Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A preliminary study on the effect of motion correction on HARDI reconstruction

Post-acquisition motion correction is widely performed in diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) to guarantee voxel-wise correspondence between DWIs. Whereas this is primarily motivated to save as many scans as possible if corrupted by motion, users do not fully understand the consequences of different types of interpolation schemes on the final analysis. Nonetheless, interpolation might increase the partial volume effect while not preserving the volume of the diffusion profile, whereas excluding poor DWIs may affect the ability to resolve crossing fibers especially with small separation angles. In this paper, we investigate the effect of interpolating diffusion measurements as well as the elimination of bad directions on the reconstructed fiber orientation diffusion functions and on the estimated fiber orientations. We demonstrate such an effect on synthetic and real HARDI datasets. Our experiments demonstrate that the effect of interpolation is more significant with small fibers separation angles where the exclusion of motion-corrupted directions decreases the ability to resolve such crossing fibers.
A Robust Sparse Fourier Transform in the Continuous Setting

In recent years, a number of works have studied methods for computing the Fourier transform in sublinear time if the output is sparse. Most of these have focused on the discrete setting, even though in many applications the input signal is continuous and naive discretization significantly worsens the sparsity level. We present an algorithm for robustly computing sparse Fourier transforms in the continuous setting. Let x*(t) = x(t)+g(t), where x* has a k-sparse Fourier transform and g is an arbitrary noise term. Given sample access to x(t) for some duration T, we show how to find a k-Fourier-sparse reconstruction x'(t) with 1/T ∫0T|x'(t) - x(t)|2dt ≲ 1/T∫0T|g(t)|2dt. The sample complexity is linear in k and logarithmic in the signal-to-noise ratio and the frequency resolution. Previous results with similar sample complexities could not tolerate an infinitesimal amount of i.i. d. Gaussian noise, and even algorithms with higher sample complexities increased the noise by a polynomial factor. We also give new results for how precisely the individual frequencies of x* can be recovered.
GENETIC DIVERSITY OF THE MOST IMPORTANT SUGAR CANE CULTIVARS IN MEXICO DIVERSIDAD GENÉTICA DE LOS CULTIVOS DE CAÑA MÁS IMPORTANTES DE MÉXICO

Despite the economical importance of sugarcane, until the present-date no studies have been carried out to evaluate sugarcane germplasm from Mexican fields. The objective of this study was to evaluate genetic diversity of, and establish the relationship between, 15 different cultivars of sugarcane cultivated in Mexico. AFLP amplification using twelve primers pairs resulted in a total of 884 scorable markers of which 489 were polymorphic including 9 that were unique to a particular cultivar. The similarity values based en AFLPs ranged from 0.72 to 0.9, with values closer to 1 indicating a high percentage of genetic similarity among the cultivars analyzed and suggest that the Saccharum germplasm collection in Mexico present a genetically narrow base. This is likely due to the fact that their parental breeding lines used to develop these cultivars are the same or are very close to each other. However, analysis identified cultivars that are potentially important source of diverse sugarcane germplasm. For example, Mex-73523 and CP 722086 cultivars had not been extensively utilized in the development of other sugarcane cultivars and having characteristic of agronomic interest, they can be used as progenitors for the creation of varieties with a wider genetic. base.
Optimal on-line scheduling in stochastic multiagent systems in continuous space-time

We consider multiagent systems with stochastic non-linear dynamics in continuous space-time. We focus on systems of agents that aim to visit a number of given target locations at given points in time at minimal control cost. The online optimization of which agent has to visit which target requires the solution of the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equation, which is a non-linear partial differential equation (PDE). Under some conditions, the log-transform can be applied to turn the HJB equation into a linear PDE. We then show that the optimal solution in the multiagent scheduling problem can be expressed in closed form as a sum of single schedule solutions.
Distributed Control Synthesis

Synthesis of control for distributed systems is considered to be an undecidable problem, under the assumption that control is performed by supervisors synchronizing with the original processes and selectively blocking or supporting the enabled transitions. We described a decidable distributed control problem, where additional communications are allowed between supervisors. In this way, we synthesize control for invariants, reachability, repeated reachability and parity conditions. Special attention is given to reducing the number of added communications.
Enhancing Adoption Studies: The Case of Residential Stormwater Management Practices in the Midwest

This study explores factors affecting adoption of two stormwater management practices, rain gardens and rain barrels. Mail survey data from Columbia, Missouri indicate adoption rates of 3.12 percent (rain gardens) and 7.47 percent (rain barrels). This unique dataset enables us to distinguish among nonadopters using knowledge levels, and to investigate the effect of practice-specific barriers. Clustered multinomial logistic regressions reveal serious gardeners are more likely to adopt both practices. Specific barriers differ by practice and type of nonadopter. Adding practice-specific barriers increased pseudo R2 values from 0.12 to 0.22 for rain gardens and from 0.13 to 0.26 for rain barrels.
Sentiment Analysis of Movie

This paper presents an empirical study of efficacy of machine learning techniques in classifying text messages by semantic meaning. We use movie review comments from popular social network Digg as our data set and classify text by subjectivity/objectivity and negative/positive attitude. We propose different approaches in extracting text features such as bag-of-words model, using large movie reviews corpus, restricting to adjectives and adverbs, handling negations, bounding word frequencies by a threshold, and using WordNet synonyms knowledge. We evaluate their effect on accuracy of four machine learning methods Naive Bayes, Decision Trees, Maximum-Entropy, and K-Means clustering. We conclude our study with explanation of observed trends in accuracy rates and providing directions for future work.
Punishment and spite, the dark side of cooperation

Causing harm to others would hardly seem to be relevant to cooperation, other than as a barrier to it. However, because selfish individuals will exploit cooperators, functional punishment is an effective mechanism for enforcing cooperation by deterring free-riding. Although functional punishment can shape the social behaviour of others by targeting non-cooperative behaviour, it can also intimidate others into doing almost anything. Second-party functional punishment is a self-serving behaviour at the disposal of dominant individuals who can coerce others into behaving cooperatively, but it need not do so. Third-party and altruistic functional punishment are less likely to be selfishly motivated and would seem more likely to maintain norms of cooperation in large groups. These forms of functional punishment may be an essential part of non-kin cooperation on a scale exhibited only by humans. While punitive sentiments might be the psychological force behind punitive behaviours, spiteful motives might also play an important role. Furthermore, functionally spiteful acts might not be maladaptive; reckoning gains relative to others rather than in absolute terms can lead to hyper-competitiveness, which might also be an important part of human cooperation, rather than just an ugly by-product.
Comparison of active SIFT-based 3D object recognition algorithms

Active object recognition aims to manipulate the sensor and its parameters, and interact with the environment and/or the object of interest in order to gather more information to complete the 3D object recognition task as quickly and accurately as possible. It can leverage the mobility of robotic platforms to capture additional viewpoints about an object as single images are not always sufficient especially if objects appear in cluttered human environments. Active vision algorithms should reduce the number of viewpoints required to recognise an object and hence reduce the computational time as well. This paper compares two active object recognition systems. Both systems use SIFT features for object recognition, but use contrasting models, update and viewpoint selection strategies. The methods for integrating information across views used by the two systems are investigated. This is essential as this module is used to select the next best viewpoint. The number of viewpoints and the time taken to recognise objects are used to compare the performance of these two methods.
Partitioning crowded virtual environments

We investigate several techniques that partition a crowded virtual environment into regions that can be managed by separate servers or mapped onto different multicast groups. When constructing a partitioning, we attempt to minimize overhead of the partitioning with respect to network management, whilst maintaining a bound on the number of entities that are mapped to any particular server or group.We compare several partitioning schemes: quad tree, k-d tree unconstrained, k-d tree constrained, and region growing. With our simulations of a crowded virtual environment modelled on a part of central London, we find that the region growing technique give the best overall results.
Improving plan quality through agent coalitions

Task execution in multi-agents systems might require cooperation among agents. An agent coalition is a special kind of cooperation, whose purpose is to improve the collective performance. Creating coalitions usually requires complicated negotiations among participating agents. In order to resolve this mentioned problem, we try to suggest a negotiation protocol, which is based on FIPA standards. In addition, some default strategies are proposed with the purpose to help agents in decision making, while choose coalitions. These strategies could also be combined one with others to adapt to various situations
Treatment of Sickle Cell Anemia Mouse Model with iPS Cells Generated from Autologous Skin

It has recently been demonstrated that mouse and human fibroblasts can be reprogrammed into an embryonic stem cell–like state by introducing combinations of four transcription factors. However, the therapeutic potential of such induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells remained undefined. By using a humanized sickle cell anemia mouse model, we show that mice can be rescued after transplantation with hematopoietic progenitors obtained in vitro from autologous iPS cells. This was achieved after correction of the human sickle hemoglobin allele by gene-specific targeting. Our results provide proof of principle for using transcription factor–induced reprogramming combined with gene and cell therapy for disease treatment in mice. The problems associated with using retroviruses and oncogenes for reprogramming need to be resolved before iPS cells can be considered for human therapy.
A fast and effective outlier detection method for matching uncalibrated images

Many image analysis tasks require an outlier detection procedure to identify the false matches. In this paper, a fast and effective outlier detection method is presented to match images in the uncalibrated case. This method employs a hypothesis test on the consistency of dominant orientations of the feature points to significantly increase the detection speed. Moreover, it can also effectively find the outliers that can not be identified by traditional RANSAC-based methods using epipolar constraint. Note that our method does not require the prior knowledge of camera parameters or the percentage of outliers. The experimental results show that our method outperforms the classical RANSAC-based methods both in speed and in accuracy of the results.
Wireless sensor networks in precision agriculture

Control valve assemblies for a lock-up clutch in a vehicle drive system, wherein a torque converter normally couples a prime mover with a transmission, vary the degree of engagement of the lock-up clutch with respect to prime mover rotational speed within a predetermined speed range. In the control valve assemblies, a centrifugal valve selectively communicates the fluid pressure operated lock-up clutch with a source of pressure and a fluid drain, with the centrifugal valve having rotor means drivably interconnected with the prime mover. Spool means slidably received within a rotor bore are outwardly displaceable with a first force while resilient bias means oppose and equalize this first force when the prime mover reaches a first predetermined speed, with valve means regulating the flow of pressurized fluid from the rotor means. Reaction means augment the force of the bias means and permits a gradual engagement of the lock-up clutch which progressively increases until the prime mover attains a second higher predetermined speed at which time the lock-up clutch is fully engaged. In one instance a modulating balance valve varies the pressure in the lock-up clutch consistent with the pressure produced by the action of the centrifugal valve.
UNDERSTANDING USER DECISION MAKING AND THE VALUE OF IMPROVED PRECIPITATION FORECASTS LESSONS FROM A CASE STUDY LESSONS FROM A CASE STUDY LESSONS FROM A CASE STUDY LESSONS FROM A CASE STUDY LESSONS FROM A CASE STUDY

S cientific research on atmospheric processes and weather forecasting frequently leads to improvements in weather forecasts [such as quantitative precipitation forecasts (QPF)], as measured by scientific criteria. Furthermore, effective use of such improvements has the potential for avoiding injury and death, averting property and environmental damage, and other societal benefits. Although the potential societal value of improved weather forecasts is substantial , the realization of that potential is not automatic (Pielke and Carbone 2002). The scientific community has a responsibility to work toward that realization. The success of that work depends on a number of factors. Obtaining the actual (not just the potential or theoretical) value of improved forecast technology requires (a) a forecasting process that translates improved science and technology into improved forecast products that are targeted to user needs, (b) effective communication of forecast information to users in a timely fashion and in a form useful for making weather-information-sensitive decisions, and (c) users who incorporate the forecast product into their decisions in order to make better choices (on the processes of forecasts, communication, and use, see Glantz and Tarleton 1991; Piekle and Carbone 2002; Sarewitz et al. 2002). Meeting these requirements begins with the detailed understanding of user needs and decision processes that is the outcome of systematic study. Such study also provides a foundation for studies of the value of current forecasts and forecast improvement. There is a large literature on forecast value (see, A study of snow removal decision making shows that improved, ongoing, systematic data collection is needed to support studies of the use and value of forecasts.
Spontaneous osteonecrosis of the knee.

Abstract Six cases of spontaneous osteonecrosis of the medial femoral condyle were found during a 40-month period. While each patient presented with pain in the affected joint, it required two or more months for the characteristic flattening of the condyle and a condylar radiolucency with a surrounding sclerotic border to appear. 87mSr scintigrams showed increased uptake over the lesion. The patients ranged in age from 58 to 73 years. The condition may result in either complete resolution or considerable degenerative disease.
Isolation and Prevalence of Campylobacter in the Reproductive Tracts and Semen of Commercial Turkeys

Abstract Campylobacter is one of the most commonly reported bacterial causes of human foodborne infections in the United States, and epidemiologic evidence indicates that a significant proportion of human infections result from the improper preparation of poultry products. Campylobacter frequently colonizes the avian intestinal tract, but recent research indicates that this organism can also colonize the avian reproductive tract and possibly contaminate eggs and subsequent offspring. The present studies were undertaken to determine the prevalence of Campylobacter in the reproductive systems of commercial turkeys. In the first study, pooled semen samples from seven commercial turkey farms were randomly collected by abdominal massage over a period of 13 wk. The pooled semen samples were serially diluted, and 0.1 ml of each dilution was plated on Campy-Line agar and incubated at 42 C for 48 hr in a microaerophilic environment for enumeration of Campylobacter. Campylobacter was isolated from 57 of the 59 pooled semen samples, and levels ranged from below the limit of detection (<101) to 1.6 × 106 cfu/ml of semen. In the second study, the reproductive tracts of 11 hens and 17 toms were aseptically excised, and the segments (female: vagina, shell gland, isthmus, magnum, and infundibulum; male: ductus deferens and testes) were swabbed with a dry cotton sterile swab. The swabs were incubated for 24 hr in Campylobacter enrichment broth, and 0.1 ml of the enriched sample solution was streaked onto Campy-Line agar plates and incubated at 42 C for 48 hr in a microaerophilic environment. Of the 11 hens sampled, Campylobacter was isolated from the vagina (10/11), the shell gland (7/11), the isthmus (8/11), the magnum (6/11), and the infundibulum (4/11). Of the 17 toms sampled, Campylobacter was isolated from the ductus deferens (8/17) and the testes (2/17). Campylobacter is present in the reproductive tracts and semen of commercial turkeys and may lead to vertical transmission of Campylobacter from the hen to the chick.
The Vibrio cholerae type VI secretion system displays antimicrobial properties

The acute diarrheal disease cholera is caused by the marine bacterium Vibrio cholerae. A type VI secretion system (T6SS), which is structurally similar to the bacteriophage cell-puncturing device, has been recently identified in V. cholerae and is used by this organism to confer virulence toward phagocytic eukaryotes, such as J774 murine macrophages and Dictyostelium discoideum. We tested the interbacterial virulence of V. cholerae strain V52, an O37 serogroup with a constitutively active T6SS. V52 was found to be highly virulent toward multiple Gram-negative bacteria, including Escherichia coli and Salmonella Typhimurium, and caused up to a 100,000-fold reduction in E. coli survival. Because the T6SS-deficient mutants V52ΔvasK and V52ΔvasH showed toxicity defects that could be complemented, virulence displayed by V. cholerae depends on a functional T6SS. V. cholerae V52 and strains of the O1 serogroup were resistant to V52, suggesting that V. cholerae has acquired immunity independently of its serogroup. We hypothesize that the T6SS, in addition to targeting eukaryotic host cells, confers toxicity toward other bacteria, providing a means of interspecies competition to enhance environmental survival. Thus, the V. cholerae T6SS may enhance the survival of V. cholerae in its aquatic ecosystem during the transmission of cholera and between epidemics.
Page Size Selection for OLTP Databases on SSD RAID Storage

Abstract. Flash SSDs are a technology that has the potential of changing the database architecture and principles. We reevaluate the present trend of growing database page sizes considering its validity for SSD-based database storage. Our major findings are: (a) on Flash storage this trend is reverted and best OLTP performance can be attained with smaller page sizes; (b) DBMS with smaller page sizes require less buffer space while providing the same performance; (c) due to the lower response times we report better CPU utilization for small page sizes.
Combination with a Defucosylated Anti-HM1.24 Monoclonal Antibody plus Lenalidomide Induces Marked ADCC against Myeloma Cells and Their Progenitors

The immunomodulatory drug lenalidomide (Len) has drawn attention to potentiate antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC)-mediated immunotherapies. We developed the defucosylated version (YB-AHM) of humanized monoclonal antibody against HM1.24 (CD317) overexpressed in multiple myeloma (MM) cells. In this study, we evaluated ADCC by YB-AHM and Len in combination against MM cells and their progenitors. YB-AHM was able to selectively kill via ADCC MM cells in bone marrow samples from patients with MM with low effector/target ratios, which was further enhanced by treatment with Len. Interestingly, Len also up-regulated HM1.24 expression on MM cells in an effector-dependent manner. HM1.24 was found to be highly expressed in a drug-resistant clonogenic “side population” in MM cells; and this combinatory treatment successfully reduced SP fractions in RPMI 8226 and KMS-11 cells in the presence of effector cells, and suppressed a clonogenic potential of MM cells in colony-forming assays. Collectively, the present study suggests that YB-AHM and Len in combination may become an effective therapeutic strategy in MM, warranting further study to target drug-resistant MM clonogenic cells.
A Novel Role of Silibinin as a Putative Epigenetic Modulator in Human Prostate Carcinoma

Silibinin, extracted from milk thistle (Silybum marianum L.), has exhibited considerable preclinical activity against prostate carcinoma. Its antitumor and chemopreventive activities have been associated with diverse effects on cell cycle, apoptosis, and receptor-dependent mitogenic signaling pathways. Here we hypothesized that silibinin’s pleiotropic effects may reflect its interference with epigenetic mechanisms in human prostate cancer cells. More specifically, we have demonstrated that silibinin reduces gene expression levels of the Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) members Enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2 (EZH2), Suppressor of Zeste Homolog 12 (SUZ12), and Embryonic Ectoderm Development (EED) in DU145 and PC3 human prostate cancer cells, as evidenced by Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). Furthermore immunoblot and immunofluorescence analysis revealed that silibinin-mediated reduction of EZH2 levels was accompanied by an increase in trimethylation of histone H3 on lysine (Κ)-27 residue (H3K27me3) levels and that such response was, in part, dependent on decreased expression levels of phosphorylated Akt (ser473) (pAkt) and phosphorylated EZH2 (ser21) (pEZH2). Additionally silibinin exerted other epigenetic effects involving an increase in total DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) activity while it decreased histone deacetylases 1-2 (HDACs1-2) expression levels. We conclude that silibinin induces epigenetic alterations in human prostate cancer cells, suggesting that subsequent disruptions of central processes in chromatin conformation may account for some of its diverse anticancer effects.
Investigating infectious diseases at the wildlife livestock interface of two protected areas of Bostwana: the Okavango Delta and Chobe National Park

THE OKAVANGO DELTA AND CHOBE NATIONAL PARK. Jori F DVM PhD, Munstermann S DVM PhD, Mokopasetso M DVM, MSc, Etter E DVM PhD, Mhongovoyo J 4 DVM, Nkgowe C DVM, Michel A DVM PhD, Newmann S DVM PhD UPR AGIRs, CIRAD, Montpellier France; Mammal Research Institute (MRI), Dept of Zoology, University of Pretoria, South Africa; FAO ECTAD, Gaborone, Botswana; Dept of Wildlife and National Parks, Botswana; National Veterinary Services, Ministry of Agriculture, Botswana; Dep of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, University of Pretoria, South Africa; EMPRES Wildlife Unit, ECTAD, FAO, Rome, Italy; CIRAD, UPR AGIRs, Harare, Zimbabwe