Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multi-layer multi-instance kernel for video concept detection

In video concept detection, most existing methods have not well studied the intrinsic hierarchical structure of video content. However, unlike flat attribute-value data used in many existing methods, video is essentially a structured media with multi-layer representation. For example, a video can be represented by a hierarchical structure including, from large to small, shot, key-frame, and region. Moreover, it fits the typical Multi-Instance (MI) setting in which the "bag-instance" correspondence is embedded among contiguous layers. We call such multi-layer structure and the "bag-instance" relation embedded in the structure as Multi-Layer Multi-Instance (MLMI) setting in this paper. We formulate video concept detection as an MLMI learning problem in which a rooted tree with MLMI nature embedded is devised to represent a video segment. Furthermore, by fusing the information from different layers, we construct a novel MLMI kernel to measure the similarities between the instances in the same and different layers. In contrast to traditional MI learning, both the Multi-Layer structure and Multi-Instance relations are leveraged simultaneously in the proposed kernel. We applied MLMI kernel to concept detection task on TRECVID 2005 corpus and reported superior performance (+25% in Mean Average Precision) to standard Support Vector Machine based approaches.
Usage of affective computing in recommender systems

In this paper we present the results of three investigations of our broad research on the usage of affect and personality in recommender systems. We improved the accuracy of a content-based recommender system with the inclusion of affective parameters in user and item modeling. We improved the accuracy of a content filtering recommender system under the cold start conditions with the introduction of a personality-based user similarity measure. Furthermore we developed a system for implicit tagging of images with affective metadata.
Salacinol and Related Analogs: New Leads for Type 2 Diabetes Therapeutic Candidates from the Thai Traditional Natural Medicine Salacia chinensis

The antidiabetic effect of a hot water extract of stems of Salacia chinensis (SCE) was evaluated in vivo in KK-Ay mice, a typical type 2 diabetes mellitus mice model. Administration of CE-2 dietary feed containing 0.25 and/or 0.50% of SCE for three weeks to KK-Ay mice significantly suppressed the elevation of both blood glucose and HbA1c levels without significant changes in body weight or food intake. Glucose tolerance was improved by administration to KK-Ay mice for 27 days of AIN93M purified dietary feed containing 0.12% of SCE. No suppressive effect with respect to HbA1c level was observed when AIN93M/Glc dietary feed in which all digestible glucides were replaced with glucose was administered with SCE. Thus, α-glucosidase inhibitory activity approved as the mechanism of action of the antidiabetic effect of SCE by in vitro investigation was reconfirmed also in in vivo studies. Evaluation of the α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of the active constituents, salacinol (1), kotalanol (3), and neokotalanol (4), by employing human α-glucosidases revealed that these compounds inhibited them as potently (IC50 = 3.9–4.9 μM for maltase) as they inhibited rat small intestinal α-glucosidase. The principal sulfonium constituents (1–4) were highly stable in an artificial gastric juice. In addition, 1–4 were hardly absorbed from the intestine in an experiment using the in situ rat ligated intestinal loop model. The results indicate that these sulfoniums are promising leads for a new type of anti-diabetic agents.
Relationship Between Opacity of Cytomegalovirus Retinitis Lesion Borders and Severity of Immunodeficiency Among People With AIDS

Purpose To evaluate risk factors for severity of cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis lesion whitening (opacity), using a standardized scoring system. Methods We performed a cross-sectional, observational investigation of all individuals with newly diagnosed AIDS-related CMV retinitis in three randomized clinical trials and one prospective observational study. Opacity was scored by masked readers, using a prospectively defined ordinal 6-point scale. Demographic factors, laboratory data (CD4+, CD8+ T-lymphocyte counts, human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] blood levels), and lesion characteristics (location, size) were compared to the highest opacity score assigned to either eye. Among eyes with active lesions (scores ≥3), factors associated with severe opacity (scores 5, 6) were identified. Results There were 299 participants (401 eyes with CMV retinitis). In one or more comparisons, increased opacity was associated with lower CD4+ and lower CD8+ T-lymphocyte counts, higher HIV blood level, lack of antiretroviral therapy, male sex, race/ethnicity, and bilateral disease. In eyes with active disease, severe opacity was associated with lower CD4+ T-lymphocyte count, higher HIV blood level, older age, Karnofsky score, lesion size, and bilateral disease. No relationship was identified between opacity and lesion location. Conclusions Lesion border opacity (resulting from CMV activity) reflects level of immune function; as immunodeficiency becomes worse, CMV activity (and opacity) increases. The positive relationship between opacity and HIV blood level may reflect both immunodeficiency and increased CMV activity caused by transactivation of CMV by HIV. Scoring of opacity may be a useful, standard measure for continued study of CMV retinitis across different settings and populations. (Clinicaltrials.gov number for the HPMPC CMV Retinitis Trial: NCT00000142; Clinicaltrials.gov number for the Monoclonal Antibody CMV Retinitis Trial: NCT00000135; Clinicaltrials.gov number for the Ganciclovir-Cidofovir CMV Retinitis Trial: NCT0000014; Clinicaltrials.gov number for the Longitudinal Study of the Ocular Complications of AIDS: NCT00000168.)
Conformational and functional effects of MPA‐CdTe quantum dots on SOD: Evaluating the mechanism of oxidative stress induced by quantum dots in the mouse nephrocytes

The application of quantum dots (QDs) is restricted by the biosafety issue. QDs contribute to the adverse effects of organisms probably because of the ability to induce oxidative stress via changing the activity of antioxidant enzyme, for example, superoxide dismutase (SOD). But the underlying molecular mechanisms still remain unclear. This study investigated the harmful effects of oxidative stress induced by mercaptopropionic acid capped CdTe QDs (MPA‐CdTe QDs) on the mouse primary nephrocytes as well as the structure and function of SOD molecule and explored the underlying molecular mechanism. After 24‐hour MPA‐CdTe QD exposure, the activation level of extracellular regulated protein kinase (ERK) signaling pathway and cysteinyl‐directed aspartate‐specific proteases (Caspases) significantly increased, which led to the increasing level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and cell apoptosis; the group pretreated with ROS scavenger N‐acetyl‐L‐cysteine (NAC) significantly reduced the apoptotic cell percentage, indicating that ROS played a critical role in QD‐induced cytotoxicity. Further molecular experiments showed that the interacting processes between the MPA‐CdTe QDs and SOD were spontaneous which changed the conformation, secondary structure of SOD. The interaction significantly resulted in the tightening of polypeptide chains and the shrinkage of SOD, leading to the inhibition of molecular SOD activity. This study demonstrates the adverse effects of QDs, revealing their potential risk in biomedical applications.
A model realization of self‐organized criticality for plasma confinement

A model for plasma transport near marginal stability is presented. The model is based on subcri‐ tical resistive pressure‐gradient‐driven turbulence. Three‐dimensional nonlinear calculations based on this model show effective transport for subcritical mean profiles. This model exhibits some of the characteristic properties of self‐organized criticality. Perturbative transport techniques are used to elucidate the transport properties. Propagation of positive and negative pulses is studied. The observed results suggest a possible explanation of the apparent nonlocal effects ob‐ served with perturbative experiments in tokamaks.
Performance evaluation of a class of M-estimators for surface parameter estimation in noisy range data

Depth maps are frequently analyzed as if, to an adequate approximation, the errors are normally, identically, and independently distributed. This noise model does not consider at least two types of anomalies encountered in sampling: A few large deviations in the data, often thought of as outliers; and a uniformly distributed error component arising from rounding and quantization. The theory of robust statistics formally addresses these problems and is efficiently used in a robust sequential estimator (RSE) of our own design. The specific implementation was based on a t-distribution error model, and this work extends this concept to several well known M-estimators. We evaluate the performance of these estimators under different noise conditions and highlight the effects of tuning constants and the necessity of simultaneous scale and parameter estimation.
Ribozyme-mediated, multiplex CRISPR gene editing and CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) in rodent-infectious Plasmodium yoelii

Malaria remains a major global health issue, affecting millions and killing hundreds of thousands of people annually. Efforts to break the transmission cycle of the causal Plasmodium parasite, and to cure those that are afflicted, rely upon functional characterization of genes essential to the parasite's growth and development. These studies are often based upon manipulations of the parasite genome to disrupt or modify a gene of interest to understand its importance and function. However, these approaches can be limited by the availability of selectable markers and the time required to generate transgenic parasites. Moreover, there also is a risk of disrupting native gene regulatory elements with the introduction of exogenous sequences. To address these limitations, we have developed CRISPR-RGR, a Streptococcus pyogenes (Sp)Cas9-based gene editing system for Plasmodium that utilizes a ribozyme–guide–ribozyme (RGR) single guide RNA (sgRNA) expression strategy with RNA polymerase II promoters. Using rodent-infectious Plasmodium yoelii, we demonstrate that both gene disruptions and coding sequence insertions are efficiently generated, producing marker-free parasites with homology arms as short as 80–100 bp. Additionally, we find that the common practice of using one sgRNA can produce both unintended plasmid integration and desired locus replacement editing events, whereas the use of two sgRNAs results in only locus replacement editing. Lastly, we show that CRISPR-RGR can be used for CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) by binding catalytically dead SpCas9 (dSpCas9) to the region upstream of a gene of interest, resulting in a position-dependent, but strand-independent reduction in gene expression. This robust and flexible system facilitates efficient genetic characterizations of rodent-infectious Plasmodium species.
Conformation and Permeability: Cyclic Hexapeptide Diastereomers

Conformational ensembles of eight cyclic hexapeptide diastereomers in explicit cyclohexane, chloroform, and water were analyzed by multicanonical molecular dynamics (McMD) simulations. Free-energy landscapes (FELs) for each compound and solvent were obtained from the molecular shapes and principal component analysis at T = 300 K; detailed analysis of the conformational ensembles and flexibility of the FELs revealed that permeable compounds have different structural profiles even for a single stereoisomeric change. The average solvent-accessible surface area (SASA) in cyclohexane showed excellent correlation with the cell permeability, whereas this correlation was weaker in chloroform. The average SASA in water correlated with the aqueous solubility. The average polar surface area did not correlate with cell permeability in these solvents. A possible strategy for designing permeable cyclic peptides from FELs obtained from McMD simulations is proposed.
Carbon Isotope Ratios in M10 Giants

We measured carbon abundances and the 12C/13C ratio in 31 giant branch stars with previous CN and CH band measurements that span −2.33 < MV < 0.18 in the globular cluster M10 (NGC 6254). Abundances were determined by comparing CO features at ∼2.3 μm and specifically the 13CO bandhead at 2.37 μm, to synthetic spectra generated with MOOG. The observed spectra were obtained with GNIRS on Gemini North with a resolution of R ≈ 3500. The carbon abundances derived from the IR spectra agree with previous [C/Fe] measurements found using CN and CH features at the near-UV/blue wavelength range. We found an average carbon isotope ratio of 12C/13C = for first generation stars (CN-normal; 13 stars total) and 12C/13C = for second generation stars (CN-enhanced; 15 stars). We therefore find no statistically significant difference in 12C/13C ratio between stars in either population for the observed magnitude range. Finally, we created models of the expected carbon, nitrogen, and 12C/13C surface abundance evolution on the red giant branch due to thermohaline mixing using the MESA stellar evolution code. The efficiency of the thermohaline mixing must be increased to a factor of ≈60 to match [C/Fe] abundances, and by a factor of ≈666 to match 12C/13C ratios. We could not simultaneously fit the evolution of both carbon and the 12C/13C ratio with models using the same thermohaline efficiency parameter.
Preventing Information Leakage from Virtual Machines' Memory in IaaS Clouds

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) provides virtual machines (VMs) to the users and its system administra- tors often manage the user VMs using privileged VMs called the management VM. However, the administrators are not always trustworthy from users' point of view. If the administrators allow outside attackers to intrude in the management VM, the attackers can easily steal sensitive information from user VMs' memory. In this paper, we propose VMCrypt, which preserves the data secrecy of VMs' memory using the trusted virtual machine monitor. VMCrypt provides a dual memory view: a normal view for a user VM and an encrypted view for the management VM. The encrypted view prevents sensitive information from leaking to the management VM. To support the existing management software for para-virtualization, VMCrypt exceptionally provides a normal view to the management VM only for several memory regions, which are automatically identified and maintained during the life cycle of a user VM. We have implemented VMCrypt in Xen and our experimental results show that the downtime due to live migration was still less than one second.
Fracture resistance of the veneering on inlay-retained zirconia ceramic fixed partial dentures

Aims. The aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate the fracture load of zircon frames veneered with a polymer glass holding box inlay-retained fixed partial dentures (FPDs). The influence of the position of the frame and the span length was tested. Additionally, the fracture load values of zircon frames veneered with a press ceramic were evaluated. Material and methods. Box inlay cavities were prepared on mandibular molars and premolars. Forty-eight FPDs were manufactured using industrially prefabricated zircon frames veneered with the polymer glass Artglass®. Sixteen FPDs received individually manufactured CAD/CAM zircon frames veneered with a press ceramic. All FPDs underwent thermal cycling and mechanical loading (ML). The load to fracture was measured and fracture sites were evaluated. Results. Four polymer veneered FPDs showed fractures in the veneering material after ML. The mean fracture resistance ranged from 531 N to 727 N. No significant influence of frame localization could be observed. Significantly greater fracture resistance values were found in the ceramic veneered FPDs (1276 N to 1413 N). There was no significant effect of span length in the polymer veneered group or in the all-ceramic group, with the exception of a significant peak in fracture load value for intermediate span lengths in the polymer group with a localized occlusal zircon frame. Conclusions. Polymer veneered FPDs with Y-TZP frames showed acceptable fracture resistance values, but they cannot yet be unreservedly recommended for clinical use. Fracture values for CAD/CAM manufactured Y-TZP frames combined with a press ceramic deserve further clinical investigation.
LivDet in Action - Fingerprint Liveness Detection Competition 2019

The International Fingerprint liveness Detection Competition (LivDet) is an open and well-acknowledged meeting point of academies and private companies that deal with the problem of distinguishing images coming from reproductions of fingerprints made of artificial materials and images relative to real fingerprints. In this edition of LivDet we invited the competitors to propose integrated algorithms with matching systems. The goal was to investigate at which extent this integration impact on the whole performance. Twelve algorithms were submitted to the competition, eight of which worked on integrated systems.
ASKAP commissioning observations of the GAMA 23 field

Abstract We have observed the G23 field of the Galaxy AndMass Assembly (GAMA) survey using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) in its commissioning phase to validate the performance of the telescope and to characterise the detected galaxy populations. This observation covers ~48 deg2 with synthesised beam of 32.7 arcsec by 17.8 arcsec at 936MHz, and ~39 deg2 with synthesised beam of 15.8 arcsec by 12.0 arcsec at 1320MHz. At both frequencies, the root-mean-square (r.m.s.) noise is ~0.1 mJy/beam. We combine these radio observations with the GAMA galaxy data, which includes spectroscopy of galaxies that are i-band selected with a magnitude limit of 19.2. Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) infrared (IR) photometry is used to determine which galaxies host an active galactic nucleus (AGN). In properties including source counts, mass distributions, and IR versus radio luminosity relation, the ASKAP-detected radio sources behave as expected. Radio galaxies have higher stellar mass and luminosity in IR, optical, and UV than other galaxies. We apply optical and IR AGN diagnostics and find that they disagree for ~30% of the galaxies in our sample. We suggest possible causes for the disagreement. Some cases can be explained by optical extinction of the AGN, but for more than half of the cases we do not find a clear explanation. Radio sources aremore likely (~6%) to have an AGN than radio quiet galaxies (~1%), but the majority of AGN are not detected in radio at this sensitivity.
Effect of surgical rib fixation for rib fracture on mortality: A multicenter, propensity score matching analysis.

BACKGROUND Rib fracture is a common injury and can be associated with complications and a high mortality rate. There has been growing interest in surgical rib fixation as a treatment for rib fracture. However, results from previous studies are conflicting, and conclusive results regarding the efficacy of surgical rib fixation for rib fracture are lacking. This study aimed to investigate if surgical rib fixation improves prognosis in patients with traumatic rib fractures. METHODS Using the Japan Trauma Data Bank, a nationwide trauma registry, we identified patients aged ≥ 18 years with rib fracture between 2004 and 2015. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate a propensity score to predict reception of surgical rib fixation. We used a 1:4 propensity score matching analysis to compare patients who underwent surgical rib fixation with those who did not. RESULTS Overall, 236,698 patients were registered in the database, and 37,571 were eligible for propensity score matching analysis. This analysis included 147 patients who underwent surgical rib fixation and 588 as controls. The in-hospital mortality rate was significantly lower in patients who underwent surgical rib fixation than in those who did not (4.8% vs. 16.2%, respectively; absolute difference: -11.4%; 95% confidence interval: -14.8% to -8.0%). CONCLUSIONS This study showed that surgical fixation may reduce in-hospital mortality in patients with rib fracture. Surgical rib fixation may offer a better modality for the management of selected patients with rib fracture.Study typeTherapeutic Study. Retrospective comparative study.Level of evidenceLevel III.
Entropy analysis of heart rate variability and its application to recognize major depressive disorder: A pilot study

BACKGROUND: The current method to evaluate major depressive disorder (MDD) relies on subjective clinical interviews and self-questionnaires. OBJECTIVE: Autonomic imbalance in MDD patients is characterized using entropy measures of heart rate variability (HRV). A machine learning approach for screening depression based on the entropy is demonstrated. METHODS: The participants experience five experimental phases: baseline (BASE), stress task (MAT), stress task recovery (REC1), relaxation task (RLX), and relaxation task recovery (REC2). The four entropy indices, approximate entropy, sample entropy, fuzzy entropy, and Shannon entropy, are extracted for each phase, and a total of 20 features are used. A support vector machine classifier and recursive feature elimination are employed for classification. RESULTS: The entropy features are lower in the MDD group; however, the disease does not have a significant effect. Experimental tasks significantly affect the features. The entropy did not recover during REC1. The differences in the entropy features between the two groups increased after MAT and showed the largest gap in REC2. We achieved 70% accuracy, 64% sensitivity, and 76% specificity with three optimal features during RLX and REC2. CONCLUSION: Monitoring of HRV complexity changes when a subject experiences autonomic arousal and recovery can potentially facilitate objective depression recognition.
CORRECTION

The surgical option for treatment of a patient with screen detected colorectal cancer (CRC) from a family with hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) is subtotal colectomy or segmental resection. Using decision analysis, we showed that subtotal colectomy performed at a young age leads to an increased life expectancy (LE) of 1–2.3 years. Based on these results and the high risk of developing a second CRC, we concluded that if CRC is detected in a young patient participating in a surveillance programme, colectomy with ileorectal anastomosis seems to be the treatment of choice. A French Committee on HNPCC commented on our study.1 Firstly, they stated that using quality adjusted LE would be a more accurate approach. We agree completely but studies on quality of life (QOL) did not specifically consider HNPCC patients. In …