Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A transformation-aware perceptual image metric

Predicting human visual perception has several applications such as compression, rendering, editing and retargeting. Current approaches however, ignore the fact that the human visual system compensates for geometric transformations, e. g. , we see that an image and a rotated copy are identical. Instead, they will report a large, false-positive difference. At the same time, if the transformations become too strong or too spatially incoherent, comparing two images indeed gets increasingly difficult. Between these two extrema, we propose a system to quantify the effect of transformations, not only on the perception of image differences, but also on saliency. To this end, we first fit local homographies to a given optical flow field and then convert this field into a field of elementary transformations such as translation, rotation, scaling, and perspective. We conduct a perceptual experiment quantifying the increase of difficulty when compensating for elementary transformations. Transformation entropy is proposed as a novel measure of complexity in a flow field. This representation is then used for applications, such as comparison of non-aligned images, where transformations cause threshold elevation, and detection of salient transformations.
Imagining the Unimaginable Faces by Deconvolutional Networks

We tackle the challenge of constructing 64 pixels for each individual pixel of a thumbnail face image. We show that such an aggressive super-resolution objective can be attained by taking advantage of the global context and making the best use of the prior information portrayed by the image class. Our input image is so small (e.g., $16\times 16$ pixels) that it can be considered as a patch of itself. Thus, conventional patch-matching-based super-resolution solutions are unsuitable. In order to enhance the resolution while enforcing the global context, we incorporate a pixel-wise appearance similarity objective into a deconvolutional neural network, which allows efficient learning of mappings between low-resolution input images and their high-resolution counterparts in the training data set. Furthermore, the deconvolutional network blends the learned high-resolution constituent parts in an authentic manner, where the face structure is naturally imposed and the global context is preserved. To account for the possible artifacts in upsampled feature maps, we employ a sub-network composed of additional convolutional layers. During training, we use roughly aligned images (only eye locations), yet demonstrate that our network has the capacity to super-resolve face images regardless of pose and facial expression variations. This significantly reduces the requirement of precisely face alignments in the data set. Owing to the network topology we apply, our method is robust to translational misalignments. In addition, our method is able to upsample rotational unaligned faces with data augmentation. Our extensive experimental analysis manifests that our method achieves more appealing and superior results than the state of the art.
Enabling Run-Time Managed Distributed Mobile Computing

The increasing pervasiveness of mobile devices combined with their replacement rate, led us to deal with the disposal of an increasing amount of still working electronic devices. This work proposes an approach to mitigate this problem by extending the mobile devices' lifetime, by integrating them as part of a distributed mobile computing system. Thanks also to the growing computational power of such devices, this paradigm opens up the opportunity to deploy mobile applications in a distributed manner. This, without forgetting the energy budget management as a paramount objective. In this work, we built a proof-of-concept, based on the extension of a run-time resource manager to support Android applications. We introduced a energy-aware device selection policy to dispatch the application workload according to both device capabilities and run-time status. Experimental results show that, as well as increasing the utilization of multiple mobile devices available to the single user, using an energy-efficiency and distributed approach can increase the battery duration between 12% and 36%.
Scalable Detection of Concept Drifts on Data Streams with Parallel Adaptive Windowing

Machine learning techniques for data stream analysis suffer from concept drifts such as changed user preferences, varying weather conditions, or economic changes. These concept drifts cause wrong predictions and lead to incorrect business decisions. Concept drift detection methods such as adaptive windowing (Adwin) allow for adapting to concept drifts on the fly. In this paper, we examine Adwin in detail and point out its throughput bottlenecks.We then introduce several parallelization alternatives to address these bottlenecks. Our optimizations lead to a speedup of two orders of magnitude over the original Adwin implementation. Thus, we explore parallel adaptive windowing to provide scalable concept detection for high-velocity data streams with millions of tuples per second.
The effects of C5-substituted 2,4-diaminoquinazolines on selected transcript expression in spinal muscular atrophy cells

C5-substituted 2,4-diaminoquinazolines (2,4-DAQs) ameliorate disease severity in SMA mice. It is uncertain, however, that these compounds increase SMN protein levels in vivo even though they were identified as activators of the SMN2 promoter. These compounds also regulate the expression of other transcripts in neuroblastoma cells. In this study, we investigate the mechanism by which the 2,4-DAQs regulate the expression of SMN2 as well as other targets. D156844, D158872, D157161 and D157495 (RG3039) increased SMN2 promoter-driven reporter gene activity by at least 3-fold in NSC-34 cells. These compounds, however, did not significantly increase SMN2 mRNA levels in type II SMA fibroblasts nor in NSC-34 cells, although there was a trend for these compounds increasing SMN protein in SMA fibroblasts. The number of SMN-containing gems was increased in SMA fibroblasts in response to 2,4-DAQ treatment in a dose-dependent manner. ATOH7 mRNA levels were significantly lower in type II SMA fibroblasts. 2,4-DAQs significantly increased ATOH7, DRNT1 and DRTN2 transcript levels in type II SMA fibroblasts and restored ATOH7 levels to those observed in healthy fibroblasts. These compounds also increase Atoh7 mRNA expression in NSC-34 cells. In conclusion, 2,4-DAQs regulate SMN2 by increasing protein levels and gem localization. They also increase ATOH7, DRNT1 and DRNT2 transcript levels. This study reveals that the protective effects of 2,4-DAQs in SMA may be independent of SMN2 gene regulation. These compounds could be used in concert with a proven SMN2 inducer to develop a multi-faceted approach to treating SMA.
Optimal Golomb-Rice Code Extension for Lossless Coding of Low-Entropy Exponentially Distributed Sources

This paper presents an extension of Golomb-Rice (GR) code for coding low-entropy sources, which the gap between their entropy and the conventional GR code length gets larger. We mention here the following four facts related to the proposed code, extended-domain GR (XDGR) code: it is represented by multiple code trees, based on the idea of almost instantaneous fixed-to-variable length codes, with its algorithm being a generalization of unary coding; its structure naturally contains run-length coding; the gap between the entropy and its average code length is theoretically guaranteed to be asymptotically negligible as the entropy of the exponentially distributed sources tends to zero; and its coding parameter, corresponding to the negative-domain Rice parameter of GR code, can be estimated from the input source-symbol sequence. Experimental evaluations are also presented supporting the theorems. The proposed XDGR code, having simple algorithm and high compression performance, is expected to be used for many coding applications, which deals with exponentially distributed sources at low bit rates.
Consolidating Enterprise Architecture Management Research

Enterprise architecture (EA) is a description of an enterprise from an integrated business and IT perspective. Enterprise architecture management (EAM) is a management practice of using EA aiming to achieve business/IT alignment. Popular EA literature states that EA always includes a documentation of current and future states of enterprises and describes EAM as an iterative step-wise process. However, plenty of evidence suggests that the real situation in EA practice and theory is much more diverse but a consolidated understanding of EAM is absent. In this paper we consolidate EAM research and present (1) a reasonable definition of EA taking into account all that we know about EA practice and (2) a consolidated view of EAM describing what we know about it beyond the most popular approaches. We also discuss the relationship between our consolidated view of EAM and the previous research, its implications and directions for future research.
Graphene Oxide for Biomedical Applications

Graphene oxide (GO) is one of the most promising functional materials used in various applications like energy storage (batteries and supercapacitors) sensors, photocatalysis, electronics and in biomedicine. The last 10 years literature on GO for biomedical applications revealed and confirmed the scope of its potential capabilities as biomaterial. GO alone and its modified form with different materials (surface functionalization, immobilization of nanoparticles and composite formation) also proved as a multifunctional candidate for medical biotechnology. A material for its use in biomedical applications must be biocompatible and nontoxic to the living cells. Although there are some concerns about the toxicity of the GO in specific cases, a dosage range and size effects reported in the literature to use it as a nontoxic materials. In view of all these points, an effort has been made to review and emphasize the scope of GO as a biomedical agent for the applications like targeted drug delivery, cancer theranostics, bioimaging and biosensors etc. Further, potential applications along with the future scope and limitations of GO have also been highlighted in this review.
FORMULATION OF COUPLED PROBLEMS OF THERMOELASTICITY BY FINITE ELKMENTS

When designing mechanical equipment, in numerous cases thermal effects have to be taken into consideration besides mechanical ones, especially if they are transient effects. In engineering practice these thermomechanical problems can be described by the different theories of thermoelasticity with adequate accuracy. This paper, after a brief survey of the basic equations of thermoelasticity, demonstrates its formulation by the finite element method.
Chapter 32 Fifty Years of Progress in Temperament Research

As modern-era research on temperament approaches its 50th anniversary, it is worth remembering some of the forces that propelled temperament into the mainstream of research in psychology, psychiatry, neuroscience, and genetics. Broadly, the emergence of modern temperament research owes to two strands of study with somewhat different goals and emphases. One strand has its origin in child psychology and psychiatry. As described by Rothbart (Chapter 1, this volume), precursors of this tradition included Gesell (1928), Shirley (1933), Bergman and Escalona (1949; Escalona, 1968), and Meili (1957). However, the systematic study of infant and child temperament was not to take off until Thomas and Chess launched their highly influential New York Longitudinal Study, first extensively described 50 years ago in Behavioral Individuality in Early Childhood (Thomas, Chess, Birch, Hertzig, & Korn, 1963). Somewhat paradoxically, the authors initially did not see themselves as temperament researchers. Rather, they set out to study “primary reaction patterns” that could be seen in infants. Their interest was in studying the implications of individual differences in these early patterns for normal and abnormal psychological development, and in exploring the clinical benefits of seeing the child as an autonomous agent (rather than merely as a reflection of parental influences). It was only later that the researchers adopted the term temperament. With its background in child psychiatry and pediatrics, this work paved the way for developmentally oriented work on temperament—an almost entirely new genre of temperament research (Rothbart, Chapter 1, this volume). The second strand had more in common with traditional temperament research, notably in its interest in the hereditary, constitutional, neurobiological, and evolutionary origins of temperament. As described in detail by Zuckerman (Chapter 3, this volume), this strand owed much to the foundational contributions of, among others, Kretschmer (1925), Sheldon and Stevens (1942), Diamond (1957), Eysenck (1967), Gray (1973), Zuckerman (1979), and Strelau (1983). In 1975, A. H. Buss and Plomin provided an influential blend of these two largely unrelated strands of research (Buss & Plomin, 1975; see also Rowe & Plomin, 1977). Placing research on the heritability and biology of adult temperament and the study of child temperament under one roof galvanized the field and helped to forge the identity of the field of temperament as it is known today. Chapter 32
Experimental Study on Acoustic Emission Characteristic of Raw Coal Failure Under Splitting Test and Uniaxial Compression

The characteristics laws of acoustic emission for the whole coal failure process under splitting test and uniaxial compression were studied comparatively.The results show that,in the process of uniaxial compression,acoustic emission signals are relatively few at the beginning of the stress,which increases dramatically during the late elastic and plastic deformation stages.The signals are the strongest during the failure stage.In the process of splitting test,acoustic emission signals are detected during the crack accelerated non-linear elastic deformation stage,the energy and pulse numbers are in the peak during the failure stage.However,the acoustic emission signal has a time lag.Compared with the uniaxial compression,acoustic emission signals produce later in the process of splitting test,the energy of acoustic emission is relatively lower while the pulse numbers of acoustic emission increase relatively.In addition,the pulse number is larger during fracture compaction stage in the uniaxial compression whereas the similar phenomenon has not been observed in the splitting test.
Online temporal synchronization of pose and endoscopic video streams

Computer assisted navigation systems that combine real-time endoscopy images with pre-operative volumetric data sets aim at improving the physician's understanding of the underlying anatomical structures. To achieve accurate and safe guidance these systems are required to provide a consistent representation of the physical world. This implies that all data streams are synchronized. In our case, we are dealing with synchronization of tracking data and a video stream obtained by a tracked endoscope. Previously, such synchronization was obtained pre-operatively using phantoms. This type of approach assumes a constant latency between the data streams and is less desirable for clinical use due to the required additional hardware. In this work we describe an online temporal synchronization method. The method is based on the observation that in clinical practice the endoscope is not in constant motion. By identifying corresponding stationary points in the video and tracking streams temporal synchronization can be performed online in a manner that is transparent to the user. Initial evaluation of our approach in a laboratory study has shown that it provides comparable estimates to a phantom based approach we had previously proposed.
LS-DYNA ® R 7 : Free Surface and Multi-phase Analysis for Incompressible Flows

LS-DYNA R7 introduced an incompressible flow solver which can track flow interfaces such as free surfaces or the interface between two fluids. Several industrial applications may be simulated with these features. In the area of free surface flows the effects of the lighter phase are neglected, i.e. in the case of water-air interfaces the air could be ignored if its effect does not change significantly the dynamics of the water phase. Some typical problems are wave propagation, dam break, sloshing problems and green water on decks. On the other hand problems where both phases should be taken into account are mixing problems, bubble dynamics and lubrication problems among others. In this work examples of both problems will be presented and explained. The set up process as well as the post processing will be detailed. Validation examples will be shown and compared to analytical or experimental solutions. Finally the current development status for some of the multiphase features will be discussed.
Interactive Effects of Nitrogen and Phosphorus on Soil Microbial Communities in a Tropical Forest

Elevated nitrogen (N) deposition in humid tropical regions may exacerbate phosphorus (P) deficiency in forests on highly weathered soils. However, it is not clear how P availability affects soil microbes and soil carbon (C), or how P processes interact with N deposition in tropical forests. We examined the effects of N and P additions on soil microbes and soil C pools in a N-saturated old-growth tropical forest in southern China to test the hypotheses that (1) N and P addition will have opposing effects on soil microbial biomass and activity, (2) N and P addition will alter the composition of the microbial community, (3) the addition of N and P will have interactive effects on soil microbes and (4) addition-mediated changes in microbial communities would feed back on soil C pools. Phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis was used to quantify the soil microbial community following four treatments: Control, N addition (15 g N m−2 yr−1), P addition (15 g P m−2 yr−1), and N&P addition (15 g N m−2 yr−1 plus 15 g P m−2 yr−1). These were applied from 2007 to 2011. Whereas additions of P increased soil microbial biomass, additions of N reduced soil microbial biomass. These effects, however, were transient, disappearing over longer periods. Moreover, N additions significantly increased relative abundance of fungal PLFAs and P additions significantly increased relative abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi PLFAs. Nitrogen addition had a negative effect on light fraction C, but no effect on heavy fraction C and total soil C. In contrast, P addition significantly decreased both light fraction C and total soil C. However, there were no interactions between N addition and P addition on soil microbes. Our results suggest that these nutrients are not co-limiting, and that P rather than N is limiting in this tropical forest.
Haplotype-Based Genome-Wide Prediction Models Exploit Local Epistatic Interactions Among Markers

Genome-wide prediction approaches represent versatile tools for the analysis and prediction of complex traits. Mostly they rely on marker-based information, but scenarios have been reported in which models capitalizing on closely-linked markers that were combined into haplotypes outperformed marker-based models. Detailed comparisons were undertaken to reveal under which circumstances haplotype-based genome-wide prediction models are superior to marker-based models. Specifically, it was of interest to analyze whether and how haplotype-based models may take local epistatic effects between markers into account. Assuming that populations consisted of fully homozygous individuals, a marker-based model in which local epistatic effects inside haplotype blocks were exploited (LEGBLUP) was linearly transformable into a haplotype-based model (HGBLUP). This theoretical derivation formally revealed that haplotype-based genome-wide prediction models capitalize on local epistatic effects among markers. Simulation studies corroborated this finding. Due to its computational efficiency the HGBLUP model promises to be an interesting tool for studies in which ultra-high-density SNP data sets are studied. Applying the HGBLUP model to empirical data sets revealed higher prediction accuracies than for marker-based models for both traits studied using a mouse panel. In contrast, only a small subset of the traits analyzed in crop populations showed such a benefit. Cases in which higher prediction accuracies are observed for HGBLUP than for marker-based models are expected to be of immediate relevance for breeders, due to the tight linkage a beneficial haplotype will be preserved for many generations. In this respect the inheritance of local epistatic effects very much resembles the one of additive effects.
Psychological factors associated with NAFLD/NASH: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) represents one of the most common chronic liver diseases worldwide. So far, the pathogenesis of NAFLD and its more severe variant nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is yet unclear, with many mechanisms being proposed as possible causes. This article aims to review the psychological factors associated with NAFLD/NASH. MATERIALS AND METHODS Three main categories of factors have been investigated: emotional, cognitive and behavioral. Five electronic databases were searched, limited to studies published in the English language, during the period 2005-2015: PubMed, Thomson ISI - Web of Science, Scopus, ProQuest, and ScienceDirect. RESULTS Results indicated the most relevant emotional factors to be depression and anxiety. The areas of investigation for cognitive functioning concern those contents and processes related to the ability to initiate and maintain lifestyle changes. The most important behavioral factors identified are physical activity, nutrition/food intake and substance consumption: coffee, alcohol, cigarettes. CONCLUSIONS Some of the factors identified act as protective factors, other as vulnerability factors. NAFLD/NASH may be considered a cognitive-behavioral disease, the most effective management being lifestyle changes, with emphasis on diet and exercise.
Elevated expression of E-cadherin in primary breast cancer and its corresponding metastatic lymph node.

AIM This study was to investigate the E-cadherin expression patterns in primary breast cancers and metastatic lymph node. METHODS Only lymph nodes which were pathologically identified as metastases were included in this study to pair up the primary tumors. E-cadherin RNA expression levels in invasive ductal breast cancer subjects were detected. E-cadherin gene copies were normalized using beta-actin gene copies. ER, PR, cerbB2 expressions in the primary tumor were routinely examined by immunohistochemistry method. Tumor characteristics and number of metastatic lymph nodes were gathered from the pathology reports. RESULTS We tried to explore the relationship between E-cadherin expression in 21 primary tumors and their corresponding metastatic lymph nodes. However, the Q-RT-PCR data show that an aberrant expression existed in both primary tumors and the corresponding lymph nodes (P=0.115), in which metastatic lymph nodes showed slight higher gene copies compared with primary sites (77.77±94.74 vs 43.35±40.03, respectively). It is noteworthy that nodal E-cadherin expression was closely but negatively correlated with tumor size (P<0.01, r=-0.775) and number of metastasized lymph nodes (P<0.05, r=-0.519), as tumor size and number of metastasized lymph nodes were already clinically proven to be important prognostic factors. There was no correlation between ER, PR, cerbB2 status in primary tumors and the nodal E-cadherin expression (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS It is indicated that E-cadherin expression is aberrant in invasive ductal cancers and their corresponding metastatic lymph nodes. E-cadherin expression in the metastasized lymph node is closely related to tumor size and number of metastasized lymph nodes.