Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Scalable, High-Quality Object Detection

Current high-quality object detection approaches use the scheme of salience-based object proposal methods followed by post-classification using deep convolutional features. This spurred recent research in improving object proposal methods. However, domain agnostic proposal generation has the principal drawback that the proposals come unranked or with very weak ranking, making it hard to trade-off quality for running time. This raises the more fundamental question of whether high-quality proposal generation requires careful engineering or can be derived just from data alone. We demonstrate that learning-based proposal methods can effectively match the performance of hand-engineered methods while allowing for very efficient runtime-quality trade-offs. Using the multi-scale convolutional MultiBox (MSC-MultiBox) approach, we substantially advance the state-of-the-art on the ILSVRC 2014 detection challenge data set, with $0.5$ mAP for a single model and $0.52$ mAP for an ensemble of two models. MSC-Multibox significantly improves the proposal quality over its predecessor MultiBox~method: AP increases from $0.42$ to $0.53$ for the ILSVRC detection challenge. Finally, we demonstrate improved bounding-box recall compared to Multiscale Combinatorial Grouping with less proposals on the Microsoft-COCO data set.
Disseminating High-Impact Social Work Scholarship: A Longitudinal Examination of 5-Year Citation Count Correlates

Objective: Disseminating high-impact scholarship is a critical task for many social work academics. Although the factors that contribute to this process have been investigated in other disciplines, there is a paucity of equivalent research in social work. This longitudinal study addresses this gap in the literature by examining the effects of coauthorship, database indexing, and article length on subsequent citation counts, a widely used measure of scholarly impact. Based upon the extant research, we hypothesized that all three factors would be associated with a greater number of citations 5 years after publication. Method: The sample consisted of 3,066 articles, published inclusively from 2005 to 2009 in 18 disciplinary social work journals. Multilevel negative binomial regression was used to model the effects of each factor on 5-year citation counts. Results: The findings generally supported the hypotheses. Articles were more likely to be cited in subsequent scholarship if they were (a) written by 3 or more authors, (b) retrievable from more databases, and (c) longer. Conclusions: The results raise the possibility that authors interested in high-impact scholarship might benefit from working in authorship teams to create longer papers containing more original ideas, and then submitting the resulting manuscripts to journals that are indexed in multiple electronic databases.
Perceived organizational support and well-being: a weekly study

Purpose Prior research has conceptualized perceived organizational support (POS) as a stable variable over time varying from one individual to another. Nevertheless, it can be assumed that POS fluctuates within the same person over the course of several weeks due to different experiences lived at work. The authors suggested in the present study that weekly POS is predictive of employees’ weekly subjective well-being at work (i.e. increased positive affect toward the organization, and decreased negative affect toward the organization and psychological strains at work). In addition, the purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role played by weekly work engagement in these relationships. Design/methodology/approach In total, 20 employees completed a first general questionnaire and then completed an online questionnaire during 12 consecutive weeks. Findings Results of hierarchical linear models indicated that weekly POS positively predicts weekly employees’ work engagement which, in turn, positively predicts weekly employees’ well-being (i.e. increasing positive affect toward the organization and decreasing negative affect toward the organization and psychological strains at work). Research limitations/implications Overall, these findings contribute to the POS and work engagement literatures. It shows that POS fluctuates within person over the course of several weeks and is a predictor of weekly employees’ well-being through its effects on weekly work engagement. Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to examine within-person weekly variations in POS as a predictor of employees’ weekly work engagement and its subsequent consequences.
A Template-Based Short Course Concept on Android Application Development

Smartphones are a common accessory to provide rich user experience due to superior memory, advanced software-hardware support, fast processing, and multimedia capabilities. Responding to this trend, advanced engineering systems tend to integrate mobile devices with their solutions to facilitate usability. With many young students showing interest in learning mobile application development, conventional electrical engineering undergraduate education cannot meet the needs of this workforce due to fast changes in mobile technology and limited curricula hours. Templatebased learning (TBL) methods may overcome these limitations by shortening the learning cycle through fast hands-on introduction to development tools, basic programming, and application development and integration process. Students manipulate code fragments in provided templates, and compile, embed, and run applications. They also implement new applications reusing fragments from other similar templates. TBL modules can be integrated in pre-existing conventional courses to provide basic and fast exposure to the subject. This paper provides an example of a TBL template library for Android phones, which has been used in a classroom setting to collect student attitude data and assess efficiency of the TBL approach.
Ghrelin: A New Incretin Enhancer Therapy?

The overarching goal of diabetes therapies is to get patients under good glycemic control using therapies that lower abnormally elevated plasma glucose, thereby reducing glucose toxicity, oxidative stress, and inflammation, conditions that promote cardiovascular disease (CVD) and chronic kidney disease. Unfortunately, some conventional diabetes therapies, although effective at controlling glycemia, induce weight gain and actually increase the risk of hypoglycemic episodes and associated CVD events. To this end, the development of novel, safe, and effective therapies that improve long-term glycemic control, that minimize the risk of hypoglycemia, that do not increase weight gain (or induce therapeutic weight loss), and that promote cardiovascular (CV) health is a better way forward (1). The ongoing development of incretin-enhancing therapies may be an example of such an approach. The gut-derived incretin hormones, glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide, are secreted in response to the postprandial increase in glucose and act to augment glucose-dependent pancreatic insulin secretion, suppress glucagon release, slow gastric emptying, enhance satiety, and modulate the so-called gut-brain axis (2,3). The action of incretin hormones is short-lived due to rapid degradation by the ubiquitous enzyme, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4). Earlier studies showed that the incretin axis in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is impaired (4,5), and this has led to the development of novel incretin-enhancing therapies, such as the stable (i.e., DPP-4–resistant) receptor (GLP-1R) agonists and DPP-4 inhibitors. Accumulating evidence suggests that modulation of incretin signaling by GLP-1R agonists or DPP-4 inhibitors is not only beneficial for improving glycemic control but confers neutral or modest CV protection (6,7). Given the complexity …
X-Ray Absorption by the Hot Intergalactic Medium

The current census of observed baryons in the local universe is still missing a significant fraction of them according to standard big bang nucleosynthesis. Numerical simulations predict that most of the missing baryons are in a hot intergalactic medium, which is difficult to observe through its X-ray emission or the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect. We show that the next generation of X-ray satellites will be able to detect this gas through the X-ray absorption lines imprinted by its highly ionized metals on the spectrum of a background quasar. For the metallicity typically found in intracluster gas, up to 70% of the baryons produce O VIII absorption lines with an equivalent width ≳0.1 eV. The spectrum of any high-redshift quasar is expected to show several such lines per unit redshift due to intervening gaseous halos of galaxy groups. These lines will be detectable at a signal-to-noise ratio of ≳5 after a day of integration with the future Constellation-X telescope for any of the several tens of the brightest quasars across the sky.
Detection of WU polyomavirus in cerebrospinal fluid specimen from a patient with AIDS and suspected progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy.

To the Editor—We read with interest the article recently published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases by Sharp et al. [1], who investigated whether the newly discovered KI, WU, and Merkel cell poly-omaviruses could persist and reactivate in immunodeficient patients. To this aim, the authors screened for the presence of ge-nomic sequences of KI, WU, and Merkel cell polyomaviruses, in addition to BK and JC polyomaviruses, in a series of lymphoid tissue autopsy samples from immuno-compromised patients with AIDS but without signs or symptoms suggestive of polyomavirus-associated diseases, such as polyomavirus-associated nephropathy or progressive multifocal leukoencephalopa-thy (PML), and from control subjects without AIDS. The authors demonstrated that, overall, polyomaviruses were significantly more frequently detected in im-munosuppressed patients than in non-immunosuppressed persons. In particular, with regard to the new polyomaviruses, KI polyomavirus was detected in 3 (7.1%) of 42 patients with AIDS and in 1 (1.8%) of 55 control subjects, WU polyomavirus was detected in 4 (9.5%) patients with AIDS, and Merkel cell polyomavirus was identified in only a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)–infected injection drug user in the control group. Moreover, a higher viral load and a higher rate of mutations in the transcription control region of the viral genome were observed in immuno-suppressed patients than in nonimmu-nosuppressed individuals with KI or WU polyomavirus infection. We would like to support the findings of Sharp et al. [1] of a higher risk of re-activation of KI and WU polyomaviruses in immunosuppressed patients with AIDS and their hypothesis that these viruses might be responsible for disease in such patients [1], by reporting a case of WU polyomavirus DNA detection in a cere-brospinal fluid (CSF) specimen from a patient with AIDS who showed signs of PML but did not have JC polyomavirus infection. The case was identified among a series of CSF samples from patients with suspected viral encephalitis that were retrospectively analyzed for the presence of WU, KI, and Merkel cell polyomavirus ge-nome sequences. In particular, the study was performed using 60 CSF samples collected from Jan-uary through June 2008 at the Microbiology and Virology Unit of Padova University Hospital (Padova, Italy) from patients (26 female and 34 male patients; median age, 44 years [range, 4–88 years]) with neurological signs and symptoms suggestive of acute or chronic viral en-cephalitis; results of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for genome sequences of herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2, varicella zoster virus, and entero-viruses were …
Perfectionism and the cognitive and affective experience of social exclusion

Perfectionism is a multidimensional personality variable linked to a variety of maladaptive consequences and developmentally rooted in early interpersonal attachments. This has been hypothesized to predispose perfectionistic individuals to more maladaptive outcomes in response to being socially excluded. The current project reviews extant literature on the Comprehensive Model of Perfectionism described by Paul Hewitt, Gordon Flett, and colleagues, its developmental antecedents, and a review of specific vulnerability, diathesis-stress and perfectionism social disconnection models that explain perfectionistic vulnerability to stress, including social exclusion. Hypotheses regarding a moderating effect of perfectionism on cognitive and affective reactions to social exclusion were generated based on the aforementioned models. Using two undergraduate student samples, we exposed participants to a laboratory-based social exclusion experience (Cyberball) under controlled circumstances and performed a comprehensive preand post-task assessment of their affective and cognitive experience using a combination of explicit and implicit measures. Results indicated that concern over mistakes, perfectionistic cognitions, perfectionistic self-promotion, and nondisplay of imperfection dimensions of perfectionism were the strongest moderators of the experience of social exclusion in that individuals high on these dimensions experienced amplified post-Cyberball shame, anger, rejection, and self-critical affect and increased negative self-related thoughts, and decreased interdependence. Nondisclosure of imperfection in contrast predicted reduced rejected affect in response to social inclusion. Results are discussed in the context of extant literature in perfectionism and social exclusion domains, and in light of diathesis-stress literature and the Perfectionism Social Disconnection Model, as well as the hypothesized interpersonal underpinnings of perfectionistic behaviour.
Mechanisms of Efferent-Mediated Responses in the Turtle Posterior Crista

To study the cellular mechanisms of efferent actions, we recorded from vestibular-nerve afferents close to the turtle posterior crista while efferent fibers were electrically stimulated. Efferent-mediated responses were obtained from calyx-bearing (CD, calyx and dimorphic) afferents and from bouton (B) afferents distinguished by their neuroepithelial locations into BT units near the torus and BM units at intermediate sites. The spike discharge of CD units is strongly excited by efferent stimulation, whereas BT and BM units are inhibited, with BM units also showing a postinhibitory excitation. Synaptic activity was recorded intracellularly after spikes were blocked. Responses of BT/BM units to single efferent shocks consist of a brief depolarization followed by a prolonged hyperpolarization. Both components reflect variations in hair-cell quantal release rates and are eliminated by pharmacological antagonists of α9/α10 nicotinic receptors. Blocking calcium-dependent SK potassium channels converts the biphasic response into a prolonged depolarization. Results can be explained, as in other hair-cell systems, by the sequential activation of α9/α10 and SK channels. In BM units, the postinhibitory excitation is based on an increased rate of hair-cell quanta and depends on the preceding inhibition. There is, in addition, an efferent-mediated, direct depolarization of BT/BM and CD fibers. In CD units, it is the exclusive efferent response. Nicotinic antagonists have different effects on hair-cell efferent actions and on the direct depolarization of CD and BT/BM units. Ultrastructural studies, besides confirming the efferent innervation of type II hair cells and calyx endings, show that turtle efferents commonly contact afferent boutons terminating on type II hair cells.
Oxaliplatin, fluorouracil, and leucovorin as adjuvant treatment for colon cancer.

BACKGROUND The standard adjuvant treatment of colon cancer is fluorouracil plus leucovorin (FL). Oxaliplatin improves the efficacy of this combination in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. We evaluated the efficacy of treatment with FL plus oxaliplatin in the postoperative adjuvant setting. METHODS We randomly assigned 2246 patients who had undergone curative resection for stage II or III colon cancer to receive FL alone or with oxaliplatin for six months. The primary end point was disease-free survival. RESULTS A total of 1123 patients were randomly assigned to each group. After a median follow-up of 37.9 months, 237 patients in the group given FL plus oxaliplatin had had a cancer-related event, as compared with 293 patients in the FL group (21.1 percent vs. 26.1 percent; hazard ratio for recurrence, 0.77; P=0.002). The rate of disease-free survival at three years was 78.2 percent (95 percent confidence interval, 75.6 to 80.7) in the group given FL plus oxaliplatin and 72.9 percent (95 percent confidence interval, 70.2 to 75.7) in the FL group (P=0.002 by the stratified log-rank test). In the group given FL plus oxaliplatin, the incidence of febrile neutropenia was 1.8 percent, the incidence of gastrointestinal adverse effects was low, and the incidence of grade 3 sensory neuropathy was 12.4 percent during treatment, decreasing to 1.1 percent at one year of follow-up. Six patients in each group died during treatment (death rate, 0.5 percent). CONCLUSIONS Adding oxaliplatin to a regimen of fluorouracil and leucovorin improves the adjuvant treatment of colon cancer.
Fbx15 Is a Novel Target of Oct3/4 but Is Dispensable for Embryonic Stem Cell Self-Renewal and Mouse Development

ABSTRACT Embryonic stem (ES) cells are immortal and pluripotent cells derived from early mammalian embryos. Transcription factor Oct3/4 is essential for self-renewal of ES cells and early mouse development. However, only a few Oct3/4 target genes have been identified. In this study, we found that F-box-containing protein Fbx15 was expressed predominantly in mouse undifferentiated ES cells. Inactivation of Oct3/4 in ES cells led to rapid extinction of Fbx15 expression. Reporter gene analyses demonstrated that this ES cell-specific expression required an 18-bp enhancer element located approximately 500 nucleotides upstream from the transcription initiation site. The enhancer contained an octamer-like motif and an adjacent Sox-binding motif. Deletion or point mutation of either motif abolished the enhancer activity. The 18-bp fragment became active in NIH 3T3 cells when Oct3/4 and Sox2 were coexpressed. A gel mobility shift assay demonstrated cooperative binding of Oct3/4 and Sox2 to the enhancer sequence. In mice having a β-galactosidase gene knocked into the Fbx15 locus, 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-β-d-galactopyranoside staining was detected in ES cells, early embryos (two-cell to blastocyst stages), and testis tissue. Despite such specific expression of Fbx15, homozygous mutant mice showed no gross developmental defects and were fertile. Fbx15-null ES cells were normal in morphology, proliferation, and differentiation. These data demonstrate that Fbx15 is a novel target of Oct3/4 but is dispensable for ES cell self-renewal, development, and fertility.
Electrophoresis of Colloidal Particles in Shear- Thinnin g Polymer Solutions

This thesis includes a theoretical and experimental analysis of electrophoresis of colloidal particles in non-Newtonian polymeric fluids with shear-rate dependent viscosities. A model is derived that predicts field dependent electrophoretic mobility in shear-thinning Carreau fluids. The latter effect is experimentally investigated for submicron particles in solutions of linear polyacrylamide using capillary electrophoresis. The mobilitiies of the particles studied in these solutions did not depend on field strength, yet the mobilities were consistently an order of magnitude greater than in water and glycerol solutions with similar bulk viscosities. The increase in particle mobility could be attributed to several mechanisms, however it is consistent with the depletion of polymer apparent viscosity of the fluid as it migrates by electrophoresis is the same as experienced by the particle in Brownian diffusion. A comparison of particle mobility in both glycerol and polyacrylamide solutions to diffusion coefficients of the particles measured by dynamic light scattering supports this conclusion.
Sexual dimorphism in ratio of second and fourth digits and its relationship with metabolic syndrome indices and cardiovascular risk factors

Background: Ratio of second and fourth digit (2D:4D) is known to be germane in analyzing utero concentrations of testosterone and estrogen in human and other vertebrates. 2D:4D had been linked to several traits like athletes’ abilities, reproductive success, risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a clustering of several cardiovascular risk factors. Waist circumference (WC), neck circumference (NC), body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) are important in measuring MetS. This study investigated sexual dimorphism in 2D:4D and its relationship with MetS indices and CVD factors among adult residing in Ilorin, North central Nigeria. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional, stratified multi-staged sampling study. Participants residing in different neighborhoods were visited at home where finger lengths and anthropometric traits were measured. Participants include 801 healthy adults aged 18-44 years (56% male) who had been living in the area for more than 3 years. Results: Males showed significantly lower 2D:4D than females (unpaired t-test; t [699] = 11.49, P = 0.001). A significant positive correlation was observed in MetS markers and 2D:4D. WHtR showed the highest correlation with 2D:4D in male (r = 0.461, P ≤ 0.001) and female (r = 0.408, P ≤ 0.001) when compared with BMI, NC and WC. All positive correlations recorded in this study were high in male and right hand. Conclusion: Our results showed that 2D:4D is sexual dimorphic and right hand 2D:4D as a predictor of MetS is better. We concluded that 2D:4D is a proxy for MetS and CVD risk factors in Ilorin.
Understanding Subsystems in Biology through Dimensionality Reduction, Graph Partitioning and Analytical Modeling

Biological systems exhibit rich and complex behavior through the orchestrated interplay of a large array of components. It is hypothesized that separable subsystems with some degree of functional autonomy exist; deciphering their independent behavior and functionality would greatly facilitate understanding the system as a whole. Discovering and analyzing such subsystems are hence pivotal problems in the quest to gain a quantitative understanding of complex biological systems. In this work, using approaches from machine learning, physics and graph theory, methods for the identification and analysis of such subsystems were developed. A novel methodology, based on a recent machine learning algorithm known as non-negative matrix factorization (NMF), was developed to discover such subsystems in a set of large-scale gene expression data. This set of subsystems was then used to predict functional relationships between genes, and this approach was shown to score significantly higher than conventional methods when benchmarking them against existing databases. Moreover, a mathematical treatment was developed to treat simple network subsystems based only on their topology (independent of particular parameter values). Application to a problem of experimental interest demonstrated the need for extentions to the conventional model to fully explain the experimental data. Finally, the notion of a subsystem was evaluated from a topological perspective. A number of different protein networks were examined to analyze their topological properties with respect to separability, seeking to find separable subsystems. These networks were shown to exhibit separability in a nonintuitive fashion, while the separable subsystems were of strong biological significance. It was demonstrated that the separability property found was not due to incomplete or biased data, but is likely to reflect biological structure. Thesis Supervisor: Bruce Tidor Title: Associate Professor of Bioengineering and Computer Science