Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Binary Feature Descriptor for Omnidirectional Images Processing

An omnidirectional image has a 360° view around a viewpoint and which could be applied in a variety of fields, such as autonomous navigation, surveillance systems, virtual reality and remote monitoring, is presented. Many techniques of digital image processing rely on local descriptors to characterize the scene information around interest points (or keypoints) in the omnidirectional images. Despite the fact that a lot of advancements have been made in the area of keypoint descriptors over the last years, the literature on omnidirectional image processing for the most part still focuses on oat-point descriptors, such as SIFT and SURF, and largely neglects more recent descriptors, such as the BRISK descriptor. In this paper we try to bridge this gap and assess the usefulness of the BRISK descriptor for the task of omnidirectional images processing. This work is a direct comparison of the BRISK and SURF descriptors within a simple verification framework, in order to see the improvement that can be achieved. Our results indicate that the BRISK descriptor is a viable alternative to the SURF descriptor for omnidirectional images processing and due to its binary nature is particularly useful for real-time localization techniques and autonomus navigation which has the visual sensor, including omnidirectional camera.
Micrometer-sized molecular robot changes its shape in response to signal molecules

An amoeba-like molecular robot changes its shape in response to sequence-designed DNA signal molecules. Rapid progress in nanoscale bioengineering has allowed for the design of biomolecular devices that act as sensors, actuators, and even logic circuits. Realization of micrometer-sized robots assembled from these components is one of the ultimate goals of bioinspired robotics. We constructed an amoeba-like molecular robot that can express continuous shape change in response to specific signal molecules. The robot is composed of a body, an actuator, and an actuator-controlling device (clutch). The body is a vesicle made from a lipid bilayer, and the actuator consists of proteins, kinesin, and microtubules. We made the clutch using designed DNA molecules. It transmits the force generated by the motor to the membrane, in response to a signal molecule composed of another sequence-designed DNA with chemical modifications. When the clutch was engaged, the robot exhibited continuous shape change. After the robot was illuminated with light to trigger the release of the signal molecule, the clutch was disengaged, and consequently, the shape-changing behavior was successfully terminated. In addition, the reverse process—that is, initiation of shape change by input of a signal—was also demonstrated. These results show that the components of the robot were consistently integrated into a functional system. We expect that this study can provide a platform to build increasingly complex and functional molecular systems with controllable motility.
Explorer Patterns and associates of cognitive function , psychosocial wellbeing and health in the Lothian Birth Cohort

Background: Cognitive function, psychosocial wellbeing and health are important domains of function. Consistencies and inconsistencies in patterns of wellbeing across these domains may be informative about wellbeing in old age and the ways it is manifested amongst individuals. In this study we investigated whether there were groups of individuals with different profiles of scores across these domains. We also aimed to identify characteristics of any evident groups by comparing them on variables that were not used in identifying the groups. Methods: The sample was the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936, which included 1091 participants born in 1936. They are a community-dwelling, narrow-age-range sample of 70-year-olds. Most had taken part in the Scottish Mental Survey 1947 at an average age of 11, making available a measure of childhood intelligence. We used latent class analysis (LCA) to explore possible profiles using 9 variables indicating cognitive functioning, psychosocial wellbeing and health status. Demographic, personality, and lifestyle variables – none of which were used in the LCA – were used to characterize the resulting profile groups. Results: We accepted a 3-group solution, which we labeled High Wellbeing (65.3%), Low Cognition (20.3%), and Low Bio-Psychosocial (14.5%). Notably, the High Wellbeing group had significantly higher childhood IQ, lower Neuroticism scores, and a lower percentage of current smokers than the other 2 groups. Conclusion: The majority of individuals were functioning generally well; however, there was evidence of the presence of groups with different profiles, which may be explained in part in terms of cognitive ability differences. Results suggested that higher life-long intelligence, personality traits associated with less mental distress, and basic health practices such as avoiding smoking are important associates of wellbeing in old age.
Progress in high resolution atomic force microscopy in biology

The atomic force microscope (AFM) was invented by Binnig, Quate and Gerber less than 10 years ago (Binnig et al. 1986). In their first prototype, a piece of goldfoil was used as the cantilever, with a crushed diamond tip mounted at the end. On the back of the cantilever, a tunnelling junction was used to monitor the deflection of the cantilever (the gold-foil) when the specimen was scanned with the tip in contact with the surface. Thus, the surface topography of the specimen was obtained with a resolution critically dependent on the sharpness of the tip provided the deformation of the specimen was not serious. Even with such a crude set-up, they managed to obtain a lateral resolution of ˜ 30 Å and a vertical resolution of better than 1 Å on an amorphous A12O3 surface. The operating principle of such an instrument is deceptively simple. However, such an arrangement was inconvenient for routine operations and unsuitable for imaging hydrated specimens, because the tunnelling junction is easily contaminated in air and works poorly in aqueous solutions (Alexander et al. 1989). As a result, the application of this type of AFM to biological samples was rare (Engel, 1991).
Liability Rules and Hazardous Materials Transportation

This paper studies the bargaining between a shipper and potential carriers during the selection of a specific carrier and the resulting size of a transfer payment, when carriers' accident probabilities are proprietary information (i.e., the probability of accident and the safety investment of a particular carrier are not available to the shipper nor to other carriers). Optimal auction mechanism designs are used to analyze the bargaining process. When there is no likelihood of carrier bankruptcy, the shipper benefits more from joint liability with the carrier than under a rule of strict liability of the carrier. Carriers, on the other hand, free from the potential of bankruptcy, stand to benefit more from strict liability. Under conditions where carrier bankruptcy could result from an accident, the shipper benefits more from strict liability than joint liability, and the reverse is true for carriers. A liability rule which is socially desirable depends upon the safety investments by carriers, carrier asset levels and the level of (common) knowledge of the accident probability of individual carriers.
Disparity in melanoma: a trend analysis of melanoma incidence and stage at diagnosis among whites, Hispanics, and blacks in Florida.

OBJECTIVE To examine and compare the temporal trends in melanoma incidence and stage at diagnosis among whites, Hispanics, and blacks in Florida from 1990 to 2004. DESIGN Cross-sectional and retrospective analysis. SETTING Florida Cancer Data System. PATIENTS Melanoma cases with known stage and race/ethnicity reported from 1990 to 2004. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Age-adjusted melanoma incidence and stage at diagnosis. RESULTS Of 41 072 cases of melanoma, 39 670 cases were reported for white non-Hispanics (WNHs), 1148 for white Hispanics (WHs), and 254 for blacks. Melanoma incidence rates increased by 3.0% per year among WNH men (P < .001), 3.6% among WNH women (P < .001), 3.4% among WH women (P = .01), and 0.9% among WH men (P = .52), while remaining relatively stable among black men and women. Both WHs and blacks had significantly more advanced melanoma at presentation: 18% of WH and 26% of black patients had either regional or distant-stage melanoma at diagnosis compared with 12% of WNH patients. The proportion of distant-stage melanoma diagnosed among WHs and blacks changed little from 1990 to 2004, compared with a steady decrease in the percentage of melanoma cases diagnosed at distant stage among WNHs (P < .001). Such differences in the time trends of the proportion of distant-stage melanoma remained after excluding in situ cases. CONCLUSIONS The rising melanoma incidence among WNHs and WHs emphasizes the need for primary prevention. The persistence of disparity in melanoma stage at diagnosis among WHs, blacks, and WNHs warrants closer examination of secondary prevention efforts in minority groups.
Profit-Maximizing Virtual Machine Provisioning Based on Workload Prediction in Computing Cloud

Cloud providers now face the problem of estimating the amount of computing resources required to satisfy a future workload. In this paper, a virtual machine provisioning (VMP) mechanism is designed to adapt workload fluctuation. The arrival rate of forthcoming jobs is predicted for acquiring the proper service rate by adopting an exponential smoothing (ES) method. The proper service rate is estimated to guarantee the service level agreement (SLA) constraints by using a diffusion approximation statistical model. The VMP problem is formulated as a facility location problem. Furthermore, it is characterized as the maximization of submodular function subject to the matroid constraints. A greedy-based VMP algorithm is designed to obtain the optimal virtual machine provision pattern. Simulation results illustrate that the proposed mechanism could increase the average profit efficiently without incurring significant quality of service (QoS) violations.
Informational commons

This paper examines the theoretical and practical development of informational commons in the digitised and interconnected environment. This is done by looking at the theory behind intellectual property and licenses in their role of creating and maintaining the commons. This paper will also present the practical work in the form of describing a large-scale development project concerning the localisation of the creative commons licenses to the Swedish jurisdiction. The goal of this work is to provide practical and theoretical foundations in the study of the role of informational commons in the knowledge society.
Characterization of spectral FRET imaging microscopy for monitoring nuclear protein interactions

The spectral processed Förster resonance energy transfer (psFRET) imaging method provides an effective and fast method for measuring protein–protein interactions in living specimens. The commercially available linear unmixing algorithms efficiently remove the contribution of donor spectral bleedthrough to the FRET signal. However, the acceptor contribution to spectral bleedthrough in the FRET image cannot be similarly removed, since the acceptor spectrum is identical to the FRET spectrum. Here, we describe the development of a computer algorithm that measures and removes the contaminating ASBT signal in the sFRET image. The new method is characterized in living cells that expressed FRET standards in which the donor and acceptor fluorescent proteins are tethered by amino acid linkers of specific lengths. The method is then used to detect the homo‐dimerization of a transcription factor in the nucleus of living cells, and then to measure the interactions of that protein with a second transcription factor.
Short-term load forecasting using mixed lazy learning method

A novel short-term load forecasting method based on the lazy learning (LL) algorithm is proposed. The LL algorithm's input data are electrical load information, daily electricity consumption patterns, and temperatures in a specified region. In order to verify the ability of the proposed method, a load forecasting problem, using the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland Interconnection electrical load data, is carried out. Three LL models are proposed: constant, linear, and mixed models. First, the performances of the 3 developed models are compared using the root mean square error technique. The best technique is then selected to compete with the state-of-the-art neural network (NN) load forecasting models. A comparison is made between the performances of the proposed mixed-model LL as the superior LL model and the radial basis function and multilayer perceptron NN models. The results reveal significant improvements in the precision and efficiency of the proposed forecasting model when compared with the NN techniques.
ISSUES IN HUMANITARIAN AID SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

Humanitarian supply chains involve a very high degree of uncertainty in terms of timing, magnitude, location and scope. Commercial supply chain management concepts have shown good potential to address some of these issues. However, there is minimal knowledge available in humanitarian logistics to address these issues. The present paper surveys the relevant literature, outlines the main features of humanitarian logistics operations and compares and contrasts them with the commercial supply chains. The paper also explores ways in which the public sector operations research can help the humanitarian relief operations.
Evidence that stress to the epidermal barrier influenced the development of pigmentation in humans

It is widely assumed that the epidermis of early hominids lacked pigmentation, as does the skin of their primate ancestors (Jablonski and Chaplin, 2000; Westerhof, 2007). Several theories have been advanced to explain the subsequent latitude-dependent development and divergence of human pigmentation, including still widely held hypotheses that pigmentation evolved to protect against either genotoxic mutations that favor development of skin cancer (Goding, 2007; Robins, 1991), or against UV-induced nutrient photolysis (Jablonski, 1999; Jablonski and Chaplin, 2000). Although tyrosinase-positive, melanin-producing cells are widely distributed in exposed surfaces from fungi to primates (Epel et al., 1999), melanocytes are also present in some extracutaneous tissues with no exposure to the external environment. This wide distribution, plurifunctionality, and conservation throughout vertebrate evolution implies roles for melanin that extend beyond a need for defense against genotoxic or photolytic doses of ultraviolet light (UV) exposure (Blois, 1968; Deol, 1975; Mackintosh, 2001).
Submaximal exercise responses in tetraplegic, paraplegic and non spinal cord injured elite wheelchair athletes

It remains unclear whether similar exercise prescription, based on physiological markers, can be applied to subgroups of wheelchair athletes with different disabilities. Therefore, 25 wheelchair athletes, divided into three subgroups [eight tetraplegic (TETRA), nine paraplegic (PARA) and eight non spinal cord injured (NON‐SCI)], performed an exercise test consisting of incremental submaximal stages, covering a range from 40% to 80% peak oxygen uptake (%V̇O2peak). Oxygen uptake (V̇O2), heart rate (HR), blood lactate concentration (BLa) and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were obtained for each stage. Expressed as a function of BLa, no differences were found between subgroups with respect to %V̇O2peak (group mean ± SD: 1.0 mmol/L: 53.9 ± 9.9%; 2.0 mmol/L: 70.7 ± 7.5%; 3.0 mmol/L: 78.5 ± 7.7%) and RPE [group mean (lower and upper quartile): 1.0 mmol/L: 10.8 (9.9, 12.2); 2.0 mmol/L: 13.6 (12.7, 14.3); 3.0 mmol/L: 14.9 (13.7, 16.5)]. Furthermore, no differences were found in the coefficient of determination (R2) of the HR–V̇O2 relationship in any of the subgroups (TETRA: 0.90 ± 0.12; PARA: 0.97 ± 0.02; NON‐SCI: 0.96 ± 0.04). These results suggest that exercise prescription using measurements of V̇O2, BLa or RPE can be based on the same recommendations in all the subgroups studied. This finding has added value for TETRA athletes, as it offers alternatives to HR monitoring.
A Universal Expression Tag for Structural and Functional Studies of Proteins

Modified ubiquitin sequences, each completed with a His tag and a TEV cleavage site, were designed to enhance the expression of protein/peptide targets. With this new system we have been able to characterize several peptide-protein interactions by ITC and by NMR and CD spectroscopic methods, including the interactions of LIR domains with autophagy modifiers.
A weighted fuzzy inference method

Ordered weighted averaging operator is introduced to the fuzzy inference for giving suitable weights to the weighted fuzzy production rules. This paper introduces a given weights method of ordered weighted averaging operator based on combinatorial number, according to which we propose an inference algorithm for the weighted fuzzy production rules of weighted fuzzy set. In the process of using this algorithm, a calculation method of weighted fuzzy matching function value and comprehensive similarity measure based on the operator are introduced for calculating the matching degree of the input facts and antecedent portion of the rules reasonability. Example analysis illustrates the feasibility and effectiveness of the given weighted fuzzy inference algorithm.
Normocalcemic, subclinical, asymptomatic primary hyperparathyroidism in patients with goiter or papillary thyroid cancer--preliminary report. Normocalcemic primary hyperparathyroidism and thyroid pathology.

UNLABELLED The aim of the prospective study was the evaluation of primary, subclinical, normocalcemic hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) incidence in patients, operated on because of non-toxic (NTG), toxic (TG) goiter and papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). MATERIAL AND METHODS The study was performed in the group of 196 patients operated on NTG (115 patients), TG (43 patients) and PTC (38 patients). All patients had never been operated because of goiter. No patient had clinical symptoms of PHPT. Calcium concentration (Ca), phosphorus concentration (P) and alkaline phosphatase activity (ALP) in blood serum were measured in all patients a day before operation. When those parameters were out of range, parathormone concentration (PTH) in blood serum was measured. In the case of elevated PTH concentration PHPT was diagnosed. Furthermore, in order to exclude renal failure and insufficiency tests for creatinine and urea concentrations in blood serum and urinalysis were performed. RESULTS There was no case of increased Ca concentration among 158 patients with benign goiter. The values of at least one measured parameters (P or ALP) were abnormal in 47 out of 158 patients with benign goiter (29.7%). Increased PTH concentration (mean 101.5 pg/ml) was in 16 of 47 patients (10.1% of 158 patients). Normocalcemic PHPT was diagnosed in 12 (10.4%) NTG patients and 4 (9.3%) TG patients. In patients with PTC hypercalcemia was not affirmed. In 7 (18.42%) cases of 38 PTC patients P concentration and ALP activity were abnormal. Increased PTH concentration (84.85 pg/ml) was found in one female with PTC with normal values of P and ALP. Incidence of PHPT was observed in 2.63% of PTC patients. CONCLUSIONS 1. There was no significant difference of PHPT incidence between various type of goiter. 2. In our study coexistence of PTC and normocalcemic, asymptomatic PHPT is rare.
Life after critical illness: an overview.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To illustrate the potential physical and psychological problems faced by patients after an episode of critical illness, highlight some of the interventions that have been tested and identify areas for future research. BACKGROUND Recovery from critical illness is an international problem and as an issue is likely to increase. For some, recovery from critical illness is prolonged, subject to physical and psychological problems that may negatively impact upon health-related quality of life. METHODS The literature accessed for this review includes the work of a number of key researchers in the field of critical care research. These were identified from a number of sources include (1) personal knowledge of the research field accumulated over the last decade and (2) using the search engine 'The Knowledge Network Scotland'. RESULTS Fatigue and weakness are significant problems for critical care survivors and are common in patients who have been in ICU for more than one week. Psychological problems include anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, delirium and cognitive impairment. Prevalence of these problems is difficult to establish for a number of methodological reasons that include the use of self-report questionnaires, the number of different questionnaires used and the variation in administration and timing. Certain subgroups of ICU survivors especially those at the more severe end of the illness severity spectrum are more at risk and this has been demonstrated for both physical and psychological problems. Findings from international studies of a range of potential interventions are presented. However, establishing effectiveness for most of these still has to be empirically demonstrated. CONCLUSION What seems clear is the need for a co-ordinated, multidisciplinary, designated recovery and rehabilitation pathway that begins as soon as the patient is admitted into an intensive care unit.
Training sequence optimization for estimating the channel in the presence of colored interference for MIMO-OFDM systems

In this paper, the problem of channel estimation for multi-input multi-output (MIMO) orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is addressed. Colored interference at the receiver of the MIMO-OFDM is assumed. The linear minimum mean square error (LMMSE) estimator of the channel is derived in the presence of colored interference. The optimal training signal is also designed which minimizes the mean square error (MSE) of the channel estimate under the total transmit power constraint.
A 1-YearFollows Up Of Pseudo-Recession In Erupting Permanent Mandibular Incisors : A Case Report

Localized gingival pseudo-recession occasionallypresents a problem in children and there is some confusion regarding the etiology and pathogenesis of such defects. A case of a 8 year-old boy with gingival pseudo-recession at a mandibular permanent central incisor was described.The situation was followed over a 1-year period with no treatment other than prophylaxis and oral hygiene instruction. The final outcome was a stability of marginalperiodontal at theteeth andspontaneous improvementofperiodontal environment.
Depth Scaling of Multiview Images for Automultiscopic 3D Monitors

In this paper, we present a depth scaling method for multiview images that could provide an effective control of stereoscopic depth range. Unlike the previous works that change a camera configuration, our proposed method utilizes depth data in order to carry out the scaling of a depth range requested by users. In particular, our method can deal with multiview images captured by multiple cameras, and can be expanded from stereoscopic to multiview images. Our experimental results tested on automultiscopic 3D displays show that the perceived depth is appropriately scaled according to a user's preferred depth.