Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Names and Faces

We show that a large and realistic face dataset can be built from news photographs and their associated captions. Our dataset consists of 44,773 face images, obtained by applying a face nder to approximately half a million captioned news images. This dataset is more realistic than usual face recognition datasets, because it contains faces captured iin the wildi in a variety of congurations with respect to the camera, taking a variety of expressions, and under illumination of widely varying color. Faces are extracted from the images and names from the associated caption. Our system uses a clustering procedure to nd the correspondence between faces and associated names in news picture-caption pairs. The context in which a name appears in a caption provides powerful cues as to whether it is depicted in the associated image. By incorporating simple natural language techniques, we are able to improve our name assignment signicantly . Once the procedure is complete, we have an accurately labeled set of faces, an appearance model for each individual depicted, and a natural language model that can produce accurate results on captions in isolation.
A Comparative Evaluation of Collocation Extraction Techniques

This paper describes an experiment that attempts to compare a range of existing collocation extraction techniques as well as the implementation of a new technique based on tests for lexical substitutability. After a description of the experiment details, the techniques are discussed with particular emphasis on any adaptations that are required in order to evaluate it in the way proposed. This is followed by a discussion on the relative strengths and weaknesses of the techniques with reference to the results obtained. Since there is no general agreement on the exact nature of collocation, evaluating techniques with reference to any single standard is somewhat controversial. Departing from this point, part of the concluding discussion includes initial proposals for a common framework for evaluation of collocation extraction techniques.
Structural Features of Glycosyltransferases Synthesizing Major Bilayer and Nonbilayer-prone Membrane Lipids inAcholeplasma laidlawii and Streptococcus pneumoniae * 210

In membranes of Acholeplasma laidlawii two consecutively acting glucosyltransferases, the (i) α-monoglucosyldiacylglycerol (MGlcDAG) synthase (alMGS) (EC2.4.1.157) and the (ii) α-diglucosyl-DAG (DGlcDAG) synthase (alDGS) (EC 2.4.1.208), are involved in maintaining (i) a certain anionic lipid surface charge density and (ii) constant nonbilayer/bilayer conditions (curvature packing stress), respectively. Cloning of the alDGS gene revealed related uncharacterized sequence analogs especially in several Gram-positive pathogens, thermophiles and archaea, where the encoded enzyme function of a potential Streptococcus pneumoniae DGS gene (cpoA) was verified. A strong stimulation of alDGS by phosphatidylglycerol (PG), cardiolipin, or nonbilayer-prone 1,3-DAG was observed, while only PG stimulated CpoA. Several secondary structure prediction and fold recognition methods were used together with SWISS-MODEL to build three-dimensional model structures for three MGS and two DGS lipid glycosyltransferases. Two Escherichia coli proteins with known structures were identified as the best templates, the membrane surface-associated two-domain glycosyltransferase MurG and the soluble GlcNAc epimerase. Differences in electrostatic surface potential between the different models and their individual domains suggest that electrostatic interactions play a role for the association to membranes. Further support for this was obtained when hybrids of the N- and C-domain, and full size alMGS with green fluorescent protein were localized to different regions of theE. coli inner membrane and cytoplasm in vivo. In conclusion, it is proposed that the varying abilities to bind, and sense lipid charge and curvature stress, are governed by typical differences in charge (pI values), amphiphilicity, and hydrophobicity for the N- and (catalytic) C-domains of these structurally similar membrane-associated enzymes.
Intergrating soil and crop-based methods for maize variable nitrogen fertilisation

Introduction Nitrogen (N) is one the most important nutrients determining maize yield. Two main approaches can be used to tailor N supply considering field variability: management zones (MZ) delineation and crop N status monitoring during the growing season. Several studies demonstrated separately the advantages of these approaches on driving variable rate N application (VRA) in maize. This study aimed at verifying if their combination further improves the overall sustainability of maize cropping system.
Applying the information bottleneck principle to unsupervised clustering of discrete and continuous image representations

We present a method for unsupervised clustering of image databases. The method is based on a recently introduced information-theoretic principle, the information bottleneck (IB) principle. Image archives are clustered such that the mutual information between the clusters and the image content is maximally preserved. The IB principle is applied to both discrete and continuous image representations, using discrete image histograms and probabilistic continuous image modeling based on mixture of Gaussian densities, respectively. Experimental results demonstrate the performance of the proposed method for image clustering on a large image database. Several clustering algorithms derived from the IB principle are explored and compared.
Forward-Backward Greedy Algorithms for General Convex Smooth Functions over A Cardinality Constraint

We consider forward-backward greedy algorithms for solving sparse feature selection problems with general convex smooth functions. A state-of-the-art greedy method, the Forward-Backward greedy algorithm (FoBa-obj) requires to solve a large number of optimization problems, thus it is not scalable for large-size problems. The FoBa-gdt algorithm, which uses the gradient information for feature selection at each forward iteration, significantly improves the efficiency of FoBa-obj. In this paper, we systematically analyze the theoretical properties of both algorithms. Our main contributions are: 1) We derive better theoretical bounds than existing analyses regarding FoBa-obj for general smooth convex functions; 2) We show that FoBagdt achieves the same theoretical performance as FoBa-obj under the same condition: restricted strong convexity condition. Our new bounds are consistent with the bounds of a special case (least squares) and fills a previously existing theoretical gap for general convex smooth functions; 3) We show that the restricted strong convexity condition is satisfied if the number of independent samples is more than k log d where k is the sparsity number and d is the dimension of the variable; 4)We apply FoBa-gdt (with the conditional random field objective) to the sensor selection problem for human indoor activity recognition and our results show that FoBa-gdt outperforms other methods based on forward greedy selection and L1-regularization.
Community Structure in Multi-Mode Networks : Applying an Eigenspectrum Approach

We combine the logic of multi-mode networks developed in Fararo and Doreian (1984) with Newman’s (2006) spectral partitioning of graphs into communities. The resulting generalization of spectral partitioning provides a simple, elegant, and useful tool for discovering the community structure of multi-mode graphs. We apply the generalized procedure to a published three-mode network and find that the results of the algorithm are consistent with existing substantive knowledge. We also report the results of extensive simulations, which reveal that the generalization becomes more effective as the networks become denser. Authors David Melamed is currently an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of South Carolina. His research interests are in group processes, social networks, mathematical modeling, and stratification. Ronald L. Breiger is Professor of Sociology at the University of Arizona and holds affiliate appointments in the Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in Statistics and in the School of Government and Public Policy. His research interests include social network modeling, culture, and adversarial networks. A. Joseph West is a PhD Candidate in Sociology at the University of Arizona. His research interests lie at the intersection of social networks, culture, and social movements. Please address correspondence to David Melamed, Department of Sociology, University of South Carolina, Sloan College 321, 911 Pickens Street, Columbia, SC 29208. Email: melamed@sc.edu Notes This research was supported by grants from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (HDTRA1-10-1-0017) and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (FA9550-10-1-0569) for which the second-listed author is the PI and a Co-PI, respectively. We thank Sean Everton and two anonymous reviewers for helpful feedback on this project. Ronald L. Breiger University of Arizona A. Joseph West University of Arizona Connections 331036_B. indd 25 7/26/13 10:27 AM Connections Community Structure in Multi-Mode Networks 19 | Volume 33 | Issue 1 | July
How Do Sinking Phytoplankton Species Manage to Persist?

Phytoplankton require light for photosynthesis. Yet, most phytoplankton species are heavier than water and therefore sink. How can these sinking species persist? Somehow, the answer should lie in the turbulent motion that redisperses sinking phytoplankton over the vertical water column. Here, we show, using a reaction‐advection‐diffusion equation of light‐limited phytoplankton, that there is a turbulence window sustaining sinking phytoplankton species in deep waters. If turbulent diffusion is too high, phytoplankton are mixed to great depths, and the depth‐averaged light conditions are too low to allow net positive population growth. Conversely, if turbulent diffusion is too low, sinking phytoplankton populations end up at the ocean floor and succumb in the dark. At intermediate levels of turbulent diffusion, however, phytoplankton populations can outgrow both mixing rates and sinking rates. In this way, the reproducing population as a whole can maintain a position in the well‐lit zone near the top of the water column, even if all individuals within the population have a tendency to sink. This theory unites earlier classic results by Sverdrup and Riley as well as our own recent findings and provides a new conceptual framework for the understanding of phytoplankton dynamics under the influence of mixing processes.
Improved laser-based navigation for mobile robots

An autonomous mobile system can operate as a service robot in various environments. In many man-made environments like buildings, there exist a lot of glass panes, such as windows, doors and glass walls. This can make robotic tasks more complicated, since one of the most popular sensor systems, namely laser range finders, face problems with measuring distances correctly when hitting glass surfaces. In this paper, the behavior of a laser scanner with respect to glass surface is modeled using a probabilistic approach. This sensor model is employed to improve mapping and localization of a mobile robot in an office environment. Both of the applications have been tested with a real robot.
Deriving Dynamics of Web Pages: A Survey

The World Wide Web is dynamic by nature: content is continuously added, deleted, or changed, which makes it challenging for Web crawlers to keep up-to-date with the current version of a Web page, all the more so since not all apparent changes are significant ones. We review major approaches to change detection in Web pages and extraction of temporal properties (especially, timestamps) of Web pages. We focus our attention on techniques and systems that have been proposed in the last ten years and we analyze them to get some insight into the practical solutions and best practices available. We aim at providing an analytical view of the range of methods that can be used, distinguishing them on several dimensions, especially, their static or dynamic nature, the modeling of Web pages, or, for dynamic methods relying on comparison of successive versions of a page, the similarity metrics used. We advocate for more comprehensive studies of the effectiveness of Web page change detection methods, and finally highlight open issues.
Simple Inequalities for the D/G/1 Queue

During the last quarter century a large number of papers, starting in 1962 with J. F. C. Kingman, have been written about inequalities for queues. Their objective has been to eliminate the need for detailed distributional analysis by providing upper and lower bounds for such entities as the expected waiting time and the probability of no waiting. Notable results include Kingman's upper bound for the expected waiting time in a GI/G/1 queue and K. T. Marshall's lower bound for the expected waiting time in a D/G/1 queue. In this paper we present a new method for obtaining bounds for the stationary D/G/1 queue. The basic idea is to translate crude bounds on the probability that the system is empty at time t into sharp bounds for the expected waiting time. The crudest possible bounds on the probability that the system is empty at time t reproduce the Kingman upper bound and the Marshall lower bound, and show that the Marshall lower bound is tight for the D/G/1 queue and is attained if and only if the service times are integer random multiples of the interarrival time.
Derivation and Validation of a Renal Risk Score for People With Type 2 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE Diabetes has become the leading cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Renal risk stratification could assist in earlier identification and targeted prevention. This study aimed to derive risk models to predict ESRD events in type 2 diabetes in primary care. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The nationwide derivation cohort included adults with type 2 diabetes from the New Zealand Diabetes Cohort Study initially assessed during 2000–2006 and followed until December 2010, excluding those with pre-existing ESRD. The outcome was fatal or nonfatal ESRD event (peritoneal dialysis or hemodialysis for ESRD, renal transplantation, or death from ESRD). Risk models were developed using Cox proportional hazards models, and their performance was assessed in a separate validation cohort. RESULTS The derivation cohort included 25,736 individuals followed for up to 11 years (180,497 person-years; 86% followed for ≥5 years). At baseline, mean age was 62 years, median diabetes duration 5 years, and median HbA1c 7.2% (55 mmol/mol); 37% had albuminuria; and median estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was 77 mL/min/1.73 m2. There were 637 ESRD events (2.5%) during follow-up. Models that included sex, ethnicity, age, diabetes duration, albuminuria, serum creatinine, systolic blood pressure, HbA1c, smoking status, and previous cardiovascular disease status performed well with good discrimination and calibration in the derivation cohort and the validation cohort (n = 5,877) (C-statistics 0.89–0.92), improving predictive performance compared with previous models. CONCLUSIONS These 5-year renal risk models performed very well in two large primary care populations with type 2 diabetes. More accurate risk stratification could facilitate earlier intervention than using eGFR and/or albuminuria alone.
Secreted NS1 of Dengue Virus Attaches to the Surface of Cells via Interactions with Heparan Sulfate and Chondroitin Sulfate E

Dengue virus (DENV) nonstructural protein-1 (NS1) is a secreted glycoprotein that is absent from viral particles but accumulates in the supernatant and on the plasma membrane of cells during infection. Immune recognition of cell surface NS1 on endothelial cells has been hypothesized as a mechanism for the vascular leakage that occurs during severe DENV infection. However, it has remained unclear how NS1 becomes associated with the plasma membrane, as it contains no membrane-spanning sequence motif. Using flow cytometric and ELISA-based binding assays and mutant cell lines lacking selective glycosaminoglycans, we show that soluble NS1 binds back to the surface of uninfected cells primarily via interactions with heparan sulfate and chondroitin sulfate E. DENV NS1 binds directly to the surface of many types of epithelial and mesenchymal cells yet attaches poorly to most peripheral blood cells. Moreover, DENV NS1 preferentially binds to cultured human microvascular compared to aortic or umbilical cord vein endothelial cells. This binding specificity was confirmed in situ as DENV NS1 bound to lung and liver but not intestine or brain endothelium of mouse tissues. Differential binding of soluble NS1 by tissue endothelium and subsequent recognition by anti-NS1 antibodies could contribute to the selective vascular leakage syndrome that occurs during severe secondary DENV infection.
F Ur Mathematik in Den Naturwissenschaften Leipzig Evolving Neurocontrollers for Balancing an Inverted Pendulum Evolving Neurocontrollers for Balancing an Inverted Pendulum

The paper introduces an evolutionary algorithm, that is tailored to generate neural networks functioning as nonlinear controllers. Network size and architecture as well as network parameters like weights and bias terms are developed simultaneously. There is no quantization of inputs, outputs or internal parameters. Diierent kinds of evolved networks are presented that solve the pole-balancing problem, i.e. balancing an inverted pendulum , with good benchmark performance. Controllers solving the problem for reduced phase space information (only two inputs) use a recurrent con-nectivity structure and are very small in size. The typical behavior of controllers is characterized by the rst return map of their control signals.
Dynamics of Stars and Globular Clusters in M87

We examine the dynamics of the stars and globular clusters in the nearby giant elliptical galaxy M87 and constrain the mass distribution, using all the available data over a large range of radii, including higher order moments of the stellar line-of-sight velocity distributions and the discrete velocities of over 200 globular clusters. We introduce an extension of spherical orbit modeling methods that makes full use of all the information in the data and provides very robust constraints on the mass models. We conclusively rule out a constant mass-to-light ratio model and infer that the radial density profile of the galaxy's dark halo falls off more slowly than r-2, suggesting that the potential of the Virgo Cluster is already dominant at r ~ 300′′ ~ 20 kpc.
High prevalence of celiac disease in autoimmune hepatitis detected by anti‐tissue tranglutaminase autoantibodies

Celiac disease (CD) may be found in association with other autoimmune diseases. We investigated the relation between autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) and CD by assessing the prevalence of IgA and IgG anti‐tissue transglutaminase (tTG) antibodies in AIH, and by verifying whether the findings were associated with clinical and histological features of CD. Forty‐seven consecutive patients with AIH (type I: n = 39; type II: n = 8) were studied. One hundred patients with chronic hepatitis C, and 120 healthy blood donors were also studied as controls. We analyzed sera for the presence of IgA and IgG anti‐tTG antibodies using a specific human recombinant tTG immunoenzymatic assay. Anti‐tTG positive patients and controls were further tested for anti‐endomysium antibodies (EMA) and HLA typing, and those found positive by either of these tests underwent duodenal biopsy to confirm a possible diagnosis of CD. Three of the 47 AIH patients (6.4%) were positive for IgA anti‐tTG and EMA antibodies, and were subsequently confirmed to be affected with CD by small‐bowel biopsy findings. No IgG anti‐tTG positivity was found in the AIH patients. None of the controls were positive for IgA anti‐tTG, and only one with chronic hepatitis C had a low positive reaction for IgG anti‐tTG, which resulted as a false positive. The crude prevalence rate of CD in AIH was 63.8 per 1,000 (95% CI, 13.2–186.1), and it was significantly higher than that found in the general population in Italy (4.9 per 1,000; 95% CI, 2.8–7.8). The results of this study showed a high prevalence of CD in patients with AIH. For this reason, early serological screening testing for CD is strongly recommended for all AIH patients. J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 19:6–10, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Cloning of the Trichoderma reesei cDNA Encoding a Glucuronan Lyase Belonging to a Novel Polysaccharide Lyase Family

ABSTRACT The filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei produces glucuronan lyase (TrGL) when it is grown on β-(1→4)-polyglucuronate (cellouronate) as a sole carbon source. The cDNA encoding TrGL was cloned, and the recombinant enzyme was heterologously expressed in Pichia pastoris. The cDNA of TrGL includes a 777-bp open reading frame encoding a 20-amino-acid signal peptide and the 238-amino-acid mature protein. The amino acid sequence showed no similarity to the amino acid sequences of previously described functional proteins, indicating that the enzyme should be classified in a novel polysaccharide lyase (PL) family. Recombinant TrGL catalyzed depolymerization of cellouronate endolytically by β-elimination and was highly specific for cellouronate. The enzyme was most active at pH 6.5 and 50°C, and its activity and thermostability increased in the presence of Ca2+, suggesting that its calcium dependence is similar to that of other PLs, such as pectate lyases.
Space-time cluster combining for UWA communications

Underwater acoustic (UWA) channels are characterized by spreading of received signals in space (angle of arrival) and delay. The spread is often limited to a small number of clusters. For combining signals spread in delay, equalizers are used. To separate space clusters, antenna arrays are used. In this paper, a receiver is investigated that exploits space-time clustering in UWA channels. The investigated receiver is designed for a communication system using guard-free orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signals with superimposed pilot symbols and a vertical linear array of hydrophones. We investigate and compare performance of several space-time processing techniques and show that the space-time cluster combining demonstrates the best performance. The comparison has been done using signals recorded on a 14-element vertical antenna array in sea trials at a distance of 105 km transmitted by a fast moving transducer. In these conditions, with the receiver, exploiting the cluster combining, error free transmission is achieved at a data rate of 0.33 bits/s/Hz. We also show that the cluster combining approach allows reduction in the complexity of the receiver.