Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pose Estimation of an Autonomous Car by Visual Feature Correspondence and Tracking

This paper presents a pose estimation method based on 1-Point RANSAC EKF (Extended Kalman Filter) framework. The method fuses the depth data from a LIDAR and the visual data from a monocular camera to estimate the pose of an Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) in a GPS denied environment. Its estimation framework continually updates the vehicle’s 6D pose state and temporary estimates of the extracted visual features’ 3D positions. In contrast to the conventional EKF-SLAM (Simultaneous Localization And Mapping) frameworks, the proposed method discards feature estimates from the extended state vector once they are no longer observed for several steps. As a result, the extended state vector always maintains a reasonable size that is suitable for online calculation. The fusion of laser and visual data is performed both in the feature initialization part of the EKFSLAM process and in the motion prediction stage. A RANSAC pose calculation procedure is devised to produce pose estimate for the motion model. The proposed method has been successfully tested on the Ford campus’s LIDAR-Vision dataset. The results are compared with the ground truth and the estimation error is ∼1.9% of the path length.
Comparison of informational vs. energetic masking effects on speechreading performance

The effects of two types of auditory distracters (steady-state noise vs. four-talker babble) on visual-only speechreading accuracy were tested against a baseline (silence) in 23 participants with above-average speechreading ability. Their task was to speechread high frequency Swedish words. They were asked to rate their own performance and effort, and report how distracting each type of auditory distracter was. Only four-talker babble impeded speechreading accuracy. This suggests competition for phonological processing, since the four-talker babble demands phonological processing, which is also required for the speechreading task. Better accuracy was associated with lower self-rated effort in silence; no other correlations were found.
Groundwater is not a Common-Pool resource: Ordering sustainability issues of groundwater use

: This paper primarily deals with sustainability issues linked to groundwater use. First, it shows that the debate on the traditional indicator to assess overdraft situations – average abstractions higher than average recharge – fails to introduce many dimensions of sustainability. A dynamic description of the effects of pumping and the introduction of the concept of capture, defined as the sum of the reduction of aquifer discharge and increase of recharge, allow identifying and classifying the impacts of pumping by order of appearance: downstream and ecological impacts happen before stock impacts that reduce availability of groundwater for current and future users through higher pumping costs. As the definition of groundwater as a Common-pool resource (CPR) is based on the occurrence of stock impacts, it transcribes a particular characteristic of the resource that ignores its ecological and basin-wide functions. Thus, the validity and reproducibility of any recommendation from economic modeling or governance proposition (e.g. collective action) based only on stock impacts or groundwater as a CPR should be questioned.
Production , Manufacturing and Logistics Analysis of a newsvendor which has errors in inventory data records

Although supply chain scholars very often assume the availability of error free data pertaining to the flow of goods that come in and go out of an inventory system as well as the on hand inventory level, some recent investigations show that this may not be true even in facilities where advanced item identification and data capture technologies such as the barcode system are used. This paper proposes a single period model where the inventory data capture process using the barcode system is prone to errors that lead to inaccuracies. In the first part of our work, we derive analytically the optimal policy in presence of errors when both demand and errors are uniformly distributed. In the second part, we examine quantitatively the impact of record inaccuracies on the performance of an inventory system, in terms of additional overage and shortage costs incurred. 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Bypassing the local rural hospital for outpatient procedures.

PURPOSE To assess the amount of local rural hospital outpatient department (HOPD) bypass for outpatient procedures. METHODS We analyzed data on colonoscopies and upper gastrointestinal endoscopies performed in the state of Florida over the period 1997-2004. FINDINGS Approximately, 53% of colonoscopy and 45% of upper gastrointestinal endoscopy patients bypassed their local rural hospital for treatment at either a free-standing ambulatory surgical center (ASC) or a nonlocal hospital outpatient department. Independent predictors of bypass included risk-adjusted severity of the patient's medical condition, insurance status, and race. Patients treated in ASCs were predominately healthier, white and commercially insured. Nonlocal HOPDs tend to treat a sicker cohort of patients who were publicly insured or under managed care. CONCLUSIONS The results indicate that patients who bypass their local HOPD to an ASC differ from those bypassing to a nonlocal HOPD, and that patient factors influencing bypass for outpatient procedures differ from those influencing inpatient bypass. From a policy perspective, as procedures continue to migrate from the inpatient to the outpatient setting, bypassing the local rural hospital for treatment elsewhere could create conditions that negatively impact rural hospital operations.
Bloom Dynamics of Cyanobacteria and Their Toxins: Environmental Health Impacts and Mitigation Strategies

Cyanobacteria are ecologically one of the most prolific groups of phototrophic prokaryotes in both marine and freshwater habitats. Both the beneficial and detrimental aspects of cyanobacteria are of considerable significance. They are important primary producers as well as an immense source of several secondary products, including an array of toxic compounds known as cyanotoxins. Abundant growth of cyanobacteria in freshwater, estuarine, and coastal ecosystems due to increased anthropogenic eutrophication and global climate change has created serious concern toward harmful bloom formation and surface water contamination all over the world. Cyanobacterial blooms and the accumulation of several cyanotoxins in water bodies pose severe ecological consequences with high risk to aquatic organisms and global public health. The proper management for mitigating the worldwide incidence of toxic cyanobacterial blooms is crucial for maintenance and sustainable development of functional ecosystems. Here, we emphasize the emerging information on the cyanobacterial bloom dynamics, toxicology of major groups of cyanotoxins, as well as a perspective and integrative approach to their management.
[Study on vasculogenic mimicry in malignant melanoma].

OBJECTIVE To investigate the mode of angiogenesis between highly invasive malignant melanoma and poorly invasive malignant melanoma by immunohistochemistry and periodic acid-Schiff stain (PAS) and to discuss whether the tumor cells in highly invasive malignant melanoma carry vasculogenic mimicry through self-metamorphosis, thus acquiring blood supply to sustain their growth. METHODS Thirty cases of highly invasive malignant melanoma and 30 cases of poorly invasive malignant melanoma were retrieved and reprocessed as tissue microarray for further investigations. The tissue microarray sections were then stained with CD34 and PAS; and the positivity rates were compared. RESULTS There was a significant difference between CD34 and PAS staining in highly invasive malignant melanoma (P < 0.01). The difference was not statistically significant in poorly invasive malignant melanoma (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION Vasculogenic mimicry exists in some cases of highly invasive malignant melanoma. It is possible that the tumor cells can acquire blood supply to sustain growth and metastasize via this mechanism.
Generating metamodel instances satisfying coverage criteria via SMT solving

One of the challenges for using metamodels in Model Driven Engineering is to automatically generate metamodel instances. Each instance should satisfy many constraints defined by a metamodel. Such instances can then be used for verifying or validating metamodels. Recent studies have already shown that this can be tackled by using SAT/SMT solvers. However, such instance generation does not take coverage criteria into account, and instances satisfying specified coverage criteria could be useful for testing model transformation. In this paper, we present an approach consisting of two techniques for coverage oriented metamodel instance generation. The first technique realises the standard coverage criteria defined for UML class diagrams, while the second technique focuses on generating instances satisfying graph-based criteria. With our approach, both kinds of criteria are translated to SMT formulas which are then investigated by an SMT solver. Each successful assignment is then interpreted as a metamodel instance that provably satisfies a coverage criteria or a graph property. We have already integrated this approach into our existing tool to demonstrate the feasibility.
Signs of Sex: What We Know and How We Know It

The predominance of sexual reproduction indicates that it must confer profound benefits, considering its significant costs relative to asexuality. However, definitively determining whether a lineage engages in sex is often complicated by the potential for cryptic sex, especially among unfamiliar organisms. Here we consider the strengths and weaknesses of various molecular-and organismal-based approaches for recognizing signs of sex and describe their applications and relevance to evolutionary biology. We review recent studies that use these methods; some analyses even dispute several 'ancient' asexual taxa, and suggest they are recently derived or might be covertly sexual. More broadly, a better understanding of which organisms have sex and how they do it will deepen our understanding of the distribution, maintenance and evolution of sexual reproduction. The evolution of sexual reproduction Sexual reproduction (see Glossary) is by far the predominant reproductive strategy among eukaryotes. Evidence for sex is found in all of the major eukaryotic groups [1,2] despite its profound costs [3,4]. Thus, the phylogenetic ubiquity of sex and its persistence emphasizes its importance both for individual fitness and long-term survival of lineages [3,5,6]. Over 20 hypotheses for why sexual reproduction should be maintained have been suggested (classified by Ref. [7]; recently reviewed by Refs [8,9]), nearly all of which invoke mechanisms that result in the rapid extinction of asexual lineages [6]. However, despite the large body of theory and data devoted to the maintenance of sex, why it is so common remains unclear [8,9]. Asexual reproduction (Figure 1) is widespread and evolves frequently from sexual ancestors (Box 1), but it is apparently not a successful long-term strategy. Even so, seemingly exceptional cases of 'ancient asexual' lineages have been described [10–14]. The term 'ancient asexual' implies persistence of a lineage longer than expected under the various hypotheses for sex. Because truly ancient asexuals would violate the expectation that sex and recom-bination are necessary for long-term survival, they have been considered one of the biggest 'scandals' in evolutionary biology [15]. What's more, because the exceptions might 'prove the rule,' true ancient asexuals can provide critical insights into the maintenance of sex [13]. For us to reconcile the maintenance of sex in spite of its costs (the 'queen of problems in evolutionary biology' [5]), we must determine when and where it occurs. In practice, conclusive identification of the presence of sex – or verification of its absence – is often difficult. For example, indirect evidence for …
El conocimiento construido por alumnos en las clases de Química.

Title: The knowledge constructed by the students in Chemistry classes. Abstract: In this paper we present results from a study, from a psychosocial approach, with high school students. The study is part of a larger investigation in which we investigated the impact of social representations of teachers on teaching practice and student performance. In this paper we analyze the answers given by students in an evaluation at the end of a teaching unit of organic chemistry, with the aim of examining the knowledge constructed by students in relation to scientific knowledge. The results are discussed in relation to the difficulties identified in the responses of students and the characteristics of teaching practice. We believe that the main contribution is that it highlights the importance of teaching, guided by their social representations, in the process of knowledge construction in the classroom. Hence the need for a rethinking of the educational practice from the questioning of its representations and attitudes, to promote the identification of the factors that hinder learning.
The Circulation of the Fetus in Utero: Methods For Studying Distribution of Blood Flow, Cardiac Output And Organ Blood Flow

Techniques are described for insertion of vinyl catheters into the umbilical and limb vessels of the fetus of the sheep or the goat through small uterine incisions, with the ewes under spinal analgesia. The catheters are exteriorized and the fetus can be studied in its normal intrauterine environment. During constant infusion of antipyrine into a fetal limb vein, placental arteriovenous difference of antipyrine was measured, and fetal umbilical blood flow was calculated by the Fick method. “Carbonized” microspheres (50-μ diameter) labeled with various nuclides were injected into different venous sites in the fetus. The distribution pattern of the microspheres was used to determine the relative distribution of blood flow. Experimental evidence is provided that (1) there is no significant recirculation of microspheres, (2) the distribution of spheres is proportional to flow, and (3) circulatory physiology is not altered by injection of spheres. Quantitative data on the distribution of umbilical venous and superior and inferior vena caval return were obtained. It was possible to determine the actual blood flow to each of the fetal organs by relating the proportions of nuclide in each organ to that in the placenta. Total cardiac output was then calculable, taking into consideration the hemodynamic arrangement of the fetal circulation.
Measles Immunoglobulins in Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis

Normal responses of measles specific immunoglobulins M and G (IgM and IgG) were defined in 10 children with measles. Abnormal responses of measles IgM and IgG were found in both sera and cerebrospinal fluids from three cases of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis. In two patients the serum titres of measles IgM and IgG were abnormally high. The measles IgM was present during prolonged illnesses in serum and cerebrospinal fluid, which suggested a correlation with the known persistence of measles virus antigen in the brain of the three patients. It was concluded that both measles IgM and IgG may be produced within the central nervous system in subacute sclerosing panencephalitis.
Outbreak of Vibrio parahaemolyticus gastroenteritis associated with Alaskan oysters.

BACKGROUND Vibrio parahaemolyticus, the leading cause of seafood-associated gastroenteritis in the United States, typically is associated with the consumption of raw oysters gathered from warm-water estuaries. We describe a recognized outbreak of V. parahaemolyticus infection associated with the consumption of seafood from Alaska. METHODS After we received reports of the occurrence of gastroenteritis on a cruise ship, we conducted a retrospective cohort study among passengers, as well as active surveillance throughout Alaska to identify additional cases, and an environmental study to identify sources of V. parahaemolyticus and contributors to the outbreak. RESULTS Of 189 passengers, 132 (70 percent) were interviewed; 22 of the interviewees (17 percent) met our case definition of gastroenteritis. In our multiple logistic-regression analysis, consumption of raw oysters was the only significant predictor of illness; the attack rate among people who consumed oysters was 29 percent. Active surveillance identified a total of 62 patients with gastroenteritis. V. parahaemolyticus serotype O6:K18 was isolated from the majority of patients tested and from environmental samples of oysters. Patterns on pulsed-field gel electrophoresis were highly related across clinical and oyster isolates. All oysters associated with the outbreak were harvested when mean daily water temperatures exceeded 15.0 degrees C (the theorized threshold for the risk of V. parahaemolyticus illness from the consumption of raw oysters). Since 1997, mean water temperatures in July and August at the implicated oyster farm increased 0.21 degrees C per year (P<0.001 by linear regression); 2004 was the only year during which mean daily temperatures in July and August at the shellfish farm did not drop below 15.0 degrees C. CONCLUSIONS This investigation extends by 1000 km the northernmost documented source of oysters that caused illness due to V. parahaemolyticus. Rising temperatures of ocean water seem to have contributed to one of the largest known outbreaks of V. parahaemolyticus in the United States.
Convex Optimization for Binary Classifier Aggregation in Multiclass Problems

Multiclass problems are often decomposed into multiple binary problems that are solved by individual binary classifiers whose results are integrated into a final answer. Various methods, including all-pairs (APs), one-versus-all (OVA), and error correcting output code (ECOC), have been studied, to decompose multiclass problems into binary problems. However, little study has been made to optimally aggregate binary problems to determine a final answer to the multiclass problem. In this paper we present a convex optimization method for an optimal aggregation of binary classifiers to estimate class membership probabilities in multiclass problems. We model the class membership probability as a softmax function which takes a conic combination of discrepancies induced by individual binary classifiers, as an input. With this model, we formulate the regularized maximum likelihood estimation as a convex optimization problem, which is solved by the primal-dual interior point method. Connections of our method to large margin classifiers are presented, showing that the large margin formulation can be considered as a limiting case of our convex formulation. Numerical experiments on synthetic and real-world data sets demonstrate that our method outperforms existing aggregation methods as well as direct methods, in terms of the classification accuracy and the quality of class membership probability estimates.
IL-6 blockade inhibits the induction of myelin antigen-specific Th17 cells and Th1 cells in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

The development of Th17 cells is a key event in the pathogenesis of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a murine model of human multiple sclerosis (MS). Previous studies have demonstrated that an IL-6-dependent pathway is involved in the differentiation of Th17 cells from naïve CD4-positive T cells in vitro. However, the role of IL-6 in vivo in the development of Th17 cells in EAE has remained unclear. In the present study, we found that IL-6 blockade by treatment with an anti-IL-6 receptor monoclonal antibody (anti-IL-6R mAb) inhibited the development of EAE and inhibited the induction of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) peptide-specific CD4-positive, CD8-positive, and Th17 T cells, in inguinal lymph nodes. Thus, the protective effect of IL-6 blockade in EAE is likely to be mediated via the inhibition of the development of MOG-peptide-specific Th17 cells and Th1 cells, which in turn leads to reduced infiltration of T cells into the CNS. These findings indicate that anti-IL-6R mAb treatment might represent a novel therapy for human MS.
Crowdbrush: interactive authoring of real-time crowd scenes

Recent advances in computer graphics techniques and increasing power of graphics hardware made it possible to display and animate large crowds in real-time. Most of the research efforts have been directed towards improving rendering or behavior control; the question how to author crowd scenes in an efficient way is usually not addressed. We introduce a novel approach to create complex scenes involving thousands of animated individuals in a simple and intuitive way. By employing a brush metaphor, analogous to the tools used in image manipulation programs, we can distribute, modify and control crowd members in real-time with immediate visual feedback. We define concepts of operators and instance properties that allow to create and manage variety in populations of virtual humans. An efficient technique allowing to render up to several thousands of fully three-dimensional polygonal characters with keyframed animations at interactive framerates is presented. The potential of our approach is demonstrated by authoring a scenario of a virtual audience in a theater and a scenario of a pedestrian crowd in a city.
Acidosis counteracts itch tachyphylaxis to consecutive pruritogen exposure dependent on acid-sensing ion channel 3

Tachyphylaxis of itch refers to a markedly reduced scratching response to consecutive exposures of a pruritogen, a process thought to protect against tissue damage by incessant scratching and to become disrupted in chronic itch. Here, we report that a strong stimulation of the Mas-related G-protein-coupled receptor C11 by its agonist, Ser-Leu-Ile-Gly-Arg-Leu-NH2 (SL-NH2) or bovine adrenal medulla 8-22 peptide, via subcutaneous injection in mice induces tachyphylaxis to the subsequent application of SL-NH2 to the same site. Notably, co-application of acid and SL-NH2 following the initial injection of the pruritogen alone counteracted itch tachyphylaxis by augmenting the scratching behaviors in wild-type but not in acid-sensing ion channel 3-null, animals. Using an activity-dependent silencing strategy, we identified that acid-sensing ion channel 3-mediated itch enhancement mainly occurred via the Mas-related G-protein-coupled receptor C11-responsive sensory neurons. Together, our results indicate that acid-sensing ion channel 3, activated by concomitant acid and certain pruritogens, constitute a novel signaling pathway that counteracts itch tachyphylaxis to successive pruritogenic stimulation, which likely contributes to chronic itch associated with tissue acidosis.