Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Speech-Driven Expressive Talking Lips with Conditional Sequential Generative Adversarial Networks

Articulation, emotion, and personality play strong roles in the orofacial movements. To improve the naturalness and expressiveness of virtual agents (VAs), it is important that we carefully model the complex interplay between these factors. This paper proposes a conditional generative adversarial network, called conditional sequential GAN (CSG), which learns the relationship between emotion, lexical content and lip movements in a principled manner. This model uses a set of spectral and emotional speech features directly extracted from the speech signal as conditioning inputs, generating realistic movements. A key feature of the approach is that it is a speech-driven framework that does not require transcripts. Our experiments show the superiority of this model over three state-of-the-art baselines in terms of objective and subjective evaluations. When the target emotion is known, we propose to create emotionally dependent models by either adapting the base model with the target emotional data (CSG-Emo-Adapted), or adding emotional conditions as the input of the model (CSG-Emo-Aware). Objective evaluations of these models show improvements for the CSG-Emo-Adapted compared with the CSG model, as the trajectory sequences are closer to the original sequences. Subjective evaluations show significantly better results for this model compared with the CSG model when the target emotion is happiness.
Webcam Based Eye Gaze Tracking Using a Landmark Detector

This paper proposes a real-time algorithm to detect users' gaze point in a video sequence from a standard web camera. We have shown that landmarks constructed for both eyes can reliably estimate the eyelid opening, which in turn can be used to tell where the user is staring at that particular moment. Further, the knowledge of the eye opening can be combined with the iris displacement from the reference point to predict the user's gaze point. We have reported a user study involving 8 users and we can track one of nine positions on screen within a radius of 11° of visual angle.
Efficient image texture and structure preservation via a Rapid diffusion function with accelerator

This paper proposes a new fast diffusion function with an accelerator coefficient for image restoration task. The suggested algorithm is carried out based on gradient magnitude and suitably filter the image while preserving edge and texture. Several comparisons with recent works is given to show the efficiency of the new conduction function. This performance is demonstrated using quantitative (PSNR, MSSIM) and qualitive metrics (visual evaluation).
Development and Validation of Items to Measure Knowledge in a Basic Nutrition Course

The purpose of this paper is to present the steps of planning and monitoring a teaching-learning process proposed for a basic nutrition course offered to health students enrolled at a Public University in Brazil. The theoretical framework discusses the fundamentals of Bloom’s Taxonomy reviewed by Anderson and colleagues (2001) that outline how to establish, organize and classify educational objectives for the cognitive domain. Then, the paper describes the methodology to implement this process in a real learning environment, with a great focus in the construction and validation of a learning assessment. Finally, some recommendations are made regarding the management of the teaching and learning process in undergraduate courses.
Exostosis a Dangerous Location: A Case Report and Literature Review

The osteogenic exostosis or osteochondroma usually reveals a tumor siting preferably in the knee area. Vascular complications exostoses are known and exceptional even if the frequency of these tumors is important, and we related a case report about a young man of 23 years old who suffers from a mass filling the popliteal area of the left knee, projecting on the popliteal pedicle. We proceed to the excision of the entire lesion. The arterial pseudoaneurysm is the most common vascular complication of exostosis especially in his popliteal location. MRI angiography is necessary, to mentioned osteochondroma aspect, the rule is: any painful exostosis must be removed because the risks of degeneration are real but rare.
Economic and Non-Economic Losses Fraud Severity Estimation of Auto Bodily Injury : Evidence from China 1

Despite the increasing importance of opportunistic fraud activities in liability claims to insurers, relatively little research has been done to understand the causes and impacts of these activities. General damage awards are often argued to be the primary motivating factor for this type of opportunistic fraud. We test this hypothesis using a unique sample of closed claim lawsuit cases in automobile bodily injury liability during 2007-2012 in China. Our results show that the economic and non-economic losses fraud is significant and exists universally in any injury severity, disability or death damages. Hospitalization opportunistic fraud occurs mainly in more serious injury severity, but the opportunistic fraud within the elderly group occurs mainly in less serious injury severity. Our findings provide additional insights on ex post moral hazard and have important policy implications to both insurers and regulators.
Breast cancer stem cell-like cells generated during TGFβ-induced EMT are radioresistant

Failure of conventional antitumor therapy is commonly associated with cancer stem cells (CSCs), which are often defined as inherently resistant to radiation and chemotherapeutic agents. However, controversy about the mechanisms involved in the radiation response remains and the inherent intrinsic radioresistance of CSCs has also been questioned. These discrepancies observed in the literature are strongly associated with the cell models used. In order to clarify these contradictory observations, we studied the radiosensitivity of breast CSCs using purified CD24−/low/CD44+ CSCs and their corresponding CD24+/CD44low non-stem cells. These cells were generated after induction of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) by transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) in immortalized human mammary epithelial cells (HMLE). Consequently, these 2 cellular subpopulations have an identical genetic background, their differences being related exclusively to TGFβ-induced cell reprogramming. We showed that mesenchymal CD24−/low/CD44+ CSCs are more resistant to radiation compared with CD24+/CD44low parental cells. Cell cycle distribution and free radical scavengers, but not DNA repair efficiency, appeared to be intrinsic determinants of cellular radiosensitivity. Finally, for the first time, we showed that reduced radiation-induced activation of the death receptor pathways (FasL, TRAIL and TNF-α) at the transcriptional level was a key causal event in the radioresistance of CD24−/low/CD44+ cells acquired during EMT.
Bioorthogonally Applicable Fluorescence Deactivation Strategy for Receptor Kinetics Study and Theranostic Pretargeting Approaches

The availability of a receptor for theranostic pretargeting approaches was assessed by use of a new click‐chemistry‐based deactivatable fluorescence‐quenching concept. The efficacy was evaluated in a cell‐based model system featuring both membranous (available) and internalized (unavailable) receptor fractions of the clinically relevant receptor chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4). Proof of concept was achieved with a deactivatable tracer consisting of a CXCR4‐specific peptide functionalized with a Cy5 dye bearing a chemoselective azide handle (N3‐Cy5‐AcTZ14011). Treatment with a Cy7 quencher dye (Cy7‐DBCO) resulted in optically silent Cy7‐[click]‐Cy5‐AcTZ14011. In situ, a >90 % FRET‐based reduction of the signal intensity of N3‐Cy5‐AcTZ14011 [KD=(222.4±25.2) nm] was seen within minutes after quencher addition. In cells, discrimination between the membranous and the internalized receptor fraction could be achieved through quantitative assessment of quenching/internalization kinetics. Similar evaluation of an activatable tracer variant based on the same targeting moiety (Cy5‐S‐S‐Cy3‐AcTZ14011) was unsuccessful in vitro. As such, using the described deactivatable approach to screen membrane receptors and their applicability in receptor‐(pre‐)targeted theranostics can become straightforward.
Efficient Task Assignment and Scheduling on MPSOC with STT-RAM Based Hybrid SPMs Considering Data Allocation

Be aware enough of the fact that performance gap between CPU and memory, employing novel memory techniques in embedded systems is a feasible way to reduce the performance gap. For MPSoC which is equipped with SRAM and STTRAM based hybrid SPMs, data can be effectively parallel accessed. This paper explores data allocation, task assignment and scheduling on MPSoC with SRAM and STT-RAM based hybrid SPMs. We proposed a mixed integer quadratically constrained program(MIQCP) formulations and a heuristic method (HA) to generates optimal and near optimal data allocation, task assignment, and scheduling solution. Experimental results show that MIQCP and HA can reduce 32.6% and 20.1% schedule length on average.
A Multi-scale U-Net for Semantic Segmentation of Histological Images from Radical Prostatectomies

Gleason grading of histological images is important in risk assessment and treatment planning for prostate cancer patients. Much research has been done in classifying small homogeneous cancer regions within histological images. However, semi-supervised methods published to date depend on pre-selected regions and cannot be easily extended to an image of heterogeneous tissue composition. In this paper, we propose a multi-scale U-Net model to classify images at the pixel-level using 224 histological image tiles from radical prostatectomies of 20 patients. Our model was evaluated by a patient-based 10-fold cross validation, and achieved a mean Jaccard index of 65.8% across 4 classes (stroma, Gleason 3, Gleason 4 and benign glands), and 75.5% for 3 classes (stroma, benign glands, prostate cancer), outperforming other methods.
A phase I study of oral uracil-ftorafur plus folinic acid in combination with weekly paclitaxel in patients with solid tumors.

INTRODUCTION Ftorafur is an orally available prodrug of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). Its combination with uracil in a molar ratio of 1:4 (UFT) increases the 5-FU concentration in tumor cells compared with ftorafur alone. Paclitaxel has a broad spectrum of activity against solid tumors and synergic effects with UFT have been demonstrated in vitro. A phase I study was performed to determine the maximum tolerated dose of the combination of UFT and paclitaxel in patients with advanced solid tumors. STUDY DESIGN UFT and folinic acid were applied at 300 mg/m2/day and 90 mg/day, respectively, on days 1-28, repeated on day 36. Paclitaxel was applied on days 1, 8, 15 and 22 of each cycle. The starting dose of paclitaxel was 50 mg/m2 and escalation in 10 mg/m2 steps was performed up to 100 mg/m2 weekly. RESULTS Forty-seven consecutive patients with various solid tumors have been included in six different dose levels. One hundred and thirty cycles have been applied. The treatment was well tolerated overall. Most frequently encountered adverse effects were gastrointestinal and hematological toxicity (diarrhea CTC 3/4 in 6% of patients, anemia in 11%, leukocytopenia in 9%, polyneuropathy in 9%, fatigue in 11%, other in 6%). Partial remissions were observed in 28% of patients. CONCLUSION Owing to the lack of overlapping toxicities, UFT/folinic acid plus paclitaxel can be combined at doses of proven single agent activity. Side effects are mainly attributable to the gastrointestinal toxicity of UFT and to the neuro- and hematotoxicity of paclitaxel. The recommended doses for phase II studies are 300 mg/m2 of UFT plus 90 mg of folinic acid on days 1-28, and 90 mg/m2 of paclitaxel weekly.
Endometrioma, fertility, and assisted reproductive treatments: connecting the dots

Purpose of review Surgery has traditionally been the primary treatment option for endometriosis-related infertility of any phenotype. However, advances and refinements of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) permit a more conservative approach in many scenarios. This review summarizes the latest findings in the field of reproductive medicine, which have supported a paradigm shift towards more conservative management of ovarian endometrioma. Recent findings The presence of ovarian endometrioma per se is likely to impair ovarian reserve and alter ovarian functional anatomy. Conventional laparoscopic surgery is associated with significant risk of additional damage, and less invasive treatment approaches require further evaluation. With regard to infertile women with ovarian endometrioma who are scheduled for ART treatment, current data indicate that prior surgical intervention does not improve ART outcomes, and that controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) does not affect quality of life or pain symptoms. Summary Reproductive medicine physicians frequently encounter patients with ovarian endometrioma. The current evidence does not support the postponement of infertility treatment in favour of surgery, except in cases with severe symptoms or to improve follicle accessibility. Although these patients may exhibit diminished ovarian response to COH, their endometrial receptivity, aneuploidy rates, and fertility outcomes are similar to healthy controls. Surgery for ovarian endometrioma provides no benefits in ART treatments.
Improved RElim and FIN algorithm for frequent items generation

Data mining is a process of extracting hidden information from large databases. Data mining is basically focused on many areas like — communication, retail, Financial, and marketing organizations. It determines relationships among internal and external factors. Association rule is a method for identifying the relations between variables in large databases. It is determined to discover frequent patterns, identify rules and strong rules discovered in databases. The main objective of this research work is to find accurate and large number of frequent itemset by enhancing existing algorithms like FIN and RElim algorithm, frequent patterns are generated and strong rules are identified. Normally in Association rule mining common threshold value is given to find the frequent itemset but in the enhanced algorithms individual threshold values are given to every item in the transactional database to find out the frequent items. From the analysis it was observed that enhanced RElim algorithm gives best results than enhanced FIN algorithm.
Inconsistencies of Metrics in C + + Standard Template Library ?

Since McCabe's cyclometric measure, structural complexity have been playing an important role measuring the complexity of programs. Complexity metrics are used to achieve more maintainable code with the least bugs possible. C++ Standard Template Library (STL) is the most popular library based on the generic programming paradigm. This paradigm allows implementation of algorithms and containers in an abstract way to ensure the con gurability and collaboration of the abstract components. STL is widely used in industrial softwares because STL's appropriate application decreases the complexity of the code signi cantly. Many new potential errors arise by the usage of the generic programming paradigm, including invalid iterators, notation of functors, etc. In this paper we present many complexity inconsistencies in the application of STL that a precise metric must take into account, but the existing measures ignore the characteristics of STL.
Talla at SemEval-2018 Task 7: Hybrid Loss Optimization for Relation Classification using Convolutional Neural Networks

This paper describes our approach to SemEval-2018 Task 7 – given an entity-tagged text from the ACL Anthology corpus, identify and classify pairs of entities that have one of six possible semantic relationships. Our model consists of a convolutional neural network leveraging pre-trained word embeddings, unlabeled ACL-abstracts, and multiple window sizes to automatically learn useful features from entity-tagged sentences. We also experiment with a hybrid loss function, a combination of cross-entropy loss and ranking loss, to boost the separation in classification scores. Lastly, we include WordNet-based features to further improve the performance of our model. Our best model achieves an F1(macro) score of 74.2 and 84.8 on subtasks 1.1 and 1.2, respectively.
A Prospective Randomized Trial Using Four Treatment Modalities for the Treatment of Plantar Fasciitis

Introduction: A prospective randomized study was conducted to determine the efficacy of subjective pain reduction in patients with plantar fasciitis using four treatment modalities. Methods: One hundred patients (62 females and 38 males) were randomly assigned into four groups (n = 25) to receive arch supports, ultrasound treatments, injection or orthotics. Results: The ultrasound group had the highest average pain reduction of 3.97 after treatment and the highest number of patients who had pain relief after treatment at 81% or 21/25. Orthotics had the next highest average pain reduction followed by local Marcaine/Triamcinolone injection and arch supports. The orthotic group had more patients who had no pain after using the devices than any of the groups. Conclusions: No single treatment modality provided complete heel pain relief after treatment. Combining modalities will likely help improve plantar fasciitis than just one modality alone. This study also implies that some patients will require more than just one treatment modality to eliminate the symptoms of plantar fasciitis and that each modality usually decreased heel pain in most patients.
A Method for 3-D Printing Patient-Specific Prosthetic Arms With High Accuracy Shape and Size

Limb amputation creates serious emotional and functional damage to the one who lost a limb. For some upper limb prosthesis users, comfort and appearance are among the desired features. The objective of this paper is to develop a streamlined methodology for prosthesis design by recreating the shape and size of an amputated arm with high accuracy through 3-D printing and silicone casting. To achieve this, the computer tomography (CT) images of the patient’s affected and non-affected arms were scanned. Next, the geometry of the socket and the prosthetic arm were designed according the mirrored geometry of the non-affected arm through computer-aided design software. The support structure and the moulds were 3-D printed, and the prosthetic arm was casted with a silicone material. To validate the replication, the shape of the socket and prosthetic arm were quantitatively compared with respect to the source CT scan from the patient. The prosthetic arm was found to have high accuracy on the basis of the Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC; 0.96), percent error (0.67%), and relative mean distance (0.34 mm, SD = 0.48 mm). Likewise, the socket achieved high accuracy based on those measures: DSC (0.95), percent error (2.97%), and relative mean distance (0.46 mm, SD = 1.70 mm) The liner, socket, and prosthetic arm were then shipped to the patient for fitting. The patient found the fit of the socket and the replication of the shape and the size of the prosthesis to be desirable. Overall, this paper demonstrates that CT imaging, computed-aided design, desktop 3-D printing, and silicone casting can achieve patient-specific cosmetic prosthetic arms with high accuracy.
NT3-chitosan enables de novo regeneration and functional recovery in monkeys after spinal cord injury

Significance Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a severe medical condition often leading to permanent loss of sensory, motor, and autonomic functions, currently with no cure. This study provides evidence that in monkeys with severe SCI, a bioactive and biodegradable material, NT3-chitosan, elicited robust de novo neural regeneration including, for example, long-distance axonal growth of cortical motor neurons in the cortical spinal tract, as well as sensory and motor functional recovery. In this study, we utilized a battery of minimally invasive outcome measures including fMRI, magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging, and kinematics walking analyses, which are all clinical trial-compatible. Essentially, success in this approach in nonhuman primate SCI models provides a solid foundation for its potential therapeutic application. Spinal cord injury (SCI) often leads to permanent loss of motor, sensory, and autonomic functions. We have previously shown that neurotrophin3 (NT3)-loaded chitosan biodegradable material allowed for prolonged slow release of NT3 for 14 weeks under physiological conditions. Here we report that NT3-loaded chitosan, when inserted into a 1-cm gap of hemisectioned and excised adult rhesus monkey thoracic spinal cord, elicited robust axonal regeneration. Labeling of cortical motor neurons indicated motor axons in the corticospinal tract not only entered the injury site within the biomaterial but also grew across the 1-cm-long lesion area and into the distal spinal cord. Through a combination of magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging, functional MRI, electrophysiology, and kinematics-based quantitative walking behavioral analyses, we demonstrated that NT3-chitosan enabled robust neural regeneration accompanied by motor and sensory functional recovery. Given that monkeys and humans share similar genetics and physiology, our method is likely translatable to human SCI repair.
“Vegetable Dynamicks”: The Role of Water in Plant Movements

Although they lack muscle, plants have evolved a remarkable range of mechanisms to create motion, from the slow growth of shoots to the rapid snapping of carnivorous plants and the explosive rupture of seed pods. Here we review the key fluid mechanics principles used by plants to achieve movements, summarizing current knowledge and recent discoveries. We begin with a brief overview of water transport and material properties in plants and emphasize that the poroelastic timescale of water diffusion through soft plant tissue imposes constraints on the possible mechanisms for motion. We then discuss movements that rely only on the transport of water, from irreversible growth to reversible swelling/shrinking due to osmotic or humidity gradients. We next show how plants use mechanical instabilities—snap buckling, cavitation, and fracture—to speed up their movements beyond the limits imposed by simple hydraulic mechanisms. Finally, we briefly discuss alternative schemes, involving capillarity or complex fluids.
Impalement Injury to Thigh: A Case Report with Review of Literature

Introduction: Impalement injuries are one of the rare presentations in the emergency department and present complex surgical challenges in management. Prompt transfer to tertiary centre, pre-operative planning, and multi specialty involvement is crucial in the management of such cases. Case Report: We report a case of 18-year-old male who sustained impalement injury to thigh with an iron rod after falling from height. After quick assessment ofv ital parameters and ruling out major organ injury, wound extent was examined. In collaboration with vascular and plastic surgeons, the rod was successfully removed under direct vision. The patient recuperated without sequelae. Conclusion: One should not get distracted by the appearance of the impalement injuries. After initial resuscitation, full trauma evaluation should be carried out before attending to local injury. Minimal manipulation, extraction of impaled object in operation theater under direct vision, wound debridement, and administration of antibiotics to prevent wound infection are pearls of the management of impalement injury.