Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A finite element model for 3D shape reconstruction and nonrigid motion tracking

The authors present a physics-based approach for recovering the 3-D shape and tracking the motion of nonrigid objects using a 3-D elastically deformable balloon model. The balloon model is based on a thin-plate under tension spline which deforms to fit visual data according to internal forces stemming from the elastic properties of the surface and external forces which are produced from the data. The finite element method is used to represent the model as a continuous surface. A natural finite element is used whose nodal variables comprise the position of the surface plus its first and second partial derivatives, reflecting each of the partial derivatives that occur in the spline's strain energy functional. Hence, the model directly estimates all the information needed to measure the differential geometric properties of the fitted surface. The balloon model was applied to the reconstruction of 3-D objects with irregular shape features. Its effectiveness is demonstrated in extracting the left ventricular surface and tracking its nonrigid motion in dynamic computerized tomography volume images. <<ETX>>
Perspectives and Opportunities for Learning Analytics Integration: A Qualitative Study in Mexican Universities

The adoption of learning analytics (LA) in higher education institutions (HEIs) in Mexico is still at an early stage despite increasing global interest and advances in the field. The use of educational data remains a challenging puzzle for many universities, which strive to provide students, teachers, and institutional administrators with information and insights to better understand their performance. The objective of this study was to identify the perspectives of teachers, students, and administrators about the use of educational data to explore opportunities for the adoption and integration of LA in three different Mexican universities. A qualitative approach was used, adopting instruments and guidelines previously developed in the framework of Learning Analytics for Latin America (LALA) project, adapting them to the Mexican context. Methods included 1) structured interviews with high-level institutional administrators and 2) focus groups with students, teachers, and other educational administrators. Results showed that perceptions are oriented toward improving school performance through data-based feedback, with ethical responsibility. Emergent categories were physical and mental health, development of healthy relationships and well-being, feedback style, and governance in a bureaucratic setting. The specific modern construct of LA still needs to be internalized and disseminated to Mexican universities’ educational stakeholders to increase the likelihood of successful adoption.
Automatic Detection of Causal Relations in German Multilogs

This paper introduces a linguisticallymotivated, rule-based annotation system for causal discourse relations in transcripts of spoken multilogs in German. The overall aim is an automatic means of determining the degree of justification provided by a speaker in the delivery of an argument in a multiparty discussion. The system comprises of two parts: A disambiguation module which differentiates causal connectors from their other senses, and a discourse relation annotation system which marks the spans of text that constitute the reason and the result/conclusion expressed by the causal relation. The system is evaluated against a gold standard of German transcribed spoken dialogue. The results show that our system performs reliably well with respect to both tasks.
PACES: A Partition-Centering-Based Symmetry Placement for Binary-Weighted Unit Capacitor Arrays

Capacitor matching influences linearity performance, which is a critical measure of analog-to-digital converters (ADCs). Various placement techniques have been proposed to eliminate both systematic and random mismatches of capacitor pairs. However, a placement technique that eliminates capacitor mismatches may not result in good linearity performance for successive-approximation-register ADCs because their linearity performance is related to the accuracy of their binary-weighted continued ratio. This paper addresses the critical problem of placement estimation based on ratio mismatch M, overall correlation coefficient L, and performance metrics. A low M and a high L value do not imply higher linearity performance. Therefore, we propose a partition-centering-based symmetry placement algorithm for the layout considering parasitic capacitance matching. The experimental results show that the proposed placement approach can achieve higher linearity performance and a shorter placement generation time compared with the conventional approach.
Characterization of Critical Fields and Flux Pinning Energy of REBCO Tapes

REBCO tapes are currently being produced by various companies, each employing unique combinations of materials and deposition processes. To effectively design and optimize their use in power devices, it is crucial to ascertain their critical field characteristics and understand their flux pinning properties. In this work, we conducted a comprehensive investigation involving electrical transport and magnetization measurements on coated conductors (CCs) produced by Shanghai Superconductor Technology Co., Ltd. (SST). Our findings reveal that the flux pinning energy of these CCs exhibits a collective pinning behavior across the entire range of magnetic fields under consideration. Moreover, the behavior of these CCs in high magnetic fields suggests that their design is well-suited for low-temperature, high-power applications.
Association of ABCC2 −24C>T Polymorphism with High-Dose Methotrexate Plasma Concentrations and Toxicities in Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Methotrexate (MTX) is a key agent for the treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Increased MTX plasma concentrations are associated with a higher risk of adverse drug effects. ATP-binding cassette subfamily C member 2 (ABCC2) is important for excretion of MTX and its toxic metabolite. The ABCC2 −24C>T polymorphism (rs717620) reportedly contributes to variability of MTX kinetics. In the present study, we assessed the association between the ABCC2 −24C>T polymorphism and methotrexate (MTX) toxicities in childhood ALL patients treated with high-dose MTX. A total of 112 Han Chinese ALL patients were treated with high-dose MTX according to the ALL-Berlin-Frankfurt-Muenster 2000 protocol. Our results showed that presence of the −24T allele in ABCC2 gene led to significantly higher MTX plasma concentrations at 48 hours after the start of infusion, which would strengthen over repeated MTX infusion. The −24T allele in ABCC2 gene was significantly associated with higher risks of high-grade hematologic (leucopenia, anemia, and thrombocytopenia) and non-hematologic (gastrointestinal and mucosal damage/oral mucositis) MTX toxicities. This study provides the first evidence that the −24T allele in ABCC2 gene is associated with the severity of MTX toxicities, which add fresh insights into clinical application of high-dose MTX and individualization of MTX treatment.
Patient adherence to allergy immunotherapy

Purpose of reviewThis article reviews the literature on patient adherence to two different approaches to allergen-specific immunotherapy for allergic disease. Factors related to adherence in general, as well as the various methods used to measure adherence, will be discussed. Recent findingsAlthough a complex interaction of factors related to both the physician and the patient influence the adherence to a particular therapeutic regimen, effective communication between these two parties and the simplicity of the regimen are frequently noted to be of primary importance. Variability with respect to the definition of adherence, the method of measuring adherence, and the length of the measuring period has resulted in a wide range of adherence rates to allergy immunotherapy reported in the literature. Patients most often site inconvenience, side-effects, and poor efficacy as reasons for discontinuing allergy immunotherapy. SummaryAdherence to therapy not only improves individual patient outcomes, but also helps determine the best treatment modalities and reduces the burden of disease on society. As new methods of delivering immunotherapy are being developed, such as allergy immunotherapy tablets and oral mucosal immunotherapy, the factors associated with patient adherence should be carefully considered.
An Algebraic Analysis of the Graph Modularity

One of the most relevant tasks in network analysis is the detection of community structures, or clustering. Most popular techniques for community detection are based on the maximization of a quality function called modularity, which in turn is based upon particular quadratic forms associated to a real symmetric modularity matrix $M$, defined in terms of the adjacency matrix and a rank-one null model matrix. That matrix could be posed inside the set of relevant matrices involved in graph theory, alongside adjacency and Laplacian matrices. In this paper we analyze certain spectral properties of modularity matrices, which are related to the community detection problem. In particular, we propose a nodal domain theorem for the eigenvectors of $M$; we point out several relations occurring between the graph's communities and nonnegative eigenvalues of $M$; and we derive a Cheeger-type inequality for the graph modularity.
Meta-stereotypes of groups with opposite religious views: Believers and non-believers

Recent research on meta-stereotypes, that is, ingroup members' beliefs about how the outgroup sees them, may be of importance for intergroup relations between believers and non-believers, especially in the context of increasingly secularized societies. How do believers and non-believers think that outgroup members, respectively non-believers and believers, see them? Do these meta-stereotypes accurately reflect the outgroup's actual stereotypes? We investigated these questions by focusing on a series of relevant characteristics selected on the basis of previous research on religion and personality. Participants (n = 100) provided their stereotypes and meta-stereotypes on eight personality traits. Believers and non-believers tended to share the meta-stereotype that the outgroup members see them as respectively high versus low in prosociality and conservatism and low versus high in hedonism and impulsivity. In contrast, believers seemed to ignore that non-believers see them as dogmatic and non-believers often exaggerated their meta-stereotypes in comparison to how believers actually saw them. Finally, highly identified group members tended to deny the outgroup's core characteristic, that is, believers' relative higher altruism and non-believers' relative lower dogmatism. We discuss the importance of knowing commonalities and discrepancies between stereotypic and meta-stereotypic perceptions for understanding intergroup perceptions and relations between groups that hold conflicting religious positions. Copyright (C) 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Chemical apportionment of aerosol optical properties during the Asia‐Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Beijing, China

We have investigated the chemical and optical properties of aerosol particles during the 2014 Asia‐Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Beijing, China, using the highly time‐resolved measurements by a high‐resolution aerosol mass spectrometer and a cavity attenuated phase shift extinction monitor. The average (±σ) extinction coefficient (bext) and absorption coefficient (bap) were 186.5 (±184.5) M m−1 and 23.3 (±21.9) M m−1 during APEC, which were decreased by 63% and 56%, respectively, compared to those before APEC primarily due to strict emission controls. The aerosol composition and size distributions showed substantial changes during APEC; as a response, the mass scattering efficiency (MSE) of PM1 was decreased from 4.7 m2 g−1 to 3.5 m2 g−1. Comparatively, the average single‐scattering albedo (SSA) remained relatively unchanged, illustrating the synchronous reductions of bext and bap during APEC. MSE and SSA were found to increase as function of the oxidation degree of organic aerosol (OA), indicating a change of aerosol optical properties during the aging processes. The empirical relationships between chemical composition and particle extinction were established using a multiple linear regression model. Our results showed the largest contribution of ammonium nitrate to particle extinction, accounting for 35.1% and 29.3% before and during APEC, respectively. This result highlights the important role of ammonium nitrate in the formation of severe haze pollution during this study period. We also observed very different optical properties of primary and secondary aerosol. Owing to emission controls in Beijing and surrounding regions and also partly the influences of meteorological changes, the average bext of secondary aerosol during APEC was decreased by 71% from 372.3 M m−1 to 108.5 M m−1, whereas that of primary aerosol mainly from cooking, traffic, and biomass burning emissions showed a smaller reduction from 136.7 M m−1 to 71.3 M m−1. As a result, the contribution of primary aerosol to particle extinction increased from 26.8% to 39.6%, elucidating an enhanced role of local primary sources in visibility deterioration during APEC. Further analysis of chemically resolved particle extinction showed that the extinction contributions of aerosol species varied greatly between different air masses but generally with ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate, and secondary OA being the three major contributors.
Pharmacokinetics of iron isomaltoside 1000 in patients with inflammatory bowel disease

Background Iron isomaltoside 1000 is a novel injectable iron compound which offers potential advantages in the treatment of subjects with iron-deficiency anemia. We studied the pharmacokinetics (PK) of this novel compound in subjects with mild-to-moderate inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Methods This open-label, crossover, single-center trial was conducted in 12 subjects with IBD who were allocated to one of the two single intravenous (IV) bolus sequences of iron isomaltoside 1000: 100 mg followed by 200 mg, or vice-versa. PK variables were analyzed according to a single-compartment model. Results The concentration-versus-time relationship for isomaltoside-bound iron (IBI) and total iron (TI) showed first-order kinetics with small deviations from dose-linearity. The area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) values in h * μg/mL for IBI following 100 mg and 200 mg doses were 888 and 2141 respectively, and for TI following 100 mg and 200 mg doses, the AUC values were 1010 and 2319 respectively. The corresponding maximum serum concentration (Cmax) values in μg/mL were 35.6 and 68.6 for IBI, and 37.3 and 71.1 for TI. The half-life (T½) values for IBI and TI were between 20.8–23.5 hours. The apparent volume of distribution (VD) ranged from 3.0–3.5 L. Only approximately 1% of the doses administered were excreted in the urine. No serious adverse event (SAE) was reported. One subject was withdrawn after the 100 mg dose due to abdominal pain and flushing. Conclusion At the administered doses, iron isomaltoside 1000 showed first-order PK, and did not raise safety concerns in patients with IBD. The PK parameters for IBI were close to those of TI.
A sulfated polysaccharide of Ecklonia cava inhibits the growth of colon cancer cells by inducing apoptosis

We investigated anticancer effects of the crude polysaccharides (CPs) isolated from Ecklonia cava enzymatic extracts using AMG, Viscozyme, Protamex, and Alcalase enzyme against a colon cancer cell line, CT26 cells. Among them, the CP of Protamex extract (PCP) contained the highest fucose and sulfated group contents and showed the highest growth inhibitory effect against CT-26 cells. In addition, PCP dose-dependently increased the formation of apoptotic body and the percentage of Sub-G1 DNA contents. Also, PCP activated caspase 9 and PARP as regulating the expressions of Bax and Bcl-2. Moreover, PPP2, a fraction purified from PCP showed the highest growth inhibitory effect against CT 26 cells with the increased fucose and sulfated group contents. The results demonstrate that the isolated SP containing plentiful fucose and sulfated group contents has the anticancer effect on colon cancer cells via regulation of Bcl-2/Bax signal pathway.
Control-flow discovery from event streams

Process Mining represents an important research field that connects Business Process Modeling and Data Mining. One of the most prominent task of Process Mining is the discovery of a control-flow starting from event logs. This paper focuses on the important problem of control-flow discovery starting from a stream of event data. We propose to adapt Heuristics Miner, one of the most effective control-flow discovery algorithms, to the treatment of streams of event data. Two adaptations, based on Lossy Counting and Lossy Counting with Budget, as well as a sliding window based version of Heuristics Miner, are proposed and experimentally compared against both artificial and real streams. Experimental results show the effectiveness of control-flow discovery algorithms for streams on artificial and real datasets.
Personality, self-rated health, and cognition in centenarians: Do personality and self-rated health relate to cognitive function in advanced age?

Personality and self-rated health have been linked previously to cognitive outcome in late life. However, these associations have not been shown among the oldest old. This study examined relationships between personality, self-rated health, and cognitive function in a selected sample of Ashkenazi Jewish centenarians (n = 68, 59% female) aged 95 to 106 who lived independently in the community. Personality was measured using the Personality Outlook Profile Scale (POPS), a brief measure that was validated in this population. Self-rated health was assessed by participants’ subjective rating of their present health, and Mini-Mental Status Examination was used to determine cognitive function. Results showed positive associations of the Positive Attitude Towards Life domain of the POPS and self-rated health with participants’ current cognitive function. These associations remained significant even after adjusting for the effects of participants'age, gender, marital status, education, and history of medical illnesses. Further exploratory analysis using structural equations modeling showed significant associations among the three variables, but demonstrated a borderline significant level of mediating effect of personality on the relationship between self-rated health and cognition. These results reemphasized the independent roles of personality and self-rated health on centenarians’ cognitive outcomes. Future studies will further elucidate the impact of personality and self-rated health on cognitive outcomes in the oldest old.
Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics One-Dimensional Full Wave Simulation of Equatorial Magnetosonic Wave Propagation in an Inhomogeneous Magnetosphere

The effect of the plasmapause on equatorially radially propagating fast magnetosonic (MS) waves in the Earth’s dipole magnetic field is studied by using finite difference time domain method. We run 1-D simulation for three different density profiles: (1) no plasmapause, (2) with a plasmapause, and (3) with a plasmapause accompanied with fine-scale density irregularity. We find that (1) without plasmapause the radially inward propagating MS wave can reach ionosphere and continuously propagate to lower altitude if no damping mechanism is considered. The wave properties follow the cold plasma dispersion relation locally along its trajectory. (2) For simulation with a plasmapause with a scale length of 0.006 RE compared to wavelength, only a small fraction of the MS wave power is reflected by the plasmapause. WKB approximation is generally valid for such plasmapause. (3) The multiple fine-scale density irregularities near the outer edge of plasmapause can effectively block the MS wave propagation, resulting in a terminating boundary for MS waves near the plasmapause.
Instrumental movements of neophytes: analysis of movement Periodicities, Commonalities and individualities in Mimed violin performance

Body movement and embodied knowledge play an important part in how we express and understand music. The gestures of a musician playing an instrument are part of a shared knowledge that contributes to musical expressivity by building expectations and influencing perception. In this study, we investigate the extent in which the movement vocabulary of violin performance is part of the embodied knowledge of individuals with no experience in playing the instrument. We asked people who cannot play the violin to mime a performance along an audio excerpt recorded by an expert. They do so by using a silent violin, specifically modified to be more accessible to neophytes. Preliminary motion data analyses suggest that, despite the individuality of each performance, there is a certain consistency among participants in terms of overall rhythmic resonance with the music and movement in response to melodic phrasing. Individualities and commonalities are then analysed using Functional Principal Component Analysis.
Singular perturbations of finite dimensional gradient flows

In this paper we give a description of the asymptotic behavior, as $\varepsilon\to 0$, of the $\varepsilon$-gradient flow in the finite dimensional case. Under very general assumptions, we prove that it converges to an evolution obtained by connecting some smooth branches of solutions to the equilibrium equation (slow dynamics) through some heteroclinic solutions of the gradient flow (fast dynamics).
Ant Colony Optimization for Image Regularization Based on a Nonstationary Markov Modeling

Ant colony optimization (ACO) has been proposed as a promising tool for regularization in image classification. The algorithm is applied here in a different way than the classical transposition of the graph color affectation problem. The ants collect information through the image, from one pixel to the others. The choice of the path is a function of the pixel label, favoring paths within the same image segment. We show that this corresponds to an automatic adaptation of the neighborhood to the segment form, and that it outperforms the fixed-form neighborhood used in classical Markov random field regularization techniques. The performance of this new approach is illustrated on a simulated image and on actual remote sensing images
Modeling the Impact of Depth on Pointing Performance

An important visual cue for the distance to a target is its binocular depth, the disparity between the left and right eyes. We examined mid-air pointing on a large screen, varying the physical distances (depths) to targets. Welford's two-part formulation provided a better model than the one-part Fitts's Law formulation to predict movement time from movement amplitude and target width. Angular measures suggested by Kopper et al. did not improve the model. Consistent variations of Shoemaker et al.'s k-factor suggest target depth plays a role similar to gain for mid-air pointing. We compared both physical and virtual targets to determine if artificial binocular depth cues induce the same performance as purely physical binocular depth cues. Variation of the k-factor was different when virtual depth and physical depth were not identical. This has implications for calibrating 3-D virtual environments and for the design of interactive 3-D pointing techniques for those environments.