Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Co-recognition of Actions in Video Pairs

In this paper, we present a method that recognizes single or multiple common actions between a pair of video sequences. We establish an energy function that evaluates geometric and photometric consistency, and solve the action recognition problem by optimizing the energy function. The proposed stochastic inference algorithm based on the Monte Carlo method explores the video pair from the local spatio-temporal interest point matches to find the common actions. Our algorithm works in unsupervised way without prior knowledge about the type and the number of common actions. Experiments show that our algorithm produces promising results on single and multiple action recognition.
Forecasting Criteria Air Pollutants Using Data Driven Approaches; An Indian Case Study

Forecasting air pollutant trends especially in metropolitan cities of India, has become a vital issue as air pollution has immediate and severe impacts on human health. Criteria pollutants like Oxides of Sulphur (SOx), Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) and Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM) have either reached or exceeded the acceptable limits specified by Central Pollution Control Board of India for most of the cities like Pune. In the present work two soft computing approaches namely Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Genetic Programming (GP) are used to predict the air quality parameters (SOx, NOx, RSPM) a few time steps in advance for Pune City. Six models have been developed based on daily average data values of pollutant concentrations spanning over seven years. ANN, one of the proven tools in estimation and prediction of air quality has been used and the results of the models are compared with GP which is rarely used tool in the field of air quality modelling and forecasting. The performance of the models has been compared using r, RMSE and d. Considering the complexity of the air pollution phenomenon, it was found that GP models are robust and could work well as compared to ANN.
A novel osteochondral composite consisting of a self-assembling peptide hydrogel and 3D printed polycaprolactone scaffold : potential for articular cartilage repair

Degenerative diseases, such as osteoarthritis, and traumatic injuries are both prominent causes of cartilage defects. Due to its avascular nature, adult human cartilage displays limited capacity for regeneration. Current surgical treatments to induce a spontaneous repair response rely on access to the subchondral bone region. These procedures result in fibrocartilage generation, as opposed to hyaline cartilage, that is variable in structure, composition, and durability. Furthermore, the success rates of these surgeries are also variable. Deficiencies in these cartilage repair methods motivate investigation into a tissue engineering means of repairing or regenerating cartilage. Various composites designed to emulate a cartilage and bone interface are under investigation. The aim of this study was to conceive a means of integrating a chondrocyte-seeded peptide hydrogel with an interconnected porous 3D printed polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffold to create a novel osteochondral construct. The self-assembling peptide hydrogel has been shown to provide an environment that maintains chondrocyte phenotype and viability. Furthermore, the 3D scaffold fosters extracellular matrix production and chondrocyte division. PCL is a bioresorbable and biocompatible polymer scaffold, capable of supporting the attachment of both osteogenic and chondrogenic cells and cell-specific extracellular matrix production, that can be integrated with the peptide hydrogel to constitute an osteochondral construct. A primary advantage of the 3D printing technology is the ability to control the microarchitecture and macroarchitecture of the PCL scaffold in a layer by layer fashion. Integration of the peptide hydrogel into the porous PCL scaffold may be enhanced by creating a gradient of porosity at the interface of the materials, while the lower portion of the PCL scaffold would possess a scaffold microarchitecture optimized for bone ingrowth. Through the use of an agarose mold, the construction of an osteochondral composite consisting of the chondrocyte-seeded peptide hydrogel and porous PCL scaffold was made possible in an integrated, controlled, and repeatable fashion. PCL was found to act as an inert material with regard to chondrocyte behavior, as chondrocyte morphology, viability, extracellular matrix production, and biosynthesis rates proved to be analogous to those seen in the chondrocyte-seeded peptide hydrogel only systems previously studied. A distinction in the microarchitecture of the PCL scaffold, 70% porosity versus 90% porosity, was not found to markedly impact chondrocyte behavior in the peptide hydrogel. The efficacy of the peptide hydrogel material selection was illustrated by comparison to a chondrocyte-seeded agarose hydrogel and PCL composite, with an agarose hydrogel serving as a more traditional means of studying chondrocyte behavior. Biochemical, mechanical, and histological characterization of the peptide hydrogel and porous PCL construct delineate the potential use of this composite for
A Class Cohesion Metric For Object-Oriented Designs

Cohesion is a measure of relatedness or consistency in functionality of a software component. It is a highly desirably design characteristic because it measures separation of responsibilities, independence of components, and control of complexity. Cohesion has a significant effect on a design’s understandability, effectiveness and adaptability. An early evaluation of design components for cohesion can significantly improve the quality of a design, by helping identify and redesign components that have scattered functionality or inconsistencies and that are complex. In this article we present a new metric to evaluate cohesion among methods of a class early in the analysis and design phase. The metric evaluates the consistency (focus) of methods in a class’ interface using the parameter lists of the methods. This metric can be applied on class declarations that only contain method prototypes (method name and parameter types). The effectiveness of the metric is validated and demonstrated by correlating its results with existing measures of cohesion such as the Lack of Cohesion Among Methods Metric (LCOM) proposed by Chidamber and Kemerer and later interpreted by Li and Henry, which can be applied only after the implementation of methods of a class. Also, the metric is correlated with the cohesiveness evaluation of classes done by human experts.
Permanganate—A New Fixative for Electron Microscopy

During the early phases of tissue sectioning for electron microscopy, virtually all of the standard cytological fixatives were tried. Of these, osmium tetroxide appeared to give the best preservation, and this was further improved by buffering the fixative solution at a slightly alkaline pH (Palade (1)). A variant developed by Dalton (2) contains Os04 in a chromate-dichromate system. Formalin has been used for special purposes for electron microscopy, and a fixative without OsO4 has been described by Low (3), consisting of a chromic acid-formaldehyde mixture. Potassium permanganate, or more specifically the permanganate ion, has occasionally been used as a fixative or stain in light microscopy (4). I t provides remarkable preservation of many cell components at the electron microscope level, as the following plates illustrate. The tissue fine structure looks similar to that following osmium treatment, thus rendering less likely the criticism that electron microscopists are merely seeing artifacts of osmium fixation. Besides preserving fine structure, permanganate fixation enhances tissue density
3D microchannel networks by melting alginate hydrogel fibers for cell structures

In this paper, we constructed three dimensional (3D) microchannel networks inside gelatin-based hydrogel towards 3D in vitro cell structures. The 3D in vitro assembly of cells is one of the important techniques to reveal cell growth, differentiation and hystogenesis for applications in tissue engineering, drug screening, and cell characterization. To achieve functional 3D cell structures, vascular networks are necessary to supply oxygen and nutrients to cells, and remove waste product from cells. Alginate hydrogel fibers were employed to construct the microchannel networks like blood vessels in this paper. The patterned hydrogel fibers are embedded in the gelatin-based hydrogel as a mold of microchannels. Cells can be embedded inside the gelatin-based hydrogel. The patterned hydrogel fiber can be melted using standard saline citrate (SSC) buffer and the melted area can be used as vascular networks. The gelatin and agar are mixed to make gelatin-based hydrogel which cannot be melted at 37 °C. The flow inside the melted alginate hydrogel fibers were visualized using fluorescent microbeads and nanobeads. The results validate that the proposed method can be used to make arbitrary patterns of vascular networks inside cell structures and contribute to achieve in vitro 3D cell structures.
DUCTILITY IN REINFORCED CONCRETE: WHY IS IT NEEDED AND HOW IS IT ACHIEVED?

This paper considers the reasons for requiring that reinforced concrete sections have ductility and recent research on the factors influencing ductility. This work has shown that the rotation capacity may be considerably lower than assumed from earlier research owing to rupture of the reinforcement prior to crushing of the concrete. An investigation carried out at the University of Leeds is described which examined the influence of the form of the post-yield stress-strain response of reinforcement on the rotation capacity of sections. It is shown that there are two modes of failure: a relatively brittle failure where only one crack forms in the hinge region and a more ductile failure where multiple cracks form. The consequences of the research for design are discussed. (A)
Structure design and manufacturing of layered bioceramic scaffolds for load-bearing bone reconstruction

Bioceramic scaffolds with desired bone regeneration functions have the potential to become real alternatives to autologous bone grafts for reconstruction of load-bearing and critical-sized segmental bone defects. The aim of this paper was to develop a layered scaffold structure that has the biodegradable function of common monolithic scaffolds and adequate mechanical function for surgical fixing and after surgery support. The exemplary case of this study is assumed to be a large-segment tibia or femur bone repair. The layered scaffold structure consists of a macro porous hydroxyapatite–wollastonite layer and a strong dense zirconia matrix dense layer. The bio-functional scaffold layer with interconnected freeze-dried porous structures shows excellent apatite formation, cell attachment, and cell proliferation capabilities. The mechanical functional layer provides a bending strength matching that of the compact bone.
On Nonconvex Decentralized Gradient Descent

Consensus optimization has received considerable attention in recent years. A number of decentralized algorithms have been proposed for convex consensus optimization. However, to the behaviors or consensus <italic>nonconvex</italic> optimization, our understanding is more limited. When we lose convexity, we cannot hope that our algorithms always return global solutions though they sometimes still do. Somewhat surprisingly, the decentralized consensus algorithms, DGD and Prox-DGD, retain most other properties that are known in the convex setting. In particular, when diminishing (or constant) step sizes are used, we can prove convergence to a (or a neighborhood of) consensus stationary solution under some regular assumptions. It is worth noting that Prox-DGD can handle nonconvex nonsmooth functions if their proximal operators can be computed. Such functions include SCAD, MCP, and <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX"> $\ell _q$</tex-math></inline-formula> quasi-norms, <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$q\in [0,1)$</tex-math> </inline-formula>. Similarly, Prox-DGD can take the constraint to a nonconvex set with an easy projection. To establish these properties, we have to introduce a completely different line of analysis, as well as modify existing proofs that were used in the convex setting.
Hydrogel Micropillars with Integrin Selective Peptidomimetic Functionalized Nanopatterned Tops: A New Tool for the Measurement of Cell Traction Forces Transmitted through αvβ3- or α5β1-Integrins

Poly(ethylene glycol) micropillars with gold nanopatterns on top are functionalized with two integrin selective ligands. This platform is a powerful new tool to determine the specific contribution of traction forces involved in cell adhesion mediated by α5β1- and αvβ3-integrins. Cells adherent via α5β1-integrins have a tendency to exert higher maximum forces than cells adhering via αvβ3-integrins.
Fibrillary glomerulonephritis in a patient with adenocarcinoma of stomach.

Key words: adenocarcinoma of stomach; fibrillary a creatinine clearance of 53 ml/min. and a 24-h urinary protein of 15 g. Autoantibodies including antineutro-glomerulonephritis phil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) were negative and complements C3 and C4, immunoglobulins and serum protein electrophoresis were all normal. A renal
Clinical and pathological features of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas lacking the surface expression of immunoglobulin light chains

Abstract Background: The flow cytometric analysis of surface immunoglobulin light chains (sIgL) is used as a simple method for evaluating monoclonal B-cell proliferation. However, the sIgL expression, κ or λ, is occasionally undetectable in cases with B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas (B-NHL). The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical and pathological characteristics of these B-NHL cases. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 50 cases with previously untreated sIgL-negative B-NHL. All of these cases had been diagnosed at Tokai University Hospital between January 2001 and February 2011. Their medical charts were reviewed. Results: These cases had several clinical features: diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) (72%), a high serum lactate dehydrogenase level (66%), clinical stage III and IV (68%), and complex karyotypes (58%). Seven out of eight evaluated patients (87%) did not express cytoplasmic IgL, and the DNA rearrangement pattern of IgL showed diversity in 10 analyzed patients. The 5-year event-free survival of all the sIgL-negative B-NHL cases was significantly better with rituximab-containing chemotherapies in comparison to the regimens without it (57.9% vs. 17.9%, p=0.0207), although there was no statistical significance when the DLBCL cases were analyzed (56.6% vs. 22.2%, p=0.1530). Conclusions: These findings suggest that sIgL-negative B-NHL cases predominantly developed DLBCL in advanced disease, but were heterogeneous at the molecular level.
Power management for throughput enhancement in wireless ad-hoc networks

We introduce the notion of power management within the context of wireless ad-hoc networks. More specifically, we investigate the effects of using different transmit powers on the average power consumption and end-to-end network throughput in a wireless ad-hoc environment. This power management approach would help in reducing the system power consumption and hence prolonging the battery life of mobile nodes. Furthermore, it improves the end-to-end network throughput as compared to other ad-hoc networks in which all mobile nodes use the same transmit power. The improvement is due to the achievement of a tradeoff between minimizing interference ranges, reduction in the average number of hops to reach a destination, reducing the probability of having isolated clusters, and reducing the average number of transmissions (including retransmissions due to collisions). The protocols would first dynamically determine an optimal connectivity range wherein they adapt their transmit powers so as to only reach a subset of the nodes in the network. The connectivity range would then be dynamically changed in a distributed manner so as to achieve the near optimal throughput. Minimal power routing is used to further enhance performance. Simulation studies are carried out in order to investigate these design approaches. It is seen a network with such a power managed scheme would achieve a better end-to-end throughput performance (about 10% improvement with a slotted aloha MAC protocol) and lower transmit power (about an 80% Improvement) than a network without such a scheme.
Study of Bioengineered Zebra Fish Olfactory Receptor 131-2: Receptor Purification and Secondary Structure Analysis

How fishes are able to detect trace molecules in large bodies of water is not understood. It is plausible that they use olfactory receptors to detect water-soluble compounds. How the zebra fish Danio Rerio, an organism with only 98 functional olfactory receptors, is able to selectively detect and recognize numerous compounds in water remains a puzzling phenomenon. We are interested in studying the biochemical and molecular mechanisms of olfaction in fish. Here, we report on the study of a bioengineered zebra fish olfactory receptor OR131-2, affinity-purified from a HEK293S tetracycline-inducible system. This receptor was expressed and translocated to the cell plasma membrane as revealed by confocal microscopy. Circular dichroism spectroscopy showed that the purified zebra fish receptor folded into an α-helical structure, as observed for other G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). Our study shows that it is possible to produce viable quantities of the zebra fish olfactory receptor. This will not only enable detailed structural and functional analyses, but also aid in the design of biosensor devices in order to detect water-soluble metabolites or its intermediates, which are associated with human health.
Marked Hippocampal Neuronal Damage without Motor Deficits after Mild Concussive‐like Brain Injury in Apolipoprotein E‐deficient Mice

Abstract: Of various biological factors, only allele ɛ 4 of apolipoprotein E (apoE, protein; APOE4, gene) has been thus far suggested as a major determinant of genetic risk for sporadic and late‐onset familial Alzheimer's disease (AD). Environmental influences such as lack of education, traumatic brain injury, oxidative stress, environmental toxins, hormonal imbalances, and alterations in immune or inflammatory responses may also contribute to the pathogenesis of AD. Thus genetic susceptibility and environmental risk factors may have synergistic effects on the development of AD. The purpose of present report was to assess whether the gene (APOE) and the environmental risk factor (traumatic brain injury) could interact in hippocampal neuronal degeneration. We investigated the histopathological changes of hipoccampal regions after mild concussive‐like brain injury without motor deficits in apoE‐deficient mice using the recently described novel weight‐drop device. Control mice revealed minimal neurodegenerative changes limited to CA2 and CA3, while apoE‐deficient mice showed widespread neuronal degeneration throughout hippocampal subfields and part of dentate gyrus. We also observed widespread glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) immunoreactivity throughout the hippocampus, which was more intense in apoE‐deficient mice. The results of this study indicate that even very mild traumatic brain injury could result in widespread hippocampal damage in apoE‐deficient mice. This again supports the hypothesis that apoE might play a neurotrophic or neuroprotective function in the central nervous system.
Factored Semi-Tied Covariance Matrices

A new form of covariance modelling for Gaussian mixture models and hidden Markov models is presented. This is an extension to an efficient form of covariance modelling used in speech recognition, semi-tied covariance matrices. In the standard form of semi-tied covariance matrices the covariance matrix is decomposed into a highly shared decorrelating transform and a component-specific diagonal covariance matrix. The use of a factored decorrelating transform is presented in this paper. This factoring effectively increases the number of possible transforms without increasing the number of free parameters. Maximum likelihood estimation schemes for all the model parameters are presented including the component/ transform assignment, transform and component parameters. This new model form is evaluated on a large vocabulary speech recognition task. It is shown that using this factored form of covariance modelling reduces the word error rate.
Mutual information and secrecy enhancement analysis of media-based modulation

Media-Based Modulation (MBM) is a novel transmission method whose main idea is embedding information in channel states. In this paper, new insights into the secure communication of MBM systems are presented. Using an information-theoretic framework, we first derive the expressions of the mutual information and the secrecy rate and find out the effect of antennas, channel realizations and other variables. Then we propose an artificial noise based scheme to enhance transmission security without the requirement of eavesdropper's channel information. At last, we numerically analyze the mutual information and secrecy performance of MBM systems with different numbers of antennas and constellations. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed artificial noise based scheme for MBM systems achieves improvement of the secrecy rate1.
Analysis of the effect of polyanionic cellulose on viscosity and filtrate volume in drilling fluid

Abstract The viscosity and filtrate volume of drilling fluid were tested by changing the polyanionic cellulose content in drilling fluid. The effect of polyanionic cellulose on the viscosity and filtrate volume of drilling fluid was analysed. The test results showed that the viscosity of drilling fluid increases with increasing polyanionic cellulose content. When the polyanionic cellulose content is below 1·5%, the viscosity increases slowly, whereas the viscosity increases rapidly when the polyanionic cellulose content is above 1·5%. Equation ( 1) is a fitting equation that shows the relationship between viscosity and polyanionic cellulose content. The filtrate volume of drilling fluid decreases approximately linearly with increasing polyanionic cellulose content. Equation ( 2) is a fitting equation that shows the relationship between filtrate volume and polyanionic cellulose content. Polyanionic cellulose can effectively improve the viscosity and reduce the filtrate volume of drilling fluid.