Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Looking at Sign Language as a Visual and Gestural Shorthand

Looking at Sign Language as a Visual and Gestural Shorthand In this paper I will compare and contrast sign language (used by the deaf community) and spoken language from the point of view of semiotics and linguistics. Both signed and spoken languages can be defined as: a system of systems - revolving around the notion of the linguistic sign - used by human beings to communicate. Both languages also share a common goal: to achieve maximum communication with minimal effort. Where they differ, however, is in the way they produce the meaningful signs to create an efficient system of communication and in the nature of these meaningful signs regarding arbitrariness versus iconicity. Spoken language is based on phonemes that are in opposition to each other which are arbitrary and possess no meaning of their own - but combine into larger meaningful units such as morphemes, words, etc. Thus spoken language is fundamentally auditory and arbitrary (Tobin 1990, 1997, 2007a, b). Sign language is based on units that represent a combination of hand-shapes and gestures which have an orientation and movement to various parts of the body - all of which not only possess meaning - but are iconic rather than arbitrary in nature. Thus sign language is fundamentally visual and iconic (Fuks 2008; Fuks and Tobin 2008). Therefore it is our contention that the traditional concepts of spoken language are neither appropriate nor suitable for sign language and a different approach to analyze sign language will be suggested in this paper.
Managerial Trust-Building Through the Use of Legitimating Formal and Informal Control Mechanisms

This article examines formal and informal decision criteria used by organizational decision-makers when making potentially controversial, legitimacy-relating decisions that could damage trust. Two experimental studies found consistent patterns of persistent use of formal controls and reduced use of informal controls under higher levels of perceived threat to trust. Institutional theory is consistent with the proposition that increased use of legitimated control uniformly enhances trust. In contrast, this article posits and finds support for an attenuated legalistic institutional proposition that increased use of even legitimated control can predictably foster, or undermine, trust - but such predictions can be made only if we systematically distinguish formal and informal control. Results suggest institutional pressures manifest at the individual level provide a complementary focus to macro-organizational institutionalization.
Characterization of the 18S rRNA Gene for Designing Universal Eukaryote Specific Primers

High throughput sequencing technology has great promise for biodiversity studies. However, an underlying assumption is that the primers used in these studies are universal for the prokaryotic or eukaryotic groups of interest. Full primer universality is difficult or impossible to achieve and studies using different primer sets make biodiversity comparisons problematic. The aim of this study was to design and optimize universal eukaryotic primers that could be used as a standard in future biodiversity studies. Using the alignment of all eukaryotic sequences from the publicly available SILVA database, we generated a full characterization of variable versus conserved regions in the 18S rRNA gene. All variable regions within this gene were analyzed and our results suggested that the V2, V4 and V9 regions were best suited for biodiversity assessments. Previously published universal eukaryotic primers as well as a number of self-designed primers were mapped to the alignment. Primer selection will depend on sequencing technology used, and this study focused on the 454 pyrosequencing GS FLX Titanium platform. The results generated a primer pair yielding theoretical matches to 80% of the eukaryotic and 0% of the prokaryotic sequences in the SILVA database. An empirical test of marine sediments using the AmpliconNoise pipeline for analysis of the high throughput sequencing data yielded amplification of sequences for 71% of all eukaryotic phyla with no isolation of prokaryotic sequences. To our knowledge this is the first characterization of the complete 18S rRNA gene using all eukaryotes present in the SILVA database, providing a robust test for universal eukaryotic primers. Since both in silico and empirical tests using high throughput sequencing retained high inclusion of eukaryotic phyla and exclusion of prokaryotes, we conclude that these primers are well suited for assessing eukaryote diversity, and can be used as a standard in biodiversity studies.
Spermine Oxidase SMO(PAOh1), Not N1-Acetylpolyamine Oxidase PAO, Is the Primary Source of Cytotoxic H2O2 in Polyamine Analogue-treated Human Breast Cancer Cell Lines*

The induction of polyamine catabolism and its production of H2O2 have been implicated in the response to specific antitumor polyamine analogues. The original hypothesis was that analogue induction of the rate-limiting spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase (SSAT) provided substrate for the peroxisomal acetylpolyamine oxidase (PAO), resulting in a decrease in polyamine pools through catabolism, oxidation, and excretion of acetylated polyamines and the production of toxic aldehydes and H2O2. However, the recent discovery of the inducible spermine oxidase SMO(PAOh1) suggested the possibility that the original hypothesis may be incomplete. To examine the role of the catabolic enzymes in the response of breast cancer cells to the polyamine analogue N1,N1-bis(ethyl)norspermine (BENSpm), a stable knockdown small interfering RNA strategy was used. BENSpm differentially induced SSAT and SMO(PAOh1) mRNA and activity in several breast cancer cell lines, whereas no N1-acetylpolyamine oxidase PAO mRNA or activity was detected. BENSpm treatment inhibited cell growth, decreased intracellular polyamine levels, and decreased ornithine decarboxylase activity in all cell lines examined. The stable knockdown of either SSAT or SMO(PAOh1) reduced the sensitivity of MDA-MB-231 cells to BENSpm, whereas double knockdown MDA-MB-231 cells were almost entirely resistant to the growth inhibitory effects of the analogue. Furthermore, the H2O2 produced through BENSpm-induced polyamine catabolism was found to be derived exclusively from SMO(PAOh1) activity and not through PAO activity on acetylated polyamines. These data suggested that SSAT and SMO(PAOh1) activities are the major mediators of the cellular response of breast tumor cells to BENSpm and that PAO plays little or no role in this response.
Effects of electric partial discharges on the rheological and chemical properties of polymers used in HV composite insulators after railway service

The origin and the consequences of the electric failure of in-service composite hollow insulators used in railway transportation were investigated. Direct electrical measurements made it possible the detection of partial discharges (PD) and UV emissions allowed of identifying the location of the PD at the interface between metal braids and a silicone liner. To investigate the effects of the damaging PD activity, physicochemical properties of the different polymers were investigated and compared to new samples. The thermomechanical properties of the HTV and RTV silicones showed important alterations in the polymers structure. The chemical analyses of the silicones and nitrile rubber conducted using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy revealed that the polymers were oxidized after electrical failure. The results indicated that the ozone production and UV emission were due to the surface electrical activities. The breakdown of alumina trihydrate (ATH) in the inner HTV silicone liner demonstrated that undesired electrical discharges induced an significant increase of temperature and the formation of moisture in the air present in the hollow insulator. Laboratory artificial aging performed on the silicones and nitrile rubber showed similar degradation as in service. Further electrical experiments conducted on empty hollow insulators enabled the detection of internal PD located in micro-voids present in the adhesive used to bond the HTV silicone liner to the inner composite tube.
The Global Content, Distribution, and Kinematics of Interstellar O VI in the Large Magellanic Cloud

We present Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) observations of interstellar O VI absorption toward 12 early-type stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). The observations have a velocity resolution of ≲20 km s-1 (FWHM) and clearly show O VI 1031.926 Å absorption at LMC velocities toward all 12 stars. From these observations we derive column densities of interstellar O VI in this nearby galaxy; the observed columns are in the range log N(O VI) = 13.9-14.6, with a mean of 14.37 and a standard deviation of ±38% ( dex). The observations probe several sight lines projected onto known superbubbles in the LMC, but these show relatively little (if any) enhancement in O VI column density compared to sight lines toward relatively quiescent regions of the LMC. The observed LMC O VI absorption is broad, with Gaussian dispersions σ ≈ 30-50 km s-1. This implies temperatures T ≲ (2-5) × 106, indicating that much of the broadening is nonthermal because O VI has a very low abundance at such high temperatures. The O VI absorption is typically displaced ~-30 km s-1 from the corresponding low-ionization absorption associated with the bulk of the LMC gas. The general properties of the LMC O VI absorption are very similar to those of the Milky Way halo. The average column density of O VI and the dispersion of the individual measurements about the mean are identical to those measured for the halo of the Milky Way, even though the metallicity of the LMC is a factor of ~2.5 lower than the Milky Way. The velocity dispersion measured for the LMC material is also consistent with recent measurements of the Galactic halo. The striking similarities in these quantities suggest that much of the LMC O VI may arise in a vertically extended distribution similar to the Galactic halo. We discuss the measurements in the context of a halo composed of radiatively cooling hot gas and/or turbulent mixing layers. If the observed O VI absorption is tracing a radiatively cooling galactic fountain flow, the mass flow rate from one side of the LMC disk is of the order Ṁ ~ 1 M☉ yr-1, with a mass flux per unit area of the disk Ṁ/Ω ~ 2 × 10-2 M☉ yr-1 kpc-2.
Adaptive Tracking of Non-Rigid Objects Based on Color Histograms and Automatic Parameter Selection

One of the main difficulties in visual tracking is to take into account appearance changes (not only of the target but also of or due to the scene, illumination for example). The use of a Bayesian framework is very flexible and has proven to be very efficient in visual tracking. Moreover, color or greylevel histograms allow to track an objet with a low computational cost. The recently proposed color-based trackers integrated in a probabilistic framework are efficient for a given application (face tracking for example) but can not be generalized easily, due to the initialization and the adjustment of the different tracker parameters that are dependent on the input sequence. This paper presents a method based on color integrated in a particle filter that allows to cope with some of the usual problems of visual tracking (occlusions, target appearance changes, changes in resolution or in illumination) and to adapt easily to different applications (tracking of structures in aerial imagery as well as football players). The novelty of the tracker is its ability to automatically regulate all the parameters needed for tracking, which makes it flexible and easily usable for different applications.
Down on Their Luck: A Study of Homeless Street People

David Snow and Leon Anderson show us the wretched face of homelessness in late twentieth-century America in countless cities across the nation. Through hundreds of hours of interviews, participant observation, and random tracking of homeless people through social service agencies in Austin, Texas, Snow and Anderson reveal who the homeless are, how they live, and why they have ended up on the streets. Debunking current stereotypes of the homeless, "Down on Their Luck" sketches a portrait of men and women who are highly adaptive, resourceful, and pragmatic. Their survival is a tale of human resilience and determination, not one of frailty and disability.
Multimethod Assessment of the Social Competence of Children With Anxiety Disorders

We evaluated clinic children with DSM-III anxiety disorders using a broad range of social skills assessment methods. Anxiety-disordered (anxious)children (n = 55), nonanxious Outpatient clinic control children (n = 18), and nonreferred children (n = 20)were compared on child, parent, and teacher measures of social competence. Anxious children were shy, socially withdrawn, lonely, lacking inappropriate social skills, and generally socially maladjusted relative to nonreferred children. Although both clinic groups showed evidence of social deficits, anxious children were characterized as socially withdrawn clinic and shy, whereas children demonstrated inappropriate assertiveness, aggression, and negative or bossy social behaviors. Parents, teachers, and the children themselves uniformly described anxious children as socially maladjusted.
Polyphasic Characterization Reveals that the Human Pathogen Mycobacterium peregrinum Type II Belongs to the Bovine Pathogen Species Mycobacterium senegalense

ABSTRACT Mycobacterium peregrinum consists of two taxa: types I and II. We evaluated 43 clinical type II strains from throughout the United States. They were responsible for soft-tissue and bone infections, catheter-related infections, and possible pneumonitis. By carbohydrate utilization, they were indistinguishable from type I strains, being d-mannitol and trehalose positive. However, they had a distinct susceptibility pattern that included intermediate ciprofloxacin MICs but low clarithromycin and doxycycline MICs of ≤1 μg/ml. These features were also shared by reference isolates of Mycobacterium senegalense from African bovine cases of “farcy. ” By 16S rRNA gene sequencing, the type II isolates shared 100% sequence identity with M. senegalense. Partial sequencing of the type II hsp65 gene (441 bp) revealed four sequevars showing ≥98.4% identity with each other and ≥98.6% identity with the sequence of five bovine strains of M. senegalense. There was ≤97.1% identity with M. peregrinum type I isolates and other Mycobacterium fortuitum group species. Sequencing of additional gene targets including the 16S-23S rDNA internal transcribed spacer region and the rpoB gene (partial sequence) revealed a similar phylogenetic grouping. DNA-DNA hybridization showed 76 to 99% relatedness between the bovine and human strains. These studies demonstrate that type II isolates are not isolates of M. peregrinum but represent human strains of M. senegalense. This study is the first to demonstrate this species as a human pathogen. Representative human M. senegalense strains include ATCC 35755 and newly submitted strains ATCC BAA-849, ATCC BAA-850, and ATCC BAA-851.
Understanding Instrumental Motivations for Social Responsibility Engagement in a Micro‐Firm Context

Firms engage in social responsibility activities for diverse reasons. This study focuses on understanding firms' instrumental motivations for engaging in socially responsible activities. We suggest that the instrumental motivations underlying firms' corporate social responsibility (CSR) engagement are associated with their market, learning, and risk‐related behaviors; thus, we identify market orientation, learning orientation, and risk‐taking attitudes as three constructs that influence firms' CSR engagement. This research was conducted in the Norwegian firewood sector, in which CSR expectations are high and in which we expect CSR engagement to be encouraged by both instrumental and normative motivations. The firms in this study are micro‐firms with fewer than 10 employees and represent an important but highly neglected segment of firms in CSR research. Data obtained from 230 firms were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Our results indicate that market orientation, learning orientation, and risk‐taking attitudes affect social responsibility toward different stakeholder groups in different ways. In some cases, the size and age of firms also affect these relationships.
Context-aware ranking in web search

The context of a search query often provides a search engine meaningful hints for answering the current query better. Previous studies on context-aware search were either focused on the development of context models or limited to a relatively small scale investigation under a controlled laboratory setting. Particularly, about context-aware ranking for Web search, the following two critical problems are largely remained unsolved. First, how can we take advantage of different types of contexts in ranking? Second, how can we integrate context information into a ranking model? In this paper, we tackle the above two essential problems analytically and empirically. We develop different ranking principles for different types of contexts. Moreover, we adopt a learning-to-rank approach and integrate the ranking principles into a state-of-the-art ranking model by encoding the context information as features of the model. We empirically test our approach using a large search log data set obtained from a major commercial search engine. Our evaluation uses both human judgments and implicit user click data. The experimental results clearly show that our context-aware ranking approach improves the ranking of a commercial search engine which ignores context information. Furthermore, our method outperforms a baseline method which considers context information in ranking.
Trade and Income -- Exploiting Time Series in Geography

Establishing a robust causal relationship between trade and income has been difficult. Frankel and Romer (1999) use a geographic instrument to identify a positive effect of trade on income. Rodriguez and Rodrik (2000) show that these results are not robust to controlling for omitted variables such as distance to the equator or institutions. This paper solves the omitted variable problem by generating a time varying geographic instrument. Improvements in aircraft technology have caused the quantity of world trade carried by air to increase over time. Country pairs with relatively short air routes compared to sea routes benefit more from this change in technology. This heterogeneity can be used to generate a geography based instrument for trade that varies over time. The time series variation allows for controls for country fixed effects, eliminating the bias from time invariant variables such as distance from the equator or historically determined institutions. Trade has a significant effect on income with an elasticity of roughly one half. Differences in predicted trade growth can explain roughly 17 percent of the variation in cross country income growth between 1960 and 1995.
WORD-STRESS – A SOURCE OF UNINTELLIGIBILITY IN ENGLISH

The present paper is concerned with English word-stress, a feature that is essential for efficient communication. The difficulty to assign this phonological aspect will be considered as well as the effect of its misplacement on comprehension. As an illustration, it will be shown how English word-stress differs from that of another stress-timed language, namely Arabic. Finally, emphasis will be placed on the need to teach this feature of English pronunciation.
Antitumor Resistance Macrophages Inhibits M 1 Inflammatory Responses and B Overexpression in Tumor-Associated κ p 50 Nuclear Factor-Updated

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) are a major inflammatory infiltrate in tumors and a major component of the protumor function of inflammation. TAM in established tumors generally have an M2 phenotype with defective production of interleukin-12 (IL-12) and high IL-10. Here, we report that defective responsiveness of TAM from a murine fibrosarcoma and human ovarian carcinoma to M1 activation signals was associated with a massive nuclear localization of the p50 nuclear factor-KB (NF-KB) inhibitory homodimer. p50 overexpression inhibited IL-12 expression in normal macrophages. TAM isolated from p50 / mice showed normal production of M1 cytokines, associated with reduced growth of transplanted tumors. Bone marrow chimeras showed that p50 inactivation in hematopoietic cells was sufficient to result in reduced tumor growth. Thus, p50 NF-KB overexpression accounts for the inability of TAM to mount an effective M1 antitumor response capable of inhibiting tumor growth. (Cancer Res 2006; 66(23): 11432-40)
HerMES: point source catalogues from deep Herschel-SPIRE observations★

We describe the generation of single-band point source catalogues from submillimetre Herschel-SPIRE observations taken as part of the Science Demonstration Phase of the Herschel Multi-tiered Extragalactic Survey (HerMES). Flux densities are found by means of peak finding and the fitting of a Gaussian point-response function. With highly confused images, careful checks must be made on the completeness and flux-density accuracy of the detected sources. This is done by injecting artificial sources into the images and analysing the resulting catalogues. Measured flux densities at which 50 per cent of injected sources result in good detections at (250, 350 and 500) mu m range from (11.6, 13.2 and 13.1) to (25.7, 27.1 and 35.8) mJy, depending on the depth of the observation (where a good detection is taken to be one with positional offset less than one full-width half-maximum of the point-response function, and with the measured flux density within a factor of 2 of the flux density of the injected source). This paper acts as a reference for the 2010 July HerMES public data release.
Detection of crack growth in rail steel using acoustic emission

Increased traffic speeds and axle loads on modern railways enhance rail track degradation. To eliminate track failure due to rail defects, a condition monitoring system requires methods for the early detection of defects which grow in service. Acoustic emission (AE) monitoring is the only non-destructive technique which might be applied online to study the defect growth under traffic loading. However, a high level of traffic noise and a limited signal from crack growth, especially at low crack growth rates, significantly complicate the AE signal analysis. In the present work, the AE monitoring of rail steel fatigue was carried out in a ‘noisy’ laboratory environment using different methods of signal analysis. Signal parameters of AE for machine noise, sample deformation and crack growth were identified. The crack growth related AE signature was found to be dependent on fracture mode.