Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
FRAME DESIGN USING FOCUSS WITH METHOD OF OPTIMAL DIRECTIONS (MOD)

The equation b = Ax + n where the columns of A form an overcomplete set, i.e. the system is underdetermined, and with a sparsity constraint on x can be important to solve in many applications. It can be used as a convenient signal representation model useful for compression, and it can also be a model for the true underlying system that produced the available dataset b. It is hard enough to solve the equation for a sparse solution when A is known. An even harder problem is to try to nd both the A and the x that produced the data set b, which is the only available data. This paper shows that a frame design algorithm, Method of Optimal Directions (MOD), proposed by Engan et al. [1], used with a noise robust version of FOCUSS we proposed in [2] works well for reconstructing the true A from the dataset b. The MOD algorithm has already produced good results on designing frames for compression of ElectroCardioGram (ECG) signals [3, 4], and the results in this paper provides complimentary evidence of its good properties.
Formalizing Agreement Analysis for Elicitation Studies: New Measures, Significance Test, and Toolkit

We address in this work the process of agreement rate analysis for characterizing the level of consensus between participants' proposals elicited during guessability studies. Two new measures, i.e., disagreement rate for referents and coagreement rate between referents, are proposed to accompany the widely-used agreement rate formula of Wobbrock et al. [37] when reporting participants' consensus for symbolic input. A statistical significance test for comparing the agreement rates of k>=2 referents is presented in analogy with Cochran's success/failure Q test [5], for which we express the test statistic in terms of agreement and coagreement rates. We deliver a toolkit to assist practitioners to compute agreement, disagreement, and coagreement rates, and run statistical tests for agreement rates at p=. 05, . 01, and . 001 levels of significance. We validate our theoretical development of agreement rate analysis in relation with several previously published elicitation studies. For example, when we present the probability distribution function of the agreement rate measure, we also use it (1) to explain the magnitude of agreement rates previously reported in the literature, and (2) to propose qualitative interpretations for agreement rates, in analogy with Cohen's guidelines for effect sizes [6]. We also re-examine previously published elicitation data from the perspective of the agreement rate test statistic, and highlight new findings on the effect of referents over agreement rates, unattainable prior to this work. We hope that our contributions will advance the current knowledge in agreement rate analysis, providing researchers and practitioners with new techniques and tools to help them understand user-elicited data at deeper levels of detail and sophistication.
A Software Watermarking Method Based on Public-Key Cryptography and Graph Coloring

A new software watermarking method based on public-key cryptography and graph coloring problem (GC) is proposed in this paper. The method with good stealth and security can be applied to protect and verify software copyright. Firstly, the copyright information of ownership should be encrypted for software by RSA public-key cryptography algorithm to ensure that the information is confidentiality, integrity and certainty and prevent the information from tampering and forging. Secondly, the message encrypted is embedded into software by the watermarking technique for the GC problem which has the advantage of being very stealthy due to the fact that it doesn’t add any code. Experiments show that a high level of stealth and security can be achieved with at most 1-color-overhead for proposed watermarking method.
Towards Text Knowledge Engineering

We introduce a methodology for automating the maintenance of domain-specific taxonomies based on natural language text understanding. A given ontology is incrementally updated as new concepts are acquired from real-world texts. The acquisition process is centered around the linguistic and conceptual "quality" of various forms of evidence underlying the generation and refinement of concept hypotheses. On the basis of the quality of evidence, concept hypotheses are ranked according to credibility and the most credible ones are selected for assimilation into the domain knowledge base.
Reactive oxygen species modulator 1 regulates oxidative stress and induces renal and pulmonary fibrosis in a unilateral ureteral obstruction rat model and in HK-2 cells

Renal interstitial fibrosis (RIF) is the main process that leads to renal failure. It is necessary to investigate the mechanism of RIF and identify appropriate methods of regulating it. Furthermore, unilateral ureteral obstruction is a frequently used model for the study of RIF. The morphological damage associated with kidney and lung dysfunction was detected using histopathological experiments. Subsequently, high expression of reactive oxygen species (ROS) modulator 1 (ROMO1) and ROS was measured in blood serum. In addition, epithelial-mesenchymal transition marker, transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) and mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 2/3 expression was evaluated using the reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. All serious symptoms were relieved to a certain extent following oxidation inhibitor intervention using three common antioxidants. HK-2 cells were treated with H2O2 to cause oxidative stress, and ROMO1 and fibrosis marker expression increased; however, activation was suppressed byROMO1 knockout. The present study provides evidence that the expression of ROMO1 induces ROS production and activates the TGF-β signaling pathway. It may be concluded that ROMO1 helps to provide a molecular basis for improved clinical intervention and prognosis of patients.
The "Map Trap"?: an evaluation of map versus text-based interfaces for location-based mobile search services

As the mobile Internet continues to grow, there is an increasing need to provide users with effective search and information access services. In order to build more effective mobile search services, we must first understand the impact that various interface choices have on mobile users. For example, the majority of mobile location-based search services are built on top of a map visualization, but is this intuitive design-decision the optimal interface choice from a human centric perspective? In order to tackle this fundamental design question, we have developed two proactive mobile search interfaces (one map-based and the other text-based) that utilize key mobile contexts to improve the search and information discovery experience of mobile users. In this paper, we present the results of an exploratory field study of these two interfaces - involving 34 users over a 1 month period - where we focus in particular on the impact that the type of user interface (e.g. map vs text) has on the search and information discovery experience of mobile users. We highlight the main usage results - including that maps are not the interface of choice for certain information access tasks - and outline key implications for the design of next generation mobile search services.
11. Cross-linguistic influence of the Cuzco Quechua epistemic system on Andean Spanish

Speakers of Quechua, the native language spoken today in South America by an estimated over 10 million descendants of the Incan Empire, convey their attitudes toward the knowledge they pass on through the use of five epistemic markers. In Cuzco Quechua, these include three epistemic suffixes, -mi/-n , -si/-s , and -cha (- mi and - si are placed after consonants and - n and - s follow vowels), and two past tense verb forms, -rqa- and -sqa- . There has been much debate and inconsistency in the literature concerning the semantics and pragmatics of these epistemic markers as well as the ways in which these markers exert cross-linguistic influence on Andean Spanish. This work attempts to clarify and inform these current debates. Evidence will be provided that has been obtained through fieldwork carried out in Cuzco, Peru among seventy members of two non-profit governmental agencies, the Asociacion Civil ‘Gregorio Condori Mamani’ Proyecto Casa del Cargador and El Centro de Apoyo Integral a la Trabajadora del Hogar . Specifically, this evidence (1) supports meanings and uses for the Cuzco Quechua epistemic system beyond the distinction of firsthand vs. secondhand information source, (2) addresses the claim that the Andean Spanish present perfect and past perfect verb tenses serve to communicate the epistemic meanings conveyed in Quechua through use of the Quechua epistemic system, and (3) presents ways in which speakers exhibit cross-linguistic influence of the Cuzco Quechua epistemic markers on Andean Spanish, such as through the use of dice to calque the Quechua -si/-s epistemic marker and seven strategies, some of which have not been documented previously, for calquing the Quechua -mi/-n epistemic marker: (1) pues , (2) asi , (3) si , (4) elongated [s], (5) nonstandard pluralization, (6) siempre , and (7) word-final voiceless fricative [r].
Solving Log-Determinant Optimization Problems by a Newton-CG Primal Proximal Point Algorithm

We propose a Newton-CG primal proximal point algorithm (PPA) for solving large scale log-determinant optimization problems. Our algorithm employs the essential ideas of PPA, the Newton method, and the preconditioned CG solver. When applying the Newton method to solve the inner subproblem, we find that the log-determinant term plays the role of a smoothing term as in the traditional smoothing Newton technique. Focusing on the problem of maximum likelihood sparse estimation of a Gaussian graphical model, we demonstrate that our algorithm performs favorably compared to existing state-of-the-art algorithms and is much preferred when a high quality solution is required for problems with many equality constraints.
Osteogenic cell sheets reinforced with photofunctionalized micro-thin titanium

Cell sheet technology has been used to deliver cells in single-sheet form with an intact extracellular matrix for soft tissue repair and regeneration. Here, we hypothesized that titanium-reinforced cell sheets could be constructed for bone tissue engineering and regeneration. Fifty-µm-thick titanium plates containing apertures were prepared and roughened by acid etching, some of which were photofunctionalized with 12 min of UV light treatment. Cell sheets were prepared by culturing rat calvarial periosteum-derived cells on temperature-responsive culture dishes and attached to titanium plates. Titanium-reinforced osteogenic cell sheet construction was conditional on various technical and material factors: cell sheets needed to be double-sided and sandwich the titanium plate, and the titanium plates needed to be micro thin and contain apertures to allow close apposition of the two cell sheets. Critically, titanium plates needed to be UV-photofunctionalized to ensure adherence and retention of cell sheets. Single-sided cell sheets or double-sided cell sheets on as-made titanium contracted and deformed within 4 days of incubation. Titanium-reinforced cell sheets on photofunctionalized titanium were structurally stable at least up to 14 days, developed the expected osteogenic phenotypes (ALP production and mineralization), and maintained structural integrity without functional degradation. Successful construction of titanium-reinforced osteogenic cell sheets was associated with increased cell attachment, retention, and expression of vinculin, an adhesion protein by photofunctionalization. This study identified the technical and material requirements for constructing titanium-reinforced osteogenic cell sheets. Future in vivo studies are warranted to test these titanium-reinforced cell sheets as stably transplantable, mechanically durable, and shape controllable osteogenic devices.
A review of cuttlefish camouflage and object recognition and evidence for depth perception

SUMMARY Cuttlefishes of the genus Sepia produce adaptive camouflage by regulating the expression of visual features such as spots and lines, and textures including stipples and stripes. They produce the appropriate pattern for a given environment by co-ordinated expression of about 40 of these `chromatic components'. This behaviour has great flexibility, allowing the animals to produce a very large number of patterns, and hence gives unique access to cuttlefish visual perception. We have, for instance, tested their sensitivity to image parameters including spatial frequency, orientation and spatial phase. One can also ask what features in the visual environment elicit a given coloration pattern; here most work has been on the disruptive body pattern, which includes well-defined light and dark features. On 2-D backgrounds, isolated pale objects of a specific size, that have well-defined edges, elicit the disruptive pattern. Here we show that visual depth is also relevant. Naturally, cuttlefish probably use the disruptive pattern amongst discrete objects, such as pebbles. We suggest that they use several visual cues to `identify' this type of background (including: edges, contrast, size, and real and pictorial depth). To conclude we argue that the visual strategy cuttlefish use to select camouflage is fundamentally similar to human object recognition.
Poly[[(1,10-phenanthroline){μ3-2,2′,2′′-[1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triyltris(sulfanediyl)]triacetato}cadmium] 0.42-hydrate]

The asymmetric unit of the title complex, {[Cd(C9H7N3O6S3)(C12H8N2)]·0.42H2O}n, contains a CdII atom, one doubly deprotonated 2,2′,2′′-[1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triyltris(sulfanediyl)]triacetic acid ligand (HTTTA2−), a 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) ligand and a fractionally occupied water molecule [site occupancy = 0.421 (15)]. The CdII atom is six-coordinated within a distorted octahedral coordination geometry. Six coordination arises from four O atoms derived from three different HTTTA2− ligands, and two N atoms of the chelating phen molecule. The incompletely deprotonated triazine ligand adopts a μ3-η1:η1:η2 coordination mode, resulting in the formation of chains along the c axis based on Cd2O2 dimeric units. Adjacent chains are stacked through π–π stacking [3.533 (2) Å between phen and triazine rings] and C—H⋯O interactions, forming supramolecular sheets in the ab plane. Intra-and intermolecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds are also observed.
A method to enhance the reliability of the local spectrum sensing

This paper is focused on analyzing the effects of primary user (PU) signal arrival in the sensing interval on the local spectrum sensing performance. The probability for signal arrival at a sample in the sensing time is uniformly distributed. In this case, the performance degradation of the conventional energy detection (CED) method is analyzed. Furthermore, in order to enhance performance, an approach of estimating the signal arrival time is proposed to cooperate with the composite energy detection. The mathematical analysis and numerical simulation are employed to investigate and show the resulted spectrum sensing performance.
Interferon-β1b Increases Th2 Response in Neuromyelitis Optica

A Japanese randomized controlled study showed that Interferon â (IFN-â1b) therapy is clinically effective in decreasing the frequency of attacks in multiple sclerosis (MS), even in optico-spinal MS (OSMS). However, recent studies have shown that IFN-â (IFN-â1a/IFN-â1b) treatment was not effective in neuromyelitis optica (NMO) patients and that the diminished benefit of IFN-â treatment in NMO may be due to different immune responses to IFN-â. We determined longitudinally the expression of CCR5, CXCR3 and CCR4 on CD4+ T and CD8+ T cells in the blood from patients with NMO and MS treated with IFN-â1b. During a 12-month period of IFN-â1b therapy, the annualized relapse rate decreased in MS patients but not in NMO patients. There was no significant difference in the expression of the chemokine receptors between NMO and MS at baseline. The percentages of CD4+CCR5+ and CD4+CXCR3+ T cells, representative of the Th1 response, were decreased in both NMO and MS after treatment. The percentage of CD4+CCR4+ T cells, representative of the Th2 response, was decreased in MS, but those for NMO was significantly increased compared with the pretreatment levels. Our results indicate that IFN-â1b-induced up-modulation of the Th2 response in NMO patients may be the source of differences in the therapeutic response to IFN-â1b therapy. In the present study, Th2 predominance is involved in the pathogenesis of NMO.
Beyond Software Product Lines: Variability Modeling in Cyber-Physical Systems

Smart IT has an increasing influence on the control of daily life. For instance, smart grids manage power supply, autonomous automobiles take part in traffic, and assistive robotics support humans in production cells. We denote such systems as Cyber-physical Systems (CPSs), where cyber addresses the controlling software, while physical describes the controlled hardware. One key aspect of CPSs is their capability to adapt to new situations autonomously or with minimal human intervention. To achieve this, CPSs reuse, reorganize and reconfigure their components during runtime. Some components may even serve in different CPSs and different situations simultaneously. The hardware of a CPS usually consists of a heterogeneous set of variable components. While each component can be designed as a software product line (SPL), which is a well established approach to describe software and hardware variability, it is not possible to describe CPSs' variability solely on a set of separate, non-interacting product lines. To properly manage variability, a CPS must specify dependencies and interactions of its separate components and cope with variable environments, changing requirements, and differing safety properties. In this paper, we i) propose a classification of variability aspects, ii) point out current challenges in variability modeling, and iii) sketch open research questions. Overall, we aim to initiate new research directions for variable CPSs based on existing product-line techniques.
Morphology, properties, and dynamics of live cells in vitro, biomolecular interactions at surfaces and interfaces- analysis by scanning probe microscopy

The scanning probe microscope (SPM) system is emerging as an increasingly important tool for non-intrusive interrogation of live cells in vitro. Its particular merit is that it retains complete functionality in a biocompatible fluid environment and can track the dynamics of cellular processes in real time and real space at nm resolution, as an imaging tool, and with pN force-sensing/imposing resolution, as an interaction tool. However, a live cell is a fragile object; meeting the requirements of non-intrusiveness presents a challenging task. The better-known recent contributions of SPM towards explanatory and predictive descriptions of biomolecular interactions at surfaces and interfaces will also be reviewed, and some recent attempts to reconfigure the SPM platform for demonstration of novel bio-device applications will be described.
Scalable interpolation-based QRD architecture for subcarrier-grouped-ordering MIMO-OFDM system

In the MIMO-OFDM system, QR-based MIMO detection suffers from high computational complexity of the QR decomposition due to the large numbers of antennas and subcarriers. Thus, interpolation-based QR decomposition was proposed to reduce the complexity. In this paper, we present a scalable interpolation-based QR decomposition algorithm for the grouped-ordering interpolation scheme. The proposed algorithm possesses computational stability because it eliminates the square root and division operations in the traditional Gram-Schmidt-based scheme. Besides, its scalability offers a power-saving structure for the lower-rank MIMO scheme in the future mobile communication systems. A hardware architecture is also developed to balance the hardware complexity and computation time. Finally, analysis result shows that the proposed algorithm reduces the complexity to 25.4%∼61.3% of the traditional algorithm in the 4×4 MIMO-OFDM system.
Rheumatoid arthritis risk allele PTPRC is also associated with response to anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha therapy.

OBJECTIVE Anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha (anti-TNF) therapy is a mainstay of treatment in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The aim of the present study was to test established RA genetic risk factors to determine whether the same alleles also influence the response to anti-TNF therapy. METHODS A total of 1,283 RA patients receiving etanercept, infliximab, or adalimumab therapy were studied from among an international collaborative consortium of 9 different RA cohorts. The primary end point compared RA patients with a good treatment response according to the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) response criteria (n = 505) with RA patients considered to be nonresponders (n = 316). The secondary end point was the change from baseline in the level of disease activity according to the Disease Activity Score in 28 joints (triangle upDAS28). Clinical factors such as age, sex, and concomitant medications were tested as possible correlates of treatment response. Thirty-one single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with the risk of RA were genotyped and tested for any association with treatment response, using univariate and multivariate logistic regression models. RESULTS Of the 31 RA-associated risk alleles, a SNP at the PTPRC (also known as CD45) gene locus (rs10919563) was associated with the primary end point, a EULAR good response versus no response (odds ratio [OR] 0.55, P = 0.0001 in the multivariate model). Similar results were obtained using the secondary end point, the triangle upDAS28 (P = 0.0002). There was suggestive evidence of a stronger association in autoantibody-positive patients with RA (OR 0.55, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 0.39-0.76) as compared with autoantibody-negative patients (OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.41-1.99). CONCLUSION Statistically significant associations were observed between the response to anti-TNF therapy and an RA risk allele at the PTPRC gene locus. Additional studies will be required to replicate this finding in additional patient collections.
A survey of point insertion techniques in bidimensional Delaunay

Triangulations are geometric discretizations essential in many scientific applications, such as engineering simulations, visualizations, and geographic information systems. The preferred shape of a triangle depends on the applications. Theoretical and experimental analysis of numerical methods that are used in conjunction with triangulations suggest that triangles with no large angles and/or small angles serve well in most applications. This paper is a brief review of a point insertion in 2D Delaunay Triangulations. Important works on the insertion of vertices in Delaunay Triangulations are described as a start point for one who needs to build a quality mesh using adaptive triangular-mesh refinement.