Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intracardiac injection of erythropoietin induces stem cell recruitment and improves cardiac functions in a rat myocardial infarction model

Erythropoietin (EPO) protects the myocardium from ischaemic injury and promotes beneficial remodelling. We assessed the therapeutic efficacy of intracardiac EPO injection and EPO‐mediated stem cell homing in a rat myocardial infarction (MI) model. Following MI, EPO (3000 U/kg) or saline was delivered by intracardiac injection. Compared to myocardial infarction control group (MIC), EPO significantly improved left ventricular function (n= 11–14, P< 0.05) and decreased right ventricular wall stress (n= 8, P< 0.05) assessed by pressure‐volume loops after 6 weeks. MI‐EPO hearts exhibited smaller infarction size (20.1 ± 1.1%versus 27.8 ± 1.2%; n= 6–8, P< 0.001) and greater capillary density (338.5 ± 14.7 versus 259.8 ± 9.2 vessels per mm; n= 6–8, P< 0.001) than MIC hearts. Direct EPO injection reduced post‐MI myocardial apoptosis by approximately 41% (0.27 ± 0.03%versus 0.42 ± 0.03%; n= 6, P= 0.005). The chemoattractant SDF‐1 was up‐regulated significantly assessed by quantitative realtime PCR and immunohistology. c‐Kit+ and CD34+ stem cells were significantly more numerous in MI‐EPO than in MIC at 24 hrs in peripheral blood (n= 7, P< 0.05) and 48 hrs in the infarcted hearts (n= 6, P< 0.001). Further, the mRNAs of Akt, eNOS and EPO receptor were significantly enhanced in MI‐EPO hearts (n= 7, P< 0.05). Intracardiac EPO injection restores myocardial functions following MI, which may attribute to the improved early recruitment of c‐Kit+ and CD34+ stem cells via the enhanced expression of chemoattractant SDF‐1.
Dynamic Network of Concepts from Web-Publications

The network, the nodes of which are concepts (people's names, companies' names, etc.), extracted from web-publications, is considered. A working algorithm of extracting such concepts is presented. Edges of the network under consideration refer to the reference frequency which depends on the fact how many times the concepts, which correspond to the nodes, are mentioned in the same documents. Web-documents being published within a period of time together form an information flow, which defines the dynamics of the network studied. The phenomenon of its structure stability, when the number of web-publications, constituting its formation bases, increases, is discussed
Adaptive radio duty cycling in ContikiMAC: Proposal and analysis

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) face several challenges in field deployments due to strict limitations in nodes hardware capabilities and battery capacities. In addition, several environmental factors should be considered while designing or testing a WSN. Energy-efficient operation is one of the prominent challenges for successful deployment of WSN's. In this paper, we consider energy-efficient operation of WSN nodes implementation based on the Contiki real-time operating system. We inspect the effect of applying spatial configuration for the radio duty-cycle (RDC) frequencies of WSN nodes running ContikiMAC. We also propose two temporal update mechanisms namely: a distributed mechanism in which a WSN sink node collects network-wide statistics and broadcasts a threshold value to the nodes to adjust their duty cycles and an autonomous mechanism in which each node individually updates its duty-cycle based on its battery capacity level. Our simulation results show significant gains in network life time while maintaining network delivery ratio at the same level compared with static schemes.
Comparing the fault-proneness of new and modified code: an industrial case study

Faults are considered as one of the important factors affecting the cost of software development projects. To be able to efficiently handle faults, we must increase our understanding of the factors that make the code fault-prone. A majority of large software systems evolve during their lifetime. In each new release of the system the functionality can be added by writing new classes or/and by modifying already existing ones. In this study we compared the fault-proneness of new and modified classes in such systems. Our study is based on two releases of two large telecommunication systems developed at Ericsson. The major finding of the study is that the risk of introducing faults (the number of faults in the class /the number of new or modified lines of code in the class) is 20 to 40 times as high in modified classes compared to new ones. In the systems which we analyzed a small modification (a few percent) of the class resulted in as many faults as we would expect when the same class was written from scratch. Previous research on this relationship does not appear to exist. Partly in conflict with related research, we found that there is no statistically significant difference between the average number of faults in modified and new classes, and that the average fault-densities (the number of faults/the size of the entire class) in new and in modified classes are very similar. Finally, we also suggest how our findings can be used in practice.
Locality-Aware Scheduling for Stencil Code in Halide

Halide is a domain-specific language designed for image processing and stencil computation. Existing programming languages require the sacrifice of readability, portability and modularity to write high-performance image processing programs. Optimizing the execution strategy of a program oftentimes results in the heavy modification of code, which is a burden to a programmer. To simplify a programmer's task in optimizing his or her application, Halide separates the schedule and the algorithm of an application. A program's schedule can be changed independently in Halide, as the language decouples the algorithm and the schedule of an application. However, the exploration of possible schedules remains difficult and time-consuming. Exhaustive exploration is too common and brute-force. This paper proposes a locality-aware scheduler for the stencil computation. Exhaustive search is replaced by an algorithm using an analytical model. The algorithm delivers the overlapped tiling schedule with its tile size selection. We are able to achieve higher performance from the overlapped tiling scheduling due to better locality. In the Jacobi example, 8-time speedup over the baseline schedule is observed. We improve over the baseline scheduling in Halide without the exploration of all possible schedules.
Information limits within visual short-term memory

This thesis examined separable information constraints upon visual short-term memory through application of signal detection theory and diffusion modelling (R. Ratcliff, 1978) applied to a series of related tasks. Following D. K. Sewell, S. D. Lilburn, and P. L. Smith (2014), I employed simple psychophysical paradigms using the near-threshold presentation of stimulus information and controlling the complexity of decision-making through a post-stimulus probe to obtain both accuracy and response time data. The first part of this thesis examines the relationship between two common visual short-term memory procedures—orientation discrimination and change detection—to characterise the effect of the task type on responding. Modelling of observer sensitivity for Experiment 1 showed that a good account of the data can be obtained with the use of the sample-size relation between performance and memory load, with the addition of an item in change detection trials to account for the effect of probe array on performance. This was supported in Experiment 2 by the higher stimulus contrasts for change detection trials required to offset the decrement in accuracy. Response time modelling using the diffusion model further supported this account, with the addition of a constant time for encoding and comparing the probe array in change detection decisions and the inclusion of an intrusion process to model the entry of non-target information into the decision. The second part of this thesis expanded the modelling of the first part to examine the constraints upon orientation information in two fine orientation discrimination experiments. These experiments required observers to judge the direction of small angular offsets from a known referent. The change in observer sensitivity across different target angular offset conditions was well captured by a Gaussian-shaped tuning function, centred on the orientation of the referent, and weighting squared sensitivity directly. This information constraint was found to be independent of the sample-size relation, leading to the conclusion that the division of memory resources may be separate from the quality of stimulus information. Stimulus exposure duration was modelled as a linear increase in observer sensitivity, also independent of the sample-size or tuning function constraints. Diffusion modelling with these three constraints placed on the drift rate provided a parsimonious description of both the response proportions and response time distributions of a large memory experiment with a small number of parameters. In all, the progression of both sensitivity and response time modelling through this thesis aims to demonstrate three separable constraints on the fundamental capacity of visual short-term memory—the sample-size relation, the tuning channel constraint on orientation information, and the linear constraint on information growth—and the importance of considering the role of decision processes explicitly.
Combining gait and face for tackling the elapsed time challenges

Random Subspace Method (RSM) has been demonstrated as an effective framework for gait recognition. Through combining a large number of weak classifiers, the generalization errors can be greatly reduced. Although RSM-based gait recognition system is robust to a large number of covariate factors, it is, in essence an unimodal biometric system and has the limitations when facing extremely large intra-class variations. One of the major challenges is the elapsed time covariate, which may affect the human walking style in an unpredictable manner. To tackle this challenge, in this paper we propose a multimodal-RSM framework, and side face is used to strengthen the weak classifiers without compromising the generalization power of the whole system. We evaluate our method on the TUM-GAID dataset, and it significantly outperforms other multimodal methods. Specifically, our method achieves very competitive results for tackling the most challenging elapsed time covariate, which potentially also includes the changes in shoe, carrying status, clothing, lighting condition, etc.
Forgiveness: Who Does It and How Do They Do It?

Forgiveness is a suite of prosocial motivational changes that occurs after a person has incurred a transgression. People who are inclined to forgive their transgressors tend to be more agreeable, more emotionally stable, and, some research suggests, more spiritually or religiously inclined than people who do not tend to forgive their transgressors. Several psychological processes appear to foster or inhibit forgiveness. These processes include empathy for the transgressor, generous attributions and appraisals regarding the transgression and transgressor, and rumination about the transgression. Interpreting these findings in light of modern trait theory would help to create a more unified understanding of how personality might influence forgiveness.
Endocytosis of interleukin 2 receptors in human T lymphocytes: distinct intracellular localization and fate of the receptor alpha, beta, and gamma chains

Members of the cytokine receptor family are composed of several noncovalently linked chains with sequence and structure homologies in their extracellular domain. Receptor subfamily members share at least one component: thus the receptors for interleukin (IL) 2 and IL15 have common beta and gamma chains, while those for IL2, 4, 7, and 9 have a common gamma chain. The intracellular pathway followed by IL2 receptors after ligand binding and endocytosis was analyzed by immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy in a human T lymphocytic cell line. Surprisingly, the alpha, beta, and gamma chains had different intracellular localizations after being endocytosed together. The alpha chain was always in transferrin-positive compartments (early/recycling endosomes), both at early and late internalization times, but was never detected in rab7-positive compartments (late endosomes). On the other hand, at late internalization times, the beta and gamma chains were excluded from transferrin-positive organelles and did not colocalize with alpha. Furthermore, beta could be found in rab7-positive vesicles. These differences suggest that the alpha chain recycles to the plasma membrane, while the beta and gamma chains are sorted towards the degradation pathway. The half-lives of these three chains on the cell surface also reflect their different intracellular fates after endocytosis. The beta and gamma chains are very short-lived polypeptides since their half-life on the surface is only approximately 1 h, whereas alpha is a much more stable surface protein. This shows for the first time that components of a multimeric receptor can be sorted separately along the endocytic pathway.
Statistics Hacking - Exploiting Vulnerabilities in News Websites

Summary We analyze and discuss a vulnerability in leading news websites, that can lead to modification of the system statistics by malicious users (statistics hacking). We outline two broad categories of methods that can counter statistics hacking. The first category consists of many methods already available to distinguish human users from computers. We compare the different methods within this category on basis of security and accessibility. The second category uses well known clustering techniques applied to the web statistics. We compare the different methods within this category on basis of security.
Fast convergence adaptive IIR notch filter using allpass filter and adaptive line enhancer

A second order adaptive notch filter using an allpass filter and adaptive line enhancer has been proposed. An adaptive algorithm of this notch filter uses a gradient of mean square of an estimation error with respect to all tap coefficients of the allpass filter. There is no guarantee to the convergence of the adaptive algorithm when the estimation error is large. In the adaptive notch filter, a conventional adaptive algorithm whose the convergence is guaranteed is used till the convergence is guaranteed. Then, by using the switching condition which determines the convergence of the adaptive algorithms, the adaptive algorithms are switched. However, the convergence rate of the adaptive notch filter is decreased due to making an incorrect assessment of the switching adaptive algorithms. In order to solve the problem, an adaptive algorithm using a new switching condition is introduced to the adaptive notch filter. Finally, computer simulation results are presented to confirm the convergence characteristics.
RQOD: Routing algorithm based on realizing the multiple QoS requirements separately and on-demand in wireless sensor networks

Wireless sensor networks are designed for various applications. Most often, a wireless sensor network will be considered as multi-application or multi-functional. In such network, the routing algorithm which is used to realize the Quality of Service (QoS) requirements must be able to provide the required QoS for different applications. For this reason, we present a new routing algorithm namely RQOD that can provide the required QoS of each application on demand. Simulation Results show that the performance of proposed algorithm is much optimized.
Customizing biometric authentication systems via discriminative score calibration

There is mounting evidence about the benefit of tailoring a biometric authentication system to each user by postprocessing the system output at the score level, also known as client-specific score normalisation. Examples of these procedures are Z-norm and F-norm. These procedures can calibrate the uneven hypothesis space such that the dispropotionate false acceptance and false rejection errors are reduced after the calibration. The interest in studying these schemes is that they are applicable to any biometric authentication system regardless of the underlying biometric modality, and furthermore, potentially be extended to object recognition framed as a verification problem. We propose to further improve these procedures by adding additional client-specific terms that cannot be incorporated easily in their respective existing form. Experiments carried out on 13 face and speech systems show that both variants systematically outperform their respective score normalisation scheme (Z-norm or F-norm).
Stratification of lipids, fatty acids and organochlorine contaminants in blubber of white whales and killer whales

The biopsy 2 via dart, trocar or surgery 2 is becoming the preferred protocol for sampling skin and blubber of many cetacean species, because a small sample from a healthy animal may provide better information than a larger sample collected via necropsy from an ill or emaciated animal. Furthermore, the biopsy is often the only means of obtaining samples (e.g. for threatened or endangered species). Because biopsy darts collect only a small sample of tissue 2 and blubber can be heterogeneous in structure and composition 2 it is essential to compare the results obtained from biopsies to those found by analysing full-thickness blubber samples obtained via necropsy. This manuscript compares blubber stratification in two odontocete species, white whales (Delphinapterus leucas) and killer whales (Orcinus orca). Five parameters (i.e. lipid percent and classes, contaminant concentrations and profiles, fatty acid profiles) were measured by blubber depth. Results of these comparisons strongly suggest that biopsy results must be interpreted with caution and in conjunction with results from species-specific blubber depth profiling. For example, lipid classes measured in biopsy samples of white whales and killer whales were similar to those for equivalent-depth samples obtained by necropsy. In addition, lipid-adjusted contaminant concentrations measured in dart or trocar samples adequately represented those obtained by necropsy of both species. Conversely, the lipid content in biopsy samples was lower than that found in same-depth necropsied samples due to loss of lipid during sampling. Also, because of the high level of fatty acid stratification observed, fatty acid profiles from the outer blubber layer collected via biopsy from both species are less likely than the metabolically active inner layer to be useful in determining the prey species consumed by these odontocetes. This study demonstrates, for white and killer whales, that properly interpreted results from blubber biopsies can provide valuable information about the body condition, health and life history of individual animals.
An operation framework of educational process management enhanced by information technology: take graduate financial aid management as an example

Management information systems are used simply to automate traditional working procedure rather than to optimize the management process in Chinese universities. In this study, we explore a framework based on the operation cycle of business process management for implementing educational process management enhanced by information technology to improve the management successively. Taking the graduate financial aid management process in a Chinese university as study case, we discuss the four main stages of the operation framework, including identification & extraction, modeling, simulation & analysis, and execution & monitoring. The positive effects of the operation framework applied in the case show that the reliability and feasibility of the framework is validated.
Development of Novel Optical Fiber Ribbon Assembled into Extremely High-Density Optical Fiber Cable

This paper proposes an extremely high-density optical fiber cable for access networks that uses novel optical fiber ribbon employing standard 250 μm diameter coated optical fibers. We describe the requirements for these cables and investigate the structural design of the novel optical fiber ribbon taking the issues of cable downsizing and workability into consideration. On the basis of these requirements, we determined the geometry of the optical fiber ribbon and cable needed to achieve stable characteristics, sufficient long-term reliability and workability. We confirmed that the novel optical fiber ribbon, which we call rollable optical fiber ribbon, had excellent mass splicing workability. Moreover, we manufactured a 200-fiber cable with a fiber density of 2.5 fibers/mm2 and a cable diameter of 10 mm. We clarified that the transmission, mechanical characteristics and long-term reliability were sufficiently stable for the cable to be used in access networks for FTTH.
Assessment of a “Transgender Identity Stigma” scale among trans women in India: Findings from exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses

ABSTRACT Background: Sexual minority stigma has been shown to influence mental health and sexual risk, but limited research is available on measuring transgender-identity stigma among trans women in India. We adapted an Exposure to Transphobia scale to the Indian context and tested a 14-item Transgender Identity Stigma Questionnaire (TGISQ) among trans women in India. We aimed to assess and validate the factor structure of the TGISQ and to assess its reliability. Methods: Data were from a cross-sectional survey among 300 trans women (including hijras/thirunangais) from six urban/semi-urban sites in India. The TGISQ consisted of self-reported ratings on 14 items. We initially conducted exploratory factor analysis, using principal axis factoring (PAF) and promax rotation, and assessed reliability (internal consistency) using Cronbach's alpha; we then conducted confirmatory factor analysis to assess construct validity (factorial validity). Construct validity of the final 13-item Transgender Identity Stigma Scale (TGISS) was also examined by computing Pearson's correlations between TGISS and relevant theoretical constructs (e.g., depression, social support). Results: PAF identified two factors: enacted stigma (5 items) and felt normative stigma (8 items). The final 13-item TGISS had high reliability and acceptable construct validity. Conclusions: The TGISS was found to have adequate psychometric properties, making it the first valid and reliable scale to measure stigma and discrimination faced by trans women in India. Future studies can further refine TGISS, which might help in comparing the differences in stigma experiences among diverse subgroups of trans women, and in monitoring and evaluating the success of stigma reduction programs.
Sensory effect dataset and test setups

Additional constituents for the representation of multimedia content gained more and more attention. For example, the amount of cinemas equipped with additional devices (e.g., ambient light, vibrating seats, wind generators, water sprayers, heater/coolers) that stimulate senses going beyond audition and vision increases. On the content side the MPEG-V standard specifies - among others - Sensory Effect Metadata (SEM) which provides means to describe sensory effects such as wind, vibration, light, etc. to be attached to audio-visual content and, thus, offering an enhanced and immersive experience for the user. However, there is a lack of a common set of test content allowing for various subjective user studies and verification across different test sites. In this paper we provide our dataset comprising a number of videos from different genres enriched with MPEG-V compliant Sensory Effect Metadata descriptions. Furthermore, we describe possible test setups using off-the-shelf hardware for conducting subjective quality assessments.