Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Night video enhancement using improved dark channel prior

Videos taken under low lighting condition usually have serious loss of visibility and contrast and are inconvenient for observation and analysis. To solve this problem, this paper presents a real-time night video enhancement approach. As observed that a pixel-wise inversion of a night video has quite similar appearance with the video acquired at foggy days, we use the similar idea of haze removal method to enhance the perceptual quality of the night videos. We present an improved dark channel prior model and integrate it with local smoothing and image Gaussian Pyramid operators. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach can improve the perceptual quality of night videos in real-time in terms of not only enhancing details, but also effectively avoiding excessive enhancement phenomenon.
Runs of Distributed Systems and Partial Orders

Twenty-five years ago, one recognized that dynamic behaviors of computer systems distributed on a network can be nicely captured and modeled by discrete partial orders. This paper recalls the main interactions between the two scientific domains, distributed systems and partial orders. This is done for three subjects: 1/ on-the-fly coding of the message causality, 2/ abstraction, and 3/ on-line verification of ordering properties.
Ten patient stories illustrating the extraordinarily diverse clinical features of patients with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura and severe ADAMTS13 deficiency

Patients with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) and severe ADAMTS13 deficiency are often considered to have typical clinical features. However, our experience is that there is extraordinary diversity of the presenting features and the clinical courses of these patients. This diversity is illustrated by descriptions of 10 patients. The patients illustrate that ADAMTS13 activity may be normal initially but severely deficient in subsequent episodes. Patients with established diagnoses of systemic infection as the cause of their clinical features may have undetectable ADAMTS13 activity. Patients may have a prolonged prodrome of mild symptoms with only microangiopathic hemolytic anemia and thrombocytopenia or they may have the sudden onset of critical illness with multiple organ involvement. Patients may die rapidly or recover rapidly; they may require minimal treatment or extensive and prolonged treatment. Patients may have acute and severe neurologic abnormalities before microangiopathic hemolytic anemia and thrombocytopenia occur. Patients may have concurrent TTP and systemic lupus erythematosus. Patients may have hereditary ADAMTS13 deficiency as the etiology of their TTP rather than acquired autoimmune ADAMTS13 deficiency. These patients' stories illustrate the clinical spectrum of TTP with ADAMTS13 deficiency and emphasize the difficulties of clinical diagnosis. J. Clin. Apheresis, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Q'Nial: A portable interpreter for the nested interactive array language, Nial

The Q'Nial interpreter combines ideas from APL and Lisp implementations to provide a rich programming environment that supports several paradigms of programming. The interpreter is structured to reflect the division of Nial semantics into levels corresponding to zero‐, first‐and second‐order objects. The paper describes the design of the interpreter, discusses constraints imposed by the desire to achieve portability and comments on what has been learned in building an interpreter in this style.
Crystal structure and function of the isoniazid target of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Resistance to isoniazid in Mycobacterium tuberculosis can be mediated by substitution of alanine for serine 94 in the InhA protein, the drug's primary target. InhA was shown to catalyze the beta-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH)-specific reduction of 2-trans-enoyl-acyl carrier protein, an essential step in fatty acid elongation. Kinetic analyses suggested that isoniazid resistance is due to a decreased affinity of the mutant protein for NADH. The three-dimensional structures of wild-type and mutant InhA, refined to 2.2 and 2.7 angstroms, respectively, revealed that drug resistance is directly related to a perturbation in the hydrogen-bonding network that stabilizes NADH binding.
Bulk solder and solder joint properties for lead free 95.5Sn-3.8Ag-0.7Cu solder alloy

Mechanical propelties for 95.5Sn-3.8Ag-0.7Cu solder alloy were derived from bulk specimen tensile test and lap shear solder joint tests specimen. The tensile tests were carried out at three temperatures (25OC, 75OC and 125OC) and at three different strain rates ( 5 . 6 ~ 1 0 ~ s.', 5.6~10.' and 5 .6~10-~s -~ ) . Shear tests were carried out at three temperatures (25T, 75°C and 125T) and at three different displacement rates (OSmm/min, O.OSmm/min and 0 . 0 0 5 d m i n ) . The specimen gave the highest strength at the fastest displacement rate and at room temperature of 25OC (0.61Tm). The lowest strength occurs when the specimen is subjected to the slowest displacement rate at elevated temperature of 125°C (0.8lTm).
Numerical Simulation of GMAW Process Based on Level Set Method

A model based on level set function is proposed to predict gas shielded arc welding. The model describes not only the free surface tracking of molten drop and metal transfer in gas metal arc welding, but it simulates the phase change on substrate during heat transfer，which is based on porous media theory. The result of simulation shows that this model can describe the drop diameters, transfer frequency and the shape of solidification precisely.
Leaching of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Diverse Soils under Various Agricultural Management Practices

ABSTRACT Application of animal manures to soil as crop fertilizers is an important means for recycling the nitrogen and phosphorus which the manures contain. Animal manures also contain bacteria, including many types of pathogens. Manure pathogen levels depend on the source animal, the animal's state of health, and how the manure was stored or treated before use. Rainfall may result in pathogen spread into soil by runoff from stored or unincorporated manure or by leaching through the soil profile. Steady rainfall consisting of 16.5 mm h−1 was applied to 100-mm disturbed soil cores that were treated with manure and inoculated with Escherichia coli O157:H7 strain B6914. The level of B6914 in leachate was near the inoculum level each hour for 8 h, as was the level of B6914 at several soil depths after 24 h, indicating that there was a high rate of growth. Bacterial movement through three different types of soil was then compared by using disturbed (tilled) and intact (no-till) soil cores and less intense rainfall consisting of 25.4 mm on 4 consecutive days and then four more times over a 17-day period. Total B6914 levels exceeded the inoculum levels for all treatments except intact clay loam cores. B6914 levels in daily leachate samples decreased sharply with time, although the levels were more constant when intact sandy loam cores were used. The presence of manure often increased total B6914 leachate and soil levels in intact cores but had the opposite effect on disturbed soil cores. Ammonia and nitrate levels correlated with B6914 and total coliform levels in leachate. We concluded that tillage practice, soil type, and method of pathogen delivery affect but do not prevent vertical E. coli O157:H7 and coliform transport in soil and that soluble nitrogen may enhance transport.
Birth Order and Sibling Gender Ratio of a Clinical Sample of Children and Adolescents Diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Objective It is not clear whether sibling's gender ratio is associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study examines whether inattentiveness severity and hyperactivity/impulsivity severity are associated with birth order of children with ADHD. Method Participants are a clinical sample of 173 children and adolescents with ADHD and 43 ones without ADHD. Diagnoses were made using Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders forth edition-Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR), diagnostic criteria according to face-to-face interview with the children and their parents. ADHD DSM-IV checklist was used to measure inattentiveness and hyperactivity/impulsivity scores. Results The association of birth order and diagnosis of ADHD was not statistically significant after adjusting for covariate factors. The gender ratio of siblings is not associated with ADHD. Conclusion Birth order and siblings gender ratio are independent of ADHD diagnosis. The results of this study support the fact that genetic factors rather than environmental factor of birth order is associated with ADHD. Moreover, contrary to autism, the current results do not suggest the androgen theory for ADHD.
J-TRE: An Integrated Reasoning Environment and its Application to Timeline-based Planning

The application of classical artificial intelligence techniques to realistic dynamic scenarios arises interesting challenges which require, often, the tailoring of state-of-the-art solvers to the specific domains. The introduction of a “light” and highly customizable framework allows to facilitate the way a high number of possible problems are addressed. This paper introduces the ongoing work for a novel domain-independent reasoning environment called J-TRE that takes its inspiration from Constraint Logic Programming flavoring it with Object Oriented features. The paper also addresses the customization of such an environment to a particular kind of automated planning, referred to as timeline-based, particularly suitable for complex domains. As a result, an alternative formalization of the timeline-based planning problem is proposed that allows for an interesting ability to solve both planning and scheduling problems in a uniform
Cyclic pursuit without coordinates: Convergence to regular polygon formations

We study a multi-agent cyclic pursuit model where each of the identical agents moves like a Dubins car and maintains a fixed heading angle with respect to the next agent. We establish that stationary shapes for this system are regular polygons. We derive a sufficient condition for local convergence to such regular polygon formations, which takes the form of an inequality connecting the angles of the regular polygon with the heading angle of the agents. A block-circulant structure of the system's linearization matrix in suitable coordinates facilitates and elucidates our analysis. Our results are complementary to the conditions for rendezvous obtained in earlier work [Yu et al., IEEE Trans. Autom. Contr. , Feb. 2012].
Pathologies of Studying Public Opinion, Political Communication, and Democratic Responsiveness

Research on democratic representation and public opinion formation has largely ignored one another. Once one considers the reality of the political communication environment, a fundamental tension between these two literatures emerges. In this essay, I review work on each, highlighting problems with both how “quality opinion” is often defined and how representation is typically studied. I then offer a way forward.
[Effects of adrenomedullin and proadrenomedullin N-terminal 20 peptide, alone or in combination, on the rat hearts in vitro].

OBJECTIVE To study the effects of adrenomedullin (ADM) and proadrenomedullin N-terminal 20 peptide (PAMP) alone or in combinations on the isolated rat hearts as well as the possible signaling pathways involved in their actions. METHODS In isolated rat hearts the left ventricular pressure (LVP), LVP+/-dp/dtmax, coronary fluid (CF) and heart rate(HR) of the hearts infused at different concentrations of ADM and/or PAMP were determined by a 4-cannal physiological recorder, then the cAMP contents were assayed in myocardium. RESULTS After being infused with ADM from 10(-11) to 10(-8) mol x L(-1) or PAMP from 10(-11) to 10(-8)mol x L(-1), the LVP and LVP+/-dp/dtmax of the isolated hearts decreased gradually in a concentration-dependent manner, and at the same concentration, the effects of PAMP were more potent than those of the ADM. When ADM and PAMP were co-administrated with both concentrations as low as from 10(-11) to 10(-10) mol x L(-1), the cardiac parameters were decreased more than either ADM or PAMP administrated alone. However, the inhibitory effects of ADM and PAMP were attenuated when they were in combination at higher concentrations as from 10(-9) to 10(-8) mol x L(-1). When the rat hearts were infused with ADM PAMP and ADM plus PAMP, the CF were always higher than those of the controls and decreased when co-administrated with L-NAME, an inhibitor of NOS, but the decreased degree of LVP and LVP+/-dp/dtmax were attenuated by L-NAME. The cAMP contents in the left cardiac ventricle were increased significantly by ADM infusions but not changed obviously by PAMP, and were of no statistical difference in rat hearts with ADM administrated alone from those combinated with ADM and PAMP. CONCLUSION These results showed that ADM and PAMP infused alone or in combinations inhibited the function of rat hearts in vitro, which might be partly involved with the NOS/NO pathway.
Metacommunity and phylogenetic structure determine wildlife and zoonotic infectious disease patterns in time and space

The potential for disease transmission at the interface of wildlife, domestic animals and humans has become a major concern for public health and conservation biology. Research in this subject is commonly conducted at local scales while the regional context is neglected. We argue that prevalence of infection at local and regional levels is influenced by three mechanisms occurring at the landscape level in a metacommunity context. First, (1) dispersal, colonization, and extinction of pathogens, reservoir or vector hosts, and nonreservoir hosts, may be due to stochastic and niche-based processes, thus determining distribution of all species, and then their potential interactions, across local communities (metacommunity structure). Second, (2) anthropogenic processes may drive environmental filtering of hosts, nonhosts, and pathogens. Finally, (3) phylogenetic diversity relative to reservoir or vector host(s), within and between local communities may facilitate pathogen persistence and circulation. Using a metacommunity approach, public heath scientists may better evaluate the factors that predispose certain times and places for the origin and emergence of infectious diseases. The multidisciplinary approach we describe fits within a comprehensive One Health and Ecohealth framework addressing zoonotic infectious disease outbreaks and their relationship to their hosts, other animals, humans, and the environment.
The Negative Regulator of Splicing Element of Rous Sarcoma Virus Promotes Polyadenylation

ABSTRACT The Rous sarcoma virus gag gene contains a cis-acting negative regulator of splicing (NRS) element that is implicated in viral polyadenylation regulation. To study the mechanism of polyadenylation promotion at the viral poly(A) site located over 8 kb downstream, we performed in vitro polyadenylation analysis. RNA containing only the poly(A) site and flanking sequences in the 3′ long terminal repeat (LTR) was not polyadenylated detectably in vitro; however, if the transcript contained the NRS upstream of the LTR, polyadenylation was observed. Insertion of the viral env 3′ splice site sequence between the NRS and the LTR did not alter the level of polyadenylation appreciably. We conclude that the NRS promotes polyadenylation in vitro and can do so without formation of a splicing complex with a 3′ splice site. We then explored the roles of several cellular factors in NRS-mediated polyadenylation. Mutation of the binding sites of U1 and U11 snRNPs to the NRS did not affect polyadenylation, whereas hnRNP H strongly inhibited polyadenylation. We propose a model in which hnRNP H and SR proteins compete for binding to the NRS. Bound SR proteins may bridge between the NRS and the 3′ LTR and aid in the recruitment of the 3′-end processing machinery.
Studies of Excitation Mechanisms in Eu Doped GaN under Simultaneous Electron Beam and Laser Excitations

Europium (Eu) ions are capable of absorbing energy from electron hole pairs (EHPs) resulting in an excitation of the electrons in their 4f shells and subsequently, a red emission. To this end, Eu ions can be doped in gallium nitride (GaN) to produce a red-emitting LED. Identifying and capitalizing on the most efficient energy transfer pathway for EHP excitation of Eu ions is crucial for the success of these LEDs. However, this process is still not well understood. Therefore, in order to better understand the EHP energy transfer, a new experimental setup has been developed combining the complimentary techniques of photoluminescence (PL) and cathodoluminescence (CL). In this setup, simultaneous direct optical excitation and EHP excitation of rare earth (RE) ions in GaN has been achieved. This setup is a fiber based confocal optical microscope that operates inside of a JEOL 6400 scanning electron microscope (SEM) chamber enabling the excitation of a sample either by a laser or electron beam. The module is attached to a cryogenic stage (Oxford) allowing temperature dependent measurements. The illumination and collection fibers operate as effective pinholes providing, in combination with a microscope objective (NA=0.3), high spatial resolution (∼2 μm) and excellent collection efficiency. The high spatial resolution ensures that the light collected from the sample is in a region of optimal laser and electron beam overlap. The experimental techniques performed show that the EHP excitation pathway is affected by different growth parameters,V-III ratios, and Mg co-dopants as these alter the environment
Inhibition of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Cotranslational Translocation by the Cyclopeptolide CAM741

The cyclopeptolide CAM741 inhibits cotranslational translocation of vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM1), which is dependent on its signal peptide. We now describe the identification of the signal peptide of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) as the second target of CAM741. The mechanism by which the compound inhibits translocation of VEGF is very similar or identical to that of VCAM1, although the signal peptides share no obvious sequence similarities. By mutagenesis of the VEGF signal peptide, two important regions, located in the N-terminal and hydrophobic segments, were identified as critical for compound sensitivity. CAM741 alters positioning of the VEGF signal peptide at the translocon, and increasing hydrophobicity in the h-region reduces compound sensitivity and causes a different, possibly more efficient, interaction with the translocon. Although CAM741 is effective against translocation of both VEGF and VCAM1, the derivative NFI028 is able to inhibit only VCAM1, suggesting that chemical derivatization can alter not only potency, but also the specificity of the compounds.
On Guo and Nixon's Criterion for Feature Subset Selection: Assumptions, Implications, and Alternative Options

Guo and Nixon proposed a feature selection method based on maximizing <i>I</i>( <b>x</b>;<i>Y</i>), the multidimensional mutual information between feature vector <b>x</b> and class variable <i>Y</i>. Because computing <i>I</i>(<b>x</b>;<i>Y</i>) can be difficult in practice, Guo and Nixon proposed an approximation of <i>I</i>(<b>x</b>;<i>Y</i>) as the criterion for feature selection. We show that Guo and Nixon's criterion originates from approximating the joint probability distributions in <i>I</i>(<b>x</b>;<i>Y</i>) by second-order product distributions. We remark on the limitations of the approximation and discuss computationally attractive alternatives to compute <i>I</i>(<b>x</b>;<i>Y</i>) .
Metabolic study of human IgE: evidence for an extravascular catabolic pathway.

Immunoglobulin E (IgE) is catabolized at a greater rate than any of the other immunoglobulins. To determine if this is due to an additional pathway of catabolism operating partly in the extravascular compartment, metabolic studies of radioiodinated IgE along with the other four major immunoglobulins were performed in 26 patients with nonallergic diseases and in two normal volunteers. The data of IgE and IgG metabolism were analyzed first by using computer fitting to compartmental models with and without an extravascular catabolic pathway. It was found that the IgE data could be best fit to the former model, whereas the data of IgG metabolism could be best fit to the latter model. The data of IgE and other immunoglobulins were then analyzed with the method of Nosslin. This method provides an intercept value from plots of calculated values derived from the amount of radioiodinated immunoglobulin in the serum and radioiodide in the urine at different time points after injection of labeled immunoglobulin. If the intercept value is equal to 1, there is no extravascular catabolism. The mean intercept value of IgE was 0.68 ± 0.15, which was significantly less than 1 (p < 0.001); similarly, the mean intercept value of IgD was 0.80 ± 0.11, which was also significantly less than 1 (p < 0.01). In contrast, the mean intercept values of IgG, IgA, and IgM were 0.92 ± 0.05, 1.14 ± 0.12, and 1.20 ± 0.31, respectively, which were not significantly different from 1 (p > 0.01). The results indicate that there is definite extravascular catabolism of IgE and possible extravascular catabolism of IgD, whereas there was no significant extravascular catabolism of the other three major immunoglobulin classes (IgG, IgA, and IgM). It is reasonable to propose that this extravascular catabolism is part of a unique catabolic mechanism specific for IgE which is related to unique interactions of IgE with basophils and mast cells.
Rigid body segmentation and shape description from dense optical flow under weak perspective

We present an algorithm for identifying and tracking independently moving rigid objects from optical flow. The proposed method uses the fact that each distinct object has a unique epipolar constraint associated with its motion. This is in contrast to using local optical flow information for segmentation. Thus motion discontinuities based on self-occlusion are distinguished from those due to separate objects. The use of epipolar geometry allows for the determination of individual motion parameters for each object as well as the recovery of relative depth for each point on the object. The segmentation problem is formulated as a scene partitioning problem and a statistic-based algorithm which uses only nearest neighbor interactions and a finite number of iterations is developed. A Kalman filter based approach is used for tracking motion parameters with time. The algorithm assumes an affine camera where perspective effects are limited to changes in overall scale. No camera calibration parameters are required. <<ETX>>
To Study the Relationship between Obesity and Anti-Mullerian Hormone : As a Serum Marker of Ovarian Reserve In premenopausal Women

This study was performed with an objective to study the relationship between obesity and AMH as a serum marker of ovarian reserve in premenopausal women. We performed a cross-sectional comparative study of two agematched groups of late premenopausal participants: 50 participants (“non-obese”) had a BMI < 30 kg/m 2 , and the other 50 participants (“obese”) had a BMI of 30 to 35 kg/m 2 . The obese women had a mean age of 42.7 years and the non-obese women had a mean age of 43.1 years. Blood samples were collected from all participants and anthropometric measurements were calculated. The blood samples were assayed for antimüllerian hormone (AMH). The AMH level in group A (Obese) was 1.2 + 0.2 ng/ml which was significantly lower as compared to group B (Non-Obese)1.7 + 0.5 ng/ml (p< 0.01). BMI is also significantly correlated with serum AMH level ( r = 0.531, p< 0.01). In conclusion, there was significant difference in serum levels of AMH between obese and non-obese women indicating that obesity is likely to affect ovarian reserve in the premenopausal age group.