Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
'My Geranium Is Subversive': Some Notes on the Management of Trouble in Prisons

The prison system of England and Wales relies on a number of measures, said to be 'merely administrative' in character, to maintain order in its establishments. In this paper the official discourse on order and control in prisons is examined and the characteristic methods of identifying 'control problem' prisoners are criticised. The processes by which 'control problems' are socially constructed and then entered into the official discourse are explored through an analysis of 'disciplinary transfers' especially the use of the Circular Instruction 10 of 1974 procedure whereby prisoners can be transferred to special cells in local prisons for a 28 day 'cooling offs period. The analysis is based on observations carried out in five prisons and interviews with both prisoners and security staff as well as documentary records.
Non-parametric score normalization for biometric verification systems

In this paper we study the problem of score normalization in biometric verification systems. Specifically, we introduce a new class of normalization techniques, which unlike the commonly used parametric score normalization techniques, such as z- or t-norm, make no assumptions regarding the shape of the underlying score distribution. The proposed class of normalization techniques first estimates the relevant score distribution in an impostor-centric manner using kernel density estimation and then maps the estimated distribution to a common one. Our experimental results obtained on the FRGCv2 face database show that the proposed non-parametric score normalization techniques consistently outperform their parametric counterparts when the target distribution takes a log-normal form and that all assessed techniques, i.e., z-, t-, zt- and tz-norms, improve upon the setting where no score normalization is used.
Theoretical Investigations of the Photophysical Properties of Star-Shaped π-Conjugated Molecules with Triarylboron Unit for Organic Light-Emitting Diodes Applications

The density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) methodologies have been applied to explore on a series of star-shaped π-conjugated organoboron systems for organic light-emitting diode (OLED) materials. The compounds under investigation consist of benzene as π-bridge and different core units and triarylboron end groups. Their geometry structures, frontier molecular orbital (FMO) energies, absorption and fluorescence spectra, and charge transport properties have been investigated systematically. It turned out that the FMO energy levels, the band gaps, and reorganization energies optical are affected by the introduction of different core units and triarylboron end groups. The results suggest that the designed compounds are expected to be promising candidates for luminescent materials. Furthermore, they can also serve as hole and/or electron transport materials for OLEDs.
Source cell phone camera identification based on singular value decomposition

Micro and macro statistical features based on Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) have been proposed for source cell-phone identification. The performance of the proposed features is evaluated with nai¿ve and informed classifiers for the identification of original images as well as images under several manipulations. The results have been compared to the state-of-the-art and it has been observed that SVD based features are comparable to their counterparts in the literature at reduced complexity.
Ieee Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics Melting and Burning Solids into Liquids and Gases

— We propose a novel technique for melting and burning solid materials including the simulation of the resulting liquid and gas. The solid is simulated with traditional mesh-based techniques (triangles or tetrahedra) which enable robust handling of both deformable and The subsequently created liquid or gas is simulated with modern grid-based techniques including vorticity confinement and the particle level set method. The main advantage of our method is that state of the art techniques are used for both the solid and the fluid without compromising simulation quality when coupling them together or converting one into the other. For example, we avoid modeling solids as Eulerian grid-based fluids with high viscosity or viscoelasticity, which would preclude the handling of thin shells, self-collision, rolling, etc. Thus, our method allows one to achieve new effects while still using their favorite algorithms (and implementations) for simulating both solids and fluids, whereas other coupling algorithms require major algorithm and implementation overhauls and still fail to produce rich coupling effects (e.g. melting and burning solids).
Experimental Rhinovirus Infection Increases Human Tissue Kallikrein Activation in Allergic Subjects

Background: Rhinovirus infection is a major cause of asthma exacerbations. While rhinovirus infection is known to generate kinins in the upper respiratory track, little is known about the effect of rhinovirus on kinin generation in the lower airway. We previously identified human tissue kallikrein (hTK) as the principal lung kininogenase during allergic airway inflammation. In this report we investigate the effect of experimental rhinovirus infection on hTK activity in the airways of atopic subjects with and without asthma. Methods: Eight atopic subjects, 4 with asthma, underwent bronchoscopy with lavage. At least 1 month later, subjects were inoculated with rhinovirus, then underwent repeat bronchoscopy with lavage 4 and 18 days later. hTK mRNA was measured in nasal scrape samples by quantitative real-time PCR. hTK activity (chromogenic substrate assay) and IL-8 levels (ELISA) were assessed in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Results: At day 4 after rhinovirus inoculation, nasal hTK mRNA was modestly increased in both the rhinitis (1.7-fold) and asthmatic (2.1-fold) groups. A doubling or greater increase in hTK activity after rhinovirus infection was observed in all 4 asthmatic subjects (mean 19-fold increase) but only in 1 of 4 atopic subjects without asthma (mean 2-fold increase). Rhinovirus infection also increased the IL-8 protein level in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, which correlated with hTK activity (R = 0.82). Conclusion: Experimental rhinovirus infection in allergic asthmatic subjects is accompanied by increased lower airway hTK activation, which parallels the appearance of IL-8. Rhinovirus-induced hTK activation may contribute to airway inflammation and asthmatic exacerbations.
THE ESTIMATION OF SMOOTH CURVES*

Smooth curves a.re often used to illustrate the relationship between two variables. They are also an important building block in many recent statistical models. A procedure to estimate such a curve is called a smoother. This paper discusses currently available smoothers and introduces the class of maximum likelihood smoothers. A variety of other statistical techniques are shown to be applicable to the problem of smoothing, and some idea of the scope of models that can benefit from the use of smoothing is given. (Submitted October 1983 to: The Canadian Journal of Statistics.) t This work was supported by Department of Energy grant DEAC03-70SF00515, by Office of Naval Research . grant ONR-N00014-83-K-0340 and by U.S. Army Research Office grant DAAG29-82-K0056.
Application of image processing in the detection of printed circuit board

It is inevitable that there will appear defections such as the appearance's not neat, solder mask's unevenness, lines' and pads' damages in the production of printed circuit board. In this paper an image acquisition system of the circuit board is designed. Digital image processing technology has been carried on the analysis of the collected image. In image preprocessing, these processing methods as image enhancement, edge detection, the two value processing method have been used to improve the image quality. In the extraction and recognition of the defection, subtraction method is used to perform the detection of the defect board through the comparison and matching of the defect image and the template image.
The walnut (Juglans regia) genome sequence reveals diversity in genes coding for the biosynthesis of non-structural polyphenols.

The Persian walnut (Juglans regia L.), a diploid species native to the mountainous regions of Central Asia, is the major walnut species cultivated for nut production and is one of the most widespread tree nut species in the world. The high nutritional value of J. regia nuts is associated with a rich array of polyphenolic compounds, whose complete biosynthetic pathways are still unknown. A J. regia genome sequence was obtained from the cultivar 'Chandler' to discover target genes and additional unknown genes. The 667-Mbp genome was assembled using two different methods (SOAPdenovo2 and MaSuRCA), with an N50 scaffold size of 464 955 bp (based on a genome size of 606 Mbp), 221 640 contigs and a GC content of 37%. Annotation with MAKER-P and other genomic resources yielded 32 498 gene models. Previous studies in walnut relying on tissue-specific methods have only identified a single polyphenol oxidase (PPO) gene (JrPPO1). Enabled by the J. regia genome sequence, a second homolog of PPO (JrPPO2) was discovered. In addition, about 130 genes in the large gallate 1-β-glucosyltransferase (GGT) superfamily were detected. Specifically, two genes, JrGGT1 and JrGGT2, were significantly homologous to the GGT from Quercus robur (QrGGT), which is involved in the synthesis of 1-O-galloyl-β-d-glucose, a precursor for the synthesis of hydrolysable tannins. The reference genome for J. regia provides meaningful insight into the complex pathways required for the synthesis of polyphenols. The walnut genome sequence provides important tools and methods to accelerate breeding and to facilitate the genetic dissection of complex traits.
The JAK2/STAT3 inhibitor pacritinib effectively inhibits patient-derived GBM brain tumor initiating cells in vitro and when used in combination with temozolomide increases survival in an orthotopic xenograft model

Purpose The prognosis for patients diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) remains dismal, with current treatment prolonging survival only modestly. As such, there remains a strong need for novel therapeutic strategies. The janus kinase (JAK)2/signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)3 pathway regulates many cellular processes in GBM, including survival, proliferation, invasion, anti-apoptosis, and immune evasion. Here, we evaluated the preclinical efficacy of pacritinib, a novel compound targeting JAK2, using a collection of diverse patient-derived brain tumor initiating cells (BTICs). Experimental design The effects of pacritinib on BTIC viability and sphere forming capacity were evaluated in vitro using the alamarBlue and neurosphere assays, respectively. On-target inhibition of JAK2/STAT3 signaling was investigated using western blotting. The efficacy of pacritinib was tested in vivo in pharmacokinetic analyses, liver microsome analyses, and Kaplan-Meier survival studies. Results In vitro, pacritinib decreased BTIC viability and sphere forming potential at low micromolar doses and demonstrated on-target inhibition of STAT3 signaling. Additionally, pacritinib was found to improve the response to temozolomide (TMZ) in TMZ-resistant BTICs. In vivo, systemic treatment with pacritinib demonstrated blood-brain barrier penetration and led to improved overall median survival in combination with TMZ, in mice orthotopically xenografted with an aggressive recurrent GBM BTIC culture. Conclusion This preclinical study demonstrates the efficacy of pacritinib and supports the feasibility of testing pacritinib for the treatment of GBM, in combination with the standard of care TMZ.
A deterministic formulation of the ensemble Kalman filter : an alternative to ensemble square root filters

The use of perturbed observations in the traditional ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) results in a suboptimal filter behaviour, particularly for small ensembles. In this work, we propose a simple modification to the traditional EnKF that results in matching the analysed error covariance given by Kalman filter in cases when the correction is small; without perturbed observations. The proposed filter is based on the recognition that in the case of small corrections to the forecast the traditional EnKF without perturbed observations reduces the forecast error covariance by an amount that is nearly twice as large as that is needed to match Kalman filter. The analysis scheme works as follows: update the ensemble mean and the ensemble anomalies separately; update the mean using the standard analysis equation; update the anomalies with the same equation but half the Kalman gain. The proposed filter is shown to be a linear approximation to the ensemble square root filter (ESRF). Because of its deterministic character and its similarity to the traditional EnKF we call it the ‘deterministic EnKF’, or the DEnKF. A number of numerical experiments to compare the performance of the DEnKF with both the EnKF and an ESRF using three small models are conducted. We show that the DEnKF performs almost as well as the ESRF and is a significant improvement over the EnKF. Therefore, the DEnKF combines the numerical effectiveness, simplicity and versatility of the EnKF with the performance of the ESRFs. Importantly, the DEnKF readily permits the use of the traditional Schur product-based localization schemes.
An adaptive filtering approach to spectral estimation and SAR imaging

We present an adaptive FIR filtering approach, which is referred to as the amplitude and phase estimation of a sinusoid (APES), for complex spectral estimation. We compare the APES algorithm with other FIR filtering approaches including the Welch (1967) and Capon (1969) methods. We also describe how to apply the FIR filtering approaches to target range signature estimation and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging. We show via both numerical and experimental examples that the adaptive FIR filtering approaches such as Capon and APES can yield more accurate spectral estimates with much lower sidelobes and narrower spectral peaks than the FFT method, which is also a special case of the FIR filtering approach. We show that although the APES algorithm yields somewhat wider spectral peaks than the Capon method, the former gives more accurate overall spectral estimates and SAR images than the latter and the FFT method.
The role of physical embodiment of a therapist robot for individuals with cognitive impairments

This research focuses on studying the possible role of a socially interactive robot as a tool for monitoring and encouraging cognitive activities of the elderly and/or individuals suffering from dementia. One of the aims of this work is to show the benefits of the robot's physical embodiment in human-robot social interactions. The social therapist robot tries to provide customized cognitive stimulation by playing a music game with the user. The results of the 8-month pilot study depict a more efficient, natural, and preferred interaction with the robot rather than with the simulated robot.
First Experience of 18F-Alfatide in Lung Cancer Patients Using a New Lyophilized Kit for Rapid Radiofluorination

18F-FPPRGD2, which was approved for clinical study recently, has favorable properties for integrin targeting and showed potential for antiangiogenic therapy and early response monitoring. However, the time-consuming multiple-step synthesis may limit its widespread applications in the clinic. In this study, we developed a simple lyophilized kit for labeling PRGD2 peptide (18F-AlF-NOTA-PRGD2, denoted as 18F-alfatide) using a fluoride–aluminum complex that significantly simplified the labeling procedure. Methods: Nine patients with a primary diagnosis of lung cancer were examined by both static and dynamic PET imaging with 18F-alfatide, and 1 tuberculosis patient was investigated using both 18F-alfatide and 18F-FDG imaging. Standardized uptake values were measured in tumors and other main organs at 30 min and 1 h after injection. Kinetic parameters were calculated by Logan graphical analysis. Immunohistochemistry and staining intensity quantification were performed to confirm the expression of integrin αvβ3. Results: Under the optimal conditions, the whole radiosynthesis including purification was accomplished within 20 min with a decay-corrected yield of 42.1% ± 2.0% and radiochemical purity of more than 95%. 18F-alfatide PET imaging identified all tumors, with mean standardized uptake values of 2.90 ± 0.10. Tumor-to-muscle and tumor-to-blood ratios were 5.87 ± 2.02 and 2.71 ± 0.92, respectively. Conclusion: 18F-alfatide can be produced with excellent radiochemical yield and purity via a simple, 1-step, lyophilized kit. PET scanning with 18F-alfatide allows specific imaging of αvβ3 expression with good contrast in lung cancer patients. This technique might be used for the assessment of angiogenesis and for planning and response evaluation of cancer therapies that would affect angiogenesis status and integrin expression levels.
The Librating Companions in HD 37124, HD 12661, HD 82943, 47 Ursa Majoris, and GJ 876: Alignment or Antialignment?

We investigated the apsidal motion for the multiplanet systems. In the simulations, we found that the two planets of HD 37124, HD 12661, 47 UMa, and HD 82943 separately undergo apsidal alignment or antialignment. However, the companions of GJ 876 and υ And are in apsidal lock only about 0°. Moreover, we obtained the criteria with Laplace-Lagrange secular theory to discern whether a pair of planets for a certain system are in libration or circulation.
ECG signal compression using wavelet foveation and SPIHT

Foveation enables the definition of a proper mask that will modulate the coefficients given by the Discrete Wavelet Transform of an ECG record. The mask is spatially selective and provides maximum accuracy around specific regions of interest. Subsequent denoising and coefficient quantization is further combined with SPIHT method in order to provide high compression ratios at low reconstruction errors. Experimental results reported on a number of MIT-BIH records show improved performances over existing solutions.
Machine Reading for Notion-Based Sentiment Mining

Although several sentiment classification methods have been proposed, rare are the ones that provide a solid link between human analysis of a sentiment text and machine analysis of the same text. In this paper, we investigate the automation of human's reading and building of notions. We show that the proposed process of automated machine reading and notion extraction can be used for sentiment mining and the identification of product characteristics. We then focus on the issue of sentiment classification of online reviews which have been receiving an increased level of attention by online users as well as data mining researchers in the past few years. Our proposed method bases itself on the human's thought process in extracting notion and sentiment from text. The approach first employs part of speech (POS) tagging, then learns the product features and characteristics that form the preconceived thoughts or notions about a topic's sub features. The idea is similar to how humans learn and build preconceived notions based on the review's topic, and then use it when reading a new review. Experiments show the success of the method in sentiment mining and in extracting a product's desirable features.
Counseling Self-Efficacy

The purpose of this study is twofold: (a) to examine the relationship between counseling skills techniques training and self-perception of counseling skills for graduate level rehabilitation counselors, over a semester course; and (b) to examine whether class platform (on-campus vs. distance) has a significant relationship with students’ self-perception of skills acquisition. The Counseling Self-Estimate Inventory (COSE), developed through Bandura’s theory on self-efficacy, was used to evaluate students’ perception of counseling skills. The participants were 39 master’s level students in an accredited rehabilitation counseling program. All participants received counseling skills training and completed the COSE pretest during the first class of the semester and the posttest during the last week of the semester. The results demonstrated significant change during the semester, showing an increase in reported counseling skills over the 16-week time period. There were no differences detected between on-campus and distance education students, demonstrating that the platform of the educational program did not influence outcomes in reported counseling skills in this sample of rehabilitation counseling students.
Reconfigurable priority ceiling protocol under rate monotonic based real-time scheduling

This research paper deals with reconfigurable real-time systems to be adapted to their environment under user requirements. A reconfiguration scenario is a run-time software operation that allows the addition, removal and update of real-time OS tasks which can share resources and should meet corresponding deadlines. We propose a new Reconfigurable Priority Ceiling Protocol (denoted by RPCP) that avoids deadlocks after any reconfiguration scenario and changes the priorities of tasks in order to reduce their response and blocking times, and to meet their deadlines. This protocol requires the use of two virtual processors in order to guarantee the non-interruption of execution during the reconfiguration step. We develop a tool that encodes this protocol which is applied to a case study.
Searching for a Gulf War syndrome using cluster analysis

Background. Gulf veterans report medically unexplained symptoms more frequently than non-Gulf veterans did. We examined whether Gulf and non-Gulf veterans could be distinguished by their patterns of symptom reporting. Method. A k-means cluster analysis was applied to 500 randomly sampled veterans from each of three United Kingdom military cohorts of veterans; those deployed to the Gulf conflict between 1990 and 1991; to the Bosnia peacekeeping mission between 1992 and 1997; and military personnel who were in active service but not deployed to the Gulf (Era). Sociodemographic, health variables and scores for ten symptom groups were calculated. Results. The gap statistic indicated the five-group solution as one that provided a particularly informative description of the structure in the data. Cluster 1 consisted of low scores for all symptom groups. Cluster 2 had veterans with highest symptom scores for musculoskeletal symptoms and high scores for psychiatric symptoms. Cluster 3 had high scores for psychiatric symptoms and marginally elevated scores for the remaining nine groups symptom groups. Cluster 4 had elevated scores for musculoskeletal symptoms only and cluster 5 was distinguishable from the other clusters in having high scores in all symptom groups, especially psychiatric and musculoskeletal. Conclusion. The findings do not support the existence of a unique syndrome affecting a subgroup of Gulf veterans but emphasize the excess of non-specific self-reported ill health in this group.
Performance Characterization of VMFS and RDM Using a SAN: ESX Server 3.5

VMware® ESX Server offers two choices for managing disk access in a virtual machine—VMware Virtual Machine File System (VMFS) and raw device mapping (RDM). It is very important to understand the I/O characteristics of these disk access management systems in order to choose the right access type for a particular application. Choosing the right disk access management method can be a key factor in achieving high system performance for enterprise‐class applications.