Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DLS@CU at SemEval-2016 Task 1: Supervised Models of Sentence Similarity

We describe a set of systems submitted to the SemEval-2016 English Semantic Textual Similarity (STS) task. Given two English sentences, the task is to compute the degree of their semantic similarity. Each of our systems uses the SemEval 2012–2015 STS datasets to train a ridge regression model that combines different measures of similarity. Our best sys-tem demonstrates 73 . 6% correlation with average human annotations across ﬁve test sets.
Interactive foreground extraction for photo and video editing

In this paper, we present an interactive foreground extraction tool for photo and video editing purpose. For a photo, it is firstly pre-segmented using a propagation method. Then the user can draw some strokes on the foreground objects and the background scenes to point out witch part of the photo should be extracted as an area of interest (object). A region based graph cuts algorithm is used to segment all the pre-segmented regions into two parts, foreground and background. Then we extend this method to extract foreground object in a video stream. The experiment results demonstrate efficiency of our method.
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) Plays a Key Role in Vasculogenic Mimicry Formation, Neovascularization and Tumor Initiation by Glioma Stem-like Cells

Human glioblastomas (GBM) are thought to be initiated by glioma stem-like cells (GSLCs). GSLCs also participate in tumor neovascularization by transdifferentiating into vascular endothelial cells. Here, we report a critical role of GSLCs in the formation of vasculogenic mimicry (VM), which defines channels lined by tumor cells to supply nutrients to early growing tumors and tumor initiation. GSLCs preferentially expressed vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) that upon activation by VEGF, mediated chemotaxis, tubule formation and increased expression of critical VM markers by GSLCs. Knockdown of VEGFR-2 in GSLCs by shRNA markedly reduced their capacity of self-renewal, forming tubules, initiating xenograft tumors, promoting vascularization and the establishment of VM. Our study demonstrates VEGFR-2 as an essential molecule to sustain the “stemness” of GSLCs, their capacity to initiate tumor vasculature, and direct initiation of tumor.
Relationship between Peer Victimization and Anxiety of Pupils: Mediating Effect of Psychological Needs

The present study aimed to explore the effects of psychological needs on the relationship of peer victimization and anxiety. Methods: A sample of 889 4th, 5th and 6th primary school students in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region were recruited with the measurement of Peer victimization Questionnaire, Psychological needs Scale and Anxiety Scale (SAS). Results showed that: (1) There were no significant gender and grade differences with respect to Peer victimization; (2) Significant negative correlations were found between all types of peer victimization and the subscales of psychological needs. In addition, significant positive correlations were found between all types of peer victimizationand, anxiety and significant negative correlations between all the subscales of psychological needs and anxiety; (3) Psychological needs partially mediated the relationship between Peer victimizationexperience and anxiety.
General Modeling and Performance Analysis for Location Management in Wireless Mobile Networks

Location management plays a significant role in current and future wireless mobile networks in effectively delivering services to the mobile users on the move. Many schemes have been proposed and investigated extensively in the last decade. However, most performance analyses were carried out either under simplistic assumptions on some time variables or via simulations. In this paper, we present a new analytical approach to investigate the tradeoff (cost) analysis for location management schemes under fairly general assumption. For two specific location management schemes, Pointer Forwarding Scheme (PFS) and Two-Location Algorithm (TLA), we present analytical formulae to compute the total costs. These formulae are easy to compute. Numerical results show that the traditional exponential model approximation may lead to a wrong decision in the tradeoff analysis. However, our analytical results can be easily used to find the appropriate parameters in PFS and TLA.
Raindrop size distribution estimation from S-band polarimetric radar using a regularized neural network

Radar rainrate estimates are prone to a high degree of uncertainty due to several error sources, among which the space-time variability of the raindrop size distribution (RSD). Polarimetric radar measurements enable the use of combined algorithms which reduce the sensitivity to the variability of the RSD. The aim of this work is to develop a new procedure to retrieve the RSD parameters which can be used to estimate the corresponding rainfall rates. The polarimetric variables (Zhh, Zdr, and Kdp) are used to retrieve the RSD parameters by means of an ad-hoc neural network (NN) technique. The reason for this choice is the ambition to exploit the capability of NNs to approximate strongly nonlinear functions such as those describing the relationships between radar observables and RSD parameters. A stochastic model, based on disdrometer measurements, is used to generate realistic range profiles of raindrop size distribution parameters while a T-matrix solution technique is adopted to compute the corresponding polarimetric variables at S band.
An Oral History of the Florida Educational Research Association: The Story of the Origin and Evolution of a Grassroots Professional Organization

The Florida Educational Research Association (FERA), a grass-roots professional organization of educational research scholars, is almost a halfcentury old. This oral history of the organization explores the beginnings of the organization, provides an illustrative example of using oral history as a technique for conducting research, and delivers an understanding of how grassroots organizations emerge and how they sustain their initial momentum. Eighteen members of FERA were interviewed for this study including past presidents, past and present board members, school district-based researchers and universitybased researchers, some of whom have been involved with the organization since its inception.
The ROSAT view of NGC 1365: core emission, the highly variable source NGC 1365--X1 and alignments of surrounding X-ray sources

We present a spectral and spatial analysis of the nuclear and circumnuclear X-ray emission of the prominent southern starburst/Seyfert galaxy NGC 1365. To describe the X-ray spectrum of the core source, we favour a two-component model consisting of about equally strong contributions from a Raymond-Smith plasma (with ~cosmic abundances) and a powerlaw. The origin of both components is discussed, and a detailed comparison of the X-ray properties with multi-wavelength observations of NGC 1365 and a large sample of type-I AGNs is performed. Among the surrounding X-ray sources we focus on an analysis of the enigmatic source NGC 1365-X1, which is one of the most luminous and most highly variable off-nuclear X-ray sources known so far. Positions of further X-ray sources in the field of view are derived and it is briefly pointed out that all HRI sources (except one) are `aligned' relative to the central source.
¡°Made with the world¡± vs. ¡°Made for the world¡±: What would be the future of ¡°Made in China¡± products?

This paper argues thatthe dramatic growth of "Made in China" products is primarily a consequence of political will of the Chinese authorities to take advantage of the new international division of labor for its development. Until now, "Made in China" products should be more qualified with "Made with China" products than "Made by China" products.In many cases, they are the result of a globally organized production, involving activities realized in different countries. As the development of "Made in China" products has a lot of impacts on the global economic order, only efforts of China to shift from "China price" to "China value" or "Chinese brand" cannot guarantee the future success of "Made in China" in an international market. The future of "Made in China" seems to go rather "Made with the World" than "Made for the World".
Event Driven Simulation 3.1 Motivation

The preceding chapter presented the concept of levelized simulation, in which gates are sorted into levelized order and each is simulated once per input vector. Regardless of whether the interpreted or the compiled technique is used, when the simulation of a vector terminates, the value of each net is stored in a permanent location. For interpreted simulation these values are contained in the net table, while for compiled simulation the values are stored in global variables. Furthermore, if the inputs of a gate do not change, then the outputs will not change. (Edge triggering must be assumed for some gates.) Now suppose a circuit is simulated for two consecutive identical input vectors. There is no need to simulate the second vector, because nothing will change after the first vector. The same idea can be extended to individual gates. If the inputs of a gate do not change there is no need to simulate it. This suggests a method for improving the speed of simulation, by reducing the number of gates simulated per input vector. Unfortunately, a naive approach will not result in any performance improvement. Because the amount of work required to test the inputs of a gate for changes exceeds the amount of work needed to simulate the gate, it is not possible to test the inputs of every gate for changes. Figure 3-1 illustrates the difficulty. The enhanced code executes at least six instructions, and may execute as many as nine instructions, whereas the unenhanced code executes only three instructions.
The Role of Insulin, Insulin Growth Factor, and Insulin-Degrading Enzyme in Brain Aging and Alzheimer's Disease

Most brain insulin comes from the pancreas and is taken up by the brain by what appears to be a receptor-based carrier. Type 2 diabetes animal models associated with insulin resistance show reduced insulin brain uptake and content. Recent data point to changes in the insulin receptor cascade in obesity-related insulin resistance, suggesting that brain insulin receptors also become less sensitive to insulin, which could reduce synaptic plasticity. Insulin transport to the brain is reduced in aging and in some animal models of type 2 diabetes; brain insulin resistance may be present as well. Studies examining the effect of the hyperinsulinic clamp or intranasal insulin on cognitive function have found a small but consistent improvement in memory and changes in brain neuroelectric parameters in evoked brain potentials consistent with improved attention or memory processing. These effects appear to be due to raised brain insulin levels. Peripheral levels of Insulin Growth Factor-I (IGF-I) are associated with glucose regulation and influence glucose disposal. There is some indication that reduced sensitivity to insulin or IGF-I in the brain, as observed in aging, obesity, and diabetes, decreases the clearance of Aβ amyloid. Such a decrease involves the insulin receptor cascade and can also increase amyloid toxicity. Insulin and IGF-I may modulate brain levels of insulin degrading enzyme, which would also lead to an accumulation of Aβ amyloid.
Noise minimization via deep submicron system-on-chip integration in megapixel CMOS imaging sensors

Infrared sensor designers have long maximized S/N ratio by employing pixel-based amplification in conjunction with supplemental noise suppression. Instead, we suppress photodiode noise using novel SoC implementation with simple three transistor pixel; supporting SoC components include a feedback amplifier having elements distributed amongst the pixel and column buffer, a tapered reset clock waveform, and reset timing generator. The tapered reset method does not swell pixel area, compel processing of the correlated reset and signal values, or require additional memory. Integrated in a 2.1 M pixel imager developed for generating high definition television, random noise is ∼8e-at video rates to 225 MHz. Random noise of ∼30e-would otherwise he predicted for the 5 μm 5 μm pixels having 5.5 fF detector capacitance with negligible image lag. Minimum sensor S/N ratio is 52 dB with 1920 by 1080 progressive readout at 60 Hz, 72 Hz and 90 Hz. Fixed pattern noise is <2 DN via on-chip signal processing.
Ethnic Human Capital Externalities and Inequality in a General Equilibrium Growth Model

This study deals with economic growth and income and wealth distribution in an economic growth model of heterogeneous households with economic structure and ethic-based human capital accumulation. The model emphasizes the role of ethnic human capital externalities on economic structural change and wealth and income distribution. It is based on Arrow's learning and the two core theories in economics - Walrasian general equilibrium theory and neoclassical growth theory. The economic system consists of one capital goods sector, one consumer goods sector, and any number of households (types). The motion is described by a set of differential equations. For illustration we simulate the motion of the economic system with three ethnic groups. We identify the existence of a unique stable equilibrium point. We also carry out comparative dynamic analysis. The comparative analyses provide some insights into the complexity of economic growth with ethnic human capital externalities.
Laminin Coating Promotes Calcium Phosphate Precipitation on Titanium Discs in vitro

ABSTRACT Objectives The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of a laminin coating on calcium phosphate precipitation on three potentially bioactive titanium surfaces in simulated body fluid. Material and Methods Blasted titanium discs were prepared by alkali and heat treatment (AH), anodic oxidation (AO) or hydroxyapatite coating (HA) and subsequently coated with laminin. A laminin coated blasted surface (B) served as a positive control while a blasted non coated (B-) served as a negative control. Surface morphology was examined by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The analysis of the precipitated calcium and phosphorous was performed by Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX). Results The thickness of the laminin coating was estimated at 26 Å by ellipsometry. Interferometry revealed that the coating process did not affect any of the tested topographical parameters on µm level when comparing B to B-. After 2 weeks of incubation in SBF, the alkali-heat treated discs displayed the highest calcium phosphate deposition and the B group showed higher levels of calcium phosphate than the B- group. Conclusions Our results suggest that laminin may have the potential to be used as a coating agent in order to enhance the osseoinductive performance of biomaterial surfaces, with the protein molecules possibly functioning as nucleation centres for apatite formation. Nevertheless, in vivo studies are required in order to clarify the longevity of the coating and its performance in the complex biological environment.
Cellulose Nanocrystals (CNCs) from Corn Stalk: Activation Energy Analysis

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) were isolated from corn stalk using sulfuric acid hydrolysis, and their morphology, chemical structure, and thermal stability properties were characterized. The CNCs had an average length of 120.2 ± 61.3 nm and diameter of 6.4 ± 3.1 nm (L/D = 18.7). The degree of crystallinity of the CNCs increased to 69.20% from the 33.20% crystallinity of raw corn stalk fiber, while the chemical structure was well kept after sulfuric acid hydrolysis. Thermal stability analysis showed that the degradation temperature of the CNCs reached 239.5 °C, which was higher than that of the raw fiber but lower than that of the extracted cellulose. The average activation energy values for the CNCs, evaluated using the Friedman, Flynn-Wall-Ozawa (F-W-O) and Coats-Redfern methods, were 312.6, 302.8, and 309 kJ·mol−1 in the conversion range of 0.1 to 0.8. The isolated CNCs had higher values of activation energy than did the purified cellulose, which was attributed to the stronger hydrogen bonds present in the crystalline domains of CNCs than in those of cellulose. These findings can help better understand the thermal properties of polymer/CNC composites.
The asphericity of random 2‐dimensional complexes

We study random 2‐dimensional complexes in the Linial–Meshulam model and prove that for the probability parameter satisfying p≪n−46/47 a random 2‐complex Y contains several pairwise disjoint tetrahedra such that the 2‐complex Z obtained by removing any face from each of these tetrahedra is aspherical. Moreover, we prove that the obtained complex Z satisfies the Whitehead conjecture, i.e. any subcomplex Z′⊂Z is aspherical. This implies that Y is homotopy equivalent to a wedge Z∨S2∨…∨S2 where Z is a 2‐dimensional aspherical simplicial complex. We also show that under the assumptions c/n 3 and 0
Efficient modeling and rendering of turbulent water over natural terrain

Water phenomena are some of the most visually spectacular effects found in nature. This paper presents an efficient hybrid method to model turbulent water such as fast flowing rivers and waterfalls with the intent that the model can be used as part of a larger environment or scene. The model presented uses hydrostatic theory to incorporate a 2D height field and a particle system to model respectively the main volume and spray of turbulent water. The user is able to submit any environment formed from spheres and panels making the solution very flexible and adaptable.A smooth representation of the water surface is obtained by fitting a uniform B-Spline surface to the height field. Foam, spray and other turbulent effects are represented by particles which are rendered as spheres or billboards. Our results show that the model provides a nearly realistic simulation of turbulent water and for simple scenes nearly interactive speeds are possible which compares favorably with alternative techniques. For non-interactive applications ray tracing can be used to obtain higher quality results.
MRTF-A steers an epigenetic complex to activate endothelin-induced pro-inflammatory transcription in vascular smooth muscle cells

Endothelin (ET-1) was initially identified as a potent vasoconstrictor contributing to the maintenance of vascular rhythm. Later studies have implicated ET-1, when aberrantly up-regulated within the vasculature, in a range of human pathologies associated with disruption of vascular homeostasis. ET-1 has been shown to invoke strong pro-inflammatory response in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs); the underlying mechanism, however, remains elusive. Here, we report that the transcriptional modulator MRTF-A mediates the activation of pro-inflammatory mediators by ET-1 in VSMCs. ET-1 increased nuclear enrichment and activity of MRTF-A in cultured VSMCs. MRTF-A silencing attenuated ET-1 induced synthesis and release of pro-inflammatory mediators including IL-6, MCP-1 and IL-1 likely as a result of diminished NF-κB activity. In addition, MRTF-A was indispensible for the accumulation of active histone modifications on the gene promoters. Of intrigue, MRTF-A interacted with and recruited ASH2, a component of the mammalian histone methyltransferase complex, to transactivate pro-inflammatory genes in response to ET-1 treatment. The chromatin remodeling proteins BRG1 and BRM were also required for ET-1-dependent induction of pro-inflammatory mediators by communicating with ASH2, a process dependent on MRTF-A. In conclusion, our data have identified a novel epigenetic complex responsible for vascular inflammation inflicted by ET-1.
Intelligent Approaches to interact with Machines using Hand Gesture Recognition in Natural way: A Survey

Hand gestures recognition (HGR) is one of the main areas of research for the engineers, scientists and bioinformatics. HGR is the natural way of Human Machine interaction and today many researchers in the academia and industry are working on different application to make interactions more easy, natural and convenient without wearing any extra device. HGR can be applied from games control to vision enabled robot control, from virtual reality to smart home systems. In this paper we are discussing work done in the area of hand gesture recognition where focus is on the intelligent approaches including soft computing based methods like artificial neural network, fuzzy logic, genetic algorithms etc. The methods in the preprocessing of image for segmentation and hand image construction also taken into study. Most researchers used fingertips for hand detection in appearance based modeling. Finally the comparison of results given by different researchers is also presented.
Vehicle detection and attribute based search of vehicles in video surveillance system

Vehicle detection is important in traffic monitoring and control. Traditional methods which are based on license plate recognition or vehicle classification which may not be effective for low resolution cameras or when number plate is not available. Also, Vehicle detection in urban scenarios, based on traditional methods like background subtraction fails. To overcome this limitation, this paper present co-training based approach for vehicle detection[1]. Feature selected for detection is haar. Based on haar-training classifier is trained and adaboost is used to get strong classifier. After detection of vehicle, next step is to search for particular vehicles based on its description. Searching of suspicious vehicles is important in criminal investigation. Search framework allows the user to search for vehicles based on attributes such as color, date and time, speed, direction in which vehicle is travelling. Attribute based Vehicle search includes example query "Search for yellow cars moving into horizontal direction from 5.30pm to 8pm". Output of search query is reduced size version of detected vehicles are displayed.
The interdependences of central bank’s forecasts and inflation expectations of consumers

This paper focuses on the relationship between inflation forecast and inflation expectations of households measured on the basis of conducted surveys. Two hypotheses are presented. The first one assumes that there are interdependences between the inflation forecast results and consumers inflation expectations. The second hypothesis implies that the existence of the interdependences between the inflation forecasts and inflation expectations depends neither on detailed solutions in the field of forecasting inflation applied by central banks nor on their attitude towards inflation forecast targeting implementation. The research covers 4 central banks: of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Romania.
Understanding narrative is like observing agents

In this paper, we suggest that AI techniques, especially the ones developed in the field of agent modeling and intelligent interfaces, can be exploited both to build systems for narrative understanding and to allow agents to describe their own behavior in a narrative style. In particular, we will show how it is possible to exploit a model of dialog interpretation for building a system that understands stories and produces a representation of the characters’ plans and intentions.