Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tightening: Morphological Simplification

Given a two- or three-dimensional set S of arbitrary topology and a radius r, we show how to construct an r-tightening of S, which is a set whose boundary has mean curvature with magnitude less than or equal to 1/r and which only differs from S in a morphologically-defined tolerance zone we call the mortar. The mortar consists of the thin or highly curved parts of S and its complement, such as corners, gaps, and small connected components, while the boundary of a tightening consists of components of locally minimal length (in 2D) or area (in 3D) that lie in the mortar. Tightenings are defined independently of shape representation, and it may be possible to find them using a variety of algorithms. We describe how to approximately compute tightenings for two-dimensional sets represented as binary images and for three-dimensional sets represented as triangle meshes using constrained, level-set curvature flow.
Investigating the effectiveness of tactile feedback for mobile touchscreens

This paper presents a study of finger-based text entry for mobile devices with touchscreens. Many devices are now coming to market that have no physical keyboards (the Apple iPhone being a very popular example). Touchscreen keyboards lack any tactile feedback and this may cause problems for entering text and phone numbers. We ran an experiment to compare devices with a physical keyboard, a standard touchscreen and a touchscreen with tactile feedback added. We tested this in both static and mobile environments. The results showed that the addition of tactile feedback to the touchscreen significantly improved finger-based text entry, bringing it close to the performance of a real physical keyboard. A second experiment showed that higher specification tactile actuators could improve performance even further. The results suggest that manufacturers should use tactile feedback in their touchscreen devices to regain some of the feeling lost when interacting on a touchscreen with a finger.
A symbolic query-by-example framework for the image retrieval signal/semantic integration

We propose in this paper to enhance the performance of the S.I. R. (Belkhatir et al., 2004; Belkhatir, 2005; Belkhatir et al., 2005) (signal/semantic integration for image retrieval) image indexing and retrieval architecture through the integration of a query-by-example framework based on high-level image descriptions instead of their extracted low-level features. This framework features a multi-facetted conceptual model which integrates visual semantics as well as symbolic color and texture characterizations and operates on image objects (abstractions of visual entities within a physical image) in an attempt to perform querying operations beyond trivial low-level processes and region-based frameworks. Also, it manipulates a rich query language, consisting of both Boolean and quantification operators, which therefore leads to optimized user interaction and increased retrieval performance. Experimental results on a test collection of 2500 color personal photographs show that our approach gives better results in terms of recall and precision measures than state-of-the-art frameworks loosely coupling keyword-based query modules and relevance feedback processes operating on low-level features
Multiplicity of Generation, Selection, and Classification Procedures for Jammed Hard-Particle Packings †

Hard-particle packings have served as useful starting points to study the structure of diverse systems such as liquids, living cells, granular media, glasses, and amorphous solids. Howard Reiss has played a major role in helping to illuminate our understanding of hard-particle systems, which still offer scientists many interesting conundrums. Jammed configurations of hard particles are of great fundamental and practical interest. What one precisely means by a “jammed” configuration is quite subtle and considerable ambiguity remains in the literature on this question. We will show that there is a multiplicity of generation, selection, and classification procedures for jammed configurations of identical d-dimensional spheres. We categorize common ordered lattices according to our definitions and discuss implications for random disk and sphere packings. We also show how the concept of rigidity percolation (which has been used to understand the mechanical properties of network glasses) can be generalized to f.
Modulation of Transcription Factor Sp1 by cAMP-dependent Protein Kinase*

Transcription factor Sp1 is a phosphoprotein whose level and DNA binding activity are markedly increased in doxorubicin-resistant HL-60 (HL-60/AR) leukemia cells. Thetrans-activating and DNA binding properties of Sp1 in HL-60/AR cells are stimulated by cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) and PKA agonists and inhibited by PKA antagonists as well as by the PKA regulatory subunit. Reporter gene activity under the control of the Sp1-dependent SV40 promoter is stimulated in insect cells transiently expressing Sp1 and PKA, and the DNA binding activity of recombinant Sp1 is activated by exogenous PKA in vitro. These results indicate that Sp1 is a cAMP-responsive transcription factor and that Sp1-dependent genes may be modulated through a cAMP-dependent signaling pathway.
Realidade virtual na reabilitação física de pacientes com doença de Parkinson

Introducao: A realidade virtual (RV) pode ser uma ferramenta terapeutica utilizada no campo da neurorreabilitacao. E considerada uma atividade ludica que fornece feedback visual e auditivo, facilitando a adesao dos pacientes ao tratamento. Objetivo: Realizar uma revisao de literatura a respeito da influencia da RV na reabilitacao de pacientes com doenca de Parkinson. Metodo: Utilizamos como base de dados os sistemas virtuais das bibliotecas Medline, PEDro, Lilacs, Scielo e Pubmed, a partir dos seguintes descritores: Doenca de Parkinson e Realidade Virtual; Doenca de Parkinson e Wii e seus equivalentes em espanhol e ingles para obtencao dos artigos. Foi utilizada a escala PEDro para fins de pontuacao metodologica dos artigos analisados. Resultados: A partir de 50 artigos obtidos apos a aplicacao dos criterios de inclusao e exclusao, foram obtidos 16 artigos para analise. De acordo com a escala PEDro a maioria dos artigos teve baixa pontuacao. Os resultados sugerem que a RV apresenta resultados positivos nas variaveis velocidade e tempo de movimento, equilibrio, marcha, controle postural e funcionalidade de membros superiores. A atividade ludica oferecida pela RV e a contribuicao dos feedbacks visual e auditivo oferecido por este tipo de intervencao podem ser o grande potencial desta nova ferramenta. Conclusao: A RV e util na potencializacao do controle motor, na funcionalidade, na capacidade cognitiva e no equilibrio, mas ainda precisa de estudos com melhor qualidade metodologica para confirmacao dos resultados da RV na doenca de Parkinson.
Nup120p: a yeast nucleoporin required for NPC distribution and mRNA transport

To extend our understanding of the mechanism by which the nuclear pore complex (NPC) mediates macromolecular transport across the nuclear envelope we have focused on defining the composition and molecular organization of the yeast NPC. Peptide sequence analysis of a polypeptide with a M(r) of approximately 100,000 present in a highly enriched yeast NPC fraction identified a novel yeast nucleoporin we term Nup120p. Nup120p corresponds to the open reading frame (ORF) YKL057c identified by the yeast genome sequencing project. The ORF predicts a protein with a calculated molecular mass of 120.5 kD containing two leucine zipper motifs, a short coiled-coil region and limited primary sequence similarity to Nup133p. Nup120p was localized to the NPC using a protein A-tagged chimera in situ by indirect immunofluorescence microscopy. Deletion of the NUP120 gene caused clustering of NPCs at one side of the nuclear envelope, moderate nucleolar fragmentation and slower cell growth. Transfer of nup120 delta cells to 37 degrees C resulted in the nuclear accumulation of poly(A)+ mRNA, extensive fragmentation of the nucleolus, spindle defects, and cell death.
Recursive Sparse Point Process Regression With Application to Spectrotemporal Receptive Field Plasticity Analysis

We consider the problem of estimating the sparse time-varying parameter vectors of a point process model in an online fashion, where the observations and inputs respectively consist of binary and continuous time series. We construct a novel objective function by incorporating a forgetting factor mechanism into the point process log-likelihood to enforce adaptivity and employ l1-regularization to capture the sparsity. We provide a rigorous analysis of the maximizers of the objective function, which extends the guarantees of compressed sensing to our setting. We construct two recursive filters for online estimation of the parameter vectors based on proximal optimization techniques, as well as a novel filter for recursive computation of statistical confidence regions. Simulation studies reveal that our algorithms outperform several existing point process filters in terms of trackability, goodness-of-fit and mean square error. We finally apply our filtering algorithms to experimentally recorded spiking data from the ferret primary auditory cortex during attentive behavior in a click rate discrimination task. Our analysis provides new insights into the time-course of the spectrotemporal receptive field plasticity of the auditory neurons.
Hybrid topological/metric approach to SLAM

We present a new topological/metric approach to solving the simultaneous localisation and mapping problem. The map is represented as a graph - nodes are local map frames, and edges are transformations between adjacent map frames. The underlying local mapping algorithm is FastSLAM. The local maps and transformations are modelled by sets of particles. There is no global map frame, each map's uncertainties are restricted to its own map frame. The loop dosing is achieved via efficient map matching. We demonstrate our algorithm running in real-time in an indoor environment using a laser range sensor.
Polymerization and structure of nucleotide-free actin filaments.

Two factors have limited studies of the properties of nucleotide-free actin (NFA). First, actin lacking bound nucleotide denatures rapidly without stabilizing agents such as sucrose; and second, without denaturants such as urea, it is difficult to remove all of the bound nucleotide. We used apyrase, EDTA and Dowex-1 to prepare actin that is stable in sucrose and approximately 99 % free of bound nucleotide. In high concentrations of sucrose where NFA is stable, it polymerizes more favorably with a lag phase shorter than ATP-actin and a critical concentration close to zero. NFA filaments are stable, but depolymerize at low sucrose concentrations due to denaturation of subunits when they dissociate from filament ends. By electron microscopy of negatively stained specimens, NFA forms long filaments with a persistence length 1.5 times greater than ADP-actin filaments. Three-dimensional helical reconstructions of NFA and ADP-actin filaments at 2.5 nm resolution reveal similar intersubunit contacts along the two long-pitch helical strands but statistically significant less mass density between the two strands of NFA filaments. When compared with ADP-actin filaments, the major difference peak of NFA filaments is near, but does not coincide with, the vacated nucleotide binding site. The empty nucleotide binding site in these NFA filaments is not accessible to free nucleotide in the solution. The affinity of NFA filaments for rhodamine phalloidin is lower than that of native actin filaments, due to a lower association rate. This work confirms that bound nucleotide is not essential for actin polymerization, so the main functions of the nucleotide are to stabilize monomers, modulate the mechanical and dynamic properties of filaments through ATP hydrolysis and phosphate release, and to provide an internal timer for the age of the filament.
Improving Transferability of Introduced Species’ Distribution Models: New Tools to Forecast the Spread of a Highly Invasive Seaweed

The utility of species distribution models for applications in invasion and global change biology is critically dependent on their transferability between regions or points in time, respectively. We introduce two methods that aim to improve the transferability of presence-only models: density-based occurrence thinning and performance-based predictor selection. We evaluate the effect of these methods along with the impact of the choice of model complexity and geographic background on the transferability of a species distribution model between geographic regions. Our multifactorial experiment focuses on the notorious invasive seaweed Caulerpacylindracea (previously Caulerpa racemosa var. cylindracea ) and uses Maxent, a commonly used presence-only modeling technique. We show that model transferability is markedly improved by appropriate predictor selection, with occurrence thinning, model complexity and background choice having relatively minor effects. The data shows that, if available, occurrence records from the native and invaded regions should be combined as this leads to models with high predictive power while reducing the sensitivity to choices made in the modeling process. The inferred distribution model of Caulerpacylindracea shows the potential for this species to further spread along the coasts of Western Europe, western Africa and the south coast of Australia.
Screening for depression and anxiety among older Chinese immigrants living in Western countries: The use of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI)

Depression and anxiety are two common mental health problems among older people. There is evidence that using well‐validated screening tools can improve detection of depression and anxiety among this group. The review explored the use of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI) for screening depression and anxiety among older Chinese immigrants, one of the largest and fastest growing groups of older immigrants in Western society. It focused on the GDS and GAI because both are designed specifically for older people.
Effective of Unicast and Multicast IP Address Attack over Intrusion Detection System with Honeypot

This research presents an intrusion detection system t (IDS) with honeypot over distributed networks. The main objective is compare measuring the effectiveness of attacks between IDS and IDS with honeypot by unicast IP address attack and multicast IP address attack. These attack forms generating by NESSUS is a attack program via wire network and wireless network consists of Snort is a program that is used to detect intrusion and Honeyd to simulate a honeypot computer, which is installed on the system practical for Linux with a number of more 2 points (Sensor) to detect each program will be sent to the primary database for the analysis of experimental results. From this project will allow administrators to monitor and protect their networks more efficient organization.
Formation Control and Obstacle Avoidance for Multi-Agent Systems Based on Virtual Leader-Follower Strategy

This paper investigates the formation control and obstacle avoidance problem for multi-agent systems (MASs), which aims to coordinate the pursuer agents to capture a mobile target. The target appears at a location randomly and its movement obeys Reactive Rabbit Model. The pursuers and the mobile target can be modeled as a Pursuit-Evasion Game (PEG). During the movement, not all of the pursuer agents can obtain the real-time information of the target. Moreover, the obstacle avoidance makes the formation of pursuer agents a big challenge to encircle the mobile target. In order to tackle these two problems, the formation control and obstacle avoidance algorithm is presented in this paper based on a novel virtual leader-follower strategy and potential functions. The obstacle avoidance problem can then be solved by constructing a velocity potential. The numerical analysis and simulation demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.
Organizers Put Mathematics to Work For the Math Sciences Community Calling on their experience

Calling on their experience in developing algorithms and software for the automated indexing model known as LSI, the organizers of SIAM's Atlanta meeting made short work of what can be a frustrating, time-consuming task: organizing the meeting's contributed paper sessions. If you have ever been on the organizing committee for a large meeting, you know that organizers encounter many rewards and frustrations—before, during, and after the meetings. The story we relate here, part of the before side of the 1999 SIAM Annual Meeting, held in Atlanta in May, turned out to be a terrific experience, one that could become standard procedure for future meetings. One of the pre-meeting chores of the organizing committee is to assemble the contributed paper sessions. This involves reading the abstracts and trying to form groupings of related papers. Having spent several years developing algorithms and software for an automated indexing approach known as Latent Semantic Indexing (or LSI), we decided to automate the grouping of talks, especially since we were running close to the program deadline. Research in information retrieval has followed several parallel, yet similar, developmental paths. Latent Semantic Indexing, because of the way it represents terms and documents in a term-document space, is considered a vector-space information retrieval model. LSI is one of many candidate methods that can be used to encode terms (keywords) and documents for semantic-based retrieval, i.e., retrieval of relevant information that may or may not share common terminology with an information need (query). The Latent Semantic Indexing information retrieval model [4] builds on earlier research in information retrieval and matrix decompositions, such as use of the singular value decomposition to reduce the dimensions of the term-document space. High-dimensional subspaces (on the order, say, of all the indexed terms in a collection) tend to encode or cluster documents that share terms, whether the documents are related or not. Reductions in dimension (or rank) are an attempt to solve the problems of synonymy and polysemy that plague automatic information retrieval systems (see [2]). Such problems involve terms whose meaning can change from document to docu-ment—bank, for example, refers sometimes to a financial institution and at other times to a partition of computer memory. Synonyms can also present problems for lexical-matching–based systems—sprouts, toddlers, rugrats, and kids are terms used in different situations to designate young children. LSI explicitly represents both terms and documents in a more modest number of dimensions so that …
Donor lymphocyte infusion for relapsed chronic myelogenous leukemia: prognostic relevance of the initial cell dose.

Donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) can produce durable remissions in patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) who have a relapse after an allogeneic stem cell transplantation. However, the best modality to administer DLI is still unclear. The effect of the initial cell dose (ICD; ie, mononuclear cells x 10(8)/kg received in the first instance) on outcome was retrospectively analyzed in 298 of 344 patients treated with DLI at 51 centers. Patients were classified into 3 groups according to the ICD: 98 in group A (<or= 0.20), 107 in group B (0.21-2.0), and 93 in group C (> 2.0). Additional infusions were given to 62%, 20%, and 5% of patients in groups A, B, and C, respectively. A lower ICD was associated with less graft-versus-host disease (GVHD; A, 26%; B, 53%; C, 62%; P <.001), less myelosuppression (A, 10%; B, 23%; C, 24%; P =.01), and similar response rate (A, 78%; B, 73%; C, 70%; P =.48). Nonadjusted estimates of 3-year survival, failure-free survival, and DLI-related mortality were 84%, 66%, and 5% respectively, in group A; 63%, 57%, and 20% in group B; and 58%, 45%, and 22% in group C. Outcome analysis was adjusted for patient age, donor type, sex of donor, sex mismatch, disease phase at transplantation, T-cell depletion, interval from transplantation to DLI, GVHD prior to relapse, relapse type, and date of DLI. After adjustment, lower ICD was associated with less GVHD, less myelosuppression, same response rate, better survival, better failure-free survival, and less DLI-related mortality. Our results suggest that the first DLI dose should not exceed 0.2 x 10(8) mononuclear cells/kg.
CUNI at MediaEval 2014 Search and Hyperlinking Task: Visual and Prosodic Features in Hyperlinking

In this report, we present our experiments performed for the Hyperlinking part of the Search and Hyperlinking Task in MediaEval Benchmark 2014. Our system successfully combines features from multiple modalities (textual, visual, and prosodic) and confirms the positive eect of our former method for segmentation based on Decision Trees.
With a little help from my friends: How social networks help college students trying to lose weight

Author(s): Merchant, Gina | Advisor(s): Patrick, Kevin | Abstract: Most young adults gain weight while attending college, setting the stage for long-term weight gain, and associated chronic disease. Interventions that use social and mobile technologies, and leverage social network support may help students adopt health-enhancing habits such as regular exercise. The first study explored how overweight/obese college students participating in project SMART (N = 404), a remotely delivered two-year weight loss trial, engaged their social networks, and used social and mobile technologies while trying to lose weight. The second study tested whether participants in the treatment (versus control) group talked more about diet and exercise with their FB friends, and the third study tested whether this type of online communication, and receiving social support for it was associated with weight loss. Study one involved qualitative interviews with a convenience sample of participants (n=38), intercepted after one of their measurement visits. Study two involved building a dictionary of diet and exercise words that was used to classify participants’ FB posts as being about HAL or not. Study three quantified the number of likes and comments on posts (i.e., social support), and tested whether posting about HAL or receiving social support for HAL was associated with weight loss. Study one found that participants in the control and treatment groups used non-study designed apps to help them lose weight and many participants knew one another. Individuals talked about their weight-loss goals with friends and felt accountable to follow through with their intentions. Study two found that treatment group participants posted more HAL than those in the control from baseline to +6 months of participation (Beta=1.75; pl0.05) but this effect did not persist over time. Study three found no association between HAL posts and weight loss but the association between social support for HAL posts and weight loss (kg) approached significance at +18 months of participation (Beta= -0.20; p=0.07). Interventions using social and mobile technologies should measure participants’ direct-to-consumer technology use, and interconnectivity so that treatment effects can be isolated and cross-contamination accounted for. Future work will test how social network connections, and network structure is associated with weight loss among this population.