Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Backward Inclination of a Surface Defined by Empirical Corresponding Points

Three experiments were conducted to investigate whether a locus of binocular correspondence extends eccentrically from the vertical horopter. In experiment 1, we investigated whether the backward inclination of the vertical horopter was manifested in the angle at which readers prefer to orient the page. All observers preferred a page inclined backwards to any other orientation. This backward inclination was less than predicted from previous psychophysical reports, however. In experiment 2, we investigated the extent of binocular correspondence, defined by minimal apparent interocular horizontal motion, in the central 24 deg of the binocular field. Our data define a planar surface inclined top-away from the observer as a locus from which psychophysical corresponding points are stimulated. In experiment 3, we measured vertical adjustments required to eliminate apparent vertical motion. Together, the pattern of results from experiments 2 and 3 is most consistent with a planar surface, inclined top-away from the observer. This is consistent with Helmholtz's account of the backward inclination of the vertical horopter and expands the locus of zero horizontal disparity from a single line in the median plane to eccentric loci extending at least ±12 deg in the central binocular field.
A Horizontally Scalable and Reliable Architecture for Location-Based Publish-Subscribe

With billions of connected users and objects, location-based services face a massive scalability challenge. We propose a horizontally-scalable and reliable location-based publish/subscribe architecture that can be deployed on a cluster made of commodity hardware. As many modern location-based publish/subscribe systems, our architecture supports moving publishers, as well as moving subscribers. When a publication moves in the range of a subscription, the owner of this subscription is instantly notified via a server-initiated event, usually in the form of a push notification. To achieve this, most existing solutions rely on classic indexing data structures, such as R-trees, and they struggle at scaling beyond the scope of a single computing unit. Our architecture introduces a multi-step routing mechanism that, to achieve horizontal scalability, efficiently combines range partitioning, consistent hashing and a min-wise hashing agreement. In case of node failure, an active replication strategy ensures a reliable delivery of publication throughout the multistep routing mechanism. From an algorithmic perspective, we show that the number of messages required to compute a match is optimal in the execution model we consider and that the number of routing steps is constant. Using experimental results, we show that our method achieves high throughput, low latency and scales horizontally. For example, with a cluster made of 200~nodes, our architecture can process up to 190'000 location updates per second for a fleet of nearly 1'900'000 moving entities, producing more than 130'000 matches per second.
Regulation of osteoclast differentiation and function by receptor activator of NFkB ligand and osteoprotegerin

The differentiation and functions of osteoclasts (OCs) are regulated by osteoblast‐derived factors. Receptor activator of NFkB ligand (RANKL) is one of the key regulatory molecules in OC formation. Osteoprotegerin (OPG) is a novel secreted member of the TNF receptor superfamily that negatively regulates osteoclastogenesis and binds to RANKL. We examined the biological actions of macrophage‐colony‐stimulating factor (M‐CSF), RANKL, and OPG on the differentiation of OCs isolated from cocultures of mouse osteoblastic cells and bone marrow cells. Preosteoclasts (pOCs) and OCs were characterized by their ultrastructure and the expression of OC markers such as tartrate‐resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) and vacuolar‐type H+‐ATPase. pOCs formed without any additives expressed TRAP, but showed little resorptive activity on cocultured dentine slices. TRAP‐positive pOCs treated with M‐CSF began to fuse with each other, but lacked a ruffled border (RB) and showed almost no resorptive activity. pOCs treated with RANKL became TRAP‐positive multinucleated cells, which expressed intense vacuolar‐type H+‐ATPase along the RB membranes and exhibited prominent resorptive activity. Such effects of RANKL on pOCs were completely inhibited by the addition of OPG. OPG inhibited RB formation in mature OCs and reduced their resorptive activity, and also induced apoptosis of some OCs. These results suggest that 1) RANKL induces differentiation of functional OCs from pOCs, 2) M‐CSF induces macrophage‐like multinucleated cells, but not OCs, 3) OPG inhibits RB formation and resorptive activity in mature OCs, 4) OPG also induces apoptosis of OCs, and 5) RANKL and OPG are, therefore, important regulators of not only the terminal differentiation of OCs but also their resorptive function. Anat Rec 268:137–146, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Use of Escrow Contracts in Acquisition Agreements

Many private stand-alone firm and subsidiary acquisition deals make use of escrow contracts, whereby a fraction of the total sale proceeds is placed in an escrow account. These contracts give the bidder the opportunity to lay claim on these funds subsequent to the acquisition if the seller fails to meet specific terms of the acquisition agreement or it is found that negative information about the target was hidden from the bidder. We hypothesize that escrow contracts are an efficient contracting mechanism that helps buyers and sellers to manage acquisition-related transaction risk and mitigate information asymmetry problems. Supporting our hypothesis, we show using hand-collected data that the likelihood an escrow contract is used in a private stand-alone firm or subsidiary acquisition is higher when buyer and seller transaction risk or information asymmetry about the value of the target is larger. Further, we document that escrow contracts enable sellers to obtain a higher sale price and that the use of these contracts positively impacts the extent to which a private firm or subsidiary acquisition results in value creation for the bidder.
Action recognition using completed local binary patterns and multiple-class boosting classifier

This paper, for the first time, introduces a multiple-class boosting scheme (MBS) to combine depth motion maps (DMMs) and completed local binary patterns (CLBP) for action recognition. DMMs derive from projecting depth frames onto three orthogonal Cartesian planes (front, side and top) and characterize the motion energy of an action, on which the CLBP features are further extracted. And then a new multi-class boosting method is used and leads to an effective decision-level classifier. Extensive experiments on the MSRAction3D and MSRGesture3D datasets indicate that the proposed MBS method achieves new state-of-the-art results.
Quality assurance plan for China collection 2.0 aerosol datasets

The inversion of atmospheric aerosol optical depth (AOD) using satellite data has always been a challenge topic in atmospheric research. In order to solve the aerosol retrieval problem over bright land surface, the Synergetic Retrieval of Aerosol Properties (SRAP) algorithm has been developed based on the synergetic using of the MODIS data of TERRA and AQUA satellites [1, 2]. In this paper we describe, in details, the quality assessment or quality assurance (QA) plan for AOD products derived using the SRAP algorithm. The pixel-based QA plan is to give a QA flag to every step of the process in the AOD retrieval. The quality assessment procedures include three common aspects: 1) input data resource flags, 2) retrieval processing flags, 3) product quality flags [3]. Besides, all AOD products are assigned a QA `confidence' flag (QAC) that represents the aggregation of all the individual QA flags. This QAC value ranges from 3 to 0, with QA = 3 indicating the retrievals of highest confidence and QA = 2/QA = 1 progressively lower confidence [4], and 0 means `bad' quality. These QA (QAC) flags indicate how the particular retrieval process should be considered. It is also used as a filter for expected quantitative value of the retrieval, or to provide weighting for aggregating/averaging computations [5]. All of the QA flags are stored as a "bit flag" scientific dataset array in which QA flags of each step are stored in particular bit positions.
Mink Cell Focus-Forming Murine Leukemia Virus Infection Induces Apoptosis of Thymic Lymphocytes

ABSTRACT In a previous study we identified the subpopulations of thymus cells that were infected by the lymphomagenic MCF13 murine leukemia virus (MLV) (F. K. Yoshimura, T. Wang, and M. Cankovic, J. Virol. 73:4890–4898, 1999) and observed an effect on thymus size by virus infection. In this report we describe our results which demonstrate that MCF13 MLV infection of thymuses reduced the number of T lymphocytes in this organ. Histological examination showed diffuse lymphocyte depletion, which was most striking in the CD4+CD8+ lymphocyte-enriched cortical zone. Consistent with this, flow cytometric analysis showed that the lymphocytes which were depleted were predominantly the immature CD3−CD4+ CD8+ and CD3+ CD4+CD8+ cells. A comparison of the percentages of live, apoptotic, and dead cells of the gp70+ and gp70− thymic lymphocytes suggested that this effect on thymus cellularity is a result of virus infection. Studies of the survival of thymic T lymphocytes in culture showed that cells from MCF13 MLV-inoculated mice underwent greater apoptosis and death than cells from control animals. Assays for apoptosis included 7-amino-actinomycin D staining, DNA fragmentation, and cleavage of caspase-3 and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase proenzymes. Our results suggest that apoptosis of thymic lymphocytes by virus infection is an important step in the early stages of MCF13 MLV tumorigenesis.
Reproducibility and clinical utility of tendon palpation to detect patellar tendinopathy in young basketball players

Background—Palpation is an important clinical test for jumper's knee. Objectives—To (a) test the reproducibility of palpation tenderness, (b) evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of palpation in subjects with clinical symptoms of jumper's knee, and (c) determine whether tenderness to palpation may serve as a useful screening test for patellar tendinopathy. The yardstick for diagnosis of patellar tendinopathy was ultrasonographic abnormality. Methods—In 326 junior symptomatic and asymptomatic athletes' tendons, palpation was performed by a single examiner before ultrasonographic examination by a certified ultrasound radiologist. In 58 tendons, palpation was performed twice to test reliability. Tenderness to palpation was scored on a scale from 0 to 3 where 0 represented no pain, and 1, 2, and 3 represented mild, moderate, and severe tenderness respectively. Results—Patellar tendon palpation was a reliable examination for a single examiner (Pearson r = 0.82). In symptomatic tendons, the positive predictive value of palpation was 68%. As a screening examination in asymptomatic subjects, the positive predictive value of tendon palpation was 36–38%. Moderate and severe palpation tenderness were better predictors of ultrasonographic tendon pathology than absent or mild tenderness (p<0.001). Tender and symptomatic tendons were more likely to have ultrasound abnormality than tenderness alone (p<0.01). Conclusions—In this age group, palpation is a reliable test but it is not cost effective in detecting patellar tendinopathy in a preparticipation examination. In symptomatic tendons, palpation is a moderately sensitive but not specific test. Mild tenderness in the patellar tendons in asymptomatic jumping athletes should be considered normal.
Pregnancy Complications and Outcomes in a Cohort of Women with Epilepsy

Pour étudier les effets possibles de l'épilepsie de la mère sur l'évolution et le produit de la grossesse, les 138 780 certificats de naissance de l'état de Washington pour les années 1980‐81 ont étéétudiés, et 204 naissances provenant de mères épileptiques ont été identifiées. Cela représentait une fréquence de grossesse chez les femmes épileptiques plus faible que ce qui était attendu. Ces grossesses ont été comparées à 612 naissances de contrôle choisies au hasard sur cette même période de 2 ans. Sur les 46 évènements pré et post‐nataux étudiés, 8 se sont trouvés se produire avec une fréquence significativement augmentée dans les grossesses de mères épileptiques. Les enfants ont 2, 8 fois plus de probabilité d'avoir un poids de naissance faible pour l'âge gestational et 2,5 à 3,7 fois plus de risque d'avoir un score d'Apgar bas ou une asphyxie. Cet excès en risque ne peut pas s'expliquer par la race de la mère, la parité, l'âge, l'existence de mortinatalité ou d'avortements antérieurs, ni par l'état socio‐économique. Ces constatations suggèrent qu'il faut être très vigilant en ce qui concerne les complications possibles de la grossesse et de l'accouchement chez les femmes épileptiques.
A novel pair of two-component signal transduction system ecrE1/ecrE2 regulating antibiotic biosynthesis in Streptomyces coelicolor

Two-component signal transduction system (TCS) is a common mechanism of signal transduction and exists in almost all bacterial species. The putative two-component genes SCO6421 (ecrE1) and SCO6422 (ecrE2) in Streptomyces coelicolor, which located in the vicinity of the red locus, could modulate the antibiotic undecylprodigiosin (Red) biosynthesis. In this study, the mutants of M145E1 (ecrE1 knock-out) and M145E2 (ecrE2 knock-out) were constructed using homologous recombination by double crossover. Red production of two mutants decreased dramatically compared with that of the wild-type strain. However, the production of actinorhodin (Act) of two mutants had not changed significantly. The results suggested that ecrE1/ecrE2 participated in regulating the antibiotic Red synthesis. Northern blotting analysis indicated that ecrE1/ecrE2 may regulate the biosynthesis of Red through influencing the transcription of redD and redZ during cell growth. Therefore, ecrE1/ecrE2, as a specific pair of TCS, most likely regulates the red gene cluster positively.
Invasion of the Central Nervous System in a Porcine Host by Nipah Virus

ABSTRACT Nipah virus, a newly emerged zoonotic paramyxovirus, infects a number of species. Human infections were linked to direct contact with pigs, specifically with their body fluids. Clinical signs in human cases indicated primarily involvement of the central nervous system, while in pigs the respiratory system was considered the primary virus target, with only rare involvement of the central nervous system. Eleven 5-week-old piglets were infected intranasally, orally, and ocularly with 2.5 × 105 PFU of Nipah virus per animal and euthanized between 3 and 8 days postinoculation. Nipah virus caused neurological signs in two out of eleven inoculated pigs. The rest of the pigs remained clinically healthy. Virus was detected in the respiratory system (turbinates, nasopharynx, trachea, bronchus, and lung in titers up to 105.3 PFU/g) and in the lymphoreticular system (endothelial cells of blood and lymphatic vessels, submandibular and bronchiolar lymph nodes, tonsil, and spleen with titers up to 106 PFU/g). Virus presence was confirmed in the nervous system of both sick and apparently healthy animals (cranial nerves, trigeminal ganglion, brain, and cerebrospinal fluid, with titers up to 107.7 PFU/g of tissue). Nipah virus distribution was confirmed by immunohistochemistry. The study presents novel findings indicating that Nipah virus invaded the central nervous system of the porcine host via cranial nerves as well as by crossing the blood-brain barrier after initial virus replication in the upper respiratory tract.
Effectiveness of a Canal Brush on Removing Smear Layer : A Scanning E l e c t r on M i c r o s c op i c S t udy

polypropylene canal brush (CanalBrush; Coltène) on smear layer removal from the canal walls when used according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. Forty-four singlerooted mandibular incisors were prepared to apical size 30/0.06 and randomly divided into three groups A, B and C, where the final irrigation regimen was 10 mL 17% EDTA and 10 mL 2.5% NaOCl for group A, 10 mL EDTA, 5 mL NaOCl, CanalBrush for 20 s at 450 rpm and 5 mL NaOCl for group B, 10 mL NaOCl, CanalBrush and 10 mL NaOCl for group C. One medium-sized CanalBrush was used for each root canal and all brushes were examined under the optical microscope after application to evaluate bristle deformation. Afterwards, roots were split longitudinally and the presence of smear layer was evaluated under a scanning electron microscope. Used brushes invariably exhibited bristle deformation. Group C exhibited the highest means of smear layer in all thirds. Comparing the apical thirds in all groups, there was no statistical difference between groups A and B (3.64±0.48 and 3.68±0.62 respectively), while group C exhibited significantly higher scores (3.9±0.28) than the other two groups. In conclusion, the CanalBrush proved unable to remove smear layer from the instrumented root canals, when used according to the manufacturers’ instructions. Effectiveness of a Canal Brush on Removing Smear Layer: A Scanning E l e c t r on M i c r o s c op i c S t udy
Time-domain response shaping in constrained RHC with response model: Direct response design via ILQ approach

This paper proposes a technique for a time-domain response shaping in constrained receding horizon control (RHC). In this technique, a response model for a state feedback RHC is given as an unconstrained LQ optimal feedback system with desired time-domain characteristics. According to the inverse LQ (ILQ) approach, the response model is directly determined from dominant pole assignment. This means that there is no need to search suitable weighting matrices in a quadratic performance index for the response model design. By using the existing SVD based RHC scheme, we can construct an admissible input sequence for the constrained optimal control from the LQ response model. The RHC algorithm minimizes the performance error to the unconstrained response model in a finite control horizon.
Fermented Viola mandshurica Inhibits Melanogenesis in B16 Melanoma Cells

We assessed the effects of chloroform extract of fermented Viola mandshurica (CEFV) on melanogenesis B16 melanoma cells. CEFV treatment significantly decreased melanin content and tyrosinase activity in dose-dependent manners. To elucidate the mechanism of the inhibitory effects of CEFV on melanogenesis, we performed RT-PCR and Western blotting for melanogenesis-related genes such as tyrosinase, tyrosinase-related protein-1 (TRP-1), TRP-2, and microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF). CEFV strongly inhibited mRNA as well as the protein expression of tyrosinase and MITF, but had no significant effect on TRP-1 or TRP-2 expressions. It markedly decreased the phosphorylation of cAMP responsive element binding protein (CREB), and induced the duration of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation, leading to reduction of MITF expression and subsequently that of tyrosinase. Therefore, we suggest that CEFV induces downregulation of melanogenesis through decreased CREB phosphorylation and ERK activation.
Emotional Well-Being Following a Later Life Career Change: The Roles of Agency and Resources

More individuals are attempting career changes in later life, as an increasing number of people face precarious retirement prospects. Although many of these older job seekers eventually find new livelihoods, little is known about their emotional well-being subsequent to these changes. Using the 2014 American Institute for Economic Research Older Worker Survey, we evaluate the contributions of demographic characteristics, agency, and resources when estimating three measures of emotional well-being following a successful later life career change (n = 337). We found that having financial resources during the career transition was associated with all three positive emotional outcomes, while family support and intentionality were also associated with positive emotions. Conversely, prior job prestige and purposeful job training had no relationships with subsequent well-being. These results suggest that later life career changes, despite their challenges, often result in positive emotional outlooks—for those who have the resources to support them.
A Simulator for Large-Scale Parallel Computer Architectures

Efficient design of hardware and software for large-scale parallel execution requires detailed understanding of the interactions between the application, computer, and network. The authors have developed a macro-scale simulator (SST/macro) that permits the coarse-grained study of distributed-memory applications. In the presented work, applications using the Message Passing Interface (MPI) are simulated; however, the simulator is designed to allow inclusion of other programming models. The simulator is driven from either a trace file or a skeleton application. Trace files can be either a standard format (Open Trace Format) or a more detailed custom format (DUMPI). The simulator architecture is modular, allowing it to easily be extended with additional network models, trace file formats, and more detailed processor models. This paper describes the design of the simulator, provides performance results, and presents studies showing how application performance is affected by machine characteristics.
Towards Grounding Conceptual Spaces in Neural Representations

The highly influential framework of conceptual spaces provides a geometric way of representing knowledge. It aims at bridging the gap between symbolic and subsymbolic processing. Instances are represented by points in a high-dimensional space and concepts are represented by convex regions in this space. In this paper, we present our approach towards grounding the dimensions of a conceptual space in latent spaces learned by an InfoGAN from unlabeled data.
MyEvalvid-NT - A Simulation Tool-set for Video Transmission and Quality Evaluation

In this paper, we propose a novel realistic simulation tool-set known as MyEvalvid-NT for evaluating video delivery over simulated networks. This tool-set integrates Evalvid and NS2. Though PSNR is most often used to measure the perceived quality by an end user, it is time-consuming to calculate PSNR when evaluating a long video sequence. To avoid overhead, in this paper, we used decodable frame rate (Q) as our performance metric to evaluate the received video quality. We use a video transmission over erroneous wireless network to demonstrate the simulation using this tool-set. We also showed that Q can measure perceived video quality adequately as PSNR. With this tool-set, researchers can easily analyze their designed mechanisms, such as network protocols or QoS control schemes in a realistic simulation environment. In brief, researchers who utilize our proposed QoS assessment framework will be benefited in verifying their designs regarding video transmission over simulated network
Inducing oscillations in an inertia wheel pendulum via two-relays controller: Theory and experiments

A tool for generating a self-excited oscillations for an inertia wheel pendulum by means of a variable structure controller is proposed. The original system is transformed into the normal form for exact linearization. The design procedure, based on Describing Function (DF) method, allows for finding the explicit expressions of the two-relays controller gain parameters in terms of the desired frequency and amplitude. Necessary condition for orbital asymptotic stability of the output of the exactly linearized system is derived. Performance issues of the system with self-excited oscillations are validated with experiments.