Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Understanding 3 D Mid-Air Hand Gestures with Interactive Surfaces and Displays : A Systematic Literature Review

3D gesture based systems are becoming ubiquitous and there are many mid-air hand gestures that exist for interacting with digital surfaces and displays. There is no well defined gesture set for 3D mid-air hand gestures which makes it difficult to develop applications that have consistent gestures. To understand what gestures exist we conducted the first comprehensive systematic literature review on mid-air hand gestures following existing research methods. The results of the review identified 65 papers where the mid-air hand gestures supported tasks for selection, navigation, and manipulation. We also classified the gestures according to a gesture classification scheme and identified how these gestures have been empirically evaluated. The results of the review provide a richer understanding of what mid-air hand gestures have been designed, implemented, and evaluated in the literature which can help developers design better user experiences for digital interactive surfaces and displays.
Nucleosome Structure and Repair of N-Methylpurines in the GAL1-10 Genes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae*

Nucleosome structure and repair ofN-methylpurines were analyzed at nucleotide resolution in the divergent GAL1-10 genes of intact yeast cells, encompassing their common upstream-activating sequence. In glucose cultures where genes are repressed, nucleosomes with fixed positions exist in regions adjacent to the upstream-activating sequence, and the variability of nucleosome positioning sharply increases with increasing distance from this sequence. Galactose induction causes nucleosome disruption throughout the region analyzed, with those nucleosomes close to the upstream-activating sequence being most striking. In glucose cultures, a strong correlation between N-methylpurine repair and nucleosome positioning was seen in nucleosomes with fixed positions, where slow and fast repair occurred in nucleosome core and linker DNA, respectively. Galactose induction enhancedN-methylpurine repair in both strands of nucleosome core DNA, being most dramatic in the clearly disrupted, fixed nucleosomes. Furthermore, N-methylpurines are repaired primarily by the Mag1-initiated base excision repair pathway, and nucleotide excision repair contributes little to repair of these lesions. Finally,N-methylpurine repair is significantly affected by nearest-neighbor nucleotides, where fast and slow repair occurred in sites between pyrimidines and purines, respectively. These results indicate that nucleosome positioning and DNA sequence significantly modulate Mag1-initiated base excision repair in intact yeast cells.
Evaluating the performance of SHADE on CEC 2013 benchmark problems

This paper evaluates the performance of Success-History based Adaptive DE (SHADE) on the benchmark set for the CEC2013 Competition on Real-Parameter Single Objective Optimization. SHADE is an adaptive differential algorithm which uses a history-based parameter adaptation scheme. Experimental results on 28 problems from the CEC2013 benchmarks for 10, 30, and 50 dimensions are presented, including measurements of algorithmic complexity. In addition, we investigate the parameter adaptation behavior of SHADE on these instances.
Effect of Changes in Cancer Classification and the Accuracy of Cancer Death Certificates on Trends in Cancer Mortality

Cancer mortality statistics are used extensively for studying time trends as well as for many other epidemiological studies. In studying trends especially over long periods of time and comparing them fromcountry to country,investigatorsmust take steps to ensure there are no artifacts that would raise or lower mortalitystatistics. The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) published by the World Health Organization has beenused forcodingmortalityin all countries belongingto theunited Nations since 1948 when the Sixth revision came out. It undergoes periodic revision and changes are sometimes made in categories, in indexing, or in rules that seriously affect time trends unless researchers are aware of them and make adjustments. Recently, two papers have been published on the International Comparability of Cancer Mortality Data1-* that examine the coding of the same death certificates in different countries. This subject will not be discussed here. In addition, cancer mortality may be affected by the accuracy with which the underlying cause of death (UCD) is recorded on the death certificates. Nearly ten years ago, an “Accuracy of Cancer Death Certificates” study was published basedon data from the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Third National Cancer Survey (TNCS). 3 This current studyutilizesdata from the NCI’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program. The basicdifference between thesestudiesis that
The adaptive filters in the suppression of interference on signal lines

Adaptive active filters can be successfully used to filter out interference on power and signal lines, where passive filters have great limitations especially if the interference is at low frequency and is known to drift slowly. Two solutions of adaptive filters are examined: the conventional LMS (Least Mean Square) filter and the LMS filter with trainer units, which have the best filtering characteristics for both analog and digital signals. Some simulations are performed and the results of both solutions are compared.
Postural deformities: potential morbidities to cause balance problems in patients with ankylosing spondylitis?

OBJECTIVE This study aimed to assess the impact of postural deformities caused by ankylosing spondylitis (AS) on balance problems. MATERIAL AND METHODS This study included 29 patients with AS and 21 healthy controls. For assessing exercise capacity and dynamic balance, timed up and go test, five times sit-to-stand test, gait speed, and 6-min walk test were performed. Romberg tests were used to evaluate static balance and proprioception, whereas Dynamic Gait Index (DGI), Functional Gait Assessment (FGA), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Activity Specific Balance Confidence Scale (ABC), Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), and functional reach test were used to assess dynamic balance and the risk of falling. Using Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Metrology Index (BASMI) scores, patients with AS were divided into two groups: those with scores 0-4 were assigned to subgroup AS1, and those with scores 5-10 were assigned to subgroup AS2. RESULTS In the whole group of patients with AS, five times sit-to-stand test, tandem Romberg test with eyes closed, and BBS and ABC scores were significantly worse than the healthy controls (p<0.05). In the AS2 subgroup having more severe and advanced disease, five additional parameters, including timed up and go test, 6-min walk test, functional reach test, FGA, and DHI scores were also significantly worse than the healthy controls (p<0.05). Comparing the two subgroups with each other, only BBS scores were significantly worse in the AS2 subgroup than in the AS1 subgroup. CONCLUSION Although in clinical practice, poor balance is not a common problem in AS, possibly because of compensatory mechanisms, patients with AS have poorer static and dynamic balance than healthy subjects. Significantly worse BBS scores in the AS2 subgroup than in the AS1 subgroup may suggest the presence of more dynamic balance problems in advanced disease; however, future studies comprising larger samples are necessary to confirm this assumption.
Statistical Practices: The Seven Deadly Sins

This paper discusses selected problems in applied statistical analysis: (a) over-reliance on null hypothesis statistical testing, (b) failing to perform a power analysis prior to conducting the study, (c) using asymptotic statistical approximations with small samples, (d) ignoring missing data, (e) failing to deal with the multiplicity problem when performing multiple statistical comparisons, (f) using stepwise procedures to select variables in regression analysis, and (g) failing to perform or report model diagnostics. Suggestions and guidelines to address these issues in manuscripts concerning child neuropsychological research are offered.
The First Nationwide Study of the Prevalence of the Metabolic Syndrome and Optimal Cut-off Points of Waist Circumference in the Middle East : The National Survey of Risk Factors for Non-Communicable Diseases of Iran

1. Assistant Professor , Endocrine & Metabolism Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 2. Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 3. Technical Officer, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran 4. Assistant Professor, Kordestan Digestive Research Center, Kordestan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj , Iran 5. Associate Professor, Isfahan Cardiovascular Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
A Probability Based MAC Channel Congestion Control Mechanism for VANET

A significant issue in VANETs (Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks) is the design of an effective MAC (Medium Access Control) or broadcast scheme which can facilitate the fast and reliable dissemination of critical safety messages to neighboring vehicles in case of an unexpected event. Broadcasting of data and control packets is expected to be crucial in vehicular environment. Most of the broadcasting packet is designed to be delivered on a given frequency during the control channel (CCH) interval set by the IEEE 1609.4 standard [1] (which provides enhancements to the IEEE 802.11p MAC by supporting multi-channel operation). In this paper, the probability based MAC channel congestion control mechanism is developed to cope with rapid topology changes, i.e., vehicles entering and leaving the network, as well as overloaded situations in terms of increased number of vehicles and/or increased amount of data traffic injected without collapsing. Method is also based on the estimation of potential neighboring vehicles through broadcasting Hello messages, and then based on probability model to calculate the expected offset slots for reduce the collision situations, and thus improve transmission performance.
FIRMS‘ BOUNDARIES AND THE DIVISION OF LABOR: EMPIRICAL STRATEGIES

A large theoretical literature focuses on the question: What determines firms' boundaries? Recently, Garicano and Santos and Holmstrom and Milgrom have proposed theories in which firms' boundaries reflect the division of labor across individuals. This paper discusses strategies for generating and testing empirical propositions from this emerging class of theories. We propose that variation in the returns to specialization is extremely useful to test and quantify the effect of the division of labor on firms' boundaries. We discuss the use of two shifters to the returns to specialization, and relate how we exploit one of these, market size, in preliminary work on the determinants of law firms' boundaries in the United States. (JEL: L14, L22, L24, L84) Copyright (c) 2003 The European Economic Association.
Permafrost thawing puts the frozen carbon at risk over the Tibetan Plateau

A large quantity of soil organic carbon frozen in permafrost on the Tibetan Plateau will be at risk under future climate warming. Soil organic carbon (SOC) stored in permafrost across the high-latitude/altitude Northern Hemisphere represents an important potential carbon source under future warming. Here, we provide a comprehensive investigation on the spatiotemporal dynamics of SOC over the high-altitude Tibetan Plateau (TP), which has received less attention compared with the circum-Arctic region. The permafrost region covers ~42% of the entire TP and contains ~37.21 Pg perennially frozen SOC at the baseline period (2006–2015). With continuous warming, the active layer is projected to further deepen, resulting in ~1.86 ± 0.49 Pg and ~3.80 ± 0.76 Pg permafrost carbon thawing by 2100 under moderate and high representative concentration pathways (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5), respectively. This could largely offset the regional carbon sink and even potentially turn the region into a net carbon source. Our findings also highlight the importance of deep permafrost thawing that is generally ignored in current Earth system models.
Both cGMP and peroxynitrite mediate chronic interleukin‐6‐induced negative inotropy in adult rat ventricular myocytes

We previously showed that chronic exposure to interleukin (IL)‐6 decreases contractile and sarcoplasmic reticular (SR) function assessed by postrest potentiation (PRP) via a nitric oxide (NO)‐dependent mechanism in adult rat ventricular myocytes (ARVM). Cyclic GMP (cGMP) has been associated with NO‐associated negative inotropic effects of IL‐6 during acute exposure; however, its role in chronic cardiac effects of IL‐6 remains unclear. The present study examined the roles of cGMP and peroxynitrite (ONOO−) in chronic IL‐6‐induced negative inotropy in ARVM. After ARVM were exposed to IL‐6 for 2–24 h, intracellular cGMP contents were time dependently increased; this was mimicked by a NO donor and abolished by 1H‐[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3‐a]quinoxalin‐1‐one (ODQ), an inhibitor of soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC), or Rp‐8‐Br‐cGMP, an inhibitor of cGMP‐dependent protein kinase G (PKG). Meanwhile, the IL‐6‐induced decrease in PRP at 2 h was blocked by ODQ or Rp‐8‐Br‐cGMP. By contrast, ODQ or Rp‐8‐Br‐cGMP only attenuated the inhibition of PRP induced by IL‐6 after 24 h exposure. Furthermore, IL‐6 time dependently increased superoxide anion production and ONOO− formation; the latter was abolished by 5,10,15,20‐tetrakis‐(4‐sulphonatophenyl)‐porphyrinato iron (III) (FeTPPS), an ONOO− decomposition catalyst. Interestingly, FeTPPS had no effect on the IL‐6‐elicited decrease in PRP at 2 h, but attenuated it after 24 h exposure. Moreover, inhibition of sGC/cGMP/PKG, but not ONOO− formation, abolished the IL‐6‐induced inhibition of kinetics of myocyte contraction during 24 h exposure. We conclude that while the sGC/cGMP/PKG pathway was the primary mechanism for chronic IL‐6‐induced negative inotropy at 2 h, both sGC/cGMP/PKG and ONOO−, at least in part, mediate the IL‐6‐induced inhibition of SR function after 24 h exposure.
CODEX PALATINUS GRAECUS 367: A THIRTEENTH-CENTURY METHOD OF DETERMINING VESSEL BURDEN?

Codex number 367 of the Palatinus Graecus collection in the Vatican Library is a compilation of 195 folios written in the thirteenth century by the Head of the Guild of Notaries on the island of Cyprus, Constantinos Euteles Anagnostes. The folios address a wide variety of subjects, but b to 91a contain Constantinos’s transcription of a method of measuring the burden of a ship by stacking standardsized baskets, or kouphia, within the vessel’s hold. While Ashburner highlighted the relevance of these three folios to maritime history in his Rhodian Sea Law in 1909, this may be their first published translation in English.1 Moreover, analysis of the folios reveals a relatively straightforward mathematical progression dictating the distribution of the kouphia as burden is determined. This article presents a brief discussion of Codex Palatinus Graecus 367, a translation of folios b to 91a, and an analysis of the relatively standardized method of determining burden apparently used in thirteenth-century Cyprus.
Unique collaboration of European birth cohort studies on asthma and allergy in the GA²LEN network

Thomas Keil, Magnus Wickman, Inger Kull, Karin C. Lodrup Carlsen, Kai Hakon Carlsen, Henriette A. Smit, Alet H. Wijga, Bert Brunekreef, Andrea von Berg, Ursula Kramer, Esben Eller, Carsten Bindslev-Jensen, Susanne Halken, Arne Host, Joachim Heinrich, Maria Pia Fantini, Francesca Bravi, Daniela Porta, Francesco Forastiere, Monique Mommers, Carel Thijs, Jordi Sunyer, Matias Torrent, Graham Roberts, Claudia Kuehni, Ruta Dubakiene, Goran Wennergren, Bernt Alm, Johan Alm, Angela Simpson, Adnan Custovic, Ulrich Wahn, Susanne Lau, for the GA2LEN WP 1.5 work group
Segmentation and analysis of leg ulcers color images

This paper presents a methodology for the segmentation and analysis of the tissues in color images of leg ulcers. The segmentation is obtained through an automatic analysis made in the RGB and SI channels by changing from the RGB color space to the HSI color space. The aim is to determine which of the five channels have the characteristic that will make the segmentation process more efficient. After the analysis, the selected channel is segmented and used as a mask over the original image, allowing that only the inner tissues of the wound be analyzed. The analysis is done through predetermined functions that attribute membership grade for each processed pixel as well as its level of engagement in a specified tissue class. The article also shows the results obtained from both the segmentation and analysis of tissues using the proposed method.
A cost minimization approach for optimal window design in spectral analysis of sampled signals

The problem of digital window design is formulated in terms of cost minimization. This cost quantizes the leakage from one frequency to another. The choice of the penalty function appearing in the cost expression may be adapted to a specific spectral analysis problem and allows the designer to control undesirable leakages. The approach is applied in one particular optimization problem: the minimization of the second-order moment extension to the case of sampled signal spectra. This example leads to a correct justification of the Papoulis (1977) window in the case of digital signals. Applications show examples of window design and the interest in the Papoulis window in some problems of spectral parameters estimation: Pisarenko (1973) frequency estimation and autoregressive modelization. >
Ant Colony Optimization to Design Thinned Arrays

An algorithm based on ant colony optimization has been proposed to perform array thinning. Ant based algorithms are rapidly convergent because the solution is searched using both heuristic information and positive feedback from the previously found best solution. The algorithm for array thinning was defined in association to the classical combinatorial knapsack problem. Such an algorithm allows one to define the number of elements to deactivate. Thus it is very useful when thinning is needed to reduce side-lobes of active arrays with a constraint on the reduction of the transmitted power
Air conditioning predictive control for rail transit vehicles based on load prediction

This paper proposes a predictive control method for rail vehicle air-conditioning systems. Due to heat transfer and diffusion, the air-conditioning system is a long-time-delay system. However, most air-conditioning systems use feedback control, which has problems such as long transition time, system shock, and mismatch between air cooling capacity and load, resulting in the waste of energy. Combined with feedforward and feedback control, a predictive control method with dynamic correction is proposed to solve this problem. Based on the load prediction, the real-time indoor temperature feedback link is added to send the cold air into the room in advance, which makes the room temperature stable, and the energy-saving effect significant. In the study, variance analysis of environmental factors is performed to improve the accuracy of the load prediction system, and the mean relative error (MRE) of the prediction reached 0.0112. By comparing the simulation results of predictive control and feedback control, it is proved that the predictive control with correction has a smoother room temperature curve. The energy-saving rate is about 25.2%.
Empirical evaluation of ensemble feature subset selection methods for learning from a high-dimensional database in drug design

Discovering a new drug is one of the most important goals in not only the pharmaceutical field but also a variety of fields including molecular biology, chemistry and medical science. The importance of computationally understanding the relationships between a given chemical compound and its drug activity has been pronounced. In the data set regarding drug activity of chemical compounds, each row corresponds to a chemical compound, and columns are the descriptors of the compound and a label indicating drug activity of the compound Recently, the size of the descriptors has become larger to obtain more detailed information from a given set of compounds. Actually, the number of columns (attributes or features) of some drug data sets reaches hundreds of thousands or a million. The purpose of this paper is to empirically evaluate the performance of ensemble feature subset selection strategies by applying them to such a high-dimensional data set actually used in the process of drug design. We examined the performance of three ensemble methods, including a query learning based method, comparing with that of one of the latest feature subset selection methods. The evaluation was performed on a data set which contains approximately 140,000 features. Our results show that the query learning based methodology outperformed the other three methods, in terms of the final prediction accuracy and time efficiency. We have also examined the effect of noise in the data and found that the advantage of the method becomes more pronounced for larger noise levels.
Overconfidence and Social Signalling

Evidence from both psychology and economics indicates that individuals give statements that appear to overestimate their ability compared to that of others. We test three theories that predict such relative overconfidence. The first theory argues that overconfidence can be generated by Bayesian updating from a common prior and truthful statements if individuals do not know their true type. The second theory suggests that self-image concerns asymmetrically affect the choice to receive new information about one's abilities, and this asymmetry can produce overconfidence. The third theory is that overconfidence is induced by the desire to send positive signals to others about one's own skill; this suggests either a bias in judgement, strategic lying, or both. We formulate this theory precisely. Using a large data set of relative ability judgements about two cognitive tests, we reject the restrictions imposed by the Bayesian model and also reject a key prediction of the self-image models that individuals with optimistic beliefs will be less likely to search for further information about their skill because this information might shatter their self-image. We provide evidence that personality traits strongly affect relative ability judgements in a pattern that is consistent with the third theory of social signalling. Our results together suggest that overconfidence in statements is more likely to be induced by social concerns than by either of the other two factors. Copyright 2013, Oxford University Press.
A Study on User Preferential Choices about Rating Scales

Websites usually offer the same rating scale for all users and all tasks, but users can have very different preferences. In this paper, the authors study rating scales from the point of view of preferential choices, investigating i if user preferences for rating scales depend on the object to evaluate, and ii if user preferences change after they have rated an object repeatedly, gaining a high level of experience with the evaluated object. The authors first defined a model of rating scales, identifying generic classes based on features like granularity and visual metaphor. Then, the authors had users choose between three scales, one for each class, for rating two objects with opposite features, first in a condition where users had a low level of experience, and then in a condition where their level of experience was high. Results showed that user choices depend on the evaluated objects, while their level of experience influences their overall preferences, but not their choices when they have to rate a specific object. The authors conclude with some insights and guidelines for designers of interactive systems.