Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
3D face recognition using closest point coordinates and spherical vector norms

In this paper, we introduce a new feature named spherical vector norms for 3D face recognition. The proposed feature is efficient, insensitive to facial expression and contains discriminatory information of 3D face. The feature extraction method is firstly finding a set of the points with the closest distance to the standard face, denoted as closest point coordinates, and then extracting the spherical vector norms of these points. This paper combines point coordinates and spherical vector norms for improving recognition. Finally this approach is finished by Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) and Nearest Neighbor classifier. We have performed different experiments on the Face Recognition Grand Challenge database. It achieves the verification rate of 97.11% on All vs. All experiment at 0.1% FAR and 96.64% verification rate on Neutral vs. Expression experiment.
Comments on and Illustrations of the EFSUMB CEUS Guidelines: Transabdominal and Endoscopic Ultrasound Features of Intrapancreatic Metastases and the Role of Multiparametric Imaging and EUS-Guided Sampling in Rare Pancreatic Tumors

Simple Summary Intrapancreatic metastases are rare. They could occur at the same time or years later after the initial diagnosis of the tumor. Sonography and endosonography with contrast enhanced techniques provide very good additional information for differential diagnosis from other tumors. The most common solitary metastasis is that of renal cell carcinoma, with good prognosis after surgical resection. The further procedure, and in other tumor entities, depends on the primary tumor. This requires confirmation by endosonographic guided sampling, with the collection of material for immunohistological examination. Abstract A definite pathologic diagnosis of intrapancreatic metastasis is crucial for the management decision, i.e., curative or palliative surgery versus chemotherapy or conservative/palliative therapy. This review focuses on the appearance of intrapancreatic metastases on native and contrast-enhanced transabdominal ultrasound and endoscopic ultrasound. Differences and similarities in relation to the primary tumor, and the differential diagnosis from pancreatic carcinoma and neuroendocrine neoplasms are described. The frequency of intrapancreatic metastases in autopsy studies and surgical resection studies will be discussed. Further emphasis is placed on endoscopic ultrasound-guided sampling to confirm the diagnosis.
Analysis of Multiplicative Noise Models in SAR Imagery

On the basis of the physical scattering concepts of coherent radiation of SAR,the observed intensity at each resolution cell of the SAR images is formulated by the multiplicative noise model as a deterministic RCS modulated a unit mean exponential distrib- uted multiplicative noise.Namely,the observed SAR scene can be regarded as the product of an underlying terrain RCS term and a unit mean exponential distributed noise term.Utilizing the actual SAR database,the validation of the multiplicative model than that of the ad- ditive model is firstly verified.Then,we extract the template in each target/pose interval and remove the template from the chip to ana- lyze the residual noise.By using the test statistics to measure the goodness that the histogram for the noise residual fits different distribu- tions,the results show that the unit mean exponential distribution fits the data relatively precisely,which further testifies the correction of the muhiplicative noise model.Finally,some experiments that the histogram for the noise residual fits the unit mean exponential distribu- tion are presented under different resolutions(9.6m～0.3m)and depression angels(two angels),the results show unit mean exponen- tial distribution are all a relatively precise model of the multiplicative noise in SAR images despite the variety of resolutions and depres- sion angles.
Fiber optic development for use on the fiber optic helmet-mounted display

Abstract : The fiber optic helmet-mounted display (FOHMD), developed by CAE Electronics Ltd. for the U.S. Air Force Human Resources Laboratory, requires large-format coherent fiber optic cables to support the demanding full-color, high-resolution display requirements plus provide flexibility, durability, lightweight, and be up to 2.1 m in length. Currently, FOHMD cables are linear arrays of multifibers separated by inactive material spacers to achieve a lightweight cable with a large cross section. This multifiber approach, with 5 m diameter individual fibers, delivers high performance by using chromatic multiplexing to improve resolution and wash out the inactive spacer structure. Reduced fiber breakage and improved fiber alignment have also significantly increased the optical performance of the system. To achieve still higher image quality, a technically more difficult process is also being explored. Several small experimental cables have been assembled using leachable, fused multifibers arrayed in a hexagonal pattern. Improved cable drawing technology will allow for precise assembly of hexagonal components into a full format bundle. This new fiber optic cable technology has the potential of providing image transmission capability equal to 10 million pixels. When coupled with chromatic enhancement, the FOHMD optics will deliver a resolution equal to 1.5 arcmin per pixel over a large field of view.
Organizational Resilience in the Face of Disruptions

This research looks into the topic of corporate resilience, specifically how well-established businesses handle change and how they recover from setbacks. Data on organizational resilience strategies and practices are gathered through a mixed-methods approach that includes questionnaires and in-depth interviews with organizational leaders. The results stress the significance of having an adaptable culture, spending money on new technologies, using sound financial planning and management techniques, and being well-prepared. The study's findings shed light on tactics that businesses can employ to strengthen their ability to withstand and recover from disturbances. Organizations can better weather the inevitable upheavals of today's fast-paced business climate by adopting these practices and procedures.
An Analysis of Multi-stage Progressive Image Restoration Network (MPRNet)

Multi-stage progressive image restoration network (MPRNet) is a three-stage CNN (convolutional neural network) for image restoration. MPRNet has been shown to provide high performance gains on several datasets for a range of image restoration problems including image denoising, deblurring, and deraining. The network is interesting because it manages to remove the three kinds of artifacts with a single architecture. Here, we provide an overview of the network and study its performance and computational complexity in comparison with other state-of-the-art methods.
Spiral Motion of Nonholonomic Space Robots

A free-flying space robot with a 6-DOF manipulator cannot follow an arbitrary trajectory in the 9D generalized coordinates (3 of the satellite attitude and 6 of the manipulator joints) with only manipulator joint control, though it was shown to be commonly controllable in the literature. In this paper, we propose a method to approximate an arbitrary 9D path by introducing a perturbation around the specified path. We call thus approximated trajectory a “spiral motion”. A computational scheme for the optimal spiral motion is presented, and is followed by computer simulation. Relationship of singular points and computational convergency is also discussed.
Synthesis of chemically exfoliated reduced graphene oxide from as-grated graphite rods recovered from used household batteries for utilization in tribological applications

The research objective of this work is to reuse graphite rods recovered from used batteries and utilize them as an additive in SAE20W40 oil to improve the engine parts’ lubrication ability and wear resistance. The graphite rods are grated to obtain ultra-fine particles and then chemically exfoliated using an Improved Hummer's process that results in graphene oxide. Then, it is thermally reduced at 350 °C to yield reduced graphene oxide. Different ratios (0.25, 0.50, 0.75, and 1.00 wt.%) of as-grated graphite particles and reduced graphene oxide were dispersed in the above oil to form a colloidal solution and then used for tribological studies. The graphite particles and synthesized reduced graphene oxide were characterized using X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. X-ray diffraction data confirms the presence of graphite, graphene oxide, and reduced graphene oxide in the prepared powders and matches with the standard files. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy images reveal the presence of multilayer sheets with an interplanar distance of 0.34 nm having wrinkles, folds, and gas holes. The G and D band positions of Raman spectra prove the formation of oxygenated functional groups, and the ID/IG ratio confirms the defects in graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide. The viscosity of prepared lubricant increases by 35% and 21% for graphite and reduced graphene oxide, respectively. The results of tribological studies with 0.25 wt. % graphite and 0.5 wt. % reduced graphene oxide lubricants showed improvement in coefficient of friction by 32% and 36%, respectively. At these optimal concentrations, the specific wear rate dropped by 51% for reduced graphene oxide. Scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectroscopy, images show that the nanolubricant's mending effect over the worn surface improves reduced graphene oxide added SAE20W40 oil tribological characteristics. From the results, reduced graphene oxide synthesized from as-grated graphite rods proves to be a low-cost, sustainable, and effective friction modifier for engine oils.
Animal Species Recognition with Deep Convolutional Neural Networks from Ecological Camera Trap Images

Simple Summary The disappearance of many reptiles and amphibian species is directly and indirectly connected with habitat modification, introducing invasive species, disease, pollution, and climate change. Monitoring endangered species is essential for conservation action to mitigate the predominant threats to endangered species. According to wildlife researchers, visual information provides definitive evidence of an animal’s distribution patterns and activity within an environmental context. At the Department of Biology and The Ingram School of Engineering at Texas State University and Texas A&M University, we collaborated on a camera trap project to monitor species from images in Texas, USA. We developed a framework to analyze the acquired images using artificial intelligence-driven technology and computer vision methods. The project aims to classify three broad groups of herpetofaunal species (i.e., toads/frogs, lizards, and snakes) from camera trap images with deep learning architectures. The experiment includes balancing the imbalanced dataset, investigating several image preprocessing techniques, and augmentation procedures. The classification results present tremendous prospects for automated species identification from challenging biological image data. The research outcome is essential to the academic community and wildlife researchers for conservation and monitoring purpose. Abstract Accurate identification of animal species is necessary to understand biodiversity richness, monitor endangered species, and study the impact of climate change on species distribution within a specific region. Camera traps represent a passive monitoring technique that generates millions of ecological images. The vast numbers of images drive automated ecological analysis as essential, given that manual assessment of large datasets is laborious, time-consuming, and expensive. Deep learning networks have been advanced in the last few years to solve object and species identification tasks in the computer vision domain, providing state-of-the-art results. In our work, we trained and tested machine learning models to classify three animal groups (snakes, lizards, and toads) from camera trap images. We experimented with two pretrained models, VGG16 and ResNet50, and a self-trained convolutional neural network (CNN-1) with varying CNN layers and augmentation parameters. For multiclassification, CNN-1 achieved 72% accuracy, whereas VGG16 reached 87%, and ResNet50 attained 86% accuracy. These results demonstrate that the transfer learning approach outperforms the self-trained model performance. The models showed promising results in identifying species, especially those with challenging body sizes and vegetation.
Overall Survival Rates Become Similar Between Percutaneous Ablation and Hepatic Resection With Increasing Age Among Elderly Patients With Early Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of percutaneous ablation versus hepatectomy in an elderly population with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods Retrospective data on patients aged ≥ 65 years with very-early/early stages of HCC (≤ 50 mm) were obtained from three centers in China. Inverse probability of treatment weighting analysis was performed after stratifying the patients by age (65 - 69, 70 - 74 and ≥ 75 years). Results Of the 1,145 patients, 561 and 584 underwent resection and ablation, respectively. For patients aged 65 - 69 and 70 - 74 years, resection resulted in significantly better overall survival (OS) than ablation (age 65 - 69, P < 0.001, hazard ratio (HR) = 0.27; age 70 - 74, P = 0.012, HR = 0.64). However, in patients aged ≥ 75 years, resection and ablation resulted in a similar OS (P = 0.44, HR = 0.84). An interactive effect existed between treatment and age (effect of treatment on OS, age 65 - 69 as the reference, for age 70 - 74, P = 0.039; for age ≥ 75, P = 0.002). The HCC-related death rate was higher in patients aged 65 - 69, and the liver/other cause-related death rate was higher in patients aged > 69. Multivariate analyses showed that the type of treatment, number of tumors, α-fetoprotein level, serum albumin level and associated diabetes mellitus were independent factors associated with OS, but not hypertension or heart diseases. Conclusion With increasing patient age, the treatment outcomes of ablation become similar to those of resection. A higher liver/other cause-related death rate in very elderly patients may shorten the life expectancy, which may lead to the same OS regardless of whether resection or ablation is chosen.
Women farmers and climate change: Empirical evidence from Burkina Faso

Abstract This study examines the factors influencing women farmers’ choice of adaptation strategies to reduce the negative impacts of climate change and the effects of these strategies on household income and food insecurity. A field survey was conducted among 426 women farmers in the Center-North region, which covers 7% of Burkina Faso territory. Descriptive statistics, a multinomial logit model, and a propensity score matching model were used to analyze the data collected. The results of the econometric analysis show that high domestic tasks, type of climate shocks experienced, membership in women’s group, and financial constraints are important determinants of adaptation decisions. Adaptation strategies are also found to have a positive impact on income and a negative impact on household food insecurity. These different findings highlight the need to prioritize flexible adaptation options to improve women farmers’ resilience to climate change, rather than generic solutions.
Hybrid CMOS-PCM Ternary Logic for Digital Circuit Applications

This paper presents hybrid design of a Ternary Inverter (TI) circuit by integrating an Ovonic-Threshold-Switching (OTS) based Phase-Change-Memory (PCM) cell between Complementary-Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) transistors. Volatile OTS behaviour of the PCM structure helps to generate the ternary state. Reliability of the proposed TI design has been demonstrated through the Monte-Carlo simulations in Cadence-Spectre simulator incorporating both Process and Mismatch variability at all corners. The proposed inverter cell consumes 10.44 $\mu$W power and 1.47 ns delay on UMC-180 nm technology node. Moreover to demonstrate the scaling potential, we have simulated the proposed inverter at various technology nodes i.e 180/90/65/28 nm. At advanced feature sizes, power and delay are improved by significant amount. For benchmarking, we have compared the proposed TI design with various state-of-the-art hybrid structures. Furthermore, to demonstrate potential applications, we designed and simulated ternary universal logic gates i.e NAND/NOR. Benefits of the proposed TI in circuit applications are shown through a Ternary Multiplier (TMUL) arithmetic circuit implementation. Finally, a Ternary-Static-Random-Access-Memory (TSRAM) is proposed with two back-to-back connected CMOS-PCM TIs with three bit storing capability.
Surgical Anatomy and Approaches of the Anterior Cranial Fossa from a Transcranial and Endonasal Perspective

Simple Summary The technical development in skull base surgery, especially to the anterior cranial fossa, has allowed for improvement in the quality of life and the long-term prognosis of patients suffering from different types of tumors that can affect this anatomical area. Applying these advanced techniques requires a thorough understanding of the skull base anatomy and surrounding structures to perform surgery without potential intraoperative complications related to the pathology itself as well as potential complications related to the surgical approach that has been chosen to treat this pathology. The purpose of this paper is to offer a comprehensive review of the surgical anatomy of the anterior skull base and the technical nuances of the surgical approaches that are more frequently used in this region. Detailed knowledge of these aspects is essential both for the choice of the surgical approach and for its correct execution when an anterior cranial fossa lesion need to be resected. Abstract The anterior cranial fossa (ACF) is a complex anatomical region that can be affected by a broad spectrum of pathology. For the surgical treatment of these lesions, many approaches have been described, each of them with different scope and potential surgical complications, often associated with significant morbidity. Traditionally, tumors involving the ACF have been operated by transcranial approaches; however, in the last two decades, endoscopic endonasal approaches (EEAs) have been gaining popularity. In this work, the authors review and describe the anatomical aspects of the ACF and the technical nuances of transcranial and endoscopic approaches for tumors located in this region. Four approaches were performed in embalmed cadaveric specimens and the key steps were documented. Four illustrative cases of ACF tumors were selected to demonstrate the clinical application of anatomical and technical knowledge, which are essential in the preoperative decision-making process.
Sustainable castor oil-based semi-aromatic copolyesters with high strength and low hydrolysis

Hot-melt adhesives are solid adhesives that are converted to a melting state for application to substrates and on cooling efficiently sets up the bond. Due to low or no volatile organic compound emissions, hot-melt adhesives are extensively used in various applications. Poly(trimethylene terephthalate-co-adipate) copolymers containing dimethyl terephthalate, adipic acid, and 1,3-propanediol along with varying amounts of castor oil were synthesized by one-step melt polymerization as hot-melt adhesives. The structure, composition, and thermal properties of these samples were analyzed, and all samples showed excellent thermal stability with Td-5% values above 300°C. Differential scanning calorimetry measurements showed tunable melting temperatures of the copolymers in the range of 80–180°C, which increased with the content of dimethyl terephthalate and decreased with increasing amounts of castor oil. The incorporation of castor oil as soft segments enhanced the flexibility of the molecular chain, indicating an increment in the elongation rate while decreasing the stress at the break and glass transition temperatures. Rheological examinations showed significant increments in the viscosity at lower angular frequencies with the introduction of castor oil; this was attributed to the entanglement caused by the multifunctional groups of castor oil with dangling chains in the segments. As the angular frequency increased, the viscosities of the samples decreased almost linearly, revealing good applicability in the melting process of the copolymers, which presented controllable melting viscosities under different process conditions. The T-peel test was used to investigate the adhesion properties of the copolymers, and the copolymer with 50/50 molar ratio of dimethyl terephthalate/adipic acid with 3 mol% castor oil PT(T50A50)-C3 exhibited excellent binding capacity between the copolymer and poly(ethylene terephthalate) fabric with a peel strength of 2624.5 N m−1. Moreover, PT(T50A50)-C3 shows low moisture absorption, good hydrolysis resistance, and relatively low hardness, which indicates its high potential for application in hot-melt adhesives on polyester fabrics with high strength, good tactile quality, and long service life.
Second Harmonic Voltage Suppression for LLC Converter in Dual-Stage Single-Phase Rectifier Based on Voltage-Oriented State Plane Feedforward Control

Second harmonic output voltage ripple in a single-phase grid-connected rectifier can degrade the system's performance. In this letter, a voltage-oriented state plane feedforward control is proposed to suppress the second harmonic output voltage ripple for the LLC converter, which serves as the backstage of the dual-stage single-phase rectifier. Herein, the desired switching frequency of the LLC converter is predicted online through geometrically simplified state plane analysis, and thus the voltage control loop gain at the second harmonic frequency can be increased. The proposed control strategy features a fast dynamic response and is immune to grid frequency deviation. Both simulation and experimental results fully confirm the theoretical analysis.