Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
MemeSequencer: Sparse Matching for Embedding Image Macros

The analysis of the creation, mutation, and propagation of social media content on the Internet is an essential problem in computational social science, affecting areas ranging from marketing to political mobilization. A first step towards understanding the evolution of images online is the analysis of rapidly modifying and propagating memetic imagery or "memes". However, a pitfall in proceeding with such an investigation is the current incapability to produce a robust semantic space for such imagery, capable of understanding differences in Image Macros. In this study, we provide a first step in the systematic study of image evolution on the Internet, by proposing an algorithm based on sparse representations and deep learning to decouple various types of content in such images and produce a rich semantic embedding. We demonstrate the benefits of our approach on a variety of tasks pertaining to memes and Image Macros, such as image clustering, image retrieval, topic prediction and virality prediction, surpassing the existing methods on each. In addition to its utility on quantitative tasks, our method opens up the possibility of obtaining the first large-scale understanding of the evolution and propagation of memetic imagery.
Functioning outcomes with adjunctive treatments for major depressive disorder: a systematic review of randomized placebo-controlled studies

Objective Patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) with inadequate response to antidepressant treatment (ADT) may suffer a prolonged loss of functioning. This review aimed to determine if self-rated functional measures are informative in randomized placebo-controlled studies of adjunctive therapy in patients with MDD and inadequate response to ADT. Methods This was a systematic literature review of articles in any language from the MEDLINE database published between January 1990 and March 2017. Eligible studies met the following criteria: patients with MDD; inadequate response to at least one ADT; adjunctive therapy (pharmacological or otherwise) to ADT; placebo control group; randomized controlled trial or a post hoc analysis of a randomized controlled trial; reported a self-rated functioning scale. Study characteristics and functioning efficacy data were extracted. Results A total of 2,090 discrete records were screened, 293 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility, and 26 studies were included. All studies were acute (6–12 weeks) except for one 52-week study. The only self-rated functioning scale used in the included studies was the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS). Of the 13 adjunctive agents identified, aripiprazole, brexpiprazole, edivoxetine, and risperidone improved functioning versus placebo (p<0.05), as measured by the SDS total or mean score. On the SDS “work/studies” item, only aripiprazole had a statistically significant benefit, in one study out of four. Thus, where a benefit was observed on the SDS total or mean, this was generally driven by improvement on the “social life” and “family life” items. A limitation of the review is that it only considered published literature from one database. Conclusion The SDS, a self-rated functional measure, is informative in acute randomized placebo-controlled studies of adjunctive therapy in patients with MDD and inadequate response to ADT. However, the item that measures work performance may be less relevant to this population than the items that measure social and family life.
Adaptation algorithms for HTTP-based video streaming

Ever since the invention of the cinematography, there has been a growing demand for high-quality video content. Recently, the broad availability of high-speed wireless Internet access, complemented by the pervasiveness of mobile, computationally powerful devices with high-resolution screens, have made the video delivery over the open Internet the technology of choice for both video on demand and live streaming services. Due to the best-effort nature of the Internet, however, ensuring a high quality of experience is challenging. A state-of-the-art approach to address this challenge is adaptive streaming, designed to continuously adjust the characteristics of the streamed media to dynamically varying network conditions, leading to a smoother viewing experience with less playback interruptions and a more efficient utilization of the available network resources. Despite the ongoing efforts, however, recent studies suggest that the challenge has not yet been successfully resolved. One of the open issues is the design of efficient adaptation algorithms, that are among the primary factors determining the overall performance of a streaming service. In this thesis, I present several contributions to this area of research, that are outlined in the following. In order to cope with the wireless traffic increase expected over the next years, it will be necessary to increase the density of the deployed wireless infrastructure. In my first contribution, I focus on a simultaneous delivery of a large number of unicast video on demand streams in a dense wireless network. I jointly consider the problem of wireless transmission scheduling and video quality selection, and develop a distributed approach based on control theory. The conducted performance evaluation shows that the presented approach is able to serve an up to twice as large number of users completely without interruptions, as compared to a baseline approach. Simultaneously, it allows to reduce the number of quality transitions by up to 50%, without reducing the average video quality. In addition, the unfairness among the individual streaming sessions is reduced by up to a factor of 4. Even though the majority of the video content being streamed over the Internet is video on demand, the amount of live streaming is growing rapidly. In my second contribution, I focus on a particularly challenging use case of low-delay live streaming. I develop a novel adaptation algorithm that is leveraging throughput predictions to provide a high quality of experience over wireless links, with a latency bound on the order of a few seconds. It heuristically maximizes the average video quality at an operating point defined by the live latency, amount of playback interruptions, and number of quality transitions. A comparative evaluation reveals that at the individual operating points,
Comparing Different Recording Lengths of Dynamic Cerebral Autoregulation: 5 versus 10 Minutes

We compared the dynamic cerebral autoregulation (dCA) indices between 5- and 10-minute data lengths by analyzing 37 patients with ischemic stroke and 51 controls in this study. Correlation coefficient (Mx) and transfer function analysis were applied for dCA analysis. Mx and phase shift in all frequency bands were not significantly different between 5- and 10-minute recordings [mean difference: Mx = 0.02; phase shift of very low frequency (0.02–0.07 Hz) = 0.3°, low frequency (0.07–0.20 Hz) = 0.6°, and high frequency (0.20–0.50 Hz) = 0.1°]. However, the gains in all frequency bands of a 5-minute recording were slightly but significantly higher than those of a 10-minute recording (mean difference of gain: very low frequency = 0.05 cm/s/mmHg, low frequency = 0.11 cm/s/mmHg, and high frequency = 0.14 cm/s/mmHg). The intraclass correlation coefficients between all dCA indices of 5- and 10-minute recordings were favorable, especially in Mx (0.93), phase shift in very low frequency (0.87), and gain in very low frequency (0.94). The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve for stroke diagnosis between 5- and 10-minute recordings were not different. We concluded that dCA assessed by using a 5-minute recording is not significantly different from that using a 10-minute recording in the clinical application.
Using the Jupyter Notebook as a Tool for Open Science: An Empirical Study

As scientific work becomes more computational and data-intensive, research processes and results become more difficult to interpret and reproduce. In this poster, we show how the Jupyter notebook, a tool originally designed as a free version of Mathematica notebooks, has evolved to become a robust tool for scientists to share code, associated computation, and documentation.
Biological Activity of Recombinant Bovine Interferon τ Produced by a Silkworm-Baculovirus Gene Expression System

ABSTRACT Bovine interferon (bIFN) τ plays a crucial role in maternal-fetal recognition and was expressed using a Bombyx mori (Bm) nuclear polyhedrosis virus (silkworm baculovirus) gene expression system. The biological effects of Bm-recombinant bIFNτ (rbIFNτ) on prostaglandin (PG) F2α synthesis were investigated in cultured bovine endometrial epithelial cells with oxytocin (OT, 100 nM) and on the in vitro development of bovine embryos. Bm-rbIFNτ and OT were shown to suppress PGF2α production in a dose-dependent manner. When in vitro produced morula stage embryos were cultured for 72 hr in modified CR1aa medium supplemented with or without rbIFNτ, Bm-rbIFNτ (10 ng/ml) significantly promoted development to the expanded blastocyst stage. In conclusion, Bm-rbIFNτ was suggested to have the same bioactivity as native IFNτ.
On Similarity Prediction and Pairwise Clustering

We consider the problem of clustering a finite set of items from pairwise similarity information. Unlike what is done in the literature on this subject, we do so in a passive learning setting, and with no specific constraints on the cluster shapes other than their size. We investigate the problem in different settings: i. an online setting, where we provide a tight characterization of the prediction complexity in the mistake bound model, and ii. a standard stochastic batch setting, where we give tight upper and lower bounds on the achievable generalization error. Prediction performance is measured both in terms of the ability to recover the similarity function encoding the hidden clustering and in terms of how well we classify each item within the set. The proposed algorithms are time efficient.
The Efficacy of Hyaluronic Acid Gel in Pain Control of Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis

This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of topical hyaluronic acid gel (HA) and compared with triamcinolone acetonide pomad (TA) in the treatment and pain control of RAS. A total of 57 patients with a history of RAS and currently suffering from oral ulcer were selected from patients referred to clinic. The subjects randomly divided into two groups; one group have received HA gel (Aftamed® Oral gel, AktiFarma. Istanbul, Turkey) the other group conceived TA pomade, (Kenacort-A Orabase® Pomade, 0,1% Triamsinolon acetonide, Bristol-Myers Squibb Ilacları Inc. Istanbul, Turkey). All patients were instructed to apply the agents to the ulcer 4 times per day for 7 days (day 0 to day 6). To evaluate pain level, a visual analog scale (VAS) was used. Although there was no statistical difference between two groups by means of mean ulcer VAS scores (8.57±1.05 in HA group and 8.59±1.08 in TA group) at day 0, significant differences were found at day 4 (VAS score=4.88±0.83 in HA group and 5.82±1.07 in TA group) and day 7 (VAS score=2.30±0.90 in HA group and 3.07±0.97 in TA group). The ulcer pain score (VAS) of two groups decreased within time however, the pain score in HA group was statistically lower than that of the TA groups at day 4 and 7 (p<0.05). HA gel reduced the painfull symptoms of RAS when compared with TA pomad. These outcomes suggest that HA gel can be effectively used for pain control in RAS treatment.
Models for Capturing Temporal Smoothness in Evolving Networks for Learning Latent Representation of Nodes

In a dynamic network, the neighborhood of the vertices evolve across different temporal snapshots of the network. Accurate modeling of this temporal evolution can help solve complex tasks involving real-life social and interaction networks. However, existing models for learning latent representation are inadequate for obtaining the representation vectors of the vertices for different time-stamps of a dynamic network in a meaningful way. In this paper, we propose latent representation learning models for dynamic networks which overcome the above limitation by considering two different kinds of temporal smoothness: (i) retrofitted, and (ii) linear transformation. The retrofitted model tracks the representation vector of a vertex over time, facilitating vertex-based temporal analysis of a network. On the other hand, linear transformation based model provides a smooth transition operator which maps the representation vectors of all vertices from one temporal snapshot to the next (unobserved) snapshot-this facilitates prediction of the state of a network in a future time-stamp. We validate the performance of our proposed models by employing them for solving the temporal link prediction task. Experiments on 9 real-life networks from various domains validate that the proposed models are significantly better than the existing models for predicting the dynamics of an evolving network.
Recent dramatic thinning of largest West Antarctic ice stream triggered by oceans

A growing body of observational data suggests that Pine Island Glacier (PIG) is changing on decadal or shorter timescales. These changes may have far‐reaching consequences for the future of the West Antarctic ice sheet (WAIS) and global sea levels because of PIG's role as the ice sheet's primary drainage portal. We test the hypothesis that these changes are triggered by the adjoining ocean. Specifically, we employ an advanced numerical ice‐flow model to simulate the effects of perturbations at the grounding line on PIG's dynamics. The speed at which these changes are propagated upstream implies a tight coupling between ice‐sheet interior and surrounding ocean.
Closing the Loop for Robotic Grasping: A Real-time, Generative Grasp Synthesis Approach

This paper presents a real-time, object-independent grasp synthesis method which can be used for closed-loop grasping. Our proposed Generative Grasping Convolutional Neural Network (GG-CNN) predicts the quality and pose of grasps at every pixel. This one-to-one mapping from a depth image overcomes limitations of current deep-learning grasping techniques by avoiding discrete sampling of grasp candidates and long computation times. Additionally, our GG-CNN is orders of magnitude smaller while detecting stable grasps with equivalent performance to current state-of-the-art techniques. The light-weight and single-pass generative nature of our GG-CNN allows for closed-loop control at up to 50Hz, enabling accurate grasping in non-static environments where objects move and in the presence of robot control inaccuracies. In our real-world tests, we achieve an 83% grasp success rate on a set of previously unseen objects with adversarial geometry and 88% on a set of household objects that are moved during the grasp attempt. We also achieve 81% accuracy when grasping in dynamic clutter.
Is Subjective Memory Change in Old Age Based on Accurate Monitoring of Age-Related Memory Change? Evidence From Two Longitudinal Studies

Subjective memory change (SMC) in adulthood involves the perception that one’s memory has declined from earlier levels of function. SMC has been conjectured to be more accurate than concurrent subjective memory because people use themselves as a standard of comparison. We used data from two longitudinal studies to contrast the accurate-monitoring-of-change hypothesis—actual memory change predicts SMC—against a constructed-judgment hypothesis that rated SMC is a function of rescaling concurrent memory beliefs without accessing actual memory change. It states that actual memory change has no predictive validity for SMC independent of concurrent memory beliefs. Data from both the Berlin Aging Study and the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) showed that older adults’ current memory complaints strongly predicted current SMC, and that there was little relationship of longitudinally measured memory change to SMC, controlling on memory complaints. In the HRS there were reliable latent-growth-curve slope correlations of over . 20 for change in episodic memory with both slopes of change in SMC and in memory complaints, yet little relationship of SMC slopes to episodic memory slopes, controlling on memory-complaint slopes. The results falsify the accurate-monitoring-of-change hypothesis regarding the origins of SMC in older adults.
Resilience in Nursing Education: An Integrative Review.

BACKGROUND Resilience is a phenomenon known to buffer the negative effects of stress. Resilience is important in the lives of nursing students and nurse educators. METHOD An integrative literature review was conducted to explore the current state of knowledge of resilience in the context of nursing education. Implications from the review findings were deduced for nursing education practice and research. RESULTS Three theoretical papers and 16 empirical reports were included in the review. Three themes emerged from the analysis: (a) Resilience Is Important in Nursing Education, (b) Resilience Is Conceptualized as Either a Trait or a Process, and (c) Resilience Is Related to Protective Factors. CONCLUSION The findings provide data to support interventions to enhance the resilience of nursing students and nurse educators and offer a foundation for further research of resilience in nursing education.
Unexpected Replication Boost by Simeprevir for Simeprevir-Resistant Variants in Genotype 1a Hepatitis C Virus

ABSTRACT Simeprevir is a novel NS3/4A protease inhibitor (PI) of hepatitis C virus (HCV). The baseline polymorphism NS3-Q80K is frequently observed in genotype (GT) 1a HCV and often associated with treatment failure in simeprevir-containing regimens. We aimed to elucidate mechanisms of treatment failure due to NS3-Q80K. We included a Q80R mutation in our study and generated a series of Huh-7.5 cell lines, each of which harbored either wild-type GT 1a strain H77S.3 or the Q80K or Q80R variant. The cells were cultured with increasing concentrations of simeprevir, and NS3 domain sequences were determined. The mutations identified by sequence analyses were subsequently introduced into H77S.3. The sensitivity of each mutant to the NS3/4A PIs simeprevir, asunaprevir, grazoprevir, and paritaprevir was analyzed. We introduced the mutations into GT 1b strain N.2 and compared the sensitivity to simeprevir with that of GT 1a strain H77S.3. While simeprevir treatment selected mutations at residue D168, such as D168A/V in the wild-type virus, an additional mutation at residue R155, R155K, was selected in Q80K/R variants at simeprevir concentrations of <2.5 μM. Sensitivity analyses showed that simeprevir concentrations of <1 μM significantly boosted the replication of Q80K/R R155K variants. Interestingly, this boost was not observed with the other NS3/4A PIs or in Q80R R155Q/G/T/W variants or GT 1b isolates. The boosted replication of the Q80K+R155K variant by simeprevir could be related to treatment failure in simeprevir-containing antiviral treatments in GT 1a HCV-infected patients with the NS3-Q80K polymorphism. This result provides new insight into how resistance-associated variants can cause treatment failure.
Autoantibodies against islet cell antigens in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus

We investigated the prevalence of glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 autoantibody (GADA), insulinoma-associated protein 2 autoantibody (IA2A), and insulin autoantibody (IAA) in 750 children with type 1 diabetes (T1D) living in Taiwan. GADA, IA2A, and IAA were measured by radioimmunoassay. The data were assessed by χ2 test, binary logistic regression, and Spearman rank correlation. Of the 750 T1D patients, 66.3% had GADA, 65.3% IA2A, 35.7% IAA, and 17.2% no autoantibodies. The prevalence of GADA and IA2A significantly decreased along T1D duration. The positivity of either GADA or IA2A was 89.4% within the first year of disease and decreased to 36.7% after 9 years (P = 1.22 × 10–20). Female patients had significantly higher prevalence of GADA compared with male patients (72.3% vs. 59.7%, P = 0.00027). The patients diagnosed before 12 years of age had a positive rate of 92.2% for either GADA or IA2A. Patients diagnosed at age 12 or above had a significantly lower positive rate of 81.6% (P = 0.011). GADA and IA2A significantly correlated with each other (rs = 0.245, P = 1.09 × 10–11). We concluded that autoantibodies were detectable in 89.4% of T1D patients within one year after diagnosis. Their prevalence declined with disease duration. GADA was more prevalent in female patients. GADA and IA2A weakly correlated with each other.
Shared care for people with mental illness: a GP's perspective †

Shared care in mental health is now a policy imperative in England and Wales, yet its meaning, form and function are still open to debate. In this article, I discuss the benefits of and barriers to a shared care approach, explain how policy is currently driving practice in this area, discuss recent shared care initiatives and highlight some of the tensions inherent in the approach, particularly from the viewpoint of patients. I also give some of the key factors that need to be in place within a ‘whole systems’ approach to ensure that shared care moves from the rhetoric of the statute book to everyday practice.
Listeria monocytogenes Sequence Types 121 and 14 Repeatedly Isolated Within One Year of Sampling in a Rabbit Meat Processing Plant: Persistence and Ecophysiology

Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne pathogen adapted to survive and persist in multiple environments. Following two previous studies on prevalence and virulence of L. monocytogenes ST121 and ST14 repeatedly collected in a the same rabbit-meat processing plant, the research questions of the present study were to: (1) assess persistence of L. monocytogenes isolates from the rabbit-plant; (2) select genes associated to physiological adaptation to the food-processing environment; (3) compare presence/absence/truncation of these genes in newly sequenced and publicly available ST121 and ST14 genomes. A total of 273 draft genomes including ST121 and ST14 newly sequenced and publicly available draft genomes were analyzed. Whole-genome Single Nucleotide Polymorfism (wgSNP) analysis was performed separately on the assemblies of ST121 and ST14 draft genomes. SNPs alignments were used to infer phylogeny. A dataset of L. monocytogenes ecophysiology genes was built based on a comprehensive literature review. The 94 selected genes were screened on the assemblies of all ST121 and ST14 draft genomes. Significant gene enrichments were evaluated by statistical analyses. A persistent ST14 clone, including 23 out of 27 newly sequenced genomes, was circulating in the rabbit-meat plant along with two not persistent clones. A significant enrichment was observed in ST121 genomes concerning stress survival islet 2 (SSI-2) (alkaline and oxidative stress), qacH gene (resistance to benzalkonium chloride), cadA1C gene cassette (resistance to 70 mg/l of cadmium chloride) and a truncated version of actA gene (biofilm formation). Conversely, ST14 draft genomes were enriched with a full-length version of actA gene along with the Listeria Genomic Island 2 (LGI 2) including the ars operon (arsenic resistance) and the cadA4C gene cassette (resistance to 35 mg/l of cadmium chloride). Phenotypic tests confirmed ST121 as a weak biofilm producer in comparison to ST14. In conclusion, ST121 carried the qacH gene and was phenotypically resistant to quaternary ammonium compounds. This property might contribute to the high prevalence of ST121 in food processing plants. ST14 showed greater ability to form biofilms, which might contribute to the occasional colonization and persistence on harborage sites where sanitizing procedures are difficult to display.