Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Sequential Algorithm to Solve Next-to-Shortest Path Problem on Circular-arc Graphs

In this article, we study the problem of finding the next-to-shortest path in circular-arc graph. A next-to-shortest path between any pair of vertices in a shortest path amongst all paths between those vertices with length strictly greater than the length of the shortest path. The next-to-shortest path problem in a directed graph in NP-hard. Here we deigned a polynomial time algorithm to solve this problem for the circular-arc graph.
Robots using environment objects as tools the ‘MacGyver’ paradigm for mobile manipulation

Mobile manipulators and humanoid robots should have the ability to use objects in their environments. Previous work has shown significant advantages to robots that can remove objects that interfere with their goal. We propose the next step. Just like the fictional character `MacGyver,' robots should construct simple machines and tools from arbitrary objects. This video presents our progress in developing and validating `MacGyver' skills in a simulated rescue mission.
An exploratory study of creativity -fostering teacher behaviors in secondary classrooms

The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate creativity-fostering teacher behaviors in the context of the high-stakes standardized testing environment. The sample consisted of twenty, core subject teachers from a high school in a large, mid Atlantic suburban school district. Data were collected through Soh's (2000) Creativity Fostering Teacher Index (CFT Index), a 45-item self-report survey based on nine creativity-fostering behaviors identified by Cropley (1997). Data were also collected with the CFT Index Observation Scale to observe teachers who scored within the 50th percentile of the CFT Index. Interviews were completed using nine open-ended questions concerning creativity and classroom strategies used to foster creativity. Findings suggest that gth and 1oth grade teachers utilize creativity-fostering behaviors to a moderate degree. Ten behavioral strategies appear to be utilized with a high degree of effectiveness. Additionally, the participants' ability to foster creativity in the classroom was improved by both supportive administration and instructional peers and was constrained by a lack of time and the constricting standardized testing environment. The findings suggested that factors, both personal and environmental, influence creativity-fostering behaviors and abilities. Implications for practice and research were discussed. These include staff development programs aimed toward increasing awareness of specific characteristics of creativity-fostering pedagogy, such as open-ended questioning techniques, problem
Ship detection with Cosmo-SkyMed PINGPONG data using the dual-pol ratio anomaly detector

Extensive work has been carried out on detecting ships using space-borne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems. However, the identification of small vessels is still challenging especially when the sea conditions are rough. In this work, a new detector is proposed based on dual-polarized incoherent SAR images. Small ships have a stronger cross polarization accompanied by a higher cross-over co-polarization ratio compared to sea. This is the rational at the base of the detector. The new detector is tested with dual-polarization HH/HV PINGPONG Cosmo-SkyMed images acquired over the North Sea. The test area is near Rotterdam where a large number of ships are expected.
A Model for 10 kV Overhead Power Line Communication Channel

In order to achieve reliable and high-speed 10kV power line carrier communications, it is necessary to study the characteristics of channel. Based on the multi-conductor transmission line theory, the chain matrix channel model is established. A lumped parameter model of distribution transformer is proposed from impedance measurement in the frequency range 50-500kHz. The terminal voltages and currents of whole network are derived, which reveals the causes of frequency selective fading. The simulation results are compared and analyzed between different signal frequencies and propagation paths, based on a simplified model of distribution network.
The Intriguing New Cataclysmic Variable KUV 03580+0614

Photometric and spectroscopic observations of the candidate cataclysmic variable KUV 03580+0614, independently found from the Hamburg Survey as HS 0357+0614, reveal this to be a cataclysmic variable with an orbital period of 3.4 hr. Cataclysmic variables with periods in this range are usually nova‐like variables belonging to the SW Sex or intermediate polar categories. The variability, spectroscopic characteristics, and the lack of strong X‐rays indicate a system similar to V795 Her, LS Peg, and AH Men.
Real-time object detection and pose estimation using stereo vision. An application for a Quadrotor MAV

This paper presents a novel strategy for object detection applied on a Quadrotor micro aerial vehicle (MAV) navigating in unknown urban environments. The Quadrotor is required to fly across a window and complete a transferring flight between an outdoor position to a final point inside a building. To achieve this goal, three main tasks must be accomplished; the first one involves the identification of the object of interest, in this case a window; the second task involves the pose estimation of the MAV w.r. t the window; and finally generating a trajectory needed to cross the window starting from a given initial point. To identify the window, a feature-based cascade classifier is implemented, which provides an extremely fast and robust method for window identification. We develop a safe path-planning method using the information provided by the GPS and the on-board inertial and stereo vision sensors. Therefore, the stereo vision system estimates the relative position w.r. t. the Quadrotor and offers egomotion estimation of the MAV for subsequent position control. Preliminary experimental results of the identification of the window and pose estimation is demonstrated through some video sequences collected from the experimental platform.
TNF-α Is Involved in the Abnormal Thymocyte Migration during Experimental Trypanosoma cruzi Infection and Favors the Export of Immature Cells

Previous studies revealed a significant production of inflammatory cytokines together with severe thymic atrophy and thymocyte migratory disturbances during experimental Chagas disease. Migratory activity of thymocytes and mature T cells seem to be finely tuned by cytokines, chemokines and extracellular matrix (ECM) components. Systemic TNF-α is enhanced during infection and appears to be crucial in the response against the parasite. However, it also seems to be involved in disease pathology, since it is implicated in the arrival of T cells to effector sites, including the myocardium. Herein, we analyzed the role of TNF-α in the migratory activity of thymocytes in Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi) acutely-infected mice. We found increased expression and deposition of TNF-α in the thymus of infected animals compared to controls, accompanied by increased co-localization of fibronectin, a cell migration-related ECM molecule, whose contents in the thymus of infected mice is also augmented. In-vivo studies showed an enhanced export of thymocytes in T. cruzi-infected mice, as ascertained by intrathymic injection of FITC alone or in combination with TNF-α. The increase of immature CD4+CD8+ T cells in secondary lymphoid organs was even more clear-cut when TNF-α was co-injected with FITC. Ex-vivo transmigration assays also revealed higher number of migrating cells when TNF-α was added onto fibronectin lattices, with higher input of all thymocyte subsets, including immature CD4+CD8+. Infected animals also exhibit enhanced levels of expression of both mRNA TNF-α receptors in the CD4+CD8+ subpopulation. Our findings suggest that in T. cruzi acute infection, when TNF-α is complexed with fibronectin, it favours the altered migration of thymocytes, promoting the release of mature and immature T cells to different compartments of the immune system. Conceptually, this work reinforces the notion that thymocyte migration is a multivectorial biological event in health and disease, and that TNF-α is a further player in the process.
Clonal hematopoiesis and blood-cancer risk inferred from blood DNA sequence.

BACKGROUND Cancers arise from multiple acquired mutations, which presumably occur over many years. Early stages in cancer development might be present years before cancers become clinically apparent. METHODS We analyzed data from whole-exome sequencing of DNA in peripheral-blood cells from 12,380 persons, unselected for cancer or hematologic phenotypes. We identified somatic mutations on the basis of unusual allelic fractions. We used data from Swedish national patient registers to follow health outcomes for 2 to 7 years after DNA sampling. RESULTS Clonal hematopoiesis with somatic mutations was observed in 10% of persons older than 65 years of age but in only 1% of those younger than 50 years of age. Detectable clonal expansions most frequently involved somatic mutations in three genes (DNMT3A, ASXL1, and TET2) that have previously been implicated in hematologic cancers. Clonal hematopoiesis was a strong risk factor for subsequent hematologic cancer (hazard ratio, 12.9; 95% confidence interval, 5.8 to 28.7). Approximately 42% of hematologic cancers in this cohort arose in persons who had clonality at the time of DNA sampling, more than 6 months before a first diagnosis of cancer. Analysis of bone marrow-biopsy specimens obtained from two patients at the time of diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia revealed that their cancers arose from the earlier clones. CONCLUSIONS Clonal hematopoiesis with somatic mutations is readily detected by means of DNA sequencing, is increasingly common as people age, and is associated with increased risks of hematologic cancer and death. A subset of the genes that are mutated in patients with myeloid cancers is frequently mutated in apparently healthy persons; these mutations may represent characteristic early events in the development of hematologic cancers. (Funded by the National Human Genome Research Institute and others.).
Retrieving Semantically Distant Analogies with Knowledge-Directed Spreading Activation

Techniques that traditionally have been useful for retrieving same-domain analogies from small single-use knowledge bases, such as spreading activation and indexing on selected features, are inadequate for retrieving cross-domain analogies from large multi-use knowledge bases. In this paper, we describe Knowledge-Directed Spreading Activation (KDSA), a new method for retrieving analogies in a large semantic network. KDSA uses task-specific knowledge to guide a spreading activation search to a case or concept in memory that meets a desired similarity condition. Specifically, KDSA exploits evaluations of near-analogies encountered during the search to direct the search toward progressively more promising analogies. We describe a specific instantiation of this method for the task of innovative design, and we summarize the theoretical and experimental results used to validate KDSA.
Development and evaluation of evidence based risk assessment tool (STRATIFY) to predict which elderly inpatients will fall: case-control and cohort studies

Abstract Objectives: To identify clinical characteristics of elderly inpatients that predict their chance of falling (phase 1) and to use these characteristics to derive a risk assessment tool and to evaluate its power in predicting falls (phases 2 and 3). Design: Phase 1: a prospective case-control study. Phases 2 and 3: prospective evaluations of the derived risk assessment tool in predicting falls in two cohorts. Setting: Elderly care units of St Thomas's Hospital (phase 1 and 2) and Kent and Canterbury Hospital (phase 3). Subjects: Elderly hospital inpatients (aged 65 years): 116 cases and 116 controls in phase 1, 217 patients in phase 2, and 331 in phase 3. Main outcome measures: 21 separate clinical characteristics were assessed in phase 1, including the abbreviated mental test score, modified Barthel index, a transfer and mobility score obtained by combining the transfer and mobility sections of the Barthel index, and several nursing judgments. Results: In phase 1 five factors were independently associated with a higher risk of falls: fall as a presenting complaint (odds ratio 4.64 (95% confidence interval 2.59 to 8.33); a transfer and mobility score of 3 or 4 (2.10 (1.22 to 3.61)); and primary nurses' judgment that a patient was agitated (20.9 (9.62 to 45.62)), needed frequent toileting (2.48 (1.08 to 5.70)), and was visually impaired (3.56 (1.26 to 10.05)). A risk assessment score (range 0-5) was derived by scoring one point for each of these five factors. In phases 2 and 3 a risk assessment score >2 was used to define high risk: the sensitivity and specificity of the score to predict falls during the following week was 93% and 88% respectively in phase 2 and 92% and 68% respectively in phase 3. Conclusion: This simple risk assessment tool predicted with clinically useful sensitivity and specificity a high percentage of falls among elderly hospital inpatients.
Advancing research on animal‐transported subsidies by integrating animal movement and ecosystem modelling

Connections between ecosystems via animals (active subsidies) support ecosystem services and contribute to numerous ecological effects. Thus, the ability to predict the spatial distribution of active subsidies would be useful for ecology and conservation. Previous work modelling active subsidies focused on implicit space or static distributions, which treat passive and active subsidies similarly. Active subsidies are fundamentally different from passive subsidies, because animals can respond to the process of subsidy deposition and ecosystem changes caused by subsidy deposition. We propose addressing this disparity by integrating animal movement and ecosystem ecology to advance active subsidy investigations, make more accurate predictions of subsidy spatial distributions, and enable a mechanistic understanding of subsidy spatial distributions. We review selected quantitative techniques that could be used to accomplish integration and lead to novel insights. The ultimate objective for these types of studies is predictions of subsidy spatial distributions from characteristics of the subsidy and the movement strategy employed by animals that transport subsidies. These advances will be critical in informing the management of ecosystem services, species conservation and ecosystem degradation related to active subsidies.
Duration modeling for HMM-based speech synthesis

This paper proposes a new approach to state duration modeling for HMM-based speech synthesis. A set of state durations of each phoneme HMM is modeled by a multi-dimensional Gaussian distribution, and duration models are clustered using a decision tree based context clustering technique. In the synthesis stage, state durations are determined by using the state duration models. In this paper, we take account of contextual factors such as stress-related factors and locational factors in addition to phone identity factors. Experimental results show that we can synthesize good quality speech with natural timing, and the speaking rate can be varied easily
Using visual and spatial cues to represent social contacts in AR

One of the key problems with representing social networks in Augmented Reality (AR) is how to differentiate between contacts. In this paper we explore how visual and spatial cues based on social relationships can be used to represent contacts in social AR applications, making it easier to distinguish between them. Previous implementations of social AR have been mostly focusing on location based visualization with no focus on the social relationship to the user. In contrast, we explore how to visualise social relationships in mobile AR environments using proximity and visual fidelity filters. We ran a focus group to explore different options for representing social contacts in a mobile an AR application. We also conducted a user study to test a head-worn AR prototype using proximity and visual fidelity filters. We found out that filtering social contacts on wearable AR is preferred and useful. We discuss the results of focus group and the user study, and provide insights into directions for future work.
Enhanced neural discrimination of sensory stimuli using an adaptive spike distance .

It was once common to believe that the timing of spikes in spike trains was too variable to carry information and that in the sensory pathways information about stimuli was represented by spike rates. While it is now thought possible that stimuli are also represented in spike-timing features (Bialek et al., 1991; Rieke et al., 1999a; De Ruyer Van Steveninck et al., 1997; Borst and Theunissen, 1999; houghton@maths.tcd.ie kamalsen@bu.edu 1 Ahissar et al., 2000), it is still not fully understood how to describe the variability and coding function of these features. One approach is to define a spike train metric, that is, a measure of the distance between two spike trains (Victor and Purpura, 1996; Aranov and Victor, 2004; Victor, 2005). A good metric will measure a short distance between responses to the same input and a longer distance between responses to different inputs and can be used to quantify the significance of variability between putative timing features. Here, we define a new metric. It is constructed using a non-linear transformation of spike trains into functions and is motivated physiologically by a simple model of synaptic conductance which takes adaptation into account. This metric proves effective at classifying neuronal responses by stimuli in the sample data set of electro-physiological recordings from the field L auditory area of the zebra finch fore-brain.
The role of p38alpha in Schwann cells in regulating peripheral nerve myelination and repair

Myelination in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) is controlled by both positive and negative regulators within Schwann cells to ensure timely onset and correct myelin thickness for saltatory conduction by neurons. Transcription factors such as Sox10, octamer‐binding transcription factor 6 (Oct6) and Krox20 form a positive regulatory network, whereas negative regulators such as cJun and Sox2 oppose myelination in Schwann cells. The role of the p38 MAPK pathway has been studied in PNS myelination, but its precise function remains unclear, with both positive and negative effects of p38 activity reported upon both myelination and processes of nerve repair. To clarify the role of p38 MAPK in the PNS, we have analysed mice with a Schwann cell‐specific ablation of the major p38 isoform, p38alpha. In line with previous findings of an inhibitory role for p38 MAPK, we observe acceleration of post‐natal myelination in p38alpha null nerves, a delay in myelin down‐regulation following injury, together with a small increase in levels of re‐myelination following injury. Finally we explored roles for p38alpha in controlling axonal regeneration and functional repair following PNS injury and observe that loss of p38alpha function in Schwann cells does not appear to affect these processes as previously reported. These studies therefore provide further proof for a role of p38 MAPK signalling in the control of myelination by Schwann cells in the PNS, but do not show an apparent role for signalling by this MAP kinase in Schwann cells controlling other elements of Wallerian degeneration and functional repair following injury.
Self-Optimization Algorithm for Outer Loop Link Adaptation in LTE

In this letter, a novel algorithm for improving outer loop link adaptation (OLLA) convergence speed in the downlink of Long Term Evolution (LTE) is presented. The proposed heuristic algorithm adjusts the OLLA initial offset parameter based on OLLA adjustment histograms of large activity connections. The algorithm is validated with a connection-level simulator, fed with real connection traces collected from a live LTE network. Results show that average network block error rate, user throughput and spectral efficiency can be improved by properly adjusting the initial OLLA offset parameter.
Recovering motifs from biased genomes: application of signal correction

A significant problem in biological motif analysis arises when the background symbol distribution is biased (e.g. high/low GC content in the case of DNA sequences). This can lead to overestimation of the amount of information encoded in a motif. A motif can be depicted as a signal using information theory (IT). We apply two concepts from IT, distortion and patterned interference (a type of noise), to model genomic and codon bias respectively. This modeling approach allows us to correct a raw signal to recover signals that are weakened by compositional bias. The corrected signal is more likely to be discriminated from a biased background by a macromolecule. We apply this correction technique to recover ribosome-binding site (RBS) signals from available sequenced and annotated prokaryotic genomes having diverse compositional biases. We observed that linear correction was sufficient for recovering signals even at the extremes of these biases. Further comparative genomics studies were made possible upon correction of these signals. We find that the average Euclidian distance between RBS signal frequency matrices of different genomes can be significantly reduced by using the correction technique. Within this reduced average distance, we can find examples of class-specific RBS signals. Our results have implications for motif-based prediction, particularly with regards to the estimation of reliable inter-genomic model parameters.
Self-adaption in single-channel source separation

Single-channel source separation (SCSS) usually uses pre-trained source-speciﬁc models to separate the sources. These models capture the characteristics of each source and they perform well when matching the test conditions. In this paper, we extend the applicability of SCSS. We develop an EM-like iterative adaption algorithm which is capable to adapt the pre-trained models to the changed characteristics of the speciﬁc situation, such as a different acoustic channel introduced by variation in the room acoustics or changed speaker position. The adaption framework requires signal mixtures only, i.e. speciﬁc single source signals are not necessary. We consider speech/noise mixtures and we restrict the adaption to the speech model only. Model adaption is empirically evaluated using mixture utterances from the CHiME 2 challenge. We perform experiments using speaker dependent (SD) and speaker independent (SI) models trained on clean or reverberated single speaker utterances. We successfully adapt SI source models trained on clean utterances and achieve almost the same performance level as SD models trained on reverberated utterances.