nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Power log based plateau limit histogram equalization algorithm for infrared image enhancement
Venue: 2017 Tenth International Conference on Contemporary Computing (IC3)
Year: 2017

In this paper, we propose a power logarithm based plateau limit histogram equalization algorithm to enhance infrared images. Conventional histogram equalization methods lag significantly while enhancing infrared images whose histogram contains large spikes. To diminish the effects of large spikes log transformation is used which additionally aids in the expansion of the smaller values in the histogram. Power transformation assists in regaining the original shape of the histogram while clipping of histogram in a plateau limit is beneficial to reduce the over enhancement of the image. Plateau limit is set to the mean of modified histogram after the power log transformation. After that, the modified histogram is equalized independently to achieve the enhanced output. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed power log based plateau limit histogram equalization algorithm efficiently enhances the contrast of infrared images while, quantitative measures and visual quality assessment effectively validate the superiority of the proposed algorithm with respect to the other traditional histogram equalization algorithms.
Treadmill exercise represses neuronal cell death in an aged transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease
Venue: Neuroscience Research
Year: 2011

The present study was undertaken to further investigate the protective effect of treadmill exercise on the hippocampal proteins associated with neuronal cell death in an aged transgenic (Tg) mice with Alzheimer's disease (AD) To address this, Tg mouse model of AD, Tg NSE/PS2m, which expresses human mutant PS2 in the brain, was chosen. Animals were subjected to treadmill exercise for 12 weeks from 24 months of age. The exercised mice were treadmill run at speed of 12 m/min, 60 min/day, 5 days/week on a 0% gradient for 3 months. Treadmill exercised mice improved cognitive function in water maze test. Treadmill exercised mice significantly reduced the expression of Ab 42, Cox 2, and caspase 3 in the hippocampus. In parallel, treadmill exercised Tg mice decreased the phosphorylation levels of JNK, p38MAPK and tau (Ser404, Ser202, Thr231) and increased the phosphorylation levels of ERK, PI3K, Akt and GSK 3a/b. In addition, treadmill exercised Tg mice up regulated the expressions of NGF, BDNF and phospho CREB, and the expressions of SOD 1, SOD 2 and HSP 70. Treadmill exercised Tg mice up regulated the expression of Bcl 2, and down regulated the expressions of cytochrome c and Bax in the hippocampus. The number of TUNEL positive cells in the hippocampus in mice was significantly decreased after treadmill exercise. Finally, serum TC, insulin, glucose, and corticosterone levels were significantly decreased in the Tg mice after treadmill exercise. As a consequence of such change, Ab dependent neuronal cell death in the hippocampus of Tg mice was markedly suppressed following treadmill exercise. These results strongly suggest that treadmill exercise provides a therapeutic potential to inhibit both Ab 42 and neuronal death pathways. Therefore, treadmill exercise may be beneficial in prevention or treatment of AD.
Applications of amyloid, tau, and neuroinflammation PET imaging to Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment
Venue: Human brain mapping
Year: 2019

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a devastating and progressive neurodegenerative disease for which there is no cure. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is considered a prodromal stage of the disease. Molecular imaging with positron emission tomography (PET) allows for the in vivo visualisation and tracking of pathophysiological changes in AD and MCI. PET is a very promising methodology for differential diagnosis and novel targets of PET imaging might also serve as biomarkers for disease modifying therapeutic interventions. This review provides an overview of the current status and applications of in vivo molecular imaging of AD pathology, specifically amyloid, tau, and microglial activation. PET imaging studies were included and evaluated as potential biomarkers and for monitoring disease progression. Although the majority of radiotracers showed the ability to discriminate AD and MCI patients from healthy controls, they had various limitations that prevent the recommendation of a single technique or tracer as an optimal biomarker. Newer research examining amyloid, tau, and microglial PET imaging in combination suggest an alternative approach in studying the disease process.
Plan de Negocio para la Produccion y Exportacion de Snack e Infusion de Pitahaya Organica Deshidratada a Estados Unidos
Year: 2019

La Pitahaya es una fruta exotica tambien conocida como la fruta del dragon, es originaria de la cultura Azteca del siglo XIII, y se fue desarrollando a lo largo del hemisferio occidental. Existen dos variedades de pitahaya: la de color roja (Cereus Ocampis) de pulpa blanca y rosada, dependiendo de su tiempo de madurez; y la color amarillo (Selenicereus mealanthus) de pulpa blanca. Para el desarrollo del plan de negocios utilizaremos la pitahaya amarilla organica, la cual es la mas comercial y dulce sabor; la cual en un estado deshidratado se conserva mejor las vitaminas, fibra, calcio, hierro y fosforo. La agricultura ecuatoriana es reconocida a nivel mundial, debido a las propiedades de nuestro suelo, y por nuestras frutas tradicionales de exportacion, pero la industria ha ido descubriendo otras opciones de frutas que generen mas reditos economicos, dinamicen el mercado y satisfagan la demanda internacional. Este proyecto se centra en aprovechar la materia prima que brinda la agricultura para innovar en un producto terminado con marca ecuatoriana; y crear un snack de pitahaya organica deshidratada para consumo o infusion, como una opcion nutricional para un mercado que en la actualidad se preocupa por el consumo de alimentos saludables y organicos, ademas que permitira crear fuentes de trabajo, fomentar el cultivo para los pequenos y grandes productores, satisfacer a un mercado, adicionalmente contribuir con la economia del pais.
Effective Convolutional Neural Network Layers in Flow Estimation for Omni Directional Images
Venue: 2019 International Conference on 3D Vision (3DV)
Year: 2019

In this paper, we investigate effective neural network layers for optical flow estimation and in particular for omni directional optical flow. Optical flow has many applications in computer graphics, augmented reality and in 3D modeling. We create a simple dataset that enables us to efficiently assess the effectiveness of different neural network layers for optical flow. Based on this small sized diagnostic dataset, FlowCLEVR, we conclude that a deformable convolution layer is highly effective in reducing motion and occlusion boundary blur. Based on these results, we are able to design modifications to various existing network architectures improving their performance. We demonstrate improved performance on FlowCLEVR, on standard datasets for optical flow in planar images and on a novel omni directional optical flow dataset. We also extend our work to omni directional stereo.
Invasive alien plants increase CH4 emissions from a subtropical tidal estuarine wetland
Venue: Biogeochemistry
Year: 2012

Methane (CH4) is an important greenhouse gas whose emission from the largest source, wetlands is controlled by a number of environmental variables amongst which temperature, water table, the availability of substrates and the CH4 transport properties of plants are most prominent and well characterised. Coastal wetland ecosystems are vulnerable to invasion by alien plant species which can make a significant local contribution to altering their species composition. However the effect of these changes in species composition on CH4 flux is rarely examined and so is poorly understood. Spartina alterniflora, a perennial grass native to North America, has spread rapidly along the south east coast of China since its introduction in 1979. From 2002, this rapid invasion has extended to the tidal marshes of the Min River estuary, an area that, prior to invasion was dominated by the native plant Cyperus malaccensis. Here, we compare CH4 flux from the exotic invasive plant S. alterniflora with measurements from the aggressive native species Phragmites australis and the native species C. malaccensis following 3 years of monitoring. CH4 emissions were measured over entire tidal cycles. Soil CH4 production potentials were estimated for stands of each of above plants both in situ and in laboratory incubations. Mean annual CH4 fluxes from S. alterniflora, P. australis and C. malaccensis dominated stands over the 3 years were 95.7 18.7) 38.9 3.26) and 10.9 5.26) g m 2 year 1, respectively. Our results demonstrate that recent invasion of the exotic species S. alterniflora and the increasing presence of the native plant P. australis has significantly increased CH4 emission from marshes that were previously dominated by the native species C. malaccensis. We also conclude that higher above ground biomass, higher CH4 production and more effective plant CH4 transport of S. alterniflora collectively contribute to its higher CH4 emission in the Min River estuary.
Low Complexity Joint Extrapolation MUSIC Based 2 D Parameter Estimator for Vital FMCW Radar
Venue: IEEE Sensors Journal
Year: 2019

In this paper, a low complexity joint extrapolation multiple signal classification (MUSIC) based 2 D parameter estimator is proposed for vital frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar. Recently, an FMCW radar, which can detect the distance and vital Doppler information, has been considered for vital non contact radar. In the conventional FMCW radar system, fast Fourier transform (FFT) based algorithms with low complexity are used to extract multiple parameters. However, the resolution and accuracy of an FFT based parameter estimator are considerably low. Thus, 2 D high resolution algorithms, such as the 2 D estimation of signal parameters via rotational invariance techniques and 2 D MUSIC, have been suggested as an alternative method. However, a large computation power is required compared with the FFT based methods. Therefore, this paper proposes a 2 D parameter estimator that combines extrapolated FFT and MUSIC to reduce the computational load for vital detection. The proposed method uses an extrapolated FFT to overcome the disadvantages of the low resolution FFT for the distance information, and then, the 1 D MUSIC algorithm is applied to the Doppler domain direction only for the extracted magnitude and phase information of the target's extrapolated FFT results. Hence, the proposed algorithm combines the advantages of FFT and MUSIC. The performance of the proposed estimation is compared with that of other algorithms using Monte Carlo simulation results. The root mean square error of the proposed method is compared with that of 2 D MUSIC with various parameters. To verify the performance of the proposed combination method, the FMCW radar was used, and its performance was verified in an indoor environment.
A survey on generative adversarial networks and their variants methods
Venue: International Conference on Machine Vision
Year: 2020

Data science becomes creative with generative adversarial networks (GANs) which have had a big success since they were introduced in 2014 by Ian J. Goodfellow and co authors. In technical term the GANs are based on the unsupervised learning of two artificial neural networks called Generator and Discriminator both trained under the adversarial learning idea. The major goal of GAN is to generate new samples that estimate the potential distribution of real data. Due to its huge success, many modified versions have been proposed in the last two years. We summarize in this review paper GAN's background, architecture and its application fields. Then, we discuss the different extensions of GAN over the original model and provide a comparative analysis of these techniques.
A field based modeling study on ecological characterization of hourly host seeking behavior and its associated climatic variables in Aedes albopictus
Venue: Parasites vectors
Year: 2019

BackgroundThe global spread of mosquito borne diseases (MBD) has presented increasing challenges to public health. The transmission of MBD is mainly attributable to the biting behaviors of female mosquitoes. However, the ecological pattern of hourly host seeking behavior in Aedes albopictus and its association with climatic variables are still not well understood, especially for a precise requirement for establishing an effective risk prediction system of MBD transmission.MethodsMosquito samples and data on mosquito hourly density and site specific climatic variables, including temperature, relative humidity, illuminance and wind speed, were collected simultaneously in urban outdoor environments in Guangzhou during 2016 2018. Kernel regression models were used to assess the temporal patterns of hourly host seeking behavior in mosquito populations, and negative binomial regression models in the Bayesian framework were used to investigate the associations of host seeking behavior with climatic variables.ResultsAedes albopictus was abundant, constituting 82% (5569/6790) of the total collected mosquitoes. Host seeking behavior in Ae. albopictus varied across time and was significantly influenced by climatic variables. The predicted hourly mosquito densities showed non linear relationships with temperature and illuminance, whereas density increased with relative humidity but generally decreased with wind speed. The range of temperature estimates for female biting was 16.4 37.1 degC, peaking at 26.5 degC (95% credible interval: 25.3 28.1) During the favorable periods, biting behavior of female Ae. albopictus was estimated to occur frequently all day long, presenting a bimodal distribution with peaks within 2 3 h around both dawn and dusk (05:00 08:00 h and 16:00 19:00 h) Moreover, a short term association in hourly density between the females and males was found.ConclusionsOur field based modeling study reveals that hourly host seeking behavior of Ae. albopictus exhibits a complex pattern, with hourly variation constrained significantly by climatic variables. These findings lay a foundation for improving MBD risk assessments as well as practical strategies for vector control. For instances of all day long frequent female biting during the favorable periods in Guangzhou, effective integrated mosquito control measures must be taken throughout the day and night.
Design of SCADA for Protection System of Uncoiled DC Motor's Temperature using PLC ABB AC 800PEC Based on Wonderware Intouch
Year: 2020

Continuous Tandem Cold Mill (CTCM) operates many types of DC motor for various processes. The continuity of the DC motor is very important to ensure the automation process are working perfectly and safe. One of the abnormal condition when operating DC motor is overheating at Field winding and Field bearing. Therefore, this research is needed to avoid further damage in the DC motor by designing and implementing protection system of temperature based on PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) ABB AC 800PEC and PT100 sensor. SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system was implemented so the operator can supervise the motors. When temperature is increasing and higher than the allowed maximum temperature, the system should generate Fast Stop signal to stop every process that have been running at entry section CTCM. The protection system was implemented successfully and generated Fast Stop signal when the Field winding temperature was higher than 100 degree Celsius or when the Field bearing temperature was higher than 75 degree Celsius.
Does providing nutrition information at vending machines reduce calories per item sold?
Venue: Journal of public health policy
Year: 2015

In 2010, the United States (US) enacted a restaurant menu labeling law. The law also applied to vending machine companies selling food. Research suggested that providing nutrition information on menus in restaurants might reduce the number of calories purchased. We tested the effect of providing nutrition information and 'healthy' designations to consumers where vending machines were located in college residence halls. We conducted our study at one university in Southeast US (October November 2012) We randomly assigned 18 vending machines locations (residence halls) to an intervention or control group. For the intervention we posted nutrition information, interpretive signage, and sent a promotional email to residents of the hall. For the control group we did nothing. We tracked sales over 4 weeks before and 4 weeks after we introduced the intervention. Our intervention did not change what the residents bought. We recommend additional research about providing nutrition information where vending machines are located, including testing formats used to present information.
Abiotic and microbial oxidation of laboratory produced black carbon (biochar)
Venue: Environmental science technology
Year: 2010

Pyrogenic or "black" carbon is a soil and sediment component that may control pollutant migration. Biochar, black carbon made intentionally by biomass pyrolysis, is increasingly discussed as a possible soil amendment to increase fertility and sequester carbon. Though thought to be extremely refractory, it must degrade at some rate. Better understanding of the rates and factors controlling its remineralization in the environment is needed. Release of CO(2) was measured over 1 year from microbial and sterile incubations of biochars made from a range of biomass types and combustion conditions. Carbon release from abiotic incubations was 50 90% that of microbially inoculated incubations, and both generally decreased with increasing charring temperature. All biochars displayed log linearly decreasing mineralization rates that, when modeled, were used to calculate 100 year C losses of 3 26% and biochar C half lives on orders ranging from 10(2) to 10(7) years. Because biochar lability was found to be strongly controlled by the relative amount of a more aliphatic and volatile component, measurements of volatile weight content may be a convenient predictor of biochar C longevity. These results are of practical value to those considering biochar as a tool for soil remediation, amelioration, or atmospheric C sequestration.
Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition Is a Mechanism of ALK Inhibitor Resistance in Lung Cancer Independent of ALK Mutation Status.
Venue: Cancer research
Year: 2019

Mutations in the ALK gene are detectable in approximately 40% of ALK rearranged lung cancers resistant to ALK inhibitors. Although epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a mechanism of resistance to various targeted drugs, its involvement in ALK inhibitor resistance is largely unknown. In this study, we report that both ALK mutant L1196M and EMT were concomitantly detected in a single crizotinib resistant lesion in a patient with ALK rearranged lung cancer. Digital PCR analyses combined with microdissection after IHC staining for EMT markers revealed that ALK L1196M was predominantly detected in epithelial type tumor cells, indicating that mesenchymal phenotype and ALK mutation can coexist as independent mechanisms underlying ALK inhibitor resistant cancers. Preclinical experiments with crizotinib resistant lung cancer cells showed that EMT associated with decreased expression of miR 200c and increased expression of ZEB1 caused cross resistance to new generation ALK inhibitors alectinib, ceritinib, and lorlatinib. Pretreatment with the histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor quisinostat overcame this resistance by reverting EMT in vitro and in vivo. These findings indicate that HDAC inhibitor pretreatment followed by a new ALK inhibitor may be useful to circumvent resistance constituted by coexistence of resistance mutations and EMT in the heterogeneous tumor.  These findings show that dual inhibition of HDAC and ALK receptor tyrosine kinase activities provides a means to circumvent crizotinib resistance in lung cancer.
Peritonsillar abscess is frequently accompanied by sepsis symptoms
Venue: European Archives of Oto Rhino Laryngology
Year: 2019

PurposeTo evaluate how many patients with peritonsillar abscess (PTA) fulfill sepsis criteria and if there is any difference in risk factors and treatment results between patients with and without sepsis symptoms. We also aimed to evaluate the utility of several clinical and laboratory markers for diagnosing PTA.MethodsStudy group consisted of 92 patients with PTA undergoing bilateral emergency tonsillectomy. Blood samples, pus samples and clinical data were collected. Patients were evaluated for sepsis criteria based on 2001 International Sepsis Definitions Conference.ResultsSepsis diagnostic criteria were fulfilled in half of patients (51.1% Smokers (p 0.016) and patients who had not received antibiotic treatment (p 0.003) had more sepsis symptoms. Procalcitonin levels were moderate and there was no difference between the groups. In majority of the patients, the pus samples contained undetectable or mild levels of amylase while 12 patients had pus amylase at least twice higher than in blood serum and among them, the levels were remarkably high in 9 patients.ConclusionHalf of the patients with PTA meet the diagnostic criteria for sepsis. The risk factors for the latter include current smoking and not receiving antibiotic treatment before hospitalization. PTA treatment outcome does not differ between the patients with and without sepsis clinical picture in case of surgical treatment. C reactive protein appears to be better diagnostic marker for PTA than procalcitonin. A portion of the PTA patients have remarkably high amylase level in the pus indicating possible association with Weber's salivary glands infection.
Improving the Performance of Higher Education in Vietnam
Year: 2020

The progress of East Asian economies in recent years illustrates a strong symbiotic relationship among higher education, innovation, and growth through the production of research and skills. In the case of Vietnam, higher education has a significant positive effect on household poverty and long term earnings at the individual level, where annualized private returns to higher education are above fifteen percent, one of the highest levels in the world. As Vietnam aspires to become an upper middle income country by 2035, its productivity needs to increase continuously, which requires greater production and effective use of highskilled manpower and science, technology and innovation (STI) There is a disconnect between Vietnam's remarkable achievement on equitable economic growth and human development, on the one hand, and the performance of the higher education system, on the other hand. Vietnam has experimented with a number of higher education reforms in the last two decades, with some success in expanding access but missing opportunities in achieving good results on quality and relevance, and in furthering equity. The main objective of this Bank's report is to provide a diagnosis of the current performance of the Vietnamese universities and propose a range of options for transforming and developing the higher education system.