Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A robust tracking algorithm based on sparse histogram

In order to strengthen the robustness of video object tracking and overcome the drastic appearance changes caused by diverse challenges, a generative algorithm based on sparse histogram was proposed. Firstly, the image was partitioned into patches by using overlapped sliding window. Secondly, the local features of the object were extracted, and the sparse representation was exploited to achieve the object coefficient vector. Here the Augmented Lagrange Multiplier (ALM) was introduced to solve the h norm minimization problem, and then the occlusion information of the object was computed to construct sparse feature histogram to be the templates. Finally, the candidate state which had highest similarity score computed with reference templates was chosen as the best result within the particle filter framework. In addition, a simple yet efficient update mechanism was formulated to update occlusion information to construct new template histogram, which handled the variation of the object appearance. The tracking results on diverse testing video sequences show that our algorithm has a better peformance than other approaches.
A new multi-level AC-DC power electronic converter for applications in PMG-based WECSs

This paper presents the development and performance evaluation of new multi-level ac-dc power electronic converter (PEC) for applications in permanent magnet generator (PMG)-based wind energy conversion systems (WECSs). In order to feed the multi-level ac-dc PEC from one 3ϕ supply, it is built by using modified H-bridge cells. Each of the modified H-bridge cells is constructed from forward and backward half-bridges. The forward half-bridge conducts the current to the output side of level n, while the backward half-bridge conducts the current from level n to level n + 1. The developed multi-level ac-dc PEC is operated by switching signals generated by the sinusoidal level-shifted pulse width modulation (LSPWM) switching strategy. The multi-level ac-dc PEC is implemented for evaluating its performance, when used as a generator-side PEC in a PMG-based WECS. Performance results demonstrate reduced harmonic distortion in the input ac currents, improved power transfer from the PMG to the dc link, and reduced pulsations in the PMG electromagnetic torque.
SANITARY PROGRAM IN DAIRY CATTLE

Recent estimates suggest that the mastitis results in losses of US $185 for cow / year in United States. Approximately 66% of these losses are due to the decrease in the production of milk caused by the infection. A study was carried out on the hygiene conditions of 8 Holstein cows the evaluation being carried on during April to August 1999 at Fazenda Experimental Gralha Azul, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná, Fazenda Rio Grande County, Paraná. Exams for California Mastitis Test were carried out CMT and microbiological for mastitis, as well as the tests of sensibility for antibiotics. Of the total of 93 exams of CMT and microbiological tests, 47 (50,5%) showed growth for one or more microbial groups. A total of 44 microbial agents were isolated: Staphylococcus sp (13), Micrococcus sp (7), S. aureus (7), S. intermedius (4), Bacillus sp (3), S. epidermidis (2), BGN (2), E. coli (1), Serratia liquefaciens (1), Acinetobacter sp (1), Actinobacillus sp (1), Actinomyces pyogenes (1), yeast (1) and 8 growth patterns which were not possible to identify. It has bo stated that the present results are so far, partial, considering that the analysis of this important material is under execution.
Application of importance-satisfaction model to identify critical success factors of hot-spring industry in Taiwan

There are many variety methods used in determining the critical success factors (CSFs) of the hot-spring industry in Taiwan, such as action research, case study, literature review and structured interviewing. In contrast, there are relatively few studies on the many models used to identify CSFs. To address this relative deficiency in the literature, the present study integrates importance satisfaction model (I-S Model) and CSFs to provide more comprehensive evaluation actions for the hot spring industry. This study attempts to determine the CSFs of hot spring industry in Taiwan through the importance level and satisfaction level of I-S Model. This study identifies six CSFs for hot spring industry. The research method has an advantage in that it not only identifies the CSFs, but also measures the service quality items of the hot spring industry. Businesses that apply CSFs can achieve a competitive advantage due to the fact that the managers would be in a better position to provide the greatest satisfaction by improving service quality and marketing strategies for customers.
PLOCAN. An offshore test site for ocean energy converters

The Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands (PLOCAN) is a public consortium aimed to support R&D in the fields of ocean science and technology. PLOCAN manage a marine test site providing a set of infrastructures to facilitate the development of emerging ocean energy converters. This test site is placed at the East coast of Gran Canaria island covering a marine surface of 23 km2 and it will include in the close future an underwater electrical and communication grid. This grid is designed on medium voltage cables and a power capacity of 15 MW. The electrical infrastructure is expected to operate by the end of 2015.
Banking Human Umbilical Cord-Derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells for Clinical Use

A great deal of interest has arisen recently with respect to human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), due to their broad therapeutic potential. However, the safety and efficacy of MSCs expanded ex vivo for clinical applications remain a concern. In this article, we establish a standardized process for manufacture of human umbilical cord-derived MSCs (UC-MSCs), which encompasses donor screening and testing, recovery, two-stage expansion, and administration. The biological properties and safety of UC-MSCs were then characterized and tested. The safety data from use in human patients have also been reported. After clinical-scale expansion, a yield of 1.03–3.78 × 108 MSCs was achieved in 10 batch manufacturing runs. The biological properties, such as plastic adherence, morphology, specific surface antigen (CD105, CD73, CD90, positive ≥ 95%; CD45, CD34, CD31, CD11b, CD19, HLA-DR, negative ≤2%), and multipotent differentiation potential (osteogenesis and adipogenesis) were retained. Bacterial and mycoplasma tests were negative and endotoxin levels were lower than 2 EU/ml. No adverse events were noted in two patients treated with intravenously and/or intrathecally administered MSCs. The data obtained indicate that banking UC-MSCs for clinical use is feasible.
Social Status–Dependent Shift in Neural Circuit Activation Affects Decision Making

In a social group, animals make behavioral decisions that fit their social ranks. These behavioral choices are dependent on the various social cues experienced during social interactions. In vertebrates, little is known of how social status affects the underlying neural mechanisms regulating decision-making circuits that drive competing behaviors. Here, we demonstrate that social status in zebrafish (Danio rerio) influences behavioral decisions by shifting the balance in neural circuit activation between two competing networks (escape and swim). We show that socially dominant animals enhance activation of the swim circuit. Conversely, social subordinates display a decreased activation of the swim circuit, but an enhanced activation of the escape circuit. In an effort to understand how social status mediates these effects, we constructed a neurocomputational model of the escape and swim circuits. The model replicates our findings and suggests that social status–related shift in circuit dynamics could be mediated by changes in the relative excitability of the escape and swim networks. Together, our results reveal that changes in the excitabilities of the Mauthner command neuron for escape and the inhibitory interneurons that regulate swimming provide a cellular mechanism for the nervous system to adapt to changes in social conditions by permitting the animal to select a socially appropriate behavioral response. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Understanding how social factors influence nervous system function is of great importance. Using zebrafish as a model system, we demonstrate how social experience affects decision making to enable animals to produce socially appropriate behavior. Based on experimental evidence and computational modeling, we show that behavioral decisions reflect the interplay between competing neural circuits whose activation thresholds shift in accordance with social status. We demonstrate this through analysis of the behavior and neural circuit responses that drive escape and swim behaviors in fish. We show that socially subordinate animals favor escape over swimming, while socially dominants favor swimming over escape. We propose that these differences are mediated by shifts in relative circuit excitability.
EEC‐ and ADULT‐Associated TP63 Mutations Exhibit Functional Heterogeneity Toward P63 Responsive Sequences

TP63 germ‐line mutations are responsible for a group of human ectodermal dysplasia syndromes, underlining the key role of P63 in the development of ectoderm‐derived tissues. Here, we report the identification of two TP63 alleles, G134V (p.Gly173Val) and insR155 (p.Thr193_Tyr194insArg), associated to ADULT and EEC syndromes, respectively. These alleles, along with previously identified G134D (p.Gly173Asp) and R204W (p.Arg243Trp), were functionally characterized in yeast, studied in a mammalian cell line and modeled based on the crystal structure of the P63 DNA‐binding domain. Although the p.Arg243Trp mutant showed both complete loss of transactivation function and ability to interfere over wild‐type P63, the impact of p.Gly173Asp, p.Gly173Val, and p.Thr193_Tyr194insArg varied depending on the response element (RE) tested. Interestingly, p.Gly173Asp and p.Gly173Val mutants were characterized by a severe defect in transactivation along with interfering ability on two DN‐P63α‐specific REs derived from genes closely related to the clinical manifestations of the TP63‐associated syndromes, namely PERP and COL18A1. The modeling of the mutations supported the distinct functional effect of each mutant. The present results highlight the importance of integrating different functional endpoints that take in account the features of P63 proteins' target sequences to examine the impact of TP63 mutations and the associated clinical variability.
Employer Perspectives on the Role of Soft Skills in Subsidized Employment Relationships

The dual objective of subsidized employment programs is to support employers and low-income job seekers. However, few studies of these programs have examined employer perspectives or reflected critically on the role of soft skills in relationships between employers and subsidized employees. This qualitative study examined employer perspectives on soft skills, drawing on the concept of fit from the person-in-environment perspective, as framed by personnel psychology, to interpret the findings. Employers emphasized the importance of motivation, self-presentation, and interpersonal skills. They described the effect of these characteristics and behaviors on workplace interactions, as they sought employees whose similarity offered a supplementary fit. The findings suggest recommendations for improving subsidized employment programs, as well as implications for social work education and research.
Effects of the Adoption of Hedge Accounting

This study examines the effects of the adoption of hedge accounting for non-financial companies. In my analysis I use two market value proxies and employ a propensity-score matching model in attempt to control for different characteristics between non-adopters and adopters of hedge accounting. I observe a significant negative association for the adoption of hedge accounting and market value. This finding suggests that companies who have adopted hedge accounting may deviate from their optimal hedging strategy to meet all requirements and restrictions implemented in SFAS 133 in order to apply hedge accounting and thus decrease firm value. The observed association between hedge accounting and market value is lower for larger non-financial companies, while I do not observe varying effects of the adoption of hedge accounting for companies with different levels of risk exposure.
IDI2, a Second Isopentenyl Diphosphate Isomerase in Mammals*

We recently described the identification of a novel isopentenyl diphosphate isomerase, IDI2 in humans and mice. Our current data indicate that, in humans, IDI2 is expressed only in skeletal muscle. Expression constructs of human IDI2 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae can complement isomerase function in an idi1-deficient yeast strain. Furthermore, IDI2 has the ability to catalyze the isomerization of [14C]IPP to [14C]DMAPP. Enzyme kinetic analysis of partially purified IDI2 demonstrate the novel isozyme has a maximal relative specific activity of 1.2 × 10-1 ± 0.3 μmol min-1 mg-1 at pH 8.0 with a KIPPm value of 22.8 μm IPP. Both isozymes, IDI1 and IDI2 are localized to the peroxisome by a PTS1-dependent pathway. Finally, our data suggest that IDI2 is regulated independently from IDI1, by a mechanism that may involve PPARα.
Metal ion regulated gene expression: use of a plastocyanin‐less mutant of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii to study the Cu(II)‐dependent expression of cytochrome c‐552.

Ac‐208, a plastocyanin‐deficient strain of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, lacks the mRNA for pre‐apoplastocyanin although Southern analyses indicate no gross deletion in the single gene for pre‐apoplastocyanin. The alternative electron carrier, cytochrome c‐552, is expressed only in Cu(II)‐deficient cells of the mutant. Thus, the mutant strain can grow photoautotrophically in Cu(II)‐deficient but not in Cu(II)‐sufficient medium. This indicates that the absence of plastocyanin is the only defect (with respect to photosynthesis) in ac‐208. Phenotypic revertants of ac‐208 are capable of photoautotrophic growth by virtue of constitutive [with respect to Cu(II)] synthesis of cytochrome c‐552. The revertant phenotype is attributed to a decreased internal concentration of Cu(II). This indicates that the Cu(II)‐dependent expression of cytochrome c‐552 synthesis is affected directly by the concentration of Cu(II) rather than indirectly by the level of plastocyanin in the cell.
IMC: a consumer psychological perspective

The concept of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) is receiving increasing attention in many academic and practioner media, primarily from an organisational perspective. Yet, influence of integrated communications programmes on consumers is difficult to establish in the literature. Consideration of IMC seems unpromising unless the concept itself can be grounded within a psychological perspective of consumer cognition. This paper is an attempt to conceptually explore these concerns. The paper commences with a discussion of broad issues facing contemporary research in marketing communications and strongly suggests that multidisciplinary approaches may offer greater insight than unidisciplinary ones. The authors then briefly, and selectively, introduce questions concerning the psychological assumptions underpinning theoretical work in marketing communications and speculate on implications these assumptions may have for a consumer psychology of IMC. The final strand of the argument considers the cognitivist notion of social cognition and contrasts this with the social constructionist view with regard to theoretical implications both views may have for a psychology of integrated marketing communications. We conclude by suggesting possible interpretations with practical implications for marketing communications practitioners.
An exploration of the role of planners in supporting local access to grocery stores

This thesis explores the role of planners in supporting local access to grocery stores in Canadian cities. Grocery stores are an important neighbourhood featurethey not only provide access to nutritional food, they also contribute to neighbourhood vitality, acting as a hub for local economic activity and community life. In recent years, evidence has emerged that, as a result of grocery industry trends towards larger formats, access to grocery stores has diminished in areas of cities in North America and the United Kingdom. Planners have a role in ensuring that basic services—such as housing and water— are adequately provided. This thesis argues that grocery stores, as a basic service that contributes to individual and community health, warrant planning attention. However, grocery store access has not received systematic attention by the planning profession. There is little literature on the role that planners play in supporting grocery access. This thesis explores the opportunities and constraints facing planners in supporting local access to grocery stores. It is based on a review of relevant literature and on case studies of planning attention to grocery stores in Edmonton, Alberta and Vancouver, British Columbia. The research reveals that planners in these two cities recognize the importance of grocery stores and in some cases have undertaken efforts to improve grocery access. Typically, these efforts aim to address neighbourhood vitality rather than food access. The Vancouver and Edmonton experiences reveal the influence of political context on planner involvement in grocery access. They also indicate that planners play a key role in promoting an accessible built environment and illustrate that planners are wellpositioned to engage in community dialogue on grocery access needs; there is an opportunity to raise the profile of food access in discussions focused on neighbourhood vitality. This thesis concludes that there is a need to increase the connections between social planning and land use planning. Planners can play an important role in drawing attention to grocery access within various planning processes.
Reflectance Transformation Imaging and ImageJ: Comparing Imaging Methodologies for Cultural Heritage Artefacts

The imaging of cultural heritage sites and artefacts is now a highly technical process with many tools and methodological approaches available to archaeologists, architects, museum curators and artefact conservators. Imaging studies at the Australian Institute of Archaeology (AIA) have been directed principally to the recording of the artefacts within the collection. Several imaging tools have been used, including optical microscopy, pseudo 3D photography using a translation rig, flatbed scanning and Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI). RTI is an important tool for the on-going Cuneiform in Australian and New Zealand collections (CANZ) project, one output of which will be a web-site from which researchers will be able to load the interactive RTI files that can be viewed using Cultural Heritage Imaging (CHI) algorithmic rendering tools. Where publication of the AIA artefacts through journal articles and monographs is to be undertaken, other imaging techniques are being investigated to capture or enhance detail in a single image.
Service strategies within the manufacturing sector: benefits, costs and partnership

This paper develops a typology of service maneuvers achieved by manufacturing companies. This typology is based on two dimensions: service specificity (split into customer service, product services and service as a product) and organizational intensity (tactical, strategic or cultural). The paper reviews the benefits and costs associated with service maneuvers and discusses their interplay with the typology. A collaborative option is proposed as an original strategy for supporting the challenging process of implementing a service maneuver, and the costs of running this option are developed in the light of the typology.
Least Median of Squares Regression

Abstract Classical least squares regression consists of minimizing the sum of the squared residuals. Many authors have produced more robust versions of this estimator by replacing the square by something else, such as the absolute value. In this article a different approach is introduced in which the sum is replaced by the median of the squared residuals. The resulting estimator can resist the effect of nearly 50% of contamination in the data. In the special case of simple regression, it corresponds to finding the narrowest strip covering half of the observations. Generalizations are possible to multivariate location, orthogonal regression, and hypothesis testing in linear models.
Effect of Acupuncture-like Electrical Stimulation on Chronic Tension-type Headache: A Randomized, Double-blinded, Placebo-controlled Trial

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to examine the effect of acupuncture-like electrical stimulation on chronic tension-type headache (TTH) in a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study. MethodsThirty-six patients (18 men, 18 women) with chronic TTH in accordance with the criteria of International Headache Society were investigated. The patients were randomly assigned into 2 groups: a treatment group and a placebo group. Pain duration, pain intensity on a 0 to 10 cm visual analog scale, number of headache attacks, and use of medication were recorded in a diary for 2 weeks before treatment (baseline), early stage of treatment (Treat-1; 2 wk), late stage of treatment (Treat-2; 4 wk), and after the end of treatment (Post-1, Post-2, Post-3 corresponding to 2, 4, and 6-wk follow-up). The patients also provided an overall evaluation of the treatment effect at each stage. Patients were taught how to use either an acupuncture-like electrical stimulator or a sham stimulator (identical but incapable of delivering an electric current) and then instructed to use the device at home. Six acupoints, bilateral EX-HN5, GB 20, LI 4, were selected to be stimulated 3 minutes for each point, twice a day. Friedman repeated measure analysis of variance on rank was used to test the data. ResultsThe pain duration was shortened at Treat-1 and pain intensity was decreased at Treat-1 and Treat-2 compared with baseline. The overall evaluation of the 2 treatments indicated improvements in both the treatment and the placebo groups, but with no significant difference between the groups (P>0.061). Despite the apparent improvement in both the treatment and placebo groups, a decrease in analgesic use was only observed in the treatment group. There was also a significant positive correlation between the reported intensity of the stimulus-evoked sensation and the evaluation of the effect of either active or placebo treatments (P=0.039). ConclusionsThe use of acupuncture-like electrical stimulation was not associated with significant adverse effects. These results indicate that acupuncture-like electrical stimulation is a safe and potentially analgesic-sparing therapy that may be considered as an adjunctive treatment for patients with chronic TTH although the clinical effect on pain seems to be marginal in the present set-up.