Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CityBrowser II: A Multimodal Restaurant Guide in Mandarin

In this paper we present a conversational dialogue system, CityBrowser II, which allows users to inquire about information about restaurants in Mandarin. Developed in the Galaxy infrastructure with a common, language-independent semantic representation, CityBrowser integrates portability and scalability. By inheriting the infrastructure and main language understanding/generation components from its English predecessor, CityBrowser can easily be transformed to a Mandarin language environment. This paper describes our system implementation, focusing on the language- specific modifications to the original English system. We show that our language-independent yet scalable system infrastructure makes multilingualism a promising task.
Mathematical results inspired by physics

I will discuss results of three different types in geometry and topology. (1) General vanishing and rigidity theorems of elliptic genera proved by using modular forms, Kac-Moody algebras and vertex operator algebras. (2) The computations of intersection numbers of the moduli spaces of flat connections on a Riemann surface by using heat kernels. (3) The mirror principle about counting curves in Calabi-Yau and general projective manifolds by using hypergeometric series.
Evaluation of essential and variable residues of nukacin ISK‐1 by NNK scanning

Nukacin ISK‐1, a type‐A(II) lantibiotic, comprises 27 amino acids with a distinct linear N‐terminal and a globular C‐terminal region. To identify the positional importance or redundancy of individual residues responsible for nukacin ISK‐1 antimicrobial activity, we replaced the native codons of the parent peptide with NNK triplet oligonucleotides in order to generate a bank of nukacin ISK‐1 variants. The bioactivity of each peptide variant was evaluated by colony overlay assay, and hence we identified three Lys residues (Lys1, Lys2 and Lys3) that provided electrostatic interactions with the target membrane and were significantly variable. The ring structure of nukacin ISK‐1 was found to be crucially important as replacing the ring‐forming residues caused a complete loss of bioactivity. In addition to the ring‐forming residues, Gly5, His12, Asp13, Met16, Asn17 and Gln20 residues were found to be essential for antimicrobial activity; Val6, Ile7, Val10, Phe19, Phe21, Val22, Phe23 and Thr24 were relatively variable; and Ser4, Pro8, His15 and Ser27 were extensively variable relative to their positions. We obtained two variants, Asp13Glu and Val22Ile, which exhibited a twofold higher specific activity compared with the wild‐type and are the first reported type‐A(II) lantibiotic mutant peptides with increased potency.
Information and fitness

The growth rate of organisms depends both on external conditions and on internal states, such as the expression levels of various genes. We show that to achieve a criterion mean growth rate over an ensemble of conditions, the internal variables must carry a minimum number of bits of information about those conditions. Evolutionary competition thus can select for cellular mechanisms that are more efficient in an abstract, information theoretic sense. Estimates based on recent experiments suggest that the minimum information required for reasonable growth rates is close to the maximum information that can be conveyed through biologically realistic regulatory mechanisms. These ideas are applicable most directly to unicellular organisms, but there are analogies to problems in higher organisms, and we suggest new experiments for both cases.
A HHMM-Based Approach for Robust Fall Detection

Automatic detection of a falling person in video sequences is an important part of future pervasive home monitoring systems. We propose here a robust method to achieve this goal. Motion is modeled by a hierarchical hidden Markov model (HHMM) whose first layer states are related to the orientation of the tracked person. Finding a consistent way for robustly linking the observation vector to the human poses is the heart of our contribution. In that sense, we carefully study the relationship between angles in the 3D world and their projection onto the image plane. After performing an initial image metric rectification, we derive theoretical properties making it possible to bound the error angle introduced by the image formation process for a standing posture. This allows us to confidently identify other poses as "non-standing" ones, and thus to robustly analyze pose sequences against a given motion model. Several results illustrate the efficiency of the algorithm by pointing out its ability to accurately recognize a person falling down from another walking or sitting, as well as its capacity to run in an unspecified configuration
Automatic Segmentation of Intracochlear Anatomy in Conventional CT

Cochlear implant surgery is a procedure performed to treat profound hearing loss. Clinical results suggest that implanting the electrode in the scala tympani, one of the two principal cavities inside the cochlea, may result in better hearing restoration. Segmentation of intracochlear cavities could thus aid the surgeon to choose the point of entry and angle of approach that maximize the likelihood of successful implant insertion, which may lead to more substantial hearing restoration. However, because the membrane that separates the intracochlear cavities is too thin to be seen in conventional in vivo imaging, traditional segmentation techniques are inadequate. In this paper, we circumvent this problem by creating an active shape model with micro CT (μCT) scans of the cochlea acquired ex vivo. We then use this model to segment conventional CT scans. The model is fitted to the partial information available in the conventional scans and used to estimate the position of structures not visible in these images. Quantitative evaluation of our method, made possible by the set of μCTs, results in Dice similarity coefficients averaging 0.75. Mean and maximum surface errors average 0.21 and 0.80 mm.
Facilitated hypertext for collective sensemaking: 15 years on from gIBIS

This paper outlines the technical and social dimensions to a hypertext tool that has been successfully used in organizational settings to improve meetings, and capture group memory in real time. The approach derives from hypertext research systems from the mid-1980s-90s which sought to manipulate conceptual structures as hypertextual concept maps. However, many did not receive sustained use due to issues of cognitive overheads and representational inflexibility. Many decided that such tools would never fulfill their promise. The gIBIS system exemplified this early work, but has since evolved into a broader approach to collective sensemaking called Compendium. We outline Compendium, which demonstrates the impact that a hypertext facilitator can have on the learning and adoption problems that often ambush hypertext sensemaking tools before they have the chance to establish roots in work practice.
International Conference on Ambient Systems , Networks and Technologies ( ANT ) An OWL 2-Based Knowledge Platform Combining the Social and Semantic Webs for an Ambient Childhood Obesity Prevention System

Amid the extremely active Semantic Web community and the Social Web's exceptionally rising popularity, experts believe that an amplified fusion between the two webs will give rise to the next huge advancement in Web intelligence. Such advances can particularly be translated into ambient and ubiquitous systems and applications. In this paper, we delve into the recent advances in knowledge representation, semantic web, natural language processing and online social networking data and concepts, to propose an inclusive platform and framework defining ambient recommender and decision support systems that aim at facilitating cross-sectional analysis of the domain of childhood obesity and generating both generic and customized preventive recommendations. © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of [name organizer]
Automated nuclear segmentation in skin histopathological images using multi-scale radial line scanning

Segmentation of cell nuclei is an important step towards automatic analysis of microscopic images. This paper presents an automated technique for nuclear segmentation in skin histopathological images. The proposed technique first detects nuclear seeds using a bank of generalized Laplacian of Gaussian (gLoG) kernels. Based on the detected nuclear seeds, a multi-scale radial line scanning (mRLS) method combined with dynamic programming (DP) is utilized to delineate a set of candidate nuclear boundaries. The gradient, intensity and shape information are then integrated to determine the optimal boundary for each nucleus in the image. Experimental results on 28 H&E stained skin histopathological images show that the proposed technique is superior to conventional schemes in nuclear segmentation.
Virtual reality and augmented reality in digestive surgery

Medical image processing led to a major improvement of patient care: the 3D modeling of patients from their CT-scan or MRI provides an improved surgical planning and simulation allows to train the surgical gesture before carrying it out. These two preoperative steps can be used intra-operatively with the development of augmented reality (AR). In this paper, we present the tools we developed to provide our first prototypal AR guiding system for abdominal surgery.
Modeling of an ARS sensor system in spatial and time domain

Scatterometry is a powerful and fast measurement method to measure surfaces and its properties. The backscattered light from a coherently illuminated surface contains information about integral surface topography constants, material properties, surface defects and contamination. In this paper a generic system model of an angle resolved light scatter sensor (ARS sensor) will be discussed and exemplified by using the sensor system LARISSA (Large Dynamic Range Intelligent Scatter Sensor Approach). The system model consists of two parts - firstly in spatial domain and secondly in time (or frequency) domain. The part of the system model in spatial domain contains the characteristics of the optical map of the scattered light onto a detector system. The optical map will be discussed by using an elliptical mirror optics with regard to aberration effects. The part of the system model in time (or frequency) domain contains the characteristics of the conversion of scattered light into quantized signals. The basic steps of the conversion process will be considered. Furthermore, the characteristics in time domain of a single CMOS detector (photo diode) with logarithmical intensity characteristics will be discussed to estimate the opto electronic bandwidth limitation and the minimal exposure time for different applications. Based on the system model basic performance limits will be summarized and further design steps of the sensor system LARISSA will be outlined. This paper is a continuation of a previous paper.
The prevalence of Barrett's esophagus and erosive esophagitis in a tertiary referral center in Turkey.

BACKGROUND/AIMS In recent years, changes in the definition of Barrett's esophagus have resulted in some difficulties in its diagnosis. Very few epidemiological data on Barrett's esophagus and erosive esophagitis in Turkey are available in the literature. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Barrett's esophagus and erosive esophagitis in a tertiary referral center in Turkey. METHODS 18,766 endoscopic examinations done in Ege University between October 1996 and June 2001 were included in this retrospective study. The histologic identification of goblet cells confirming the presence of intestinal metaplasia within the esophagus was considered as Barrett's esophagus. RESULTS 280/18,766 (1.5%) cases were suspected as Barrett's esophagus by endoscopy. 84/18,766 (0.4%) cases were confirmed pathologically. Thirty-six cases were women and 48 men; mean age was 55.6 years. Pathology did not confirm the diagnosis in 46% of the long-segment Barrett's esophagus and in 72% of the short-segment Barrett's esophagus cases (p<0.01). Erosive esophagitis was diagnosed in 12.8% of overall patients by endoscopy and was significantly higher in patients with Barrett's esophagus (27%, p=0.0001). Hiatal hernia was found in 5% of Barrett's esophagus cases and in 11.2% of the endoscopically suspected Barrett's esophagus cases (p>0.05). CONCLUSION The prevalence of Barrett's esophagus and erosive esophagitis are much lower than in developed countries. In the endoscopic examination, overdiagnosis of Barrett's esophagus is still a problem, especially in the presence of short-segment Barrett's esophagus. The presence of hiatal hernia did not affect the diagnosis.
Laboratory Study of the Effects of Compaction on the Volumetric and Rutting Properties of CRM Asphalt Mixtures

The compaction conditions (e.g., compaction temperature and compaction level) of crumb rubber modified (CRM) asphalt mixtures should be determined carefully because the viscosity and amount of the CRM binder affects the compactability of the mixtures. Furthermore, the properties of CRM mixtures relating to the compaction conditions have not been studied in great detail. In this study, a laboratory investigation was conducted on the volumetric and rutting properties of CRM mixtures as a function of compaction conditions. For this research work, four Superpave mix designs for four different asphalt binders (control, SBS modified, 10% rubber modified, and 15% rubber modified) were carried out to determine the optimum asphalt contents. A total of 260 specimens were fabricated using the Superpave gyratory compactor at four compaction temperatures (116, 135, 154, and 173°C) and five compaction levels (20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 gyrations). The volumetric properties were obtained and analyzed, and the rutting resistance of the mixtures was measured using the asphalt pavement analyzer. The results from this study indicated that: (1) the compaction temperatures used in this study significantly affected the volumetric properties of the CRM mixtures, unlike the control and SBS-modified mixtures; (2) in general, the air void contents of the mixtures were significantly influenced by the compaction levels; and (3) as expected, the higher air void contents of the CRM mixtures seemed to have a detrimental effect on the rutting resistance.
UCAS at TREC-2014 Microblog Track

Abstract : University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS) participated in the first task, namely temporally-anchored ad hoc retrieval in Microblog track, aiming to efficiently and effectively retrieve tweets. Based on the conventional application of learning to rank, we incorporated a machine learning approach, such as logistic regression for selecting high-quality training data for improving the effectiveness. Except for the tweets' content features, we also used the features of the web information, external evidence, which is related with the URLS to improve the effectiveness.
A dual-path bandwidth extension amplifier topology with dual-loop parallel compensation

A dual-path amplifier topology with dual-loop parallel compensation technique is proposed for low-power three-stage amplifiers. By using two parallel high-speed paths for high-frequency signal propagation, there is no passive capacitive feedback network loaded at the amplifier output. Both the bandwidth and slew rate are thus significantly improved. Implemented in a 0.6-/spl mu/m CMOS process, the proposed three-stage amplifier has over 100-dB gain, 7-MHz gain-bandwidth product, and 3.3-V//spl mu/s average slew rate while only dissipating 330 /spl mu/W at 1.5 V, when driving a 25-k/spl Omega///120-pF load. The proposed amplifier achieves at least two times improvement in bandwidth-to-power and slew-rate-to-power efficiencies than all other reported multistage amplifiers using different compensation topologies.
Review of Biologic Matrices (Urine, Blood, Hair) as Indicators of Recent or Ongoing Cannabis Use

Especially for cannabinoids, analytical procedures for the verification of recent use and generally for the assessment of the extent of drug abuse are of interest in clinical and forensic toxicology. For confirmation of abstinence, urine analysis seems to be a useful tool. Serial monitoring of THC-COOH to creatinine ratios can differentiate between recent drug use and residual THC-COOH excretion (THC-COOH/creatinine ratio ≥0.5 compared with previous specimen ratio). For an assessment of the extent of cannabis use, the determination of free and bound THC-COOH and especially of THC and 11-OH-THC glucuronides are suggested as useful but need further confirmation. Blood analysis is preferred for the interpretation of acute effects after cannabis abuse. The cannabis influence factor (CIF) was demonstrated as a better tool to interpret the concentrations of THC and its metabolites in blood in forensic cases and therefore it was proposed to assume absolute driving inability because of cannabis intoxication from a CIF ≥10. Additionally, a higher CIF is indicative of a recent cannabis abuse. Also discrimination between occasional use of cannabis and regular drug consumption is possible by analysis of THC-COOH in blood samples because of the long plasma half-life of THC-COOH and its accumulation in the blood of frequent cannabis consumers. In routine tests, blood samples have to be taken within a prescribed 8-day-period, and a THC-COOH concentration >75 ng/mL is assumed to be associated with regular consumption of cannabis products, whereas plasma THC-COOH concentrations <5 ng/mL are associated with occasional consumption. In contrast to other illicit drugs, hair analysis lacks the sensitivity to act as a detector for cannabinoids. THC and especially the main metabolite THC-COOH have a very low incorporation rate into hair and THC is not highly bound to melanin, resulting in much lower concentrations in hair compared with other drugs. Additionally, THC is present in cannabis smoke and also can be incorporated into the hair only by contamination. For the determination of the main metabolite THC-COOH in the picogram or femtogram per milligram range, which indicates an active consumption, special analytical procedures, such as GC/MS/MS techniques, are required.
SESSION III: Paper 5 Lactate and Related Acid Base and Blood Gas Changes During Constant Load and Graded Exercise

CINCE the work of A. V. Hill and his associ^ ates,1 it has been recognized that the con¬ centration of blood lactate increases as a consequence of anaerobic oxidation during exercise. They postulated and obtained convincing evi¬ dence that the Pasteur effect (pyruvate .>» lactate mechanism) was the creditor for the 02 debt that occurs during exercise, and that this was the mechanism repaid during the recovery period.2 Margaria, Edwards and Dill3 subse¬ quently obtained evidence that the pyruvate-lactate mechanism was not an important creditor of the 02 debt until work became heavy. At mode¬ rate and low work rates, other mechanisms pro¬ vided most of oxidative energy and it was to these that the 02 debt was paid. It had also been recognized that changes in acid-base balance might occur during work.4' 5 When it occurs, a non-respiratory acidosis exists. We find that the changes in acid-base balance and blood gases are interrelated with lactic acid production and anaerobic oxidation. Therefore these changes in the blood are best understood in this context. It is the purpose of this presentation to review the relationship between the changes in blood lactate and associated changes in acidbase balance and blood gases during constant work-rate exercise done at three different work intensities.
Mixed Guassian and uniform impulse noise analysis using robust estimation for digital images

Previous work on mixed Gaussian and impulse noise (MGIN) reduction has impressive quantitative results. However, the estimation of the statistical properties of the MGIN model that varies within a wide range has not been fully investigated. In this paper, statistical properties of the MGIN model are analyzed in detail with a robust estimation. The paper also proposes a two-stage impulse-then-Gaussian filter for MGIN suppression. which makes use of the estimated statistical properties of MGIN. The proposed filtering scheme applies a impulse proportion adaptive median filter (IPAMF) to impulse noise suppression, and a state-of-the-art discrete cosine transform (DCT) domain filter to Gaussian noise reduction. Numerical results, in terms of the peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), and visual samples demonstrate that the proposed filtering scheme achieves better performance of noise reduction than two existing MGIN filtering schemes.
EVALUTION OF HEPATOPROTECTIVE EFFECT OF NIGELLA SATIVA L.

The Hepatoprotective effect of Nigella Sativa L. alcoholic extract (NSE) was investigated on D-Galactosamine (D-GalN)/Lipo polysaccharide induced hepatotoxicity in rats. Twenty four adult wistar albino rats were divided into four groups viz., Control, D-Galatosamine induced hepatotoxicity, Nigella sativa alcoholic extract and Nigella Sativa alcoholic extract pretreatment prior to the administration of D-Galactosamine. After treatment, the rats were sacrificed, blood sample was collected for the determination of Serum Aspartate transaminase(AST), Alanine transaminase (ALT), and Alkaline phosphatase(ALP). Mean AST, ALT, and ALP levels were found to be significantly higher in D-GalN induced hepatotoxic rats group (P<0.05) than in the control group. Levels of these parameters were found to be nearer to control in the NSE pretreated group. Results of the present study indicates that NSE having hepatoprotective efficiency againt D-GalN induced toxicity in rats.
Comparison of Supervised Classification Methods for Protein Profiling in Cancer Diagnosis

A key challenge in clinical proteomics of cancer is the identification of biomarkers that could allow detection, diagnosis and prognosis of the diseases. Recent advances in mass spectrometry and proteomic instrumentations offer unique chance to rapidly identify these markers. These advances pose considerable challenges, similar to those created by microarray-based investigation, for the discovery of pattern of markers from high-dimensional data, specific to each pathologic state (e.g. normal vs cancer). We propose a three-step strategy to select important markers from high-dimensional mass spectrometry data using surface enhanced laser desorption/ionization (SELDI) technology. The first two steps are the selection of the most discriminating biomarkers with a construction of different classifiers. Finally, we compare and validate their performance and robustness using different supervised classification methods such as Support Vector Machine, Linear Discriminant Analysis, Quadratic Discriminant Analysis, Neural Networks, Classification Trees and Boosting Trees. We show that the proposed method is suitable for analysing high-throughput proteomics data and that the combination of logistic regression and Linear Discriminant Analysis outperform other methods tested.
Multiphase electrical machines and drives in the transportation electrification

Transport industry is facing a paradigm shift towards the most promising and sustainable solution represented by the transportation electrification. This concept has not only been adopted for the propulsion powertrains, but also for the auxiliary systems. Indeed, in the last few decades electrification has come to smart actuators to improve both safety and comfort of the passengers. In this contest, multiphase electrical machines and drives represent a promising solution to satisfy the challenging requirements imposed by the applications, such as reduced weight and volume, high efficiency, low vibrations and noise, robustness and fault tolerance. With reference to the technical literature and applications, this paper presents an overview of the multiphase technology for the transportation electrification in road vehicle, rail vehicles, air transports and shipboard applications.