Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Selectively De-animating and Stabilizing Videos

This thesis presents three systems for editing the motion of videos. First, selectively de-animating videos seeks to remove the large-scale motions of one or more objects so that other motions are easier to see. The user draws strokes to indicate the regions that should be immobilized, and our algorithm warps the video to remove large-scale motion in regions while leaving finer-scale, relative motions intact. We then use a graph-cut-based optimization to composite the warped video with still frames from the input video to remove unwanted background motion. Our technique enables applications such as clearer motion visualization, simpler creation of artistic cinemagraphs, and new ways to edit appearance and motion paths in video. Second, we design a fully automatic system to create portrait cinemagraphs by tracking facial features and de-animating the video with respect to the face and torso. We then generate compositing weights automatically to create the final cinemagraph portraits.Third, we present a user-assisted video stabilization algorithm that is able to stabilize challenging videos when state-of-the-art automatic algorithms fail to generate a satisfactory result. Our system introduces two new modes of interaction that allow the user to improve an unsatisfactory automatically stabilized video. First, we cluster tracks and visualize them on the warped video. The user ensures that appropriate tracks are selected by clicking on track clusters to include or exclude them to guide the stabilization. Second, the user can directly specify how regions in the output video should look by drawing quadrilaterals to select and deform parts of the frame. Our algorithm then computes a stabilized video using the user-selected tracks, while respecting the user-modified regions.
Voltage Security Analysis on the Distribution Network Integrated with Wind Power Using Probabilistic Load Flow

Due to the benefits to our environment and high economical efficiency, the local distribution network have been integrated with more and more renewable power resources, such as wind power. By using probabilistic load flow, this paper presents a new method to investigate distribution network's voltage security caused by wind power integrated. Giving wind speed randomness and other stochastic disturbances, such as varying loads, generation units, the probabilistic distributions of constraint violation of node voltages can be obtained. The presented method is tested on IEEE 34 node test feeder, and then analysis on different power connected points and load capacities with wind power integrated is made in this paper.
Snow cover variability and snowmelt in a high‐altitude ungauged catchment

Snow variability is an integrated indicator of climate change, and it has important impacts on runoff regimes and water availability in high‐altitude catchments. Remote sensing techniques can make it possible to quantitatively detect the snow cover changes and associated hydrological effects in those poorly gauged regions. In this study, the spatial–temporal variations of snow cover and snow melting time in the Tuotuo River basin, which is the headwater of the Yangtze River, were evaluated based on satellite information from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer snow cover product, and the snow melting equivalent and its contribution to the total runoff and baseflow were estimated by using degree–day model. The results showed that the snow cover percentage and the tendency of snow cover variability increased with rising altitude. From 2000 to 2012, warmer and wetter climate change resulted in an increase of the snow cover area. Since the 1960s, the start time for snow melt has become earlier by 0.9–3 days/10a and the end time of snow melt has become later by 0.6–2.3 days/10a. Under the control of snow cover and snow melting time, the equivalent of snow melting runoff in the Tuotuo River basin has been fluctuating. The average contributions of snowmelt to baseflow and total runoff were 19.6% and 6.8%, respectively. Findings from this study will serve as a reference for future research in areas where observational data are deficient and for planning of future water management strategies for the source region of the Yangtze River. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Global Proteome Changes in Liver Tissue 6 Weeks after FOLFOX Treatment of Colorectal Cancer Liver Metastases

(1) Oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy for colorectal cancer liver metastasis is associated with sinusoidal injury of liver parenchyma. The effects of oxaliplatin-induced liver injury on the protein level remain unknown. (2) Protein expression in liver tissue was analyzed—from eight patients treated with FOLFOX (combination of fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin) and seven controls—by label-free liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. Recursive feature elimination–support vector machine and Welch t-test were used to identify classifying and relevantly changed proteins, respectively. Resulting proteins were analyzed for associations with gene ontology categories and pathways. (3) A total of 5891 proteins were detected. A set of 184 (3.1%) proteins classified the groups with a 20% error rate, but relevant change was observed only in 55 (0.9%) proteins. The classifying proteins were associated with changes in DNA replication (p < 0.05) through upregulation of the minichromosome maintenance complex and with the innate immune response (p < 0.05). The importance of DNA replication changes was supported by the results of Welch t-test (p < 0.05). (4) Six weeks after FOLFOX treatment, less than 1% of identified proteins showed changes in expression associated with DNA replication, cell cycle entry, and innate immune response. We hypothesize that the changes remain after recovery from FOLFOX treatment injury.
An effective hybrid routing algorithm for opportunistic networks

Context aware routing (CAR) is a hybrid routing algorithm for opportunistic networks, which uses destination-sequence distance-vector (DSDV) algorithm and probabilistic routing in connected regions and between the connected regions, respectively. We find that the control overhead of CAR is relatively high due to the utilization of DSDV and the default time-to-live (TTL) value of data affects the delivery rate. To solve these problems, we proposed an effective and reliable hybrid routing algorithm (ERHR). In ERHR, the optimized link-state routing version 2 (OLSRv2) is used in connected regions to reduce the control overhead, and the modification of TTL value makes a progress on the aspect of the data delivery rate. Theoretical analysis and simulation results show that the proposed algorithm has a better performance in terms of control overhead, data delivery rate and data retransmission overhead.
Role of medicinal plant Salacia Reticulata in the management of Type II Diabetic Subjects

Diabetes mellitus is one of the leading causes of death and ranks third among the chronic diseases. Recent studies have shown that up to 10 % of India's urban population and 2 % of the rural population above the age of 15 years have diabetes and WHO had declared India as the diabetic capital of the world. India has wealth of medicinalplants, and these plants have credited to the development of therapeutic agents for various ailments and diseases. Hark of Salacia Reticulata was screened for its hypoglycemic and hypo-lipidaemic effect. A- total of 60 type II diabetics were enrolled, consisting of experimental group 30 and control group 30. Experimental group received 2 grams of Kadalazhinjil powder daily for a period of 90 days and control group did not receive any supplements. Blood glucose levels before and after medications were estimated in both groups at baseline and at 90 days. There was insignificant reduction in fasting blood glucose, HbA1 c and lipid levels at the end of 90 days in the supplemented group. The experimental group showed encouraging results which call for long term supplementation in Diabetes Mellitus.
Real-time visual-inertial localization for aerial and ground robots

Localization is essential for robots to operate autonomously, especially for extended periods of time, when estimator drift tends to destroy alignment to any global map. Though there has been extensive work in vision-based localization in recent years, including several systems that show real-time performance, none have been demonstrated running entirely on-board in closed loop on robotic platforms. We propose a fast, real-time localization system that keeps the existing local visual-inertial odometry frame consistent for controllers and collision avoidance, while correcting drift and alignment to a global coordinate frame. We demonstrate our localization system entirely on-board an aerial and ground robot, showing a collaboration experiment where both robots are able to localize against the same map accurately enough to allow the multicopter to land on top of the ground robot. We also perform extensive evaluations for the proposed closed-loop system on ground-truth datasets from MAV flight in an industrial setting.
TGF b Inhibition Prior to Hypofractionated Radiation Enhances Ef fi cacy in Preclinical Models

The immune infiltrate in colorectal cancer has been correlated with outcome, such that individuals with higher infiltrations of T cells have increased survival independent of the disease stage. For patients with lower immune infiltrates, overall survival is limited. Because the patients with colorectal cancer studied have received conventional cancer therapies, these data may indicate that the pretreatment tumor environment increases the efficacy of treatments such as chemotherapy, surgery, and radiotherapy. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that an improved immune environment in the tumor at the time of treatment will increase the efficacy of radiotherapy.Wedemonstrate that inhibition of TGFbusing the orally available small-molecule inhibitor SM16 improved the immune environment of tumors in mice and significantly improved the efficacy of subsequent radiotherapy. This effect was not due to changes in radiosensitivity, epithelial–mesenchymal transition, or changes in vascular function in the tumor; rather, this effect was dependent on adaptive immunity and resulted in long-term protective immunity in cured mice. These data demonstrate that immunotherapy is an option to improve the immune status of patients with poor tumor infiltrates and that pretreatment improves the efficacy of radiotherapy. Cancer Immunol Res; 1–12. 2014 AACR.
University of Groningen Dry powder inhalation : past , present and future

Introduction: Early dry powder inhalers (DPIs) were designed for low drug doses in asthma and COPD therapy. Nearly all concepts contained carrier-based formulations and lacked efficient dispersion principles. Therefore, particle engineering and powder processing are increasingly applied to achieve acceptable lung deposition with these poorly designed inhalers. Areas covered: The consequences of the choices made for early DPI development with respect of efficacy, production costs and safety and the tremendous amount of energy put into understanding and controlling the dispersion performance of adhesive mixtures are discussed. Also newly developed particle manufacturing and powder formulation processes are presented as well as the challenges, objectives, and new tools available for future DPI design. Expert opinion: Improved inhaler design is desired to make DPIs for future applications cost-effective and safe. With an increasing interest in high dose drug delivery, vaccination and systemic delivery via the lungs, innovative formulation technologies alone may not be sufficient. Safety is served by increasing patient adherence to the therapy, minimizing the use of unnecessary excipients and designing simple and self-intuitive inhalers, which give good feedback to the patient about the inhalation maneuver. For some applications, like vaccination and delivery of hygroscopic formulations, disposable inhalers may be preferred. ARTICLE HISTORY Received 31 March 2016 Accepted 10 August 2016 Published online 31 August 2016
Effects of a streptococcal lipoteichoic acid on host responses in mice

A teichoic acid (TA) extracted from Streptococcus pyogenes 1-RP41 was previously shown to be an immunosuppressant under certain conditions (Miller and Jackson, 1973). The TA has now been shown to be a lipoteichoic acid composed of 40% glycerol, 20% alanine, 13% phosphorus, and 8% glucose, with a variable content of fatty acids. Teh presence of the polyglycerol phosphate backbone and fatty acid was required for maximum immunosuppression of the primary immunoglobulin M response to sheep cells. A complex, nonlinear, time-dependent dosage relationship in suppression of the anti-sheep erythrocyte response in mice was observed. TA depressed the anamnestic response to sheep cells in the mouse and could affect this response whether administered before the primary antigen challenge or immediately before the secondary challenge. In distinct contrast, TA enhanced antibody production to Escherichia coli O55:B5 lipopolysaccharide when assessed by counting plaque-forming cells or measuring antilipopolysaccharide serum titers. The TA failed to stimulate a large uptake of [3H]TdR by murine spleen cells; however, it significantly enhanced the clearance of carbon by the reticuloendothelial system.
Allowable power analysis for high power density DC-DC converters using integrated magnetic components

The DC-DC converters using integrated magnetic components that may achieve high power density have gained attention in eco-friendly cars such as HEV and PHEV. Interleaved converters with close-coupled inductors and loose-coupled inductors are well known as the converters capable to achieve high efficiency with low volume and weight. As a new approach, an interleaved converter with integrated winding coupled inductors is proposed. This paper presents allowable power calculated method of these circuit topologies in order to realize further high power density. Following the design guidelines of allowable power calculated method for each coupled inductor, the downsizing effects of the magnetic components are compared to conventional interleaved boost converter in the same conditions from the allowable power viewpoints. As a result, CCM operation is effective for downsizing of the magnetic components in case of interleaved boost converter using loose-coupled and integrated winding coupled inductors. On the other hand, interleaved boost converter using close-coupled inductors is effective for downsizing of the magnetic components with CRM operation. This comparative data is discussed from theoretical and experimental viewpoints.
PLANT PRODUCTIVITY AND COMPETITIVE RESPONSE TO PRESCRIBED FIRE IN MID-ATLANTIC BRACKISH MARSHES

Title of Document: PLANT PRODUCTIVITY AND COMPETITIVE RESPONSE TO PRESCRIBED FIRE IN MID-ATLANTIC BRACKISH MARSHES Wesley A. Bickford, M.S. 2011 Directed By: Associate Professor Brian A. Needelman & Professor Ray R. Weil, Department of Environmental Science and Technology Prescribed fire may increase productivity of some brackish marsh species. An understanding of the mechanisms behind this stimulatory effect is important for land managers to maximize the benefits to the ecosystem. I found that canopy removal is the dominant mechanism through which fire stimulates biomass production in the marshes at the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Dorchester County, Maryland. The stimulatory effect of canopy removal was stronger in sedge-dominated systems than grass-dominated systems. Faster sprouting sedge species may be able to take fuller advantage of light and soil temperature increases following canopy removal than later-sprouting grass species. Results of a greenhouse study indicated that canopy removal gives sedges a competitive advantage over grasses. These studies have numerous implications for land managers using anthropogenic disturbances as a management technique. Canopy-level disturbances, such as fire may increase productivity in sedge-dominated marshes and may suppress grass species in mixed
Individual Variation in the Late Positive Complex to Semantic Anomalies

It is well-known that, within ERP paradigms of sentence processing, semantically anomalous words elicit N400 effects. Less clear, however, is what happens after the N400. In some cases N400 effects are followed by Late Positive Complexes (LPC), whereas in other cases such effects are lacking. We investigated several factors which could affect the LPC, such as contextual constraint, inter-individual variation, and working memory. Seventy-two participants read sentences containing a semantic manipulation (Whipped cream tastes sweet/anxious and creamy). Neither contextual constraint nor working memory correlated with the LPC. Inter-individual variation played a substantial role in the elicitation of the LPC with about half of the participants showing a negative response and the other half showing an LPC. This individual variation correlated with a syntactic ERP as well as an alternative semantic manipulation. In conclusion, our results show that inter-individual variation plays a large role in the elicitation of the LPC and this may account for the diversity in LPC findings in language research.
An Accelerated Proximal Coordinate Gradient Method

We develop an accelerated randomized proximal coordinate gradient (APCG) method, for solving a broad class of composite convex optimization problems. In particular, our method achieves faster linear convergence rates for minimizing strongly convex functions than existing randomized proximal coordinate gradient methods. We show how to apply the APCG method to solve the dual of the regularized empirical risk minimization (ERM) problem, and devise efficient implementations that avoid full-dimensional vector operations. For ill-conditioned ERM problems, our method obtains improved convergence rates than the state-of-the-art stochastic dual coordinate ascent (SDCA) method.
Enhancing information retrieval by automatic acquisition of textual relations using genetic programming

We have explored a novel method to find textual relations in electronic documents using genetic programming and semantic networks. This can be used for enhancing information retrieval and simplifying user interfaces. The automatic extraction of relations from text enables easier updating of electronic dictionaries and may reduce interface area both for search input and hit output on small screens such as cell phones and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants).
Corporate liquidity and the contingent nature of bank credit lines : Evidence on the costs and consequences of bank default

Article history: Received 16 June 2014 Received in revised form 24 September 2014 Accepted 2 October 2014 Available online 13 October 2014 I study the impact of Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy and resultant inability to honor its obligations as a lender under committed credit lines. Firms that lost access to a credit line committed by Lehman Brothers experienced abnormal stock returns of−3%, on average, on the day of and day after Lehman's bankruptcy filing, amounting to roughly $5.7 billion in aggregate, risk-adjusted losses. These losses were significantly larger for firms that were more financially constrained, firms with less cash, firms for whom Lehman was a lead-bank, and firms that lost access to larger amounts of committed credit. During the four quarters immediately following Lehman's collapse, firms that lost access to a credit line cut their investment spending significantly while simultaneously hoarding more cash than comparable firms. Overall, these findings indicate that firms that lost access to a credit line incurred economically significant costs and real-side consequences as a result of Lehman's default on its loan commitments. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. JEL classification: G24 G21 G31 G32 G14
Uncertainty Specification and Propagation for Loss Estimation Using FOSM Methods

Probabilistic prediction of structural and nonstructural damage costs due to future earthquakes is one component of loss estimation currently being developed for use in performance-based earthquake engineering. Sources of uncertainty in this prediction include epistemic and aleatory uncertainty in the site ground motion hazard, the building response, the damage measures of each of the many building elements, and repair cost of each of the elements. These are interand cross-correlated random variables. Two desired results are the total uncertainty in annual losses, and the contribution of each uncertainty source to the total uncertainty. Monte Carlo simulation is a simple solution, but it can be computationally expensive. This study proposes an alternative approach using First-Order Second-Moment (FOSM) methods for all but the (dominant) ground motion intensity variable. Suggestions for characterization of correlations are presented. A procedure for applying FOSM methods in the calculation of total uncertainty is outlined. The proposed technique is very efficient, and easily used for sensitivity studies.
Perceptually optimized room-in-room sound reproduction with spatially distributed loudspeakers

In sound reproduction it is desired to reproduce a recording of an instrument made in a specific room (e.g. a church or concert hall) in a playback room such that the listener has a plausible and authentic impression of the instrument including the room acoustical properties of the recording room. For this purpose a new method is presented that separately optimizes the direct sound field and recreates a reverberant sound field in the playback room that matches that of the recording room. This approach optimizes monaural cues related to coloration and the interaural cross correlation (IACC), responsible for listener envelopment, in both rooms based on an artificial head placed at the listener's positions. The cues are adjusted using an auditorily motivated gammatone analysis-synthesis filterbank. A MUSHRA listening test revealed that the proposed method is able to recreate the perceived room acoustics of the recording room in an accurate way.
LIPID TREATMENT IN ETHNICALLY DIVERSE UNDERSERVED OLDER ADULTS WITH DIABETES MELLITUS: STATIN USE, GOAL ATTAINMENT, AND HEALTH DISPARITIES IN THE INFORMATICS FOR DIABETES EDUCATION AND TELEMEDICINE PROJECT

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