Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Illumination insensitive eigenspaces

Variations in illumination can have a dramatic effect on the appearance of an object in an image. In this paper we propose how to deal with illumination variations in eigenspace methods. We demonstrate that the eigenimages obtained by a training set under a single illumination condition (ambient light) can be used for recognition of objects taken under different illumination conditions. The major idea is to incorporate a set of gradient based filter banks into the eigenspace recognition framework. This can be achieved since the eigenimage coefficients are invariant for linearly filtered images (input and eigenimages). To achieve further illumination insensitivity we devised a robust procedure for coefficient recovery. The proposed approach has been extensively evaluated on a set of 2160 images and the results were compared to other approaches.
Effect of 20 (S)-protopanaxatriol and its epimeric derivatives on myocardial injury induced by isoproterenol

Abstract Objective: It was reported Panax ginseng had diverse components and multifaceted pharmacological functions. This study aims to investigate the effect of 20 (S)-protopanaxatriol (PT, CAS 179799-20-3) and its epimeric derivatives (20S, 24R-epoxy-dammarane-3β, 6α, 12β, 25-tetraol, PTD1 and 20S, 24S-epoxy-dammarane-3β, 6α, 12β, 25-tetraol, PTD2) on myocardial injury induced by isoproterenol in rats. Methods: Male Wistar rats were administered orally 20 (S)-protopanaxatriol or its epimeric derivatives for 7 days. Four days after treatment, all rats, except those in the control group, were subcutaneously injected with isoproterenol (20 mg/kg) for 3 consecutive days. Two hours after the last isoproterenol injection, the rats were anaesthetized and sacrificed. The biochemical parameters were assayed and pathological examination of the heart tissues was performed. Results: Administration of PT and PTD1 resulted in a reduction in creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase. PT and PTD1 inhibited not only the elevation of malondialdehyde content, but also the reduction of superoxide dismutase activity, glutathione peroxidase and total antioxidant capacity. The pathohistological changes induced by isoproterenol were also ameliorated by PT and PTD1. Conclusion: The present findings suggest that PT and PTD1 exerted cardioprotective effects against myocardial ischemic injury by enhancing the anti-free-radical actions of heart tissues. Furthermore the results indicated that the configuration of C-24 of the funan ring was involved in the pharmacological action of the epimeric derivatives of 20(S)-protopanaxatriol.
The Economy as an Evolving Complex System II

* Introduction W.B. Arthur, S.N. , Durlauf, and D. Lane * Asset Pricing Under Endogenous Expectations in an Artificial Stock Market W.B. Arthur, J.H. Holland, B. LeBaron, R. Palmer, and P. Tayler * Natural Rationality V.M. Darley and S.A. Kauffman * Statistical Mechanics Approaches to Socioeconomic Behavior S.N. Durlauf * Is What Is Good for Each Best for All? Learning From Others in the Information Contagion Model D. Lane * Evolution of Trading Structures Y.M. Ioannides * Foresight, Complexity, and Strategy D. Lane and R. Maxfield * The Emergence of Simple Ecologies of Skill J.F. Padgett * Some Fundamental Puzzles in Economic History/Development D.C. North * How the Economy Organizes Itself in Space: A Survey of the New Economic Geography P. Krugman * Time and Money P. Shubik * Promises Promises J. Geanakoplos * Macroeconomics and Complexity: Inflation Theory A. Leijonhufvud * Evolutionary Dynamics in Game-Theoretic Models K. Lindgren * Identification of Anonymous Endogenous Interactions C.F. Manski * Asset Price Behavior in Complex Environments W.A. Brock * Population Games L.E. Blume * Computational Political Economy K. Kollman, J. H. Miller, and S. Page * The Economy as an Interactive System A.P. Kirman * How Economists Can Get A Life L. Tesfatsion * Some Thoughts About Distribution in Economics P.W. Anderson
Website Credibility - A Proposal on an Evaluation Method for e-Commerce

This paper introduces a research for clarifying the structure of the website credibility. The users with low information literacy cannot have difficulty making use of e-Commerce services because they cannot judge the credibility of websites appropriately. Conventional approaches to evaluate the credibility of a website have been based on aspects like the design of the website or the usage of information security technologies. However, it is not sufficient for users with low information literacy to distinguish ill-intentioned sites based on the site design and security technologies alone. In this paper we examine a more comprehensive analysis and evaluation method which is based not only on evidence internal to the site, but also on third-party information about the site provider.
Complexities in DSP software compilation: performance, code size, power, retargetability

The paper presents a new methodology for software compilation for embedded DSP systems. Although it is well known that conventional compilation techniques do not produce high quality DSP code, few researchers have addressed this area. Performance, estimated power dissipation, and code size are important design constraints in embedded DSP design. New techniques for code generation targeting DSP processors are introduced and employed to show improvements and applicability to different fixed point and floating point DSP popular architectures. Code is generated in fast CPU times and is optimized for minimum code size, energy dissipation, or maximum performance. Code generated for realistic DSP applications provide performance and code size improvements of up to 118% and measured power improvements of up to 49% for popular DSP processors compared to previous research and a commercial compiler. This research is important for industry since DSP software can be efficiently generated, with constraints on code size, performance, and energy dissipation.
Document image improvement for OCR as a classification problem

In support of the goal of automatically selecting methods of enhancing an image to improve the accuracy of OCR on that image, we consider the problem of determining whether to apply each of a set of methods as a supervised classification problem for machine learning. We characterize each image according to a combination of two sets of measures: a set that are intended to reflect the degree of particular types of noise present in documents in a single font of Roman or similar script and a more general set based on connected component statistics. We consider several potential methods of image improvement, each of which constitutes its own 2-class classification problem, according to whether transforming the image with this method improves the accuracy of OCR. In our experiments, the results varied for the different image transformation methods, but the system made the correct choice in 77% of the cases in which the decision affected the OCR score (in the range [0,1]) by at least . 01, and it made the correct choice 64% of the time overall.
Classifier Aggregation using Local Classification Confidence

Classifier aggregation is a method for improving quality of classification. Instead of using just one classifier, a team of classifiers is created, and the outputs of the individual classifiers are aggregated into the final prediction. In this paper, we study the potential of using measures of local classification confidence in classifier aggregation methods. We introduce four measures of local classification confidence and study their suitability for classifier aggregation. We develop two novel classifier aggregation methods which utilize local classification confidence and we compare them to two commonly used methods for classifier aggregation. The results on four artificial and five real-world benchmark datasets show that by incorporating local classification confidence into classifier aggregation methods, significant improvement in classification quality can be obtained.
Rehearsing Naval Tactical Situations Using Simulated Teammates and an Automated Tutor

This paper describes a deployed simulation-based intelligent tutoring system (ITS) for training of tactical action officers (TAOs). The TAO on board a Navy ship is responsible for the operation of the entire watch team manning the ship's command center. The ITS goal is to train the TAO in ldquocommand by negation,rdquo in which watchstanders perform their duties autonomously, while the TAO supervises, intervening in order to correct mistakes and rectify omissions. The ITS uses artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to provide Automated Role Players (ARPs) representing the watchstanders in the ship, and to provide a natural language interface to communicate with these automated teammates. An adaptive coaching strategy is used to provide coaching and feedback during an exercise. The paper presents a discussion of the ITS instructional design, its architecture, and the AI techniques it employs.
Supraspinal metabotropic glutamate receptors: a target for pain relief and beyond

Glutamate is the main excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system, controlling the majority of synapses. Apart from neurodegenerative diseases, growing evidence suggests that glutamate is involved in psychiatric and neurological disorders, including pain. Glutamate signaling is mediated via ionotropic glutamate receptors (iGluRs) and metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs). So far, drugs acting via modulation of glutamatergic system are few in number, and all are associated with iGluRs and important side effects. The glutamatergic system may be finely modulated by mGluRs. Signaling via these receptors is slower and longer‐lasting, and permits fine‐tuning of glutamate transmission. There have been eight mGluRs cloned to date (mGluR1–mGluR8), and these are further divided into three groups on the basis of sequence homology, pharmacological profile, and second messenger signaling. The pattern of expression of mGluRs along the pain neuraxis makes them suitable substrates for the design of novel analgesics. This review will focus on the supraspinal mGluRs, whose pharmacological manipulation generates a variety of effects, which depend on the synaptic location, the cell type on which they are located, and the expression in particular pain modulation areas, such as the periaqueductal gray, which plays a major role in the descending modulation of pain, and the central nucleus of the amygdala, which is an important center for the processing of emotional information associated with pain. A particular emphasis will also be given to the novel selective mGluR subtype ligands, as well as positive and negative allosteric modulators, which have permitted discrimination of the individual roles of the different mGluR subtypes, and subtle modulation of central nervous system functioning and related disorders.
A ketogenic diet impairs energy and glucose homeostasis by the attenuation of hypothalamic leptin signaling and hepatic insulin signaling in a rat model of non-obese type 2 diabetes

Ketogenic diets (KTD) are reported to have beneficial effects on the regulation of energy and glucose homeostasis, but remain controversial. We investigated the effects of KTD and ketones on insulin resistance and secretion in non-obese type 2 diabetic rats and their mechanism. KTD (82% energy as fat), intraperitoneal injection of β-hydroxybutyrate (IHB; 150 mg/kg bw/12 h) with a control diet (COD; 20% energy as fat) or saline injection with COD was given to 90% pancreatectomized (Px) diabetic rats for five weeks. KTD increased epididymal fat pads and serum leptin levels without increasing energy intake, but IHB decreased them. KTD, but not IHB, attenuated hypothalamic signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 and 5′-adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation in KTD. Serum glucagon levels were markedly higher in the KTD group than in other groups. During an oral glucose tolerance test, serum glucose levels slowly increased until 80 min in the KTD group and then decreased very slowly. Insulin secretion capacity during a hyperglycemic clamp was significantly lower in the IHB group than in other groups. However, a euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp revealed that KTD decreased glucose infusion rates and increased hepatic glucose output in hyperinsulinemic states while IHB had opposite effects to KTD. The increased hepatic glucose output in KTD was associated with increased hepatic phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase expression through attenuated tyrosine phosphorylation of IRS2 and phosphorylation of AktSer473. Hepatic AMPKThr172 phosphorylation was reduced in KTD. In conclusion, KTD impairs energy and glucose homeostasis by exacerbating insulin resistance and attenuating hypothalamic leptin signaling in non-obese type 2 diabetic rats. These changes are not associated with increased serum ketone levels.
Risk factors for the development of Clostridium difficile infection in hospitalized children

Purpose of review This article defines the risk factors for Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in hospitalized children in light of recent studies demonstrating a change in the epidemiology of these infections in both adults and children. Recent findings Antibiotic exposure within the past 4–12 weeks was noted in a majority of published cases of pediatric CDI, and that remains a key risk factor for infection. Past and/or prolonged hospitalization increase a child’s risk for CDI as they increase potential contact with C. difficile spores. Of all CDI, hospital-acquired infection remains more common. Many comorbid conditions have been linked with CDI, with the strongest association existing in children with cancer and inflammatory bowel disease. Severe infections occur infrequently in pediatric patients. Markers established in adults for severe CDI resulting in colectomy or transfer to ICU have not been shown to correlate in pediatric patients. Summary Recent antibiotic exposure and hospitalization remain key risk factors for CDI in the hospitalized pediatric patient. Patients with comorbid conditions such as malignancy and inflammatory bowel disease are at higher risk for CDI. Resistant infections and severe outcomes are not common in the pediatric population.
Lead toxicity: a review

Abstract Lead toxicity is an important environmental disease and its effects on the human body are devastating. There is almost no function in the human body which is not affected by lead toxicity. Though in countries like US and Canada the use of lead has been controlled up to a certain extent, it is still used vehemently in the developing countries. This is primarily because lead bears unique physical and chemical properties that make it suitable for a large number of applications for which humans have exploited its benefits from historical times and thus it has become a common environmental pollutant. Lead is highly persistent in the environment and because of its continuous use its levels rise in almost every country, posing serious threats. This article reviews the works listed in the literature with recent updates regarding the toxicity of lead. Focus is also on toxic effects of lead on the renal, reproductive and nervous system. Finally the techniques available for treating lead toxicity are presented with some recent updates.
The virtual museum of sculpture

This paper presents the Virtual Museum of Sculpture (VMS) of Pietrasanta, a permanent Virtual Reality installation enabling users to interactively explore a museographical diffused virtual space. The virtual environment hosts several digital 3D models of sculptures realized by important Italian artists of the XX century, connected for historical and cultural reasons with the town of Pietrasanta, a renowned place near the marble quarries of Alpi Apuane. The VMS is currently being enriched of new content, aimed at promoting local art and culture, with the perspective of developing guidelines for an integrated methodology sharing museological and ICT know-hows, targeted to the design of specific virtual applications and to the qualitative evaluation of their social impact as a novel important means of communication and learning.
Melanoregulin (MREG) Modulates Lysosome Function in Pigment Epithelial Cells*

Melanoregulin (MREG), the product of the Mregdsu gene, is a small highly charged protein, hypothesized to play a role in organelle biogenesis due to its effect on pigmentation in dilute, ashen, and leaden mutant mice. Here we provide evidence that MREG is required in lysosome-dependent phagosome degradation. In the Mreg-/- mouse, we show that loss of MREG function results in phagosome accumulation due to delayed degradation of engulfed material. Over time, the Mreg-/- mouse retinal pigment epithelial cells accumulate the lipofuscin component, A2E. MREG-deficient human and mouse retinal pigment epithelial cells exhibit diminished activity of the lysosomal hydrolase, cathepsin D, due to defective processing. Moreover, MREG localizes to small intracellular vesicles and associates with the endosomal phosphoinositide, phosphatidylinositol 3,5-biphosphate. Collectively, these studies suggest that MREG is required for lysosome maturation and support a role for MREG in intracellular trafficking.
DCUDP: scalable data transfer for high‐speed long‐distance networks

The emergence of high‐speed long‐distance networks has promoted the development of various new types of applications that are required to transfer bulk data efficiently. Because of the conservative additive increase and multiplicative decrease strategy, traditional TCP has a severe problem in utilizing bandwidth, which provides an opening for new classes of UDP‐based protocols. This paper proposes a high‐speed bulk data transfer protocol, Double Cubic UDP (henceforth DCUDP), which is built on top of UDP with rate control and reliability control. DCUDP improves the scalability of the protocol over high bandwidth‐delay product networks through cubic‐shaped rate control functions and employs a randomized algorithm to alleviate the impacts of continuous loss and loss synchronization. In addition, DCUDP introduces a novel high‐precision user‐space timer system to facilitate the data transfer. The experimental results demonstrate that DCUDP performs well in terms of bandwidth utilization, CPU utilization, intra‐protocol fairness and round‐trip time fairness, and exhibits favorable friendliness to standard TCP and high‐speed TCP variants. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Remodeling of Global Transcription Patterns of Cryptococcus neoformans Genes Mediated by the Stress-Activated HOG Signaling Pathways

ABSTRACT The ability to sense and adapt to a hostile host environment is a crucial element for virulence of pathogenic fungi, including Cryptococcus neoformans. These cellular responses are evoked by diverse signaling cascades, including the stress-activated HOG pathway. Despite previous analysis of central components of the HOG pathway, its downstream signaling network is poorly characterized in C. neoformans. Here we performed comparative transcriptome analysis with HOG signaling mutants to explore stress-regulated genes and their correlation with the HOG pathway in C. neoformans. In this study, we not only provide important insights into remodeling patterns of global gene expression for counteracting external stresses but also elucidate novel characteristics of the HOG pathway in C. neoformans. First, inhibition of the HOG pathway increases expression of ergosterol biosynthesis genes and cellular ergosterol content, conferring a striking synergistic antifungal activity with amphotericin B and providing an excellent opportunity to develop a novel therapeutic method for treatment of cryptococcosis. Second, a number of cadmium-sensitive genes are differentially regulated by the HOG pathway, and their mutation causes resistance to cadmium. Finally, we have discovered novel stress defense and HOG-dependent genes, which encode a sodium/potassium efflux pump, protein kinase, multidrug transporter system, and elements of the ubiquitin-dependent system.
Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism Glial Glycogen Stores Affect Neuronal Survival during Glucose Deprivation in Vitro

Glia perform several energy-dependent func­ tions that may aid neuronal survival under pathological conditions. Glycogen is the major energy reserve in brain, and it is localized almost exclusively to astrocytes. Using murine cortical cell cultures containing both glia and neu­ rons, we examined the effect of altered glial glycogen stores on neuronal survival following glucose depriva­ tion. As previously reported, cultures exposed for several hours to media lacking glucose developed widespread neuronal degeneration without glial degeneration. If glial astrocyte glycogen content was increased to 2-3 times Astrocytes perform multiple functions essential for the normal activity of neurons in the brain. In addition to providing mechanical support and trophic factors (Bunge and Waksman, 1985), astro­ cytes maintain homeostasis of the brain extracellu­ lar fluid (ECF). Astrocytes are largely responsible for the uptake and catabolism of excitatory amino acids and other neurotransmitters (Ericinska et aI. monia fixation provides the only mechanism other than diffusion for clearing brain ammonia (Cooper and Lai, 1987). Astrocytes may also play an impor-162 control levels by a 24-h pretreatment with 1 11M insulin or 0.5 mM methionine sulfoximine (MSO), glucose depriva­ tion-induced neuronal degeneration was attenuated. These protective effects were blocked if glycogen levels were reduced back to control levels by a 30-min exposure to 1 mM dibutyryl cyclic AMP or 20 11M norepinephrine prior to glucose deprivation. Astrocyte glycogen stores may be an important factor influencing neuronal survival under conditions of energy substrate limitation. Insulin-Ischemia-Methionine sulfoximine. They export metabolic intermediates including lactate (Walz and MukeIji, 1988) and pyruvate (Passonneau et aI., 1978) that may be metabolized by neighboring neurons in the absence of other available substrates (Selak et aI., 1985; Schurr et aI., 1988). These metabolic interac­ tions may be facilitated by physical isolation of neu­ ronal processes and synapses by glial membranes (Harris et aI., 1989; Wenzel et aI., 199 1). Growing evidence suggests that changes in ECF composition, including in particular prolonged ele­ vations in excitatory amino acids, may contribute to neuronal death after brain hypoxia-ischemia or hy­ poglycemia (Siesj6 and Bengtsson, 1989; Choi, 1990). Since the ability of astrocytes to take up ex­ citatory amino acids and otherwise maintain ECF homeostasis is energy dependent, astrocyte energy reserves may be an important factor in determining the extent of neuronal death associated with these pathological conditions. The major energy reserve in brain is glycogen (Lowry et aI., 1964), accounting for about 65% of ATP that …
Role of orexin in modulating arousal, feeding, and motivation

Orexin deficiency results in narcolepsy in humans, dogs, and rodents, suggesting that the orexin system is particularly important for maintenance of wakefulness. However, orexin neurons are “multi-tasking” neurons that regulate sleep/wake states as well as feeding behavior, emotion, and reward processes. Orexin deficiency causes abnormalities in energy homeostasis, stress-related behavior, and reward systems. Orexin excites waking-active monoaminergic and cholinergic neurons in the hypothalamus and brain stem regions to maintain a long, consolidated waking period. Orexin neurons also have reciprocal links with the hypothalamic nuclei, which regulates feeding. Moreover, the responsiveness of orexin neurons to peripheral metabolic cues suggests that these neurons have an important role as a link between energy homeostasis and vigilance states. The link between orexin and the ventral tegmental nucleus serves to motivate an animal to engage in goal-directed behavior. This review focuses on the interaction of orexin neurons with emotion, reward, and energy homeostasis systems. These connectivities are likely to be highly important to maintain proper vigilance states.