Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Probabilistic Multiview Depth Image Enhancement Using Variational Inference

An inference-based multiview depth image enhancement algorithm is introduced and investigated in this paper. Multiview depth imagery plays a pivotal role in free-viewpoint television. This technology requires high-quality virtual view synthesis to enable viewers to move freely in a dynamic real world scene. Depth imagery of different viewpoints is used to synthesize an arbitrary number of novel views. Usually, the depth imagery is estimated individually by stereo-matching algorithms and, hence, shows inter-view inconsistency. This inconsistency affects the quality of view synthesis negatively. This paper enhances the multiview depth imagery at multiple viewpoints by probabilistic weighting of each depth pixel. First, our approach classifies the color pixels in the multiview color imagery. Second, using the resulting color clusters, we classify the corresponding depth values in the multiview depth imagery. Each clustered depth image is subject to further subclustering. Clustering based on generative models is used for assigning probabilistic weights to each depth pixel. Finally, these probabilistic weights are used to enhance the depth imagery at multiple viewpoints. Experiments show that our approach consistently improves the quality of virtual views by 0.2 dB to 1.6 dB, depending on the quality of the input multiview depth imagery.
The Effect of Caffeine on Radiocalcium Movement in Frog Sartorius

Caffeine increases resting calcium influx approximately threefold in normally polarized and in potassium-depolarized fibers of frog sartorius muscles. It does not affect the transient rapid increase in calcium influx that occurs at the beginning of a potassium depolarization. Calcium outflux in Ringer's solution, in zero calcium Ringer's solution, and in zero calcium Ringer's solution plus 0.004 M EDTA is also markedly increased by caffeine. The increased outflux reaches a rate which is approximately the same as the increased calcium influx. One interpretation of the findings is that caffeine reduces the binding of calcium both in the membrane and in the myoplasm; this increases the "permeability" to calcium and the ionic activity of calcium in muscle. This interpretation is consistent with the view that the contractile state of muscle is dependent at least in part on the thermodynamic activity of calcium in the muscle fibers.
Structure-activity studies on gossypol in tumor cell lines

Gossypol [(2,2′-binaphthalene)-8,8′-dicarboxaldehyde-1,1′,6,6′,7,7′-hexahydroxy-5,5′-diisopropyl-3,3′-dimethyl] 1a is a naturally occurring compound extracted from the cotton plant and has been extensively studied as an oral male contraceptive. Its favorable toxicity profile, and the more recent demonstration of anti-tumor activity in animals and humans, prompted us to investigate the role of the aldehyde groups in a structure-activity study in cultured tumor cells. Four racemic compounds were evaluated: gossypol 1a, gossypolone 2, the bis Schiff's base of L-phenylalanine methyl ester with gossypol (bis Schiff's base) 1c and apogossypol 1b. The former two compounds both retain the aldehyde functional groups at positions 8 and 8′ of the molecule whilst in the latter two compounds the aldehydes are blocked or absent, respectively. In addition, the l- and d-isomers of gossypol 1a, the bis Schiff's base 1c and the half Schiff's base 1d (one aldehyde blocked) were tested. The cell lines studied included melanoma (SK-mel-19), cervix (Sihas), small cell lung (H69) and myelogenous leukemia (K562). Cytotoxicity was measured using the MTT and flow cytometric viability assays. Racemic gossypol 1a and gossypolone 2 induced similar dose-dependent decreases in cell viability in all the cell lines with IC50 values of 23-46 and 28-50 μM, respectively. In contrast, the racemic bis Schiff's base derivative of gossypol 1c and apogossypol 1b showed minimal activity in any cell line up to 50 μM. The l-enantiomer of gossypol 1a was significantly more active than the d-enantiomer (IC50 of 20 versus >50 μM, respectively). When one aldehyde of either enantiomer was blocked 1d cytoxicity was comparable to the l-enantiomer of gossypol. The data suggest that only one aldehyde group is required for the cytotoxicity of gossypol 1a, irrespective of the stereo-configuration
Law of error in Tsallis statistics

In order to theoretically explain the ubiquitous existence of power-law behavior such as chaos and fractals in nature, Tsallis entropy has been successfully applied to the generalization of the traditional Boltzmann-Gibbs statistics, the fundamental information measure of which is Shannon entropy. Tsallis entropy S/sub q/ is a one-parameter generalization of Shannon entropy S/sub 1/ in the sense that lim/sub q/spl rarr/1/S/sub q/=S/sub 1/. The generalized statistics using Tsallis entropy are referred to as Tsallis statistics. In order to present the law of error in Tsallis statistics as a generalization of Gauss' law of error and prove it mathematically, we apply the new multiplication operation determined by q-logarithm and q-exponential, the fundamental functions in Tsallis statistics, to the definition of the likelihood function in Gauss' law of error. The present maximum-likelihood principle (MLP) leads us to determine the so-called q-Gaussian distribution, which coincides with one of the Tsallis distributions derived from the maximum entropy principle for Tsallis entropy under the second moment constraint.
Bronchoscopic lung volume reduction with endobronchial valves for patients with heterogeneous emphysema and intact interlobar fissures (The BeLieVeR-HIFi trial): study design and rationale

Although lung volume reduction surgery improves survival in selected patients with emphysema, there has been ongoing interest in developing and evaluating bronchoscopic approaches to try to reduce lung volumes with less morbidity and mortality. The placement of endobronchial valves is one such technique, and although some patients have had a significant improvement, responses have been inconsistent because collateral ventilation prevents lobar atelectasis. We describe the protocol of a trial (ISRCTN04761234) aimed to show that a responder phenotype, patients with heterogeneous emphysema and intact interlobar fissures on CT scanning, can be identified prospectively, leading to a consistent benefit in clinical practice.
Deficient CD40-TRAF6 signaling in leukocytes prevents atherosclerosis by skewing the immune response toward an antiinflammatory profile

The CD40–CD40 ligand (CD40L) signaling axis plays an important role in immunological pathways. Consequently, this dyad is involved in chronic inflammatory diseases, including atherosclerosis. Inhibition of CD40L in apolipoprotein E (Apoe)–deficient (Apoe−/−) mice not only reduced atherosclerosis but also conferred a clinically favorable plaque phenotype that was low in inflammation and high in fibrosis. Blockade of CD40L may not be therapeutically feasible, as long-term inhibition will compromise systemic immune responses. Conceivably, more targeted intervention strategies in CD40 signaling will have less deleterious side effects. We report that deficiency in hematopoietic CD40 reduces atherosclerosis and induces features of plaque stability. To elucidate the role of CD40–tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor (TRAF) signaling in atherosclerosis, we examined disease progression in mice deficient in CD40 and its associated signaling intermediates. Absence of CD40-TRAF6 but not CD40-TRAF2/3/5 signaling abolishes atherosclerosis and confers plaque fibrosis in Apoe−/− mice. Mice with defective CD40-TRAF6 signaling display a reduced blood count of Ly6Chigh monocytes, an impaired recruitment of Ly6C+ monocytes to the arterial wall, and polarization of macrophages toward an antiinflammatory regulatory M2 signature. These data unveil a role for CD40–TRAF6, but not CD40–TRAF2/3/5, interactions in atherosclerosis and establish that targeting specific components of the CD40–CD40L pathway harbors the potential to achieve therapeutic effects in atherosclerosis.
Associations Between Vitamin D Intake and Progression to Incident Advanced Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Purpose There is growing evidence of the importance of nutrition in age-related macular degeneration (AMD), but no prospective studies have explored the impact of vitamin D. We evaluated the association between vitamin D intake and progression to advanced AMD. Methods Among 2146 participants (3965 eyes), 541 (777 eyes) progressed from early or intermediate AMD to advanced disease (mean follow-up: 9.4 years) based on ocular imaging. Nutrients were log transformed and calorie adjusted. Survival analysis was used to assess associations between incident advanced disease and vitamin D intake. Neovascular disease (NV) and geographic atrophy (GA) were evaluated separately. Combined effects of dietary vitamin D and calcium were assessed based on high or low consumption of each nutrient. Results There was a lower risk of progression to advanced AMD in the highest versus lowest quintile of dietary vitamin D intake after adjustment for demographic, behavioral, ocular, and nutritional factors (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.60; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.43–0.83; P trend = 0.0007). Similar results were observed for NV (HR: 0.59; 95% CI: 0.39–0.89; P trend = 0.005) but not GA (HR: 0.83; 95% CI: 0.53–1.30; P trend = 0.35). A protective effect was observed for advanced AMD among participants with high vitamin D and low calcium compared to the group with low levels for each nutrient (HR: 0.67; 95% CI: 0.50–0.88; P = 0.005). When supplement use was considered, the effect was in the protective direction but was not significant. Conclusions A diet rich in vitamin D may prevent or delay progression to advanced AMD, especially NV. Additional exploration is needed to elucidate the potential protective role of vitamin D and its contribution to reducing visual loss.
Impact of FinFET on Near-Threshold Voltage Scalability

Near-threshold operations provide a powerful knob for improving energy efficiency and alleviating on-chip power densities. This article explores the impact of newest FinFET CMOS technologies (from 40 to 7 nm) on near-threshold computing in terms of performance and energy efficiency. –Muhammad Shafique, Vienna University of Technology
The Impact of Wind Stress Feedback on the Stability of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation

Recent results based on models using prescribed surface wind stress forcing have suggested that the net freshwater transport Σ by the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (MOC) into the Atlantic basin is a good indicator of the multiple-equilibria regime. By means of a coupled climate model of intermediate complexity, this study shows that this scalar Σ cannot capture the connection between the properties of the steady state and the impact of the wind stress feedback on the evolution of perturbations. This implies that, when interpreting the observed value of Σ, the position of the present-day climate is systematically biased toward the multiple-equilibria regime. The results show, however, that the stabilizing influence of the wind stress feedback on the MOC is restricted to a narrow window of freshwater fluxes, located in the vicinity of the state characterized by a zero freshwater flux divergence over the Atlantic basin. If the position of the present-day climate is farther away from this state, then wind stress feedbacks are unable to exert a persistent effect on the modern MOC. This is because the stabilizing influence of the shallow reverse cell situated south of the equator during the off state rapidly dominates over the destabilizing influence of the wind stress feedback when the freshwater forcing gets stronger. Under glacial climate conditions by contrast, a weaker sensitivity with an opposite effect is found. This is ultimately due to the relatively large sea ice extent of the glacial climate, which implies that, during the off state, the horizontal redistribution of fresh waters by the subpolar gyre does not favor the development of a thermally direct MOC as opposed to the modern case.
Distinctive Features of Saccadic Intrusions and Microsaccades in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy

The eyes do not stay perfectly still during attempted fixation; fixational eye movements and saccadic intrusions (SIs) continuously change the position of gaze. The most common type of SI, square-wave jerks (SWJs), consists of saccade pairs that appear purely horizontal on clinical inspection: the first saccade moves the eye away from the fixation target, and after a short interval, the second saccade brings it back toward the target. SWJs are prevalent in certain neurological disorders, including progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). Here, we developed an objective method to identify SWJs. We found that SWJs are more frequent, larger, and more markedly horizontal in PSP patients than in healthy human subjects. Furthermore, the loss of a vertical component in fixational saccades and SWJs was the eye movement feature that best distinguished PSP patients from controls. We moreover determined that, in PSP patients and controls, the larger the saccade the more likely it was part of a SWJ. Furthermore, saccades produced by PSP patients had equivalent properties whether they were part of a SWJ or not, suggesting that normal fixational saccades (microsaccades) are rare in PSP. We propose that fixational saccades and SIs are generated by the same neural circuit and that, both in PSP patients and in controls, SWJs result from a coupling mechanism that generates a second corrective saccade shortly after a large fixation saccade. Because of brainstem and/or cerebellum impairment, fixational saccades in PSP are abnormally large and thus more likely to trigger a corrective saccade, giving rise to SWJs.
Fast Regular Expression Matching Using Small TCAMs for Network Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems

Regular expression (RE) matching is a core component of deep packet inspection in modern networking and security devices. In this paper, we propose the first hardware-based RE matching approach that uses Ternary Content Addressable Memories (TCAMs), which are off-the-shelf chips and have been widely deployed in modern networking devices for packet classification. We propose three novel techniques to reduce TCAM space and improve RE matching speed: transition sharing, table consolidation, and variable striding. We tested our techniques on 8 real-world RE sets, and our results show that small TCAMs can be used to store large DFAs and achieve potentially high RE matching throughtput. For space, we were able to store each of the corresponding 8 DFAs with as many as 25,000 states in a 0.59Mb TCAM chip where the number of TCAM bits required per DFA state were 12, 12, 12, 13, 14, 26, 28, and 42. Using a different TCAM encoding scheme that facilitates processing multiple characters per transition, we were able to achieve potential RE matching throughputs of between 10 and 19 Gbps for each of the 8 DFAs using only a single 2.36 Mb TCAM chip.
Double-lumen arterial balloon catheter technique for Onyx embolization of dural arteriovenous fistulas: initial experience

Background Dural arteriovenous fistulas are vascular malformations with variable clinical symptoms that range in severity from completely asymptomatic to seizures, dementia, loss of vision and intracranial hemorrhage. Historically, surgical obliteration was the treatment of choice but, more recently, endovascular embolization has become the first-line treatment. The liquid embolic agent Onyx (ethyl vinyl copolymer) has become the agent of choice, but problems with reflux around the delivery microcatheter and inadvertent venous penetration have arisen. Methods and results We present six cases in which the double-lumen balloon microcatheter was used to transarterially embolize dural arteriovenous fistulas via injection of Onyx through the wire lumen. Depending on the individual pathology a venous balloon was also used in some cases. The advantages and disadvantages of the use of these devices are discussed. Conclusions We consider that the use of the double-lumen balloon technique for fistula embolization has the potential for reducing overall procedural times, procedural failures and catheter retention in certain situations. In such cases we would advocate this as a first-line technique. When lower profile, more navigable balloon catheters become available, this may become the standard of care.
Coronary heart disease incidence among non-Western immigrants compared to Danish-born people: effect of country of birth, migrant status, and income

Background Increasing global migration has made immigrants’ health an important topic worldwide. We examined the effect of country of birth, migrant status (refugee/family-reunified) and income on coronary heart disease (CHD) incidence. Design This was a historical prospective register-based cohort study. Methods The study cohort consisted of immigrants above 18 years from non-Western countries who had obtained a residence permit in Denmark as a refugee (n = 29,045) or as a family-reunified immigrant (n = 28,435) from 1 January 1993–31 December 1999 and a Danish-born reference population (n = 229,918). First-time CHD incidence was identified from 1 January 1993–31 December 2007. Incidence ratios for 11 immigrant groups were estimated using Cox regression analysis. Results Immigrants from Afghanistan, Iraq, Turkey, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, South Asia, the Former Yugoslavia, and the Middle East and North Africa had significantly higher incidences of CHD (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.36; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.05–1.75 to HR = 2.86; 95% CI: 2.01–4.08) compared with Danish-born people. Immigrants from Somalia, South and Middle America, Sub-Saharan Africa and women from East Asia and the Pacific did not differ significantly from Danish-born people, whereas immigrant men from East Asia and the Pacific had a significantly lower incidence (HR = 0.32; 95% CI: 0.17–0.62). When also including migrant status, the higher incidences were reduced. Refugee men (HR = 1.35; 95% CI: 1.11–1.65) and women (HR = 1.33; 95% CI: 1.08–1.65) had a significantly higher incidence of CHD than family-reunified immigrants. When migrant status and income were included simultaneously, the incidences decreased to an insignificant level for most immigrant groups. Conclusions Most non-Western immigrant groups had a higher incidence of CHD than Danish-born people. The study revealed that migrant status and income are important underlying mechanisms of the effect of country of birth on CHD.
Agriculture, transportation and the timing of urbanization: Global analysis at the grid cell level

This paper addresses the timing of a location’s historical transition from rural to urban activity. We test whether urbanization occurs sooner in places with higher agricultural potential and comparatively lower transport costs, using worldwide data that divide the earth’s surface at half-degree intervals into 62,290 cells. From an independent estimate of each cell’s rural and urban population history over the last 2,000 years, we identify the date at which each cell achieves various thresholds of urbanization. Controlling for unobserved heterogeneity across countries through fixed effects and using a variety of spatial econometric techniques, we find a robust association between earlier urbanization and agro-climatic suitability for cultivation, having seasonal frosts, better access to the ocean or navigable rivers, and lower elevation. These geographic correlations become smaller in magnitude as urbanization proceeds, and there is some variation in the effects across continents. Aggregating cells into countries, we show that an earlier urbanization date is associated with higher per capita income today.
New Developments and Applications of the MP2RAGE Sequence - Focusing the Contrast and High Spatial Resolution R1 Mapping

MR structural T1-weighted imaging using high field systems (>3T) is severely hampered by the existing large transmit field inhomogeneities. New sequences have been developed to better cope with such nuisances. In this work we show the potential of a recently proposed sequence, the MP2RAGE, to obtain improved grey white matter contrast with respect to conventional T1-w protocols, allowing for a better visualization of thalamic nuclei and different white matter bundles in the brain stem. Furthermore, the possibility to obtain high spatial resolution (0.65 mm isotropic) R1 maps fully independent of the transmit field inhomogeneities in clinical acceptable time is demonstrated. In this high resolution R1 maps it was possible to clearly observe varying properties of cortical grey matter throughout the cortex and observe different hippocampus fields with variations of intensity that correlate with known myelin concentration variations.
A testable linear model for diversity trends in estuaries

Summary 1. In 1934, Adolf Remane constructed a diagram to describe changes in the number of species along a full salinity gradient within the Baltic. Despite fundamental differences in tidal regimes, the Baltic model has been applied directly to estuaries, becoming subsequently the textbook model for estuarine diversity trends. 2. Despite its ubiquity, the Remane diagram has many inconsistent features, making it unsuitable as a quantitative tool for comparing diversity trends between estuaries, including poor definition of x -axis (salinity), y -axis (number of species) and variations in sample location (subtidal/intertidal) than can greatly influence the resulting diversity/ salinity relationship. Consequently, diversity trends within and between estuaries remain to be tested robustly. 3. The major environmental factor influencing the distribution of organisms in estuaries is salinity variation, rather than absolute salinity tolerance as in the Baltic. As salinity range demonstrates a quadratic relationship with mean salinity, an alternative linear model is therefore suggested utilizing mean salinity range at any one point in the estuary ( x -axis) and mean α -diversity of macroinvertebrates ( y- axis) obtained from subtidal samples to allow comparison with river systems and to minimize salinity variability between interstitial and overlying water. 4. The model was tested on an extensive subtidal data set from the Thames estuary (salinity 0‐35), significant negative linear relationships between salinity range and α diversity being apparent for annual and seasonal data sets. Significant models were also possible for both ‘marine’ and ‘freshwater’ halves of the estuary and for meiofauna α diversity. 5. The linear model allows formal, statistical investigation of the differences in diversity trends between estuaries and the development of testable hypotheses on aspects of estuarine diversity, including the causes of the species minimum in estuaries. It also has potential as a management tool enabling the definition of sites of concern that fall below their predicted diversity. 6. The new model of diversity now requires testing in systems additional to the Thames in order to determine whether this relationship is a macroecological phenomenon or restricted to the test system.