Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Content-Based Image Retrieval Using Edge and Gradient Orientation Features of an Object in an Image From Database

Abstract In this work, we present a combination of edge feature and distribution of the gradient orientation of an object technique for content-based image retrieval (CBIR). First, the bidimensional empirical mode decomposition (BEMD) technique is employed to get the edge features of an image. Later, the information about the gradient orientation is obtained by the histogram of oriented gradient (HOG) descriptor. These two features are extracted from the images and stored in the database for further usage. When the user submits the query image, the features are extracted in same way and compared with the features of the data set images. Based on the similarity, the relevant images have been selected as a resultant set. These images are ranked from higher similarity to lower similarity and displayed on the user interface. The experiments are carried out using the Columbia Object Image Library (COIL-100) dataset. The COIL-100 database is a collection of 7200 color images belonging to 100 various objects, each with 72 different orientations. Our proposed method results are high with precision and recall values of 93.00 and 77.70, respectively. Taken individually, the precision and recall values for BEMD are 82.25 and 68.54 and for HOG are 85.00, 71.10, respectively. The observation from the experimental result is that the combined method performs better than the individual methods. Experiments are conducted in the presence of noise, and the robustness of the method is verified.
Modelling the Efficient Frontier: An Empirical Study in the Indian Stock Market

The objective of the study was to understand the nature and shape of the efficient frontier for the Indian stock market over time, and to empirically examine Merton’s model for the efficient frontier in the context of the Indian stock market. The study was performed using a sample of fifty stocks that were part of the National Stock Exchange’s Nifty 50 index as of March 31, 2011. The study period was 2000-2011. The main finding of the study is that Merton’s model does not entirely explain the relationship between variance of returns and mean returns on the efficient frontier. Thus, a higher-order polynomial function may be more appropriate for modelling the efficient frontier. Also, the factors affecting the efficient frontier need to be studied in future studies.
High-resolution calorimetric and optical melting profiles of DNA plasmids: resolving contributions from intrinsic melting domains and specifically designed inserts.

We demonstrate that differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) can be used to yield high-resolution melting profiles for DNA plasmids that agree in all major features with the corresponding plasmid melting profiles derived using more traditional optical techniques. We further demonstrate that by combining information derived from both calorimetric and optical melting profiles one can glean insights that are unavailable from either melting curve alone. By using both optical and calorimetric observables, we show how one can resolve, identify, and measure the thermodynamic properties of particular sequences/domains of interest within a plasmid. We also show that complementary DSC and optical melting studies on plasmids with and without specifically designed inserts can provide fundamental advantages over the corresponding melting studies on other model system constructs for thermodynamically characterizing nucleic acid sequences/structures.
The novel use of clozapine in an adolescent with borderline personality disorder

Background: Clozapine has been used to good effect in the treatment of adults with borderline personality disorder, but there is scant evidence of it being used in an adolescent population with these difficulties. Methods: Clozapine was trialled in an adolescent with a clinical presentation consistent with an emerging borderline personality disorder. Results: There was a large reduction in the number of incidents involving abuse to staff, or harm to self, in the 8 weeks after commencing clozapine therapy, compared with the 8 weeks prior, and also a large reduction in the number of episodes of the use of seclusion in the 13 weeks after commencing clozapine therapy, compared with the 13 weeks prior. The young person was also able to be reintegrated in to the ward environment once established on clozapine therapy, which had not been possible full-time, for a whole year prior. Conclusions: Although limited by involving just one adolescent, this very preliminary data does nonetheless suggest that clozapine may have a role in treating adolescents with emerging borderline personality disorder when other treatment options have been exhausted.
Culture Shock of Sojourners and the Implications for Higher Education Performance

The advent of globalization and international educational exchange has enabled a large number of foreign students have been studying in the USA, the UK and Australia, etc. simultaneously, more and more foreign teachers have come to teach in Chinese universities and colleges. This has made intercultural communication inevitable and important to the teaching quality and culture shock has exerted a direct on teaching, learning and research. Therefore, identifying intercultural differences and managing culture shock should be a prerequisite to quality classroom teaching and higher education performance. This paper analyzes the relevant theories, stages and causes of culture shock, interviews Chinese students and sojourn scholars in foreign countries, investigates foreign teachers in China and explores the various countermeasures to manage culture shock to enhance higher education performance.
Catalytic Domain Crystal Structure of Protein Kinase C-θ (PKCθ)*♦

A member of the novel protein kinase C (PKC) subfamily, PKCθ, is an essential component of the T cell synapse and is required for optimal T cell activation and interleukin-2 production. Selective involvement of PKCθ in TCR signaling makes this enzyme an attractive therapeutic target in T cell-mediated disease processes. In this report we describe the crystal structure of the catalytic domain of PKCθ at 2.0-Å resolution. Human recombinant PKCθ kinase domain was expressed in bacteria as catalytically active phosphorylated enzyme and co-crystallized with its subnanomolar, ATP site inhibitor staurosporine. The structure follows the classic bilobal kinase fold and shows the enzyme in its active conformation and phosphorylated state. Inhibitory interactions between conserved features of staurosporine and the ATP-binding cleft are accompanied by closing of the glycine-rich loop, which also maintains an inhibitory arrangement by blocking the phosphate recognition subsite. The two major phosphorylation sites, Thr-538 in the activation loop and Ser-695 in the hydrophobic motif, are both occupied in the structure, playing key roles in stabilizing active conformation of the enzyme and indicative of PKCθ autocatalytic phosphorylation and activation during bacterial expression. The PKCθ-staurosporine complex represents the first kinase domain crystal structure of any PKC isotypes to be determined and as such should provide valuable insight into PKC specificity and into rational drug design strategies for PKCθ selective leads.
Ca2+ inhibition of beta-adrenergic receptor- and forskolin-stimulated cAMP accumulation in C6-2B rat glioma cells is independent of protein kinase C.

In C6-2B rat glioma cells, agonist-stimulated cAMP accumulation is potently inhibited after the stimulation of endogenous bradykinin receptors or stably transfected substance K receptors, coupled to phosphatidylinositol hydrolysis. In the present report, pharmacological tools were used to selectively stimulate either protein kinase C or Ca2+, the two final effectors activated upon phosphatidylinositol hydrolysis, and their role in the inhibition of the C6-2B cell cAMP signaling pathway was investigated. Activation of protein kinase C by an acute treatment with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate or L-alpha-1-oleoyl-2-acetyl-sn-3-glycerol did not reduce, but rather enhanced, the cAMP accumulation elicited by forskolin, a direct activator of adenylyl cyclase [ATP pyrophosphate-lyase (cyclizing), EC 4.6. 1.1]. This effect was antagonized by the protein kinase inhibitor H-7 and mimicked by the protein phosphatase inhibitor okadaic acid. Thapsigargin, a selective microsomal Ca(2+)-ATPase inhibitor, evoked a sustained increase in the intracellular free Ca2+ concentration, with an EC50 of 24.8 +/- 4.3 nM, and inhibited the cAMP accumulation induced by the beta-adrenergic receptor agonist isoproterenol with comparable potency (IC50 = 19.3 +/- 0.2 nM), strongly suggesting a causal relationship between the two phenomena. The inhibition by thapsigargin of isoproterenol- or forskolin-stimulated cAMP accumulation was not affected by pertussis toxin or down-regulation or inhibition of protein kinase C. Dantrolene, a blocker of Ca2+ release from intracellular stores, antagonized 1) the Ca2+ transient in response to thapsigargin and substance K and 2) the inhibitory effect of these compounds on isoproterenol- or forskolin-induced cAMP accumulation. Moreover, sequestration of intracellular Ca2+ with the cell-permeable Ca2+ chelator ethylene glycol bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid acetoxymethyl ester abolished the cAMP inhibition mediated by thapsigargin. Finally, isoproterenol- or forskolin-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activity in digitonin-permeabilized cells was not affected by either thapsigargin or substance K. These data provide compelling evidence that increases in intracellular free Ca2+ concentration without activation of protein kinase C suffice and are responsible for the inhibition of cAMP accumulation in C6-2B cells.
Two distinct phases characterize maturation of neurons in the nucleus of the tractus solitarius during early development: Morphological and electrophysiological evidence

We have used electrophysiology and light microscopy of intracellularly labeled neurons in the nucleus of the tractus solitarius (nTS) in brainstem slices of the newborn rat (PO to P6) to examine the functional and morphological correlation of their development. Three‐dimensional reconstruction of neurons injected intracellularly with biocytin, following electrophysiological recording, revealed a close correspondence between morphological immaturity (appearing as polarization of the dendritic tree) and the absence of a ramp‐like voltage trajectory at the offset of hyperpolarizing current injections–lA negativity (8 of the 8 cells examined showed this correlation). These morphologically polarized IA negative neurons showed preferential dendritic sprouting in two diametrically opposite poles of the perikaryon.
An Investigation of Employment and Wage Distribution in the Construction Industry by Race/Ethnicity and Gender

iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . v LIST OF TABLES . ix LIST OF FIGURES . x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION . 1 1.1. Background . 1 1.2. Problem Statement . 3 1.3. Need and Purpose . 3 1.4. Research Scope and Objectives . 4 1.5. Research Hypotheses . 4 1.6. Limitations . 5 1.8. Structure of Thesis . 6 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW . 8 Sources of Literature . 8 2.1. Brief introduction to Labor Cliff in the Construction Industry . 8 2.2. Segregation and Inequality Issues in terms of Employment (General) . 10 2.3. Reasons for Employment Disparity . 13 2.4. Segregation and Inequality Issues in terms of Wage Distribution (General) . 14 2.5. Reasons/Factors for Wage Gap . 16 2.6. Inequality and Discrimination Issues in the Construction Industry . 18 2.7. Importance of Ethnically Diverse Workforce . 20
Ruthenium Polypyridine Complexes Combined with Oligonucleotides for Bioanalysis: A Review

Ruthenium complexes are among the most interesting coordination complexes and they have attracted great attention over the past decades due to their appealing biological, catalytic, electronic and optical properties. Ruthenium complexes have found a unique niche in bioanalysis, as demonstrated by the substantial progress made in the field. In this review, the applications of ruthenium complexes coordinated with polypyridine ligands (and analogues) in bioanalysis are discussed. Three main detection methods based on electrochemistry, electrochemiluminescence, and photoluminscence are covered. The important targets, including DNA and other biologically important targets, are detected by specific biorecognition with the corresponding oligonucleotides as the biorecognition elements (i.e., DNA is probed by its complementary strand and other targets are detected by functional nucleic acids, respectively). Selected examples are provided and thoroughly discussed to highlight the substantial progress made so far. Finally, a brief summary with perspectives is included.
Zero-, one- and two-dimensional hydrogen-bonded structures in the 1:1 proton-transfer compounds of 4,5-dichlorophthalic acid with the monocyclic heteroaromatic Lewis bases 2-aminopyrimidine, nicotinamide and isonicotinamide.

The structures of the anhydrous 1:1 proton-transfer compounds of 4,5-dichlorophthalic acid (DCPA) with the monocyclic heteroaromatic Lewis bases 2-aminopyrimidine, 3-(aminocarbonyl)pyridine (nicotinamide) and 4-(aminocarbonyl)pyridine (isonicotinamide), namely 2-aminopyrimidinium 2-carboxy-4,5-dichlorobenzoate, C(4)H(6)N(3)(+). C(8)H(3)Cl(2)O(4)(-), (I), 3-(aminocarbonyl)pyridinium 2-carboxy-4,5-dichlorobenzoate, C(6)H(7)N(2)O(+). C(8)H(3)Cl(2)O(4)(-), (II), and the unusual salt adduct 4-(aminocarbonyl)pyridinium 2-carboxy-4,5-dichlorobenzoate-methyl 2-carboxy-4,5-dichlorobenzoate (1/1), C(6)H(7)N(2)O(+). C(8)H(3)Cl(2)O(4)(-). C(9)H(6)Cl(2)O(4), (III), have been determined at 130 K. Compound (I) forms discrete centrosymmetric hydrogen-bonded cyclic bis(cation-anion) units having both R(2)(2)(8) and R(1)(2)(4) N-H.O interactions. In (II), the primary N-H.O-linked cation-anion units are extended into a two-dimensional sheet structure via amide-carboxyl and amide-carbonyl N-H.O interactions. The structure of (III) reveals the presence of an unusual and unexpected self-synthesized methyl monoester of the acid as an adduct molecule, giving one-dimensional hydrogen-bonded chains. In all three structures, the hydrogen phthalate anions are essentially planar with short intramolecular carboxyl-carboxylate O-H.O hydrogen bonds [O.O = 2.393 (8)-2.410 (2) A]. This work provides examples of low-dimensional 1:1 hydrogen-bonded DCPA structure types, and includes the first example of a discrete cyclic ;heterotetramer. ' This low dimensionality in the structures of the 1:1 aromatic Lewis base salts of the parent acid is generally associated with the planar DCPA anion species.
Hacia un modelo de Metagobernanza para Gipuzkoa: El caso de Etorkizuna Eraikiz

El presente articulo esta orientado al analisis y descripcion del programa de gobierno Etorkizuna Eraikiz implementado por la Diputacion Foral de Gipzukoa. Este articulo aborda este analisis desde un ejercicio reflexivo centrado en los conceptos de gobernanza y meta-gobernanza como manifestaciones de las nuevas condiciones para el ejercicio del buen gobierno y la competitividad territoriales. Etorkizuna Eraikiz se erige como el primer paso para el establecimiento organizado de las condiciones para una nueva gobernanza del territorio mas colaborativa y abierta. El objetivo de este programa es visualizar y garantizar los mecanismos necesarios para la institucionalizacion de un nuevo sistema de deliberacion compartida con la ciudadania y los principales agentes e instituciones territoriales de Gipuzkoa, para afrontar sus principales retos de futuro. Palabras clave: meta-gobernanza, gobernanza, innovacion publica, Gipuzkoa, politicas publicas, competitividad territorial. Abstract The present article is focused on the analysis and description of the government program Etorkizuna Eraikiz implemented by the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Country. This article approaches this analysis from a reflective exercise focused on the concepts of governance and meta-governance as manifestations of the new conditions for the exercise of good governance and territorial competitiveness. Etorkizuna Eraikiz stands as the first step for the organized establishment of the conditions for a new governance for a more collaborative and open territory. The objective of this program is to visualize and guarantee the necessary mechanisms for the institutionalization of a new system of shared deliberation with the citizens and the main agents and territorial institutions of Gipuzkoa to face their future socioeconomic challenges. Keywords: meta-governance, governance, public innovation, gipuzkoa, public policies, territorial competitiveness. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31637/epsir.18-1.1
Using Cognitive Agents for building Pedagogical Strategies In a Multi-strategic Intelligent Tutoring System

acquiring and modeling knowledge in Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) design is more complex than in most other knowledge based systems since ITS incorporate different kinds of expertise (knowledge on the subject matter, knowledge on the learner’s knowledge, pedagogical expertise, etc.) that evolve continuously. The pedagogical expertise, in particular, tends to be distributed among several components such as virtual learners and a tutor, which play different roles to enhance learning in collaborative mode. In addition, all these knowledge need to be improved in order to be adapted to the learner and the different learning situations. To foster such an improvement we introduced the principle of cognitive agents. A cognitive agent is a form of intelligent agent which is reactive, instructable, adaptive and cognitive. The property of instructability is particularly important since by allowing the instructional designer to feed the agent with new knowledge during its execution, it helps to solve the knowledge acquisition problem. This paper describes the use of cognitive agents for implementing pedagogical strategies and more generally for detecting which strategy is more suited to a given learner. Our approach leads to the definition of a multi-strategic ITS, based on cognitive agents, that are able to switch among various strategies. In this framework we use cognitive agents to model the expertise of the various pedagogical strategies. We illustrate the paper with an example drawn from a small ITS in the domain of radiology which has been implemented using a cognitive agent platform. keywords : cognitive agents, intelligent agents, multi-strategic intelligent tutoring systems, pedagogical strategies, knowledge acquisition.
A Support Vector Machine Based Algorithm for Magnetic Resonance Image Segmentation

In this work, we propose a kind of supervised classification - support vector machine (SVM) to segment magnetic resonance image (MRI). As a classifier, SVM can employ structural risk minimization principle and perform better in classification task. Based on those excellent capabilities of SVM, we conduct many detailed experiments on some standard simulated data and real data. According to the experiments results, SVM is proven to be a good classifier in MRI segmentation.
Urinary screening for alprazolam and its major metabolites by the Abbott ADx and TDx analyzers with confirmation by GC/MS.

Alprazolam is a short-acting triazolobenzodiazepine with anxiolytic and antidepressant properties. It has a half-life of 10-15 hours after multiple oral doses. Approximately 20% of an oral dose is excreted unchanged in the urine. The major urinary metabolites are alpha-OH alprazolam glucuronide and 3-HMB benzophenone glucuronide. The objective of this study was to characterize the reactivity of alprazolam and three metabolites in the Abbott ADx and TDx urinary benzodiazepine assays compared with the EMIT d.a. u. benzodiazepine assay. Alprazolam (at 300 ng/mL) gave an equivalent response as the 300 ng/mL low control (nordiazepam). alpha-OH alprazolam gave an equivalent response to this control between 300-500 ng/mL and 4-OH alprazolam between 500-1000 ng/mL. The 3-HMB benzophenone was not positive even at 10,000 ng/mL. The ADx screening assay was positive in 26 of 31 urine specimens collected from alprazolam-treated patients. All 31 of these specimens were confirmed positive for alpha-OH alprazolam by GC/MS after enzymatic hydrolysis and formation of a TMS derivative. For the TDx, 27 of 31 specimens were positive for benzodiazepines and all 31 were confirmed by GC/MS. All 5 of the negative ADx specimens and 4 of 5 TDx specimens contained 150-400 ng/mL of alpha-OH alprazolam. In conclusion, both the ADx and TDx urine benzodiazepine assays are acceptable screening assays for alprazolam use when the alpha-OH alprazolam concentration is greater than 400 ng/mL.
Research and development and labour productivity: do high-tech firms exhibit labour- or capital-saving technical change?

ABSTRACT Employment and output in the advanced technology sectors have generally exhibited above-average growth for more than two decades. While this industry accounts for a relatively small share of total employment, the majority of private sector research and development (R&D) expenditures in the US is concentrated within seven sub-sectors. However, little attention has been paid as to whether high-tech productivity exhibits Hicksian capital or labour ‘savings’ bias or tendency to displace either factor input over time. Biased technical change can occur as economies transition between growth regimes. An augmented production function is employed to analyse the additional impact of R&D activity on firm-level labour productivity. A panel data set comprised of high-tech firms located across the advanced economies, China and India from 1990 to 2013 is used in the analysis. Labour-saving technical change was present across the advanced technology sectors and most countries. The expanded models of labour productivity that used fixed effects with lagged regressors confirmed the prior results as well as finding that R&D per employee, relative R&D intensity and firm market share contribute to firm-level labour productivity growth across countries and sectors. Additional support was found for diminishing returns to scale but not for R&D spillover effects.
Génération automatique d'algorithmes de détection des défauts de conception

∗Equipe PTIDEJ– GEODES Departement d’informatique et de recherche operationnelle, Universite de Montreal CP 6128 succ. Centre Ville, Montreal, Quebec, H3C 3J7, Canada {mohanaou, foutsekh, guehene}@iro.umontreal. ca ∗∗ Equipe Adam – INRIA Futurs Universite des Sciences et Technologies de Lille – LIFL UMR CNRS 8022 Cite Scientifique, 59655 Villeneuve d’Ascq Cedex, France {Laurence.Duchien, Anne-Francoise.LeMeur}@lifl.fr
Give Us Your Tired, Your Poor and We Might Buy Them Dinner: Social Capital, Immigration, and Welfare Generosity in the American States

A long-standing debate persists regarding how social capital relates to diversity and inequality in the American states. Putnam argues social capital leads to greater equality and tolerance; however, others find that it increases racial inequality. We build on Soss, Fording, and Schram’s Racial Classification Model (RCM) and theorize that social capital enhances social trust and empathy in homogeneous contexts and favors paternalistic and punitive social controls in diverse contexts. We test this using the case of immigration and welfare generosity following the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996. Using state-level data from 1997 to 2009, we find that under conditions of low immigration, social capital is associated with increased social trust and empathy; however, as immigration increases, social capital pivots toward favoring mechanisms of social control. Specifically, social capital increases Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cash benefit levels, but only when immigration levels are low. In high-immigration contexts, social capital is associated with decreased welfare generosity.