Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A coarse-to-fine model for 3D pose estimation and sub-category recognition

Despite the fact that object detection, 3D pose estimation, and sub-category recognition are highly correlated tasks, they are usually addressed independently from each other because of the huge space of parameters. To jointly model all of these tasks, we propose a coarse-to-fine hierarchical representation, where each level of the hierarchy represents objects at a different level of granularity. The hierarchical representation prevents performance loss, which is often caused by the increase in the number of parameters (as we consider more tasks to model), and the joint modeling enables resolving ambiguities that exist in independent modeling of these tasks. We augment PASCAL3D+ [34] dataset with annotations for these tasks and show that our hierarchical model is effective in joint modeling of object detection, 3D pose estimation, and sub-category recognition.
LS-Based Pilot Contamination Pre-coding for Large-scale MIMO System

To reduce pilot contamination, a downlink precoding algorithm was put forward for Large-scale MIMO system. It set the Least Square (LS) criterion to the objective function, and then solved the precoding matrices with the Lagrange multiplier method. In the solving, it utilized not only the estimated channel information but also the pilot contamination information, which was acquired from some blank resource elements, so could more precisely reduce pilot contamination. Based on simulation results, it was shown that the proposed algorithm can achieve better performance than popular Large-scale MIMO precoding algorithms, e.g. single-cell Zero-Forcing precoding and multi-cell MMSE precoding. It could break through the limit of pilot contamination and acquire approximately linear performance improvement with the number of antennas increasing.
IMPLICIT SHAPE MODELS FOR OBJECT DETECTION IN 3D POINT CLOUDS

Abstract. We present a method for automatic object localization and recognition in 3D point clouds representing outdoor urban scenes. The method is based on the implicit shape models (ISM) framework, which recognizes objects by voting for their center locations. It requires only few training examples per class, which is an important property for practical use. We also introduce and evaluate an improved version of the spin image descriptor, more robust to point density variation and uncertainty in normal direction estimation. Our experiments reveal a significant impact of these modifications on the recognition performance. We compare our results against the state-of-the-art method and get significant improvement in both precision and recall on the Ohio dataset, consisting of combined aerial and terrestrial LiDAR scans of 150,000 m2 of urban area in total.
Longitudinal Brain White Matter Alterations in Minimal Hepatic Encephalopathy before and after Liver Transplantation

Cerebral edema is the common pathogenic mechanism for cognitive impairment in minimal hepatic encephalopathy. Whether complete reversibility of brain edema, cognitive deficits, and their associated imaging can be achieved after liver transplantation remains an open question. To characterize white matter integrity before and after liver transplantation in patients with minimal hepatic encephalopathy, multiple diffusivity indices acquired via diffusion tensor imaging was applied. Twenty-eight patients and thirty age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers were included. Multiple diffusivity indices were obtained from diffusion tensor images, including mean diffusivity, fractional anisotropy, axial diffusivity and radial diffusivity. The assessment was repeated 6–12 month after transplantation. Differences in white matter integrity between groups, as well as longitudinal changes, were evaluated using tract-based spatial statistical analysis. Correlation analyses were performed to identify first scan before transplantation and interval changes among the neuropsychiatric tests, clinical laboratory tests, and diffusion tensor imaging indices. After transplantation, decreased water diffusivity without fractional anisotropy change indicating reversible cerebral edema was found in the left anterior cingulate, claustrum, postcentral gyrus, and right corpus callosum. However, a progressive decrease in fractional anisotropy and an increase in radial diffusivity suggesting demyelination were noted in temporal lobe. Improved pre-transplantation albumin levels and interval changes were associated with better recoveries of diffusion tensor imaging indices. Improvements in interval diffusion tensor imaging indices in the right postcentral gyrus were correlated with visuospatial function score correction. In conclusion, longitudinal voxel-wise analysis of multiple diffusion tensor imaging indices demonstrated different white matter changes in minimal hepatic encephalopathy patients. Transplantation improved extracellular cerebral edema and the results of associated cognition tests. However, white matter demyelination may advance in temporal lobe.
Experimental Bluetongue and Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease Virus Infection in California Black-tailed Deer

Four adult black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemioneus columbianus) and five fawns were inoculated with bluetongue virus (BTV) and one adult deer was inoculated with epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) virus to produce clinical signs and lesions of hemorrhagic disease. Serologic response was monitored using the agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) test and the competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (C-ELISA). Embryonating chicken eggs and vero cells were used to detect viremia. No animal exhibited clinical or pathologic signs of hemorrhagic disease. Bluetongue viremia was detected as early as 2 days post-inoculation (DPI-2) and in some animals, persisted until at least DPI-12. The earliest detection of BTV antibodies using the AGID was DPI-8. Two adult deer remained seropositive for BTV antibodies for >9 mo and 1 yr, respectively, using both the AGID and C-ELISA tests. We observed cross reactions between BT and EHD antibodies using the AGID tests. Also, the AGID test did not consistently detect exposure to BTV. Viremia was not detected in the deer inoculated with EHD although this animal was AGID positive between DPI-6 and DPI-49.
Editorial: Survey and Experimental Analysis of Event Detection Techniques for Twitter

Twitter’s popularity as a source of up-to-date news and information is constantly increasing. In response to this trend, numerous event detection techniques have been proposed to cope with the rate and volume of Twitter data streams. Although most of these works conduct some evaluation of the proposed technique, a comparative study is often omitted. In this paper, we present a survey and experimental analysis of state-of-the-art event detection techniques for Twitter data streams. In order to conduct this study, we define a series of measures to support the quantitative and qualitative comparison. We demonstrate the effectiveness of these measures by applying them to event detection techniques as well as to baseline approaches using real-world Twitter streaming data.
Inference to the Best Legal Explanation

How do legal decision-makers reason about facts in law? A popular response appeals to probability theory, more specifically, to Bayesian theory. On the Bayesian approach, fact-finders’ inferential task consists in updating the probability of the hypothesis entailing guilt in light of the evidence at trial in the way dictated by Bayes theorem. If, by the end of the trial, this probability is sufficiently high to meet the reasonable doubt standard, the verdict “guilty” is appropriate (Tillers and Green 1988). Bayesianism provides an elegant framework for analyzing evidentiary reasoning in law. Nonetheless, in the last decades, the Bayesian theory of legal proof has been subjected to severe criticism, which has shed serious doubts upon the possibility of explaining legal reasoning about evidence in Bayesian terms. In this paper, I would explore the feasibility of an approach to legal evidence and proof alternative to the probabilistic one, to wit, an explanationist approach. According to this approach, many instances of factual reasoning in law are best understood as ‘inferences to the best explanation,’ i.e., a pattern of reasoning whereby explanatory hypotheses are formed and evaluated. More specifically, I shall argue for a coherentist approach to inference to the best explanation for law according to which factual inference in law involves first the generation of a number of plausible alternative explanations of the events being litigated at trial and then the selection, among them, of the one that is best on a test of explanatory coherence.The defense of an explanationist model of legal proof will proceed as follows. I start by giving a brief description of inference to the best explanation. I then proceed to articulate a model of inference to the best explanation for law. I shall restrict my analysis to criminal trials, even though the model is also potentially applicable to civil trials. Next, I illustrate this model by means of a well-known case, the O.J. Simpson case. I will then consider a major objection that may be raised against a model of inference to the best explanation for law, namely, the so-called ‘problem of underconsideration. ’ I conclude by examining this problem in detail and suggesting some ways in which it may be overcome.
Isolation and characterization of postsynaptic densities from various brain regions: enrichment of different types of postsynaptic densities

Postsynaptic densities (PSDs) have been isolated from cerebral cortex, midbrain, cerebellum, and brain stem by the Triton X-100 method previously used in the isolation of cerebral PSDs (Cohen et al., 1977, J. Cell Biol. 74:181). These PSDs have been compared in protein composition, protein phosphorylation, and morphology. Thin-section electron microscopy revealed that cerebral cortex and midbrain PSDs were identical, being approximately 57 nm thick and composed of apparent aggregates 20-30 nm in diameter. Isolated cerebellar PSDs appeared thinner (33 nm) than cerebral cortex PSDs and lacked the apparent 20- to 30-nm aggregates, but had a latticelike structure. In unidirectional and rotary-shadowed replicas, the cerebrum and midbrain PSDs were circular in shape with a large central perforation or hole in the center of them. Cerebellum PSDs did not have a large perforation, but did have numerous smaller perforations in a lattice like structure. Filaments (6-9 nm) were observed connecting possible 20- to 30-nm aggregates in cerebrum PSDs and were also observed radiating from one side of the PSD. Both cerebral cortex and midbrain PSDs exhibited identical protein patterns on SDS gel electrophoresis. In comparison, cerebellar PSDs (a) lacked the major 51,000 Mr protein, (b) contained two times less calmodulin, and (c) contained a unique protein at 73,000 Mr. Calcium plus calmodulin stimulated the phosphorylation of the 51,000 and 62,000 Mr bands in both cerebral cortex and midbrain PSDs. In cerebellar PSDs, only the 58,000 and 62,000 Mr bands were phosphorylated. In the PSDs from all brain regions, cAMP stimulated the phosphorylation of Protein Ia (73,000 Mr), Protein Ib (68.000 Mr), and a 60,000 Mr protein, although cerebrum and midbrain PSDs contained very much higher levels of phosphorylated protein than did the cerebellum. On the basis of the morphological criteria, it is possible that PSDs isolated from cerebrum and midbrain were derived from the Gray type I, or asymmetric, synapses, whereas cerebellum PSDs were derived from the Gray type II, or symmetric, synapses. Since there is some evidence that the type I synapses are involved in excitatory mechanisms while the type II are involved in inhibitory mechanisms, the role of the PSD and of some of its proteins in these synaptic responses is discussed.
Survival of the Curviest: Noise-Driven Selection for Synergistic Epistasis

A major goal of human genetics is to elucidate the genetic architecture of human disease, with the goal of fueling improvements in diagnosis and the understanding of disease pathogenesis. The degree to which epistasis, or non-additive effects of risk alleles at different loci, accounts for common disease traits is hotly debated, in part because the conditions under which epistasis evolves are not well understood. Using both theory and evolutionary simulation, we show that the occurrence of common diseases (i.e. unfit phenotypes with frequencies on the order of 1%) can, under the right circumstances, be expected to be driven primarily by synergistic epistatic interactions. Conditions that are necessary, collectively, for this outcome include a strongly non-linear phenotypic landscape, strong (but not too strong) selection against the disease phenotype, and “noise” in the genotype-phenotype map that is both environmental (extrinsic, time-correlated) and developmental (intrinsic, uncorrelated) and, in both cases, neither too little nor too great. These results suggest ways in which geneticists might identify, a priori, those disease traits for which an “epistatic explanation” should be sought, and in the process better focus ongoing searches for risk alleles.
Merkel cell carcinoma in a patient with B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia treated with cladribine and rituximab

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is an uncommon, neuroendocrine skin tumor with an aggressive clinical course. The etiology of the disease is unknown, although sun exposure and immunosuppression may play a role in its development. Coexistence of MCC with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is extremely rare and to our knowledge it has been previously described in only 8 patients. We report a 51-year-old woman who presented with a red lump on the right cheek diagnosed as MCC. She had been diagnosed as having CLL 3 years earlier and was treated with 4 courses of cladribine (2-CdA) and subsequently with 4 courses of 2-CdA combined with rituximab. MCC was diagnosed on the basis of histological and immunohistochemical evaluation 2 months after the last course of 2-CdA and rituximab. Surgical excision with tumor-free margins was performed and local adjuvant radiotherapy was applied. Histopathological and immunohistochemical evaluation of the cervical lymph node specimens showed monotonous and diffuse infiltrate of small CD5+, CD20+, CD23+ lymphocytes and no MCC cells were present. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of MCC occurring in CLL patients soon after treatment with 2-CdA and/or rituximab. The development of MCC in our patient may suggest that this complication rarely observed in CLL patients may have a link with strongly immunosuppressive therapy with 2-CdA and rituximab.
Disambiguating authors in academic publications using random forests

Users of digital libraries usually want to know the exact author or authors of an article. But different authors may share the same names, either as full names or as initials and last names (complete name change examples are not considered here). In such a case, the user would like the digital library to differentiate among these authors. Name disambiguation can help in many cases; one being a user in a search of all articles written by a particular author. Disambiguation also enables better bibliometric analysis by allowing a more accurate counting and grouping of publications and citations. In this paper, we describe an algorithm for pair-wise disambiguation of author names based on a machine learning classification algorithm, random forests. We define a set of similarity profile features to assist in author disambiguation. Our experiments on the Medline database show that the random forest model outperforms other previously proposed techniques such as those using support-vector machines (SVM). In addition, we demonstrate that the variable importance produced by the random forest model can be used in feature selection with little degradation in the disambiguation accuracy. In particular, the inverse document frequency of author last name and the middle name's similarity alone achieves an accuracy of almost 90%.
Specific inhibition of response to purified protein antigens

The injection of large doses of pneumococcus polysaccharides into adult mice fails to stimulate antibody formation and prevents subsequent small doses from stimulating antibody formation. This inhibition—termed immune paralysis (Felton 1949; Felton, Cameron & Prather 1941; Felton, Kauffmann, Prescott & Ottinger 1955) persists for at least 15 to 18 months. It is not possible to produce a similar effect with protein antigens. Dixon & Maurer (1953, I955a,b) injected very large quantities of bovine serum albumin into adult rabbits, 18 g/kg rabbit over a period of 6 weeks. Within 6 weeks of these injections four of the five animals produced antibody in response to injections of bovine albumin. It is not surprising that a long time elapsed before antibody could be detected, since during the persistence of antigen in the body, all antibody released would have combined with that vast excess of antigen.
A Root-Locus Design Methodology Derived From the Impedance/Admittance Stability Formulation and Its Application for LCL Grid-Connected Converters in Wind Turbines

This paper presents a systematic methodology for the design and the tuning of the current controller in LCL grid-connected converters for wind turbine applications. The design target is formulated as a minimization of the current loop dominant time constant, which is in accordance with standard design guidelines for wind turbine controllers (fast time response and high stability margins). The proposed approach is derived from the impedance/admittance stability formulation, which, on one hand, has been proved to be suitable for the controller design when the active damping is implemented and, on the other hand, has also been proved to be very suitable for system-level studies in applications with a high penetration of renewable energy resources. The tuning methodology is as follows: first, the physical system is modeled in terms of the converter admittance and its equivalent grid impedance; then, a sensitivity transfer function is derived, from which the closed-loop eigenvalues can be calculated; finally, the set of control gains that minimize the dominant time constant are obtained by direct search optimization. A case study that models the target system in a low-power scale is provided, and experimental verification validates the theoretical analysis. More specifically, it has been found that the solution that solves the minimization of the current controller time constant (wind turbine controller target) also corresponds to a highly damped electrical response (robustness provided by the active damping).
Health Trajectories of Women in China: The Role of Parental Caregiving.

OBJECTIVES Studies show that caregiving can have negative consequences on the psychological and physical health of its providers. However, few studies have examined the immediate and long-term impact of caregiving on health and none have considered these longitudinal associations among women in a predominately family-care society such as China. METHOD Six waves of data from the Ever-Married Women Survey component of the China Health and Nutrition Survey (n = 6,178) are used for analysis. Multivariate latent growth models are used to examine trajectories of self-rated health associated with providing care to parents (parental caregiving) among young-adult and middle-aged women in China. RESULTS Results show that women who are caregivers to their parents have consistently worse self-reported health than women who do not have caregiving responsibilities. We find that caregivers--especially those who provide high-intensity care--exhibit initially low levels of health, followed by a period of health improvement that is comparable to noncaregivers. However, this pattern of role adaptation in women is followed by a precipitous decline in self-rated health in later years. DISCUSSION The findings demonstrate the subjective health consequences of caregiving for women in China and provide new evidence to support the life course processes of wear-and-tear and role adaptation.
NETWORKS IN POPULATIONS: THE IMPACT OF EXTRA-NETWORK FIRMS ON FIRM PERFORMANCE

Almost every business network exists in the context of a larger population of similar organizations, but research has not produced a clear understanding of how simila r firms outside a focal network influence the performance of network members. We use the term extra-network firms to refer to firms that are similar to those in the focal firm’s network, but to which the focal firm is not tied. The existing literature offers two conflicting arguments and sets of results concerning extra-network firms. One approach views the ties that exist between organizations as paramount and finds little empirical impact of extra-network firms. The second approach, based on the concept of structural autonomy, takes into account the opportunities that exist outside of the network of ties, and finds a constant moderating effect of extra-network firms on organizational action and performance. Using data on buyer-supplier relationships in the automobile industry, we help resolve this conceptual and empirical conflict by arguing that the impact of extra-network firms varies inversely with the relationship-specificity of network ties. Either ignoring extra-network firms or incorrectly attributing a constant moderating effect to them can lead to a dramatically incorrect understanding of how network relationships affect firm performance.
Dopamine stimulates salivary duct cells in the cockroach Periplaneta americana.

This study examines whether the salivary duct cells of the cockroach Periplaneta americana can be stimulated by the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin. We have carried out digital Ca2+-imaging experiments using the Ca2+-sensitive dye fura-2 and conventional intracellular recordings from isolated salivary glands. Dopamine evokes a slow, almost tonic, and reversible dose-dependent elevation in [Ca2+]i in the duct cells. Upon stimulation with 10(-)6 mol l-1 dopamine, [Ca2+]i rises from 48+/-4 nmol l-1 to 311+/-43 nmol l-1 (mean +/- s.e.m., N=18) within 200-300 s. The dopamine-induced elevation in [Ca2+]i is absent in Ca2+-free saline and is blocked by 10(-)4 mol l-1 La3+, indicating that dopamine induces an influx of Ca2+ across the basolateral membrane of the duct cells. Stimulation with 10(-)6 mol l-1 dopamine causes the basolateral membrane to depolarize from -67+/-1 to -41+/-2 mV (N=10). This depolarization is also blocked by La3+ and is abolished when Na+ in the bath solution is reduced to 10 mmol l-1. Serotonin affects neither [Ca2+]i nor the basolateral membrane potential of the duct cells. These data indicate that the neurotransmitter dopamine, which has previously been shown to stimulate fluid secretion from the glands, also stimulates the salivary duct cells, suggesting that dopamine controls their most probable function, the modification of primary saliva.