Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A reversible visible watermarking scheme for compressed images

Visible Digital watermarking is a technique that embeds copyright information perceptibly within the image to prevent illicit use of multimedia content. There are numerous applications that require user authentication to make the original image content available. However, the reversible visible watermarking schemes found in literature today are susceptible to quantization errors induced by lossy images and are therefore not applicable for high quality multimedia communications applications. This paper presents a novel reversible watermarking scheme suitable for lossy compressed images. The proposed mechanism reversibly embeds the residual information packet, required to restore the watermarked region, in the quantized transform coefficients. Furthermore, the residual information packet is calculated based on the compressed image in order to suppress quantization errors. The experimental results clearly confirm the superiority of the proposed scheme for compressed images where Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR) gains of up to 3dB were registered relative to the other state-of-the-art reversible watermarking schemes found in literature.
Comparing Wikipedia and German Wordnet by Evaluating Semantic Relatedness on Multiple Datasets

We evaluate semantic relatedness measures on different German datasets showing that their performance depends on: (i) the definition of relatedness that was underlying the construction of the evaluation dataset, and (ii) the knowledge source used for computing semantic relatedness. We analyze how the underlying knowledge source influences the performance of a measure. Finally, we investigate the combination of wordnets and Wikipedia to improve the performance of semantic relatedness measures.
AUTOIMMUNE, CHOLESTATIC AND BILIARY DISEASE AP2 Adaptor Complex Mediates Bile Salt Export Pump Internalization and Modulates Its Hepatocanalicular Expression and Transport Function

The bile salt export pump (BSEP) mediates the biliary excretion of bile salts and its dysfunction induces intrahepatic cholestasis. Reduced canalicular expression of BSEP resulting from the promotion of its internalization is one of the causes of this disease state. However, the molecular mechanism underlying BSEP internalization from the canalicular membrane (CM) remains unknown. We have shown previously that 4-phenylbutyrate (4PBA), a drug used for ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency (OTCD), inhibited internalization and subsequent degradation of cell-surface-resident BSEP. The current study found that 4PBA treatment decreased significantly the expression of aand l2-adaptin, both of which are subunits of the AP2 adaptor complex (AP2) that mediates clathrin-dependent endocytosis, in liver specimens from rats and patients with OTCD, and that BSEP has potential AP2 recognition motifs in its cytosolic region. Based on this, the role of AP2 in BSEP internalization was explored further. In vitro analysis with 33FLAG-human BSEP-expressing HeLa cells and human sandwich-culture hepatocytes indicates that the impairment of AP2 function by RNA interference targeting of a-adaptin inhibits BSEP internalization from the plasma membrane and increases its cell-surface expression and transport function. Studies using immunostaining, coimmunoprecipitation, glutathione S-transferase pulldown assay, and time-lapse imaging show that AP2 interacts with BSEP at the CM through a tyrosine motif at the carboxyl terminus of BSEP and mediates BSEP internalization from the CM of hepatocytes. Conclusion: AP2 mediates the internalization and subsequent degradation of CMresident BSEP through direct interaction with BSEP and thereby modulates the canalicular expression and transport function of BSEP. This information should be useful for understanding the pathogenesis of severe liver diseases associated with intrahepatic cholestasis. (HEPATOLOGY 2012;55:1889-1900)
Regulation of voltage dependence of the KAT1 channel by intracellular factors

The KAT1 channel is a hyperpolarization-activated K+ channel cloned from the higher plant Arabidopsis. The deduced amino acid sequence suggests that its structural organization is similar to that of the Shaker-like K+ channel activated by depolarization. Electrophysiological properties of the KAT1 channel expressed in Xenopus oocytes indicate that voltage-dependent activation of the KAT1 channel is not caused by the divalent ion block and that it is intrinsic to the channel. Activity of the KAT1 channel progressively decreases upon patch excision. This rundown of the channel is accompanied by a large shift in the voltage dependence of the channel to a more negative direction. The voltage dependence is also regulated by pH, ATP, and cGMP.
Automatic Face Modeling and Synthesis Based on Image Pairs

Unlike traditional 3D model based or image based animation methods, in this paper a novel approach is presented to generate both facial actions and head rotations for photo-realistic facial animation based on one frontal and one half-profile facial image taken with an uncalibrated camera. We represent faces with 2D wire-frame models and use MPEG4 FAPs to encode basic facial actions. Hierarchical Direct Appearance Model is employed for facial feature localization. 3D deformable model is applied for pose estimation. By affine projection 3D deformable model and facial actions are mapped to 2D facial models and actions at various head poses. Coarse 2D models are refined with extracted facial features by RBF interpolation. Pose-variable facial animation is generated by synthesizing facial actions on 2D models and morphing facial textures between frontal and halfprofile views. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach.
The Loss of Cellular Junctions in Epithelial Lung Cells Induced by Cigarette Smoke Is Attenuated by Corilagin

Cigarette smoke (CS) contains over 4700 compounds, many of which can affect cellular redox balance through free radicals production or through the modulation of antioxidant enzymes. The respiratory tract is one of the organs directly exposed to CS and it is known that CS can damage the integrity of lung epithelium by affecting cell junctions and increasing epithelium permeability. In this study, we have used a human lung epithelial cell line, Calu-3, to evaluate the effect of CS on lung epithelial cell junctions levels, with special focus on the expression of two proteins involved in intercellular communication: connexins (Cx) 40 and 43. CS exposure increased Cx40 gene expression but not of Cx43. CS also induced NFκB activation and the formation of 4HNE-Cxs adducts. Since corilagin, a natural polyphenol, is able to inhibit NFκB activation, we have determined whether corilagin could counteract the effect of CS on Cxs expression. Corilagin was able to diminish CS induced Cx40 gene expression, 4HNE-Cx40 adducts formation, and NFκB activation. The results of this study demonstrated that CS induced the loss of cellular junctions in lung epithelium, possibly as a consequence of Cx-4HNE adducts formation, and corilagin seems to be able to abolish these CS induced alterations.
An initial study on ideal GUI test case replayability

In this paper we investigate the effect of long-term GUI changes occurring during application development on the reusability of existing GUI test cases. We conduct an empirical evaluation on two complex, open-source GUI-driven applications for which we generate test cases of various lengths. We then assess the replayability of generated test cases using simulation on newer versions of the target applications and partition them according to the type of repairing change required for their reuse.
Surface Roughness Prediction for Aluminum Alloy Wheel Surface Polishing Using a PSO-Based Multilayer Perceptron

Reducing surface roughness is one of the most important aims for aluminum alloy wheel polishing. To predict the final surface roughness, a multilayer perceptron (MLP) is introduced into it. The prediction model using MLP based on particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is implemented in order to avoid the local infinitesimal defect and slow constringency in the classical back propagation (BP) algorithm. Both the activation function parameters in the hidden layer and connection weights are optimized by PSO algorithm. Inputs to the MLP consist of normal polishing force, feed rate, the peripheral velocity of polishing tool, effective radius, and polishing times. The output is only the final surface roughness and only one hidden layer is used. The Sigmoid activation function with a variable parameter in the hidden layer is adopted. The prediction result shows that the MLP based on PSO can fit the testing samples well.
Secure firmware architecture using virtual hard disks

Recently, smart devices have rapidly become ubiquitous; however, vulnerability attacks that target the devices' firmware have increased apace. Despite efforts to defend against such attacks, embedded devices have not been applied because the devices have restricted resources. In this paper, we describe an architecture that can rapidly verify integrity and enables delta updates that only include the data modifications of the original data using virtual hard disks.
LOW POWER LASER INDUCED OPTICAL NONLINEARITIES IN ORGANIC MOLECULES

Experimental demonstration of low power laser induced optical nonlinearities in two different types of specially designed materials: dye doped liquid crystals and copolymers with new pendant azobenzene moieties, is presented. Saturation of the nonlinear refractive index change is observed for some of the samples. The origin of the huge nonlinearity and its saturation in the continuous wave laser regime and at low power levels are analyzed.
Positional plagiocephaly reduces parental adherence to SIDS Guidelines and inundates the health system.

BACKGROUND This study sought to better understand parent, grandparent and clinician views of prevention, treatment and costs of plagiocephaly. METHODS A qualitative study was conducted using focus groups and semi-structured interviews. A grounded theory approach was taken to build theories from the qualitative data collected. A subjectivist epistemological orientation was taken under the paradigm of positivism. RESULTS Ninety-one parents, 6 grandparents and 24 clinicians were recruited from the community as well as primary and tertiary care clinics. Plagiocephaly worried most parents because it could permanently affect their child's 'looks' and some thought it would affect a child's development. Parents were 'willing to do anything' to prevent plagiocephaly including using products or sleeping positions that are contraindicated under sudden infant death syndrome guidelines. Parents found the care pathway convoluted and inconsistent messages were given from different health providers. For clinicians, the high prevalence of flat head is 'clogging up their patient pool', taking up time they used to spend with children with more severe conditions. CONCLUSION There is a need to re-emphasize sudden infant death syndrome guidelines for families when they present with an infant with plagiocephaly. Stronger messaging regarding the lack of safety of current pillows marketed to prevent flat head may be useful to decrease their use. Increasing education for all health professionals including general practitioners, allied health and complementary health providers and standardizing assessment and referral criteria may allow the majority of diagnosis and treatment of positional plagiocephaly to occur at points of first contact (e.g. general practitioners, community nurse) and may prevent further burden on the health care system.
Physico-chemical and physiological changes during fruit development and on-tree ripening of two Spanish jujube cultivars (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.).

BACKGROUND Few studies have been performed on changes in organoleptic, nutritive, functional, and physiological properties during jujube fruit development and on-tree ripening. In this work, a comparative study on the evolution of physical, chemical, nutritive, and physiological parameters and bioactive compounds of two Spanish jujube cultivars was performed. RESULTS Both cultivars showed a non-climacteric ripening pattern, although the JM cultivar was smaller, sweeter, softer, and more highly coloured than the JG, which was characterised by having larger and firmer fruits, although less sweet and coloured. Both cultivars showed high TAA, which was highly correlated with the concentration of total phenols, giving them great functional properties. CONCLUSION This fruit has little economic importance in Spain and it is just marginally grown for self-consumption or for ornamental purposes. Given the excellent properties of these fruits, it could be considered a fruit species of great interest, and commercial growth of these cultivars with high yields and fruits with high functional properties should be promoted. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.
From F to DOT: Type Soundness Proofs with Definitional Interpreters

Scala's type system unifies ML modules, object-oriented, and functional programming. The Dependent Object Types (DOT) family of calculi has been proposed as a new foundation for Scala and similar languages. Unfortunately, it is not clear how DOT relates to any well-known type systems, and type soundness has only been established for very restricted subsets. In fact, important Scala features are known to break at least one key metatheoretic property such as environment narrowing or subtyping transitivity, which are usually required for a type soundness proof. First, and, perhaps surprisingly, we show how rich DOT calculi can still be proved sound. The key insight is that narrowing and subtyping transitivity only need to hold for runtime objects, but not for code that is never executed. Alas, the dominant method of proving type soundness, Wright and Felleisen's syntactic approach, is based on term rewriting, which does not a priori make a distinction between runtime and type assignment time. Second, we demonstrate how type soundness can be proved for advanced, polymorphic, type systems with respect to high-level, definitional interpreters, implemented in Coq. We present the first mechanized soundness proof in this style for System F<: and several extensions, including mutable references. Our proofs use only simple induction: another surprising result, as the combination of big-step semantics, mutable references, and polymorphism is commonly believed to require co-inductive proof techniques. Third, we show how DOT-like calculi emerge as generalizations of F<:, exposing a rich design space of calculi with path-dependent types which we collectively call System D. Armed with insights from the definitional interpreter semantics, we also show how equivalent small-step semantics and soundness proofs in Wright-Felleisen-style can be derived for these systems.
Artificial Rearing of Mouse Pups: Development of a Mouse Pup in a Cup Model

Artificial rearing of rat pups has been used in the investigation of the neonatal gut. We propose to adapt the model of artificially rearing rat pups for use in mouse pups, thereby allowing the use of transgenic animals for our research. We hypothesized that gastrostomy catheters may be placed successfully into neonatal mouse pups and that the pups may be artificially reared without significant alterations in their growth or intestinal development. Gastrostomy tubes are placed into 5-d-old mouse pups [artificially reared (AR); n = 32], and the mice are fed rodent milk substitute. Littermate pups [maternally reared (MR); n = 22] are used as controls. After 5 d, pups are killed and their organs are harvested. Intestinal villus measurements, protein content, and DNA content are determined. Data are reported as mean ± SEM, compared with appropriate statistical methods, and significance is determined at P < 0.05. Initial weights and lengths are not different between the two groups, but after 5 d, MR pups weigh more than their AR counterparts (5.0 ± 0.13 versus 4.1 ± 0.14 g, MR versus AR; P < 0.01). However, the pups' length and the intestinal villus height-to-width ratios, protein, and DNA content are not different between the MR and AR pups. To our knowledge, this is the first report of artificially rearing mouse pups. Development of this technique will permit nutritional manipulation in neonatal mice, a mammalian model wherein the genome is sequenced and transgenic mutants are available.
Genetic Evidence That Nonhomologous Disjunction and Meiotic Drive Are Properties of Wild-Type Drosophila melanogaster Male Meiosis

We have followed sex and second chromosome disjunction, and the effects of these chromosomes on sperm function, in four genotypes: wild-type males, males deficient for the Y-linked crystal locus, males with an X chromosome heterochromatic deficiency that deletes all X–Y pairing sites, and males with both deficiencies. Both mutant situations provoke chromosome misbehavior, but the disjunctional defects are quite different. Deficiency of the X heterochromatin, consonant with the lack of pairing sites, mostly disrupts X–Y disjunction with a decidedly second-level effect on major autosome behavior. Deleting crystal, consonant with the cytological picture of postpairing chromatin-condensation problems, disrupts sex and autosome disjunction equally. Even when the mutant-induced nondisjunction has very different mechanics, however, and even more importantly, even in the wild type, there is strong, and similar, meiotic drive. The presence of meiotic drive when disjunction is disrupted by distinctly different mechanisms supports the notion that drive is a normal cellular response to meiotic problems rather than a direct effect of particular mutants. Most surprisingly, in both wild-type and crystal-deficient males the Y chromosome moves to the opposite pole from a pair of nondisjoined second chromosomes nearly 100% of the time. This nonhomologous interaction is, however, absent when the X heterochromatin is deleted. The nonhomologous disjunction of the sex and second chromosomes may be the genetic consequence of the chromosomal compartmentalization seen by deconvolution microscopy, and the absence of Y–2 disjunction when the X heterochromatin is deleted suggests that XY pairing itself, or a previously unrecognized heterochromatic function, is prerequisite to this macrostructural organization of the chromosomes.
Predictors of health-related quality of life with cardiac rehabilitation after acute myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND Health-related quality of life (HRQL) instruments provide valid and responsive outcome measures to assess the impact of disease and the response to interventions. However, they have not been applied widely to studies of rehabilitation after myocardial infarction. PURPOSE To examine the extent to which baseline sociodemographic and clinical characteristics predict baseline and change in generic and specific HRQL. METHODS A randomized controlled trial of an 8-week cardiac rehabilitation intervention or usual care, with follow-up for 12 months, in 201 patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI). Multiple regression analysis was used to identify predictors of HRQL. RESULTS Specific HRQL scores and exercise tolerance improved significantly more in rehabilitation patients than usual care patients by the end of the 8-week intervention. All HRQL measures and exercise tolerance in both groups improved significantly during the 12 month follow-up period but the differences between the groups were trivial. A poor baseline HRQL was the predominant predictor of improved generic and specific HRQL. Furthermore, greater improvement in HRQL consistently was associated with lower levels of cardiovascular risks such as absence of a previous MI or coronary artery bypass surgery, absence of angina, less smoking, and higher exercise tolerance. CONCLUSIONS Improved generic and specific HRQL was associated with poorer baseline HRQL and less baseline cardiovascular risk. This reinforces the importance of addressing health behavior changes as soon as possible after MI and the usefulness of assessing both generic and specific HRQL in evaluating treatment effectiveness.
Inferring duplications, losses, transfers and incomplete lineage sorting with nonbinary species trees

Motivation: Gene duplication (D), transfer (T), loss (L) and incomplete lineage sorting (I) are crucial to the evolution of gene families and the emergence of novel functions. The history of these events can be inferred via comparison of gene and species trees, a process called reconciliation, yet current reconciliation algorithms model only a subset of these evolutionary processes. Results: We present an algorithm to reconcile a binary gene tree with a nonbinary species tree under a DTLI parsimony criterion. This is the first reconciliation algorithm to capture all four evolutionary processes driving tree incongruence and the first to reconcile non-binary species trees with a transfer model. Our algorithm infers all optimal solutions and reports complete, temporally feasible event histories, giving the gene and species lineages in which each event occurred. It is fixed-parameter tractable, with polytime complexity when the maximum species outdegree is fixed. Application of our algorithms to prokaryotic and eukaryotic data show that use of an incomplete event model has substantial impact on the events inferred and resulting biological conclusions. Availability: Our algorithms have been implemented in Notung, a freely available phylogenetic reconciliation software package, available at http://www.cs. cmu.edu/~durand/Notung. Contact: mstolzer@andrew.cmu.edu
PREDICTION OF CYTOCHROME P 450 3 A INHIBITION BY VERAPAMIL ENANTIOMERS AND THEIR METABOLITES

Verapamil inhibition of CYP3A activity results in many drug-drug interactions with CYP3A substrates, but the mechanism of inhibition is unclear. The present study showed that verapamil enantiomers and their major metabolites [norverapamil and N-desalkylverapamil (D617)] inhibited CYP3A in a timeand concentrationdependent manner by using pooled human liver microsomes and the cDNA-expressed CYP3A4 ( b5). The values of the inactivation kinetic parameters kinact and KI obtained with the cDNA-expressed CYP3A4 ( b5) were 0.39 min 1 and 6.46 M for R-verapamil, 0.64 min 1 and 2.97 M for S-verapamil, 1.12 min 1 and 5.89 M for ( )-norverapamil, and 0.07 min 1 and 7.93 M for D617. Based on the ratio of kinact and KI, the inactivation potency of verapamil enantiomers and their metabolites was in the following order: S-norverapamil > S-verapamil > R-norverapamil > R-verapamil > D617. Using dual beam spectrophotometry, we confirmed that metabolic intermediate complex formation with CYP3A was the mechanism of inactivation for all compounds. The in vitro unbound fraction was 0.84 for S-verapamil, 0.68 for R-verapamil, and 0.84 for ( )-norverapamil. A mechanism-based pharmacokinetic model predicted that the oral area under the curve (AUC) of a CYP3A substrate that is eliminated completely (fm 1) by the hepatic CYP3A increased 1.6to 2.2-fold after repeated oral administration of verapamil. For midazolam (fm 0.9), a drug that undergoes extensive intestinal wall metabolism, the predicted increase in oral AUC was 3.2to 4.5-fold. The predicted results correlate well with the in vivo drug interaction data, suggesting that the model is suitable for predicting drug interactions by mechanism-based in-