Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A robust algorithm for tracking object under occlusion and illumination change

An adaptive threshold value (ATV) and two-orthogonal-orientation edge correlogram (TOEC) based algorithm is proposed for tracking moving object in real scenarios. The ATV is used to extract the object edges under illumination changes. To improve the object edges representation power, the TOEC encodes the edge orientation pair levels along two orthogonal directions explicitly. An entropy weighting-maximization scheme is presented to achieve the maximum likelihood estimation of the similar regions and scales. Experimental results show that the proposed approach is appealing with respect to the robustness in the scenarios of complex occlusions and illumination variations.
Classifying Preposition Semantic Roles using Class-based Lexical Associations

This paper reports on experiments in classifying the semantic role annotations assigned to prepositional phrases in both the Penn Treebank version II and FrameNet. This task can be viewed as word-sense disambiguation, treating the semantic roles of prepositional phrases as word senses for the associated preposition. Three sets of experiments are done: one set evaluates cross-fold validation over Treebank; another does the same for FrameNet; the final set evaluates the transfer of lexical associations from one dataset to the other. Each set of experiments compares the use of traditional lexical associations (i.e., collocations) versus classbased lexical associations using WordNet synsets. The latter type better facilitates the transfer of associations across datasets.
The Thrombospondin Motif of Aggrecanase-1 (ADAMTS-4) Is Critical for Aggrecan Substrate Recognition and Cleavage*

Aggrecanase-1 (ADAMTS-4) is a member of thea disintegrin andmetalloprotease withthrombospondin motifs (ADAMTS) protein family that was recently identified. Aggrecanase-1 is one of two ADAMTS cartilage-degrading enzymes purified from interleukin-1-stimulated bovine nasal cartilage (Tortorella, M. D., Burn, T. C., Pratta, M. A., Abbaszade, I., Hollis, J. M., Liu, R., Rosenfeld, S. A., Copeland, R. A., Decicco, C. P., Wynn, R., Rockwell, A., Yang, F., Duke, J. L., Solomon, K., George, H., Bruckner, R., Nagase, H., Itoh, Y., Ellis, D. M., Ross, H., Wiswall, B. H., Murphy, K., Hillman, M. C., Jr., Hollis, G. F., and Arner, E.C. (1999) Science 284, 1664–1666; 2 Abbaszade, I. , Liu, R. Q. , Yang, F. , Rosenfeld, S. A. , Ross, O. H. , Link, J. R. , Ellis, D. M. , Tortorella, M. D. , Pratta, M. A. , Hollis, J. M. , Wynn, R. , Duke, J. L. , George, H. J., Hillman, M. C. , Jr., Murphy, K. , Wiswall, B. H. , Copeland, R. A. , Decicco, C. P., Bruckner, R. , Nagase, H. , Itoh, Y. , Newton, R. C. , Magolda, R. L. , Trzaskos, J. M. , and Burn, T. C. (1999) J. Biol. Chem. 274, 23443–23450). The aggrecan products generated by this enzyme are found in cartilage cultures stimulated with cytokines and in synovial fluid from patients with arthritis, suggesting that aggrecanase-1 may be important in diseases involving cartilage destruction. Here we demonstrate that the thrombospondin type-1 (TSP-1) motif located within the C terminus of aggrecanase-1 binds to the glycosaminoglycans of aggrecan. Data from several studies indicate that this binding of aggrecanase-1 to aggrecan through the TSP-1 motif is necessary for enzymatic cleavage of aggrecan. 1) A truncated form of aggrecanase-1 lacking the TSP-1 motif was not effective in cleaving aggrecan. 2) Several peptides representing different regions of the TSP-1 motif effectively blocked aggrecanase-1 cleavage of aggrecan by preventing the enzyme from binding to the substrate. 3) Aggrecanase-1 was not effective in cleaving glycosaminoglycan-free aggrecan. Taken together, these data suggest that the TSP-1 motif of aggrecanase-1 is critical for substrate recognition and cleavage.
Frequent itemset mining for Big Data in social media using ClustBigFIM algorithm

Tremendous amount of data is getting explored through IOT (Internet of Things) from variety of sources such as sensor network, social media feed, internet applications, called as Big Data. Big Data cannot be handled by conventional tools and techniques. Social networks are becoming dominant in communications over internet. The Big Data mining is essential in order to extract value from massive amount of data which could give better insights using efficient techniques. Association Rule mining and frequent itemset mining are popular techniques for data mining which needs entire dataset into main memory for processing, but large datasets do not fit into main memory. To overcome this limitation MapReduce is used for parallel processing of Big Data having features such as high scalability and robustness which helps to handle problem of large datasets. Proposed novel method, ClustBigFIM works on MapReduce framework for mining large datasets; ClustBigFIM is modified BigFIM algorithm providing scalability and speed in order to extract meaningful information from large datasets in the form of associations, emerging patterns, sequential patterns, correlations and other significant data mining tasks which gives better insight to make effective business decisions in competitive environment using faster and efficient parallel processing platform.
Inuit vulnerability and adaptive capacity to climate change in Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories, Canada

ABSTRACT Climate change is already being experienced in the Arctic with implications for ecosystems and the communities that depend on them. This paper argues that an assessment of community vulnerability to climate change requires knowledge of past experience with climate conditions, responses to climatic variations, future climate change projections, and non-climate factors that influence people's susceptibility and adaptive capacity. The paper documents and describes exposure sensitivities to climate change experienced in the community of Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories and the adaptive strategies employed. It is based on collaborative research involving semi-structured interviews, secondary sources of information, and participant observations. In the context of subsistence hunting, changes in temperature, seasonal patterns (for example timing and nature of the spring melt), sea ice and wind dynamics, and weather variability have affected the health and availability of some species of wildlife important for subsistence and have exacerbated risks associated with hunting and travel. Inuit in Ulukhaktok are coping with these changes by taking extra precautions when travelling, shifting modes of transportation, travel routes and hunting areas to deal with changing trail conditions, switching species harvested, and supplementing their diet with store bought foods. Limited access to capital resources, changing levels of traditional knowledge and land skills, and substance abuse were identified as key constraints to adaptation. The research demonstrates the need to consider the perspectives and experiences of local people for climate change research to have practical relevance to Arctic communities such as for the development and promotion of adaptive strategies.
Higher-Order Kullback-Leibler Aggregation of Markov Chains

We consider the problem of reducing a first-order Markov chain on a large alphabet to a higher-order Markov chain on a small alphabet. We present information-theoretic cost functions that are related to predictability and lumpability, show relations between these cost functions, and discuss heuristics to minimize them. Our experiments suggest that the generalization to higher orders is useful for model reduction in reliability analysis and natural language processing.
An agent-based architecture for collaborative virtual environments for training

During the last years, Intelligent Virtual Environments for Training have become a quite popular application of computer science to education. These systems involve very different technologies, ranging from computer graphics to artificial intelligence. However, little attention has been paid to software engineering issues, and most of these systems are developed in an ad-hoc way that doesn't allow the reuse of their components or even an easy modification of the application. We describe an agent-based software architecture that is intended to be easily extended and modified. Also, some experiments to test the suitability of the architecture are shown.
Frontiers in Run-Time Prediction for the Production-System Paradigm

Efficient indexing schemes have influenced the acceptance of production systems in the industrial world. However, in embedded-control systems, production systems have not been applied intensively because of their nondeterministic run-time behavior. Thus, nonpredictability of response times is a major obstacle to the widespread use of expert systems in the real-time domain. The RETE and TREAT algorithms and their offspring play a major role in the implementation of efficient pattern-matching systems. Therefore, it is worthwhile to investigate run-time predictability for these match algorithms. This article presents three different schemes for estimating the time needed for operations in the production-system execution model.
Generativity, second-order effects, and ict innovation: an information processing view

In this study, we examine three types of second-order effects stemming from ICT innovation: subversive, adaptive, and generative. In order to theorize about the precursors of generative second-order effects, we use Galbraith’s organizational information processing theory to the highlight variables that moderate the relationships between the diffusion of ICT innovations and the variety of local adaptations that might enable or inhibit innovation. Future research will focus on second-order effects of Healthcare Information Technology (HIT) innovation.
Efficacy of umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cell-based therapy for osteonecrosis of the femoral head: A three-year follow-up study

This is a retrospective analysis of the clinical effects of transplant of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from human umbilical cord-derived MSCs (hUC-MSCs) for the treatment of osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH). The biological characteristics of hUC-MSCs were assessed using flow cytometry. Nine eligible patients were enrolled in the study as they adhered to the Association Research Circulation Osseous (ARCO) classification of stage II–IIIa, and hUC-MSCs were grafted by intra-arterial infusion. Organize effective perfusion was assessed using the oxygen delivery index (ODI). The results showed that the ODI was increased at three days post-operation. The MRI results revealed that at 12 and 24 months after treatment, the necrotic volume of the femoral heads was significantly reduced. No obvious abnormalities were observed. Taken together, these data indicate that intra-arterially infused hUC-MSCs migrate into the necrotic field of femoral heads and differentiate into osteoblasts, thus improving the necrosis of femoral heads. This finding suggested that intra-arterial infusion of hUC-MSCs MSCs is a feasible and relatively safe method for the treatment of femoral head necrosis.
Green Bank Telescope Observations of IC 443: The Nature of OH (1720 MHz) Masers and OH Absorption

We present spectral line observations of the ground-state transitions of hydroxyl (OH) toward supernova remnant (SNR) IC 443 carried out with the Green Bank Telescope. Weak, extended OH (1720 MHz) maser emission with OH (1667, 1665, 1612 MHz) absorption is detected along the southern extent of the remnant where no bright compact maser sources have been previously observed. These newly detected SNR-type masers are coincident with well-known molecular clumps and a ridge of shocked H2 emission indicative of the SNR shock front interacting with the adjacent molecular cloud. Simultaneous observation of all four ground-state transitions of OH permits us to fit physical conditions of the shocked gas at the interaction site. A simple two-component model for the line profiles yields the physical parameters for detected regions of maser emission, including excitation temperature, OH column density, and filling factor. Observed line profiles suggest the shock is largely propagating toward the line of sight in the region of these newly identified weak masers. The implications of shock geometry and physical parameters in producing spatially extended OH maser emission in SNRs are explored. We also present VLA radio continuum observations at 330 MHz for comparison with OH line observations of the remnant.
Conversational Agents, Humorous Act Construction, and Social Intelligence

Humans use humour to ease communication problems in human-human interaction and in a similar way humour can be used to solve communication problems that arise with human-computer interaction. We discuss the role of embodied conversational agents in human-computer interaction and we have observations on the generation of humorous acts and on the appropriateness of displaying them by embodied conversational agents in order to smoothen, when necessary, their interactions with a human partner. The humorous acts we consider are generated spontaneously. They are the product of an appraisal of the conversational situation and the possibility to generate a humorous act from the elements that make up this conversational situation, in particular the interaction history of the conversational partners.
A simple model for assessing utilisable streamflow allocations in the context of the Ecological Reserve

A simple model is proposed that simulates the water balance in small- to medium-sized water resource systems (without major storage) and displays the results as flow duration curves so that they can be compared with the standard information available for the Ecological Reserve requirements. The model is designed to account for the impacts of streamflow reduction activities (afforestation), small farm dams and run-of-river abstractions under both present-day and future scenario situations. The paper presents the operation of the model and its data requirements, as well as discussing possible sources of uncertainty associated with either the model approach or the quality of the data inputs. The majority of the uncertainty in the ability of the model to generate reliable results is expected to be associated with the quality of the input data, and specifically the information available on existing water use. It should be noted, however, that any water resource systems model is faced with the same uncertainties and this highlights the need to improve the South African database on existing water use. Without such information, future planning of water allocations will be extremely difficult and highly uncertain.
A Simulated Annealing Combined Genetic Algorithm for Virtual Machine Migration in Cloud Datacenters

Resource allocation in data centers is a significant research area in cloud computing. A high-efficiency resource allocation strategy can save the operating cost for cloud service providers, and less amount of carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere. While the Service Level Agreement(SLA) of customers can be guaranteed. So the cloud providers have to deal with the cost-performance trade-off: the minimisation of cost, while meeting the SLAs. In this paper, we present a simulated annealing combined genetic algorithm based virtual machine migration strategy for solving the resource allocation and scheduling problem in cloud computing environment, which models the resource allocation as a binary multiple knapsack problem. Experimental results show that this method is able to achieve better data center operation cost then basic genetic algorithms.
It's the Media, Stupid - How Media Activity Shapes Public Spending

Politicians seeking reelection need voters to know what they have done for them. Thus, incentives may arise to spend more money where media coverage is higher. We present a simple model to explain the allocation of public spending across jurisdictions contingent on media activity. An incumbent seeking to maximize the probability of reelection will shift more money to jurisdictions where an extra dollar gains more votes because a larger share of the electorate is informed about his policy. This prediction is tested using US data on county-level public spending, Designated Market Areas (DMAs) and location of licensed television stations. Instrumenting for the possible endogeneity of media activity to public spending, 2SLS results confirm a positive effect of media coverage on county-level public spending. Spatial regression rules out the possibility of confounding media effects with spatial autocorrelation.
Detecting Migraine in Patients with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Using Three Different Headache Measures

Posttraumatic migraine may represent an important subtype of headache among the traumatic brain injury (TBI) population and is associated with increased recovery times. However, it is underdiagnosed in patients with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). This study examined the effectiveness of the self-administered Nine-Item Screener (Nine-Item Screener-SA), the Headache Impact Test- 6 (HIT-6), the 3-Item Migraine Screener, and the Rivermead Post-Concussion Questionnaire (RPQ) at discriminating between mTBI patients with (n = 23) and without (n = 20) migraines. The Nine-Item Screener demonstrated significant differences between migraine patients with and without migraine on nearly every question, especially on Question 9 (disability), sensitivity: 0.95 and specificity: 0.65 (95% CI, 0.64–0.90). The HIT-6 demonstrated significant differences between migraine and no-migraine patients on disability and pain severity, with disability having a sensitivity of 0.70 and specificity of 0.75 (95% CI, 0.54–0.83). Only Question 3 of the 3-Item ID Migraine Screener (photosensitivity) showed significant differences between migraine and no-migraine patients, sensitivity: 0.84 and specificity: 0.55 (CI, 0.52–0.82). The RPQ did not reveal greater symptoms in migraine patients compared with those without. Among headache measures, the Nine-Item Screener-SA best differentiated between mTBI patients with and without migraine. Disability may best identify migraine sufferers among the TBI population.
To Each According to His Ability ? A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the Market for CEO Talent

This paper o¤ers direct evidence of the role of managerial talent in the market for CEOs. We construct two empirical measures of CEO talent based on perceptions of a CEOs reputation and prior career outcomes. Using a newly hand-collected sample of 2,195 CEO successions between 1993 and 2005, we document that: 1) rst-year total pay is an increasing and convex function of CEO talent, and increasingly so for outside successions; 2) appointments of talented CEOs are associated with signi cantly higher stock market returns and operating performance, and the positive relation between rm performance and CEO talent is signi cantly stronger for outside successions; 3) turnover rates are higher among talented CEOs, especially after adverse rmspeci c shocks and for outside successions. Our analysis addresses the problems of measurement error and imperfect proxies by aggregating multiple talent proxies into a simple one-dimensional CEO talent factor that explains a wide variety of CEO labor market outcomes. Our evidence is strongly consistent with competitive models of the CEO labor market. As such, our ndings suggest that fostering the role of the external labor market in CEO successions can create value for shareholders.
Quantization of gauge field theories on the front form without gauge constraints: The Abelian case.

Recently, we proposed a new front-form quantization which treated both the [ital x][sup +] and the [ital x][sup [minus]] coordinates as front-form times. '' This quantization was found to preserve parity explicitly. In this paper we extend this construction to local Abelian gauge fields. We quantize this theory using a method proposed originally by Faddeev and Jackiw. We emphasize here the feature that quantizing along both [ital x][sup +] and [ital x][sup [minus]] gauge theories does not require extra constraints (also known as gauge conditions'') to determine the solution uniquely.
Hard Real-Time Analysis of Two Java-based Kernels for Stream Mining

Embedded real-time data stream mining is an important branch of data mining. We propose and provide some fundamental prerequisites for using statistical pattern recognition in stream-based learning/decision systems in this paper: namely some real-time kernel functions and a real-time analysis of the support vector machine’s decision function. In this paper we analyze two kernels and a support vector machine on a real-time Java processor to provide upper bounds (worst cases) for execution time analysis.
UAI 2014 Workshop Causal Inference: Learning and Prediction

s 49 On Causal Explanations of Quantum Correlations Robert W. Spekkens . 49 Generalizability of Causal and Statistical Relations Elias Bareinboim . 51 Estimating Causal Effects by Bounding Confounding Philipp Geiger, Dominik Janzing, Bernhard Schölkopf . 53
Differential expression of basal microRNAs’ patterns in human dental pulp stem cells

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non‐coding RNAs that regulate translation of mRNA into protein and play a crucial role for almost all biological activities. However, the identification of miRNAs from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), especially from dental pulp, is poorly understood. In this study, dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) were characterized in terms of their proliferation and differentiation capacity. Furthermore, 104 known mature miRNAs were profiled by using real‐time PCR. Notably, we observed 19 up‐regulated miRNAs and 29 significantly down‐regulated miRNAs in DPSCs in comparison with bone marrow MSCs (BM‐MSCs). The 19 up‐regulated miRNAs were subjected to ingenuity analysis, which were composed into 25 functional networks. We have chosen top 2 functional networks, which comprised 10 miRNA (hsa‐miR‐516a‐3p, hsa‐miR‐125b‐1‐3p, hsa‐miR‐221‐5p, hsa‐miR‐7, hsa‐miR‐584‐5p, hsa‐miR‐190a, hsa‐miR‐106a‐5p, hsa‐mir‐376a‐5p, hsa‐mir‐377‐5p and hsa‐let‐7f‐2‐3p). Prediction of target mRNAs and associated biological pathways regulated by each of this miRNA was carried out. We paid special attention to hsa‐miR‐516a‐3p and hsa‐miR‐7‐5p as these miRNAs were highly expressed upon validation with qRT‐PCR analysis. We further proceeded with loss‐of‐function analysis with these miRNAs and we observed that hsa‐miR‐516a‐3p knockdown induced a significant increase in the expression of WNT5A. Likewise, the knockdown of hsa‐miR‐7‐5p increased the expression of EGFR. Nevertheless, further validation revealed the role of WNT5A as an indirect target of hsa‐miR‐516a‐3p. These results provide new insights into the dynamic role of miRNA expression in DPSCs. In conclusion, using miRNA signatures in human as a prediction tool will enable us to elucidate the biological processes occurring in DPSCs.
Community development in Indonesia

This article begins with a discussion of two of the ways in which we can study community development in Indonesia. One way is to begin with the concept of community development and its cognate terms and investigate how these might be used and understood, either in Anglicized versions or any linguistic equivalents in Indonesian development discourse. Another way is to elaborate principles and practices of community development and identify examples of these, regardless of whether such principles and practices are named as community development. We consider both these approaches. We comment on the context in which the western community development discourse has appeared. In regard to an understanding of community development beginning with its principles and practices, we suggest that notwithstanding the limited take-up of the discourse, the principles and practices of community development are clearly discernible in Indonesia. The second part of the article provides examples of how community development practice was evident in the grassroots responses to the devastating tsunami that hit Aceh at the end of 2004.