Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Model globally, match locally: Efficient and robust 3D object recognition

This paper addresses the problem of recognizing free-form 3D objects in point clouds. Compared to traditional approaches based on point descriptors, which depend on local information around points, we propose a novel method that creates a global model description based on oriented point pair features and matches that model locally using a fast voting scheme. The global model description consists of all model point pair features and represents a mapping from the point pair feature space to the model, where similar features on the model are grouped together. Such representation allows using much sparser object and scene point clouds, resulting in very fast performance. Recognition is done locally using an efficient voting scheme on a reduced two-dimensional search space. We demonstrate the efficiency of our approach and show its high recognition performance in the case of noise, clutter and partial occlusions. Compared to state of the art approaches we achieve better recognition rates, and demonstrate that with a slight or even no sacrifice of the recognition performance our method is much faster then the current state of the art approaches.
Local Usage of Tiger Parts and Its Role in Tiger Killing in the Bangladesh Sundarbans

ABSTRACT This article explored the local medicinal and traditional values of tiger parts and associated beliefs, and its link to the commercial trade in the Bangladesh Sundarbans. Using semi-structured qualitative interviews with 139 respondents, we found that the local use of, and belief in, the medicinal values of tiger parts is widespread and that virtually all parts of the tiger are used. Some of the local uses of tiger parts were unique in both the way and the purpose of use. For example, the soil of tiger pugmark was consumed by the women as a means of contraception. We established that local usage may be a significant threat to the tiger population of south Asia as it motivates stray tiger killing for collecting tiger parts for both local use and commercial demand, and provides the opportunities for poachers and the commercial trade to flourish.
Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Intake and the Risk of Type I and Type II Endometrial Cancer among Postmenopausal Women

Background: Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) intake has been associated with an increased risk of obesity and type II diabetes. However, its association with endometrial cancer is unclear. Methods: We evaluated dietary intake of SSB, fruit juice, sugar-free beverages, sweets/baked goods, starch, and sugars among 23,039 postmenopausal women in the Iowa Women's Health Study. Incident estrogen-dependent type I and estrogen-independent type II endometrial cancers were identified via linkage with the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results Registry. Risks of type I and type II endometrial cancers were separately compared by energy-adjusted dietary intake in Cox proportional hazards regression models. Results: From 1986 to 2010, 506 type I and 89 type II incident endometrial cancers were identified. An increased risk of type I endometrial cancer was observed with increasing SSB intake after adjustment for body mass index (BMI) and other cofounders (Ptrend = 0.0005). Compared with nondrinkers of SSB, the risk was 78% higher [95% confidence intervals (CI), 1.32–2.40] among women in the highest quintile of SSB intake. The observed association was not modified by BMI, physical activity, history of diabetes, or cigarette smoking. Higher risk of type I endometrial cancer was also observed with higher intake of sugars. None of the dietary items included in the analysis was associated with type II endometrial cancer risk. Conclusion: Higher intake of SSB and sugars was associated with an increased risk of type I, but not type II, endometrial cancer. Impact: SSB intake may be a risk factor for type I endometrial cancer regardless of other lifestyle factors. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 22(12); 2384–94. ©2013 AACR.
PENGARUH TOKEN EKONOMI UNTK MENGURANGI AGRESIVITAS PADA SISWA TK

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh pemberian token ekonomi dalam mengurangi gejala agresivitas pada anak TK. Subjek dalam penelitian ini adalah tiga orang siswa kelas TK B, usia lima dan enam tahun. Metode pengumpulan data yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode observasi dengan pencatatan behavioral checklist. Penelitian ini menggunakan single-case experimental design dengan format perlakuan ABA withdrawal . Data yang diperoleh kemudian dianalisis menggunakan teknik analisis visual inspection untuk melihatperubahan dan membandingkan efektivitas perlakuan. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan adanya penurunan gejala agresivitas khususnya perilaku memukul pada subjek.Pada subjek pertama, perilaku memukul mengalami penurunan sebesar 2,87. Pada subjek kedua, agresivitas khususnya perilaku memukul mengalami penurunan sebesar 2,08. Pada subjek ketiga perilaku memukul juga mengalami penurunan sebesar 1,67.Berdasarkan hasil penelitian dapat disimpulkan bahwa token ekonomi dapat mengurangi gejala agresivitas pada anak, khususnya perilaku memukul. Kata Kunci : agresivitas, memukul, token ekonomi
Effects of Need for Cognition and Distraction on Issue-relevant Elaboration and Attitude Change

This study was based on Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), which is a general theory of attitude change, and investigated effects of motivation and ability to process information on issue-relevant elaboration and attitude change. It employed need for cognition, which is a disposition about engaging in and enjoying effortful analytic activity, as a motivation factor and distraction during presentation of message as an ability factor. The result of elaboration confirmed the postulate on variation in elaboration proposed by the ELM the extent of elaboration became high when motivation and ability were relatively high, and the extent of elaboration became low when motivation and/or ability were relatively low. On the other hand, the result of attitude change didn't correspond with previous studies based on the ELM; not only subjects in relatively high elaboration (HM·HA high motivation-high ability condition) but also subjects in relatively low elaboration (LM·LA and HM·LA) changed their attitude by argument quality, especially through the strong message. Furthermore, the path analyses revealed that elaboration had an important role as a mediator between attitude and motivation or ability; they didn'taffect attitude directly but could affect it through the medium of elaboration.
sFRP‐2 is a target of the Wnt‐4 signaling pathway in the developing metanephric kidney

Members of the Wnt family of secreted glycoproteins act as short‐range signaling molecules in vertebrate embryogenesis. Previous work has shown that Wnt‐4 is required for kidney development. Mice lacking functional Wnt‐4 fail to form pretubular cell aggregates. Wnt‐4 acts as an autoinducer of the mesenchymal to epithelial transition underlying nephron development. We have identified a member of the gene family encoding secreted frizzled related proteins (sFRP), putative Wnt antagonists, that shows overlapping expression with Wnt‐4 in aggregating mesenchyme and simple epithelial bodies during metanephric development. sFRP‐2 expression is absent in metanephric mesenchyme of kidneys mutant for Wnt‐4 and is coinduced with Wnt‐4 in isolated metanephric mesenchyme by cells expressing Wnt‐4. The cysteine‐rich domain of sFRP‐2 binds to Wnt‐4 as shown by coimmunoprecipitation experiments. Hence, sFRP‐2 is a target of the Wnt‐4 signaling pathway in the metanephric kidney and may modulate Wnt‐4 signaling. sFRP‐2 expression is highly dynamic and specific during other aspects of embryogenesis. sFRP‐2 is expressed in subpopulations of ependymal cells in spinal cord and brain, in the developing eye, in limb bud mesenchyme, in the heart, and strongly in skeletogenic condensations of facial bones, suggesting widespread interaction with other members of the Wnt gene family during embryogenesis. Dev. Dyn. 1998;213:440–451. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Fast and flexible genetic algorithm processor

In this paper a generic genetic algorithm processor (GAP) with high flexibility in parameter tuning is introduced. The proposed processor utilizes pipeline structure to have low processing time. In order to further increase in the speed, genetic population has been duplicated, one for replacement stage of genetic algorithm (GA) and another for selection phase. Additionally, parallel processing method in the selection stage boosts GA processor's speed. The proposed GA has been designed so that it can work in online controlling circumstances. It supports for constraints in search space and changing environments. Also, a large bit number of chromosomes can be achieved by connecting the proposed 32-bit processors to work as one n-bit chip. Ability to work with two fitness function chips, supporting pipelined fitness functions, and capability of distributed processing are other factors that increase the speed in our design.
Android Malware Forensics: Reconstruction of Malicious Events

Smart mobile devices have been widely used and the contained sensitive information is endangered by malwares. The malicious events caused by malwares are crucial evidences for digital forensic analysis, and the main task of mobile forensic analysis is to reconstruct these events. However, the reconstruction heavily relies on the code analysis of the malware. The difficulties and challenges include how to quickly identify the suspicious programs, how to defeat the anti-forensics tricks of malicious code, and how to deduce the malicious behaviors according to the code. To address this issue, we propose systematic procedures of analyzing typical malware behaviors on the popular mobile operating system Android. Based on the procedures we discuss the deduction of Android malicious events. We also give a real malware forensic case as a reference.
Can Facebook Use Induce Well-Being?

Over the past few decades, the widespread phenomenon of Internet abuse has gained attention from the public, academia, and the media. In a departure from this negative viewpoint, however, researchers and educators have devoted considerable effort in attempting to understand the influence of online communication on people's psychological well-being. This study focuses specifically on Facebook, and proposes a research model to examine the relationships among Facebook use, online social support, general social support, and psychological well-being. Our results show that using Facebook helped college students to obtain online social support, and that online social support is an extension of general social support. However, although general social support contributes to well-being, online social support appears to have little direct effect on well-being. The relationship between online social support and well-being is mediated through the factor of general social support.
Expression and function of striatal enriched protein tyrosine phosphatase is profoundly altered in cerebral ischemia

Striatal enriched protein tyrosine phosphatase (STEP) acts in the central nervous system to dephosphorylate a number of important proteins involved in synaptic function including ERK and NMDA receptor subunits. These proteins are also linked to stroke, in which cerebral ischemia triggers a complex cascade of events. Here we demonstrate that STEP is regulated at both the transcriptional and the post‐transcriptional levels in rat models of cerebral ischemia and that its regulation may play a role in the outcome of ischemic insults. After transient middle cerebral artery occlusion, there are profound decreases in the levels of STEP mRNA, whilst in global ischemia STEP mRNA is selectively down‐regulated in areas susceptible to ischemic damage. In a neuroprotective preconditioning paradigm, and in regions of the brain that are relatively resistant to ischemic damage, STEP mRNA levels are increased. Furthermore, there is a significant processing of STEP after ischemia to generate a novel species, STEP33, resulting in a redistribution of STEP from membrane‐bound to soluble compartments. Concomitant with the cleavage of mature forms of STEP, there are changes in the phosphorylation state of ERK. We show that the cleavage of STEP leads to a catalytically active form, but this cleaved form no longer binds to and dephosphorylates its substrate pERK. Therefore, in response to ischemic insults, there are profound reductions in both the amount and the activity of STEP, its localization, as well as the activity of one of its key substrates, pERK. These changes in STEP may reflect a critical role in the outcomes of ischemic brain injury.
A Bootstrapping Algorithm for Automatically Harvesting Semantic Relations

In this paper, we present Espresso, a weakly-supervised iterative algorithm combined with a web-based knowledge expansion technique, for extracting binary semantic relations. Given a small set of seed instances for a particular relation, the system learns lexical patterns, applies them to extract new instances, and then uses the Web to filter and expand the instances. Preliminary experiments show that Espresso extracts highly precise lists of a wide variety of semantic relations when compared with two state of the art systems
Stabilization of closed sets for passive systems, part I: Reduction principles

Given an unforced nonlinear system and two nested closed and invariant sets ¿ ¿ O, we present reduction principles allowing one to extrapolate the properties of stability, attractivity, and asymptotic stability of ¿ from analogous properties of the system restricted to O. As a corollary to our reduction principles, we present a stability criterion for cascade-connected systems which generalizes well-known results in the literature. Using the reduction principles, in Part II of this paper we present a comprehensive theory for passivity-based stabilization of closed sets.
What Should I Wear?

Abstract This article examines the effects of feminism and exposure to bisexual lesbian and women's communities on bisexual women's behavior, thoughts and feelings regarding beauty and appearance norms. Seventy-seven bisexual women participated in a qualitative survey addressing these issues. Sixty-two women responded to questions about the ways in which feminism has affected their beauty ideas and/or practices. Results showed that 73% (n = 45) of these respondents felt that feminism affected their beauty ideas and/or practices, with all but one woman citing positive influences. Seventy-six women responded to questions about the ways in which contact with women's communities affected their beauty ideas and/or practices. Results showed that 59% (n = 45) of these respondents felt that contact with women's communities has had an impact on their beauty ideas and/or practices. The majority of respondents (91%; n = 69) also felt that there are clear appearance norms or standards in women's communities that differ from those of society at large. Themes from open-ended responses, specific examples and implications of findings are discussed.
Diversity and Significance of Mold Species in Norwegian Drinking Water

ABSTRACT In order to determine the occurrence, distribution, and significance of mold species in groundwater- and surface water-derived drinking water in Norway, molds isolated from 273 water samples were identified. Samples of raw water, treated water, and water from private homes and hospital installations were analyzed by incubation of 100-ml membrane-filtered samples on dichloran-18% glycerol agar. The total count (number of CFU per 100 ml) of fungal species and the species diversity within each sample were determined. The identification of mold species was based on morphological and molecular methods. In total, 94 mold species belonging to 30 genera were identified. The mycobiota was dominated by species of Penicillium, Trichoderma, and Aspergillus, with some of them occurring throughout the drinking water system. Several of the same species as isolated from water may have the potential to cause allergic reactions or disease in humans. Other species are common contaminants of food and beverages, and some may cause unwanted changes in the taste or smell of water. The present results indicate that the mycobiota of water should be considered when the microbiological safety and quality of drinking water are assessed. In fact, molds in drinking water should possibly be included in the Norwegian water supply and drinking water regulations.
Former Spouse Ties and Postdivorce Relationship Quality: Relationship Effort as a Mediator

ABSTRACT One potential problem area in remarriages is problems with or ties to an ex-spouse. This study focuses on identifying factors central to the relationship dynamics such as relationship satisfaction and stability. Additional emphasis is placed on specific and targeted work in a relationship with the goal of improving it, and its potential mediating effect on any negative relationship between ex-spouse ties and low relationship quality. Using secondary data from the RELATionship Evaluation Survey (RELATE), a sample of 1,546 individuals in postdivorce romantic relationships was examined. The results indicate that unresolved issues and negative interactions with an ex-spouse are negatively associated with relationship quality, but effort to mediate this negative association shows promise. Practice recommendations include exploring how family service agencies and clinicians can better serve couples in postdivorce relationships. Further, a focus on the repartnered family system and a recognition of its difference from other family system types (i.e., first marriage) are important for agencies, clinicians, and researchers interested in providing services to stepfamilies and family life after divorce.
A virtual instrument for measurement of flicker

All types of fluctuations of the r.m.s. voltage in power systems may be assessed by using a flickermeter which complies with the specification given in IEC-EN 60868. In this paper a digital flickermeter is presented based on the implementation in the frequency domain of the weighting filter block of the eye-brain simulation chain. The virtual instrument, implemented with an acquisition board inserted on a PC and with a software developed with the LabView tools, samples the voltage and furnishes the instantaneous flicker level and other severity coefficients. Results of simulated and actual data are reported to validate the performances of the developed flickermeter.
Association and Interaction of −58C>T and ±9 bp Polymorphisms of BDKRB2 Gene Causing Susceptibility to Essential Hypertension

Introduction. Bradykinin, a vasodilator by nature has been documented to have a protective role against hypertension and cardiovascular complications. Polymorphisms of bradykinin B2 receptor (BDKRB2) gene are reported to be predisposing factors for hypertension. Evaluation of the association between −58C>T and ±9 bp polymorphisms of BDKRB2 with essential hypertension (EHT) was attempted. Methods. Two hundred and fourteen primary hypertensives and 249 controls were genotyped for the selected markers by polymerase chain reaction, gel electrophoresis (±9 bp), and SSCP (−58C>T). Results. While −58C>T polymorphism did not reveal any association with EHT, ±9 bp polymorphism showed a significant association with high risk for heterozygotes (+9/−9) when tested against the pooled frequencies of homozygotes (OR [odds ratio] = 1.63, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.12–2.38, P = .02), and this risk was 1.7 folds high in males (OR = 1.74, 95% CI = 1.05–2.86, P = .06) and 1.9 folds high in familial cases (OR = 1.96, 95% CI = 1.09–3.53, P = .04). In contrast, significant protective effect was observed for −9/–9 genotype against EHT when tested under dominant model in general (OR = 0.59, 95% CI = 0.41–0.86, P = .01), in males (OR = 0.49, 95% CI = 0.30–0.82, P = .01), and in familial cases (OR = 0.50, 95% CI = 0.28–0.89, P = .04). Significant risk for +9 bp allele was observed in general (OR = 1.39, 95% CI = 1.05–1.86, P = .04) and in males (OR = 1.65, 95% CI = 1.13–2.41, P = .02). The interaction information analysis revealed a synergistic effect between the two polymorphisms contributing to EHT. +9/+9 genotype of ±9 bp polymorphism when present in combination with CC genotype of −58C>T polymorphism showed 2.2-fold higher risk for developing EHT. Conclusions. The results suggest that allele +9 bp might be a risk factor for EHT in general and specially in males. Markers −58C>T and ±9 bp may act synergistically causing susceptibility to EHT.
Evaluating the use of search engine development tools in IT education

It is important for education in computer science and information systems to keep up to date with the latest development in technology. With the rapid development of the Internet and the Web, many schools have included Internet-related technologies, such as Web search engines and e-commerce, as part of their curricula. Previous research has shown that it is effective to use search engine development tools to facilitate students' learning. However, the effectiveness of these tools in the classroom has not been evaluated. In this article, we review the design of three search engine development tools, SpidersRUs, Greenstone, and Alkaline, followed by an evaluation study that compared the three tools in the classroom. In the study, 33 students were divided into 13 groups and each group used the three tools to develop three independent search engines in a class project. Our evaluation results showed that SpidersRUs performed better than the two other tools in overall satisfaction and the level of knowledge gained in their learning experience when using the tools for a class project on Internet applications development. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
United we fall, divided we stand: a study of query segmentation and prf for patent prior art search

Previous research in patent search has shown that reducing queries by extracting a few key terms is ineffective primarily because of the vocabulary mismatch between patent applications used as queries and existing patent documents. This finding has led to the use of full patent applications as queries in patent prior art search. In addition, standard information retrieval (IR) techniques such as query expansion (QE) do not work effectively with patent queries, principally because of the presence of noise terms in the massive queries. In this study, we take a new approach to QE for patent search. Text segmentation is used to decompose a patent query into self coherent sub-topic blocks. Each of these much shorted sub-topic blocks which is representative of a specific aspect or facet of the invention, is then used as a query to retrieve documents. Documents retrieved using the different resulting sub-queries or query streams are interleaved to construct a final ranked list. This technique can exploit the potential benefit of QE since the segmented queries are generally more focused and less ambiguous than the full patent query. Experiments on the CLEF-2010 IP prior-art search task show that the proposed method outperforms the retrieval effectiveness achieved when using a single full patent application text as the query, and also demonstrates the potential benefits of QE to alleviate the vocabulary mismatch problem in patent search.