Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Traffic panels detection using visual appearance

Traffic signs detection has been thoroughly studied for a long time. However, road panels detection still remains a challenge in computer vision due to the huge variability of types of traffic panels, as the information depicted in them is not restricted. This paper presents a method to detect traffic panels in street-level images as an application to Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), since the main purpose can be to make an automatic inventory of the traffic panels located in a road to support maintenance and to assist drivers in order to improve human quality of life. The proposed method extracts local descriptors at some interest points after applying a color detection method for blue and white pixels. Then, the images are modeled using a Bag of Visual Words technique and classified using Naïve Bayes theory and SVM. Experimental results on real images from Google Street View prove the efficiency of the proposed method and give way to using street-level images for different applications on robotics and ITS.
On the use of flow migration for handling short-term overloads

In this work, we investigate flow migration as a mechanism to sustain QoS to network users during short-term overloads in the context of an MPLS IP network. We experiment with three different control techniques: static long-term optimal mapping of flows to LSPs; on-line locally optimal mapping of flows to LSPs at flow set-up time; and dynamic flow migration in response to transient congestion. These techniques are applicable over different timescales, have different run-time overheads, and require different levels of monitoring and control software inside the network. We present results both from detailed simulations and a complete implementation using software IP routers. We use voice-over-IP as our test application, and show that if end-to-end quality is to be maintained during short unpredictable bursts of high load, then a fast-timescale control such as migration is required.
Behavior-aware probabilistic routing for wireless body area sensor networks

Recent advances in wireless communication and electronic manufacture have enabled a variety of sensors to be used for Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs), which can provide real-time body monitoring and feedback for enabling patient diagnostics procedure, rehabilitation, sports training and interactive performance. However, existing single-hop wireless communication scheme faces several major challenges: rapid growth of channel conflicts as more sensors added, impermeability of human body to radio waves and highly dynamic network topology due to human movements. In this paper, a prototype of multi-hop WBAN has been built to quantify the channel conflict and to characterise the network connectivity during human motions. A probability based routing protocol fusing inertial sensor data and history link quality is then developed, which aims at capturing the high spatio-temporal change of network topology on the selection of a reliable relay node in WBAN routing. The performance of the protocol is experimentally evaluated on our prototype system. Compared with a number of existing routings, the proposed scheme is more splendid in terms of average delivery ratio, number of hops and end-to-end delay.
Study on the Effect of Polypyrrole and Polypyrrole/Graphene Oxide Nanoparticles on the Microstructure, Electrical and Tensile Properties of Polypropylene Nanocomposites

In this article Polypropylene/Polypyrrole (PP/PPy) and Polypropylene/polypyrrole-graphene oxide (PP/PPy-GO) nanocomposites were prepared by melt mixing. PPy nanoparticles and PPy-GO nanocomposite were prepared by chemical polymerization and served as nanofillers. FTIR, XRD and SEM analysis were used for the characterization of PPy and PPy-GO composites. The effects of PPy and PPy-GO loading level on the morphology, tensile and electrical properties of PP-based nanocomposites were examined. It was found that the Young's modulus and tensile strength increased with the increase of nanofiller content. Tensile results also showed that PPy-GO composite significantly affected the mechanical properties of PP based nanocomposites compared to the PPy nanoparticles. It was observed that the addition of 1% wt. PPy-GO into PP, increased the Young's modulus about 30% compared as with pure PP. Electrical conductivity measurements showed that conductivity of PP nanocomposites increased up to 1 × 10−3 S/cm for PP/PPy-GO n.
Energy Optimization in Multihop Wireless Embedded
and Sensor Networks

This paper provides an analytical model for the study of energy consumption in multihop wireless embedded and sensor networks where nodes are extremely power constrained. Low-power optimization techniques developed for conventional ad hoc networks are not sufficient as they do not properly address particular features of embedded and sensor networks. It is not enough to reduce overall energy consumption, it is also important to maximize the lifetime of the entire network, that is, maintain full network connectivity for as long as possible. This paper considers different multihop scenarios to compute the energy per bit, efficiency and energy consumed by individual nodes and the network as a whole. The analysis uses a detailed model for the energy consumed by the radio at each node. Multihop topologies with equidistant and optimal node spacing are studied. Numerical computations illustrate the effects of packet routing, and explore the effects of coding and medium access control. These results show that always using a simple multihop message relay strategy is not always the best procedure.
Helios expression coordinates the development of a subset of striatopallidal medium spiny neurons

Here, we unravel the mechanism of action of the Ikaros family zinc finger protein Helios (He) during the development of striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs). He regulates the second wave of striatal neurogenesis involved in the generation of striatopallidal neurons, which express dopamine 2 receptor and enkephalin. To exert this effect, He is expressed in neural progenitor cells (NPCs) keeping them in the G1/G0 phase of the cell cycle. Thus, a lack of He results in an increase of S-phase entry and S-phase length of NPCs, which in turn impairs striatal neurogenesis and produces an accumulation of the number of cycling NPCs in the germinal zone (GZ), which end up dying at postnatal stages. Therefore, He−/− mice show a reduction in the number of dorso-medial striatal MSNs in the adult that produces deficits in motor skills acquisition. In addition, overexpression of He in NPCs induces misexpression of DARPP-32 when transplanted in mouse striatum. These findings demonstrate that He is involved in the correct development of a subset of striatopallidal MSNs and reveal new cellular mechanisms for neuronal development. Summary: The transcription factor Helios regulates G1-S transition to promote neuronal differentiation of a striatopallidal neuronal subpopulation involved in motor skill acquisition.
α-Hydroxybutyrate Is an Early Biomarker of Insulin Resistance and Glucose Intolerance in a Nondiabetic Population

Background Insulin resistance is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease progression. Current diagnostic tests, such as glycemic indicators, have limitations in the early detection of insulin resistant individuals. We searched for novel biomarkers identifying these at-risk subjects. Methods Using mass spectrometry, non-targeted biochemical profiling was conducted in a cohort of 399 nondiabetic subjects representing a broad spectrum of insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance (based on the hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp and oral glucose tolerance testing, respectively). Results Random forest statistical analysis selected α-hydroxybutyrate (α–HB) as the top-ranked biochemical for separating insulin resistant (lower third of the clamp-derived MFFM = 33 [12] µmol·min−1·kgFFM −1, median [interquartile range], n = 140) from insulin sensitive subjects (MFFM = 66 [23] µmol·min−1·kgFFM −1) with a 76% accuracy. By targeted isotope dilution assay, plasma α–HB concentrations were reciprocally related to MFFM; and by partition analysis, an α–HB value of 5 µg/ml was found to best separate insulin resistant from insulin sensitive subjects. α–HB also separated subjects with normal glucose tolerance from those with impaired fasting glycemia or impaired glucose tolerance independently of, and in an additive fashion to, insulin resistance. These associations were also independent of sex, age and BMI. Other metabolites from this global analysis that significantly correlated to insulin sensitivity included certain organic acid, amino acid, lysophospholipid, acylcarnitine and fatty acid species. Several metabolites are intermediates related to α-HB metabolism and biosynthesis. Conclusions α–hydroxybutyrate is an early marker for both insulin resistance and impaired glucose regulation. The underlying biochemical mechanisms may involve increased lipid oxidation and oxidative stress.
Biphasic subcellular localization of the DAZL-related protein boule in Drosophila spermatogenesis.

The Drosophila boule gene is expressed exclusively in the male germline and encodes an RNA binding protein closely related to the mammalian fertility factors encoded by the DAZ (Deleted in Azoospermia) and DAZL (DAZ-like) genes. Mutation of boule blocks both meiotic divisions. Differentiation nonetheless continues, resulting in tetraploid spermatids that fail to mature into sperm. We have found that Boule localizes premeiotically to a perinucleolar region and then translocates to the cytoplasm at the onset of meiosis. We show that deletion of the Y chromosome ks-1 fertility locus eliminates Boule nuclear localization, although it does not perturb entry into meiosis. Based on these observations we propose that Boule acts in the cytoplasm to regulate the stability or translation of messenger RNA encoding an essential meiotic factor.
A saliency-based sampling method for image matting

Image matting is the problem of softly and accurately extracting the foreground from a natural digital image. Matting is inherently an ill-posed problem. Most previous methods use user-defined trimap as additional constraints. Given a trimap, a simple way to compute the alpha value is to select some known foreground and background colors for each unknown pixel. Existing sampling-based matting methods often consider samples near the unknown pixels only. They may fail if good samples cannot be found in the sample set. In this paper, we propose a new matting algorithm based on visual saliency. Our saliency-based method use adaptive sample collection method for each unknown pixel, and then propose an improved confidence function for these samples. It can avoid missing true color samples for each unknown pixel. Finally a Random Walk optimizer is employed to solve for the final alpha matte. Experiments show that our new matting algorithm produces both visually and quantitatively high-quality matting results. We demonstrate that our sampling matting approach improves the result of matting on complex scene images.
Study of Dasatinib in Relapsed or Refractory Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Purpose:Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells treatedwith dasatinib in vitro undergo apoptosis via inhibition of Lyn kinase. Thus, in this study we tested the activity of dasatinib in patients with relapsed CLL. Experimental Design: Patients were eligible for this phase II trial if they had documented CLL/SLL and had failed at least 1 prior therapy with a fludarabine-containing regimen and if they required therapy according to NCI-WG criteria. The starting dose of dasatinib was 140 mg daily. Results: Fifteen patients were enrolled, with a median age of 59 and a median of 3 prior regimens. All patients had received fludarabine, and 5 were fludarabine-refractory. Eleven of the 15 (73%) had high risk del(11q) or del(17p) cytogenetics. The primary toxicity was myelosuppression, with grade 3 or 4 neutropenia and thrombocytopenia in 10 and 6 patients, respectively. Partial responses by NCI-WG criteria were achieved in 3 of the 15 patients (20%; 90%CI: 6–44). Among the remaining 12 patients, 5 had nodal responses by physical exam, and 1 patient had a nodal and lymphocyte response but with severe myelosuppression. Pharmacodynamic studies indicated apoptosis in peripheral bloodCLL cells within 3 to 6 hours after dasatinib administration, associated with downregulation of Syk (spleen tyrosine kinase)
Identification and Functional Analysis of the Gene Cluster for l-Arabinose Utilization in Corynebacterium glutamicum

ABSTRACT Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 31831 grew on l-arabinose as the sole carbon source at a specific growth rate that was twice that on d-glucose. The gene cluster responsible for l-arabinose utilization comprised a six-cistron transcriptional unit with a total length of 7.8 kb. Three l-arabinose-catabolizing genes, araA (encoding l-arabinose isomerase), araB (l-ribulokinase), and araD (l-ribulose-5-phosphate 4-epimerase), comprised the araBDA operon, upstream of which three other genes, araR (LacI-type transcriptional regulator), araE (l-arabinose transporter), and galM (putative aldose 1-epimerase), were present in the opposite direction. Inactivation of the araA, araB, or araD gene eliminated growth on l-arabinose, and each of the gene products was functionally homologous to its Escherichia coli counterpart. Moreover, compared to the wild-type strain, an araE disruptant exhibited a >80% decrease in the growth rate at a lower concentration of l-arabinose (3.6 g liter−1) but not at a higher concentration of l-arabinose (40 g liter−1). The expression of the araBDA operon and the araE gene was l-arabinose inducible and negatively regulated by the transcriptional regulator AraR. Disruption of araR eliminated the repression in the absence of l-arabinose. Expression of the regulon was not repressed by d-glucose, and simultaneous utilization of l-arabinose and d-glucose was observed in aerobically growing wild-type and araR deletion mutant cells. The regulatory mechanism of the l-arabinose regulon is, therefore, distinct from the carbon catabolite repression mechanism in other bacteria.
Impact of Sleep Quality on Cardiovascular Outcomes in Hemodialysis Patients: Results from the Frequent Hemodialysis Network Study

Background: Poor sleep quality is a common, persistent, and important problem to patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). This report examines whether sleep quality is associated with dialysis treatment factors and other modifiable clinical factors in a large group of hemodialysis (HD) patients. Methods: Cross-sectional analyses were conducted on baseline data collected from participants in the Frequent Hemodialysis Network trials. Sleep quality was measured using the Medical Outcomes Study Sleep Problems Index II (SPI II), a 9-item measure of sleep quality with higher scores reflecting poorer sleep quality. Results: The participants had an age of 51.2 ± 13.6 years, 61% were male, 38% were black, and 42% had diabetes. Higher pre-dialysis serum phosphorus (per 0.5 mg/ml) (OR 0.91; 95% CI 0.85, 0.96) and depression (OR 0.16; 95% CI 0.10, 0.25) were independently associated with decrements in sleep quality. There was also a difference in time to recovery from dialysis for the fourth versus the first SPI II quartile (5.1 h; p < 0.0001). Conclusion: These findings underscore the link between sleep and daytime function and suggest that improving sleep may provide an opportunity to improve outcomes in ESRD. Whether sleep problems may be improved by reduction of serum phosphorus or treatment of depression in the HD population merits further investigation.
Nonredundant function of two highly homologous octopamine receptors in food‐deprivation‐mediated signaling in Caenorhabditis elegans

It is common for neurotransmitters to possess multiple receptors that couple to the same intracellular signaling molecules. This study analyzes two highly homologous G‐protein‐coupled octopamine receptors using the model animal Caenorhabditis elegans. In C. elegans, the amine neurotransmitter octopamine induces activation of cAMP response element‐binding protein (CREB) in the cholinergic SIA neurons in the absence of food through activation of the Gq‐coupled octopamine receptor SER‐3 in these neurons. We also analyzed another Gq‐coupled octopamine receptor, SER‐6, that is highly homologous to SER‐3. As seen in ser‐3 deletion mutants, octopamine‐ and food‐deprivation‐mediated CREB activation was decreased in ser‐6 deletion mutants compared with wild‐type animals, suggesting that both SER‐3 and SER‐6 are required for signal transduction. Cell‐specific expression of SER‐6 in the SIA neurons was sufficient to restore CREB activation in the ser‐6 mutants, indicating that SER‐6, like SER‐3, functions in these neurons. Taken together, these results demonstrate that two similar G‐protein‐coupled receptors, SER‐3 and SER‐6, function in the same cells in a nonredundant manner. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Whole-Hand and Speech Input in Virtual Environments

Recent approaches to providing users with a more natural method of interacting with computer applications have shown that more than one mode of input can be both beneficial and intuitive as a communication medium between humans and computers. Two modalities in particular, whole-hand and speech input, represent a natural form of communication that has been ingrained in our physical and mental makeup since birth. In this thesis, we investigate the use of whole-hand and speech input in virtual environments in the context of two applications domains: scientific visualization and interior design. By examining the two modalities individually and in combination, and through the creation of two application prototypes (Multimodal Scientific Visualization Tool and Room Designer), we present a number of contributions including a set of interface guidelines and interaction techniques for whole-hand and speech input.
Enhanced strain coupling of nitrogen vacancy spins to nanoscale diamond cantilevers

Nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers can couple to confined phonons in diamond mechanical resonators via the effect of lattice strain on their energy levels. Access to the strong spin-phonon coupling regime with this system requires resonators with nanoscale dimensions in order to overcome the weak strain response of the NV ground state spin sublevels. In this work, we study NVs in diamond cantilevers with lateral dimensions of a few hundred nm. Coupling of the NV ground state spin to the mechanical mode is detected in electron spin resonance (ESR), and its temporal dynamics are measured via spin echo. Our small mechanical mode volume leads to a 10-100X enhancement in spin-phonon coupling strength over previous NV-strain coupling demonstrations. This is an important step towards strong spin-phonon coupling, which can enable phonon-mediated quantum information processing and quantum metrology.
Dopamine and Oxytocin Interactions Underlying Behaviors: Potential Contributions to Behavioral Disorders

Dopamine is an important neuromodulator that exerts widespread effects on the central nervous system (CNS) function. Disruption in dopaminergic neurotransmission can have profound effects on mood and behavior and as such is known to be implicated in various neuropsychiatric behavioral disorders including autism and depression. The subsequent effects on other neurocircuitries due to dysregulated dopamine function have yet to be fully explored. Due to the marked social deficits observed in psychiatric patients, the neuropeptide, oxytocin is emerging as one particular neural substrate that may be influenced by the altered dopamine levels subserving neuropathologic‐related behavioral diseases. Oxytocin has a substantial role in social attachment, affiliation and sexual behavior. More recently, it has emerged that disturbances in peripheral and central oxytocin levels have been detected in some patients with dopamine‐dependent disorders. Thus, oxytocin is proposed to be a key neural substrate that interacts with central dopamine systems. In addition to psychosocial improvement, oxytocin has recently been implicated in mediating mesolimbic dopamine pathways during drug addiction and withdrawal. This bi‐directional role of dopamine has also been implicated during some components of sexual behavior. This review will discuss evidence for the existence dopamine/oxytocin positive interaction in social behavioral paradigms and associated disorders such as sexual dysfunction, autism, addiction, anorexia/bulimia, and depression. Preliminary findings suggest that whilst further rigorous testing has to be conducted to establish a dopamine/oxytocin link in human disorders, animal models seem to indicate the existence of broad and integrated brain circuits where dopamine and oxytocin interactions at least in part mediate socio‐affiliative behaviors. A profound disruption to these pathways is likely to underpin associated behavioral disorders. Central oxytocin pathways may serve as a potential therapeutic target to improve mood and socio‐affiliative behaviors in patients with profound social deficits and/or drug addiction.
Empirical Investigation of the Blog Space: The Case of European Pharmaceuticals

This paper provides the findings from a research project commissioned to assess the emerging body of information being published in web logs (blogs) in the field of European pharmaceuticals and European health care. The hypothesis behind this research was that the rise of blogs as a rich information source may provide a challenge to the traditionally held view of a 'key opinion leader' - could an anonymous blogger have as much influence over public debate as a recognised scientific expert? The results reveal that in spite of high volume of emerging blogs, only a small number are interlinked, and the emerging network configuration is a small core component and a large number of dyads, or short tails. The public opinion broadcasted in blogs shows differentiation related to specific health issues or pharmaceutical companies.
Effectiveness of functional electrical stimulation (FES)-robot assisted wrist training on persons after stroke

A functional electrical stimulation (FES)-robot system controlled by subjects' motor intention was developed in our previous study. The effectiveness of the FES-robot on wrist training was investigated in this work. Five hemiplegic subjects with chronic stroke were recruited for an FES-robot assisted wrist training with 20 sessions. After the training, motor improvements were found in the wrist and fingers, represented by significant increase (P<0.05) in clinical scores of the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA), the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT), and the Modified Ashworth Score (MAS). Muscle coordination in the upper limb was also improved during the training as assessed by electromyography. The increased ARAT scores suggested improved upper limb motor functions, especially in the hand and fingers, compared to no improvement in previous study with only interactive robot-assisted wrist training without FES.