Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Color sketch generation

In this paper, we introduce an NPR system to generate color sketches in a free-hand drawing style. From observation, we found out that in a free-hand style both shape and color of image regions are stylized, which contributes cooperatively to the visual effect of a sketch. With the color regions obtained by our interactive segmentation algorithm, we create a stylized color sketch in two steps. First, in order to manifest the lighting and shading of each region, we shrink the boundary of the color regions with a luminance-based algorithm emphasizing the highlight parts, which enforces consistency with the free-hand artist style of the sketch. Second, the proposed color shift algorithm is applied to image regions to emphasize the main content of the sketch and acquires a visually pleasing combination of color. We choose the optimal combination by minimizing the energy function based on an artist drawn color database, artistic drawing rules and input image colors. The generated results show that our system can produce aesthetically pleasing sketches.
Basic concepts on heavy metal soil bioremediation

The utilization of organisms, primarily microbes, to clean up contaminated soils, aquifers, sludges, residues, and air, known as “bioremediation”, is a rapidly changing and expanding area of environmental biotechnology, that offers a potentially more effective and economical clean-up technique than conventional physicochemical methods. Although it is certain that up to now the technologies employed are not technically complex, considerable experience and expertise is required to design and implement a successful bioremediation program. As a matter of fact, and since bioremediation frequently addresses multiphasic, heterogenous environments (i.e., soils), successful bioremediation is dependent on an interdisciplinary approach involving such disciplines as microbiology, engineering, ecology, geology, and chemistry. The bio-enthusiasm of the early years that followed the initial promising research results and inspired the creation of many remediation companies has ended in a more realistic and sometimes even sceptical view of bioremediation since it has now become clear that results obtained in the laboratory do not necessarily indicate what may happen actually in the field, since it is not possible to simulate all the changing conditions of a real situation. Most traditional remediation methods do not provide acceptable solutions for the removal of metals from soils. Microorganisms that use metals as terminal electron acceptors, or reduce metals as a detoxification mechanism can be used for the removal of metals from contaminated environments. In some cases, phytoextraction of metals is a cost-effective approach that uses metal-accumulating plants to clean up metal polluted soils. © 2003 SDU. All rights reserved.
Hybrid Neural Network for Classifying Mammographic Data

We propose a Hybrid Neural Network (HNN) model for the classification of breast cancer mammography data. The HNN model is based on Artificial Neural Network, Bayes theorem and Classification Based on Multiple Association Rule (CMAR). The model consists of three layers: an input layer, a hidden layer and an output layer. CMAR is used in the initial step for creation of neural network structure. Bayes theorem is used for initializing weights connecting the hidden layer and output layer and weights connecting the input layer and output layer. The performance of the classifier is evaluated on mammographic mass data using classification accuracy and ROC curve. Experimental results showthat HNN models gives better convergence and performance than NNC (Neural Network Classifier). Keywords-Artificial Neural Network; Association Rules; Baye’s Theorem; Breast Cancer; CMAR (Classification Based on Multiple Association Rule).
Why Was Silcrete Heat-Treated in the Middle Stone Age? An Early Transformative Technology in the Context of Raw Material Use at Mertenhof Rock Shelter, South Africa

People heat treated silcrete during the Middle Stone Age (MSA) in southern Africa but the spatial and temporal variability of this practice remains poorly documented. This paucity of data in turn makes it difficult to interrogate the motive factors underlying the application of this technique. In this paper we present data on heat treatment of silcrete through the Howiesons Poort and post-Howiesons Poort of the rock shelter site Mertenhof, located in the Western Cape of South Africa. In contrast to other sites where heat treatment has been documented, distance to rock source at Mertenhof can be reasonably well estimated, and the site is known to contain high proportions of a diversity of fine grained rocks including silcrete, hornfels and chert at various points through the sequence. Our results suggest the prevalence of heat treatment is variable through the sequence but that it is largely unaffected by the relative abundance of silcrete prevalence. Instead there is a strong inverse correlation between frequency of heat treatment in silcrete and prevalence of chert in the assemblage, and a generally positive correlation with the proportion of locally available rock. While it is difficult to separate individual factors we suggest that, at Mertenhof at least, heat treatment may have been used to improve the fracture properties of silcrete at times when other finer grained rocks were less readily available. As such, heat treatment appears to have been a component of the MSA behavioural repertoire that was flexibly deployed in ways sensitive to other elements of technological organisation.
Representation-Oriented Software Development: A Cognitive Approach to Software Engineering

Software development is necessarily a cognitive process. Software engineers (cognitive entities) develop software to maximize productivity while delivering quality software on time. In essence, issues in software engineering can be conceptualized as a cognitive optimization problem. The utility of this approach is illustrated by an example in which a cognitive semantic approach is applied in analyzing the relationship between representations used in describing aspectoriented programming (AOP) [14]. This approach is applied within the framework of distributed cognition such that humans and computers involved in the software development are conceptualized as one cognitive system that may be optimized. Optimization of the cognitive system involves analyzing the human cognition in understanding software and opportunistically offloading the identified human cognition onto the computer. The analysis of AOP leads to represented-oriented software development (ROSD), in which the problem of creating, manipulating and maintaining representations is its main concern.
Biocompatible packagings for fully implantable multi-panel devices for remote monitoring of metabolism

This paper compares three different biocompatible packaging covers suitable to support full implantation of multi-panel sensors for remote monitoring of metabolism. The three covers have been designed, realized and implanted in mice for 30 days. ATP and neutrophil concentrations have been measured at the implant site after the device was explanted, to assess the level of biocompatibility of the device.
Gadolinium-Enhanced 3-Dimensional Magnetic Resonance Angiography of Pulmonary Blood Supply in Patients With Complex Pulmonary Stenosis or Atresia: Comparison With X-Ray Angiography

Background—In patients with complex pulmonary stenosis or atresia, a detailed delineation of all sources of pulmonary blood supply is necessary for planning surgical and transcatheter procedures and usually requires diagnostic cardiac catheterization. The goals of this study were to determine whether gadolinium-enhanced 3D magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) can provide a noninvasive alternative to diagnostic catheterization and to compare MRA and x-ray angiography measurements of pulmonary arteries and aortopulmonary collaterals (APCs). Methods and Results—Thirty-two patients with pulmonary stenosis or atresia (median age: 4.7 years, range: 1 day to 46.9 years) underwent both MRA and cardiac catheterization (median time: 1 month). Diagnoses included tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) with pulmonary atresia (n=13), TOF with pulmonary stenosis (n=4), post-Fontan palliation (n=5), and other complex congenital heart disease (n=10). Compared with catheterization and surgical observations, MRA had a 100% sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of main (n=10) and branch pulmonary artery (PA) stenosis or hypoplasia (n=38), as well as absent (n=5) or discontinuous (n=4) branch PAs. All 48 major APCs diagnosed by catheterization were correctly diagnosed by MRA. Three additional APCs were diagnosed by MRA but not by catheterization. The mean difference between MRA and catheterization measurements of 33 pulmonary vessel diameters was 0.5±1.5 mm, with a mean interobserver difference of 0.4±1.5 mm. Conclusions—Gadolinium-enhanced 3D MRA is a fast and accurate technique for delineation of all sources of pulmonary blood supply in patients with complex pulmonary stenosis and atresia and can be considered a noninvasive alternative to diagnostic catheterization with x-ray angiography.
Performance evaluation of knowledge-based kitting via simulation

The IEEE Robotics and Automation Society's (RAS) Ontologies for Robotics and Automation Working Group is dedicated to developing a knowledge representation for robotics and automation. As part of this working group, the Industrial Robots sub-group is tasked with studying industrial applications of the knowledge representation. One of the first areas of interest for this subgroup is the area of kit building or kitting. This is a process that brings parts that will be used in assembly operations together in a kit and then moves the kit to the area where the parts are used in the final assembly. It is anticipated that utilization of the knowledge representation will allow for the development of higher performing kitting systems. While our previous efforts were aimed at designing the basis for performance methods and metrics that may be utilized to determine the performance of kitting systems, this paper presents a system that evaluates the performance of kitting systems through simulation using specific metrics.
C . elegans UNC-98 , a C 2 H 2 Zn finger protein , is a novel partner of UNC-97 / PINCH in muscle adhesion complexes

In order to further understand the assembly and maintenance of the muscle contractile apparatus, we have identified a new protein, UNC-98, in the muscle of C. elegans. unc-98 mutants display reduced motility and a characteristic defect in muscle structure. We show that the major defect in the mutant muscle is in the M-lines and dense bodies (Z-line analogs). Both functionally and compositionally, nematode M-lines and dense bodies are analogous to focal adhesions of non-muscle cells. UNC-98 is a novel 310 residue polypeptide consisting of four C2H2 Zn fingers and several possible NLS and NES sequences. By use of UNC-98 antibodies and GFP fusions (to full length UNC-98 and UNC-98 fragments), we have shown that UNC-98 resides at M-lines, muscle cell nuclei, and possibly at dense bodies. Furthermore, we demonstrated that (1) the N-terminal 106 amino acids are both necessary and sufficient for nuclear localization, and (2) the C-terminal (4 th) Zn finger is required for localization to M-lines and dense bodies. UNC-98 interacts with UNC-97, a C. elegans homolog of PINCH. We propose that UNC-98 is both a structural component of muscle focal adhesions, and a nuclear protein that influences gene expression.
The costs and benefits of regulation in a market with consumer confusion

Foreword We are committed to encouraging debate among academics, practitioners and policy-makers in all aspects of financial regulation. To facilitate this, we are publishing a series of occasional papers in financial regulation, extending across economics and other disciplines. These papers cover topics such as the rationale for regulation, the costs and benefits of various aspects of regulation, and the structure and development of the financial services industry. Since their main purpose is to stimulate interest and debate, we welcome the opportunity to publish controversial and challenging material, including papers that may have been presented or published elsewhere. The main factor in accepting papers, which will be independently refereed, is that they should make substantial contributions to knowledge and understanding in the area of financial regulation. We encourage contributions from external authors as well as from within the FSA. In either case, the papers will express the views of the author and not necessarily those of the FSA. FSA Occasional Papers are available on our website: www.fsa. gov.uk. We welcome comments on these papers; please address them to the contacts listed above.
Random forest classifier based multi-document summarization system

In the recent times, the requirement for generation of multi-document summary has gained a lot of attention among the researchers due to the information explosion in the web media. Mostly, the text summarization technique uses the sentence extraction technique where the salient sentences in the multiple documents are extracted and presented as a summary. In our proposed system, we have developed a random forest classifier based multi-document summarization system that differentiates the sentences in the multiple documents as one belonging to the summary or not belonging to the summary. For this each sentence in the documents is represented by a set of feature scores. Classifier is trained using feature scores and summary information of each sentence in the document set. Feature scores of sentences of multiple documents to be summarized are given as the test document for the classifier. From the output of the classifier, sentences that belonging to the summary class, a required size summary is generated using Maximal Marginal Relevance. The experiments are conducted using the DUC 2002 dataset and its corresponding summary. Experimental results show the quality of the summary generated by this method is good in terms of relevance and novelty.
BPE Acceleration Technique for S/W Update for Mobile Phones

Recently, the size of the software on embedded devices, e.g., mobile phones, has been increasing rapidly. Complex processes in large scale software, such as event handlers, require bugs to be fixed after shipment. NAND flash memory devices are adopted in such devices in order to reduce the cost. The program code in a NAND flash memory is loaded to RAM using demand paging technologies. In many cases, compressed program code is stored in the NAND flash memory and loaded by extracting the program code because the loading time for the uncompressed code is larger than the total time for loading and extracting the compressed code with some compression algorithms. Byte-Pair-Encoding (BPE) is a suitable algorithm for this purpose. The compression rate for BPE is slightly less than GZIP and the extraction speed is very fast. However, the compression speed is very slow. Software updating functions require the compression of program code on a device and have to compress quickly. This paper discusses the software update functions employed for such embedded devices, and proposes a BPE compression speed acceleration technique for software updating. The results obtained from an evaluation show that the proposed method is effective in compressing program code.
Glutamatergic Synapse Formation is Promoted by α7-Containing Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors

Glutamate is the primary excitatory transmitter in adult brain, acting through synapses on dendritic spines and shafts. Early in development, however, when glutamatergic synapses are only beginning to form, nicotinic cholinergic excitation is already widespread; it is mediated by acetylcholine activating nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) that generate waves of activity across brain regions. A major class of nAChRs contributing at this time is a species containing α7 subunits (α7-nAChRs). These receptors are highly permeable to calcium, influence a variety of calcium-dependent events, and are diversely distributed throughout the developing CNS. Here we show that α7-nAChRs unexpectedly promote formation of glutamatergic synapses during development. The dependence on α7-nAChRs becomes clear when comparing wild-type (WT) mice with mice constitutively lacking the α7-nAChR gene. Ultrastructural analysis, immunostaining, and patch-clamp recording all reveal synaptic deficits when α7-nAChR input is absent. Similarly, nicotinic activation of α7-nAChRs in WT organotypic culture, as well as cell culture, increases the number of glutamatergic synapses. RNA interference demonstrates that the α7-nAChRs must be expressed in the neuron being innervated for normal innervation to occur. Moreover, the deficits persist throughout the developmental period of major de novo synapse formation and are still fully apparent in the adult. GABAergic synapses, in contrast, are undiminished in number under such conditions. As a result, mice lacking α7-nAChRs have an altered balance in the excitatory/inhibitory input they receive. This ratio represents a fundamental feature of neural networks and shows for the first time that endogenous nicotinic cholinergic signaling plays a key role in network construction.
Initial assessment of artifact filtering for RSVP Keyboard™

RSVP Keyboard™ is an electroencephalography (EEG)-based spelling interface that uses evoked response potential classification with the help of language models. As in any brain computer interface, severe physiological and environmental signal artifacts that affect signal quality in EEG are a detriment to performance. To alleviate the negative effects of such artifacts on RSVP Keyboard™, we implemented a filter that is based on an existing methodology from the literature. Using statistical modeling of pre-recorded EEG that includes three types of artifacts intentionally generated by operators, we perform Monte Carlo simulations of copy-phrase tasks and analyze the effect of artifact filtering on estimated typing performance. The presented results demonstrate an evidence against the usability of the tested method for online artifact reduction applications.
Topic model-based micro-blog user interest analysis

As a popular Internet information exchange platform, Micro-Blog like Twitter attracts a large amount of users to share information through short and noisy messages. In this paper, we aim to discover Micro-Blog users' interest using topic model. In the topic model, users' metadata such as labels are taken as new features and been put into user document which will be used to infer user's interest. Experimental results indicate that this method gives satisfying user interest and is capable for reality project. This paper also introduce two applications based on user interest detected before: 1) Keywords extraction based on interest (We calculate word entropy using word topic distribution as new feature). 2) User clustering based on user interest.
Transcriptome Bioinformatical Analysis of Vertebrate Stages of Schistosoma japonicum Reveals Alternative Splicing Events

Alternative splicing is a molecular process that contributes greatly to the diversification of proteome and to gene functions. Understanding the mechanisms of stage-specific alternative splicing can provide a better understanding of the development of eukaryotes and the functions of different genes. Schistosoma japonicum is an infectious blood-dwelling trematode with a complex lifecycle that causes the tropical disease schistosomiasis. In this study, we analyzed the transcriptome of Schistosoma japonicum to discover alternative splicing events in this parasite, by applying RNA-seq to cDNA library of adults and schistosomula. Results were validated by RT-PCR and sequencing. We found 11,623 alternative splicing events among 7,099 protein encoding genes and average proportion of alternative splicing events per gene was 42.14%. We showed that exon skip is the most common type of alternative splicing events as found in high eukaryotes, whereas intron retention is the least common alternative splicing type. According to intron boundary analysis, the parasite possesses same intron boundaries as other organisms, namely the classic “GT-AG” rule. And in alternative spliced introns or exons, this rule is less strict. And we have attempted to detect alternative splicing events in genes encoding proteins with signal peptides and transmembrane helices, suggesting that alternative splicing could change subcellular locations of specific gene products. Our results indicate that alternative splicing is prevalent in this parasitic worm, and that the worm is close to its hosts. The revealed secretome involved in alternative splicing implies new perspective into understanding interaction between the parasite and its host.
International Financial Integration: A Study of Interest Differentials between the Major Industrial Countries

Preface 1. Determinants of interest differentials: an introduction 2. The deregulation of national markets 3. Liberalization of national capital controls 4. Nominal interest differentials 5. Exchange rates and interest rates in the European monetary system 6. Real interest differentials 7. Progress towards international financial integration.
Wireless multi-hop networks beyond capacity

Wireless multi-hop local area networks use in general scheduling schemes that assume the network capacity to be known. Indeed in most of the throughput-optimal algorithms the sources are assumed to send at a rate within the capacity region. However, measurements made on real deployments show that the network capacity is usually difficult to characterize and also time-varying. It is therefore important to understand how the network behaves when the sources attempt to transmit at a rate above capacity. Toward this goal, we show 3-phase regime in the effect of the input rate λ on the end-to-end throughput μ of a multi-hop network. First, when λ is smaller than a threshold λ<sub>1</sub>, μ is an increasing function of λ. Second, when λ is larger than another threshold λ<sub>2</sub> > λ<sub>1</sub>, μ is independent of λ. Third, when λ<sub>1</sub> <; λ <; λ<sub>2</sub>, μ decreases with λ. To understand this phenomenon, we capture the relation between the end-to-end throughput and the queue stability with a mathematical model that allows us to explain and derive the exact values of the transition points λi. We then validate experimentally our simulation results with measurements on a testbed composed of five wireless routers.