Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gaussian mixture model for relevance feedback in image retrieval

Relevance feedback (RF) has become a powerful technique in content-based image retrieval. Most RF methods assume that positive images follow the single Gaussian distribution, which is not sufficient to model the actual distribution of images due to the gap between the semantic concept and low-level features. In this paper, the Gaussian mixture model (GMM) is applied to represent the distribution of positive images in relevance feedback, and a novel method is proposed to estimate the parameters of the GMM. Both positive and negative examples are used to estimate the number of Gaussian components. Furthermore, due to the lack of training samples, unlabeled data are also incorporated to estimate the covariance matrices. Experimental results show that our GMM-based RF method outperforms that based on a single Gaussian model.
Rolling shutter bundle adjustment

This paper introduces a bundle adjustment (BA) method that obtains accurate structure and motion from rolling shutter (RS) video sequences: RSBA. When a classical BA algorithm processes a rolling shutter video, the resultant camera trajectory is brittle, and complete failures are not uncommon. We exploit the temporal continuity of the camera motion to define residuals of image point trajectories with respect to the camera trajectory. We compare the camera trajectories from RSBA to those from classical BA, and from classical BA on rectified videos. The comparisons are done on real video sequences from an iPhone 4, with ground truth obtained from a global shutter camera, rigidly mounted to the iPhone 4. Compared to classical BA, the rolling shutter model requires just six extra parameters. It also degrades the sparsity of the system Jacobian slightly, but as we demonstrate, the increase in computation time is moderate. Decisive advantages are that RSBA succeeds in cases where competing methods diverge, and consistently produces more accurate results.
Does accuracy and confidence in working memory performance relate to academic achievement in NAPLAN, the Australian national curriculum assessment?

Abstract Objective The aim of this study was to examine how accuracy and confidence in working memory performance relates to academic achievement as assessed in the Australian national curriculum assessment (National Assessment Program—Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN)). Method A total of 150 Australian schoolchildren enrolled in Year 4 participated in the study. Accuracy and confidence in performance of a working memory task were assessed. Associations between these working memory measurements and scores in each of the NAPLAN domains (numeracy, reading, persuasive writing, grammar, and spelling) were examined, separately for males and females. Results Accuracy in working memory performance was associated with achievement in all five NAPLAN domains, in both males and females. Confidence in working memory performance was also related to achievement, but the pattern of results differed for males and females. For females, significant associations were found between confidence and achievement in numeracy, reading, writing, and spelling. For males, confidence was associated with achievement in numeracy only. Females outperformed males in persuasive writing. There was a non‐significant trend for males to outperform females in numeracy. Conclusion The strong links between working memory and achievement highlight the importance of early detection of working memory problems. Further research is needed to examine the extent to which the pattern of results generalises to other year levels.
Conservation laws in a first-order dynamical system of vortices

The conservation laws for linear and angular momenta in a Schrodinger-Chern-Simons field theory modelling vortex dynamics in planar superconductors are studied. In analogy with fluid vortices it is possible to express the linear and angular momenta as low moments of vorticity. The conservation laws are shown to be consistent with those obtained in the moduli space approximation for vortex dynamics, valid close to the Bogomol'nyi limit. For Bogomol'nyi vortices, the relevant moments of vorticity can be evaluated fairly explicitly, as can the integral of log||2, where is the scalar field. Conservation of angular momentum prevents a single vortex from escaping to infinity.
Transmit Wiener filter for the downlink of TDDDS-CDMA systems

We derive the transmit Wiener filter for DS-CDMA systems which depends upon the noise power at the receivers. We show that the transmit Wiener filter converges to the transmit matched filter and the transmit zero-forcing filter for low and high signal-to-noise-ratio, respectively. Simulation results show the superiority of the transmit Wiener filter compared to the other two transmit filters. Moreover, we observe that the application of the three transmit filters and the respective receive filters lead to similar results.
Accelerated cerebral ischemic injury by activated macrophages/microglia after lipopolysaccharide microinjection into rat corpus callosum

In cerebral ischemic insults, activated inflammatory cells such as microglia and macrophages may be implicated in the pattern and degree of ischemic injury by producing various bioactive mediators. In the present study, we provide the evidence that activated microglia/macrophages accelerate cerebral ischemic injury by overexpression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). To activate microglia/macrophages, a potent inflammation inducer lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 5 μg/5 μl) was microinjected into rat corpus callosum. Isolectin B4‐positive microglia/macrophages were abundantly observed in ipsilateral hemisphere at 1 day after LPS injection. RT‐PCR showed that LPS injection induced iNOS mRNA expression mostly in microglia/macrophages, peaking in intensity at 15 h after LPS injection. While ischemic injury was little evoked in control rats by 2‐h middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) followed by 3‐h reperfusion, it was markedly increased in rats pre‐injected with LPS 1 day before MCAO. However, no significant difference between control and LPS‐pretreated groups was observed after 24‐h reperfusion. The increased ischemic injury in LPS‐treated rats was well correlated with iNOS level expressed over 3 orders of magnitude than in LPS‐untreated rats. Immunohistochemical studies showed that iNOS‐ and nitrotyrosine (a peroxynitrite marker)‐positive cells were prominent throughout the infarct area. NOS inhibitors aminoguanidine or NG‐nitro‐L‐arginine, simultaneously injected with LPS, reduced the iNOS immunoreactivity and infarct volume, especially in penumbra regions. Total glutathione levels in ischemic regions were decreased more in LPS pre‐injected rats than in control ones. Further defining the role of NO in cerebral ischemic insults would provide the rationale for new therapeutic strategies based on modulation of microglial and macrophageal NO production in the brain. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Out of the office and into the field: Exploring neuropsychological correlates between search behavior and a traditional desktop task in children and adolescents with ADHD

Introduction. Cognitive assessment of patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can help clinicians provide individually tailored treatment and advice, and researchers to identify potential associations between psychopathology and specific cognitive deficits. Assessment instruments, however, have received some criticism regarding their ecological validity, that is, the capacity to extrapolate from the performance on such tasks to aspects of everyday functioning. In order to meet this challenge we developed the Ball Search Field Task (BSFT) that takes place outdoors and uses large, open areas. In the BSFT, the goal is to search for target objects hidden under opaque containers, with experimenters assessing the efficiency of participants’ strategies to collect a maximum of these. Objective. Here we explore how the measures produced by one of the latest versions of this task (the patchy BSFT) match up with a traditional desktop task often used in clinical environments, the Tower of London (ToLo). Method. We applied the BSFT and ToLo to children and adolescents with ADHD and compared the metrics using Spearman correlations. Results. We found significant, moderate correlations between instruments, as exemplified by that of balls collected per cones lifted (BSFT) and number of moves (ToLo) (r = -.44). Discussion and conclusion. Matching correlates between the BSFT and ToLo suggest these tasks may be tapping into similar cognitive processes. The addition of assessment tools with ecological validity may help provide a more comprehensive evaluation and a better understanding of the day-to-day impact of cognitive afflictions underlying psychiatric disorders such as ADHD.
The Compartmentalisation of Phosphorylated Free Oligosaccharides in Cells from a CDG Ig Patient Reveals a Novel ER-to-Cytosol Translocation Process

Background Biosynthesis of the dolichol linked oligosaccharide (DLO) required for protein N-glycosylation starts on the cytoplasmic face of the ER to give Man5GlcNAc2-PP-dolichol, which then flips into the ER for further glycosylation yielding mature DLO (Glc3Man9GlcNAc2-PP-dolichol). After transfer of Glc3Man9GlcNAc2 onto protein, dolichol-PP is recycled to dolichol-P and reused for DLO biosynthesis. Because de novo dolichol synthesis is slow, dolichol recycling is rate limiting for protein glycosylation. Immature DLO intermediates may also be recycled by pyrophosphatase-mediated cleavage to yield dolichol-P and phosphorylated oligosaccharides (fOSGN2-P). Here, we examine fOSGN2-P generation in cells from patients with type I Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation (CDG I) in which defects in the dolichol cycle cause accumulation of immature DLO intermediates and protein hypoglycosylation. Methods and Principal Findings In EBV-transformed lymphoblastoid cells from CDG I patients and normal subjects a correlation exists between the quantities of metabolically radiolabeled fOSGN2-P and truncated DLO intermediates only when these two classes of compounds possess 7 or less hexose residues. Larger fOSGN2-P were difficult to detect despite an abundance of more fully mannosylated and glucosylated DLO. When CDG Ig cells, which accumulate Man7GlcNAc2-PP-dolichol, are permeabilised so that vesicular transport and protein synthesis are abolished, the DLO pool required for Man7GlcNAc2-P generation could be depleted by adding exogenous glycosylation acceptor peptide. Under conditions where a glycotripeptide and neutral free oligosaccharides remain predominantly in the lumen of the ER, Man7GlcNAc2-P appears in the cytosol without detectable generation of ER luminal Man7GlcNAc2-P. Conclusions and Significance The DLO pools required for N-glycosylation and fOSGN2-P generation are functionally linked and this substantiates the hypothesis that pyrophosphatase-mediated cleavage of DLO intermediates yields recyclable dolichol-P. The kinetics of cytosolic fOSGN2-P generation from a luminally-generated DLO intermediate demonstrate the presence of a previously undetected ER-to-cytosol translocation process for either fOSGN2-P or DLO.
Exploring recontextualization of didactic ability and vocational teacher students’ professional learning through video analysis

This article explores how vocational teacher education (VTE) students experience professional learning through the use of video analysis, their reflection among peers and their meaning-making of the ‘didactic ability’ concept during the beginning of their education. The empirical data consists of an online survey and semi-structured interviews with five vocational teacher education students. Bernstein’s concept of ‘pedagogic discourse’ and a conceptual framework of recontextualisation in vocational education and training developed by Evans, Guile and Harris guide the research. The findings strongly support observations from previous research that emphasise that the use of video promotes and supports teacher students’ professional growth. The VTE students develop a new understanding of how to organise content and to analytically handle the relationship between theoretical aspects and professional action. The emerging meanings of didactic ability are a new discursive understanding of work-knowledge and the teaching content, as well as a strategic structuring of the content for sense-making, transcending the theory and practice divide through visual artefacts and practical tasks and the ability to use different teaching strategies. Language, actions, content and meanings in terms of workplace codes tend to ‘move’ and to be recontextualised from the school’s pedagogic discourse.
Update on extended release quetiapine fumarate in schizophrenia and bipolar disorders

The atypical antipsychotic quetiapine fumarate is available both as an immediate release (IR) and as an extended release (XR) formulation allowing flexibility of dosing for individual patients. Approved uses of quetiapine XR include the treatment of schizophrenia (including maintenance therapy for prevention of relapse), the treatment of bipolar disorder (manic and depressive episodes), and the prevention of recurrence in patients with bipolar disorder who respond to quetiapine XR. This narrative review provides an update on quetiapine XR in these indications. The pharmacological profile of quetiapine, including a moderate affinity for dopamine D2 receptors and higher affinity for serotonin 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HT)2A receptors, may explain its broad efficacy and low propensity for extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS). The XR formulation has similar bioavailability but prolonged plasma levels compared with the IR formulation, allowing for less frequent (once-daily) dosing. Clinical studies have confirmed the efficacy of quetiapine XR in relieving the acute symptoms of schizophrenia during short-term trials, and reducing the risk for relapse in long-term studies. Direct switching from the IR formulation to the same dose of the XR formulation did not reveal any loss of efficacy or tolerability issues, and switching patients to quetiapine XR from conventional or other atypical antipsychotics (for reasons of insufficient efficacy or tolerability) also proved to be beneficial and generally well tolerated. In bipolar disorder, quetiapine XR has also proven effective in relieving acute depressive and manic symptoms. Adverse events with quetiapine XR in patients with either schizophrenia or bipolar disorder are similar to those associated with the IR formulation, the most common being sedation, dry mouth, somnolence, dizziness, and headache. The low propensity for EPS is maintained with the XR formulation. Overall, evidence from clinical trials suggests that quetiapine XR is an effective and generally well-tolerated treatment option in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Exploring the Gain of Function Contribution of AKT to Mammary Tumorigenesis in Mouse Models

Elevated expression of AKT has been noted in a significant percentage of primary human breast cancers, mainly as a consequence of the PTEN/PI3K pathway deregulation. To investigate the mechanistic basis of the AKT gain of function-dependent mechanisms of breast tumorigenesis, we explored the phenotype induced by activated AKT transgenes in a quantitative manner. We generated several transgenic mice lines expressing different levels of constitutively active AKT in the mammary gland. We thoroughly analyzed the preneoplastic and neoplastic mammary lesions of these mice and correlated the process of tumorigenesis to AKT levels. Finally, we analyzed the impact that a possible senescent checkpoint might have in the tumor promotion inhibition observed, crossing these lines to mammary specific p53(R172H) mutant expression, and to p27 knock-out mice. We analyzed the benign, premalignant and malignant lesions extensively by pathology and at molecular level analysing the expression of proteins involved in the PI3K/AKT pathway and in cellular senescence. Our findings revealed an increased preneoplastic phenotype depending upon AKT signaling which was not altered by p27 or p53 loss. However, p53 inactivation by R172H point mutation combined with myrAKT transgenic expression significantly increased the percentage and size of mammary carcinoma observed, but was not sufficient to promote full penetrance of the tumorigenic phenotype. Molecular analysis suggest that tumors from double myrAKT;p53(R172H) mice result from acceleration of initiated p53(R172H) tumors and not from bypass of AKT-induced oncogenic senescence. Our work suggests that tumors are not the consequence of the bypass of senescence in MIN. We also show that AKT-induced oncogenic senescence is dependent of pRb but not of p53. Finally, our work also suggests that the cooperation observed between mutant p53 and activated AKT is due to AKT-induced acceleration of mutant p53-induced tumors. Finally, our work shows that levels of activated AKT are not essential in the induction of benign or premalignant tumors, or in the cooperation of AKT with other tumorigenic signal such as mutant p53, once AKT pathway is activated, the relative level of activity seems not to determine the phenotype.
Prophylaxis of experimental endocarditis with antiplatelet and antithrombin agents: a role for long-term prevention of infective endocarditis in humans?

BACKGROUND Infective endocarditis (IE) mostly occurs after spontaneous low-grade bacteremia. Thus, IE cannot be prevented by circumstantial antibiotic prophylaxis. Platelet activation following bacterial-fibrinogen interaction or thrombin-mediated fibrinogen-fibrin polymerization is a critical step in vegetation formation. We tested the efficacy of antiplatelet and antithrombin to prevent experimental IE. METHODS A rat model of experimental IE following prolonged low-grade bacteremia mimicking smoldering bacteremia in humans was used. Prophylaxis with antiplatelets (aspirin, ticlopidine [alone or in combination], eptifibatide, or abciximab) or anticoagulants (antithrombin dabigatran etexilate or anti-vitamin K acenocoumarol) was started 2 days before inoculation with Streptococcus gordonii or Staphylococcus aureus. Valve infection was assessed 24 hours later. RESULTS Aspirin plus ticlopidine, as well as abciximab, protected 45%-88% of animals against S. gordonii and S. aureus IE (P < .05). Dabigatran etexilate protected 75% of rats against IE due to S. aureus (P < .005) but failed to protect against S. gordonii (<30% protection). Acenocoumarol was ineffective. CONCLUSIONS Antiplatelet and direct antithrombin agents may be useful in the prophylaxis of IE in humans. In particular, the potential dual benefit of dabigatran etexilate might be reconsidered for patients with prosthetic valves, who require life-long anticoagulation and in whom S. aureus IE is associated with high mortality.
‘When it comes to what employers are looking for, I don’t think I’m it for a lot of them’: class and capitals in, and after, higher education*

ABSTRACT Much research on adults in higher education has focused on issues of access and participation. As a result little is known about what happens to working-class students after leaving university even though employability is high on the agenda HE research on this topic in relation to such students is sparse. This research focuses on the voices of working-class students and their aspirations in relation to employability. Using two student narratives this paper draws on the findings of two countries, England and Ireland, from a six-country European project on employability of non-traditional students using biographical research methods. Their stories reveal an awareness of class inequalities in the labour market in relation to cultural, economic and social capital and issues of locality, gender and age. The stories also indicate a sense of precarity in their lifecourse in a society which has become highly reflexive and fluid (Alheit, P., and B. Dausien. 2002. “The ‘Double Face’ of Lifelong Learning: Two Analytical Perspectives on a ‘Silent Revolution’.” Studies in the Education of Adults 34 (1): 3–23).
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Asexual, Intersex et al. (LGBTQAI+) Health Access Disparities in Female-Identified Clients

Though they recently received legal legitimacy, the LGBTQAI+ community faces discrimination through deeply entrenched heterosexist social systems, which amplify inequities for women and gender minorities. Social workers must advocate for expansive policy interventions to promote economic andhealth equity for female-identi ed members of the LGBTQAI+ community.Practical policy interventions for the promotion of health equity include provider training programs, anti-discrimination protections, the collection of comprehensive demographic data, and youth education curricula.
Imported Malaria over Fifteen Years in an Inner City Teaching Hospital of Washington DC

As endemic malaria is not commonly seen in the United States, most of the cases diagnosed and reported are associated with travel to and from the endemic places of malaria. As the number of imported cases of malaria has been increasing since 1973, it is important to look into these cases to study the morbidity and mortality associated with this disease in the United States. In this study, we would like to share our experience in diagnosing and treating these patients at our institution. We did a retrospective chart review of 37 cases with a documented history of imported malaria from 1998 to 2012. Among them, 16 patients had complicated malaria during that study period, with a mean length of hospital stay of 3.5 days. Most common place of travel was Africa, and chemoprophylaxis was taken by only 11% of patients. Travel history plays a critical role in suspecting the diagnosis and in initiating prompt treatment.
Security in networks: A game-theoretic approach

This paper explores network security as a game between attacker and defender. In this game, the attacker and defender both anticipate each other¿s best strategy. Thus, instead of focusing on the best response to an attack, the paper analyzes the Nash equilibrium for the joint strategies. The paper studies two types of problem. The first type concerns networks where the data can be modified by an intruder. Given the probability that such an intruder exists, the network user decides whether to trust the data he observes. When present, the intruder chooses how to corrupt the data. The second type models virus attacks. The virus designer decides how aggressive the virus should be and the defender chooses a mechanism to detect the virus. If the virus is too aggressive, it is easy to detect. Accordingly, there is an optimum level of aggressiveness.