Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Puzzle-Based Learning

Puzzle-based learning (PBL) is a new and emerging model of teaching critical thinking and problem solving. In this interactive workshop we will examine a range of puzzles, brainteasers, and games. What general problem solving strategies can we learn from the way we solve these examples? A learning goal of PBL is to distill domain independent transferable heuristics for tackling problems. In the past year we have created and taught new courses on PBL in three countries under different academic settings. In this hands-on workshop we will introduce PBL and discuss our goals and experience.
A weighted mean shift, normalized cuts initialized color gradient based geodesic active contour model: applications to histopathology image segmentation

While geodesic active contours (GAC) have become very popular tools for image segmentation, they are sensitive to model initialization. In order to get an accurate segmentation, the model typically needs to be initialized very close to the true object boundary. Apart from accuracy, automated initialization of the objects of interest is an important pre-requisite to being able to run the active contour model on very large images (such as those found in digitized histopathology). A second limitation of GAC model is that the edge detector function is based on gray scale gradients; color images typically being converted to gray scale prior to computing the gradient. For color images, however, the gray scale gradient results in broken edges and weak boundaries, since the other channels are not exploited for the gradient determination. In this paper we present a new geodesic active contour model that is driven by an accurate and rapid object initialization scheme-weighted mean shift normalized cuts (WNCut). WNCut draws its strength from the integration of two powerful segmentation strategies-mean shift clustering and normalized cuts. WNCut involves first defining a color swatch (typically a few pixels) from the object of interest. A multi-scale mean shift coupled normalized cuts algorithm then rapidly yields an initial accurate detection of all objects in the scene corresponding to the colors in the swatch. This detection result provides the initial boundary for GAC model. The edge-detector function of the GAC model employs a local structure tensor based color gradient, obtained by calculating the local min/max variations contributed from each color channel (e.g. R,G,B or H,S,V). Our color gradient based edge-detector function results in more prominent boundaries compared to classical gray scale gradient based function. We evaluate segmentation results of our new WNCut initialized color gradient based GAC (WNCut-CGAC) model against a popular region-based model (Chan & Vese) on a total of 60 digitized histopathology images. Across a total of 60 images, the WNCut-CGAC model yielded an average overlap, sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value of 73%, 83%, 97%, 84%, compared to the Chan & Vese model which had corresponding values of 64%, 75%, 95%, 72%. The rapid and accurate object initialization scheme (WNCut) and the color gradient make the WNCut-CGAC scheme, an ideal segmentation tool for very large, color imagery.
Methotrexate compliance among patients with rheumatoid arthritis: the influence of disease activity, disease duration, and co-morbidity in a 10-year longitudinal study

Objective: To assess methotrexate (MTX) compliance among rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Methods: Using prescription data, we conducted a 10-year longitudinal study among RA patients who were first-time MTX users. MTX compliance was expressed as the continuous measure of medication gaps (CMG), that is the proportion of treatment gaps compared with the total observation period stratified by age, sex, C-reactive protein (CRP), haemoglobin, co-morbidity, concurrent medication, and disease duration. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to assess the influence of disease activity, disease duration, and co-morbidity on compliance. Results: A total of 941 RA patients redeemed 7501 MTX prescriptions during our study period. Overall, the patients had gaps in 12.3% of the observation period corresponding to a mean period not covered with MTX of 1.5 months/year if all participants were followed for 1 year. Patients with CRP > 32 mg/L had a lower mean CMG than patients with CRP < 8 mg/L [adjusted CMG difference –0.04, 95% confidence interval (CI) –0.07 to – 0.02]. Patients with a disease duration < 1 year had a lower mean CMG than patients with a disease duration between 1 and 5 years (adjusted CMG difference 0.01, 95% CI –0.01 to 0.04). Patients with a diagnosis of ulcer/mild liver disease had a higher mean CMG than patients without this diagnosis (adjusted CMG difference 0.04, 95% CI 0.004–0.084). Conclusion: MTX compliance was generally high among RA patients. Compliance decreased with increasing disease duration, low to moderate disease activity, and the presence of a diagnosis of ulcer/mild liver disease.
A novel intermediate in transcription initiation by human mitochondrial RNA polymerase

The mitochondrial genome is transcribed by a single-subunit T7 phage-like RNA polymerase (mtRNAP), structurally unrelated to cellular RNAPs. In higher eukaryotes, mtRNAP requires two transcription factors for efficient initiation—TFAM, a major nucleoid protein, and TFB2M, a transient component of mtRNAP catalytic site. The mechanisms behind assembly of the mitochondrial transcription machinery and its regulation are poorly understood. We isolated and identified a previously unknown human mitochondrial transcription intermediate—a pre-initiation complex that includes mtRNAP, TFAM and promoter DNA. Using protein–protein cross-linking, we demonstrate that human TFAM binds to the N-terminal domain of mtRNAP, which results in bending of the promoter DNA around mtRNAP. The subsequent recruitment of TFB2M induces promoter melting and formation of an open initiation complex. Our data indicate that the pre-initiation complex is likely to be an important target for transcription regulation and provide basis for further structural, biochemical and biophysical studies of mitochondrial transcription.
Methyl 5-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-methoxybenzylidene)-7-methyl-3-oxo-2,3-dihydro-5H-thiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidine-6-carboxylate

In the title compound, C24H22N2O6S, a pyrimidine ring substituted with 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl is fused with a thiazole ring. The 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl group is positioned axially to the pyrimidine ring, making a dihedral angle 85.36 (7)°. The pyrimidine ring adopts a twist boat conformation. In the crystal, O—H⋯N interactions result in a chain running along the b axis. The carbonyl O atom bonded to the thiazole ring is involved in two C—H⋯O hydrogen-bond interactions forming centrosymmetric dimers; the ten- and six-membered rings resulting from these interactions have R 2 2(10) and R 1 2(6) motifs, respectively.
Web-Based Bioinformatics Analysis of TbpB from Actinobacillus pleuropneumonie L20 Strain

The transferring(Tf) receptor from Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (App) is comprised of a surface exposed lipoprotein, Tf-binding protein B (TbpB), and an integral outer-membrane protein, Tf-binding protein A (TbpA), both of which are essential for survival in the host, and TbpB is required for the iron acquisition process in vivo. In this study. We analyzed the salient features of the TbpB gene and encoded protein of App L20 strain by bioinformatics tools and highlighted its important biological characterization, which. providing insights into the mechanism of Tf binding and the role of TbpB,
Transient Fault Detection in State-Automata

State automata are implemented in numerous ways and technologies - from simple traffic light controls to high-performance microprocessors comprising thousands of different states. Highly-integrated microprocessors get more and more susceptible to transient faults induced by radiation, extreme clocking, temperature and decreasing voltage supplies. A transient fault in form of a single event-upset (SEUs) can change the current state of an automaton to another valid state, thus causing a control-flow error. From control-flow based simulations of a microprogrammable automaton we determine the number of effective, overwritten and latent faults. Faults can be detected by counting the number of transitions to the ending state and the comparison with a precomputed value being part of the microcode and the number of counted cycles. Faults cannot be detected if the original state is transferred to another valid state, reaching the ending state in the same number of transitions. We further determine the number of faults which can be detected by using this simple scheme and propose to encode these states in a way that a bit-flip will result in a state with a different distance from the ending state without any additional space consumption for the code.
The revised Psychopathy Checklist: Reliability and factor structure.

The revised Psychopathy Checklist (PCL) is a 20-item scale scored from interview and file information. Analyses of data from 5 prison samples (N= 92 5) and 3 forensic psychiatric samples (N= 356) indicate that the revised PCL resembles its 22-item predecessor in all important respects. It has excellent psychometric properties, and it measures 2 correlated factors that were cross-validated both within and between samples. Correlations between the original PCL and the revised version approached unity for both the factors and the full scale. We conclude that the revised PCL measures the same construct as the original and that the PCL is a reliable and valid instrument for the assessment of psychopathy in male forensic populations.
Virtual instrument for recognition of radiators with machine vision

This paper presents a virtual instrument for the automatic recognition of radiators using machine vision. After a radiator has been recognized, a label with all the necessary data and bar code for that particular radiator is printed using an industrial label printer and then stuck on a package. The virtual instrument also stores data for every produced radiator, which are then used by management for the monitoring and planning of production.
A Query Expansion Algorithm Based on Phrases Semantic Similarity

During the indexing process of traditional search engine, web pages become a list of terms, but single term cannot represent the rich content of web pages, which makes information retrieval methods mainly based on terms matching often result in depressed precision. This paper proposes a novel query expansion technique that has phrases as its expansion unit. Phrases typically have a higher information content and a smaller degree of ambiguity than their constituent words, and therefore represent the concepts expressed in text more accurately than single terms. This method extracts key phrases from original results, and calculates the semantic similarity between the query phrase and each phrase extracted using the semantic similarity algorithm based on WordNet, and then expands the query with the most similar phrases to search again. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can provide more precision than the traditional query expansion methods.
ASPERGILLUS LUCHUENSIS , AN INDUSTRIALLY IMPORTANT BLACK ASPERGILLUS IN EAST ASIA

Aspergilli known as black- and white-koji molds which are used for awamori, shochu, makgeolli and other food and beverage fermentations, are reported in the literature as A. luchuensis, A. awamori, A. kawachii, or A. acidus. In order to elucidate the taxonomic position of these species, available ex-type cultures were compared based on morphology and molecular characters. A. luchuensis, A. kawachii and A. acidus showed the same banding patterns in RAPD, and the three species had the same rDNA-ITS, β-tubulin and calmodulin sequences and these differed from those of the closely related A. niger and A. tubingensis. Morphologically, the three species are not significantly different from each other or from A. niger and A. tubingensis. It is concluded that A. luchuensis, A. kawachii and A. acidus are the same species, and A. luchuensis is selected as the correct name based on priority. Strains of A. awamori which are stored in National Research Institute of Brewing in Japan, represent A. niger (n = 14) and A. luchuensis (n = 6). The neotype of A. awamori (CBS 557.65 = NRRL 4948) does not originate from awamori fermentation and it is shown to be identical with the unknown taxon Aspergillus welwitschiae. Extrolite analysis of strains of A. luchuensis showed that they do not produce mycotoxins and therefore can be considered safe for food and beverage fermentations. A. luchuensis is also frequently isolated from meju and nuruk in Korea and Puerh tea in China and the species is probably common in the fermentation environment of East Asia. A re-description of A. luchuensis is provided because the incomplete data in the original literature.
Terlipressin-Induced Irreversible Severe Skin Necrosis : A Dreadful Complication

Terlipressin (triglycyl lysine vasopressin), a synthetic analogue of vasopressin, has been employed in the last years for the treatment of upper digestive bleding from esophagogastric varices and for hepatorenal syndrome. Several adverse effects have been reported, all reversible after dose reduction or drug interruption. The authors report two rare cases of irreversible severe skin necrosis induced by terlipressin infusion.
Constrained optimization of metabolic cost in human hopping

• What is the central question of this study? This study evaluates whether constrained optimization of metabolic cost (minimization of metabolic cost within the limitations imposed by constraints) predicts movement selection during vertical human hopping. • What is the main finding and its importance? Constrained optimization of metabolic cost/height largely predicts movement selection during hopping in frequency‐, height‐ and speed‐constrained conditions. However, subjects sometimes compromise between minimizing metabolic cost/height and maintaining a comfortably sustainable metabolic cost/time. This illustrates how an internal, physiological constraint can interact with external, physical constraints to produce a given behaviour. The principle of constrained optimization may also be applied to understanding how the man‐made environment affects movement selection and energy expenditure in modern urban life.
Elective induction of labor at term compared with expectant management: maternal and neonatal outcomes.

To the Editor: I have several concerns about the study by Darney et al. First is that the results may be biased to favor labor induction because the elective induction group ends at 40 6/7 weeks but the expectant group extends through 42 weeks, when risk of cesarean delivery is higher. The authors correctly state that good evidence supports 41-week inductions (the current standard of care), implying that the expectant group may include substandard management. The second concern is that electively inducing labor at 37 and 38 weeks is not consistent with current standards of care, thus elective inductions during these weeks are inappropriate. The third concern is that no data are shown for the sensitivity analysis of starting the expectant group at the same gestational week as the induction group. A statement is made that including “same-week” spontaneous labors did not alter outcome, but this is directly opposite of findings in upstate New York. It seems implausible that outcomes were not altered because, at term, cesarean delivery rates are lower at earlier gestational ages. The fourth concern is that population results may or may not apply to individual women. A given pregnant woman’s choice is not necessarily between elective induction and indefinite expectant management. She may decide to be monitored for a week and then electively induced when her cervix is favorable. Reporting risk of cesarean delivery by week in the expectant group would have been helpful so that pregnant women could make choices based on more than “all or none” options. I am concerned that Darney’s results are presented in a way that will give rise to complacency about the safety of elective labor induction.
HERO: A hybrid connectivity restoration framework for mobile multi-agent networks

In mobile multi-agent networks, connectivity is a crucial factor for network-wide collaborations. However, such connectivity can be easily sabotaged by a single or multiple simultaneous agent failure(s). To handle this problem, in this paper, a hybrid connectivity restoration framework, namely HERO, is developed. By integrating a distributed connectivity restoration algorithm with a potential function based motion controller, HERO can restore the connectivity of the disconnected networks subjected to a single or multiple simultaneous agent failure(s). In the mean-time, inter-agent collisions and further partitions of the underlying networks can also be effectively avoided.
Asymptotically nonparametric sequential selection procedures. II. Robust estimators

,K) which are stochastically ordered; the basic ranl:ing goal is to select the stochastically largest population. Sequential selection rules which are nonparametric in an asymptotic sense are given which solve the problem by using M-estimators and L-estimators (Huber (1972)). The results are also applied to selection of the largest location parameter and to construction of fixed-width confidence intervals for location parameters using the above robust estimators.
An Efficient VLSI Architecture for Carry Select Adder Without Multiplexer

High performance digital adder with less power consumption and reduced area is a fundamental design issues for advanced processors. Carry Select Adder (CSA) is one of the fastest adder used in many processors to perform fast arithmetic function. Many different adder architecture designs have been developed to increase the efficiency of the adder. As we know millions of instructions per second are performed in microprocessors. So, speed of operation is the most important constraint to be considered while designing. Due to which high speed adder and multiplier architecture plays an important role in many applications. In this paper, we proposed a technique for designing of carry select adder without using multiplexer. Verification of CSA architecture is done through design and implementation of 16, 32 and 64 bit. Comparison is done with existing structure of adder and proves the efficiency of our proposed design. These designs are implemented on Xilinx device family.
Joint opportunistic scheduling and network coding for bidirectional relay channel

In this paper, we consider a two-way communication system in which two users communicate with each other through an intermediate relay over block-fading channels. We investigate the optimal opportunistic scheduling scheme in order to maximize the long-term average transmission rate in the system assuming symmetric information flow between the two users. Based on the channel state information, the scheduler decides that either one of the users transmits to the relay, or the relay transmits to a single user or broadcasts to both users a combined version of the two users' transmitted information by using linear network coding. We obtain the optimal scheduling scheme by using the Lagrangian dual problem. Furthermore, in order to characterize the gains of network coding and opportunistic scheduling, we compare the achievable rate of the system versus suboptimal schemes in which the gains of network coding and opportunistic scheduling are partially exploited.
Triangulation of Reordering Tables: An Advancement Over Phrase Table Triangulation in Pivot-Based SMT

Triangulation in Pivot-Based Statistical Machine Translation(SMT) is a very effective method for building Machine Translation(MT) systems in case of scarcity of the parallel corpus. Phrase Table Triangulation helps in such a resource constrained setting by inducing new phrase pairs with the help of a pivot. However, it does not explore the possibility of extracting reordering information through the use of pivot. This paper presents a novel method for triangulation of reordering tables in Pivot Based SMT. We show that the use of a pivot can help in extracting better reordering information and can assist in improving the quality of the translation. With a detailed example, we show that triangulation of reordering tables also improves the lexical choices a system makes during translation. We observe a BLEU score improvement of 1.06 for Marathi to English MT system with Hindi as a pivot, and also significant improvements in 8 other translation systems by using this method.
Collaborative sketching with distributed displays and multimodal interfaces

In this paper we describe a system design for supporting creative group activities using distributed displays and multimodal interaction. We describe the rationale behind our approach and proposed interaction techniques for supporting collaborative sketching. Our goal is to understand how the interface metaphor, display space and interaction modalities may influence exploration and communication in collaborative settings.
Surgery for occlusive renal artery disease: immediate and long-term results.

A retrospective study is presented concerning 115 patients submitted to renal artery surgery from 1978 to 1990, and observed during 2 to 15 years. Included are 69 men and 46 women, aged 14 to 84 years (mean: 58.8 years). The underlying occlusive arterial disease was atherosclerosis in 87 patients, fibromuscular dysplasia in 21, and miscellaneous causes in 7 cases. One hundred and one patients (88%) were hypertensive. Some degree of impaired renal excretory function (serum creatinine level above 16 mg/l) was present in 30% (n = 42) of the patients, whereas 11 patients had severe renal insufficiency (creatinemia above 30 mg/l). Primary nephrectomy was performed in 11 patients as sole procedure and was associated with contralateral revascularization in another 9 patients. A variety of types of arterial reconstruction was performed, although more than half of the procedures were aortorenal bypass grafts. Bilateral procedures were performed in 19 cases. Simultaneous extrarenal operations included aortic reconstruction (n = 43), mesenteric arterial repair (n = 8), and carotid endarterectomy (n = 5). Operative mortality (9/115, 7.8%) varied considerably between the subgroups: 4% for group I (hypertension alone, n = 73), 15% for group II (renal impairment with or without hypertension, n = 34), and 12.5% for group III (acute renal failure, n = 8). There were 3 late non procedure-related in-hospital deaths. Preoperative renal insufficiency was the only independent predictive risk factor for operative death. The procedure was curative or led to improved blood pressure control in 79% (80/101) of hypertensive patients. The response rate was better for recent onset hypertension, compared to long-standing hypertension. Of the 42 azotemic patients, 78% had a benefit (improvement in 50%, stabilization in 28%) of renal revascularization. Associated longstanding hypertension had a negative prognostic value. Sequential clinical and functional follow-up evaluations are available on 99 of the 103 surviving patients. Cumulative 5-year survival is 87%. Cardiovascular causes account for most (11/15) of the late deaths. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
A Formal Model for Network-Wide Security Analysis

Network designers perform challenging tasks with so many configuration options that it is often hard or even impossible for a human to predict all potentially dangerous situations. In this paper, we introduce a formal method approach for verification of security constraints on networks with dynamic routing protocols in use. A unifying model based on packet-filters is employed for modelling of network behaviour. Over this graph model augmented with filtering rules over edges verification of reachability properties can be made. In our approach we also consider topology changes caused by dynamic routing protocols.