Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Trachomatous Trichiasis on Quality of Life: A Case Control Study

Background Trachomatous trichiasis is thought to have a profound effect on quality of life (QoL), however, there is little research in this area. We measured vision and health-related QoL in a case-control study in Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Methodology/Principal Findings We recruited 1000 adult trichiasis cases and 200 trichiasis-free controls, matched to every fifth trichiasis case on age (+/- two years), sex and location. Vision-related quality of life (VRQoL) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) were measured using the WHO/PBD-VF20 and WHOQOL-BREF questionnaires. Comparisons were made using linear regression adjusted for age, sex and socioeconomic status. Trichiasis cases had substantially lower VRQoL than controls on all subscales (overall eyesight, visual symptom, general functioning and psychosocial, p<0.0001), even in the sub-group with normal vision (p<0.0001). Lower VRQoL scores in cases were associated with longer trichiasis duration, central corneal opacity, visual impairment and poor contrast sensitivity. Trichiasis cases had lower HRQoL in all domains (Physical-health, Psychological, Social, Environment, p<0.0001), lower overall QoL (mean, 34.5 v 64.6; p<0.0001) and overall health satisfaction (mean, 38.2 v 71.7; p<0.0001). This association persisted in a sub-group analysis of cases and controls with normal vision. Not having a marriage partner (p<0.0001), visual impairment (p = 0.0068), daily labouring (p<0.0001), presence of other health problems (p = 0.0018) and low self-rated wealth (p<0.0001) were independently associated with lower overall QoL scores in cases. Among cases, trichiasis caused 596 (59%) to feel embarrassed, 913 (91.3%) to worry they may lose their remaining eyesight and 681 (68.1%) to have sleep disturbance. Conclusions/Significance Trachomatous trichiasis substantially reduces vision and health related QoL and is disabling, even without visual impairment. Prompt trichiasis intervention is needed both to prevent vision loss and to alleviate physical and psychological suffering, social exclusion and improve overall well-being. Implementation of the full SAFE strategy is needed to prevent the development of trachomatous trichiasis.
Optical tracking using commodity hardware

We describe a method for using Nintendo Wii controllers as a stereo vision system to perform 3D tracking or motion capture in real time. Commodity consumer hardware allows a wireless, portable tracker to be created that obtains accurate results for a fraction of the cost of conventional setups. Consequently, tracking becomes viable in situations where cost or space were previously prohibitive. Initial results show an accuracy of plusmn2 mm over a large tracking volume.
PEMETAAN SOSIAL-POLITIK KELOMPOK ETNIK CINA DI INDONESIA

This article presents a brief and comprehensive picture of the sociocultural life of the Indonesian Chinese society in Indonesia. The paper covers historical, demographic, legal, economic, political, and cultural aspects. It aims to update the data and information given by Mackie and Coppel (1976). Some observations are derived based on feld research on Chinese-Pribumi relations in several cities in Indonesia, such as Jakarta, Solo and Tangerang. The paper compiles several dispersed sources of information to give a brief comprehension of the sociocultural life of the Indonesian Chinese society in Indonesia.
Determining the Origin and Structure of Person Names

This paper presents a novel system HENNA (Hybrid Person Name Analyzer) for identifying language origin and analyzing linguistic structures of person names. We conduct ME-based classification methods for the language origin identification and achieve very promising performance. We will show that word-internal character sequences provide surprisingly strong evidence for predicting the language origin of person names. Our approach is context-, language- and domain-independent and can thus be easily adapted to person names in or from other languages. Furthermore, we provide a novel strategy to handle origin ambiguities or multiple origins in a name. HENNA also provides a person name parser for the analysis of linguistic and knowledge structures of person names. All the knowledge about a person name in HENNA is modelled in a person-name ontology, including relationships between language origins, linguistic features and grammars of person names of a specific language and interpretation of name elements. The approaches presented here are useful extensions of the named entity recognition task.
Organization of the spinal trigeminal nucleus in star‐nosed moles

Somatosensory inputs from the face project to multiple regions of the trigeminal nuclear complex in the brainstem. In mice and rats, three subdivisions contain visible representations of the mystacial vibrissae, the principal sensory nucleus, spinal trigeminal subnucleus interpolaris, and subnucleus caudalis. These regions are considered important for touch with high spatial acuity, active touch, and pain and temperature sensation, respectively. Like mice and rats, the star‐nosed mole (Condylura cristata) is a somatosensory specialist. Given the visible star pattern in preparations of the star‐nosed mole cortex and the principal sensory nucleus, we hypothesized there were star patterns in the spinal trigeminal nucleus subnuclei interpolaris and caudalis. In sections processed for cytochrome oxidase, we found star‐like segmentation consisting of lightly stained septa separating darkly stained patches in subnucleus interpolaris (juvenile tissue) and subnucleus caudalis (juvenile and adult tissue). Subnucleus caudalis represented the face in a three‐dimensional map, with the most anterior part of the face represented more rostrally than posterior parts of the face. Multiunit electrophysiological mapping was used to map the ipsilateral face. Ray‐specific receptive fields in adults matched the CO segmentation. The mean areas of multiunit receptive fields in subnucleus interpolaris and caudalis were larger than previously mapped receptive fields in the mole's principal sensory nucleus. The proportion of tissue devoted to each ray's representation differed between the subnucleus interpolaris and the principal sensory nucleus. Our finding that different trigeminal brainstem maps can exaggerate different parts of the face could provide new insights for the roles of these different somatosensory stations. J. Comp. Neurol. 522:3335–3350, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Molecular mapping of the brace root traits in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench)

The presence and morphology of plant brace roots are important root architecture traits. Brace roots contribute significantly to effective anchorage and water and nutrient uptake during late growth and development, and more importantly, have a substantial influence on grain yield under soil flooding or water limited conditions. However, little is known about the genetic mechanisms that underlie brace root traits. In this study, quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for presence of brace roots from the sorghum landrace “Sansui” were mapped and associated molecular markers were identified. A linkage map was constructed with 109 assigned simple sequence repeat markers using a F2 mapping population derived from the cross Sansui/Jiliang 2. Two QTLs associated with presence of brace roots were localized on chromosomes 6 and 7. The major QTL on chromosome 7 between markers Dsenhsbm7 and Xcup 70 explained about 52.5% of the phenotypic variation, and the minor QTL on chromosome 6 was flanked by Xtxp127 and Xtxp6 and accounted for 7.0% of phenotypic variation. These results will provide information for the improvement of sorghum root architecture associated with brace roots.
An integrated 10A, 2.2ns rise-time laser-diode driver for LIDAR applications

An integrated laser-diode driver for LIDAR applications in a 0.35 µm 80V CMOS technology is realized. The integration of the power switch as a n-DMOS allows a peak current of 10 A, with a corresponding rise-time of 2.2 ns and a fall-time of 2.4 ns. Up to the authors knowledge this is a first-time achievement on a monolithic die. The laser can be operated at a maximum duty-cycle of 0.1 %, with a pulse duration of 10 – 50 ns. To overcome the parasitic inductances and their associated voltage drop, a high voltage of 70 V is applied to the LIDAR circuit. In order to drive the power switch within its safe operating area and to make sure the rise- and fall-time is minimized, a pre-driver is integrated on the same die.
Oxidative Phosphorylation Induces De Novo Expression of the MHC Class I in Tumor Cells through the ERK5 Pathway

Most cancer cells use anaerobic-like glycolysis to generate energy instead of oxidative phosphorylation. They also avoid recognition by CTLs, which occurs primarily through decreasing the level of MHC class I (MHC-I) at the cell surface. We find that the two phenomena are linked; culture conditions that force respiration in leukemia cells upregulate MHC-I transcription and protein levels at the cell surface, whereas these decrease in cells forced to perform fermentation as well as in leukemia cells lacking a functional mitochondrial respiratory chain. Forced respiration leads to increased expression of the MAPK ERK5, which activates MHC-I gene promoters, and ERK5 accumulation in mitochondria. Respiration-induced MHC-I upregulation is reversed upon short hairpin RNA-mediated ERK5 downregulation and by inactive mutants of ERK5. Moreover, short hairpin RNA for ERK5 leukemia cells do not tolerate forced respiration. Thus, the expression of ERK5 and MHC-I is linked to cell metabolism and notably diminished by the metabolic adaptations found in tumor cells.
A Study of Boosting based Transfer Learning for Activity and Gesture Recognition

i ABSTRACT Real-world environments are characterized by non-stationary and continuously evolving data. Learning a classification model on this data would require a framework that is able to adapt itself to newer circumstances. Under such circumstances, transfer learning has come to be a dependable methodology for improving classification performance with reduced training costs and without the need for explicit relearning from scratch. In this thesis, a novel instance transfer technique that adapts a " Cost-sensitive " variation of AdaBoost is presented. The method capitalizes on the theoretical and functional properties of AdaBoost to selectively reuse outdated training instances obtained from a " source " domain to effectively classify unseen instances occurring in a different, but related " target " domain. The algorithm is evaluated on real-world classification problems namely accelerometer based 3D gesture recognition, smart home activity recognition and text categorization. The performance on these datasets is analyzed and evaluated against popular boosting-based instance transfer techniques. In addition, supporting empirical studies, that investigate some of the less explored bottlenecks of boosting based instance transfer methods, are presented, to understand the suitability and effectiveness of this form of knowledge transfer. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Working on this thesis has allowed me to learn and understand some of the most complex and interesting problems in Computer Science. Over the time that I spent on this study, I have had the honor and opportunity to interact with some of the most knowledgeable and highly accomplished people in this field. I take this opportunity to thank each and every one from the bottom of my heart. First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my committee chair, advisor and guide, Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan for inculcating in me the desire to deliver a high quality research study as part of this thesis. In particular, I would like to thank him for his excellent support and patience in allowing me to choose and work on a study that interests me the most, a kind of freedom rarely given to Master of Science students. I would also like to convey my sincere thanks to both my committee members and professors, Dr. Jieping Ye and Dr. Baoxin Li, under whom I had taken " CSE 591-Machine Learning " and " CSE 598-Multimedia Information Systems " respectively, for their invaluable guidance on both my coursework and research. This work would not have been possible without the unflinching support …
Three-link planar arm control using reinforcement learning

In this paper, we apply reinforcement learning(RL) to control a 3-Dof manipulator. Learning is achieved by using an on-policy temporal difference(TD) learning. In order to control the manipulator, the TD agents are in charge of the movements of the robot by adjusting each angle. We first implement the SARSA algorithm by repeatedly updating a hash-table with the current and next state-action values, and the received rewards. However, since the conventional RL algorithms have issues of the heavy computational load, we propose RL algorithms applying multi-agents approach with an assumption and vector values for states. We state the result of the classical RL algorithm and compare it with our approach. For the simulation, we test a three-link planar arm for two cases: positioning the end-effector to a fixed goal point and random goal points. The simulation results show that the robot completes the mission successfully with the improvement in the computational load.
Time-Efficient Myocardial Contrast Partition Coefficient Measurement from Early Enhancement with Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Objective Our purpose was to validate an early enhancement time point for accurately measuring the myocardial contrast partition coefficient (lambda) using dynamic-equilibrium magnetic resonance imaging. Materials and Methods The pre- and post-contrast longitudinal relaxation rates (reciprocal of T1) of the interventricular septum (R1m) and blood pool (R1b) were obtained from fifteen healthy volunteers and three diabetic patients with hypertension using two optimized T1 mapping sequences (modified Look-Locker inversion recovery) on a 3-Tesla magnetic resonance scanner. Reference lambda values were calculated as the slope of the regression line of R1m versus R1b at dynamic equilibrium (multi-point regression method). The simplified pre-/post-enhancement two-acquisition method (two-point method) was used to calculate lambda by relating the change in R1m and R1b using different protocols according to the acquisition stage of the post-enhancement data point. The agreement with the referential method was tested by calculating Pearson's correlation coefficient and the intra-class correlation coefficient. Results The lambda values measured by the two-point method increased (from 0.479±0.041 to 0.534±0.043) over time from 6 to 45 minutes after contrast and exhibited good correlation with the reference at each time point (r≥0.875, p<0.05). The intra-class correlation coefficient on absolute agreement with the reference lambda was 0.946, 0.929 and 0.922 at the 6th, 7th and 8th minutes and dropped from 0.878 to 0.403 from the 9th minute on. Conclusions The time-efficient two-point method at 6–8 minutes after the Gd-DTPA bolus injection exhibited good agreement with the multi-point regression method and can be applied for accurate lambda measurement in normal myocardium.
The use of pore pressure build-up as damage metric in computation of equivalent number of uniform strain cycles

The build-up of earthquake-induced excess pore-water pressure may be viewed as analogous to the cumulative damage of saturated granular materials caused by cyclic loading, and consequently as a damage metric when converting an irregular earthquake loading to an equivalent number of uniform cycles, Neq. In this paper, a comprehensive series of strain-controlled tests have been conducted using the new combined triaxial simple shear (TxSS) apparatus developed at Institute de Recherche d’Hydro-Quebec (IREQ) in collaboration with the geotechnical group at the Universite de Sherbrooke to verify the hypothesis of adopting the pore-water pressure ratio, Ru, as a damage metric when converting earthquakes to an equivalently damaging number of uniform strain cycles. Different reconstituted saturated samples of Baie-Saint-Paul, Carignon, and Quebec sands have been tested under undrained conditions up to liquefaction. The experimental results from this study have been utilized to develop an empirical expression to com.
Beyond Human Opinion Scores: Blind Image Quality Assessment Based on Synthetic Scores

State-of-the-art general purpose Blind Image Quality Assessment (BIQA) models rely on examples of distorted images and corresponding human opinion scores to learn a regression function that maps image features to a quality score. These types of models are considered "opinion-aware" (OA) BIQA models. A large set of human scored training examples is usually required to train a reliable OA-BIQA model. However, obtaining human opinion scores through subjective testing is often expensive and time-consuming. It is therefore desirable to develop "opinion-free" (OF) BIQA models that do not require human opinion scores for training. This paper proposes BLISS (Blind Learning of Image Quality using Synthetic Scores). BLISS is a simple, yet effective method for extending OA-BIQA models to OF-BIQA models. Instead of training on human opinion scores, we propose to train BIQA models on synthetic scores derived from Full-Reference (FR) IQA measures. State-of-the-art FR measures yield high correlation with human opinion scores and can serve as approximations to human opinion scores. Unsupervised rank aggregation is applied to combine different FR measures to generate a synthetic score, which serves as a better "gold standard". Extensive experiments on standard IQA datasets show that BLISS significantly outperforms previous OF-BIQA methods and is comparable to state-of-the-art OA-BIQA methods.
Implementation of a Choquet fuzzy integral based controller on a real time system

The paper discusses about the Choquet Fuzzy Integral (CFI) based identification and control of a Real Time Dynamical System. The plant is modeled using Choquet fuzzy Integral based Neural Network with Gradient Descent as learning algorithm. This model is used for designing and simulating CFI based controller. Then this designed controller is implemented on real time system through MATLAB. Finally the performance of CFI based controller is compared with Feed Forward Neural Network taking Square of Error as the parameter of comparison.
Hearing Voices from the Silent Majority: A Comparison of Preferred Fish Stocking Outcomes for Lake Huron by Anglers from Representative and Convenience Samples

We used stated-preference choice models to examine Ontario anglers' preferred outcomes from fish stocking of Lake Huron and variations in these preferences between a random and a convenience sample. Anglers preferred outcomes that decreased risks of fish stock collapses and increased native prey fish species, average fish size, and species abundance especially for walleye (Sander vitreus) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Anglers from a convenience sample that likely participate in typical consultation efforts for fisheries management were more supportive of outcomes that favored Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and less supportive of outcomes that favored lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) or walleye than were anglers from a random sample. From a managerial perspective, the results suggest profound differences, as a silent majority of Lake Huron anglers supported a lake trout rehabilitation outcome while Lake Huron anglers who typically voice their perspectives to managers preferred outcomes that emphasize the non-native Chinook salmon.
Sad to Say: Is it Time for Sorrow Management Theory?

Terror Management Theory (TMT) research often asks respondents to describe their personal death. This exposure enables the testing of hypotheses regarding defenses (“buffers”) against the anxious awareness of death. Curiously, though, the respondents' narratives are not analyzed or reported. The present study offers a qualitative analysis of 209 college student narrative responses provided for this purpose by TMT researchers Jeff Greenberg and Nathan Heflick. The narratives are reviewed with attention to affect (adjectives), semantic structure, and theme. Many responses are marked by anxiety, but sorrow is also pervasive. Individual differences in response substance and structure invite further exploration. It is suggested that our understanding of the response to personal death threat could be enhanced by encompassing sorrow as well as anxiety within the same conceptual framework. Several specific hypotheses and suggestions are offered.
Deoxyglucose-resistant mutants of Neurospora crassa: isolation, mapping, and biochemical characterization

Neurospora crassa mutants resistant to 2-deoxyglucose have been isolated, and their mutations have been mapped to four genetic loci. The mutants have the following characteristics: (i) they are resistant to sorbose as well as to 2-deoxyglucose; (ii) they are partially or completely constitutive for glucose transport system II, glucamylase, and invertase, which are usually repressed during growth on glucose; and (iii) they synthesize an invertase with abnormal thermostability and immunological properties, suggesting altered posttranslational modification. All of these characteristics could arise from defects in the regulation of carbon metabolism. In addition, mutants with mutations at three of the loci lack glucose transport system I, which is normally synthesized constitutively by wild-type N. crassa. Although the basis for this change is not yet clear, the mutants provide a way of studying the high-affinity system II uncomplicated by the presence of the low-affinity system I.
Net Primary Productivity Increased on the Loess Plateau Following Implementation of the Grain to Green Program

Abstract: The spatio-temporal characteristics of net primary productivity (NPP) since implementation of the Grain to Green Program (GTGP) are important for understanding ecological restoration of the Loess Plateau in China. Here, we conduct spatio-temporal analysis of NPP using MODIS datasets (500 m, 8-day intervals) and VPM (Vegetation Photosynthesis Model) from 2000–2015. We found that NPP on the Loess Plateau increased significantly from 2000 to 2015 (p<0.05). Significant increases in NPP were observed in core areas of the GTGP, including northern Shaanxi and Lüliang Mountain in Shanxi. NPP in alluvial plains decreased due to urban expansion into cropland. Significant increases in NPP from 2006–2010 were located north of the area of change in 2000–2005. NPP increased across three vegetation types and four slope gradients. In hilly-gully regions prone to soil erosion, such as central and southeastern parts of the Loess Plateau, obvious vegetation restoration was detected.
New Devices for Scalp Reduction Intraoperative and Prolonged Scalp Extension

BACKGROUND Scalp reduction for male pattern and other extensive, permanent crown‐vertex alopecias has been a beneficial, adjuvant procedure in hair replacement surgery and has been augmented by unsightly and sometimes painful intraoperativc and chronic scalp expansion techniques. METHODS Ten patients underwent scalp reduction for male pattern baldness utilizing intraoperative Sure‐Closure, a skin‐stretching device. Ten patients had Frechet Extenders placed under the scalp during their scalp reductions with subsequent removal 28 days later folloiued immediately by second reduction procedures. RESULTS The skin‐stretching device, Sure‐Closure, allowed the excision of 20–30% more alopecic scalp during scalp reduction than what would have been possible with scalp reduction alone. The Frechet Extender when combined with a lazy S excision pattern for scalp reduction procedures generated between 25% and 50% more excision of nlopecic scalp than until scalp reduction alone. CONCLUSION Scalp reduction procedures can be more effectively performed with minimal complications and fewer reductions required per patient using either intraoperative scalp extension with the Sure‐Closure device or chronic scalp extension with the Frechet Extender.