Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A hardware-efficient color segmentation algorithm for face detection

This paper develops a hardware-efficient color segmentation algorithm that is especially suitable to implement on hardware for face detection. Since the modulized design is adopted in the proposed algorithm without floating-point operation, the computational cost is directly reduced for hardware design. The proposed algorithm consists of a color space modeling module and a feature enhancement module. The significant skin/lip color features distribution can be accurately detected by using our proposed algorithm to facilitate the face detection. The proposed algorithm was implemented on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) system for verifying its efficiency. Compared with other state-of-the-art algorithms, the proposed algorithm can significantly decrease the computational cost of the hardware implementation by using color segmentation instead of the overall analysis of the color distribution. Experimental results have verified that our proposed FPGA system occupies only 3,202 logic cells, or about five times less than the current comparable FPGA system with better detection rate.
Strontium Isotopes and Prehistoric Human Migration: The Bell Beaker Period in Central Europe

Human skeletal remains from Bell Beaker graves in southern Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Hungary were analyzed for information on human migration. Strontium isotope ratios were measured in bone and tooth enamel to determine if these individuals had changed ‘geological’ residence during their lifetimes. Strontium isotopes vary among different types of rock. They enter the body through diet and are deposited in the skeleton. Tooth enamel forms during early childhood and does not change. Bone changes continually through life. Difference in the strontium isotope ratio between bone and enamel in the same individual indicates change in residence. Results from the analysis of 81 Bell Beaker individuals indicated that 51 had moved during their lifetime. Information on the geology of south-central Europe, the application of strontium isotope analysis, and the relevant Bell Beaker sites is provided along with discussion of the results of the study.
The role of the ankle brachial pressure index in the diagnosis of peripheral arterial injury.

BACKGROUND Angiography is the "gold standard" diagnostic tool for patients presenting soft signs of arterial injury. To reduce the number of unnecessary angiographies, we aimed to evaluate the role of the ankle brachial pressure index (ABPI) in the diagnosis of peripheral arterial injury in extremity trauma with soft signs. METHODS The data of 1772 patients with the suspicion of peripheral arterial injury was recorded prospectively. Two hundred eighty-three patients (16%) with any hard sign underwent immediate surgery. ABPI was calculated in 1489 patients with soft signs. Patients with ABPI <1 were evaluated by duplex ultrasonography and/or angiography, and if arterial injury was detected, the patients underwent surgery. Patients with an ABPI > or =1 were followed up conservatively. RESULTS 1343 (90%) patients had ABPI > or =1; seven (0.5%) of them developed symptoms and signs of arterial injury and healed without morbidity. One hundred forty-six (10%) patients had ABPI <1; with DUS/angiography, arterial injury was detected in 39 of them (26.7%), and they underwent surgery. The sensitivity of ABPI <1 was 84.8%; specificity 92.6%; positive predictive value 26.7%; negative predictive value 99.5%; and overall accuracy 92.3%. CONCLUSION ABPI excludes arterial injury in 99.5% of patients with soft signs of arterial injury and avoids unnecessary examinations in 90% of patients. In the management of extremities with soft signs, ABPI measurement should be the first-line diagnostic choice.
RanBP2 Modulates Cox11 and Hexokinase I Activities and Haploinsufficiency of RanBP2 Causes Deficits in Glucose Metabolism

The Ran-binding protein 2 (RanBP2) is a large multimodular and pleiotropic protein. Several molecular partners with distinct functions interacting specifically with selective modules of RanBP2 have been identified. Yet, the significance of these interactions with RanBP2 and the genetic and physiological role(s) of RanBP2 in a whole-animal model remain elusive. Here, we report the identification of two novel partners of RanBP2 and a novel physiological role of RanBP2 in a mouse model. RanBP2 associates in vitro and in vivo and colocalizes with the mitochondrial metallochaperone, Cox11, and the pacemaker of glycolysis, hexokinase type I (HKI) via its leucine-rich domain. The leucine-rich domain of RanBP2 also exhibits strong chaperone activity toward intermediate and mature folding species of Cox11 supporting a chaperone role of RanBP2 in the cytosol during Cox11 biogenesis. Cox11 partially colocalizes with HKI, thus supporting additional and distinct roles in cell function. Cox11 is a strong inhibitor of HKI, and RanBP2 suppresses the inhibitory activity of Cox11 over HKI. To probe the physiological role of RanBP2 and its role in HKI function, a mouse model harboring a genetically disrupted RanBP2 locus was generated. RanBP2−/− are embryonically lethal, and haploinsufficiency of RanBP2 in an inbred strain causes a pronounced decrease of HKI and ATP levels selectively in the central nervous system. Inbred RanBP2+/− mice also exhibit deficits in growth rates and glucose catabolism without impairment of glucose uptake and gluconeogenesis. These phenotypes are accompanied by a decrease in the electrophysiological responses of photosensory and postreceptoral neurons. Hence, RanBP2 and its partners emerge as critical modulators of neuronal HKI, glucose catabolism, energy homeostasis, and targets for metabolic, aging disorders and allied neuropathies.
Datacenter Modeling and Simulation with Focus on Energy Efficiency and Green Energy Integration

Improving energy efficiency of datacenters and studies of green energy integration into the datacenters are important research problems. Recent studies include design of power management mechanisms, scheduling policies, and efficient cooling methods. However, deploying a new policy in a datacenter and verifying its effects is time consuming and often infeasible. Therefore, it is important to effectively and accurately model and simulate datacenter environments. This paper provides a survey and comparison of recent simulation platforms for datacenters. Additionally, it presents a case study of how datacenter simulation enables design and evaluation of algorithms for using green energy to improve the datacenter
Process design and sustainability in the production of bioethanol from lignocellulosic materials

Background: Bioethanol is produced mainly from sugar cane and corn. In the last years it has been subject of debate due to the effects in food prices and land use change. The use of lignocellulosic materials for bioethanol production, such as agroindustry, forestry and municipal residues, wood or dendroenergetic species, has been proposed as a sustainable way for producing this biofuel. The design of a sustainable process for producing bioethanol requires a methodological approach whereby economical, environmental and social criteria are systematically integrated from the early stages of process design. Results: Until now a methodology for guiding the design of a sustainable process for bioethanol production is not available, and there are just a few studies on this subject. Moreover, with the recent global concerns on climate change, developed technologies have been confronted with additional requirements to validate their sustainability. In this sense, the inclusion of sustainability criteria on process design becomes necessary for defining a systematic methodology to select the most appropriate operations in the process stages to achieve a sustainable bioethanol production. Conclusions: A description of the stages for the production of bioethanol from lignocellulosic materials is provided in this review and the main findings in relation to the more important sustainability indicators are presented.
Proposal : Audio-Material Object Reconstruction for Multimodal Interaction

Virtual environments are utilized in user interaction scenarios to achieve diverse goals. Interactive training simulations enable low-risk practice of high-risk tasks, such as performing surgery or piloting an airplane. Immersive story-driven video games let users interact with another environment or become involved in an engaging narrative. Emerging social applications can unite multiple users from around the world in one virtual location such that the users actually feel as through they are in the same space. In these scenarios, the user should be able to forget their presence in the real world and temporarily experience a sense of presence in the virtual environment. If the user remembers that the virtual environment is fake, they experience a break in presence. When this happens, the emotional weight of the virtual environment may be reduced, making it less effective at its intended goal. By better maintaining a user’s sense of presence, we can improve the quality of their experience. Training simulations will feel more lifelike, video games will convey more powerful emotions, and social interactions with other users will flow more naturally. An undesirable break in presence can be triggered by many situations, but one common issue is when a user’s expectations about their senses are violated. Currently, virtual environments most commonly recreate the senses of sight and hearing. The visuals and audio of the real world are relatively easily replaceable with those of a virtual world. A virtual reality (VR) headset such as the Oculus Rift or the HTC Vive replaces the sense of sight, while high-quality headphones (sometimes built into the VR headset) replace the sense of hearing. A few examples of VR-enabled environments are shown in Figure 1. Humans also rely heavily on the sense of touch, but virtual environments are limited by current hardware, which cannot effectively replace our complete sense of touch. A break in presence may occur if a single sense is inconsistent with a
Análisis de la eficiencia en la valoración de las empresas que salen a bolsa

RESUMEN El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar la eficiencia del proceso de valoración de las empresas que han salido a bolsa durante el periodo 1985–1997. Los resultados ponen de manifiesto que los aseguradores no incorporan toda la información disponible. Así, es posible observar que los aseguradores omiten la incorporación de información privada cuando establecen el precio final de las acciones en la oferta de salida a bolsa. Asimismo, no llegan a incorporar en su totalidad la información pública en dicho precio. Por consiguiente, el tratamiento de la información por parte de los aseguradores no parece ser consistente con un proceso de valoración eficiente en la forma semifuerte, para el caso de las empresas que empiezan a cotizar en el mercado de capitales español. El trabajo también analiza el impacto económico del establecimiento del precio de la oferta sobre las rentabilidades iniciales de las acciones que inician su cotización en la bolsa española.
FDTD analysis of temperature elevation in the human and rabbit phantoms due to plane-wave exposure at 2.45GHz

The eye is said to be one of the most sensitive organs due to microwave heating. According to previous studies, the possibility of microwave-induced cataract formation has been experimentally investigated in rabbit and monkey eyes, while not for the human eye due to ethical reason. In the present study, we investigated the temperature elevation in the lens, the skin around the eye, and core temperature of numeric human and rabbit phantoms for plane-wave exposure at 2.45GHz. The temperature elevations in the human and rabbit phantoms were compared with the threshold temperatures inducing cataract, thermal pain in the skin, and reversible health effects such as heat exhaustion or heat stroke. The core temperature elevation is shown to be essential both in the human and rabbit phantoms as suggested in the international guidelines and standard.
Soldier-Artist of the Great Reconnaissance: John C. Tidball and the 35th Parallel Pacific Railroad Survey (review)

Rowe’s work is notable for demonstrating that the traditional militia persisted well past the American Revolution, contrary to standard scholarly views, through the careful examination of county and state militia records and accounts. The only way that the militia, in whatever form it existed, can by assessed historically is to study it at the local, colonial, and state level. Rowe’s research illustrates how deeply rooted the militia was in local affairs and how it remained a vital part of provincial America well beyond the 1780s. Rowe could strengthen her argument by moving beyond a tight focus on Kentucky, Missouri, and Washington Territory to make comparative observations with other states and territories. Recent studies suggest that Rowe’s version of the militia was not a peculiarly sectional one, as she implies, but relatively widespread. Reliance on such works as Charles Skeen’s Citizen Soldiers in the War of 1812 (1999) would enhance this insightful study. It is unfortunate that Praeger and its parent company, Greenwood Press, persist in selling useful monographs at such a high price. Their pricing is a disservice to both authors and their readers.
Fc Receptor-Mediated Phagocytosis Makes a Significant Contribution to Clearance of Influenza Virus Infections1

Fc receptors for IgG expressed on macrophages and NK cells are important mediators of opsonophagocytosis and Ab-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity. Phagocyte-mediated opsonophagocytosis is pivotal for protection against bacteria, but its importance in recovery from infection with intracellular pathogens is unclear. We have now investigated the role of opsonophagocytosis in protection against lethal influenza virus infection by using FcR γ−/− mice. Absence of the FcR γ-chain did not affect the expression of IFN-γ and IL-10 in the lungs and spleens after intranasal immunization with an influenza subunit vaccine. Titers of serum and respiratory Abs of the IgM, IgG1, IgG2a, and IgA isotypes in FcR γ−/− mice were similar to levels seen in FcR γ+/+ mice. Nevertheless, FcR γ−/− mice were highly susceptible to influenza infection, even in the presence of anti-influenza Abs from immune FcR γ+/+ mice. NK cells were not necessary for the observed Ab-mediated viral clearance, but macrophages were found to be capable of actively ingesting opsonized virus particles. We conclude that Fc receptor-mediated phagocytosis plays a pivotal role in clearance of respiratory virus infections.
Narrowing Strategies for Arbitrary Canonical Rewrite Systems

Narrowing is a universal unification procedure for equational theories defined by a,canonical term rewriting system. In its original form it is extremely inefficient. Therefore, many optimizations have been proposed during the last years. In this paper, we present the narrowing strategies for arbitrary canonical systems in a uniform framework and introduce the new narrowing strategy LSE narrowing. LSE narrowing is complete and improves all other strategies which are complete for arbitrary-canonical systems. It is optimal in the sense that two different LSE narrowing derivations cannot generate the same narrowing substitution. Moreover, LSE narrowing computes only normalized narrowing substitutions.
Chronic unexplained fatigue

I found the editorial on chronic fatigue syndrome by White both surprising and disappointing, because he used the title “Chronic unexplained fatigue” and the subtitle “A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma”, but his editorial, by ignoring very important facts about chronic fatigue syndrome, actually perpetuates that riddle, rather than helping to solve it.1 If a puzzling and poorly manageable condition shares more than 40 features, including all of its diagnostic criteria, with a well known and easily treatable disease, this astounding clinical overlap should not be ignored, because reason not only suggests that the mysterious illness may simply be a form of the well known disease, but also hints that …
A 250 mV 7.5 μW 61 dB SNDR SC ΔΣ Modulator Using Near-Threshold-Voltage-Biased Inverter Amplifiers in 130 nm CMOS

An ultra-low voltage switched-capacitor (SC) ΔΣ converter running at a record low supply voltage of only 250 mV is introduced. System level aspects are discussed and special circuit techniques described, that enable robust operation at such a low supply voltage. Using a SC biasing approach, inverter-based integrators are realized with overdrives close to the transistor threshold voltage Vth while compensating for process, voltage and temperature (PVT) variation. Biasing voltages are generated on-chip using a novel level shifting circuit, that overcomes headroom limitations due to saturation voltage Vsat. With an oversampling ratio (OSR) of 70 and a sampling frequency (fS) of 1.4 MHz at 250 mV power supply the converter achieves 61 dB SNDR in 10 kHz bandwidth while consuming a total power of 7.5 μW.
Predicting residue-residue contacts using random forest models

MOTIVATION Protein residue-residue contact prediction can be useful in predicting protein 3D structures. Current algorithms for such a purpose leave room for improvement. RESULTS We develop ProC_S3, a set of Random Forest algorithm-based models, for predicting residue-residue contact maps. The models are constructed based on a collection of 1490 non-redundant, high-resolution protein structures using >1280 sequence-based features. A new amino acid residue contact propensity matrix and a new set of seven amino acid groups based on contact preference are developed and used in ProC_S3. ProC_S3 delivers a 3-fold cross-validated accuracy of 26.9% with coverage of 4.7% for top L/5 predictions (L is the number of residues in a protein) of long-range contacts (sequence separation ≥24). Further benchmark tests deliver an accuracy of 29.7% and coverage of 5.6% for an independent set of 329 proteins. In the recently completed Ninth Community Wide Experiment on the Critical Assessment of Techniques for Protein Structure Prediction (CASP9), ProC_S3 is ranked as No. 1, No. 3, and No. 2 accuracies in the top L/5, L/10 and best 5 predictions of long-range contacts, respectively, among 18 automatic prediction servers. AVAILABILITY http://www.abl. ku.edu/proc/proc_s3. html. CONTACT jwfang@ku.edu SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Contribución de los Sistemas de Control Interorganizativos al Desarrollo de Capacidades Exportadoras

Ampliando el ámbito de los trabajos que estudian la contribución de los sistemas de control (SCG) en la adquisición de capacidades estratégicas, se propone un modelo de investigación que considera la calidad de la relación entre los socios como el principal eje a través del cual los usos de los SCG (feedforward/feedback) contribuyen al desarrollo de capacidades en un contexto interorganizativo. Los resultados del estudio empírico, realizado en el contexto de las relaciones entre exportadoras y sus intermediarias extranjeras, confirman que ambos usos de los SCG contribuyen a generar capacidades exportadoras, instrumentalizándose a través de la calidad de la relación. Se evidencia que, aunque el efecto de ambos usos sea aditivo, el uso feedforward es el más adecuado para desarrollar la calidad de la relación. Asimismo, se halla que los SCG contribuyen a la generación de capacidades exportadoras en su conjunto, mostrando que cada uso es suficiente por sí mismo para desarrollar determinadas capacidades específicas.
Associations between Dietary Patterns and LDL Peak Particle Diameter: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objective: Dietary patterns are used to evaluate the effects of overall nutritional habits on health status, and low-density lipoprotein–peak particle diameter (LDL-PPD) has been recognized as an emerging risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). The aim of this study is to verify whether an association exists between dietary patterns and LDL-PPD. Methods: A total of 635 participants aged between 18 and 55 years were included in this cross-sectional study. Nutritional information was collected with a validated food frequency questionnaire. To establish dietary patterns, factor analysis was performed, which led to characterization of the Western and Prudent dietary patterns. Nondenaturing 2%–16% polyacrylamide gradient gel electrophoresis was used to characterize LDL-PPD. Results: The Western pattern was characterized by high consumption of food such as refined grains, French fries, and red meats, and the Prudent pattern by nonhydrogenated fat, vegetables, eggs, and fish. For the Western profile, a negative correlation was found between score value and LDL-PPD before (r = −0.082, p = 0.039) and after adjustment for age (r = −0.080, p = 0.043). A negative correlation between scores for the Prudent profile and the LDL-PPD adjusted for age, sex, plasma triglycerides, and energy was observed (r = −0.12204, p = 0.0021). After division by tertiles and adjustment for the confounding effects of age, sex, plasma triglyceride levels, and energy, a significant difference (p = 0.0015) in LDL-PPD was noted between the highest tertile (255.21 ± 3.61 Å) and the lowest tertile (255.79 ± 3.68 Å) of the Prudent pattern. Conclusions: Dietary patterns, such as the Western and the Prudent, are associated with LDL-PPD. Dietary patterns can be used to assess the effects of nutritional habits on health status.
Cell-Less Communications in 5G Vehicular Networks Based on Vehicle-Installed Access Points

The development of intelligent transportation systems brings many requirements to the current vehicular networks. For instance, to ensure secure communications between vehicles, low latency, high connectivity, and high data rate are required for vehicular networks. To meet such requirements, the 5G communication systems for vehicular networks should be improved accordingly. This article proposes a communication scheme for 5G vehicular networks, in which moving access points are deployed on vehicles to facilitate the access of vehicle users. Moreover, adjacent vehicle- installed moving access points may cooperatively communicate with vehicle users by joint transmission and reception. In this way, vehicle users communicate with one or more unspecified cooperative access points in a cell-less manner instead of being associated with a single access point. To manage such cell-less networks, local moving software-defined cloudlets are adopted to perform transmission and scheduling management. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme significantly reduces latency while improving the connectivity of vehicular networks, and can be considered as a research direction for the solution to 5G vehicular networks.