Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Image processing for restoration of heavily-corrupted old film sequences

We present robust image processing techniques for the old film restoration tasks of flicker correction and scratch/blotch removal. We present a correction method which first estimates the correction-model parameters from an input old film sequence and then corrects its flickers according to the estimated model. Next, we present methods for scratch/blotch removal. Those distortions are repaired with blending-type filters. For scratch detection we employ the morphological image analysis, whereas for blotch detection we employ our previously presented spatiotemporal continuity analysis. The simulations have demonstrated that our techniques remove flickers, scratches and blotches almost perfectly.
Immunolocalization of TRPC channel subunits 1 and 4 in the chicken retina

In the vertebrate retina, multiple cell types express G protein-coupled receptors linked to the IP3 signaling pathway. The signaling engendered by activation of this pathway can involve activation of calcium permeable transient receptor potential (TRP) channels. To begin to understand the role of these channels in the retina, we undertake an immunocytochemical localization of two TRP channel subunits. Polyclonal antibodies raised against mammalian TRPC1 and TRPC4 are used to localize the expression of these proteins in sections of the adult chicken retina. Western blot analysis indicates that these antibodies recognize avian TRPC1 and TRPC4. TRPC1 labeling is almost completely confined to the inner plexiform layer (IPL) where it labels a subset of processes that ramify in three broad stripes. Occasionally, cell bodies are labeled. These can be found in the inner nuclear layer (INL) proximal to the IPL, the IPL, and the ganglion cell layer (GCL). Double-labeling experiments using a polyclonal antibody that recognizes brain nitric oxide synthase (bNOS) in the chicken indicate that many of the TRPC1-positive processes and cell bodies also express bNOS. Labeling with the TRPC4 antibody was much more widespread with some degree of labeling found in all layers of the retina. TRPC4 immunoreactivity was found in the photoreceptor layer, in the outer plexiform layer (OPL), in radially oriented cells in the INL, diffusely in the IPL, and in vertically oriented elements below the GCL. Double-labeling experiments with a monoclonal antibody raised against vimentin indicate that the TRPC4-positive structures in the INL and below the GCL are Müller cells. Thus, TRPC1 and TRPC4 subunits have unique expression patterns in the adult chicken retina. The distributions of these two subunits indicate that different retinal cell types express TRP channels containing different subunits.
Single chain Fv fragment specific for human GM‐CSF: Selection and expression using a bacterial expression library

Single chain antibodies (scFvs) are replacing whole antibody molecules since they are easy to produce on large scale and amenable to genetic modifications. Here we report the development of an anti‐human granulocyte macrophage colony‐stimulating factor (hGM‐CSF) scFv as an immunoassay bio‐reagent, utilizing an easily scalable bacterial expression system. For this, the VH and VL gene repertoires were amplified from the immunoglobulin complementary DNA, derived from total RNA of mice splenocytes, pre‐sensitized with the antigen. The scFv library was expressed under the strong T7 promoter in BL21 (DE3) Escherichia coli cells. Preliminary screening led to the selection of four potential candidates, which were later subjected to light chain shuffling. Cross‐reactivity analysis involving the original and shuffled candidates resulted in the selection of one scFv (scFv196) with no cross‐reactivity against E. coli antigens. The binding affinity of the scFv196 for hGM‐CSF, measured by surface plasmon resonance, was found to be within the physiological range (KD =1.5 μM). The refolded scFv was also shown to recognize and bind the glycosylated antigen, a closer mimic of the physiological GM‐CSF, potentiating its use in immunoassays. Expression studies using shake flasks suggested periplasmic export of the scFv196 protein.
Agent-based modeling of tag-based cooperation in mobile environment

Building on a review of cooperation enforcement in mobile ad hoc networks and tag-based cooperation literature in [1] and the design of mobility-aware tag-based cooperation enforcement approach [2], this article will forward the research by describing the process of building a generic model to test and evaluate the proposed approach for tag-based cooperation in mobile environment. The generic model is an agentbased model. Therefore, this article will begin by introducing agent-based modeling and describing the tools that can be used to develop agent-based models and explains the design of agent-based model for tagbased cooperation in mobile environment. The evaluation of the agent-based model is presented and discussed.
Movement towards transdiagnostic psychotherapeutic practices for the affective disorders

Evidence-based cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) practices were first developed in the 1960s. Over the decades, refinements and alternative symptom foci resulted in the development of several CBT protocols/manuals for each of the many disorders, especially in the affective disorders. Although shown to be effective in highly trained providers, the proliferation of CBT protocols also has shown to demonstrate challenges in dissemination and implementation efforts due to the sheer number of CBT protocols and their related training requirements (eg, 6 months per protocol) and their related cost (eg, over US$2000 each; lost days/hours at work). To address these concerns, newer transdiagnostic CBT protocols have been developed to reduce the number of disorder-specific CBT protocols needed to treat patients with affective disorders. Transdiagnostic treatments are based on the notion that various disorder-specific CBT protocols contain important but overlapping treatment components that can be distilled into a single treatment and therefore address the symptoms and comorbidities across all of the disorders at once. 3 examples of transdiagnostic treatments include group CBT of anxiety, unified protocol for transdiagnostic treatment for emotional disorders and transdiagnostic behaviour therapy. Each transdiagnostic protocol is designed for a different set of disorders, contains a varied amount of CBT treatment components and is tested in different types of samples. However, together, these 3 transdiagnostic psychotherapies represent the future of CBT practice.
Aberrant fucosylation of glycosphingolipids in human hepatocellular carcinoma tissues

Glycosylation promoting or inhibiting tumour cell invasion and metastasis is of crucial importance in current cancer research. Tumour‐associated carbohydrate antigens are predominantly expressed on the tumour cell surface. Glycosphingolipids (GSLs) are members of the family. To perform glycosphingolipidomic assays on neutral GSLs obtained from solid hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues and paired peritumoural tissues by linear ion trap quadrupole‐electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.
Unemployment and Under-Employment: The Case of Switzerland

I analyze the effect of unemployment on subsequent employment history for Switzerland. Using administrative panel data from the unemployment insurance system and the social security databases, I estimate a discrete time hazard model for the exit from the different labor market states: unemployment, employment characterized by either earnings losses, gains or relatively stable earnings, and out-of-the labor force. I find that having previously experienced unemployment increases the risk of persistent unemployment. A further analysis based on personal characteristics such as gender, age, foreign citizenship and qualification permits to identify two profiles of unemployed persons. The “higher-risk” unemployed, namely the female, foreign and less skilled workers are prone to remain trapped in bad situations or to experience employment instability. On the contrary, the male, younger and skilled workers are more likely to exit from unemployment and if they experience earnings losses, it is more for transitory periods.
Low profile circular Yagi-Uda array

The paper presents an overview on the development of Circular Yagi-Uda and collinear type of antenna. The genetic algorithm is used to optimize the two antenna architecture. The main goal of the article is a comparison of directivity and bandwidth of the two omnidirectional gained type of antennas. The circular Yagi antenna has been analysed as solid and wire model. In our analysis, the method of moments (MoM) is used to compute the current distribution and directivity of the Yagi antenna. Microstrip technology is used for planar collinear monopole antenna and simulation with ground plane has been performed using Ansoft HFSS 3D simulator. Prototypes have been realized and measured.
Mapping longitudinal cerebral cortex development using diffusion tensor imaging

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) could provide convenient and crucial insights into the underlying age-related biological maturation of human brains, including myelination, axonal density changes, fiber tract reorganization, and synaptic pruning processes. Fractional anisotropy (FA) derived from DTI has been commonly used to characterize cellular morphological changes associated with the development of human brain, due to its sensitivity to microstructural changes. In this paper, we aim to discern the longitudinal neurodevelopmental patterns in typically maturing human brains using 200 healthy subjects from 5 to 22 years of age, based on the FA in cortical gray matter (GM). Specifically, FA image is first aligned with the corresponding T1 image, which has been parcellated into different cortical ROIs, and then the average FA in each ROI is computed. Linear mixed model is used to analyze the FA developmental pattern in each cortical ROI. The developmental trajectory of FA in each ROI across ages is delineated, and the best-fitting models of age-related changes in FA were linear for all ROIs. FA generally increases with the age from 5 to 22 years of age. In addition, males and females follow the similar pattern, with the FA of females being generally lower than that of males in most ROIs. This provides us some insights into the microstructural changes in the longitudinal cerebral cortex development.
Phage P68 Virion-Associated Protein 17 Displays Activity against Clinical Isolates of Staphylococcus aureus

ABSTRACT Phage-encoded murein hydrolases are either part of the lysis cassette or found as structural components of the phage virion. Here, we show that Staphylococcus aureus bacteriophage P68 contains a virion-associated muralytic enzyme. Protein 17 has a composite structure. The N-terminal part comprises the muralytic activity, whereas the C-terminal part is required for binding to the cell surface. A high multiplicity of infection with phage P68 caused rapid lysis, and purified protein 17 triggered premature lysis when added to S. aureus cells prior to infection with P68, suggesting that it functions to weaken the murein at the site of phage DNA entry. Protein 17 displayed activity against clinical S. aureus isolates, which are resistant to infection by phage P68, demonstrating that the protein targets surface structures distinct from the phage receptor. This broad activity spectrum of protein 17 could qualify virion-associated muralytic enzymes as attractive antimicrobials.
[Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy in elderly patients. A prospective study in a geriatric hospital].

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this work was to search for prognostic factors after percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) for enteral nutrition in geriatric patients by studying complications, nutritional benefits, and impact on quality of life. METHODS In this prospective study, 59 elderly patients referred for PEG were followed for 1 year or until tube removal or death. Complications, tolerance to enteral nutrition, nutritional status, infection, bedsores and quality of life were assessed by a questionnaire at tube insertion, at 1 month and every 3 months. Multivariate analysis was performed to look for factors predictive of early mortality before one month. RESULTS Insertion of the PEG tube was always successful. Pneumonia in the week before tube insertion was predictive of early mortality (odds-ratio: 8.77 [1.63-47.2], P=0.01). Thirty-day mortality was 25%, but was never related to PEG tube insertion. During follow up, no local complication was observed and enteral feeding was well tolerated. After 3 months, serum albumin and prealbumin levels increased (P<0.001). There were fewer infections (P<0.001) and bedsores remained unchanged. Quality-of-life scores were not modified. At one year, the PEG tube was removed in 16 patients who resumed normal oral nutrition, and 6 other patients were able to return to their home. CONCLUSION In a cohort of aged institutionalized patients, PEG for enteral nutrition was well tolerated and not definitive in more than one-quarter of them. Active lung infection is a risk factor of early mortality.
Urothelium Patterns Bladder Smooth Muscle Location

Smooth muscle differentiation is induced in the embryonic bladder by the centrally located urothelium in the undifferentiated mesenchyme in the periphery adjacent to the serosa. We hypothesize that under the appropriate signal the entire undifferentiated bladder mesenchyme is capable of smooth muscle differentiation and that the urothelium patterns fibromuscular development. Embryonic bladders of wild-type and Green Fluorescent Protein mice were separated into urothelial and mesenchymal components before smooth muscle differentiation (E12.5–E13). The urothelial layer green fluorescent protein was recombined and grafted with the mesenchyme (wild-type) in an orthotopic position, heterotopic position and ectopic position. In all cases, a zone of smooth muscle inhibition was observed adjacent to the epithelium whether the urothelium was in an orthotopic or heterotypic position. Bladder mesenchyme and bladder epithelium grafted alone did not grow. In conclusion, the full thickness of bladder mesenchyme is capable of smooth muscle differentiation dependent on the location of urothelium. These experiments support the hypothesis that urothelium secretes a diffusible factor that at high concentrations inhibits smooth muscle and at low concentrations induces smooth muscle, thus patterning mesenchymal cell differentiation across the full thickness of the fibromuscular bladder wall.
Exploring the Complementarity of Audio-Visual Structural Regularities for the Classification of Videos into TV-Program Collections

This article proposes to analyze the structural regularities from the audio and video streams of TV-programs and explore their potential for the classification of videos into program collections. Our approach is based on the spectral analysis of distance matrices representing the short-and long-term dependancies within the audio and visual modalities of a video. We propose to compare two videos by their respective spectral features. We appreciate the benefits brought by the two modalities on the performances in the context of a K-nearest neighbor classification, and we test our approach in the context of an unsupervised clustering algorithm. These evaluations are performed on two datasets of French and Italian TV programs.
Calcium current activation kinetics in isolated pyramidal neurones of the Ca1 region of the mature guinea‐pig hippocampus.

1. Neurones were isolated from the CA1 region of the guinea‐pig hippocampus and subjected to the whole‐cell mode of voltage clamping, to determine the kinetics of voltage‐gated Ca2+ channel activation. 2. Isolated neurones had an abbreviated morphology, having lost most of the distal dendritic tree during the isolation procedure. The electrical compactness of the cells facilitates voltage clamp analysis. 3. Block of sodium and potassium currents revealed a persistent current activated on depolarization above ‐40 mV, which inactivated slowly when the intracellular medium contained EGTA. The current was blocked by Co2+ and Cd2+, augmented by increases in Ca2+ and could be carried by Ba2+, suggesting that the current is borne by Ca2+. 4. Steady‐state activation of the Ca2+ current was found to be well described by the Boltzman equation raised to the second power. 5. The open channel's current‐voltage (I‐V) relationship rectified in the inward direction and was consistent with the constant‐field equation. 6. The kinetics of Ca2+ current onset followed m2 kinetics throughout the range of its activation. Tail current kinetics were in accord with this model. A detailed Hodgkin‐Huxley model was derived, defining the activation of this current. 7. The kinetics of the currents observed in this regionally and morphologically defined class of neurones were consistent with the existence of a single kinetic class of channels.
Childhood abuse and neglect histories in low-income women: prevalence in a menopausal population

ObjectivesTo examine the prevalence of self-reported childhood abuse and neglect in a primary care population of menopausal women. DesignA cross-sectional questionnaire-based study. ResultsThree of four women (119/160, 74%) reported histories of childhood abuse and neglect. The prevalence of emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional neglect, and physical neglect were 43%, 35%, 33%, 49%, and 44%, respectively. Eleven percent of the sample reported maltreatment in all five categories of trauma. Fifteen percent of women studied met criteria for severe-extreme levels of maltreatment, usually in more than one category. ConclusionsA high prevalence of self-reported childhood trauma was detected in our low-income population of menopausal women attending primary care clinics. Because of the potential impact of childhood trauma on physical and mental health, clinicians need to inquire about childhood maltreatment in women of menopausal age and appropriately refer women to mental health intervention and treatment.
The 2016 WHO classification of central nervous system tumors: what neurologists need to know

Purpose of review The 2016 WHO classification of tumors of the central nervous system (2016 CNS WHO) features many changes that are relevant to neurologists treating patients with brain tumors as well as neurologists involved in basic, clinical, and epidemiological research. This review summarizes what neurologists need to know and will need to know in the next years. Recent findings The 2016 CNS WHO introduces diagnostic terms that ‘integrate’ histological and molecular information and suggests presenting diagnoses in a four-layered reporting format. In addition, it utilizes a ‘not otherwise specified’ designation to identify diagnostic categories that are not precisely defined. A better understanding of the biology of entities further led to changes in the tumor nosology, for example, diffuse gliomas based on IDH gene status. Meaningful molecular subgroups could also be identified in embryonal tumors and other entities. Given the pace of change in the field of brain tumor classification, there will likely be additional practical advances that emerge over the next few years. A new initiative entitled Consortium to Inform Molecular and Practical Approaches to CNS Tumor Taxonomy intends to formulate recommendations between WHO updates. Summary The 2016 CNS WHO includes major changes in the way brain tumors are classified, with molecular parameters being incorporated into diagnostic criteria for a substantial number of such entities.
Fares Calculator over a Public Transportaion Network

Hoje em dia, nas Redes de Transportes Publicos actuais, alguns operadores desses transports possuem sistemas que permitem calcular rotas dentro dessas redes. Por vezes, o calculo do preco das viagens esta tambem incluido. Nao existe, no entanto, um metodo simples para o utilizador dos transportes publicos calcular as tarifas dentro de localizacoes geograficas onde varios operadores co-existem.Esta dissertacao tenciona estudar metodos para calcular, visualizar e retornar informacao sobre tarifas adequadas a viagens propostas por um sistema. Apesar de, no case de um unico operador com um unico tarifario esta seja uma operacao simples, existem algumas situacoes em que a complexidade da operacao aumenta, nomeadamente quando se incluem multiplos operadores com tarifas diferentes. Por outro lado, quando se aplica o problema a casos reais, este ganha outra dimensao e complexidade. No universo actual de operadores no sistema MOVE-ME, um sistema de pesquisa de viagens em transportes publicos criado pela OPT para as cidades do Porto e Lisboa, encontram-se varios operadores com mais que um tarifario e existem tambem varias interseccoes, ainda que por vezes parciais, entre operadores. O resultado do calculo da tarifa pode tambem ser usado, no futuro, para alimentar o calculador de rotas, adicionado o preco como um criterio complementar de pesquisa.Concluindo, esta proposta foca-se em criar um calculador generico de tarifas e provar a sua viabilidade usando o caso de estudo da cidade do Porto como prova de conceito, onde podemos encontrar transportes que utilizam o tarifario Andante mas tambem outros operadores com tarifarios diferentes.
Altered synaptic plasticity and behavioral abnormalities in CNGA3‐deficient mice

The role of the cyclic nucleotide‐gated (CNG) channel CNGA3 is well established in cone photoreceptors and guanylyl cyclase‐D‐expressing olfactory neurons. To assess a potential function of CNGA3 in the mouse amygdala and hippocampus, we examined synaptic plasticity and performed a comparative analysis of spatial learning, fear conditioning and step‐down avoidance in wild‐type mice and CNGA3 null mutants (CNGA3−/−). CNGA3−/− mice showed normal basal synaptic transmission in the amygdala and the hippocampus. However, cornu Ammonis (CA1) hippocampal long‐term potentiation (LTP) induced by a strong tetanus was significantly enhanced in CNGA3−/− mice as compared with their wild‐type littermates. Unlike in the hippocampus, LTP was not significantly altered in the amygdala of CNGA3−/− mice. Enhanced hippocampal LTP did not coincide with changes in hippocampus‐dependent learning, as both wild‐type and mutant mice showed a similar performance in water maze tasks and contextual fear conditioning, except for a trend toward higher step‐down latencies in a passive avoidance task. In contrast, CNGA3−/− mice showed markedly reduced freezing to the conditioned tone in the amygdala‐dependent cued fear conditioning task. In conclusion, our study adds a new entry on the list of physiological functions of the CNGA3 channel. Despite the dissociation between physiological and behavioral parameters, our data describe a so far unrecognized role of CNGA3 in modulation of hippocampal plasticity and amydgala‐dependent fear memory.
Indirect Illuminance Computation on GPU for Lighting CAD using CIE Basic Method

In this work, we focus our attention to near real time illuminance for Lighting CAD. The implemented model is the Basic Method CIE which is a simpliﬁed method used in interior lighting design; a pre-computational phase is required, for form factor evaluation, and it is done by the CPU while GPU is used for the direct component evaluation to render the pseudo color map of the computed result. Our approach offers a further improvement in comparison with traditional lighting CAD, since it allows lighting designer to obtain an interactive solutions and the interactivity is reached using graphic hardware, in fact the pre-computation process is independent from the position of luminaries into the scene. The presented method is applied on a simple geometry, a parallepided room, where the surface is assumed to show a Lambertian’s behaviour, but the model can be improved to remove these limitation.