Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
End-to-end object detection and recognition in forward-looking sonar images with convolutional neural networks

Object detection and recognition are typically stages that form part of the perception module of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles, used with different sensors such as Sonar and Optical imaging, but their design is usually separate and they are only combined at test time. In this work we present a convolutional neural network that does both object detection (through detection proposals) and recognition in Forward-Looking Sonar images and is trained with bounding boxes and class labels only. Convolutional layers are shared and a 128-element feature vector is shared between both tasks. After training we obtain 93% correct detections and 75% accuracy, but accuracy can be improved by fine-tuning the classifier sub-network with the generated detection proposals. We evaluated fine-tuning with a SVM classifier trained on the shared feature vector, increasing accuracy to 85%. Our detection proposal method can also detect unlabeled and untrained objects, and has good generalization performance. Our unified method can be used in any kind of sonar image, does not make assumptions about an object's shadow, and learns features directly from data.
Speaker Verification by Human Listeners: Experiments Comparing Human and Machine Performance Using the NIST 1998 Speaker Evaluation Data

Schmidt-Nielsen, Astrid, and Crystal, Thomas H. , Speaker Verification by Human Listeners: Experiments Comparing Human and Machine Performance Using the NIST 1998 Speaker Evaluation Data, Digital Signal Processing10(2000), 249? 266.The speaker verification performance of human listeners was compared to that of computer algorithms/systems. Listening protocols were developed to emulate as closely as possible the 1998 algorithm evaluation run by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), while taking into account human memory limitations. A subset of the target speakers and test samples from the same telephone conversation data was used. Ways of combining listener data to arrive at a group decision were explored, and the group mean worked well. The human results were very competitive with the best computer algorithms in the same handset condition. For same numbertesting, with 3-s samples, listener panels and the best algorithm had the same equal-error rate (EER) of 8%. Listeners were better than typical algorithms. For different numbertesting, EERs increased but humans had a 40% lower equal-error rate. Human performance in general seemed relatively robust to degradation.
Glucocorticoids maintain human osteoclasts in the active mode of their resorption cycle

Osteoclasts are known to exert their resorptive activity through a so‐called resorption cycle consisting of alternating resorption and migration episodes and resulting typically in the formation of increasing numbers of discrete round excavations on bone slices. This study shows that glucocorticoids deeply modify this resorptive behavior. First, glucocorticoids gradually induce excavations with a trenchlike morphology while reducing the time‐dependent increase in excavation numbers. This indicates that glucocorticoids make osteoclasts elongate the excavations they initiated rather than migrating to a new resorption site, as in control conditions. Second, the round excavations in control conditions contain undegraded demineralized collagen as repeatedly reported earlier, whereas the excavations with a trenchlike morphology generated under glucocorticoid exposure appear devoid of leftovers of demineralized collagen. This indicates that collagenolysis proceeds generally at a lower rate than demineralization under control conditions, whereas collagenolysis rates are increased up to the level of demineralization rates in the presence of glucocorticoids. Taking these observations together leads to a model where glucocorticoid‐induced increased collagenolysis allows continued contact of osteoclasts with mineral, thereby maintaining resorption uninterrupted by migration episodes and generating resorption trenches. In contrast, accumulation of demineralized collagen, as prevails in controls, acts as a negative‐feedback loop, switching resorptive activity off and promoting migration to a new resorption site, thereby generating an additional resorption pit. We conclude that glucocorticoids change the osteoclastic resorption mode from intermittent to continuous and speculate that this change may contribute to the early bone fragilization of glucocorticoid‐treated patients. © 2010 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
Rhetoric and legitimacy in the European Neighbourhood Policy

ABSTRACT As a policy which presumes to be based on a norm of “good neighbourliness” the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) depends for legitimacy on interpretation and understanding of an extremely complex human association. This essay focuses on the rhetorical dynamics involved in the neighbourhood policy and their consequences in terms of external input legitimacy. An analysis of the main policy documents between 2003 and 2015 suggests that the ENP cannot be dismissed either as a rhetorical ruse to promote EU power interests, or a naïve vision of good-natured cohabitation. Even if the neighbourhood discourse was introduced to cover a policy of tranquilization or subjugation, it still communicates and supports key norms and ethical standards of international relations. Arguably, this amounts to a dilemma in terms of external input legitimacy: The commitment to a responsive and reflective order among neighbours is quite visible, but so are the elements of conditionality and differentiation.
Measuring Corruption: Transparency International’s “Corruption Perceptions Index”

Citizens are demanding better performance from governments and they are increasingly aware of the costs of poor management and corruption. In view of scarce resources and the major transformations already underway in the global economy, identification and awareness of good governance and preventing corrupt practices have become key to ensuring structural reforms and critical investments necessary for encouraging, sustaining, and enhancing economic growth and competitiveness. Political corruption severely undermines government legitimacy and weakens the development of political, economic, social, and environmental structures.
New market, new challenge, new opportunity (2) -User context research

China has a largest population in the world (1.3Billion) and 0.9 Billion is rural population. Most of rural people earn less than US$3/day, and they are called “Base of the economic pyramid (BoP)”. A new research project has been initiated on “The Healthcare Design for China Rural BoP” to the PhD of first author. This paper is about one part of this research: user context research. Two main processes will be introduced in this step: Qualitative research and quantitative research. Some healthcare needs in China rural like “Cancer early detection” has been found as the insights of this research.
Classifying Middle Powers based on their Regional and Multilateral Roles: Differentiating Middle Power Enforcers, Assemblers and Advocators

This article tends to examine the roles of middle powers in regional and multilateral affairs, in order to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the currently debatable ‘middle power’ concept in international relations. Middle powers are states with moderate influence and strategic importance as a part of the international system, as they are able to implement policies to distinguish their identity without relying on decisions made by great powers. The writer argues that based on their most prominent power resource and foreign policy practices, middle powers could be classified into three categories, i.e. Enforcers, Assemblers, and Advocators. Firstly based on Realism, middle power Enforcers possess adequate hard power resources, high economic development, and are capable of deploying their forces to ascertain regional geostrategic domination; for instance China and Russia. Secondly in line with Neo-Liberalism, middle power Assemblers implement diplomatic behavior to establish regional institution, engage in long term mutual consultation to enhance regional trust and initiate peaceful dispute settlement between regional member states; such as Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa and Turkey. Finally relevant to Constructivism, middle power Advocators have prominent soft power capabilities, launch branded foreign policies on low-political issues, and play leadership role on ad hoc coalitions in multilateral forums; for example Australia, Canada and South Korea. This article concludes that ‘middle power’ is not merely an academic concept, but by understanding their middle power resources, states would be able to develop practical foreign policies in regional and multilateral affairs. Keywords—middle power, enforcer, assembler, advocator
Creative River Journeys: Using reflective practice to investigate creative practice-led research

iii DECLARATION . iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . v TABLE OF CONTENTS. vii TABLE OF FIGURES . xi LIST OF PUBLICATIONS RESULTING FROM THIS RESEARCH . xii LIST OF ACRONYMS . xiv INTRODUCTION . 1 Brief overview . 1 Background of inquiry . 3 Conceptual framework and research questions . 4 Aim . 6 Thesis structure . 6 Significance of the study . 7 Limitations of the study . 9 Rationale for limitations . 10 Summary . 11 POETIC INTERLUDE 1—POUND BEND (YARRA RIVER) . 12 CHAPTER 1—THE TERRAIN (CONTEXT) . 13 A—ART PRACTICE. 13 A1. The nature of creativity in practice . 13 A2. Artistic knowledge and transcognition . 16 A3. Practice, praxis and knowledge . 19 R—RESEARCH . 23 R1. Practice-led research—an alternative research paradigm . 23 R2. Emergence and practice-led research methods . 30 R3: Capturing the complexity of practice-led research . 32 T—TEACHING . 33 T1. ‘Teaching’ the artist–researcher in the context of higher education . 33 T2. Supervision and examination of the practice-led higher degree . 37 T3. Learning reflective practice and reflexivity . 42 POETIC INTERLUDE 2—THE WOMEN’S STONE CIRCLE . 47
Two types of focal accumulations of acetylcholinesterase appear in noninnervated regenerating skeletal muscles of the rat

Muscle fibers in the soleus muscle of the rat, injured by bupivacaine and free autografting, were allowed to regenerate within their old basal laminae. Histochemical and cytochemical analysis of newly synthesized acetylcholinesterase (AChE) revealed that two kinds of focal accumulations of AChE gets concentrated at the sites of the former motor endplates. Accumulation of AChE starts in places where a tight contact between the remnants of the old junctional basal lamina and the budding surface of the myotube engulf the extracellular material. Appearance of these AChE accumulations can be prevented by papain treatment of the soleus muscle before autografting but not by predenervating it for 1 month. Focalization of AChE is probably induced by a component of the junctional basal lamina, possibly a protein, the existence of which is not dependent upon continuous presence of the motor nerve and may be produced by the muscle. This view is corroborated by the fact that an additional kind of AChE accumulation appeared in regenerating muscles in regions remote from the sites where motor endplates were located in the muscles of origin. Although differing in localization, size, and appearance, both kinds of AChE accumulations ultrastructurally resemble the postsynaptic specialization of the motor endplate: they consist of tubelike sarcolemmal invaginations containing AChE. The extrajunctional AChE accumulations seem to arise spontaneously and are usually located more than 750 μm away from the junctional ones as if some local inhibitory mechanism prevents their formation in the immediate vicinity.
Path of Glenohumeral Articulation Throughout the Rotational Range of Motion in a Thrower's Shoulder Model

Background Overhead-throwing athletes have increased external and diminished internal glenohumeral rotation that may alter glenohumeral kinematics. Purpose To quantify the kinematic changes present in a cadaveric model of a thrower's shoulder. Study Design Controlled laboratory study. Methods In 8 fresh-frozen cadaveric shoulders, the rotator cuff and overlying muscles were removed, and the glenohumeral capsule, coracoacromial ligament, and coracohumeral ligament were left intact. The scapula was fixed, and the humerus was placed in 90° of shoulder abduction in a 6 degrees of freedom testing device. A compressive force of 44 N was applied. A thrower's shoulder model was created, and sequential conditions were examined: intact, after anterior stretching, and after the addition of posterior-inferior capsular plication. Kinematic measurements were obtained through a complete range of glenohumeral rotation. Results Glenohumeral external rotation increased 16%, from 149° to 173° (P <. 001), after stretching in external rotation and remained increased by 11% to 166° (P <. 001) after posterior-inferior capsular plication. With the addition of the posterior-inferior capsular plication, internal rotation averaged 7°, which was not significantly different from the intact state (11°, P =. 55) or the stretched state (16°, P =. 07). The total glenohumeral rotation after stretching followed by posterior-inferior capsular plication did not differ significantly from intact state (P =. 25). At maximum external rotation, the humeral head apex was shifted posteriorly in the stretched (P =. 003) and plicated (P <. 001) states compared with the intact state. The humeral head apex was posteriorly displaced at 135° and 150° of external rotation compared with the intact condition (P =. 039 and. 049, respectively). In maximum internal rotation, anterior stretching had no significant effect on the humeral head apex position. However, after posterior-inferior capsular plication, the humeral head apex was significantly shifted inferiorly (P =. 005) and anteriorly (P =. 03) in maximum internal rotation compared with the intact state. Conclusion Significant changes in glenohumeral motion occur in this model during the simulated late-cocking and follow through phases of throwing. In this model, posterior capsular tightness alters the humeral head position most profoundly during the deceleration and follow-through phases of throwing.
First order connections of the visual sector of the thalamic reticular nucleus in marmoset monkeys (Callithrix jacchus)

The thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) supplies an important inhibitory input to the dorsal thalamus. Previous studies in non-primate mammals have suggested that the visual sector of the TRN has a lateral division, which has connections with first-order (primary) sensory thalamic and cortical areas, and a medial division, which has connections with higher-order (association) thalamic and cortical areas. However, the question whether the primate TRN is segregated in the same manner is controversial. Here, we investigated the connections of the TRN in a New World primate, the marmoset (Callithrix jacchus). The topography of labeled cells and terminals was analyzed following iontophoretic injections of tracers into the primary visual cortex (V1) or the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (LGNd). The results show that rostroventral TRN, adjacent to the LGNd, is primarily connected with primary visual areas, while the most caudal parts of the TRN are associated with higher order visual thalamic areas. A small region of the TRN near the caudal pole of the LGNd (foveal representation) contains connections where first (lateral TRN) and higher order visual areas (medial TRN) overlap. Reciprocal connections between LGNd and TRN are topographically organized, so that a series of rostrocaudal injections within the LGNd labeled cells and terminals in the TRN in a pattern shaped like rostrocaudal overlapping “fish scales. ” We propose that the dorsal areas of the TRN, adjacent to the top of the LGNd, represent the lower visual field (connected with medial LGNd), and the more ventral parts of the TRN contain a map representing the upper visual field (connected with lateral LGNd).
The duality of shared responsibility

ABSTRACT This paper examines the duality of shared responsibility. The paper argues that shared responsibility is generally regarded as having the potential to address responsibility gaps in situations of concerted action. As such, shared responsibility may be important for global governance in relation to such diverse areas as peace-keeping, climate change, migration, and conservation of natural resources. The paper also argues that the sharing of responsibility can lead to a diffusion of responsibility that makes it more difficult to determine who is responsible for what. Thereby, it can undermine the effectiveness of global governance and moreover generate a new set of responsibility gaps. However, on the basis of international law, principles can be articulated that operationalize the abstract idea of shared responsibility and mitigate these negative consequences.
The effect of lung deflation on the position of the pleura during subclavian vein cannulation in infants receiving mechanical ventilation: an ultrasound study

We evaluated the effect of lung deflation on the relative position of the pleura compared with a reference line during supra‐ and infraclavicular approaches to the right subclavian vein. The reference line was drawn relative to the predicted pathway of the needle. The distances between the pleura and the reference line for supra‐ and infraclavicular approaches were measured during inspiration and expiration in 41 infants. Measurements were repeated with the application of 5 cmH2O positive end‐expiratory pressure (PEEP) and in the Trendelenburg position. Lung deflation during the supraclavicular approach significantly decreased the volume of lung crossing the reference line by a median (IQR [range]) of 1.0 (0.6 to 1.3 [0.0 to 4.8]) mm, p < 0.001, irrespective of the application of PEEP or patient position. However, during the infraclavicular approach, lung deflation showed no change in the distance of the pleura from the reference line regardless of PEEP or patient position. We conclude that lung deflation moves the lung apex caudally and can reduce the potential risk of pneumothorax during a supraclavicular approach to the right subclavian vein in infants.
Identification of PEAR1 SNPs and their influences on the variation in prasugrel pharmacodynamics.

AIM The present study aimed to investigate PEAR1 genetic polymorphisms and pharmacogenetic variability in the pharmacodynamics of prasugrel, a new oral antiplatelet agent, in healthy Han Chinese subjects. PATIENTS & METHODS The inhibition of adenosine diphosphate-induced platelet aggregation was measured pre- and post-administration using the VerifyNow(®) P2Y12 assay. The genetic sequence of PEAR1 exons and previously reported SNPs in the PEAR1 gene were investigated. RESULTS A total of 28 variations were identified in PEAR1. The SNPs in two regions of the PEAR1 gene, from rs3737224 to rs822442, and from rs1214331 to rs12566888, probably play important roles in prasugrel pharmacodynamics. CONCLUSION Further studies with larger sample sizes are recommended to explore the clinical importance of PEAR1 SNPs in prasugrel and other antiplatelet therapies. Original submitted 18 December 2012; Revision submitted 26 April 2013.
A Novel Type of Glial Cell Associated with Nodes of Ranvier in Rat Optic Nerve

Using Golgi impregnation and intracellular injection of horseradish peroxidase, we show that the adult rat optic nerve contains two distinct types of astrocyte‐like glial cells: one has mainly radially oriented processes that terminate on blood vessels or on the pial surface; the other has mainly longitudinally oriented processes that associate with, and often terminate at, nodes of Ranvier, but do not end on blood vessels or the pial surface. The sequence of appearance of the two types of glial cells in the developing nerve, taken together with previous immunocytochemical findings, suggests that these cells may correspond to the two types of astrocytes previously described in cultures of perinatal optic nerve cells—those with mainly radially oriented processes corresponding to type‐1 astrocytes and those with mainly longitudinally oriented processes corresponding to type‐2 astrocytes. To our knowledge, this is the first description of a class of central nervous system (CNS) glial cell whose processes are primarily associated with nodes of Ranvier.
Epitope mapping and structural analysis of an anti‐ErbB2 antibody A21: Molecular basis for tumor inhibitory mechanism

Anti‐ErbB2 antibodies targeting distinct epitopes can have different biological functions on cancer cells. A21 prepared by surface epitope masking (SEM) method is a tumor‐inhibitory anti‐ErbB2 monoclonal antibody. Previously we engineered a single chain chimeric antibody chA21 with potential for therapy of ErbB2‐overexpressing tumors. Here, we mapped the A21 epitope on ErbB2 extracellular domain (ECD) by screening a combinatorial phage display peptide library, serial subdomain deletion, and mutagenesis scanning. X‐ray crystal structure of the A21 scFv fragment at 2.1 Å resolution was also determined. A molecular model of Ag‐Ab complex was then constructed based on the crystal structures of the A21 scFv and ErbB2 ECD. Some of biological functions of the A21 mAb and its derivative antibodies including their tumor cell growth inhibition and effects on the expression, internalization, and phosphorylation of ErbB2 receptor were also investigated. The results showed that A21 recognized a conformational epitope comprising a large region mostly from ErbB2 extracellular subdomain I with several surface‐exposed residues important for the binding affinity. These data provide unique functional properties of A21 that are quite different from two broadly used anti‐ErbB2 mAbs, Herceptin and 2C4. It suggested that the A21 epitope may be another valuable target for designing new anti‐ErbB2 therapeutics. Proteins 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Adipose Tissue‐Derived Multipotent Stromal Cells Have a Higher Immunomodulatory Capacity Than Their Bone Marrow‐Derived Counterparts

Adipose tissue‐derived multipotent stromal cells (AT‐MSCs) are studied as an alternative to bone marrow‐derived multipotent stromal cells (BM‐MSCs) for immunomodulatory treatment. In this study, we systematically compared the immunomodulatory capacities of BM‐MSCs and AT‐MSCs derived from age‐matched donors. We found that BM‐MSCs and AT‐MSCs share a similar immunophenotype and capacity for in vitro multilineage differentiation. BM‐MSCs and AT‐MSCs showed comparable immunomodulatory effects as they were both able to suppress proliferation of stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells and to inhibit differentiation of monocyte‐derived immature dendritic cells. However, at equal cell numbers, the AT‐MSCs showed more potent immunomodulatory effects in both assays as compared with BM‐MSCs. Moreover, AT‐MSCs showed a higher level of secretion of cytokines that have been implicated in the immunomodulatory modes of action of multipotent stromal cells, such as interleukin‐6 and transforming growth factor‐β1. This is correlated with higher metabolic activity of AT‐MSCs compared with BM‐MSCs. We conclude that the immunomodulatory capacities of BM‐MSCs and AT‐MSCs are similar, but that differences in cytokine secretion cause AT‐MSCs to have more potent immunomodulatory effects than BM‐MSCs. Therefore, lower numbers of AT‐MSCs evoke the same level of immunomodulation. These data indicate that AT‐MSCs can be considered as a good alternative to BM‐MSCs for immunomodulatory therapy.