Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
JPEG2000 and JPEG: Image Quality Comparison of Compressed Medical Modalities

Abstract Due to the constrained bandwidth and storage capacity, medical images must be compressed before transmission and storage. However, the compression will reduce the image fidelity, especially when the image is compressed of lower bit rate, which cannot be tolerated in medical field. In this paper, the lossy compression performance of the new JPEG2000 and the more conventional Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG ) is studied and compared. The parameters used for comparison include the compression efficiency, peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), picture quality scale (PQS), and mean opinion score (MOS). Four types of medical modalities are used: magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound, X-ray and computed tomography (CT). Overall, the study shows that JPEG2000 compression is more acceptable and superior compared to JPEG. The compression threshold point is also roughly determined for each of the medical image type.
Similarity Measures for XML Documents Based on Kernel Matrix Learning

XML document as a new data model has been a hot research area. Similarity measure is a basic of analyses, management and text mining for XML documents. Structured Link Vector Model (SLVM) is a document model for the XML documents’ similarity measure based on both the content and structure. The kernel matrix, which describes the relations between the structure units, plays an important role in the SLVM. In the paper, two algorithms are derived to learn the kernel matrix for capturing the relations between the structure units: one is based on the support vector machine and the other is based on matrix iterative analysis. For the performance evaluation, the proposed similarity measure is applied to similarity search. The experimental results show that the similarity measure based on kernel matrix learning outperform significantly the traditional measures. Furthermore, comparing with the kernel matrix leaning algorithm based on the support vector machine (SVM)’s regression, the kernel matrix leaning algorithms based on matrix iterative analysis not only acquires higher precision but also needs less training documents and cost.
AdaBoost-based on-line signature verifier

Authentication of individuals is rapidly becoming an important issue. The authors previously proposed a Pen-input online signature verification algorithm. The algorithm considers a writer’s signature as a trajectory of pen position, pen pressure, pen azimuth, and pen altitude that evolve over time, so that it is dynamic and biometric. Many algorithms have been proposed and reported to achieve accuracy for on-line signature verification, but setting the threshold value for these algorithms is a problem. In this paper, we introduce a user-generic model generated by AdaBoost, which resolves this problem. When user- specific models (one model for each user) are used for signature verification problems, we need to generate the models using only genuine signatures. Forged signatures are not available because imposters do not give forged signatures for training in advance. However, we can make use of another's forged signature in addition to the genuine signatures for learning by introducing a user generic model. And Adaboost is a well-known classification algorithm, making final decisions depending on the sign of the output value. Therefore, it is not necessary to set the threshold value. A preliminary experiment is performed on a database consisting of data from 50 individuals. This set consists of western-alphabet-based signatures provide by a European research group. In this experiment, our algorithm gives an FRR of 1.88% and an FAR of 1.60%. Since no fine-tuning was done, this preliminary result looks very promising.
IP switching for scalable IP services

Internet protocol (IP) switching is emerging as a critical technology for improving the speed and scalability of the Internet. This paper discusses IP Navigator, a form of IP switching developed specifically for use in core network backbones, such as Internet service provider networks and major corporate backbones. IP Navigator combines the high speed and quality of service capabilities of asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) with the scalability and flexibility of IP. This paper presents an overview of the techniques that have been developed for operating IP over ATM. We outline the IP Navigator design and compare IP Navigator with other IP switching approaches.
Simulation Of An Interactive Workstation For Image Display

This paper presents a simulation of an image display system or workstation connected to a minicomputer system which is in turn connected to a larger computer system. The use of image display systems in a medical environment is summarized and parameters discussed include image and display resolution, communication bandwidth, and workstation configuration. User activities are broken down into five categories: display, edit, manipulation, generation and browse. Typical user sessions or workloads are then composed of these categories in various proportions and the response time and effectiveness of the simulated activity is measured. Some of the results are summarized in a number of charts and graphs, with conclusions and suggestions.
Fast algorithms for N-body simulations

Many physical models require the simulation of a large number (N) of particles interacting through pair-wise inverse square law forces. N-body simulations are employed in fluid-dynamics, biochemistry, astrophysics, electrodynamics and molecular dynamics. The computational problem is intrinsically hard and these simulations are time-intensive. Existing algorithms exploit either the spatial proximity of particles or the temporal proximity of states. In this thesis, we formally combine the two approaches and present an algorithm with sequential time complexity $O(N\sp{4/3})$ to integrate N uniformly distributed particles in 3D over one crossing time against the $O(N\sp{8/3})$ complexity of the direct method. Under reasonable assumptions, our algorithm is optimal. The core of the algorithm is the temporal multipole expansion of the field in terms of the space-time coordinates of the field-point. We also present efficient parallel algorithms on the 2D and 3D Mesh and Hyper-cube which amortize communication costs through temporal multipole expansions. The parallel algorithms offer an order of magnitude improvement over existing algorithms for even 10$\sp4$ particles. A sequential implementation of the algorithm for two-dimensional N-body systems shows the predicted asymptotic scaling. A parallel version on a 16-processor Intel iPSC/860 machine is also in conformance with theoretical expectations.
Scheduling with variable time slot costs

In this article, we study a class of new scheduling models where time slot costs have to be taken into consideration. In such models, processing a job will incur certain cost which is determined by the time slots occupied by the job in a schedule. The models apply when operational costs vary over time. The objective of the scheduling models is to minimize the total time slot costs plus a traditional scheduling performance measure. We consider the following performance measures: total completion time, maximum lateness/tardiness, total weighted number of tardy jobs, and total tardiness. We prove the intractability of the models under general parameters and provide polynomial‐time algorithms for special cases with non‐increasing time slot costs. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2010
Model-Based Planning of Sensor Placement and Optical Settings

We present a model-based vision system that automatically plans the placement and optical settings of vision sensors in order to meet certain generic task requirements common to most industrial machine vision applications. From the planned viewpoints, features of interest on an object will satisfy particular constraints in the image. In this work, the vision sensor is a CCD camera equipped with a programmable lens (i.e. zoom lens) and the image constraints considered are: visibility, resolution and field of view. The proposed approach uses a geometric model of the object as well a model of the sensor, in order to reason about the task and the environment. The sensor planning system then computes the regions in space as well as the optical settings that satisfy each of the constraints separately. These results are finally combined to generate acceptable viewing locations and optical settings satisfying all constraints simultaneously. Camera planning experiments are described in which a robot-arm positions the camera at a computed location and the planned optical settings are set automatically. The corresponding scenes from the candidate viewpoints are shown demonstrating that the constraints are indeed satisfied. Other constraints, such as depth of focus, as well as other vision sensors can also be considered resulting in a fully integrated sensor planning system.
Analysis of new particle formation (NPF) events at nearby rural, urban background and urban roadside sites

Abstract. New particle formation (NPF) events have different patterns of development depending on the conditions of the area in which they occur. In this study, particle size distributions in the range of 16.6–604 nm (7 years of data) were analysed and NPF events occurring at three sites of differing characteristics – rural Harwell (HAR), urban background North Kensington (NK), urban roadside Marylebone Road (MR), London, UK – were extracted and studied. The different atmospheric conditions in each study area not only have an effect on the frequency of the events, but also affect their development. The frequency of NPF events is similar at the rural and urban background locations (about 7 % of days), with a high proportion of events occurring at both sites on the same day (45 %). The frequency of NPF events at the urban roadside site is slightly less (6 % of days), and higher particle growth rates (average 5.5 nm h−1 at MR compared to 3.4 and 4.2 nm h−1 at HAR and NK respectively) must result from rapid gas-to-particle conversion of traffic-generated pollutants. A general pattern is found in which the condensation sink increases with the degree of pollution of the site, but this is counteracted by increased particle growth rates at the more polluted location. A key finding of this study is that the role of the urban environment leads to an increment of 20 % in N16–20 nm in the urban background compared to that of the rural area in NPF events occurring at both sites. The relationship of the origin of incoming air masses is also considered and an association of regional events with cleaner air masses is found. Due to lower availability of condensable species, NPF events that are associated with cleaner atmospheric conditions have lower growth rates of the newly formed particles. The decisive effect of the condensation sink in the development of NPF events and the survivability of the newly formed particles is underlined, and influences the overall contribution of NPF events to the number of ultrafine particles in an area. The other key factor identified by this study is the important role that pollution, both from traffic and other sources in the urban environment (such as heating or cooking), plays in new particle formation events.
Methods and Tools for Requirements Engineering of Made-to-Order Mechanical Products

This paper reviews tools and methods for requirements engineering and assesses their applicability to requirements management of a made-to-order mechanical product. One method, the use of a formal specification modeling language, is used to model the evolving specification of a mechanical system during embodiment and detail design. The model of the product specification is then evaluated against the following criteria: verifiability; correctness; understandability; consistency; ability to represent different levels of detail; modifiability; traceability; ambiguity; and annotability. The suitability of using specification languages to represent mechanical product specifications is discussed.Copyright © 2002 by ASME
Two recurrent neural networks for grasping force optimization of multi-fingered robotic hands

Two recurrent neural networks are proposed for grasping force optimization of multi-fingered robotic hands. The neural networks are shown to be capable of optimizing the norm of grasping force subject to the friction cone constraint and balancing the external force applied to an object. A three-finger example is discussed to demonstrate the optimality of the neural network models.
A hybrid systems approach toward modeling and dynamical simulation of dextrous manipulation

This paper presents an approach toward comprehensive discrete-continuous modeling and accurate dynamical simulation of dextrous manipulation. The resulting hybrid-state model integrates time-driven mechanical features of manipulation systems as well as their discrete-event aspects resulting from varying contact situations. It can easily be embedded into sophisticated simulation environments. A MATLAB implementation serves us as a tool for mechatronic control design for grasping systems. Results from dynamical simulations of a four-fingered hand grasping and manipulating an object demonstrate the efficiency and high accuracy of our approach.
Better prediction of the location of α‐turns in proteins with support vector machine

We have developed a novel method named AlphaTurn to predict α‐turns in proteins based on the support vector machine (SVM). The prediction was done on a data set of 469 nonhomologous proteins containing 967 α‐turns. A great improvement in prediction performance was achieved by using multiple sequence alignment generated by PSI‐BLAST as input instead of the single amino acid sequence. The introduction of secondary structure information predicted by PSIPRED also improved the prediction performance. Moreover, we handled the very uneven data set by combining the cost factor j with the “state‐shifting” rule. This further promoted the prediction quality of our method. The final SVM model yielded a Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC) of 0.25 by a 10‐fold cross‐validation. To our knowledge, this MCC value is the highest obtained so far for predicting α‐turns. An online Web server based on this method has been developed and can be freely accessed at http://bmc.hust. edu.cn/bioinformatics/ or http://210.42. 106.80/. Proteins 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Evaluation of a human-vision-system-based image fidelity metric for image compression

Conventional mean squared error based methods for objective image quality assessment are not well correlated with human evaluation. The design of better objective measures of quality has attracted a lot of attention and several image quality metrics based explicitly on the properties of the Human Visual System (HVS) have been proposed in recent years. However, only in a few cases has the performance of such metrics been demonstrated on real images. In accounting for visual masking, all of these metrics assume that the multiple channels mediating visual perception are independent of each other. Recent neuroscience findings and psychophysical experiments have established that there is interaction across the channels and that such interactions are important for visual masking. In this work, we propose the Picture Distortion Metric (PDM) which integrates these new visual masking properties, and we evaluate its performance for image coding applications. We evaluate the performance at medium to high range of quality to predict subjective scores on a 0 - 10 numerical scale, and on a wide range of quality for the 1 - 5 CCIR impairment scale.
English Language Learners and High-Stakes Tests: An Overview of the Issues. ERIC Digest.

English Language Learners and High-Stakes Tests: An Overview of the Issues. ERIC Digest. 1 THE ROLE OF HIGH-STAKES TESTS. 2 WHY INCLUDE ELLS IN HIGH-STAKES TESTS? 2 POTENTIAL PROBLEMS OF INCLUDING ELLS IN HIGH-STAKES TESTS. 3 ACCOMMODATIONS FOR ELLS. 4 WHAT EDUCATORS CAN DO. 4 REFERENCES. 6
Morphology: Word structure in generative grammar

A self-contained and lively text prepared in response to a perceived need for an up-to-date introduction to the field of morphology within the framework of generative grammar. The material is presented in the framework of the lexicalist hypothesis of Chomsky (1970), but also taking in the more recent development of lexicalist phonology and morphology in the works of Paul Kiparsky and others. Other approaches are recognized, but the use of one unified, consistent theory pushed to its limit makes for a better student text. Each chapter includes a list of terms, of further reading, and a number of exercises. The volume is completed by an index.
Effect of Agricultural Model of using Fertilizer, Harvesting Time and Extraction Method on Phytochemical Contents and Antioxidant Activities from Mulberry Leaves Grown in Maha Sarakham Province, Thailand

Aims: Phytochemical contents and free radical scavenging of Mulberry leaf extracts by using different fertilizer, time of harvesting and solvent extraction were evaluated. Materials and Methods: Dried Mulberry leaves were extracted by using different solvent including aqueous, 50% ethanol and 95% ethanol. The phytochemical screening were determined by Total Phenolic Compounds (TPC) and Total Flavonoid
Cell Phones in the Classroom: Teachers’ Perspectives of Inclusion, Benefits, and Barriers

Historically viewed as a disruption by teachers, cell phones have been banned from 69% of classrooms (Common Sense Media, 2009). The increased ubiquity and instructional features of cell phones have prompted some teachers to re-evaluate the ban and consider the benefits associated with allowing cell phones in the classroom. This study surveyed 79 teachers to determine their perceptions of using cell phones for classroom instruction. Findings indicated that the majority (69%) of teachers support the use of cell phones in the classroom and were presently using them for school-related work. Teachers identified student engagement and motivation as the primary benefits; barriers included lack of access and class disruption.
GRAPHICACY SHOULD BE THE FOURTH ACE IN THE PACK

Graphicacy, a new word coined by the authors, is the intellectual skill necessary for the communication of relationships which cannot be successfully communicated by words or mathematical notation alone; it is a skill to be possessed by both those wishing to communicate and those attempting to understand; visual aids, especially maps, photographs, charts and graphs, are the media of communication. There is general agreement among educators that reading and writing (literacy) and the ability to communicate in mathematical notation (numeracy) are essential to education. The authors of this paper, however, question whether or not reading, writing and arithmetic form the total underpinnings of the academic aspect of education and argue that graphicacy should be considered as the same kind of phenomenon. Graphicacy is not seen to substitute for literacy or numeracy but rather to complement and strengthen these skills. It is further argued that, if the full complexity and sophistication of graphicacy is not to .
CAD-guided inspection of aeronautical mechanical parts using monocular vision

This paper focuses on quality control of mechanical parts in aeronautical context by using a single PTZ camera and the CAD model of the mechanical part. In our approach two attributed graphs are matched using a similarity function. The similarity scores are injected in the edges of a bipartite graph. A best-match-search procedure in bipartite graph guarantees the uniqueness of the match solution. The method achieves excellent performance in tests with synthetic data, including missing elements, displaced elements, size changes, and combination of these cases.
Viewers' responses to delays in simulated teletext reception

Abstract In a teletext service, information is retrieved from a sequence of pages broadcast cyclically on a video channel and the mean and variance of system response times are directly related to the number of pages in the cycle. Two experiments were conducted to investigate the maximum tolerable range of such delays. Three degrees of negative viewer response were defined by progressively more conservative criteria for annoyance. Results showed that both the proportion of delays noticed and the proportion of negative viewer responses at each criterion increased linearly with the square root of the system response time. As an example of the effect of criterion, 50 per cent of observers were slightly annoyed or worse with a mean response time of approximately 13s, while 20 per cent were moderately annoyed or worse with the same delay. In limiting the duration of the broadcast cycle, teletext service providers apparently should consider what proportion of viewers to annoy and to what degree.
Information Technology in Geography and Planning: Including Principles of Gis

Part I - Geographic Data: Theory and Hardware 1. Information and Systems Concepts 2. The Hardware Environment Part II - Geographic Data: Acquisition and Organization 3. Data Capture 1 - Generation 4. Data Capture 2 - Retrieval 5. Structures for Geographical Data Part III - Geographic Data: Manipulation 6. Fundamental Graphical Procedures 7. Cartographic Methods 1 - Vector Techniques 8. Cartographic Methods 2 - Raster Techniques Part IV - Geographic Data: Software Systems 9. Non-Cartographic Software 10. Cartographic and Related Software Index.
Concurrent processes of CDP in object-based file system

An object-based storage system - integrating advantages of both NAS and SAN - can be applied in large-capacity, lowcost and large-scale storage systems built from commodity disk devices. The continuous data protection or CDP is a well-known technique that continuously captures or tracks data modifications and stores changes independent of primary data, enabling data recovery - from any point in the past. An efficient file system optimized for CDP plays an important role in object-based storage systems. In this paper, concurrent processes during data backup and data recovery operations are discussed in details. To fully take the advantage of distributed system architectures, we make the concurrent data operations as far as possible during read, write, and recovery processes. A new backup data object placement strategy is present to work in coordination with a replica strategy in object-based distributed file systems. Backup data object can be placed in other object storage servers (or OSS for short) instead of the OSS where the original data is residing, when the backup data object matches certain conditions. For data recovery, we make the related OSSes to concurrently perform data object movement. All these strategies can efficiently reduce system response times.