Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
FCSN: Global Context Aware Segmentation by Learning the Fourier Coefficients of Objects in Medical Images

The encoder-decoder model is a commonly used Deep learning (DL) model for medical image segmentation. Encoder-decoder models make pixel-wise predictions that focus heavily on local patterns. As a result, the predicted mask often fails to preserve the object's shape and topology, which requires an understanding of the image's global context. In this work, we propose a Fourier Coefficient Segmentation Network (FCSN)---a novel global context-aware DL model that segments an object by learning the complex Fourier Coefficients of the object's masks. The Fourier coefficients are calculated by integrating over the mask's contour. Hence, FCSN is naturally motivated to incorporate a broader image context when estimating the coefficients. The global context awareness of FCSN helps produce more accurate segmentation and is more robust to local perturbations, such as additive noise or motion blur. We compare FCSN on other state-of-the-art global context-aware models (UNet++, DeepLabV3+, UNETR) on 5 medical image segmentation tasks (ISIC_2018, RIM_CUP, RIM_DISC, PROSTATE, FETAL). When compared with UNETR, FCSN attains significantly lower Hausdorff scores with 19.14 (6%), 17.42 (6%), 9.16 (14%), 11.18 (22%), and 5.98 (6%) for ISIC_2018, RIM_CUP, RIM_DISC, PROSTATE, and FETAL tasks respectively. Moreover, FCSN is lightweight by discarding the decoder module. FCSN only requires 29.7 M parameters which are 75.6 M and 9.9 M fewer than UNETR and DeepLabV3+, respectively. FCSN attains inference/training speeds of 1.6 ms/img and 6.3 ms/img, which is 8 and 3 faster than UNet and UNETR. Our work is available at https://github.com/nus-morninlab/FCSN.
The impact of gravitational lensing in the reconstruction of stellar orbits around Sgr A*

After the amazing discoveries by the GRAVITY collaboration in the last few years on the star S2 orbiting the black hole Sgr A* in the center of the Milky Way, we present a detailed investigation of the impact of gravitational lensing on the reconstruction of stellar orbits around this massive black hole. We evaluate the lensing astrometric effects on the stars S2, S38 and S55 and how these systematically affect the derived orbital parameters. The effect is below current uncertainties, but not negligible. With the addition of more observations on these stars, it will be possible to let the astrometric shift by lensing emerge from the statistical noise and be finally detected. By repeating the analysis on a smaller semimajor axis a and various inclinations i, we are able to quantify the lensing effects on a broader range of parameters. As expected, for smaller semimajor axes and for nearly edge-on orbits lensing effects increase by about an order of magnitude.
Analysis and Computation of Multidimensional Linear Complexity of Periodic Arrays

Linear complexity is an important parameter for arrays that are used in applications related to information security. In this work we survey constructions of two and three dimensional arrays, and present new results on the multidimensional linear complexity of periodic arrays obtained using the definition and method proposed in \cite{ArCaGoMoOrRuTi,GoHoMoRu,MoHoRu}. The results include a generalization of a bound for the linear complexity, a comparison with the measure of complexity for multisequences, and computations of the complexity of arrays with periods that are not relatively prime for which the ``unfolding method'' does not work. Conjectures for exact formulas and the asymptotic behavior of the complexity of some array constructions are formulated. We also present open source software for constructing multidimensional arrays and for computing their multidimensional linear complexity.
Surface impacts and collisions of particle-laden nanodrops

The surface impact and collisions of particle-laden nanodrops are studied using molecular dynamics computer simulations. The drops are composed of Lennard-Jones dimers and the particles are rigid spherical sections of a cubic lattice, with radii about 11 nm and 0.6 nm, respectively. Uniform suspensions of 21% and 42% particle concentrations and particle-coated drops are studied, and their behavior is compared to that of pure fluid drops of the same size. The relative velocities studied span the transition to splashing, and both wetting/miscible and non-wetting/immiscible cases are considered. Impacts normal to the surface and head-on collisions are studied and compared. In surface impact, the behavior of low-density suspensions and liquid marble drops is qualitatively similar to that of pure liquid, while the concentrated drops are solid-like on impact. Collisions produce a splash only at velocities significantly higher than in impact, but the resulting drop morphology shows a similar dependence on solid concentration as in impact. In all cases, the collision or impact produces a strong local enhancement in the kinetic energy density and temperature but not in the particle or potential energy densities. Mixing of the two colliding species is not enhanced by collisions, unless the velocity is so high as to cause drop disintegration.
Isotope effect on radiative thermal transport

Isotope effects on heat conduction and convection have been known for decades. However, whether thermal radiation can be isotopically engineered remains an open question. Here, we predict over 3-orders-of-magnitude variation of radiative heat flow with varying isotopic compositions for polar dielectrics at room temperature. We reveal this as an isotope mass effect which induce phonon line shift and broadening that in turn affect phonon-mediated resonant absorption both in the near and far field. In contrast, the isotope effect is negligible for metals and doped semiconductors which largely depend on free carriers. We also discuss the role of temperature with regard to surface mode excitation.
Significant changes in EEG neural oscillations during different phases of three-dimensional multiple object tracking task (3D-MOT) imply different roles for attention and working memory

Our ability to track multiple objects in a dynamic environment enables us to perform everyday tasks such as driving, playing team sports, and walking in a crowded mall. Despite more than three decades of literature on multiple object tracking (MOT) tasks, the underlying and intertwined neural mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here we looked at the electroen-cephalography (EEG) neural correlates and their changes across the three phases of a 3D-MOT task, namely identiﬁcation, tracking and recall. We recorded the EEG activity of 24 participants while they were performing a 3D-MOT task with either 1, 2 or 3 targets where some trials were lateralized and some were not. We observed what seems to be a handoﬀ between focused attention and working memory processes when going from tracking to recall. Our ﬁndings revealed a strong inhibition in delta and theta frequencies from the frontal region during tracking, followed by a strong (re)activation of these same frequencies during recall. Our results also showed contralateral delay activity (CDA) for the lateralized trials, in both the identiﬁcation and recall phases but not during tracking. domain, we show a clear cognitive transition between the diﬀerent phases of a 3D-MOT task, showing some sort of a hand-oﬀ between attention and working memory.
Stochastic homogenization with space-time ergodic divergence-free drift

We prove that diffusion equations with a space-time stationary and ergodic, divergence-free drift homogenize in law to a deterministic stochastic partial differential equation with Stratonovich transport noise. In the absence of spatial ergodicity, the drift is only partially absorbed into the skew-symmetric part of the flux through the use of an appropriately defined stream matrix. This leaves a time-dependent, spatially-homogenous transport which, for mildly decorrelating fields, converges to a Brownian noise with deterministic covariance in the homogenization limit. The results apply to uniformly elliptic, stationary and ergodic environments in which the drift admits a suitably defined stationary and $L^2$-integrable stream matrix.
Stability and Reconstruction of a Special Type of Anisotropic Conductivity in Magneto-Acoustic Tomography with Magnetic Induction

We consider the issues of stability and reconstruction of the electrical anisotropic conductivity of biological tissues in a domain $\Omega\subset\mathbb{R}^3$ by means of the hybrid inverse problem of magneto-acoustic tomography with magnetic induction (MAT-MI). The class of anisotropic conductivities considered here is of type $\sigma(\cdot)=A(\cdot,\gamma(\cdot))$ in $\Omega$, where $[\lambda^{-1}, \lambda]\ni t\mapsto A(\cdot, t)$ is a one-parameter family of matrix-valued functions which are \textit{a-priori} known to be $C^{1,\beta}$, allowing us to stably reconstruct $\gamma$ in $\Omega$ in terms of an internal functional $F(\sigma)$. Our results also extend previous results in MAT-MI where $\sigma(\cdot) = \gamma(\cdot) D(\cdot)$, with $D$ an \textit{a-priori} known matrix-valued function on $\Omega$ to a more general anisotropic structure which depends non-linearly on the scalar function $\gamma$ to be reconstructed.
Meta Reinforcement Learning with Successor Feature Based Context

Most reinforcement learning (RL) methods only focus on learning a single task from scratch and are not able to use prior knowledge to learn other tasks more effectively. Context-based meta RL techniques are recently proposed as a possible so-lution to tackle this. However, they are usually less efﬁcient than conventional RL and may require many trial-and-errors during training. To ad-dress this, we propose a novel meta-RL approach that achieves competitive performance comparing to existing meta-RL algorithms, while requires signiﬁcantly fewer environmental interactions. By combining context variables with the idea of decomposing reward in successor feature framework, our method does not only learn high-quality policies for multiple tasks simultaneously but also can quickly adapt to new tasks with a small amount of training. Compared with state-of-the-art meta-RL baselines, we empirically show the effectiveness and data efﬁciency of our method on several continuous control tasks.
An Overdensity of Red Galaxies around the Hyperluminous Dust-obscured Quasar W1835+4355 at z = 2.3

Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer all-sky survey has discovered a new population of hot dust-obscured galaxies (Hot DOGs), which have been confirmed to be dusty quasars. Previous statistical studies have found significant overdensities of submillimeter and mid-IR-selected galaxies around Hot DOGs, indicating they may reside in dense regions. Here we present the near-infrared (J and K s bands) observations over a 7. ′5×7. ′5 field centered on a Hot DOG W1835+4355 at z ∼ 2.3 using the wide-field infrared camera on the Palomar 200 inch telescope. We use the color criterion J − K s > 2.3 for objects with KS<20 , to select distant red galaxies (DRGs). We find a significant excess of number density of DRGs in the W1835+4355 field compared to three control fields, by a factor of about two. The overdensity of red galaxies around W1835+4355 is consistent with the multiwavelength environment of Hot DOGs, suggesting that Hot DOGs may be a good tracer for dense regions at high redshift. We find that W1835+4355 does not reside in the densest region of the dense environment traced by itself. A possible scenario is that W1835+4355 is undergoing a merging process, which lowers the local number density of galaxies in its surrounding region.
Weakly Supervised Visual-Auditory Fixation Prediction with Multigranularity Perception

—Thanks to the rapid advances in deep learning techniques and the wide availability of large-scale training sets, the performance of video saliency detection models has been improving steadily and signiﬁcantly. However, deep learning-based visual-audio ﬁxation prediction is still in its infancy. At present, only a few visual-audio sequences have been furnished, with real ﬁxations being recorded in real visual-audio environments. Hence, it would be neither efﬁcient nor necessary to recollect real ﬁxations under the same visual-audio circumstances. To address this problem, this paper promotes a novel approach in a weakly supervised manner to alleviate the demand of large-scale training sets for visual-audio model training. By using only the video category tags, we propose the s elective c lass a ctivation m apping (SCAM) and its upgrade (SCAM+). In the spatial-temporal-audio circumstance, the former follows a coarse-to-ﬁne strategy to select the most discriminative regions, and these regions are usually capable of exhibiting high consistency with the real human-eye ﬁxations. The latter equips the SCAM with an additional multi-granularity perception mechanism, making the whole process more consistent with that of the real human visual system. Moreover, we distill knowledge from these regions to obtain complete new s patial- t emporal- a udio (STA) f ixation p rediction (FP) networks, enabling broad applications in cases where video tags are not available. Without resorting to any real human-eye ﬁxation, the performances of these STA FP networks are comparable to those of fully supervised networks. The code and results are publicly available at https://github.com/guotaowang/STANet. comprehensive multimodality
Volume estimates and the asymptotic behavior of expanding gradient Ricci solitons

We study the asymptotic volume ratio of non-steady gradient Ricci solitons. Moreover, a local estimate of the volume ratio is obtained for expanding solitons which satisfy $\lim_{dist(O,x)\rightarrow\infty} |Sect|\cdot dist(O,x)^2=0$. Therefore, for such a soliton, we can show that it must have $\mathbb{R}^n$ as one of its tangent cone at infinity. (Here we assume that the soliton is simply connected at infinity, has only one end and $n\geq 3$.)
Impact of the quality of care and other factors on stroke among patients with hypertension in Thailand

Wawngam W, S, S, Thinkhamrop W and Hurst C. Impact of the quality of care and other factors on stroke among patients with hypertension in Thailand. J Pub Health Dev. 2019;17(2):37-50 Hypertension is a global pandemic and its prevalence is dramatically increasing in developing countries, including Thailand. Quality care and appropriate care will result in reduction in the incidence of hypertension complications. This study aimed to investigate the effects of quality of hypertension care and other factors on stroke among hypertensive patients. The current study is a nationwide, multicenter, cohort study of hypertension outpatients who visited 595 hospitals across Thailand. A generalized linear mixed model with a logit link was employed for all modeling. especially achievement of the fasting plasma glucose examination, leads to a 67 % reduction in the odds of any stroke (Adj. OR=0.33, 95% CI=0.12 - 0.88). In terms of other covariates, smoking history and estimated glomerular filtration rate were also strongly associated with any stroke. The finding has important implications for policy makers. Hypertension patients should increase fasting plasma glucose examination. The examination should be held every two months for hypertension patients who are smokers.
Measurement of the B 0 → D (cid:1) − π þ π − π þ branching fraction

Using a sample of ð 470 . 9 (cid:3) 2 . 8 Þ × 10 6 B ¯ B pairs, we measure the decay branching fraction B ð B 0 → D (cid:1) − π þ π − π þ Þ ¼ ð 7 . 26 (cid:3) 0 . 11 (cid:3) 0 . 31 Þ × 10 − 3 , where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. Our measurement will be helpful in studies of lepton universality by measuring B ð B 0 → D (cid:1) − τ þ ν τ Þ using τ þ → π þ π − π þ ¯ ν τ decays, normalized to B ð B 0 → D (cid:1) − π þ π − π þ Þ .
The Importance of Continuous Glucose Monitoring-derived Metrics Beyond HbA1c for Optimal Individualized Glycemic Control

Abstract Context Current guidelines recommend assessing glycemic control using continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) measurement. Objective This study aimed to clarify the characteristics of patients who might benefit from CGM metrics in addition to HbA1c monitoring. Methods CGM metrics, specifically time in range (TIR), time below range (TBR), and time above range (TAR), were determined in 999 outpatients with type 2 diabetes and compared between HbA1c categories (HbA1c < 53 mmol/mol [7.0%, HbA1c < 53], HbA1c 53-63 mmol/mol [7.0-7.9%, HbA1c 53-63], HbA1c 64-74 mmol/mol [8.0-8.9%, HbA1c 64-74], and HbA1c ≥ 75 mmol/mol [9.0%, HbA1c ≥ 75]) and between patients with identical HbA1c categories who were stratified by age, types of antidiabetic agents, and renal function. Results For HbA1c < 53 category, patients aged ≥ 65 years had a significantly higher nocturnal TBR than those aged < 65 years. For HbA1c < 53 and HbA1c 53-63 categories, patients receiving insulin and/or sulfonylureas had a significantly higher TAR and TBR, and a lower TIR than those not receiving these drugs, and for HbA1c 64-74 category, they had a significantly higher TBR. For HbA1c < 53, HbA1c 53-63, and HbA1c 64-74 categories, patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 had a significantly higher TBR during some periods than those with an eGFR ≥ 60. Conclusion Higher HbA1c levels do not always protect against hypoglycemic episodes. Our data demonstrate that using CGM metrics to complement HbA1c monitoring is beneficial, especially in older people, users of insulin and/or sulfonylureas, and patients with chronic kidney disease.
Analyses and measurements of acoustically matched, air-coupled tonpilz transducers

This talk examines an industrial, air-coupled tonpilz transducer used for acoustic ranging. The study is prompted by a situation common to long-standing industrial products: passive/active material supplies decline or disappear and replacements must be integrated into old designs. The conventional approach relies on 1D analyses and experimental prototypes. Today, new material integration is facilitated by 2D and 3D time-domain finite element models. These are used here to investigate overall modal characteristics, foam matching layer response, and device mounting issues.
A mixed‐methods characterisation of patient safety incidents by primary eye care practitioners

Patient safety in eye health care is an underdeveloped field of research. A patient safety incident occurs when an unintended incident happens that could have (or did) lead to harm. To enable learning from patient safety incidents in optometry, a characterisation of commonly experienced safety incidents is needed to identify options to improve the quality of care. This study aimed to characterise eye health‐related patient safety incidents from the perspective of eye care practitioners.
p300 arrests intervertebral disc degeneration by regulating the FOXO3/Sirt1/Wnt/β‐catenin axis

The transcription factor p300 is reportedly involved in age‐associated human diseases, including intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD). In this study, we investigate the potential role and pathophysiological mechanism of p300 in IDD. Clinical tissue samples were collected from patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH), in which the expression of p300, forkhead box O3 (FOXO3), and sirtuin 1 (Sirt1) was determined. Nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs) isolated from clinical degenerative intervertebral disc (IVD) tissues were introduced with oe‐p300, oe‐FOXO3, Wnt/β‐catenin agonist 1, C646 (p300/CBP inhibitor), or si‐p300 to explore the functional role of p300 in IDD and to characterize the relationship between p300 and the FOXO3/Sirt1/Wnt/β‐catenin pathway. Also, we established a rat IDD model by inducing needle puncture injuries in the caudal IVDs for further verification of p300 functional role. We found that p300 was downregulated in the clinical tissues and NPCs of IDD. Overexpression of p300 promoted the proliferation and autophagy of NPCs while inhibiting cell apoptosis, which was associated with FOXO3 upregulation. p300 could increase the expression of FOXO3 by binding to the Sirt1 promoter, and thus, contributed to inactivation of the Wnt/β‐catenin pathway. In vivo results further displayed that p300 slowed down the progression of IDD by disrupting the Wnt/β‐catenin pathway through the FOXO3/Sirt1 axis. Taken together, we suggest that p300 can act to suppress IDD via a FOXO3‐dependent mechanism, highlighting a potential novel target for treatment of IDD.
A novel mouse model of CMT1B identifies hyperglycosylation as a new pathogenetic mechanism

Abstract Mutations in the Myelin Protein Zero gene (MPZ), encoding P0, the major structural glycoprotein of peripheral nerve myelin, are the cause of Charcot–Marie-Tooth (CMT) type 1B neuropathy, and most P0 mutations appear to act through gain-of-function mechanisms. Here, we investigated how misglycosylation, a pathomechanism encompassing several genetic disorders, may affect P0 function. Using in vitro assays, we showed that gain of glycosylation is more damaging for P0 trafficking and functionality as compared with a loss of glycosylation. Hence, we generated, via CRISPR/Cas9, a mouse model carrying the MPZD61N mutation, predicted to generate a new N-glycosylation site in P0. In humans, MPZD61N causes a severe early-onset form of CMT1B, suggesting that hyperglycosylation may interfere with myelin formation, leading to pathology. We show here that MPZD61N/+ mice develop a tremor as early as P15 which worsens with age and correlates with a significant motor impairment, reduced muscular strength and substantial alterations in neurophysiology. The pathological analysis confirmed a dysmyelinating phenotype characterized by diffuse hypomyelination and focal hypermyelination. We find that the mutant P0D61N does not cause significant endoplasmic reticulum stress, a common pathomechanism in CMT1B, but is properly trafficked to myelin where it causes myelin uncompaction. Finally, we show that myelinating dorsal root ganglia cultures from MPZD61N mice replicate some of the abnormalities seen in vivo, suggesting that they may represent a valuable tool to investigate therapeutic approaches. Collectively, our data indicate that the MPZD61N/+ mouse represents an authentic model of severe CMT1B affirming gain-of-glycosylation in P0 as a novel pathomechanism of disease.
In£uence of nutrient status and grazing pressure on the fate of Francisellatularensis in lake water

The natural reservoir of Francisella tularensis , the causative agent of tularaemia, is yet to be identiﬁed. We investigated the possibility that Francisella persists in natural aquatic ecosystems between outbreaks. It was hypothesized that nutrient-rich environments, with strong protozoan predation, favour the occurrence of the tularaemia bacterium. To investigate the differences in adaptation to aquatic environments of the species and subspecies of Francisella , we screened 23 strains for their ability to survive grazing by the ciliate Tetrahymena pyriformis . All the Francisella strains tested were consumed at a low rate, although signiﬁcant differences between subspecies were found. The survival and virulence of gfp -labelled F. tularensis ssp. holarctica were then studied in a microcosm experiment using natural lake water, with varying food web complexities and nutrient availabilities. High nutrient conditions in combination with high abundances of nanoﬂagellates were found to favour F. tularensis ssp. holarctica . The bacterium was observed both free-living and within the cells of a nanoﬂagel-late. Francisella tularensis entered a viable but nonculturable state during the microcosm experiment. When studied over a longer period of time, F. tularensis ssp. holarctica survived in the lake water, but loss of virulence was not prevented by either high nutrient availability or the presence of predators. PCR products puriﬁed and sequenced by using Euk1A and Euk516r primers. The sequences obtained ( c . 500 bases) compared with DNA database sequences using BLAST . in the EMBL Data Library, and