Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hybrid LASSO and Neural Network estimator for gaze estimation

Gaze estimation has wide applications in drowsiness detection, security, and biomedical domains. The challenges in estimating the gaze angle include varying light conditions and subtle movements of the gaze. The Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) has recently been suggested as a potential method for gaze estimation. In this present work, we have proposed a gaze estimator combining a neural network and Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO). The features considered are both eye and head features. The combined estimator neural network-LASSO (NN-LASSO) outperforms the individual performance of neural network and LASSO estimator. The results are validated using MPII Gaze dataset and it has been shown that the proposed NN-LASSO estimator outperforms CNN in mean error sense.
Economic Liberalization, Distribution and Poverty

Since the late 1980s, almost all Latin American countries have undergone a series of far-reaching economic reforms, particularly in the areas of financial and capital account liberalization and trade. This book provides a comparative and analytical framework for assessing the impact of these reforms upon 16 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, including: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, and Peru.
How much of too much? What inspections data say about residential clutter as a housing problem

Abstract How big of a housing problem is residential clutter? In this paper, we draw upon inspections data in Vancouver to both estimate the size of the problem and detail how it is observed and constituted through municipal regulatory processes. We contrast the inspections approach to residential clutter with the mental health approach, which focuses on hoarding disorder. Inspections data indicate the problem of residential clutter is potentially larger than might be expected by the epidemiology of hoarding disorder, and also point toward the many risks associated with clutter. Using our best estimate, approximately seven per cent of low-income, dense, single-room occupancy (SRO) housing units inspected were identified by inspectors as problematically cluttered, indicating a sizable problem. Larger buildings and those managed as social housing were more likely than other buildings to have many units identified as problematically cluttered. Strikingly, for given buildings, estimates of problematic clutter tended to remain relatively stable across time, inspector, and inspection method.
Identifier les relations discursives implicites en combinant données naturelles et données artificielles [Identifying implicit discourse relations by combining natural and artificial data]

Cet article presente les premieres experiences sur le francais d'identification automatique des relations discursives implicites (i.e., non marquees par un connecteur). Nos systemes exploitent des exemples implicites annotes, ainsi que des exemples implicites artificiels obtenus a partir d'exemples explicites par suppression du connecteur, une methode introduite par Marcu et Echihabi (2002). Les precedentes etudes sur l'anglais montrent que l'utilisation a l'entrainement des donnees artificielles degrade largement les performances sur les donnees naturelles, ce qui reflete des differences importantes en termes de distribution. Ce constat, qui tient aussi pour le francais, nous a amenes a envisager differentes methodes, inspirees de l'adaptation de domaine, visant a combiner plus efficacement les donnees. Nous evaluons ces methodes sur le corpus ANNODIS : notre meilleur systeme obtient 41,7 % d'exactitude, soit un gain significatif de 4,4 % par rapport a un modele n'utilisant que les donnees naturelles.
Cytokine Profiling in the Eutopic Endometrium of Adenomyosis During the Implantation Window After Ovarian Stimulation

In this study, we aimed to clarify the inflammatory cytokine profile of endometrium in patients with adenomyosis during the implantation window after ovarian stimulation. Eighteen patients with adenomyosis and 24 control patients undergoing in vitro fertilization treatment were included in this prospective case-control study. Regular gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist protocol was used for ovarian stimulation. Endometrial samples were obtained 7 days after human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) injection (hCG + 7). Cytokine levels in endometrium secretions from women with and without adenomyosis were assayed by multiplex immunoassay, levels of interleukin (IL) 6 (25.9 ± 6.6 vs 12.4 ± 3.4 pg/mL; P = .001), IL-10 (10.4 ± 2.9 vs 15.6 ± 4.2 pg/mL; P = .001), IL-17 (11.9 ± 3.0 vs 14.2 ± 3.9 pg/mL; P = .046), interferon-γ (11.7 ± 3.5 vs 8.0 ± 3.4 pg/mL; P = .001), and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1; 37.1 ± 6.5 vs 16.4 ± 3.2 pg/mL; P = .001) were significantly different between patients with adenomyosis and control groups, respectively. Immunohistochemistry and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction showed that CD-68+, IL-6, and MCP-1 expression were higher and IL-10 was lower in adenomyosis endometrium epithelia compared to controls. In conclusion, within the implantation window of ovarian stimulation cycles, macrophages, IL-6, IL-10, and MCP-1 are expressed differently in the endometrium of women with adenomyosis, which may correlate with compromised endometrium receptivity. We postulated that cytokines of endometrial secretions expressed differently in patients with adenomyosis may contribute to impaired endometrium receptivity in these patients.
Mechanism of Degradation of Immunogenic Gluten Epitopes from Triticum turgidum L. var. durum by Sourdough Lactobacilli and Fungal Proteases

ABSTRACT As shown by R5 antibody-based sandwich and competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), selected sourdough lactobacilli, in combination with fungal proteases, hydrolyzed gluten (72 h at 37°C) of various cultivars of Triticum turgidum L. var. durum to less than 20 ppm. Complementary electrophoretic, chromatography, and mass spectrometry techniques were used to characterize the gluten and epitope hydrolysis. Nine peptidases were partially purified from the pooled cytoplasmic extract of the sourdough lactobacilli and used to hydrolyze the 33-mer epitope, the most immunogenic peptide generated during digestion of Triticum species. At least three peptidases (general aminopeptidase type N [PepN], X-prolyl dipeptidyl aminopeptidase [PepX], and endopeptidase PepO) were necessary to detoxify the 33-mer without generation of related immunogenic epitopes. After 14 h of incubation, the combination of all or at least six different peptidases totally hydrolyzed the 33-mer (200 mM) into free amino acids. The same results were found for other immunogenic epitopes, such as fragments 57-68 of α9-gliadin, 62-75 of A-gliadin, and 134-153 of γ-gliadin. When peptidases were used for fermentation of durum wheat semolina, they caused the hydrolysis of gluten to ca. 2 ppm. The in vivo digestion was simulated, and proteins/peptides extracted from pepsin-trypsin (PT) digestion of durum wheat semolina fermented with selected sourdough lactobacilli induced the expression of gamma interferon and interleukin 2 at levels comparable to those of the negative control. Durum wheat semolina fermented with sourdough lactobacilli was freeze-dried and used for making Italian-type pasta. The scores for cooking and sensory properties for this pasta were higher that those of conventional gluten-free pasta.
Hyperuricemia in Children and Adolescents: Present Knowledge and Future Directions

Recent evidence suggests that hyperuricemia is an important condition in children and adolescents, particularly in association with noncommunicable diseases. This review aims to summarize our current understanding of this condition in pediatric patients. An analysis of serum uric acid reference values in a healthy population indicates that they increase gradually with age until adolescence, with differences between the sexes arising at about 12 years of age. This information should be taken into consideration when defining hyperuricemia in studies. Gout is extremely rare in children and adolescents, and most patients with gout have an underlying disease. The major causes of hyperuricemia are chronic conditions, including Down syndrome, metabolic or genetic disease, and congenital heart disease, and acute conditions, including gastroenteritis, bronchial asthma (hypoxia), malignant disorders, and drug side effects. The mechanisms underlying the associations between these diseases and hyperuricemia are discussed, together with recent genetic information. Obesity is a major cause of hyperuricemia in otherwise healthy children and adolescents. Obesity is often accompanied by metabolic syndrome; hyperuricemia in obese children and adolescents is associated with the components of metabolic syndrome and noncommunicable diseases, including hypertension, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and chronic kidney disease. Finally, strategies for the treatment of hyperuricemia, including lifestyle intervention and drug administration, are presented.
Smooth-Walled Light-Weight Ka-Band Shaped Horn Antennas in Metallized Foam

Several smooth-walled axis-symmetrical dielectric-loaded horn antennas with large flare angles have been designed and characterized in Ka-band. They have been optimized using an in-house CAD tool based on the BoR-FDTD technique and genetic algorithms. Two antenna configurations have been compared: in the first case, only the metallic profile of the horn is shaped and the radiating aperture remains flat, whereas in the second one, the shapes of the horn profile and the aperture are simultaneously optimized. The impact of both techniques in terms of antenna size and performance is discussed. An original fabrication process (metallized foam) has been developed to produce monolithic prototypes. Two prototypes with optimized shapes have been fabricated, and their main characteristics (radiation characteristics, bandwidth, compactness, weight) are compared to those of a standard conical horn used as a reference (same flare angle, same diameter, but without shaped profile). Our results show that the proposed design and fabrication procedures enable us to produce reduced-size horns with high radiation efficiency; the total loss, including the transition loss, is lower than 1 dB in average around 29.5 GHz.
Jet charge determination at the LHC

: Knowing the charge of the parton initiating a jet could be very useful both for testing diﬀerent aspects of the Standard model and for searching signals of a beyond-the-standard-model physics. A weighted sum of the charges of jet constituents can be used at the LHC experiments to distinguish among jets from partons with diﬀerent charges. A few applications of the jet charge variable are presented here. The jet charge was used to distinguish jets initiated by b quarks from those initiated by ¯ b quarks, for distinguishing between boosted hadronically decaying W + and W − , and for distinguishing jets initiated by quarks from those initiated by gluons.
A new insight into masticatory function and its determinants: a latent class analysis.

OBJECTIVE Masticatory function is an important factor for preservation of general health. Epidemiologic data on masticatory function and its determinants among Iranian population are sparse, and no study has evaluated masticatory function using latent class analysis (LCA). This study was conducted to investigate the masticatory function and its determinants among a large sample of Iranian adults. METHODS In a cross-sectional study among 8691 adults, masticatory function was investigated using a validated questionnaire. LCA and latent class regression (LCR) were applied to identify classes of masticatory function and its potential determinants, respectively. In addition, multigroup LCA was conducted based on gender and age categories. RESULTS In total, 11.24% and 24.87% of participants had poor and moderate masticatory function, respectively. Males (class size: 14.33%) were more likely to have poor masticatory function than females (class size: 2.35%) (P < 0.001). The results of LCR showed that higher age [adjusted odds ratio (OR): 1.09, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.07-1.11, P < 0.001], male gender (OR: 1.37, 95% CI: 1.01-1.87, P < 0.05), and low physical activity (OR: 1.41, 95% CI: 1.08-1.85, P < 0.05) were associated with poor masticatory function. Nonsmokers had a lower chance of being in poor masticatory function class than heavy smokers (OR: 0.21, 95% CI: 0.11-0.38, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION The prevalence of poor masticatory function is high among Iranian adults. Aging, male gender, low levels of physical activity, and smoking were found to be associated with poor masticatory function.
Conditional Disruption of Calpain in the CNS Alters Dendrite Morphology, Impairs LTP, and Promotes Neuronal Survival following Injury

Ubiquitous classical (typical) calpains, calpain-1 and calpain-2, are Ca+2-dependent cysteine proteases, which have been associated with numerous physiological and pathological cellular functions. However, a clear understanding of the role of calpains in the CNS has been hampered by the lack of appropriate deletion paradigms in the brain. In this study, we describe a unique model of conditional deletion of both calpain-1 and calpain-2 activities in mouse brain, which more definitively assesses the role of these ubiquitous proteases in brain development/function and pathology. Surprisingly, we show that these calpains are not critical for gross CNS development. However, calpain-1/calpain-2 loss leads to reduced dendritic branching complexity and spine density deficits associated with major deterioration in hippocampal long-term potentiation and spatial memory. Moreover, calpain-1/calpain-2-deficient neurons were significantly resistant to injury induced by excitotoxic stress or mitochondrial toxicity. Examination of downstream target showed that the conversion of the Cdk5 activator, p35, to pathogenic p25 form, occurred only in the presence of calpain and that it played a major role in calpain-mediated neuronal death. These findings unequivocally establish two central roles of calpain-1/calpain-2 in CNS function in plasticity and neuronal death.
A Non-parametric Estimation of the Value of Travel Time: Evidence from Road Traffic in Japan

This paper uses non-parametric techniques to estimate the variation in the value of travel time. Stated choice data are used for an empirical analysis in the context of a binary route choice between an expressway route and a non-expressway route. The data were collected in a pivot-style survey in Japan. Local constant regression and local linear regression are used for the model estimation. The empirical analysis shows that the estimates based on the local linear regression behave well as a cumulative function, while those using the local constant regression do not. Then the variations in the value of travel time are compared among different subgroups in the dataset. The results showed that individuals in their forties and fifties place a higher value on travel time, as do those whose household earns a higher annual income and those who spend more time traveling.
Glucose Transporter Distribution in the Vessels of the Central Nervous System of the Axolotl Ambystoma mexicanum (Urodela: Ambystomatidae)

The GLUT‐1 isoform of the glucose transporter is commonly considered a reliable molecular marker of blood–brain barrier endothelia in the neural vasculature organized in a three‐dimensional network of single vessels. The central nervous system of the axolotl Ambystoma mexicanum is characterized by a vascular architecture that contains both single and paired vessels. The presence and distribution of the GLUT‐1 transporter are studied in this urodele using both immunoperoxidase histochemistry and immunogold technique. Light microscopy reveals immunopositivity in both parenchymal and meningeal vessels. The transverse‐sectioned pairs of vessels do not show the same size. Furthermore, in the same pair, the two elements often differ in diameter. The main regions of the central nervous system show a different percentage of the paired structures. Only immunogold cytochemistry reveals different staining intensity in the two adjoined elements of a vascular pair. Colloidal gold particles show an asymmetric distribution in the endothelia of both single and paired vessels. These particles are more numerous on the abluminal surface than on the luminal one. The particle density is calculated in both vascular types. The different values could indicate functional differences between single and paired vessels and between the two adjoined elements of a pair, regarding glucose transport. Anat Rec, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
PEM fuel cells: Failure, mitigation and dormancy recovery: Understanding the factors affecting the efficient control of PEMFC

Fuel cells are controlled by black box control systems which does not allow for the user to understand the proprietary control algorithms employed. Little feedback can be understood from the control system and this leads to the blind use of the proton exchange membrane fuel cells which in turn could lead to cell deterioration and failure. Understanding the important factors influencing proton exchange membrane fuel cell operation allows for mitigating procedures and recovery of dormant fuel cells.
Transitional Dynamics in Two-Sector Models of Endogenous Growth

The steady state and transitional dynamics of two-sector models of endogenous growth are analyzed in this paper. We describe necessary conditions for endogenous growth. The conditions allow us to reduce the dynamics of the solution to a system with one state-like and two control-like variables. We analyze the determinants of the long run growth rate. We use the Time-Elimination Method to analyze the transitional dynamics of the models. We find that there are transitions in real time if the point-in-time production possibility frontier is strictly concave, which occurs, for example, if the two production functions are different or if there are decreasing point-in-time returns in any of the sectors. We also show that if the models have a transition in real time, the models are globally saddle path stable. We find that the wealth or consumption smoothing effect tends to dominate the substitution or real wage effect so that the transition from relatively low levels of physical capital is carried over through high work effort rather than high savings. We develop some empirical implications. We show that the models predict conditional convergence in that, in a cross section, the growth rate is predicted to be negatively related to initial income but only after some measure of human capital is held constant. Thus, the models are consistent with existing empirical cross country evidence.
Oxytocin- and Arginine Vasopressin-Containing Axonal Fibers in the Cortex of Humans, Chimpanzees, and Rhesus Macaques

Oxytocin (OT) and arginine-vasopressin (AVP) are involved in the regulation of complex social behaviors across a wide range of taxa. Despite this, little is known about the neuroanatomy of the OT and AVP systems in most non-human primates, and less in humans. The effects of OT and AVP on social behavior, including aggression, mating, and parental behavior, may be mediated primarily by the extensive connections of OT- and AVP-producing neurons located in the hypothalamus with the basal forebrain and amygdala, as well as with the hypothalamus itself. However, OT and AVP also influence social cognition, including effects on social recognition, cooperation, communication, and in-group altruism, which suggests connectivity with cortical structures. While OT and AVP V1a receptors have been demonstrated in the cortex of rodents and primates, and intranasal administration of OT and AVP has been shown to modulate cortical activity, there is to date little evidence that OT-and AVP-containing neurons project into the cortex. Here, we demonstrate the existence of OT- and AVP-containing fibers in cortical regions relevant to social cognition using immunohistochemistry in humans, chimpanzees, and rhesus macaques. OT-immunoreactive fibers were found in the straight gyrus of the orbitofrontal cortex as well as the anterior cingulate gyrus in human and chimpanzee brains, while no OT-immunoreactive fibers were found in macaque cortex. AVP-immunoreactive fibers were observed in the anterior cingulate gyrus in all species, as well as in the insular cortex in humans, and in a more restricted distribution in chimpanzees. This is the first report of OT and AVP fibers in the cortex in human and nonhuman primates. Our findings provide a potential mechanism by which OT and AVP might exert anu p A anu p t A u effects on brain regions far from their production site in the hypothalamus, as well as potential species differences in the behavioral functions of these target regions.
Characterization analysis on performance of YBaCuO coils induced by steady-state current

The steady-state current (dc) characterization of high temperature superconducting (HTS) coils is a key role of its performance assessing. Due to the orientation dependence of the critical current density, Jc(B,θ), the magnetic field distribution of a given HTS coils depends on the shape of coils as well as the consistent tape applied. In the present paper, the dc characterizations of two HTS coils with same turns but different architectures are modeled by using the 3D finite element method. It is revealed that the engineering critical currents of both coils are subject to the end parts of coils. As the dc current is applied, the central magnetic field emerged is similar for both of them. As the dc current increases, the generated voltage for Coil A with an high aspect ratio of height to outer radius, is much lower than that of Coil B with a squashed shape, implying that Coil A gives rise to a higher toleration for applied current, and then a better performance for potential magnet.