Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diversified deep structural metric learning for land use classification in remote sensing images

In this work, a diversified deep structural metric learning is proposed for remote sensing image classification. Firstly, a deep structural metric learning is introduced to take full advantage of structural information of training batches. Secondly, we impose a diversity regularization over the factors of deep structural metric learning to encourage them to be uncorrelated, such that each factor tends to model unique information during the training phase and all factors sums up to capture a larger proportion of information. The diversified model could benefit the classification of remote sensing images. Experiments are conducted on two real-world remote sensing image datasets to evaluate the effectiveness and wide applicability of the proposed approach. The results show that our proposed method can obtain comparable or even better results on remote sensing image classification when compared with the recent results.
A Multilayer Integration Technique for Low-loss, Low-crosstalk Interconnects and Circuits for RF Silicon MMICs

This paper reports our latest progress in developing the Silicon/Metal/Polyimide (SIMPOL) architecture for high-performance RF interconnects. This 3D MMIC process utilizes polyimide for an interlayer dielectric on low-resistivity CMOS-grade silicon substrates. The SIMPOL structure exhibits low noise-crosstalk (<¿80dB up to 18GHz and <¿40dB up to 50GHz) along with excellent insertion loss (<¿0.25dB/mm up to 45GHz). A branch line coupler was implemented and a bandpass filter was designed at 37 GHz using the SIMPOL process. The results demonstrate the multilayer capability, superior performance, and applicability of SIMPOL to advanced millimeter-wave wireless communication systems.
Technological possibilities of LTCC ceramic for field of sensors

This paper is focused on shaping technology of LTCC (Low Temperature Cofired Ceramics) and their marginal possibilities in 3D shaped modules. The first part of paper deals with analysis of marginal possibilities of LTCC ceramic shaping. There were realized samples with various bending angles and various number of layers with embedded thick-film conductive paths. Applicability of obtained results was attested on development of 3D shaped module with thick-film pressure sensor.
Human Cytomegalovirus Early Protein pUL21a Promotes Efficient Viral DNA Synthesis and the Late Accumulation of Immediate-Early Transcripts

ABSTRACT We have previously reported that a newly annotated gene of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), UL21a, encodes an early viral protein termed pUL21a. Most notably, the virions of a UL21a deletion virus had markedly reduced infectivity, indicating that UL21a is required to establish an efficient productive infection. In this study, we infected fibroblasts with equal numbers of DNA-containing viral particles and identified where in the viral life cycle pUL21a acted. The UL21a deletion virus entered cells and initiated viral gene expression efficiently; however, it synthesized viral DNA poorly and accumulated several immediate-early (IE) transcripts at reduced levels at late times of infection. The defect in viral DNA synthesis preceded that in gene expression, and inhibition of viral DNA synthesis reduced the late accumulation of IE transcripts in both wild-type and mutant virus-infected cells to equivalent levels. This suggests that reduced viral DNA synthesis is the cause of reduced IE gene expression in the absence of UL21a. The growth of UL21a deletion virus was similar to that of recombinant HCMV in which pUL21a expression was abrogated by stop codon mutations, and the defect was rescued in pUL21a-expressing fibroblasts. pUL21a expression in trans was sufficient to restore viral DNA synthesis and gene expression of mutant virus produced from normal fibroblasts, whereas mutant virus produced from complementing cells still exhibited the defect in normal fibroblasts. Thus, pUL21a does not promote the functionality of HCMV virions; rather, its de novo synthesis facilitates viral DNA synthesis, which is necessary for the late accumulation of IE transcripts and establishment of a productive infection.
A Critical Reappraisal of Clinicopathologic Features and Association With Mycosis Fungoides and Sezary Syndrome

Context: Beginning in 1957, patients have been described with localized alopecia characterized histopathologically by mucin deposition within hair follicles (follicular mucinosis [FM]). At least 2 distinct diagnostic entities have been proposed: one occurring in children and young adults without association with other diseases (“idiopathic” FM), the other occurring in elderly patients and associated with mycosis fungoides or Sézary syndrome (“lymphoma-associated” FM).
Forward Versus Spot Buying of Information Goods

Several information goods, such as movie distribution rights or newspapers, are sold either at spot prices, or through forward subscription buying. Our paper considers a firm that offers an information good through spot buying, forward buying at a reduced price, or a combination of the two. The time lag between forward buying and spot buying brings about an uncertainty in a consumer's reservation price for the good at the time of advance purchase. We propose a consumer decision-making model that captures this fundamental feature and provides interesting insights into the key elements of consumer behavior. We establish that a consumer offered the choice between forward buying and waiting to (possibly) buy the good on spot faces the tradeoff between a lower unit price and the value of updated preferences. We also establish that consumers preferring forward buying have a relatively high expectation and low uncertainty in their reservation prices for the good at the time of advance purchase, while those preferring spot buying have a relatively low expectation and high uncertainty in their reservation prices for the good. We apply the model to formulate and analyze the firm's problem when it is either a price taker or a price setter. When the firm is a price taker, the choice is whether to offer the good for only forward buying, only spot buying, or a combination of the two. With an example, we show that when both the spot price and the discount on forward buying are moderate in values, the seller chooses the mixed strategy of offering both forward and spot buying simultaneously. When the firm is a price setter, the goal is to choose the offering(s) and the price level(s). With the example, we show how firms selling information goods can increase their revenues by using a mixed offering strategy with both spot and forward offerings. This strategy lends itself to second-degree price discrimination by the seller when there are groups of customers potentially heterogeneous in terms of the distribution of their reservation prices. Our work takes significant importance in the context of information goods, which are becoming increasingly prominent and are being delivered on the Web through the mechanisms of forward and spot buying.
Use of Chronic Epilepsy Models in Antiepileptic Drug Discovery: The Effect of Topiramate on Spontaneous Motor Seizures in Rats with Kainate‐induced Epilepsy

Summary: Purpose: Potential antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) are typically screened on acute seizures in normal animals, such as those induced in the maximal electroshock and pentylenetet‐razole models. As a proof‐of‐principle test, the present experiments used spontaneous epileptic seizures in kainate‐treated rats to examine the efficacy of topiramate (TPM) with a repeated‐measures, crossover protocol.
Discriminant Function of Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography to Determine Disease Severity in Glaucoma.

Purpose To determine the discriminant function of optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) by disease severity in glaucoma. Methods In this prospective, observational cross-sectional study, all subjects underwent visual fields, retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) measurements, and OCTA imaging. Local fractal analysis was applied to OCTA images (radial peripapillary capillaries [RPC] layer). Vessel density en face and inside the disc and spacing between large and small vessels were quantified. Stepwise logistic regression was performed and a glaucoma severity score (range, 0-1: 0, normal; 1, severe glaucoma) was developed by using global and regional (superotemporal [ST], inferotemporal [IT], temporal, superonasal [SN], inferonasal, and nasal) vascular parameters. Glaucoma severity score was compared with visual field and RNFL indices. Results One hundred ninety-nine eyes (112 subjects) with glaucoma (28 eyes preperimetric; 83 early, 43 moderate, and 45 severe glaucoma) and 74 normal (54 subjects) eyes were enrolled. Preperimetric and glaucomatous eyes had significantly altered (P < 0.001) global vascular parameters as compared to normal; regionally, ST, then SN and IT sectors (in that order) showed more change in glaucomatous eyes. Vascular parameters showed better discriminant ability (area under the curve [AUC], sensitivity, and specificity of 0.70, 69.2%, and 72.9%, respectively) than structural parameters between normal and preperimetric glaucomatous eyes. Vascular parameters had comparable AUC (P > 0.05) to visual fields for perimetric glaucoma. Glaucoma severity score identified preperimetric glaucoma and early glaucoma better than did visual fields. Conclusions Vascular parameters could be a useful adjunct tool to evaluate/diagnose glaucoma. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine their use in early detection and prognostication.
Assessment of solar irradiance in Large-Scale Photovoltaic fields by means of video processing

Photovoltaic (PV) technology has experienced rapid growth over the last 10 years. Although PV has positioned itself at the forefront of renewable energy technologies, further work needs to be done to improve energy efficiency. PV plants efficiency is considerably affected by partial shading originating in clouds and adjacent PV panels. The goal of this paper is to solve the problem of "Partial Shaded Large-Scale PV Plants". Utilizing already existing surveillance cameras, we estimate the solar irradiation of predefined grid in means of image processing. Based on this data, interpolation is performed to estimate the irradiation of each point in the PV field. We further process the data to estimate the position and velocity of shading objects such as clouds. The assessment of the irradiation could be further utilized to estimate the instantaneous power point of each PV panel. This knowledge could then be used to enhance the maximum power point of the field by using meandering methods. The characteristics of the shading objects could also be used to estimate future power drop of the field.
Prevalence of interstitial cystitis in vulvodynia patients detected by bladder potassium sensitivity.

INTRODUCTION Intravesical potassium sensitivity has been reported in 82% of vulvodynia patients, suggesting the bladder generates their pain and indicating interstitial cystitis (IC)/painful bladder syndrome deserves greater attention in differential diagnosis of vulvodynia. AIMS The aims of this study were to: (i) determine the prevalence of IC as detected by intravesical potassium sensitivity; and (ii) survey for urinary, pelvic pain, and sexually associated symptoms in patients with vulvodynia. METHODS Consecutive patients with vulvodynia were surveyed for urinary and pelvic pain symptoms using the pelvic pain and urgency/frequency (PUF) questionnaire, and tested for abnormal epithelial permeability using the potassium sensitivity test (PST). Rates of positive PST were determined overall and by PUF score range, and were compared in patients with intermittent vs. constant vulvodynia symptoms. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Results of intravesical PST. RESULTS Of 122 vulvodynia patients, 102 (84%) had a positive PST and 97 (80%) had urologic symptoms. Of the 87 sexually active patients, 81 (93%) reported pain associated with sex. Patients with constant (72/87, 83%) vs. intermittent symptoms (30/35, 86%) had no significant difference in rates of positive PST. Mean PUF score was 13.2. PUF scores of 3-4 were associated with an 86% rate of positive PST; scores 5-9, 44%; 10-14, 84%; 15-19, 87%; 20-24, 86%; and 25 and above, 100%. CONCLUSION Most patients with vulvodynia have a positive PST and urgency/frequency, indicating pain of bladder origin (IC). IC deserves far greater consideration in the differential diagnosis of patients with vulvodynia. This represents a dramatic change for the gynecologic paradigm of vulvodynia, which in many cases appears to be referred pain from the urinary bladder.
Long Tails Affect Swimming Performance and Habitat Choice in the Male Guppy

Abstract Sexual selection often favors male secondary sexual traits, although in some cases the elaborate traits incur costs to the males with respect to natural selection. Males of the guppy Poecilia reticulata have longer tails (caudal fins) than females, and the long tails contribute to the mating success of the males through female mate choice. We examined the effect of tail length on the swimming performance of male and female guppies. In a laboratory experiment, males with longer tails exhibited poorer swimming performance than those with shorter tails. However, this effect was not apparent in females. In addition, in a feral population, tail length of males was negatively correlated with water flow velocity in their microhabitats. Although body size of females was negatively correlated with water flow velocity in their microhabitats, tail length of females showed no significant correlation with degree of water flow. These results suggest that the long tail of male guppies incurs costs, such as a decrease in swimming performance, to the males with respect to natural selection and consequently limits their choice of habitats to those with slow water flow.
Extraction et gestion de l'information à partir des documents arabes

Cette these porte sur l’extraction et la gestion de l’information dans le cas de la langue arabe qui est une langue orientale et semitique. Cette langue est differente des langues occidentales surtout aux niveaux de la morphologie et des variations orthographiques. En effet, les performances des systemes d’extraction d’information en langue arabe restent encore problematiques. Alors, nous nous sommes interesses a etudier les performances des moteurs de recherche, les plus celebres entre 2006 et 2010, sur un corpus constitue de mille documents arabes. Nous avons constate que l’analyse morphologique n’est pas prise en compte dans ces moteurs. L’analyse morphologique d’un mot arabe consiste a identifier ses morphemes, ses affixes, son modele et sa racine. Nous avons propose une etude comparative des methodes d'extraction des caracteristiques morphologiques a partir d’un mot arabe. Cette etude est realisee sur corpus iSPEDAL en utilisant le systeme Eval que nous avons egalement proposes dans le cadre cette these. ISPEDAL est un dictionnaire structure et evolutif de la langue arabe qui est facilement exploitable en utilisant un langage de requete approprie. Il est automatiquement enrichi a partir des dictionnaires classiques ou des corpus quelconques. Le systeme Eval permet d'implementer les methodes d'extraction des caracteristiques morphologiques d’un mot arabe dans un environnement unique tout en respectant la specificite de chacune d’elles. Cette etude a permit de degager un groupe de methodes qui ont des bonnes performances dans ce domaine. L’integration de ce groupe dans les divers moteurs de recherche permet d’ameliorer la performance d’extraction de l’information en langue arabe. Cette these a ete realisee dans le cadre d’une cooperation scientifique de recherche franco-libanaise CEDRE sous le projet RIMA : Recherche intelligente d’information multimedia multilingue arabe.
Design of a constant current solar charge controller with microcontroller based soft switching buck converter for solar home lighting system

This paper describes the design of a solar charge controller with microcontroller based soft switching buck converter. Zero current switching technique is used for buck converter design. Atmega 16 microcontroller is used for generating the necessary PWM switching signal. The output voltage of the solar panel is reduced to 15 V and it is applied to a charge controller circuit. The overcharge protection and under charge alarm is available in the charge controller circuit. The settings of these protection circuits are adjustable through potentiometers. Win AVR software is used as a compiler for the generation of necessary hex file.12V, 45 Ah lead acid battery is used for charging purpose.
Cryptanalysis of a Privacy-Preserving Aggregation Protocol

Privacy-preserving aggregation protocols allow an untrusted aggregator to evaluate certain statistics over a population of individuals without learning each individual’s privately owned data. In this note, we show that a recent protocol for computing an aggregate sum due to Jung, Li, and Wan (IEEE Transactions on Dependable and Secure Computing, 2015) is universally breakable, that is, anyone is able to recover each individual’s private data from the corresponding ciphertext. We also describe an alternate collusion attack against their companion product protocol.
The automatic identification of lexical variation between language varieties

Abstract Languages are not uniform. Speakers of different language varieties use certain words differently – more or less frequently, or with different meanings. We argue that distributional semantics is the ideal framework for the investigation of such lexical variation. We address two research questions and present our analysis of the lexical variation between Belgian Dutch and Netherlandic Dutch. The first question involves a classic application of distributional models: the automatic retrieval of synonyms. We use corpora of two different language varieties to identify the Netherlandic Dutch synonyms for a set of typically Belgian words. Second, we address the problem of automatically identifying words that are typical of a given lect, either because of their high frequency or because of their divergent meaning. Overall, we show that distributional models are able to identify more lectal markers than traditional keyword methods. Distributional models also have a bias towards a different type of variation. In summary, our results demonstrate how distributional semantics can help research in variational linguistics, with possible future applications in lexicography or terminology extraction.
Distribution of choline acetyltransferase immunoreactivity in the brain of anuran (Rana perezi, Xenopus laevis) and urodele (Pleurodeles waltl) amphibians

Because our knowledge of cholinergic systems in the brains of amphibians is limited, the present study aimed to provide detailed information on the distribution of cholinergic cell bodies and fibers as revealed by immunohistochemistry with antibodies directed against the enzyme choline acetyltransferase (ChAT). To determine general and derived features of the cholinergic systems within the class of Amphibia, both anuran (Rana perezi, Xenopus laevis) and urodele (Pleurodeles waltl) amphibians were studied. Distinct groups of ChAT‐immunoreactive cell bodies were observed in the basal telencephalon, hypothalamus, habenula, isthmic nucleus, isthmic reticular formation, cranial nerve motor nuclei, and spinal cord. Prominent plexuses of cholinergic fibers were found in the olfactory bulb, pallium, basal telencephalon, ventral thalamus, tectum, and nucleus interpeduncularis. Comparison of these results with those obtained in other vertebrates, including a segmental approach to correlate cell populations, reveals that the cholinergic systems in amphibians share many features with amniotes. Thus, cholinergic pedunculopontine and laterodorsal tegmental nuclei could be identified in the amphibian brain. The finding of weakly immunoreactive cells in the striatum of Rana, which is in contrast with the condition found in Xenopus, Pleurodeles, and other anamniotes studied so far, has revived the notion that basal ganglia organization is more preserved during evolution than previously thought. J. Comp. Neurol. 382:499‐534, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss Inc.
A 6‐bp Deletion Variant in a Novel Canine Glutathione‐S‐Transferase Gene (GSTT5) Leads to Loss of Enzyme Function

Objectives Glutathione‐S‐transferases (GSTs) detoxify reactive xenobiotics, and defective GST gene polymorphisms increase cancer risk in humans. A low activity GST‐theta variant was previously found in research beagles. The purpose of our study was to determine the molecular basis for this phenotype and its allele frequency in pet dogs. Methods Banked livers from 45 dogs of various breeds were screened for low GST‐theta activity by the substrate 1,2‐dichloro‐4‐nitrobenzene (DCNB), and were genotyped for variants in a novel canine GST gene, GSTT5. Whole‐genome sequences from 266 dogs were genotyped at one discovered variant GSTT5 locus. Results Canine livers ranged 190‐fold in GST‐theta activities, and a GSTT5 exon coding variant 385_390delGACCAG (Asp129_Gln130del) was significantly associated with low activity (P < 0.0001) and a marked decrease in hepatic protein expression (P = 0.0026). Recombinant expression of variant GSTT5 led to a 92% decrease in V max for DCNB (P = 0.0095). The minor allele frequency (MAF) for 385_390delGACCAG was 0.144 in 45 dog livers, but was significantly higher in beagles (0.444) versus nonbeagles (0.007; P = 0.0004). The homozygous genotype was significantly over‐represented in Pembroke Welsh corgis (P < 0.0001) based on available whole‐genome sequence data. Conclusions An Asp129_Gln130del variant in canine GSTT5 is responsible for marked loss of GST‐theta enzyme activity. This variant is significantly over‐represented in purpose‐bred laboratory beagles and in Pembroke Welsh corgis. Additional work will determine the prevalence of this variant among other purebred dogs, and will establish the substrate range of this polymorphic canine enzyme with respect to common environmental carcinogens.
Surface Modification of Direct-Current and Radio-Frequency Oxygen Plasma Treatments Enhance Cell Biocompatibility

The sand-blasting and acid etching (SLA) method can fabricate a rough topography for mechanical fixation and long-term stability of titanium implant, but can not achieve early bone healing. This study used two kinds of plasma treatments (Direct-Current and Radio-Frequency plasma) to modify the SLA-treated surface. The modification of plasma treatments creates respective power range and different content functional OH groups. The results show that the plasma treatments do not change the micron scale topography, and plasma-treated specimens presented super hydrophilicity. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)-examined result showed that the functional OH content of the RF plasma-treated group was higher than the control (SLA) and DC treatment groups. The biological responses (protein adsorption, cell attachment, cell proliferation, and differentiation) promoted after plasma treatments, and the cell responses, have correlated to the total content of amphoteric OH groups. The experimental results indicated that plasma treatments can create functional OH groups on SLA-treated specimens, and the RF plasma-treated SLA implant thus has potential for achievement of bone healing in early stage of implantation.