Comparative Evaluation of Action Recognition Methods via Riemannian Manifolds, Fisher Vectors and GMMs: Ideal and Challenging Conditions

We present a comparative evaluation of various techniques for action recognition while keeping as many variables as possible controlled. We employ two categories of Riemannian manifolds: symmetric positive definite matrices and linear subspaces. For both categories we use their corresponding nearest neighbour classifiers, kernels, and recent kernelised sparse representations. We compare against traditional action recognition techniques based on Gaussian mixture models and Fisher vectors (FVs). We evaluate these action recognition techniques under ideal conditions, as well as their sensitivity in more challenging conditions (variations in scale and translation). Despite recent advancements for handling manifolds, manifold based techniques obtain the lowest performance and their kernel representations are more unstable in the presence of challenging conditions. The FV approach obtains the highest accuracy under ideal conditions. Moreover, FV best deals with moderate scale and translation changes

Use of magnetic powder to effectively improve the performance of sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) in municipal wastewater treatment

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd This study aims to investigate the effect of adding magnetic powder in the sequencing batch reactor (SBR) on the reactor performance and microbial community. Results indicated that, the magnetic activated sludge sequencing batch reactor (MAS-SBR) had 7.76% and 4.76% higher ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiencies than that of the conventional SBR (C-SBR). The MAS-SBR also achieved 6.86% sludge reduction compared with the C-SBR. High-throughput sequencing demonstrated that the dominant phyla of both SBRs (present as ≥1% of the sequence reads) were Protebacteria, Bacteroidetes, Chloroflexi, Saccharibacteria, Chlorobi, Firmicutes, Actinobactoria, Acidobacteria, Planctomycetes and unclassified_Bacteria. The relative abundance of Protebacteria and Bacteroidetes simultaneously declined whereas the other 8 phyla increased following the addition of magnetic powder. Adding magnetic powder in the SBR significantly affected the microbial diversity and richness of activated sludge, consequently affecting the reactor performance

Bounds for anisotropic Carleson operators

We prove weak $(2,2)$ bounds for maximally modulated anisotropically homogeneous smooth multipliers on $\mathbb{R}^n$. These can be understood as generalizing the classical one-dimensional Carleson operator. For the proof we extend the time-frequency method by Lacey and Thiele to the anistropic setting. We also discuss a related open problem concerning Carleson operators along monomial curves.Comment: 26 page

Effect of magnetic powder on membrane fouling mitigation and microbial community/composition in membrane bioreactors (MBRs) for municipal wastewater treatment

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd This study aims to investigate the usefulness of magnetic powder addition in membrane bioreactors (MBRs) for membrane fouling mitigation and its effect on microbial community and composition. The comparison between the two MBRs (one with magnetic powder (MAS-MBR) and one without magnetic powder (C-MBR)) was carried out to treat synthetic municipal wastewater. Results showed that bioflocculation and adsorption of magnetic powder contributed only minimally to membrane fouling mitigation while the slower fouling rate might be ascribed to magnetic bio-effect. The macromolecules (larger than 500 kDa and 300–500 kDa) of soluble microbial product from the MAS-MBR were reduced by 24.06% and 11.11%, respectively. High-throughput sequencing demonstrated the most abundant genera of biofilm sludge indicated lower abundance in bulk sludge from the MAS-MBR compared to the C-MBR. It is possible that less membrane fouling is connected to reductions in large molecules and pioneer bacteria from bulk sludge

Parental ethnic-racial socialization practices and the construction of children of color's ethnic-racial identity: A research synthesis and meta-analysis

Parental ethnic-racial socialization practices help shape the development of a strong ethnic-racial identity in children of color, which in turn contributes positively to mental health, social, and academic outcomes. Although there is a wide body of literature on the relationship between these meta-constructs, this research has not been systematically examined to either (a) determine the degree to which associations between parental ethnic-racial socialization approaches and ethnic-racial identity dimensions hold actual practical significance for parents of color or (b) estimate how these associations vary as a function of theorized mitigating factors. In response, this meta-analytic study investigated the strength of the association between parental ethnic-racial socialization practices and the construction of ethnic-racial identity, as well as factors that moderated the strength and direction of this association. Findings revealed that across 68 studies, there was a significant and substantive relationship between the global constructs of ethnic-racial socialization practices and ethnic-racial identity. Most individual practices of ethnic-racial socialization were positively associated with global ethnic-racial identity, and the strongest relationship was with pride and heritage socialization. Parental ethnic-racial socialization was also positively associated with all ethnic-racial identity dimensions tested except for public regard, with which it was negatively associated. Developmental findings showed that although ethnic-racial socialization positively predicted identity at every level of schooling, the strongest relationship was at the high school level. Finally, the association between ethnic-racial socialization and ethnic-racial identity was positive for African Americans, Latinxs, and Asian Americans alike, but the strongest relationship was among Latinxs. Implications for parenting practices and future research are discussed

From non-symmetric particle systems to non-linear PDEs on fractals

We present new results and challenges in obtaining hydrodynamic limits for non-symmetric (weakly asymmetric) particle systems (exclusion processes on pre-fractal graphs) converging to a non-linear heat equation. We discuss a joint density-current law of large numbers and a corresponding large deviations principle.Comment: v2: 10 pages, 1 figure. To appear in the proceedings for the 2016 conference "Stochastic Partial Differential Equations & Related Fields" in honor of Michael R\"ockner's 60th birthday, Bielefel

Targeting quiescent leukemic stem cells using second generation autophagy inhibitors

In chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) treatment induces autophagy that promotes survival and TKI-resistance in leukemic stem cells (LSCs). In clinical studies hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), the only clinically approved autophagy inhibitor, does not consistently inhibit autophagy in cancer patients, so more potent autophagy inhibitors are needed. We generated a murine model of CML in which autophagic flux can be measured in bone marrow-located LSCs. In parallel, we use cell division tracing, phenotyping of primary CML cells, and a robust xenotransplantation model of human CML, to investigate the effect of Lys05, a highly potent lysosomotropic agent, and PIK-III, a selective inhibitor of VPS34, on the survival and function of LSCs. We demonstrate that long-term haematopoietic stem cells (LT-HSCs: Lin−Sca-1+c-kit+CD48−CD150+) isolated from leukemic mice have higher basal autophagy levels compared with non-leukemic LT-HSCs and more mature leukemic cells. Additionally, we present that while HCQ is ineffective, Lys05-mediated autophagy inhibition reduces LSCs quiescence and drives myeloid cell expansion. Furthermore, Lys05 and PIK-III reduced the number of primary CML LSCs and target xenografted LSCs when used in combination with TKI treatment, providing a strong rationale for clinical use of second generation autophagy inhibitors as a novel treatment for CML patients with LSC persistence

Recommendations of protective measures for orthopedic surgeons during COVID-19 pandemic

PURPOSE: It was the primary purpose of the present systematic review to identify the optimal protection measures during COVID-19 pandemic and provide guidance of protective measures for orthopedic surgeons. The secondary purpose was to report the protection experience of an orthopedic trauma center in Wuhan, China during the pandemic. METHODS: A systematic search of the PubMed, Cochrane, Web of Science, Google Scholar was performed for studies about COVID-19, fracture, trauma, orthopedic, healthcare workers, protection, telemedicine. The appropriate protective measures for orthopedic surgeons and patients were reviewed (on-site first aid, emergency room, operating room, isolation wards, general ward, etc.) during the entire diagnosis and treatment process of traumatic patients. RESULTS: Eighteen studies were included, and most studies (13/18) emphasized that orthopedic surgeons should pay attention to prevent cross-infection. Only four studies have reported in detail how orthopedic surgeons should be protected during surgery in the operating room. No detailed studies on multidisciplinary cooperation, strict protection, protection training, indications of emergency surgery, first aid on-site and protection in orthopedic wards were found. CONCLUSION: Strict protection at every step in the patient pathway is important to reduce the risk of cross-infection. Lessons learnt from our experience provide some recommendations of protective measures during the entire diagnosis and treatment process of traumatic patients and help others to manage orthopedic patients with COVID-19, to reduce the risk of cross-infection between patients and to protect healthcare workers during work. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: IV

Hidden charm and bottom molecular states

We investigate heavy quark symmetries for heavy light meson-antimeson systems in a contact-range effective field theory. In the SU(3) light flavor limit, the leading order Lagrangian respecting heavy quark spin symmetry contains four independent counter-terms. Neglecting 1/mQ corrections, three of these low energy constants can be determ1ined by theorizing a molecular description of the X(3872) and Zb(10610) states. Thus, we can predict new hadronic molecules, in particular the isovector charmonium partners of the Zb(10610) and the Zb(10650) states. We also discuss hadron molecules composed of a heavy meson and a doubly-heavy baryon, which would be related to the heavy meson-antimeson molecules thanks to the heavy antiquark-diquark symmetry. Finally, we also study the X(3872)→D0D¯0π0 decay, which is not only sensitive to the short distance part of the X(3872) molecular wave function, as the J/ψππ and J/ψ3π X(3872) decay modes are, but it is also affected by the long-distance structure of the resonance. Furthermore, this decay might provide some information on the interaction between the DD¯ charm mesons

Phylogenetic Position of a Copper Age Sheep (Ovis aries) Mitochondrial DNA

BACKGROUND: Sheep (Ovis aries) were domesticated in the Fertile Crescent region about 9,000-8,000 years ago. Currently, few mitochondrial (mt) DNA studies are available on archaeological sheep. In particular, no data on archaeological European sheep are available. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we describe the first portion of mtDNA sequence of a Copper Age European sheep. DNA was extracted from hair shafts which were part of the clothes of the so-called Tyrolean Iceman or Ötzi (5,350-5,100 years before present). Mitochondrial DNA (a total of 2,429 base pairs, encompassing a portion of the control region, tRNA(Phe), a portion of the 12S rRNA gene, and the whole cytochrome B gene) was sequenced using a mixed sequencing procedure based on PCR amplification and 454 sequencing of pooled amplification products. We have compared the sequence with the corresponding sequence of 334 extant lineages. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: A phylogenetic network based on a new cladistic notation for the mitochondrial diversity of domestic sheep shows that the Ötzi's sheep falls within haplogroup B, thus demonstrating that sheep belonging to this haplogroup were already present in the Alps more than 5,000 years ago. On the other hand, the lineage of the Ötzi's sheep is defined by two transitions (16147, and 16440) which, assembled together, define a motif that has not yet been identified in modern sheep populations