Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Video-Based Motion Retargeting Framework between Characters with Various Skeleton Structure

We introduce a motion retargeting framework capable of animating characters with distinct skeletal structures using video data. While prior studies have successfully performed motion retargeting between skeletons with different structures, retargeting noisy and unnatural motion data extracted from monocular videos has proved challenging. Addressing this issue, our approach proposes a deep learning framework, retargeting motion data procured from easily accessible monocular videos, to animate characters with diverse skeletal structures. Our approach is aimed at providing support for individual creators in character animation. Our proposed framework pre-processes motion data derived from multiple monocular videos by two-stage pose estimation, using this as the training dataset for Skeleton-Aware Motion Retargeting Network (SAMRN). In addition, we introduce a loss function for the rotation angle of the character’s root node to address the rotation issue inherent in SAMRN. Furthermore, by incorporating motion data extracted from videos and adding a loss function for the character’s root node and end-effector’s velocities, the proposed method makes it possible to generate natural motion data that is closely aligned with the source video. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework for motion retargeting between monocular videos and various characters through both qualitative and quantitative evaluations.
Primal Extended Position Based Dynamics for Hyperelasticity

The Extended Position Based Dynamics (XPBD) approach of Macklin et al. [2016] addresses the issues with iteration-dependent behavior in the original Position Based Dynamics [2007] (PBD) which itself is a powerful method for the real-time simulation of elastic objects. However, it is limited in its application to hyperelastic solids. It can only treat models with a strain energy density that is quadratic in some notion of constraint. Furthermore, we show that even when applicable the formulation does not always lead to convergent behaviors with hyperelasticity. We isolate the root cause in the approximate linearization of the nonlinear backward Euler systems utilized by XPBD. We provide two fixes to these terms that allow for convergent behavior. The first (B-PXPBD) is a small modification to an existing XPBD code, but can only be used with models addressable by the original XPBD. The second (FP-PXPBD) is a more general formulation that extends XPBD (and our residual correction) to arbitrary hyperelasticity. We show that our modifications allow for convergent behavior that rivals accurate techniques like Newton’s method when the computational budget is large without sacrificing the stable and robust behavior exhibited by the original PBD and XPBD when the computational budget is limited.
Resource Allocation in C-V2X and DSRC Technologies: Analysis and Simulation-based Evaluation for V2V Direct Vehicular Communication

This article focuses on the analysis and evaluation of the 802.11p, LTE-V2X mode 4, and NR-V2X mode 2 technologies. The addressed problem is the need to assess the performance of these technologies in meeting the requirements of advanced V2X applications. A review of these technologies and radio resource allocation is performed. Subsequently, simulations are conducted to verify the performance of the technologies, specifically in terms of Packet Delivery Ratio (PDR) based on distance, in order to determine the coverage range for reliable transmission. The results show that 802.11p technology is more susceptible to variations in traffic density and an increase in the number of packets per second, whereas C-V2X technologies such as LTE-V2X and NR-V2X demonstrate better performance in various test scenarios involving changes in packet frequency and vehicular density. In conclusion, it is essential to consider performance, latency, and coverage range to meet the requirements of advanced V2X communication applications.
Catching the LoRa ADR Bandit with a New Sheriff: J-LoRaNeS

Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWAN) are very promising for a variety of IoT applications, but they face two major challenges: energy consumption of the wireless nodes and congestion of the networks due to the huge number of nodes involved. LPWAN transmission parameters can be optimised, e.g. using artificial intelligence algorithms, but the performance estimation made during simulations is often higher than what it is in reality. In this paper, we propose a new LoRa network simulator, J-LoRaNeS. Based on the Julia programming language, it allows fast prototyping and is therefore suited to the study of different adaptive LoRa mechanisms. We used our novel simulator to clearly show the benefits of using multi-arm bandits for adaptation, but we also show that the benefits reported in the literature are not attainable when realistic network conditions are simulated.
Basigin mediation of Plasmodium falciparum red blood cell invasion does not require its transmembrane domain or interaction with monocarboxylate transporter 1

Plasmodium falciparum invasion of the red blood cell is reliant upon the essential interaction of PfRh5 with the host receptor protein basigin. Basigin exists as part of one or more multiprotein complexes, most notably through interaction with the monocarboxylate transporter MCT1. However, the potential requirement for basigin association with MCT1 and the wider role of basigin host membrane context and lateral protein associations during merozoite invasion has not been established. Using genetically manipulated in vitro derived reticulocytes, we demonstrate the ability to uncouple basigin ectodomain presentation from the transmembrane domain-mediated interaction with MCT1. Merozoite invasion of reticulocytes is unaffected by disruption of basigin MCT1 interaction and by removal or replacement of the basigin transmembrane helix. Therefore, presentation of the basigin ectodomain at the red blood cell surface, independent of its native association with MCT1 or other interactions mediated by the transmembrane domain, is sufficient to facilitate merozoite invasion.
The prevalence of Fusobacterium nucleatum subspecies in the oral cavity stratifies by local health status

The ubiquitous inflammophilic pathobiont Fusobacterium nucleatum is widely recognized for its strong association with a variety of human dysbiotic diseases such as periodontitis and oral/extraoral abscesses, as well as multiple types of cancer. F. nucleatum is currently subdivided into four subspecies: F. nucleatum subspecies nucleatum (Fn. nucleatum), animalis (Fn. animalis), polymorphum (Fn. polymorphum), and vincentii/fusiforme (Fn. vincentii). Although these subspecies have been historically considered as functionally interchangeable in the oral cavity, direct clinical evidence is largely lacking for this assertion. Consequently, we assembled a collection of oral clinical specimens to determine whether F. nucleatum subspecies prevalence in the oral cavity stratifies by local oral health status. Patient-matched clinical specimens of both disease-free dental plaque and odontogenic abscess were analyzed with newly developed culture-dependent and culture-independent approaches using 44 and 60 oral biofilm/tooth abscess paired specimens, respectively. Most oral cavities were found to simultaneously harbor multiple F. nucleatum subspecies, with a greater diversity present within dental plaque compared to abscesses. In dental plaque, Fn. polymorphum is clearly the dominant organism, but this changes dramatically within odontogenic abscesses where Fn. animalis is heavily favored over all other fusobacteria. Surprisingly, the most commonly studied F. nucleatum subspecies, Fn. nucleatum, is only a minor constituent in the oral cavity. To gain further insights into the genetic basis for these phenotypes, we subsequently performed pangenome, phylogenetic, and functional enrichment analyses of oral fusobacterial genomes using the Anvi’o platform, which revealed significant genotypic distinctions among F. nucleatum subspecies. Accordingly, our results strongly support a taxonomic reassignment of each F. nucleatum subspecies into distinct Fusobacterium species. Of these, Fn. animalis should be considered as the most clinically relevant at sites of active inflammation, despite being among the least characterized oral fusobacteria.
Phage-mediated resolution of genetic conflict alters the evolutionary trajectory of Pseudomonas aeruginosa lysogens

The opportunistic human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa is naturally infected by a large class of temperate, transposable, Mu-like phages. We examined the genotypic and phenotypic diversity of P. aeruginosa PA14 populations as they resolve CRISPR autoimmunity, mediated by an imperfect CRISPR match to the Mu-like DMS3 prophage, and show that lysogen evolution is profoundly impacted by CRISPR autoimmunity and phage transposition around the chromosome. After 12 days of evolution, we measured a decrease in spontaneous induction in both exponential and stationary phase growth. Co-existing variation in spontaneous induction rates in exponential phase corresponded to a difference in the type of CRISPR self-targeting resolution, mediated either by host mutation or phage transposition. Multiple mutational modes to resolve genetic conflict between host and phage resulted in coexistence in evolved populations of single lysogens that maintained CRISPR immunity to other phages and polylysogens that have lost immunity completely. This work highlights a new dimension of the role of lysogenic phages in the evolution of their hosts. Importance The chronic opportunistic multi-drug resistant pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa is persistently infected by temperate phages. We assess the contribution of temperate phage infection to the evolution of the clinically relevant strain UCBPP-PA14. We found that a low level of CRISPR-mediated self-targeting resulted in polylysogeny evolution and large genome rearrangements in lysogens; we also found extensive diversification in CRISPR spacers and cas genes. These genomic modifications resulted in decreased spontaneous induction in both exponential and stationary phase growth, increasing lysogen fitness. This work shows the importance of considering latent phage infection in characterizing the evolution of bacterial populations.
Spatial differences in the impact of the North Atlantic Oscillation on the flow of rivers in Europe

The article presents regional differences in the impact that the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) exerts on the flow of European rivers. The impact is determined by temporal variations in the strength of relations expressed by coefficients of correlation between monthly or seasonal NAO indices and discharges recorded at 510 river profiles. The results of the correlation analysis were arranged using Ward’s method of hierarchical grouping. The classification of river profiles thus obtained made it possible to distinguish seven regions differing in the nature of the dependence between streamflow and the intensity of the NAO. The most statistically significant positive correlations are displayed by the rivers of Fennoscandia, Denmark and the northwest part of the British Isles in the winter period, while the most significant negative correlations (also in winter) are recorded for streams of the Mediterranean Basin, western France and the southeast of England. In the southeast part of the Baltic Sea drainage basin, significant positive correlations of streamflow with the NAO indices can be observed in the winter season and negative correlations are observed in spring.
Seismic Interferometry By Cross-correlation And By Multi-dimensional Deconvolution Using Ambient Seismic Noise

Seismic interferometry (SI) is the process of retrieving new seismic responses from the crosscorrelation, cross-convolution or deconvolution of existing seismic traces. When applying SI by cross-correlation (CC), one assumes a regular source distribution. For applications in the field this will not be easily achieved. For this reason, one can make use of SI by multi-dimensional deconvolution (MDD) (Wapenaar et al., 2008). This method makes use of matrices, where a row of a matrix contains responses for a fixed receiver position and variable source positions. The Green’s function is retrieved using a matrix inversion. An advantage of the MDD method is that it can compensate for irregular distribution and strength of the sources. An additional requirement of this method is that the data to be inverted need to be recorded with wide-aperture well-sampled receiver array. Contrary to this, SI by CC can be performed with recordings even at only two receivers.
Mometasone furoate in the treatment of mild, moderate, or severe persistent allergic rhinitis: a non-inferiority study (PUMA) (cid:2)

Introduction: Allergic rhinitis is considered the most prevalent respiratory disease in Brazil and worldwide, with great impact on quality of life, affecting social life, sleep, and also performance at school and at work. Objective: To compare the efﬁcacy and safety of two formulations containing mometasone furoate in the treatment of mild, moderate, or severe persistent allergic rhinitis after four weeks of treatment. Methods: Phase III, randomized, non-inferiority, national, open study comparing mometasone furoate in two presentations (control drug and investigational drug). The primary endpoint was the percentage of patients with reduction of at least 0.55 in nasal index score (NIS) after four weeks of treatment. Secondary outcomes included total nasal index score score after four and 12 weeks of treatment; individual scores
FREQUENCY OF ANTIBODIES AGAINST Neospora caninum IN STRAY AND DOMICILED DOGS FROM URBAN, PERIURBAN AND RURAL AREAS FROM

:- FRIDLUND-PLUGGE, N. ; MONTIANI-FERREIRA, F. ; RICHARTZ, R. R.T. B. ; DAL PIZZOL, J.; MACHADO JR, P.C. ; PATRÍCIO, L.F. L. ; ROSINELLI, A.S. ; LOCATELLI-DITTRICH, R. Frequency of antibodies against Neospora caninum in stray and domiciled dogs from urban, periurban and rural areas from Paraná state, Southern Brazil. [Frequência de anticorpos contra Neospora caninum em cães errantes e domiciliados das áreas urbana, periurbana e rurais do Estado do Paraná, sul do Brasil]. Revista Brasileira de Parasitologia Veterinária , v. 17, n. 4, p.222-226, 2008. Departamento de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade
Self-treatment of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo Semont maneuver vs Epley procedure

— The authors compared the efficacy of a self-applied modified Semont maneuver (MSM) with self-treatment with a modified Epley procedure (MEP) in 70 patients with posterior canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. The response rate after 1 week, defined as absence of positional vertigo and torsional/upbeating nystagmus on positional testing, was 95% in the MEP group (n (cid:1) 37) vs 58% in the MSM group (n (cid:1) 33; p (cid:2) 0.001). Treatment failure was related to incorrect performance of the maneuver in the MSM group, whereas treatment-related side effects did not differ significantly between the groups.
QUARCH: A New Quasi-Aﬀine Reconstruction Stratum From Vague Relative Camera Orientation Knowledge

We present a new quasi-afﬁne reconstruction of a scene and its application to camera self-calibration. We refer to this reconstruction as QUARCH (QUasi-Afﬁne Reconstruction with respect to Camera centers and the Hodographs of horopters). A QUARCH can be obtained by solving a semideﬁnite programming problem when, (i) the images have been captured by a moving camera with constant intrinsic parameters, and (ii) a vague knowledge of the relative orientation (under or over 120 ◦ ) between camera pairs is available. The resulting reconstruction comes close enough to an afﬁne one allowing thus an easy up-grade of the QUARCH to its afﬁne and metric counter-parts. We also present a constrained Levenberg-Marquardt method for nonlinear optimization subject to Linear Matrix Inequality (LMI) constraints so as to ensure that the QUARCH LMIs are satisﬁed during optimization. Experiments with synthetic and real data show the beneﬁts of QUARCH in reliably obtaining a metric reconstruction.
Fault geometry, rupture dynamics and ground motion from potential earthquakes on the North Anatolian Fault under the Sea of Marmara

SUMMARY Using the 3-D finite-element method, we develop dynamic spontaneous rupture models of earthquakes on the North Anatolian Fault system in the Sea of Marmara, Turkey, considering the geometrical complexity of the fault system in this region. We find that the earthquake size, rupture propagation pattern and ground motion all strongly depend on the interplay between the initial (static) regional pre-stress field and the dynamic stress field radiated by the propagating rupture. By testing several nucleation locations, we observe that those far from an oblique normal fault stepover segment (near Istanbul) lead to large through-going rupture on the entire fault system, whereas nucleation locations closer to the stepover segment tend to produce ruptures that die out in the stepover. However, this pattern can change drastically with only a 10° rotation of the regional stress field. Our simulations also reveal that while dynamic unclamping near fault bends can produce a new mode of supershear rupture propagation, this unclamping has a much smaller effect on the speed of the peak in slip velocity along the fault. Finally, we find that the complex fault geometry leads to a very complex and asymmetric pattern of near-fault ground motion, including greatly amplified ground motion on the insides of fault bends. The ground-motion pattern can change significantly with different hypocentres, even beyond the typical effects of directivity. The results of this study may have implications for seismic hazard in this region, for the dynamics and ground motion of geometrically complex faults, and for the interpretation of kinematic inverse rupture models.
Application of C_7 light hydrocarbon parameters in identifying source rock depositional environment

The light hydrocarbon data of 170 oil samples of 11 Chinese oil provinces are selected from the KLPG database,of which 125 oils were analyzed by GC-MS.According to the geological background and the ratio of gammacerane/C31H(S+R),the oils stand for three depositional environments: saline lake,brackish to saline environment,fresh to brackish environment.Statistical analysis reveals that the group compositions of C7 light hydrocarbons are controlled by depositional environments.Oils of similar depositional environments have similar ratios of N/I(cycloalkane/isoalkane),I/P(isoalkane/normal-alkane) and A/P(aromatic hydrocarbon/ normal-alkane). The oils in saline lakes are characterized by a high content of C7 aromatic hydrocarbon(30% on average) and a low N/I(below 2);those in brackish to saline environments have high C7 alkane(60% on average) and low N/I(below 2);those in fresh to brackish environments have high C7 cycloalkane(50% on average),high MCC6(35%) and low N/I(below 2).
Assessment of the Health Status of Banks in Nigeria

Due to the Central role banks play in the development of an economy, banks requires persistent monitoring to ensure and safeguard their existence and efficient operation. However, banks failures were evident in Nigeria at different time in the history of the banking industry. Consequently monetary authority adopts policies such as the re-capitalization policy to ensure that the industry is viable, strong and efficient in performing it laudable task. With the completion of the consolidation exercise that brought to the emergence of bigger and stronger banks and yet others are still weak that desire bailout. So they are granted. Upon this, therefore, the paper intents to examine the operational status of Nigerian banks, after their reformation. Ratio analysis-Multiple Discriminates Analysis was adapted to assess the health status of banks in Nigeria. It is found that Nigerian banks exhibit threat of unhealthy situation. It is recommended that professionalism must prevail in banking operations and favourable atmosphere must be provided for efficient performance.
In vivo skin fluorescence imaging in young Caucasian adults with early malignant melanomas

Background: Human cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) is an aggressive cancer showing a dramatic worldwide increase in incidence over the past few decades. The most prominent relative epidemiological increase has been disclosed in young women. The aim of the study was to assess the effects of chronic sun exposures in order to rate the extend of melanocytic stimulations in the vicinity of CMM. Methods: The study was designed to evaluate the melanin distribution and density using ultraviolet light illumination. The present study was performed on surgical excision specimens of thin CMM lesion removed from the upper limbs of 55 Caucasian adults (37 women and 18 men). Two control groups comprised 23 men and 21 women of similar ages who had medium-size congenital melanocytic nevi, also present on the upper limbs. The peritumoral skin was scrutinized using a Visioscan ® VC98 device, revealing the faint mosaic melanoderma (FMM) pattern that grossly indicates early signs of chronic photodamage in epidermal melanin units. Results: The median extent of relative FMM was significantly higher in the CMM male group. By contrast, the CMM female group showed a reverse bimodal distribution in FMM size. Only 12/37 (32.5%) of the CMM female group had an increased FMM size, whereas 25/37 (67.5%) of females with CMM had a global FMM extent in the normal range, relative to the controls. Conclusion: Thin CMM supervening in young women appear unrelated to repeat photoexposure. Other mechanisms are possibly involved.
Lumbar Spine Duplication Neurologically Normal Complete Asymmetric

Summary: Spine duplication, which is at the severe end of the split cord malformation, is rarely seen. Radiographic, CT, and MR images of a 15-year-old girl who had lower back pain showed asymmetric lumbar spine duplication with spinal cord tethering secondary to a filum lipoma in the sacrum. Despite gross spinal abnormalities, the patient was neurologically intact and has been followed up with conservative treatment.
Dementia & Neuropsychologia

With the aging of the population, the possibility of the occurrence of cognitive decline rises. A number of types of intervention seek to attenuate or reverse this impairment. The use of computerized tests helps quantify the effects of interventions on cognitive function in the elderly. The objective of the present review was to analyze studies that have utilized computerized cognitive tests to determine the effects of interventions in the elderly population, describing the batteries and tests employed, the populations studied and reports by authors on the limitations or benefits of employing these tests in older adults. The review was performed on the PubMed database using the descriptors: cognitive computerized test and elderly. We retrieved 530 studies and, following analysis of their abstracts, selected 32 relevant to the subject. The studies utilized 19 different types of computerized tests and batteries to assess the interventions, which were predominantly drug trials. There were no reports on limitations in the use of the computerized tests, suggesting this type of intervention had good applicability, sensitivity, and little or no practice effects in this population.