Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DYNAMIC CONTENT-BASED IMAGE SEARCH AND RETRIEVAL BY COMBINING LOW LEVEL FEATURES

With the Advancements and popularity of the social network and enlargement of multimedia technology, The traditional Image retrieval do not pacify the expectations of user. In modern days with the increase of social networking mediums, so many digital images are uploaded day by day. In order to access this very large image collection the new techniques are very crucial. Image mining system is the Content-Based Image Retrieval (CBIR) which implements retrieval based on the similarity described in terms of extracted features with more goodness. In this paper, dynamic content-based image search and retrieval is conferred, called Hybrid feature extraction method. The perceptible contents of an image such as shape, color and texture are availed in content-Based Image Retrieval (CBIR). The Proposed algorithm which associate the advantages of distinct algorithms to improve the performance and accuracy of retrieval. The accuracy of color histogram based matching can be marked up by using Color Coherence Vector for successive depuration. The Fourier Descriptors with Fast Fourier transform and Extended Hough transform can strengthen the speed of shape based retrieval. The Gabor filter has been generally adopted to extract image features, peculiarly texture features. Feature Vector Normalization can be set to make sure that different feature vectors in the similarity measurement process. In this way the texture, color and shape features are united to provide a prosperous feature set for retrieving image. In addition to this, relevance feedback (RF) scheme is refined to progress the attainment of content-based image retrieval (CBIR). KEYWORDS— Content-Based Image Retrieval, Interactive Multimedia Processing, Biased Discriminant Analysis, Relevance Feedback, Machine Learning, Wavelet, Gabor filter and Bayesian network.
IMPORTANCE OF SMOKE TOXICITY IN FIRE HAZARD ASSESSMENT

Smoke toxicity in a building fire should be watched carefully. In fact, people died in building fires were mainly due to smoke, not heat. Many tests were developed to determine the toxic potency data for different materials. Samples of surface lining materials commonly used in Hong Kong are tested to determine the toxic potency data of burning those selected materials. Smoke toxicity and the effects of toxic components of smoke on human beings following NFPA 269 and ASTM E 1678 will be followed. Such tests should be specified in the local fire codes.
An Autogeneic Feeder Cell System That Efficiently Supports Growth of Undifferentiated Human Embryonic Stem Cells

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) have great potential as a source of cells for therapeutic uses, but their culture requires the support of mouse or human cells, either directly as a feeder cell layer or indirectly as a source of conditioned medium in feeder‐free culture systems. Unfortunately, the risks of cross‐transfer of pathogens from xenogeneic or allogeneic feeders or cell by‐products limit their medical applications. In addition, not all human feeders support the growth of hESCs equally well, and ethical concerns have been raised regarding the derivation of feeder cells from aborted human fetuses.
The Prevalence of Depression and Its Relevance to Clinical and Radiological Characteristics among Older Adults with Knee Osteoarthritis

In this study we assessed the prevalence of depression and its relevance to pain intensity, functional status (health related disability) and radiographic severity in older adults with knee osteoarthritis (OA). One hundred and thirty-eight elderly (sixty-five years or older) patients with knee OA and 82 age and sex matched healthy controls were included into the study. Beck depression scale was used to assess depressive disorders in all participants. The pain intensity, functional status and radiographic severity in patients were assessed with a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), the Western Ontario and Mc-Master Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), and the Kellgren-Lawrence grading system,respectively. Depression was detected in 49.3% of patients and 12.3% of controls. In patients group whose BDI scores were ≥17, the scores of VAS, WOMAC, and radiographic severity were found to be statistically significantly higher, compared to the group whose BDI scores were <17. A positive correlation was detected between BDI score and VAS, WOMAC and radiological classification scores in patients with knee OA. In linear regression analysis, the most significant determinant for the level of depression was WOMAC score. The present study shows that depression is a commonly encountered comorbidity in older adults with knee OA. The level of depression was correlated with the severity of the disorder, especially in patients whose WOMAC score was high. Therefore, coexisting depression should be taken into account in the assessment and management of older patients with knee OA.
DYNAMIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INVESTMENT, EARNINGS AND DIVIDENDS: EVIDENCE FROM ENGINEERING SECTOR OF PAKISTAN

This study examines the relationship among profit, investment and dividend decisions for the firms of engineering sector listed in Karachi Stock Exchange. Using the multivariate vector autoregressive model, granger causality and impulse response function, this study identifies the strong relationship among profit, dividend and investment. Investment and dividends have bidirectional causality while in case of investment and net profit causality runs from investment to profits. In case of dividends and profits, causality runs from dividends to net profit indicating the presence of information content of dividends. However, investment is the most important particularly with regard to its substantial and long lasting impact on profits and consequently on dividend decisions. As far as allocation of profits towards investments and dividends are concerned, it is found that profits are allocated more towards paying dividends rather than making investments and most of the investments are made out of external financing. However, in view of relationship among investments, dividends and profits it is important to review decisions regarding making investment and dividends after four years and three years respectively.
Application of kernel density estimation for color image filtering

This paper presents a new filtering scheme for the removal of impulsive noise in color images. It is based on estimating the probability density function for color pixels in a filter window by means of the kernel density estimation method. A quantitative comparison of the proposed filter with the vector median filter shows its excellent ability to reduce noise while simultaneously preserving fine image details.
The diminished effect of psychological empowerment on the self‐empowered

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the relationship between psychological empowerment and performance on service quality is moderated by the need for achievement.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 94 full‐time property managers in Hong Kong using a self‐administered survey.Findings – The findings indicate that both empowerment and need for achievement are correlated positively to service quality and that the relationship between empowerment and service quality is moderated by need for achievement such that the strength of the positive relationship between empowerment and service quality decreases as need for achievement increases.Research limitations/implications – All of the data are self‐reported, from a single source, and obtained from the same method (i.e. a five‐point Likert scale), thereby bringing into question the effect of common method bias. However, a single‐component test shows that the majority of the covariance between the constructs is not due to c.
THE EXIT OF VENTURE CAPITAL AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE IN NEWLY-PUBLIC FIRMS

This study addresses the relation between the exit of venture capital and opportunistic behavior in financial disclosure. Specifically, I examine whether the exit of venture capital is associated with income-increasing earnings management in the IPO year and financial statement restatements related to the period prior to the exit of venture capital. After controlling for the endogenous choice of exit, I document that, consistent with earnings management, the exit of venture capitalists (VCs) is significantly positively related to performance-matched discretionary accruals in the IPO year. Regardless of VCs' exiting, their stockholdings prior to the expiration of the lockup period are negatively related to discretionary accruals in the IPO year. Surprisingly, VC representation on the audit committee has no significant relation with income-increasing earnings management.Restatements are less likely to happen prior to or during the period of VCs' exit, and more likely to happen after VCs exiting. My results support this hypothesis. I find that the exit of venture capital right after the lockup expiration is negatively associated with the probability of announcing a restatement in the period T1, but positively associated with the probability of announcing a restatement in the period T2. More importantly, the exit of venture capital has a significant impact on the relation between VCs' stockholdings and the probability of announcing a restatement prior to VCs' exiting. Only for firms with VCs' exiting, does VC representation on the audit committee have a significantly negative association with the probability of announcing a restatement prior to VCs' exiting. Neither VCs' holdings nor VCs' representation on the audit committee has a significant relation with the probability of announcing a restatement after the exit of venture capital.The associations I find are robust to the usage of different instruments for the exit of venture capital, different measure for discretionary accruals, the inclusion of control variables for the intended use of proceeds, auditor's characteristics and CEO's incentives to manage earnings.Finally, my results indicate that as in the case without VC exit, firms with VCs exiting have similar abnormal stock returns during the lockup period and for the period from the lockup expiration through the record date of the first proxy available thereafter. The exit of venture capital is associated with a lower likelihood of securities class action after the IPO. In addition, I find some evidence that income-increasing earnings management imposes some costs on venture capitalists, e.g., fewer new IPOs and greater underpricing for new IPOs.Overall, my findings suggest that litigation risk and reputation cost are not strong enough to restrain venture capitalists from pursuing the benefits of opportunistic behavior in financial disclosure.
A Method for Large-scale Identification of Protein Arginine Methylation*

The lack of methods for proteome-scale detection of arginine methylation restricts our knowledge of its relevance in physiological and pathological processes. Here we show that most tryptic peptides containing methylated arginine(s) are highly basic and hydrophilic. Consequently, they could be considerably enriched from total cell extracts by simple protocols using either one of strong cation exchange chromatography, isoelectric focusing, or hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography, the latter being by far the most effective of all. These methods, coupled with heavy methyl-stable isotope labeling by amino acids in cell culture and mass spectrometry, enabled in T cells the identification of 249 arginine methylation sites in 131 proteins, including 190 new sites and 93 proteins not previously known to be arginine methylated. By extending considerably the number of known arginine methylation sites, our data reveal a novel proline-rich consensus motif and identify for the first time arginine methylation in proteins involved in cytoskeleton rearrangement at the immunological synapse and in endosomal trafficking.
Exploring the Perceived Ease of Use by Professors in Tesys e-Learning Platform

E-learning platforms are educational environments that have grown once with the information technology. They bring several features and advantages but there are also enough features that may be developed and others that may be explored. This paper presents an exploratory analysis regarding how the professor perceive the ease of use of the Tesys e-Learning platform. In order to perform the analysis, we use R and Wilcox statistics. We separated the data in two groups using the number of years and hours spent on the platform and tested them for group significant separation. The results show no difference between groups and so, we can conclude that all the subjects that completed the questionnaire are not influenced by other factors. There is also another implication of the results of this study because having the same results for both groups there is a consistency between all answers and the average grade a question got. Author
'Banging the Close': Price Manipulation or Optimal Execution?

This paper develops an equilibrium model of an alleged manipulative trading practice known as “banging the close”. The trading practice played a central role in the recent fixing scandal in foreign exchange markets, but there are also recent high-profile regulatory cases from equity, commodity and derivative markets. We show, in an equilibrium with an arbitrary number of strategic dealers, that the trading practice occurs naturally as the solution to dealers’ optimal execution-problem. It is not clear that “banging the close” satisfies economic definitions of price manipulation, but nonetheless the practice distorts the benchmark price as a measure of the fair value of an asset. We therefore develop specific policy advice for regulators who want to curb the practice.
Buprenorphine + naloxone plus naltrexone for the treatment of cocaine dependence: the Cocaine Use Reduction with Buprenorphine (CURB) study.

AIMS To examine the safety and effectiveness of buprenorphine + naloxone sublingual tablets (BUP, as Suboxone(®) ) provided after administration of extended-release injectable naltrexone (XR-NTX, as Vivitrol(®) ) to reduce cocaine use in participants who met DSM-IV criteria for cocaine dependence and past or current opioid dependence or abuse. METHODS This multi-centered, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, conducted under the auspices of the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network, randomly assigned 302 participants at sites in California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Texas, Georgia, Ohio, New York and Washington DC, USA to one of three conditions provided with XR-NTX: 4 mg/day BUP (BUP4, n = 100), 16 mg/day BUP (BUP16, n = 100, or no buprenorphine (placebo; PLB, n = 102). Participants received pharmacotherapy for 8 weeks, with three clinic visits per week. Cognitive behavioral therapy was provided weekly. Follow-up assessments occurred at 1 and 3 months post-intervention. The planned primary outcome was urine drug screen (UDS)-corrected, self-reported cocaine use during the last 4 weeks of treatment. Planned secondary analyses assessed cocaine use by UDS, medication adherence, retention and adverse events. RESULTS No group differences were found between groups for the primary outcome (BUP4 versus PLB, P = 0.262; BUP16 versus PLB, P = 0.185). Longitudinal analysis of UDS data during the evaluation period using generalized linear mixed equations found a statistically significant difference between BUP16 and PLB [P = 0.022, odds ratio (OR) = 1.71] but not for BUP4 (P = 0.105, OR = 1.05). No secondary outcome differences across groups were found for adherence, retention or adverse events. CONCLUSIONS Buprenorphine + naloxone, used in combination with naltrexone, may be associated with reductions in cocaine use among people who meet DSM-IV criteria for cocaine dependence and past or current opioid dependence or abuse.
Implementation of Excellent Service of Government Agency

This research was conducted in the public service of government Agency that has received an excellent service award. Practical implementation of excellent service of government Agency to the citizen was identified in detail to uncover the phenomena of the study. The research focuses on two sides of the service, both of internal (provider) and external (citizen satisfaction). A qualitative approach was conducted to explore the research focus in-depth. The informants were people engaged in the practice of excellent service delivery, both internally and externally in addition to the elements of the government. The internal side under the study consists of six elements, namely, leadership, service standards and SOP (Standard Operating Procedure), personnel, information services, facilities and infrastructures and handling of complaints. The element of leadership is the most important element to form a provider and determine the best management in achieving excellent service. Meanwhile,the external side shows there are ten elements that can lead to citizen satisfaction or dissatisfaction. The most highlight element of the satisfaction of the cititen being served is the speed of service. In the end, excellent service delivery requires the balance between the two sides, where the provision of excellent service to the citizen should also be supported by a first-rate managed provider
Confidence in Government and Assessment of Market Structure: The Impact on the Productivity of Firms Innovation Activities

This paper focuses on the influence of decisions made by government and market structure on productivity of innovation activities. People expect state representatives to manage public resources accurately and pursuit the most desirable community's surplus in terms of economic welfare. Businesses presume policy-takers to legislate in an effort to guarantee a favorable environment, thus backing economic growth. Based on an international empirical survey conducted in five European countries, this paper finds a sound mediating effect of new service development. The higher the propensity towards innovation activities the higher the probability of obtaining benefits from competitive pressure. In fact innovation oriented firms outperform the market by converting ideas into business, as a consequence, enhancing, updating or consolidating their offer portfolio. Results stem from two structural equation models that constitute the originality of this study. Since confidence in public policies also depends on the transparency of the procedures, this paper concludes, suggesting that policy-makers shall guarantee simple regulation frameworks if they wanted concretely support firms in the light of European rules on competition.
Brainstorms: Philosophical Essays on Mind and Psychology

A collection of 17 essays exploring the central issues of the philosophy of the mind, and human interaction with psychology and evolutionary biology. This book questions the relationship between psychology and morality as well as exploring the concept of human intentionality. It argues that intentional attributes such as desires, goals, beliefs and knowledge are purely mechanistic. The author also considers the meaning of mental imagery, sensations, pain and other puzzling aspects of consciousness. Central to the discussion of the book is the question of whether psychology can support a vision of humans as moral agents, free to choose what they do and responsible for their actions.
Characterization of microsatellite loci for the western cherry fruit fly, Rhagoletis indifferens (Diptera: Tephritidae)

The western cherry fruit fly (Rhagoletis indifferens) is a major pest of cherry crops in western North America, yet relatively little is known about its population structure or movement patterns due to the difficulty of studying these parameters directly in the field. We isolated and characterized a set of 16 polymorphic microsatellite loci specific to R. indifferens that display sufficient polymorphism to assess genetic structure and movement patterns. All 16 loci amplified in one or more other Rhagoletis species, indicating that they are useful tools for genetic analysis in other members of the genus, many of which are also agricultural pests.
Characterization of Transgenic Tobacco Plants Containing Bacterial bphc Gene and Study of Their Phytoremediation Ability

Genetically modified plants can serve as an efficient tool for remediation of diverse dangerous pollutants of the environment such as pesticides, heavy metals, explosives and persistent organic compounds. Transgenic lines of Nicotiana tabacum containing bacterial bphC gene from the degradation pathway of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were tested. The product of the bphC gene – enzyme 2,3-dihydroxybiphenyl-1,2-dioxygenase is responsible for cleaving of the biphenyl ring. The presence of bphC gene in transgenic plants was detected on DNA, RNA and protein level. The expression of the bphC/His gene was verified after purification of the enzyme from plants by affinity chromatography followed by a Western blot and immunochemical assay. The enzyme activity of isolated protein was detected.Efficient transformation of 2,3-DHB by transgenic plants was achieved and the lines also exhibited high production of biomass. The transgenic plants were more tolerant to the commercial PCBs mixture Delor 103 than non-transgenic tobacco. And finally, the higher decrease of total PCB content and especially congener 28 in real contaminated soil from a dumpsite was determined after cultivation of transgenic plant in comparison with non-transgenic tobacco. The substrate specificity of transgenic plants was the same as substrate specificity of BphC enzyme.
Effect of Chelate Type and Radioisotope on the Imaging Efficacy of 4 Fibrin-Specific PET Probes

Thrombus formation plays a major role in cardiovascular diseases, but noninvasive thrombus imaging is still challenging. Fibrin is a major component of both arterial and venous thrombi and represents an ideal candidate for imaging of thrombosis. Recently, we showed that 64Cu-DOTA–labeled PET probes based on fibrin-specific peptides are suitable for thrombus imaging in vivo; however, the metabolic stability of these probes was limited. Here, we describe 4 new probes using either 64Cu or aluminum fluoride (Al18F) chelated to 2 NOTA derivatives. Methods: Probes were synthesized using a known fibrin-specific peptide conjugated to either NODAGA (FBP8, FBP10) or NOTA-monoamide (FBP9, FBP11) as chelators, followed by labeling with 64Cu (FBP8 and FBP9) or Al18F (FBP10 and FBP11). PET imaging efficacy, pharmacokinetics, biodistribution, and metabolic stability were assessed in a rat model of arterial thrombosis. Results: All probes had similar nanomolar affinity (435–760 nM) for the soluble fibrin fragment DD(E). PET imaging allowed clear visualization of thrombus by all probes, with a 5-fold or higher thrombus-to-background ratio. Compared with the previous DOTA derivative, the new 64Cu probes FBP8 and FBP9 showed substantially improved metabolic stability (>85% intact in blood at 4 h after injection), resulting in high uptake at the target site (0.5–0.8 percentage injected dose per gram) that persisted over 5 h, producing increasingly greater target-to-background ratios. The thrombus uptake was 5- to 20-fold higher than the uptake in the contralateral artery, blood, muscle, lungs, bone, spleen, large intestine, and heart at 2 h after injection and 10- to 40-fold higher at 5 h. The Al18F derivatives FBP10 and FBP11 were less stable, in particular the NODAGA conjugate (FBP10, <30% intact in blood at 4 h after injection), which showed high bone uptake and low thrombus-to-background ratios that decreased over time. The high thrombus-to-contralateral ratios for all probes were confirmed by ex vivo biodistribution and autoradiography. The uptake in the liver (<0.5 percentage injected dose per gram), kidneys, and blood were similar for all tracers, and they all showed predominant renal clearance. Conclusion: FBP8, FBP9, and FBP11 showed excellent metabolic stability and high thrombus-to-background ratios and represent promising candidates for imaging of thrombosis in vivo.