Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transitivity-based Removal of Correspondence Outliers for Motion Analysis

In this paper we address the problem of removing correspondence outliers in a sequence of images. The input to the system is a set of putative matches which are based upon image-feature similarity. Classical methods for outlier removal, such as RANSAC-based approaches, assume consistency and rigidity in the scene motion between two or three frames in the sequence. Here we propose a novel method for removing correspondence outliers that does not depend on such assumptions. Our method is based on the observation that correspondence is an equivalence relation, and, hence, transitivity must hold between corresponding features in different frames. We impose consistency on the transitivity by representing the matching information as a weighted graph with positive and negative edge-weights. Consistency is then enforced by partitioning the nodes in the graph so as to remove edges corresponding to falsepositive correspondences. The clustering algorithm is of spectral nature and can handle graphs whose edge-weights are non-positive. Our method is a general one that can be used for purposes of outlier removal from correspondences between any entities whose putative matches imply equivalence relations. We illustrate the utility of the method for purposes of outlier removal on a real-world image sequence and compare our results with those yield using an alternative.
Translation of an Argumentation Framework into a CP-Boolean Game

There already exist some links between argumentation and game theory. For instance, dynamic games can be used for simulating interactions between agents in an argumentation process. In this paper, we establish a new link between these domains in a static framework: we show how an argumentation framework can be translated into a CP-Boolean game and how this translation can be used for computing extensions of argumentation semantics. We give formal algorithms to do so.
A Genome-Wide RNAi Screen Reveals MAP Kinase Phosphatases as Key ERK Pathway Regulators during Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation

Embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells represent potentially important therapeutic agents in regenerative medicine. Complex interlinked transcriptional and signaling networks control the fate of these cells towards maintenance of pluripotency or differentiation. In this study we have focused on how mouse embryonic stem cells begin to differentiate and lose pluripotency and, in particular, the role that the ERK MAP kinase and GSK3 signaling pathways play in this process. Through a genome-wide siRNA screen we have identified more than 400 genes involved in loss of pluripotency and promoting the onset of differentiation. These genes were functionally associated with the ERK and/or GSK3 pathways, providing an important resource for studying the roles of these pathways in controlling escape from the pluripotent ground state. More detailed analysis identified MAP kinase phosphatases as a focal point of regulation and demonstrated an important role for these enzymes in controlling ERK activation kinetics and subsequently determining early embryonic stem cell fate decisions.
Scholarship at UWindsor Scholarship at UWindsor

Linear dimensionality reduction (LDR) techniques are quite important in pattern recognition due to their linear time complexity and simplicity. In this paper, we present a novel LDR technique which, though linear, aims to maximize the Chernoﬀ distance in the transformed space; thus, augmenting the class separability in such a space. We present the corresponding criterion, which is maximized via a gradient-based algorithm, and provide convergence and initialization proofs. We have performed a comprehensive performance analysis of our method combined with two well-known classiﬁers, linear and quadratic, on synthetic and real-life data, and compared it with other LDR techniques. The results on synthetic and standard real-life datasets show that the proposed criterion outperforms the latter when combined with both linear and quadratic classiﬁers.
A Multiband Reconfigurable Power Amplifier for UMTS Handset Applications

A new practical reconfigurable output network for a multiband reconfigurable power amplifier (PA) is proposed for universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) handset applications. The proposed reconfigurable network can reconfigure the output power and the output path, as well as the frequency. It consists of a power-reconfigurable network, a frequency-reconfigurable network, and a path-selection network. In this paper, its reconfiguration principle is described to extract key design parameters for the reconfigurable PA implementation. To demonstrate the performance of the proposed structure, a 5 mm × 6 mm multiband reconfigurable PA module is developed for UMTS high- and low-frequency band application. The fabricated PA module can cover any three bands out of five popular high- and low-frequency UMTS bands. To enhance the efficiency during low output power operation, the authors' stage-bypass technique is also employed. The fabricated PA module showed adjacent channel leakage ratios better than -39 dBc up to the rated linear output power and power-added efficiencies of higher than 39% at Pout=28 dBm over all the UMTS frequency bands. Efficiency degradation was limited to less than 2% compared to the single-band PA. Measured RF performance of the reconfigurable PA validates the usefulness of the proposed reconfigurable structure for multiband UMTS applications.
Solutions périodiques pour un problème de dynamique des populations

On considere d'abord une equation aux derivees partielles non lineaire modelisant sous certaines hypotheses la dynamique d'une population structuree en âge et en espace. Les non-linearites sont non locales et apparaissent dans les termes de mortalite et de natalite. On analyse l'existence ou la non-existence de solutions periodiques en temps dans le cas d'un apport exterieur periodique en temps. On s'interesse ensuite a l'existence de solutions periodiques pour un systeme de type S-I-R-S modelisant la propagation d'une epidemie dans cette meme population
The Itinerary of Autophagosomes: From Peripheral Formation to Kiss-and-Run Fusion with Lysosomes

Macroautophagy, a constitutive process in higher eukaryotic cells, mediates degradation of many long‐lived proteins and organelles. The actual events occurring during the process in the dynamic system of a living cell have never been thoroughly investigated. We aimed to develop a live‐cell assay in which to follow the complete itinerary of an autophagosome. Our experiments show that autophagosomes are formed randomly in peripheral regions of the cell. They then move bidirectionally along microtubules, accumulating at the microtubule‐organizing centre, in a similar way to lysosomes. Their centripetal movement is dependent on the motor protein dynein and is important for their fusion with lysosomes. Initially, autophagosomes dock on to lysosomes, independent of lysosomal acidification. Two kinds of fusion then occur: complete fusions, creating a hybrid organelle, or more often kiss‐and‐run fusions, i.e. transfer of some content while still maintaining two separate vesicles. Surprisingly, the autophagolysosomal compartment seems to be more long lived than expected. Our study documents many aspects of autophagosome behaviour, adding to our understanding of the mechanism and control of autophagy. Indeed, although the formation of autophagosomes is completely different from any other vesicular structures, their later itinerary appears to be very similar to those of other trafficking pathways.
NERVE CONDUCTION IN TYPE 2 DIABETICS AND ITS CORRELATION WITH GLYCOSYLATED HAEMOGLOBIN

INTRODUCTION: Diabetes mellitus is a global problem. It is estimated to increase from 4% in 1995 to 5.4% by the year 2025. Diabetic neuropathy (DN) is most commonly occurring microvascular complication accounting for 28% of all complications in diabetics. There is a progressive neuronal involvement in diabetics which is accelerated by poor glycaemic control. Diabetic neuropathy has a long asymptomatic stage. Nerve conduction study can be employed for screening diabetic patients in subclinical stages. MATERIAL & METHODS: Sixty diabetic subjects (male& female) without complications with duration of diabetes 1-10 yrs and 30 normal healthy individuals were included in the study. Nerve conduction study was done using AD-instrument Powerlab/30 series. HbA1c was estimated by Cobas C-111 Autoanalyser. Fasting and Post-prandial blood sugar was measured by GOD-POD method. RESULTS & DISCUSSION: Nerve conduction velocity progressively decreased from the controls to diabetics with good glycaemic control, to the diabetics with poor glycaemic control. There is negative correlation between sensory nerve conduction velocity & glycemic control. (HbA1c) CONCLUSION: There is progressive slowing of sensory nerves in diabetics which is accelerated by poor glycemic control.
Highest Probability SVM Nearest Neighbor Classifier for Spam Filtering

In this paper we evaluate the performance of the highest probability SVM nearest neighbor classifier, which is a combination of the SVM and k-NN classifiers, on a corpus of email messages. To classify a sample the algorithm performs the following actions: for each k in a predefined set {k1, . , kN} it trains an SVM model on k nearest labelled samples, and uses this model to classify the given sample, then fits a sigmoid approximation of the probabilistic output for the SVM model, and computes the probabilities of the positive and the negative answers; than it selects that of the 2 × N resulting answers which has the highest probability. The experimental evaluation shows, that this algorithm is able to achieve higher accuracy than the pure SVM classifier at least in the case of equal error costs.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis RsdA provides a conformational rationale for selective regulation of σ-factor activity by proteolysis

The relative levels of different σ factors dictate the expression profile of a bacterium. Extracytoplasmic function σ factors synchronize the transcriptional profile with environmental conditions. The cellular concentration of free extracytoplasmic function σ factors is regulated by the localization of this protein in a σ/anti-σ complex. Anti-σ factors are multi-domain proteins with a receptor to sense environmental stimuli and a conserved anti-σ domain (ASD) that binds a σ factor. Here we describe the structure of Mycobacterium tuberculosis anti-σD (RsdA) in complex with the -35 promoter binding domain of σD (σD4). We note distinct conformational features that enable the release of σD by the selective proteolysis of the ASD in RsdA. The structural and biochemical features of the σD/RsdA complex provide a basis to reconcile diverse regulatory mechanisms that govern σ/anti-σ interactions despite high overall structural similarity. Multiple regulatory mechanisms embedded in an ASD scaffold thus provide an elegant route to rapidly re-engineer the expression profile of a bacterium in response to an environmental stimulus.
Model-based risk assessment to improve enterprise security

The main objective of the CORAS project is to provide methods and tools for precise, unambiguous, and efficient risk assessment of security critical systems. To this end, we advocate a model-based approach to risk assessment, and define the required models for this. Whereas traditional risk assessment is performed without any formal description of the target of evaluation or results of the risk assessment, CORAS aims to provide a well defined set of models well suited to (1) describe the target of assessment at the right level of abstraction, (2) as a medium for communication between different groups of stakeholders involved in a risk assessment, and (3) to document risk assessment results and the assumptions on which these results depend. We propose models for each step in a risk assessment process and report results of use.
A gesture-enabled method for natural identification in smart spaces

Smart spaces aim at providing personalized services to their inhabitants. This implies that the smart space has to be aware of who their users are, ideally through a seamless, informative and effortless procedure that should be integrated in the normal interaction model with the space. In this direction, this paper presents a method to naturally identify the user through his gestures in a smart environment. The system uses a Kinect sensor and relies on a supervised Dynamic Time Warping algorithm to process the position of the center of the user's hand palm. In our tests, the system is able to identify with up to 30 gestures, which include directional and geometric movements (10) and small and capital letters (10-10). Results with 11 users and leave-one-out cross validation show that the system satisfactorily works when the user concatenates two gestures (letter-movement like compositions), providing an average correct classification rate (CCR) of 95.5% when the user freely chooses the gesture sentence. CCR may be up to 100% if the system itself proposes the identification sentence, including pairs of gestures that contain more “personal features” about the user.
Towards the Usage of MBT at ETSI

In 2012 the Specialists Task Force (STF) 442 appointed by the European Telcommunication Standards Institute (ETSI) explored the possibilities of using Model Based Testing (MBT) for test development in standardization. STF 442 performed two case studies and developed an MBT-methodology for ETSI. The case studies were based on the ETSI-standards GeoNetworking protocol (ETSI TS 102 636) and the Diameter-based Rx protocol (ETSI TS 129 214). Models have been developed for parts of both standards and four different MBT-tools have been employed for generating test cases from the models. The case studies were successful in the sense that all the tools were able to produce the test suites having the same test adequacy as the corresponding manually developed conformance test suites. The MBT-methodology developed by STF 442 is based on the experiences with the case studies. It focusses on integrating MBT into the sophisticated standardization process at ETSI. This paper summarizes the results of the STF 442 work.
Ecological Contexts of Index Cases and Spillover Events of Different Ebolaviruses

Ebola virus disease afflicts both human and animal populations and is caused by four ebolaviruses. These different ebolaviruses may have distinct reservoir hosts and ecological contexts that determine how, where, and when different ebolavirus spillover events occur. Understanding these virus-specific relationships is important for preventing transmission of ebolaviruses from wildlife to humans. We examine the ecological contexts surrounding 34 human index case infections of ebolaviruses from 1976–2014. Determining possible sources of spillover from wildlife, characterizing the environment of each event, and creating ecological niche models to estimate habitats suitable for spillover, we find that index case infections of two ebolaviruses, Ebola virus and Sudan virus, have occurred under different ecological contexts. The index cases of Ebola virus infection are more associated with tropical evergreen broadleaf forests and consuming bushmeat than the cases of Sudan virus. Given these differences, we emphasize caution when generalizing across different ebolaviruses and that location and virus-specific ecological knowledge will be essential to unravelling how human and animal behavior lead to the emergence of Ebola virus disease.
Comparative Transcriptome Analysis between Gynoecious and Monoecious Plants Identifies Regulatory Networks Controlling Sex Determination in Jatropha curcas

Most germplasms of the biofuel plant Jatropha curcas are monoecious. A gynoecious genotype of J. curcas was found, whose male flowers are aborted at early stage of inflorescence development. To investigate the regulatory mechanism of transition from monoecious to gynoecious plants, a comparative transcriptome analysis between gynoecious and monoecious inflorescences were performed. A total of 3,749 genes differentially expressed in two developmental stages of inflorescences were identified. Among them, 32 genes were involved in floral development, and 70 in phytohormone biosynthesis and signaling pathways. Six genes homologous to KNOTTED1-LIKE HOMEOBOX GENE 6 (KNAT6), MYC2, SHI-RELATED SEQUENCE 5 (SRS5), SHORT VEGETATIVE PHASE (SVP), TERMINAL FLOWER 1 (TFL1), and TASSELSEED2 (TS2), which control floral development, were considered as candidate regulators that may be involved in sex differentiation in J. curcas. Abscisic acid, auxin, gibberellin, and jasmonate biosynthesis were lower, whereas cytokinin biosynthesis was higher in gynoecious than that in monoecious inflorescences. Moreover, the exogenous application of gibberellic acid (GA3) promoted perianth development in male flowers and partly prevented pistil development in female flowers to generate neutral flowers in gynoecious inflorescences. The arrest of stamen primordium at early development stage probably causes the abortion of male flowers to generate gynoecious individuals. These results suggest that some floral development genes and phytohormone signaling pathways orchestrate the process of sex determination in J. curcas. Our study provides a basic framework for the regulation networks of sex determination in J. curcas and will be helpful for elucidating the evolution of the plant reproductive system.
Depth reconstruction filter for depth coding

Depth images represent the distances of scene elements from a camera in 3D space; their efficient coding is crucial for emerging applications such as free-viewpoint TV and 3D video. An in-loop reconstruction filter that improves the depth-coding performance as well as the rendering quality of virtual views based upon the coded depth is proposed.
Maternally imprinted microRNAs are differentially expressed during mouse and human lung development

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a recently discovered class of noncoding genes that regulate the translation of target mRNA. More than 300 miRNAs have now been discovered in humans, although the function of most is still unknown. A highly sensitive, semiquantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction method was used to reveal the differential expression of several miRNAs during the development of both mouse and human lung. Of note was the up‐regulation in neonatal mouse and fetal human lung of a maternally imprinted miRNA cluster located at human chromosome 14q32.31 (mouse chromosome 12F2), which includes the miR‐154 and miR‐335 families and is situated within the Gtl2‐Dio3 domain. Conversely, several miRNAs were up‐regulated in adult compared with neonatal/fetal lung, including miR‐29a and miR‐29b. Differences in the spatial expression patterns of miR‐154, miR‐29a, and miR‐26a was demonstrated using in situ hybridization of mouse neonatal and adult tissue using miRNA‐specific locked nucleic acid (LNA) probes. Of interest, miR‐154 appeared to be localized to the stroma of fetal but not adult lungs. The overall expression profile was similar for mouse and human tissue, suggesting evolutionary conservation of miRNA expression during lung development and demonstrating the importance of maternally imprinted miRNAs in the developmental process. Developmental Dynamics 236:572–580, 2007. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Evaluation of chest radiography, lytA real-time PCR, and other routine tests for diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia and estimation of possible attributable fraction of pneumococcus in northern Togo

SUMMARY Streptococcus pneumoniae (Spn) is a leading cause of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), yet existing diagnostic tools remain inadequate. We aimed to evaluate laboratory and radiological methods for detecting pneumococcal aetiology in CAP patients and to estimate Spn prevalence in this group. All-aged patients hospitalized with clinically defined CAP in northern Togo were enrolled during 2010–2013. Latent class analysis pooled results of semi-automated blood culture (SABC), whole blood lytA real-time polymerase chain reaction (rt-PCR), serum C-reactive protein (CRP), and chest radiography (CXR) and categorized patients as likely pneumococcal or non-pneumococcal CAP. We enrolled 1684 patients; 1501 had results for all tests. CXR, SABC, lytA rt-PCR and CRP >71·2 mg/l had sensitivities of 94% [95% confidence interval (CI) 87–100], 13% (95% CI 10–16), 17% (95% CI 14–21) and 78% (95% CI 75–80), and specificities of 88% (95% CI 84–93), 100% (95% CI 99–100), 97% (95% CI 96–99) and 77% (95% CI 75–79), respectively. Pneumococcal attributable proportion was 34% (95% CI 32–37), increasing with age and in men. We estimated that Spn caused one third of CAP. Whole blood lytA rt-PCR was more sensitive than SABC; both had low sensitivity and high specificity. Conversely CXR was highly sensitive and reasonably specific; it could be a useful tool for epidemiological studies aiming to define Spn pneumonia incidence across all ages.
Analysis of the effects of constant‐current Fowler–Nordheim‐tunneling injection with charge trapping inside the potential barrier

Charge trapping and the generation of interface traps in thermally grown SiO2 and its interface with silicon, produced by Fowler–Nordheim tunneling injection at low temperatures from highly doped Si substrates, have been investigated. The results that can be obtained with the constant‐current‐injection method, when a moderate amount of charge is trapped inside the potential barrier, have been analyzed. This has afforded information about the position of the charge trapped in the oxide. No increase in the interface‐trap density has been produced immediately after injection at 77 K, but, as the temperature is raised after injection, the growing of a peak of interface states has been observed. This phenomenon had been reported to be produced as a consequence of a previous hole trapping but, in this case, this intermediate stage of positive‐charge building has not been observed. This effect is discussed, taking into account published models.
Intracortical modulation, and not spinal inhibition, mediates placebo analgesia

Suppression of spinal responses to noxious stimulation has been detected using spinal fMRI during placebo analgesia, which is therefore increasingly considered a phenomenon caused by descending inhibition of spinal activity. However, spinal fMRI is technically challenging and prone to false‐positive results. Here we recorded laser‐evoked potentials (LEPs) during placebo analgesia in humans. LEPs allow neural activity to be measured directly and with high enough temporal resolution to capture the sequence of cortical areas activated by nociceptive stimuli. If placebo analgesia is mediated by inhibition at spinal level, this would result in a general suppression of LEPs rather than in a selective reduction of their late components. LEPs and subjective pain ratings were obtained in two groups of healthy volunteers – one was conditioned for placebo analgesia while the other served as unconditioned control. Laser stimuli at three suprathreshold energies were delivered to the right hand dorsum. Placebo analgesia was associated with a significant reduction of the amplitude of the late P2 component. In contrast, the early N1 component, reflecting the arrival of the nociceptive input to the primary somatosensory cortex (SI), was only affected by stimulus energy. This selective suppression of late LEPs indicates that placebo analgesia is mediated by direct intracortical modulation rather than inhibition of the nociceptive input at spinal level. The observed cortical modulation occurs after the responses elicited by the nociceptive stimulus in the SI, suggesting that higher order sensory processes are modulated during placebo analgesia.