Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
OverCoat: an implicit canvas for 3D painting

We present a technique to generalize the 2D painting metaphor to 3D that allows the artist to treat the full 3D space as a canvas. Strokes painted in the 2D viewport window must be embedded in 3D space in a way that gives creative freedom to the artist while maintaining an acceptable level of controllability. We address this challenge by proposing a canvas concept defined implicitly by a 3D scalar field. The artist shapes the implicit canvas by creating approximate 3D proxy geometry. An optimization procedure is then used to embed painted strokes in space by satisfying different objective criteria defined on the scalar field. This functionality allows us to implement tools for painting along level set surfaces or across different level sets. Our method gives the power of fine-tuning the implicit canvas to the artist using a unified painting/sculpting metaphor. A sculpting tool can be used to paint into the implicit canvas. Rather than adding color, this tool creates a local change in the scalar field that results in outward or inward protrusions along the field's gradient direction. We address a visibility ambiguity inherent in 3D stroke rendering with a depth offsetting method that is well suited for hardware acceleration. We demonstrate results with a number of 3D paintings that exhibit effects difficult to realize with existing systems.
Worst case delay analysis for memory interference in multicore systems

Employing COTS components in real-time embedded systems leads to timing challenges. When multiple CPU cores and DMA peripherals run simultaneously, contention for access to main memory can greatly increase a task's WCET. In this paper, we introduce an analysis methodology that computes upper bounds to task delay due to memory contention. First, an arrival curve is derived for each core representing the maximum memory traffic produced by all tasks executed on it. Arrival curves are then combined with a representation of the cache behavior for the task under analysis to generate a delay bound. Based on the computed delay, we show how tasks can be feasibly scheduled according to assigned time slots on each core.
Polysaccharides L900/2 and L900/3 isolated from Lactobacillus rhamnosus LOCK 0900 modulate allergic sensitization to ovalbumin in a mouse model

Here, we compared the abilities of polysaccharides L900/2 and L900/3, which were previously isolated from Lactobacillus rhamnosus LOCK 0900, to modulate the immune response to bystander antigens in a mouse model of ovalbumin (OVA) sensitization. In vivo, both polysaccharides reduced the levels of OVA‐specific IgE, IgE‐dependent basophil degranulation and IgG2a antibodies, but had no effect on the levels of OVA‐specific IgA or IgG1. Interestingly, both polysaccharides triggered recall cellular responses with distinct properties. L900/3 significantly suppressed the OVA‐induced upregulations of IL‐4, IL‐5, IL‐10 and IL‐13 in re‐stimulated spleen cells and mesenteric lymph nodes. Our findings support and expand on our previous in vitro studies by demonstrating that polymer L900/3 might modulate the Th1/Th2 balance and could be a promising candidate molecule for preventing allergic sensitization.
Robust FDI Determinants: Bayesian Model Averaging in the Presence of Selection Bias

The literature on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) determinants is remarkably diverse in terms of competing theories and empirical results. We utilize Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) to resolve the model uncertainty that surrounds the validity of the competing FDI theories. Since the structure of existing FDI data is well known to induce selection bias, we extend BMA theory to HeckitBMA in order to address model uncertainty in the presence of selection bias. We show that more than half of the previously suggested FDI determinants are not robust and highlight theories that do receive robust support from the data. Our selection approach allows us to identify the determinants of the margins of FDI (intensive and extensive), which are shown to differ profoundly. Our results suggest a new emphasis in FDI theories that explicitly identify the dynamics of the intensive and extensive FDI margins.
Clinical and biochemical profile of dengue haemorrhagic fever in children in Delhi

The clinical and biochemical profile of dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) varies from epidemic to epidemic. We studied children hospitalized with DHF from September 2003 to December 2003. All were diagnosed, managed and monitored according to a standard protocol. Of the 34 who fulfilled the World Health Organization criteria of DHF, 22 (64.6%) were male. All patients presented with fever and hepatomegaly. Examination also revealed splenomegaly in 11 (32.4%), ascites in 6 (17.6%) and pleural effusion in 3 (8.8%). Common bleeding manifestations were positive tourniquet test in 22 (64.7%) and epistaxis in eight (23.5%). Most children had a platelet count of between 20,000/mm3 and 50,000/mm3 (56%). Bleeding manifestations were not related to platelet count (P > 0.05). Serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT) >40 IU/L was seen in 22 (64.6%) patients, alkaline phosphate (ALP) >400 IU/L in 12 (35.3%) and serum bilirubin >1 mg% in 3 (8.8%). IgM dengue serology was positive in 68.5% cases. There was no significant difference in liver function tests with or sex (P > 0.05). Clinical features of DHF varied from the previous epidemic. Hepatic dysfunction with increased levels of serum enzymes was common in DHF.
An Overview of Errors and Flaws of Estimated GFR versus True GFR in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus

The determination of renal function is crucial in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM), a population at risk for chronic kidney disease (CKD). Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) can be measured (mGFR) with gold standard methods or estimated (eGFR) with formulas. Since 1957, when Effersoe published the first formula, more than 50 equations have been developed to estimate GFR. In this review, we examined the studies that compared mGFR and eGFR in patients with T2DM to analyze the performance of those formulae in this population. In cross-sectional studies, the average error of eGFR was ±30% of mGFR. Thus, in a patient with mGFR of 60 mL/min, eGFR may vary from 42 to 78 mL/min. Moreover, many patients were misclassified according to CKD stages. Formulas failed to detect glomerular hyperfiltration. In longitudinal studies, eGFR poorly reflected real GFR decline over time. All studies showed that eGFR decline was slower than mGFR decline. Notably, no major improvement in accuracy and precision has been observed since 1957 despite the use of cystatin-c. Thus, formulas are not reliable indicators of GFR in patients with T2DM. In clinical studies, where GFR is the main outcome measure of the study, eGFR should be avoided.
Discourse structure and language technology

Abstract An increasing number of researchers and practitioners in Natural Language Engineering face the prospect of having to work with entire texts, rather than individual sentences. While it is clear that text must have useful structure, its nature may be less clear, making it more difficult to exploit in applications. This survey of work on discourse structure thus provides a primer on the bases of which discourse is structured along with some of their formal properties. It then lays out the current state-of-the-art with respect to algorithms for recognizing these different structures, and how these algorithms are currently being used in Language Technology applications. After identifying resources that should prove useful in improving algorithm performance across a range of languages, we conclude by speculating on future discourse structure-enabled technology.
Root system architecture: insights from Arabidopsis and cereal crops

Roots are important to plants for a wide variety of processes, including nutrient and water uptake, anchoring and mechanical support, storage functions, and as the major interface between the plant and various biotic and abiotic factors in the soil environment. Understanding the development and architecture of roots holds potential for the exploitation and manipulation of root characteristics to both increase food plant yield and optimize agricultural land use. This theme issue highlights the importance of investigating specific aspects of root architecture in both the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and (cereal) crops, presents novel insights into elements that are currently hardly addressed and provides new tools and technologies to study various aspects of root system architecture. This introduction gives a broad overview of the importance of the root system and provides a snapshot of the molecular control mechanisms associated with root branching and responses to the environment in A. thaliana and cereal crops.
Sports and Activity Levels After Open Surgical Treatment of Femoroacetabular Impingement

Background: Several studies indicate that professional athletes can successfully return to competition after surgical treatment of femoroacetabular impingement (FAI). However, little is known about sports and activity levels after FAI surgery in the general patient population. Hypothesis/Purpose: The purpose was to determine the sports behavior, satisfaction with sports ability, and activity levels in a consecutive cohort of patients with FAI who were treated by surgical hip dislocation. The hypothesis was that the majority of patients (>75%) would be active in sports at follow-up. Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: This retrospective study included 153 patients (mean age, 30.0 years; 40.5% female) with 192 hips treated. Sports behavior and satisfaction were determined at a mean follow-up of 59.4 months with the use of a questionnaire. Activity levels at follow-up were assessed by the Hip Sports Activity Scale (HSAS) and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) activity scale. Results: Of 126 patients who were regularly active in sports before surgery, 107 (85%) were so at follow-up. Nineteen patients (12.4%) stopped participating in regular sports, and 8 (5.2%) commenced with sports after the operation. The most popular activities before surgery were skiing (22%), cycling (22%), jogging (20%), and soccer (13%). At follow-up, most patients were engaged in cycling (23%), fitness/weight training (20%), skiing (18%), and jogging (11%). Of all patients, 75% were satisfied with their sports ability, and 25% were not. Moreover, 60.3% stated that their sports ability had improved after surgery, 20.5% declared no change, and 19.2% were subjectively deteriorated. The mean pain level during sports was rated to be 2.1 according to the visual analog scale. The mean HSAS score was 3.5 (range, 0-8), and the mean UCLA score was 7.7 (range, 3-10); male patients reported significantly higher scores than did female patients on the HSAS (4.1 vs 2.7, respectively) and UCLA scale (8.2 vs 7.0, respectively). Conclusion: The vast majority of patients with FAI who are treated by surgical hip dislocation return to sports activities, and most patients are satisfied with their sports ability at midterm follow-up. Activity levels are significantly higher in male patients, but this does not yield higher satisfaction rates.
Axiomatic semantics for compiler verification

Based on constructive type theory, we study two idealized imperative languages GC and IC and verify the correctness of a compiler from GC to IC. GC is a guarded command language with underspecified execution order defined with an axiomatic semantics. IC is a deterministic low-level language with linear sequential composition and lexically scoped gotos defined with a small-step semantics. We characterize IC with an axiomatic semantics and prove that the compiler from GC to IC preserves specifications. The axiomatic semantics we consider model total correctness and map programs to continuous predicate transformers. We define the axiomatic semantics of GC and IC with elementary inductive predicates and show that the predicate transformer described by a program can be obtained compositionally by recursion on the syntax of the program using a fixed point operator for loops and continuations. We also show that two IC programs are contextually equivalent if and only if their predicate transformers are equivalent.
Kinetic Modulation of Kv4-Mediated A-Current by Arachidonic Acid Is Dependent on Potassium Channel Interacting Proteins

The Kv4 subfamily of voltage-gated potassium channels is responsible for the transient A-type potassium current that operates at subthreshold membrane potentials to control membrane excitability. Arachidonic acid was shown recently to modulate both the peak amplitude and kinetics of the hippocampal A-current. However, inXenopus oocytes, arachidonic acid only inhibited the peak amplitude of Kv4 current without modifying its kinetics. These results suggest the existence of Kv4 auxiliary subunit(s) in native cells. We report here a K-channel interacting protein (KChIP)-dependent kinetic modulation of Kv4.2 current in Chinese hamster ovary cells and Kv4.2 and Kv4.3 currents in Xenopus oocytes by arachidonic acid at physiological concentrations. This concentration-dependent effect of arachidonic acid resembled that observed in cerebellar granule neurons and was fully reversible. Other fatty acids, including a nonhydrolyzable inhibitor of both lipooxygenase and cyclooxygenase, 5,8,11,14-eicosatetraynoic acid (ETYA), also mimicked arachidonic acid in modulating Kv4.3 and Kv4.3/KChIP1 currents. Compared with another transient potassium current formed by Kv1.1/Kvβ1, Kv4.3/KChIP1 current was much more sensitive to arachidonic acid. Association between KChIP1 and Kv4.2 or Kv4.3 was not altered in the presence of 10 μm ETYA as measured by immunoprecipitation and association-dependent growth in yeast. Our data suggest that the KChIP proteins represent a molecular entity for the observed difference between arachidonic acid effects on A-current kinetics in heterologous cells and in native cells and are consistent with the notion that KChIP proteins modulate the subthreshold A-current in neurons.
Microspectroscopic Evidence of Cretaceous Bone Proteins

Low concentrations of the structural protein collagen have recently been reported in dinosaur fossils based primarily on mass spectrometric analyses of whole bone extracts. However, direct spectroscopic characterization of isolated fibrous bone tissues, a crucial test of hypotheses of biomolecular preservation over deep time, has not been performed. Here, we demonstrate that endogenous proteinaceous molecules are retained in a humerus from a Late Cretaceous mosasaur (an extinct giant marine lizard). In situ immunofluorescence of demineralized bone extracts shows reactivity to antibodies raised against type I collagen, and amino acid analyses of soluble proteins extracted from the bone exhibit a composition indicative of structural proteins or their breakdown products. These data are corroborated by synchrotron radiation-based infrared microspectroscopic studies demonstrating that amino acid containing matter is located in bone matrix fibrils that express imprints of the characteristic 67 nm D-periodicity typical of collagen. Moreover, the fibrils differ significantly in spectral signature from those of potential modern bacterial contaminants, such as biofilms and collagen-like proteins. Thus, the preservation of primary soft tissues and biomolecules is not limited to large-sized bones buried in fluvial sandstone environments, but also occurs in relatively small-sized skeletal elements deposited in marine sediments.
Understanding Differences in Sexting Behaviors Across Gender, Relationship Status, and Sexual Identity, and the Role of Expectancies in Sexting

Sexting, or the exchange of sexually explicit material via Internet social-networking site or mobile phone, is an increasingly prevalent behavior. The study sought to (1) identify expectancies regarding sexting behaviors, (2) examine how demographics (i.e., gender, sexual identity, relationship status) might be differentially related to sexting expectancies and behaviors, and (3) examine whether these concurrent relationships are consistent with a theoretical causal model in which sexting expectancies influence sexting behaviors. The sample consisted of 278 undergraduate students (mean age=21.0 years, SD=4.56; 53.8% female; 76.3% caucasian). Factor analyses supported the validity and reliability of the Sextpectancies Measure (α=0.85-0.93 across subscales) and indicated two expectancy domains each for both sending and receiving sexts: positive expectancies (sexual-related and affect-related) and negative expectancies. Males reported stronger positive expectancies (F=4.64, p=0.03) while females reported stronger negative expectancies (F=6.11, p=0.01) about receiving sexts. There were also differences across relationship status regarding negative expectancies (F=2.25, p=0.05 for sending; F=4.24, p=0.002 for receiving). There were also significant effects of positive (F=45.98, p<0.001 for sending, F=22.42, p<0.001 for receiving) and negative expectancies (F=36.65, p=0.02 sending, F=14.41, p<0.001 receiving) on sexting behaviors (η(2) from 0.04-0.13). College students reported both positive and negative sextpectancies, although sextpectancies and sexting varied significantly across gender, race, sexual identity, and relationship status. Concurrent relationships were consistent with the causal model of sextpectancies influencing sexting behaviors, and this study serves as the first test of this model, which could inform future prevention strategies to mitigate sexting risks.
Energy of the oscillating legs of a fast‐moving cheetah, pronghorn, jackrabbit, and elephant

Lifelike models of the oscillating legs treated as three‐segment systems show the course of kinetic and potential energy over the locomotor cycle for a cheetah, pronghorn, jackrabbit, and elephant running at speeds approaching their maxima. The models can be adjusted to eliminate differences among the animals in time intervals, mass or length of limb, and joint angles. This facilitates analysis of the influence on total energy of each of these variables and of the distribution of mass among leg segments. Fast‐cycling legs of the carnivore type have significantly more energy than those of the hoofed type. This may contribute to the lesser endurance that is usual for carnivores that hunt using a high‐speed dash.
Study of X80 grade high strength line pipe for sour service

X80 grade high strength large diameter line pipe (UOE Pipe) for sour service have been studied. Increasing Mn content to provide strength of X80 increases HIC susceptibility due to center segregation of Mn in continuously cast slabs. The Mn content should be controlled less than 1.4% to maintain HIC resistance in the NACE TM0177 solution. The required strength can be obtained by addition of 0.5% Cr and accelerated controlled cooling after rolling. It has been clarified that Cr is very useful in providing high strength X70 without accelerating the center segregation of Mn. SSC resistance can be improved by controlling maximum hardness of weld metal lower than 230 Hv. Sour service X80 UOE pipes of two sizes were manufactured on large scales based on these experimental results. These pipes showed good low temperature toughness and HIC resistance in the NACE TM0177 solution.
Dynamics Characterization of the Inductive Power Transfer System for Online Electric Vehicles by Laplace Phasor Transform

A large-signal dynamic model of the inductive power transfer system (IPTS) for the online electric vehicle (OLEV) is developed using the recently proposed Laplace phasor transform. With the help of this dynamic model, the effect of the output capacitor and load resistance variation on the transient response of the IPTS is analyzed. The maximum pickup current and output voltage for an abrupt in-rush of the OLEV are examined by both the proposed analysis and simulations, and verified by experiments with good agreement. Thus, it is found that the voltage and current ratings of the pickup remain relatively constant regardless of the load resistance.
Geometric Edge Description and Classification in Point Cloud Data with Application to 3D Object Recognition

This paper addresses the detection of geometric edges on 3D shapes. We investigate the use of local point cloud features and cast the edge detection problem as a learning problem. We show how supervised learning techniques can be applied to an existing shape description in terms of local feature descriptors. We apply our approach to several well-known shape descriptors. As an additional contribution, we develop a novel shape descriptor, termed Equivalent Circumference Surface Angle Descriptor or ECSAD, which is particularly suitable for capturing local surface properties near edges. Our proposed descriptor allows for both fast computation and fast processing by having a low dimension, while still producing highly reliable edge detections. Lastly, we use our features in a 3D object recognition application using a well-established benchmark. We show that our edge features allow for significant speedups while achieving state of the art results.
Positive Feedback Promotes Oscillations in Negative Feedback Loops

A simple three-component negative feedback loop is a recurring motif in biochemical oscillators. This motif oscillates as it has the three necessary ingredients for oscillations: a three-step delay, negative feedback, and nonlinearity in the loop. However, to oscillate, this motif under the common Goodwin formulation requires a high degree of cooperativity (a measure of nonlinearity) in the feedback that is biologically “unlikely. ” Moreover, this recurring negative feedback motif is commonly observed augmented by positive feedback interactions. Here we show that these positive feedback interactions promote oscillation at lower degrees of cooperativity, and we can thus unify several common kinetic mechanisms that facilitate oscillations, such as self-activation and Michaelis-Menten degradation. The positive feedback loops are most beneficial when acting on the shortest lived component, where they function by balancing the lifetimes of the different components. The benefits of multiple positive feedback interactions are cumulative for a majority of situations considered, when benefits are measured by the reduction in the cooperativity required to oscillate. These positive feedback motifs also allow oscillations with longer periods than that determined by the lifetimes of the components alone. We can therefore conjecture that these positive feedback loops have evolved to facilitate oscillations at lower, kinetically achievable, degrees of cooperativity. Finally, we discuss the implications of our conclusions on the mammalian molecular clock, a system modeled extensively based on the three-component negative feedback loop.