Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A fast rendering method for a scene with participating media of anisotropic scattering property

This paper presents an efficient technique for global illumination rendering of a scene with participating media. The rendering handling participating media is performed by ray marching method, which requires sampling along each view direction. The step size of the ray marching must be taken short to generate a high quality image and thus leads to very long computational time. One possible method to improve the computational cost is to exploit importance sampling. In this paper, we propose a method to determine the step size based on the importance sampling technique. For efficient sampling, the probability density function which is "close" to the radiance distribution is required. In our method, 3D space is divided into a set of uniform grids. The radiance distribution is approximated using the grid structure. To deal with the participating media which has anisotropic scattering property, we use spherical harmonics to represent directional dependence of radiance distribution. Using this grid-based representation, fast calculation of good approximation of desirable probability density is made possible. Using this probability, high quality image can be rendered with fewer number of sampling compared to the conventional methods.
Tensor based image segmentation

In recent years spectral clustering has become on e of the most popular clustering algorithms. It is a simple yet powerful method for finding structure in data using spectral properties of an associated pairwise similarity matrix. It is simple to implement, can be solved efficiently by standard linear algebra software, and very often outperforms traditional clustering algorithms such as the k-means algorithm. In this paper we propose a new way of image segmentation based on specifically created similarity matrix and based on it, very simple segmentation algorithm. The algorithm is theoretically motivated and demonstrated on nontrivial examples.
Barriers and Facilitators for Primary Care Reform in Canada: Results from a Deliberative Synthesis across Five Provinces.

INTRODUCTION Since 2000, primary care (PC) reforms have been implemented in various Canadian provinces. Emerging organizational models and policies are at various levels of implementation across jurisdictions. Few cross-provincial analyses of these reforms have been realized. The aim of this study is to identify the factors that have facilitated or hindered implementation of reforms in Canadian provinces between 2000 and 2010. METHODS A literature and policy scan identified evaluation studies across Canadian jurisdictions. Experts from British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec were asked to review the scope of published evaluations and draft provincial case descriptions. A one-day deliberative forum was held, bringing together researchers (n = 40) and decision-makers (n = 20) from all the participating provinces. RESULTS Despite a relative lack of published evaluations, our results suggest that PC reform has varied with regard to the scope and the policy levers used to implement change. Some provinces implemented specific PC models, while other provinces designed overarching policies aiming at changing professional behaviour and practice. The main perceived barriers to reform were the lack of financial investment, resistance from professional associations, too overtly prescriptive approaches lacking adaptability and an overly centralized governance model. The main perceived facilitators were a strong financial commitment using various allocation and payment approaches, the cooperation of professional associations and an incremental emergent change philosophy based on a strong decentralization of decisions allowing adaptation to local circumstances. So far the most beneficial results of the reforms seem to be an increase in patients' affiliation with a usual source of care, improved experience of care by patients and a higher workforce satisfaction. CONCLUSION PC reforms currently under consideration in other jurisdictions could learn from the factors identified as promoting or hindering change in the provinces that have been most proactive.
Craft: a constraint-based random-number generator

In this paper I describe Craft, a floating-point constraint solver that generates sets of random numbers satisfying designerspecified algebraic constraints. Craft is available both as a C# API and as a Unity3D component that allows designers to directly specify constraints in the Unity editor. Despite the exponential complexity of the algorithm, the algorithm performs well on design-inspired problems at realistic scales.
Pathwise asymptotic behavior of random determinants in the uniform Gram and Wishart ensembles

This paper concentrates on asymptotic properties of determinants of some random symmetric matrices. If B_{n,r} is a n x r rectangular matrix and B_{n,r}' its transpose, we study det (B_{n,r}'B_{n,r}) when n,r tends to infinity with r/n \to c\in (0,1). The r column vectors of B_{n,r} are chosen independently, with common distribution \nu_n. The Wishart ensemble corresponds to \nu_n = {\cal N}(0, I_n), the standard normal distribution. We call uniform Gram ensemble the ensemble corresponding to \nu_n = \sigma_n, the uniform distribution on the unit sphere `S_{n-1}. In the Wishart ensemble, a well known Bartlett's theorem decomposes the above determinant into a product of chi-square variables. The same holds in the uniform Gram ensemble. This allows us to study the process \{\frac{1}{n}\log \det\big(B_{n,\lfloor nt\rfloor}'B_{n,\lfloor nt\rfloor}\big), t \in [0,1]\} and its asymptotic behavior as n\to \infty: a.s. convergence, fluctuations, large deviations. We connect the results for marginals (fixed t) with those obtained by the spectral method.
Avanafil, a new rapid-onset phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor for the treatment of erectile dysfunction

Importance of the field: Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common sexual problem, affecting up to half of men over 50 years of age. Phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitors (sildenafil, tadalafil and vardenafil) are currently the first-line treatment option presented to patients with ED. There exists a significant number of men who remain dissatisfied with the available therapies and are either unable to achieve their therapeutic goals or unwilling to tolerate adverse side effects. Therefore, development of novel PDE5 inhibitors with enhanced selectivity, faster onset of action, increased potency and improved tolerability is desirable. Areas covered in this review: Preclinical and clinical studies of avanafil, a new oral PDE5 inhibitor being investigated for the treatment of ED. Data were obtained by searching for all English peer-reviewed articles on Medline and any related abstracts presented on avanafil at major international congresses. What the reader will gain: An understanding of the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic characteristics of avanafil and insight into the drug's clinical efficacy and safety profile. Take home message: We propose that avanafil, which displays enhanced selectivity, faster onset of action, and a favorable side-effect profile relative to currently available PDE5 inhibitors, may offer an alternative first line treatment option for men with ED.
Incorporating fuzzy knowledge into fitness: multiobjective evolutionary 3D design of process plants

Designing technical plants is a complex and demanding process. It has been shown that the optimization of the simple facility placement problem is already NP-hard. Optimization of plant designs must obey a number of criteria derived from several fields of process engineering. We discuss an expansion of the simple facility placement problem with non-regular floor spaces and more than one layer. Additionally, we allow forbidden zones and predefined ways. In contrast to other approaches our system can cope with competitive criteria. These can be defined by a plant designer in an intuitive way according to concepts from fuzzy logic. This leads to the multiobjective optimization of costs and fulfillment of weighted design rules. We describe an evolutionary algorithm to construct Pareto-optimal blueprints of chemical plants. The smart indexing of rules and assignment of conclusions to components allows an efficient calculation of the rule fulfillment as part of the fitness function. Optimized blueprints for a real existing chemical plant dominate the original design.
A modern reader in institutional and evolutionary economics : key concepts

Contents: Introduction by Geoffrey M. Hodgson I LEARNING, TRUST, POWER AND MARKETS 1 Marc R. Tool, 'Contributions to an institutionalist theory of price determination', in Geoffrey M. Hodgson and Ernesto Screpanti (eds) (1991), Rethinking Economics: Markets, Technology and Economic Evolution, Aldershot: Edward Elgar, pp. 19-39 2 Bengt-Ake Lundvall, 'The learning economy: challenges to economic theory and policy', in Klaus Nielsen and Bjoern Johnson (eds) (1998), Institutions and Economic Change: New Perspectives on Markets, Firms and Technology, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, pp. 33-54 3 David Young, 'The meaning and role of power in economic theories', in John Groenewegen, Christos Pitelis and Sven-Erik Sjoestrand (eds) (1995), On Economic Institutions: Theory and Applications, Aldershot: Edward Elgar, pp. 85-100 4 Sandye Gloria-Palermo, 'Discovery versus creation: implications of the Austrian view of the market process', in John Groenewegen and Jack Vromen (eds) (1999), Institutions and the Evolution of Capitalism: Implications of Evolutionary Economics, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, pp. 78-91 5 Hans Berger, Niels G. Noorderhaven and Bart Nooteboom, 'Determinants of supplier dependence: an empirical study', in John Groenewegen, Christos Pitelis and Sven-Erik Sjoestrand (eds) (1995), On Economic Institutions: Theory and Applications, Aldershot: Edward Elgar, pp. 195-212 II PLURALISM AND COMPARATIVE PARADIGMS 6 Benjamin Coriat and Giovanni Dosi, 'The institutional embeddedness of economic change: an appraisal of the "evolutionary" and "regulationist" research programmes', in Klaus Nielsen and Bjoern Johnson (eds) (1998), Institutions and Economic Change: New Perspectives on Markets, Firms and Technology, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, pp. 3-32 7 Uskali Maki, 'The one world and the many theories', in Andrea Salanti and Ernesto Screpanti (eds) (1997), Pluralism in Economics: New Perspectives in History and Methodology, Aldershot: Edward Elgar, pp. 37-47 8 Sheila C. Dow (1997), 'Methodological pluralism and pluralism of method', in Andrea Salanti and Ernesto Screpanti (eds) (1997), Pluralism in Economics: New Perspectives in History and Methodology, Aldershot: Edward Elgar, pp. 89-99 III VARIETIES OF CAPITALISM 9 Eileen Appelbaum and Ronald Schettkat, 'Institutions and employment performance in different growth regimes', in Jonathan Michie and Angelo Reati (eds) (1998), Employment, Technology and Economic Needs: Theory, Evidence and Public Policy, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, pp. 91-114 10 Bernard Chavance and Eric Magnin, 'Emergence of pathdependent mixed economies in Central Europe', in Ash Amin and Jerzy Hausner (eds) (1997), Beyond Market and Hierarchy: Interactive Governance and Social Complexity, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, pp. 196-232 11 Geoffrey M. Hodgson, 'Varieties of capitalism and varieties of economic theory', in Klaus Nielsen and Bjoern Johnson (eds) (1998), Institutions and Economic Change: New Perspectives on Markets, Firms and Technology, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, pp. 215-42 Index
Effects of the bacterial status of rats on the changes in some liver cytochrome P450 (EC 1.14.14.1) apoproteins consequent to a glucosinolate-rich diet

The aim of the present work was to investigate the influence of the intestinal microflora on the changes in hepatic cytochrome P450 apoproteins induced by dietary glucosinolates. Ten rats harbouring a conventional digestive microflora were offered either a diet containing 390g myrosinase-free rapeseed meal/kg (n 5) or a control diet devoid of glucosinolates (n 5). A similar trial was performed using germ-free rats. After 4 weeks of exposure to the dietary regimens, animals were slaughtered and their livers removed for preparation of microsomes and analysis of cytochrome P450 (EC 1.14.14.1). The glucosinolate-rich diet decreased the concentration of total cytochrome P450 in conventional rats only (-34%). The bacterial status did not modify the concentration of apoproteins CYP1A2 and CYP2B1/B2, but greatly decreased the concentration of the male constitutive isoform CYP2C11 (-53 and -45% respectively in conventional and germ-free rats). Germ-free rats fed on the glucosinolate-rich diet had a greater concentration of CYP3A (+139%) and a lower concentration of CYP2E1 (-32%) than their counterparts fed on the control diet. However, these differences were absent in conventional animals. On the whole, the influence of the intestinal microflora on the changes in hepatic cytochrome P450 due to the consumption of cruciferous vegetables is very complex and obviously involves different mechanisms according to the apoprotein.
The Mips R10000 superscalar microprocessor

The Mips R10000 is a dynamic, superscalar microprocessor that implements the 64-bit Mips 4 instruction set architecture. It fetches and decodes four instructions per cycle and dynamically issues them to five fully-pipelined, low-latency execution units. Instructions can be fetched and executed speculatively beyond branches. Instructions graduate in order upon completion. Although execution is out of order, the processor still provides sequential memory consistency and precise exception handling. The R10000 is designed for high performance, even in large, real-world applications with poor memory locality. With speculative execution, it calculates memory addresses and initiates cache refills early. Its hierarchical, nonblocking memory system helps hide memory latency with two levels of set-associative, write-back caches.
Psi-calculi: Mobile Processes, Nominal Data, and Logic

A psi-calculus is an extension of the pi-calculus with nominal data types for data structures and for logical assertions representing facts about data. These can be transmitted between processes and their names can be statically scoped using the standard pi-calculus mechanism to allow for scope migrations. Other proposed extensions of the pi-calculus can be formulated as psi-calculi; examples include the applied pi-calculus, the spi-calculus, the fusion calculus, the concurrent constraint pi-calculus, and calculi with polyadic communication channels or pattern matching. Psi-calculi can be even more general, for example by allowing structured channels, higher-order formalisms such as the lambda calculus for data structures, and a predicate logic for assertions. Our labelled operational semantics and definition of bisimulation is straightforward, without a structural congruence. We establish minimal requirements on the nominal data and logic in order to prove general algebraic properties of psi-calculi. The proofs have been checked in the interactive proof checker Isabelle. We are the first to formulate a truly compositional labelled operational semantics for calculi of this calibre. Expressiveness and therefore modelling convenience significantly exceeds that of other formalisms, while the purity of the semantics is on par with the original pi-calculus.
Gate control strategies for high efficiency charge pumps

The paper presents systematic gate control strategies for charge pumps to enhance efficiency by turning all charge transfer MOS transistors on and off completely . Optimized topologies attain better efficiency when compared to existing designs, as confirmed by simulation and measurement results of charge pumps designed using a 0.35 /spl mu/m CMOS n-well process.
Weighted-Permutation Entropy Analysis of Resting State EEG from Diabetics with Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment

Diabetes is a significant public health issue as it increases the risk for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In this study, we aim to investigate whether weighted-permutation entropy (WPE) and permutation entropy (PE) of resting-state EEG (rsEEG) could be applied as potential objective biomarkers to distinguish type 2 diabetes patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) from those with normal cognitive function. rsEEG series were acquired from 28 patients with type 2 diabetes (16 aMCI patients and 12 controls), and neuropsychological assessments were performed. The rsEEG signals were analysed using WPE and PE methods. The correlations between the PE or WPE of the rsEEG and the neuropsychological assessments were analysed as well. The WPE in the right temporal (RT) region of the aMCI diabetics was lower than the controls, and the WPE was significantly positively correlated to the scores of the Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT) (AVLT-Immediate recall, AVLT-Delayed recall, AVLT-Delayed recognition) and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Digit Span Test (WAIS-DST). These findings were not obtained with PE. We concluded that the WPE of rsEEG recordings could distinguish aMCI diabetics from normal cognitive function diabetic controls among the current sample of diabetic patients. Thus, the WPE could be a potential index for assisting diagnosis of aMCI in type 2 diabetes.
Automatic Feature Generation on Heterogeneous Graph for Music Recommendation

Online music streaming services (MSS) experienced exponential growth over the past decade. The giant MSS providers not only built massive music collection with metadata, they also accumulated large amount of heterogeneous data generated from users, e.g. listening history, comment, bookmark, and user generated playlist. While various kinds of user data can potentially be used to enhance the music recommendation performance, most existing studies only focused on audio content features and collaborative filtering approaches based on simple user listening history or music rating. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to solve the music recommendation problem by means of heterogeneous graph mining. Meta-path based features are automatically generated from a content-rich heterogeneous graph schema with 6 types of nodes and 16 types of relations. Meanwhile, we use learning-to-rank approach to integrate different features for music recommendation. Experiment results show that the automatically generated graphical features significantly (p<0.0001) enhance state-of-the-art collaborative filtering algorithm.
Functional decline at the aging neuromuscular junction is associated with altered laminin-α4 expression

Laminin-α4 is involved in the alignment of active zones to postjunctional folds at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ). Prior study has implicated laminin-α4 in NMJ maintenance, with altered NMJ morphology observed in adult laminin-α4 deficient mice (lama4−/−). The present study further investigated the role of laminin-α4 in NMJ maintenance by functional characterization of transmission properties, morphological investigation of synaptic proteins including synaptic laminin-α4, and neuromotor behavioral testing. Results showed maintained perturbed transmission properties at lama4−/− NMJs from adult (3 months) through to aged (18-22 months). Hind-limb grip force demonstrated similar trends as transmission properties, with maintained weaker grip force across age groups in lama4−/−. Interestingly, both transmission properties and hind-limb grip force in aged wild-types resembled those observed in adult lama4−/−. Most significantly, altered expression of laminin-α4 was noted at the wild-type NMJs prior to the observed decline in transmission properties, suggesting that altered laminin-α4 expression precedes the decline of neurotransmission in aging wild-types. These findings significantly support the role of laminin-α4 in maintenance of the NMJ during aging.
G-WSTD: a framework for geographic web search topic discovery

Search engine query log is an important information source that contains millions of users' interests and information needs. In this paper, we tackle the problem of discovering latent geographic search topics via mining search engine query logs. A novel framework G-WSTD that contains search session derivation, geographic information extraction and geographic search topic discovery is developed to support a variety of downstream web applications. The core components of the framework are two topic models, which discover geographic search topics from two different perspectives. The first one is the Discrete Search Topic Model (DSTM), which aims to capture the semantic commonalities across discrete geographic locations. The second one is the Regional Search Topic Model (RSTM), which focuses on a specific region on the map and discovers web search topics that demonstrate geographic locality. We evaluate our framework against several strong baselines on a real-life query log. The framework demonstrates improved data interpretability, better prediction performance and higher topic distinctiveness in the experimentation. The effectiveness of the framework is also verified by applications such as user profiling and URL annotation.
Quantitative Real-Time PCR Method for Detection of B-Lymphocyte Monoclonality by Comparison of κ and λ Immunoglobulin Light Chain Expression

Background: An abnormal IgL:IgL ratio has long been used as a clinical criterion for non-Hodgkin B-cell lymphomas. As a first step toward a quantitative realtime PCR-based multimarker diagnostic analysis of lymphomas, we have developed a method for determination of IgL:IgL ratio in clinical samples. Methods: Light-up probe-based real-time PCR was used to quantify IgL and IgL cDNA from 32 clinical samples. The samples were also investigated by routine immunohistochemical analysis and flow cytometry. Results: Of 32 suspected non-Hodgkin lymphoma samples analyzed, 28 were correctly assigned from real-time PCR measurements assuming invariant PCR efficiencies in the biological samples. Four samples were false negatives. One was a T-cell lymphoma, one was a diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, and one was reanalyzed and found lymphoma-positive by in situ calibration, which takes into account sample-specific PCR inhibition. Twelve of the samples were fine-needle aspirates, and these were all correctly assigned. Conclusions: This work is a first step toward analyzing clinical samples by quantitative light-up probe-based real-time PCR. Quantitative real-time PCR appears suitable for high-throughput testing of cancers by measuring expression of tumor markers in fine-needle aspirates. The rapid expansion in knowledge of the human genome and the development of techniques for analysis of nucleic acids have opened new possibilities for diagnostics. In our first attempt to use quantitative real-time PCR (Q-PCR) 5 for detection of malignant tumors, we have focused on the analysis of non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs).
Structure and axis curvature in two dA6·dT6 DNA oligonucleotides: Comparison of molecular dynamics simulations with results from crystallography and NMR spectroscopy

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have been performed on the A6 containing DNA dodecamers d(GGCAAAAAACGG) solved by NMR and d(CGCAAAAAAGCG) solved by crystallography. The experimental structures differ in the direction of axis bending and in other small but important aspects relevant to the DNA curvature problem. Five nanosecond MD simulations of each sequence have been performed, beginning with both the NMR and crystal forms as well as canonical B‐form DNA. The results show that all simulations converge to a common form in close proximity to the observed NMR structure, indicating that the structure obtained in the crystal is likely a strained form due to packing effects. A‐tracts in the MD model are essentially straight. The origin of axis curvature is found at pyrimidine–purine steps in the flanking sequences. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers, 2004