Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Video Shot Clustering using Spectral Methods

The automatic segmentation and structuring of videos present technical challenges due to the large variation of content, spatial layout, and possible lack of storyline. In this paper, we propose a spectral method to group video shots into scenes based on their visual similarity and temporal relations. Spectral methods have been shown to be effective in capturing perceptual organization features. In particular, we investigate the problem of automatic model selection, which is currently an open research issue for spectral methods, and propose measures to assess the validity of a grouping result. The methodology is used to group shots from home videos and soccer games. The results indicate the validity of the proposed approach, both compared to existing techniques as well as to human performance.
The use of focus cues in healthy ageing

It is known that general processing resources decline with age (Craik, 1983), yet language comprehension typically remains well preserved in normal aging (Wingfield & Grossman, 2006). It is well known that placing a concept within the scope of focus either with syntactic devices or prosody increases the salience of the text information (e.g., Birch & Rayner, 1997; Cutler & Fodor, 1979; Baker & Wagner, 1987; Cooreman & Sanford, 1996; Sturt, Sanford, Stewart & Dawydiak, 2004). Since information structuring cues are used over a lifetime, it is possible that it is preserved as a cue in older adults and that it may be used to offset other processing difficulties. However, focus may be considered a linguistic equivalent of devices for manipulating selective attention, and there is evidence that older people have difficulties with some selective attention tasks, and have difficulties with the inhibition of irrelevant stimuli. It is thus difficult to predict how older people might respond to focus cues during language processing. There is no evidence regarding this question, and the present thesis contains work aimed at an answer. This thesis presents a series of studies, including sentence continuation studies, self-paced reading studies, delayed probe recognition and eye-tracking studies, and one change detection study investigating the effect of focus and related cues on an older age group. The main findings are older adults showed in some cases larger effects of focus and subordination, in terms of reading times, change detection and probe recognition rates, than did their younger counterparts. However, older and younger participants have different processing patterns based on the proper name/role description contrast, unlike the findings from the information structuring cues. These findings are discussed in relation to existing research on how healthy adult ageing modulates language processing.
Women in medicine − is there a problem? A literature review of the changing gender composition, structures and occupational cultures in medicine

Background Internationally, there are increasing numbers of women entering medicine. Although all countries have different health care systems and social contexts, all still show horizontal (women concentrated in certain areas of work) and vertical (women under represented at higher levels of the professions) segregation. There is much discussion and competing explanations about the implications of the increasing numbers of women in the medical profession.
A high-performance matrix-multiplication algorithm on a distributed-memory parallel computer, using overlapped communication

In this paper, we propose a scheme for matrix-matrix multiplication on a distributed-memory parallel computer. The scheme hides almost all of the communication cost with the computation and uses the standard, optimized Level-3 BLAS operation on each node. As a result, the overall performance of the scheme is nearly equal to the performance of the Level-3 optimized BLAS operation times the number of nodes in the computer, which is the peak performance obtainable for parallel BLAS. Another feature of our algorithm is that it can give peak performance for larger ®Copyright 1994 by International Business Machines Corporation. Copying in printed form for private use is permitted without payment of royalty provided that (1) each reproduction is done without alteration and (2) the Journal reference and IBM copyright notice are included on the first page. The title and abstract, but no other portions, of this paper may be copied or distributed royalty free without further permission by computer-based and other information-service systems. Permission to republish any other portion of this paper must be obtained from the Editor. matrices, even if the underlying communication network of the computer is slow .
P7170: A Novel Molecule with Unique Profile of mTORC1/C2 and Activin Receptor-like Kinase 1 Inhibition Leading to Antitumor and Antiangiogenic Activity

The mTOR pathway is often upregulated in cancer and thus intensively pursued as a target to design novel anticancer therapies. Approved and emerging drugs targeting the mTOR pathway have positively affected the clinical landscape. Recently, activin receptor-like kinase 1 (ALK1), belonging to the TGFβ receptor family, has been reported as an emerging target for antiangiogenic cancer therapy. Here, we describe a novel orally efficacious compound, P7170, that inhibits mTORC1/mTORC2/ALK1 activity with a potent cell growth inhibition. In cell-based assays, P7170 strongly inhibited (IC50 < 10 nmol/L) the phosphorylation of p70S6K (T389) and pAKT (S473). In many cancer cell lines, such as prostate, ovarian, colon, and renal, P7170 treatment resulted in marked cell growth inhibition. Furthermore, it induced G1–S cell-cycle arrest and autophagy. In vitro HUVEC tube formation, in vivo Matrigel plug, and rat aorta ring assays demonstrated that P7170 exhibited significant antiangiogenic activity. In addition, ALK1 knockdown studies in HUVEC confirmed that the antiangiogenic activity of P7170 was primarily due to ALK1 inhibition. Strong inhibition of ALK1 in addition to mTORC1/mTORC2 differentiates P7170 in its mechanism of action in comparison with existing inhibitors. In vivo mouse xenograft studies revealed P7170 to exhibit a significant dose-dependent tumor growth inhibition in a broad range of human tumor types when administered orally at 10 to 20 mg/kg doses. The distinctive pharmacological profile with favorable pharmacokinetic parameters and in vivo efficacy makes P7170 an attractive candidate for clinical development. It is currently being tested in phase I clinical studies. Mol Cancer Ther; 14(5); 1095–106. ©2015 AACR.
Is Reducing Ovarian Volume in Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Patients after Administration of Metformin Associated with Improving Cardiovascular Risk Factors?

Background Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are at increased risk for cardiovascular (CV) and metabolic disorders. There is a close relationship between elevated androgen plasma levels and the ultrasound findings of stromal hypertrophy. In randomized trials, the administration of metformin has been shown to be followed by an improvement in insulin sensitivity and decrease in androgen levels in most women. In the present study, we investigate the association between reduced ovarian volume in PCOS patients after administration of metformin with improvement in CV risk factors. Materials and Methods This was a randomized clinical trial study. A total of 28 women diagnosed with PCOS who referred to the infertility clinic were selected. Anthropometric characteristics of the patients, mean ovarian volume and plasma levels of fasting blood sugar (FBS), lipid profile, luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), estradiol, testosterone, 17-α-OH progesterone (17OHP), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), C-reactive protein (CRP) and homocysteine (Hcy) were evaluated before and after treatment with 500 mg metformin, three times daily for three months. Statistics were calculated with the aid of SPSS 16.0 with student’s paired t- and Pearson’s correlation coefficient tests. Significance was set at p<0.05. Results There were significant reductions in mean ovarian volume and body mass index (BMI), in addition to CRP, Hcy, testosterone, FBS, HDL and LDL levels. There was a positive correlation between mean ovarian volume and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). After treatment, there correlation noted with reduction in mean ovarian volume and decreased BMI, in addition to reductions in CRP, LDL, Hcy and testosterone levels. Conclusion A positive correlation may exist between reduced mean ovarian volume and improvement in CV risk factors after administration of metformin (Registeration Number: IRCT138903244176N1).
Implementation and evaluation of a satisfaction/altruism based architecture for multi-robot systems

We have developed an agent's architecture towards the goal of building efficient, robust and safe multi-robot systems considered as cooperating distributed reactive agents. This architecture is based on satisfaction and altruism allowing the agents to amend their low-level behavior like goal seeking and collision avoidance in order to solve more complex problems. We demonstrate in particular that local conflicting and locking situations are automatically avoided or made repulsive. Computer simulations of tasks in complex environments confirm it. The designed mini-robots, the implementation of their architecture, and the communication protocol are described. The same hardware is shared between communication, collision avoidance, and task achievement. Experiments using two mobile robots and a test bed confirm the theoretical and simulation results.
Trends in Asthma Morbidity and Mortality in Japan between 1984 and 1996

Purpose: To determine whether the increased prevalence of asthma in Japan has influenced its mortality. Materials and Methods: A descriptive study was conducted by the data obtained from Patient Survey and Vital Statistics of Japan between 1984 and 1996. Asthma fatalities were expressed as the number of deaths from asthma per 100,000 asthmatic patients receiving medical treatment on the day when the survey was conducted. Results: Mortality, prevalence and asthma fatalities showed different changing patterns among several age groups. Asthma mortality for the 10-24 and 25-44 year-old groups increased during the study period, while for other age groups, it decreased. The prevalence increased for all groups classified by age and sex. Asthma fatalities peaked in 1987 among the 10-24, 25-44 and 45-64 year-old groups, and decreased for others throughout the study period. Conclusions: There is a possibility that an age-specific phenomenon is at work here because asthma mortality increased only in the 10-24 and 25-44 year-old groups, although the prevalence of asthma increased in all groups, whether classified by age or sex. The asthma fatality of the 10-24, 25-44 and 45-64 year-old groups peaked in 1987: it is conceivable that this was influenced by the particular drug therapy used. The increase in asthma mortality in the 10-24 and 25-44 year-olds might be influenced by the increased prevalence.
Inactivation of lactate dehydrogenase by UV radiation in the 300 nm wavelength region

SummaryThe effect of UV radiation on lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was investigated. LDH from bovine heart was exposed to 3.6–18 kJ/m2 of ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the 300 nm wavelength region. The activity of LDH was observed to decrease as a function of the dosage of UV radiation. The inactivation of LDH was independent of exposure rate at constant dosage of UV radiation. The decrease of LDH activity caused by UV 300 nm radiation was coupled to a decrease of the maximal velocity (Vmax) while the Michaelis constant (Km) remained unchanged. The absorption spectrum of the LDH changed during exposure to UV radiation suggesting an alteration of tryptophan in the LDH molecule.
Specific and cooperative binding of E. coli single-stranded DNA binding protein to mRNA

Fluorometric titration of E. coli single-stranded DNA binding protein with various RNAs showed that the protein specifically and cooperatively binds to its own mRNA. The binding inhibited in vitro expression of ssb and bla but not nusA. This inhibition takes place at a physiological concentration of SSB. The function of the protein in gene regulation is discussed.
A Planning Heuristic Based on Causal Graph Analysis

In recent years, heuristic search methods for classical planning have achieved remarkable results. Their most successful representative, the FF algorithm, performs well over a wide spectrum of planning domains and still sets the state of the art for STRIPS planning. However, there are some planning domains in which algorithms like FF and HSP perform poorly because their relaxation method of ignoring the "delete lists" of STRIPS operators loses too much vital information. Planning domains which have many dead ends in the search space are especially problematic in this regard. In some domains, dead ends are readily found by the human observer yet remain undetected by all propositional planning systems we are aware of. We believe that this is partly because the STRIPS representation obscures the important causal structure of the domain, which is evident to humans. In this paper, we propose translating STRIPS problems to a planning formalism with multi-valued state variables in order to expose this underlying causal structure. Moreover, we show how this structure can be exploited by an algorithm for detecting dead ends in the search space and by a planning heuristic based on hierarchical problem decomposition. Our experiments show excellent overall performance on the benchmarks from the international planning competitions.
Jaw morphology and fighting forces in stag beetles

ABSTRACT The jaws of different species of stag beetles show a large variety of shapes and sizes. The male jaws are used as weapons in fights, and they may exert a very forceful bite in some species. We investigated in 16 species whether and how the forcefulness of their bite is reflected in their jaw morphology. We found a large range of maximal muscle forces (1.8–33 N; factor of 18). Species investing in large bite muscles also have disproportionately large jaw volumes. They use this additional jaw volume to elongate their jaws, increasing their chances of winning in battles. The fact that this also decreases the mechanical advantage is largely compensated for by elongated in-levers. As a result, high muscle forces are correlated with elevated bite forces (0.27–7.6 N; factor of 28). Despite the large difference in the forcefulness of their bite, all investigated species experience similar Von Mises stresses in their jaws while biting (29–114 MPa; factor of 4.0; calculated with finite element simulations). Hence, stag beetles have successfully adapted their jaw anatomy according to their bite force in fights. Summary: A large diversity of jaw morphologies and bite forces exists in the stag beetle family; species with a forceful bite have more robust jaws that prevent elevated material stress while biting during fights.
Lactate dehydrogenase A silencing in IDH mutant gliomas.

BACKGROUND Mutations of the isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 and 2 gene (IDH1/2) were initially thought to enhance cancer cell survival and proliferation by promoting the Warburg effect. However, recent experimental data have shown that production of 2-hydroxyglutarate by IDH mutant cells promotes hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)1α degradation and, by doing so, may have unexpected metabolic effects. METHODS We used human glioma tissues and derived brain tumor stem cells (BTSCs) to study the expression of HIF1α target genes in IDH mutant ((mt)) and IDH wild-type ((wt)) tumors. Focusing thereafter on the major glycolytic enzyme, lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA), we used standard molecular methods and pyrosequencing-based DNA methylation analysis to identify mechanisms by which LDHA expression was regulated in human gliomas. RESULTS We found that HIF1α-responsive genes, including many essential for glycolysis (SLC2A1, PDK1, LDHA, SLC16A3), were underexpressed in IDH(mt) gliomas and/or derived BTSCs. We then demonstrated that LDHA was silenced in IDH(mt) derived BTSCs, including those that did not retain the mutant IDH1 allele (mIDH(wt)), matched BTSC xenografts, and parental glioma tissues. Silencing of LDHA was associated with increased methylation of the LDHA promoter, as was ectopic expression of mutant IDH1 in immortalized human astrocytes. Furthermore, in a search of The Cancer Genome Atlas, we found low expression and high methylation of LDHA in IDH(mt) glioblastomas. CONCLUSION To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of downregulation of LDHA in cancer. Although unexpected findings, silencing of LDHA and downregulation of several other glycolysis essential genes raise the intriguing possibility that IDH(mt) gliomas have limited glycolytic capacity, which may contribute to their slow growth and better prognosis.
Conflicted Advice and Second Opinions: Benefits, but Unintended Consequences

Second opinions have been advocated as an antidote to bias in advice when primary advisors have conflicts of interest. In four experiments, we demonstrate how primary advisors alter their advice due to knowledge of the presence of a second advisor. We show that advisors give more biased advice and adopt a profit-maximizing frame when they are aware of the mere availability of a second opinion. The bias increases when primary advisors are aware that the second opinion is of low quality, and decreases when they know the second opinion is of high quality and easy to access. Both economic concerns (e.g., losing future business) and noneconomic concerns (e.g., concern that a second advisor will expose the poor quality advice) decrease bias in primary advisors’ advice. Based on these findings, we discuss circumstances in which second opinions are likely to be beneficial or detrimental to advice-recipients.
A Molecular Score by Quantitative PCR as a New Prognostic Tool at Diagnosis for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Patients

Background Several markers have been proposed to predict the outcome of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients. However, discordances exist between the current prognostic factors, indicating that none of these factors are totally perfect. Methodology/Principal Findings Here, we compared the prognostic power of new RNA-based markers in order to construct a quantitative PCR (qPCR) score composed of the most powerful factors. ZAP70, LPL, CLLU1, microRNA-29c and microRNA-223 were measured by real time PCR in a cohort of 170 patients with a median follow-up of 64 months (range3-330). For each patient, cells were obtained at diagnosis and RNA was extracted from purified CD19 cells. The best markers were included in a qPCR score, which was thereafter compared to each individual factor. Statistical analysis showed that all five RNA-based markers can predict treatment-free survival (TFS), but only ZAP70, LPL and microRNA-29c could significantly predict overall survival (OS). These three markers were thus included in a simple qPCR score that was able to significantly predict TFS and OS by dividing patients into three groups (0/3, 1-2/3 and 3/3). Median TFS were >210, 61 and 24 months (P<0.0001) and median OS were >330, 242 and 137 months (P<0.0001), respectively. Interestingly, TFS results were also confirmed in Binet stage A patients (P<0.0001). When compared to other classical factors, this score displays the highest univariate Cox hazard ratio (TFS: HR = 9.45 and OS: HR = 13.88) but also provides additional prognostic information. Conclusions In our hands, this score is the most powerful tool for CLL risk stratification at the time of diagnosis.
Multiculturalism and the History of Canadian Diversity

* Introduction* The Problem of the Problem of Diversity* Terminological Issues* The Field of Canadian Diversity* Some Methodological Concerns* Canadian Diversity in State Policy* Canadian Diversity in Popular Culture* Canadian Diversity and the Academy* Identity, Identification, and the Desire for Recognition* Nation and State, Power and Resistance* Delimiting the Field* European Antecedents to the Problem of Canadian Diversity* How Difference Changes, How It Remains the Same* Herodotus, Father of Ethnography* Ancient Ionian Hellenism and the Destruction of the Inferior Other* Incorporation of the Other in Roman Imperialism* Early Christianity: The Missionary Urge* Renaissance Exploration and the New World 'Savage'* From Prehistory to History: A Summary of European Contributions to the Problem of Canadian Diversity* Two 'Canadian' Solutions to the Problem of Diversity* The First Others of the New World* Conversion and Extermination: The Cases of the Huron and the Iroquois* The coureurs de bois as a Repressed Hybrid Identity* The System of Difference in French Colonial Discourse* How Canada Became British* Ignorance and Extermination in the New Founde Landes* Microcontrol and Hybridity: The Hudson's Bay Company and the British Fur Trade* The Early Colonial History of Canadian Diversity* Repetition and Failure in British North America* The Conquest of New France* The Emergence of the Two Founding Races* Rational-Bureaucratic Tutelage: The Indian Problem under British Rule* Group Identity in British Canada* The Dominion of Canada and the Proliferation of Immigrant Otherness* Clearing the 'Empty' West* An Explosion of Racial Subject-Positions* Restoring Order: J.S. Woodsworth and the Great Chain of Race* Managing the Strangers within Our Gates: Assimilation, Transportation, Deportation, and Internment* Excluding the Strangers Without* Identity by Design in Early Twentieth-Century Canada* The Rise of the Mosaic Metaphor* Canadian Identity as an Emergent Phenomenon* The Canadian Mosaic as a Constrained Emergence Theory of Identity* Design, Designers, and the Social Sciences* WWII and the 'First Bureaucracy for Multiculturalism'* The Citizenship Machine* From Racial Assimilation to Cultural Integration* Unhappy Countriness: Multiculturalism as State Policy* The 'Liberalization' of Canadian Society* From Monopoly to Duopoly: The B & B Report* Multiculturalism in a Bilingual Framework as Strategic Simulation of Assimilation to the Other* Multiculturalism: Modern or Postmodern? * A Revaluation of Canadian Multiculturalism* A Critique of Kymlicka's Liberal Theory of Minority Rights* Charles Taylor and the Limits of Recognition* From Deep Diversity to Radical Imaginary Notes Bibliography Index
Microbial activity in the alimentary tract of birds

Nearly all the work on the avian gut microflora has been done using the domestic chicken (Gallus domesticus). There has been some work on the turkey and quail, which have dietary habits similar to the chicken, and there are also a few reports on the pheasant, grouse and goose with respect to fibre digestion. There is virtually nothing known about the gut microflora of carnivorous birds. The greater part of this paper will, therefore, deal with information from the chicken.
Work in 2020: Prognostications about the world of work 20 years into the millennium

This article has three themes. First it considers the reflections of those scholars who document current changes in the world‐of‐work and the academic and managerial challenges that these provide. Second, various speculations about the future of work are reviewed including those made 20 years ago attempting to predict the current state of work and those futurological forecasts made at the moment for the world in 20 years time. Finally, two topics are considered in depth – the psychology of unemployment and the experience of teleworking – to illustrate some of the costs and benefits in the new world of work.