Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Formal Distinctiveness of High- and Low-Imageability Nouns: Analyses and Theoretical Implications

Words associated with perceptually salient, highly imageable concepts are learned earlier in life, more accurately recalled, and more rapidly named than abstract words (R. W. Brown, 1976; Walker & Hulme, 1999). Theories accounting for this concreteness effect have focused exclusively on semantic properties of word referents. A novel possibility is that word structure may also contribute to the effect. We report a corpus-based analysis of the phonological and morphological structures of a large set of nouns with imageability ratings (N = 2,023). High- and low-imageability nouns differed by length, etymology, prosody, affixation, phonological neighborhood density, and rates of consonant clustering. On average, nouns denoting abstract concepts were longer, more derivationally complex, and emerged in English from a different distribution of languages than did concrete nouns. We address implications for interactivity of word form and meaning as pertain to theories of word concreteness, lexical acquisition, and word processing.
Efficient Access Methods for Temporal Interval Queries of Video Metadata

Indexing video content is one of the most important problems in video databases. In this paper we present linear time and space algorithms for handling video metadata that represent objects or events present in various frames of the video sequence. To accomplish this, we make a straightforward reduction of this problem to the intersection problem in Computational Geometry. Our first result is an improvement over the one of V. S. Subrahmanian (Subramanian, 1998) by a logarithmic factor in storage. This is achieved by using different basic data structures. Then, we present two other interesting time-efficient approaches. Finally a reduction to a special geometric problem is considered according to which we can achieve two optimal in time and space solutions in main and external memory model of computation respectively. We also present an extended experimental evaluation.
MI2LS: multi-instance learning from multiple informationsources

In Multiple Instance Learning (MIL), each entity is normally expressed as a set of instances. Most of the current MIL methods only deal with the case when each instance is represented by one type of features. However, in many real world applications, entities are often described from several different information sources/views. For example, when applying MIL to image categorization, the characteristics of each image can be derived from both its RGB features and SIFT features. Previous research work has shown that, in traditional learning methods, leveraging the consistencies between different information sources could improve the classification performance drastically. Out of a similar motivation, to incorporate the consistencies between different information sources into MIL, we propose a novel research framework -- Multi-Instance Learning from Multiple Information Sources (MI2LS). Based on this framework, an algorithm -- Fast MI2LS (FMI2LS) is designed, which combines Concave-Convex Constraint Programming (CCCP) method and an adapte- d Stoachastic Gradient Descent (SGD) method. Some theoretical analysis on the optimality of the adapted SGD method and the generalized error bound of the formulation are given based on the proposed method. Experimental results on document classification and a novel application -- Insider Threat Detection (ITD), clearly demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed method over state-of-the-art MIL methods.
Detection and utilization of vertical intersection in feature-less environment with RGB-depth sensor

This paper proposes a method to build a RGBD map in feature-less environment. The proposed method especially focuses on a corridor environment a common indoor space composed of simple textureless structures. It estimates robot positions for mapping by using a plane registration algorithm with additional imaginary planes. The imaginary planes are created by vertical intersections the core element of this method. An experimental result shows that the proposed method increases the success rate of estimation of translation along a corridor.
Head-to-Head Comparison of Two Multi-Locus Sequence Typing (MLST) Schemes for Characterization of Acinetobacter baumannii Outbreak and Sporadic Isolates

To compare the two Acinetobacter baumannii multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) schemes and to assess their suitability to aid in outbreak analysis we investigated the molecular epidemiology of 99 Acinetobacter baumannii isolates representing outbreak-related and sporadic isolates from 24 hospitals in four different countries (Germany, Poland, Sweden, and Turkey). Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was used as the reference method to determine the epidemiologic relatedness of isolates and compared to MLST using both the Oxford and Pasteur scheme. Rep-PCR was used to define international clonal lineages (IC). We identified 26 unique outbreak strains and 21 sporadic strains. The majority of outbreaks were associated with carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii harbouring oxacillinase OXA-23-like and corresponding to IC 2. Sequence types (STs) obtained from the Oxford scheme correlate well with PFGE patterns, while the STs of the Pasteur scheme are more in accordance with rep-PCR grouping, but neither one is mirroring completely the results of the comparator. On two occasions the Oxford scheme identified two different STs within a single outbreak where PFGE patterns had only one band difference. The CCs of both MLST schemes were able to define clonal clusters that were concordant with the ICs determined by rep-PCR. IC4 corresponds to the previously described CC15 Pasteur (= CC103 Oxford). It can be concluded that both MLST schemes are valuable tools for population-based studies. In addition, the higher discriminatory power of the Oxford scheme that compares with the resolution obtained with PFGE can often aid in outbreak analysis.
CHILDHOOD MALTREATMENT AND ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP COMMUNICATION PATTERNS : A DYADIC DATA ANALYSIS APPROACH

The current study aims to examine the relation between child emotional maltreatment and current romantic relationship conflict communication patterns. Data were collected from 58 heterosexual undergraduate couples (M age = 20.06 years, total n = 122). Childhood emotional abuse was measured using the CTQ (Bernstein & Fink, 1998). Conflict communication was assessed using the constructive communication and demand/withdraw scales of the CPQ (Christensen & Sullaway, 1984) as well as observational scores of global demand/withdraw (MLSPC, 2005). Data analysis will utilize the Actor Partner Interdependence Model (Kenny, Kashy, and Cook, 2006) to test for actor and partner effects of child emotional maltreatment on reported levels of couple demand/withdraw and constructive communication as well as observed couple demand/withdraw. INDEX WORDS: Emotional Maltreatment, Couple Communication, Dyadic Data Analysis CHILHOOD MALTREATMENT AND ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP COMMUNICATION PATTERNS: A DYADIC DATA ANALYSIS APPROACH
Relationship between Tetrahydrobiopterin and Portal Hypertension in Patients with Chronic Liver Disease

Tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) is an essential cofactor in NO synthesis by endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) enzymes. It has been previously suggested that reduced intrahepatic BH4 results in a decrease in intrahepatic NO and contributes to increased hepatic vascular resistance and portal pressure in animal models of cirrhosis. The main aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between BH4 and portal hypertension (PHT). One hundred ninety-three consecutive patients with chronic liver disease were included in the study. Liver biopsy, measurement of BH4 and hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) were performed. Hepatic fibrosis was classified using the Laennec fibrosis scoring system. BH4 levels were determined in homogenized liver tissues of patients using a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) system. Statistical analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship between BH4 and HVPG, grade of hepatic fibrosis, clinical stage of cirrhosis, Child-Pugh class. A positive relationship between HVPG and hepatic fibrosis grade, clinical stage of cirrhosis and Child-Pugh class was observed. However, the BH4 level showed no significant correlation with HVPG or clinical features of cirrhosis. BH4 concentration in liver tissue has little relation to the severity of portal hypertension in patients with chronic liver disease. Graphical Abstract
Genetic search feature selection for affective modeling: a case study on reported preferences

Automatic feature selection is a critical step towards the generation of successful computational models of affect. This paper presents a genetic search-based feature selection method which is developed as a global-search algorithm for improving the accuracy of the affective models built. The method is tested and compared against sequential forward feature selection and random search in a dataset derived from a game survey experiment which contains bimodal input features (physiological and gameplay) and expressed pairwise preferences of affect. Results suggest that the proposed method is capable of picking subsets of features that generate more accurate affective models.
Light-curing Time and Aging Effects on the Nanomechanical Properties of Methacrylate- and Silorane-based Restorations.

SUMMARY The aim of this study was to assess the influence of light-curing time on the nanohardness (H) and reduced elastic modulus (Er) of components (underlying dentin, hybrid layer, adhesive, and composite) of methacrylate- and silorane-based restorations after 24 hours and six months of storage. Class II slot preparations were carried out in human molars (n=3) and restored with methacrylate (Clearfil SE Bond [Kuraray] + Filtek Z250 [3M ESPE]) or silorane (LS restorative system [3M ESPE]) restorative systems and light-cured using light-emitting diode at 1390 mW/cm2 for the recommended manufacturers' time or double time. Restorations were sectioned, and bonded dentin-resin interfaces were embedded in epoxy resin and polished for evaluation with a Berkovich fluid cell tip (TI 700 Ubi-1 nanoindenter, Hysitron). Data were statistically analyzed by analysis of variance and Tukey's test (alpha=0.05). Overall, the H and Er values were higher for methacrylate-based restorations than for silorane materials (p≤0.05), an increase in curing time did not improve the H and Er of the bonded interface components of either material (p>0.05), and aging significantly decreased the mechanical properties of interface components of both resin-based restorative systems (p≤0.05). In general, nanomechanical properties decreased after six months of storage, the methacrylate restorative system exhibited higher H and Er than silorane, and light-curing time did not influence the properties tested.
Bidirectional visible neighborhood preserving embedding

In this paper, we propose a series of dimensionality reduction algorithms according to a novel neighborhood graph construction method. This paper begins with the presentation of a new manifold learning algorithm called bidirectional visible neighborhood preserving embedding (BVNPE). Similar with existing manifold techniques, BVNPE first links every data point with its k nearest neighbors (NNs). Then, we construct a reliable neighborhood graph by checking two criteria: bidirectional linkage and visible neighborhood preserving. Third, we assign the weights to each edge in this reliable graph based on the pairwise distance between data points. Finally, we compute the low-dimensional embedding, trying to preserve the manifold structure of input dataset by mapping nearby points on the manifold to nearby points in low-dimensional space. Moreover, this paper also proposes a linear BVNPE called BVNPE/L for straightforward embedding of new data, and a multilinear BVNPE called BVNPE/M, which represents the tensor structure of image and video data better. Experiments on various datasets validate the effectiveness of proposed algorithms.
Contributions to the Modeling and Design of Reconfigurable Reflecting Cells Embedding Discrete Control Elements

This paper presents new contributions to the modeling and design of reflecting cells embedding discrete control elements such as microelectromechanical system (MEMS) or diodes. First, a rigorous assessment of the different possibilities to simulate and measure the reconfigurable cell in a periodic environment is proposed. Strategies to efficiently model a cell comprising discrete control elements are then presented and discussed in terms of versatility, required assumptions, and computational effort. The most efficient method allows computing all reconfigurable states cell parameters, including information such as the total and dissipated power in each MEMS or diode, in a few minutes using a commercial full-wave solver and adequate post-processing. Finally, the benefit of such an efficient modeling is illustrated by the optimization of an element phase states distribution using a particle swarm optimizer. The concepts presented are also directly applicable to reconfigurable transmitting cells.
Evaluation of Curcumin Capped Copper Nanoparticles as Possible Inhibitors of Human Breast Cancer Cells and Angiogenesis: a Comparative Study with Native Curcumin

Synthesis of metal nanoparticles for improving therapeutic index and drug delivery is coming up as an attractive strategy in the mainstream of cancer therapeutic research. In the present study, curcumin-capped copper nanoparticles (CU-NPs) were evaluated as possible inhibitors of in vivo angiogenesis, pro-angiogenic cytokines involved in promoting tumor angiogenesis along with inhibition of cell proliferation and migration of breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231. The antiangiogenic potential was assessed using in vivo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) model. 3-(4, 5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT)-based cytotoxicity assay was used to assess the effect of CU-NPs against proliferation of breast cancer cell line. The wound healing migration assay was used to evaluate the effects of CU-NPs on the migration ability of breast cancer cell line. Native curcumin (CU) was used as a reference compound for comparison purpose. The result of the present investigation indicates that CU-NPs could not demonstrate impressive antiangiogenic or anticancer activities significantly as compared to native CU. The possible mechanisms of experimental outcomes are discussed in the light of the methods of nanoparticle synthesis in concert with the current state of the art literature.
Amending Leighton and Micali's Key Distribution Protocol 1 Leighton and Micali's Protocol

A key distribution protocol is a set of rules by which two users can establish a shared common key between them and then use the key in future secure communications. We analyze a key distribution protocol presented by Leighton and Micali at the CRYPTO'93 conference, which is based on tamper-proof hardware, and show that the protocol fails in that a common key shared between two users can always be obtained by a number of other legitimate users in a system where the proposed protocol is employed. An interesting point is that the legitimate users can derive the key without opening a single tamper-proof chip. We also propose a very simple identity based conference key distribution protocol that frees of the aw possessed by Leighton and Micali's protocol. Furthermore, we employ ideas behind our protocol to successfully repair Leighton and Micali's failed protocol. At the CRYPTO'93 conference, Leighton and Micali proposed two key distribution protocols 1], which were aimed at such communications scenarios as the one based on the Clipper Chip. Both of the protocols assume the existence of a trusted agent (or a group of agents at least one of which is trusted). The rst protocol also relies on a tamper-proof VLSI chip that contains a CPU together with internal memory. Using an asymtotic argument, the authors proved that if an adversary tried to obtain a common key between two users by opening tamper-proof chips, then the chance for him to succeed was slim that it could be ignored in practical applications. This led them to conclude that the protocol was secure. While the asymtotic argument might be appropriate for the situation where an adversary armed with sophisticated machinery tries to crack the protocol by compromising tamper-proof chips, it does not exclude the possibility that the protocol might be vulnerable to other types of adversaries. That is, the asymtotic argument is not suucient to conclude that the protocol is secure. Indeed, we will show in this paper that the hardware based protocol proposed by Leighton and Micali is easily breakable by much less sophisticated adversaries. In particular, we will show that the protocol fails in that a common key shared between two users is always clear to a number of other legitimate users in a system that employs the protocol. In doing this the legitimate users need not to open any tamper-proof chips ! The following is a brief description …
A wearable robot control interface based on measurement of human body motion using a camera and inertial sensors

This paper describes a wearable robot control interface based on measurement of human body motion, which allows a user to control the robot intuitively. This wearable interface is composed of a camera and inertial sensors and estimates body motion of the user: movement and arm motion. The estimated motion is then converted into commands of movement or arm motion of a humanoid robot. The body motion estimation is performed by a combination of a monocular SLAM and an EKF-based motion estimation using inertial sensors. The arm motion is estimated with a Wii Remote with a visual marker using the same motion model and sensor data integration. We implemented efficient algorithms, especially for image processing, for a real-time motion estimation. We conducted motion estimation and robot control experiments, which show the effectiveness of the proposed method.
The amputee mobility predictor: an instrument to assess determinants of the lower-limb amputee's ability to ambulate.

OBJECTIVES To describe the development of the Amputee Mobility Predictor (AMP) instrument designed to measure ambulatory potential of lower-limb amputees with (AMPPRO) and without (AMPnoPRO) the use of a prosthesis, and to test its reliability and validity. DESIGN Measurement study using known groups method and concurrence with existing measures. SETTING Academic medical center. PARTICIPANTS A convenience sample of 191 lower-limb amputee subjects who had completed prosthetic training, 24 in the reliability study (mean age +/- standard deviation, 68.3+/-17.9y, range, 28-99y) and 167 in the validity study (mean age, 54.8+/-18.6y; range, 18-100y). INTERVENTIONS Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Intra- and interrater reliability; construct validity by known groups method; concurrent validity by comparisons with 6-minute walk test, Comorbidity Index, age, and time since amputation; predictive validity by comparison with 6-minute walk test after controlling for other factors. RESULTS Interrater reliability was.99 for subjects tested with and without their prosthesis; intrarater reliability was.96 and.97. Both the AMPnoPRO (P<.0001) and the AMPPRO scores (P<.0001) distinguished among the 4 Medicare functional classification levels. The AMP correlated strongly with 6-minute walk scores (AMPnoPRO r=.69, P<.0001; AMPPRO r=.82, P<.0001) and the amputee activity survey (AMPnoPRO r=.67, P<.0001; AMPPRO r=.77, P<.0001), and negatively correlated with age (AMPnoPRO r=-.69, P<.0001; AMPPRO r=.56, P<.0001) and comorbidity (AMPnoPRO r=-.43, P<.0001; AMPPRO r=.38, P<.0001). CONCLUSION The AMP with and without a prosthesis are reliable and valid measures for the assessment of functional ambulation in lower-limb amputee subjects.
Using multi-level cell STT-RAM for fast and energy-efficient local checkpointing

High reliability, availability, and serviceability are critical for modern large-scale computing systems. As an effective error recovery mechanism, checkpointing has been widely used in such systems for their survival from unexpected failures. The conventional checkpointing schemes, however, are time-consuming due to the limited I/O bandwidth between the DRAM-based main memory and the backup storage. To mitigate the checkpoint overhead, we propose a fast local checkpointing scheme by leveraging Multi-Level Cell (MLC) STT-RAM. We take advantage of the unique features of MLC STT-RAM to accelerate local checkpointing. Our experimental results show that the average performance overhead is less than 1% in a multi-programmed four-core process node with a 1-second local checkpoint interval. The evaluation results also demonstrate that using MLC STT-RAM is an energy-efficient solution.
On the hybrid dynamics of planar mechanisms supported by frictional contacts. I: necessary conditions for stability

This paper is concerned with the stability of planar mechanisms supported by multiple frictional contacts against gravity. Stability of equilibrium postures is investigated under initial perturbations which may involve sliding or separation at the contacts. The frictional dynamics is formulated using the notion of contact modes, and the related problems of solution ambiguity and inconsistency are reviewed. The paper then uses the condition of strong equilibrium to eliminate ambiguities, and defines a new condition of kinematic-strong equilibrium which additionally eliminates frictional inconsistencies. It is then proven that strong equilibrium is necessary for stability of frictional equilibrium postures, and that kinematic-strong equilibrium guarantees finite-time recovery of an initially perturbed contact. The results are demonstrated on a reduced model of a rigid body having a variable center-of-mass and supported by two frictional contacts. A companion paper completes the analysis of this reduced problem by investigating the overall hybrid dynamics and deriving sufficient conditions for its stability.
An efficient grading algorithm for non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy using region based detection

The paper proposes an image processing algorithm to grade the severity of Non Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy. For this disease the most important parameter to classify the stage of the disease is the proximity of abnormalities from the centre of Macula. The proposed algorithm provides an efficient grading technique by segmenting the fundus image into specific regions of interest and avoids redundancy in computation. Instead of detecting abnormalities for the whole fundus image, the proposed method emphasizes on the segmented regions for the abnormalities, thereby reducing the computation time significantly. Furthermore, this approach provides a simple and direct method to measure the severity of the disease. This region based segmentation also has the advantage of a mesh lesser computational load making this process suitable for real time applications. The accuracy of this region based segmentation method is more than 80% when tested in a database.