Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
What do we learn from recall consumption data

In this paper, we use two complementary Italian data sources (the 1995 ISTAT and Bank of Italy household surveys) to generate householdspecific nondurable expenditure in the Bank of Italy sample that contains relatively high-quality income data. We show that food expenditure data are of comparable quality and informational content across the two surveys, once we properly account for heaping, rounding, and time averaging. We therefore depart from standard practice and rely on the estimation of an inverse Engel curve on ISTAT data to impute nondurable expenditure to Bank of Italy observations, and show how we can use these estimates to analyze consumption age profiles conditional on demographics. Our key result is that predictions based on a standard set of demographic and socioeconomic indicators are quite different from predictions that also condition on simulated food consumption, in the sense that their age profile is less in line with the implications of the standard consumer intertemporal optimization problem.
Low power embedded speech recognition system based on a MCU and a coprocessor

In speech recognition systems, CHMM (Continuous Hidden Markov Model) based speech recognition algorithms have the best accuracy but with the most computational cost. Neither General Purpose Processor (GPP) nor dedicated hardware implementation is a good solution for the algorithm, due to high power consumption for the former and lack of flexibility for the later. To reduce power consumption and enhance flexibility, this paper presents a speech recognition system composed of a coprocessor and a MCU. The coprocessor is a dedicated hardware design for Output Probability Calculation (OPC), which is the most computation-intensive part in CHMM, and MCU is a 32bit RISC (ARM). Tested with a 358-state 3-mixture 27-feature 800-word HMM, MCU operates at 40MHz and coprocessor operates at 10MHz to meet real-time requirement. The power consumption of MCU is 10mW, and coprocessor 1.8mW.
Shedding of glycan‐modifying enzymes by signal peptide peptidase‐like 3 (SPPL3) regulates cellular N‐glycosylation

Protein N‐glycosylation is involved in a variety of physiological and pathophysiological processes such as autoimmunity, tumour progression and metastasis. Signal peptide peptidase‐like 3 (SPPL3) is an intramembrane‐cleaving aspartyl protease of the GxGD type. Its physiological function, however, has remained enigmatic, since presently no physiological substrates have been identified. We demonstrate that SPPL3 alters the pattern of cellular N‐glycosylation by triggering the proteolytic release of active site‐containing ectodomains of glycosidases and glycosyltransferases such as N‐acetylglucosaminyltransferase V, β‐1,3 N‐acetylglucosaminyltransferase 1 and β‐1,4 galactosyltransferase 1. Cleavage of these enzymes leads to a reduction in their cellular activity. In line with that, reduced expression of SPPL3 results in a hyperglycosylation phenotype, whereas elevated SPPL3 expression causes hypoglycosylation. Thus, SPPL3 plays a central role in an evolutionary highly conserved post‐translational process in eukaryotes.
Gray-level grouping (GLG): an automatic method for optimized image contrast Enhancement-part I: the basic method

Contrast enhancement has an important role in image processing applications. Conventional contrast enhancement techniques either often fail to produce satisfactory results for a broad variety of low-contrast images, or cannot be automatically applied to different images, because their parameters must be specified manually to produce a satisfactory result for a given image. This paper describes a new automatic method for contrast enhancement. The basic procedure is to first group the histogram components of a low-contrast image into a proper number of bins according to a selected criterion, then redistribute these bins uniformly over the grayscale, and finally ungroup the previously grouped gray-levels. Accordingly, this new technique is named gray-level grouping (GLG). GLG not only produces results superior to conventional contrast enhancement techniques, but is also fully automatic in most circumstances, and is applicable to a broad variety of images. An extension of GLG, selective GLG (SGLG), and its variations will be discussed in Part II of this paper. SGLG selectively groups and ungroups histogram components to achieve specific application purposes, such as eliminating background noise, enhancing a specific segment of the histogram, and so on. The extension of GLG to color images will also be discussed in Part II.
Challenges in the Evaluation of Usability and User Experience in Reality Based Interaction (CHI 2009 Workshop, 5th April 2009, Boston, USA) Editors: Georgios Christou, Effie L-C. Law, William Green & Kasper Hornbæk

This workshop aims to further the understanding of the challenges relating to the evaluation methods of usability and user experience that are specific to Reality-Based Interaction (RBI), and to identify effective practical responses to these challenges. The emergence of Post-WIMP interfaces has led to new ways of interacting with technologies. However, there are still no integrated ways of evaluating the usability and user experience of these interfaces. Developers and designers are left to discover their own metrics and evaluation methods. This approach presents problems, in that the metrics used in each case may provide results that are neither valid nor meaningful. For this reason, the time is ripe to integrate the methods that have been developed for evaluating interfaces that belong to the RBI umbrella. The measures and techniques will then be turned into a framework that enables designers of RBI interfaces to select appropriately existing methods and tools to evaluate systematically the usability and user experience of their prototypes and products. Reusing and adapting validated evaluation approaches can not only avoid reinventing the wheel and wasting time but also further improve and consolidate these approaches. Such a framework will also provide a basis for comparison between designs of RBI interfaces in different application contexts.
Deficient approaches to human neuroimaging

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is the workhorse of imaging-based human cognitive neuroscience. The use of fMRI is ever-increasing; within the last 4 years more fMRI studies have been published than in the previous 17 years. This large body of research has mainly focused on the functional localization of condition- or stimulus-dependent changes in the blood-oxygenation-level dependent signal. In recent years, however, many aspects of the commonly practiced analysis frameworks and methodologies have been critically reassessed. Here we summarize these critiques, providing an overview of the major conceptual and practical deficiencies in widely used brain-mapping approaches, and exemplify some of these issues by the use of imaging data and simulations. In particular, we discuss the inherent pitfalls and shortcomings of methodologies for statistical parametric mapping. Our critique emphasizes recent reports of excessively high numbers of both false positive and false negative findings in fMRI brain mapping. We outline our view regarding the broader scientific implications of these methodological considerations and briefly discuss possible solutions.
Elevated serum prolactin levels as a marker of inflammatory arthritis in psoriasis vulgaris.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Psoriasis vulgaris (PV) is complicated in up to 40% patients by the inflammatory joint disease psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Neither the aetiology of the arthritis nor specific laboratory markers for its disease activity have been clearly elucidated. Prolactin (PRL) acts as a cytokine with immunomodulatory functions and plays a role in skin and joint biology. The results on PRL however as a marker are unclear. The aim of this study was to confirm whether serum PRL levels reflect systemic complications of PV, like inflammatory joint disease and/or can serve as a marker of disease activity in both cases. METHODS A total of 70 patients with PV without arthritis and 40 patients suffering from PsA were included. In all patients, we determined skin disease activity according to the PASI index and in PsA, active disease assessed as swollen or tender joints. The control group included 27 age and sex matched healthy individuals. The concentration of PRL in the serum was measured by immunoradiometric assays. RESULTS The PRL serum levels were significantly increased in PsA patients (299.2±28.29 mIU/L) compared to PV only patients (201.4.2±11.72 mIU/L), P = 0.0003 and healthy individuals (198.2±15.31 mIU/L), P = 0.007. The serum PRL levels in PsA with active disease 336.8±42.50 (mIU/L) were higher than in PV and controls, P < 0.0001 and P = 0.002 respectively. In PV only patients, there was no correlation between PASI and PRL levels. CONCLUSION Our results showed that PRL serum levels are a marker of active arthritis in PsA and reflects systemic complication rather than local skin activity.
Differential Proteome Analysis of Extracellular Vesicles from Breast Cancer Cell Lines by Chaperone Affinity Enrichment

The complexity of human tissue fluid precludes timely identification of cancer biomarkers by immunoassay or mass spectrometry. An increasingly attractive strategy is to primarily enrich extracellular vesicles (EVs) released from cancer cells in an accelerated manner compared to normal cells. The Vn96 peptide was herein employed to recover a subset of EVs released into the media from cellular models of breast cancer. Vn96 has affinity for heat shock proteins (HSPs) decorating the surface of EVs. Reflecting their cells of origin, cancer EVs displayed discrete differences from those of normal phenotype. GELFrEE LC/MS identified an extensive proteome from all three sources of EVs, the vast majority having been previously reported in the ExoCarta database. Pathway analysis of the Vn96-affinity proteome unequivocally distinguished EVs from tumorigenic cell lines (SKBR3 and MCF-7) relative to a non-tumorigenic source (MCF-10a), particularly with regard to altered metabolic enzymes, signaling, and chaperone proteins. The protein data sets provide valuable information from material shed by cultured cells. It is probable that a vast amount of biomarker identities may be collected from established and primary cell cultures using the approaches described here.
A Report of an Adult Case of Tubulointerstitial Nephritis and Uveitis (TINU) Syndrome, with a Review of 102 Japanese Cases

Patient: Female, 44 Final Diagnosis: Tubulointerstitial nephritis • uveitis syndrome Symptoms: — Medication: Loxoprofen sodium hydrate Clinical Procedure: Renal biopsy Specialty: Nephrology Objective: Rare disease Background: Although TINU syndrome is characterized by idiopathic TIN with bilateral anterior uveitis, few reports have provided a comprehensive summary of the features of this disorder. Previous reports have suggested that many Japanese patients had HLA-A2 and -A24 (7), but there is no evidence. Case Report: A 44-year-old female was referred to our hospital due to renal dysfunction in March 2012. After admission, her symptoms improved spontaneously without medication within 2 weeks. In the outpatient clinic, she was diagnosed with idiopathic bilateral anterior uveitis in May, and her renal dysfunction relapsed in November. A renal biopsy showed diffuse TIN. We made a diagnosis of TINU syndrome because we could not explain the origin, and treated her with a systemic corticosteroid. Her renal function and ocular symptoms have been improving. The patient had HLA-A24, -B7, -DR1, -C*07: 02 and -DQB1*05: 01: 01. We collected 102 Japanese cases in PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE, and the Japanese Medical Abstracts Society and compared our case with the previous cases. Conclusions: This disorder affects primarily young females (median age, 14 years), and the most common symptom is fever (44/102 cases). We conducted a statistical analysis using contingency table and Pearson’s chi-square test, for HLA-A2 and A24, and calculated the odds ratio (OR). There are no significant differences (A2 was present in 7/22 cases and in 19/50 controls, p value (P) 0.61, OR 0.76 (95% confidence interval (CI)) 0.27–2.2; A24 was present in 10/22 cases and in 33/50 controls, P 0.10, OR 0.43, CI 0.16–1.2).
Phytochemical Composition, Antioxidant Activity, and Neuroprotective Effect of Terminalia chebula Retzius Extracts

The objectives of this study were to determine phytochemical compositions, chemiluminescence antioxidant activities, and neuroprotective effects on PC12 cells for water, methanol, and 95% ethanol extracts of the air-dried fruit of Terminalia chebula Retzius. The water extract afforded the greatest yield, and total phenolic and tannin content. The methanol extract yielded the greatest total triterpenoid content. Based on four chemiluminescence antioxidant assays, the three extracts showed various degrees of antioxidant activity. The methanol extract showed good antioxidant activity based on the horseradish peroxidase-luminol-hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) assay. The water extract appeared to have good antioxidant activities in cupric sulfate-Phen-Vc-H2O2 and luminol-H2O2 assays. Pyrogallol-luminol assay showed the 95% ethanol extract to have good antioxidant activity. The methanol and water extracts presented neuroprotective activities on H2O2-induced PC12 cell death at 0.5–5.0 μg/mL. Further investigations are necessary to verify these activities in vivo.
Economics of less invasive spinal surgery: an analysis of hospital cost differences between open and minimally invasive instrumented spinal fusion procedures during the perioperative period

Background There is great debate about the costs and benefits of technology-driven medical interventions such as instrumented lumbar fusion. With most analyses using charge data, the actual costs incurred by medical institutions performing these procedures are not well understood. The object of the current study was to examine the differences in hospital operating costs between open and minimally invasive spine surgery (MIS) during the perioperative period. Methods Data were collected in the form of a prospective registry from a community hospital after specific Institutional Review Board approval was obtained. The analysis included consecutive adult patients being surgically treated for degenerative conditions of the lumbar spine, with either an MIS or open approach for two-level instrumented lumbar fusion. Patient outcomes and costs were collected for the perioperative period. Hospital operating costs were grouped by hospitalization/operative procedure, transfusions, reoperations, and residual events (health care interactions). Results One hundred and one open posterior lumbar interbody fusion (Open group) and 109 MIS patients were treated primarily for stenosis coupled with instability (39.6% and 59.6%, respectively). Mean total hospital costs were $27,055.53 for the Open group and $24,320.16 for the MIS group. This represents a statistically significant cost savings of $2,825.37 (10.4% [95% confidence interval: $522.51–$5,128.23]) when utilizing MIS over traditional Open techniques. Additionally, residual events, complications, and blood transfusions were significantly more frequent in the Open group, compared to the MIS group. Conclusions/level of evidence Utilizing minimally invasive techniques for instrumented spinal fusion results in decreased hospital operating costs compared to similar open procedures in the early perioperative period. Additionally, patient benefits of minimally invasive techniques include significantly less blood loss, shorter hospital stays, lower complication rate, and a lower number of residual events. Long-term outcome comparisons are needed to evaluate the efficacy of the two treatments. Level of evidence: III Clinical relevance This work represents a true cost-of-operating comparison between open and MIS approaches for lumbar spine fusion, which has relevance to surgeons, hospitals and payers in medical decision-making.
What helps where – and why? Semantic relatedness for knowledge transfer

Remarkable performance has been reported to recognize single object classes. Scalability to large numbers of classes however remains an important challenge for today's recognition methods. Several authors have promoted knowledge transfer between classes as a key ingredient to address this challenge. However, in previous work the decision which knowledge to transfer has required either manual supervision or at least a few training examples limiting the scalability of these approaches. In this work we explicitly address the question of how to automatically decide which information to transfer between classes without the need of any human intervention. For this we tap into linguistic knowledge bases to provide the semantic link between sources (what) and targets (where) of knowledge transfer. We provide a rigorous experimental evaluation of different knowledge bases and state-of-the-art techniques from Natural Language Processing which goes far beyond the limited use of language in related work. We also give insights into the applicability (why) of different knowledge sources and similarity measures for knowledge transfer.
Inter-relationship of intelligence-quotient and self-concept with dental caries amongst socially handicapped orphan children.

CONTEXT India has been the focus of many health surveys among normal, physically, and mentally handicapped children. However, the data, concerning oral health conditions of socially handicapped children living in orphanages, are scanty. AIMS To study the effect of parental inadequacy, environmental deprivation, and emotional disturbances on dental caries through intelligence quotient (IQ) and self-concept in orphan children and also to co-relate dental caries with different levels of IQ and self-concept. SETTINGS AND DESIGN The study was carried out amongst socially handicapped children living in orphanages. PATIENTS AND METHODS 100 children in the age group of 10-14 years from orphanages were selected. Malin's Intelligence Scale for Indian Children (MISIC) was used to assess the intelligence quotient; self-concept questionnaire to assess self-concept of the child and recording of dental caries status of children was done as per WHO Index (1997). STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED To assess the relationship of dental caries with IQ, student's unpaired t-test was used and; to find the relationship between self-concept and dental caries, Karl-Pearson's coefficient of co-relation was applied. RESULTS the children in orphanages had a lower IQ and high caries experience but had an above average self-concept. There was also no co-relation between dental caries and self-concept. CONCLUSIONS Orphan children, being socially handicapped, are at an increased risk for dental caries due to a lower IQ level, parental deprivation, and institutionalization. Moreover, lack of co-relation between dental caries and self-concept could be explained by the fact that dental caries is a lifelong process whereas different dimensions of self-concept are in a state of constant flux.
Broadband Circuit Model for Wire-Interconnection Structures Based on a MoM-Eigenvalue Approach

A novel highly versatile broadband Foster-type circuit model for arbitrary wire networks with moderate radiation losses is presented in this paper. Based on a quasi-static method-of-moments-eigenvalue problem, a modal multiport circuit is derived with minimal computational effort, offering fast convergence and inherent stability for time-domain simulations with arbitrary active/passive nonlinear loads. The model order can be estimated rigorously from the given frequency range. Incident electromagnetic field excitation is considered by additional modal sources, which are calculated with minimal effort. The proposed model is validated in the frequency and time domain.
Covariation-based Approach to Crisis ResponsibilityAssessment : A Test for Extending Situational Crisis CommunicationTheory with Covariation Principle

In line with Schwarz’s (2008) suggestion of extending Situational CrisisCommunication Theory (SCCT) with Kelley’s covariation principle, the presentresearch aims to further examine the applicability of integrating a covariation-basedapproach to crisis responsibility assessment into the SCCT framework. Specifically, acontent analysis was conducted to verify the basic assumptions for applying acovariation-based approach in crisis communication context. A follow-upexperimental study was exercised to test the effect of consensus information – themissing variable in SCCT – on crisis responsibility attributions. The researchsuggested that a covariation-based approach of crisis responsiblilty assessment couldbe legitimately applied in the SCCT framework, and that crisis responsibilityassessment in the SCCT framework could be improved, at least in some particularsituations, by more consistently and systematically taking into account the threeinformation dimensions in covariation principle as integrated information patternsrather than separately considering the effect of one single information dimensionalone.Keywords:
Symmetric composition of musical concerns

Aspect-oriented programming (AOP) describes a range of techniques that enable the separation, organisation and composition of various programming concerns that cannot be adequately encapsulated using the principal decomposition mechanisms available to modern programming languages.Naturally, most AOP-related research is focussed on its application to the development of computer software. However, we believe that it is worthwhile considering whether AOP and cognate techniques might be usefully adapted as a means for an end-user to organise, represent and compose information in computer systems that support application domains in which scattering and tangling are present.Music is notoriously rich in deeply tangled relationships. Moreover, there is no universally accepted representation of music that simultaneously represents all dimensions of interest to the composer.In this paper we describe Aspect Oriented Music Representation, an approach to the organisation, representation and composition of musical materials based on MDSOC. Our approach extends MDSOC by adding a dynamic hyperspace and by allowing users to write detailed composition expressions using an extensible set of compositors. We introduce the concept of composition history, enabling symmetric composition to be related to joinpoints, demonstrating a way to combine symmetric and asymmetric aspect approaches.
Reducing Register File Energy Consumption using Compiler Support

Process for producing pigment grade titanium dioxide by heating titanium tetrachloride to a temperature of from about 1,100 DEG to 1,300 DEG C by mixing with combustion gases having a temperature of from about 1,700 DEG to 2,300 DEG C obtained from the combustion of a mixture of carbon monoxide, oxygen and chlorine, the oxygen in the mixture being present in an amount of about 0.5 to 10.0 percent by volume in excess of the stoichiometric amount required for complete combustion of the carbon monoxide, the chlorine comprising from about 1.0 to 10.0 percent by volume of the mixture, and then reacting the thus heated titanium tetrachloride with oxygen at a temperature of from about 1,000 DEG to 1,500 DEG C. Desirably, the titanium tetrachloride is first preheated to a temperature of about 500 DEG C and the oxygen reactant is preheated to a temperature of about 800 DEG C. The titanium dioxide product obtained has a uniform particle size distribution and an average particle diameter greater than 0.25 microns.