Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Depth map repairing using tensor voting

Due to decrease in the cost of scanning devices, range maps (depth maps) are easy to capture. Depth maps can even be reconstructed from multiple images with multi-view stereo principle. Many a time, these depth maps suffer from missing regions due to occlusions, reflectivity, lack of point correspondences, sensor imperfections etc. To use these depth maps for subsequent applications, they need to be repaired by filling-in the missing values. Noise in real depth maps makes the problemnon-trivial. In this paper, we propose a depth-map repairing approach using Tensor Voting (TV) which automatically locates defective regions and estimate missing values. Our approach is well suited for real depth maps and can be a potential module for real time applications. We evaluated our method on real depth maps captured with Kinect range scanner as well as on those reconstructed from multiple images. Results show that our approach is quite effective in filling-in missing regions.
Streptococcus pneumoniae produces at least two distinct enzymes with neuraminidase activity: cloning and expression of a second neuraminidase gene in Escherichia coli

A gene from Streptococcus pneumoniae was cloned in lambda EMBL301 and then expressed in Escherichia coli, which cleaved the fluorogenic neuraminidase substrate 2'-(4-methylumbelliferyl)-alpha-d-N-acetylneuraminic acid. The cloned gene therefore encodes an enzyme with neuraminidase activity. On the basis of restriction mapping and DNA hybridization studies, this gene could be distinguished from another pneumococcal neuraminidase gene cloned previously (A. M. Berry, J. C. Paton, E. M. Glare, D. Hansman, and D. E. A. Catcheside, Gene 71:299-305, 1988). Both neuraminidase genes were found in each of five isolates, covering at least three serotypes, of pneumococci tested.
Community-aware data replication in sparse vehicular networks

Vehicular networks have become a promising platform for large-scale urban sensing. On-demand data retrieval is a crucial operation for many applications of vehicular networks. It is particularly challenging, however, to achieve high performance of on-demand data retrieval in sparse vehicular networks. Data replication based on random linear network coding can solve the coupon collection problem but suffers the problem of unnecessary data replications which waste the precious communication opportunities of sparse vehicular networks. With real traces we reveal the existence of community structures in vehicular networks, which causes excessive linearly correlated blocks. Motivated by the important observation, we propose a community-aware data replication scheme based on random linear network coding. To reduce the excessive correlated coded blocks because of community structures, we make probabilistic control on the data replication phase, taking the community structures into account. It is demonstrated through extensive simulations that the community-aware scheme can effectively save up to 50% communication opportunities whiling achieving high performance of on-demand data retrieval.
Serum IGF 1 is low and correlated with osteoblastic surface in idiopathic osteoporosis

We have previously reported that bone formation is impaired on histomorphometric analysis of bone in patients with idiopathic osteoporosis. In the present study, 30 patients with idiopathic osteoporosis (18 men and 12 women mean age 44 ± 12 years) and spinal and/or appendicular fractures were studied. Compared with control values, bone biopsy analysis demonstrated reduced bone volume (13.0 ± 4.4 vs. 23.2 ± 4.4, p < 0.0001), osteoid volume (0.13 ± 0.13 vs. 0.32 ± 0.19, p = 0.001), osteoid surface (5.9 ± 4.3 vs. 12.1 ± 4.6, p = 0.0004), and diminished double‐labeled mineralizing surface (MS/BS 2.0 ± 2.1 vs. 5.1 ± 2.7%, p = 0.0001) in the patients. Since insulin‐like growth factor 1 (IGF‐1) is one of the major determinants of bone growth and remodeling, we measured the circulating level of this growth factor in these patients. The mean serum IGF‐1 concentration was lower in patients as compared with 33 healthy age‐matched controls (193 ± 59 SD ng/ml vs. 232 ± 79). A significant difference was noted between the two groups only in subjects younger than 36 years. In patients with idiopathic osteoporosis, regression analysis of serum IGF‐1 against the various histological parameters measured from the bone biopsy disclosed significant correlation's between serum IGF‐1 and osteoblastic surface (r = 0.429, p = 0.032), mineralizing bone surface with a double label (r = 0.480, p = 0.015), and the bone formation rate (r = 0.457, p = 0.021). These findings suggest that in young eugonadal individuals with idiopathic osteoporosis, reduced IGF‐1 concentrations may have an etiological role in the development of this disease.
Power usage spike detection using smart meter data for load profiling

Emerging smart meter technologies allow energy retailers to monitor individual's consumption in real time. Efforts have been made in mining, modelling and manipulating those time series data for large number of applications, such as demand forecasting, user profiling or household appliance identification. This paper, however, focuses on modelling spikes in power usage for load profiling. This is a critical characteristic in smart meter load profiles. This paper presents a fast and accurate method to automate the detection of power usage spikes for further smart meter applications.
Managing Corporate Networks from America to China

Multinational corporations (MNCs) are making a major contribution to China's economic development. This analysis examines how eight prominent American MNCs are handling the process of linking the management of their China joint ventures into their global structures. It looks at how the MNCs are addressing the tensions that arise between maintaining control in terms of their worldwide standards while attempting simultaneously to adapt to the complex and dynamic environment of China. The reconciliation of these requirements depends on a relatively few focal actors, who are located at critical interfaces within the MNCs' internal networks between the China joint ventures and the corporate level.
ACTIVIDAD LABORAL DE LA MUJER EN TORNO AL NACIMIENTO DE UN HIJO

En este articulo se estudia el comportamiento laboral de las mujeres en el entorno de tiempo que rodea el nacimiento de un hijo en Espana. El analisis esta basado en la estimacion de modelos de duracion en tiempo discreto usando datos de la Encuesta de Poblacion Activa (EPA). Los resultados indican que las mujeres paradas, las que ocupan peores empleos y las que poseen menor capital humano son las que tienden en mayor media a cambiar de situacion laboral. Otros factores relevantes son el numero de hijos, la presencia de abuelos en el hogar y la tasa de paro de la provincia.
Platform-Driven Ecosystem Prefacing for Emerging Markets in Developing Countries

Developing countries take frog leaps in technological advance. For example, moving to 4G communications from scratch. This reveals tremendous opportunities as infrastructure for advanced service delivery is suddenly in place. As the technological advancement is so disruptive, a lot of prefacing needs to be carried out prior to an ecosystems’ emergence. This article presents an experience report on ecosystem prefacing for emerging developing country markets. We provide an analysis of the Tanzanian working environment; noting aspects that are present for a developing country, unique to the distinct culture, and similar to industrial countries. We then apply an ecosystem prefacing process that actively finds challenges and solutions for a fixed application context whilst acknowledging the previous aspects. For this experience report, we gather empirical data by executing the process in two-phase innovation workshop and stakeholder co-operation event where the fixed application context consists from SmartCity concept based on a major ICT vendor.
The Intergenerational Transmission of Occupational Preferences, Segregation, and Wage Inequality - Empirical Evidence from Europe and the United States

Based on longitudinal data (CNEF 1980 – 2010) the paper analyzes the structuring effects of individual and family background characteristics on occupational choice in Germany, the United States, and Great Britain. We start from the hypothesis that the intergenerational transmission of occupational status promotes persistent occupational segregation and gender wage differentials. We suppose country differences due to the existing institutional settings of the labor markets, educational systems, and family role models. The results confirm that parental characteristics significantly influence occupational preferences, and provide an explanation of persistent gender differences in economic and social status. The gender wage-gap is mainly determined by gender differences in the occupational categories. Female dominated occupations are characterized by a high ‘pure’ wage-gap which supports the crowding hypothesis.
A congestion and interference aware routing metric for Wireless Mesh networks

Wireless Mesh networks will play an important role in the next generation wireless communication systems because it can support broadband services with ubiquitous coverage and low transmission power. Traditional routing protocols send traffic along shortest hop-count path and have been shown unfair and ineffective. This paper proposes an integrated metric considering load balancing and inter-flow interference to enhance the basic trip time metric based on hop-count by incorporating the node congestion-level and path interference-degree. It uses a congestion aware routing and interference avoidance to achieve global load balancing in the network. Simulation results show significant performance improvement of the proposed metric.
Evaluating the net effects of ecotourism on the environment: a framework, first assessment and future research

This review examines what outcomes ecotourism has achieved in regard to environmental issues. It proposes an analytic framework distinguishing four types of mechanism: those which can generate positive effects; those which can reduce negative effects; those which can increase negative effects; and contested issues, including scale and mainstreaming. It then discusses the barriers to evaluating ecotourism's environmental record. These include: problems of definition; the use of eco-labels; and the range of inclusion within any analysis. Finally, it outlines a series of future research priorities including: product and enterprise analysis; the value and importance of codes, interpretation and marketing, the potential significance of new community and political mechanisms; and post-trip lifestyle change.
Structures of manganese(II) complexes with ATP, ADP, and phosphocreatine in the reactive central complexes with creatine kinase: electron paramagnetic resonance studies with oxygen-17-labeled ligands.

Coordination of Mn(II) to the phosphate groups of the substrates and products in the central complexes of the creatine kinase reaction mixture has been investigated by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy with regiospecifically 17O-labeled substrates. The EPR pattern for the equilibrium mixture is a superposition of spectra for the two central complexes, and this pattern differs from those observed for the ternary enzyme-Mn(II)-nucleotide complexes and from that for the dead-end complex enzyme-Mn(II)ADP-creatine. In order to identify those signals that are associated with each of the central complexes of the equilibrium mixture, spectra were obtained for a complex of enzyme, Mn(II)ATP, and a nonreactive analogue of creatine, 1-(carboxymethyl)-2-iminoimidazolidin-4-one, which is a newly synthesized competitive inhibitor. This inhibitor permits an unobstructed view of the EPR spectrum for Mn(II)ATP in the closed conformation of the active site. The EPR spectrum for this nonreactive complex with Mn(II)ATP matches one subset of signals in the spectrum for the equilibrium mixture, i.e., those due to the enzyme-Mn(II)-ATP-creatine complex. Chemical quenching of the samples followed by chromatographic assays for both ATP and ADP indicates that the enzyme-Mn(II)ADP-phosphocreatine and the enzyme-Mn(II)ATP-creatine complexes are present in a ratio of approximately 0.7 to 1. A similar value for the equilibrium constant for enzyme-bound substrates is obtained directly from the EPR spectrum for the equilibrium mixture. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
TIMP-1 Production by Human Scleral Fibroblast Decreases in Response to Cyclic Mechanical Stretching

Purpose: The effect of mechanical stretching was examined on cultured scleral fibroblasts of the human eye in order to observe changes in their production of TIMP (tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase)-1, MMP (matrix metalloproteinase)-1 and -2 in response to physiological strain. Methods: Human scleral fibroblasts were cultured from scleral tissue resected during foveal translocation surgery. The fibroblasts in near confluency were exposed to mechanical stretching of the bottom of a 6-cm Petri dish at the maximum magnitude of 4500 microstrain and at a cycle of 30 s for 72 h. TIMP-1, MMP-1 and MMP-2 levels in the medium following 24, 48 and 72 h of cyclic stretching were measured by enzyme immunoassay. Results: The growth of scleral fibroblasts during the 72-hour period of stretching did not show a significant difference from that of non-stretched control fibroblasts. Scleral fibroblasts in the stretched group produced a significantly smaller amount of TIMP-1 at 72 h after stretching, compared with nonstretched control (p = 0.0353, Student t-test). The levels of MMP-1 and MMP-2 produced by scleral fibroblasts were not significantly different between the stretched group and nonstretched group. Conclusion: The production of TIMP-1 by human scleral fibroblasts was suppressed by cyclic mechanical stretching. Mechanical strain would be one factor to regulate the homeostasis of extracellular matrix in the sclera.
Regulation of the astrocyte resting membrane potential by cyclic AMP and protein kinase A

The factors regulating astroglial resting membrane potential (RMP) are unresolved. Here, we have examined developmental, morphological, and intracellular factors that may regulate the RMP in astrocytes of isolated intact optic nerves of rats and mice aged postnatal day (P3) to adult. The astroglial RMP ranged from −25 to −85 mV, independent of age and morphological phenotype. There was a developmental negative shift in the astroglial RMP from a non‐Gaussian distribution in perinatal nerves, to a bimodal distribution of RMPs after P15, with peaks at −52 and −74 mV in adults. Blockade of Kir with 100 μM BaCl2 significantly depolarized the RMP to −30 mV; the RMP was unaffected by TEA or agents that modulated ATP‐sensitive potassium channels. Raising intracellular cyclic AMP (cAMP) with dbcAMP or forskolin induced a significant hyperpolarization by ∼15 mV, whereas inhibition of cAMP‐dependent protein kinase (PKA) depolarized the astroglial RMP to −40 mV. The hyperpolarizing action of dbcAMP was blocked by 100 μM BaCl2. The effects of BaCl2 indicate that the developmental negative shift in the RMP and the cAMP‐mediated hyperpolarization were dependent on Kir. This study provides evidence that the heterogeneous RMP of mature astrocytes is regulated by cAMP and PKA signaling. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
FGFR2 signaling in normal and limbless chick limb buds.

FGF10 and FGF8, which are reciprocally expressed by the mesoderm and AER of the developing limb bud, have been implicated in limb initiation, outgrowth, and patterning. FGF10 and FGF8 signal through the FGFR2b and FGFR2c alternative splice isoforms, respectively [Ornitz DM, et al. 1996. J Biol Chem 271:15292-15297; Igarashi M, et al. 1998. J Biol Chem 273:13230-13235]. A paracrine signaling loop model has been proposed whereby FGF10 expressed by limb mesoderm signals via ectodermally restricted FGFR2b to regulate FGF8 expression by the apical ectoderm; in turn, FGF8 signals via mesodermally restricted FGFR2c to maintain FGF10 expression [Ohuchi H, et al. 1997. Development 124:2235-2244; Xu X, et al. 1998. Development 125:753-765]. To explore this model, we have examined FGFR2b and FGFR2c mRNA expression, using isoform-specific probes during the early stages of development of the chick limb when limb initiation, AER induction, and outgrowth are occurring. We have found that FGFR2b is expressed by limb ectoderm, including the AER, consistent with paracrine signaling of FGF10. By contrast, FGFR2c is expressed by both mesoderm and ectoderm, indicating that FGF8 has the potential to function in an autocrine as well as paracrine fashion. Indeed, as the limb grows out in response to the AER, FGFR2c expression attenuates in the mesoderm of the progress zone, but is maintained in the AER itself, arguing against exclusive paracrine signaling of FGF8 during limb outgrowth. We also report that transcripts for FGF10, FGFR2b, and FGFR2c are expressed normally in the limb buds of limbless mutant embryos, which fail to form an AER and do not express FGF8. Furthermore, we detect no mutations in exons specific for the FGFR2c or FGFR2b isoforms in limbless embryos. Since gene targeting has shown that expression of FGF8 in limb ectoderm depends on FGF10 [Min H, et al. 1998. Genes Dev 12:3156-3161; Sekine K, et al. 1999. Nature Genet 21:138-141], these results indicate that the product of the limbless gene is required for FGF10 to induce expression of FGF8.
Consensus criteria for traumatic grief

Background Studies suggest that symptoms of traumatic grief constitute a distinct syndrome worthy of diagnosis. Aims A consensus conference aimed to develop and test a criteria set for traumatic grief. Method The expert panel proposed consensus criteria for traumatic grief. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analyses tested the performance of the proposed criteria on 306 widowed respondents at seven months post-loss. Results ROC analyses indicated that three of four separation distress symptoms (e.g. yearning, searching, loneliness) had to be endorsed as at least ‘sometimes true’ and four of the final eight traumatic distress symptoms (e.g. numbness, disbelief, distrust, anger, sense of futility about the future) had to be endorsed as at least ‘mostly true’ to yield a sensitivity of 0.93 and a specificity of 0.93 for a diagnosis of traumatic grief. Conclusions Preliminary analyses suggest the consensus criteria for traumatic grief have satisfactory operating characteristics, and point to directions for further refinement of the criteria set.
Study of optical phase conjugation in bulk traveling wave semiconductor optical amplifier

Optical phase conjugation (OPC) in a bulk SOA has been optimized both under static and dynamic conditions. Conjugation with gain has been obtained. Dynamic optimization leads to a compromise between conversion efficiency and signal-to-background (S/B) ratio, providing that the modulated signal is kept a minimum of 5 dB weaker than the pump to avoid detrimental saturation effects. Transparent 10-Gb/s phase conjugation with extinction ratio around 20 dB at moderate power levels is reported.
Inflationary Finance and Growth

The optimal rate of monetary expansion is derived for the case when the government resorts to deficit financing to finance its development expenditure. It is argued that, while higher rates of monetary expansion increase investment and contribute to future consumption, the consequent inflation imposes welfare costs by reducing the level of real balances held by the public. A theoretical framework is developed and its empirical implications considered by deriving the optimal rate of monetary expansion which maximizes the discounted flow of total consumption--material consumption minus the disutility of holding suboptimal levels of real balances--over time.
Long‐term exposure of several marine benthic animals to static magnetic fields

Electrical currents in underwater sea cables could induce magnetic fields. The sea cables lie on or within the sea bottom and this is the living area for many invertebrate and vertebrate species. North Sea prawn Crangon crangon (Crustacea, Decapoda), round crab Rhithropanopeus harrisii (Crustacea, Brachyura), glacial relict isopod Saduria entomon (Crustacea, Isopoda), blue mussel Mytilus edulis (Bivalvia), and young flounder Plathichthys flesus (Pisces) were exposed to a static magnetic field (MF) of 3.7 mT for several weeks. The results showed no differences in survival between experimental and control animals. Mussels M. edulis were kept under static magnetic field conditions for 3 months during their reproductive period in spring. The determination of gonad index and condition index revealed no significant differences to the control group. Bioelectromagnetics 25:498–502, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Capitalism obscured: the limits of law and rights-based approaches to poverty reduction and development

The Commission on the Legal Empowerment of the Poor (CLEP) was established by the United Nations in 2005 and concluded in 2008. Although inspired by Hernando de Soto's analysis of the role of property rights in economic development, the scope of the Commission was defined as ‘legal empowerment’ in general. This commentary offers a critique of the CLEP report, and argues that its underlying assumptions rest on an idealised version of liberal democratic capitalism in which a dynamic market economy assures ‘win-win’ solutions for all. This implies that there are no tensions between the four ‘pillars’ of legal empowerment identified by CLEP (the rule of law, property rights, labour rights, and business rights). However, in the real world of capitalism, in both democratic and authoritarian versions, there are structural tensions between classes of capital and classes of labour, which result in the economy and its underlying institutional order becoming a key site of contestation. The case of farm labour in rural South Africa is used to illustrate this argument. A focus on legal rights can, however, be ‘empowering’ to a degree, when it helps defend poor people from exploitation and abuse, or is located within broader strategies to eradicate systemic poverty.
Determinants of the demand for Thailand's exports of tourism

We investigate the effects of world income and the relative price of tourism in Thailand on Thailand's exports of tourism. In contrast to previous studies, we test for stationarity and cointegration of the variables of the model. We find that the variables are not stationary in level form, but they are cointegrated. Our estimate of the relative price elasticity of demand for Thailand's exports of tourism is - 1.199 in the short run and - 0.891 in the long run. The corresponding estimates for the income elasticity of demand are 1.926 and 2.342 respectively. However, only the short-run price elasticity of demand is significantly different from zero.