Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Speech-to-speech translation based on finite-state transducers

Nowadays, the most successful speech recognition systems are based on stochastic finite-state networks (hidden Markov models and n-grams). Speech translation can be accomplished in a similar way as speech recognition. Stochastic finite-state transducers, which are specific stochastic finite-state networks, have proved very adequate for translation modeling. In this work a speech-to-speech translation system, the EuTRANS system, is presented. The acoustic, language and translation models are finite-state networks that are automatically learnt from training samples. This system was assessed in a series of translation experiments from Spanish to English and from Italian to English in an application involving the interaction (by telephone) of a customer with a receptionist at the front-desk of a hotel.
Longitudinal Changes in Insulin Resistance in Normal Weight, Overweight and Obese Individuals

Background: Large cohort longitudinal studies have almost unanimously concluded that metabolic health in obesity is a transient phenomenon, diminishing in older age. We aimed to assess the fate of insulin sensitivity per se over time in overweight and obese individuals. Methods: Individuals studied using the hyperinsulinaemic-euglycaemic clamp at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research from 2008 to 2010 (n = 99) were retrospectively grouped into Lean (body mass index (BMI) < 25 kg/m2) or overweight/obese (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2), with the latter further divided into insulin-sensitive (ObSen) or insulin-resistant (ObRes), based on median clamp M-value (M/I, separate cut-offs for men and women). Fifty-seven individuals participated in a follow-up study after 5.4 ± 0.1 years. Hyperinsulinaemic-euglycaemic clamp, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and circulating cardiovascular markers were measured again at follow-up, using the same protocols used at baseline. Liver fat was measured using computed tomography at baseline and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy at follow-up with established cut-offs applied for defining fatty liver. Results: In the whole cohort, M/I did not change over time (p = 0.40); it remained significantly higher at follow-up in ObSen compared with ObRes (p = 0.02), and was not different between ObSen and Lean (p = 0.41). While BMI did not change over time (p = 0.24), android and visceral fat increased significantly in this cohort (ptime ≤ 0.0013), driven by ObRes (p = 0.0087 and p = 0.0001, respectively). Similarly, systolic blood pressure increased significantly over time (ptime = 0.0003) driven by ObRes (p = 0.0039). The best correlate of follow-up M/I was baseline M/I (Spearman’s r = 0.76, p = 1.1 × 10−7). Conclusions: The similarity in insulin sensitivity between the ObSen and the Lean groups at baseline persisted over time. Insulin resistance in overweight and obese individuals predisposed to further metabolic deterioration over time.
Effects of historic and projected climate change on the range and impacts of an emerging wildlife disease

The global trend of increasing environmental temperatures is often predicted to result in more severe disease epidemics. However, unambiguous evidence that temperature is a driver of epidemics is largely lacking, because it is demanding to demonstrate its role among the complex interactions between hosts, pathogens, and their shared environment. Here, we apply a three‐pronged approach to understand the effects of temperature on ranavirus epidemics in UK common frogs, combining in vitro, in vivo, and field studies. Each approach suggests that higher temperatures drive increasing severity of epidemics. In wild populations, ranavirosis incidents were more frequent and more severe at higher temperatures, and their frequency increased through a period of historic warming in the 1990s. Laboratory experiments using cell culture and whole animal models showed that higher temperature increased ranavirus propagation, disease incidence, and mortality rate. These results, combined with climate projections, predict severe ranavirosis outbreaks will occur over wider areas and an extended season, possibly affecting larval recruitment. Since ranaviruses affect a variety of ectothermic hosts (amphibians, reptiles, and fish), wider ecological damage could occur. Our three complementary lines of evidence present a clear case for direct environmental modulation of these epidemics and suggest management options to protect species from disease.
Higher dietary acid load potentially increases serum triglyceride and obesity prevalence in adults: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis

Background In the current meta-analysis, we aimed to systematically review and summarize the eligible studies evaluating the association between dietary acid load in terms of potential renal acid load (PRAL) and net-endogenous acid production (NEAP) with anthropometric parameters and serum lipids in adult population. Methods In a systematic search from PubMed, Scopus, Web of Sciences and Cochrane electronic databases up to December 2018, relevant studies were included. Cross-sectional, case control or cohort studies evaluating the association between PRAL and NEAP with the mean values of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), low and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL, HDL), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC) and the prevalence of obesity were included. Results According to our results, having higher dietary acid load content in terms of high PRAL scores was associated with higher triglyceride concentrations (weighted mean difference (WMD): 3.468; confidence interval (CI): -0.231, 7.166, P = 0.04) and higher obesity prevalence (30% and 27% in highest versus lowest categories). Accordingly, being in the highest category of NEAP was associated with higher prevalence of obesity (25% and 22% in highest versus lowest category). In subgroup analysis, higher PRAL scores was associated with higher BMI in women (WMD: 0.122; CI: -0.001, 0.245; P = 0.049) and higher NEAP in men (WMD: 0.890; CI: 0.430, 1.350; P < 0.001). There was no association between dietary acid load and other studied parameters. Conclusions In the current meta-analysis, high dietary acid load content was associated with higher serum triglyceride concentrations and higher obesity prevalence. Reducing dietary acid load content might be a useful preventive strategy against obesity and metabolic disorders.
EXTREMAL LAPLACIAN-ENERGY-LIKE INVARIANT OF GRAPHS WITH GIVEN MATCHING NUMBER ∗

Abstract. Let G be a graph of order n with Laplacian spectrum µ 1 ≥ µ 2 ≥ ··· ≥ µ n . TheLaplacian-energy-like invariant of graph G, LEL for short, is deﬁned as: LEL(G) = n P −1k=1 √µ k . In thisnote, the extremal (maximal and minimal) LEL among all the connected graphs with given matchingnumber is determined. The corresponding extremal graphs are completely characterized with respectto LEL. Moreover a relationship between LEL and the independence number is presented in this note.Key words. Laplacian matrix, Laplacian-energy-like, Matching number.AMS subject classiﬁcations. 05C50, 15A18. 1. Introduction. Let G = (V,E) be a simple undirected graph with vertexset V (G) = {v 1 ,v 2 ,v 3 ,. ,v n } and edge set E(G). Also let d i be the degree of thevertex v i for i = 1,2,. ,n. Assume that A(G) is the (0,1)-adjacency matrix of Gand D(G) is the diagonal matrix of vertex degrees. The Laplacian matrix of G isL(G) = D(G) − A(G). The Laplacian polynomial P(G,λ) of G is the characteristicpolynomial of its Laplacian matrix, P(G,λ) = det(λI
Pathways from early adversity to later adjustment: Tests of the additive and bidirectional effects of executive control and diurnal cortisol in early childhood

Abstract Additive and bidirectional effects of executive control and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis regulation on children's adjustment were examined, along with the effects of low income and cumulative risk on executive control and the HPA axis. The study utilized longitudinal data from a community sample of preschool age children (N = 306, 36–39 months at Time 1) whose families were recruited to overrepresent low-income contexts. We tested the effects of low income and cumulative risk on levels and growth of executive control and HPA axis regulation (diurnal cortisol level), the bidirectional effects of executive control and the HPA axis on each other, and their additive effects on children's adjustment problems, social competence and academic readiness. Low income predicted lower Time 4 executive control, and cumulative risk predicted lower Time 4 diurnal cortisol level. There was little evidence of bidirectional effects of executive control and diurnal cortisol. However, both executive control and diurnal cortisol predicted Time 4 adjustment, suggesting additive effects. There were indirect effects of income on all three adjustment outcomes through executive control, and of cumulative risk on adjustment problems and social competence through diurnal cortisol. The results provide evidence that executive control and diurnal cortisol additively predict children's adjustment and partially account for the effects of income and cumulative risk on adjustment.
Multi-View Saliency-Guided Clustering for Image Cosegmentation

Image cosegmentation aims at extracting the common objects from multiple images simultaneously. Existing methods mainly solve cosegmentation via the pre-defined graph, which lacks flexibility and robustness to handle various visual patterns. Besides, similar backgrounds also confuse the identification of the common foreground. To address these issues, we propose a novel multi-view saliency-guided clustering algorithm (MvSGC) for the image cosegmentation task. In our model, the unsupervised saliency prior is used as partition-level side information to guide the foreground clustering process. To achieve robustness to noises and missing observations, similarities on an instance-level and the partition-level are both considered. Specifically, a unified clustering model with cosine similarity is proposed to capture the intrinsic structure of data and keep the partition result consistent with the side information. Moreover, we leverage multi-view weight learning to integrate multiple feature representations to further improve the robustness of our approach. A $K$ -means-like optimization algorithm is developed to proceed the constrained clustering in a highly efficient way with theoretical support. The experimental results on three benchmark datasets (i.e., the iCoseg, MSRC, and Internet image dataset) and one RGB-D image dataset demonstrate the superiority of applying our clustering method for image cosegmentation.
Peripheral Vestibular Organ Degeneration After Temporal Bone Fracture: A Human Otopathology Study

Vestibular symptoms are a common sequela of temporal bone fractures (TBFs). The mechanisms of injury to the peripheral vestibular system following TBF, however, are not well described. Herein, we aimed to investigate the histopathology of the peripheral vestibular system in patients who sustained TBFs.
Structure from Local Optima: Learning Subspace Juntas via Higher Order PCA

We present a generalization of the well-known problem of learning k-juntas in R^n, and a novel tensor algorithm for unraveling the structure of high-dimensional distributions. Our algorithm can be viewed as a higher-order extension of Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Our motivating problem is learning a labeling function in R^n, which is determined by an unknown k-dimensional subspace. This problem of learning a k-subspace junta is a common generalization of learning a k-junta (a function of k coordinates in R^n) and learning intersections of k halfspaces. In this context, we introduce an irrelevant noisy attributes model where the distribution over the"relevant"k-dimensional subspace is independent of the distribution over the (n-k)-dimensional"irrelevant"subspace orthogonal to it. We give a spectral tensor algorithm which identifies the relevant subspace, and thereby learns k-subspace juntas under some additional assumptions. We do this by exploiting the structure of local optima of higher moment tensors over the unit sphere; PCA finds the global optima of the second moment tensor (covariance matrix). Our main result is that when the distribution in the irrelevant (n-k)-dimensional subspace is any Gaussian, the complexity of our algorithm is T(k,\epsilon) + \poly(n), where T is the complexity of learning the concept in k dimensions, and the polynomial is a function of the k-dimensional concept class being learned. This substantially generalizes existing results on learning low-dimensional concepts.
The Association Between Vitamin D and Premenstrual Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Current Literature

Abstract A number of studies have assessed the association between vitamin D and premenstrual syndrome (PMS) in different populations, but the findings have been inconclusive. Herein, we systematically reviewed available observational and interventional evidence to elucidate the overall relationship between vitamin D and PMS. PubMed, Cochrane Library, ScienceDirect, Scopus, Google Scholar, and ISI Web of Science databases were searched for all available articles until September 2018. The Newcastle-Ottawa quality assessment scale and Jadad scale were used to assess the quality of the observational and interventional studies, respectively. A total of 16 studies out of 196 met our inclusion criteria and were included in the final analysis. Although no significant association between serum 25(OH)D and PMS (weighted mean difference (WMD) = 3.35; 95% confidence interval, −7.80 to 1.11; p = 0.14) was indicated in observational studies, vitamin D supplementation was effective in ameliorating PMS symptoms based upon findings from interventional studies. These results add to the existing literature supporting the fact that nutrition, especially vitamin D, plays an important role in women’s health. Additional well-designed clinical trials should be considered in future research to develop firm conclusions on the efficacy of vitamin D on PMS. KEY TEACHING POINTS 5–8% of women experience severe PMS. Nutrition especially vitamin D plays an important role in the women's health. Vitamin D could exert significant clinical effects on PMS symptoms. This is a systematic review and meta-analysis in this regard.
Determination of Low-Strain Site Amplification Factors in the Salt Lake Valley, Utah, Using ANSS Data

Using data from the Advanced National Seismic System network in and near the Salt Lake Valley (SLV), Utah, we measured average, frequency-dependent, low-strain site-amplification factors for siteresponse units mapped by others on the basis of geology and near-surface shear-wave velocity. The siteamplification factors were determined using distance-corrected spectral ratios between horizontalcomponent ground-motion recordings from soil sites and reference rock sites. To test various models for the distance correction terms, we measured spectral ratios between recordings at 12 Paleozoic rock sites. These spectral ratios indicate that the ground motions decrease with hypocentral distance, r, at rates of r in the period range 0.4 to 2.0 sec and r in the period range 0.1 to 0.5 sec. We calculated the soil/rock spectral ratios using two different reference stations on Paleozoic rock. Geometric mean siteamplification terms for three SLV site response units were obtained by combining data from both reference stations. Comparing the resultant site-amplification factors to those of previous studies indicates that empirically based predictions better fit the observed data. Specifically, the empirically based site-amplification factors of Borcherdt (1994) and Boore and others (1997) fit the data better than the theoretically based factors of Wong and others (2002a, b), even though the latter were developed specifically for the SLV site-response units.
A Brief Measure of Unbearable Psychache.

OBJECTIVE Psychache has been proposed to cause suicide when it becomes unbearable. However, existing measures of psychache do not directly target unbearable psychache. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to provide initial validation for a brief measure of unbearable psychache. METHOD Three items were selected to create the Unbearable Psychache Scale (UP3). Psychometric properties were assessed in two populations: (1) an online sample composed of 1,006 adults (53% male) from various locations in the United States and (2) a sample of 190 psychiatric inpatient adults (47% male) from a hospital in Western Canada. RESULTS In both samples, the UP3 demonstrated excellent internal reliability, and strong convergent and predictive validity. Additionally, the UP3 predicted significant variance in suicidal ideation over and above documented correlates of suicidal ideation including general psychache, hopelessness, perceived burdensomeness, and low belongingness. CONCLUSIONS The UP3 is a brief, psychometrically sound measure of unbearable psychache that may be well-suited for use in research protocols and clinical assessments.
Effect of systemically administered oxytocin on dose response for methylphenidate self‐administration and mesolimbic dopamine levels

The neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) alters behaviors related to the administration of drugs of abuse, including stimulants. OT also plays a key role in social bonding, which involves an interaction between OT and dopamine (DA) in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). The nature of the interaction between OT and DA in the striatum in the context of psychostimulants is unclear. We investigated the effect of OT, delivered intraperitoneally, on the methylphenidate (MP) dose–response function for self‐administration in rats. Food was used as a control condition. In a microdialysis study, we measured the effect of intraperitoneal OT on MP‐stimulated striatal DA levels. Systemic OT pretreatment caused a downward shift in the MP dose–response function for self‐administration, while having no effect on motor activity. OT also caused a reduction in food self‐administration, although a significantly higher dose of OT was required for this effect compared with that required for a reduction of MP self‐administration. Systemic OT pretreatment caused a potentiation of MP‐stimulated DA levels in the NAc shell but not in the core. The significance of these findings is discussed, including the potential of OT as a therapeutic agent for addictive disorders.
Clinical efficacy of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry in patients with multidrug-resistant bacteremia: a single-center study in Korea

Background/Aims Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-f light mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) is a new diagnostic tool for microorganism identification. The clinical usefulness of this approach has not been widely examined in Korea. This retrospective pre–post-intervention quasi-experimental study examined the effect of MALDI-TOF MS on patients with multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteremia in the intensive care unit (ICU). Methods All consecutive patients with MDR bacteremia in the ICU of a tertiary care hospital between March 2011 and February 2013 and between March 2014 and February 2016 were enrolled. MALDI-TOF MS was introduced between these periods. In the pre-intervention and intervention groups, microorganisms were identified by conventional means and by MALDI-TOF MS, respectively. The groups were compared in terms of time from venipuncture to microorganism identification and antimicrobial susceptibility test results. Results In total, 187 patients (mean age, 61.0 years; 56.7% male) were enrolled. Of these, 97 and 90 were in the pre-intervention and intervention groups, respectively. The intervention group had a significantly shorter time from venipuncture to microorganism identification and antimicrobial susceptibility test results (82.5 ± 21.6 hours vs. 92.3 ± 40.4 hours, p = 0.038). The antibiotics were adjusted in 52 patients (26 each in the pre-intervention and intervention groups) based on these results. These groups did not differ in terms of time from venipuncture to antibiotic adjustment, and multivariate regression analysis showed that MALDI-TOF MS–based microorganism identification was not associated with 28-day mortality. Conclusions Our study showed that MALDI-TOF MS accelerated microorganism identification in patients with MDR bacteremia, but did not inf luence 28-day mortality.
The polypeptide GALNT6 Displays Redundant Functions upon Suppression of its Closest Homolog GALNT3 in Mediating Aberrant O-Glycosylation, Associated with Ovarian Cancer Progression

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) represents the most lethal gynecologic malignancy; a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms associated with EOC etiology could substantially improve EOC management. Aberrant O-glycosylation in cancer is attributed to alteration of N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferases (GalNAc-Ts). Reports suggest a genetic and functional redundancy between GalNAc-Ts, and our previous data are indicative of an induction of GALNT6 expression upon GALNT3 suppression in EOC cells. We performed single GALNT3 and double GALNT3/T6 suppression in EOC cells, using a combination of the CRISPR-Cas9 system and shRNA-mediated gene silencing. The effect of single GALNT3 and double GALNT3/T6 inhibition was monitored both in vitro (on EOC cells roliferation, migration, and invasion) and in vivo (on tumor formation and survival of experimental animals). We confirmed that GALNT3 gene ablation leads to strong and rather compensatory GALNT6 upregulation in EOC cells. Moreover, double GALNT3/T6 suppression was significantly associated with stronger inhibitory effects on EOC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, and accordingly displayed a significant increase in animal survival rates compared with GALNT3-ablated and control (Ctrl) EOC cells. Our data suggest a possible functional redundancy of GalNAc-Ts (GALNT3 and T6) in EOC, with the perspective of using both these enzymes as novel EOC biomarkers and/or therapeutic targets.
Efficacy and Safety of Intra-articular Injections of Hyaluronic Acid Combined With Polydeoxyribonucleotide in the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis

Objective To assess the clinical efficacy and safety of intra-articular injection of hyaluronic acid (HA) combined with polydeoxyribonucleotide (PDRN) in patients with knee osteoarthritis in comparison with that of HA alone. Methods The current single-center, prospective, randomized, double-blind, controlled study was conducted in 36 patients with knee osteoarthritis at our medical institution. All the eligible patients (n=30) were equally assigned to two treatment arms (trial group ‘HA+PDRN’ and control group ‘HA’). For efficacy assessment, the patients were evaluated for the visual analogue scale (VAS) scores, the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and the Knee Society Scores (KSS), all of which served as efficacy outcome measures. We monitored time-dependent changes in efficacy outcome measures at baseline and 1, 3 and 6 months. Subsequently, we compared differences in changes in efficacy outcome measures at 6 months from baseline between the two groups. Moreover, we assessed the safety based on the treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs), adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and any other complications serving as safety outcome measures. Results There were significant differences in changes in the VAS scores, the WOMAC scores in all domains, except ‘Stiffness’, the total WOMAC scores, and the KSS scores in all the domains at 6 months from baseline between the two groups (p<0.05). In our series, there were no TEAEs, ADRs, and any other complications. Conclusion Intra-articular injections of HA combined with PDRN can also be considered in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis. However, further large-scale and multi-center studies are required to demonstrate the potential of the proposed combination.