Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Detecting Dynamic and Static Geo-social Communities

How communities form can depend on the geospatial location of people within a social network. Here, we investigated the implementation of the label propagation algorithm (LPA) and LabelRankT community detection algorithm in Gephi, a graph visualization tool. We researched extending these community detection algorithms to incorporate the geospatial distance between nodes in a network as a limiting factor for the automatic detection of community formation.
Functional annotation of the vlinc class of non-coding RNAs using systems biology approach

Functionality of the non-coding transcripts encoded by the human genome is the coveted goal of the modern genomics research. While commonly relied on the classical methods of forward genetics, integration of different genomics datasets in a global Systems Biology fashion presents a more productive avenue of achieving this very complex aim. Here we report application of a Systems Biology-based approach to dissect functionality of a newly identified vast class of very long intergenic non-coding (vlinc) RNAs. Using highly quantitative FANTOM5 CAGE dataset, we show that these RNAs could be grouped into 1542 novel human genes based on analysis of insulators that we show here indeed function as genomic barrier elements. We show that vlincRNAs genes likely function in cis to activate nearby genes. This effect while most pronounced in closely spaced vlincRNA–gene pairs can be detected over relatively large genomic distances. Furthermore, we identified 101 vlincRNA genes likely involved in early embryogenesis based on patterns of their expression and regulation. We also found another 109 such genes potentially involved in cellular functions also happening at early stages of development such as proliferation, migration and apoptosis. Overall, we show that Systems Biology-based methods have great promise for functional annotation of non-coding RNAs.
Virtual Try-On : Topics in Realistic, Individualized Dressing in Virtual Reality

In the course of the project Virtual Try-On new VR technologies have been developed, which form the basis for a realistic, three dimensional, (real-time) simulation and visualization of individualized garments put on by virtual counterparts of real customers. To provide this cloning and dressing of people in VR, a complete process chain is being build up starting with the touch-less 3-dimensional scanning of the human body up to a photo-realistic 3-dimensional presentation of the virtual customer dressed in the chosen pieces of clothing. The emerging platform for interactive selection and configuration of virtual garments, the "virtual shop", will be accessible in real fashion boutiques as well as over the internet, thereby supplementing the conventional distribution channels.
Coupled ocean-atmosphere interaction at oceanic mesoscales

Satellite observations have revealed a remarkably strong positive correlation between sea-surface temperature (SST) and surface winds on oceanic mesoscales of 10-1000 km. While this SST influence on the atmosphere had previously been identified from several in situ observational studies, its widespread existence in regions of strong SST gradients throughout the World Ocean and the detailed structure of the surface wind response to SST have only become evident over the past decade from simultaneous satellite measurements of SST and surface winds. This has stimulated considerable scientific interest in the implications of this air-sea interaction to the large-scale and mesoscale circulation of the atmosphere and ocean. Convergence and divergence of surface winds in regions of spatially varying SST generate vertical motion that can penetrate deep into the atmosphere. Spatial variability of the SST field also results in a curl of the wind stress and its associated upwelling and downwelling that feeds back on the ocean and alters the SST itself. Significant progress has been made toward
A backlight power management framework for battery-operated multimedia systems

Thin-film transistor liquid-crystal displays are systems widely used to support full-featured multimedia. For such systems, backlight is a major source of power dissipation. This article introduces a backlight power management framework and explores trade-offs in the extended dynamic-luminance-scaling design space in terms of energy reduction, performance penalty, and image quality.
Crowdsourcing swarm manipulation experiments: A massive online user study with large swarms of simple robots

Micro- and nanorobotics have the potential to revolutionize many applications including targeted material delivery, assembly, and surgery. The same properties that promise breakthrough solutions - small size and large populations - present unique challenges to generating controlled motion. We want to use large swarms of robots to perform manipulation tasks; unfortunately, human-swarm interaction studies as conducted today are limited in sample size, are difficult to reproduce, and are prone to hardware failures. We present an alternative. This paper examines the perils, pitfalls, and possibilities we discovered by launching SwarmControl.net, an online game where players steer swarms of up to 500 robots to complete manipulation challenges. We record statistics from thousands of players, and use the game to explore aspects of large-population robot control. We present the game framework as a new, open-source tool for large-scale user experiments. Our results have potential applications in human control of micro- and nanorobots, supply insight for automatic controllers, and provide a template for large online robotic research experiments.
ILP-based Synthesis for Sample Preparation Applications on Digital Microfluidic Biochips

Digital micro fluidic biochips have become one of the most promising technologies in many biomedical fields. In a digital micro fluidic biochip, a group of (adjacent) cells in the micro fluidic array can be configured to work as storage, functional operations, as well as for transporting fluid droplets dynamically. There has been proposed a very efficient Integer Linear Programming (ILP)-based method to schedule operations with considering this dynamic reconfigurability. However, the method cannot directly deal with a case having an operation with multiple successors, which is necessary in some bioassays, e.g., Sample preparation applications. Sample preparation is a crucial preprocessing step to produce droplets of the desired target concentrations from input reagents. In every optimized application graphs for sample preparation, there are many operations with more than one successors. Thus, the previous method cannot be used to get an optimal scheduling, and thus we propose a new framework to use another ILP formulation for scheduling operations in a digital micro fluidic biochips. Our formulation can successfully deal with a case where there is a node with multiple successors. Also, our method can find a binding solution at the same time unlike the above-mentioned previous one thanks to our new ILP formulation. Although our ILP formulation seems to be a bit more complex than the previous one, a preliminary experiment demonstrates that the proposed ILP formulation can successfully find the optimal scheduling for practical sample preparation applications within a reasonable time.
On relay selection to maximize coverage region for cooperative cellular networks with multiple fixed and unfixed relays

The performance of a relay-based cooperative cellular network is affected by the relay location. Many efforts have been made in the literature for optimal relay placement from various perspectives and with different assumptions. A small group of research work focuses on maximizing coverage region of cooperative relaying networks by finding optimal relay location within network. In this paper, we propose a simple relay selection technique in a cooperative cellular network with the objective of maximizing coverage region of cellular network. We consider the condition in which we have two types of relays in the network, fixed and unfixed relays. The fixed relays are the relay stations which are installed at the optimal location to achieve maximum coverage region, and unfixed relays are network users which can act as relays, too. Our purpose is to select the superior relay node from these fixed and unfixed potential relay nodes. To this end, we consider three criteria in our relay selection scheme. These criteria are relay location, source-to-relay (S2R) channel's gain and relaying strategy. We use two mathematical multiple criteria decision making methods to select the “best” relay node among available ones. The methods are verified by numerical results. Numerical results show that the proposed schemes effectively rank the potential relay nodes based on their superiority.
Decomposition of the MIMO X Channels

In a multiple antenna system with two transmitters and two receivers, a scenario of data communication, known as the X channel, is studied in which each receiver receives data from both transmitters. In this scenario, it is assumed that each transmitter is unaware of the other transmitter's data (non-cooperative scenario). This system can be considered as a combination of two broadcast channels (from the transmitters' point of view) and two multi-access channels (from the receivers' point of view). Taking advantage of both perspectives, two signaling schemes for such a scenario are developed. In these schemes, some linear filters are employed at the transmitters and at the receivers which decompose the system into either two non-interfering multi-antenna broadcast sub-channels or two non-interfering multi-antenna multi-access sub-channels. In addition, these filters are designed such that the maximum multiplexing gain (MG) of the system is attained by exploiting the null spaces of the direct and cross channels. It is shown that the proposed scenario outperforms other known non-cooperative schemes in terms of the achievable MG. In particular, it is shown that for some specific cases, the achieved MG is the same as the MG of the system if the full cooperation is provided either between the transmitters or between the receivers.
Model Structure and Numerical Properties of Normal

There has been recent interest in using orthonormalised forms of xed denominator model structures for system identiication. A key motivating factor in the employment of these forms is that of improved numerical properties. Namely, for white input perfect conditioning of the least-squares normal equations is achieved by design. However, for the more usual case of coloured input spectrum, it is not clear what the numerical conditioning properties should be in relation to simpler and perhaps more natural model structures. This paper provides theoretical and empirical evidence to argue that in fact, even though the orthonormal structures are only designed to provide perfect numerical conditioning for white input, they still provide improved conditioning for a wide variety of coloured inputs.
E-Waste and Harm to Vulnerable Populations: A Growing Global Problem

Background: Electronic waste (e-waste) is produced in staggering quantities, estimated globally to be 41.8 million tonnes in 2014. Informal e-waste recycling is a source of much-needed income in many low- to middle-income countries. However, its handling and disposal in underdeveloped countries is often unsafe and leads to contaminated environments. Rudimentary and uncontrolled processing methods often result in substantial harmful chemical exposures among vulnerable populations, including women and children. E-waste hazards have not yet received the attention they deserve in research and public health agendas. Objectives: We provide an overview of the scale and health risks. We review international efforts concerned with environmental hazards, especially affecting children, as a preface to presenting next steps in addressing health issues stemming from the global e-waste problem. Discussion: The e-waste problem has been building for decades. Increased observation of adverse health effects from e-waste sites calls for protecting human health and the environment from e-waste contamination. Even if e-waste exposure intervention and prevention efforts are implemented, legacy contamination will remain, necessitating increased awareness of e-waste as a major environmental health threat. Conclusion: Global, national, and local levels efforts must aim to create safe recycling operations that consider broad security issues for people who rely on e-waste processing for survival. Paramount to these efforts is reducing pregnant women and children’s e-waste exposures to mitigate harmful health effects. With human environmental health in mind, novel dismantling methods and remediation technologies and intervention practices are needed to protect communities. Citation: Heacock M, Kelly CB, Asante KA, Birnbaum LS, Bergman AL, Bruné MN, Buka I, Carpenter DO, Chen A, Huo X, Kamel M, Landrigan PJ, Magalini F, Diaz-Barriga F, Neira M, Omar M, Pascale A, Ruchirawat M, Sly L, Sly PD, Van den Berg M, Suk WA. 2016. E-waste and harm to vulnerable populations: a growing global problem. Environ Health Perspect 124:550–555; http://dx.doi. org/10.1289/ehp.1509699
The three SoxC proteins—Sox4, Sox11 and Sox12—exhibit overlapping expression patterns and molecular properties

The group C of Sry-related high-mobility group (HMG) box (Sox) transcription factors has three members in most vertebrates: Sox4, Sox11 and Sox12. Sox4 and Sox11 have key roles in cardiac, neuronal and other major developmental processes, but their molecular roles in many lineages and the roles of Sox12 remain largely unknown. We show here that the three genes are co-expressed at high levels in neuronal and mesenchymal tissues in the developing mouse, and at variable relative levels in many other tissues. The three proteins have conserved remarkable identity through evolution in the HMG box DNA-binding domain and in the C-terminal 33 residues, and we demonstrate that the latter residues constitute their transactivation domain (TAD). Sox11 activates transcription several times more efficiently than Sox4 and up to one order of magnitude more efficiently than Sox12, owing to a more stable α-helical structure of its TAD. This domain and acidic domains interfere with DNA binding, Sox11 being most affected and Sox4 least affected. The proteins are nevertheless capable of competing with one another in reporter gene transactivation. We conclude that the three SoxC proteins have conserved overlapping expression patterns and molecular properties, and might therefore act in concert to fulfill essential roles in vivo.
Involvement of Mcl 1 in diallyl disulfide-induced G 2 / M cell cycle arrest in HL-60 cells

Diallyl disulfide (DADS) has shown potential as a therapeutic agent in various cancers. Previously, we found that myeloid cell leukemia sequence 1 (Mcl1) was downregulated in DADS-induced cell cycle arrest in HL-60 human leukemia cells. Here, we investigated the role of this protein in DADS-induced G2/M cell cycle arrest in HL-60 cells. We demonstrated that DADS treatment significantly increased the proportion of G2/M phase HL-60 cells (P<0.05) and caused a time-dependent significant downregulation of Mcl1 and the cell cycle-related proteins PCNA and CDK1 (P<0.05). Small interfering RNA-mediated knockdown of Mcl1 expression in HL-60 cells arrested the cell cycle in G2/M phase. By co-immunoprecipitation, we demonstrated that Mcl1 associated with PCNA and CDK1 in G2/M cell cycle arrest in DADS-treated HL-60 cells. DADS decreased the interaction of Mcl1 with PCNA and CDK1, leading to G2/M cell cycle arrest in HL-60 cells. Mcl1 plays an important role in DADSinduced G2/M cell cycle arrest in HL-60 human leukemia cells.
The Episodic Sense of Self

This is a thick way of conceiving the self, chock full of aspirations, convictions, affections, and affiliations, and it is, of course, a useful way to think about the self. Features of this self-concept predict a person’s general well-being, success in life, social desirability, and a host of other important practical concerns. Philosophers have often been interested in a much thinner conception of self. A thin notion of self is championed by Reid and Butler, who maintain that the traits that one happens to have should be construed as belonging to the self, rather than constituting the self. Kant, on the other hand, maintains that a thin conception of self, the I, is “the poorest of all representations” (Kant 1968, B408), and Kant thinks this conception engenders the illusions of rational psychology—illusions that there is a self that is simple, substantial, and identical across time. It is a matter of some controversy whether Kant should be read as speaking only about the rational psychologists (e.g., Descartes), or whether he thinks that ordinary people have a thin I-concept that leads to a lay illusion of identity across time. Regardless of the exegetical issue, we can explore whether people do in fact have a thin self-concept that is to be sharply distinguished from the trait notion of self. In section 1 of this chapter, I’ll argue that ordinary people exploit both the psychologist’s trait conception and a very thin conception of self, which resonates with philosophical discussions. This thin conception of self is linked, I suggest, with episodic memory. In section 2, I distinguish the sense of identity that is delivered by episodic memory from the biological conception of identity. Section 3 will look at moral OUP UNCORRECTED PROOF – FIRSTPROOFS, Wed Apr 23 2014, NEWGEN
Coded Distributed Computing: Straggling Servers and Multistage Dataflows

In this paper, we first review the Coded Distributed Computing (CDC) framework, recently proposed to significantly slash the data shuffling load of distributed computing via coding, and then discuss the extension of the CDC techniques to cope with two major challenges in general distributed computing problems, namely the straggling servers and multistage computations. When faced with straggling servers in a distributed computing cluster, we describe a unified coding scheme that superimposes CDC with the Maximum-Distance-Separable (MDS) coding on computation tasks, which allows a flexible tradeoff between computation latency and communication load. On the other hand, for a general multistage computation task expressed as a directed acyclic graph (DAG), we propose a coded framework that given the load of computation on each vertex of the DAG, applies the generalized CDC scheme individually on each vertex to minimize the communication load.
Coding Deficits in Noise-Induced Hidden Hearing Loss May Stem from Incomplete Repair of Ribbon Synapses in the Cochlea

Recent evidence has shown that noise-induced damage to the synapse between inner hair cells (IHCs) and type I afferent auditory nerve fibers (ANFs) may occur in the absence of permanent threshold shift (PTS), and that synapses connecting IHCs with low spontaneous rate (SR) ANFs are disproportionately affected. Due to the functional importance of low-SR ANF units for temporal processing and signal coding in noisy backgrounds, deficits in cochlear coding associated with noise-induced damage may result in significant difficulties with temporal processing and hearing in noise (i.e., “hidden hearing loss”). However, significant noise-induced coding deficits have not been reported at the single unit level following the loss of low-SR units. We have found evidence to suggest that some aspects of neural coding are not significantly changed with the initial loss of low-SR ANFs, and that further coding deficits arise in association with the subsequent reestablishment of the synapses. This suggests that synaptopathy in hidden hearing loss may be the result of insufficient repair of disrupted synapses, and not simply due to the loss of low-SR units. These coding deficits include decreases in driven spike rate for intensity coding as well as several aspects of temporal coding: spike latency, peak-to-sustained spike ratio and the recovery of spike rate as a function of click-interval.
Providing QoS guarantees for unicast/multicast traffic with fixed/variable-length packets in multiple input-queued switches

With a deep understanding on the properties of stable matching in the context of multiple input-queued switches, we propose the efficient schemes to guarantee the QoS of any unicast and multicast traffic with fixed- or variable-length packets in an unified way. Using these schemes, the QoS of fixed- or variable-length unicast and multicast packets can be guaranteed by independently employing suitable service disciplines at the packets' destined outputs like what is being done in an output queueing switch. One of our proposed schemes uses totally 4N input/output buffers, each with an internal speed-up of 2 independent of N, for an N/spl times/N switch to support any fixed- or variable-length multicast and unicast packets with QoS guarantees.
LoCuSS: the connection between brightest cluster galaxy activity, gas cooling and dynamical disturbance of X‐ray cluster cores

We study the distribution of projected offsets between the cluster X-ray centroid and the brightest cluster galaxy (BCG) for 65 X-ray-selected clusters from the Local Cluster Substructure Survey, with a median redshift of z = 0.23. We find a clear correlation between X-ray/BCG projected offset and the logarithmic slope of the cluster gas density profile at 0.04r 500 (α), implying that more dynamically disturbed clusters have weaker cool cores. Furthermore, there is a close correspondence between the activity of the BCG, in terms of detected Hα and radio emission, and the X-ray/BCG offset, with the line-emitting galaxies all residing in clusters with X-ray/BCG offsets of ≤15 kpc. Of the BCGs with α 0.02r 500 , indicating that the total mass may be systematically underestimated in clusters with larger X-ray/BCG offsets. Our results imply a link between cool core strength and cluster dynamical state consistent with the view that cluster mergers can significantly perturb cool cores, and set new constraints on models of the evolution of the intracluster medium.
High-Dimensional Unsupervised Selection and Estimation of a Finite Generalized Dirichlet Mixture Model Based on Minimum Message Length

We consider the problem of determining the structure of high-dimensional data without prior knowledge of the number of clusters. Data are represented by a finite mixture model based on the generalized Dirichlet distribution. The generalized Dirichlet distribution has a more general covariance structure than the Dirichlet distribution and offers high flexibility and ease of use for the approximation of both symmetric and asymmetric distributions. This makes the generalized Dirichlet distribution more practical and useful. An important problem in mixture modeling is the determination of the number of clusters. Indeed, a mixture with too many or too few components may not be appropriate to approximate the true model. Here, we consider the application of the minimum message length (MML) principle to determine the number of clusters. The MML is derived so as to choose the number of clusters in the mixture model that best describes the data. A comparison with other selection criteria is performed. The validation involves synthetic data, real data clustering, and two interesting real applications: classification of Web pages, and texture database summarization for efficient retrieval.