Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
MPEG-4 standardized methods for the compression of arbitrarily shaped video objects

MPEG-4 is the most recent standard for audio-visual representation to be published by the International Organization for Standardization. One of the many new features of MPEG-4 is its ability to represent two-dimensional video objects of arbitrary shape. For this purpose, MPEG-4 uses the conventional motion-compensated discrete cosine transform syntax for color/texture coding and augments this with an explicit compressed representation of the video object's shape. This paper is intended as a tutorial in the means of encoding and decoding arbitrarily shaped video objects as specified by MPEG-4. The major emphasis of the paper is on explaining the compression technology associated with the normative shape representation, i.e., block-based context-based arithmetic encoding, but some new aspects associated with arbitrarily shaped texture coding are also highlighted. The MPEG-4 specifications are presented in an informal way, and the motivations underlying the algorithm are clarified. In addition, effective methods are suggested for performing many of the nonnormative encoding tasks, and several encoding performance tradeoffs are illustrated.
Online Isotonic Regression

We consider the online version of the isotonic regression problem. Given a set of linearly ordered points (e.g., on the real line), the learner must predict labels sequentially at adversarially chosen positions and is evaluated by her total squared loss compared against the best isotonic (non-decreasing) function in hindsight. We survey several standard online learning algorithms and show that none of them achieve the optimal regret exponent; in fact, most of them (including Online Gradient Descent, Follow the Leader and Exponential Weights) incur linear regret. We then prove that the Exponential Weights algorithm played over a covering net of isotonic functions has a regret bounded by $O\big(T^{1/3} \log^{2/3}(T)\big)$ and present a matching $\Omega(T^{1/3})$ lower bound on regret. We provide a computationally efficient version of this algorithm. We also analyze the noise-free case, in which the revealed labels are isotonic, and show that the bound can be improved to $O(\log T)$ or even to $O(1)$ (when the labels are revealed in isotonic order). Finally, we extend the analysis beyond squared loss and give bounds for entropic loss and absolute loss.
QoS Aware Packet Scheduling Algorithm for OFDMA Systems

In this paper, a downlink packet scheduling algorithm for OFDMA systems is proposed, which is based on the utility function to guarantee both the packet drop ratio and the play-out outage ratio of video streaming service. The existing algorithms, both modified-largest weighted delay first (M-LWDF) and exponent proportional fair (EXP/PF) rule can achieve good results in terms of head-of-line (HOL) packet delay, which affects the packet drop ratio. However, they can not consider the play-out outage ratio. Simulation results show that our proposed algorithm outperforms the existing scheduling algorithms in term of packet drop ratio and play-out outage ratio.
A cache coherence scheme with fast selective invalidation

Software-assisted cache coherence enforcement schemes for large multiprocessor systems with shared global memory and interconnection network have gained increasing attenuation. The authors propose a new solution that offers the fast operation of the indiscriminate invalidation approach and can selectively invalidate cache items without extensive run-time book-keeping and checking. The solution relies on the combination of compile-time reference tagging and individual invalidation of potentially stale cache lines only when referenced. Performance improvement over an indiscriminate invalidation approach is presented. <<ETX>>
Bottom-of-Sulcus Dysplasia as an Epileptic Syndrome: The Power of Clinical Correlation

Commentary A syndrome is defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary as a “group of sign and symptoms that occur together and characterize a particular abnormality or condition. ” This is exactly what Harvey et al. attempted to define with the syndrome of “bottom-of-sulcus dysplasia. ” They reported that seizures associated with bottom-of-sulcus dysplasia (BOSD) usually begin in early childhood, are predominantly nocturnal with frontal lobe semiology, and patients have relatively intact cognitive function. Interictal EEG shows prominent spiking. Resection of the dysplasia was highly successful in eliminating seizures. Despite the study being a retrospective review, the description of a syndrome is very powerful, as any combination of symptoms and signs will help the clinician recognize a similar group of patients. This assists in treating the syndrome with whatever has worked in earlier patients with similar constellations of signs and symptoms. In the appropriate clinical setting, a clinician may suspect the syndrome even though the final imaging evidence or pathologic confirmation of the syndrome may be lacking. Another strength of this study stems from the pathological confirmation of the diagnosis. All patients had pathological confirmation of focal cortical dysplasia type IIB after surgery. The authors retrospectively looked at the MRI characteristics and found cortical thickening and blurring of the grey–white matter junction in all patients, FLAIR hyperintensities in 30 of the 32 patients and a transmantle sign in 20. However, initial routine neuroradiologic review missed 22% of the abnormalities, which is consistent with previously reported series (1). This again stresses the importance of diagnosing a clinical syndrome to carefully search for an imaging abnormality if the appropriate sign and syndrome constellation occur. In MRI negative cases, FTG-PET imaging helped to identify five of remaining seven MRI negative cases. If MRI fails to show focal cortical dysplasia, FDG-PET can be valuable to identify the abnormality (2). Seizure semiology localized to the frontal and perisylvian areas with “explosive” seizure onset, nocturnal predominance, hypermotor features, or asymmetric tonic features has been previously described as typical for seizure onset in the frontal lobes (3, 4). Twenty-nine of the 32 patients with BOSD were localized in the frontal lobes or in the perisylvian region. In The Surgically Remediable Syndrome of Epilepsy Associated With Bottom-of-Sulcus Dysplasia.
Le temps comme degrés d'engagement épistémique

This article addresses the question as to whether time is a primitive concept or rather is composed of conceptually more basic building blocks. After a brief analysis of tense-time mismatches with examples from English, Polish, Thai and Swahili, I present a hypothesis that time is conceptualized in terms of degrees of epistemic modality. Expressions with future, present and past reference are ordered on scales of epistemic commitment. I demonstrate that the theory of Default Semantics has no difficulty with representing tense-time mismatches in that it reflects the fact that information about temporality is conveyed via a variety of processes, some of them pertaining not to the processing of the lexicon or grammar but even to pragmatic inference. The theory also gives support to the thesis of time as modal detachment.
Automated unsupervised multi‐parametric classification of adipose tissue depots in skeletal muscle

To introduce and validate an automated unsupervised multi‐parametric method for segmentation of the subcutaneous fat and muscle regions to determine subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) and intermuscular adipose tissue (IMAT) areas based on data from a quantitative chemical shift‐based water‐fat separation approach.
Human mesenchymal stem cells exert potent antitumorigenic effects in a model of Kaposi's sarcoma

Emerging evidence suggests that both human stem cells and mature stromal cells can play an important role in the development and growth of human malignancies. In contrast to these tumor-promoting properties, we observed that in an in vivo model of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), intravenously (i.v.) injected human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) home to sites of tumorigenesis and potently inhibit tumor growth. We further show that human MSCs can inhibit the in vitro activation of the Akt protein kinase within some but not all tumor and primary cell lines. The inhibition of Akt activity requires the MSCs to make direct cell–cell contact and can be inhibited by a neutralizing antibody against E-cadherin. We further demonstrate that in vivo, Akt activation within KS cells is potently down-regulated in areas adjacent to MSC infiltration. Finally, the in vivo tumor-suppressive effects of MSCs correlates with their ability to inhibit target cell Akt activity, and KS tumors engineered to express a constitutively activated Akt construct are no longer sensitive to i.v. MSC administration. These results suggest that in contrast to other stem cells or normal stromal cells, MSCs possess intrinsic antineoplastic properties and that this stem cell population might be of particular utility for treating those human malignancies characterized by dysregulated Akt.
Focused Expressive Psychotherapy: Freeing the Overcontrolled Patient

This is the first practical book from an experiential perspective to deal explicitly with blocked affect. Based on the authors' extensive clinical experience and their NIMH-sponsored research, focused expressive psychotherapy (FEP) is shown to be ideally suited for the many over controlled patients mired in "unfinished emotional business. " A complete approach in one volume, the reader is given the underlying psychological assumptions of FEP as well as its principles, therapeutic procedures, and assessment techniques. The book delineates the roles and responsibilities of both the therapist and client, presents FEP's five-step procedure, and describes its therapeutic methods and techniques. The design of experiments and problems are illustrated with segments from actual sessions, and evaluation procedures are provided so that both therapist and patient can assess the progress being made. Complete FEP sessions with explanatory comments are included so that the reader can follow the entire FEP process from the beginning to the end of the session. Among the many professionals who will find FOCUSED EXPRESSIVE PSYCHOTHERAPY an invaluable resource are: marriage and family therapists, professionals working with violence and abuse in penal settings or rape crisis centers, suicide prevention personnel, school counselors and administrators, grief therapists, drug and alcohol rehabilitation therapists, and any psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, counselor-therapist, or mental health worker who deals with clients with constricted emotions. An excellent text for graduate courses on psychological theory or counseling techniques and process, FOCUSED EXPRESSIVE PSYCHOTHERAPY offers students in the mental health field much that will help them develop into professionals.
Regional Anesthesia and Breast Cancer Recurrence

Surgery is the primary and most effective treatment of breast cancer, but residual disease in the form of scattered micrometastases and tumor cells are usually unavoidable. Whether minimal residual disease results in clinical metastases is a function of host defense and tumor survival and growth. At least three perioperative factors shift the balance toward progression of minimal residual disease: (1) Surgery per se depresses cellmediated immunity, reduces concentrations of tumor-related anti-angiogenic factors (e.g., angiostatin and endostatin), increases concentrations of pro-angiogenic factors such as VEGF, and releases growth factors that promote local and distant growth of malignant tissue. (2) Anesthesia impairs numerous immune functions, including those of neutrophils, macrophages, dendritic cells, T-cell, and natural killer cells. (3) Opioid analgesics inhibit both cellular and humoral immune function in humans, increase angiogenesis, and promote breast tumor growth in rodents. However, regional analgesia attenuates or prevents each of these adverse effects by largely preventing the neuroendocrine surgical stress response, eliminating or reducing the need for general anesthesia, and minimizing opioid requirement. Animal studies indicate that regional anesthesia and optimum postoperative analgesia independently reduce the metastatic burden in animals inoculated with breast adenocarcinoma cells following surgery. Preliminary data in cancer patients are also consistent: paravertebral analgesia for breast cancer surgery reduced risk of recurrence or metastasis approximately fourfold (95% CI of estimated hazard ratio is 0.71 0.06) during a 2.5 to 4-year follow-up period compared to opioid analgesia. Similar results were observed with epidural analgesia for prostate surgery. We will thus test the hypothesis that recurrence after breast cancer surgery is lower in patients randomized to regional anesthesia & analgesia with propofol sedation than to sevoflurane general anesthesia and opioid analgesia. In a Phase III, multi-center trial, Stage 1-3 patients having mastectomies will be randomly assigned to paravertebral or thoracic epidural anesthesia/analgesia, or to general anesthesia and morphine analgesia. Enrolling 1,100 patients over 5 years will provide an 85% power for detecting a 30% treatment effect at an alpha of 0.05. Confirming our hypothesis will indicate that a small modification to anesthetic management, one that can be implemented with little risk or cost, will reduce the risk of cancer recurrence — a complication that is often
Data driven example based continuous speech recognition

The dominant acoustic modeling methodology based on Hidden Markov Models is known to have certain weaknesses. Partial solutions to these flaws have been presented, but the fundamental problem remains: compression of the data to a compact HMM discards useful information such as time dependencies and speaker information. In this paper, we look at pure example based recognition as a solution to this problem. By replacing the HMM with the underlying examples, all information in the training data is retained. We show how information about speaker and environment can be used, introducing a new interpretation of adaptation. The basis for the recognizer is the wellknown DTW algorithm, which has often been used for small tasks. However, large vocabulary speech recognition introduces new demands, resulting in an explosion of the search space. We show how this problem can be tackled using a data driven approach which selects appropriate speech examples as candidates for DTW-alignment.
Risk factors for cognitive decline in older people with type 2 diabetes

s were evaluated, and the full texts of 19 studies were accessed. Of these, 12 studies were found to meet the inclusion criteria. One additional study was published after the search had been performed (Yaffe et al., 2013) and is also included in this review. The designs and main findings of all included studies (total n=13) are summarised in Table 3.1 and Table 3.2. Figure 3.1: Systematic literature search on hypoglycaemia and cognition in type 2 diabetes 91 Table 3.1: Summary of studies identified in systematic search on hypoglycaemia and cognition in older adults with diabetes Sample Design Hypo as IV* Hypo as DV** Total N Age at baseline Measurement of hypoglycaemia Measurement of cognitive function Bruce et al. (2001) Fremantle Diabetes Study (patients with any type of diabetes), Australia Cross-sectional Yes 63 >70 years (mean 75 years) 1. Self-reported history of hypoglycaemia 2. Hospital records for admissions for hypoglycaemia ‘Probable dementia; determined from combination of MMSE and IQCODE Hissa et al. (2002) Type 2 diabetes patients (all MMSE>26), Brazil Cross-sectional Yes 44 35-78 year s (mean 58 years) 1. Self-reported history of hypoglycaemia and selfreported requirement of assistance 2. Questionnaire on severity of hypoglycaemic episode on scale (score 0 – 15) P300 component on ERP McGill et al. (2006) GEMINI (hypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes), USA 5-month prospective RCT Yes 1235 36-85 years (mean 61 years) Self-reported ‘hypo’ within last month Self-reported cognitive problems within last month Bruce et al. (2009) Fremantle Diabetes Study (patients with any type of diabetes), Australia 1. Crosssectional 2. 2-year prospective 3. 5-year prospective Yes Yes 302 >70 years (mean 76 years) 1. Self-reported medical assistance and/or unconsciousness. 2. Episodes rated by medical staff as ‘proven’, ‘probable’, ‘uncertain’. ‘Doctor1. MMSE, CDR, IQCODE 2. neuropsychological assessment. MCI defined as CDR=0.5 without dementia; ‘cognitive
Distributed cognition and social brains: reductions in mushroom body investment accompanied the origins of sociality in wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)

The social brain hypothesis assumes the evolution of social behaviour changes animals' ecological environments, and predicts evolutionary shifts in social structure will be associated with changes in brain investment. Most social brain models to date assume social behaviour imposes additional cognitive challenges to animals, favouring the evolution of increased brain investment. Here, we present a modification of social brain models, which we term the distributed cognition hypothesis. Distributed cognition models assume group members can rely on social communication instead of individual cognition; these models predict reduced brain investment in social species. To test this hypothesis, we compared brain investment among 29 species of wasps (Vespidae family), including solitary species and social species with a wide range of social attributes (i.e. differences in colony size, mode of colony founding and degree of queen/worker caste differentiation). We compared species means of relative size of mushroom body (MB) calyces and the antennal to optic lobe ratio, as measures of brain investment in central processing and peripheral sensory processing, respectively. In support of distributed cognition predictions, and in contrast to patterns seen among vertebrates, MB investment decreased from solitary to social species. Among social species, differences in colony founding, colony size and caste differentiation were not associated with brain investment differences. Peripheral lobe investment did not covary with social structure. These patterns suggest the strongest changes in brain investment—a reduction in central processing brain regions—accompanied the evolutionary origins of eusociality in Vespidae.
Content Sharing in Global Brand from Geographic Perspective

Though websites offer a direct channel for global brands to communicate in the international market, the presence of outdated and inconsistent content can potentially create poor impressions. This study foresees the occurrence of inter- and intra-regional discrepancies in information shared via country-specific websites, for example, inconsistent content in product specifications shared with customer in the Asia-Pacific and North American regions. To deal with regional discrepancies, this study examined managerial preferences for content sharing within and beyond geographic regions in global brands and identified traits such as coupling and scales in sharing. High coupling in websites within Europe suggest that intra-regional discrepancies are more likely to occur in content shared inside the European region and high coupling in websites among Asia-Pacific, Europe, and Middle-East-Africa suggest vulnerability to inter-regional discrepancies. Preferences in sharing revealed in this study have implications in the design of consistency policy customized for specific regions.
Factors Affecting Student Performance in Law School Economics Courses.

Because of the increasing importance of economics in legal proceedings, many law schools have recently introduced economics courses into their curricula. The purpose of such courses is not to train lawyers as economists or even to "make students into better citizens" but rather to acquaint law students with the relation of concepts of efficiency to policy issues and to equip them to consult with, learn from, and examine and cross-examine economics experts. The courses vary in content, but Posner (1977), the single textbook in the field, serves as a unifying force. ' To fulfill the purposes described above, Vanderbilt Law School offers Economic Analysis of Law. It consists of an intensive fouror five-week study of principles of microeconomics followed by nine to ten weeks of applications of economics to contracts, property, torts, family law, crime, and legal procedure. There are three examinations, one each after the principles short course, the applications section on contracts, property, and family law, and the section on torts, crime, and legal procedure.
Effects of Errors in the Viewing Geometry on Shape Estimation

A sequence of images acquired by a moving sensor contains information about the three-dimensional motion of the sensor and the shape of the imaged scene. Interesting research during the past few years has attempted to characterize the errors that arise in computing 3D motion (egomotion estimation) as well as the errors that result in the estimation of the scene's structure (structure from motion). Previous research is characterized by the use of optic flow or correspondence of features in the analysis as well as by the employment of particular algorithms and models of the scene in recovering expressions for the resulting errors. This paper presents a geometric framework that characterizes the relationship between 3D motion and shape in the presence of errors. We examine how the three-dimensional space recovered by a moving monocular observer, whose 3D motion is estimated with some error, is distorted. We characterize the space of distortions by its level sets, that is, we characterize the systematic distortion via a family of iso-distortion surfaces, which describes the locus over which the depths of points in the scene in view are distorted by the same multiplicative factor. The framework introduced in this way has a number of applications: Since the visible surfaces have positive depth (visibility constraint), by analyzing the geometry of the regions where the distortion factor is negative, that is, where the visibility constraint is violated, we make explicit situations which are likely to give rise to ambiguities in motion estimation, independent of the algorithm used. We provide a uniqueness analysis for 3D motion analysis from normal flow. We study the constraints on egomotion, object motion, and depth for an independently moving object to be detectable by a moving observer, and we offer a quantitative account of the precision needed in an inertial sensor for accurate estimation of 3D motion.
Creating synthetic universes in a computer

Cosmologists regularly generate synthetic universes of galaxies using computer simulations. Such catalogues have an essential role to play in the analysis and exploitation of current and forthcoming galaxy surveys. I review the different ways in which synthetic or ‘mock’ catalogues are produced and discuss the different physical processes that the models attempt to follow, explaining why it is important to be as realistic as possible when trying to forge the Universe.