Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Audience analysis solution using soft computing methodologies

In this paper, we propose a pedestrian analysis solution helpful for adaptive content delivery and interest measurement for outdoor advertisement displays. The proposed system has built-in camera on the top panel of such displays which capture the real time viewers' frames. The captured frames have been analyzed for detection of faces using Viola-Jones algorithm. The detected faces have been processed with various image processing operations and age, gender, and race (ethnicity) parameters have been estimated using machine learning approaches. The current set of experiments has been generated using Classification and Regression Trees (CART) with Adaboost, Support vector machines (SVMs), Scalable boosting, and neural networks. Dimensionality reduction techniques and other optimizations have been adapted to make the system run efficiently on embedded devices. Computational experiments generated over thousands of real images and live video streams are encouraging and we plan to deploy the solution on large scale advertisement panels.
Mineralized polycaprolactone nanofibrous matrix for odontogenesis of human dental pulp cells

The aim of the present study was to fabricate mineralized polycaprolactone nanofibrous scaffold and investigate its ability to elicit odontogenic differentiation of human dental pulp cells, compared to the pure polycaprolactone scaffold. Polycaprolactone nanofibrous scaffold was produced by electrospinning, and the surface was mineralized with apatite. Cellular behaviors on the mineralized polycaprolactone scaffold were assessed in terms of cell adhesion, growth, and odontoblastic differentiation. To evaluate the signal transduction of human dental pulp cells, mRNA expression was analyzed and Western blotting was performed. Mineralized polycaprolactone showed improved cell proliferation, mineralized nodule formation, and expression of odontoblastic marker genes including alkaline phosphatase, osteopontin, osteocalcin, dentin sialophosphoprotein (DSPP), and dentin matrix protein-1, as compared with pure polycaprolactone. Although the cell adhesion on the mineralized polycaprolactone was similar to that of the polycaprolactone, the expression level of proteins including collagen type I and the key adhesion receptor (integrin components α1, α2, and β1) was upregulated in mineralized polycaprolactone compared to polycaprolactone. Especially, cells seeded onto mineralized polycaprolactone scaffolds showed significantly increased levels of phosphorylated focal adhesion kinase, a marker of integrin activation, and downstream pathways, such as phosphor (p)-Akt, p-extracellular signal regulated kinase, p-c Jun N-terminal kinase, nuclear factor-kappa B, c-fos, and c-jun, compared with pure polycaprolactone. The mineralized polycaprolactone scaffold is attractive for dentin tissue engineering by promoting growth and odontogenic differentiation of human dental pulp cells through the integrin-mediated signaling pathway.
A result on propositional logics having the disjunction property

It was conjectured in 1952 by Lukasiewicz [5] that the intuitionistic propositional logic (/) was the only consistent logic which has all intuitionistically valid formulas as theorems and also has the disjunction property, i.e., the property that 0 or \jj is a theorem whenever 0 v \jj is. This conjecture was shown to be false by Kreisel and Putnam [3], who exhibited a logic stronger that / having the disjunction property. Since the disjunction property is of some importance in constructive mathematics, a question arising naturally is whether there is a maximal propositional logic having this property. It is the purpose of this article to show that there is not; more precisely, that there is no intermediate logic having the disjunction property which contains as theorems all theorems of such logics. By a propositional logic we always mean a consistent system formulated in the usual way and closed under substitution and detachment, and by an intermediate logic we mean a propositional logic whose theorems include all intuitionistically valid formulas. Our proof will proceed by exhibiting two intermediate logics with the disjunction property whose union fails to have the property. The intermediate logics used are the system KP, used by Kreisel and Putnam to refute Lukasiewicz, which is axiomatized over / by the addition of the formula
Improvements of System-in-Package Integration and Electrical Performance Using BVA Wire Bonding

In this paper, bond via array (BVA) wirebond is used to achieve compact vertical integration and improve the electrical performance for system in package (SiP). Two techniques are presented. In the first technique, BVA wirebonds are utilized to integrate some passive or active components vertically onto other components. This significantly reduces the horizontal footprint of the entire SiP. In terms of electrical performance, this vertical integration provides much lower parasitic inductance than conventional 2-D horizontal integration design because of shorter interconnection. For example, the proposed technology can significantly reduce power delivery network impedance compared to a conventional design. In the second technique, we propose BVA wirebond wires as an electromagnetic interference (EMI) shield between different domains within SiP. This provides a lower cost solution for EMI shielding, particularly when regions within a package need to be shielded.
Pause transfer in the speech-to-speech translation domain

In the speech-to-speech translation framework automatic speech recognition and spoken language translation components provide additional information about the location of pauses in the source language. This information may be useful to improve the performance of pause prediction algorithms for speech synthesis. In this paper we propose a transfer algorithm based on tuples. The results show a better performance of the proposed approach with respect to a baseline system that does not use source language information.
A comparative study of preoperative versus intraoperative meperidine administration in patients receiving general anesthesia: a prospective, randomized double-blind study

To evaluate the effects of preoperative and intraoperative administration of intravenous meperidine as a preemptive analgesic. Materials and methods: A total of 50 patients were randomly divided into 2 groups; group P received 1 mg/kg of meperidine intravenously immediately before induction of anesthesia, and group I received the same amount of meperidine 20 min before completion of surgery. Consumption of desflurane, recovery parameters, heart rate, mean arterial pressure, sedation scores, visual analog scale (VAS) scores for pain, analgesic needs, and anesthesia-related complications were recorded for both groups. Results: Time to recovery was significantly shorter in group P than in group I for all parameters except spontaneous respiration. The postoperative sedation scores were mostly similar for the 2 groups, with the exception of the number of patients with postoperative 60-min sedation scores of 2; this score was seen in 1 patient in group P and 7 patients in group I. The VAS scores of group I in the postoperative period were higher than those of group P. Conclusion: Preoperative meperidine administration shows superiority to intraoperative administration with regard to recovery parameters and early postoperative pain scores, but there were no significant differences between the groups with regard to other intraoperative and postoperative parameters.
An Accurate Algorithm for Fast Frequency Warping

In this work we present a fast and accurate algorithm to compute frequency warping of arbitrary shaped maps. In contrast to the common Laguerre approach, frequency warping is represented by a matrix of truncated finite dimensions. The transformation matrix is decomposed in two additive terms: the first term represents its nonuniform Fourier transform approximation while the second term is imposed for aliasing suppression. Both matrices are approximated with a least square approach according to a suitable set of vectors. The cardinality of this set is shown to be nearly proportional to the logarithm of the matrix dimension. Finally, trade-off aspects between algorithm complexity and performance are discussed
Developing Guidelines Using Multi Grounded Theory

Background: Information technology (IT) has drastically changed the traditional way to do business. In theory, coordinating information sharing among organisational partners offers notable advantages through cost savings, productivity, improved decision making, and better customer service. Supported by modern information technology, business processes can change and be developed into new more effective forms, both internally and externally. However, as IT facilitates new business opportunities, it requires a steady flow of information and information exchange, both within intraand inter-organisational contexts where a consensus on terms and definitions coordinating the uniform communication is vital. Purpose: With the focal point on inter-organisational information exchange, the purpose of the thesis is to define a set of guidelines for AI that can be used and adjusted according to the needs of a specific situation or context. Method: The thesis was carried out with a Multi Grounded Theory approach. Interviews were conducted at a local IT-company and with an associate professor of Informatics at Jönköping International Business School. Results: Five categories were discovered which impact AI: integration governance, project management, context, integration content, and testing. The result also implied the importance to distinguish between an operational and strategic level when working with Application Integration.
Emotional intelligence and non-social cognition in schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder

Background The different patterns of Emotional Intelligence (EI) deficits in schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder are are not yet well understood. This study compares EI levels among these groups and highlights the potential impact of non-social cognition on EI. Method Fifty-eight schizophrenia and 60 bipolar outpatients were investigated using the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) and the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS). Analyses of covariance were performed with adjustment for the BACS composite score. Results Compared to bipolar subjects, schizophrenia patients showed significantly lower levels in both EI and non-social cognition. After adjustment for the BACS composite score, the difference in EI was lost. The mediation analysis revealed that differences between schizophrenia and bipolar patients in strategic EI are almost fully attributable to the mediating effect of non-social cognition. Conclusions Our findings suggest that in both schizophrenia and bipolar patients EI is strongly influenced by non-social cognitive functioning. This has to be taken into account when interpreting MSCEIT data in comparative studies in serious mental illness and emphasizes the importance of cognitive remediation.
Route Planning for the Best Value Fuel

The system described in this paper is an extension to the standard satellite navigation systems used in vehicles. A new route planning algorithm is developed using both shortest path and simplest path criteria and then this algorithm is extended to allow the incorporation of a visit to a petrol station along the route. The choice of petrol station is based on a combination of the relative location of the petrol stations and the cost of petrol at those stations. The price of petrol at each petrol station is constantly updated on a central server which is provided with prices by all vehicles which are using the system as they pass by. The price of petrol is determined using a camera mounted on the dashboard of the car, the images from which are processed with reasonably standard OCR software. When a vehicle requires fuel the central server provides prices for petrol stations in the vicinity of the planned route.
Phage Particle-Mediated Gene Transfer to Cultured Mammalian Cells

Recombinant phage particles carrying the thymidine kinase (TK) gene of herpes simplex virus type 1, coprecipitated with calcium phosphate, efficiently transformed mouse Ltk− cells to the TK+ phenotype. The conditions necessary to achieve high efficiency of transfer of the TK gene by phage particle-mediated gene transfer were investigated. Of the parameters examined, the pH of the buffer used for coprecipitation of phage particles with calcium phosphate, the length of time of coprecipitation, and the length of the adsorption period were found to alter the transfer efficiency significantly. The optimal pH was 6.87 at 25°C. The other optimal values for these parameters were as follows: coprecipitation time, 7 to 20 min; adsorption time, 18 to 30 h. Treatment with dimethyl sulfoxide, glycerol, or sucrose did not enhance gene transfer. The optimal conditions yielded about 1 transformant per 105 phage particles per 106 cells without carrier DNA. An increase in the dosage of phage particles, up to at least 5 × 107 phage particles per 100-mm dish, resulted in a linear increase in the number of transformants. Addition of carrier phage, up to 1010 phage particles per dish, did not significantly affect the number of transformants.
Forecasting Agricultural Commodity Prices with Asymmetric-Error GARCH Models

The performance of a proposed asymmetric-error GARCH model is evaluated in comparison to the normal-error- and Student-t-GARCH models through three applications involving forecasts of U.S. soybean, sorghum, and wheat prices. The applications illustrate the relative advantages of the proposed model specification when the error term is asymmetrically distributed, and provide improved probabilistic forecasts for the prices of these commodities.
Improved Estimators of Faraday Rotation in Spaceborne Polarimetric SAR Data

Spaceborne polarimetric synthetic aperture radar systems operating at lower frequencies, such as P-band, are significantly affected by Faraday rotation (FR). A new set of FR estimators is derived from the off-diagonal terms in the measured covariance matrix of a distributed target. These estimators have a phase ambiguity of period , instead of /2 as for the published estimators, and this ambiguity can be completely resolved for arbitrarily large values of FR using total electron content maps derived from Global Navigation Satellite System measurements. Simulations show that one of the new estimators has particularly high resistance to system noise and channel amplitude imbalance but greater sensitivity to channel phase imbalance than the published estimators. Hence, the expected values of residual system distortion after calibration may affect the choice of estimator.
Severe perinatal hypophosphatasia due to homozygous deletion of T at nucleotide 1559 in the tissue nonspecific alkaline phosphatase gene

Hypophosphatasia is an inherited disorder characterized by defective bone mineralization and deficiency of tissue nonspecific alkaline phosphatase (TNSALP) activity. This disorder is caused by various mutations in the TNSALP gene. We report here hypophosphatasia in two siblings, both of them severely affected by the perinatal (lethal) type.
Laparoscopic sentinel node mapping for colorectal cancer using infrared ray laparoscopy.

BACKGROUND Sentinel lymph node (SN) mapping by dye injection on conventional laparoscopy (CL) is often precluded by the presence of mesenteric adipose tissue in patients with colorectal cancer. SN mapping on CL was compared with that on infrared ray laparoscopy (IRL) during laparoscopy-assisted colectomy (LAC). PATIENTS AND METHODS Forty-eight patients with colorectal cancer who underwent LAC were enrolled. The tumor was identified by intra-operative fluoroscopy with marking clips. The tumor was stained intra-operatively by peritumoral injection of indocyanine green dye. SNs were observed by CL and by IRL. RESULTS In all 48 patients, dye injection and tumor localization during LAC were successful. The identification of SNs on IRL was approximately five times better than that on CL. There were no false-negative cases in T1 and T2 disease by IRL. CONCLUSION SN mapping on IRL is superior to that on CL. SN mapping by IRL might be feasible for T1 and T2 tumors.
3 D IC and Through-Silicon-Via ( TSV ) Reliability

this report shows the survey of reliability of 3D IC manufactory and its robustness. Firstly, we consider the reliability of the manufactory of 3D IC. The process-induced thermal stresses around TSVs raise serious reliability issues such as Si cracking and performance degradation of devices. Finite element analysis (FEA) combined with analytical methods is introduced to investigate this issue, suggestions are also made from the analysis. Then we consider the robustness of 3D IC during its normal operation. Thermomigration and Electromigration are investigated. For thermomigration, two papers on simulating 3D IC temperature are introduced, one on circuit level, the other on package level. And a possible solution is suggested. For electromigration, EM lifetime modelling of TSV structure is introduced. The impact of TSV stress on EM lifetime of BEOL wires is also suggested. Keywords— 3D-IC, TSV, Thermomigration, Electromigration,
Dual methods for channel- and QoS-aware resource allocation in MIMO-OFDMA networks

This work addresses the application of the cross-layer paradigm to the design of efficient resource allocation algorithms for the downlink of a MIMO-OFDMA system with a physical layer employing optimal single-stream/single-user linear precoding. Mathematical programming tools are used to solve the problem of weighted throughput maximization using both channel state information from the physical layer and queue state information supplied by the data link control layer. Due to the complex combinatorial nature of the problem, low-complexity Lagrange decomposition methods combined with subgradient projection algorithms are used to find a solution in the dual domain. The analytical framework proposed in this paper is used to assess the multiuser capacity, packet delay performance and fairness for different channel- and/or QoS-aware resource allocation algorithms proposed in the literature and different MIMO channel configurations.
Impact of Darunavir, Atazanavir and Lopinavir Boosted with Ritonavir on Cultured Human Endothelial Cells: Beneficial Effect of Pravastatin

Background HIV-infected patients administered long-term ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitors (PIs) are at a greater risk for developing cardiovascular diseases. Endothelial dysfunction is an initiating event in HIV-associated atherosclerosis. Cultured endothelial cells can be used as a model to compare the endothelial toxicity of different PIs. Methods We compared the effect of darunavir (DRV), darunavir/ritonavir (DRV/r), lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) and atazanavir/ritonavir (ATV/r), used at clinically relevant concentrations, on human coronary artery endothelial cell vascular function, oxidative stress, inflammation and senescence, and studied the effect of pravastatin on PI-induced alterations. Results Vascular endothelial cell function, evaluated by the expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase and the production of nitric oxide and endothelin-1, was unaffected by DRV or DRV/r, but altered by LPV/r or ATV/r. DRV or DRV/r did not alter, or mildly induced oxidative stress and inflammation (phosphorylation of p65/RelA-NFκB, secretion of IL-6 and IL-8), while ATV/r and LPV/r induced a marked increase. Secretion of sICAM or sVCAM, indicative of altered cell integrity, was not or weakly altered by DRV or DRV/r, but increased by 2–3-fold by LPV/r or ATV/r. Similar results were observed regarding senescence markers: SA-β-galactosidase activation and overexpression of phospho-p53, p16ink4, p21WAF-1 and prelamin A. Pravastatin could, in part, reverse PI-induced adverse effects. Conclusions Ritonavir-boosted PIs differentially induced vascular endothelial cell dysfunction, reactive oxygen species production, inflammation and senescence with no effect or a mild effect of DRV/r, an intermediate effect of ATV/r, and a stronger effect of LPV/r. Statins could, in part, protect the cells from PI-induced endothelial dysfunction.
Dose-Time-Response Modeling Using Negative Binomial Distribution

People exposed to certain diseases are required to be treated with a safe and effective dose level of a drug. In epidemiological studies to find out an effective dose level, different dose levels are applied to the exposed and a certain number of cures is observed. Negative binomial distribution is considered to fit overdispersed Poisson count data. This study investigates the time effect on the response at different time points as well as at different dose levels. The point estimation and confidence bands for ED 100p (t) and LT 100p (d) are formulated in closed form for the proposed dose-time-response model with the negative binomial distribution. Numerical illustrations are carried out in order to check the performance level of the proposed model.
Accuracy-enhancement of discontinuous Galerkin solutions for convection-diffusion equations in multiple-dimensions

Discontinuous Galerkin (DG) methods exhibit “hidden accuracy” that makes superconvergence of this method an increasing popular topic to address. Previous investigations have focused on the superconvergent properties of ordinary differential equations and linear hyperbolic equations. Additionally, superconvergence of order k + 3 2 for the convection-diffusion equation that focuses on a special projection using the upwind flux was presented by Cheng and Shu. In this paper we demonstrate that it is possible to extend the smoothness-increasing accuracy-conserving (SIAC) filter for use on the multidimensional linear convection-diffusion equation in order to obtain 2k+m order of accuracy, where m depends upon the flux and takes on the values 0, 1 2 , or 1. The technique that we use to extract this hidden accuracy was initially introduced by Cockburn, Luskin, Shu, and Suli for linear hyperbolic equations and extended by Ryan et al. as a smoothness-increasing accuracy-conserving filter. We solve this convection-diffusion equation using the local discontinuous Galerkin (LDG) method and show theoretically that it is possible to obtain O(h2k+m) in the negative-order norm. By post-processing the LDG solution to a linear convection equation using a specially designed kernel such as the one by Cockburn et al., we can compute this same order accuracy in the L2norm. Additionally, we present numerical studies that confirm that we can improve the LDG solution from O(hk+1) to O(h2k+1) using alternating fluxes and that we actually obtain O(h2k+2) for diffusion-dominated problems.