ways used to develop custom tags, (4) the reliance on different metamodel in the implementation of tag libraries, and (5) the use of multilanguage code in the output stream defined in tag handlers. In this paper, we discuss these problems and provide strategies to solve them, in order to codify program elements and related dependencies of JSP custom tag libraries. We implement these solutions in terms of a set of tools that can be used to identify a KDM model including the program elements and their related dependencies of JSP custom tag libraries.
Sistemas de bases de dados móveis

Abstract Nos últimos anos, tem-se vindo a presenciar a inúmeros avanços tecnológicos, tanto ao nível das comunicações sem fios como ao nível da computação portátil. Se por um lado as comunicações sem fios são cada vez mais rápidas e seguras, por outro as estações portáteis são, também, cada vez mais fáceis de transportar, uma vez que têm evidenciado uma diminuição do seu tamanho e peso, mantendo, todavia, alguma capacidade de processamento, armazenamento e autonomia das suas baterias. A par desses avanç
Parsimony Analysis - A Novel Method of Structured Knowledge Representation for Teaching Computer Science

Knowledge may be structured in a manner that may either handicap or improve learning outcomes. Knowledge construction is therefore an important aspect of the learning and assessment process. This paper is primarily concerned with structural knowledge (knowing how) of which there are numerous representations and mapping methods each with their associated strengths and weaknesses. This paper presents the novel application of parsimony analysis for organizing and defining structural knowledge within the field of computer science. Work to date has clearly demonstrated there are considerable potential pedagogical advantages to this approach.
A vehicle threat detection system using correlation analysis and synthesized x-ray images

The goal of the proposed research is to automate the vehicle threat detection with X-ray images when a vehicle crosses the country border or the gateway of a secured facility (military base). The proposed detection system requires two inputs: probe images (from X-ray machine) and gallery images (from database). For each vehicle, the gallery images include the X-ray images of fully-loaded (with typical cargo) and unloaded (empty) vehicle. The proposed system produces two types of outputs for threat detection: the detected anomalies and the synthesized images (e.g., grayscale fusion, color fusion, and differential images). The anomalies are automatically detected with the block-wise correlation analysis between two temporally aligned images (probe versus gallery). The locations of detected anomalies can be marked with small rectangles on the probe X-ray images. The several side-view images can be combined into one fused image in gray scale and in colors (color fusion) that provides more comprehensive information to the operator. The fused images are suitable for human analysis and decision. We analyzed a set of vehicle X-ray images, which consists of 4 images generated from AS and E OmniView Gantry™. The preliminary results of detected anomalies and synthesized images are very promising; meanwhile the processing speed is very fast.