Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A New Contourlet Transform With Adaptive Directional Partitioning

A new image sparse representation tool—adaptive contourlet transform (ACT) is introduced in this letter. Adaptive directional partitioning schemes in ACT can match the arbitrary orientation distribution of natural image, which brings sparser representation. The proposed ACT is based on pseudopolar Fourier transform that has similar geometrical structure to fan filter. This characteristic helps ACT out of the difficulty of designing traditional directional filter bank. Simulation results demonstrate that ACT can provide more efficient image sparse representation compared to contourlet transform.
An overview of wireless systems and antennas

Wireless communication is one of the most exciting areas of electrical engineering today, and antennas and RF devices are often the key components that control overall performance. applications such as cellular and PCS telephony, DBS, GPS, LMDS, WLBNs, VSATs, and LEO satellite systems comprise a US market that is currently in excess of $100B. Worldwide demand for wireless voice and high-speed data connectivity is very high, with strong growth predicted for the long term. This paper reviews current and proposed commercial wireless systems, discuss the types of antennas that are commonly used with these systems, and concludes with a list of some of the challenges presently facing the designer of antennas for wireless systems.
Perceptions and opinions regarding human papilloma virus vaccination among young women in Malaysia.

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study is to explore the perceptions and opinions of young women about human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination and associated barriers. METHODOLOGY This qualitative in-depth interview study was conducted in January 2010 with 30 university students from different faculties, i.e.:International Medical School (IMS), Faculty of Health and Life Sciences (FHLS), Faculty of Business Management and Professional Studies (FBMP) and Faculty of Information Sciences and Engineering (FISE) of the Management and Science University (MSU), Shah Alam, Malaysia. After consent was obtained from all participants, the interviewer wrote down the conversations during the interview sessions. The data obtained were classified into various categories and analyzed manually. RESULTS The majority of participants 25 (83%) had heard about cervical cancer, while 16 (53.3%) have never heard of HPV. Only five participants (17%) mentioned that HPV is the cause of cervical cancer. Ten participants (33.3%) did not know any causes. The majority 16 (53.3%) did not know the mode of HPV transmission. The majority of participants 22 (73.3%) mentioned that they had not been vaccinated against HPV. Out of 22, 16 (53.3%) agreed to be vaccinated in the future to protect themselves from cervical cancer and five (17%) participants mentioned they are not willing because of the uncertain safety of the available vaccines and their side effects. CONCLUSION This study showed relatively poor knowledge about HPV and its vaccines, pointing to urgency of educational campaigns aimed at students in the public and government universities to promote HPV vaccination among this highly eligible population.
Relationship between insulin resistance, inflammation and liver cell apoptosis in patients with severe obesity

In obesity, insulin resistance appears frequently after activation of proinflammatory molecules. Caspase‐generated cytokeratin‐18 (CK‐18) fragments are produced during the apoptosis of hepatic cells. The main objective in the present study is to investigate the relationship between insulin resistance and caspase‐generated CK‐18 fragments in patients with severe obesity.
Polymorphism Analysis of VSX1 and SOD1 Genes in Greek Patients with Keratoconus

Abstract Background: A number of mutations in the VSX1 and SOD1 genes have been reported to be associated with keratoconus (KC), however the results from different studies are controversial. In this study, we conducted the genotyping of common polymorphisms [VSX1: D144E, H244R, R166W, G160D; SOD1: intronic 7-base deletion (c.169 + 50delTAAACAG)], in a case–control sample panel of the Greek population. Materials and methods: A case–control panel, with 33 KC patients and 78 healthy controls, were surveyed. DNA from each individual was tested for the VSX1: D144E, H244R, R166W, G160D and SOD1: intronic 7-base deletion (c.169 + 50delTAAACAG) polymorphisms by direct sequencing. Results: We observed no polymorphisms of the VSX1 gene in the case–control panel. Concerning the SOD1 intronic 7-base deletion (c.169 + 50delTAAACAG), our findings suggest that heterozygous carriers are over-represented among KC cases compared to healthy controls (p = 0.002). Conclusions: We cannot confirm the previously reported association of the polymorphism in the VSX1 gene with KC. Our results suggest a possible causative role of SOD1 in the pathogenesis of KC. Further studies are required to identify other important genetic factors involved in the pathogenesis and progression of KC.
Smoky Valley People, A History of Lindsborg. Kansas . By Emory Kempton Lindquist. Lindsborg: Bethany College, 1953. 269 pages. $4.00.

Western Canon Law. By R. C. MORTIMER. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1953. 92 pp. $2.00. This thin but important book contains five lectures given at Berkeley by the Bishop of Exeter, one of the outstanding canonists of the Church of England. The first three trace the development of the law of the Western Church down to the Carolingian period (the "Classical tradition"), the chaos of the Dark Ages, the influence of the Celtic Penitentials, and the Carolingian reforms; the creation of the Corpus from the collections of Burchard of Worms and Ivo of Chartres to Gratian's Decretum, thence to the collections of papal Decretals which supplement Gratian's monumental work. This massive construction remained in force as the canon law of the Roman Church until the publication of the new Codex in 1917, while substantially modified by the disciplinary canons of the Council of Trent—on which point Bp. Mortimer might well have said more.
Development of closed loop voltage control simulator for medium voltage distribution

Queensland Distribution Network Service Providers (DNSPs) are required by law to maintain steady state voltages at customer premises within specified limits of currently 240V ± 6%. The utilisation of Automatic Voltage Regulators (AVRs) and distribution transformer Tap Plans have allowed DNSPs to mostly maintain voltages along network feeders within regulatory limits. Two main AVR methods employed for AVRs are a Setpoint bus voltage and Line Drop Compensation (LDC). With a growing influx of the embedded generation, historic voltage management may not be appropriate. This dissertation has focused on the development of a simulator for Closed Loop Voltage Control (CLVC) that utilises real-time data feedback from zone substations and ends of feeders to effectively manage and reduce customer over- and undervoltage issues.
Effect of FABP5 gene silencing on the proliferation, apoptosis and invasion of human gastric SGC-7901 cancer cells

The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of fatty acid binding protein-5 (FABP-5) gene on the proliferation, apoptosis and invasion of human gastric cancer SGC-7901 cells. The viability, apoptosis and cell invasion of SGC-7901 cells before and after FABP5 knockdown were taken as the study objects, design and synthesis of siRNA interference sequence were conducted according to FABP-5 mRNA coding sequences, and SGC-7901 cells were transiently transfected. The human gastric cancer SGC-7901 cells were divided into three groups: FABP-5 siRNA group, negative control group and blank control group. FABP-5 gene mRNA and protein expression levels were detected by RT-PCR and western blot analysis. The CCK-8 assay was used to detect in vitro cell proliferation, flow cytometry (FCM) was used to detect changes in cell cycle and apoptosis in each group, TUNEL staining was used to detect apoptosis in each group, and the cell invasion chamber assay was used to detect cell invasiveness in each group. Each test was repeated three times. The results of the RT-PCR and western blot analysis showed that, expression of FABP-5 mRNA and protein in the FABP-5 siRNA group was significantly decreased compared with the negative and blank control groups. The cell growth rate in the FABP-5 siRNA group was significantly retarded, cell cycle was arrested in G0/G1 phase, the number of cells in S phase was reduced, and compared with the negative and blank control groups, the apoptotic rate in the FABP-5 siRNA group was significantly increased (P<0.01), while proliferation and invasiveness were significantly decreased (P<0.05). In conclusion, specific FABP-5 gene silencing may reduce the invasiveness of gastric cancer cells, inhibit cell proliferation, and arrest cell cycle in G0/G1 phase, resulting in a significant increase in apoptosis.
Changes in renal haemodynamics and electrolyte excretion during acute hyperkalemia in conscious adrenalectomized sheep.

The p-aminohippurate (PAH) clearance, inulin clearance and the excretion of electrolytes by 10 adrenalectomized sheep were measured before, during and after the infusion of 0-43 M-KCl at 2 ml. /min for 2 hr. The PAH clearance increased as the plasma potassium concentration increased up to approximately 6-0 m-mole/l. Further increases in plasma potassium were associated with a progressive return of the PAH clearance to or below the pre-infusion levels. At its maximum the PAH clearance was 1-228 +/- 0-032 (S.E. of mean) times the pre-infusion levels. The inulin clearance increased to reach a mazimum coincident with or subsequent to the maximum PAH clearance. The maximum level of inulin clearance during the hyperkalaemia was 1-158 +/- 0-020 times the pre-infusion clearance. The increments in the clearance of potassium and of bicarbonate rose rapidly to exceed the increment in inulin clearance during the hyperkalaemia in all experiments. The increments in the clearance of sodium and of chloride exceeded the increment in inulin clearance in more than half the experiments. It was concluded that although hyperkalaemia was associated with increased glomerular filtration much of the increased excretion of sodium, chloride and bicarbonate was derived from depressed tubular reabsorption of the ions. When the infusion experiments were repeated on the same animals the sheep demonstrated an improved ability to control the rise in plasma potassium concentration which was similar to potassium adaptation described in other species. There were no apparent differences between sheep maintained on 1-5 mg and 5 mg deoxycorticosterone acetate daily in their adaptation to potassium loading and the effect was tentatively attributed to the level of steroid maintenance being chronically high. The toxicity of hyperkalaemia was not lessened by this adaptation to potassium loading.
Prozessorientierte optimistisch-parallele Simulation

The main motivation of parallel discrete event-driven simulations (PDES) is a speedup of simulation runs. This aim is reflected by two similarities shared by almost all current PDES implementations: For efficiency reasons the event-oriented modeling view is used exclusively and the implementation is done in a low-level programming language. However, both properties impose serious constraints on the simulation model. In many cases the event-oriented modeling view – especially in contrast to the processoriented view – prevents a structurally equivalent model of the original system. Furthermore, the actual implementation often leads to a further decomposition of the model, due to a lack of abstract concepts in the low-level programming language. The resulting implementations run efficiently, but at the price of a low comprehensibility, due to the structural difference from the original problem. Consequently, the efforts for validation or modification of the simulation model are considerably increased. These disadvantages led to a different development route in the sequential simulation community – in which the execution time is of minor importance. Here, the combined use of the event-oriented and the process-oriented view is common practice in order to obtain a structurally equivalent and intuitive model. Moreover, the simulation model is usually implemented in a higher-level programming language, e.g. Java. A combination of the advantages of the sequential, as well as the parallel simulation approach is desirable, especially in the case of large and complex simulation scenarios. These are only manageable if a corresponding structurally equivalent simulation model is employed. Also, the very same models will profit most from a speed-up by parallelization. Unfortunately, the implementation of a process-oriented view in a parallel fashion is not a trivial task. Parallel simulation implementations generally suffer from additional computational cost that can offset the parallel speed-up and even lead to
Financial Inclusion, Poverty, and Income Inequality in Developing Asia

Poverty and income inequality remain a stubborn challenge in Asia and the Pacific despite the region’s rapid economic expansion in previous decades, which lifted millions out of poverty. Financial inclusion is often considered as a critical element that makes growth inclusive as access to finance can enable economic agents to make longer-term consumption and investment decisions, participate in productive activities, and cope with unexpected short-term shocks. Understanding the link between financial inclusion, poverty, and income inequality at the country level will help policymakers design and implement programs that will broaden access to financial services, leading to reduction of poverty incidence and income equality. This paper extends the existing literature on financial inclusion by focusing on developing Asian economies. We construct our own financial inclusion indicator to assess various macroeconomic and country-specific factors affecting the degree of financial inclusion for 37 selected developing Asian economies. We also test the impact of financial inclusion, along with other control variables, on poverty and income inequality. Our results show that per capita income, rule of law, and demographic characteristics significantly affect financial inclusion in developing Asia. Furthermore, we find that financial inclusion significantly reduces poverty; and there is also evidence that it lowers income inequality. Our findings suggest that the provisions for young and old-age populations, e.g., retirement pensions; and stronger rule of law, including enforcement of financial contracts and financial regulatory oversight, will broaden financial inclusion, thereby contributing to poverty reduction and lower income inequality.
Identification of DNA-Binding Proteins Using Support Vector Machine with Sequence Information

DNA-binding proteins are fundamentally important in understanding cellular processes. Thus, the identification of DNA-binding proteins has the particularly important practical application in various fields, such as drug design. We have proposed a novel approach method for predicting DNA-binding proteins using only sequence information. The prediction model developed in this study is constructed by support vector machine-sequential minimal optimization (SVM-SMO) algorithm in conjunction with a hybrid feature. The hybrid feature is incorporating evolutionary information feature, physicochemical property feature, and two novel attributes. These two attributes use DNA-binding residues and nonbinding residues in a query protein to obtain DNA-binding propensity and nonbinding propensity. The results demonstrate that our SVM-SMO model achieves 0.67 Matthew's correlation coefficient (MCC) and 89.6% overall accuracy with 88.4% sensitivity and 90.8% specificity, respectively. Performance comparisons on various features indicate that two novel attributes contribute to the performance improvement. In addition, our SVM-SMO model achieves the best performance than state-of-the-art methods on independent test dataset.
A New Method for Detection and Location of Distributed Partial Discharges (Cable Faults) in High Voltage Cables under External Interference

Existing partial discharge (PD) detection and location methods in high voltage cables are limited by the influence of external inter¬ ferences as well as by the type and properties of the cable and by the nature of PD impulses The problems of the existing methods.the frequency spectrum analysis and the traveling wave method.could be overcome by the development of a new electronic PD detection and location method based on the traveling wave method To exploit the PD impulses for an electronic location, several conditions have to be fulfilled The first is that PD impulses propaga ting along a cable are influenced by the low-pass behavior of the cable, the high-frequency components being highly attenuated The travel-time through the cable is a longer one for the reflected im¬ pulse than it is for the original impulse Therefore, the reflected impulse is attenuated more than the original one Its distortion and diminution grow with increasing cable length and with increasing fault distance from the far end of the cable The electronic recording of the time interval between the original and the reflected impulse therefore requires a preceding pulse amplification In this case, how¬ ever, the amplifier may be overdriven by the original impulse, while the reflected one is not yet sufficiently amplified This problem was solved by employing a controlled amplifier within the electronic location system Further, the shapes of both the original and the reflected impulses respectively could be matched to one another by various filters Furthermore, recorded PD or calibration impulses respectively might show overshoot due to the existence of different energy stor¬ age elements The overshoot then being caused by the electrical properties of the leads, ground connections or measuring units as well as the reflection coefficients of the connection points of the various circuit components An original impulse with positive over¬ shoot higher than the reflected impulse makes the electronic measurement of the time interval between both impulses impos¬ sible To solve this problem, high-pass filters are employed, sup¬ pressing low-frequency interference and largely eliminating undesired overshoot With the built PD location system which is de¬ scribed in detail, extensive investigations have been performed on coaxial HF cables with various lengths (model cables) as well as on various HV cables under 3 to 60kV ac voltage in order to determine the sensitivity and the accuracy of the new system compared to
Robust Processing for Constraint-based Grammar Formalisms

This thesis addresses the issue of how Natural Language Processing (nlp) systems using ‘constraint-based’ grammar formalisms can be made robust, i.e. able to deal with input which is in some way ill-formed or extragrammatical. In nlp systems which use constraint-based grammars the operation of unification typically plays a central role. Accordingly, the central concern of this thesis is to propose an approach to robust unification. The first part of the thesis underlines the importance of robustness in nlp, provides an overview of the sort of phenomena that require it, and reviews the state of the art. From this, it appears that no methods currently exist for robust processing with grammars of any real linguistic sophistication. The class of constraint-based grammars studied here is that based on Typed Feature Logic (tfl), of which Head-Driven Phrase Structure Grammar is the instance chosen for exemplification. The formalism is described in the second part of the thesis. Grammars based on tfl involve the notion of a signature, which defines the kinds of objects (types) assumed to exist in the grammar. Processing typically involves combining information about pieces of the input by unification. From this perspective, the need for robustness can be seen as arising because pieces of the input provide information which is inconsistent with
A New Regulatory Region of the IL-2 Locus That Confers Position-Independent Transgene Expression1

Although the promoter/enhancer of the IL-2 gene mediates inducible reporter gene expression in vitro, it cannot drive consistent expression in transgenic mice. The location and existence of any regulatory elements that could open the IL-2 locus in vivo have remained unknown, preventing analysis of IL-2 regulation in developmental contexts. In this study, we report the identification of such a regulatory region, marked by novel DNase-hypersensitive sites upstream of the murine IL-2 promoter in unstimulated and stimulated T cells. Inclusion of most of these sites in an 8.4-kb IL-2 promoter green fluorescent protein transgene gives locus control region-like activity. Expression is efficient, tissue specific, and position independent. This transgene is expressed not only in peripheral T cells, but also in immature thymocytes and thymocytes undergoing positive selection, in agreement with endogenous IL-2 expression. In contrast, a 2-kb promoter green fluorescent protein transgene, lacking the new hypersensitive sites, is expressed in only a few founder lines, and expression is dysregulated in CD8+ cells. Thus, the 6.4 kb of additional upstream IL-2 sequence contains regulatory elements that provide integration site independence and differential regulation of transgene expression in CD8 vs CD4 cells.
Dynamic Blanking for Virtual Reality Image Displacement

In this paper we will describe a method for introducing two dimensional image displacement in a virtual reality head mounted display. This displacement can be used to correct the displayed image to account for head movements made since the orientation data was initially obtained prior to rendering the displayed frame. This method is novel in that it can be implemented extremely late in the display pipeline, on the head mounted display (HMD), rather than requiring implementation in the rendering system driving the display. This allows for the most up to date orientation data to be used and reduces or augments the requirement of extended prediction methodologies to estimate the orientation of the head at the time the frame is displayed.
Assessment and prevention of gastrointestinal toxicity of non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs

Non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely used for analgesic, anti‐inflammatory and, in the case of aspirin, for anti‐thrombotic actions. The serious gastrointestinal side‐effects associated with these drugs are of concern and pose a significant obstacle to their use. This review discusses the pathogenic mechanisms by which the conventional acidic NSAIDs induce gastrointestinal toxicity, with particular emphasis on non‐prostaglandin effects. Methods of assessment of NSAID‐induced enteropathy are reviewed, with particular emphasis on the use of functional measurement of NSAID‐induced changes in the gastrointestinal tract. The advances in our knowledge of the pathogenesis of these effects have resulted in the development of a range of novel NSAIDs. Where functional assessment of the effects of NSAIDs has been employed, it appears to be more useful as an indicator of early‐stage changes rather than a predictor of the effects of long‐term NSAID exposure. Successful pharmaceutical strategies now offer considerable promise for reducing the severity of NSAID damage to the gastrointestinal tract. The utility of intestinal permeability measurements for selection and assessment of these strategies is discussed.