Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Unsupervised Pose Estimation Across Domains

We attempt to solve the problem of pose/viewpoint estimation on 2D images without the presence of a large, well-labeled 2D or 3D dataset within our target domain. In order to accomplish this, we leverage our few available objects models to create 2D object renderings at known poses as a source domain, and learn pose estimation in our target domain images using the source domain images. We do so by attempting to learn a joint embedding to represent images from both domains/image spaces. We will rely on unsupervised clustering methods to learn this embedding. In this document, we detail the problem, introduce our initial methodology, and show results. Additionally, we analyze the results and provide future directions to improve accuracy and robustness.
A single-phase dual frequency inverter based on multi-frequency selective harmonic elimination

Simultaneous generation of two AC outputs at different frequencies from a single-phase inverter offers practical benefits and control flexibility for many industrial applications. In this paper, a dual-frequency selective harmonic elimination (DFSHE) modulation method is proposed to generate and control two individual frequencies in an H-bridge, while diminishing undesired harmonics. Two AC elements are synthesized independently in the modulation scheme, and thus flexible individual power regulation is achieved via the proposed method. In addition, both unipolar and bipolar DFSHE cases are investigated. Characteristics of the two methods are compared and alternatives are provided for different applications. The generation algorithms of the DFSHE are also studied in this paper, and can be applied to a variety of DC/AC topologies without adding extra switching devices. Finally, the experimental results from a 100W dual-load single-phase inverter verify the effectiveness of proposed method, where 50 kHz and 450 kHz AC outputs are generated and individually regulated.
Firm internationalization and IPO firm performance

Purpose – Building on new venture internationalization, agency, and signaling theories, the purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the level of firm internationalization and initial public offering (IPO) performance. Further, the purpose of this paper is to evaluate the moderating role of firm ownership structure on this relationship.Design/methodology/approach – The data set for this study is composed of 298 firms that made IPOs in years 1997, 1998, 2001 and 2002 in the US stock exchanges. The study utilizes hierarchical ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analyses to test its hypotheses. The model developed in this study identified IPO firm ownership structure as the moderator variable, IPO firm internationalization as the predictor variable, and underpricing as the criterion variable. This paper utilized robust regression modeling analyses available in Stata to analyze the data and test their hypotheses.Findings – Results based on data collected from 298 IPO firms suggest that.
A Stable Model for Euro Area Money Demand: Revisiting the Role of Wealth

In this paper we present an empirically stable money demand model for Euro area M3. We show that housing wealth is an important explanatory variable of long-run money demand that captures the trending behaviour of M3 velocity, in particular its shift in the first half of this decade. We show that the current financial crisis has no impact on the stability of our money demand model. JEL Classification: C22, C32, E41
Compartmentation of Triacylglycerol Accumulation in Plants*

Triacylglycerols from plants, familiar to most people as vegetable oils, supply 25% of dietary calories to the developed world and are increasingly a source for renewable biomaterials and fuels. Demand for vegetable oils will double by 2030, which can be met only by increased oil production. Triacylglycerol synthesis is accomplished through the coordinate action of multiple pathways in multiple subcellular compartments. Recent information has revealed an underappreciated complexity in pathways for synthesis and accumulation of this important energy-rich class of molecules.
The competitive conditions in the OECD manufacturing industry

The goal of this study was to assess the intensity of competition in the OECD manufacturing industry by using the Panzar and Rosse index over the period 1970–2011. For this purpose, we use the fully modified OLS method and second-generation unit root analysis to investigate the level of competition across two-digit manufacturing sectors. The results are robust and consistent with similar studies, leading to the rejection of perfect collusion and perfect competition, while providing evidence in favour of monopolistic competition. Similarly to other empirical studies, H-statistics are shown to be heterogeneous across manufacturing sectors. We argue that more concentrated sectors such as food and beverages, motor vehicles and furniture have low levels of H-statistic being thus less competitive than other industries (i.e. computers transportation equipment, printing and chemicals), where the H-statistic is closer to unity. Lastly, our analysis will be a useful policy tool to achieve structural micro-economic goals.
Parallel importation and price competition in a duopoly supply chain

Nowadays, diversion of products distribution from authorised channels to the gray markets is one of the main challenges of manufacturers. Suppose an international supplier distributes the products in several countries with different prices. In parallel importation, there are unauthorised distributers who supply products with a lower price and import them to a higher price market. The problem of parallel importation considering a manufacturer and a competitor is analysed using the game theory approach in this article. We investigate the pricing strategy for manufacturers and the effect of unauthorised distributer on price, market share and profit. We also investigate the performance of different policies in a numerical study and show managerial insights.
Novel HESX1 mutations associated with a life-threatening neonatal phenotype, pituitary aplasia, but normally located posterior pituitary and no optic nerve abnormalities.

CONTEXT Hesx1 is one of the earliest homeodomain transcription factors expressed during pituitary development. Very few HESX1 mutations have been identified in humans; although in those cases the disease phenotype shows considerable variability, all but one of the patients display an ectopic posterior pituitary and/or optic nerve abnormalities. OBJECTIVE The objectives of the study were to describe the complex phenotype associated with the panhypopituitarism of two unrelated Italian patients who, at birth, presented with hypoglycemic seizures and respiratory distress complicated by shock, in a familial context of neonatal death in one family and spontaneous miscarriage in both families and to identify the molecular basis of this unusual syndrome. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Magnetic resonance imaging of the pituitary region, study of HESX1 gene and transcripts, and assessment of the ability of mutated HESX1 proteins to repress transcription were measured. RESULTS Magnetic resonance imaging examination showed an anterior pituitary aplasia in a flat sella turcica and a normally located posterior pituitary in both patients. A constellation of extrapituitary developmental defects were found in the two patients, but without any optic nerve abnormalities. Sequencing of HESX1 exons and their flanking intronic regions revealed two different homozygous mutations. A frameshift (c.449_450delAC) was identified in one case, whereas the other patient carried a splice defect (c.357 + 2Tb > C) confirmed by the study of HESX1 transcripts. If translated, these mutations would lead to the synthesis of truncated proteins partly or entirely lacking the homeodomain, with no transcriptional repression, as shown by their inability to inhibit PROP1 activity. CONCLUSIONS These observations reveal two novel HESX1 mutations in a so-far-undescribed disease phenotype characterized by a life-threatening neonatal condition associated with anterior pituitary aplasia, in the absence of ectopic posterior pituitary and optic nerve abnormalities, two features classically associated with HESX1 defects.
Experimental Economics From the Vantage‐point of Behavioural Economics

As a behavioural economist (an economist who brings psychological insights to bear on economic phenomena), preparing a controversy corner piece criticising experimental economics (the use of experimentation to address economic questions) is like working yourself up to enter the boxing ring against a friend. Experimental economics and behavioural economics have much in common. Both groups can trace their origins to psychology psychological theory in one case and experimentation in the other. Both subfields came of age in the last quarter of this century, and have gained growing acceptance within the discipline of economics as measured by almost any criterion: publications in mainstream journals, academic positions in top departments, prominence at meetings, etc. In the current climate it is easy to forget that only 20 years ago the simple fact that an article reported experiments or discussed psychology was regarded by many editors as grounds for summary rejection. Perhaps more importantly, many behavioural economists (BEs) use economics-style experiments, and some experimental economists (EEs) embrace psychology. Indeed, some researchers would find it difficult to classify themselves into one group or the other, and would be embraced by both groups as one of their own. There is, therefore no inherent conflict between the two approaches; indeed, there is good cause for synergistic coexistence. Nevertheless, there is often value in obtaining another field's perspective on what one does. Some EEs have not been particularly reticent about providing BEs with such input (see, e.g., Smith, 199 1). In this essay I attempt to return the favour in a small way. There are, in fact, many differences between the two subfields, the most important of which is one of basic orientation. BEs are methodological eclectics. They define themselves, not on the basis of the research methods that they employ, but rather their application of psychological insights to economics. In recent published research, BEs are as likely to use field research as experimentation (see, e.g., Camerer et al., 1997; Babcock et al., 1996). EEs on the other hand, define themselves on the basis of their endorsement and use of experimentation as a research tool. Consistent with this orientation, EEs have made a major investment in developing novel experimental methods that are suitable for addressing economic issues, and have achieving a virtual consensus among themselves on a number of important methodological
Is a Value Added Tax Progressive? Annual Versus Lifetime Incidence Measures

We measure the lifetime incidence of a value added tax (V AT) using income data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) and consumption data from the Consumer Expenditure Survey (CEX). When annual income is used as a measure of economic well-being, a VAT looks quite regressive. However, the results change significantly when the analysis is done using lifetime income. Using two different measures of lifetime income, we find that a VAT in the United States would be proportional to slightly progressive over the lifetime.
Uncertainties in coplanar waveguide and microstrip line standards for on-wafer Thru-Reflect-Line calibrations

In this paper the effect of uncertainties in the cross-sectional parameters of CPWs and MSLs (e.g. line geometry, substrate material) on the propagation constants is investigated, and fundamental differences between CPW and MSL are illustrated. Since both planar waveguides can be characterized by on-wafer S-parameter measurements, the propagation of uncertainties when using either CPWs or MSLs as calibration standards for the well-known Thru-Reflect-Line calibration procedure is also investigated.
“For the times they are a-changin”: the impact of shifting energy-use practices in time and space

The introduction of extensive wind power in pursuit of 2050 carbon reduction targets presents a major challenge to electricity networks because when the wind blows (supply) does not necessarily match when people want to use electricity (demand). As electricity storage remains very expensive, flexible demand will have an important role in balancing the grid. While there is scope for smart solutions such as automation and pricing, people will need to become more flexible in the longer term. Accordingly, the aim of this research was to look at time-shifting energy use. Using practice theory helped move the study beyond a merely technical, individualised or structural approach. This interdisciplinary research used 24-hour in-house observations, interviews, metered energy data and three energy time-shifting challenges. The results challenge current approaches to demand response and suggest that disruption is a normal part of everyday life around which practices are able to rearrange themselves and that it is, therefore, possible to consider changing energy-use practices. While it is necessary to consider the relationships between practices and the fact that they are temporally and spatially anchored, it is possible to locate agency within them and therefore to suggest strategies for changing them. Unlocking this flexibility remains the challenge but a range of innovative options for doing this is suggested.
MMSE Optimization with Per-Base-Station Power Constraints for Network MIMO Systems

Cooperative transmission with multiple base stations is a way to overcome the interference limitation of conventional cellular system. We investigate the problem of linear transceiver design for such a network Multiple-Input-Multiple- Output (MIMO) system with per-base-station power constraints. Four design goals are considered: minimizing the total sum-MSE subject to per-base-station power constraints; minimizing the total transmit power subject to a total sum-MSE target and per-base-station power constraints; minimizing the maximum weighted user-MSE subject to per-base-station power constraints; minimizing the total transmit power subject to a set of user-MSE targets and per-base-station power constraints. For these problems, we derive globally optimal transmitters by reformulating the problems as convex Second Order Cone Programs (SOCPs). We also propose iterative algorithms for joint transmitter/receiver optimization. The joint transceiver optimization exploits that for the optimal transmitter, the receivers can be updated as linear MMSE filters. We prove that the proposed algorithms converge to local optima due to the non-convexity of the problems.
Expression of kindlin-3 in melanoma cells impedes cell migration and metastasis

ABSTRACT Kindlins are a small family of 4.1-ezrin-radixin-moesin (FERM)-containing cytoplasmic proteins. Kindlin-3 is expressed in platelets, hematopoietic cells, and endothelial cells. Kindlin-3 promotes integrin activation, clustering and outside-in signaling. Aberrant expression of kindlin-3 was reported in melanoma and breast cancer. Intriguingly, kindlin-3 has been reported to either positively or negatively regulate cancer cell metastasis. In this study, we sought to clarify the expression of kindlin-3 in melanoma cells and its role in melanoma metastasis. Two widely used metastatic mouse and human melanoma cell lines B16-F10 and M10, respectively, were examined and found to lack kindlin-3 mRNA and protein expression. When kindlin-3 was ectopically expressed in these cells, cell migration was markedly reduced. These are attributed to aberrant Rac1 and RhoA activation and overt membrane ruffling. Our data demonstrate for the first time that despite its well established role as a positive regulator of integrin-mediated cell adhesion, aberrant expression of kindlin-3 could lead to imbalanced RhoGTPases signaling that impedes rather than promotes cell migration.
Middle Cerebral Artery Blood Flow Velocimetry Among Healthy Fetuses With a Single Umbilical Artery

Objective. A single umbilical artery (SUA) is an independent risk factor for perinatal morbidity and mortality in healthy fetuses. The aims of the study were (1) to determine middle cerebral artery (MCA) blood flow velocimetric values among fetuses without structural or chromosomal anomalies with an SUA and to compare them with nomograms of patients with a 3‐vessel cord and (2) to measure the pulsatility index (PI) of the umbilical artery among these patients. Methods. The PI values of the MCA and umbilical arteries were determined prospectively among 98 healthy fetuses with an SUA. The PI values were compared with nomograms of patients with a 3‐vessel umbilical cord. For the MCA, peak systolic velocity (PSV) was also measured. Patients carrying fetuses with intrauterine growth restriction or congenital anomalies were excluded from the study. Middle cerebral artery PI values below the fifth percentile and PSV values above the 95th percentile adjusted for gestational age were considered abnormal. Results. Gestational age ranged between 22 and 37.9 weeks (median, 30.3 weeks). After adjusting for gestational age, no alterations in the MCA PI and umbilical PI were found in comparison with the normal range for a 3‐vessel cord known in the literature. Middle cerebral artery PSV values were also within the normal range for gestational age in all patients. Conclusions. The MCA PI and PSV values among healthy fetuses with an isolated SUA were similar to nomograms for fetuses with a 3‐vessel umbilical cord. Therefore, abnormal MCA PI and PSV values among fetuses with an SUA should be treated the same as in patients with a 3‐vessel umbilical cord.
Hair dye poisoning and the developing world

Hair dye poisoning has been emerging as one of the important causes of intentional self harm in the developing world. Hair dyes contain paraphenylene-diamine and a host of other chemicals that can cause rhabdomyolysis, laryngeal edema, severe metabolic acidosis and acute renal failure. Intervention at the right time has been shown to improve the outcome. In this article, we review the various manifestations, clinical features and treatment modalities for hair dye poisoning.
Elevated content of cortisol in hair of patients with severe chronic pain: A novel biomarker for stress

Hair analysis has been used to reflect long-term systemic exposure to exogenous drugs and toxins. Several studies have demonstrated the feasibility of measuring endogenous steroid hormones, e.g. cortisol, in hair. Recently, a study in macaques showed a significant increase in hair cortisol levels induced by stress. We explored whether hair cortisol levels may be used as a biomarker for long-term stress in humans. Patients with severe chronic pain, aged 18 years or older, receiving opioid treatment for at least one year were recruited. Controls were non-obese (body mass index, BMI < 30 mg/kg2) adults. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) questionnaire was used to assess perceived stress over the last 4 weeks. A hair sample was obtained from the vertex posterior. Cortisol was measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We included fifteen patients (nine females and six males) and 39 non-obese control subjects (20 females, 19 males). PSS scores (median and range) were significantly higher in chronic pain patients (24: 12–28) than in controls (12: 3–31)(P < 0.001). Hair cortisol contents (median and range) were significantly greater in chronic pain patients (83.1: 33.0–205 g/mg) than in controls (46.1: 27.2–200 pg/mg) (P < 0.01). We conclude that hair cortisol contents are increased in patients with major chronic stress. Measurement of cortisol levels in hair constitutes a novel biomarker of prolonged stress.
Electrochemical Analysis of Protein Nitrotyrosine and Dityrosine in the Alzheimer Brain Indicates Region-Specific Accumulation

HPLC with electrochemical array detection (HPLC-ECD) was used to quantify 3,3′-dityrosine (diTyr) and 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NO2-Tyr) in four regions of the human brain that are differentially affected in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). DiTyr and 3-NO2-Tyr levels were elevated consistently in the hippocampus and neocortical regions of the AD brain and in ventricular cerebrospinal fluid (VF), reaching quantities five- to eightfold greater than mean concentrations in brain and VF of cognitively normal subjects. Uric acid, a proposed peroxynitrite scavenger, was decreased globally in the AD brain and VF. The results suggest that AD pathogenesis may involve the activation of oxidant-producing inflammatory enzyme systems, including nitric oxide synthase.
Intraepithelial lymphocytes traffic to the intestine and enhance resistance to Toxoplasma gondii oral infection.

Toxoplasma gondii Ag-primed intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL) from the mouse intestine have been shown to be protective against an lethal parasite challenge when adoptively transferred into recipient mice. In the present study, we observed that Ag-primed IEL traffic to the intestine of naive mice following i.v. administration. Primed and CD8beta+ IEL were the most efficient cells at homing to the host organ. In congenic mice, IEL migrated from intestine within several hours posttransfer. On Ag reexposure, the primed IEL return to the intestine where they enhance resistance as determined by reduction in the number of brain cysts. Treatment of recipient mice with anti-alpha4 and anti-alphaE Abs partially inhibited IEL intestinal homing. The Ab treatment dramatically impaired resistance to a subsequent oral infection. These finding indicate that lymphocyte homing is an important parameter in establishing long term immunity to recurrent infection with this parasite.
Em que medida é possível integrar a Cooperação Descentralizada na dimensão Sul-Sul da política externa brasileira? / To what extent is it possible to integrate decentralized cooperation into the South-South dimension of Brazil's foreign policy?

In the last two decades Brazil's sub-national governments have been increasingly active in “decentralized cooperation” structures and practices (development cooperation and other modes of bilateral or multilateral international cooperation between non-central governments). Especially since the first president from the Workers' Party was elected, the Brazilian government has encouraged decentralized cooperation between states and municipalities as a mechanism of national development. So far Brazil's sub-national governments have been far more recipients than donors of international cooperation. Now that Brazil is gaining more importance as a donor and has an increasingly active role in South-South cooperation, the federal government is striving to integrate its states and cities in this process. However, there are many factors that hamper this move and they are all related to the way decentralized cooperation has been imported to Latin America and Brazil. Keywords : Decentralized Cooperation; Paradiplomacy; Sub-national Governments; Brazilian Foreign Policy; South-South Cooperation Received on October 25, 2012. /Accepted on October 30, 2012.
Seasonality in dynamic regression models

This paper examines the implications of treating seasonality as an unobserved component which changes slowly over time. This approach simplifies the specification of dynamic relationships by separating non-seasonal from seasonal factors. We illustrate this approach using the consumption model of Davidson et al (1978) and estimate a stable error correction model between consumption, income and prices over the period 1958-92. More generally, we argue that autoregressive models are unlikely to successfully model slowly changing seasonality, and may confound seasonal effects with the dynamic responses of prime interest. Our approach can be used in a wide range of cases and we show that there is little loss in efficiency even if seasonality is deterministic.