Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hdr Imaging for Feature Detection on Detailed Architectural Scenes

3D reconstruction relies on accurate detection, extraction, description and matching of image features. This is even truer for complex architectural scenes that pose needs for 3D models of high quality, without any loss of detail in geometry or color. Illumination conditions influence the radiometric quality of images, as standard sensors cannot depict properly a wide range of intensities in the same scene. Indeed, overexposed or underexposed pixels cause irreplaceable information loss and degrade digital representation. Images taken under extreme lighting environments may be thus prohibitive for feature detection/extraction and consequently for matching and 3D reconstruction. High Dynamic Range (HDR) images could be helpful for these operators because they broaden the limits of illumination range that Standard or Low Dynamic Range (SDR/LDR) images can capture and increase in this way the amount of details contained in the image. Experimental results of this study prove this assumption as they examine state of the art feature detectors applied both on standard dynamic range and HDR images.
Mechanism of Accumulation of Cholesterol and Cholestanol in Tendons and the Role of Sterol 27-hydroxylase (CYP27A1)

Objective—Tendon xanthomas are deposits of lipids and connective tissue commonly found in hypercholesterolemic patients. Macrophages are likely to be responsible for the lipid accumulation. Normolipidemic patients with the rare disease cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis, lacking the enzyme sterol 27-hydroxylase (CYP27A1), develop prominent xanthomas in tendons and brain containing both cholestanol and cholesterol, with a cholestanol:cholesterol ratio higher than that in the circulation. Because of its ability to convert cholesterol into polar metabolites that leave the cells faster, CYP27A1 has been suggested to be an antiatherogenic enzyme. The hypothesis was tested that tendons contain CYP27A1 that may be of importance for the normal efflux of both steroids. Methods and Results—Western blotting and combined gas chromatography-mass spectrometry showed that human tendons contain significant amounts of CYP27A1 and its product, 27-hydroxycholesterol. Immunohistochemistry showed that CYP27A1 is present in macrophages and tenocytes. The tendons also contained cholestanol, with a cholestanol:cholesterol ratio slightly higher than that in the circulation. Recombinant human CYP27A1, and cultured human macrophages containing this enzyme, had similar activity toward cholesterol and cholestanol. After loading of macrophages with labeled cholesterol and cholestanol, there was an efflux of these steroids in both unmetabolized and 27-oxygenated form, resulting in a significant cellular accumulation of cholestanol compared with cholesterol. Conclusion—The results are consistent with the possibility that CYP27A1 is of importance for the efflux of both cholesterol and cholestanol from tendons.
Outage Probability of Energy Harvesting Relay-Aided Cooperative Networks Over Rayleigh Fading Channel

Energy harvesting technique is a potential way for relay node energy supply in cooperative networks with respect to deployment flexibility and maintenance charge reduction. However, unlike traditional power source, it is intuitive that the fluctuation of harvested energy flow can degrade the benefit resulted from relay-aided cooperative transmission. To this end, this paper focuses on the performance analysis of an energy harvesting relay-aided cooperative network under slow fading channel from a perspective of outage behavior and attempts deriving the closed-form expression of outage probability of the proposed cooperative protocol. Compared with simple direct transmission protocol, it is proved that a multiplicative gain for improving system performance in terms of minimizing outage probability can be obtained by energy harvesting relay-aided cooperative transmission. In particular, if there are multiple available relay nodes around the environment or the energy-exhausted probability of relay node is small, it is very profitable to employ relay-aided cooperative transmission protocol.
Modulation in aquaglyceroporin AQP1 gene transcript levels in drug‐resistant Leishmania

Antimonial‐containing drugs are the first line of treatment against the parasite Leishmania. Resistance to antimonials has been correlated to its reduced accumulation. We used a dominant negative functional cloning strategy where a Leishmania mexicana expression cosmid bank was transfected in cells resistant to trivalent antimony (SbIII). Cells were selected for increased sensitivity to SbIII. One cosmid was isolated that could bestow SbIII sensitivity to resistant cells. The gene part of this cosmid that is responsible for increased SbIII sensitivity corresponds to AQP1, an aquaglyceroporin. AQP1 was recently shown to be a route by which SbIII can accumulate in Leishmania cells. Transport studies have shown that the L. mexicana AQP1 can restore SbIII transport in resistant cells. Southern blot analysis indicated that the copy number of neither the AQP1 gene nor the other AQP homologues was changed in antimony‐resistant mutants of several Leishmania species. The AQP1 gene sequence was also unchanged in mutants. However, the AQP1 RNA levels were downregulated in several Leishmania promastigote species resistant to antimonials. In general, but not always, the level of AQP1 transcript levels correlated well with the accumulation of SbIII and resistance levels in Leishmania cells. AQP1 thus appears to be a key determinant of antimonials accumulation and susceptibility in Leishmania.
Direct Data Assimilation Over Solar Cycle Time-Scales to Improve Proton Radiation Belt Models

Data assimilation technique has already been developed and proved its worth to provide dasiathe bestpsila estimate of the current state of the electron radiation belts. Data assimilation proceeds by analysis cycles. In each analysis cycle, observations of the current (and possibly, past) state of a system are combined with the results from a mathematical model (the forecast) to produce an analysis, which is considered as dasiathe bestpsila estimate of the current state of the system. Here we present its adaptation to the case of proton radiation belts over solar cycle time-scales. Many deficiencies of AP8 models can be overcome thanks to direct data assimilation. An anticorrelation between the <10 MeV proton radiation belts and solar activity is put forward. However, the definition of only an average state for solar minimum and solar maximum seems to be insufficient to respond to the need of precision required by the reanalysis of > 10 MeV proton radiation belts. Point-like but intense events can have long term effects which depend on whether a SPE (solar proton event) is associated or not with this storm period.
Entropy Terms in Statistical Thermodynamic Analysis Formula for Non-stoichiometric Interstitial Compounds

A series of statistical thermodynamic analyses were made since 1974 for different types of non-stoichiometric interstitial compounds MXx under simplifying a priori assumption of constant interaction energy E(X-X) between nearest neighbour interstitial atoms X within a homogeneity composition range of MXx at arbitrary temperature T [K]. Mode of distribution of X atoms in interstitial sites in MXx lattice is represented by number θ of available interstitial sites for occupation by X atoms per M atom and the value of θ is determined to fulfil the a priori assumption. Mode of atomic configuration would yield major contribution to entropy term ∆S that appears in conventional thermodynamic expression of Gibbs free energy of formation, ∆G, in form of T∆S. In the statistical thermodynamic formulation, contribution of tightly bound electron appearing in form of RT ln fX where fX refers to atomic partition function of X atom in the MXx lattice and R the universal gas constant. Judging from this mathematical form of the term, R ln fX is considered to represent entropic contribution from tightly bound electron to X atom in MXx lattice. In the published series of works on statistical thermodynamic analysis for non-stoichiometric interstitial compounds, calculated values for R ln fX were reported but they were not reviewed with serious attention because R ln fX was considered merely as a secondary factor compared to principal factor E(X-M) referring to interaction energy between X and M in MXx lattice that represents enthalpy ∆H in conventional thermodynamic term. In this review article, consideration is given exclusively to the factor R ln fX evaluated in statistical thermodynamic approach to non-stoichiometric interstitial compounds.
Towards Comparing RDF Stream Processing Semantics

The increasing popularity of RDF Stream Processing (RSP) has led to developments of data models and processing engines which diverge in several aspects, ranging from the representation of RDF streams to semantics. Benchmarking systems such as LSBench, SRBench, and CSRBench were introduced as attempts to compare different approaches. However, these works mainly concentrate on the operational aspects. The recent logic-based LARS framework provides a theoretical underpinning to analyze stream processing/reasoning semantics. Towards comparing RSP engines at the semantic level, in this paper, we pick two representative RSP engines, namely C-SPARQL and CQELS, and propose translations from their languages and execution modes into LARS. We show the faithfulness of the translations and discuss how they can be exploited to provide a formal analysis and comparison of RSP semantics.
Selective neural sensitivity to familial threat in adolescents with weak family bonds

ABSTRACT Familial stressors, such as weak familial connectedness, are associated with the development of maladaptive threat processing, yet little is known regarding how weak familial bonds impinge on biological mechanisms of threat processing. The present study leveraged multivoxel pattern analysis of fMRI data to compare the neural encoding of familial and nonfamilial threatening and non-threatening stimuli in adolescents who endorsed varying levels of connectedness to their families. Adolescents (N = 22, Mage = 14.38 years) reporting lower family connectedness 1 year earlier showed elevated sensitivity to familial threat, but not to nonfamilial threat in a neural network associated with threat processing, comprising left and right amygdala, and right inferior and middle temporal gyri. Results suggest that a learning history about one’s social environment may shape neural mechanisms of threat processing by sensitizing them to risk-relevant stimuli. Such findings advance our understanding of how familial stressors contribute to disordered threat processing in adolescence.
The collapse of an axi-symmetric, swirling vortex sheet

An axi-symmetric and swirling vortex sheet is investigated as the simplest flow in which there is non-trivial vortex stretching and as a possible setting for studying vortex cancellation and singularity formation. Rayleigh's criterion indicates linear stability of a single sheet but instability for other configurations of sheets. Due to the simplicity of vortex sheet problems, the linear modes and growth rates (or frequencies) can be explicitly expressed. Subsequent nonlinear evolution is numerically simulated using a vortex method. The numerical results for an axi-symmetric swirling sheet with a vortex line along the axis of symmetry show detachment of a vortex ring from the sheet into the outer fluid, and collapse of the sheet onto the vortex line at some points. Vortex cancellation, which in the presence of viscosity would likely lead to vortex line reconnection, seems to occur in both of these phenomena. The evolution of two co-axial, axi-symmetric, swirling vortex sheets is similar.
Clinical trials in children with Down syndrome: Issues from a cognitive research perspective

Clinical and translational research play a key role in the transition of basic research discoveries to effective therapies. In Down syndrome (DS), these research approaches are not well utilized or developed to test new therapies to improve cognitive and/or adaptive function in this population. This article reviews the history of clinical trial research in children with DS from a cognitive research perspective and discusses important issues relevant to the conduct of well designed clinical trials for this population. Specific issues addressed include: funding, study design, study medication, subject recruitment and retention, safety, and efficacy challenges. The Duke Down Syndrome Research Team's program of clinical research of cholinesterase inhibitors for individuals with DS serves as the model application for the identified research principles. It is hoped that this article will raise awareness of the unmet need for clinical research in the cognitive and adaptive function of individuals with DS, especially children with DS. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Extraction and characterization of bioactive compounds in Vernonia amygdalina leaf ethanolic extract comparing Soxhlet and microwave-assisted extraction techniques

The bioactive compounds in Vernonia amygdalina leaf were extracted using ethanol through Soxhlet and microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) techniques. The phytochemical analysis was carried out on the ethanolic extracts using the standard techniques. This analysis revealed the presence of flavonoids, alkaloids, steroids, terpenoids, glycosides, tannins, phenols, saponins, and the absence of anthraquinones. Furthermore, gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) analysis results revealed the presence of more phytochemicals in the extract obtained through MAE compared to Soxhlet extraction technique, whereby phytol was present in a higher percentage. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis confirmed the presence of phytochemicals in the extracts. Moreover, the IC50 values of the extracts antioxidant activities were evaluated using DPPH and ABTS assays. There exists a clear correlation between total phenolic content, total flavonoid content and antioxidant activity of the extracts. Therefore, this study suggested that higher phenolic compounds responsible for natural antioxidant could be obtained from V. amygdalina leaf using the microwave-assisted extraction technique.
Semi-Supervised Noun Compound Analysis with Edge and Span Features

In this paper, we propose the use of spans in addition to edges in noun compound analysis. A span is a sequence of words that can represent a noun compound. Compared with edges, spans have good properties in terms of semi-supervised parsing. They can be reliably extracted from a huge amount of unannotated text. In addition, while the combinations of edges such as sibling and grandparent interactions are, in general, difficult to handle in parsing, it is quite easy to utilize spans with arbitrary width. We show that spans can be incorporated straightforwardly into the standard chart-based parsing algorithm. We create a semi-supervised discriminative parser that combines edge and span features. Experiments show that span features improve accuracy and that further gain is obtained when they are combined with edge features.
Study on Water Cone Behavior in Heavy Oil Reservoir with Bottom Water through Numerical Simulation

ABSTRACT Aiming at the problems of early water appearance, rapid increasing in water-cut and difficulty in development of bottom-water reservoirs, in this paper, we have used a conceptual numerical model to quantitatively analyze major influence factors on the coning rule and finally analyzed the remaining oil formation mechanism of these types of reservoirs. The results showed that the heterogeneity mainly causes the uneven advancement of the bottom-water and leads to local remaining oil. The higher the oil viscosity, the faster the non-uniform coning of bottom-water, which accelerates the well flooded and the enrichment of remaining oil. The positive rhythm reservoir is more likely to form water cones than the anti-rhythm reservoir, further exacerbating the accumulation of residual oil at the top of the reservoir. Differences in the seepage field are caused by different well patterns, which leads to different distributions of remaining oil during development. The lower the oil column height results in the non-uniform coning rate of bottom-water accelerating, which intensifies the flooding of oil wells and the enrichment of remaining oil. The water coning rules and remaining oil distribution rules studied above provide a solid foundation for the reasonable and effective development of bottom-water heavy oil reservoirs and has a broad field application prospects in the future.
Non-parametric regression for patch-based fluorescence microscopy image sequence denoising

We present a non-parametric regression method for denoising fluorescence video-microscopy volume sequences. The designed method aims at using the 3D+t information in order to restore acquired data contaminated by Poisson and Gaussian noise. We propose to use a variance stabilization transform to deal with the combination of Poisson and Gaussian noise. Consequently, we further propose an adaptive patch-based framework able to preserve space-time discontinuities and reduce significantly noise level using the 3D+t space-time context. This approach lead to an algorithm whose parameters are calibrated and then ready for intensive use. The performance of the proposed method are then demonstrated on both synthetic and real image sequences using quantitative as well as qualitative criteria.
Context-sensitive cut, copy, and paste

Creating and editing source code are tedious and error-prone processes. One important source of errors in editing programs is the failure to correctly adapt a block of copied code to a new context. This occurs because several dependencies to the surrounding code usually need to be adapted for the new context and it is easy to forget one of them. Conversely, this also makes such errors hard to find. This paper presents a new method for identifying some common types of errors in cut, copy and paste operations. The method analyzes the context of the original block of code and tries to match it with the context in the new location. It utilizes a simple, pattern-based model of context, which we found to be well suited to the analysis of relocated blocks of text. Furthermore, we discuss the ability of our technique to detect semantic errors. While semantic errors are relatively difficult to recognize in a static document, our new technique can infer important information from the original context to detect some semantic mismatches. Finally, we present a proof-of-concept implementation and discuss our simple user interface for context-sensitive cut, copy and paste.
Beamnet: End-to-end training of a beamformer-supported multi-channel ASR system

This paper presents an end-to-end training approach for a beamformer-supported multi-channel ASR system. A neural network which estimates masks for a statistically optimum beamformer is jointly trained with a network for acoustic modeling. To update its parameters, we propagate the gradients from the acoustic model all the way through feature extraction and the complex valued beamforming operation. Besides avoiding a mismatch between the front-end and the back-end, this approach also eliminates the need for stereo data, i.e., the parallel availability of clean and noisy versions of the signals. Instead, it can be trained with real noisy multi-channel data only. Also, relying on the signal statistics for beamforming, the approach makes no assumptions on the configuration of the microphone array. We further observe a performance gain through joint training in terms of word error rate in an evaluation of the system on the CHiME 4 dataset.
Awareness of smoking in adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is long life disease that results from an interaction between a polygenetic predisposition and environmental factors, including smoking. The aim of this study was to evaluate beliefs about and awareness of smoking among adolescents with IBD compared to healthy controls. MATERIAL AND METHODS Patients with IBD, Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), and healthy controls were asked to complete a questionnaire on demographic data and smoking status. The questionnaire also included data on beliefs and awareness of smoking-related health effects, including effects on IBD. RESULTS A total of 139 IBD patients and 108 controls were enrolled in the study. Of the IBD patients, 17/139 (12.2%) were smokers compared to 18/108 (16.7%) of controls (p=0.3). Patients with IBD were nine times more likely to be everyday smokers than occasional smokers (OR=9.2, 95% CI: 1.9- 45.1, p=0.004). No difference was found between patients with CD and UC in their answers to the question of whether "smoking increases the risk for surgery in your type of IBD" (17/28 (60.7%) vs. 10/29 (34.5%), respectively (p=0.047). More patients with CD than UC were aware of the risks of smoking on their disease: extra-intestinal manifestations and disease exacerbation, OR=11.3 (95% CI: 4.1 - 30.9; p=0.000) and OR=19.3 (95% CI: 6.7 - 55.1; p=0.000), respectively. CONCLUSIONS The data obtained demonstrated that adolescents with CD are much more aware of the role of smoking on CD than are their peers with UC; however, this awareness is still unsatisfactory. Therefore, there is an unmet need to implement better anti-smoking strategies for this group of patients.
An automatic interpretation system for travel conversation

We have developed an automatic interpretation system running on a mobile PC that helps oral communication between Japanese and English speakers in various situations during their travel abroad. In order to allow a wide range of expressions and topics in the applied domain, we adopted an approach which utilizes the general linguistic knowledge as well as the domain-specific linguistic knowledge. Speech recognition module performs speaker-independent large-vocabulary (50,000 Japanese words and 10,000 English words) continuous speech recognition. Translation module performs syntax directed translation based on a new lexicalized grammar rule formalism.
A Backtracking Particle Filter for fusing building plans with PDR displacement estimates

It is known that Particle Filter and Map Filtering techniques can be used to improve the performance of positioning systems, such as Pedestrian Dead Reckoning (PDR). In previous research on indoor navigation, it was generally assumed that detailed building plans were available. However, in many emer gency / rescue scenarios, there may be only limited building plan information on hand. The purpose of this paper is to show how a novel Backtracking Particle Filter (BPF) can be combined with different levels of building plan detail to improve PDR performance. We use real PDR stride length and blunder-prone stride azimuth data which were collected from multiple walks along paths in and out of a small office building. The PDR displacement data is input to the BPF estimator that in turn uses the building plan information to constrain particle motions. The BPF can take advantage of long-range (geometrical) constraint information and yields excellent positioning performance (1.32 m mean 2D error) with detailed building plan information. More significantly, this same filter using only external wall information produces dramatically improved positioning performance (1.89 m mean 2D error) relative to a PDR-only, no map base case (8.04 m mean 2D error). This effect may very well occur for many other realistic wall layouts and path geometries. Moreover, this result has a substantial practical significance since this level of building plan detail could be quickly and easily generated in many emergency instances.