Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interdisciplinarity in the CSCL community: an empirical study

In previous work the CSCL community was analysed with respect to its scope, development, continuity and connectivity (Hoadley 2005, Kienle & Wessner 2005, Kienle & Wessner 2006). Main insights included a relatively low but stable continuity of individuals in the community, increasing international participation and increasing connectivity across different countries. Concerning the disciplines involved in CSCL and the disciplinary backgrounds of CSCL community members it was found that a variety of disciplines are represented in the community. A detailed analysis of the way these disciplines contribute to the progress of CSCL, the way members with different disciplinary backgrounds collaborate is still missing. In this paper we report an analysis of the CSCL community with respect to the disciplinary background of its members and the interrelation of various disciplines in CSCL. The analysis is based on a survey among members of the CSCL community actively involved in the CSCL 2007 conference (reviewers and authors of accepted contributions). The paper reports and discusses main results of this analysis with respect to disciplinary background of CSCL community members as well as links between the disciplines. In addition it provides insights into motives for interdisciplinary collaboration, beneficial and hindering factors. The results should help to sharpen our view of the CSCL community, contribute to a shared understanding about what CSCL (currently) is (and what is it not) and point out perspectives for future development of the CSCL community.
Performance Comparison of Energy-Efficient Power Control for CDMA and Multiuser UWB Networks

This paper studies the performance of a wireless data network using energy-efficient power control techniques when different multiple access schemes, namely direct-sequence code division multiple access (DS-CDMA) and impulse-radio ultrawideband (IR-UWB), are considered. Due to the large bandwidth of the system, the multipath channel is assumed to be frequency-selective. By making use of noncooperative game-theoretic models and large-system analysis tools, explicit expressions for the achieved utilities at the Nash equilibrium are derived in terms of the network parameters. A measure of the loss of DS-CDMA with respect to IR-UWB is proposed, which proves substantial equivalence between the two schemes. Simulation results are provided to validate the analysis.
Blocking Controllability of a Mobile Robot Population

In this paper, the problem of determining if a population of mobile robots is able to travel from an initial con guration to a target con guration is addressed. This problem is related with the controllability of the automaton describing the system. To solve the problem, the concept of navigation automaton is introduced, allowing a simpli cation in the analysis of controllability. A set of illustrative examples is presented.
An independently reconfigurable dual-mode dual-band substrate integrated waveguide filter

In this paper, a novel perturbation approach for implementing the independently reconfigurable dual-mode dual-band substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) filter is proposed. Dual-frequency manipulation is achieved by adding perturbation via-holes (the first variable) and changing the lengths of the interference slot (the second variable) in each cavity. The independent control of the upper passband only depends on the second variable while the lower passband is independently tuned by combining the two variables. Using such a design method, a two-cavity dual-band SIW filter is designed and experimentally assessed with four via-holes and an interference slot in each cavity. The dual-band filter not only has a frequency ratio (fR) ranging from 1.14 to 1.58 but also can be considered as a single passband one with a tunable range of 40.5% from 1.26 GHz to 2.12 GHz. The scattering parameters |S11| and |S21| are in the range of -10.72 dB to -37.17 dB and -3.67 dB to -7.22 dB in the operating dual bands, respectively. All the simulated and measured results show an acceptable agreement with the predicted data.
Tele-Reality for the Rest of Us

We are rapidly moving toward a world where personal networked video cameras will be ubiquitous. Already, cameraequipped cell phones are becoming commonplace. Imagine being able to tap into all of these real-time video feeds to remotely explore the world live. We introduce RealityFlythrough, a tele-reality/telepresence system that will make this vision possible. By situating live 2d images in a 3d model of the world, RealityFlythrough allows any space to be explored remotely. No special cameras, tripods, rigs, scaffolding, or lighting is required to create the model, and no lengthy preprocessing of images is necessary. Rather than try to achieve photorealism at every point in space, we instead focus on providing the user with a sense of how the images spatially relate to one another. By providing spatial cues in the form of dynamic transitions, we can approximate tele-reality and harness cameras in the wild. This paper focuses on the sensibility of these imperfect dynamic transitions from camera to camera. We present early experimental results that suggest that imperfect transitions are more sensible, and provide a more pleasant user experience than no
Homotopy orbits of free loop spaces

Let X be a space with free loop space X and mod two cohomology R = H X. We construct functors (R) and (R) together with algebra homomorphisms e : (R) H X) and : (R) H (ES 1 ◊ S1 X). When X is 1-connected and R is a symmetric algebra we show that these are isomorphisms.
Inhibiting the HSP90 chaperone slows cyst growth in a mouse model of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is a progressive genetic syndrome with an incidence of 1:500 in the population, arising from inherited mutations in the genes for polycystic kidney disease 1 (PKD1) or polycystic kidney disease 2 (PKD2). Typical onset is in middle age, with gradual replacement of renal tissue with thousands of fluid-filled cysts, resulting in end-stage renal disease requiring dialysis or kidney transplantation. There currently are no approved therapies to slow or cure ADPKD. Mutations in the PKD1 and PKD2 genes abnormally activate multiple signaling proteins and pathways regulating cell proliferation, many of which we observe, through network construction, to be regulated by heat shock protein 90 (HSP90). Inhibiting HSP90 with a small molecule, STA-2842, induces the degradation of many ADPKD-relevant HSP90 client proteins in Pkd1−/− primary kidney cells and in vivo. Using a conditional Cre-mediated mouse model to inactivate Pkd1 in vivo, we find that weekly administration of STA-2842 over 10 wk significantly reduces initial formation of renal cysts and kidney growth and slows the progression of these phenotypes in mice with preexisting cysts. These improved disease phenotypes are accompanied by improved indicators of kidney function and reduced expression and activity of HSP90 clients and their effectors, with the degree of inhibition correlating with cystic expansion in individual animals. Pharmacokinetic analysis indicates that HSP90 is overexpressed and HSP90 inhibitors are selectively retained in cystic versus normal kidney tissue, analogous to the situation observed in solid tumors. These results provide an initial justification for evaluating HSP90 inhibitors as therapeutic agents for ADPKD.
Provenance and tectonic setting of the Upper Palaeozoic sandstones in western Inner Mongolia (the Shalazhashan and Solonker belts), China: insights from detrital zircon U–Pb ages and Hf isotopes

Abstract The Solonker and Shalazhashan belts are hotly debated tectonic units of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB), because they may either represent a Permian or Triassic suture zone of the CAOB, or a rifting zone overprinted on an Early Palaeozoic orogen. Provenance analysis of the Upper Palaeozoic sandstones in these belts may provide useful constraints on this issue. This study collected six sandstone samples from three study areas: the Mandula area of the Solonker Belt, the Quagan Qulu area of the Shalazhashan Belt but close to the Alxa block, and the Enger Us area of the Shalazhashan Belt, for framework petrography, zircon morphology, U–Pb and Lu–Hf isotopic analyses. Framework petrography reveals that the Mandula and Enger Us area samples contain high proportions of volcanic fragments, whereas the samples from the Quagan Qulu area include not only volcanic fragments but also significant amounts of biotite and muscovite. The detrital zircons of the Mandula area and the Enger Us area yield two main age groups: (i) 260–330 Ma, with dominant εHf(t) values of –5 to +12; and (ii) 420–550 Ma, with dominant εHf(t) values of –9 to +9, suggesting that Early Palaeozoic arc-related magmatic rocks and Late Palaeozoic syn-depositional volcanic rocks are the main source rocks. The detrital zircons of the Quagan Qulu area have one main age group of 420–500 Ma and some grains of 0.9–1.1 Ga, 1.4–1.5 Ga, 1.8–1.9 Ga and ~ 2.5 Ga, which derive from the northern margin of the Alxa block. The lithological and fossil assemblages of the Upper Palaeozoic sandstones suggest shallow-marine to deep-water depositional environments and a northward-deepening transition. Based on the zircon spectra, sedimentary environment analysis and previous studies, we argue that the Solonker Belt and the Shalazhashan Belt of the CAOB are in extensional basins of a fore-arc or rifting setting.
Analysis of household energy consumption in Nigeria

Energy plays a vital role in the development of any country. In the context of the developing economies, the growth in energy consumption is associated with urbanisation and economic development through the transfer of mobile factors of production from rural to urban areas, and by the transition of the economy from a dominantly agricultural based economy to a relatively more industrialised type. Nigeria as one of the key economies in the African continent faces many challenges in this transitionary path; population growth and the growing movement of population from rural to urban areas creates a challenge for policy makers in terms of planning energy and other infrastructure needs. Planning for future may involve accurate estimation of energy needs and while there are some attempts made at understanding the patterns of demand for energy in industrial sectors, there is a scant amount of research into the patterns of consumption by households. Sources of energy for households are numerous and many traditional sources of energy are commonly used for their availability, low or no cost. However, such energy sources can be harmful for the environment and are gradually being replaced by the use of electricity due to its convenience and compatibility with the modern style of living in cities. Following an initial literature review of the most commonly used simulation modelling techniques in the field of energy consumption this paper will report on the outcomes of a model of energy consumption for the residential sector, followed by a large survey of the household behaviour in selected parts of Nigeria. The research reported here challenges the use of traditional models used for estimation of energy consumption in developed countries for countries such as Nigeria. The existence and size of the black economy as relating to the use and abuse of electricity is highlighted and various hypotheses of this research reject the Energy Ladder theory which assumes a stepwise transition into more sophisticated types of energy (i.e. electricity). The paper makes a number of contributions which are important in the debate on planning for energy in developing countries.
Opportunities and Challenges in Flexible and Stretchable Electronics: A Panel Discussion at ISFSE2016

The 2016 International Symposium of Flexible and Stretchable Electronics (ISFSE2016), co-sponsored by the Flexible Electronics Research Center, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) & State Key Laboratory of Digital Manufacturing and Equipment Technology, National Natural Science and Engineering (NSFC), was successfully held in Wuhan, China, 29–30 June 2016. [. ]
A pixel-domain mode-mapping based SVC-to-AVC transcoder with coarse grain quality scalability

As an extension of AVC, SVC provides the ability to adapt to heterogeneous environments. However, transcoding between SVC and AVC becomes necessary due to the existence of legacy AVC-based systems. This paper proposes a low-complexity SVC-to-AVC CGS transcoder in the pixel domain, which achieves approximately the same coding efficiency as the full re-encoding method. The output AVC bitstream modes are deduced by the proposed mode-mapping strategy. Different from previous works which simply use full search for SVC modes, the SVC modes are also examined and refined to generate suitable AVC modes in the proposed method. Simulation results show that proposed transcoder achieves 10 times speed-up with only 2% BDBR increase and 0.08 dB BDPSNR loss, compared with the full re-encoding method.
Fast extraction of multi-resolution Gabor features

Gabor filter responses are general purpose features for computer vision and image processing and have been very successful in many application areas, for example in bio- metric authentication (fingerprint matching, face detection, face recognition and iris recognition). In a typical feature construction, filters are utilised as a multi-resolution structure of several filters tuned to different frequencies and orientations. The multi-resolution structure is similar to wavelets, but the non-orthogonality of Gabor functions implies the main weakness: computational heaviness. The high computational complexity prevents their use in many real-time or near real-time tasks. In this study, an efficient sequential computation method for multi-resolution Gabor features is presented.
Traitement automatique de "time lapse" : application à la surveillance de glaciers alpins

L'imagerie optique beneficie d'une maturite methodologique importante et elle est utilisee avec succes dans une large gamme d'applications en vision par ordinateur. En teledetection, ces techniques sont de plus en plus utilisees afin de suivre l'evolution et la dynamique d'objets geophysiques (glaciers, parois rocheuses.). Dans ce contexte particulier impacte par les conditions climatiques, avec des acquisitions hebdomadaires, voire plus frequentes, des traitements specifiques sont necessaires afin d'extraire et analyser l'information pertinente de la masse d'images acquises. Cet article se focalise ainsi sur le traitement automatique de series d'images "time lapse" a des fins de surveillance d'objets geophysiques. Nous illustrerons les methodes proposees par des resultats obtenus sur un glacier situe dans le massif du Mont-Blanc.
Performance Comparison of Two Assembly Line Concepts: Conveyor Line and Box Assembly Line

— As there has been a recognizable transition in automotive industry from mass production to mass customization, automobile manufacturers and their suppliers have been seeking ways for more flexible and efficient processes. Eventually, modular production is currently being applied to manage the changing orders of the industry. In this paper, two different modular assembly line concepts were studied: conveyor line and box assembly line. Mathematical model for two assembly line concepts were developed and their production line efficiency were compared as a performance measure to improve their assembly line balancing.
TCTL Inevitability Analysis of Dense-Time Systems: From Theory to Engineering

Inevitability properties in branching temporal logics are of the syntax foralldiamphi, where phi is an arbitrary (timed) CTL (computation tree logic) formula. Such inevitability properties in dense-time logics can be analyzed with the greatest fixpoint calculation. We present algorithms to model-check inevitability properties. We discuss a technique for early decision on greatest fixpoint calculation which has shown promising performance against several benchmarks. We have experimented with various issues which may affect the performance of TCTL inevitability analysis. Specifically, our algorithms come with a parameter for the measurement of time-progress. We report the performance of our implementation with regard to various parameter values and with or without the non-Zeno computation requirement in the evaluation of greatest fixpoints. We have also experimented with safe abstraction techniques for model-checking TCTL inevitability properties. The experiment results help us in deducing rules for setting the parameter for verification performance. Finally, we summarize suggestions for configurations of efficient TCTL inevitability evaluation procedure
A Randomized Phase II Trial of Multiepitope Vaccination with Melanoma Peptides for Cytotoxic T Cells and Helper T Cells for Patients with Metastatic Melanoma (E1602)

Purpose: This multicenter randomized trial was designed to evaluate whether melanoma helper peptides augment cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses to a melanoma vaccine and improve clinical outcome in patients with advanced melanoma. Experimental Design: One hundred seventy-five patients with measurable stage IV melanoma were enrolled into 4 treatment groups, vaccinated with 12 MHC class I-restricted melanoma peptides to stimulate CTL (12MP, group A), plus a tetanus peptide (group B), or a mixture of 6 melanoma helper peptides (6MHP, group C) to stimulate helper T lymphocytes (HTL), or with 6 melanoma helper peptide (6MHP) alone (group D), in incomplete Freund's adjuvant plus granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor. CTL responses were assessed using an in vitro-stimulated IFN-γ ELIspot assay, and HTL responses were assessed using a proliferation assay. Results: In groups A to D, respectively, CTL response rates to 12 melanoma peptides were 43%, 47%, 28%, and 5%, and HTL response rates to 6MHP were in 3%, 0%, 40%, and 41%. Best clinical response was partial response in 7 of 148 evaluable patients (4.7%) without significant difference among study arms. Median overall survival (OS) was 11.8 months. Immune response to 6 MHP was significantly associated with both clinical response (P = 0.036) and OS (P = 0.004). Conclusion: Each vaccine regimen was immunogenic, but MHPs did not augment CTL responses to 12 melanoma peptides. The association of survival and immune response to 6MHP supports further investigation of helper peptide vaccines. For patients with advanced melanoma, multipeptide vaccines should be studied in combination with other potentially synergistic active therapies. Clin Cancer Res; 19(15); 4228–38. ©2013 AACR.
Application of clustering algorithm on TV programmes preference grouping of subscribers

With the development of digital cable interactive business and the diversification of the customers' demand, grouping TV programmes based on preferences of users effectively is vital for market segmentation and differentiation. The study summarizes the main principle and characteristic of clustering algorithm, and uses K-Means algorithm to show TV programmes preference grouping based on 52392 subscribers in a given area. Overall, the results show that K-Means algorithm is a better method to mine the data of television audience behavior; the clustering result could be a great guidance and the study lays a good foundation for analyzing TV user behavior.
Empirical Plug-in Curve and Surface Estimates

x ∈ R , next expressing this β(x) as a functional β(x;G) of a surface G : R → R that admits an empirical estimate Ĝ(·), and then using the empirical plug-in approach with β(x) = β(x; Ĝ) and θ(x) = θ(0, β(x)). Examples of G’s are the multivariate distribution function and the integrated hazard function. With this approach the random part of the estimation error can be expressed in terms of empirical processes of the form ∫ v(·,x)d[Ĝ(·) − G(·)], which facilitates asymptotic analysis. This approach gives simple derivations of old and new curve and surface estimates as well as their properties. It is particularly useful for providing simple and highly efficient estimates in boundary regions. We apply the approach to density estimation, univariate and multivariate; to hazard estimation; and to nonparametric regression.
Ultra structural Study of the Human Pineal Gland in Aged Patients Including a Centenarian

An ultrastructural study of human pineal glands obtained at autopsy from 7 patients older than 70 years was conducted in order to clarify the functional anatomy of the pineal in the aged. By light microscopy, the pineal glands from aged patients were parenchymatous and almost indistinguishable from those of younger controls. Electron microscopy of the pineal parenchymal cells revealed deep nuclear indentations, synaptic ribbons and ribbon fields, Golgi apparatus, lipofuscin granules and microtubular sheaves in all subjects, cilia with a 9+0 pattern in a few, and lamellated structures suggestive of the outer segment of photoreceptor cells very rarely. Microtubules were numerous in the cytoplasmic processes and bulbous endings. Fibrous astrocytes located between the pinealocytes showed long and thin cytoplasmic processes containing numerous glial filaments. Two types of nerve bouton were present in the pineal parenchyma, one of which contained clear vesicles forming synapse like contacts with pinealocytes. There were no significant age‐related changes in these features in a qualitative comparison with pineal glands from 5 adult patients younger than 70 years. These findings indicate that even in advanced age, the human pineal gland maintains some functions, such as intercellular communication and photoreception, in common with the pineal in lower vertebrates. Acta Pathol Jpn 40: 30–40, 1990.
Improving the performance of cough sound discriminator in reverberant environments using microphone array

In this paper, the performance of a cough sound discriminator capable of distinguishing between dry and wet cough sounds is evaluated in reverberant environments. In addition, microphone array is used in order to improve the performance of the cough sound discriminator. Cough sounds were acquired by a single microphone in a reverberant room at various microphone-to-speaker distances. Results showed a decrease in the performance of the cough sound discriminator as the distance between the microphone and speaker increased. In order to improve the performance of the cough sound discriminator, a microphone array structure of up to seven microphones was used. The linear separation score measured for numerous microphone-to-microphone and microphone-to-speaker distances revealed a significant improvement in the performance of the cough sound discriminator using the microphone array.