Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Direct Gray-Scale Minutiae Detection In Fingerprints

Most automatic systems for fingerprint comparison are based on minutiae matching. Minutiae are essentially terminations and bifurcations of the ridge lines that constitute a fingerprint pattern. Automatic minutiae detection is an extremely critical process, especially in low-quality fingerprints where noise and contrast deficiency can originate pixel configurations similar to minutiae or hide real minutiae. Several approaches have been proposed in the literature; although rather different from each other, all these methods transform fingerprint images into binary images. In this work we propose an original technique, based on ridge line following, where the minutiae are extracted directly from gray scale images. The results achieved are compared with those obtained through some methods based on image binarization. In spite of a greater conceptual complexity, the method proposed performs better both in terms of efficiency and robustness.
Unobtrusive methods for low-cost manual evaluation of machine translation.

Machine translation (MT) evaluation metrics based on n-gram co-occurrence statistics are financially cheap to execute and their value in comparative research is well documented. However, their value as a standalone measure of MT output quality is questionable. In contrast, manual methods of MT evaluation are financially expensive. This paper will present early research being carried out within the CNGL (Centre for Next Generation Localisation) on a low-cost means of acquiring MT evaluation data in an operationalised manner in a commercial post-edited MT (PEMT) context. An approach to MT evaluation will be presented which exposes translators to output from a set of candidate MT systems and reports back on which system requires the least post-editing. It is hoped that this approach, combined with instrumentation mechanisms for tracking the performance and behaviour of individual post-editors, will give insight into which MT system, if any, out of a set of candidate systems is most suitable for a particular large or ongoing technical translation project. For the longer term we propose that post-editing data gathered in a commercial context may be valuable to MT researchers.
Effects of the ISIS Recommender System for Navigation Support in self-organised Learning Networks

Drachsler, H. , Hummel, H. G. K. , Van den Berg, B. , Eshuis, J., Waterink, W. , Nadolski, R. , Berlanga, A. , Boers, N. , & Koper, R. (2008). Effects of the ISIS Recommender System for Navigation Support in Self-Organized Learning Networks. In M. Kalz, R. Koper, V. Hornung-Prahauser & M. Luckmann (Eds.). Proceedings of the 1st Workshop on Technology Support for Self-Organized Learners (TSSOL08) in conjunction with 4th Edumedia Conference 2008 Self-organised learning in the interactive Web – Changing learning culture? (pp. 106-124). June, 2-3, 2008, Salzburg, Austria: CEUR Workshop Proceedings. Available at http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-349
S-carboxymethylcysteine normalises airway responsiveness in sensitised and challenged mice

S-carboxymethylcysteine (S-CMC) has been used as a mucoregulator in respiratory diseases. However, the mechanism of action of S-CMC on allergic airway inflammation has not yet been defined. In the present study, BALB/c mice were initially sensitised and challenged to ovalbumin (OVA) and, weeks later, re-challenged with OVA (secondary challenge). S-CMC (5–100 mg·kg−1) was administered from 2 days before the secondary challenge through to the day of assay. Mice developed airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) 6 h after the secondary challenge and increased numbers of neutrophils were present in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid. At 72 h after secondary challenge, mice again developed AHR, but the BAL fluid contained large numbers of eosinophils. S-CMC treatment was found to reduce AHR and neutrophilia at 6 h, as well as eosinophilia and AHR at 72 h. These effects appeared to be dose dependent. Goblet cell hyperplasia, observed at 72 h, was reduced by S-CMC. In BAL fluid, increased levels of interferon-γ, interleukin (IL)-12 and IL-10 and decreased levels of IL-5 and IL-13 were detected. In conclusion, the data indicate that S-carboxymethylcysteine is effective in reducing airway hyperresponsiveness and airway inflammation at two distinct phases of the response to the secondary allergen challenge in sensitised mice.
Linear and nonlinear preequalization/equalization for MIMO systems with long-term channel state information at the transmitter

A transceiver structure for frequency-flat multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems that comprises linear/nonlinear preequalization/equalization is optimized according to the minimum mean square error (MMSE) criterion under the assumption that only long-term channel state information (i.e., correlation matrices of fading channel and noise) is available at the transmitter. The structure generalizes different techniques known from the literature, such as BLAST, linear preequalization and equalization, and Tomlinson-Harashima precoding (THP). Simulations show that relevant benefits can be obtained by exploiting the long term channel state information at the transmitter in both dense multipath channels with relatively large correlation at the transmitter side and in sparse multipath channels.
High Viral Load in the Cerebrospinal Fluid and Brain Correlates with Severity of Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Encephalitis

ABSTRACT AIDS dementia and encephalitis are complications of AIDS occurring most frequently in patients who are immunosuppressed. The simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) model used in this study was designed to reproducibly induce AIDS in macaques in order to examine the effects of a neurovirulent virus in this context. Pigtailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina) were coinoculated with an immunosuppressive virus (SIV/DeltaB670) and a neurovirulent molecularly cloned virus (SIV/17E-Fr), and more than 90% of the animals developed moderate to severe encephalitis within 6 months of inoculation. Viral load in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was examined longitudinally to onset of AIDS, and viral load was measured in brain tissue at necropsy to examine the relationship of systemic and central nervous system (CNS) viral replication to the development of encephalitis. In all animals, plasma viral load peaked at 10 to 14 days postinfection and remained high throughout infection with no correlation found between plasma viremia and SIV encephalitis. In contrast, persistent high levels of CSF viral RNA after the acute phase of infection correlated with the development of encephalitis. Although high levels of viral RNA were found in the CSF of all macaques (six of six) during the acute phase, this high level was maintained only in macaques developing SIV encephalitis (five of six). Furthermore, the level of both viral RNA and antigen in the brain correlated with the severity of the CNS lesions. The single animal in this group that did not have CNS lesions had no detectable viral RNA in any of the regions of the brain. The results substantiate the use of CSF viral load measurements in the postacute phase of SIV infection as a marker for encephalitis and CNS viral replication.
■ Advantages and limits of the electrochemical method using Nafion and Ni-porphyrin-coated microelectrode to monitor NO release from cultured vascular cells

Electrochemical monitoring with a porphyrinic microsensor of in situ nitric oxide production from cultured cells offers numerous advantages but requires cautious analysis, repeated calibration and accurate localisation of the electrode. It also had some limitations. We describe here some characteristics of this method, the stability of the electrode response during experiments and its application to nitric oxide production by constitutive and inducible nitric oxide synthases. Real-time measurements of NO concentration allow the study of the kinetics of NO production. This is illustrated by the time-course of NO release from cultured human endothelial cells. How NO production by inducible nitric oxide synthase in cultured smooth muscle cells obtained from human internal mammary artery can be evaluated by Nafion- and Ni-porphyrin-coated electrode is also described. The results thus obtained are compared to the cumulated NO 2 - production evaluated by the Griess method.
Chitosan film containing fucoidan as a wound dressing for dermal burn healing: Preparation and in vitro/in vivo evaluation

The aim of this study was to develop chitosan film containing fucoidan and to investigate its suitability for the treatment of dermal burns on rabbits. Porous films, thickness between 29.7 and 269.0 μm, were obtained by the solvent dropping method. Water vapor permeability (3.3–16.6/0.1 g), the swelling (0.67–1.77 g/g), tensile strength (7.1–45.8 N), and bioadhesion (0.076–1.771 mJ/cm2) of the films were determined. The thinnest films were obtained with the lowest chitosan concentration (P<.05). The water absorption capacity of the films sharply increased with the freeze-drying technique. The film having the thickness of 29.7 μm showed the highest amount of moisture permeability (16.6 g/0.1 g). Higher chitosan concentration significantly increased tensile strength of the films (P<.05). Using higher concentration of lactic acid made films more elastic and applicable, and these films were selected for in vivo studies. Seven adult male New Zealand white rabbits were used for the evaluation of the films on superficial dermal burns. Biopsy samples were taken at 7, 14, and 21 days after wounding, and each wound site was examined macroscopically and histopathologically. After 7 days treatment, fibroplasia and scar were observed on wounds treated with fucoidan-chitosan film. The best regenerated dermal papillary formation, best reepithelization, and the fastest closure of wounds were found in the fucoidan-chitosan film treatment group after 14 days compared with other treatment and control groups. It can be concluded that fucoidan-chitosan films might be a potential treatment system for dermal burns and that changing formulation variables can modulate the characterizations of the films.
Robustness and Regularization of Support Vector Machines

We consider regularized support vector machines (SVMs) and show that they are precisely equivalent to a new robust optimization formulation. We show that this equivalence of robust optimization and regularization has implications for both algorithms, and analysis. In terms of algorithms, the equivalence suggests more general SVM-like algorithms for classification that explicitly build in protection to noise, and at the same time control overfitting. On the analysis front, the equivalence of robustness and regularization provides a robust optimization interpretation for the success of regularized SVMs. We use this new robustness interpretation of SVMs to give a new proof of consistency of (kernelized) SVMs, thus establishing robustness as the reason regularized SVMs generalize well.
PiggyBac Transposon Mutagenesis: A Tool for Cancer Gene Discovery in Mice

Piggybacking on Cancer Genes Transposons are mobile segments of DNA that can insert in or near important genes to cause mutations that disrupt gene function. Rad et al. (p. 1104, published online 14 October) adapted a mutagenic transposon called Piggybac, originally derived from a moth, into a tool for discovery of cancer-causing genes in mice. Mobilization of Piggybac in mice was associated with the development of leukemias and solid tumors. In many instances the causative mutations, which were identified by mapping the Piggybac integration sites, were within genes not previously implicated in cancer. Mutations induced by a transposable element in mice can be used to identify cancer-causing genes. Transposons are mobile DNA segments that can disrupt gene function by inserting in or near genes. Here, we show that insertional mutagenesis by the PiggyBac transposon can be used for cancer gene discovery in mice. PiggyBac transposition in genetically engineered transposon-transposase mice induced cancers whose type (hematopoietic versus solid) and latency were dependent on the regulatory elements introduced into transposons. Analysis of 63 hematopoietic tumors revealed that PiggyBac is capable of genome-wide mutagenesis. The PiggyBac screen uncovered many cancer genes not identified in previous retroviral or Sleeping Beauty transposon screens, including Spic, which encodes a PU.1-related transcription factor, and Hdac7, a histone deacetylase gene. PiggyBac and Sleeping Beauty have different integration preferences. To maximize the utility of the tool, we engineered 21 mouse lines to be compatible with both transposon systems in constitutive, tissue- or temporal-specific mutagenesis. Mice with different transposon types, copy numbers, and chromosomal locations support wide applicability.
A New Rating Scale for Age-Related White Matter Changes Applicable to MRI and CT

Background and Purpose— MRI is more sensitive than CT for detection of age-related white matter changes (ARWMC). Most rating scales estimate the degree and distribution of ARWMC either on CT or on MRI, and they differ in many aspects. This makes it difficult to compare CT and MRI studies. To be able to study the evolution and possible effect of drug treatment on ARWMC in large patient samples, it is necessary to have a rating scale constructed for both MRI and CT. We have developed and evaluated a new scale and studied ARWMC in a large number of patients examined with both MRI and CT. Methods— Seventy-seven patients with ARWMC on either CT or MRI were recruited and a complementary examination (MRI or CT) performed. The patients came from 4 centers in Europe, and the scans were rated by 4 raters on 1 occasion with the new ARWMC rating scale. The interrater reliability was evaluated by using &kgr; statistics. The degree and distribution of ARWMC in CT and MRI scans were compared in different brain areas. Results— Interrater reliability was good for MRI (&kgr;=0.67) and moderate for CT (&kgr;=0.48). MRI was superior in detection of small ARWMC, whereas larger lesions were detected equally well with both CT and MRI. In the parieto-occipital and infratentorial areas, MRI detected significantly more ARWMC than did CT. In the frontal area and basal ganglia, no differences between modalities were found. When a fluid-attenuated inversion recovery sequence was used, MRI detected significantly more lesions than CT in frontal and parieto-occipital areas. No differences were found in basal ganglia and infratentorial areas. Conclusions— We present a new ARWMC scale applicable to both CT and MRI that has almost equal sensitivity, except for certain regions. The interrater reliability was slightly better for MRI, as was the detectability of small lesions.
Shake, Rattle, and Roles: Lessons from Experimental Earthquake Engineering for Incorporating Remote Users in Large-Scale E-Science Experiments

While there has been substantial interest in using e-science and cyberinfrastructure technologies to enable synchronous remote participation in experimental research, the details of such participation are in question. On the one hand, there is a desire to give remote participants the same views and capabilities that they would have as local participants. On the other hand, there are settings where experimental specimens and apparatus are large and difficult to manipulate effectively or view from a remote vantage point. This article argues for more novel forms of remote participation by drawing on exploratory interview and observation data gathered in civil engineering laboratories. It is shown that, while experiments are in progress, the engineers studied focus primarily on detecting and preventing specimen failures, and that their unease about remote participation stems from doubts about the ability of remote participants to detect failures adequately. It is argued that this presents the opportunity to consider novel roles for remote participants that exploit the features of e-science technologies.
Vlerick Leuven Gent Working Paper Series 2003/09 Linking Cognitive Styles and Values Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between cognitive styles and values. Cognitive styles and values are both frequently studied domains, but the relationship between these concepts has been investigated rarely. Individuals increasingly become points of reference in the shaping of values and attitudes. Moreover, people are confronted with more alternatives. Hence, cognitive styles are becoming more important, since they are the vehicles for choosing relevant information and for building our value system. To study differences in cognitive styles the profoundly investigated analytic-holistic dimension was used. citizens filled out our self-developed questionnaire. The results revealed different value patterns for analytic and holistic thinkers, indicating that analytic people were more conservative, while holistic people were more open to change. Moreover, two types of analytic thinkers (knowing and planning style) were identified, each attaching importance to different values. As to the dimension of self-transcendence versus self-enhancement, a significant difference was found between the two types of analytic thinkers, as well as between analytic and holistic individuals.
RosettaDesign server for protein design

The RosettaDesign server identifies low energy amino acid sequences for target protein structures (). The client provides the backbone coordinates of the target structure and specifies which residues to design. The server returns to the client the sequences, coordinates and energies of the designed proteins. The simulations are performed using the design module of the Rosetta program (RosettaDesign). RosettaDesign uses Monte Carlo optimization with simulated annealing to search for amino acids that pack well on the target structure and satisfy hydrogen bonding potential. RosettaDesign has been experimentally validated and has been used previously to stabilize naturally occurring proteins and design a novel protein structure.
Influence of soluble or matrix‐bound isoforms of vascular endothelial growth factor‐A on tumor response to vascular‐targeted strategies

Antiangiogenic therapy based on blocking the actions of vascular endothelial growth factor‐A (VEGF) can lead to “normalization” of blood vessels in both animal and human tumors. Differential expression of VEGF isoforms affects tumor vascular maturity, which could influence the normalization process and response to subsequent treatment. Fibrosarcoma cells expressing only VEGF120 or VEGF188 isoforms were implanted either subcutaneously (s.c.) or in dorsal skin‐fold “window” chambers in SCID mice. VEGF120 was associated with vascular fragility and hemorrhage. Tumor‐bearing mice were treated with repeat doses of SU5416, an indolinone receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor with activity against VEGFR‐2 and proven preclinical ability to induce tumor vascular normalization. SU5416 reduced vascularization in s.c. implants of both VEGF120 and VEGF188 tumors. However, in the window chamber, SU5416 treatment increased red cell velocity in VEGF120 (representing vascular normalization) but not VEGF188 tumors. SU5416 treatment had no effect on growth or necrosis levels in either tumor type but tended to counteract the increase in interstitial fluid pressure seen with growth of VEGF120 tumors. SU5416 pretreatment resulted in the normally fragile blood vessels in VEGF120‐expressing tumors becoming resistant to the vascular damaging effects of the tubulin‐binding vascular disrupting agent (VDA), combretastatin A4 3‐O‐phosphate (CA4P). Thus, vascular normalization induced by antiangiogenic treatment can reduce the efficacy of subsequent VDA treatment. Expression of VEGF120 made tumors particularly susceptible to vascular normalization by SU5416, which in turn made them resistant to CA4P. Therefore, VEGF isoform expression may be useful for predicting response to both antiangiogenic and vascular‐disrupting therapy.
An Evaluation of Superpave Binder Aging Methods

The objective of this study is to evaluate the rolling thin film oven (RTFO), and the pressure aging vessel (PAV) binder aging methods recommended by superpave. Test sections for this study were set up in 1992 and 1993 using six highways in five states: US 280 and AL 86 in Alabama, I-90 in Idaho, I-40 in New Mexico, I-385 in South Carolina, and STH 67 in Wisconsin. Asphalt binder was recovered from loose mix obtained during construction and from cores obtained after first, second and third year. Dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) and bending beam rheometer (BBR) tests were conducted on the recovered binder and on asphalt binders subjected to RTFO test (RTFOT) and PAV method. Comparison of DSR test results of asphalt binder recovered from loose mix and DSR test results of RTFOT conditioned asphalt binder indicated that asphalt binders are aged more in the plant mix process than in the RTFOT process. However, statistical analyses indicate that the RTFOT method seems to be capable of simulating short term aging of asphalt binder. Complex shear modules (G*) and phase angle (δ) values from asphalt binder extracted from in-place mixes were used to develop time versus property models. G* values were found to increase and δ values were found to decrease with time. Low temperature stiffness (S) values from asphalt binder extracted from in-place mixes were used to develop S versus time models. Stiffness values were found to increase with time. G*, δ, and S values after 10 years were predicted on the basis of the G*, δ, and S versus time models. The predicted fatigue factor (G*sin δ) and S values were then compared to G*sin δ and S values obtained from tests on laboratory aged asphalt binders. The comparison indicated that the PAV method is capable of simulating long term aging of asphalt binders.