Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Applications of omnidirectional imaging: multi-body tracking and remote reality

Recently, S. Nayar (1997) introduced a parabolic imaging system that has a field of view of a full hemisphere or more. When used with a video camera the result is an omni-directional video stream that captures everything going around it. In the VAST Lab at Lehigh, we have been experimenting with these cameras, developing new variants, and developing omni-directional vision applications. We present an overview of omni-directional imaging and then two of our applications which we will be demonstrating. The first application is a frame-rate multi-body tracking system. The system uses an omni-directional imager and a standard PC to track multiple moving objects in all directions. The system is designed to provide perspective views of the most significant targets, either locally or over a network. The second application is something we call Remote Reality, which provides an immersive environment via omnidirectional imaging. It can use live or pre-recorded video from a remote location. While less interactive than traditional VR, remote reality has important advantages: there is no need for "model building" and the objects, textures and motions are not graphical approximations.
Lyman ‘bump’ galaxies – I. Spectral energy distribution of galaxies with an escape of nebular Lyman continuum

It is essential to know galactic emissivity and spectrum of Lyman continuum (LyC) in order to understand the cosmic re-ionization. Here we consider an escape of nebular LyC from galaxies and examine the consequent spectral energy distribution. It is usually assumed that hydrogen nebular LyC mostly produced by bound-free transitions is consumed within photoionized nebulae (so-called on-the-spot approximation). However, an escape of the continuum should be taken into account if stellar LyC escapes from galaxies through 'matter-bounded' nebulae. We show that the escaping hydrogen bound-free LyC makes a strong bump just below the Lyman limit. Such a galaxy would be observed as a Lyman 'bump' galaxy. This bump results from the radiation energy redistribution of stellar LyC by nebulae. The strength of the bump depends on electron temperature in nebulae, escape fraction of stellar and nebular LyC, hardness of stellar LyC (i.e. metallicity, initial mass function, age and star formation history) and intergalactic medium attenuation. We can use the bump to find very young (∼1 Myr), massive (∼100 M ⊙ ) and extremely metal-poor (or metal-free) stellar populations at z < 4. Because of the bump, 900-to-1500 A luminosity density ratio (per Hz) becomes maximum (two-three times larger than the stellar intrinsic ratio) when about 40 per cent of the stellar LyC is absorbed by nebulae. The total number of escaping LyC photons increases due to the escape of nebular LyC but does not exceed the stellar intrinsic one. The radiation energy redistribution by nebulae reduces the mean energy of escaping LyC only by ≈10 per cent relative to that of stellar LyC. Therefore, the effect of the escape of nebular LyC on the re-ionization process may be small.
Enhanced image saliency model based on blur identification

Detection of visual saliency is of great interest for a lot of computer vision applications in particular for content-based image retrieval. The work presented in this paper is devoted to develop an algorithm of saliency detection that performs adequately in predicting human fixations for stimuli containing blur and sharp regions. This work is based on an experimental study on the effect of blurriness on visual attention when observers see images with no prior knowledge in free viewing conditions. A ground-truth has been derived from this experimental study to test the saliency model we developed.
Coronary b 2-adrenoreceptors mediate endothelium-dependent vasoreactivity in humans : novel insights from an in vivo intravascular ultrasound study

Discipline of Medicine, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia; Cardiovascular Investigational Unit, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Level 6 Theatre Block, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia; Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Heart and Vascular Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA; and Cardiology Unit, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woodville, South Australia, Australia
Thermal Analysis of Job Allocation and Scheduling Schemes for 3D Stacked NoC's

Three-dimensional technology offers greater device integration, reduced signal delay and reduced interconnect power. It also provides greater design flexibility by allowing heterogeneous integration. However, 3D technology exacerbates the on-chip thermal issues and increases packaging and cooling costs. In this work, a 3D thermal model of a stacked network-on-chip system is developed and thermal analysis is performed in order to analyze different job allocation and scheduling schemes using finite element simulations. The steady-state heat transfer analysis on the 3D stacked structure has been performed. We have analyzed the effect of variation of die power consumption, with and without hotspots, on peak temperatures in different layers of the stack. The optimal die placement solution is also provided based on the maximum temperature attained by the individual silicon dies.
Guilt is associated with acute stress symptoms in children after road traffic accidents

Background Although previous research has consistently found considerable rates of acute stress disorder (ASD) in children with accidental injuries, knowledge about determinants of ASD remains incomplete. Guilt is a common reaction among children after a traumatic event and has been shown to contribute to posttraumatic stress disorder. However, its relationship to ASD has never been examined. Objective This study assessed the prevalence of ASD in children and adolescents following road traffic accidents (RTAs). Moreover, the association between peritraumatic guilt and ASD was investigated relying on current cognitive theories of posttraumatic stress and controlling for female sex, age, socioeconomic status (SES), injury severity, inpatient treatment, pretrauma psychopathology, and maternal posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Methods One hundred and one children and adolescents (aged 7–16 years) were assessed by means of a clinical interview approximately 10 days after an RTA. Mothers were assessed by questionnaires. Results Three participants (3.0%) met diagnostic criteria for full ASD according to DSM-IV, and 17 (16.8%) for subsyndromal ASD. In a multivariate regression model, guilt was found to be a significant predictor of ASD severity. Female sex, outpatient treatment, and maternal PTSS also predicted ASD severity. Child age, SES, injury severity, and pretraumatic child psychopathology were not related to ASD severity. Conclusions Future research should examine the association between peritraumatic guilt and acute stress symptoms in more detail. Moreover, guilt appraisals in the acute phase after an accident might be a relevant target for clinical attention.
Age and Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness Measured by Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography

Purpose To evaluate the association between age and peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness measured by Cirrus high-definition (HD) spectral domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) in healthy Korean subjects. Methods A total of 302 eyes from 155 healthy Korean subjects (age range, 20 to 79 years) underwent RNFL thickness measurements using the Cirrus HD-OCT. Average, quadrant, and clock-hour RNFL thickness parameters were analyzed in terms of age using linear mixed effect models. Results Average RNFL demonstrated a slope of -2.1 µm per decade of age (p < 0.001). In quadrant analysis, superior (-3.4 µm/decade, p < 0.001) and inferior (-2.9 µm/decade, p < 0.001) quadrants showed steeper slopes, whereas temporal (-1.1 µm/decade, p < 0.001) and nasal (-1.0 µm/decade, p < 0.001) quadrants revealed shallower slopes. Among the 12 clock-hour sectors, clock hours 6 (-4.5 µm/decade, p < 0.001) and 1 (-4.1 µm/decade, p < 0.001) showed the greatest tendency to decline with age; RNFLs of the 3 (-0.2 µm/decade, p = 0.391) and 4 (-0.6 µm/decade, p = 0.052) o'clock hour sectors did not show significant decay. Conclusions RNFL thickness was associated with age, especially in superior and inferior areas. The topographic distribution of correlation between age and RNFL thickness was not uniform.
Prediction of level of serotonin 2A receptor binding by serotonin receptor 2A genetic variation in postmortem brain samples from subjects who did or did not commit suicide.

OBJECTIVE Postmortem studies have indicated that suicide victims have greater serotonin receptor 2A (5-HTR2A) binding in prefrontal brain regions. However, there remains some controversy regarding the biological specificity of these findings. The authors hypothesized that the variance observed in brain 5-HTR2A binding is genetically mediated, at least in part. METHOD Postmortem data from 56 subjects who had committed suicide and 126 normal comparison subjects were studied; brain tissue was available from 11 subjects who committed suicide and 11 comparison subjects. Homogenate binding assays were carried out with [3H]ketanserin. Variation at the 5-HTR2A gene (HTR2A) was investigated by means of two polymorphisms: T102C and A-1438G. RESULTS 5-HTR2A binding was greater in the prefrontal cortex of the subjects who committed suicide. In addition, the findings suggest that HTR2A variation significantly affects 5-HTR2A binding. However, no interaction between suicidal behavior and this locus was observed. CONCLUSIONS These results confirm previous reports of greater 5-HTR2A binding in subjects who committed suicide; they also provide preliminary evidence suggesting that the number of 5-HTR2A receptors is genetically mediated.
Adverse Events of Pirfenidone for the Treatment of Pulmonary Fibrosis: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Background Pirfenidone (PFD) is a novel antifibrotic agent approved for patients with pulmonary fibrosis. However, there are concerns regarding toxicity of the drug. In this meta-analysis, we analyzed the adverse events (AEs) of PFD for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis. Methods We performed a systematic search of PubMed, Embase, ClinicalTrials.gov, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials for trials published between January 1999 and October 2011. Data extracted from literature were analyzed with Review manager 5.0. 24. Results The results of six randomized controlled trials (1073 participants) revealed that the number of individuals who discontinued PFD therapy was significantly higher than patients receiving placebo. The PFD group had a significantly higher rate of gastrointestinal (nausea, dyspepsia, diarrhea, and anorexia), neurological (dizziness and fatigue), and dermatological (photosensitivity and rash) AEs compared to the placebo group. Conclusions PFD used for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis is not so safe or well-tolerated. Notably, gastrointestinal, neurological and dermatological adverse effects were more common in patients receiving PFD therapy, and therefore appropriate precaution is needed.
New Directions in Managing the Forecasting Process

Chris Gray, noted S&OP author, summarizes the most important elements of the business worldOs new focus on proper management of the forecasting process. The primary requirements as he sees them: ¥ Maintain accountability and transparency ¥ Compare different forecasting methods ¥ Recognize that one size does not fit all ¥ Apply statistical process control ¥ Broaden forecasting into sales planning ¥ Document assumptions ¥ Improve forecastability through improved product design Copyright International Institute of Forecasters, 2013
Socially induced and rapid increases in aggression are inversely related to brain aromatase activity in a sex-changing fish, Lythrypnus dalli

Social interactions can generate rapid and dramatic changes in behaviour and neuroendocrine activity. We investigated the effects of a changing social environment on aggressive behaviour and brain aromatase activity (bAA) in a sex-changing fish, Lythrypnus dalli. Aromatase is responsible for the conversion of androgen into oestradiol. Male removal from a socially stable group resulted in rapid and dramatic (≥200%) increases in aggression in the dominant female, which will become male usually 7–10 days later. These dominant females and recently sex-changed individuals had lower bAA but similar gonadal aromatase activity (gAA) compared to control females, while established males had lower bAA than all groups and lower gAA than all groups except dominant females. Within hours of male removal, dominant females' aggressive behaviour was inversely related to bAA but not gAA. These results are novel because they are the first to: (i) demonstrate socially induced decreases in bAA levels corresponding with increased aggression, (ii) identify this process as a possible neurochemical mechanism regulating the induction of behavioural, and subsequently gonadal, sex change and (iii) show differential regulation of bAA versus gAA resulting from social manipulations. Combined with other studies, this suggests that aromatase activity may modulate fast changes in vertebrate social behaviour.
Complete Genome Sequence of Mycoplasma canadense Strain HAZ 360_1 from Bovine Mastitic Milk in Japan

ABSTRACT Bovine mycoplasmal mastitis is spreading quickly among cows. Mycoplasma canadense, a causal species of bovine mastitis, reduces milk quality and quantity via the infiltration of numerous inflammatory cells. Presented here is the complete 693,241-bp genome sequence of M. canadense strain HAZ 360_1, which was isolated in Japan.
Concurrency-oriented verification and coverage of system-level designs

Correct concurrent System-on-Chips (SoCs) are very hard to design and reason about. In this work, we develop an automated framework complete with concurrency-oriented verification and coverage techniques for system-level designs. Our techniques are different from traditional simulation-based reliability techniques, since concurrency information is often lost in traditional techniques. We preserve concurrency information to obtain unique verification techniques that allow us to predict potential errors (formulated as transaction-level assertions) from error-free simulations. In order to do this, we exploit the inherent concurrency in the designs to generate and analyze novel partial-order simulation traces. Additionally, to evaluate the confidence on verification results and the gauge progress of verification, we develop novel mutation testing based on concurrent coverage metrics. Mutation testing is a fault insertion-based simulation technique that has been successfully applied in software testing. We present a comprehensive list of mutation operators for SystemC, similar to behavioral fault models, and show the effectiveness of these operators by relating them to actual bug patterns. We have successfully applied our verification and coverage techniques on industrial systems and demonstrated that current verification test suites need to be improved for concurrent designs, and we have found errors in systems that were tested previously.
Chair of Engineering Mechanics Ifm-publication 2-477 a General Purpose Software for Reliability-based Optimal Design

A general purpose software for reliability-based optimal design. Abstract. Due to the inherent uncertainties in loads, materials and manufacturing quality, va i-abilities are unavoidable in structural responses and can cause significant deviations in expected product performance. To ensure the reliability of a structure, these uncertainties must be considered during structural design. In cases where a structure is optimized such that the design requirements are barely met, it is important for engineers to asses the design's reliability and, if necessary, optimize the structure considering the reliability requirement. In those situations where variations in design and operating environment result in considerable variability of the performance of a system, it is critical for engineers to search for a robust design. A robust design is one in which the performance deviation is within acceptable limits. The objective of this paper is to present a life cycle management tool implemented within a general purpose stochastic analysis software named COSSAN-X TM. An overview of the tools for reliability and optimization implemented in the code which are required to solve the robust desig problem is presented. In addition, the interaction with deterministic Finite Element codes is also addressed. The salient features of the software are presented by means of a challenging problem ofiReliability based optimization and life cycle management.
Software synthesis for hard real-time embedded systems with multiple processors

Hard real-time embedded systems have stringent timing constraints that must be met in order to ensure the correct functioning of the system. In many cases, these systems are composed of several CPU-bound tasks, which may need to rely on multiple processors, since just a single processor may not allow meeting all timing constraints. In order to deal with stringent constraints, specialized operating system kernels are often adopted in real-time embedded systems. However, the operating system usage may introduce significant overheads in execution time as well as in memory requirement. Software synthesis is an alternative approach to operating systems usage, since it can generate tailored code that satisfy: (i) functional, performance, and resource constraints; and (ii) other features such as scheduling, resource management, communication and synchronization. In this paper, a software synthesis approach based on a formalism, namely, time Petri nets, is presented in order to generate predictable scheduled code for hard real-time embedded systems with multiple processors.
The Emergence of Intelligent Enterprises: From CPS to CPSS

When IEEE Intelligent Systems solicited ideas for a new department, cyberphysical systems(CPS) received overwhelming support.Cyber-Physical-Social Systems is the new name for CPS. CPSS is the enabling platform technology that will lead us to an era of intelligent enterprises and industries. Internet use and cyberspace activities have created an overwhelming demand for the rapid development and application of CPSS. CPSS must be conducted with a multidisciplinary approach involving the physical, social, and cognitive sciences and that Al-based intelligent systems will be key to any successful construction and deployment.
Parametric Characterization of Multimodal Distributions with Non-gaussian Modes

In statistics, mixture models are used to characterize datasets with multimodal distributions. A class of mixture models called Gaussian Mixture Models (GMMs) has gained immense popularity among practitioners because of its sound statistical foundation and an efficient learning algorithm, which scales very well with both the dimension and the size of a dataset. However, the underlying assumption, that every mixing component is normally distributed, can often be too rigid for several real life datasets. In this paper, we introduce a new class of parametric mixture models that are based on Copula functions. The goal is to relax the assumption about the normality of mixing components. We formulate a class of functions called Gaussian Mixture Copula functions for the characterization of multi-modal distributions. The parameters of the proposed Gaussian Mixture Copula Model (GMCM) can be obtained in a Maximum-Likelihood setting. For this purpose, an Expectation-Maximization (EM) and a Gradient-based optimization algorithm are proposed. Owing to the non-convex log-likelihood function, only locally optimal solutions can be obtained. We also provide experimental evidence of the benefits of the GMCM over GMM using both synthetic and real-life datasets.
Nuestra identidad y experiencias (our identity and experiences): ethnic identity development of Latino fraternity members at a Hispanic-Serving Institution

Higher education scholars have examined Latino/a student experiences and ethnic identity, yet there is no research describing the ethnic identity development of members of a Latino fraternity at a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how membership in a Latino fraternity at a HSI enhanced members' ethnic identity development. Utilizing Bronfenbrenner's (2005) bioecological theory of human development as the guiding framework for this study, six themes emerged which enhanced members' ethnic identity development: family, the HSI campus, language, involvement, other Greeks and Greeks affairs policies, and gender. Implications for student affairs and higher education administrators at HSIs and non-HSIs and for Latino parents and families are discussed. In addition, recommendations for future research are explored.
SHELL-MODELS OF RMHD TURBULENCE AND THE HEATING OF SOLAR CORONAL LOOPS

A simplified non-linear numerical model for the development of incompressible magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) in the presence of a strong magnetic field ~ B‖ and stratification, nicknamed S HELL-ATM, is presented. In planes orthogonal to the mean field, the non-linear incomp ressible dynamics is replaced by 2D shell-models for the complex variablesu and b, allowing one to reach large Reynolds numbers while at the sa me time carrying out sufficiently long time integrations to obtain a good statistics at moderate computational cost. The shell-models of different planes are coupled by Alfvén wave s propagating along ~ B‖. The model may be applied to open or closed magnetic field configurations where the axia l field dominates and the plasma pressure is low; here we apply it to the specific case of a magnetic loop of the so lar c rona heated via turbulence driven by photospheric motions, and we use statistics for its analysi s. The Alfvén waves interact non-linearly and form turbulent spectra in the directions perpendicular and, via propagation, also parallel to the mean field. A heating function is obtained, and is shown to be intermittent; the av r ge heating is consistent with values required for sustaining a hot corona, and is proportional to the aspec t ratio of the loop to the power −1.5; characteristic properties of heating events are distributed as power-laws . Cross-correlations show a delay of dissipation compared to energy content. Subject headings: Sun : corona, flares – MHD – turbulence