Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tonic and Phasic Smooth Muscle Contraction Is Not Regulated by the PKCα - CPI-17 Pathway in Swine Stomach Antrum and Fundus

Regulation of myosin light chain phosphatase (MLCP) via protein kinase C (PKC) and the 17 kDa PKC-potentiated inhibitor of myosin light chain phosphatase (CPI-17) has been reported as a Ca2+ sensitization signaling pathway in smooth muscle (SM), and thus may be involved in tonic vs. phasic contractions. This study examined the protein expression and spatial-temporal distribution of PKCα and CPI-17 in intact SM tissues. KCl or carbachol (CCh) stimulation of tonic stomach fundus SM generates a sustained contraction while the phasic stomach antrum generates a transient contraction. In addition, the tonic fundus generates greater relative force than phasic antrum with 1 µM phorbol 12, 13-dibutyrate (PDBu) stimulation which is reported to activate the PKCα – CPI-17 pathway. Western blot analyses demonstrated that this contractile difference was not caused by a difference in the protein expression of PKCα or CPI-17 between these two tissues. Immunohistochemical results show that the distribution of PKCα in the longitudinal and circular layers of the fundus and antrum do not differ, being predominantly localized near the SM cell plasma membrane. Stimulation of either tissue with 1 µM PDBu or 1 µM CCh does not alter this peripheral PKCα distribution. There are no differences between these two tissues for the CPI-17 distribution, but unlike the PKCα distribution, CPI-17 appears to be diffusely distributed throughout the cytoplasm under relaxed tissue conditions but shifts to a primarily peripheral distribution at the plasma membrane with stimulation of the tissues with 1 µM PDBu or 1 µM CCh. Results from double labeling show that neither PKCα nor CPI-17 co-localize at the adherens junction (vinculin/talin) at the membrane but they do co-localize with each other and with caveoli (caveolin) at the membrane. This lack of difference suggests that the PKCα - CPI-17 pathway is not responsible for the tonic vs. phasic contractions observed in stomach fundus and antrum.
Data-Driven vs. Semantic-Technology-Driven Tag-Based Video Location Estimation

The following article describes two approaches to determining the geo-coordinates of the recording place of Flickr videos based on textual metadata. The systems are tested on the MediaEval 2010 Placing Task evaluation data, which consists of 5091 unfiltered test videos and metadata records. The first system is a data-driven approach that uses a heuristics based on the spatial variance of tags. The second one extends this heuristics by using semantic technologies, such as extended Word net and a geographical gazetteer. The performance peaks at being able to classify 14% of the videos to within an accuracy of 10m. The article present the two algorithms, evaluates their accuracy and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using Semantic technologies for this task.
EEG-based Personal Identification: from Proof-of-Concept to A Practical System

Although the concept of using brain waves, e.g. Electroencephalogram (EEG), for personal identification has been validated in several studies, some unanswered practical and theoretical questions prevent this technology from further development for commercialization. Based on a well-designed personal identification experiment using EEG recordings, this study addressed three of these questions, which are (1) feasibility of using portable EEG equipment, (2) necessity for controlling factors influencing EEG, (3) the optimal set of features. With our understanding of the answers to these questions, the EEG-based personal identification system we built achieved an average accuracy of 97.5% on a dataset with 40 subjects. Results of this study provided supporting evidence that EEG-based personal identification from proof-of-concept to system implementation is promising.
Selecting Indicator Portfolios for Marine Species and Food Webs: A Puget Sound Case Study

Ecosystem-based management (EBM) has emerged as a promising approach for maintaining the benefits humans want and need from the ocean, yet concrete approaches for implementing EBM remain scarce. A key challenge lies in the development of indicators that can provide useful information on ecosystem status and trends, and assess progress towards management goals. In this paper, we describe a generalized framework for the methodical and transparent selection of ecosystem indicators. We apply the framework to the second largest estuary in the United States – Puget Sound, Washington – where one of the most advanced EBM processes is currently underway. Rather than introduce a new method, this paper integrates a variety of familiar approaches into one step-by-step approach that will lead to more consistent and reliable reporting on ecosystem condition. Importantly, we demonstrate how a framework linking indicators to policy goals, as well as a clearly defined indicator evaluation and scoring process, can result in a portfolio of useful and complementary indicators based on the needs of different users (e.g., policy makers and scientists). Although the set of indicators described in this paper is specific to marine species and food webs, we provide a general approach that could be applied to any set of management objectives or ecological system.
Autonomous Stereo Camera Parameter Estimation for Outdoor Visual Servoing

In the majority of vision applications, sensor calibration is a prerequisite to proper use of the sensor for both measurement and control. The objective in camera calibration is to estimate a set of parameters to construct a mapping between the 3D position of a target point and its 2D image coordinates. In this paper an autonomous stereo camera calibration technique with applications in industrial outdoor visual servoing systems is presented. The stereo camera model obtained was used to estimate the pose of the target object during the robot servoing process. The heavy-duty stereo camera rig was installed on the torso of an outdoor 3DOF robotic manipulator. An efficient iterative least- squares parameter estimation algorithm was used to estimate the transformation parameters between the 3D world coordinates of the target object and its 2D image coordinates in the stereo image planes. The stereo camera calibration is entirely an autonomous process as the robot moves the calibration tool within its workspace and the stereo camera model is produced after the data collection process. The stereo cameras are treated as a single unit and a single transformation is obtained for the stereo camera pair in the system. The calibration process is fast, efficient and no human interaction is required during the process.
Automatic segmentation of skin cancer images using adaptive color clustering

This paper presents the development of an adaptive image segmentation algorithm designed for the identification of the skin cancer and pigmented lesions in dermoscopy images. The key component of the developed algorithm is the Adaptive Spatial K-Means (A-SKM) clustering technique that is applied to extract the color features from skin cancer images. Adaptive-SKM is a novel technique that includes the primary features that describe the color smoothness and texture complexity in the process of pixel assignment. The A-SKM has been included in the development of a flexible color-texture image segmentation scheme and the experimental data indicates that the developed algorithm is able to produce accurate segmentation when applied to a large number of skin cancer (melanoma) images.
A high port-count wavelength-selective switch using a large scan-angle, high fill-factor, two-axis MEMS scanner array

We present a high-port-count (scalable to 1 times 32) wavelength-selective switch (WSS) using a large scan-angle, high fill-factor, two-axis analog micromirror array in conjunction with a densely packed two-dimensional array of fiber collimators. A partially populated (1 times 9) WSS exhibits a fiber-to-fiber insertion loss of 5.57 plusmn 1.4 dB and an extinction ratio of 51 plusmn 11 dB. The channel spacing is 100 GHz
Accurate 3D face registration based on the symmetry plane analysis on nose regions

Three-dimensional face registration is a critical step in 3D face recognition. This paper presents a fully automatic registration method with high accuracy and robustness to facial expressions for aligning frontal 3D face data. In our method, the nose region, which is relatively more rigid than other facial regions in Anatomy sense, is automatically located and analyzed for computing the precise location of a symmetry plane. We then proceed on to find a stable reference point and a nose line from the global information of the nose region. In this way, the six degrees of freedom as well as a unified coordinate system can be determined for each face. Extensive experiments have been conducted on the FRGC V1.0 benchmark face dataset to evaluate the accuracy and robustness of our registration method. Firstly, we compare its results with manually marked points on the visualized face data. Secondly, we test its application in a 3-D face verification system. Preliminary experiment results show that this approach can efficiently reduce the intra-class distance and performs even better than the manual registration method in face recognition.
Comprehensive field synopsis and systematic meta-analyses of genetic association studies in cutaneous melanoma.

BACKGROUND Although genetic studies have reported a number of loci associated with cutaneous melanoma (CM) risk, a comprehensive synopsis of genetic association studies published in the field and systematic meta-analysis for all eligible polymorphisms have not been reported. METHODS We systematically annotated data from all genetic association studies published in the CM field (n = 145), including data from genome-wide association studies (GWAS), and performed random-effects meta-analyses across all eligible polymorphisms on the basis of four or more independent case-control datasets in the main analyses. Supplementary analyses of three available datasets derived from GWAS and GWAS-replication studies were also done. Nominally statistically significant associations between polymorphisms and CM were graded for the strength of epidemiological evidence on the basis of the Human Genome Epidemiology Network Venice criteria. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS Forty-two polymorphisms across 18 independent loci evaluated in four or more datasets including candidate gene studies and available GWAS data were subjected to meta-analysis. Eight loci were identified in the main meta-analyses as being associated with a risk of CM (P < .05) of which four loci showed a genome-wide statistically significant association (P < 1 × 10(-7)), including 16q24.3 (MC1R), 20q11.22 (MYH7B/PIGU/ASIP), 11q14.3 (TYR), and 5p13.2 (SLC45A2). Grading of the cumulative evidence by the Venice criteria suggested strong epidemiological credibility for all four loci with genome-wide statistical significance and one additional gene at 9p23 (TYRP1). In the supplementary meta-analyses, a locus at 9p21.3 (CDKN2A/MTAP) reached genome-wide statistical significance with CM and had strong epidemiological credibility. CONCLUSIONS To the best of our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive field synopsis and systematic meta-analysis to identify genes associated with an increased susceptibility to CM.
A Polynomial Time Optimal Algorithm for Robot-Human Search under Uncertainty

This paper studies a search problem involving a robot that is searching for a certain item in an uncertain environment (e.g., searching minerals on Moon) that allows only limited interaction with humans. The uncertainty of the environment comes from the rewards of undiscovered items and the availability of costly human help. The goal of the robot is to maximize the reward of the items found while minimising the search costs. We show that this search problem is polynomially solvable with a novel integration of the human help, which has not been studied in the literature before. Furthermore, we empirically evaluate our solution with simulations and show that it significantly outperforms several benchmark approaches.
Computational Resource Exchanges for Distributed Resource Allocation

Appropriate abstractions, mechanisms, and policies for resource allocation is quickly emerging as the fundamental problem facing emerging computation and communication environments such as PlanetLab and the Grid. This paper explores the utility of one simple abstraction for global resource allocation with a number of appealing properties: a centralized auction that collects user descriptions of resource configurations and the values placed on these configurations. The task of the clearinghouse is to determine a set of winning bids and to assign appropriate subsets of global resources to individual users. One challenge with this model is the computational complexity associated with determining winners. To make the problem tractable, we propose appropriate bidding languages that constrain the type of bids that users can make, while maintaining required expressiveness. Computing optimal solutions to such auctions for scales of current interest (e.g., 1000 nodes) is intractable on current hardware, even given aggressive optimizations. Thus, we introduce a number of heuristics that appear to perform well in practice. Another challenge with auctions is the lag in clearing the auction and the uncertainty in whether resources will actually be acquired. We introduce a formulation for “Buy it Now” pricing to address some of these limitations.
Efficient computation of option price sensitivities for options of American style

No front-office software can survive without providing derivatives of option prices with respect to underlying market or model parameters, the so called Greeks. If a closed form solution for an option exists, Greeks can be computed analytically and they are numerically stable. However, for American style options, there is no closed-form solution. The price is computed by binomial trees, finite difference methods or an analytic approximation. Taking derivatives of these prices leads to instable numerics or misleading results, specially for Greeks of higher order. We compare the computation of the Greeks in various pricing methods and conclude with the recommendation to use Leisen-Reimer trees.
Blind Digital Watermarking Algorithm Based on Quantization in Contourlet Domain

we present a blind digital watermarking algorithm using the module arithmetic and odd-even quantization based on Contourlet transform in this paper. After Contourlet transform, original image is decomposed into a series of multiscale, local and directional subimages. Select the low frequency sub-band as the watermarking embedding domain and then make module arithmetic. At the same time, the original binary watermark is firstly scrambled by two-dimensional Arnold transform, and then embedded into the selected sub-band. Then the coefficients of low frequency sub-band are modified using the odd-even quantization. The retrieving watermark algorithm is a blind detecting process, and it does not need original image. The experimental results show that the proposed watermarking algorithm is able to resist attacks, such as JPEG compression, noising, cropping and other attacks, and the watermarking is invisible and robust.
A Combination of Leucine, Metformin, and Sildenafil Treats Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Steatohepatitis in Mice

Sirt1, AMPK, and eNOS modulate hepatic energy metabolism and inflammation and are key players in the development of NASH. L-leucine, an allosteric Sirt1 activator, synergizes with low doses of metformin or sildenafil on the AMPK-eNOS-Sirt1 pathway to reverse mild NAFLD in preclinical mouse models. Here we tested a possible multicomponent synergy to yield greater therapeutic efficacy in NAFLD/NASH. Liver cells and macrophages or an atherogenic diet induced NASH mouse model was treated with two-way and three-way combinations. The three-way combination Sild-Met-Leu increased hepatic fatty acid oxidation and reduced lipogenic gene expression and inflammatory marker in vitro. In mice, Sild-Met-Leu reduced the diet induced increases of ALT, TGFβ, PAI-1, IL1β, and TNFα, hepatic collagen expression, and nearly completely reversed hepatocyte ballooning and triglyceride accumulation, while all two-way combinations had only modest effects. Therefore, these data provide preclinical evidence for therapeutic efficacy of Sild-Met-Leu in the treatment of NAFLD and NASH.
Robust tracking of multiple objects in sector-scan sonar image sequences using optical flow motion estimation

The fast update rate and good performance of new generation electronic sector scanning sonars is now allowing practicable use of temporal information for signal processing tasks such as object classification and motion estimation. Problems remain, however, as objects change appearance, merge, maneuver, move in and out of the field of view, and split due to poor segmentation. This paper presents an approach to the segmentation, two-dimensional motion estimation, and subsequent tracking of multiple objects in sequences of sector scan sonar images. Applications such as ROV obstacle avoidance, visual servoing, and underwater surveillance are relevant. Initially, static and moving objects are distinguished in the sonar image sequence using frequency-domain filtering. Optical flow calculations are then performed on moving objects with significant size to obtain magnitude and direction motion estimates. Matches of these motion estimates, and the future positions they predict, are then used as a basis for identifying corresponding objects in adjacent scans. To enhance robustness, a tracking tree is constructed storing multiple possible correspondences and cumulative confidence values obtained from successive compatibility measures. Deferred decision making is then employed to enable best estimates of object tracks to be updated as subsequent scans produce new information. The method is shown to work well, with good tracking performance when objects merge, split, and change shape. The optical flow is demonstrated to give position prediction errors of between 10 and 50 cm (1%-5% of scan range), with no violation of smoothness assumptions using sample rates between 4 and 1 frames/s.
NEW ION ELASTIC SCATTERING BEAM LINE OF ANALYTICAL COMPLEX AT IAP NAS UKRAINE

The paper presents a description of new Ion Backscattering Beam Line. Small-size electrostatic accelerator “Sokol” with a beam energy range of 0.2. 2.0 MeV is used as an ion source. A detail of the Beam Line is using of magnetic spectrometer which allows to carry out precise (several nm) quantitative layer-by-layer non-destructive element analysis of solid composition and structure using Ion Elastic Scattering technique. Design of Backscattering Chamber allows realizing a full set of Ion Beam Analysis techniques. Proton and helium ion backscattering spectra are presented from the thin film samples. Simulated spectra fit well the experimental ones together. The last shows the analytical efficiency of Backscattering Beam Line. PACS: 29.17. +w, 29.30. Ep, 29.30. Aj
A Process Pattern for the Distributed Component Development

The proposed patterns presented in this paper describe a sequence of steps for the Distributed Component Development integrating different known principles to support the process. The involved principles are: part of Catalysis method used as a Component-Based Development (CBD) method to define, specify and design the distributed components; the middleware to support components distribution and accessing; a framework to facilitate the database access; and a CASE tool used to facilitate the patterns application.
Evolution of Calls and Auditory Tuning in the Physalaemus pustulosus Species Group

In species within the Physalaemus pustulosus species group, male frogs produce a whine-like advertisement call consisting of a frequency sweep typically descending from 1,000 to 400 Hz (depending on the species). One species, Physalaemus pustulosus, the túngara frog, has evolved a second call syllable, the chuck, which males place after their whine. Most energy in the chuck is above 1,500 Hz and peaks at 2,400 Hz. We investigated whether the evolution of this new call component in P. pustulosus coincided with evolution of auditory tuning. We used multiunit electrophysiological recordings of auditory-evoked activity in the midbrain to characterize auditory tuning in Physalaemus pustulosus, four other Physalaemus species within the P. pustulosus clade, and three additional, closely related Physalaemus species as outgroups. All eight species had similar sensitivity profiles, with a broad area of enhanced sensitivity from 100 to 1,100 Hz, which we presume represents amphibian papilla (AP) tuning, and a second, narrower area of enhanced sensitivity centered above 2,100 Hz, which we presume represents basilar papilla (BP) tuning. For all species, the whine stimulates the AP. The P. pustulosus chuck stimulates the BP. The frequency with greatest AP sensitivity differed significantly among species. Although in all cases the AP peak lay within the frequency sweep of the whine, phylogenetically corrected correlations revealed no significant relationships between AP tuning and any spectral feature of the whine. BP tuning was similar among all species, with mean BP best excitatory frequencies (BEFs) around 2,100–2,200 Hz, with the exception of P. pustulatus, with a mean BP BEF of 2,549 Hz. Physalaemus pustulosus, the only investigated species that produces a call component stimulating the BP, had a BP BEF that was not significantly different from any of the species within its clade except P. pustulatus, or from any of the outgroup species. A phylogenetic reconstruction of ancestral BP tuning confirms that the only point of evolutionary change in BP tuning is in the line of descent leading to P. pustulatus, not in the line leading to P. pustulosus despite this being the species using the BP for communication. The results indicate that BP tuning around 2,200 Hz is a conserved trait in the Physalaemus pustulosus species group and that no evolution of BP tuning accompanied the subsequent evolution of the call component (the chuck) that stimulates it. This supports the sensory exploitation idea, which posits that signals evolve to match preexisting features of receiver systems.
Optimal Rates for Regularization Operators in Learning Theory

Abstract : We develop some new error bounds for learning algorithms induced by regularization methods in the regression setting. The hardness of the problem is characterized in terms of the parameters r and s, the first related to the complexity of the target function, the second connected to the effective dimension of the marginal probability measure over the input space. We show, extending previous results, that by a suitable choice of the regularization parameter as a function of the number of the available examples, it is possible attain the optimal minimax rates of convergence for the expected squared loss of the estimators, over the family of priors fulfilling the constraint r + s > 1/2. The setting considers both labelled and unlabelled examples, the latter being crucial for the optimality results on the priors in the range r < 1/2 .