LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Phonemic Similarity Metrics to Compare Pronunciation Methods

As  grapheme­to­phoneme  methods  proliferate,  their  careful evaluation  becomes  increasingly  important.  This  paper  ex­ plores a variety of metrics to compare the automatic pronunci­ ation methods of  three freely­available grapheme­to­phoneme packages  on  a  large  dictionary.  Two metrics,  presented  here for the first time, rely upon a novel weighted phonemic substi­ tution  matrix  constructed  from  substitution  frequencies  in  a collection of trusted alternate pronunciations. These new met­ rics are sensitive to the degree of mutability among phonemes. An alignment  tool uses  this matrix  to compare phoneme sub­ stitutions between pairs of pronunciations.
Data-driven analytics for cyber-threat intelligence and information sharing

particular individual or entity. Although the speaker and content authors endeavor to provide accurate and timely information, there can be no guarantee that such information is accurate as of the date it is received or that it will continue to be accurate in the future. No one should act upon such information without appropriate professional advice after a thorough examination of the particular situation. Data-Driven Analytics for Cyber-Threat Intelligence and Information Sharing
Assigned Tree Slotted Aloha RFID Tag Anti-Collision Protocols

With the development of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, RFID systems have been used in various applications. But the tag collision problem greatly affects the performance of many RFID systems, especially in large scale tag identification environments. In this paper, we propose two new efficient tag anti-collision protocols, i.e., the assigned tree slotted Aloha (ATSA) protocol and the improved ATSA (ImATSA) protocol based upon Manchester encoding. The key technology is to apply the prefix matching idea to the dynamic frame slotted Aloha identification model by assigning a unique ID prefix to each frame and slot. Both theoretical and simulation results indicate that ImATSA can achieve an average system efficiency of around 58%.
Identifying critical issues in enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation

Much has been written on implementation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems in organizations of various sizes. The literature is replete with many cases studies of both successful and unsuccessful ERP implementations. However, there have been very few empirical studies that attempt to delineate the critical issues that drive successful implementation of ERP systems. Although the failure rates of ERP implementations have been publicized widely, this has not distracted companies from investing large sums of money on ERP systems. This study reports the results of an empirical research on the critical issues affecting successful ERP implementation. Through the study, eight factors were identified that attempts to explain 86% of the variances that impact ERP implementation. There was a strong correlation between successfully implementing ERP and six out of the eight factors identified. # 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Analysis of knee functional flexion axis in navigated TKA: identification and repeatability before and after implant positioning

Providing correct rotational alignment of femoral component in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is mandatory to achieve correct kinematics, good ligament balance and patellar tracking. The purpose of this study was to evaluate potential clinical applications of functional flexion axis (FFA) by analysing the differences between pre- and post-implant placement. This evaluation was supported by the analysis of repeatability, assessing the robustness of the proposed method. Anatomical acquisitions and passive kinematics were acquired on 87 patients undergoing TKA using a commercial navigation system. Knee FFA was estimated, before and after implant positioning, from three flexion–extension movements between 0 and 120°. The angle between FFA and transepicondylar axis was analysed in frontal and axial planes. Repeatability coefficient and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were used to analyse the reliability and the agreement in identifying the axis. The analysed angle presented differences between pre- and post-operative conditions only in the frontal plane (from −8.3 ± 5.5° to −2.8 ± 5.3°) (p < 0.0001). There was good intraobserver reliability and agreement. Repeatability coefficient ranged between 4.4° (3.7–4.9°) and 3.4° (2.9–3.8°), the ICC between 0.87 (0.83–0.91) and 0.93 (0.90–0.95) and the standard deviation ranged between 1.3 and 1.0°. The present study demonstrated that TKA affected the estimation of FFA only in the frontal plane. This method reported good repeatability, demonstrating its usefulness for clinical purposes particularly to evaluate rotational positioning of the femoral component in the axial plane. Case series, Level IV.
Feature extraction for CBIR and biometrics applications

Abstract: In CBIR (Content-Based Image Retrieval), visual features such as shape, color and texture are extracted to characterize images. Each of the features is represented using one or more feature descriptors. During the retrieval, features and descriptors of the query are compared to those of the images in the database in order to rank each indexed image according to its distance to the query. In biometrics systems images used as patterns (e.g. fingerprint, iris, hand etc.) are also represented by feature vectors. The candidates patterns are then retrieved from database by comparing the distance of their feature vectors. The feature extraction methods for this applications are discussed.
Occlusion invariant face recognition using selective local non-negative matrix factorization basis images

Please cite this article in press as: H.J. Oh Vis. Comput. (2008), doi:10.1016/j.imavis In this paper, we propose a novel occlusion invariant face recognition algorithm based on Selective Local Non-negative Matrix Factorization (S-LNMF) technique. The proposed algorithm is composed of two phases; the occlusion detection phase and the selective LNMF-based recognition phase. We use a local approach to effectively detect partial occlusions in an input face image. A face image is first divided into a finite number of disjointed local patches, and then each patch is represented by PCA (Principal Component Analysis), obtained by corresponding occlusion-free patches of training images. And the 1-NN threshold classifier is used for occlusion detection for each patch in the corresponding PCA space. In the recognition phase, by employing the LNMF-based face representation, we exclusively use the LNMF bases of occlusion-free image patches for face recognition. Euclidean nearest neighbor rule is applied for the matching. We have performed experiments on AR face database that includes many occluded face images by sunglasses and scarves. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed local patch-based occlusion detection technique works well and the S-LNMF method shows superior performance to other conventional approaches. 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
American option pricing with imprecise risk-neutral probabilities

The aim of this paper is to price an American style option when there is uncertainty on the volatility of the underlying asset. An option contract can be either European or American style depending on whether the exercise is possible only at or also before the expiry date. A European option gives the holder the right to buy or sell the underlying asset only at the expiry date of the option. On the other hand, an American option gives the holder the right to buy or sell the underlying asset at any time up to the expiry date. Therefore, in American option pricing, the likelihood of the early exercise should be carefully taken into account. American option valuation is usually performed, under the risk-neutral valuation paradigm, by using numerical procedures such as the binomial option pricing model of Cox, Ross, Rubinstein (1979). A key input of the multiperiod binomial model is the volatility of the underlying asset, that is an unobservable parameter. The volatility parameter can be estimated either from historical data (historical volatility) or implied from the price of European options (implied volatility). In the first case, the lenght of the time series, the frequency and the estimation methodology may lead to different estimates. In the second case, as options differ in strike price, time to expiration and option type (call or put), which option class yields implied volatilities that are most representative of the markets’ volatility expectations, is still an open debate. Various papers have examined the predictive power of implied volatility extracted from different option classes. Christensen and Prabhala (1998) examine the relation between implied and realized volatility on SP&100 options. They found that at the money calls are good predictors of future realized volatility. Christensen and Strunk (2002) consider the relation between implied and realized volatility on the S&P100 options. They suggest to compute implied volatility as a weighted average of implied volatilities from both in the money and out of the money options and both puts and calls. Ederington and Guan (2005) examine how the information in implied volatility differs by strike price for options on S&P500 futures. They suggest to use implied volatilities obtained from high strike options (out of the money calls and in the money puts) since the information content in implied volatilities varies roughly in a mirror image of the implied volatility smile.
Adaptive User Interface Generation for Web Services

Web service has become a popular approach for software system integration. A Web service may be invoked by other Web services or users and the way for interacting with users or other services should be different. When interacting with a user, it is necessary to provide a graphical user interface (GUI) to obtain the input information. Users may access the Web Service from different devices. To manually develop various user interfaces for Web services adds additional burdens to the service designers. In this paper, an adaptive user interface generation framework is presented. The framework takes the WSDL interface specification together with some additional but optional interface design related information for adaptive GUI generation.
Performance evaluation of four on-site drug-testing devices for detection of drugs of abuse in urine.

On-site drug tests are becoming increasingly more popular because of their easy test protocols and instantaneous results. This study evaluates the performance of four on-site drug testing devices that use competitive binding immunoassays to qualitatively determine the presence of drugs in urine: Triage Panel for Drugs of Abuse plus TCA, QuickScreen Pro-Multi Drug Screening Tests, Syva Rapid Test d.a.u. 5 and d.a.u. 2, and Rapid Drug Screen. All devices simultaneously determine the presence of the following drugs of abuse: amphetamine (AMP), benzoylecgonine (BE), 11-nor-9-carboxy-delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THCA), opiates (OPI), and phencyclidine (PCP). Triage and Rapid Drug Screen also simultaneously test for benzodiazepines (BZB) and barbiturates (BRB), whereas QuickScreen and Rapid Test require separate devices for the BZB and BRB analyses. Urine specimens (222) containing drug concentrations around or above cutoff values were screened by ONLINE or EMIT II immunoassays. Of these, 199 yielded positive gas chromatography-mass spectrometry results with at least 17 positive specimens in each drug class. Specimens with the target drugs added at 16.7% above and below the cutoff, 33.3% above and below the cutoff, and 66.7% above the cutoff were also used to evaluate the test devices. Sensitivity and specificity calculations demonstrated that Triage performed most predictably in the donor urine specimens and the drug-added specimens. In addition, it required the least amount of test volume and was the only device in which the appearance of a colored line indicated a positive result. Therefore, of the devices studied, Triage was the most dependable and reproducible on-site drug-screening device.
Google's PageRank and beyond - the science of search engine rankings

Why doesn't your home page appear on the first page of search results, even when you query your own name? How do other web pages always appear at the top? What creates these powerful rankings? And how? The first book...
Long-term follow-up of pulmonary function in chronic eosinophilic pneumonia

Long-term follow-up of pulmonary function in chronic eosinophilic pneumonia. J. Durieu, B. Wallaert, A-B. Tonnel and the Groupe d'Etude en Pathologie Interstitielle de la Société de Pathologie Thoracique du Nord. ERS Journals Ltd 1997. ABSTRACT: The prognosis of chronic eosinophilic pneumonia (CEP) is usually good under corticosteroid therapy (CST). The main complications are relapses when treatment is tapered or discontinued. The aim of this retrospective, multicentre study was to evaluate the long-term consequences of CEP on pulmonary function tests. Nineteen patients (mean±SEM age 51±16 yrs) with CEP were studied. Lung function tests were performed at the time of diagnosis and at follow-up, and included flow-volume curve. The results of the first pulmonary function test were normal in six patients, restrictive in nine, and obstructive in four. Relapses (recurrence of initial signs) occurred in nine patients. The last evaluation (mean±SEM follow-up of 49±44 months, range 12–142 months) showed a complete recovery in 8 of the 19 patients. One patient developed bilateral apical fibrosis. The remaining 10 patients, exhibited obstructive pulmonary function without relapse of CEP at this time. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) eosinophilia at the time of the initial evaluation tended to be higher (p=0.05) in these 10 patients than in those with normal pulmonary function findings at follow-up. This study demonstrates: firstly, that the development of an obstructive ventilatory defect is a common finding during the course of chronic eosinophilic pneumonia (CEP); secondly, that bronchial obstruction might appear despite the absence of clinical and radiological signs of relapse; and, thirdly, that a markedly increased bronchoalveolar lavage eosinophilia at the initial evaluation is associated with a higher risk of development of bronchial obstruction. These results suggest that pulmonary function tests should be included in the management of chronic eosinophilic pneumonia. Eur Respir J 1997; 10: 286–291. *Clinique de Maladies Respiratoires, Hôpital A. Calmette, and INSERM U416, Institut Pasteur, Lille, France. +Groupe d'Etude en Pathologie Interstitielle (GEPI) de la Société de Pathologie Thoracique du Nord.
Silhouettes : a graphical aid to the interpretation and validation of cluster analysis

Abstract: A new graphical display is proposed for partitioning techniques. Each cluster is represented by a so-called silhouette, which is based on the comparison of its tightness and separation. This silhouette shows which objects he well within their cluster, and which ones are merely somewhere in between clusters. The entire clustering is displayed by combining the silhouettes into a single plot, allowing an appreciation of the relative quality of the clusters and an overview of the data configuration. The average silhouette width provides an evaluation of clustering validity, and might be used to select an ‘appropriate’ number of clusters.
History of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus and Future Risk of Atherosclerosis in Mid‐life: The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study

BACKGROUND
History of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) increases lifetime risk of type 2 diabetes (DM) and the metabolic syndrome (MetS), which increase risk of cardiovascular disease. It is unclear, however, whether GDM increases risk of early atherosclerosis independent of pre-pregnancy obesity and subsequent metabolic disease.


METHODS AND RESULTS
Of 2787 women (18 to 30 years) enrolled in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, we studied 898 (47% black) who were free of DM and heart disease at baseline (1985-1986), delivered ≥1 post-baseline births, reported GDM history, and had common carotid intima media thickness (ccIMT, mm) measured in 2005-2006. We used multivariable linear regression to assess associations between GDM and ccIMT adjusted for race, age, parity, and pre-pregnancy cardiometabolic risk factors. We assessed mediators (weight gain, insulin resistance, blood pressure), and effect modification by incident DM or MetS during the 20-year period. Of the 898 women, 119 (13%) reported GDM (7.6 per 100 deliveries). Average age was 31 at last birth and 44 at ccIMT measurement for GDM and non-GDM groups. Unadjusted mean ccIMT was 0.023 mm higher for GDM than non-GDM groups (P=0.029), but pre-pregnancy BMI attenuated the difference to 0.016 mm (P=0.109). In 777 women without subsequent DM or the MetS, mean ccIMT was 0.023 mm higher for GDM versus non-GDM groups controlling for race, age, parity, and pre-pregnancy BMI (0.784 versus 0.761, P=0.039). Addition of pre-pregnancy insulin resistance index had minimal impact on adjusted mean net ccIMT difference (0.22 mm). Mean ccIMT did not differ by GDM status among 121 women who developed DM or the MetS (P=0.58).


CONCLUSIONS
History of GDM may be a marker for early atherosclerosis independent of pre-pregnancy obesity among women who have not developed type 2 diabetes or the metabolic syndrome.
Neuropathology of prodromal Lewy body disease.

BACKGROUND
Current evidence suggests that there is a prodromal stage in Parkinson disease characterized by a variety of nonmotor symptoms.


METHODS AND RESULTS
A 69-year-old man presented to our sleep center with isolated rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder. During a 10-year follow-up period, longitudinal clinical and laboratory assessments indicated the development of hyposmia, depression, mild cognitive impairment, and constipation. Parkinsonism was absent, but dopamine transporter imaging showed subclinical substantia nigra damage. Postmortem examination demonstrated neuronal loss and Lewy body pathology in the peripheral autonomic nervous system (eg, cardiac and myenteric plexus), olfactory bulb, medulla, pons, substantia nigra pars compacta (estimated cell loss, 20%-30%), nucleus basalis of Meynert, and amygdala, sparing the neocortex.


CONCLUSIONS
Our observations indicate that nonmotor symptoms plus widespread peripheral and central nervous system pathological changes occur before parkinsonism and dementia onset in diseases associated with Lewy pathology. The current diagnostic criteria for Parkinson's disease miss these patients, who present only with nonmotor symptoms.
Small wire external fixation for high-energy tibial plateau fractures.

PURPOSE
To assess results of small wire external fixation using a ligamentotaxis technique for high-energy tibial plateau fractures.


METHODS
Between April 2002 and May 2004, 38 consecutive patients aged 21 to 60 (mean, 32) years underwent small wire external fixation for high-energy tibial plateau fractures. 15 involved the right and 23 the left knee. 34 were closed and 4 were open injuries. Fractures were classified according to Schatzker's staging system. After a minimal of 2 years' follow-up (range, 24-42 months), each affected knee was evaluated using Rasmussen's (1) 30-point clinical grading system and (2) radiological evaluation.


RESULTS
There were 22 type-VI and 16 type-V Schatzker tibial plateau fractures. Complications consisted of: 2 superficial infections, 3 pin site infections, and 4 peroneal nerve palsies. No soft tissue necrosis or devitalisation occurred. The mean range of knee movement was 132 degrees. The mean Rasmussen radiological score was 14 (range, 10-18): excellent in 6, good in 26, and fair in 6. The mean Rasmusssen functional score was 26 (range, 17-30): excellent in 19 patients, good in 17, and fair in 2. Clinical results did not parallel the radiological results.


CONCLUSION
Small wire external fixation allows anatomical reconstruction of the articular surface, stable fixation of fracture fragments, early movement of the joint, and care of associated soft tissue injuries, without a high rate of complications.
Neuromorphic computing gets ready for the (really) big time

A technology inspired by biological principles but 'steamrolled for decades' prepares to take off as Moore's Law approaches its long-anticipated end.
Cytokine profile in quadriceps muscles of patients with severe COPD.

BACKGROUND
Systemic proinflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress have been described in association with peripheral muscle wasting and weakness of patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but their expression in skeletal muscle is unknown. The objectives of the present study were to determine muscle protein levels of selected cytokines in patients with COPD and to study their relationships with protein carbonylation as a marker of oxidative stress, quadriceps function and exercise capacity.


METHODS
We conducted a cross sectional study in which 36 cytokines were detected using a human antibody array in quadriceps specimens obtained from 19 patients with severe COPD and seven healthy controls. Subsequently, selected cytokines (tumour necrosis factor (TNF)alpha, TNFalpha receptors I and II, interleukin (IL) 6, interferon gamma, transforming growth factor (TGF) beta and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)), as well as protein carbonylation (oxidative stress index) were determined using an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in all muscles.


RESULTS
Compared with controls, the vastus lateralis of patients with COPD showed significantly lower protein ELISA levels of TNFalpha, which positively correlated with their quadriceps function, TNFalpha receptor II and VEGF. Protein ELISA levels of IL6, interferon gamma and TGFbeta did not differ between patients and controls. Quadriceps protein carbonylation was greater in patients and inversely correlated with quadriceps strength among them.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings do not support the presence of a proinflammatory environment within the quadriceps muscles of clinically and weight stable patients with severe COPD, despite evidence for increased oxidative stress and the presence of muscle weakness.
XMSS - A Practical Forward Secure Signature Scheme Based on Minimal Security Assumptions

We present the hash-based signature scheme XMSS. It is the first provably (forward) secure and practical signature scheme with minimal security requirements: a pseudorandom and a second preimage resistant (hash) function family. Its signature size is reduced to less than 25% compared to the best provably secure hash based signature scheme.
the idea of progress.

The idea of Progress What is progress? It is the idea that the world can become increasingly better in terms of science, technology, modernization, liberty, democracy, quality of