Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Doubly truncated Multivariate Gaussian mixture model for Face images

 Abstract : In this paper, we introduce a face recognition algorithm based on doubly truncated multivariate Gaussian mixture model with DCT. The truncation on the feature vector has a significant influence in improving the recognition rate of the system using EM algorithm with K-means or hierarchical clustering, the model parameters are estimated. The EM algorithm requires the updated equations of the model parameters, which are derived for the doubly truncated multivariate Gaussian mixture model. A face recognition system is developed under Bayesian frame using maximum likelihood. The efficiency of the developed face recognition system is studied by conducting experimentation with two face image databases, namely, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Kakinada (JNTUK) and Yale. The performance of these algorithms are evaluated by computing the recognition rates, false acceptance rate, false rejection rate, true positive rate and half error rate. From the ROC curves, it is observed the developed models perform better. A comparative study of the developed face recognition systems with that of the face recognition systems based on Gaussian mixture models reveal that the proposed algorithms perform better. The effect of the number of DCT coefficients on the recognition rate is also studied. The influence of the size of the database on the recognition rate of the systems is also investigated. In this paper, we reduce the complexity with the help of Dimensionality reduction in feature vector.
Community structure of thermophilic photosynthetic microbial mats and flocs at Sembawang Hot Spring, Singapore

The Sembawang Hot Spring in Singapore lies at the foot of a major regional geological feature called the Bentong-Raub Suture Zone. Amid an extensively managed surface geothermal park, an undisturbed hot spring emerges with source water at 61°C, pH 6.8, and 1 mg/L dissolved sulfide. A small main pool at the source supported orange-green benthic flocs, whereas the outflow channel with gradually less extreme environmental stress supported extensive vivid green microbial mats. Microscopy revealed that cyanobacterial morphotypes were distinct in flocs and mats at several intervals along the environmental gradient, and we describe a spiraling pattern in the oscillatorian cyanobacteria that may reflect response to poly-extreme stress. Estimation of diversity using 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed assemblages that were dominated by phototrophic bacteria. The most abundant taxa in flocs at 61°C/1 mg/L sulfide were Roseiflexus sp. and Thermosynechococcus elongatus, whilst the mats at 45.7–55.3°C/0–0.5 mg/L sulfide were dominated by Oscillatoriales cyanobacterium MTP1 and Chloroflexus sp. Occurrence of diverse chemoautotrophs and heterotrophs reflected known thermal ranges for taxa, and of note was the high abundance of thermophilic cellulolytic bacteria that likely reflected the large allochthonous leaf input. A clear shift in ASV-defined putative ecotypes occurred along the environmental stress gradient of the hot spring and overall diversity was inversely correlated to environmental stress. Significant correlations for abiotic variables with observed biotic diversity were identified for temperature, sulfide, and carbonate. A network analysis revealed three putative modules of biotic interactions that also reflected the taxonomic composition at intervals along the environmental gradient. Overall, the data indicated that three distinct microbial communities were supported within a small spatial scale along the poly-extreme environmental gradient. The findings add to the growing inventory of hot spring microbiomes and address an important biogeographic knowledge gap for the region.
Insomnia and circadian rhythm: a bibliometrics study and visualization analysis via CiteSpace

Objective The present study aimed to use CiteSpace to analyze the status of insomnia and circadian rhythm, identify the hot spots and trends, and provide a basis for future study. Method The Web of Science database was searched for studies related to insomnia and circadian from its inception to 14 April 2023. CiteSpace was used to generate online maps of collaboration between countries and authors and revealed hot spots and frontiers in insomnia and circadian rhythm. Results We searched 4,696 publications related to insomnia and circadian rhythm. Bruno Etain was the most prolific author with most publications, i.e., with 24 articles. The USA and the University of California were the leading country and the top institution in this field of study, with 1,672 and 269 articles, respectively. There was active cooperation between institutions, countries, and authors. Hot topics focused on circadian rhythm sleep disorders, circadian clock, light therapy, melatonin, and bipolar disorder. Conclusion Based on the CiteSpace results, we recommend a more active collaboration between various countries, institutions, and authors to conduct clinical and basic research related to insomnia and circadian rhythm. Ongoing research focuses on the interaction of insomnia with circadian rhythms and the corresponding pathways of clock genes and by extension, the role of circadian rhythms in disorders such as bipolar disorder. Modulation of circadian rhythms may be a hot spot for future insomnia therapies (such as light therapy and melatonin).
A holistic and sustainable approach linked to drought tolerance of Mediterranean crops

The rapid increase in average temperatures and the progressive reduction in rainfalls caused by climate change is reducing crop yields worldwide, particularly in regions with hot and semi-arid climates such as the Mediterranean area. In natural conditions, plants respond to environmental drought stress with diverse morphological, physiological, and biochemical adaptations in an attempt to escape, avoid, or tolerate drought stress. Among these adaptations to stress, the accumulation of abscisic acid (ABA) is of pivotal importance. Many biotechnological approaches to improve stress tolerance by increasing the exogenous or endogenous content of ABA have proved to be effective. In most cases the resultant drought tolerance is associated with low productivity incompatible with the requirements of modern agriculture. The on-going climate crisis has provoked the search for strategies to increase crop yield under warmer conditions. Several biotechnological strategies, such as the genetic improvement of crops or the generation of transgenic plants for genes involved in drought tolerance, have been attempted with unsatisfactory results suggesting the need for new approaches. Among these, the genetic modification of transcription factors or regulators of signaling cascades provide a promising alternative. To reconcile drought tolerance with crop yield, we propose mutagenesis of genes controlling key signaling components downstream of ABA accumulation in local landraces to modulate responses. We also discuss the advantages of tackling this challenge with a holistic approach involving different knowledge and perspectives, and the problem of distributing the selected lines at subsidized prices to guarantee their use by small family farms.
Enhancement of storage life and maintenance of quality in tomato fruits by preharvest salicylic acid treatment

Tomato fruits are usually characterized by a short postharvest life. Their quality decreases during storage due to losses in nutritional quality and decay. Salicylic acid (SA) has an important role in plant development and response to environmental stress. This research aimed at evaluating the effects of preharvest salicylic acid application on extending the storage life, and ripening of tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum cv. Baraka). As a hybrid seed, the “Baraka” cultivar is appropriate for subtropical regions. Three consecutive weeks before harvest, foliar spraying with SA was applied at different concentrations (1, 2, and 4 mM). After storage for 10, 20, 30, and 40 days at 10°C with 85–95% relative humidity (RH), the tomatoes had decreased levels of a* value (redness), decay, electrolyte leakage, and chilling injury after being treated with salicylic acid. In comparison to the control, these characteristics were linked to increased levels of firmness, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid, and ascorbate peroxidase activity. According to the findings, fruit quality was best maintained at 4 mM SA, whereas it was least effective at 1 mM SA. Overall, the results showed that, SA can be considered a potent treatment that can effectively control postharvest loss.
Identifying languages in a novel dataset: ASMR-whispered speech

Introduction The Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) is a combination of sensory phenomena involving electrostatic-like tingling sensations, which emerge in response to certain stimuli. Despite the overwhelming popularity of ASMR in the social media, no open source databases on ASMR related stimuli are yet available, which makes this phenomenon mostly inaccessible to the research community; thus, almost completely unexplored. In this regard, we present the ASMR Whispered-Speech (ASMR-WS) database. Methods ASWR-WS is a novel database on whispered speech, specifically tailored to promote the development of ASMR-like unvoiced Language Identification (unvoiced-LID) systems. The ASMR-WS database encompasses 38 videos-for a total duration of 10 h and 36 min-and includes seven target languages (Chinese, English, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish). Along with the database, we present baseline results for unvoiced-LID on the ASMR-WS database. Results Our best results on the seven-class problem, based on segments of 2s length, and on a CNN classifier and MFCC acoustic features, achieved 85.74% of unweighted average recall and 90.83% of accuracy. Discussion For future work, we would like to focus more deeply on the duration of speech samples, as we see varied results with the combinations applied herein. To enable further research in this area, the ASMR-WS database, as well as the partitioning considered in the presented baseline, is made accessible to the research community.
Insights into morphological and physio-biochemical adaptive responses in mungbean (Vigna radiata L.) under heat stress

Mungbean (Vigna radiata L. Wilczek) is an important food legume crop which contributes significantly to nutritional and food security of South and Southeast Asia. The crop thrives in hot and humid weather conditions, with an optimal temperature range of 28°–35°C, and is mainly cultivated under rainfed environments. However, the rising global temperature has posed a serious threat to mungbean cultivation. Optimal temperature is a vital factor in cellular processes, and every crop species has evolved with its specific temperature tolerance ability. Moreover, variation within a crop species is inevitable, given the diverse environmental conditions under which it has evolved. For instance, various mungbean germplasm can grow and produce seeds in extreme ambient temperatures as low as 20°C or as high as 45°C. This range of variation in mungbean germplasm for heat tolerance plays a crucial role in developing heat tolerant and high yielding mungbean cultivars. However, heat tolerance is a complex mechanism which is extensively discussed in this manuscript; and at the same time individual genotypes have evolved with various ways of heat stress tolerance. Therefore, to enhance understanding towards such variability in mungbean germplasm, we studied morphological, anatomical, physiological, and biochemical traits which are responsive to heat stress in plants with more relevance to mungbean. Understanding heat stress tolerance attributing traits will help in identification of corresponding regulatory networks and associated genes, which will further help in devising suitable strategies to enhance heat tolerance in mungbean. The major pathways responsible for heat stress tolerance in plants are also discussed.
Farm2Fork through the lens of community ecology: concepts and applications in postharvest storage

The environment in which postharvest crops are processed and stored is a dynamic ecosystem influenced not only by environmental factors such as temperature and humidity, but also by biotic influences such as humans and insects. Abiotic influences such as variation in landscapes of warehouses, processing facilities, storage and shipping containers, and urban and agricultural settings can also drive changes in ecosystem processes for insects living in a postharvest system. Principles of community ecology can help to tease apart broad interactions among the environment including succession, interactions with conspecifics that lead to competition and niche partitioning, behavioral ecology variation, and physiology and developmental changes. Focusing on these concepts for integrated pest management (IPM) for stored product insect pests can help pest managers to better predict risk thresholds and develop targeted approaches for treatments. Typically, pest management decisions focus on single species without regards to the interactions with other species. Without consideration of the entire ecosystem, targeted treatments for one species can have both direct and indirect impacts on other species that may have equally detrimental effects on stored products. Current knowledge of stored product ecosystems lags behind what is known for field pest ecosystems, and hinders our ability to design effective control strategies for the whole system. Here, we present a review of work on stored product insect pests using a community ecology lens. We analyze how the current state of the knowledge regarding species interactions and variation and incorporating factors such as movement, species interactions, energy transfer models in succession, behavior, and effects of climate change in ecological modeling can be used to better develop and implement more effective postharvest IPM. Implementing these concepts will significantly improve management of these insects and can help reduce time and cost associated with managing and treating insect infestations.
The rotation of liquid helium II I. Experiments on the propagation of second sound in uniformly rotating helium II

An experimental investigation of the propagation of second sound in uniformly rotating resonators filled with liquid helium II has been made. It is found that in the uniformly rotating liquid the velocity of the second sound is not changed by more than 0·1%, but there is an excess attenuation which is, except near the λ point, proportional to the angular velocity ω, independent of second-sound amplitude, and independent of frequency in the range 1·5 to 4·5 kc/s. These results are described phenomenologically by a mutual friction force B(ρsρn/ρ) ω(vs — vn) per unit volume in the two-fluid model. The constant B is of order unity for second sound propagated at right angles to the axis of rotation; it is smaller by a factor of at least 5 when the second sound is propagated parallel to the axis of rotation. It is suggested that the mutual friction in rotating helium may contain a component perpendicular to (vs — vn), and that there should be no mutual friction in an irrotational circulation. Experiments to verify these predictions are proposed.
Symmetrical dynamical characteristic of peak and valley current-mode controlled single-phase H-bridge inverter

Complex dynamical phenomenon was studied in the single phase H-bridge inverter which was controlled by either a peak current or a valley current. The state functions and the discrete iterative map equations were established to analyze the dynamical phenomenon in the single phase H-bridge inverter. The dynamical characteristics of the single phase H-bridge inverter, such as time domain waveform diagram, bifurcation diagram, and folding map, were obtained by using the numerical calculation when the circuit parameters varied in specific range. Moreover, the simulation results were obtained by using the OrCAD-PSpice software to validate the numerical calculation. Both the numerical calculation and the circuit simulation show that the symmetrical dynamical phenomenon occurs in the single phase H-bridge inverter controlled by the peak current or the valley current.
Management of auricular transcutaneous neuromodulation and electro-acupuncture of the vagus nerve for chronic migraine: a systematic review

Background Migraine is a type of primary headache that is accompanied by symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, or sensitivity to light and sound. Objective The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review on the effectiveness of non-invasive neuromodulation, auricular transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (at-VNS), and electro-ear acupuncture of the vagus nerve in patients with migraine headaches. Methods Six databases were searched from inception to 15 June 2022 for clinical trials, in which at least one group received any form of non-invasive neuromodulation of the vagus nerve for managing migraine with outcomes collected on pain intensity and related disability. Data, including participants, interventions, blinding strategy, outcomes, and results, were extracted by two reviewers. The methodological quality was assessed with the PEDro scale, ROB, and Oxford scale. Results The search identified 1,117 publications with nine trials eligible for inclusion in the review. The methodological quality scores ranged from 6 to 8 (mean: 7.3, SD: 0.8) points. Low-quality evidence suggests some positive clinical effects for the treatment of chronic migraine with 1 Hz with at-VNS and ear-electro-acupuncture compared with the control group at post-treatment. Some of the studies provided evidence of the relationship between chronic migraine and a possible positive effect as a treatment with at-VNS and the neurophysiological effects using fMRI. Six of the studies provided evidence using fMRI of the relationship between chronic migraine and a possible positive effect as a treatment with at-VNS and the neurophysiological effects. Regarding all included studies, the level of evidence with the Oxford scale was level 1 (11.17%), six studies were graded as level 2 (66.66%), and two studies were graded as level 3 (22.2%). With the PEDro score, five studies got a low methodological score < 5 and only four got a score superior to 5, being highly methodological quality studies. For ROB, most of the studies were high risk and only a few of them received a low risk of bias. The pain intensity, migraine attacks, frequency, and duration were measured by three studies with positive results at post-treatment. And only 7% reported adverse events using at-VNS. All studies reported results at a post-treatment period in their respective main outcomes. And all studies with fMRI provided strong evidence of the relationship between the Locus Coeruleus, Frontal Cortex, and other superior brain areas with the auricular branch of the Vagus nerve with at-VNS. Conclusion Some positive effects regarding the effect of non-invasive neuromodulation, auricular transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (at-VNS), and electro-ear acupuncture of the vagus nerve on migraine is reported in the current literature, but there are not enough data to obtain strong conclusions. Systematic review registration This systematic review was registered in the PROSPERO database (registration number: CRD42021265126).
Non-metric depth representations: Preliminary results

The ability of a system to construct reliable representations of its surroundings is crucial for the purposes of autonomous navigation. Based on the assumption that representations suitable for navigation can be of qualitative nature, this paper presents a method for computing an ordering of the points in a scene with regard to their depth. We show that this ordering does not require the structure from motion problem to be solved. The proposed method makes use of a pair of images that depict a scene from slightly different viewpoints, in such a way that the center of both images corresponds to the same world point (fixated image pair). Such a pair of images can be acquired from the two cameras of a stereo system and can be regarded as resulting from the displacement of one camera to the position of the other. This hypothetical motion combined with the approximation of the image formation process by the weak perspective model, leads to simple motion equations for the image points, which enable the ordering of a pair of points based on depth. The only information about the hypothetical motion that is extracted from the images is the normal flow field; no attempt is made to correspond points in the stereo pair, either in the form of optical flow or in the form of feature correspondence. To demonstrate a possible use of the resulting representation, a method is presented for qualitatively characterizing surface shape based on the sign of the Gaussian curvature.
Functional neuroimaging of resilience to trauma: convergent evidence and challenges for future research

Abstract Resilience is broadly defined as the ability to adapt successfully following stressful life events. Here, we review functional MRI studies that investigated key psychological factors that have been consistently linked to resilience to severe adversity and trauma exposure. These domains include emotion regulation (including cognitive reappraisal), reward responsivity, and cognitive control. Further, we briefly review functional imaging evidence related to emerging areas of study that may potentially facilitate resilience: namely social cognition, active coping, and successful fear extinction. Finally, we also touch upon ongoing issues in neuroimaging study design that will need to be addressed to enable us to harness insight from such studies to improve treatments for – or, ideally, guard against the development of – debilitating post-traumatic stress syndromes.
Observables in terms of connection and curvature variables for Einstein’s equations with two commuting Killing vectors

Einstein’s equations with two commuting Killing vectors and the associated Lax pair are considered. The equations for the connection A(ς,η,γ)=Ψ,γΨ−1, where γ the variable spectral parameter are considered. A transition matrix T=A(ς,η,γ) A−1(ξ,η,γ) for A is defined relating A at ingoing and outgoing light cones. It is shown that it satisfies equations familiar from integrable PDE theory. A transition matrix on ς= constant is defined in an analogous manner. These transition matrices allow us to obtain a hierarchy of integrals of motion with respect to time, purely in terms of the trace of a function of the connections g,ςg−1 and g,ηg−1. Furthermore, a hierarchy of integrals of motion in terms of the curvature variable B=A,γA−1, involving the commutator [A(1),A(−1)], is obtained. We interpret the inhomogeneous wave equation that governs σ=lnN, N the lapse, as a Klein–Gordon equation, a dispersion relation relating energy and momentum density, based on the first connection observable and hence this first observable corresponds to mass. The corresponding quantum operators are ∂/∂t, ∂/∂z and this means that the full Poincare group is at our disposal.