Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Hybrid System for Text Detection in Video Frames

This paper proposes a hybrid system for text detection in video frames. The system consists of two main stages. In the first stage text regions are detected based on the edge map of the image leading in a high recall rate with minimum computation requirements. In the sequel, a refinement stage uses an SVM classifier trained on features obtained by a new local binary pattern based operator which results in diminishing false alarms. Experimental results show the overall performance of the system that proves the discriminating ability of the proposed feature set.
Trivariate Biharmonic B‐Splines

In this paper, we formulate a novel trivariate biharmonic B‐spline defined over bounded volumetric domain. The properties of bi‐Laplacian have been well investigated, but the straightforward generalization from bivariate case to trivariate one gives rise to unsatisfactory discretization, due to the dramatically uneven distribution of neighbouring knots in 3D. To ameliorate, our original idea is to extend the bivariate biharmonic B‐spline to the trivariate one with novel formulations based on quadratic programming, approximating the properties of localization and partition of unity. And we design a novel discrete biharmonic operator which is optimized more robustly for a specific set of functions for unevenly sampled knots compared with previous methods. Our experiments demonstrate that our 3D discrete biharmonic operators are robust for unevenly distributed knots and illustrate that our algorithm is superior to previous algorithms.
Telomerase and telomere length in the development and progression of premalignant lesions to colorectal cancer.

Telomerase and telomere length are increasingly studied as prognostic markers in malignancy. Telomerase is also known to be expressed in certain nonmalignant cells, although generally at low levels. We investigated telomerase activity and telomere length in premalignant, malignant, inflammatory, and normal colon specimens to determine whether significant differences exist and whether telomerase may serve as a marker for early- or late-stage colorectal cancer. Telomerase activity was evaluated in 130 frozen specimens from human colon cancer (n = 50), adjacent normal colon tissue (n = 50), colon polyps (n = 20), and colitis (n = 10) using a modified telomeric repeat amplification protocol assay, and telomere length was assessed by terminal restriction fragment analysis. High to moderate levels of telomerase activity were detected in 90% of colorectal tumors. Weakly positive activity was detected in 10%. None of the normal tissues exhibited telomerase activity. In polyps and colitis, telomerase activity was found in 60% (12 of 20) and 40% (4 of 10), respectively. Telomerase activity in both nonmalignant lesions was 25- to 54-fold lower than that detected in colon cancer (P < 0.001). We found a positive correlation between tumor cell infiltration determined in cryostat sections and telomerase activity (r = 0.886; P > 0.0001). Late-stage tumors (Dukes C + D) demonstrated increased telomerase activity compared to early-stage tumors (Dukes A + B). Telomere restriction fragments in colon tumors had peak values of 4.8 +/- 1 kbp that were significantly and consistently shorter than those of the adjacent normal tissues (7.54 +/- 1.3 kbp), polyps (7.5 +/- 0.7 kbp), and colitis specimens (7.7 +/- 0.5kbp; P < 0.0001). Telomeres were 0.6 kbp longer in tumors with high telomerase activity and in late-stage cancers (Dukes C + D) compared to those in tumors with low telomerase activity and in early-stage cancers (Dukes A + B). Our data demonstrate that telomerase in colon cancer was commonly acquired, and activity was higher than that in polyps and colitis. However, weak telomerase activity was detected in premalignant and inflammatory lesions. Telomeres in colon cancer were considerably shorter, an indication of extensive cell proliferation and population divisions, whereas adjacent normal colon specimens, polyps, and colitis had comparable telomere lengths. Our results indicate that increased telomerase activity occurs in colon cancer cells that have undergone extensive telomere shortening relative to surrounding normal tissues and in which telomerase-induced stabilization of telomeres may be critical for the continued proliferation of the malignant clone. The link between telomerase activity and stage suggests that telomerase is up-regulated as a function of increased tumor cell invasion, tumor progression, and metastatic potential in colon cancer.
A Cognitive Framework for Core Language Understanding and its Computational Implementation

The author argues that the cognitive processes underlying language understanding may not be logico-deductive or inductive, at least not for basic forms of understanding such as the ability to determine the topics of a text document. To demonstrate this point, they present a human cognition inspired framework for core language understanding and its computational implementation. The framework exploits word related knowledge stored in Long Term Memory LTM as well as Short Term Memory STM limited capacity, neuromorphic spreading activation and neural activation decay to derive the topics of text. The computational model implementing the framework shows the potential of the approach by establishing that the topics generated by the model are as good as those generated by humans.
Ontology-based trace retrieval

In automated requirements trace retrieval, an ontology can be used as an intermediary artifact to identify relationships that would not be recognized by standard information retrieval techniques. However, ontologies must be carefully constructed to fit the needs of the project. In this paper we present a technique for incorporating information from general and domain-specific ontologies into the tracing process. Our approach applies the domain ontology at the phrase level and then uses a general ontology to augment simple term matching in order to deduce relationships between individual terms weighted according to the relative importance of the phrase in which they occur. The combined weights are used to compute the overall similarity between a source and target artifact in order to establish a candidate trace link. We experimentally evaluated our approach against the standard Vector Space Model (VSM) and show that a domain ontology combined with generalized ontology returned greatest improvements in trace accuracy.
On the Rate Achievable for Gaussian Relay Channels Using Superposition Forwarding

We analyze the achievable rate of the superposition of block Markov encoding (decode-and-forward) and side information encoding (compress-and-forward) for the three-node Gaussian relay channel. It is generally believed that the superposition can out perform decode-and-forward or compress-and-forward due to its generality. We prove that within the class of Gaussian distributions, this is not the case: the superposition scheme only achieves a rate that is equal to the maximum of the rates achieved by decode-and-forward or compress-and-forward individually. We also present a superposition scheme that combines broadcast with decode-and-forward, which even though does not achieve a higher rate than decode-and-forward, provides us the insight to the main result mentioned above.
Effects of amygdalin on the functional recovery and c-Fos expression in the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray region after sciatic crushed nerve injury in rats

Peripheral nerve injuries are a commonly encountered clinical problem and often result in a chronic pain and severe functional deficits. The expression of c-Fos is sometimes used as a marker of increased neuronal activity. We have prepared the aqueous extract of amygdalin from Armeniacae semen for pain control. In the present study, we investigated the effects of amygdalin on the recovery rate of the locomotor function and on the expression of c-Fos in the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (vlPAG) region following sciatic crushed nerve injury in rats. Walking track analysis for the evaluation of functional recovery and immunohistochemistry for the c-Fos expression were used in this study. In the present results, characteristic gait change with dropping of the sciatic function index (SFI) was observed and c-Fos expression in the vlPAG was suppressed following sciatic crushed nerve injury in rats. Amygdalin enhanced SFI value and restored c-Fos expression in the vlPAG to the control value. The present our study indicated that amygdalin activates neurons in the vlPAG, and it facilitates functional recovery following peripheral nerve injury.
C-Kit Ligand Promotes Mast Cell Infection by Toxoplasma gondii

Biological functions of mast cells include a functional role in innate immunity against parasitic infections. Here, we demonstrated that mast cells could also play a role in the anti-microbial defenses regulation and might partici- pate as a parasite reservoir. We observed that Toxoplasma gondii infected massively in vitro mouse bone marrow derived mast cells (BMMC), a mucosal mast cell (MMC) phenotype, followed by substantial cell lysis. This induced release of ￻ - hexosaminidase, but not of preformed or neosynthesized TNF-￻ . Culturing MMC in the presence of recombinant mouse stem cell factor (c-kit ligand) led to their maturation into connective tissue-like mast cells (CTMC), which T. gondii was able to adhere on and to infect more. T. gondii infection did not induce release of ￻ -hexosaminidase and serotonin from BMMC. These results demonstrated that mast cells interact with T. gondii and are massively infected, especially after their maturation by c-kit ligand.
Multiple Thyrotropin β-Subunit and Thyrotropin Receptor-Related Genes Arose during Vertebrate Evolution

Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) is composed of a specific β subunit and an α subunit that is shared with the two pituitary gonadotropins. The three β subunits derive from a common ancestral gene through two genome duplications (1R and 2R) that took place before the radiation of vertebrates. Analysis of genomic data from phylogenetically relevant species allowed us to identify an additional Tshβ subunit-related gene that was generated through 2R. This gene, named Tshβ2, present in cartilaginous fish, little skate and elephant shark, and in early lobe-finned fish, coelacanth and lungfish, was lost in ray-finned fish and tetrapods. The absence of a second type of TSH receptor (Tshr) gene in these species suggests that both TSHs act through the same receptor. A novel Tshβ sister gene, named Tshβ3, was generated through the third genomic duplication (3R) that occurred early in the teleost lineage. Tshβ3 is present in most teleost groups but was lostin tedraodontiforms. The 3R also generated a second Tshr, named Tshrb. Interestingly, the new Tshrb was translocated from its original chromosomic position after the emergence of eels and was then maintained in its new position. Tshrb was lost in tetraodontiforms and in ostariophysians including zebrafish although the latter species have two TSHs, suggesting that TSHRb may be dispensable. The tissue distribution of duplicated Tshβs and Tshrs was studied in the European eel. The endocrine thyrotropic function in the eel would be essentially mediated by the classical Tshβ and Tshra, which are mainly expressed in the pituitary and thyroid, respectively. Tshβ3 and Tshrb showed a similar distribution pattern in the brain, pituitary, ovary and adipose tissue, suggesting a possible paracrine/autocrine mode of action in these non-thyroidal tissues. Further studies will be needed to determine the binding specificity of the two receptors and how these two TSH systems are interrelated.
Iterative solutions of min-max parameter estimation with bounded data uncertainties

This paper deals with the important problem of parameter estimation in the presence of bounded data uncertainties. Its recent closed-form solution leads to more meaningful results than alternative methods (e.g., total least-squares and robust estimation), when a priori bounds about the uncertainties are available. The derivation requires the computation of the SVD of the data matrix and the determination of the unique positive root of a nonlinear equation. This paper establishes the existence of a fundamental contraction mapping and uses this observation to propose an approximate recursive algorithm that avoids the need for explicit SVDs and for the solution of the nonlinear equation. Simulation results are included to demonstrate the good performance of the recursive scheme.
First Demonstration of both Analog and Digital Wavelength Conversion using a Monolithically-Integrated InP Widely Tunable All-Optical Wavelength Converter ( TAO-WC )

about the device design and fabrication process can be found in [1,2,7]. Abstract: The first demonstration of both analog and digital wavelength conversion using an InP monolithicallyintegrated widely-tunable wavelength converter is reported. The SFDR was measured to be better than 82.7 dB-Hz and a BER of better than 10 at 2.5Gbps over a wide wavelength range (50nm input, 22nm output) with a power penalty of 2.1 dB acheived
Proximal Alternating Minimization and Projection Methods for Nonconvex Problems: An Approach Based on the Kurdyka-Lojasiewicz Inequality

We study the convergence properties of an alternating proximal minimization algorithm for nonconvex structured functions of the type: L(x,y)=f(x)+Q(x,y)+g(y), where f and g are proper lower semicontinuous functions, defined on Euclidean spaces, and Q is a smooth function that couples the variables x and y. The algorithm can be viewed as a proximal regularization of the usual Gauss-Seidel method to minimize L. We work in a nonconvex setting, just assuming that the function L satisfies the Kurdyka-Łojasiewicz inequality. An entire section illustrates the relevancy of such an assumption by giving examples ranging from semialgebraic geometry to “metrically regular” problems. Our main result can be stated as follows: If L has the Kurdyka-Łojasiewicz property, then each bounded sequence generated by the algorithm converges to a critical point of L. This result is completed by the study of the convergence rate of the algorithm, which depends on the geometrical properties of the function L around its critical points. When specialized to $Q(x,y)=\Vert x-y \Vert ^2$ and to f, g indicator functions, the algorithm is an alternating projection mehod (a variant of von Neumann's) that converges for a wide class of sets including semialgebraic and tame sets, transverse smooth manifolds or sets with “regular” intersection. To illustrate our results with concrete problems, we provide a convergent proximal reweighted l1 algorithm for compressive sensing and an application to rank reduction problems.
Routing drawings in diagram displays

We are interested in the problem of how to lay out practical graphs where nodes vary in shape and size. Applying classical graph drawing algorithms to practical graphs may result in overlapping nodes and/or edge node intersections. This is because such algorithms were often originally designed for abstract graphs where nodes take up little or no space. To make use of such algorithms for practical graphs, we need some post processes to adjust a layout by avoiding overlapping nodes and edge node intersections. A technique for disjoint node images has been developed. We analyse several criteria and present a method for routing drawings in diagram displays. Our method has proved to be quite successful in practice.
The Role of Cardiac Vagal Tone in Prediction of Individual Differences in Attention and Emotion Processing After Sleep Restriction

There has been increasing interest in the mechanisms by which sleep loss impacts emotion processing. Recent investigations have begun to study physiological responses to emotional stimuli following sleep loss. There is also interest in identification of individual difference markers of vulnerability to sleep loss. The current thesis examined the effect of sleep restriction on emotional processing: subjective mood, emotion regulation style (suppression and reappraisal), behavioural response to emotional task performance, and neural responses (event-related potentials) to emotionally laden visual stimuli were examined. The role of vagal tone, indexed by Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia (RSA), was examined as a trait-like individual difference variable for prediction of vulnerability to sleep loss. Healthy, good sleepers between the ages of 17-30 were recruited from a university population for participation in the study. The final sample of 74 participants underwent baseline ECG recording prior to random assignment to either the rested control group (C: age M = 21.03; men = 12) or sleep restriction group (SR: age M = 20.49; men = 13). All participants were well rested leading up to the experimental night when the control group had an 8 hour sleep opportunity (23:00-07:00) and the sleep restriction group had a 4 hour sleep opportunity (03:00-07:00). The day following the sleep manipulation, participants completed a number of tasks to assess the impact of sleep loss on attention and emotion. Emotional faces with varying degrees of emotional intensity were presented and were identified by expression as happy, sad, fearful, angry, or neutral; N170 event-related potentials to face stimuli were examined. Affective pictures were presented in a second task, and were identified as negative, neutral or
Prevalence of intestinal parasites in referred individuals to the medical centers of Tonekabon city, Mazandaran province

Aim: The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites and their relation with socio-demographic data in referred individuals to the medical centers in Tonekabon, Mazandaran province, 2015. Background: Due to the climatic and ecological conditions in Mazandaran province, determination of the status of intestinal parasites among referred individuals to the medical centers of Tonekabon city can help researchers and healthcare services to prevent and/or control of parasitic infection in this region. Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted with randomized sampling in 2015 on 820 stool samples. Stool samples were assessed using direct slide smear with saline and Lugol, formalin-ether concentration, Ziehl-Neelsen and trichrome staining. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) using specific primers was conducted for the samples suspected for Entamoeba histolytica/E. dispar and Cryptosporidium spp. One Cryptosporidium positive sample in this study was submitted for sequencing. Results: A total of 444 (54.1%) and 376 (45.9%) were male and female, respectively. Furthermore, 495 (60.4%) and 325 (39.6%) of participants had lived in the urban and rural areas, respectively. Overall, 222 participants (27.1%) were infected with at least one intestinal parasites. Prevalence of pathogenic protozoa (Giardia lamblia and Cryptosporidium spp.) and helminthes parasites was calculated as 3.1 and 1.2%, respectively. The most common intestinal parasites in this area were: Blastocystis 153 (18.7%), Endolymax nana 44 (5.4%), Entamoeba coli 40 (4.9%), Giardia lamblia 25 (3%), Iodamoeba butschlii 22 (2.7%), Ascaris 5 (0.6%), Enterobius vermicularis 4 (0.5%), Trichostrongylus 1 (0.1%) and Cryptosporidium 1 (0.1%). By sequencing of the positive Cryptosporidium isolate using Gp60 gene, Cryptosporidium parvum subtype ΠaA16G2R1 was diagnosed. Conclusion: Protozoa were more abundant than helminthes and Giardia lamblia was the most common protozoan pathogen. In this study, no significant association was found between the prevalence and the variables of socio-demographic data. Adequate knowledge and periodic surveillance of the prevalence of parasites and the socio-demographic variables that affect their frequency is important for effective control of parasitic infections.
Exploring mobile users and their effects in online social networks: A Twitter case study

Nowadays social networking services (SNS) have become an important part of our daily-life. Thanks to the rapid development of mobile computing technologies, more and more people start to use mobile devices, e.g., smartphones and tablets, to access the SNS. Different from the traditional way, i.e., using the desktop PCs to access the web interface of the SNS, using mobile devices will introduce more flexibility. However, there is a lack of a comprehensive study to evaluate the effects of using mobile devices to access SNS. In this paper, we study the Twitter social network by comparing between the emerging mobile users and traditional web users. We have three major findings. First, by examining the tweet posting behavior, we find that mobile users are more active for posting shorter tweets, while less active for retweeting. Second, by referring to the social structure, we can see that the social network composed by mobile users are less clustered, while the radius and diameters of mobile social graph are shorter. Finally, we introduce one classic simulation scenarios, which is information diffusion in SNS. The simulation results indicate that the mobile effects actually decrease the scope of information diffusion as they are less active for message forwarding.
Evaluation of Some Thermal Power Cycles for Use in Space

Production of power in space for terrestrial use is of great interest in view of the rapidly rising power demand and its environmental impacts. Space also offers a very low temperature, making it a perfect heat sink for power plants, thus offering much higher efficiencies. This paper focuses on the evaluation and analysis of thermal Brayton, Ericsson and Rankine power cycles operating at space conditions on several appropriate working fluids. 1. Under the examined conditions, the thermal efficiency of Brayton cycles reaches 63%, Ericsson 74%, and Rankine 85%. These efficiencies are significantly higher than those for the computed or real terrestrial cycles: by up to 45% for the Brayton, and 17% for the Ericsson; remarkably 44% for the Rankine cycle even when compared with the best terrestrial combined cycles. From the considered working fluids, the diatomic gases (N2 and H2) produce somewhat better efficiencies than the monatomic ones in the Brayton and Rankine cycles, and somewhat lower efficiencies in the Ericsson cycle. The Rankine cycles require radiator areas that are larger by up to two orders of magnitude than those required for the Brayton and Ericsson cycles. The results of the analysis of the sensitivity of the cycle performance parameters to major parameters such as turbine inlet temperature and pressure ratio are presented, and the effects of the working fluid properties on cycle efficiency and on the power production per unit radiator area were explored to allow decisions on the optimal choice of working fluids.
The results do mesh

This article considers the effects of open-circuited phase windings and of shorted coil turns of the stator winding on the operation of the induction machine. The analysis and comparison of faulted modes of operation is achieved by simulation, using the dynamic mesh reluctance model (DMRM) approach. The DMRM approach gives valuable insight of induction motor detection of the faulted windings. Clearly, five-phase motors with third harmonic control give the best performance for machines with one-phase open circuit, and careful machine design can minimize adverse effects of torque ripple