Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Perceptual inference in generative models

We see and hear so freely that to the casual observer it is not obvious that perception would be such a difficult problem for modern science to understand. David Marr suggested that an understanding of perception requires analyzing the problems it solves along with the assumptions necessary for a solution. In this thesis I maintain that generative probabilistic models are a powerful tool to implement Marr's approach. In generative models one has to explitly encode the assumptions and goals of perceptual problems, whereas specific knowledge of the world is gleaned from the sensory data by learning within the model. This thesis explores the use of generative models for understanding perception in audio-visual systems as well as in the individual modalities. The cocktail-party problem of single-channel sound separation is addressed using competing sound models, including a novel factorial model that unites pitch tracking and formant-based models. A convolutional hidden Markov model for video tracking performs exact inference in maps of object location, using a novel technique to make this inference tractable for extremely large hypothesis spaces. A model of non-rigid 3D tracking is presented in which some simple assumptions unify template matching and optic flow under the same framework. Finally, an audio-visual model brings together aspects of each of these models to exploit cross-modal information for speech enhancement. Along the way, key benefits of generative modeling, such as the flexibility of inference, the “explaining-away” phenomenon, and the “problem-level” formulation of the models, are introduced and discussed in light of the research presented.
A Systolic Inversion Architecture Based on Modified Extended Euclidean Algorithm for GF(2K) Fields

In this paper, a systolic inversion architecture is proposed based on an optimized version of the Modified Extended Euclidean Algorithm (OMEEA). The proposed OMEEA employs signal reusability and simplification of the algorithmic control logic to achieve a less complex, hardware oriented version of Modified Extended Euclidean Algorithm. The resulting proposed systolic inversion architecture highlights the benefits of OMEEA and achieves very interesting results in terms of latency, critical path delay and gate-MUX-Flip Flop number.
Effect of ball milling on capacitance of electrochemical double layer capacitor

Electrochemical double layer capacitor is a new technology for the storage of electrical energy. Electrical energy storage will be a critical issue in many renewable energy systems. Electrochemical double layer capacitor technology along with fuel cell or battery can address many issues related to effective electrical energy storage. An Internal resistance and pulse current are considered as output parameters in any electrochemical double layer capacitor for its performance analysis. Capacitance value of capacitor is very important in energy storage system, as it is possible to store huge amount of charge by means of electrochemical double layer capacitor. Hence, capacitance is considered as an output parameter in the presented work. This paper presents the effect of ball milling of an electrode material on the capacitance of an aqueous metal oxide based electrochemical double layer capacitor.
Attention Transfer from Web Images for Video Recognition

Training deep learning based video classifiers for action recognition requires a large amount of labeled videos. The labeling process is labor-intensive and time-consuming. On the other hand, large amount of weakly-labeled images are uploaded to the Internet by users everyday. To harness the rich and highly diverse set of Web images, a scalable approach is to crawl these images to train deep learning based classifier, such as Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN). However, due to the domain shift problem, the performance of Web images trained deep classifiers tend to degrade when directly deployed to videos. One way to address this problem is to fine-tune the trained models on videos, but sufficient amount of annotated videos are still required. In this work, we propose a novel approach to transfer knowledge from image domain to video domain. The proposed method can adapt to the target domain (i.e. video data) with limited amount of training data. Our method maps the video frames into a low-dimensional feature space using the class-discriminative spatial attention map for CNNs. We design a novel Siamese EnergyNet structure to learn energy functions on the attention maps by jointly optimizing two loss functions, such that the attention map corresponding to a ground truth concept would have higher energy. We conduct extensive experiments on two challenging video recognition datasets (i.e. TVHI and UCF101), and demonstrate the efficacy of our proposed method.
An innovative on-board processor for the real-time GPR monitoring of railway substructure conditions

The SAFE-RAIL system and the relevant processing unit are hereafter described as a success case for the solution of an electromagnetic inverse problem in real-time applications. The SAFE-RAIL system on-board processing unit is conceived for providing functionalities for real-time exploitation of raw data deriving from microwave sensing action through innovative GPR equipment. In particular, the main objective, as per European STREP project SAFE-RAIL statements, is focused on automatic interpretation of microwave sensed data relevant to rail-track subsurface, aiming at characterizing the ballast and sub-ballast layer properties with consequent extraction in real-time of geophysical parameters. A neural network based approach has been exploited as an efficient way for solving the inverse problem through a "learning-by-examples" approach. The capability of the SAFE-RAIL system in matching real-time performance requirements has been investigated. System operability and cost-effective implementation issues have also been deeply addressed.
An Efficient RFID Tag Estimation Method Using Biased Chebyshev Inequality for Dynamic Frame Slotted ALOHA

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a wireless technology allowing for the automatic identification of tags (transponders). For the efficient identification in case of large tag populations, the RFID reader has to precisely estimate the number of tags in the reading area. Inaccuracies in this estimation lead to significantly increased reading times. Therefore, this paper proposes a novel tag estimation technique called biased Chebyshev inequality tag estimation method. This new method improves the existing Chebyshev inequality method by using a collision coefficient. This collision coefficient is calculated numerically using a two dimensional curve fitting approach. The proposed estimation method is compared to two common tag estimation methods in RFID systems. Simulation results of the proposed algorithm show a reading time reduction for large populations of approx. 25%.
Untargeted Metabolomics To Ascertain Antibiotic Modes of Action

ABSTRACT Deciphering the mode of action (MOA) of new antibiotics discovered through phenotypic screening is of increasing importance. Metabolomics offers a potentially rapid and cost-effective means of identifying modes of action of drugs whose effects are mediated through changes in metabolism. Metabolomics techniques also collect data on off-target effects and drug modifications. Here, we present data from an untargeted liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry approach to identify the modes of action of eight compounds: 1-[3-fluoro-4-(5-methyl-2,4-dioxo-pyrimidin-1-yl)phenyl]-3-[2-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]urea (AZ1), 2-(cyclobutylmethoxy)-5′-deoxyadenosine, triclosan, fosmidomycin, CHIR-090, carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP), 5-chloro-2-(methylsulfonyl)-N-(1,3-thiazol-2-yl)-4-pyrimidinecarboxamide (AZ7), and ceftazidime. Data analysts were blind to the compound identities but managed to identify the target as thymidylate kinase for AZ1, isoprenoid biosynthesis for fosmidomycin, acyl-transferase for CHIR-090, and DNA metabolism for 2-(cyclobutylmethoxy)-5′-deoxyadenosine. Changes to cell wall metabolites were seen in ceftazidime treatments, although other changes, presumably relating to off-target effects, dominated spectral outputs in the untargeted approach. Drugs which do not work through metabolic pathways, such as the proton carrier CCCP, have no discernible impact on the metabolome. The untargeted metabolomics approach also revealed modifications to two compounds, namely, fosmidomycin and AZ7. An untreated control was also analyzed, and changes to the metabolome were seen over 4 h, highlighting the necessity for careful controls in these types of studies. Metabolomics is a useful tool in the analysis of drug modes of action and can complement other technologies already in use.
More Realistic Models of Sexually Transmitted Disease Transmission Dynamics: Sexual Partnership Networks, Pair Models, and Moment Closure

Background: Mathematical models of sexually transmitted disease transmission have proven powerful tools for interpreting observed epidemiologic pattern. However, the most commonly used formulation of such models largely fail to capture the effect of partnership concurrency and contact network structure on transmission. Goal: The development of a compartmental model of partnership formation and dissolution that includes approximations for the influence of the sexual‐partner network. Study Design: Theoretical analysis of ordinary differential equation models for sexually transmitted disease transmission within sex‐partner networks. Results: The approach developed advances earlier pair models, allows for the influence of concurrent sexual partnerships, and illustrates the importance of concurrency to the persistence of diseases with relatively short durations of infectiousness. The authors also illustrate that heterogeneity in risk is possible even in model populations in which all individuals follow the same behavioral rules. Conclusion: Deterministic extended pair models offer a powerful approach to modelling sexually transmitted disease transmission that usefully complement computationally intensive microsimulation models.
PICASSO: Exploratory Search of Connected Subgraph Substructures in Graph Databases

Recently, exploratory search has received much attention in information retrieval and database fields. This search paradigm assists users who do not have a clear search intent and are unfamiliar with the underlying data space. Specifically, query formulation evolves iteratively as the user becomes more familiar with the content. Despite its growing importance, exploratory search on graph-structured data has received little attention in the literature. We demonstrate a system called picasso to realize exploratory sub-structure search on a graph database containing a set of small or medium-sized data graphs. picasso embodies several novel features such as progressive (i.e., iterative) formulation of queries visually and incremental processing, multi-stream results exploration wall to visualize, explore, and analyze search results to identify possible search directions.
Linking dosage compensation and X chromosome nuclear organization in C. elegans

Animal sex is determined by the number of X chromosomes in many species, creating unequal gene dosage (aneuploidy) between sexes. Dosage Compensation mechanisms equalize this dosage difference by regulating X-linked gene expression. In the nematode C. elegans the current model suggests that DC is achieved by a 2-fold transcriptional downregulation in hermaphrodites mediated by the Dosage Compensation Complex (DCC), which restricts access to RNA Polymerase II by an unknown mechanism. Taking a nuclear organization point of view, we showed that the male X chromosome resides in the pore proximal subnuclear compartment whereas the DCC bound to the X, inhibits this spatial organization in the hermaphrodites. Here we discuss our results and propose a model that reassigns the role of DCC from repression of genes to inhibition of activation.
Performance Drivers for RFID-Generated Item-Level Information in the Oil Industry

Radio frequency identification (RFID)-generated item-level information provides interesting perspectives to increase operational performance in the oil and natural gas industry. However, costs and benefits of information systems with low-granular item-level information can be very different depending on various factors. We consider item-level information applications, especially RFID solutions, within the oil industry. We discuss why the incorporation of RFID tags in this system cannot be isolated and studied and how several related dimensions need to be considered. Among them, we detail characteristics like item-level identification, the rewritable and contact-less information functions, the existence of distributed sensors, and the overall network architecture. We consider the solutions used or potentially useful in the oil industry and evaluate three types of performance drivers (technical, operational, and strategic) related to these systems. Based on these, we propose five typologies—related to tubes, containers, other items, processes, and people—to characterize various critical empirical scenarios to identify the conditions under which item-level information is valuable in the oil industry. We then illustrate these typologies through potential applications.
The real relationship between short-term memory and working memory

Storage-oriented memory span tasks with no explicit concurrent processing are usually referred as short-term memory (STM) tasks, whereas tasks involving storage plus concurrent processing requirements are designated as working memory (WM) tasks. The present study explores a question that remains unsolved: Do STM and WM tasks clearly tap distinguishable theoretical constructs? For that purpose, a large sample of 403 participants was tested through 12 diverse memory span tasks. Half of those tasks are widely accepted as measures of STM, whereas the other half measure WM. The results show that STM and WM share largely overlapping underlying capacity limitations, suggesting that all memory span tasks tap essentially the same construct. Some implications are discussed.
A large fraction of neocortical myelin ensheathes axons of local inhibitory neurons

Myelin is best known for its role in increasing the conduction velocity and metabolic efficiency of long-range excitatory axons. Accordingly, the myelin observed in neocortical gray matter is thought to mostly ensheath excitatory axons connecting to subcortical regions and distant cortical areas. Using independent analyses of light and electron microscopy data from mouse neocortex, we show that a surprisingly large fraction of cortical myelin (half the myelin in layer 2/3 and a quarter in layer 4) ensheathes axons of inhibitory neurons, specifically of parvalbumin-positive basket cells. This myelin differs significantly from that of excitatory axons in distribution and protein composition. Myelin on inhibitory axons is unlikely to meaningfully hasten the arrival of spikes at their pre-synaptic terminals, due to the patchy distribution and short path-lengths observed. Our results thus highlight the need for exploring alternative roles for myelin in neocortical circuits. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.15784. 001
Effects of phosphatidylserine on exercise capacity during cycling in active males.

PURPOSE The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of 750 mg of soybean-derived phosphatidylserine, administered daily for 10 d, on exercise capacity, oxygen uptake kinetic response, neuroendocrine function, and feeling states during exhaustive intermittent exercise. METHODS Following preliminary testing, fourteen active males completed a staged intermittent exercise protocol on two further occasions (T1 and T2) separated by 16 +/- 1 d. The protocol consisted of three 10-min stages of cycling at 45, 55, and 65% VO2max, followed by a final bout at 85% VO2max that was continued until exhaustion. Approximately 5 d after T1 the subjects were assigned, in a double-blind manner, to either phosphatidylserine (PS) or placebo (P). Breath-by-breath respiratory data and heart rate were continually recorded throughout the exercise protocol, and blood samples were obtained at rest, during the rest periods within the protocol (Post-55, Post-65), at the end of exercise (Post-85), 20 min after the completion of exercise (postexercise), and the day following exercise (Post-24 h). RESULTS The main finding of this study was that supplementation had a significant effect on exercise time to exhaustion at 85% VO2max (P = 0.005). The exercise time to exhaustion in PS increased following supplementation (7:51 +/- 1:36 to 9:51 +/- 1:42 min:s, P = 0.001), whereas P remained unchanged (8:09 +/- 0:54 to 8:02 +/- 0:54 min:s, P = 0.670). Supplementation did not significantly affect oxygen kinetic mean response times (MRT(on) and MRT(off)), serum cortisol concentrations, substrate oxidation, and feeling states during the trial. CONCLUSION This is the first study to report improved exercise capacity following phosphatidylserine supplementation. These findings suggest that phosphatidylserine might possess potential ergogenic properties.
Simultaneous Capacity and Production Management of Short-Life-Cycle, Produce-to-Stock Goods Under Stochastic Demand

This paper derives the optimal simultaneous capacity and production plan for a shortlife-cycle, produce-to-stock good under stochastic demand. Capacity can be reduced as well as added, at exogenously set unit prices. In both cases studied, with and without carryover of unsold units, a target interval policy is optimal: There is a (usually different) target interval for each period such that capacity should be changed as little as possible to bring the level available into that interval. Our contribution in the case of no carry-over, is a detailed characterization of the target intervals, assuming demands increase stochastically at the beginning of the life cycle and decrease thereafter. In the case of carry-over, we establish the general result and show that capacity and inventory are economic substitutes: The target intervals decrease in the initial stock level and the optimal unconstrained base stock level decreases in the capacity level. In both cases, optimal service rates are not necessarily constant over time. A numerical example illustrates the results.
Hitler, 1936-1945

Resena del editor Hitler 1889-1936 explica las razones por las que los habitantes de un estado moderno, de elevado nivel cultural y de economia puntera, pusieron su destino en manos de un intruso de la politica como Adolf Hitler. Ese primer volumen terminaba con la remilitarizacion de Renania en 1936, cuando el dictador gozaba del apoyo de una abrumadora mayoria de alemanes. Ian Kershaw hace un repaso, en este segundo volumen de su aclamada biografia de Hitler, de las decisiones mas demagogicas y sanguinarias de Hitler hasta su muerte en 1945, y propone explicar de que modo este pudo llegar a ejercer el poder absoluto con la aquiescencia y el beneplacito de los ciudadanos de su pais, que se dejaron arrastrar a una guerra genocida, el asesinato en masa y a la propia devastacion.Se trata, en palabras del propio autor, de una «historia sobrecogedora de autodestruccion tanto nacional como individual, de como un pueblo y sus representantes fraguaron su propia catastrofe como parte de una destruccion calamitosa de la civilizacion occidental». Biografia del autor Ian Kershaw es catedratico de Historia Moderna en la Universidad de Sheffi eld y una de las maximas autoridades del mundo en Hitler. Por sus servicios a la historia se le otorgo la condecoracion alemana de la Cruz Federal del Merito 1994 y fue nombrado caballero en 2002; en 2004 la Historical A ssociation le otorgo la Medalla Norton Medlicott. Fue asesor historico de dos series de la BBC, la premiada The Nazis: A Warning from History y War of the Century. Es autor de Popular Opinion and Political Dissent in the Third Reich: Bavaria 1933-45, The Nazi Dictatorship: Problems and Perspectives of Interpretation y del bestseller Hitler, la biografia monumental del dictador. Hitler 1889-1936 fue seleccionado para el Premio de Biografia Whitbread 1998 y el primer Premio Samuel Johnson de Ensayo. Hitler 1936-1945 recibio el Premio Literario Wolfson de Historia, el Premio Bruno Kreisky de Austria para el Libro Politico del Ano, se le concedio conjuntamente el premio inaugural de la Academia Britanica y fue seleccionado para el Premio de Biografia Whitbread 2000.
Adaptive analog coding for video broadcast in wireless cooperative system

In wireless video broadcast system, analog JSCC (joint source-channel coding) schemes have attracted extensive attentions recently as they can avoid the cliff effect that occurs along with the conventional separate digital source/channel coding schemes. User cooperation is a new promising technology in wireless broadcast system, but conventional digital cooperative coding scheme is not very suitable to the present analog broadcast system because of the cliff effect. In this paper, we propose an adaptive cooperative video coding (ACVC) scheme for video broadcast in wireless cooperative system based on the analog JSCC and coset coding principles. Specifically, ACVC adopts a series of adaptive algorithms to adjust the transmission parameters and the coset code steps according to the channel condition and the feature of each packet. From the experimental results we can see that, in comparison with existing cooperative schemes, ACVC shows stronger adaptability, especially when the cooperative channel condition is worse than the source-relay channel or when the cooperative bandwidth is limited.
Long-term results of guided tissue regeneration therapy with non-resorbable and bioabsorbable barriers. I. Class II furcations.

BACKGROUND The aim of this 5-year follow-up study was to clinically and radiographically evaluate the long-term results after guided tissue regeneration (GTR) therapy of Class II furcation defects using non-resorbable and bioabsorbable barriers. METHODS Nine pairs of contralateral Class II furcation defects were treated in 9 patients with advanced periodontitis. Within each patient, one defect received a non-resorbable (expanded polytetrafluoroethylene [ePTFE]; control, C) barrier and the other a bioabsorbable (polyglactin 910; test, T) barrier by random assignment. At baseline, 6, and 60 +/- 3 months after surgery, clinical parameters and standardized radiographs were obtained. Gain of bone density within furcation areas was assessed using subtraction radiography. RESULTS Six and 60 months after GTR therapy, statistically significant (P <0.05) horizontal attachment (CAL-H) gain was observed in both groups (C6: 1.7 +/- 0.8 mm; C60: 1.6 +/- 1.2 mm; T6: 2.0 +/- 0.7 mm; T60: 2.2 +/- 0.9 mm). However, 1 furcation assessed as Class I six months after GTR therapy with a bioabsorbable barrier had progressed to Class III after 5 years, and in another patient, 5 years after placement of an ePTFE barrier, 1 furcation had lost all the CAL-H gain that had been observed at 6 months. Subtraction analysis revealed similar area gain in both groups 6 and 60 months postsurgically (C6: 0.3 +/- 0.5; C60 1.0 +/- 1.7; T6: 0.4 +/- 0.4; T60: 1.1 +/- 1.7). CONCLUSIONS CAL-H gain achieved after GTR therapy in Class II furcations was stable after 5 years in 16 of 18 defects. The study failed to show a statistically significant difference in stability of CAL-H gain between control and test groups 5 years after GTR therapy.