Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Face Recognition Algorithm Based on Wavelet Stretching Transformation Pre-processing

A face recognition algorithm, based on wavelet stretching transformation pre-processing, has been applied to principle component analysis (PCA). PCA is one of the most important methods for feature extraction and feature recognition. The high recognition rate is based on the hypothesis that the relationship between different dimensions is linear. The gray scale of images is vulnerable to the effect of illumination which leads to an inhomogeneous gray level distribution that will decrease the image recognition rate. Wavelet-based stretching transformation pre-processing can compensate the unbalance distribution of images gray. Using wavelet transformation can decompose the image into two parts: high frequency and low frequency. In this paper both of these two parts are transformed with different functions. In order to illustrate the effect of the pre-processing algorithm, two comparison experiments are presented to show its validity. The training and testing samples are selected with random sequence from ORL and Feret database. The experimental results show that after pre-processing with stretching transformation, the achieved face recognition rate is 96% in ORL database and 93% in Feret database. Therefore, this fact demonstrates that wavelet-based stretching transformation has advantage of achieving higher accuracy of recognition than the traditional ones.
The Development and Evaluation of a Vocational Rehabilitation Training Programme for Rheumatology Occupational Therapists†

People with inflammatory arthritis rapidly develop work disability, yet there is limited provision of vocational rehabilitation (VR) in rheumatology departments. As part of a randomized, controlled trial, ten occupational therapists (OTs) were surveyed to identify their current VR provision and training needs. As a result, a VR training course for OTs was developed which included both taught and self-directed learning. The course included: employment and health and safety legislation, work assessment and practical application of ergonomic principles at work. Pre-, immediately post- and two months post-training, the ten OTs completed a questionnaire about their VR knowledge and confidence On completion, they reported a significant increase (p < 0.01)in their knowledge and confidence when delivering vocational rehabilitation. They rated the course as very or extremely relevant, although seven recommended more practical sessions. The preference for practical sessions was highlighted, in that the aspects they felt most beneficial were role-playing assessments and sharing ideas through discussion and presentations. In conclusion, the course was considered effective in increasing both knowledge and confidence in using VR as an intervention, but, due to time constraints within the working day, some of the self-directed learning should be incorporated into the training days. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Unsupervised Heart Rate Variability Estimation from Ballistocardiograms

We propose and evaluate an unsupervised method for the estimation of heart rate variability (HRV) indices from ballistocardiograms (BCGs) recorded by a bed-mounted, electromechanical film (EMFi) sensor during sleep. After estimating the beat-to-beat intervals from the BCGs, short-term time- and frequency-domain HRV indices are computed and compared to an ECG reference. We evaluated signals recorded overnight from 8 subjects (approx. 212.000 heart beats). Our results show a good correlation (> 0.9) between BCG- and ECG- derived HRV indices and suggest that unsupervised long- term HRV monitoring using BCGs is indeed feasible.
Neutralizes the Biological Activity of CCL2 Third Extracellular (E3) Domain of CCR2 Encoding a 20-Amino Acid Residue of the A Novel Recombinant Fusion Protein

CCL2 is a key CC chemokine that has been implicated in a variety of inﬂammatory autoimmune diseases and in tumor progression and it is therefore an important target for therapeutic intervention in these diseases. Soluble receptor-based therapy is a known approach for neutralizing the in vivo functions of soluble mediators. Owing to the complexity of seven-transmembrane G protein-coupled receptors, efforts to generate neutralizing soluble chemokine receptors have so far failed. We developed a strategy that is based on the generation of short recombinant proteins encoding different segments of a G protein-coupled receptor, and tested the ability of each of them to bind and neutralize its target chemokine. We show that a fusion protein comprised of as few as 20 aa of the third extracellular (E3) domain of the CCL2 receptor, stabilized by the IgG H chain Fc domain (E3-IgG or BL-2030), selectively binds CCL2 and CCL16 and effectively neutralizes their biological activities. More importantly, E3-IgG (BL-2030) could effectively suppress the in vivo biological activity of CCL2, attenuating ongoing experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, as well as the development of human prostate tumor in SCID mice. The Journal of Immunology, 2009, 183: 732–739. hemokines are small ( (cid:1) 8–14 kDa), structurally related proteins that regulate cell trafﬁcking via interactions with a subset of seven-transmembrane G-coupled protein receptor (1–4). CCL2 (MCP-1) is a key CC chemokine that partic-ipates in the regulation of inﬂammatory responses.
Public Key Management in Named Data Networking

As every data is signed in Named Data Networking (NDN), public key management becomes critical. The public key management requires a well-defined certificate format and several systems and protocols to support certificate distribution and revocation. In this paper, we proposed the new NDN certificate format, discussed several approaches of serving certificates in NDN. We also discuss how to revoke certificates with the new certificate design.
Association between Plasma Neutrophil Gelatinase Associated Lipocalin Level and Obstructive Sleep Apnea or Nocturnal Intermittent Hypoxia

Background Both obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and a novel lipocalin, neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin (Ngal), have been reported to be closely linked with cardiovascular disease and loss of kidney function through chronic inflammation. However, the relationship between OSA and Ngal has never been investigated. Objectives To evaluate the relationship between Ngal and OSA in clinical practice. Methods In 102 patients, polysomnography was performed to diagnose OSA and plasma Ngal levels were measured. The correlations between Ngal levels and OSA severity and other clinical variables were evaluated. Of the 46 patients who began treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), Ngal levels were reevaluated after three months of treatment in 25 patients. Results The Ngal level correlated significantly with OSA severity as determined by the apnea hypopnea index (r = 0.24, p = 0.01) and 4% oxygen desaturation index (ODI) (r = 0.26, p = 0.01). Multiple regression analysis showed that the Ngal level was associated with 4%ODI independently of other clinical variables. Compliance was good in 13 of the 25 patients who used CPAP. Although the OSA (4%ODI: 33.1±16.7 to 1.1±1.9/h, p<0.01) had significantly improved in those with good compliance, the Ngal levels were not significantly changed (60.5±18.1 before CPAP vs 64.2±13.9 ng/ml after CPAP, p = 0.27). Conclusions Plasma Ngal levels were positively associated with the severity of OSA. However, the contribution rate of OSA to systemic Ngal secretion was small and changes in Ngal levels appeared to be influenced largely by other confounding factors. Therefore, it does not seem reasonable to use the Ngal level as a specific biomarker of OSA in clinical practice.
Speaker recognition with artificial neural networks and MEL-frequency cepstral coefficients correlations

The problem addressed in this paper is related to the fact that classical statistical approach for speaker recognition yields satisfactory results but at the expense of long length training and test utterances. An attempt to reduce the length of speaker samples is of great importance in the field of speaker recognition since the statistical approach, due to its limitations, is usually precluded from use in real-time applications. A novel method of text-independent speaker recognition which uses only the correlations among MFCCs, computed over selected speech segments of very-short length (approximately 120ms) is proposed. Three different neural networks — the Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP), the Steinbuch's Learnmatrix (SLM) and the Self-Organizing Feature Finder (SOFF) — are evaluated in a speaker recognition task. The ability of dimensionality reduction of the SOFF paradigm is also discussed.
Mussel adhesion – essential footwork

ABSTRACT Robust adhesion to wet, salt-encrusted, corroded and slimy surfaces has been an essential adaptation in the life histories of sessile marine organisms for hundreds of millions of years, but it remains a major impasse for technology. Mussel adhesion has served as one of many model systems providing a fundamental understanding of what is required for attachment to wet surfaces. Most polymer engineers have focused on the use of 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl-l-alanine (Dopa), a peculiar but abundant catecholic amino acid in mussel adhesive proteins. The premise of this Review is that although Dopa does have the potential for diverse cohesive and adhesive interactions, these will be difficult to achieve in synthetic homologs without a deeper knowledge of mussel biology; that is, how, at different length and time scales, mussels regulate the reactivity of their adhesive proteins. To deposit adhesive proteins onto target surfaces, the mussel foot creates an insulated reaction chamber with extreme reaction conditions such as low pH, low ionic strength and high reducing poise. These conditions enable adhesive proteins to undergo controlled fluid–fluid phase separation, surface adsorption and spreading, microstructure formation and, finally, solidification. Summary: Moisture is the nemesis of synthetic adhesives yet presents no impediment to the underwater adhesion of sessile organisms. Capturing wet bioadhesion for technology is not possible without fundamental biological insights.
Stochastic contention resolution with short delays

We study contention resolution protocols under a stochastic model of continuous request generation from a set of contenders. The performance of such a protocol is characterized by two parameters: the maximum arrival rate for which the protocol is stable and the expected delay of a request from arrival to service. Known solutions are either unstable for any constant injection rate, or have polynomial (in the number of contenders) expected delay. Our main contribution is a protocol that is stable for a constant injection rate, while achieving logarithmic expected delay. We extend our results to the case of multiple servers, with each request being targeted for a specific server. This is related to the optically connected parallel computer (or OCPC ) model. Finally, we prove a lower bound showing that long delays are inevitable in a class of protocols including backoff-style protocols, if the arrival rate is large enough (but still smaller than 1).
Determinants of intention to leave among non-medical employees after a nuclear disaster: a cross-sectional study

Objective To conduct a survey among non-medical employees working at the time of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident, in order to determine the factors associated with their intentions to leave their jobs during the nuclear disaster. Participants We asked 287 employees (166 men and 121 women) in the study. Methods We asked about their intentions to leave their jobs after the nuclear disaster. We also asked about relevant factors, including the participants’ demographic factors, living situations and working environments. Results We found that in employees younger than 40 (OR=4.73, 95% CI 1.74 to 12.85, p=0.002), being married (OR=3.18, 95% CI 1.03 to 9.79, p=0.044), measurements of the ambient dose rates in their homes after the accident (OR=5.32, 95% CI 1.65 to 17.14, p=0.005), anxiety about their relationships with their colleagues after the accident (OR=3.91, 95% CI 1.51 to 10.16, p=0.005) and the influence of radiation on the workplace (OR=0.33, 95% CI 0.14 to 0.80, p=0.014) were independently associated with the non-medical employees’ intentions to leave their jobs after the nuclear disaster. Conclusions Our results suggest the need for continuous risk communication regarding such factors and the provision of information about the health effects of radiation exposure to non-medical employees after nuclear disasters.
FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS IN POLAND. THE ROLE OF SIZE AND POLITICAL CONNECTIONS

This article investigates the phenomenon of financial constraints in investment activities. Using a data set covering 2001-2011, we established that, despite the institutional changes and the financial system development, Polish firms remain financially constrained by the internally available funds. Additionally, we explored the impact of size and political connections on financial constraints. Unexpectedly we found that the financial constraints are not affected by either the size or the type nor the strength of political connections.
Functional Structure of the Mitral Cell Dendritic Tuft in the Rat Olfactory Bulb

The input–output transform performed by mitral cells, the principal projection neurons of the olfactory bulb, is one of the key factors in understanding olfaction. We used combined calcium and voltage imaging from the same neuron and computer modeling to investigate signal processing in the mitral cells, focusing on the glomerular dendritic tuft. The main finding was that the dendritic tuft functions as a single electrical compartment for subthreshold signals within the range of amplitudes detectable by voltage-sensitive dye recording. These evoked EPSPs had uniform characteristics throughout the glomerular tuft. The Ca2+ transients associated with spatially uniform subthreshold synaptic potentials were comparable but not equal in amplitude in all regions. The average range of normalized amplitudes of the EPSP-driven Ca2+ signals from different locations on dendritic branches in the glomerular tuft was relatively narrow and appeared to be independent of the dendritic surface-to-volume ratio. The computer simulations constrained by the imaging data indicated that a synchronized activation of ∼100 synapses randomly distributed on tuft branches was sufficient to generate spatially homogenous EPSPs. This number of activated synapses is consistent with the data from anatomical studies. Furthermore, voltage attenuation of the EPSP along the primary dendrite at physiological temperature was weak compared with other cell types. In the model, weak attenuation of the EPSP along the primary dendrite could be accounted for by passive electrical properties of the mitral cell.
Monte Carlo Simulations of Thermal-Nonthermal Radiation from a Neutron Star Magnetospheric Accretion Shell

We discuss the space- and time-dependent Monte Carlo code we have developed to simulate the relativistic radiation output from compact astrophysical objects, coupled to a Fokker-Planck code to determine the self-consistent lepton populations. We have applied this code to model the emission from a magnetized neutron star accretion shell near the Alfvén radius, reprocessing the radiation from the neutron star surface. We explore the parameter space defined by the accretion rate, stellar surface field, and level of wave turbulence in the shell. Our results are relevant to the emission from atoll sources, soft X-ray-transients containing weakly magnetized neutron stars, and recently suggested models of accretion-powered emission from anomalous X-ray pulsars.
Local Computation in Covering Join Trees Part #2

An improved liquefaction process for solid carbonaceous materials wherein at least a portion of the liquefaction is accomplished in the presence of an added hydrogenation catalyst and a solvent containing at least 1.25 wt % donatable hydrogen and in the presence of partially liquefied, solid carbonaceous material at liquefaction conditions. In a preferred embodiment, the liquefaction is accomplished in a plurality of stages and a solvent containing at least 1.25 wt % donatable hydrogen is used in at least one stage, most preferably in the second stage. The partially liquefied solid carbonaceous material may be taken from the bottoms fraction of the effluent from any of the liquefaction stages.
Nonspatial Sequence Coding in CA1 Neurons

The hippocampus is critical to the memory for sequences of events, a defining feature of episodic memory. However, the fundamental neuronal mechanisms underlying this capacity remain elusive. While considerable research indicates hippocampal neurons can represent sequences of locations, direct evidence of coding for the memory of sequential relationships among nonspatial events remains lacking. To address this important issue, we recorded neural activity in CA1 as rats performed a hippocampus-dependent sequence-memory task. Briefly, the task involves the presentation of repeated sequences of odors at a single port and requires rats to identify each item as “in sequence” or “out of sequence”. We report that, while the animals' location and behavior remained constant, hippocampal activity differed depending on the temporal context of items—in this case, whether they were presented in or out of sequence. Some neurons showed this effect across items or sequence positions (general sequence cells), while others exhibited selectivity for specific conjunctions of item and sequence position information (conjunctive sequence cells) or for specific probe types (probe-specific sequence cells). We also found that the temporal context of individual trials could be accurately decoded from the activity of neuronal ensembles, that sequence coding at the single-cell and ensemble level was linked to sequence memory performance, and that slow-gamma oscillations (20–40 Hz) were more strongly modulated by temporal context and performance than theta oscillations (4–12 Hz). These findings provide compelling evidence that sequence coding extends beyond the domain of spatial trajectories and is thus a fundamental function of the hippocampus. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The ability to remember the order of life events depends on the hippocampus, but the underlying neural mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here we addressed this issue by recording neural activity in hippocampal region CA1 while rats performed a nonspatial sequence memory task. We found that hippocampal neurons code for the temporal context of items (whether odors were presented in the correct or incorrect sequential position) and that this activity is linked with memory performance. The discovery of this novel form of temporal coding in hippocampal neurons advances our fundamental understanding of the neurobiology of episodic memory and will serve as a foundation for our cross-species, multitechnique approach aimed at elucidating the neural mechanisms underlying memory impairments in aging and dementia.
Inter and intra-class distribution of income in Turkish manufacturing, 1970-2000

The central contribution of this work is the identification of the determinants of the changes in the profit rates and wages among different subsectors of the Turkish manufacturing industry, with a major emphasis on the impact of changing conditions of external competition. In the Turkish manufacturing industry, the force of external competition reveals itself particularly when the State’s direct role in accommodating private returns diminishes. One outcome of this has been intensification of the conflictual features of the economic system, resulting in changes in the distribution of income between and within classes. A long-term analysis of the structure of profit rates and real wages at subsectoral level is the main analytical approach of the investigation. We generate a capital stock series using the ‘perpetual inventory method’ at the aggregate level for both private and public manufacturing sectors and at the two-digit level of ISIC (Rev.2) only for the private sector. With these capital stock series, we are able to in calculate profit rates. We then subject to analysis the profit rate data, both within and between classes, using a variety of analytical tools such as distribution frontiers and decomposition methods. As the state’s accommodating role recedes, we find, relative to the impacts of the ‘environmental’ factors, such as changes in trade related variables, an increasingly significant impact on distributional dynamics of conflict-based factors that have roots in changes in the bargaining power of labor vis-a-vis capital such as changes in the unionization index, the unemployment rate, the female share of employment. Estimates of profit rate effects provide evidence for direct impacts of the rise in the unemployment rate and the rising female share of employment on profit rate changes, consistent with the reserve army of labor and the feminization of labor hypotheses. We end by presenting a simple theoretical model with numerical simulations based on a conflicting claims framework, incorporating the insights from the methodological and conceptual discussions, which we find to have been supported by the empirical evidence.
Improving the MAC layer performance in ad hoc networks of nodes with heterogeneous transmit power capabilities

The performance of the IEEE 802.11 MAC protocol has been shown to degrade considerably in an ad hoc network with nodes that transmit at heterogeneous power levels. The main cause of this degradation is the potential inability of the high power nodes to hear the RTS/CTS exchanges between nodes when at least one node involved in the communication is a low power node. The propagation of the CTS message beyond the one-hop neighborhood of two communicating low power nodes was considered in our prior work in an attempt to alleviate this effect. However, this resulted in an excessive overhead and further degraded the performance at the MAC layer. In this paper we consider two techniques to reduce the overhead incurred due to the aforementioned propagation of the CTS message: (a) the use of an intelligent broadcast scheme and (b) the reservation of bandwidth for the sequential transmission of multiple data packets with a single RTS/CTS exchange (and propagation as needed). These techniques require changes only at the MAC layer. We find, by means of extensive simulations, that these techniques provide a significant improvement over the legacy IEEE 802.11 MAC protocol in the considered power heterogeneous ad hoc network. The overall throughput improves by as much as 12 % and the throughput of the low power nodes improves by up to 14 % as compared to the IEEE 802.11 MAC protocol. Furthermore, the schemes find applicability even in homogeneous networks as they reduce the number of false link failures that arise when the IEEE 802.11 MAC protocol is used, by about 20 %. We conclude that the proposed schemes together offer a simple yet effective and viable means of performing medium access control in power heterogeneous ad hoc networks.
Complete equipartite 3p-cycle systems

Necessary conditions for decomposing a complete equipartite graph K K (having n parts of size to) into cycles of a fixed length k are that nm ≥ k, the degree of all its vertices are even and its total number of edges is a multiple of k. Determining whether these necessary conditions are sufficient for general cycle length k is an open problem. Recent results by Manikandan and Paulraja (Discrete Math. 306, 429-451) and B. R. Smith (J. Combin. Designs 16, 244-252) proved the sufficiency of these conditions in cases where the cycle length is respectively an odd prime or twice an odd prime. Here we further extend these results by showing the sufficiency of these conditions for decomposing complete equipartite graphs into cycles of length 3p (where p is an odd prime), thus providing the first general family of results for non-prime, odd length cycle decompositions of this type.