Connection Discovery using Shared Images by Gaussian Relational Topic Model

Social graphs, representing online friendships among users, are one of the fundamental types of data for many applications, such as recommendation, virality prediction and marketing in social media. However, this data may be unavailable due to the privacy concerns of users, or kept private by social network operators, which makes such applications difficult. Inferring user interests and discovering user connections through their shared multimedia content has attracted more and more attention in recent years. This paper proposes a Gaussian relational topic model for connection discovery using user shared images in social media. The proposed model not only models user interests as latent variables through their shared images, but also considers the connections between users as a result of their shared images. It explicitly relates user shared images to user connections in a hierarchical, systematic and supervisory way and provides an end-to-end solution for the problem. This paper also derives efficient variational inference and learning algorithms for the posterior of the latent variables and model parameters. It is demonstrated through experiments with over 200k images from Flickr that the proposed method significantly outperforms the methods in previous works.Comment: IEEE International Conference on Big Data 201

On Evolution of the Pair-Electromagnetic Pulse of a Charge Black Hole

Using hydrodynamic computer codes, we study the possible patterns of relativistic expansion of an enormous pair-electromagnetic-pulse (P.E.M. pulse); a hot, high density plasma composed of photons, electron-positron pairs and baryons deposited near a charged black hole (EMBH). On the bases of baryon-loading and energy conservation, we study the bulk Lorentz factor of expansion of the P.E.M. pulse by both numerical and analytical methods.Comment: A&A macros, 2 pages, 1 figure and postscrit file. To appear in A&A Suppl. Series, Proceeding of Rome98 GRB workshop, ed. L. Pira and F. Fronter

Evaluating the robustness of an active network management function in an operational environment

This paper presents the integration process of a distribution network Active Network Management (ANM) function within an operational environment in the form of a Micro-Grid Laboratory. This enables emulation of a real power network and enables investigation into the effects of data uncertainty on an online and automatic ANM algorithm's control decisions. The algorithm implemented within the operational environment is a Power Flow Management (PFM) approach based around the Constraint Satisfaction Problem (CSP). This paper show the impact of increasing uncertainty, in the input data available for an ANM scheme in terms of the variation in control actions. The inclusion of a State Estimator (SE), with known tolerances is shown to improve the ANM performance

Comparison between the Temperature Measurements by TIMED/SABER and Lidar in the Mid-Latitude

Comparisons of monthly-mean nighttime temperature profiles observed by the Sodium Lidar at Colorado State University and TIMED/SABER over passes are made. In the altitude range from 85 km to about 100 km, the two observations are in excellent agreement. Though within each other s error bars, important differences occur below 85 km in the entire year and above 100 km in the summer season. Possible reasons for these difference are high photon noise below 85 km in lidar observations, and less than accurate assumptions in the concentration of important chemical species like oxygen (and its quenching rate) in the SABER retrieval above 100 km. However, the two techniques both show the two-level mesopause thermal structure, with the times of change from one level to the other in excellent agreement. Comparison indicates that the high-level (winter) mesopause altitudes are also in excellent agreement between the two observations, though some difference may exist in the low-level (summer) mesopause altitudes between ground-based and satellite-borne data

Preparation, characterization and application of a molecularly imprinted polymer for selective recognition of Sulpiride

A novel molecular imprinting polymer (MIP) was prepared by bulk polymerization using sulpiride as the template molecule, itaconic acid (ITA) as the functional monomer and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as the crosslinker. The formation of the MIP was determined as the molar ratio of sulpiride-ITA-EGDMA of 1:4:15 by single-factor experiments. The MIP showed good adsorption property with imprinting factor α of 5.36 and maximum adsorption capacity of 61.13 μmol/g, and was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and surface area analysis. With the structural analogs (amisulpride, tiapride, lidocaine and cisapride) and small molecules containing a mono-functional group (p-toluenesulfonamide, formamide and 1-methylpyrrolidine) as substrates, static adsorption, kinetic adsorption, and rebinding experiments were also performed to investigate the selective adsorption ability, kinetic characteristic, and recognition mechanism of the MIP. A serial study suggested that the highly selective recognition ability of the MIP mainly depended on binding sites provided by N-functional groups of amide and amine. Moreover, the MIP as solid-phase extractant was successfully applied to extraction of sulpiride from the mixed solution (consisted of p-toluenesulfonamide, sulfamethoxazole, sulfanilamide, p-nitroaniline, acetanilide and trimethoprim) and serum sample, and extraction recoveries ranged from 81.57% to 86.63%. The tentative tests of drug release in stimulated intestinal fluid (pH 6.8) demonstrated that the tablet with the MIP–sulpiride could obviously inhibit sulpiride release rate. Thus, ITA-based MIP is an efficient and promising alternative to solid-phase adsorbent for extraction of sulpiride and removal of interferences in biosample analysis, and could be used as a potential carrier for controlled drug releas

Coronary-artery bypass surgery in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy

BACKGROUND The survival benefit of a strategy of coronary-artery bypass grafting (CABG) added to guideline-directed medical therapy, as compared with medical therapy alone, in patients with coronary artery disease, heart failure, and severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction remains unclear. METHODS From July 2002 to May 2007, a total of 1212 patients with an ejection fraction of 35% or less and coronary artery disease amenable to CABG were randomly assigned to undergo CABG plus medical therapy (CABG group, 610 patients) or medical therapy alone (medical-therapy group, 602 patients). The primary outcome was death from any cause. Major secondary outcomes included death from cardiovascular causes and death from any cause or hospitalization for cardiovascular causes. The median duration of follow-up, including the current extended-follow-up study, was 9.8 years. RESULTS A primary outcome event occurred in 359 patients (58.9%) in the CABG group and in 398 patients (66.1%) in the medical-therapy group (hazard ratio with CABG vs. medical therapy, 0.84; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.73 to 0.97; P=0.02 by log-rank test). A total of 247 patients (40.5%) in the CABG group and 297 patients (49.3%) in the medical-therapy group died from cardiovascular causes (hazard ratio, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.66 to 0.93; P=0.006 by log-rank test). Death from any cause or hospitalization for cardiovascular causes occurred in 467 patients (76.6%) in the CABG group and in 524 patients (87.0%) in the medical-therapy group (hazard ratio, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.64 to 0.82; P<0.001 by log-rank test). CONCLUSIONS In a cohort of patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy, the rates of death from any cause, death from cardiovascular causes, and death from any cause or hospitalization for cardiovascular causes were significantly lower over 10 years among patients who underwent CABG in addition to receiving medical therapy than among those who received medical therapy alone. (Funded by the National Institutes of Health; STICH [and STICHES] ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00023595.

Genome-wide signatures of convergent evolution in echolocating mammals

Evolution is typically thought to proceed through divergence of genes, proteins, and ultimately phenotypes(1-3). However, similar traits might also evolve convergently in unrelated taxa due to similar selection pressures(4,5). Adaptive phenotypic convergence is widespread in nature, and recent results from a handful of genes have suggested that this phenomenon is powerful enough to also drive recurrent evolution at the sequence level(6-9). Where homoplasious substitutions do occur these have long been considered the result of neutral processes. However, recent studies have demonstrated that adaptive convergent sequence evolution can be detected in vertebrates using statistical methods that model parallel evolution(9,10) although the extent to which sequence convergence between genera occurs across genomes is unknown. Here we analyse genomic sequence data in mammals that have independently evolved echolocation and show for the first time that convergence is not a rare process restricted to a handful of loci but is instead widespread, continuously distributed and commonly driven by natural selection acting on a small number of sites per locus. Systematic analyses of convergent sequence evolution in 805,053 amino acids within 2,326 orthologous coding gene sequences compared across 22 mammals (including four new bat genomes) revealed signatures consistent with convergence in nearly 200 loci. Strong and significant support for convergence among bats and the dolphin was seen in numerous genes linked to hearing or deafness, consistent with an involvement in echolocation. Surprisingly we also found convergence in many genes linked to vision: the convergent signal of many sensory genes was robustly correlated with the strength of natural selection. This first attempt to detect genome-wide convergent sequence evolution across divergent taxa reveals the phenomenon to be much more pervasive than previously recognised

Coded Wireless Video Broadcast/Multicast

Advancements in video coding, compact media display, and communication devices, particularly in emerging broadband wireless access networks, have created many foreseeable and exciting applications of video broadcast/multicast over the wireless meidum. For efficient and robust wireless video broadcast/multicast under fading, this thesis presents and examines a novel cross-layer framework that exploits the interplay between applying protections on a successively refinable video source and transmitting through a layered broadcast/multicast channel. The framework is realistically achieved and evaluated by using multiple description coding (MDC) on a scalable video source and using superposition coding (SPC) for layered broadcast/multicast transmissions. An analytical model using the total received/recovered video bitstreams from each coded wireless broadcast/multicast signal is developed, which serves as a metric of video quality for the system analysis and optimization. An efficient methodology has demonstrated that optimal power allocations and modulation selections can be practically determined to improve the broadcast/multicast video quality. From the information-theoretical perspective, a general closed-form formula is derived for the end-to-end distortion analysis of the proposed framework, which is applicable to any (n, k) protection code applied on a successive refinable source with a Gaussian distribution over layered Gaussian broadcast channels. The results reveal the scenarios for the proposed framework to lead to a lower distortion than a legacy system without any protection. By analyzing the characteristics of the closed-form formula, an efficient O(n log n) algorithm is developed to determine optimal k values in the (n, k) protection codes that minimize the distortion under the framework. Finally, a cross-layer design of logical SPC modulation is introduced to achieve layered broadcast/multicast for scalable video. It serves as an alternative for practically implementing the proposed framework of coded wireless video broadcast/multicast, if the hardware-based SPC component is not available in a wireless system. In summary, the thesis presents comprehensive analyses, simulations, and experiments to understand, investigate, and justify the effectiveness of the proposed cross-layer framework of coded wireless video broadcast/multicast. More importantly, this thesis contributes to the advancement in the related fields of communication engineering and information theory by introducing a new design dimension in terms of protection. This is unique when compared to previously-reported layered approaches that are often manipulating conventional parameters alone such as power and modulation scheme. The impact of this dimension was unapparent in the past, but is now proven as an effective means to enable high-quality, efficient, and robust wireless video broadcast/multicast for promising media applications

Chromosomal-level assembly of the Asian Seabass genome using long sequence reads and multi-layered scaffolding

We report here the ~670 Mb genome assembly of the Asian seabass (Lates calcarifer), a tropical marine teleost. We used long-read sequencing augmented by transcriptomics, optical and genetic mapping along with shared synteny from closely related fish species to derive a chromosome-level assembly with a contig N50 size over 1 Mb and scaffold N50 size over 25 Mb that span ~90% of the genome. The population structure of L. calcarifer species complex was analyzed by re-sequencing 61 individuals representing various regions across the species' native range. SNP analyses identified high levels of genetic diversity and confirmed earlier indications of a population stratification comprising three clades with signs of admixture apparent in the South-East Asian population. The quality of the Asian seabass genome assembly far exceeds that of any other fish species, and will serve as a new standard for fish genomics