Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Advanced video debanding

High efficiency video coding has made it possible to stream video over bandwidth constrained communication networks. Depending on bit rate requirements, a video encoder sacrifices some image details which can then introduce visual artefacts. Due to aggressive encoding a contouring staircase artefact called banding can be observed in image regions with very low texture. This paper presents a solution for removing banding artefacts using image filtering and dithering techniques. A new banding index (BI) metric is also presented for quantitatively measuring the amount of banding in an image. Using this BI metric, we assess how much banding YouTube video encoding introduces in a video test dataset. There is a debanding filter in ffmpeg called gradfun. We compare the results of our debanding technique with those of gradfun on the YouTube test dataset.
Choline acetyltransferase variants and their influence in schizophrenia and olanzapine response

Choline acetyltransferase (ChAt) is extensively distributed throughout the CNS where, by catalyzing acetylcholine synthesis, it participates in modulating wide‐ranging cholinergic‐dependent functions including cognitive performance, sleep, arousal, movement, and visual information processing. Recently, compelling evidence has mounted implicating ChAt in schizophrenia. In particular, studies have identified significant reductions in ChAt activity in the nucleus accumbens and pontine tegmentum of such patients, which furthermore correlate significantly with measures of cognitive performance in the disorder. Similarly, elevated levels of choline, the acetylcholine precursor, have been identified among patients, implicating altered ChAt activity in these individuals. We sought to investigate the potential contribution of three ChAt gene polymorphisms in schizophrenia, and uncovered evidence for significant association between one of these, rs1880676G/A, and disease susceptibility among Basque individuals (genotypewise χ2 = 20.7, P = 0.00003; allelewise χ2 = 10.1, P = 0.002). A similar trend for association with susceptibility was observed for a second SNP, rs3810950G/A, (genotypwise χ2 = 6.4, P = 0.05; allelewise χ2 = 3.75, P = 0.05). Evidence was also uncovered for a potential influence of these polymorphisms on olanzapine treatment outcome among Spanish patients (F‐statistic = 5.02, P = 0.03; F‐statistic = 6.53, P = 0.02 respectively), and on improvements in positive symptoms in the case of rs3810950 (F‐statistic = 5.3, P = 0.03) and general psychopathology in the case of rs1880676 and rs3810950 (F‐statistic = 5.24, P = 0.03; F‐statistic = 5.31, P = 0.03 respectively) during therapy. While more comprehensive studies are warranted to determine the precise contribution of ChAt mediated mechanisms in schizophrenia, our findings tentatively implicate a genetic influence of ChAt in the disorder's susceptibility and treatment. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Immobilized microfluidic enzymatic reactors

The use of enzymes for cleavage, synthesis or chemical modification represents one of the most common processes used in biochemical and molecular biology laboratories. The continuing progress in medical research, genomics, proteomics, and related emerging biotechnology fields leads to exponential growth of the applications of enzymes and the development of modified or new enzymes with specific activities. Concurrently, new technologies are being developed to improve reaction rates and specificity or perform the reaction in a specific environment. Besides large‐scale industrial applications, where typically a large processing capacity is required, there are other, much lower‐scale applications, benefiting form the new developments in enzymology. One such technology is microfluidics with the potential to revolutionize analytical instrumentation for the analyses of very small sample amounts, single cells or even subcellular assemblies. This article aims at reviewing the current status of the development of the immobilized microfluidic enzymatic reactors (IMERs) technology.
Feature Switching in the i-vector framework for speaker verification

Feature fusion is a paradigm that has found success in a number of speech related tasks. The primary objective in applying fusion is to leverage the complementary information present in the features. Conventionally, either early or late fusion is employed. Early fusion leads to large dimensional feature vectors. Further, the range of feature values for different streams require appropriate normalisation. Late fusion is carried out at score level, where the contribution from each type of feature is determined from the set of weights used. Feature switching is yet another paradigm that attempts to capture the diversity in the feature types used. Feature switching gains significance particularly in the context of speaker verification, where the feature type that best discriminates a speaker is used to verify the claims corresponding to that speaker. Earlier, feature switching was attempted in the conventional UBM-GMM framework. In this paper, the idea is extended to the Total Variability Space (TVS) framework. Two different feature types namely Modified Group Delay (MGD) and Mel-Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC) are explored in the proposed framework. Results are presented on NIST 2010 male database for the speaker verification task. Index Terms: speaker verification, shared nearest neighbour, feature-switching
Journal of Neuroengineering and Rehabilitation Open Access Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, Synaptic Plasticity and Network Oscillations

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has quickly progressed from a technical curiosity to a bona-fide tool for neurological research. The impetus has been due to the promising results obtained when using TMS to uncover neural processes in normal human subjects, as well as in the treatment of intractable neurological conditions, such as stroke, chronic depression and epilepsy. The basic principle of TMS is that most neuronal axons that fall within the volume of magnetic stimulation become electrically excited, trigger action potentials and release neurotransmitter into the postsynaptic neurons. What happens afterwards remains elusive, especially in the case of repeated stimulation. Here we discuss the likelihood that certain TMS protocols produce long-term changes in cortical synapses akin to long-term potentiation and long-term depression of synaptic transmission. Beyond the synaptic effects, TMS might have consequences on other neuronal processes, such as genetic and protein regulation, and circuit-level patterns, such as network oscillations. Furthermore, TMS might have non-neuronal effects, such as changes in blood flow, which are still poorly understood.
An Executable Semantics of Object-oriented Models for Simulation and Theorem Proving

This paper presents an executable semantics of OO models. We made it possible to conduct both simulation and theorem proving on the semantics by implementing its underlying heap memory structure within the expressive intersection of the functional language ML and the theorem prover HOL. This paper also presents a verification system ObjectLogic which supports simulation and theorem proving of OO models based on the executable semantics. As an application example, we show a verification of a UML model of a practical firewall
Cutaneous malignant melanoma show geographic and socioeconomic disparities in stage at diagnosis and excess mortality

Abstract Background Preventive measures are needed to counteract the increasing burden of cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM). As a basis for rational melanoma prevention, we investigated geographic differences and impact from socioeconomic factors related to incidence, clinical stage at diagnosis and outcome. Material and methods All patients with primary invasive CMM diagnosed in 2004–2013 in the southern and the western Swedish health care regions with a population of 2.9 million adults were eligible for the study. Population-based data were obtained from the national Cancer Register and the national Melanoma Quality Register. Geographic and socioeconomic differences in incidence per stage at diagnosis were mapped and correlated to excess mortality. Results Disease mapping based on 9743 cases in 99 municipalities and 20 metropolitan districts showed marked, regional disparities in stage-specific incidence of CMM. The incidence of stage I–II tumors was higher in the western health care region, whereas the incidence of stage III–IV CMMs was higher in the southern region. The divergent incidence patterns per stage at diagnosis were consistent across population strata based on educational level. The geographic disparities in CMM stage influenced relative survival with an excess five-year mortality ratio in the southern region versus the western region of 1.49 (95% confidence interval 1.22–1.82). The excess mortality ratio for patients with low versus high educational level was 1.81 (1.37–2.40). Conclusion Residential region and educational level influenced CMM stage and, thereby, excess mortality. These observations suggest that geographic as well as socioeconomic data should be considered in prevention of CMM.
Long-Range Double-Differentially Coded Spread-Spectrum Acoustic Communications With a Towed Array

This paper presents a novel double-differentially coded spread-spectrum (DD-SS) system design for long-range acoustic communications (LRAC) between a moving source and a towed horizontal line array (HLA). The proposed design relies on two techniques that have been historically developed for radio-frequency terrestrial wireless communications, namely, direct sequence spread spectrum and double-differential coding. In DD-SS, direct sequence spread spectrum is employed to: 1) increase the signal-to-noise ratio; 2) suppress multipath interference; and 3) support data multiplexing, while double-differential coding makes reliable symbol recovery possible without explicit phase and Doppler tracking/correction. Thanks to the two techniques together with traditional beamforming, the DD-SS system is shown capable of effectively dealing with many challenging issues posed by LRAC with a towed HLA, without using complicated receiver processing. During the 2010 Long-Range Acoustic Communication Experiment (LRAC10) in deep waters, the DD-SS system was tested by using a moving source at a speed of 2-3 kn at 75-m depth and a 64-element HLA towed at 3.5 kn at a depth of 200 m. Excellent uncoded error performance (less than 4% bit error rate) is demonstrated at a data rate of 6.4 b/s for a bandwidth of 200 Hz and at a range of 550 km.
Defining key signaling nodes and therapeutic biomarkers in NF1-mutant cancers.

UNLABELLED NF1 encodes a RAS GTPase-activating protein. Accordingly, aberrant RAS activation underlies the pathogenesis of NF1-mutant cancers. Nevertheless, it is unclear which RAS pathway components represent optimal therapeutic targets. Here, we identify mTORC1 as the key PI3K effector in NF1-mutant nervous system malignancies and conversely show that mTORC2 and AKT are dispensable. However, we find that tumor regression requires sustained inhibition of both mTORC1 and MEK. Transcriptional profiling studies were therefore used to establish a signature of effective mTORC1-MEK inhibition in vivo. We unexpectedly found that the glucose transporter GLUT1 was potently suppressed, but only when both pathways were inhibited. Moreover, unlike VHL- and LKB1-mutant cancers, reduction of (18)F-FDG uptake required the suppression of both mTORC1 and MEK. Together, these studies identify optimal and suboptimal therapeutic targets in NF1-mutant malignancies and define a noninvasive means of measuring combined mTORC1-MEK inhibition in vivo, which can be readily incorporated into clinical trials. SIGNIFICANCE This work demonstrates that mTORC1 and MEK are key therapeutic targets in NF1-mutant cancers and establishes a noninvasive biomarker of effective, combined target inhibition that can be evaluated in clinical trials.
Generalized Kernel Classification and Regression

We discuss kernel-based classification and regression in a general context, emphasizing the role of convex duality in the problem formulation. We give conditions for the existence of the dual problem, and derive general globally convergent classification and regression algorithms for solving the true (i.e. hard-margin or rigorous) dual problem without resorting to approximations.
A new path planning algorithm for maximizing visibility in computed tomography colonography

In virtual colonoscopy, minimizing the blind areas is important for accurate diagnosis of colonic polyps. Although useful for describing the shape of an object, the centerline is not always the optimal camera path for observing the object. Hence, conventional methods in which the centerline is directly used as a path produce considerable blind areas, especially in areas of high curvature. Our proposed algorithm first approximates the surface of the object by estimating the overall shape and cross-sectional thicknesses. View positions and their corresponding view directions are then jointly determined to enable us to maximally observe the approximated surface. Moreover, by adopting bidirectional navigations, we may reduce the blind area blocked by haustral folds. For comfortable navigation, we carefully smoothen the obtained path and minimize the amount of rotation between consecutive rendered images. For the evaluation, we quantified the overall observable area on the basis of the temporal visibility that reflects the minimum interpretation time of a human observer. The experimental results show that our algorithm improves visibility coverage and also significantly reduces the number of blind areas that have a clinically meaningful size. A sequence of rendered images shows that our algorithm can provide a sequence of centered and comfortable views of colonography.
A Proactive Data Security Framework for Mission-Critical Sensor Networks

The resource-constrained sensors in mission-critical applications are subject to both random failures and intentional compromise, which poses severe security threats in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). The different types of security threats have been identified and addressed in an individual manner in the past. In this paper, we argue that cryptography alone is insufficient to fully address the insider attacks in the existence of both the compromised and faulty sensor nodes. We further propose a proactive data security framework (PDSF) to identify compromised and faulty nodes proactively and prohibit them from participating network activities in a dynamic manner. The rationale behind our approach is that a sensor's future behavior can be predicted (at least) probabilistically by its past behavior. PDSF is divided into two key modules, that is, misbehavior characterization & monitoring, and trust management. PDSF characterizes different types of misbehavior in WSNs and defines a set of monitoring criteria. PDSF also develops a trust management model, which adapts to the resource constrained nature of the WSNs
Surface functionalization of gold nanoparticles using hetero-bifunctional poly(ethylene glycol) spacer for intracellular tracking and delivery

For the development of surface-functionalized gold nanoparticles as cellular probes and delivery agents, we have synthesized hetero-bifunctional poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG, MW 1500) having a thiol group on one terminus and a reactive functional group on the other for use as a flexible spacer. Coumarin, a model fluorescent dye, was conjugated to one end of the PEG spacer and gold nanoparticles were modified with coumarin-PEG-thiol. Surface attachment of coumarin through the PEG spacer decreased the fluorescence quenching effect of gold nanoparticles. The results of cellular cytotoxicity and fluorescence confocal analyses showed that the PEG spacer-modified nanoparticles were essentially non-toxic and could be efficiently internalized in the cells within 1 hour of incubation. Intracellular particle tracking using a Keck 3-D Fusion Microscope System showed that the functionalized gold nanoparticles were rapidly internalized in the cells and localized in the peri-nuclear region. Using the PEG spacer, the gold nano-platform can be conjugated with a variety of biologically relevant ligands such as fluorescent dyes, antibodies, etc in order to target, probe, and induce a stimulus at the target site.
Arginine-Based Inhibitors of Nitric Oxide Synthase: Therapeutic Potential and Challenges

In the past three decades, nitric oxide has been well established as an important bioactive molecule implicated in regulation of cardiovascular, nervous, and immune systems. Therefore, it is not surprising that much effort has been made to find specific inhibitors of nitric oxide synthases (NOS), the enzymes responsible for production of nitric oxide. Among the many NOS inhibitors developed to date, inhibitors based on derivatives and analogues of arginine are of special interest, as this category includes a relatively high number of compounds with good potential for experimental as well as clinical application. Though this group of inhibitors covers early nonspecific compounds, modern drug design strategies such as biochemical screening and computer-aided drug design have provided NOS-isoform-specific inhibitors. With an emphasis on major advances in this field, a comprehensive list of inhibitors based on their structural characteristics is discussed in this paper. We provide a summary of their biochemical properties as well as their observed effects both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, we focus in particular on their pharmacology and use in recent clinical studies. The potential of newly designed specific NOS inhibitors developed by means of modern drug development strategies is highlighted.
The atlas muon trigger performance in proton-proton collisions at √s = 7 TeV

Events with muons in the final state are an important signature for many physics analyses in the harsh detector environment produced by collisions of high energy protons. The ATLAS experiment employs a multi-level trigger architecture that selects events in three sequential steps of increasing complexity and accuracy. The Level 1 trigger is implemented with custom built hardware to reduce the event rate from 40 MHz to 75 kHz. The software based higher level triggers refine the trigger decisions reducing the output rate down to the order of 100 Hz. This note presents the performance of the muon trigger evaluated with proton-proton collision data collected in 2011 at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV.
A Novel Approach for Controlling a Size of a Test Suite with Simple Technique

`Abstract-Software testing is an important activity in the software development life cycle. and also expensive phase when compared to all other phases of the software development life cycle. Software testing purpose is to detect,software failures so that defects may be recoverd and corrected.Softwares are tested through test cases.A test case is a set of condition or variables variables under which a tester will determine whether an application or software system is working correctly or not.For many application test cases are generated automatically but the main problem is selecting a effective test cases among all test cases.The process of selecting a effective test cases from all test cases is called Test case selection.This process is used for finding a redundant test cases and removing the redundant test cases in a test suite is called test suite minimization. In this paper ,we propose a novel test suite reduction based on set theory.To demonstarate the applicability of this approach ,we conduct an experimental study ,The result shows that our technique is easy to implement and consumes less time
Cardiac steatosis associates with visceral obesity in nondiabetic obese men.

BACKGROUND Liver fat and visceral adiposity are involved in the development of the metabolic syndrome (MetS). Ectopic fat accumulation within and around the heart has been related to increased risk of heart disease. The aim of this study was to explore components of cardiac steatosis and their relationship to intra-abdominal ectopic fat deposits and cardiometabolic risk factors in nondiabetic obese men. METHODS Myocardial and hepatic triglyceride (TG) contents were measured with 1.5 T magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and visceral adipose (VAT), abdominal subcutaneous tissue (SAT), epicardial and pericardial fat by magnetic resonance imaging in 37 men with the MetS and in 40 men without the MetS. RESULTS Myocardial and hepatic TG contents, VAT, SAT, epicardial fat volumes, and pericardial fat volumes were higher in men with the MetS compared with subjects without the MetS (P < .001). All components of cardiac steatosis correlated with SAT, VAT, and hepatic TG content and the correlations seemed to be strongest with VAT. Myocardial TG content, epicardial fat, pericardial fat, VAT, and hepatic TG content correlated with waist circumference, body mass index, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol TGs, very low-density lipoprotein-1 TGs, and the insulin-resistance homeostasis model assessment index. VAT was a predictor of TGs, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and measures of glucose metabolism, whereas age and SAT were determinants of blood pressure parameters. CONCLUSIONS We suggest that visceral obesity is the best predictor of epicardial and pericardial fat in abdominally obese subjects. Myocardial TG content may present a separate entity that is influenced by factors beyond visceral adiposity.
Implementation of an RFID Key Management System for DASH7

The wireless sensor networking standard DASH7 operates in low-power communication with a better transmission quality in active RFID networks. The DASH7 security standard supports public key cryptography. At present, the DASH7 standard uses the message authentication code in the network layer for authentication and integrity. However, its security standard is still in an incubation stage with respect to the implementation of a crypto exchange over a DASH7 network. Effective key management is an important factor for privacy and security. If organizations are not careful about where and how keys are stored, they leave the encrypted data vulnerable to theft. In this regard, we present a key management system designed for efficient key management through public key infrastructure authentication as well as a non-repudiation feature for the DASH7 standard. We analyze the performance of the proposed system on a basis of various performance criteria such as latency and throughput.
Channel Drop Filter Based on Coupled Cavity in Photonic Crystals

In this paper, a five channel drop filter has been designed in a two dimensional photonic crystal with high dielectric rods in air. Each channel consists of a photonic crystal coupled cavity waveguide with double cavities combined with a line defect waveguide. Desired wavelengths are selected by setting different radii of the two point defects in the photonic crystal coupled cavity waveguides. Defect rods placed at the same channel have an identical radius. The performance of the designed (.)