Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Automatic Segmentation of Intracranial Arteries in 4-Dimensional Phase Contrast Magnetic Resonance Angiography

The development of a highly effective phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging (PC-MRI) technique named phase-contrast vastly undersampled isotropic projection reconstruction (PC-VIPR) has improved the ability to image blood flow in the brain. The technique allows for the acquisition of temporally resolved volume images with high spatial resolution. Utilizing these improvements is of importance for diagnostic and research applications. The aim in this project was to investigate and implement PC-VIPR suitable segmentation techniques for blood flow quantification and labeling of blood vessels. The aim was to construct an automatic segmentation tool being able to accurately quantify blood flow and to label a few key arteries in the Circle of Willis. A vascular tree construction was performed in which the vascular tree was separated into individual branches. Four different methods of boundary detection of blood vessels were implemented and evaluated on their performance in quantifying blood flow based on conservation of mass principles and internal error. A labeling algorithm was constructed in which labels of a few key arteries were assigned. A total of ten subjects were analyzed to provide evaluation of the segmentation tool. The segmentation tool was constructed with complete automaticity. The best method for boundary detection showed an average mass conservation error of −0.9± 6.5 % where the internal carotid artery splits into the middle cerebral artery, the anterior cerebral artery and the posterior communicating artery. A labeling accuracy of 83 % was acquired. The results of the blood flow quantifications and the labeling of arteries were partly a result of the vascular tree construction, which were considered effective.
Theoretical Computer Science State Complexity of Unique Rational Operations

For each basic language operation we define its ''unique'' counterpart as being the operation that results in a language whose words can be obtained uniquely through the given operation. These unique operations can arguably be viewed as combined basic operations, placing this work in the popular area of state complexity of combined operations on regular languages. We study the state complexity of unique rational operations and we provide upper bounds and empirical results meant to cast light into this matter. Equally important, we hope to have provided a generic methodology for estimating their state complexity.
Freedom of Expression and the Internet

Cncil of Erope The Council of Europe is the continent’s leading human rights organisation. It includes 47 member states, 28 of which are members of the European Union. All Council of Europe member states have signed up to the European Convention on Human Rights, a treaty designed to protect human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The European Court of Human Rights oversees the implementation of the Convention in the member states. www.coe. int
Modeling Scene Interactions in Text 2 Scene

In this ongoing work, we investigate how to build out the scene interaction component of the Text2Scene system. In particular, we enhance the interactivity of the scene generation process by providing a natural language frontend, whereby a user can provide textual commands to iteratively alter a scene. Further, we provide descriptions of the preliminary work in using advanced semantic parsing techniques to improve the process of extracting, interpreting, and executing the semantic meaning of user textual commands.
Birth weight and childhood leukemia: A meta‐analysis and review of the current evidence

A growing body of evidence suggests that childhood leukemia may be initiated in utero when lymphoid and myeloid cells are not fully differentiated and are particularly susceptible to malignant transformation. A fixed effects meta‐analysis examining the association between birth weight and childhood leukemia was conducted including 32 studies and 16,501 cases of all types of leukemia (OL), 10,974 cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), and 1,832 cases of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The odd ratios (OR) for the association of high birth weight with OL, ALL and AML were 1.35 (95% CI: 1.24, 1.48), 1.23 (95% CI: 1.15, 1.32), and 1.40 (95% CI: 1.11, 1.76), respectively, compared with normal birth weight. Low birth weight was not associated with overall and ALL leukemia, but with AML (OR = 1.50; 95% CI: 1.05, 2.13). Per 1000 g increase in birth weight, the OR for OL was 1.18 (95% CI: 1.13, 1.23) and ALL 1.18 (95% CI: 1.12, 1.23). The combined available evidence from observational studies suggests that high birth weight is associated with an increased risk of overall leukemia and ALL. For AML the risk may be elevated at both high and low extremes of birth weight, suggesting a U‐shaped association. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Stochastic tracking in image sequences

Tracking features along image sequences is a Computer Vision problem which has evolved considerably in the last years. In fact, improvements have been made to try overcome difficult and ambiguous situations generated by cluttered backgrounds, occlusions, large geometric deformations, illumination variation or noisy data [1, 2]. On the other hand, with better computational and imaging resources, and the considerable research work done in the last decades, results are expected to be more accurate in the numerous applications of movement tracking, such as surveillance, analysis of objects’ deformation, medical image analysis and traffic monitoring [2, 3]. Usually, to track an object along an image sequence several measurements are made upon each image. However, those measurements do not always provide true values due to some of the above mentioned problems. The stochastic framework used in this work filters the imprecise measurements and maintains an estimation of the current state of an object. For that we have used the Kalman Filter and the more recent Unscented Kalman Filter [4]. To initialize such filters several assumptions should be made, but as results are obtained, the initial suppositions may be improved. In particular the dynamic model of the objects’ movement may be learned my means of hidden Markov models [5], and used to obtain more robust and precise estimates. In this work we will analyse the results obtained with the mentioned filters, as well as evaluate the influence of the used dynamic model. We will show that the proposed combination of approaches allows the successful tracking of complex motions with abrupt changes.
Cryptographically Secure Bloom-Filters

In this paper, we propose a privacy-preserving variant of Bloom-filters. The Bloom-filter has many applications such as hash-based IP-traceback systems and Web cache sharing. In some of those applications, equipping the Bloom-filter with the privacy-preserving mechanism is crucial for the deployment. In this paper, we propose a cryptographically secure privacy-preserving Bloom-filter protocol. We propose such two protocols based on blind signatures and oblivious pseudorandom functions, respectively. To show that the proposed protocols are secure, we provide a reasonable security definition and prove the security.
Public REITs' governance and regulatory structure: effects on NAV discount

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of the Italian real estate investment trusts (REITs)' governance and regulatory structure on the market prices discount to net asset values (NAV). Design/methodology/approach – The hypothesis is that the overall regulatory design and the rules for prudential vigilance (i.e. governance rights, closed‐end form, leverage constraints, and mandatory listing) influence REITs' share value, both as market price and as NAV). In particular, the analysis focuses on the effects of the recent introduction of a shareholders' meeting in the articles of association of newly established REITs that pursues a better alignment of interests between managers and shareholders.Findings – The original results show that the NAV discount decreases as long as time to maturity of the fund decreases. Conversely, the NAV discount is negatively affected by share turnover (as a proxy of the liquidity generated by the mandatory listing provision) and leverage. The regulato.
Anomalous Flux Ratios in Gravitational Lenses: For or against Cold Dark Matter?

We review the evidence for substructures from the anomalous flux ratios in gravitational lenses. Using high-resolution numerical simulations, we show that at typical image positions, the fraction of surface mass density in substructures is ≲0.5% with mass above 10-4 virial masses in the "concordance" ΛCDM cosmology. Substructures outside the virial radius (but projected at typical lens image positions) only increase the fraction moderately. Several effects, in particular baryonic settling and the requirement of compactness, may further decrease the predictions by a factor of few. The predicted fraction with appropriate properties thus appears to be lower than that required by lensing, although both are still uncertain. More speculative substructures such as massive black holes (M ~ 105-106 M☉) in the halo may offer viable alternatives.
Knowledge Sharing and Performance in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry

This paper is an attempt to determine the impact of knowledge sharing on organizational performance in the Oil and Gas industry in Nigeria. The sample size of 100 was based on the population of 300 staff drawn from each of the three Oil and Gas firms (Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, Petroleum Product Marketing Company; and Integrated Data Service Limited) in the Oil and Gas industry in Edo State, Nigeria. The paper employed a survey design. Questionnaire was the main tool used to gather data. Regression was done using Econometric view-7. The paper revealed that: knowledge sharing was highly positively related with organizational performance in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria; and Organizational performance in the oil and gas industry would manifest in terms of better financial performance, improved marketing of the organizational output, better supplier support, process efficiency and cost reductions if knowledge sharing was managed well. The paper recommends that: knowledge sharing practices be encouraged, managed and properly documented to improve organizational performance; employees’ efficiency should be enhanced through training; and Organisations should reward managers for providing the necessary support to employees who share their knowledge. Keywords : Knowledge sharing, performance, oil &gas and industry
The Role of Ctk1 Kinase in Termination of Small Non-Coding RNAs

Transcription termination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae can be performed by at least two distinct pathways and is influenced by the phosphorylation status of the carboxy-terminal domain (CTD) of RNA polymerase II (Pol II). Late termination of mRNAs is performed by the CPF/CF complex, the recruitment of which is dependent on CTD-Ser2 phosphorylation (Ser2P). Early termination of shorter cryptic unstable transcripts (CUTs) and small nucleolar/nuclear RNAs (sno/snRNAs) is performed by the Nrd1-Nab3-Sen1 (NNS) complex that binds phosphorylated CTD-Ser5 (Ser5P) via the CTD-interacting domain (CID) of Nrd1p. In this study, mutants of the different termination pathways were compared by genome-wide expression analysis. Surprisingly, the expression changes observed upon loss of the CTD-Ser2 kinase Ctk1p are more similar to those derived from alterations in the Ser5P-dependent NNS pathway, than from loss of CTD-Ser2P binding factors. Tiling array analysis of ctk1Δ cells reveals readthrough at snoRNAs, at many cryptic unstable transcripts (CUTs) and stable uncharacterized transcripts (SUTs), but only at some mRNAs. Despite the suggested predominant role in termination of mRNAs, we observed that a CTK1 deletion or a Pol II CTD mutant lacking all Ser2 positions does not result in a global mRNA termination defect. Rather, termination defects in these strains are widely observed at NNS-dependent genes. These results indicate that Ctk1p and Ser2 CTD phosphorylation have a wide impact in termination of small non-coding RNAs but only affect a subset of mRNA coding genes.
A 5 GHz direct-conversion receiver with DC offset correction

This paper describes the design of a 5 GHz direct-conversion receiver with active DC offset correction targeted at the IEEE802.11a wireless LAN standard and to be fabricated in IBM's 0.5 /spl mu/m 50 GHz BiCMOS technology with analog metal option. The receiver has a simulated voltage conversion gain of 25 dB at 5.25 GHz, noise figure of 4.7 dB, IIP3 of -9 dBm, IIP2 of +42 dBm and draws 16.1 mA of current from a 2.75 V supply. The addition of DC offset correction circuitry reduces the differential DC offset voltage to less than 1.5% of the uncorrected offset.
Stay-in-touch: a system for ambient social reminders

Social interactions among a group of friends will typically have a certain recurring rhythm. Most people interact with their own circle of friends at a range of different rates, and through a range of different modalities (by phone, instant messaging, face-to-face meetings etc.). When these naturally recurring interactions are maintained effectively, people feel at ease with the quality and stability of their social network. Conversely, when a person has not interacted with one of their friends for a longer period than they usually do, a problem can be identified in that relationship which may require action to fix. We present Stay-in-touch, an ambient information system which provides peripheral cues to the user which serve as occasional recommendations of which of their friends they should contact soon in order to keep their social network in a healthy state.
Adaptive optical transmission for dynamic optical networks

Efforts towards commercializing higher-speed optical transmission have demonstrated the need for advanced modulation formats, several of which require similar transceiver hardware architecture. Adaptive transceivers can be built which have different operational configurations controlled by software. These software-defined transceiver configurations support a set of specific modulation / demodulation formats, with respective data rates and tolerances to system impairments, as well as sets of electronic digital signal processing schemes, chosen to best function in a given network environment. In this paper, we discuss possibilities and advantages of reconfigurable and dynamically-adaptive transceivers, and their potential applications in future optical networks.
Accurate power control and monitoring in ZYNQ boards

ZYNQ devices combine a dual-core ARM Cortex A9 processor and a FPGA fabric in the same die and in different power domains. In this paper we investigate the run-time power scaling capabilities of these devices using of-the-shelf boards and proposed accurate and fine-grained power control and monitoring techniques. The experimental results show that both software and hardware methods are possible and the right selection can yield different results in terms of control and monitoring speeds, accuracy of measurement, power consumption, and area overhead. The results also demonstrate that significant power margins are available in the FPGA device with different voltage configurations possible. This can be used to complement traditional voltage scaling techniques applied to the processor domain to obtain hybrid energy proportional computing platforms.
ROD SATURATION IN b-WAVE OF THE RAT ELECTRORETINOGRAM UNDER TWO DIFFERENT ANESTHETICS

B-wave increment threshold experiments in the rat show that “rod saturation’. occurs at different background levels with different anesthetics. Rod saturation builds up over the tirst 60 set of light adaptation in pentobarbital anesthetized but not in urethane anesthetized animals. These and other findings suggest that -‘rod saturation” can occur when the rod photoreceptors themselves are not saturated. Rod saturation Rat retina Erg b-wave Anesthetics
The federal funds rate and the implementation of monetary policy: estimating the Federal Reserve's reaction function

Several recent studies have reached quite different conclusions about which variable is the best indicator of the stance of monetary policy. These differences likely reflect varying assumptions about bank and Federal Reserve behavior. This paper takes a detailed and comprehensive look at the implementation of monetary policy and the identification of monetary policy shocks. The paper first outlines a general analytical model for studying and evaluating monetary policy procedures. The model is then used to estimate both the Fed's operational policy objectives and its intermediate objectives. The results can be summarized as follows: First, monetary policy shocks over the past several years have primarily affected the federal funds rate, even during periods when the Fed was reportedly targeting reserves. In addition, the paper finds a statistically-significant liquidity effect in all periods examined, although the effect is quite small. Finally, there is statistical evidence that suggests that the Fed's intermediate objectives have not been stable over time, and these differences appear to be economically important. Taken together, these results indicate that while monetary policy shocks can be uncovered by regressing the funds rate on appropriate variables in the Fed's information set, the reaction function should be estimated over subperiods rather than over the entire 1959-1993 period.
Distributed information fusion filter with intermittent observations

We present a robust distributed fusion algorithm with intermittent observations via an interacting multiple model (IMM) approach and sliding window strategy that can be applied to a large-scale sensor network. The communication channel is modelled as a jump Markov system and a posterior probability distribution for communication channel characteristics is calculated and incorporated into the filter to allow distributed Kalman filtering to automatically handle the intermittent observation situations. To implement distributed Kalman filtering, a Kalman-Consensus filter (KCF) is then used to obtain the average consensus based on the estimates of distributed sensors over a large-scale sensor network. From a target-tracking example for a large-scale sensor network with intermittent observations, the advantages of proposed algorithms are subsequently verified.
Park Here! a smart parking system based on smartphones' embedded sensors and short range Communication Technologies

Nowadays, the convergence of Internet of Things (IoT) networking and mobile applications is favoring the deployment of novel and advanced smart parking systems through which users can be informed in real-time about the presence of vacant parking spots close to their destinations. In this paper, we provide an example of such opportunity, by describing Park Here! , a novel mobile application that aims at mitigating the overhead caused by parking spot seeking operations in urban areas. Our solution targets common city environments, where no per-spot sensors are available, and there is no remote service allowing the reservation in-advance of a parking spot. For this scenario, we propose a novel algorithm for the automatic detection of parking actions performed by the user, through the analysis of smartphone embedded sensors' (accelerometer/gyroscope), and of the Bluetooth connectivity. Once a parking event has been detected, an adaptive strategy allows disseminating the information over the target scenario, using a combination of Internet connection to a remote server, and Device-to-Device (D2D) connections over WiFi Direct links. Preliminary experiments demonstrate the accuracy of the proposed algorithm in correctly identifying parking events in an automatic way, and hence in notifying information to other potentially interested users.
Finite element modeling for heat transfer processes using the method of integro-differential relations with applications in control engineering

Control design of spatially distributed thermal systems is a task that is necessary for a large variety of engineering applications. Early lumping techniques, that are applicable in this case, follow the methodology of first discretizing the infinite-dimensional system model and subsequently using the discretized model for a finite-dimensional control design. For that purpose, the governing partial differential equations are commonly reduced to a finite-dimensional set of ordinary differential equations. In this paper, the corresponding task is solved by an optimization-based version of the Method of Integro-Differential Relations (MIDR). On the one hand, the MIDR allows one to quantify and systematically influence the approximation quality and, on the other hand, to use the resulting models directly for control and state observer design. In the following, the MIDR is applied to a fundamental problem of linear heat transfer in tube-like structures for which cylindrical coordinates are a suitable choice for modeling the dynamic behavior in all three space directions. Illustrative simulation results of fundamental control and state estimation approaches conclude this paper. These simulation results serve as the basis for a future experimental validation of the presented modeling techniques on a laboratory test rig that is currently being built up at the Chair of Mechatronics at the University of Rostock.
E-Cadherin Regulates Neural Stem Cell Self-Renewal

E-Cadherin, a cell adhesion protein, has been shown to take part in the compartmentalization, proliferation, survival, and differentiation of cells. E-Cadherin is expressed in the adult and embryonic forebrain germinal zones in vivo, and in clonal colonies of cells derived from these regions and grown in vitro. Mice carrying E-Cadherin floxed genes crossed to mice expressing Cre under the Nestin promoter demonstrate defects in the self-renewal of neural stem cells both in vivo and in vitro. The functional role of E-Cadherin is further demonstrated using adhesion-blocking antibodies in vitro, which specifically target cadherin extracellular adhesive domains. Adult neural stem cell colonies decrease in the presence of E-Cadherin antibodies in a dosage-dependent manner, in contrast to P-Cadherin antibody. On overexpression of normal E-Cadherin and a mutated E-Cadherin, containing no intracellular binding domain, an increased number of clonal adult neural stem cell colonies are observed. These data suggest it is specifically E-Cadherin adhesion that is responsible for these self-renewal effects. These data show the importance of E-Cadherin in the neural stem cell niche and suggest E-Cadherin regulates the number of these cells.
THE EFFECTS OF THE DUTCH DISEASE IN RUSSIA

This paper shows how the Dutch Disease has affected the Russian economy since the start of the transition in the early 1990s. Four symptoms have been detected, namely: 1) a real exchange rate appreciation, 2) a temporary improved economic situation, 3) an output decline in the non-booming-sector, 4) an export reduction in the non-booming-sector. An extended version of the Balassa-Samuelson model has been implemented to test symptom 1. Our results suggest a positive long-run cointegration relationship between the real exchange rate and the oil price. A 7% real appreciation is caused by a 10% oil price shock. Moreover, a 10% increase in oil prices leads to a 2% GDP growth, while a 10% real appreciation is associated with a 2.1% output decline. The total effect on GDP growth, considering the Balassa-Samuelson effect, confirms symptom 2. Finally, the domestic industrial production drops and high-tech and textile exports are crowed out. This indicates that the Russian economy is also affected by symptoms 3 and 4. We conclude that Russia's government should invest the tax revenues collected from the resource sector such that the structure of the economy becomes more diversified and less vulnerable to exogenous shocks.