Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Computing optimal k-regret minimizing sets with top-k depth contours

Regret minimizing sets are a very recent approach to representing a dataset D with a small subset S of representative tuples. The set S is chosen such that executing any top-1 query on S rather than D is minimally perceptible to any user. To discover an optimal regret minimizing set of a predetermined cardinality is conjectured to be a hard problem. In this paper, we generalize the problem to that of finding an optimal k$regret minimizing set, wherein the difference is computed over top-k queries, rather than top-1 queries. We adapt known geometric ideas of top-k depth contours and the reverse top-k problem. We show that the depth contours themselves offer a means of comparing the optimality of regret minimizing sets using L2 distance. We design an O(cn^2) plane sweep algorithm for two dimensions to compute an optimal regret minimizing set of cardinality c. For higher dimensions, we introduce a greedy algorithm that progresses towards increasingly optimal solutions by exploiting the transitivity of L2 distance.
Photo-devices for optical controlling of microwave circuits

The most important optical devices which can be used for controlling microwave circuits will be presented in the paper. The performance and the parameters of the devices such as semiconductor microwave optoelectronic switches, photodiodes and phototransistors were described. The influence of the optical illumination on their microwave parameters will be described in details, including the our own investigations and simulations results. Several applications of such devices and their potential possibilities will be presented.
Recent Highlights of ATVB: Lipoproteins

The vascular system first appears in the embryo as a highly branched network of structurally primitive vessels composed of endothelial cells and their basement membranes. Embryonic endothelial cells acquire an identify as arterial, venous, lymphatic, or hemogenic and then further specialize in an organotypic manner. In addition, erythromyeloid progenitors in the yolk sac give rise to tissue-resident fetal macrophages that play important roles in morphogenesis and function of developing and angiogenic blood vessels. Circulating within this embryonic vascular network are primitive erythroid cells that arise from hemogenic endothelial cells in the yolk sac blood islands around E7.5. With time, these primitive erythroid cells are replaced by definitive erythroid cells. Also circulating in this network are platelets whose function and hemostatic capacity in the fetal circulation are not well understood. Embryonic platelets have been reported to play an essential role in closure of the ductus arteriosus at the time of birth. In a study of murine platelet function from E13.5 to E17.5, Margraf et al report that platelet numbers and P-selectin contents are considerably lower at E13.5 than at E17.5. They also report that platelet integrin-activating proteins kindlin-3, talin-1, and rap-1 are reduced in abundance in fetal platelets, and these reduced levels are correlated with diminished spreading and hypoactive hemostatic functional capacity compared with adult platelets. Yet by the time of birth, platelet function is sufficient to aggregate within the ductus arteriosus and produce an occlusive thrombus which, as indicated above, is required for permanent closure of the ductus.
High Quality SiO2 Deposited at 80 ° C by Inductively Coupled Plasma Enhanced CVD for Flexible Display Application

In this article, we investigated the high quality SiO2 deposited at 80°C by inductively coupled plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The interface trap density of 1.48×1010 cm? 2 eV? 1 and breakdown voltage of 5.6 MV/cm were realized successfully despite the low deposition temperature. Thin film transistors (TFTs) have been fabricated under 100°C by excimer laser annealing. The electron mobility can reach 225 cm2/V s. The interface density of SiO2 is comparable with that of thermal oxide. The high quality gate oxide is very suitable for fabricating high performance TFTs for large-area flexible displays on plastics.
An interaction between the DNA repair factor XPA and replication protein A appears essential for nucleotide excision repair

Replication protein A (RPA) is required for simian virus 40-directed DNA replication in vitro and for nucleotide excision repair (NER). Here we report that RPA and the human repair protein XPA specifically interact both in vitro and in vivo. Mapping of the RPA-interactive domains in XPA revealed that both of the largest subunits of RPA, RPA-70 and RPA-34, interact with XPA at distinct sites. A domain involved in mediating the interaction with RPA-70 was located between XPA residues 153 and 176. Deletion of highly conserved motifs within this region identified two mutants that were deficient in binding RPA in vitro and highly defective in NER both in vitro and in vivo. A second domain mediating the interaction with RPA-34 was identified within the first 58 residues in XPA. Deletion of this region, however, only moderately affects the complementing activity of XPA in vivo. Finally, the XPA-RPA complex is shown to have a greater affinity for damaged DNA than XPA alone. Taken together, these results indicate that the interaction between XPA and RPA is required for NER but that only the interaction with RPA-70 is essential.
A Dynamic Accelerator-Cluster Architecture

Accelerators such as graphics processing units (GPUs) provide an inexpensive way of improving the performance of cluster systems. In such an arrangement, the individual nodes of the cluster are directly connected to one or more accelerator devices via PCI Express. This results in a static mapping of accelerators onto compute nodes, where each accelerator can only be accessed from exactly one compute node. While this static mapping enables efficient data transfers between a given accelerator and the compute node it belongs to, differing computational demands across jobs may, however, produce either underutilized accelerators or nodes whose computational demands cannot be satisfied with the number of accelerators available to them. In particular, smaller numbers of GPUs available per node may enforce explicit MPI parallelism across compute nodes where it is not necessary. To address this limitation, we propose a novel accelerator-cluster architecture in which network-attached accelerators are dynamically assigned to compute nodes. This allows not only their optimal utilization but also a more precise match between application requirements and accelerator hardware. We outline the general concept of our dynamic architecture and show that it can offer substantial benefits to certain classes of applications without significantly harming the performance of others.
Vision-based mobile robot localization using natural landmarks

Self-localization in unknown environment is one of the most fundamental tasks for mobile robot. In this paper, a novel localization method for mobile robot working in unknown environment is presented by using scale-invariant natural landmarks. Firstly, corner detector was used to detect the interesting points and get the natural land marks, and then a 3D map of the environment was built. Lastly, the mobile robot localized itself by matching the landmarks in the current frame to a database map. Experiments show that global localization and navigation can be achieved in real time.
Reduction of Inflammatory Cytokines and Prostaglandin E2 by IL-13 Gene Therapy in Rheumatoid Arthritis Synovium1

The rheumatoid arthritis (RA) joint is characterized by an inflammatory synovial pannus which mediates tissue destruction. IL-13 is a cytokine that inhibits activated monocytes/macrophages from secreting a variety of proinflammatory molecules. The aim of this study was to examine whether gene therapy-delivered IL-13 could reduce the production of key proinflammatory mediators in RA synovial tissue (ST) explants. Adenoviral vectors encoding the genes for human IL-13 (AxCAIL-13) and bacterial β-galactosidase were generated and examined for protein production. Vectors were used to infect RA ST explants and RA synovial fibroblasts, and conditioned medium (CM) was collected at various times for analysis by ELISA and competitive immunoassay. AxCAIL-13 decreased the production of RA ST explant proinflammatory IL-1β by 85% after 24 h. Likewise, TNF-α levels were decreased by 82 and 75% whereas IL-8 levels were reduced 54 and 82% after 24 and 48 h, respectively, in RA ST explant CM. Monocyte chemotactic protein-1 concentrations were decreased by 88% after 72 h in RA ST explant CM. RA ST explant epithelial neutrophil-activating peptide-78 concentrations were decreased 85 and 94% whereas growth-related gene product-α levels were decreased by 77 and 85% at 24 and 48 h, respectively, by AxCAIL-13. Further, IL-13 significantly decreased PGE2 and macrophage inflammatory protein-1α production. These results demonstrate that increased expression of IL-13 via gene therapy may decrease RA-associated inflammation by reducing secretion of proinflammatory cytokines and PGE2.
ERK activation in axonal varicosities modulates presynaptic plasticity in the CA3 region of the hippocampus through synapsin I

Activity-dependent changes in the strength of synaptic connections in the hippocampus are central for cognitive processes such as learning and memory storage. In this study, we reveal an activity-dependent presynaptic mechanism that is related to the modulation of synaptic plasticity. In acute mouse hippocampal slices, high-frequency stimulation (HFS) of the mossy fiber (MF)-CA3 pathway induced a strong and transient activation of extracellular-regulated kinase (ERK) in MF giant presynaptic terminals. Remarkably, pharmacological blockade of ERK disclosed a negative role of this kinase in the regulation of a presynaptic form of plasticity at MF-CA3 contacts. This ERK-mediated inhibition of post-tetanic enhancement (PTE) of MF-CA3 synapses was both frequency- and pathway-specific and was observed only with HFS at 50 Hz. Importantly, blockade of ERK was virtually ineffective on PTE of MF-CA3 synapses in mice lacking synapsin I, 1 of the major presynaptic ERK substrates, and triple knockout mice lacking all synapsin isoforms displayed PTE kinetics resembling that of wild-type mice under ERK inhibition. These findings reveal a form of short-term synaptic plasticity that depends on ERK and is finely tuned by the firing frequency of presynaptic neurons. Our results also demonstrate that presynaptic activation of the ERK signaling pathway plays part in the activity-dependent modulation of synaptic vesicle mobilization and transmitter release.
Large-scale climatic and geophysical controls on the leaf economics spectrum

Significance Ecology seeks general principles describing how the biota respond to multiple environmental factors, partly to build a more prognostic science in the face of global climate change. One such principle to emerge is the “leaf economics spectrum” (LES), which relates ecologically important plant nutrients to leaf construction and growth along simple relational axes. However, interrelationships between LES traits have not been tested at large geographic scales. Using airborne imaging spectroscopy and geospatial modeling, we discovered strong climatic and geophysical controls on LES traits and their interrelationships throughout Andean and western Amazonian forest canopies. This finding highlights the need for biogeographically explicit treatment of plant traits, afforded by imaging spectroscopy, in the next generation of biospheric models. Leaf economics spectrum (LES) theory suggests a universal trade-off between resource acquisition and storage strategies in plants, expressed in relationships between foliar nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), leaf mass per area (LMA), and photosynthesis. However, how environmental conditions mediate LES trait interrelationships, particularly at large biospheric scales, remains unknown because of a lack of spatially explicit data, which ultimately limits our understanding of ecosystem processes, such as primary productivity and biogeochemical cycles. We used airborne imaging spectroscopy and geospatial modeling to generate, to our knowledge, the first biospheric maps of LES traits, here centered on 76 million ha of Andean and Amazonian forest, to assess climatic and geophysical determinants of LES traits and their interrelationships. Elevation and substrate were codominant drivers of leaf trait distributions. Multiple additional climatic and geophysical factors were secondary determinants of plant traits. Anticorrelations between N and LMA followed general LES theory, but topo-edaphic conditions strongly mediated and, at times, eliminated this classic relationship. We found no evidence for simple P–LMA or N–P trade-offs in forest canopies; rather, we mapped a continuum of N–P–LMA interactions that are sensitive to elevation and temperature. Our results reveal nested climatic and geophysical filtering of LES traits and their interrelationships, with important implications for predictions of forest productivity and acclimation to rapid climate change.
Luminescent solar concentrators : a study of optical properties, re-absorption and device optimisation

This thesis presents the results of work on the optical properties and design optimisation of the luminescent solar concentrator (LSC). The optical properties of a range of fluorophores were measured and it was found that the Lumogen F Rot 305 organic dye exhibited properties which make it ideal for use in LSCs, namely a wide absorption range (300-650 nm), 100 % quantum yield at concentrations up to 1700 ppm, and the highest photostability of all the Lumogen F dyes, although the overlap of the absorption and emission spectra results in reabsorption (RA) losses. Despite these optimum properties, a detailed analysis showed that LSCs based on Rot 305 cannot compete with conventional glass/glass laminate modules on grounds of either cost or embodied energy. Since Rot 305 represents an optimum dye, this suggests it is unlikely that LSCs based on organic dyes will ever be competitive with conventional technologies. The only solution is the use of a fluorophore with greatly reduced RA losses, for example a rare-earth (RE) complex. The RA losses of a europium-containing complex were found to be less than those of the Rot 305 dye, despite the lower quantum yield of the complex (86 %). The solar-to-electric conversion efficiencies of several LSC modules based on Rot 305 were measured. Modules with dimensions of 10 cm x 10 cm and 60 cm x 60 cm had efficiencies of 2.7 % and 1.84 % respectively, both measured without a back reflector. In addition, the technique of current-matching the edge cells was successfully demonstrated, resulting in a 15 % increase in power output from an edge using matched cells relative to an edge using unmatched cells.
Dual-linker gold nanoparticles as adjuvanting carriers for multivalent display of recombinant influenza hemagglutinin trimers and flagellin improve the immunological responses in vivo and in vitro

Vaccination is the most cost-effective means of infectious disease control. Although current influenza vaccines are effective in battling closely matched strains, such vaccines have major limitations such as the requirement to produce new vaccines every season, an egg-dependent production system, long production periods, uncertainty in matching the vaccine to circulating strains, and the inability to react to new influenza pandemics resulting from genetic drift or shift. To overcome the intrinsic limitations of the conventional influenza vaccine, we have designed dual-linker gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) conjugated with both recombinant trimetric A/Aichi/2/68 (H3N2), hemagglutinin (HA) and TLR5 agonist flagellin (FliC) as a novel vaccine approach. Click chemistry and metal-chelating reactions were used to couple the two proteins. The conjugated proteins were found to possess high coupling specificity, high stability in harsh environments, high conjugation efficiency, and the ability to keep the appropriate protein conformations for immunogenicity and immunostimulation. Both AuNPs-HA/FliC and AuNPs-HA formulations induced higher levels of antibody responses than a mixture of soluble HA and FliC proteins when administered via a single intranasal immunization in mice. To further investigate the adjuvancy of these nanoparticles, in vitro experiments were conducted in both the JAWS II dendritic cell (DC) line and bone marrow-derived DC (BMDC) models. The results showed that dual-conjugated AuNPs were rapidly targeted and taken up by DCs. Consequently, DCs were induced toward maturation, as demonstrated by high levels of cytokine secretions and membrane costimulatory molecule expression. T cell proliferation was observed when splenic T cells were cocultured with AuNPs-HA/FliC-primed BMDCs. These results suggest that dual-conjugated AuNPs are effective at simultaneously displaying antigens and adjuvants in an oriented, multivalent format and can promote a strong immune response by activating DCs and T cells.
Block-based compressive sampling for digital pixel sensor array

In this paper, a block-based online compressive sampling scheme for digital pixel sensor (DPS) is proposed. The overall sensor array is divided into blocks whereby one randomly selected pixel within each block is sampled using a random access control circuit. The latter is performed using off-array horizontal and vertical control logic. The random access addresses are updated during readout phase using low complexity logic operations performed on the readout pixel values. A sparse matrix, consisting of all the sampled pixel values, is buildup to reconstruct the image by solving the l1-norm minimization as the linear programming problem in the framework of Convex Optimization. The proposed system features reduced on-chip compression processing complexity and significant reduced memory requirement. System level simulation results show that a 25dB reconstructed image quality in terms of PSNR is achieved enabling a compression ratio of 4. In addition, a pixel-level memory requirement reduction of 75% is achieved when compared to a standard PWM DPS architecture.
Nonisothermal Crystallization Kinetics of Isotactic Polypropylene Containing Nucleating Agent and Dispersant

In this article, nonisothermal crystallization kinetics was investigated by using differential scanning calorimeter. The Avrami, Ozawa, and combined Avrami with Ozawa (Mo method) equations were applied to describe the crystallization kinetics and estimate the kinetic parameters of mathematical models under the nonisothermal crystallization of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) with rosin nucleating agent (RNA) and calcium stearate as dispersant (CSD). The results show that RNA can improve the crystallization temperature and accelerate the nucleation rate because of its heterogeneous nucleation. The crystal grain sizes of spherulites are smaller for iPP with RNA and CSD together than those for pure iPP and its matrix only filled with RNA. Furthermore, iPP blends with RNA and CSD show a lower Avrami values than that of the pure iPP, and the Mo method can successfully describe the crystallization model under the nonisothermal crystallization. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010
Peripheral Reticular Pigmentary Degeneration and Choroidal Vascular Insufficiency, Studied by Ultra Wide-Field Fluorescein Angiography

Purpose To explore the pathogenesis of peripheral reticular pigmentary degeneration (PRPD) and its clinical significance. Methods This cross-sectional, observational study (conducted between January 2010 and May 2015) enrolled 441 eyes of 229 subjects, including 35 eyes with PRPD and 406 eyes without PRPD, which was identified by ultra-wide-field fluorescein angiography (UWFA). The distribution and angiographic circulation time of PRPD were assessed by UWFA. The frequencies of systemic and ophthalmologic comorbidities were compared between groups. Univariate and multivariate generalized estimation equation methods were used to determine the risk factors for PRPD. Results The patients with PRPD had a mean age of 75.7 ± 8.5 years (range, 59–93 years), whereas the patients without PRPD had a mean age of 60.1 ± 14.9 years (range, 9–92 years). All eyes with PRPD manifested the lesion in the superior nasal periphery with or without circumferential extension. Among those, only 16 eyes (45.7%) in the PRPD group showed distinctive features in the same location on fundus photographs. There was significant choroidal filling delay in the PRPD group when compared with the control group (1.42±1.22 vs. -0.02±1.05 seconds, P < 0.001). Multivariate regression analysis revealed that older age (P < 0.001), stroke (P = 0.018), ischemic optic neuropathy (P < 0.001), and age-related macular degeneration (P = 0.022) were significantly associated with PRPD. Conclusions UWFA may enhance the diagnostic sensitivity of PRPD. Choroidal vascular insufficiency with compromised systemic circulation in the elderly was related to the manifestation of PRPD. These results help to better understand the pathophysiology of PRPD. Co-existence of systemic and ophthalmic circulatory disorders should be considered in patients with PRPD.
An approach to detect left-turn forbidden intersection using taxi trajectories

Recently, the trajectory mining of moving objects is becoming the focus of researchers. In the aspect of ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems), floating cars equipped with GPS produce trajectories continuously so long as they are traveling on the road. These large amounts of trajectories imply extensive and valuable traffic information. In this paper, we mining from a large number of real-world taxi trajectories and propose an approach to detect the intersections with left-turn forbidden constraint. We build our system based on a trajectory dataset produced by about 15,000 taxis during a period of one month, and evaluate the system by comparing with the real-world data came from in-the-field test. The assessment results show that the correct rate of our method can be up to more than 75%, which as is believed, will have great benefit on the manufacture of precise navigation equipment.
Optimal Input Selection of Neural Networks by Sensitivity Analysis and Its Application to Image Recognition

This paper describes a method of selecting optimal inputs of neural networks without lowering recognition rate. In general, neural networks learn a recognition algorithm from inputs and their desired outputs. But if some inputs are redundant, namely they are expressed by other inputs fed to the networks or they do not contribute to recognition, their effect on the recognition algorithm, or their sensitivity to outputs is considered to be very small. Therefore, by analyzing input-output sensitivity of neural networks, redundant inputs can be deleted. Repeatedly applying this method, the optimal inputs can be selected. For an experimental neural network for number recognition with 12 feature inputs, the inputs could be reduced to 8 without lowering recognition rate.
A comparison of typical sparse optimization for 1D signal recovery

Recently, researchers have found that most high dimensional signal are of inherent low dimension and can be recovered from its low dimensional observations under the sparse assumption. Since various algorithms have been proposed to solve this problem including convex relaxation, ℓ0 optimization and greedy heuristics. In the sense of sparse optimization, this paper makes a comparison of some typical algorithms for 1D signal recovery. Not only the algorithm procedures are reviewed but also some verification experiments are implemented to exploit their performance.