Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Depth coded shape from focus

We present a novel shape from focus method for high- speed shape reconstruction in optical microscopy. While the traditional shape from focus approach heavily depends on presence of surface texture, and requires a considerable amount of measurement time, our method is able to perform reconstruction from only two images. Our method relies the rapid projection of a binary pattern sequence, while object is continuously moved through the camera focus range and a single image is continuously exposed. Deconvolution of the integral image allows a direct decoding of binary pattern and its associated depth. Experiments a synthetic dataset and on real scenes show that a depth map can be reconstructed at only 3% of memory costs and fraction of the computational effort compared with traditional shape from focus.
CRF-based statistical learning of Japanese accent sandhi for developing Japanese text-to-speech synthesis systems

In Japanese, every content word has its own H/L pitch pattern when it is uttered isolatedly, called accent type. In a TTS system, this lexical information is usually stored in a dictionary and it is referred to for prosody generation. When converting a written sentence to speech, however, this lexical H/L pattern is often changed according to the context, known as word accent sandhi. This accent change is troublesome for speech synthesis researchers because it is difficult even for native speakers to describe explicitly what kind of mechanism is working for the change although young Japanese learn the mechanism without trouble. For developing a good Japanese TTS system, this implicit and phonological knowledge has to be built in the system. In our previous study [1], we developed a rule-based module for the accent sandhi but it is true that it produced an unignorable number of errors. In this paper, the development of a corpusbased module is described using Conditional Random Fields (CRFs) to predict the change. Although the new module shows the better performance for the prediction than the previous rulebased module, the new module is tuned further by integrating the rule-based knowledge acquired in the previous study.
Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Detecting Galactomannan in Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid for Diagnosing Invasive Aspergillosis

Background Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) galactomannan (GM) assay has been used for diagnosing invasive aspergillosis (IA). We aimed to derive a definitive estimate of the overall accuracy of BAL-GM for diagnosing IA. Methods and Results We undertook a systematic review of thirty diagnostic studies that evaluated the BAL-GM assay for diagnosing IA. PubMed and CBM (China Biological Medicine Database) databasees were searched for relevant studies published in all languages up until Feb 2012. The pooled diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) and summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) were constructed for each cutoff value. Additionally, pooled sensitivity (SEN), specificity (SPE), and positive and negative likelihood ratios (PLR and NLR, respectively) were calculated for summarizing overall test performance. Thirty studies were included in this meta-analysis. The summary estimates of pooled DOR, SEN, SPE, PLR, and NLR of the BAL-GM assay (cutoff value 0.5) for proven or probable IA were 52.7 (95% confidence interval (CI) 31.8–87.3), 0.87 (95% CI 0.79–0.92), 0.89 (95% CI 0.85–0.92), 8.0 (95% CI 5.7–11.1) and 0.15 (95% CI 0.10–0.23) respectively. The SROC was 0.94 (95% CI 0.92–0.96). Compared with cutoff value of 0.5, it has higher DOR, SPE and PLR, and similar SEN and NLR with cutoff value of 1.0, which indicated the optimal cutoff value might be 1.0. Compared with BAL-GM, serum GM has a lower SEN and higher SPE, while PCR displays a lower SEN and a similar SPE. Conclusion With the optimal cutoff value of 1.0, the BAL-GM assay has higher SEN compared to PCR and serum GM test. It is a useful adjunct in the diagnosis of proven and probable IA.
Wearable encounter-type haptic device with 2-DoF motion and vibration for presentation of friction

In haptic interaction, friction caused by slip on the fingertip is a key factor for manual manipulation as well as exploration of texture and shape. From the moment of contact, the friction contains vertical and tangential skin deformations and vibrations, not all of which have been simultaneously supported by previous portable/wearable haptic devices. We propose a portable haptic device that has the ability to present skin deformation and vibration with two degrees of freedom by using two types of motors: a voice coil motor (VCM) for vertical motion and vibration, and direct current motors for tangential skin stretch. The VCM also achieves encounter-type haptic interactions. A combination of these motions encompasses most cutaneous cues for realistic friction.
The Arabidopsis small GTPase AtRAC7/ROP9 is a modulator of auxin and abscisic acid signalling

Rac-like GTPases or Rho-related GTPases from plants (RAC/ROPs) are important components of hormone signalling pathways in plants. Based on phylogeny, several groups can be distinguished, and the underlying premise is that members of different groups perform distinct functions in the plant. AtRAC7/ROP9 is phylogenetically unique among 11 Arabidopsis RAC/ROPs, and here it was shown that it functions as a modulator of auxin and abscisic acid (ABA) signalling, a dual role not previously assigned to these small GTPases. Plants with reduced levels of AtRAC7/ROP9 had increased sensitivity to auxin and were less sensitive to ABA. On the other hand, overexpressing AtRAC7/ROP9 activated ABA-induced gene expression but repressed auxin-induced gene expression. In addition, both hormones regulated the activity of the AtRAC7/ROP9 promoter, suggesting a feedback mechanism to modulate the signalling output from the AtRAC7/ROP9-controlled molecular switch. High levels of AtRAC7/ROP9 were detected specifically in embryos and lateral roots, underscoring the important role of this protein during embryo development and lateral root formation. These results place AtRAC7/ROP9 as an important signal transducer in recently described pathways that integrate auxin and ABA signalling in the plant.
Parameter estimation for mixture models via convex optimization

Many applications encounter signals that are a linear combination of multiple components, where each component represents a low-resolution observation of a point source model captured through a low-pass point spread function. This paper proposes a convex optimization algorithm to simultaneously separate and identify the point source models of each component from a noisy observation corrupted by possibly adversarial noise, by leveraging the recently proposed atomic norm framework. The proposed algorithm can be solved efficiently via semidefinite programming, where locations of the point sources can be identified via the constructed dual polynomials without estimating the model orders a priori. Stability of the proposed algorithm is established under certain conditions of the point source models and the point spread functions in the presence of bounded noise. Furthermore, numerical examples are provided to corroborate the theoretical analysis, with comparisons against the Cramèr-Rao bound for parameter estimation.
Transfer for Primary Angioplasty Versus Immediate Thrombolysis in Acute Myocardial Infarction: A Meta-Analysis

Background—The benefit of primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) over thrombolysis has been clearly demonstrated in acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, the best therapeutic strategy for a patient with AMI presenting to acute care services without catheterization facilities remains under debate. Our objective was to gather all available information from clinical trials comparing transfer of patients experiencing AMI for angioplasty versus immediate thrombolysis. Methods and Results—We performed a meta-analysis of all data available from published randomized trials and from presentations in scientific sessions of major cardiology congresses comparing the 2 strategies. The primary end point was the combined criteria (CC) of death/reinfarction/stroke as defined in each trial. Relative risk (RR) evaluated the treatment effect. We identified 6 clinical trials including 3750 patients. Transfer time was always <3 hours. The CC was significantly reduced by 42% (95% confidence interval [CI] 29% to 53%, P <0.001) in the group transferred for primary PCI compared with the group receiving on-site thrombolysis. When CC parameters were considered separately, reinfarction was significantly reduced by 68% (95% CI, 34% to 84%; P <0.001) and stroke by 56% (95% CI, −15% to 77%; P =0.015). There was a trend toward reduction in all-cause mortality of 19% (95% CI, −3% to 36%; P =0.08) with transfer for PCI. Conclusion—Even when transfer to an angioplasty center is necessary, primary PCI remains superior to immediate thrombolysis. Organization of ambulance systems, prehospital management, and adequate PCI capacity appear now to be the key issues in providing reperfusion therapy for AMI.
Automatic Creation of Interlinear Text for Philological Purposes

Interlinear text presents a collection of interpretations of a manuscript. Whereas such a form is often compiled by a single author or a single team of scholars, we here consider auto- matic creation of interlinear text out of independently created linguistic resources. In terms of mathematical structures, we investigate the constraints one may want to impose on the render- ing and pair-wise alignment of resources, and present a computer algorithm that solves those constraints, resulting in suitable interlinear text. RESUME. Les gloses interlineaires permettent de presenter simultanement une collection d'interpretations d'un manuscrit. Bien qu'une telle forme soit frequemment le produit du travail d'un seul chercheur ou d'une seule equipe de chercheurs, nous nous interessons a la creation automatique de gloses interlineaires a partir de ressources linguistiques creees de maniere in- dependante. En termes de structures mathematiques, nous etudions les contraintes que l'on peut imposer pour le rendu ainsi que l'appariement des ressources, et nous exposons un algorithme qui resout ces contraintes et produit un texte interlineaire convenable.
A generative grammar approach to diatonic harmonic structure

This paper aims to give a hierarchical, genera- tive account of diatonic harmony progressions and proposes a generative phrase-structure grammar. The formalism ac- counts for structural properties of key, functional, scale and surface level. Being related to linguistic approaches in generative syntax and to the hierarchical account of tonality in the generative theory of tonal music (GTTM) (1), cadence-based harmony contexts and its elaborations are formalised. This approach covers cases of modulation, tonicisation and some aspects of large-scale harmonic form, and may be applied to large sets of diatonic compositions. Potential applications may rise in computational harmonic and corpus analysis, as well as in the music psychological investigation of tonal cognition. 1
Work-efficient nested data-parallelism

An apply-to-all construct is the key mechanism for expressing data-parallelism, but data-parallel programming languages like HPF and C* significantly restrict which operations can appear in the construct. Allowing arbitrary operations substantially simplifies the expression of irregular and nested data-parallel computations. The technique of flattening nested parallelism introduced by Blelloch, compiles data-parallel programs with unrestricted apply-to-all constructs into vector operations, and has achieved notable success, particularly with irregular data-parallel programs. However, these programs must be carefully constructed so that flattening them does not lead to suboptimal work complexity due to unnecessary replication in index operations. We present new flattening transformations that generate programs with correct work complexity. Because these transformations may introduce concurrent reads in parallel indexing, we developed a randomized indexing that reduces concurrent reads while maintaining work-efficiency. Experimental results show that the new rules and implementations significantly reduce memory usage and improve performance. <<ETX>>
STABLE INSTITUTIONS & NOVEL TECHNOLOGIES : A COMPARISON BETWEEN CHINESE AND INDIAN BIOTECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS

Comparing and contrasting the two giant economies, China and India, is gaining increasing attention in the literature, and rightly so because of their gargantuan economic share in the global space. However, because of the lack of empirical support, these literatures tend to overemphasis one’s prospects over the other. As a result, there are more questions than answers in these literatures. One of the questions is the focus of this study: how the national innovation systems (NIS) China and India contribute to their biotechnology capabilities. The evidences based on patent granted, patent citations, level of R&D and investment indicate that Chinese annual growth in biotechnological capability is 18% (patents) and 28% citations versus Indian growth about -. 4% (patents) and 1.5% citations over 12 years (19942005). These findings are contrary to the views asserted in the emerging literature that China as a system potentially lags India, so China should learn from India. Conversely, the evidences show that, provided high technology innovations are resources for economic growth and competitive advantage, China has a clear and substantial lead over India in both current resource endowments and potential capabilities in biotechnology systems.
Semantic Similarity Models for Geo-spatial Information System

similarity measurement is the practice of estimating the relatedness of the concept based on the likeness of their meaning or their semantic content. Today's increasing interest on the geospatial information system, leads to development of the query system which needs to provide efficient geo-spatial information retrieval. The properties and spatial relations between the geo-spatial concepts must be taken into account for retrieving geo-spatial information efficiently. This paper provides the survey on various models such as geometric model, network model, transformation model, hybrid model, etc, for discovering the semantic similarity between the geo-spatial concepts. It also focuses the drawbacks of each semantic similarity model and depicts how the hybrid model works well when compared with other models in retrieving the Geo-spatial information efficiently. The main objective of this paper is to propose Hybrid semantic similarity model using Manhattan distance and by considering contexts of the Geo-spatial concepts. The Manhattan distance method is used to estimate the semantic distance between the Geo-spatial concepts and to retrieve the Geo-spatial information efficiently. The position of the locations is identified by using the map similarity.
Evidence that saprotrophic fungi mobilise carbon and mycorrhizal fungi mobilise nitrogen during litter decomposition.

Commentary Evidence that saprotrophic fungi mobilise carbon and mycorrhizal fungi mobilise nitrogen during litter decomposition With improvements in molecular techniques, identification of taxa in mycorrhizal ecology has expanded from fruitbodies to mycorrhizal roots to extraradical hyphae (Anderson & Cairney, 2004). These molecular techniques are, in general, equally applicable to saprotrophic fungi, although this important functional group has received relatively little focus in community studies (Allmer et al ., 2006). Only a few studies have examined the spatial patterns of ectomycorrhizal fungi in soil profiles, and no studies have examined similar patterns for saprotrophic fungi. In this issue of New Phytologist (pp. 611– 620), Lindahl et al. reported on the spatial patterns of ectomycorrhizal and saprotrophic fungi from soil profiles in a Pinus sylvestris forest in Sweden, and compared those patterns with patterns of bulk carbon:nitrogen ratios, 15 N content and radiocarbon (as a proxy for age). As expected, each of these parameters increased with depth in soil profiles. The authors also reported a striking separation of the ectomycorrhizal and the saprotrophic communities, with the surface litter layer strongly dominated by saprotrophic fungi and the deeper horizons strongly dominated by ectomycorrhizal fungi. This physical separation implies that these fungal types also play separate roles in the carbon and nitrogen cycles by exploiting discrete pools of litter. '… these observations are the best evidence to date that the ectomycorrhizal transfer of 15 N-depleted N may be a primary driver for 15 N enrichment in soil profiles' Inputs to the soil profile The two overlapping fungal communities (ectomycorrhizal and saprotrophic) surveyed by Lindahl et al. primarily consume carbohydrates for their metabolic requirements. Their relative abundance through the soil profile partly reflects the pattern of fresh carbon input through two main sources. Saprotrophic fungi, because of their extensive capabilities to degrade lignin, predominate where above-ground litterfall is the primary input. In contrast, the peak of relative abundance of ectomycorrhizal taxa in the F and H layers presumably reflects a related peak in below-ground carbon input via roots. The unexpected increase in the C:N of organic matter from the F layer to the lower H layer may reflect these inputs, but could also indicate that soil N is sufficiently available in the lower organic horizon to be mobilised and removed by mycorrhizal fungi. Thus, carbon inputs into boreal forest soils can be spatially separated into a discrete above-ground input to the litter surface via litterfall …
Control strategies of a fuzzy controlled solid oxide fuel cell/battery distributed generation system for power quality enhancement

The proposed work deals with the control strategies of a fuzzy controlled solid oxide fuel cell/battery hybrid distributed generation system. The grid connected hybrid system consists of a solid oxide fuel cell as its primary source of energy and battery as the complimentary source of energy. The battery energy storage compensates the slow transient response of the fuel cell (FC) stack and supports the FC to meet the grid power demand. A Matlab/Simulink model is built for the fuel cell power plant, DC-DC converter & DC-AC converter using fuzzy logic control to regulate the fuel flow to meet the output power demand. The fuel cell/ battery hybrid distributed generation system is studied for voltage sag and voltage swell under unbalanced conditions. Simulation results illustrates the system performance for enhancement of power quality for voltage sag and swell, battery state of charge (SOC), active and reactive power, fuel cell voltage, voltage at point of common coupling and molar flow rate of the fuel cell.
Acoustic stopwords for unstructured audio information retrieval

The notion of acoustic stopwords is proposed to improve the performance of generic unstructured audio information retrieval systems. The rationale behind this is based on the assumption that not all portions of a generic audio signal contribute toward deriving specific descriptive categories (semantic words and onomatopoeias in this work). Detecting the non-salient regions in the audio can hence lead to more robust mapping of signal to categorical descriptions. Using the latent perceptual indexing (LPI) based framework, we propose to remove the proposed acoustic stopwords from the extracted acoustic features, which may include little information on descriptive categories. The acoustic stopwords are selected based on data-driven frequency-related measurements such as document frequency (DF) and inverse document frequency (IDF). The empirical results with BBC sound effect library show that removing acoustic stopwords based on the IDF measurement improves the audio classification performance especially for onomatopoeic labels.
DNA Methylation, Cancer Susceptibility, and Nutrient Interactions

DNA methylation is an important epigenetic mechanism of transcriptional control. DNA methylation plays an essential role in maintaining cellular function, and changes in methylation patterns may contribute to the development of cancer. Aberrant methylation of DNA (global hypomethylation accompanied by region-specific hypermethylation) is frequently found in tumor cells. Global hypomethylation can result in chromosome instability, and hypermethylation has been associated with the inaction of tumor suppressor genes. Preclinical and clinical studies suggest that part of the cancer-protective effects associated with several bioactive food components may relate to DNA methylation patterns. Dietary factors that are involved in one-carbon metabolism provide the most compelling data for the interaction of nutrients and DNA methylation because they influence the supply of methyl groups, and therefore the biochemical pathways of methylation processes. These nutrients include folate, vitamin B12, vitamin B6, methionine, and choline. However, looking at individual nutrients may be too simplistic. Dietary methyl (folate, choline, and methionine) deficiency in combination causes decreased tissue S-adenosylmethionine, global DNA hypomethylation, hepatic steatosis, cirrhosis, and ultimately hepatic tumorigenesis in rodents in the absence of carcinogen treatment. Other dietary components such as vitamin B12, alcohol, and selenium may modify the response to inadequate dietary folate.
Iterative Evaluation of PSGS Fuzzy Systems in Anytime Applications

system modeling and control, their use in time-critical applications is limited because of complexity problems, especially in cases, when not only low, but also flexibly changeable complexity is needed. Previously a method has been proposed to use fuzzy and other soft-computational tools in the frame of modular anytime architectures, however, the applicability needs the a priori knowledge of the temporarily available time and resources. This paper proposes a new transformation method, which makes possible the iterative-type evaluation of PSGS fuzzy systems, with a really flexibly changeable complexity, and with an easily estimable error at any step of the evaluation. Moreover, the transformation also ensures the fastest possible decrease of the error.