Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stagewise Weak Gradient Pursuits Part II: Theoretical Properties

In a recent paper (2) we introduced the greedy Gradient Pursuit framework. This is a family of algorithms designed to find sparse solutions to underdetermined invers e problems. One particularly powerful member of this family is the (approximate) conjugate gradient pursuit algorithm, which was shown to be applicable to very large data sets and which was found to perform nearly as well as the traditional Orthogonal Matching Pursuit algorithm. In Part I of this paper (3), we have further extended the Gradient Pursuit framework and introduced a greedier stagewise weak selection strategy that selects several elements per iteration. Combining the conjugate gradient update of (2) with this selection strategy led to a very fast algorit hm, applicable to large scale problems, which was shown in (3) to perform well in a wide range of applications. In this paper we study theoretical properties of the approach. In particular, we propose a novel fast recursion to calculate the conjugate gradient update direction and present a proof that shows that this update is guaranteed to be better than a simple gradient update. The other contribution of this paper is to derive theoretic guarantees that give conditions under which the stagewise weak selection strategy can be used to exactly recover sparse vectors from a few measurements, that is, guarantees under which the algorithm is guaranteed to find the sparsest solution.
Short Utterance Speaker Recognition Based on Speech High Frequency Information Compensation and Dynamic Feature Enhancement Methods

This work aims to further compensate for the weaknesses of feature sparsity and insufficient discriminative acoustic features in existing short-duration speaker recognition. To address this issue, we propose the Bark-scaled Gauss and the linear filter bank superposition cepstral coefficients (BGLCC), and the multidimensional central difference (MDCD) acoustic feature extracted method. The Bark-scaled Gauss filter bank focuses on low-frequency information, while linear filtering is uniformly distributed, therefore, the filter superposition can obtain more discriminative and richer acoustic features of short-duration audio signals. In addition, the multi-dimensional central difference method captures better dynamics features of speakers for improving the performance of short utterance speaker verification. Extensive experiments are conducted on short-duration text-independent speaker verification datasets generated from the VoxCeleb, SITW, and NIST SRE corpora, respectively, which contain speech samples of diverse lengths, and different scenarios. The results demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms the existing acoustic feature extraction approach by at least 10% in the test set. The ablation experiments further illustrate that our proposed approaches can achieve substantial improvement over prior methods.
Thermodynamic approach to prediction of the stability of proposed radwaste glasses

Assessment of the geologic performance of radwaste glasses requires extrapolation of finite tests to very long times. A thermodynamic approach developed by Paul has been applied to leaching of both natural and synthetic glasses. This approach suggests that Savannah River waste glass should be as stable toward aqueous atttack as natural basalt. 11 references, 1 figure, 2 tables.
Land use mapping based on composite regions in aerial images

ABSTRACT Land use data are widely applied for the analysis and management of social, economic, and ecological conditions and are in great demand due to the rapid changes of landscapes. Remote sensing images with high spatial resolutions, especially the aerial ones, are popularly utilized as data sources for large-scale, highly accurate land use mapping. However, unlike simple land cover classes, land use areas are compound with miscellaneous terrestrial objects, which presents the automatic land use mapping with new challenges. In this study, we analysed the characteristics of land uses in high-resolution aerial images and found that the highly complex composition of land use areas causes an individual terrestrial object alone insufficient to determine its land use type. To address this issue, we proposed the concept of Composite Regions as regions formed by diverse objects sharing the same land use type. We defined Geographic Context which is the key determinant for land use mapping. Additionally, three Geographic Contextual features describing different aspects of the Composite Regions were developed: (1) Class Index Area Ratio (CIAR) for spectral distribution, (2) Density Level Area Ratio (DLAR) for scale range, and (3) Class Boundary Length Ratio (CBLR) for semantic affinity. These features take advantage of Earth’s Mover Distance as the proper metric function. The accompanying mapping strategy is formulated by applying CIAR, DLAR, and CBLR in an ordered way, and it involves Fuzzy Object Merging to ensure convincing and sufficient neighbourhood information for objects before final identification. The experiments were performed on aerial images acquired in Zhejiang province, China. The landscapes in the study areas consist of five major land use types and exhibits typical complex interiors which were used to be recognized manually. The mapping results successfully extracted land use areas that were highly consistent with visual interpreted data, despite the complex heterogeneous composition. Assessment analysis also showed high accuracies which validated the effectiveness of the methodology.
SAVoR: a server for sequencing annotation and visualization of RNA structures

RNA secondary structure is required for the proper regulation of the cellular transcriptome. This is because the functionality, processing, localization and stability of RNAs are all dependent on the folding of these molecules into intricate structures through specific base pairing interactions encoded in their primary nucleotide sequences. Thus, as the number of RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) data sets and the variety of protocols for this technology grow rapidly, it is becoming increasingly pertinent to develop tools that can analyze and visualize this sequence data in the context of RNA secondary structure. Here, we present Sequencing Annotation and Visualization of RNA structures (SAVoR), a web server, which seamlessly links RNA structure predictions with sequencing data and genomic annotations to produce highly informative and annotated models of RNA secondary structure. SAVoR accepts read alignment data from RNA-seq experiments and computes a series of per-base values such as read abundance and sequence variant frequency. These values can then be visualized on a customizable secondary structure model. SAVoR is freely available at http://tesla.pcbi. upenn.edu/savor.
Markers for domestic violence in women.

OBJECTIVE: To determine injury patterns and characteristics specific to domestic violence in women who present to the accident and emergency (A&E) department. DESIGN: A retrospective case note review of all female assaults over a one year period. The subjects were women who disclosed that their injuries were due to assaults by either a current or a previous male partner. Controls were female assault victims not injured by domestic violence. SETTING: A medium sized urban A&E department. RESULTS: There were 500 female assaults out of 48,169 new attendances. Domestic violence was disclosed in 103 cases. The following features were significantly associated with domestic violence in women: multiple injuries (p < 0.001) (especially to the head and arms), fractures (p < 0.05), loss of consciousness (p < 0.05), abdominal injuries (p < 0.05), pregnancy (p = 0.01), injury occurring on "stairs" (p = 0.01), and general practitioner referral (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Women who have been assaulted are more likely to have been injured during domestic violence if they sustain multiple injuries (including fractures), abdominal injuries, have lost consciousness, or have been referred by their general practitioner. These markers may help medical staff to identify more cases of undisclosed domestic violence. The markers need to be tested further in a prospective study.
A Novel Vision-Based Truck-Lifting Accident Detection Method for Truck-Lifting Prevention System in Container Terminal

Truck-lifting accidents are common in container-lifting operations. The most common truck-lifting prevention system is based on lidar scanners which are very expensive, and it is more promising to use cameras to detect truck-lifting accidents than to use lidar scanners. However, little work has been conducted on visual detection of truck-lifting accidents, and the only previous visual approach fails in the common scenario where wheel hubs in images appear as non-standard or incomplete circles. To this end, this paper proposes a novel vision-based truck-lifting accident detection method for truck-lifting prevention system, which is free from the disturbance of distorted or incomplete wheel hubs in the image. The main idea of the proposed method is to utilize a deep learning-based object detection model to detect the truck body within which to extract many key-points whose vertical displacements are tracked to determine whether the truck is lifted. Based on this idea, the workflow for truck-lifting accident detection is delicately constructed. In addition, a YOLOv5-based modified detection model is proposed to reduce the computation cost of container and truck body detection, achieving 38.5% increase in inference speed on a single industrial personal computer without performance decrease. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed truck-lifting accident detection method is capable of accurately recognizing the truck-lifting operations with the recall rate of 100% and the false alarm rate of 0.42%.
Software defined batteries

Different battery chemistries perform better on different axes, such as energy density, cost, peak power, recharge time, longevity, and efficiency. Mobile system designers are constrained by existing technology, and are forced to select a single chemistry that best meets their diverse needs, thereby compromising other desirable features. In this paper, we present a new hardware-software system, called Software Defined Battery (SDB), which allows system designers to integrate batteries of different chemistries. SDB exposes APIs to the operating system which control the amount of charge flowing in and out of each battery, enabling it to dynamically trade one battery property for another depending on Application And/Or User Needs. Using microbenchmarks from our prototype SDB implementation, and through detailed simulations, we demonstrate that it is possible to combine batteries which individually excel along different axes to deliver an enhanced collective performance when compared to traditional battery packs.
Neurobiology of Disease Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Rescues Synaptic Plasticity in a Mouse Model of Fragile X Syndrome

Mice lacking expression of the fragile X mental retardation 1 (Fmr1) gene have deficits in types of learning that are dependent on the hippocampus. Here, we report that long-term potentiation (LTP) elicited by threshold levels of theta burst afferent stimulation (TBS) is severely impaired in hippocampal field CA1 of young adult Fmr1 knock-out mice. The deficit was not associated with changes in postsynaptic responses to TBS, NMDA receptor activation, or levels of punctate glutamic acid decarboxylase-65/67 immunoreactivity. TBS-induced actin polymerization within dendritic spines was also normal. The LTP impairment was evident within 5 min of induction and, thus, may not be secondary to defects in activity-initiated protein synthesis. Protein levels for both brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a neurotrophin that activates pathways involved in spine cytoskeletal reorganization, and its TrkB receptor were comparable between genotypes. BDNF infusion had no effect on baseline transmission or on postsynaptic responses to theta burst stimulation, but nonetheless fully restored LTP in slices from fragile X mice. These results indicate that the fragile X mutation produces a highly selective impairment to LTP, possibly at a step downstream of actin filament assembly, and suggest a means for overcoming this deficit. The possibility of a pharmacological therapy based on these results is discussed.
Consumer Informatics:

Summary Objectives To explore how the Internet is being used as a source of information, but also as a source of consumption in certain health-related fields. Determine the negative and positive impacts of this trend, depending on the topic or quality standards of websites. Method Synopsis of the articles selected for the IMIA Yearbook 2011. Results Six papers from international peer reviewed journals have been selected for the section on health information systems. Conclusions The articles selected discuss issues of major concern for online health information seekers, because of their positive or negative impact on health outputs.
Video driven pedestrian visualization with characteristic appearances

Augmented virtual environment (AVE) could visualize plausible live views from videos by projecting dynamic imagery to the 3D environment. Static objects in a video can be rendered in new views since they are easily modeled beforehand, while moving ones that don't have exact online models will be distorted from different views without proper depth. To cope with the problem, we introduce a novel method to visualize pedestrians, which are common in outdoor surveillance. Our method detects pedestrians and produces their trajectories. Then such pedestrian characteristic appearances as geometric information, texture and walking animation are transferred to a stand-in 3D animation model in the virtual environment. Experiments show our visualization can reveal person's characteristic appearances.
Multimodality and relevance in the Athens 2004 Olympic Games televised promotion

This paper is concerned with a multimodal communicative act, the televised promotion of the 'Athens 2004 Olympic Games' on National Hellenic television. The first aim of the paper is to show that the commercial examined constitutes a "multimodal metaphor" (Forceville, 2004 and 2005) through which the audience is essentially invited to interpret the 'Athens 2004 Olympic Games' in terms of a 'festival'. The second aim of the paper is to explain how it is that a commercial such as this one, which foregrounds entertainment and celebrations, is almost unanimously received by a multicultural audience as successnilly advertising the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. In the framework of Relevance Theory, the pragmatic and cognitive benefits of the specific multimodal metaphor are discussed in terms of positive cognitive effects and processing effort (Sperber and Wilson, 1986/1995; Wilson and Sperber, 2004). Experimental evidence on native and non-native audiences' reaction to this televised promo suggests that the intended interpretation is recovered in terms of a range ofstrongly implicated assumptions that viewers unanimously reckon, rather than in terms of a range of weak implicatures (Forceville, 1996). Drawing onthe Cognitive and Communicative Principies of Relevance and the key concept of Optimal relevance, the paradoxical finding of 'irrelevant scenes' contributing to a fruitful interpretation process and recovery of 'relevant meaning(s)' is explained.
Myf5 haploinsufficiency reveals distinct cell fate potentials for adult skeletal muscle stem cells

HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés. Myf5 haploinsufficiency reveals distinct cell fate potentials for adult skeletal muscle stem cells. Barbara Gayraud-Morel, Fabrice Chrétien, Aurélie Jory, Ramkumar Sambasivan, Elisa Negroni, Patricia Flamant, Guillaume Soubigou, Jean-Yves Coppée, James Di Santo, Ana Cumano, et al.
Comparison of the Effect of Semisynthetic Human Insulin and Porcine Insulin on Glucose Kinetics, Plasma Free Fatty Acid and Amino Acid Levels in Man

The effect of semisynthetic human insulin on hepatic glucose output, peripheral glucose clearance, plasma levels of C-Peptide, free fatty acids and amino acids was compared with purified pork insulin using the glucose clamp technique. 8 normal overnight-fasted subjects received intravenous infusions of either human or porcine insulin at 20 mU/m2.min(-1) during 120 min achieving plasma insulin levels of approximately equal to 50 mU/l. Plasma glucose levels were maintained at euglycaemia by variable rates of glucose infusion. Hepatic glucose production measured by continuous infusion of 3-(3) H-glucose was similarly suppressed by both insulins to rates near zero. The metabolic clearance rate of glucose increased during infusion of human insulin by 120%, C-peptide levels decreased by 41% and plasma FFA concentrations fell by 74%. The respective changes during infusion of pork insulin were similar, 118%, 48% and 72%. Both insulins decreased the plasma levels of branched-chain amino acids, tyrosine, phenylalanine, methionine, serine and histidine similarly. Thus, the results demonstrate that semisynthetic human and porcine insulin are aequipotent with respect to suppression of hepatic glucose output, stimulation of glucose clearance, inhibition of insulin secretion, lipolysis and proteolysis.
Geographical Information System and Multi-criteria Based Cellular Automata Markov Model for Urban Growth and Analysis the Case Study of Bungoma Town Kenya

Increase in population and the desire to seek new opportunities has contributed to urban growth, putting pressure on facilities in urban centres. Bungoma town, being the headquarter of Bungoma County has undergone radical changes in its physical form, not only in territorial expansion, but also through internal physical transformation. In the process of urbanization, physical characteristic of the town is gradually changing as cropland (agricultural land), vegetation and wetland has been converted to built-up areas. This new urban fabric needs to be analysed to understand the impact of these changes. The aim of this research was to evaluate the suitability of Bungoma town setting, model its growth and predict the future growth of the town based on land cover changes (1985-2015). Landsat satellite images were classified with five land cover classes followed by change detection. To simulate land cover map for Bungoma town in 2030, Markov Chain model and Cellular Automata Markov (CA-Markov) model were used. It was found that built-up area increased over the study period. The major contributors to this change are cropland, vegetation and wetland land cover types. The CA-Markov model results showed that 52% of the total study area will be converted into built-up area, 19% to cropland, 20% to vegetation, 5% to open spaces and 3% to wetland by 2030. This would have negative implication on food security in the region which is a major source of income for the inhabitants. There is need therefore for proper land use planning in the area. In addition, vertical urban development should be encouraged to control rapid expansion of the town.
Glargine and Cancer: Can We Now Suggest Closure?

The two publications on the pharmacokinetics of insulin glargine in individuals with type 1 and type 2 diabetes in this issue of Diabetes Care (1,2) provide additional explanatory evidence in support of the definitive findings in the Outcome Reduction with Initial Glargine Intervention (ORIGIN) study in which exposure to insulin glargine for a median duration of 6.2 years did not increase the risk of any cancer (hazard ratio 1.00 [95% CI 0.88–1.13]) or death from cancer (0.94 [0.77–1.15]) (3). Soon after glargine’s long awaited and welcome introduction into clinical practice in 2000, questions were raised about its safety profile. This conception was based on the early finding that insulin glargine had an enhanced affinity to IGF-1 receptors when tested in a human osteosarcoma cell line (Saos/B10) with a preponderance of IGF-1 receptors and associated with increased mitogenicity (proliferation in an existing tumor cell line) (4). These findings were akin to those observed with the AspB10 insulin analog, the development of which had earlier been discontinued because of an increase in both benign and malignant mammary gland tumors in Sprague-Dawley rats after 12 months’ exposure (5,6); thus AspB10 was referred to as the “carcinogenic insulin analog” (7). In contrast, detailed extensive toxicological lifetime carcinogenicity studies of insulin glargine in animals (rodent and nonrodent), albeit at lower doses, revealed no carcinogenicity signal with insulin glargine when compared with human insulin (8,9). The risk was regarded as small by the European Medicines Agency safety working party because of the lack of effect on mammary gland proliferation, absence of mammary carcinoma, and rare tumors during the lifetime studies in animals. The higher insulin receptor affinity and consequent prolonged dephosphorylation due to the increased residence time of AspB10 on insulin receptors (4) along with a predilection for the …
Performance of wavefront migration imaging in the near field of the antennas

The performance of an ultra wideband (UWB) imaging system has been studied for targets placed in the near field of the antennas. The targets in the proximity of antennas are causing additional coupling between the antennas and thus the distortion of transmitted pulses. As the most algorithms for UWB imaging utilize the information about the shape and delay of the received pulses the distortions may influence the quality of the image. The degree of pulse distortion depends on the size of the target, its material properties and distance to the antennas. It is shown that it is possible to obtain the image of the target already at small distances even if some signal distortion due to the coupling occurs.