Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DS-SLAM: A Semantic Visual SLAM towards Dynamic Environments

Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) is considered to be a fundamental capability for intelligent mobile robots. Over the past decades, many impressed SLAM systems have been developed and achieved good performance under certain circumstances. However, some problems are still not well solved, for example, how to tackle the moving objects in the dynamic environments, how to make the robots truly understand the surroundings and accomplish advanced tasks. In this paper, a robust semantic visual SLAM towards dynamic environments named DS-SLAM is proposed. Five threads run in parallel in DS-SLAM: tracking, semantic segmentation, local mapping, loop closing and dense semantic map creation. DS-SLAM combines semantic segmentation network with moving consistency check method to reduce the impact of dynamic objects, and thus the localization accuracy is highly improved in dynamic environments. Meanwhile, a dense semantic octo-tree map is produced, which could be employed for high-level tasks. We conduct experiments both on TUM RGB-D dataset and in real-world environment. The results demonstrate the absolute trajectory accuracy in DS-SLAM can be improved one order of magnitude compared with ORB-SLAM2. It is one of the state-of-the-art SLAM systems in high-dynamic environments.
DigiClay: An Interactive Installation for Virtual Pottery using Motion Sensing Technology

In this paper we present an interactive installation for virtual pottery, which adopts intuitive in-air hand interactions with the help of motion sensing technology. A Microsoft Kinect depth camera is used for motion capture in this installation, and a real-time deformation algorithm is applied to the mesh in Unity3D. Once a virtual pottery work is completed, it can be shared to a social network automatically. In this prototype, an automated publishing process will upload the screenshot of a user's work to Facebook, and the mesh data will be saved for future use, such as 3D printing. User behaviors are observed during an exhibition, and some issues are identified from the observation for further improvement. Our work, which eliminates the gap between the traditional ceramic art and everyday life, offers a way to the common audience to express themselves as artists. Our prototype can be further developed as commercial products in various fields, such as arts education, home entertainment and public space exhibitions.
Error Analysis and Improving the Accuracy of Winograd Convolution for Deep Neural Networks

Popular deep neural networks (DNNs) spend the majority of their execution time computing convolutions. The Winograd family of algorithms can greatly reduce the number of arithmetic operations required and is used in many DNN software frameworks. However, the performance gain is at the expense of a reduction in floating point (FP) numerical accuracy. In this article, we analyse the worst-case FP error and derive an estimation of the norm and conditioning of the algorithm. We show that the bound grows exponentially with the size of the convolution. Further, the error bound of the modified algorithm is slightly lower but still exponential. We propose several methods for reducing FP error. We propose a canonical evaluation ordering based on Huffman coding that reduces summation error. We study the selection of sampling “points” experimentally and find empirically good points for the most important sizes. We identify the main factors associated with good points. In addition, we explore other methods to reduce FP error, including mixed-precision convolution, and pairwise summation across DNN channels. Using our methods, we can significantly reduce FP error for a given block size, which allows larger block sizes to be used and reduced computation.
Pressure ulcers in cardiac surgery: Few clinical studies, difficult risk assessment, and profound clinical implications

Pressure ulcers (PUs) are a common complication after cardiac surgery, with almost one third of patients suffering from PUs during hospitalisation. Because of the burden that PUs exert on both the patients and the health care system, prevention is of utmost importance. The first step in successful prevention, however, includes the identification of the main features that render patients prone to PU development. Cardiac surgery population is not adequately addressed in current clinical trials and studies. Few studies focused specifically on cardiac surgery patients, but the majority included cardiac surgery patients within a heterogeneous population of acute or critical care patients. Therefore, additional research is warranted to understand the unique risk profile of patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Intraoperative risk factors that affect tissue tolerance have not been thoroughly investigated but are likely to play an important role, which might explain the epidemiology of a PU. Further research is also needed to better comprehend the risk of PUs among cardiac surgery patients and to design effective and tailored preventative measures with the help of newer tools for risk assessment.
SLC6A1-miR133a-CDX2 loop regulates SK-OV-3 ovarian cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion

The present study assessed the expression of solute carrier 6 member 1 (SLC6A1) in ovarian cancer (OC) tissues and evaluated the effect of silencing SLC6A1 or caudal type homeobox 2 (CDX2) on the proliferation, migration, and invasion of SK-OV-3 OC cells. The levels of caudal type homeobox 2 (CDX2) and SLC6A1 mRNA were also examined in OC SK-OV-3, OVCAR3 and A2780 cell lines. The mRNA levels of CDX2 and SLC6A1 in SK-OV-3 OC cells were assessed following transection with microRNA (miR) 133a mimics; the mRNA and protein levels of SLC6A1 were determined following the silencing of CDX2, and the mRNA expression of CDX2 was gauged following the silencing of SLC6A1. A luciferase reporter assay was performed to assess the effect of miR133a on the CDX2 and SLC6A1 3′-untranslated regions (3′UTRs). The proliferation, migration and invasion rate of SK-OV-3 cells were then examined following the silencing of CDX2 or SLC6A1. The expression of SLC6A1 was increased in OC compared with adjacent tissue. The expression of CDX2 and SLC6A1 in SK-OV-3 and OVCAR3 cells was increased compared with A2780 cells (P<0.05). The level of CDX2 and SLC6A1 mRNA in SK-OV-3 cells decreased when the cells were transected with the miR133a mimics, compared with a negative control (P<0.05). Transfection with the miR133a mimics significantly reduced the luciferase activity of reporter plasmids with the SLC6A1 or CDX2 3′UTRs (P<0.05). The mRNA level of CDX2 was decreased subsequent to the silencing of SLC6A1; the mRNA and protein level of SLC6A1 were decreased when CDX2 was silenced (P<0.05). The proliferation, migration, and invasion of SK-OV-3 cells were significantly reduced following the silencing of CDX2 or SLC6A1 (P<0.05). CDX2 may therefore be inferred to promote the proliferation, migration and invasion in SK-OV-3 OC cells, acting as a competing endogenous RNA.
Dimensions of consciousness and the psychedelic state

Abstract It has often been suggested in the popular and academic literature that the psychedelic state qualifies as a higher state of consciousness relative to the state of normal waking awareness. This article subjects this proposal to critical scrutiny, focusing on the question of what it would mean for a state of consciousness to be ‘higher’. We begin by considering the contrast between conscious contents and conscious global states. We then review the changes in conscious global state associated with psychedelic drug use, focusing on the effects of two serotonergic hallucinogens: psilocybin and lysergic acid diethylamide. Limiting our review to findings obtained from lab-based experiments and reported in peer-reviewed journals, we prioritize the more common and reliably induced effects obtained through subjective questionnaires and psychophysical measures. The findings are grouped into three broad categories (sensory perception, cognitive function, and experiences of unity) and demonstrate that although certain aspects of consciousness are improved or enhanced in the psychedelic state, many of the functional capacities that are associated with consciousness are seriously compromised. Psychedelic-induced states of consciousness are indeed remarkable in many ways, but it is inappropriate to regard them as ‘higher’ states of consciousness. The fact that psychedelics affect different aspects of consciousness in fundamentally different ways provides evidence against the unidimensional (or ‘level-based’) view of consciousness, and instead provides strong support for a multidimensional conception of conscious states. The final section of the article considers the implications of this analysis for two prominent theories of consciousness: the Global Workspace Theory and Integrated Information Theory.
Focus On What's Important: Self-Attention Model for Human Pose Estimation

Human pose estimation is an essential yet challenging task in computer vision. One of the reasons for this difficulty is that there are many redundant regions in the images. In this work, we proposed a convolutional network architecture combined with the novel attention model. We named it attention convolutional neural network (ACNN). ACNN learns to focus on specific regions of different input features. It's a multi-stage architecture. Early stages filtrate the "nothing-regions", such as background and redundant body parts. And then, they submit the important regions which contain the joints of the human body to the following stages to get a more accurate result. What's more, it does not require extra manual annotations and self-learning is one of our intentions. We separately trained the network because the attention learning task and the pose estimation task are not independent. State-of-the-art performance is obtained on the MPII benchmarks.
Bicuspid Aortic Valve: Role of Multiple Gene Variants in Influencing the Clinical Phenotype

Background. Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is a common congenital heart defect with increased prevalence of aortic dilatation and dissection. BAV has an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance with reduced penetrance and variable expressivity. BAV has been described as an isolated trait or associated with other clinical manifestations in syndromic conditions. Identification of a syndromic condition in a BAV patient is clinically relevant in order to personalize indication to aortic surgery. We aimed to point out how genetic diagnosis by next-generation sequencing (NGS) can improve management of a patient with complex BAV clinical picture. Methods and Results. We describe a 45-year-old Caucasian male with BAV, thoracic aortic root and ascending aorta dilatation, and connective features evocative but inconclusive for clinical diagnosis of Marfan syndrome (MFS). Targeted (91 genes) NGS was used. Proband genetic variants were investigated in first-degree relatives. Proband carried 5 rare variants in 4 genes: FBN1(p.Asn542Ser and p.Lys2460Arg), NOTCH1(p.Val1739Met), LTBP1(p.Arg1330Gln), and TGFBR3(p.Arg423Trp). The two FBN1 variants were inherited in cis by the mother, showing systemic features evocative of MFS, but with a milder phenotype than that observed in the proband. Careful clinical observation along with the presence of the FBN1 variants allowed diagnosis of MFS in the proband and in his mother. NOTCH1 variant was found in mother and brother, not exhibiting BAV, thus not definitely supporting/excluding association with BAV. Interestingly, the proband, his brother and father, all showing root dilatation, and his sister, with upper range aortic root dimension, were carriers of a TGFBR3 variant. LTBP1 might also modulate the vascular phenotype. Conclusions. Our results underline the usefulness of NGS together with family evaluation in diagnosis of patients with monogenic traits and overlapping clinical manifestations due to contribution of the same genes and/or presence of comorbidities determined by different genes.
Entropy-Assisted Multi-Modal Emotion Recognition Framework Based on Physiological Signals

As the result of the growing importance of the Human Computer Interface system, understanding human’s emotion states has become a consequential ability for the computer. This paper aims to improve the performance of emotion recognition by conducting the complexity analysis of physiological signals. Based on AMIGOS dataset, we extracted several entropy-domain features such as Refined Composite Multi-Scale Entropy (RCMSE), Refined Composite Multi-Scale Permutation Entropy (RCMPE) from ECG and GSR signals, and Multivariate Multi-Scale Entropy (MMSE), Multivariate Multi-Scale Permutation Entropy (MMPE) from EEG, respectively. The statistical results show that RCMSE in GSR has a dominating performance in arousal, while RCMPE in GSR would be the excellent feature in valence. Furthermore, we selected XGBoost model to predict emotion and get 68% accuracy in arousal and 84% in valence.
Pseudomonas syringae evades phagocytosis by animal cells via type III effector‐mediated regulation of actin filament plasticity

Certain animal and plant pathogenic bacteria have developed virulence factors including effector proteins that enable them to overcome host immunity. A plant pathogen, Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato (Pto) secretes a large repertoire of effectors via a type III secretory apparatus, thereby suppressing plant immunity. Here, we show that Pto causes sepsis in mice. Surprisingly, the effector HopQ1 disrupted animal phagocytosis by inhibiting actin rearrangement via direct interaction with the LIM domain of the animal target protein LIM kinase, a key regulator of actin polymerization. The results provide novel insight into animal host-plant pathogen interactions. In addition, the current study firstly demonstrates that certain plant pathogenic bacteria such as Pto evade phagocytosis by animal cells due to cross-kingdom suppression of host immunity.
Conveying a civic issue through data via spatially distributed public visualization and polling displays

The proliferation of Internet-of-Things devices in urban environments empower citizens to appropriate data for civic purposes. Simultaneously, public visualization has shown to engage a wide audience with data by situating its graphical representation within the actual environment of its measurements. We thus propose a public visualization and polling system that enables residents to co-author a civically-motivated data-driven narrative and distribute it over multiple wireless displays located at different physical locations. Through an in-the-wild study, we studied how passers-by and residents engaged with the system by applying a user engagement evaluation model that maps the social and spatio-temporal context into interactions between the content, the environment and the infrastructure and two distinct user types, i.e. the residents who hosted the displays and the passers-by. Our findings show how the tacit social relationships between the user types, the social factors between passers-by, various temporal aspects, and several contextual factors affect user engagement with our spatially distributed public visualization and polling displays.
Updates on the role of receptor activator of nuclear factor κB/receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand/osteoprotegerin pathway in breast cancer risk and treatment.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Treatment with bisphosphonates and denosumab is the standard of care in bone metastatic disease. In addition, the adjuvant therapy of denosumab or bisphosphonates is very effective to prevent loss of bone mineral density, for example in osteoporosis. However, it is still unclear if this therapy has an influence on preventing cancer. RECENT FINDINGS Since the identification of novel genes in the 1980s, it took about 30 years until denosumab, as a fully human mAb against receptor activator of nuclear factor (NF)-κB ligand (RANKL), could be introduced to clinical practice. The discovery of the receptor activator of NF-κB/RANKL/osteoprotegerin pathway in the 1990s is an example of how modern databases of genes were utilized to discover new pathways relevant to a variety of diseases. The essential role of this pathway for the function, differentiation and survival of osteoclasts, and the influence on the bone microenvironment helped to understand the vicious circle of bone resorption and destruction in many skeletal diseases. SUMMARY In the following review, we discuss the important role of rational targeting concerning receptor activator of NF-κB/RANKL/osteoprotegerin and the bisphosphonate therapy and provide an update for the related treatment of patients suffering from breast cancer and further implications for clinical practice and research using denosumab as a potential chemoprevention in BRCA1-related breast cancer.
Reliable and Low-Latency Fronthaul for Tactile Internet Applications

With the emergence of Cloud-RAN as one of the dominant architectural solutions for the next-generation mobile networks, the reliability and latency on the fronthaul (FH) segment become critical performance metrics for applications such as the Tactile Internet. Ensuring FH performance is further complicated by the switch from point-to-point dedicated FH links to packet-based multi-hop FH networks. This change is largely justified by the fact that packet-based fronthauling allows the deployment of FH networks on the existing Ethernet infrastructure. This paper proposes to improve the reliability and latency of packet-based fronthauling by means of multi-path diversity and erasure coding of the MAC frames transported by the FH network. Under a probabilistic model that assumes a single service, the average latency required to obtain reliable FH transport and the reliability-latency tradeoff is first investigated. The analytical results are then validated and complemented by a numerical study that accounts for the coexistence of the enhanced mobile broadband and ultra-reliable low-latency services in fifth-generation networks by comparing orthogonal and non-orthogonal sharing of FH resources.
Novel anti-inflammatory film as a delivery system for the external medication with bioactive phytochemical “Apocynin”

Purpose Recently, Apocynin (APO) has emerged as a bioactive phytochemical with potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. No reports have been published so far concerning its topical application as a pharmaceutical dosage form for prospective use. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to fabricate novel anti-inflammatory film for external medication with APO. Methods APO film was prepared using casein (CAS) as a natural protein film former by solvent casting technique. The medicated film was extensively evaluated in terms of its various physicochemical characteristics, ex vivo skin permeation profile, stability, and finally in vivo anti-inflammatory activity on carrageenan-induced rat paw edema. Results The film represented satisfactory mechanical properties along with good flexibility. Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and X-ray diffractometry revealed possible solubility of APO in the amorphous CAS and inter- and intramolecular hydrogen bonding between the film components. The ex vivo skin permeation results of the medicated film demonstrated non-Fickian diffusion mechanism of the permeated drug. Application of APO film to rat paw before carrageenan-induced paw edema or after induction disclosed eminent anti-inflammatory activity expressed by marked decrease in paw swelling (%) and increase in edema inhibition rate (%). In addition, histopathologic examination revealed a significant decrease in inflammatory scores. The immunohistochemical expression levels of both nuclear factor kappa B and cyclooxygenase-2 were significantly suppressed. Conclusion These results indicated that CAS film could be applied as a promising external delivery system for the anti-inflammatory APO.
Eating disorders and associated risk factors among Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal university preparatory year female students in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

OBJECTIVES To estimate the prevalence of eating disorders among Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University (IAU) in Dammam, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, female students and to investigate the associated factors. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at IAU, Dammam, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in 2016 with 670 participants. Data was collected by self-administered questionnaires, including the Eating attitude test 26 (EAT-26) and the sociocultural attitudes toward appearance questionnaire (SATAQ-4). Eating behavior questions were asked to determine whether the respondents should seek evaluation for an eating disorder (ED) from a professional. RESULTS Eating attitude test 26 results showed that 29.4% of participants were categorized at a high level of concern for an ED, and 45.5% were categorized as at risk of having problematic feeding behaviors. Of the participants who scored above 20 on the EAT-26, 60.7% demonstrated high-risk feeding behavior attitudes, and approximately 11.5% who scored a body mass index (BMI) classified as underweight or very underweight required referral to a psychologist. A significant relationship was found between family stress to lose weight and EAT-26 scores above 20. The media was also found to represent external influence to lose weight. CONCLUSION This study concluded that early detection of EDs or problematic feeding behaviors and attitude is vital to minimize the risks to physical health and well-being of the sufferers' experiences.
Killing two birds with one stone: Blocking the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier to inhibit lactate uptake by cancer cells and radiosensitize tumors

ABSTRACT Lactate-based metabolic symbiosis between glycolytic and oxidative cancer cells is known to facilitate tumor growth. We have recently demonstrated that 7ACC2 blocks extracellular lactate uptake via the inhibition of mitochondrial pyruvate carrier. 7ACC2 also prevents compensatory glucose oxidation, induces tumor reoxygenation and potentiates radiotherapy, making it a promising anticancer drug.
Soil-Transmitted Helminths in Children in a Remote Aboriginal Community in the Northern Territory: Hookworm is Rare but Strongyloides stercoralis and Trichuris trichiura Persist

(1) Background: soil-transmitted helminths are a problem worldwide, largely affecting disadvantaged populations. The little data available indicates high rates of infection in some remote Aboriginal communities in Australia. Studies of helminths were carried out in the same remote community in the Northern Territory in 1994–1996 and 2010–2011; (2) Methods: fecal samples were collected from children aged <10 years and examined for helminths by direct smear microscopy. In the 2010–2011 study, some fecal samples were also analyzed by agar plate culture and PCR for Strongyloides stercoralis DNA. Serological analysis of fingerprick dried blood spots using a S. stercoralis NIE antigen was also conducted; (3) Results and Conclusions: a reduction in fecal samples positive for S. stercoralis, hookworm and Trichuris trichiura was seen between the studies in 1994–1996 and 2010–2011, likely reflecting public health measures undertaken in the region to reduce intestinal helminths. Comparison of methods to detect S. stercoralis showed that PCR of fecal samples and serological testing of dried blood spots was at least as sensitive as direct smear microscopy and agar plate culture. These methods have advantages for use in remote field studies.
Zero‐gradient‐excitation ramped hybrid encoding (zGRF‐RHE) sodium MRI

Fast bi‐exponential transverse signal decay compounds sodium image quality. This work aims at enhancing image characteristics using a special case of ramped hybrid encoding (RHE). Zero‐gradient‐excitation (zGRF)‐RHE provides (1) gradient‐free excitation for high flip angle, artifact‐free excitation profiles and (2) gradient ramping during dead‐time for the optimization of encoding time (tenc) to reduce T2* signal decay influence during acquisition.