Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adipose Tissue Remodeling during Cancer Cachexia

Cancer-induced cachexia (CC), characterized by systemic inflammation, body weight loss, adipose tissue (AT) remodeling, and muscle wasting, is a malignant metabolic syndrome with an undefined etiology. There is a consensus that multiple factors contribute to cancer-induced AT remodeling, and longitudinal studies show that patients lose AT before they start losing muscle mass. In CC, AT remodeling occurs predominantly through adipocyte atrophy, impairment of fatty acid turnover, inflammation, rearrangement of extracellular matrix (ECM), and browning of AT. More recently, some studies have shown that AT is affected early in the course of cachexia. Additionally, studies using experimental models have consistently indicated that the alterations in adipocyte metabolism begin quite early, followed by the downregulation of adipogenic and thermogenic genes. These sets of changes, in addition to metabolites derived from this process, maybe the initial (sterile) trigger of the sequence of events that result in the remodeling and dysfunction of AT in cachexia. Therefore, the present chapter aims to describe state of the art related to the subject of interest by analyzing the primary studies that have addressed the possible interface between inflammation and morphofunctional alterations of AT, in addition to the possible repercussions of this process during the development of CC.
On the Possibility of Achieving Near-Normal Swing Phase of Walking with Passive Single-Axis and Polycentric Knees: A Simulation Approach

ABSTRACT Introduction A new passive polycentric knee called IITM polycentric knee (IPK), where IITM stands for the authors' institution, namely, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, was designed to provide better functionality at a reduced cost. The design of the knee was based on stance phase stability criteria and toe clearance during the swing phase for users in developing countries to handle uneven terrain. The present study features a simulation-based dynamic analysis of a passive single-axis knee (SAK) and IPK to understand the swing phase behavior of the IPK with respect to SAK. This study aims at understanding the advantages and disadvantages of the IPK against a passive SAK to improve its design criteria and enable further development to provide better functionality to the existing passive SAK users. Methods Lower-limb models of a normal leg and prosthetic legs with SAK and IPK were created, their swing phases were simulated, and gait parameters were analyzed. The passive knees in the present study have only frictional damping and no active knee moments, implying the requirement of compensatory strategies for forward progression of the swinging leg. The required frictional damping at the knee joint to obtain near-normal knee motion and the compensations required while using the SAK and IPK were obtained by simulation. The lower-limb dynamics obtained from the simulations was analyzed to understand the performance of the SAK and IPK during swing. Results This study shows that the IPK is superior to an SAK in terms of achieving knee extension in preparation for stance, even without an extension assist and with lower hip effort. The peak hip power during swing with the IPK was 58.7% less than with the SAK. A negative heel clearance was found in terminal swing with the IPK, which demands a compensatory strategy for foot clearance during the swing and shows the necessity for inclusion of a heel clearance parameter in the design of polycentric knees. Conclusions The present work focuses on the swing behavior comparison of passive single-axis and polycentric knees. The study provides insight into the compensatory strategies required to achieve successful forward progression of the swinging leg with both types of knees. The analysis shows the potential for a well-designed passive polycentric knee to be a cost-effective alternative to achieve near-normal swing during walking.
Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) Species Complex from Cotton Cultivars: A Comparative Study of Population Density, Morphology, and Molecular Variations

ABSTRACT Morphological and molecular variations of Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) on cotton cultivars having varying trichome density were evaluated at New Delhi, India. The study evaluates the role of host plant nature on puparia and putative species groups of the B. tabaci species complex. More specifically, the study was done to explore the host plant characters and their effect on the population density, morphology of the puparia, and to identify the putative species groups of the B. tabaci species complex occurring on cotton. Population density was observed to be higher in cultivars with less trichome density. Studies on the puparia showed statistically significant variations on different cotton cultivars (P < 0.01), which was supported by scattergraphs derived from principal components and canonical discriminant analysis. Statistical analysis revealed the influence of trichome density on population density of B. tabaci. Sequence analyses using mitochondrial cyctochrome oxidase I confirmed the presence of three putative species Asia 1, Asia II 1, and Asia II 7 on the cultivars of cotton. The current study revealed that genetic variation is not influenced the variations in the trichome density and morphological variation.
Real-time person detection using an embedded system for UAV Search and Rescue operations

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are becoming more of a viable solution for tasks that pose difficulties to emergency services during Search and Rescue (SAR) operations. The ability to quickly identify and locate a lost or injured victim in varying environments minimizes the time needed to accomplish a rescue. The aim of this paper is to develop a real-time victim detection algorithm to address this problem. More specifically, we apply colour segmentation and graph theory techniques in order to locate a static target in an image that differs in colour to its surroundings. The algorithm is then implemented using OpenCV, a fast open-source computer vision library, on a single-board computer (SBC) equipped with a high performance processor. We present empirical results demonstrating the performance of the algorithm for an outdoor environment using an embedded platform for tasks drawn from the SAR domain. Additionally, we demonstrate the number of false positives of the proposed algorithm and compare the computational speed of the algorithm for varying sizes of images.
DENSITY DEPENDENCE AND NUMEROSITY IN FRIGHT STIMULATED AGGREGATION BEHAVIOUR OF SHOALING FISH

Single three-spined sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus, were frightened with a light stimulus simulating an aerial predator while facing a choice between two conspecific display shoals of different membership sizes. We observed which shoal the test fish approached. Initially, both display shoals were equidistant from the test fish. The smaller shoal was then moved gradually closer whereas the larger shoal stayed at a constant distance. This experiment modelled an early stage of the aggregation behaviour of sticklebacks in response to perceived imminent predation risk. When the two display shoals were equidistant from the test fish, we found that the test animal preferred approaching the larger display shoal, and the magnitude of this preference increased with increasing display shoal size difference. This demonstrates that the aggregation behaviour of frightened sticklebacks is density dependent. Further, we found that sticklebacks made a trade-off between the distance to a display shoal and its membership size. In particular, for a given ratio of display shoal sizes, there was a critical distance at which half of all tested animals turned to one and the other half to the other display shoal. This demonstrates that the observed aggregation behaviour is also distance dependent. We introduce several elementary models which formalize individual predation risk and explore how distance and display shoal size contribute to total risk. In particular, we distinguish between total risk as a product or as a sum of the risk components associated with swimming distance and display shoal size, respectively. All models follow the `partial preferences' paradigm of McNamara & Houston (Anim. Behav. 35, 1084-1099 (1987)). We compare how closely these models match the observed data and how well they predict the empirical critical distances. We find a consistent discrepancy between theory and data, which we resolve by invoking a fundamental perceptual limit (numerosity) for shoal size discrimination.
Tool to monitor students’ contribution in a wiki-based group work assignment

Wiki is an online platform that support collaborative authoring tool. It comes with lots of feature to enable students and instructor working together to develop a written manuscript. However, when wiki used as a media for learning environment it needs additional tool to monitor and report students’ contribution. This paper reports on the development of a tool to monitor students’ contribution in a wiki-based group work assignment. This is a further work from previous project of developing assessment framework for an online group task. These works include designing database, designing interface and implementing algorithm to monitor and create report of students’ work. Data used in this study was taken from a basic computer and programming unit in the Bachelor Electrical Engineering Petra Christian University. Data has been collected from a Wiki log file. The results show that this monitoring tool helps students and instructor to maintain the progress of individuals’ efforts of the cohort. Furthermore, it gives better picture on how individuals performs in an online learning environment.
Sampling of surfaces and functions in high dimensional spaces

We introduce a sampling theoretic framework for the recovery of smooth surfaces and functions living on smooth surfaces from few samples. The proposed approach can be thought of as a nonlinear generalization of union of subspace models widely used in signal processing. This scheme relies on an exponential lifting of the original data points to feature space, where the features live on union of subspaces. The low-rank property of the features are used to recover the surfaces as well as to determine the number of measurements needed to recover the surface. The low-rank property of the features also provides an efficient approach which resembles a neural network for the local representation of multidimensional functions on the surface; the significantly reduced number of parameters make the computational structure attractive for learning inference from limited labeled training data.
Habit2vec: Trajectory Semantic Embedding for Living Pattern Recognition in Population

Recognizing representative living patterns in population is extremely valuable for urban planning and decision making. Thanks to the growing popularity of location-based applications and check-ins on social networking sites, Point of Interest (POI) of a location is quite often available in the trajectory data, which expresses user living semantics. However, adopting trajectory semantics for living pattern recognition is an open and challenging research problem due to three major technical challenges: effective feature representation, suitable granularity selection for habit unit, and reliable habit distance measurement. In this paper, we propose a representation learning based system named habit2vec to represent user trajectory semantics in vector space, which preserves the original user living habit information. We evaluated our proposed system on a large-scale real-world dataset provided by a popular social network operator including 123,803 users for 1.5 months in Beijing. The results justify the representation ability of our system in preserving user habit pattern, and demonstrate the effectiveness of clustering users with similar living patterns.
Efficient Log Likelihood Ratio Estimation for Polar Codes

In the fifirst study of this thesis we aim at improving the error rate performance of polar codes by applying the well known normalized minimum-sum decoding algorithm where the messages are scaled so as to enhance the reliability of the propagated messages and to increase the decoding accuracy. The optimal parameter for the scaling factor can only be selected by simulation prior to implementation via density evolution; where the threshold values are calculated for various scaling factors and the scaling factor showing the highest threshold in noise level is determined as the optimal scaling factor. We then study the problem of log likelihood ratio correction in uncorrelated fading channels when the fading gain is not known at the receiver. In order to perform LLR scaling that is adaptive to various transmission conditions, an efficient mutual information maximization based scaling factor searching algorithm is developed. Following that, a non-uniform quantizer based on the condition of maximum information rate achieved over uncorrelated Rayleigh fading channels and when successive cancellation decoding algorithm of polar codes is applied. In the next study, we present a fifirst-order linear LLR approximation with low complexity for calculating soft metrics of polar coded quadrature amplitude modulation system in additive white Gaussian noise and Rayleigh fading channels under single/multiple transmit and receive antennas. To minimize the complexity of the max-log-MAP algorithm, LLRs can be simplifified by changing the mathematical minimum functions with simple linear functions. This is achieved by averaging the LLR values in different regions in order to get a single simplifified expression. Lastly, we examine the use of the SC polar coded QAM constellation to approach the capacity of wireless Rayleigh fading channels over multiple transmit and receive antennas when ideal channel state information is available at both receiver and transmitter. By using Hermite polynomials and under an even-moment constraint, the results show that the information rate is achieved with unique and optimal input distribution. The computational complexity can be reduced by factorizing the optimal distribution into the product of symmetrical distributions.
Tackling the Dilemma of the Science-Policy Interface in Environmental Policy Analysis

Scientifically derived environmental indicators are central to environmental decision analysis. This article examines the interface between science (environmental indicators) and policy, and the dilemma of their integration. In the past, science has been shown to dominate many policy debates, usually with unfavorable results. The issue, therefore, is not whether science can determine policy but how science can be part of a more holistic analysis that incorporates other critical perspectives. This article discusses the importance of considering alternative views (as represented by different scientific indicators) within the policy debate. Six example ozone indicators, constructed from the same raw data, are used to illustrate this point. Two represent newly developed indicators that respond to present-day policy questions at theU.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The article concludes with a brief discussion of how such indicators can be used to better define a policy question, inform the policy debate, and evaluate policy alternatives.
Analysis of car sharing data and service availability prediction using data mining techniques

The topic of this thesis is the analysis of the car sharing service, in particular of the analysis of the availability of this kind of service in terms of space (i.e, different areas of a city) and time (i.e., different moment of time, days of the week, slots of time and so on). In order to do so I exploited several regression algorithms, that gave as their outputs the prediction of the number of cars available in a given area in a given moment of time. The analysis of the prediction error of these algorithms allowed to determine which are the situations, from both space and time point of view, in which the service is most used. Such analysis allowed also to determine which are the techniques that give best performances when predicting this kind of data.
Plant density affects the reliability of using F1 and F2 yield to predict F3 yield in barley

Prediction of F3 population yield on the basis of the parental lines, the F1, and the F2 generation yield at low and high plant density was studied in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). Six F1 crosses together with the 7 parental cultivars were evaluated under high plant density with adjacent check plots and under low plant density in a honeycomb design. In the following year, the 6 F2 populations together with the 7 parental lines were also evaluated at high plant density with adjacent check plots. In addition, the 6 F2s together with a check (cv. Athinaida) were evaluated at low plant density in a honeycomb design. During the third year, the 6 unselected F3 populations together with cv. Athinaida were evaluated under commercial cropping conditions in a randomised complete block design with 4 replications at 2 locations. It was found that yield performance of the F3 population could not be predicted by the mid-parental value (MPV). Similarly, the F3 population yield was not effectively predicted from the yield of the F1 ,F 2 ,o r F 1 + F2 generations when they were evaluated under high plant density. In contrast, the F3 population yield was predicted effectively from the yield of the F1 ,F 2 ,o r F 1 + F2 generations when they were evaluated at low plant density. The best results were obtained when the mean yield of the F1 and F2 generations was taken into consideration. It was concluded that low plant density increases the reliability of using F1 and F2 yield per plant in predicting the yield of the F3 populations in barley under crop environment.
Diagnostic evaluation of triple test in detection of breast lesions

Background: Detection of malignant lesion leads to early initiation of definitive treatment or its exclusion saves the patient from unnecessary medication and psychological trauma. It is difficult to establish the nature of the lesion merely on the clinical examination. So “triple” test is suggested, which is a mixture of clinical examination, mammography and FNAC.Methods: The results of clinical examination, mammography and FNAC were compared with those of histopathological examination. The concordant results of the “triple test” were compared with those of the histopathological examination. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were calculated for each of these tests and for “triple test”. Results: The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of clinical examination in this study were 74.36%, 88.70%, 69.05% and 91.07%. The same parameters of mammography were 92.31%, 93.91%, 83.72% and 97.30%. For FNAC, the same values were 92.31%, 93.04%, 81.82% and 97.27%. The triple test was concordant in 115 lesions, while results of 39 lesions were discordant in triple test. Out of 115 concordant results, 27 results were malignant on all the three tests while 88 results were benign on all the three tests. All the concordant results of triple test were similar to the results of histopathology examination.Conclusions: The triple test can diagnose malignant breast lesion with 100 % accuracy, at least in concordant results.
“I’ll See You on IM, Text, or Call You”: A Social Network Approach of Adolescents’ Use of Communication Media

This study explores some possibilities of social network analysis for studying adolescents’ communication patterns. A full network analysis was conducted on third-grade high school students (15 year olds, 137 students) in Belgium. The results pointed out that face-to-face communication was still the most prominent way for information to flow through the network. Interactions through communication media (e-mail, instant messaging, text messaging, mobile phone, and landline phone), however, supplemented this flow of information in a substantive way. Communication media use patterns were characterized by multiplexity and could be placed on a unidimensional scale indicating a media hierarchy. Close friends (strong ties) used all communication media at their disposal to connect with each other; students who were just friends (weak ties) preferred face-to-face communication and social network sites. In the discussion, some other possibilities of social network analysis for studying adolescents’ communication media are discussed.
AOI IN AN 01005 WORLD

Since its infancy the SMT industry has been driving toward the use of smaller and smaller components. Each resulting reduction in size leads to new challenges. The latest development in this saga of miniaturization is, of course, the 01005 package. Progressively smaller and more portable electric devices have now pushed these components from the test lab into active mass production. With 01005 packages, every stage of surface mount assembly is faced with obstacles: from board design to component placement to paste reflow. All of these processes can introduce specific types of defects which are considered virtually impossible to rework due to the small size of the device. AOI has become an essential tool to ensure a superior yield in the assembly of 01005s. This paper discusses the unique hurdles associated with each of the various processes. It also introduces new tools which are available now to overcome those hurdles and assist in the successful manufacture of devices using these components. These tools address the potential problems from multiple points in the production line: the paste print, component placement, and inspection review processes. Details will be presented about developments that provide recognition of tilted components via the selective implementation of 3D technology, more precise determination of component position by utilizing superresolution algorithms, and that give quality control personnel the means to better assess the attributes of the resulting product with higher quality reference images.
Book Reviews : Organisational Stress: Studies in Role Conflict and Ambiguity

SINCE 1958 one of the research programmes of the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, has been the study of the impact of the organisation on the individual, and this book represents a comprehensive theoretical, methodological, and empirical treatment of the nature, causes, and results of two kinds of organisational stress, role conflict and role ambiguity. It describes two studies, one an intensive research into the role conflicts and ambiguities of 53 officers ranging from foreman to divisional manager, in six industrial firms in the oil, automobile, electronics and machine parts industries, and the other a national survey of a multi-stage probability sample of 725 adult employed persons. The studies were complementary, the intensive study having as its major variables the individual’s location in the organisation, the pressures exerted on him by his role senders, and the emotional tensions he experiences in connection with his work, while the national study investigated the relationship between the job-related tensions experienced by the individual and the attributes of the job and the organisation.