Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Novel Word Spotting Method Based on Recurrent Neural Networks

Keyword spotting refers to the process of retrieving all instances of a given keyword from a document. In the present paper, a novel keyword spotting method for handwritten documents is described. It is derived from a neural network-based system for unconstrained handwriting recognition. As such it performs template-free spotting, i.e., it is not necessary for a keyword to appear in the training set. The keyword spotting is done using a modification of the CTC Token Passing algorithm in conjunction with a recurrent neural network. We demonstrate that the proposed systems outperform not only a classical dynamic time warping-based approach but also a modern keyword spotting system, based on hidden Markov models. Furthermore, we analyze the performance of the underlying neural networks when using them in a recognition task followed by keyword spotting on the produced transcription. We point out the advantages of keyword spotting when compared to classic text line recognition.
Expression of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator in human endometrium.

BACKGROUND As a cAMP-regulated Cl- channel, cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) plays a critical role in the active secretion of electrolytes and fluid in epithelial cells. Women with CFTR gene mutations are less fertile, generally assumed to be due to cervical factors. However, there is little known about CFTR protein expression in human endometrium and its possible roles in reproduction. METHODS AND RESULTS CFTR protein and mRNA levels in human endometrium were analysed using immunohistochemical and in situ hybridization methods, respectively. Significant expression of CFTR protein was only seen in the glandular cells from late proliferative to all secretory phases, consistent with western blot analysis. High levels of CFTR mRNA were present only around the ovulatory period. In cultured glandular cells, the production of CFTR protein and mRNA was stimulated by estradiol and inhibited by progesterone. A forskolin-activated Cl- current in endometrial epithelial cells with a linear I-V relationship was detected by the whole-cell patch-clamp technique. CONCLUSIONS (i) CFTR mRNA and protein were localized in human endometrial epithelial cells and the amounts varied in a cyclic manner; (ii) CFTR expression in cultured glandular cells was up- and downregulated by estradiol and progesterone, respectively; and (iii) CFTR in human endometrium functions as a cAMP-activated Cl- channel.
On the number of bound states for the one-dimensional Schrödinger equation

The number of bound states of the one-dimensional Schrodinger equation is analyzed in terms of the number of bound states corresponding to “fragments” of the potential. When the potential is integrable and has a finite first moment, the sharp inequalities 1−p+∑j=1p Nj⩽N⩽∑j=1p Nj are proved, where p is the number of fragments, N is the total number of bound states, and Nj is the number of bound states for the jth fragment. When p=2 the question of whether N=N1+N2 or N=N1+N2−1 is investigated in detail. An illustrative example is also provided.
ACCESSING REFERENTIAL INFORMATION DURING TEXT COMPOSITION :WHEN AND WHY ?

When composing a text, writers have to continually shift between content planning and content translating. This continuous shifting gives the writing activity its cyclic nature. The first section of this paper will analyse the writing process as a hierarchical cyclic activity. A methodological paradigm will be proposed for the investigation of the writing process. In the second section, we will partially present two experiments that were conducted independently, with this paradigm. Both give a coherent and interesting picture of what happens with content while the writer is planning. The characteristics of cycles depend both on the nature of the content information being recovered and on the complexity of the processes applied to this content.
The Impact of Monetary Policy on Asset Prices 1

Estimating the response of asset prices to changes in monetary policy is complicated by the endogeneity of policy decisions and the fact that both interest rates and asset prices react to numerous other variables. This paper develops a new estimator that is based on the heteroskedasticity that exists in high-frequency data. We show that the response of asset prices to changes in monetary policy can be identified based on the increase in the variance of policy shocks that occurs on days of FOMC meetings and of the Chairman’s semi-annual monetary policy testimony to Congress. The identification approach employed requires a much weaker set of assumptions than needed under the “event-study” approach that is typically used in this context. The results indicate that an increase in short-term interest rates results in a decline in stock prices and in an upward shift in the yield curve that becomes smaller at longer maturities. The findings also suggest that the event-study estimates contain biases that make the estimated effects on stock prices appear too small and those on Treasury yields too large. JEL Classification Numbers: E44, E47, E52
Dynamics and Structure in Cell Signaling Networks: Off-State Stability and Dynamically Positive Cycles

The signaling system is a fundamental part of the cell, as it regulates essential functions including growth, differentiation, protein synthesis, and apoptosis. A malfunction in this subsystem can disrupt the cell significantly, and is believed to be involved in certain diseases, with cancer being a very important example. While the information available about intracellular signaling networks is constantly growing, and the network topology is actively being analyzed, the modeling of the dynamics of such a system faces difficulties due to the vast number of parameters, which can prove hard to estimate correctly. As the functioning of the signaling system depends on the parameters in a complex way, being able to make general statements based solely on the network topology could be especially appealing. We study a general kinetic model of the signaling system, giving results for the asymptotic behavior of the system in the case of a network with only activatory interactions. We also investigate the possible generalization of our results for the case of a more general model including inhibitory interactions too. We find that feedback cycles made up entirely of activatory interactions (which we call dynamically positive) are especially important, as their properties determine whether the system has a stable signal-off state, which is desirable in many situations to avoid autoactivation due to a noisy environment. To test our results, we investigate the network topology in the Signalink database, and find that the human signaling network indeed has only significantly few dynamically positive cycles, which agrees well with our theoretical arguments.
Capture of Inelastic Dark Matter in the Sun

We consider the capture of dark matter in the Sun by inelastic scattering against nuclei as in the inelastic dark matter scenario. We show that, assuming a WIMP-nucleon cross-section of σn = 10−40 cm2 the resulting capture rate and density are sufficiently high so that current bounds on the muon neutrino flux from the Sun rule out any appreciable annihilation branching ratio of WIMPs into W+W−, Z0Z0, τ+τ−, t and neutrinos. Slightly weaker bounds are also available for annihilations into b and c. Annihilations into lighter particles that may produce neutrinos, such as μ+μ−, pions and kaons are unconstrained since those stop in the Sun before decaying. Interestingly enough, this is consistent with some recent proposals motivated by the PAMELA results for the annihilation of WIMPs into light bosons which subsequently decay predominantly into light leptons and pions.
Human Evaluation of Grammatical Error Correction Systems

The paper presents the results of the first large-scale human evaluation of automatic grammatical error correction (GEC) systems. Twelve participating systems and the unchanged input of the CoNLL-2014 shared task have been reassessed in a WMT-inspired human evaluation procedure. Methods introduced for the Workshop of Machine Translation evaluation campaigns have been adapted to GEC and extended where necessary. The produced rankings are used to evaluate standard metrics for grammatical error correction in terms of correlation with human judgment.
P2Y1 Receptor Modulation of the Pre-Bötzinger Complex Inspiratory Rhythm Generating Network In Vitro

ATP is released during hypoxia from the ventrolateral medulla (VLM) and activates purinergic P2 receptors (P2Rs) at unknown loci to offset the secondary hypoxic depression of breathing. In this study, we used rhythmically active medullary slices from neonatal rat to map, in relation to anatomical and molecular markers of the pre-Bötzinger complex (preBötC) (a proposed site of rhythm generation), the effects of ATP on respiratory rhythm and identify the P2R subtypes responsible for these actions. Unilateral microinjections of ATP in a three-dimensional grid within the VLM revealed a “hotspot” where ATP (0.1 mm) evoked a rapid 2.2 ± 0.1-fold increase in inspiratory frequency followed by a brief reduction to 0.83 ± 0.02 of baseline. The hotspot was identified as the preBötC based on histology, overlap of injection sites with NK1R immunolabeling, and potentiation or inhibition of respiratory frequency by SP ([Sar9-Met(O2)11]-substance P) or DAMGO ([d-Ala2,N-MePhe4,Gly-ol5]-enkephalin), respectively. The relative potency of P2R agonists [2MeSADP (2-methylthioadenosine 5′-diphosphate) ≈ 2MeSATP (2-methylthioadenosine 5′-triphosphate) ≈ ATPγs (adenosine 5′-[γ-thio]triphosphate tetralithium salt) ≈ ATP ≫ UTP ≈ αβmeATP (α,β-methylene-adenosine 5′-triphosphate)] and attenuation of the ATP response by MRS2179 (2′-deoxy-N6-methyladenosine-3′,5′-bisphosphate) (P2Y1 antagonist) indicate that the excitation is mediated by P2Y1Rs. The post-ATP inhibition, which was never observed in response to ATPγs, is dependent on ATP hydrolysis. These data establish in neonatal rats that respiratory rhythm generating networks in the preBötC are exquisitely sensitive to P2Y1R activation, and suggest a role for P2Y1Rs in respiratory motor control, particularly in the P2R excitation of rhythm that occurs during hypoxia.
Acceso a las TIC y rendimiento educativo: ¿una relación potenciada por su uso? Un análisis para España

Las Tecnologias de la Informacion y de la Comunicacion (TIC) ocupan actualmente un lugar significativo entre las prioridades educativas ya que contribuyen en el proceso de ensenanza-aprendizaje de los estudiantes. Varios estudios han indagado sobre la relacion entre el acceso y el uso de las TIC y los logros de los estudiantes en terminos de aprendizaje. Sin embargo, la evidencia empirica todavia no es concluyente respecto a esta cuestion. El objetivo del presente trabajo consiste en testear la hipotesis de que la relacion entre el acceso a las TIC y el rendimiento educativo se encuentra mediada por el uso de las mismas tanto en el hogar como en la escuela. En particular, se examina si el uso de las TIC potencia el efecto del acceso sobre los logros escolares. Con este fin, se estima para Espana un Modelo de Ecuaciones Estructurales (SEM) a partir de datos de PISA correspondientes al ano 2012. De acuerdo a los resultados obtenidos, el acceso a las TIC en el hogar tiene una incidencia estadisticamente significativa y positiva sobre el rendimiento educativo que se encuentra potenciada por el uso de las TIC fuera de la escuela. Por el contrario, el acceso y el uso de las TIC en la escuela tienen una incidencia estadisticamente significativa y negativa en los logros educativos.
Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) as a New Non-Invasive Tool to Detect Oxidative Skeletal Muscle Impairment in Children Survived to Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia

Background Separating out the effects of cancer and treatment between central and peripheral components of the O2 delivery chain should be of interest to clinicians for longitudinal evaluation of potential functional impairment in order to set appropriate individually tailored training/rehabilitation programmes. We propose a non-invasive method (NIRS, near infrared spectroscopy) to be used in routine clinical practice to evaluate a potential impairment of skeletal muscle oxidative capacity during exercise in children previously diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the capacity of skeletal muscle to extract O2 in 10 children diagnosed with ALL, 1 year after the end of malignancy treatment, compared to a control group matched for gender and age (mean±SD = 7.8±1.5 and 7.3±1.4 years, respectively). Methods and Findings Participants underwent an incremental exercise test on a treadmill until exhaustion. Oxygen uptake (), heart rate (HR), and tissue oxygenation status (Δ[HHb]) of the vastus lateralis muscle evaluated by NIRS, were measured. The results showed that, in children with ALL, a significant linear regression was found by plotting vs Δ[HHb] both measured at peak of exercise. In children with ALL, the slope of the HR vs linear response (during sub-maximal and peak work rates) was negatively correlated with the peak value of Δ[HHb]. Conclusions The present study proves that the NIRS technique allows us to identify large inter-individual differences in levels of impairment in muscle O2 extraction in children with ALL. The outcome of these findings is variable and may reflect either muscle atrophy due to lack of use or, in the most severe cases, an undiagnosed myopathy.
Values at integers of homogeneous polynomials

1. Introduction. Berry and Tabor conjecture in [1] that the distribution of local spacings between the eigenvalues of the quantization of the Hamiltonian for generic, completely integrable systems follow those of random numbers. (Such a distribution is often called " Poissonian. ") In [8], Sarnak considers the specific case of the geodesic flow on a flat two-dimensional torus, for which the Berry-Tabor conjecture reduces to a conjecture about the spacings between the values at nonnegative integers of binary quadratic forms. In this article we study the spacings of the values at nonnegative integers of homogeneous forms of higher degree. Consider a homogeneous polynomial P (x 1 ,. . , x k) of degree k, and let B be a compact set in R k. Given T large, the set {P (x)|| x ∈ Z k ∩ T B} consists of (up to constants) T k elements contained within a range of size T k. Their average spacing is thus constant, so we can consider the distribution of the pair spacings P (x i)−P (x j). In addition, if we order the vectors so that P (x 0) ≤ P (x 1) ≤ · · · , we may also investigate the distribution of the consecutive spacings P (x i) − P (x i+1). We define
Memristor-Based Chaotic Circuits

Abstract Ever since its physical fabrication in 2008, the memristor has been promising in the fields of nanoelectronics, computer logic and neuromorphic computers. Taking advantage of the circuit properties of the memristor, this paper proposes memristor-based chaotic circuits. For the first time, memristor-based chaotic circuits have been derived from the canonical Chua’s circuit. These circuits present opportunities for developing applications under the constraints of scalability and low power. They also provide a memristor-based framework for secure communications with chaos.
EFFECTS OF A STRENGTHS-BASED PSYCHOLOGICAL CLIMATE ON POSITIVE AFFECT AND JOB PERFORMANCE

This article builds on the argument that research on the link between HRM and performance benefi ts from investigating how HR practices are envisioned by managers (in terms of underlying philosophies), and how they are perceived by employees (in terms of psychological climates). Our study focuses on the effects of a strengths-based HR philosophy assuming that employee performance can be maximized through leveraging individual strengths. This philosophy relates to a strengths-based psychological climate, that is, employee perceptions of the opportunities they get to identify, develop, and use their strengths. We hypothesized that a strengths-based psychological climate positively infl uences employees’ positive affect, which in turn enhances their in-role and extra-role performance. In our study, 442 respondents working in 39 departments of eight Dutch and Belgian organizations gave ratings on the strength-based psychological climate of their organization, and indicated their level of work-related positive affect, in-role performance, and extra-role performance. Results of multilevel hierarchical regression analyses supported our hypotheses by indicating that strengths-based psychological climate was positively linked to in-role and extra-role performance, and that this link was mediated by positive affect. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Quaternary Golay Complementary Sequences Derived from Binary Golay Complementary Sequences

Golay complementary sequences play quite an important role in communication and radar. In this paper, we present a family of quaternary Golay complementary sequences. The resultant sequences result from conversion of the existing binary Golay sequences, and both have the same length and number of subsequences. Our method can provide rich quaternary Golay complementary sequences due to a large number of binary Golay complementary sequences available.
Performance of Fountain Codes in Collaborative Relay Networks

Cooperative communications, where parallel relays forward information to a destination node, can greatly improve the energy efficiency and latency in ad-hoc networks. However, current networks do not fully exploit its potential as they only use traditional energy-accumulation, which is often used in conjunction with repetition coding or cooperative space-time codes. In this paper, we show that the concept of mutual- information-accumulation can be realized with the help of fountain codes, and leads to a lower energy expenditure and a lower transmission time than energy accumulation. We then provide an analysis of the performance of mutual information accumulation in relay networks with N relay nodes. We first analyze the quasi-synchronuous scenario where the source stops transmitting and the relay nodes start transmitting after L relay nodes have successfully decoded the source data. We show that an optimum L exists, and is typically on the order of 3 or 4. We also give closed-form equations for the energy savings that can be achieved by the use of mutual-information-accumulation at the receiver. We then analyze and provide bounds for an alternate scenario where each relay node starts its transmission to the destination as soon as it has decoded the source data, independent of the state of the other relay nodes. This approach further reduces the transmission time, because the transmission by the relay nodes helps the other relay nodes that are still receiving.
Central Dopamine D2 Receptors Regulate Growth-Hormone-Dependent Body Growth and Pheromone Signaling to Conspecific Males

Competition between adult males for limited resources such as food and receptive females is shaped by the male pattern of pituitary growth hormone (GH) secretion that determines body size and the production of urinary pheromones involved in male-to-male aggression. In the brain, dopamine (DA) provides incentive salience to stimuli that predict the availability of food and sexual partners. Although the importance of the GH axis and central DA neurotransmission in social dominance and fitness is clearly appreciated, the two systems have always been studied unconnectedly. Here we conducted a cell-specific genetic dissection study in conditional mutant mice that selectively lack DA D2 receptors (D2R) from pituitary lactotropes (lacDrd2KO) or neurons (neuroDrd2KO). Whereas lacDrd2KO mice developed a normal GH axis, neuroDrd2KO mice displayed fewer somatotropes; reduced hypothalamic Ghrh expression, pituitary GH content, and serum IGF-I levels; and exhibited reduced body size and weight. As a consequence of a GH axis deficit, neuroDrd2KO adult males excreted low levels of major urinary proteins and their urine failed to promote aggression and territorial behavior in control male challengers, in contrast to the urine taken from control adult males. These findings reveal that central D2Rs mediate a neuroendocrine-exocrine cascade that controls the maturation of the GH axis and downstream signals that are critical for fitness, social dominance, and competition between adult males.
Does early improvement in depressive symptoms predict subsequent remission in patients with depression who are treated with duloxetine?

Purpose In this prospective study, we examined whether early reduction in depressive symptoms predicts later remission to duloxetine in the treatment of depression, as monitored using the Montgomery–Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). Patients and methods Among the 106 patients who were enrolled in this study, 67 were included in the statistical analysis. A clinical evaluation using the MADRS was performed at weeks 0, 4, 8, 12, and 16 after commencing treatment. For each time point, the MADRS total score was separated into three components: dysphoria, retardation, and vegetative scores. Results Remission was defined as an MADRS total score of ≤10 at end point. From our univariate logistic regression analysis, we found that improvements in both the MADRS total score and the dysphoria score at week 4 had a significant interaction with subsequent remission. Furthermore, age and sex were significant predictors of remission. There was an increase of approximately 4% in the odds of remission for each unit increase in age, and female sex had an odds of remission of 0.318 times that of male sex (remission rate for men was 73.1% [19/26] and for women 46.3% [19/41]). However, in the multivariate model using the change from baseline in the total MADRS, dysphoria, retardation, and vegetative scores at week 4, in which age and sex were included as covariates, only sex retained significance, except for an improvement in the dysphoria score. Conclusion No significant interaction was found between early response to duloxetine and eventual remission in this study. Sex difference was found to be a predictor of subsequent remission in patients with depression who were treated with duloxetine, with the male sex having greater odds of remission.