Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multiple View Stereo by Reflectance Modeling

Multiple view stereo is typically formulated as an optimization problem over a data term and a prior term. The data term is based on the consistency of images projected on a hypothesized surface. This consistency is based on a measure denoted a visual metric, e.g. normalized cross correlation. Here we argue that a visual metric based on a surface reflectance model should be founded on more observations than the degrees of freedom (dof) of the reflectance model. If (partly) specular surfaces are to be handled, this implies a model with at least two dof. In this paper, we propose to construct visual metrics of more than one dof using the DAISY methodology, which compares favorably to the state of the art in the experiments carried out. These experiments are based on a novel data set of eight scenes with diffuse and specular surfaces and accompanying ground truth. The performance of six different visual metrics based on the DAISY framework is investigated experimentally, addressing whether a visual metric should be aggregated from a set of minimal images, which dof is best, or whether a combination of one and two dof should be used. Which metric performs best is dependent on the viewed scene, although there are clear tendencies for the two dof minimal metric to be the preferred one.
Nobel Prize for Cellular Logistics!

Earlier this month (October 7, 2013) “the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet decided to award the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly to James E. Rothman, Randy W. Schekman and Thomas C. Sudhof for their discoveries of machinery regulating vesicle traffic, a major transport system in our cells” (www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2013/press.html and Figure 1). We at Cellular Logistics are especially excited about the recognition of Tom Sudhoff, as he is an illustrious member of our Editorial Board!
Effect and Sustainability of Pharmacy Outreach Services in Elderly Adults: A 5‐Year Experience in Hong Kong

1. Rosset I, Rodrigues RP, Rizzi L et al. Inverse relationship between depressive symptoms and arterial blood pressure in community-dwelling oldestold Brazilians. J Am Geriatr Soc 2013;61:465–467. 2. Okumiya K, Matsubayashi K, Wada T et al. J-curve relation between blood pressure and decline in cognitive function in older people living in community, Japan. J Am Geriatr Soc 1997;45:1032–1033. 3. Godin O, Elbejjani M, Kaufman JS. Body mass index, blood pressure, and risk of depression in the elderly: A marginal structural model. Am J Epidemiol 2012;176:204–213. 4. Patten SB, Williams JV, Lavorato DH et al. Major depression as a risk factor for high blood pressure: Epidemiologic evidence from a national longitudinal study. Psychosom Med 2009;71:273–279. 5. Hildrum B, Mykletun A, Holmen J et al. Effect of anxiety and depression on blood pressure: 11-year longitudinal population study. Br J Psychiatry 2008;193:108–113. 6. Davarian S, Crimmins E, Takahashi A et al. Sociodemographic correlates of four indices of blood pressure and hypertension among older persons in Japan. Gerontology 2013;15:15. 7. Sekikawa A, Hayakawa T. Prevalence of hypertension, its awareness and control in adult population in Japan. J Hum Hypertens 2004;18: 911–912. 8. Wada T, Ishine M, Sakagami T et al. Depression, activities of daily living, and quality of life of community-dwelling elderly in three Asian countries: Indonesia, Vietnam, and Japan. Arch Gerontol Geriatr 2005;41:271–280.
The effect of prior moderate- and heavy-intensity running on the VO2 response to exhaustive severe-intensity running.

We tested the hypothesis that prior heavy-intensity exercise reduces the difference between asymptotic oxygen uptake (VO2) and maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max) during exhaustive severe-intensity running lasting ? 2 minutes. Ten trained runners each performed 2 ramp tests to determine peak VO2 (VO2peak) and speed at ventilatory threshold. They performed exhaustive square-wave runs lasting ? 2 minutes, preceded by either 6 minutes of moderate-intensity running and 6 minutes rest (SEVMOD) or 6 minutes of heavy-intensity running and 6 minutes rest (SEVHEAVY). Two transitions were completed in each condition. VO2 was determined breath by breath and averaged across the 2 repeats of each test; for the square-wave test, the averaged VO2 response was then modeled using a monoexponential function. The amplitude of the VO2 response to severe-intensity running was not different in the 2 conditions (SEVMOD vs SEVHEAVY; 3925 +/- 442 vs 3997 +/- 430 mL/min, P = .237), nor was the speed of the response (? ; 9.2 +/- 2.1 vs 10.0 +/- 2.1 seconds, P = .177). VO2peak from the square-wave tests was below that achieved in the ramp tests (91.0% +/- 3.2% and 92.0% +/- 3.9% VO2peak, P < .001). There was no difference in time to exhaustion between conditions (110.2 +/- 9.7 vs 111.0 +/- 15.2 seconds, P = .813). The results show that the primary VO2 response is unaffected by prior heavy exercise in running performed at intensities at which exhaustion will occur before a slow component emerges.
Variations in % Body Fat, the Amount of Skeletal Muscle and the Index of Physical Fitness in Relation to Sports Activity/Inactivity in Different Age Groups of the Adult Population in the Czech Republic

The aim of this study was to describe typical changes in several parameters of body composition – the amount of skeletal muscle mass (SMM), % body fat (BF) and body mass index (BMI) - in selected age categories (30+ years) of men and women in the Czech Republic, depending on the degree of sports activity. Study (n = 823, M = 343, F = 480) monitored differences in BF, SM and BMI in five age groups (from 30-39 years to 70+ years). Physically inactive individuals have (p < 0.05) higher % BF in comparison with physically active individuals (29.5 ± 0.59 vs. 27 ± 0.38%), higher BMI (27.3 ± 0.32 vs 26.1 ± 0.20 kg/m2), but lower SM (39.0 ± 0.33 vs 40.4 ± 0.21%). The results indicate that with an increasing age, there is a trend towards increasing values of BMI and % BF, and decreasing values of SMM.
Implementing Collaborative Learning in Prelicensure Nursing Curricula: Student Perceptions and Learning Outcomes

This study evaluated learning outcomes and student perceptions of collaborative learning in an undergraduate nursing program. Participants in this 3-phase action research study included students enrolled in a traditional and an accelerated nursing program. The number of students who passed the unit examination was not significantly different between the 3 phases. Students had positive and negative perceptions about the use of collaborative learning.
Effects of signal distortion in a FMCW radar on range resolution

Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radars are used in many range measurement applications. The effects of phase errors in radar antenna, circuit dispersion and of frequency modulation nonlinearity on FMCW radar resolution have been analyzed using computer simulation and experiments with a radar prototype in the 10 GHz band.
Fractional system identification based on improved NLJ algorithm

This paper presents an improved new Luus-Jaakola (NLJ) algorithm which is applied to the fractional order system identification. The discretization of the fractional order system is the precondition of the system identification. However, whether it is based on the definition or the direct approximation, the discretization will increase the complexity of the system architecture and make the system identification much more difficult. In this context, the traditional NLJ algorithm still appears to be of low efficiency and poor stability of the identification result. To address this problem, this article introduces the concept of bi-directional iterative calculation. By comparing the fitting errors, the set of parameters resulting to the smaller error is selected as the initial value of the next iteration, through which the identification efficiency has been improved greatly. Meanwhile, the improved algorithm is applied to two forms of fractional identification with constrained and unconstrained, respectively, just in order to verify the correctness and efficiency of the improved algorithm.
Fast performance prediction method for QPSK modulation

Quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) is one of modulation schemes used in advanced wireless communication systems. It is known to be robust against the channel impairement. However, when it is used with sophisticated signal processing, it makes Monte Carlo simulation method time consumming. In this paper, we propose a semi-analytical prediction method which provides a significant gain in term of computing time.
Developing a Mechanism to Support Decisions for Products Missing from the Shelf

The issue of products missing from the shelf is of high importance in a retailing supply chain. A decision system enabling store managers to decrease the out-of-shelf rate would be valuable. This paper examines two different approaches in building such a decision system: (a) utilization of inventory control models and (b) incorporation of classification methods. Both share criticism regarding their applicability, thus a further exploration of this issue is valuable. This paper examines four different experiments in order to evaluate each approach and record its applicability in the grocery sector. It comes out that both research approaches have limitations and strengths, thus it is suggested that such a decision system should be designed by utilizing both of them.
Longitudinal Studies of Cognition in First Episode Psychosis: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Although cognitive deficits are recognized as a core feature in schizophrenia, their evolution over the course of the illness is still debated. Longitudinal studies of cognition in patients after a first episode of psychosis (FEP) provide extremely useful information, in that they include an adequate and realistic baseline measure of cognitive performance, while at the same time minimizing the effect of confounding variables associated with chronicity. The aim of this systematic review was to summarize findings of studies assessing the longitudinal course of neuropsychological deficits in patients with FEP for durations of at least one year. Overall, the neuropsychological deficits that are present following a first episode of psychosis appeared to remain stable over time for periods of up to ten years, the only possible exception being verbal memory deficits, where there is some evidence of further deterioration over the long term. However, further studies are needed to confirm this conclusion, especially in the (somewhat inconsistently defined) domain of executive function. Improvements in psychopathology appear to positively influence the course of cognitive deficits, although the effects of antipsychotic medication are not as clear.
Motif discovery and motif finding from genome-mapped DNase footprint data

MOTIVATION Footprint data is an important source of information on transcription factor recognition motifs. However, a footprinting fragment can contain no sequences similar to known protein recognition sites. Inspection of genome fragments nearby can help to identify missing site positions. RESULTS Genome fragments containing footprints were supplied to a pipeline that constructed a position weight matrix (PWM) for different motif lengths and selected the optimal PWM. Fragments were aligned with the SeSiMCMC sampler and a new heuristic algorithm, Bigfoot. Footprints with missing hits were found for approximately 50% of factors. Adding only 2 bp on both sides of a footprinting fragment recovered most hits. We automatically constructed motifs for 41 Drosophila factors. New motifs can recognize footprints with a greater sensitivity at the same false positive rate than existing models. Also we discuss possible overfitting of constructed motifs. AVAILABILITY Software and the collection of regulatory motifs are freely available at http://line.imb. ac.ru/DMMPMM.
Further tests of the activity-set hypothesis for warm-up decrement.

Two experiments tested the activity-set hypothesis for warm-up decrement (WUD) in motor tasks, which states that WUD is due to loss of adjustment of essential mechanisms (the activity set) over short periods of no practice. Twenty trials of a linear positioning task (right-hand) were followed by a 10min. rest with activities designed to either reinstate the lost activity set or to interfere with the reinstated activity set. Ten additional trials were given on the right-hand task, and WUD was measured on the first trial. A left-hand positioning task immediately prior to the resumption of right-hand practice greatly reduced WUD relative to a resting control condition, tapping (right-hand) or grip strength (left-hand) tasks after the left-hand positioning task increased WUD, and greater intervals from the end of the left-hand task to the right-hand task increased WUD. These findings supported three predictions from the activity-set hypothesis and supported the hypothesis that WUD is the loss of adjustment over rest of underlying central response mechanisms.
The Impact of Cropland Balance Policy on Ecosystem Service of Water Purification—A Case Study of Wuhan, China

Urbanization has been responsible for the loss of cropland worldwide, especially in China. Since this trend is expected to continue in the near future, China has implemented the strictest cropland protection policies in the world, to guarantee its national food security. However, the negative impact of cropland protection policies on ecosystem services has always been ignored. In this paper, we used LANDSCAPE (Land System Cellular Automata model for Potential Effects) model to assess the ecological lands loss under different scenarios in Wuhan, China during S2010–2020. Our scenarios differ in whether or not the cropland protection policy is imposed. Then, the InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs) model was used to calculate the amount of nutrient export under two different scenarios and to analyze the mechanism of impact of Cropland Balance Policy on water purification. Results show that the scenarios with strict cropland protection (CP) will lead to more losses of ecological lands compared with scenarios without cropland protection (NCP). Besides, the nitrogen export in the CP scenario is average 8.6% higher than the NCP scenario, which indicates that the Cropland Balance Policy has a negative impact on water purification. The nitrogen export is transported mainly by subsurface, which is 1.73 times higher than the surface averaged over the two scenarios. Accordingly, this study proposed that reasonable land use planning, and lowering the nutrient delivery ratio would be more beneficial to the ecosystem service of water purification.
Gabor multipliers with varying lattices

In the early days of Gabor analysis it was a common to say that Gabor expansions of signals are interesting due to the natural interpretation of Gabor coefficients, but unfortunately the computation of Gabor coefficients is costly. Nowadays a large variety of efficient numerical algorithms exists and it has been recognized that stable and robust Gabor expansions can be achieved at low redundancy, e.g., by using a Gaussian atom and any time-frequency lattice of the form (see formula in paper). Consequently Gabor multipliers, i.e., linear operators obtained by applying a pointwise multiplication of the Gabor coefficients, become an important class of time-variant filters. It is the purpose of this paper to describe that fact that - provided one uses Gabor atoms from a suitable subspace (formula in paper)one has the expected continuous dependence of Gabor multipliers on the ingredients. In particular, we will provide new results which show that a small change of lattice parameters implies only a small change of the corresponding Gabor multiplier (e.g., in the Hilbert-Schmidt norm).
Histological Evaluation of the Pulp in Teeth from Dogs with Naturally Occurring Periodontal Disease

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the pulp of dog teeth affected by advanced periodontal disease. Histological examination was done on demineralized teeth extracted during clinical treatment of mature, client owned small and medium-size breed dogs with either good periodontal health or with advanced naturally occurring periodontal disease. Routinely stained sections from 5 clinically normal teeth and 22 teeth with advanced periodontitis from dogs between 5 and 12-years of age were examined using light microscopy. The pulp cavities of most teeth were narrow with low cellularity and some fibrosis of the pulp. Findings specific to periodontally affected teeth included acute and chronic pulpitis, vascular congestion, and pulp necrosis. A glomus body was identified in the pulp of one tooth and areas of poorly mineralized cementum were seen in both normal and diseased teeth. Age related changes in dog teeth appear similar to those reported for man and the rat. In addition to age related changes, the pulp of dog teeth with advanced periodontal disease were frequently inflamed or necrotic. This may reflect the advanced periodontitis affecting these teeth or a mechanical effect related to excessive tooth mobility. Further study is required to determine the etiology and significance of these findings and to investigate pulp status in less severely diseased teeth.
The Zeros of a Random Polynomial

If the coefficients of an algebraic equation are subject to random error, the roots of this equation will also be subject to random error; and it is natural to enquire how the latter errors depend upon the former. This is clearly a question of some practical importance. It arises not only when the coefficients result from experimental data, but also, for example, when the coefficients are rounded off to some specified number of decimal places before commencing a numerical solution. Yet it is a question which has so far received rather scant attention, apart from the treatment of three special instances. In the first of these special instances the equation is of a particular type, namely the characteristic equation of a variance-covariance matrix pencil whose elements are real and distributed in Wishart's form. Under these circumstances the roots are all real, and their joint sampling distribution is well known. Amongst the several textbooks, which discuss this question, the reader may consult Wilks [19]. In the second special instance the equation is linear and the coefficients are real and distributed normally (though not necessarily independently). The distribution of the root of this equation is therefore that of the quotient of two real correlated normal variates. Geary [9] gives the required result. This special instance arises in bio-assay work under the name of Fieller's theorem (see pp. 27-29 in Finney [8]). The interpretation of this theorem is, however, open to question, and I discuss this matter further in section 9. In the third special instance the equation is of general degree and its coefficients are real and distributed independently and symmetrically about zero either (i) normally, or (ii) rectangularly, or (iii) discretely into the pair of classes ± 1. Littlewood and Offord [14], [15] enquired how many real roots on the average such a random equation might be expected to have, and they gave asymptotic approximations for the result valid for equations of large degree. Kac [12], [13] improved their results by showing that the average number of real roots of an equation of degree n 1 is
Biodiversité du pin noir (Pinus nigra Arn. ) en région méditerranéenne

Pinus nigra arn. Est une espece collective presentant une distribution vaste et morcelee. Les diverses sous-especes sont interfertiles. Les evenements geologiques, climatiques et l'impact humain ont conduit les differents peuplements vers des derives genetiques. La systematique de cette espece a plusieurs fois ete mise en question. Dans cette etude nous testons cette systematique a l'aide des analyses terpeniques peu employe sur des pins noirs provenant de l'aire naturelle. Les analyses terpeniques ont prouvees l'existence d'unites infra-specifiques coincidant avec la repartition geographique. Les resultats corroborent la position taxinomique adoptee par plusieurs botanistes qui considerent pinus nigra comme espece et ses unites taxinomiques inferieures comme sous-especes. La subsp. Salzmanii est representee par les populations des cevennes et des pyrenees. La teneur elevee en caryophyllene et en limonene permet de la distinguer des 3 autres sous-especes. La subsp. Laricio est composee de 3 groupes bien distincts: corse, calabre et sicile. L'isolement du pin noir de corse est confirme par la plus forte teneur en b-phellandrene et t-ocimene et forte teneur en limonene. La subsp. Nigra, qui regroupe les populations de slovenie, italie du nord et autriche, et la subsp. Pallasiana, qui represente les populations de grece semble assez proche l'une de l'autre. La teneur elevee en germacrene-d et la faible teneur en myrcene rapproche ces deux sous-especes. Cependant les teneurs en -pinene, terpinolene et -humulene les distinguent
Análisis de Modelos de Procesos de Negocios en relación a la dimensión informática

Este articulo presenta un analisis comparativo entre diferentes modelos de procesos de negocios, en relacion a que elementos de caracter informatico de los procesos de negocios, pueden representar. Para ello, los elementos representados se han clasificado en basicos y avanzados. Los primeros son comunes a muchas representaciones de procesos de negocio y los segundos hacen enfasis en aspectos informaticos. Los modelos analizados son, entre otros, la serie de IDEFX, DFD, UML y otros propuestos por la Reingenieria de Procesos de Negocios. El analisis se efectua considerando un conjunto de variables, que corresponden a elementos y relaciones que se dan en los procesos de negocios, considerando explicitamente los sistemas informaticos.
Occupational Exposure to Lead Decreases Macular, Choroidal, and Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness in Industrial Battery Workers

Abstract Purpose: To evaluate the toxic effects of chronic lead (Pb) exposure on retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFLT), macular thickness (MT) and choroidal thickness (CT) in battery industry workers. Materials and Methods: Male factory workers (n = 50) and healthy non-employees (n = 20) participated in the study. Group 1 (n = 22) comprised lead workers; Group 2 (n = 16), box makers; Group 3 (n = 12), assistant personnel; and Group 4 (n = 20), healthy non-employees. All participants were given Best-Corrected Visual Acuity (BCVA) tests, full ophthalmologic examinations, and Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography (SD-OCT) of the optic nerve head, RNFL, macula, and choroid. Blood lead levels (BLL) in venous blood samples were determined. The duration of exposure to lead varied, and is expressed in months. Results: Average (mean ± SD) ages of participants were 27.55 ± 4.00, 28.69 ± 3.48, 32.00 ± 3.38, and 29.85 ± 5.48 yrs (Groups 1–4, respectively). BLL were 46.2 ± 2.32, 29.31 ± 3.30, 16.9 ± 1.9, and 2.85 ± 0.98 µg/dL (Groups 1–4, respectively). Durations of exposure to lead were 43.86 ± 10.81, 42.81 ± 4.86, and 49.42 ± 6.14 mo (Groups 1–3, respectively). OCT averages for RNFL were 101.68 ± 5.32, 119.50 ± 13.47, 127.67 ± 8.92, and 130.9 ± 6.63 μm (Groups 1–4, respectively). Although RNFLTs of Group 1 were significantly less than those of for Groups 2–4, and, RNFLTs of Groups 2 and 3 were significantly less than that of Group 4, there were no significant differences between Group 2 and 3. MTs were 94.50 ± 6.78, 105.63 ± 5.43, 111.50 ± 6.74 and 147.95 ± 6.67 μm, (Groups 1–4, respectively). CTs were 176.41 ± 15.39, 222.19 ± 17.79, 239.17 ± 15.64, and 251.50 ± 10.98 μm (Groups 1–4, respectively). Both MTs and CTs displayed significant differences among the four groups. Conclusions: Ocular changes in individuals who are chronically exposed to lead include decrease in RNFT, MT, and CT, and thus these parameters should be evaluated during ophthalmologic examination of individuals working in lead-based industries.