Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
FPGA technology for implementation in visual sensor networks

A typical configuration of Visual Sensor Network (VSN) usually consists of a set of vision nodes, network motes, and a base station. The vision node is used to capture image data and transmit them to the nearest network mote. Then, the network motes will relay the data within the network until it reaches the base station. Since the vision node is usually small in size and battery-powered, it restricts the resources that can be incorporated onto it. In this chapter, a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) implementation of a low-complexity and strip-based Microprocessor without Interlocked Pipeline Stage (MIPS) architecture is presented. In this case, the image data captured by the vision node is processed in a strip-by-strip manner to reduce the local memory requirement. This allows an image with higher resolution to be captured and processed with the limited resources. In addition, parallel access to the neighbourhood image data is incorporated to improve the accessing speed. Finally, the performance of visual saliency in using the proposed architecture is evaluated.
Anthropogenic disturbance as a driver of microspatial and microhabitat segregation of cytotypes of Centaurea stoebe and cytotype interactions in secondary contact zones.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS In a mixed-ploidy population, strong frequency-dependent mating will lead to the elimination of the less common cytotype, unless prezygotic barriers enhance assortative mating. However, such barriers favouring cytotype coexistence have only rarely been explored. Here, an assessment is made of the mechanisms involved in formation of mixed-ploidy populations and coexistence of diploid plants and their closely related allotetraploid derivates from the Centaurea stoebe complex (Asteraceae). METHODS An investigation was made of microspatial and microhabitat distribution, life-history and fitness traits, flowering phenology, genetic relatedness of cytotypes and intercytotype gene flow (cpDNA and microsatellites) in six mixed-ploidy populations in Central Europe. KEY RESULTS Diploids and tetraploids were genetically differentiated, thus corroborating the secondary origin of contact zones. The cytotypes were spatially segregated at all sites studied, with tetraploids colonizing preferentially drier and open microhabitats created by human-induced disturbances. Conversely, they were rare in more natural microsites and microsites with denser vegetation despite their superior persistence ability (polycarpic life cycle). The seed set of tetraploid plants was strongly influenced by their frequency in mixed-ploidy populations. Triploid hybrids originated from bidirectional hybridizations were extremely rare and almost completely sterile, indicating a strong postzygotic barrier between cytotypes. CONCLUSIONS The findings suggest that tetraploids are later immigrants into already established diploid populations and that anthropogenic activities creating open niches favouring propagule introductions were the major factor shaping the non-random distribution and habitat segregation of cytotypes at fine spatial scale. Establishment and spread of tetraploids was further facilitated by their superior persistence through the perennial life cycle. The results highlight the importance of non-adaptive spatio-temporal processes in explaining microhabitat and microspatial segregation of cytotypes.
A Study on Development of Robot - based Teaching-Learning Model for Improving Creativity

Currently robots are widely used in schools for educational purpose. With wide spread of robot-based education, it is known that major advantage of robot-based education is to enhance creativity and logical thinking of students. Although robots can be very useful tools for assisting students’ study activities, there have not been lots of teaching-learning models for robot-based education.In this paper, a teaching-learning model is presented for robot-based education. The proposed model is designed based on constructivism. The proposed model consists of 6 stages: preparation, design, assembling, demonstration run, evaluation, and application & extension. The proposed model has the following characteristics. First, the proposed model is designed to enhance creativity and logical thinking ability of learners. Learners are supposed to be involved in self-directed activities and required to provide results based on their own ideas. Teachers are supposed to mediate students only if necessary. Second, learners are encouraged to participate in activity via diverse interaction. The interaction in this model includes learner-to-learner interaction, learner-to-teacher interaction, and learner-to-expert interaction. The proposed model encourages learners to solve the problem with cooperating each other. Also, teachers are supposed to guide students if necessary and observe and monitor behavior of students all the time. Third, motivation is provided in the beginning stage of the instruction. Fourth, in the proposed model, both study results and study process are equally important. In the model, study process is reviewed at the final stage.
Reasoning situated in time I: basic concepts

The needs of a real-time reasoner situated in an environment may make it appropriate to view error-correction and non-monotonicity as much the same thing. This has led us to formulate situated (or step) logic, an approach to reasoning in which the formalism has a kind of real-time self-reference that affects the course of deduction itself. Here we seek to motivate this as a useful vehicle for exploring certain issues in commonsense reasoning. In particular, a chief drawback of more traditional logics is avoided: from a contradiction we do not have all wffs swamping the (growing) conclusion set. Rather, we seek potentially inconsistent, but nevertheless useful, logics where the real-time self-referential feature allows a direct contradiction to be spotted and corrective action taken, as part of the same system of reasoning. Some specific inference mechanisms for real-time default reasoning are suggested, notably a form of introspection relevant to default reasoning. Special treatment of ‘‘now’’ and of contradictions are the main technical devices here. We illustrate this with a computer-implemented real-time solution to R. Moore’s Brother Problem.
Structural Determinants of Autoproteolysis of the Haemophilus influenzae Hap Autotransporter

ABSTRACT Haemophilus influenzae is a gram-negative bacterium that initiates infection by colonizing the upper respiratory tract. The H. influenzae Hap autotransporter protein mediates adherence, invasion, and microcolony formation in assays with respiratory epithelial cells and presumably facilitates colonization. The serine protease activity of Hap is associated with autoproteolytic cleavage and extracellular release of the HapS passenger domain, leaving the Hapβ C-terminal domain embedded in the outer membrane. Cleavage occurs most efficiently at the LN1036-37 peptide bond and to a lesser extent at three other sites. In this study, we utilized site-directed mutagenesis, homology modeling, and assays with a peptide library to characterize the structural determinants of Hap proteolytic activity and cleavage specificity. In addition, we used homology modeling to predict the S1, S2, and S4 subsite residues of the Hap substrate groove. Our results indicate that the P1 and P2 positions at the Hap cleavage sites are critical for cleavage, with leucine preferred over larger hydrophobic residues or other amino acids in these positions. The substrate groove is formed by L263 and N274 at the S1 subsite, R264 at the S2 subsite, and E265 at the S4 subsite. This information may facilitate design of approaches to block Hap activity and interfere with H. influenzae colonization.
Constraint handling procedure for multiobjective particle swarm optimization

In this paper, the proposed constrained multiobejctive particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) adopts the multiobjective constraint handling framework and includes the following design features: An infeasible global best archive to guide the infeasible particles towards feasible region(s); procedures to update the personal best archive are designed to encourage finding feasible regions and convergence towards the Pareto front; acceleration constants in the particle swarm optimization equation are adjusted during the search process to encourage finding more feasible particles or to search for better solutions; and mutation operators are adopted to encourage global and local searches. The simulation results indicate that the proposed algorithm is highly competitive in solving the benchmark problems.
Laser treatment of port-wine stains

Port-wine stains are a type of capillary malformation affecting 0.3% to 0.5% of the population. Port-wine stains present at birth as pink to erythematous patches on the skin and/or mucosa. Without treatment, the patches typically darken with age and may eventually develop nodular thickening or associated pyogenic granuloma. Laser and light treatments provide improvement through selective destruction of vasculature. A variety of vascular-selective lasers may be employed, with the pulsed dye laser being the most common and well studied. Early treatment produces more optimal results. Advances in imaging and laser treatment technologies demonstrate potential to further improve clinical outcomes.
Proposing Codes of Ethics for Iranian Nurses

The purpose of this study was to develop codes of ethics for Iranian nurses. Researchers used mixed methods in four stages during 2009-2010 to develop a series of ethical codes for Iranian nurses in Isfahan, Iran. 55 ethical codes in 12 categories were extracted and listed as (1) believe in human dignity, (2) respect for patients’ privacy, (3) empathy for patient, (4) autonomy in decision making, (5) accurate and precise nursing care, (6) being conscience, (7) human relationship, (8) professional commitment, (9) promoting justice, (10) preventing harm and/or injury, (11) honesty and confidentiality, and (12) maintaining and promoting professional values. Study findings serve to the global nursing community on the Islamic view of ethics.
The Effect of Cognitive Control of Emotion on Physiological Arousal and Emotional Memory

Humans have the unique ability to monitor and modify emotional states to achieve their goals. Appropriate emotion regulation is critical to mental health, but emotion regulation, like other forms of cognitive control, requires cognitive resources and prove difficult to execute successfully (Tice & Bratslavsky, 2000). Individuals vary considerably in their ability to regulate emotion, and impairments in emotion regulation have been linked to a variety of psychological and somatic disorders (APA, 1994; Davidson et al., 2000). A recent psychophysiological investigation with healthy volunteers has shown that voluntary efforts to regulate one's emotional responses to unpleasant events can change emotional experience and expressions. For example, Jackson, Malmstadt, Larson and Davidson (2000) reported that voluntary attempts to increase or decrease the intensity of negative emotions elicited while viewing unpleasant pictures, respectively, increased or decreased physiological measures of affective experience and the expression of negative emotion. Specifically, both greater startle eyeblink responses and corrugator electromyographic activity were observed while participants increased negative emotions. On the other hand both reduced The Effect of Cognitive Control of Emotion on Physiological Arousal and Emotional Memory
Expression of matrix metalloproteinases and their inhibitors in human trabecular meshwork cells.

PURPOSE Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are involved in trabecular meshwork (TM) extracellular matrix metabolism and have been shown to increase aqueous outflow facility. The purpose of this study was to characterize effects of cytokines, a phorbol ester, and prostanoids on the expression of MMP-1, -2, -3, and -9 and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMP)-1 and -2 in cultured human TM cells. METHODS Five human TM cell strains were treated with selected compounds. Levels of proMMPs and TIMPs in cell media were quantified by ELISA. MMP-3 activity was assayed by casein zymography. RESULTS All human TM cell strains produced detectable basal amounts of proMMPs and TIMPs. 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate was effective in increasing the levels of proMMP-1, -3, and -9 and TIMP-1. Its effect on proMMP-1 was concentration-dependent with an EC(50) of 2 to 3 nM. Interleukin (IL)-1alpha did not affect levels of proMMP-1 and -2 or the TIMPs, but was most efficacious in increasing proMMP-3 production with an EC(50) of 0.5 ng/mL. The IL-1alpha-induced upregulation of proMMP-3 correlated with an increase in MMP-3 activity. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha activated proMMP-3 production in some but not all cell strains. Platelet-derived growth factor-BB was generally ineffective in modulating MMP and TIMP levels. Prostaglandins E(2) and F(2alpha) at 10 micro M did not affect levels of proMMP-1 or -3. CONCLUSIONS The expression of the different MMPs and TIMPs in human TM cells was independently regulated. Production of MMP-3 was maximally activated by IL-1alpha. The IL-1alpha-stimulated expression of MMP-3 provides a probable mechanism for IL-1alpha-enhanced aqueous outflow.
INVERSE THERMODILUTION WITH CONVENTIONAL PULMONARY ARTERY CATHETERS FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF CEREBRAL, HEPATIC, RENAL, AND FEMORAL BLOOD FLOW

ABSTRACT Assessment of regional blood flow changes is difficult in the clinical setting. We tested whether conventional pulmonary artery catheters (PACs) can be used to measure regional venous blood flows by inverse thermodilution (ITD). Inverse thermodilution was tested in vitro and in vivo using perivascular ultrasound Doppler (USD) flow probes as a reference. In anesthetized pigs, PACs were inserted in jugular, hepatic, renal, and femoral veins, and their measurements were compared with simultaneous USD flow measurements from carotid, hepatic, renal, and femoral arteries and from portal vein. Fluid boluses were injected through the PAC's distal port, and temperature changes were recorded from the proximally located thermistor. Injectates of 2 and 5 mL at 22°C and 4°C were used. Flows were altered by using a roller pump (in vitro), and infusion of dobutamine and induction of cardiac tamponade, respectively. In vitro: At blood flows between 400 mL·min−1 and 700 mL·min−1 (n = 50), ITD and USD correlated well (r = 0.86, P < 0.0001), with bias and limits of agreement of 3 ± 101 mL·min−1. In vivo: 514 pairs of measurements had to be excluded from analysis for technical reasons, and 976 were analyzed. Best correlations were r = 0.87 (P < 0.0001) for renal flow and r = 0.46 (P < 0.0001) for hepatic flow. No significant correlation was found for cerebral and femoral flows. Inverse thermodilution using conventional PAC compared moderately well with USD for renal but not for other flows despite good in vitro correlation in various conditions. In addition, this method has significant technical limitations.
Novel role of nectin: implication in the co‐localization of JAM‐A and claudin‐1 at the same cell–cell adhesion membrane domain

Tight junctions (TJs) are formed at the apical side of adherens junctions (AJs) in epithelial cells. Major cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) at TJs are JAM and claudin, whereas major CAMs at AJs are nectin and cadherin. We previously showed that nectin initially forms cell–cell adhesion and then recruits cadherin to the nectin‐based cell–cell adhesion sites to form AJs, followed by the recruitment of JAM and claudin to the apical side of AJs to form TJs. We investigated the roles of nectin in the formation of TJs by expressing various combinations of CAMs in L fibroblasts with no TJs or AJs. Co‐expression of one of the AJ CAMs and one of the TJ CAMs formed two separate cell–cell adhesion membrane domains (CAMDs). Co‐expression of nectin‐3 and E‐cadherin formed the same CAMD, but co‐expression of JAM‐A and claudin‐1 did not form the same CAMD. Co‐expression of JAM‐A and claudin‐1 with nectin‐3, but not E‐cadherin, made them form the same CAMD, which was separated from the nectin‐based CAMD. Nectin‐3 required afadin, a nectin‐ and F‐actin‐binding protein, for this ability. In conclusion, nectin plays a novel role in the co‐localization of JAM and claudin at the same CAMD.
Trajectories of change in criminal offending: Good marriages and the desistance process.

Building on R. J. Sampson and J. H. Laub, the authors draw an analogy between changes in criminal offending spurred by the formation of social bonds and an investment process. This conceptualization suggests that because investment in social relationships is gradual and cumulative, resulting desistance will be gradual and cumulative. Using a dynamic statistical model developed by D. S. Nagin and K. C. Land, they test their ideas about change using yearly longitudinal data from S. and E. Glueck and Glueck's classic study of criminal careers. Their results show that desistance from crime is facilitated by the development of quality marital bonds, and that this influence is gradual and cumulative over time
The Emotional and Personality-Related Career Decision-Making Difficulties Questionnaire—Validation of the Chinese Version

The purpose of the present study was to examine the internal consistency and test–retest reliability, the internal structure, and construct validity of the Chinese version of the Emotional and Personality-Related Career Difficulties questionnaire (EPCD). Based on a sample of 540 Chinese university students, high-reliability coefficients for the overall scale (α = .93), the three clusters (.78, .85, and .93), and adequate reliability for its 11 difficulty categories (range from .64 to .85) were observed. The 2-week test–retest reliabilities of the overall scale, three clusters, and 11 difficulty categories were also adequate (ranging from .61 to .94). Confirmatory factor analysis of the original theoretical model (11 difficulty categories loaded on three major clusters and then one general factor) demonstrated acceptable model fit after deleting three small-loading items. The pattern of associations between the clusters of the EPCD and the Trait Anxiety Scale, the Career Decision Scale, and the Vocational Identity Scale supported its construct validity. The discussion of the use of EPCD in China and suggestions for future research are proposed.
Perhaps “Action as the practice of knowing”

Simin Davoudi’s (2015) essay gives readers of Planning Theory an insightful and instructive reflection on the practice of knowing. How, in effect, knowledge should be linked with action is aptly summarized in her diagram that clusters four kinds of knowledge—“Knowing what (theories, concepts),” “Knowing how (crafts, skills),” “Knowing to what end (moral choices)” and “Practical judgment (wisdom)” around “Doing (action). ” I can’t think of a better conceptualization of the application of the different kinds of knowledge there are, to deciding and committing ourselves to personal and collective action. My only question is: why is this essay addressed specifically to planning—as in its title: “Planning as practice of knowing”? This implies an undeserved limitation of her conceptualization, which in my view is of much wider and more general (if more abstract) relevance, and why not Law as practice of knowing, Politics as practice of knowing, Design as practice of knowing, Teaching as practice of knowing, Healing as practice of knowing, even Cooking as practice of knowing. I think I know the answer to my question: the popular definition of planning as linking between knowledge and action (Friedmann, 1987: 38–44). But this definition is problematic: not that it isn’t true, but that it can be just as well applied to other fields (Alexander, 2005). That is why this otherwise excellent essay is replete with statements about knowledge in planning that are equally valid with a substitute subject. For example (p. 318) “Planners do not uncover facts like geologists, but rather, like lawyers . organize facts . engage in persuasive rational arguments . attached to value objectives” (Hoch, 1994: 105). Why not: Advocates do not uncover facts like geologists, but rather, as lawyers . organize facts . engage in persuasive rational arguments . attached to value objectives. Or: Statespersons-policymakers/Designers/ Teachers/Therapists/Chefs do not uncover facts like geologists, but rather, like lawyers . organize facts . engage in persuasive rational arguments . attached to value objectives. Again (p. 319) “. understanding from within what? In the context of planning . from within the mind of each individual planner . and from within the social rules which render planner’s action with meaning . ” Why not: In the context of legal practice.from within the mind of each individual lawyer.and from within the social rules which render lawyers’ actions with meaning . Or: . In the context of politics/design/ education/healing/cooking from within the mind of each individual politician/designer/ teacher/therapist/chef and from within the social rules which render politicians’/ 624187 PLT0010.1177/1473095215624187Planning TheoryAlexander other2015
Leveraging personal devices for stronger password authentication from untrusted computers

Internet authentication for popular end-user transactions, such as online banking and e-commerce, continues to be dominated by passwords entered through end-user PCs. Most users continue to prefer (typically untrusted) PCs over smaller personal devices for actual transactions, due to usability features related to keyboard and screen size. However, most such transactions and their underlying protocols are vulnerable to attacks including keylogging, phishing and pharming. We propose Mobile Password Authentication (MP-Auth) to counter such attacks, which cryptographically separates a user's long-term secret input from the client PC, and offers transaction integrity. The PC continues to be used for most of the interaction but has access only to temporary secrets, while the user's long-term secret is input through an independent personal device, e.g., a cellphone which makes it available to the PC only after encryption under the intended far-end recipient's public key. MP-Auth expects users to input passwords only to a personal device, and be vigilant while confirming transactions from the device. To facilitate a comparison to MP-Auth, we also provide a comprehensive survey of web authentication techniques that use an additional factor of authentication; this survey may be of independent interest.