Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Eurographics-ieee Vgtc Symposium on Visualization (2005) High-quality Rendering of Compressed Volume Data Formats

Rendering directly from packed or compressed volume data formats using graphics hardware has advantages in terms of memory consumption and bandwidth, but results in lower-quality images due to the prohibitive cost of performing interpolation and gradient-based shading on the reconstructed data. The problem with the existing method lies in its close coupling of decompression and interpolation. We demonstrate that deferred filtering overcomes this problem by using a two-pass decompression and rendering strategy. With this method interpolation and gradient calculations are very efficient, allowing high quality rendering directly from packed or compressed volume data. We evaluate the cost of creating interpolated, gradient-shaded renderings using traditional on-the-fly decompression and deferred filtering, and show that deferred filtering can provide up to twenty times speed-up for high quality rendering.
SIRT1, an antiinflammatory and antiaging protein, is decreased in lungs of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

RATIONALE Abnormal inflammation and accelerated decline in lung function occur in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Human sirtuin (SIRT1), an antiaging and antiinflammatory protein, is a metabolic NAD(+)-dependent protein/histone deacetylase that regulates proinflammatory mediators by deacetylating histone and nonhistone proteins. OBJECTIVES To determine the expression of SIRT1 in lungs of smokers and patients with COPD, and to elucidate the regulation of SIRT1 in response to cigarette smoke in macrophages, and its impact on nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB regulation. METHODS SIRT1 and NF-kappaB levels were assessed in lung samples of nonsmokers, smokers, and patients with COPD. Human monocyte-macrophage cells (MonoMac6) were treated with cigarette smoke extract (CSE) to determine the mechanism of CSE-mediated regulation of SIRT1 and its involvement in RelA/p65 regulation and IL-8 release. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Peripheral lungs of smokers and patients with COPD showed decreased levels of nuclear SIRT1, as compared with nonsmokers, associated with its post-translational modifications (formation of nitrotyrosine and aldehyde carbonyl adducts). Treatment of MonoMac6 cells with CSE showed decreased levels of SIRT1 associated with increased acetylation of RelA/p65 NF-kappaB. Mutation or knockdown of SIRT1 resulted in increased acetylation of nuclear RelA/p65 and IL-8 release, whereas overexpression of SIRT1 decreased IL-8 release in response to CSE treatment in MonoMac6 cells. CONCLUSIONS SIRT1 levels were reduced in macrophages and lungs of smokers and patients with COPD due to its post-translational modifications by cigarette smoke-derived reactive components, leading to increased acetylation of RelA/p65. Thus, SIRT1 plays a pivotal role in regulation of NF-kappaB-dependent proinflammatory mediators in lungs of smokers and patients with COPD.
Methods for producing world and regional estimates for selected key indicators of the labour market

Considers two approaches to address the problem of making world and regional estimates for the Key Indicators of the Labour Market (KILMs) project: the first treats the missing data and the second a small area estimation problem. Presents a number of methods or estimation procedures within each of the two approaches. Also discusses differences and similarities between the two approaches and gives conditions under which particular estimators are identical in each method.
Design of a gyroscopically stabilized single-wheeled robot

Conventional design of a mobile robot ensures its stability by keeping the gravity vector through the center of mass inside the structure's polygon of support determined by the contact points between the structure and the ground. This assumption of quasi-static stability fails to hold when the robot moves at high speed as the inertial forces become significant compared to the static gravitational force. On the other hand, the momentum of the moving structure can be exploited to enhance stability if it is dynamically controlled. This principle was exploited to build a gyroscopically stabilized single-wheeled robot by researchers at Carnegie Melon University (CMU). Our design follows the same principle for stability but uses a different mechanism to effect forward and reverse motion.
A Proposed Architecture for Learning Object Selection and Discovery Based on WSMO

Recent researches combined the semantic web services paradigm with the search for e-learning resources. Meanwhile, more and more learning resources are generated by different courseware providers. This paper presents a learner selection and discovery architecture for distributed e-learning environments based on semantic Web services (SWS) to allow sharing, discovery, filtering and recommending relevant learning objects (LOs) based on learner profile through courseware providers. This paper presents an SWS architecture which is based on Web service modeling ontology (WSMO), and which uses the learning object metadata (LOM) standard to describe the learning object.
Considering semantic abilities to improve a Web-Based Distance Learning System

In this paper we introduce how to improve a Web-bas ed hybrid recommender system developed with a collaborative b ookmark management system approach using semantic capabilit ies. The system combines content analysis and the developmen t of virtual clusters of students and of educational sources. It provides facilitation in the use of huge amount of digital i nformation stored in a distributed learning environment on the basis of the student’s personal requirements and interests. By adopting a hybrid approach, the system is able to effectively filter relevant resources from a wide heterogeneous environment like the Web, taking advantage of the common interests of the students a d also maintaining the benefits provided by content analys is. The resources are processed to extract senses (not just words) from the documents. Then, the classification, recommendation and sharing phases take advantage of the word senses to classif y, retrieve and suggest documents with high semantic relevance with respect to the student and resource models. Documents are repr sented using metadata model.
Salvianolic Acid B Restored Impaired Barrier Function via Downregulation of MLCK by microRNA-1 in Rat Colitis Model

Salvianolic acid B (Sal B) is isolated from the traditional Chinese medical herb Salvia miltiorrhiza and is reported to have a wide range of therapeutic benefits. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Sal B on epithelial barrier dysfunction in rat colitis and to uncover related mechanisms. Rat colitis model was established by intracolonic administration of 2, 4, 6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS). The intestinal barrier function was evaluated by measuring the serum recovery of fluorescein isothiocyanate-4 kD dextran in vivo and transepithelial electrical resistance in vitro respectively. The protein expression related to intestinal barrier function was studied using western blotting. The effects of Sal B on inflammatory responses, oxidative damage and colitis recurrence were also studied in this study. The intestinal barrier dysfunction in colitis was reversed by Sal B, accompanied with the decrease of tight junction proteins, and the effect could be blocked by microRNA-1(miR-1) inhibition. The inflammatory responses, oxidative damage and colitis recurrence were also decreased by Sal B. The colitis symptoms and recurrences were ameliorated by Sal B, and restoration of impaired barrier function via downregulation of MLCK by miR-1 maybe involved in this effect. This study provides some novel insights into both of the pathological mechanisms and treatment alternatives of inflammatory bowel disease.
Diastolic dysfunction in normotensive men with well-controlled type 2 diabetes: importance of maneuvers in echocardiographic screening for preclinical diabetic cardiomyopathy.

OBJECTIVE Because a pseudonormal pattern of ventricular filling has never been considered in studies that reported a prevalence of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) between 20 and 40%, our aim was to more completely evaluate the prevalence of LVDD in subjects with diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We studied 46 men with type 2 diabetes who were aged 38-67 years; without evidence of diabetic complications, hypertension, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, or thyroid or overt renal disease; and with a maximal treadmill exercise test showing no ischemia. LVDD was evaluated by Doppler echocardiography, which included the use of the Valsalva maneuver and pulmonary venous recordings to unmask a pseudonormal pattern of left ventricular filling. RESULTS LVDD was found in 28 subjects (60%), of whom 13 (28%) had a pseudonormal pattern of ventricular filling and 15 (32%) had impaired relaxation. Systolic function was normal in all subjects, and there was no correlation between LVDD and indexes of metabolic control. CONCLUSIONS LVDD is much more common than previously reported in subjects with well-controlled type 2 diabetes who are free of clinically detectable heart disease. The high prevalence of this phenomenon in this high-risk population suggests that screening for LVDD in type 2 diabetes should include procedures such as the Valsalva maneuver and pulmonary venous recordings to unmask a pseudonormal pattern of ventricular filling.
Perioperative Factors Contributing the Post-Craniotomy Pain: A Synthesis of Concepts

The perioperative management of post-craniotomy pain is controversial. Although the concept of pain control in non-neurosurgical fields has grown substantially, the understanding of neurosurgical pain and its causative factors in such a population is inconclusive. In fact, the organ that is the center of pain and its related mechanisms receives little attention to alleviate distress during neurosurgical procedures. In contrast to the old belief that pain following intracranial surgery is minimal, recent data suggest the exact opposite. Despite the evolution of various multimodal analgesic techniques for optimal pain control, the concern of post-craniotomy pain remains. This paradox could be due to the lack of thorough understanding of different perioperative factors that can influence the incidence and intensity of pain in post-craniotomy population. Therefore, this review aims to give an in-depth insight into the various aspects of pain and its related factors in adult neurosurgical patients.
A Survey on Workflow Management and Scheduling in Cloud Computing

Workflow application can be executed in cloud computing environments in utility-based fashion. In our paper, we first give a survey of cloud workflow application and present the cloud-based workflow architecture for Smart City. Then a variety of workflow scheduling algorithms are reviewed. The purpose of this paper is to making taxonomy for workflow management and scheduling in cloud environment, and also applying this cloud-based workflow architecture to Smart City environments, further presenting several research challenges in this area.
Dealing with Semantic Heterogeneity Issues on the Web

The Semantic Web is an extension of the traditional Web in which meaning of information is well defined, thus allowing a better interaction between people and computers. To accomplish its goals, mechanisms are required to make explicit the semantics of Web resources, to be automatically processed by software agents (this semantics being described by means of online ontologies). Nevertheless, issues arise caused by the semantic heterogeneity that naturally happens on the Web, namely redundancy and ambiguity. For tackling these issues, we present an approach to discover and represent, in a non-redundant way, the intended meaning of words in Web applications, while taking into account the (often unstructured) context in which they appear. To that end, we have developed novel ontology matching, clustering, and disambiguation techniques. Our work is intended to help bridge the gap between syntax and semantics for the Semantic Web construction.
Communicating Values to Autonomous Agents

Although autonomous systems can support a wide variety of application goals, their perceived risk inhibits their deployment. While this problem is traditionally associated with an agent’s skills, we take the novel perspective that the issue is communication. In this view, the agent simply needs a better representation of the user’s interests so that its choices will not produce unintended effects. This paper proposes a methodology for constructing artificial agents that is rooted in this perspective. In particular, we show how the goal of aligning agent held objective functions with human utility can be transformed into a practical methodology for constructing, and then utilizing agents that provably act in their users’ best interests.
A method to quantify twitter user's posting activities for constructing disaster information support system

In Twitter, there have been various kinds of Tweets and also the total volume is extremely huge, so some kind of effectively filterable technique in response to the contents of Tweets or each user's purpose is considered to be essential in order for Twitter to be effective at the time of disaster. A framework for study aiming to effectively utilize social media at the time of disaster was proposed in which some kind of filtering mechanism to easily catch real human's voices was considered to be important for getting better performance out of social media. This paper focuses on a method to numerically-represent the characteristics of Twitter users in response to each user's tweeting, replying, and retweeting activities, which are assumed to be the source of Twitter's real time feature, and the characteristics depending on Twitter user's attributes were clarified on the basis of the multidimensional values of entropies by using the real Tweets distributed at the time of the Great East Japan Earthquake. Also by modifying this method, this paper newly proposes a dynamic quantification method. The method is so designed as to be able to dynamically change the analysis period. From the experiment, the proposed method can filter bot users comparable to the existing contents based filtering method.
A geometrical-model-based face recognition

This paper presents a novel two-stage face recognition method. The first stage implements a newly proposed feature, called Local Vector Pattern (LVP), and with a weighting mechanism, LVP is used to compute the distance between an input face image and each enrolled face image, so that M possible face candidates can be decided. Then, the second stage uses a novel feature-point Bilateral Recognition (BR) approach to produce the final face recognition result from the M candidates. Bilateral recognition contains both forward and backward recognition, and each recognition uses the feature points detected in its reference image, and searches their individual corresponding feature points in its matched image. The geometrical models of the detected feature points and their matched ones are respectively constructed and compared. By summing up the scores of both forward and backward recognition, a bilateral recognition score is obtained and is used to produce the final recognition result. Experiments on the famous Feret face databases show that the proposed algorithm produce an excellent recognition result and performs much better than two other well-known face recognition methods.
Evaluation of a Free-Coupon Program for Cervical Cancer Screening Among the Young: A Nationally Funded Program Conducted by a Local Government in Japan

Background Finding ways to improve the cervical cancer screening rates among young women has been seen as a critical national health problem in many countries, including Japan. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of a free-coupon program for cervical cancer screening conducted by a local government under financial support from the Japanese national government. Methods The personal cervical cancer screening information was analyzed for all female residents of Toyonaka City, including any past screening history and clinical results since the year 2009, when a free-coupon program for screening was started. These results were compared to results from 2008, prior to implementation of the free-coupon screening program. Results The screening rates of women eligible for the free-coupon peaked dramatically compared to women of similar age who paid for their screening; however, the rates for the ineligible-age population also increased significantly in parallel to those in the free-coupon program, possibly by indirect peer and publicity effects. In women aged 20 to 25 years, the consecutive screening rate after a free-coupon screening was significantly lower than for those women who received a regular residential screening. After a free-coupon screening, the rate for participating in consecutive screenings depended significantly on the institution where the participant received her first screening test. Conclusions These results suggest that, for a generation of young women 20–25 years of age, a free-coupon program for cervical cancer screening was effective in increasing the first-time participation rate for screening; however, the increase in first-time participation did not lead to the expected increase in consecutive screenings.
The Effect of Random Edge Removal on Network Degree Sequence

Many networks arise in a random and distributed fashion, and yet result in having a specific type of degree structure: e.g., the WWW, many social networks, biological networks, etc., exhibit power-law, stretched exponential, or similar degree structures. Much work has examined how a graph's degree-structure influences other graph properties such as connectivity, diameter, etc. Probabilistic edge removal models link failures, information spreading, and processes that consider (random) subgraphs. They also model spreading influence of information as in the independent cascade model [20]. We examine what happens to a graph's degree structure under edge failures where the edges are removed independently with identical probabilities. We start by analyzing the effect of edge failure on the degree sequence for power-law and exponential networks, and improve upon results of Martin, Carr & Faulon and Cooper & Lu; then, using intuition from the power-law case, we derive asymptotic results for almost any degree sequence of interest. Our major result shows a classification of degree sequences which leads to simple rules that give much of the new expected degree sequence after random edge-removal; we also provide associated concentration bounds.
Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control Implementation of Team Mekar at the Grand Cooperative Driving Challenge

This paper presents the cooperative adaptive cruise control implementation of Team Mekar at the Grand Cooperative Driving Challenge (GCDC). The Team Mekar vehicle used a dSpace microautobox for access to the vehicle controller area network bus and for control of the autonomous throttle intervention and the electric-motor-operated brake pedal. The vehicle was equipped with real-time kinematic Global Positioning System (RTK GPS) and an IEEE 802.11p modem installed in an onboard computer for vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication. The Team Mekar vehicle did not have an original-equipment-manufacturer-supplied adaptive cruise control (ACC). ACC/Cooperative adaptive cruise control (CACC) based on V2V-communicated GPS position/velocity and preceding vehicle acceleration feedforward were implemented in the Team Mekar vehicle. This paper presents experimental and simulation results of the Team Mekar CACC implementation, along with a discussion of the problems encountered during the GCDC cooperative mobility runs.
Robust Beamforming with Sidelobe Suppression for Impulsive Signals

Beamforming is a fundamental technique in array signal processing. Many existing approaches are based on second-order statistics. However, their performance degrades significantly due to outliers in the received signal. In this letter, we propose an outlier-resistant beamformer design criterion based on minimizing the expectation of the modulus of the array output with an <formula formulatype="inline"> <tex Notation="TeX">${\ell _1}$</tex></formula>-regularization term being added for sidelobe suppression. By using the <formula formulatype="inline"> <tex Notation="TeX">${\ell _1}$</tex></formula>-modulus of complex numbers instead of the standard modulus, the resulting optimization problem can be efficiently solved by a simple iterative algorithm or linear programming. Simulation results in the presence of impulsive signals are provided to demonstrate its robustness and accuracy compared to existing techniques.
Canadians’ Perceptions of Food, Diet, and Health – A National Survey

Background Poor nutrition is harmful to one’s health as it can lead to overweight and obesity and a number of chronic diseases. Understanding consumer perceptions toward diet and nutrition is critical to advancing nutrition-related population health interventions to address such issues. The purpose of this paper was to examine Canadians’ perceived health and diet status, compared to their actual health status, and general concern about their own diet and beliefs about health. Also analyzed were some of the perceived barriers to eating “healthy” foods, with a focus on the availability of “healthy” processed foods. Methods Two surveys were administered online to a group of Canadian panelists from all ten provinces during May 2010 to January 2011. Thirty thousand were invited; 6,665 completed the baseline survey and 5,494 completed the second survey. Panelists were selected to be nationally representative of the Canadian adult population by age, sex, province and education level, according to 2006 census data. Results Approximately one third of Canadians perceived their health or diet to be very good while very few Canadians perceived their health or diet to be very poor. While the majority of Canadians believed food and nutrition to be very important for improving one’s health, fewer Canadians were concerned about their own diets. The majority of Canadians reported difficulty finding “healthy” processed foods (low in salt and sugar and with sufficient vitamins and minerals). Many also reported difficulty finding healthy foods that are affordable. Conclusion Although consumers believe that nutrition is one of the most important factors for maintaining health, there are still a number of attitudinal and perceived environmental barriers to healthy eating.
The Impact of Palmaris Longus Muscle on Function in Sports: An Explorative Study in Elite Tennis Players and Recreational Athletes

The Palmaris longus muscle can be absent unilateral or bilateral in about 22.4% of human beings. The aim of this study is to investigate whether the presence of the Palmaris longus muscle is associated with an advantage to handgrip in elite tennis players compared to recreational athletes. Sixty people participated in this study, thirty elite tennis players and thirty recreational athletes. The presence of the Palmaris longus muscle was first assessed using different tests. Grip strength and fatigue resistance were measured by an electronic hand dynamometer. Proprioception was registered by the Flock of Birds electromagnetic tracking system. Three tests were set up for measuring proprioception: joint position sense, kinesthesia, and joint motion sense. Several hand movements were conducted with the aim to correctly reposition the joint angle. Results demonstrate a higher presence of the Palmaris longus muscle in elite tennis players, but this was not significant. Maximal grip strength was correlated with gender and only on the dominant side; it was also correlated with age. Fatigue resistance showed only on the non-dominant side; a significant difference in elite and recreational athletes. In proprioception there was no correlation with elite and recreational athletes or the presence of the Palmaris longus muscle.