Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Creating see-through image using two RGB-D sensors for remote control robot

This paper presents a system which generates images to see through obstacles. For remote operation of robots in dangerous situations such as disaster sites, visual information affect the operational efficiency to a great extent. Diminished reality, which has been proposed in the field of computer vision, is a technique which generates images as if users saw through obstacles. The proposed method uses RGB-D sensors (RGB-D sensors can get not only RGB information as ordinary cameras can get, but also information of distance between the sensor and each point in the image) attached in front of and on the arm of the robot and enables to see through obstacles, letting the sensor move along with the arm. Using distance information from RGB-D sensors, coordinate transform is performed to produce images from arbitrary viewpoints. Since the method is simplified as much as possible, it is suitable for more general situation and requires smaller calculation cost than previous works. The experiments on a manipulator robot show the ability to see through obstacles from arbitrary viewpoints in real time.
Caffeine: A Model Compound for Measuring Liver Function

The effects of liver disease on caffeine plasma clearance (CI) and on exhalation of 14CO2 following i.v. injection of 2 μCi of [ 3‐methyl‐14C]caffeine together with 125 mg of the unlabeled compound were measured in 15 patients with cirrhosis, 11 subjects with miscellaneous liver disease, and 10 normal volunteers. Compared to mean values for CI (2.02 ± S.D. 0.68 ml per min per kg) and t½ (3.8 ± 0.9 hr) in normal volunteers, cirrhotics were characterized by highly significant reductions in CI (to 0.76 ± 0.40) and prolongation in t½ (to 13.7 ± 13.0), whereas the volume of distribution (VD) remained relatively unchanged (0.57 ± 0.16 vs. 0.64 ± 0.13 liter per kg in normals). Cumulative 14CO2 production and specific activity of 14CO2 in breath decreased in parallel (r = 0.83) with Cl. Patients with miscellaneous liver disease exhibited only small changes in Cl and t½; however, 14CO2 parameters in breath appeared more sensitive in indicating the slight functional derangement. In view of the correlation (Rs = 0.83) of cumulative 14CO2 excretion with the initial disappearance constant for bromosulfophthalein, the caffeine breath test may be considered as a quantitative measure of hepatic microsomal activity; based on a surprisingly close, hyperbolic relationship between Cl and fasting caffeine plasma concentrations, the latter might serve as a simple guide to severity of liver disease.
Electrospun water-soluble polymer nanofibers for the dehydration and storage of sensitive reagents

The ability to preserve and deliver reagents remains an obstacle for the successful deployment of self-contained diagnostic microdevices. In this study we investigated the ability of bacteriophage T7 to be encapsulated and preserved in water soluble nanofibers. The bacteriophage T7 was added to mixtures of polyvinylpyrrolidone and water and electrospun onto a grounded plate. Trehalose and magnesium salts were added to the mixtures to determine their effect on the infectivity of the bacteriophage following electrospinning and during storage. The loss of T7 infectivity was determined immediately following electrospinning and during storage using agar overlay plating and plaque counting. The results indicate that the addition of magnesium salts protects the bacteriophage during the relatively violent and high voltage electrospinning process, but is not as effective as a protectant during storage of the dried T7. Conversely, the addition of trehalose into the electrospinning mix has little effect on the electrospinning, but a more significant role as a protectant during storage.
Standards from birth to maturity for height, weight, height velocity, and weight velocity: British children, 1965. II.

(C) Whole-year Velocity Standards: Chronological Age-based and Individual Type We now consider how to construct velocity standards, to answer our second question 'Has this child's rate of growth been within normal limits ? ' We are again confronted with the alternatives of plotting against chronological or developmental age at adolescence and we have adopted the same solution as before. First we give, in the conventional manner, centiles plotted against chronological age, over the whole age span. These are calculated simply from two measurements a year apart, without using further longitudinal data. They depend on a two-occasion longitudinal study, nothing further. At adolescence these standards are greatly scattered by the phase-difference effect. If we know nothing about a boy except that he is 12 years old and grew 3 cm. during the last year, we must plot 3 cm. at 11 * 5 years and interpret this according to the chronological age centiles. If, however, we know that he is midpubescent, or that his skeletal age is 14 * 0 years, then in theory we could make a more effective interpretation if we had the appropriate standards. We have to remember, however, that in one important respect velocity standards differ from distance ones. In velocity standards a child does not have the same strong tendency to stay in the same centile position from one age to another; there is always a contrary tendency to a move from the outer centile positions towards a more central position in the subsequent year. Though a child can follow the 60th or even 70th centile of velocity from the pre-school years till maturity and end up a large but normal adult, a child who follows the 97th centile
Adaptively finding and combining first-order rules for large, skewed data sets

Inductive Logic Programming (ILP) is a machine-learning approach that uses first-order logic to create human-readable rules from a database of information and a set of positive and negative examples. This thesis explores creating ensembles of rules to maximize area under the recall-precision curves (AURPC), a metric that focuses specifically on the coverage and accuracy of labeling the positive examples. I create an ensemble of rules from a wide range of recall values and combine them to maximize AURPC. Gleaning rules that traditional ILP algorithms would discard and combining them into a single ensemble produces improved predictive performance while reducing the number of rules evaluated. I evaluate several methods for finding sets of clauses that work well together. One method applies a probability distribution over the space of rules and selects rules more likely to improve Gleaner's performance. A second method follows a boosting framework and repeatedly re-weights examples in order to maximize AURPC. Merging the combining and search portions finds good candidate rules and shows improvement over the Gleaner algorithm. I apply these first-order ensemble techniques to several data sets from two very different domains. The first data sets come from the Information-Extraction (lE) domain where the task is to find specific relationships in text. The next data sets come from the computer-assisted medical-diagnosis domain. The task is to identify findings on a mammogram as malignant or benign given descriptors of the findings, patient risk factors, radiologist's score, and information from any previous mammograms. I also include my work with Davis et al.'s SAYU algorithm. I demonstrate methods to improve predictive performance and to increase understanding of malignancy indicators. I show that computer models trained on data from one institution are able to outperform radiologists at another institution even when no additional data are available from the new institution.
Filamin A regulates the organization and remodeling of the pericellular collagen matrix

Extracellular matrix remodeling by cell adhesion–related processes is critical for proliferation and tissue homeostasis, but how adhesions and the cytoskeleton interact to organize the pericellular matrix (PCM) is not understood. We examined the role of the actin‐binding protein, filamin A (FLNa), in pericellular collagen remodeling. Compared with wild‐type (WT), mice with fibroblast‐specific deletion of FLNa exhibited higher density but reduced organization of collagen fibers after increased loading of the periodontal ligament for 2 wk. In cultured fibroblasts, FLNa knockdown (KD) did not affect collagen mRNA, but after 24 h of culture, FLNa WT cells exhibited ~2‐fold higher cell‐surface collagen KD cells and 13‐fold higher levels of activated β1 integrins. In FLNa WT cells, there was 3‐fold more colocalization of talin with pericellular cleaved collagen than in FLNa KD cells. MMP‐9 mRNA and protein expression were > 2‐fold higher in FLNa KD cells than in WT cells. Cathepsin B, which is necessary for intracellular collagen digestion, was > 3‐fold higher in FLNa WT cells than in KD cells. FLNa WT cells exhibited 2‐fold more collagen phagocytosis than KD cells, which involved the FLNa actin‐binding domain. Evidently, FLNa regulates PCM remodeling through its effects on degradation pathways that affect the abundance and organization of collagen. —Mezawa, M. , Pinto, V. I. , Kazembe, M. P., Lee, W. S. , McCulloch, C. A. Filamin A regulates the organization and remodeling of the pericellular collagen matrix. FASEB J. 30, 3613–3627 (2016). www.fasebj. org
An investigation of wavelet-based image coding using an entropy-constrained quantization framework

Wavelet image decompositions generate a tree-structured set of coefficients, providing an hierarchical data-structure for representing images. Several recently proposed image compression algorithms have focused on new ways for exploiting dependencies between this hierarchy of wavelet coefficients. This paper presents a new framework for understanding the efficiency of one such algorithm as a simplified attempt to a global entropy-constrained image quantizer. The principle insight offered by the new framework is that improved performance is achieved by more accurately characterizing the joint probabilities of arbitrary sets of wavelet coefficients. The specific algorithm described is designed around one conveniently structured collection of such sets. The efficiency of hierarchical wavelet coding algorithms derives from their success at identifying and exploiting dependencies between coefficients in the hierarchical structure. The second part of the paper presents an empirical study of the distribution of high-band wavelet coefficients, the band responsible for most of the performance improvements of the new algorithms. <<ETX>>
A comprehensive study of bidirectional promoters in the human genome

A bidirectional promoter is a region along a strand of DNA that regulates the expression of two genes flanking the region. Each of these genes is transcibed in a direction that points away from the other gene; two such genes are said to be in a head-to-head configuration. We search the UCSC List of Known Genes and GenBank Expressed Sequence Tag (EST) data for pairs of genes in such a configuration in order to identify new bidirectional promoters. The EST data constitutes a larger and more intricate dataset that the UCSC List of Known Genes. However, working with EST data presents a challenge, as the EST database may be highly redundant and may also contain overlapping ESTs. To deal with these problems, we have developed an algorithm to identify bidirectional promoters based on the above data sources; the algorithm is capable of handling redundant ESTs, and also ESTs that overlap or disagree in orientation. This analysis resulted in the identification of thousands of new candidate head-to-head gene pairs, corroborated the 5’ ends of many known human genes, revealed new 5’ exons of previously characterized genes, and in some cases identified novel genes. Further analyses yielded evidence for coordinate expression of genes in a head-to-head configuration, and examined the prevalence of bidirectional promoters in different biological pathways.
Common Shoulder Injuries in American Football Athletes

American football is a collision sport played by athletes at high speeds. Despite the padding and conditioning in these athletes, the shoulder is a vulnerable joint, and injuries to the shoulder girdle are common at all levels of competitive football. Some of the most common injuries in these athletes include anterior and posterior glenohumeral instability, acromioclavicular pathology (including separation, osteolysis, and osteoarthritis), rotator cuff pathology (including contusions, partial thickness, and full thickness tears), and pectoralis major and minor tears. In this article, we will review the epidemiology and clinical and radiographic workup of these injuries. We also will evaluate the effectiveness of surgical and nonsurgical management specifically related to high school, collegiate, and professional football athletes.
Robust stabilizability of linear plants with time-varying delays

Drawing upon small gain criteria and robust analysis techniques, lower bounds on the largest allowable time-varying delay are derived with the use of rational approximation functions. These results are computationally efficient and conceptually appealing. Moreover, when specialized to specific situations, the results provide analytical expressions which exhibit explicit dependence of the bounds on the pole and zero and show how fundamentally unstable poles and nonminimum phase zeros may limit the range of delays over which a plant may be stabilized.
Annexin A1 mimetic peptide controls the inflammatory and fibrotic effects of silica particles in mice

Endogenous glucocorticoids are pro‐resolving mediators, an example of which is the endogenous glucocorticoid‐regulated protein annexin A1 (ANXA1). Because silicosis is an occupational lung disease characterized by unabated inflammation and fibrosis, in this study we tested the therapeutic properties of the N‐terminal ANXA1‐derived peptide annexin 1‐(2‐26) (Ac2‐26) on experimental silicosis.
Fluphenazine dihydrochloride dimethanol solvate

In the title compound {systematic name: 1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-4-[3-(2-trifluoromethyl-10H-phenothiazin-10-yl)propyl]piperazine-1,4-diium dichloride dimethanol disolvate}, C22H28F3N3OS2+·2Cl−·2CH3OH, the dihedral angle between the planes of the two outer benzene rings of the tricyclic phenothiazine system is 46.91 (13)°. The piperazine ring adopts a chair conformation. The crystal structure is stabilized by O—H⋯Cl, N—H⋯Cl, C—H⋯O, C—H⋯Cl and C—H⋯F hydrogen bonds and contacts.
Hypothesis of a Non-SNARE-Function of Syntaxin-5

The introduction of my PhD manuscript starts with describing plant and bacterial toxins (chapter 9.1), in particular Shiga toxin and Shiga-like toxins (SLTs) (chapter 9.1.2). Small molecule inhibitors of these toxins are summarized afterwards in chapter 9.1. 3, notably the Retro-2 compound. Since these toxins rely on intracellular trafficking to reach their molecular targets, a general overview of endocytosis and endosomal trafficking is provided (chapter 9.2). Next, the retrograde route entry is presented (chapter 9.2.5), with focus on clathrin, the retromer and GPP130, a protein that constantly cycles between Golgi, plasma membrane, and endosomes. SNARE proteins, particularly syntaxin-5 and syntaxin-16, are then introduced (chapter 9.2.6). After a brief section of the micro RNA family 199 (chapter 9.3), the introduction finishes with the description of some salient techniques that were used in my work, such as - bio-orthogonal Click-Chemistry, anterograde trafficking synchronization with the retention using selective hooks (RUSH) assay, and the antibody-based proximity ligation assay (chapter 10.6.1, 0, 10.11.1). Herein, my submitted publication opens the results part (chapter 11.1), in which I present the utility of biorthogonal click chemistry for the search of the cellular targets of Retro-2, a small molecule inhibitor that was previously shown to protect cells and animals against Shiga toxin and ricin. I describe that Sec16A is a likely cellular target candidate, and illustrate using the RUSH approach how interfering with Sec16A functions leads to the partial relocalization of syntaxin-5 to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) by slowing-down its anterograde transport. The second part of the paper describes how syntaxin-5 relocalization causes the inhibition of Shiga toxin trafficking from endosomes to the TGN. I present a novel interaction between syntaxin-5 and the Golgi protein GPP130, which both have been already described in relation to Shiga toxin trafficking. My work connects both trafficking factors in retrograde trafficking at the endosomes-TGN interface. Strikingly, I demonstrate that this interaction is most probably based on a non-SNARE function of syntaxin-5.In collaboration with Juan Francisco Aranda and Carlos Fernandez in the US, we put micro RNAs into an endogenous regulation context of Shiga toxin retrograde trafficking (chapter 11.2). An extended discussion will be given in chapter 12.Last, a general outlook of ongoing projects is given in the perspectives section (chapter 13), in which further collaborations are highlighted.Keywords: Retrograde transport, Shiga toxin, Shiga-like toxin (SLT), STxB, syntaxin-5, Sec16A, GPP130, Retro-2, Retro-2.1, azide-functionalized Retro-2, copper-free click chemistry, small molecule target identification, mass spectrometry, non-SNARE function, anterograde trafficking inhibition, miRNA, miR199, retromer, VPS26
FIRST RECORD OF AEDES (AEDIMORPHUS) VEXANS VEXANS (MEIGEN) IN AUSTRALIA

ABSTRACT Aedes (Aedimorphus) vexans vexans has become widely distributed in the Australasian and Oceanic Islands zoogeographic regions, and in this paper, we describe the 1st confirmed report of Ae. vexans vexans in Australia. A total of 45 adult individuals were collected around the town of Kununurra in the northeast Kimberley region of Western Australia during the late wet seasons between 1996 and 2003. The majority (84%) was collected at trap sites in or near the Ord Stage I Irrigation Area. Aedes vexans vexans was a minor component of the mosquito population, comprising <0.1% of the total number of adults collected during the study period. The absence of Ae. vexans vexans in earlier collections suggests that it has been recently introduced into northeast Kimberley, most likely by wind currents from the Indonesian archipelago or on occasional light aircraft arriving in Kununurra from nearby islands. The collection of adult Ae. vexans vexans every year since 2001 could indicate that this mosquito has become established in the Kununurra environs, possibly facilitated by the presence of year-round breeding sites created by the irrigation area. Encephalitogenic flaviviruses have been isolated from this species in North America, Europe, and Taiwan, and the vector competence of Ae. vexans vexans for arboviruses prevalent in northern Western Australia, particularly the flaviviruses Murray Valley encephalitis and Kunjin, should be investigated.
Expression of the narX, narL, narP, and narQ genes of Escherichia coli K-12: regulation of the regulators

The products of four Escherichia coli genes (narX, narL, narQ, and narP) regulate anaerobic respiratory gene expression in response to nitrate and nitrite. We used lacZ gene and operon fusions to monitor the expression of these nar regulatory genes in response to different growth conditions. Maximal expression of the narXL operon required molybdate, nitrate, and integration host factor. Expression of the narP and narQ genes was weakly repressed by nitrate. The NarL and NarP proteins were required for full nitrate induction of narXL operon expression, whereas the nitrate repression of narP and narQ expression was mediated solely by the NarL protein. narXL operon expression was unaffected by anaerobiosis, whereas expression of narP and narQ was induced approximately fourfold. The Fnr and ArcA proteins were not required for this anaerobic induction.
Global non-linear multigrid optimization for image analysis tasks

In this paper, comprehensive non-linear optimization algorithms for the minimization of global objective functions in image analysis tasks, are investigated. We explore several versions of the approach corresponding to different exploration strategies of the multiresolution structure. The efficiency of this general approach to global optimization in image processing is demonstrated on a highly non-linear MRF motion estimation model. We show, that, associated with a deterministic relaxation algorithm, very significant gains on the convergence speed and on the quality of the final solutions may be obtained. <<ETX>>
Software tools for automatic music performance

Two new computer programs are presented for the purpose of facilitating new research in music performance modeling. Director Musices (DM) is a new an implementation of the user interface for the KTH rule system. It includes a new integrated player and several other improvements. The automatic sampler facilitates the sampling of a MIDI-controlled instrument, such as the Disklavier piano from Yamaha. Both programs are open source, cross-platform written in Java and in the case of DM including also different lisp dialects.
Experiencing fuzzy exemplar-based classifier systems

The NGE model (implemented by EACH) is an incremental form of inductive learning from examples that generalizes a given training set into hypotheses represented as a set of hyperrectangles in an n-dimensional Euclidean space. The NGE algorithm can be considered a descendent of either NN or KNN algorithms. This paper focuses on a fuzzy version of the NGE algorithm, aiming at comparing its performance with a fuzzy version of the NN algorithm and, of the KNN algorithm.
Analyses of Ehrlichia canis and a canine granulocytic Ehrlichia infection

Ehrlichia canis and canine granulocytic Ehrlichia sp. (CGE) infect canine monocytes and granulocytes, respectively. E. canis has been cultured in vitro and used to develop an immunofluorescence assay. CGE has not been cultured, and a serologic assay is not available. The sera of dogs infected with CGE were reported to react with E. canis by immunofluorescence. In this study, the temporal response of immunoglobulin G (IgG) was determined by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with purified E. canis antigen in four dogs experimentally infected with E. canis, in two dogs experimentally infected with CGE, and in one dog infected with E. canis and subsequently infected with CGE. E. canis-infected dogs developed an IgG ELISA result of 1.5 or greater for the optical density signal/noise ratio by 2 months postinfection. CGE challenge of a dog with a previous E. canis infection induced an anamnestic increase in the IgG ELISA result; however, CGE infection alone did not induce a significant IgG ELISA response. Western immunoblot analysis showed that dogs infected with E. canis developed antibodies initially that reacted with low-molecular-mass proteins (30, 24, and 21 kDa) and subsequently with higher-molecular-mass proteins (160, 100, 78, 64, 47, and 40 kDa). In contrast, CGE-infected dogs showed reactions with the same higher-molecular-mass proteins of E. canis but, unlike E. canis-infected dogs, not with the low-molecular-mass proteins of E. canis. Of 10 serum samples collected in the field of Indonesia from dogs with tropical canine pancytopenia, all had an optical density signal minus noise value of 2.54 or greater in the IgG ELISA and reacted with E. canis antigen in a pattern similar to that of serum samples from dogs experimentally infected with E. canis in Western immunoblotting. This study suggests that the IgG ELISA and Western immunoblotting with purified E. canis as the antigen are useful in distinguishing between E. canis and CGE infections in dogs.