Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Second-Order State-Variable Filter with Current Operational Amplifiers

A design of the second-order filter based on the state-variable canonic structure is described. The filter operates in current mode and offers low-pass and band-pass transfer functions simultaneously. Current operational amplifiers are used as main active building blocks. An analysis of the influence of amplifier real properties on the filter characteristics is presented. The shifts of filter poles and appearance of new parasitic zeros is observed. Computer simulation with a bipolar model of current operational amplifier was used for verification of the filter functionality.
A Projector-Camera System for Augmented Card Playing and a Case Study with the Pelmanism Game

In this article, we propose a system for augmented card playing with a projector and a camera to add playfulness and increase communication among players of a traditional card game. The functionalities were derived on the basis of a user survey session with actual players. Playing cards are recognized using a video camera on the basis of a template matching without any artificial marker with an accuracy of > 0.96. Players are also tracked to provide person-dependent services using a video camera from the direction of their hands appearing over a table. These functions are provided as an API; therefore, the user of our system, i.e., a developer, can easily augment playing card games. The Pelmanism game was augmented on top of the system to validate the concept of augmentation. The results showed the feasibility of the system’s performance in an actual environment and the potential of enhancing playfulness and communication among players. Received on 14 April 2016; accepted on 02 July 2016; published on 17 May 2017
Probabilistic Pronunciation Variation Model Based on Bayesian Network for Conversational Speech Recognition

This paper reports on an ongoing study on modeling pronunciation variation for conversational speech recognition, in which the mapping from canonical pronunciations (baseforms) to the actual/realized phoneme (surface forms) is modeled by a Bayesian network. The advantage of this graphical model framework is that the probabilistic relationship between baseforms, surface forms, and any additional knowledge sources can be learned in a unified manner. Thus, we can easily incorporate various additional knowledge sources from different domains. In this preliminary study, we investigate the dependency of surface forms on the current, preceding and succeeding base- form phonemes, the position of current baseform phoneme in the word, and also whether or not the preceding surface phoneme was deleted. The performance of the proposed method was evaluated using spontaneous telephone conversations from a portion of the Switchboard corpus. Experimental results show that this method provides consistent improvement in word accuracy over the standard pronunciation dictionary.
Optimizing stereo‐to‐multiview conversion for autostereoscopic displays

We present a novel stereo‐to‐multiview video conversion method for glasses‐free multiview displays. Different from previous stereo‐to‐multiview approaches, our mapping algorithm utilizes the limited depth range of autostereoscopic displays optimally and strives to preserve the scene's artistic composition and perceived depth even under strong depth compression. We first present an investigation of how perceived image quality relates to spatial frequency and disparity. The outcome of this study is utilized in a two‐step mapping algorithm, where we (i) compress the scene depth using a non‐linear global function to the depth range of an autostereoscopic display and (ii) enhance the depth gradients of salient objects to restore the perceived depth and salient scene structure. Finally, an adapted image domain warping algorithm is proposed to generate the multiview output, which enables overall disparity range extension.
Use of Chicken Models for the Analysis of Human Disease

The chicken has been a valuable model organism for genetic analysis since early in the last century. This unit provides an overview of the primary strategic approaches through which the chicken is used as a model for human genetics and disease. These approaches are reviewed with key advantages and disadvantages noted for each. In addition, the chicken offers a model system for several human inherited diseases, both single gene‐based and complex traits. This unit briefly describes two such models as examples: autoimmune pathology causing Hashimoto's thyroiditis and sex‐linked dwarfism.
Psychological autopsy of 101 suicide cases from northwest region of India

Background: The present study was conducted by the Department Of Psychiatry, Govt. Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh, to investigate suicide cases during the year 2003. Aim: To assess the socio-demographic characteristics, psychosocial factors, and psychiatric and physical comorbidity associated with completed suicide. Materials and Methods: One hundred one suicide cases were assessed using semi-structured proforma for recording socio-demographic profile, psychosocial variables, and treatment details. Results: Majority (59.4%) of suicide victims were in the age group of 20 to 29 years. Males (57.4%) slightly outnumbered females (42.57%) in this study. As many as 57.4% of the subjects had migrated from other parts of India. Hanging was the most common method used by the suicide victims (72.2%). Psycho-social stressors were found in 61 (60.3%) suicide victims. Psychiatric illness was found in 34 cases (33.6%). However, out of them only 16 (48.5%) suicide victims sought treatment prior to the attempt. As many as 57.4% of the subjects had shown behavioral change before the suicidal attempt. Conclusions: Our study suggests that specific focus in suicide prevention strategies should be on migrant population.
Geometric and electronic structure differences between the type 3 copper sites of the multicopper oxidases and hemocyanin/tyrosinase

The coupled binuclear “type 3” Cu sites are found in hemocyanin (Hc), tyrosinase (Tyr), and the multicopper oxidases (MCOs), such as laccase (Lc), and play vital roles in O2 respiration. Although all type 3 Cu sites share the same ground state features, those of Hc/Tyr have very different ligand-binding properties relative to those of the MCOs. In particular, the type 3 Cu site in the MCOs (LcT3) is a part of the trinuclear Cu cluster, and if the third (i.e., type 2) Cu is removed, the LcT3 site does not react with O2. Density functional theory calculations indicate that O2 binding in Hc is ≈9 kcal mol−1 more favorable than for LcT3. The difference is mostly found in the total energy difference of the deoxy states (≈7 kcal mol−1), where the stabilization of deoxy LcT3 derives from its long equilibrium Cu–Cu distance of ≈5.5–6.5 Å, relative to ≈4.2 Å in deoxy Hc/Tyr. The O2 binding in Hc is driven by the electrostatic destabilization of the deoxy Hc site, in which the two Cu(I) centers are kept close together by the protein for facile 2-electron reduction of O2. Alternatively, the lack of O2 reactivity in LcT3 reflects the flexibility of the active site, capable of minimizing the electrostatic repulsion of the 2 Cu(I)s. Thus, the O2 reactivity of the MCOs is intrinsic to the trinuclear Cu cluster, leading to different O2 intermediates as required by its function of irreversible reduction of O2 to H2O.
Predictive Validity of Conjoint Analysis Results based on Best-Worst Scaling compared with Results based on Ranks Data

The time-consuming nature of Best-Worst deriving scales for a conjoint analysis study leads the authors to question if ranked data, which could be translated into equivalent B-W scores, might be nearly as useful. Respondents answered a B-W scaling task regarding a familiar, highly involving product category, and then two-weeks later did a sorting task on the same fractional factorial array. Conjoint analysis coefficients were calculated and values were forecast for four holdout profiles. Kendall's tau measured the extent that the holdout ranks were reproduced in conjoint predictions. Results suggest that overall the rank data were comparable to the B-W data, but with greater variance.
Empirical Studies on Embodied Conversational Agents

A great deal of effort has been put into developing Embodied Conversational Agent (ECA) systems that provide a human-like assistant in the user interface. However, little is known whether improvements to ECA interfaces made by such efforts can ever be significant from the user's point of view. Do users really expect, perceive and treat ECAs as equal conversational partners? Can ECA interfaces have advantages in terms of users' task performance and satisfaction over traditional interfaces, besides entertainment value? Where is the bottleneck for creating both believable and useful ECAs? To address these questions, I studied user experiences with ECA interfaces and evaluated the ECA style of interaction with respect to user expectation, perception, behavior and performance. I introduce a conceptual framework that offers a holistic view of the design space of ECA systems. I also have created a middleware toolkit that facilitates rapid development of application content across different speech and animation platforms. A series of user studies has been carried out to investigate the similarities and differences between human-computer interaction and human-ECA interaction and between human-ECA interaction and human-human interaction. Results from these studies provide strong evidence that people are consciously aware of the capabilities and limitations of ECAs. Traditional GUI design heuristics should be carefully followed when designing ECA interfaces. Furthermore, the results soundly suggest that designers of ECA interfaces take extra care to accommodate individual differences and preferences. Social norms that guide human-human interaction greatly affect individual's expectation and perception of ECA characteristics. The findings support the argument that drawing from both human-computer interaction and human-human interaction can be significantly advantageous to the design of both effective and affective human-ECA interaction.
Measuring stress resilience and coping in vulnerable youth: the Social Competence Interview.

A brief interview to measure stress coping capabilities was developed and tested in 4 samples of African American and White adolescents in low-income neighborhoods of 2 large U.S. cities. The Social Competence Interview (SCI) is a 10-min social stressor that assesses physiological and social-emotional responses to a recurring real-life problem. A new behavioral coding system using audiotapes permits reliable and valid assessment of components of social competence, including Interpersonal Skills (expressiveness, empathy), Goal-Oriented Strivings in coping (self defense, social acceptance, competitiveness, stimulation-pleasure, approval, self improvement), and Social Impact (high vs. low affiliation/control). High SCI expressiveness and self-defensive striving create a critical-aggressive social impact, which is correlated with increased hostility and anger.
Protective Effect of Parvalbumin on Excitotoxic Motor Neuron Death

The mechanism responsible for the selective vulnerability of motor neurons in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is poorly understood. Several lines of evidence indicate that susceptibility of motor neurons to Ca(2+) overload induced by excitotoxic stimuli is involved. In this study, we investigated whether the high density of Ca(2+)-permeable AMPA receptors on motor neurons gives rise to higher Ca(2+) transients in motor neurons compared to dorsal horn neurons. Dorsal horn neurons were chosen as controls as these cells do not degenerate in ALS. In cultured spinal motor neurons, the rise of the cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration induced by kainic acid (KA) and mediated by the AMPA receptor was almost twice as high as in spinal neurons from the dorsal horn. Furthermore, we investigated whether increasing the motor neuron's cytosolic Ca(2+)-buffering capacity protects them from excitotoxic death. To obtain motor neurons with increased Ca(2+) buffering capacity, we generated transgenic mice overexpressing parvalbumin (PV). These mice have no apparent phenotype. PV overexpression was present in the central nervous system, kidney, thymus, and spleen. Motor neurons from these transgenic mice expressed PV in culture and were partially protected from KA-induced death as compared to those isolated from nontransgenic littermates. PV overexpression also attenuated KA-induced Ca(2+) transients, but not those induced by depolarization. We conclude that the high density of Ca(2+)-permeable AMPA receptors on the motor neuron's surface results in high Ca(2+) transients upon stimulation and that the low cytosolic Ca(2+)-buffering capacity of motor neurons may contribute to the selective vulnerability of these cells in ALS. Overexpression of a high-affinity Ca(2+) buffer such as PV protects the motor neuron from excitotoxicity and this protective effect depends upon the mode of Ca(2+) entry into the cell.
Late 2nd Millennium BC Feasting at an Ancient Ceremonial Centre in Jordan

Abstract Mortuary remains at Tall al- 'Umayri and its hinterland, from the Early Bronze Age IB onwards, include ceremonial architecture and portable artefacts spanning the Bronze and Iron Ages. A large, dense collection of animal bone fragments associated with LB/Iron Age feasting provides evidence of a participatory, seasonal event involving a large group of people and animals. Assessment of the tell and hinterland together provides evidence of a sacred zone around a perennial water source at the base of 'Umayri, where people brought their herds periodically to engage in social and ceremonial events at temple/shrines under the protection of the ancestors.
Complete Genome Sequence of the First Aichi Virus Isolated in Taiwan

ABSTRACT The first Aichi virus (AiV), kvgh99012632/2010, was identified in Taiwan. The entire genome of the AiV isolate was sequenced and compared to known AiV sequences. Genome alignment revealed that the Taiwan AiV strain shares 96.3% nucleotide and 99% amino acid identities with the German strain D/VI2287/2004.
The P2Y1 Receptor Is Normal in a Patient Presenting a Severe Deficiency of ADP-induced Platelet Aggregation

Summary ADP is a key stimulus inducing platelet shape change and aggregation, a rise in internal calcium and inhibition of adenylyl cyclase. These signaling pathways are thought to be activated by three independent receptors, but to date only the P2Y1 receptor responsible for calcium mobilization and the ionotropic P21 receptor have been identified. We report here the characteristics of the P2Y1 receptor in a patient presenting a selective deficiency of ADP-induced aggregation. Cloning of the P2Y1 gene revealed that the patient’s DNA and mRNA were normal. Pharmacological studies showed that the P2Y1 receptor was expressed and functional in patient’s platelets. Hence, the P2Y1 receptor is not the cause of the impaired ADP-induced platelet aggregation in this patient. The P21 mRNA was also found to be present and normal. These findings add evidence to previous observations suggesting that a third P2 receptor coupled to adenylyl cyclase may be involved in ADP-induced platelet aggregation.
Linked Open Data and Ontology Infrastructure for Second World War History

Data about the Second World War (WW2) is heterogeneous and distributed in different organizations and countries. This paper argues that in order to create aggregated global views of the war, a shared semantic infrastructure is needed, including data models of the real world events, metadata schemas for presenting their documentation, a data harmonization model for data aggregation, and shared domain ontologies for populating the schemas in an interoperable way. As a solution, a Linked Open Data service is presented for publishing data about Finland in WW2. The service is based on W3C Semantic Web standards and best practices, including content negotiation, SPARQL API, download, automatic documentation, and other services supporting re-use of the data. The ontologies and data in the service, totalling ca. 9 million triples, is in use in seven end-user applications of the WarSampo portal, that have had tens of thousands of end-users.
Computed Tomographic Findings of Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157 Infection: An Analysis of a 7-Case Regional Outbreak

Purpose We experienced an outbreak of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) colitis. The purpose of this study was to reveal the computed tomographic (CT) findings on EHEC colitis. Methods The subjects were 7 patients with EHEC colitis, which was caused by eating a contaminated Japanese rice cake. Contrast CT was performed on all patients. Two radiologists evaluated the CT findings (the thickness of colon wall, the range of thickened colon, and the existence of dirty fat signs around the colon, ascites, and swelling of lymph nodes), in accordance with our PACS system. Results Wall swelling of the proximal colon from cecum to ascending colon was noted in all patients. Small intestine lesions were not noted in any cases. Conclusions We should consider EHEC infection as part of a differential diagnosis when the findings of severe right colitis are seen without enteritis.
Sulfur Assimilatory Metabolism. The Long and Smelling Road1

Sulfur represents the ninth and least abundant essential macronutrient in plants, preceded by carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. The dry matter of sulfur in plants is only about one-fifteenth of that of nitrogen. Both sulfur and nitrogen are necessary to be assimilated into organic metabolites. While nitrogen is mainly used for structural macromolecules, sulfur plays critical roles in the catalytic or electrochemical functions of the biomolecules in cells.
METHOD , EFFECTIVENESS , AND COMPLICATIONS OF HIGH INTENSITY FOCUSED ULTRASOUND ( HIFU ) ABLATION ON HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA ( HCC ) TREATMENT

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers in the world. High intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) plays an important role in treatment of HCC. HIFU has two methods in tumor treatment, which have thermal and mechanical effects. The absorption of ultrasound energy causes a rise in temperature at the target point of the tumor. Although necrosis occurs, tissue located near the target tumor is not destroyed. Mechanical effects produce acoustic cavitations, causing tumors to be destroyed by microbubble formation. Many clinical trials have revealed that HIFU is an effective and safe procedure for HCC ablation, both in short-term and long-term follow-up. HIFU showed a good response rate in patients suffering from HCC damage, and improved several parameters in HCC treatment. The common complications of HIFU found in many clinical trials were slight fever, localized pain, and skin burns. However, patients recovered within a few weeks after treatment as severe or major complications were minimally observed. Nevertheless, further study to support the efficacy and safety of HIFU in a larger number of cancer patients will be necessary before it can be used in treatment for other cancers. This review will investigate the use of HIFU for treatment of HCC, and will describe the method, effectiveness, and complications of HIFU.
Caciques as Placeholders in the Guaraní Missions of Eighteenth Century Paraguay

This essay uses census data from the eighteenth century to examine the leadership role of caciques in the Guaraní missions. Cacique succession between 1735 and 1759 confirms that the position of cacique transitioned from the Guaraníes’ flexible interpretation of hereditary succession to the Jesuits’ rigid idea of primogenitor (father to eldest son) succession. This essay argues that scholars overstate the caciques’ leadership role in the Guaraní missions. Adherence to primogenitor succession did not take into account a candidate's leadership qualities, and thus, some caciques functioned as placeholders for organizing the mission population and calculating tribute and not as active leaders. An assortment of other Guaraní leadership positions compensated for this weakness by providing both access to leadership roles for non-caciques who possessed leadership qualities but not the proper bloodline and additional leadership opportunities for more capable caciques. By taking into account leadership qualities and not just descent, these positions provided flexibility and reflected continuity with pre-contact Guaraní ideas about leadership.
Histopathologic Findings in Peripheral Vestibular System From Patients With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Human Temporal Bone Study

Hypothesis: We hypothesized that a pathologic condition exists in vestibular hair cells in human temporal bones from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Background: A significant association between sensorineural hearing loss and autoimmune disease has been reported. Patients with SLE also frequently have vestibular symptoms whose pathophysiologic mechanism is unclear. Methods: We examined 15 temporal bone samples from 8 patients with SLE, along with 21 samples from 17 age-matched healthy control patients. The samples were serially sectioned in the horizontal plane and stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Using differential interference contrast microscopy, we counted the number of type I and type II hair cells in the saccular macula, the utricular macula, and the cristae of the three semicircular canals; then, we calculated the hair cell density (cells per 0.01 mm2). Results: The mean density of type I hair cells in our SLE group was significantly lower than in our control group in the saccular macula, in the utricular macula, and in the superior, lateral, and posterior semicircular canals. But in all five vestibular sensory epithelia, the mean density of type II hair cells did not significantly differ between our two groups. In our SLE group, the mean density of vestibular hair cells did not significantly correlate with the patient's age at death or with the duration of SLE. Conclusion: Type I hair cells in peripheral vestibular organs are affected in patients with SLE. Our findings could provide a pathologic basis for the difficulty with balance experienced by patients with SLE.
FPGA implementation of a digital controller for a dc-dc converter using floating point arithmetic

This paper presents the implementation of a digital controller in an FPGA for a switching power converter. The digital controller is described using a Hardware Description Language (VHDL) and uses floating point arithmetic what makes straightforward the implementation with regard to fixed-point implementations. The use of the recently approved VHDL 1076-2008 standard that includes a floating point package in this procedure shortens the design cycle. The ADVance MS mixed-signal simulation tool is used to simulate the closed loop system as a whole in order to analyze the impact of the quantization effects and loop delays in the control system performance. Finally, the digital circuit is implemented in the FPGA, and the simulations are experimentally verified.