Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Learning system for human motion characters of traditional arts

A useful learning system for human motion characters of traditional arts, such as Mai (Japanese classic dance), Kabuki (one of Japan's traditional stage arts), etc., is being developed. In such arts an effective system to pass the tradition down from a top artist to next generations is required. Video contents are generally used to pass the human motions in traditional arts down for non-experts. However, the video contents normally show the human motions as the views from a single direction. If the human motions are presented from orthogonal three-directions at the same time, it comes more useful. So, our learning system produces the three-dimensional human motion by the sequences of views from a single direction in the video contents, then, the motions from any directions can be presented simultaneously with the video contents.In addition, a learner can check the difference in motion between a top artist and him/herself by the producing his/her three-dimensional skeleton motion with our system and the overlapping it with one of the top artist. Here, in the comparison between two different physiques (a top artist and a learner) a simple adjustment method is suggested.In our study standard motion capture processes are employed, but our goal is to develop an original practical training system of performers' motion for beginners in traditional arts. In this paper the developing system is demonstrated for Kyo-mai (Mai originated in Kyoto) as example. The developing system can be useful not only in performing arts but also in industry or in sports.
Output feedback control of the Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equation

The Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equation is a nonlinear partial differential equation that models reaction-diffusion systems. The stability of the equilibria depends on the value of a positive parameter; the set of all constant equilibria are unstable when the instability parameter is less than 1. Stabilization of the Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equation using scalar output-feedback control is considered in this paper. This is done by stabilizing the corresponding linearized system. A finite-dimensional controller is then designed to stabilize the system. Fréchet differentiability of the semigroup generated by the closed-loop system plays an important role in proving that this approach yields a locally stable equilibrium. The approach is illustrated with a numerical example.
Differential Expression of Exosomal microRNAs in Prefrontal Cortices of Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder Patients

Exosomes are cellular secretory vesicles containing microRNAs (miRNAs). Once secreted, exosomes are able to attach to recipient cells and release miRNAs potentially modulating the function of the recipient cell. We hypothesized that exosomal miRNA expression in brains of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BD) might differ from controls, reflecting either disease-specific or common aberrations in SZ and BD patients. The sources of the analyzed samples included McLean 66 Cohort Collection (Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center), BrainNet Europe II (BNE, a consortium of 18 brain banks across Europe) and Boston Medical Center (BMC). Exosomal miRNAs from frozen postmortem prefrontal cortices with well-preserved RNA were isolated and submitted to profiling by Luminex FLEXMAP 3D microfluidic device. Multiple statistical analyses of microarray data suggested that certain exosomal miRNAs were differentially expressed in SZ and BD subjects in comparison to controls. RT-PCR validation confirmed that two miRNAs, miR-497 in SZ samples and miR-29c in BD samples, have significantly increased expression when compared to control samples. These results warrant future studies to evaluate the potential of exosome-derived miRNAs to serve as biomarkers of SZ and BD.
Effects of Calcium and Its Antagonists on the Canine Mesenteric Circulation Calcium Ions (ca

Malliani A (1980) Disagreement on the reflex sympathetic activity elicited by experimental coronary occlusion (Reply to increases in heart rate elicited by stimulation of afferent cardiac sympathetic nerve fibers in the cat. Reflex blood pressure control during acute myocardial ischemia in the conscious dog. Circ Res 34: 226-232 Peterson DF, Brown AM (1971) Pressor reflexes produced by stimulation of afferent fibers in the cardiac sympathetic nerves of the cat. An excit-atory nociceptive cardiac reflex elicited by bradykinin and potentiated by prostaglandins and myocardial ischemia. Car-diovasc Res 10: 314-327 Uchida Y, Murao S (1974a) Bradykinin-induced excitation of afferent cardiac sympathetic nerve fibers. Jap Heart J 15: 84-91 Uchida Y, Murao S (1974b) Excitation of afferent cardiac sympathetic nerve fibers during coronary occlusion. SUMMARY We studied circulatory and metabolic responses of the intestinal circulation to intraar-terial infusions of solutions containing calcium chloride or calcium antagonists in anesthetized dogs. Measurements included blood flow to the terminal ileum, arteriovenous oxygen content difference, distribution of radiolabeled microspheres to the mucosal-submucosal compartment and intraluminal pressure. Calculated parameters included oxygen consumption and fractional mucosal-submucosal blood flow. Both calcium antagonists, nifedipine and diltiazem, increased intestinal blood flow, mainly to the mucosa-submucosa, depressed intestinal motility, and did not change oxygen consumption. Thus, both agents appear to act mainly on resistance vessels without increasing the nutrient circulation. Calcium chloride (1.0-500.0 /ig/kg per min) had a mild constrictor effect; at a dose of 1000.0 fig/kg per min, calcium chloride became a dilator agent in the mesenteric circulation. The dilator effect of the highest dose of calcium was reversed by digoxin, suggesting the involvement of Na + ,K +-ATPase. Nifedipine completely blocked calcium-induced constriction of the intestinal circulation and partly inhibited norepinephrine-induced constriction. Studies on isolated mesenteric arterial smooth muscle revealed that nifedipine relaxed KCl-contracted strips in the presence of external calcium and relaxed norepinephrine-contracted strips in both the presence and absence of external calcium. These in vitro findings suggest that calcium antagonists interfere with the release of calcium from intracellular sites as well as with the slow inward current of calcium. 2+) play a central role in the control of smooth muscle contractility. Various stimuli initiate contraction of vascular smooth muscle by increasing the concentration of free Ca the cytoplasm, thereby activating contractile pro-There are two main sources of activator Ca 2+ , namely, the pool of extra-cellular Ca 2+ including ions loosely bound to the external muscle membrane and the …
Examining spectral space of complex networks with positive and negative links

Previous studies on social networks are often focused on networks with only positive relations between individual nodes. As a significant extension, we conduct the spectral analysis on graphs with both positive and negative edges. Specifically, we investigate the impacts of introducing negative edges and examine patterns in the spectral space of the graph’s adjacency matrix. Our theoretical results show that communities in a k-balanced signed graph are distinguishable in the spectral space of its signed adjacency matrix even if connections between communities are dense. This is quite different from recent findings on unsigned graphs, where communities tend to mix together in the spectral space when connections between communities become dense. We further conduct theoretical studies based on graph perturbation to examine spectral patterns of general unbalanced signed graphs. We illustrate our theoretical findings with various empirical evaluations on both synthetic data and real world Correlates of War data.
ON MORI'S THEOREM FOR QUASICONFORMAL MAPS IN THE n-SPACE

R. Fehlmann and M. Vuorinen proved in 1988 that Mori's constant M(n, K) for K-quasiconformal maps of the unit ball in R n onto itself keeping the origin fixed satisfies M(n, K) ! 1 when K ! 1 . We give here an alternative proof of this fact, with a quantitative upper bound for the constant in terms of elementary functions. Our proof is based on a refinement of a method due to G.D. Anderson and M. K. Vamanamurthy. We also give an explicit version of the Schwarz lemma for quasiconformal self-maps of the unit disk. Some experimental results are provided to compare the various bounds for the Mori constant when n = 2 .
Otologic Manifestation in IgG4-Related Systemic Disease

IgG4-related systemic disease, including autoimmune pancreatitis, is a multi-organ disorder characterized by elevated serum immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4) concentration and IgG4-positive plasma cell infiltration. We report a case of a 66-year-old woman with IgG4-related hearing disorder, presenting with fluctuating mixed hearing loss with middle ear effusion. The serum IgG4 level was elevated and pathological examination revealed dense infiltration of IgG4-positive lymphocyte in the renal parenchyma, lung tissue and lacrimal gland. With intravenous methylprednisolone at a dose of 60 mg daily, improvement of hearing loss were observed. No recurrence was observed for 6 months with mainternance of prednisolone and methotrexate.
Germ cell sex determination in mammals

One of the major decisions that germ cells make during their development is whether to differentiate into oocytes or sperm. In mice, the germ cells’ decision to develop as male or female depends on sex-determining signalling molecules in the embryonic gonadal environment rather than the sex chromosome constitution of the germ cells themselves. In response to these sex-determining cues, germ cells in female embryos initiate oogenesis and enter meiosis, whereas germ cells in male embryos initiate spermatogenesis and inhibit meiosis until after birth. However, it is not clear whether the signalling molecules that mediate germ cell sex determination act in the developing testis or the developing ovary, or what these signalling molecules might be. Here, we review the evidence for the existence of meiosis-inducing and meiosis-preventing substances in the developing gonad, and more recent studies aimed at identifying these molecules in mice. In addition, we discuss the possibility that some of the reported effects of these factors on germ cell development may be indirect consequences of impairing sexual differentiation of gonadal somatic cells or germ cell survival. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of germ cell sex determination may provide candidate genes for susceptibility to germ cell tumours and infertility in humans.
Haptic information stabilizes and destabilizes coordination dynamics

Goal–directed, coordinated movements in humans emerge from a variety of constraints that range from ‘high–level’ cognitive strategies based on perception of the task to ‘low–level’ neuromuscular–skeletal factors such as differential contributions to coordination from flexor and extensor muscles. There has been a tendency in the literature to dichotomize these sources of constraint, favouring one or the other rather than recognizing and understanding their mutual interplay. In this experiment, subjects were required to coordinate rhythmic flexion and extension movements with an auditory metronome, the rate of which was systematically increased. When subjects started in extension on the beat of the metronome, there was a small tendency to switch to flexion at higher rates, but not vice versa. When subjects were asked to contact a physical stop, the location of which was either coincident with or counterphase to the auditory stimulus, two effects occurred. When haptic contact was coincident with sound, coordination was stabilized for both flexion and extension. When haptic contact was counterphase to the metronome, coordination was actually destabilized, with transitions occurring from both extension to flexion on the beat and from flexion to extension on the beat. These results reveal the complementary nature of strategic and neuromuscular factors in sensorimotor coordination. They also suggest the presence of a multimodal neural integration process—which is parametrizable by rate and context—in which intentional movement, touch and sound are bound into a single, coherent unit.
Linkage heterogeneity of end-stage renal disease on human chromosome 10.

BACKGROUND The human syntenic region of the rodent renal failure-1 gene (Rf1), an attractive candidate region for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) susceptibility, is located on chromosome 10q24-q26. In an attempt to assess for linkage between markers on human chromosome 10 and ESRD, we performed a linkage analysis in 356 African American sib pairs concordant for ESRD [199 sib pairs concordant for non-diabetic etiologies (hypertension-associated, chronic glomerulonephritis and unknown) and 157 sib pairs concordant for diabetic ESRD]. METHODS Linkage was tested between 30 polymorphic markers spanning chromosome 10 and ESRD using GeneHunter software. RESULTS In all 356 sib pairs, the maximum likelihood ratio z-score (Zlr) occurred near locus D10S677 (Zlr = 3.33, P = 0.0004, lod = 3.40), with a lesser peak near D10S1435 (Zlr = 1.77, P = 0.04, lod = 1.42). The locus at D10S677 contributed significantly to both diabetic ESRD (Zlr = 2.39, P = 0.008, lod = 2.08) and non-diabetic ESRD (Zlr = 2.35, P = 0.009, lod = 2.03). Additionally, the D10S677 peak was observed in both early onset (< or =50 years) and late onset (>50 years) ESRD (Zlr = 2.96, P = 0.002, lod = 2.82 in early onset and Zlr = 1.96, P = 0.03, lod = 1.60 in late onset ESRD families, respectively). The lesser peak at D10S1435 was observed in families with non-diabetic etiologies of ESRD (Zlr = 1.94, P = 0.02, lod = 1.58) and in those with early onset ESRD (Zlr = 1.89, P = 0.03, lod = 1.53). CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that the region near D10S677, adjacent to the human homolog of the Rf1 gene, contributes to ESRD susceptibility in African Americans. They confirm that the region on 10p, near D10S1435, appears to be involved in early onset, non-diabetic etiologies of ESRD in African Americans.
Polymorphisms of the stem cell marker gene CD133 are associated the clinical outcome in a cohort of Chinese non-small cell lung cancer patients

Objectives To evaluate the prognostic relevance of four functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in CD133 (rs2240688A>C, rs10022537T>A, rs7686732C>G, and rs3130C>T) on overall survival (OS) of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Department of General Surgery, in a general hospital, Henan Province, China. Participants NSCLC patients aged ≥18 years, who were not receiving preoperative neoadjuvant therapies and had a blood sample available for genotyping, were eligible for inclusion. Those participants who were pregnant or breastfeeding, had a previous history of cancer, had other primary tumours, or who had had primary tumours of the skin and nasopharynx, were excluded from the study. Outcome measures The primary endpoint was OS, which was calculated from the date of enrolment until the date of death or date of last follow-up. Results There was a total of 1383 participants, with a median age of 63 years; 726 (52.5%) were male. Compared with thers2240688 AA genotype, the variant AC/CC genotypes were independently associated with OS (HR 1.27, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.45 for AC genotype; HR 2.32, 95% CI 1.91 to 2.80 for CC genotype). Higher hazard ratios for associations between CD133 rs2240688 polymorphism and OS were observed in patients with adjuvant chemotherapy (HR 1.86, 95% CI 1.52 to 2.26) and radiotherapy for curative intent (HR 1.90, 95% CI 1.55 to 2.33). Conclusions The study confirmed the significant association between the SNP rs2240688 A>C of CD133 and OS of NSCLC patients. Larger population-based studies in different ethnic groups are necessary to further validate the role and mechanisms of CD133 in NSCLC.
Lifetime Increased Risk of Adult Onset Atopic Dermatitis in Adolescent and Adult Patients with Food Allergy

Food allergy can result in life-threatening anaphylaxis. Atopic dermatitis (AD) causes intense itching and impaired quality of life. Previous studies have shown that patients with classical early-onset AD tend to develop food allergy and that 10% of adults with food allergies have concomitant AD. However, it is not known whether late-onset food allergy leads to adult-onset AD, a recently recognized disease entity. Using an initial cohort of one-million subjects, this study retrospectively followed-up 2851 patients with food allergy (age > 12 years) for 14 years and compared them with 11,404 matched controls. While 2.8% (81) of the 2851 food allergy patients developed AD, only 2.0% (227) of the 11,404 controls developed AD. Multivariate regression analysis showed that food allergy patients were more likely to develop AD (adjusted hazard ratio = 2.49, p < 0.0001). Controls had a 1.99% risk of developing AD, while food allergy patients had a significantly higher risk (7.18% and 3.46% for patients with ≥3 and <3 food allergy claims, respectively) of developing adult-onset AD. This is the first study to describe the chronological and dose-dependent associations between food allergy in adolescence and the development of adult-onset AD.
Isolation and characterization of a 2.3-kilobase-pair cDNA fragment encoding the binding domain of the bovine leukemia virus cell receptor

An immunoscreening strategy was used to isolate a cDNA clone encoding the binding domain for the external glycoprotein gp51 of the bovine leukemia virus (BLV). Three recombinant phages demonstrating BLV binding activity and containing 2.3-kbp cDNA inserts with identical nucleotide sequences were isolated from a lambda gt11 cDNA library of bovine kidney cells (MDBK). One clone, BLVRcp1, hybridized with a 4.8-kb mRNA from cells of bovine origin and was also found to be conserved as a single-copy gene in murine, bovine, ovine, primate, canine, feline, and porcine DNAs. The same gene is amplified in caprine DNA isolated from a BLV-induced tumor. The longest open reading frame of BLVRcp1 encodes a protein fragment of 729 amino acids with a putative receptor structure. BLVRcp1 cDNA was cloned in the eucaryotic expression vector pXT-1 and transfected into murine NIH 3T3 and human HEp-2 cells. Cells expressing BLVRcp1 mRNA became susceptible to BLV infection. BLVRcp1 has no known physiological function and has no significant homology with sequences registered in the GenBank and EMBL data libraries (31 July 1992). Expression of deleted constructs of BLVRcp1 indicates that the BLV binding region is encoded at the 5' side of the receptor clone.
Multiserotype Protection Elicited by a Combinatorial Prime-Boost Vaccination Strategy against Bluetongue Virus

Bluetongue virus (BTV) belongs to the genus Orbivirus within the family Reoviridae. The development of vector-based vaccines expressing conserved protective antigens results in increased immune activation and could reduce the number of multiserotype vaccinations required, therefore providing a cost-effective product. Recent recombinant DNA technology has allowed the development of novel strategies to develop marker and safe vaccines against BTV. We have now engineered naked DNAs and recombinant modified vaccinia virus Ankara (rMVA) expressing VP2, VP7 and NS1 proteins from BTV-4. IFNAR(−/−) mice inoculated with DNA/rMVA-VP2,-VP7-NS1 in an heterologous prime boost vaccination strategy generated significant levels of antibodies specific of VP2, VP7, and NS1, including those with neutralizing activity against BTV-4. In addition, vaccination stimulated specific CD8+ T cell responses against these three BTV proteins. Importantly, the vaccine combination expressing NS1, VP2 and VP7 proteins of BTV-4, elicited sterile protection against a lethal dose of homologous BTV-4 infection. Remarkably, the vaccine induced cross-protection against lethal doses of heterologous BTV-8 and BTV-1 suggesting that the DNA/rMVA-VP2,-VP7,-NS1 marker vaccine is a promising multiserotype vaccine against BTV.
Character displacement among bat-pollinated flowers of the genus Burmeistera: analysis of mechanism, process and pattern

Coexisting plants that share pollinators can compete through interspecific pollen transfer. A long-standing idea holds that divergence in floral morphology may reduce this competition by placing pollen on different regions of the pollinator's bodies. However, surprisingly little empirical support for this idea exists. Burmeistera is a diverse neotropical genus that exhibits wide interspecific variation in the degree to which the reproductive parts are exserted outside the corolla. Coexisting Burmeistera share bats as their primary pollinators, and the degree of exsertion determines the site of pollen deposition on the bats' heads. Here we study the mechanism, process and pattern of floral character displacement for assemblages of coexisting Burmeistera. Flight cage experiments with bats and pairs of Burmeistera species demonstrate that the greater the divergence in exsertion length, the less pollen transferred interspecifically. Null model analyses of exsertion lengths for 19 species of Burmeistera across 18 sites (each containing two to four species) demonstrate that observed assemblage structure is significantly overdispersed relative to what would be expected by chance. Local evolution, rather than ecological sorting, appears to be the primary process driving this pattern of overdispersion because local adaptation of the nine widespread species accounts for a large portion of the observed pattern. Taken together, results of this study provide strong support for the idea that competition through interspecific pollen transfer can drive character displacement in plants.
What is a WSN or Low Power Lossy Network ( LLN ) ?

What is a WSN or Low Power Lossy Network (LLN)? § Sensor node – a highly constrained small device § sensor that can measure physical data (e.g., temperature, humidity, light, vibration, CO2) § actuator capable of performing a task (e.g., switch on, change traffic lights, rotate a mirror) § radio device to receive commands, send measured data or control information § energy supply – battery or energy harvesting § processor – run protocols and applications § memory (RAM, flash) – usually limited § Low cost, low energy
Multiparty asynchronous session types

Communication is becoming one of the central elements in software development. As a potential typed foundation for structured communication-centred programming, session types have been studied over the last decade for a wide range of process calculi and programming languages, focussing on binary (two-party) sessions. This work extends the foregoing theories of binary session types to multiparty, asynchronous sessions, which often arise in practical communication-centred applications. Presented as a typed calculus for mobile processes, the theory introduces a new notion of types in which interactions involving multiple peers are directly abstracted as a global scenario. Global types retain a friendly type syntax of binary session types while capturing complex causal chains of multiparty asynchronous interactions. A global type plays the role of a shared agreement among communication peers, and is used as a basis of efficient type checking through its projection onto individual peers. The fundamental properties of the session type discipline such as communication safety, progress and session fidelity are established for generaln-party asynchronous interactions.