Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Design considerations for a new solid-state gamma-camera: Soltice

This paper presents an alternative to a conventional gamma camera. The proposed system is based on the combination of a new detection material - CZT - and a new acquisition geometry - 1D detector with slat collimator. The slat collimator offers a better compromise to the usual sensitivity-resolution tradeoff. Solid-state detection offers significantly improved energy resolution. The combination of the two elements, and the development of better reconstruction tools, has the potential of bringing a new level of performance to nuclear medicine imaging. The targeted system performance includes a spatial resolution of 5 mm FWHM at 10 cm from the detector surface and an energy resolution better than 5% FWHM, both at 140 keV. While the results are still preliminary and incomplete, they more than justify further investigation.
Infants' Differential Processing of Female and Male Faces

Infants show an interesting asymmetry in face processing: They are more fluent in processing female faces than they are at processing male faces. We hypothesize that such processing asymmetry results from greater experience with female faces than with male faces early in development. Asymmetrical face processing may have long-lasting implications for development of face recognition, development of knowledge structures regarding females and males, and social-information processing. We encourage researchers to use both female and male faces in their face-perception research and to conduct separate analyses for female and male faces.
Open string/open D-brane dualities: old and new

We examine magnetic and electric near horizon regions of maximally supersymmetric D-brane and NS5-brane bound states and find transformations between near horizon regions with worldvolume dual magnetic and electric fluxes. These point to dual formulations of NCYM, NCOS and ODp theories in the limit of weak coupling and large spatial or temporal non-commutativity length scale in terms of weakly coupled theories with fixed worldvolume dual non-commutativity based on open D-branes. We also examine the strong coupling behavior of the open D-brane theories and propose a unified web of dualities involving strong/weak coupling as well as large/small non-commutativity scale.
Stability of adversarial routing with feedback

We consider the impact of scheduling disciplines on performance of routing in the framework of adversarial queuing. We propose an adversarial model which reflects stalling of packets due to transient failures and explicitly incorporates feedback produced by a network when packets are stalled. This adversarial model provides a methodology to study stability of routing protocols when flow‐control and congestion‐control mechanisms affect the volume of traffic. We show that any scheduling policy that is universally stable, in the regular model of routing that additionally allows packets to have two priorities, remains stable in the proposed adversarial model. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.NETWORKS, Vol. 66(2), 88–97 2015
Interaction with 3-D Objects

Among the several issues related to real-time animation of virtual human actors, the ability to interact with virtual objects requires special attention. Take as example usual objects as: automatic doors, general furniture, or a lift. Interaction with such objects can easily become too complex for real-time applications. Some of the related problems involve: recognition of manipulation places, automatic arm and hand animation, and motion synchronization between actors and objects. The smart object approach is described here and can overcome many of these difficulties by storing all needed interaction information within the object description. Interaction information is defined during modeling phase, forming a complete “user guide” of the object. In this way, virtual actors can simply access and follow such interaction descriptions in order to accomplish some given task. Solutions to related sub-problems such as programming object’s behaviors, interactions with multiple actors, or actor animation to manipulate objects are discussed here, and detailed case studies are analyzed.
Detecting Inconsistencies in Treebanks

Introduction Treebanks used as: • " gold standard " training and testing material for computational linguists • data for linguists to search through for theoretically relevant patterns Introduction Treebanks used as: • " gold standard " training and testing material for computational linguists • data for linguists to search through for theoretically relevant patterns Treebanks generally result from a (semi-)manual markup process → errors from automatic processes, human post-editing, or human annotation
Localization in Time and Space for Sensor Networks

Monitoring applications define an important class of wireless sensor networks (WSNs). In these applications, the network perceives the environment and searches for event occurrences (phenomena) by sensing different physical properties, such as temperature, humidity, pressure, ambient light, and movement. In such cases, location in time and space of both phenomenon and nodes are usually required for tracking and correlation purposes. In the former case, nodes' clocks are synchronized, while in the latter, nodes' physical location (e.g., latitude, longitude) are discovered. The need for such information in WSNs and the proximity and similarity of both problems suggest they can be addressed as a single problem, which we call the localization in time-space. In this paper, we discuss the relationship between these problems and also propose the Synapse (synchronization and positioning for sensor networks), a time-space localization system for sensor networks. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm is able to find the nodes' location while synchronizing their clocks with a precision of a few microseconds. A key advantage of Synapse is that it reduces the communication cost compared to the situation wherein localization and synchronization are separately solved.
Handling Speech Recognition Errors in Spoken Language Dialogue Systems

Errors introduced into spoken language dialogue systems (SLDSs) by imperfect automatic speech recognition (ASR) are one of the major problem facing these systems today. Unless a new paradigm for speech recognition arises, it seems likely that systems will always have to accommodate some level of error; if errors are inevitable, it would be useful to have a principled approach to identifying when they occur and a set of wellgrounded and generalizable techniques that enable us to handle them appropriately. This paper gives a brief background to the problem of errors in speech recognition, refers to related work in the field, and identifies the key research issues that need to be addressed in order to develop such techniques. With these starting points, my aim is to develop a detailed theory of error recognition and repair, implemented in a working spoken language dialog system.
Integration and analysis of an extended IEEE 802.15.4 modules with SmartMAC and wake-on-radio functions into the network simulator NS3

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) have emerged as interesting topic in the research community due to its manifold applications. One of the main challenges of this field is the energy consumption of the nodes, which typically is quite restricted due to the required lifetime of such WSNs. To solve that problem several energy-saving MAC protocols have been developed so far. One of them recently presented by the authors is the so-called SmartMAC as an extension to the IEEE802.15. 4 standard. In this paper, we present the implementation details of the porting of the SmartMAC protocol to the discrete event network simulator NS3. We develop this module for NS3 to simulate the performance, multi node execution, and multi node configuration. Along with this model, we also present an energy model for the evaluation of the energy consumption. The current implementation in NS3 is based on the LR-WPAN (Low-Rate Wireless Personal Area Networks) as specified by the IEEE802.15. 4 (2006) standard. The simulation results show that the SmartMAC with its sleep and wake-up mechanisms for the transceivers, is significantly more efficient than the current NS3 MAC (Medium Access Control) scheme.
CinemaScreen recommender agent: combining collaborative and content-based filtering

A film recommender agent expands and fine-tunes collaborative-filtering results according to filtered content elements - namely, actors, directors, and genres. This approach supports recommendations for newly released, previously unrated titles. Directing users to relevant content is increasingly important in today's society with its ever-growing information mass. To this end, recommender systems have become a significant component of e-commerce systems and an interesting application domain for intelligent agent technology.
Ten-user truly asynchronous gigabit OCDMA transmission experiment with a 511-chip SSFBG en/decoder

A ten-user truly asynchronous gigabit coherent-optical-code-division-multiple-access (OCDMA) transmission was experimentally demonstrated without using any timing coordination. The enabling technologies are a record-length 511-chip superstructured-fiber-Bragg-grating (SSFBG) en/decoder and a supercontinuum (SC)-based optical-thresholding technique to significantly suppress the signal interference beat noise as well as the multiple-access-interference (MAI) noise.
Underdetermined Blind Source Separation Based on Sparse Component

This paper presents a new algorithm to identify matrix knowing only their multiplication . Where is sparse and . The data used for matrix identification are chosen by Least Square method, whose fitting errors are smaller than a given threshold. Then, K-means clustering method is adopted. This technique avoids data overlapping at the origin, thus improving the accuracy of mixing matrix estimation. The validity of the method for true voice separation is verified by computer simulation. Also comparison with other methods is made to verify the efficiency of the algorithm. Simulations show that the algorithm has the property of accuracy and low-cost computation.
Positive Daily Experiences Are Associated with Personality Trait Changes in Middle–Aged Mothers

Theory and research have suggested that recurrent daily experiences can affect personality traits. The present study examined the longitudinal relation between individual differences in positive daily experiences and the Big Five personality traits. Data came from Dutch mothers (N = 483; M age = 44 years at T1) who completed up to six yearly personality questionnaires and 15 between–year assessment bursts, lasting five consecutive days each. Using multilevel structural equation modelling, we found that individual differences in daily experiences of positive affect and perceived relationship support/affection with partners and children were positively associated with subsequent rank–order changes in all Big Five personality traits. In contrast, we found little evidence that personality traits were associated with rank–order changes in daily experiences, which may be due to the very–high rank–order stability of positive affect and relationship support. Furthermore, positive daily experiences demonstrated incremental validity in predicting rank–order changes in trait agreeableness, emotional stability, and openness, over and above daily negative affect and relationship conflict. The results suggest that positive affective and interpersonal daily experiences contribute to positive personality trait changes in middle adulthood. We discuss these results in the context of contemporary theories of personality trait development. © 2018 European Association of Personality Psychology
Case Conferencing Decreases Occupational Stress for VRS Interpreters: A Qualitative Study

Many sign language interpreters working within Video Relay Services (VRS) experience more occupational stress than interpreters working in community settings (Dean, Pollard, & Samar, 2010). There exists a lack of research to guide the field of sign language interpreting in coping strategies that can be used to decrease the stress and burnout that is endemic to working in VRS. This qualitative research case study explores how case conferencing can be strategic in mitigating stress and increasing retention in the field. Case conferencing combined with Dean and Pollard’s Demand Control Schema is a relatively recent approach for critical thinking and ethical decision making in the field of sign language interpreting. This researcher found that case conferencing can be a useful vehicle for ameliorating the stressful effects of working in VRS. Focus groups were conducted with VRS interpreters who participated in case conferencing workshops that were facilitated by the researcher between 2013 and 2017. Themes of effectively reducing stress, application of skills, integration of practice, increased retention and a more positive professional community were derived from the participants in the focus groups. The elements of validation and empathy combined with a group format for case conferencing could be used to increase VRS’ interpreters’ self-efficacy. Case conferencing, in turn, may result in improved access for consumers who are deaf and hard of hearing who utilize telecommunication services.
In Vitro Activity of Sodium New Houttuyfonate Alone and in Combination with Oxacillin or Netilmicin against Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Background Staphylococcus aureus can cause severe infections, including bacteremia and sepsis. The spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) highlights the need for novel treatment options. Sodium new houttuyfonate (SNH) is an analogue of houttuynin, the main antibacterial ingredient of Houttuynia cordata Thunb. The aim of this study was to evaluate in vitro activity of SNH and its potential for synergy with antibiotics against hospital-associated MRSA. Methodology A total of 103 MRSA clinical isolates recovered in two hospitals in Beijing were evaluated for susceptibility to SNH, oxacillin, cephalothin, meropenem, vancomycin, levofloxacin, minocycline, netilmicin, and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole by broth microdilution. Ten isolates were evaluated for potential for synergy between SNH and the antibiotics above by checkerboard assay. Time-kill analysis was performed in three isolates to characterize the kill kinetics of SNH alone and in combination with the antibiotics that engendered synergy in checkerboard assays. Besides, two reference strains were included in all assays. Principal Findings SNH inhibited all test strains with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ranging from 16 to 64 µg/mL in susceptibility tests, and displayed inhibition to bacterial growth in concentration-dependent manner in time-kill analysis. In synergy studies, the combinations of SNH-oxacillin, SNH-cephalothin, SNH-meropenem and SNH-netilmicin showed synergistic effects against 12 MRSA strains with median fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) indices of 0.38, 0.38, 0.25 and 0.38 in checkerboard assays. In time-kill analysis, SNH at 1/2 MIC in combination with oxacillin at 1/128 to 1/64 MIC or netilmicin at 1/8 to 1/2 MIC decreased the viable colonies by ≥2log10 CFU/mL. Conclusions/Significance SNH demonstrated in vitro antibacterial activity against 103 hospital-associated MRSA isolates. Combinations of sub-MIC levels of SNH and oxacillin or netilmicin significantly improved the in vitro antibacterial activity against MRSA compared with either drug alone. The SNH-based combinations showed promise in combating MRSA.
Geolocating Blogs from Their Textual Content

Mashups showing the geographic location of the authors of social media content are popular. They generally depend on the authors reporting their own location. For blogs, automated geolocation strategies using IP address and domain name are not adequate for determining an author’s location. Instead, we detail textual geolocation techniques suitable for tagging social media data, facilitating development of geographic mashups and spatial reasoning tools.
The User-Group Based Recommendation for the Diverse Multimedia Contents in the Social Network Environments

It has become general that consumers freely create contents and spend them for themselves on Web services in Web 2.0 environments. This research introduces the personalized contents recommendation system that answers the recent propensity trends about the multimedia contents based on web environments. The proposed system mined the usage history patterns of the target user and the related users from the web and proposed users' favorable contents which are unknown to users. The Social relationships in social network environments help the system to gather the meaningful history for users. And the system also recommended the various multimedia contents - articles, TV programs, advertisements, video and audio, the system could apply the various users' history about the various contents. Because the system is applied to the social network environments, the information about friends and groups can be used in the recommendation algorithm.
Inequality in Scotland: trends, drivers, and implications for the independence debate

What is the level of income inequality in Scotland? How does income inequality in Scotland compare to the rest of the UK, and to other OECD countries? How has income inequality in Scotland changed over time? What has caused inequality to change, and how effective is the tax and benefit system at mitigating inequality? This paper seeks to answer these questions, and draw messages for the Scottish independence debate. 1. By international standards, the inequality of gross earned income (measured before the effects of taxes and benefits) in Scotland is relatively high. Inequality is much higher in Scotland than in the Nordic countries, although there is some evidence that inequality in the Nordic countries has increased slightly more rapidly than in Scotland since the mid-1990s. 2. Since the mid-1990s there has been relatively little increase in inequality in Scotland across most of the distribution. 3. However, inequality at the extreme ends of the distribution has increased in the last decade. The incomes of the top 1-2% of earners have increased compared to the average. At the same time, those in the bottom 5-10% of the earnings distribution have fallen further behind the average. 4. Much of the increase in inequality has been driven by increased variability in working time. This is particularly the case in lower-paying occupations, where there has been a significant increase in part-time working. Although this has increased inequality, the welfare implications are unclear because some workers may prefer shorter hours. 5. The Scottish labour market became increasingly polarised between 2001 and 2010. This means there while the share of higher paying and lower paying jobs increased, the share of middle-wage jobs fell, contributing to inequality growth. 6. There has been virtually no increase in net income inequality in Scotland (after taxes and benefits are taken into account) since 1997. Increased government transfers, particularly to families with children and the elderly, have offset the small increases in earned income inequality that occurred. 3 Background Scotland is an unequal society and those in favour of constitutional change argue that increases in inequality have been driven by UK government policy; that reduced inequality is desirable; and that only under independence will it be possible to introduce policies that will narrow the gap between the rich and poor. An example of this argument is the " Common Weal " vision for economic and social development in Scotland, which would involve …
Stage scheduling: a technique to reduce the register requirements of a modulo schedule

Instruction Level Parallelism (ILP) speedups of an order-of-magnitude or greater may be possible using the techniques described herein. Traditional speculative code execution is the execution of code down one path of a branch (branch prediction) or both paths of a branch (eager execution), before the condition of the branch has been evaluated, thereby executing code ahead of time, and improving performance. A third, optimal, method of speculative execution, Disjoint Eager Execution (DEE), is described herein. A restricted form of DEE, easier to implement than pure DEE, is developed and evaluated. An implementation of both DEE and minimal control dependencies is described. DEE is shown both theoretically and experimentally to yield more parallelism than both branch prediction and eager execution when the same, finite, execution resources are assumed. ILP speedups of factors in the ten's are demonstrated with constrained resources.
Incentives and barriers to implementing national hospital standards in Uganda.

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to elicit hospital staff's knowledge, attitudes, and current practices regarding hospital standards and to assess the level of motivation for staff and hospitals to meet new standards. DESIGN This was a qualitative study using in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with staff in four hospitals. There was no intervention. SETTING Four rural public and private not-for-profit hospitals in central Uganda. PARTICIPANTS Medical superintendents and other staff of four hospitals in Uganda who were familiar with the use of standards and had participated in a previous Uganda national accreditation program (Yellow Star). RESULTS All staff expressed strong support for the development and implementation of hospital standards, but also said they would need more recognition and ongoing motivation. They cited the need for technical assistance, funding, and training as the main obstacles. Key areas requiring standards were: infection control, cleanliness and hygiene, infrastructure and medical records. CONCLUSIONS There was strong support for the development and implementation of hospital standards. The main perceived obstacles to the implementation of hospital standards are resource limitations and technical capability. There is a need to develop and implement preliminary standards for hospitals in Uganda.
JAK2/STAT3 pathway is involved in the early stage of adipogenesis through regulating C/EBPβ transcription

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) was reported to be involved in adipogenesis. However, the regulating mechanism of STAT3 remains unclear. The present results showed that STAT3 was activated within 2‐h adipogenic induction, in which the phosphorylated STAT3 translocated from cytoplasm to the nucleus. In addition, we detected Janus kinase2 (JAK2) acted upstream of the STAT3 activation at the early stage of adipogenesis. Accordingly, the JAK2 inhibitor AG490 and siRNAs led to the partial inhibition of the STAT3 activation, and the inhibition of 3T3‐L1 adipocyte differentiation. Furthermore, the results based on luciferase, chromatin immunoprecipitation, and gel shift approaches indicated that STAT3 could regulate the transcription of C/EBPβ by binding the distal region of C/EBPβ promoter at the early stage of adipogenesis. Collectively, our findings reveal that JAK2/STAT3 pathway is involved in the early stage of 3T3‐L1 adipocyte differentiation though regulating the C/EBPβ transcription. J. Cell. Biochem. 112: 488–497, 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.