Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Art Education for New Times.

The notion of new times is a recognition of a cultural epoch which many observers have called “postmodern. ” It is argued that a proliferation of mass media imagery distinguishes our cultural period. We are saturated by visual images just as we are saturated by language, and for art education to engage seriously with students' own cultural preferences, a broad, semiotic conception of visual images is necessary. A new art education is needed which acknowledges crossover between high and popular cultural forms, is commensurate with new technologies, and accommodates a view of individuals as multifaceted. Educational responses to new times are discussed, and a classroom unit derived from media education is offered.
On-line convex optimization based solution for mapping in VSLAM

This paper presents a novel real-time algorithm to sequentially solve the triangulation problem. The problem addressed is estimation of 3D point coordinates given its images and the matrices of the respective cameras used in the imaging process. The algorithm has direct application to real time systems like visual SLAM. This article demonstrates the application of the proposed algorithm to the mapping problem in visual SLAM. Experiments have been carried out for the general triangulation problem as well as the application to visual SLAM. Results show that the application of the proposed method to mapping in visual SLAM outperforms the state of the art mapping methods.
La mesure du consentement à payer pour l'environnement. Analyse bibliographique sur les méthodes d'enquête

L'objet de cette analyse est de fournir des elements utiles a la realisation d'une enquete visant a mieux cerner la realite des consentements des differents agents concernes par les effets lies au secteur des transports (essentiellement les pollutions atmospheriques et sonores, les effets spatiaux), qu'ils soient dus aux trafics ou a l'existence des vehicules et des infrastructures. Dans un premier temps, le rapport se penche sur la definition du consentement a payer, afin de mieux preciser les contours de ce concept, et surtout la grande diversite de situations qu'il cache. Ceci amene les auteurs a definir une grille d'analyse et de lecture des documents fournis, afin de bien mettre en rapport les methodes et techniques d'enquete decrites avec la nature des problemes et les types d'agents concernes. La seconde partie est focalisee sur l'analyse critique de documents fournis par l'INRETS, qui permet de degager les avantages et inconvenients de chaque methode. Enfin, une partie conclusive a pour objet de developper diverses recommandations pour conduire une enquete sur le consentement a payer pour l'environnement.
A Method to Correct Systematic Bias in Affymetrix SNP Arrays

Affymetrix SNP arrays are important tools and widely used for both genotyping and copy number estimation. We found previously that systematic bias exists in Affymetrix SNP arrays and leads to loss of accuracy in copy number estimations. In this paper, we showed that systematic bias within SNP arrays is multiplicative effect (or additive effects in the log scale) to probe intensities. Based on this observation, a method was introduced to correct the systematic bias within SNP arrays.
Broad Distribution of Diverse Anaerobic Ammonium-Oxidizing Bacteria in Chinese Agricultural Soils

ABSTRACT Anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing (anammox) bacteria have been detected in many marine and freshwater ecosystems. However, little is known about the distribution, diversity, and abundance of anammox bacteria in terrestrial ecosystems. In this study, anammox bacteria were found to be present in various agricultural soils collected from 32 different locations in China. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA genes showed “Candidatus Brocadia,” “Candidatus Kuenenia,” “Candidatus Anammoxoglobus,” and “Candidatus Jettenia” in the collected soils, with “Candidatus Brocadia” being the dominant genus. Quantitative PCR showed that the abundance of anammox bacteria ranged from 6.38 × 104 ± 0.42 × 104 to 3.69 × 106 ± 0.25 × 106 copies per gram of dry weight. Different levels of diversity, composition, and abundance of the anammox bacterial communities were observed, and redundancy analysis indicated that the soil organic content and the distribution of anammox communities were correlated in the soils examined. Furthermore, Pearson correlation analysis showed that the diversity of the anammox bacteria was positively correlated with the soil ammonium content and the organic content, while the anammox bacterial abundance was positively correlated with the soil ammonium content. These results demonstrate the broad distribution of diverse anammox bacteria and its correlation with the soil environmental conditions within an extensive range of Chinese agricultural soils.
A Simple and Approximately Optimal Mechanism for a Buyer with Complements

Recent literature on approximately optimal revenue maximization has shown that in settings where agent valuations for items are complement free, the better of selling the items separately and bundling them together guarantees a constant fraction of the optimal revenue. However, most real-world settings involve some degree of complementarity among items. The role that complementarity plays in the trade-off of simplicity versus optimality has been an obvious missing piece of the puzzle. In “A Simple and Approximately Optimal Mechanism for a Buyer with Complements,” the authors show that the same simple selling mechanism—the better of selling separately and as a grand bundle—guarantees a $\Theta(d)$ fraction of the optimal revenue, where $d$ is a measure of the degree of complementarity. One key modeling contribution is a tractable notion of “degree of complementarity” that admits meaningful results and insights—they demonstrate that previous definitions fall short in this regard.
UNTANGLING A COMPLEX MEDIA SYSTEM

This article provides empirical insights into how one online service – Twitter – was used for political purposes during three separate election campaigns in Sweden, Denmark and Norway, specifically how Twitter users, with hyperlinks, connect with other channels for political communication. Methodologically, the study employs three large sets of data on Twitter use tagged as relevant for each of the election campaigns, covering a one-month period. The approach allows for an untangling of the complex interconnections between novel online services, mainstream media, official political party websites, public information, individual blogs and social network sites. By moving beyond a study merely of the type of websites linked to, to also include classification of the actors publishing the content linked to, the article provides insights into the actual use by politicians, interest groups as well as grassroots activists of diverse Web genres.
The Driving Safety Field Based on Driver–Vehicle–Road Interactions

Vehicle driving safety is influenced by many factors, including drivers, vehicles, and road environments. The interactions among them are quite complex. Consequently, existing methods that evaluate driving safety perform inadequately because they only consider limited factors and their interactions. As such, it is difficult for kinematics-based and dynamics-based vehicle driving safety assistant systems to adapt to increasingly complex traffic environments. In this paper, we propose a new concept, i.e., the driving safety field. The concept makes use of field theory to represent risk factors owing to drivers, vehicles, road conditions, and other traffic factors. A unified model of the driving safety field is constructed, which includes the following three parts: 1) a potential field, which is determined by nonmoving objects on the roads, such as a stopped vehicle; 2) a kinetic field, which is determined by the moving objects on roads, such as vehicles and pedestrians; and 3) a behavior field, which is determined by the individual characteristics of drivers. Moreover, the applications of the model are proposed, and its application to a typical car-following scenario is illustrated, which evaluates the risks caused by multiple traffic factors. The driving safety field can reveal driver-vehicle-road interactions and their influences on driving safety, as well as predict driving safety trends owing to dynamic changes. In addition, the model can provide a new foundation for establishing driving safety measures and active vehicle control under complex traffic environments.
An Ecological Study on the Leisure and Quality of Life for those who reside in free institutionalized elderly homes - Applying a Structural Equation Model -

The purpose of this study was to verify a Structural Equation Model that constructed the causations among the structural leisure constraints, interpersonal leisure constraints, intrapersonal leisure constraints, leisure motivation, leisure activity participation, leisure satisfaction and the quality of life from the ecological perspective. The respondents were 301 elderly people residing in 4 free institutionalized elderly homes in Seoul. The data were analyzed by confirmatory factor analysis and covariance structure analysis using USREL 8.0 ver. The major results are summarized as follows: 1) Statistically, a goodness of fit is good of structural equation model presented in the study. 2) The structural leisure constraints and the interpersonal leisure constraints are some types of leisure environment of the aged in public homes from the ecological perspective. Such constraints would inevitably lead to a direct effect on individual leisure life and leisure motivation. 3) The important valuable factor which affected the leisure satisfaction and the quality of life in the elderly was the leisure motivation.
Mixtures in nonstable Lévy processes

We analyse the Lévy processes produced by means of two interconnected classes of nonstable, infinitely divisible distribution: the variance gamma and the Student laws. While the variance gamma family is closed under convolution, the Student one is not: this makes its time evolution more complicated. We prove that—at least for one particular type of Student processes suggested by recent empirical results, and for integral times—the distribution of the process is a mixture of other types of Student distributions, randomized by means of a new probability distribution. The mixture is such that along the time the asymptotic behaviour of the probability density functions always coincide with that of the generating Student law. We put forward the conjecture that this can be a general feature of the Student processes. We finally analyse the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process driven by our Lévy noises and show a few simulations of it.
ERP is Dead, Long Live ERP

Enterprise resource-planning (ERP) systems, relational databases, and other mature information technologies are undergoing commoditization and facing challenges from software-as-a-service (SaaS) players moving into front-end enterprise applications. Yet, such systems are likely to be around for a long time because they are reliable and have lengthy life cycles. That said, investing in disruptive markets and business models and exploring innovative technologies in high-performance computing, pervasive connectivity, Web services, and other trends will be vital if ERP vendors wish to survive well in the unfolding future.
DATA MINING AND ITS APPLICATION IN DATABASE CONTENT REFINEMENT

: At present, China has established a series of National Fundamental Geographical Information System (NFGIS) databases which provide a united and authoritative space platform for GIS user communities and play an important role in social development, economy and state safety. However, with the progress in national informatization, NFGIS has been confronted many new requirements from GIS users including its refinement and updating. The thesis mainly concerns content refinement for National Fundamental Geographical Information System (NFGIS) 1:50,000 DLG database by virtue of statistical data mining technology. Firstly data mining methods are discussed, including statistical analysis, generalization-based mining, fuzzy sets methods, rough set theory and cloud theory, etc. Secondly, we propose a methodology employing clustering strategy in database content refinement. This approach is very suitable to explore the survey data and get useful information. Through conducting the user survey which means to collect users’ requirements on NFGIS database, such as data content and attributes information, we gathered the survey results and analyzed further by adopting clustering analysis. Generally speaking, there are two categories of methods for clustering: partitioning algorithms and hierarchical algorithms. Partitioning algorithms are based on specifying an initial number of groups, and iteratively reallocating samples between groups until some equilibrium is attained. In contrast, hierarchical algorithms proceed by combining or dividing existing groups, producing a hierarchical structure displaying the order in which groups are merged or divided. Users from different sectors have different requirements, while we can hypothesize that there are 3 clusters representing different requirement degree respectively: high, medium and low. Thus we take partitioning algorithm. Surely, we may not specify the clustering number and adopt the hierarchical clustering algorithm. We have discussed these two methods and their clustering results. Finally, we got the content refinement plan of 1:50,000 DLG database. Throughout the research, we can reach the following conclusions: (1) Clustering analysis is essential to survey results; (2) Spatial analysis is supplementary to clustering analysis; (3) Using different clustering methods ensures the correctness of clustering results.
Wnt signaling-mediated redox regulation maintains the germ line stem cell differentiation niche

Adult stem cells continuously undergo self-renewal and generate differentiated cells. In the Drosophila ovary, two separate niches control germ line stem cell (GSC) self-renewal and differentiation processes. Compared to the self-renewing niche, relatively little is known about the maintenance and function of the differentiation niche. In this study, we show that the cellular redox state regulated by Wnt signaling is critical for the maintenance and function of the differentiation niche to promote GSC progeny differentiation. Defective Wnt signaling causes the loss of the differentiation niche and the upregulated BMP signaling in differentiated GSC progeny, thereby disrupting germ cell differentiation. Mechanistically, Wnt signaling controls the expression of multiple glutathione-S-transferase family genes and the cellular redox state. Finally, Wnt2 and Wnt4 function redundantly to maintain active Wnt signaling in the differentiation niche. Therefore, this study has revealed a novel strategy for Wnt signaling in regulating the cellular redox state and maintaining the differentiation niche. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.08174. 001
A Polynomial All Outcome Determinization for Probabilistic Planning

Most predominant approaches in probabilistic planning utilize techniques from the more thoroughly investigated field of classical planning by determinizing the problem at hand. In this paper, we present a method to map probabilistic operators to an equivalent set of probabilistic operators in a novel normal form, requiring polynomial time and space. From this, we directly derive a determinization which can be used for, e.g., replanning strategies incorporating a classical planning system. Unlike previously described all outcome determinizations, the number of deterministic operators is not exponentially but polynomially bounded in the number of parallel probabilistic effects, enabling the use of more sophisticated determinization-based techniques in the future.
Versican and fibrillin-1 form a major hyaluronan-binding complex in the ciliary body.

PURPOSE In this study, biochemistry, molecular biology, immunohistochemistry, and electron microscopy techniques were used to examine whether versican, which is known to bind fibrillin-1, interacts with fibrillin-1 in the ciliary body and vitreous, and whether the versican in this complex binds to hyaluronan. METHODS The new polyclonal antibodies against the amino and carboxyl termini of versican were raised and characterized. The mRNA expression levels of versican and fibrillin-1 were analyzed by RT-PCR and real-time PCR, and their protein levels were evaluated by Western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry. Isolation of versican bound to fibrillin-1-containing microfibrils from ciliary bodies was performed by extraction studies. Slot-blot analyses and rotary shadowing electron microscopy were applied to identify versican associated with fibrillin-1-containing microfibrils after gel filtration chromatography and density gradient centrifugation. RESULTS The newly prepared polyclonal antibodies recognized amino and carboxyl termini of chicken versican. Versican, principally V0 and V1, was found to be securely bound to fibrillin-1-containing microfibrils, forming a major hyaluronan-binding structure in the ciliary nonpigmented epithelium. In addition, Western blot analysis revealed two cleaved complexes, the carboxyl-terminal end of versican bound to fibrillin microfibrils and the amino terminal end of versican bound to hyaluronan in the vitreous body. CONCLUSIONS Fibrillin-1, versican, and hyaluronan form a unique complex in the ciliary nonpigmented epithelium, and two cleavage products of this complex were shown to exist in the vitreous body. This newly clarified fibrillin-versican-hyaluronan (FiVerHy) complex and its cleavage products may be indispensable for the physiological properties important to the ciliary body and vitreous.
Color Dependent Computational Aesthetics for Evolving Expressions

A well-known method for generating computer art is based on the paradigm of user-guided evolution, a method whereby "artists" interactively search through populations of images in order to select, and subsequently breed, those images which show aesthetic promise. This can be a time consuming endeavor, lacking well-defined principles for controlling evolution and for obtaining images with desired aesthetic characteristics. One way to improve upon this situation is to develop computational criteria for selecting images that conform to user specified aesthetics. We consider a non-interactive evolutionary method that contributes to this field of computational aesthetics by: (1) color segmenting the digital images that we breed so that their color organization can be used to influence aesthetic decision making, and (2) investigating mathematical models for assigning aesthetic fitness to images based on geometric quantities obtained following color segmentation. We provide examples of the aesthetic imagery we obtain.
The renormalization transformation for two-type branching models

A method of making conference call connections in computer-controlled telephone exchanges includes combining voice signals of conference participants on a digital basis, forming a signal of a total of speaking levels of a given number of the most active participants, distributing the signal in an undamped manner, and suppressing voice signals of the inactive participants. A bit stream of the conference participants reaching a conference assembly through an incoming line is distributed to m adding processors having n channels each, and the PCM words are linearized with a code table and stored in level memories for each particular participant. A total of the linear values is formed, is added to individual participant evaluation totals and is stored in evaluation memories for each particular participant. The participant evaluation totals are transmitted to an evaluation processor which determines active channels by using a delayed mean value of the participant levels and transmits it to the adding processors. A conference total signal is created by adding linear values of all channels. Transmission signals for all channels are formed in the adding processors by compressing the conference total signal, the individual linear value of the active participants being substracted before compression. The signals thus created are stored in transmitting memories and transmitted through an outgoing line.
The Ventricular-Arterial Coupling: From Basic Pathophysiology to Clinical Application in the Echocardiography Laboratory

The interplay between cardiac function and arterial system, which in turn affects ventricular performance, is defined commonly ventricular-arterial coupling and is an expression of global cardiovascular efficiency. This relation can be expressed in mathematical terms as the ratio between arterial elastance (EA) and end-systolic elastance (EES) of the left ventricle (LV). The noninvasive calculation requires complicated formulae, which can be, however, easily implemented in computerized algorithms, allowing the adoption of this index in the clinical evaluation of patients. This review summarizes the up-to-date literature on the topic, with particular focus on the main clinical studies, which range over different clinical scenarios, namely hypertension, heart failure, coronary artery disease, and valvular heart disease.
Initial-Condition Estimation in Network Synchronization Processes: Algebraic and Graphical Characterizations of the Estimator

We pursue a graph-theoretic analysis of state inference in network synchronization (or diffusive) processes. Precisely, we study estimation of a non-random initial condition of a canonical synchronization dynamics defined on a graph, from noisy observations at a single network node. By characterizing the maximum-likelihood estimation of the initial condition and the associated Cramer-Rao bound, we identify graph properties (e.g., symmetries, interconnection strengths, spectral measures) that determine 1) whether or not estimation is possible and 2) the quality of the estimate.
Interaction between Fast and Ultra-slow Inactivation in the Voltage-gated Sodium Channel

Recently, we reported that mutation A1529D in the domain (D) IV P-loop of the rat skeletal muscle Na+ channel μ1 (DIV-A1529D) enhanced entry to an inactivated state from which the channels recovered with an abnormally slow time constant on the order of ∼100 s. Transition to this “ultra-slow” inactivated state (USI) was substantially reduced by binding to the outer pore of a mutant μ-conotoxin GIIIA. This indicated that USI reflected a structural rearrangement of the outer channel vestibule and that binding to the pore of a peptide could stabilize the pore structure (Hilber, K., Sandtner, W., Kudlacek, O., Glaaser, I. W., Weisz, E., Kyle, J. W., French, R. J., Fozzard, H. A., Dudley, S. C., and Todt, H. (2001) J. Biol. Chem. 276, 27831–27839). Here, we tested the hypothesis that occlusion of the inner vestibule of the Na+ channel by the fast inactivation gate inhibits ultra-slow inactivation. Stabilization of the fast inactivated state (FI) by coexpression of the rat brain β1 subunit inXenopus oocytes significantly prolonged the time course of entry to the USI. A reduction in USI was also observed when the FI was stabilized in the absence of the β1 subunit, suggesting a causal relation between the occurrence of the FI and inhibition of USI. This finding was further confirmed in experiments where the FI was destabilized by introducing the mutations I1303Q/F1304Q/M1305Q. In DIV-A1529D + I1303Q/F1304Q/M1305Q channels, occurrence of USI was enhanced at strongly depolarized potentials and could not be prevented by coexpression of the β1 subunit. These results strongly suggest that FI inhibits USI in DIV-A1529D channels. Binding to the inner pore of the fast inactivation gate may stabilize the channel structure and thereby prevent USI. Some of the data have been published previously in abstract form (Hilber, K., Sandtner, W., Kudlacek, O., Singer, E., and Todt, H. (2002) Soc. Neurosci. Abstr. 27, program number 46.12).