Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Image-to-word transformation based on dividing and vector quantizing images with words

: We propose a method to make a relationship between images and words. We adopt two processes in the method, one is a process to uniformly divide each image into sub-images with key words, and the other is a process to carry out vector quantization of the sub-images. These processes lead to results which show that each sub-image can be correlated to a set of words each of which is selected from words assigned to whole images. Original aspects of the method are, (1) all words assigned to a whole image are inherited to each divided sub-image, (2) the voting probability of each word for a set of divided images is estimated by the result of a vector quantization of the feature vector of sub-images. Some experiments show the e(cid:11)ectiveness of the proposed method.
Psychophysical Evaluation of Sweetness Functions Across Multiple Sweeteners

Sweetness is one of the 5 prototypical tastes and is activated by sugars and non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS). The aim of this study was to investigate measures of sweet taste function [detection threshold (DT), recognition threshold (RT), and suprathreshold intensity ratings] across multiple sweeteners. Sixty participants, 18–52 years of age (mean age in years = 26, SD = ±7.8), were recruited to participate in the study. DT and RT were collected for caloric sweeteners (glucose, fructose, sucrose, erythritol) and NNS (sucralose, rebaudioside A). Sweetness intensity for all sweeteners was measured using a general Labeled Magnitude Scale. There were strong correlations between DT and RT of all 4 caloric sweeteners across people (r = 0.62–0.90, P < 0.001), and moderate correlations between DT and RT for both of the NNS (r = 0.39–0.48, P < 0.05); however, weaker correlations were observed between the DT or RT of the caloric sweeteners and NNS (r = 0.26–0.48, P < 0.05). The DT and RT of glucose and fructose were not correlated with DT or RT of sucralose (P > 0.05). In contrast, there were strong correlations between the sweetness intensity ratings of all sweeteners (r = 0.70–0.96, P < 0.001). This suggests those caloric sweeteners and NNS access at least partially independent mechanisms with respect to DT and RT measures. At suprathreshold level, however, the strong correlation between caloric sweeteners and NNS through weak, moderate, and strong intensity indicates a commonality in sweet taste mechanism for the perceived intensity range.
Molecular simulation as a tool for studying lignin

Lignocellulosic biomass provides a sustainable source of sugars for biofuel and biomaterial production. However, biomass resistance to degradation imposes difficulties for economical conversion of plant carbohydrates to fermentable sugars. One of the key contributors to recalcitrance is lignin. Understanding the properties of lignin macromolecules in the cell wall matrix is useful for manipulating biomass structure to generate more easily degradable biomass. Along with experimental techniques such as 2D‐NMR and mass spectrometry, computational techniques can be useful for characterizing the structural and energetic properties of the biomass assembly and its individual constituents. Here, we provide a brief introduction to lignin, review some of the recent, relevant scientific literature, and give our perspectives on the role of molecular simulation in understanding lignin structure. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 2012
UCP2 -866G/A, Ala55Val and UCP3 -55C/T Polymorphisms in Association with Obesity Susceptibility — A Meta-Analysis Study

Aims/hypothesis Variants of UCP2 and UCP3 genes have been reported to be associated with obesity, but the available data on the relationship are inconsistent. A meta-analysis was performed to determine whether there are any associations between the UCP2 -866G/A, Ala55Val, and UCP3 -55C/T polymorphisms and obesity susceptibility. Methods The PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and CNKI, CBMdisc databases were searched for all relevant case-control studies. The fixed or random effect pooled measure was determined on the bias of heterogeneity test among studies. Publication bias was examined by the modified Begg's and Egger's test. Results Twenty-two published articles with thirty-two outcomes were included in the meta-analysis: 12 studies with a total of 7,390 cases and 9,860 controls were analyzed for UCP2 -866G/A polymorphism with obesity, 9 studies with 1,483 cases and 2,067 controls for UCP2 Ala55Val and 8 studies with 2,180 cases and 2,514 controls for UCP3 -55C/T polymorphism. Using an additive model, the UCP2 -866G/A polymorphism showed no significant association with obesity risk in Asians (REM OR = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.65–1.01). In contrast, a statistically significant association was observed in subjects of European descent (FEM OR = 1.06, 95% CI: 1.01–1.12). But neither the UCP2 Ala55Val nor the UCP3 -55C/T polymorphism showed any significant association with obesity risk in either subjects of Asian (REM OR = 0.84, 95% CI: 0.67–1.06 for Ala55Val; REM OR = 0.94, 95% CI: 0.55–1.28 for -55C/T) or of European descent (REM OR = 1.04, 95% CI: 0.80-1.36 for Ala55Val; FEM OR = 1.08, 95% CI: 0.97–1.20 for -55C/T). Conclusions and Interpretation Our meta-analysis revealed that the UCP2 -866G/A polymorphism may be a risk factor for susceptibility to obesity in subjects of European descent, but not in individuals of Asian descent. And our results did not support the association between UCP2 Ala55Val, UCP3 -55C/T polymorphisms and obesity in the populations investigated. This conclusion warrants confirmation by further studies.
Making active CASE tools—toward the next generation CASE tools

In CASE field, there is a long-standing topic, i.e. the reason that CASE tools seem to be dearly bought but sparsely used. Based on our practical experience of making and using CASE tools, we point out the reason is that today's CASE tools are actually not very much user-oriented. The factors and requirements of CASE users are not given enough consideration in the production of CASE tools. Most today's CASE tools are motivated by new paradigms and techniques in the area of software engineering. Therefore, making CASE tools are often driven by techniques, rather than by real users' needs and expectations. In this paper, we present our viewpoints on the reason why CASE tools are used below expectations. We suggest some important features that are worthy of careful consideration while producing more people-oriented and active CASE tools. We also describe some strategies for building such CASE tools.
A particle acceleration site in the Coma cluster

We present the results of a deep (1.1 Ms) observation of the Coma cluster of galaxies in the 18-30 keV band with the IBIS/ISGRI imager on board the INTEGRAL satellite. We show that the source extension in the North-East to South-West (SW) direction ($\sim 17'$) significantly exceeds the size of the point spread function of ISGRI, and that the centroid of the image of the source in the 18-30 keV band is displaced in the SW direction compared to the centroid in the 1-10 keV band. To test the nature of the SW extension we fit the data assuming different models of source morphology. The best fit is achieved with a diffuse source of elliptical shape, although an acceptable fit can be achieved assuming an additional point source SW of the cluster core. In the case of an elliptical source, the direction of extension of the source coincides with the direction toward the subcluster falling onto the Coma cluster. If the SW excess is due to the presence of a point source with a hard spectrum, we show that there is no obvious X-ray counterpart for this additional source, and that the closest X-ray source is the quasar EXO 1256+281, which is located $6.1'$ from the centroid of the excess. Finally, we show that the hard X-ray emission coincides with the 1.4 GHz radio emission, which suggests that the hard X-ray emission comes from the same population of electrons that is responsible for radio haloes through synchrotron emission.
Phase-guided Auto-Tuning for Improved Utilization of Performance-Asymmetric Multicore Processors

The latest trend towards performance asymmetry among cores on a single chip of a multicore processor is posing new software engineering challenges for developers. A key challenge is that for effective utilization of these performance-asymmetric multicore processors, application threads must be assigned to cores such that the resource needs of a thread closely matches resource availability at the assigned core. Determining this assignment manually is tedious, error prone, and it significantly complicates software development. We contribute a transparent and fully-automatic analysis technique, which we call phase-guided auto-tuning, to solve this problem. Phase-guided auto-tuning adapts an application to effectively utilize performance-asymmetric cores of a processor. Our technique does not require any changes in the compiler or operating system, thus it is easy to deploy in existing tool chains. It does not require any input from the programmer except the application. Furthermore, it is independent of the characteristics (performanceasymmetry) of the target multicore processor, which has two benefits. First, it avoids the need to create multiple customizations of the binary for each target architecture, and second it relieves the programmer of the burden of anticipating the target architecture. Last but not least, our technique significantly improves performance. Compared to the stock Linux scheduler, our best technique shows 116% improvement in throughput and 29% average process speedup, while maintaining fairness and with negligible overheads.
Vault Poly(ADP-Ribose) Polymerase Is Associated with Mammalian Telomerase and Is Dispensable for Telomerase Function and Vault Structure In Vivo

ABSTRACT Vault poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (VPARP) was originally identified as a minor protein component of the vault ribonucleoprotein particle, which may be involved in molecular assembly or subcellular transport. In addition to the association of VPARP with the cytoplasmic vault particle, subpopulations of VPARP localize to the nucleus and the mitotic spindle, indicating that VPARP may have other cellular functions. We found that VPARP was associated with telomerase activity and interacted with exogenously expressed telomerase-associated protein 1 (TEP1) in human cells. To study the possible role of VPARP in telomerase and vault complexes in vivo, mVparp-deficient mice were generated. Mice deficient in mVparp were viable and fertile for up to five generations, with no apparent changes in telomerase activity or telomere length. Vaults purified from mVparp-deficient mouse liver appeared intact, and no defect in association with other vault components was observed. Mice deficient in mTep1, whose disruption alone does not affect telomere function but does affect the stability of vault RNA, showed no additional telomerase or telomere-related phenotypes when the mTep1 deficiency was combined with an mVparp deficiency. These data suggest that murine mTep1 and mVparp, alone or in combination, are dispensable for normal development, telomerase catalysis, telomere length maintenance, and vault structure in vivo.
Family background, gender and cohort effects on schooling decisions

In this paper we use unique retrospective family background data from Wave 13 of the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) on different birth cohorts to analyze the relevance of family background, in particular parental education, and gender on differential educational achievement. We find parents’ education attainments to be strong predictors of the education of their offspring. In particular, maternal education is the main determinant on the decision of whether stay-on beyond compulsory education. Our results are robust to the inclusion of a large set of control variables, including household income. A second research question addressed in the paper investigates whether the large expansion of the UK educational system during the last decades has concurred with enhanced relative educational opportunities for children of parents with low educational background. The analysis reveals that the relevance of parental education over time becomes stronger in terms of achieving higher educational levels, in particular university degree. However, there are significant dissimilarities with respect to gender differences; in particular we observe a positive secular trend in female education attainment associated to maternal education.
JUST-IN-TIME MANAGEMENT AND TRANSPORTATION SERVICE PERFORMANCE IN A CROSS-BORDER SETTING

The focus of this article is on the transportation performance of Just-in-Time (JIT) and non-JIT firms involved in U.S.-Mexican trade. The first objective of this study is to assess and compare the transportation performance of JIT and non-JIT maquiladora firms. Furthermore, to ascertain the underlying reasons for differences between JIT and non-JIT firms, the influence of key individual JIT components on firm' perceptions of transportation performance is determined. The second objective is to assess and compare the perceived impact of border crossing on the operations of JIT and non-JIT maquiladora firms. Before stating the hypotheses and describing the research methodology, a brief review of the literature is provided.
SCALES - A behavioral simulator for pipelined analog-to-digital converter design

The design of analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) requires a starting phase to specify system parameters which define the basic characteristics of the target converter. This initial phase is usually made using some kind of behavior modeling. The development of an ADC simulator requires the behavior modeling of the basic building blocks and their possible interconnections to form the final converter. This paper presents a Pipeline ADC simulator tool (SCALES) which allows topology selection and digital calibration of the frontend blocks. Several block non-linearity's are included in the simulation, such as thermal noise, capacitor mismatch, gain and offset errors, parasitic capacitances, settling errors and other error sources. SCALES was developed in Python to allow platform independence in today's computer systems.
Numerical solution of dynamic economic models

This chapter is concerned with numerical simulation of dynamic economic models. We focus on some basic algorithms and assess their accuracy and stability properties. This analysis is useful for an optimal implementation and testing of these procedures, as well as to evaluate their performance. Several examples are provided in order to illustrate the functioning and efficiency of these algorithms.
Modeling variability and dependence in timing

Many actions involve sequences of movements whose elements must not only be in the correct order, but whose relative timing is also a crucial component to successful attainment of the goal. As illustration of this point, consider the simulation of handwriting described by Vredenbregt and Koster (1971) and shown in Figure 4.1. Two orthogonally mounted sets of opposed pairs of electric motors were used to move a pen across paper. One pair of motors produced movements in the horizontal direction, the other pair resulted in vertical movement. At any point in time only one motor in each pair was functioning. The amplitude of a pen 'stroke' in a given direction was determined by the duration of the voltage applied to one motor and the interval allowed before the opposing motor in the pair was switched on. Letters of the alphabet could be produced with this system by a sequence of commands specifying which motor to activate or inactivate and the time at which to take the action. An insightful observation of the authors was that natural variation evident in handwritten letters could be simulated by the variation in the timing of the motor commands. Changes in letter shape could be produced by disturbance in just the onset time of one motor. This would upset the relative timing e v e n a s shown in Figure 4.1 to the extent that one letter-form might be changed qualitatively into another. In contrast, a simultaneous change of all times, leaving the proportional durations of the component intervals unchanged, would scale the overall size of a letter but leave shape invariant. This example thus illustrates the need in studying the control of serial action to consider not only the amount but also the form of timing variability. In this chapter we provide a tutorial approach to quantitative models of the origin and nature of temporal variability in movement sequences. Sometimes, psychologists appear to approach behavior with the aim of explaining variability away (Wing, 1992). Our approach to timing mechanisms differs in that we take variability of timing to be a feature of interest in its own right. In particular, we wish to focus attention on departures from random variability evident in intervals defined by psychologically significant events or responses occurring in sequences of movement. We consider that patterns of statistical
Electricity and CO2 emission impacts of a residential electricity demand response program in Spain

Changes in electricity demand can bring substantial shifts in the production structure, costs, and level of emissions of electricity systems. However, the electricity sector is not the only one affected as these changes can create significant repercussions in other sectors and, consequently, in the whole economy. In this paper, the indirect effects of a reduction in household demand for electricity have been evaluated for the Spanish economy. A multisectoral static computable general equilibrium model is employed to achieve this objective. The results clearly point out the importance of assessing other sectors� behavior when assessing the consequences of promoting demand response policies, especially when dealing with pollutant emissions.
Detection and Localization of Human Faces in theICI System : A First

It is possible to develop a real time face detection system by using simple motion analysis and heuristics, together with a reconstruction error from "face space" as a measure for face/non-face classiication. We have developed such a system and the performance is satisfactory, but we do not have any quantitative results to report.
Effects of expansion on consonant recognition and consonant audibility.

BACKGROUND Hearing aid expansion is intended to reduce the gain for low-level noise. However, expansion can also degrade low-intensity speech. Although it has been suggested that the poorer performance with expansion is due to reduced audibility, this has not been measured directly. Furthermore, previous studies used relatively high expansion kneepoints. PURPOSE This study compared the effect of a 30 dB SPL and 50 dB SPL expansion kneepoint on consonant audibility and recognition. RESEARCH DESIGN Eight consonant-vowel syllables were presented at 50, 60, and 71 dB SPL. Recordings near the tympanic membrane were made of each speech token and used to calculate the Aided Audibility Index (AAI). STUDY SAMPLE Thirteen subjects with mild to moderate sensorineural hearing loss. RESULTS Expansion with a high kneepoint resulted in reduced consonant recognition. The AAI correlated significantly with consonant recognition across all conditions and subjects. CONCLUSION If consonant recognition is the priority, audibility calculations could be used to determine an optimal expansion kneepoint for a given individual.
A Glimpse on Sectoral Convergence of Productivity Levels

This paper examines the presence of sectoral convergence of labor productivity between 14 OECD countries. Using the OECD International Sectoral Data Base (ISDB), the paper looks at the developments within 12 distinct sectors during the period 1970-1995. The change of the coefficients of variance suggests that there is strong sectoral convergence within most service sectors while the evidence of convergence for Manufacturing as well as for Communication is rather weak. These findings are in line with most studies undertaken on this subject so far. It is concluded that economic theories at hand to explain growth and convergence (or divergence respectively) are of different importance for the sectors concerned. While models of the New Growth Theory seemed to be useful to explain growth mechanisms within Manufacturing and Communication, traditional models seemed to apply to most other sectors.
Presynaptic Inhibition of Diverse Afferents to the Locus Ceruleus by κ-Opiate Receptors: A Novel Mechanism for Regulating the Central Norepinephrine System

The norepinephrine nucleus, locus ceruleus (LC), is activated by diverse stimuli and modulates arousal and behavioral strategies in response to these stimuli through its divergent efferent system. Afferents communicating information to the LC include excitatory amino acids (EAAs), corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), and endogenous opioids acting at μ-opiate receptors. Because the LC is also innervated by the endogenous κ-opiate receptor (κ-OR) ligand dynorphin and expresses κ-ORs, this study investigated κ-OR regulation of LC neuronal activity in rat. Immunoelectron microscopy revealed a prominent localization of κ-ORs in axon terminals in the LC that also contained either the vesicular glutamate transporter or CRF. Microinfusion of the κ-OR agonist (trans)-3,4-dichloro-N-methyl-N-[2-1-pyrrolidinyl)-cyclo-hexyl] benzeneacetamide (U50488) into the LC did not alter LC spontaneous discharge but attenuated phasic discharge evoked by stimuli that engage EAA afferents to the LC, including sciatic nerve stimulation and auditory stimuli and the tonic activation associated with opiate withdrawal. Inhibitory effects of the κ-OR agonist were not restricted to EAA afferents, as U50488 also attenuated tonic LC activation by hypotensive stress, an effect mediated by CRF afferents. Together, these results indicate that κ-ORs are poised to presynaptically inhibit diverse afferent signaling to the LC. This is a novel and potentially powerful means of regulating the LC–norepinephrine system that can impact on forebrain processing of stimuli and the organization of behavioral strategies in response to environmental stimuli. The results implicate κ-ORs as a novel target for alleviating symptoms of opiate withdrawal, stress-related disorders, or disorders characterized by abnormal sensory responses, such as autism.
THE STELLAR CONTRIBUTION TO THE EXTRAGALACTIC BACKGROUND LIGHT AND ABSORPTION OF HIGH-ENERGY GAMMA RAYS

TeV γ-rays from distant astrophysical sources are attenuated due to electron–positron pair creation by interacting with ultraviolet/optical to infrared photons which fill the universe and are collectively known as the extragalactic background light (EBL). We model the ∼0.1–10 eV starlight component of the EBL derived from expressions for the stellar initial mass function (IMF), star formation history of the universe, and wavelength-dependent absorption of a large sample of galaxies in the local universe. These models are simultaneously fitted to the EBL data as well as to the data on the stellar luminosity density in our local universe. We find that the models with modified Salpeter A IMF together with Cole et al. or Hopkins and Beacom star formation history best represent available data. Since no dust emission is included, our calculated EBL models can be interpreted as the lower limits in the ∼0.1–1 eV range. We present simple analytic fits to the best-fit EBL model evolving with redshift. We then proceed to calculate γ-ray opacities and absorption of ∼10–300 GeV γ-rays coming from different redshifts. We discuss implications of our results for the Fermi Gamma Ray Space Telescope and ground-based Air Cherenkov Telescopes.