Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Visual tag authoring: picture extraction via localized, collaborative tagging

In this work we present a system to encode location based information extracted from a media collection (the Flickr tagging system) into a single 2D physical label. This information is clustered by using locations metadata (geotags) and key-words (tags) associated to pictures. Our system helps two types of users: the user authoring the physical label and the final user who retrieves up-to-date information scanning the label with his/her camera phone. Preliminary results for a given seed word (the tag Napoli) on 3000 photographs are presented, together with some ad-hoc weighting factors that help in finding significant pictures (representing places) that can be associated to a specific area.
Exercise Attenuates Renal Dysfunction with Preservation of Myocardial Function in Chronic Kidney Disease

Previous studies have suggested that exercise improves renal and cardiac functions in patients with chronic kidney disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of long-term aerobic swimming exercise with overload on renal and cardiac function in rats with 5/6 nefrectomy (5/6Nx). Eight Wistar rats were placed into 4 groups: Control (C), Control+Exercise (E), Sedentary 5/6Nx (NxS) and 5/6Nx+Exercise (NxE). The rats were subjected to swimming exercise sessions with overload for 30 min five days per week for five weeks. Exercise reduced the effect of 5/6Nx on creatinine clearance compared to the NxS group. In addition, exercise minimized the increase in mean proteinuria compared to the NxS group (96.9±10.0 vs. 51.4±9.9 mg/24 h; p<0.05). Blood pressure was higher in the NxS and NxE groups compared to the C and E groups (216±4 and 178±3 vs. 123±2 and 124±2 mm Hg, p<0.05). In the 200 glomeruli that were evaluated, the NxS group had a higher sclerosis index than did the NxE group (16% vs. 2%, p<0.05). Echocardiography demonstrated a higher anterior wall of the left ventricle (LV) in diastole in the NxS group compared with the C, E and NxE groups. The NxS group also had a higher LV posterior wall in diastole and systole compared with the E group. The developed isometric tension in Lmax of the heart papillary muscle was lower in the NxS group compared with the C, E and NxE groups. These results suggested that exercise in 5/6Nx animals might reduce the progression of renal disease and lessen the cardiovascular impact of a reduction in renal mass.
Deciphering the Structural Basis That Guides the Oxidative Folding of Leech-derived Tryptase Inhibitor*

Protein folding mechanisms have remained elusive mainly because of the transient nature of intermediates. Leech-derived tryptase inhibitor (LDTI) is a Kazal-type serine proteinase inhibitor that is emerging as an attractive model for folding studies. It comprises 46 amino acid residues with three disulfide bonds, with one located inside a small triple-stranded antiparallel β-sheet and with two involved in a cystine-stabilized α-helix, a motif that is widely distributed in bioactive peptides. Here, we analyzed the oxidative folding and reductive unfolding of LDTI by chromatographic and disulfide analyses of acid-trapped intermediates. It folds and unfolds, respectively, via sequential oxidation and reduction of the cysteine residues that give rise to a few 1- and 2-disulfide intermediates. Species containing two native disulfide bonds predominate during LDTI folding (IIa and IIc) and unfolding (IIa and IIb). Stop/go folding experiments demonstrate that only intermediate IIa is productive and oxidizes directly into the native form. The NMR structures of acid-trapped and further isolated IIa, IIb, and IIc reveal global folds similar to that of the native protein, including a native-like canonical inhibitory loop. Enzyme kinetics shows that both IIa and IIc are inhibitory-active, which may substantially reduce proteolysis of LDTI during its folding process. The results reported show that the kinetics of the folding reaction is modulated by the specific structural properties of the intermediates and together provide insights into the interdependence of conformational folding and the assembly of native disulfides during oxidative folding.
Estimating image bases for visual image reconstruction from human brain activity

Image representation based on image bases provides a framework for understanding neural representation of visual perception. A recent fMRI study has shown that arbitrary contrast-defined visual images can be reconstructed from fMRI activity patterns using a combination of multi-scale local image bases. In the reconstruction model, the mapping from an fMRI activity pattern to the contrasts of the image bases was learned from measured fMRI responses to visual images. But the shapes of the images bases were fixed, and thus may not be optimal for reconstruction. Here, we propose a method to build a reconstruction model in which image bases are automatically extracted from the measured data. We constructed a probabilistic model that relates the fMRI activity space to the visual image space via a set of latent variables. The mapping from the latent variables to the visual image space can be regarded as a set of image bases. We found that spatially localized, multi-scale image bases were estimated near the fovea, and that the model using the estimated image bases was able to accurately reconstruct novel visual images. The proposed method provides a means to discover a novel functional mapping between stimuli and brain activity patterns.
Triple based Background Knowledge Ranking for Document Enrichment

Document enrichment is the task of retrieving additional knowledge from external resource over what is available through source document. This task is essential because of the phenomenon that text is generally replete with gaps and ellipses since authors assume a certain amount of background knowledge. The recovery of these gaps is intuitively useful for better understanding of document. Conventional document enrichment techniques usually rely on Wikipedia which has great coverage but less accuracy, or Ontology which has great accuracy but less coverage. In this study, we propose a document enrichment framework which automatically extracts “argument1,predicate,argument2” triple from any text corpus as background knowledge, so that to ensure the compatibility with any resource (e.g. news text, ontology, and on-line encyclopedia) and improve the enriching accuracy. We first incorporate source document and background knowledge together into a triple based document-level graph and then propose a global iterative ranking model to propagate relevance score and select the most relevant knowledge triple. We evaluate our model as a ranking problem and compute the MAP and P&N score to validate the ranking result. Our final result, a MAP score of 0.676 and P&20 score of 0.417 outperform a strong baseline based on search engine by 0.182 inMAP and 0.04 inP&20.
Two distinct roles of Atlantic SSTs in ENSO variability: North Tropical Atlantic SST and Atlantic Niño

Two distinct roles of the Atlantic sea surface temperatures (SSTs), namely, the North Tropical Atlantic (NTA) SST and the Atlantic Niño, on the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability are investigated using the observational data from 1980 to 2010 and coupled model experiments. It appears that the NTA SST and the Atlantic Niño can be used as two independent predictors for predicting the development of ENSO events in the following season. Furthermore, they are likely to be linked to different types of El Niño events. Specifically, the NTA SST cooling during February, March, and April contributes to the central Pacific warming at the subsequent winter season, while the negative Atlantic Niño event during June, July, and August contributes to enhancing the eastern Pacific warming. The coupled model experiments support these results. With the aid of a lagged inverse relationship, the statistical forecast using two Atlantic indices can successfully predict various ENSO indices.
Brain Ischemia and Hypometabolism Treated by Ozone Therapy

Background: Radiation-induced brain injury (RBI) and low-perfusion brain syndromes are mediated by ischemia and hypometabolism and have limited treatment options. Ozone therapy as treatment in vascular diseases has been described, but the effects on brain tissue have not been well documented. Case Report: We describe a 75-year-old patient with vascular risk factors and meningioma who was treated with stereotactic radiosurgery. 14 months later the patient presented with progressive clinical impairment despite the use of acetylsalicylic acid and corticosteroids. Clinical and imaging evaluations before/after ozone therapy were done by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), and positron emission tomography (PET); performance status assessment was done using Barthel Index and World Health Organization/Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Scale (WHO/ECOG Scale). Ozone therapy was performed by autohemotransfusion. Results: Basal images showed brain areas with ischemia and hypometabolism compatible with ischemic processes and/or RBI. There were no changes in MRI or CT scan images following ozone therapy. However, improvements in brain perfusion and metabolism were demonstrable with SPECT and PET; they correlated with clinical development and performance status scales. Conclusion: This report supports our previous works about the effect of ozone therapy in cerebral blood flow, and it suggests the use of ozone therapy in ischemic and hypometabolic brain syndromes such as stroke or RBI.
Power-Factor-Corrected Single-Stage Inductive Charger for Electric Vehicle Batteries

A novel power-factor-corrected single-stage alternating current/direct current converter for inductive charging of electric vehicle batteries is introduced. The resonant converter uses the current-source characteristic of the series-parallel topology to provide power-factor correction over a wide output power range from zero to full load. Some design guidelines for this converter are outlined. An approximate small-signal model of the converter is also presented. Experimental results verify the operation of the new converter
Characterisation of class VI TRIM RING domains: linking RING activity to C-terminal domain identity

This study shows that members of the class VI TRIM E3 ligase family contain monomeric RING domains and display no ligase activity and may require additional regulatory events to promote ubiquitination. TRIM E3 ubiquitin ligases regulate multiple cellular processes, and their dysfunction is linked to disease. They are characterised by a conserved N-terminal tripartite motif comprising a RING, B-box domains, and a coiled-coil region, with C-terminal domains often mediating substrate recruitment. TRIM proteins are grouped into 11 classes based on C-terminal domain identity. Class VI TRIMs, TRIM24, TRIM33, and TRIM28, have been described as transcriptional regulators, a function linked to their C-terminal plant homeodomain and bromodomain, and independent of their ubiquitination activity. It is unclear whether E3 ligase activity is regulated in family members where the C-terminal domains function independently. Here, we provide a detailed biochemical characterisation of the RING domains of class VI TRIMs and describe the solution structure of the TRIM28 RING. Our study reveals a lack of activity of the isolated RING domains, which may be linked to the absence of self-association. We propose that class VI TRIMs exist in an inactive state and require additional regulatory events to stimulate E3 ligase activity, ensuring that associated chromatin-remodelling factors are not injudiciously degraded.
Motion model for positioning with graph-based indoor map

This article presents a training-free probabilistic pedestrian motion model that uses indoor map information represented as a set of links that are connected by nodes. This kind of structure can be modelled as a graph. In the proposed model, as a position estimate reaches a link end, the choice probabilities of the next link are proportional to the total link lengths (TLL), the total lengths of the subgraphs accessible by choosing the considered link alternative. The TLLs can be computed off-line using only the graph, and they can be updated if training data are available. A particle filter in which all the particles move on the links following the TLL-based motion model is formulated. The TLL-based motion model has advantageous theoretical properties compared to the conventional models. Furthermore, the real-data WLAN positioning tests show that the positioning accuracy of the algorithm is similar or in many cases better than that of the conventional algorithms. The TLL-based model is found to be advantageous especially if position measurements are used infrequently, with 10-second or more time intervals.
Bulk Preparation of CNS Cytoskeleton and the Separation of Individual Neurofilament Proteins by Gel Filtration: Dye‐Binding Characteristics and Amino Acid Compositions

Abstract: The three major proteins of mammalian neurofilaments, of molecular weight 70,000, 160,000, and 210,000, have been resolved by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)‐polyacrylamide gel eJectrophoresis, and more recently, by ion‐exchange chromatography in urea solution. We describe here a method to separate the neurofilament proteins by gel filtration without the use of SDS. A bulk preparation of cytoskeleton from rat spinal cord was first characterized. This preparation was then solubilized in a buffer containing 8 M urea and subjected to gel filtration. Individual neurofilament proteins, in milligram quantities, were harvested following the pooling of appropriate fractions. Gel electrophoresis showed a high degree of homogeneity in each of the three pooled fractions. Dye binding studies demonstrated that the protein of molecular weight 210,000 was relatively underrepresented when stained with Coomassie Blue, while all three neurofilament proteins showed similar dye binding properties with Fast Green. Amino acid analysis indicated that (1) all three neurofilament proteins contained a high content of acidic residues; (2) the molecular weight 210.000 protein contained >8 mol% proline; and (3) no simple oligomeric relationship existed among the neurofilament triplets.
Static saliency vs. dynamic saliency: a comparative study

Recently visual saliency has attracted wide attention of researchers in the computer vision and multimedia field. However, most of the visual saliency-related research was conducted on still images for studying static saliency. In this paper, we give a comprehensive comparative study for the first time of dynamic saliency (video shots) and static saliency (key frames of the corresponding video shots), and two key observations are obtained: 1) video saliency is often different from, yet quite related with, image saliency, and 2) camera motions, such as tilting, panning or zooming, affect dynamic saliency significantly. Motivated by these observations, we propose a novel camera motion and image saliency aware model for dynamic saliency prediction. The extensive experiments on two static-vs-dynamic saliency datasets collected by us show that our proposed method outperforms the state-of-the-art methods for dynamic saliency prediction. Finally, we also introduce the application of dynamic saliency prediction for dynamic video captioning, assisting people with hearing impairments to better entertain videos with only off-screen voices, e.g., documentary films, news videos and sports videos.
RFID and Android based smart ticketing and destination announcement system

In India, the most widely used public transport system is the ready-to-go-bus facility. However, this `ready-to-go' facility is not as smooth as the need of the hour, particularly in today's congested metropolitan cities. Standing in long queues at bus stands, quarrelling with conductors for trifle matters make the journey uncomfortable for the passengers. That is why; we have proposed an idea for implementing smart card technology for ticketing the passengers travelling in bus. The smart card is mainly based on latest Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. For this purpose, an interface is built between RFID setup and driver's mobile phone using a specifically developed Android app “SwipeNgo”. The interface helps to send passenger ID from RFID reader to the driver's mobile phone via Bluetooth. The developed “SwipeNgo” app is installed in driver's mobile phone and receives passenger ID from the RFID card reader via interface when passenger get into the bus. Along with the passenger ID, “SwipeNgo” also keep records of the stoppage name/no. into database in mapping with the Global positioning system (GPS) coordinates. The exact fare between source and destination is calculated and deducted from the balance when the passenger gets down from the bus. This information regarding balance is also sent to the RFID setup where the fare is displayed. There is a separate announcement system which alerts the passengers prior to the next halt.
Autonomic Management of Hybrid Sensor Grid Systems and Applications

In this paper, we propose an autonomic management framework (ASGrid) to address the requirements of emerging large-scale applications in hybrid grid and sensor network systems. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first who proposed the autonomic sensor grid system concept in a holistic manner targeted at non-trivial large applications. To bridge the gap between the physical world and the digital world and facilitate information analysis and decision making, ASGrid is designed to smooth the integration of sensor networks and grid systems and efficiently use both on demand. Under the blueprint of ASGrid, we present several building blocks that fulfill the following major features: (1) Self-configuration through content-based aggregation and associative rendezvous mechanisms; (2) Self-optimization through utility-based sensor selection and model-driven hierarchical sensing task scheduling; (3) Self-protection through ActiveKey dynamic key management and S3Trust trust management mechanisms. Experimental and simulation results on these aspects are presented.
Web-based multi-party computation with application to anonymous aggregate compensation analytics

We would like to acknowledge all the members of the Boston Women's Workforce Council (BWWC), and to thank in particular Christina M. Knowles and Katie A. Johnston, who led the effort to organize participants and deploy the protocol as part of the 100% Talent: The Boston Women's Compact effort [1, 2]. We would also like to acknowledge the Boston University Initiative on Cities, and in particular Executive Director Katherine Lusk, who brought this potential application of secure multi-party computation to our attention. Both the BWWC and the Initiative on Cities contributed funding to complete this work. We would also like to acknowledge the Hariri Institute at Boston University for contributing research and software development resources. Support was also provided in part by Smart-city Cloud-based Open Platform and Ecosystem (SCOPE), an NSF Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships PFI:BIC project under award #1430145, and by Modular Approach to Cloud Security (MACS), an NSF CISE CNS SaTC Frontier project under award #1414119.
A semantic-preserving transformation from the compositional interchange format to UPPAAL

Abstract The Compositional Interchange Format (CIF), is a modeling formalism for hybrid systems, that aims to establishing interoperability of a wide range of tools by means of model transformations to and from CIF. UPPAAL is a very successful tool for the specification and analysis of timed systems. It is interesting, both from a theoretical and a practical perspective, to be able to translate CIF models to UPPAAL models, since this makes it possible to model check properties of timed CIF models. This requires a semantic preserving transformation, which ensures that properties validated in UPPAAL models also hold for their CIF counterparts. In addition, by providing such a translation we are, at the same time, providing translations for a wider set of languages that can be transformed to CIF. This paper presents a semantic-preserving transformation from a subset of CIF models to UPPAAL. The transformation described in this work constitutes the cornerstone for transformations of a broader subset of CIF.
Assessment of Depression After Stroke: A Comparison of Different Screening Instruments

Background and Purpose— Assessing poststroke depression may be complicated by aphasia, other cognitive deficits, and several somatic stroke-related symptoms. We studied the possible differences in performance of some commonly used instruments in screening depression after stroke. Methods— We compared the Beck Depression Inventory, Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, Visual Analogue Mood Scale, proxy assessment, and Clinical Global Impression of the nursing and study personnel, together with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd Edition, Revised diagnosis, in assessing depression after stroke in a follow-up study of 100 patients. The patients were studied at 2 weeks and at 2, 6, 12, and 18 months after stroke. Results— The feasibility rates of all assessment instruments studied were fairly similar, but the prevalence rates differed according to the assessment instruments, varying from the lowest rates with a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd Edition, Revised-based diagnosis up to 3-fold with caregiver ratings. The sensitivity and specificity against the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria were acceptable with the Clinical Global Impression, Beck Depression Inventory, and Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, mostly in the range of 0.70 to 1.00. The caregiver ratings were higher than the patient ratings (P<0.001) and correlated with the caregiver’s own Beck Depression Inventory (0.60 to 0.61, P<0.001). The Visual Analogue Mood Scale was not a sensitive instrument (sensitivity, 0.20 to 0.60) and did not correlate with the Beck Depression Inventory during the first year after stroke. Conclusions— Beck Depression Inventory, Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, and Clinical Global Impression assessment by professionals, in addition to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd Edition, Revised diagnosis, are useful in assessing depression, but none of these instruments clearly stood apart from the others. Proxy ratings should be used with caution, and the use of the Visual Analogue Mood Scale among patients with aphasia and other cognitive impairments cannot be recommended.
A Critical Review of Theory and Practice: The Case of Turkey

This article makes use of empirical research and studies to investigate migration and development in Turkey. The size and nature of the international labor migration from Turkey is presented. The effects of international labor migration on the national, local and regional levels are then discussed in relation to economic development, the congruence between contributions of migration and needs for development and whether the economic system is willing and able to use the potential advantages of migration.