Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A comprehensive performance metric for evaluation of multi-target tracking algorithms

The optimal sub-pattern assignment (OSPA) distance/metric is widely used to evaluate the performance of Multi-target tracking (MTT) algorithms based on random finite sets. Potential shortages of the original OSPA metric are discussed and a comprehensive metric for evaluating performance is established through incorporating the third error component, which represents the error of angles, into the original OSPA distance. Thus, the new metric can be viewed as the combination of three components including localization errors, cardinality errors and angle errors. Two computational approaches for computing new error component are described based on cosine similarity/distance. The simulation results verify the new metric.
Mixed Integer Programming

A linear mixed integer program is an optimization problem in which a nonempty subset of integer variables (unknowns) and a subset of real-valued (continuous) variables exist, the constraints are all linear equations or inequalities, and the objective is a linear function to be minimized (or maximized). After presenting several practical applications of mixed integer programming, we describe the main classes of algorithms, branch-and-bound and branch-and-cut, that are used to solve this hard class of problems. Considerable attention is paid to ways to improve solution times, involving preprocessing, reformulation with cuts and/or new variables, and heuristics.
Modeling and Analysis of Body Potential of Cylindrical Gate-All-Around Nanowire Transistor

A new physically based classical model for the potential distribution of an undoped body cylindrical gate-all-around nanowire transistor is proposed. The model is based on the analytical solution of 2-D Poisson's equation in a cylindrical coordinate system and is valid for both (1) weak and strong inversion regimes, (2) long and short-channel transistors, and (3) body surfaces and centers. Using the proposed model, for the first time, it is demonstrated that the body potential versus gate voltage characteristics for the devices having equal channel lengths but different body radii pass through a single common point (termed a ldquocrossover pointrdquo). It is found that, at this crossover point, there is no potential drop (ldquopseudo flatband conditionrdquo) along the radial direction. Using the concept of crossover point, the effect of body radius on the threshold voltage of undoped body multigate transistors is explained. Based on the proposed body potential model, a new compact model for the subthreshold swing is formulated. It is shown that for the devices having very high short-channel effects, the effective subthreshold slope factor is mainly dictated by the potential at the body center rather than that at the surface. All the models are validated against a professional numerical device simulator.
Column generation for the truck and trailer routing problem with time windows

Motivated by the field sta routing and scheduling problem of an Austrian infrastructure service provider, which involves the planning of subroutes, we study the truck and trailer routing problem (TTRP) [2]. In the TTRP, two types of customers are considered: customers that can be visited by a truck pulling a trailer (denoted as vehicle customers) and customers that can only be visited by a truck alone (denoted as truck customers). Each customer has a given demand. In order to serve the customers, three di erent kinds of routes can be planned: routes that are carried out by a single truck (denoted as truck routes); routes that are carried out by a truck pulling a trailer (denoted as vehicle routes) without any intermediate decoupling; and routes carried out by a truck pulling a trailer involving truck-only subroutes. Each such subroute starts and ends at a vehicle customer. At this customer the trailer is decoupled and then re-coupled again at the end of the subroute. The truck has a capacity of Qtruck and the trailer a capacity of Qtrailer. Shifting loads from the trailer to the truck before departing on the next truck-only subroute is possible. The objective is to minimize the total routing cost which corresponds to the total distance traveled by the available vehicle fleet. An important aspect is that a trailer may not be picked up by a truck di erent from the one which decoupled it. Furthermore, each customer may only be visited once. This implies that a decoupling point cannot be used more than once: whenever a vehicle customer is used to park the trailer, it has to be served. However, several consecutive subroutes may start and end at the same vehicle customer.
Effects of technique variations on knee biomechanics during the squat and leg press.

PURPOSE The specific aim of this project was to quantify knee forces and muscle activity while performing squat and leg press exercises with technique variations. METHODS Ten experienced male lifters performed the squat, a high foot placement leg press (LPH), and a low foot placement leg press (LPL) employing a wide stance (WS), narrow stance (NS), and two foot angle positions (feet straight and feet turned out 30 degrees ). RESULTS No differences were found in muscle activity or knee forces between foot angle variations. The squat generated greater quadriceps and hamstrings activity than the LPH and LPL, the WS-LPH generated greater hamstrings activity than the NS-LPH, whereas the NS squat produced greater gastrocnemius activity than the WS squat. No ACL forces were produced for any exercise variation. Tibiofemoral (TF) compressive forces, PCL tensile forces, and patellofemoral (PF) compressive forces were generally greater in the squat than the LPH and LPL, and there were no differences in knee forces between the LPH and LPL. For all exercises, the WS generated greater PCL tensile forces than the NS, the NS produced greater TF and PF compressive forces than the WS during the LPH and LPL, whereas the WS generated greater TF and PF compressive forces than the NS during the squat. For all exercises, muscle activity and knee forces were generally greater in the knee extending phase than the knee flexing phase. CONCLUSIONS The greater muscle activity and knee forces in the squat compared with the LPL and LPH implies the squat may be more effective in muscle development but should be used cautiously in those with PCL and PF disorders, especially at greater knee flexion angles. Because all forces increased with knee flexion, training within the functional 0-50 degrees range may be efficacious for those whose goal is to minimize knee forces. The lack of ACL forces implies that all exercises may be effective during ACL rehabilitation.
Robust multichannel TDOA estimation for speaker localization using the impulsive characteristics of speech spectrum

Time delay estimation (TDE) plays an important role in localizing and tracking radiating acoustic sources. Although many efforts have been devoted to this problem in the literature, the robustness of TDE with respect to noise and reverberation remains a great challenge for practical systems. In this paper, we investigate the TDE problem in acoustic single-input/multiple-output (SIMO) systems in reverberant and noisy environments. We first define a Cauchy estimator in the frequency domain, which is robust in dealing with speech as the SIMO system's excitation. This robust estimator is then used to construct a cost function, from which a robust multichannel frequency-domain adaptive filter is deduced. This adaptive algorithm is subsequently employed to blindly identify the acoustic impulse responses between the source and the microphones. Finally, the time difference of arrival is determined from the identified channel responses.
Matriptase is a novel initiator of cartilage matrix degradation in osteoarthritis.

OBJECTIVE Increasing evidence implicates serine proteinases in pathologic tissue turnover. The aim of this study was to assess the role of the transmembrane serine proteinase matriptase in cartilage destruction in osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS Serine proteinase gene expression in femoral head cartilage obtained from either patients with hip OA or patients with fracture to the neck of the femur (NOF) was assessed using a low-density array. The effect of matriptase on collagen breakdown was determined in cartilage degradation models, while the effect on matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) expression was analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction. ProMMP processing was determined using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis/N-terminal sequencing, while its ability to activate proteinase-activated receptor 2 (PAR-2) was determined using a synovial perfusion assay in mice. RESULTS Matriptase gene expression was significantly elevated in OA cartilage compared with NOF cartilage, and matriptase was immunolocalized to OA chondrocytes. We showed that matriptase activated proMMP-1 and processed proMMP-3 to its fully active form. Exogenous matriptase significantly enhanced cytokine-stimulated cartilage collagenolysis, while matriptase alone caused significant collagenolysis from OA cartilage, which was metalloproteinase-dependent. Matriptase also induced MMP-1, MMP-3, and MMP-13 gene expression. Synovial perfusion data confirmed that matriptase activates PAR-2, and we demonstrated that matriptase-dependent enhancement of collagenolysis from OA cartilage is blocked by PAR-2 inhibition. CONCLUSION Elevated matriptase expression in OA and the ability of matriptase to activate selective proMMPs as well as induce collagenase expression make this serine proteinase a key initiator and inducer of cartilage destruction in OA. We propose that the indirect effects of matriptase are mediated by PAR-2, and a more detailed understanding of these mechanisms may highlight important new therapeutic targets for OA treatment.
Real-time HEVC decoding with OpenHEVC and OpenMP

HEVC codecs will replace H.264 ones inside the consumer electronic devices in the near future. In this work, the open source OpenHEVC decoder has been modified in order to support parallel decoding at the slice level using OpenMP instead of pthreads. The advantage of this unthreaded decoder is that it can be used with any architecture, providing it supports OpenMP. Tests have been carried out with three different multicore chips and the performance results are similar to those obtained with the pthreaded OpenHEVC decoder.
Endovascular Treatment of Symptomatic Intracranial Arterial Stenosis: Six-Year Experience in a Single-Center Series of 42 Consecutive Patients With Acute and Mid-Term Results

BACKGROUND: The limitations of the medical management of symptomatic intracranial arterial stenosis encourage the development of new therapeutic strategies such as intracranial stenting. OBJECTIVE: To report and analyze the results of a series of 42 patients treated with 3 different endovascular techniques: isolated angioplasty, balloon-expandable coronary stents, and the Wingspan self-expandable intracranial stent system. METHODS: Forty-two patients presenting with symptomatic intracranial arterial stenosis were treated with one of these techniques. Computed tomography angiography was performed 6 months after the procedure, and the clinical neurological statuses were categorized using the modified Rankin Scale and the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale. RESULTS: A total of 42 lesions were treated: 9 with isolated angioplasty, 14 with balloon-expandable coronary stents, and 19 with Wingspan self-expandable intracranial stents. The mean patient age was 62.9 years, and the mean arterial diameter stenosis was 73.9%. Technical success was achieved in 97.6% of the patients. The overall incidence of procedural complications was 21.4%, and the postoperative permanent morbidity/mortality rate was 7.1%. There were 3 cases of in-stent thrombosis (1 fatal) and 5 cases of asymptomatic restenosis (11.9%), 3 in the isolated angioplasty group and 2 in the Wingspan self-expandable intracranial stent group (mean follow-up 20.4 months). The rate of restenosis was higher in the angioplasty group (33%) than in the coronary (0%) and Wingspan stent (10.5%) groups. CONCLUSION: Endovascular treatment of symptomatic intracranial stenosis has significant overall morbidity and mortality rates. Nevertheless, the very critical natural history of severe refractory lesions and the relatively favorable postoperative evolution suggest that it should be considered the first alternative strategy in cases in which medical therapy has failed.
An optimal algorithm for MoJo distance

Effective comparison of different decompositions of a software system is integral for the evaluation of software clustering algorithms. One of the approaches that has been developed to tackle this issue is the MoJo distance measure. The original algorithm for the computation of MoJo distance was a heuristic one that only approximated the exact value. In this paper we introduce an algorithm that calculates the exact distance in polynomial time. We also present experiments that showcase that the new algorithm calculates MoJo distance more accurately and efficiently than before.
Approximate Jacobian control for robots with uncertain kinematics and dynamics

Most research so far in robot control has assumed either kinematics or Jacobian matrix of the robots from joint space to Cartesian space is known exactly. Unfortunately, no physical parameters can be derived exactly. In addition, when the robot picks up objects of uncertain lengths, orientations, or gripping points, the overall kinematics from the robot's base to the tip of the object becomes uncertain and changes according to different tasks. Consequently, it is unknown whether stability of the robot could be guaranteed in the presence of uncertain kinematics. In order to overcome these drawbacks, in this paper, we propose simple feedback control laws for setpoint control without exact knowledge of kinematics, Jacobian matrix, and dynamics. Lyapunov functions are presented for stability analysis of feedback control problem with uncertain kinematics. We shall show that the end-effector's position converges to a desired position in a finite task space even when the kinematics and Jacobian matrix are uncertain. Experimental results are presented to illustrate the performance of the proposed controllers.
Association of ORMDL3, STAT6 and TBXA2R gene polymorphisms with asthma

Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in childhood. It is well known that genetic variability contributes to asthma risk. One of the most replicated asthma candidate genes is ORM1‐like 3 (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) (ORMDL3), which has been associated with childhood asthma susceptibility. Another asthma candidate gene is signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6), a regulator of IgE class switching. Gene coding thromboxane A2 receptor (TBXA2R), involved in chronic airway inflammation, has been associated with asthma in several genetic studies. We have studied the association of polymorphism rs4795405 in ORMDL3, rs324011 in STAT6 as well as rs8113232 and rs3786989 in TBXA2R with asthma risk, various asthma phenotypes and asthma‐related symptoms. The study group consisted of 154 children with asthma, in whom clinical parameters were measured and whose asthma control and atopic status were determined. A control group comprised 71 healthy children. Genotyping was performed using an allelic discrimination assay. The ORMDL3 polymorphism rs4795405 was suggestively associated with asthma risk. Furthermore, it was significantly associated with nonatopic asthma and asthma without rhinitis. No association was detected between the STAT6 polymorphism rs324011 or the TBXA2R polymorphisms rs8113232 and rs3786989 and asthma susceptibility. However, an association between rs324011 in STAT6 with recurrent wheezing in early childhood and a suggestive association between rs8113232 in TBXA2R with rhinitis in children with asthma were observed. Our results confirmed ORMDL3 as a candidate gene for childhood asthma susceptibility. STAT6 and TBXA2R polymorphisms were not associated with asthma risk, but they were associated with asthma‐related symptoms.
ON omega CENTAURI AND ITS RRc STARS

Masses, absolute temperatures, and luminosities are derived for a large sample of RRc stars in the globular cluster Omega Centauri, interpreting the observed periods, relative luminosities, and Fourier phases in terms of linear and hydrodynamic pulsation models. The resulting masses agree with those of the RRd stars in other clusters and the derived parameters pass a number of other tests which are independent of their derivation. The results disagree with current horizontal branch models and also imply that the canonical slope of the log T(e) versus B-V relation is too steep by a factor of two. It is shown that the disagreement between the RRd masses and those based on horizontal branch calculations cannot be reconciled by reasonable changes in metallicity or opacity. No correlation between the masses of the Omega Cen RRc stars and their metallicities is found, and it is shown that this cannot be due to the late redward evolution by the RR Lyrae stars of lower mass. 38 refs.
An experimental system for measuring the credibility of news content in Twitter

Purpose – Owing to the large amount of information available on Twitter (a micro blogging service) that is not necessarily true or believable, credibility of news published in such an electronic channel has become an important area for investigation in the field of web credibility. This paper aims to address this issue.Design/methodology/approach – A system was developed to measure the credibility of news content published in Twitter. The system uses two approaches to assign credibility levels (low, high and average) to each tweet. The first approach is based on the similarity between Twitter posts (tweets) and authentic (i.e. verified) news sources. The second approach is based on the similarity with verified news sources in addition to a set of proposed features.Findings – The evaluations of the two approaches showed that assigning credibility levels to Twitter tweets for the first approach has a higher precision and recall. Additional experiments showed that the linking feature has its impact on the se.
Interaction with Information Graphics: A Content-Based Approach

Understanding information graphics rely on thought process of graphics' reader, and thinking has the most important role in interpretation and exploitation. We are interested in the cognitive mechanisms underlying interaction with information graphics. In this study, we studied those cognitive processes which are employed when interacting with information graphics. Based on these experiments, we have separated four different types of thought processes which occur during the interactions with information graphics. We propose that these thought processes are apperception, restructuring, reflection and construction.
Delivery to mitochondria: a narrower approach for broader therapeutics

Introduction: Research has revealed a relationship between mitochondrial dysfunction and diseases such as diabetes, ischemia–reperfusion injury, cancer and many more. As a result, mitochondria have gained attention as a target organelle for the treatment of many diseases. Successful delivery of the drug molecule to the mitochondria could be achieved by keeping in mind the normal intracellular trafficking fate of molecules in cell as well as through the mitochondria and exploring the new possibilities to reach the target in an efficient manner. Areas covered: This review covers important areas such as structure and physiology of mitochondria, mitochondrial genome and its role in the diseases led by mitochondrial dysfunction, generation of reactive oxygen species and its disbalance in pathophysiological conditions and apoptosis. Further, the review focuses on various human mitochondrial diseases, particularly cancer, and strategies and methods of targeting drug and genetic materials to mitochondria. Novel nanotechnology-based carriers for mitochondria delivery are discussed with an attempt of providing readers with a current and future prospective of mitochondrial therapeutics. Expert opinion: Numerous investigators have attempted to establish a mitochondrial drug delivery system; still, many hurdles yet remain to be overcome before mitochondrial medicine reaches clinical applications. We need to develop a delivery system to encapsulate drugs, proteins and genes that would be practically viable for scale-up and strategies to target and regulate drug release to the cytosol after endosomal escape, and thereafter to deliver the released drug to the mitochondria. Current innovations in the nanotechnology could be effectively utilized with mitochondrial medicine for designing optimal nanoparticle drug delivery system for mitochondrial diseases on clinical setting.
Tool support for the Test Template Framework

This paper describes tool support that has been implemented for the Test Template Framework (TTF). The TTF is a model‐based testing (MBT) method that is especially well suited for unit testing from Z specifications. Although the TTF is a sound MBT method and it has been widely referenced since its first publication, attention in recent years has decayed. In fact, some have argued that generating abstract test cases following the TTF is a manual task requiring its users to perform complex predicate manipulations. This paper shows that these observations are dubious by describing Fastest, a tool that implements solutions for all these issues and, according to many experiments, produces abstract test cases for more than 80% of the satisfiable test specifications. Furthermore, it is claimed that Fastest fulfils the needs of the Z user community regarding MBT tools, which is supported with a range of case studies. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Effects of gamma and electron beam irradiation on viability and DNA elimination of Staphylococcus aureus

Owing to the inability of real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR)to distinguish between signals originating from viable cells and DNA released fromdead cells, (i.e. it can detect dead cells) a risk exists that DNA from dead cells can resultin false-positive PCR signals, so it is important to use a proper method for sterilization to maintain the accuracy of the quantitative real-time PCR assay.
Safety and tolerability of high doses of glucocorticoides

Introduction: Treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia includes the use of high doses of glucocorticoides (prednisone and dexamethasone), which significantly increase the success of therapy due to lymphocytolitic effect. The aim: The aim of the study was to determine tolerability of high doses of prednisone and dexamethasone in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and the structure and the intensity of adverse effects, occurred after application of these medicines. Subjects and methods: In a prospective study, we analyzed adverse effects of high doses of glucocorticoides in children suffering acute lymphoblastic leukemia treated in the Institute for Child and Youth Health Care of Vojvodina, since December 2010. until October 2014, were analyzed. This study included 18 patients, aged from 2 to 15 years. Results: Hyperglycemia appeared in 89% of patients treated with prednisone and in 61% of patients treated with dexamethasone. In order to control the high blood glucose level (above 10 mmol /L), in 11% of patients insulin was used. Hypertension appeared in 28% patients treated with prednisone and dexamethasone. Antihypertensives were needed for regulation in 17% patients. Hypopotassemia and hypocalcaemia were significantly more expressed after the use of prednisone in comparison to dexamethasone. In 11% of patients, the treatment with dexamethasone caused depressive behavior, followed by agitation. Conclusion: Adverse effects of dexamethasone and prednisone, administered in high doses in children with ALL were known, expected and reversible. Adverse reactions usually disappeared spontaneously or after short-term symptomatic therapy.