Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Improving Emotional Expression Recognition of Robots Using Regions of Interest from Human Data

This paper is the first step of an attempt to equip social robots with emotion recognition capabilities comparable to those of humans. Most of the recent deep learning solutions for facial expression recognition under-perform when deployed in Human-Robot-Interaction scenarios, although they are capable of breaking records on the most varied benchmarks on facial expression recognition. The main reason for that we believe is that they are using techniques that are developed for recognition of static pictures, while in real-life scenarios, we infer emotions from intervals of expression. Utilising on the feature of CNN to form regions of interests that are similar to human gaze patterns, we use recordings from human-gaze patterns to train such a network to infer facial emotions from 3 seconds video footage of humans expressing 6 basic emotions.
Two New Cryptic Endemic Toads of Bufo Discovered in Central Nevada, Western United States (Amphibia: Bufonidae: Bufo [Anaxyrus])

We describe two new cryptic species of Bufo within the subgenus Anaxyrus discovered in Central Nevada of the western United States. Our analyses revealed that these two localized endemic toads are genetically divergent and morphologically distinct, yet were concealed under the range of the broadly distributed western toad (Bufo boreas), which occurs throughout Nevada. The newly discovered species are close in geographic proximity to each other (albeit, in different hydrological basins) but have evolved unique morphological characters that are distinct from each other and distinctive from all allied taxa within the B. boreas species complex. The delimiting of these two rare toads emphasizes the link between taxonomic crypsis and inadequate conservation as these newly described species are vulnerable to extinction due to severely restricted geographic ranges, unknown population sizes, and dependency on rare, fragile wetland habitat, which is a limited resource within Nevada, the primary state that makes up the arid Great Basin. These two endemics join the Great Basin B. boreas species complex as imperiled new members, and our study demonstrates that our knowledge of anuran diversity is incomplete and that new discoveries can still be made, even in unlikely settings.
Effects of afforestation with Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica plantations combined with enclosure management on soil microbial community

Grazing and litter removal can alter understory structure and composition after afforestation, posing a serious threat to sustainable forest development. Enclosure is considered to be an effective measure to restore degraded forest restoration. However, little is known about the dynamics of soil nutrients and microbial communities during the forest restoration process. In the present study, the effects of Arachis hypogaea (AH), Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica (PSM) and Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica with enclosure (PSME) on soil chemical properties and soil microbial communities were studied in Zhanggutai, Liaoning Province, China. The results showed that PSME could remarkably contribute to improve soil total C, total N and total P compared to PSM and AH. Additionally, PSM could clearly increase the soil bacterial community diversity and fungal Chao1 index and ACE index. Additionally, PSME could further increase soil Chao1 index and ACE index of soil bacteria. Soil total C, total N and available N were the main factors related to soil microbial diversity. Actinobacteria and Ascomycota were the predominant bacterial and fungal phyla, respectively. Specifically, PSME could increase the relative abundances of Actinobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes, Ascomycota and Mortierellomycota and decreased the relative abundances of Acidobacteria, Chloroflexi and Basidiomycota than PSM. PSM and PSME could clearly change soil microbial communities compared with AH and PSME could remarkably shift soil fungal communities than PSM. What’s more, the soil microbial community structure were affected by multiple edaphic chemical parameters. It can be seen that afforestation combined with enclosed management potentially regulate microbial properties through shifting the soil properties. This study can provide new ideas for further understanding the impact of enclosure on PSM and provide theoretical support for the management of PSM.
Estimated Costs Associated With Radiation Therapy for Positive Surgical Margins During Radical Prostatectomy

Key Points Question What are the costs associated with positive surgical margins (PSMs) during radical prostatectomy? Findings In this cohort study of 230 175 US men, the attributable cost of a PSM was $17 356. The overall health burden attributable to PSMs was estimated to be $52 068 000 each year. Meaning The financial burden of PSMs is substantial, and efforts in reducing the rate of PSMs could be associated with a reduction in the overall health costs associated with surgically treated prostate cancer.
End-User Robot Programming Case Study: Augmented Reality vs. Teach Pendant

The work presents a preliminary experiment aimed for comparing a traditional method of programming an industrial collaborative robot using a teach pendant, with a novel method based on augmented reality and interaction on a high-level of abstraction. In the experiment, three participants programmed a visual inspection task. Subjective and objective metrics are reported as well as selected usability-related issues of both interfaces. The main purpose of the experiment was to get initial insight into the problematic of comparing highly different user interfaces and to provide a basis for a more rigorous comparison, that is going to be taken out.
A Short Series of Laparoscopic Mesenteric Bypasses for Chronic Mesenteric Ischemia

Background Laparoscopic aortomesenteric bypass may be performed to treat the chronic mesenteric ischemia patients who are not suitable for endovascular treatment. This study presents an initial experience with a limited series of laparoscopic mesenteric artery revascularization for the treatment of mesenteric ischemia. Methods Chronic mesenteric ischemia (CMI) patients with previous unsuccessful endovascular treatment or with arterial occlusion and extensive calcification precluding safe endovascular treatment were offered laparoscopic mesenteric revascularization. From October 2015 until November 2018, nine patients with CMI underwent laparoscopic revascularization. In addition to demographic data and perioperative results of the treatment, graft patency was assessed with Duplex ultrasound at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months, and annually thereafter. A descriptive analysis of the data was performed. Results All bypasses were constructed with an 8 mm ring enforced expanded polytetrafluoroethylene graft in a retrograde fashion (from infrarenal aorta or iliac artery) to either superior mesenteric artery or splenic artery (2 cases). Median operation time was 356 mins (range 247–492 mins). Five patients had a history of unsuccessful endovascular treatment. Laparoscopic technical success was 78%, and the primary open conversion rate was 22%. All laparoscopic revascularization procedures remained patent after discharge during a median follow-up time of 26 months (range 18–49 months). The primary graft patency at 30 days was 78%. Primary assisted, and secondary graft patency was 78% and 100%, respectively. Median weight gain was 2 kg (range 2–18 kg), and all patients achieved relief from postprandial pain and nausea. No mortality was observed during the follow-up period. Conclusion Laparoscopic aortomesenteric revascularization procedures for chronic mesenteric ischemia are feasible but require careful patient selection. These procedures should only be performed at referral centers by vascular surgeons with prior experience in laparoscopic vascular surgery.
Social Robots as Reinforcement in Applied Behavior Analysis

Within the framework of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), a study at the Childen's Hospital of Eastern Ontario determines whether children on the autism spectrum are motivated by social robots as positive reinforcement during skill acquisition compared to traditional toys, candy, escapement, and affection. Using five robots and nine subjects, the study suggests that social robots are viable candidates as reinforcement in real-world ABA practice.
Fibronectin is a smart adhesive that both influences and responds to the mechanics of early spinal column development

An extracellular matrix of Fibronectin adheres the neural tube to the two flanking columns of paraxial mesoderm and is required for normal vertebrate development. Here, we find that the bilaterally symmetric interfaces between the zebrafish neural tube and paraxial mesoderm function as optimally engineered adhesive lap joints with rounded edges, graded Fibronectin ‘adhesive’ and an arced adhesive spew filet. Fibronectin is a ‘smart adhesive’ that remodels to the lateral edges of the neural tube-paraxial mesoderm interfaces where shear stress is highest. Fibronectin remodeling is mechanically responsive to contralateral variation morphogenesis, and Fibronectin-mediated inter-tissue adhesion is required for bilaterally symmetric morphogenesis of the paraxial mesoderm. Strikingly, however, perturbation of the Fibronectin matrix rescues the neural tube convergence defect of cadherin 2 mutants. Therefore, Fibronectin-mediated inter-tissue adhesion dynamically coordinates bilaterally symmetric morphogenesis of the vertebrate trunk but predisposes the neural tube to convergence defects that lead to spina bifida.
Association of metabolically healthy obesity and elevated risk of coronary artery calcification: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) is defined as obesity with less than two parameters of metabolic abnormalities. Some studies report that MHO individuals show similar risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared with metabolically healthy non-obese (MHNO) individuals, but the results are conflicting. Coronary artery calcium (CAC) reflects the extent of coronary atherosclerosis and is a useful tool to predict future risk of CVD. The objective of this meta-analysis was to investigate whether MHO is associated with elevated risk of CAC. Method We searched Cochrane, PubMed, and Embase up to April 19, 2019. Prospective cohort and cross-sectional studies examining the association between MHO subjects and CAC were included with MHNO as the reference. Pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using random-effect models. Subgroup analysis and meta-regression were applied to define possible sources of heterogeneity. We conducted this research following a pre-established protocol registered on PROSPERO (CRD 42019135006). Results A total of nine studies were included in this review and six studies with 23,543 participants were eligible for the meta-analysis. Compared with MHNO subjects, MHO had a higher odds of CAC (OR 1.36, 95% CI [1.11 to 1.66]; I2 = 39%). In the subgroup analysis, the risk associated with MHO participants was significant in cohort studies (OR = 1.47, 95% CI [1.15,1.87], I2 = 0%), and borderline significant in cross-sectional studies. The risk of CAC was also significant in MHO participants defined by Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) (OR = 1.55, 95% CI [1.25,1.93], I2 = 0%). The univariate meta-regression model showed that age and smoking status were possible effect modifiers for MHO and CAC risk. Conclusion Our meta-analysis showed that MHO phenotypes were associated with elevated risk of CAC compared with MHNO, which reflects the extent of coronary atherosclerosis. People with obesity should strive to achieve normal weight even when only one metabolic abnormality is present.
The biochemical and metabolic profiles of dairy cows with mycotoxins-contaminated diets

Background Previous studies on the effects of mycotoxins have solely focused on their biochemical profiles or products in dairy ruminants. Changes in metabolism that occur after exposure to mycotoxins, as well as biochemical changes, have not been explored. Methods We measured the biochemical and metabolic changes in dairy cows after exposure to mycotoxins using biochemical analyses and nuclear magnetic resonance. Twenty-four dairy cows were randomly assigned to three different treatment groups. Control cows received diets with 2 kg uncontaminated cottonseed. Cows in the 50% replacement group received the same diet as the control group, but with 1 kg of uncontaminated cottonseed and 1 kg of cottonseed contaminated with mycotoxins. Cows in the 100% replacement group received the same diet as the control, but with 2 kg contaminated cottonseed. Results The results showed that serum γ-glutamyl transpeptidase and total antioxidant capacities were significantly affected by cottonseed contaminated with mycotoxins. There were also significant differences in isovalerate and NH3-N levels, and significant differences in the eight plasma metabolites among the three groups. These metabolites are mainly involved in amino acid metabolism pathways. Therefore, the results suggest that amino acid metabolism pathways may be affected by mycotoxins exposure.
On the Role of Artificial Intelligence in Genomics to Enhance Precision Medicine

Abstract The complexity of orphan diseases, which are those that do not have an effective treatment, together with the high dimensionality of the genetic data used for their analysis and the high degree of uncertainty in the understanding of the mechanisms and genetic pathways which are involved in their development, motivate the use of advanced techniques of artificial intelligence and in-depth knowledge of molecular biology, which is crucial in order to find plausible solutions in drug design, including drug repositioning. Particularly, we show that the use of robust deep sampling methodologies of the altered genetics serves to obtain meaningful results and dramatically decreases the cost of research and development in drug design, influencing very positively the use of precision medicine and the outcomes in patients. The target-centric approach and the use of strong prior hypotheses that are not matched against reality (disease genetic data) are undoubtedly the cause of the high number of drug design failures and attrition rates. Sampling and prediction under uncertain conditions cannot be avoided in the development of precision medicine.
Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Kinase 4: A Key Mediator for Metabolic Regulation of Liver Regeneration

Given the central biochemical role the liver plays in all vertebrates, major liver damage would be expected to cause perturbations in lipid and glucose metabolism. These could be due simply to the absence of normal liver function, but the study by Zhao et al.(1) in this issue defines the metabolic changes observed as integral to a process of rationalizing the needs for liver regeneration without lethal harm to the competing needs of the rest of the body. When liver mass suffers a major loss by experimental hepatic resection, or presumably by injury during evolution, the remaining hepatic tissue is damaged. Portal pressure is increased due to restriction of portal vein outflow,(2) and the concentration of lipopolysaccharides carried by portal blood from the gut is increased. (3) These changes are a signal for the liver to regenerate. Until now, hypoglycemia during regeneration and the accumulation of lipid droplets in the surviving remnant have been unexplained except as an incidental manifestation of the law of mass action causing overload or general metabolic insufficiency until organ capacity is restored. Specific molecular mechanisms that control liver regeneration have been extensively studied in a rodent model of partial hepatectomy, e.g., as detailed by Huang and Rudnick. (4) Several humoral factors and their intracellular targets were identified as key players in liver regeneration, such as cytokines (e.g., tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin-6), growthand matrix-derived factors (hepatocyte growth factor, epidermal growth factor receptor ligands), secondary messenger cascades (e.g., Wnt-dependent β-catenin signaling), and transcription factors (e.g., nuclear factor kappa B, signal transducer and activator of transcription 3, CCAAT-enhancer binding protein beta). Emerging data and evidence suggest metabolic regulation may play an important role in initiating regenerative responses following experimentally induced hepatic insufficiency and controlling liver regeneration. However, the molecular mediators that coordinate metabolism with liver regeneration remained unknown. Now, Zhao et al.(1) have demonstrated that pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 (PDK4), a critical regulator of glucose and lipid metabolism, plays a key role in regulating liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy and that PDK4 inhibition reprograms glucose and lipid metabolism to promote liver regeneration by enhancing hepatic insulin/protein kinase B signaling and activating an adenosine monophosphate– activated protein kinase/forkhead box protein O1/cluster of differentiation 36 regulatory axis of lipid. In knockout mice without PDK4 activity, regeneration was faster than in the wild-type mice, but the knockout animals often died; regeneration was headed toward success, but the animal succumbed. This finding is Abbreviation: PDK4, pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4.
Two indicators rule them all: Mean and standard deviation used to calculate other journal indicators based on lognormal distribution of citation counts

Two journal-level indicators, respectively the mean ($m^i$) and the standard deviation ($v^i$) are proposed to be the core indicators of each journal and we show that quite several other indicators can be calculated from those two core indicators, assuming that yearly citation counts of papers in each journal follows more or less a log-normal distribution. Those other journal-level indicators include journal h index, journal one-by-one-sample comparison citation success index $S_j^i$, journal multiple-sample $K^i-K^j$ comparison success rate $S_{j,K^j}^{i,K^i }$, and minimum representative sizes $\kappa_j^i$ and $\kappa_i^j$, the average ranking of all papers in a journal in a set of journals($R^t$). We find that those indicators are consistent with those calculated directly using the raw citation data ($C^i=\{c_1^i,c_2^i,\dots,c_{N^i}^i \},\forall i$) of journals. In addition to its theoretical significance, the ability to estimate other indicators from core indicators has practical implications. This feature enables individuals who lack access to raw citation count data to utilize other indicators by simply using core indicators, which are typically easily accessible.
Assessing citation network clustering as indicator normalization tool

Helsinki University Library participates in planning the publication metrics of the research assessments for University of Helsinki (UH) [1]. This creates urgency in understanding the most recent developments in methodology used by organizations providing large scale analyses of scientific impact. We tested the network clustering tool developed by CWTS, Leiden [2] on a ~67k set of social sciences oriented publications.
CDC survey: Many sexually active females don’t know they are at risk for pregnancy

The good news: U.S. teen pregnancy and birth rates are at historic lows since peaking in 1990. The bad news: We continue to have the highest teen pregnancy rate in the developed world. At least three-quarters of pregnancies in 15- to 19-year-olds are unintended, and many sexually active teens still
Recognizing Complex Head Movements

—Developing new approaches of Human-Computer Interactions, which make the interaction logic more natural to humans, is one of the most forward-looking trends of information technology. There is growing demand for infocommunications which are not limited to traditional senses. For example, recognition of human activities or the gesture based control of computers makes the communication between human and computer easier than ever. There is a leading communication channel of the message that is being communicated: the human head and face. Recognizing head movements are crucial in understanding the message as well as making the interaction self-evident to humans. Head movements can be recognized based on their shape and characteristics. In this study, we introduce a general model for describing and understanding complex head movements. A novel spatiotemporal representation is used for head movements, which is based on the extraction of facial features and the estimation of 6 DoF head pose. Our approach uses monocular camera images without the need for sensors or markers on the face. The efficiency of head movement recognition is demonstrated by head-drawn letters in real time environment.
Sarcopenic Obesity and Falls in the Elderly

Background: Sarcopenic obesity refers to age-related loss of skeletal muscle mass and function, in the face of obesity. We aimed to examine the association of falls with sarcopenic obesity and its components, among elderly individuals in the population.Methods: Participants were 353 men and 245 women aged 65-98 yr of the Geelong Osteoporosis Study. Body fat and lean mass were measured using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry; body fat mass was expressed as a percentage of weight (%BF) and appendicular lean mass was adjusted for height (rALM, kg/m2). Poor physical performance was assessed using the timed up-&-go (TUG) test. Sarcopenic obesity referred to low-rALM (Tscore 10 s) and obesity (%BF >25% for men, >35% for women). Fallers were identified by self-report as having had at least one fall in the previous 12 mo. Associations between sarcopenic obesity (and its components) and falls were determined using logistic regression after adjusting for age and sex.Results: In total, 219 (36.6%) had low-rALM, 205 (34.2%) had poor physical performance, 466 (77.9%) were obese and 69 (11.5%) had all three thereby meeting our criteria for sarcopenic obesity. There were 170 (28.4%) fallers; falls were more common for those with sarcopenic obesity than without (28 (40.6%) vs 142 (26.8%); p=0.017). The likelihood of a fall in association with sarcopenic obesity and its components were: sarcopenic obesity OR=1.65 (95%CI 0.96-2.85), sarcopenia OR=1.52 (0.93-2.47), poor physical performance and obesity OR=1.74 (1.16-2.61), low-rALM OR=1.41 (0.96-2.06), poor physical performance OR=1.88 (1.26-2.80), obesity OR=0.88 (0.57-1.35). Conclusion: While obesity per se was not associated with falls, there was an increased risk of falls individuals with sarcopenic obesity that was of borderline statistical significance and this appears to be largely a consequence of poor physical performance.