Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lower Bounds on the Capacity of Gaussian Relay Channel

It has been shown recently that the overall throughput of dense wireless networks can increase significantly when wireless nodes collaborate in transmission of different packets. In this paper, we focus on a simple network known as the relay channel, where there is a single relaying node in the system assisting a sender-receiver pair. We present a new achievable rate for the case of Gaussian relay channels, which outperforms the best known schemes in many cases of interest. The proposed scheme is a variation of the amplify and forward method, and is labeled as a scale and forward scheme, signifying that the relay does not use all its power amplifying the received signal. By controlling the scaling and time-correlation of the relay signal, we show that the proposed scheme can outperform all known schemes for several channel gains, especially those where the best known methods provide no improvement over direct transmission. Numerical results are presented to quantify in which regimes the proposed scheme is the best known coding scheme for the Gaussian relay channel.
Selective HIF-1 Regulation under Nonhypoxic Conditions by the p42/p44 MAP Kinase Inhibitor PD184161

Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) is a key gene regulator for cellular adaptation to low oxygen. In addition to hypoxia, several nonhypoxic stimuli, including hormones and growth factors, are essential for cell-specific HIF-1 regulation. Our studies have highlighted angiotensin II (AngII), a vasoactive hormone, as a potent HIF-1 activator in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC). AngII increases HIF-1 transcriptional activity by modulating specific signaling pathways. In VSMC, p42/p44 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway activation is essential for HIF-1-mediated transcription during AngII treatment. The present study shows that PD184161, a potent MEK1/2 inhibitor, is an HIF-1 blocker in Ang II-treated VSMC. Unlike PD98059, a widely-used MEK1/2 inhibitor, we found that PD184161 blocked AngII-driven HIF-1α protein induction in a dose-dependent manner. Interestingly, the effect of PD184161 was specific to nonhypoxic activators, since HIF-1α induction by hypoxia (1% O2) was unaffected under similar conditions. VSMC treatment with MG132, a proteasome inhibitor, indicated that PD184161 influenced HIF-1α protein stability. PD184161 also increased HIF-1α binding to von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor protein, an E3 ligase component and an indication of HIF-1α hydroxylation. Finally, we show that PD184161 blocked mitochondrial ROS (mtROS) production and cellular ATP levels, at the same time enhancing ascorbate availability in AngII-treated VSMC. Taken together, our study indicates that, independently of p42/p44 MAPK activation, PD184161 blocks mtROS generation by AngII, leading to re-establishment of cellular ascorbate levels, increased VHL binding, and decreased HIF-1α stability. Therefore, this study reveals a previously unsuspected role for PD184161 as an HIF-1 inhibitor in VSMC under nonhypoxic conditions.
Using Classical and Resampling Methods for Face Recognition based on Quantified Asymmetry Measures

Face recognition has important applications in psychology and biometric-based authentication, which increases the need for developing automatic face identification systems. Psychologists have long been studying the link between symmetry and attractiveness of the human face, but based on qualitative human judgment alone. The use of objective facial asymmetry information in automatic face recognition tasks is relatively new. The current paper presents a statistical analysis of the role of facial asymmetry measures in face recognition, under expression variation. We first describe a baseline classification method and show that the results are comparable with those based on certain popular (non-asymmetry based) classes of features used in computer vision. We find that facial asymmetry further improves upon the classification performance of these popular features by providing complementary information. Next, we consider two resampling methods to improve upon the baseline method used in previous work, and present a detailed comparison study. We demonstrate that resampling methods succeed in obtaining near perfect classification results on a database of 55 individuals, a statistically significant improvement over the baseline method. Results regarding the role of asymmetry of different parts of the face in distinguishing between individuals, expressions and between males and females are also reported as additional aspects of the study.
Live imaging of dorsal root regeneration and the resurgence of a forgotten idea.

I n the paper (DiMaio A, Skuba A, Himes BT, et al. In vivo imaging of dorsal root regeneration: rapid immobilization and presynaptic differentiation at the CNS/PNS border. J Neurosci. 2011;31(12): 4569-4582), the authors present the first in vivo imaging of dorsal root (DR) regeneration. Dynamic cellular processes, including axon regeneration and the interactions between axons and the environment that determine the success or failure of regeneration, are best studied with techniques that capture real-time events with multiple observations of each living animal. Our ability to monitor neurons serially in vivo has increased dramatically owing to revolutionary innovations in optics and mouse transgenics. Imaging studies of neurons in living spinal cord have only recently begun and provided novel insights into physiological mechanisms that static analyses could not have resolved. The authors demonstrated a growth rate of . 1.5 mm/d (Figure 1), contrary to the conventionally known 1 mm/d. Upon reaching the central nervous system (CNS) at the dorsal root entry zone (DREZ), unexpectedly, these axons rapidly stalled and then remained completely immobile, even after conditioning lesions that enhanced intrinsic growth potential. Adult mice from transgenic strains thy1YFPH and thy1-YFP16 were used. These express yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) under
The impact of spatial layout of jobs on parallel I/O performance

Input/Output is a big obstacle to effective use of tenflopsscale computing systems, Motivated by earlier parallel I/O meaurements on an Intel TFLOPS machine, we conduct studies to determine the sensitivity of parallel I/O performance on multi-progmmmed mesh-connected machines with respect to number of I/O nodes, number of compute nodes, network link bandwidth, I/O node bandwidth, spatial layout of jobs, and read or write demands of applications. Our extensive simulations and analytical modeling yield important insights into the limitations on parallel I/O performance due to network contention, and into the possible gains in parallel I/O performance that can be achieved by tuning the spatial layout of jobs. Applying these results, we devise a new processor allocation strategy that is sensitive to parallel I/O traffic and the resulting network contention. In performance evaluations driven by synthetic workloads and by a real workload trace captured at the San Diego Supercomputing Center, the new strategy improves the average response time of parallel I/O intensive jobs by up to a factor of 4.5.
Making radiosity usable: automatic preprocessing and meshing techniques for the generation of accurate radiosity solutions

Generating accurate radiosity solutions of real world environments is user-intensive and requires significant knowledge of the method. As a result, few end-users such as architects and designers use it. The output of most commercial modeling packages must be substantially "cleaned up" to satisfy the geometrical and topological criteria imposed by radiosity solution algorithms. Furthermore, the mesh used as the basis of the radiosity computation must meet several additional requirements for the solution to be accurate.A set of geometrical and topological requirements is formalized that when satisfied yields an accurate radiosity solution. A series of algorithms is introduced that automatically processes raw model databases to meet these requirements. Thus, the end-user can concentrate on the design rather than on the details of the radiosity solution process. These algorithms are generally independent of the radiosity solution technique used, and thus apply to all mesh based radiosity methods.
The Process of Communication in Face to Face vs. Computerized Conferences; A Controlled Experiment Using Bales Interaction Process Analysis

How does this form of communication change the process and outcome of group discussions, as compared to the "normal" face to face (FtF) medium of group discussion, where participants communicate by talking, listening and observing non-verbal behavior, and where there is no lag between the sending and receipt of communication signals? This paper briefly ~*mmarizes the resUltS of a controlled laboratory experiment designed to quantif~ the manner in which conversation and group decision making varies between FtF and CC. Those who wish more detail are referred to the literature review which served as the basis for the design of the experiment (Hiltz, 1975) and to the full technical report on the results (Hiltz, Johnson, Aronovitch, and Turoff, 1980). This paper is excerpted from a longer paper on the analysis of communications process in the two media and their correlates (Hiltz, Johnson and Rabke, 198Q).
Use of a gastrostomy tube to perpetrate Munchausen syndrome by proxy.

Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSBP) is a form of child abuse in which a caretaker fabricates or induces illness in a child. A variety of methods have been used for this purpose, including suffocation (1,2), poisoning (3,4), and various types of trauma (5). Although recent technological advances have made it possible to improve the health care of many children, these same tools have also led to new presentations of MSBP (6,7). The use of gastrostomy tubes is not uncommon in children who are victims of this form of abuse, because failure to thrive is a frequent symptom. The use of the gastrostomy tube as a means of assault, however, has been reported only once previously, when the tube was used to poison the child (8). It is possible that this form of abuse, especially in a child with multiple medical needs, could easily go unrecognized. This is the case of a child who was uniquely vulnerable, because of static encephalopathy and the presence of a gastrostomy tube.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis WhiB3 interacts with RpoV to affect host survival but is dispensable for in vivo growth

Previous work established that the principal sigma factor (RpoV) of virulent Mycobacterium bovis, a member of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, restores virulence to an attenuated strain containing a point mutation (Arg-515→His) in the 4.2 domain of RpoV. We used the 4.2 domain of RpoV as bait in a yeast two-hybrid screen of an M. tuberculosis H37Rv library and identified a putative transcription factor, WhiB3, which selectively interacts with the 4.2 domain of RpoV in virulent strains but not with the mutated (Arg-515→His) allele. Infection of mice and guinea pigs with a M. tuberculosis H37Rv whiB3 deletion mutant strain showed that whiB3 is not necessary for in vivo bacterial replication in either animal model. In contrast, an M. bovis whiB3 deletion mutant was completely attenuated for growth in guinea pigs. However, we found that immunocompetent mice infected with the M. tuberculosis H37Rv whiB3 mutant strain had significantly longer mean survival times as compared with mice challenged with wild-type M. tuberculosis. Remarkably, the bacterial organ burdens of both mutant and wild-type infected mice were identical during the acute and persistent phases of infection. Our results imply that M. tuberculosis replication per se is not a sufficient condition for virulence in vivo. They also indicate a different role for M. bovis and M. tuberculosis whiB3 genes in pathogenesis generated in different animal models. We propose that M. tuberculosis WhiB3 functions as a transcription factor regulating genes that influence the immune response of the host.
A user trust model based social multimedia tagging system

Recent years have witnessed an explosion of multimedia contents available online. However, noisy and spam tags provided by spammers dramatically degrade the trust level of Social Networking Service. In this paper, we propose a novel social multimedia tagging system based on a user trust model which exploits the low-level visual features of multimedia contents. Especially, we first analyze the low-level visual features of similar multimedia contents and then measure trust scores of each user. With the trust scores, we construct a new user trust model and propagate the most relevant and reliable tags to the untagged multimedia content based on the user trust model.
Voltage Pump Based on Self Clocked Cells

A charge pump circuit operating under a novel principle along with a CMOS implementation is presented. The circuit is composed of a cascade of voltage adders where each cell provides the pumped voltage and all necessary clocks to the following cell. All capacitors are initially precharged to the supply voltage and then connected in series. Neglecting parasitic effects, the output voltage measured at the top plate of the last capacitor is the sum of each capacitor voltage
Improving Braille accessibility and personnalization on Internet

This paper focuses on how to improve accessibility for Braille readers on Internet. We criticize actual technologies and show their limits in two areas : scientific Braille and Braille personnalization, especially in pedagogical situations. We present NAT Braille, a free software solution designed to respond to pedagogical specific needs. This transcriber has been made in a modular way with standard web technologies : the transcribing process uses a set of customizable XSLT transformations and several XML formats. We detail the design of NAT Braille and the technologies used for Braille transcriptions. Then we explain why NAT Braille improves personnalization in Braille rendering on Internet. We give the example of our Mozilla extension. This extension is able to transcribe web pages including MathML markup, and is set up with adapted transcription rules taking into account the user’s preferences. We conclude by raising issues related to our work.
Integrin alpha 5 beta 1 is necessary for regulation of radial migration of cortical neurons during mouse brain development

During cerebral cortex development, post-mitotic neurons interact with radial glial fibers and the extracellular environment to migrate away from the ventricular region and form a correct laminar structure. Integrin receptors are major mediators of cell–cell and cell– extracellular matrix interactions. Several integrin heterodimers are present during formation of the cortical layers. The a5b1 receptor is expressed in the neural progenitors of the ventricular zone during cerebral cortex formation. Using in utero electroporation to introduce short hairpin RNAs in the brain at embryonic day 15.5, we were able to inhibit acutely the expression of a5 integrin in the developing cortex. The knockdown of a5 integrin expression level in neural precursors resulted in an inhibition of radial migration, without perturbing the glial scaffold. Moreover, the same inhibitory effect on neuronal migration was observed after electroporation of a Cre recombinase expression plasmid into the neural progenitors of conditional knockout mice for a5 integrin. In both types of experiments, the electroporated cells expressing reduced levels of a5 integrin accumulated in the premigratory region with an abnormal morphology. At postnatal day 2, ectopic neurons were observed in cortical layer V, while a deficit of neurons was observed in cortical layer II–IV. We show that these neurons do not express a layer V-specific marker, suggesting that they have not undergone premature differentiation. Overall, these results indicate that a5b1 integrin functions in the regulation of neural morphology and migration during cortical development, playing a role in cortical lamination.
HEMNO - A Time-Imaging Operator for Pegleg Multiples in 2-D and 3-D

To correctly image primary or multiple reflections in a heterogeneous earth, migration reigns supreme, although its computational cost may be nontrivial over complex geology, in 3-D, or when a “true amplitude” image is required. My earlier (Brown, 2002) technique to jointly image primaries and pegleg multiples used normal moveout (NMO), because of NMO’s speed and its amplitude predictability, in spite of its inability to account for nonflat geology.
It Hurts To Be Lonely! Loneliness and Positive Mental Wellbeing in Australian Rural and Urban Adolescents

This study examined associations between loneliness, a construct associated with serious adverse mental health outcomes, and positive mental wellbeing. Validated measures of loneliness (represented by friendship-related loneliness, isolation, positive attitude to solitude, and negative attitude to solitude) and positive mental wellbeing were administered to 1,143 adolescents from urban and rural schools. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed satisfactory model fit for both measures. A structural equation model confirmed significant positive associations between positive mental wellbeing and friendship-related loneliness and positive attitude to solitude; a significant negative association was found for isolation. Regression analyses provided support for significant differences in these associations according to gender, age, and geographical location (although only marginally). The implications of these findings during adolescence are reviewed.
Automating Transfer Function Design for Volume Rendering Using Hierarchical Clustering of Material Boundaries

Transfer function design plays a crucial role in direct volume rendering. Furthermore, it has a major influence on the efficiency of the visualization process. We have developed a framework that facilitates the semi-automatic design of transfer functions. Similarly to other approaches we generate clusters in the transfer function domain. We created a real-time interaction with a hierarchy of clusters. This interaction effectively substitutes cumbersome settings of clustering thresholds. Our framework is also able to easily combine different clustering criteria. We have developed two similarity measures for clustering of material boundaries. One is based on the similarity of the boundaries in the transfer function domain and the other on their spatial relation. We use the LH space as the transfer function domain. This space facilitates the clustering of material boundaries. We demonstrate our approach on several examples.
IR-97-043 / July On Stochastic Dominance and Mean-Semideviation Models

Interim Reports on work of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis receive only limited review. Views or opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of the Institute, its National Member Organizations, or other organizations supporting the work. Abstract We analyse relations between two methods frequently used for modeling the choice among uncertain outcomes: stochastic dominance and mean{risk approaches. The concept of-consistency of these approaches is deened as the consistency within a bounded range of mean{risk trade-oos. We show that mean{risk models using central semideviations as risk measures are-consistent with stochastic dominance relations of the corresponding degree if the trade-oo coeecient for the semideviation is bounded by one.
Finite differencing of logical formulas for static analysis

This article concerns mechanisms for maintaining the value of an instrumentation relation (also known as a derived relation or view), defined via a logical formula over core relations, in response to changes in the values of the core relations. It presents an algorithm for transforming the instrumentation relation's defining formula into a relation-maintenance formula that captures what the instrumentation relation's new value should be. The algorithm runs in time linear in the size of the defining formula. The technique applies to program analysis problems in which the semantics of statements is expressed using logical formulas that describe changes to core relation values. It provides a way to obtain values of the instrumentation relations that reflect the changes in core relation values produced by executing a given statement. We present experimental evidence that our technique is an effective one: for a variety of benchmarks, the relation-maintenance formulas produced automatically using our approach yield the same precision as the best available hand-crafted ones.
Performance Evaluation of TD-Learning Methods for Bandwidth Provisioning

Q-learning and SARSA are two methods of TD- learning. Researchers interested in this field proposed the Eligibility concept in order to speed up Q-learning and SARSA. They proved their claim by running the algorithms in a static environment. Authors of this paper have used Q-learning, SARSA and also their eligibility versions for bandwidth provisioning in DiffServ networks that is an absolutely dynamic environment. Performance of these methods in this absolutely dynamic environment is evaluated.
Register Communication Strategies for the Multiscalar Architecture

This paper considers the problem of register communication in the Multiscalar architecture, a novel paradigm for exploiting instruction level parallelism. The Multiscalar architecture employs a combination of hardware and software mechanisms to partition a sequential program into tasks, and uses control and data speculation to execute such tasks in parallel. Inter-task register dependencies represent register communication in the architecture. The two primary issues in register communication for a Multiscalar processor are correctness and performance. Not only must proper values be directed from producers to consumers, these values must be sent as early as possible from producing tasks to consuming task in order to avoid execution stalls which may have a critical impact on overall performance. We present a simple model to ensure that register communication obeys the sequential semantics of the program. To this model, we apply a progression of hardware techniques (including register data speculation) and compiler analyses to alleviate stalls due to intertask register communication. Finally, we perform an experimental evaluation of these hardware and compiler techniques on a Multiscalar processor configuration. The key result we obtained is that aggressive hardware support for register data speculation can be out performed by simpler hardware supplemented by compiler analyses.
Combining visible and near-infrared images for realistic skin smoothing

Skin tone images, portraits in particular, are of tremendous importance in digital photography, but a number of factors, such as pigmentation irregularities (e.g., moles, freckles), irritation, roughness, or wrinkles can reduce their appeal. Moreover, such “defects” are oftentimes enhanced by lighting conditions, e.g., when a flash is used. Starting with the observations that melanin and hemoglobin, the key components of skin colour, have little absorption in the near-infrared part of the spectrum, and that the depth of light penetration in the epidermis is proportional to the incident light’s wavelength, we propose that near-infrared images provide information that can be used to automatically smooth skin tones in a physically realistic manner. Specifically, we develop a framework that consists of capturing a pair of visible/near-infrared images and separating both of them into base and detail layers (akin to a low/high frequency decomposition) with the fast bilateral filter. We show that a smooth, realistic, output image can be obtained by fusing the base layer of the visible image with the near-infrared detail layer. This method not only outperforms equivalent decomposition in the wavelet domain, but the results also look more realistic than with a simple luminance transfer. Moreover, the proposed method delivers consistently good results across various skin types.