Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Higher Order Potentials in End-to-End Trainable Conditional Random Fields

We tackle the problem of semantic segmentation using deep learning techniques. Most semantic segmentation systems include a Conditional Random Field (CRF) model to produce a structured output that is consistent with visual features of the image. With recent advances in deep learning, it is becoming increasingly common to perform CRF inference within a deep neural network to facilitate joint learning of the CRF with a pixel-wise Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) classifier. While basic CRFs use only unary and pairwise potentials, it has been shown that the addition of higher order potentials defined on cliques with more than two nodes can result in a better segmentation outcome. In this paper, we show that two types of higher order potential, namely, object detection based potentials and superpixel based potentials, can be included in a CRF embedded within a deep network. We design these higher order potentials to allow inference with the efficient and differentiable mean-field algorithm, making it possible to implement our CRF model as a stack of layers in a deep network. As a result, all parameters of our richer CRF model can be jointly learned with a CNN classifier during the end-to-end training of the entire network. We find significant improvement in the results with the introduction of these trainable higher order potentials.
Population differences in the International Multi‐Centre ADHD Gene Project

The International Multi‐Centre ADHD Gene sample consists of 674 families from eight countries (Belgium, England, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Israel, Spain, and Switzerland) ascertained from clinics for combined‐type attention definity hyperactivity disorder in an offspring. 863 SNPs were successfully genotyped across 47 autosomal genes implicated in psychiatric disorders yielding a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) density of approximately one SNP per 2.5 kb. A global test of heterogeneity showed 269 SNPs nominally significant (expected 43). Inclusion of the Israeli population accounted for approximately 70% of these nominally significant tests. Hardy‐Weinberg equilibrium tests suggest that combining all these populations would induce stratification, but that the Northern European populations (Belgium, England, Germany, Holland, and Ireland) could be appropriate. Tag SNPs were generated using pair‐wise and aggressive tagging from Carlson et al. [ 2004 ] and de Bakker et al. [ 2005 ], respectively, in each population and applied to the other populations. Cross‐population performance across Northern Europe was consistent with within population comparisons. Smaller sample size for each population tended to yield more problems for the generation of aggressive tags and the application of pair‐wise tags. Any case‐control sample employing an Israeli sample with Northern Europeans must consider stratification. A Northern European tag set, however, appears to be appropriate for capturing the variation across populations. Genet. Epidemiol. 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Shared ectomycorrhizal fungi between a herbaceous perennial (Helianthemum bicknellii) and oak (Quercus) seedlings.

• Ectomycorrhizal infection of Quercus seedlings can be low at a distance from established ectomycorrhizal vegetation. Here we investigate whether Helianthemum bicknellii, a herbaceous ectomycorrhizal perennial of prairies and oak savannas, creates patches of elevated ectomycorrhizal infection of Quercus seedlings. • We performed two studies. First, ectomycorrhizas of H. bicknellii were compared with ectomycorrhizas of Quercus spp. Second, soil bioassays were conducted with Quercus macrocarpa seedlings grown in soils from near H. bicknellii; near established Quercus spp. ; or distant from ectomycorrhizal vegetation. • Eight species associated with H. bicknellii were identified: Cenococcum geophilum, Russula aff. amoenolens, an unknown Pezizalean fungus, Laccaria laccata, Tomentella sp. , Lactarius mutabilis, Russula aff. pectinatoides, and Cortinarius sp. Internal transcribed spacer restriction fragment length polymorphism (ITS RFLP) patterns of all species except Cortinarius sp. matched to ectomycorrhiza from Quercus. In the bioassay, ectomycorrhizal infection was higher in near-Helianthemum soils than in distant soils, but lower than in near-Quercus soils. • These results demonstrate that H. bicknellii, a common herbaceous plant of oak savannas, shares ectomycorrhizal partners with Quercus and provides patches of increased ectomycorrhizal infection of Quercus seedlings.
Executive functions, prospective memory and metacognition in children with traumatic brain injury : assessment, characterization and rehabilitation

La section 1 permet premierement de constater que les fonctions executives (FE) sont plus severement atteintes lorsqu'elles sont dans une periode de developpement rapide et que l'utilisation de tests papier-crayon sous-estime largement les consequences du TC sur la vie quotidienne. Deuxiemement, elle confirme les consequences du TC sur la memoire prospective. Enfin, elle presente les resultats pilotes d'une evaluation multimodale de la metacognition et montre des dissociations de l'atteinte de ses differents composants chez des enfants cerebro-leses. Elle propose egalement un modele d'anosognosie de l'enfant, permettant de mieux adapter la reeducation cognitive aux capacites de l'enfant. La section 2 tente de proposer des moyens d'ameliorer les FE. Une revue systematique de la litterature examine d'abord l'efficacite du Goal Management Training (GMT) chez l'adulte cerebro-lese puis est decrit l'adaptation du GMT a l'enfant. Cette etude confirme la difficulte de reeduquer les FE, avec des resultats contradictoires entre les criteres de jugement (certains enfants s'ameliorant sur la tâche ecologique des FE et d'autres sur les questionnaires de FE). De plus, quand ils etaient confrontes a une nouvelle recette de cuisine, les enfants revenaient a leur comportement dysexecutif, suggerant que la fonction d'adaptation a la nouveaute n'avait pas progresse. La discussion alerte sur la necessite de mieux prendre en compte les aspects developpementaux chez l'enfant cerebro-lese, concernant l'anosognosie et l'utilisation de strategies metacognitives. Elle propose egalement des criteres de jugement et de methodologies innovants pour la recherche sur la reeducation des FE de l'enfant.
Feature-dependent allophone clustering

We propose a novel method for clustering allophones called Feature-Dependent Allophone Clustering (FD-AC) that determines feature-dependent HMM topology automatically. Existing methods for allophone clustering are based on parameter sharing between the allophone models that resemble each other in behaviors of feature vector sequences. However, all the features of the vector sequences may not necessarily have a common allophone clustering structures. It is considered that the vector sequences can be better modeled by allocating the optimal allophone clustering structure to each feature. In this paper, we propose Feature-Dependent Successive State Splitting (FD-SSS) as an implementation of FD-AC. In speaker-dependent continuous phoneme recognition experiments, HMMs created by FD-SSS reduced the error rates by about 10% compared with the conventional HMMs that have a common allophone clustering structure for all the features.
Automated Synthesis of Connectors for Heterogeneous Deployment

Although component based engineering has alredy become a widely accepted parading, easy combining components from different component system in one application is still beyond possibility. In our long-term project we are trying to address this problem by extending OMG D&C based deployment. We rely on software connectors as special entities modeling and realizing component interactions. However, in order to benefit from connectors, we have to generate them automatically at deployment time with respect to high-level connection requirements. In this paper we show how to create such a connector generator for heterogeneous deploy-
A Neural Networks-Based graph algorithm for cross-document coreference resolution

Cross-document coreference resolution, which is an important subtask in natural language processing systems, focus on the problem of determining if two mentions from different documents refer to the same entity in the world. In this paper we present a two-step approach, employing a classification and clusterization phase. In a novel way, the clusterization is produced as a graph cutting algorithm, namely, neural networks-based BestCut (NBCut). To our knowledge, our system is the first that employs a statistical model in graph partitioning. We evaluate our approach on ACE 2008 cross-document coreference resolution data sets and obtain encouraging result, indicating that on named noun phrase coreference task, the approach holds promise and achieves competitive performance.
Application analysis of QC-LDPC codes in shallow water acoustic channels

The shallow water acoustic (SWA) channel is one of the most challenging channels in wireless digital communications. In this paper, we propose a good performance, low complexity channel coding scheme using quasi-cyclic LDPC (QC-LDPC) codes to improve the communication system reliability for SWA channels. A system simulation model including QC-LDPC codes for the SWA channels is built. With the decoding algorithm of belief propagation (BP), the effects of QC-LDPC codes design parameters, such as girth, circulant permutation matrix size and decoding iterations are discussed. To verify the proposed approach, Quangang Xiaocuo harbor blasting data are used to set up a SWA channel model, and the performances of QC-LDPC codes over the channel model are analyzed. The results show that, with the same parameters, the proposed QC-LDPC channel coding strategy for SWA channels substantially outperforms the conventional (3, 6)-LDPC channel coding strategy, and with less complexity and easy implementation.
Impact Assessment of the Facilitadores Judiciales Programme in Nicaragua

Facilitadores Judiciales is a programme run by the Organization of the American States and the Nicaraguan judiciary. In 2010, facilitators were recruited and trained in many but not all urban municipalities. This presented an opportunity for a natural experiment to assess the impact of the programme. In our theoretical framework the impact is related to improved access to justice which is one of the prerequisites for peace and development. Before and after quantitative and qualitative studies were conducted in intervention and control areas. The quantitative results show confirmation of some of the hypothesized effects of the programme. Other effects are indicated by the numerous in-depth interviews but are not substantiated by hard data. In the communities where facilitators were introduced the people report fewer legal problems. The facilitators are decreasing the costs of justice. Achieving amicable solutions and promotion of peace and social cohesion is another example of the programme's impact.
A Single-Stage LED Tube Lamp Driver with Power-Factor Corrections and Soft Switching for Energy-Saving Indoor Lighting Applications

This paper presents a single-stage alternating current (AC)/direct current (DC) light-emitting diode (LED) tube lamp driver for energy-saving indoor lighting applications; this driver features power-factor corrections and soft switching, and also integrates a dual buck-boost converter with coupled inductors and a half-bridge series resonant converter cascaded with a bridge rectifier into a single-stage power-conversion topology. The features of the presented driver are high efficiency (>91%), satisfying power factor (PF > 0.96), low input-current total-harmonic distortion (THD < 10%), low output voltage ripple factor (<7.5%), low output current ripple factor (<8%), and zero-voltage switching (ZVS) obtained on both power switches. Operational principles are described in detail, and experimental results obtained from an 18 W-rated LED tube lamp for T8/T10 fluorescent lamp replacements with input utility-line voltages ranging from 100 V to 120 V have demonstrated the functionality of the presented driver suitable for indoor lighting applications.
Microsatellite Instability in Chicken Lymphoma Induced by Gallid Herpesvirus 2

Microsatellite instability (MSI) has been found in a range of human tumors, and little is known of the links between MSI and herpesvirus. In order to investigate the relationship between MSI and Gallid herpesvirus 2 (GaHV-2)-induced lymphoma, fifteen Marek’s disease (MD) lymphomas were analyzed through using 46 microsatellite markers, which were amplified by PCR from DNA specimens of lymphoma and normal muscular tissues from the same chicken. PCR products were evaluated by denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis for MSI analysis. MSI was proved in all lymphomas, at least in one locus. Thirty of the 46 microsatellite markers had microsatellite alterations. These results suggested that GaHV-2-induced lymphoma in chickens is related to MSI, and this is the first report to demonstrate that MSI is associated with the GaHV-2 induced lymphoma in chicken.
Password Hashing Competition - Survey and Benchmark

Password hashing is the common approach for maintaining users' password-related information that is later used for authentication. A hash for each password is calculated and maintained at the service provider end. When a user logins the service, the hash of the given pass- word is computed and contrasted with the stored hash. If the two hashes match, the authentication is successful. However, in many cases the pass- words are just hashed by a cryptographic hash function or even stored in clear. These poor password protection practises have lead to ecient attacks that expose the users' passwords. PBKDF2 is the only standard- ized construction for password hashing. Other widely used primitives are bcrypt and scrypt. The low variety of methods derive the international cryptographic community to conduct the Password Hashing Competi- tion (PHC). The competition aims to identify new password hashing schemes suitable for widespread adoption. It started in 2013 with 22 active submissions. Nine nalists are announced during 2014. In 2015, a small portfolio of schemes will be proposed. This paper provides the rst survey and benchmark analysis of the 22 proposals. All proposals are evaluated on the same platform over a common benchmark suite. We measure the execution time, code size and memory consumption of PBKDF2, bcrypt, scrypt, and the 22 PHC schemes. The rst round re- sults are summarized along with a benchmark analysis that is focused on the nine nalists and contributes to the nal selection of the winners.
Movement–Press Dynamics and News Diffusion: A Typology of Activism in Digital China

Abstract:By bridging the news diffusion perspective with collective action studies, this article examines how collective action stories flow between websites and how such diffusion trajectories are shaped by the nature of protests and the institutional features of Chinese media. We first propose a dynamic typology to map China's activism in the digital era within two dimensions: action logic (collective versus connective) and event entrepreneurs (with versus without). We then analyze the news trajectories of three prominent cases and find a strong association between the nature of collective action and state–media interactions. When event entrepreneurs—sympathetic elites such as journalists, lawyers, academics, and netizens—compete to narrate the reality through a protest, political control serves as the dominant mechanism of movement–press dynamics. As activism moves from collective logic toward connective action, the influence of journalistic professionalism on news trajectories can be seen. This study offers a contextualized account to understand the nuanced dynamics between the state, the media, and social movements, and it also presents a framework for analyzing how activism plays out in China in the digital era.
Lectures on Stability and Constant Scalar Curvature

An introduction is provided to some current research trends in stability in geometric invariant theory and the problem of Kaehler metrics of constant scalar curvature. Besides classical notions such as Chow-Mumford stability, the emphasis is on several new stability conditions, such as K-stability, Donaldson's infinite-dimensional GIT, and conditions on the closure of orbits of almost-complex structures under the diffeomorphism group. Related analytic methods are also discussed, including estimates for energy functionals, Tian-Yau-Zelditch approximations, estimates for moment maps, complex Monge-Ampere equations and pluripotential theory, and the Kaehler-Ricci flow
Extraction and Synchronization of BOLD Spontaneous Oscillations Using Singular Spectrum Analysis

Spontaneous cerebral blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) fluctuations are gaining interest in the neurophysiology community. These oscillations are prominent in the low-frequency range with spatiotemporal correlations. From a healthy individual, a basal resting state BOLD fMRI acquisition has been performed by collecting 4 slices. Voxel signals from seven selected regions have been considered. We assumed a composite null-hypothesis of oscillations embedded in “red noise”. To extract oscillations from BOLD signals we applied the Monte Carlo Singular Spectrum Analysis (SSA). Phase-synchronization of the oscillatory components, in the low-frequency range 0.085-0.13Hz, have been also achieved. As results, region-dependent distributions were apparent both for the noise parameters and for the number of connections between voxels. Although further studies on population samples should confirm the result consistency, the SSA technique combined with a phase-synchronization analysis seems a feasible method to extract low frequency BOLD spontaneous oscillations and to find functional connections among cerebral areas.
Identification of a hybrid model for simulation of the instrument/trocar interaction force

Trocars used in Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) are equipped with a sealing mechanism. During the motion of an instrument through a trocar, the sealing mechanism deforms itself. The Extended Maxwell Slip model has been developed in order to capture the deformation of the sealing mechanism. Two operating phases are distinguished, corresponding to the deformation of the sealing mechanism on the one hand, and to the sliding phase through the trocar on the other hand. This article addresses the identification procedure for this model. The deformation phase uses a PieceWise Affine (PWA) model. This model is identified using a PWARX (PieceWise ARX) identification technique namely the clustering based technique. Identification and validation are achieved using experimental data recorded on a dedicated test setup.
There is Something Beyond the Twitter Network

How information spreads through a social network? Can we assume, that the information is spread only through a given social network graph? What is the correct way to compare the models of information flow? These are the basic questions we address in this work. We focus on meticulous comparison of various, well-known models of rumor propagation in the social network. We introduce the model incorporating mass media and effects of absent nodes. In this model the information appears spontaneously in the graph. Using the most conservative metric, we showed that the distribution of cascades sizes generated by this model fits the real data much better than the previously considered models.
Efficient Estimation of a Distribution Function under Quadrant Dependence

LetX1,X2, . , be real‐valued random variables forming a strictly stationary sequence, and satisfying the basic requirement of being either pairwise positively quadrant dependent or pairwise negatively quadrant dependent. LetF^ be the marginal distribution function of theXips, which is estimated by the empirical distribution functionFn and also by a smooth kernel‐type estimateFn, by means of the segmentX1, . ,Xn. These estimates are compared on the basis of their mean squared errors (MSE). The main results of this paper are the following. Under certain regularity conditions, the optimal bandwidth (in the MSE sense) is determined, and is found to be the same as that in the independent identically distributed case. It is also shown thatn MSE(Fn(t)) andnMSE (F^n(t)) tend to the same constant, asn→∞ so that one can not discriminate be tween the two estimates on the basis of the MSE. Next, ifi(n) = min {k∈{1, 2, . }; MSE (Fk(t)) ≤ MSE (Fn(t))}, then it is proved thati(n)/n tends to 1, asn→∞. Thus, once again, one can not choose one estimate over the other in terms of their asymptotic relative efficiency. If, however, the squared bias ofF^n(t) tends to 0 sufficiently fast, or equivalently, the bandwidthhn satisfies the requirement thatnh3n→ 0, asn→∞, it is shown that, for a suitable choice of the kernel, (i(n) −n)/(nhn) tends to a positive number, asn→∞ It follows that the deficiency ofFn(t) with respect toF^n(t),i(n) −n, is substantial, and, actually, tends to ∞, asn→∞. In terms of deficiency, the smooth estimateF^n(t) is preferable to the empirical distribution functionFn(t)
Rotavirus-Induced Structural and Functional Alterations in Tight Junctions of Polarized Intestinal Caco-2 Cell Monolayers

ABSTRACT We provide here new insights into rotavirus (RRV) pathogenicity by showing that RRV infection promotes structural and functional injuries localized at the tight junctions (TJ) in the cell-cell junctional complex of cultured polarized human intestinal Caco-2 cells forming monolayers. RRV infection resulted in a progressive increase in the paracellular permeability to [3H]mannitol as a function of the time postinfection. We observed a disorganization of the TJ-associated protein occludin as a function of the time postinfection, whereas distribution of the zonula adherens associated E-cadherin was not affected. These structural and functional RRV-induced TJ injuries were not accompanied by alteration in cell and monolayer integrity, as assessed by the lack of change in transepithelial membrane resistance and lactate dehydrogenase release. Finally, using the stabilizer of actin filaments Jasplakinolide, we demonstrated that the RRV-induced structural and functional alterations in TJ are independent of the RRV-induced apical F-actin rearrangements.
Stability and incorporation: Toward a new concept of party system institutionalization

Party system institutionalization (PSI) is a critical dimension of modern democracies. However, conventional approaches to institutionalization do not include party systems’ ability to adapt and respond to challenges that emanate from society, one of the crucial traits in Huntington’s definition of institutionalization. We discuss conventional approaches to the analysis of PSI. Building upon the idea of social orders put forth by North, Wallis, and Weingast, we argue that the analysis of institutionalization at the level of party systems must consider the system’s ability to provide open access and to include all sectors: that is, the system’s ability to incorporate demands that emanate from society. We propose a new conceptualization and operationalization of PSI, and we present a new data set of PSI indicators for 18 Latin American countries. Finally, we analyze the data to assess the level of PSI and type of party system in each Latin American country.
Nonlinear PID and feedforward control of robotic manipulators

The purpose of this paper is to design a nonlinear PID controller for trajectory tracking of a manipulator robot. The objective is to develop a PID controller having high performances for the controllability and the stability of the manipulator. Moreover, the controller should be easy to implement. In a first step a PID plus a feedforward controller has been developed and implemented on a SCARA robot. In the second step and in order to increase performances of the developed control law, an improving version has been developed by adopting nonlinear gains. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the control law in particular in the presence of variable gains.