Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Deep Learning for Screen-Shot Image Demoiréing: A Survey

Image demoiréing is an important image processing technology in computer vision, used to remove the moiré from images and improve the image quality. In recent years, the image demoiréing technique based on the deep learning method has gained more attention and achieved good results, but it still has some limitations. This paper aims to provide a review and perspective on the recent advances in deep learning-based image demoiréing techniques. First, the definition and production principle of the image moiré pattern are given. Common datasets and image quality evalution methods in demoiréing studies are analyzed. Then two internationally famous competitions in image demoiréing are introduced. Second, the research status of the supervised demoiréing technique is summarized from four dimensions: sampling method, model network design, baseline model, and training learning strategy. Recent progress made by the mainstream model of unsupervised deep learning in the field of image demoiréing is summarized. The typical application of the image demoiréing technique in panel defect detection and digital radiography is analyzed. The performance and the image quality of the above mentioned models based on different data sets are evaluated in detail. Finally, this paper analyzes and forelocks the problems to be solved in the coming years.
The Effect of Endometrial Compaction During the Luteal Phase on Pregnancy Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Intrauterine Insemination

OBJECTIVE: Compression/thinning of the endometrial thickness with the effect of progesterone during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle is defined as endometrial compaction. This study aimed to show the effect of changes in endometrial thickness in the luteal phase of intrauterine insemination cycles on pregnancy outcomes. STUDY DESIGN: Fifty-eight patients who were planned for intrauterine insemination were included in this prospective cohort study. The effect of the change between the patients' endometrial measurements on the day of trigger and the 7th day after intrauterine insemination on pregnancy outcomes were compared. Patients were divided into 3 groups according to endometrial thickness change. Those with an endometrial thickness change of less than 5% were called the no change group (n=18). The groups with endometrial thickness decreasing more than 5% (n=9) and increasing (n=31) formed the other two groups. In addition, the effect of luteal phase support on endometrial compaction was investigated. RESULTS: The highest pregnancy rate (55.6%) was observed in the group with more than 5% endometrial thinning. It was found to be 16.7% in the group without change and 19.4% in the group with an increased endometrial thickness (p=0.045). endometrial compaction and pregnancy rates were higher in the group given oral dydrogesterone for luteal support compared to those using vaginal micronized progesterone. CONCLUSION: Endometrial compaction increases clinical pregnancy in intrauterine insemination cycles. Further studies are necessary to confirm the results of this study.
A non-local thermodynamical equilibrium line formation for neutral and singly ionized titanium in model atmospheres of reference A–K stars

We construct a comprehensive model atom for TiI-II using more than 3600 measured and predicted energy levels of TiI and 1800 energy levels of TiII, and quantum mechanical photoionisation cross-sections. Non-local thermodynamical equilibrium (NLTE) line formation for the two ions of titanium is treated through a wide range of spectral types from A to K, including metal-poor stars with [Fe/H] down to -2.6 dex. NLTE leads to systematically depleted total absorption in the TiI lines and to positive abundance corrections. The magnitude of NLTE abundance corrections is smaller compared to the available literature data for the cool (FGK type) atmospheres. NLTE leads to strengthened TiII lines and to negative NLTE abundance corrections. For the first time, we performed the NLTE calculations for TiI-II in the 6500 K 4.1, and neglecting inelastic collisions with HI for the VMP giant HD 122563. For the very metal-poor turn-off stars ([Fe/H] < -2 and log g < 4.1), the abundance difference TiI-TiII was obtained to be positive already in LTE and it increases in NLTE. The accurate collisional data for TiI and TiII are desired to find a clue to this problem.
BROADBAND SUZAKU OBSERVATIONS OF IGR J16207–5129

An analysis of IGR J16207–5129 is presented based on observations taken with Suzaku. The data set represents ∼80 ks of effective exposure time in a broad energy range between 0.5 and 60 keV, including unprecedented spectral sensitivity above 15 keV. The average source spectrum is well described by an absorbed power law in which we measured a large intrinsic absorption of NH =(16.2+0.9−1.1) × 1022 cm−2. This confirms that IGR J16207–5129 belongs to the class of absorbed high-mass X-ray binaries. We were able to constrain the cutoff energy at 19+8−4 keV, which argues in favor of a neutron star as the primary. Our observation includes an epoch in which the source count rate is compatible with no flux suggesting a possible eclipse. We discuss the nature of this source in light of these and of other recent results.
Thin-Layer Chromatography (TLC) in the Screening of Botanicals–Its Versatile Potential and Selected Applications

The aim of this paper is to present a comprehensive overview of the main aims and scopes in screening of botanicals, a task of which thin-layer chromatography (TLC) is, on an everyday basis, confronted with and engaged in. Stunning omnipresence of this modest analytical technique (both in its standard format (TLC) and the high-performance one (HPTLC), either hyphenated or not) for many analysts might at a first glance appear chaotic and random, with an auxiliary rather than leading role in research, and not capable of issuing meaningful final statements. Based on these reflections, our purpose is not to present a general review paper on TLC in screening of botanicals, but a blueprint rather (illustrated with a selection of practical examples), which highlights a sovereign and important role of TLC in accomplishing the following analytical tasks: (i) solving puzzles related to chemotaxonomy of plants, (ii) screening a wide spectrum of biological properties of plants, (iii) providing quality control of herbal medicines and alimentary and cosmetic products of biological origin, and (iv) tracing psychoactive plants under forensic surveillance.
Effects of Extracts and Flavonoids from Drosera rotundifolia L. on Ciliary Beat Frequency and Murine Airway Smooth Muscle

Extracts from Drosera rotundifolia are traditionally used to treat cough symptoms during a common cold. The present study aimed to investigate the impact of extracts from D. rotundifolia and active compounds on the respiratory tract. Tracheal slices of C57BL/6N mice were used ex vivo to examine effects on airway smooth muscle (ASM) and ciliary beat frequency (CBF). Phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibition assays were carried out to test whether PDE1 or PDE4 are targeted by the active compounds. An ethanol–water extract, as well as an aqueous fraction of this extract, exerted antispasmodic properties against acetylcholine-induced contractions. In addition, contractions induced by 60 mM K+ were abrogated by the aqueous fraction. Effects on ASM could be attributed to the flavonoids quercetin, 2″-O-galloylhyperoside and hyperoside. Moreover, the Drosera extract and the aqueous fraction increased the CBF of murine tracheal slices. Quercetin and 2″-O-galloylhyperoside were identified as active compounds involved in the elevation of CBF. Both compounds inhibited PDE1A and PDE4D. The elevation of CBF was mimicked by the subtype-selective PDE inhibitor rolipram (PDE4) and by 8-methoxymethyl-IBMX. In summary, our study shows, for the first time, that a Drosera extract and its flavonoid compounds increase the CBF of murine airways while antispasmodic effects were transferred to ASM.
Serum proteomic analysis reveals the differential dose effects of crocodile oil from Crocodylus siamensis on energy metabolism in rats

Background: Dietary fat composition is a potential major factor affecting energy metabolism. Crocodile oil (CO) is rich in mono- and poly-unsaturated fatty acids exhibiting anti-inflammatory and healing properties. Aim: This study investigated different levels of CO consumption on alterations and expression of proteins involved in energy metabolism in rats. Methods: Twenty-one male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three groups and administered sterile water (N) or different doses of CO [1% or 3% (v/w) CO] orally once daily for 8 weeks. Body weight gain, food intake, energy intake, blood lipid profiles, and serum energy-related metabolites were determined. The serum proteome was analyzed using shotgun proteomics, and the functions of several candidate proteins were classified using PANTHER software. Results: There were no significant differences in body weight or energy intake were observed between groups. However, both CO-treated groups showed significantly decreased serum triglyceride (TG) levels (p < 0.05). Moreover, post-treatment serum TG levels in the 1%CO group were significantly lower than pre-treatment compared with other groups. The serum oxaloacetate level was also significantly higher in both CO groups than in the N group. The proteomic analysis classified 4,525 serum proteins and revealed more unique proteins involved in cellular metabolic activity in both CO-treated groups than in the N group. Self-organizing tree algorithm clustering of 295 shared differentially expressed proteins in both CO-treatment groups showed that upregulated hyper-expressed protein clusters in both CO groups were associated with catalytic activity and molecular activity on the same levels. Conclusion: CO simultaneously enhances energy metabolism and improves lipid profiles.
Who Was Wrong? An Object Detection Based Responsibility Assessment System for Crossroad Vehicle Collisions †

Car crashes, known also as vehicle collisions, are recurrent events that occur every day. As long as vehicles exist, vehicle collisions will, unfortunately, continue to occur. When a car crash occurs, it is important to investigate and determine the actors’ responsibilities. The police in charge of that task, as well as claims adjusters, usually process manually by going to the crash spot, collecting data on the field, drafting the crash, and assessing responsibilities based on road rules. This later task of assessing responsibilities usually takes time and requires enough knowledge of road rules. With the aim to support the police and claims adjusters and simplify the process of responsibility determination, we built a system that can automatically assess actors’ responsibilities within a crossroad crash. The system is mainly based on image detection and uses a rule-based knowledge system to assess responsibilities within driving recorders’ videos. It uses the crash video recorded by one of the involved vehicles’ driving recorders as the input data source and outputs the evaluation of each actor’s responsibility within the crash. The rule-based knowledge system was implemented to make the reasoning about responsibility assessment clear and allow users to easily understand the reasons for the results. The system consists of three modules: (a) a crash time detection module, (b) a traffic sign detection module, and (c) a responsibility assessment module. To detect a crash within a video, we discovered that the simple application of existing vehicle detection models would result in wrong detections with many false positives. To solve the issue, we made our proposed model take into account only the collided vehicle, its shape, and its position within the video. Moreover, with the biggest challenge being finding data to train the system’s detection models, we built our own dataset from scratch with more than 1500 images of head-on car crashes within the context of crossroad accidents taken by the driving recorder of one of the vehicles involved in the crash. The experiment’s results show how the system performs in (1) detecting the crash time, (2) detecting traffic signs, and (3) assessing each party’s responsibility. The system performs well when light conditions and the visibility of collided objects are good and traffic lights’ view distances are close.
Minimizing Student Loan Debt: A Reading List

An annotated reading list of eight texts offers concrete suggestions for obtaining an affordable college degree in the United States. Guidance for minimizing or avoiding student loan debt is included. Books targeted toward prospective college students, their parents, their high school teachers and counselors, as well as higher education administrators are included. In addition to serving as a reference for pre-college learners and their families, this reading list is appropriate for graduate school discussion and guidance counselor in-service.
High resolution ALMA observations of dense molecular medium in the central regions of active galaxies

Abstract In the central regions of active galaxies, dense molecular medium are exposed to various types of radiation and energy injections, such as UV, X-ray, cosmic ray, and shock dissipation. With the rapid progress of chemical models and implementation of new-generation mm/submm interferometry, we are now able to use molecules as powerful diagnostics of the physical and chemical processes in galaxies. Here we give a brief overview on the recent ALMA results to demonstrate how molecules can reveal underlying physical and chemical processes in galaxies. First, new detections of Galactic molecular absorption systems with elevated HCO/H13CO+ column density ratios are reported, indicating that these molecular media are irradiated by intense UV fields. Second, we discuss the spatial distributions of various types of shock tracers including HNCO, CH3OH and SiO in NGC 253 and NGC 1068. Lastly, we provide an overview of proposed diagnostic methods of nuclear energy sources using ALMA, with an emphasis on the synergy with sensitive mid-infrared spectroscopy, which will be implemented by JWST and SPICA to disentangle the complex nature of heavily obscured galaxies across the cosmic time.
A General Algorithm for Loop-gain and TDC-resolution Optimization in an ADPLL with a 2-bit TDC Phase detector

This paper proposes a general optimization algorithm running in background for optimizing loop-gain and TDC-resolution in an ADPLL. This algorithm is designed for ADPLLs relying on a 2-bit TDC phase detector. The proposed optimization algorithm can optimize both TDC-resolution and loop-gain simultaneously, unlike previously presented algorithms that can optimize either loop-gain or TDC-resolution, hence two optimization loops working in parallel are required. Moreover, the proposed optimization algorithm relies on a simple logic, unlike previously presented algorithms relying on complex signal processing algorithms.
Kinetics-based formulation of relationship between healing and ageing of asphalt binder

ABSTRACT Ageing and healing are both important characteristics of asphalt binder. The effect of ageing on healing is often studied, but the quantitative relationship between them is not clear. Thus, this study aims at explaining and formulating the inner relationship between healing and ageing based on a kinetics-based approach, expressed as healing and ageing activation energy, respectively. The healing activation energy is obtained based on the healing kinetics approach using recoverable strain energy (RSE). The ageing activation energy is calculated based on the kinetics-based ageing model. After that, further analysis is performed to explore the relationship between healing and ageing kinetic rates of asphalt binders, and the interpretation of the discovered relationship is proposed. The results indicate that the healing activation energy of aged asphalt binder has no big difference from the sum of ageing activation energy plus the healing activation energy of unaged asphalt binder. Define the ratio of initial temperature kinetic rate to the final temperature kinetic rate of healing/ageing as the healing/ageing rate ratio. It indicates that the product of the healing rate ratio of unaged asphalt binder and the ageing rate ratio of the same binder is close to the healing rate ratio of aged asphalt binder.
Non-Abelian cosmic strings in de Sitter and anti–de Sitter space

In this paper we investigate the non-Abelian cosmic string in de Sitter and anti-de Sitter spacetimes. In order to do that we construct the complete set of equations of motion considering the presence of a cosmological constant. By using numerical analysis we provide the behavior of the Higgs and gauge fields and also for the metric tensor for specific values of the physical parameters of the theory. For de Sitter case, we find the appearance of horizons that although being consequence of the presence of the cosmological constant it strongly depends on the value of the gravitational coupling. In the anti-de Sitter case, we find that the system does not present horizons. In fact the new feature of this system is related with the behavior of the (00) and (zz) components of the metric tensor. They present a strongly increasing for large distance from the string.
Photon-echo quantum memory with complete use of natural inhomogeneous broadening

The photon-echo quantum memory is based on a controlled rephasing of the atomic coherence excited by a signal light field in the inhomogeneously broadened resonant line. Here, we demonstrate an active mechanism of the atomic rephasing that provides a perfect retrieval of the stored light field in the photon-echo quantum memory based on the use of arbitrary initial inhomogeneous broadening of the resonant line. We show that the rephasing mechanism can exploit all resonant atoms, thereby maximally increasing an optical depth of the resonant transition, which is one of the critical parameters for the realization of highly efficient quantum memory. We also demonstrate that the rephasing mechanism can be used for various realizations of the photon-echo quantum memory, thereby creating many possibilities for its practical realization.
Numerical testing of the Rare Earth Hypothesis using Monte Carlo realization techniques

Abstract The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) has thus far failed to provide a convincing detection of intelligent life. In the wake of this null signal, many ‘contact-pessimistic’ hypotheses have been formulated, the most famous of which is the Rare Earth Hypothesis. It postulates that although terrestrial planets may be common, the exact environmental conditions that Earth enjoys are rare, perhaps unique. As a result, simple microbial life may be common, but complex metazoans (and, hence, intelligence) will be rare. In this paper we use Monte Carlo realization techniques to investigate the Rare Earth Hypothesis, in particular the environmental criteria considered imperative to the existence of intelligence on Earth. By comparing with a less restrictive, more optimistic hypothesis, the data indicate that if the Rare Earth hypothesis is correct, intelligent civilization will indeed be relatively rare. Studying the separations of pairs of civilizations shows that most intelligent civilization pairs (ICPs) are unconnected: that is, they will not be able to exchange signals at lightspeed in the limited time that both are extant. However, the few ICPs that are connected are strongly connected, being able to participate in numerous exchanges of signals. This may provide encouragement for SETI researchers: although the Rare Earth Hypothesis is in general a contact-pessimistic hypothesis, it may be a ‘soft’ or ‘exclusive’ hypothesis, i.e. it may contain facets that are latently contact-optimistic.
Angioside: The role of Angiogenesis and Hypoxia in Lung Neuroendocrine Tumours According to Primary Tumour Location in Left or Right Parenchyma

Well-differentiated lung neuroendocrine tumours (Lu-NETs), classified as typical (TC) and atypical (AC) carcinoids, represent 30% of NETs. Angiogenesis plays an essential role in NET development and progression. A higher vascular network is a marker of differentiation, with positive prognostic implications. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively evaluated microvessel density (MVD) by CD34 immunohistochemical (IHC) staining and hypoxia by IHC staining for Hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α), comparing right- and left-lung parenchyma in 53 lung NETs. Results: The median age was 66 years (39–81), 56.6% males, 24.5% AC, 40.5% left-sided tumours and 69.8% TNM stage I. The mitotic count was <2/10 per 10 HPF in 79.2%, and the absence of necrosis in 81.1%, 39.6% with Ki67, was ≤2%. The MVD, the number of vessels and the average vessel area median values were significantly higher in the right than the left parenchyma (p: 0.025, p: 0.019, p: 0.016, respectively). Hypoxia resulted present in 14/19 (73.6%) left tumours and in 10/20 (50%) right tumours in the parenchyma (p: 0.129). Conclusions: This study suggests a biological rationale for a different angiogenesis and hypoxia according to the Lu-NETs’ location. In our study, left primary tumours were less vascularized and most likely to present hypoxia than right primary tumours. This finding could have potentially useful prognostic and predictive implications for Lu-NETs.
New Advances in Lateral Flow Immunoassay (LFI) Technology for Food Safety Detection

With the continuous development of China’s economy and society, people and the government have higher and higher requirements for food safety. Testing for food dopants and toxins can prevent the occurrence of various adverse health phenomena in the world’s population. By deploying new and powerful sensors that enable rapid sensing processes, the food industry can help detect trace adulteration and toxic substances. At present, as a common food safety detection method, lateral flow immunochromatography (LFI) is widely used in food safety testing, environmental testing and clinical medical treatment because of its advantages of simplicity, speed, specificity and low cost, and plays a pivotal role in ensuring food safety. This paper mainly focuses on the application of lateral flow immunochromatography and new technologies combined with test strips in food safety detection, such as aptamers, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, quantum dots, electrochemical test strip detection technology, biosensor test strip detection, etc. In addition, sensing principles such as fluorescence resonance energy transfer can also more effective. Different methods have different characteristics. The following is a review of the application of these technologies in food safety detection.
Stellar granulation and interferometry

Stars are not smooth. Their photosphere is covered by a granulation pattern associated with the heat transport by convection. The convection-related surface structures have different size, depth, and temporal variations with respect to the stellar type. The related activity (in addition to other phenomena such as magnetic spots, rotation, dust, etc.) potentially causes bias in stellar parameters determination, radial velocity, chemical abundances determinations, and exoplanet transit detections. The role of long-baseline interferometric observations in this astrophysical context is crucial to characterize the stellar surface dynamics and correct the potential biases. In this Chapter, we present how the granulation pattern is expected for different kind of stellar types ranging from main sequence to extremely evolved stars of different masses and how interferometric techniques help to study their photospheric dynamics.