julilili42/papers huggingface dataset:
Learning Steering Kernels for Guided Depth Completion
2021-01-01

This paper addresses the guided depth completion task in which the goal is to predict a dense depth map given a guidance RGB image and sparse depth measurements. Recent advances on this problem nurture hopes that one day we can acquire accurate and dense depth at a very low cost. A major challenge of guided depth completion is to effectively make use of extremely sparse measurements, e.g., measurements covering less than 1% of the image pixels. In this paper, we propose a fully differentiable model that avoids convolving on sparse tensors by jointly learning depth interpolation and refinement. More specifically, we propose a differentiable kernel regression layer that interpolates the sparse depth measurements via learned kernels. We further refine the interpolated depth map using a residual depth refinement layer which leads to improved performance compared to learning absolute depth prediction using a vanilla network. We provide experimental evidence that our differentiable kernel regression layer not only enables end-to-end training from very sparse measurements using standard convolutional network architectures, but also leads to better depth interpolation results compared to existing heuristically motivated methods. We demonstrate that our method outperforms many state-of-the-art guided depth completion techniques on both NYUv2 and KITTI. We further show the generalization ability of our method with respect to the density and spatial statistics of the sparse depth measurements.
Diminished prefrontal cortex activation in patients with binge eating disorder associates with trait impulsivity and improves after impulsivity-focused treatment based on a randomized controlled IMPULS trial
2021-01-01

Our results suggest that patients with BED have limited resources to activate the prefrontal cortex when asked to inhibit a reaction onto food-specific stimuli. However, this effect could be partly driven by differences in BMI between the HC and BED group. Cognitive-behavioral therapy targeting impulsive eating behavior may improve prefrontal cortex recruitment during response inhibition.
Metalloid gold clusters – past, current and future aspects
2021-01-01

Gold chemistry and the synthesis of colloidal gold always caught the attention of scientists. This review depicts the development of the chemistry of metalloid gold clusters over the last few decades and shows recent scientific developments.
Ultrafast and long-time excited state kinetics of an NIR-emissive vanadium(iii) complex I: synthesis, spectroscopy and static quantum chemistry
2021-01-01

Vanadium is an abundant and cheap metal but near-infrared luminescent vanadium complexes are extremely rare with largely unexplored photophysics and photochemistry. We delineate the photodynamics of VCl 3 (ddpd) to infer novel design strategies.
The impact of face masks on the recall of spoken sentences
2021-01-01

The effect of face covering masks on listeners' recall of spoken sentences was investigated. Thirty-two German native listeners watched video recordings of a native speaker producing German sentences with and without a face mask, and then completed a cued-recall task. Listeners recalled significantly fewer words when the sentences had been spoken with a face mask. This might suggest that face masks increase processing demands, which in turn leaves fewer resources for encoding speech in memory. The result is also informative for policy-makers during the COVID-19 pandemic, regarding the impact of face masks on oral communication.
Distance Teaching During the COVID-19 Crisis: Social Connectedness Matters Most for Teaching Quality and Students’ Learning
2021-01-01

In spring 2020, school closures were enacted to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Students and teachers faced the challenge of organizing digital teaching and learning without sufficient time to prepare. In this study, we investigated how teachers implemented teaching from a distance and how these different implementations were associated with students’ and parents’ perceptions of teaching quality and students’ social involvement, enjoyment of learning, academic effort, and perceived competence. To this end, we examined data from 277 teachers, 3,159 students in Grades 5 to 10, and 1,688 parents who rated classes in mathematics, German language arts, and English as a foreign language during the school closures. The results showed that teachers’ implementations of distance teaching varied greatly. Teaching methods enabling social connectedness (e.g., video meetings, learning videos created by the teacher) revealed the most consistent positive associations with students’ and parents’ teaching quality ratings and students’ learning experiences.
Testing the Kerr Black Hole Hypothesis with GX 339–4 by a Combined Analysis of Its Thermal Spectrum and Reflection Features
2021-01-01

Abstract We analyze simultaneous observations with NuSTAR and Swift of the black hole binary GX 339–4 in which we clearly detect both a strong thermal component and prominent relativistic reflection features. We employ nkbb and relxill _ nk , which are the state of the art of, respectively, the thermal and reflection models to test the Kerr black hole hypothesis. We obtain unprecedented precise measurements of the Johannsen deformation parameter α 13 : <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>α</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>13</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> <mml:mo>=</mml:mo> <mml:mo>−</mml:mo> <mml:msubsup> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>0.012</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>−</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.039</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>+</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.011</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msubsup> </mml:math> (lamppost coronal geometry) and <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>α</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>13</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> <mml:mo>=</mml:mo> <mml:mo>−</mml:mo> <mml:msubsup> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>0.010</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>−</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.018</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>+</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.024</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msubsup> </mml:math> (broken power-law emissivity profile) at a 90% confidence level, where the Kerr metric corresponds to α 13 = 0. We investigate the systematic uncertainties by fitting the data with different models.
Data Management of Sensitive Human Proteomics Data: Current Practices, Recommendations, and Perspectives for the Future
2021-01-01

Today it is the norm that all relevant proteomics data that support the conclusions in scientific publications are made available in public proteomics data repositories. However, given the increase in the number of clinical proteomics studies, an important emerging topic is the management and dissemination of clinical, and thus potentially sensitive, human proteomics data. Both in the United States and in the European Union, there are legal frameworks protecting the privacy of individuals. Implementing privacy standards for publicly released research data in genomics and transcriptomics has led to processes to control who may access the data, so-called "controlled access" data. In parallel with the technological developments in the field, it is clear that the privacy risks of sharing proteomics data need to be properly assessed and managed. In our view, the proteomics community must be proactive in addressing these issues. Yet a careful balance must be kept. On the one hand, neglecting to address the potential of identifiability in human proteomics data could lead to reputational damage of the field, while on the other hand, erecting barriers to open access to clinical proteomics data will inevitably reduce reuse of proteomics data and could substantially delay critical discoveries in biomedical research. In order to balance these apparently conflicting requirements for data privacy and efficient use and reuse of research efforts through the sharing of clinical proteomics data, development efforts will be needed at different levels including bioinformatics infrastructure, policymaking, and mechanisms of oversight.
Recent advanced development of metal-loaded mesoporous organosilicas as catalytic nanoreactors
2021-01-01

An up-to-date overview of the designability and catalytic application of transition metal-loaded mesoporous organosilica nanoreactors will be highlighted. Their synthetic approaches and catalytic performance are summarized.
A Novel Enrichment Culture Highlights Core Features of Microbial Networks Contributing to Autotrophic Fe(II) Oxidation Coupled to Nitrate Reduction
2021-01-01

Fe(II) oxidation coupled to nitrate reduction (NRFO) has been described for many environments. Yet very few autotrophic microorganisms catalysing NRFO have been cultivated and their diversity, as well as their mechanisms for NRFO &lt;i&gt;in situ&lt;/i&gt; remain unclear. A novel autotrophic NRFO enrichment culture, named culture BP, was obtained from freshwater sediment. After more than 20 transfers, culture BP oxidized 8.22 mM of Fe(II) and reduced 2.42 mM of nitrate within 6.5 days under autotrophic conditions. We applied metagenomic, metatranscriptomic, and metaproteomic analyses to culture BP to identify the microorganisms involved in autotrophic NRFO and to unravel their metabolism. Overall, twelve metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) were constructed, including a dominant &lt;i&gt;Gallionellaceae&lt;/i&gt; sp. MAG (≥71% relative abundance). Genes and transcripts associated with potential Fe(II) oxidizers in culture BP, identified as a &lt;i&gt;Gallionellaceae&lt;/i&gt; sp., &lt;i&gt;Noviherbaspirillum&lt;/i&gt; sp., and &lt;i&gt;Thiobacillus&lt;/i&gt; sp., were likely involved in metal oxidation (e.g., &lt;i&gt;cyc2&lt;/i&gt;, &lt;i&gt;mtoA&lt;/i&gt;), denitrification (e.g., &lt;i&gt;nirK&lt;/i&gt;/&lt;i&gt;S&lt;/i&gt;, &lt;i&gt;norBC&lt;/i&gt;), carbon fixation (e.g., &lt;i&gt;rbcL&lt;/i&gt;), and oxidative phosphorylation. The putative Fe(II)-oxidizing protein Cyc2 was detected for the &lt;i&gt;Gallionellaceae&lt;/i&gt; sp. Overall, a complex network of microbial interactions among several Fe(II) oxidizers and denitrifiers was deciphered in culture BP that might resemble NRFO mechanisms &lt;i&gt;in situ&lt;/i&gt;. Furthermore, 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing from environmental samples revealed 36 distinct &lt;i&gt;Gallionellaceae&lt;/i&gt; taxa, including the key player of NRFO from culture BP (approx. 0.13% relative abundance &lt;i&gt;in situ&lt;/i&gt;). Since several of these &lt;i&gt;in situ&lt;/i&gt;-detected &lt;i&gt;Gallionellaceae&lt;/i&gt; taxa were closely related to the key player in culture BP, this suggests that the diversity of organisms contributing to NRFO might be higher than currently known.
Distinct photodynamics of κ-N and κ-C pseudoisomeric iron(ii) complexes
2021-01-01

The photodynamics of two pseudoisomeric iron(<sc>ii</sc>) complexes reveal insights into reactive metal-centred states and hot branching dynamics. A new type of reactivity by triplet energy transfer from MC states enables oxygen sensitization activity.
A Different Experience in a Different Moment? Teachers’ Social Media Use Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic
2021-01-01

Teachers participate in professional learning activities to enhance their pedagogical knowledge and share best practices—and the increasing role of technologies in education, including social media, is shifting how this professional learning occurs. The COVID-19 pandemic provided an opportunity to consider the role of social media for professional learning. Using intensive longitudinal methods, we repeatedly surveyed 14 teachers’ use of social media both before and during the pandemic (N = 386 total responses). We found patterns in social media platforms uptake and their purposes, but teachers’ use of social media was largely idiosyncratic. Also, teachers demonstrated notable shifts in social media use after the pandemic started; multilevel models indicated that teachers were more likely to use social media to connect and share, especially, as well as learn and follow, compared with before the pandemic. Higher levels of COVID-19-related family stress were also associated with more use of social media to find materials.
Recovery of Unicellular Cyanobacteria from Nitrogen Chlorosis: A Model for Resuscitation of Dormant Bacteria
2021-01-01

Nitrogen starvation induces developmental transitions in cyanobacteria. Whereas complex multicellular cyanobacteria of the order Nostocales can differentiate specialized cells that perform nitrogen fixation in the presence of oxygenic photosynthesis, non-diazotrophic unicellular strains, such as &lt;i&gt;Synechococcus elongatus&lt;/i&gt; or &lt;i&gt;Synechocystis&lt;/i&gt; PCC 6803, undergo a transition into a dormant non-growing state. Due to loss of pigments during this acclimation, the process is termed chlorosis. Cells maintain viability in this state for prolonged periods of time, until they encounter a useable nitrogen source, which triggers a highly coordinated awakening process, termed resuscitation. The minimal set of cellular activity that maintains the viability of cells during chlorosis and ensures efficient resuscitation represents the organism’s equivalent of the BIOS, the basic input/output system of a computer, that helps “booting” the operation system after switching on. This review summarizes the recent research in the resuscitation of cyanobacteria, representing a powerful model for the awakening of dormant bacteria.
Bacterial Predation on Cyanobacteria
2021-01-01

Predatory bacteria gained interest in the last 20 years. Nevertheless, only a few species are well characterized. The endobiotic predator &lt;i&gt;Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus&lt;/i&gt; invades its prey to consume it from the inside, whereas &lt;i&gt;Myxococcus xanthus&lt;/i&gt; hunts as a whole group to overcome its prey. Both species were described to prey on cyanobacteria as well. This minireview summarizes the findings of the last 20 years of predatory bacteria of cyanobacteria and is supplemented by new findings from a screening experiment for bacterial predators of the model organism &lt;i&gt;Anabaena variabilis&lt;/i&gt; PCC 7937. Known predatory bacteria of cyanobacteria belong to the phyla Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Firmicutes and follow different hunting strategies. The underlying mechanisms are in most cases not known in much detail. Isolates from the screening experiment were clustered after predation behaviour and analyzed with respect to their size. The effect of predation in high nitrate levels and the occurrence of nitrogen-fixing cells, called heterocysts, are addressed.
Impairment of episodic memory in genetic frontotemporal dementia: A GENFI study
2021-01-01

Abstract Introduction We aimed to assess episodic memory in genetic frontotemporal dementia (FTD) with the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test (FCSRT). Methods The FCSRT was administered in 417 presymptomatic and symptomatic mutation carriers (181 chromosome 9 open reading frame 72 [ C9orf72 ], 163 progranulin [ GRN ], and 73 microtubule‐associated protein tau [ MAPT ]) and 290 controls. Group differences and correlations with other neuropsychological tests were examined. We performed voxel‐based morphometry to investigate the underlying neural substrates of the FCSRT. Results All symptomatic mutation carrier groups and presymptomatic MAPT mutation carriers performed significantly worse on all FCSRT scores compared to controls. In the presymptomatic C9orf72 group, deficits were found on all scores except for the delayed total recall task, while no deficits were found in presymptomatic GRN mutation carriers. Performance on the FCSRT correlated with executive function, particularly in C9orf72 mutation carriers, but also with memory and naming tasks in the MAPT group. FCSRT performance also correlated with gray matter volumes of frontal, temporal, and subcortical regions in C9orf72 and GRN , but mainly temporal areas in MAPT mutation carriers. Discussion The FCSRT detects presymptomatic deficits in C9orf72 ‐ and MAPT ‐associated FTD and provides important insight into the underlying cause of memory impairment in different forms of FTD.
Natural Products from Nocardia and Their Role in Pathogenicity
2021-01-01

&lt;i&gt;Nocardia&lt;/i&gt; spp. are filamentous Actinobacteria of the order Corynebacteriales and mostly known for their ability to cause localized and systemic infections in humans. However, the onset and progression of nocardiosis is only poorly understood, in particular the mechanisms of strain-specific presentations. Recent genome sequencing has revealed an extraordinary capacity for the production of specialized small molecules. Such secondary metabolites are often crucial for the producing microbe to survive the challenges of different environmental conditions. An interesting question thus concerns the role of these natural products in &lt;i&gt;Nocardia-&lt;/i&gt;associated pathogenicity and immune evasion in a human host. In this review, a summary and discussion of &lt;i&gt;Nocardia&lt;/i&gt; metabolites is presented, which may play a part in nocardiosis because of their cytotoxic, immunosuppressive and metal-chelating properties or otherwise vitally important functions. This review also contains so far unpublished data concerning the biosynthesis of these molecules that were obtained by detailed bioinformatic analyses.
Pretraining boosts out-of-domain robustness for pose estimation
2021-01-01

Neural networks are highly effective tools for pose estimation. However, as in other computer vision tasks, robustness to out-of-domain data remains a challenge, especially for small training sets that are common for real-world applications. Here, we probe the generalization ability with three architecture classes (MobileNetV2s, ResNets, and EfficientNets) for pose estimation. We developed a dataset of 30 horses that allowed for both "within-domain" and "out-of-domain" (unseen horse) benchmarking - this is a crucial test for robustness that current human pose estimation benchmarks do not directly address. We show that better ImageNet-performing architectures perform better on both within- and out-of-domain data if they are first pretrained on ImageNet. We additionally show that better ImageNet models generalize better across animal species. Furthermore, we introduce Horse-C, a new benchmark for common corruptions for pose estimation, and confirm that pretraining increases performance in this domain shift context as well. Overall, our results demonstrate that transfer learning is beneficial for out-of-domain robustness.
Secondary Metabolites Governing Microbiome Interaction of Staphylococcal Pathogens and Commensals
2021-01-01

Various &lt;i&gt;Staphylococcus&lt;/i&gt; species colonize skin and upper airways of warm-blooded animals. They compete successfully with many other microorganisms under the hostile and nutrient-poor conditions of these habitats using mechanisms that we are only beginning to appreciate. Small-molecule mediators, whose biosynthesis requires complex enzymatic cascades, so-called secondary metabolites, have emerged as crucial components of staphylococcal microbiome interactions. Such mediators belong to a large variety of compound classes and several of them have attractive properties for future drug development. They include, for instance, bacteriocins such as lanthipeptides, thiopeptides, and fibupeptides that inhibit bacterial competitor species; signaling molecules such as thiolactone peptides that induce or inhibit sensory cascades in other bacteria; or metallophores such as staphyloferrins and staphylopine that scavenge scant transition metal ions. For some secondary metabolites such as the aureusimines, the exact function remains to be elucidated. How secondary metabolites shape the fitness of &lt;i&gt;Staphylococcus&lt;/i&gt; species in the complex context of other microbial and host defense factors remains a challenging field of future research. A detailed understanding will help to harness staphylococcal secondary metabolites for excluding the pathogenic species &lt;i&gt;Staphylococcus aureus&lt;/i&gt; from the nasal microbiomes of at-risk patients, and it will be instrumental for the development of advanced anti-infective interventions.
The Formation of Spore-Like Akinetes: A Survival Strategy of Filamentous Cyanobacteria
2021-01-01

Some cyanobacteria of the order Nostocales can form akinetes, spore-like dormant cells resistant to various unfavorable environmental fluctuations. Akinetes are larger than vegetative cells and contain large quantities of reserve products, mainly glycogen and the nitrogen storage polypeptide polymer cyanophycin. Akinetes are enveloped in a thick protective coat containing a multilayered structure and are able to germinate into new vegetative cells under suitable growth conditions. Here, we summarize the significant morphological and physiological changes that occur during akinete differentiation and germination and present our investigation of the physiological function of the storage polymer cyanophycin in these cellular processes. We show that the cyanophycin production is not required for formation and germination of the akinetes in the filamentous cyanobacterium &lt;i&gt;Anabaena variabilis&lt;/i&gt; ATCC 29413.
Student Ratings of Teaching Quality Dimensions: Empirical Findings and Future Directions
2021-01-01

Abstract This chapter discusses current issues in research on the validity of student ratings of teaching quality. We first discuss the advantages and limitations of student ratings of teaching quality based on theoretical considerations regarding the teaching quality concept. Research reveals that the validity of student ratings differs depending on the aspect of teaching quality being rated (i.e., classroom management, cognitive activation, or student support). Extending this research, we propose that future studies on the validity of student ratings should take into account students’ cognitive processing while responding to survey items. We discuss three areas that seem promising for future research: the complexity and comprehensibility of survey items, the referent and addressee of items, and finally, the idiosyncratic nature of student ratings.
Spatial correlation of cell stiffness and traction forces in cancer cells measured with combined SICM and TFM
2021-01-01

Using combined SICM and TFM we identified a subcellular correlation between the local stiffness and traction force density in living cells. We found this correlation in normal breast epithelial cells, but not in cancerous breast epithelial cells.