Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clip-based hierarchical representation for near-duplicate video detection

Searching for near-duplicate content has become an important task in many multimedia applications, for example, images, videos and music. The ability to detect duplicate videos plays an important role in several video applications, for example, effective video search, copyright infringement and the study on users’ behaviour on near-duplicate video production. Current web video search systems rely only on text keywords and, hence, fail to detect many duplicate videos. In this paper, we analyse the problem of near-duplicate detection and propose a practical solution for real-time large-scale video retrieval. Unlike many existing approaches which make use of video frames or key-frames, our solution is based on a more discriminative signature of video clips. The feature used in this paper is an extension of ordinal measures which have proven to be robust to change in brightness, compression formats and compression ratios. For efficient retrieval, we propose to use multi-probe locality sensitive hashing (MPLSH) to index the video clips for fast similarity search and high recall. MPLSH is able to filter out a large number of dissimilar clips from video database. To refine the search process, we apply a similarity voting based on video clip signatures. Experimental results on the dataset of 12,790 web videos show that the proposed approach improves average precision over the baseline colour histogram approach while satisfying real-time requirements.
Decoupling Configuration and Deployment Procedures by Aspect-oriented Policies

Model-driven development (MDD) has the potential to increase the level of cooperation in software design and adaptation between stakeholders from IT and business domains. Clear and understandable models can raise transparency of business-relevant key characteristics of software. Our approach addresses a domain-specific configuration language (DSCL) for the dynamic composition and adaptation of applications through configuration information. We concentrate on model representations that reflect individually tailored compositions of generic application modules and their adaptations to individual business needs. Our approach fosters the collaboration in defining application models on two different levels of abstraction. High-level model concepts focus on the definition of process aspects across modules. Low-level concepts cover the complementary role of definition and adaptation of low-level processes that are abstracted away in the high-level concepts.
Structured Synthesis Method: The Evidence Factory Tool

Background: research synthesis is still challenge in Software Engineering due to the heterogeneity of primary studies in the area. Also, it generates a significant volume of information which is complex to manage. Aims: to provide support to this kind of studies in SE. Method: we present the Evidence Factory, a tool designed to support the Structured Synthesis Method (SSM). SSM is a research synthesis method that can be used to aggregate both quantitative and qualitative studies. It is a kind of integrative synthesis method, such as meta-analysis, but has several features from interpretative methods, such as meta-ethnography, particularly those concerned with conceptual development. Results: the tool is a web-based infrastructure, which supports the organization of synthesis studies. Researchers can compare findings from different studies by modeling their results according to the evidence meta-model. After deciding whether the evidence can be combined, the tool automatically computes the uncertainty associated with the aggregated results using the formalisms from the Mathematical Theory of Evidence. Conclusion: the tool was used in real synthesis studies and is freely available for the SE community.
Diminished respiratory sinus arrhythmia response in infants later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder

Indicators of risk for developing Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are difficult to detect within the first year of life. In this study, infants who were originally followed prospectively to examine general developmental risks due to substance exposure interacted with their mother and an unfamiliar experimenter for 2‐min episodes at 4 months of age. Electrocardiogram was collected to measure respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and the session was video recorded for behavioral coding. Two groups of infants were compared: infants with a diagnosed ASD outcome (N = 8) and matched controls (N = 186). Infants were compared on mean RSA and infant behavioral codes for each 2‐min episode. No significant group differences were revealed on RSA or behavior during interactions between the infants and mothers. However, in response to play with a stranger, infants with an ASD outcome had lower RSA (M = 2.49, 95% CI [2.30, 2.98]) than controls (M = 3.12, 95% CI [3.06, 3.18]). During the interaction with a stranger, lower RSA response was associated with more protesting behaviors (P < 0.01), whereas higher RSA response was associated with more social monitoring (P = 0.001). Lower RSA suggests that 4‐month‐old infants later diagnosed with ASD exhibited poorer autonomic regulation during interaction with an unfamiliar adult than did controls. Physiological regulation during interactions with a new social partner may be disrupted early in infancy in children with ASD, as indicated here by lower RSA, and therefore be a potential target for developing early risk screening tools for ASD. Autism Res 2018, 11: 726–731. © 2018 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Early gamma interferon production by natural killer cells is important in defense against murine listeriosis

A spot enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to show that subcutaneous inoculation of a sublethal number of Listeria monocytogenes resulted in the early appearance of gamma interferon (IFN-gamma)-producing cells in the draining lymph nodes. In contrast, inoculation of UV-killed L. monocytogenes failed to cause the appearance of IFN-gamma-producing cells. The appearance of IFN-gamma-secreting cells in response to the living organisms peaked at 24 h of infection and then declined. The draining lymph node cells responsible for secreting IFN-gamma belonged to a cell population that was positive for the NK1.1, asialo-GM1, and Thy-1 markers but negative for the CD4 and CD8 T cell subset markers. Early elimination of natural killer (NK) cells by treatment with anti-NK cell antibodies resulted in severe exacerbation of infection, as did early neutralization of endogenous IFN-gamma by treatment with a rat anti-murine IFN-gamma monoclonal antibody. In contrast, depletion of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells failed to exacerbate infection. The results serve to show that the early production of IFN-gamma by NK cells, rather than by T cells, is an essential event in resistance to listeriosis.
Titration of infectious bronchitis virus in tracheas of susceptible and immune chickens.

SUMMARY Methods for the titration of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) in tracheal explants are described. An attempt was made to develop an in vitro assay system for detecting immunity to IBV which would yield results more comparable to those obtained from cross-challenge tests than are achieved with the serum-neutralization test in embryonating eggs. Using the Massachusetts 41 and Connecticut strains, a comparison was made of the titers obtained in tracheas from chickens which are recovered from IB infection with the titers obtained in tracheas from uninfected chickens. With one exception, the tracheas from the immune birds showed no protection against in vitro infection.
How engineering students define ‘Social Responsibility’

This paper presents results from engineering student responses to the open ended question “Write a few sentences explaining how you define `Social Responsibility'. ” Through emergent coding methods it was found that students were most likely to use a disassociated, third person voice in their definitions, as opposed to a first person voice where they included themselves in the group that help the responsibility. The responsibility that students talked about was most commonly held toward a general community or society, and occasionally toward the environment or the world as a whole. In describing how the responsibility manifested itself, students talked most often about giving back or helping others, but also about a responsibility to conduct acts of service or charity. Finally, students infrequently directly cited a source of the responsibility, though some described ethical or moral foundations while others talked about an obligation due to possessing certain skills or privileges. Few differences were found in these definitions based on gender, academic rank, or major. Understanding how engineering student's view their social responsibility as both citizen and engineer is crucial towards shaping educational approaches to develop holistic engineers, able to work across disciplinary and cultural divides toward solutions of complex social issues.
Laminar‐Flow‐Based Separations at the Microscale

The natural separation maintained by microfluidic flows is employed as the basis of a particle/cell sorting device. This method of separating particulate suspensions exploits the inherent laminar nature of microscale fluid dynamics and incorporates applied fields and image cytometry to enable sorting based upon any visually identifiable difference between colloid‐sized cells or particles. This technique may be used to easily isolate, separate, sort, or enrich virtually any suspension of microscale biological or colloidal particles within a microfluidic system. The entire footprint of the device described here is less than 0.01 mm2, allowing it to be readily incorporated within highly integrated micro total analysis systems (μTAS).
Medico-legal issues of the nuchal cord at birth

Introduction. The aim of this study was to identify the incidence of the nuchal cord at birth in our clinic, it's impact on the fetal and neonatal evolution in correlation with the adopted way of delivery and to debate the medico-legal associated issues related to this condition. Material and methods. The study included the evaluation of 1996 women that delivered in Clinical Emergency Hospital “Saint John”, “Bucur” Maternity from January 1st, 2015 to December 31st, 2015. We studied the presence and type of the nuchal cord at delivery, the APGAR score, the correlation between APGAR score and nuchal cord identification and the antepartum ultrasound diagnosis of the nuchal cord. Results. Our retrospective study included 819 patients. The delivery mode was: vaginal in 67.28% and by Caesarean section in 32.72% cases. The APGAR score less than 7 represented 0.5%. It was identified that cord pathology did not correlate well with the APGAR score. The children with APGAR score less than 7 were delivered in most of cases by Caesarian section (64.3%), but only 15.3% of the indication were for fetal distress. Ultrasound prenatal scan identified multiple nuchal cord loop in 34.7% cases and was confirmed in 93% cases after delivery. Conclusion. Nuchal cord at birth is a frequent finding and the study shows that, in most case there is no association between its presence and poor neonatal outcome. The presence of nuchal cord at ultrasound scan in the third trimester or in the labour ward does not impose Caesarian section delivery.
Regulation of gbpC Expression in Streptococcus mutans

ABSTRACT Streptococcus mutans, the principal causative agent of dental caries, produces four glucan-binding proteins (Gbp) that play major roles in bacterial adherence and pathogenesis. One of these proteins, GbpC, is an important cell surface protein involved in biofilm formation. GbpC is also important for cariogenesis, bacteremia, and infective endocarditis. In this study, we examined the regulation of gbpC expression in S. mutans strain UA159. We found that gbpC expression attains the maximum level at mid-exponential growth phase, and the half-life of the transcript is less than 2 min. Expression from PgbpC was measured using a PgbpC-gusA transcriptional fusion reporter and was analyzed under various stress conditions, including thermal, osmotic, and acid stresses. Expression of gbpC is induced under conditions of thermal stress but is repressed during growth at low pH, whereas osmotic stress had no effect on expression from PgbpC. The results from the expression analyses were further confirmed using semiquantitative reverse transcription-PCR analysis. Our results also reveal that CovR, a global response regulator in many Streptococcus spp. , represses gbpC expression at the transcriptional level. We demonstrated that purified CovR protein binds directly to the promoter region of PgbpC to repress gbpC expression. Using a DNase I protection assay, we showed that CovR binds to DNA sequences surrounding PgbpC from bases −68 to 28 (where base 1 is the start of transcription). In summary, our results indicate that various stress conditions modulate the expression of gbpC and that CovR negatively regulates the expression of the gbpC gene by directly binding to the promoter region.
"Measurements of surface dose using build-up curves" obtained with an extrapolation chamber.

Surface dose was measured in an extrapolation chamber and was found to be less than previously reported. The slope of the build-up curve was less steep with the Clinac 4 than with 60-Co and much steeper with the Clinac 35 at 25 MV than with the betatron at the same energy. The gradient of the depth-dose curve in the build-up region is probably the best indicator of skin damage.
A Modified Assay for Cyclosporin in Blood Using Solid‐Phase Extraction with High‐Performance Liquid Chromatography

A modified procedure for measuring cyclosporin in whole blood by high-performance liquid chromatography is described and evaluated for clinical use. Sample preparation uses solid-phase extraction cartridges that can be reused. Life of the reverse-phase analytical column exceeds 1,000 injections at 70°C. Cyclosporins A and D (internal standard) elute after 5.6 and 7.6 min, respectively. Calibration plots are linear from 50 ng/ml to at least 2,000 ng/ml. Within-day and between-day imprecision is less than 9% (coefficient of variation). Minimum measurable concentration is 50 ng/ml.
A novel region merging based image segmentation approach for automatic object extraction

This paper presents a novel region merging based automatic image segmentation approach, which is applicable for object extraction. From an initial over-segmentation result, we exploit the regional histogram based similarity measure as merging criterion and merging order determination scheme with three priorities, to efficiently perform region merging, which is recorded using a binary partition tree (BPT). Based on the analysis of BPT, an appropriate subset of BPT nodes is selected to represent a meaningful image segmentation result and object extraction result. Experimental results demonstrate the better segmentation performance of our approach.
Care‐Seeking Among Individuals With Chronic Low Back Pain

Study Design. This was a stratified, random telephone survey of adults in North Carolina. Objective To determine the prevalance of chronic low back pain and the extent to which treatment is sought for this condition. Summary of Background Data Chronic low back pain is a major problem. Previous studies often have comb ined acute and chronic back pain. Methods Telephone interviews regarding back pain were conducted with 4437 North Caroliona adults during 1992. Results Chronic back pain affects 3.9% of the North Carolina population. Thirty-four percent considered themselves permanently disabled and 52% assessed their overall health as fair or poor. The median number of bed-disability days per year was three. Seventy-three percent saw a health care provider Of those who sought care, 91% saw a medical doctore, 29% saw a physical therapist, and 25% saw a chiropractor, Use of technology was extensive: 37% received a computed tomography scan, 25% received a magnetic resonance imaging scan, and 10.4% underwent surgery. Conclusions Chronic back pain is common, and the level of care-seeking and costs of care among those afflicted are extremely high.
Prevalence and incidence of chronic fatigue syndrome in Wichita, Kansas.

BACKGROUND Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a debilitating illness with no known cause or effective therapy. Population-based epidemiologic data on CFS prevalence and incidence are critical to put CFS in a realistic context for public health officials and others responsible for allocating resources and for practicing physicians when examining and caring for patients. METHODS We conducted a random digit-dialing survey and clinical examination to estimate the prevalence of CFS in the general population of Wichita, Kan, and a 1-year follow-up telephone interview and clinical examination to estimate the incidence of CFS. The survey included 33 997 households representing 90 316 residents. This report focuses on 7162 respondents aged 18 to 69 years. Fatigued (n = 3528) and randomly selected nonfatigued (n = 3634) respondents completed telephone questionnaires concerning fatigue, other symptoms, and medical history. The clinical examination included the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, laboratory testing, and a physical examination. RESULTS The overall weighted point prevalence of CFS, adjusted for nonresponse, was 235 per 100,000 persons (95% confidence interval, 142-327 per 100,000 persons). The prevalence of CFS was higher among women, 373 per 100,000 persons (95% confidence interval, 210-536 per 100,000 persons), than among men, 83 per 100,000 persons (95% confidence interval, 15-150 per 100,000 persons). Among subjects nonfatigued and fatigued for less than 6 months, the 1-year incidence of CFS was 180 per 100,000 persons (95% confidence interval, 0-466 per 100,000 persons). CONCLUSIONS Chronic fatigue syndrome constitutes a major public health problem. Longitudinal follow-up of this cohort will be used to further evaluate the natural history of this illness.
A subspace shift technique for nonsymmetric algebraic Riccati equations associated with an M‐matrix

The worst situation in computing the minimal nonnegative solution of a nonsymmetric algebraic Riccati equation associated with an M‐matrix occurs when the corresponding linearizing matrix has two very small eigenvalues, one with positive and one with negative real part. When both eigenvalues are exactly zero, the problem is called critical or null recurrent. Although in this case the problem is ill‐conditioned and the convergence of the algorithms based on matrix iterations is slow, there exist some techniques to remove the singularity and transform the problem to a well‐behaved one. Ill‐conditioning and slow convergence appear also in close‐to‐critical problems, but when none of the eigenvalues is exactly zero, the techniques used for the critical case cannot be applied. In this paper, we introduce a new method to accelerate the convergence properties of the iterations also in close‐to‐critical cases, by working on the invariant subspace associated with the problematic eigenvalues as a whole. We present numerical experiments that confirm the efficiency of the new method.Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Nasal Carriage of Staphylococcus aureus: Is a Major Risk Factor for Surgical-Site Infections in Orthopedic Surgery

Abstract Objective: To determine the relative importance of different risk factors for the development of surgical-site infections (SSIs) in orthopedic surgery with prosthetic implants. Design: In a cohort of 272 patients, the following possible risk factors were studied: age, gender, method of hair removal, duration of operation, surgeon, underlying illness, and nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus. Infections were recorded following the Centers for Disease Control criteria. The relation between risk factors and SSI was tested in univariate and multiple logistic regression analysis. Setting: Community hospital in Breda, The Netherlands. Results: 18 (6.6%) of 272 patients experienced SSI: 11 superficial and 7 deep SSI. These infections led in three cases to removal of the prosthesis and caused 286 extra days in hospital. The main causative pathogen was S aureus. In multiple logistic regression analysis, the following factors were independent risk factors for the development of SSI: high-level nasal carriage of S aureus (P=.04), male gender (P=.005), and surgeon 1 (P=.006). The only independent risk factor for SSI with S aureus was high-level nasal carriage of S aureus (P=.002). Conclusion: High-level nasal carriage of S aureus was the most important and only significant independent risk factor for developing SSI with S aureus.
Controller design for lipschitz nonlinear system using linear matrix inequalities

All real practical systems have nonlinear dynamics. To linearize the system and to design a controller for the linearized plant is often inadequate and insufficient for many complex systems. Thus, controller design for nonlinear systems still forms an important part of research. The paper proposes a simple method of stabilizing a class of nonlinear system. The nonlinearity is assumed to be norm bounded and thus the class of system considered is the class of Lipschitz nonlinear system. A state feedback control law is derived in terms of linear matrix inequalities. The effectiveness of the proposed method is illustrated with the help of examples.
Radiation Effects on Silica-Based Optical Fibers: Recent Advances and Future Challenges

In this review paper, we present radiation effects on silica-based optical fibers. We first describe the mechanisms inducing microscopic and macroscopic changes under irradiation: radiation-induced attenuation, radiation-induced emission and compaction. We then discuss the influence of various parameters related to the optical fiber, to the harsh environments and to the fiber-based applications on the amplitudes and kinetics of these changes. Then, we focus on advances obtained over the last years. We summarize the main results regarding the fiber vulnerability and hardening to radiative constraints associated with several facilities such as Megajoule class lasers, ITER, LHC, nuclear power plants or with space applications. Based on the experience gained during these projects, we suggest some of the challenges that will have to be overcome in the near future to allow a deeper integration of fibers and fiber-based sensors in radiative environments.
A 28-nm 484-fJ/writecycle 650-fJ/readcycle 8T Three-Port FD-SOI SRAM for Image Processor

SUMMARY This paper presents a low-power and low-voltage 64-kb 8T three-port image memory using 28-nm FD-SOI process technology. Our proposed SRAM accommodates eight-transistor bit cells comprising one-write / two-read ports and a majority logic circuit to save active energy. The test chip operates at a supply voltage of 0.46V and access time of 140ns. The minimum energy point is a supply voltage of 0.54V and an access time of 55ns ( = 18.2MHz), at which 484fJ / cycle in a write operation and 650fJ / cycle in a read operation are achieved assisted by majority logic. These factors are 69% and 47% smaller than those in a conventional 6T SRAM using the 28-nm FD-SOI process technology.