Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Frequency of Occurrence and Ease of Articulation of Sign Language Handshapes: The Taiwanese Example

In the growing body of research on sign language linguistics, one area of inquiry considers an important component of all sign languages - handshapes - and whether the use of specific kinds increases in direct relation to the ease of their formation. Author Jean Ann provides significant clarification in her book "Frequency of Occurrence and Ease of Articulation of Sign Language Handshapes: The Taiwanese Example". Ann employs a straightforward methodology in her examination of the use of Taiwan Sign Language (TSL) handshapes in five succinct chapters. In the first chapter, she discusses the two approaches linguists have taken toward understanding languages, and how these theories have influenced sign language researchers' consideration of the ease of articulation and frequency of handshapes. In her second chapter, Ann delineates the physiology of hands and explains why certain digits move with greater dexterity than others. Ann applies this physiological information in the third chapter to construct a model for determining the ease of articulation of any logically possible handshape. She divides the handshapes into three categories ranging from impossible to easy. In the fourth chapter, she applies her model to examine the patterns of TSL, first by describing the 56 handshapes identified in TSL, then determining how often each is used. She then compares the usage data to the handshapes' ease of formation. The final chapter summarizes her findings and suggests implications of this work that are bound to generate further speculation and study on sign language handshapes in the future.
Distributed Trust-Aware Recommender Systems

Collaborative filtering(CF) recommender systems are among the most popular approaches to solving the information overload problem in social networks by generating accurate predictions based on the ratings of similar users. Traditional CF recommenders suffer from lack of scalability while decentralized CF recommenders (DHT based, gossip based etc.) have promised to alleviate this problem. Thus, in this thesis we propose a decentralized approach to CF recommender systems that uses the T-Man algorithm to create and maintain an overlay network that in turn would facilitate the generation of recommendations based on local information of a node. We analyze the influence of the number of rounds and neighbors on the accuracy of prediction and item coverage and we propose a new approach to inferring trust values between a user and its neighbors. Our experiments on three important datasets show an improvement of prediction accuracy relative to previous approaches while using a highly scalable, decentralized paradigm. We also analyze item coverage and show that our system is able to generate predictions for significant fraction of the users, which is comparable with the centralized approaches.
Autenticación Facial Inteligente

Este documento presenta la línea de investigación AURA, dedicada al desarrollo de un framework de codelets combinándolos con redes neuronales para aplicarlo a la autenticación de rostros. Se propone un modelo donde la red neuronal representa el rostro a validar mediante eigenfaces. El resultado es procesado con un framework que permite darle “fluidez” a la validación detectando variaciones sobre la imagen a validar. Este utiliza codelets y una red de conceptos que, en forma descentralizada, permiten darle “significado” a las imágenes que se le presentan. El framework está planteado en forma genérica para aplicarlo a otros dominios en el futuro.
Proteomics in practice : a guide to successful experimental design

Preface Foreword Abbreviations Glossary of terms INTRODUCTION History Critical points Hypothesis driven approach vs. High Throughput Complementarities of workflows Concept of experimental planning Success stories, highlights of useful references PART I: PROTEOMICS TECHNOLOGY Electrophoresis Liquid Chromatography Mass spectrometry Bioinformatics tools / data mining Methods under development PART II. PRACTICAL MANUAL OF PROTEOME ANALYSIS Strategy where to start Gel-based workflow LC-based workflow Latest trends Validation with Western blotting Statistic evaluation PART III: TROUBLE SHOOTING Gel-based workflow LC based workflow References Index
Improving Subjectivity Detection using Unsupervised Subjectiv ity Word Sense Disambiguation Mejoras en la Deteccion de Subjetividad usando Desambiguacion Semantica del Sentido de las Palabras

Resumen: En este trabajo se presenta un metodo para la deteccion de subjetivi- dad a nivel de oraciones basado en la desambiguacion subjetiva del sentido de las palabras. Para ello se extiende un metodo de desambiguacion semantica basado en agrupamiento de sentidos para determinar cuando las palabras dentro de la oracion estan siendo utilizadas de forma subjetiva u objetiva. En nuestra propuesta se uti- lizan recursos semanticos anotados con valores de polaridad y emociones para deter- minar cuando un sentido de una palabra puede ser considerado subjetivo u objetivo. Se presenta un estudio experimental sobre la deteccion de subjetividad en oraciones, en el cual se consideran las colecciones del corpus MPQA y Movie Review Dataset, as´i como los recursos semanticos SentiWordNet, Micro-WNOp y WordNet-Aect. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que nuestra propuesta contribuye de manera sig- nificativa en la deteccion de subjetividad. Palabras clave: deteccion de subjetividad, desambiguacion semantica, analisis de sentimiento Abstract: In this work, we present a sentence-level subjectivity detection method, which relies on Subjectivity Word Sense Disambiguation (SWSD). We use an un- supervised sense clustering-based method for SWSD. In our method, semantic re- sources tagged with emotions and sentiment polarities are used to apply subjectivity detection, intervening Word Sense Disambiguation sub-tasks. Through an experi- mental study, we empirically validated the proposed method over two subjectivity collections, MPQA Corpus and Movie Review Dataset, using three widely popular opinion-mining resources SentiWordNet, WordNet-Aect and Micro-WNOp. The
The retina and its disorders

This selection of articles from the "Encyclopedia of the Eye" covering retina, optics/optic nerve and comparative topics constitutes the first reference for scientists, post docs, and graduate students with an interest beyond standard textbook materials. It covers the full spectrum of research on the retina - from the basic biochemistry of how nerve cells are created to information on neurotransmitters, comparisons of the structure and neuroscience of peripheral vision systems in different species, and all the way through to injury repair and other clinical applications. This is the first single volume to integrate comparative studies into a comprehensive resource on the neuroscience of the retina. Chapters are carefully selected from the "Encyclopedia of the Eye" by one of the world's leading vision researchers. The best researchers in the field provide their conclusions in the context of the latest experimental results.
Empirical Laws, Theory Construction and Bibliometrics.

BIBLIOMETRICS HAS COMMANDED the attention of numerous individuals in library and information science. The measurement of bibliographic information offers the promise of providing a theory that will resolve many practical problems. It is claimed that patterns of author productivity, literature growth rates and related statistical distributions can be used to evaluate authors, assess disciplines and manage collections. Yet, it is unclear if bibliometrics is merely a method or if it meets the test of a theory in its ability to explain and predict phenomena. This paper examines the properties of bibliometric distributions in a nontechnical manner. Twelve years ago, Pritchard coined the term bzblzornetrzcs and defined it as “the application of mathematics and statistical methods to books and other media of communication. ”’ Its purpose was: 1. To shed light on the processes of written communication and of the nature and course of development of a discipline (in so far as this is displayed through written communication), by means of counting and analyzing the various facets of written communication . ; 2. The assembling and interpretation of statistics relating to books and periodicals . to demonstrate historical movements, to determine the national or universal research of books and journals, and to ascertain in many local situations the general use of books and journals2
Chemical reactor design in practice

When this book first appeared in 1981, a reviewer writing in Chemistry in Britain commented ``I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to teachers of the subject. ''. The book is now available in paperback at less than half the price of the hardcover edition, thus bringing it within the reach of students. Intended as an extension to the normal introductory reactor engineering course, the text is based on a lecture course in practical reactor design and aims to teach students how to design and specify reactors or to know the advanced techniques by which this is done. Reactor design is concerned with many aspects. Hence the text touches on a multitude of disciplines: statistics, economics, optimization, control and safety as well as those subjects traditionally thought of as reactor design. The book includes a set of interactive computer-based exercises which enable the student to discover for himself the major characteristics of the various reactor types. CONTENTS: Chapter 1. Chemical Kinetics and Reactor Design Principles. 2. Modelling of Reactors. 3. Reactor Laboratory Studies in Process Development. 4. The Planning of Experiments. 5. The Pilot Stage. 6.
Essais de caractérisation dynamique des matériaux aux vitesses moyennes de déformation

L’expose s’interesse au moyen le plus conventionnel de caracterisation dynamique des materiaux, a savoir la machine d’essai hydraulique. On pourrait penser que ces essais sont aujourd’hui parfaitement maitrises, ce qui est vrai dans le domaine des sollicitations quasi-statiques ou ils sont meme normalises. Ce n’est toujours pas le cas dans le domaine des sollicitations moyennes vitesses (avant le domaine d’application des barres de Hopkinson), alors que ces essais s’averent indispensables pour plusieurs raisons qui sont mise en evidence dans le papier. L’expose rappelle dans un premier temps et dans les grandes lignes quelles sont les capacites et les limitations actuelles de ces verins hydrauliques rapides. Il adresse ensuite, au-dela des limitations des moyens, plusieurs sources de difficultes qui peuvent – si l’on n’y prend pas garde – rendre caduque tout espoir d’atteindre une caracterisation dynamique intrinseque du comportement des materiaux testes. Sont evoquees plusieurs questions qui semblent majeures, les pieges et les precautions a prendre pour les eviter : definition des eprouvettes de caracterisation, introduction des efforts dynamiques, instrumentation, acquisition et mesure, et enfin traitement et exploitation de ces essais. En conclusion, apres que les principaux acquis du laboratoire CRD de l’ONERA/DADS sur ces questions depuis 30 ans aient ete rappeles, sont presentees quelques perspectives et voies d’amelioration aujourd’hui explorees pour adresser les nouveaux defis et les enjeux pour le secteur aeronautique dans ce domaine.
Accessing and sharing data using CUAHSI Water Data Services.

The Hydrologic Information System (HIS) project of the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement ot Hydrologic Science, Inc (CUAHSI) has developed Water Data Services (WDS) using a services-oriented architecture. The underlying technological developments include WaterML, an XML-based language for transmission of time-series data, and WaterOneFlow, a set of web services that can provide access to data and metadata using standard web protocols. These technologies form the basis for an easy-to-use data publication system. WDS also includes a registration service for published web services and maintains a metadata catalogue of all services. An ontology of hydrological concepts is included as part of this central service to enable variables to be mapped to a common set of concepts. A map-based discovery tool, Hydroseek (http://www.hydroseek.net/), has been developed using the ontology and metadata catalogue. CUAHSI has been working with US government agencies, such as the US Geological Survey, on providing access to their data holdings using web services and transmitting data using WaterML. Metadata from these agencies has been included in the central metadata catalogue, thereby enabling seamless access to both government and academic environmental data. CUAHSI WDS is an open system in which any group or government agency around the world can participate. All software is freely available at http://his.cuahsi. org.
SPECIFICATION, VALIDATION AND VERIFICATION OF MOBILE APPLICATION BEHAVIOR

Abstract : Mobile devices have, in many ways, replaced traditional desktops in usability, usefulness, and availability. Improvements to computational power, battery life, device capabilities, and user experience will continue to drive people to stop using desktops and solely use mobile devices. Applications are vital to maximize usefulness of these devices. Development of these applications proceeds with a rapidity that surpasses the development pace of the devices themselves. Current methods are inadequate when attempting to verify and validate the behavior of the applications to ensure they perform correctly as the customer expect and correctly with respect to the software specifications. The current V&V methods are limited to environments that do not reflect the typical operational environment for mobile devices. These methods lead to false beliefs that the results of V&V tests prove correctness of the software, when they are only proving that the software works in a non-mobile environment. To solve this problem, we propose that application log files be used to capture the execution behavior while operating in their typical environment. The log file along with customer requirements, represented formally as statechart assertions, will provide a mechanism to conduct automated V&V on the behavior of the application while it was operating in its planned, mobile environment.
Characteristics of an Equitable Instructional Methodology for Courses in Interactive Media

This paper focuses on an action research that was conducted to address difficulties with the development of multimedia applications. These difficulties were associated with the programming (scripting) parts of the development environment that were required to create the interactive elements within them. Initially, a learning environment based on adaptive hypermedia was constructed to provide for students with different backgrounds. Unfortunately a large amount of the content that was developed became redundant when the development software changed. Anecdotally, I was aware of these difficulties, but an analysis of questionnaire data that had been collected at the end of each course offerings, revealed a Difficulty factor that could be reduced to a value. When we looked at this figure for arts and then computing students, we found that arts students found these elements significantly more difficult than the computing. This in itself was expected but their respective values provided a metric to use in future evaluations. What followed was a longitudinal study that involved an action research to resolve the difference in this metric; the result hopefully being that students managed the development environment irrespective of their background. This involved presenting the framework for the development in a more abstract way so that global commands could be planned by the group and then used within individually created sections. A project based instructional methodology suited this course and authentic projects were used. Students were expected to engage in all aspects of the project, including the interactive elements. We avoided the situation where the arts group member became responsible for the graphic design alone. Peer review and peer assessment were embedded within the course to ensure that students maintained their engagement and got meaningful feedback that could be included in their projects. The instructional methods used resulted in there being an emphasis on all the parts of the project, and a subsequent valuing of all the components required for the project’s completion.
An approach on how to combine object recognition methods

Object recognition methods are usually suited to specific classes of features. Nonetheless, real world objects seldom contain only one single class of features. The premise of this paper is that it would be possible to recognize more objects if several differing recognition methods were used independently on identical scene objects and their results were combined; furthermore, a combination would help to improve the quality of the recognition. First, the original scene image (which may contain overlapping objects) is preprocessed several times; every method uses its preprocessed image as input in its recognition process. Every method delivers then a quality value for every object to reflect the result of the match. In a subsequent step, each object is weighted by taking into account the given scene, the object, and the class of features peculiar to the method. This weight gives the method's suitability to characterize the particular object. The weights and quality values are then combined to produce a final list of objects sorted according to the probability that they occur in the scene. We illustrate our system combining two methods for object recognition. We then present some results and discuss the future direction of our research.
Efficient Lossless Still Image Coding Based on the Autoregressive Model

報告番号: 甲11822 ; 学位授与年月日: 1996-03-29 ; 学位の種別: 課程博士 ; 学位の種類: 博士(工学) ; 学位記番号: 博工第3620号 ; 研究科・専攻: 工学系研究科電子工学専攻
iBatis in action

iBATIS in Action shows Java developers how to tackle the problem of data persistence using the elegant iBATIS framework. iBATIS helps developers solve the problem of connecting--or mapping--relational databases to object-oriented code. An extensive running example presents reusable iBATIS patterns and common solutions. The sample application shows where iBATIS fits in a typical web application as well as how iBATIS integrates with other popular frameworks like Struts. iBATIS in Action focuses on solving existing problems without introducing new ones. In addition to showing what iBATIS does, iBATIS in Action also shows how iBATIS solves problems. Readers explore the driving design philosophy behind iBATIS as presented by iBATIS creator Clinton Begin.
EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF THE EXPRESSION OF EMOTIONS AND ATTITUDES IN FOUR LANGUAGES

This paper is a study of the prosodical means people with different cultural backgrounds use in order to express emotions, or convey attitudes in speech. An experiment was carried out in four languages (American English, Korean, Finnish, Vietnamese), in which a recording of a common corpus by two men and two women was made. It included two sentences, one of them being one word length (the first name «Natacha», or a translation of it, in a vocative context), the other one including a displacement of the speaker («OK, now, I’m going to the station to get that packet»). Thirteen attitudes were chosen, on the basis of our thesis work on the expression of attitudes in speech. The parameters measured were: amplitude, mean and final contour for F0 and intensity, as well as mean syllable duration.
Development of MBSE/UML Maturity Model

iii Abstract Model Based Software Engineering (MBSE) is becoming popular in the industry today. Many organizations, also including small and medium scales organizations are adopting modeling approaches. Models are becoming the main artifact of the software development process and they provide organization to test their product and detect problems before the implementation. UML (Unified Modeling Language) is the most common modeling language that is used by organizations during modeling process so that focus is on UML in the organizations. Therefore organizations that are developing software products in the sense of MBSE and using UML as a main modeling language are the interests of this paper. These organizations that are performing modeling approaches are not aware of how advanced or un-advanced they are performing the related modeling approaches during model based software development process. They are unaware of measuring and evaluating their modeling practices. This is because of lack of standards and guidelines regarding model based software development. By considering this unawareness of organizations, various affects that can effect on model based development process are examined like modeling process, quality assurance techniques, personnel competence on modeling practices, training of personnel, design and structure of the UML Models, modeling tools, transformation issues, and syntax and semantic regulations of UML. These are considered as most essential aspects regarding the occurrence in literature. Regarding these aspects, a MBSE/UML Maturity Model is provided where 6 maturity levels regarding the aim of modeling within the organizations and aspects required to be filled out. Therefore this Maturity Model different than traditional software development maturity models consider various aspects at different levels of organization and consider models as the main development artifacts. The practices and tasks required to be performed are based on models and modeling approaches. This MBSE/UML Maturity Model provides both practitioners and researchers to evaluate and measure the proficiency of modeling approaches performed in the organizations.
Nonparametric estimation of first passage time distributions in flowgraph models

Statistical flowgraphs represent multistate semi-Markov processes using integral transforms of transition time distributions between adjacent states; these are combined algebraically and inverted to derive parametric estimates for first passage time distributions between nonadjacent states. This dissertation extends previous work in the field by developing estimation methods for flowgraphs using empirical transforms based on sample data, with no assumption of specific parametric probability models for transition times. We prove strong convergence of empirical flowgraph results to the exact parametric results; develop alternatives for numerical inversion of empirical transforms and compare them in terms of computational complexity, accuracy, and ability to determine error bounds; discuss (with examples) the difficulties of determining confidence bands for distribution estimates obtained in this way; develop confidence intervals for moment-based quantities such as the mean; and show how
On Bănică sheaves and Fano manifolds

In the present paper we discuss coherent sheaves of rank > 1 whose projectivization gives rise to smooth varieties - varieties of this type are also called smooth scrolls. We prove some basic properties of these varieties and we give some pertinent examples. We classify Fano manifolds of large index which are of this type.
Method for mapping interconnections between load balanced applications and clustered databases in a complex server environment

A coherent software environment simplifies maintenance - and using the same terminology facilitates communication and learning within the IT department. Having a mixed and complex software environment could put strain on the IT department. Applications and databases needs to be somehow cataloged in case of system failure. While mapping applications to databases using a unified terminology might seem to be a good idea from the start, but when it comes to generating a data model of interconnections based on terminology - confusion will arise. This confusion could lead to misinterpretations, which in turn could lead to incidents.