Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Video Frame Interpolation and Enhancement via Pyramid Recurrent Framework

Video frame interpolation aims to improve users’ watching experiences by generating high-frame-rate videos from low-frame-rate ones. Existing approaches typically focus on synthesizing intermediate frames using high-quality reference images. However, the captured reference frames may suffer from inevitable spatial degradations such as motion blur, sensor noise, etc. Few studies have approached the joint video enhancement problem, namely synthesizing high-frame-rate and high-quality results from low-frame-rate degraded inputs. In this paper, we propose a unified optimization framework for video frame interpolation with spatial degradations. Specifically, we develop a frame interpolation module with a pyramid structure to cyclically synthesize high-quality intermediate frames. The pyramid module features adjustable spatial receptive field and temporal scope, thus contributing to controllable computational complexity and restoration ability. Besides, we propose an inter-pyramid recurrent module to connect sequential models to exploit the temporal relationship. The pyramid module integrates the recurrent module, thus can iteratively synthesize temporally smooth results. And the pyramid modules share weights across iterations, thus it does not expand the model’s parameter size. Our model can be generalized to several applications such as up-converting the frame rate of videos with motion blur, reducing compression artifacts, and jointly super-resolving low-resolution videos. Extensive experimental results demonstrate that our method performs favorably against state-of-the-art methods on various video frame interpolation and enhancement tasks.
High-Performance Nanostructured Palladium-Based Hydrogen Sensors—Current Limitations and Strategies for Their Mitigation

Hydrogen gas is rapidly approaching a global breakthrough as a carbon-free energy vector. In such a hydrogen economy, safety sensors for hydrogen leak detection will be an indispensable element along the entire value chain, from the site of hydrogen production to the point of consumption, due to the high flammability of hydrogen–air mixtures. To stimulate and guide the development of such sensors, industrial and governmental stakeholders have defined sets of strict performance targets, which are yet to be entirely fulfilled. In this Perspective, we summarize recent efforts and discuss research strategies for the development of hydrogen sensors that aim at meeting the set performance goals. In the first part, we describe the state-of-the-art for fast and selective hydrogen sensors at the research level, and we identify nanostructured Pd transducer materials as the common denominator in the best performing solutions. As a consequence, in the second part, we introduce the fundamentals of the Pd–hydrogen interaction to lay the foundation for a detailed discussion of key strategies and Pd-based material design rules necessary for the development of next generation high-performance nanostructured Pd-based hydrogen sensors that are on par with even the most stringent and challenging performance targets.
SMA-Driven Soft Robotic Neck: Design, Control and Validation

Replicating the behavior and movement of living organisms to develop robots which are better adapted to the human natural environment is a major area of interest today. Soft device development is one of the most promising and innovative technological fields to meet this challenge. However, soft technology lacks of suitable actuators, and therefore, development and integration of soft actuators is a priority. This article presents the development and control of a soft robotic neck which is actuated by a flexible Shape Memory Alloy (SMA)-based actuator. The proposed neck has two degrees of freedom that allow movements of inclination and orientation, thus approaching the actual movement of the human neck. The platform we have developed may be considered a real soft robotic device since, due to its flexible SMA-based actuator, it has much fewer rigid parts compared to similar platforms. Weight and motion noise have also been considerably reduced due to the lack of gear boxes, housing and bearings, which are commonly used in conventional actuators to reduce velocity and increase torque.
Uncertainty Quantification of Cable Inductances and Capacitances via Mixed-Fidelity Models

In this paper, we investigate a mixed-fidelity approach for the uncertainty quantification of the per-unit-length (p.u.l.) capacitance and inductance of cables with random geometrical and material parameters. Polynomial chaos expansion is used to model uncertainty, whereas a numerical discretization technique is used to calculate p.u. l. inductances and capacitances. However, instead of using a model with high fidelity in both features, the results are obtained as a combination of two complementary models with mixed fidelity in each feature. Numerical examples concerning the statistical assessment of the p.u. l. inductance and capacitance matrices of two shielded cables show that similar accuracy is attained at a fraction of the computational cost compared to conventional approaches.
Neuro-Fuzzy Modeling of PH Neutralization Process in Sugar Mill

In sugar factory, the primary juice that is produced from extraction mill is highly impure with a low pH value. The control of pH value of sucrose solution is a crucial task as the purity and colour of final sugar crystals is strictly decided by it. For this, a controlled amount of milk of lime is mixed with it to bring pH value to the desired level. For the design of this control system, a mathematical model of the considered process is required. A neurofuzzy system is an amalgamation of fuzzy logic and neural network. An attempt has been made to obtain a Neuro-Fuzzy model of this process in the present paper using the ANFIS technique of MATLAB.
134Cs Uptake and Growth at Various Cs+ and K+ Levels in Arabidopsis AtKUP7 Mutants

Radiocaesium is a pollutant with a high risk for the environment, agricultural production, and human health. It is mobile in ecosystems and can be taken up by plants via potassium transporters. In this study, we focused on the role of potassium transporter AtKUP7 of the KT/HAK/KUP family in Cs+ and K+ uptake by plants and in plant tolerance to caesium toxicity. We detected that Arabidopsis kup7 mutant accumulates significantly lower amounts of 134Cs in the root (86%) and in the shoot (69%) compared to the wild-type. On the other hand ability of the mutant to grow on media with toxic (100 and 200 µM) concentrations of Cs+ was not changed; moreover its growth was not impaired on low K+. We further investigated another mutant line in AtKUP7 and found that the growth phenotype of the kup7 mutants in K+ deficient conditions is much milder than previously published. Also, their accumulation of K+ in shoots is hindered only by severe potassium shortage.
Synthesis, crystal structure, and thermal property of piperazine-templated copper(II) sulfate, {H 2 NCH 2 CH 2 NH 2 CH 2 CH 2 }{Cu(H 2 O) 6 }(SO 4 ) 2

The title compound, , I, has been synthesized under solvo/hydrothermal conditions and their crystal structure analyzed by X-ray single crystallography. Compound I crystallizes in the monoclinic system, space group with a = 6.852(1), b = 10.160(2), , , , Z = 2, , and . The crystal structure of the piperazine templated Cu(II)-sulfate demonstrate zero-dimensional compound constituted by doubly protonated piperazine cations, hexahydrated copper cations and sulfate anions. The central Cu atom has a elongated octahedral coordination geometry. The crystal structure is stabilized by three-dimensional networks of the intermolecular and hydrogen bonds between the water molecules and sulfate anions and protonated piperazine cations. Based on the results of thermal analysis, the thermal decomposition reaction of compound I was analyzed to have three distinctive stages.
The efficacy of physiotherapy interventions in the treatment of adhesive capsulitis: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND Adhesive capsulitis is a debilitating condition which causes the capsule of the gleno-humeral joint to thicken and contract progressively. The effectiveness of various non-operative methods has been demonstrated to improve the pain, range of motion (ROM) and functional status of patients with adhesive capsulitis. OBJECTIVE This study aims to review recent evidence on the efficacy of physiotherapy interventions in the treatment of adhesive capsulitis. METHODS PubMed, Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro), Science Direct and Cochrane databases were searched for studies published since 2013. The search terms included: Frozen shoulder, adhesive capsulitis, physical therapy, rehabilitation, manual therapy, mobilization, exercise, education, and electrotherapy. The search was limited to studies published in English and studies that used human subjects. RESULTS Quality scores of 33 articles were reviewed according to the Sackett's critical appraisal criteria and the grades of recommendation were determined for physiotherapy interventions used in the studies. CONCLUSION The empirical evidence suggests that certain physical therapy techniques and modalities are strongly recommended for pain relief, improvement of ROM, and functional status in patients with adhesive capsulitis, while others are either moderately or mildly recommended. However, the efficacy of one treatment modality over another is uncertain. The poor methodological rigors demonstrated in most of the reviewed studies emphasize the urgent need of properly conducted, adequately sampled randomized controlled trials with adequate follow up to determine the superior combination of treatment.
Mesh Simplification Algorithm Based on the Quadratic Error Metric and Triangle Collapse

Triangular mesh is a commonly used method for representing 3D models. With the continuous development of 3D modeling and scanning technologies, the complexity of the mesh is increasing. The greater the density of the mesh is, the higher the representation quality of the model. However, a higher mesh density also results in greater storage and time costs. Mesh simplification is a basic research topic in the fields of computer graphics and virtual reality. This paper implements a mesh simplification algorithm based on triangle collapse. The algorithm uses a half-edge data structure to record the mesh information, obtains the folding point by minimizing the sum of squares of the spatial distances from the folding point to all adjacent surfaces, and then calculates the folding cost and folding order. The algorithm iteratively folds the triangular faces with the smallest folding costs to achieve mesh simplification. By processing a large number of models, it is proven that the algorithm in this paper can retain the original model features during the simplification process.
Dissolved organic matter released by two marine heterotrophic bacterial strains and its bioavailability for natural prokaryotic communities.

Marine heterotrophic prokaryotes (HP) play a key role in organic matter processing in oceans; however, the view of HP as dissolved organic matter (DOM) sources remains underexplored. In this study, we quantified and optically characterized the DOM produced by two single marine bacterial strains. We then tested the availability of these DOM sources to in situ Mediterranean Sea HP communities. Two bacterial strains were used: Photobacterium angustum (a copiotrophic gammaproteobacterium) and Sphingopyxis alaskensis (an oligotrophic alphaproteobacterium). When cultivated on glucose as the sole carbon source, the two strains released from 7 to 23% of initial glucose as bacterial derived DOM (B-DOM), the quality of which (as enrichment in humic or protein-like substances) differed between strains. B-DOM promoted significant growth and carbon consumption of natural HP communities, suggesting that it was partly labile. However, B-DOM consistently promoted lower prokaryotic growth efficiencies than in situ DOM. In addition, B-DOM changed HP exoenzymatic activities enhancing aminopeptidase activity when degrading P. angustum DOM, and alkaline phosphatase activity when using S. alaskensis DOM, and promoted differences in HP diversity and composition. DOM produced by HP affects in situ prokaryotic metabolism and diversity, thus changing the pathways for DOM cycling (e.g. respiration over biomass production) in the ocean. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Resistin Gene Polymorphism Is an Influencing Factor of Postoperative Pain for Chinese Patients.

BACKGROUND Gene polymorphism is an important factor affecting the efficacy and dosage of opioids. A recent study showed RETN rs3745367 was associated with postoperative pain intensity. OPRM1 gene was confirmed to affect the postoperative analgesic consumption of morphine and other opioids. OBJECTIVE In this study, we investigated the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the RETN, OPRM1 gene and postoperative pain intensity, analgesics consumption, and ADR. The haplotype analysis focus on OPRM1 was also implemented. STUDY DESIGN This was a prospective, observational study. SETTING Patients undergoing spinal fusion and correction operation were recruited. Genotypes of rs3745367, rs1799971, rs2075572, and rs9322447 were tested. Pain assessment was performed to measure postoperative pain intensity, postoperative fentanyl and pethidine consumption was recorded to calculate analgesics consumption, and adverse reactions were recorded. METHOD We recruited 142 patients undergoing spinal correction and fusion. Genotyping was performed by using a real-time polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) system and validated with allelic discrimination assays. The pain was assessed using a numerical rating scale (NRS). Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS software. LD test and the construction and analysis of haplotype were using Haploview software. RESULTS Rs3745367 demonstrated a significant association with postoperative average pain intensity in 24h (P = 0.015) and 48h (P = 0.001) after surgery. Rs2075572 and rs9322447 influenced postoperative maximal pain intensity in 48h after surgery (P = 0.042, 0.033, respectively). No correlation was found between OPRM1 SNPs and analgesics consumption and adverse reaction. According to the results of this study, a strong LD was observed between rs1799971 and rs9322447 (Block 1, LD parameters: D' = 0.82, r2 = 0.14), rs2075572 and rs9322447 (Block 2, LD parameters: D' = 0.92, r2 = 0.51). LIMITATIONS The association between rs3745367 with serum resistin levels was not investigated in this research, serum resistin levels of the incision part should be investigated in future studies. CONCLUSION RETN rs3745367 was associated with postoperative average pain intensity, OPRM1 rs2075572 and rs9322447 may influence postoperative maximal pain intensity.
Gender differences in mortality in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction

Abstract Objective: Women with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) have worst outcomes than men. The objective of the study was to determine gender differences in mortality in patients with STEMI. Methods: Cohort study including patients with STEMI. We recorded demographic and clinical data, laboratory tests, and in-hospital mortality in patients who underwent primary angioplasty and pharmacoinvasive strategy. Kaplan–Meier analysis was used to assess mortality differences between both genders. Results: A total of 340 patients were analyzed, 296 males and 44 females. Mean age of the female group was 64.3 ± 12.3 years. About 98% of females were among Killip-Kimball Class I-II. They had higher risk scores compared to man, longer ischemic time and first medical contact with a difference in comparison to man of 47 and 60 min, respectively. Mortality was 9.1% (4) in the female group. Conclusions: Although the proportion of women had higher mortality than man, we did not found any difference with statistical significance probably due to the lack of representation. We need more awareness in the female population about STEMI, since longer first medical contact time and longer total ischemic time might be one possible explanation of a higher mortality.
Preoperative statin use is associated with less postoperative atrial fibrillation after myectomy in patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy.

The present study aims to investigate whether preoperative statin use is associated with less postoperative atrial fibrillation occurrence after septal myectomy in patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM). Clinical data of consecutive patients with HOCM who underwent septal myectomy between February 2009 and May 2019 at our institution was retrospectively reviewed. The cohort was divided into two groups according to the status of preoperative statin use (statin group versus no statin group). Logistic regression was used to explore associations of clinical variables with postoperative atrial fibrillation occurrence. A total of 1307 patients with HOCM underdoing septal myectomy were included in the present study, with 109 patients in the statin group and 1198 in the no statin group. Among 322 patients (24.6%) developing postoperative atrial fibrillation, 21 cases (19.3%) occurred in the statin group, while 301 cases (25.1%) were in the no statin group (p = 0.202). After propensity score matching with confounding variables at baseline, 91 paired patients were included in the matched cohort. Postoperative atrial fibrillation developed in 17 (18.7%) and 38 (41.8%) in the statin and no statin groups, respectively (p = 0.001). Preoperative statin use was associated with less postoperative atrial fibrillation occurrence (odds ratio 0.220, 95% confidence interval 0.083 - 0.588, p <0.003). The present study suggested that preoperative statin use was associated with less postoperative atrial fibrillation occurrence after septal myectomy in patients with HOCM. This finding may provide clues for subsequent prospective study to investigate this clinical issue.
Graph-based feature extraction: A new proposal to study the classification of music signals outside the time-frequency domain

Most feature extraction algorithms for music audio signals use Fourier transforms to obtain coefficients that describe specific aspects of music information within the sound spectrum, such as the timbral texture, tonal texture and rhythmic activity. In this paper, we introduce a new method for extracting features related to the rhythmic activity of music signals using the topological properties of a graph constructed from an audio signal. We map the local standard deviation of a music signal to a visibility graph and calculate the modularity (Q), the number of communities (Nc), the average degree (〈k〉), and the density (Δ) of this graph. By applying this procedure to each signal in a database of various musical genres, we detected the existence of a hierarchy of rhythmic self-similarities between musical styles given by these four network properties. Using Q, Nc, 〈k〉 and Δ as input attributes in a classification experiment based on supervised artificial neural networks, we obtained an accuracy higher than or equal to the beat histogram in 70% of the musical genre pairs, using only four features from the networks. Finally, when performing the attribute selection test with Q, Nc, 〈k〉 and Δ, along with the main signal processing field descriptors, we found that the four network properties were among the top-ranking positions given by this test.
Temporal and spatial infiltration characteristics of soil under acacia and pine plantations in the mountainous area of Van Don, Quang Ninh, Vietnam

To determine the soil infiltration characteristics of pine and acacia plantations, we used a double-ring infiltrometer in 15 different locations of up-hill, mid-hill and down-hill part in each kind of plantation from June to August, 2018. The spatial infiltration characteristics of the soil at three plots (with no tree, with acacia tree and with pine tree) was determined by dye tracer method. The factors having an impact to the infiltration process were also analyzed. The main findings include: (1) The soil infiltration rate under both pine and acacia plantation decreased over time and it was the highest in the bottom of the hill and the lowest in the middle of the hill. The infiltration rate and the total infiltrated water in one hour at the acacia plantation were higher than ones at the pine plantation. However, statistical significant difference was only found for stable infiltration rate between two plantations; (2) The area and the depth of infiltrated water were the highest at the plot without trees, smaller at the soil of acacia plot and smallest at the soil of pine plot. All spatial infiltration rates were within the findings of previous studies; (3) The result indicated that soil with high ground cover has high infiltration rate. Để xác định đặc điểm thấm nước của đất dưới rừng trồng Thông và Keo, vòng đôi đo tốc độ thấm đã được sử dụng để đo ở sườn trên, sườn giữa và sườn dưới (5 lần/ ví trí) cho mỗi loại hình rừng từ tháng 6-8/2018. Trong khi, thuốc nhuộm được sử dụng để kiểm tra đặc điểm thấm nước của đất theo không gian trên 3 ô (ô không có cây, ô trồng Keo và ô trồng Thông). Các yếu tố ảnh hưởng đến đặc điểm thấm nước cũng được phân tích. Kết quả chính thu được: (1) Tốc độ thấm ở cả hai loại rừng giảm dần theo thời gian và cao nhất ở sườn dưới, nhỏ nhất ở sườn giữa. Cả tốc độ thấm và tổng lượng nước thấm trong một giờ của rừng keo đều cao hơn so với rừng Thông. Tuy nhiên, chỉ có tốc độ thấm ổn định là khác biệt có ý nghĩa thống kê; (2) Diện tích và độ sâu nước thấm xuống đất cao nhất ở ô không có cây, nhỏ hơn ở ô trồng Keo và nhỏ nhất ở ô trồng Thông; (3) Độ che phủ thực vật càng cao thì lượng nước thấm càng lớn.
The Relationships between Maturity and Functional Movement Screen Scores in School-Aged Girls and Boys

Introduction: During the growth period, before and after maturity, considerable biological changes occur. It seems that these changes are related to neuromuscular patterns, and have significant differences in performing functional movements in young boys and girls during the maturation process. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between maturity and functional movement screen (FMS) scores in school-aged girls and boys. Materials and Methods: The statistical sample included 700 school-aged, 9-18-year-old, boys and girls from Shahrekord City, Iran, categorized into 10 groups of 35 girls and 10 groups of 35 boys. To evaluate maturity and functional movement, the maturity offset prediction equations and FMS tests were used, respectively. To investigate the relationship between maturity and FMS scores the Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient test was used (P ≤ 0.050). Results: Spearman correlation test showed a significant correlation between maturity offset and FMS scores (r = 0.154, P 0.050). Conclusion: There was a significant correlation between maturity and FMS scores in school-aged boys, but this correlation was not significant for girls. Therefore, realizing what changes may occur on the functional tests on the duration of the maturation process, can be considered as a goal for planning exercises; and some research can be done on the causes of these differences. Moreover, considering that functional tests may be affected by maturity, when interpreting these results, it is more accurate to consider biological age rather than chronological age.
Thermodynamic Feasibility Analysis of a Novel Water-Splitting Cycle

This paper analyzes the thermodynamic feasibility of three reactions, one undesirable side reaction, and a flash separation for a water-splitting cycle. The thermodynamic feasibility of each reaction was analyzed using both an equilibrium constant based approach and through solution of the associated Gibbs free energy minimization problem. The thermodynamic feasibility of each reaction was determined at a variety of feed conditions, temperatures, and pressures. Future research will be conducted to determine optimal conditions at which to run the cycle to produce pure hydrogen and oxygen efficiently.