nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
A new image encryption using color scrambling based on chaotic permutation multiple circular shrinking and expanding
Venue: Multimedia Tools and Applications

In this paper, we propose a new color image encryption method using color scrambling based on the chaotic permutation multiple circular shrinking and expanding (CPMCS/ CPMCE) The plain color image with a size of m x n x 3 is arranged in two dimensional array, where each row consists of the Red, Green, and Blue (RGB) component, forming two dimensional array with a size of m x 3n. The arranged 2D array then permuted by CPMCS for the each row and column. To reconstruct the original image, the ciphered image is arranged in 2D array then is permuted by CPMCE for each column and row. The proposed method is characterized by very high key space that reaches 22,895,713 for an image size of 256x256, so that resistance to brute force attack and can anticipate the emergence of quantum computers. It also resistant to a differential attack due to change a single bit in the plain image causes a significant change in the ciphered image. The proposed encryption also yield completely difference ciphered image series from the same plain image just using arbitrary increment sequence key. It is also robust to JPEG compression so the ciphered image can be stored in smaller size, such as for the ciphered Lena image only needs 1/5.2 of the original one when compressed using JPEG 70 It also resistant to noise scheme (Gaussian, Poisson, Salt&Pepper, and spekle) data loss, and brightness contrast adjustment, so the ciphered image can be transmitted in a non error free communication system.
Deep Automatic Portrait Matting
Venue: ECCV

We propose an automatic image matting method for portrait images. This method does not need user interaction, which was however essential in most previous approaches. In order to accomplish this goal, a new end to end convolutional neural network (CNN) based framework is proposed taking the input of a portrait image. It outputs the matte result. Our method considers not only image semantic prediction but also pixel level image matte optimization. A new portrait image dataset is constructed with our labeled matting ground truth. Our automatic method achieves comparable results with state of the art methods that require specified foreground and background regions or pixels. Many applications are enabled given the automatic nature of our system.
Models and activities of critical care outreach in New Zealand hospitals: results of a national census.
Venue: Nursing in critical care

To review clinical models and activities of critical care outreach (CCO) in New Zealand public hospitals.  Data were collected using a two stage process. Stage 1 consisted of a cross sectional descriptive online survey distributed to nurse managers of all CCO in New Zealand. Stage 2 requested that all respondent sites supply outreach documentation for analysis.  Twenty acute care public hospitals replied to the data request (100% Nine hospitals (45% had CCO and completed the survey. There was considerable diversity in the models of CCO used. All nine hospitals had CCO that were nurse led; 66% of these had intensive care medical input. There was variation in the size and scope of each CCO with only 4 (44% sites providing 24 h clinical cover. The majority of referral requests made to CCO were for ward based reviews (mean: 57% and intensive care discharge reviews (mean: 31% The most frequently performed activity was provision of support to ward staff (89% All CCO routinely collected data on activities across a range of clinical areas.  Less than half of the public hospitals in New Zealand have a CCO service despite national recommendations that every hospital utilize one to support deteriorating ward patients. New Zealand hospitals that have critical care outreach have adopted recognized international models and adapted these to meet local demands. Whilst the evidence base demonstrating impact of critical care outreach continues to be established, international support for critical care outreach continues. Given this, critical care outreach should be more widely available 24/7 and activities standardized across New Zealand to align with national recommendations.  TO CLINICAL PRACTICE Critical care outreach service models and activities in New Zealand hospitals continue to be diverse. Awareness of these variances will help influence critical care outreach service development and regional integration.
What Are They Really Eating? A Review on New Approaches to Dietary Intake Assessment and Validation
Venue: Current Nutrition Reports

PurposeAssessing food and nutrient intakes is critical to evolving our understanding of diet disease relationships and the refinement of nutrition guidelines to support healthy populations. The aims of this narrative review are to summarise recent advances in dietary assessment methodologies, with a particular focus on approaches using new technologies, as well as strategies to evaluate tools, and to provide directions for future research.Recent FindingsTechnology as a mode to assess dietary intake has gained momentum in recent years, with the development of image based methods and wearable devices, as well as the emergence of online methods of administering traditional paper based approaches to dietary assessment. At the same time, there have been advances in the development of dietary biomarkers to evaluate measures of self reported dietary intake. Common biomarkers, such as plasma carotenoids and red blood cell fatty acids, are still being utilised with new markers including urinary markers of sugar or wholegrain intake, skin carotenoids as a measure of fruit and vegetable intake. As well, the field of metabolomics shows promise.SummaryChallenges remain in dietary intake assessment, and further efforts are required to refine and evaluate methods so that we can better understand diet disease relationships and inform guidelines and interventions to promote health.
Controversy and consensus regarding vitamin D: Recent methodological changes and the risks and benefits of vitamin D supplementation
Venue: Critical reviews in clinical laboratory sciences

A dramatic and sustained surge in vitamin D test numbers has been attributed to the extraskeletal and probable intra/paracrine effects of vitamin D and not the important role of vitamin D in the regulation of extracellular calcium homeostasis and bone metabolism. This review summarizes recent data regarding the skeletal and extraskeletal effects of vitamin D, provides an overview of current methods of 25 hydroxyvitamin D measurement and includes the beneficial and adverse effects of vitamin D replacement. The role of 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D, 24,25 dihydroxyvitamin D, vitamin D binding protein and free hormone levels are explored and potential future developments in this area are discussed. The adoption of a reference method for the measurement of 25 hydroxyvitamin D, certified reference standards and an independent certification program administered by the Centre of Disease Control is expected to improve routine analytical performance and is a major, crucial step forward. Improvements in accuracy, precision and sensitivity of 25 hydroxyvitamin D measurement is an important prelude to accurately defining the desirable level of 25 hydroxyvitamin D that is associated with the lowest risk for falls and fractures. Finally, the results of ongoing large, prospective, randomized clinical trials such as the Australian D Health study should clarify the role of vitamin D supplementation in the prevention and management of skeletal and nonskeletal disorders, including vitamin D effects on mortality risk.
The Lean Startup:How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses

Eric Ries was born in September 1978. He graduated from Yale University and moved to silicon Valley in the beginning of the millennium. He pioneered the philosophy of Lean Startup, based on his experience with multiple startups, primary being IMVU which he co founded along with Will Harvey in 2004. Eric Ries originated his Lean Startup philosophy after getting inspired from the Japanese Philosophy of Lean Manufacturing.
Globalization and Collective Labor Rights

The impact of globalization has been a perennial source of contention, and issues regarding labor rights have been a visible aspect of this struggle. Despite the popular controversy about a potential "race to the bottom" regarding globalization and labor rights, the empirical record on these linkages remains mixed. Moreover, despite the multifaceted nature of globalization, extant literature in this area has focused purely on several specific facets of economic globalization, such as trade and FDI. We focus on two additional aspects of globalization, social and political integration, as well as a broadly based measure of economic globalization, and examine how they influence collective labor rights both in terms of labor laws, as well as their enforcement in practice in the developing world from 1986 to 2002. We find that all three facets of globalization are negatively related to labor rights. Specifically, social, political, and economic globalization are related to the decoupling of labor practices from extant labor laws; that is, labor practices deteriorate while labor laws remain largely unaffected.
Functionalized gold nanoparticles for topical delivery of methotrexate for the possible treatment of psoriasis.
Venue: Colloids and surfaces. B, Biointerfaces

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) represent an effective choice for topical drug delivery systems thanks to their small size, general non toxicity, ease of functionalization and high surface to volume ratio. Even if systemic, methotrexate still plays an important role in psoriasis treatment: its topical use shows insufficient percutaneus penetration owing to limited passive diffusion, high molecular weight and dissociation at physiological pH. The aim of our study was to design a new drug delivery nanocarrier for Methotrexate and to improve its solubility, stability and biodistribution. AuNPs were on purpose prepared with a hydrophilic stabilizing layer, in order to improve the colloidal stability in water. Water soluble gold nanoparticles functionalized by sodium 3 mercapto 1 propansulfonate (Au 3MPS) were prepared and loaded with methotrexate (MTX) The loading efficiency of MTX on Au 3MPS was assessed in the range 70 80% with a fast release (80% in one hour) The release was studied up to 24h reaching the value of 95% The Au 3MPS@MTX conjugate was fully characterized by spectroscopic techniques (UV vis, FTIR) and DLS. Preliminary toxicity tests in the presence of keratinocytes monolayers allowed to assess that the used Au 3MPS are not toxic. The conjugate was then topically used on C57BL/6 mouse normal skin in order to trace the absorption behavior. STEM images clearly revealed the distribution of gold nanoparticles inside the cells. In vitro studies showed that Methotrexate conjugated with Au 3MPS is much more efficient than Methotrexate alone. Moreover, DL50, based on MTT analysis, is 20 folds reduced at 48 h, by the presence of nanoparticles conjugation. UV vis spectra for in vivo tracing of the conjugate on bare mouse skin after 24h of application, show increased delivery of Methotrexate in the epidermis and dermis using Au 3MPS@MTX conjugate, compared to MTX alone. Moreover we observed absence of the Au 3MPS in the dermis and in the epidermis, suggesting that these layers of the skin do not retain the nanoparticles. Based on our data, we found that the novel Au 3MPS@MTX conjugate is an effective non toxic carrier for the satisfactory percutaneous absorption of Methotrexate and could help in possible topical treatment of psoriasis.
Ilkogretim Okullarinda Mudurlerin Kullandiklari Etkileme Taktiklerinin Ogretmenlerin Orgutsel Vatandaslik Davranislari ve Okul Farkindaligi ile Iliskisi The Relationship between Principals' Influence Tactics and Teachers' Organizational Citizenship Behaviors and School Mindfulness in Primary Schoo

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between school principals' influence tactics, teachers' organizational citizenship behaviors and school mindfulness through teachers' perception. In the study, relational survey method was employed. The study population consists of teachers employed in primary schools in Ankara's Altindag, Cankaya, Etimesgut, Golbasi, Kecioren, Mamak, Sincan and Yenimahalle sub districts of Ankara during the 2012 2013 academic year. The sample that represents this group was determined by means of stratified sampling. The sample of the study includes 785 teachers. The Influence Behavior Questionnaire Target, the Organizational Citizenship Behavior Scale and the School Mindfulness Scale were employed to collect data. SPSS 13.00 and Lisrel 8.80 software were used to analyse the collected data. Pearson Moments Product Correlation Coefficient, multiple linear and hierarchical regression analysis were applied. As a result of the study research it is observed that there is a meaningful relationship between school principals' influence tactics, teachers' organizational citizenship behaviors and school mindfulness. In the study, it has been determined that school mindfulness does not exhibit a mediation effect between influence tactics and organizational citizenship behaviors.
MovieQA: Understanding Stories in Movies through Question Answering
Venue: 2016 IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR)

We introduce the MovieQA dataset which aims to evaluate automatic story comprehension from both video and text. The dataset consists of 14,944 questions about 408 movies with high semantic diversity. The questions range from simpler "Who" did "What" to "Whom" to "Why" and "How" certain events occurred. Each question comes with a set of five possible answers, a correct one and four deceiving answers provided by human annotators. Our dataset is unique in that it contains multiple sources of information video clips, plots, subtitles, scripts, and DVS. We analyze our data through various statistics and methods. We further extend existing QA techniques to show that question answering with such open ended semantics is hard. We make this data set public along with an evaluation benchmark to encourage inspiring work in this challenging domain.
Switched Capacitor Fractional Step Butterworth Filter Design
Venue: Circuits Syst. Signal Process.

Switched capacitor fractional step filter design of low pass filter prototypes with Butterworth characteristics is reported in this work for the first time. This is achieved using discrete time integrators which implement both the bilinear and the Al Alaoui s to z transformations. Filters of orders 1.2, 1.5 and 1.8 as well as 3.2, 3.5, and 3.8 are designed and verified using transistor level simulations with Cadence on AMS $0.35\\upmu $0.35mm CMOS process. Digital programmability of the fractional step filters is also achieved.
Butterworth Filter Application for Structural Health Monitoring
Venue: Int. J. Handheld Comput. Res.

Most of the existing Structural Health Monitoring SHM systems are vulnerable to environmental and operational damages. The majority of these systems cannot detect the size and location of the damage. Guided wave techniques are widely used to detect damage in structures due to its sensitivity to different changes in the structure. Finding a mathematical model for such system will help to implement a reliable and efficient low cost SHM system. In this paper, a mathematical model is proposed to detect the size and location of damages in physical structures using the piezoelectric sensor. The proposed model combines both pitch catch and pulse echo techniques and has been verified throughout simulations using ABAQUS/ Explicit finite element software. For empirical verification, data was collected from an experimental set up using an Aluminum sheets. Since the experimental data contains a lot of noises, a Butterworth filter was used to clean up the signal. The proposed mathematical model along with the Butterworth filter have been validated throughout real test bed.
The Effectiveness of Blended Learning in Improving Students' Achievement in Third Grade's Science in Bani Kenana

The study aimed at identifying the effectiveness of blended learning in improving students' achievement in the third grade's science in the traditional method. The study sample consisted of (108) male and female students, who were divided into two groups: experimental and control. The experimental group studied the units and changes of the material and the parts and functions of the plants for the third grade through using the blended learning while the control group studied the same units in the traditional method.An achievement test was developed in the mentioned units of the science course to measure the achievement, which had a sufficient validity and reliability. It was applied to the study sample; the appropriate statistical analyzes were conducted. The results indicated the presence of statistically significant differences in the post achievement due to the teaching method in favor of the experimental group, the presence of a statistically significant difference in the post achievement due to gender, in favor of males and lack of a statistically significant difference in the post achievement due to the interaction between the method and gender.  blended learning, third grade, science, achievement.
Thymus vulgaris L. (Kekik) Ekstrakt ve Ucucu Yaginin Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis Uzerine Antibakteriyal Etkisi

Bu calisma, Mersin Ilinden toplanan Kekik (Thymus vulgaris L. bitkisinden elde edilen su ekstrakti ve ucucu yaginin Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis uzerindeki antibakteriyel etkisinin belirlenmesi amaciyla in vitro kosullarda yurutulmustur. Bitkiden elde edilen su ekstrakti son konsantrasyon %0.5, %1, %2, %4 ve %8 olacak sekilde Pseudomonas Agar F (PSF) besi yerine ilave edilmistir. C. michiganensis subsp. michiganensis kulturunden 106 hucre/ml konsantrasyonunda hazirlanan suspansiyondan ekstraktli besi yerlerine ekim yapilmistir. Ucucu yag calismasinda ise ucucu yag 3 farkli yontemde (besi yerine katilmasi, petri kapagina yapistirilan kurutma kagidina ucucu yag emdirme ve agar kuyucuk difuzyon) ve 4 farkli dozda (5, 10, 15 ve 20 ml/ml) uygulanmistir. Kontrol grubu olarak ekstrakt ve ucucu yag icermeyen PSF besi yeri kullanilmistir. Deneme dort tekerrurlu olarak kurulmus olup, 2 kez tekrarlanmistir. 28degC'de 3 gunluk inkubasyon suresi sonunda ekstrakt calismasinda koloni sayimi, ucucu yagda ise inhibisyon zon olcumu ve koloni sayimi yapilmistir. Calisma sonucunda elde edilen verilere gore, T. vulgaris ekstraktinin katildigi besi yerlerinde doz artisina paralel olarak C. michiganensis subsp. michiganensis koloni sayisinin azaldigi, %8'lik konsantrasyonda ise C. michiganensis subsp. michiganensis'in gelisiminin tamamen engellendigi belirlenmistir. Ucucu yag calismasinda ise petri kabi kapagina yapistirilmis kurutma kagitlarina ucucu yagin emdirilmesinin en etkili yontem oldugu ve 20 ml/ml'lik dozun C. michiganensis subsp. michiganensis'in gelisimini %99.39 oraninda engelledigi belirlenmistir. Sonuc olarak, T. vulgaris ekstrakt ve ucucu yagi antibakteriyel madde olarak kullanilma potansiyeline sahiplerdir. T. vulgaris ekstrakt ve ucucu yaginin in vitro etkisinin ve fitotoksik etkisinin belirlenmesine yonelik calismalarin yapilmasi gerekmektedir
Manajemen Keuangan Internasional Pengantar Ekonomi dan Bisnis Global, 3/E.

Buku ini mencoba membahas semua fenomena dan permasalahan di atas. Dimulai dengan menelusur pergeseran konseletasi ekonomi di tingkat global, pengantar pasar valuta asing dan komoditi, memahami perilaku valuta asing manajemen risiko perusahaan yang bermain di pasar internasional, analisis investasi asing dan TNC, perbankan international, statregi perdagangan international dan Uni Moneter Eropa. Buku diharapkan dapat menjadi pengantar untuk memahami sekaligus terjun dalam ekonomi dan bisnis global yang semakin dinamis.
Experimental investigation of the energy performance of a novel Micro encapsulated Phase Change Material (MPCM) slurry based PV/T system

As a follow on work of the authors' theoretical study, the paper presented an experimental investigation into the energy performance of a novel PV/T thermal and power system employing the Micro encapsulated Phase Change Material (MPCM) slurry as the working fluid. A prototype PV/T module of 800mmx1600mmx50mm was designed and constructed based on the previous modelling recommendation. The performance of the PV/T module and associated thermal and power system were tested under various solar radiations, slurry Reynolds numbers and MPCM concentrations. It was found that (1) increasing solar radiation led to the increased PV/T module temperature, decreased solar thermal and electrical efficiencies and reduced slurry pressure drop; (2) increasing the slurry Reynolds number led to the increased solar thermal and electrical efficiencies, decreased module temperature, and increased pressure drop; and (3) increasing the MPCM concentration led to the reduced module temperature and increased pressure drop. The experimental results were used to examine the accuracy of the established computer model, giving a derivation scale ranging from 1.1% to 6.1% which is an acceptable error level for general engineering simulation. The recommended operational conditions of the PV/T system were (1) MPCM slurry weight concentration of 10% (2) slurry Reynolds number of 3000, and (3) solar radiation of 500 700W/m2; at which the system could achieve the net overall solar efficiencies of 80.8 83.9% To summarise, the MPCM slurry based PV/T thermal and power system is superior to conventional air sourced heat pump systems (ASHP) and solar assisted heat pump systems (ISAHP) and has the potential to help reduce fossil fuel consumption and carbon emission to the environment.
The 2008/2009 Banking Crisis in Nigeria: The Hidden Trigger of the Financial Crash

It is observed that, while existing literature on the 2008/2009 Nigerian banking crisis has emphasised causal factors, which can be classified as remote causes, it is silent on the immediate cause of the financial crash. Therefore, this study seeks to identify the trigger of events that culminated to the 2008/2009 banking crisis in Nigeria. The paper makes a conjecture that the trigger, lies hidden in the remote causes which, although regarded as causes of the banking crisis, do not make a definite specification of the trigger. Thus, this study sets out to examine the data of FDI and FPI inflows to Nigeria during the years of financial liberalisation. Using the applicable logic in Minsky's financial instability hypothesis, it concludes that the sudden divestment of FPI in 2009 from the Nigerian economy, was the trigger of the financial crash.
In vitro antioxidant and antimicrobial efficacy of Triphala constituents: Emblica officinalis, Terminalia belerica and Terminalia chebula

In Indian medicinal preparation, triphala (tri 'three' phala 'fruits' comprises equiproportional herbal fruits: viz. Emblica officinalis (Syn. Phyllanthus emblica) Terminalia belerica and Terminalia chebula. The 'Tridoshic rasayana' three constituent elements is characterized with balancing and rejuvenation effects govern the human life. Triphala constituents are rich in anti oxidants and reported to poses anti microbial properties. The present study deals with the qualitative and quantitative analysis of triphala components using different extraction techniques. Dry fruit extracts of E. officinalis, T. belerica and T. chebula were screened for the secondary metabolites presence and its antioxidant, antimicrobial activities were determined as well. The sign of biochemical properties opens up an arena to bring its effective use as a single or in combination, against different pathological conditions. Thus results obtained may be helpful rationale to formulate these fruit extract in modern system of health care.