Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Abdominal CT image denoising based on a Laplace distribution with local variance in steerable pyramid domain

This paper presents a new image denoising algorithm based on the modeling of coefficients in each subband of steerable pyramid with a Laplacian probability density function (pdf) with local variance. This pdf is able to model the heavy-tailed nature of steerable pyramid coefficients and the empirically observed correlation between the coefficient amplitudes. Within this framework, we describe a novel method for image denoising based on designing a maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimator, which relies on the zero-mean Laplacian random variables with high local correlation. Despite the simplicity of our spatially adaptive denoising method, both in its concern and implementation, our denoising results achieves better performance than several published methods such as Bayes least squared Gaussian scale mixture (BLS-GSM) technique that is a state-of-the-art denoising technique.
Evaluating the performance of an advanced train dispatching system

In the last years, real-time railway traffic optimization experienced an increasing interest due to the expected growth of traffic and the limited possibilities of enhancing the infrastructure, which ask for a more efficient use of resources and the application of more advanced decision support tools. This paper presents a computerized train dispatching system, called ROMA (Railway traffic Optimization by Means of Alternative graphs), for supporting railway traffic controllers during operations. Innovative scheduling and rerouting algorithms have been developed in order to globally optimize disturbed railway traffic conditions. ROMA can anticipate the evolution of traffic, including the propagation of delays in a regional railway network, and can estimate the effects of different dispatching measures during a period of about 15 minutes ahead. Therefore, ROMA would enable traffic controllers to frequently perform incremental changes to the actual timetable to accommodate changes in traffic patterns due to disturbances, such as train delays and blocked tracks. An extensive computational study is carried out, based on a dispatching area of the Dutch railway network, to show the high potential of our train dispatching system as a support tool to improve punctuality.
Singing, sharing, soothing – biopsychosocial rationales for parental infant-directed singing in neonatal pain management

Infant-directed singing is a medium for parents and infants to communicate in a mutual relationship. Parental infant-directed singing is a multisensory, biopsychosocial communication that applies to ill and vulnerable hospitalised infants. The primary musical features of infant-directed singing are ideal for emotional coordination and sharing between parent and infant without the risk of over-stimulation. In this article, we suggest that parental infant-directed singing is regarded as a nonpharmacological emotion regulation intervention, which may modify the painful experience for both the infant and the parent before, during and after painful procedures in the neonatal intensive care context. Parents have the biopsychosocial resources to alleviate their infant’s pain through infant-directed singing, if they are empowered to do so and coached in this process. A music therapist specialised in neonatal music therapy methods can mentor parents in how to use entrained and attuned live lullaby singing in connection to painful procedures. Pain and the vast amount of painful procedures early in infancy, combined with early parent–infant separation and lack of parental participation in the care of the infant during neonatal intensive care, place arduous strain on the new family’s attachment process and on the infant’s and parents’ mental health, both from a short and long-term perspective. Therefore, we argue with biopsychosocial rationales, that live parental infant-directed singing should be promoted in neonatal pain care worldwide. Consequently, parents should be welcomed round the clock and invited as prescribed pain management for their infant.
Are Corporate Governance Code Disclosure and Engagement Principles Effective Vehicles for Corporate Accountability? The United Kingdom as a Case Study

Disclosure and engagement principles are included in every corporate governance code, reflecting a critical emphasis on communication as a vehicle for corporate accountability. These communication principles have been a focus of reform worldwide, prompted by shifts in financial market and social expectations of corporations. The article examines the disclosure and engagement provisions in the Corporate Governance Code in the United Kingdom (and the proposed reforms to these provisions) as a case study. The proposed initiatives seek to strengthen the voice of employees and enhance disclosure around environmental and social concerns. However, this article contends that the gains achieved from these reforms may be marginal due to structural deficiencies. The incremental disclosure and engagement obligations are expected to be flexible and loosely phrased, with a negligible probability of significant market consequences or regulatory intervention. Moreover, most substantive corporate communication will continue to occur at private forums between directors and selected institutional investors. In financial markets with these regulatory settings, effective governance mechanisms to ensure broad and independent accountability of corporations are lacking or weak. Indeed, these legal structures encourage and legitimise carefully differentiated private and public communication channels, with the public discourse used to present a sparkling company image. Policy makers need to re-consider their reliance on private forums to improve governance standards and ensure that public communication frameworks are inclusive, responsive, probative and enforced. In this way, company law will start to meet the growing calls for corporates to act as responsible citizens.
Finding the Location of Mobile Nodes using a Historical-Beacon-Aided Localization Algorithm

Range-free localization approaches are costeffective for mobile sensor networks (because no additional hardware support is required). However, existing range-free localization approaches for mobile sensor networks suffer from either sparse anchor node problem or high communication cost. Due to economic considerations, mobile sensor networks typically have sparse anchor nodes which makes most range-free localization algorithms inaccurate. On the other hand, due to the power limitation of mobile sensor nodes (i.e., they are battery-operated) and high power consumption by communication, high communication cost will significantly reduce the network life time. For solving these two problems, in this paper, we use historical beacons (i.e., anchor nodes announcements delivered in previous time slots) and received signal strength (RSS) to derive three constraints. '" the aid of the three constraints, we introduce a low-communication-cost range-free localization algorithm (only one-hop beacon broadcasting is required). According to the theoretical analysis and simulation results, our three constraints can indeed improve the accuracy. Results also show that our algorithm out performs even in irregular-radiosignal environments. In addition, a hardware implementation running on sensor nodes, octopus is, confirms theoretical analysis and simulation results. Keywords-Ad-hoc network, localization, mobility, rangefree, wireless sensor network
The Relation Between Cerebral Oxygen Consumption and Cerebral Vascular Reactivity to Carbon Dioxide

The mechanisms whereby CO2 affects cerebral vessels are not as simple as once thought,1, 2 and are probably both directly on cerebral vascular walls3, 4 and indirectly by action on brain stem neurones.5 Furthermore, cerebral vascular reactivity to CO2 has been reported to be altered by a number of physiological and pathological circumstances. The capacity to dilate to increased PaCO2 is decreased in cerebral vascular lesions,6–8 and is affected by changes in cerebral perfusion pressure.9 Cervical sympathectomy is said to increase CBF response to PaCO2 changes, whereas sympathetic nerve stimulation abolishes reactivity to CO2.10 Deep anesthesia, hypothermia, or trauma to brain reduces reactivity to cerebral vessels to CO2, the one common denominator for these states being reduced cerebral metabolism. This report demonstrates that the capacity of cerebral vessels to dilate or constrict in response to changes in PaCO2 is influenced by cerebral oxygen consumption.
Stimulation of the nitric oxide synthase pathway in human hepatocytes by cytokines and endotoxin

Nitric oxide (NO) is a short-lived biologic mediator that is shown to be induced in various cell types and to cause many metabolic changes in target cells. Inhibition of tumor cell growth and antimicrobial activity has been attributed to the stimulation of the inducible type of the NO synthase (NOS). However, there is limited evidence for the existence of such inducible NOS in a human cell type. We show here the induction of NO biosynthesis in freshly isolated human hepatocytes (HC) after stimulation with interleukin 1, tumor necrosis factor (TNF), IFN- gamma, and endotoxin. Increased levels of nitrite (NO2-) and nitrate (NO3-) in culture supernatants were associated with NADPH-dependent NOS activity in the cell lysates. The production of NO2- and NO3- was inhibited by NG-monomethyl L-arginine and was associated with an increase in cyclic guanylate monophosphate release. The data presented here provide evidence for the existence of typical inducible NO biosynthesis in a human cell type.
Transition as a focus within language maintenance research: Wellington Iraqi refugees as an example

Abstract Most current language maintenance and shift research has focused on investigating immigrants’ experiences and attitudes in their host countries only. Recent research has shown that additional insights can be gained from a multi-perspective approach to language maintenance that includes “spatio-temporal” frames. Transit experiences (representing extra spaces and multiple phases) offer important information which has been overlooked in most language maintenance and shift research. Drawing on a data set of 30 semi-structured interviews with Wellington Iraqis and 13 with Iraqi refugees preparing to move to New Zealand from their transit point in Jordan, this article argues for the significance of transit experiences to language maintenance research. Analysis of the data suggests the significance of transit experiences in explaining the variations in Iraqis’ linguistic preferences and competencies and elucidates differences in language ability, use and attitude between older and younger generations. The data provides evidence for the importance of transition as a focus within language maintenance and shift study.
A study of dry stiction phenomenon in MEMS using a computational stochastic multi-scale methodology

This work studies the uncertainties of the adhesive contact problems for reduced size structures, e.g. the stiction failure of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). In MEMS, because of the large surface to volume ratio, the surfaces forces, such as van der Waals forces and capillary forces, are dominant in comparison with the body forces. As these force magnitudes strongly depend on the contact distance, when the two contacting surfaces are rough, the contact distances vary, and the physical contact areas are limited at the highest asperities of the contacting surfaces. Therefore, the adhesive contact forces between two rough surfaces can suffer from a scatter, and the involved structural behaviors can be indeterministic. To numerically predict the probability behaviors of structures involving adhesion in dry environments, in this paper, a computational stochastic model-based multi-scale method developed by the authors is applied. The effects of van der Waals is studied and compared with experimental data as well as with the effects of capillary forces.
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Capital Flows to Latin America: New Issues and Old Concerns

he world is entering its first global recession since the early 1970s. Growth prospects were already weak during the first months of 2001, but the events of September 11 destroyed any hope of escaping a global recession. The most recent estimates from the International Monetary Fund predict that during 2001 and 2002, world output will grow at a rate of 2.4 percent. The growth rate of the advanced economies will be below 1 percent, and Latin America will have a growth rate well below 2 percent. The world slowdown will be particularly painful for countries that export commodities and rely on external financing. The outlook is particularly bad for Latin America, which is facing a deterioration of its external financing conditions and weaker demand for its goods and services (especially commodities and tourism). These external factors, coupled with internal problems in some countries, are putting great pressure on the region’s ability to grow, necessitating a severe fiscal adjustment. This climate is particularly worrisome because it may have severe implications for the welfare of the region in both the short run and long run. In the short run, the crisis is likely to increase poverty and severely impact the most vulnerable groups of the population. In the long run, the economic crisis will generate social discontent and may put in jeopardy the process of structural reforms that the region has painstakingly implemented during the last decade. Since mid-1997, Latin America has experienced a succession of severe adverse shocks. Export prices deteriorated significantly in the aftermath of the Asian crisis. Compared with the second quarter of 1997, terms of trade in non-oil exporting countries, such as Chile and Peru, dropped by approximately 20 percent. While until recently, oil-exporting countries were benefiting from the high price of oil, since September 2001 oil prices also started declining. The Russian crisis (and the other crises that followed, e.g., Brazil, Turkey, and Argentina) led to a significant and persistent rise in the cost of capital for emerging markets in general and an even greater increase for Latin America. Interest rates spreads for Latin American countries went from 260 basis points in the quarter preceding the Asian crisis to 800 basis points in the current quarter. The dramatic rise in the cost of capital was associated with a severe drought in capital inflows to the region. Total flows to the seven largest Latin American
From the GPS to HM: Place cells, grid cells, and memory

A longstanding debate in hippocampus research has revolved around how to reconcile spatial mapping functions of the hippocampus with the global amnesia produced by hippocampal damage in humans. Is the hippocampus primarily a cognitive map used to support spatial learning, or does it support more general types of learning necessary for declarative memory? In recent years, a general consensus has emerged that the hippocampus receives both spatial and nonspatial inputs from the entorhinal cortex. The hippocampus creates representations of experience in a particular spatial and temporal context. This process allows the individual components of experience to be stored in such a way that they can be retrieved together as a conscious recollection. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Recreating Stable Brachypodium hybridum Allotetraploids by Uniting the Divergent Genomes of B. distachyon and B. stacei

Brachypodium hybridum (2n = 30) is a natural allopolyploid with highly divergent sub-genomes derived from two extant diploid species, B. distachyon (2n = 10) and B. stacei (2n = 20) that differ in chromosome evolution and number. We created synthetic B. hybridum allotetraploids by hybridizing various lines of B. distachyon and B. stacei. The initial amphihaploid F1 interspecific hybrids were obtained at low frequencies when B. distachyon was used as the maternal parent (0.15% or 0.245% depending on the line used) and were sterile. No hybrids were obtained from reciprocal crosses or when autotetraploids of the parental species were crossed. Colchicine treatment was used to double the genome of the F1 amphihaploid lines leading to allotetraploids. The genome-doubled F1 plants produced a few S1 (first selfed generation) seeds after self-pollination. S1 plants from one parental combination (Bd3-1×Bsta5) were fertile and gave rise to further generations whereas those of another parental combination (Bd21×ABR114) were sterile, illustrating the importance of the parental lineages crossed. The synthetic allotetraploids were stable and resembled the natural B. hybridum at the phenotypic, cytogenetic and genomic levels. The successful creation of synthetic B. hybridum offers the possibility to study changes in genome structure and regulation at the earliest stages of allopolyploid formation in comparison with the parental species and natural B. hybridum.
Optimizing Instruction Scheduling through Combined In-Order and O-O-O Execution in SMT Processors

The resource sharing nature of Simultaneous Multithreading (SMT) processors and the presence of long latency instructions from concurrent threads make the instruction scheduling window (IW), which is a primary shared component among key pipeline structures in SMT, a performance bottleneck. Due to the tight constraints on its physical size, the IW faces more severe pressure to handle the instructions from various threads while attempting to avoid resource monopolization by some low-ILP threads. It is particularly challenging to optimize the efficiency and fairness in IW utilization to fulfill the affordable performance by SMT under the shadow of long latency instructions. Most of the existing optimization schemes in SMT processors rely on the fetch policy to control the instructions that are allowed to enter the pipeline, while little effort is put to control the long latency instructions that are already located in the IW. In this paper, we propose streamline buffers to handle the long latency instructions that have already entered the pipeline and clog the IW, while the controlling fetch policies take time to react. Each streamline buffer extracts from IW and holds a chain of instructions from a thread that are stalled by dependency on a long latency load. When the load value returns, the streamline buffer then serves these instructions directly to in-order execution, avoiding any instruction replay. This is done in supplement to the conventional IW that serves in parallel the other instructions for out-of-order (o-o-o) execution. Analysis of SPEC2000 integer and FP benchmarks reveals that instructions dependent on long latency loads, typically have their first source operand ready within 5 percent-15 percent of their total wait time in the IW. Our scheme is able to utilize this asymmetry in source operands' ready time to achieve a complexity effective design. As compared to the baseline SMT architecture, our design when working in conjunction with earlier proposed ICOUNT.2. 8 fetch policy for 4-threads effectively reduces the IW full rate by 9.4 percent (11 percent for 2-thread), improves average IPC for MIXED workloads by 9.6 percent (8 percent for MEM workloads and 4.4 percent for CPU workloads), and fairness by 7.56 percent (7.24 percent for 2-thread). Similar enhancements are observed when run in conjunction with an RR.2. 8 fetch policy. Further, our scheme when combined with DCRA improves the performance on the average by 21.7 percent, while DCRA improves by 16.3 percent when run alone.
Managing Distressing Thoughts in Adults With and Without Autism: The Role of Cognitive Fusion and the Effectiveness of a Brief Defusion Intervention

Managing Distressing Thoughts in Adults With and Without Autism: The Role of Cognitive Fusion and the Effectiveness of a Brief Defusion Intervention Max Emanuel Maisel Department of Psychology, BYU Doctor of Philosophy In the tradition of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), cognitive fusion is a transdiagnostic risk factor and occurs when one becomes overly attached to or “caught up” in their thoughts, leading to a more narrowed behavioral repertoire and difficulty taking effective action in response to life’s demands. Cognitive defusion is ACT’s curative answer to fusion, and denotes the process of taking a step back, seeing thoughts as “simply thoughts,” thereby reducing the negative impact of distressing or anxiety-provoking thoughts. While these components have been widely studied in neurotypical (NT) samples, the purpose of this study was to extend findings to people diagnosed on the autism spectrum (AS). Specifically, this study aimed to examine the impact of cognitive fusion in this population and the effectiveness of a brief defusion technique. Forty-two AS participants and fifty-five neurotypical participants were given a battery of questionnaires measuring psychological distress and dispositional levels of cognitive fusion. Participants were then randomized into either a brief cognitive fusion technique or a brief active distraction technique. In both conditions participants chose a distressing thought and rated it on a visual analogue scale (VAS) in terms of thought discomfort and believability. They were then read a rationale regarding their assigned technique, practiced the technique, and applied the technique to their chosen distressing thought. After the intervention participants immediately rerated the thought on the same VAS. Throughout the study, participants’ heart rate and skin conductance were monitored to determine physiological effects of the conditions. Finally, a follow-up survey was sent at a one-week and two-week follow-up, where participants re-rated the believability and discomfort of their thoughts. Results of this study showed that the AS group had higher overall levels of fusion than the NT group, and that fusion was moderately to strongly related to psychological distress in the AS group and the NT group. In terms of the intervention effects, all interpretation statements must be taken with caution, as there were significant pre-group differences despite randomization. Both defusion and distraction worked equally well in immediately reducing thought believability and thought discomfort for AS and NT groups. Furthermore, treatment effects were maintained at the two-week follow-up period for all groups except for the AS group in the defusion condition. There were no treatment effects for physiology. The current study provides evidence that cognitive fusion may be an important factor in the psychiatric comorbidity that people with AS experience, and a brief technique can be effectively used.
Atomistic Simulations of Dislocations in Confined Volumes

Internal microstructural length scales play a fundamental role in the strength and ductility of a material. Grain boundaries in nanocrystalline structures and heterointerfaces in nanolaminates can restrict dislocation propagation and also act as a source for new dislocations, thereby affecting the detailed dynamics of dislocation-mediated plasticity. Atomistic simulation has played an important and complementary role to experiment in elucidating the nature of the dislocation/interface interaction, demonstrating a diversity of atomic-scale processes covering dislocation nucleation, propagation, absorption, and transmission at interfaces. This article reviews some atomistic simulation work that has made progress in this field and discusses possible strategies in overcoming the inherent time scale challenge of finite temperature molecular dynamics.