Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reproduction of colored images on substrates with varying chromaticity

Printing images on coloured substrates is an interesting challenge, since observers are partially adapted to the colour of the substrate. Existing colour management methods are not appropriate for coloured papers, since they ignore this partial adaptation and also experience problems in compressing the coordinates of the original to the gamut that can be reproduced on the substrate. In the first two experiments, it was found that the degree of adaptation to a background colour was not dependent on the lightness or chroma of the background, and could thus be modelled with a constant degree of adaptation. In the second experiment, different methods of determining the coordinates to print on coloured substrates were compared. A method in which the coordinates for printing on white, adjusted by a partial adaptation model using a degree of adaptation of 0.66, gave better results than the other methods tested. The method works best on papers of low colour strength, since as the colour strength of the substrate increases, the available colour gamut is reduced and the performance of different methods becomes more similar.
Increased toxicity of Bacillus thuringiensis Cry3Aa against Crioceris quatuordecimpunctata, Phaedon brassicae and Colaphellus bowringi by a Tenebrio molitor cadherin fragment.

BACKGROUND Biopesticides containing Cry insecticidal proteins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are effective against many lepidopteran pests, but there is a lack of Bt-based pesticides for efficient control of important coleopteran pests. Based on the reported increase in Bt toxin oligomerization by a polypeptide from the Cry3Aa receptor cadherin in Tenebrio molitor (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), it was hypothesized that this cadherin peptide, rTmCad1p, would enhance Cry3Aa toxicity towards coleopteran larvae. To test this hypothesis, the relative toxicity of Cry3Aa, with or without rTmCad1p, against damaging chrysomelid vegetable pests of China was evaluated. RESULTS Cry3Aa toxicity was evaluated in the spotted asparagus beetle (Crioceris quatuordecimpunctata), cabbage leaf beetle (Colaphellus bowringi) and daikon leaf beetle (Phaedon brassicae). To assess the effect of rTmCad1p on Cry3Aa toxicity, neonate larvae were fed Cry3Aa toxin alone or in combination with increasing amounts of rTmCad1p. The data demonstrated that Cry3Aa toxicity was significantly increased in all three vegetable pests, resulting in as much as a 15.3-fold increase in larval mortality. CONCLUSION The application of rTmCad1p to enhance Cry3Aa insecticidal activity has potential for use in increasing range and activity levels against coleopteran pests displaying low susceptibility to Bt-based biopesticides.
Reducing Inerference Among Vector Accesses in Interleaved Memories

Memory interference occurs when two or more concurrent data requests are addressed to the same main memory bank. In vector superconductors, this problem is serious due to the periodic interaction among vectors accesses, and can significantly reduce memory bandwidth and overall system performance. Two techniques can be used to reduce the effects of memory interference. First, vector data can be placed in the main memory such that, when accessed concurrently, the vectors do not interfere with one another. Second, buffers can be used at the memory banks to hold conflicting requests and to allow vector streams to continue to access other banks. Conditions for arbitrary numbers of vector streams to access an interleaved memory system without conflict are derived. It is shown that when three or more vector streams must be accessed concurrently, vector data placement to avoid conflicts becomes increasingly difficult, and that bank buffers can be effective under these conditions in increasing the effective memory bandwidth. >
Support, opinion of support and psychological health among survivors of a natural disaster

Background: Although formal intervention after disasters is recommended, the evidence base for this is weak. Satisfaction with support after disasters is seldom investigated and the relation to psychological symptoms is unknown. Aims: To investigate whether dissatisfaction with social and formalized support are associated with post-disaster psychological symptoms. Methods: A total of 1,505 Swedish survivors of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami responded to a questionnaire 14 months after the disaster, including the General Health Questionnaire-12, the Impact of Events Scale – Revised, the Crisis Support Scale, and questions concerning the reception and appraisal of social and formalized support from health care, psychological services and insurance agencies. Disaster exposure and background factors were controlled for in the analyses. Results: Reception of formalized support, but not social support, was associated with both psychological distress and post-traumatic stress. Dissatisfaction with social but not formalized support, with the exception of support from insurance agencies, was associated with psychological distress. Conclusions: Social support and formalized support should be differentiated in future studies in order to improve preventive intervention efforts after disasters. The reporting of dissatisfaction with social support merits special attention, since this may indicate increased risk for psychological symptoms.
Does diabetes affect the intensity of staining of interstitial cells and neuronal tissue in the bladder, prostate and urethra of rabbits?

We compared the intensity of staining of interstitial cells (ICs) and neural tissue in the lower urinary tract of rabbits with diabetes with the intensity in normal subjects. Diabetes was induced by injecting alloxane (65mg/kg) in adult male rabbits. After 3 days, rabbits with a blood glucose level >300 mg/dL were considered to have diabetes. After 8 weeks, the rabbits were killed, and tissue specimens from the bladder, prostate and urethra were obtained. ICs were stained with anti-human CD117 (c-kit) rabbit polyclonal antibody, and neural tissue was stained with synaptophysin. The streptavidin-biotin method was used for immunohistochemical staining. The intensity of c-kit and synaptophysin staining were scored as negative (0), weak (+), moderate (++), and strong (+++). Staining intensity of ICs and neural tissue was assessed and compared in tissues obtained from rabbits with diabetes (n=8) and from control subjects (n=7). Although staining intensity of both ICs and neural tissue was found to be significantly decreased in the bladder tissue of rabbits with diabetes compared to that in the control group (p=0.0001 [ICs] and p=0.021 [neural tissue]), no significant differences in staining intensity of ICs and neural tissue in the urethra and in the prostate was found when rabbits with diabetes were compared to the control group. Diabetes may cause dysfunction of the lower urinary tract, particularly in the urinary bladder, as shown by the staining intensity of ICs and neural tissue.
Case study: visualization and analysis of mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways in the literature

Data sets of up to 3000 journal abstracts from MEDLINE literature on the keyword combination `MAPK pathway' and `human' are visualized and analyzed for mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways. We have tightly coupled exploratory visualization with information extraction for interactive navigation through scattered information sources, in search of useful facts on MAPK by frequency-based filtering and amplification. Unlike direct database visualization that operates on curated data sets, literature visualization has the advantages of manipulating data sets of a massive scale with a lot less manpower and effectively responding to the fast cycles of the developments in the field.
A historic account of the invasion of Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae) in the continental United States, with remarks on their identification.

BACKGROUND Drosophila suzukii is an oriental species first reported outside Asia from Hawaii in 1980. The first confirmed records for the continental United States were made in 2008 in California. The identification of this pest is difficult because very few published resources exist. RESULTS It has since been recorded in Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Utah, Michigan, Wisconsin, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida. Males are relatively easy to identify by the black apical wing spots and the single row of combs on the first and second tarsal segment of the fore leg. The male genitalia are also very characteristic and will aid in identifying teneral specimens. Females can be identified by the large ovipositor, which is 6-7 times as long as the diameter of the spermatheca. Immature stages can only be identified by molecular techniques. CONCLUSION Although this species has been recorded from many US states and Canadian provinces, it has not been established in all of these places, and the main economic damage is restricted to the western part of North America. With the characters laid out in this paper, it should be possible to identify the pest with high certainty.
How therapeutic communities work: Specific factors related to positive outcome

Background: Therapeutic communities (TCs) are becoming increasingly widespread as a form of treatment for entrenched mental health problems, particularly addictions and personality disorders, and are equally used in educational, prison and learning disability settings. Despite growing evidence for their effectiveness, little research has been conducted to establish how TCs work to produce positive outcomes. We hypothesize that there are two specific factors that in combination contribute to TC effectiveness: the promotion of a sense of belongingness and the capacity for responsible agency. Although both factors are found in other therapeutic approaches and are important to the psychosocial aspects of psychiatric care more generally, we argue that their combination, extent and emphasis are unique to TCs. Material: Drawing on social and experimental psychology, we: (1) review research on a sense of belongingness and the capacity for responsible agency; (2) establish the mechanisms by which TCs appear to promote them; (3) draw lessons for TC practice; and (4) suggest why they may contribute to positive outcome. Discussion: A sense of belongingness is correlated with improved self-esteem and overall well-being. The capacity for responsible agency is central to behavioural change. TCs are typically used in fields where positive outcome requires both personal growth and behavioural change. We suggest that TCs are uniquely placed to demand such growth and change of their members because the sense of belongingness engendered by TC methods protects against the risks engendered by this demand. Conclusion: Empirically informed, evidence-driven research is necessary to understand how TCs work and how TC practice can be improved. This understanding may offer lessons for the improvement of psychosocial aspects of psychiatric care more generally.
Learning Preferences of Clinical Students: A Study in a Malaysian Medical College

Introduction: Awareness of learning preferences can have useful learning and teaching implications. However, there is paucity of literature on the learning preferences of clinical students in a medical school. This study uses the VARK questionnaire to explore the learning preferences of the clinical students of Melaka-Manipal Medical College, Malaysia. VARK is an acronym that stands for visual [V], aural [A], reading [R] and kinesthetic [K] sensory modality of learning. Materials and Methods: The study was approved by the College ethical committee. After taking an informed consent, the clinical students participated in the study in April/May 2012 [ n = 176]. Instrument: VARK questionnaire Version 7.1 was used and it consisted of 16 multiple choice questions. It was distributed among students in the form of hard copy and they submitted their responses to the VARK questionnaire in a classroom setting. Statistical Analysis: Strong preference was calculated on Microsoft Excel using the VARK guidelines. Likert scale [1 to 5] was used to know their perceptions of their VARK score. Feedback written legibly by the participating students was included in the study [ n = 127]. Results: The majority of students [ n = 99] were multimodal. Kinesthetic modality was the strongest single preference [ n = 35]. Out of 127 feedbacks included in the study, the majority of students [82.7%] agreed with the validity of their VARK score. Conclusion: The majority of clinical students is multimodal in their learning preference and kinesthetic modality is their strongest single preference. Educational Implications: Students can develop learning strategies based on their preferences of learning. Teaching should involve all sensory modality so that all types of students can actively participate in learning session. Students pursuing clinical science can benefit more with the kinesthetic modality of learning.
Psychiatry, homeless patients and welfare reforms: Historical links and chains

The birthplace of the specialty of psychiatry was in the asylum, which was created to divert patients from workhouses where the most disadvantaged and destitute people with mental illness were to be found. The current welfare reforms are endangering the welfare and livelihood of the most disadvantaged of our patients. These reforms in the authors’ opinion are related more to the historical cycle of societal attitude to homeless people than to seeing them as the undeserving poor. This is particularly true since the current economic crisis was not caused by the poor, so it is very unfair that our poorest patients should suffer most as a result of the welfare reforms.
Pathways to psychiatric care of patients from rural regions: A general-hospital-based study

Background: Pathway studies highlight the help-seeking behaviours of patients with physical and mental illness. A number of these studies have been completed in other countries, but there have been few reports from China. Therefore, this study was planned to explore the characteristics of the help-seeking pathways of patients with mental illness from rural regions of China through the mental health professionals and treatment at the General Hospital of the People’s Liberation Army (PLAGH). Methods: The pathway diagrams were documented for 203 subjects with various mental disorders using the translated version of the World Health Organization (WHO) pathway encounter form. The patterns of help-seeking and durations were analysed, and the χ2 test and Mann-Whitney U test were employed as needed. Results: On average, each patient consulted 3.6 caregivers. The vast majority of patients first visited local secondary general hospitals (SGHs) (35.5%, χ2 = 41.93, p < .0001) or local tertiary general hospitals (TGHs) (32%, χ2 = 36.21, p < .0001); however, 75.4% of them had not received professional diagnosis and treatment. The patients who first contacted the psychiatric service, finally reached the PLAGH, because of poor treatment or the high cost of medical care. Conclusion: The subjects first seek the help of various sources before attending PLAGH due to a lack of awareness of the treatment services and the fear of the stigma associated with mental disorders. The primary care, even the local general hospital, did not act as a gatekeeper to psychiatric services.
Failure Transparency in Remote Procedure Calls

A model of remote procedure call (RPC) which reflects certain generic properties of the application layer that can be exploited by the RPC layer during failure recovery is presented. A technique of adopting orphans caused by failures, which is based on the model, is described. The technique minimizes the rollback which may be required in orphan-killing techniques. Algorithmic details of the adoption technique are described, and a quantitative analysis is presented. The model is implemented as a prototype on a local area network. The simplicity and generality of the failure recovery renders the RPC model useful in distributed systems, particularly those that are large and heterogeneous and hence have complex failure modes. >
A comparative study of the economic and social functioning of Vietnamese-Australians with low English proficiency living with psychotic illness

Background: Because national surveys of people living with psychotic disorders tend to exclude people with low English proficiency (LEP), little is known of their economic and social functioning. Culturally influenced explanatory models may result in delayed presentation and poorer functioning. Aims: The study aimed to compare the functioning of LEP Vietnamese-Australian and Australian-born patients with psychosis and to investigate the Vietnamese-Australians’ pathways to care. Method: In all, 19 LEP Vietnamese-Australians, previously excluded from the Australian Survey of High Impact Psychosis (SHIP), were matched with 15 Australian-born controls, and interviewed by a Vietnamese bilingual mental health professional using the SHIP Interview Schedule. Results: The Vietnamese-Australian patients were significantly more likely to live with family, rate spirituality as important and participate in community rehabilitation programs. Their work, social and independent functioning, was better than the controls. The groups did not differ in mental health services received and satisfaction with services. Although half of Vietnamese-Australians attributed mental illness to supernatural, among other causes, none had consulted traditional healers. Conclusions: Despite LEP, Vietnamese-Australians with psychosis showed comparable or better functioning than Australian-born patients. Further investigation is recommended into LEP patients’ clinical and social recovery and the role of language communities’ support networks.
A model for improving the performance of feature-extraction-based robust hashing

In previous work, we introduced a framework for robust hashing which may be used for improving the performance of any particular feature extraction based method. According to our proposal, the hash generation was achieved from a feature vector in three distinct stages, namely: quantization, bit assignment and the application of the decoding stage of an error correcting code. Results were obtained for unidimensional quantization and bit assignment, on one code only. In this work, we provide a generalisation of those techniques to higher dimensions. In place of unidimensional quantizers, we consider multidimensional quantization. In this case, bit assignment to the resulting indices is a non-trivial task and a number of techniques are evaluated. We show that judicious assignment of binary indices to the codevectors of the quantizer improves the performance of the hashing method. Finally, the robustness provided by application of a channel code is evaluated.
Automated situation clustering of home photos for digital albuming

In this paper, we propose automatic situation clustering method for digital photo album. A group of photos having the same situation could have similar visual semantics. In this paper, visual semantic hints of photo are proposed and used to cluster situations. Experiments were performed with 2345 photos and results showed that the proposed clustering with the visual semantic hints was useful for automated situation clustering based on human perception.
Exercise-Related Hematuria-Reply

In Reply. — Dr Whisnant's letter speaks directly to the problem of differentiating between "benign" hematuria after exercise and hematuria that is secondary to the organic pathological condition of the urologic system. I agree that features of the hematuria itself and the presence or absence of the symptoms are unreliable in establishing this differential. The clinician must exercise clinical judgment in deciding which patients with hematuria should be subjected to invasive testing. Exercise-related hematuria appears to be common, self-limited, and resultant from some form of mucosal trauma to the lower urinary tract. Dr Whisnant agrees that such cases are common. In our study we found 18% of marathoners positive for some degree of hematuria. If 40,000 runners participate in marathons in the coming year, as indicated by projections from the National Running Data Center, then as many as 8,000 persons might be expected to manifest this abnormality. I cannot agree that
1/f noise measurement in CMOS image sensors

This paper describes an in-situ pixel source follower power spectral density (PSD) measurement method that does not require any specialized test equipment. This method requires a dual port CMOS image sensor with analog outputs that allow differential time series noise measurements. We describe the sensor circuits and measurement techniques used for collecting data. We derive an estimator for the PSD based on the measured data. We also present a technique for estimating the confidence interval of the PSD based on Bootstrap re-sampling. Using our estimate of the PSD, we derive estimators for the SPICE NLEV3 1/f noise model parameters AF and KF. We also determine confidence intervals for these estimators. Using this method we present the estimated source follower PSD for a CMOS image sensor fabricated in a 0. 18μm CMOS process with 3. 3μm X 3. 3μm pixels. We also present the estimated values of AF and KF based on the estimated PSD.
Modular Asynchronous Arbiter Insensitive to Metastability

The purpose of this paper is to present a novel modular N-user asynchronous arbiter circuit which is insensitive to metastable operation (i.e., the new arbiter cannot fail because of metastability), operating asynchronously and incorporating a modular architecture. A 1.5 /spl mu/m CMOS prototype arbiter has been designed and tested. Laboratory tests demonstrate the arbiter operates correctly.
Burden of illness of people with persistent symptoms of schizophrenia: A multinational cross-sectional study

Background: Few studies have examined the impact of persistent symptoms of schizophrenia, especially with respect to patient-reported outcomes (PROs), carer burden and health economic impact. Aims: Analyse data relating to burden and severity of illness, functional impairment and quality of life for patients with persistent symptoms of schizophrenia. Methods: A cohort of stable outpatients with persistent symptoms of schizophrenia across seven countries were assessed in a multicentre, non-interventional, cross-sectional survey and retrospective medical record review using PRO questionnaires, clinical rating scales and carer questionnaires. Results: Overall, 1,421 patients and 687 carers were enrolled. Approximately two-thirds of patients had moderate/mild schizophrenia with more severe negative symptoms predominating. Patients showed impaired personal/social functioning and unsuitability for work correlated with various patient factors, most notably symptom-related assessments. Quality-of-life assessments showed 25% to ⩾30% of patients had problems with mobility, washing or dressing. Carer burden was also considerable, with carers having to devote an average of 20.5 hours per week and notable negative impact on quality-of-life measures. Healthcare resource utilisation for in-hospital, outpatient and other care provider visits was significant. Conclusion: These results demonstrate the significant burden of schizophrenia for patients, carers and society and highlight the need for improved treatment approaches.
Improving the Variable Ordering of OBDDs Is NP-Complete

Ordered binary decision diagrams are a useful representation of Boolean functions, if a good variable ordering is known. Variable orderings are computed by heuristic algorithms and then improved with local search and simulated annealing algorithms. This approach is based on the conjecture that the following problem is NP-complete. Given an OBDD G representing f and a size bound s, does there exist an OBDD G* (respecting an arbitrary variable ordering) representing f with at most s nodes? This conjecture is proved.