Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
SalsaNet: Fast Road and Vehicle Segmentation in LiDAR Point Clouds for Autonomous Driving

In this paper, we introduce a deep encoder-decoder network, named SalsaNet, for efficient semantic segmentation of 3D LiDAR point clouds. SalsaNet segments the road, i.e. drivable free-space, and vehicles in the scene by employing the Bird-Eye-View (BEV) image projection of the point cloud. To overcome the lack of annotated point cloud data, in particular for the road segments, we introduce an auto-labeling process which transfers automatically generated labels from the camera to LiDAR. We also explore the role of image-like projection of LiDAR data in semantic segmentation by comparing BEV with spherical-front-view projection and show that SalsaNet is projection-agnostic. We perform quantitative and qualitative evaluations on the KITTI dataset, which demonstrate that the proposed SalsaNet outperforms other state-of-the-art semantic segmentation networks in terms of accuracy and computation time. Our code and data are publicly available at https://gitlab.com/aksoyeren/salsanet.git.
Electrodynamics of Magnetoelectric Media and Magnetoelectric Fields

The relationship between magnetoelectricity and electromagnetism is a subject of a strong interest and numerous discussions in microwave and optical wave physics and material sciences. The definition of the energy and momentum of the electromagnetic (EM) field in a magnetoelectric (ME) medium is not a trivial problem. The question of whether electromagnetism and magnetoelectricity can coexist without an extension of Maxwell's theory arises when the effects of EM energy propagation are studied and the group velocity of the waves in an ME medium is considered. The energy balance equation reveals unusual topological structure of fields in ME materials. Together with certain constraints on the constitutive parameters of a medium, definite constraints on the local field structure should be imposed. Analyzing the EM phenomena inside an ME material, the question “what kind of the near fields arising from a sample of such a material can be measured? ” should be answered. The visualization of the ME states requires an experimental technique that is based on an effective coupling to the violation of spatial as well as temporal inversion symmetry. To observe the ME energy in a subwavelength region, it is necessary to assume the existence of first‐principle near fields—the ME fields. These are non‐Maxwellian near fields with specific properties of violation of spatial and temporal inversion symmetry. A particular interest to the ME fields arises in studies of metamaterials with “artificial‐atoms” ME elements.
NYC Optimal Transport and Ridesharing

NYC Optimal Transport and Ridesharing by Jiahui Ji Supervisor: Dr. Long Nguyen The motivation of this paper is the hope to enhance travel efficiency, reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission. We first focus on the optimal transport problem and approaches. Sinkhorn’s algorithm is applied with two separate assumptions of locations, discrete and semi-discrete. The next chapter focuses on the problem of ridesharing. Trip duration time is predicted by some regression models. It also introduces a dynamic ridesharing problem, which pulls certain trip-satisfying criterion together. Then a statistical model of shared rides and individual trips is described, with parameter estimations made from the frequentest approach. The last chapter concludes with the exploration of the above two problems, lists some limitations in the model, and provides some future work suggestions.
No effect of 7-nitroindazole on the anticonvulsant action of vigabatrin and oxcarbazepine in pentylenetetrazole-induced seizures in mice

The aim of this study was to determine the eff ect of 7-nitroindazole (7-NI - a preferential neuronal nitric oxide synthase inhibitor) on the protective action of oxcarbazepine (OXC) and vigabatrin (VGB) - two newer antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) against pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced seizures in mice. The clonic seizure activity in mice was evoked by subcutaneous injection of PTZ (100 mg/kg) and defi ned as clonus of the whole body lasting over 3 s with an accompanying loss of righting refl ex in mice. The protective action of OXC and VGB against PTZ-induced clonic seizures was expressed as their median eff ective doses (ED 50 values) suppressing clonic seizures in 50% of animals tested. The acute adverse-eff ect potentials of OXC and VGB in combination with 7-NI were evaluated in the chimney test (motor coordination) in mice. Results indicate that 7-NI administered intraperitoneally (50 mg/kg) did not signifi cantly aff ect the anticonvulsant action of OXC or VGB against PTZ-induced clonic seizures. The ED 50 values for OXC administered alone and in combination with 7-NI were 20.9 and 24.8 mg/kg. Similarly, the ED 50 values for VGB administered alone and in combination with 7-NI were 595 and 622 mg/kg, respectively. Moreover, the examined combinations of 7-NI (50 mg/kg) with OXC (24.8 mg/kg) and VGB (622 mg/kg) did not aff ect motor coordination in the chimney test. In conclusion, 7-NI had no signifi cant impact on the anticonvulsant activity of OXC and VGB in the mouse PTZ-induced seizure model, and did not aff ect motor coordination in animals subjected to the chimney test.
Thermophysical Properties of Anatase TiO 2 nanoparticles : Molecular Dynamics Simulation

Nanoparticles have attracted the attention of research ers in a number of multidisciplinary fields as they possess enhanced structural and physical properties, which make them desirable to a wide range of industries. These enhancements have mostly been attributed to their large surface area -to-volume ratio. However, the effect of temperature on the structural and surface properties of nanopa rticles of different sizes is still not well understood , an aspect addressed in the present work. Using molecular dynamics simulation s, we have performed investigations on A atase TiO2 nanoparticles with sizes ranging between two and six nm and at different t emperatures. S tructural and surface properties including surface energies are reported for the different nanoparticle sizes , temperature and simulatio n time step. Comparison s of surface energies for the different anoparticle sizes show that surface energy increases to a maximum (optimum value) especially for temperatures between 300 1500 K, as the particle size increases after which no further significant increas e is observed. Studies conducted o n the
Approximate Solutions of Hybrid Stochastic Pantograph Equations with Levy Jumps

and Applied Analysis 3 Given a step size h > 0, the discrete Markov chain {r h n , n = 0, 1, 2, . } can be simulated as follows (see Mao and Yuan [24]). Let r(0) = i 0 and generate a random number ζ 1 which is uniformly distributed in [0, 1]. If ζ 1 = 1, then let r h 1 = i 1 = N or otherwise find the unique integer i 1 ∈ S for i1−1 ∑ j=1 P i0,j (h) ≤ ζ 1 < i1 ∑ j=1 P i0,j (h) (10) and let r 1 = i 1 , where we set ∑0 i=1 P i0 ,j (h) = 0 as usual. Generate independently a new random number ζ 2 which is again uniformly distributed in [0, 1]. If ζ 2 = 1 then let r 2 = i 2 = N or otherwise find the unique integer i 2 ∈ S for i2−1 ∑ j=1 P i1,j (h) ≤ ζ 2 < i2 ∑ j=1 P i1,j (h) (11) and let r 2 = i 2 . Repeating this procedure, a trajectory of {r h n , n = 0, 1, 2, . } can be generated. This procedure can be carried out independently to obtain more trajectories. Nowwe define the Euler approximate solution to (4) with discrete Markov chain {r n = r(nh), n = 0, 1, 2, . }. For system (4), the discrete approximation is given by the iterative scheme Y n+1 = Y n + f (Y n , Y [qn] , r h n ) h + g (Y n , Y [qn] , r h n ) ΔW n + ∫ R n h (Y n , Y [qn] , r h n , u) ? ̃? (h, du) , (12) with initial value Y 0 = X(0), and [u] represents the integer part of u. Here t n = nh for n ≥ 0. We have Y n ≈ X(t n ), Y [qn] ≈ X(qt n ), ΔW n = W(t n+1 )− W(t n ), and ? ̃? (h, du) = ? ̃? (t n+1 , du) − ? ̃? (t n , du). Let us introduce the following notations: Z 1 (t) = Y n , Z 2 (t) = Y [qn] , r (t) = r h n (13) for t ∈ [t n , t n+1 ). Then we define the continuous Euler approximate solution as follows:
Table 1 . Factor Loadings , Cronbach ’ s Coefficient Alpha ( bold ) for the Five-Factor Solution

313 doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntq256 Advance Access published on February 7, 2011 © The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Directorate of Health, 2005). Thus, 20% of boys aged 13–14 years stated that they smoke cigarettes daily or occasionally, while the corresponding figure for use of snus were 29%. The figures for boys aged 12–13 years were 12% (cigarettes) and 15% (snus: Norwegian Directorate of Health, 2005). Other research reports among Norwegian adolescents indicate that fewer adolescents start to smoke, while at the same time, there is an increase in the use of snus (M. Lund & Lindbak, 2007; Øverland, Hetland, & Aarø, 2008). Furthermore, the use of snus is becoming more widespread among experienced smokers, indicating that snus may be used as an alternative nicotine delivery system either as a temporary substitute for cigarettes or as a quitting product (M. Lund & Lindbak, 2007; K. E. Lund, Tefre, Amundsen, & Nordlund 2008).
NSUN 2-mediated cytosine-5 RNA methylation

Mutations in the cytosine-5 RNA methyltransferase NSun2 cause microcephaly and other neurological abnormalities in mice and human. How post-transcriptional methylation contributes to the human disease is currently unknown. By comparing gene expression data with global cytosine-5 RNA methylomes in patient fibroblasts and NSun2-deficient mice, we find that loss of cytosine-5 RNA methylation increases the angiogenin-mediated endonucleolytic cleavage of transfer RNAs (tRNA) leading to an accumulation of 50 tRNA-derived small RNA fragments. Accumulation of 50 tRNA fragments in the absence of NSun2 reduces protein translation rates and activates stress pathways leading to reduced cell size and increased apoptosis of cortical, hippocampal and striatal neurons. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that angiogenin binds with higher affinity to tRNAs lacking site-specific NSun2-mediated methylation and that the presence of 50 tRNA fragments is sufficient and required to trigger cellular stress responses. Furthermore, the enhanced sensitivity of NSun2-deficient brains to oxidative stress can be rescued through inhibition of angiogenin during embryogenesis. In conclusion, failure in NSun2-mediated tRNA methylation contributes to human diseases via stress-induced RNA cleavage.
2 0 D ec 2 01 7 Strong decays of the 1 P and 2 D doubly charmed states

Li-Ye Xiao ∗, Qi-Fang Lü †, and Shi-Lin Zhu ‡ 1) School of Physics and State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China 2) Center of High Energy Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China 3) Department of Physics, Hunan Normal University, and Key Laboratory of Low-Dimensional Quantum Structures and Quantum Control of Ministry of Education, Changsha 410081, China 4) Synergetic Innovation Center for Quantum Effects and Applications (SICQEA), Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, China and 5) Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter, Beijing 100871, China
Incidence and risk factors for Contegra graft infection following right ventricular out fl ow tract reconstruction : long-term results

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the risk factors associated with Contegra graft (Medtronic Minneapolis, MN, USA) infection after reconstruction of the right ventricular outflow tract. METHODS: One hundred and six Contegra grafts were implanted between April 1999 and April 2010 for the Ross procedure (n = 46), isolated pulmonary valve replacement (n = 32), tetralogy of Fallot (n = 24), double-outlet right ventricle (n = 7), troncus arteriosus (n = 4), switch operation (n = 1) and redo of pulmonary valve replacement (n = 2). The median age of the patients was 13 years (range 0–54 years). A follow-up was completed in all cases with a median duration of 7.6 years (range 1.7–12.7 years). RESULTS: There were 3 cases of in-hospital mortality. The survival rate during 7 years was 95.7%. Despite the lifelong endocarditis prophylaxis, Contegra graft infection was diagnosed in 12 (11.3%) patients at a median time of 4.4 years (ranging from 0.4 to 8.7 years). Univariate analysis of preoperative, perioperative and postoperative variables was performed and the following risk factors for time to infection were identified: female gender with a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.19 (P = 0.042), systemic-to-pulmonary shunt (HR 6.46, P < 0.01), hypothermia (HR 0.79, P = 0.014), postoperative renal insufficiency (HR 11.97, P = 0.015) and implantation of permanent pacemaker during hospitalization (HR 5.29, P = 0.075). In 2 cases, conservative therapy was successful and, in 10 patients, replacement of the infected valve was performed. The Contegra graft was replaced by a homograft in 2 cases and by a new Contegra graft in 8 cases. Cox’s proportional hazard model indicated that time to graft infection was significantly associated with tetralogy of Fallot (HR 0.06, P = 0.01), systemic-to-pulmonary shunt (HR 64.71, P < 0.01) and hypothermia (HR 0.77, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Contegra graft infection affected 11.3% of cases in our cohort, and thus may be considered as a frequent entity that can be predicted by both intraoperative and early postoperative factors. After the diagnosis of infection associated with the Contegra graft was confirmed, surgical treatment was the therapy of choice.
SLC 4 A 11 mutations in Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy

Singapore Eye Research Institute, 11 Third Hospital Avenue, Singapore 168751, Singapore, Department of Ophthalmology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117597, Singapore, Department of Physiology and Department of Biochemistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2H7, Canada, ONGC Department of Genetics & Molecular biology, Vision Research Foundation and Department of Cornea, Medical Research Foundation, Sankara Nethralaya, 18 College Road, Chennai 600 006, Tamilnadu, India, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore 168751, Singapore and Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Eye Hospital, 147K Argyl Street, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Identification and Estimation of Dynamic Discrete Choice Demand Models with Market Level Data

We develop a new method to estimate dynamic discrete choice demand models in settings with aggregate market level data. The method is developed for market settings with two or more terminal choices. It is able to estimate the consumer’s discount factor and utility preferences without reducing the dimension of the state space or imposing beliefs on how consumers form expectations. Our estimator also recovers the evolution of unobservable product characteristics. Despite all this, the computational complexity of our method is similar to that of a linear regression. We characterize the asymptotic properties of the estimator and demonstrate its performance in the finite sample case. Lastly, we show how it can be implemented in an application where we estimate the demand for smartphones.
1 A LINK BETWEEN SELF-MONITORING AND PRESTIGE-RELATED CONSUMER KNOWLEDGE ? PRELIMINARY EVIDENCE FROM NORTH AMERICA AND EUROPE

In response to a call by Gangestad and Snyder (2000), this paper is a preliminary step in the investigation of status-oriented motivation in self-monitoring theory. A word association task with four student samples (US, UK, Quebec and Switzerland) shows that the nature of the link between prestige-related knowledge and self-monitoring level varies substantially between the four national samples. Future research should therefore take into account cultural factors when studying the role of prestige as a motivation behind self-monitoring. A series of research questions resulting from the study are discussed in the paper. CZELLAR, Sandor. A Link between Self-monitoring and Prestige-related Consumer Knowledge? Preliminary Evidence from North America and Europe. 2002
Title Combining metaheuristics to effectively solve the vehiclerouting problems with time windows

The vehicle routing problems with time windows are challenging delivery problems in which instances involving 100 customers or more can be difficult to solve. There were many interesting heuristics proposed to handle these problems effectively. In this paper, we examined two well-known meta-heuristics and carefully combined the short-term and long-term memory-like mechanisms of both methods to achieve better results. Our prototype was shown to compare favorably against the original search methods and other related search hybrids on the Solomon’s test cases. More importantly, our proposal of integration opens up many exciting directions for further investigation.
Isolation and Characterization of an ADP-Glucose Pyrophosphorylase Gene from Gossypium hirsutum

Roots and stems of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) plants store photoassimilate as starch. Partitioning of fixed carbon between starch in vegetative storage tissues and seed is likely to impact cotton development and yield. The enzyme ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (ADPGp) plays a rate-limiting role in starch production, and its temporal and spatial expression plays a critical role in determining patterns of starch deposition in plants. The objective of this study was to identify, sequence, and analyze a cotton ADPGp (small subunit) gene involved in starch production in stems and roots. A genomic sequence with extensive similarity to an mRNA encoding the small subunit of ADPGp that is expressed in starchy stems was identified and sequenced. The gene was composed of nine exons and eight introns. The introns were bound by typical splice sites. The open reading frame (ORF) encoded a peptide of 518 amino acids with many catalytic and regulatory features common to plant ADPGp. This gene was abundantly expressed in starchy roots and in leaves. Expression of this gene was low in developing fiber. In-silico analysis of the promoter sequence identified regulatory motifs associated with light response and expression in the seed. Motifs associated with response to abscisic acid (ABA), salicylic acid, giberellic acid, and methyl-jasmonate were also identified.
ICT AND BUSINESS PRODUCTIVITY: FINNISH MICRO-LEVEL EVIDENCE

Widespread use of ICT in Finnish business enterprises is quite recent. Contrary to what was believed during the new economy boom, the increasing use of ICT is primarily a phenomenon within firms; the contribution of restructuring to the observed changes in aggregate ICT-intensity is rather marginal. Decompositions of productivity growth suggest, however, that experimentation and selection are quite intense among young ICT-intensive firms. After controlling for industry and time effects as well as labour and other firm-level characteristics, the additional productivity of ICT-equipped labour ranges from 8% to 18% corresponding to roughly a 5% to 6 % elasticity of ICT capital. The effect is much higher in younger firms and in ICT-providing activities. The finding for firm age is consistent with the need for ICT-complementing organisational changes. The finding for ICT-providing activities is not driven by the communications equipment industry but rather by ICT services. Overall, the excess productivity induced by ICT seems to be somewhat higher in services than in manufacturing. Manufacturing firms benefit in particular from ICTinduced efficiency in internal communication (linked to use of local area networks or LANs) whereas service firms benefit from efficiency in external (Internet) communication. We find weak evidence for the complementarity of ICT and education.
Bringing the territories closer together at higher speeds Dynamic simulation of the system pantograph-catenary-vehicle-track

This paper presents anadvanced pantograph-catenary-vehicle-trackmodel which allows the coupled simulation of the complete system. The model developed is able to evaluate the contact force generated in the catenary-pantograph and wheel-track interactions. Nevertheless, this paper focuses on the possible influence of the vehicle-track system in the catenary-pantograph dynamic interaction. Moreover, the effects of considering track irregularities and short-bridge ways are analyzed.The techniques employed in the simulation are widely known and therefore the formulation of its equations is not studied in depth.
The comparison of Iranian urban , suburban and rural areas ’ performance in Self-concept , Self-efficacy , Selfesteem and Anxiety

The purpose of this study is to find the comparison of urban, suburban and rural students’ performance in students’ psychological factors; general self-concept, science self-concept, self-efficacy, science self-efficacy, selfesteem, anxiety, and science anxiety among guidance school students. The participants in the study were 680 guidance school students, (317 male and 363 female, in the age 14 years old) at Tehran and Shahriar City, the province of Tehran, Iran. The research design was an ex-post facto and tested the alternative hypotheses. Five valid and reliable instruments were used to assess Self-concept Attribute Attitude Scale, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory, General Self-Efficacy, and Science Self-Efficacy Questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, and MANOVA, were used to analyze the data. The result demonstrated that, there is significant difference between groups in science self-efficacy only (p<0.001) and there is no significant difference between the other variables (p>0.05). [Maryam Sahranavard, Siti Aishah Hassan, Habibah Elias, Maria Chong bt Abdullah, Ali Reza Kiamanesh. The comparison of Iranian urban, suburban and rural areas’ performance in Self-concept, Self-efficacy, Selfesteem and Anxiety. Journal of American Science 2012; 8(3): 371-376]. (ISSN: 1545-1003). http://www.americanscience. org. 49
Metabolism of megacities : a review and synthesis of the literature

5 Introduction. 6 1 Methods . 8 2 Review of the urban metabolism literature . 10 2.1 Europe . 10 2.1. 1 London . 10 2.1. 2 Paris . 10 2.2 Russia . 11 2.2.1 Moscow . 11 2.3 North America . 12 2.3. 1 New York City . 12 2.3. 2 Los Angeles . 13 2.4 Middle America . 13 2.4. 1 Mexico City . 13 2.5 South America . 14 2.5. 1 Rio de Janeiro . 14 2.5. 2 São Paulo . 15 2.5. 3 Buenos Aires . 15 2.6 Sub-Saharan Africa . 16 2.6. 1 Lagos . 16 2.7 North Africa / Southwest Asia . 16 2.7. 1 Cairo . 16 2.7. 2 Tehran . 18 2.7. 3 Istanbul . 18 2.8 South Asia . 19 2.8. 1 Dhaka . 19 2.8. 2 Karachi . 20 Metabolism of megacities: a review and synthesis of the literature 4 2.8. 3 Delhi . 20 2.8. 4 Mumbai . 21 2.8. 5 Kolkata . 22 2.9 Southeast Asia . 23 2.9. 1 Manila . 23 2.9. 2 Jakarta . 23 2.10 East Asia . 24 2.10. 1 Seoul . 24 2.10. 2 Tokyo . 24 2.10. 3 Osaka . 25 2.10. 4 Beijing . 25 2.10. 5 Shanghai . 26 2.10. 6 Guangzhou . 28 2.10. 7 Shenzhen . 28 3 Global synthesis of the urban metabolism literature . 29 4 Closing remarks . 34 References . 35 Metabolism of megacities: a review and synthesis of the literature
Task and Motion Planning for Robotic Food Preparation 16-782 Project Report

Real-world planning requires reasoning about the high-level tasks and robot motion. They should not be considered in isolation due to the complexity of robots and their environments. We need planning techniques that interleave sequencing with motion planning for feasible plans in the configuration space. To that end, we implement a Task and Motion Planning (TAMP) system for robotic food preparation. We demonstrate this in both simulation and real-world, through the preparation of yogurt parfaits. We select this scenario, as there is merit in task sequencing while preparing multiple parfaits with common ingredients.