Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Joint Semantic and Motion Segmentation for Dynamic Scenes using Deep Convolutional Networks

Dynamic scene understanding is a challenging problem and motion segmentation plays a crucial role in solving it. Incorporating semantics and motion enhances the overall perception of the dynamic scene. For applications of outdoor robotic navigation, joint learning methods have not been extensively used for extracting spatio-temporal features or adding different priors into the formulation. The task becomes even more challenging without stereo information being incorporated. This paper proposes an approach to fuse semantic features and motion clues using CNNs, to address the problem of monocular semantic motion segmentation. We deduce semantic and motion labels by integrating optical flow as a constraint with semantic features into dilated convolution network. The pipeline consists of three main stages i.e Feature extraction, Feature amplification and Multi Scale Context Aggregation to fuse the semantics and flow features. Our joint formulation shows significant improvements in monocular motion segmentation over the state of the art methods on challenging KITTI tracking dataset.
Recognition of Isolated Handwritten Oriya Numerals using Hopfield Neural Network

Designing an automatic pattern recognition system is a challenging task. However, despite the design challenges, its enormous application potentials have attracted the attention of researchers and developers over the last four to five decades. Design of recognition systems for handwritten character applications has been a subject of intensive research, and the search is still on for a robust technique capable of dealing with natural variations in handwritten characters. In this paper the performance of Hopfield neural network (HNN) model in recognizing the handwritten Oriya (an Indian language) digits is addressed. The implementation has been carried out in two different ways. In first case, 290 test patterns (29 elements of each classes 0-9) created by different persons in Microsoft Paint were presented to the network in image form of 12×12. It is found that the network recognized 97.95% of the input characters correctly even if 40% of the input characters were having a significant level of noise. In the second experiment, the inputs were the collected handwritten characters in image format.A total of 1500 different input patterns were fed to the network sequentially and 95.4% recognition accuracy is achived. All the activities such as preprocessing of data (image cropping, resizing , digitization and implementations) have been carried out using MATLAB. General Terms Pattern Recognition, Hopfield Neural Network
Traces of surfactants can severely limit the drag reduction of superhydrophobic surfaces

Significance Whereas superhydrophobic surfaces (SHSs) have long promised large drag reductions, experiments have provided inconsistent results, with many textures yielding little or no benefit. Given the vast potential impact of SHSs on energy utilization, finding an explanation and mitigating strategies is crucially important. A recent hypothesis suggests surfactant-induced Marangoni stresses may be to blame. However, paradoxically, adding surfactants has a barely measurable effect, casting doubt on this hypothesis. By performing surfactant-laden simulations and unsteady experiments we demonstrate the impact of surfactants and how extremely low concentrations, unavoidable in practice, can increase drag up to complete immobilization of the air–liquid interface. Our approach can be used to test other SHS textures for sensitivity to surfactant-induced stresses. Superhydrophobic surfaces (SHSs) have the potential to achieve large drag reduction for internal and external flow applications. However, experiments have shown inconsistent results, with many studies reporting significantly reduced performance. Recently, it has been proposed that surfactants, ubiquitous in flow applications, could be responsible by creating adverse Marangoni stresses. However, testing this hypothesis is challenging. Careful experiments with purified water already show large interfacial stresses and, paradoxically, adding surfactants yields barely measurable drag increases. To test the surfactant hypothesis while controlling surfactant concentrations with precision higher than can be achieved experimentally, we perform simulations inclusive of surfactant kinetics. These reveal that surfactant-induced stresses are significant at extremely low concentrations, potentially yielding a no-slip boundary condition on the air–water interface (the “plastron”) for surfactant concentrations below typical environmental values. These stresses decrease as the stream-wise distance between plastron stagnation points increases. We perform microchannel experiments with SHSs consisting of stream-wise parallel gratings, which confirm this numerical prediction, while showing near-plastron velocities significantly slower than standard surfactant-free predictions. In addition, we introduce an unsteady test of surfactant effects. When we rapidly remove the driving pressure following a loading phase, a backflow develops at the plastron, which can only be explained by surfactant gradients formed in the loading phase. This demonstrates the significance of surfactants in deteriorating drag reduction and thus the importance of including surfactant stresses in SHS models. Our time-dependent protocol can assess the impact of surfactants in SHS testing and guide future mitigating designs.
Restoration of Topoisomerase 2 Function by Complementation of Defective Monomers in Drosophila

Type II topoisomerases are essential ATP-dependent homodimeric enzymes required for transcription, replication, and chromosome segregation. These proteins alter DNA topology by generating transient enzyme-linked double-strand breaks for passage of one DNA strand through another. The central role of type II topoisomerases in DNA metabolism has made these enzymes targets for anticancer drugs. Here, we describe a genetic screen that generated novel alleles of Drosophila Topoisomerase 2 (Top2). Fifteen alleles were obtained, resulting from nonsense and missense mutations. Among these, 14 demonstrated recessive lethality, with one displaying temperature-sensitive lethality. Several newly generated missense alleles carry amino acid substitutions in conserved residues within the ATPase, Topoisomerase/Primase, and Winged helix domains, including four that encode proteins with alterations in residues associated with resistance to cancer chemotherapeutics. Animals lacking zygotic Top2 function can survive to pupation and display reduced cell division and altered polytene chromosome structure. Inter se crosses between six strains carrying Top2 missense alleles generated morphologically normal trans-heterozygous adults, which showed delayed development and were female sterile. Complementation occurred between alleles encoding Top2 proteins with amino acid substitutions in the same functional domain and between alleles encoding proteins with substitutions in different functional domains. Two complementing alleles encode proteins with amino acid substitutions associated with drug resistance. These observations suggest that dimerization of mutant Top2 monomers can restore enzymatic function. Our studies establish the first series of Top2 alleles in a multicellular organism. Future analyses of these alleles will enhance our knowledge about the contributions made by type II topoisomerases to development.
A Review of the Optimisation of PhotopolymerMaterials for Holographic Data Storage

Photopolymers are very interesting as optically sensitive recording media due to the fact that they are inexpensive, self-processing materials with the ability to capture low-loss, high-fidelity volume recordings of 3D illuminating patterns. We have prepared this paper in part in order to enable the recognition of outstanding issues, which limit in particular the data storage capacity in holographic data storage media. In an attempt to further develop the data storage capacity and quality of the information stored, that is, the material sensitivity and resolution, a deeper understanding of such materials in order to improve them has become ever more crucial. In this paper a brief review of the optimisation of photopolymer materials for holographic data storage (HDS) applications is described. The key contributions of each work examined and many of the suggestions made for the improvement of the different photopolymer material discussed are presented.
Tumor markers for hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors with a high rate of morbidity and mortality. HCC affects approximately one million individuals annually worldwide, with the incidence equal to the mortality rate. In 2008, HCC was listed as the third most lethal cancer. Thus, early diagnosis is crucial for improving the survival rate for patients. α-fetoprotein (AFP) together with iconography and pathology detection are commonly used in the clinical early diagnosis of liver cancer. However, the specificity and sensitivity of AFP used in screening for liver cancer are not satisfactory. Athough the development of molecular biology has led to the identification of new tumor markers, including proteantigens, cytokines, enzymes and isoenzymes, as well as related genes that can be used in the treatment and prognosis of liver cancer, more tumor markers are required for effective early diagnosis of diseases and monitoring of the curative effect.
Solvent fluctuations in hydrophobic cavity–ligand binding kinetics

Water plays a crucial part in virtually all protein–ligand binding processes in and out of equilibrium. Here, we investigate the role of water in the binding kinetics of a ligand to a prototypical hydrophobic pocket by explicit-water molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and implicit diffusional approaches. The concave pocket in the unbound state exhibits wet/dry hydration oscillations whose magnitude and time scale are significantly amplified by the approaching ligand. In turn, the ligand’s stochastic motion intimately couples to the slow hydration fluctuations, leading to a sixfold-enhanced friction in the vicinity of the pocket entrance. The increased friction considerably decelerates association in the otherwise barrierless system, indicating the importance of molecular-scale hydrodynamic effects in cavity–ligand binding arising due to capillary fluctuations. We derive and analyze the diffusivity profile and show that the mean first passage time distribution from the MD simulation can be accurately reproduced by a standard Brownian dynamics simulation if the appropriate position-dependent friction profile is included. However, long-time decays in the water–ligand (random) force autocorrelation demonstrate violation of the Markovian assumption, challenging standard diffusive approaches for rate prediction. Remarkably, the static friction profile derived from the force correlations strongly resembles the profile derived on the Markovian assumption apart from a simple shift in space, which can be rationalized by a time–space retardation in the ligand’s downhill dynamics toward the pocket. The observed spatiotemporal hydrodynamic coupling may be of biological importance providing the time needed for conformational receptor–ligand adjustments, typical of the induced-fit paradigm.
How Much Does Globalization Help Segmentation ?

This paper quantifies the information gained in integrating local measurements using spectral graph partitioning. We employ a large dataset of manually segmented images in order to learn an optimal affinity function between nearby pairs of pixels. Region cues are computed as the similarity in brightness, color, and texture between image patches. Boundary cues are incorporated by looking for the presence of an “intervening contour”, a large gradient along a straight line connecting two pixels. We then use spectral clustering to find an approximate minimizer of the normalized cut, partitioning the image into coherent segments. We evaluate the power of local measurements and global segmentations in predicting the location of image boundaries by computing the precision and recall with respect to the human groundtruth data. The results show that spectral clustering is successful in suppressing noise and boosting weak signals over a wide variety of natural images.
EARLY ONCOLOGICAL OUTCOMES OF ROBOT‐ASSISTED RADICAL PROSTATECTOMY FOR HIGH‐GRADE PROSTATE CANCER

B J U I N T E R N A T I O N A L © 2 0 11 B J U I N T E R N A T I O N A L | 1 0 7 , 1 0 0 9 – 1 0 1 0 | doi:10.1111/j.1464-410X.2011. 10145.x 1 0 0 9 monotherapy in patients with high-risk disease is unlikely to be curative for a significant proportion of men [3]. As such, multimodal therapy using external beam radiotherapy, either in an adjuvant or a salvage manner, in combination with surgery is increasingly recognised as having the potential to achieve better outcomes to that achievable for external radiotherapy or surgery alone, especially in those men who wish to avoid androgen deprivation therapy [4]. As such it would have been very interesting if Wambi et al . would have reported outcome following a multimodal approach incorporating RALP instead of limiting their results to the short-term outcome of surgery in isolation.
UvA-DARE ( Digital Academic Repository ) Efficient memory copy operations on the 48-core Intel SCC processor

The Single-chip Cloud Computer (SCC) is a 48core experimental processor created by Intel Labs targeting the many-core research community. It has hardware support for sending short messages between cores, while large messages have to go through off-chip shared memory. However, memory copy operations on this chip are expensive and inefficient. In this paper we provide insight in the SCC’s memory architecture and describe and evaluate a few memory copy methods. We propose a novel method, unique to the SCC, which we believe achieves the maximum possible throughput for a single core on this chip. In order to efficiently implement this approach we introduce dedicated cores that run a memory copy service which can be used asynchronously by other cores.
The Efficacy of Advanced Life Support: A Review of the Literature

Abstract Introduction: Jurisdictions throughout the United States and some other parts of the world have invested substantial time and resources into creating and sustaining a prehospital advanced life support (ALS) system without knowing whether the efficacy of ALS-level care had been validated scientifically. In recent years, it has become fashionable for speakers before large audiences to declare that there is no scientific evidence for the clinical effectiveness of ALS-level care in the out-of-hospital setting. This study was undertaken to evaluate the evidence that pertains to the efficacy of ALS-level care in the current scientific literature. Methods: An extensive review of the available literature was accomplished using computerized and manual means to identify all applicable articles from 1966 to October, 1995. Selected articles were read, abstracted, analyzed, and compiled Each article also was categorized as presenting evidence supporting or refuting the clinical efficacy of ALS-level care, and a list was constructed that pointed to where the preponderance of the evidence lies. Results: Research in this field differs widely in terms of methodological sophistication. Of the 51 articles reviewed, eight concluded that ALS-level care is not any more effective than is basic life support, seven concluded that it is effective in some applications but not for others, and the remainder demonstrated effectiveness. The strongest support for ALS-level care was in the area of responses to victims of cardiac arrest, whereas somewhat more divergent findings related to trauma or non condition-specific studies. Conclusion: While not unanimous, the predominant finding of recent research into the clinical effectiveness of advanced life support demonstrates improved effectiveness over basic life support for patients with certain pathologies. More outcomes-based research is needed.
Hepatitis B antigen and antibody in maternal blood, cord blood, and amniotic fluid

Transplacental transmission of hepatitis B virus from hepatitis B antigen carrier mothers was investigated by studying the presence of the antigen and its antibody in maternal blood, umbilical cord blood, and amniotic fluid. Hepatitis B antigen was shown in the umbilical cord blood of 2 out of 14 newborns whose mothers were permanent hepatitis B antigen carriers. The antigen was eliminated from the blood of these newborns in less than 3 months. It was also detected in the concentrated amniotic fluid of one hepatitis B antigen cord blood-positive case. Antibodies (anti-HBs) crossed the placental barrier easily and were found in the umbilical cord blood and in the amniotic fluid. They were not detected in the umbilical cord blood and amniotic fluid of any of the studied newborns of hepatitis B antigen carrier mothers. These data indicate that the fetuses of carrier mothers are exposed to the hepatitis B virus. However, chronic antigen positivity and anti-HBs production was not shown. Occurrence of in utero infection and subsequent resolution cannot be excluded, but it appears more probable that in utero infection is blocked.
Random projection in dimensionality reduction: applications to image and text data

Random projections have recently emerged as a powerful method for dimensionality reduction. Theoretical results indicate that the method preserves distances quite nicely; however, empirical results are sparse. We present experimental results on using random projection as a dimensionality reduction tool in a number of cases, where the high dimensionality of the data would otherwise lead to burden-some computations. Our application areas are the processing of both noisy and noiseless images, and information retrieval in text documents. We show that projecting the data onto a random lower-dimensional subspace yields results comparable to conventional dimensionality reduction methods such as principal component analysis: the similarity of data vectors is preserved well under random projection. However, using random projections is computationally significantly less expensive than using, e.g., principal component analysis. We also show experimentally that using a sparse random matrix gives additional computational savings in random projection.
Estrogens as Antioxidant Modulators in Human Fertility

Among treatments proposed for idiopathic male infertility, antiestrogens, like tamoxifen, play a possible role. On the other hand, oxidative stress is a mechanism well recognized for deleterious effects on spermatozoa function. After reviewing the literature on the effects of estrogens in modulation of antioxidant systems, in both sexes, and in different in vivo and in vitro models, we suggest, also on the basis of personal data, that a tamoxifen treatment could be active via an increase in seminal antioxidants.
Mortality awareness and risk-taking in late adolescence.

The relationship of mortality awareness to sexual, drug, and athletic risk-taking by male and female college students was measured using two questionnaires. Regression analyses of Study 1 data revealed: (a) significantly greater sexual risk-taking among males (n = 68) than among females (n = 119) beta = -. 20, p less than . 01; (b) a significant negative relationship of mortality awareness to sexual risk-taking in males, beta = -. 36, p less than . 01; and (c) no relationship of mortality awareness to reported drug use or athletic risk-taking. Regression analyses of data from Study 2, which included only male subjects (n = 40), revealed that initial mortality awareness was significantly related to sexual risk-taking (beta = -.33, p less than .05), but that manipulated awareness of death did not affect willingness to take sexual risks. It was suggested that mortality awareness may reduce the taking of risks that present nonsalient consequences, and that the consequences of risky sexual behavior may be less salient for males than for females.
Carotenoids, Immunocompetence, and the Information Content of Sexual Colors: An Experimental Test

Many male birds use carotenoid pigments to acquire brilliant colors that advertise their health and condition to prospective mates. The direct means by which the most colorful males achieve superior health has been debated, however. One hypothesis, based on studies of carotenoids as antioxidants in humans and other animals, is that carotenoids directly boost the immune system of colorful birds. We studied the relationship between carotenoid pigments, immune function, and sexual coloration in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata), a species in which males incorporate carotenoid pigments into their beak to attract mates. We tested the hypotheses that increased dietary carotenoid intake enhances immunocompetence in male zebra finches and that levels of carotenoids circulating in blood, which also determine beak coloration, directly predict the immune response of individuals. We experimentally supplemented captive finches with two common dietary carotenoid pigments (lutein and zeaxanthin) and measured cell‐mediated and humoral immunity a month later. Supplemented males showed elevated blood‐carotenoid levels, brighter beak coloration, and increased cell‐mediated and humoral immune responses than did controls. Cell‐mediated responses were predicted directly by changes in beak color and plasma carotenoid concentration of individual birds. These experimental findings suggest that carotenoid‐based color signals in birds may directly signal male health via the immunostimulatory action of ingested and circulated carotenoid pigments.
Robustness of the retinotopic attentional trace after eye movements.

With each eye movement, the image received by the visual system changes drastically. To maintain stable spatiotopic (world-centered) representations, the relevant retinotopic (eye-centered) coordinates must be continually updated. Although updating or remapping of visual scene representations can occur very rapidly, J. D. Golomb, M. M. Chun, and J. A. Mazer (2008) demonstrated that representations of sustained attention update more slowly than the remapping literature would predict; attentional benefits at previously attended retinotopic locations linger after completion of the saccade, even when this location is no longer behaviorally relevant. The present study explores the robustness of this "retinotopic attentional trace. " We report significant retinotopic facilitation despite attempts to eliminate or reduce it by enhancing spatiotopic reference frames with permanent visual cues in the stimulus display and by introducing a different task where the attended location is the saccade target itself. Our results support and extend our earlier model of native retinotopically organized salience maps that must be dynamically updated to reflect the task-relevant spatiotopic location with each saccade. Consistent with the idea that attentional facilitation arises from persistent, recurrent neural activity, it takes measurable time for this facilitation to decay, leaving behind a retinotopic attentional trace after the saccade has been executed, regardless of conflicting task demands.