Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance Analysis of an HMM-Based Gesture Recognition Using a Wristwatch Device

Interaction with mobile devices that are intended for everyday use is challenging since such systems are continuously optimized towards small outlines. Watches are a particularly critical as display size, processing capabilities, and weight are tightly constraint. This work presents a watch device with an integrated gesture recognition interface. We report the resource-optimized implementation of our algorithmic solution on the watch and demonstrate that the recognition approach is feasible for such constraint devoices. The system is wearable during everyday activities and was evaluated with eight users to complete questionnaires through intuitive one-hand movements. We developed a procedure to spot and classify input gestures from continuous acceleration data acquired by the watch. The recognition procedure is based on hidden Markov models~(HMM) and was fully implemented on a watch. The algorithm achieved an average recall of 79\% at 93\% precision in recognizing the relevant gestures. The watch implementation of continuous gesture spotting showed a delay below 3\,ms for feature computation, Viterbi path processing, and final classification at less than 4\,KB memory usage.
Differential effect of ABCB1 haplotypes on promoter activity

Objective Promoter single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the ABCB1 gene, encoding the placental efflux transporter P-glycoprotein, can affect its expression and alter xenobiotic transfer from the maternal to the fetal circulation. Because SNPs are arranged in specific combinations as defined haplotypes, the aims of this study were to: (i) determine the placental haplotype structure of the ABCB1 promoter and (ii) determine the differential effect of these haplotypes on placental ABCB1 promoter activity. Materials and methods DNA samples from 100 healthy placentas were PCR-amplified and sequenced to identify existing SNPs in the proximal ABCB1 promoter. The haplotype structure encompassing these SNPs was inferred by PHASE analysis. Luciferase reporter constructs representing these haplotypes were generated and transfected into human placental 3A cells and their effect on ABCB1 promoter activity was determined using a dual-luciferase assay. Results We identified 12 ABCB1 promoter SNPs. These SNPs were predicted by PHASE to segregate into 28 haplotypes with frequencies ranging between 0.019 and 0.88. We found 12 of these haplotypes in our population in addition to two haplotypes not predicted by PHASE. We also generated two haplotypes to determine individual SNP effects for a total of 16 studied. Compared with the ancestral haplotype, three haplotypes significantly up-regulated (107–266% increase; P<0.05), one significantly down-regulated (95.4% decrease; P<0.01), and 12 had no statistically significant effect on ABCB1 promoter activity. Discussion and conclusion Our data show that the effect of SNPs on promoter activity depends on their presence in a specific haplotype. This indicates that haplotypes, rather than individual SNPs, could play a significant role in regulating placental P-glycoprotein expression and affect placental transfer and fetal exposure to xenobiotics.
Effective Antimicrobial Activity of Plectasin-Derived Antimicrobial Peptides against Staphylococcus aureus Infection in Mammary Glands

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is the causative agent for a wide variety of illnesses ranging from minor skin infections to life-threatening diseases. Development of antibiotic resistance by the bacteria has rendered many antibiotics ineffective. It has been known that plectasin-derived antimicrobial peptides (AMPs; NZ2114 and MP1102) are promising alternatives to antibiotics. However, their activities against S. aureus in mammary glands were unknown. Our objective was to assess the antimicrobial activities of NZ2114 and MP1102 against S. aureus in milk, in cultured mammary epithelial cells, and in a mouse model in order to evaluate their potentials as anti-mastitis agents. NZ2114 and MP1102 showed in vitro bactericidal effects against S. aureus in both the culture medium and the milk. NZ2114 and MP1102 at the concentration of 100 μg/mL reduced the number of S. aureus by almost 100% within 4 h in processed bovine milk. Similarly, both NZ2114 and MP1102 were efficient to reduce the number of internalized S. aureus in cultured mammary epithelial cells. Finally, both AMPs significantly reduced the S. aureus load and concentrations of TNF-α and IL-6 in mammary glands, compared to a buffer control in the mouse model. Our results suggest that NZ2114 and MP1102 may be used to treat S. aureus-induced mastitis.
On the nature of peptides involved in T cell alloreactivity

The strong reaction of T cells against foreign major histocompatibility complex (MHC) antigens, commonly termed "alloreactivity", is not only a nuisance for clinical organ transplantation; it also remains a puzzling question for immunologists. By making use of recent technical developments, alloreactive T cells nominally directed against a mutation in a single MHC class I molecule were found to fall into several major categories. One is recognizing peptides whose occurrence is dependent on one particular MHC allele, another is recognizing peptides supported by several MHC alleles, and a third is recognizing peptides occurring independently of MHC alleles. In a fourth category, the binding to MHC of any of a broad range of peptides appears sufficient. In addition, there are T cells for which no peptide involvement could be detected at all. Even within these categories, the heterogeneity of T cells is considerable: among 16 Kb-reactive T cells analyzed, 15 different modes of reactions were found.
Fatigue Characterization of Bituminous Binders Containing Crumb Rubber from End-of-Life Tires

This paper presents the outcomes of an experimental investigation which focused on the fatigue behavior of bituminous binder for paving applications prepared by combining a single reference neat bitumen with different types of crumb rubber products derived from the processing of end-of-life tires. In the laboratory preparation of the blends, crumb rubber dosage was conveniently limited in order to obtain binders characterized by viscosity values compatible with standard operating conditions normally adopted in the production and compaction of bituminous mixtures. Results obtained from time sweep tests carried out in equi-stiffness conditions showed that fatigue performance is enhanced by the use of the considered crumb rubber modifiers with a dosage-dependent improvement of both fatigue life and crack propagation amplitude. Given that the considered crumb rubber products were quite similar, no significant effects were associated to changes of crumb rubber type.
Efek hipoglikemik tepung komposit (ubi jalar ungu, jagung kuning, dan kacang tunggak) pada tikus diabetes induksi streptozotocin

Background: The composite flour (50% sweet potato, 30% corn, and 20% cowpea) had proven that it could substitute 100% wheat flour for biscuit making. Intake of antioxidants, dietary fiber, and protein, had been known to reduce plasma glucose level. Objective: To evaluate the effect of composite flour diet on plasma glucose levels, body weight and food consumption of streptozotocin (STZ)-diabetic rats. Method: Thirty male Sprague-Dawley rats aged ± 2 months (± 200 grams), were divided into three groups of ten rats. They were (1) non-diabetic standard diet (ND-STD), (2) diabetic (65 mg/kg of body weight by STZ induction) standard diet (D-STD), and (3) diabetic composite flour diet (1,5 g/100 g of body weight/day) (D-CFD), for 4 weeks, 3 days after STZ induction. The plasma glucose obtained from GOD-PAP method were determined before induction, after induction and every week during diet intervention. Results: Plasma glucose levels was significantly lower in D-CFD when compared with D-STD (p<0,05). The weight of D-STD was found to be significantly decreased as compared to ND-STD (p<0,05). There were no changes in food consumption of ND-STD, D-STD and D-CFD (p<0,05). Conclusion: The composite flour could reduce plasma glucose level in diabetic rats and did not give negative effects on body weight and food consumption.
Constructing a Dynamic Bayes Net Model of Academic Advising

In this paper we apply ideas from collaborative filtering to the problem of building dynamic Bayesian network (DBN) models for planning. We demonstrate that item-based collaborative filtering can be used to construct dynamic Bayesian networks for use in large, factored domains with sparse data. Such Bayesian networks can model the transition function for decision-theoretic planning. We demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of this technique on an academic advising domain, based on student grades in computer science and related courses at the University of Kentucky.
Abstracting Execution Logs to Execution Events for Enterprise Applications (Short Paper)

Monitoring the execution of large enterprise systems is needed to ensure that such complex systems are performing as expected. However, common techniques for monitoring, such as code instrumentation and profiling have significant performance overhead, and require access to the source code and to system experts. In this paper, we propose using execution logs to monitor the execution of applications. Unfortunately, execution logs are not designed for monitoring purposes. Each occurrence of an execution event results in a different log line, since a log line contains dynamic information which varies for each occurrence of the event. We propose an approach which abstracts log lines to a set of execution events. Our approach can handle log lines without having strict requirements on the format of a log line. Through a case study on a large enterprise application, we demonstrate that our approach performs well when abstracting execution logs for large enterprise applications. We compare our approach against the SLCT tool which is commonly used to find line patterns in logs.
Computer aided diagnostic system for grading of diabetic retinopathy

The automated detection and diagnosis of Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) is very critical to save the patient's vision and to help the ophthalmologists in mass screening of diabetes sufferers. DR is a progressive eye disease and should be detected as early as possible. In this paper, we present a new system for detection and classification of different DR lesions i.e. Microaneurysms (MAs), Haemorrhage (H), Hard Exudates (HE) and Cotton Wool Spots (CWS). We proposed a three stage system in which first stage extracts all possible candidate lesions present in a fundus image suing filter bank. Then feature sets are computed for each candidate lesion using different properties and features followed by classification of lesions. The evaluation of proposed system is performed using retinal image databases with the help of different performance matrices and the results show the validity of proposed system.
Power loss analysis of 3-phase voltage disturbance generator with variation of series transformer turn-ratio

The power loss of a high power voltage disturbance generator is analyzed to design a high efficient generator. The major components of the generator are 3-phase autotransformer, series transformers, and SCR thyristors, which guarantee cost-effective hardware. To maximize the efficiency of the generator the current through these components should be minimized. The only one parameter that can be adjusted to determine the current level is the turn-ratio of the series transformer. Therefore, the power loss analysis is carried out with the variation of the turn ratio.
Costs, effects and implementation of routine data emergency admission risk prediction models in primary care for patients with, or at risk of, chronic conditions: a systematic review protocol

Introduction Emergency admission risk prediction models are increasingly used to identify patients, typically with one or more chronic conditions, for proactive management in primary care to avoid admissions, save costs and improve patient experience. Aim To identify and review the published evidence on the costs, effects and implementation of emergency admission risk prediction models in primary care for patients with, or at risk of, chronic conditions. Methods We shall search for studies of healthcare interventions using routine data-generated emergency admission risk models. We shall report: the effects on emergency admissions and health costs; clinician and patient views; and implementation findings. We shall search ASSIA, CINAHL, the Cochrane Library, HMIC, ISI Web of Science, MEDLINE and Scopus from 2005, review references in and citations of included articles, search key journals and contact experts. Study selection, data extraction and quality assessment will be performed by two independent reviewers. Ethics and dissemination No ethical permissions are required for this study using published data. Findings will be disseminated widely, including publication in a peer-reviewed journal and through conferences in primary and emergency care and chronic conditions. We judge our results will help a wide audience including primary care practitioners and commissioners, and policymakers. Trial registration number CRD42015016874; Pre-results.
On second-order asymptotics of AWGN channels with feedback under the expected power constraint

In this paper, we analyze the asymptotic expansion for additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channels with feedback under an expected power constraint and the average error probability formalism. We show that the ε-capacity depends on ε in general and so the strong converse fails to hold. Furthermore, we provide bounds on the second-order term in the asymptotic expansion. We show that the second-order term is bounded between -ln ln n and a term that is proportional to +√(n ln n). The lower bound on the second-order term shows that feedback does provide an improvement in the maximal achievable rate over the case where no feedback is available.
Electrochemical atomic force microscopy: In situ monitoring of electrochemical processes

The in-situ electrodeposition of polyaniline (PANI), one of the most attractive conducting polymers (CP), has been monitored performing electrochemical atomic force microscopy (EC-AFM) experiments. The electropolymerization of PANI on a Pt working electrode has been observed performing cyclic voltammetry experiments and controlling the evolution of current flowing through the electrode surface, together with a standard AFM image. The working principle and the potentialities of this emerging technique are briefly reviewed and factors limiting the studying of the in-situ electrosynthesis of organic compounds discussed.The in-situ electrodeposition of polyaniline (PANI), one of the most attractive conducting polymers (CP), has been monitored performing electrochemical atomic force microscopy (EC-AFM) experiments. The electropolymerization of PANI on a Pt working electrode has been observed performing cyclic voltammetry experiments and controlling the evolution of current flowing through the electrode surface, together with a standard AFM image. The working principle and the potentialities of this emerging technique are briefly reviewed and factors limiting the studying of the in-situ electrosynthesis of organic compounds discussed.
Multi‐Resolution Cloth Simulation

We propose a novel, multi‐resolution method to efficiently perform large‐scale cloth simulation. Our cloth simulation method is based on a triangle‐based energy model constructed from a cloth mesh. We identify that solutions of the linear system of cloth simulation are smooth in certain regions of the cloth mesh and solve the linear system on those regions in a reduced solution space. Then we reconstruct the original solutions by performing a simple interpolation from solutions computed in the reduced space. In order to identify regions where solutions are smooth, we propose simplification metrics that consider stretching, shear, and bending forces, as well as geometric collisions. Our multi‐resolution method can be applied to many existing cloth simulation methods, since our method works on a general linear system. In order to demonstrate benefits of our method, we apply our method into four large‐scale cloth benchmarks that consist of tens or hundreds of thousands of triangles. Because of the reduced computations, we achieve a performance improvement by a factor of up to one order of magnitude, with a little loss of simulation quality.
Study on Delaunay tessellations of 1-irregular cuboids for 3D mixed element meshes

Mixed elements meshes based on the modified octree approach contain several co-spherical point configurations. While generating Delaunay tessellations to be used together with the finite volume method, it is not necessary to partition them into tetrahedra; co-spherical elements can be used as final elements. This paper presents a study of all co-spherical elements that appear while tessellating a 1-irregular cuboid (cuboid with at most one Steiner point on its edges) with different aspect ratio. Steiner points can be located at any position between the edge endpoints. When Steiner points are located at edge midpoints, 24 co-spherical elements appear while tessellating 1-irregular cubes. By inserting internal faces and edges to these new elements, this number is reduced to 13. When 1-irregular cuboids with aspect ratio equal to $\sqrt{2}$ are tessellated, 10 co-spherical elements are required. If 1-irregular cuboids have aspect ratio between 1 and $\sqrt{2}$, all the tessellations are adequate for the finite volume method. When Steiner points are located at any position, the study was done for a specific Steiner point distribution on a cube. 38 co-spherical elements were required to tessellate all the generated 1-irregular cubes. Statistics about the impact of each new element in the tessellations of 1-irregular cuboids are also included. This study was done by developing an algorithm that construct Delaunay tessellations by starting from a Delaunay tetrahedral mesh built by Qhull.
Translation Elongation Factor 1A Facilitates the Assembly of the Tombusvirus Replicase and Stimulates Minus-Strand Synthesis

Replication of plus-strand RNA viruses depends on host factors that are recruited into viral replicase complexes. Previous studies showed that eukaryotic translation elongation factor (eEF1A) is one of the resident host proteins in the highly purified tombusvirus replicase complex. Using a random library of eEF1A mutants, we identified one mutant that decreased and three mutants that increased Tomato bushy stunt virus (TBSV) replication in a yeast model host. Additional in vitro assays with whole cell extracts prepared from yeast strains expressing the eEF1A mutants demonstrated several functions for eEF1A in TBSV replication: facilitating the recruitment of the viral RNA template into the replicase complex; the assembly of the viral replicase complex; and enhancement of the minus-strand synthesis by promoting the initiation step. These roles for eEF1A are separate from its canonical role in host and viral protein translation, emphasizing critical functions for this abundant cellular protein during TBSV replication.
Differential Effects of Dietary Fat Content and Protein Source on Bone Phenotype and Fatty Acid Oxidation in Female C57Bl/6 Mice

Background Glycomacropeptide (GMP) is a 64-amino acid glycophosphopeptide released from κ-casein during cheesemaking that promotes satiety, reduces body fat, increases bone mass and infers prebiotic and anti-inflammatory effects. The impact of adiposity and gender on bone health is unclear. Objective To determine how feeding female mice diets providing 60% Fat Kcal (high-fat) or 13% Fat Kcal (control) with either GMP or casein as the protein source impacts: body composition, ex vivo fatty acid oxidation, bone (femoral) biomechanical performance, and the relationship between body composition and bone. Methods Weanling female C57Bl/6 mice were fed high-fat (60% Fat Kcal) or control diets (13% Fat Kcal) with GMP or casein from 3 to 32 weeks of age with assessment of body weight and food intake. Body composition was assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Fatty acid oxidation was measured in liver, muscle, and fat tissues using 14C-palmitate. Plasma concentrations of hormones and cytokines were determined. Bone biomechanical performance was assessed by the 3-point bending test. Results Female mice fed high-fat diets showed increased fatty acid oxidation capacity in both gastrocnemius muscle and brown adipose tissue compared to mice fed the control diets with a lower fat content. Despite increased fat mass in mice fed the high-fat diets, there was little evidence of glucose impairment or inflammation. Mice fed the high-fat diets had significantly greater total body bone mineral density (BMD), femoral BMD, and femoral cross-sectional area than mice fed the control diets. Femora of mice fed the high-fat diets had increased yield load and maximum load before fracture, consistent with greater bone strength, but reduced post-yield displacement or ductility, consistent with bone brittleness. Female mice fed a high-fat GMP diet displayed increased fat oxidation capacity in subcutaneous fat relative to mice fed the high-fat casein diet. Regardless of dietary fat content, GMP increased total body bone mineral content and femur length. The prebiotic properties of GMP may mediate the beneficial effects of GMP on bone. Conclusions Female mice adapt to high-fat feeding by increasing oxidative capacity in muscle tissue and to a lesser extent brown adipose tissue. High-fat feeding in female mice leads to development of a bone phenotype where femora show increased BMD and are stronger, yet more brittle. The increased brittleness of bone was associated with increased body fat content due to high-fat feeding. In summary, high-fat feeding in female mice increases mineralization of bone, but negatively impacts bone quality resulting in brittle bones.
White Paper SPRAB 12 – November 2008 Signal Processing Overview of Ultrasound Systems for Medical Imaging

This white paper provides a description of ultrasound imaging systems with focus on the signal processing strategies. The different system components are briefly discussed followed by a description of ultrasound related peculiarities that the system needs to handle. The system processing for B-mode imaging can be roughly divided into three components: the front end (that includes transmission, reception, and digitization of ultrasound signal), followed by beamforming (to focus on a particular scan line), the mid end (that performs demodulation, envelope detection, and compression), and finally, the back end (that performs various image enhancement and rendering functions). The processing required in Doppler mode is described and, finally, the processing and issues related to 3D/4D imaging using ultrasound systems are briefly discussed.
Cooperation in wireless networks: a game-theoretic framework with reinforcement learning

A game-theoretic framework based on the iterated prisoner's dilemma (IPD) is proposed to model the repeated dynamic interactions of multiple source nodes when communicating with multiple destinations in an ad hoc wireless network. In such networks where nodes are autonomous, selfish and not familiar with other nodes' strategies, fully cooperative behaviours cannot be assumed. Therefore reinforcement learning is studied to relate the utility function of each source node to actions previously taken in order to learn a strategy that maximises their expected future reward. Particularly, a Q-learning algorithm is proposed to allow network nodes to adapt to and play the IPD game against opponents with a variety of known and unknown strategies. Simulation results illustrate that the proposed Q-learning algorithm allows network nodes to play optimally and achieve their maximum expected return values.