Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Real-time Shadows in CG

This work should give an overview of various shadow techniques used in real-time rendering. Proper shadows are a crucial part of realistic looking scenes and therefore a huge research field in computer graphics. We will focus on the two major shadowing techniques shadow volumes and shadow mapping, including most popular rendering approaches, whereby the most practical approaches should be pointed out. Moreover, the difficulties and problems of them will be discussed, followed by a summarization and comparison.
CT image reconstruction based on combination of iterative reconstruction technique and total variation

Computed tomography (CT) has been extensively studied and widely used for a range of medical applications. The radiation from CT will result in excess radiation exposure to patients, hence the reduction of radiation from CT is essential. The proposed research focused on combining simultaneous algebraic reconstruction technique (SART) and total variation (TV) for CT image reconstruction. This method reconstructs better quality image using less number of projection views corrupted by Poisson noise. TV regularization in image reconstruction make the recovered image quality sharper by preserving the edges or boundaries more accurately. The numerical results show the efficiency of the proposed work in comparison with other existing reconstruction techniques.
Presynaptic calcium signals and transmitter release are modulated by calcium-activated potassium channels

The regulation of synaptic transmission by Ca(2+)-activated potassium (gKca) channels was investigated at the frog neuromuscular junction (nmj). Charybdotoxin (CTX), a blocker of certain types of gKca channels, induced a twofold increase of transmitter release. Similar results were obtained with purified natural toxin, synthetic toxin, and recombinant toxin. Apamin, a blocker of a different type of gKca channel, did not alter transmitter release. CTX was ineffective after intraterminal Ca2+ buffering was increased by application of the membrane-permeant Ca2+ buffer dimethyl-BAPTA-AM. By itself, the permeant buffer first caused a slight increase in transmitter release before release was eventually decreased. This increase of release did not occur when the buffer was applied in the presence of CTX or Ba2+, another gKca channel blocker. Stimulus-evoked entry of Ca2+ in nerve terminals, detected with the fluorescent Ca2+ indicator FLUO-3, was increased after blockade of gKca channels by CTX. CTX had no effect on the amount or the time course of synaptic depression. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that CTX-sensitive gKca channels normally narrow the presynaptic action potential and thus, by indirectly regulating Ca2+ entry, can serve as powerful modulators of evoked transmitter release. In order to affect presynaptic action potentials, the gKca channels must be located close to Ca2+ channels.
Modeling and intelligent control design of car following behavior in real traffic flow

The control of car following is essential to its safety and its operational efficiency. For this purpose, this paper builds a linear, continuous and time-delay model of car following. And then, presents a controller based on an adaptive network fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) for the car-following collision avoidance system to adaptively control the speed of the vehicle. The relative distance and relative speed to the in front car are measured and are applied to the controller. The output acceleration or deceleration rate of the controller is based on the characteristics of the vehicles. The presented ANFIS controller can solve the problems of the oscillations for final distance between the leader vehicle (LV) and the follower vehicle (FV) and their relative speed. The designed ANFIS controller is linked to the car following model. The simulation results show that the ANFIS control design is more effective and can provide a safe, reasonable, and comfortable drive than real driver.
Canine peripheral blood lymphocyte phenotyping by 7-color multiparameter flow cytometry.

OBJECTIVE To characterize baseline canine lymphocyte phenotypes including lymphocytes coexpressing multiple markers by novel 7-color multiparameter flow cytometry. STUDY DESIGN Fresh canine peripheral blood lymphocytes of 79 healthy 26-week-old Beagle or Beagle-mix dogs were stained and analyzed. RESULTS The high number of samples and acquired flow data (averaging 1.9 x 10(5) cells/sample) allowed the detection of minor lymphocyte subsets coexpressing multiple lymphocyte markers. The averaged percentages of major lymphocyte subsets of CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD21+ and gammadelta TCR+ cells from this study were 74.0, 43.6, 14.3, 9.6, and 0.2, respectively, which were comparable but uniquely different from other reports as they were simultaneously detected in the same sample. We demonstrated that the commonly used CD21 and CD3 monoclonal antibody (mAb) clones, previously recommended not to be used in the same staining, could and should be used together with the proper steps of lymphocyte gating. We found a high percentage (10.3%) of unidentified CD21- CD3+ CD4- CD8-gammadelta TCR- lymphocyte subset that has never been reported. The intensive gating strategy and the mean percentages of each lymphocyte subset to their parent subsets and to the total lymphocyte population are presented and discussed. CONCLUSION The canine lymphocyte phenotypes were fully characterized. This novel multiparameter flow cytometry method is a powerful approach to in-crease the accuracy of lymphocyte phenotyping in dogs.
Channel Adaptive CQI Reporting Schemes for UMTS High-Speed Downlink Packet Access

HSDPA (high-speed downlink packet access) is an evolved UMTS packet scheme that delivers increased user peak data rates and supports quality of service. A key technique supporting HSDPA is adaptive modulation and coding (AMC), in which the modulation scheme and the coding rate are changed adaptively according to the downlink channel quality reported by the user equipment (UE). Therefore, the channel quality indication (CQI) reporting scheme is directly related to the accuracy of AMC and the performance of HSDPA. In the current specification of HSDPA, each UE must periodically report to Node B the CQI. Hence, UE must report the same CQI value repeatedly when the channel quality is unchanged. Obviously, this is the waste of the UE's battery power. To solve this problem, we propose channel adaptive CQI reporting schemes in which UEs report the CQI value intelligently using information about channel quality. With the proposed schemes, the battery capacity of UEs can be conserved and the uplink interference can be lowered by filtering off redundant CQI reports or the transmission error rate can be lowered by fast CQI reports.
Uptitrating amlodipine significantly reduces blood pressure in diabetic patients with hypertension: a retrospective, pooled analysis

Diabetic patients with hypertension are approximately twice as likely to develop cardiovascular disease as non-diabetic patients with hypertension. Given that hypertension affects ∼60% of patients with diabetes, effective blood pressure (BP) management is important in this high-risk population. This post-hoc analysis pooled data from six clinical studies to quantify additional BP efficacy achieved when titrating hypertensive diabetic patients from amlodipine 5 mg to 10 mg. Approximately half of the diabetic patients were male (44/98; 44.9%) with a mean (standard deviation [SD]) age of 60.6 (9.6) years and a baseline mean (standard error [SE]) systolic blood pressure/diastolic blood pressure (SBP/DBP) of 150.8 (1.30)/87.5 (0.94) mmHg while on amlodipine 5 mg (159.1 [1.40]/92.6 [0.94] mmHg prior to treatment). In comparison, 350/610 (57.4%) non-diabetic patients were male with a mean (SD) age of 58.7 (11.1) years and baseline mean (SE) SBP/DBP of 150.3 (0.62)/90.9 (0.41) mmHg while on amlodipine 5 mg (160.0 [0.67]/96.2 [0.45] mmHg prior to treatment). Increasing amlodipine from 5 mg to 10 mg lowered sitting SBP by −12.5 mmHg (95% confidence interval (CI): −15.5, −9.5; P<0.0001) and DBP by −6.0 mmHg (−7.4, −4.6; P<0.0001) in diabetic patients; and SBP by −12.4 mmHg (−13.5, −11.3; P<0.0001) and DBP by −7.3 mmHg (−8.0, −6.7; P<0.0001) in non-diabetic patients. In total, 12.0% (95% CI: 6.4, 20.0) of diabetic patients achieved their BP goal versus 46.4% (42.4, 50.4) of non-diabetic patients after titration to amlodipine 10 mg. Overall, 22.0% of diabetic patients experienced 31 adverse events (AEs) and 28.9% of non-diabetic patients experienced 282 AEs. Serious AEs were reported by one (1.0%) diabetic and five (0.8%) non-diabetic patients. In this analysis, increasing amlodipine from 5 mg to 10 mg produced a clinically significant reduction in the BP of diabetic hypertensive patients, similar to non-diabetic patients, highlighting the importance of optimizing amlodipine titration in this high-risk population.
Mining Weighted Frequent Itemsets Using Window Sliding over Data Streams

In this paper, we considers the problem of mining with weighted support over a data stream sliding window using limited memory space. The continuous characteristic of streaming data necessitates the use of algorithms that require only one scan over the stream for knowledge discovery. This paper focuses on research issues concerning mining frequent itemsets in data streams and we suggests an efficient algorithm WSFI-Mine to mine all frequent itemsets. Our experiment show that our algorithm not only achieved effectively consumes less memory, but also runs significantly faster than THUI-mine.
SPC11-3: Group-Based Block Linear Successive Interference Cancellation For DS-CDMA

Mobile communication systems based on DS-CDMA suffer from multiple access interference (MAI), which limits the system capacity. Several techniques, such as beamforming with multiple antennas and multiuser detection (MUD), have proved to be effective to mitigate MAI. To reduce the complexity of MUD, it has been proposed to process users in smaller groups. The interference between group is then reduced using beamforming with smart antennas. In this paper, a new group-based block linear successive interference cancellation structure is developed. The structure is shown to provide BER performance close to the full space-time MUD at a lower computational cost.
Direct Field-Oriented Control Design using Backstepping Technique for Induction Motor Speed Control

In this paper, the speed control of an induction motor using backstepping design is proposed. First, the direct field oriented control IM is derived. Then, a backstepping for direct field oriented control is proposed to compensate the uncertainties which occur in the control. The effectiveness of the proposed control scheme is verified by numerical simulation. The numerical validation results of the proposed scheme have presented good performances compared to the conventional direct-field oriented control
Rate-limiting steps in the tension development of freeze-glycerinated vascular smooth muscle

A method for "skinning" arterial smooth muscle is presented which yields isometric tension development typically 60-80% of maximum physiological tension in the presence of micromolar Ca++ and millimolar Mg-ATP, while retaining essentially the native protein content. Using the methods of "CA jump," the time-course of Ca++-activated tension development in the skinned artery can be made identical to, but not faster than, the rate of tension development in the intact artery. In the skinned artery, activating free [Ca++] does not substantially alter the rate at which tension development approaches the final steady tension attained at that free [Ca++] (less than 25% decline in speed for a 10-fold decrease in [Ca++]). These observations are taken to mean that the rate-limiting step in isometric tension development in arterial smooth muscle does not depend directly on Ca++.
On measuring multiobjective evolutionary algorithm performance

Solving optimization problems with multiple (often conflicting) objectives is generally a quite difficult goal. Evolutionary algorithms (EAs) were initially extended and applied during the mid-eighties in an attempt to stochastically solve problems of this generic class. During the past decade a multiplicity of multiobjective EA (MOEA) techniques have been proposed and applied to many scientific and engineering applications. Our discussion's intent is to rigorously define and execute a quantitative MOEA performance comparison methodology. Almost all comparisons cited in the current literature visually compare algorithmic results, resulting in only relative conclusions. Our methodology gives a basis for absolute conclusions regarding MOEA performance. Selected results from its execution with four MOEAs are presented and described.
Clinical Features of Hepatitis C Virus Carriers With Persistently Normal Alanine Aminotransferase Levels

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection causes chronic hepatitis, which frequently leads to hepatic fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) is a biomarker of hepatocyte injury and is associated with the progression of hepatic fibrosis. Advanced hepatic fibrosis also predisposes HCV carriers to a risk of HCC. In contrast, some cases with persistent HCV infection have normal ALT levels that persist for a long time, and these HCV carriers have no or mild hepatitis and hepatic fibrosis. These HCV carriers are defined as persistent normal ALT (PNALT) cases and their risk of HCC is low compared to HCV carriers with abnormal ALT. However, there are various definitions of normal ALT and PNALT, and advanced hepatic fibrosis may be missed without a liver biopsy. In addition, there is also a risk of ALT elevation in HCV carriers with PNALT, which increases the risk of progression to hepatic fibrosis and HCC. Most HCV carriers with PNALT have asymptomatic or nonspecific symptoms. HCV carriers with PNALT are also considered to be responsive to interferon-based treatment. Thus, assessment of hepatic fibrosis is important in HCV carriers, and the eradication of HCV infection is more likely in HCV carriers with evidence of hepatic fibrosis, regardless of their ALT levels.
Threshold Effect of Knowledge Accumulation between Innovation Path and Innovation Performance: New Evidence from China’s High-tech Industry

In the process of transitioning from closed to open innovation, regions in developing countries need to understand how to choose the most effective path within the complex innovation system while considering their own innovation factors. Based on provincial panel data from China’s high-tech industry and the improved dynamic threshold model, we introduce the threshold of knowledge accumulation (KLA) into the non-linear mechanism between innovation paths and innovation performance to compare the dynamic threshold effect and its heterogeneity. This research provides interesting insights into innovation paths, showing that the relationship between the innovation path and innovation performance is significantly influenced by the threshold effect of KLA. As the level of KLA strengthens, its effects on each innovation path change. Overall, this article shows how KLA affects the relationship between the innovation path and innovation performance. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of these insights for innovation management and policy.
Modeling Access Control Requirements in Feature Model

Access Control Requirements (ACRs) are software requirements about limiting privileges of users from accessing sensitive software resources. ACRs often interact with functional requirements (FRs), conform to an access control model, are constrained by authorization constraints of organizations, and change frequently. Current requirements modeling technologies, such as use case modeling approaches, object-oriented analysis, and feature-oriented approaches, are initially designed to model FRs, and cannot explicitly and efficiently model the ACRs. In real world, it is still very difficult for the developers to model and evolve the complex and changeful ACRs of large-scale software applications while ensuring the consistency between ACRs and FRs. This paper analyzes the challenges of modeling ACRs, presents a feature-based approach to modeling the ACRs to overcome them, and illustrates the approach in an online store application.
Dynamics of Defense Responses and Cell Fate Change during Arabidopsis-Pseudomonas syringae Interactions

Plant-pathogen interactions involve sophisticated action and counteraction strategies from both parties. Plants can recognize pathogen derived molecules, such as conserved pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and effector proteins, and subsequently activate PAMP-triggered immunity (PTI) and effector-triggered immunity (ETI), respectively. However, pathogens can evade such recognitions and suppress host immunity with effectors, causing effector-triggered susceptibility (ETS). The differences among PTI, ETS, and ETI have not been completely understood. Toward a better understanding of PTI, ETS, and ETI, we systematically examined various defense-related phenotypes of Arabidopsis infected with different Pseudomonas syringae pv. maculicola ES4326 strains, using the virulence strain DG3 to induce ETS, the avirulence strain DG34 that expresses avrRpm1 (recognized by the resistance protein RPM1) to induce ETI, and HrcC- that lacks the type three secretion system to activate PTI. We found that plants infected with different strains displayed dynamic differences in the accumulation of the defense signaling molecule salicylic acid, expression of the defense marker gene PR1, cell death formation, and accumulation/localization of the reactive oxygen species, H2O2. The differences between PTI, ETS, and ETI are dependent on the doses of the strains used. These data support the quantitative nature of PTI, ETS, and ETI and they also reveal qualitative differences between PTI, ETS, and ETI. Interestingly, we observed the induction of large cells in the infected leaves, most obviously with HrcC- at later infection stages. The enlarged cells have increased DNA content, suggesting a possible activation of endoreplication. Consistent with strong induction of abnormal cell growth by HrcC-, we found that the PTI elicitor flg22 also activates abnormal cell growth, depending on a functional flg22-receptor FLS2. Thus, our study has revealed a comprehensive picture of dynamic changes of defense phenotypes and cell fate determination during Arabidopsis-P. syringae interactions, contributing to a better understanding of plant defense mechanisms.
A personalized and automated dbSNP surveillance system

The development of high throughput techniques and large-scale studies in the biological sciences has given rise to an explosive growth in both the volume and types of data available to researchers. A surveillance system that monitors data repositories and reports changes helps manage the data overload. We developed a dbSNP surveillance system (URL: http://www.pharmgkb.org/do/serve? id=tools.surveillance.dbsnp) that performs surveillance on the dbSNP database and alerts users to new information. The system is notable because it is personalized and fully automated. Each registered user has a list of genes to follow and receives notification of new entries concerning these genes. The system integrates data from dbSNP, LocusLink, PharmGKB, and Genbank to position SNPs on reference sequences and classify SNPs into categories such as synonymous and nonsynonymous SNPs. The system uses data warehousing, object model-based data integration, object-oriented programming, and a platform-neutral data access mechanism.
JMJD6 and U2AF65 co-regulate alternative splicing in both JMJD6 enzymatic activity dependent and independent manner

Abstract JMJD6, a jumonji C (Jmj C) domain-containing protein demethylase and hydroxylase, has been implicated in an array of biological processes. It has been shown that JMJD6 interacts with and hydroxylates multiple serine/arginine-rich (SR) proteins and SR related proteins, including U2AF65, all of which are known to function in alternative splicing regulation. However, whether JMJD6 is widely involved in alternative splicing and the molecular mechanism underlying JMJD6-regulated alternative splicing have remained incompletely understood. Here, by using RASL-Seq, we investigated the functional impact of RNA-dependent interaction between JMJD6 and U2AF65, revealing that JMJD6 and U2AF65 co-regulated a large number of alternative splicing events. We further demonstrated the JMJD6 function in alternative splicing in jmjd6 knockout mice. Mechanistically, we showed that the enzymatic activity of JMJD6 was required for a subset of JMJD6-regulated splicing, and JMJD6-mediated lysine hydroxylation of U2AF65 could account for, at least partially, their co-regulated alternative splicing events, suggesting both JMJD6 enzymatic activity-dependent and independent control of alternative splicing. These findings reveal an intimate link between JMJD6 and U2AF65 in alternative splicing regulation, which has important implications in development and disease processes.
PhD forum: Illumination-robust foreground detection for multi-camera occupancy mapping

Foreground detection is an essential preprocessing step for many image processing applications such as object tracking, human action recognition, pose estimation and occupancy mapping. Many existing techniques only perform well under steady illumination. Some approaches have been introduced to detect foreground under varying or sudden changes in illumination but the problem remains challenging. In this paper, we introduce a new texture-based foreground detection method which is robust to illumination change. Our method detects foreground by finding the correlation between the current frame and a background model. A region with low correlation is detected as foreground. We compare the performance of our proposed technique with other techniques from literature (edge-based, ViBe and Gaussian mixture model) as a preprocessing step of the multi-camera occupancy mapping system. The evaluation demonstrates that our technique outperforms the other methods in term of object loss.
Proactive Visualization of Search Queries in Hierarchical Document Collections

Given a large collection of documents, a normal search interface only helps the user when the desired information is among the top 10 results. Although there is often a hierarchical structure which is an organization paradigm, it is rarely used. Here we propose an extension to the normal search interface which places search results in a hierarchical document structure to provide the user with a sense of context. Our search extension is implemented as follows. First, in a preprocessing step, we create mental map positions of the document hierarchy according to document similarities. Next, we use Multidimensional Scaling to ensure that similar documents are close together. By combining Voronoi Treemaps with Stress Majorization we elaborate a visualization which can proactively show the user the important parts of the hierarchy according to a search query. The similarity is considered and by using the mental map positions as initial layout the overall structure is mostly maintained, as measures show. The available space is used efficiently and the context of the result documents is shown by drawing them as nodes and their dependencies as hierarchically bundled edges. Our approach is scalable and widely applicable. The Voronoi Treemap is analytically computed in O (k · n log n) where k is the number of iterations and n the number of nodes in the hierarchy; previous approaches used Monte Carlo based methods and needed O (k · n + n log n). The combination of Voronoi Treemaps and Stress Majorization might be used in any field where hierarchy, size and location of elements play an important role.