Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Occlusion Removal and Various Techniques for Removing Occlusions

We presents a study about solutions to the problem of occlusion in images by removing the occluding region and filling in the gap left behind. In-painting algorithms fail in filling occlusions when the occluding region is large since there is loss of both structure and texture. Occlusions are generally removed from images by initially dividing the given image in to structure and texture components, and then treating each of the obtained component separately by appropriate methods. Finally the structure and texture images are combined to get an image where the occlusion is filled. Various techniques are available now to perform the so called occlusion removal from images. But removing occlusions from video is still a challenging area. We believe that, this study about existing techniques for removing occlusions from images will lead us to invent a new method by which, we will be able to find a solution for removing occlusions even from videos.
A Tale of Trinity in Founder’s Identity: The Case of New Venture Creation

Most research in founder’s identity focused on the single impact of identity but few explored the mechanisms through which founder’s identity occurred. This study tries to investigate how founder’s identity, through social capital embedded in community and family, influences new venture creation. The results suggest that social capital residing in community ties could strengthen the link between founder’s identity and new venture creation but only apply to Darwin and Communitarian identities. Structural embeddedness in family positively moderates the relationship between founder’s identity and new venture creation in an inverse U shape effect.
A Nearly Tight Bound for Private Information Retrieval Protocols

We show that any 1-round 2-server Private Information Retrieval Protocol where the answers are 1-bit long must ask questions that are at least n− 2 bits long, which is nearly equal to the known n−1 upper bound. This improves upon the approximately 0.25n lower bound of Kerenidis and de Wolf while avoiding their use of quantum techniques.
Entrepreneurial and management teams: What makes the difference?

Abstract The importance of teams has been largely recognized in recent management and entrepreneurship research. This article critically reviews the literature of entrepreneurial and management teams by comparing the key concepts, and the development and foci of research from the SME performance viewpoint in particular. The comparison reveals that entrepreneurial teams differ from management teams, and so the concepts should not be considered interchangeable. Such teams also operate largely in different contexts, however, both having different roles for management and a significant impact on firm performance. Moreover, the review suggests that entrepreneurial and management teams are often groups rather than teams and they are more common than previously believed, though there is much variation in their prevalence by industry sector and firm size.
The strength of the reflex response to sinusoidal stretch of monkey jaw closing muscles during voluntary contraction.

1. Rhesus monkeys were trained to exert steady biting forces of 3‐‐60 N for 1‐‐2 sec. This behaviour was well maintained while sinusoidal or step opening and closing movements were imposed on the jaw. 2. The amplitude of the force modulation during sinusoidal stretching was divided by the amplitude of movement to obtain the magnitude of stiffness. This estimate was made at frequencies from 2 to 50 Hz at amplitudes of 100 and 500 micrometer (half the peak‐to‐peak movement at the incisors). 3. Peak magnitudes of stiffness were seen with frequencies of 8‐‐15 Hz when the amplitude of movement was small; there was a great deal of variation between individual animals. This variation was most striking with mean forces of 25‐‐35 N. The stiffness was greatest in animals that showed considerable spontaneous tremor, and the highest levels of stiffness were often recorded with frequencies near which tremor amplitude was large. A marked phase lag in the force response was often seen during small amplitude stretching at 8‐‐30 Hz. 4. Estimates of stiffness for larger amplitude (500 micrometer) stretching showed less variation; the magnitude of stiffness showed maximum values below 10 Hz and a minimum at 15‐‐30 Hz. Force always showed a phase lead on position although this lead became small in the frequency range where with smaller movement there had been phase lags. The magnitude of stiffness increased with increasing mean force. 5. Bilateral electrolytic lesions were made in the brain stems of three animals; they reduced by over 95% the expected number of cells in the mesencephalic nucleus of the fifth cranial nerve on either side. These lesions interrupted the afferent pathway for the stretch reflex and so abolished excitatory electromyogram (e.m.g.) responses to step stretches of the jaw closing muscles. 6. Such reflex responses as persisted after the lesions were small and inhibitory. E.m. g. silences followed both step stretch and release; the response to release was a 'load compensation' that could not be attributed to spindle afferents. 7. After the lesions the responses to movements of 100 micrometer showed neither negative values for the phase nor marked peaks in the stiffness magnitude at low frequencies; these features therefore take origin in the action of the stretch reflex. The stiffness that was measured after the lesions may be attributed to the non‐reflex components resisting stretch, particularly to the properties of the contracting muscles. Thus, the phase of the force response was markedly advanced at all frequencies and the stiffness seen for 100 micrometer was similar to that for 500 micrometer. Stiffness increased with increasing mean force, as before surgery. 8. Vector subtraction of the stiffness seen at each frequency after interrupting the stretch reflex from that seen before doing so gave a quantitative estimate of the strength of the stretch reflex. The reflex activity calculated in this way showed attenuation and progressive phase lag as the frequency increased above 10 Hz.
Novel quinolines bearing a biologically active trimethoxyphenyl moiety as a new class of antitumor agents

Abstract The present paper describes the synthesis of some novel 2-amino-4-substituted aryl-5-oxo-1-(3,4,5-trimethoxy)-l,4,5,6,7,8-hexahydroquinoline-3-carbonitriles 6a–s starting with 3-(3,4,5-trimethoxyanilino)cyclohex-2-enone 3. All the newly synthesized compounds were evaluated for their in vitro antitumor activity. Compounds 6j, 6ρ and 6q showed higher activity with IC50 values 10, 10, 15 μg/mL, respectively, when compared with doxorubicin as a reference drug (IC50 value 37.5 μg/mL).
Improving the Torque Ripple in DTC of PMSM Using Fuzzy Logic

This paper presents a method for improving the torque ripple in permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) drives under direct torque control (DTC) using a fuzzy logic controller (FLC). A DTC PMSM drive using conventional two and three states of torque error, and a FLC were simulated using the SimuLink package. The results showed that the DTC/FLC gives a better dynamic performance, regarding torque and flux ripples, and speed performance when compared with the conventional DTC that has two and three-level hysteresis torque controllers.
Using Parents and Teachers to Monitor Progress Among Children With ASD

Despite growing knowledge of the effectiveness of various interventions for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), it is never clear whether a particular intervention will be effective for a specific child with ASD. Careful monitoring of an individual child’s progress is necessary to know whether an intervention is effective. In this review, we examined intervention research studies focused on children with ASD in Grades K–12 that involve parents, teachers, and other school staff as data collectors. We describe the strategies that have been used in the 40 identified research studies to monitor progress in the areas of behavior and social communication. The results highlight monitoring strategies that may be helpful for parents and teachers to apply, and the discussion provides related suggestions to guide future research and practice.
Interference-Aware and Cluster Based Multicast Routing in Multi-Radio Multi-Channel Wireless Mesh Networks

Multicast routing is one of the most important services in Multi Radio Multi Channel (MRMC) Wireless Mesh Networks (WMN). Multicast routing performance in WMNs could be improved by choosing the best routes and the routes that have minimum interference to reach multicast receivers. In this paper we want to address the multicast routing problem for a given channel assignment in WMNs. The channels that are assigned to the network graph are given to the algorithm as an input. To reduce the problem complexity and decrease the problem size, we partition the network to balanced clusters. Fuzzy logic is used as a tool for clustering in our method. After clustering and electing most suitable nodes as cluster head, we take a mathematical method to solve the multicast tree construction problem. We conducted several simulations to verify the performance of our method and the simulation results demonstrated that our proposed method outperforms CAMF algorithm in terms of throughput and end to end delay.
Code coverage-based regression test selection and prioritization in WebKit

Automated regression testing is often crucial in order to maintain the quality of a continuously evolving software system. However, in many cases regression test suites tend to grow too large to be suitable for full re-execution at each change of the software. In this case selective retesting can be applied to reduce the testing cost while maintaining similar defect detection capability. One of the basic test selection methods is the one based on code coverage information, where only those tests are included that cover some parts of the changes. We experimentally applied this method to the open source web browser engine project WebKit to find out the technical difficulties and the expected benefits if this method is to be introduced into the actual build process. Although the principle is simple, we had to solve a number of technical issues, so we report how this method was adapted to be used in the official build environment. Second, we present results about the selection capabilities for a selected set of revisions of WebKit, which are promising. We also applied different test case prioritization strategies to further reduce the number of tests to execute. We explain these strategies and compare their usefulness in terms of defect detection and test suite reduction.
Academic Harassment: Sex and Denial in Scholarly Garb

Although much has been written concerning the sexual harassment of university students, no research has yet directly examined the behaviors of university professors themselves. The present study describes the responses of 235 male faculty members of a prestigious, research-oriented university who responded to a survey inquiring about social and sexual interaction among faculty and students. Although the majority of the responses focused on mentoring and social interactions, a sizable minority (26%) reported sexual involvement with women students. In addition to item frequencies, a structural analysis of the phenomenon of academic harassment is presented, and discussed in the context of the subjects' responses to an open-ended invitation to comment on the study.
Overexpression of α‐synuclein decreased viability and enhanced sensitivity to prostaglandin E2, hydrogen peroxide, and a nitric oxide donor in differentiated neuroblastoma cells

Increased accumulation of α‐synuclein is associated with certain neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson's disease (PD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). One mechanism of α‐synuclein‐induced toxicity involves increased oxidative stress. It was unknown whether neurons overexpressing α‐synuclein would exhibit increased sensitivity to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) or 3‐morpholinosydnonimine (SIN‐1; a nitrous oxide donor). To study this, we developed a murine neuroblastoma (NB) cell line that overexpresses wild‐type human α‐synuclein (NBP2‐PN54) under the control of the cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter using a retroviral vector. Human α‐synuclein mRNA and protein were readily detectable in NBP2‐PN54 cells. Results showed that differentiated NBP2‐PN54 cells exhibited decreased viability in comparison to differentiated vector (NBP2‐PN1) and parent (NBP2) control cells. These cells also exhibited increased sensitivity to PGE2, H2O2 and SIN‐1. Because of involvement of proteasome inhibition in neurodegeneration, we also investigated whether treatment of differentiated NBP2‐PN54 cells with PGE2, H2O2 or SIN‐1 inhibits proteasome activity. Results showed that H2O2 and SIN‐1 inhibited proteasome activity, but PGE2 did not. These results suggest that overexpression of α‐synuclein not only participates directly in degeneration of neurons, but it also increases the vulnerability of neurons to other potential neurotoxins. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Aberrant accumulation of fibulin-3 in the endoplasmic reticulum leads to activation of the unfolded protein response and VEGF expression.

PURPOSE The inherited early-onset macular degenerative disease known as malattia leventinese (ML) and Doyne honeycomb retinal dystrophy (DHRD) have been linked to a missense mutation leading to production of a mutant fibulin-3 protein (R345W). R345W is poorly secreted and accumulates in the RPE of ML/DHRD retinas. Accumulation of misfolded proteins within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) causes activation of unfolded protein response (UPR) signaling and expression of ER stress-responsive genes, including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Therefore, we hypothesized that the expression of R345W activates the UPR, leading to VEGF expression. METHODS Adenoviral vectors were used to overexpress fibulin-3 wild-type (Wt) and R345W mutant proteins in ARPE-19 cells. Secretion and intracellular accumulation of Wt and R345W were compared by Western blot analysis and immunocytochemistry. Activation of the UPR was evaluated by measuring the expression of glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78 [BiP]) and editing of the X-box binding protein (XBP-1) mRNA. VEGF expression and transcriptional activation of the VEGF promoter were determined by Northern blot analysis, Western blot analysis, and use of a novel VEGF promoter-reporter construct containing 8.2 kb of the human VEGF gene. RESULTS R345W was poorly secreted by ARPE-19 cells and accumulated in the ER, leading to UPR activation and increased VEGF expression. Compared with Wt mutant proteins, the expression of R345W was more effective at causing UPR activation, increasing VEGF expression, and stimulating transcription from the VEGF promoter. CONCLUSIONS These findings demonstrated that the expression of mutated fibulin-3 caused UPR activation and increased VEGF expression. Expression of mutant fibulin proteins may contribute to macular degeneration and choroidal neovascularization by causing ER stress leading to RPE dysfunction and increased VEGF expression.
When Failing Doesn’t Matter: A Narrative Inquiry into the Social Work Practice Learning Experiences of Black African Students in England

This paper reports the findings of a small-scale empirical study into the practice learning experiences of black African students of social work in England. Undertaken in the form of a pilot study, the findings reveal that practice learning experiences can be beneficial in enhancing skills and knowledge but can also cause distress, lower self-esteem and result in students feeling discriminated against. For participants, failing their practice learning appeared to be a far more pleasant outcome than undergoing the levels of disrespect and discrimination they believed they were subjected to on a regular basis during placements. Using elements of the critical race theoretical (CRT) framework, an attempt is made to conceptualise the narratives generated from participant interviews.
Design of Saturation-Based Switching Anti-Windup Gains for the Enlargement of the Domain of Attraction

This technical note proposes a saturation-based switching anti-windup design for the enlargement of the domain of attraction of the closed-loop system. A widely adopted method of dealing with an m-dimensional saturated linear feedback is to express it as a linear combination of a set of 2m auxiliary linear feedbacks. For each value of the state, these auxiliary linear feedbacks form a convex polyhedron of 2m vertices in the input space. We propose to divide this convex polyhedron into several convex sub-polyhedrons, each of which is defined as the convex hull of a subset of the auxiliary feedbacks. Whenever the value of the saturated linear feedback falls into a sub-polyhedron, it can be expressed as a linear combination of a subset of the 2m auxiliary linear feedbacks that define the sub-polyhedron and thus a less conservative result can be expected. A separate anti-windup gain is designed for each sub-polyhedron by using a common quadratic Lyapunov function and implemented when the value of the saturated linear feedback falls into this sub-polyhedron. Simulation results indicate that such a saturation-based switching anti-windup design has the ability to significantly enlarge the domain of attraction of the closed-loop system.
Abnormal Long-Lasting Synaptic Plasticity and Cognition in Mice Lacking the Mental Retardation Gene Pak3

Mutations in the Pak3 gene lead to nonsyndromic mental retardation characterized by selective deficits in cognition. However, the underlying mechanisms are yet to be elucidated. We report here that the knock-out mice deficient in the expression of p21-activated kinase 3 (PAK3) exhibit significant abnormalities in synaptic plasticity, specifically hippocampal late-phase long-term potentiation, and deficiencies in learning and memory. A dramatic reduction in the active form of transcription factor cAMP-responsive element-binding protein in the knock-out mice implicates a novel signaling mechanism by which PAK3 and Rho signaling regulate synaptic function and cognition.
Accepted for Publication in Transactions on Wireless Communications 1 Interference Alignment with Incomplete Csit Sharing

—In this work 1 we study the impact of having only incomplete channel state information at the transmitters (CSIT) over the feasibility of interference alignment (IA) in a K-user MIMO interference channel (IC). Incompleteness of CSIT refers to the perfect knowledge at each transmitter (TX) of only a sub-matrix of the global channel matrix, where the sub-matrix is specific to each TX. This paper investigates the notion of IA feasibility for CSIT configurations being as incomplete as possible, as this leads to feedback overhead reductions in practice. We distinguish between antenna configurations where (i) removing a single antenna makes IA unfeasible, referred to as tightly-feasible settings, and (ii) cases where extra antennas are available, referred to as super-feasible settings. We show conditions for which IA is feasible in strictly incomplete CSIT scenarios, even in tightly-feasible settings. For such cases, we provide a CSIT allocation policy preserving IA feasibility while reducing significantly the amount of CSIT required. For super-feasible settings, we develop a heuristic CSIT allocation algorithm which exploits the additional antennas to further reduce the size of the CSIT allocation. As a byproduct of our approach, a simple and intuitive algorithm for testing feasibility of single stream IA is provided.
Deep Sequencing of the Porcine Endometrial Transcriptome on Day 14 of Pregnancy1

ABSTRACT In pigs, conceptus attachment to the uterine surface epithelium starts around Day 14 of pregnancy preceded by a pronounced vascularization at the implantation zones, initiating the epitheliochorial placentation. To characterize the complex transcriptome changes in the endometrium in the course of initial conceptus attachment, deep sequencing of endometrial RNA samples of pregnant animals (n = 4) and corresponding cyclic controls (n = 4) was performed using Illumina RNA-Seq. The obtained sequence reads were mapped to the porcine genome, and relative expression values were calculated for the analysis of differential gene expression. Statistical analysis revealed 1933 differentially expressed genes (false discovery rate 1%), 1229 with higher and 704 with lower mRNA concentration, in the samples from pregnant animals. Expression of selected genes was validated by the use of quantitative real-time RT-PCR. The RNA-Seq data were compared to results of a microarray study of bovine endometrium on Day 18 of pregnancy and additional related data sets. Bioinformatics analysis revealed for the genes with higher mRNA concentration in pregnant samples strong overrepresentation, particularly for immune-related functional terms but also for apoptosis and cell adhesion. Overrepresented terms for the genes with lower mRNA concentration in pregnant samples were related to extracellular region, ion transport, cell adhesion, and lipid and steroid metabolic process. In conclusion, RNA-Seq analysis revealed comprehensive transcriptome differences in porcine endometrium between Day 14 of pregnancy and corresponding cyclic endometrium and highlighted new processes and pathways probably involved in regulation of noninvasive implantation in the pig.
Estrategias de Afrontamiento y Ansiedad-Depresión en Pacientes Diagnosticados con VIH/Sida Copying Strategies, Anxiety and Depression in HIV/Aids Patients

The aim of this study was to evaluate the copying strategies and depression-anxiety in 92 patients of both genders with a diagnosis of HIV/Aids from the city of Medellin, Colombia. The investigation was a descriptive transversal correlational study. To measure copying strategies the Copying Strategies Scale Modified (CSS-M) was used of 98 items and anxiety-depression was measured through the questionnaires of Zung (SAS y SDS). The results evidenced very low levels of anxiety and depression and high use of copying strategies of cognitive type (focalized in the problem), of support search in religion and health professionals, high employment of emotional control strategies and very low use of the strategy of aggressive reaction. In conclusion, the strategies focalized in the cognition like search of alternative (problem solving), to refrain copying, positive reevaluation and even the religion and search of support professional that are fundamental to find solutions at the cognitive level before the physical symptoms and emotional reactions had more relevance in the patients with HIV/Aids.
Extinction of Craving During Exposure to Drug-related Cues: Three Single Case Reports

Two opiate abusers and a solvent abuser were exposed to drug-related cues. Self-rated craving showed habituation within all sessions, although there was considerable variability between subjects in the time-course. Habituation between sessions also occurred, although this was less consistent. The level of craving was reduced in one case by a distraction procedure. Cognitive factors were investigated. For one subject anticipation of the stimulus led to high craving while for all three subjects drug-related imagery was associated with high levels of craving. Dysphoric mood states led to a re-emergence of craving (dishabituation) in two cases. One subject showed objective signs, and reported symptoms of opiate withdrawal during the exposure sessions. He had also shown needle-freak behaviour where the syringe and needle produced drugagonistic effects (pleasant, comfortable feelings or excitement). Implications of these results for the treatment of addiction are discussed.