Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Non-rigid registration of images with geometric and photometric deformation by using local affine Fourier-moment matching

Registration between images taken with different cameras, from different viewpoints or under different lighting conditions is a challenging problem. It needs to solve not only the geometric registration problem but also the photometric matching problem. In this paper, we propose to estimate the integrated geometric and photometric transformations between two images based on a local affine Fourier-moment matching framework, which is developed to achieve deformable registration. We combine the local Fourier moment constraints with the smoothness constraints to determine the local affine transforms in a hierarchal block model. Our experimental results on registering some real images related by large color and geometric transformations show the proposed registration algorithm provides superior image registration results compared to the state-of-the-art image registration methods.
Income Per Capita Inequality in China: The Role of Economic Geography and Spatial Interactions

This paper contributes to the analysis of growing income disparities within China. Based on a structural model of economic geography using data on per capita income, we evaluate the extent to which market proximity and spatial dependence can explain growing income inequality between Chinese cities. We rely on a data set of 195 Chinese cities between 1995 and 2002. Our econometric specification incorporates an explicit consideration of spatial dependence effects in the form of spatially lagged per capita income. We provide evidence that the geography of access to markets is statistically significant in explaining variation in per capita income in China, especially so in provinces with low migration inflows which is coherent with NEG theory.
Developing Information Communication Technology ( ICT ) Curriculum Standards for K-12 Schools in the Philippines

Integrating Information and Communication Technology or ICT into teaching and learning has become a great concern for many educators in developing countries like the Philippines. ICT must be used and taught in powerful and meaningful ways. With its rapid development, educators should find ways to integrate technology in the learning process. ICT should not drive education, rather, educational goals and needs must drive its use in schools. Targeting holistic growth for learners is a crucial factor in realizing the need to develop ICT curriculum standards for K-12 schools in the Philippines. The researcher believes that developing these standards is a decision making process that will dictate how Filipino students will acquire ICT concepts and skills to help them achieve the greater benefits of learning.
Human Cardiac Mesenchymal Stromal Cells with CD105+CD34- Phenotype Enhance the Function of Post-Infarction Heart in Mice

Aims The aim of the present study was to isolate mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) with CD105+CD34- phenotype from human hearts, and to investigate their therapeutic potential in a mouse model of hindlimb ischemia and myocardial infarction (MI). The study aimed also to investigate the feasibility of xenogeneic MSCs implantation. Methods and Results MSC isolated from human hearts were multipotent cells. Separation of MSC with CD105+CD34- phenotype limited the heterogeneity of the originally isolated cell population. MSC secreted a number of anti-inflammatory and proangiogenic cytokines (mainly IL-6, IL-8, and GRO). Human MSC were transplanted into C57Bl/6NCrl mice. Using the mouse model of hindlimb ischemia it was shown that human MSC treated mice demonstrated a higher capillary density 14 days after injury. It was also presented that MSC administrated into the ischemic muscle facilitated fast wound healing (functional recovery by ischemic limb). MSC transplanted into an infarcted myocardium reduced the post-infarction scar, fibrosis, and increased the number of blood vessels both in the border area, and within the post-infarction scar. The improvement of left ventricular ejection fraction was also observed. Conclusion In two murine models (hindlimb ischemia and MI) we did not observe the xenotransplant rejection. Indeed, we have shown that human cardiac mesenchymal stromal cells with CD105+CD34- phenotype exhibit therapeutic potential. It seems that M2 macrophages are essential for healing and repair of the post-infarcted heart.
Sociological Discourse of the Relational: The Cases of Bourdieu & Latour 1

Pierre Bourdieu's approach to sociology has been so widely recognized as being innovative that his innovations can be said to have been academically incorporated to the degree of having-been-innovative. On the other hand, the more recent work of Bruno Latour seems to offer a fresh innovative impetus to sociology. Over against Bourdieu's relational sociology, Latour's relationist sociology overcomes the subject-object dichotomy, and abandons the notions of ‘society’ and ‘the social’. In this contribution, a comparison is made between the ideas of Bourdieu and Latour on the question of what sociology should look like, specifically focusing on their respective ideas on what can be called the relational. A Latourian critique of Bourdieu is provided, as well as a Bourdieusian analysis of Latourian sociology. Rather than ending up with two different ‘paradigms’, an attempt is made on the basis of Foucault's archaeology of discourse to view Bourdieusian and Latourian sociology as distinct positions within a discourse on the relational.
Lognormal variability in BL Lacertae

X-ray data from the blazar BL Lac are used to investigate the nature of its variability, and more precisely the flux dependency of the variability and the distribution of fluxes. The variations in the flux are found to have a lognormal distribution and the average amplitude of variability is proportional to the flux level. BL Lac is the first blazar in which lognormal X-ray variability is clearly detected. Lognormal variability in X-ray light curves, probably related to accretion disk activity, has been discovered in various compact systems, such as Seyfert galaxies and X-ray binaries. The light curve is orders of magnitude less variable than other blazars, with few bursting episodes. If this defines a specific state of the source, then the lognormality might be the imprint of the accretion disk on the jet, linking for the first time accretion and jet properties in a blazar.
A Cognitive Approach to Teaching Spelling

A case for a cognitive approach to teaching spelling is presented. An examination of the cognitive demands of the act of spelling indicates that the speller needs to coordinate several sources of word knowledge: phonological, orthographic, syntactic, and semantic. The act of spelling is completed with a decision about the acceptability of the spelling produced. Spelling instruction, therefore, should include specific information about words and about monitoring strategies. Data are used to support this approach to teaching spelling.
A soft exoskeleton for hand assistive and rehabilitation application using pneumatic actuators with variable stiffness

In this paper, we present the design of a soft wearable exoskeleton that comprises of a glove embedded with pneumatic actuators of variable stiffness for hand assistive and rehabilitation application. The device is lightweight and easily wearable due to the usage of soft pneumatic actuators. A key feature of the device is the variable stiffness of the actuators at different localities that not only conform to the finger profile during actuation, but also provides customizability for different hand dimensions. The actuators can achieve different bending profiles with variable stiffness implemented at different localities. Therefore, the device is able to perform different hand therapy exercises such as full fist, straight fist, hook fist and table top. The device was characterized in terms of its range of motion and maximum force output. Experiments were conducted to examine the differences between active and passive actuation. The results showed that the device could achieve hand grasping and pinching with acceptable range of motion and force.
Brain activation for language dual‐tasking: Listening to two people speak at the same time and a change in network timing

The study used fMRI to investigate brain activation in participants who were able to listen to and successfully comprehend two people speaking at the same time (dual‐tasking). The study identified brain mechanisms associated with high‐level, concurrent dual‐tasking, as compared with comprehending a single message. Results showed an increase in the functional connectivity among areas of the language network in the dual task. The increase in synchronization of brain activation for dual‐tasking was brought about primarily by a change in the timing of left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) activation relative to posterior temporal activation, bringing the LIFG activation into closer correspondence with temporal activation. The results show that the change in LIFG timing was greater in participants with lower working memory capacity, and that recruitment of additional activation in the dual‐task occurred only in the areas adjacent to the language network that was activated in the single task. The shift in LIFG activation may be a brain marker of how the brain adapts to high‐level dual‐tasking. Hum Brain Mapp, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc
Energy aware management of resilient networks with shared protection

This paper addresses the problem of minimizing the energy consumption of IP networks. As traffic demands vary over time, energy savings are achieved by adapting traffic routing and node and link sleeping patterns while guaranteeing QoS and survivability requirements. Network survivability is based on shared protection for single link failures. The optimization framework considers a set of time intervals and, to guarantee network stability, inter-period limitations are imposed. Both exact and heuristic methods are proposed. Results obtained with realistic networks operated with flow-based routing protocols show that i) up to 60% of the energy savings can be achieved without negatively affecting the network resiliency and that ii) the shared protection scheme better exploits backup capacity than the dedicate protection one.
Path planning in combined 3D grid and graph environment

In research literature and many scientific disciplines, solution to the common problem in path planning for an autonomous robot has been extensively developed. Almost all explored techniques assume the robot has complete and detailed overview of the environment he is moving in. In addition to, many methods work over the graph representation of this environment which can be very difficult to construct or obtain in the real applications. This paper introduces a hybrid technique combining graph and grid representations of an examined space and capable of planning paths in known, partially known, unknown and dynamic environment at the price of the pseudo optimality of results.
Community tools for massively multiplayer online games

Abstract One of the most attractive features of MassivelyMultiplayer Online Games (MMOGs) is the possibility for usersto interact with a large number of other users in a varietyof collaborative and competitive situations. Gamers withinan MMOG typically become members of active communitieswith mutual interests, shared adventures, and common objec-tives. We present the EU funded Community Network Game(CNG) project. The CNG project provides tools to enhancecollaborative activities between online gamers and offers newtools for the generation, distribution and insertion of user-generated content in MMOGs. CNG allows the addition of newengaging community services without changing the game codeand without adding new processing or network loads to theMMOG central servers. The user-generated content consideredby the CNG project includes 3D objects and graphics, as wellas screen-captured live video of the game, which is shared usingpeer-to-peer technology. We survey the state of the art in allareas related to the project and present its concept, objectives,and innovations.Keywords -Massively Multiplayer Online Games; user gener-ated content; P2P video streaming; graphics insertion.
Collusion in regulated pluralistic markets

We analyse incentives for cooperative behaviour when heterogeneous providers are faced with regulated prices under yardstick competition. Providers are heterogeneous in the degree to which their interests correspond to those of the regulator, with close correspondence labelled altruism. Deviation of interests may arise as a result of de-nationalisation or when private providers enter predominantly public markets. We assess how provider strategies and incentives to collude relate to provider characteristics under yardstick competition regulation. Our results suggest that under the yardstick competition each provider’s choice of cooperative cost is decreasing in the degree of the other provider’s altruism, so a selfinterested provider will operate at a lower cost than an altruistic provider. The prospect of defection serves to moderate the chosen level of operating cost. More general results show that collusion is more stable in homogeneous than in heterogeneous markets; in markets served by purely altruistic providers there is no collusion on costs while in markets served by purely self-interested providers there is scope for collusion. Our analysis demonstrates that it is important to consider the composition of the market when designing yardstick competition arrangements.
Expansion of Paneth Cell Population in Response to Enteric Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium Infection

ABSTRACT Paneth cells residing at the base of the small intestinal crypts contribute to the mucosal intestinal first line defense by secreting granules filled with antimicrobial polypeptides including lysozyme. These cells derive from the columnar intestinal stem cell located at position 0 and the transit amplifying cell located at position +4 in the crypts. We have previously shown that Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (ST), a leading cause of gastrointestinal infections in humans, effects an overall reduction of lysozyme in the small intestine. To extend this work, we examined small-intestinal tissue sections at various time points after ST infection to quantify and localize expression of lysozyme and assess Paneth cell abundance, apoptosis, and the expression of Paneth cell differentiation markers. In response to infection with ST, the intestinal Paneth cell-specific lysozyme content, the number of lysozyme-positive Paneth cells, and the number of granules per Paneth cell decreased. However, this was accompanied by increases in the total number of Paneth cells and the frequency of mitotic events in crypts, by increased staining for the proliferation marker PCNA, primarily at the crypt side walls where the transit amplifying cell resides and not at the crypt base, and by apoptotic events in villi. Furthermore, we found a time-dependent upregulation of first β-catenin, followed by EphB3, and lastly Sox9 in response to ST, which was not observed after infection with a Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 mutant deficient in type III secretion. Our data strongly suggest that, in response to ST infection, a Paneth cell differentiation program is initiated that leads to an expansion of the Paneth cell population and that the transit amplifying cell is likely the main progenitor responder. Infection-induced expansion of the Paneth cell population may represent an acute intestinal inflammatory response similar to neutrophilia in systemic infection.
The Impact of the FIFA 11+ Training Program on Injury Prevention in Football Players: A Systematic Review

The FIFA 11+ is a simple, and easy to implement, sports injury prevention program comprising a warm up of 10 conditioning exercises. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the impact of the FIFA 11+ on injury incidence, compliance and cost effectiveness when implemented among football players. MEDLINE, EMBASE and Scopus databases were searched using the search terms “FIFA 11+”, “football”, “soccer”, “injury prevention”, and “The 11”. The titles and abstracts were screened by two independent reviewers and the data were filtered by one reviewer using a standardized extraction form and thereafter checked by another one. The risk of bias and the methodological quality of the studies were evaluated through the PEDro score and Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP). A total of 911 studies were identified, of which 12 met the inclusion criteria of the review. The FIFA 11+ has demonstrated how a simple exercise program completed as part of warm-up can decrease the incidence of injuries in amateur football players. In general, considerable reductions in the number of injured players, ranging between 30% and 70%, have been observed among the teams that implemented the FIFA 11+. In addition, players with high compliance to the FIFA 11+ program had an estimated risk reduction of all injuries by 35% and show significant improvements in components of neuromuscular and motor performance when participating in structured warm-up sessions at least 1.5 times/week. Most studies had high methodological quality and a low risk of bias. Given the large number of people who play football at amateur level and the detrimental impact of sports injuries on a personal and societal level, the FIFA 11+ can be considered as a fundamental tool to minimize the risks of participation in a sport with substantial health benefits.
Motion events in Spanish L2 acquisition

The overall aim of this paper is to discuss how Talmy’s (1985, 2000) typological framework and Slobin’s (1996) thinking for speaking hypothesis can be fruitful for the investigation of how adult language learners come to express motion events in an L2. We report an empirical study which compares the expression of the semantic components of Path and Manner of motion by three groups of informants: (a) learners whose L1 and L2 belong to different typological patterns (Danish learners of Spanish; (b) learners whose L1 and L2 share the same typological pattern (Italian learners of Spanish); and (c) Spanish native speakers. Based on previous research on L1 acquisition, it was hypothesized that the Danish learner group would exhibit a higher degree of elaboration of the two semantic components than the other informant groups. The results of the study, however, show a limited role for the L1 thinking for speaking patterns in advanced second language acquisition.
Comparison of the skeletal effects induced by daily administration of PTHrP (1–36) and PTHrP (107–139) to ovariectomized mice

We here compared the changes induced by subcutaneous injection of PTHrP (1–36) or PTHrP (107–139) (80 µg/kg/day, 5 days/week for 4 or 8 weeks) in bone histology and bone remodeling factors, and in bone marrow cells (BMCs) ex vivo, in ovariectomized (OVX) mice. We also examined the osteogenic effects of these peptides in mouse mesenchymal C3H10T1/2 cells under oxidative stress condition in vitro, which recapitulates the effects of OVX. We confirmed that PTHrP (1–36) exerts bone anabolic actions, as assessed by bone histology and osteoblast differentiation markers in the long bones and plasma from OVX mice. PTHrP (107–139) was also efficient in stimulating several bone formation parameters, and it dramatically decreased bone resorption markers. Moreover, both PTHrP peptides modulate DKK‐1 and Sost/sclerostin in osteoblast‐like UMR‐106 cells highly expressing these Wnt pathway inhibitors, related to their osteogenic action in this in vivo scenario. Administration of either PTHrP peptide improved osteogenic differentiation in BMCs from OVX mice ex vivo and in mouse mesenchymal C3H10T1/2 cells under oxidative stress condition in vitro. These data demonstrate that PTHrP (1–36) and PTHrP (107–139) can exert similar osteogenic effects in the appendicular skeleton of OVX mice. Our results suggest that these effects might occur in part by modulating the Wnt pathway. These findings lend credence to the notion that the osteogenic action of PTHrP (107–139) is likely a consequence of its anti‐resorptive and anabolic features, and further support the usefulness of PTHrP (1–36) as a bone anabolic peptide in the setting of estrogen‐depletion. J. Cell. Physiol. 227: 1752–1760, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Designing of Policy-based Negotiation Protocol on MANET

Due to many unique characteristics on the MANET environment such as node's autonomy, highly limited and shared resources, dynamic topology, etc. And these characteristics introduce to the new MANET aspects such as node autonomy, node's roles and resources. The needs for each node to control its resources and roles participated on the MANET is increasing. In this paper we proposed a design of policy-based negotiation protocol that users are able to control their resources. We also describe the design goals, its design principles and negotiation process of our proposed protocol
A SOCIAL IDENTITY THREAT AND EXPERIENCED AFFECT : THE DISTINCT ROLES OF INTERGROUP ATTRIBUTIONS AND SOCIAL IDENTIFICATION

I investigated the moderating role of ingroup identification on the relationship between the affective state experienced and the causal attributions made for social identity threatening outcomes of intergroup comparisons. For people under such conditions, on the basis of prior research, I expected that affect unpleasantness is positively correlated with attributions for outgroup merits to the extent that social identification is strong. Furthermore, I hypothesized that perceived legitimacy of the intergroup status differential mediates such a relationship. I found support for these predictions by providing psychology students with bogus research results concerning the lower academic achievements of their own group relative to medicine students. Combining the findings of two distinct literatures, the present study traces the sources of the affective processes that social identity threatening intergroup comparisons set in motion as a function of ingroup identification when people make ingroup relevant attributions. Current Research in Social Psychology (Vol. 10, No. 10) (Costarelli)
Diagnosis and management of gastrointestinal complications in adult cancer patients: evidence-based guidelines of the Infectious Diseases Working Party (AGIHO) of the German Society of Hematology and Oncology (DGHO).

BACKGROUND Cancer patients frequently suffer from gastrointestinal complications. However, a comprehensive, practical and evidence-based guideline on this issue is not yet available. PATIENTS AND METHODS An expert group was put together by the Infectious Diseases Working Party (AGIHO) of the German Society of Hematology and Oncology (DGHO) to develop a guideline on gastrointestinal complications in cancer patients. For each subtopic, a literature search was carried out in PubMed, Medline and Cochrane databases and the strength of recommendation and the quality of the published evidence for major therapeutic strategies were categorized using a modification of the 'Infectious Diseases Society of America' criteria. Consensus discussions were held on each of the topics. RESULTS Recommendations were made with respect to non-infectious and infectious gastrointestinal complications. For all recommendations, the strength of the recommendation and the level of evidence are presented. CONCLUSION This guideline is an evidence-based approach to the diagnosis and management of gastrointestinal complications in cancer patients.