Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Liquid crystal polarization camera

Presents a fully automated system which unites CCD camera technology with liquid crystal technology to create a polarization camera capable of sensing the polarization of reflected light from objects at pixel resolution. As polarization affords a more general physical description of light than does intensity, it can therefore provide a richer set of descriptive physical constraints for the understanding of images. The authors present a scheme for mapping polarization states into hue, saturation and intensity which is a very convenient representation for a polarization image. The polarization camera outputs such a color image which can then be used in polarization-based vision methods. The unique vision understanding capabilities of the polarization camera system are demonstrated with experimental results showing polarization-based dielectric/metal material classification, specular reflection and occluding contour segmentations in a fairly complex scene, and surface orientation constraints for object recognition. <<ETX>>
Aging effects on cardiac and respiratory dynamics in healthy subjects across sleep stages.

STUDY OBJECTIVES Respiratory and heart rate variability exhibit fractal scaling behavior on certain time scales. We studied the short-term and long-term correlation properties of heartbeat and breathing-interval data from disease-free subjects focusing on the age-dependent fractal organization. We also studied differences across sleep stages and night-time wake and investigated quasi-periodic variations associated with cardiac risk. DESIGN Full-night polysomnograms were recorded during 2 nights, including electrocardiogram and oronasal airflow. SETTING Data were collected in 7 laboratories in 5 European countries. PARTICIPANTS 180 subjects without health complaints (85 males, 95 females) aged from 20 to 89 years. INTERVENTIONS None. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS Short-term correlations in heartbeat intervals measured by the detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) exponent alpha1 show characteristic age dependence with a maximum around 50-60 years disregarding the dependence on sleep and wake states. Long-term correlations measured by alpha2 differ in NREM sleep when compared with REM sleep and wake, besides weak age dependence. Results for respiratory intervals are similar to those for alpha2 of heartbeat intervals. Deceleration capacity (DC) decreases with age; it is lower during REM and deep sleep (compared with light sleep and wake). CONCLUSION The age dependence of alpha1 should be considered when using this value for diagnostic purposes in post-infarction patients. Pronounced long-term correlations (larger alpha2) for heartbeat and respiration during REM sleep and wake indicate an enhanced control of higher brain regions, which is absent during NREM sleep. Reduced DC possibly indicates an increased cardiovascular risk with aging and during REM and deep sleep.
Minimizing development and maintenance costs in supporting persistently optimized BLAS

The Basic Linear Algebra Subprograms (BLAS) define one of the most heavily used performance‐critical APIs in scientific computing today. It has long been understood that the most important of these routines, the dense Level 3 BLAS, may be written efficiently given a highly optimized general matrix multiply routine. In this paper, however, we show that an even larger set of operations can be efficiently maintained using a much simpler matrix multiply kernel. Indeed, this is how our own project, ATLAS (which provides one of the most widely used BLAS implementations in use today), supports a large variety of performance‐critical routines. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Unilateral stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus in Parkinson disease: a double-blind 12-month evaluation study.

OBJECT Bilateral deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) has been established as an effective treatment for Parkinson disease (PD). Nevertheless, bilateral surgical procedures can be associated with frequent and severe complications. The aim in the present study was to assess the safety and efficacy of unilateral STN stimulation, and the need for a second procedure. METHODS Twelve patients with PD underwent unilateral DBS of the STN and were followed up for 12 months. Patients were assessed at baseline and at each visit in a double-blind fashion by analyzing the Unified PD Rating Scale (UPDRS), ambulation speed, and home diaries. Levodopa-off/stimulation-on UPDRS motor scores were improved by 26 +/- 8% (p < 0.05, mean +/- standard deviation [SD]) compared with the baseline levodopa-off score; there was a 50% improvement in contralateral features, a 17% improvement ipsilaterally, and a 36% improvement in axial features. The mean ambulation speed increased by 83 +/- 44% (p < 0.01, mean +/- SD). The medication-on time with dyskinesias was significantly reduced (p < 0.01) and the daily levodopa dose was reduced by 19 +/- 6% (p < 0.05, mean +/- SD). There were no clinically significant side effects. CONCLUSIONS Unilateral DBS of the STN is safe and well tolerated, and may provide sufficient benefit so that additional surgery is not required.
Activity in Social Media related to Business Events: The Case of Merger Announcements

Investors use social media in order to access and exchange information regarding recent events in the business and financial domain. Social media support investors to reduce uncertainty about the implications and the evaluation of such business events. Companies benefit from these event-related activities in social media, for instance with regard to business intelligence purposes. Therefore, it is important for companies to understand why some business events attract more activity in social media than others as well as when investors make use of different types of social media to exchange information related to business events. This cumulative dissertation investigates how the announcement of business events affects the activity in social media and the choice of social media type. This is investigated in the context of merger announcements representing a major business event with uncertainties on many levels. Two categories of influencing factors are considered to explain event-related activity in social media: event-specific factors (i.e. event characteristics) and firm-specific factors (i.e. firm characteristics). The research presented in this dissertation provides evidence that both event characteristics related to information needs of investors as well as firm characteristics related to the visibility of the involved firms explain the event-related activity in social media and the choice of social media type.
Single-step determination of protein substructures using dipolar couplings: aid to structural genomics.

The wealth of genomic data that has recently become available with completion of the sequencing of both the human and a variety of other genomes 1 has created a need for rapid and efficient determination of three-dimensional structures of the corresponding proteins. So far, most effort in this so-called structural genomics project has focused on X-ray crystallography, but NMR also shows considerable potential. 2,3 Conventionally, NMR structure determination consists of a resonance assignment phase, which usually relies on analysis of an extensive set of triple resonance J-connectivity data, followed by a structure determination phase that relies on interpretation of NOE spectra and measurement of scalar and dipolar couplings. 3,4 Here, we describe and demonstrate a more integrated approach, where the assignment and structural data are derived from the same experiment. This offers the opportunity to greatly accelerate the NMR structure-determination process. The method demonstrated here relies on the 3D (HA)CANH triple resonance experiment, 5 which correlates amide 1H and15N chemical shifts with those of the intraresidue and preceding 13CR nuclei. Because the 13CR chemical shift is usually insufficiently unique, such a spectrum alone cannot be used for determining complete sequential assignments. Therefore, separate experiments that correlate the amide with intraresidue and preceding residue 13C′ or 13Câ resonances are frequently used to complete the assignment process. Here, we demonstrate that if the (HA)CANH spectrum is recorded in the 1HR-coupled mode, both the size of the JCRHR splitting and the asymmetry in doublet intensity 6
Towards building a miniaturized shape sensor: Building process of a shape sensor for use in single port surgery

3D shape sensing of flexible snakelike instruments using fiber Bragg gratings is a current research topic in robot assisted single port surgery (SPS). Though some results are achieved, a practical implementation that can be applied for instruments in SPS has not yet been particularly described. The specific instruments have special technical properties as e.g. they allow very small bending radii. In this work, approaches for the building process of a shape sensor that meets the special technical requirements of these instruments are pursued and evaluated. The theoretical foundations and calculation methods are adapted to the built shape sensor. The overall goal is to develop a building process for a miniaturized shape sensor that can be integrated into medical instruments. A first macro sized shape sensor has been successfully produced, but the miniaturization causes serious difficulties. In this work experiences with the fiber handling and occurring problems in production are described in detail. In summary, the realization of a shape sensor has already proven to be technically feasible but for miniaturization, further research concerning the used materials and the practical fiber handling is necessary.
Tarennanosides A–H, Eight New Lignan Glucosides from Tarenna attenuata and Their Protective Effect on H2O2‐Induced Impairment in PC12 Cells

Eight new lignan glucosides, tarennanosides A-H (1-8, resp.), were isolated from the whole plant of Tarenna attenuata, together with three known compounds, fernandoside, (-)-lyoniresinol, and (-)-isolariciresinol. The planar structures of new compounds were elucidated mainly by analysis of physical and spectroscopic data, and the absolute configurations were determined by acid hydrolysis as well as CD spectroscopy. Compounds 1 and 2 exhibited potent antioxidant activities against H2O2-induced impairment in PC12 cells. Preliminary mechanism study by the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method showed that these two compounds could act as radical scavengers.
Learning on Vertically Partitioned Data based on Chi-square Feature Selection and Naive Bayes Classification

In the last few years, distributed learning has been the focus of much attention due to the explosion of big databases, in some cases distributed across different nodes. However, the great majority of current selection and classification algorithms are designed for centralized learning, i.e. they use the whole dataset at once. In this paper, a new approach for learning on vertically partitioned data is presented, which covers both feature selection and classification. The approach splits the data by features, and then uses the chi-square filter and the naive Bayes classifier to learn at each node. Finally, a merging procedure is performed, which updates the learned model in an incremental fashion. The experimental results on five representative datasets show that the execution time is shortened considerably whereas the classification performance is maintained as the number of nodes increases.
Linkage of Nat and Es-1 in the mouse and development of strains congenic for N-acetyltransferase.

The human polymorphism in the hepatic enzyme N-acetyltransferase (NAT) affects the rate at which individuals acetylate, and in many cases detoxify, aromatic amine and hydrazine drugs and xenobiotics. Differences in NAT activity are known to affect individual susceptibility to drug toxicities and are thought to play a part in some spontaneous disorders. A mouse model for the human acetylation polymorphism has been previously characterized and involves the A/J (slow acetylator) and C57BL/6J (rapid acetylator) inbred strains. Strain distribution analysis of 40 A x B and B x A recombinant inbred (RI) strains indicated linkage between the N-acetyltransferase gene (Nat) and the esterase 1 (Es-1) gene, located on mouse chromosome 8. A double backcross involving 107 animals confirmed the recombination frequency between Nat and Es-1 to be 12 +/- 3% (mean +/- SE). The information obtained in the backcross and RI studies was combined, yielding a 13 +/- 2.8% (mean +/- SD) recombination frequency. The Es-1 genotype was determined in our newly developed congenic strains A.B6-Natr and B6.A-Nats. The B6.A-Nats strain has the Es-1 genotype of its inbred partner, the B6 strain, and the A.B6-Natr strain has the Es-1 genotype of the donor strain. These congenic strains will be important in determining the role of the NAT genotype in susceptibility to arylamine-induced cancer and other disorders.
Social Enterprise in Italy: Typology, Diffusion and Characteristics

Italian social enterprises are not a new topic in literature. Several aspects e.g. theoretical frameworks, quality of work and job satisfaction, networking strategies, and the impact of the recent financial crisis, have been studied from many different perspectives in the last twenty years. Most of these contributions focus in particular on social cooperatives, as the most representative legal form of social enterprise in Italy. Therefore, the idea that has been spreading in literature and among scholars is that social cooperatives are the only example of social enterprise existing in Italy. Conversely, in recent years, new forms of non-profit organizations, that were traditionally based on volunteer and donor support, have started to operate as social enterprises, employing people and running commercial activities. This article, which is one of a very few works that explore this topic, is intended to answer the following research questions: i? ½How many different types of SEs are there in Italy? i? ½; i? ½How many SEs of each type are there? i? ½; i? ½In what ways and to what extent do they differ from each other? i? ½.
Rice Allergenic Proteins, 14–16 kDa Albumin and α-Globulin, Remain Insoluble in Rice Grains Recovered from Rice Miso (Rice-Containing Fermented Soybean Paste)

The rice grains (RG) and rice seed proteins remaining in rice miso were investigated with a view point to the potential allergenicity of rice miso. RG ranging from 36 to 180 mg dry weight per g dry miso were separated from several samples of commercially available rice miso. Scanning electron microscopy of the recovered RG indicated that starch granules disappeared almost completely while protein bodies remained intact in RG. Most of the major seed proteins were extracted from RG by heating with 1% SDS/2% 2-mercaptoethanol and detected by SDS–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Major rice allergenic proteins, 14–16 kDa albumin (Alb14–16) and α-globulin (α-Glb) were also detected by immunoblotting using the specific antisera, and their contents were estimated to be 1.7 to 9.0 and 1 to 7 mg protein per g dry RG respectively. However, the major rice proteins, including glutelin and prolamin, in RG were insoluble in salt, alcohol, and urea solutions, but soluble in 6 M guanidine hydrochloride (Gu–HCl). By immunoblotting and ELISA, no Alb14–16 and only a slight amount of α-Glb were detected even in the 6 M Gu–HCl fraction, indicating that these major allergenic proteins are denatured and are present in an insoluble form in rice miso.
Identifying Communities as Core-Periphery Structures in Evolving Networks

With the sudden proliferation of communication over the internet, social networks, online media and handheld devices over the past decade, real-world networks have grown exponentially. The large number of individual entities on such networks make discovering clusters of relevant communities and extraction of essential patterns a challenging problem. Significantly more challenging, is finding core communities in a network with high temporal variation. Though a lot of comprehensive research is targeted towards mining communities and finding associations among nodes in a static network, analysis of dynamic real-world social networks is a road less traveled. Most algorithms fail to identify the level of correlation among the nodes, and that they share a multirelation. We propose a new approach to identify crisp communities in these time evolving heterogeneous graphs, in the form of core and periphery structures. We also propose a new similarity index to compare two dendrograms obtained from hierarchical clustering of the network. In our approach, we consider the level of interaction between the entities, edge flow in the network and the duration of their connection. Using synthetic, preference, collaboration and communication network datasets, we visualize the results as a core-periphery structure. In doing so, we demonstrate the effectiveness of our algorithm in determining meaningful communities.
Evaluation of GluR2 subunit involvement in AMPA receptor function of neonatal rat hypoglossal motoneurons

AMPA receptors (AMPAr) mediate fast synaptic responses to glutamate and, when they lack the GluR2 subunit, are strongly Ca2+ permeable and may increase intracellular Ca2+ levels. Because hypoglossal motoneurons possess restricted ability to buffer internal Ca2+ and are vulnerable to Ca2+ excitotoxicity, we wondered if, in these cells, any significant Ca2+ influx could be generated via AMPAr activity. Using whole cell patch‐clamp recording from neonatal rat hypoglossal motoneurons, we tested the AMPAr properties conferred by GluR2 subunits, namely Ca2+ permeability, current rectification and sensitivity to pentobarbital or to the subunit‐specific channel blockers, IEM‐1460 and IEM‐1925. We recorded membrane currents generated by the agonist, kainate, and compared them with those obtained from hippocampal pyramidal neurons (expressing GluR2‐containing AMPAr) and from striatal giant aspiny or hippocampal interneurons (with GluR2‐lacking AMPAr). Ca2+ vs. Na+ permeability of motoneuron AMPAr was relatively low (0.25 ± 0.05), although higher than that of pyramidal neurons. With intracellularly applied spermine, significant inward rectification was absent from motoneurons. These data indicated the prevalence of functional GluR2 subunits. However, the sensitivity of motoneuron AMPAr to pentobarbital did not differ from that of GluR2‐lacking AMPAr on interneurons. Motoneurons possessed sensitivity to IEM‐1460 (IC50 = 90 ± 10 µm) approximately 10‐fold lower than striatal interneurons, although 10‐fold higher than hippocampal pyramidal cells. IEM‐1925 also reduced the amplitude of excitatory synaptic currents in brainstem slice motoneurons. We hypothesize that hypoglossal motoneuron AMPAr (moderately Ca2+ permeable because they contain few GluR2 subunits) may contribute to intracellular Ca2+ rises especially if persistent AMPAr activation (or the pathological GluR2 down‐regulation) occurs.
Does Information Empower the Poor? Evidence from Indonesia's Social Security Card

In 2013, the Government of Indonesia conducted one of the largest information interventions in histo-ry, in an attempt to further alleviate poverty and as a complement to the Social Protection Card (KPS). Drawing upon administrative data and nationally representative surveys, we evaluate the impact of the information campaign on the receipt of two of Indonesia's largest social programs, the Raskin (rice for the poor) and the BLSM (temporary unconditional cash transfers). Exploiting the design of the Raskin program, we implement a (normalised) fuzzy regression discontinuity methodology across 482 Indonesian districts, using program eligibility as an instrument for having received the information treatment. Further corroborating our results with semi-parametric and parametric techniques, we show that the information treatment increases the amount of rice received under the Raskin program by around 30 percentage points. In terms of the BLSM, we further show that the information treatment reduces the likelihood of elite capture by local leaders by around 25 percentage points. We also provide evidence that understanding the information treatment is crucial for poor household's out-comes, since fully informed households receive their full entitlement of rice.
A meta‐analysis of the association of IRF5 polymorphism with systemic lupus erythematosus

To more precisely estimate the association between interferon regulatory factor 5 (IRF5) polymorphisms and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) risk, we surveyed studies on the association of IRF5 rs2204640, rs10954213, rs729302 or rs2280714 with SLE using PubMed, Embase and Web of Science up to February 2011. Two investigators independently assessed the data quality and extracted the data. A total of 17 comparisons from ten relevant studies involving 6403 patients and 7475 controls were included to analyse the association between IRF5 rs2004640 and SLE risk (odds ratio, OR = 1.41, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.34–1.49, P = 0.000). As for rs10954213, there were ten comparisons from six relevant studies involving 3461 patients and 3692 controls were included to analyse the association between IRF5 rs10954213 and SLE risk (OR = 1.23, 95% CI 1.08–1.39, P = 0.002). And this meta‐analysis also showed a significant association of rs729302 (OR = 0.78, 95% CI 0.74–0.83, P = 0.000), rs2280714 (OR = 0.90, 95% CI 0.83–0.98, P = 0.021) with SLE. In a subgroup analysis by ethnicity, significantly increased SLE risk was associated with IRF5 rs2004640 T allele in populations of European, Asian and Latin American origin, and the rs10954213 A allele is significantly associated with SLE in European origin but not in Asian origin. This meta‐analysis suggested that IRF5 gene polymorphism was associated with SLE in multiple ethnic populations.
High-sensitivity C-reactive protein, lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2, and outcome after ischemic stroke.

BACKGROUND Inflammatory markers have been associated with ischemic stroke risk and prognosis after cardiac events. Their relationship to prognosis after stroke is unsettled. METHODS A population-based study of stroke risk factors in 467 patients with first ischemic stroke was undertaken to determine whether levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A(2) (Lp-PLA2) predict risk of stroke recurrence, other vascular events, and death. RESULTS Levels of Lp-PLA2 and hs-CRP were weakly correlated (r = 0.09; P = .045). High-sensitivity CRP, but not Lp-PLA2, was associated with stroke severity. After adjusting for age, sex, race and ethnicity, history of coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, atrial fibrillation, smoking, and hs-CRP level, compared with the lowest quartile of Lp-PLA2, those in the highest quartile had an increased risk of recurrent stroke (adjusted hazard ratio, 2.08; 95% confidence interval, 1.04-4.18) and of the combined outcome of recurrent stroke, MI, or vascular death (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.86; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-3.42). After adjusting for confounders, hs-CRP was not associated with risk of recurrent stroke or recurrent stroke, myocardial infarction, or vascular death but was associated with risk of death (adjusted hazard ratio, 2.11; 95% confidence interval, 1.18-3.75). CONCLUSIONS Inflammatory markers are associated with prognosis after first ischemic stroke and may offer complementary information. Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A(2) may be a stronger predictor of recurrent stroke risk. Levels of hs-CRP, an acute-phase reactant, increase with stroke severity and may be associated with mortality to a greater degree than recurrence.