Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
EKConv: Compressing Convolutional Neural Networks with Evolutionary Kernel Convolution

Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have achieved tremendous success in visual recognition tasks but mainly rely on massive learnable parameters. To solve this problem, many effective and efficient convolution operators have been proposed, such as group-wise convolution, point-wise convolution, and depth-wise convolution. However, the above convolution operations model and optimize the weight relationship within the same convolutional layer. To reduce the network parameters, we explicitly construct the relationship between convolution kernels of adjacent layers. Specifically, we propose an evolutionary kernel convolution, namely EKConv, to generate weight parameters by group-wise convolution efficiently. In particular, EKConv makes the kernel parameters of the current convolutional layer inherit from its preceding adjacent kernel, which promotes the information exchange between convolution kernels. More importantly, EKConv is a novel plug-and-play module that can be easily embedded into mainstream CNNs. Extensive experimental results show that EKConv can compress the parameters of CNNs by a large margin yet barely sacrifice image classification performance.
Identification for Red Automobile Based on Cifar-10 Using Machine Learning Models

Algorithms were made and improved across time in different application fields to help them better fit and solve problems that human encounter. Specifically, this paper focuses on the identification mission, that is commonly needed and used by governmental facilities and police departments to track certain objects. However, it is not always that easy, and methods were made to help invent and test these algorithms, along with a vast dataset collected for use, so that they can be examined before putting into real-life use. An existing dataset called Cifar-10 was introduced and chosen, and different methods were introduced and used, to design and examine the accuracy of an identification method. This paper mainly focuses on a red automobile identification model. The experimental results demonstrated the effectiveness of the model. Further usages of similar models will also be applicable with corresponding adjustments, hoping to make it into other similar areas and fulfilling similar goals.
Spectrometer for ultrashort X-ray based on scintillator and optical fiber: proof of principle study

An active filter stack spectrometer based on the scintillator and optical fiber is proposed and characterized for measuring the ultrashort X-ray spectrum. The active filter stack spectrometer consists of multiple detection modules, each of which has three components: a scintillator, an optical fiber, and a PMT. After simulation optimization of the detection module for better coupling efficiency, a detection module was fabricated and assembled for subsequent coupling efficiency measurements. Two proof-of-principle experiments using an X-ray source were conducted to validate the feasibility of this active filter stack spectrometer.
YOLOCa: Center aware yolo for dense object detection

In this report, we propose a fully convolutional one-stage object detector (YOLOCa) with a novel decoupled head, an improved label assignment strategy, and a new loss computation method for dense object detection. By comprehensively considering the IoU, score and position connection between the prediction frame and the ground truth in the sample allocation, and by introducing some current mainstream loss function calculation methods such as Focal loss, DIOU nms, etc. Through the above techniques, we have effectively improved the AP. We conduct experiments on the global wheat detection dataset, and as shown in figure 1, our method achieves an AP of 49.9%, which is a 14.5% improvement over the baseline yolov3 (35.4%). This is still 0.8% AP higher than yolox which also uses the advanced label assignment strategy, and we still maintain the speed efficiency of the first-level object detector. We hope our work can provide some useful tips for developers and researchers, the source code is at https://github.com/gaozixiang13/YOLOCa.
Generalized quantitative approach to two-beam fringe visibility (coherence) with different polarizations and frequencies

All two-beam interferometry eventually reduces to quantitative measurement of the effective fringe visibility (or degree of coherence) in some form. We present generalized analytical and experimental results of visibility for the cases of two beam Poynting vectors both collinear (scanning fringe mode) and non-collinear (spatial fringe mode) with different polarizations and frequencies. This leads to a much broader and deeper understanding of the roles of material dipoles (beam splitters & detectors; both classical and quantum) in measured coherence effects that are not explicitly addressed in the traditional coherence theory. Coherence theory should be presented as correlation between sensing dipole undulations that are simultaneously induced by superposed light beams rather than as correlation between the optical fields. This generalized understanding of the physical processes behind coherence phenomenon will open up (i) better understanding of the nature of light and (ii) many more innovative approaches to quantitative interferometry.
Second harmonic generation in poled polymer films

We report the observation of second harmonic generation in a new class of organic polymeric materials, namely, electric field poled polymer glasses. Both the observed second harmonic coefficient (d33=6.0±1.3×10−9 esu, at 1.58 μm wavelength) and the poling process are described by a thermodynamic model that we have developed. The ability to form thin films from these materials may qualify them for integrated optics applications.
Superconducting bolometer for far-infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy

A voltage-biased superconducting bolometer with a heat sink temperature of 4.2 K has been developed for Fourier transform spectroscopy in the far infrared. This device is based on a Nb transition edge sensor with Tc=8.1 K. It will operate for absorbed infrared power up to 3×10−6 W and has an absorber area of 7 mm2. The response is inherently linear and the noise equivalent power (NEP)=1.2×10−13 W Hz−1/2 is dominated by thermal fluctuation noise. This NEP is at least a factor 10 better than that expected for a conventional 4.2 K semiconductor bolometer which is optimized for 1% saturation at the same infrared power. The optical response time τ=1.2 ms is dominated by the internal thermalization time. A smaller version of this bolometer could be useful for diffraction-limited spectroscopy of small samples throughout the infrared. Estimates suggest that values of detectivity D*>1011 cm Hz+1/2 W−1 and time constants approaching 270 μs could be achieved.
ERRATUM: “THE OBSCURED FRACTION OF ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI IN THE XMM-COSMOS SURVEY: A SPECTRAL ENERGY DISTRIBUTION PERSPECTIVE” (2013, ApJ, 777, 86)

E. Lusso1, J. F. Hennawi1, A. Comastri2, G. Zamorani2, G. T. Richards1,3, C. Vignali2,4, E. Treister5, K. Schawinski6, M. Salvato7,8, and R. Gilli2 1 Max Planck Institut für Astronomie, Königstuhl 17, D-69117, Heidelberg, Germany; lusso@mpia.de 2 INAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Bologna, via Ranzani 1, I-40127 Bologna, Italy 3 Department of Physics, Drexel University, 3141 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA 4 Dipartimento di Astronomia, Università di Bologna, via Ranzani 1, I-40127 Bologna, Italy 5 Departamento de Astronomı́a, Universidad de Concepción, Casilla 160-C, Concepción, Chile 6 ETH Zurich Institute for Astronomy HIT, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 27, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland 7 Max Planck Institut für Extraterrestische Physik, Postfach 1312, D-85741 Garching, Germany 8 Max Planck Institut für Plasma Physik and Excellence Cluster, D-85748 Garching, Germany Received 2014 February 25; published 2014 March 18
Simulation study of the symmetry-breaking instability and the dipole field reversal in a rotating spherical shell dynamo

The reversal mechanism of a dipole magnetic field generated by dynamo action in a rotating spherical shell is investigated by a three-dimensional nonlinear magnetohydrodynamic simulation as well as a linear stability analysis. The emphasis of the study is on understanding the relationship between dipole reversal and the symmetry properties of the dynamo solution. As a result, first, it is found that there is a threshold of the magnetic Prandtl number, below which the dipole field is never reversed, and above which the reversal occurs at irregular intervals like the paleomagnetic evolution of the geodynamo. Second, it is shown that the dynamo process responsible for the generation of a dipole field (called “a-dynamo” in this paper) consists only of the antimirror symmetric magnetic field and the mirror symmetric velocity field with respect to the equatorial plane. Third, it is found that the components of the opposite symmetry to the a-dynamo grow only during the polarity reversal events and quickly decay .
Has the COVID-19 pandemic ended or not? opinions from the public in the U.S.

Recently President Joe Biden announced the end to the COVID-19 pandemic in the US but some scientists expressed different opinions. This study aimed to examine the view of the end of the COVID-19 pandemic among the public. Data were collected in September 2022 from an online crowdsourcing platform, and respondents answered if they believed that the pandemic has ended in the United States or not. Logistic regressions were used to estimate the likelihood of agreeing on the end of the pandemic, adjusted by demographics and several related variables. Among 2983 respondents, 78.1% believed that the COVID-19 pandemic had ended, and the percentage decreased to 66.5% after adding weights. Males, younger adults, Hispanics, those with higher levels of educational attainment, those with middle levels of household income, those living in suburban or rural areas, and those living in states that voted for the Republican party in the 2020 Presidential Election were more likely to believe that the pandemic had ended, compared with their counterparts. With about one-third of Americans did not agree that the pandemic had ended and marked demographical and geographical differences, the timing and the way of the pandemic end announcement should be deliberately cautious.
Stress in Autism (STREAM): A Study Protocol on the Role of Circadian Activity, Sleep Quality and Sensory Hyper-Reactivity

This proof-of-concept study protocol describes a novel approach towards investigating interrelationships between stress indices, sleep and circadian activation patterns, and sensory sensitivities in autism. We will adopt an individualised approach, collecting 17 days of data per person from 20 participants with and 20 without autism. Participants' sleep will be tracked by using wearable EEG headbands and a sleep diary. Diurnal monitoring of heart rate and electrodermal activity via wearables will serve as proxies of stress and will be time-locked to subjective experience traces collected throughout the day. These traces quantify the experience dimensions such as stress and sensory sensitivities (e.g., sensory overload). Capturing the dynamics of subjective experience phase-locked to neural and physiological proxies between and within individuals can potentially tackle some of the most pressing issues in autism: sleep problems, sensory overload and stress, and will ultimately lead to an individualised prognostic approach to mental health in autism.
Knowledge, Attitude and Practices Regarding Digital Well-Being Features and their Association with Screen Time and Addiction in Maharashtra, India

Background & Objective: Digital Service Providers have come up with certain Digital Well-Being Features as a step towards tackling harmful effects of screen overuse on physical and mental health. However, the awareness and use of the same remains scant. Our objective was to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding Digital Well-being features in the adult population of Maharashtra, India and the associations and correlations of the practice of using these features with screen time and degree of screen addiction. Methods: A cross-sectional online questionnaire-based study was conducted among 335 participants who were selected using quota sampling and were administered a Smartphone Addiction Scale and a self-designed questionnaire. Results: Knowledge attitudes were good and total of 65.4% participants were digital wellbeing feature users. Correlation of digital hygiene score and digital wellbeing score was found neither with addiction nor with the average screen time. Interpretation & Conclusion: Knowledge, attitude and practices regarding Digital Well-Being features were adequate among the urban population of Maharashtra. However, their use was not found to be associated with reduced screen time or a low screen addiction score. With further development and standardization, these features can be a useful tool for prevention of screen overuse and addiction.
Which lockdowns are the best lockdowns? Optimal interventions and the trolley problem in heterogeneous populations

Interventions to mitigate the spread of infectious diseases, while succeeding in their goal, have economic and social costs associated with them. These limit the duration and intensity of the interventions. We study a class of interventions which reduce the reproduction number and find the optimal strength of the intervention which minimises the attack rate of an immunity inducing infection. The intervention works by eliminating the overshoot part of an epidemic, and avoids a second-wave of infections. We extend the framework by considering a heterogeneous population and find that the optimal intervention can pose an ethical dilemma for decision and policy makers. This ethical dilemma is shown to be analogous to the trolley problem and we discuss how the dilemma can be avoided.
Possible Role of P-selectin Adhesion in Long-COVID: A Case of Recovery After Long-COVID

Background: Long-term outcomes of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are now recognized as an emerging public health challenge - a condition termed post-acute coronavirus 2019 syndrome (PACS) or Long-COVID. The pathophysiology of Long-COVID remains to be established, several mechanisms in study focus on the role of P-selectin, an inflammation-induced protein expressed by platelets and endothelial cells. Functional P-selectin activity, potentially implicated in COVID-19 and Long-COVID sequelae, was measured for a Long-COVID subject at 68 weeks from the SARS-CoV-2 infection after fully recover from the syndrome. It was compared with the results from the same subject at 20 weeks post-infection, when subject experienced severe Long-COVID symptoms. Methods: Flow adhesion of whole blood or isolated white blood cells to P-selectin (FA-WB-Psel and FA-WBC-Psel) was measured using a standardized microfluidics clinical assay; impedance aggregometry with a collagen agonist was measured using model 590 Chrono-Log impedance aggregometer; standard laboratory assays were performed to evaluate changes in blood chemistries. Results: After recovery from Long-COVID, RBC count and D-dimer remained elevated and other blood chemistry results remained within the normal range as compared to 20 weeks post infection when severe Long-COVID symptoms were present. Total iron and transferrin-iron saturation percentage values that were elevated when symptoms were present, declined to normal range. Whole blood aggregometry results indicate an absence of previously present platelet hyperactivity. FA-WB-PSel that was significantly elevated during Long-COVID (590 +/- 260 cells/mm2) was significantly reduced after the resolution of Long-COVID symptoms (98 +/- 38 cells/mm2). However, supplementation of whole blood with crizanlizumab did not result in any measurable inhibition of cell adhesion to P-selectin, similarly with previously reported. Similar to what was observed for the subject when Long-COVID symptoms were present, crizanlizumab, even at a dose 10-fold lower than clinical, induced pronounced inhibition of FA-WBC-Psel when tested in buffer, but not in patient own plasma. Conclusions: This report documents the changes in leukocyte adhesion properties for a patient at more than a year from the initial infection after the gradual resolution of Long-COVID symptoms, as compared to when Long-COVID symptoms were present. Recovery from Long-COVID may be associated with normalization of platelet activity, but not necessarily with complete alleviation of endothelial activation. It remains to be determined to what extent changes in leukocyte adhesion to P-selectin may represent a new risk factor for a mechanism driving Long-COVID syndrome.
Physical and brain frailty in stroke: shared occurrence and outcomes. A Cohort study

Background:There is increasing interest in the concept of frailty in stroke, including both physical frailty and imaging evidence of brain frailty. We aimed to 1 establish concurrent validity of a brain frailty measurement against traditional measures of physical and global frailty 2) establish prevalence of brain frailty in stroke survivors with and without pre-existing frailty 3) establish the predictive validity of measures of physical, global, and brain frailty against long-term cognitive outcomes.Methods:We included consecutively admitted stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA) survivors from participating stroke centres. Baseline CT scans were used to identify leukoaraiosis, atrophy, or old infarcts; these were then combined to generate an overall brain frailty score for each participant on a scale ranging from 0-3 (3=higher brain frailty). Global frailty was measured using Rockwood frailty index, and physical frailty using a Fried frailty screening tool. Presence of major or minor neurocognitive disorder at 18-months following stroke was established via a multicomponent assessment. We assessed the concurrent validity of brain frailty and frailty scales via Spearmans rank correlation. Prevalence of brain frailty was established based upon observed percentages within groups defined by frailty status (robust, pre-frail, frail). We conducted multivariable logistic regression analyses to evaluate association between brain, global, and physical frailty with 18-month cognitive impairment.Results:Three-hundred-forty-one stroke survivors participated. Brain frailty was weakly correlated with Rockwood frailty(Rho:0.336;p<0.001) and with Fried frailty(Rho:0.230;p<0.001). Three-quarters of people who were frail had moderate-severe brain frailty and prevalence increased according to frailty status. Brain frailty(OR:1.64,95%CI=1.17- 2.32), Rockwood frailty (OR:1.05,95%CI=1.02-1.08) and Fried frailty(OR:1.93,95%CI=1.39-2.67) were each independently predictive of cognitive impairment at 18 months following stroke. Fried frailty was predictive independent of age, sex, stroke severity, education, baseline cognitive test performance, and brain frailty status (OR:1.49,95%CI=1.03-2.18)Conclusions:Physical and brain frailty are separate concepts, although they frequently co-exist. Both are associated with adverse cognitive outcomes and physical frailty remains important when assessing cognitive outcomes.
Strong isolation by distance and evidence of population microstructure reflect ongoing Plasmodium falciparum transmission in Zanzibar

The Zanzibar archipelago of Tanzania has become a low-transmission area for Plasmodium falciparum. Despite being considered an area of pre-elimination for years, achieving elimination has been difficult, likely due to a combination of imported infections from mainland Tanzania, and continued local transmission. To shed light on these sources of transmission, we applied highly multiplexed genotyping utilizing molecular inversion probes to characterize the genetic relatedness of 391 P. falciparum isolates collected across Zanzibar and in Bagamoyo District on the coastal mainland from 2016-2018. Overall, parasite populations on the coastal mainland and Zanzibar archipelago remain highly related. However, in Zanzibar the parasite population exhibits microstructure due to rapid decay of parasite relatedness over very short distances. This, along with highly related pairs within shehias, suggests ongoing low level local transmission. We also identified highly related parasites across shehias that reflect human mobility on the main island of Unguja and identified a cluster of highly related parasites, suggestive of an outbreak, in the Micheweni district on Pemba island. Parasites in asymptomatic infections demonstrated higher complexity of infection than those in symptomatic infections, but have similar core genomes. Our data support that importation remains a main source of genetic diversity and contribution to the parasite population on Zanzibar, but they also show local outbreak clusters where targeted interventions are essential to block local transmission. These results highlight the need for preventive measures against imported malaria and enhanced control measures in areas that remain receptive for malaria reemergence due to susceptible hosts and competent vectors.
On the ability to extract MLVA profiles of Vibrio cholerae isolates from WGS data generated with Oxford Nanopore Technologies

Multiple-Locus Variable Number of Tandem Repeats (VNTR) Analysis (MLVA) is widely used by laboratory-based surveillance networks for subtyping pathogens causing foodborne and water-borne disease outbreaks. The MLVAType shiny application was previously designed to extract MLVA profiles of Vibrio cholerae isolates from WGS data, and enable backward compatibility with traditional MLVA typing methods. The previous development and validation work was done on short (pair-end 300 and 150 nt long) reads from Illumina MiSeq and Hiseq sequencing. In this work, the use of the MLVAType application was validated on long reads generated with Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) sequencing platforms. Accordingly, the MLVA profiles of V. cholerae isolates (n=9) from the Democratic Republic of the Congo were obtained using the MLVAType application on WGS data. The WGS-derived MLVA profiles were extracted from canu (v.2.2) assemblies obtained after the MinION and GridION, ONT, sequencing. The results were compared to those obtained from SPAdes assemblies (v3.13.0; k-mer 175) generated from short-read (pair-end 300-bp) data obtained by MiSeq sequencing, Illumina, taken as a reference. For each isolate, the MLVA profiles were concordant for all three sequencing methods, demonstrating that the MLVAType application can accurately predict the MLVA profiles from assembled genomes generated with long-reads ONT sequencers.
Phylodynamics of deer tick virus in North America

Abstract The burden of ticks and the pathogens they carry is increasing worldwide. Powassan virus (POWV; Flaviviridae: Flavivirus), the only known North American tick-borne flavivirus, is of particular concern due to rising cases and the severe morbidity of POWV encephalitis. Here, we use a multifaceted approach to evaluate the emergence of the II POWV lineage, known as deer tick virus (DTV), in parts of North America where human cases occur. We detected DTV-positive ticks from eight of twenty locations in the Northeast USA with an average infection rate of 1.4 per cent. High-depth, whole-genome sequencing of eighty-four POWV and DTV samples allowed us to assess geographic and temporal phylodynamics. We observed both stable infection in the Northeast USA and patterns of geographic dispersal within and between regions. A Bayesian skyline analysis demonstrated DTV population expansion over the last 50 years. This is concordant with the documented expansion of Ixodes scapularis tick populations and suggests an increasing risk of human exposure as the vector spreads. Finally, we isolated sixteen novel viruses in cell culture and demonstrated limited genetic change after passage, a valuable resource for future studies investigating this emerging virus.