Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Data-driven Digital Drawing and Painting

Digital artists create evocative drawings and paintings using a tablet and stylus coupled with digital painting software. Research systems have shown promising improvements in various aspects of the art creation process by targeting specific drawing styles and natural media, for example oil paint or watercolor. They combine carefully hand-crafted procedural rules and computationally expensive, style-specific physical simulations. Nevertheless, untrained users often find it hard to achieve their target style in these systems due to the challenge of controlling and predicting the outcome of their collective drawing strokes. Moreover even trained digital artists are often restricted by the inherent stylistic limitations of these systems. In this thesis, we propose a data-driven painting paradigm that allows novices and experts to more easily create visually compelling artworks using exemplars. To make data-driven painting feasible and efficient, we factorize the painting process into a set of orthogonal components: 1) stroke paths; 2) hand gestures; 3) stroke textures; 4) inter-stroke interactions; 5) pigment colors. We present four prototype systems, HelpingHand, RealBrush, DecoBrush and RealPigment, to demonstrate that each component can be synthesized efficiently and independently based on small sets of decoupled exemplars. We propose efficient algorithms to acquire and process visual exemplars and a general framework for data-driven stroke synthesis based on feature matching and optimization. With the convenience of data sharing on the Internet, this data-driven paradigm opens up new opportunities for artists and amateurs to create original stylistic artwork and to abstract, share and reproduce their styles more easily and faithfully.
The Herschel Planetary Nebula Survey (HerPlaNS) - I. Data overview and analysis demonstration with NGC 6781

Context. This is the first of a series of investigations into far-IR characteristics of 11 planetary nebulae (PNe) under the Herschel Space Observatory open time 1 program, Herschel Planetary Nebula Survey (HerPlaNS). Aims. Using the HerPlaNS data set, we look into the PN energetics and variations of the physical conditions within the target nebulae. In the present work, we provide an overview of the survey, data acquisition and processing, and resulting data products. Methods. We performed (1) PACS/SPIRE broadband imaging to determine the spatial distribution of the cold dust component in the target PNe and (2) PACS/SPIRE spectral-energy-distribution and line spectroscopy to determine the spatial distribution of the gas component in the target PNe. Results. For the case of NGC 6781, the broadband maps confirm the nearly pole-on barrel structure of the amorphous carbon-rich dust shell and the surrounding halo having temperatures of 26-40 K. The PACS/SPIRE multiposition spectra show spatial variations of far-. IR lines that reflect the physical stratification of the nebula. We demonstrate that spatially resolved far-IR line diagnostics yield the (T-e, n(e)) profiles, from which distributions of ionized, atomic, and molecular gases can be determined. Direct comparison of the dust and gas column mass maps constrained by the HerPlaNS data allows to construct an empirical gas-to-dust mass ratio map, which shows a range of ratios with the median of 195 +/- 110. The present analysis yields estimates of the total mass of the shell to be 0.86 M-circle dot, consisting of 0.54 M-circle dot of ionized gas, 0.12 M-circle dot of atomic gas, 0.2 M-circle dot of molecular gas, and 4 x 10(-3) M-circle dot of dust grains. These estimates' also suggest that the central star of about 1.5 M-circle dot initial mass is terminating its PN evolution onto the white dwarf cooling track. Conclusions. The HerPlaNS data provide various diagnostics for both the dust and gas components in a spatially resolved manner. In the forthcoming papers of the HerPlaNS series we will explore the HerPlaNS data set fully for the entire sample of 11 PNe.
Knowledge and attitude about HIV/AIDS among pregnant women in Yazd, Iran

Background: Since AIDS is not only a vital medical problem, but also a socioeconomic complication, therefore increasing people's knowledge and replacing their unhealthy behavior by a healthy one is of important consideration. Women, specially in reproductive ages of their life, have a special situation regarding the probability of pregnancy and infection of their fetus. Objective: The aim of this study was to explore pregnant women's knowledge about HIV/AIDS, their perception of risk, risk behavior and management, and their attitudes towards AIDS. Materials and Methods: In a cross sectional study, a total of 120 pregnant women, who referred to family health clinics in Yazd, were selected by simple random sampling. Information was collected via a special designed questionnaire containing 22 questions for evaluating knowledge and 6 questions for evaluating attitude. Statistical analysis was performed using Chi-square test with SPSS software. Results: The knowledge of pregnant women about AIDS was not significantly different in different age groups (p=0.151), while it had a significant relationship with their education (p=0.000). There was a correlation between general knowledge and attitude in pregnant women (p=0.033) (r=0.126). The attitude about AIDS in pregnant women was fairly good and there was a significant difference in this regard related to their education (p=0.000), while there was not significant difference regarding their age (p=0.410) (Mean =19.8). Conclusion: There is an urgent need for HIV prevention efforts, such as health education and focusing on the pregnant women in developing world. Health educators should tailor education programs for women at risk, particularly those with lower education, to enhance their knowledge about HIV and to improve their attitude about AIDS.
An explorative study of students ’ experiences with the exhibition A World at Stake Stimulating curiosity for global poverty and inequality

(2014:78). They argue that museums should expand their responsibilities by more actively prioritising global challenges through a social science perspective, a recommendation thoroughly reasoned out in Robert Janes’ book, Museums in a Troubled World (2009). The recent trends of corporatism and business orientation pose potential threats to museums’ attention towards social challenges and environmental problems. Morten Søndergaard and Robert Janes argue, however, that the real In the Global North, global poverty and inequality are recurring issues in newspapers, television broadcasts, curricula textbooks and humanitarian campaigns, yet it is rare to see these issues addressed in science centres and museums. While environmental problems have, to a certain extent, been addressed in Scandinavian museums, Anders Hansen et al. argue that the perspective has been almost exclusively locally oriented and with a natural science approach to pollution and consumption Abstract: This article focuses on students’ experiences with A World at Stake, an interactive exhibition inspired by the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. The research aim of the study was to explore factors contributing to students’ curiosity-evoking capacities for global poverty and inequality, with a particular emphasis on experiences of mastery. The research was based on a survey conducted at Glomdalsmuseet in Norway among students aged 9–17 years (n = 1094). The data analysis was performed using quantitative methodology analysis in IBM SPSS version 20. Results indicate that students’ interests in social and natural environments, and their sense of responsibility and participation, seem to stimulate curiosity. In particular, students’ experiences of mastery in the exhibition are positively associated with their curiosity-evoking capacities.
Étude comparative des métaux lourds et d'autres éléments traces dans Gyrophragmium dunalii et dans les agarics jaunissants de la section Arvenses

Gyrophragmium dunalii est un champignon secotioide apparente au genre Agaricus, en particulier aux especes de la section Arvenses, de par ses caracteristiques morphologiques, sa chair jaunissante et son odeur marquee d'amandes ameres. Un argument supplementaire en faveur de cette parente est la presence d'uree et de tryptophane libre dans sa composition, bien qu'il ne contienne pas d'agaritine, metabolite secondaire specifique des psalliotes. En outre, une analyse comparative de 47 elements chimiques effectuee sur 60 recoltes comprenant 29 especes d'Agaricus a montre que le Gyrophragmium, tout comme les agarics jaunissants, concentre le cobalt, le cadmium, le zinc et le cuivre. Par contre, G. dunalii ne partage pas l'affinite de ces derniers pour l'argent, le mercure et le selenium. Les resultats pour les autres metaux et metalloides sont brievement discutes. Il est interessant de noter que G. dunalii - qui avait ete recolte sur l'ile d'Oleron, situee pres de la cote atlantique francaise - contient des quantites remarquables de terres rares, de thorium et d'uranium.
Mass Media Displacement and Saturation

This study addresses the contradiction between the theoretical displacement of incumbent media by new media versus empirical evidence of rising consumption of both new and incumbent media. By analyzing 4 years of biannual daypart media consumption surveys, this research reveals trends in the consumer use of advertiser-supported media in the United States. Large gains were seen in new media, such as Internet and e-mail, whereas incumbent media such as television, radio, newspapers, and magazines held steady or grew in core dayparts. The differential rates of change, with new media growing at twice the rate of incumbent media, created an overall increase in the consumption of ad-supported media. Implications for the displacement hypothesis, media saturation, simultaneous media consumption, and media management are discussed.
Genetic variation and early-life nutritional stress interact to affect adult excretion and fitness traits

Life-history strategies are complex and separable into distinct stages, where early experience can affect adult life. In addition, gene-by-environment interactions or individual genetic differences interacting with the environment can influence phenotypes within and between life history stages. Here, using Drosophila melanogaster, I show rover/sitter allelic variants of the foraging gene (for) interact differently with their early nutritional environment affecting adult excreta deposit number, intestinal physiology, and fitness traits and that excretion phenotypes are mediated by differences in for expression. I found rover/sitter differences in intestinal and reproductive physiology that suggest trade-offs between adult gut function and reproductive output. Using transgenic manipulations, I demonstrated that reducing for expression in an organ and tissue specific manner—including the gastric system—affects phenotypic differences in adult excretion. My findings highlight the importance of investigating individual genetic differences in the context of early environmental experience to fully understand organismal biology and phenotypic complexity.
Fibroblast Growth Factor 23 in Children With End Stage Renal Disease on Hemodialysis

Background: Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF-23) is a novel regulator of phosphate metabolism. In adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD) FGF-23 is increased; however, comparable studies in children are lacking. Objective: To investigate the level of FGF-23 in children with end stage renal disease (ESRD) on maintenance hemodialysis and its relation to serum phosphorus, Ca 2+ and PTH. Patients and Methods: The serum level of FGF-23 was measured in twenty children with ESRD on maintenance hemodialysis and compared to their age- and sex matched healthy children. Biochemical parameters including serum urea, creatinine, hemoglobin, ALP, phosphorus, Ca 2+, and PTH were measured in this study to unravel their relationship with circulating FGF-23. Results: Levels of FGF-23 were significantly higher in pediatric patients in comparison with healthy control group and positively correlated with PTH and phosphorus. Phosphorus level in the diseased group was significantly high in spite of increasing level of FGF-23. The blood urea, creatinine and PTH increased significantly, concomitant with significant decrease in hemoglobin level and insignificant alteration of calcium levels in the diseased pediatric patients, compared to the healthy control group. Conclusion: FGF-23 could represent a promising therapeutic target that might improve the fatal progression of dialysis in children with chronic kidney disease on maintenance hemodialysis. (Ensaf K.Mohamed, Amany Al-Saeed, Basma K. Ahmed and Mona F. Schaalan. Fibroblast Growth Factor 23 in children with end stage renal disease on hemodialysis) Life Sci J 2012;9(2):1122-1127) (ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite. com. 166
The Hemodynamic Theory of Bicuspid Aortic Valve Disease

by Samantha Kay Atkins The bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is the most common congenital cardiovascular defect affecting 1-2% of the population. A normal aortic valve consists of three leaflets and is often referred to as the tricuspid aortic valve (TAV). The BAV exists in several different morphogenic phenotypes, resulting in two aortic valve leaflets instead of three and is known as the type-I BAV. While the BAV anatomy may not intrinsically hamper valvular function, it is associated with a spectrum of secondary valvulopathy and aortopathy such as calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) and aortic dilation. The abnormal mechanical stresses imposed by the BAV on its leaflets and on the aortic wall could trigger cellmediated processes, leading ultimately to valvular calcification and aortic medial degeneration. Despite increasing evidence for this hemodynamic etiology, the demonstration of the involvement of mechanical abnormalities in the pathogenesis of BAV disease requires the investigation of causality between the blood flow environment imposed on the leaflets and the aortic wall and the local biology, which has been lacking to date.
Genetic Variations of Selected Genes Using Target Deep Sequencing in Colorectal Cancer Patients

Background: Colorectal carcinoma (CRC) is a burden problem in a developing country like Egypt since patients are usually admitted in late stage with bad prognosis and short overall survival. Because of genetic predisposition of CRC and introduction of advanced molecular techniques, efforts are directed to screen for potential pathogenic or disease-causing variants in CRC patients Methods: DNA was isolated from formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissue sections collected from 24 CRC confirmed diagnosed patients. TruSight CRC panel (Illumina) was used for detection of different variants in 15 genes. The generated reads were obtained from Illumina Miseq were clustered into single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) and small insertions/deletions (Indels). Further pathogenic variants with somatic and germline mutations were identified according to the recommended criteria. Some CRC patients were subjected to anti-EGFR target therapy. Results: Most of the variants were detected in TP53 gene 140 variants (65%); 105 short deletions none of them was pathogenic, 29 missense mutations and 6 SNPs at splicing sites. Next, ERBB2 has got 17 variants (8.8%) (missense and splicing), 8 of them were damaging disease causing variants. Besides, 16 pathogenic variants were identified in 12 patients (6 in TP53 and 7 in KRAS). Some pathogenic variants were not reported before in CRC e.g. TP53 C>A, rs121912654, Val157Phe. Additionally, patients carried different KRAS wild mutations showed variable response to anti-EGFR target therapy. Conclusion: The most affected pathway in CRC was TP53 pathway followed by ERBB2, NRAS, KRAS and PIK3CA genes. Variable response to target therapy suggested dependence on the type of pathogenic variant identified, also a possible role of ERBB2 which had a significant variant frequency.
A P ] 4 A pr 2 01 8 DESCRIPTION OF LIMITING VORTICITIES FOR THE MAGNETIC 2 D GINZBURG-LANDAU EQUATIONS

Let Ω be a bounded open set in R. The aim of this article is to describe the functions h in H(Ω) and the Radon measures μ which satisfy −∆h + h = μ and div(Th) = 0 in Ω, where Th is a 2 × 2 matrix given by (Th)ij = 2∂ih∂jh− (|∇h| +h2)δij for i, j = 1, 2. These equations arise as equilibrium conditions satisfied by limiting vorticities and limiting induced magnetic fields of solutions of the magnetic Ginzburg-Landau equations. This was shown by Sandier-Serfaty in [32, 33]. Let us recall that they obtained that |∇h| is continuous in Ω. We prove that if x0 in Ω is in the support of μ and is such that |∇h(x0)| 6= 0 then μ is absolutely continuous with respect to the 1D-Hausdorff measure restricted to a C-curve near x0 whereas μ⌊{|∇h|=0} = h|{|∇h|=0}L . We also prove that if Ω is smooth bounded and star-shaped and if h = 0 on ∂Ω then h ≡ 0 in Ω. This rules out the possibility of having critical points of the Ginzburg-Landau energy with a number of vortices much larger than the applied magnetic field hex in that case.
Computed Tomography of Paranasal Sinus Pathologies with Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery / Nasal Endoscopy Correlation

A prospective study was conducted on 50 patients at the SGRD Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Amritsar, suffering from paranasal sinus disease correlating the findings of computed tomography (CT) using Siemens SOMATOM Emotion 6 slice CT machine with diagnostic nasal endoscopy or functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS). Infection of the paranasal sinuses is very common. Surgical clearance of these chronically infected sinuses while maintaining their ventilation and drainage is the treatment of choice. To achieve this goal, there should be some diagnostic modality that guides us toward the exact diagnosis and safe intervention. Computed tomography proves to be the most reliable method of preoperative assessment of patients undergoing FESS as it delineates the extent of the disease and defines any anatomical variants and relationship of the sinuses with the surrounding important structures, thus providing a road map for sinus surgery. In our study, most patients were in the 3rd and 4th decades of their life with equal disease incidence in males and females. The most common sinus involved was anterior ethmoid sinus, while sphenoid sinus was the least commonly involved. The most common pattern of inflammation was sinonasal polyposis followed by osteomeatal unit pattern. On correlating CT diagnosis with the final diagnosis, chronic sinusitis had 86% sensitivity and 96.5% specificity. Polyps had sensitivity of 96.15% and specificity of 95.83%. Again for fungal sinusitis, CT had a lower sensitivity of 71.4% and specificity of 93.02%. For diagnosing benign and malignant lesions, CT had 100% sensitivity and specificity, which could be due to the small number of masses evaluated. This study proved that CT is the modality of choice for evaluating and planning the management of symptomatic patients of paranasal sinus pathologies.
Lung Volume Reduction Surgery for Emphysema Treatment: State-of-the-Art and Perspectives

Lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) has shown an improve for up to several years respiratory function, exercise capacity, and quality of life in selected patients with severe emphysema and low exercise capacity, particularly if upper-lobe predominance of disease is radiologically recognized. However, mortality and morbidity rates of LVRS have been not negligible leading to raising question as to the cost-effectiveness of the procedure and resulting in a progressive decline in its use although a considerable number of patients meet selection criteria and could potentially benefit of this treatment modality. In recent years, an active investigation aimed at developing less invasive strategies that might allow us to achieve long-term results as satisfactory as those of the standard LVRS method but with fewer adverse effects has been undertaken. So far, novel options including nonresectional surgical and endoscopic LVRS methods hold promise but results from large studies with long follow-up are awaited to help define the most effective interventional treatment options for patients with severe emphysema. In this literature review an analysis of the main issues related to LVRS including selection criteria, mechanisms of action, results of currently available surgical and endoscopic methods, and some potential future perspectives is provided.
Differences in the Gender Gap: Comparisons across Racial/Ethnic Groups in Education and Work. Policy Information Report.

This report considers the interaction of gender and racial/ethnic differences by addressing the issue of whether gender differences vary within racial/ethnic groups. The data encompass the education and work pipeline from elementary school, through high school, college, and graduate school, and into the workforce. Data come from a variety of sources. Results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress and findings about admissions tests, high school course work, advanced placement tests, educational attainment, and earnings and employment reveal more similarities than variations in gender differences among racial/ethnic groups. On most measures, gender differences did not vary much from one racial/ethnic group to another, although some differences were found. In addition, few trends were noted. The study suggests that the nature of gender inequality is a complex phenomenon. There is neither a pattern of across-the-board male advantage nor a pattern of across-the-board female advantage. The findings do not support the view that the educational establishment systematically discriminates against girls, nor that it penalizes boys. Data support the view that the nature of the differences between genders or the lack of difference depends on the outcome being examined. (Contains 25 graphs.) (SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. POLICY INFORMATION REPORT Differences in the Gender Gap: Comparisons Across Racial/Ethnic Groups in Education and Work PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) Erf'h'is document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)
Maximum Likelihood Training and Adaptation of Embedded Speech Recognizers for Mobile Environments

For the acoustic models of embedded speech recognition systems, hidden Markov models (HMMs) are usually quantized and the original full space distributions are represented by combinations of a few quantized distribution prototypes. We propose a maximum likelihood objective function to train the quantized distribution prototypes. The experimental results show that the new training algorithm and the link structure adaptation scheme for the quantized HMMs reduce the word recognition error rate by 20.0%.
Talking about what we think we see: natural language processing for a real-time virtual environment

In this paper we discuss some aspects of our development of a natural language (NL) processing system to be used in a virtual reality (VR) environment. Our group is pursuing two lines of work: the Natural Language and Virtual Reality (NLVR) project and the natural language research program. The latter addresses basic research problems in NL processing and the former is an implementation project. The two are, in many ways, parallel and overlapping. The research generates hypotheses that we want to test and the NLVR testbed provides new problems for research.