Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Deep Video Super-Resolution Network Using Dynamic Upsampling Filters Without Explicit Motion Compensation

Video super-resolution (VSR) has become even more important recently to provide high resolution (HR) contents for ultra high definition displays. While many deep learning based VSR methods have been proposed, most of them rely heavily on the accuracy of motion estimation and compensation. We introduce a fundamentally different framework for VSR in this paper. We propose a novel end-to-end deep neural network that generates dynamic upsampling filters and a residual image, which are computed depending on the local spatio-temporal neighborhood of each pixel to avoid explicit motion compensation. With our approach, an HR image is reconstructed directly from the input image using the dynamic upsampling filters, and the fine details are added through the computed residual. Our network with the help of a new data augmentation technique can generate much sharper HR videos with temporal consistency, compared with the previous methods. We also provide analysis of our network through extensive experiments to show how the network deals with motions implicitly.
Galaxy Zoo: secular evolution of barred galaxies from structural decomposition of multiband images

We present the results of two-component (disc+bar) and three-component (disc+bar+bulge) multiwavelength 2D photometric decompositions of barred galaxies in five Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) bands (ugriz). This sample of ∼3500 nearby (z < 0.06) galaxies with strong bars selected from the Galaxy Zoo citizen science project is the largest sample of barred galaxies to be studied using photometric decompositions that include a bar component. With detailed structural analysis, we obtain physical quantities such as the bar- and bulge-to-total luminosity ratios, effective radii, Sersic indices and colours of the individual components. We observe a clear difference in the colours of the components, the discs being bluer than the bars and bulges. An overwhelming fraction of bulge components have Sersic indices consistent with being pseudo-bulges. By comparing the barred galaxies with a mass-matched and volume-limited sample of unbarred galaxies, we examine the connection between the presence of a large-scale galactic bar and the properties of discs and bulges. We find that the discs of unbarred galaxies are significantly bluer compared to the discs of barred galaxies, while there is no significant difference in the colours of the bulges. We find possible evidence of secular evolution via bars that leads to the build-up of pseudo-bulges and to the quenching of star formation in the discs. We identify a subsample of unbarred galaxies with an inner lens/oval and find that their properties are similar to barred galaxies, consistent with an evolutionary scenario in which bars dissolve into lenses. This scenario deserves further investigation through both theoretical and observational work.
Antibacterial activity of Stephania suberosa extract against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Bacterial resistance to -lactam antibiotics is a global problem. Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) strains are resistant to penicillin, methicillin around the world and in most of the Asian countries nowadays. Strain of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) is now pose serious problem to hospitalized patients, and their care providers. Antibiotics available for the treatment of MRSA infection are fairly toxic and their use is frequently associated with unwanted side-effects. Novel antibiotics and/or new generation of phytopharmaceuticals approaches that can reverse the resistance to well tried agents which have lost their original effectiveness are research objectives of far reaching importance. The aim of this investigation was to examine antibacterial and synergistic activities of Stephania suberosa extract (SSE) against MRSA when used singly and in combination with ampicillin. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) determination of ampicillin and SSE against MRSA were 455 μg/ml and 4,000 μg/ml, respectively. Synergistic activity was observed in the combination of ampicillin and SSE with fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) 0.5. The viability of MRSA was determined using time-killing assay showed dramatically reduced from 5x10 CFU/ml to 10 CFU/ml within 6 h and throughout 24 h. Electronmicroscopic study revealed that 0.125 μg/ml ampicillin in combination with 2,000 μg/ml SSE caused severe damage to MRSA envelopes. This study establishes evidence that SSE may be used combination with ampicillin, as a new generation of phytopharmaceuticals, to treat MRSA that currently almost untreatable microorganism. These in vitro results have to be confirmed in an animal test or in humans.
International Expansion, Diversification and Regulated Firm Nonmarket Strategy

Previous studies have shown that regulated firms diversify for reasons that are different than for unregulated firms. We explore some of these differences by providing a theoretical model that starts by considering the firm-regulator relationship as an incomplete information issue, in which a regulated incumbent has knowledge that the regulator does not have, but the firm cannot convey hard information about this knowledge. The incumbent faces both market and nonmarket competition from a new entrant. In that context, we show that when the firm faces tough nonmarket competition domestically, going abroad can create a mechanism that makes information transmission to the regulator more credible. International expansion can thus be a way to solve domestic nonmarket issues in addition to being a catalyst for growth.
Asset-Level Transparency and the (E)Valuation of Asset-Backed Securities

Effective as of November 23, 2016, SEC Regulation (“Reg”) AB II requires issuers of certain types of asset-backed securities (“ABS”) to disclose information about the credit-risk attributes of each asset in the underlying pool. The prior Reg AB required issuers to disclose only pool-level summary statistics for individual credit-risk attributes. We examine how ABS issuers’ asset-level disclosures under Reg AB II affect the (e)valuation of ABS by investors and credit rating agencies. Using difference-in-differences models that compare affected and unaffected types of ABS, we find that asset-level disclosures lead to initial ABS yields and credit ratings that better predict the subsequent performance of the underlying assets, consistent with these disclosures improving yield informativeness and credit rating quality. These results are concentrated in deals with above-median risk layering in the underlying assets, for which the disclosures previously provided under Reg AB were less informative, and in deals with above-median complexity in the tranching of credit risk. We further find that asset-level disclosures are associated with lower yields, consistent with transparency lowering ABS issuers’ cost of capital. Lastly, we provide direct evidence that most prospective ABS investors download asset-level information from EDGAR during the price formation period prior to ABS issuance.
The Behavior of VLF/LF Variations Associated with Geomagnetic Activity, Earthquakes, and the Quiet Condition Using a Neural Network Approach

The neural network approach is proposed for studying very-low- and low-frequency (VLF and LF) subionospheric radio wave variations in the time vicinities of magnetic storms and earthquakes, with the purpose of recognizing anomalies of different types. We also examined the days with quiet geomagnetic conditions in the absence of seismic activity, in order to distinguish between the disturbed signals and the quiet ones. To this end, we trained the neural network (NN) on the examples of the representative database. The database included both the VLF/LF data that was measured during four-year monitoring at the station in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, and the parameters of seismicity in the Kuril-Kamchatka and Japan regions. It was shown that the neural network can distinguish between the disturbed and undisturbed signals. Furthermore, the prognostic behavior of the VLF/LF variations indicative of magnetic and seismic activity has a different appearance in the time vicinity of the earthquakes and magnetic storms.
Non-Compliance with Medical Regimen , A Case Study at Agogo Presbyterian Hospital , Ghana

When patients do adhere to medical regimen, it reduces the likelihood of them being readmitted within the shortest period of time. However, not all patients adhere to medicalregimen and this result from plethora of factors.This study assessed the factors that influencednon-compliance with medical regimens among patients at the Agogo Presbyterian Hospital, Ghana.A purposive sampling was used to select 500 patients from 1730 that had failed to come for medical review but revisited the hospital after their conditions worsened during May, 2015. A structured questionnaire was administered to respondents. Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 17.0 was used to analyze the data.The result showedthat the younger respondents adhered to medication instructions better than the older respondent (p=0.000). Furthermore, most of the unemployed (16.4%) respondents discontinued their medications when they had adverse reactions compared to 5.9% of the employed respondents (p=0.000). More literates (18.6%) than illiterates (3.7%) discontinued their medications when they experienced adverse effects of the drugs (p=0.008). Also, 34.0% of the respondents did not go back for medical review as scheduled due to mainly the long waiting time at the Out Patient Department and 22.0% failed to go back because they felt better. In addition, 12.0% did not comply because they forgot of the review date. Finally, the result indicates that respondents’ educational background [r (500)= -. 154 at P<0.05] significantly correlates negatively with factors that influence noncompliance with medical regimen. There is therefore the need for older and educated patients to be sensitized to be more involved in fixing theirappointmentsin order to increase compliancewith medical regimen.
Self-Medication Practice among Patients Attending a Sample of Primary Health Care Centers in Erbil City.

Back ground and objectives: Self-medication is the use of medicines by the people on their own inventiveness or on the suggestion of others without consulting a qualified health care professional; its practice is continuously increasing worldwide. The aim of this study was addressing the prevalence of self- medication in Erbil city. Methods: This cross sectional, health care center based study was conducted in five primary health care centers of Erbil city, data was collected by direct interviewing with 500 adult patients by using questionnaire. Results: The Prevalence of self-medication was 52.6%, 64.6% of the users practiced it in the past 2 weeks before the survey, significant association was found between its practice and; urban residency (p value <0.001), high socio-economic status (p value 0.004), hearing about side effect (p value 0.013), and patients who experienced side effect (p value <0.001), self-medication was for many reasons; most commonly due to previous benefit (41.7%). Medications were got from pharmacy by (70.5%); source of information about the used drug was mostly from previous prescription (44.1%). Analgesics and antibiotics were the most frequent drugs used by the respondents. Common cold was the most common condition for which drug was used without prescription followed by head ache. Conclusion: Self-medication is a common practice in Erbil-city, its prevalence varied significantly with a number of socio-demographic factors and some patients’ knowledge and practices about the drugs. Many patients can easily practice self-medication for the management of wide range of conditions whether simple or not. The pharmacies are the main source of getting medications. Keywords: Self-medication, primary health care center, previous prescription, prevalence.
Precision-guided context sensitivity for pointer analysis

Context sensitivity is an essential technique for ensuring high precision in Java pointer analyses. It has been observed that applying context sensitivity partially, only on a select subset of the methods, can improve the balance between analysis precision and speed. However, existing techniques are based on heuristics that do not provide much insight into what characterizes this method subset. In this work, we present a more principled approach for identifying precision-critical methods, based on general patterns of value flows that explain where most of the imprecision arises in context-insensitive pointer analysis. Accordingly, we provide an efficient algorithm to recognize these flow patterns in a given program and exploit them to yield good tradeoffs between analysis precision and speed. Our experimental results on standard benchmark and real-world programs show that a pointer analysis that applies context sensitivity partially, only on the identified precision-critical methods, preserves effectively all (98.8%) of the precision of a highly-precise conventional context-sensitive pointer analysis (2-object-sensitive with a context-sensitive heap), with a substantial speedup (on average 3.4X, and up to 9.2X).
Ventricular Arrhythmias Due to a Transient of Correctable Cause in MADIT-II Patients: Prevalence and Clinical Relevance

Post-infarction patients with severe left ventricular dysfunction are at high risk of sudden cardiac death. Antiarrhythmic therapy does not improve survival in such patients and, therefore, implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) emerged as treatment of choice for both primary and secondary prevention of mortality after myocardial infarction (MI). The MADIT (Multicenter Automatic Defibrillator Implantation Trial) (1), and MUSTT (Multicenter Unsustained Tachycardia Trial) trials (2) were the first primary prevention ICD trials documenting a substantial reduction in mortality with an ICD in postinfarction patients with depressed ejection fraction, nonsustained ventricular tachycardia, and inducible sustained ventricular tachycardia. The MADIT II trial broadened the indications for prophylactic ICD use in post-infarction patients with ejection fraction of 30% or less without a requirement for additional risk stratification (3). The benefit from ICD therapy in patients with low ejection fraction was recently confirmed by results from the SCD-HeFT (Sudden Cardiac Death in Heart Failure) (4) and COMPANION (Comparison of Medical Therapy, Pacing, and Defibrillation in Heart Failure) trials (5).
Matching Adversarial Networks

Generative Adversarial Nets (GANs) and Conditonal GANs (CGANs) show that using a trained network as loss function (discriminator) enables to synthesize highly structured outputs (e.g. natural images). However, applying a discriminator network as a universal loss function for common supervised tasks (e.g. semantic segmentation, line detection, depth estimation) is considerably less successful. We argue that the main difficulty of applying CGANs to supervised tasks is that the generator training consists of optimizing a loss function that does not depend directly on the ground truth labels. To overcome this, we propose to replace the discriminator with a matching network taking into account both the ground truth outputs as well as the generated examples. As a consequence, the generator loss function also depends on the targets of the training examples, thus facilitating learning. We demonstrate on three computer vision tasks that this approach can significantly outperform CGANs achieving comparable or superior results to task-specific solutions and results in stable training. Importantly, this is a general approach that does not require the use of task-specific loss functions.
Digital breast tomosynthesis – the future screening tool for breast cancer ?

Digital breast tomosynthesis – the future screening tool for breast cancer? Principal Investigator: Solveig Hofvind, Professor, Head of the Norwegian Breast Cancer Screening Program, Cancer Registry of Norway, Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, Oslo, Norway. Project group: Hildegunn S Aase, Chief radiologist at the Breast Center at Haukeland University Hospital Bergen, Norway; Lars A Akslen, professor, pathologist, Gade, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway; Turid Aas, surgeon, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway; Sophia Zackrisson, associated professor, radiologist, Departments of Radiology, Bioengineering, and Materials Science & Engineering, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California; and Diagnostic Radiology, Department of Clinical Sciences in Malmö, Lund University, Lund, Sweden; Nehmat Houssami, professor, MD, University of Sidney, Austalia; Per Skaane, professor, radiologist, Oslo University Hospital Ullevaal, Oslo, Norway; Kristin Pedersen, MSc, physicist, The Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority; Osteras, Norway; Sofie Sebuødegård, BSc, Statistician, Cancer Registry of Norway, Oslo, Norway; Steinar Tretli, professor, Statistician, Cancer Registry of Norway, Oslo, Norway, Tron A Moger, associated professor, Statistician, Department of Health Management and Health Economics, Institute of Health and Society, University of Oslo, Norway.
Productive Performance of Bovans White Laying Hens Fed High Nutrient Density Diets Under Egyptian Summer Conditions

A 12-week study was conducted to evaluate the productive performance of Bovans White laying hens fed high-nutrient-density diets under Egyptian summer conditions. Two hundred hens were randomly assigned to five equal dietary treatments, five replications each. Birds were kept at community cages in an open-sided laying house, provided with a daily photoperiod of 16 h and managed similarly. A control diet was formulated (as fed basis) to contain a metabolizable energy of 2880 kcal kgG, 17.40% crude protein, 4.35% Ca, 0.43% nonphytate P, 0.84% lysine, 0.41% methionine and 0.70% methionine plus cysteine. Four high nutrient density diets were also compounded to contain 102.5, 105, 107.5 and 110% of the nutrients present in the control diet, thus five mash diets were composed and used from 44-56 weeks of age. The criteria of response were feed intake, egg production, egg weight, egg mass, feed conversion, body weight change, egg components and certain traits of egg quality, nutrient digestibility and some blood plasma parameters. Feeding the high nutrient density diets exerted no positive effect on productive performance of hens, digestibility of nutrients (dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, ether extract, crude fiber, nitrogen-free extract and ash retention), some egg quality traits and most blood parameters examined but positively affected weight change, percent albumen, shell thickness, yolk index and Haugh units. It is concluded that increasing dietary nutrient density up to 110% of the recommended requirements of Bovans White laying hens does not improve their productive performance under Egyptian summer conditions.
Inviscid Limits for a Stochastically Forced Shell Model of Turbulent Flow

We establish the anomalous mean dissipation rate of energy in the inviscid limit for a stochastic shell model of turbulent fluid flow. The proof relies on viscosity independent bounds for stationary solutions and on establishing ergodic and mixing properties for the viscous model. The shell model is subject to a degenerate stochastic forcing in the sense that noise acts directly only through one wavenumber. We show that it is hypo-elliptic (in the sense of Hormander) and use this property to prove a gradient bound on the Markov semigroup.
Rapid assessment of bacterial viability and vitality by rhodamine 123 and flow cytometry

A.S. KAPRELYANTS AND D.B. KELL. 1992. The fluorescent dye rhodamine 123 (Rh 123) is concentrated by microbial cells in an uncoupler-sensitive fashion. Steady-state fluorescence measurements with Micrococcus luteus indicated that provided the added dye concentration is below approximately 1 mmol/1, uptake is fully uncoupler-sensitive and is not accompanied by significant self-quenching of the fluorescence of accumulated dye molecules. ‘Viable’ and ‘non-viable’ cells are easily and quantitatively distinguished in a flow cytometer by the extent to which they accumulate the dye. The viability of a very slowly growing chemostat culture of Mic. luteus is apparently only about40–50%, as judged by plate counts, but most of the ‘non-viable’ cells can be resuscitated by incubation of the culture in nutrient medium before plating. The extent to which individual cells accumulate rhodamine 123 can be rapidly assessed by flow cytometry, and reflects the three distinguishable physiological states exhibited by the culture (‘non-viable’, ‘viable’ and ‘non-viable-but-resuscitable’). Gram-negative bacteria do not accumulate rhodamine 123 significantly because their outer membrane is not permeable to it; a simple treatment overcomes this. Flow cytometry using rhodamine 123 should prove of general utility for the rapid assessment of microbial viability and vitality.
Effect of Sodium Chloride on Response of Two Wheat Cultivars (Triticum aestivum L.) at Germination and Early Seedling Stages

An experiment was conducted in pots to study the effect of sodium chloride levels (0,50,100,and 150)meg.L-1 on two wheat cultivars AL-Hussein and AL-Rasheed in terms of germination percentages, seedling vigour index, lengths and dry weights of shoot and root, phytotoxicity of shoot and root, stress intensity, stress tolerance index, electrolyte leakage percent and chlorophyll stability index. Salinity treatments were applied from sowing till the end of the experiment. Factorial experiment with CRD design with three replicates was used. Results revealed that, AL-Hussein cultivar gave the highest response to salinity compared with AL-Rasheed in terms of germination percentage. , seedling growth, shoot and root dry weights, seedling vigour index, stress tolerance index and chlorophyll stability index. Meanwhile, AL-Rasheed cultivar gave the highest values of shoot and root phytotoxicity stress intensity and electrolyte leakage percent. Sodium chloride significantly affected all studied characteristics, but the highest (level 150 meg.L-1) gave higher increase or decrease in studied characteristics compared with the control. These results indicated that, tolerance of AL-Hussein cultivar to salinity was correlated with stress tolerance index and chlorophyll stability index under salinity stress.
Conditional decoupling of random interlacements

We prove a conditional decoupling inequality for the model of random in- terlacements in dimension d ≥ 3: the conditional law of random interlacements on a box (or a ball) A1 given the (not very "bad") configuration on a "distant" set A2 does not differ a lot from the unconditional law. Keywords and phrases. Random interlacements, stochastic domination, soft local time MSC 2010 subject classifications. Primary 60K35; Secondary 60G50, 82C41.