gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Static Occlusion Detection and Handling in Transportation Videos (2015)

Occlusions present a challenge in surveillance and traffic monitoring applications where person and/or vehicle tracking are required. Video-based object tracking is a process where the location of a given object of interest in a video sequence is determined across a range of frames. A key step in typical tracking operations is forming a feature representation of an object being tracked and solving a correspondence problem to find the location of the best-matching set of those features between video frames. The best-matching feature set is usually found via optimization algorithms across regions in subsequent frames near and around the location of the object in a current frame. The features used to solve the correspondence problem are usually appearance-based, and may include color, texture and shape descriptors. Consequently, the track can be lost when a view of the tracked object is occluded by objects in the scene because the appearance of the occluded object may not sufficiently resemble the appearance of the unoccluded object. In this paper, we present a method for determining the location of static occlusions in a scene at the pixel level, and utilize the knowledge of the location of the occlusions to boost the performance of well-known video-based object tracking algorithms. We demonstrate via experimental testing that the proposed method is effective in improving the performance of tracking algorithms, particularly when the motion in the scene is highly regularized, as is the case in cameras performing transportation monitoring tasks.
Pretargeting Immunotherapy: a Novel Treatment Approach for Systemic Amyloidosis (2017)

The amyloidoses are a complex group of disorders characterized by the deposition of proteinaceous amyloid fibrils in vital organs. The deposits are nonimmunogenic and may be composed of one of more than 35 proteins. We have developed a two-stage immunotherapeutic approach using peptides that recognize most, if not all, amyloid deposits to facilitate amyloid clearance. In the first embodiment, we have developed a bifunctional peptope to enhance and expand the utility of currently available antibodies. In the second, we have generated peptide-reactive antibodies that can be targeted to the amyloid deposits by peptides thereby providing alternative reagents for immunotherapy of amyloidosis. These technologies provide tools for treating the many forms of amyloid disease, restoring organ function and enhancing patient survival.
Intravaginal Administration of Interleukin 12 during Genital Gonococcal Infection in Mice Induces Immunity to Heterologous Strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae (2018)

It has previously been shown that genital tract infection with <i>Neisseria gonorrhoeae</i> in mice does not induce a state of protective immunity against reinfection but instead suppresses the development of adaptive immune responses against <i>N. gonorrhoeae</i> dependent on transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) and interleukin 10 (IL-10). Intravaginal administration during gonococcal infection of IL-12 encapsulated in biodegradable microspheres (IL-12/ms) reverses the immunosuppression and promotes the production of gamma interferon (IFN-γ) and of specific antibodies in serum and genital secretions and accelerates clearance of the infection. In this study, microspheres were shown to remain largely within the genital tract lumen and to release IL-12 over the course of 4 days. Antigonococcal IgA and IgG antibodies induced by IL-12/ms treatment reacted with antigenically different strains of <i>N. gonorrhoeae</i> and led to resistance to reinfection with heterologous and homologous strains. Immune resistance to reinfection persisted for at least 6 months after clearance of the primary infection. Experiments performed with immunodeficient strains of mice lacking either IFN-γ or B cells demonstrated that both IFN-γ and B cells were necessary for the IL-12-induced generation of immune responses to <i>N. gonorrhoeae</i> and the resulting accelerated clearance of the infection. It is therefore concluded that intravaginally administered IL-12/ms achieves its effect by the sustained release of IL-12 that promotes Th1-driven adaptive immune responses, including the production of specific antigonococcal antibodies that cross-react with multiple strains of <i>N. gonorrhoeae</i>. IL-12-enhanced immunity to <i>N. gonorrhoeae</i> can be recalled against reinfection after prolonged intervals and is dependent upon both IFN-γ and antibody production by B cells. <b>IMPORTANCE</b> Genital infection with <i>Neisseria gonorrhoeae</i> (gonorrhea) is a significant cause of reproductive tract morbidity in women, leading to pelvic inflammatory disease, tubal factor infertility, and increased risk for ectopic pregnancy. WHO estimates that 78 million new infections occur annually worldwide. In the United States, >350,000 cases are reported annually, but the true incidence is probably >800,000 cases/year. Increasing resistance to currently available antibiotics raises concern that gonorrhea might become untreatable. Infection does not induce a state of immune protection against reinfection. Previous studies have shown that <i>N. gonorrhoeae</i> suppresses the development of adaptive immune responses by mechanisms dependent on the regulatory cytokines TGF-β and IL-10. This study shows that intravaginal treatment of gonococcal infection in female mice with microencapsulated IL-12 induces persisting anamnestic immunity against reinfection with <i>N. gonorrhoeae</i>, even of antigenically diverse strains, dependent on T-cell production of IFN-γ and B-cell production of antibodies.
Low-temperature catalytic destruction of CCl4, CHCl3 and CH2Cl2 over basic oxides (2004)

The catalytic destruction of CCl4, CHCl3 and CH2Cl2 in the presence of steam has been compared over a series of unsupported and alumina-supported lanthanide and alkaline earth oxides. It was found that (1) the destruction rate over basic oxides decreases with decreasing chlorine content of the CHC compound (CCl4 > CHCl3 > CH2Cl2); (2) the catalyst activity is always higher for lanthanide oxides than for alkaline earth oxides; (3) supported basic oxides are more active than their unsupported counterparts and (4) a stable destruction activity of more than 10 days can be maintained as long as an excess of steam is present in the gas stream. The reaction products are also dependent on the type of chlorinated hydrocarbon. CO2 and HCl are the products for the destruction of CCl4 and both compounds are formed from the reaction intermediate Cl2CO. In the case of CHCl3 a mixture of CO and HCl is produced, partially formed via the hydrolysis of the reaction intermediate HClCO. Finally, the reaction products for the destruction of CH2Cl2 are HCl, CO and H2; the latter two are formed from H2CO decomposition. In the case of supported basic oxides significant amounts of CH3Cl are produced in the catalytic destruction of CH2Cl2, which is catalyzed by the partially uncovered Al2O3 support phase. In situ Raman and infrared spectroscopy were used to monitor the physicochemical changes taking place in the catalytic solid as well in the gas phase above the catalyst material. Based on these findings a plausible reaction mechanism is proposed. Lanthanide oxides and lanthanide oxide chlorides are both active phases in this catalytic process.
FaME-ML: Fast Multirate Encoding for HTTP Adaptive Streaming Using Machine Learning (2020)

HTTP Adaptive Streaming (HAS) is the most common approach for delivering video content over the Internet. The requirement to encode the same content at different quality levels (i.e., representations) in HAS is a challenging problem for content providers. Fast multirate encoding approaches try to accelerate this process by reusing information from previously encoded representations. In this paper, we propose to use convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to speed up the encoding of multiple representations with a specific focus on parallel encoding. In parallel encoding, the overall time-complexity is limited to the maximum time-complexity of one of the representations that are encoded in parallel. Therefore, instead of reducing the time-complexity for all representations, the highest time-complexities are reduced. Experimental results show that FaME-ML achieves significant time-complexity savings in parallel encoding scenarios (41% in average) with a slight increase in bitrate and quality degradation compared to the HEVC reference software.
VIVACE (Vortex Induced Vibration Aquatic Clean Energy): A New Concept in Generation of Clean and Renewable Energy From Fluid Flow (2006)

Any device aiming to harness the abundant clean and renewable energy from ocean and other water resources in the USA must have high energy density, be unobtrusive, have low maintenance, be robust, meet life cycle cost targets, and have a 10–20 year life. The VIVACE (Vortex Induced Vibration Aquatic Clean Energy) Converter — invented by Bernitsas & Raghavan and patented through the University of Michigan — satisfies those criteria. It converts ocean/river current kinetic energy to electricity using VIV successfully and efficiently for the first time. VIVACE is based on the simple idea of maximizing rather than spoiling vortex shedding and exploiting rather than suppressing VIV. It introduces optimal damping for energy conversion while maintaining VIV over a broad range of vortex shedding synchronization. VIV occurs over very broad ranges of Reynolds (Re) number. Only two transition regions suppress VIV. Thus, even from currents as slow as 0.25m/sec, VIVACE can extract energy with high efficiency making ocean/river current energy a more accessible and economically viable resource. In this paper, the underlying concepts of the VIVACE Converter are discussed. The designs of the physical model and lab prototype are presented. A mathematical model is developed and design particulars for a wide range of application scales are calculated. Experimental measurements on the lab prototype are reported in the sequel paper and used here for preliminary benchmarking.
Clusterin Inhibition Using OGX-011 Synergistically Enhances Hsp90 Inhibitor Activity by Suppressing the Heat Shock Response in Castrate-Resistant Prostate Cancer (2011)

Small-molecule inhibitors of Hsp90 show promise in the treatment of castrate-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC); however, these inhibitors trigger a heat shock response that attenuates drug effectiveness. Attenuation is associated with increased expression of Hsp90, Hsp70, Hsp27, and clusterin (CLU) that mediate tumor cell survival and treatment resistance. We hypothesized that preventing CLU induction in this response would enhance Hsp90 inhibitor-induced CRPC cell death in vitro and in vivo. To test this hypothesis, we treated CRPC with the Hsp90 inhibitor PF-04929113 or 17-AAG in the absence or presence of OGX-011, an antisense drug that targets CLU. Treatment with either Hsp90 inhibitor alone increased nuclear translocation and transcriptional activity of the heat shock factor HSF-1, which stimulated dose- and time-dependent increases in HSP expression, especially CLU expression. Treatment-induced increases in CLU were blocked by OGX-011, which synergistically enhanced the activity of Hsp90 inhibition on CRPC cell growth and apoptosis. Accompanying these effects was a decrease in HSF-1 transcriptional activity as well as expression of HSPs, Akt, prostate-specific antigen, and androgen receptor. In vivo evaluation of the Hsp90 inhibitors with OGX-011 in xenograft models of human CRPC showed that OGX-011 markedly potentiated antitumor efficacy, leading to an 80% inhibition of tumor growth with prolonged survival compared with Hsp90 inhibitor monotherapy. Together, our findings indicate that Hsp90 inhibitor-induced activation of the heat shock response and CLU is attenuated by OGX-011, with synergistic effects on delaying CRPC progression.
Thermally Robust Heterobimetallic Palladium–Alkali Catalysts for Ethylene and Alkyl Acrylate Copolymerization (2018)

We report on the synthesis and characterization of a new family of palladium–alkali olefin polymerization catalysts using site-differentiated dinucleating platforms. Metal binding studies indicate that our palladium phosphine phosphonate polyethylene glycol (PEG) complexes form 1:1 adducts with alkali cations in solution, with relative affinities in the order Na+ ≈ K+ > Li+. We observed that these palladium–alkali complexes are more active for ethylene homopolymerization and ethylene/alkyl acrylate copolymerization in comparison to their monopalladium counterparts, although their effect on polymer branching and molecular weight is relatively modest. In some cases, the addition of external sodium salts to conventional palladium complexes (i.e., those that do not have pendant PEG chains) also led to remarkable catalyst enhancements, presumably also due to the formation of palladium–sodium species. The unique features of our heterobimetallic systems are that they display long catalyst lifetimes at 100 °C and can even operate at temperatures as high as 140 °C. Although we have shown that secondary cations clearly increase the electrophilicity of the metal catalyst, their precise role in these polymerization reactions is still under investigation.
Advancements in adeno-associated viral gene therapy approaches: exploring a new horizon (2011)

Gene therapy is a promising new therapeutic strategy that has been explored in a wide variety of diseases, ranging from cancer to hemophilia, and ocular disorders to autoimmune diseases, among others. Proof of concept of gene transfer approaches has been shown in over 100 studies of animal models of disease, although only a few are under development for clinical application. The US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency have not approved any viral human gene therapy products for sale so far, but the amount of gene-related research and development occurring in the United States and Europe continues to grow at a fast rate. This review summarizes the current status of developments in the field of viral gene therapy using adeno-associated virus as a vector, with a special focus on arthritis. For rheumatoid arthritis, and to a lesser extent for other immune-related inflammatory disorders, several cell and gene transfer approaches have been investigated at the preclinical level and a few have been implemented in clinical trials. Finally, both the potential and the hurdles that are faced during development of a viral gene therapy through to its clinical application are discussed.
Thermal Management Using MEMS Bimorph Cantilever Beams (2016)

This paper examines a passive cooling technique using microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) for localized thermal management of electronic devices. The prototype was designed using analytic equations, simulated using finite element methods (FEM), and fabricated using the commercial PolyMUMPs™ process. The system consisted of an electronic device simulator (EDS) and MEMS bimorph cantilever beams (MBCB) array with beams lengths of 200, 250, and 300 μm that were tested to characterize deflection and thermal behavior. The specific beam lengths were chosen to actuate in response to heating associated with the EDS (i.e. the longest beams actuated first corresponding to the hottest portion of the EDS). The results show that the beams deflected as designed when thermally actuated and effectively transferred heat away via thermal conduction. The temperature when the beams reached “net-zero” deflection (i.e. uncurled and flat) was related to the initial deflection distance while the contact deflection temperature and rate of actuation was related to beam length. Initial beam deflections, after release, and contact temperatures, when fully actuated, were approximately 5.05, 9.45, 14.05 μm, and 231, 222, 216 °C, respectively with the longer beams making contact first. This innovative passive thermal management system enables selective device cooling without requiring active control or forced convection to maintain steady-state operating temperatures for sensitive microelectronic devices.
A new family of embedded multiple description scalar quantizers (2005)

A new family of embedded multiple description scalar quantizers (EMDSQ) that support the progressive transmission of images over variable-bandwidth error-prone channels is proposed in this paper. A control mechanism that allows for tuning the redundancy between the two descriptions for each quantization level is also designed. The employed mechanism enables control of the tradeoff between the coding efficiency and error-resilience, and provides an increased robustness by improving the error resilience in the most important layers of the embedded bit-streams. Instantiations of the proposed family are incorporated in a wavelet-based embedded coding system, and the redundancy-control mechanism is practically demonstrated. Experimental results show that the proposed EMDSQ outperform the state-of-the-art multiple description uniform scalar quantizers (MDUSQ) previously proposed in the literature for error-resilient progressive image transmission.
View-invariant recognition of body pose from space-time templates (2008)

We propose a new template-based approach for view invariant recognition of body poses, based on geometric constraints derived from the motion of body point triplets. In addition to spatial information our templates encode temporal information of body pose transitions. Unlike existing methods that study a body pose as a whole, we decompose it into a number of body point triplets, and compare their motions to our templates. Using the fact that the homography induced by the motion of a triplet of body points in two identical body pose transitions reduces to the special case of a homology, we exploit the equality of two of its eigenvalues to impose constraints on the similarity of the pose transitions between two subjects, observed by different perspective cameras and from different viewpoints. Extensive experimental results show that our method can accurately identify human poses from video sequences when they are observed from totally different viewpoints with different camera parameters.
Preclinical Evaluation of <sup>18</sup>F-PSMA-1007, a New Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen Ligand for Prostate Cancer Imaging (2016)

In recent years, several radiotracers targeting the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) have been introduced. Some of them have had a high clinical impact on the treatment of patients with prostate cancer. However, the number of <sup>18</sup>F-labeled tracers addressing PSMA is still limited. Therefore, we aimed to develop a radiofluorinated molecule resembling the structure of therapeutic PSMA-617. <b>Methods:</b> The nonradioactive reference compound PSMA-1007 and the precursor were produced by solid-phase chemistry. The radioligand <sup>18</sup>F-PSMA-1007 was produced by a 2-step procedure with the prosthetic group 6-<sup>18</sup>F-fluoronicotinic acid 2,3,5,6-tetrafluorophenyl ester. The binding affinity of the ligand for PSMA and its internalization properties were evaluated in vitro with PSMA-positive LNCaP (lymph node carcinoma of the prostate) cells. Further, organ distribution studies were performed with mice bearing LNCaP and PC-3 (prostate cancer cell line; PSMA-negative) tumors. Finally, small-animal PET imaging of an LNCaP tumor-bearing mouse was performed. <b>Results:</b> The identified ligand had a binding affinity of 6.7 ± 1.7 nM for PSMA and an exceptionally high internalization ratio (67% ± 13%) in vitro. In organ distribution studies, high and specific tumor uptake (8.0 ± 2.4 percentage injected dose per gram) in LNCaP tumor-bearing mice was observed. In the small-animal PET experiments, LNCaP tumors were clearly visualized. <b>Conclusion:</b> The radiofluorinated PSMA ligand showed promising characteristics in its preclinical evaluation, and the feasibility of prostate cancer imaging was demonstrated by small-animal PET studies. Therefore, we recommend clinical transfer of the radioligand <sup>18</sup>F-PSMA-1007 for use as a diagnostic PET tracer in prestaging and monitoring of prostate cancer.
Isolation of infectious human T-cell leukemia/lymphotropic virus type III (HTLV-III) from patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) or AIDS-related complex (ARC) and from healthy carriers: a study of risk groups and tissue sources. (1985)

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and AIDS-related complex (ARC) are thought to be caused by human T-cell leukemia/lymphotropic virus type III (HTLV-III). Since the fall of 1982, independent isolates of HTLV-III have been obtained in this laboratory, in collaboration with several clinical groups, from 101 AIDS and ARC patients and healthy donors at risk for AIDS. Most isolates were from peripheral blood T lymphocytes established in cell culture, but some were obtained from bone marrow, lymph node, brain tissue, and cell-free plasma and from cells associated with saliva, cerebrospinal fluid, and semen. Virus was isolated from approximately 50% of AIDS patients, 85% of ARC patients, and 30% of healthy individuals at risk for AIDS. The risk groups included homosexuals, promiscuous heterosexuals, i.v. drug users, recipients of blood or blood products, and spouses and offspring of AIDS patients and others at risk for AIDS. A high correlation was seen between persistent levels of serum antibody and the ability to isolate virus from patient or donor leukocytes. Immunologic and nucleic acid analysis demonstrated that the virus isolates were highly related, although substantial diversity was observed in the restriction enzyme cleavage patterns of those studied in detail. Biological analysis of cells from infected patients and donors as well as from normal peripheral blood mononuclear cells exposed to virus in vitro demonstrated that OKT4/Leu3a+ (helper/inducer) lymphocytes were preferentially infected and were subjected to a characteristic cytopathic effect. The availability of multiple isolates of virus from a number of different patients and donors will greatly facilitate the characterization of HTLV-III and the study of possible biological and/or biochemical variants of the virus responsible for the development of AIDS, ARC, and related diseases.
Low‐temperature sputtered mixtures of high‐κ and high bandgap dielectrics for GIZO TFTs (2010)

Abstract— This paper discusses the properties of sputtered multicomponent amorphous dielectrics based on mixtures of high‐κ and high‐bandgap materials and their integration in oxide TFTs, with processing temperatures not exceeding 150°C. Even if Ta 2 O 5 films are already amorphous, multicomponent materials such as Ta 2 O 5 —SiO 2 and Ta 2 O 5 —Al 2 O 3 allow an increase in the bandgap and the smoothness of the films, reducing their leakage current and improving (in the case of Ta 2 O 5 —SiO 2 ) the dielectric/semiconductor interface properties when these dielectrics are integrated in TFTs. For HfO 2 ‐ based dielectrics, the advantages of multicomponent materials are even clearer: while HfO 2 films present a polycrystalline structure and a rough surface, HfO 2 —SiO 2 films exhibit an amorphous structure and a very smooth surface. The integration of the multicomponent dielectrics in GIZO TFTs allows remarkable performance, comparable with that of GIZO TFTs using SiO 2 deposited at 400°C by PECVD. For instance, with Ta 2 O 5 —SiO 2 as the dielectric layer, field‐effect mobility of 35 cm 2 /(V‐sec), close to 0 V turn‐on voltage, an on/off ratio higher than 10 6 , a subthreshold slope of 0.24 V/dec, and a small/recoverable threshold voltage shifts under constant current ( I D = 10 μA) stress during 24 hours are achieved. Initial results with multilayers of SiO 2 /HfO 2 —SiO 2 /SiO 2 are also shown, allowing a lower leakage current with lower thickness and excellent device performance.