Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Influence of High Level Features of HVS on Performance of FSIM

In this paper the influence of information about high level features of Human Visual System (HVS) on objective quality assessment is studied. This was done by extending the existing full-reference objective image quality metric – FSIM – where the different importance of certain areas of image is considered using Phase Congruency (PC) algorithm. Here, the estimation of Region of Interest (ROI) based on this algorithm is complemented by Fixation Density Maps (FDM) containing the information about high level features of HVS. Use of another low level features based algorithm (Phase Spectrum of Fourier Transform) was also considered and compared to the PC algorithm. The performance was evaluated qualitatively on images reconstructed according to ROI and quantitatively on images from LIVE database. The correlation between subjective and objective tests was calculated using Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient and Spearman’s Rank Order Coefficient. The statistical significance of the difference between correlation coefficients was assessed by Fisher r-to-z transformation. The performance of the metric was also compared to other state-of-the-art image quality metrics (SSIM, MS-SSIM, and FSIM).
SPECTRAL AMPLITUDE BASED PROBABILISTIC SEISMIC HAZARD FOR THE AREA COLOGNE / AACHEN ( GERMANY ) CONSIDERING THE UNCERTAINTIES OF THE INPUT PARAMETERS

Probabilistic seismic hazard is calculated for an area near Cologne/Aachen (Germany) in the Lower Rhine Embayment. Using the logic tree technique, the uncertainties of the various input parameters and models are quantified in order to give a measure of the errors to the output hazard. Main input features are different combinations of seismic source zones derived from a detailed neotectonically founded regionalization model, seismicity parameters from a new earthquake databank with unified Mw, distributions of maximum expected magnitudes derived with a technique combining global and regional magnitude data, and attenuation relations selected to correspond to the faulting regime of the investigated area.
INTELLIGENT CONDITION ASSESSMENT OF ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT IN POWER SYSTEMS

The increasing pressure of costs forces the transmission network operators to make use of all possible economy measures. An integrated system for maintenance scheduling on the basis of condition based maintenance is proposed as an approach to save costs in the field of maintenance activities. The main subject of this paper is to present a quantitative description of the condition of the devices of the power system based on Dempster-Shafer’s theory of evidence. Actual monitoring measures are analyzed with respect to their relevance to serve as input data for condition based maintenance.
Damage of Oil Storage Tanks Caused by Liquid Sloshing in the 2003 Tokachi Oki Earthquake and Revision of Design Spectra in the Long-Period Range

The 2003 Tokachi-oki earthquake (Mw=8.0) caused the severe damage to oil storage tanks such as fires and sinking of floating roofs by liquid sloshing excited by long-period strong ground motions. In order to prevent such severe damage due to future earthquakes, we predicted the velocity response spectra in the long-period range at more than 80 oil industrial complex districts in Japan, mainly based on the empirical method considering seismotectonic zoning. Based on both predicted spectra for earthquakes with maximum expected magnitude in each seismotectonic zone and damage pattern of oil storage tanks, we proposed design spectra with 210 cm/s in maximum as a function of period and district, which were adopted in the revised Japan Fire Service Law enforced on April 2005.
P o S ( C D 1 2 ) 0 1 6 Precision Muon Capture at PSI

The muon capture program at PSI is reviewed. Its focus is on hydrogen and deuterium, where theoretical predictions based on first principle calculations within chiral effective field theory are available. The completed analysis of the MuCap experiment unambiguously determines the muon capture rate on the proton and derives the pseudoscalar coupling of the nucleon, leading to a stringent test of QCD at low energies. The MuSun experiment determines a poorly known low energy constant from muon capture on the deuteron, which is needed to calculate fundamental astrophysics reaction, such as solar pp fusion.
MiR-184 has prognostic implication and is down-regulated during the malignant progression in human astrocytoma

Recent studies have indicated that miR-184 is deysregulated and function both as oncogene and tumor suppressor in several types of cancer. However, the role of miR-184 in astrocytoma is still not clearly understood. Therefore, we in the present study aimed to investigate the clinical significance of miR-184 expression in human astrocytomas. We examined the expression level of miR-184 in 76 astrocytoma tissues and 5 cell lines by qRT-PCR and found that miR-184 expression was markedly reduced in the tumor tissues and cell lines, compared with that in non-neoplastic brain tissues and human astrocyte, respectively. In addition, low expression of miR-184 was significantly associated with the aggressive clinicopathological features (advanced tumor degree, advanced patient age, low Karnofsky performance score and high ki-67 index of tumor tissue) in astrocytoma patients. Furthmore, the correlations of miR-184 expression with prognosis of astrocytoma patients were also modeled by Kaplan-Meier method and multivariate analysis. Our results showed that patients with low miR-184 expression had significantly poor survival (P < 0.001, Kaplan-Meier method) and miR-184 was an independent prognostic indicator for astrocytoma patients (P < 0.001; risk ratio = 5.7, Cox regression analysis). Moreover, we examined miR-184 expression in paired tumor tissues from seven patients with primary lower-grade astrocytomas and the spontaneously recurrent higher-grade astrocytomas. MiR-184 showed an absolute down-regulation in recurrent astrocytomas as compared with the corresponding primary tumors. In conclusion, our data suggest that down-regulation of miR-184 may have potential value for predicting clinical outcomes in astrocytoma patients, and miR-184 is an important candidate tumor suppressor, and its down-regulation may contribute to mailgnant progression of human astrocytoma.
Solving the Trust-Region Subproblem By a Generalized Eigenvalue Problem

The state-of-the-art algorithms for solving the trust-region subproblem (TRS) are based on an iterative process, involving solutions of many linear systems, eigenvalue problems, subspace optimization, or line search steps. A relatively underappreciated fact, due to Gander, Golub, and von Matt [Linear Algebra Appl. , 114 (1989), pp. 815--839], is that TRSs can be solved by one generalized eigenvalue problem, with no outer iterations. In this paper we rediscover this fact and discover its great practicality, which exhibits good performance both in accuracy and efficiency. Moreover, we generalize the approach in various directions, namely by allowing for an ellipsoidal constraint, dealing with the so-called hard case, and obtaining approximate solutions efficiently when high accuracy is unnecessary. We demonstrate that the resulting algorithm is a general-purpose TRS solver, effective both for dense and large-sparse problems, including the so-called hard case. Our algorithm is easy to implement: its essence i.
Sources of implicit and explicit intergroup race bias among African-American children and young adults

Implicit intergroup bias emerges early in development, are typically pro-ingroup, and remain stable across the lifespan. Such findings have been interpreted in terms of an automatic ingroup bias similar to what is observed with minimal groups paradigms. These studies are typically conducted with groups of high cultural standing (e.g., Caucasians in North America and Europe). Research conducted among culturally lower status groups (e.g., African-Americans, Latino-Americans) reveals a notable absence of an implicit ingroup bias. Understanding the environmental factors that contribute to the absence of an implicit ingroup bias among people from culturally lower status groups is critical for advancing theories of implicit intergroup cognition. The present study aimed to elucidate the factors that shape racial group bias among African-American children and young adults by examining their relationship with age, school composition (predominantly Black schools or racially mixed schools), parental racial attitudes and socialization messages among African-American children (N = 86) and young adults (N = 130). Age, school-type and parents’ racial socialization messages were all found to be related to the strength of pro-Black (ingroup) bias. We also found that relationships between implicit and explicit bias and frequency of parents' racial socialization messages depended on the type of school participants attended. Our results highlight the importance of considering environmental factors in shaping the magnitude and direction of implicit and explicit race bias among African-Americans rather than treating them as a monolithic group.
3 D printed micro fl uidics and microelectronics

Article history: Received 15 June 2017 Received in revised form 14 December 2017 Accepted 16 December 2017 Available online 21 December 2017 Submillimeter-scale domains offer wide-ranging benefits for chemical and biological fields, which havemotivated researchers to develop a diversity of strategies formanufacturing integratedmicrofluidic systems. Historically, microfluidic device construction has predominantly relied onmicromachining technologies that are rooted in the semiconductor and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) industries. These methodologies have enabled microfluidic platforms to be fabricatedwith fully integratedmicroelectronics – a critical requirement for applications such as electrophoresis and dielectrophoresis (DEP), surface acoustic wave (SAW) actuation, digital microfluidics (e.g., via electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD) phenomena), and on-chip electrochemical detection. Despite the distinguishing capabilities afforded by conventional microfabrication protocols, a number of inherent limitations have given rise to increasing interest in alternative approaches formicrodevice construction in the form of additive manufacturing or “three-dimensional (3D) printing”. Here we review recent progress in the development of both 3D printedmicrofluidics and 3D printedmicroelectronics. We evaluate the distinctive benefits and constraints associated with emerging 3D printing technologies with respect to the fabrication of both microfluidic and microelectronic systems. Lastly, we examine the potential use of 3D printing-based approaches for manufacturing microfluidic devices with integrated microelectronics. © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
California DAMAGE ASSESSMENT AND RESIDUAL CAPACITY OF RC BEAMS SUBJECTED TO LOW-CYCLE FATIGUE

This paper presents the preliminary results of an extensive experimental campaign of investigation on the damage assessment and residual capacity of RC beams at the University of Canterbury using low-cycle fatigue approach. In the first stage, the structural behavior of an RC beam under constant-amplitude fatigue loading at ±2% was examined. This provided a basis to determine the total number of cycles required to failure (i.e., fatigue life), and also to assess the fatigue damage in terms of degradation in strength, stiffness and energy dissipation capacity over the fatigue life of the specimen. In the second stage, two companion RC beams were subjected to 70% and 90% of their fatigue life at ±2% drift, re-centered and then monotonically loaded up to failure. Furthermore, one reference intact beam was subjected to similar monotonic loading up to failure. To determine the residual monotonic flexural capacity of the beams, the lateral force–displacement curves of both cyclically pre-damaged specimens and the undamaged specimen were compared. The evolution of fatigue damage represented three different regions: initial degradation up to about 10% of fatigue life, followed by a gradual decay up to about 70% of fatigue life, and the third stage, consisting of significant drops due to fracture of longitudinal reinforcement. The study showed that 70% is the fraction of fatigue life that may be considered as the threshold beyond which the failure of the test specimen is inevitable. It was also observed that the application of 70% of the fatigue life degrades strength and secant stiffness in the subsequent residual monotonic behavior of the specimen by up to 38% and 72%, respectively but there is almost no degradation in deformation capacity up to 12.5% drift. Ph.D student, Dept. of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, New Zealand, (email: ammalek@gmail.com) Senior lecturer, Dept. of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, New Zealand, (email: allan.scott@canterbury.ac.nz) Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’, Rome, Italy; Dept. of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, New Zealand. (email: stefano.pampanin@uniroma1.it) Malek A, Scott A, Pampanin S. Damage Assessment and Residual Capacity of RC Beams Subjected to Low-Cycle Fatigue. Proceedings of the 11th National Conference in Earthquake Engineering, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, Los Angeles, CA. 2018. Damage Assessment and Residual Capacity of RC Beams Subjected to Low-Cycle Fatigue A. Malek, A. Scott, S. Pampanin
Measurement of Gait and Balance in the Elderly

A description is given of the gait and balance laboratory of the Department of Geriatric Medicine of the University of Birmingham, and of the program of tests devised for use in elderly persons. These can be undertaken without discomfort or anxiety to the subjects. They are yielding data that should assist in the management of disorders of gait and balance in the elderly.
A PROBABILISTIC METHODOLOGY FOR ASSESSING SEISMIC SLOPE DISPLACEMENTS

The assessment of the performance of earth structures in geotechnical earthquake engineering is of great importance, because the failure of an earth dam, solid-waste landfill, natural slope or constructed embankment, can result in significant human and financial losses and severe environmental impact. Although it is important to quantify the risk of failure of these systems, most of the research in seismic slope stability has been performed deterministically. The objective of the current research is to offer a probabilistic methodology for the assessment of seismically induced permanent displacements. The proposed approach utilizes a generalized 1-D equivalent-linear fully coupled stick-slip sliding block model to characterize a slope’s dynamic response, making use of an earthquake database comprising over 680 recorded ground motions to compute the simulated seismic displacements. A predictive model for seismic displacements is developed, using as predictive variables the yield coefficient of the slope (ky), the initial one-dimensional fundamental period (Ts), and the spectral acceleration at a degraded period equal to 1.5Ts. The predictive equation has two branches separately computing the probability of “zero” displacement occurring from the distribution of “nonzero” displacement. Displacements smaller or equal to 0.1 cm are defined as “zero” for practical purposes. Following its validation with 16 case histories of earth dam and solid-waste landfill performance, the proposed model is implemented in a probabilistic framework for the evaluation of the seismic displacement hazard.
Changes in Forced Expiratory Volumes Throughout the Day

a plateau. Less commonly we have also seen apparent plateaux when too high an inspired CO2 concentration was used. This may occur in patients breathing very shallowly, when it is apparently due to inadequate exchange between the bag and the lungs; the gas in the neck of the bag and in the subject's dead space just passing to-and-fro by the sampling site. An extreme example, of course, is apnoea, which can be excluded by watching the movements of the bag. We have also observed an apparent plateau about 20-25 seconds after the start of rebreathing in subjects who breathe deeply when very high inspired CO2 concentrations are used (Fig. 1 C). The probable explanation of this late plateau is that there is too much CO2 to be removed by the blood before recirculation. Equilibration therefore occurs with recirculated blood whose pCO2 was raised by the very high alveolar pCO2 present in the first 5-10 seconds. As a result of these findings we suggest the following modification of Collier's definition of a satisfactory plateau: an inspired-expired CO2 concentration difference of less than 0.1% which is present in two successive breaths. Plateaux which occur within two breaths of the start of rebreathing or which take more than 15 seconds to appear should be regarded with suspicion. Conclusions The mixed venous and arterial CO2 tensions can be estimated accurately by rebreathing techniques. The simplest method is to use a continuous CO2 analyser as described by Collier. If such an instrument is not available it is still possible to estimate pCO2 with sufficient accuracy for clinical purposes in 5 to 10 minutes, using the following procedure: (I) Fill a bag with 1.5-2 1. of oxygen. (2) Rebreathe one and a half minutes. During first few breaths partially empty bag if tidal volume is less than half bag-volume. (3) Wait two minutes. (4) Rebreathe 20 seconds or five breaths (whichever is longer). (5) Analyse: bag pCO2=mixed venous pCO2 (arterial approximately 6 mm. Hg less). [Note: (a) If in doubt, make I smaller; extend 2 as long as possible; extend 4 to 40 seconds. These should not increase bag pCO2 by more than 5 mm. Hg. (b) pCO2 of bag after initial one and a half minutes' rebreathing will give an approximate estimate of mixed venous pCO, (Table II). ]
The evolution and concept of tax compliance in Asia and Europe

This paper discusses the concept of tax compliance from various perspectives. The objective of this paper is to provide further understanding in tax compliance discipline by reviewing previous international literature. The paper begins with the concepts and the definitions of tax compliance and tax non-compliance followed by measure of national tax compliance in various countries such as India and Austria. This paper also discusses the various definitions of tax compliance provided by previous authors from various backgrounds and countries from 1960s. The measures that need to be taken by tax authorities and government to increase compliance also discussed in later part of this paper. although various studies have been undertaken to determine as accurately as possible the factors that impact upon tax compliance behaviour, undoubtedly, the government should consider seriously the characteristics of non compliant taxpayers, review current regulations and possibly as a result, increase audit rates and penalty rates (enforcement) as well as attempting to build good relationships with taxpayers in seeking to improve general tax compliance levels.
Optimum Control Parameters of Switched Reluctance Motor for Torque Production Improvement over the Entire Speed Range

The switched reluctance motor (SRM) is a powerful candidate for many domestic and industrial applications. However, the double salient structure and discrete commutation process make it very difficult to acquire the analytical model of SRM. The performance optimization of SRM is achieved mainly based on the observation and analysis of its static magnetization characteristics. This paper presents multi-objective optimization of SRM’s control parameters for optimum motor operation over wide range of speeds. The optimization aims to achieve the maximum torque production with the lowest copper loss. A searching algorithm is developed to find the base values as they vary for each operating point. The objective-function is calculated using a dynamic/actual simulation model of SRM. For a highly trusted model of SRM, the static magnetization characteristics of tested 8/6 SRM are measured experimentally. Then, the measured data are used to build the model in a MATLAB/Simulink environment. The proposed control is implemented using an artificial neural network (ANN). A series of simulations and experimental results are obtained to show the feasibility of the proposed control.
A Novel Four-Face Polarization Twister Based on Three-Dimensional Magnetic Toroidal Dipoles

In this paper, a novel structure for a four-face polarization twister based on three-dimensional magnetic toroidal dipoles is proposed. This structure could rotate left-circularly polarized wave into right-circularly polarized wave, which is different from the traditional case. This polarization twister can be excited from four incident directions for efficiency as high as 86.26% or more. After the optimization, polarization twister constructed by toroidal dipoles is confirmed to be reasonable and successful based on simulation results.
BLAST RESISTANCE OF SEISMICALLY DESIGNED BRIDGE PIERS

The issue of protecting infrastructure against multiple extreme events is gaining interest in civil engineering. The authors previously presented the development and experimental validation of a multi-hazard bridge pier concept, i.e., a bridge pier system capable of providing an adequate level of protection against collapse under both seismic and blast loading. The proposed concept was a multi-column pier-bent with concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) columns. The columns turned out to be effective for blast loadings because breaching and spalling of concrete are prevented to occur in the CFST columns. While CFST columns perform excellently in a multi-hazard perspective, they have not been commonly used in bridge engineering practice. Questions arose as to whether conventional columns designed to perform satisfactory under seismic excitations would possess adequate blast resistance. Two commonly used systems to provide ductile performance of reinforced concrete (RC) columns in seismic regions were considered in this project; first, RC columns with closely spaced stirrups in compliance with latest seismic provisions, and second, non-ductile reinforced concrete columns retrofitted with steel jackets. This paper presents the findings of research to examine seismically resistant bridge piers that are designed according to current seismic knowledge and that are currently applied in typical highway bridge designs. A series of experiments were performed on 1/4 scale typical seismically detailed ductile RC columns and non-ductile RC columns retrofitted with steel jacketing. The standard RC and steel jacketed RC columns, known to exhibit satisfactory seismic behavior, failed in shear at the base of the column under blast loading.