Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nomonotone spectral gradient method for sparse recovery

In the paper, we present an algorithm framework for the more general problem of minimizing the sum $f(x)+\psi(x)$, where $f$ is smooth and $\psi$ is convex, but possible nonsmooth. At each step, the search direction of the algorithm is obtained by solving an optimization problem involving a quadratic term with diagonal Hessian and Barzilai-Borwein steplength plus $ \psi(x)$. The nonmonotone strategy is combined with -Borwein steplength to accelerate the convergence process. The method with the nomonotone line search techniques is showed to be globally convergent. In particular, if $f$ is convex, we show that the method shares a sublinear global rate of convergence. Moreover, if $f$ is strongly convex, we prove that the method converges R-linearly. Numerical experiments with compressive sense problems show that our approach is competitive with several known methods for some standard $l_2-l_1$ problems.
RealBrush

Conventional digital painting systems rely on procedural rules and physical simulation to render paint strokes. We present an interactive, data-driven painting system that uses scanned images of real natural media to synthesize both new strokes and complex stroke interactions, obviating the need for physical simulation. First, users capture images of real media, including examples of isolated strokes, pairs of overlapping strokes, and smudged strokes. Online, the user inputs a new stroke path, and our system synthesizes its 2D texture appearance with optional smearing or smudging when strokes overlap. We demonstrate high-fidelity paintings that closely resemble the captured media style, and also quantitatively evaluate our synthesis quality via user studies.
A simulation of small group discussion

We describe a simulation of turn-taking in small group discussion which includes behaviours from a range of modalities such as speech, gaze, facial expression, gesture, and posture. The simulation is intended to show how these behaviours contribute to the turn-taking process. The agents that participate in the discussion make probabilistic decisions about whether or not to exhibit behaviours such as speaking, making a backchannel, or shifting posture, within a general framework suggested by the existing largely descriptive literature on turntaking. The group behaviours that characterize turn-taking models, such as turns, simultaneous speech, and competition for the floor, emerge from the individual behaviours of the agents. At this stage in the project the basic model has been designed and prototyped.
Software Quality Metrics Overview

Software metrics can be classified into three categories: product metrics, process metrics, and project metrics. Product metrics describe the characteristics of the product such as size, complexity, design features, performance, and quality level. Process metrics can be used to improve software development and maintenance. Examples include the effectiveness of defect removal during development, the pattern of testing defect arrival, and the response time of the fix process. Project metrics describe the project characteristics and execution. Examples include the number of software developers, the staffing pattern over the life cycle of the software, cost, schedule, and productivity. Some metrics belong to multiple categories. For example, the in-process quality metrics of a project are both process metrics and project metrics. Software quality metrics are a subset of software metrics that focus on the quality aspects of the product, process, and project. In general, software quality metrics are more closely associated with process and product metrics than with project met-rics. Nonetheless, the project parameters such as the number of developers and their skill levels, the schedule, the size, and the organization structure certainly affect the quality of the product. Software quality metrics can be divided further into end-product quality metrics and in-process quality metrics. The essence of software quality engineering is to investigate the relationships among in-process metrics, project characteristics, and end-product quality, and, based on the findings, to engineer improvements in both process and product quality. Moreover, we should view quality from the entire software life-cycle perspective and, in this regard, we should include 85
Simulation Of Time-Continuous Chaotic UEDA Oscillator As The Generator Of Random Numbers For Heuristic

This paper investigates the utilization of the timecontinuous chaotic system, which is UEDA oscillator, as the chaotic pseudo random number generator. (CPRNG). Repeated simulations were performed investigating the influence of the oscillator sampling time to the selected heuristic, which is differential evolution algorithm (DE). Initial experiments were performed on the selected test function in higher dimensions.
Isometric and dynamic contractile properties of porcine skinned cardiac myocytes after stunning.

The purpose of this study was to investigate myofibrillar mechanisms of depressed contractile function associated with myocardial stunning. We first tested whether the degree of stunning was directly related to changes in myofilament Ca2+ sensitivity. Variable degrees and durations of low-flow ischemia were followed by 30 minutes of reperfusion in an open-chest porcine model of regional myocardial stunning (n = 27). Ca2+ sensitivity of isometric tension was measured in skinned myocytes obtained from endocardial biopsies taken during control aerobic flow and after 30 minutes of reperfusion. The degree of stunning, as assessed by percent systolic wall thickening, ranged from -3% to 75% of control but did not correlate (r = .11) with changes in pCa50, ie, pCa for half-maximal tension. Only in the group (n = 10) with the most severe level of ischemia was there a significant decrease in pCa50 (from 5.97 +/- 0.06 in the control condition to 5.86 +/- 0.07 after ischemia, P < .05). Less severe levels of ischemia (n = 17) resulted in significant stunning (percent systolic wall thickening, 38 +/- 4% of control) but no change in pCa50. To investigate the possibility that alterations in myofibrillar cross-bridge kinetics contribute to depressed function in stunning, maximum velocity of shortening (Vo) was measured in postischemic myocytes. Vo in postischemic myocytes was reduced to 56 +/- 4% of Vo in control myocytes and was independent both of the degree of stunning (r = .26) and changes in Ca2+ sensitivity. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Diversity, heterogeneity and orientation‐dependent variation of spike count correlation in the cat visual cortex

Cortical neurons are known to be noisy encoders of information, showing large response variabilities with repeated presentations of identical stimuli. These spike count variabilities are correlated over the cell population and their neuronal mechanism and functional significance have not been well understood. Recently there has been much debate over the magnitude of the population mean of the correlation, ranging from 0.1 to 0.2 down to nearly zero. We performed multi‐neuron recordings on the cat visual cortex and found that the population mean did not necessarily represent the nature of correlated variabilities because the spike count correlation showed significant diversity and heterogeneity. Although the population mean was relatively small (0.06), the correlations of individual unit pairs were distributed over a broad range, extending to both positive and negative values. In most of the recording sessions of local cell populations (83%), significantly positive correlations coexisted with significantly negative ones in different unit pairs. Furthermore, nearly 20% of the unit pairs showed significant variation in the spike count correlation for different stimulus orientations. Correlation analysis between the spike count correlation and the firing activity of the unit pair suggested that the orientation tuning properties of the two quantities were unlikely to have originated from a common neuronal mechanism. Diversity, heterogeneity and context‐dependent variation suggests that the correlated spike count variabilities originate not from fixed anatomical connections but rather from the dynamic interaction of neuronal networks.
Regions on plasmid pCU1 required for the killing of Klebsiella pneumoniae

Plasmid pCU1 was Kik+ (promotes killing of Klebsiella pneumoniae). All Tn5 insertions within the tra region of pCU1 were Kik-. Two other regions, kikA and kikB, were needed. They may be separated on different plasmids, but both must be mobilized into Klebsiella pneumoniae. Establishment of one kik region in K. pneumoniae followed by receipt of the second did not lead to killing. Kik was therefore intracellular and required concerted and transient action of both regions.
Floxed allele for conditional inactivation of the voltage‐gated sodium channel β1 subunit Scn1b

The voltage‐gated sodium channel gene Scn1b encodes the auxiliary subunit β1, which is widely distributed in neurons and glia of the central and peripheral nervous systems, cardiac myocytes, skeletal muscle myocytes, and neuroendocrine cells. We showed previously that the Scn1b null mutation results in a complex and severe phenotype that includes retarded growth, seizures, ataxia, and death by postnatal day 21. We generated a floxed allele of Scn1b by inserting loxP sites surrounding the second coding exon. Ubiquitous deletion of the floxed exon by Cre recombinase using CMV‐Cre‐transgenic mice produced the Scn1bdel allele. The null phenotype of Scn1bdel homozygotes is indistinguishable from that of Scn1b nulls and confirms the invivo inactivation of Scn1b. Conditional inactivation ofthe floxed allele will make it possible to circumvent the lethality that results from complete loss of this gene, such that the physiological role of Scn1b in specific cell types and/or specific developmental time points can be investigated. genesis 45:547–553, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Cyberaide onServe: Software as a Service on Production Grids

The Software as a Service (SaaS) methodology is a key paradigm of Cloud computing. In this paper, we focus on an interesting topic – to implement a Cloud computing functionality, the SaaS model, on existing production Grid infrastructures. In general, production Grids employ a Job-Submission-Execution (JSE) model with rigid access interfaces. In this paper we develop the Cyberaide onServe, a lightweight middleware with a virtual appliance. The Cyberaide onServe implements the SaaS methodology on production Grids by translating the SaaS model to the JSE model. The Cyberaide onServe virtual appliance is deployed on demand, hosts applications as Web services, accepts Web service invocations, and finally the Cyberaide onServe executes them on production Grids. We have deployed the Cyberaide onServe on the TeraGrid infrastructure and test results show Cyberaide onServe can provide the SaaS functionality with good performance.
Molecular Cloning and Expression in Different Microbes of the DNA Encoding Pseudomonas putida U Phenylacetyl-CoA Ligase:

The gene encoding phenylacetyl-CoA ligase (pcl), the first enzyme of the pathway involved in the aerobic catabolism of phenylacetic acid in Pseudomonas putida U, has been cloned, sequenced, and expressed in two different microbes. In both, the primary structure of the protein was studied, and after genetic manipulation, different recombinant proteins were analyzed. The pcl gene, which was isolated from P. putida U by mutagenesis with the transposon Tn5, encodes a 48-kDa protein corresponding to the phenylacetyl-CoA ligase previously purified by us (Martínez-Blanco, H., Reglero, A. Rodríguez-Aparicio, L. B., and Luengo, J. M. (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 7084-7090). Expression of the pcl gene in Escherichia coli leads to the appearance of this enzymatic activity, and cloning and expression of a 10.5-kb DNA fragment containing this gene confer this bacterium with the ability to grow in chemically defined medium containing phenylacetic acid as the sole carbon source. The appearance of phenylacetyl-CoA ligase activity in all of the strains of the fungus Penicillium chrysogenum transformed with a construction bearing this gene was directly related to a significant increase in the quantities of benzylpenicillin accumulated in the broths (between 1.8- and 2.2-fold higher), indicating that expression of this bacterial gene (pcl) helps to increase the pool of a direct biosynthetic precursor, phenylacetyl-CoA. This report describes the sequence of a phenylacetyl-CoA ligase for the first time and provides direct evidence that the expression in P. chrysogenum of a heterologous protein (involved in the catabolism of a penicillin precursor) is a useful strategy for improving the biosynthetic machinery of this fungus.
On the Uniform Distribution of Strings

In this paper, we propose the definition of a measure for sets of strings, over a finite alphabet, that have a length not greater than a given number. This measure leads to an instanciation of the uniform distribution definition in sets of such limited-size strings, for which we provide a linear time complexity generative algorithm. Some ideas could rather easily be extended to other ordered structure types.
Serum pituitary antibodies in normal pregnancy and in patients with postpartum thyroiditis: a nested case-control study.

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to evaluate antipituitary antibody (APA) prevalence in a series of patients with postpartum thyroiditis (PPT) during pregnancy and in the postpartum. DESIGN We conducted a nested case-control study on consecutive PPT and normal pregnant women at the Centre for Endocrine and Diabetes Sciences in Cardiff and at the Department of Endocrinology in Pisa. METHODS We enrolled 30 women with PPT: 17 were hypothyroid (Hypo), 7 with hyperthyroidism (Hyper) and 6 with a transient hyperthyroidism followed by hypothyroidism (Biphasic). Twenty-one healthy pregnant women served as controls. APA (measured using indirect immunofluorescence), free thyroxine, free triiodothyronine, TSH, antithyroid autoantibodies, and thyroid ultrasound were performed during pregnancy and postpartum. The stored sera have been sent to Pisa, where serum APA, IGF1, and cortisol were measured. RESULTS APA were found in 8 out of the 30 PPT patients (26.7%) and in one normal pregnancy (4.7%, P=0.063). Three out of the seventeen Hypo with PPT (17.6%), three out of the seven Hyper PPT (42.8%), and two out of the six Biphasic PPT (33.3%) were positive for APA. APA prevalence was not significantly different in the PPT subgroups (P=0.453). With one exception, APA all increased in the postpartum period (87.5%, P<0.016). Basal serum IGF1 and cortisol were in the normal range with the exception of two patients with positive APA who presented low serum IGF1 levels (36 and 45 ng/ml). CONCLUSIONS APA are frequently present in the postpartum period in patients affected by PPT. Further studies are necessary to evaluate whether APA in PPT patients are associated with pituitary function impairment.
Prolog versus specialized logic inference engine in General Game Playing

In this paper, we study the problem of applying an inference engine, i.e. a mechanism able to derive answers from a knowledge base, to General Game Playing (GGP). Our focus is on the General Game Playing Competition framework proposed by the Stanford Logic Group. This particular embodiment of a multi-game playing uses the Game Description Language (GDL) for representing the knowledge base by means of game rules. The GDL is a variant of Datalog and a subset of Prolog, so there is a strong bond with formal logic languages. We present basic principles of our system which is dedicated to GDL. The motivation is to exceed the performance of Prolog engines applied to GDL, which is currently a common approach. Empirical results show that our solution is indeed faster in 6 out of 7 tested games.
An Efficient Weighted Median Filter for the Restoration of Images Corrupted by Random Valued Impulse Noise

The paper proposes a new adaptive weighted median filter for the restoration of impule corrupted digital images by incorporating the limitations posed by Directional Weighted Median Filter (DWMF [4] and the algorithm proposed by Justin et. al [20]-[21]. The algorithm incorporates sixteen directions to identify the presence of edges and to preserve these detected edges while restoring images. The proposed filter uses an adaptive iterative median filter to replace the impulses. The experimental results shows that the proposed filter works better than other competitive filters and is capable of preserving edges.
State Space Modeling of Thermal Actuators Based on Peltier Cells for Indirect Measurements and Optimal Control

The importance of state space model for indirect measurements systems (IMS) can be highlighted for several operational situations, such as: sensor cost and the inference of sensors in the real world process. The IMS approach can be supported by the theories of system identification, state space description, Box-Jenkins models and microprocessors developments. Our main contribution in this paper is a mathematical model to IMS realization based on state space models, real time algorithms and Peltier cells as thermal actuators. The construction of IMS systems are based on Output-Error models to perform monitoring and control that are used for state space observers and optimal control. For the dynamic system modeling is implemented a low cost data acquisition system microprocessors and sensors acquires the observations that are necessary to estimate the parameters.
Awareness of Aural and Visual Word Boundary within a Sample of First Graders

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the relationships between awareness of visual and aural word boundary for a sample of prereading first graders and to determine the predictive quality of the perceptual tasks in relation to measured reading success at the end of the year. Two informal, but previously used, word-boundary tasks were selected. Good, average, and poor reading readiness determinations were made and groups established. Among the readiness groups, discrimination of aural word boundary did not discriminate performance. However, the covariance procedures indicated that visual segmentation of word boundaries did permit discriminating among performance groups. Ss labeled high in readiness produced significantly more correct visual boundary perceptions than did the low-achieving readiness group. Regression models to predict end-of-year reading achievement by the prereading variables indicated that the word-boundary scores gave significant prediction (Ra = .30, p < .01, multiple R). When considered as a unitary predictor, awareness of aural word boundary, remained a predictor of reading achievement; yet, awareness of visual boundary, when considered as a simple predictor, did not predict success in reading. Apparently, the ability to discriminate the correct boundaries of aural words may influence Ss learning to read. Discrimination of visual boundary was not a readiness factor associated with later reading success.
Boundary sequences of the NADPH oxidase p67(phox) C-terminal SH3 domain play on its specificity.

SH3 domains are found in many signal transduction proteins where they mediate protein-protein binding by recognizing specific peptides rich in proline. Based on the analysis of sequence alignment data, the NADPH oxidase p67(phox) C-terminal SH3 domain possesses a typical compact beta-barrel consisting of five beta-strands arranged in two antiparallel beta-sheets of three and two beta-strands. Multiple amino acid substitutions were made at beta e and its flanking residues to determine the role of the boundary sequences in binding activity and conformational specificity of the domain. Analysis of amino acid P55 indicated that all mutants were completely abolished in their binding activities. The substitution of F58 with Y58 showed no effect of the binding, whereas substitution with stop codon abolished activity. Furthermore, when amino acid V59 was substituted with stop codon, activity was also completely abolished. Substitution of E60 with stop codon showed no effect of binding. Moreover, our data show that V59 particularly could not be replaced by Leu. Taken together, these data suggest that V59 may not only contribute the exact boundary site but also play on the specificity for protein-protein interactions in phagocyte NADPH oxidase.
SA-based orbital design method for GEO-BiSAR resolution improvement

Compared with the monostatic geosynchronous synthetic aperture radar (GEO-SAR) system, GEO bistatic SAR (GEO-BiSAR) shows great advantages in finer spatial resolution and higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) with less system complexity. Many scholars have done researches on resolution of GEO-BiSAR, their models consist of a GEO transmitter and a low Earth orbit (LEO) receiver. The methods of improving the resolution by using two or more receivers are rare. In this paper, the system consists of a geosynchronous illuminator and two LEO receivers. The spectrum shift of SAR images could be introduced by multi-view angles of acquired images in the same coverage. We can widen the bandwidth of SAR images by combining the spectrum of two images to improve the resolution. The formation configuration design of two receivers is the crux of the matter. Then in this paper, an orbital design method of two receivers based on simulated-annealing (SA) algorithm is presented.
Community Support, Community Values: The Experiences of Lesbians Diagnosed with Cancer

SUMMARY The study reported in this article was initiated in response to the paucity of literature focused on Canadian lesbians with cancer. The aims of the study were broadly defined: to increase understanding of Canadian lesbians' experiences with cancer and cancer care, and to suggest directions for change such that lesbians with cancer might be better supported by service providers and lesbian communities. The qualitative study, set in Ontario, Canada, employed a participatory action research model. Twenty-six lesbians were interviewed about their experiences of cancer and cancer care. This article reports research participants' narratives about lesbian community. Findings reveal the complex and sometimes contradictory ways that lesbian community unfolds in the lives of lesbians with cancer. While most participants experienced robust and competent community support, participants also reported instances of isolation and disconnection linked to fear of cancer, homophobia in the broader community, and patterns of exclusion within lesbian communities. As well, while lesbian community norms and values appeared to buffer the negative effects of treatment-related physical changes, such norms also manifested as prescriptions for lesbians with cancer. Findings affirmed the value of creating networks among lesbians with cancer within a context of increased accessibility to mainstream cancer services.