Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Perceptual photometric seamlessness in projection-based tiled displays

Arguably, the most vexing problem remaining for multi-projector displays is that of photometric (brightness) seamlessness within and across different projectors. Researchers have strived for <i>strict photometric uniformity</i> that achieves identical response at every pixel of the display. However, this goal typically results in displays with severely compressed dynamic range and poor image quality. In this article, we show that strict photometric uniformity is not a requirement for achieving photometric seamlessness. We introduce a general goal for photometric seamlessness by defining it as an optimization problem, balancing <i>perceptual uniformity</i> with <i>display quality</i>. Based on this goal, we present a new method to achieve <i>perceptually seamless high quality displays</i>. We first derive a model that describes the photometric response of projection-based displays. Then we estimate the model parameters and modify them using perception-driven criteria. Finally, we use the graphics hardware to reproject the image computed using the modified model parameters by manipulating only the projector inputs at interactive rates. Our method has been successfully demonstrated on three different practical display systems at Argonne National Laboratory, made of 2 × 2 array of four projectors, 2 × 3 array of six, projectors, and 3 × 5 array of fifteen projectors. Our approach is efficient, automatic and scalable---requiring only a digital camera and a photometer. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first approach and system that addresses the photometric variation problem from a perceptual stand point and generates truly seamless displays with high dynamic range.
SENSA: Sensitivity Analysis for Quantitative Change-Impact Prediction

Sensitivity analysis determines how a system responds to stimuli variations, which can benefit important software-engineering tasks such as change-impact analysis. We present SENSA, a novel dynamic-analysis technique and tool that combines sensitivity analysis and execution differencing to estimate the dependencies among statements that occur in practice. In addition to identifying dependencies, SENSA quantifies them to estimate how much or how likely a statement depends on another. Quantifying dependencies helps developers prioritize and focus their inspection of code relationships. To assess the benefits of quantifying dependencies with SENSA, we applied it to various statements across Java subjects to find and prioritize the potential impacts of changing those statements. We found that SENSA predicts the actual impacts of changes to those statements more accurately than static and dynamic forward slicing. Our SENSA prototype tool is freely available for download.
Comparing Shallow versus Deep Neural Network Architectures for Automatic Music Genre Classification

In this paper we investigate performance differences of different neural network architectures on the task of automatic music genre classification. Comparative evaluations on four well known datasets of different sizes were performed including the application of two audio data augmentation methods. The results show that shallow network architectures are better suited for small datasets than deeper models, which could be relevant for experiments and applications which rely on small datasets. A noticeable advantage was observed through the application of data augmentation using deep models. A final comparison with previous evaluations on the same datasets shows that the presented neural network based approaches already outperform state-of-the-art handcrafted music features.
Three-dimensional printing of the retina

Purpose of review Biological three-dimensional printing has received a lot of media attention over recent years with advances made in printing cellular structures, including skin and heart tissue for transplantation. Although limitations exist in creating functioning organs with this method, the hope has been raised that creating a functional retina to cure blindness is within reach. The present review provides an update on the advances made toward this goal. Recent findings It has recently been shown that two types of retinal cells, retinal ganglion cells and glial cells, can be successfully printed using a piezoelectric inkjet printer. Importantly, the cells remained viable and did not change certain phenotypic features as a result of the printing process. In addition, recent advances in the creation of complex and viable three-dimensional cellular structures have been made. Summary Some first promising steps toward the creation of a functional retina have been taken. It now needs to be investigated whether recent findings can be extended to other cells of the retina, including those derived from human tissue, and if a complex and viable retinal structure can be created through three-dimensional printing.
Impact of bivalirudin on in‐hospital bleeding and six‐month outcomes in octogenarians undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention

Objectives: This study aimed to analyze the impact of replacing heparin with bivalirudin in octogenarians undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) on postprocedure hemorrhage and 6‐month mortality. Background: Randomized trials comparing the antithrombin agent bivalirudin with heparin as the intraprocedural anticoagulant identify a reduction in periprocedural bleeding after PCI. Further, the occurrence of such bleeding seems to predict an increased risk of death or myocardial infarction both in‐hospital and at long‐term follow‐up. Importantly, elderly people who are at the greatest risk of post‐PCI bleeding complications are underrepresented in these randomized trials. Methods: From 2000 to 2007, 2,766 consecutive patients from our center who were ≥80 years of age underwent PCI with stent implantation and were included in this analysis. Bivalirudin was used in 1,207 (43.6%) patients and heparin in 1,559 (56.4%). We compared the rates of post‐PCI bleeding complications and 6‐month mortality. Results: The overall in‐hospital bleeding and 6‐month mortality rates were 4.6% and 11.8%, respectively. By multivariate logistic regression and after adjustment by propensity score analysis, bivalirudin was associated with a significant decrease in in‐hospital bleedings (HR = 0.41, 95% CI = 0.23–0.73, P = 0.003). By multivariate Cox analysis, bivalirudin was also associated with a significant decrease (HR = 0.6, 95% CI = 0.4–0.9, P = 0.01) and in‐hospital bleedings with a significant increase in the 6‐month mortality (HR = 2.5, 95% CI = 1.6–3.9, P < 0.001). Conclusion: This study suggests an important subset for use of bivalirudin in lieu of heparin that will benefit the very elderly. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Work ability index of young employees and their sickness absence during the following year.

OBJECTIVES The work ability index is widely used in occupational health care. The aim of this study was to determine the extent to which a low index among young employees is predictive of sickness absence during the following year. METHODS Altogether 3725 employees aged 31 years were followed from 1997 to 1999 as part of the northern Finland birth cohort 1966 study. The participants' self-administered questionnaires at baseline and a 1-year follow-up period with comprehensive sickness absence records was obtained from the Social Insurance Institution of Finland. The records contained only medically certified long-term sickness absences (>9 days). A multivariable logistic regression was used to examine how the work ability index and covariates were associated with sickness absence during the following year. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated for the index and its covariates. RESULTS In a comparison with an excellent index score (>44 points), a low score (<37 points) was associated with sickness absence for both the men (OR 3.6, 95% CI 1.6-7.9) and the women (OR 6.2, 95% CI 2.9 to 13.5) after adjustment for occupation, control over work, social support at work, marital status, number of children at home, physical activity, body mass index, and alcohol consumption. Of the 518 participants with a low index, 90 had long-term sickness absence, giving a positive predictive value of 17.4% (95% CI 14.1-20.6). The negative predictive value was 93.1% (95% CI 92.3-94.0). CONCLUSIONS For young employees, the work ability index is a practical tool for predicting long-term sickness absence, but it does not predict "no sickness absence".
Culicoides midges (Ceratopogonidae) in some localities of Saudi Arabia and their veterinary significance.

Despite reports of severe outbreaks of arboviral diseases in domestic animals in Saudi Arabia, very little effort has been made to study the potential local vectors of these diseases. Diseases such as bluetongue and African horse sickness were reported in Saudi Arabia. Such diseases are internationally known to be vectored by Culicoides midges. The present study was undertaken at three localities in Saudi Arabia where arboviral activity had previously been reported. Results revealed the presence of four Culicoides species in the three localities. Two of these species were confirmed as vectors of arboviruses of domestic animals in neighbouring countries. The results were discussed in relation to the epidemiology of arboviral diseases in Saudi Arabia.
Competitive Strategies and Organizational Change

The debates about organizational responses to economic crisis have focussed on the need for strategic and structural realignment. Work organization is rarely considered as an integral element of competitive strategy. Current shifts in the contours of previously stable mass markets and product and process innovation demand equally profound organizational change to maintain competitiveness. In this context maintaining or regaining competitive advantage is critically dependent upon striking an optimal balance between maximizing the productivity and versatility of work organization. We examine the impetus, dynamics and impact of pervasive change processes in three contrasting organizations, Pilkingtons, Rank Xerox and Ford U.K. While Pilkingtons relied entirely upon existing managerial expertise, the latter two companies were distinctive in that they drew vital conceptual elements of their change agendas from their organizational links with, respectively, a Japanese and American company. From these case studies we conclude that significant business turnarounds were achieved by these companies because strategic choice, work organization, company culture and organizational realignment were conceived of and operationalized as complementary elements of their competitive strategy.
The value of Grounded Theory in researching psychological and nursing Practices

Many years of hypothetico-deductive research in psychology and nursing have not mediated in resolving the problem of subjectivity of researcher and participant. The fields of nursing, psychotherapy, counselling and psychology would greatly benefit from a sharper understanding of the lived experience of those holders of knowledge who are investigated. This is better achieved through qualitative methods. Qualitative research is increasing in popularity, mostly due to the growing recognition that the testing of hypotheses, especially in experimental settings, is not without researcher bias. Indeed, the subjectivities of researchers and participants mediate in the construction of new knowledge. Objectivity in researchers refers to ideas that phenomena exist out there and if we are consistent with our observations and rigorous with our methods we could discover the truth. There is now growing recognition that researchers are subjects who exercise our agency uniquely and the issue is how we manage our agency rather than denying its existence.
HST Luminosity Functions of the Globular Clusters M10, M22, and M55. A comparison with other clusters

From a combination of deep Hubble Space Telescope V and I images with groundbased images in the same bands, we have obtained color-magnitude diagrams of M10, M22, and M55, extending from just above the hydrogen burning limit to the tip of the red giant branch, down to the white dwarf cooling sequence. We have used the color-magnitude arrays to extract main sequence luminosity functions (LFs) from the turnoff to about 0.13 solar masses. The LFs of M10 is significantly steeper than that for the other two clusters. The difference cannot be due to a difference in metallicity. A comparison with the LFs from Piotto, Cool, and King (1997), shows a large spread in the LF slopes. This spread is also present in the local mass functions (MFs) obtained from the observed LFs using different theoretical mass--luminosity relations. The dispersion in the MF slopes remains also after removing the mass segregation effects by using multimass King-Michie models. The globular cluster MF slopes are also flatter than the MF slope of the field stars and of the Galactic clusters in the same mass interval. We interpret the MF slope dispersion and the MF flatness as an evidence of dynamical evolution which makes the present day globular cluster stellar MFs different from the intial MFs. The slopes of the present day MFs exclude that the low mass star can be dynamically relevant for the Galactic globular clusters.
A semi–automatic procedure for abundance determination of A– and F–type stars

A variety of physical processes leading to different types of pulsations and chemical compositions are observed between A- and F-type stars. To investigate the underlying mechanisms responsible for these processes in stars with similar locations in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram, an accurate abundance determination is needed, among others. Here, we describe a semi-automatic procedure developed to determine chemical abundances of various elements ranging from helium to mercury for this type of stars. We test our procedure on synthetic spectra, demonstrating that our procedure provides abundances consistent with the input values, even when the stellar parameters are offset by reasonable observational errors. For a fast-rotating star such as Vega, our analysis is consistent with those carried out with other plane-parallel model atmospheres. Simulations show that the offsets from the input abundances increase for stars with low inclination angle of about 4 ◦ . For this inclination angle, we also show that the distribution of the iron abundance found in different regions is bimodal. Furthermore, the effect of rapid rotation can be seen in the peculiar behaviour of the Hβ line.
Required sample size and nonreplicability thresholds for heterogeneous genetic associations

Many gene–disease associations proposed to date have not been consistently replicated across different populations. Nonreplication often reflects false positives in the original claims. However, occasionally, nonreplication may be due to heterogeneity due to biases or even genuine diversity of the genetic effects in different populations. Here, we propose methods for estimating the required sample size to replicate an association across many studies with different amounts of between-study heterogeneity, when data are summarized through metaanalysis. We demonstrate thresholds of between-study heterogeneity (τ02) above which one cannot reach adequate power to replicate a proposed association at a specified level of statistical significance when k studies are performed (regardless of how large these studies are). Based on empirical evidence from 91 proposed gene–disease associations (50 on candidate genes and 41 from genome-wide association efforts), the observed between-study heterogeneity is often close to or even surpasses nonreplicability thresholds. With more modest between-study heterogeneity, the required sample size increases considerably compared with when no between-study heterogeneity exists. Increases are steep as τ02 is approached. Therefore, some true associations may not be practically possible to replicate with consistency, no matter how large studies are conducted. Efforts should be made to minimize between-study heterogeneity in targeted genetic effects.
Distributed Representations for Unsupervised Semantic Role Labeling

We present a new approach for unsupervised semantic role labeling that leverages distributed representations. We induce embeddings to represent a predicate, its arguments and their complex interdependence. Argument embeddings are learned from surrounding contexts involving the predicate and neighboring arguments, while predicate embeddings are learned from argument contexts. The induced representations are clustered into roles using a linear programming formulation of hierarchical clustering, where we can model task-specific knowledge. Experiments show improved performance over previous unsupervised semantic role labeling approaches and other distributed word representation models.
Can Agile and Traditional Systems Development Approaches Coexist? An Ambidextrous View

Abstract Emerging evidence seems to indicate that most systems development organizations are attempting to utilize both agile and traditional approaches. This study aims to understand the reasons organizations feel the need for this unlikely juxtaposition and the organizational challenges in sustaining the opposing cultures. Drawing on the extensive literature in organizational theory and management, we advocate ambidexterity as a viable solution to systems development organizations attempting to harness the benefits of both agile and traditional development.
Feature Description Using Center-Symmetric Extended Local Ternary Patterns

Effective recognition of objects calls for the appropriate selection of feature descriptor. In this paper, we generalize the "extended local ternary patterns" (ELTP) to form a novel and compact set of features named center-symmetric extended local ternary patterns (CS-ELTP). The newly defined CS-ELTP follows a simplified encoding procedure and has a lower dimension for a fixed neighborhood region. It achieves good balances among feature dimension, recognition rate and noise resistance according to our comparative experimental analysis. In addition, we combine binary and ternary patterns to create a class of hybrid descriptor that possesses the characteristics of both types of descriptor. Experimental results indicate that the hybrid descriptor can improve the performance in noisy conditions while maintaining a reasonable feature dimension.
How can companies decrease the disruptive effects of stretch goals? The moderating role of interpersonal- and informational- justice climates

This article attempts to determine whether stretch goals disrupt organizations and, if so, how organizations minimize those disruptions. We consider how two different kinds of justice climates − interpersonal and informational − interact to influence employees’ unethical behavior and relationship conflicts in the face of stretch goals. The results from 117 departments (including a total of 351 employees and 117 managers) in six Chinese banks support our hypotheses that stretch goals foster unethical behavior and intensify relationship conflict among employees. Furthermore, we find that informational-justice climates greatly reduce the disruptive effect of stretch goals on unethical behavior, and we find that interpersonal-justice climates greatly reduce the disruptive effect of stretch goals on relationship conflict. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Human Adenovirus-Specific γ/δ and CD8+ T Cells Generated by T-Cell Receptor Transfection to Treat Adenovirus Infection after Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation

Human adenovirus infection is life threatening after allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Immunotherapy with donor-derived adenovirus-specific T cells is promising; however, 20% of all donors lack adenovirus-specific T cells. To overcome this, we transfected α/β T cells with mRNA encoding a T-cell receptor (TCR) specific for the HLA-A*0101-restricted peptide LTDLGQNLLY from the adenovirus hexon protein. Furthermore, since allo-reactive endogenous TCR of donor T lymphocytes would induce graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) in a mismatched patient, we transferred the TCR into γ/δ T cells, which are not allo-reactive. TCR-transfected γ/δ T cells secreted low quantities of cytokines after antigen-specific stimulation, which were increased dramatically after co-transfection of CD8α-encoding mRNA. In direct comparison with TCR-transfected α/β T cells, TCR-CD8α-co-transfected γ/δ T cells produced more tumor necrosis factor (TNF), and lysed peptide-loaded target cells as efficiently. Most importantly, TCR-transfected α/β T cells and TCR-CD8α-co-transfected γ/δ T cells efficiently lysed adenovirus-infected target cells. We show here, for the first time, that not only α/β T cells but also γ/δ T cells can be equipped with an adenovirus specificity by TCR-RNA electroporation. Thus, our strategy offers a new means for the immunotherapy of adenovirus infection after allogeneic HSCT.
Coarse Angle Rotation Mode CORDIC based single Processing Element QR-RLS processor

Over the last 30 years Digital Signal Processing algorithm implementation has been driven by the continued progress and availability of high speed ASIC circuit technology. The classic method of CORDIC (Coordinate Rotation by Digital Computer) arithmetic has been widely implemented as part of the computational requirements of the well known QRRLS (recursive least squares) algorithm. In this paper we propose a new modified version of the CORDIC that features a single processor element that is easily pipelinable and can be used to implement both the Givens generations and Givens rotations associated with the QR update. Using a Xilinx FPGA for implementation results show that this proposed structure requires less resources and produces a more regular and therefore lower cost structure than other equivalent methods recently presented.
IT Investment: The Unexpected Effects on Entrepreneurial Spawning

Despite the growing interests in entrepreneurial spawning, whereby employees leave an incumbent to become entrepreneurs, there is a lack of studies examining the impact of firm strategies on the process. However, IS literature has documented various influences of IT on firms. This study attempts to bridge these two streams of research by investigating the impact of IT investment (as a form of firm strategy) on entrepreneurial spawning. Drawing upon the IT-agility theoretical lens, we propose that IT investment may impede firms’ entrepreneurial spawning. In addition, firms with higher IT investment are less adversely affected by spawns. We devise thorough empirical strategies to analyze Fortune 500 manufacturing firms from 1990 to 2006. Our study potentially contributes to the current research in entrepreneurship and business value of IT, and sheds novel insights on the retention of talents, exploitation of internal innovations and deterrence of potential competition.