Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clustering using vector membership: An extension of the Fuzzy C-Means algorithm

Clustering is an important facet of explorative data mining and finds extensive use in several fields. In this paper, we propose an extension of the classical Fuzzy C-Means clustering algorithm. The proposed algorithm, abbreviated as VFC, adopts a multi-dimensional membership vector for each data point instead of the traditional, scalar membership value defined in the original algorithm. The membership vector for each point is obtained by considering each feature of that point separately and obtaining individual membership values for the same. We also propose an algorithm to efficiently allocate the initial cluster centers close to the actual centers, so as to facilitate rapid convergence. Further, we propose a scheme to achieve crisp clustering using the VFC algorithm. The proposed, novel clustering scheme has been tested on two standard data sets in order to analyze its performance. We also examine the efficacy of the proposed scheme by analyzing its performance on image segmentation examples and comparing it with the classical Fuzzy C-means clustering algorithm.
A Study on the Geothermal Heat Pump System Performance Analysis according to Water Flow Rate Control of the Geothermal Water Circulation Pump

: It is important to control the amount of supply water flow rate at all kinds of HVAC systems in order to maintain IAQ and energy efficiency. The most of buildings installed geothermal heat pumps is using fixed water flow rate in spite of the excellent performance of geothermal heat pumps. Especially when the air-conditioning load is low, the flow rate control may be possible to save energy to operate. However, it is effective to apply the variable flow control system in order to reduce energy consumption. Therefore, the purpose of this study, change a water flow rate and improve the whole performance of the geothermal heat pump. Geothermal heat pump system is modeled after the selection of the applied building, by setting the flow rate control to be analyzed through a simulation of performance evaluation. Building energy saving according to the flow rate of the ground circulating water analyze quantitatively and to investigate the importance of the flow control.
Improving image compression through the use of evolutionary computing algorithms

Discrete Wavelet Transform has proved to be powerful for image compression because it is able to compact frequency and spatial localization of image energy into a small fraction of coefficients. For a long time it was assumed that there is no compression gain when coding the sign of wavelet coefficients. However, several attempts were carried out and several image encoders like JPEG 2000 include sign coding capabilities. In this paper, we analyze the convenience of including sign coding techniques in tree-based wavelet image encoders, showing their benefits (bit-rate saving). In order to exploit the scarce redundancy of wavelet coefficients sign, we propose the use of machine learning approaches, like evolutionary algorithms, to find the best sign prediction scheme that maximizes the resulting compressionrate. We havedevelopedasign predictionmodulebased on theresults provided by the evolutionary algorithms, which it is able to work with whatever the tree-based wavelet encoder like SPIHT, LTW, and others. After performing several experiments,we have observedthat, by includingthe proposedsign coding capabilities, the sign compression gain is up to 17%. These results show that sign coding techniques are of interest for improving compression rate, especially when working with large images (2Mpixel and beyond) at low compression rates (high quality).
Multi-Cue Exemplar-Based Nonparametric Model for Gesture Recognition

This paper presents an approach for a multi-cue, viewbased recognition of gestures. We describe an exemplarbased technique that combines two different forms of exemplars shape exemplars and motion exemplars in a unified probabilistic framework. Each gesture is represented as a sequence of learned body poses as well as a sequence of learned motion parameters. The shape exemplars are comprised of pose contours, and the motion exemplars are represented as affine motion parameters extracted using a robust estimation approach. The probabilistic framework learns by employing a nonparametric estimation technique to model the exemplar distributions. It imposes temporal constraints between different exemplars through a learned Hidden Markov Model (HMM) for each gesture. We use the proposed multi-cue approach to recognize a set of fourteen gestures and contrast it against a shape only, singlecue based system.
From a physical system to a pervasive solution to increase people physical activity: Is it possible?

In the last few decades our lifestyle has deeply changed thanks to the advances in science and engineering: public transportation, escalators, elevators etc., have deeply reduced the physical activity that people usually make during the day. This, combined with an incorrect diet, has increased the number of overweighted people and people with cardiac problems. In this paper we present our preliminary study which shows the feasibility of a pervasive system to incentivize people to prefer the usage of stairs instead of escalators or elevators, transforming this strain into a funny moment.
A hierarchical strategy for path planning among moving obstacles [mobile robot]

Absrracr-A method is presented for planning a path in the presence of moving obstacles. Given a set of polygonal moving obstacles, we focus on generating a path for a mobile robot that navigates in the twodimensional plane. Our methodology is to include time as one of the dimensions of the model world. This allows us to regard the moving obstacles as being stationary in the extended world. For a solution to be feasible, the robot must not collide with any other moving obstacles, and, also, it must navigate without exceeding the predetermined range of velocity, acceleration, and centrifugal force. We investigate an appropriate model to represent the extended world for the path planning task, and give a time-optimal solution using this model.
The electro‐mechanical window in anaesthetized guinea pigs: a new marker in screening for Torsade de Pointes risk

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE QT prolongation is commonly used as a surrogate marker for Torsade de Pointes (TdP) risk of non‐cardiovascular drugs. However, use of this indirect marker often leads to misinterpretation of the realistic TdP risk, as tested compounds may cause QT prolongation without evoking TdP in humans. A negative electro‐mechanical (E‐M) window has recently been proposed as an alternative risk marker for TdP in a canine LQT1 model. Here, we evaluated the E‐M window in anaesthetized guinea pigs as a screening marker for TdP in humans.
Fast digital watermarking of uncompressed colored images using bidirectional extreme learning machine

Development of fast watermarking schemes for all multimedia objects is crucial to the present day research in information security. Besides speed of execution minimizing the trade-off between visual quality and robustness is another important requirement of this research domain. In view of this, a newly developed single layer feedforward network (SLFN) commonly known as Bidirectional Extreme Learning Machine (B-ELM) is employed to carry out watermark embedding and extraction from four colored images. The results show that the B-ELM technique outperforms the previously employed ELM technique for this purpose. It is concluded that visual quality and robustness trade-off is minimized and real time targets are achieved. Thus, the proposed scheme is found to be suitable for developing video watermarking applications.
A New Transcriptional Repressor of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa Quorum Sensing Receptor Gene lasR

Pseudomonas aeruginosa pathogenic potential is controlled via multiple regulatory pathways, including three quorum sensing (QS) systems. LasR is a key QS signal receptor since it acts as a global transcriptional regulator required for optimal expression of main virulence factors. P. aeruginosa modulates the QS response by integrating this cell density-dependent circuit to environmental and metabolic cues. Hence, QS also controls the adaptation to challenging environmental niches, such as infection sites. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms connecting QS and other signalling pathways. In this work, DNA-affinity chromatography was used to identify new lasR transcriptional regulators. This approach led to the identification and functional characterization of the TetR-like transcriptional repressor PA3699. This protein was purified and shown to directly bind to the lasR promoter region in vitro. The induction of PA3699 expression in P. aeruginosa PAO1 cultures repressed lasR promoter activity and the production of LasR-dependent virulence factors, such as elastase, pyocyanin, and proteases. These findings suggest a role for PA3699 in P. aeruginosa pathogenicity. P. aeruginosa genome encodes at least 38 TetR-family proteins, and PA3699 is the eighth member of this group functionally characterized so far and the first one shown to bind the lasR promoter in vitro.
The Influence of Perceived Risk on Participation Motivation and Re-participation Intention in Marine Sports

ABSTRACT Park, S.S. ; Rhim, Y.T. ; Kim, M.J.; Kim, S.K. , and Yoo, J.I. , 2014. The influence of perceived risk on participation motivation and re-participation intention in marine sports. The purpose of this study was to identify the influence of perceived risk on participation motivation and intention for re-participation amongst marine sports participants. To achieve this purpose, the established path among measurement items and analyzed self-administrated surveys collected from 300 marine sports club members were analyzed using SPSS and AMOS as follows. First, both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted to examine the reliability and validity of scale and to descriptive statistics. Second, multi group analysis was conducted to examine if there was a significant difference in the established path model between sexes. Third, both correlation and multiple regression analysis were conducted to examine the inter relation among measurement items of the established path. Forth, path analysis was conducted to examine the path of established study model. The results were as follows. First, the structure of each measurement item was confirmed. Second, there was significant difference in established path model between sexes. There were significant differences in participation motivation and intention to re-participate between sexes, higher in men, but no significant difference in perceived risk. Third, there is a significant positive or negative correlation among each measurement item. Forth, perceived risk has a direct influence on participation motivation (direct effect= −.33), and participation motivation has a direct influence on re-participation intentions (direct effect= .56). As a result, this research shows that the lower the perceived risk, the higher the participation motivation and the re-participation intention in marine sports.
A lightweight CoAP-based software defined networking for resource constrained AMI devices

Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) network is the capillary communication network for smart grid that does not only provide the data collection from each household but also delivers configuration requests from intelligent energy services. However, the smart grid network challenges like heterogeneity, large-scale, and distributed operation must be solved for reliable and stable smart grid services. Software defined networking (SDN) can help improving the network scalability and consistency issues by separating control and data planes, but it needs to be optimized for resource-constrained AMI devices. To solve this problem, we suggest a new design for an SDN controller-client system based on the constrained application protocol (CoAP). The proposed system is completed with a message exchange procedure, a network policy execution and a simplified routing strategy. The experiment and simulation results of CoAP based SDN and its software defined routing application outperforms traditional SDN and routing protocols in terms of control message overhead, reliability, and QoS in large-scale AMI environment.
Research Article: Watershed Management Councils and Scientific Models: Using Diffusion Literature to Explain Adoption

Recent literature on the diffusion of innovations concentrates either specifically on public adoption of policy, where social or environmental conditions are the dependent variables for adoption, or on private adoption of an innovation, where emphasis is placed on the characteristics of the innovation itself. This article uses both the policy diffusion literature and the diffusion of innovation literature to assess watershed management councils' decisions to adopt, or not adopt, scientific models. Watershed management councils are a relevant case study because they possess both public and private attributes. We report on a survey of councils in the United States that was conducted to determine the criteria used when selecting scientific models for studying watershed conditions. We found that specific variables from each body of literature play a role in explaining the choice to adopt scientific models by these quasi-public organizations. The diffusion of innovation literature contributes to an understanding of how organizations select models by confirming the importance of a model's ability to provide better data. Variables from the policy diffusion literature showed that watershed management councils that employ consultants are more likely to use scientific models. We found a gap between those who create scientific models and those who use these models. We recommend shrinking this gap through more communication between these actors and advancing the need for developers to provide more technical assistance.
Interacts with Cofilin to Disassemble Actin Filaments

Actin interacting protein 1 (Aip1) is a conserved component of the actin cytoskeleton first identified in a two-hybrid screen against yeast actin. Here, we report that Aip1p also interacts with the ubiquitous actin depolymerizing factor cofilin. A two-hybrid–based approach using cofilin and actin mutants identified residues necessary for the interaction of actin, cofilin, and Aip1p in an apparent ternary complex. Deletion of the AIP1 gene is lethal in combination with cofilin mutants or act1-159 , an actin mutation that slows the rate of actin filament disassembly in vivo. Aip1p localizes to cortical actin patches in yeast cells, and this localization is disrupted by specific actin and cofilin mutations. Further, Aip1p is required to restrict cofilin localization to cortical patches. Finally, biochemical analyses show that Aip1p causes net depolymerization of actin filaments only in the presence of cofilin and that cofilin enhances binding of Aip1p to actin filaments. We conclude that Aip1p is a cofilin-associated protein that enhances the filament disassembly activity of cofilin and restricts cofilin localization to cortical actin patches.
Phenylboronic Acid-Functionalized Layer-by-Layer Assemblies for Biomedical Applications

Recent progress in the development of phenylboronic acid (PBA)-functionalized layer-by-layer (LbL) assemblies and their biomedical applications was reviewed. Stimuli-sensitive LbL films and microcapsules that exhibit permeability changes or decompose in response to sugars and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) have been developed using PBA-bearing polymers. The responses of PBA-modified LbL assemblies arise from the competitive binding of sugars to PBA in the films or oxidative decomposition of PBA by H2O2. Electrochemical glucose sensors have been fabricated by coating the surfaces of electrodes by PBA-modified LbL films, while colorimetric and fluorescence sensors can be prepared by modifying LbL films with boronic acid-modified dyes. In addition, PBA-modified LbL films and microcapsules have successfully been used in the construction of drug delivery systems (DDS). Among them, much effort has been devoted to the glucose-triggered insulin delivery systems, which are constructed by encapsulating insulin in PBA-modified LbL films and microcapsules. Insulin is released from the PBA-modified LbL assemblies upon the addition of glucose resulting from changes in the permeability of the films or decomposition of the film entity. Research into insulin DDS is currently focused on the development of high-performance devices that release insulin in response to diabetic levels of glucose (>10 mM) but remain stable at normal levels (~5 mM) under physiological conditions.
Hemispheric asymmetry of deep water transport modes in the western Atlantic

Subtropical studies of the Atlantic meridional cold water flow show a hemispheric contrast in the dominant southward transport mode below 2000 m; in the North Atlantic, lower deep water (LDW) (1.8° ≤ θ ≤ 2.4°C) dominates with small transport of middle deep water (MDW) (2.4° ≤ θ ≤ 3.2°C), while in the South Atlantic, the opposite is observed. We use numerous observations in the western basins of the tropics to show that the transition occurs rapidly near the equator in the western Atlantic. A meridional section in the central Brazil Basin suggests zonal flows are responsible for the transition. LDW transport from the Guiana Basin (north of the equator) flows eastward in the northern Brazil Basin and is inferred to continue on through the Romanche Fracture Zone into the eastern Atlantic. An opposing flow of MDW from the eastern tropical Atlantic flows toward the western boundary, where it bifurcates to supply MDW to the Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC) of the Brazil Basin, as well as to feed the northward flow of MDW in the Guiana Basin offshore of the DWBC. The magnitude of each of these oppositely directed flows is roughly 7 Sv. We furthermore speculate that they are connected predominantly by upwelling from LDW to MDW within the low-latitude eastern basin. The overall deep water transport system below 2000 m in the western basins of the mid- and low-latitude Atlantic is thus found to comprise the following three distinct components. (1) A strong DWBC transport of LDW with associated recirculation dominates the Guiana Basin north of the equator. (2) In the northern Brazil Basin (just south of the equator) a narrow eastward flow absorbs the LDW and carries it eastward, while a somewhat broader westward flow imports MDW into the western basin. (3) This MDW flow then bifurcates, with the southward branch causing the MDW dominance in the Brazil Basin, where the MDW dominated DWBC and associated recirculations are the third component of the deepwater transport system.
Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-Type I Gene Deficient Mice Show Reduced Influx of Neutrophils in Ventilator-Induced Lung Injury

Ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI) is associated with inhibition of the fibrinolytic system secondary to increased production of plasminogen activator inhibitor- (PAI-)1. To determine the role of PAI-1 on pulmonary coagulopathy and inflammation during mechanical ventilation, PAI-1 gene-deficient mice and their wild-type littermates were anesthetized (control), or anesthetized, tracheotomized and subsequently ventilated for 5 hours with either low tidal volumes (LVT) or high tidal volumes (HVT). VILI was assessed by pulmonary coagulopathy, lung wet-to-dry ratios, total protein level in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, neutrophil influx, histopathology, and pulmonary and plasma cytokine levels. Ventilation resulted in pulmonary coagulopathy and inflammation, with more injury following ventilation with HVT as compared to LVT. In PAI-1 gene-deficient mice, the influx of neutrophils in the pulmonary compartment was attenuated, while increased levels of pulmonary cytokines were found. Other endpoints of VILI were not different between PAI-1 gene-deficient and wild-type mice. These data indicate that a defect fibrinolytic response attenuates recruitment of neutrophils in VILI.
Ice-cream consumption, tendency toward overeating, and personality.

OBJECTIVE The exploration of the mechanisms underlying the tendency toward overeating by investigating the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ)/Revised Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI-R) disinhibition, in sequence to the milkshake-ice cream study (van Strien, Cleven, and Schippers, in press). METHOD In hierarchical multiple regression analyses, the relative predictive power for ice-cream consumption was assessed, that is, emotional versus external versus bulimic eating using scales of the DEBQ and the EDI-R. In nonplanned stepwise multiple regression analyses, the association was assessed between these three types of eating behaviors and non-eating-related EDI-R scales. RESULTS Emotional eating was the most important variable for ice-cream consumption. External eating was borderline significant and bulimic eating nonsignificant when emotional and external eating had been partialled out. Emotional eating was best predicted by the EDI-R scales Asceticism, Interoceptive Awareness, and Social Insecurity. DISCUSSION Results are consistent with psychosomatic theory, which focuses on emotional eating as the result of confusion and apprehension in recognizing and accurately responding to emotional and visceral states related to hunger and satiety.
Prediction of Hepatic Clearance in Human From In Vitro Data for Successful Drug Development

The in vivo metabolic clearance in human has been successfully predicted by using in vitro data of metabolic stability in cryopreserved preparations of human hepatocytes. In the predictions by human hepatocytes, the systematic underpredictions of in vivo clearance have been commonly observed among different datasets. The regression-based scaling factor for the in vitro-to-in vivo extrapolation has mitigated discrepancy between in vitro prediction and in vivo observation. In addition to the elimination by metabolic degradation, the important roles of transporter-mediated hepatic uptake and canalicular excretion have been increasingly recognized as a rate-determining step in the hepatic clearance. It has been, therefore, proposed that the in vitro assessment should allow the evaluation of clearances for both transporter(s)-mediated uptake/excretion and metabolic degradation. This review first outlines the limited ability of subcellular fractions such as liver microsomes to predict hepatic clearance in vivo. It highlights the advantages of cryopreserved human hepatocytes as one of the versatile in vitro systems for the prediction of in vivo metabolic clearance in human at the early development stage. The following section discusses the mechanisms underlying the systematic underprediction of in vivo intrinsic clearance by hepatocytes. It leads to the proposal for the assessment of hepatic uptake clearance as one of the kinetically important determinants for accurate predictions of hepatic clearance in human. The judicious combination of advanced technologies and understandings for the drug disposition allows us to rationally optimize new chemical entities to the drug candidate with higher probability of success during the clinical development.
Elements Migration During Wall Rock Alteration Associated with Gold Mineralization in Dashui Gold Deposit, Gansu, Western China

The Dashui gold deposit is situated in the "Golden Triangle" region of Sichuan-Shanxi-Gansu junction, its regional tectonic location belongs to south subzone of West Qinling (Han Chunming et al. 2004). Paleozoic Devonian, Carboniferous and Permian; Mesozoic Triassic, Jurassic and cretaceous; Cenozoic Quaternary are widely exposed in the mining district. Orebodies hosted mainly in limestone from Maresongduo Formation of Lower Triassic. The structures are well developed . The NWWEW and NNE-NE faults that determine the distribution of gold mineralization are developed very well.