Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Calibration of an Articulated Camera System

Multiple Camera Systems (MCS) have been widely used in many vision applications and attracted much attention recently. There are two principle types of MCS, one is the Rigid Multiple Camera System (RMCS); the other is the Articulated Camera System (ACS). In a RMCS, the relative poses (relative 3-D position and orientation) between the cameras are invariant. While, in an ACS, the cameras are articulated through movable joints, the relative pose between them may change. Therefore, through calibration of an ACS we want to find not only the relative poses between the cameras but also the positions of the joints in the ACS. Although calibration methods for RMCS have been extensively developed during the past decades, the studies of ACS calibration are still rare. In this paper, two ACS calibration methods are proposed. The first one uses the feature correspondences between the cameras in the ACS. The second one requires only the ego-motion information of the cameras and can be used for the calibration of the non-overlapping view ACS. In both methods, the ACS is assumed to have performed general transformations in a static environment. The efficiency and robustness of the proposed methods are tested by simulation and real experiments. In the real experiment, the intrinsic and extrinsic parameters of the ACS are calibrated using the same image sequences, no extra data capturing step is required. The corresponding trajectory is recovered and illustrated using the calibration results of the ACS. To our knowledge, we are the first to study the calibration of ACS.
Oral Delivery of the Sj23LHD-GST Antigen by Salmonella typhimurium Type III Secretion System Protects against Schistosoma japonicum Infection in Mice

Background Schistosomiasis japonica is a zoonotic parasitic disease and oral vaccine delivery system would be benefit for prevention of this disease. Although attenuated salmonella has been used as an antigen expression vector for oral vaccine development, the membrane-bound vacuoles in which bacteria reside hinders the presentation of expressed heterologous antigens to the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules. The present work used an attenuated Salmonella typhimurium strain VNP20009 to secretory expression of Sj23LHDGST bivalent antigen from Schistosoma japonicum and tested the protective efficacy against S. japonicum infection in orally immunized mice. Methodology/Principal Findings Promoters (nirB or pagC) were used to express the antigen (Sj23LHDGST) and the Salmonella type III or α-hemolysin secretion system was employed to secrete it. The immunoblotting analysis and fluorescent microscopy revealed that the antigen was effectively expressed and delivered to the cytosol of macrophages in vitro. Among recombinant vaccine strains, an engineered VNP20009 which expressed the antigen by nirB promoter and secreted it through type III secretion system (nirB-sopE1–104-Sj23LHD-GST) efficiently protected against S. japonicum infection in a mouse model. This strain elicited a predominantly IgG2a antibody response and a markedly increase in the production of IL-12 and IFN-γ. The flow cytometric analysis demonstrated that this strain caused T cell activation as evidenced by significantly increased expression of CD44 and CD69. Conclusion/Significance Oral delivery of antigen by nirB-driven Salmonella typhimurium type III secretion system is a novel, safe, inexpensive, efficient and convenient approach for schistosome vaccine development.
Which Networks are Least Susceptible to Cascading Failures?

The spread of a cascading failure through a network is an issue that comes up in many domains: in the contagious failures that spread among financial institutions during a financial crisis, through nodes of a power grid or communication network during a widespread outage, or through a human population during the outbreak of an epidemic disease. Here we study a natural model of threshold contagion: each node is assigned a numerical threshold drawn independently from an underlying distribution, and it will fail as soon as its number of failed neighbors reaches this threshold. Despite the simplicity of the formulation, it has been very challenging to analyze the failure processes that arise from arbitrary threshold distributions, even qualitative questions concerning which graphs are the most resilient to cascading failures in these models have been difficult to resolve. Here we develop a set of new techniques for analyzing the failure probabilities of nodes in arbitrary graphs under this model, and we compare different graphs according to the maximum failure probability of any node in the graph when thresholds are drawn from a given distribution. We find that the space of threshold distributions has a surprisingly rich structure when we consider the risk that these thresholds induce on different graphs: small shifts in the distribution of the thresholds can favor graphs with a maximally clustered structure (i.e., cliques), those with a maximally branching structure (trees), or even intermediate hybrids.
Engagement of the ATR-Dependent DNA Damage Response at the Human Papillomavirus 18 Replication Centers during the Initial Amplification

ABSTRACT We have previously demonstrated that the human papillomavirus (HPV) genome replicates effectively in U2OS cells after transfection using electroporation. The transient extrachromosomal replication, stable maintenance, and late amplification of the viral genome could be studied for high- and low-risk mucosal and cutaneous papillomaviruses. Recent findings indicate that the cellular DNA damage response (DDR) is activated during the HPV life cycle and that the viral replication protein E1 might play a role in this process. We used a U2OS cell-based system to study E1-dependent DDR activation and the involvement of these pathways in viral transient replication. We demonstrated that the E1 protein could cause double-strand DNA breaks in the host genome by directly interacting with DNA. This activity leads to the induction of an ATM-dependent signaling cascade and cell cycle arrest in the S and G2 phases. However, the transient replication of HPV genomes in U2OS cells induces the ATR-dependent pathway, as shown by the accumulation of γH2AX, ATR-interacting protein (ATRIP), and topoisomerase IIβ-binding protein 1 (TopBP1) in viral replication centers. Viral oncogenes do not play a role in this activation, which is induced only through DNA replication or by replication proteins E1 and E2. The ATR pathway in viral replication centers is likely activated through DNA replication stress and might play an important role in engaging cellular DNA repair/recombination machinery for effective replication of the viral genome upon active amplification.
Tomograph: highlighting query parallelism in a multi-core system

Query parallelism improves serial query execution performance by orders of magnitude. Getting optimal performance from an already parallelized query plan is however difficult due to its dependency on run time factors such as correct operator scheduling, memory pressure, disk io performance, and operating system noise. Identifying the exact problems in a parallel query execution is difficult due to inter-dependence of these factors. In this paper we present Tomograph, a tool to visualize the parallel query execution performance bottlenecks. Tomograph provides a time ordered view of operator execution aligned with cpu, memory, and disk IO usage, in an operator at a time execution model. We discuss the usage of Tomograph to identify parallelism issues such as low multi-core utilization, erroneous operator scheduling, incorrect data partitioning, and blocking operators. We share our experiences, insights gained and discuss possible solutions to the identified problems.
Application Taxonomy via Algorithmic Commonality for Domain-Specific Architecture Desgin

In this paper, we propose an approach of application taxonomy from a perspective of algorithmic commonality. The taxonomy exploits algorithm-inherent characterization to imply a categorization of domain-specific architecture in the initial phase of architecture design. First, we introduce both metrics and graph-based mining algorithm to evaluate the commonality across multiple applications. Second, we present taxonomy algorithm to categorize applications into different specializations, which will tremendously reduce design complexity of accelerator-rich architectures. Finally, with benchmark suits of MiBench, PolyBench and SD-VBS, our methodology is validated and offers designers meaningful insight and direct illustration to assist the specialized architecture design.
Measurement of bitumen coverage of stones for road building, based on digital image analysis

The top layer of a road is made up of a mixture of stones and bitumen and the durability is dependent on how well the bitumen adheres to the stones. The standard way of determining the bitumen coverage in the industry is the so called rolling bottle method, where a number of stones covered with bitumen are put in a rolling bottle and the bitumen coverage is estimated after different times. This paper describes a novel method for measuring the bitumen coverage of the stones by using advanced segmentation methods instead of manual inspection. The stones are put on a table and a number of images with different exposure times are taken. The images are normalized and the stones are segmented from the background based on a threshold obtained from an optimality criterion. Then the bitumen covered parts of the stones are segmented based on a graph-cut method. The results are compared to manual inspection and are well in agreement with these.
The Evolution of Cellar Automaton based on Dilemmma Games with Selfish Strategy

We have proposed two new evolutionary rules on spatio-iterated games that is not mimic evolution of strategies, and mainly discussed the Prisoner's Dilemma game \cite{toyota2} by the two evoutionary rules \cite{toyota3}. In this paper we focus the first rule, that is, the selfish evolutionary rule for various dilemma games. In contrast to the Prisoner's Dilemma, there are gererally rich pase structures in the dilemma games. First we analytically clear the structure to present phase diagrams in the various dilemma games. Forthermore we simulate the time evolution of the soatio-games in the some representatives of the parameters according to the phase diagrams. Including some mutations, detail investigations are made by a computer simulation for five kinds of initial configurations. As results we find some dualities and game invariant properties. They show a sort of bifurcation as a mutation parameter are varied. In the path from one period to two one some common features are observed in most of games and some chaotic behaviors appear in the middle of the transition. Lastly we estimate the total hamiltonian, which is defined by the sum of the total payoff of all agents in the system, and show that the chaotic period is best from the perspective of the payoff. We also made some primitive discussions on them.
Residence at moderate altitude improves ventilatory response to high altitude.

BACKGROUND This study compared the distribution of arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) and susceptibility to Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) in moderate altitude residents (MAR) and low altitude residents (LAR) following rapid ascent to 4056 m. METHODS Resting PETCO2 and SaO2 were measured in 38 subjects residing for > 3 mo near Colorado Springs, CO (MAR group), at 1940 m (USAF Academy), and after approximately 1 h at 4056 m on the summit of Pikes Peak, CO, following ascent by car. SaO2 was also measured at 610-m elevation intervals during the ascent. Of the LAR (50 m) group, 39 subjects were exposed to a similar ascent profile in a hypobaric chamber. RESULTS At 1940 m the MAR SaO2 and PETCO2 were 94 +/- 1% (X +/- SD) and 33.6 +/- 2.8 mmHg, respectively. At 3048 m and higher, MAR SaO2 decreased, reaching 86 +/- 2% (p < 0.001) at 4056 m, and PETCO2 (32.1 +/- 4.5 mmHg) decreased (p < 0.05). At 50 m the LAR SaO2 and PETCO2 were 98 +/- 1% and 38.7 +/- 2.7 mmHg, respectively. At 1940 m and higher, LAR SaO2 decreased (p < 0.001), reaching 82 +/- 5% at 4056 m, and PETCO2 (36.4 +/- 3.5 mmHg) decreased (p < 0.05). Above 2438 m, the MAR SaO2 was higher (p < 0.001) than the LAR. Only one MAR subject, but nine LAR subjects reported AMS symptoms. CONCLUSIONS Ventilatory acclimatization developed during moderate altitude residence substantially enhances arterial oxygenation during rapid ascents to higher altitudes. Compared with prior studies, the level of ventilatory acclimatization achieved at moderate altitude is similar to residing at 4056 m for approximately 5-9 d.
Displacement Damage Effects Due to Neutron and Proton Irradiations on CMOS Image Sensors Manufactured in Deep Submicron Technology

Displacement damage effects due to proton and neutron irradiations of CMOS image sensors dedicated to imaging are presented through the analysis of the dark current behavior in pixel arrays and isolated photodiodes. The mean dark current increase and the dark current nonuniformity are investigated. Dark current histogram observations are compared to damage energy distributions based on GEANT 4 calculations. We also discuss, through annealing analysis, which defects could be responsible for the dark current in CMOS image sensors.
Pars plana vitrectomy with peripheral retinotomy after injection of preoperative intravitreal tissue plasminogen activator: a modified procedure to drain massive subretinal haemorrhage

Aims: To report outcome of a modified procedure for draining massive subretinal haemorrhages (SRHs). Methods: The charts of eight consecutive eyes from eight patients with massive SRHs extending to the periphery and involving two or more quadrants with haemorrhagic and bullous retinal detachment were reviewed. Tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) was injected intravitreally 12–24 h preoperatively; vitrectomy was carried out with peripheral retinotomy, drainage of the SRH from the retinotomy using perfluorocarbon liquid and gas tamponade with prone positioning postoperatively. Results: The preoperative visual acuities ranged from light perception to 20/200. Most of the subretinal haematomas moved postoperatively to the vitreous cavity through the peripheral retinotomy using perfluorocarbon liquid. Residual SRHs were drained from the anterior chamber at the bedside after prone positioning overnight. SRH recurred in one eye 14 months postoperatively and was successfully retreated. No other serious complications developed. The final visual acuity improved in seven eyes (range 20/1000–20/60). Polypoidal lesions in choroidal vasculatures were present in three of seven patients. Conclusions: The technique seems safe and effective for treating massive SRH. However, visual recovery is limited by the underlying macular pathology. Polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy, other than age-related macular degeneration, may be another cause of massive SRHs.
Interaction models for multiple-resident activity recognition in a smart home

Multi-resident activity recognition is among a key enabler in many context-aware applications in a smart home. However, most of prior researches ignore the potential interactions among residents in order to simplify problem complexity. On the other hand, multiple-resident activities are usually recognized using cameras or wearable sensors. However, due to human-centric concerns, it is more preferable to avoid using obtrusive sensors. In this paper, we propose dynamic Bayesian networks which extend coupled hidden Markov models (CHMMs) by adding some vertices to model both individual and cooperative activities. In order to improve performance of the model, we categorize sensor observations based on data association and some domain knowledge to model multiple-resident activity patterns. We then validate the performance using a multi-resident dataset from WSU (Washington State University), which only includes non-obtrusive sensors. The experimental result shows that our model performs better than other baseline classifiers.
Antibodies to synthetic peptides based on band 3 motifs react specifically with Plasmodium falciparum (humanmalaria)-infected erythrocytes and block cytoadherence

SUMMARY Rabbit polyclonal and mouse monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) prepared against synthetic peptides patterned on exofacialloops 3 (amino acids 546–555) and 7 (821–834) of the human anion transport protein band 3 inhibited the cytoadherence of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes to C32 amelanotic melanoma cells. Mabs directed against exofacial loop4 (amino acids 628–642) did not inhibit adherence to a significant degree. The murine Mabs recognized only P. falciparum- infected erythrocytes suggesting that the epitopes of loops 3, 4 and 7 are normally cryptic in uninfected erythrocytes.
Income Inequality and American State Politics

The rapidly expanding research literature in comparative state politics typically measures its dependent and independent variables with references to means, averages, and per capitas for each state. (For example, environmental inputs may be expressed as per capita personal income, percent of population living in urban places, median school year completed by the population over 25, etc.; political characteristics may be expressed as average voter turnout levels, percent of the total vote cast for the winning party, etc.; policy outputs are often expressed as per capita expenditures for education, average monthly payments for old age assistance, per capita tax revenues, etc.) With measures such as these, the comparative state politics research has systematically explored many of the linkages between environmental inputs, political system characteristics, and public policy outcomes. Perhaps the most serious reservation regarding this research is its failure to examine distributive and redistributive aspects of state politics. Both dependent and independent variables are generally expressed as levels or amounts or averages for whole states; these can be neatly arranged for comparative analysis both longitudinally and cross-sectionally. But what about the distribution of wealth within a state? Or the distribution of public monies among high and low income groups, rural and urban populations, or other divisions within a state's population. The linkages between the distribution of resources within states, the distribution of influence within state political systems, and public policies reflecting distributional decisions, remain largely untested.
Lowresource speech recognition with automatically learned sparse inverse covariance matrices

Full covariance acoustic models trained with limited training data generalize poorly to unseen test data due to a large number of free parameters. We propose to use sparse inverse covariance matrices to address this problem. Previous sparse inverse covariance methods never outperformed full covariance methods. We propose a method to automatically drive the structure of inverse covariance matrices to sparse during training. We use a new objective function by adding L1 regularization to the traditional objective function for maximum likelihood estimation. The graphic lasso method for the estimation of a sparse inverse covariance matrix is incorporated into the Expectation Maximization algorithm to learn parameters of HMM using the new objective function. Experimental results show that we only need about 25% of the parameters of the inverse covariance matrices to be nonzero in order to achieve the same performance of a full covariance system. Our proposed system using sparse inverse covariance Gaussians also significantly outperforms a system using full covariance Gaussians trained on limited data.
Analysis of stability and bifurcations of limit cycles in Chua's circuit through the harmonic-balance approach

This paper presents a spectral approach, based on the harmonic-balance technique, for detecting limit-cycle bifurcations in complex nonlinear circuits. The key step of the proposed approach is a method for a simple and effective computation of the Floquet multipliers (FMs) that yield stability and bifurcation conditions. As a case-study, a quite complex system, Chua's circuit, is considered. It is shown that the spectral approach is able to accurately evaluate the most significant bifurcation curves.
Systems Analysis of Plant Functional, Transcriptional, Physical Interaction, and Metabolic Networks

Physiological responses, developmental programs, and cellular functions rely on complex networks of interactions at different levels and scales. Systems biology brings together high-throughput biochemical, genetic, and molecular approaches to generate omics data that can be analyzed and used in mathematical and computational models toward uncovering these networks on a global scale. Various approaches, including transcriptomics, proteomics, interactomics, and metabolomics, have been employed to obtain these data on the cellular, tissue, organ, and whole-plant level. We summarize progress on gene regulatory, cofunction, protein interaction, and metabolic networks. We also illustrate the main approaches that have been used to obtain these networks, with specific examples from Arabidopsis thaliana, and describe the pros and cons of each approach.
Monitoring for Power-Line Change and Outage Detection in Smart Grid via the Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers

A novel distributed line outage detection algorithm was developed in this paper through convex relaxation and alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) method for smart grid system. The devised approach allows identification of multiple line outages using limited number of PMU measurements. The diagnosis procedure is performed close to the place where PMU measurements are collected and only partial variable estimates are exchanged among the neighbours of processors. It is shown that the proposed method outperforms the existing methods, which are either suffering from computational complexity or security and privacy issues. Numerical tests demonstrated the merits of the proposed schemes in co-ordinately figuring out multiple line outages in the system.
Credal human activity recognition based-HMM by combining hierarchical and temporal reasoning

Human activities recognition in videos sequences is a very current research topic being investigated in computer vision. This paper offers an approach for video analysis by exploiting hidden Markov models. We propose an extension of the standard model by integrating three abstraction layers through the management of hierarchical structure and the temporal evolution of events. In addition, data imperfections are also managed through a more generic framework than the probabilistic that is the Transferable Belief Model. The proposed approach has been assessed with the "baggage abandoned" scenario of PETS'06 dataset of computer vision community. Lastly, the proposed scenario recognition system performance is analysed and compared to the result of classic HMM models.
Small Signal Stability of an Unregulated Power System

Small signal stability is the ability of the power system to maintain synchronism under small perturbations. Such perturbations occur continuously on the system because of the small variations in load and generation where the system continuously adjusts itself to changing conditions. Restoring forces acting on the machines help them to maintain stable conditions. The system must be able to operate satisfactorily under these conditions and successfully supply the maximum amount of load. The "small signal" disturbances are considered sufficiently small for linearization of system equations to be permissible for the purpose of analysis. A general method, with all the preliminary steps, to perform small signal stability studies is presented in this paper. The approach presented is applied to the IEEE 118 bus system.