Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Real-time Localization of Objects in Time-of-flight Depth Images

In this paper a Random Sample Consensus (Ransac) based algorithm for object localization in time-of-flight depth images is presented. In contrast to many other approaches for pose estimation, the algorithm does not need an inertial guess of the object’s pose, despite it is able to find objects in real time. This is achieved by hashing suitable object features in a pre-processing step. The approach is model based and only needs point clouds of objects, which can either be provided by a CAD systems or acquired from prior taken measurements. The implemented approach is not a simple Ransac approach, because the algorithm makes use of a more progressive sampling strategy, hence the here presented algorithm is rather a Progressive Sampling Consensus (Prosac) approach. As a consequence, the number of necessary iterations is reduced. The implementation has been evaluated with a couple of exemplary scenarios as they occur in real robotic applications. On the one hand, industrial parts are picked out of a bin and on the other hand every day objects are located on a table.
LDAOR - Location and Direction Aware Opportunistic Routing in Vehicular Ad hoc Networks

Routing in Vehicular Ad hoc Networks (VANETs) has found significant attention because of its unique features such as lack of energy constraints and high-speed vehicles applications. Besides, since these networks are highly dynamic, design process of routing algorithms suitable for an urban environment is extremely challenging. Appropriate algorithms could be opportunistic routing (OR) where traffic transmission is performed using the store-carry-forward mechanism. An efficient OR mechanism, called Location and Direction Aware Opportunistic Routing (LDAOR), is proposed in this paper. It is based on the best neighbor node selection by using vehicles positions, vehicles directions, and prioritization of messages from buffers, based on contact histories and positions of neighbor nodes to destination. In LDAOR, when multiple nodes make contact with a carrier node, the closest neighbor node to destination is selected as the best forwarder. However, when only one node makes contact with the carrier node, the message is delivered to it if it moves toward the destination. Using the ONE simulator, the obtained performance evaluation results show that the LDAOR operates better than conventional OR algorithms. The LDAOR not only increases delivery rate, but also reduces network overhead, traffic loss, and number of aborted messages. Keywords—carry-and-forward mechanism, contact history knowledge, direction and location aware routing, opportunistic routing, vehicular ad hoc networks.
BTKbase, mutation database for X-linked agammaglobulinemia (XLA)

X-linked agammaglobulinemia (XLA) is an immunodeficiency caused by mutations in the gene coding for Bruton's agammaglobulinemia tyrosine kinase (BTK). A database (BTKbase) of BTK mutations has been compiled and the recent update lists 463 mutation entries from 406 unrelated families showing 303 unique molecular events. In addition to mutations, the database also lists variants or polymorphisms. Each patient is given a unique patient identity number (PIN). Information is included regarding the phenotype including symptoms. Mutations in all the five domains of BTK have been noticed to cause the disease, the most common event being missense mutations. The mutations appear almost uniformly throughout the molecule and frequently affect CpG sites that code for arginine residues. The putative structural implications of all the missense mutations are given in the database. The improved version of the registry having a number of new features is available at http://www. helsinki.fi/science/signal/btkbase.html
SCaLeM: A Framework for Characterizing and Analyzing Execution Models

As scalable parallel systems evolve towards more complex nodes with many-core architectures and larger trans-petascale & upcoming exascale deployments, there is a need to understand, characterize and quantify the underlying execution models being used on such systems. Execution models are a conceptual layer between applications & algorithms and the underlying parallel hardware and systems software on which those applications run. This paper presents the SCaLeM (Synchronization, Concurrency, Locality, Memory) framework for characterizing and execution models. SCaLeM consists of three basic elements: attributes, compositions and mapping of these compositions to abstract parallel systems. The fundamental Synchronization, Concurrency, Locality and Memory attributes are used to characterize each execution model, while the combinations of those attributes in the form of compositions are used to describe the primitive operations of the execution model. The mapping of the execution model's primitive operations described by compositions, to an underlying abstract parallel system can be evaluated quantitatively to determine its effectiveness. Finally, SCaLeM also enables the representation and analysis of applications in terms of execution models, for the purpose of evaluating the effectiveness of such mapping.
Retinoic Acid Repression of Bone Morphogenetic Protein 4 in Inner Ear Development

ABSTRACT Bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) and retinoic acid are important for normal development of the inner ear, but whether they are linked mechanistically is not known. BMP4 antagonists disrupt semicircular canal formation, as does exposure to retinoic acid. We demonstrate that retinoic acid directly down-regulates BMP4 transcription in a mouse inner ear-derived cell line, and we identify a novel promoter in the second intron of the BMP4 gene that is a target of this regulation both in the cell line and in the mouse embryonic inner ear in vivo. The importance of this down-regulation is demonstrated in chicken embryos by showing that the retinoic acid effect on semicircular canal development can be overcome by exogenous BMP4.
14 Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases in Cattle

(eds S.C. Bishop et al.) 295 Summary Ticks and tick-borne diseases are of global importance, affecting livestock, human and companion animals. In particular, cattle ticks are responsible for severe economic losses in the tropics, with costs associated with parasite control along with losses in fertility, body weight and milk production. Ticks are also vectors of a variety of pathogens, with babesiosis, theileriosis and anaplasmosis being important diseases transmitted by ticks. While chemical control with acaricides has been a main tick control strategy, inadvertent selection of acaricide-resistant tick strains, which evolve faster than development of new chemicals, is a major cause for concern. Thus, exploiting host genetic resistance has a great potential to complement other control strategies and reduce the need for chemical control. Considerable variation both between and within breeds has been observed for tick resistance, with well-documented evidence of greater resistance of Bos indicus breeds compared to Bos taurus breeds. Tick load is affected by several genetically controlled morphological traits, such as coat colour and hair type, as well as genes related to the immune response. Within-breed heritability estimates vary from very low to high, depending on the evaluation method and the extent of parasite challenge, with mean values close to 0.3. Although this implies ample scope for selection, trait measurement remains difficult. Consequently, genetic markers would assist in selection under extensive farming conditions. For this purpose, quantitative trait loci (QTL) studies have been undertaken with results reported in this chapter. Tick-borne diseases are a more complex problem than ticks themselves, with resistance to such diseases not as well documented as resistance to ticks. In general, B. indicus cattle are more resistant to tick-borne diseases, with some evidence of variability in resistance to babesiosis and theileriosis. In summary, breeding for genetic resistance is potentially a promising means to control ticks, although the same cannot yet be stated for tick-borne diseases. Large efforts are currently being made in Australia and Brazil to develop genetic markers for tick resistance and to develop tick vaccines. 14 Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases in Cattle
Evaluation of CMU-1 preservation solutions using an isolated perfused rat liver model.

AIM CMU-1 is a new preservation solution with a low potassium concentration as well as low viscosity that is highly effective in reducing preservation injury. The purpose of this experiment is to compare the protective effect of CMU-1 solution with that of UW during cold preservation and normothermic reperfusion. METHODS Wistar rats were divided into two groups according to different preservation solution: CMU-1 group and UW group. After 6, 12 and 24 h cold storage of rat liver in different preservation solutions, the isolated perfused rat liver model was applied to reperfuse the liver for 120 min normothermically (37 degrees C) with Krebs-Henseleit solution, meanwhile the pH value of the preservation solution was measured. The perfusate was sampled for the evaluation of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). At the end of the reperfusion, all of the bile product was collected, energy metabolic substrate and histological examination were performed. RESULTS After preserving for 6 h, pH value of both groups did not change; after 12 h, both decreased but with no significant difference. After 24 h, pH value in UW solution group significantly decreased. The total adenine nucleotides level and AEC in liver tissue decreased with preservation time, but they were higher in CMU-1 group. And the amount of bile product after perfusion for 120 min in CMU-1 group was much more than that in UW group. However, there were no significant differences in ALT and LDH levels between two groups. Histology showed no difference. CONCLUSION The preservation effect of CMU-1 solution is similar with that of UW solution. However, CMU-1 solution shows some advantages over UW solution in energy metabolism, preventing intracellular acidosis and bile product.
Value of mid-luteal oestradiol level: prognostic implications for IVF.

I read with interest the manuscript by Ng et al., which showed opposite results from our prior paper (Sharara and McClamrock, 1999; Ng et al., 2000). In their manuscript, Ng et al. retrospectively evaluated 763 women undergoing IVF and measured their serum oestradiol concentrations both on the day of HCG administration, and again 10 days later (6 days after embryo transfer since all embryo transfers were performed 2 days after oocyte retrieval). The authors found that the amount of decline of oestradiol concentration between HCG administration and 10 days later did not have a detrimental effect on IVF outcome, in contrast to our earlier findings. I have few comments to the authors. Contrary to what the authors wrote in the discussion part, their paper was not ‘. the first study examining the role of oestradiol and the decline of oestradiol concentrations during the mid-luteal phase on implantation rate and pregnancy rates of these hyperstimulated cycles. ’ How could theirs be the first study when we published our manuscript (which the authors quoted multiple times in their paper) 11 months before? In addition, we believe there are major differences between our results (Sharara and McClamrock, 1999) and those by Ng et al. (Ng et al., 2000). It is very hard to find a statistical difference among the two groups in the progesterone supplemented group (Table IV and Figure 1) when the clinical pregnancy rates are extremely low. Even with their rates, the authors noted a trend towards a lower pregnancy rate in the group with a ratio 5. I would recommend the authors keep evaluating their data, and hopefully with an improved pregnancy rate they will find a significant difference. In addition, obtaining an oestradiol concentration earlier in the luteal phase, i.e. in the mid-luteal phase (8 days after oocyte retrieval), may prove to be much more predictive of IVF outcome, as we have shown previously (Sharara and McClamrock, 1999). Hopefully, future studies will show whether there is any prognostic value to evaluating the decline in oestradiol concentration, and whether oestradiol supplementation in the luteal phase has any role in improving implantation rates in IVF.
Methodology validation, intra-subject reproducibility and stability of exhaled volatile organic compounds

Robust methods for breath sampling and analysis are required for potential clinical applications. We have evaluated an improved sampling and experimental design, assessing instrumental and biological variability within and across breath measurements. Calibration curves for selected relevant volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were produced to look at the dynamic range and stability of analysis by gas chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Linear responses were observed with R2 > 95% and limits of detection in mid-range pg/µl. Overall experimental design, visualized by means of principal component analysis, demonstrated good clustering on quality control samples, background air and blanks, with dispersion observed as expected across human breath samples. Serial sampling while breathing VOC-filtered air for up to 30 min demonstrated marked variation in reproducibility of VOCs, with median intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.29 (interquartile range 0.16–0.71), with no apparent effect of disease status. We have shown that we can reliably detect VOCs at very low concentrations in exhaled breath samples, and that the reproducibility depends on (a) compound of interest; (b) length of time breathing VOC-filtered air. These parameters will require investigation in studies of potential breath biomarkers, and must be standardized if tests are to become clinically useful.
Hybrid wired/wireless networks for real-time communications

In this article, some considerations are presented about the way several well-known industrial networks (based on both fieldbus and industrial Ethernet solutions) can be practically extended with wireless subnetworks that rely on popular technologies, such as IEEE 802.11 and 802.15. 4. This results in hybrid networks, which are able to combine the advantages of both wired and wireless solutions. In particular, advantages and drawbacks of several interconnection techniques are highlighted and, depending on the wired networks specifically taken into account, some hybrid configurations that are able to cope in a satisfactory way with the tight timing requirements often imposed by industrial control systems are suggested.
Q de Tobin e seu uso em finanças: aspectos metodológicos e conceituais

Esta pesquisa apresenta um levantamento dos principais trabalhos cientificos, nas areas de economia e financas, que fazem uso do q de Tobin, a razao entre o valor de mercado de uma empresa e o valor de reposicao de seus ativos. Sao discutidas as principais implicacoes teoricas e empiricas desta medida, com especial enfase sobre suas aplicacoes em financas. Em seguida, sao apresentadas as mais relevantes contribuicoes metodologicas ao tema, discutindo-se as dificuldades envolvidas no calculo do q com dados reais e as possiveis formas de os pesquisadores interessados na utilizacao do q de Tobin supera-las.
Traducción automática estadística: modelos de traducción basados en máxima entropía y algoritmos de búsqueda

Este trabajo de tesis esta dedicado en su totalidad a la traduccion automatica, una disciplina dentro de los campos de la inteligencia artifical y de la linguistica computacional y, mas concretamente, dentro de la aproximacion estadistica a la misma. Todo el desarrollo de la tesis esta dentro de la traduccion basada en la regla de decision de Baynes. Por ello se encuadra dentro del enfoque empirista de la traduccion automatica frente a uno mas racionalista basado en tecnicas linguisticas. En dicha aproximacion podemos destacar tres ingredientes basicos en un sistema estadistico de traduccion: un modelo del lenguaje, un modelo de traduccion y un proceso del busqueda, el cual podemos decir que intenta resolver el problema de la traduccion propiamente dicho. El primero no carece de interes, pero ya ha sido ampliamente estudiado con anterioridad, sobre todo por su aplicacion a sistemas automaticos de reconocimiento del habla. Por ello en este trabajo nos limitaremos a hacer uso de las tecnicas ya desarrolladas en modelado de lenguaje, concretamente en modelos de n-gramas dado su ya demostrado buen funcionamiento. De cualquier forma, dada su importancia en el tema y por completitud en la exposicion, se dan una serie de conceptos elementales relacionados con estos modelos. En lo que respecta a los modelos de traduccion, en primer lugar, hemos de comentar que este trabajo esta basado en lo que se conoce como modelos estadisticos de traduccionb asados en relaciones estructurales a nivel de palabra. En esta tesis hemos introducido modelos lexicos dependientes del contexto basandonos en la tecnica de maxima entropia. Mas concretamente hemos visto como desarrollar modelos de traduccion basados en esta tecnica, como integrarlos en los algoritmos de aprendizaje de modelos convencionales de traduccion y como utilziarlos para mejorar las prestaciones de sistemas automaticos de traduccion estadistica.
Nonchromatographic "stir and filter approach" (SAFA) for isolating Sc3N@C80 metallofullerenes.

Separation difficulties have led to a paucity of purified metallic nitride fullerenes (MNFs). Fundamental research and application development has been hampered with limited sample availability. Separation techniques designed to remove contaminant empty-cage fullerenes (e.g., C(60), C(70). C(2)(n)) and classical metallofullerenes (e.g., non-MNFs) traditionally require expensive and tedious chromatographic methods. Our motivation is an alternative purification approach to minimize dependence on HPLC. Herein we report the use of cyclopentadienyl (CPD) and amino functionalized silica to selectively bind contaminant fullerenes. This "Stir and Filter Approach" (SAFA) provides purified MNF samples at ambient and reflux conditions. Under reflux conditions, purified MNFs (80% recovery, 41 h) are obtained using CPD silica. However, at room temperature, there is an equilibrium established between fullerenes and CPD silica, and no purified MNF samples are obtained using SAFA. In contrast, purified MNF samples (99+%) are readily obtained at room temperature using amino, diamino, and triamino silica at recoveries of 93% (11 h), 76% (9 h), and 50% (6 h), respectively.
Computerized Cardiotocography: A Software to Generate Synthetic Signals

In recent years there has been an increasing interest in developing computerized methods to analyse cardiotocographic recordings, due to the widespread use of cardiotocography to record foetal heart rate and uterine activity signals and the recognized inter and intra-observer variability in the visual evaluation of these signals, in recent years there has been an increasing interest in developing computerized methods to analyse cardiotocographic recordings. As a result of this trend, new biomedical software and analysing algorithms have been enforced to replace the traditional interpretation of cardiotocographic traces. Artificial cardiotocographic signals play a predominant role in testing performance of these software. The present study presents a software for simulating synthetic cardiotocographic recordings developed in order to cover a wide range of physiological conditions and recording situations. It allows the simulation of the main features and characteristics of a real cardiotocographic trace (baseline fluctuation, accelerations, decelerations and contractions). Moreover, it permits the simulation of anomalies due to the acquisition system and/ or cardiac arrhythmia (signal loss and outliers). All the parameters used in the simulation can be set and modified at user choice. The proposed software, which generates synthetic signals resembling real cardiotocographic recordings, facilitates the comparison of different signal processing methods in order to establish their performances and could be employed also as a teaching tool for demonstration to medical students and others.
Anaphylactic Reactions to Novel Foods: Case Report of a Child With Severe Crocodile Meat Allergy

This case report describes a child who experiences anaphylaxis to crocodile meat in the setting of a primary allergy to chicken. Availability of “exotic” foods is steadily increasing. In this report, we describe the first case of anaphylaxis to crocodile meat. The patient was a 13-year-old boy with severe immunoglobulin E–mediated allergy to chicken meat. When tasting crocodile meat for the first time, he developed an anaphylactic reaction. Cross-reactivity between chicken and crocodile meat was suspected to have triggered this reaction. Basophil activation and immunoglobulin E testing confirmed the boy’s allergic reaction to crocodile meat proteins. Molecular analysis identified a crocodile α-parvalbumin, with extensive sequence homology to chicken α-parvalbumin, as the main cross-reactive allergen. We conclude that crocodile meat can be a potent food allergen and patients with allergy to chicken meat should be advised to avoid intake of meat from crocodile species. Both foods and people travel around the world and accessibility to exotic foods is steadily growing. As a result, novel allergic cross-reactivities are likely to become a challenge in the management of food allergy and, as our report illustrates, cross-reactivity has to be considered even between foods that might not intuitively be perceived as related.
The Detection of Types among Decathletes using Configural Frequency Analysis (CFA)

The aim of this exploratory study was to detect among decathletes types of specialization with the help of a one sample configural frequency analysis (CFA). The sample consisted of the performances of 514 decathlon athletes, who were ranked among the top 100 athletes of the world from 1984 to 2000. Due to the fact that some athletes were ranked repeatedly among the top 100 world’s best athletes, each athlete was listed only once with his best performance. Due to sample size constraints only six out of the ten events were entered into a CFA. Therefore, a total of five CFAs with different combinations of events were conducted. The analysed sets of events were derived from factor analyses which were performed in advance. The resulting number of types varied between one and five. The resulting types could be labelled either ‘allround-types’ who were proficient in three out of four or in all four factors of performances (i.e., sprinting, throwing, jumping and stamina) or ‘specialist-types’ who were proficient in only two factors or two events (e.g., factors throwing and stamina; events javelin throw and 1500m run or shot put and discus throw or 100m run and 1500m run). In two cases ‘solitary-types’ evolved with excellent performances in shot put or 1500m run. The 1500m run was part of most types detected. The results suggested that there exist meaningful decathlon types who can be detected with CFA.