Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
How Can the Lyrics of a Song in a Tone Language Be Understood?

In a tone language, pitch variations are used to contrast word meaning. For example, the Cantonese syllable /si/ means "teacher" when spoken in a high pitch and "yes" when spoken in a low pitch. How is fundamental frequency (Fo) used to signal lexical tones that occur in songs? In an examination of Cantonese songs, it was found that songwriters abandon the ratio scale of Fo differences that is applied to lexical tones in carefully read speech and instead use an ordinal scale. For example, a high tone that is normally 12% higher than a mid-tone in speech can be realised as any higher Fo (but never a lower Fo) in songs. A perceptual experiment showed that native Cantonese-speaking listeners similarly apply an ordinal Fo scale to arrive at the lexical meaning of the lyric. This ratio-to-ordinal mapping in Cantonese songs ensures the musicality of the melody while preserving adequate identifiability of lexical tones in the lyric.
Incorporating prior knowledge in medical image segmentation: a survey

Medical image segmentation, the task of partitioning an image into meaningful parts, is an important step toward automating medical image analysis and is at the crux of a variety of medical imaging applications, such as computer aided diagnosis, therapy planning and delivery, and computer aided interventions. However, the existence of noise, low contrast and objects' complexity in medical images are critical obstacles that stand in the way of achieving an ideal segmentation system. Incorporating prior knowledge into image segmentation algorithms has proven useful for obtaining more accurate and plausible results. This paper surveys the different types of prior knowledge that have been utilized in different segmentation frameworks. We focus our survey on optimization-based methods that incorporate prior information into their frameworks. We review and compare these methods in terms of the types of prior employed, the domain of formulation (continuous vs. discrete), and the optimization techniques (global vs. local). We also created an interactive online database of existing works and categorized them based on the type of prior knowledge they use. Our website is interactive so that researchers can contribute to keep the database up to date. We conclude the survey by discussing different aspects of designing an energy functional for image segmentation, open problems, and future perspectives.
LINKING O*NET DESCRIPTORS TO OCCUPATIONAL LITERACY REQUIREMENTS USING JOB COMPONENT VALIDATION

In this study, we demonstrated the usefulness of Occupational Information Network (O*NET) job analysis data for identifying applied adult literacy requirements across occupations. This was accomplished using a job component validity approach relating O*NET knowledge, skill, ability, and generalized work activity descriptor data to literacy test scores on the national adult literacy survey (NALS). Mean scores on prose, document, and quantitative literacy were estimated for 902 O*NET-SOC occupations using descriptor data at the occupation level. Multiple correlation coefficients ranging from . 79 to . 81 (corrected for shrinkage) were found when predicting literacy scores from O*NET descriptors. Results of this study showed that 3 different types of applied adult literacy were highly predictable from the O*NET descriptors.
Progesterone inhibits L‐type calcium currents in gallbladder smooth muscle cells

Background and Aim: The incidence of gallbladder stones is higher in women during pregnancy than in men. Progesterone can inhibit gallbladder motility and facilitate gallstone formation. However, the ionic mechanisms have not been fully illuminated. This study sought to investigate the effects of progesterone on L‐type calcium currents and voltage‐dependent potassium currents in gallbladder smooth muscle cells.
Yes, but not in the Caribbean

From the publication of Roots of Language onward, a significant part of the debate about Derek Bickerton's Language Bioprogram Hypothesis (LBH) focused on the cultural matrix of creolization, 1 The crucial test case for Bickerton was Hawai'i. Hawai'i was important for two reasons: (1) creole genesis had occurred much more recently there than in the Caribbean, and (2) despite having an entirely different set of substrate languages from Caribbean creoles, Hawai'i Creole English (HCE) looked very much like them. The recency of creolization in Hawai'i meant that it was possible to recover a great deal of information about what had taken place there. When Bickerton first started looking at HCE in the 1970's, people were still alive who had come from Japan and the Philippines early in the twentieth century to work on sugar plantations. Data from interviews with them (Bickerton & Odo 1976; Bickerton 1981) showed the speakers to be individuals whose English had scarcely moved past the jargon stage. As for the similarities between HCE and Caribbean creoles, the fact that HCE looked so similar to Caribbean creoles yet lacked substratal input from African languages effectively negated - for Bickerton at least - the claim that input from African substrate languages had played a critical role in the formation of Caribbean creoles: 'if a feature appears in one creole whose substratum lacks that feature, it does not matter if there are nine or 99 creoles whose substratum has it - for it has then been demonstrated that substratum presence is no longer a necessary condition for presence of that feature, and substratal. explanations become superfluous' (1984:215).
Construction of Status and Referential Structures*

Beliefs about diverse status characteristics have a common core content of performance capacities and qualities made up of two features: hierarchy (superior/inferior capacities) and role-differentiation (instrumental/expressive qualities). Whatever the status characteristic, its more-valued state tends to be defined as superior and instrumental, and the less-valued state tends to be defined as inferior but expressive. We account for this in terms of the typification of differences in behavioral inequalities and profiles that emerge in task oriented social interaction. Status construction theory argues that new configurations of the states of a nonvalued discriminating characteristic, status values, and status typifications of actors possessing these states arise from a similar process. The theory we present here makes new predictions on the construction and institutionalization of status characteristics and generalized beliefs about the relation of status characteristics to social rewards, called referential structures. This theory, we argue, integrates micro and macro elements in a way that may be applicable to explaining the social construction of cultural objects more generally.
Improvement in psychological well-being of people with aphasia and their families: Evaluation of a community-based programme

Abstract The York-Durham Aphasia Centre comprises a community-based programme for people with aphasia and their families. It offers long-term support and service at any time post-stroke or head injury. This evaluation focused on improvement in psychosocial well-being in the clients and their family members as a measure of programme effectiveness. Trained programme volunteers administered Ryff's Psychological Well-being Scale to 35 clients twice, at 6 months apart. Twelve family members also self-administered the scale twice. Voluuteers handled the administration well, and aphasic clients were able to complete the scale with little difficulty. Both clients and family members showed positive change in five of six dimensions of psychological well-being. This improvement in both groups may be related to the direct attention the programmes give to psychosocial well-being and communication, the overall environment of the centre, and the test administration itself. The positive change in these aphasic clients of.
A Participant-based Approach for Event Summarization Using Twitter Streams

Twitter offers an unprecedented advantage on live reporting of the events happening around the world. However, summarizing the Twitter event has been a challenging task that was not fully explored in the past. In this paper, we propose a participant-based event summarization approach that “zooms-in” the Twitter event streams to the participant level, detects the important sub-events associated with each participant using a novel mixture model that combines the “burstiness” and “cohesiveness” properties of the event tweets, and generates the event summaries progressively. We evaluate the proposed approach on different event types. Results show that the participantbased approach can effectively capture the sub-events that have otherwise been shadowed by the long-tail of other dominant sub-events, yielding summaries with considerably better coverage than the state-of-the-art.
What is Relevant? Student Perceptions of Relevance Strategies in College Classrooms

The operationalization of relevance has been problematic, raising concerns about the conceptualization of relevance. The current study inductively examined relevance by asking college students to generate relevance-increasing strategies used by instructors. Responses were grouped into five categories: “Outside Course Relevance,” “Methods and Activities Relevance,” “Teaching Styles Relevance,” “Inside Course Relevance,” and “No Relevance. ” The results support previous relevance-increasing strategies suggested by Keller (1983) but also suggest that relevance may be an outcome of teacher behaviors, rather than a predictor of motivation.
Normal development of the pituitary gland: assessment with three-dimensional MR volumetry.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently available data on pituitary volume have been based on indirect methods of measurement and are mostly limited to adult populations. The purpose of this study was to determine the normal development of pituitary volume by means of direct measurements made on thin-section 3D MR acquisitions. METHODS The volume of the normal pituitary gland in children and adolescents was measured by using 3D MR sequences with a section thickness of 0.6 to 0.75 mm. The clinical study group consisted of 199 pediatric patients with clinically normal pituitary function and no abnormal findings on routine MR studies. The volume of the posterior pituitary was also measured in all the subjects. RESULTS A phantom study revealed measurement errors within 25%. In the clinical study, the measured pituitary volumes showed a growth spurt during puberty, which was more prominent in girls. Posterior pituitary volumes showed gradual growth without such a spurt. Among 5- to 9-year-olds, the posterior pituitary volumes were significantly larger for boys than for girls. CONCLUSION Normal development of the pituitary gland and posterior pituitary was determined by means of 3D MR volumetry. With this technique, we found a gender difference in the volume of the posterior pituitary.
O ct 2 00 2 CERN-TH / 2002-256 Rotating Strings in Confining AdS / CFT Backgrounds

We study semiclassical rotating strings in AdS/CFT backgrounds that exhibit both confinement and finite-size effects. The energy versus spin dispersion relation for short strings is the expected Regge trajectory behaviour, with the same string tension as is measured by the Wilson loop. Long strings probe the interplay between confinement and finite-size effects. In particular, the dispersion relation for long strings shows a characteristic dependence on the string tension and the finite-size scale.
The influence of impurity monovalent cations adsorption on reconstructed chalcopyrite (001)-S surface in leaching process

Hydrometallurgical processing of chalcopyrite is hindered predominantly due to the passivation layers formed on the chalcopyrite surface. However, the effects of impurity cations released from the gangue are not yet well understood. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were carried out to investigate monovalent cations of Na+ and K+ on chalcopyrite (001)-S surface using Materials Studio. The results show that the 3d orbital of Fe and 3p orbital of S predominantly contribute to their activities during chalcopyrite oxidation and dissolution processes. In addition, SO42− is more likely to be adsorbed on one Fe site in the presence of Na+, while it is preferentially adsorbed on two Fe sites in the presence of K+. However, the adsorption of both Na2SO4 and K2SO4 on the chalcopyrite (001)-S surface contributes to the breakage of S–S bonds, indicating that the impurity cations of Na+ and K+ are beneficial to chalcopyrite leaching in a sulfuric environment. The adsorption energy and partial density of states (PDOS) analyses further indicate that the adsorption of Na2SO4 on chalcopyrite (001)-S surface is favored in both -BB (bidentate binuclear ) and -BM (bidentate mononuclear) modes, compared to the adsorption of K2SO4.
Neuroticism and well-being? Let's work on the positive rather than negative aspects

The present studies show that certain cognitive strategies (e.g. savoring, practicing gratitude) enable individuals high in neuroticism to maintain or recover their positive emotions. In Study 1, participants (regardless of neuroticism differences) felt positive about a pleasant event if they savored it; however, dampening the event caused individuals high but not low in neuroticism to feel less positive. Study 2 showed that being grateful for things in their lives helped participants maintain their affect balance after a positive mood induction, or regain their affect balance after a negative mood induction. This research is thus the first step toward illuminating how people (including individuals high in neuroticism) could improve their momentary affect via the alternative route of maintaining or increasing positive emotions, rather than the traditional solution of reducing negative emotions.
In the Furtherance of Justice, Injustice, or Both? A Multilevel Analysis of Courtroom Context and the Implementation of Three Strikes

A hierarchical logistic model is used to analyze data on Three Strikes-eligible offenders in California and the counties in which they are sentenced. The analysis finds that discretion is widely exercised by elected prosecutors and judges in the administration of Three Strikes. Discretion functions as a “safety valve” and preserves some sentencing proportionality, but may also allow political concerns to influence sentencing decisions. A more conservative political environment is strongly associated with stricter application of the law. Consistent with racial threat theory, eligible felons are more likely to receive Three Strikes sentences in counties with larger Latino populations. However, the size of the black population has no significant effect. Higher unemployment rates are associated with more stringent application of the law. Prosecutorial and judicial discretion benefits offenders unequally. Controlling for legally relevant factors, black offenders are more likely to receive Three Strikes sentences, while younger ones are less likely.
Biomarkers of Connective Tissue Aging: Biosynthesis of Fibronectin, Collagen Type III, and Elastase

Aging of connective tissues is a result of (a) the aging of mesenchymal cells; (b) the aging of the postsynthetic matrix; and (c) consecutive modifications of cellmatrix interactions. These modifications of connective tissues are often accompanied by the occurrence of age-dependent diseases that further strongly modify the structure and function of these tissues. Such diseases are the cardiovascular (atheroarteriosclerosis) and osteoarticular (osteoporosis, osteoarthritis) diseases, to mention only the most frequent ones. The progressive modification of the skin is also among the consequences of the above-mentioned modifications. During our studies on these pathologies, we tried to define some parameters that would enable us to quantify the modifications of the aging of connective tissues in order to compare apparently “programmed” age-dependent modifications with pathological modifications, “accelerated” aging, and in general to compare biological aging with photoaging. We shall summarize here some of these recent results.
Some Effects of the Maintenance of High Standards of Promotion

IN MANY studies of the extent and causes of nonpromotion, one finds the opinion expressed by teachers that grade standards must be maintained; that, unless definite standards of achievement are required for promotion, the grade system breaks down, achievement levels are lowered, and the upper-grade teachers are required to teach groups varying too widely in ability. This opinion appears so plausible that it is difficult, without experimental evidence, to demonstrate that just the opposite is true. Hypotheses to be tested. -The purpose of the study reported here is to test three of the hypotheses on which the practice of failing lowachieving pupils is based. The hypotheses may be stated as follows: When minimum grade standards are set and pupils are required to reach specific levels of achievement before being promoted to the next grade, (i) the range of abilities with which the upper-grade teacher has to cope is reduced, (2) pupil achievement in relation to ability is higher, and (3) the average grade standards are higher. There are at least two reasons for doubting the validity of these hypotheses. The first reason is that in schools with rigid achievement standards the over-age, slow-learning pupils remain in the elementary school from one to four years longer than do pupils making normal progress, and the percentage of such pupils in the school is thus increased. A high ratio of dull children may result in (i) lower levels of grade achievement; (2) lower levels of aspiration for, and neglect of, bright pupils; and (3) the aggravation of the problem of range of ability. The second reason is that there is some evidence to indicate that a proportion of the pupils failed for low achievement
Radiation therapy in the management of pituitary adenomas.

CONTEXT Optimal management of pituitary adenomas involves consideration of the roles of medical therapy, surgery, and radiation therapy. The different forms of radiation therapy and their results are reviewed here. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION A literature search through the U.S. National Library of Medicine was used to identify and review clinical experiences of radiation therapy in the management of pituitary adenomas. Emphasis was placed on studies within the last 5-10 yr, with 5 or more years of follow-up data, and of reasonable quality of data. Older studies with larger numbers or particular significance are also highlighted. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS Success of radiation therapy in controlling tumor growth is high, 90-100% in most series, regardless of radiation technique and adenoma subtype. Success in achieving hormonal normalization in secretory tumors is more variable because of differences in patient population, radiation technique, and doses employed and variation of the definition of success. Complete biochemical remission is generally achieved in 50% of patients at 10 yr after treatment for most adenomas. Higher rates of normalization can be achieved with additional medical therapy. Hypopituitarism is an expectant result of radiation therapy. Overall rate of other treatment-related adverse effects is low. CONCLUSIONS Radiation therapy should be considered in the management of patients with pituitary adenomas, particularly when medical and surgical options have been exhausted. Because response evolves slowly over many years and because hypopituitarism is likely to occur, patients should be counseled on the importance of continued endocrinological surveillance and medical management.
Imagined Agency: Technology, Unpredictability, and Ambiguity

My work focuses on technologically mediated music-making, in this article I present and interpret audio-visual documents of my performance practice, and reflect on the conceptual and aesthetic motivations that underpin the creative process. Exploring the role of resistance and inertia in the field of performing technologies is the main agenda; questions around the location of human agency and its decipherability are foregrounded throughout. Although various theoretical perspectives inform the discussion, these perspectives are (mostly) embedded at the heart of the practical activity, and should not be considered as after-the-fact justification, but as essential elements in unfolding a practice that configures making as thinking and thinking as doing. I hope that the black-and-whiteness of text does not form an obscuring smokescreen of grey around my work, and that the reader finds the discursive and metaphorical approach to be illuminating. The text is supported by video clips which appear as supplementary material accessible online via the article's Supplementary tab on the Taylor & Francis website (http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/gcmr).
Impaction and retention of second molars: diagnosis, treatment and outcome. A retrospective follow-up study.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate treatment outcome in patients with second molar impaction and retention. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 135 second molars, 65 in the maxilla and 70 in the mandible were collected from 87 patients (45 girls and 42 boys) with a mean age of 15 years (range: 11- 19 years). Available patient records, x-rays, study casts, and photos were studied. The mean follow-up period was 22 months (range: 4-106 months). RESULTS A total of 166 second molars were diagnosed as impacted, 24 as primary and 5 as secondarily retained; 80% of the second molars were orthodontically or surgically treated. In more than half of the treated patients the second molars failed to erupt into a proper position. Surgical exposure of the retained or impacted second molar was the treatment found most successful (71%). The least successful treatment (11%) used the third molar to replace the second molar after the second molar was extracted. No clear difference in treatment outcome could be detected between the impacted and the primary or secondary retained teeth. However, a clear difference was found between the impacted and the primary retained second molars regarding treatment strategy: 9% of the impacted and 67% of the primary retained teeth were left untreated. Dental crowding was found in 70% of the patients. CONCLUSION In more than half of the treated patients the second molars failed to erupt into a proper position. The most common treatment given (extraction of the second molar) was the least successful.
Exploiting Tradeoffs for Exact Recovery in Heterogeneous Stochastic Block Models

The Stochastic Block Model (SBM) is a widely used random graph model for networks with communities. Despite the recent burst of interest in community detection under the SBM from statistical and computational points of view, there are still gaps in understanding the fundamental limits of recovery. In this paper, we consider the SBM in its full generality, where there is no restriction on the number and sizes of communities or how they grow with the number of nodes, as well as on the connectivity probabilities inside or across communities. For such stochastic block models, we provide guarantees for exact recovery via a semidefinite program as well as upper and lower bounds on SBM parameters for exact recoverability. Our results exploit the tradeoffs among the various parameters of heterogenous SBM and provide recovery guarantees for many new interesting SBM configurations.