Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Survey of Procedural Noise Functions

Procedural noise functions are widely used in computer graphics, from off‐line rendering in movie production to interactive video games. The ability to add complex and intricate details at low memory and authoring cost is one of its main attractions. This survey is motivated by the inherent importance of noise in graphics, the widespread use of noise in industry and the fact that many recent research developments justify the need for an up‐to‐date survey. Our goal is to provide both a valuable entry point into the field of procedural noise functions, as well as a comprehensive view of the field to the informed reader. In this report, we cover procedural noise functions in all their aspects. We outline recent advances in research on this topic, discussing and comparing recent and well‐established methods. We first formally define procedural noise functions based on stochastic processes and then classify and review existing procedural noise functions. We discuss how procedural noise functions are used for modelling and how they are applied to surfaces. We then introduce analysis tools and apply them to evaluate and compare the major approaches to noise generation. We finally identify several directions for future work.
Supervisory control synthesis for a patient support system

Supervisory control theory (SCT) provides a formal approach to supervisory controller synthesis. In this paper, SCT is used to design a supervisory controller for a patient support system. This system is used to position a patient in a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanner. To improve the evolvability of the design, the uncontrolled system and the control requirements are modeled independently, using small, loosely coupled and minimally restrictive automata. An implementation of the synthesized supervisor is realized by means of a transformation to an automaton in the Compositional Interchange Format (CIF). The supervisor is validated by means of hardware-in-the-loop simulation, using the real patient support table.
Overexpression of Prunus mume Dehydrin Genes in Tobacco Enhances Tolerance to Cold and Drought

Dehydrins, known as group 2 or D-11 family late-embryogenesis-abundant (LEA) proteins, play important roles in plant growth and stress tolerance. Six dehydrin genes were previously identified from the genome of Prunus mume. In this study, five of them (PmLEA8, PmLEA10, PmLEA19, PmLEA20, and PmLEA29) were cloned from cold-resistant P. mume ‘Beijingyudie’. Real-time RT-PCR analysis indicated that all these genes could be up-regulated by one or several treatments (ABA, SA, low temperature, high temperature, PEG, and NaCl treatments). The results of spot assay demonstrated that the expression of all these dehydrins, except PmLEA8, conferred improved osmotic and freezing-resistance to the recombinant Escherichia coli. So four dehydrin genes, PmLEA10, PmLEA19, PmLEA20 and PmLEA29 were chosen for individual over-expression in tobacco plants. The transgenic tobacco plants showed lower relative content of malondialdehyde, relative electrolyte leakage and higher relative content of water than control plants when exposed to cold and drought stress. These results demonstrated that PmLEAs were involved in plant responses to cold and drought.
Growth and progression of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis in girls

The progression velocity of scoliosis was studied for 535 consecutive girls with untreated adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. At the first visit the mean age of the patients was 13.9 years (range 9–19 years), the mean magnitude of the major curves was 23.4° (range 5–60°), and that of the minor curves 16.4° (range 0–49°). The median follow-up time was 1.1 years (mean 1.4, range 0.5–6.3 years). The right thoracic curves were most progressive. In the major left thoracic and left lumbar curve types, initial minor curves progressed faster than major curves. The scoliosis progressed faster in patients with minor thoracic kyphosis. In these patients major right thoracic curves were more common. The progression of scoliosis was clearly dependent on the growth velocity, also, the greater the curve at the first visit, the greater was the progression. The progression was most notable with a growth velocity of ≥2 cm/year, at ages between 9 and 13 years, bone ages between 9 and 14 years, Risser signs 0–1, and between 0.5–2 years before menarche.
A web platform for the consultation of spatialized and semantically enriched iconographic sources on cultural heritage buildings

This article describes an interactive platform for the semantic annotation of oriented iconographic sources based on an accurate 3D-model structured according to spatial and temporal features. This platform, called LOCUS IMAGINIS, provides access to cultural information about monuments by collecting personal snapshots taken by visitors. In particular, the platform enables to perform two actions. First, pictures are added into the database: visitors manually align images to the digital model of the monument and than, by means of automatic procedures, images are enriched with 2D semantic annotations that are projected from the 3D model. Second, the collection of semantically-enriched data can be queried: when visitors select 2D images of the database, these are oriented in the 3D scene and superimposed onto the 3D-model. In this way, this tool provides access to textual and graphic information describing the photographed site (semantic, spatial, temporal features, etc.). Moreover, visitors can interact both with images and the 3D-model to highlight building parts by color. Accessible onsite and online, this tool can create awareness about conservation and is adapted to all kinds of audience: Students involved in educational workshops, visitors needing to extend their visit, and documentalists interested in the consultation of the iconographic corpus.
Filtering SVM frame-by-frame binary classification in a detection framework

Classifying frames, or parts of them, is a common way of carrying out detection tasks in computer vision. However, frame by frame classification suffers from sudden significant variations in image texture, colour and luminosity, resulting in noise in the extracted features and consequently in the decisions taken. Support Vector Machines have been widely validated as powerful tools for frame by frame detection of non-separable datasets, but are extremely sensitive to these variations between adjacent frames, creating as consequence sudden flickering in the classification results. This work proposes a Dynamic Bayesian Network to smooth the classification results of Support Vector Machines (SVM) in detection tasks. The method is evaluated in First Person Vision (FPV) videos, where a SVM is used to decide whether or not the user's hands are in his field of view.
Risk Factors of Neural Tube Defects in Northern Iran

Background: Neural tube defects (NTDs) including spina bifida and anencephaly are the second most common birth defects with 2.8 per 1000 births in northern Iran. Objectives: This study was conducted to determine the risk factors of neural tube defects in Gorgan, north of Iran. Patients and Methods: This hospital-based, case-control study was carried out on all NTD-affected pregnancies (n = 59) during February 2007 - August 2010, and 160 healthy pregnancies were selected via convenient sampling method in three hospitals in Gorgan, north of Iran. Risk factors including maternal body mass index (BMI), season of birth, gender of the newborn, mother’s age, ethnicity, consanguineous marriage, folic acid consumption, nutrition, habitat, and education, were assessed through interviews with mothers. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the risks by odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals. Results: The multivariate analysis showed that maternal BMI (normal/underweight OR: 0.23, overweight/underweight OR: 0.15, obese/underweight OR: 0.13) and maternal ethnicity (Fars/Sistani OR: 3.49) and maternal nutrition (good/poor OR: 0.46) were significantly correlated with NTDs in the newborns. Conclusions: This study showed that maternal ethnicity, insufficient nutrition, and BMI, were the main risk factors of NTDs in northern Iran.
Toxicity of hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) in pediatric patients with sarcomatosis/carcinomatosis: Early experience and phase 1 results

Intra‐abdominal metastasis is a rare form of tumor dissemination in children. Complete surgical resection is usually deemed impossible. Children are frequently offered palliative care only. We adopted an aggressive approach for these cases which includes removal of dozens to hundreds of tumor nodules followed by perfusion of the abdominal cavity with hyperthermic chemotherapy (HIPEC) with a curative intent.
Phenotypic and functional comparison of cultures of marrow‐derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and stromal cells

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a population of pluripotent cells within the bone marrow microenvironment defined by their ability to differentiate into cells of the osteogenic, chondrogenic, tendonogenic, adipogenic, and myogenic lineages. We have developed methodologies to isolate and culture‐expand MSCs from human bone marrow, and in this study, we examined the MSC's role as a stromal cell precursor capable of supporting hematopoietic differentiation in vitro. We examined the morphology, phenotype, and in vitro function of cultures of MSCs and traditional marrow‐derived stromal cells (MDSCs) from the same marrow sample. MSCs are morphologically distinct from MDSC cultures, and flow cytometric analyses show that MSCs are a homogeneous cell population devoid of hematopoietic cells. RT‐PCR analysis of cytokine and growth factor mRNA in MSCs and MDSCs revealed a very similar pattern of mRNAs including IL‐6, ‐7, ‐8, ‐11, ‐12, ‐14, and ‐15, M‐CSF, Flt‐3 ligand, and SCF. Steady‐state levels of IL‐11 and IL‐12 mRNA were found to be greater in MSCs. Addition of IL‐1α induced steady‐state levels of G‐CSF and GM‐CSF mRNA in both cell preparations. In contrast, IL‐1α induced IL‐1α and LIF mRNA levels only in MSCs, further emphasizing phenotypic differences between MSCs and MDSCs. In long‐term bone marrow culture (LTBMC), MSCs maintained the hematopoietic differentiation of CD34+ hematopoietic progenitor cells. Together, these data suggest that MSCs represent an important cellular component of the bone marrow microenvironment. J. Cell. Physiol. 176:57–66, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Costs of sleeping in: circadian rhythms influence cuckoldry risk in a songbird

Summary Circadian (i.e. daily) regulation of behaviours is thought to provide fitness benefits to organisms by enabling them to anticipate diel changes in the environment, such as sunrise. A common behaviour among socially monogamous songbirds that usually takes place in the early mornings is extra-pair mating, that is copulating with partners outside of the social pair bond. Thus, variation in when individuals begin their daily activity may influence their reproductive success; early risers may be better able to gain copulations and guard their partners, thus minimizing their risk of being cuckolded compared with late risers. Sexual selection may thus play an important role in shaping circadian behaviours, but this assumption has yet to be tested in free-living animals. Here, we experimentally weakened endogenous circadian rhythmicity, and thus, anticipation of dawn in male great tits (Parus major) in the wild through the subcutaneous administration of implants filled with melatonin shortly before egg-laying began in this population. Melatonin is a hormone released during the dark phase at night and is one important cue animals use to entrain their circadian clock. Experimental individuals delayed the onset of daily activity compared with controls and were more likely to be cuckolded compared with control males. Manipulation did not alter other behavioural traits observed; no difference between treatments was observed in activity levels during the day or in the end time of daily activity. These results strongly support the assumption that selection, particularly sexual selection, shapes the circadian phenotypes of wild vertebrates which enable anticipation of important and predictive diel changes in an individual's biotic and abiotic environment.
Prioritising Refactoring Using Code Bad Smells

We investigated the relationship between six of Fowler et al.'s Code Bad Smells (Duplicated Code, Data Clumps, Switch Statements, Speculative Generality, Message Chains, and Middle Man) and software faults. In this paper we discuss how our results can be used by software developers to prioritise refactoring. In particular we suggest that source code containing Duplicated Code is likely to be associated with more faults than source code containing the other five Code Bad Smells. As a consequence, Duplicated Code should be prioritised for refactoring. Source code containing Message Chains seems to be associated with a high number of faults in some situations. Consequently it is another Code Bad Smell which should be prioritised for refactoring. Source code containing only one of the Data Clumps, Switch Statements, Speculative Generality, or Middle Man Bad Smell is not likely to be fault-prone. As a result these Code Bad Smells could be put into a lower refactoring priority.
Targeted Gene Deletion and Phenotypic Analysis of the Drosophila melanogaster Seminal Fluid Protease Inhibitor Acp62F

Internally fertilizing organisms transfer a complex assortment of seminal fluid proteins, a substantial fraction of which are proteolysis regulators. In mammals, some seminal protease inhibitors have been implicated in male infertility and these same molecular classes of protease inhibitors are also found in Drosophila seminal fluid. Here, we tested the reproductive functions of the Drosophila melanogaster seminal fluid protease inhibitor Acp62F by generating a precise deletion of the Acp62F gene. We did not detect a nonredundant function for Acp62F in modulating the egg laying, fertility, remating frequency, or life span of mated females. However, loss of Acp62F did alter a male's defensive sperm competitive ability, consistent with the localization of Acp62F to sperm storage organs. In addition, the processing of at least one seminal protein, the ovulation hormone ovulin, is slower in the absence of Acp62F.
Crises and exchange rate regimes: time to break down the bipolar view?

ABSTRACT We revisit the link between crises and exchange rate regimes (ERR). Using a wide panel of 90 developed and developing countries over the period 1980–2009, we find that corner ERR are not more prone to crises compared to intermediate ERR. This finding holds for different types of crises (banking, currency and debt), and is robust to a wide set of alternative specifications. Consequently, we clearly break down the traditional bipolar view: countries that aim at preventing crisis episodes should focus less on the choice of the ERR, and instead implement sound structural macroeconomic policies.
Association of type 2 diabetes with depression, brain atrophy, and reduced fine motor speed in a 60- to 64-year-old community sample.

OBJECTIVE To examine the relationship of diabetes mellitus to depression, cognition, and structural brain anatomical variables in a 60-64-year-old community-dwelling sample. The authors hypothesized that subjects with Type 2 diabetes are more likely to be depressed, have more brain atrophy, and poorer cognitive function compared with nondiabetic comparison subjects. METHODS A random sample of 478 subjects aged 60-64 years from a larger community sample were interviewed and underwent physical examinations, assessment of depression, standard cognitive assessments, brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, and fasting blood tests. Subjects were considered diabetic if they were on treatment for diabetes or recorded a fasting blood glucose level of greater than 10 mmol/L. The MRI scans were analyzed for brain atrophy, gray matter (GM), white matter (WM), cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), hippocampal, and white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volumes. RESULTS MRI data were available for 39 subjects with diabetes and 428 subjects without diabetes. Descriptive analyses showed that subjects with diabetes were more likely to have poor physical health, a higher body mass index, and higher scores of depression and anxiety compared with comparison subjects without diabetes. In multiple regression analyses, diabetes was associated with greater total brain atrophy and larger CSF volume, but did not differ in the WM, GM, and WMH volumes. Diabetes patients performed less well on a task of fine motor dexterity. CONCLUSIONS Diabetes is related to increased brain atrophy and poor motor function in 60-64 year olds, independent of depression, vascular risk factors, and small vessel disease of the brain.
The soluble (Pro) renin receptor does not influence lithium‐induced diabetes insipidus but does provoke beiging of white adipose tissue in mice

Earlier we reported that the recombinant soluble (pro) renin receptor sPRR‐His upregulates renal aquoporin‐2 (AQP2) expression, and attenuates polyuria associated with nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (NDI) induced by vasopressin type 2 receptor (V2R) antagonism. Patients that receive lithium therapy develop polyuria associated NDI that might be secondary to downregulation of renal AQP2. We hypothesized that sPRR‐His attenuates indices of NDI associated with lithium treatment. Eight‐week‐old male C57/BL6 mice consumed chow supplemented with LiCl (40 mmol/kg diets) for 14 days. For the last 7 days mice received either sPRR‐His [30 μg/(kg day), i.v. ; sPRR] or vehicle (Veh) via minipump. Control (Con) mice consumed standard chow for 14 days. Compared to Con mice, 14‐d LiCl treatment elevated water intake and urine volume, and decreased urine osmolality, regardless of sPRR‐His or Veh administration. These data indicate that sPRR‐His treatment does not attenuate indices of NDI evoked by lithium. Unexpectedly, epididymal fat mass was lower, adipocyte UCP1 mRNA and protein expression were higher, and multilocular lipid morphology was enhanced, in LiCl‐fed mice treated with sPRR‐His versus vehicle. The beiging of white adipose tissue is a novel metabolic benefit of manipulating the sPRR in the context of lithium‐induced NDI.
Comparison of the Staph-Ident System with a Conventional Method for Species Identification of Urine and Blood Isolates of Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci

The Staph-Ident system (Analytab Products) for species identification of coagulase-negative staphylococci was compared with the conventional method of Kloos and Schleifer (21). A total of 101 clinical isolates from urine cultures and 95 clinical isolates from blood cultures were studied: overall agreement between the two methods was 86%. We concluded that the Staph-Ident system is a practical test for most clinical microbiology laboratories and that results obtained from this rapid test are comparable to those obtained from the more cumbersome conventional method. Additional investigations are needed to determine the clinical relevance of such species identification.
Improving Coverage of Translation Memories with Language Modelling

In this paper, we describe and evaluate current improvements to methods for enlarging translation memories. In comparison with the previous results in 2013, we have achieved improvement in coverage by almost 35 percentage points on the same test data. The basic subsegment splitting of the translation pairs is done using Moses and (M)GIZA++ tools, which provide the subsegment translation probabilities. The obtained phrases are then combined with subsegment combination techniques and filtered by large target language models.
Tissue-engineered autologous grafts for facial bone reconstruction

Anatomically shaped living bone formed in a portable bioreactor using autologous cells and bone matrix repaired the facial ramus-condyle unit in pigs. Saving face Restoring your reputation after a social gaffe may be challenging, but perhaps welcomed in comparison to saving face through restoration of actual bone structure. A delicate and precise process, facial bone reconstruction currently uses bone grafts from the same patient. Cell- and biomaterial-based approaches could benefit this field by providing personalized grafts for deformities of all shapes and sizes. Bhumiratana and colleagues therefore designed a maxillofacial reconstructive strategy centered on a combination of stem cells, decellularized bone, and a custom-designed perfusion bioreactor. The bone was first shaped to the defect in the ramus-condyle unit of minipigs, which have similar jaw anatomies and weight-bearing properties as humans. Then, stem cells were cultured on the bone for several weeks. To mimic the manufacturing and transport chain that could be involved in reconstructing human facial bones, then authors shipped the bioreactor with the living bone inside the site of surgery. Paired histological and image analysis showed that the implanted scaffold material integrated with host tissue, formed new bone, and was vascularized extensively, but only if cells were present. Growing such anatomically correct, large-scale bone constructs could vastly improve regenerative medicine options for patients with craniofacial bone deformities. Facial deformities require precise reconstruction of the appearance and function of the original tissue. The current standard of care—the use of bone harvested from another region in the body—has major limitations, including pain and comorbidities associated with surgery. We have engineered one of the most geometrically complex facial bones by using autologous stromal/stem cells, native bovine bone matrix, and a perfusion bioreactor for the growth and transport of living grafts, without bone morphogenetic proteins. The ramus-condyle unit, the most eminent load-bearing bone in the skull, was reconstructed using an image-guided personalized approach in skeletally mature Yucatán minipigs (human-scale preclinical model). We used clinically approved decellularized bovine trabecular bone as a scaffolding material and crafted it into an anatomically correct shape using image-guided micromilling to fit the defect. Autologous adipose-derived stromal/stem cells were seeded into the scaffold and cultured in perfusion for 3 weeks in a specialized bioreactor to form immature bone tissue. Six months after implantation, the engineered grafts maintained their anatomical structure, integrated with native tissues, and generated greater volume of new bone and greater vascular infiltration than either nonseeded anatomical scaffolds or untreated defects. This translational study demonstrates feasibility of facial bone reconstruction using autologous, anatomically shaped, living grafts formed in vitro, and presents a platform for personalized bone tissue engineering.
EM algorithms for self-organizing maps

Self-organizing maps are popular algorithms for unsupervised learning and data visualization. Exploiting the link between vector quantization and mixture modeling, we derive EM algorithms for self-organizing maps with and without missing values. We compare self-organizing maps with the elastic-net approach and explain why the former is better suited for the visualization of high-dimensional data. Several extensions and improvements are discussed.