Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adaptive multi-reference prediction using a symmetric framework

Google started the WebM Project in 2010 to develop open source, royalty--free video codecs designed specifically for media on the Web. Subsequently, Google jointly founded a consortium of major tech companies called the Alliance for Open Media (AOM) to develop a new codec AV1, aiming at a next edition codec that achieves at least a generational improvement in coding efficiency over VP9. This paper proposes a new coding tool as one of the many efforts devoted to AOM/AV1. In particular, we propose a second ALTREF_FRAME in the AV1 syntax, which brings the total reference frames to seven on top of the work presented in [11]. ALTREF_FRAME is a constructed, no-show reference obtained through temporal filtering of a look-ahead frame. The use of two ALTREF_FRAMEs adds further flexibility to the multi-layer, multi-reference symmetric framework, and provides a great potential for the overall Rate-Distortion (RD) performance enhancement. The experimental results have been collected over several video test sets of various resolutions and characteristics both texture-and motion-wise, which demonstrate that the proposed approach achieves a consistent coding gain, compared against the AV1 baseline as well as against the results in [11]. For instance, using overall-PSNR as the distortion metric, an average bitrate saving of 5.880% in BDRate is obtained for the CIF-level resolution set, and 4.595% on average for the VGA-level resolution set.
Context-Aware Source Selection for Linked Data

The traditional Web is evolving into the Web of Data, which gathers huge collections of structured data over distributed, heterogeneous data sources. Live queries are needed to get current information out of this global data space. In live query processing, source selection allows the identification of the sources that most likely contain relevant content. Due to the semantic heterogeneity of the Web of Data, however, it is not always easy to assess relevancy. Context information might help in interpreting the user’s information needs. In this paper, we discuss how context information can be exploited to improve source selection.
Maritime anomaly detection: A review

The surveillance of large sea areas normally requires the analysis of large volumes of heterogeneous, multidimensional and dynamic sensor data, in order to improve vessel traffic safety, maritime security and to protect the environment. Early detection of conflict situations at sea provides critical time to take appropriate action with, possibly before potential problems occur. In order to provide an overview of the state‐of‐the‐art of research carried out for the analysis of maritime data for situational awareness, this study presents a review of maritime anomaly detection. The found articles are categorized into four groups (a) data, (b) methods, (c) systems, and (d) user aspects. We present a comprehensive summary of the works found in each category, and finally, outline possible paths of investigation and challenges for maritime anomaly detection.
Prolonging the Lifetime of Wireless Sensor Networks: A Review of Current Techniques

There has been an increase in research interest in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) as a result of the potential for their widespread use in many different areas like home automation, security, environmental monitoring, and many more. Despite the successes gained, the widespread adoption of WSNs particularly in remote and inaccessible places where their use is most beneficial is hampered by the major challenge of limited energy, being in most instances battery powered. To prolong the lifetime for these energy hungry sensor nodes, energy management schemes have been proposed in the literature to keep the sensor nodes alive making the network more operational and efficient. Currently, emphasis has been placed on energy harvesting, energy transfer, and energy conservation methods as the primary means of maintaining the network lifetime. These energy management techniques are designed to balance the energy in the overall network. The current review presents the state of the art in the energy management schemes, the remaining challenges, and the open issues for future research work.
Differences in energy and corneal endothelium between femtosecond laser-assisted and conventional cataract surgeries: prospective, intraindividual, randomized controlled trial.

AIM To compare intraoperative phacoemulsification parameters and its effect on the corneal endothelium of eyes undergoing femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery (FLACS) versus conventional phacoemulsification (CP) cataract surgery. METHODS Two hundred eyes from one hundred patients were included in a prospective, non-blinded, randomized, controlled, intraindividual clinical study. One hundred eyes underwent FLACS while their one hundred fellow eyes underwent CP. All surgeries were performed using the Victus® femtosecond laser platform and Infinity® Vision System phacoemulsification machine. Primary outcome measure was endothelial cell density 6mo after surgery. Secondary outcome measures included central corneal thickness (CCT), average cell area, standard deviation, coefficient of variation and hexagonality before surgery and 6mo after surgery and endothelial cell density loss during this period were also evaluated. Intraoperative efficiency parameters [cumulative dissipated energy (CDE), total intraocular surgery time, total ultrasound time, total phacoemulsification time, total torsional energy time, total aspiration time, ultrasound energy, torsional amplitude and fluid required during surgery] were also collated. RESULTS Data from these patients was not considered for analysis. Data from 92 patients were analysed. Postoperative endothelial cell density (cells/mm2) between groups (2211.88±392.49 CP; 2246.31±403.48 FLACS) was not statistically significant (P=0.869). Total ultrasound time, torsional energy time, CDE and fluid requirements were significantly lower the FLACS group (P<0.05). Other parameters did not show statistically significant difference between FLACS and CP. CONCLUSION FLACS displays significant improvements in phacoemulsification parameters in comparison to CP. There are no significant differences in corneal endothelium measures between FLACS and CP.
Volumetric deformable models: active blobs

Current modeling and segmentation techniques are not adequate for visualizing certain kinds of 3D medical data. This paper introduces volumetric deformable models, or active blobs, as a means of visualizing and segmenting 3D data. It presents an implicit framework that provides a means of generalizing deformable models to higher dimensions. It presents a new second- order smoothing function that offers some advantages over previous methods for smoothing surfaces. It describes some of the numerical techniques that are necessary for solving the resulting evolution equations. Finally it shows some examples of how active blobs are useful for the segmentation and visualization of 3D ultrasound and MRI data. Active blobs have a number of advantages over other types of modeling techniques. Because of these advantages, active blobs are able to produce models directly from the 3D data, rather than presegmented datasets, edge maps, or sets of landmarks.
The Consequences of Ignoring Therapist Effects in Trials With Longitudinal Data: A Simulation Study

Objective: Psychotherapy trials frequently generate multilevel longitudinal data with 3 levels. This type of hierarchy exists in all trials in which therapists deliver the treatment and patients are repeatedly measured. Unfortunately, researchers often ignore the possibility that therapists could differ in their performance and instead assume there is no difference between therapists in their average impact on patients’ rate of change. In this article, we focus on scenarios in which therapists are fully and partially nested within treatments and investigate the consequences of ignoring even small therapist effects in longitudinal data. Method: We first derived the factors leading to increased Type I errors for the Time × Treatment effect in a balanced study. Scenarios with an unbalanced allocation of patients to therapists and studies with missing data were then investigated in a comprehensive simulation study, in which the correct 3-level linear mixed-effects model, which modeled therapist effects using a random slope at the therapist level, was compared with a misspecified 2-level model. Results: Type I errors were strongly influenced by several interacting factors. Estimates of the therapist-level random slope suffer from bias when there are very few therapists per treatment. Conclusion: Researchers should account for therapist effects in the rate of change in longitudinal studies. To facilitate this, we developed an open source R package powerlmm, which makes it easy to investigate model misspecification and conduct power analysis for these designs.
RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF THE HALO DIGITAL GONIOMETER FOR SHOULDER RANGE OF MOTION IN HEALTHY SUBJECTS.

Background Range of motion (ROM) of the shoulder is an integral component of assessment of musculoskeletal shoulder impairments. ROM is typically measured using a universal goniometer (UG). The UG has demonstrated good intra and inter-rater reliability for measuring shoulder ROM, although limitations exist. In recent years, alternative measurement devices such as smartphone applications and digital goniometers have been introduced, potentially addressing some of the shortcomings of the UG. Limited research is available on the validity and reliability of these alternative devices, including the laser-guided digital goniometer, in measuring shoulder ROM.Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the intra- and inter-rater reliability and concurrent validity of a laser-guided digital goniometer (HALO) for measuring active shoulder ROM. Methods A convenience sample of healthy volunteers was recruited. To be eligible, participants were required to be between 18 and 75 years of age and able to actively move at least one shoulder into 90 ° of glenohumeral abduction. Self-report of previous significant shoulder injury; previous shoulder surgery; current bilateral shoulder pain; current neck or upper back pain; or referred pain into the upper extremity were exclusion criteria. Active shoulder flexion, abduction, internal rotation, and external rotation were measured for each shoulder. Two evaluators measured each motion twice with each device (HALO and the UG) per shoulder. The intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) for reliability and validity/agreement between devices was calculated using a two-way mixed model with a 95% confidence interval. Results Data were analyzed for 75 shoulders from 41 participants (seven participants had only one shoulder evaluated). Intra-rater reliability ICCs are between 0.82 and 0.91 for the HALO, and 0.83 to 0.95 for the UG. Inter-rater reliability for the HALO was 0.89 to 0.98 and for the UG was 0.90 to 0.98. The ICCs for agreement, comparing the HALO digital goniometer to the UG ranged from 0.79 to 0.99. Conclusion This study provides evidence that the HALO digital goniometer can be a reliable and valid tool for measuring shoulder ROM in individuals with healthy shoulders. However, the two devices should not be used interchangeably to evaluate a single individual's change over time for any motion. Level of Evidence Diagnostic Study (clinical measurement), Level 2b.
Perceptions and Practices of Diabetes Educators in Providing Oral Health Care: A Qualitative Study

Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore the current perceptions and practices of diabetes educators (DEs) in providing oral health care to people with diabetes. Methods A qualitative study design involving focus groups was used to gather data. Purposive sampling was used to recruit DEs working across 3 metropolitan hospitals in South Western Sydney, Australia. Results Fourteen DEs participated in 3 focus groups. Participants had a mean ± SD age of 44.4 ± 9.2 years and 5.2 ± 5.3 years of work experience in diabetes care. Four main themes were identified: perceptions about oral health care and diabetes current oral health care practices, perceptions on incorporating oral health, and suggested model of care. DEs agreed that promoting oral health in diabetes clinics is important, and they reported seeing patients frequently with oral health problems. However, the majority do not include oral health care in consultations, primarily because they have limited knowledge in this area and have not received any formal oral health education or training. Additional barriers were the lack of referral pathways and resources for patient education. DEs were receptive to incorporating oral health provided that the current barriers were addressed. DEs also suggested a multidisciplinary team care approach to promote oral health. Conclusions Current practices of DEs in oral health care are limited, but they are willing to address oral health. A suggested model of oral health care should include capacity building of diabetes care providers, appropriate dental referral pathways, and a team approach within multidisciplinary diabetes care.
Association between bullous pemphigoid and psoriasis: Systematic review and meta‐analysis of case‐control studies

Several case reports and cohort studies have recently investigated the potential association between bullous pemphigoid (BP) and psoriasis. It has been speculated that chronic inflammation in the dermo‐epidermal junction can trigger exposure to antigens to autoreactive T cells, resulting in autoimmune blistering disease. However, the association described has been inconsistently reported amongst studies. We performed a systematic review and meta‐analysis to investigation this potential association. We identified four case–control studies for inclusion in the present meta‐analysis, with a total of 4035 bullous pemphigoid cases and 19 215 control cases. There was a significantly higher prevalence of psoriasis in BP compared to controls (2.6% vs 1.1%, OR 2.5, 95% CI 1.4–4.6). Subgroup analysis showed that this association remained significant in both males (3.0% vs 1.3%, OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.6–3.6) as well as females (1.9% vs 0.7%, OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.4–5.9). A significantly higher proportion of cases were reported in males (3.0% vs 1.9%, OR 1.75, 95% CI 1.1–2.7). This pooled analysis of existing case–control studies to date demonstrates a significant association between BP and psoriasis. We also showed that in contrast with the majority of autoimmune diseases which are predisposed in females, that the coexistence of BP and psoriasis appears to be predisposed in male patients.
Enabling Big Data Exploration in Dynamic Contexts

According to the Industry 4.0 vision, big data management is among the new challenges for the factory of the future. While many approaches have been developed to investigate data analysis, data visualisation, data collection and management, the impact of big data exploration is still under-estimated. In this paper, we propose an approach for big data exploration in a dynamic context of interconnected systems, such as the Industry 4.0 domain. The approach relies on three main pillars: (i) a multi-dimensional model, that is suited for supporting the iterative and multi-step exploration of big data; (ii) novel data summarisation techniques, based on clustering; (iii) a model of relevance, aimed to focus the attention on relevant data only. Keyword: big data exploration, data summarisation, data relevance, Industry 4.0, smart manufacturing
StAR-related lipid transfer domain 11 (STARD11)–mediated ceramide transport mediates extracellular vesicle biogenesis

Extracellular vesicles are important carriers of cellular materials and have critical roles in cell-to-cell communication in both health and disease. Ceramides are implicated in extracellular vesicle biogenesis, yet the cellular machinery that mediates the formation of ceramide-enriched extracellular vesicles remains unknown. We demonstrate here that the ceramide transport protein StAR-related lipid transfer domain 11 (STARD11) mediates the release of palmitate-stimulated extracellular vesicles having features consistent with exosomes. Using palmitate as a model of lipotoxic diseases and as a substrate for ceramide biosynthesis in human and murine liver cell lines and primary mouse hepatocytes, we found that STARD11-deficient cells release fewer extracellular vesicles. Moreover, STARD11 reciprocally regulated exosome ceramide enrichment and cellular ceramide depletion. We further observed that in STARD11 knockout cells intracellular ceramide accumulates and that this apparent inability to transfer cellular ceramide into extracellular vesicles reduces cellular viability. Using endogenous markers, we uncovered structural and functional colocalization of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), STARD11, and multivesicular bodies. This colocalization increased following palmitate treatment, suggesting a functional association that may mediate ceramide trafficking from the ER to the multivesicular body. However, the size and number of multivesicular bodies were comparable in WT and STARD11-knockout cells. In conclusion, we propose a model of how STARD11 mediates ceramide trafficking in palmitate-treated cells and stimulates exosome biogenesis.
Colorectal Cancer Risk Awareness and Screening Uptake among Adults in the United Arab Emirates

United Arab Emirates initiated the colorectal cancer (CRC) screening on 2013. Yet, one of the barriers to participation in CRC screening is lack of knowledge about the importance of CRC, its risk factors, and the benefits that could be gained through screening. We aimed in this study to identify knowledge, attitude, and behavioral factors among the public that are associated with willingness to undergo CRC screening. A structured bilingual questionnaire in English and Arabic was designed by a multidisciplinary team and through a review of the literature. The survey consisted of four functional domains: socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge, attitude, and practice related questions. It was encouraging that more than 65% of the total participants surveyed for the study were aware of CRC and their main source of information was media (395, 66%). However, the majority (379, 64%) were thinking that CRC is not common, and did not hear of the screening test for CRC (401, 67%). An overall evaluation of the answers revealed a poor level of knowledge on risk factors of CRC, and only 40% correctly identified fecal occult blood as main test for CRC prevention. Surprisingly, 95% of participants mentioned that the CRC screening was not recommended to them by a physician. This is the first report analyzing the awareness, attitude and practice of UAE population and assessing the barriers for CRC screening. Our results demonstrate that better education and communication of the benefits of early detection of CRC should be addressed to improve the screening in UAE population. There is need for campaigns and educational programs, both for health care providers and public. Media might play a significant role in this aspect and new policies need to focus more on increasing community awareness on cancer preventive measures in UAE.
Prevention and Control of Influenza with Vaccines: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, United States, 2015–16 Influenza Season

This report updates the 2014 recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) regarding the use of seasonal influenza vaccines. Updated information for the 2015-16 season includes 1) antigenic composition of U.S. seasonal influenza vaccines; 2) information on influenza vaccine products expected to be available for the 2015-16 season; 3) an updated algorithm for determining the appropriate number of doses for children aged 6 months through 8 years; and 4) recommendations for the use of live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) and inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV) when either is available, including removal of the 2014-15 preferential recommendation for LAIV for healthy children aged 2 through 8 years. Information regarding topics related to influenza vaccination that are not addressed in this report is available in the 2013 ACIP seasonal influenza recommendations.
Transcriptomic Characterization of a Chicken Embryo Model Infected With Duck Hepatitis A Virus Type 1

Duck hepatitis A virus type 1 (DHAV-1) is one of the most common and lethal pathogens in young ducklings. Live-attenuated DHAV vaccine (CH60 strain) developed by passaging in chicken embryos provided effective immune protection for ducklings. However, the accurate mechanism for such adaption in chicken embryos is not fully revealed. Here, we utilize RNA-sequencing to perform global transcriptional analysis of DHAV-1-innoculated embryonated livers along with histopathological and ultrastructural analysis. This study revealed that infection with DHAV-1 strain CH60 is associated with enhanced type I and II interferon responses, activated innate immune responses, elevated levels of suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 and 3 (SOCS1 and SOCS3) accompanied with abnormalities in multiple metabolic pathways. Excessive inflammatory and innate immune responses induced by the CH60 strain are related to severe liver damage. Our study presents a comprehensive characterization of the transcriptome of chicken embryos infected with DHAV-CH60 and provides insight for in-depth exploration of viral adaption and virus–host interactions.
Atomic Interlamellar Ion Path in High Sulfur Content Lithium‐Montmorillonite Host Enables High‐Rate and Stable Lithium–Sulfur Battery

Fast lithium ion transport with a high current density is critical for thick sulfur cathodes, stemming mainly from the difficulties in creating effective lithium ion pathways in high sulfur content electrodes. To develop a high‐rate cathode for lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries, extenuation of the lithium ion diffusion barrier in thick electrodes is potentially straightforward. Here, a phyllosilicate material with a large interlamellar distance is demonstrated in high‐rate cathodes as high sulfur loading. The interlayer space (≈1.396 nm) incorporated into a low lithium ion diffusion barrier (0.155 eV) significantly facilitates lithium ion diffusion within the entire sulfur cathode, and gives rise to remarkable nearly sulfur loading‐independent cell performances. When combined with 80% sulfur contents, the electrodes achieve a high capacity of 865 mAh g−1 at 1 mA cm−2 and a retention of 345 mAh g−1 at a high discharging/charging rate of 15 mA cm−2, with a sulfur loading up to 4 mg. This strategy represents a major advance in high‐rate Li–S batteries via the construction of fast ions transfer paths toward real‐life applications, and contributes to the research community for the fundamental mechanism study of loading‐independent electrode systems.
Multimodal query‐level fusion for efficient multimedia information retrieval

Managing a large volume of multimedia data containing various modalities such as visual, audio, and text reveals the necessity for efficient methods for modeling, processing, storing, and retrieving complex data. In this paper, we propose a fusion‐based approach at the query level to improve query retrieval performance of multimedia data. We discuss various flexible query types including the combination of content as well as concept‐based queries that provide users with the ability to efficiently perform multimodal querying. We have carried out a number of experiments on a video database to show the efficiency of our approach for various types of queries. Our experimental results show that our query‐level fusion approach presents a notable improvement in retrieval performance especially for the concept‐based queries.