Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Development of microcontroller-based stereoscopic camera rig positioning system

A camera rig operator of stereoscopic camera system mostly adjusts a pair of camera manually when trying to make a 3D video that has good image depth. However, the process of this cameras positioning is cumbersome and time-consuming. In this paper, in order to solve those problems we develop a semiautomatic stereoscopic camera system; different from other works where a microcontroller, which considered low-cost and affordable, is employed to handle automation process of the system. Nevertheless, the camera rig operator is still required to carry out some manual processes such as inserting required parameters. In this system, the object distances approach is utilized; some object distance parameters, which obtained by a laser range finder, are entered into mathematical expressions in order to obtain correct positions of two cameras. Based on experimental results, our proposed system enhances the process of the video capture process. In other words, it reduces the time required for every single scene capture process.
Microwave Backscatter Dependence on Surface Roughness, Soil Moisture, and Soil Texture: Part II-Vegetation-Covered Soil

Results are presented of an experimental investigation to determine the relationship between radar backscatter coefficient ¿° and soil moisture for vegetation-covered soil. These results extend a previous report which showed the experimental relationship between ¿° and soil moisture for bare soil [1]. It is shown that the highest correlation between ¿° and soil moisture is 0.92 for the combined response of four crop types measured at 4.25 GHz, 10° incidence angle, and HH polarization. Radar look direction, relative to the crop row direction, is shown to have an insignificant effect on soil moisture estimation if the radar frequency is higher than 4 GHz. The dependence on soil type can be minimized by expressing soil moisture in units of percent of field capacity. The possibility of using a single radar for measuring soil moisture for both bare and vegetated fields is demonstrated with a linear estimation algorithm having an experimental correlation coefficient of 0.8.
Energy efficient indoor localization utilizing BT 4.0 strapdown inertial navigation system

In the age of automation the need for indoor navigation has become quite important for a rising number of applications. In this work a strapdown INS (SINS) in terms of Inertial Navigation System is discussed. INS is an electronic device, containing an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), implementing a Dead Reckoning (DR) algorithm. This algorithm estimates position, velocity and orientation utilizing readings from motion sensors. The logic behind DR algorithm is to continually adding detected changes from the sensors to its previously calculated results. This is the main reason why INS is limited to measure relative position and orientation. Thus the accuracy of the propagated position depends heavily on the quality of the initial conditions. In addition, if absolute position or orientation updates are obtained by another sensor source at a high rate, the INS can be used to deliver high precision positions. In this paper, an INS fused with the new Bluetooth v4.0 technology is described.
On the Wrong Side of the Tracks: Understanding the Effects of School Structure and Social Capital in the Educational Pursuits of Undocumented Immigrant Students

Over the last few years, increasing scholarly and media attention has been paid to the plight of undocumented immigrant college students. However, only a small fraction of undocumented youth actually moves on from high school to postsecondary opportunities. Indeed, the exclusion from financial aid eligibility and low family socioeconomic status severely limit undocumented students’ ability to matriculate to institutions of higher learning. But little is known about the ways in which school experiences shape postsecondary outcomes. This article focuses on the high school experiences of a sample of undocumented young adults and examines the ways in which school structures shape access to resources needed for postsecondary matriculation. In doing so, I argue that school-based networks are critical for success. However, these networks are fundamentally shaped by the school structure. This article draws from 78 in-depth life histories of undocumented Latino young adults in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. I incorporate a sample, stratified by educational experiences. The lived experiences of these young adults shed important light on the broader world in which they live and the ways in which immigration policies interact with school practices to shape success and failure.
Short report: Positive correlation between rosetting and parasitemia in Plasmodium falciparum clinical isolates.

Plasmodium falciparum isolates that form rosettes with uninfected red cells are associated with severe malaria in African children, although the mechanism by which rosetting contributes to severe disease is unknown. Here we have analyzed the relationship between rosetting and parasitemia in two samples of clinical isolates from children with malaria in Kilifi, Kenya. A consistent positive correlation was found between rosetting and parasitemia (Spearman's rank correlation coefficent p = 0.467, P < .001, n = 154, for 1993 study; p = .407, P < .001, n = 74, for 2000 study). Rosetting may enhance parasite growth and survival by facilitating invasion or promoting immune evasion, thus allowing higher parasitemia to develop and increasing the likelihood of severe malaria.
Etiology of community-acquired pneumonia in hospitalized adult patients in New Caledonia

OBJECTIVE This study describes the etiology of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in hospitalized adult patients in New Caledonia, a French archipelago in the South Pacific. METHODS Confirmed CAP patients (n = 137) were enrolled prospectively. Pathogens were detected by culture, molecular methods, serology on paired sera, immunofluorescence on nasopharyngeal swabs and antigen detection in urine. RESULTS The etiology of CAP was determined in 82 of 137 cases (59.8%) of which 31 exhibited two or more pathogens (37.8%). One hundred seventeen pathogens were detected: Streptococcus pneumoniae was the most common one (41.0% of pathogens identified), followed by influenza virus A (22.1%) and Haemophilus influenzae (10.2%). The frequency of atypical bacteria was low (6.0%). The most frequent and significant coinfection was S. pneumoniae with influenza A virus (p = 0.004). Influenza virus was detected from nasopharyngeal swabs in four patients (15.4% of patients tested for influenza) and by PCR from pulmonary specimens in 15 patients (57.7%). CONCLUSIONS This study is the first description of the etiology of CAP in hospitalized adults in New Caledonia and may reflect the etiology of CAP in non-deprived populations in tropical countries. S. pneumoniae is the leading cause of CAP in New Caledonian adults. Viral-bacterial co-infections involving S. pneumoniae and influenza virus are very common during the winter. Such adult patients hospitalized with CAP are a clear sentinel group for surveillance of influenza. Vaccination against influenza and S. pneumoniae should be strengthened when risk factors are identified. pa st eu r-0 07 05 15 1, v er si on 1 7 Ju n 20 12 Author manuscript, published in "Tropical Medicine and International Health 15, 12 (2010) 1517-24" DOI : 10.1111/j.1365-3156.2010. 02653.x
Motive, Intention, and Morality in the Criminal Law

A remarkably persistent dispute in the criminal law concerns the relevance of a defendant's motive to his or her criminal liability. Specifically, the issue is whether a good or permissible motive should exculpate someone who has committed a criminal act. According to the orthodox rule, the defendant's motive is strictly irrelevant to liability. Recently, though, there has been a barrage of criticism aimed at this doctrine. Critics charge that the doctrine is not only false—judges do regularly consider motive—but also morally inexcusable, because a permissible motive ought to lessen the blameworthiness of the defendant. The present article defends the orthodox doctrine. It is argued both that it is factually accurate as a description of how judges behave but also, more importantly, that there is a sound moral basis for the doctrine that motives are irrelevant with respect to criminal liability. Critics have mischaracterized the role that motive plays in moral theory and practice, and careful attention to the significance of motive demonstrates that the orthodox criminal law doctrine is quite in line with our moral practices.
Mechanical efficiency and efficiency of storage and release of series elastic energy in skeletal muscle during stretch-shorten cycles.

The mechanical energy exchanges between components of a muscle-tendon complex, i.e. the contractile element (CE) and the series elastic element (SEE), and the environment during stretch-shorten cycles were examined. The efficiency of the storage and release of series elastic energy (SEE efficiency) and the overall mechanical efficiency of the rat gastrocnemius muscle (N = 5) were determined for a range of stretch-shorten contractions. SEE efficiency was defined as elastic energy released to the environment divided by external work done upon the muscle-tendon complex plus internal work exchange from the CE to the SEE. Mechanical efficiency is external work done by the muscle-tendon complex divided by the external work done upon the muscle-tendon complex plus work done by the CE. All stretch-shorten cycles were performed with a movement amplitude of 3mm (6.7% strain). Cycle frequency, duty factor and the onset of stimulation were altered for the different cycles. SEE efficiency varied from 0.02 to 0.85, mechanical efficiency from 0.43 t 0.92. SEE efficiency depended on the timing of stimulation and net muscle power in different ways. Mechanical efficiency was much more closely correlated with net power. The timing of muscle relaxation was crucial for the effective release of elastic energy. Simulated in vivo contractions indicated that during rat locomotion the gastrocnemius may have a role other than that of effectively storing elastic energy and generating work. Computer simulations showed that the amount of series elastic compliance can affect the internal energetics of a muscle contraction strongly without changing the muscle force generation dramatically.
Book Review: Adrienne Russell and Nabil Echchaibi, International Blogging: Identity, Politics, and Networked Publics, New York: Peter Lang: New York, 2009. 205pp. ISBN 978—1-4331—0233—2 (pbk)

Clemencia Rodriguez on community radio in Colombia) all deal with similar shortcomings in their respective regions and firmly advocate the building of bridges to local discourses of modernity. The final section focuses on developing appropriate concepts for internationalizing media studies. In his short reflective piece Cees Hamelink argues for international media ethics, while Kaarle Nordenstreng’s contribution is helpful in formulating appropriate media research methods in the context of internationalizing media studies. John Downing offers an overview of programmes in the US academy that deal with international media studies and Winston Mano examines the state of media studies in Africa. The section ends with a chapter by Gerard Goggin and Mark McLelland, which focuses on the internationalization of the internet and its implications for media studies as a field. The ideas and the arguments offered by the different authors in this collection are fresh and original. A book of this kind has long been needed and the editor has filled this vacuum by bringing together a valuable compendium of articles around the much discussed theme of ‘de-Westernizing’ media research and the emergence of trans-cultural media studies.
Deliberate self‐poisoning and self‐injury in older people

Patients aged 55 and over who were referred to a general hospital between 1976 and 1987 because of self‐poisoning or self‐injury were studied. The 675 individuals comprised 8.7% of suicide attempters of all ages. The mean annual rate of attempts in the 55‐64 year age group was almost double that of the 65+ age group. In the younger age group the female:male ratio of rates for the whole study period was 1.3, whereas in the older age group it was close to unity. Rates were highest in the divorced of both sexes and also high in single and widowed males. Married males had particularly low rates. Relatively few people were receiving psychiatric care at the time of their attempts. There was no evidence of any major change in rates of attempted suicide during the study period, unlike in younger people in whom rates have declined. However, there were changes in the substances used for self‐poisoning, with a very marked decline in the use of barbiturates and increasing use of non‐opiate analgesics, especially paracetamol. Repetition of attempts within one year of a first attempt during the study period occurred in nearly one in 10 cases.
Harnessing the power of intelligent machines to enhance primary care.

Mr Jones sits down in front of you and removes from his bag a sheaf of printed web pages. Trying to appear composed, you studiously ignore the stack of papers and look straight at him. ‘How can I help you today? ’ > ‘Well, doctor, it’s just that I was looking on the internet and they suggested I come in and see you …’ [he looks bashful] ‘… it’s just I’ve been having difficulty swallowing and the weight’s been dropping off me. The internet suggested it might be …’ [he hesitates] ‘… something nasty. ’ Two weeks later you open your correspondence. This time, the internet was right. Searching the internet for health advice is undoubtedly fraught with potential complications as well as rewards, but have you ever stopped to think about the technology behind these searches and what other implications it might have for your practice? Only 9% of the UK population have heard of machine learning, but 89% recognise at least one of its uses.1 From fraud detection on your credit card to voice recognition software such as Siri, we are surrounded by intelligent machines. Each time a search term is entered into Google it uses complex algorithms to determine the most appropriate results. These rules are not programmed explicitly by humans but developed iteratively over time by the machine itself. The machine is learning from our behaviour — which results we choose to click on, how long we stay on an individual page — and is constantly refining its own search algorithms as a …
Phonetic symbolism for size, shape, and motion

This thesis examines phonetic symbolism, the meaningful use of individual speech sounds to convey and infer size, shape, and motion. Chapter 1 presents a summary of the literature. Though there is evidence suggesting that phonetic symbolism exists and is pervasive, the literature presents several research opportunities. In nine experiments and one pre-test (total N = 357 participants), we use graded stimuli throughout, which is uncommon in the previous research. This use of non-dichotomous stimuli allows for the hypotheses that have arisen from a gestural model of language evolution and the Frequency Code to be more fully investigated. In the first set of experiments (Chapter 2), we demonstrate that phonetic marking for size is graded, i.e., it does not mark just very large and very small objects. In Chapter 3, the focus is on marking for size and shape, and their possible interactions. We show that marking for size and for shape are not as in line with each other as previous works might suggest. Marking for movement is the topic of Chapter 4, which includes moving stimuli, not just implied motion. We find that trait permanence is at play with the naming for motion tasks, with marking only occurring when naming the motion itself. Finally, a concluding chapter summarizes and further expounds on the results of the thesis, and how those results relate to the hypotheses suggested by gestural models and frequency code. The conclusion also includes a section of current and future research directions.
LFA-1 Antagonists as Agents Limiting Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Infection and Transmission and Potentiating the Effect of the Fusion Inhibitor T-20

ABSTRACT Adhesion molecules are known to play major roles in the initiation and stabilization of cell-to-cell contacts during the immunological response. Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) exploits those interactions to facilitate infection and propagation processes. The primary objective of the present study was to investigate the ability of antagonists specific for lymphocyte function-associated antigen 1 (LFA-1) to diminish HIV-1 infection and transmission. We demonstrate here that LFA-1 antagonists can significantly reduce HIV-1 replication in primary human cells and virus propagation by affecting cell-to-cell interactions. Moreover, the inhibition of LFA-1-mediated adhesion events also potentiates the antiviral efficacy of the peptide fusion inhibitor T-20. Altogether, our data suggest that LFA-1 antagonists represent promising antiviral agents. Antiadhesion therapy could be considered a complementary strategy targeting cellular functions essential for HIV-1 spreading and against which the combined therapy currently used displays a limited efficacy.
VEGFR-3 in Angiogenesis and Lymphangiogenesis

Blood and lymphatic vessels develop in a parallel, but independent manner, and together form the circulatory system allowing the passage of fluid and delivering molecules within the body. Although the lymphatic vessels were discovered 300 years ago, at the same time as the blood circulation was described, the lymphatic system has remained relatively neglected until the present. This is in part due to the difficulties in recognizing these vessels in tissues because of a lack of specific markers. Over the past few years several molecules expressed specifically in the lymphatic endothelial cells have been characterized, and knowledge about the lymphatic system has started to accumulate
How Complex is Discourse Structure?

This paper contributes to the question of which degree of complexity is called for in representations of discourse structure. We review recent claims that tree structures do not suffice as a model for discourse structure, with a focus on the work done on the Discourse Graphbank (DGB) of Wolf and Gibson (2005, 2006). We will show that much of the additional complexity in the DGB is not inherent in the data, but due to specific design choices that underlie W&Gs annotation. Three kinds of configuration are identified whose DGB analysis violates tree-structure constraints, but for which an analysis in terms of tree structures is possible, viz., crossed dependencies that are eventually based on lexical or referential overlap, multiple-parent structures that could be handled in terms of Marcus (1996) Nuclearity Principle, and potential list structures, in which whole lists of segments are related to a preceding segment in the same way. We also discuss the recent results which Lee et al. (2008) adduce as evidence for a complexity of discourse structure that cannot be handled in terms of tree structures.
APOE genotype, ethnicity, and the risk of cerebral hemorrhage

Objective: The apolipoprotein E (APOE) polymorphism is an established risk factor for intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) that is related to cerebral amyloid angiopathy in the white population. Among Asian populations, although ICH represents up to one third of all strokes and has high rates of mortality and morbidity, the role of the APOE polymorphism has not been well studied. Methods: The Perindopril Protection Against Recurrent Stroke Study (PROGRESS) was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of a blood pressure lowering regimen in subjects with prior cerebrovascular disease. APOE status was determined for 5,671 patients, including 2,148 Asians (38%). Results: During the 3.9 years of follow-up, ICH occurred in 99 patients. Overall, carrying an ε2 or ε4 allele of the APOE polymorphism was associated with an adjusted hazard ratio (HRa) of 1.85 (95% CI = 1.24 to 2.76). In Asian patients the risk of ICH for ε2 or ε4 carriers was 2.11 (95% CI = 1.28 to 3.47) and 1.48 (95% CI = 0.76 to 2.87) in Europeans. Carriers of the ε2 or ε4 allele had an increased risk of both incident and recurrent ICH, and both cortical and deep ICH, and most risk estimates were higher in Asians than in Europeans. For both ethnic groups and for subtypes of ICH active treatment more than halved the risk of ICH and the treatment effects were not different in carriers of the ε2 or ε4 allele and in those with the ε3ε3 genotype. Conclusions: There is a strong association between APOE genotype and the risk of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). In Asian patients the role of APOE polymorphisms in ICH is much broader than was previously supposed.
Swift's Ability to Detect Gamma-Ray Bursts

The Swift satellite will be a self-contained observatory that will bring new capabilities to the observing of the early afterglow emission of Gamma-ray Bursts. Swift is completely autonomous and will do all of the observations without help from the ground. There are three instruments on Swift. A large (5200 sq cm) coded aperture imager will locate the bursts within about 15 seconds. The satellite will be able to slew to point at the location within a minute or two. There are two narrow field of view instruments: an optical telescope and an x-ray telescope. Thus, Swift will provide simultaneous gamma-ray, x-ray, and optical observations of Gamma-ray bursts soon after the burst. A key to the success of Swift will be its ability to detect and locate a large number of gamma-ray bursts quick enough that the narrow field of view instruments can follow up. The results of simulations show that Swift will be able to detect about 300 bursts a year and locate about 150. The number that Swift will be able to slew to depends on constraints built into the satellite bus. Preliminary results indicate that we might be able to slew to 100 bursts per year, but that is heavily dependent on satellite operations.
Clinical results of an investigation of paediatric upper limb myoelectric prosthesis fitting at the Quebec rehabilitation institute

This study was designed to investigate the satisfaction level of young users of myoelectric prostheses who received an upper limb myoelectric prosthesis, to assess their dropout rate and to identify which factors influence the use or non-use of the upper limb myoelectric prosthesis in the eastern part of Quebec (Canada). The users were fitted between 1990 and 1999 at the Quebec Rehabilitation Institute, a major rehabilitation centre located in the province of Quebec. This rehabilitation centre provides cutting-edge expertise not only for the eastern part of Quebec, but also across the entire province, because it is one of only two highly specialised centres serving all of Quebec. A literature review was completed to compile the results obtained in other rehabilitation centres and to identify factors influencing the use or non-use of paediatric upper limb myoelectric prostheses. The Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with Assistive Technology (QUEST) was used in order to assess the degree to which the children were satisfied with their prostheses. Eighteen (18) children were fitted and trained to use an upper limb myoelectric prosthesis. A total of 10 children and parents agreed to participate. Some 80% of participants said that they were satisfied with their prostheses. A dropout rate of 53% for the overall group (participants and non-participants) seems high compared with that of other studies. Recommendations linked to factors identified in the literature are made. The authors conclude that a multidisciplinary team and structured training and follow-up can improve the clinical results pertaining to all the factors proposed in the literature.