Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Design Guidelines on Deep Learning–based Pedestrian Detection Methods for Supporting Autonomous Vehicles

Intelligent transportation systems (ITS) enable transportation participants to communicate with each other by sending and receiving messages, so that they can be aware of their surroundings and facilitate efficient transportation through better decision making. As an important part of ITS, autonomous vehicles can bring massive benefits by reducing traffic accidents. Correspondingly, much effort has been paid to the task of pedestrian detection, which is a fundamental task for supporting autonomous vehicles. With the progress of computational power in recent years, adopting deep learning–based methods has become a trend for improving the performance of pedestrian detection. In this article, we present design guidelines on deep learning–based pedestrian detection methods for supporting autonomous vehicles. First, we will introduce classic backbone models and frameworks, and we will analyze the inherent attributes of pedestrian detection. Then, we will illustrate and analyze representative pedestrian detectors from occlusion handling, multi-scale feature extraction, multi-perspective data utilization, and hard negatives handling these four aspects. Last, we will discuss the developments and trends in this area, followed by some open challenges.
Recommending Faulty Configurations for Interacting Systems Under Test Using Multi-objective Search

Modern systems, such as cyber-physical systems, often consist of multiple products within/across product lines communicating with each other through information networks. Consequently, their runtime behaviors are influenced by product configurations and networks. Such systems play a vital role in our daily life; thus, ensuring their correctness by thorough testing becomes essential. However, testing these systems is particularly challenging due to a large number of possible configurations and limited available resources. Therefore, it is important and practically useful to test these systems with specific configurations under which products will most likely fail to communicate with each other. Motivated by this, we present a search-based configuration recommendation (SBCR) approach to recommend faulty configurations for the system under test (SUT) based on cross-product line (CPL) rules. CPL rules are soft constraints, constraining product configurations while indicating the most probable system states with a certain degree of confidence. In SBCR, we defined four search objectives based on CPL rules and combined them with six commonly applied search algorithms. To evaluate SBCR (i.e., SBCRNSGA-II, SBCRIBEA, SBCRMoCell, SBCRSPEA2, SBCRPAES, and SBCRSMPSO), we performed two case studies (Cisco and Jitsi) and conducted difference analyses. Results show that for both of the case studies, SBCR significantly outperformed random search-based configuration recommendation (RBCR) for 86% of the total comparisons based on six quality indicators, and 100% of the total comparisons based on the percentage of faulty configurations (PFC). Among the six variants of SBCR, SBCRSPEA2 outperformed the others in 85% of the total comparisons based on six quality indicators and 100% of the total comparisons based on PFC.
How Far Have We Progressed in Identifying Self-admitted Technical Debts? A Comprehensive Empirical Study

Background. Self-admitted technical debt (SATD) is a special kind of technical debt that is intentionally introduced and remarked by code comments. Those technical debts reduce the quality of software and increase the cost of subsequent software maintenance. Therefore, it is necessary to find out and resolve these debts in time. Recently, many automatic approaches have been proposed to identify SATD. Problem. Popular IDEs support a number of predefined task annotation tags for indicating SATD in comments, which have been used in many projects. However, such clear prior knowledge is neglected by existing SATD identification approaches when identifying SATD. Objective. We aim to investigate how far we have really progressed in the field of SATD identification by comparing existing approaches with a simple approach that leverages the predefined task tags to identify SATD. Method. We first propose a simple heuristic approach that fuzzily Matches task Annotation Tags (MAT) in comments to identify SATD. In nature, MAT is an unsupervised approach, which does not need any data to train a prediction model and has a good understandability. Then, we examine the real progress in SATD identification by comparing MAT against existing approaches. Result. The experimental results reveal that: (1) MAT has a similar or even superior performance for SATD identification compared with existing approaches, regardless of whether non-effort-aware or effort-aware evaluation indicators are considered; (2) the SATDs (or non-SATDs) correctly identified by existing approaches are highly overlapped with those identified by MAT; and (3) supervised approaches misclassify many SATDs marked with task tags as non-SATDs, which can be easily corrected by their combinations with MAT. Conclusion. It appears that the problem of SATD identification has been (unintentionally) complicated by our community, i.e., the real progress in SATD comments identification is not being achieved as it might have been envisaged. We hence suggest that, when many task tags are used in the comments of a target project, future SATD identification studies should use MAT as an easy-to-implement baseline to demonstrate the usefulness of any newly proposed approach.
A Survey on Windows-based Ransomware Taxonomy and Detection Mechanisms

Ransomware remains an alarming threat in the 21st century. It has evolved from being a simple scare tactic into a complex malware capable of evasion. Formerly, end-users were targeted via mass infection campaigns. Nevertheless, in recent years, the attackers have focused on targeted attacks, since the latter are profitable and can induce severe damage. A vast number of detection mechanisms have been proposed in the literature. We provide a systematic review of ransomware countermeasures starting from its deployment on the victim machine until the ransom payment via cryptocurrency. We define four stages of this malware attack: Delivery, Deployment, Destruction, and Dealing. Then, we assign the corresponding countermeasures for each phase of the attack and cluster them by the techniques used. Finally, we propose a roadmap for researchers to fill the gaps found in the literature in ransomware’s battle.
Survey of Post-OCR Processing Approaches

Optical character recognition (OCR) is one of the most popular techniques used for converting printed documents into machine-readable ones. While OCR engines can do well with modern text, their performance is unfortunately significantly reduced on historical materials. Additionally, many texts have already been processed by various out-of-date digitisation techniques. As a consequence, digitised texts are noisy and need to be post-corrected. This article clarifies the importance of enhancing quality of OCR results by studying their effects on information retrieval and natural language processing applications. We then define the post-OCR processing problem, illustrate its typical pipeline, and review the state-of-the-art post-OCR processing approaches. Evaluation metrics, accessible datasets, language resources, and useful toolkits are also reported. Furthermore, the work identifies the current trend and outlines some research directions of this field.
Introduction to China’s HTRDP Machine Translation Evaluation

Since 1994, China’s HTRDP machine translation evaluation has been conducted for five times. Systems of various translation directions between Chinese, English, Japanese and French have been tested. Both human evaluation and automatic evaluation are conducted in HTRDP evaluation. In recent years, the evaluation was organized jointly with NICT of Japan. This paper introduces some details of this evaluation.
Arthroscopic Treatment of Femoroacetabular Impingement in Patients With and Without Borderline Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Background: Based on previous studies, it is difficult to discern whether patients who have femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) with borderline developmental dysplasia of the hip (BDDH) would benefit from arthroscopy when compared with patients without BDDH. Purpose: To evaluate the existing comparative literature on arthroscopic findings, procedures, patient-reported outcomes (PROs), and failures in patients who have FAI with BDDH compared with those without BDDH. Study Design: Systematic review; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: The PubMed, Embase, and Ovid databases were searched for studies published up to August 31, 2019, that reported outcomes after arthroscopy to treat patients who had FAI with BDDH. Included studies were required to have patients diagnosed with FAI and BDDH who were treated arthroscopically and compared with control patients (FAI without BDDH). Arthroscopic findings, PROs, and revision or total hip arthroplasty (THA) conversion rates were compared between groups. Results: Included in the review were 4 articles (933 patients). Patients who had FAI with BDDH were defined as having a lateral center-edge angle (LCEA) of either 18° to 25° or 20° to 25°; for control patients, the maximum LCEA was 40°. Across the studies, there were 224 patients who had FAI with BDDH compared with 709 control patients; the mean follow-up time ranged from 21.6 to 31.3 months among the groups. Improvements were shown across all PROs in each study. Random-effects meta-analysis indicated no statistically significant differences in postoperative PROs, the risk for revision surgery, or conversion to THA between the patients who had FAI with versus without BDDH. Conclusion: The results of the current review indicated that hip arthroscopy produced similar short-term outcomes between patients who had FAI with versus without BDDH.
Moral affordance, moral expertise, and virtue

We extend “4E” cognition to moral psychology. Since acting on affordances typically requires expertise, moral expertise, or virtue, is needed to act on moral affordances and to shape moral agency. Ethical rules and codes, often selected through a process of constraint satisfaction, are also involved in the detection and selection of moral affordances. We argue that individuals who act prudently possess moral expertise that allows them to remain in the “metastable zone” between mind and world, giving them an optimal grip on moral affordances and permitting wise judgement and action. We show how this can be explained via a noncognitivist, affordance-based account of the virtue phronesis (prudence). Our overall approach creates space for reciprocally causal accounts and prospection in explanations of human moral activity.
Dynamic Radiostereometry Evaluation of 2 Different Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Techniques During a Single-Leg Squat

Background: Lateral extra-articular tenodesis in the context of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction (ACLR) is performed to better control anterolateral knee instability in patients with high-grade preoperative pivot shift. However, some authors believe these procedures may cause lateral compartment overconstraint, affecting knee motion in daily life. Purpose/Hypothesis: The primary aim of the present study was to identify kinematic differences during the execution of an activity under weightbearing conditions between knees having undergone ACLR using anatomic single-bundle (SB) versus single-bundle plus lateral plasty (SBLP) techniques. The secondary aim was to compare the postoperative kinematic data with those from the same knees before ACLR and from the healthy contralateral knees in order to investigate if ACLR was able to restore physiologic knee biomechanics during squat execution. The hypotheses were that (1) the SBLP technique would allow a better restoration of internal-external (IE) knee rotation than would SB and (2) regardless of the technique, ACLR would not fully restore physiologic knee biomechanics. Study Design: Randomized controlled trial; Level of evidence, 2. Methods: In total, 32 patients (42 knees) were included in the study. Patients were asked to perform a single-leg squat before surgery (ACL-injured group, n = 32; healthy contralateral group, n = 10) and at minimum 18-month follow-up after ACLR (SB group, n = 9; SBLP group, n = 18). Knee motion was determined using a validated model-based tracking process that matched patient-specific magnetic resonance imaging bone models to dynamic biplane radiographic images under the principles of roentgen stereophotogrammetric analysis. Data processing was performed using specific software. The authors compared IE and varus-valgus rotations and anterior-posterior and medial-lateral translations among the groups. Results: The mean follow-up period was 21.7 ± 4.5 months. No kinematic differences were found between the SB and SBLP groups (P > .05). A more medial tibial position (P < .05) of the ACL-injured group was reported during the entire motor task and persisted after ACLR in both the SB and the SBLP groups. Differences in IE and varus-valgus rotations were found between the ACL-injured and healthy groups. Conclusion: There were no relevant kinematic differences between SBLP and anatomic SB ACLR during the execution of a single-leg squat. Regardless of the surgical technique, ACLR failed in restoring knee biomechanics. Registration: NCT02323386 (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier).
Improving flexural strength of UHPC with sustainably synthesized graphene oxide

Abstract Ultrahigh-performance concrete (UHPC) has been increasingly employed for infrastructure and building structure, thanks to its excellent durability and exceptional mechanical properties; however, improving its relatively low flexural strength remains a challenging issue. This study presents an experimental investigation on improving the compressive strength and flexural strength of UHPC by employing sustainably synthesized graphene oxide (GO). The content of micro steel fibers (MSFs) for the UHPC ranges from 0.5 to 1.5% by volume of concrete. For each level of MSFs addition, the dosage of GO added is from 0.00 to 0.03% by mass of cement. The results indicate that the electrochemical (EC) method to synthesize GO is greener, safer, and lower in cost for construction industry. And the compressive strength of UHPC is slightly improved, while its flexural strength is significantly increased from 33 to 65%, demonstrating that the incorporation of GO can be an effective measure to enhance the flexural strength of UHPC under standard curing and steam curing. This can be associated with the improvement in bond strength between the MSFs and the matrix contributed by the improved interfacial microstructure, the higher friction increase, and the mechanical interlock at the interface between the MSFs and the bulk matrix, thanks to the addition of GO. Graphical abstract
Nest relief in the cryptically-incubating semipalmated sandpiper is quick, but vocal

Biparental care requires coordination between parents. Such coordination might prove difficult if opportunities to communicate are scarce, which might have led to the evolution of elaborate and noisy nest relief rituals in species facing a low risk of predation. However, whether such conspicuous rituals also evolved in species that avoid predation by relying on crypsis remains unclear. Here, we used a continuous monitoring system to describe nest relief behavior during incubation in an Arctic-breeding shorebird with passive nest defense, the semipalmated sandpiper (Calidris pusilla). We then explored whether nest relief behavior provides information about parental cooperation and predicts incubation effort. We found that incubating parents vocalized twice as much before the arrival of their partner than during other times of incubation. In 75% of nest reliefs, the incubating parent left the nest only after its partner had returned and initiated the nest relief. In these cases, exchanges were quick (25s, median) and shortened over the incubation period by 0.1 – 1.4s per day (95%CI), suggesting that parents became more synchronized. However, nest reliefs were not cryptic. In 90% of exchanges, at least one parent vocalized, and in 20% of nest reliefs the incubating parent left the nest only after its returning partner called instantaneously. In 30% of cases, the returning parent initiated the nest relief with a call; in 39% of these cases, the incubating partner replied. If the partner replied, the next off-nest bout was 1 – 4hr (95%CI) longer than when the partner did not reply, which corresponds to an 8 – 45% increase. Our results indicate that incubating semipalmated sandpipers, which rely on crypsis to avoid nest predation, have quick but acoustically conspicuous nest reliefs. Our results also suggest that vocalizations during nest reliefs may be important for the division of parental duties. LAY SUMMARY Biparental care requires coordination between parents. In species where both parents incubate and nests are visible, parents often perform complex nest relief rituals. Is this also the case in species where nests are cryptic? We video-recorded nest relief behavior at nests of cryptically incubating semipalmated sandpipers. Parents relieved each other quickly, but they vocalized frequently. In 20% of nest reliefs the incubating parent left only after its returning partner called instantaneously. In 30% of cases the returning parent initiated the nest relief with a call. If the partner replied, its next off-nest bout was 1 – 4hr longer than when the partner did not reply, which corresponds to an 8 – 45% increase. Our results suggest that vocalizations during nest relief may be important for the division of parental duties. Further work in sandpipers and other taxa is needed to elucidate the role of parental vocalization in coordinating and synchronizing parental duties.
Scaffold modelling captures the structure-function-dynamics relationship in brain microcircuits

Modelling brain networks with complex configuration and cellular properties requires a set of neuroinformatic tools and an organized staged workflow. We have therefore developed the Brain Scaffold Builder (BSB), a new modeling framework embedding multiple strategies for cell placement and connectivity and a flexible management of cellular and network mechanisms. With BSB, for the first time, the mouse cerebellar cortex was reconstructed and simulated at cellular resolution, using morphologically realistic multi-compartmental single-neuron models. Embedded connection rules allowed BSB to generate the cerebellar connectome, unifying a collection of scattered experimental data into a coherent construct. Naturalistic background and sensory-burst stimulation were used for functional validation against recordings in vivo, monitoring the impact of subcellular mechanisms on signal propagation and spatio-temporal processing and providing a new ground-truth about circuit organization for the prediction of neural dynamics.
EP300 (p300) mediated histone butyrylation is critical for adipogenesis

The master epigenetic enzyme EP300 (p300) besides having lysine acetyltransferase activity can also catalyse other acylation modifications (propionylation, butyrylation, crotonylation etc.), the physiological implications of which are yet to be established fully. Here, by performing immunoblotting and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays, we report that histone butyrylation increases both globally as well as locally in the promoters of pro-adipogenic genes upon adipogenesis. Moreover, the enzyme ACSS2 which is responsible for generating acyl CoA for being used as a cofactor in acylation reactions is upregulated in adipogenesis and its genetic ablation leads to reduction of butyrylation. To delineate the role of p300 catalysed butyrylation from acetylation in adipogenesis, we have identified a semi-synthetic derivative (LTK-14A) of garcinol which specifically inhibited histone butyrylation without affecting acetylation mediated by p300. Treatment of 3T3L1 cells with LTK-14A significantly abolished adipogenesis with downregulation of pro-adipogenic genes along with the inhibition of H4K5 butyrylation. Administering the specific inhibitor to high fat diet fed C57BL6/J mice as well as genetically obese db/db mice led to an attenuation/decrease in their weight gain respectively. The reduced obesity could be at least partially attributed to the targeted inhibition of H4K5 butyrylation, as observed by immunofluorescence staining of the inhibitor treated mice liver sections and immunoblotting with histones extracted from epididymal fat pads. This report therefore not only for the first time causally links histone butyrylation with adipogenesis but also presents a novel small molecule modulator that could be developed for anti-obesity therapeutics. Initial preclinical studies indicate that LTK-14A can be a safe candidate drug for treatment of obesity.
Injury risk functions for the four primary knee ligaments

The purpose of this study was to develop Injury Risk Functions (IRFs) for the Anterior- and Posterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL and PCL, respectively) and the Medial- and Lateral Collateral Ligament (MCL and LCL, respectively) in the knee joint. The IRFs were based on Post-Mortem Human Subject (PMHS) tensile failure strains of either Bone-Ligament-Bone (BLB) or dissected LIGament (LIG) preparations. Due to insufficient sample sizes of the experimental data points available in the current literature, statistically-generated failure strains (virtual values) based on the reported mean- and standard deviation were used to accommodate for the unprovided specimen-specific results. All virtual and specimen-specific values were then categorized into groups of static and dynamic rates, respectively, and tested for the best fitting theoretical distribution to derive a ligament IRF. Ten IRFs were derived (3 for ACL, 2 for PCL, 2 for MCL and 3 for LCL). These IRFs are, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the first attempt of knee ligament injury prediction tools based on PMHS data. For future improvements of the knee ligament IRFs, upcoming experiments need comparable testing and strain measurements. More emphasis on a clear definition of failure and transparent reporting of each specimen-specific result is necessary.