Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of Parkinson's disease on vocal tremor

Vocal tremor is encountered in different neurological diseases and could be used for their characterisation. In this paper, vocal tremor features have been extracted for speakers with Parkinson’s disease and control speakers. It is shown that Parkinson’s disease has significant effects on vocal tremor features. For speakers with Parkinson’s disease, the average vocal frequency is higher and the vocal tremor frequency is higher. This can be explained by higher vocal tremor components in the frequency band 8 − 12Hz.
Globally Optimal Fuzzy Decision Trees for Classification and Regression

A fuzzy decision tree is constructed by allowing the possibility of partial membership of a point in the nodes that make up the tree structure. This extension of its expressive capabilities transforms the decision tree into a powerful functional approximant that incorporates features of connectionist methods, while remaining easily interpretable. Fuzzification is achieved by superimposing a fuzzy structure over the skeleton of a CART decision tree. A training rule for fuzzy trees, similar to backpropagation in neural networks, is designed. This rule corresponds to a global optimization algorithm that fixes the parameters of the fuzzy splits. The method developed for the automatic generation of fuzzy decision trees is applied to both classification and regression problems. In regression problems, it is seen that the continuity constraint imposed by the function representation of the fuzzy tree leads to substantial improvements in the quality of the regression and limits the tendency to overfitting. In classification, fuzzification provides a means of uncovering the structure of the probability distribution for the classification errors in attribute space. This allows the identification of regions for which the error rate of the tree is significantly lower than the average error rate, sometimes even below the Bayes misclassification rate.
Tissue Distribution of 5-Hydroxymethylcytosine and Search for Active Demethylation Intermediates

5–Hydroxymethylcytosine (hmC) was recently detected as the sixth base in mammalian tissue at so far controversial levels. The function of the modified base is currently unknown, but it is certain that the base is generated from 5-methylcytosine (mC). This fuels the hypothesis that it represents an intermediate of an active demethylation process, which could involve further oxidation of the hydroxymethyl group to a formyl or carboxyl group followed by either deformylation or decarboxylation. Here, we use an ultra-sensitive and accurate isotope based LC-MS method to precisely determine the levels of hmC in various mouse tissues and we searched for 5–formylcytosine (fC), 5-carboxylcytosine (caC), and 5–hydroxymethyluracil (hmU) as putative active demethylation intermediates. Our data suggest that an active oxidative mC demethylation pathway is unlikely to occur. Additionally, we show using HPLC-MS analysis and immunohistochemistry that hmC is present in all tissues and cell types with highest concentrations in neuronal cells of the CNS.
Distributed Signaling Games

A recurring theme in recent computer science literature is that proper design of signaling schemes is a crucial aspect of effective mechanisms aiming to optimize social welfare or revenue. One of the research endeavors of this line of work is understanding the algorithmic and computational complexity of designing efficient signaling schemes. In reality, however, information is typically not held by a central authority but is distributed among multiple sources (third-party “mediators”), a fact that dramatically changes the strategic and combinatorial nature of the signaling problem. In this article, we introduce distributed signaling games, while using display advertising as a canonical example for introducing this foundational framework. A distributed signaling game may be a pure coordination game (i.e., a distributed optimization task) or a non-cooperative game. In the context of pure coordination games, we show a wide gap between the computational complexity of the centralized and distributed signaling problems, proving that distributed coordination on revenue-optimal signaling is a much harder problem than its “centralized” counterpart. In the context of non-cooperative games, the outcome generated by the mediators’ signals may have different value to each. The reason for that is typically the desire of the auctioneer to align the incentives of the mediators with his own by a compensation relative to the marginal benefit from their signals. We design a mechanism for this problem via a novel application of Shapley’s value and show that it possesses some interesting properties; in particular, it always admits a pure Nash equilibrium, and it never decreases the revenue of the auctioneer (relative to his a priori revenue when there are no mediators).
Gender and the construction of identity within climate technology innovation in Kenya

This paper undertakes an analysis of the discursive construction of the entrepreneurial identity within media on climate technology(CT) innovation in Kenya. Using the STEPS pathways approach along side a post-structuralist feminist identity framework, it explores the way that the narrative of entrepreneur-led innovation may include or exclude the framings of particular actors. The paper draws on ideas of antagonism in identity construction, legitimacy, and access to resources, in order to identify those actors that may perceive themselves as, or be perceived as, more or less legitimate as CT entrepreneurs, thus being more or less likely to gain access to resources for CT innovation. Although the climate technology entrepreneur aligns in some ways with more normatively feminine notions of the caring social entrepreneur, overall the CT entrepreneur remains a masculine identity. Women are underrepresented in media portrayals of CT entrepreneurship.Further, portrayals of women CT entrepreneurs tend to question their legitimacy, depicting them as either requiring the support of men, or as taking up masculine characteristics in order to gain credibility. The paper demonstrates that this might translate into more favourable attitudes towards men CT entrepreneurs when seeking access to institutional support. It recommends further research into the capacity for CT entrepreneurship to effectively incorporate marginalised framings, and where entrepreneurship will fail to meet their needs, it calls for increased support for appropriate alternative processes of climate technology innovation.
Lovastatin Modulates Increased Cholesterol and Oxysterol Levels and Has a Neuroprotective Effect on Rat Hippocampal Neurons After Kainate Injury

This study was carried out to elucidate the effect of a brain-permeable statin (lovastatin) on cholesterol and oxysterol levels of the hippocampus after neuronal injury induced by the excitotoxin, kainic acid. Increased immunolabeling to cholesterol and the oxysterol biosynthetic enzyme, cholesterol 24-hydroxylase, was observed in the rat hippocampus after kainate lesions. This was accompanied by increased levels of cholesterol, 24-hydroxycholesterol (product of cholesterol 24-hydroxylase enzymatic activity), and 7-ketocholesterol in homogenates of the degenerating hippocampus as detected by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Hippocampi from rats or organotypic slices that had been treated with kainate plus lovastatin showed significantly lower levels of cholesterol, 24-hydroxycholesterol, and 7-ketocholesterol compared with those that had been treated with kainate only. Lovastatin also modulated hippocampal neuronal loss after kainate treatment in vivo and in vitro. The level of 24-hydroxycholesterol detected in vivo after kainate treatment (>50 &mgr;M) was found to be neurotoxic in hippocampal slice cultures. These results suggest that brain-permeable statins such as lovastatin could have a neuroprotective effect by limiting the levels of oxysterol in brain areas undergoing neurodegeneration.
Cardioprotective effects of Commiphora mukul against isoprenaline-induced cardiotoxicity: a biochemical and histopathological evaluation.

Commiphora mukul commonly known as Guggul is one of the oldest and commonly consumed herb for promoting heart and vascular health. Present study was undertaken to evaluate cardioprotective potential of Commiphora mukul against isoprenaline-induced myocardial necrosis in rats. Wistar albino rats were divided into three main groups: sham (saline only), isoprenaline control (saline and isoprenaline) and Commiphora mukul treated (Commiphora mukul and isoprenaline) groups. Commiphora mukul was administered in three doses 100, 200 and 400 mg kg(-1) p.o. for 30 days. On 29th and 30th day, the animals of isoprenaline control and Commiphora mukulpretreatment groups were administered isoprenaline (85 mg kg(-1); s.c. ), consecutively at an interval of 24 hr. Isoprenaline administration produced a significant (p < 0.05) decrease in myocardial antioxidants; superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx), reduced glutathione (GSH), and myocyte injury marker enzymes creatine-phosphokinase-MB (CK-MB) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) along with enhanced lipid peroxidation; malondialdehyde (MDA) in heart. Commiphora mukul pretreatment reversed the isoprenaline-induced oxidative changes in rat myocardium by significant (p < 0.05) increase in SOD, CAT, GSHPx, GSH and reduction of MDA. In addition to improving myocardial antioxidant status, Commiphora mukul also prevented the leakage of LDH and CK-MB from heart. Further, histopathological examination showed the reduction of necrosis, edema and inflammation following Commiphora mukul pretreatment. Based on present findings, it is concluded that Commiphora mukul may be a potential preventive and therapeutic agent against the oxidative stress associated ischemic heart disease owing to antioxidant and antiperoxidative activity.
Essays on income taxation and idiosyncratic risk.

I study the role of heterogeneity and idiosyncratic risk in Macroeconomics, and their implications on problems of income taxation. In the first chapter, I study the effects of redistributive taxation in an incomplete market economy with heterogeneous agents and idiosyncratic risk. I focus on the role of distortions in labor supply decisions and the interplay of heterogeneity and uninsurable idiosyncratic shocks, conducting the first general equilibrium analysis of a Negative Income Tax (NIT). I show that a NIT is a serious candidate to replace the current income tax in the United States. I find that the optimal NIT has a marginal tax rate of 28% and a transfer of 10% of per capita GDP, roughly $4600. The welfare gains of replacing the current US income tax with a NIT are equivalent to a 6.3% increase in annual consumption in every state of the world. Low-ability agents, in the bottom quintile of the productivity distribution, benefit the most, while high-ability agents are worse off. A consequence of the reform is that the composition of the labor force changes, with high-productivity agents working more, in relative terms, than low-productivity agents. Finally, I find that the riskier the economy, the higher the welfare gains of the NIT as a provider of public insurance. In the second chapter, I study labor income dynamics over the life cycle and introduce a novel methodology that can detect the presence of patterns in the idiosyncratic earnings shocks and recognize economic forces in action. Using a sample from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), I estimate a Bayesian Logistic
Singularly perturbed elliptic equations with solutions concentrating on a 1-dimensional orbit

We consider a singularly perturbed elliptic equation with superlinear nonlinearity on an annulus in R 4 , and look for solutions which are invariant under a fixed point free 1-parameter group action. We show that this problem can be reduced to a nonhomogeneous equation on a re- lated annulus in dimension 3. The ground state solutions of this equation are single peak solutions which concentrate near the inner boundary. Transforming back, these solutions produce a family of solutions which concentrate along the orbit of the group action near the inner boundary of the domain.
RESEARCH STATEMENT MAPPING CLASS GROUPS IN THEIR NATURAL HABITAT

For an oriented topological surface S, a mapping class is the isotopy class of an orientationpreserving homeomorphism from S to itself. These constitute a discrete, infinite group known as Mod(S), the mapping class group of S. While inviting comparison to linear groups, Kleinian groups, Gromov-hyperbolic groups, and the group Out(Fn) consisting of outer automorphisms of the rank-n free group, mapping class groups have special relevance to geometric topology. In particular, mapping classes and their relations give direct information about the geometry of 3-manifolds [40] and the topology of 4-manifolds [3]. In the study of complex structures on surfaces, known as Teichmüller theory, mapping class groups appear as orbifold fundamental groups of moduli spaces. Investigation of mapping class groups draws from representation theory, dynamics, and geometric group theory tools such as coarse geometry and group actions on Gromov-hyperbolic or CAT(0) spaces. Of the myriad methods and motivations with which one may study mapping class groups, my research favors geometric insight and native settings. I am interested in what and how group-theoretic properties of mapping class groups stem from features of surfaces. These features include the geometry of Teichmüller space, and the combinatorics of simple closed loops on a surface, encoded in its curve complex. In what follows, I describe my previous results and outline a plan for ongoing research.
Predicting consumer behavior with Web search

Recent work has demonstrated that Web search volume can “predict the present,” meaning that it can be used to accurately track outcomes such as unemployment levels, auto and home sales, and disease prevalence in near real time. Here we show that what consumers are searching for online can also predict their collective future behavior days or even weeks in advance. Specifically we use search query volume to forecast the opening weekend box-office revenue for feature films, first-month sales of video games, and the rank of songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, finding in all cases that search counts are highly predictive of future outcomes. We also find that search counts generally boost the performance of baseline models fit on other publicly available data, where the boost varies from modest to dramatic, depending on the application in question. Finally, we reexamine previous work on tracking flu trends and show that, perhaps surprisingly, the utility of search data relative to a simple autoregressive model is modest. We conclude that in the absence of other data sources, or where small improvements in predictive performance are material, search queries provide a useful guide to the near future.
SU, JINNI, M.S. Peers, Parents, School, and Neighborhood Influences on Adolescent Substance Use across Ethnic Groups: An Application of Peer Cluster and Primary Socialization

The purpose of this study was to develop and test two competing theoretical models for how contextual factors influence adolescent substance use. Models were derived based on peer cluster theory and primary socialization theory and evaluated examine race/ethnic variations in associations between peer, parental, school, and neighborhood influences and adolescent substance use. The sample included 5,992 Southeast Asian) from Dane county, Wisconsin, and all data were collected via adolescent−report surveys. Results from Structural Equation Modeling analyses indicated that the peer cluster model only demonstrated adequate fit in the Asian and Southeast Asian subsamples, whereas the primary socialization model fit well in each ethnic group. When compared, the primary socialization model demonstrated superior fit to the data in all groups than did the peer cluster model except for Southeast Asian adolescents. Results also revealed significant moderation effects of ethnicity in associations between contextual influences and adolescent substance use. Results contributed to previous research by considering multiple contextual influences simultaneously to understand processes related to substance use of adolescents from multiple ethnic groups.
Environmental technical and administrative innovations in the Canadian manufacturing industry

This article integrates perspectives from the stakeholder influence literature, the natural environment literature and Daft’s (1978) dual core model of organizational innovation to propose and empirically test how managers’ perceptions of different types of stakeholders influence the type of environmental innovations undertaken. We propose that environmental administrative innovations such as an environmental management system (EMS) will increase the likelihood of a facility implementing environmental technologies that change the production process rather than end-of-pipe solutions which control pollution but do not deal with the underlying environmental problem itself. Using notions developed by Daft (1978), we also propose that facility employees will have a positive impact on the implementation of changes in environmental technological processes but that administrative pressures (corporate headquarters and shareholders/investors) will have no impact on technological innovations. Finally, using the stakeholder influence literature, we propose that external stakeholders such as regulators, community groups and environmental groups as well as customers and suppliers will each increase the likelihood that facilities would use environmental technologies that change the production process rather than use end-of-pipe technologies. Using Canadian facility level manufacturing data, all our hypotheses were supported with the exception of the impact of having implemented an EMS. Surprisingly, an EMS reduces the likelihood that a facility will implement environmental technologies that change the production process. In other words, EMSs tend to increase the use of end-of-pipe technologies. In this case, an administrative innovation appears to be dampening the innovation process insofar as environmental technologies are concerned. 1 The data upon which this report is based is the exclusive property of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. The views contained in this article are those of the author(s) and may not reflect those of the OECD. The financial support of Environment Canada and the OECD is gratefully acknowledged.
STEREO SECCHI Stereoscopic Observations Constraining the Initiation of Polar Coronal Jets

We report on the first stereoscopic observations of polar coronal jets made by the EUVI/SECCHI imagers on board the twin STEREO spacecraft. The significantly separated viewpoints (~11°) allowed us to infer the 3D dynamics and morphology of a well-defined EUV coronal jet for the first time. Triangulations of the jet’s location in simultaneous image pairs led to the true 3D position and thereby its kinematics. Initially the jet ascends slowly at ≈10-20 km s−1 and then, after an apparent “jump” takes place, it accelerates impulsively to velocities exceeding 300 km s−1 with accelerations exceeding the solar gravity. Helical structure is the most important geometrical feature of the jet which shows evidence of untwisting. The jet structure appears strikingly different from each of the two STEREO viewpoints: face-on in one viewpoint and edge-on in the other. This provides conclusive evidence that the observed helical structure is real and does not result from possible projection effects of single-viewpoint observations. The clear demonstration of twisted structure in polar jets compares favorably with synthetic images from a recent MHD simulation of jets invoking magnetic untwisting as their driving mechanism. Therefore, the latter can be considered as a viable mechanism for the initiation of polar jets.
A Novel Bargaining Based Dynamic Spectrum Management Scheme in Reconfigurable Systems

B3G wireless networks are expected to be characterized by the pouring of diversified services supported by different operators. In parallel with this, how to efficiently utilize the limited radio spectrum and guarantee the operator¿s profits has become a joint economical and technical problem. As a possible solution, in this paper, we set forth a novel bargaining approach for dynamic spectrum management (DSM) based on alternating-offer bargaining games in microeconomics. In the context of distributed reconfigurable networks in the charge of different operators, bargaining based dynamic spectrum management (BDSM) scheme introduces trading agent (TA), changing bargaining ability as well as revenue-sharing mechanism to facilitate the spectrum trading. Related technologies, bargaining games and proposed algorithm are also described in details. Simulation results show that with imperfect load predicting, BDSM is effective in improving the utilization of spectrum, expanding the individual operator¿s profits and enhancing the fairness among different RANs (radio access networks).
Eliminating the latent HIV reservoir by reactivation strategies

Combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) has transformed HIV from a deadly to a chronic disease, but HIV patients are still burdened with excess morbidity and mortality, long-term toxicities from cART, stigmatization, and insufficient access to cART worldwide. Thus, a cure for HIV would have enormous impact on society as well as the individual. As the complexity and mechanisms of HIV persistence during therapy are being unraveled, new therapeutic targets for HIV eradication are discovered. Substances that activate HIV production in the latently infected cells have recently received much attention. By turning on expression of latent HIV proviruses, reactivation strategies could contribute to the eradication HIV infection. Compounds that are currently being or soon to be tested in clinical trials are emphasized. The results from these trials will provide important clues as to whether or not reactivating strategies could become significant components of a cure for HIV.
Voluntary Sector in Transition: Hard Times or New Opportunities?

Voluntary and community organisations have moved to the centre of political debates, as the new UK government reduces the scope of the state and locates solutions in civil society. This new book explores the extensive growth and reshaping of the voluntary sector following sweeping changes to social and welfare policy over 30 years. It draws on contemporary social and organisational theory and debates to consider whether surviving in the voluntary sector now depends on realigning activities and compromising independent goals and values.
Performance and extension of user space file systems

Several efforts have been made over the years for developing file systems in user space. Many of these efforts have failed to make a significant impact as measured by their use in production systems. Recently, however, user space file systems have seen a strong resurgence. FUSE is a popular framework that allows file systems to be developed in user space while offering ease of use and flexibility. In this paper, we discuss the evolution of user space file systems with an emphasis on FUSE, and measure its performance using a variety of test cases. We also discuss the feasibility of developing file systems in high-level programming languages, by using as an example Java bindings for FUSE that we have developed. Our benchmarks show that FUSE offers adequate performance for several kinds of workloads.