Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Crowd Density and Counting Estimation Based on Image Textural Feature

This paper proposes an image textural analytical method for estimating the crowd density and counting. At first, the target detection is conducted to obtain the foreground image. This crowd image is used to calculate the gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM). Then, according to the characteristic values of the gray level co-occurrence matrix, i.e., energy, entropy, contrast, homogeneity, we use support vector machine (SVM) to estimate crowd density. Simultaneously, the method of linear regression is used to estimate the crowd counting. The accuracy of evaluation is improved since we extract the target image textural traits to overcome the influence of background for estimation results. Finally, the experimental results show that the proposed approaches of crowd density and counting are feasible and effective
Enhancing Professional Development and Supporting Students on Work-Placement by Peer-Peer Learning Using an Online Reflective Blog Assessment

Work placement aims to enhance professional development and allow students to apply knowledge and skills from their programme of study. Students can struggle with both conceptualising work in terms of academic knowledge and the reverse process of transforming tacit knowledge from the workplace into a form they can verbalise. Additionally, they are isolated from their peer support group. To address these issues, we have implemented a blog assessment in Dublin Institute of Technology to actively encourage reflection and also foster peer-to-peer learning through providing an opportunity to share experiences of the diverse range of activities during work placement. A pilot was implemented for Pharmacy Technician students using the institute’s virtual learning environment. As a result of this pilot and subsequent modifications made in the following years, we identified key requirements and resources to prepare, support and engage students in all aspects of the work placement assessment. Examples that we discuss include an assessment rubric, instructional videos and reflective writing resources, a pre-placement reflective writing workshop, feedback mechanisms, and assessment strategies that actively promoted student interaction with their peers. Evaluation results including the main benefits, recommendations, limitations and suggested improvements are also included. It has also been demonstrated that this assessment is transferable to a different programme of study as it was extended to the placement module for BSc (Nutraceuticals). Further work will include additional measures to guide students to focus on critical points during reflection, and will include an increased emphasis on graduate attributes. 1 Dunne and Ryan: Enhancing Professional Development and Supporting Students on Work-Placement Published by ARROW@DIT, 2016
Lack of Ach1 CoA-Transferase Triggers Apoptosis and Decreases Chronological Lifespan in Yeast

ACH1 encodes a mitochondrial enzyme of Saccharomyces cerevisiae endowed with CoA-transferase activity. It catalyzes the CoASH transfer from succinyl-CoA to acetate generating acetyl-CoA. It is known that ACH1 inactivation results in growth defects on media containing acetate as a sole carbon and energy source which are particularly severe at low pH. Here, we show that chronological aging ach1Δ cells which accumulate a high amount of extracellular acetic acid display a reduced chronological lifespan. The faster drop of cell survival is completely abrogated by alleviating the acid stress either by a calorie restricted regimen that prevents acetic acid production or by transferring chronologically aging mutant cells to water. Moreover, the short-lived phenotype of ach1Δ cells is accompanied by reactive oxygen species accumulation, severe mitochondrial damage, and an early insurgence of apoptosis. A similar pattern of endogenous severe oxidative stress is observed when ach1Δ cells are cultured using acetic acid as a carbon source under acidic conditions. On the whole, our data provide further evidence of the role of acetic acid as cell-extrinsic mediator of cell death during chronological aging and highlight a primary role of Ach1 enzymatic activity in acetic acid detoxification which is important for mitochondrial functionality.
Concordance study of 3 direct-to-consumer genetic-testing services.

BACKGROUND Several companies offer direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing to evaluate ancestry and wellness. Massive-scale testing of thousands of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) is not error free, and such errors could translate into misclassification of risk and produce a false sense of security or unnecessary anxiety in an individual. We evaluated 3 DTC services and a genomics service that are based on DNA microarray or solution genotyping with hydrolysis probes (TaqMan® analysis) and compared the test results obtained for the same individual. METHODS We evaluated the results from 3 DTC services (23andMe, deCODEme, Navigenics) and a genomics-analysis service (Expression Analysis). RESULTS The concordance rates between the services for SNP data were >99.6%; however, there were some marked differences in the relative disease risks assigned by the DTC services (e.g., for rheumatoid arthritis, the range of relative risk was 0.9-1.85). A possible reason for this difference is that different SNPs were used to calculate risk for the same disease. The reference population also had an influence on the relative disease risk. CONCLUSIONS Our study revealed excellent concordance between the results of SNP analyses obtained from different companies with different platforms, but we noted a disparity in the data for risk, owing to both differences in the SNPs used in the calculation and the reference population used. The larger issues of the utility of the information and the need for risk data that match the user's ethnicity remain, however.
Title: Neural Correlates of Informational Cascades: Brain Mechanisms of Social Influence on Belief Updating Running title: Neural Correlates of Informational Cascades

Informational cascades can occur when rationally acting individuals decide independently of their private information and follow the decisions of preceding decision makers. In the process of updating beliefs, differences in the weighting of private and publicly available social information may modulate the probability that a cascade starts in a decisive way. By using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we examined neural activity while participants updated their beliefs based on the decisions of two fictitious stock market traders and their own private information, which led to a final decision of buying one out of two stocks. Computational modeling of the behavioral data showed that a majority of participants overweighted private information. Overweighting was negatively correlated with the probability of starting an informational cascade in trials especially prone to conformity. Belief updating by private information was related to activity in the inferior frontal gyrus/anterior insula, the DLPFC, and the parietal cortex; the more a participant overweighted private information, the higher the activity in the inferior frontal gyrus/anterior insula and the lower in the parietal-temporal cortex. This study explores the neural correlates of overweighting of private information, which underlies the tendency to start an informational cascade.
COSMOSOMAS observations of the cosmic microwave background and Galactic foregrounds at 11 GHz: evidence for anomalous microwave emission at high Galactic latitude

We present observations with the new 11-GHz radiometer of the COSMOSOMAS experiment at the Teide Observatory (Tenerife). The sky region between 0°≤ RA ≤ 360° and 26°≤ Dec. ≤ 49° (ca. 6500 deg2) was observed with an angular resolution of . Two orthogonal independent channels in the receiving system measured total power signals from linear polarizations with a 2-GHz bandwidth. Maps with an average sensitivity of 50 μK per beam have been obtained for each channel. At high Galactic latitude (|b| > 30°) the 11-GHz data are found to contain the expected cosmic microwave background (CMB) as well as extragalactic radiosources, galactic synchrotron and free–free emission, and a dust-correlated component which is likely of Galactic origin. At the angular scales allowed by the window function of the experiment, the 100–240 μm dust-correlated component presents an amplitude ΔT∼ 9–13 μK while the CMB signal is of the order of 27 μK. The spectral behaviour of the dust-correlated signal is examined in the light of previous COSMOSOMAS data at 13–17 GHz and Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe data at 22–94 GHz in the same sky region. We detect a flattening in the spectral index of this signal below 20 GHz which rules out synchrotron radiation as being responsible for the emission. This anomalous dust emission can be described by a combination of free–free emission and spinning dust models with a flux density peaking around 20 GHz.
Investigating Factors Affecting Knowledge Sharing Intention of Salespeople

This article examines the role of various economic, socio-psychological and sociological factors that influence a salesperson’s intention to share knowledge with other salespersons. The research framework is based on the original theory of reasoned action developed by Fishbein and Ajzen in 1975. Data were gathered through questionnaires involving 164 respondents across sectors. Measure validation and model testing were conducted using Partial Least Square (PLS) Graph Version 3.0. Results indicate that subjective norm (SN) followed by attitude towards knowledge sharing (KS) has the strongest influence on intention of salespeople to share knowledge. Among factors that affect attitude towards KS, perceived reputation enhancement has the strongest impact followed by other salient variables, such as perceived loss of knowledge power, organizational commitment and anticipated reciprocal benefits. This testifies that before engaging in KS, employees carefully weigh in the benefits and costs involved in the process. Negative and insignificant relationship is found between perceived organizational incentives and attitude towards KS. SN in context of KS is strongly influenced by factors, such as sense of self-worth followed by organizational climate.
Identification of Â‘wasteful commutingÂ’ using search theory

In this paper, we employ search theory as a micro-economic foundation for the wasteful commuting hypothesis. In the empirical analysis, the extent of the Â‘wasteful commutingÂ’ is identified by comparing the commute of employees and self-employed individuals who do not work from home. It is argued that the commute of the self-employed is the result of a search process for vacant workplaces, whereas employees search for vacant jobs. Because the arrival rate of workplaces exceeds the arrival rate of jobs, the self-employed have a shorter commute. We find that 35% of the commuting time may be considered Â‘wastefulÂ’ and reject alternative hypotheses why the self-employed have a shorter commute.
Critical role of microglial NADPH oxidase‐derived free radicals in the in vitro MPTP model of Parkinson's disease

1‐Methyl‐4‐phenyl‐1,2,3,6‐tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) damages dopaminergic neurons as seen in Parkinson's disease. Although increasing evidence suggests an involvement of glia in MPTP neurotoxicity, the nature of this involvement remains unclear. Exploiting the advantage of cell culture systems, we demonstrated that microglia, but not astroglia, significantly enhanced the progression of MPTP‐induced dopaminergic neurodegeneration. Characterization of the temporal relationship between neurodegeneration and microglial activation demonstrates that reactive microgliosis resulting from MPTP‐initiated neuronal injury, but not direct activation, underlies the microglia‐enhanced MPTP neurotoxicity. Mechanistically, through the release of NADPH oxidase‐derived reactive oxygen species, microglia contribute to the progressive neuronal damage. Among the factors measured, the production of extracellular superoxide was the most prominent. NADPH oxidase inhibitor, apocynin, attenuated MPTP‐induced dopaminergic neurodegeneration only in the presence of glia. More importantly, dopaminergic neurons from mice lacking NADPH oxidase, a key enzyme for superoxide production in immune cells, are significantly more resistant to MPTP neurotoxicity than those from wild‐type controls, and microglia dictate the resistance. This study demonstrates that reactive microgliosis triggered by MPTP‐induced neuronal injury and NADPH oxidase‐mediated superoxide production in microglia constitute an integral component of MPTP neurotoxicity. This study also suggests that NADPH oxidase may be a promising target for therapeutic interventions in Parkinson's disease.
Prediction Policy Problems.

Most empirical policy work focuses on causal inference. We argue an important class of policy problems does not require causal inference but instead requires predictive inference. Solving these "prediction policy problems" requires more than simple regression techniques, since these are tuned to generating unbiased estimates of coefficients rather than minimizing prediction error. We argue that new developments in the field of "machine learning" are particularly useful for addressing these prediction problems. We use an example from health policy to illustrate the large potential social welfare gains from improved prediction.
Modeling Potential Equilibrium States of Vegetation and Terrestrial Water Cycle of Mesoamerica under Climate Change Scenarios

The likelihood and magnitude of the impacts of climate change on potential vegetation and the water cycle in Mesoamerica is evaluated. Mesoamerica is a global biodiversity hotspot with highly diverse topographic and climatic conditions and is among the tropical regions with the highest expected changes in precipitation and temperature under future climate scenarios. The biogeographic soil-vegetation-atmosphere model Mapped Atmosphere Plant Soil System (MAPSS) was used for simulating the integrated changes in leaf area index (LAI), vegetation types (grass, shrubs, and trees), evapotranspiration, and runoff at the end of the twenty-first century. Uncertainty was estimated as the likelihood of changes in vegetation and water cycle under three ensembles of model runs, one for each of the groups of greenhouse gas emission scenarios (low, intermediate, and high emissions), for a total of 136 runs generated with 23 general circulation models (GCMs). LAI is likely to decrease over 77%-89% of the region, depending on climate scenario groups, showing that potential vegetation will likely shift from humid to dry types. Accounting for potential effects of CO2 on water use efficiency significantly decreased impacts on LAI. Runoff will decrease across the region even in areas where precipitation increases (even under increased water use efficiency), as temperature change will increase evapotranspiration. Higher emission scenarios show lower uncertainty (higher likelihood) in modeled impacts. Although the projection spread is high for future precipitation, the impacts of climate change on vegetation and water cycle are predicted with relatively low uncertainty.
Ranking Universities Based on Career Outcomes of Graduates

Every year, millions of new students enter higher educational programs. Publicly available rankings of academic programs play a key role in prospective students' decisions regarding which universities to apply to and enroll in. While surveys indicate that majority of freshmen enter college to get good jobs after graduation, established methodologies for ranking universities rely on indirect indicators of career outcomes such as reputational assessments of the universities among academic peers, acceptance and graduation rates, learning environment, and availability of research funding. In addition, many of these methodologies rely on arbitrary choices of weighting factors for the different ranking indicators, and suffer from lack of analyses of statistical stability. In this paper, we addresses these challenges holistically by developing a novel methodology for ranking and recommending universities for different professions on the basis of career outcomes of professionals who graduated from those schools. Our methodology incorporates a number of techniques for achieving statistical stability, and represents a step towards personalized educational recommendations based on interests and ambitions of individuals. We have applied this methodology on LinkedIn's Economic Graph data of over 400 million professional from around the world. The resulting university rankings have been made available to the public and demonstrate that there are valuable insights to be gleaned from professional career data on LinkedIn.
Inflammation in acute coronary syndromes

Extensive evidence supports a pathogenic role for both local and systemic inflammation in acute coronary syndromes. However, several important questions remain unanswered. Is the observed inflammatory process a precursor or a consequence of coronary plaque rupture? Is the inflammatory component of unstable coronary disease a potential therapeutic target? Finally, do infectious agents have a pathogenic role in coronary atherosclerosis and acute coronary syndromes?
A fast and effective DFT for test and diagnosis of power switches in SoCs

Power switches are increasingly becoming dominant leakage power reduction technique for sub-100nm CMOS technologies. Hence, fast and effective DFT solution for test and diagnosis of power switches is much needed to facilitate faster identification of potential faults and their locations. In this paper, we present a novel, coarse-grain DFT solution enabling divide and conquer based test and diagnosis solution of power switches. The proposed solution benefits from exponential time savings compared to previously reported solutions. Our DFT solution requires only (2⌈log2m⌈ + 3) clock cycles in the worst case for test and diagnosis for m-segment power switches. These time savings are further substantiated by effective discharge circuit design, which eliminates the possibility of false test and hence significantly reducing the charge and discharge times. We validated the effectiveness of our proposed solution through SPICE simulations on a number of ISCAS benchmark circuits, synthesized using 90nm gate libraries.
Characterization of the 2009 Pandemic A/Beijing/501/2009 H1N1 Influenza Strain in Human Airway Epithelial Cells and Ferrets

Background A novel 2009 swine-origin influenza A H1N1 virus (S-OIV H1N1) has been transmitted among humans worldwide. However, the pathogenesis of this virus in human airway epithelial cells and mammals is not well understood. Methodology/Principal Finding In this study, we showed that a 2009 A (H1N1) influenza virus strain, A/Beijing/501/2009, isolated from a human patient, caused typical influenza-like symptoms including weight loss, fluctuations in body temperature, and pulmonary pathological changes in ferrets. We demonstrated that the human lung adenocarcinoma epithelial cell line A549 was susceptible to infection and that the infected cells underwent apoptosis at 24 h post-infection. In contrast to the seasonal H1N1 influenza virus, the 2009 A (H1N1) influenza virus strain A/Beijing/501/2009 induced more cell death involving caspase-3-dependent apoptosis in A549 cells. Additionally, ferrets infected with the A/Beijing/501/2009 H1N1 virus strain exhibited increased body temperature, greater weight loss, and higher viral titers in the lungs. Therefore, the A/Beijing/501/2009 H1N1 isolate successfully infected the lungs of ferrets and caused more pathological lesions than the seasonal influenza virus. Our findings demonstrate that the difference in virulence of the 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza virus and the seasonal H1N1 influenza virus in vitro and in vivo may have been mediated by different mechanisms. Conclusion/Significance Our understanding of the pathogenesis of the 2009 A (H1N1) influenza virus infection in both humans and animals is broadened by our findings that apoptotic cell death is involved in the cytopathic effect observed in vitro and that the pathological alterations in the lungs of S-OIV H1N1-infected ferrets are much more severe.
A note on the domination number of the Cartesian products of paths and cycles

Z uporabo algebraicnega pristopa implementiramo konstantni algoritem za racunanje dominantnega stevila kartezicnih produktov poti in ciklov. Podamo formule za dominantna stevila ▫$gamma(P_n Box C_k)$▫ (za ▫$k leq 11$▫, ▫$n in {mathbb N}$)▫ in dominantna stevila ▫$gamma(C_n Box P_k)$▫ in ▫$gamma(C_n Box C_k)$▫ (za ▫$k leq 6$▫, ▫$n in {mathbb N}$▫).
Cooperation between interleukin-5 and the chemokine eotaxin to induce eosinophil accumulation in vivo

Experiments were designed to study the effect of systemically administered IL-5 on local eosinophil accumulation induced by the intradermal injection of the chemokine eotaxin in the guinea pig. Intravenous interleukin-5 (IL-5) stimulated a rapid and dramatic increase in the numbers of accumulating eosinophils induced by i.d. - injected eotaxin and, for comparison, leukotriene B4. The numbers of locally accumulating eosinophils correlated directly with a rapid increase in circulating eosinophils: circulating eosinophil numbers were 13-fold higher 1 h after intravenous IL-5 (18.3 pmol/kg). This increase in circulating cells corresponded with a reduction in the number of displaceable eosinophils recovered after flushing out the femur bone marrow cavity. Intradermal IL-5, at the doses tested, did not induce significant eosinophil accumulation. We propose that these experiments simulate important early features of the tissue response to local allergen exposure in a sensitized individual, with eosinophil chemoattractant chemokines having an important local role in eosinophil recruitment from blood microvessels, and IL-5 facilitating this process by acting remotely as a hormone to stimulate the release into the circulation of a rapidly mobilizable pool of bone marrow eosinophils. This action of IL-5 would be complementary to the other established activities of IL-5 that operate over a longer time course.