Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Genetic block matching algorithm for video coding

Genetic algorithms (GAs) recently have been successfully applied to perform block-based motion estimation. It is shown that the performance of the GA-based motion estimation algorithms nearly approaches that of the full search algorithm (FSA). However, the computational complexity of the existing GA-based algorithms is too high to be used in practice. In this paper, a lightweight genetic search algorithm (LGSA) is proposed. It can be seen from the simulation results that the performance of the proposed LGSA is not only as good as that of the FSA, but the computational complexity is also much lower than that of the FSA and the other existing genetic motion estimation algorithms.
The contribution of motor unit pairs to the correlation functions computed from surface myoelectric signals

The contribution of motor unit action potential trains (MUAPT) of distinct motor units (MU) to the crosscorrelation function between myoelectric signals (MES) recorded at the skin surface is studied. In specific, the significance of the correlation between the firing activity of concurrently active MUs (which results in cross-terms in the overall correlation function) is compared to the representation obtained using the contributions of single MUs at each recording site (auto-terms). A model for the generation of surface MUAPs is combined with the generation of MU firing statistics in order to obtain surface MUAPTs. MU firing statistics are simulated to incorporate MU synchronization levels reported in the literature. Alternatively, experimental firing statistics are fed to the model generating the MUAPTs. The contribution of individual MU pairs to the global myoelectric signal correlation function is assessed. Results indicate that the cross-terms from different MUs decrease steadily contributing very little to the overall correlation for record lengths as short as 30 s. Thus, the error expected when computing the crosscorrelation function between two channels of MES as the superposition of the auto-terms contributed by single MUs (i.e., ignoring the cross-terms from different MUs) is shown to be very small.
Political Institutions and Public Policy: The Co-Decision Procedure in the European Union and the Reform of the Common Agricultural Policy

In this paper we study the implications of the introduction of the co-decision procedure for the European Unionâ€™s Common Agricultural Policy and its reform. We use a game-theoretical model of the legislative procedures in the European Union and show that the move from consultation to co-decision implies a shift of power from the Commission to the European Parliament. The implications for the Common Agricultural Policy depend on the configuration of preferences, the location of the status quo, and the bargaining powers in the Conciliation Committee. If the member states and the European Parliament are more opposed to reform than is the Commission, the introduction of co-decision reduces the prospects for reform of the European Unionâ€™s Common Agricultural Policy.
Adaptive segmentation and mask-specific Sobolev inpainting of specular highlights for endoscopic images

Minimally invasive surgical and diagnostic systems rely on endoscopic images of internal organs to assist medical tasks. Specular highlights are common on those images due to the strong reflectivity of the mucus layer on the organs and the relatively high intensity of the light source. This is a significant source of error that can affect the systems' performance. In this paper, we propose a segmentation method of the specular regions based on an automatic color-adaptive threshold and a gradient-based edge detector. The segmented regions are then recovered using a robust mask-specific Sobolev inpainting approach. Experimental results demonstrate the precision and efficiency of the proposed method. In contrast to the existing approaches, the proposed solution does not require manual threshold selection or complex computations to achieve accurate results. Moreover, our method has a real-time performance and can be generalized to various applications.
Structure-guided engineering of the substrate specificity of a fungal β-glucuronidase toward triterpenoid saponins

Glycoside hydrolases (GHs) have attracted special attention in research aimed at modifying natural products by partial removal of sugar moieties to manipulate their solubility and efficacy. However, these modifications are challenging to control because the low substrate specificity of most GHs often generates undesired by-products. We previously identified a GH2-type fungal β-glucuronidase from Aspergillus oryzae (PGUS) exhibiting promiscuous substrate specificity in hydrolysis of triterpenoid saponins. Here, we present the PGUS structure, representing the first structure of a fungal β-glucuronidase, and that of an inactive PGUS mutant in complex with the native substrate glycyrrhetic acid 3-O-mono-β-glucuronide (GAMG). PGUS displayed a homotetramer structure with each monomer comprising three distinct domains: a sugar-binding, an immunoglobulin-like β-sandwich, and a TIM barrel domain. Two catalytic residues, Glu414 and Glu505, acted as acid/base and nucleophile, respectively. Structural and mutational analyses indicated that the GAMG glycan moiety is recognized by polar interactions with nine residues (Asp162, His332, Asp414, Tyr469, Tyr473, Asp505, Arg563, Asn567, and Lys569) and that the aglycone moiety is recognized by aromatic stacking and by a π interaction with the four aromatic residues Tyr469, Phe470, Trp472, and Tyr473. Finally, structure-guided mutagenesis to precisely manipulate PGUS substrate specificity in the biotransformation of glycyrrhizin into GAMG revealed that two amino acids, Ala365 and Arg563, are critical for substrate specificity. Moreover, we obtained several mutants with dramatically improved GAMG yield (>95%). Structural analysis suggested that modulating the interaction of β-glucuronidase simultaneously toward glycan and aglycone moieties is critical for tuning its substrate specificity toward triterpenoid saponins.
The Sydney Traders: Simeon Lord and his Contemporaries, 1788–1821. By D. R. Hainsworth. Melbourne: Cassell Australia Ltd., 1972. Pp. xiii, 264. $15.50

the subsequent crash. Both books must be classed as products of the New Economic History for they bring to bear far more, of the power of formal economic theory than do traditional banking histories. Both treat a major episode in banking history, and both significantly alter traditional conclusions. There is, however, a basic difference in methodology. Temin was able to use the modern quantity theory of money developed by Milton Friedman and his associates. Although this theory has been strongly criticized, few would deny that it offers, at least, a clear identification of the crucial variables and a coherent plan of research. Green is concerned with the relationship between the financial system and economic development. For this problem, despite a number of important contributions, there does not exist a theory of comparable clarity and operational refinement. Consequently, Green's book is more eclectic, more reminiscent of traditional economic history in its reliance on intuition and judgments of an impressionistic sort, and more tentative in its conclusion. However, the areas in which strong theories exist are limited, so that Green's methodology rather than Temin's is most likely to be the model for the future. This is an intelligent and closely researched book. It should be read by every scholar interested in the development of the American financial system in the nineteenth century.
Formulating and Evaluating Theoretical Frameworks for Career and Technical Education Research.

Increasingly, reviewers for research journals and other venues for reporting research are demanding clearly articulated theoretical frameworks in manuscripts under consideration for publication or presentation. Yet, if one examines the articles published in the major journals in our field and attends the research sessions at the annual AVERA [American Vocational Education Research Association] meetings, one must conclude that there is a general lack of agreement on what is meant by theoretical framework. The author examines the theoretical literature on the relationship between theory and research from the perspective of the researcher. He presents succinct examples from the career and technical education literature of theoretical frameworks at the level of grand theory, middle range theory, and substantive theory. He argues that an adequate theoretical framework for a research study can be built at any of those three levels. He contends that writers who present conceptual frameworks for their studies are actually referring to theoretical frameworks at the level of substantive theory and argues against using the term 'conceptual framework' in that context. This article is based on the author's Presidential Address at the AVERA Annual Meeting in December 2000.
Valuation of the Reset Options Embedded in Some Equity-Linked Insurance Products

Abstract This paper proposes a method for valuing American options using a Monte Carlo simulation approach. Our approach can be used to price the reset feature found in some equity-linked insurance contracts. We model this feature as a multiple shout option and give examples based on certain equity-linked insurance products that are very popular in Canada. These contracts are known as segregated fund contracts and the valuation of the embedded options in these contracts has posed serious challenges for actuaries. One of the advantages of the Monte Carlo approach in this connection is that it can be extended to handle different investment assumptions as well as multiple assets. We show how to modify the stochastic mesh model of Broadie and Glasserman (1997b) to incorporate quasi-Monte Carlo in the simulation and thus improve the efficiency. We benchmark the efficiency gains in our method using standard American options and multiple shout options.
Long-Term Contracts and Competition on European Gas Markets – Has the Commission Struck the Right Balance?

This article examines whether the balance currently struck by the European Commission between long-term contracting and the introduction of competition will ensure a sustainable level of competition on European gas markets, i.e. competition that not impedes investments. It examines whether this balance -which can be derived from a recently closed antitrust case against Distrigas – takes proper account of the benefits of long-term contracting. The current balance recognizes the possibility of efficiencies related to long-term contracts. This article uses the transaction cost economics framework to assess this balance, because this science of contract explicitly focuses on contracts and their ex-post properties. It turns out that the Commission's balance is inadequate because the advantages of long-term contracting in terms of mitigating opportunistic regulatory behaviour are not acknowledged. One likely consequence is that the Commission will intervene, and force adaptations to long-term contracts, more often than efficient.
Teaching Reform of Embedded System Course Based on Innovation Ability Cultivation

The rapid development of embedded technology and industry has promoted the demand for professionals with innovative capabilities, and also put forward new requirements for teaching reform. The article analyzes the problems existing in the teaching of embedded curriculum, constructs a curriculum system with the core of practical innovation ability training and a teaching system aiming at the cultivation of practical innovation ability. In the teaching concept, it emphasizes from "teaching" to "learning". The transformation; in the teaching content, emphasize the transformation from "validation" to "engineering project practice"; in practice teaching, emphasize the transformation of "school + enterprise". Maximize the enthusiasm of students to learn and enhance students' sense of independent innovation and ability.
Performance Analysis and Optimization for SWIPT Wireless Sensor Networks

This paper investigates and optimizes the performance of simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT) in wireless sensor networks over Nakagami-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$m$ </tex-math></inline-formula> fading channels. In the considered system, there is one mobile reader (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$R$ </tex-math></inline-formula>), which is equipped with one transmit antenna and one receive antenna, and a group of passive sensors. The information delivery includes two stages: 1) <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$R$ </tex-math></inline-formula> broadcasts a command with radio-frequency energy to the sensors, which adopt time splitting (TS)/power splitting (PS) schemes to harvest energy and 2) sensors deliver their information to <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$R$ </tex-math></inline-formula> over orthogonal channels by using the harvested energy. In this paper, we propose a unified framework to study and optimize the impact of SWIPT on the system performance with both TS and PS schemes. First, we characterize the probability density function and cumulative distribution function of the signal-to-interference-plus-noise-ratio in high signal-to-noise ratio region, then we study the outage and ergodic capacity performance of the backward links. The approximated closed-form expressions for the outage probability and ergodic capacity are derived and validated through Monte Carlo simulations. Finally, we also evaluate the energy efficiency of the target system, and propose an optimal splitting scheme for TS and PS to maximize the throughput of the target system.
PhosphoChain: a novel algorithm to predict kinase and phosphatase networks from high-throughput expression data

MOTIVATION Protein phosphorylation is critical for regulating cellular activities by controlling protein activities, localization and turnover, and by transmitting information within cells through signaling networks. However, predictions of protein phosphorylation and signaling networks remain a significant challenge, lagging behind predictions of transcriptional regulatory networks into which they often feed. RESULTS We developed PhosphoChain to predict kinases, phosphatases and chains of phosphorylation events in signaling networks by combining mRNA expression levels of regulators and targets with a motif detection algorithm and optional prior information. PhosphoChain correctly reconstructed ∼78% of the yeast mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway from publicly available data. When tested on yeast phosphoproteomic data from large-scale mass spectrometry experiments, PhosphoChain correctly identified ∼27% more phosphorylation sites than existing motif detection tools (NetPhosYeast and GPS2.0), and predictions of kinase-phosphatase interactions overlapped with ∼59% of known interactions present in yeast databases. PhosphoChain provides a valuable framework for predicting condition-specific phosphorylation events from high-throughput data. AVAILABILITY PhosphoChain is implemented in Java and available at http://virgo.csie. ncku.edu. tw/PhosphoChain/ or http://aitchisonlab.com/PhosphoChain
Spatial regulation of Corazonin neuropeptide expression requires multiple cis‐acting elements in Drosophila melanogaster

Although most invertebrate neuropeptide‐encoding genes display distinct expression patterns in the central nervous system (CNS), the molecular mechanisms underlying spatial regulation of the neuropeptide genes are largely unknown. Expression of the neuropeptide Corazonin (Crz) is limited to only 24 neurons in the larval CNS of Drosophila melanogaster, and these neurons have been categorized into three groups, namely, DL, DM, and vCrz. To identify cis‐regulatory elements that control transcription of Crz in each neuronal group, reporter gene expression patterns driven by various 5′ flanking sequences of Crz were analyzed to assess their promoter activities in the CNS. We show that the 504‐bp 5′ upstream sequence is the shortest promoter directing reporter activities in all Crz neurons. Further dissection of this sequence revealed two important regions responsible for group specificity: −504::−419 for DM expression and −380::−241 for DL and vCrz expression. The latter region is further subdivided into three sites (proximal, center, and distal), in which any combinations of the two are sufficient for DL expression, whereas both proximal and distal sites are required for vCrz expression. Interestingly, the TATA box does not play a role in Crz transcription in most neurons. We also show that a 434‐bp 5′ upstream sequence of the D. virilis Crz gene, when introduced into the D. melanogaster genome, drives reporter expression in the DL and vCrz neurons, suggesting that regulatory mechanisms for Crz expression in at least two such neuronal groups are conserved between the two species. J. Comp. Neurol. 507:1184–1195, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
External Auditing vs Statutory Committee Auditing: The Italian Evidence

The Italian Corporate Law Reform introduced a compulsory independent external auditor. In the past, only listed companies were required to be audited by external auditors, while non-listed companies were audited by the Board of Statutory Auditors regulated by the Italian Civil Code. The reform separated the responsibilities of administrative and financial auditing: statutory auditors were left in charge of administrative auditing, while financial auditing was assigned to external auditors, leaving a selected number of companies with the possibility of keeping the statutory auditors in charge of financial auditing as well. An empirical analysis was conducted on a sample of companies, aimed at assessing whether external auditors – compared to statutory auditors – generally granted a higher quality of auditing. To assess the quality of auditing, the reliability of annual reports was considered, examining the discretionary accrual levels.
Impact of a Pay-for-Performance Incentive Scheme on Age, Sex, and Socioeconomic Disparities in Diabetes Management in UK Primary Care

We examined the impact of a major pay-for-performance initiative introduced into UK primary care in 2004 on disparities in diabetes management between age, sex, and socioeconomic groups in this retrospective cohort study. We used data from the General Practice Research Database enrolling 422 family practices. Existing disparities in risk factor management (HbA1c, blood pressure, cholesterol) narrowed between men and women. Younger patients (<45 years) with diabetes appear to have benefited less from Quality and Outcomes Framework than older patients, resulting in some widening of existing age group disparities. Patients living in affluent and deprived areas appeared to have derived a similar level of benefit from pay for performance.
Thermographic imaging of postoperative inflammation modified by anti-inflammatory pretreatment.

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to assess the usefulness of thermography in detecting the postoperative inflammatory reaction after third molar removal. PATIENTS AND METHODS Thermographic images (NovaTherm; Novamedix Ltd, Hampshire, England) of both cheeks were obtained on the first and seventh postoperative days after removal of impacted mandibular third molars under local anesthesia in 30 patients (15 men, 15 women). The unoperated contralateral side served as a control. One of the following pretreatments was given immediately before the operation: diclofenac (Voltaren; Novartis, Espoo, Finland) 150 mg orally (rapid-release 50 mg and prolonged-release 100 mg, n = 15), diclofenac 100 mg orally (prolonged-release) and 50 mg intramuscularly (n = 11), or placebo (n = 4). RESULTS The postoperative skin surface temperature on the operated side was significantly higher than that on the unoperated side. The thermal difference was 0.9 degrees C +/- 0.1 degrees C on the first postoperative day and declined significantly by the seventh day to 0.3 degrees C +/- 0.1 degrees C (both P < .001). The thermal difference in patients receiving diclofenac preoperatively was significantly smaller (0.8 degrees C +/- 0.1 degrees C at day 1 and 0.2 degrees C +/- 0.1 degrees C at day 7) than in patients receiving placebo (1.6 degrees C +/- 0.1 degrees C at day 1 and 0.8 degrees C +/- 0.3 degrees C at day 7, P < .001). However, with equal doses of diclofenac, the combination of rapid-release and prolonged-release tablets orally was more effective in reducing skin temperature than an orally administered prolonged-release tablet combined with intramuscular injection (P < .001). CONCLUSION Thermography is a suitable method to measure the inflammatory reaction related to third molar removal. Thermal changes are significant and are decreased by the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac.
Temporal Synchronization Models for Multimedia Data

Multimedia information systems are considerably more complex than traditional ones in that they deal with very heterogeneous data such as text, video, and audio-characterized by different characteristics and requirements. One of the central characteristics of multimedia data is that of being heavily time-dependent, in that they are usually related by temporal relationships that must be maintained during playout. We discuss problems related to modeling temporal synchronization specifications for multimedia data. We investigate the characteristics that a model must possess to properly express the timing relationships among multimedia data, and we provide a classification for the various models proposed in the literature. For each devised category, several examples are presented, whereas the most representative models of each category are illustrated in detail. Then, the presented models are compared with respect to the devised requirements, and future research issues are discussed.
The mt1 Melatonin Receptor and RORβ Receptor Are Co-localized in Specific TSH-immunoreactive Cells in the Pars Tuberalis of the Rat Pituitary

The pars tuberalis (PT) of the pituitary represents an important target site for the time-pacing pineal hormone melatonin because it expresses a large number of mt1 receptors. Functional studies suggest that the PT mediates the seasonal effects of melatonin on prolactin (PRL) secretion. The aim of this study was the characterization of the pheno-type of melatonin-responsive cells. Furthermore, we determined whether RORβ, a retinoid orphan receptor present in the PT, was co-expressed in the same cells. We combined nonradioactive in situ hybridization (ISH) with hapten-labeled riboprobes for detection of the receptors and immunocytochemistry (ICC) for detection of αGSU (α-glycoprotein subunit), βTSH, βFSH, βLH, GH, PRL, and ACTH. Expression of mt1 mRNA was found in small round cells, co-localized with αGSU and βTSH. However, not all βTSH-containing cells expressed mt1 mRNA. The distribution of mt1- and RORβ-positive cells appeared to overlap, although more cells were labeled for RORβ than for mt1. Gonadotrophs, as well as other pars distalis cell types, were never labeled for mt1 melatonin receptor. Therefore, this study identifies the “specific” cells of the PT as the mt1 melatonin receptor-expressing cells.