Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A High Efficient Hand Gesture-based Mouse Emulator for Embedded Devices

Over the last few years, mobile devices have become part of our lives. More and more new applications are being developed due to the portability of mobile devices equipped with multiple sensors. In this paper, we proposed a simple and efficient system for gesture-based mouse emulation on mobile devices. The system uses only an RGB camera as its input, but is still capable of handling various lighting conditions. The mouse emulation is implemented using an input module, which is one of Linux kernel modules that allows user to create and handle virtual input devices from an application. Thus, the input events generated by our system are injected system-wide, which acts like a real mouse plugged into the device. In addition, the input model is implemented using thread to speed up. Experimental results show that our system can achieve real-time performance with low latency on a low-cost mobile device.
Functional maturation of the exocytotic machinery at gerbil hair cell ribbon synapses

Auditory afferent fibre activity in mammals relies on neurotransmission at hair cell ribbon synapses. Developmental changes in the Ca2+ sensitivity of the synaptic machinery allow inner hair cells (IHCs), the primary auditory receptors, to encode Ca2+ action potentials (APs) during pre‐hearing stages and graded receptor potentials in adult animals. However, little is known about the time course of these changes or whether the kinetic properties of exocytosis differ as a function of IHC position along the immature cochlea. Furthermore, the role of afferent transmission in outer hair cells (OHCs) is not understood. Calcium currents and exocytosis (measured as membrane capacitance changes: ΔCm) were measured with whole‐cell recordings from immature gerbil hair cells using near‐physiological conditions. The kinetics, vesicle pool depletion and Ca2+ coupling of exocytosis were similar in apical and basal immature IHCs. This could indicate that possible differences in AP activity along the immature cochlea do not require synaptic specialization. Neurotransmission in IHCs became mature from postnatal day 20 (P20), although changes in its Ca2+ dependence occurred at P9–P12 in basal and P12–P15 in apical cells. OHCs showed a smaller ΔCm than IHCs that was reflected by fewer active zones in OHCs. Otoferlin, the proposed Ca2+ sensor in cochlear hair cells, was similarly distributed in both cell types despite the high‐order exocytotic Ca2+ dependence in IHCs and the near‐linear relation in OHCs. The results presented here provide a comprehensive study of the function and development of hair cell ribbon synapses.
Barriers to Environmental Concern

A high level of environmental concern is likely to be an important prerequisite of long-lasting pro-environmental behavior, and thus long-lasting decrease in environmental impact. However, several barriers hinder its establishment. This review essay aims to systematically summarize the most important of these barriers. The 21 barriers can be divided into two groups: one is related to the obtainment of information on environmental problems (subgroups: (1) direct, sensory obtainment of information and (2) the obtainment of mediated information), and the other is related to the mental appraisal processes concerning environmental problems (subgroups: the appraisal of (1) the severity and probability of the threat, (2) responsibility and affectedness and (3) coping). The accurate identification of the barriers hindering the rise of environmental concern is essential to removing or reducing them.
Citizenship, Inc. Do We Really Want Businesses to Be Good Corporate Citizens?

Are there any advantages to thinking and speaking about ethical business in the language of citizenship? We will address this question in part by looking at the possible relevance of a vast literature on individual citizenship that has been produced by political philosophers over the last fifteen years. Some of the central elements of citizenship do not seem to apply straightforwardly to corporations. E.g., “citizenship” typically implies membership in a state and an identity akin to national identity; but this connotation of citizenship is obviously problematic for multinational corporations. However, the language of citizenship does help to focus our attention on various legal and political virtues (or vices) for corporations—topics that have been largely neglected by discussions under other rubrics, such as CSR or sustainability. We finish with an evaluation of the potential benefits and costs of conceptualizing and talking about ethical business practices in the language of citizenship.
Stress, sense of coherence and subjective health in adolescents aged 13–18 years

Background: This study investigated the relationships between sex, age, stress and sense of coherence (SOC) and each of self-rated health (SRH) and subjective health complaints (SHCs) in adolescents. Methods: The study was based on a cross-sectional sample of 1239 adolescents aged 13–18 years. The participants reported scores on a questionnaire, including 12 items assessing SHC, the 13-item version of the Orientation to Life Questionnaire and the 30-item Adolescent Stress Questionnaire. Data were analysed with descriptive, comparative and hierarchical multiple regression analyses. Results: Boys scored significantly higher on SRH than girls, whereas girls scored higher on SHCs. In the multivariate model, stress was significantly associated with SHCs, but not with SRH. SOC was significantly positively related to SRH and negatively related to SHC; the associations were significantly stronger for girls than for boys. A significant moderation effect (protective role) of SOC was found on the relation between stress and SHC. Conclusions: No causal conclusion was possible, but the findings may be used as a basis for further investigation of the role of stress and SOC in longitudinal studies and intervention studies.
Salt Sensitivity and Hypertension after Menopause: Role of Nitric Oxide and Angiotensin II

Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and renal disease. After menopause, the incidence of hypertension increases in women to levels that equal or exceed that in men, suggesting a protective role of female sex hormones. Salt sensitivity of blood pressure is associated with an increased risk for development of hypertension and cardiovascular disease. We and others have demonstrated that after menopause, the prevalence of salt sensitivity increases, suggesting that female sex hormones influence renal sodium handling and blood pressure regulation. A homeostatic balance between the counteracting effects of nitric oxide (NO) and angiotensin (Ang) II on pressure natriuresis, renal hemodynamics, tubular sodium reabsorption, and oxidative stress plays an important role in modulating salt sensitivity as well as hypertensive end-organ injury. Estrogens modulate the activity and expression of NO and Ang II. We infer that after menopause, estrogen deficiency promotes an unbalance between NO and Ang II, resulting in disturbed renal sodium handling, oxidative stress, and hypertension, particularly in genetically prone women. A better understanding of the mechanisms underlying the development of postmenopausal hypertension and associated cardiovascular and renal diseases should provide insights into preventive and therapeutic strategies.
An L1/2-norm based efficient block level rate estimation model for HEVC

In this paper, we propose a block level rate estimation model for HEVC in discrete cosine transformation (DCT) domain, to reduce the computation burden of entropy coding in mode decision. Rather than the widely used ℓ0 and ℓ1-norm, the proposed model is based on the root of ℓ1/2-norm of the quantized DCT coefficients (r-qCoeffs) which presents a higher estimation accuracy. Furthermore, to adapt to the tree partition structured coding units in HEVC, weight matrixes of r-qCoeffs are developed for different sized transform units, where each weight is a precalculated linear function of quantization parameter (QP). Benefit from the proposed model, no parameter updating is required and high accuracy can be achieved. Experimental results show that compared with the HEVC reference software, 10.68% and 5.03% encoding time can be saved in average for intra and inter prediction mode respectively, with little rate-distortion performance loss. Besides, the proposed model that possesses a concise linear form of QP is quite qualified for the rate control mode. Results show that comparable performance to constant QP encoding mode can be achieved.
IDIOTYPE EXPRESSION IN PRECURSORS OF MYELOMA CELLS

From the Cellular Immunobiology Unit of the Tumor Institute, Departments of Pediatrics, Medicine and Microbiology, The Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Alabama in Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama 35294; and the Department of Microbiology, Southwestern Medical School, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, School of Allied Health Sciences University of Texas Health Science Center at Dallas, Dallas, Texas 75235
Reflexes in Response to Stretch (Myotatic Reflexes)

Familiar to those who work with the decerebrate preparation must be the observation that passive flexion of the characteristically extended knee is felt to evoke some development of resistance of it against that passive movement. Examination by the myograph of this resistance formed the point of departure of the following observations. In this same muscle the “knee jerk” is doubtless a reflex in response to a stretch; but it is a reaction whose brevity makes it perhaps the most twitch-like of all reflexes, whereas the reflex under consideration here is tetanic and prolonged. Patellar-clonus, likewise a reaction to stretch, resembles a spaced series of knee jerks and, wanting tetanic character, likewise differs from the reflex under consideration here.
Climate–Human–Land Interactions: A Review of Major Modelling Approaches

International agreements on climate change have highlighted the role of land in climate and human dynamics, making it an issue of global importance. The modelling of land-related processes, sectors, and activities has recently become a central topic in economic and policy theory, as well as within environmental sciences. Modelling strategies have been improved and new datasets have come into light for land-cover and land-use change analysis. However, unexpected human behavior and natural constraints challenge the modelling of interdependences and feedback mechanisms amongst economies, societies, and the environment, resulting from land-use and cover change. This paper provides a detailed overview of the most representative and advanced methods and models developed to represent climate–human–land interactions. It offers a critical discussion about relevant methodological aspects, missing knowledge, and areas for future research.
EST‐SSR markers from five sequenced cDNA libraries of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) comparing three bioinformatic algorithms

Expressed sequence tags (ESTs) are a rich source of SSR sequences, but the proportion of long Class I microsatellites with many repeats vs. short Class II microsatellites with few repeats is an important factor to consider. Class I microsatellites, with more than 20 bp of repeats, tend to make better markers with higher polymorphism. The goal of this study was to determine the frequency of Class I and Class II microsatellites in a collection of over 21 000 ESTs from a single study of five different tissues of common bean: two types of leaves, nodules, pods and roots. For this objective, we used three different bioinformatics pipelines: Automated Microsatellite Marker Development (AMMD), Batchprimer3 and SSRLocator. In addition, we determined the frequency of single or multiple SSRs in the assembled ESTs, the frequency of perfect and compound repeats and whether Class I microsatellites were mainly di‐nucleotide or tri‐nucleotide motifs with each of the search engines. Primers were designed for a total of 175 microsatellites concentrating on class I microsatellites identified with SSR locator. A few other microsatellites were included from the other search engines, AMMD and Batchprimer3 programs so as to have a representative set of class II markers for comparison sake. The comparison of 95 class I vs. 80 class II markers confirmed that the Class I were more polymorphic and therefore more useful.
Retrospective analysis of RoboCup rescue simulation agent teams

We introduce the Score Vector, a new evaluation scheme for the agent teams participating in RoboCup Rescue Simulation Competitions. It is a vector of parameters which monitor the game and provide analysis of the game at a microscopic level, and we show its robustness by thorough testing in various scenarios. We further explore the possibility of designing new scenarios to aptly challenge the teams.
Product Distribution Theory and Semi-Coordinate Transformations

Product Distribution (PD) theory is a new framework for doing distributed adaptive control of a multiagent system (MAS). We introduce the technique of "coordinate transformations" in PD theory gradient descent. These transformations selectively couple a few agents with each other into "meta-agents". Intuitively, this can be viewed as a generalization of forming binding contracts between those agents. Doing this sacrifices a bit of the distributed nature of the MAS, in that there must now be communication from multiple agents in determining what joint-move is finally implemented However, as we demonstrate in computer experiments, these transformations improve the performance of the MAS.
EULAR evidence-based recommendations for the management of fibromyalgia syndrome

Objective: To develop evidence-based recommendations for the management of fibromyalgia syndrome. Methods: A multidisciplinary task force was formed representing 11 European countries. The design of the study, including search strategy, participants, interventions, outcome measures, data collection and analytical method, was defined at the outset. A systematic review was undertaken with the keywords “fibromyalgia”, “treatment or management” and “trial”. Studies were excluded if they did not utilise the American College of Rheumatology classification criteria, were not clinical trials, or included patients with chronic fatigue syndrome or myalgic encephalomyelitis. Primary outcome measures were change in pain assessed by visual analogue scale and fibromyalgia impact questionnaire. The quality of the studies was categorised based on randomisation, blinding and allocation concealment. Only the highest quality studies were used to base recommendations on. When there was insufficient evidence from the literature, a Delphi process was used to provide basis for recommendation. Results: 146 studies were eligible for the review. 39 pharmacological intervention studies and 59 non-pharmacological were included in the final recommendation summary tables once those of a lower quality or with insufficient data were separated. The categories of treatment identified were antidepressants, analgesics, and “other pharmacological” and exercise, cognitive behavioural therapy, education, dietary interventions and “other non-pharmacological”. In many studies sample size was small and the quality of the study was insufficient for strong recommendations to be made. Conclusions: Nine recommendations for the management of fibromyalgia syndrome were developed using a systematic review and expert consensus.
The modular and integrative functional architecture of the human brain

Significance Many complex networks are composed of “modules” that form an interconnected network. We sought to elucidate the nature of the brain’s modular function by testing the autonomy of the brain’s modules and the potential mechanisms underlying their interactions. By studying the brain as a large-scale complex network and measuring activity across the network during 77 cognitive tasks, we demonstrate that, despite connectivity between modules, each module appears to execute a discrete cognitive function relatively autonomously from the other modules. Moreover, brain regions with diverse connectivity across the modules appear to play a role in enabling modules to interact while remaining mostly autonomous. This generates the counterintuitive idea that regions with diverse connectivity across modules are necessary for modular biological networks. Network-based analyses of brain imaging data consistently reveal distinct modules and connector nodes with diverse global connectivity across the modules. How discrete the functions of modules are, how dependent the computational load of each module is to the other modules’ processing, and what the precise role of connector nodes is for between-module communication remains underspecified. Here, we use a network model of the brain derived from resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) data and investigate the modular functional architecture of the human brain by analyzing activity at different types of nodes in the network across 9,208 experiments of 77 cognitive tasks in the BrainMap database. Using an author–topic model of cognitive functions, we find a strong spatial correspondence between the cognitive functions and the network’s modules, suggesting that each module performs a discrete cognitive function. Crucially, activity at local nodes within the modules does not increase in tasks that require more cognitive functions, demonstrating the autonomy of modules’ functions. However, connector nodes do exhibit increased activity when more cognitive functions are engaged in a task. Moreover, connector nodes are located where brain activity is associated with many different cognitive functions. Connector nodes potentially play a role in between-module communication that maintains the modular function of the brain. Together, these findings provide a network account of the brain’s modular yet integrated implementation of cognitive functions.
Work-Family Balance and Supervisor Appraised Citizenship Behavior: The Link of Positive Affect

We use broaden and build theory (Fredrickson, 1998; 2001) to examine the relationship between workfamily balance and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB), and the extent to which these relationships are mediated by positive affect. Using a sample of 205 supervisor-subordinate dyads, we found that subordinate work-family balance predicted supervisors’ appraisals of subordinate’s engagement in both organization and individual OCB and was fully mediated by positive affect rated by the subordinate. Additionally, we found that these fully mediated relationships held when positive affect was measured by the supervisor.
Influence of prosthetic parameters on the survival and complication rates of short implants.

PURPOSE Implants shorter than 10 mm can be a long-term solution for sites with limited bone height. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of some prosthetic factors on the survival and complication rates. MATERIALS AND METHODS Two hundred sixty-two short machined-surface Brånemark System implants were consecutively placed in 109 patients and followed for a mean of 53 months. The prosthetic parameters were recorded, and the data were examined for relation to peri-implant bone loss and biologic or biomechanical complications. RESULTS Relatively few crown-to-implant (C/I) ratios were < 1 or > 2 (16.2%). Occlusal table (OT) width ranged from 5.4 to 8.3 mm. Opposing dentition was most often natural teeth, a fixed prosthesis supported by natural teeth, or an implant-supported fixed restoration. Occlusion with a normal buccolingual maxillomandibular relationship was found in 72.7% of the cases. No significant difference in peri-implant bone loss was correlated with C/I ratio or OT. Neither cantilever length nor bruxism had a significant effect on peri-implant bone loss. Mean bone loss was 0.74 +/- . 65 mm. The difference in the complication rate (15% overall) between the bruxer and the nonbruxer group was not statistically significant (P = .51). One implant was lost in a heavy bruxer after 7 years of function. DISCUSSION Increased C/I and OT values do not seem to be a major risk factor in cases of favorable loading. In 67% of the cases, the mesiodistal length of the prosthesis was less than the corresponding natural tooth length, which may have contributed to better load distribution and more favorable results. CONCLUSIONS Short implants appear to be a longterm viable solution in sites with reduced bone height, even when the prosthetic parameters exceed the normal values, provided that force orientation and load distribution are favorable and parafunction is controlled.
Nucleation and growth of sub-3 nm particles in the polluted urban atmosphere of a megacity in China

Abstract. Particle size distribution down to 1.4 nm was measured in the urban atmosphere of Nanjing, China, in spring, summer, and winter during 2014–2015. Sub-3 nm particle event, which is equivalent to nucleation event, occurred on 42 out of total 90 observation days, but new particles could grow to cloud condensation nuclei (CCN)-active sizes on only 9 days. In summer, infrequent nucleation was limited by both unfavorable meteorological conditions (high temperature and relative humidity – RH) and reduced anthropogenic precursor availability due to strict emission control measures during the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing. The limiting factors for nucleation in winter and spring were meteorological conditions (radiation, temperature, and RH) and condensation sink, but for the further growth of sub-3 nm particles to CCN-active sizes, anthropogenic precursors again became limiting factors. Nucleation events were strong in the polluted urban atmosphere. Initial J1.4 at the onset and peak J1.4 at the noontime could be up to 2.1 × 102 and 2.5 × 103 cm−3 s−1, respectively, during the eight nucleation events selected from different seasons. Time-dependent J1.4 usually showed good linear correlations with a sulfuric acid proxy for every single event (R2 = 0.56–0.86, excluding a day with significant nocturnal nucleation), but the correlation among all eight events deteriorated (R2 = 0.17) due to temperature or season change. We observed that new particle growth rate (GR) did not increase monotonically with particle size, but had a local maximum up to 25 nm h−1 between 1 and 3 nm. The existence of local maxima GR in sub-3 nm size range, though sensitive to measurement uncertainties, gives new insight into cluster dynamics in polluted environments. In this study such growth rate behavior was interpreted as the solvation effect of organic activating vapor in newly formed inorganic nuclei.
User-Aware Music Retrieval

Personalized and user-aware systems for retrieving multimedia items are becoming increasingly important as the amount of available multimedia data has been spiraling. A personalized system is one that incorporates information about the user into its data processing part (e.g., a particular user taste for a movie genre). A context-aware system, in contrast, takes into account dynamic aspects of the user context when processing the data (e.g., location and time where/when a user issues a query). Today's user-adaptive systems often incorporate both aspects. Particularly focusing on the music domain, this article gives an overview of different aspects we deem important to build personalized music retrieval systems. In this vein, we first give an overview of factors that influence the human perception of music. We then propose and discuss various requirements for a personalized, user-aware music retrieval system. Eventually, the state-of-the-art in building such systems is reviewed, taking in particular aspects of "similarity" and "serendipity" into account.