Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
EFFICIENT NOVEL VECTOR MEDIAN FILTER DESIGN FOR IMPULSE NOISE SUPPRESSION IN COLOR IMAGES

Although different types of efficient vectors’ median filters have been proposed in literature, researchers have not resolved the problem identified in vector filters: (i) detecting impulse noise in individual color component with the smallest dissimilarity measure in the window; (ii) detecting impulsive pixels in regions of highly dense impulse noise mixed with bright image pixels and edge pixels. Following the establishment of this shortcoming identified in existing vector filters, this paper aims at developing a novel vector filter that will solve this existing problem. This work proposes an intelligent switching based vector median filter that adapts and combines different techniques for noise detection, noise filtering. The algorithm adopts the K-nearest neighbor clustering method to perform some simple clustering of the image data in the window into noisy and noise-free pixels. This algorithm aids a rigorous separation of pixels into two parts. The primary task of the proposed filter is to recover the dead edge pixels, polluted pixels and recover the corrupted image detail. The NVMF is implemented in MATLAB and applied to several noisy color images to test the performance of the filter. The results of the experimental analysis shown in both the subjective and objective analysis prove that the proposed vector filter outperforms the state-of-the-art filters in noise (impulse) detection and removal.
A Virtual Out-of-Body Experience Reduces Fear of Death

Immersive virtual reality can be used to visually substitute a person’s real body by a life-sized virtual body (VB) that is seen from first person perspective. Using real-time motion capture the VB can be programmed to move synchronously with the real body (visuomotor synchrony), and also virtual objects seen to strike the VB can be felt through corresponding vibrotactile stimulation on the actual body (visuotactile synchrony). This setup typically gives rise to a strong perceptual illusion of ownership over the VB. When the viewpoint is lifted up and out of the VB so that it is seen below this may result in an out-of-body experience (OBE). In a two-factor between-groups experiment with 16 female participants per group we tested how fear of death might be influenced by two different methods for producing an OBE. In an initial embodiment phase where both groups experienced the same multisensory stimuli there was a strong feeling of body ownership. Then the viewpoint was lifted up and behind the VB. In the experimental group once the viewpoint was out of the VB there was no further connection with it (no visuomotor or visuotactile synchrony). In a control condition, although the viewpoint was in the identical place as in the experimental group, visuomotor and visuotactile synchrony continued. While both groups reported high scores on a question about their OBE illusion, the experimental group had a greater feeling of disownership towards the VB below compared to the control group, in line with previous findings. Fear of death in the experimental group was found to be lower than in the control group. This is in line with previous reports that naturally occurring OBEs are often associated with enhanced belief in life after death.
Treatment Effects With Heterogeneous Externalities

Abstract This article proposes a new method for estimating heterogeneous externalities in policy analysis when social interactions take the linear-in-means form. We establish that the parameters of interest can be identified and consistently estimated using specific functions of the share of the eligible population. We also study the finite sample performance of the proposed estimators using Monte Carlo simulations. The method is illustrated using data on the PROGRESA program. We find that more than 50% of the effects of the program on schooling attendance are due to externalities, which are heterogeneous within and between poor and nonpoor households.
Insights into Dynamic Polymicrobial Synergy Revealed by Time-Coursed RNA-Seq

Many bacterial infections involve polymicrobial communities in which constituent organisms are synergistically pathogenic. Periodontitis, a commonly occurring chronic inflammatory disorder, is induced by multispecies bacterial communities. The periodontal keystone pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis and the accessory pathogen Streptococcus gordonii exhibit polymicrobial synergy in animal models of disease. Mechanisms of co-adhesion and community formation by P. gingivalis and S. gordonii are well-established; however, little is known regarding the basis for increased pathogenicity. In this study we used time-coursed RNA-Seq to comprehensively and quantitatively examine the dynamic transcriptional landscape of P. gingivalis in a model consortium with S. gordonii. Genes encoding a number of potential virulence determinants had higher relative mRNA levels in the context of dual species model communities than P. gingivalis alone, including adhesins, the Type IX secretion apparatus, and tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) motif proteins. In contrast, genes encoding conjugation systems and many of the stress responses showed lower levels of expression in P. gingivalis. A notable exception to reduced abundance of stress response transcripts was the genes encoding components of the oxidative stress-related OxyR regulon, indicating an adaptation of P. gingivalis to detoxify peroxide produced by the streptococcus. Collectively, the results are consistent with evolutionary adaptation of P. gingivalis to a polymicrobial oral environment, one outcome of which is increased pathogenic potential.
Entry in Beauty-Contest Games

We study how voluntary participation in Beauty Contest Games (BCGs) affects the actions and payoffs of type-heterogenous players. In a BCG, players have two goals --one personal, the other social-- and so BCGs appropriately model relevant economic situations like participating in a social network, partaking in the coding of an open-source software, or the choice of research topics by academics, among others. Key in these and other cases is the concept of "social norm" that will emerge in the associated "community", and so people's entry choices will depend crucially on their expectations regarding not only how many but who (which types) will join in. We find that in equilibrium there is entry as long as the BCG is "attractive" and that there might be multiple equilibria, each indexed by its associated social norm. We also find that, when finite, there is an odd number of equilibria and that --if ordered based on the value of the associated social norm-- odd/even equilibria are stable/unstable. Further, for low attractiveness, equilibrium social norms are univocally associated with the extrema of the distribution of types in the economy, so that stable/unstable equilibria are linked to maxima/interior minima. We find that "universal" communities in which everybody joins the BCG (as implicitly assumed by the literature) only occur when the BCG is sufficiently attractive and the economy's average type is not extreme. In non-universal communities, social norms are affected by the attractiveness of the BCG and the functional form of the distribution of types in the economy (especifically, its skewness around extrema). Attractiveness affects both the size and the composition of the community. Thus, an increase in attractiveness could lead both to the entry of new members and to the exit of some others.
Introduction to statistical analysis of phonetic data in R

This manuscript summarizes the main points discussed during a workshop with the same title presented during the 2 nd International Symposium on Applied Phonetics—ISAPh2018. Because of the time constraints of the workshop, this is a very limited introduction to R created with the intention of showing how to use R in the analysis of phonetic data and encourage attendees to use it in their research. Dataset for the examples, for a do-it-yourself part, and a tutorial are freely available from http://onkyo.u-aizu.ac. jp/classes/ez.
The Caenorhabditis elegans muscle-affecting gene unc-87 encodes a novel thin filament-associated protein

Mutations in the unc-87 gene of Caenorhabditis elegans affect the structure and function of bodywall muscle, resulting in variable paralysis. We cloned the unc-87 gene by taking advantage of a transposon-induced allele of unc-87 and the correspondence of the genetic and physical maps in C. elegans. A genomic clone was isolated that alleviates the mutant phenotype when introduced into unc-87 mutants. Sequence analysis of a corresponding cDNA clone predicts a 357- amino acid, 40-kD protein that is similar to portions of the vertebrate smooth muscle proteins calponin and SM22 alpha, the Drosophila muscle protein mp20, the deduced product of the C. elegans cDNA cm7g3, and the rat neuronal protein np25. Analysis of the genomic sequence and of various transcripts represented in a cDNA library suggest that unc-87 mRNAs are subject to alternative splicing. Immunohistochemistry of wildtype and mutant animals with antibodies to an unc-87 fusion protein indicates that the gene product is localized to the I-band of bodywall muscle. Studies of the UNC-87 protein in other muscle mutants suggest that the unc-87 gene product associates with thin filaments, in a manner that does not depend on the presence of the thin filament protein tropomyosin.
Sudden Impact : Concussion in Female Roller Derby Athletes

Objectives: Roller derby is one of the fastest-growing women’s sports in America. Known for its aggressive nature as a full-contact sport, no concussion studies have been undertaken on these athletes. Increasing awareness of head injury in all sports has drawn attention that brain trauma in roller derby athletes needs evaluating. An exploratory study was undertaken to assess the occurrence of concussion to enable further preventive research of brain trauma in this sport. Methods: Adult female athletes attending the 2014 Roller Con international roller derby conference were surveyed about roller derby related concussion rates. Additional information included league protocols, competition level, and demographics. A sample of 75 participants, stratified by age and sex, was theorized to reach information saturation as an explorative study. Results: In total, 75 out of 97 randomly approached athletes consented (response rate 77.3%). Mean age of athletes surveyed was 32, with over 3 years’ experience playing roller derby and represented four countries. On interview 58% self-reported a concussion history. Twenty-two athletes changed their concussion history after reading medical concussion criteria (29.7%). The mean concussion history was 1.5 (range 1-5) per player. Conclusion: Concussion occurrences in adult female roller derby athletes represent a serious risk when playing this sport. Pre-season head trauma evaluation for leagues is recommended to raise awareness of properly identifying and treating concussion. More in-depth studies are needed to correlate if on-track observations agree with recall.
Auditory and Visual Integration based Localization and Tracking of Multiple Moving Sounds in Daily-life Environments

This paper presents techniques that enable talker tracking for effective human-robot interaction. To track moving people in daily-life environments, localizing multiple moving sounds is necessary so that robots can locate talkers. However, the conventional method requires an array of microphones and impulse response data. Therefore, we propose a way to integrate a cross-power spectrum phase analysis (CSP) method and an expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm. The CSP can localize sound sources using only two microphones and does not need impulse response data. Moreover, the EM algorithm increases the system's effectiveness and allows it to cope with multiple sound sources. We confirmed that the proposed method performs better than the conventional method. In addition, we added a particle filter to the tracking process to produce a reliable tracking path and the particle filter is able to integrate audio-visual information effectively. Furthermore, the applied particle filter is able to track people while dealing with various noises that are even loud sounds in the daily-life environments.
Aggressive Natural Killer Cell Leukemia Secondary to HodgkinLymphoma: a Case Report and Review of the Literature

A 32-year old Chinese woman presented with high fever (39C), lymphadenopathy, hepatosplenomegaly, shortness of breath and general fatigue after initial remission of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). The immuno-phenotype of blast cells found in her peripheral blood and pleural fluid suggested abnormal Natural Killer (NK) cells (CD2+CD3- CD56+CD45RO+HLADR+CD94+ with high Ki67). Her serum EB virus DNA was over 1.0×107IU/mL. Combining her clinical symptom and laboratory data, the patient was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma, secondary NK cell leukemia and haemophagocytic lymphohistocytosis (HLH). To date, this is the first reported case that developed secondary ANKL after the treatment of Hodgkin Lymphoma. Secondary treatment-related cancers are a major problem in HL survivors. Thus, novel treatment strategies for HL should aim at a reduction of chemotherapy and radiation therapy in order to reduce the risk for development of therapy-related malignancies. In conclusion, improvements of combined therapy as well as close monitoring during clinical follow up could warrant the improved overall survival of HL and prevent fatal complications.
Gender-Based Violence in Public Life in Central African Republic

The issue of gender-based violence (GBV) has become in recent years a major scientific, political, social and family concern worldwide, and revelations have significantly increased in various Northern and Southern countries. Nowadays, GBV is perpetrated in different contexts of individuals' life in society. However, studies on violence have been dominated by domestic violence. Besides, the few studies stressing on violence that occurs in public spheres focus on violence in educational institutions. Using data from the survey on gender-based violence in CAR (EBVG -RCAR) conducted in 2011, as well as the assumption that the forms of appropriation and misappropriation of public spaces make them frameworks of vulnerability for acts of violence characterized by a gendered expression of social differences between men and women, this article aims at: i) assessing the levels of violence experienced by men and women in public spaces in RCA; ii ) determining the differential variations in the practice of GBV in public areas; and deducing the profile of persons who have suffered gender-based violence in public spaces; iii ) identifying factors likely to explain the practice of gender-based violence in public spaces.
Financial Architecture, Real Estate Market and Economic Development in Sub-Saharan African Countries: Evidence from Nigeria

This study examines the causal-relationship between financial architecture, real estate market and economic development in Nigeria. The Nigerian financial system may have performed creditably in the last few years there remains a major concern to developing Nigerian huge real estate market. Real estate phenomena, inclusive of its “green culture” and environmental planning and zoning system, may constitute a platform for achieving social and economic development objectives, such as: quality human capital, comprehensive and quality health system, increasing national productivity, serene and quality environment, balanced demography and optimal population growth, as hallmarks of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015. The aforementioned gap suggests a vacuum in the Nigerian development paradigm. Findings from this study suggest that the Nigerian financial structure has impeded the development of Nigerian real estate sector, hence, has accentuated the poverty syndrome of its citizens. The study suggests the financial “matching principle”, where market driven financial institutions commit to long term funding, such as the Sovereign Wealth Funds, Pension Funds, etc, invest in mortgages and real estate development; the government should also commit higher capital budgetary allocations for infrastructural development. Finally, the government should set up construction bank, adopt responsive macroeconomic policies that would nip inflation rate, overhaul the Federal mortgage institutions and improve people’’ savings culture.
Heterogeneity and Ambidexterity of Organization — Based on Data from Small and Medium Enterprises

Constructing the ambidexterity of organization is a common strategy that an enterprise should consider in a fierce competitive environment. Despite much research on channels and modes used to build the ambidexterity of organization, it is still not yet explicit in some fields. Drawing on the literature of organizational ambidexterity, TMT (top management team) behavior integration and TMT heterogeneity, this study develops a theoretical model explaining the relationships among the three factors from different perspectives. Using the hierarchical regression method and survey data from 122 SMEs in China, the author finds that (1) TMT behavior integration and TMT heterogeneity have positive impacts on ambidexterity, (2) TMT heterogeneity moderates the relationship between TMT behavior integration and the combined dimension of ambidexterity (CD), and (3) TMT heterogeneity does not moderate the relationship between TMT behavior integration and the balanced dimension of ambidexterity (BD).
Budget-neutral fiscal rules targeting inflation differentials by Maren Brede October 17 , 2016

In light of persistent inflation dispersion and high debt levels in the EMU, this paper investigates the desirability of budget-neutral fiscal policy rules that respond to the domestic inflation differential. The paper employs a two-country DSGE model of a monetary union with traded and non-traded goods. When consumption or labour income taxes respond to the domestic inflation differential while lump-sum taxes balance the budget, a national fiscal authority is able to reduce welfare costs of business cycle fluctuations by 1-4%. When lump-sum taxes are absent, hybrid rules using only distortionary taxes can reduce welfare costs by 6-10% under demand and supply disturbances. Gains in welfare stem from higher mean consumption due to lower price dispersion when the fiscal authority actively compresses the domestic inflation differential and thus domestic inflation.
Changes of kinematic parameters of lower extremities with gait speed: a 3D motion analysis study

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes in hip, knee and ankle kinematic variables of the lower extremities at different gait speeds. [Subjects and Methods] Forty healthy subjects who had no previous history of neurological, musculo-skeletal or other medical conditions that could affect gait were recruited. The subjects were asked to walk 10 m down a walkway at three different gait speeds: normal gait speed, and self-selected fast, and slow speeds. The experimental order was randomly chosen across these gaits. The hip, knee and ankle kinematic data were evaluated using a VICON 3D motion analysis system and force plates. [Results] The flexion peak and external rotation peak of the knee joint significantly increased with the increase of gait speed. The plantarflexion peaks of the ankle joint significantly increased with increase of gait speed. However, none of the kinematic data of the hip joint were significantly dependent on increase of gait speed. [Conclusion] The relationship of the knee and ankle joint can be described as coupling motion which is dependent on gait speed. Our present findings suggest that coupling motion of the knee joint and plantarflexion of the ankle joint significantly increase with increase of gait speed. These results will provide important insight into gait mechanisms for the evaluation of pathological populations.
Remarks on optimal strategies to utility maximizations in continuous time incomplete markets

In continuous time diffusion models, the optimal strategies to utility maximizations can be obtained by solving a certain partial differential equation. In this paper, we give another proof of this fact in an incomplete market without using the well-known fictitious security arguments. Since we avoid using the fictitious security arguments, we can apply our method to the situations when the markets cannot be completed. We provide an example of such cases where the asset price follows a simple jump process with unpredictable jump sizes and see that we can derive the equation which determines the optimal strategy as usual.
Statistical Structure and Task Dependence in Visual Cue Integration 1

A full Bayesian approach to vision requires consideration of potential interactions between all the variables in both the scene and image. A complete model of the interactions, however, would seem computationally intractable because of the large dimensionality of image measurements and scene properties. As a consequence, both experimental studies and theoretical models of human vision have relied on an assumption of modularity in which a particular scene property, such as object depth, is estimated from a restricted set of image measurements, such as image size. The computational problem is not hopeless, however, and can be surmounted by restricting the task and taking advantage of the statistical structure of the problem. In a Bayesian context, modularity falls out of the conditional independencies in the joint distribution of scenes and images p(S;I). By conditioning the joint distribution with respect to particular inference tasks, further modularity is possible while preserving optimal cue combination. We illustrate the problem of modularity and cue combination for the perception of depth from two highly disparate cues, cast shadow position and image size. While strong modularity would suggest ad hoc or no cue combination, we flnd that the performance of human subjects is better predicted by near-optimal cue combination.
Proof of Soundness of Concurrent Separation Logic for GPGPU in Coq

We design a concurrent separation logic for GPGPU, namely GPUCSL, and prove its soundness by using Coq. GPUCSL is based on a CSL proposed by Blom et al., which is for automatic verification of GPGPU kernels, but employs different inference rules because the rules in Blom’s CSL are not standard. For example, Blom’s CSL does not have a frame rule. Our CSL is a simple extension of the original CSL, and it is more suitable as a basis of advanced properties proposed for other studies on CSLs. Our soundness proof is based on Vafeiadis’ method, which is for a CSL with a fork-join concurrency model. The proof reveals two problems in Blom’s approach in terms of soundness and extensibility. First, their assumption that thread ID independence of a kernel implies barrier divergence freedom does not hold. Second, it is not easy to extend their proof to other CSLs with a frame rule. Although our CSL covers only a subset of CUDA, our preliminary experiment shows that it is useful and expressive enough to verify a simple kernel with barriers.
Liability Dollarization and the Bank Balance Sheet Channel

Banks in developing economies often face a mismatch in the currency denomination of their liabilities (foreign currency denominated debt) and assets (domestic currency loans to domestic borrowers). We study the effect of this mismatch on business cycles and monetary policy in a sticky-price, dynamic general equilibrium model of a small open economy. We find from the model analysis that a fixed exchange rate rule that stabilizes the balance sheets of banks offers greater stability than an interest rate rule that targets inflation in the sticky-price sector of the economy.