Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A license plate recognition algorithm for Intelligent Transportation System applications

In this paper, a new algorithm for vehicle license plate identification is proposed, on the basis of a novel adaptive image segmentation technique (Sliding Concentric WindowsSCW) and connected component analysis in conjunction with a character recognition Neural Network. The algorithm was tested with 1334 natural scene gray level vehicle images of different backgrounds and ambient illumination. The camera focused in the plate, while the angle of view and the distance from the vehicle varied according to the experimental setup. The license plates properly segmented were 1287 over 1334 input images (96.5%). The Optical Character Recognition (OCR) system is a two layer Probabilistic Neural Network (PNN) with topology 108-180-36, whose performance for entire plate recognition reached 89.1%. The PNN is trained to identify alphanumeric characters from car license plates based on data obtained from algorithmic image processing. Combining the above two rates, the overall rate of success for our LPR algorithm is 86.0%. A review in the related literature presented in this paper, reveals that better performance (90% up to 95%) has been reported, when limitations in distance, angle of view, illumination conditions are set and background complexity is low.
PDE Modeling with Modelica via FMI Import of HiFlow3 C++ Components

Despite an urgent need and desire in academia as well as in industry for modeling Partial Differential Equations (PDEs) using the increasingly popular Modelica modeling and simulation language, there is limited support for this available at the moment. In this work, we propose a solution based on importing PDE models with PDE solvers implemented using the general-purpose parallel finite element library HiFlow3 as models into the Modelica environment using the standard Functional Mock-up Interface. In contrast to methods based on language extensions or automatic semidiscretizations in space, this approach requires no change to the language, and enables the use of specialized PDE solvers. Furthermore, it allows for full flexibility in the choice of geometry, model parameters, and space discretization between simulation runs without recompilation needed. This makes it possible to exploit advanced features of the PDE solver, such as adaptive mesh refinement,and to build complex multi-physics simulations by coupling different models, of both PDE and DAE type, in a straightforward manner using Modelica. We illustrate our method with an example that couples a Modelica Proportional-Integral-Derivative controller to a PDE solver for the unsteady heat equation in a 3D domain.
A survey of structure from motion * .

The structure from motion (SfM) problem in computer vision is to recover the three-dimensional (3D) structure of a stationary scene from a set of projective measurements, represented as a collection of two-dimensional (2D) images, via estimation of motion of the cameras corresponding to these images. In essence, SfM involves the three main stages of (i) extracting features in images (e.g. points of interest, lines, etc.) and matching these features between images, (ii) camera motion estimation (e.g. using relative pairwise camera positions estimated from the extracted features), and (iii) recovery of the 3D structure using the estimated motion and features (e.g. by minimizing the so-called reprojection error). This survey mainly focuses on relatively recent developments in the literature pertaining to stages (ii) and (iii). More specifically, after touching upon the early factorization-based techniques for motion and structure estimation, we provide a detailed account of some of the recent camera location estimation methods in the literature, followed by discussion of notable techniques for 3D structure recovery. We also cover the basics of the simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) problem, which can be viewed as a specific case of the SfM problem. Further, our survey includes a review of the fundamentals of feature extraction and matching (i.e. stage (i) above), various recent methods for handling ambiguities in 3D scenes, SfM techniques involving relatively uncommon camera models and image features, and popular sources of data and SfM software.
Explorer Demo : Orion – A Radio Access Network Slicing System

Emerging 5G mobile networks are envisioned to support the dynamic deployment of services with diverse performance requirements, accommodating the needs of mobile network operators and verticals. Virtualizing the mobile network components in a exible and cost-eective way is therefore of paramount importance. In this work, we highlight the capabilities of Orion, a novel RAN slicing architecture that enables the dynamic virtualization of base stations and exible customization of slices to meet their respective service needs. Our demonstration of Orion’s capabilities is based on a prototype implementation employing a modied version of the OpenAirInterface soware LTE platform. Using this prototype, we demonstrate the functional and performance isolation, and the ecient sharing of radio hardware and spectrum that can be achieved amongOrion RAN slices. Moreover, we show howOrion can be used in an end-to-end network slicing seing and demonstrate the effects of the slices’ conguration and placement of virtual functions in the overall quality of the deployed services.
1.1 TMACS/mW Load-Balanced Resonant Charge-Recycling Array Processor

A resonant adiabatic mixed-signal 128 times 256 array processor achieves 1.1 TMACS (1012 multiply-accumulates per second) per mW of power from a 1.6 V DC supply. The 1.9 mum times 9 mum 3T NMOS unit cell with single-wire pitch multiplexed bit/compute line provides charge-conserving lb-lb multiplication and single-wire analog accumulation. A stochastic data modulation scheme minimizes on-chip capacitance variability maintaining clock oscillations near resonance.
Review of Curious Emotions , by Ralph Ellis ; John Benjamins Publishing , 2005 ( Advances in Consciousness Research Series ) Action

At first glance, this does not look like the kind of book which would help cognitive science researchers, as Ralph Ellis is Professor of Philosophy at Clark Atlanta University and has written mainly on consciousness, affect, motivation and thinking. But Ellis’ long-term interest in the philosophy of mind makes his observations refreshingly different. He emphasises a viewpoint and approach that few have explored, making some specific suggestions which might prove fruitful research areas. Most cognitive science research (Arkin, 1998; Arleo, Smeraldi, & Gerstner, 2004; Weber, Wermter, & Zochios, 2004) takes a reactive view, where data in the environment triggers an agent to respond in some way. Ellis turns this on its head. For him it is the agent which is always active within a relatively passive environment. The agent is no tabula rasa but already has purposes of its own. Citing evidence from neuroscience and psychology, he presents a ‘‘biological organism’’ constructed as a self-organising system.
Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics

a b s t r a c t Large herbivores are key drivers of nutrient cycling in ecosystems worldwide, and hence they have an important influence on the productivity and species composition in plant communities. Classical theories describe that large herbivores can accelerate or decelerate nitrogen (N) mineralization by altering the quality and quantity of resource input (e.g. dung, urine, plant litter) into the soil food web. However, in many situations the impact of herbivores on N mineralization cannot be explained by changes in resource quality and quantity. In this paper, we aim to reconcile observations of herbivores on N mineralization that were previously regarded as contradictory. We conceptually integrate alternative pathways via which herbivores can alter N mineralization. We illustrate our new integrated perspective by using herbivore-induced soil compaction and subsequent changes in soil moisture and soil aeration as an example. We show that the net effect of herbivores on mineralization depends on the balance between herbivore- induced changes in soil physical properties and changes in the quality and quantity of resource input into the soil food web. For example, soil compaction by herbivores can limit oxygen or water availability in wet and dry soils respectively, particularly those with a fine texture. This can result in a reduction in N mineralization regardless of changes in resource quality or quantity. In such systems the plant community will shift towards species that are adapted to waterlogging (anoxia) or drought, respectively. In contrast, soils with intermediate moisture levels are less sensitive to compaction. In these soils, N mineralization rates are primarily associated with changes in resource quality and quantity. We conclude that our integrated perspective will help us to better understand when herbivores accel- erate or decelerate soil nutrient cycling and improve our understanding of the functioning of grazed ecosystems.
Towards Online Shortest Path Computation

The online shortest path problem aims at computing the shortest path based on live traffic circumstances. This is very important in modern car navigation systems as it helps drivers to make sensible decisions. To our best knowledge, there is no efficient system/solution that can offer affordable costs at both client and server sides for online shortest path computation. Unfortunately, the conventional client-server architecture scales poorly with the number of clients. A promising approach is to let the server collect live traffic information and then broadcast them over radio or wireless network. This approach has excellent scalability with the number of clients. Thus, we develop a new framework called live traffic index (LTI)which enables drivers to quickly and effectively collect the live traffic information on the broadcasting channel. An impressive result is that the driver can compute/update their shortest path result by receiving only a small fraction of the index. Our experimental study shows that LTI is robust to various parameters and it offers relatively short tune-in cost (at client side), fast query response time (at client side), small broadcast size (at server side), and light maintenance time (at server side)for online shortest path problem.
Mobile interaction with the real world

The Mobile HCI community is moving beyond the interaction between a single user and her mobile device taking the users environment into account. Mobile interaction with the real world concentrates on using mobile devices as tools to interact with real world objects. This workshop continues the successful mobile interaction with the real world workshops 2006 and 2007. Relevant topics include (but are not limited to) mobile interaction with the real world; mobile devices as user interfaces for terminals; and Frameworks, middleware and APIs for the development of applications that take mobile interactions with the real world into account. The workshop combines technical presentations with the presentation of prototypes and focused discussions to drive interaction between participants.
Hydraulic and sedimentological characterizations of a reach on the Anaktuvuk River, Alaska.

Rivers located on the North Slope of Alaska’s Brooks Range are typically not well characterized with respect to basic hydraulic and sedimentological data. In order to obtain basic hydrosedimentological information on the Anaktuvuk River, a pristine stream located in the Colville River basin, we conducted an extensive field campaign from late May to early June 2009. The study reach was located at N69°27.78 5′ , W151°09.85 8′ , latitude and longitude, respectively. The Anaktuvuk River flows north from the Brooks Range to the Colville River, drains an area of 7,058 km2 , and encompasses 2,063 m of vertical relief. During the field campaign, the field crew measured discharge and water-surface slope, collected water samples, and characterized bed sediment. As a result of fieldwork and laboratory work, we present an initial rating curve for the Anaktuvuk River, as well as the calculated roughness coefficient and suspended sediment concentrations. In addition, we compare the observed bankfull discharges with th.
Identifying protein complexes directly from high-throughput TAP data with Markov random fields

Background Predicting protein complexes from experimental data remains a challenge due to limited resolution and stochastic errors of high-throughput methods. Current algorithms to reconstruct the complexes typically rely on a two-step process. First, they construct an interaction graph from the data, predominantly using heuristics, and subsequently cluster its vertices to identify protein complexes. Results We propose a model-based identification of protein complexes directly from the experimental observations. Our model of protein complexes based on Markov random fields explicitly incorporates false negative and false positive errors and exhibits a high robustness to noise. A model-based quality score for the resulting clusters allows us to identify reliable predictions in the complete data set. Comparisons with prior work on reference data sets shows favorable results, particularly for larger unfiltered data sets. Additional information on predictions, including the source code under the GNU Public License can be found at http://algorithmics.molgen. mpg.de/Static/Supplements/ProteinComplexes. Conclusions We can identify complexes in the data obtained from high-throughput experiments without prior elimination of proteins or weak interactions. The few parameters of our model, which does not rely on heuristics, can be estimated using maximum likelihood without a reference data set. This is particular important for protein complex studies in organisms that do not have an established reference frame of known protein complexes. Background Recent advances in proteomic technologies allow comprehensive investigations of protein-protein interactions on a genomic scale. Interacting proteins provide detailed information on basic biomolecular mechanisms and are a valuable tool in the exploration of cellular life. Protein complexes are physical entities that are formed by stable associations of several proteins to perform a common, often complex function; in fact most of the basic cellular processes such as transcription, translation or cell cycle control are carried out by protein complexes. The goal of our work is to identify protein complexes directly from experimental results obtained from co-immunoprecipitation techniques, in particular the important tandem affinity purification approach (TAP) [1]. TAP employs a fusion protein carrying an affinity tag that is used to bind the protein to a matrix; subsequent washing and cleavage of the tag allows for obtaining the
Coding Achieves the Optimal Delay-Throughput Trade-offs in Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks Part I : Two-Dimensional I . I . D . Mobility Models

In this paper, we investigate the delay-throughput trade-offs in mobile ad-hoc networks under two-dimensional i.i. d. mobility models. We consider two mobility time-scales: (i)Fast mobility where node mobility is at the same time-scale as dat transmissions; (ii) Slow mobility where node mobility is asumed to occur at a much slower time-scale than data transmissions . Given a delay constraintD, the main results are as follows: (1) For the two-dimensional i.i. d. mobility model with fast mobiles, the maximum throughput per source-destination (S-D) pair is shown to be O (
Handbook of Boolean Algebras

Special Classes of Boolean Algebras: Superatomic Boolean Algebras (J. Roitman). Projective Boolean Algebras (S. Koppelberg). Countable Boolean Algebras (R.S. Pierce). Measure Algebras (D.H. Fremlin). Logical Questions: Decidable Extensions of the Theory of Boolean Algebras (M. Weese). Undecidable Extensions of the Theory of Boolean Algebras (M. Weese). Recursive Boolean Algebras (J.B. Remmel). Lindenbaum-Tarski Algebras (D. Myers). Boolean-Valued Models (T. Jech). Appendix on Set Theory (J.D. Monk). Chart of Topological Duality. Appendix on General Topology (B. Balcar, P. Simon). References. Bibliography. Index.
SIT Digital Collections SIT Digital

Coral reefs are important marine ecosystems, as they support biodiversity and generate buffer zones, yet their abundance is incredibly limited globally. One of the main threats that coral reefs face is excessive macroalgal coverage, which limits sunlight from reaching corals, and thus, limits the energy that can reach them. Parrot fish (Scaridae) are keystone herbivores, as they consume macroalgae growing on corals, which aids in reef survivability. While there is previous research on the abundances, sizes, and feeding habits of Scaridae species in the Caribbean, there is no published research on how community structure and feeding preferences of parrot fishes differ within coral reef ecosystems of varying substrate composition. This study assesses the community structure and feeding preferences of Scaridae in the fringing and barrier reefs, reefs of differing substrate composition, of Anmardub Island in Guna Yala, Panama. To determine the substrate composition of fringing and barrier reefs, percent coverages of sand, algae, sponge, dead coral, fire coral, coral rubble, hard coral, and soft coral, were quantified using a 1m 2 threaded quadrat along 6 30x1m belt transects at varying depth levels (0-2.0m, 2.1-4.0m, 4.1-6.0m) in each reef. These transects were placed 30m away from each other, and parallel to the shore. Using these same transects, visual censuses were conducted, in which Scaridae species within 1m of either side of the transects had their densities, size proportions (0-10.0cm, 10.1-20.0cm, 20.1cm+), and proportions of coral species consumption, recorded. Across all depth levels, the fringing reef has significantly higher percentages of sand coverage, t(62)=4.33, p<. 001; t(60)=7.78, p<. 001; t(59)=4.27, p<. 001, and dead coral coverage, t(59)=6.47, p<. 001; t(59)=8.72, p<. 001; t(59)=4.30, p<. 001, while the barrier reef has significantly higher percentages of hard coral coverage, t(
Quantifying the deep-sea rock and fossil record bias using coccolithophores

Abstract While many studies show a correlation between observed taxonomic richness and various measures of geological sampling, all have been based on the same record of terrestrial and marine sediments collected from the land. Here we present the first analyses of how rock and fossil records vary in the deep-sea. We have developed a novel database of species occurrences of coccolithophores sampled during major drilling programs of the North Atlantic, including the Mediterranean and Caribbean. Our sampling proxy, the number of deep-sea sites sampled – perhaps the most direct measure of sampling used so far – shows an exponential rise towards the Recent. Over the same period species-richness has grown in an approximately linear fashion, but genus-level richness shows a sharp initial increase followed by a much slower decline. However, correlations between both richness measures and sampling are extremely strong and a model assuming true diversity to be constant accurately predicts much of observed richness. We conclude that the deep-sea fossil record, like its land-based counterpart, bears a rock record bias.
Pattern Recognition and Classification: An Introduction

The use of pattern recognition and classification is fundamental to many of the automated electronic systems in use today. However, despite the existence of a number of notable books in the field, the subject remains very challenging, especially for the beginner. Pattern Recognition and Classification presents a comprehensive introduction to the core concepts involved in automated pattern recognition. It is designed to be accessible to newcomers from varied backgrounds, but it will also be useful to researchers and professionals in image and signal processing and analysis, and in computer vision. Fundamental concepts of supervised and unsupervised classification are presented in an informal, rather than axiomatic, treatment so that the reader can quickly acquire the necessary background for applying the concepts to real problems. More advanced topics, such as semi-supervised classification, combining clustering algorithms and relevance feedback are addressed in the later chapters. This book is suitable for undergraduates and graduates studying pattern recognition and machine learning.
Reply to comment by M. Watanabe et al. on “Improved global maps and 54‐year history of wind‐work on ocean inertial motions”: Time aliasing in estimating the wind‐induced inertial energy

[1] I will briefly reply to each of the three points of Watanabe et al. [2005], and conclude by suggesting that the underlying uncertain assumptions in both their and my estimates may swamp the 0.2-TW difference between them, rendering these disagreements irrelevant. [2] First, regarding their contention that Alford’s [2003] (hereinafter referred to as A03) calculation was overdamped, they appear to be mixing radian and cyclic frequency units. A03 used r = 0.15f when both were specified in the same units (giving a damping time of about 6 inertial periods). At 30 latitude, r = (6 days) . As pointed out by Alford [2001] and A03, this is right in line with values used by previous authors. [3] They next speculate that A03’s latitudinal correction factor is invalid ‘‘probably just because the NCEP wind data were used as its south-western boundary condition in REMO. ’’ As stated in A03, I excluded the boundary region from the analysis for this exact reason. Hence, their speculation is incorrect. Instead, their validation of a 6-hourly product with a 3-hourly product seems questionable (A03 validated against the half-hourly REMO regional model). Differences in the true wind spectrum at time scales 3 hours will lead to different results. [4] Their third point is in defense of their inclusion of ice-covered regions in Watanabe and Hibiya’s [2002] calculation. They here appear to be using a ‘‘two wrongs make a right’’ argument. They have redone their calculation accounting properly for ice cover, finding (as expected) reduced high-latitude fluxes. However, by using a different mixed-layer-depth definition that raises their fluxes at low latitude, they obtain a similar global total as before. The latitudinal distribution (they do not show it) would clearly be quite different in the two calculations. [5] In fact, the points in their comment and this reply should indicate the variety of subtle errors possible in each calculation. I believe that my estimate of 0.5 TW and theirs of 0.7 TW are indistinguishable given the numerous uncertain assumptions made in each (use of a mixedlayer-depth climatology, sensitivity to mixed-layer-depth definition, high-wind-speed drag parameterization, latitudinal correction factors, and validity of reanalysis wind products). Most recently and potentially most importantly, the slab model may be missing important physics and therefore overestimate the true flux by up to a factor of 1.5–4 [Farrar and Plueddeman, 2004]. While all accounts seem to indicate the global total is a substantial fraction of a terawatt (potentially making near-inertial motions as important as the tides in mixing the deep ocean [Munk and Wunsch, 1998; Wunsch and Ferrari, 2004]), more observations and better wind products are required for quantitative certainty.