Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Content based Image Retrieval using Implicit and Explicit Feedback with Interactive Genetic Algorithm

There are various new applications of genetic algorithms to information retrieval, mostly with respect to relevance feedback. However, they are yet to be evaluated in a way that allows them to be compared with each other and with other relevance feedback techniques. There is always need to efficiently store and retrieve image data to perform assigned tasks and to make a decision. This paper presents a new image retrieval framework with two types of relevance feedback i.e., implicit feedback in combination with explicit feedback. This paper employs Interactive Genetic Approach to discover a combination of descriptors that better characterizes the user perception of image resemblance. This approach provides better management and retrieval of images than the keyword-based approach. However, most of the conventional methods do not have the capability to effectively incorporate human interaction and emotion into retrieving images. In order to solve this problem we have developed an image retrieval system based on human preference and emotion by using an interactive genetic algorithm (IGA). In this approach we used two tier architecture of implicit and explicit feedback with IGA. Therefore, this system facilitates the search for the image not only with explicit queries, but also with implicit queries.
The role of curriculum in organizational significant change planning

Purpose – With significant change as an ongoing challenge, the development and use of a flexible change curriculum is identified as a success factor that will allow an organization to optimize the outcome from change transformations.Design/methodology/approach – After discussing significant change, this paper will contrast two organizations in support of a flexible curriculum taking into account multiple theories addressing change, learning, planning, utilization of a curriculum, and assessment, all to enhance the change transformation experience.Findings – The research, investigation, introduction, implementation and refinement of the action plan play a very important role in how the enterprise accommodates change. It is further suggested that at the heart of any action plan is a flexible curriculum by which the organization can use a formulated educational plan to adjust its current mode of operation to incorporate an ongoing change philosophy.Research limitations/implications – The intent is to identif.
Interleukin‐12 but not interferon‐γ production correlates with induction of T helper type‐1 phenotype in murine candidiasis

By means of polymerase chain reaction‐assisted mRNA amplification, we have monitored message levels of interleukin (IL)‐12 in splenic macrophages and of interferon‐γ (IFN‐γ), IL‐4, and IL‐10 in CD4+ and CD8+ T cells using Candida albicans/host combinations that result either in a T helper type‐1 (Th1)‐associated self‐limiting infection (“healer mice”) or in a Th2‐associated progressive disease (“nonhealer mice”). The timing and pattern of message detection did not differ qualitatively by the expression of IFN‐γ or IL‐10 mRNA in CD4+ and CD8+ cells from healer (i.e. PCA‐2 into CD2F1) vs. nonhealer (i.e. CA‐6 into CD2F1 or PCA‐2 into DBA/2) mice. In contrast, IL‐4 mRNA was uniquely expressed by CD4+ cells from nonhealer animals. IL‐12p40 was readily detected in macrophages from healer mice but was detected only early in infection in mice with progressive disease. Cytokine levels were measured in sera, and antigen‐driven cytokine production by CD4+ and CD8+ cells was assessed in vitro, while IFN‐γ‐producing cells were enumerated in CD4− CD8− cell fractions. Overall, our results showed that (i) antigen‐specific secretion of IFN‐γ protein in vitro by CD4+ cells occurred only in healing infection; (ii) IL‐4‐ and IL‐10‐producing CD4+ cells would expand in nonhealer mice in the face of high levels of circulating IFN‐γ, likely released by CD4− CD8− lymphocytes; (iii) a finely regulated IFN‐γ production correlated in the healer mice with IL‐12 mRNA detection, and IL‐12 was required in vitro for yeast‐induced development of IFN‐γ‐producing CD4+ cells. Although the mutually exclusive production of IL‐4/IL‐10 and IFN‐γ by early CD4+ cells may be the major discriminative factor of cure and noncure responses in candidiasis, IL‐12 rather than IFN‐γ production may be an indicator of Th1 differentiation.
The Changing Nature of Professional Control

The traditional view of the professions is that they are largely free of the hierarchical forms of social control characteristic of other kinds of occupations; instead, they are self-regulating, subject only to informal collegial control. As a result of events in the past few decades in the United States, analysts now believe that the traditional autonomy of professions is eroding. This paper reviews two theories that emphasize this process, one focusing on deprofessionalization and the other on proletarianization. It concludes that the available evidence does not support either theory sufficiently to make them analytically useful; it advances an alternate theory that emphasizes the formalization of professional social control. This third viewpoint is based on the finding that the professions—as corporate bodies—have remained relatively autonomous. Antitrust decisions, political pressure to exercise more control over errant members, and the administrative requirement of greater accountability in large org.
Enhanced Stimulus-Induced Gamma Activity in Humans during Propofol-Induced Sedation

Stimulus-induced gamma oscillations in the 30–80 Hz range have been implicated in a wide number of functions including visual processing, memory and attention. While occipital gamma-band oscillations can be pharmacologically modified in animal preparations, pharmacological modulation of stimulus-induced visual gamma oscillations has yet to be demonstrated in non-invasive human recordings. Here, in fifteen healthy humans volunteers, we probed the effects of the GABAA agonist and sedative propofol on stimulus-related gamma activity recorded with magnetoencephalography, using a simple visual grating stimulus designed to elicit gamma oscillations in the primary visual cortex. During propofol sedation as compared to the normal awake state, a significant 60% increase in stimulus-induced gamma amplitude was seen together with a 94% enhancement of stimulus-induced alpha suppression and a simultaneous reduction in the amplitude of the pattern-onset evoked response. These data demonstrate, that propofol-induced sedation is accompanied by increased stimulus-induced gamma activity providing a potential window into mechanisms of gamma-oscillation generation in humans.
About the Yukawa model on a lattice in the quenched approximation

We study the Yukawa model on a 4-dimensional Euclidean lattice in the quenched approximation. A particular attention is given to the singularities of the Dirac operator in the phase diagram. A careful analysis of a particular limiting case shows that size effects can be huge, questioning the quenched approximation. This is confirmed by a Monte-Carlo simulation in this limit case and without the quenched approximation. We include also some results concerning the symmetries of this model.
Regime Resistance against Low-Carbon Transitions: Introducing Politics and Power into the Multi-Level Perspective

While most studies of low-carbon transitions focus on green niche-innovations, this paper shifts attention to the resistance by incumbent regime actors to fundamental change. Drawing on insights from political economy, the paper introduces politics and power into the multi-level perspective. Instrumental, discursive, material and institutional forms of power and resistance are distinguished and illustrated with examples from the UK electricity system. The paper concludes that the resistance and resilience of coal, gas and nuclear production regimes currently negates the benefits from increasing renewables deployment. It further suggests that policymakers and many transition-scholars have too high hopes that ‘green’ innovation will be sufficient to bring about low-carbon transitions. Future agendas in research and policy should therefore pay much more attention to the destabilization and decline of existing fossil fuel regimes.
Techniques for Eliciting Human Intelligence: Examining Possible Order Effects of the Scharff Tactics

The present study examines non-coercive interview techniques aimed for eliciting intelligence from human sources. Two versions of the Scharff technique were compared against the direct approach (a combination of open-ended and specific questions). The Scharff conditions were conceptualised into four tactics and differed with respect to when the confirmation tactic was implemented: before or after an initial open-ended question. Participants (n = 93) took the role of a source in a phone interview and were instructed to strike a balance between not revealing too little or too much information. In general, the Scharff technique outperformed the direct approach on all important measures. The sources in the Scharff conditions revealed more new information, and found it more difficult to understand the interviewer's information objectives. Importantly, the sources interviewed by the Scharff technique underestimated how much new information they revealed, whereas the sources interviewed by the direct approach overestimated the amount of new information revealed. Although no clear order effects of the Scharff tactics were found, we introduce an alternative method for implementing the confirmation tactic.
Application Of Knee Continuous Passive Motion Device After Total Endoprosthesis – Does Speed Of Continuous Passive Motion Device Influence The Therapeutic Effect ?

Jakoubková J., Švejcarová M. , Bejvlová M.1, Jelen K. , Lopot F. , Kubový P., Tomšovský L. , Prouza O.2, Pánek D. , Pavlů D.3 Mělník hospital a.s. , ul. Pražská 528, Mělník, 276 011 Charles University, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Department of Anatomy and Biomechanics, José Martího 31, Praha 62 Charles University, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Department of Physiotherapy, José Martího 31, Praha 63
Expression patterns of cyclin D1 and related proteins regulating G1-S phase transition in uveal melanoma and retinoblastoma

BACKGROUND/AIMS A checkpoint mechanism in late G1, whose regulation via loss of retinoblastoma protein (pRB) or p16, or overexpression of cyclin D1 or cyclin dependent kinase 4 (CDK4), has been proposed to constitute a common pathway to malignancy. The aims of this study were (a) to compare markers of cell cycle G1-S phase transition in an intraocular tumour with known pRB deficiency (retinoblastoma) and compare it with one with an apparently functional pRB (uveal melanoma); (b) to determine if one of these markers may have a role in the pathogenesis of uveal melanoma; and (c) to determine if there is a difference in cell cycle marker expression following treatment of uveal melanoma and retinoblastoma. METHODS 90 eyes were enucleated from 89 patients for retinoblastoma (n=24) or for choroidal or ciliary body melanoma (n=66). Conventional paraffin sections were assessed for cell type and degree of differentiation. Additional slides were investigated applying standard immunohistochemical methods with antibodies specific for cyclin D1 protein, pRB, p53, p21, p16, BCL-2, and MIB-1. RESULTS Cyclin D1 protein and pRB were negative in retinoblastoma using the applied antibodies. In contrast, cyclin D1 protein expression was observed in 65% of uveal melanomas; a positive correlation between cyclin D1 cell positivity and tumour cell type, location, growth fraction, as well as with pRB positivity was observed. p53, p21, and p16 could be demonstrated in both tumours. An inverse relation between p53 and p21 expression was demonstrated in most choroidal melanomas and in some retinoblastomas. Apart from a decrease in the growth fractions of the tumours as determined by MIB-1, a significant difference in the expression of G1-S phase transition markers in vital areas of uveal melanoma and retinoblastoma following treatment with radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy was not observed. CONCLUSION Retinoblastomas and uveal melanomas, two tumours of differing pRB status, differ also in their immunohistochemical pattern for markers of the G1-S phase transition of the cell cycle. The results of the present study support the concept of (a) an autoregulatory loop between pRB and cyclin D1 in tumours with a functional pRB and the disruption of this loop in the presence of pRB mutation, as well as (b) a checkpoint mechanism in late G1, whose regulation via loss of p16 or pRB, or overexpression of cyclin D1 constitutes a common pathway to malignancy. Further, the results raise the possibility of cyclin D1 overexpression having a role in the pathogenesis of uveal melanoma.
An Introduction to the Book Titled "Formal and Practical Aspects of Autonomic Computing and Networking: Specification, Development and Verification"

Received on 12 December 2014, published on 16 December 2014 Copyright © 2014 Phan Cong Vinh, licensed to ICST. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/), which permits unlimited use, distribution and reproduction in any medium so long as the original work is properly cited. doi: 10.4108/casa.1. 2.e6
Review article: Chronic kidney disease‐mineral bone disorder: Have we got the assays right?

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) and vitamin D [calcidiol or 25(OH)D] assays are used to diagnose chronic kidney disease‐mineral bone disorder, and to guide and monitor interventions. Unfortunately, both assays have limitations. These limitations include analytical variability because of a lack of assay standardization, different calibrators used for each kit and differences in antibody specificity. For PTH assays, this leads to variability in the assessment of fragments and differences between results among kits from different manufacturers. For vitamin D, this leads to differences in the ability to detect D2 and D3 derivatives and differences among assays. For PTH, these problems are amplified by collection and handling differences and, for vitamin D, by diurnal and seasonal variation. Understanding these limitations should help clinicians to appropriately interpret results; attempts to develop universal standards to minimize these limitations may enhance the ability of these hormone measurements to predict underlying disease states.
SCIENCE OF CONSCIENCE: METAPHYSICS, MORALITY, AND RHETORIC IN PSYCHOPATHY RESEARCH

The psychopathy project a term used here to describe the various efforts to establish psychopathy as an object of science has existed in one form or another for over two hundred years. At present, it enjoys wide popularity in the social sciences as well as in popular imagination. The present work is an analysis of the psychopathy project's logical coherence. The present work examines, among other things, the claims that psychopathy is either a medical condition or a mental illness. Also examined is the logic of various causal theories of psychopathy as well as the argument that a diagnosis of psychopathy is not an act of moral condemnation. In this context, the logical continuity between modern psychopathy research and the late lgth century theory of degeneration is discussed. Finally, a number of rhetorical strategies used by the psychopathy project are studied. The work concludes by providing recommendations for improving the logical coherence and intellectual integrity of the psychopathy project. Such improvement is seen as necessary, since throughout the present work the project is shown to suffer from a number of serious logical confusions and deliberate mischaracterizations of its scientific merits.
Prognostic Impact of N Staging in 715 Medullary Thyroid Cancer Patients: Proposal for a Revised Staging System

Objective: This institutional study aimed at quantifying a medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) patient's risk of lung, liver, or bone metastasis. Background: Without quantitative information regarding risk factors for lung, liver, and bone metastasis, risk stratification is liable to be haphazard, resulting in poor cost-effectiveness of screening programs. Methods: Included in this study were 715 patients with MTC for whom histopathologic information was available for each lymph node removed. Results: Seventy-two patients (10.1%) were diagnosed with lung metastasis, 58 patients (8.1%) with liver metastasis, and 34 patients (4.8%) with bone metastasis. Multivariate analyses were limited to patients revealing no more than 1 type of distant metastasis to avoid confounding by other distant metastasis. Extrathyroidal extension and 1 to 10 involved nodes indicated a small risk of lung metastasis [3%–4%; odds ratio (OR) 3–4], tumors greater than 40 mm and 11 to 20 involved nodes implied an intermediate risk (13%; OR 6), and more than 20 involved nodes entailed a high risk (26%–30%; OR 14–16). In the multivariate logistic regressions on liver and bone metastasis, in which the number of involved nodes was omitted on statistic grounds, extrathyroidal extension signified a strong risk of liver metastasis (19%, OR 23), whereas no clinical-pathologic variables were significantly associated with bone metastasis. Cumulative rates of lung, liver, and bone metastasis, plotted against the number of lymph node metastases, were similar. Discussion: N categories encompassing 1 to 10 (N1), 11 to 20 (N2), and more than 20 (N3) lymph node metastases are important prognostic classifiers that should be incorporated into MTC staging systems for better risk stratification.
A single chip Lempel-Ziv data compressor

A single-chip implementation of the Lempel-Ziv adaptive data compression algorithm in 1.2-/spl mu/m CMOS technology is described. The chip uses 2K-byte on-chip content addressable memory (CAM)/SRAM for storing the most recent input characters to which the incoming string is compared against and referenced. It performs compression or decompression on byte-oriented input data at a data rate of one byte per clock cycle, except when one out of every 33 cycles is used to update the string dictionary. <<ETX>>
Code-aided joint channel and frequency estimation for a ST-BICM DS-CDMA system

We consider the problem of joint multi-user detection and channel parameter estimation in a space-time bit-interleaved coded modulation (ST-BICM) scheme for an asynchronous DS-CDMA uplink transmission over frequency selective channels. The performance of standard coherent detectors relies on the availability of accurate estimates of the channel parameters and Doppler shifts. Conventionally, these are estimated using pilot symbol in the burst, a technique that reduces both the energy- and bandwidth efficiency. We will derive an iterative estimation technique, based on the SAGE algorithm, that combines pilot symbols and information from the detector in an elegant and efficient manner. We show through computer simulation that the proposed receiver considerably outperforms conventional channel estimation schemes using the same number of pilot symbols.
When media of a small nation argue for war

In this comparative analysis of editorial columns in Danish newspapers, we analyze how news media can act as a political voice during times of war. Whereas most studies of media coverage of war focus on one specific war, this analysis provides empirically and theoretically grounded conclusions across three wars: Afghanistan 2001–, Iraq 2003–2007, and Libya 2011. The analysis focuses on the interpretative frames that are mobilized concerning the cause of conflict, the legitimacy of war, and the rationales for deploying Danish troops. Various models of elite–media relationships are considered and modified from a theoretical perspective in order to take into account the particular problems involved for a small nation going to war. The analysis largely confirms the influence of elite consensus or dissensus on media coverage. Other influential factors include the media system and the semi-autonomous status of newspapers as an elite voice competing with other opinion-making elites.
Improved Cartilage Repair After Treatment With Low-Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound

Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound accelerates bone healing via upregulation of cartilage formation and maturation phases of endchondral bone formation. The current authors evaluated the effect of ultrasound therapy on the repair of full-thickness osteochondral defects. Bilateral, 3.2 mm diameter by 5.0 mm deep osteochondral defects were created in the patellar groove of 106 adult male New Zealand rabbits. The defects were treated with daily low-intensity pulsed ultrasound therapy on the right knee. The left knee was not treated. In Part I, the effect of ultrasound therapy was evaluated at 4, 8, 12, 24, and 52 weeks after surgery. In Part II, the effect of the length of treatment (5, 10, or 40 minutes of daily ultrasound therapy) compared with standard 20 minute therapy was evaluated. The repair cartilage was evaluated and graded on a standard scale for the gross and histologic appearance. Ultrasound treatment significantly improved the morphologic features and histologic characteristics of the repair cartilage compared with nontreated controls. Earlier, better repair with less degenerative changes at later times was observed in defects treated with ultrasound. Doubling the treatment time to 40 minutes daily significantly increased the histologic quality of the repair cartilage. In the current animal model, daily low-intensity pulsed ultrasound had a significant positive effect on the healing of osteochondral defects.
Exits from and Returns to Homelessness

This study explores transitions between homeless and domiciled states. It describes the timing of departures from and returns to homelessness, and it tests theoretical propositions linking individual attributes and experiences to these transitions. Four theoretical frameworks guide the analyses: institutional disaffiliation, human capital deficiencies, personal disabilities, and acculturation. The data come from a longitudinal study of homeless individuals in Minneapolis. Various individual attributes are linked with leaving homelessness, including recent employment, welfare receipt, job training, identification with other homeless people, and homeless history. Fewer attributes are linked with returns to homelessness: work history and gender. These findings provide some evidence for existing explanations for homeless transitions, and they suggest promising avenues for further research on the dynamics of homelessness.
Passive code in synchronous programs

The synchronous model of computation requires that in every step, inputs are read and outputs are synchronously computed as the reaction of the program. In addition, all internal variables are updated in parallel even though not all of these values might be required for the current and the future reaction steps. To avoid unnecessary computations, we present a compile-time optimization procedure that computes for every variable a condition that determines whether its value is required for current or future computations. In this sense, our optimizations allow us to identify passive code that can be disabled to avoid unnecessary computations and therefore to reduce the reaction time of programs or their energy consumption.