AKVSR: Audio Knowledge Empowered Visual Speech Recognition by Compressing Audio Knowledge of a Pretrained Model

Visual Speech Recognition (VSR) is the task of predicting spoken words from silent lip movements. VSR is regarded as a challenging task because of the insufficient information on lip movements. In this paper, we propose an Audio Knowledge empowered Visual Speech Recognition framework (AKVSR) to complement the insufficient speech information of visual modality by using audio modality. Different from the previous methods, the proposed AKVSR 1) utilizes rich audio knowledge encoded by a large-scale pretrained audio model, 2) saves the linguistic information of audio knowledge in compact audio memory by discarding the non-linguistic information from the audio through quantization, and 3) includes Audio Bridging Module which can find the best-matched audio features from the compact audio memory, which makes our training possible without audio inputs, once after the compact audio memory is composed. We validate the effectiveness of the proposed method through extensive experiments, and achieve new state-of-the-art performances on the widely-used datasets, LRS2 and LRS3

Nb-doped TiO2 air-electrode for advanced Li-air batteries

As new substrate materials to replace a conventional carbon substrate, TiO2 and Nb-doped TiO2 air-electrodes for Li-air batteries were investigated. Through a simple two-step process, we successfully synthesized anatase Nb-doped TiO2 nanoparticles and demonstrated the potential applicability of TiO2-based materials for use in Li-air battery electrode. An air-electrode with Nb-doped TiO2 nanoparticles could deliver a higher discharge capacity than a bare TiO2 electrode due to the enhanced conductivity, which implies the importance of facile electron transport during the discharge process. © 2014 The Ceramic Society of Japan and the Korean Ceramic Society.

The Paradoxical Protective Effect of Liver Steatosis on Severity and Functional Outcome of Ischemic Stroke

Background: There is very limited information on the relationship between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and the severity or functional outcomes of ischemic stroke or transient ischemic stroke (TIA). We investigated the correlation between NAFLD and stroke outcomes.Methods: NAFLD was assessed in 321 patients with first-ever acute ischemic stroke or TIA, who underwent transient elastography from January 2014 to December 2014. The association of liver steatosis with stroke severity, assessed using the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), was investigated using robust regression analysis. We also compared the functional outcome at 90 days according to the presence or burden of liver steatosis.Results: NAFLD was observed in 206 (64.2%) patients. Patients with NAFLD had less severe stroke (median NIHSS score 2 vs. 3, P = 0.012) and more favorable functional outcome at 90 days (85.3 vs. 70.5, P = 0.004). Patients with NAFLD were likely to have a 23.3% lower [95% confidence interval (CI), −39.2 to −3.2%, P = 0.026] NIHSS score and a 2.5-fold higher (95% CI, 1.08–5.67, P = 0.033) possibility of favorable functional outcome in multivariate analysis.Conclusions: Our study shows that a higher burden of liver steatosis seems to be associated with less severe stroke and better functional outcome after ischemic stroke or TIA

Endovascular and Clinical Outcomes of Vertebrobasilar Intracranial Atherosclerosis-Related Large Vessel Occlusion

Background and Purpose: Endovascular treatment (EVT) for acute vertebrobasilar intracranial atherosclerosis-related large vessel occlusion (ICAS-LVO) and its outcomes are not well known. We aimed to evaluate endovascular and clinical outcomes of vertebrobasilar ICAS-LVO patients who underwent EVT.Methods: Consecutive acute stroke patients who underwent EVT for vertebrobasilar LVO were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were assigned to the ICAS (+) or the ICAS (–) group based on angiographical findings. Procedural details and clinical outcomes were compared between the ICAS (+) and ICAS (–) groups.Results: This study included 77 patients with acute vertebrobasilar LVO who underwent EVT. Among the study subjects, 24 (31.2%) had an ICAS-LVO. Recanalization was achieved in 19 patients in the ICAS (+) group (79.2%), which was comparable with the ICAS (–) group (84.9%; p = 0.529). However, recanalization using conventional endovascular modalities (stent retriever thrombectomy, contact aspiration thrombectomy, or intra-arterial urokinase infusion) was less successful in the ICAS (+) group (36.8%) than the ICAS (–) group (100.0%; p < 0.001). All the remaining patients in the ICAS (+) group required specific rescue treatments appropriate for ICAS, including balloon angioplasty, stenting, or intra-arterial glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor infusion to obtain a successful recanalization. Procedural time was not significantly longer in the ICAS (+) group. The rates of favorable outcomes (37.5% vs. 41.5%; p = 0.740), death, and symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage were not significantly different between the groups.Conclusion: ICAS-LVO was common in patients who underwent EVT for acute vertebrobasilar LVO. Although conventional modalities were often ineffective for vertebrobasilar ICAS-LVO, a comparable recanalization rate could be obtained with ICAS-specific modalities. Recanalization rate and procedural time were comparable, and clinical outcomes did not differ between patients with or without ICAS-LVO

Stochastic Particle Flow for Nonlinear High-Dimensional Filtering Problems

A series of novel filters for probabilistic inference that propose an alternative way of performing Bayesian updates, called particle flow filters, have been attracting recent interest. These filters provide approximate solutions to nonlinear filtering problems. They do so by defining a continuum of densities between the prior probability density and the posterior, i.e. the filtering density. Building on these methods' successes, we propose a novel filter. The new filter aims to address the shortcomings of sequential Monte Carlo methods when applied to important nonlinear high-dimensional filtering problems. The novel filter uses equally weighted samples, each of which is associated with a local solution of the Fokker-Planck equation. This hybrid of Monte Carlo and local parametric approximation gives rise to a global approximation of the filtering density of interest. We show that, when compared with state-of-the-art methods, the Gaussian-mixture implementation of the new filtering technique, which we call Stochastic Particle Flow, has utility in the context of benchmark nonlinear high-dimensional filtering problems. In addition, we extend the original particle flow filters for tackling multi-target multi-sensor tracking problems to enable a comparison with the new filter

Molecular Cytogenetic Analysis of Gene Rearrangements in Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

The aims of this study were to estimate the incidences of BCR/ABL, MLL, TEL/AML1 rearrangements, and p16 deletions in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), to identify new abnormalities, and to demonstrate the usefulness of interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). We performed G-banding analysis and FISH using probes for BCR/ABL, MLL, TEL/AML1 rearrangements, and p16 deletions on 65 childhood ALL patients diagnosed and uniformly treated at a single hospital. Gene rearrangements were identified in 73.8% of the patients using the combination of G-banding and FISH, while the chromosomal abnormalities were identified in 49.2% using G-banding alone. Gene rearrangements were disclosed by FISH in 24 (72.7%) of 33 patients with normal karyotype or no mitotic cell in G-banding. Among the gene rearrangements detected by FISH, the most common gene rearrangement was p16 deletion (20.3%) and the incidences of others were 14.1% for TEL/AML1, 11.3% for MLL, and 1.8% for BCR/ABL translocations. Infrequent or new aberrations such as AML1 amplification, MLL deletion, ABL deletion, and TEL/AML1 fusion with AML1 deletion were also observed. We established the rough incidences of gene rearrangements in childhood ALL, found new abnormalities and demonstrated the diagnostic capability of interphase FISH to identify cryptic chromosome aberrations

High-dose Chemotherapy and Autologous Stem Cell Rescue in Patients with High-risk Stage 3 Neuroblastoma: 10-Year Experience at a Single Center

High-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell rescue (HDCT/ASCR) was applied to improve the prognosis of patients with high-risk stage 3 neuroblastoma. From January 1997 to December 2006, 28 patients were newly diagnosed as stage 3 neuroblastoma. Nine of 11 patients with N-myc amplification and 5 of 17 patients without N-myc amplification (poor response in 2 patients, persistent residual tumor in 2 and relapse in 1) underwent single or tandem HDCT/ASCR. Patients without high-risk features received conventional treatment modalities only. While 8 of 9 patients underwent single HDCT/ASCR and the remaining one patient underwent tandem HDCT/ASCR during the early study period, all 5 patients underwent tandem HDCT/ASCR during the late period. Toxicities associated with HDCT/ASCR were tolerable and there was no treatment-related mortality. While the tumor relapsed in two of eight patients in single HDCT/ASCR group, all six patients in tandem HDCT/ASCR group remained relapse free. The 5-yr event-free survival (EFS) from diagnosis, in patients with N-myc amplification, was 71.6±14.0%. In addition, 12 of 14 patients who underwent HDCT/ASCR remained event free resulting in an 85.1±9.7% 5-yr EFS after the first HDCT/ASCR. The present study demonstrates that HDCT/ASCR may improve the survival of patients with high-risk stage 3 neuroblastoma

Impact of Non-vitamin K Antagonist Oral Anticoagulant Withdrawal on Stroke Outcomes

Introduction: Discontinuation of oral anticoagulants such as non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) may induce a hypercoagulable state, leading to severe stroke and poor outcomes. This study aimed to compare stroke outcomes between NOACs withdrawal and other prior medication statuses in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF).Methods: Consecutive patients who had pre-existing NVAF and were admitted for an acute ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack- at five hospitals between January 2013 and December 2016 were included. Prior medication status was categorized into seven groups such as no antithrombotics, antiplatelet-only, warfarin with subtherapeutic intensity, warfarin with therapeutic intensity, NOAC, warfarin withdrawal, and NOAC withdrawal. We compared initial National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores between groupsResults: Among 719 patients with NVAF, The median NIHSS score at admission was 5 (IQR 1-13). The NOAC withdrawal group had the highest median NIHSS scores at stroke onset [16, interquartile range, IQR (1–17)], followed by the warfarin withdrawal group [11, IQR (1–14, 18)], the no antithrombotic group [5, IQR (1–13, 18, 19)], and the warfarin with subtherapeutic intensity group [5, IQR (1–10, 18, 19)]. A Multivariable analysis demonstrated that NOAC withdrawal was independently associated with higher NIHSS scores at stroke onset (B 4.645, 95% confidence interval 0.384–8.906, P = 0.033). The median interval from drug withdrawal to ischemic stroke or TIA was 7 days (IQR 4-15) in the NOAC group.Conclusions: Stroke that occurred after stopping oral anticoagulants, especially NOAC, and was more severe at presentation and associated with poorer outcomes

Efficacy of Tandem High-Dose Chemotherapy and Autologous Stem Cell Rescue in Patients Over 1 Year of Age with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma: The Korean Society of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Experience Over 6 Years (2000-2005)

The efficacy of tandem high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell rescue (HDCT/ASCR) was investigated in patients with high-risk neuroblastoma. Patients over 1 yr of age who were newly diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma from January 2000 to December 2005 were enrolled in The Korean Society of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology registry. All patients who were assigned to receive HDCT/ASCR at diagnosis were retrospectively analyzed to investigate the efficacy of single or tandem HDCT/ASCR. Seventy and 71 patients were assigned to receive single or tandem HDCT/ASCR at diagnosis. Fifty-seven and 59 patients in the single or tandem HDCT group underwent single or tandem HDCT/ASCR as scheduled. Twenty-four and 38 patients in the single or tandem HDCT group remained event free with a median follow-up of 56 (24-88) months. When the survival rate was analyzed according to intent-to-treat at diagnosis, the probability of the 5-yr event-free survival±95% confidence intervals was higher in the tandem HDCT group than in the single HDCT group (51.2±12.4% vs. 31.3±11.5%, P=0.030). The results of the present study demonstrate that the tandem HDCT/ASCR strategy is significantly better than the single HDCT/ASCR strategy for improved survival in the treatment of high-risk neuroblastoma patients