Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ORAN SYSTEM: A BASIS FOR AN ARABIC OCR

Character recognition is one of the oldest fields of research. It is the art of automating both the process of reading and keyboard input of text in documents. A major part of information in documents is in the form of alphanumeric text. However, characters’ automatic recognition is not an easy problem, especially for languages using the Arabic script. Arabic is written cursively (connected) even when machine printed or typed. Despite the rapidly increasing electronic sources and libraries, paper documents will live with us for a long time to come. Automatic handling of such documents needs robust and reliable document understanding techniques. For Chinese, Japanese, and Roman characters based languages, the problem of recognizing well formed and neat characters have been largely solved, There are several commercial OCR’s available in the market today, example Omnipage, Recognita, IRISpen, Kanjiscan, YondeKoko to name just a few. Research is now being focused on more challenging problems of poor quality print, broken and touching characters or unconstraint handwriting [2–5] and others. Comprehensive surveys can be found in [6–8]. However, cursive writing like Arabic, where the segmentation problem of text into distinguishable characters is the source of many errors for several OCR, is still not yet fully explored. It is only in the last two decades that some significant work has been devoted to Arabic script based languages [9–14]. A state of the art of Arabic character recognition research is presented in [15] and [16].
Relaxing Competition Through Speculation: Committing to a Negative Supply Slope

We demonstrate how commodity producers can take strategic speculative positions in derivatives markets to soften competition in the spot market. In our game, producers first choose a portfolio of call options and then compete in supply functions. In equilibrium, producers sell forward contracts and buy call options to commit to downward sloping supply functions. Although this strategy is risky, it is profitable because it reduces the elasticity of the residual demand of competitors who respond by increasing mark-ups.
How do risk factors work together? Mediators, moderators, and independent, overlapping, and proxy risk factors.

OBJECTIVE The authors developed a methodological basis for investigating how risk factors work together. Better methods are needed for understanding the etiology of disorders, such as psychiatric syndromes, that presumably are the result of complex causal chains. METHOD Approaches from psychology, epidemiology, clinical trials, and basic sciences were synthesized. RESULTS The authors define conceptually and operationally five different clinically important ways in which two risk factors may work together to influence an outcome: as proxy, overlapping, and independent risk factors and as mediators and moderators. CONCLUSIONS Classifying putative risk factors into these qualitatively different types can help identify high-risk individuals in need of preventive interventions and can help inform the content of such interventions. These methods may also help bridge the gaps between theory, the basic and clinical sciences, and clinical and policy applications and thus aid the search for early diagnoses and for highly effective preventive and treatment interventions.
Down-Regulation of Proinflammatory Capacity During Apoptosis in Human Polymorphonuclear Leukocytes

Polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) are essential to innate immunity in humans and contribute significantly to inflammation. Although progress has been made, the molecular basis for termination of inflammation in humans is incompletely characterized. We used human oligonucleotide microarrays to identify genes encoding inflammatory mediators that were differentially regulated during the induction of apoptosis. One hundred thirty-three of 212 differentially expressed genes encoding proinflammatory factors, signal transduction mediators, adhesion molecules, and other proteins that facilitate the inflammatory response were down-regulated during the induction of apoptosis following PMN phagocytosis. Among these, 42 genes encoded proteins critical to the inflammatory response, including receptors for IL-8β, IL-10α, IL-13α1, IL-15α, IL-17, IL-18, C1q, low-density lipoprotein, IgG Fc (CD32), and formyl peptide, Toll-like receptor 6, platelet/endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (CD31), P-selectin (CD62), IL-1α, IL-16, and granulocyte chemoattractant protein-2 were down-regulated. Many of these genes were similarly down-regulated during Fas-mediated or camptothecin-induced apoptosis. We used flow cytometry to confirm that IL-8Rβ (CXCR2) and IL-1α were significantly down-regulated during PMN apoptosis. We also discovered that 23 genes encoding phosphoinositide and calcium-mediated signal transduction components, which comprise complex pathways essential to the inflammatory response of host cells, were differentially regulated during PMN apoptosis. Importantly, our data demonstrate that PMNs down-regulate proinflammatory capacity at the level of gene expression during induction of apoptosis. These findings provide new insight into the molecular events that resolve inflammation following PMN activation in humans.
A Robust Unsupervised Arousal Rating Framework using Prosody with Cross-Corpora Evaluation

This paper presents an unsupervised method for producing a bounded rating of affective arousal from speech. One of the major challenges in such behavioral signal classification is the design of methods that generalize well across domains and datasets. We propose a framework that provides robustness across databases by: selecting coherent features based on empirical and theoretical evidence, fusing activation confidences from multiple features, and effectively weighting the soft-labels without knowing the true labels. Spearman’s rankcorrelation (and binary classification accuracy) on four arousal databases are: 0.62 (73%), 0.77 (86%), 0.70 (82%), and 0.65 (73%).
Social learning and evolution: the cultural intelligence hypothesis

If social learning is more efficient than independent individual exploration, animals should learn vital cultural skills exclusively, and routine skills faster, through social learning, provided they actually use social learning preferentially. Animals with opportunities for social learning indeed do so. Moreover, more frequent opportunities for social learning should boost an individual's repertoire of learned skills. This prediction is confirmed by comparisons among wild great ape populations and by social deprivation and enculturation experiments. These findings shaped the cultural intelligence hypothesis, which complements the traditional benefit hypotheses for the evolution of intelligence by specifying the conditions in which these benefits can be reaped. The evolutionary version of the hypothesis argues that species with frequent opportunities for social learning should more readily respond to selection for a greater number of learned skills. Because improved social learning also improves asocial learning, the hypothesis predicts a positive interspecific correlation between social-learning performance and individual learning ability. Variation among primates supports this prediction. The hypothesis also predicts that more heavily cultural species should be more intelligent. Preliminary tests involving birds and mammals support this prediction too. The cultural intelligence hypothesis can also account for the unusual cognitive abilities of humans, as well as our unique mechanisms of skill transfer.
The Build America Bonds Program : Savings Opportunities and Efficiency Improvements from Subsidizing Taxable Municipal Debt May

As a result of the 2008-2010 financial crisis, municipal borrowers (state and local governments, school districts, transit agencies, water utilities, etc.) faced increased borrowing costs and a risk-averse investor base that made it difficult to finance continued public spending, let alone fiscal stimulus. The Build America Bonds program was touted as a means to ease the credit crunch faced by municipal issuers through Federal interest subsidies on taxable municipal debt, providing an additional borrowing instrument alongside traditional tax-exempt municipal bonds. By allowing municipal borrowers subsidized access to taxable debt markets, the program was designed to lower borrowing costs, and draw new groups of investors (such as pension funds and 401(k) accounts) to municipal bonds that would not be attracted by the tax exemption structures of traditional municipal debt. This paper finds that the program met its objectives of lowering borrowing costs, as seen by an average yield savings of 69 basis points versus issuing in the tax exempt market, and attracting non-traditional investors, as indicated by low marginal tax rates for BAB investors. This paper argues that the Build America Bonds program was a success, and worthy of extension as a long-term alternative to tax exemption, although the subsidy proposed in President Obama’s 2013 Budget is overgenerous.
Optimal estimation of transposition rates of insertion sequences for molecular epidemiology

Outbreaks of infectious disease can be confirmed by identifying clusters of DNA fingerprints among bacterial isolates from infected individuals. This procedure makes assumptions about the underlying properties of the genetic marker used for fingerprinting. In particular, it requires that each fingerprint changes sufficiently slowly within an individual that isolates from separate individuals infected by the same strain will exhibit similar or identical fingerprints. We propose a model for the probability that an individual's fingerprint will change over a given period of time. We use this model together with published data in order to estimate the fingerprint change rate for IS6110 in human tuberculosis, obtaining a value of 0.0139 changes per copy per year. Although we focus on insertion sequences (IS), our method applies to other fingerprinting techniques such as pulsed‐field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). We suggest sampling intervals that produce the least error in estimates of the fingerprint change rate, as well as sample sizes that achieve specified levels of error in the estimate. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Regression modeling in back-propagation and projection pursuit learning

We study and compare two types of connectionist learning methods for model-free regression problems: 1) the backpropagation learning (BPL); and 2) the projection pursuit learning (PPL) emerged in recent years in the statistical estimation literature. Both the BPL and the PPL are based on projections of the data in directions determined from interconnection weights. However, unlike the use of fixed nonlinear activations (usually sigmoidal) for the hidden neurons in BPL, the PPL systematically approximates the unknown nonlinear activations. Moreover, the BPL estimates all the weights simultaneously at each iteration, while the PPL estimates the weights cyclically (neuron-by-neuron and layer-by-layer) at each iteration. Although the BPL and the PPL have comparable training speed when based on a Gauss-Newton optimization algorithm, the PPL proves more parsimonious in that the PPL requires a fewer hidden neurons to approximate the true function. To further improve the statistical performance of the PPL, an orthogonal polynomial approximation is used in place of the supersmoother method originally proposed for nonlinear activation approximation in the PPL.
Differences in Short‐Term Neonatal Outcomes Between Discordant Twins

PURPOSETo evaluate short-term outcomes associated with discordant twin pairs admitted to the NICU. DESIGNA retrospective descriptive study comparing discordant twin pairs. SUBJECTSThree hundred eighty-four discordant twin pairs were included. Mean gestational age of the twin pairs was 32.6 weeks (range, 24–39). METHODSThe ParadigmHealth database was queried for all twin admissions from January 2001 to June 2004 admitted to 453 NICUs across the United States. Discordance was calculated for each twin set as defined as greater than 20% difference in birth weight. Exclusion criteria were death of a twin, congenital anomalies, or extracorporeal life support. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURESDemographics, respiratory needs, feeding characteristics, complications, and discharge needs. RESULTSA total of 384 discordant twin pairs met inclusion criteria. The larger twins required more ventilation/continuous positive airway pressure (55% vs 44%, P < .01) and/or oxygen therapy (50% vs 41%, P = .02) compared with smaller twins. Smaller twins reached full oral (PO) feeds an average of 0.6 weeks later than larger twins (P < .0001) but had more weight gain per day. Smaller twins transitioned to an open crib at lower weights but at slightly greater age. No differences were noted with necrotizing enterocolitis or apnea. Smaller twins had increased nosocomial infections. Mean length of stay was shorter (P = .0036) in the larger twin group. Only 33% of the twin pairs were discharged on the same day. CONCLUSIONSLarger twins had more acute respiratory issues but achieved certain milestones more rapidly with fewer complications, thus leading to earlier discharge compared with their smaller twin counterparts.
How Fast is Famous Face Recognition?

The rapid recognition of familiar faces is crucial for social interactions. However the actual speed with which recognition can be achieved remains largely unknown as most studies have been carried out without any speed constraints. Different paradigms have been used, leading to conflicting results, and although many authors suggest that face recognition is fast, the speed of face recognition has not been directly compared to “fast” visual tasks. In this study, we sought to overcome these limitations. Subjects performed three tasks, a familiarity categorization task (famous faces among unknown faces), a superordinate categorization task (human faces among animal ones), and a gender categorization task. All tasks were performed under speed constraints. The results show that, despite the use of speed constraints, subjects were slow when they had to categorize famous faces: minimum reaction time was 467 ms, which is 180 ms more than during superordinate categorization and 160 ms more than in the gender condition. Our results are compatible with a hierarchy of face processing from the superordinate level to the familiarity level. The processes taking place between detection and recognition need to be investigated in detail.
Combined effects of nifekalant and lidocaine on the spiral-type re-entry in a perfused 2-dimensional layer of rabbit ventricular myocardium.

BACKGROUND Spiral re-entry plays the principal role in the genesis of ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation (VT/VF). The specific I(Kr) blocker, nifekakant (NIF) has, often in combination with lidocaine (LID), recently been used in Japan to prevent recurrent VT/VF, but the combined effects of these drugs on spiral re-entry had never been investigated. METHODS AND RESULTS A ventricular epicardial sheet was obtained from 13 Langendorff-perfused rabbit hearts by means of a cryoprocedure, and epicardial excitations were analyzed with a high-resolution optical mapping system. Nifekakant (0.5 micromol/L) caused significant prolongation of action potential duration (APD) and LID (3 micromol/L) attenuated the APD prolongation without affecting the conduction velocity. VT were induced in 6 hearts by cross-field stimulation, and single- or double-loop spirals circulating around variable functional block lines were visualized during the VT. Nifekakant reduced VT cycle length and caused early termination in association with destabilization of the spiral dynamics (prolongation of functional block line, frequent local conduction block, and extensive meandering). These modifications of spiral-type re-entrant VT by NIF were prevented by addition of LID. CONCLUSIONS The effects of NIF on the spiral excitations are reversed by LID. This interaction should be taken into account when these drugs are used in combination to treat VT/VF.
The GP64 envelope fusion protein is an essential baculovirus protein required for cell-to-cell transmission of infection

To demonstrate the essential nature of the baculovirus GP64 envelope fusion protein (GP64 EFP) and to further examine the role of this protein in infection, we inactivated the gp64 efp gene of Autographa californica multicapsid nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AcMNPV) and examined the biological properties of this virus in vivo. To provide GP64 EFP during construction of the recombinant GP64 EFP-null AcMNPV baculovirus, we first generated a stably transfected insect cell line (SfpOP64-6) that constitutively expressed the GP64 EFP of Orgyia pseudotsugata multicapsid nuclear polyhedrosis virus (OpMNPV). The AcMNPV gp64 efp gene was inactivated by inserting the bacterial lacZ gene in frame after codon 131 of the gp64 efp gene. The inactivated gp64 gene was cloned into the AcMNPV viral genome by replacement of the wild-type gp64 efp locus. When propagated in the stably transfected insect cells (Sf9OP64-6 cells), budded virions produced by the recombinant AcMNPV GP64 EFP-null virus (vAc64z) contained OpMNPV GP64 EFP supplied by the Sf9OP64-6 cells. Virions propagated in Sf9OP64-6 cells were capable of infecting wild-type Sf9 cells, and cells infected by vAc64z exhibited a blue phenotype in the presence of X-Gal (5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-beta-D-galactopyranoside). Using cytochemical staining to detect vAc64z infected cells, we demonstrated that this GP64 EFP-null virus is defective in cell-to-cell propagation in cell culture. Although defective in cell-to-cell propagation, vAc64z produces occlusion bodies and infectious occlusion-derived virions within the nucleus. Occlusion bodies collected from cells infected by vAc64z were infectious to midgut epithelial cells of Trichoplusia ni larvae. However, in contrast to infection by a control virus, infection by vAc64z did not proceed into the hemocoel. Analysis of vAc64z occlusion bodies in a standard neonate droplet feeding assay showed no virus-induced mortality, indicating that occluded virions produced from vAc64z could not initiate a productive (lethal) infection in neonate larvae. Thus, GP64 EFP is an essential virion structural protein that is required for propagation of the budded virus from cell to cell and for systemic infection of the host insect.
Black rings with a small electric charge: gyromagnetic ratios and algebraic alignment

We study electromagnetic test fields in the background of vacuum black rings using Killing vectors as vector potentials. We consider both spacetimes with a rotating S 1 and with a rotating S 2 and we demonstrate, in particular, that the gyromagnetic ratio of slightly charged black rings takes the value g = 3 (this will in fact apply to a wider class of spacetimes). We also observe that a S 2 -rotating black ring immersed in an external “aligned” magnetic field completely expels the magnetic flux in the extremal limit. Finally, we discuss the mutual alignment of principal null directions of the Maxwell 2-form and of the Weyl tensor, and the algebraic type of exact charged black rings. In contrast to spherical black holes, charged rings display new distinctive features and provide us with an explicit example of algebraically general (type G) spacetimes in higher dimensions. Appendix A contains some global results on black rings with a rotating 2-sphere. Appendix C shows that g = D − 2 in any D ≥ 4 dimensions for test electromagnetic fields generated by a time translation.
Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of the Adolescents and Surveillance System for the Obesity Prevention Project

AbstractThe Adolescents Surveillance System for Obesity prevention (ASSO) Project aimed at developing standardized and web-based tools for collecting data on adolescents’ obesity and its potential determinants. This has been implemented and piloted in the local area of Palermo city, Italy. The aim of the present study is to provide an overview of the Project's design, implementation, and evaluation, highlighting all the aspects for a potential scale-up of the surveillance system on the whole national territory and abroad, as a sustainable and effective source of data.The overall structure and management, the ASSO-toolkit, the ASSO-NutFit software, and all developed and used procedures for recruiting, training, and data collecting/analyzing are addressed. An interim evaluation has been performed through a feasibility study; a final Project evaluation has been performed reporting the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) and the attributes that a surveillance system should have.This article provides a detailed overview of the Project and highlights that ASSO can be considered a valid, logical, coherent, efficient, and sustainable surveillance system that is consistent with countries’ needs and priorities.The system developed by the ASSO Project provides high-quality data and complies with several characteristics typical of a suitable surveillance system. It has a potential of being adopted within the National Health Service and other countries’ Health Services for monitoring adolescents’ obesity and its determinants, such as food intakes, behaviors, physical activity, and fitness profiles.
Targeting Protein Kinase CK2: Evaluating CX-4945 Potential for GL261 Glioblastoma Therapy in Immunocompetent Mice

Glioblastoma (GBM) causes poor survival in patients even with aggressive treatment. Temozolomide (TMZ) is the standard chemotherapeutic choice for GBM treatment but resistance always ensues. Protein kinase CK2 (CK2) contributes to tumour development and proliferation in cancer, and it is overexpressed in human GBM. Accordingly, targeting CK2 in GBM may benefit patients. Our goal has been to evaluate whether CK2 inhibitors (iCK2s) could increase survival in an immunocompetent preclinical GBM model. Cultured GL261 cells were treated with different iCK2s including CX-4945, and target effects evaluated in vitro. CX-4945 was found to decrease CK2 activity and Akt(S129) phosphorylation in GL261 cells. Longitudinal in vivo studies with CX-4945 alone or in combination with TMZ were performed in tumour-bearing mice. Increase in survival (p < 0.05) was found with combined CX-4945 and TMZ metronomic treatment (54.7 ± 11.9 days, n = 6) when compared to individual metronomic treatments (CX-4945: 24.5 ± 2.0 and TMZ: 38.7 ± 2.7, n = 6) and controls (22.5 ± 1.2, n = 6). Despite this, CX-4945 did not improve mice outcome when administered on every/alternate days, either alone or in combination with 3-cycle TMZ. The highest survival rate was obtained with the metronomic combined TMZ+CX-4945 every 6 days, pointing to the participation of the immune system or other ancillary mechanism in therapy response.
Rapid detection of herpes simplex virus DNA in human brain tissue by in situ hybridization

A commercial system for detection of herpes simplex virus (HSV) DNA by in situ hybridization gave positive results on 16 of 17 stored human brain specimens that were positive for HSV on initial testing by virus isolation and immunofluorescence staining, and the hybridization system gave negative results on 13 brain specimens that showed no evidence of HSV by isolation or immunofluorescence staining.