Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
El Nino and the Southern Oscillation: Multiscale Variability and Global and Regional Impacts

Part I. Global and Regional Characteristics and Impacts of Enson Variability: 1. ENSO and climatic variability in the last 150 years R. Allan 2. Understanding and predicting extratropical teleconnections related to ENSO M. Hoerling and A. Kumar 3. Global modes of ENSO and non-ENSO sea surface temperature variability and their associations with climate D. B. Enfield and A. Nunez-Mesta 4. Multiscale streamflow variability associated with El Nino/Southern Oscillation M. D. Dettinger et al. 5. El Nino-Southern Oscillation and the seasonal predictability of tropical cyclones C. W. Landsea 6. Climate and ENSO variability associated with Vector-borne diseases in Colombia G. Poveda et al. Part II. Long-Term Chances in ENSO Historical Paleoclimatic, and Theoretical Aspects: 7. The documentary historical record of El Nino events in Peru: an update of the Quinn Record (sixteenth through nineteenth centuries) L. Ortlieb 8. Tree-ring records of past ENSO variability and forcing E. R. Cook et al. 9. The tropical ice core record of ENSO L. G. Thompson et al. 10. Long-term variability in the El Nino/Southern Oscillation and associated teleconnections M. E. Mann et al. 11. Modulation of ENSO on decadal and longer time scales R. Kleeman and S. Power 12. Global climate change and El Nino: a theoretical framework D. -Z. Sun 13. The ENSO record in the Holocene: a synthesis V. Markgraf and H. F. Diaz.
Effects of sediment organic content and hydrodynamic conditions on the growth and distribution of Zostera marina

The hypothesis that sediment organic content is limiting growth and distribution of the seagrass Zostera marina was tested in Chincoteague Bay, Maryland, and in a controlled mesocosm experiment. In the field, Z. marina was usually absent from areas with sediment organic content > 4%, especially compared with areas with sediment organic content < 4%. In contrast, in a meso- cosm experiment, Z. marina thrived in organic rich (4 to 6%) sediment, developing long leaves and disproportionately short roots. Such plants have high drag and low anchoring capacity. As a result, Z. marina plants grown in organic rich sediment are more likely to be dislodged than are plants grown in organic poor sand. We hypothesize that when organic rich sediments are found in hydrody- namically active areas, a mismatch occurs between plant morphology and the physical environment, leading to the loss of seagrasses due to uprooting. Therefore, sediment organic content limitations in seagrass habitats need to be evaluated within the local hydrodynamic settings. Fine organic sediment may be less limiting to seagrasses in quiescent waters while sand with low organic content may be required for seagrass survival in hydrodynamically active areas.
Contributions a la quantification des criteres de transparence et d'anisotropie par une approche globale : application au controle de qualite de materiaux composites

L'objectif de cette these est de degager les elements d'une methodologie permettant de quantifier les criteres globaux de transparence (d'un materiau) et d'anisotropie (d'un ensemble de formes); tout cela est realise, de facon automatique, dans le cadre des images a niveaux de gris. Pour apprehender de tels criteres, la vision humaine est tres performante car elle analyse, tres naturellement et de facon simultanee une image a differents niveaux, allant d'une inspection locale des details a une perception plus globale (ce qui fait sa superiorite dans les cas qui nous concernent). L'approche adoptee ici est donc volontairement globale, pour reproduire au mieux les processus de l'analyse humaine. Des applications pratiques de la quantification de ces criteres globaux sont proposees, en particulier sur les materiaux composites pour lesquels on realise ainsi une avancee en controle qualite. Le premier chapitre presente la discrimination de formes par une approche globale en n'utilisant que des parametres intrinseques a ces formes ou en normalisant celles-ci au prealable. Le deuxieme chapitre presente une methode originale de quantification de transparence, caractere encore peu etudie. Cette methode est basee sur l'evaluation de la "lisibilite" d'une mire de test cachee par le materiau a qualifier par correlation. Enfin, le troisieme chapitre presente une etude de la caracteristique Anisotropie. Les aspects locaux et globaux de ce caractere sont abordes. Une nouvelle methode, applicable sur des images a niveaux de gris et capable d'inspecter l'ensemble des directions de l'image, y est presentee. Elle permet de produire des resultats chiffres d'anisotropie, tres en accord avec les impressions de l’œil humain, ainsi que des roses d'orientations qui visualisent les directions privilegiees.
Polymer Materials: Macroscopic Properties and Molecular Interpretations

PREFACE. LIST OF SYMBOLS. Introduction to Polymer Materials. PART I. 1 The Four Classes of Polymer Materials. 2 The Macromolecular Chain in the Amorphous Bulk Polymer: Static and Dynamic Properties. 3 The Glass Transition. 4 Secondary Relaxations in Amorphous Polymers. 5 Entanglements in Bulk Un-Cross-Linked Polymers. 6 Semicrystalline Polymers. PART II. 7 Elastic and Hyperelastic Behaviors. 8 Linear Viscoelastic Behavior. 9 Anelastic and Viscoplastic Behaviors. 10 Damage and Fracture of Solid Polymers. PART III. 11 Mechanical Properties of Poly(Methyl Methacrylate) and Some of Its Random Copolymers. 12 Mechanical Properties of Bisphenol-A Polycarbonate. 13 Mechanical Properties of Epoxy Resins. 14 Polyethylene and Ethylene-a-olefi n Copolymers. 15 High-Modulus Thermoplastic Polymers. PART IV. 16 Mechanical Tests for Studying Impact Behavior. 17 High-Impact Polystyrene. 18 Toughened Poly(Methyl Methacrylate). 19 Toughened Aliphatic Polyamides. 20 Toughened Epoxy Resins. PART V. 21 Chemically Cross-Linked Elastomers. 22 Reinforcement of Elastomers by Fillers. 23 Thermoplastic Elastomers. Appendix: Problems. INDEX.
The performance comparison of forwarding mechanism between IPv4 and Named Data Networking (NDN). Case study: A node compromised by the prefix hijack

Named Data Networking (NDN) is a new network architecture design that led to the evolution of a network architecture based on data-centric. Questions have been raised about how to compare its performance with the old architecture such as IP network which is generally based on Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4). Differs with the old one, source and destination addresses in the delivery of data are not required on the NDN network because the addresses function is replaced by a data name (Name) which serves to identify the data uniquely. In a computer network, a network routing is an essential factor to support data communication. The network routing on IP network relies only on Routing Information Base (RIB) derived from the IP table on the router. So that, if there is a problem on the network such as there is one node exposed to a dangerous attack, the IP router should wait until the IP table is updated, and then the routing channel is changed. The issue of how to change the routing path without updating IP table has received considerable critical attention. The NDN network has an advantage such as its capability to execute an adaptive forwarding mechanism, which FIB (Forwarding Information Base) of the NDN router keeps information for routing and forwarding planes. Therefore, if there is a problem on the network, the NDN router can detect the problem more quickly than the IP router. The contribution of this study is important to explain the benefit of the forwarding mechanism of the NDN network compared to the IP network forwarding mechanism when there is a node which is suffered a hijack attack.
Optimal incentive policy in delay tolerant networks with limited cost

Routing algorithms in delay tolerant networks often need nodes serving as relays for the source to carry and forward message. In particular, nodes should relay the source's packets to others. However, because of the selfish nature, nodes may not relay others' packets to save energy after obtaining message. To make these nodes be cooperative, the source has to pay certain fees to them. Moreover, such fees may be varying with time. On the other hand, if the payment is too much, it may not be cost-effective for the source. Therefore, the total cost may be limited. The main objective of this paper is to explore efficient incentive policies for the source to use its limited cost maximal fees that the source can afford is limited to maximize the probability that the destination obtains the message before the deadline of the message. First, we present a theoretical framework, which can be used to evaluate the performance of different incentive policies. Then, we explore the optimal incentive policy through Pontryagin's maximal principle and prove that the optimal policy conforms to threshold form in certain cases. Simulation results show the accuracy of our theoretical framework. Extensive numerical results show that the optimal policy obtained in this paper is better than other policies. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Using lower-bound similarity to enhance the performance of recommender systems

Recommender systems employ the popular K-nearest neighbor collaborative filtering (K-CF) methodology and its variations for recommending the products. In K-CF approach, recommendation for a given user is computed based on the ratings of K-nearest neighbors. In K-CF approach, it can be noted that, the system identifies K neighbors for each user irrespective of the number of products he/she has rated. As a result, the user who have rated few products may get the less-similar neighbors and the user who have rated more products may miss the genuine neighbors. In the literature, the notion of lower-bound similarity has been proposed to improve the clustering performance in which the clusters are extracted by fixing the similarity threshold. In this paper, we have extended the notion of lower-bound similarity to recommender systems to improve the performance of K-CF approach. In the proposed approach, instead of fixing K for finding the neighborhood, the similarity threshold value is fixed to extract the neighbors for each user. As a result, each user gets appropriate number of neighbors based on the number of products rated by him/her in a dynamic manner. The experimental results, on MovieLens dataset, show that the proposed lower bound similarity CF approach improves the performance of recommender systems over K-CF approach.
Adhesive bonding of various materials to hard tooth tissues. VI. Forces developing in direct-filling materials during hardening.

The strength of the adhesive bond between o direct-filling and the cavity walls of a tooth must exceed 49 kg. /cm. 2 (700 psi), which is a conservative estimate of the tensile stress that develops during the hardening of such material. The corresponding stress for a silicate cement would be about 35 kg. /cm. 2 (500 psi).
Using Individual Assessments in the Workplace: A Practical Guide for HR Professionals, Trainers, and Managers

Foreword by W. Warner Burke. Foreword by Adrian Furnham. 1. Introduction. For Whom Did We Write This Book? What Are Our Recommendations? How Is This Book Organized? 2. The Practice of Individual Assessment. What Is Individual Assessment? What Does an Assessor Need to Know? The Three Levels of Assessor Competencies. The Individual Assessment Model. Information Technology and Individual Assessment. Summary. 3. Psychological Measurement. The Normal Distribution Curve. Reliability. Validity. Norms. The Role of the Assessor. Classification of Psychological Tests. Interviewing. Summary. 4. Collecting and Analyzing Assessment Data. Using the Five-Step Model of Individual Assessment. Hard and Soft Data. Assessment Procedures and Choices. Reporting and Follow-Up Choices. Summary. 5. Developing and Integrating Individual Assessment Data. Choosing Measures. The Database. Processing the Database. Summary. 6. Reporting Individual Assessment Results. The Focus of a Final Report. Content and Style. Drawing Conclusions and Making Recommendations. A Decision-Making Model. A Forty-Question Checklist. Computer-Generated Reports. Individual Assessment for Development. Future-Oriented Job Analysis. Summary. Appendix A: Recommended Readings. Appendix B: Sample Position Description. Appendix C: Introduction to Job Analysis. Appendix D: First-Line Management/Supervisory Level Competency Model. Appendix E: Senior Management/Executive Level Competency Model. Appendix F: Sample Individual Assessment Report on Applicant for Administrative Assistant Position. Appendix G: Sample Assessment Report-Supervisor/First-Line Manager. Appendix H: Sample Individual Assessment Report-Management and Executive Level. Appendix I: Selected Tests and Publishers. References. About the Authors. Index.
Mind the Gap : Exploring the social capability of non-player characters

Among the most important factors governing enjoyment of computer games is immersion, or the feeling the player has of being in the game world. This feeling allows the player to be transported into the world of the game, where they can experience grand adventures and riveting tales. Many factors contribute to the feeling of immersion, but as with any story-based experience the actors in the story are of the utmost importance. If the actors perform poorly, however, the player's feeling of immersion will be lessened, and the game will become less entertaining. Therefore, the Non-Player Characters (NPCs) inhabiting the game world must act in such a way that they are perceived as believable. Unfortunately, this is not always the case, and NPCs often disrupts the player's feeling of immersion. The purpose of this research is to describe how we can create NPCs who behave in ways that are conducive to player immersion, and who better portray the story of the game. This is done by identifying the current issues affecting the believability of NPC behavior. Over the course of the studies described in this thesis, we have developed a method by which problematic behaviors can be identified and described. This was done by studying NPCs in modern games using video recordings, and using an analytical tool to identify the specific factors that affect the believability of their behavior. In the end, we identified a number of such factors that affect the believability of NPCs, chief among them the inability of NPCs to perceive the world. By improving the way in which NPCs perceive the world, and more importantly how players perceive that NPCs perceive the world, we can greatly improve NPC believability.
Efficient parallel shortest-paths in digraphs with a separator decomposition

We consider111An extended abstract appeared in “Proceedings 5th Annual ACM Symposium on Parallel Algorithms and Architectures”, 1993.shortest-paths and reachability problems on directed graphs with real-valued edge weights. For sparser graphs, the knownNCalgorithms for these problems perform much more work than their sequential counterparts. In this paper we present efficient parallel algorithms for families of graphs, where a separator decomposition either is provided with the input or is easily obtainable. (A separator is a subset of the vertices that its removal splits the graph into connected components, such that the number of vertices in each component is at most a fixed fraction of the number of vertices in the graph. A separator decomposition is a recursive decomposition of the graph using separators.) LetG=(V,E), wheren=|V|, be a weighted directed graph with ak? -separator decomposition (where subgraphs withkvertices have separators of sizeO(k? )). We present anNCalgorithm that computes shortest-paths fromssources to all other vertices usingO(n3? +s(n+n2? )) work. A sequential version of our algorithm improves over previously known time bounds as well. Reachability fromssources can be computed usingO(M(n? )+s(n+n2? )) work, whereM(r)=o(r2.37) is the best known work bound forr×rmatrix multiplication. The algorithm is based on augmentingGwith a set ofO(n2? ) edges such that in the augmented graph, all distances can be obtained by paths of sizeO(logn). The above bounds, with ? =0.5, are applicable to planar graphs, since ak0.5-separator decomposition can be computed within these bounds. We obtain further improvements for graphs with planar embeddings where all vertices lie on a small number of faces.
Opponent Color Space Motivated by Retinal Processing

We introduce a new opponent color space, which aims to mimic the color processing in the primate retina. Recent data from physiology and morphology are used to determine the model and its parameters. The input signal in LMS representation is first nonlinearly transformed by a response saturation stage. Then a linear, spatially extended transformation computes the opponent representation. In contrast to other opponent color spaces, our model does not have a luminance component. Our three components are blue-yellow, red-green, and green-red. It is the spatial extension that allows us to distinguish between the last two. Furthermore, we show that we can reverse the transformation and obtain a LMS representation from the opponent encoding.
Improving the accuracy of transmembrane protein topology prediction using evolutionary information

MOTIVATION Many important biological processes such as cell signaling, transport of membrane-impermeable molecules, cell-cell communication, cell recognition and cell adhesion are mediated by membrane proteins. Unfortunately, as these proteins are not water soluble, it is extremely hard to experimentally determine their structure. Therefore, improved methods for predicting the structure of these proteins are vital in biological research. In order to improve transmembrane topology prediction, we evaluate the combined use of both integrated signal peptide prediction and evolutionary information in a single algorithm. RESULTS A new method (MEMSAT3) for predicting transmembrane protein topology from sequence profiles is described and benchmarked with full cross-validation on a standard data set of 184 transmembrane proteins. The method is found to predict both the correct topology and the locations of transmembrane segments for 80% of the test set. This compares with accuracies of 62-72% for other popular methods on the same benchmark. By using a second neural network specifically to discriminate transmembrane from globular proteins, a very low overall false positive rate (0.5%) can also be achieved in detecting transmembrane proteins. AVAILABILITY An implementation of the described method is available both as a web server (http://www.psipred.net) and as downloadable source code from http://bioinf.cs. ucl.ac. uk/memsat. Both the server and source code files are free to non-commercial users. Benchmark and training data are also available from http://bioinf.cs. ucl.ac. uk/memsat.
Journal of Theoretical and Applied Information Technology Fitness Function for Rendering in the Loop Differential Evolution Algorithm

Optical properties of scenario objects for rendering realistic images synthesis are highly important for computer graphics. We have proposed a methodology to obtain some illumination parameters of a real scenario represented by an acquired image and use these parameters for the adequate rendering of an equivalent virtual scenario made by hand. The proposed methodology uses an acquired image that we call ObjetiveImage and compare it with a rendered equivalent image of a virtual scenario, called RenderedImage that represents the original. The real scenario is approached by hand, but some of the illumination parameters like light source position and intensity as well as objects color are searched by using a Differential Evolution algorithm. Rendering images that approximate to the real acquired image, by some virtual scenario parameter modification based on the DE search, we call "Rendering in the loop". Finally we use the obtained parameters to render a better resolution image to obtain the result. The fitness function for the comparison of the two images is the most important search in this investigation.
On cold start for associative tag recommendation

Tag recommendation strategies that exploit term co‐occurrence patterns with tags previously assigned to the target object have consistently produced state‐of‐the‐art results. However, such techniques work only for objects with previously assigned tags. Here we focus on tag recommendation for objects with no tags, a variation of the well‐known \textit{cold start} problem. We start by evaluating state‐of‐the‐art co‐occurrence based methods in cold start. Our results show that the effectiveness of these methods suffers in this situation. Moreover, we show that employing various automatic filtering strategies to generate an initial tag set that enables the use of co‐occurrence patterns produces only marginal improvements. We then propose a new approach that exploits both positive and negative user feedback to iteratively select input tags along with a genetic programming strategy to learn the recommendation function. Our experimental results indicate that extending the methods to include user relevance feedback leads to gains in precision of up to 58% over the best baseline in cold start scenarios and gains of up to 43% over the best baseline in objects that contain some initial tags (i.e., no cold start). We also show that our best relevance‐feedback‐driven strategy performs well even in scenarios that lack user cooperation (i.e., users may refuse to provide feedback) and user reliability (i.e., users may provide the wrong feedback).
A fast non-local image denoising algorithm

In this paper we propose several improvements to the original non-local means algorithm introduced by Buades et al. which obtains state-of-the-art denoising results. The strength of this algorithm is to exploit the repetitive character of the image in order to denoise the image unlike conventional denoising algorithms, which typically operate in a local neighbourhood. Due to the enormous amount of weight computations, the original algorithm has a high computational cost. An improvement of image quality towards the original algorithm is to ignore the contributions from dissimilar windows. Even though their weights are very small at first sight, the new estimated pixel value can be severely biased due to the many small contributions. This bad influence of dissimilar windows can be eliminated by setting their corresponding weights to zero. Using the preclassification based on the first three statistical moments, only contributions from similar neighborhoods are computed. To decide whether a window is similar or dissimilar, we will derive thresholds for images corrupted with additive white Gaussian noise. Our accelerated approach is further optimized by taking advantage of the symmetry in the weights, which roughly halves the computation time, and by using a lookup table to speed up the weight computations. Compared to the original algorithm, our proposed method produces images with increased PSNR and better visual performance in less computation time. Our proposed method even outperforms state-of-the-art wavelet denoising techniques in both visual quality and PSNR values for images containing a lot of repetitive structures such as textures: the denoised images are much sharper and contain less artifacts. The proposed optimizations can also be applied in other image processing tasks which employ the concept of repetitive structures such as intra-frame super-resolution or detection of digital image forgery.