LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Large Vocabulary Audio-Visual Speech Recognition Using Active Shape Models

Orthogonal information present in the video signal associated with the audio helps in improving the accuracy of a speech recognition system. Audio-visual speech recognition involves extraction of both the audio as well as visual features from the input signal. Extraction of visual parameters is done by the recognition of speech dependent features from the video sequence. This paper uses geometrical features to describe the lip shapes. Curve-based Active Shape Models are used to extract the geometry. These geometricall y represented visual parameters are used along with the audio cepstral features to perform an audio-visual classifi cation. It is shown that the bimodal system presented here gives an improvement in the classifi cation results over classification using only the audio features.
Evolving Economic Architecture in East Asia

This paper examines how East Asia’s economic architecture has been evolving over the last ten years and how it will shape itself in the future. With the progress of market-driven economic integration, East Asian economies have developed various cooperative initiatives for trade and finance, including free trade agreements (FTAs), the Chiang Mai Initiative, the Economic Review and Policy Dialogue, and the Asian Bond Markets Initiative. The paper suggests policy directions for greater regional economic cooperation. First, trade authorities are advised to consolidate multiple, overlapping FTAs into a single East Asian agreement— particularly among the East Asia Summit (EAS, or ASEAN+6) countries—to minimize negative “noodle bowl” effects and achieve “deep, WTO-plus” integration. Second, financial authorities are encouraged to initiate exchange rate policy coordination—starting with the adoption of a regional currency-basket arrangement based on the US dollar, euro, and Asian Currency Unit. East Asia’s economic architecture will be shaped around ASEAN+3 and EAS (or ASEAN+6), with ASEAN as the hub for economic cooperation and integration. JEL Classification: F02, F15, F21, F31, F33, F42 ADBI Discussion Paper 84 Masahiro Kawai
Enhanced Psychosocial Support for Caregiver Burden for Patients With Chronic Kidney Failure Choosing Not to Be Treated by Dialysis or Transplantation: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND
Family caregivers of patients with chronic kidney failure have increased burden, as reflected by their high frequency of physical and mental disturbances. The impact of enhanced psychosocial support to caregivers of patients with chronic kidney failure remains unclear.


STUDY DESIGN
Open-label randomized controlled trial.


SETTING & PARTICIPANTS
All new patients referred to the renal palliative clinic were screened. Caregivers of patients who met the following criteria were recruited: (1) chronic kidney failure as defined by creatinine clearance < 15 mL/min, (2) opted for conservative management by nephrology team or patient, (3) never treated with dialysis or transplantation, and (4) able to provide informed consent.


INTERVENTIONS
Random assignment to treatment with enhanced psychosocial support or standard renal care (control). Enhanced psychosocial support included counseling and psychosocial interventions by an on-site palliative care nurse and designated social worker. Each caregiver was followed up at 2- to 4-week intervals for up to 6 months.


OUTCOMES
Zarit Burden Inventory (ZBI) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) in caregivers and McGill Quality of Life scores in patients of both groups were compared.


RESULTS
29 pairs of family caregivers/patients with chronic kidney failure were randomly assigned (intervention, n=14; control, n=15). Mean ages of patients and caregivers were 81.6 ± 5.1 and 59.8 ± 14.2 (SD) years, respectively. The intervention group showed significantly lower ZBI scores than the control group at 1 and 3 months (22.0 ± 5.3 vs 31.6 ± 9.5 and 21.3 ± 6.6 vs 33.4 ± 7.2; P=0.006 and P=0.009, respectively). HADS anxiety scores of caregivers who received the intervention were significantly lower than those of controls at 1 and 3 months (7.1 ± 3.2 vs 10.1 ± 2.2 and 6.5 ± 4.5 vs 11.0 ± 3.1; P=0.01 and P=0.03, respectively). Insignificant reductions in ZBI and HADS scores were found at 6 months. 19 patients died (intervention, n=10; control, n=9) during the study period.


LIMITATIONS
The study is limited by a relatively small sample size and short duration.


CONCLUSIONS
Enhanced psychosocial support program in patients with chronic kidney failure and caregivers resulted in an early significant reduction in caregiver burden and anxiety.
[Assessment of the impact of event scale revised for post traumatic stress disorder in Chilean subjects].

BACKGROUND
Impact of Event Scale Revised (IES-R), that evaluates the subjective perception of stress, is used to assess post traumatic stress disorder simptoms.


AIM
To adapt and validate IES-R to the Chilean population.


MATERIAL AND METHODS
Two hundred seventy eight subjects exposed to stressful life events of varying magnitude were assessed using the IES-R, the Beck Depression Inventory, the anxiety and somatoform subscales of the Depressive, Anxiety and Somatoform Disorders Scale and the AUDIT Questionnaire.


RESULTS
IES-R had adequate psychometric properties in terms of internal consistency, test-retest reliability, convergent and discriminating validity. It identified a principal factor, explaining 67% of the variance.


CONCLUSIONS
The IES-R can be used in the Chilean population to assess the degree of suffering produced by a traumatic event.
Value of self-performed joint counts in rheumatoid arthritis patients near remission

INTRODUCTION
To determine the validity and reliability of patients' self-performed joint counts compared to joint counts by professional assessors in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients in different disease activity states.


METHODS
In patients with established RA we determined the inter-rater reliability of joint counts performed by an independent evaluator and the patient using intraclass correlation (ICC), and agreement on activity in individual joints by kappa statistics. We also performed longitudinal analyses to assess consistency of assessments over time. Finally, we investigated the concordance of joint counts of different assessors in patients with different levels of disease activity.


RESULTS
The reliability of patient self-performed joint counts was high when compared to independent objective assessment (ICC; 95%confidence interval (CI)) for the assessment of swelling (0.32; 0.15 to 0.46) and tenderness (0.75; 0.66 to 0.81), with higher agreement for larger joints (kappa: 0.57 and 0.45, respectively) compared to smaller joints (metacarpo-phalangeal joint (MCPs): 0.31 and 0.45; and proximal interphalangeal joint (PIPs): 0.22 and 0.47, for swelling and tenderness, respectively).Patients in remission according to the Simplified Disease Activity Index (SDAI ≤ 3.3) showed better concordance of the joint counts (swollen joint count (SJC) ties 25/37, tender joint count (TJC) ties 26/37) compared to moderate/high disease activity states (SDAI > 11; MDA/HDA: SJC ties 9/72, TJC ties 21/72). Positive and negative predictive values regarding the presence of SDAI remission were reasonably good (0.86 and 0.95, respectively). A separate training session for patients did not improve the reliability of joint assessment. The results were consistent in the longitudinal analyses.


CONCLUSIONS
Self-performed joint counts are particularly useful for monitoring in patients having attained remission, as these patients seem able to detect state of remission.
Die status van die geskiedenis in die werk van Jacques Derrida

Summary Some critics of the French philosopher, Jacques Derrida, have labelled his work as ahistorical and apolitical. In this article Derrida's views on, among others, textuality, differance and metaphysics are scrutinized for the implications they may have for history: the strategic objective of Derrida's statement that there is nothing outside the text, is to demonstrate that reality can be approached only by an interpretative experience. The role of the temporal dimension in difference is stressed: the process of signification cannot be realized without the play of retentions from the past. Derrida problematizes the logocentric, metaphysical concept of history and suggests a plural, heterogeneous apprehension of history. Although Derrida's deconstruction does not include an extensive social theory, hardly any penetrating historical inquiry, whether literary or historiographical, can ignore Derrida's compelling challenge to history.
The LINK-A lncRNA interacts with PI(3,4,5)P3 to hyperactivate AKT and confer resistance to AKT inhibitors

Phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-trisphosphate (PtdIns(3,4,5)P3 or PIP3) mediates signalling pathways as a second messenger in response to extracellular signals. Although primordial functions of phospholipids and RNAs have been hypothesized in the ‘RNA world’, physiological RNA–phospholipid interactions and their involvement in essential cellular processes have remained a mystery. We explicate the contribution of lipid-binding long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in cancer cells. Among them, long intergenic non-coding RNA for kinase activation (LINK-A) directly interacts with the AKT pleckstrin homology domain and PIP3 at the single-nucleotide level, facilitating AKT–PIP3 interaction and consequent enzymatic activation. LINK-A-dependent AKT hyperactivation leads to tumorigenesis and resistance to AKT inhibitors. Genomic deletions of the LINK-A PIP3-binding motif dramatically sensitized breast cancer cells to AKT inhibitors. Furthermore, meta-analysis showed the correlation between LINK-A expression and incidence of a single nucleotide polymorphism (rs12095274: A > G), AKT phosphorylation status, and poor outcomes for breast and lung cancer patients. PIP3-binding lncRNA modulates AKT activation with broad clinical implications.
Hematological recovery after autologous bone marrow transplantation for high-grade non Hodgkin's lymphomas: a single center experience.

BACKGROUND
Both rhGM-CSF and rhG-CSF can accelerate hematological recovery after high-dose therapy and autologous bone marrow transplantation in patients with high grade non Hodgkin's lymphoma and reduce transplant-related morbidity after ABMT.


METHODS
The clinical course of 23 non randomized patients was analyzed and compared with a historical control group of 10 patients. Ten patients received GM-CSF at a dose of 10 micrograms/kg in a 6-h IV infusion, and 13 received G-CSF at a dose of 5 micrograms/kg subcutaneously. Control patients received no GFs.


RESULTS
Mean granulocytic recovery to 0.5 x 10(9)/L was obtained 13.1 +/- 3.2 days after marrow reinfusion in the G-CSF arm vs 16 +/- 2.7 in GM-CSF pts (p = 0.03) and vs 19.6 +/- 7.6 in controls (p < 0.01); this reduction led to a statistically significant shorter duration of fever and parenteral antibiotic therapy. Platelet recovery to 20 x 10(9)/L was not significantly influenced by GFs.


CONCLUSIONS
These results indicate that only G-CSF accelerates hematological recovery after high-dose chemotherapy and autologous bone marrow transplantation and induces a significant decrease in terms of infection morbidity and duration of hospital stay.
Is simple reaction time affected by visual illusions?

A number of studies have shown that while perceptual judgment is deceived by pictorial illusions, grasping and other kinds of motor behaviour are not. This is in keeping with the existence of two different cortical systems: a ventral stream subserving vision-for-perception and a dorsal stream subserving vision-for-action. The former is sensitive to illusions, the latter is not. Given this dissociation of functions, one wonders whether simple visuomotor reaction time (RT) follows the ventral or the dorsal rule in perceiving illusory figures. Answering this question might contribute to a better understanding of the different functions of the two systems. We carried out two experiments, one with the Ponzo and the other with the Ebbinghaus–Titchener illusion and found that RT is sensitive to both illusions with faster responses to stimuli appearing illusorily bigger than the others. These results show that motor action is subserved by the ventral system when that action directly reports the presence or onset of a target rather than when that action requires a spatial adjustment that reflects the physical features of the target.
Pharmacogenetic and metabolite measurements are associated with clinical status in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with methotrexate: results of a multicentred cross sectional observational study.

OBJECTIVE
To investigate the contribution of red blood cell (RBC) methotrexate polyglutamates (MTX PGs), RBC folate polyglutamates (folate PGs), and a pharmacogenetic index to the clinical status of patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with MTX.


METHODS
226 adult patients treated with weekly MTX for more than 3 months were enrolled at three sites in a multicentred cross sectional observational study. Clinical status was assessed by the number of joint counts, physician's global assessment of disease activity, and a modified Health Assessment Questionnaire (mHAQ). RBC MTX PG and folate PG metabolite levels were measured by high performance liquid chromatography fluorometry and radioassay, respectively. A composite pharmacogenetic index comprising low penetrance genetic polymorphisms in reduced folate carrier (RFC-1 G80A), AICAR transformylase (ATIC C347G), and thymidylate synthase (TSER*2/*3) was calculated. Statistical analyses were by multivariate linear regression with clinical measures as dependent variables and metabolite levels and the pharmacogenetic index as independent variables after adjustment for other covariates.


RESULTS
Multivariate analysis showed that lower RBC MTX PG levels (median 40 nmol/l) and a lower pharmacogenetic index (median 2) were associated with a higher number of joint counts, higher disease activity, and higher mHAQ (p<0.09). Multivariate analysis also established that higher RBC folate PG levels (median 1062 nmol/l) were associated with a higher number of tender and swollen joints after adjustment for RBC MTX PG levels and the pharmacogenetic index (p<0.05).


CONCLUSION
Pharmacogenetic and metabolite measurements may be useful in optimising MTX treatment. Prospective studies are warranted to investigate the predictive value of these markers for MTX efficacy.
Object Detection in Satellite Imagery Using 2-Step Convolutional Neural Networks

This paper presents an efficient object detection method from satellite imagery. Among a number of machine learning algorithms, we proposed a combination of two convolutional neural networks (CNN) aimed at high precision and high recall, respectively. We validated our models using golf courses as target objects. The proposed deep learning method demonstrated higher accuracy than previous object identification methods.
Proximate , Functional , Antinutrient and Antimicrobial Properties of Avocado Pear ( Persea americana ) Seeds

Avocado plant (Persea americana), a plant belonging to the family of Lauraceae and genus, persea bears fruit known as avocado pear or alligator pear that contains the avocado pear seed. Reported uses of avocado pear seed include use in the management of hypertension, diabetes, cancer and inflammation [7-9]. The fruit is known as ube oyibo (loosely translated to ‘foreign pear’) in Ojoto and neighboring Igbo speaking communities south east Nigeria [10]. Different parts of avocado pear were used in traditional medications for various purposes including as an antimicrobial [11,12]. That not withstanding, the avocado pear seeds are essentially discarded as agro-food wastes hence underutilized. Exploring the possible dietary and therapeutic potentials of especially underutilized agro-food wastes will in addition reduce the possible environmental waste burden [1315]. Thus, this study was warranted and aimed at assessing the proximate, functional, anti-nutrients and antimicrobial properties of avocado pear seed to provide basis for its possible dietary use and justification for its ethno-medicinal use. The objectives set to achieving the study aim as stated were by determining the proximate, functional, antinutrient and antimicrobial properties of avocado pear (Persea americana) seeds using standard methods as in the study design.
Cohort profile: Study of Transition, Outcomes and Gender (STRONG) to assess health status of transgender people

PURPOSE
The Study of Transition, Outcomes and Gender (STRONG) was initiated to assess the health status of transgender people in general and following gender-affirming treatments at Kaiser Permanente health plans in Georgia, Northern California and Southern California. The objectives of this communication are to describe methods of cohort ascertainment and data collection and to characterise the study population.


PARTICIPANTS
A stepwise methodology involving computerised searches of electronic medical records and free-text validation of eligibility and gender identity was used to identify a cohort of 6456 members with first evidence of transgender status (index date) between 2006 and 2014. The cohort included 3475 (54%) transfeminine (TF), 2892 (45%) transmasculine (TM) and 89 (1%) members whose natal sex and gender identity remained undetermined from the records. The cohort was matched to 127 608 enrollees with no transgender evidence (63 825 women and 63 783 men) on year of birth, race/ethnicity, study site and membership year of the index date. Cohort follow-up extends through the end of 2016.


FINDINGS TO DATE
About 58% of TF and 52% of TM cohort members received hormonal therapy at Kaiser Permanente. Chest surgery was more common among TM participants (12% vs 0.3%). The proportions of transgender participants who underwent genital reconstruction surgeries were similar (4%-5%) in the two transgender groups. Results indicate that there are sufficient numbers of events in the TF and TM cohorts to further examine mental health status, cardiovascular events, diabetes, HIV and most common cancers.


FUTURE PLANS
STRONG is well positioned to fill existing knowledge gaps through comparisons of transgender and reference populations and through analyses of health status before and after gender affirmation treatment. Analyses will include incidence of cardiovascular disease, mental health, HIV and diabetes, as well as changes in laboratory-based endpoints (eg, polycythemia and bone density), overall and in relation to gender affirmation therapy.
A Hybrid Row-Column OLTP Database Architecture for Operational Reporting

Operational reporting differs from informational reporting in that its scope is on day-to-day operations and thus requires data on the detail of individual transactions. It is often not desirable to maintain data on such detailed level in the data warehouse, due to both exploding size of the warehouse and the update frequency required for operational reports. Using an ODS as the source for operational reporting exhibits a similar information latency. In this paper, we propose an OLTP database architecture that serves the conventional OLTP load out of a row-store database and serves operational reporting queries out of a column-store database which holds the subset of the data in the row store required for operational reports. The column store is updated within the transaction of the row database, hence OLTP changes are directly reflected in operational reports. We also propose the virtual cube as a method for consuming operational reports from a conventional warehousing environment. The paper presents the results of a project we did with SAP AG. The described solution for operational reporting has been implemented in SAP Business ByDesign and SAP Business Warehouse.
Are online learners frustrated with collaborative learning experiences

Online education increasingly puts emphasis on collaborative learning methods. Despite the pedagogical advantages of collaborative learning, online learners can perceive collaborative learning activities as frustrating experiences. The purpose of this study was to characterize the feelings of frustration as a negative emotion among online learners engaged in online computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) experiences and, moreover, to identify the sources to which the learners attribute their frustration. With this aim, a questionnaire was designed to obtain data from a sample of online learners participating in the Master of ICT and Education program of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC). Results revealed that frustration is a common feeling among students involved in online collaborative learning experiences. The perception of an asymmetric collaboration among the teammates was identified by the students as the most important source of frustration. Online learners also identified difficulties related to group organization, the lack of shared goals among the team members, the imbalance in the level of commitment and quality of the individual contributions, the excess time spent on the online CSCL tasks, the imbalance between the individual and collective grades, and difficulties in communication, among other factors leading to frustration. The analysis of the students’ sources of frustration in online CSCL is followed by a list of recommendations to the distance education stakeholders, aiming to reduce students’ frustration and improve the quality of their experiences in online CSCL contexts such as the UOC.
Agile methods for open source safety-critical software

The introduction of software technology in a life-dependent environment requires the development team to execute a process that ensures a high level of software reliability and correctness. Despite their popularity, agile methods are generally assumed to be inappropriate as a process family in these environments due to their lack of emphasis on documentation, traceability, and other formal techniques. Agile methods, notably Scrum, favor empirical process control, or small constant adjustments in a tight feedback loop. This paper challenges the assumption that agile methods are inappropriate for safety-critical software development. Agile methods are flexible enough to encourage the rightamount of ceremony; therefore if safety-critical systems require greater emphasis on activities like formal specification and requirements management, then an agile process will include these as necessary activities. Furthermore, agile methods focus more on continuous process management and code-level quality than classic software engineering process models. We present our experiences on the image-guided surgical toolkit (IGSTK) project as a backdrop. IGSTK is an open source software project employing agile practices since 2004. We started with the assumption that a lighter process is better, focused on evolving code, and only adding process elements as the need arose. IGSTK has been adopted by teaching hospitals and research labs, and used for clinical trials. Agile methods have matured since the academic community suggested they are not suitable for safety-critical systems almost a decade ago, we present our experiences as a case study for renewing the discussion.
III-Von-Silicon Photonic Devices for Optical Communication and Sensing

In the paper, we review our work on heterogeneous III-V-on-silicon photonic components and circuits for applications in optical communication and sensing. We elaborate on the integration strategy and describe a broad range of devices realized on this platform covering a wavelength range from 850 nm to 3.85 μm.