Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
On gradient descent training under data augmentation with on-line noisy copies

In machine learning, data augmentation (DA) is a technique for improving the generalization performance. In this paper, we mainly considered gradient descent of linear regression under DA using noisy copies of datasets, in which noise is injected into inputs. We analyzed the situation where random noisy copies are newly generated and used at each epoch; i.e., the case of using on-line noisy copies. Therefore, it is viewed as an analysis on a method using noise injection into training process by DA manner; i.e., on-line version of DA. We derived the averaged behavior of training process under three situations which are the full-batch training under the sum of squared errors, the full-batch and mini-batch training under the mean squared error. We showed that, in all cases, training for DA with on-line copies is approximately equivalent to a ridge regularization whose regularization parameter corresponds to the variance of injected noise. On the other hand, we showed that the learning rate is multiplied by the number of noisy copies plus one in full-batch under the sum of squared errors and the mini-batch under the mean squared error; i.e., DA with on-line copies yields apparent acceleration of training. The apparent acceleration and regularization effect come from the original part and noise in a copy data respectively. These results are confirmed in a numerical experiment. In the numerical experiment, we found that our result can be approximately applied to usual off-line DA in under-parameterization scenario and can not in over-parametrization scenario. Moreover, we experimentally investigated the training process of neural networks under DA with off-line noisy copies and found that our analysis on linear regression is possible to be applied to neural networks.
Mechanical regulators of pressure-driven and crawling-based motility of cell collectives

Michael F. Staddon,1, 2, 3 Michael P. Murrell,4 and Shiladitya Banerjee5, ∗ Center for Systems Biology Dresden, Dresden, Germany Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany Department of Biomedical Engineering and Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA Department of Physics, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Confidentiality Protection in the 2020 US Census of Population and Housing

In an era where external data and computational capabilities far exceed statistical agencies’ own resources and capabilities, they face the renewed challenge of protecting the confidentiality of underlying microdata when publishing statistics in very granular form and ensuring that these granular data are used for statistical purposes only. Conventional statistical disclosure limitation methods are too fragile to address this new challenge. This article discusses the deployment of a differential privacy framework for the 2020 US Census that was customized to protect confidentiality, particularly the most detailed geographic and demographic categories, and deliver controlled accuracy across the full geographic hierarchy. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Statistics and Its Application, Volume 10 is March 2023. Please see http://www.annualreviews. org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
ObPose: Leveraging Canonical Pose for Object-Centric Scene Inference in 3D

We present O B P OSE , an unsupervised object-centric generative model that learns to segment 3D objects from RGB-D video in an unsupervised manner. Inspired by prior art in 2D representation learning, O B P OSE considers a factorised latent space, separately encoding object-wise location ( where ) and appearance ( what ) information. In particular, O B P OSE leverages an object’s canonical pose , deﬁned via a minimum volume principle, as a novel inductive bias for learning the where component. To achieve this, we propose an efﬁcient, voxelised approximation approach to recover the object shape directly from a neural radiance ﬁeld (NeRF). As a consequence, O B P OSE models scenes as compositions of NeRFs representing individual objects. When evaluated on the YCB dataset for unsupervised scene segmentation, O B P OSE outperforms the current state-of-the-art in 3D scene inference (ObSuRF) by a signiﬁcant margin in terms of segmentation quality for both video inputs as well as for multi-view static scenes. In addition, the design choices made in the O B P OSE encoder are validated with relevant ablations.
Patch-based Object-centric Transformers for Efficient Video Generation

In this work, we present Patch-based Object-centric Video Transformer (POVT), a novel region-based video generation architecture that leverages object-centric information to efficiently model temporal dynamics in videos. We build upon prior work in video prediction via an autoregressive transformer over the discrete latent space of compressed videos, with an added modification to model object-centric information via bounding boxes. Due to better compressibility of object-centric representations, we can improve training efficiency by allowing the model to only access object information for longer horizon temporal information. When evaluated on various difficult object-centric datasets, our method achieves better or equal performance to other video generation models, while remaining computationally more efficient and scalable. In addition, we show that our method is able to perform object-centric controllability through bounding box manipulation, which may aid downstream tasks such as video editing, or visual planning. Samples are available at https://sites.google. com/view/povt-public
Blind Face Restoration: Benchmark Datasets and a Baseline Model

Blind Face Restoration (BFR) aims to construct a high-quality (HQ) face image from its corresponding low-quality (LQ) input. Recently, many BFR methods have been proposed and they have achieved remarkable success. However, these methods are trained or evaluated on privately synthesized datasets, which makes it infeasible for the subsequent approaches to fairly compare with them. To address this problem, we first synthesize two blind face restoration benchmark datasets called EDFace-Celeb-1M (BFR128) and EDFace-Celeb-150K (BFR512). State-of-the-art methods are benchmarked on them under five settings including blur, noise, low resolution, JPEG compression artifacts, and the combination of them (full degradation). To make the comparison more comprehensive, five widely-used quantitative metrics and two task-driven metrics including Average Face Landmark Distance (AFLD) and Average Face ID Cosine Similarity (AFICS) are applied. Furthermore, we develop an effective baseline model called Swin Transformer U-Net (STUNet). The STUNet with U-net architecture applies an attention mechanism and a shifted windowing scheme to capture long-range pixel interactions and focus more on significant features while still being trained efficiently. Experimental results show that the proposed baseline method performs favourably against the SOTA methods on various BFR tasks.
Pituitary adenylyl cyclase activating peptide (PACAP) in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) increases corticosterone in male and female rats

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the genes for pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating peptide (PACAP) and the PAC1 receptor have been associated with several psychiatric disorders Contributions Dr. Lezak designed the studies, conducted the experiments and experimental analyses, and wrote multiple drafts of the manuscript. Ms. Roelke conducted several of the experiments and experimental analyses. Ms. Harris conducted several of the experiments and experimental analyses. Ms. Choi conducted several of the experiments and experimental analyses. Mr. Edwards conducted several of the experiments and experimental analyses. Mr. Gick conducted several of the experiments and experimental analyses. Ms. Cocchiaro conducted several of the experiments whose etiology has been associated with stressor exposure and/or dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. In rats, exposure to repeated variate stress has been shown to increase PACAP and its cognate PAC1 receptor expression in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), a brain region implicated in anxiety and depression-related behaviors as well as the regulation of HPA axis activity. We have argued that changes in BNST PACAP signaling may mediate the changes in emotional behavior and dysregulation of the HPA axis associated with anxiety and mood disorders. The current set of studies was designed to determine whether BNST PACAP infusion leads to activation of the HPA axis as determined by increases in plasma corticosterone. We observed an increase in plasma corticosterone levels 30 minutes following BNST PACAP38 infusion in male and female rats, which was independent of estradiol (E2) treatment in females, and we found that plasma corticosterone levels were increased at both 30 minutes and 60 minutes, but returned to baseline levels 4 hours following the highest dose. PACAP38 infusion into the lateral ventricles immediately above the BNST did not alter plasma corticosterone level, and the increased plasma corticosterone following BNST PACAP was not blocked by BNST corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) receptor antagonism. These results support others suggesting that BNST PACAP plays a key role in regulating stress responses.
CT and MR Imaging Appearance of Renal Neoplasms after Radiofrequency Ablation and Cryoablation

Thermal ablation procedures including radiofrequency ablation and cryoablation have been increasingly utilized for treatment for small renal cell carcinoma. Currently, CT and MR imaging are usually used to assess residual or recurrent disease after thermal ablation of renal tumor. After thermal ablation, the zone of ablation is usually seen as an area of hypoattenuation on computed tomography (CT) and is generally hypointense at T2-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and iso- to hyperintense at T1-weighted imaging relative to renal parenchyma. The ablation zone frequently involutes over time. Residual tumor after thermal ablation is most common at the margin of the ablation zone and often seen as nodular or crescent-shaped areas of contrast enhancement. Accurate assessment of ablated tumors at postprocedural imaging is essential for evaluating the adequacy of treatment and guiding further management. Complications are uncommon and usually minor, but should be detected on post-procedural imaging studies.
2 OVERVIEW OF IS PROJECT EVALUATION METHODS

Information systems projects play an important strategic role in organisations and are key drivers to the delivery of change. Given this prominence it is essential to find measurement methods that effectively analyse and communicate the performance to its stakeholders. Further, to assure contribution to both research and practice it is essential to verify the utility of the artefacts (i.e. methods) developed to help validate or justify that the solutions are suitable for practice, and fit the needs and contexts for which it is created. Grounded in the design science paradigm, this paper reports an exploratory evaluation of the perception of certain qualities of two recently developed measurement methods (The Project Performance Scorecard and Project Objectives Measurement Model) against the traditional Triple Constraint method. An analytic scenario-based survey of fifty-one (51) participants, comprising of three (3) sets of independent sample of seventeen (17) respondents each was used. The study analysed dimensions of task performance, ease of use, perceived usefulness, perceived semantic qualities and user satisfaction from the perspective of the participants. The preliminary study revealed encouraging results for the new methods and the general design process which can help guide current use and further refinements. The limitations of the study and future research directions are discussed.
SWIPE: A Sawtooth Waveform Inspired Pitch Estimator for Speech and Music

3 Dedico esta disertación a mis queridos abuelos Hugo y Flory 4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I thank my grandparents for all the support they have given to me during my life, my wife for her support during the years in graduate school, and my daughter who was in my arms when the most important ideas expressed here came to my mind. I also thank Dr. John Harris for his guidance during my research and for always pushing me to do more, Dr. Rahul Shrivastav for his support and for introducing me to the world of auditory system models, and Dr. Manuel Bermudez for his unconditional support all these years.
Tumor necrosis factor soluble receptors circulate during experimental and clinical inflammation and can protect against excessive tumor necrosis factor a in vitro and in vivo

Tumor necrosis factor a (TNFa), a primary mediator of systemic responses to sepsis and infection, can be injurious to the organism when present in excessive quantities. Here we report that two types of naturally occurring soluble TNF receptors (sTNFR-I and sTNFR-II) circulate in human experimental endotoxemia and in critically ill patients and demonstrate that they neutralize TNFa-induced cytotoxicity and immunoreactivity in vitro. Utilizing immunoassays that discriminate between total sTNFR-I and sTNFR-I not bound to TNFa, we show that sTNFR-I-TNFa complexes may circulate even in the absence of detectable free TNFa. To investigate the therapeutic possibilities of sTNFR-I, recombinant protein was administered to nonhuman primates with lethal bacteremia and found to attenuate hemodynamic collapse and cytokine induction. We conclude that soluble receptors for TNFa are inducible in inflammation and circulate at levels sufficient to block the in vitro cytotoxicity associated with TNFa levels observed in nonlethal infection. Administration of sTNFR-I can prevent the adverse pathologic sequelae caused by the exaggerated TNFa production observed in lethal sepsis. vitro. Endogenous TNFa in plasma obtained from volunteers 90 min after receiving an endotoxin challenge was found to be significantly neutralized by 5 ng of rsTNFR-I or 500 ng of rsTNFR-II per ml. These experiments establish that physiologic concentrations of rsTNFR-I will significantly neutralize the cytotoxicity of levels of TNFa found endogenously and suggest that at least the higher concentra- tions of sTNFR-I detected in the circulation of critically ill patients (5-10 ng/ml) are sufficient to partially attenuate TNFa bioactivity, while these concentrations of rsTNFR-II are insufficient to inhibit TNFa cytotoxicity.
Constitutively active group I mGluRs and PKMzeta regulate synaptic transmission in developing perirhinal cortex

Synaptic transmission is essential for early development of the central nervous system. However, the mechanisms that regulate early synaptic transmission in the cerebral cortex are unclear. PKM ζ is a kinase essential for the maintenance of LTP. We show for the first time that inhibition of PKM ζ produces a profound depression of basal synaptic transmission in neonatal, but not adult, rat perirhinal cortex. This suggests that synapses in early development are in a constitutive LTP-like state. Furthermore, basal synaptic transmission in immature, but not mature, perirhinal cortex relies on persistent activity of metabotropic glutamate (mGlu) receptor, PI3Kinase and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). Thus early in development, cortical synapses exist in an LTP-like state maintained by tonically active mGlu receptor-, mTOR- and PKM ζ - dependent cascades. These results provide new understanding of the molecular mechanisms that control synapses during development and may aid our understanding of developmental disorders such as autism and schizophrenia.
Protein NMR under Physiological Conditions †

Almost everything we know about protein biophysics comes from studies on purified proteins in dilute solution. Most proteins, however, operate inside cells where the concentration of macromolecules can be >300 mg per mL. Although reductionism-based approaches have served protein science well for over a century, biochemists now have the tools to study proteins under these more physiologically-relevant conditions. We review a part of this burgeoning post-reductionist landscape by focusing on high-resolution protein NMR spectroscopy, the only method that provides atomic-level information over an entire protein under the crowded conditions found in cells. The inside of a living cell is one of the ultimate physiologically-relevant environments, but this environment is difficult to define. The cytoplasm comprises all the material in the cell, excluding the plasma membrane and the nucleus (if present). The cytosol is the cytoplasm without organelles and other subcellular structures, such as ribosomes and the fibrous proteins that determine cell shape, motility, and material transport. It remains unclear, however, the extent to which these structures need to be considered in physiologically-relevant NMR studies. Furthermore, it is difficult to state precisely the conditions in the cytosol. The temperature for optimal growth is often considered the physiologically-relevant temperature: 37 °C for Escherichia coli and animal cells and 30 °C for yeast, although cells can survive at least for limited periods above or below these temperatures. As a general rule, the pH of the cytosol is 7.2, but it depends on extracellular conditions. The pH in E. coli cells has been monitored with NMR and covers a
Cost-Effectiveness of Uterine-Preserving Procedures for the Treatment of Uterine Fibroid Symptoms in the United States

Objective— To evaluate cost-effectiveness of the following three treatments of uterine fibroids in a population of premenopausal women who wish to preserve their uteri: myomectomy, MR-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) and uterine artery embolization (UAE). Methods— A decision analytic Markov model was constructed. Cost-effectiveness was calculated in terms of U.S. dollars per quality adjusted life year (QALY) over five years. Two types of costs were calculated: direct costs only, and the sum of direct and indirect (productivity) costs. Women in the hypothetical cohort were assessed for treatment type eligibility, were treated based on eligibility, and experienced adequate or inadequate symptom relief. Additional treatment (myomectomy) occurred for inadequate symptom relief or recurrence. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to evaluate uncertainty in the model parameters. Results— In the base-case, myomectomy, MRgFUS and UAE had the following combinations of mean cost and mean QALYs, respectively: ($15,459, 3.957), ($15,274, 3.953) and ($18,653, 3.943). When incorporating productivity costs, MRgFUS incurred mean cost of $21,232; myomectomy $22,599; and UAE $22,819. Using probabilistic sensitivity analysis (PSA) and Results were presented part Financial disclosures : Dr. Stewart reports the following disclosures: InSightec Inc. (Research funding – paid to Mayo Clinic for patient care costs); Abbott, Gynesonics, Bayer Health Care, GlaxoSmith Kline – Consulting. interests. excluding productivity costs, myomectomy was cost-effective at almost every decision threshold. Using PSA and incorporating productivity costs, myomectomy was cost-effective at decision thresholds above $105,000/QALY; MRgFUS between $30,000-$105,000/QALY; and UAE below $30,000/QALY. Conclusions— Myomectomy, MRgFUS, and UAE were similarly effective in terms of QALYs gained. Depending on assumptions about costs and willingness-to-pay for additional QALYs, all three treatments can be deemed cost-effective in a five year time frame.
Geometric Distortion Compensation of Projector Image based on Equation of Straight Line

In this paper, we propose a method that can compensate the geometric distortions of image caused from an arbitrary nonflat display surface(or wall) under the environment of portable overhead projector without a flat screen. In the proposed method, we first project a grid pattern to an arbitrary nonflat display surface and then derive an equation of straight line that represents the geometry relationship between the distorted grid pattern and the original grid pattern. Next, after determining the proper size of the original grid pattern according to the form of the display surface, we generate a compensation pattern from the derived equation of straight line, which can symmetrically compensate for the distorted image. Finally, we compensate for the geometric distortions of the projected image by segmenting the real image to be projected from portable overhead projector and prewarping it according to the compensation pattern. To evaluate the proposed method, we performed experiments of image compensation on inclined surface, bent surface and curved surface that are frequently occurred in the environment of portable overhead projector without a flat screen. From the experimental results, we found that the proposed method could be very effective in compensating for the general types of the geometric distortions of the projected images.
Redox Modulation of eNOS by Glutaredoxin-1 through Reversible Oxidative Post-translational Modification

S-glutathionylation is a redox-regulated modification that uncouples eNOS, switching its function from NO synthesis to •O 2− generation, and serves to regulate vascular function. While in vitro or in vivo eNOS S-glutathionylation with modification of Cys689 and Cys908 of its reductase domain is triggered by high levels of GSSG or oxidative thiyl radical formation, it remains unclear how this process may be reversed. Glutaredoxin-1 (Grx1), a cytosolic/glutathione-dependent enzyme, can reverse protein S-glutathionylation; however, its role in regulating eNOS S-glutathionylation remains unknown. We demonstrate that Grx1 in the presence of GSH (1 mM) reverses GSSG-mediated eNOS S-glutathionylation with restoration of NO synthase activity. Since Grx1 also catalyzes protein S-glutathionylation with increased [GSSG]/[GSH], we measured its effect on eNOS-S-glutathionylation when [GSSG]/[GSH] was > 0.2, as can occur in cells and tissues under oxidative stress, and observed increased eNOS S-glutathionylation with a marked decrease in eNOS activity without uncoupling. This eNOS S-glutathionylation was reversed with decrease in [GSSG]/[GSH] to < 0.1. LC/MS/MS identified a new site of eNOS S-glutathionylation by Grx1 at Cys382,