Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Trajectory Reconstruction for Self-Localization and Map Building

We describe a method for the reconstruction of a driven trajectory of a mobile robot if the begin and end states of the trajectory are known, and intermediate readings from odometry are available. Our method uses a Kalman filter to combine a forward and backward dead-reckoning trajectory. We show that our method is more reliable for long trajectories than just combining the dead-reckoning trajectories independently.
A New Structure for Combining Echo Cancellation and Beamforming in Changing Acoustical Environments

This paper proposes a new robust structure for combining acoustic echo cancellation and microphone array beamforming. The new structure employs short adaptive filters in the acoustic echo cancellers that precede the beamformer, allowing for quick tracking of time variations within the hands-free environment. The beamformer is followed by a single echo canceller to further suppress echo. Simulations show that by taking into consideration the dynamic behaviour of the hands-free environment, the proposed structure reconverges faster compared to standard combined structures during changing acoustical environment conditions. An improvement in ERLE of up to 10 dB is observed during reconvergence.
Comparison of different androgen bioassays in the screening for environmental (anti)androgenic activity

Endocrine disruptors pose a growing threat to human and wildlife health. Validated test systems are required to study the mechanisms by which chemicals may interfere with the endocrine system. In order to identify compounds with (anti)androgenic activity, we used several in vitro bioassays, based on different androgen receptor (AR) functions, including AR transactivation and interaction between the amino‐terminal domain and the ligand‐binding domain. The AR activity assay, based on activation of the transcription of an androgen‐responsive reporter gene in the presence of androgen, proved to excel in terms of high fold induction range and low minimal detection limit. The EC50 value, defined as the concentration that leads to half the maximal response and reflecting the potency of the synthetic androgen R1881 (methyltrienolone), was found to be 250 pM, consistent with the high affinity of this ligand to the human AR. A number of environmental samples were tested in the bioassay. The bioassay also could be used to detect antiandrogenic activity, because known AR‐antagonists were able to inhibit R1881‐mediated transactivation.
Mapping of sequences required for mouse neurovirulence of poliovirus type 2 Lansing

Intracerebral inoculation of mice with poliovirus type 2 Lansing induces a fatal paralysis, while most other poliovirus strains are unable to cause disease in the mouse. To determine the molecular basis for Lansing virus neurovirulence, we determined the complete nucleotide sequence of the Lansing viral genome from cloned cDNA. The deduced amino acid sequence was compared with that of two mouse-avirulent strains. There are 83 amino acid differences between the Lansing and Sabin type 2 strain and 179 differences between the Lansing and Mahoney type 1 strain scattered throughout the genome. To further localize Lansing sequences important for mouse neurovirulence, four intertypic recombinants were isolated by exchanging DNA restriction fragments between the Lansing 2 and Mahoney 1 infectious poliovirus cDNA clones. Plasmids were transfected into HeLa cells, and infectious recombinant viruses were recovered. All four recombinant viruses, which contained the Lansing capsid region and different amounts of the Mahoney genome, were neurovirulent for 18- to 21-day-old Swiss-Webster mice by the intracerebral route. The genome of neurovirulent recombinant PRV5.1 contained only nucleotides 631 to 3413 from Lansing, encoding primarily the viral capsid proteins. Therefore, the ability of Lansing virus to cause paralysis in mice is due to the viral capsid. The Lansing capsid sequence differs from that of the mouse avirulent Sabin 2 strain at 32 of 879 amino acid positions: 1 in VP4, 5 in VP2, 4 in VP3, and 22 in VP1.
Evaluation of Volumetric Medical Images Segmentation Using Hidden Markov Random Field Model

Medical image segmentation is a crucial step in the process of image analysis. An automatic aid in interpretation of huge amount of data can be of great value to specialists that hold final decision. Hidden Markov Random Field (HMRF) Model and Gibbs distributions provide powerful tools for image modeling. In this paper, we use a HMRF model to perform segmentation of volumetric medical images handling inter-image similarity. This modelling leads to the minimization of an energy function. This problem is computationally intractable. Therefore, optimizations techniques are used to compute a solution. We will use and compare promising relatively recent methods based on graph cuts with older well known methods that are Simulated Annealing and ICM.
Global Spatial and Temporal Variation of Cd:P in Euphotic Zone Particulates

Concentrations of Cd and P were determined in particle samples collected using the multiple unit large volume in situ filtration system (MULVFS) from 50 profiles at 34 different locations throughout the Atlantic, Pacific, and Southern Oceans since 1991. Consistent methodology has been used. This data set of Cd:P in size fractionated particles gives insight into the processes that lead to differences in regional Cd:P particle values as well as how the formation and remineralization of these particles lead to dissolved deep water ratios that increase from the North Atlantic to the North Pacific. With large spatial and temporal variation, this data set allows us to study the effects of an El Niño, upwelling, large‐scale in situ Fe fertilization, low‐oxygen conditions, and seasonal variation on the Cd:P in particles. Overall, Cd:P tends to be higher (~1–2 mmol/mol) in particles gathered in biologically dynamic waters and is much lower (typically ~0.1 mmol/mol) in oligotrophic regions. Using multiple linear regression analysis, we investigate how euphotic zone parameters important to photosynthesis including nitrate, phosphate, silicate, temperature, and euphotic zone depth affect the Cd:P ratio in particles. Using the results of the analysis, we create global seasonal maps of predicted particulate Cd:P distributions. We find that three factors—local dissolved nitrate, silicate concentrations, and euphotic zone depth—can predict 59% of the variation in particulate Cd:P. We verified our projections using in situ filtration samples collected during GEOTRACES expeditions GA03 (North Atlantic) and GP16 (South Pacific).
Effect of Cloning Rate on Fitness-Related Traits in Two Marine Hydroids

Hydractinia symbiolongicarpus and Podocoryna carnea are colonial marine hydroids capable of reproducing both sexually and asexually. Asexual reproduction, by colony fragmentation, produces a genetic clone of the parent colony. This study examines the effect of very different cloning rates on colony growth rate, oxygen uptake rate, and colony morphology. Colonies of one clone of each species were maintained for an extended time in two treatments: in a state of constant vegetative growth by repeated cloning, and in a state restricted from vegetative growth (no cloning). For both species, tissue explants taken from the growing colonies grew more slowly than similar explants taken from the restricted colonies. For one species, tissue explants from the growing colonies used oxygen at a higher rate than similar explants from restricted colonies; for the other species, no difference was detected, although the sample size was small. For both species, tissue explants from restricted colonies formed more circular, “sheet-like” shapes, whereas those from their growing counterparts formed more irregular, “runner-like” shapes. After these experiments, in the third winter of treatment, all colonies experienced a severe tissue regression. Within 6 months after this event, the colonies had regrown to their former sizes. A growth assay at this point revealed no difference in growth rate, possibly suggesting an epigenetic basis for these results. Changes in clonal growth rates and morphology correlated with variation in fragmentation rate might affect the ecology of these and other clonal organisms.
Possible common mutations in the low density lipoprotein receptor gene in Chinese

The low density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) is a cell surface glycoprotein that regulates plasma cholesterol level by uptake of low density lopoprotein (LDL) from the blood circulation (Brown and Goldstein, 1986). Defects in the LDLR gene.are responsible for familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) , with a prevalence of 1 in 500 (Goldstein et al., 1995). There are > 200 reported mutations scattering over the entire gene. The mutations are mostly single base changes and small deletions and insertions, although there are also some large deletions, insertions, and rearrangements (Hobbs et al., 1992). Only in a few geographically isolated populations are there mutations that account for the majority of FH patients due to a founder effect. In most worldwide populations, the LDLR gene mutations are heterogeneous (Hobbs et al., 1992). In China, there are more than 50 ethnic groups in which the Hans form the majority. If the number of mutations responsible for FH is small, it would be easier to establish protocols for genetic diagnosis. In this report, we describe three possible common mutations in the local Chinese population in Hong Kong.
LyS at CLEF RepLab 2014: Creating the State of the Art in Author Influence Ranking and Reputation Classification on Twitter

This paper describes our participation at RepLab 2014, a competitive evaluation for reputation monitoring on Twitter. The fol- lowing tasks were addressed: (1) categorisation of tweets with respect to standard reputation dimensions and (2) characterisation of Twitter profiles, which includes: (2.1) identifying the type of those profiles, such as journalist or investor, and (2.2) ranking the authors according to their level of influence on this social network. We consider an approach based on the application of natural language processing techniques in order to take into account part-of-speech, syntactic and semantic information. However, each task is addressed independently, since they respond to different requirements. The official results confirm the competitiveness of our approaches, which achieve the 2nd place, tied in practice with the 1st place, at the author ranking task; and 3rd place at the reputation dimensions classification tasks.
Nonlinear H∞ control using sum of squares decomposition

This paper discusses the state feedback H<sub>∞</sub> control for a class of nonlinear system based on its L<sub>2</sub> gain computation, where the technique of the sum of squares decomposition is applied. By reformulating the Hamilton-Jacobin inequality as a linear semi-definite optimization problem, the L<sub>2</sub> gain of the considered nonlinear systems can be computed with the aid of the software SOSTOOLS [1] under the sum of squares framework. A new iterative state feedback H<sub>∞</sub> control synthesis algorithm for the considered nonlinear system is proposed, where a state feedback H<sub>∞</sub> controller is synthesized iteratively based on an initial controller that can stabilize the system to a finite L<sub>2</sub> gain. Some examples are shown to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.
Online metric learning for an adaptation to confidence drift

One of the main aims of lifelong learning architectures is to efficiently and reliably cope with the stability-plasticity dilemma. A viable solution of this dilemma combines a static offline classifier, which preserves ground knowledge that should be respected during training, with an incremental online learning of new or specific information encountered during use. A feasible realisation has been published lately based on intuitive distance-based classifiers using the concept of metric learning (Fischer et al.: Combining offline and online classifiers for life-long learning (OOL), IJCNN'15). One crucial aspect of such a system is how to combine the offline and online model. A generic approach, taken in OOL, uses a dynamic classifier selection strategy based on confidences of both classifiers. This can cause problems in the case of confidence drift, especially when the validity of the confidence estimation of the static offline classifier changes. This pitfall occurs in the context of metric learning whenever the metric tensor of the online system becomes orthogonal to the metric of the offline system, hence the respective internal data description mismatch. We propose an efficient metric learning strategy which allows an online adaptation of an invalid confidence estimation of the OOL architecture in case of confidence drift.
Concentration–Effect Relationship of Intravenous Lidocaine on the Allodynia of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Types I and II

Background Several lines of evidence suggest that neuropathic pain (including Complex Regional Pain Syndrome [CRPS] I and CRPS II) is mediated in part by an increase in the density of voltage-sensitive sodium channels in injured axons and the dorsal root ganglion of injured axons. This study sought to characterize the effects of intravenous lidocaine (a sodium channel blocker) on acute sensory thresholds within the painful area and the size of the painful area in patients suffering from CRPS I and II. Methods This study used a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled design in 16 subjects suffering from CRPS I and II with a prominent allodynia. Each subject received an intravenous infusion of lidocaine and diphenhydramine separated by 1 week. A computer-controlled infusion pump targeted stair-step increases in plasma levels of lidocaine of 1, 2, and 3 &mgr;g/ml. At baseline and at each plasma level, spontaneous and evoked pain scores and neurosensory testing within the painful area were measured. The neurosensory testing consisted of thermal thresholds, tactile thresholds and the area of allodynia to punctate, and stroking and thermal stimuli. Results Intravenous lidocaine and diphenhydramine had no significant effect on the cool, warm, or cold pain thresholds. However, lidocaine caused a significant elevation of the hot pain thresholds in the painful area. Intravenous lidocaine caused a significantly decreased response to stroking and cool stimuli in the allodynic area. There was also a significant decrease in pain scores to cool stimuli at all plasma levels and the spontaneous pain at the highest plasma level. Conclusions This study demonstrates that intravenous lidocaine affects pain in response to cool stimuli more than mechanical pain in subjects with neuropathic pain. There is a lesser effect on spontaneous pain and pain induced by stroking stimuli and no effect on the pain induced by punctate stimuli.
Phenomenology of Borderline Personality Disorder: The Role of Race and Socioeconomic Status

Abstract Little is known about racial differences in borderline personality disorder (BPD) that may influence etiology, phenomenology, and treatment of women with BPD. A total of 83 women with BPD participated in this cross-sectional study: n = 41 white and n = 42 African-American women. Structured interviews were used to assess Axis I and II disorders, and a series of interviews and questionnaires captured internalizing and externalizing symptoms. The white women with BPD reported more severe internalizing symptoms, whereas the African-American women reported more severe externalizing symptoms. Except for the association between race and number of suicide attempts, the relationship between race and internalizing/externalizing symptoms was mediated by socioeconomic status. In conclusion, African-American women with BPD may present with more severe symptoms of lack of anger control and fewer suicidal behaviors than those of white women with BPD, raising the possibility that they are misdiagnosed and receive treatments that are not optimal for BPD.
Statement of Problem Problem Statement and Objectives Granger Causality and Vector Error Correction

Introduction Demand for red meat is affected by many different factors. These circumstances can include agricultural policy, foreign demand, and prices of substitutes. Another source that can affect the price and production of red meat is the way in which the population eats. Dietary preferences have an effect on the demand for red meats. U.S. beef producers faced a significant and serious decline in the domestic demand for beef products between 1980 and 1998. According to Schroeder (2000) and Marsh (2003), per capita retail beef demand declined by almost 50 percent between 1980 and 1998. In 1998, a Beef Demand Study Group (BDSG) was formed in an attempt to stabilize or increase consumer demand for beef. Since a measure of demand was needed, BDSG economists developed an annual retail beef demand index with the series starting in 1980 (Genho, 1998). The index measures yearly shifts in retail beef demand. Its purpose was to be used for planning and budgeting in accomplishing the BDSG goal. This index showed a steady decline in the retail demand for beef. Similar documented negative structural shifts in retail beef demand (e. Schroeder, 2000). These negative structural shifts were attributed to a number of factors, including changing demographics, changing consumer preferences (e.g., food safety, health, or inconsistent quality), and changing meat prices. 2 A different phenomenon became observable in the late 1990s and during the first four years of this decade. According to BSDG or RILP (2004), retail demand index for beef increased rather significantly during that period of time. While this positive structural shift has not been formally analyzed yet, it has been speculated that the popularity of so called low-carb diets is responsible for it (e.g., Plain, 2004). Considering the fact that the majority of Americans (61 percent) today are either overweight or obese [Center for Disease Control (CDC) Behavioral Risk Survey, 2003], it comes as no surprise that many of them are on a weight-reducing diet program of some sort. The early 1990s brought a low-fat, low-cholesterol bonanza, and the New Diet Revolution of Dr. Robert Atkins has certainly been the most popular diet in the United States during the last 5-6 years. The low-fat, low-cholesterol diet has been accepted as a way to improve overall health and reduce weight. The low-carbohydrate diet has been used to lower weight for more cosmetic reasons than improving overall health. The Atkins diet is one of …
Social Media Meets Big Urban Data: A Case Study of Urban Waterlogging Analysis

With the design and development of smart cities, opportunities as well as challenges arise at the moment. For this purpose, lots of data need to be obtained. Nevertheless, circumstances vary in different cities due to the variant infrastructures and populations, which leads to the data sparsity. In this paper, we propose a transfer learning method for urban waterlogging disaster analysis, which provides the basis for traffic management agencies to generate proactive traffic operation strategies in order to alleviate congestion. Existing work on urban waterlogging mostly relies on past and current conditions, as well as sensors and cameras, while there may not be a sufficient number of sensors to cover the relevant areas of a city. To this end, it would be helpful if we could transfer waterlogging. We examine whether it is possible to use the copious amounts of information from social media and satellite data to improve urban waterlogging analysis. Moreover, we analyze the correlation between severity, road networks, terrain, and precipitation. Moreover, we use a multiview discriminant transfer learning method to transfer knowledge to small cities. Experimental results involving cities in China and India show that our proposed framework is effective.
On the Sensitivity of the Relationship Between Hadley Circulation Asymmetry and ENSO in CMIP5 Models

Recent study shows that the asymmetric component (AC) of Hadley circulation variability during late winter and early spring can be explained by the combined effect between background sea surface temperature (SST) and the SST anomalies associated with El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). But the sensitivity of AC‐ENSO relationship to background SST and ENSO properties is still unknown. Using 17 climate models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5, we investigated the sensitivity of the AC‐ENSO relationship to the background SST and three ENSO properties. Most of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 models capture the spatial structure of the AC and reproduce the AC‐ENSO relationship, but the AC‐ENSO relationship has large intermodel spread. The AC‐ENSO relationship is mostly sensitive to ENSO zonal extent. ENSO amplitude can also influence the AC‐ENSO relationship by affecting the zonal extent. However, ENSO meridional extent and background SST—above a certain threshold—have little influence on the AC‐ENSO relationship.
Radioimmunoassay for cyclic nucleotides. I. Preparation of antibodies and iodinated cyclic nucleotides.

Abstract Sensitive and specific radioimmunoassays have been developed for cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP), cyclic guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cGMP), cyclic inosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cIMP), and cyclic uridine 3',5'-monophosphate (cUMP). These assays are based upon competition of the cyclic nucleotide with isotopically labeled cyclic nucleotide derivatives for binding sites on specific antibody. Antibodies to the cyclic nucleotides were obtained by immunizing rabbits with an antigen prepared by conjugating the 2'-O-succinyl derivative of the cyclic nucleotide with protein (human serum albumin or keyhole limpet hemocyanin). High specific activity derivatives of the cyclic nucleotides (g150 Ci per mmole) were prepared by iodinating (125I) the tyrosine methyl ester derivative of the succinylated cyclic nucleotide. Free and antibody bound 125I-labeled cyclic nucleotides were separated by either the "second antibody" precipitation technique or (NH4)2SO4 fractionation. Binding equilibrium was reached in 24 hours, but sensitive and reproducible assays were obtained after 4 to 6 hours of incubation. The sensitivity and assay range for the various radioimmunoassays are (picomoles per tube): cAMP, 0.01 to 2; cGMP, 0.01 to 1.0; cIMP, 0.12 to 10.0; and cUMP, 0.1 to 10.0. Structurally related purine and pyrimidine nucleotides and nucleosides exhibited ≤0.005% competitive binding in all immunoassays except cIMP which showed 0.35% competitive binding in the cGMP assay, cGMP 1% in the cIMP assay, and cIMP 1% in the cUMP assay.
Oridonin synergistically enhances JQ1-triggered apoptosis in hepatocellular cancer cells through mitochondrial pathway

Bromodomain and Extra-Terminal Domain (BET) inhibitors, such as JQ1 have emerged as novel drug candidates and are being enthusiastically pursued in clinical trials for the treatment of cancer. However, many solid cancers are resistance to BET inhibitors. To explore methods for improving the therapeutic potential of BET inhibitors, we investigated the combinational activity of JQ1 with Oridonin, a bioactive molecules derived from Traditional Chinese Medicine in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. Our results showed that Oridonin synergistically enhanced the abilities of JQ1 to inhibit cell viability in HCC cells and, significantly augmented JQ1-triggered apoptosis in HCC cells and in HCC cancer stem-like cells. Moreover, Oridonin dose-dependently inhibited the expression of several anti-apoptotic proteins, such as Bcl-2, Mcl-1, and x-linked inhibitor of apoptosis (xIAP) in HCC cells. Cell fractionation and western blotting analysis showed that the enhancement of apoptosis by Oridonin was associated with cytochrome c release, activation of caspase-9, -3 and cleavage of PARP, indicating the activation of mitochondrial apoptosis pathway. Altogether, our findings demonstrate that Oridonin may be used to effectively enhance the sensitivity of BET inhibitors in HCC therapy via downregulation of the expression of multiple anti-apoptotic proteins.