Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Video-based Emotion Recognition Using Deeply-Supervised Neural Networks

Emotion recognition (ER) based on natural facial images/videos has been studied for some years and considered a comparatively hot topic in the field of affective computing. However, it remains a challenge to perform ER in the wild, given the noises generated from head pose, face deformation, and illumination variation. To address this challenge, motivated by recent progress in Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), we develop a novel deeply supervised CNN (DSN) architecture, taking the multi-level and multi-scale features extracted from different convolutional layers to provide a more advanced representation of ER. By embedding a series of side-output layers, our DSN model provides class-wise supervision and integrates predictions from multiple layers. Finally, our team ranked 3rd at the EmotiW 2018 challenge with our model achieving an accuracy of 61.1%.
A survey of inter-individual variation in DNA methylation identifies environmentally responsive co-regulated networks of epigenetic variation in the human genome

While population studies have resulted in detailed maps of genetic variation in humans, to date there are few robust maps of epigenetic variation. We identified sites containing clusters of CpGs with high inter-individual epigenetic variation, termed Variably Methylated Regions (VMRs) in five purified cell types. We observed that VMRs occur preferentially at enhancers and 3’ UTRs. While the majority of VMRs have high heritability, a subset of VMRs within the genome show highly correlated variation in trans, forming co-regulated networks that have low heritability, differ between cell types and are enriched for specific transcription factor binding sites and biological pathways of functional relevance to each tissue. For example, in T cells we defined a network of 95 co-regulated VMRs enriched for genes with roles in T-cell activation; in fibroblasts a network of 34 co-regulated VMRs comprising all four HOX gene clusters enriched for control of tissue growth; and in neurons a network of 18 VMRs enriched for roles in synaptic signaling. By culturing genetically-identical fibroblasts under varying environmental conditions, we experimentally demonstrated that some VMR networks are responsive to the environment, with methylation levels at these loci changing in a coordinated fashion in trans dependent on cellular growth. Intriguingly these environmentally-responsive VMRs showed a strong enrichment for imprinted loci (p<10−80), suggesting that these are particularly sensitive to environmental conditions. Our study provides a detailed map of common epigenetic variation in the human genome, showing that both genetic and environmental causes underlie this variation.
Replacement of microglia in the aged brain reverses cognitive, synaptic, and neuronal deficits in mice

Microglia, the resident immune cell of the brain, can be eliminated via pharmacological inhibition of the colony‐stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R). Withdrawal of CSF1R inhibition then stimulates microglial repopulation, effectively replacing the microglial compartment. In the aged brain, microglia take on a “primed” phenotype and studies indicate that this coincides with age‐related cognitive decline. Here, we investigated the effects of replacing the aged microglial compartment with new microglia using CSF1R inhibitor‐induced microglial repopulation. With 28 days of repopulation, replacement of resident microglia in aged mice (24 months) improved spatial memory and restored physical microglial tissue characteristics (cell densities and morphologies) to those found in young adult animals (4 months). However, inflammation‐related gene expression was not broadly altered with repopulation nor the response to immune challenges. Instead, microglial repopulation resulted in a reversal of age‐related changes in neuronal gene expression, including expression of genes associated with actin cytoskeleton remodeling and synaptogenesis. Age‐related changes in hippocampal neuronal complexity were reversed with both microglial elimination and repopulation, while microglial elimination increased both neurogenesis and dendritic spine densities. These changes were accompanied by a full rescue of age‐induced deficits in long‐term potentiation with microglial repopulation. Thus, several key aspects of the aged brain can be reversed by acute noninvasive replacement of microglia.
Investigation on Task Shifting of HIV/AIDS Follow-Up Management Workers in New Launched Areas, China

Background: This study aimed to understand attitudes of HIV/AIDS follow-up workers regarding task shifting, reveal the current conditions of this implementation, as well as to find out any challenges of early-stage implementation. Methods: Taking Jiangxi Province as an example, a cross-sectional survey with 102 health professionals in CDCs (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and 92 health care providers in primary health institutions was conducted from November 2016 to January 2017. This survey includes the demographic backgrounds of participants, their attitudes towards task shifting, and the main difficulties faced in their work, etc. Results: 60.8% of professionals and 77.2% of providers hold positive attitudes towards task shifting. Both health professionals and providers express their concerns about unclear and undefined funds distribution and lack of confidentiality of PLWHA (people living with HIV) in local primary health institutions. Conclusions: The majority of health workers hold positive attitudes towards task shifting. It also highlights some negative reactions in implementation, and reveals the main difficulties that constitute barriers to follow-up. Findings from this study may provide evidence for enhancing future implementation of task shifting.
A Cross-Sectional Study of Experiences and Attitudes towards Clinical Audit of Farm Animal Veterinary Surgeons in the United Kingdom

Clinical audit is a quality improvement tool used to assess and improve the clinical services provided to patients. This is the first study to investigate the extent to which clinical audit is understood and utilised in farm animal veterinary practice. A cross-sectional study to collect experiences and attitudes of farm animal veterinary surgeons in the UK towards clinical audit was conducted using an online nationwide survey. The survey revealed that whilst just under three-quarters (n = 237/325; 73%) of responding veterinary surgeons had heard of clinical audit, nearly 50% (n = 148/301) had never been involved in a clinical audit of any species. The participants’ knowledge of what a clinical audit was varied substantially, with many respondents reporting not receiving training on clinical audit at the undergraduate or postgraduate level. Respondents that had participated in a clinical audit suggested that protected time away from clinical work was required for the process to be completed successfully. This novel study suggests that clinical audit is undertaken to some extent in farm animal practice and that practitioner perception is that it can bring benefits, but was felt that more resources and support were needed for it to be implemented successfully on a wider scale.
CCL17 exerts a neuroimmune modulatory function and is expressed in hippocampal neurons

Chemokines are important signaling molecules in the immune and nervous system. Using a fluorescence reporter mouse model, we demonstrate that the chemokine CCL17, a ligand of the chemokine receptor CCR4, is produced in the murine brain, particularly in a subset of hippocampal CA1 neurons. We found that basal expression of Ccl17 in hippocampal neurons was strongly enhanced by peripheral challenge with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). LPS‐mediated induction of Ccl17 in the hippocampus was dependent on local tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling, whereas upregulation of Ccl22 required granulocyte‐macrophage colony‐stimulating factor (GM‐CSF). CCL17 deficiency resulted in a diminished microglia density under homeostatic and inflammatory conditions. Further, microglia from naïve Ccl17‐deficient mice possessed a reduced cellular volume and a more polarized process tree as assessed by computer‐assisted imaging analysis. Regarding the overall branching, cell surface area, and total tree length, the morphology of microglia from naïve Ccl17‐deficient mice resembled that of microglia from wild‐type mice after LPS stimulation. In line, electrophysiological recordings indicated that CCL17 downmodulates basal synaptic transmission at CA3–CA1 Schaffer collaterals in acute slices from naïve but not LPS‐treated animals. Taken together, our data identify CCL17 as a homeostatic and inducible neuromodulatory chemokine affecting the presence and morphology of microglia and synaptic transmission in the hippocampus.
Spectral–Spatial Unified Networks for Hyperspectral Image Classification

In this paper, we propose a spectral–spatial unified network (SSUN) with an end-to-end architecture for the hyperspectral image (HSI) classification. Different from traditional spectral–spatial classification frameworks where the spectral feature extraction (FE), spatial FE, and classifier training are separated, these processes are integrated into a unified network in our model. In this way, both FE and classifier training will share a uniform objective function and all the parameters in the network can be optimized at the same time. In the implementation of the SSUN, we propose a band grouping-based long short-term memory model and a multiscale convolutional neural network as the spectral and spatial feature extractors, respectively. In the experiments, three benchmark HSIs are utilized to evaluate the performance of the proposed method. The experimental results demonstrate that the SSUN can yield a competitive performance compared with existing methods.
Why echo chambers form and network interventions fail: Selection outpaces influence in dynamic networks

Are online networking services complicit in facilitating social change for the worse? In two empirically informed simulation studies, we give a proof-of-concept that the speed of networking and the amplification of network actors' relational preferences can have a profound impact on diffusion dynamics on social networks, essentially counteracting the benefits that should accrue from networking according to the strength of weak ties argument. Our findings can help understand variations in homogeneity of network neighbourhoods, i.e., in the degree to which these neighbourhoods act as "echo chambers", as well as the high context-dependency of success rates for a certain type of network intervention studies. They suggest that the general facilitation of connectivity like it today happens on the internet, combined with the use of personalisation algorithms, has strong and insufficiently understood effects on dynamic processes unfolding on the affected social networks.
Benchmark Analysis of Representative Deep Neural Network Architectures

This paper presents an in-depth analysis of the majority of the deep neural networks (DNNs) proposed in the state of the art for image recognition. For each DNN, multiple performance indices are observed, such as recognition accuracy, model complexity, computational complexity, memory usage, and inference time. The behavior of such performance indices and some combinations of them are analyzed and discussed. To measure the indices, we experiment the use of DNNs on two different computer architectures, a workstation equipped with a NVIDIA Titan X Pascal, and an embedded system based on a NVIDIA Jetson TX1 board. This experimentation allows a direct comparison between DNNs running on machines with very different computational capacities. This paper is useful for researchers to have a complete view of what solutions have been explored so far and in which research directions are worth exploring in the future, and for practitioners to select the DNN architecture(s) that better fit the resource constraints of practical deployments and applications. To complete this work, all the DNNs, as well as the software used for the analysis, are available online.
Challenging the Negative Perception of Lithium and Optimizing Its Long-Term Administration

The use of lithium for the prevention of recurrences in mood disorders has a 55-year history. Nowadays, lithium is universally accepted as the first-choice mood-stabilizer (MS) for maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder. In addition to its mood-stabilizing properties, lithium exerts anti-suicidal, immunomodulatory and neuroprotective action which may further substantiate its clinical usefulness. Despite these facts, the use of lithium in mood disorders has been greatly underutilized. The reasons include the introduction and promoting other MS as well as a perception of lithium as a “toxic drug” due to its side effects, mainly thyroid, renal and cognitive disturbances. The trends in lithium prescription in recent decades show relative stability or a decline at the expense of other mood-stabilizing drugs, both first generation (valproate) and second generation (olanzapine, quetiapine, lamotrigine). In this review article, the negative perception of lithium by some clinicians will be challenged. First, the data showing lithium superiority over other MS will be presented. Second, the lithium-induced side effects which can make a challenge for a more frequent application of this drug will be delineated, and their proper management described. Finally, an issue of benefits of long-term administration of lithium will be discussed, including the phenomenon of the “excellent lithium responders” (ER) as well as a subject of starting lithium prophylaxis early in the course of the illness. This review article is based on the 47-year experience with lithium therapy by the author of the article.
Changes in the Collagen Structure of Thyroid Nodule Capsules Determined by Polarization-Resolved Second Harmonic Generation Microscopy

Thyroid carcinomas represent a challenging problem as their differentiation from the much more frequent benign pathologies can be sometimes difficult. Automatic diagnostic approaches that can differentiate between malignant and benign thyroid nodules would be of great benefit for addressing thyroid pathologies. In this study we have used polarization-resolved second harmonic generation microscopy to investigate collagen organization in the fibrillar capsules surrounding human thyroid nodules. We demonstrate that imaging the collagen capsules at different laser beam polarization angles and fitting the second harmonic generation intensity with a theoretical curve can yield information on the nonzero components of the second order susceptibility tensor and the orientation of the collagen fibres. We have used this approach to differentiate between capsules surrounding the thyroid follicular adenoma and papillary carcinoma nodules. These results indicate that polarization-resolved second harmonic generation microscopy can provide additional information about the collagenous capsule surrounding thyroid nodules, which may complement intensity-based quantitative second harmonic generation microscopy and eventually traditional histopathologic examination.
The Work-Related Basic Need Satisfaction Scale: An Italian Validation

The main goal of the present study was to validate the Work-related Basic Need Satisfaction (W-BNS) scale in the Italian social context. Three studies were carried out. Study 1 was conducted on two samples of employees. Exploratory factor analysis and parallel analysis were run on the first sample, whereas confirmatory factor analyses were run on the second. Results supported the three-dimensional structure of the W-BNS scale. Study 2 was conducted on a third sample of employees. Results supported the construct validity of the scale, by showing that needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness were associated with job resources (social support, job autonomy, professional growth), low burnout, and job attitudes (job satisfaction, turnover intentions, commitment). In addition, results showed that responses to the scale were not affected by social desirability bias. Study 3 was conducted to evaluate the nomological validity of the scale (the sample grouped together all respondents from Studies 1 and 2). A model was tested in which organizational commitment mediated the relationship between basic needs and two outcomes (job satisfaction, intentions to leave). Organizational commitment was measured by using the Klein et al. Unidimensional Target-free scale (the KUT). Results supported the nomological validity of the scale. In line with our expectations, the three needs were associated with the KUT, which in turn mediated the effects of needs on the outcomes. Practical implications of findings and directions for future research are discussed.
The imbalance of Th17/Treg axis involved in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia

Inappropriate activation of the immune system, particularly the imbalance of T‐helper type 17 (Th17)/regulatory T (Treg) cells is thought to play considerable roles in preeclampsia (PE). To investigate the probable effects of the adaptive immune system in the pathophysiology of PE, we analyzed the dynamic changes of Th17/Treg cells, cytokines profile, and transcription pattern of Th17/Treg‐related genes and microRNAs (miRNAs) in 50 women suffering from PE in comparison with 50 healthy pregnant women.
Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and Diet Mediates Vaso-Occlusive Related Hospitalizations in Sickle-Cell Disease Patients

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic disorder resulting from the presence of mutated hemoglobin S (HbS). Homozygous carriers will present with early manifestations of painful vaso-occlusive crises. SCD patients have been reported to be severely deficient in vitamin D (<20 ng/mL). Four years (2010–2014) of individual de-identified Sickle Cell Clinic of Southern Louisiana (SCCSL-SCD) patient records were analyzed for vitamin D status and the level of crisis-related ER/hospital utilization. To determine the dietary, and behavioral mediators of SCD-crisis in our study population, a cohort of 102 SCCSL-SCD patients were administered a survey that evaluated sun exposure, dietary behaviors, and pain frequency and severity. Patients with circulating levels of 25(OH)D3 less than 14.1 ng/mL reported having more crisis-related hospital visits per year (10) than patients with 25(OH)D3 serum levels >34 ng/mL. The result of the dietary survey detailed a relationship between patients who reported to have “Almost Never” consumed fish or milk in their diets and more frequent hospital stays and ER visits than those who reported consuming these products on a daily basis. Those who consumed these foods in their diet several times a month also had fewer ER visits when compared to the “Almost Never” category.
CLIL – a Dialogue between the Language and Subject Teachers

Content and language integrated learning is one out of the bilingual methods that has been frequently discussed by language teachers, researchers and scholars for the last decade in Slovak educational environment. Mostly they are positive about the benefits CLIL offers for learners and they study both results in language and subject achievement; moreover, they investigate its impact on teachers’ competencies and feasible integration of language and content. The article outlines general definition of the CLIL term; illustrates its benefits and drawbacks; discusses the competencies of a CLIL teacher; deals with an issue of materials and takes closer look at integration of English language and Mathematics teaching.
Use of Electro Hysterogram (EHG) Signal to Diagnose Preterm Birth

The purpose of the present study is to embark on the uterine electromyogram (EMG) or electro hysterogram (EHG) signals analysis with an aim to efficient diagnosis of preterm birth i.e. birth prior to a thorough 37 weeks of gestation, and one can prevent the preterm birth of 15 million babies per year and reduce the death rate of these babies. These signals provide useful information regarding the uterine contractions for physicians. The algorithm used for the present probe was initially developed by implication of empirical mode decomposition (EMD) on the uterine EMG signals which yield smaller components named intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) followed by calculating of wavelet coefficients for each IMF using wavelet packet decomposition (WPD). AR model was used to extract the assumed features and then the important features are chosen using PSO which is known as a feature selection method. Support vector machine (SVM) was implemented to classify the features, and it is worth noting that by using 10 most superior features, the accuracy rate, sensitivity, and specificity were obtained as 97.1%, 95%, and 99%, respectively.
Reuse-Distance-Aware Write-Intensity Prediction of Dataless Entries for Energy-Efficient Hybrid Caches

Emerging nonvolatile memory technologies act as a prominent choice for the larger on-chip caches on account of high density, good scalability, and low static power consumption. However, costly write operations reduce their possibility as a successor of SRAM. To mitigate this problem, a spin-transfer torque random-access memory (STT-RAM)-SRAM hybrid cache architecture is proposed. In such cache architectures, allocation of a write-intensive block is the key challenge for energy efficiency. This paper presents a data allocation policy that reduces the number of writes and energy consumption of the STT-RAM region in the last-level cache by considering the existence of private blocks. Dataless entries are allocated in STT region for such private blocks, and actual data is written only when the block is written back from L1. Heavily written blocks are subsequently migrated to SRAM region. We also present a predictor that helps to redirect the write backs from L1 of dataless entries directly to SRAM region, depending on the predicted reuse-distance-aware write intensity. Experimental evaluation shows that this technique reduces the energy consumption by 34.3% (19.6%) and 23.3% (14.1%), respectively, over two existing techniques in the case of dual (quad) core system.