Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Active discriminative tracking using collective memory

Ever changing appearance of the targets in real-world scenarios mandates a discriminative tracker to update its classifier(s) on-the-fly, a process during which the model could be updated with irrelevant/noisy data, causing the tracker to drift away from the target over time. The updates should be frequent enough to reflect the latest changes in the target's appearance, whereas the tracker should keep the memory of previous templates to recover from occlusions or temporal variations in appearance of the target (aka the plasticity-stability dilemma). In this study, we proposed a committee of classifiers with different memory spans, to address the appearance changes with various durations. An active learning scheme selects the most disputed samples and queries their labels from a less-frequently updated long-term memory oracle. This combination of memory spans balances the plasticity-stability equilibrium as demonstrated by the experiments and provides a comparable performance to the state-of-the-art trackers with a relatively simple implementation.
Research on Element Sub-sentence in Chinese-English Patent Machine Translation

This paper presents an approach to translate element sub-sentences which widely exist in Chinese patent documents. Element sub-sentence is a kind of language chunk in a sentence in which one part of sub-sentence is the headword and others are attributives, or the modifier-head phrase of VP+NP or NP+VP structure. Element sub-sentence can be divided into three types in HNC theory: EK (predicate) sub-sentence, GBK1 (subject) sub-sentence and GBK2 (object) sub-sentence. In this paper, we give the method to detect the sub-sentence boundaries, analyze the characteristic of each type of element sub-sentences from the structure and semantics, and discover the Chinese-English translation rules of each type. By using the processing strategies most of the Chinese-English translation problem about the element sub-sentence can be perfectly solvable on an online patent MT system in SIPO.
Development of a prototype fuel cell laboratory

This paper, the preliminary results pertaining to development of a prototype interdisciplinary undergraduate fuel cell laboratory is presented. The development of the new laboratory is carried out through innovations and recent advances in fuel cell technology and effective implementation of these techniques to substantially improve the instructional capability of undergraduate instruction. Such a goal is achieved through collaboration with several leading industries in fuel cell technology including Teledyne Energy System Inc. (TESI) and Energy Proton System Inc. These industries have extensive experiences in design, fabrication and implementation of fuel cells in both stationary and mobile applications. Students from various engineering disciplines are benefiting from opportunities the laboratory provides in design, experiment and simulation of fuel cells.
Developing a Cooperative Intrusion Detection System for Wireless Sensor Networks

Abstract : Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are quickly gaining popularity because they are potentially low-cost solutions that can be used in a variety of application areas. However, they are highly susceptible to attacks and it is very probable that an intruder catches already existing security measures out. AWISSENET (Ad-hoc personal area network & WIreless Sensor SEcure NETwork) is a project funded by the European Union Information and Communication Technologies Program that is focused on security and resilience across ad-hoc personal area networks and wireless sensor networks, and provides a security toolbox for trusted route selection, secure service discovery and intrusion detection. This paper deals with intrusion detection systems for WSNs and how it is used in the AWISSENET project.
Abnormal attention modulation of fear circuit function in pediatric generalized anxiety disorder.

CONTEXT Considerable work implicates abnormal neural activation and disrupted attention to facial-threat cues in adult anxiety disorders. However, in pediatric anxiety, no research has examined attention modulation of neural response to threat cues. OBJECTIVE To determine whether attention modulates amygdala and cortical responses to facial-threat cues differentially in adolescents with generalized anxiety disorder and in healthy adolescents. DESIGN Case-control study. SETTING Government clinical research institute. PARTICIPANTS Fifteen adolescents with generalized anxiety disorder and 20 controls. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Blood oxygenation level-dependent signal as measured via functional magnetic resonance imaging. During imaging, participants completed a face-emotion rating task that systematically manipulated attention. RESULTS While attending to their own subjective fear, patients, but not controls, showed greater activation to fearful faces than to happy faces in a distributed network including the amygdala, ventral prefrontal cortex, and anterior cingulate cortex (P<.05, small-volume corrected, for all). Right amygdala findings appeared particularly strong. Functional connectivity analyses demonstrated positive correlations among the amygdala, ventral prefrontal cortex, and anterior cingulate cortex. CONCLUSIONS This is the first evidence in juveniles that generalized anxiety disorder-associated patterns of pathologic fear circuit activation are particularly evident during certain attention states. Specifically, fear circuit hyperactivation occurred in an attention state involving focus on subjectively experienced fear. These findings underscore the importance of attention and its interaction with emotion in shaping the function of the adolescent human fear circuit.
“Starkfest” Vision and Clinic Science Special Issue: Effects of Heterophoria on Stereopsis

The effects of horizontal heterophoria on Howard-Dolman stereopsis scores were investigated in a population of 1765 stereophotogrammetrists with no obvious impediment to binocular vision as determined in a vision screening. Exophoria over the 1 to 7 δ range showed no systematic and statistically valid effect on stereopsis but esophoria did show an effect. In a related population of 1339 stereophotogrammetrists, subjects with as little as 1 A (±0.5 A) of vertical heterophoria exhibited a small but statistically significant decrease in stereopsis test scores compared to those with vertical orthophoria. Therefore, a heterophoria had different effects on stereoacuity depending on whether it was in the exo, eso, or vertical direction. An explanation for the difference is proposed using the known dependence of heterophoria and stereoacuity on fixation disparity.
Eigenmodes in nonnormal optical systems

It is commonly assumed that the modes of optical waveguides and resonators form a complete set of normal modes in the same fashion as in many other physical systems. The equations that govern the propagating or resonant modes in many common optical systems are, however, nonhermitian in character, and as a result the eigenmodes of these systems are not orthogonal to each other and do not comprise a set of ``normal modes'' in the usual sense of that term. Many of our fundamental concepts related to optical systems and laser physics depend upon the assumed orthogonality of the modes of these systems, and are significantly changed if these modes are not orthogonal. This paper describes and gives physical interpretations for the unusual mathematical and physical properties of nonnormal optical systems, using as examples loss-guided or gain-guided optical waveguides and the resonant modes of unstable optical resonators.
Objectively measured physical activity in a diverse sample of older urban UK adults.

BACKGROUND There are many health and social benefits of physical activity (PA) for older adults, but little is known about their activity patterns. PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to objectively assess the PA patterns of older adults and the lifestyle and demographic factors associated with PA. METHODS Participants (N = 230, aged 78.1 yr) recruited from medical practices (between 2007 and 2008) completed journey logs and wore accelerometers for 7 d. Mean daily steps, counts per minute (CPM), minutes of sedentary, light, or moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA), and frequency of journeys were analyzed (in 2009). RESULTS Younger participants (age = 70-74.9 yr) were significantly (P < 0.001) more active (5660.8 steps per day) than older participants aged 80+ yr (3409.6 steps per day). Men performed significantly (P = 0.035) more minutes MVPA than women (23.1 vs 13.8 min MVPA per day). Normal weight participants were significantly (P < 0.05) more active (5368.9 steps per day) than overweight (4532.7 steps per day) and obese (3251.4 steps per day) groups. Those performing many journeys (>11.6 journeys per week) were significantly (P < 0.001) more active (5838.2 steps per day) than those performing few (<7 journeys per week) (3094.2 steps per day). PA was significantly (P < 0.001) greater in mornings (259.3 CPM) than afternoons (181.8 CPM) and evenings (102.5 CPM). Sundays were significantly (P < 0.001) less active (3331.7 steps per day) than Saturdays (4193.1 steps per day) and weekdays (4623.5 steps per day). Light activity was significantly (P = 0.005) higher in spring (3.4 h·d(-1)) than that in winter (2.7 h·d(-1)). CONCLUSIONS Older adults' PA patterns differ by age, gender, and weight status. Daily journeys are associated with more activity for all groups. Variability in volume of activity is high for all age groups. Temporal patterns of PA indicate that journeys out of the house for shopping and personal business are important in their contribution to PA levels.
Evolution of Novel Signal Traits in the Absence of Female Preferences in Neoconocephalus Katydids (Orthoptera, Tettigoniidae)

Background Significance Communication signals that function to bring together the sexes are important for maintaining reproductive isolation in many taxa. Changes in male calls are often attributed to sexual selection, in which female preferences initiate signal divergence. Natural selection can also influence signal traits if calls attract predators or parasitoids, or if calling is energetically costly. Neutral evolution is often neglected in the context of acoustic communication. Methodology/Principal Findings We describe a signal trait that appears to have evolved in the absence of either sexual or natural selection. In the katydid genus Neoconocephalus, calls with a derived pattern in which pulses are grouped into pairs have evolved five times independently. We have previously shown that in three of these species, females require the double pulse pattern for call recognition, and hence the recognition system of the females is also in a derived state. Here we describe the remaining two species and find that although males produce the derived call pattern, females use the ancestral recognition mechanism in which no pulse pattern is required. Females respond equally well to the single and double pulse calls, indicating that the derived trait is selectively neutral in the context of mate recognition. Conclusions/Significance These results suggest that 1) neutral changes in signal traits could be important in the diversification of communication systems, and 2) males rather than females may be responsible for initiating signal divergence.
Design of an autonomous humanoid robot

This paper describes the design of an autonomous humanoid robot. The robot itself is currently under construction, however the process of designing the robot has revealed much about the considerations for creating a robot with humanoid shape. The mechanical design is a complete CAD solids model, with specific motors and transmission systems selected. The electronic design of a distributed control system is also complete, along with the electronics for power and sensor processing. A hi gh fidelity graphical simulator has been developed, providing important early feedback on critical design decisions.
Role of estrogen receptor alpha and beta expression and signaling on cognitive function during aging

This review presents evidence for the idea that the expression of estrogen receptor alpha and beta (ERα and ERβ) interacts with the level of estradiol (E2) to influence the etiology of age‐related cognitive decline and responsiveness to E2 treatments. There is a nonmonotonic dose response curve for E2 influences on behavior and transcription. Evidence is mounting to indicate that the dose response curve is shifted according to the relative expression of ERα and ERβ. Recent work characterizing age‐related changes in the expression of ERα and ERβ in the hippocampus, as well as studies using mutant mice, and viral mediated delivery of estrogen receptors indicate that an age‐related shift in ERα/ERβ expression, combined with declining gonadal E2 can impact transcription, cell signaling, neuroprotection, and neuronal growth. Finally, the role of ERα/ERβ on rapid E2 signaling and synaptogenesis as it relates to hippocampal aging is discussed. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Dissemination of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus USA300 sequence type 8 lineage in Latin America.

BACKGROUND Methicillin-resistant Staphylococus aureus (MRSA) is an important nosocomial and community-associated (CA) pathogen. Recently, a variant of the MRSA USA300 clone emerged and disseminated in South America, causing important clinical problems. METHODS S. aureus isolates were prospectively collected (2006-2008) from 32 tertiary hospitals in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. MRSA isolates were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and were categorized as health care-associated (HA)-like or CA-like clones on the basis of genotypic characteristics and detection of genes encoding Panton-Valentine leukocidin and staphylococcal cassette chromosome (SCC) mec IV. In addition, multilocus sequence typing of representative isolates of each major CA-MRSA pulsotype was performed, and the presence of USA300-associated toxins and the arcA gene was investigated for all isolates categorized as CA-MRSA. RESULTS A total of 1570 S. aureus were included; 651 were MRSA (41%)--with the highest rate of MRSA isolation in Peru (62%) and the lowest in Venezuela (26%)--and 71%, 27%, and 2% were classified as HA-like, CA-like, and non-CA/HA-like clones, respectively. Only 9 MRSA isolates were confirmed to have reduced susceptibility to glycopeptides (glycopeptide-intermediate S. aureus phenotype). The most common pulsotype (designated ComA) among the CA-like MRSA strains was found in 96% of isolates, with the majority (81%) having a < or =6-band difference with the USA300-0114 strain. Representative isolates of this clone were sequence type 8; however, unlike the USA300-0114 strain, they harbored a different SCCmec IV subtype and lacked arcA (an indicator of the arginine catabolic mobile element). CONCLUSION A variant CA-MRSA USA300 clone has become established in South America and, in some countries, is endemic in hospital settings.
Yeast sirtuins and the regulation of aging.

The sirtuins are a phylogenetically conserved family of NAD(+) -dependent protein deacetylases that consume one molecule of NAD(+) for every deacetylated lysine side chain. Their requirement for NAD(+) potentially makes them prone to regulation by fluctuations in NAD(+) or biosynthesis intermediates, thus linking them to cellular metabolism. The Sir2 protein from Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the founding sirtuin family member and has been well characterized as a histone deacetylase that functions in transcriptional silencing of heterochromatin domains and as a pro-longevity factor for replicative life span (RLS), defined as the number of times a mother cell divides (buds) before senescing. Deleting SIR2 shortens RLS, while increased gene dosage causes extension. Furthermore, Sir2 has been implicated in mediating the beneficial effects of caloric restriction (CR) on life span, not only in yeast, but also in higher eukaryotes. While this paradigm has had its share of disagreements and debate, it has also helped rapidly drive the aging research field forward. S. cerevisiae has four additional sirtuins, Hst1, Hst2, Hst3, and Hst4. This review discusses the function of Sir2 and the Hst homologs in replicative aging and chronological aging, and also addresses how the sirtuins are regulated in response to environmental stresses such as CR.
An Implementation of a Flexible Author-Reviewer Model of Generation using Genetic Algorithms

This paper proposes performing natural language generation using genetic algorithms to address two issues: the difficulty in controlling global textual features which arise from a large number of interdependent local decisions, and the difficulty in applying conventional NLG wisdom in domains where the communicative goal lacks sufficient detail. It presents details of an implemented system that embodies the aforementioned proposal, and discusses the results of an empirical study conducted using the system.
Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine efficacy. An evaluation of current recommendations.

OBJECTIVE To determine pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine efficacy in selected populations at risk for serious pneumococcal infection for whom vaccination is currently recommended and to assess duration of protection after vaccination. DESIGN Vaccine efficacy was estimated using indirect cohort analysis to compare the proportion of pneumococcal infections caused by serotypes included in the vaccines of vaccinated and unvaccinated persons who were identified during 14 years of national surveillance. SETTING Hospital laboratories in the United States that submitted pneumococcal isolates to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention between May 1978 and April 1992. PARTICIPANTS A total of 2837 persons older than 5 years who had pneumococcus isolated from blood or cerebrospinal fluid. RESULTS Overall efficacy for preventing infection caused by serotypes included in the vaccine was 57% (95% confidence interval [CI], 45% to 66%). Efficacy among persons with diabetes mellitus was 84% (95% CI, 50% to 95%); with coronary vascular disease, 73% (95% CI, 23% to 90%); with congestive heart failure, 69% (95% CI, 17% to 88%); with chronic pulmonary diseases, 65% (95% CI, 26% to 83%); and with anatomic asplenia, 77% (95% CI, 14% to 95%). Efficacy was not documented for patients with alcoholism or cirrhosis, sickle cell disease, chronic renal failure, lymphoma, leukemia, or multiple myeloma, although sample sizes were small for these groups. Efficacy for immunocompetent persons older than 65 years was 75% (95% CI, 57% to 85%). Efficacy did not decline with increasing interval after vaccination: 5 to 8 years after vaccination it was 71% (95% CI, 24% to 89%), and 9 years or more after vaccination it was 80% (95% CI, 16% to 95%). CONCLUSIONS Intensified efforts to improve pneumococcal vaccine coverage among certain populations for whom vaccination is currently recommended is indicated, but universal revaccination is not warranted at this time.
Improving tweet stream classification by detecting changes in word probability

We propose a classification model of tweet streams in Twitter, which are representative of document streams whose statistical properties will change over time. Our model solves several problems that hinder the classification of tweets; in particular, the problem that the probabilities of word occurrence change at different rates for different words. Our model switches between two probability estimates based on full and recent data for each word when detecting changes in word probability. This switching enables our model to achieve both accurate learning of stationary words and quick response to bursty words. We then explain how to implement our model by using a word suffix array, which is a full-text search index. Using the word suffix array allows our model to handle the temporal attributes of word n-grams effectively. Experiments on three tweet data sets demonstrate that our model offers statistically significant higher topic-classification accuracy than conventional temporally-aware classification models.
Faster Subset Selection for Matrices and Applications

We study the following problem of subset selection for matrices: given a matrix $\mathbf{X} \in \mathbb{R}^{n \times m}$ ($m > n$) and a sampling parameter $k$ ($n \le k \le m$), select a subset of $k$ columns from $\mathbf{X}$ such that the pseudoinverse of the sampled matrix has as small a norm as possible. In this work, we focus on the Frobenius and the spectral matrix norms. We describe several novel (deterministic and randomized) approximation algorithms for this problem with approximation bounds that are optimal up to constant factors. Additionally, we show that the combinatorial problem of finding a low-stretch spanning tree in an undirected graph corresponds to subset selection, and discuss various implications of this reduction.
Computational Cardiology: The Heart of the Matter

This paper reviews the newest developments in computational cardiology. It focuses on the contribution of cardiac modeling to the development of new therapies as well as the advancement of existing ones for cardiac arrhythmias and pump dysfunction. Reviewed are cardiac modeling efforts aimed at advancing and optimizing existent therapies for cardiac disease (defibrillation, ablation of ventricular tachycardia, and cardiac resynchronization therapy) and at suggesting novel treatments, including novel molecular targets, as well as efforts to use cardiac models in stratification of patients likely to benefit from a given therapy, and the use of models in diagnostic procedures.