Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Algorithms for Video Structuring

Video structuring aims at automatically finding structure in a video sequence. Occupying a key-position within video analysis, it is a fundamental step for quality indexing and browsing. As a low level video analysis, video structuring can be seen as a serial process which includes (i) shot boundary detection, (ii) video shot feature extraction and (iii) video shot clustering. The resulting analysis serves as the base for higher level processing such as content-based image retrieval or semantic indexing. In this study, the whole process is examined and implemented. Two shot boundary detectors based on motion estimation and color distribution analysis are designed. Based on recent advances in machine learning, a novel technique for video shot clustering is presented. Typical approaches for segmenting and clustering shots use graph analysis, with split and merge algorithms for finding subgraphs corresponding to different scenes. In this work, the clustering algorithm is based on a spectral method which has proven its efficiency in still-image segmentation. This technique clusters points (in our case features extracted from video shots) using eigenvectors of matrices derived from data. Relevant data depends of the quality of feature extraction. After stating the main problems of video structuring, solutions are proposed defining an heuristical distance metric for similarity between shots. We combine color visual features with time constraints. The entire process of video structuring is tested on a ten hours home video database.
Reliability and Availability Requirements Engineering within the Unified Process Using a Dependability Analysis and Modeling Profile

In this paper, we propose an integration of the Unified Process and a Dependability Analysis and Modeling (DAM) profile to support quantifiable, testable reliability and availability requirements (R&AR) elicitation and completeness analysis. Specifically, we are interested in improved identification and specification of R&AR and their associated assumptions. This is accomplished through an iterative workflow that is consistent with the Unified Process and attaches DAM stereotypes to use and misuse cases. Fault-tree analysis helps determine and mitigate combinations of faults that could impede R&AR achievement. The workflow steps are demonstrated and evaluated on an intrusion protection service for critical infrastructures.
Santa Cruz What Are Musical Paradox and Illusion ? 1 Musical Illusions and Paradoxes

In the early documentation of a now-famous series of experiments, Diana Deutsch (1986) described an acoustic circumstance in which a particular pitch interval, between successive tones in a particular artificial timbre, produces perceptual results that we might not expect: When the pair of notes was transposed, the interval seemed to change direction. Furthermore, although individuals’ changing reports were consistent as functions of pitch transposition, the pattern of change varied from listener to listener. This was a remarkable finding, but nonmusicians do not always comprehend its implications. To make the mystery more accessible, Deutsch followed with a metaphor that appeals to vision rather than hearing.
Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy for Knee Joint Problems: Review of the Literature, Current Practice and Legal Perspectives in Korea

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a concentrate extract of platelets from autologous blood, and represents a possible treatment option for the stimulation and acceleration of soft-tissue healing and regeneration in orthopedics. Currently, the availability of devices for outpatient preparation and delivery contributes to the increase in the clinical use of PRP therapy in practical setting of orthopedic fields. However, there is still paucity of scientific evidence in the literature to prove efficacy of PRP therapy for the treatment of ligament or tendon problems around the knee joint. Moreover, strong evidence from well-designed clinical trials to support the PRP therapy for osteoarthritis of the knee joint is yet scanty in the literature. Scientific studies need to be performed to assess clinical indications, efficacy, and safety of PRP, and this will require high powered randomized controlled trials. Nonetheless, some hospitals exaggeratedly advertise PRP procedures as the ultimate treatment and a novel technology with abundant scientific evidence for the treatment of knee problems. As a matter of fact, PRP protocols are currently approved only for use in clinical trials and research, and are not allowed for treatment purpose by any institutions in Korea. At present, clinical use of PRP therapy for ligament or tendon problems or osteoarthritis of knee joint is defined as illegal medical practice, regardless of whether it is performed as a sole procedure or as a part of prolotherapy, because the safety and validity are not yet approved by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. Practicing physicians should remember that injection of PRP to patients by imposing medical charge is still illegal as per the current medical law in Korea.
Efficient superscalar performance through boosting

The foremost goal of superscalar processor design is to increase performance through the exploitation of instruction-level parallelism (ILP). Previous studies have shown that speculative execution is required for high instruction per cycle (IPC) rates in non-numerical applications. The general trend has been toward supporting speculative execution in complicated, dynamically-scheduled processors. Performance, though, is more than just a high IPC rate; it also depends upon instruction count and cycle time. Boosting is an architectural technique that supports general speculative execution in simpler, statically-scheduled processors. Boosting labels speculative instructions with their control dependence information. This labelling eliminates control dependence constraints on instruction scheduling while still providng full dependence information to the hardware. We have incorporated boosting into a trace-based, global scheduling algorithm that exploits ILP without adversely affecting the instruction count of a program. We use this algorithm and estimates of the boosting hardware involved to evaluate how much speculative execution support is really necessary to achieve good performance. We find that a statically-scheduled superscalar processor using a minimal implementation of boosting can easily reach the performance of a much more complex dynamically-scheduled superscalar processor.
Ethnic inequalities in health: understanding the nexus between migration, deprivation change and social mobility

Ethnic inequalities in health, although widely observed, are not fully understood. Explanations for these inequalities are often overtaken by discussions of social inequalities in health or dismissed as the inevitable consequence of genetic and cultural differences determining health differences between ethnic groups. However, as society is becoming increasingly ethnically diverse, determining the nature of ethnic inequalities in health is ever more important, as is research evaluating whether and how health gradients are changing over time. This thesis addresses these gaps in knowledge, examining the nature of ethnic inequalities in health and evaluating whether theories of selective sorting can help explain changing health gradients in the overall population or by ethnic group in England. Selective sorting is the process whereby differently healthy groups are sorted into different area types or social classes through migration, deprivation change and social mobility. Given the contrasting socioeconomic, spatial and health experiences of different ethnic groups in England it is likely that selective sorting may operate differently for different ethnic groups. Using a variety of statistical methods, this thesis analyses data from the Health Surveys for England between 1998 and 2011, and the 1991, 2001 and 2011 Samples of Anonymised Records and ONS Longitudinal Study. This thesis notably finds that ethnic inequalities in health are better explained by socioeconomic and broad spatial difference than inherent features of different ethnic groups. However, an ethnic penalty may be operating which interacts with the already disadvantaged circumstances of certain ethnic groups further limiting their chances of good health. Transition between area types and social classes can contribute to widening health gradients for the overall population and by ethnic group. However, probability of transitioning varies between ethnic groups, with certain groups less likely to move away from areas becoming more deprived. This may further exacerbate existing health gradients.
The DLR-Crawler: A testbed for actively compliant hexapod walking based on the fingers of DLR-Hand II

Walking is a fascinating way of locomotion that is very robust, especially in unstructured terrain. Many researchers devote their time to understanding its underlying principles and to build robots based on their findings. Using the fingers of DLR-Hand II a six-legged actively compliant walking robot is developed. It is intended to be used as testbed for the evaluation of different force- and position-based leg and gait control algorithms for hexapod walking in rough terrain. Following a brief overview of the finger hardware, the use of fingers as legs is analyzed and discussed. The body geometry as well as the systems constituting the robot are described. The compliance control algorithm used is explained and finally some experimental results are presented.
Efficient ID-Based Signature Scheme using Pairings

An ID-based cryptographic scheme enables the user to public keys without exchanging public key certificates. In these schemes, users can generate their public and private keys using their identity. The positive application of bilinear pairings over elliptic curves makes the system easy and efficient in providing security. In this paper, we propose an ID-based signature scheme using bilinear pairings. We prove that the proposed signature scheme is secure against existential forgery under adaptively chosen message and ID attack in the random oracle model with the assumption that the Computational Diffie-Hellman problem is hard. We compare the efficiency of the proposed scheme with some related schemes. Keywords– ID-based cryptography; Digital signature scheme; Bilinear pairings; Unforgeability; CDH problem.
Blame the parents? The association between parental longevity and successful ageing

Research has suggested that children of long-lived parents might age more successfully than children of short-lived parents. The aim of this study is to contribute further to the understanding of the association between parental longevity and offspring’s successful ageing. We used data from Wave one of the English Longitudinal study of ageing (ELSA) to investigate the association between three measures of parental longevity and the respondents’ cognitive and physical functioning, self-reported health and several chronic diseases. We found that parental lifespan, especially mother’s lifespan, is positively associated with cognitive functioning at older age. Parental lifespan and mother’s lifespan were also found to be associated with a decreased likelihood of occurrence of some chronic diseases such as pulmonary disease, coronary heart disease, hypertension and poor health.
Junction point on partially singular trajectories

In recent times, several works have been performed on the design of fuel optimal trajectories for space navigation. These works show the possibility of the existence of partially singular trajectories for systems that are linear analytic (Park et al. 2010). Linear analytic systems may show the existence of partially singular subarcs, and the point where these subarcs meet is called a junction point. Thus, knowledge about junction conditions became necessary when solving the optimal control problem for such systems. This led to the development of two ‘theorems’ on junction conditions, given by McDanell and Powers (McDanell, J.P. and Powers W.F. (1971), ‘Necessary Conditions for Joining Optimal Singular and Nonsingular Sub Arcs’, SIAM Journal of Control, 9, 161–173). However, the second ‘theorem’, which is now known as a conjecture, could not satisfy all classes of linear analytic system. Therefore, the aim of this study was to detect and correct the errors in the derivation of the McDanell and Powers conjecture. The error in their derivations was corrected and then tested on two newly mathematically constructed systems. The results of these tests were found to be satisfactory. This implies that by making the necessary corrections, the conjecture can still be useful in generating a general theorem for all classes of systems.
Children's memory distortions following social contact with a co-witness: Disentangling social and cognitive mechanisms

This study examined whether recalling an event with a co-witness influences children's recall. Individual 3–5-year-olds (n = 48) watched a film with a co-witness. Unbeknown to participants, the co-witness was watching an alternative version of the film. Afterwards both the co-witness and the participant answered questions about the film together (public recall), and the degree to which children conformed to the co-witness's alternative version of events was measured. Subsequently participants were questioned again individually (private recall). Children also completed false belief and inhibitory control tasks. By separating errors made in public and private, the results indicated that both social conformity (32% of errors) and memory distortion (68% of errors) played a role in co-witness influence. Inhibitory control predicted the likelihood of retracting errors in private, but only for children who failed (r=.66) rather than passed false belief tasks (r=−.10). The results suggest that children with a theory of mind conform in the company of the co-witness to avoid social embarrassment, while those a poor theory of mind conform on the basis of an inability to inhibit the co-witness's response. The findings contribute to our understanding of the motivations responsible for co-witness conformity across early childhood.
L-Glutamine inhibits beta-aminobutyric acid-induced stress resistance and priming in Arabidopsis

The non-protein amino acid beta-aminobutyric acid (BABA) enhances Arabidopsis resistance to microbial pathogens and abiotic stresses through potentiation of the Arabidopsis defence responses. In this study, it is shown that BABA induces the stress-induced morphogenic response (SIMR). SIMR is observed in plants exposed to sub-lethal stress conditions. Anthocyanin, a known modulator of stress signalling, was also found to accumulate in BABA-treated Arabidopsis. These data and a previous microarray study indicate that BABA induces a stress response in Arabidopsis. High concentrations of amino acids, except for L-glutamine, cause a general amino acid stress inhibition. General amino acid inhibition is prevented by the addition of L-glutamine. L-Glutamine was found to inhibit the BABA-mediated SIMR and anthocyanin accumulation, suggesting that the non-protein amino acid BABA causes a general amino acid stress inhibition in Arabidopsis. L-Glutamine also blocked BABA-induced resistance to heat stress and to the virulent bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000. During bacterial infection, priming of the salicylic acid-dependent defence marker PR1 was abolished by L-glutamine treatment. These results indicate that L-glutamine removal of the BABA-mediated stress response is concomitant with L-glutamine inhibition of BABA priming and BABA-induced resistance.
Synergy of delayed states and missing data in Wireless Sensor Networks using Kalman Filters

Estimation of future data in systems with delayed state is a challenging problem. In this paper, two methods of using Kalman Filter in such systems is presented. In the first method, the delayed states are incorporated in the state matrix, while in the second method the delayed states are incorporated into the state equation form. Comparisons of the results made by applying the above methods on delayed state systems show that the second method predicts the data with more accuracy. The Kalman Filter with delayed states in the state equation is then modified to account for the missing measurements, which is a common phenomenon in the Wireless Sensor Networks. The performance of the obtained equations are then evaluated for the delayed state systems in the presence of missing measurements.
Systems biology analysis of protein‐drug interactions

Drugs induce global perturbations at the molecular machinery level because their cognate targets are involved in multiple biological functions or because of off‐target effects. The analysis or the prediction of such systems level consequences of drug treatment therefore requires the application of systems biology concepts and methods. In this review, we first summarize the methods of chemical proteomics that can measure unbiased and proteome‐wide drug protein target spectra, which is an obvious necessity to perform a global analysis. We then focus on the introduction of computational methods and tools to relate such target spectra to global models such as pathways and networks of protein‐protein interactions, and to integrate them with existing protein functional annotations. In particular, we discuss how drug treatment can be mapped onto likely affected biological functions, how this can help identifying drug mechanisms of action, and how such mappings can be exploited to predict potential side effects and to suggest new indications for existing compounds.
Nucleotide composition string selection in HIV-1 subtyping using whole genomes

MOTIVATION The availability of the whole genomic sequences of HIV-1 viruses provides an excellent resource for studying the HIV-1 phylogenies using all the genetic materials. However, such huge volumes of data create computational challenges in both memory consumption and CPU usage. RESULTS We propose the complete composition vector representation for an HIV-1 strain, and a string scoring method to extract the nucleotide composition strings that contain the richest evolutionary information for phylogenetic analysis. In this way, a large-scale whole genome phylogenetic analysis for thousands of strains can be done both efficiently and effectively. By using 42 carefully curated strains as references, we apply our method to subtype 1156 HIV-1 strains (10.5 million nucleotides in total), which include 825 pure subtype strains and 331 recombinants. Our results show that our nucleotide composition string selection scheme is computationally efficient, and is able to define both pure subtypes and recombinant forms for HIV-1 strains using the 5000 top ranked nucleotide strings. AVAILABILITY The Java executable and the HIV-1 datasets are accessible through 'http://www.cs. ualberta.ca/~ghlin/src/WebTools/hiv.php. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
A Backup Role of DNA Polymerase κ in Ig Gene Hypermutation Only Takes Place in the Complete Absence of DNA Polymerase η1

Patients with the variant form of xeroderma pigmentosum (XPV) syndrome have a genetic deficiency in DNA polymerase (Pol) η, and display accordingly an increased skin sensitivity to UV light, as well as an altered mutation pattern of their Ig V genes in memory B cells, alteration that consists in a reduced mutagenesis at A/T bases. We previously suggested that another polymerase with a different mutation signature, Pol κ, is used as backup for Ig gene hypermutation in both humans and mice in cases of complete Pol η deficiency, a proposition supported in this study by the analysis of Pol η × Pol κ double-deficient mice. We also describe a new XPV case, in which a splice site mutation of the first noncoding exon results in a decreased mRNA expression, a mRNA that otherwise encodes a normal Pol η protein. Whereas the Pol η mRNA level observed in patient’s fibroblasts is one-twentieth the value of healthy controls, it is only reduced to one-fourth of the normal level in activated B cells. Memory B cells from this patient showed a 50% reduction in A/T mutations, with a spectrum that still displays a strict Pol η signature. Pol η thus appears as a dominant enzyme in hypermutation, its presence precluding the use of a substitute enzyme even in conditions of reduced availability. Such a dominant behavior may explain the lack of Pol κ signature in Ig gene mutations of some XPV patients previously described, for whom residual Pol η activity might exist.
Chemical composition and in vitro antioxidant and antibacterial activity of Heracleum transcaucasicum and Heracleum anisactis roots essential oil

Introduction: In vitro antioxidant and antibacterial activity and volatile compositions of two Heracleum species (Apiaceae) including Heracleum transcaucasicum and Heracleum anisactis roots Essential Oil (EO) were investigated. Methods: The volatile compositions of EOs were analyzed by GC/Mass spectroscopy. To detect the antioxidant activity of essential oils TLC-bioautography and DPPH radical scavenging assay by spectrophotometry was performed. Additionally, the antibacterial activity of two essential oils were studied and compared against four pathogenic bacteria by agar disc diffusion method and MIC values of the EOs were determined using the broth dilution method. Results: Myristicin was the dominant component in both EOs. It was identified as 96.87% and 95.15% of the essential oil composition of H. transcaucasicum and H. anisactis roots, respectively. The TLC-bioautography showed antioxidant spots in both EOs and IC50 of H. anisactis and H. transcaucasicum EO was found to be 54 μg × ml (-1) and 77 μg × ml (-1), respectively. Regarding the antimicrobial assay, H. anisactis EO exhibited weak to moderate antibacterial activity against gram-positive bacteria and also Escherichia coli, whereas the essential oil from H. transcaucasicum was inactive. Conclusion: Based on the results from this study, both tested EOs mainly consist of myristicin. Despite the presence of myristicin with known antibacterial property, the EO from H. transcacausicum showed no antibacterial activity. Thus it is supposed that the biological activity of plants is remarkably linked to the extracts’ chemical profile and intercomponents’ synergistic or antagonistic effect could play a crucial role in bioactivity of EOs and other plant extracts.