Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fusion-based restoration of the underwater images

In this paper we introduce a novel strategy that effectively enhance the visibility of underwater images. Our method is build-up on the fusion strategy that takes a sequence of inputs derived from the initial image. Practically, our fusion-based method aims to yield a final image that overcomes the deficiencies existing in the degraded input images by employing several weight maps that discriminate the regions characterized by poor visibility. The extensive experiments demonstrate the utility of our solution since the visibility range of the underwater images is significantly increased by improving both the scene contrast and the color appearance.
The microstructural tensile properties and biochemical composition of the bovine distal femoral growth plate

The tensile properties of distal femoral growth plates from 12‐month‐old cows were determined on uniformily prepared straight bone‐growth plate‐bone specimens (7 × 7 mm2 in cross‐section) from predetermined anatomical sites on the physis. Each specimen was distracted to failure using a computer‐controlled servo‐hydraulic testing machine at a strain rate of 0.004 s−1. It was found that the exponential constitutive law, using finite deformation formulation for strain, provides an excellent description of the stress‐strain behavior of all the specimens up to the point of failure. The ultimate stress and both tangent moduli (i.e., the toe region tangent modulus and the tangent modulus calculated at 75% of ultimate strain) varied with anatomical site. The anterior region was the strongest, followed by the posterior/lateral. The anterior and posterior/lateral regions were also the stiffest, whereas the posterior/medial and center regions were the weakest and most compliant. The bone‐growth plate‐bone specimen exhibited a low ultimate strain (13.8% ± 6%) that did not vary significantly throughout the growth plate. This result suggests that disruption of the physis may occur in vivo even at the lower distractions currently recommended for the clinical chondrodiatasis procedure for leg lengthening. The biochemical composition of the growth plate in the anatomical regions correlated well with the tensile properties. There was a greater collagen content in the regions that were the stiffest and strongest. The gross morphology of the growth plate of the bovine distal femur is also described in this study. There is a regular pattern to the undulations of the physis at several dimensional levels. Histologic findings showed that orientation of the hypertrophic cell columns and transphyseal septa are aligned nearly parallel to the longitudinal axis of the diaphyseal shaft. This column orientation is not affected by the undulation of the primary contour of the physis, which at certain locations may be inclined as much as 60° relative to the diaphyseal axis. The orientation of the hypertrophic cell columns appears to be one of the dominant microstructural features influencing the tensile behavior of the bone‐growth plate‐bone specimens.
Induction of HIV-1-specific mucosal immune responses following intramuscular recombinant adenovirus serotype 26 HIV-1 vaccination of humans.

BACKGROUND Defining mucosal immune responses and inflammation to candidate human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) vaccines represents a current research priority for the HIV-1 vaccine field. In particular, it is unclear whether intramuscular immunization can elicit immune responses at mucosal surfaces in humans. METHODS In this double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial, we evaluated systemic and mucosal immune responses to a candidate adenovirus serotype 26 (Ad26) vectored HIV-1 envelop (Env) vaccine in baseline Ad26-seronegative and Ad26-seropositive healthy volunteers. Systematic mucosal sampling with rectal Weck-Cel sponges and rectal biopsies were performed. RESULTS Intramuscular immunization elicited both systemic and mucosal Env-specific humoral and cellular immune responses in the majority of subjects. Individuals with preexisting Ad26-specific neutralizing antibodies had vaccine-elicited immune responses comparable to those of subjects who were Ad26 seronegative. We also observed no increase in activated total or vector-specific mucosal CD4+ T lymphocytes following vaccination by either histopathology or flow cytometry. CONCLUSIONS These data demonstrate that a single intramuscular administration of this Ad26-vectored HIV-1 Env vaccine elicited both systemic and mucosal immune responses in humans. Induction of antigen-specific humoral and cellular mucosal immunity was not accompanied by a detectable increase in mucosal inflammation. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION NCT01103687.
Design Robust Fuzzy Sliding Mode Control Technique for Robot Manipulator Systems with Modeling Uncertainties

This paper describes the design and implementation of robust nonlinear sliding mode control strategies for robot manipulators whose dynamic or kinematic models are uncertain. Therefore a fuzzy sliding mode tracking controller for robot manipulators with uncertainty in the kinematic and dynamic models is design and analyzes. The controller is developed based on the unit quaternion representation so that singularities associated with the otherwise commonly used three parameter representations are avoided. Simulation results for a planar application of the continuum or hyper-redundant robot manipulator (CRM) are provided to illustrate the performance of the developed adaptive controller. These manipulators do not have rigid joints, hence, they are difficult to model and this leads to significant challenges in developing high-performance control algorithms. In this research, a joint level controller for continuum robots is described which utilizes a fuzzy methodology component to compensate for dynamic uncertainties.
Formation of Hydrogen Peroxide and Reduction of Peroxynitrite via Dismutation of Superoxide at Reperfusion Enhances Myocardial Blood Flow and Oxygen Consumption in Postischemic Mouse Heart

Reactive oxygen/nitrogen species suppress myocardial oxygen consumption. In this study, we determined that endogenous hydrogen peroxide through dismutation of superoxide enhances postischemic myocardial blood perfusion and oxygen consumption. Electron paramagnetic resonance oximetry was applied to monitor in vivo tissue Po2 in mouse heart subjected to regional ischemia reperfusion. Heart rate, arterial blood pressure, blood flow, infarction, and activities of mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase and cytochrome c oxidase were measured in six groups of wild-type (WT) and endothelial nitricoxide synthase knock-out (eNOS-/-) mice treated with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), superoxide dismutase mimetic (SODm) M40403 [a manganese(II)-bis(cyclohexylpyridine)-substituted macrocyclic superoxide dismutase mimetic, C21H35Cl2MnN5], 10006329 EUK 134 [EUK134, manganese 3-methoxy N,N1-bis(salicyclidene)ethylenediamine chloride], and SODm plus glibenclamide to study the protective effect of hydrogen peroxide via dismutation of superoxide on the activation of sarcolemmal potassium channels. In the PBS group, there was an overshoot of tissue Po2 after reperfusion. Treatment with SODm, EUK134, and SODm + glibenclamide protected mitochondrial enzyme activities, reduced infarct size, and suppressed the postischemic hyperoxygenation. In particular, in the SODm-treated group, there was a transient peak of tissue Po2 at 9 min after reperfusion, which was dependent on endogenous hydrogen peroxide but not nitric oxide formation as it appeared in both WT and eNOS-/- mice. Blood flow and rate pressure product were higher in the SODm group than in other groups, which contributed to the transient oxygen peak. Thus, SOD mimetics protected mouse heart from superoxide-induced reperfusion injury. With treatment of different SOD mimetics, it is concluded that endogenous hydrogen peroxide via dismutation of superoxide at reperfusion enhances postischemic myocardial blood perfusion and mitochondrial oxygen consumption, possibly through activation of sarcolemmal ATP-sensitive potassium channels.
Assimilation of TerraSAR-X data into a snowpack model

This paper presents an approach using data assimilation to take into account X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite observations in a detailed snowpack model. The SURFEX/Crocus snow model, developed by MeteoFrance, is used to simulate the detail stratigraphy of multilayer snow-pack from meteorological conditions. The Dense Media Radiative Transfer (DMRT) model allows the simulation of SAR backscattering coefficient using the physical parameters of snowpack (density and optical grain diameter of each layer). The development of an adjoint model of the DMRT and the implementation of three-dimensional variational (3D-Var) data assimilation algorithm enable us to reduce the discrepancy between the backscattering coefficients simulated using DMRT and measured using SAR satellite, through modifying the previously said physical parameters of snowpack. This approach provides the ability to constrain the detailed snowpack model SURFEX/Crocus using SAR observations and allows the retrieval of snowpack properties such as Snow Water Equivalent (SWE). Case study has been carried out using a time series of TerraSAR-X acquisitions on Argentière glacier (Chamonix Mont Blanc, France) in winter 2008-2009.
Adaptive user interfaces for automotive environments

We investigate the use of adaptive user interfaces for in-car information access. These interfaces attempt to efficiently provide content the driver needs and wants, and gather feedback on these preferences through the driver's interaction with the system. In this way, the performance of the system improves as it unobtrusively builds a more accurate model of the user. The three systems presented here are: the Adaptive Route Advisor for navigation; the Adaptive News Reader for news stories; and the Adaptive Place Advisor for restaurant selection. All of these systems provide useful information to a driver, and we argue that they do not negatively impact safety because they are replacing other less effective, information sources. We intend to test this hypothesis in future studies.
Visual saliency by extended quantum cuts

In this study, we propose an unsupervised, state-of-the-art saliency map generation algorithm which is based on a recently proposed link between quantum mechanics and spectral graph clustering, Quantum Cuts. The proposed algorithm forms a graph among superpixels extracted from an image and optimizes a criterion related to the image boundary, local contrast and area information. Furthermore, the effects of the graph connectivity, superpixel shape irregularity, superpixel size and how to determine the affinity between superpixels are analyzed in detail. Furthermore, we introduce a novel approach to propose several saliency maps. Resulting saliency maps consistently achieves a state-of-the-art performance in a large number of publicly available benchmark datasets in this domain, containing around 18k images in total.
Optimized low-density parity-check codes for partial response channels

We optimize irregular low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes to closely approach the independent and uniformly distributed (i.u.d.) capacities of partial response channels. In our approach, we use the degree sequences optimization method for memoryless channels proposed by Richardson, Shokrollahi, and Urbanke and appropriately modify it for channels with memory. With this optimization algorithm we construct codes whose noise tolerance thresholds are within 0.15 dB of the i.u. d. channel capacities. Our simulation results show that irregular LDPC codes with block lengths 10/sup 6/ bits yield bit error rates 10/sup -6/ at signal-to-noise ratios 0.22 dB away from the channel capacities.
Exploring Experimental Animal Models in HIV/AIDS Research

Volume 2 • Issue 2 • 1000129 Biochem Anal Biochem ISSN:2161-1009 Biochem, an open access journal The animal experimental models for HIV/AIDS research are considered to be the most suitable way to evaluate salient aspects of new medicines or vaccine candidates, as they have to be tested for their safety and efficacy. These models, to certain extent, have been able to pave the gap between laboratory evaluation and clinical trials on humans. In addition, they are needed to make toxicological evaluations of drugs, to test new anti HIV small molecules, clinical trials, to determine the efficacy of an array of anti-HIV/AIDS drugs or vaccines. Moreover, due to socio-ethical issues and individual rights, human beings cannot be used as an experimental model. Therefore, the development of the animal subjects for use in research is essential in taking a discovery from laboratory to the clinic. This article presents an account of current information about the need to generate human like experimental animal models for HIV/AIDS research, for producing safe and effective tools to combat this pandemic, and also addresses the difficulties and possible solutions.
DOES RELATIONSHIP QUALITY MODERATE THE IMPACT OF MARITAL BEREAVEMENT ON DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS

Studies assessing the impact of relationship quality (RQ) on marital bereavement have resulted in discrepant findings. These discrepancies could be due to two shortcomings of previous research, namely that RQ is typically assessed only after bereavement and that bipolar measures of RQ are used. We tested these assumptions with data from the Changing Lives of Older Couples (CLOC) study. This study assessed positive and negative RQ with separate measures and before bereavement. Only negative RQ moderated the impact of bereavement on depressive symptoms: Whereas depression increased with negative RQ during marriage, negative RQ became irrelevant once the partner had died.
International Large-Scale Assessments: Challenges in Reporting and Potentials for Secondary Analysis

International Large-Scale Assessments (ILSAs) have been used to draw comparisons among countries on a variety of topics in education and, more broadly, for example, in adolescent development. These assessments can inform the public about influential factors on the micro and macro levels, foster interdisciplinary and international collaboration, and provide important data for studying the context and processes of education and development. In short, their potential is great. However, there are also challenges, in particular with the validity of using country rankings to estimate educational achievement of students within countries and the unintended consequences of this use. Promising directions for analysis and reporting are identified in this article – including secondary analysis informed by a conceptual framework that focuses on the context and processes of education. Examples of secondary analysis using data from an ILSA in civic education are given.
A methodology to engineer graded BDI agents

In this work we present a methodological framework to engineer graded BDI agent-based systems. The graded BDI agent model allows to specify an agent’s architecture able to deal with the environment uncertainty and with graded mental attitudes. We work up previous approaches on software engineering process, adapting and extending them, in order to develop agents with a more complex internal architecture.
Object interference in children's colour and position naming: Lexical interference or task-set competition?

Cascade models of word production assume that during lexical access all activated concepts activate their names. In line with this view, it has been shown that naming an object's colour is facilitated when colour name and object name are phonologically related (e.g., ‘blue’ and ‘blouse’). Prevor and Diamond's (2005) recent observation that children take longer to name the colour of real objects than of abstract forms could also be attributed to cascaded processing, resulting in competition between colour name and object name. Experiments 1 and 2 replicate this ‘object-interference effect’ in colour naming by children of 5–7 years of age and show that it generalises to position naming. Experiment 2 shows that the effect is also obtained with hard-to-name objects; a finding that is at variance with a lexical-competition account. The finding in Experiment 3 that the object-interference effect is absent in adults, is consistent with an alternative interpretation in terms of task-set competition. Implications for models of word production are discussed.
Exploring the complementarities between complexity and action research: the story of Technology Together

This paper takes up an ongoing dialogue in the educational literature regarding the relationship between complexity theories and action research. Recognising the contributions of other writers in this field and building on arguments made previously by the authors, this paper argues that there are multiple synergies between complexity and action research, and that action research can be a valuable and congruent meta‐methodology for those researching from complexity‐based perspectives. The paper illustrates these arguments through the example of a large action research initiative, Technology Together, which aimed to investigate the metacognitive influences on teachers' use of information and communications technology (ICT) and the implications of these for teacher professional development within a whole‐school context.
Control of Multijoint Arm Movements in Huntington's Disease

Multijoint arm movements of individuals with Huntington's disease (HD) were exam ined using three-dimensional kinematic analysis. Six HD patients with chorea and four healthy subjects performed pointing movements to a 2.5 cm target positioned at three distances in the sagittal plane, two of which required trunk motion. Healthy subjects moved in relatively straight hand paths to the targets. All HD patients produced curved hand paths, in which they brought their hand first upward and then outward to the target. Healthy subjects made single smooth movements, while HD patients made large initial movements followed by multiple submovements as the hand honed in on the target. Lower functioning HD patients had particular difficulty moving to the farthest target, which required the greatest amount of trunk motion. Although the HD patients had longer movement times across all conditions, their initial velocity was often sim ilar to that of the healthy subjects. This suggests that bradykinesia is related to the pro duction of submovements, rather than a deficit in initial force production. The pres ence of submovements in Huntington's disease might reflect a deficit in controlling deceleration of the limb or an adaptive strategy to maximize accuracy. Key Words: Bradykinesia—Submovements—Arm control—Pointing—Basal ganglia—Chorea.
Determining the profiles and parameters for gene amplification testing of growth factor receptors in lung cancer

Growth factor receptors (GFRs) are amenable to therapeutic intervention in cancer and it is important to select patients appropriately. One of the mechanisms for activation of GFRs is gene amplification (GA) but discrepancies arising from the difficulties associated with data interpretation and the lack of agreed parameters confound the comparison of results from different laboratories. Here, we attempt to establish appropriate conditions for standardization of the determination of GA in a panel of GFRs. A NSCLC tissue microarray panel containing 302 samples was screened for alterations at ALK, FGFR1, FGFR2, FGFR3, ERBB2, IGF1R, KIT, MET and PDGFRA by FISH, immunostaining and/or real‐time quantitative RT‐PCR. Strong amplification was found for FGFR1, ERBB2, KIT/PDFGRA and MET, with frequencies ranging from 1 to 6%. Thresholds for overexpression and GA were established. Strong immunostaining was found in most tumors with ERBB2, MET and KIT amplification, although some tumors underwent strong immunostaining in the absence of GA. KIT and PDFGRA were always coamplified, but only one tumor showed PDGFRA overexpression, indicating that KIT is the main target. Amplification of FGFR1 predominated in squamous cell carcinomas, although the association with overexpression was inconclusive. Interestingly, alterations at ALK, MET, EGFR, ERBB2 and KRAS correlated with augmented levels of phospho‐S6 protein, suggesting activation of the mTOR pathway, which may prove useful to pre‐select tumors for testing. Overall, here, we provide with parameters for the determination of GA at ERBB2, MET, KIT and PDGFRA which could be implemented in the clinic to stratify lung cancer patients for specific treatments.
Transforming subject‐matter knowledge: the role of pedagogical content knowledge in learning to reflect on teaching

Many beginning teachers view teaching as a simple transmission of subject‐matter knowledge to students. This paper explores how the concept of pedagogical content knowledge can play a critical role in (i) clarifying the need for teachers to transform content knowledge into forms that are accessible to children, and (ii) reflecting on how to accomplish this transformation. A vignette, of a group of preservice secondary science teachers as they reflect on children's misconceptions about electrical current, is used to illustrate how inquiring into the manner in which students might reasonably hold such conceptions can lead to subject‐matter representations and teaching strategies with the potential for promoting the reasoned adoption of a scientific view of electrical current.
Performance estimation of DSSS wireless systems in impulsive interference

Radiated interference environments can significantly degrade the performance of the digital communication systems that are widely used today. Problems from such intersystem interference might need to be analyzed beforehand or as problems occur. Another application where such analysis is of interest is in systems using dynamic allocation of spectrum, where it serves as basis for spectrum allocation. To be useful in on-line applications, the analysis method should be fast and of low complexity. A common method is therefore to approximate the interference as Additive White Gaussian Noise, AWGN. However, if the noise is impulsive, this approximation can cause large errors in Bit Error Probability (BEP) estimation. It is desirable to avoid both under- and overestimations. Underestimations can lead to interference problems in the application, while overestimating could cause expensive protection measures to be used unnecessarily. One type of systems that have not received much interest regarding error estimation are those using both error correcting codes and direct sequence spread sprectrum, DSSS. Two systems using this combination are the third generation mobile telephony standard 3G UMTS, and the global navigation systems GPS and Galileo. In this paper we derive necessary conditions for when the Gaussian approximation can be used accurately for impulsive interference, in a DSSS system using convolutional coding.