Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Overview of the Field of Inverse Kinematics

Animations, including those of human characters, are often created using skeletons. Calculating how a speciﬁc bone is positioned and oriented in space when the rotations of all bones relative to their parents are known is easy, but moving a bone to a certain position by rotating its parents is cumbersome. Inverse kinematics solves this by automatically calculating the required bone transformations to achieve a speciﬁc position for a speciﬁc bone. This literature study looks at several approaches to solving the inverse kinematics problem and looks at ways to handle situations where constraints cannot be achieved, or an inﬁnite number of solutions exists.
Remote femtosecond laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) in a standoff detection regime

The need for robust, versatile, and rapid analysis standoff detection systems has emerged in response to the increasing threat to homeland security. Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) has emerged as a novel technique that not only resolves issues of versatility, and rapid analysis, but also allows detection in settings not currently possible with existing methods. Several studies have shown that femtosecond lasers may have advantages over nanosecond lasers for LIBS analysis in terms of SNR. Furthermore, since femtosecond pulses can travel through the atmosphere as a self-propagating transient waveguide, they may have advantages over conventional stand-off LIBS approaches1. Utilizing single and multiple femtosecond pulse laser regimes, we investigate the potential of femtosecond LIBS as a standoff detection technology. We examine the character of UV and visible LIBS from various targets of defense and homeland security interest created by channeled femtosecond laser beams over distances of 30m or more.
Video Compressive Sensing for Spatial Multiplexing Cameras Using Motion-Flow Models

Spatial multiplexing cameras (SMCs) acquire a (typically static) scene through a series of coded projections using a spatial light modulator (e.g., a digital micromirror device) and a few optical sensors. This approach finds use in imaging applications where full-frame sensors are either too expensive (e.g., for short-wave infrared wavelengths) or unavailable. Existing SMC systems reconstruct static scenes using techniques from compressive sensing (CS). For videos, however, existing acquisition and recovery methods deliver poor quality. In this paper, we propose the CS multiscale video (CS-MUVI) sensing and recovery framework for high-quality video acquisition and recovery using SMCs. Our framework features novel sensing matrices that enable the efficient computation of a low-resolution video preview, while enabling high-resolution video recovery using convex optimization. To further improve the quality of the reconstructed videos, we extract optical-flow estimates from the low-resolution previews and imp.
Metformin as a cellular protector; a synoptic view of modern evidences

Due to limited knowledge and chemical class effect assimilation the biguanide metformin has long been considered as a useful but risky treatment for type 2 diabetes treatment. The worldwide long-term experience of clinical use of this compound and the growing knowledge about its mechanisms of action have, however, reversed this reputation to the point that nowadays it is not only considered as relatively harmless but even increasingly as a cellular protector. The present mini-review simply aims at giving a brief overview of the evidences accumulated overt recent periods and to provide the reader with information as to mechanistic hypotheses, knowing that there remains a lot to be done to better understand the pleiotropic behavior of this drug and its possible future new therapeutic applications. Data are shown at a glance for the kidney but also for other various organs and cell types corroborating this new notion for an old drug and paradox.
On a resampling approach for tests on the number of clusters with mixture model-based clustering of tissue samples

We consider the problem of assessing the number of clusters in a limited number of tissue samples containing gene expressions for possibly several thousands of genes. It is proposed to use a normal mixture model-based approach to the clustering of the tissue samples. One advantage of this approach is that the question on the number of clusters in the data can be formulated in terms of a test on the smallest number of components in the mixture model compatible with the data. This test can be carried out on the basis of the likelihood ratio test statistic, using resampling to assess its null distribution. The effectiveness of this approach is demonstrated on simulated data and on some microarray datasets, as considered previously in the bioinformatics literature. r 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. AMS 2000 subject classifications: 65C60
Advances in measuring influenza burden of disease

Influenza is a global public health threat, with seasonal and pandemic influenza resulting in substantial impact on health, the economy and society. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently estimated that every year, 290 000 to 650 000 deaths are associated with respiratory diseases from seasonal influenza.1 This estimate takes into account findings from recent influenza respiratory mortality studies, including a study conducted by Iuliano et al.2 Many highincome countries (HICs) that have invested in measuring the impact of influenza epidemics and the costeffectiveness of interventions against influenza have also spent substantial resources in preventing spread and mitigating health outcomes through vaccination, clinical management of severe cases and other public health measures. At the same time, many lowand middleincome countries (LMICs), especially those in the tropics, are grappling with understanding the impact of influenza in their local setting, and to determine whether such interventions are costeffective visàvis interventions for other diseases.3 Furthermore, LMICs are likely to have the highest burden of influenza in children, but these are also the countries with the least data available.4
Targeting of short TRPM8 isoforms induces 4TM-TRPM8-dependent apoptosis in prostate cancer cells

Since its cloning a decade ago, TRPM8 channel has emerged as a promising prognostic marker and a putative therapeutic target in prostate cancer (PCa). However, recent studies have brought to light the complexity of TRPM8 isoforms in PCa. Consequently, the respective role of each TRPM8 isoform needs to be deciphered prior to considering TRPM8 as an attractive therapeutic target. Full-length (6 transmembrane (TM)-domain) TRPM8 channel is overexpressed in early PCa and repressed in advanced prostate tumors whereas the localization of the truncated, 4TM-TRPM8 channel (4 transmembrane (TM)-domain), in the membranes of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is independent of the pathogenic status of epithelial cells. In the same line, expression of non-channel cytoplasmic small TRPM8 isoforms (namely sM8) is conserved in cancer cells. In this study, we identify sM8s as putative regulator of PCa cell death. Indeed, suppression of sM8 isoforms was found to induce concomitantly ER stress, oxidative stress, p21 expression and apoptosis in human epithelial prostate cancer cells. We furthermore demonstrate that induction of such mechanisms required the activity of 4TM-TRPM8 channels at the ER-mitochondria junction. Our study thus suggests that targeting sM8 could be an appropriate strategy to fight prostate cancer.
Regional differences regarding risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis in Stockholm County, Sweden: results from the Swedish Epidemiological Investigation of Rheumatoid Arthritis (EIRA) study

Objectives: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a complex disease that is associated with genetic and environmental factors. We have investigated geospatial variation in the risk of developing RA within Stockholm County, Sweden, with respect to established environmental risk factors for RA, as well as serologically defined subgroups of RA. Method: Information regarding geographical location for 1432 cases and 2529 controls from the Epidemiological Investigation of Rheumatoid Arthritis (EIRA) study, living in Stockholm County at RA symptom onset, or matched date for controls, was used to estimate geospatial variation in risk. We used generalized additive models (GAMs) to create a risk surface, calculate odds ratios (ORs), and adjust for potential confounding by smoking, education level, and RA within family. We performed a stratified analysis based on the presence/absence of anti-citrullinated peptide antibodies (ACPA). Results: We found significant spatial variation in the odds of developing RA in Stockholm County. After adjustment for smoking, education level, and family history of RA, this geospatial variation remained. The stratified analysis showed areas with higher ORs for ACPA-positive RA and ACPA-negative RA, after adjusting for smoking, education level, and having a family history of RA. Living in the city of Stockholm was associated with decreased risk of RA. Conclusions: The risk of developing RA in Stockholm County is not distributed evenly and there are areas of increased risk that could not be explained by known factors. Further investigations of local exposures or social factors are warranted.
Diversifying selective pressure on influenza B virus hemagglutinin

Influenza B virus hemagglutinin (HA) is a major surface glycoprotein with frequent amino acid substitutions. However, the roles of antibody selection in the amino acid substitutions of HA were still poorly understood. In order to gain insights into this important issue, an analysis was conducted on a total of 271 HA1 sequences of influenza B virus strains isolated during 1940–2007. In this analysis, phylogenetic analysis by maximum likelihood (PAML) package was used to detect the existence of positive selection and to identify positively selected sites on HA1. Strikingly, all the positively selected sites were located in the four major epitopes (120‐loop, 150‐loop, 160‐loop, and 190‐helix) of HA identified in previous studies, thus supporting a predominant role of antibody selection in HA evolution. Of particular significance is the involvement of the 120‐loop in positive selection, which may become increasingly important in future field isolates. Despite the absence of different subtypes, influenza B virus HA continued to evolve into new sublineages, within which the four major epitopes were targeted selectively in positive selection. Thus, any newly emerging strains need to be placed in the context of their evolutionary history in order to understand and predict their epidemic potential. J. Med. Virol. 81:114–124, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Identification and Heterologous Expression of the Chaxamycin Biosynthesis Gene Cluster from Streptomyces leeuwenhoekii

ABSTRACT Streptomyces leeuwenhoekii, isolated from the hyperarid Atacama Desert, produces the new ansamycin-like compounds chaxamycins A to D, which possess potent antibacterial activity and moderate antiproliferative activity. We report the development of genetic tools to manipulate S. leeuwenhoekii and the identification and partial characterization of the 80.2-kb chaxamycin biosynthesis gene cluster, which was achieved by both mutational analysis in the natural producer and heterologous expression in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) strain M1152. Restoration of chaxamycin production in a nonproducing ΔcxmK mutant (cxmK encodes 3-amino-5-hydroxybenzoic acid [AHBA] synthase) was achieved by supplementing the growth medium with AHBA, suggesting that mutasynthesis may be a viable approach for the generation of novel chaxamycin derivatives.
Remediation and Stabilization of Soils Contaminated by Lead Resulting from the Removal of Paint from Bridges

Lead (Pb)-based paints are commonly used for painting steel bridge structures. Soils in the immediate vicinity of older bridges have been contaminated with Pb as a result of normal weathering and peeling of the paint coupled with removal prior to repainting. The objectives of this project were to assess the extent of Pb contamination near highway bridges and to evaluate phytoremediation and immobilization as means of remediation. The authors examined soils in the vicinity of approximately 20 bridges in Indiana that had been repainted recently and were known to have been painted originally with Pb-based paint. They found only three bridges in which the extensive areas of soil were contaminated by Pb in concentrations greater than 400 mg/kg. Two of these sites were used for this project. In the field study, soluble phosphate was added to the soil and transformations of Pb were monitored using chemical extractants. Simultaneously, sunflowers were grown in the field to test the feasibility of phytoextraction for these conditions. Phosphate additions were effective in significantly reducing bioaccessible Pb, but the sunflowers were unable to remove Pb from the soils. A laboratory study using columns of contaminated soils demonstrated the very low mobility of Pb in soils. The recommendation from this study is that the immediate vicinity of recently painted bridges be tested for Pb in the soils. Elevated concentrations can be treated with soluble phosphate to reduce bioavailability of Pb.
THE PREDOMINANT INFLUENCE OF THE LEFT VAGUS NERVE UPON CONDUCTION BETWEEN THE AURICLES AND VENTRICLES IN THE DOG

PLATE 74. It has been shown by one of us (I) that the normal production of impulses in the region of the sino-auricular node is inhibited by stimulation of the right vagus nerve to a greater extent than by stimulation of the left. Earlier observations, which are fully discussed in that paper, had indeed indicated that such might prove to be the case ; but a clear demonstration of the preponderating influence of the right vagus upon the sino-auricular node, in which structure the normal impulses are almost certainly generated, had not been published. In the same paper, as in the discussed observations of previous workers, it was stated that the left vagus had an influence upon the tissues uniting auricle and ventricle which was not obtained on stimulating the right vagus nerve, stimulation of the left vagus nerve producing high grades of heart-block. A comparison of the right and left vagi in this respect has not been possible in previous experiments , for the reason that the right vagus slows the auricle to a greater extent than does the left. It seemed possible to us that the profound effect of left vagal stimulation upon conduction over the A-V junction, and the absence of such effect or the observation of a lesser effect upon stimulation of the right vagus upon the same region of the heart, may have been due to the usual difference in the retardation of auricular rate. For we know that auriculoventric-ular heart-block is favored by high auricular rate (2 and 3). We * Dr. Lewis's expenses have been defrayed by grants from the Graham Research Fund and the Royal Society. The observations were undertaken in London. 740 Influence of Left Vagus Nerve upon Conduction. therefore determined to examine the influence of right and left vagal stimulation upon A-V conduction while the auricular rate was maintained artificially at a constant level. METHOD. Dogs I were employed exclusively and were anesthetized with morphia, paraldehyde, and ether. Records of the heart beat were takefi electrocardiographically, lead II being utilized. The cut vagi have been stimulated by means of a faradic current, the primary circuit of the inductorium being excited at a constant voltage, the secondary coil being placed at fixed points, and the leads from secondary coil to right and left nerves, running through a simple mercurial commutator, having equal resistances. The right and left vagus nerves have been …
Direct Least Square Fitting of Hyperellipsoids

This paper presents two new computationally efficient direct methods for fitting n-dimensional ellipsoids to noisy data. They conduct the fitting by minimizing the algebraic distance in subject to suitable quadratic constraints. The hyperellipsoid-specific (HES) method is an elaboration of existing ellipse and 3D ellipsoid-specific fitting methods. It is shown that HES is ellipsoid-specific in n-dimensional space. A limitation of HES is that it may provide biased fitting results with data originating from an ellipsoid with a large ratio between the longest and shortest main axis. The sum-of-discriminants (SOD) method does not have such a limitation. The constraint used by SOD rejects a subset of non-ellipsoidal quadrics, which enables a high tendency to produce ellipsoidal solutions. Moreover, a regularization technique is presented to force the solutions towards ellipsoids with SOD. The regularization technique is compatible also with several existing 2D and 3D fitting methods. The new methods are compared through extensive numerical experiments with n-dimensional variants of three commonly used direct fitting approaches for quadratic surfaces. The results of the experiments imply that in addition to the superior capability to create ellipsoidal solutions, the estimation accuracy of the new methods is better or equal to that of the reference approaches.
Efficient Estimation of Learning Models

This paper develops a toolkit of inference and forecasting methods for a large class of nonlinear incomplete-information models. The techniques readily apply to representative-agent economies in which the state of fundamentals is latent and follows a Markov chain. Three main tools are introduced. First, we provide a convenient and efficient estimation method based on indirect inference (Gourieroux, Monfort and Renault 1993; Smith 1993). Second, we develop a particle filter to recursively estimate the joint distribution of fundamentals and the agent's belief about fundamentals, and provide forecasts. Third, we propose a particle filter-based test of a moment condition involving the hidden state, which holds in a variety of settings; in the context of learning models, this method can be used to assess every period the rationality of agent beliefs about fundamentals. The good empirical performance of these methods is demonstrated on the multifrequency asset pricing model of Calvet and Fisher (2007) applied to a long series of daily aggregate equity excess returns.
Repair of Physiologic Time Series: Replacement of Anomalous Data Points to Preserve Fractal Exponents

Extraction of fractal exponents via the slope of the power spectrum is common in the analysis of many physiological time series. The fractal structure thus characterized is a manifestation of long-term correlations, for which the temporal order of the sample values is crucial. However, missing data points due to artifacts and dropouts are common in such data sets, which can seriously disrupt the computation of fractal parameters. We evaluated a number of methods for replacing missing data in time series to enable reliable extraction of the fractal exponent and make recommendations as to the preferred replacement method depending on the proportion of missing values and any a priori estimate of the fractal exponent.
Layer water absorption of medium density fiberboard and oriented strandboard

The water absorption of sectioned layers of medium density fiberboard and oriented strandboard was examined, using the layer-removal technique reported in our previous investigation (5). Water absorption of all sectioned layers was shown to increase with water exposure time. Water absorption increased even after thickness swell of individual layers had reached its maximum. Water absorption was positively correlated to layer density and to layer thickness swell. The layer-removal technique to measure water absorption and other layer properties is fast, safe, and is recommended as aroutine quality control method in composite board manufacture and as a research tool for product development.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus Rev Protein Recognizes a Target Sequence in Rev-Responsive Element RNA within the Context of RNA Secondary Structure

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Rev protein modulates the distribution of viral mRNAs from the nucleus to the cytoplasm by interaction with a highly structured viral RNA sequence, the Rev-responsive element (RRE). To identify the minimal functional elements of RRE, we evaluated mutant RREs for Rev binding in vitro and Rev response in vivo in the context of a Gag expression plasmid. The critical functional elements fold into a structure composed of a stem-loop A, formed by the ends of the RRE, joined to a branched stem-loop B/B1/B2, between bases 49 and 113. The 5' 132 nucleotides of RRE, RREDDE, which possessed a similar structure, bound Rev efficiently but were nonfunctional in vivo, implying separate binding and functional domains within the RRE. Excision of stem-loop A reduced Rev binding significantly and abolished the in vivo Rev response. The B2 branch could be removed without severe impairment of binding, but deletions in the B1 branch significantly reduced binding and function. However, deletion of 12 nucleotides, including the 5' strand of stem B, abolished both binding and function, while excision of the 3' strand of stem B only reduced them. Maintenance of the native RRE secondary structure alone was not sufficient for Rev recognition. Many mutations that altered the primary structure of the critical region while preserving the original RNA conformation were Rev responsive. However, mutations that changed a 5'. CACUAUGGG.3' sequence in the B stem, without affecting the overall structure abolished both in vitro Rev binding and the in vivo Rev response.
Adaptive Load Balancing of Distributed SPMD Computations: A Transparent Approach

1 This Report has been submitted for publication and will be copyrighted if accepted for publication. It has been issued as a Research Report for early dissemination of its contents. No part of its text nor any illustration can be reproduced without written permission of the Authors. Abstract EEcient parallel computing on distributed platforms still presents many obstacles. This paper addresses the important issue of masking the power heterogeneity and variability of non-dedicated nodes. To this purpose, we present a load balancing support that autonomously adapts the workload of Single Program Multiple Data (SPMD) applications to platform conditions. This support checks the load status of the nodes at the beginning and during program execution and, if necessary, carries out data migrations from overloaded to underloaded nodes without requiring the programmer to insert load balancing primitives. As additional important contribution to the transparency and eeciency of the framework, we propose a stochastic model for the automatic choice of the optimum interval of activation of the load balancer. Unlike task migration supports for task parallelism and other data migration frameworks for master/slave-based applications, our load balancer is transparent and works for the entire class of SPMD regular applications, included those with inter-task communications. We investigate the issues of automatic load balancing of these parallel applications in each phase of the support: activation, load monitoring, decision, migration. Although we considered various policies and techniques for each phase, we implemented only those protocols that guarantee full consistency of SPMD applications. Numerous experiments carried out on a distributed platform validate the accuracy of the model for the optimum interval, and show the policies that perform better under diierent scenarios.