Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A thin shell volume for modeling human hair

Hair-to-hair interaction is often ignored in human hair modeling, due to its computational and algorithmic complexity. In this paper, we present our experimental approach to simulate the complex behavior of long human hair, taking into account the hair-to-hair interactions. For long hair, we propose the thin shell volume (TSV) model for enhancing hair realism by simulating complex hair-hair interaction. The TSV is a thin bounding volume that encloses a given hair surface. The TSV method enables virtual hair combing for surface-model hairstyles. Combing produces the effects of hair-hair interaction that occur in real human hair. Any hair model based on a surface representation can benefit from this approach. The TSV is presented mainly as a tool to modeling human hair, but this model also gives rise to global hair animation control.
Monoamine oxidase inhibitory properties of some benzazoles: Structure-; Activity relationships

Benzazoles containing two or three nitrogen atoms were screened for their inhibitory activity toward monoamine oxidases MAO-A and MAO-B. In order to clarify the mechanism of interaction of these compounds with the enzyme, their electronic structure was calculated at the ab initio level and the influence of lipophilicity on activity was investigated. The mode of binding of benzazoles to MAO-B appears different from that of previously investigated heterocycles.
Ziconotide Combination Intrathecal Therapy for Noncancer Pain Is Limited Secondary to Delayed Adverse Effects: A Case Series With a 24‐Month Follow‐Up

The efficacy and safety of ziconotide as a single agent has been evaluated in few short‐term clinical trials and open‐label studies. Ziconotide use is challenging given its adverse effect (AE) profile. The objective of this study is to describe the long‐term efficacy and AEs of ziconotide used as an adjunct to other intrathecal (IT) agents in chronic noncancer pain patients.
Double balloon catheter for induction of labour in Chinese women with previous caesarean section: one-year experience and literature review.

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the efficacy and safety of double balloon catheter for induction of labour in Chinese women with one previous caesarean section and unfavourable cervix at term. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. SETTING A regional hospital in Hong Kong. PATIENTS Women with previous caesarean delivery requiring induction of labour at term and with an unfavourable cervix from May 2013 to April 2014. MAJOR OUTCOME MEASURES Primary outcome was to assess rate of successful vaginal delivery (spontaneous or instrument-assisted) using double balloon catheter. Secondary outcomes were double balloon catheter induction-to-delivery and removal-to-delivery interval; cervical score improvement; oxytocin augmentation; maternal or fetal complications during cervical ripening, intrapartum and postpartum period; and risk factors associated with unsuccessful induction. RESULTS All 24 Chinese women tolerated double balloon catheter well. After double balloon catheter expulsion or removal, the cervix successfully ripened in 18 (75%) cases. The improvement in Bishop score 3 (interquartile range, 2-4) was statistically significant (P<0.001). Overall, 18 (75%) cases were delivered vaginally. The median insertion-to-delivery and removal-to-delivery intervals were 19 (interquartile range, 13.4-23.0) hours and 6.9 (interquartile range, 4.1-10.8) hours, respectively. Compared with cases without, the interval to delivery was statistically significantly shorter in those with spontaneous balloon expulsion or spontaneous membrane rupture during ripening (7.8 vs 3.0 hours; P=0.025). There were no major maternal or neonatal complications. The only factor significantly associated with failed vaginal birth after caesarean was previous caesarean section for failure to progress (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS This is the first study using double balloon catheter for induction of labour in Asian Chinese women with previous caesarean section. Using double balloon catheter, we achieved a vaginal birth after caesarean rate of 75% without major complications.
A NOVEL TEST METHOD FOR MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES IN FIRE

A novel testing method/apparatus named the Heat-Transfer Rate Inducing System (H-TRIS) has been developed to control the time-history of incident heat flux imposed on test specimens. H-TRIS can be used to simulate a broad range of thermal exposures, from those encountered in a standard fire resistance test in a furnace to those encountered in any real (or design) fire in a real building. This is made possible by implementing a rational understanding of the fundamentals of heat transfer and a paradigm shift (from a structural fire engineering perspective) in how standard thermal exposures are prescribed; i.e. not by a single temperature in a furnace (e.g. gas temperature) but rather by a timehistory of incident (or absorbed) heat flux. H-TRIS enables comprehensive experimental thermal studies with high statistical confidence and repeatability relative to furnace testing at comparatively low economic and temporal costs.
The effect of the digestible undegradable protein concentration of concentrates and protein source offered to ewes in late pregnancy on colostrum production and lamb performance

An experiment was carried out to determine the effect of level of digestible undegradable protein (DUP) concentration and source of protein offered to ewes in late pregnancy on subsequent colostrum production and lamb performance. Ninety-one twin-bearing ewes of mixed breeds were offered grass silage and one of six concentrate treatments for a period of 6 weeks prior to lambing. The concentrates were formulated to provide increasing levels of DUP from approximately 13±65 g DUP/kg DM. The DUP was supplied in the form of xylose-treated soyabean (soypass) or fishmeal. Silage was offered at a constant rate of approximately 0.5 kg dry matter per day. Protein source and DUP concentration of the concentrate had no significant effect (P > 0.05) on ewe blood composition, colostrum yield and quality, lamb birth weight and lamb live weight gain from birth to weaning. The results of this study indicate that, for ewes with a mean condition score of 2.6 at 6 weeks prior to lambing and offered well fermented silage, protein source i.e., soypass versus fishmeal or level of DUP in the concentrate have no significant effect on ewe performance, in terms of colostrum production or lamb birth weight. # 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
The relevance of labels in semi-supervised learning depends on category structure

The study of semi-supervised category learning has shown mixed results on how people jointly use labeled and unlabeled information when learning categories. Here we investigate the possibility that people are sensitive to the value of both labeled and unlabeled items, and that this depends on the structure of the underlying categories. We use an unconstrained free-sorting categorization experiment with a mixture of both labeled and unlabeled stimuli. The results showed that when the distribution of stimuli involved distinct clusters, participants preferred to use the same strategies to sort the stimuli regardless of whether they were given any additional category label information. However, when the stimuli distribution was ambiguous, the sorting strategies people used were strongly influenced by the labeled information given. We capture performance in both cases with an extension to Anderson’s Rational Model that does not know the exact number of category labels in advance.
Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and IGF-binding proteins in bovine sera and pituitaries at different stages of the estrous cycle.

The objective of this study was to determine whether concentrations of hypophyseal and serum insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and binding activities of serum and hypophyseal IGF-binding proteins (IGFBPs) differ with stage of the estrous cycle in mature beef cows. Cows were assigned to the following stages of the estrous cycle based on serum concentrations of progesterone (P4) and ovarian structures at death: days 1-5 (day 0 = estrus; n = 18), days 6-10 (n = 24), days 11-16 (n = 39), and days 17-21 (n = 7). Serum samples collected at death and anterior pituitary homogenates were analyzed for IGF-I, LH, and FSH by RIA. Serum and pituitary IGFBPs were evaluated by ligand and immunoblot analyses. Serum samples contained IGFBP activity at 44 and 40 kilodaltons (kDa; IGFBP-3), 34 kDa (IGFBP-2), 30 kDa (IGFBP-5), 28 kDa, and 24 kDa. The intensity of binding by the different sized proteins in serum remained constant throughout the estrous cycle. IGFBPs detected in anterior pituitaries included a 36-/40-kDa doublet (IGFBP-3), a 32-kDa protein (IGFBP-2), and a 29-kDa IGFBP (IGFBP-5). The intensity of [125I]IGF-I binding to IGFBPs was greater (P < 0.05) during days 11-16 than days 1-5 or days 6-10 of the estrous cycle and was intermediate (P > 0.05) during days 17-21. Serum concentrations of LH were low (< 0.4 ng/ml) during days 1-16 of the estrous cycle, but increased (P < 0.05) approximately 3- to 4-fold during days 17-21. LH concentrations in the anterior pituitary increased (P < 0.05) from the postovulatory period (548 +/- 52 micrograms/g; days 1-5) to the late luteal phase (791 +/- 39 micrograms/g; days 11-16) and were intermediate (P > 0.05) during the preovulatory phase (707 +/- 85 micrograms/g; days 17-21). Concentrations of IGF-I and FSH in the anterior pituitary and serum did not differ (P > 0.05) by stage of the estrous cycle. A positive correlation among the different IGFBPs in the pituitary (P < 0.01) and between each pituitary IGFBP and serum P4 (P < 0.05) existed. The significance (P < 0.0002) of the correlation between pituitary IGFBP-3 and P4 was greater (P < 0.02) than that between the other pituitary IGFBPs and P4. In summary, IGFBP activity in the anterior pituitary, but not that in serum, changed with stage of the estrous cycle in association with serum concentrations of P4. The absence of similar changes in serum or anterior pituitary concentrations of IGF-I supports the hypothesis that IGFBPs may regulate the actions of IGF-I on gonadotropin release from the anterior pituitary gland during the estrous cycle of beef cattle.
Object-Proposal Evaluation Protocol is ‘Gameable’

Object proposals have quickly become the de-facto preprocessing step in a number of vision pipelines (for object detection, object discovery, and other tasks). Their performance is usually evaluated on partially annotated datasets. In this paper, we argue that the choice of using a partially annotated dataset for evaluation of object proposals is problematic - as we demonstrate via a thought experiment, the evaluation protocol is 'gameable', in the sense that progress under this protocol does not necessarily correspond to a "better" category independent object proposal algorithm. To alleviate this problem, we: (1) Introduce a nearly-fully annotated version of PASCAL VOC dataset, which serves as a test-bed to check if object proposal techniques are overfitting to a particular list of categories. (2) Perform an exhaustive evaluation of object proposal methods on our introduced nearly-fully annotated PASCAL dataset and perform cross-dataset generalization experiments, and (3) Introduce a diagnostic experiment to detect the bias capacity in an object proposal algorithm. This tool circumvents the need to collect a densely annotated dataset, which can be expensive and cumbersome to collect. Finally, we have released an easy-to-use toolbox which combines various publicly available implementations of object proposal algorithms which standardizes the proposal generation and evaluation so that new methods can be added and evaluated on different datasets. We hope that the results presented in the paper will motivate the community to test the category independence of various object proposal methods by carefully choosing the evaluation protocol.
Sentence Comprehension as Mental Simulation: An Information-Theoretic Perspective

It has been argued that the mental representation resulting from sentence comprehension is not (just) an abstract symbolic structure but a “mental simulation” of the state-of-affairs described by the sentence. We present a particular formalization of this theory and show how it gives rise to quantifications of the amount of syntactic and semantic information conveyed by each word in a sentence. These information measures predict simulated word-processing times in a dynamic connectionist model of sentence comprehension as mental simulation. A quantitatively similar relation between information content and reading time is known to be present in human reading-time data.
TENSÃO DE ÁGUA NO SOLO E DOSES DE NITROGÊNIO PARA A CULTURA DO FEIJOEIRO COMUM

TENSAO DE AGUA NO SOLO E DOSES DE NITROGENIO PARA A CULTURA DO FEIJOEIRO COMUM Marcio Jose de Santana1; Amanda Leticia da Silveira1; Carlos Roberto de Camargos2; Jose Carlos Braga21Instituto Federal de Educacao, Ciencia e Tecnologia, Triângulo Mineiro, Campus Uberaba, Uberaba, MG, marciosantana@cefetuberaba.edu. br2Centro Universitario de Patos de Minas, Faculdade de Ciencias Agrarias, Patos de Minas, MG 1 RESUMO Este experimento foi conduzido no campus II do Centro Universitario de Patos de Minas, MG, com o objetivo de avaliar o rendimento do feijoeiro comum, submetido a diferentes tensoes de agua no solo e doses de nitrogenio. Os tratamentos constaram de quatro tensoes de agua no solo (10 kPa, 30 kPa, 50 kPa e 70 kPa) e quatro doses de nitrogenio (50 kgha-1, 100 kg ha-1, 150 kg ha-1 e 200 kg ha-1). O delineamento foi em blocos casualizados, em esquema fatorial de 4x4 com tres repeticoes. Foram avaliados: produtividade, numero de vagens por planta, numero de graos nao colhidos, numero de vagens verdes e a eficiencia do uso da agua. Dentre os resultados pode-se constatar que a maior produtividade fisica foi verificada quando a irrigacao foi efetuada com tensao de 22 kPa e dose de N de 130,5 kg ha-1; a maior eficiencia do uso da agua foi verificada quando a irrigacao foi reposta com a tensao de 37 kPa. UNITERMOS: irrigacao, tensiometria, eficiencia da agua. SANTANA, M.J. de; SILVEIRA, A.L. da; CAMARGOS, C.R. de; BRAGA, J.C. SOIL WATER TENSION AND NITROGEN LEVELS FOR THE COMMON BEAN PLANT 2 ABSTRACT This experiment was conducted in the Campus II of the Centro Universitario de Patos de Minas, MG, with the objective of evaluating the yield of common bean plant, submitted to different soil water tension and nitrogen levels. The treatments consisted of four water tension in soil (10 kPa, 30 kPa, 50 kPa e 70 kPa) and four nitrogen (50 kg ha-1, 100 kg ha-1, 150 kg ha-1 e 200 kg ha-1). The experimental design was randomized blocks in factorial scheme of 4x4 with tree repetitions. Crop yield, number of pod per plant, number of unharvested grains, number of green pods and water efficiency cropping were evaluated. Among the results the physical productivity was when the irrigation was effectuated by tension of 22 kPa and N of 130.5 kg ha-1; the greatest value for water use efficiency was irrigation tension of 37 kPa. KEYWORDS: irrigation, tensiometry, efficiency of water.
Error thresholds and optimal mutation rates in genetic algorithms

Academic Publications and Contributions CV summary · Google Scholar citations: 1160+, with an h-index of 20 and an i10-index of 31. · 16 journal papers, 36 refereed conference papers (including one best paper award and 2 other nominations) and 6 book chapters. · Lindenmayer systems as encodings in evolutionary algorithms, study of error thresholds and the roles of recombination and mate selection in evolutionary algorithms, hyper-heuristics and cross-domain optimisation, complex networks for the study of combinatorial landscapes.
Salivary microRNA: Discovery, Characterization, and Clinical Utility for Oral Cancer Detection

Purpose: We have previously shown that a transcriptome is found in saliva and subpanels of these mRNAs can be used as oral cancer biomarkers. In this study, we measured the presence of microRNAs (miRNA) in saliva and determined their potential as an additional set of oral cancer biomarkers. Experimental Design: A total of 314 miRNAs were measured using reverse transcriptase-preamplification-quantitative PCR in 12 healthy controls. Degradation pattern of endogenous and exogenous saliva miRNAs were measured at room temperature over time. Selected miRNAs were validated in saliva of 50 oral squamous cell carcinoma patients and 50 healthy matched control subjects. Results: We detected ∼50 miRNAs in both the whole and supernatant saliva. Endogenous saliva miRNA degraded much slower compared with exogenous miRNA. Two miRNAs, miR-125a and miR-200a, were present in significantly lower levels (P < 0.05) in the saliva of oral squamous cell carcinoma patients than in control subjects. Conclusions: Both whole and supernatant saliva of healthy controls contained dozens of miRNAs, and similar to saliva mRNAs, these miRNAs are stable. Saliva miRNAs can be used for oral cancer detection. (Clin Cancer Res 2009;15(17):5473–7)
Micronewton force-controlled manipulation of biomaterials using a monolithic MEMS microgripper with two-axis force feedback

This paper presents the first demonstration of force-controlled micrograsping at the microNewton force level. The system manipulates highly deformable biomaterials (hydrogel microcapsules and biological cells) in an aqueous environment using a MEMS-based microgripper with integrated force feedback along two axes. The microgripper integrates an electrothermal V-beam microactuator and two capacitive force sensors, one for contact detection (force resolution: 38.5 nN) and the other for gripping force measurements (force resolution: 19.9 nN). The MEMS-based microgripper and the force control system experimentally demonstrate the capability of rapid contact detection and reliable force-controlled micrograsping to accommodate variations in sizes and mechanical properties of objects with a high reproducibility. Cell viability testing validated that the temperature at gripping arm tips does not exceed 50degC.
Computer-aided psychotherapy: revolution or bubble?

Summary Research into computer-aided psychotherapy is thriving around the world. Most of it concerns computer-aided cognitive–behavioural therapy (CCBT). A recent narrative review found 97 computer-aided psychotherapy systems from nine countries reported in 175 studies, of which 103 were randomised controlled trials. The rapid spread of the mass delivery of psychotherapy through CCBT, catalysed in the UK by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's recommendation of two CCBT programmes and the Department of Health's CCBT implementation guidance, seems unprecedented. This editorial is a synopsis of the current status of CCBT and its future directions.
The relevance of feature type for the automatic classification of emotional user states: low level descriptors and functionals

In this paper, we report on classification results for emotional user states (4 classes, German database of children interacting with a pet robot). Six sites computed acoustic and linguistic features independently from each other, following in part different strategies. A total of 4244 features were pooled together and grouped into 12 low level descriptor types and 6 functional types. For each of these groups, classification results using Support Vector Machines and Random Forests are reported for the full set of features, and for 150 features each with the highest individual Information Gain Ratio. The performance for the different groups varies mostly between ≈ 50% and ≈ 60%. Index Terms: emotional user states, automatic classification, feature types, functionals
The cardiac response to exercise in cirrhosis

BACKGROUND Impaired exercise capacity and oxygen consumption are common in cirrhosis. AIM To explore the relationship between possible myocardial dysfunction and exercise tolerance in cirrhosis. METHODS Cardiac responses to exercise, using radionuclide angiography and graded upright cycle ergometry with oxygen consumption, were assessed before and after exercise in 39 cirrhotics patients and compared with 12 age and sex matched healthy volunteers. Baseline cardiac chamber dimensions and wall thickness, ejection fraction, and diastolic function were measured using two dimensional echocardiography is all subjects. RESULTS Baseline diastolic dysfunction with prolonged isovolumic relaxation times (p=0.02), left atrial enlargement, and left ventricular wall thickening were present in all cirrhotics (p=0.02), despite increased mean ejection fraction. With graded exercise, cirrhotics achieved 71 (4)% (p=0.03) (pre-ascitics) and 46 (3)% (p<0.001) (ascitics) of predicted work loads, respectively, without significant increases in ejection fraction. The smaller absolute and percentage increases in cardiac output (p=0.003) in the cirrhotics were associated with significantly reduced oxygen consumption (p=0.003) and anaerobic threshold (p<0.001), and correlated significantly with work and metabolic parameters. CONCLUSIONS Impaired exercise capacity in cirrhosis is associated with myocardial thickening and ventricular stiffness leading to decreased diastolic function, inotropic and chronotropic incompetence under conditions of stress, with metabolic consequences. This picture is compatible with the condition now known as cirrhotic cardiomyopathy.
Phase-coherent link from optical to microwave frequencies by means of the broadband continuum from a 1-GHz Ti:sapphire femtosecondoscillator.

An optical clockwork is created with a compact 1-GHz repetition-rate laser and three nonlinear crystals. The broadband continuum output of the laser covers sufficient bandwidth to provide direct access to its carrier-envelope offset frequency without the use of a microstructure fiber. We phase lock the femtosecond comb to a Ca optical standard and monitor the stability of the repetition rate, f(r) , at 1 GHz. We demonstrate that the short-term stability of the microwave output of the optical clock is at least as good as that of a high-performance hydrogen maser.
Not Now! Supporting Interruption Management by Indicating the Modality and Urgency of Pending Tasks

Operators in complex event-driven domains must coordinate competing attentional demands in the form of multiple tasks and interactions. This study examined the extent to which this requirement can be supported more effectively through informative interruption cueing (in this case, partial information about the nature of pending tasks). The 48 participants performed a visually demanding air traffic control (ATC) task. They were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 experimental groups that differed in the availability of information (not available, available upon request, available automatically) about the urgency and modality of pending interruption tasks. Within-subject variables included ATC-related workload and the modality, frequency, and priority of interruption tasks. The results show that advance knowledge about the nature of pending tasks led participants to delay visual interruption tasks the longest, which allowed them to avoid intramodal interference and scanning costs associated with performing these tasks concurrently with ATC tasks. The 3 experimental groups did not differ significantly in terms of their interruption task performance; however, the group that automatically received task-related information showed better ATC performance, thus experiencing a net performance gain. Actual or potential applications of this research include the design of interfaces in support of attention and interruption management in a wide range of event-driven environments.