Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Latency analysis of speech shadowing reveals processing differences in Japanese adults who do and do not stutter

Speech shadowing is a dual-task paradigm that could reveal certain features of speech processing, where the shadowing latency between the onsets of heard and reproduced speech has often been a key investigation tool. The present study investigated the shadowing latencies in native Japanese adults who do (AWS) and do not stutter (AWNS), with relevant analysis of speech errors. Fifteen AWS and fourteen AWNS participated in the study. They were required to shadow two meaningful Japanese passages of approximately 1.4 min. (cid:3) Fifty phrase onsets were chosen for measuring shadowing latencies. The resultant latencies were longer than previously reported for English in both groups, which most likely reflects the larger mean syllable numbers per word of Japanese than of English. The AWS group had a significantly shorter latency than the AWNS. Besides, it was significantly more error-prone than the AWNS. The eleven AWS whose latency was more than 500 ms showed a significant negative correlation (trade off) between speech errors and latencies, which was not the case with the AWNS group. Those results imply that only the AWS may have hit the limit of their working memory capacity during shadowing. Thus the shadowing paradigm brought new insights into speech processing and stuttering.
Neural deficits in children with dyslexia ameliorated by behavioral remediation: Evidence from functional MRI

Developmental dyslexia, characterized by unexplained difficulty in reading, is associated with behavioral deficits in phonological processing. Functional neuroimaging studies have shown a deficit in the neural mechanisms underlying phonological processing in children and adults with dyslexia. The present study examined whether behavioral remediation ameliorates these dysfunctional neural mechanisms in children with dyslexia. Functional MRI was performed on 20 children with dyslexia (8–12 years old) during phonological processing before and after a remediation program focused on auditory processing and oral language training. Behaviorally, training improved oral language and reading performance. Physiologically, children with dyslexia showed increased activity in multiple brain areas. Increases occurred in left temporo-parietal cortex and left inferior frontal gyrus, bringing brain activation in these regions closer to that seen in normal-reading children. Increased activity was observed also in right-hemisphere frontal and temporal regions and in the anterior cingulate gyrus. Children with dyslexia showed a correlation between the magnitude of increased activation in left temporo-parietal cortex and improvement in oral language ability. These results suggest that a partial remediation of language-processing deficits, resulting in improved reading, ameliorates disrupted function in brain regions associated with phonological processing and produces additional compensatory activation in other brain regions.
A Targeted Gain-of-Function Screen Identifies Genes Affecting Salivary Gland Morphogenesis/Tubulogenesis in Drosophila

During development individual cells in tissues undergo complex cell-shape changes to drive the morphogenetic movements required to form tissues. Cell shape is determined by the cytoskeleton and cell-shape changes critically depend on a tight spatial and temporal control of cytoskeletal behavior. We have used the formation of the salivary glands in the Drosophila embryo, a process of tubulogenesis, as an assay for identifying factors that impinge on cell shape and the cytoskeleton. To this end we have performed a gain-of-function screen in the salivary glands, using a collection of fly lines carrying EP-element insertions that allow the overexpression of downstream-located genes using the UAS-Gal4 system. We used a salivary-gland-specific fork head-Gal4 line to restrict expression to the salivary glands, in combination with reporters of cell shape and the cytoskeleton. We identified a number of genes known to affect salivary gland formation, confirming the effectiveness of the screen. In addition, we found many genes not implicated previously in this process, some having known functions in other tissues. We report the initial characterization of a subset of genes, including chickadee, rhomboid1, egalitarian, bitesize, and capricious, through comparison of gain- and loss-of-function phenotypes.
Degrees of freedom of full-duplex multiantenna cellular networks

We study the degrees of freedom (DoF) of cellular networks in which a full duplex (FD) base station (BS) equipped with multiple transmit and receive antennas communicates with multiple mobile users. We consider two different scenarios. In the first scenario, we study the case when half duplex (HD) users, partitioned to either the uplink (UL) set or the downlink (DL) set, simultaneously communicate with the FD BS. In the second scenario, we study the case when FD users simultaneously communicate UL and DL data with the FD BS. For both network models, we completely characterize the sum DoFs by developing achievable schemes and obtaining matching upper bounds. The key idea of the proposed scheme is to carefully allocate UL and DL information streams using interference alignment and beamforming techniques. As a consequence of the result, we show that the DoF can approach the two-fold gain over the HD systems when the number of users becomes large enough as compared to the number of antennas at the BS.
Performance Characterization in Computer Vision

Computer vision algorithms are composed of different sub-algorithms often applied in sequence. Determination of the performance of a total computer vision algorithm is possible if the performance of each of the sub-algorithm constituents is given. The problem, however, is that for most published algorithms, there is no performance characterization which has been established in the research literature. This is an awful state of affairs for the engineers whose job it is to design and build image analysis or machine vision systems.
Diffusion tensor imaging and aging – a review

Diffusion‐tensor imaging (DTI) non‐invasively provides maps of microscopic structural information of oriented tissue in vivo, which is finding utility in studies of the aging population. In contrast to the white matter maturation process, investigators have observed significant declines in the white matter ordering in normal as well as in abnormal aging. These studies suggest that water proton non‐random, anisotropic diffusion measured by DTI is highly sensitive to otherwise subtle disease processes not normally seen with conventional MRI tissue contrast mechanisms. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Music tempo estimation and beat tracking by applying source separation and metrical relations

In this paper, we present tempo estimation and beat tracking algorithms by utilizing percussive/harmonic separation of the audio signal, in order to extract filterbank energies and chroma features from the respective components. Periodicity analysis is carried out by the convolution of feature sequences with a bank of resonators. Target tempo is estimated from the resulting periodicity vector by incorporating metrical relations knowledge. Tempo estimation is followed by a local tempo refinement method to enhance the beat-tracking algorithm. Beat tracking involves the computation of the beat saliencies derived from the resonators responses and proposes a distance measure between candidate beats locations. A dynamic programming algorithm is adopted to find the optimal “path” of beats. Both tempo estimation and beat tracking methods were submitted on MIREX 2011, while the tempo estimation algorithm was also evaluated on ISMIR 2004 Tempo Induction Evaluation Exchange Dataset.
Mapping the Murine Cardiac 26S Proteasome Complexes

The importance of proteasomes in governing the intracellular protein degradation process has been increasingly recognized. Recent investigations indicate that proteasome complexes may exist in a species- and cell-type–specific fashion. To date, despite evidence linking impaired protein degradation to cardiac disease phenotypes, virtually nothing is known regarding the molecular composition, function, or regulation of cardiac proteasomes. We have taken a functional proteomic approach to characterize 26S proteasomes in the murine heart. Multidimensional chromatography was used to obtain highly purified and functionally viable cardiac 20S and 19S proteasome complexes, which were subjected to electrophoresis and tandem mass spectrometry analyses. Our data revealed complex molecular organization of cardiac 26S proteasomes, some of which are similar to what were reported in yeast, whereas others exhibit contrasting features that have not been previously identified in other species or cell types. At least 36 distinct subunits (17 of 20S and 19 of 19S) are coexpressed and assembled as 26S proteasomes in this vital cardiac organelle, whereas the expression of PA200 and 11S subunits were detected with limited participation in the 26S complexes. The 19S subunits included a new alternatively spliced isoform of Rpn10 (Rpn10b) along with its primary isoform (Rpn10a). Immunoblotting and immunocytochemistry verified the expression of key &agr; and &bgr; subunits in cardiomyocytes. The expression of 14 constitutive &agr; and &bgr; subunits in parallel with their three inducible subunits (&bgr;1i, &bgr;2i, and &bgr;5i) in the normal heart was not expected; these findings represent a distinct level of structural complexity of cardiac proteasomes, significantly different from that of yeast and human erythrocytes. Furthermore, liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectroscopy characterized 3 distinct types of post-translational modifications including (1) N-terminal acetylation of 19S subunits (Rpn1, Rpn5, Rpn6, Rpt3, and Rpt6) and 20S subunits (&agr;2, &agr;5, &agr;7, &bgr;3, and &bgr;4); (2) N-terminal myristoylation of a 19S subunit (Rpt2); and (3) phosphorylation of 20S subunits (eg, &agr;7)). Taken together, this report presents the first comprehensive characterization of cardiac 26S proteasomes, providing critical structural and proteomic information fundamental to our future understanding of this essential protein degradation system in the normal and diseased myocardium.
Eating behaviors and emotional distress are predicted by treatment and adverse outcome in patients with type 2 diabetes

Abstract Depression and anxiety are hightly prevalent among patients with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D), however not commonly related to outcomes, treatment and comorbidities. Eating behaviors could also have an implication. To evaluate the relation between mood and eating behaviors with demographic, physical, treatment, biochemical profiles and chronic comorbidities in T2D we conducted this exploratory cross sectional study in a population from Mexico. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire Revised 21 (TFEQ-R21) were correlated with age, gender, blood pressure, treatment and comorbidities (nephropathy, neuropathy, retinopathy and cardiopathy). Multi-linear regression models and 2k factorial analyses were conducted. Sixty-one patients (31 male) 55 years old (SD 13) with at least 5 years of T2D were included. Anxiety correlated with depression (r = 0.25, p < 0.05). Gender (women) (std B 0.026, p < 0.001), insulin therapy (std B 0.3, p = 0.11), systolic blood pressure (std B 0.263, p = 0.02) and cardiovascular disease (std B 0.232, p = 0.035) predicted depression. Insulin therapy had a positive effect in cognitive restraint. (std B 0.32, p = 0.001). Age (std B 0.37, p = 0.003) and systolic blood pressure (std B 0.237, p = 0.048) predicted positively emotional eating (not previously published). 2k factorial analyses proved additive interaction between complications and insulin therapy with depression. This study supports the relation between mood disorders and eating behaviors with demographic, physical, treatment, biochemical profiles and chronic comorbidities in T2D and the additive interaction between factors and mood disorders.
The osteoregenerative effects of platelet-derived growth factor BB cotransplanted with mesenchymal stem cells, loaded on freeze-dried mineral bone block: a pilot study in dog mandible.

Due to shortcomings associated with autogenous bone graft, the gold standard of craniofacial grafting, investigators seek alternatives that are accessible, efficient, and affordable. Accordingly, in the present pilot study, bone regeneration was induced using bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) loaded onto freeze-dried mineral bone block (FDMBB) in the presence or absence of recombinant platelet-derived growth factor-BB (rh PDGF-BB). Eight weeks after the bilateral extraction of premolars of four mongrel dogs, 25 × 10 mm defects were created at both sides of the mandible. The right mandible received autogenous-BMSC loaded on FDMBB (MSC group), whereas the left mandible received cellular blocks impregnated with rhPDGF-BB (MSC + PDGF Group). Animals were euthanized 8 weeks after grafting. Micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) and histomorphometric analysis demonstrated higher levels of bone formation for the test group (10.34% ± 0.20 and 26.63% ± 3.14, respectively) when compared to the control group (8.20% ± 0.20 and 21.38% ± 5.11). The differences were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). According to the performed micro-CT and histomorphometric analysis, adding 0.5 mg rhPDGF-BB (0.3 mg/mL) to the combination of BMSC/FDMBB did not significantly increase bone formation in supracrestal defect in dog mandible.
A quantitative evaluation of C-based synthesis on heterogeneous embedded systems design

C-based design techniques and methodologies have been proposed to tackle the complexity of heterogeneous embedded systems. The heterogeneity comes in the functionalities and the implementation requirements. Various IPs with diverse complexities and functionalities can be selected to build an heterogeneous system. However, implementation hints should be available at the highest possible level of abstraction. In this paper, we conduct a quantitative evaluation of C-based design of heterogeneous embedded systems and point out the impact of behavioral synthesis on partitioning.
Effects of Repetitive Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment in Patients with Acute Cerebral Infarction: A Pilot Study

The role of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke is controversial. This prospective study assessed the efficacy and safety of HBOT as adjuvant treatment on 46 acute ischemic stroke in patients who did not receive thrombolytic therapy. The HBOT group (n = 16) received conventional medical treatment with 10 sessions of adjunctive HBOT within 3–5 days after stroke onset, while the control group (n = 30) received the same treatment but without HBOT. Early (around two weeks after onset) and late (one month after onset) outcomes (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, NIHSS scores) and efficacy (changes of NIHSS scores) of HBOT were evaluated. The baseline clinical characteristics were similar in both groups. Both early and late outcomes of the HBOT group showed significant difference (P ≤ 0.001). In the control group, there was only significant difference in early outcome (P = 0.004). For early efficacy, there was no difference when comparing changes of NIHSS scores between the two groups (P = 0.140) but there was statistically significant difference when comparing changes of NIHSS scores at one month (P ≤ 0.001). The HBOT used in this study may be effective for patients with acute ischemic stroke and is a safe and harmless adjunctive treatment.
Intern to Attending: Assessing Stress Among Physicians

Purpose Organizations have raised concerns regarding stress in the medical work environment and effects on health care worker performance. This study's objective was to assess workplace stress among interns, residents, and attending physicians using Ecological Momentary Assessment technology, the gold-standard method for real-time measurement of psychological characteristics. Method The authors deployed handheld computers with customized software to 185 physicians on the medicine and pediatric wards of four major teaching hospitals. The physicians contemporaneously recorded multiple dimensions of physician work (e.g., type of call day), emotional stress (e.g., worry, stress, fatigue), and perceived workload (e.g., patient volume). The authors performed descriptive statistics and t test and linear regression analyses. Results Participants completed 5,673 prompts during an 18-month period from 2004 to 2005. Parameters associated with higher emotional stress in linear regression models included male gender (t = −2.5, P = .01), total patient load (t = 4.2, P < .001), and sleep quality (t = −2.8, P = .006). Stress levels reported by attendings (t = −3.3, P = .001) were lower than levels reported by residents (t = −2.6, P = .009), and emotional stress levels of attendings and residents were both lower compared with interns. Conclusions On inpatient wards, after recent resident duty hours changes, physician trainees continue to show wide-ranging evidence of workplace stress and poor sleep quality. This is among the first studies of medical workplace stress in real time. These results can help residency programs target education in stress and sleep and readdress workload distribution by training level. Further research is needed to clarify behavioral factors underlying variability in housestaff stress responses.
Stellar magnetosphere reconstruction from radio data. Multi-frequency VLA observations and 3D-simulations of CU Virginis

Aims. In order to fully understand the physical processes in the magnetospheres of the Magnetic Chemically Peculiar stars, we performed multi-frequency radio observations of CU Virginis. The radio emission of this kind of stars arises from the interaction between energetic electrons and magnetic field. Our analysis is used to test the physical scenario proposed for the radio emission from the MCP stars and to derive quantitative information about physical parameters not directly observable. Methods. The radio data were acquired with the VLA and cover the whole rotational period of CU Virginis. For each observed frequency the radio light curves of the total flux density and fraction of circular polarization were fitted using a three-dimensional MCP magnetospheric model simulating the stellar radio emission as a function of the magnetospheric physical parameters. Results. The observations show a clear correlation between the radio emission and the orientation of the magnetosphere of this oblique rotator. The radio emission is explained as the result of the acceleration of the wind particles in the current sheets just beyond the Alfven radius, that eventually return toward the star following the magnetic field and emitting radiation by gyrosyncrotron mechanisms. The accelerated electrons we probed with our simulations have a hard energetic spectrum ($N(E)\propto E^{-2}$) and the acceleration process has an efficiency of about 10 -3 . The Alfven radius we determined is in the range of $12{-}17~R_\ast$ and, for a dipolar field of 3000 Gauss at the magnetic pole of the star, we determine a mass loss from the star of about $10^{-12}~M_{\odot}$ yr -1 . In the inner magnetosphere, inside the Alfven radius, the confined stellar wind accumulates and reaches temperatures in the range of $10^5{-}10^6$ K, and a detectable X-ray emission is expected.
A combination of molecular markers and clinical features improve the classification of pancreatic cysts.

BACKGROUND & AIMS The management of pancreatic cysts poses challenges to both patients and their physicians. We investigated whether a combination of molecular markers and clinical information could improve the classification of pancreatic cysts and management of patients. METHODS We performed a multi-center, retrospective study of 130 patients with resected pancreatic cystic neoplasms (12 serous cystadenomas, 10 solid pseudopapillary neoplasms, 12 mucinous cystic neoplasms, and 96 intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms). Cyst fluid was analyzed to identify subtle mutations in genes known to be mutated in pancreatic cysts (BRAF, CDKN2A, CTNNB1, GNAS, KRAS, NRAS, PIK3CA, RNF43, SMAD4, TP53, and VHL); to identify loss of heterozygozity at CDKN2A, RNF43, SMAD4, TP53, and VHL tumor suppressor loci; and to identify aneuploidy. The analyses were performed using specialized technologies for implementing and interpreting massively parallel sequencing data acquisition. An algorithm was used to select markers that could classify cyst type and grade. The accuracy of the molecular markers was compared with that of clinical markers and a combination of molecular and clinical markers. RESULTS We identified molecular markers and clinical features that classified cyst type with 90%-100% sensitivity and 92%-98% specificity. The molecular marker panel correctly identified 67 of the 74 patients who did not require surgery and could, therefore, reduce the number of unnecessary operations by 91%. CONCLUSIONS We identified a panel of molecular markers and clinical features that show promise for the accurate classification of cystic neoplasms of the pancreas and identification of cysts that require surgery.
Endosomal acidification by Na+/H+ exchanger NHE5 regulates TrkA cell-surface targeting and NGF-induced PI3K signaling

The role of endosomal pH in neurite formation, one of the principal processes of neuronal differentiation, is unknown. This study shows that the neuron-enriched Na+/H+ exchanger NHE5 potently acidifies recycling endosomes and regulates TrkA trafficking, NGF-TrkA signaling, and neurite outgrowth.
Kinetics of platelet density subpopulations in splenectomized mongrel dogs

Autologous 51Cr‐platelet kinetic studies were performed in splenectomized mongrel dogs. Mean survival time of PRP‐platelets was 5.4 ± 1.5 (SD) days (n = 6). The curves, though slightly curvilinear, showed mostly a linear type of decay, denoting that platelet removal from the circulation is mainly determined by aging of the cells. High‐density (HD) and low‐density (LD) platelet cohorts were isolated in Stractan gradients from samples drawn daily after infusion of labeled platelets. Specific radioactivity in HD cohorts declined rapidly postinfusion (T1/2 = 1.3 days), but specific radioactivity in LD platelets increased for 2 days and steadily declined for 4 days thereafter (n = 6). Labeled HD platelets, comprising 11.7% of the total population, lived significantly longer in circulation than LD platelets (19.1% of the total population) (n = 3). The patterns of decay of the radioactivity, however, do not have all the characteristics of pure age‐cohort survival curves; 3.7 days after the infusion of labeled HD platelets, the specific radioactivity in LD cohorts was six times higher than on day 1, but attained only 20% of the initial specific radioactivity in HD platelets. After the infusion of labeled LD platelets no radioactivity was recovered in circulating HD cohorts.
Measurement Random Latency Probability Identification

This technical note focuses on efficiently identifying the unknown or time-varying random latency probability (RLP) of the measurements in the networked multi-sensor system by resorting to expectation maximization (EM) framework. Firstly, a novel scheme is proposed for equivalently decomposing the complete data log-likelihood function into a summation form parameterized by RLP. Secondly, the rapid computation of the expectation in E-step is achieved by skillfully introducing Jessen's inequality to avoid the state augmentation of the traditional method. Thirdly, the analytical identification result of RLP is obtained in M-step by constructing Lagrange operator to maximize the expectation with the parameter constraint. Naturally, such analytical result is so simple that it can be quickly carried out, which is demonstrated by quantitative computation complexity analysis. Finally, an example motivated by the maneuvering target tracking application is presented to show the superiority of the new method.