Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
AxCaliber 3D

Introduction: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) provides an opportunity to investigate brain connectivity via fiber-tracking. The major macroscopical pathways in the brain have been demonstrated using this approach. Nevertheless, the ability of fiber-tracking to extract structural connectivity is limited due to partial volume effects. These may occur at the boundaries of white matter with surrounding tissue or even within the white matter where several fiber-bundles pass through the same voxel. In this work, we have used the composite and restricted model of diffusion (CHARMED) and AxCaliber (the measurement of axon diameter distribution (ADD) from diffusion MRI images) frameworks to investigate the micro-structural features of a complex fiber system phantom. So far, the ability to map the ADD along a given pathway was only possible with AxCaliber if the fiber orientation was known and so this precludes any tract-specific assessment. In this work we extended the AxCaliber framework to any arbitrary fiber orientation. Methods: This work was done on a phantom made from fixed excised porcine spinal cord cut into two segments: one sectioned out from the fasciculus gracilis and the second from the anterior cortico-spinal tract. Those sections were chosen since they are known to have different ADD. The two sections were placed perpendicularly one on top of the other and immersed in proton-free susceptibility fluid (FC77). The imaging experiments were performed on a 7T Bruker system and comprised multiple CHARMED scans and traditional DTI. CHARMED acquisitions were acquired at 3 different Δ of 35,70,105ms (similar to AxCaliber framework), with the same δ of 5ms, at 6 bvalues (linearly increment 1000 to 6000s/mm) in 16 non-collinear directions. The DTI scan was performed as following: Δ/δ=10/4.5ms, b-value=1000s/mm in 60 non-collinear directions. All the imaging scans were acquired with similar geometric parameters: matrix=96x96, in-plane resolution of 0.325mm isotropic and slice thickness of 6mm at the axial plane including both spinal cord sections. Analysis: The CHARMED model was extended to analyze simultaneously multiple CHARMED data sets at different diffusion times (Δs). This analysis provided, for each voxel the volume fraction of hindered and restricted diffusion, the fibers orientations (two in each voxel), the hindered and restricted diffusivities and the noise floor. From this data set, a full AxCaliber data set was re-sampled exactly perpendicular to the fitted fiber systems. Finally, AxCaliber model was used to calculate the ADD of each voxel. From the DTI data set, fiber tracking was done with exploreDTI utilizing the spherical harmonics de-convolution procedure. , launching from each spinal cord segment.
The Tripartite Interaction Between Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi, Rice, and Insects

Chapter 1. General Introduction . 1.1 The Model System . 1.2 Research objectives and outline of the thesis . 1.3 References . Chapter 2. Literature Review. 2.1 Rice . 2.2 Biology of target insects of rice in the southern United States . 2.3 The rhizosphere . 2.4 Origins of mycorrhizal symbiosis . 2.5 AM fungi and rice . 2.6 The tripartite interaction between rice, AM fungi and pests . 2.7 References . Chapter 3. Natural Colonization of Rice by Arbuscular M ycorrhizal Fungi in Different Production Areas . 3.
Semantic Façade Segmentation from Airborne Oblique Images

In this paper, oblique airborne images with very high resolution are used to address the problem from aerial views in urban areas. Traditional classification method (i.e., random forests) is compared with state-of-the-art fully convolutional networks (FCNs). Random forests use hand-craft image features including red, green, blue (RGB), scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT), and Texton, and point cloud features consisting of normal vector and planarity extracted from different scales. In contrast, the inputs of FCNs are the RGB bands and the third components of normal vectors. In both cases, three-dimensional (3D) features are projected back into the image space to support the facade interpretation. Fully connected conditional random field (CRF) is finally taken as a post-processing of the FCN to refine the segmentation results. Several tests have been performed and the achieved results show that the models embedding the 3D component outperform the solution using only images. FCNs significantly outperformed random forests, especially for the balcony delineation.
Serie Re5erreh Meriorhhdr Employers' Recruitment Behaviour and Re-employment Probabilities of Unemployed

This paper is focused on the allocation of vacant jobs to job seekers from a demand side perspective by studying the recruitment behaviour of employers. A model is developed to analyze the role of search and selection methods of employers as determinants of the re-employment probabilities of the unemployed. In an empirical application for the Dutch labour market, we have examined the effect of the recruitment behaviour of employers on the chances for unemployed individuals to get a job. This is carried out by testing whether the probability of acquiring a vacant job by an unemployed individual is influenced by the use of different recruitment channels by the employer and the requirements for the applicants imposed by the employer. We find that job requirements for the applicants are the most important determinant of the re-employment probability of the unemployed. In addition, the use of search methods by the employer does also have a significant effect.
Visualization of all-sky polarization images referenced in the instrument, scattering, and solar principal planes

Abstract. Sunlight becomes partially linearly polarized when scattered from atmospheric gas molecules and can be quantified using the linear Stokes parameters S0 , S1 , S2 and the derived degree of linear polarization and angle of polarization (AoP). The angle-dependent Stokes parameters S1 and S2 and the AoP require a reference plane. Commonly used reference planes for polarimetric applications include the instrument, scattering, and solar principal planes, each of which provides unique insights when analyzing sky polarization data. Methods to transform the parameters between each frame of reference are known; however, previous publications have not shown the results of transforming a time series of all-sky polarization images into these different reference planes clearly showing how this alters the image visualization. We review two methods used to rotate all-sky polarization images from the instrument to the scattering plane and the solar principal plane, and for the first time shows all-sky polarization image sequences recorded from sunrise to sunset of Stokes S1 and S2 and AoP for each reference frame.
Comments on "Unconditionally Secure, Universally Composable Privacy Preserving Linear Algebra"

In this paper, we discuss the security of a distributed inner product (DIP) protocol [IEEE Trans. Inf. Forensics Security, 11.1, 59, (2016)]. We show information leakage in this protocol that does not happen in an ideal execution of the DIP functionality. In some scenarios, this information leakage enables one of the parties to completely learn the other party’s input. We will give examples of such scenarios.
An Efficient Memetic Algorithm for the Minimum Load Coloring Problem

Given a graph G with n vertices and l edges, the load distribution of a coloring q: V → {red, blue} is defined as dq = (rq, bq), in which rq is the number of edges with at least one end-vertex colored red and bq is the number of edges with at least one end-vertex colored blue. The minimum load coloring problem (MLCP) is to find a coloring q such that the maximum load, lq = 1/l × max{rq, bq}, is minimized. This problem has been proved to be NP-complete. This paper proposes a memetic algorithm for MLCP based on an improved K-OPT local search and an evolutionary operation. Furthermore, a data splitting operation is executed to expand the data amount of global search, and a disturbance operation is employed to improve the search ability of the algorithm. Experiments are carried out on the benchmark DIMACS to compare the searching results from memetic algorithm and the proposed algorithms. The experimental results show that a greater number of best results for the graphs can be found by the memetic algorithm, which can improve the best known results of MLCP.
Treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome with a Combination of Curcumin, Green Tea and Selenomethionine Has a Positive Effect on Satisfaction with Bowel Habits

Background: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common disorder impairing patient’s quality of life. Currently, there is no effective treatment for this syndrome. Coltect is a dietary supplement containing curcumin, green tea and selenomethionine. Aim: To investigate the effects of Coltect on IBS symptoms. Methods: A randomized, prospective, placebo-controlled, double blinded, crossover study. The study population included patients diagnosed with IBS by Rome criteria. Subjects were randomized to receive either Coltect or placebo for 4 weeks, and then received the opposite treatment for 4 weeks following a washout period of 2 weeks. The placebo was a pill, identical in color and size to the Coltect pill, with no active ingredients. Patients completed IBS health-related quality of life, severity score and IBS symptom questionnaires before and after each treatment period. Results: The study included 22 patients, ages 22 – 77 years. Coltect had a positive effect on patients’ satisfaction with their bowel habits (as measured on a scale from 0—Very satisfied to 100—Very unsatisfied). Average score was 70.4 ± 33.1 before and 61.8 ± 29.3 after Coltect treatment (p = 0.037). Other parameters, including abdominal pain, bloating, and effects of IBS on daily activity, symptoms, IBS-related quality of life and general health quality of life were unchanged. Conclusion: Coltect seems to have a positive effect on satisfaction with bowel habits.
Stability Analysis of Systems With Time-Varying Delay via Improved Lyapunov–Krasovskii Functionals

This paper is concerned with the delay-dependent stability analysis of linear systems with a time-varying delay. Two types of improved Lyapunov–Krasovskii functionals (LKFs) are developed to derive less conservative stability criteria. First, a new delay-product-type LKF, including single integral terms with time-varying delays as coefficients is developed, and two stability criteria with less conservatism due to more delay information included are established for different allowable delay sets. Second, the delay-product-type LKF is further improved by introducing several negative definite quadratic terms based on the idea of matrix-refined-function-based LKF, and two stability criteria with more cross-term information and less conservatism for different allowable delay sets are also obtained. Finally, a numerical example is utilized to verify the effectiveness of the proposed methods.
Traffic Risk Estimation from On-vehicle Video by Region-based Spatio-temporal DNN trained using Comparative Loss

We propose a method to estimate the traffic risk during road navigation based on the region-based spatiotemporal deep neural network (DNN) trained by the comparative loss function. In this method, moving object regions are extracted using the object detector YOLO and their features are clipped out from the middle layer of the detector. Then, these feature sequence is used to estimate the traffic risk by the spatio-temporal DNN followed by the risk estimation network. Experiments were conducted using the KITTI and Dashcam Accident dataset images and we have shown that it is possible to estimate a dangerous traffic situation using the proposed risk estimation network.
Analysing Information System of Academic Services in The University

The purpose of this study was to analyze the information system of academic services at the university. This type of research is the study of literature whose results serve as starting points for developing the information system of academic services at the university. Based on a review of literature, the data indicate that the lack of access to information, waste of time, huge cost, storage, management, decision-making, and tracking still share manually, the lack of information for stakeholders to make decisions, and the lack of information about the University for prospective students, as well as working with the mismatch of competency. Based on these results, the need to develop information systems academic service quality through customer satisfaction, which university students are the main customers. Thus, further research will be developed for academic-based service information systems Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Philistia and the Philistines in the Iron Age I: Interaction, Ethnic Dynamics and Boundary Maintenance

Until recently, the scholarly consensus held that the Philistines, whatever their origins were, assimilated into the local Levantine cultures in the early Iron Age II. Following Stone (1995), however, it is clear today that the while Philistine culture changed and the settlers ceased to use most of their unique, foreign traits in the Iron II, the Philistines still maintained their unique identity, and did not assimilate. In 2011 we drew attention to the fact that the decline in the use of these “unique” traits was not gradual, as one might expect from a slow process of culture change. Instead, the Philistines increased their usage of some of their most distinct traits during the first 150-200 years of their settlement, before abandoning many of their significant traits in the Iron Age II. We explained this “increased” usage of foreign traits (and to a more limited extent also its subsequent “decline”) as part of the Philistines’ interaction with their neighbors. Maeir et al. (2013) have recently attempted to refute our arguments and conclusions. While we are happy that the Philistines are again at the center of scholarly discussion, it is unfortunate that their article suffers from some major drawbacks, in terms of both theory and data. In light of the recent discussion, this article will revisit the processes that followed the Philistine settlement in Canaan, and especially the nature of their interaction with their neighbors.
LITHUANIAN OLYMPIc BASKETBALL PLAYERS’ NUTRITION DURING THE TRAINING MEZZO-cYcLES DESIGNED FOR STRENGTH TRAINING

Research background and hypothesis. Unbalanced nutritional status, incorrect qualitative and quantitative content of nutritional and bioactive substances (nutrition value) for athletes in strength and speed sports can have a negative impact on acid-base homeostasis and physical working performance. Hypothesis – there is a dietary acidbase balance in the Lithuanian Olympic basketball team players’ food rations. Research aim was to assess dietary acid-base balance in Lithuanian high-performance basketball players during the training mezzo-cycles designed for strength training. Research methods. In the general preparation period, Lithuanian Olympic Team basketball players (n = 52), aged 18.0 ± 1.9 years, training 197.9 ± 58.7 min a day, 6 days a week on average, were tested. Body composition analysis of athletes was performed using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) method. Applying the survey method we investigated and assessed the nutritional status of basketball players, possible effect of their dietary intake on potential renal acid load (PRAL) and net endogenous acid production (NEAP). Research results. The dietary PRAL of more than half (67.3%) of subjects was positive (8.5 ± 49.0 mEq/day). Basketball players’ protein intake was positively related to dietary PRAL (r = 0.408, p = 0.003). Protein intake of 20.5% of male basketball players on average was 2.6 ± 0.7 g/kg body weight, and their dietary PRAL was 75.5 ± 22.8 mEq/day, NEAP – 128.5 ± 23.7 mEq/day. Discussion and conclusions. If high-protein diet (protein intake meets 1.8–2.0 g/kg BW) is followed, basketball players’ nutritional habits should be changed. Athletes are recommended to consume significantly more fresh fruits and vegetables and/or enrich the normal diet by sodium bicarbonate and/or beta-alanine dietary supplements.
A Parallel Attitude-Heading Kalman Filter Without State-Augmentation of Model-Based Disturbance Components

This paper proposes an inertial and magnetic sensing-based parallel orientation Kalman filter (KF), which is composed of two separate KFs: one for attitude estimation with an external acceleration model as presented in author’s previous work and the other for heading estimation with a magnetic disturbance model. The novelty of the proposed attitude-heading KF, compared to other model-based KFs, is that the disturbance models are implemented by inserting them into the measurement equations without state-augmentation. In this case, there is no increase in the matrix size of the corresponding KF structure, which is advantageous as the computational cost is approximately halved when compared with the state-augmentation type approaches. The proposed KF has been experimentally verified in magnetically disturbed conditions. The proposed method has advantages over the KF with state-augmentation in the calculation efficiency and ease of use.
Integration of CVD W- and Ta-based Liners for Copper Metallization

Both TaNx and WNxare candidates for copper liner applications. A thermal CVD process for the deposition of WNxliners, as well as both thermal CVD and plasma-assisted CVD processes for the deposition of TaNx, have been developed, all of which are carried out at wafer temperatures under 425°C. The basic material properties, conformality, thermal stability, and integration and diffusion barrier properties of these materials make them appropriate for use in advanced copper-based interconnect applications.
Delegating Disclosure and Control *

We study the joint delegation of operating and disclosure choices in a multiprincipal agent setting. We find that joint delegation alters both the incentives to deviate from profit– maximizing operating choices and disclosure policy adoption choices. Incentive weights on revenues are greater for the firm with greater ex ante cost uncertainty, greater expected market size and greater expected profit margins. Further, relative to no delegation, joint delegation biases the disclosure choice away from disclosing information about the firm’s own costs and toward disclosing information that helps the rival better understand its costs for the firm opting to place greater incentive weight on revenues. The bias is reversed for the firm choosing smaller incentive weights. Thus, our analysis suggests that the market receives more information about the cost structure of firms with smaller expected profit margins, market sizes and ex ante cost uncertainty and less information about the cost structure of firms with larger expected margins, market sizes and ex ante cost uncertainty. ∗ We gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by the Krannert Graduate School of Management and Purdue University.
MPC-Based Optimal Control for Diesel Engine Coupled with Lean NOx Trap System

In this paper, an on-board optimal control problem for diesel engines with lean NOx trap (LNT) is investigated. First, a two-order LNT model based on mass conservation and energy conservation is constructed. Then, the optimal control problem is formulated as a continuous receding horizon problem under dynamical model constraint and descretized into a nonlinear programming problem by using the multiple shooting method. A sequential quadratic programming approach is employed to derive a numerical solution. Finally simulations are conducted under a standard driving cycle and a random driving cycle with comparison to a dynamic programming based control scheme in MATLAB/Simulink platform. Simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.
Anthropometric profile and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D 3 levels in elite soccer players

The objective of the study was to investigate serum vitamin D concentration in a sample of elite soccer players and to analyse the relationship between body composition and anthropometric variables and 25(OH)D 3 status. Research data was collected by measuring 29 Polish Football Premier League players, native to Poland. Anthropometric and biochemical data were collected in December. Mean body height is similar to that of world elite soccer players. Trunk, lower, and upper extremity girths measured indicate a well-developed musculature. Body composition analysis identified a mean fat percentage of 18±3.0%. A high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was observed in the sample. Mean serum 25(OH)D 3 concentration for the group was 18.3±4.4ng/mL. Significant positive correlations between 25(OH)D 3 and anthropometric variables characterising body musculature and skeletal size may show the indirect impact of vitamin D on the development and function of these respective systems. Keywords: Soccer players; Anthropometry; Body composition; Vitamin D
Genome-wide ChIP-seq data with a transcriptome analysis reveals the groups of genes regulated by histone demethylase LSD1 inhibition in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cells

Expression of genes is controlled by histone modification, histone acetylation and methylation, but abnormalities of these modifications have been observed in carcinogenesis and cancer development. The effect of the lysine-specific histone demethylase 1 (LSD1) inhibitor, a demethylating enzyme of histones, is thought to be caused by controlling the expression of genes. The aim of the present study is to elucidate the efficacies of the LSD1 inhibitor on the gene expression of esophageal cancer cell lines using chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-Seq. A comprehensive analysis of gene expression changes in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) cell lines induced by the LSD1 inhibitor NCL1 was clarified via analysis using microarray. In addition, ChIP-seq analysis was conducted using a SimpleChIP plus Enzymatic Chromatin IP kit. NCL1 strongly suppressed the proliferation of T.Tn and TE2 cells, which are ESCC cell lines, and further induced apoptosis. According to the combinatory analysis of ChIP-seq and microarray, 17 genes were upregulated, and 16 genes were downregulated in both cell lines. The comprehensive gene expression study performed in the present study is considered to be useful for analyzing the mechanism of the antitumor effect of the LSD1 inhibitor in patients with ESCC.
Velocity model building from raw shot gathers using machine learning

Summary We present a machine learning setup that can estimate a velocity model from raw seismic shot gathers without the need for an initial velocity model. Our setup is based on a convolutional neural network (CNN) trained on pairs of random generated synthetic velocity models and corresponding forward modelled synthetic shot gathers. The network is trained to predict the correct velocity model for a given input shot gather. We evaluate the performance of the trained network on both synthetic and real seismic data, and observe that the system is able to estimate background velocity trends directly from the raw shot gathers without need for preprocessing or preconditioning. Once trained, the network is very fast to run, and can deliver a velocity model in seconds running on a single GPU. The preciscion and resolution of the estimated velocity models is not on par with state of the art velocity model building techniques such as FWI and/or reflection tomography, but shows that machine learning can robustly extract meaningful velocity information from raw shot gathers, and that there might be potential in using such methods for velocity model building.