Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Score Fusion and Decision Fusion for the Performance Improvement of Face Recognition

Abstract : To improve the performance of a face recognition system, we propose a fusion solution consisting of score fusion of multispectral images and decision fusion of stereo images. Score fusion combines several scores from multiple matchers and/or multiple modalities, which can increase the accuracy of face recognition. In a face recognition system, low false accept rate (FAR) is as important as high accuracy rate. The FAR can be reduced by using decision fusion of stereo images. The stereo face images are taken with two identical cameras aiming at a subject, where each camera is built in two spectral bands, visible and thermal. Specifically, the score fusion combines the face scores from three matchers (Circular Gaussian Filter, Face Pattern Byte, Linear Discriminant Analysis) and from two-spectral bands (visible and thermal). The decision fusion combines the score-fusion results (genuine or impostor) from left faces and right faces in stereo imaging. We present three score-fusion results using k-Nearest Neighbor fusion, binomial logistic regression, and Hidden Markov Model fusion, meanwhile two decision-fusion results using logical AND and OR. Our experiments are conducted with the Alcorn State Univ. MultiSpectral Stereo face dataset that currently consists of the stereo face images of two spectral bands from 105 subjects. The experimental results show that score fusion can significantly improve the accuracy, whereas decision fusion (with AND rule) can reduce the FAR with a slight decrease in accuracy.
Analogies to Succeed: Applications to a Service Design Problem

This study aims to expand current understanding of ideation methods and its transferability from product design domain to service design domain. It applies two Design-by-Analogy (DbA) ideation methods (WordTree and SCAMPER) to a real service design problem in an expert participants setting. Quantity and Novelty metric results are analysed along with design fixation effects. Both DbA methods produced statistically significant larger number of novel ideas when compared to the control. The number of novel ideas with SCAMPER method doubled those generated via WordTree. Fixation effects were counterintuitive since SCAMPER appears to be a method that promotes both fixation and de-fixation effects. These findings suggest DbA ideation methods offer positive capabilities for assisting designers to generate solutions for service design problems.
Detecting Spam in a Twitter Network

Spam becomes a problem as soon as an online communication medium becomes popular. Twitter’s behavioral and structural properties make it a fertile breeding ground for spammers to proliferate. In this article we examine spam around a one-time Twitter meme—“robotpickuplines”. We show the existence of structural network differences between spam accounts and legitimate users. We conclude by highlighting challenges in disambiguating spammers from legitimate users.
Regulation of c-fos expression by RNA polymerase elongation competence.

The molecular mechanisms underlying transcription elongation and their role in gene regulation are poorly characterized in eukaryotes. A number of genes, however, have been proposed to be regulated at the level of transcription elongation, including c-myc, c-fos and c-myb. Here, we analyze the control of transcription elongation at the mouse c-fos gene at the nucleotide level in intact cells. We find that RNA polymerases are engaged in the promoter-proximal part of the gene in the absence of gene activation signals and mRNA synthesis. Importantly, we determine that the engaged RNA polymerases originate from a continuous initiation of transcription which, in the absence of gene activation signals, terminate close to the promoter. We also observe that the c-fos gene presents an active chromatin conformation, with the promoter and upstream regulatory sequences constitutively occupied by proteins, accounting for the continuous initiation of RNA polymerase complexes. We propose that activation of c-fos gene expression results primarily from the assembly of elongation-competent RNA polymerases that can transcribe the complete gene. Our results suggest that the engaged RNA polymerases found downstream of a number of other eukaryotic promoters may be associated with transcription termination of elongation-incompetent polymerases in the absence of activating signals.
Design considerations for an 8-decade current-to-digital converter with fA sensitivity

Radiation measurements for high energy physics experiments, nuclear facilities, hospitals and hadron therapy institutes require precise low current sensing. This paper provides a methodology for experimental characterisation of the leakage current sources present at the input of a currentto-digital converter. The limitations in sub-picoampere current measurements are presented along with the design of an ASIC that can accurately measure currents in the femto-ampere range after integrating over sufficient time. Proposals to minimise the subthreshold leakage current of the switches connected to the input, the leakage current of the package, the leakage of the PCB and the leakage related to the ESD protection diodes are shown. The remaining leakage current can be measured and subtracted. The front-end can digitise currents over 8 decades produced by a radiation detector. These guidelines were established during the current design and testing and will be used for the second version of the front-end electronics that will be installed at CERN for radiation protection and monitoring.
Design and Validation of the Ankle Mimicking Prosthetic (AMP-) Foot 2.0

Transtibial (TT) amputations, or below-knee amputations, are among the most frequently performed major limb removals. To replace the missing limb, numerous prosthetic devices were developed. A study of the state-of-the-art in TT prostheses shows that none of the commercially available devices are capable of mimicking an able-bodied ankle-foot complex. Still on a research level, some powered prosthetic devices have the potential to improve amputee walking experience, but still need heavy and bulky actuators to provide the necessary power of propulsion. With the AMP-Foot 2.0, the authors propose a new concept for an energy efficient, powered transtibial prosthesis. Its design enables the use of a low power actuator which stores energy in springs during the complete stance phase that can be released at push-off. Thanks to this, the size and weight of the actuator can be decreased considerably while the ankle still provides the full power necessary for forward propulsion. A prototype of the AMP-Foot 2.0 has been built and experiments with a transfemural amputee were conducted. The captured data is presented and analyzed throughout this paper.
Scope of Practice and Supervision of Orthodontic Therapists in the United Kingdom: Part 2: A National Cross-sectional Survey of Orthodontic Therapists

Background Orthodontic therapists (OTs) are the most recent addition to the orthodontic clinical team. The General Dental Council (GDC) and the British Orthodontic Society have formulated guidance and guidelines relating to their scope of practice and level of supervision, however there has been no contemporary UK-based research investigating practice and supervision of OTs. The aim of this study was to investigate the scope of practice and level of supervision of OTs working in the UK. Method Ethical approval was received from the University of Manchester Research Ethics Committee. An anonymous postal questionnaire was dispatched using postal details acquired through the British Orthodontic Societies mailing list. Three mailings of the questionnaire were conducted. Results A 74% response rate was achieved. OTs routinely conducted 16 of the 20 procedures from their scope of practice. Uncommon procedures included fitting headgear (24%), lingual appliances (27%), inserting or removing temporary anchorage devices (20%), and taking facebow record (18%). A total of 62% of OTs took patient consent for treatment. 59% were supervised through a written prescription with no direct supervision. OTs were directly supervised for only a quarter of their clinical practice. Orthodontists viewing frequency for OTs varied significantly, and was found to be the following: every 2–4 visits (36%), every other visit (35%), and every visit (26%). Conclusions OTs mostly carried out the scope of practice as permitted by the GDC. Procedures uncommon to routine orthodontic practice were also uncommon to Orthodontic therapist clinical practice. OTs work mostly through written prescription with no direct supervision.
Bacterial Community Structure of Acid-Impacted Lakes: What Controls Diversity?

ABSTRACT Although it is recognized that acidification of freshwater systems results in decreased overall species richness of plants and animals, little is known about the response of aquatic microbial communities to acidification. In this study we examined bacterioplankton community diversity and structure in 18 lakes located in the Adirondack Park (in the state of New York in the United States) that were affected to various degrees by acidic deposition and assessed correlations with 31 physical and chemical parameters. The pH of these lakes ranged from 4.9 to 7.8. These studies were conducted as a component of the Adirondack Effects Assessment Program supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Thirty-one independent 16S rRNA gene libraries consisting of 2,135 clones were constructed from epilimnion and hypolimnion water samples. Bacterioplankton community composition was determined by sequencing and amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis of the clone libraries. Nineteen bacterial classes representing 95 subclasses were observed, but clone libraries were dominated by representatives of the Actinobacteria and Betaproteobacteria classes. Although the diversity and richness of bacterioplankton communities were positively correlated with pH, the overall community composition assessed by principal component analysis was not. The strongest correlations were observed between bacterioplankton communities and lake depth, hydraulic retention time, dissolved inorganic carbon, and nonlabile monomeric aluminum concentrations. While there was not an overall correlation between bacterioplankton community structure and pH, several bacterial classes, including the Alphaproteobacteria, were directly correlated with acidity. These results indicate that unlike more identifiable correlations between acidity and species richness for higher trophic levels, controls on bacterioplankton community structure are likely more complex, involving both direct and indirect processes.
The Role of Leisure Engagement for Health Benefits Among Korean Older Women

This qualitative study was designed to examine the benefits of leisure to older Korean women. Using a constructive grounded theory methodology, in this study we identified three categories of benefits from leisure activities: (a) developing social connections, (b) enhancing psychological well-being, and (c) improving physical health. The findings of this study demonstrate that involvement in leisure activities offers substantial physical, psychological, and social benefits for older Korean women. The results also suggest that these benefits can provide an opportunity for older Korean adults to improve their health and well-being, which, in turn, may help promote successful aging.
Development and Deployment of an Intelligent Kite Aerial Photography Platform (iKAPP) for Site Surveying and Image Acquisition

Aerial photographs and images are used by a variety of industries, including farming, landscaping, surveying, and agriculture, as well as academic researchers including archaeologists and geologists. Aerial imagery can provide a valuable resource for analyzing sites of interest and gaining information about the structure, layout, and composition of large areas of land that would be unavailable otherwise. Current methods of acquiring aerial images rely on techniques such as satellite imagery, manned aircraft, or more recently unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and micro‐UAV technologies. These solutions, while accurate and reliable, have several drawbacks. Using satellite imagery or UAVs can prove to be very expensive, costing tens of thousands for images. They can also prove to be time‐consuming and in some cases have constraints on use, such as no‐fly zones. In this paper, we present an alternative low‐cost, versatile solution to these methods, an intelligent kite aerial photography platform (iKAPP), for the purpose of acquiring aerial images and monitoring sites of interest. We show how this system provides flexibility in application, and we detail the system's design, mechanical operation, and initial flight experiments for a low‐cost, lightweight, intelligent platform capable of acquiring high‐resolution images. Finally, we demonstrate the system by acquiring images of a local site, showing how the system functions and the quality of images it can capture. The application of the system and its capabilities in terms of capture rates, image quality, and limitations are also presented. The system offers several improvements over traditional KAP systems, including onboard “intelligent” processing and communications. The intelligent aspect of this system stems from the use of self‐image stabilization of the camera, the advantage being that one is able to configure the system to capture large areas of a site automatically, and one can see the site acquisition in real time, all of which are not possible with previous methods of AP. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Application of interpolymer complexation of polyvinylpyrrolidone/carboxyvinyl polymer to control of drug release.

Interpolymer complex formation of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) with carboxyvinyl polymer (CP) was examined by turbidity measurement, a binding isotherm study and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The interpolymer complex of PVP with CP was found to be formed in the unit molecular ratio of 1 : 1 under ideal conditions, though the ratio of PVP in the solid complex was lower than 1 : 1 under practical conditions. Hydrogen bonding might be the driving force for the complexation, and the degree of hydrogen bonding was calculated to be about 40 to 50%. The slowest dissolution rate of chlorpheniramine maleate from tablets, which consisted of a blend of PVP and CP was observed when the polymer combination ratio was 1 : 1. In the case of indomethacin, the longest lag time for the dissolution was observed at the polymer ratio of 1 : 1. Therefore, the drug dissolution behavior from PVP/CP tablets is dependent on the complex formation of PVP and CP.
Simultaneous determination of five marker constituents in Ssanghwa tang by HPLC/DAD

A HPLC-DAD method was established for the simultaneous evaluation of five bioactive compounds in Ssanghwa tang (SHT) including glycyrrhizin, paeoniflorin, cinnamic acid, decursin and 6-gingerol. These compounds were separated in less than 40 min using a Dionex C18 column with a gradient elution system of water and methanol at a flow rate of 1 ml/min. Calibration curve of standard components presented excellent linear regression (R2 > 0.9903) within the test range. Limit of detection and limit of quantification varied from 0.07 to 0.46 μg/ml and 0.13 to 1.11 μg/ml, respectively. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) of data of the intraday and interday experiments were less than 3.67 and 5.73%, respectively. The accuracy of recovery test ranged from 95.98 to 105.88% with RSD values 0.10– 4.82%.
On the capacity of a cascade of identical discrete memoryless nonsingular channels (Corresp.)

A simplified procedure for calculating the channel capacity of a cascade of N identical discrete memoryless nonsingular channels is presented. The result depends only upon the M eigenvalues and M eigenvectors of any one of the subchannel transition matrices. Thus, for small M and large N (the usual case of interest) the result represents a considerable saving in computation relative to the standard technique of finding the overall channel transition matrix. The procedure is illustrated for an N cascade of binary symmetric channels.
Pulmonary hypertension: accuracy of detection with left ventricular septal-to-free wall curvature ratio measured at cardiac MR.

PURPOSE To retrospectively evaluate the accuracy and reproducibility of the cardiac magnetic resonance (MR) imaging-derived left ventricular septal-to-free wall curvature ratio for prediction of the right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP) in patients clinically known to have or suspected of having pulmonary hypertension (PH), with same-day right-side heart catheterization (RHC) as the reference standard. MATERIALS AND METHODS Institutional review board approval was received for this HIPAA-compliant study. Sixty-one patients clinically known or suspected of having PH underwent cardiac MR and RHC on the same day. Interventricular septal curvature (C(IVS)) and left ventricular free wall curvature (C(FW)) measured at end systole were used to derive the curvature ratio (C(IVS)/C(FW)). Effective distending transmural pressure (dP(FW)) and transseptal pressure gradient (dP(IVS)) were assumed to be equivalent, respectively, to the systolic blood pressure (SBP) and the difference between SBP and RVSP. Curvature ratio and SBP were used to noninvasively estimate RVSP. Linear regression analysis was performed to assess the difference between curvature ratio and rate of pressure rise (dP) ratio (dP(IVS)/dP(FW)). The accuracy of the dichotomized curvature ratio in PH detection was analyzed by using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. RESULTS PH, defined as RVSP higher than 40 mm Hg, was confirmed with RHC in 46 patients. A direct linear correlation between dP ratio and curvature ratio was observed (r = 0.85, P < .001). Bland-Altman analysis revealed moderate agreement between cardiac MR- and RHC-derived RVSPs (mean difference, -1.1 mm Hg +/- 15.9 [standard deviation]). ROC analysis of the accuracy of the curvature ratio for detection of increased RVSP revealed 87% sensitivity and 100% specificity (area under ROC curve, 0.95; P < .001). Intraobserver (r = 0.97) and interobserver (r = 0.95) curvature ratio measurements were closely correlated. CONCLUSION In patients clinically known to have or suspected of having PH, cardiac MR-derived curvature ratio, as compared with RHC measurement, was an accurate and reproducible index for estimation of RVSP.
A novel face recognition for smart glasses

This paper describes new smart-glass-based face recognition system developed as a benchmark for comparison. Unlike related formulations that limit face recognition to static images captured by smart glasses, our system can also recognize faces in real-time video streams. The system runs face detection on smart glass processing device while offloading the computationally expensive face identification to the network server. We implemented the system on two smart glass platforms: Epson's Moverio (BT-200) and InfoLinker (WUZ-01A) and present the results of their comparative evaluation.
Physical and immunologic properties of rubella antigens.

The physical and immunologic relationships between infectious rubella virus, the hemagglutinin (HA) and the two complement-fixing (CF) antigens were investigated. The HA eluted from Sephadex G 200 together with the infectious virus and the large-particle CF antigen, and also equilibrated with these two antigens in sucrose gradients at densities of 1.21 to 1.19 g/ml. No HA activity was associated with the small-particle CF antigen. Both HA and infectivity were absorbed into chick erythrocytes, suggesting that the HA is a part of the infectious moiety, but a variable proportion of the large-particle CF antigen was not absorbed onto erythrocytes. Antisera produced by immunization of rabbits with large- or small-particle antigens showed reciprocal crossing in CF tests. Immunization of rabbits with the noninfectious small-particle antigen elicited the formation of neutralizing and HI antibodies as well as CF antibodies. Large- and small-particle CF antigens were also indistinguishable in tests with human sera from natural rubella infections.
Idiopathic osteonecrosis of the patella: an unusual cause of pain in the knee. A case report.

Case Report A sixteen-year-old white girl had a history of pain in the right knee for four months, especially in the medial joint line, and occasional episodes of giving-way during sports activities. She could recall no trauma to the knee. Examination of the knee was unremarkable except for slight tenderness over the medial joint line. There was no effusion, and the McMurray and Lachman tests were normal. Radiographs showed a poorly defined ovoid defect with a sclerotic margin in the superolateral part of the right patella; this was apparently asymptomatic and was thought to be benign. Radiographs of the left knee were normal. An arthrogram showed a probable tear of the medial meniscus of the right knee. Two months later, arthroscopy revealed a small parrot-beak tear of the lateral meniscus and a normal medial meniscus. The articular cartilage, including that of the patella, appeared to be entirely normal. The torn part of the meniscus was shaved to form a smooth rim. Two months after arthroscopy, the patient began to complain of new pain over the superolateral aspect of the patella of the right knee. The pain occasionally radiated around the entire knee and frequently awakened her at night. She had no fever or chills. On physical examination, the pain was reproducible on palpation of the superolateral part of the patella. There was no effusion or increased warmth of the knee. The knee had a full range of motion, with mild pain
Patient-centered care: the influence of patient and resident physician gender and gender concordance in primary care.

BACKGROUND Patient-centered care (PCC) is thought to significantly influence the process of care and its outcomes and has been identified as part of a comprehensive strategy for improving our nation's healthcare delivery system. Patient and physician gender, as well as gender concordance, may influence the provision of PCC. METHODS Patients (315 women, 194 men) were randomized to care by primary care resident physicians (48 women, 57 men). Sociodemographic information, history of health risk behaviors (tobacco use, alcoholism, and obesity), and self-reported global pain and health status were collected before the first visit. That visit and subsequent patient visits to the primary care physician (PCP) were videotaped during the year-long study period. PCC was measured by coding all videotapes using a modified version of the Davis Observation Code. RESULTS No significant gender differences in PCC were found between the male and female patients; however, female physicians provided increased PCC to their patients. The greatest amount of PCC was seen in the female patient-female physician gender dyad. Regression analyses, controlling for other patient variables, confirmed that female concordant dyads were associated with a greater amount of PCC. There was no significant relationship for the male patient-male physician concordance (vs. disconcordance). CONCLUSIONS These findings highlight the influence of gender in the process of care and provision of PCC. Gender concordance in female patient-female physician dyads demonstrated significantly more PCC. Further research in other clinical settings using other measures of PCC is needed. A public mandate to provide care that is patient-centered has implications for medical education.