Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Texture-Guided Transfer Learning for Low-Quality Face Recognition

Although many advanced works have achieved significant progress for face recognition with deep learning and large-scale face datasets, low-quality face recognition remains a challenging problem in real-word applications, especially for unconstrained surveillance scenes. We propose a texture-guided (TG) transfer learning approach under the knowledge distillation scheme to improve low-quality face recognition performance. Unlike existing methods in which distillation loss is built on forward propagation; e.g., the output logits and intermediate features, in this study, the backward propagation gradient texture is used. More specifically, the gradient texture of low-quality images is forced to be aligned to that of its high-quality counterpart to reduce the feature discrepancy between the high- and low-quality images. Moreover, attention is introduced to derive a soft-attention (SA) version of transfer learning, termed as SA-TG, to focus on informative regions. Experiments on the benchmark low-quality face DB’s TinyFace and QMUL-SurFace confirmed the superiority of the proposed method, especially more than 6.6% Rank1 accuracy improvement is achieved on TinyFace.
Risk factors for early-onset lung cancer in Korea: analysis of a nationally representative population-based cohort

OBJECTIVES We examined the associations of socioeconomic factors, health behaviors, and comorbidities with early-onset lung cancer. METHODS The study included 6,794,287 individuals aged 20–39 years who participated in a Korean national health check-up program from 2009 to 2012. During the follow-up period, 4,684 participants developed lung cancer. Multivariable Cox regression analysis was used to estimate the independent associations of potential risk factors with incident lung cancer. RESULTS Older age (multivariable hazard ratio [mHR], 1.13; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.12 to 1.14) and female sex (mHR, 1.62; 95% CI, 1.49 to 1.75) were associated with increased lung cancer risk. Current smoking was also associated with elevated risk (<10 pack-years: mHR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.24; ≥10 pack-years: mHR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.18 to 1.45), but past smoking was not. Although mild alcohol consumption (<10 g/day) was associated with lower lung cancer risk (mHR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.86 to 0.99), heavier alcohol consumption (≥10 g/day) was not. Higher income (highest vs. lowest quartile: mHR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.78 to 0.94), physical activity for at least 1,500 metabolic equivalent of task-min/wk (vs. non-exercisers: mHR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.69 to 0.99) and obesity (vs. normal weight: mHR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.83 to 0.96) were associated with lower lung cancer risk, whereas metabolic syndrome was associated with increased risk (mHR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.03 to 1.24). CONCLUSIONS In young adults, age, female sex, smoking, and metabolic syndrome were risk factors for early-onset lung cancer, while high income, physical activity, and obesity displayed protective effects.
A citizen science application for improving the spatial distribution of global forests

Citizen science and crowdsourcing applications have witnessed explosive growth during recent years. Reasons include new technological innovations and the desire of citizens to engage with environmental issues and scientific research. IIASA has developed several tools relevant to forest cover monitoring and mapping, including the Geo-Wiki.org portal (Fritz et al., 2009, 2012), mobile applications (e.g. GeoWiki Pictures) and a gaming approach (i.e. Crop Capture – See et al., 2014). The team at IIASA runs crowdsourcing competitions to encourage people to participate; incentives include prizes and coauthorship on publications resulting from analysis of the data. The data collected through Geo-Wiki have been used for independent validation of existing land cover maps and production of hybrid land cover and forest maps (Fritz et al., 2013; See et al., 2013; 2014; Schepaschenko et al., 2015). A number of global forest cover products have been made available in the recent past. However, these datasets often contradict one other when compared spatially, and they are typically inconsistent with national statistics. In this paper we compare freely available remote sensing products with a sample collected via Geo-Wiki using high resolution imagery provided by Google Earth. This sample contains around 22K training points, where the percentage of forest cover was estimated. We applied the method of geographically weighted regression to calculate hybrid forest cover products both calibrated with FAO FRA statistics and not calibrated. Independent validation shows that the hybrid products are better than any of the individual products. These products are presented at http://geo-wiki.org both for exploration and download.
Plasma Human Immunodeficiency Virus 1 Soluble Glycoprotein 120 Association With Correlates of Immune Dysfunction and Inflammation in Antiretroviral Therapy–Treated Individuals With Undetectable Viremia

Abstract Background Chronic inflammation persists in some people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) during antiretroviral therapy and is associated with premature aging. The glycoprotein 120 (gp120) subunit of HIV-1 envelope sheds and can be detected in plasma, showing immunomodulatory properties even in the absence of detectable viremia. We evaluated whether plasma soluble gp120 (sgp120) and a family of gp120-specific anti–cluster A antibodies, linked to CD4 depletion in vitro, contribute to chronic inflammation, immune dysfunction, and subclinical cardiovascular disease in participants of the Canadian HIV and Aging Cohort Study with undetectable viremia. Methods Cross-sectional assessment of sgp120 and anti–cluster A antibodies was performed in 386 individuals from the cohort. Their association with proinflammatory cytokines and subclinical coronary artery disease was assessed using linear regression models. Results High levels of sgp120 and anti–cluster A antibodies were inversely correlated with CD4+ T cell count and CD4/CD8 ratio. The presence of sgp120 was associated with increased levels of interleukin 6. In participants with detectable atherosclerotic plaque and detectable sgp120, anti–cluster A antibodies and their combination with sgp120 levels correlated positively with the total volume of atherosclerotic plaques. Conclusions This study showed that sgp120 may act as a pan toxin causing immune dysfunction and sustained inflammation in a subset of people living with HIV, contributing to the development of premature comorbid conditions.
Ablative 5-Fraction Stereotactic MRI-Guided Adaptive Radiotherapy for Oligometastatic Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma

Introduction Metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) carries a poor prognosis and significant morbidity from local tumor progression. We investigated outcomes among oligometastatic PDAC patients treated with stereotactic magnetic resonance image-guided ablative radiotherapy (SMART) to primary disease. Methods We performed a retrospective multi-institutional analysis of oligometastatic PDAC at diagnosis or with metachronous oligoprogression during induction chemotherapy treated with primary tumor SMART. Outcomes of interest included overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), freedom from locoregional failure (FFLRF), and freedom from distant failure (FFDF). Acute and late toxicity were reported and in exploratory analyses patients were stratified by the number of metastases, SMART indication, and addition of metastasis-directed therapy. Results From 2019 to 2021, 22 patients with oligometastatic PDAC (range: 1–6 metastases) received SMART to the primary tumor with a median follow-up of 11.2 months from SMART. Nineteen patients had de novo synchronous metastatic disease and three had metachronous oligoprogression. Metastasis location most commonly was liver only (40.9%), multiple organs (27.3%), lungs only (13.6%), or abdominal/pelvic nodes (13.6%). All patients received either FOLFIRINOX (64%) or gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel (36%) followed by SMART (median 50 Gy, 5 fractions) for local control (77%), pain control (14%), or local progression (9%). Additionally, 41% of patients received other metastasis-directed treatments. The median OS from diagnosis and SMART was 23.9 months and 11.6 months, respectively. Calculated from SMART, the median PFS was 2.4 months with 91% of patients having distant progression, and 1-year local control was 68. Two patients (9%) experienced grade 3 toxicities, gastric outlet obstruction, and gastrointestinal bleed without grade 4 or 5 toxicity. Conclusion There was minimal morbidity of local disease progression after SMART in this cohort of oligometastatic PDAC. As systemic therapy options improve, additional strategies to identify patients who may derive benefits from local consolidation or metastasis-directed therapy are needed.
High-level stratigraphic scheme for New Zealand rocks

We formally introduce 14 new high-level stratigraphic names to augment existing names and to hierarchically organise all of New Zealand's onland and offshore Cambrian–Holocene rocks and unconsolidated deposits. The two highest-level units are Austral Superprovince (new) and Zealandia Megasequence (new). These encompass all stratigraphic units of the country's Cambrian–Early Cretaceous basement rocks and Late Cretaceous–Holocene cover rocks and sediments, respectively. Most high-level constituents of the Austral Superprovince are in current and common usage: Eastern and Western Provinces consist of 12 tectonostratigraphic terranes, 10 igneous suites, 5 batholiths and Haast Schist. Ferrar, Tarpaulin and Jaquiery suites (new) have been added to existing plutonic suites to describe all known compositional variation in the Tuhua Intrusives. Zealandia Megasequence consists of five predominantly sedimentary, partly unconformity-bounded units and one igneous unit. Momotu and Haerenga supergroups (new) comprise lowermost rift to passive margin (terrestrial to marine transgressive) rock units. Waka Supergroup (new) includes rocks related to maximum marine flooding linked to passive margin culmination in the east and onset of new tectonic subsidence in the west. Māui and Pākihi supergroups (new) comprise marine to terrestrial regressive rock and sediment units deposited during Neogene plate convergence. Rūaumoko Volcanic Region (new) is introduced to include all igneous rocks of the Zealandia Megasequence and contains the geochemically differentiated Whakaari, Horomaka and Te Raupua supersuites (new). Our new scheme, Litho2014, provides a complete, high-level stratigraphic classification for the continental crust of the New Zealand region.
Holocene palaeoclimate reconstructions at Vanndalsvatnet, western Norway, with particular reference to the 8200 cal. yr BP event

Analyses of organic content, magnetic susceptibility, grain size and pollen in sediments from the proglacial lake Vanndalsvatnet in western Norway provide a high-resolution terrestrial record and pollen-based quantitative estimates of mean July and January temperatures and annual precipitation across the ∼ 8200 cal. yr BP event. Glaciers in the catchment melted away at approximately 8600 cal. yr BP. Immediately following deglaciation, a series of thin minerogenic layers indicate several abrupt, short-lived glacial episodes peaking at ∼ 8550, 8450, 8350, 8250, 8200, 7900, 7300 and 7150 cal. yr BP. A single, mid-Holocene glacial episode occurred at 4900-4800 cal. yr BP. Between 2000 and 1400 cal. yr BP, six short-lived glacial episodes occurred ∼ 2000, 1900, 1800, 1700, 1600, and 1500 cal. yr BP. The part of Spørteggbreen that drains to Vanndalsvatnet has existed continuously since ∼ 1400 cal. yr BP. Just prior to a first loss-on-ignition minimum reflecting a glacial episode centred at 8200 cal. yr BP, pollen-inferred July temperatures were relatively high, January temperatures were low, and annual precipitation was relatively low. During the period 8200-7900 cal. yr BP, July temperatures showed a falling trend. Both January temperature and annual precipitation, however, were relatively high. After 7900 cal. yr BP, July temperatures increased, but both January temperatures and annual precipitation were lower than in the preceding period. The pollen analytical and sedimentary data suggest that the glacial advance during the Finse event seems not to have been a response to cooler summers, but to milder winters and increasing precipitation (similar to a positive North Atlantic Oscillation weather mode).
MutSβ protects common fragile sites by facilitating homology-directed repair at DNA double-strand breaks with secondary structures

Abstract Common fragile sites (CFSs) are regions prone to chromosomal rearrangements, thereby contributing to tumorigenesis. Under replication stress (RS), CFSs often harbor under-replicated DNA regions at the onset of mitosis, triggering homology-directed repair known as mitotic DNA synthesis (MiDAS) to complete DNA replication. In this study, we identified an important role of DNA mismatch repair protein MutSβ (MSH2/MSH3) in facilitating MiDAS and maintaining CFS stability. Specifically, we demonstrated that MutSβ is required for the increased mitotic recombination induced by RS or FANCM loss at CFS-derived AT-rich and structure-prone sequences (CFS-ATs). We also found that MSH3 exhibits synthetic lethality with FANCM. Mechanistically, MutSβ is required for homologous recombination (HR) especially when DNA double-strand break (DSB) ends contain secondary structures. We also showed that upon RS, MutSβ is recruited to Flex1, a specific CFS-AT, in a PCNA-dependent but MUS81-independent manner. Furthermore, MutSβ interacts with RAD52 and promotes RAD52 recruitment to Flex1 following MUS81-dependent fork cleavage. RAD52, in turn, recruits XPF/ERCC1 to remove DNA secondary structures at DSB ends, enabling HR/break-induced replication (BIR) at CFS-ATs. We propose that the specific requirement of MutSβ in processing DNA secondary structures at CFS-ATs underlies its crucial role in promoting MiDAS and maintaining CFS integrity.
The divalent metal ion exporter IhpABC is required to maintain iron homeostasis under low to moderate environmental iron conditions in the bacterium Bradyrhizobium japonicum

Bacterial iron export mitigates high iron stress, but a role for it under lower iron conditions has not been established. MbfA is the high iron stress exporter in Bradyrhizobium japonicum. Here, we identify the ihpABC genes in a selection for secondary site mutations that suppress the poor growth phenotype of feoAB mutants defective in iron acquisition. IhpABC belongs to the RND tripartite efflux pump family. High iron conditions that derepress the mbfA gene partially rescued the growth of an ihpC mutant but reverted the feoB ihpC mutant to the feoB growth phenotype. The ihpA mutant grown under low iron conditions accumulated higher levels of iron compared to the wild type, and it displayed aberrant iron‐responsive gene expression. The mbfA mutant was more sensitive than the wild type to H2O2, but the ihpA mutant was not sensitive. The ihpA mutant accumulated more Zn, Co and Cd than was found in the wild type, and growth of the mutant was more sensitive to inhibition by ZnCl2, CoCl2 and CdCl2. The findings suggest that IhpABC is a divalent metal ion exporter that helps maintain iron homeostasis under low to moderate environmental iron levels. Thus, iron export is not limited to managing high iron stress.
Genetic linkage map of LCP 85-384, genetic diversity of a S. spontaneum collection and the contribution of S. spontaneum to Louisiana commerical germplasm

Sequence related amplification polymorphism (SRAP) marker technique was used to assess genetic relationships and diversity among genotypes of Saccharum and allied genera. In the SRAP technique, the primers were arbitrarily designed with an AT- and GC-rich motif to anneal introns and exons, respectively. The level of polymorphism observed proved that the SRAP system was robust and amplified markers across species and genera and established evolutionary history interconnecting members of the Saccharum complex. The resolving power of the SRAP markers coupled with the fact that some of the amplicons could be amplifying gene-rich regions from diverse loci of the genome, was indicative of its potential usefulness for linkage and quantitative trait loci (QTLs) mapping in sugarcane. S. spontaneuam has been the most important source of wild germplasm for sugarcane cultivar development in Louisiana. Genetic diversity and structure of 51 S. spontaneum genotypes in the local collection (USDA, Houma, LA) was assessed using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. Fifty-one genotypes grouped largely according to their geographical origins namely Central and East zones. The contribution of alleles from the S. spontaneum collection in the modern cultivars was low and about equal. This study also allowed us to realize that S. spontaneum germplasm representing the west zone was not present in the collection. A framework genetic linkage map of LCP 85-384 was constructed using 300 selfed progeny based on 773 single-dose (SD) markers generated by 64 AFLP, 12 TRAP and 19 SSR markers. Out of 773 SD markers, 717 markers were assigned onto 108 co-segregation groups (CGs) with a cumulative map length of 5,384 cM. With the estimated genome size of 12,720 cM, the map covered an estimated 42% of the genome. Of the 108 CGs, 31 CGs were assigned into 12 homo(eo)logous groups (HGs) based on the SSRs and information from the parental maps. Repulsion phase linkages studied suggested the preponderance of disomic segregation between CGs within the homo(eo)logus chromosomes. The framework map established in this study will provide an important background for mapping QTLs associated with sugar related traits and thus, information will be useful for crossing and selection of clones in the breeding program.
Accurate COP Trajectory Estimation in Healthy and Pathological Gait Using Multimodal Instrumented Insoles and Deep Learning Models

Measuring center-of-pressure (COP) trajectories in out-of-the-lab environments may provide valuable information about changes in gait and balance function related to natural disease progression or treatment in neurological disorders. Traditional equipment to acquire COP trajectories includes stationary force plates, instrumented treadmills, electronic walkways, and insoles featuring high-density force sensing arrays, all of which are expensive and not widely accessible. This study introduces novel deep recurrent neural networks that can accurately estimate dynamic COP trajectories by fusing data from affordable and heterogeneous insole-embedded sensors (namely, an eight-cell array of force sensitive resistors (FSRs) and an inertial measurement unit (IMU)). The method was validated against gold-standard equipment during out-of-the-lab ambulatory tasks that simulated real-world walking. Root-mean-square errors (RMSE) in the mediolateral (ML) and anteroposterior (AP) directions obtained from healthy individuals (ML: 0.51 cm, AP: 1.44 cm) and individuals with neuromuscular conditions (ML: 0.59 cm, AP: 1.53 cm) indicated technical validity. In individuals with neuromuscular conditions, COP-derived metrics showed significant correlations with validated clinical measures of ambulatory function and lower-extremity muscle strength, providing proof-of-concept evidence of the convergent validity of the proposed method for clinical applications.
An Overview of the Mechanism behind Excessive Volume of Pericardial Fat in Heart Failure

Heart failure (HF) is a clinical syndrome characterized by myocardial dysfunction leading to inefficient blood filling or ejection. Regardless of the etiology, various mechanisms, including adipokine hypersecretion, proinflammatory cytokines, stem cell proliferation, oxidative stress, hyperglycemic toxicity, and autonomic nervous system dysregulation in the pericardial fat (PCF), contribute to the development of HF. PCF has been directly associated with cardiovascular disease, and an increased PCF volume is associated with HF. The PCF acts as neuroendocrine tissue that is closely linked to myocardial function and acts as an energy reservoir. This review aims to summarize each mechanism associated with PCF in HF.
Seasonal characteristics of soil water and biomass of siberian wildrye grass(Elymus sibiricus L.) in Bashang Plateau

To investigate the seasonal characteristics of soil water storage and crop growth in semiarid Bashang Plateau,field experiments were conducted during 2004～2007.The soil water was measured by TDR,and the water consumption and growth of siberian wildrye grass were determined under the condition of different precipitation years.The results showed that soil water storage decreased to the wilting point at late June,increased quickly during the rainy season after the first cutting,and decreased again after the rainy season.However,the forage yield of siberian wildrye grass was dominated by the first cutting,and the most critical growing stage was the arid elongating-heading stage from late June to early July.Therefore,the conflict existed between the rapidly growing of siberian wildrye grass and soil water supply in this region.Some ways should be studied to regulate the seasonal distribution of soil water or the growing stages of forage grass.
DAXX promotes centromeric stability independently of ATRX by preventing the accumulation of R-loop-induced DNA double-stranded breaks

Abstract Maintaining chromatin integrity at the repetitive non-coding DNA sequences underlying centromeres is crucial to prevent replicative stress, DNA breaks and genomic instability. The concerted action of transcriptional repressors, chromatin remodelling complexes and epigenetic factors controls transcription and chromatin structure in these regions. The histone chaperone complex ATRX/DAXX is involved in the establishment and maintenance of centromeric chromatin through the deposition of the histone variant H3.3. ATRX and DAXX have also evolved mutually-independent functions in transcription and chromatin dynamics. Here, using paediatric glioma and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor cell lines, we identify a novel ATRX-independent function for DAXX in promoting genome stability by preventing transcription-associated R-loop accumulation and DNA double-strand break formation at centromeres. This function of DAXX required its interaction with histone H3.3 but was independent of H3.3 deposition and did not reflect a role in the repression of centromeric transcription. DAXX depletion mobilized BRCA1 at centromeres, in line with BRCA1 role in counteracting centromeric R-loop accumulation. Our results provide novel insights into the mechanisms protecting the human genome from chromosomal instability, as well as potential perspectives in the treatment of cancers with DAXX alterations.
A simple model for the break-up of marine aggregates by turbulent shear

On propose un modele simple pour la rupture de la neige marine par cisaillement turbulent. Le modele envisage trois procedes qui controlent la rupture des agregats de differentes tailles. Premierement, la force de cisaillement exercee par l'action de la turbulence est plus forte sur les grands agregats que sur les plus petits. Deuxiemement, les grands agregats sont moins resistants que les plus petits parce que la porosite augmente avec la taille de l'agregat. Troisiemement, le taux de rupture depend du point ou a lieu la rupture, a l'interieur de l'agregat. Ce troisieme procede permet de determiner la repartition des tailles qui resulte de la rupture. Grâce a ces procedes, le modele est capable de prevoir les taux de rupture des agregats de differentes tailles, aussi bien que la repartition des tailles des particules resultantes. Par consequent, le modele represente une tentative pour completer l'equation generale de la dynamique des particules pelagiques presentee par McCave (1984). Lorsqu'il est mis en oeuvre dans un modele plus general de dynamique des particules, le modele de rupture donne des resultats qui sont en bon accord avec les observations empiriques de rupture des agregats. De plus, le modele fournit l'explication theorique de ces observations.