Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Trajectory Generation based on Rational Bezier Curves as Clothoids

This paper explains a fast overtaking algorithm for IVHS based on clothoidal trajectories. In spite of the fact that clothoidal trajectory generation requires complicated computation of Fresnel integrals, in this paper, an on-line clothoidal path is obtained just by scaling a general parametric curve. This is based on a general offline approximation of the Fresnel integrals into rational Bezier curves (RBC) which are later used in the generation of on-line clothoidal paths. In addition, in order to obtain a fast algorithm, a new methodology to approximate the Fresnel integrals into RBC is proposed. This approach guarantees that the resulting curve has the same behavior than the clothoid. In particular for overtaking maneuvers, a clothoidal path composed of two equal elementary paths is generated. Each one constructed joining two piecewise identical clothoids. A 3D simulation environment has been used for testing the trajectory generation algorithm described in the paper. As can be seen, the obstacle avoidance module generates free-collision intermediate positions which are reached by clothoidal paths.
Towards the Optimal Hardware Architecture for Computer Vision

Computer Vision systems are experiencing a large increase in both range of applications and market sales (BCC Research, 2010). From industry to entertainment, Computer Vision systems are becoming more and more relevant. The research community is making a big effort to develop systems able to handle complex scenes focusing on the accuracy and the robustness of the results. New algorithms provide more advanced and comprehensive analysis of the images, expanding the set of tools to implement applications (Szeliski, 2010).
Soup to Tree: The Phylogeny of Beetles Inferred by Mitochondrial Metagenomics of a Bornean Rainforest Sample

In spite of the growth of molecular ecology, systematics and next-generation sequencing, the discovery and analysis of diversity is not currently integrated with building the tree-of-life. Tropical arthropod ecologists are well placed to accelerate this process if all specimens obtained through mass-trapping, many of which will be new species, could be incorporated routinely into phylogeny reconstruction. Here we test a shotgun sequencing approach, whereby mitochondrial genomes are assembled from complex ecological mixtures through mitochondrial metagenomics, and demonstrate how the approach overcomes many of the taxonomic impediments to the study of biodiversity. DNA from approximately 500 beetle specimens, originating from a single rainforest canopy fogging sample from Borneo, was pooled and shotgun sequenced, followed by de novo assembly of complete and partial mitogenomes for 175 species. The phylogenetic tree obtained from this local sample was highly similar to that from existing mitogenomes selected for global coverage of major lineages of Coleoptera. When all sequences were combined only minor topological changes were induced against this reference set, indicating an increasingly stable estimate of coleopteran phylogeny, while the ecological sample expanded the tip-level representation of several lineages. Robust trees generated from ecological samples now enable an evolutionary framework for ecology. Meanwhile, the inclusion of uncharacterized samples in the tree-of-life rapidly expands taxon and biogeographic representation of lineages without morphological identification. Mitogenomes from shotgun sequencing of unsorted environmental samples and their associated metadata, placed robustly into the phylogenetic tree, constitute novel DNA “superbarcodes” for testing hypotheses regarding global patterns of diversity.
Physiological and pathological roles of tissue plasminogen activator and its inhibitor neuroserpin in the nervous system

Although its roles in the vascular space are most well-known, tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is widely expressed in the developing and adult nervous system, where its activity is believed to be regulated by neuroserpin, a predominantly brain-specific member of the serpin family of protease inhibitors. In the normal physiological state, tPA has been shown to play roles in the development and plasticity of the nervous system. Ischemic damage, however, may lead to excess tPA activity in the brain and this is believed to contribute to neurodegeneration. In this article, we briefly review the physiological and pathological roles of tPA in the nervous system, which includes neuronal migration, axonal growth, synaptic plasticity, neuroprotection and neurodegeneration, as well as a contribution to neurological disease. We summarize tPA's multiple mechanisms of action and also highlight the contributions of the inhibitor neuroserpin to these processes.
Performance analysis of clustered processors

Modern processors aim to achieve ILP by utilizing numerous functional units, large on-chip structures and wider issue windows. This leads to extremely complex designs, which in turn adversely affect clock rate. Hence, clustered processors have been introduced as an alternative, which allow high levels of ILP while maintaining a desirable clock rate. Nonetheless, clustering has its drawbacks. In this paper we discuss the two types of clustering-induced delays caused by limited intra-cluster issue bandwidth and inter-cluster communication latencies. We use simulation results to show that the stalls caused by inter-cluster communication delays are the dominant factor impeding the performance of clustered processors. We also use a set of models to illustrate how much performance could be improved if each type of delay was eliminated. Finally we show that as the issue width grows, or the number of clusters increases, effects of inter-cluster communication delays intensify severely while stalls caused by limited issue width remain insignificant in comparison. Our findings show that further improving the performance of current clustered processors may not be possible unless more advanced cluster assignment techniques are developed that minimize communication across clusters.
Efficient Computation of the Tree Edit Distance

We consider the classical tree edit distance between ordered labelled trees, which is defined as the minimum-cost sequence of node edit operations that transform one tree into another. The state-of-the-art solutions for the tree edit distance are not satisfactory. The main competitors in the field either have optimal worst-case complexity but the worst case happens frequently, or they are very efficient for some tree shapes but degenerate for others. This leads to unpredictable and often infeasible runtimes. There is no obvious way to choose between the algorithms. In this article we present RTED, a robust tree edit distance algorithm. The asymptotic complexity of our algorithm is smaller than or equal to the complexity of the best competitors for any input instance, that is, our algorithm is both efficient and worst-case optimal. This is achieved by computing a dynamic decomposition strategy that depends on the input trees. RTED is shown optimal among all algorithms that use LRH (left-right-heavy) strategies, which include RTED and the fastest tree edit distance algorithms presented in literature. In our experiments on synthetic and real-world data we empirically evaluate our solution and compare it to the state-of-the-art.
Exploring the Origin of Differential Binding Affinities of Human Tubulin Isotypes αβII, αβIII and αβIV for DAMA-Colchicine Using Homology Modelling, Molecular Docking and Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Tubulin isotypes are found to play an important role in regulating microtubule dynamics. The isotype composition is also thought to contribute in the development of drug resistance as tubulin isotypes show differential binding affinities for various anti-cancer agents. Tubulin isotypes αβII, αβIII and αβIV show differential binding affinity for colchicine. However, the origin of differential binding affinity is not well understood at the molecular level. Here, we investigate the origin of differential binding affinity of a colchicine analogue N-deacetyl-N-(2-mercaptoacetyl)-colchicine (DAMA-colchicine) for human αβII, αβIII and αβIV isotypes, employing sequence analysis, homology modeling, molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulation and MM-GBSA binding free energy calculations. The sequence analysis study shows that the residue compositions are different in the colchicine binding pocket of αβII and αβIII, whereas no such difference is present in αβIV tubulin isotypes. Further, the molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations results show that residue differences present at the colchicine binding pocket weaken the bonding interactions and the correct binding of DAMA-colchicine at the interface of αβII and αβIII tubulin isotypes. Post molecular dynamics simulation analysis suggests that these residue variations affect the structure and dynamics of αβII and αβIII tubulin isotypes, which in turn affect the binding of DAMA-colchicine. Further, the binding free-energy calculation shows that αβIV tubulin isotype has the highest binding free-energy and αβIII has the lowest binding free-energy for DAMA-colchicine. The order of binding free-energy for DAMA-colchicine is αβIV ≃ αβII >> αβIII. Thus, our computational approaches provide an insight into the effect of residue variations on differential binding of αβII, αβIII and αβIV tubulin isotypes with DAMA-colchicine and may help to design new analogues with higher binding affinities for tubulin isotypes.
Initiation of atrial fibrillation by ectopic beats originating from the pulmonary veins: electrophysiological characteristics, pharmacological responses, and effects of radiofrequency ablation.

BACKGROUND Atrial fibrillation (AF) can be initiated by ectopic beats originating from the atrial or great venous tissues. This study investigated the anatomic characteristics and electrophysiological properties of pulmonary veins (PVs), as well as the possible mechanisms and response to drugs of ectopic foci, and assessed the effects of radiofrequency (RF) ablation on AF initiated by ectopic beats originating from PVs. METHODS AND RESULTS Seventy-nine patients with frequent episodes of paroxysmal AF and 10 control patients were included. Distal PVs showed the shortest effective refractory periods (ERPs), and right superior PVs showed a higher incidence of intra-PV conduction block than left superior PVs. Superior and left PVs had longer myocardial sleeves than inferior and right PVs, respectively. These electrophysiological characteristics were similar between AF and control patients. Propranolol, verapamil, and procainamide suppressed ectopic beats that originated from the PVs. Of 116 ectopic foci that initiated AF, 103 (88.8%) originated from PVs. A mean of 7+/-3 RF applications completely eliminated 110 ectopic foci (94.8%). During the 6+/-2-month follow-up period, 68 patients (86. 1%) were free of AF without any antiarrhythmic drugs. Follow-up transesophageal echocardiogram showed 42.4% of ablated PVs had focal stenosis. One patient had mild exertional dyspnea after ablation, but it resolved 3 months later; 1 patient had onset of mild exertional dyspnea 5 months after ablation. CONCLUSIONS Electrophysiological characteristics of PVs are different from those in the atria. Ectopic beats from PVs can initiate AF, and beta-adrenergic receptor blocker, calcium channel blockers, and sodium channel blockers can suppress these ectopic beats. Careful mapping and elimination of these ectopic foci can cure paroxysmal AF.
Towards a shared definition of user experience

User experience (UX) is still an elusive notion with many different definitions, despite some recent attempts to develop a unified view on UX. The lack of a shared definition of UX not only confuses or even misleads customers of a product/service but also undermines the effectiveness of researching, managing and teaching UX. Diverse ideas have been generated in scientific activities that aim to develop a common understanding about the meaning and scope of UX. It is plausible, with sound methodologies, to converge these divergences, driving the UX community closer to a common definition and integrated views of UX. This SIG tackles this challenge by systematically assembling a set of existing definitions and viewpoints of UX and collecting opinions on them from known UX experts/researchers and general CHI'08 attendees.
ML-Tuned Constraint Grammars

In this paper we present a new method for machine learning-based optimization of linguist-written Constraint Grammars. The effect of rule ordering/sorting, grammarsectioning and systematic rule changes is discussed and quantitatively evaluated. The F-score improvement was 0.41 percentage points for a mature (Danish) tagging grammar, and 1.36 percentage points for a half-size grammar, translating into a 7-15% error reduction relative to the performance of the untuned grammars.
A Two-Year Randomized Trial of Interventions to Decrease Stress Hormone Vasopressin Production in Patients with Meniere’s Disease—A Pilot Study

Meniere's disease, a common inner ear condition, has an incidence of 15–50 per 100,000. Because mental/physical stress and subsequent increase in the stress hormone vasopressin supposedly trigger Meniere's disease, we set a pilot study to seek new therapeutic interventions, namely management of vasopressin secretion, to treat this disease. We enrolled 297 definite Meniere's patients from 2010 to 2012 in a randomized-controlled and open-label trial, assigning Group-I (control) traditional oral medication, Group-II abundant water intake, Group-III tympanic ventilation tubes and Group-IV sleeping in darkness. Two hundred sixty-three patients completed the planned 2-year-follow-up, which included assessment of vertigo, hearing, plasma vasopressin concentrations and changes in stress/psychological factors. At 2 years, vertigo was completely controlled in 54.3% of patients in Group-I, 81.4% in Group-II, 84.1% in Group-III, and 80.0% in Group-IV (statistically I < II = III = IV). Hearing was improved in 7.1% of patients in Group-I, 35.7% in Group-II, 34.9% in Group-III, and 31.7% in Group-IV (statistically I < II = III = IV). Plasma vasopressin concentrations decreased more in Groups-II, -III, and -IV than in Groups-I (statistically I < II = III = IV), although patients’ stress/psychological factors had not changed. Physicians have focused on stress management for Meniere’s disease. However, avoidance of stress is unrealistic for patients who live in demanding social environments. Our findings in this pilot study suggest that interventions to decrease vasopressin secretion by abundant water intake, tympanic ventilation tubes and sleeping in darkness is feasible in treating Meniere’s disease, even though these therapies did not alter reported mental/physical stress levels. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01099046
On the monitoring of contractual service level agreements

The goal of monitoring contractual service level agreements (SLAs) is to measure the performance of a service, to evaluate whether its provider complies with the level of quality of the service (QoS) that the consumer expects. The aim of this paper is to bring to the system designer's attention the fundamental issues that monitoring of contractual SLAs involves: SLA specification, separation of the computation and communication infrastructure of the provider, service points of presence, metric collection approaches, measurement service and evaluation and violation detection service. The paper develops an architecture and give reasons why currently it is practicable to offer guaranteed QoS only to consumers sharing Internet service providers (ISPs) directly with the service provider.
Cell Cycle Regulators during Human Atrial Development

Objectives The molecular mechanisms that regulate cardiomyocyte cell cycle and terminal differentiation in humans remain largely unknown. To determine which cyclins, cyclin dependent kinases (CDKs) and cyclin kinase inhibitors (CKIs) are important for cardiomyocyte proliferation, we have examined protein levels of cyclins, CDKs and CKIs during normal atrial development in humans. Methods Atrial tissues were obtained in the fetus from inevitable abortion and in the adult during surgery, Cyclin and CDK proteins were determined by Western blot analysis, CDK activities were determined by phosphorylation amount using specific substrate. Results Most cyclins and CDKs were high during the fetal period and their levels decreased at different rates during the adult period. While the protein levels of cyclin D1, cyclin D3, CDK4, CDK6 and CDK2 were still detectable in adult atria, the protein levels of cyclin E, cyclin A, cyclin B, cdc2 and PCNA were not detectable. Interestingly, p27KIP 1 protein increased markedly in the adult period, while p21C IP 1 protein in atria was detectable only in the fetal period. While the activities of CDK6, CDK2 and cdc2 decreased markedly, the activity of CDK4 did not change from the fetal period to the adult period. Conclusion These findings indicate that marked reduction of protein levels and activities of cyclins and CDKs, and marked induction of p27KIP 1 in atria, are associated with the withdrawal of cardiac cell cycle in adult humans.
Vais . n . ava Metaphysics or a Science of Consciousness

Mainstream science deals with the exploration of the large and the small. Over the last few centuries, two fundamental theories have emerged: (i) classical physics, which describes the properties of gross matter; and (ii) quantum physics, which deals with the microworld. Between the classical and the quantum worlds lies metaphysics (Figure 1), the domain of philosophers and religious adepts for centuries. This domain has shrunk as science has investigated new fields. Some scientists believe that all of metaphysics would eventually yield to scientific logic. Scientific theories leave no room for free will. How do we have the capacity to make choices? How does awareness, or consciousness, emerge out of inert matter? If free will is not merely an epiphenomenon, then how does the circle of causality get broken by consciousness? If the brain-machine is conscious, why can’t silicon-machines be likewise conscious? These and other questions in neurophysiology, physics, and computer science have brought the issue of the nature of the observer centre-stage in the discussions of modern science. Will the development of a theory of consciousness only rearrange the relative placement of the three circles of Figure 1? Or will it require a fundamental revolution in science? The question of the relative placement of the three circles is an important one, because there is a significant difference between classical logic and quantum logic. According to
Efficient Reinforcement Learning in Adversarial Games

The ability of learning is critical for agents designed to compete in a variety of two-player, turn-taking, tactical adversarial games, such as Backgammon, Othello/Reversi, Chess, Hex, etc. The mainstream approach to learning in such games consists of updating some state evaluation function usually in a Temporal Difference (TD) sense either under the MiniMax optimality criterion or under optimization against a specific opponent. However, this approach is limited by several factors: (a) updates to the evaluation function are incremental, (b) stored samples from past games cannot be utilized, and (c) the quality of each update depends on the current evaluation function due to bootstrapping. In this paper, we present a learning approach based on the Least-Squares Policy Iteration (LSPI) algorithm that overcomes these limitations by focusing on learning a state-action evaluation function. The key advantage of the proposed approach is that the agent can make batch updates to the evaluation function with any collection of samples, can utilize samples from past games, and can make updates that do not depend on the current evaluation function since there is no bootstrapping. We demonstrate the efficiency of the LSPI agent over the TD agent in the classical board game of Othello/Reversi.
Subcellular Protein Localization by Using a Genetically Encoded Fluorescent Amino Acid

The use of fluorescent protein fusions has revolutionized cell biology by allowing exploration of proteins in their native context. However, the utilization of current techniques is limited by the size and placement of the fused fluorescent protein. This is especially true for proteins that oligomerize or assemble into large complexes in which the fluorescent protein fusion can lead to improper assembly and/or function. To circumvent this problem, we report a novel technique for fluorescent labeling of proteins, in vivo. The unique potential of this technique lies in the ability to place a very small fluorescent tag virtually anywhere along a chosen protein sequence,1, 2 thereby minimizing the risk of affecting protein function. To illustrate the utility of this method, we have genetically encoded a single unnatural fluorescent amino acid in the sequence of the bacterial tubulin, FtsZ. This resulted in the production of a functional protein that could be visualized, in vivo.
highlighted topics Exercise Effects on Muscle Insulin Signaling and Action Invited Review: Role of insulin in translational control of protein synthesis in skeletal muscle by amino acids or exercise

Review: Role of insulin in translational control of protein synthesis in muscle by acids or exercise. J 93: 1168–1180, synthesis in skeletal muscle is modulated in response to a variety of stimuli. Two stimuli receiving a great deal of recent attention are increased amino acid availability and exercise. Both of these effectors stimulate protein synthesis in part through activation of translation initiation. However, the full response of translation initi- ation and protein synthesis to either effector is not observed in the absence of a minimal concentration of insulin. The combination of insulin and either increased amino acid availability or endurance exercise stimulates translation initiation and protein synthesis in part through acti- vation of the ribosomal protein S6 protein kinase S6K1 as well as through enhanced association of eukaryotic initiation factor eIF4G with eIF4E, an event that promotes binding of mRNA to the ribosome. In contrast, insulin in combination with resistance exercise stimulates translation initiation and protein synthesis through enhanced activity of a guanine nucleotide exchange protein referred to as eIF2B. In both cases, the amount of insulin required for the effects is low, and a concentration of the hormone that approximates that observed in fasting animals is sufﬁcient for maximal stimulation. This review summarizes the results of a number of recent studies that have helped to establish our present understanding of the interactions of insulin, amino acids, and exercise in the regulation of protein synthesis in skeletal muscle.
Autonomic Dysfunction and Risk Stratification Assessed from Heart Rate Pattern

The modulation of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) under physiological and pathophysiological conditions is in focus of recent research. Many patients with cardio- and cerebrovascular diseases display features of sympathovagal dysregulation. Measuring specific ANS parameters could improve risk stratification. Thus, the early diagnosis of ANS dysfunction in these patients poses a great challenge with high prognostic relevance.The most relevant methods and measures of Heart Rate Variability (HRV) analysis and HRV monitoring will be described in detail in this chapter. The grown importance of these easily obtainable heart rate patterns in stratifying the risk of patients with myocardial infarction and heart failure as well as ischemic stroke will be demonstrated based on recent clinical studies. In order to perspectively improve clinical management of these patients further large scale clinical investigations on the role of ANS dysfunction will be useful.