A tool to support the creation of datasets of tampered videos

Digital Video Forensics is getting a growing interest from the Multimedia research community, as the need for methods to validate the authenticity of a video content is increasing with the number of videos freely available to the digital users. Unlike Digital Image Forensics, to our knowledge, there are not standard datasets to test video forgery detection techniques. In this paper we present a new tool to support the users in creating datasets of tampered videos. We furthermore present our own dataset and we discuss some remarks about how to create forgeries difficult to be detected by an observer, to the naked eye

Stillbirth at term: Does size really matter?

Placental dysfunction has a deleterious influence on fetal size and is associated with higher rates of perinatal morbidity and mortality. This association underpins the strategy of fetal size evaluation as a mechanism to identify placental dysfunction and prevent stillbirth. The optimal method of routine detection of small for gestational age (SGA) remains to be clarified with choices between estimation of symphyseal-fundal height versus routine third-trimester ultrasound, various formulae for fetal weight estimation by ultrasound, and the variable use of national, customized, or international fetal growth references. In addition to these controversies, the strategy for detecting SGA is further undermined by data demonstrating that the relationship between fetal size and adverse outcome weakens significantly with advancing gestation such that near term, the majority of stillbirths and adverse perinatal outcomes occur in normally sized fetuses. The use of maternal serum biochemical and Doppler parameters near term appears to be superior to fetal size in the identification of fetuses compromised by placental dysfunction and at increased risk of damage or demise. Multiparameter models and predictive algorithms using maternal risk factors, and biochemical and Doppler parameters have been developed, but need to be prospectively validated to demonstrate their effectiveness

Minimal residual disease negativity by next-generation flow cytometry is associated with improved organ response in AL amyloidosis

Light chain (AL) amyloidosis is caused by a small B-cell clone producing light chains that form amyloid deposits and cause organ dysfunction. Chemotherapy aims at suppressing the production of the toxic light chain (LC) and restore organ function. However, even complete hematologic response (CR), defined as negative serum and urine immunofixation and normalized free LC ratio, does not always translate into organ response. Next-generation flow (NGF) cytometry is used to detect minimal residual disease (MRD) in multiple myeloma. We evaluated MRD by NGF in 92 AL amyloidosis patients in CR. Fifty-four percent had persistent MRD (median 0.03% abnormal plasma cells). There were no differences in baseline clinical variables in patients with or without detectable MRD. Undetectable MRD was associated with higher rates of renal (90% vs 62%, p = 0.006) and cardiac response (95% vs 75%, p = 0.023). Hematologic progression was more frequent in MRD positive (0 vs 25% at 1 year, p = 0.001). Altogether, NGF can detect MRD in approximately half the AL amyloidosis patients in CR, and persistent MRD can explain persistent organ dysfunction. Thus, this study supports testing MRD in CR patients, especially if not accompanied by organ response. In case MRD persists, further treatment could be considered, carefully balancing residual organ damage, patient frailty, and possible toxicity

Bortezomib, Melphalan, and Dexamethasone for Light-Chain Amyloidosis

PURPOSE: Oral melphalan and dexamethasone (MDex) were considered a standard of care in light-chain (AL) amyloidosis. In the past decade, bortezomib has been increasingly used in combination with alkylating agents and dexamethasone. We prospectively compared the efficacy and safety of MDex and MDex with the addition of bortezomib (BMDex). METHODS: This was a phase III, multicenter, randomized, open-label trial. Patients were stratified according to cardiac stage. Patients with advanced cardiac stage (stage IIIb) amyloidosis were not eligible. The primary end point was hematologic response rate at 3 months. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT01277016. RESULTS: A total of 109 patients, 53 in the BMDex and 56 in the MDex group, received ≥ 1 dose of therapy (from January 2011 to February 2016). Hematologic response rate at 3 months was higher in the BMDex arm (79% v 52%; P = .002). Higher rates of very good partial or complete response rates (64% v 39%; hazard ratio [HR], 2.47; 95% CI, 1.30 to 4.71) and improved overall survival, with a 2-fold decrease in mortality rate (HR, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.27 to 0.90), were observed in the BMDex arm. Grade 3 and 4 adverse events (the most common being cytopenia, peripheral neuropathy, and heart failure) were more common in the BMDex arm, occurring in 20% versus 10% of cycles performed. CONCLUSION: BMDex improved hematologic response rate and overall survival. To our knowledge, this is the first time a controlled study has demonstrated a survival advantage in AL amyloidosis. BMDex should be considered a new standard of care for AL amyloidosis

Reduced Basis Approximation and A Posteriori Error Estimation: Applications to Elasticity Problems in Several Parametric Settings

In this work we consider (hierarchical, Lagrange) reduced basis approximation and a posteriori error estimation for elasticity problems in affinley parametrized geometries. The essential ingredients of the methodology are: a Galerkin projection onto a low-dimensional space associated with a smooth "parametric manifold" - dimension reduction, an efficient and effective greedy sampling methods for identification of optimal and numerically stable approximations - rapid convergence, an a posteriori error estimation procedures - rigorous and sharp bounds for the functional outputs related with the underlying solution or related quantities of interest, like stress intensity factor, and Offline-Online computational decomposition strategies - minimum marginal cost for high performance in the real-time and many-query (e.g., design and optimization) contexts. We present several illustrative results for linear elasticity problem in parametrized geometries representing 2D Cartesian or 3D axisymmetric configurations like an arc-cantilever beam, a center crack problem, a composite unit cell or a woven composite beam, a multi-material plate, and a closed vessel. We consider different parametrization for the systems: either physical quantities - to model the materials and loads - and geometrical parameters - to model different geometrical configurations - with isotropic and orthotropic materials working in plane stress and plane strain approximation. We would like to underline the versatility of the methodology in very different problems. As last example we provide a nonlinear setting with increased complexity

Tailoring mathematical models to stem-cell derived cardiomyocyte lines can improve predictions of drug-induced changes to their electrophysiology

Human induced pluripotent stem cell derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs) have applications in disease modeling, cell therapy, drug screening and personalized medicine. Computational models can be used to interpret experimental findings in iPSC-CMs, provide mechanistic insights, and translate these findings to adult cardiomyocyte (CM) electrophysiology. However, different cell lines display different expression of ion channels, pumps and receptors, and show differences in electrophysiology. In this exploratory study, we use a mathematical model based on iPSC-CMs from Cellular Dynamic International (CDI, iCell), and compare its predictions to novel experimental recordings made with the Axiogenesis Cor.4U line. We show that tailoring this model to the specific cell line, even using limited data and a relatively simple approach, leads to improved predictions of baseline behavior and response to drugs. This demonstrates the need and the feasibility to tailor models to individual cell lines, although a more refined approach will be needed to characterize individual currents, address differences in ion current kinetics, and further improve these results

The Pioneer Anomaly

Radio-metric Doppler tracking data received from the Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft from heliocentric distances of 20-70 AU has consistently indicated the presence of a small, anomalous, blue-shifted frequency drift uniformly changing with a rate of ~6 x 10^{-9} Hz/s. Ultimately, the drift was interpreted as a constant sunward deceleration of each particular spacecraft at the level of a_P = (8.74 +/- 1.33) x 10^{-10} m/s^2. This apparent violation of the Newton's gravitational inverse-square law has become known as the Pioneer anomaly; the nature of this anomaly remains unexplained. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of the physical properties of the anomaly and the conditions that led to its detection and characterization. We review various mechanisms proposed to explain the anomaly and discuss the current state of efforts to determine its nature. A comprehensive new investigation of the anomalous behavior of the two Pioneers has begun recently. The new efforts rely on the much-extended set of radio-metric Doppler data for both spacecraft in conjunction with the newly available complete record of their telemetry files and a large archive of original project documentation. As the new study is yet to report its findings, this review provides the necessary background for the new results to appear in the near future. In particular, we provide a significant amount of information on the design, operations and behavior of the two Pioneers during their entire missions, including descriptions of various data formats and techniques used for their navigation and radio-science data analysis. As most of this information was recovered relatively recently, it was not used in the previous studies of the Pioneer anomaly, but it is critical for the new investigation.Comment: 165 pages, 40 figures, 16 tables; accepted for publication in Living Reviews in Relativit

Modified Gravity and Cosmology

In this review we present a thoroughly comprehensive survey of recent work on modified theories of gravity and their cosmological consequences. Amongst other things, we cover General Relativity, Scalar-Tensor, Einstein-Aether, and Bimetric theories, as well as TeVeS, f(R), general higher-order theories, Horava-Lifschitz gravity, Galileons, Ghost Condensates, and models of extra dimensions including Kaluza-Klein, Randall-Sundrum, DGP, and higher co-dimension braneworlds. We also review attempts to construct a Parameterised Post-Friedmannian formalism, that can be used to constrain deviations from General Relativity in cosmology, and that is suitable for comparison with data on the largest scales. These subjects have been intensively studied over the past decade, largely motivated by rapid progress in the field of observational cosmology that now allows, for the first time, precision tests of fundamental physics on the scale of the observable Universe. The purpose of this review is to provide a reference tool for researchers and students in cosmology and gravitational physics, as well as a self-contained, comprehensive and up-to-date introduction to the subject as a whole.Comment: 312 pages, 15 figure