Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Local features and histogram based planar object recognition

In this paper, we propose an approach for planar object recognition using binary local invariant feature and local histogram features, in scene image. First, the object is detected based on a homography which represents transformation of object in scene image from reference image, estimated from matching pairs of keypoints between two images. Then, local intensity histograms are computed from blocks inside scene object. In order to locate these blocks, a reference object is divided into many blocks then the corresponding blocks of the scene object are located based on the homography with assumption that object is a plane. To make the feature invariant to the illumination, the local histogram is computed from only intensity component (V) of HSV color of image. Similarity of two images is calculated from the similarity of their local histogram features and the matching ratio. The recognized object is the most similar reference object in data set. For evaluation, we experiment our method with a planar dataset from Stanford University which includes book cover, cd cover, painting, business card, etc. According to the result, our proposed method gets the higher accuracy compare to some other methods while remaining significant processing for an online application.
Who causes SMEs to suffer? An empirical analysis on the trade of SME products in Japan

This paper aims to investigate the structure and the determinants of the trade of products manufactured by smalland medium-sized enterprises. For this purpose, a trade database for selected SME-based industries is prepared. Analyzing this database, the following three findings are obtained. First, firms in SME-based industries are facing a large inflow of imported goods, while the volume of their exports is relatively small. Secondly, the share of Asian countries is larger in the trade of SME products than overall trade. Thirdly, the gravity model can be applied for the trade of SME products. In some cases, distance and difference of income level tend to be more sensitive for SME products than overall trade. These results are consistent with the labor-intensive characteristics of SME products.
Folic Acid Supplementation Promotes Mammary Tumor Progression in a Rat Model

Folic acid supplementation may prevent the development of cancer in normal tissues but may promote the progression of established (pre)neoplastic lesions. However, whether or not folic acid supplementation can promote the progression of established (pre)neoplastic mammary lesions is unknown. This is a critically important issue because breast cancer patients and survivors in North America are likely exposed to high levels of folic acid owing to folic acid fortification and widespread supplemental use after cancer diagnosis. We investigated whether folic acid supplementation can promote the progression of established mammary tumors. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were placed on a control diet and mammary tumors were initiated with 7,12-dimethylbenza[a]anthracene at puberty. When the sentinel tumor reached a predefined size, rats were randomized to receive a diet containing the control, 2.5x, 4x, or 5x supplemental levels of folic acid for up to 12 weeks. The sentinel mammary tumor growth was monitored weekly. At necropsy, the sentinel and all other mammary tumors were analyzed histologically. The effect of folic acid supplementation on the expression of proteins involved in proliferation, apoptosis, and mammary tumorigenesis was determined in representative sentinel adenocarcinomas. Although no clear dose-response relationship was observed, folic acid supplementation significantly promoted the progression of the sentinel mammary tumors and was associated with significantly higher sentinel mammary tumor weight and volume compared with the control diet. Furthermore, folic acid supplementation was associated with significantly higher weight and volume of all mammary tumors. The most significant and consistent mammary tumor-promoting effect was observed with the 2.5x supplemental level of folic acid. Folic acid supplementation was also associated with an increased expression of BAX, PARP, and HER2. Our data suggest that folic acid supplementation may promote the progression of established mammary tumors. The potential tumor-promoting effect of folic acid supplementation in breast cancer patients and survivors needs further clarification.
The Diurnal Secretory Characteristics of Individual Meibomian Glands

Purpose: To investigate the diurnal secretory characteristics of individual meibomian glands (MGs). Methods: Ten subjects (4 females and 6 males) with healthy eyelid appearance and without dry eye symptoms were recruited (mean age = 23.8 ± 1.8 years). Both right and left lower eyelids were marked in 3 places to locate 5 consecutive MGs in each third (temporal, central, and nasal) of the lower eyelid. A total of 15 MGs per eye were diagnostically expressed for 10 seconds on both right and left lower eyelids every 3 hours for 4 consecutive measurements over a 9-hour period. Results: Thirty-four percent of all tested MGs yielded liquid secretion at all measurements. Sixty-nine percent of the tested nasal MGs yielded liquid secretion at all measurements in contrast to 31% of the central MGs and only 22% of the temporal MGs. The mean numbers of MGs secreting liquid oil were significantly higher in the nasal section relative to the central and temporal sections at all measurements (p < 0.001, all measurements). Conclusions: (1) A single MG is capable of secreting oil on demand over the course of a working day (∼9 hours); (2) nasal MGs were the most likely to secrete upon demand over the course of day compared with the temporal and to a lesser degree the central MGs; and (3) secretory characteristics of individual MGs examined as a function of their location in the lower eyelid does not change diurnally.
Monoclonal antibodies for renal diseases: current concepts and ongoing treatments

Introduction: In recent years, technological innovations in the field of molecular biology have provided new therapeutic options. In particular, human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), initially used in the treatment of malignancies, have become a therapeutic tool for many other diseases. Most of the application of mAbs revealed encouraging findings to treat patients with immune-mediated glomerular diseases, for whom the standard protocols based on corticosteroids and non-specific immunosuppressants with heavy side effects have for decades been the only therapies. Area covered: Rituximab, an mAb directed against a specific antigen expressed on B lymphocytes, CD20 antigen, inducing a premature cell apoptosis became very important in the treatment of membranous glomerulonephritis, steroid-resistant nephrotic syndromes and membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN). Another important mAb, eculizumab, is used successfully for treatment of atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome, C3 nephropathy and MPGN. Many other mAbs are now under premarketing investigation, such as adalimumab, daclizumab, fresolimumab, belimumab, tocilizumab, although some of these mAbs are already approved for different medical applications. Expert opinion: The availability of novel mAb may therefore constitute the basis for a revolution in the treatment of immune-mediated renal diseases. However, the cost for this therapy remains very high and represents a barrier for its widespread use.
Integrated subsystem for Obstacle detection from a belt of micro-cameras

This paper describes the on-going work on the design and the implementation of an integrated visual system dedicated to the classical function Obstacle detection. This system will be embedded on a mobile robot, which must navigate in a cluttered and dynamic environment: typically a public area like pedestrian streets, a transport station or a commercial center. The current robots are equipped typically by a belt of ultrasonic sensors or by Laser Range Finders: it is proposed here to evaluate how a set of micro-cameras mounted around a mobile robot could be used in order to detect free space and obstacles. During an off line learning step, the appearance-based characteristics of the ground are extracted and recorded; then on line, images are acquired synchronously by micro-cameras, every pixel on every image is classified as Ground or Obstacle from color and texture attributes, and geometrical constraints between successive images are applied in order to validate that detected obstacles are above the ground. Finally all information are fused in a single robot-centered occupancy grid. This paper presents algorithms proposed for ground classification and obstacle validation, and describes first results about the architecture proposed for the integrated system.
Fasting and Postprandial Overproduction of Intestinally Derived Lipoproteins in an Animal Model of Insulin Resistance

Insulin-resistant states are characterized by hypertriglyceridemia, predominantly because of overproduction of hepatic very low density lipoprotein particles. The additional contribution of intestinal lipoprotein overproduction to the dyslipidemia of insulin-resistant states has not been previously appreciated. Here, we have investigated intestinal lipoprotein production in a fructose-fed hamster model of insulin resistance previously documented to have whole body and hepatic insulin resistance, and hepatic very low density lipoprotein overproduction. Chronic fructose feeding for 3 weeks induced significant oversecretion of apolipoprotein B48 (apoB48)-containing lipoproteins in the fasting state and during steady state fat feeding, based on (a)in vivo Triton WR1339 studies of apoB48 production as well as (b) ex vivo pulse-chase labeling of intestinal enterocytes from fasted and fed hamsters. ApoB48 particle overproduction was accompanied by increased intracellular apoB48 stability, enhanced lipid synthesis, higher abundance of microsomal triglyceride transfer protein mass, and a significant shift toward the secretion of larger chylomicron-like particles. ApoB48 particle overproduction was not observed with short-term fructose feeding orin vitro incubation of enterocytes with fructose. Secretion of intestinal apoB48 and triglyceride was closely linked to intestinal enterocyte de novo lipogenesis, which was up-regulated in fructose-fed hamsters. Inhibition of fatty acid synthesis by cerulenin, a fatty acid synthase inhibitor, resulted in a dose-dependent decrease in intestinal apoB48 secretion. Overall, these findings further suggest that intestinal overproduction of apoB48 lipoproteins should also be considered as a major contributor to the fasting and postprandial dyslipidemia observed in response to chronic fructose feeding and development of an insulin-resistant state.
Secretion in yeast: preprotein binding to a membrane receptor and ATP- dependent translocation are sequential and separable events in vitro

We have used a cytosol-free assay in which efficient translocation and signal peptide cleavage is achieved when the affinity-purified precursor of OmpA (proOmpA) is diluted out of 8 M urea into a suspension of yeast rough microsomes. This aspect of protein targeting and transport occurs in two discernible steps: (a) in the absence of ATP and cytosolic factors, the precursor binds to the membranes but is not translocated; (b) addition of ATP results in the translocation of the bound precursor and its processing to the mature form. The binding to microsomes of radiolabeled proOmpA is saturable and inhibited by the addition of unlabeled proOmpA but not by mature OmpA or other proteins. The binding of radiolabeled prepro-alpha-factor is also effectively competed by other preproteins, but not by mature ones. Scatchard analysis showed the Kd of proOmpA to be 7.5 X 10(-9) M. Binding is most likely protein mediated as treatment of the microsomes with the protease papain was found to be inhibitory. These results represent the first functional characterization of secretory protein precursor binding to membranes. Alkylation of the microsomes with NEM, washing the membranes with urea or using membranes from the (translocation) mutant ptll at the nonpermissive temperature, did not affect binding, but did eliminate the subsequent ATP-dependent translocation. The ability to subdivide translocation into individual reactions provides a more precise means of determining the membrane components involved in this process.
Great Britain Super persistent chaotic transients

The unstable-unstable pair bifurcation is a bifurcation in which two unstable fixed points or periodic orbits of the same period coalesce and disappear as a system paremeter is raised. For parameter values just above that at which unstable orbits are destroyed there can be chaotic transients. Then, as the bifurcation is approached from above, the average length of a chaotic transient diverges, and, below the bifurcation point, the chaotic transient may be regarded as having been converted into a chaotic attractor. It is argued that unstable-unstable pair bifurcations should be expected to occur commonly in dynamical systems. This bifurcation is an example of the crisis route to chaos. The most striking fact about unstable-unstable pair bifurcation crises is that long chaotic transients persist even for parameter values relatively far from the bifurcation point. These long-lived chaotic transients may prevent the time asymptotic state from being reached during experiments. An expression giving a lower bound for the average lifetime of a chaotic transient is derived and shown to agree well with numerical experiments. In particular, this bound on the average lifetime, (T), satisfies for a near a*, where /ca and k2 are constants and a% is the value of the parameter a at which the crisis occurs. Thus, as a approaches a* from above, (T) increases more rapidly than any power of (a a*)". Finally, we discuss the effect of adding bounded noise (small random perturbations) on these phenomena and argue that the chaotic transients should be lengthened by noise.
Object placement estimation with occlusions and planning of robotic handling strategies

This paper describes a system that can find and lift a specific object in a bin containing piled objects. Such a task is ubiquitous in our daily life, for example, in finding a small toy in a toy box or in finding a stationary in a drawer. To efficiently achieve this task, it is necessary to recognize the object placements with consideration of occlusions and to plan a proper hand motions for lifting or searching for the target object. We developed methods for such two necessary functions, with introducing a sweep motion for removing many non-target objects at once. We implemented the methods on a dual-arm humanoid robot with an RGB-D camera and a suction mechanism. The experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Magnetic resonance enteroclysis for Peutz-Jeghers syndrome

A 21-year-old male reporting melena over one week is presented. Laboratory testing revealed severe anemia (Hgb 7 g/dL). Hyperpigmentation spots were present in the patient’s bucal mucosa and lower lip that arose during infancy. Three years ago, these lesions had raised the clinical suspicion of Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS) and the patient had undergone an upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy and barium study of the small bowel, however no lesions were demonstrated. An urgent upper GI endoscopy was performed demonstrating a largely distended stomach, full of non-hemorrhagic content, suggestive of high intestinal obstruction. Two gastric polyps of ~1.5 cm diameter and multiple small duodenal polyps were also revealed. A second upper GI endoscopy with a PENTAX HD i-scan colonoscope (Pentax EC-3890Li, Pentax, Japan) revealed a large polyp nearly obstructing the enteric lumen after the fourth part of the duodenum (Fig. 1). Histology findings were consistent with hamartomatous polyp. The clinical diagnosis of PJS was therefore established [1]. An MR enteroclysis (MRE) was performed revealing ten polyps in the patient’s small bowel, the larger one located in jejunum measuring 3.5 cm (Fig. 2 A, ​,BB). Figure 1 The jejunal lesion as seen in endoscopy with i-scan Figure 2 The two larger polyps, marked with numbers 1 (A) and 5 (B), as demonstrated in MR enteroclysis A variety of investigations can be used for small bowel screening. Barium follow-through is not favored due to radiation exposure and video capsule endoscopy’s (VCE) greater sensitivity in detecting small bowel polyps. VCE has been shown superior to MRE at detecting small polyps [2]; however, VCE cannot be used in the presence of obstructing lesions. In a recent study it has been shown that polyps of 10 mm and above are detected equally with both modalities [3], whereas location of polyps and determination of their exact sizes are more accurate with MRE [2, 3]. MRE seems to be a non-interventional reasonable option for small bowel study and surveillance in PJS patients.
AL$MONY: Exploring Semantically-Assisted Matching in an XQuery-Based Data Mapping Tool

In this paper, we describe an in-progress effort to augment the data integration capabilities of a service-oriented data integration product with the advanced matching capabilities of a knowledgebased schema matching workbench, thereby providing a guided, interactive, and “what”-oriented design environment for use by data architects and integration engineers. The data integration product is the BEA AquaLogic Data Services Platform, which provides a declarative, XML-based foundation for integrating and service-enabling heterogeneous enterprise data sources in order to deliver data services for use by SOA applications. The schema matching tool is the Harmony system from MITRE, a state-ofthe-art prototype system that maintains a growing knowledge base of matching information and employs a composite matching architecture beneath a rich UI to guide the ranking and decisionmaking processes involved in schema matching. We motivate this work, review the capabilities of each of the systems, and sketch the architectural approach that we are taking to combining the two systems into a synergistic whole.
First dose is always freemium

In this paper we look at three different groups of games. The traditional payment methods for games, although they do have their problems, are typically less problematic from ethical perspective than their more modern counterparts. Payment methods such as lure-to-pay use psychological tricks to lock the player to the game. Whereas pay to pass boring parts or pay to win just use game-external mechanics to make the play easier, and thus intent to, and have consequences other than at least many of the players would want to. This paper is a first stab at the topic from a Moorean just-consequentialist perspective, and in future papers we intend to compare a wider range of philosophical methods, payment methods as well as look into empirical data on players views on the topic.
Partial Difference Operators on Weighted Graphs for Image Processing on Surfaces and Point Clouds

Partial difference equations (PDEs) and variational methods for image processing on Euclidean domains spaces are very well established because they permit to solve a large range of real computer vision problems. With the recent advent of many 3D sensors, there is a growing interest in transposing and solving PDEs on surfaces and point clouds. In this paper, we propose a simple method to solve such PDEs using the framework of PDEs on graphs. This latter approach enables us to transcribe, for surfaces and point clouds, many models and algorithms designed for image processing. To illustrate our proposal, three problems are considered: 1) \(p\) -Laplacian restoration and inpainting; 2) PDEs mathematical morphology; and 3) active contours segmentation.
Functional interactions between Dlx2 and lymphoid enhancer factor regulate Msx2

Dlx2, Lymphoid Enhancer Factor (Lef-1) and Msx2 transcription factors are required for several developmental processes. To understand the control of gene expression by these factors, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays identified Msx2 as a downstream target of Dlx2 and Lef-1. Dlx2 activates the Msx2 promoter in several cell lines and binds DNA as a monomer and dimer. A Lef-1 β-catenin-dependent isoform minimally activates the Msx2 promoter and a Lef-1 β-catenin-independent isoform is inactive, however co-expression of Dlx2 and both Lef-1 isoforms synergistically activate the Msx2 promoter. Co-immunoprecipitation and protein pull-down experiments demonstrate Lef-1 physically interacts with Dlx2. Deletion analyses of the Lef-1 protein reveal specific regions required for synergism with Dlx2. The Lef-1 β-catenin binding domain (βDB) is not required for its interaction with Dlx2. Msx2 can auto-regulate its promoter and repress Dlx2 activation. Msx2 repression of Dlx2 activation is dose-specific and both bind a common DNA-binding element. These transcriptional mechanisms correlate with the temporal and spatial expression of these factors and may provide a mechanism for the control of several developmental processes. We demonstrate new transcriptional activities for Dlx2, Msx2 and Lef-1 through protein interactions and identification of downstream targets.
Computer Supported Collaborative Learning in software engineering

Collaboration is one of the keywords in education as well as in computer-assisted instruction. In this respect, e-learning platforms provide users with specific tools, enabling them to collaborate and/or to cooperate so to reach common objectives. Collaboration is considered as a teaching strategy but, in many cases such as in the software engineering classes, collaboration has to be a learning outcome itself, since students must acquire a specific ability in team working. Thus a suited working environment is needed, that has to be much more than just a flexible Learning Management System. Consequently, a specific project has been launched within the Italian Eclipse Community in the framework of the Enforcing Team Cooperation (ETC) activity. The aim of the project is that of enforcing and enlarging cooperation activities among a large number of students, all attending software engineering courses at different Universities in Italy. The main idea behind the project is the implementation of a really effective Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) paradigm, to be used for higher education on team cooperation, in software engineering classes for the analysis, design, and development of software programs along their lifecycle.
Interactive spaces: towards a better everyday?

ware architectures for intelligent systems. THE VISION OF AMBIENT intelligence holds promise of a new and changed everyday life of people. There is a range of scenarios depicting how, in the future, our environments will react " intelligently " upon our presence and behavior. Our home will greet uswhen we come home, recipes will automatically be selected based on the contents of our fridge and our personal
Designing interactive systems to encourage empathy between users

An oft-cited criticism of our increasingly online world is that text based communications still dominate, offering limited opportunity for the development of empathy between users and possibly encouraging more critical and confrontational interactions. Whilst there are a wide range of design methods that enable designers to develop empathy for the potential users of their products or services, there are none aimed at helping designers to create systems that actively encourage the development of empathy between those users. In this research we discuss why we believe there is a need to design systems that facilitate empathy and how designers may approach such a challenge, using the example of a digital prayer candle system developed with a church community.