Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Strategies in vibrotactile feedback for improved upper arm posture mapping and replication using inertia sensors

Posture measurement and correction using inertia sensors are finding applications in rehabilitation as well as in human robot interaction systems. This paper presents two designs of arm posture mapping and replication system using inertia sensors and vibrotactile feedback device. The designs differ in the number of vibrotactile actuators and the vibration feedback pattern used. User performance in replicating arm postures when using the different systems were compared. Results show that using fewer vibrotactile actuators to provide feedback is feasible and that a more informative vibration feedback pattern could improve user response time in replicating reference arm postures.
Age, geochemical composition, and distribution of Oligocene ignimbrites in the northern Sierra Nevada, California: implications for landscape morphology, elevation, and drainage divide geography of the Nevadaplano

To gain a better understanding of the topographic and landscape evolution of the Cenozoic Sierra Nevada and Basin and Range, we combine geochemical and isotopic age correlations with palaeoaltimetry data from widely distributed ignimbrites in the northern Sierra Nevada, California. A sequence of Oligocene rhyolitic ignimbrites is preserved across the modern crest of the range and into the western foothills. Using trace and rare earth element geochemical analyses of volcanic glass, these deposits have been correlated to ignimbrites described and isotopically dated in the Walker Lane fault zone and in central Nevada (Henry et al., 2004, Geologic map of the Dogskin mountain quadrangle; Washoe County, Nevada; Faulds et al., 2005, Geology, v. 33, p. 505–508). Ignimbrite deposits were sampled within the northern Sierra Nevada and western Nevada, and four distinct geochemical compositions were identified. The majority of samples from within the northern Sierra Nevada have compositions similar to the tuffs of Axehandle Canyon or Rattlesnake Canyon, both likely sourced from the same caldera complex in either the Clan Alpine Mountains or the Stillwater Range, or to the tuff of Campbell Creek, sourced from the Desatoya Mountains caldera. New 40Ar/39Ar age determinations from these samples of 31.2, 30.9, and 28.7 Ma, respectively, support these correlations. Based on an Oligocene palinspastic reconstruction of the region, our results show that ignimbrites travelled over 200 km from their source calderas across what is now the crest of the Sierra Nevada, and that during that time, no drainage divide existed between the ignimbrite source calderas in central Nevada and sample locations 200 km to the west. Palaeoaltimetry data from Sierra Nevada ignimbrites, based on the hydrogen isotopic composition of hydration water in glass, reflect the effect of a steep western slope on precipitation and indicate that the area had elevations similar to the present-day range. These combined results suggest that source calderas were likely located in a region of high elevation to the east of the Oligocene Sierra Nevada, which had a steep western slope that allowed for the large extent and broad distribution of the ignimbrites.
The Potential for Enhancing the Power of Genetic Association Studies in African Americans through the Reuse of Existing Genotype Data

We consider the feasibility of reusing existing control data obtained in genetic association studies in order to reduce costs for new studies. We discuss controlling for the population differences between cases and controls that are implicit in studies utilizing external control data. We give theoretical calculations of the statistical power of a test due to Bourgain et al (Am J Human Genet 2003), applied to the problem of dealing with case-control differences in genetic ancestry related to population isolation or population admixture. Theoretical results show that there may exist bounds for the non-centrality parameter for a test of association that places limits on study power even if sample sizes can grow arbitrarily large. We apply this method to data from a multi-center, geographically-diverse, genome-wide association study of breast cancer in African-American women. Our analysis of these data shows that admixture proportions differ by center with the average fraction of European admixture ranging from approximately 20% for participants from study sites in the Eastern United States to 25% for participants from West Coast sites. However, these differences in average admixture fraction between sites are largely counterbalanced by considerable diversity in individual admixture proportion within each study site. Our results suggest that statistical correction for admixture differences is feasible for future studies of African-Americans, utilizing the existing controls from the African-American Breast Cancer study, even if case ascertainment for the future studies is not balanced over the same centers or regions that supplied the controls for the current study.
Polar Microbiology: Recent Advances and Future Perspectives

Polar microbiology is a thriving branch of science with the potential to provide new insights into a wide range of basic and applied issues in biology. In this context, it is timely to review and highlight the progress so far and discuss exciting future perspectives. In this special issue, some of the leaders in the field have described their work, ideas and findings in a collection of reviews and original research articles with studies ranging from one of the oldest permafrost areas on Earth, located in Siberia, to the accretion ice of Lake Vostok, located in Antarctica. Altogether, these articles provide a comprehensive and reliable source of information on the current advances and future perspectives in this exciting field of research. In this Editorial, I present a brief overview on the theme [. ]
Comparison of digital breast tomosynthesis and 2D digital mammography using a hybrid performance test

This paper introduces a hybrid method for performing detection studies in projection image based modalities, based on image acquisitions of target objects and patients. The method was used to compare 2D mammography and digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) in terms of the detection performance of spherical densities and microcalcifications. The method starts with the acquisition of spheres of different glandular equivalent densities and microcalcifications of different sizes immersed in a homogeneous breast tissue simulating medium. These target objects are then segmented and the subsequent templates are fused in projection images of patients and processed or reconstructed. This results in hybrid images with true mammographic anatomy and clinically relevant target objects, ready for use in observer studies. The detection study of spherical densities used 108 normal and 178 hybrid 2D and DBT images; 156 normal and 321 hybrid images were used for the microcalcifications. Seven observers scored the presence/absence of the spheres/microcalcifications in a square region via a 5-point confidence rating scale. Detection performance in 2D and DBT was compared via ROC analysis with sub-analyses for the density of the spheres, microcalcification size, breast thickness and z-position. The study was performed on a Siemens Inspiration tomosynthesis system using patient acquisitions with an average age of 58 years and an average breast thickness of 53 mm providing mean glandular doses of 1.06 mGy (2D) and 2.39 mGy (DBT). Study results showed that breast tomosynthesis (AUC = 0.973) outperformed 2D (AUC = 0.831) for the detection of spheres (p < 0.0001) and this applied for all spherical densities and breast thicknesses. By way of contrast, DBT was worse than 2D for microcalcification detection (AUC2D = 0.974, AUCDBT = 0.838, p < 0.0001), with significant differences found for all sizes (150–354 µm), for breast thicknesses above 40 mm and for heights above the detector of 20 mm and above. In conclusion, the hybrid method was successfully used to produce images for a detection study; results showed breast tomosynthesis outperformed 2D for spherical densities while further optimization of DBT for microcalcifications is suggested.
Characterization of an acoustic wireless sensor for water leakage detection in underground pipes

In this paper, characterization of an acoustic wireless sensor for leakage detection in underground pipes is presented. The sensor is based on an acoustic sensing element, called a hydrophone, which senses the noise inside the pipe. The sensor sends the sensed signals wirelessly to a gateway which is located on the ground. The gateway, in turn, relays these signals to a backend server for further processing. For concept-proofing, a novel experimental test-bed has been designed and realized in a water supply facility in Turin, Italy. In this paper, this test-bed is used to characterize the capability of the hydrophone of water leakage detection under high water pressure and under various leakage locations and volumes. The test-bed can also be used to test and evaluate the performance of any device that would operate in high pressure water pipes. The results show that the acoustic sensor is able to detect leakages with different magnitudes and at various locations.
The High-Level Parallel Language ZPL Improves Productivity and Performance

In this paper, we qualitatively address how high-level parallel languages improve productivity and performance. Using ZPL as a case study, we discuss advantages that stem from a language having both a global (rather than a perprocessor) view of the computation and an underlying performance model that statically identifies communication in code. We also candidly discuss several disadvantages to ZPL.
Poster: Waiting Makes the Heart Grow Fonder and the Password Grow Stronger Experiments in Nudging Users to Create Stronger Passwords

Despite passwords’ long history and present ubiquity, the general population exhibits password habits that are widely regarded as poor. Reuse is rampant, and users consistently choose weak (i.e., easy to crack) passwords, which is especially dangerous in light of increasingly sophisticated attack methodologies and exponentially faster modern hardware. This paper contributes the design and evaluation of novel techniques for nudging users to create stronger passwords through the use of waiting periods. Users who experienced voluntary or forced timeouts in the process of password creation chose stronger passwords. The improvements were found to match or exceed those from other techniques, such as strength meters and monetary incentives. Additionally, we find further evidence that time spent on password creation correlates with password strength.
Chapter 3 Face Subspace Learning

The last few decades have witnessed a great success of subspace learning for face recognition. From principal component analysis (PCA) [43] and Fisher’s linear discriminant analysis [1], a dozen of dimension reduction algorithms have been developed to select effective subspaces for the representation and discrimination of face images [17, 21, 45, 46, 51]. It has demonstrated that human faces, although usually represented by thousands of pixels encoded in high-dimensional arrays, they are intrinsically embedded in a vary low dimensional subspace [37]. The using of subspace for face representation helps to reduce “the curse of dimensionality” in subsequent classification, and suppress variations of lighting conditions and facial expressions. In this chapter, we first briefly review conventional dimension reduction algorithms and then present the trend of recent dimension reduction algorithms for face recognition. The earliest subspace method for face recognition is Eigenface [43], which uses PCA [23] to select the most representative subspace for representing a set of face images. It extracts the principal eigenspace associated with a set of training face images. Mathematically, PCA maximizes the variance in the projected subspace for a given dimensionality, decorrelates the training face images in the projected subspace, and maximizes the mutual information between appearance (training face images) and identity (the corresponding labels) by assuming that face images are Gaussian distributed. Thus, it has been successfully applied for face recognition. By projecting face images onto the subspace spanned by Eigenface, classifiers can be used in the subspace for recognition. One main limitation of Eigenface is that the
A Method for Collaborative Development of Systems of Systems in the Office Domain

Seamless interoperability across system boundaries and optimally tailored solutions for customers are dominating concerns in the vision of future office infrastructures. This means to change the way how office systems are developed from todaypsilas ad-hoc integration of independent systems towards a collaborative approach for adequate systems of systems. In this paper, we propose a development method based on product line engineering to support the efficient production of customized solutions. The interoperability issues are tackled by a collaboration model separating solution providers and suppliers and by a reference architecture defining clear specifications of the components to be integrated. Together with our production method, interoperability in complex systems of systems is supported by construction.
Shape similarities measures based on two-level ARG for the retrieval of remote sensing images

Content-based image retrieval is widely investigated in image database area. However, work on content-based retrieval for remote sensing images (RSI) is seldom reported in literature. In this paper, a new strategy for content-based remote sensing images retrieval based on shape similarities measures has been proposed, which includes the shape description of each object and spatial relational representation between objects based on the two-level attributed relational graph (ARG). We have also showed that Zernike moments are very effective in describing shape features of each region, and the two-level ARG is efficient for spatial relational information of each disjoint region of an object in RSI. As one of the applications, we have applied this method in our network-oriented multiple satellites images management and online distribution system, and the cloud objects of NOAA AVHRR images are used for verifications. An actual case for the descriptions of a cloud object with Zernike moments, the representations of relations with a two-level ARG and the shape similarity measure results in the database is given.
Dynamic biometrics fusion at feature level for video-based human recognition

This paper proposes a novel human recognition method in video, which combines human face and gait traits using a dynamic multi-modal biometrics fusion scheme. The Fisherface approach is adopted to extract face features, while for gait features, Locality Preserving Projection (LPP) is used to achieve low-dimensional manifold embedding of the temporal silhouette data derived from image sequences. Face and gait features are fused dynamically at feature level based on a distance-driven fusion method. Encouraging experimental results are achieved on the video sequences containing 20 people, which show that dynamically fused features produce a more discriminating power than any individual biometric as well as integrated features built on common static fusion schemes.
Chloride-Inducible Expression Vector for Delivery of Antimicrobial Peptides Targeting Antibiotic-Resistant Enterococcus faecium

ABSTRACT Antibiotic-resistant enterococcal infections are a major concern in hospitals where patients with compromised immunity are readily infected. Enterococcus faecium bacteria are of particular interest as these pathogens account for over 80% of vancomycin-resistant enterococcal infections. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) produced at the site of infection by engineered bacteria may offer a potential alternative to traditional antibiotics for the treatment of resistant bacteria such as E. faecium. For this mode of delivery to be effective, it is essential to identify a suitable protein expression system that can be used in the desired delivery bacterium. In this study, we describe a promising chloride-inducible promoter and its application in the bacterial delivery of AMPs from Lactococcus lactis to reduce counts of E. faecium bacteria in vitro. Reporter gene studies show that at chloride concentrations found within the human intestines, the chloride-inducible promoter exhibits high levels of protein expression compared to those of the commonly used nisin-inducible promoter. These results indicate that this system is powerful and would not require the exogenous administration of an inducer molecule. In its application for AMP production against E. faecium in vitro, L. lactis producing AMPs under the chloride promoter rapidly decreased E. faecium counts by nearly 10,000-fold. As an extension of this application, we also demonstrate the potential in using this type of delivery system in combination with traditional antibiotics to slow the development of resistance. Collectively, this study shows the promise of using a chloride-inducible promoter for the bacterial delivery of AMPs in the body for the treatment of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) and other antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Bioavailable transition metals in particulate matter mediate cardiopulmonary injury in healthy and compromised animal models.

Many epidemiologic reports associate ambient levels of particulate matter (PM) with human mortality and morbidity, particularly in people with preexisting cardiopulmonary disease (e.g., chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, infection, asthma). Because much ambient PM is derived from combustion sources, we tested the hypothesis that the health effects of PM arise from anthropogenic PM that contains bioavailable transition metals. The PM samples studied derived from three emission sources (two oil and one coal fly ash) and four ambient airsheds (St. Louis, MO; Washington; Dusseldorf, Germany; and Ottawa, Canada). PM was administered to rats by intratracheal instillation in equimass or equimetal doses to address directly the influence of PM mass versus metal content on acute lung injury and inflammation. Our results indicated that the lung dose of bioavailable transition metal, not instilled PM mass, was the primary determinant of the acute inflammatory response for both the combustion source and ambient PM samples. Residual oil fly ash, a combustion PM rich in bioavailable metal, was evaluated in a rat model of cardiopulmonary disease (pulmonary vasculitis/hypertension) to ascertain whether the disease state augmented sensitivity to that PM. Significant mortality and enhanced airway responsiveness were observed. Analysis of the lavaged lung fluids suggested that the milieu of the inflamed lung amplified metal-mediated oxidant chemistry to jeopardize the compromised cardiopulmonary system. We propose that soluble metals from PM mediate the array of PM-associated injuries to the cardiopulmonary system of the healthy and at-risk compromised host.
Partial Sharing and Partial Partitioning Buffer Management Scheme for Shared Buffer Packet Switches (Special Issue on Internet Technology II)

In a shared buffer packet switch, a good buffer management scheme is needed to reduce the overall packet loss probability and improve the fairness between different users. In this paper, a novel buffer control scheme called partial sharing and partial partitioning (PSPP) is proposed. The PSPP is an adaptive scheme that can be dynamically adjusted to the changing traffic conditions while simple to implement. The key idea of the PSPP is that part of the buffer space, proportional to the number of inactive output ports, is reserved for sharing between inactive output ports. This portion of buffer is called PS buffer. The residual buffer space, called PP buffer, is partitioned and distributed to active output ports equally. From the analysis results, we only need to reserve a small amount of PS buffer space to get good performance for the entire system. Computer simulation shows the PSPP control is very robust and very close to the performance of pushout (PO) buffer management scheme which is a scheme considered as optimal in terms of fairness and total loss ratio while too complicated for implementation. key words: partial sharing, partial partitioning, pushout
Synaptic Activity Unmasks Dopamine D2 Receptor Modulation of a Specific Class of Layer V Pyramidal Neurons in Prefrontal Cortex

Dopamine D2 receptors (D2Rs) play a major role in the function of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), and may contribute to prefrontal dysfunction in conditions such as schizophrenia. Here we report that in mouse PFC, D2Rs are selectively expressed by a subtype of layer V pyramidal neurons that have thick apical tufts, prominent h-current, and subcortical projections. Within this subpopulation, the D2R agonist quinpirole elicits a novel afterdepolarization that generates voltage fluctuations and spiking for hundreds of milliseconds. Surprisingly, this afterdepolarization is masked in quiescent brain slices, but is readily unmasked by physiologic levels of synaptic input which activate NMDA receptors, possibly explaining why this phenomenon has not been reported previously. Notably, we could still elicit this afterdepolarization for some time after the cessation of synaptic stimulation. In addition to NMDA receptors, the quinpirole-induced afterdepolarization also depended on L-type Ca2+ channels and was blocked by the selective L-type antagonist nimodipine. To confirm that D2Rs can elicit this afterdepolarization by enhancing Ca2+ (and Ca2+-dependent) currents, we measured whole-cell Ca2+ potentials that occur after blocking Na+ and K+ channels, and found quinpirole enhanced these potentials, while the selective D2R antagonist sulpiride had the opposite effect. Thus, D2Rs can elicit a Ca2+-channel-dependent afterdepolarization that powerfully modulates activity in specific prefrontal neurons. Through this mechanism, D2Rs might enhance outputs to subcortical structures, contribute to reward-related persistent firing, or increase the level of noise in prefrontal circuits.
RouteBricks: enabling general purpose network infrastructure

We revisit the problem of scaling software routers, motivated by recent advances in server technology that enable highspeed parallel processing a feature router workloads appear ideally suited to exploit. We propose a software router architecture that parallelizes router functionality both across multiple servers and across multiple cores within a single server. By carefully exploiting parallelism at every opportunity, we demonstrate a 40Gbps parallel router prototype; this router capacity can be linearly scaled through the use of additional servers. Our prototype router is fully programmable using the familiar Click/Linux environment and is built entirely from off-the-shelf, general-purpose server hardware. We also describe some of the lessons learned while supporting field deployments of Routebricks-based software routers.
Advertising and Oligopolistic Equilibrium

This article analyzes advertising in an n-firm infinite horizon, differentiated products oligopoly. The firms all choose output and advertising levels in each period, and are assumed to behave noncooperatively. Advertising is characterized in a manner similar to capital: the effects of money spent on advertising today last well into the future. The interfirm advertising effect can be either cooperative or predatory, and in a linear-quadratic version of the model, this degree of cooperativeness is represented by a parameter. Existence and uniqueness of the Nash equilibrium are obtained, along with many comparative statics results.