Re-Benchmarking Pool-Based Active Learning for Binary Classification

Active learning is a paradigm that significantly enhances the performance of machine learning models when acquiring labeled data is expensive. While several benchmarks exist for evaluating active learning strategies, their findings exhibit some misalignment. This discrepancy motivates us to develop a transparent and reproducible benchmark for the community. Our efforts result in an open-sourced implementation (https://github.com/ariapoy/active-learning-benchmark) that is reliable and extensible for future research. By conducting thorough re-benchmarking experiments, we have not only rectified misconfigurations in existing benchmark but also shed light on the under-explored issue of model compatibility, which directly causes the observed discrepancy. Resolving the discrepancy reassures that the uncertainty sampling strategy of active learning remains an effective and preferred choice for most datasets. Our experience highlights the importance of dedicating research efforts towards re-benchmarking existing benchmarks to produce more credible results and gain deeper insights

HOMOE: A Memory-Based and Composition-Aware Framework for Zero-Shot Learning with Hopfield Network and Soft Mixture of Experts

Compositional Zero-Shot Learning (CZSL) has emerged as an essential paradigm in machine learning, aiming to overcome the constraints of traditional zero-shot learning by incorporating compositional thinking into its methodology. Conventional zero-shot learning has difficulty managing unfamiliar combinations of seen and unseen classes because it depends on pre-defined class embeddings. In contrast, Compositional Zero-Shot Learning uses the inherent hierarchies and structural connections among classes, creating new class representations by combining attributes, components, or other semantic elements. In our paper, we propose a novel framework that for the first time combines the Modern Hopfield Network with a Mixture of Experts (HOMOE) to classify the compositions of previously unseen objects. Specifically, the Modern Hopfield Network creates a memory that stores label prototypes and identifies relevant labels for a given input image. Following this, the Mixture of Expert models integrates the image with the fitting prototype to produce the final composition classification. Our approach achieves SOTA performance on several benchmarks, including MIT-States and UT-Zappos. We also examine how each component contributes to improved generalization

Extensor-tendons reconstruction using autogenous palmaris longus tendon grafting for rheumatoid arthritis patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The purpose of the study is to retrospectively review the clinical outcome of our study population of middle-aged RA patients who had suffered extensor-tendon rupture. We reported the outcome of autogenous palmaris tendon grafting of multiple extensor tendons at wrist level in 14 middle-aged rheumatoid patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Between Feb. 2000 to Feb. 2004, thirty-six ruptured wrist level extensor tendons were reconstructed in fourteen rheumatoid patients (11 women and three men) using autogenous palmaris longus tendon as a free interposition graft. In each case, the evaluation was based on both subjective and objective criteria, including the range of MCP joint flexion after surgery, the extension lag at the metacarpophalangeal joint before and after surgery, and the ability of the patient to work.</p> <p>Results and Discussion</p> <p>The average of follow-up was 54.1 months (range, 40 to 72 months). The average range of MCP joint flexion after reconstruction was 66°. The extension lag at the metacarpophalangeal joint significantly improved from a preoperative mean of 38° (range, 25°–60°) to a postoperative mean of 16° (range, 0°–30°). Subjectively all patients were satisfied with the clinical results, and achieved a return to their level of ability before tendon rupture. We found good functional results in our series of interposition grafting using palmaris longus to reconstruct extensor tendon defects in the rheumatoid patients.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Reconstruction for multiple tendon ruptures is a salvage procedure that is often associated with extensor lag and impairment of overall function. Early aggressive treatment of extensor tendon reconstruction using autogenous palmaris longus tendon as a free interposition graft in the rheumatoid wrist is another viable option to achieve good clinical functional result.</p

The Role 3 Multinational Medical Unit at Kandahar Airfield 2005–2010

In late 2005, Canadian Forces Health Services (CFHS) was tasked with the command of the NATO Role 3 Multinational Medical Unit (R3MMU) on Kandahar Airfield in southern Afghanistan. Preparations drew on past experience and planning. Eight complete hospital contingents were trained and deployed in rotation. Near-reality simulation training was undertaken with the combat brigade, including complete deployment of the field hospital in the exercise area. Standard operating procedures (SOP) were developed and applied by each rotation so successfully that they were adopted by the new command in late 2009. The Canadian period at R3MMU had the highest survival rate ever recorded for victims of war. Lessons learned are being applied among victims of the conflict and trauma. The experience of the R3MMU was used to successfully deploy a hospital as part of the earthquake relief effort in Haiti in 2010. The training protocols and SOP are being applied to disaster preparedness in Canadian civilian hospitals

V2PSense: Enabling Cellular-based V2P Collision Warning Service Through Mobile Sensing

The C-V2X (Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything) technology is developing in full swing. One of its mainstream services can be the Vehicle-to-Pedestrian (V2P) service. It can protect pedestrians who are mostly vulnerable on the road. In this work, we seek to enable a V2P service that can identify which pedestrians may be nearby a dangerous driving event and then notify them of warning messages. To enable this V2P service, there are two major challenges. First, a low-latency V2P message transport is required for this infrastructure-based service. Second, the pedestrian’s smartphone requires an energy-efficient outdoor positioning method instead of power-hungry GPS due to its limited battery life. We thus propose a novel solution, V2PSense, which trades off positioning precision for energy savings while achieving low-latency message transport with LTE high-priority bearers. It does a coarse-grained positioning by leveraging intermittent GPS information and mobile sensing data, which includes step count from the pedometer and cellular signal strength changes. Though the V2PSense’s positioning is not as precise as the GPS, it can still ensure that all the pedestrians nearby dangerous spots can be notified. Our results show that it can achieve the average precision ratio 92.6% for estimating where the pedestrian is while saving 20.8% energy, compared with the GPS always-on case.This work was partially supported by the Ministry of Science and Tech-nology, Taiwan, under grant numbers 106-2622-8-009-017 and 106-2218-E-009-018, and by the H2020 collaborative Europe/Taiwan research project 5G-CORAL (grant num. 761586

Bovine PrPC directly interacts with αB-crystalline

AbstractWe used a bovine brain cDNA library to perform a yeast two-hybrid assay with bovine mature PrPC as bait. The screening result showed that αB-crystalline interacted with PrPC. The interaction was further evaluated both in vivo and in vitro with different methods, such as immunofluorescent colocalization, native polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, and IAsys biosensor assays. The results suggested that αB-crystalline may have the ability to refold denatured prion proteins, and provided first evidence that αB-crystalline is directly associated with prion protein

Pharmacokinetics and tissue depletion of doxycycline administered at high dosage to broiler chickens via the drinking water

The recommended use of doxycycline (DC) to broiler chicken is 100 mg/L via the drinking water and a 7-day withdrawal time (WDT). However, study of a higher dosage is desirable because of the possible increase of antimicrobial resistance and disease spectrum. Tissue DC residues exceeding the current maximum residue levels (MRL) was our major concern. Therefore, serum concentration and tissue depletion of DC hyclate after administration of 200 mg/L of DC in the drinking water for five consecutive days were studied. The steady-state DC concentration (8.3 ± 0.9 μg/mL) was reached on the third day of medication. The elimination constant (0.05 ± 0.01 1/h), half-life (14.9 ± 1.4 h), area under concentration versus time curve (81.0 ± 9.9 h·μg/mL) and mean residence time (22.7 ± 2.5 h) were obtained using a non-compartmental pharmacokinetic model. It was determined that the current 7-day WDT regulation was still legitimate for the kidney and liver as well as for the breast and leg muscles, which were estimated by linear regression analysis of the 99% upper distribution limit. The unregulated heart and gizzard were considered safe even when the lowest MRL of muscle (100 ng/g) was applied. While at the present time the extra-label use of drugs is only allowed under specific conditions, in the future it may become necessary to increase the general dosage of DC, and the current results suggest a safe range of DC hyclate in chicken; however, skin/fat tissue residues warrant further studies