Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Unsupervised Organization of Image Collections: Taxonomies and Beyond

We introduce a nonparametric Bayesian model, called TAX, which can organize image collections into a tree-shaped taxonomy without supervision. The model is inspired by the Nested Chinese Restaurant Process (NCRP) and associates each image with a path through the taxonomy. Similar images share initial segments of their paths and thus share some aspects of their representation. Each internal node in the taxonomy represents information that is common to multiple images. We explore the properties of the taxonomy through experiments on a large (~104) image collection with a number of users trying to locate quickly a given image. We find that the main benefits are easier navigation through image collections and reduced description length. A natural question is whether a taxonomy is the optimal form of organization for natural images. Our experiments indicate that although taxonomies can organize images in a useful manner, more elaborate structures may be even better suited for this task.
Is There a Role for Probiotics in the Prevention of Preterm Birth?

Preterm birth (PTB) continues to be a global health challenge. An over-production of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, as well as an altered maternal vaginal microbiome has been implicated in the pathogenesis of inflammation/infection-associated PTB. Lactobacillus represents the dominant species in the vagina of most healthy pregnant women. The depletion of Lactobacillus in women with bacterial vaginosis (BV) has been associated with an increased risk of PTB. It remains unknown at what point an aberrant vaginal microbiome composition specifically induces the cascade leading to PTB. The ability of oral or vaginal lactobacilli probiotics to reduce BV occurrence and/or dampen inflammation is being considered as a means to prevent PTB. Certain anti-inflammatory properties of lactobacilli suggest potential mechanisms. To date, clinical studies have not been powered with sufficiently high rates of PTB, but overall, there is merit in examining this promising area of clinical science.
Methemoglobin reductase (cytochrome b5 reductase) deficiency in congenital methemoglobinemia.

Two NADH diaphorases, diaphorase I and II, were isolated from normal red cells and congenital methemoglobinemic red cells by CM-cellulose and DE 32 column chromatography. For methemoglobinemic sample, activities of diaphorase I and diaphorase II were 80% and less than 5% of those for the normal red cells, respectively. Only diaphorase II showed cytochrome b5 reductase activity. The cytochrome b5 reductase deficiency seems to manifest methemoglobinemia through the decrease in the enzymatic reduction of cytochrome b5 and subsequent nonenzymatic reduction of methemoglobin by the reduced cytochrome b5. The methemoglobinemic diaphorase II was found similar to the normal enzyme with respect to Kms for the dye and NADH, heat stability, effect of pH, and electrophoretic pattern. The ratio of the diaphorase activity to the cytochrome b5 reductase activity was the same for both enzymes. Although the production of an abnormal enzyme molecule can not be excluded, it is possible that in this case the rate of enzyme formation is decreased.
Rapid convergence versus policy expressiveness in interdomain routing

In interdomain routing, competing network operators encode policies about possible routes in routing protocol configuration. The operation of the protocol should lead to satisfactory routes for all operators, but this process may not terminate or take a long time, exploring exponentially many alternative paths before stabilizing. In this paper, we study convergence for the partial policy specification model where preferences are set for only some paths and the ranking for the remaining paths is indifferent to the network operator. We consider policy restrictions that ensure a network to stabilize quickly. Specifically, we show that even when each operator only specifies preferences for two paths and each path has at most three hops, a network may still encounter exponentially many steps before convergence. However, restricting the policy any further ensures poly-time convergence. From another direction, it is well known that preferences based only on the `next-hop' node always converge within linear-time. We show that even relaxing the preference to be based on the `next-two-hop' leads to exponential-time convergence. Finally, we further study policy completion that leads to a stable state that minimizes the hop-length of the longest path, and establish a hardness result along with an approximation algorithm.
File System Scalability with Highly Decentralized Metadata on Independent Storage Devices

This paper discusses using hard drives that integrate a key-value interface and network access in the actual drive hardware (Kinetic storage platform) to supply file system functionality in a large scale environment. Taking advantage of higher-level functionality to handle metadata on the drives themselves, a serverless system architecture is proposed. Skipping path component traversal during the lookup operation is the key technique discussed in this paper to avoid performance degradation with highly decentralized metadata. Scalability implications are reviewed based on a fuse file system implementation.
Effect of Physical Activity, Nutritional Education, and Consumption of Extra Virgin Olive Oil on Lipid, Physiological, and Anthropometric Profiles in a Pediatric Population.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to determine the effects of nutritional education and vigorous physical activity on health-related parameters. METHODS The sample group consisted of 134 children from 5 rurally located schools. Participants were divided between 5 different experimental groups: control group (CG), physical activity group (PA), nutritional education group (NE), combined intervention group (PA+NE), and a combined intervention group with additional substitution of normally used oil for extra virgin olive oil (EVOO; PA+NE+EVOO). The intervention consisted of 60 minute sessions of physical activity held twice a week as well as nutritional education sessions held over 6 months. RESULTS Students in the groups receiving physical activity reduced their fat percentage and increased their muscle mass post intervention. At posttest the lipid profile improved in all intervention groups. The proportion of macronutrients and dietary cholesterol improved in the groups receiving nutritional education. The posttest comparison showed significantly lower fat percentage, sum of skinfolds and waist circumference in NE relative to CG and PA relative to CG. Diastolic blood pressure and glycaemia were significantly lower in PA+NE+EVOO relative to CG. CONCLUSION A school-based program consisting of nutritional education or nutritional education plus a physical activity program showed a positive effect on health-related parameters in children.
Understanding the role of uncertainty in jealousy experience and expression

Much of the research on romantic jealousy has failed to provide an explanatory mechanism and has ignored the difference between the experience and expression of that emotion. We address these concerns by adopting the construct of uncertainty, and related theoretical work, as an explanatory framework for predicting jealousy experience and expression in romantic relationships. Our results confirm the value of uncertainty for understanding jealousy, highlight the importance of differentiating jealousy experience from expression, and corroborate recent evidence showing a preference in relationships for indirectness under conditions of uncertainty. Implications of these findings are discussed in terms of the respective roles of self‐presentation and uncertainty in relationships.
Hastane Çalışanlarının Çalışma Ortamlarına İlişkin Algıları ile İş Doyumu Düzeyleri Arasındaki İlişkinin Değerlendirilmesi

Guvenli, nitelikli ve verimli saglik hizmetlerinin sunulabilmesi icin; saglik calisanlarinin kapasitelerini en ust duzeyde kullanabilecekleri ve mukemmel performans gosterebilecekleri bir calisma ortami olusturulmalidir. Ise yonelmeyi saglayan onemli bir etken olarak is doyumu, calisanlarin isini ve calisma ortamini degerlendirmesi yoluyla gelistirdigi duygusal bir tepkidir. Calisma ortami is doyumunu, is doyumu duzeyi de calisma ortamini etkiler. Bu arastirmanin amaci, Kirikkale Haci Hidayet Dogruer Kadin Dogum ve Cocuk Hastaliklari Hastanesi, Keskin Ilce Hastanesi ve Delice Ilce Hastanesi calisanlarinin calisma ortami degerlendirmesinin alt boyutlarindan yonetim destegi, meslektas destegi, birim destegi, calisma ortami is yuku algilari ve mevcut isi surdurme niyetlerinin is doyumu duzeylerine etkisini ortaya koymaktir. Arastirmada veri toplama araci olarak; Cox tarafindan 2003 yilinda gelistirilmis Bireysel Is Yuku Algi Olcegi (Individual Workload Perception Scale, IWPS) ve Dawis ve ark. tarafindan l967y1linda gelistirilen Minnesota Is Doyumu Olcegi (Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire) tum hastane calisanlarini kapsayacak sekilde ayarlandiktan sonra kullanilmistir. Calismanin sonunda; calisma ortami degerlendirmesinin alt boyutlarindan: yonetim destegi, meslektas destegi, birim destegi, calisma ortami is yuku algisi. mevcut isini surdurme niyeti ve genel calisma ortami algisi ile genel is doyumu duzeyi arasinda istatistiksel olarak anlamli bir iliski oldugu bulunmustur
Obstetric Implications of Pregnancy in Adolescence

Pregnancy in adolescence constitutes a high‐risk obstetric situation and there is an obvious need for improvement in obstetric care for this age group. A retrospective study of 94 mothers, 17 years of age and under, was carried out at the Teaching Hospital of King Faisal University in order to assess the obstetric implications of adolescent pregnancy. This study has shown a significant increase in the incidence of low birth weight infants, breech presentation and preterm delivery. A significantly smaller number of adolescent mothers were found to have given birth spontaneously, vaginally. Adolescent primigravidas were noted to run a greater risk. It is imperative to institute a medical and educational service with comprehensive prenatal care for adolescent mothers in order to improve the outcome of their pregnancies.
Proline alleviates salt-stress-induced enhancement in ribulose-1, 5-bisphosphate oxygenase activity.

Sodium chloride enhanced oxygenase activity while curtailing carboxylase activity of Rubisco (ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase; EC 4.1.1.39) purified to electrophoretic homogeneity. Exposure to 200 mM NaCl brought about an increase in the potential of Rubisco to oxygenate RuBP by over 50%. On the other hand, proline suppressed both oxygenase as well as carboxylase activities of Rubisco. Interestingly, proline-induced suppression in oxygenase activity was significantly higher than that of carboxylase activity. Most amazingly, salt-stress-induced enhancement in oxygenase activity was fully alleviated by proline even when present at a concentration as low as 50 mM. The findings presented in this communication clearly demonstrate for the first time that stress-induced proline accumulation might have a critical role in lowering the loss in fixed carbon by curtailing salt-stress-promoted enhancement in oxygenase activity of Rubisco.
Cux2 (Cutl2) integrates neural progenitor development with cell-cycle progression during spinal cord neurogenesis

Neurogenesis requires the coordination of neural progenitor proliferation and differentiation with cell-cycle regulation. However, the mechanisms coordinating these distinct cellular activities are poorly understood. Here we demonstrate for the first time that a Cut-like homeodomain transcription factor family member, Cux2 (Cutl2), regulates cell-cycle progression and development of neural progenitors. Cux2 loss-of-function mouse mutants exhibit smaller spinal cords with deficits in neural progenitor development as well as in neuroblast and interneuron differentiation. These defects correlate with reduced cell-cycle progression of neural progenitors coupled with diminished Neurod and p27Kip1 activity. Conversely, in Cux2 gain-of-function transgenic mice, the spinal cord is enlarged in association with enhanced neuroblast formation and neuronal differentiation, particularly with respect to interneurons. Furthermore, Cux2 overexpression induces high levels of Neurod and p27Kip1. Mechanistically, we discovered through chromatin immunoprecipitation assays that Cux2 binds both the Neurod and p27Kip1 promoters in vivo, indicating that these interactions are direct. Our results therefore show that Cux2 functions at multiple levels during spinal cord neurogenesis. Cux2 initially influences cell-cycle progression in neural progenitors but subsequently makes additional inputs through Neurod and p27Kip1 to regulate neuroblast formation, cell-cycle exit and cell-fate determination. Thus our work defines novel roles for Cux2 as a transcription factor that integrates cell-cycle progression with neural progenitor development during spinal cord neurogenesis.
Acoustic characteristics of vowels produced by Greek intelligible speakers with profound hearing impairment I: Examination of vowel space

Abstract Purpose: The study examines F1, F2 and F3 formant frequencies of vowels produced by six Greek intelligible speakers with profound hearing impairment and six speakers with normal hearing (three male and three female in each group). Method: The formant frequencies are measured in words of the form /ʹpVCV/ where V = /i, , , , u/ and C = /p, t, k, s/. The study examines differences in formant frequencies between the two groups and as a function of gender. Three measures are calculated to examine the area of the vowel space and differences along the F1 and F2 axes between the groups and genders. Result: The results show that the vowel space produced by the speakers with hearing impairment is considerably reduced. Greater reduction was evident for F2 compared to F1. Restricted formant frequency ranges and relatively large variation along F1 and/or F2 for selected vowels resulted in overlap among vowel categories. F3 frequencies were systematically lower and showed greater variation for the speakers with hearing impairment. Conclusion: The paper discusses findings with reference to perceptual and production constraints affecting the speech of individuals with hearing impairment.
A fuzzy Metric for Currency in the Context of Big Data

Nowadays, companies rely more than ever on stored data to support decision making. However, outdated data may result in wrong decisions and economic losses. Thus, measuring data currency is extremely important. Existing metrics for currency either assume that their input parameters are given, or estimate them statistically, which may not always be possible in applications and especially in the context of big data. To address this issue, we propose a metric for currency based on expert estimations. The metric is modelled as a fuzzy inference system, which consists of a set of parallel IF-THEN rules with linguistic variables as inputs and output. It thus allows for a well-founded quantification of expert estimations and the consideration of both subjective and objective data. In addition to presenting our metric, we provide methods for estimating its input parameters (age of the considered attribute value and its decline rate). Furthermore, we demonstrate how the fuzzy inference system and thus the metric can be initialised and applied. The presented approach serves as a first step in modelling expert estimations as input to data quality metrics in a well-defined and structured way.
Idiopathic normal-pressure hydrocephalus

Objectives: This observational study aimed to explore the pathophysiology of idiopathic normal-pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) and to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic value of CSF biomarkers. Methods: Lumbar CSF of patients with iNPH and healthy elderly individuals (HI) and ventricular CSF (VCSF) from the patients with iNPH pre and 6 months postsurgery were analyzed by ELISA. We analyzed neurofilament light protein (NFL), myelin basic protein (MBP), a panel of β-amyloid isoforms (Aβ38, Aβ40, and Aβ42), soluble amyloid precursor protein (sAPP) isoforms sAPPα and sAPPβ, total and phosphorylated tau protein (t- and p-tau), and inflammatory markers interleukin 8, interleukin 10, and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1. Results: NFL was elevated and amyloid precursor protein (APP)–derived proteins and tau proteins were lower in patients with iNPH than in HI. Postsurgery, there was an increase of NFL, APP-derived proteins, p-tau, and albumin in VCSF, whereas levels of MBP and t-tau had decreased. Improved patients showed a greater increase of APP-derived proteins in VCSF following shunting than did those who did not improve. Conclusions: We interpret our data as iNPH pathophysiology to be characterized by a reduced periventricular metabolism and axonal degeneration but no major cortical damage.
Renin polymorphisms and haplotypes are associated with blood pressure levels and hypertension risk in postmenopausal women

Background Renin is a key protein of the renin–angiotensin system involved in the physiological control of blood pressure; the renin gene is therefore a candidate for essential hypertension in humans. We tested the association between polymorphisms and haplotypes of the renin gene and the risk of hypertension and blood pressure levels in two Spanish populations. Methods Two population-based studies from different regions of Spain were performed. Study A included 1502 individuals (748 women) 40–70 years old, and Study B included 670 women 45–70 years old. Fourteen polymorphisms of the renin gene were selected based on position, spacing, heterozygosity (> 10% for the minor allele frequency) and previous information, and were assessed by SNPlex. Results Genotype GG of the rs5707 polymorphism was significantly associated with blood pressure levels (P = 0.005) and with the risk of having hypertension (odds ratio, 6.16; 95% confidence interval, 1.19–31.8) in women 40–70 years old from study A, but not the men. This association was also present in the women of study B (P < 0.001 for blood pressure values; odds ratio, 2.11 and 95% confidence interval, 1.07–4.17 for hypertension). Two haplotypes defined by five selected polymorphisms were associated with increased risk of hypertension in these aged women. Conclusion Polymorphisms of the renin gene were associated with blood pressure levels and risk of hypertension in women over 40 years old. The interaction between the potential functional impact of this genetic background and the estrogen fall could explain the association in women of this age group.
Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): the absence of stellar mass segregation in galaxy groups and consistent predictions from GALFORM and EAGLE simulations

We investigate the contentious issue of the presence, or lack thereof, of satellites mass segregation in galaxy groups using the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey, the GALFORM semi-analytic and the EAGLE cosmological hydrodynamical simulation catalogues of galaxy groups. We select groups with halo mass 12⩽log(M halo /h −1 M ⊙ )<14.5 and redshift z⩽0.32 and probe the radial distribution of stellar mass out to twice the group virial radius. All the samples are carefully constructed to be complete in stellar mass at each redshift range and efforts are made to regularise the analysis for all the data. Our study shows negligible mass segregation in galaxy group environments with absolute gradients of ≲0.08 dex and also shows a lack of any redshift evolution. Moreover, we find that our results at least for the GAMA data are robust to different halo mass and group centre estimates. Furthermore, the EAGLE data allows us to probe much fainter luminosities (r -band magnitude of 22) as well as investigate the three-dimensional spatial distribution with intrinsic halo properties, beyond what the current observational data can offer. In both cases we find that the fainter EAGLE data show a very mild spatial mass segregation at z≤0.22 , which is again not apparent at higher redshift. Interestingly, our results are in contrast to some earlier findings using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We investigate the source of the disagreement and suggest that subtle differences between the group finding algorithms could be the root cause.
Erratum: Probabilistic application of a fugacity model to predict triclosan fate during wastewater treatment

The fate and partitioning of the antimicrobial compound, triclosan, in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is evaluated using a probabilistic fugacity model to predict the range of triclosan concentrations in effluent and secondary biosolids. The WWTP model predicts 84% to 92% triclosan removal, which is within the range of measured removal efficiencies (typically 70% to 98%). Triclosan is predominantly removed by sorption and subsequent settling of organic particulates during primary treatment and by aerobic biodegradation during secondary treatment. Median modeled removal efficiency due to sorption is 40% for all treatment phases and 31% in the primary treatment phase. Median modeled removal efficiency due to biodegradation is 48% for all treatment phases and 44% in the secondary treatment phase. Important factors contributing to variation in predicted triclosan concentrations in effluent and biosolids include influent concentrations, solids concentrations in settling tanks, and factors related to solids retention time. Measured triclosan concentrations in biosolids and non‐United States (US) effluent are consistent with model predictions. However, median concentrations in US effluent are over‐predicted with this model, suggesting that differences in some aspect of treatment practices not incorporated in the model (e.g., disinfection methods) may affect triclosan removal from effluent. Model applications include predicting changes in environmental loadings associated with new triclosan applications and supporting risk analyses for biosolids‐amended land and effluent receiving waters. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2010;6:393–404. © 2010 SETAC
What is wrong with the lexicon - an attempt to model pronunciations probabilistically

We motivate the integration of a probabilistic pronunciation model into a system for recognizing spontaneous speech and propose a possible architecture of such a model. In order to develop an environment for experiments, a simplified version employing constrained phone recognition and discrete syllable-size HMM subword units was implemented and evaluated. Although the results are still significantly worse than those achieved by our “conventional” word recognizer, they are encouraging given that the experimental system is only a coarse approximation of the proposed approach.
Personality and Intellectual Competence

© 2005 by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. This book provides a comprehensive state-of-the-art review of personality and intelligence, as well as covering other variables underlying academic and occupational performance. Personality and Intellectual Competence is a unique attempt to develop a comprehensive model to understand individual difference by relating major personality dimensions to cognitive ability measures, academic and job performance, and self-assessed abilities, as well as other traditional constructs such as leadership and creativity. It will be essential reading for anyone interested in personality, intelligence, and the prediction of future achievement in general. Personality and Intellectual Competence is an outstanding account of the relationship between major individual differences constructs. With its informative summary of the last century of research in the field, this book provides a robust and systematic theoretical background for understanding the psychological determinants of future achievement. The authors have sought to combine technical expertise with applied interests, making this a groundbreaking theoretical tool for anyone concerned with the scientific prediction of human performance.