Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
STRESS DISTINCTION IN GERMAN : MODELING KINEMATIC PARAMETERS OF TONGUE TIP GESTURES

Unstressed syllables are produced by a reduction of movement amplitudes and durations compared to stressed syllables. In order to investigate the effect of deaccentuation on tongue tip gestures in /tVt/ sequences with all vowels of German we recorded tongue tip movements of five speakers by means of EMMA. The movement paths of stressed items were manipulated to simulate kinematic parameters of unstressed items in three different ways: truncation, rescaling and combined truncation and rescaling. The following parameter of simulated movements were compared to measured unstressed items: durations and peak velocities of opening and closing movements, overall distance during syllable, the interval between velocity peaks in percent of syllable duration and the number of acceleration peaks between velocity peaks. The results indicate that no type of simulation can account for all parameters in all vocalic contexts. The combined simulation resembled most closely the kinematic parameters of unstressed items but could not generate the smaller amplitudes of lax unstressed syllables, since durational reduction of lax vowels due to deaccentuation was very small, i.e. the spatial reduction was not proportional to the temporal reduction for lax items.
Beyond the lock icon: real-time detection of phishing websites using public key certificates

We propose a machine-learning approach to detect phishing websites using features from their X.509 public key certificates. We show that its efficacy extends beyond HTTPS-enabled sites. Our solution enables immediate local identification of phishing sites. As such, this serves as an important complement to the existing server-based anti-phishing mechanisms which predominately use blacklists. Blacklisting suffers from several inherent drawbacks in terms of correctness, timeliness, and completeness. Due to the potentially significant lag prior to site blacklisting, there is a window of opportunity for attackers. Other local client-side phishing detection approaches also exist, but primarily rely on page content or URLs, which are arguably easier to manipulate by attackers. We illustrate that our certificate-based approach greatly increases the difficulty of masquerading undetected for phishers, with single millisecond delays for users. We further show that this approach works not only against HTTPS-enabled phishing attacks, but also detects HTTP phishing attacks with port 443 enabled.
Hyperbolic Discounting and Easy Availability of Food : Predicting Lack of Self-control

This paper tests whether people can exercise self-control in limiting consumption of unwanted food and whether they can pre-empt their future lack of self-control by restricting the availability of food. An experiment was conducted with Stanford University undergraduates over a period of 7 weeks in which some participants were given a fixed number of candies by the experimenter and other participants were allowed to choose the number of candies that they wanted to possess. The results yielded partial support of the hypotheses: although participants in the choice condition chose to possess only a few candies every week, they consumed more candies than participants in the no-choice condition, who possessed many more candies every week. The results are explained by cognitive dissonance theory and reactance theory in social psychology.
Interaction of AIM with insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-4

Apoptosis inhibitor of macrophages (AIM/cluster of differentiation 5 antigen-like/soluble protein α) has been shown to inhibit cellular apoptosis; however, the underlying molecular mechanism has not been elucidated. Using yeast two-hybrid screening, the present study uncovered that AIM binds to insulin-like growth factor binding protein-4 (IGFBP-4). AIM interaction with IGFBP-4, as well as IGFBP-2 and -3, but not with IGFBP-1, -5 and -6, was further confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation (co-IP) using 293 cells. The binding activity and affinity between AIM and IGFBP-4 in vitro were analyzed by co-IP and biolayer interferometry. Serum depletion-induced cellular apoptosis was attenuated by insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), and this effect was abrogated by IGFBP-4. Of note, in the presence of AIM, the inhibitory effect of IGFBP-4 on the anti-apoptosis function of IGF-I was attenuated, possibly through binding of AIM with IGFBP-4. In conclusion, to the best of our knowledge, the present study provides the first evidence that AIM binds to IGFBP-2, -3 and -4. The data suggest that this interaction may contribute to the mechanism of AIM-mediated anti-apoptosis function.
On the Existence of Stable Equilibrium Points in Delayed Cellular Neural Networks

This paper presents new sufficient conditions for the existence of stable equilibrium points in the total saturation region for delayed cellular neural networks (DCNNs). The obtained results are compared with the previous results derived in the literature. It is also shown that the results of this paper generalize the previous literature results for the existence of stable equilibrium points for DCNNs. It is also demonstrated by a numerical example that the conditions derived for existence of a stable equilibrium point may not always guarantee the complete stability of a delayed cellular neural network
Republic of Congo

A technical assistance mission in national accounting from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Regional Technical Assistance Center for Central Africa (AFRITAC Central) visited Brazzaville during December 5–14, 2018 to support the National Statistics Institute (INS) in its work on the national accounts estimates. The mission focused on an analysis of the 2016 and 2017 annual national accounts finalized in accordance with the System of National Accounts 1993 (1993 SNA). The analysis included a review of the information sources used, the methods of calculation and extrapolation, and compliance with the 1993 SNA. The 2016 accounts are completed and finalized, including the summary tables – supply and use tables (SUT), branch accounts, and integrated economic accounts table (IEAT); and the 2017 accounts are still being finalized. The mission recommends that the national accounting officers improve estimates based on the recommendations provided by the mission.1
Propeller-hull interaction in a single-screw vessel

Unfavorable wake and separated flow from the hull might cause a dramatic decay of the propeller performance in single-screw propelled vessels such as tankers, bulk carriers and containers. For these types of vessels, special attention has to be paid to the design of the stern region, the occurrence of a good flow towards the propeller and rudder being necessary to avoid separation and unsteady loads on the propeller blades and, thus, to minimize fuel consumption and the risk for cavitation erosion and vibrations. The present work deals with the analysis of the propeller inflow in a single-screw chemical tanker vessel affected by massive flow separation in the stern region. Detailed flow measurements by Laser Doppler Velocimetry (LDV) were performed in the propeller region at model scale, in the Large Circulating Water Channel of CNR-INSEAN. Tests were undertaken with and without propeller in order to investigate its effect on the inflow characteristics and the separation mechanisms. In this regard, the study concerned also a phase locked analysis of the propeller perturbation at different distances upstream of the propulsor. The study shows the effectiveness of the 3 rd order statistical moment (i.e. skewness) for describing the topology of the wake and accurately identifying the portion affected by the detached flow.
Automatic forest species recognition based on multiple feature sets

In this paper we investigate the use of multiple feature sets for automatic forest species recognition. In order to accomplish this, different feature sets are extracted, evaluated, and combined into a framework based on two approaches: image segmentation and multiple feature sets. The experimental results on microscopic and macroscopic images of wood indicate that the recognition rates can be improved from 74.58% to about 95.68% and from 68.69% to 88.90%, respectively. In addition, they reveal us the importance of exploring different window sizes and appropriate local estimation functions for the LPQ descriptor, further than the classical uniform and gaussian functions.
THE EXTREME STAR FORMATION ACTIVITY OF Arp 299 REVEALED BY SPITZER IRS SPECTRAL MAPPING

We present Spitzer/IRS spectral mapping observations of the luminous infrared galaxy Arp 299 (IC 694 + NGC 3690) covering the central ∼45″ ∼ 9 kpc. The integrated mid-IR spectrum of Arp 299 is similar to that of local starbursts despite its strongly interacting nature and high-IR luminosity, LIR ∼ 6 × 1011 L☉. This is explained because the star formation (probed by, e.g., high [Ne iii]15.56 μm/[Ne ii]12.81 μm line ratios) is spread across at least 6–8 kpc. Moreover, a large fraction of this star formation is taking place in young regions of moderate mid-IR optical depths such as the C+C′ complex in the overlap region between the two galaxies and in H ii regions in the disks of the galaxies. It is only source A, the nuclear region of IC 694, which shows the typical mid-IR characteristics of ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs; LIR > 1012 L☉), that is, very compact (less than 1 kpc) and dust-enshrouded star formation resulting in a deep silicate feature and moderate equivalent widths of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The nuclear region of NGC 3690, known as source B1, hosts a low-luminosity active galactic nucleus (AGN) and is surrounded by regions of star formation. Although the high-excitation [Ne v]14.32 μm line typical of AGN is not detected in B1, its upper limit is consistent with the value expected from the X-ray luminosity. The AGN emission is detected in the form of a strong hot-dust component that accounts for 80%–90% of the 6 μm luminosity of B1. The similarity between the Arp 299 integrated mid-IR spectrum and those of high-z ULIRGs suggests that Arp 299 may represent a local example, albeit with lower IR luminosity and possibly higher metallicity, of the star formation processes occurring at high-z.
An RNA-binding Protein, Lin28, Recognizes and Remodels G-quartets in the MicroRNAs (miRNAs) and mRNAs It Regulates*

Background: Lin28 is an evolutionary conserved RNA-binding protein that regulates miRNAs and mRNAs; Lin28 overexpression is linked to poor prognosis in cancer. Results: Lin28 binds to guanine-rich miRNAs and mRNAs that contain G-quartet structural features and remodels these structures. Conclusion: Lin28 recognition of G-quartets is a unifying feature of Lin28-regulated RNAs. Significance: Small molecules that bind to G-quartets might be useful inhibitors of Lin28 function. Lin28 is an evolutionarily conserved RNA-binding protein that inhibits processing of pre-let-7 microRNAs (miRNAs) and regulates translation of mRNAs that control developmental timing, pluripotency, metabolism, and tumorigenesis. The RNA features that mediate Lin28 binding to the terminal loops of let-7 pre-miRNAs and to Lin28-responsive elements (LREs) in mRNAs are not well defined. Here we show that Lin28 target datasets are enriched for RNA sequences predicted to contain stable planar structures of 4 guanines known as G-quartets (G4s). The imino NMR spectra of pre-let-7 loops and LREs contain resonances characteristic of G4 hydrogen bonds. These sequences bind to a G4-binding fluorescent dye, N-methyl-mesoporphyrin IX (NMM). Mutations and truncations in the RNA sequence that prevent G4 formation also prevent Lin28 binding. The addition of Lin28 to a pre-let-7 loop or an LRE reduces G4 resonance intensity and NMM binding, suggesting that Lin28 may function to remodel G4s. Further, we show that NMM inhibits Lin28 binding. Incubation of a human embryonal carcinoma cell line with NMM reduces its stem cell traits. In particular it increases mature let-7 levels, decreases OCT4, HMGA1, CCNB1, CDK4, and Lin28A protein, decreases sphere formation, and inhibits colony formation. Our results suggest a previously unknown structural feature of Lin28 targets and a new strategy for manipulating Lin28 function.
Diagnosis and treatment of Wilson disease: An update

These recommendations provide a data-supported approach to the diagnosis and treatment of patients with Wilson disease. They are based on the following: (1) formal review and analysis of the recently-published world literature on the topic including Medline search; (2) American College of Physicians Manual for Assessing Health Practices and Designing Practice Guidelines1; (3) guideline policies, including the AASLD Policy on the Development and Use of Practice Guidelines and the American Gastroenterological Association Policy Statement on Guidelines2; (4) the experience of the authors in the specified topic. A significant problem with the literature on Wilson disease is that patients are sufficiently rare to preclude large cohort studies or randomized controlled trials; moreover, most treatment modalities were developed at a time when conventions for drug assessment were less stringent than at present. Intended for use by physicians, these recommendations suggest preferred approaches to the diagnostic, therapeutic, and preventive aspects of care. They are intended to be flexible, in contrast to standards of care, which are inflexible policies to be followed in every case. Specific recommendations are based on relevant published information. To characterize more fully the quality of evidence supporting recommendations, the Practice Guidelines Committee of the AASLD requires a class (reflecting benefit versus risk) and level (assessing strength or certainty) of evidence to be assigned and reported with each recommendation (Table 1, adapted from the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association Practice Guidelines3,4).
Dark energy and the evolution of spherical overdensities

We use the non-linear spherical model in cold dark matter (CDM) cosmologies with dark energy to investigate the effects of dark energy on the growth of structure and the formation of virialized structures. We consider dark energy models with a constant equation-of-state parameter w. For −1 <w< −1/3, clusters form earlier and are more concentrated in quintessence than inCDM models, but they form later and are less concentrated than in the corresponding open model with the same matter density and no dark energy. We point out some confusion in the literature around the expression of the collapse factor (ratio of the radius of the sphere at virialization to that at turnaround) derived from the virial theorem. We use the Sheth & Tormen extension of the Press-Schechter framework to calculate the evolution of the cluster abundance in different models and show the sensitivity of the cluster abundance to both the amplitude of the mass fluctuations, σ 8, and the σ 8-w normalization, selected to match either the cosmic microwave background observations or the abundance of X-ray clusters. Ke yw ords: galaxies: clusters: general - galaxies: formation - cosmology: theory - large-scale structure of Universe.
Large-scale structure in the HI Parkes All-Sky Survey : filling the voids with HI galaxies?

We estimate the two-point correlation function in redshift space of the recently compiled HI Parkes All-Sky Survey neutral hydrogen (HI) sources catalogue, which if modelled as a power law, xi(r) = (r(0)/r)(gamma), the best-fitting parameters for the HI selected galaxies are found to be r(0) = 3.3 +/- 0.3 h(-1) Mpc with gamma = 1.38 +/- 0.24. Fixing the slope to its universal value gamma = 1.8, we obtain r(0) = 3.2 +/- 0.2 h(-1) Mpc. Comparing the measured two-point correlation function with the predictions of the concordance cosmological model (Omega(Lambda) = 0.74), we find that at the present epoch the HI selected galaxies are antibiased with respect to the underlying matter fluctuation field with their bias value being b(0) similar or equal to 0.68. Furthermore, dividing the HI galaxies into two richness subsamples we find that the low-mass HI galaxies have a very low present bias factor (b(0) similar or equal to 0.48), while the high-mass HI galaxies trace the underlying matter distribution as the optical galaxies (b(0) similar or equal to 1). Using our derived present-day HI galaxy bias we estimate their redshift-space distortion parameter, and correct accordingly the correlation function for peculiar motions. The resulting real-space correlation length is r(0)(re) = 1.8 +/- 0.2 h(-1) Mpc r(0)(re) = 3.9 +/- 0.6 h(-1) Mpc for the low- and high-mass HI galaxies, respectively. The low-mass HI galaxies appear to have the lowest correlation length among all extragalactic populations studied to date. In order to corroborate these results we have correlated the IRAS-Point Source Catalogue for Redshift (PSCz) reconstructed density field, smoothed over scales of 5 h(-1) Mpc, with the positions of the HI galaxies, to find that indeed the HI galaxies are typically found in negative overdensity regions (delta rho/rho(PSCz) less than or similar to 0), even more so the low-mass HI galaxies. Finally, we also study the redshift evolution of the HI galaxy linear bias factor and find that the HI-galaxy population is antibiased up to z similar to 1.3. While at large redshifts similar to 3, we predict that the HI galaxies are strongly biased. Our bias evolution predictions are consistent with the observational bias results of Ly alpha galaxies.
Control in response inhibition

© 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Published 2017 by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Stopping prepared but no longer relevant responses is a simple act of cognitive control that supports flexible and goal‐directed behaviour. In the past two decades, response inhibition has received much attention across research domains. Cognitive psychologists and neuroscientists have explored the cognitive and neural mechanisms of response inhibition, developmental scientists have studied the ‘rise and fall’ of inhibitory control capacities across the life span, and clinical researchers have examined correlations between individual differences in response inhibition and behaviours such as substance abuse, overeating, and risk taking. In this chapter, we provide a selective review of recent behavioural and computational work on response inhibition (for a review of the neuroscience literature, see Chapter 16 by Forstmann & Alkemade in this volume). In the response‐inhibition literature, individual or group differences are often attributed to variation in the effectiveness of a single inhibitory control function. But many processes contribute to stopping an action. Response inhibition requires an interplay between three basic and computationally well‐defined ‘reactive’ processes (signal detection, action selection, and suppression of motor output), which are regulated and influenced by sets of processes that take place on different timescales: outcome monitoring, advance preparation, rule acquisition and maintenance, associative learning, and development (Verbruggen, McLaren, & Chambers, 2014). Here we will discuss mainly ‘reactive’, ‘proactive’, and ‘associatively mediated’ forms of inhibitory control (for a review of key developmental transitions, see Munakata, Snyder, & Chatham, 2012).
Isolation of Saint Louis Encephalitis Virus from a Horse with Neurological Disease in Brazil

St. Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV) is a causative agent of encephalitis in humans in the Western hemisphere. SLEV is a positive-sense RNA virus that belongs to the Flavivirus genus, which includes West Nile encephalitis virus, Japanese encephalitis virus, Dengue virus and other medically important viruses. Recently, we isolated a SLEV strain from the brain of a horse with neurological signs in the countryside of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The SLEV isolation was confirmed by reverse-transcription RT-PCR and sequencing of the E protein gene. Virus identity was also confirmed by indirect immunofluorescence using commercial antibodies against SLEV. To characterize this newly isolated strain in vivo, serial passages in newborn mice were performed and led to hemorrhagic manifestations associated with recruitment of inflammatory cells into the central nervous system of newborns. In summary this is the first isolation of SLEV from a horse with neurological signs in Brazil.
Natural Environment, Market Orientation, and Firm Innovativeness: An Organizational Life Cycle Perspective

Drawing upon the corporate social responsibility literature, we investigate the moderating effects of the natural environment and the stage of an organization's life cycle on the market orientation to firm innovativeness relationship. Through 229 owners or chief executive officer respondents, our results establish evidence of (1) a positive linkage between market orientation and firm innovativeness; (2) natural environmental policy positively moderating the market orientation to firm innovativeness relationship; and (3) organizational life cycle negatively moderating market orientation to innovativeness. Our findings suggest ventures characterized as being early in the organizational life cycle are more likely to have a positive environmental policy toward the natural environment leading to a competitive advantage through firm innovativeness.
Reconstruction of a windborne insect invasion using a particle dispersal model, historical wind data, and Bayesian analysis of genetic data

Understanding how invasive species establish and spread is vital for developing effective management strategies for invaded areas and identifying new areas where the risk of invasion is highest. We investigated the explanatory power of dispersal histories reconstructed based on local-scale wind data and a regional-scale wind-dispersed particle trajectory model for the invasive seed chalcid wasp Megastigmus schimitscheki (Hymenoptera: Torymidae) in France. The explanatory power was tested by: (1) survival analysis of empirical data on M. schimitscheki presence, absence and year of arrival at 52 stands of the wasp's obligate hosts, Cedrus (true cedar trees); and (2) Approximate Bayesian analysis of M. schimitscheki genetic data using a coalescence model. The Bayesian demographic modeling and traditional population genetic analysis suggested that initial invasion across the range was the result of long-distance dispersal from the longest established sites. The survival analyses of the windborne expansion patterns derived from a particle dispersal model indicated that there was an informative correlation between the M. schimitscheki presence/absence data from the annual surveys and the scenarios based on regional-scale wind data. These three very different analyses produced highly congruent results supporting our proposal that wind is the most probable vector for passive long-distance dispersal of this invasive seed wasp. This result confirms that long-distance dispersal from introduction areas is a likely driver of secondary expansion of alien invasive species. Based on our results, management programs for this and other windborne invasive species may consider (1) focusing effort at the longest established sites and (2) monitoring outlying populations remains critically important due to their influence on rates of spread. We also suggest that there is a distinct need for new analysis methods that have the capacity to combine empirical spatiotemporal field data, genetic data, and environmental data to investigate dispersal and invasion.