Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
SVM Classification for Face Recognition

Human face recognition has become an active area of research over the last decade. The major problem of face recognition is the classification. In this paper, a new face recognition algorithm based on fusion of 2DPCA and Gabor features with SVM classifier is presented. The method first extracts features by employing Gabor wavelets followed by a face recognition algorithm 2DPCA and the SVM method is applied to classify image faces. The performance of the proposed algorithm is tested on the public and largely used databases of FRGCv2 face and ORL databases. Experimental results on databases show that the use of SVM can achieve promising results.
On the Nature of the Hagedorn Transition in NCOS Systems

We extend the study of the nature of the Hagedorn transition in NCOS systems in various dimensions. The canonical analysis results in a microscopic ionization picture of a bound state system in which the Hagedorn transition is postponed till irrelevancy. A microcanonical analysis leads to a limiting Hagedorn behaviour dominated by highly excited, long open strings. The study of the full phase diagram of the NCOS system using the AdS/CFT correspondence suggests that the microscopic ionization picture is the correct one. We discuss some refinements of the ionization mechanism for d > 2 NCOS systems, including the formation of a temperature-dependent barrier for the process. Some possible consequences of this behaviour, including a potential puzzle for d = 5, are discussed. Phase diagrams of a regularized form of NCOS systems are introduced and do accomodate a phase of long open strings which disappears in the strict NCOS limit.
Explicit Bounds for Nondeterministically Testable Hypergraph Parameters

In this note we give a new effective proof method for the equivalence of the notions of testability and nondeterministic testability for uniform hypergraph parameters. We provide the first effective upper bound on the sample complexity of any nondeterministically testable $r$-uniform hypergraph parameter as a function of the sample complexity of its witness parameter for arbitrary $r$. The dependence is of the form of an exponential tower function with the height linear in $r$. Our argument depends crucially on the new upper bounds for the $r$-cut norm of sampled $r$-uniform hypergraphs. We employ also our approach for some other restricted classes of hypergraph parameters, and present some applications.
Treatment of stroke in rat with intracarotid administration of marrow stromal cells

Objective: To measure the therapeutic efficacy for the treatment of stroke with intra-arterial administration of bone marrow stromal cells (MSC). Background: MSC have characteristics of stem and progenitor cells. The hypothesis that MSC injected into the internal carotid artery after stroke enter into ischemic brain and improve neurologic recovery was tested. Methods: Twenty-five adult Wistar rats were subjected to transient (2-hour) middle cerebral artery occlusion alone (n = 9), or treated with intracarotid arterial injection of 200 μL phosphate-buffered saline (n = 8) or 2 × 106 MSC in 200 μL phosphate-buffered saline (n = 8) 1 day after ischemia. MSC were harvested and isolated from additional adult rats and then cultured and labeled with bromodeoxyuridine. Rats were subjected to neurologic functional tests (adhesive-removal, modified neurologic severity scores) before and at 1, 7, and 14 days after middle cerebral artery occlusion. Immunohistochemistry was used to identify cell-specific proteins of bromodeoxyuridine-reactive MSC. Results: Bromodeoxyuridine-reactive cells (∼21% of 2 × 106 injected MSC) distributed throughout the territory of the middle cerebral artery by 14 days after ischemia. Some bromodeoxyuridine-reactive cells expressed proteins characteristic of astrocytes and neurons. Rats with intra-arterial transplantation of MSC exhibited improvement on the adhesive-removal test (p < 0.05) and the modified neurologic severity scores (p < 0.05) at 14 days compared with controls. Conclusions: MSC injected intra-arterially are localized and directed to the territory of the middle cerebral artery, and these cells foster functional improvement after cerebral ischemia.
Quantum-size effects in hafnium-oxide resistive switching

Discrete changes of conductance of the order of G0 = 2e2/h reported during the unipolar reset transitions of Pt/HfO2/Pt structures are interpreted as the signature of atomic-size variations of the conducting filament (CF) nanostructure. Our results suggest that the reset occurs in two phases: a progressive narrowing of the CF to the limit of a quantum wire (QW) followed by the opening of a spatial gap that exponentially reduces the CF transmission. First principles calculations show that oxygen vacancy paths in HfO2 with single- to few-atom diameters behave as QWs and are capable of carrying current with G0 conductance.
Time-Lock Puzzles from Randomized Encodings

Time-lock puzzles are a mechanism for sending messages "to the future". A sender can quickly generate a puzzle with a solution s that remains hidden until a moderately large amount of time t has elapsed. The solution s should be hidden from any adversary that runs in time significantly less than t, including resourceful parallel adversaries with polynomially many processors. While the notion of time-lock puzzles has been around for 22 years, there has only been a single candidate proposed. Fifteen years ago, Rivest, Shamir and Wagner suggested a beautiful candidate time-lock puzzle based on the assumption that exponentiation modulo an RSA integer is an "inherently sequential" computation. We show that various flavors of randomized encodings give rise to time-lock puzzles of varying strengths, whose security can be shown assuming the mere existence of non-parallelizing languages, which are languages that require circuits of depth at least t to decide, in the worst-case. The existence of such languages is necessary for the existence of time-lock puzzles. We instantiate the construction with different randomized encodings from the literature, where increasingly better efficiency is obtained based on increasingly stronger cryptographic assumptions, ranging from one-way functions to indistinguishability obfuscation. We also observe that time-lock puzzles imply one-way functions, and thus the reliance on some cryptographic assumption is necessary. Finally, generalizing the above, we construct other types of puzzles such as proofs of work from randomized encodings and a suitable worst-case hardness assumption (that is necessary for such puzzles to exist).
Diffusion MRI Simulation with the Virtual Imaging Platform

Myocardial fiber architecture plays an important role in ensuring normal mechanical and electrical properties of the heart.However, due to limitations of existing imaging techniques, little is known about the fiber structure of in vivo human heart.Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) is one of the most potential techniques for mapping in-vivo cardiac fiberarchitecture. However, in the absence of the ground truth information and with influence of MRI scanner noise and artifacts, itis difficult to evaluate how well the diffusion characteristics calculated from experimental dMRI reflect the actual cardiac fibermicrostructure properties. To cope with this issue, we propose a dMRI simulator that simulates the diffusion of watermolecules within a virtual cardiac fiber model with a Monte-Carlo approach, and calculates the diffusion images using thespin quantum theory. The noise-free and non-artifacts images from this simulation enable the evaluation of dMRI imageprocessing algorithms and the optimization of imaging parameters based on the model ground truth. To support its computing needs, the simulator was ported to the European Grid Infrastructure (EGI) through the VirtualImaging Platform (VIP). The simulation of 16 billion water molecules, which would require 8 CPU years on a representativemachine of the biomed virtual organization (VO), can now be achieved in one month. Much manual intervention is stillrequired to compute such simulations though.
Effect of forest fragmentation on microsporogenesis and pollen viability in Eugenia uniflora, a tree native to the Atlantic Forest.

Habitat fragmentation, caused by the expansion of agriculture in natural areas, may be one of the strongest impacts humans have on the ecosystem. These changes can decrease the number of individuals in a population, leading to endogamy. In allogamous species, endogamy can have a negative effect on reproductive capacity. In this study, we analyzed the effects of forest fragmentation on microsporogenesis and pollen viability in Eugenia uniflora L. , a tree species native to the Atlantic Forest. We analyzed 4 populations, 3 of which were connected by forest corridors and 1 of which was isolated by agricultural fields on all sides. For microsporogenesis analysis, 9000 meiocytes representing all stages of meiosis were evaluated. To perform the pollen viability test, we evaluated 152,000 pollen grains. Microsporogenesis was stable in plants from populations that were connected by forest corridors (abnormalities, less than 6%), while microsporogenesis in plants from the isolated population showed a higher level of abnormalities (13-29%). Average pollen viability was found to be more than 93% in the non-isolated populations and 82.62% in the isolated population. The χ(2) test showed that, in the isolated population, the meiotic index was significantly lower than that in the non-isolated populations (P = 0.03). The analysis of variance for the percentage of viable pollen grains confirmed the significant difference between the isolated and non-isolated populations. Our data show that forest fragmentation has a direct effect on microsporogenesis and pollen viability in E. uniflora and can directly influence the reproductive capacity of isolated populations of this species.
Prospective Payment to Encourage System Wide Quality Improvement

Background:Casemix-based inpatient prospective payment systems allocate payments for acute care based on what is done within an episode of care without regard for the outcome. To date, they have provided little incentive to improve quality. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have recently excluded 8 avoidable complications from their payment system. Objective:This study models an inpatient prospective payment system that comprehensively excludes not-present-on-admission and other complication diagnoses from the entire funding process, effectively adding a diagnosis-related group (DRG)-specific average complication payment across all discharges. Research Design:Complication-averaged cost weights were estimated using the same patient level cost dataset used for estimating the relative resource weights for Victorian public hospitals in 2006–07. All codes with a “C” prefix (secondary diagnoses that are coded as having arisen after admission) and codes that define a condition that prima facie represent a specific complication of care were excluded from the code string. The episodes were then regrouped to DRGs and new complication-averaged cost weights were developed. Results:When complication codes were excluded across 1.2 million discharges, 1.37% became ungroupable, 14.86% included at least one complication diagnosis code, and 1.56% grouped to another DRG. Modeled funding for individual metropolitan hospitals in Victoria, Australia, was redistributed by −2.5% to 1.8%. Conclusions:The cost weights reflect the average cost of preventable and unpreventable complications and have the potential to drive improvements in clinical care. This study is in contrast to previous studies estimating the funding impact of preventing all complications.
Enhanced Cocaine-Associated Contextual Learning in Female H/Rouen Mice Selectively Bred for Depressive-Like Behaviors: Molecular and Neuronal Correlates

Background: Major depression has multiple comorbidities, in particular drug use disorders, which often lead to more severe and difficult-to-treat illnesses. However, the mechanisms linking these comorbidities remain largely unknown. Methods: We investigated how a depressive-like phenotype modulates cocaine-related behaviors using a genetic model of depression: the Helpless H/Rouen (H) mouse. We selected the H mouse line for its long immobility duration in the tail suspension test when compared to non-helpless (NH) and intermediate (I) mice. Since numerous studies revealed important sex differences in drug addiction and depression, we conducted behavioral experiments in both sexes. Results: All mice, regardless of phenotype or sex, developed a similar behavioral sensitization after 5 daily cocaine injections (10 mg/kg). Male H and NH mice exhibited similar cocaine-induced conditioned place preference scores that were only slightly higher than in I mice, whereas female H mice strikingly accrued much higher preferences for the cocaine-associated context than those of I and NH mice. Moreover, female H mice acquired cocaine-associated context learning much faster than I and NH mice, a facilitating effect that was associated to a rapid increase in striatal and accumbal brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels (BDNF; up to 35% 24 h after cocaine conditioning). Finally, when re-exposed to the previously cocaine-associated context, female H mice displayed greater Fos activation in the cingulate cortex, nucleus accumbens, and basolateral amygdala. Conclusions: Our data indicate that neurobiological mechanisms such as alterations in associative learning, striato-accumbal BDNF expression, and limbic-cortico-striatal circuit reactivity could mediate enhanced cocaine vulnerability in female depressive-like mice.
Solving polynomial equations for minimal problems in computer vision

Many vision tasks require efficient solvers of sys- tems of polynomial equations. Epipolar geometry and rela- tive camera pose computation are tasks which can be formu- lated as minimal problems which lead to solving systems of algebraic equations. Often, these systems are not trivial and therefore special algorithms have to be designed to achieve numerical robustness and computational efficiency. In this work we suggest improvements of current techniques for solving systems of polynomial equations suitable for some vision problems. We introduce two tricks. The first trick helps to reduce the number of variables and degrees of the equations. The second trick can be used to replace compu- tationally complex construction of Gr¨ obner basis by a sim- pler procedure. We demonstrate benefits of our technique by providing a solution to the problem of estimating radial dis- tortion and epipolar geometry from eight correspondences in two images. Unlike previous algorithms, which were able to solve the problem from nine correspondences only, we enforce the determinant of the fundamental matrix be zero. This leads to a system of eight quadratic and one cubic equation. We provide an efficient and robust solver of this problem. The quality of the solver is demonstrated on syn- thetic and real data.
" 01 # " ' $ 2 Laboratory in Natural Language Processing ( 203 . 4650 )

The Lab offers a number of practical projects in Natural Language Processing, focusing on (but not limited to) processing of Hebrew. Some projects require previous knowledge of computational linguistics but some assume no previous background. All projects involve programming: the end result is a relatively large-scale, well-documented and efficient software package. Some of the projects may involve also some research (e.g., reading a research paper and implementing its ideas).
Olive Actual “on Year” Yield Forecast Tool Based on the Tree Canopy Geometry Using UAS Imagery

Olive has a notable importance in countries of Mediterranean basin and its profitability depends on several factors such as actual yield, production cost or product price. Actual “on year” Yield (AY) is production (kg tree−1) in “on years”, and this research attempts to relate it with geometrical parameters of the tree canopy. Regression equation to forecast AY based on manual canopy volume was determined based on data acquired from different orchard categories and cultivars during different harvesting seasons in southern Spain. Orthoimages were acquired with unmanned aerial systems (UAS) imagery calculating individual crown for relating to canopy volume and AY. Yield levels did not vary between orchard categories; however, it did between irrigated orchards (7000–17,000 kg ha−1) and rainfed ones (4000–7000 kg ha−1). After that, manual canopy volume was related with the individual crown area of trees that were calculated by orthoimages acquired with UAS imagery. Finally, AY was forecasted using both manual canopy volume and individual tree crown area as main factors for olive productivity. AY forecast only by using individual crown area made it possible to get a simple and cheap forecast tool for a wide range of olive orchards. Finally, the acquired information was introduced in a thematic map describing spatial AY variability obtained from orthoimage analysis that may be a powerful tool for farmers, insurance systems, market forecasts or to detect agronomical problems.
THE EFFECTS OF CLOSING AND CUTTING DATES ON THE YIELD AND NUTRITIVE VALUE OF PASTURE FOR CONSERVATION

Cha.riges in the yield and nutritive value of ryegrass/clover pasture were measured following closing at three dates in spring 1980. Times of closing for treatments 1, 2 and 3, respectively, were 30 September, 21 October and 12 November following the application of 150 kg N/ha on 25 September to ensure that nitrogen supply did not constitute a major constraint on growth. Six weeks after closing, the dry matter and digestible dry matter yields (kg/ha) and dry matter digestibility, respectively, for the three treatments were (1) 6808,4693, 69.00Jo; (2) 4650, 3075, 66.1 OJo; (3) 2766, 1912, 69.40Jo. Compared with the earliest closed pasture, the dry matter and digestible dry matter yields declined considerably when the closing date was delayed until after the start of stem elongation (treatment 2) and the digestibility of the herbage was also decreased. In treatment 3, 65-700Jo of the reproductive tiller meristems were removed at closing and although the ensuing vegetative growth retained relatively high digestibility, the yield was considerably less than in the first two treatments.
Mitral valve myxoma: clinical features, current diagnostic approaches, and surgical management.

BACKGROUND The purpose of this article is to document the clinical features of the unusual mitral valve myxoma based on the literature of recent years. METHODS A literature retrieval of the mitral valve myxoma reported in recent years was made using the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases. The clinical information about this unusual disorder was collected and analyzed. RESULTS Mitral valve myxoma showed female predilection. Their major symptoms were cardiovascular or cerebrovascular, in addition to constitutional or embolic. The diagnosis was usually made based on two- and three-dimensional transthoracic and/or transesophageal echocardiography, as well as magnetic resonance imaging in the current era. Surgical resection with mitral valve defect repair was the commonest remedy for mitral valve myxoma when mitral valve function could be preserved, and the mitral valve should be replaced when necessary. Patients showed good response to surgical treatment during the follow-up of 17.0 ± 28.4 months after the operation. CONCLUSIONS Two- and three-dimensional echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging are the major diagnostic tools for the diagnosis of a cardiac myxoma. After diagnosis, surgery should be performed urgently, in order to prevent complications such as embolic events or obstruction of the mitral orifice. Due to the fact that myxomas can recur, regular, postoperative cardiological control is mandatory.
Effects on Liver Lipid Metabolism of the Naturally Occurring Dietary Flavone Luteolin-7-glucoside

Disruptions in whole-body lipid metabolism can lead to the onset of several pathologies such as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). The present study aimed at elucidating the molecular mechanisms behind the lipid-lowering effects of the flavone luteolin-7-glucoside (L7G) which we previously showed to improve plasma lipid profile in rats. L7G is abundant in plant foods of Mediterranean diet such as aromatic plants used as herbs. Results show that dietary supplementation with L7G for one week induced the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPAR-α) and of its target gene carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1 (CPT-1) in rat liver. L7G showed a tendency to decrease the hepatic expression of sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1 (SREBP-1), without affecting fatty acid synthase (FAS) protein levels. Although SREBP-2 and LDLr mRNA levels did not change, the expression of HMG CoA reductase (HMGCR) was significantly repressed by L7G. L7G also inhibited this enzyme's in vitro activity in a dose dependent manner, but only at high and not physiologically relevant concentrations. These results add new evidence that the flavone luteolin-7-glucoside may help in preventing metabolic diseases and clarify the mechanisms underlying the beneficial health effects of diets rich in fruits and vegetables.
Ultracold neutral plasmas

Ultracold neutral plasmas are formed by photo-ionizing laser-cooled atoms near the ionization threshold. Through the application of atomic physics techniques and diagnostics, these experiments stretch the boundaries of traditional neutral plasma physics. The electron temperature in these plasmas ranges from 1 to 1000 K and the ion temperature is around 1 K. The density can approach 1011 cm−3. Fundamental interest stems from the possibility of creating strongly coupled plasmas, but recombination, collective modes, and thermalization in these systems have also been studied. Optical absorption images of a strontium plasma, using the Sr+ 2S1/2 → 2P1/2 transition at 422 nm, depict the density profile of the plasma, and probe kinetics on a 50 ns time-scale. The Doppler-broadened ion absorption spectrum measures the ion velocity distribution, which gives an accurate measure of the ion dynamics in the first microsecond after photo-ionization.
Vertical heat flux and lateral mass transport in nonlinear internal waves

Comprehensive observations of velocity, density, and turbulent dissipation permit quantification of the nonlinear internal wave (NLIW) contribution to vertical heat flux and lateral mass transport over New Jersey's shelf. The effect of NLIWs on the shelf heat budget was significant. On average, heat flux in NLIWs was 10 times larger than background at the pycnocline depth. NLIWs were present at midshelf <10% of the time, yet we estimate that they contributed roughly one−half the heat flux across the pycnocline during the observation period, which was characterized by weak to moderate winds. Lateral transport distances due to the leading 3 waves in NLIW packets were typically (100 m) but ranged several kilometers. The month‐averaged daily onshore transport (per unit alongshelf dimension) by NLIWs is estimated as 0.3 m2s−1. This is comparable to a weak downwelling wind, but sustained over an entire month.