Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
vESP: enriching enterprise document search results with aligned video summarization

In this demo, we present a video-enabled enterprise search platform (vESP), an application prototype that enhance a widely deployed commercial enterprise search engine with video streaming. The idea is that for example in a large enterprise, like Microsoft, there exists a lot of information in form of presentations with corresponding video. Using our enhancements, a user can select and combine slides from different presentations generating a new slide deck dynamically and the corresponding video clips are concatenated and presented vis-a-vis the slides on-the-fly. The prototype is evaluated using a data set from Microsoft, and our initial user surveys indicate that the opportunity to enrich the search results with corresponding video is embraced by potential users
Remote Sensing Service chain Self-Evolution Method

In order to facilitate continuous and quick adaptation to the change of environment and use requirement, this paper presents a self-evolution method for the remote sensing information service chain to keep effective and robust of service chain with lesser modification, and to maximize all users’ utilization under concurrent user requirements. According to the driver forces of service chain change, we partition self-evolution method into three levels: (1) a fuzzy semantic based relatedness analysis and min-conflict heuristic based service chain reconfigure methods to adapt to user requirement change; (2) a sensitivity analysis and robust optimization based method to keep maximum stability of service chain in dynamic environment; (3) a non-cooperative game approach for multi-service chain cooperation optimization under concurrent tasks concurrent condition.
Radial basis function (RBF)‐based parametric models for closed and open curves within the method of regularized stokeslets

The method of regularized Stokeslets (MRS) is a numerical approach using regularized fundamental solutions to compute the flow due to an object in a viscous fluid where inertial effects can be neglected. The elastic object is represented as a Lagrangian structure, exerting point forces on the fluid. The forces on the structure are often determined by a bending or tension model, previously calculated using finite difference approximations. In this paper, we study spherical basis function (SBF), radial basis function (RBF), and Lagrange–Chebyshev parametric models to represent and calculate forces on elastic structures that can be represented by an open curve, motivated by the study of cilia and flagella. The evaluation error for static open curves for the different interpolants, as well as errors for calculating normals and second derivatives using different types of clustered parametric nodes, is given for the case of an open planar curve. We determine that SBF and RBF interpolants built on clustered nodes are competitive with Lagrange–Chebyshev interpolants for modeling twice‐differentiable open planar curves. We propose using SBF and RBF parametric models within the MRS for evaluating and updating the elastic structure. Results for open and closed elastic structures immersed in a 2D fluid are presented, showing the efficacy of the RBF–Stokeslets method. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Reading Newspapers in the Dutch Golden Age

Printed newspapers were widely read in the Dutch Republic since their emergence around 1618. Initially, the corantos were distrusted by the urban elite because of their low price and their broad appeal. As they gradually became a part of everyday life, their reputation as credible vehicles of domestic and (mostly) foreign news increased. This article examines why and how these newspapers were being read. It distinguishes four different reading habits as strategies for early modern readers of managing the continuous and often unreliable flow of news. The analysis combines surviving collections of printed newspapers with primary sources not usually employed for this purpose by scholars of early modern media, including images, private letters, diaries, and newspaper advertisements.
Tel Aviv University’s system description for IWSLT 2010

Our submission is a non-structural Example-Based Machine Translation system that translates text from Arabic to English, using a parallel corpus aligned at the paragraph / sentence level. Each new input sentence is fragmented into phrases and those phrases are matched to example patterns, using various levels of morphological information. Source-language synonyms were derived automatically and used to help locate potential translation examples for fragments of a given input sentence. We participated in the BTEC task for translating Arabic sentences to English.
Intracortical Myelin Links with Performance Variability across the Human Lifespan: Results from T1- and T2-Weighted MRI Myelin Mapping and Diffusion Tensor Imaging

Cerebral myelin maturation and aging-related degradation constitute fundamental features of human brain integrity and functioning. Although mostly studied in the white matter, the cerebral cortex contains significant amounts of myelinated axons. However, how intracortical myelin content evolves during development, decays in aging, and links with cognition remain poorly understood. Several studies have shown the potential of mapping myelin in the cortex by use of T1-weighted (T1w) and T2-weighted (T2w) magnetic resonance imaging signal intensity, which show inverse sensitivity to myelin. Here, we characterized cortical myelin in 339 participants 8–83 years of age using a recently introduced T1w/T2w ratio myelin mapping technique and mean diffusivity (MD) from diffusion tensor imaging. To test for cognitive correlates, we used intraindividual variability (IIV) in performance during a speeded task, a measure recently associated with white matter integrity. The results showed that intracortical myelin maturation was ongoing until the late 30s, followed by 20 relative stable years before declining from the late 50s. For MD, U-shaped paths showing similar patterns were observed, but with fewer maturational effects in some regions. IIV was correlated with both T1w/T2w ratio and MD, mainly indicating that the higher degree of intracortical myelin is associated with greater performance stability. The relations were more prominent with advancing age, suggesting that aging-related cortical demyelination contributes to increased IIV. The T1w/T2w ratio myelin-mapping technique thus seems sensitive to intracortical myelin content in normal development and aging, relates to cognitive functioning, and might constitute an important future tool in mapping normal and clinical brain changes.
On Local vs. Population-Based Heuristics for Ground Station Scheduling

Finding an optimal solution is computationally hard for most combinatorial optimization problems. Therefore the use of heuristics methods aims at finding, if not optimal, near optimal solutions in reasonable amount of computation time. Due to lack of knowledge about the landscape of fitness function, searching the solution space by heuristic methods becomes very challenging. One can search the solution space through local search methods that build a path of feasible solutions. Here, the search method selects one solution at each iteration towards reaching the near optimal solution. To this group belong Hill Climbing, Simulated Annealing, Tabu Search and other algorithms. Alternatively, one can use heuristic methods that use many feasible solutions at the same time at any iteration, known as population-based heuristics. In this group there are Genetic Algorithms (GAs and its variants), Memetic Algorithms (MAs), and more generally, Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs). The research issue is, for a given combinatorial optimization problem, which of the two search methods is more effective. This is even more challenging for the case of highly constraint problems. In this paper we present a study on the effectiveness of using local search vs. Population-based search for the problem of Ground Station Scheduling problem, which is known for its high complexity and over-constraint nature.
Children's exposure to passive smoking in England since the 1980s: cotinine evidence from population surveys

Abstract Objective: To determine whether children's exposure to passive smoking has changed since the late 1980s. Design: Cross sectional surveys of nationally representative samples of secondary school children carried out between 1988 and 1998 by Office for National Statistics. Setting: England. Subjects: Secondary school children aged 11-15. Main outcome measures: Salivary cotinine concentrations in non-smoking children. Results: Cotinine concentrations in all non-smoking children almost halved between 1988 and 1998, from a geometric mean of 0.96 (95% confidence interval 0.83 to 1.11) ng/ml in 1988 to 0.52 (0.43 to 0.62) ng/ml in 1998. This reduction was largely due to reductions in exposure in children from non-smoking households and to decreases in the percentage of parents who smoked. Children living with mothers or fathers who smoked experienced little reduction in exposure. Conclusions: Exposure to passive smoking among children in England has approximately halved since the late 1980s. This reduction is partly explained by the fall in the percentage of both mothers and fathers who smoke and is also likely to reflect reductions of smoking in public places. However, there is only limited evidence that children from smoking households have experienced a reduction in exposure through parents' avoidance of smoking in their presence.
Measurement of platelet responsiveness using antibody-coated magnetic beads for lab-on-a-chip applications

We investigate novel methods for the quantification of platelet responsiveness that are suited for implementation in lab-on-a-chip devices. Magnetic beads are convenient carriers for rapid capture and manipulation of biological cells in a miniaturized system. In this article, we demonstrate that antibody-coated magnetic beads can be used to quantify platelet responsiveness. We use anti-CD62P coated beads to capture activated platelets from samples stimulated with a PAR-1 specific agonist SFLLRN, also known as thrombin receptor activator peptide. The responsiveness of the platelets is analyzed via the remaining unbound platelets in the solution and compared to a reference method in which the number of activated platelets is analyzed via fluorescent labeling. The effective concentrations for platelet activation are in agreement for the two assay types, proving that platelet responsiveness can be quantified using antibody-coated magnetic beads. We discuss the outlook for application in lab-on-a-chip devices.
Low influenza vaccination rate among patients with systemic sclerosis.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the influenza vaccination rate and factors influencing it in patients with SSc. METHODS A total of 177 SSc patients fulfilling the ACR and/or LeRoy and Medsger criteria were evaluated during annual meetings of the French patient association in 2006 (n = 71) and 2007 (n = 70) or during hospitalization in the Internal Medicine Department of Cochin Hospital in 2007 (n = 36). Information on influenza vaccination was collected by a standardized form. RESULTS Mean (s.d.) age and disease duration were 58.7 (12.6) and 10.5 (9.5) years, respectively. Overall, 69 (39%) patients received an influenza vaccination during the previous year. Among the 108 patients who were not vaccinated, 78 (72.2%) presented at least one indication for vaccination. The most frequent reasons for non-vaccination were absence of physician recommendation and fear of side effects. Patients who were and were not vaccinated did not differ in anxiety, depression, global disability or quality of life. Vaccination rate was significantly higher (59%) for patients who remembered receiving a letter from the French National Health Insurance Agency encouraging vaccination than among those who did not (26%, P = 0.0001). Multivariate analysis revealed the year of the last vaccination and age as two independent parameters associated with vaccination. CONCLUSIONS Influenza vaccination coverage is low in SSc patients. Lack of information and fear of adverse effects are the most common reasons for non-vaccination. Efforts are needed to increase the influenza vaccination coverage in this population.
The 5-HT 3 AB Receptor Shows an A 3 B 2 Stoichiometry at the Plasma Membrane

The 5-HT3AB receptor is the best-characterized heteropentameric 5-HT3 receptor. Under conditions of heterologous expression, the 5-HT3AB receptor shows a single functionally resolvable population, suggesting the presence of a unique subunit stoichiometry; however, conflicting previous reports have suggested two different possible stoichiometries. Here we isolate plasma membrane sheets containing assembled receptors from individual HEK293T cells. We then determine the stoichiometry of 5-HT3AB receptors on the plasma membrane by fluorescence methods, employing meCFPand meYFP-labeled A and B subunits. Over a wide range of cDNA transfection ratios, fluorescence intensity ratios are closest to values that correspond to a subunit ratio of A3B2. Förster resonance energy transfer (family FRET) efficiencies provide minor corrections (3–6%) to the subunit ratios and provide independent support for a predominantly A3B2 stoichiometry on the plasma membrane sheets. Twin FRET efficiencies support these data, also suggesting that the two B subunits are nonadjacent in most of the heteropentamers. The high-frequency variant HTR3B p.Y129S (c.386A>C, rs11767445), linked to psychiatric disease, also forms A3B2 receptors on the plasmamembrane. The 5-HT3B Y129S, subunit incorporates in a slightly (11–14%) more efficient manner than the common variant. In general, most of the subunits reside within the cell. In contrast to the findings for the plasma membrane, the relative abundances and FRET characteristics of intracellular subunits depend strongly on the transfection ratio. The straightforward and unambiguous combination of plasma membrane-sheet isolation, fluorescence intensity ratios, and FRET is a generally promising procedure for determining stoichiometry of proteins on the plasma membrane.
Multiplicative Mixture Models Approximate Maximum Likelihood Parameter Estimation For The Multiplicative Mixture Model And Overlapping Clustering

Most parametric clustering algorithms in use today employ generative models that do not have a natural mechanism to give rise to overlapping clusters. The multiplicative mixture model has been recently proposed as a generative model that can naturally give rise to overlapping clusters. However, performing maximum likelihood parameter estimation for this model using a standard technique like expectation maximization is intractable. As a result, Monte Carlo algorithms have been developed to do parameter estimation. In contrast to these stochastic algorithms, we propose a complementary deterministic algorithm to perform approximate maximum likelihood parameter estimation in a tractable manner. We then derive an overlapping clustering algorithm that uses employs the multiplicative mixture model as a generative model.
Intrinsic Scene Decomposition from RGB-D Images

In this paper, we address the problem of computing an intrinsic decomposition of the colors of a surface into an albedo and a shading term. The surface is reconstructed from a single or multiple RGB-D images of a static scene obtained from different views. We thereby extend and improve existing works in the area of intrinsic image decomposition. In a variational framework, we formulate the problem as a minimization of an energy composed of two terms: a data term and a regularity term. The first term is related to the image formation process and expresses the relation between the albedo, the surface normals, and the incident illumination. We use an affine shading model, a combination of a Lambertian model, and an ambient lighting term. This model is relevant for Lambertian surfaces. When available, multiple views can be used to handle view-dependent non-Lambertian reflections. The second term contains an efficient combination of l2 and l1-regularizers on the illumination vector field and albedo respectively. Unlike most previous approaches, especially Retinex-like techniques, these terms do not depend on the image gradient or texture, thus reducing the mixing shading/reflectance artifacts and leading to better results. The obtained non-linear optimization problem is efficiently solved using a cyclic block coordinate descent algorithm. Our method outperforms a range of state-of-the-art algorithms on a popular benchmark dataset.
Lifetime leveraging: An approach to achieving international agreement and effective climate protection using mitigation of short-lived greenhouse gases

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to suggest an approach to post-Kyoto climate negotiations that could provide a way out of the apparent deadlock between developed and developing countries. This is an urgent issue as the world already appears to be close to a level of climate change that could be considered “dangerous”. Design/methodology/approach – The paper explores the potential that control of short-lived greenhouse gases such as methane, tropospheric ozone, and soot could have, in addition to steep cutbacks in industrialized nations, to both mitigate global warming and overcome political stalemate in the international climate negotiations. Findings – Although rarely mentioned in climate discourse, reducing emissions of short-lived greenhouse gases offers a cost-effective way of actually reducing the radiative forcing in the atmosphere, while at the same time producing substantial subsidiary benefits such as improved urban air quality. The paper suggests leveraging this potential in the post-Kyoto treaty in order to “buy time” to address the arguably more difficult problem of essentially eliminating fossil-fuel related CO2 emissions, which will ultimately be required to truly bring climate change under control. While high-income countries work on steep cutbacks of all greenhouse gas emissions, middle-income nations could make significant additional contributions by undertaking commitments to control only short-lived greenhouse gases until they reached a threshold level of per-capita GDP, at which point they would cap and begin reducing all greenhouse gas emissions. Originality/value – This paper recognizes that political tradeoffs will have to be made in negotiating the next climate treaty, and offers a way of approaching these tradeoffs that could minimize resulting environmental damage.
Image Denoising based on the Statistical Modeling of Wavelet Coefficients and Quad-Tree Decomposition

This paper proposes a spatially adaptive statistical model for wavelet image coefficients in order to perform image de-noising. The wavelet coefficients are modelled as zero-mean Gaussian random variables with high local correlation. This model is developed in a Bayesian framework, where a Maximum Likelihood (ML) estimator evaluates the variance of the blocks to which the wavelet subbands have been segmented. Then, applying the Minimum Mean Squared Error (MMSE) estimation procedure, the original or denoised wavelet image coefficients are estimated. The reliable estimation of local variance is performed by making the assumption that variance is locally smooth. The validity of this assumption is boosted by segmenting the wavelet subbands into blocks of variable size with two methods. The first method employs image quad-tree decomposition and transfers linearly the resulted tree on the wavelet subbands. This decomposition identifies object boundaries and defines more accurately the regions of smooth variance instead of dividing them in to blocks of fixed size. The second method performs quad-tree decomposition of every subband with a variance splitting criterion. The subbands are segmented into blocks of nearly constant variance, so that the transform coefficients to be approximated as i.i. d random variables. The extensive experimental evaluation shows that the proposed scheme demonstrates very good performance as far as PSNR measures and visual quality are concerned with respect to others state of the art de-noising schemes. Index terms wavelets, de-noising, quad-tree decomposition.
Complementation of defective translesion synthesis and UV light sensitivity in xeroderma pigmentosum variant cells by human and mouse DNA polymerase

Defects in the human gene XPV result in the variant form of the genetic disease xeroderma pigmentosum (XP-V). XPV encodes DNA polymerase eta, a novel DNA polymerase that belongs to the UmuC/DinB/Rad30 superfamily. This polymerase catalyzes the efficient and accurate translesion synthesis of DNA past cis-syn cyclobutane di-thymine lesions. In this report we present the cDNA sequence and expression profiles of the mouse XPV gene and demonstrate its ability to complement defective DNA synthesis in XP-V cells. The mouse XPV protein shares 80.3% amino acid identity and 86.9% similarity with the human XPV protein. The recombinant mouse XPV protein corrected the inability of XP-V cell extracts to carry out DNA replication, by bypassing thymine dimers on template DNA. Transfection of the mouse or human XPV cDNA into human XP-V cells corrected UV sensitivity. Northern blot analysis revealed that the mouse XPV gene is expressed ubiquitously, but at a higher level in testis, liver, skin and thymus compared to other tissues. Although the mouse XPV gene was not induced by UV irradiation, its expression was elevated approximately 4-fold during cell proliferation. These results suggest that DNA polymerase eta plays a role in DNA replication, though the enzyme is not essential for viability.
The Development of a Social Anxiety Measure for Adolescents and Adults with ASD

Despite numerous studies documenting the high prevalence of social anxiety in children and adolescents with High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder (HFASD), there has been little empirical investigation into methods for the assessment of social anxiety in this population. The purpose of this study was to create an empirically derived screening instrument to measure subjective feelings of social anxiety in adolescents and adults with HFASD. Based on a thorough review of the literature in this area, items from all measures (k = 15) used to assess social anxiety in adolescents and adults with HFASD were compiled. After collapsing similar items into one composite item, a pool of 86 items were included in an electronic survey that was sent to experts (n = 99) in the field of anxiety disorders in ASD. Experts ranked the degree to which each item was indicative of social anxiety in HFASD. Based on expert responses, 30 items were selected as the most representative for assessing social anxiety in the target population. In the second phase of the study, experts were asked to rate the final pool of items comprised of the 30 derived from phase I and 10 additional items developed from expert feedback and coding of taped diagnostic interviews with adolescents with HFASD and social anxiety. A final screening measure was derived comprised of 31 items. Future directions and use of the newly formed measure are discussed.
Challenges in Edge Extraction of Dental X-Ray Images Using Image Processing Algorithms – A Review

The paper focuses on the major challenges faced during the processing of misaligned dental x-ray image. The objective of the paper is to discuss about the challenges faced during the root canal edge extraction from dental x-ray images, which forms a pre-requisite step prior to many other advanced automatic processing of x-ray images. For the edge extraction process of dental x-ray images, the effect of image processing algorithms is discussed and analyzed in this paper. Since edge extraction is the foremost step of all the major processing, the performance of the edge extraction stage is carried over to the later stages of processing. Some of the major areas that require processing dental x-ray images are root canal treatment, infection and other malignancy diagnosis.