Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multiple concurrent speaker short-term tracking using a Kalman filter bank

This paper presents a novel filtering approach for tracking multiple concurrent speakers with a microphone array. In this framework, a Kalman filter bank that evolves in time according to a temporal Hidden Markov Model (HMM) is proposed. This approach was designed to overcome two major problems that occur in spontaneous speech; namely, 1) the speaker overlap. This problem is solved using a bank of parallel Kalman filters that track multiple simultaneous speakers, and 2) the high discontinuity of spontaneous speech caused by short breaks and silences. This is solved using an HMM that allows speakers to change their state (speaking, silent, etc.) over time. The actual active speakers number and locations are extracted from the active filters using a second Kalman filter. Experiments on the AV16.3 showed an average tracking rate improvement of 8% compared to a short-term clustering approach, while being 7 times faster.
Habitat fragmentation and haemoparasites in the common fruit bat, Artibeus jamaicensis (Phyllostomidae) in a tropical lowland forest in Panamá

SUMMARY Anthropogenic influence on ecosystems, such as habitat fragmentation, impacts species diversity and interactions. There is growing evidence that degradation of habitats favours disease and hence affects ecosystem health. The prevalence of haemoparasites in the Common Fruit Bat (Artibeus jamaicensis) in a tropical lowland forest in Panamá was studied. We assessed the relation of haemoparasite to the general condition of the animals and tested for possible association of haemoparasite prevalence to habitat fragmentation, with special focus on trypanosomes. Overall, a total of 250 A. jamaicensis sampled from fragmented sites, here man-made, forested islands in Lake Gatùn, and sites in the adjacent, continuous forest in and around the Barro Colorado Nature Monument were examined. Using microscopy and DNA-sequencing 2 dominant types of haemoparasite infections, trypanosomes and Litomosoides (Nematoda) were identified. Trypanosome prevalence was significantly higher in bats from forest fragments, than in bats captured in continuous forest. We attribute this to the loss of species richness in forest fragments and specific characteristics of the fragments favouring trypanosome transmission, in particular changes in vegetation cover. Interestingly, the effect of habitat fragmentation on the prevalence of trypanosomes as multi-host parasites could not be observed in Litomosoides which probably has a higher host specificity and might be affected less by overall diversity loss.
Role of Anesthesia for Endovascular Treatment of Ischemic Stroke: Do We Need Neurophysiological Monitoring?

The use of acute endovascular stroke intervention was called into question after the results of 2 negative stroke endovascular trials (Interventional Management of Stroke 3 [IMS-3] and Systemic Thrombolysis for Acute Ischemic Stroke per the Stroke Center registry [SYNTHESIS]). 1,2 However, the Multicenter Randomized Clinical Trial of Endovascular Treatment for Acute Ischemic Stroke in the Netherlands (MR CLEAN) trial3 compared patients with acute stroke with proximal anterior circulation artery occlusions with usual stroke care, including intravenous tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA). The study demonstrated a favorable shift in outcomes in the interventional group by modified Rankin Scale (mRS) by 90 days (odds ratio [OR], 1.67; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.21–2.30). Improvement in mRS was noted for all categories except for death. General anesthesia (GA) was used in 38% of the patients in the interventional group of MR CLEAN. In contrast, 9% of the patients in the Endovascular Treatment for Small Core and Proximal Occlusion Ischemic Stroke (ESCAPE)4 trial received GA. The rate of functional independence (mRS, 0–2 by 90 days) was higher in the intervention group (53.0% versus 29.3%; P <0.01). Furthermore, lower mortality rate was seen in intervention group (10.4 versus 19.0; P =0.04). A recent meta-analysis by Fargen5,6 included MR CLEAN and the prior endovascular stroke trials and suggested a favorable shift outcome (mRS, 0–2; good outcome by 90 days; OR, 1.67; 95% CI, 1.29–1.16; P =0.0001) for patients with large-vessel occlusions who receive interventional therapy. In a post hoc analysis of MR CLEAN for use of GA, Berkhemer reported at the International Stroke Conference in Nashville, TN, a favorable effect when non-GA was used instead of GA (mRS, 0–2 at 90 days 38% versus 23%; P =0.013). 7 Also, GA was associated with delayed initiation of interventional therapy in comparison with …
Lessons from Russia

This article seeks to answer two interrelated questions: where does press freedom stand in Russia more than 15 years after Mikhail Gorbachev’s policy glasnost began? and, what does Russia’s media transformation tell us about our understanding of mass political media systems? It is argued that while the Russian media are suffering under the presidency of Vladimir Putin, circumstances are in no way as dire as in the pre-Gorbachev Soviet period, nor even as bad as some journalists’ rights organizations would have it. By using comparative analysis, and incorporating political science literature that offers typologies of non-democratic systems of governance, the article demonstrates that contemporary Russian media find much in common with authoritarian regimes across the world and are not sui generis as some have argued. In the process, the author attempts to resurrect some of the important distinctions made in Siebert et al.’s much maligned Four Theories of the Press, particularly the role of the state as the leading threat to media freedom. The author also argues for the need to distinguish more clearly between different types of non-democratic mass political media systems.
Privacy­preserving data mining in peer to peer networks

In recent years, privacy-preserving data mining has been studied extensively, due to the wide increase of sensitive information on the internet. A number of algorithms and procedures have been designed, some of which are yet to be implemented, but a few of them are actually employed in the form of software systems to preserve the privacy of users, and the content in peer-to-peer networks. Privacy issues are becoming widely recognized when using peer-to-peer networks. In this paper, we provide a review of the privacy-preserving data mining techniques used in order to overcome privacy issues. We discuss methods of sanitization, data distortion, data hiding, cryptography and the data mining algorithm KDEC. Further discussion involves data transfer using proxy techniques, creating social communities among peer-to-peer users forming trusted peers. These techniques have shown to administer the issue of preserving data however show lack of scalability and performance. We design a framework to perform a comparison study on the techniques shown above and present the results with some recommendations of how we think the issues could be unraveled.
Unicoronal Craniosynostosis and Plagiocephaly Correction with Fronto-orbital Bone Remodeling and Advancement

The standard surgical treatment for unilateral coronal synostosis is fronoto-orbital advancement. The technique is known for its high recurrence rate and established plagiocephaly remains a challenge. In this case report, the management of a 5-year-old with unicoronal plagiocephaly correction with fronto-orbital bone remodeling and advancement is presented. The previous surgery done at 6 months of age resulted in failure with establishment of hypertelorism and sudden progressive diminishing vision. Furthermore, temporal hallowing was evident in the imaging technique. As the child is in the active growing phase, only one end of the bandeau was secured with plates and screws while the other end was welded with ultrasonic waves. This ensured that the plate was held in position while bone remodeling will ensure normal healing and establish regular sutural growth. The child recovered well with regaining of vision. The report also discusses the possible reason for failures and the effectiveness of modification of the standard technique for growing child.
Student Engagement Techniques: A Handbook for College Faculty

Dr. Barkley is the author of Student Engagement Techniques: A Handbook for College Faculty (Jossey-Bass, 2010) and, more recently, Collaborative Learning. Elizabeth F. Barkley, Student Engagement Techniques: A Handbook for College Faculty (2009). Learning is not a spectator sport. Students do not learn much. The Agony of Education Black Students at White Colleges and Universities. Joe Feagin Student Engagement Techniques A Handbook for College Faculty.
Fast pairwise IBD association testing in genome-wide association studies

MOTIVATION Recently, investigators have proposed state-of-the-art Identity-by-descent (IBD) mapping methods to detect IBD segments between purportedly unrelated individuals. The IBD information can then be used for association testing in genetic association studies. One approach for this IBD association testing strategy is to test for excessive IBD between pairs of cases ('pairwise method'). However, this approach is inefficient because it requires a large number of permutations. Moreover, a limited number of permutations define a lower bound for P-values, which makes fine-mapping of associated regions difficult because, in practice, a much larger genomic region is implicated than the region that is actually associated. RESULTS In this article, we introduce a new pairwise method 'Fast-Pairwise'. Fast-Pairwise uses importance sampling to improve efficiency and enable approximation of extremely small P-values. Fast-Pairwise method takes only days to complete a genome-wide scan. In the application to the WTCCC type 1 diabetes data, Fast-Pairwise successfully fine-maps a known human leukocyte antigen gene that is known to cause the disease. AVAILABILITY Fast-Pairwise is publicly available at: http://genetics.cs. ucla.edu/graphibd.
Entropy based annealing approach to fuzzy c-means clustering and its fractal interpolation

The deterministic annealing (DA) and simulated annealing (SA) methods are well combined as DASA. By regularizing the fuzzy c-means method with the fuzzy entropy, the Fermi-Dirac distribution function, well known in statistical mechanics, is obtained as a membership function, and, while optimizing its parameters by SA, the minimal of the Helmholtz free energy for fuzzy c-means clustering is searched by DA. Since shapes of membership functions obtained by DASA are very rough, it is important to interpolate them. Thus, the fractal interpolation method is applied to a DASA's result and shows its effectiveness.
Potential Use of Alginate-Based Carriers As Antifungal Delivery System

Fungal infections have become a major public health problem, growing in number and severity in recent decades due to an increase of immunocompromised patients. The use of therapeutic agents available to treat these fungal infections is limited by their toxicity, low bioavailability, antifungal resistance, and high cost of treatment. Thus, it becomes extremely important to search for new therapeutic options. The use of polymeric systems as drug carriers has emerged as a promising alternative to conventional formulations for antifungals. Alginate is a natural polymer that has been explored in the last decade for development of drug delivery systems due to its non-toxicity, biodegradability, biocompatibility, low cost, mucoadhesive, and non-immunogenic properties. Several antifungal agents have been incorporated in alginate-based delivery systems, including micro and nanoparticles, with great success, displaying promising in vitro and in vivo results for antifungal activities, reduction in the toxicity and the total drug dose used in the treatment, and improved bioavailability. This review aims at discussing the potential use and benefits of alginate-based nanocarriers and other delivery systems containing antifungal agents in the therapy of fungal infections.
Black Hole Motion as Catalyst of Orbital Resonances

Abstract The motion of a black hole about the centre of gravity of its host galaxy induces a strong response from the surrounding stellar population. We consider the case of a harmonic potential and show that half of the stars on circular orbits in that potential shift to an orbit of lower energy, while the other half receive a positive boost. The black hole itself remains on an orbit of fixed amplitude and merely acts as a catalyst for the evolution of the stellar energy distribution function f(E). We then consider orbits in the logarithmic potential and identify the response of stars near resonant energies. The kinematic signature of black hole motion imprints the stellar line-of-sight mean velocity to a magnitude ≃ 13% the local root mean-square velocity dispersion σ. The high velocity dispersion at the 5:2 resonance hints to an observable effect at a distance ≃ 3 times the hole's influence radius.
Evaluation of Videophone Communication for Families of Hospitalized Children

This study evaluated videophones as a means of support among families who had limited access to their hospitalized children due to geographic separation. These videophones facilitated video-mediated communication between the hospital and the family home. Qualitative interviews explored the outcomes and processes related to videophone use for a subsample of 14 participants. Content analysis identified six themes: being in hospital far from home is “draining,” vicarious growth and the recalibration of priorities, “it's like you're right there,” source of happiness in a hard place, ease of videophone use, and limitations of the videophone. Participants reported that family separation during pediatric hospitalization was very difficult, and use of the videophones mitigated these effects through decreasing feelings of isolation and anxiety, and increasing feelings of connection between family members.
The awareness of anaphylaxis reaction to local anesthesia in Dentistry

Background: Anaphylaxis is one of the rare clinical events specifically related to anesthesia leading to morbidity and mortality. In this manner, the aim of our study was to determine knowledge of Iranian dentists about symptom, sign and management of anaphylaxis to local anesthesia. Methods: The study was designed with a questionnaire (16 questions) related to anaphylaxis to local anesthesia in Iran. The dentists working in their private office and clinic of medical dentist randomly selected and asked to complete questionnaire. Results: 72% of dentists accepted to take part in the study. Although all attendants knew one or more symptoms and signs of anaphylaxis but none of them marked all options related to anaphylaxis. In relation to, about 72.9% of dentists knew epinephrine as the first choice in the treatment of anaphylaxis shock, but only 20% of them had kept emergency equipments and facilities such as drugs in their offices to treat shock. This study showed that less than 10% of the dentists were aware of the recommended dose of epinephrine to use in adults or children. Conclusion: Our study concludes that some of dentists are not aware of this emergency vital clinical condition. Therefore, dentists should be developed their knowledge on the subject of the causes and treatment of anaphylaxis shock alternatively with attendance in related courses which holding by academic centers.
Activation of the Hexosamine Pathway Leads to Deterioration of Pancreatic β-Cell Function through the Induction of Oxidative Stress*

It is known well that activation of the hexosamine pathway causes insulin resistance, but how this activation influences pancreatic β-cell function remains unclear. In this study, we found that in isolated rat islets adenovirus-mediated overexpression of glutamine:fructose-6-phosphate amidotransferase (GFAT), the first and rate-limiting enzyme of the hexosamine pathway, leads to deterioration of β-cell function, which is similar to that found in diabetes. Overexpression of GFAT or treatment with glucosamine results in impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and reduction in the expression levels of several β-cell specific genes (insulin, GLUT2, and glucokinase). Additionally, the DNA binding activity of PDX-1, an important transcription factor for these three genes, was markedly reduced. These phenomena were not mimicked by the induction ofO-linked glycosylation with an inhibitor ofO-GlcNAcase, PUGNAc. It was also found that glucosamine increases hydrogen peroxide levels and that several hexosamine pathway-mediated changes were suppressed by treatment with the antioxidant N-acetyl-l-cysteine. In conclusion, activation of the hexosamine pathway leads to deterioration of β-cell function through the induction of oxidative stress rather than O-linked glycosylation. Thus, the hexosamine pathway may contribute to the deterioration of β-cell function found in diabetes.
Histone H2A monoubiquitination and Polycomb repression

Polycomb group (PcG) proteins were originally identified as negative regulators of HOX genes in Drosophila but have since emerged as a widely used transcriptional repression system that controls a variety of developmental processes in animals and plants. PcG proteins exist in multi-protein complexes that comprise specific chromatin-modifying enzymatic activities. Genome-wide binding studies in Drosophila and in mammalian cells revealed that these complexes co-localize at a large set of genes encoding developmental regulators. Recent analyses in Drosophila have begun to explore how the different chromatin-modifying activities of PcG protein complexes contribute to the repression of individual target genes. These studies suggest that monoubiquitination of histone H2A (H2Aub) by the PcG protein Sce is only essential for repression of a subset of PcG target genes but is not required for the Polycomb-mediated repression of other targets. Calypso/dBap1, a major deubiquitinase for H2Aub is also critically needed for repression of a subset of PcG target genes. Here, we review our current understanding of the role of H2A monoubiquitination and deubiquitination in Polycomb repression in Drosophila. We discuss unresolved issues concerning the immunological detection of H2Aub and critically evaluate experiments that used Sce and Ring1B point mutants with impaired H2A ubiquitinase activity to study H2Aub-dependent and -independent functions of these proteins in transcriptional repression.
Interactive learning of the acoustic properties of household objects

Human beings can perceive object properties such as size, weight, and material type based solely on the sounds that the objects make when an action is performed on them. In order to be successful, the household robots of the near future must also be capable of learning and reasoning about the acoustic properties of everyday objects. Such an ability would allow a robot to detect and classify various interactions with objects that occur outside of the robot's field of view. This paper presents a framework that allows a robot to infer the object and the type of behavioral interaction performed with it from the sounds generated by the object during the interaction. The framework is evaluated on a 7-d.o. f. Barrett WAM robot which performs grasping, shaking, dropping, pushing and tapping behaviors on 36 different household objects. The results show that the robot can learn models that can be used to recognize objects (and behaviors performed on objects) from the sounds generated during the interaction. In addition, the robot can use the learned models to estimate the similarity between two objects in terms of their acoustic properties.
The Power of a Picture: Overcoming Scientific Misinformation by Communicating Weight‐of‐Evidence Information with Visual Exemplars

Although most experts agree that vaccines do not cause autism, a considerable portion of the American public believes in a link. In an experiment (N = 371), we identified journalistic balance as a source of misperception about this issue and examined ways to attenuate misperceptions. In particular, by including weight-of-evidence information (i.e., stating that only one view is supported by evidence and a scientific consensus), we explored whether an article can present conflicting views without causing misperceptions. Including weight-of-evidence information fostered more accurate beliefs about an autism–vaccine link, but only for people with favorable pre-existing scientific views. However, this conditional effect disappeared when visual exemplars accompanied weight-of-evidence information. The findings of this study have both theoretical and practical implications for science communication
Phosphorylation at Ser-129 but Not the Phosphomimics S129E/D Inhibits the Fibrillation of α-Synuclein*

α-Synuclein (α-syn) phosphorylation at serine 129 is characteristic of Parkinson disease (PD) and related α-synulceinopathies. However, whether phosphorylation promotes or inhibits α-syn aggregation and neurotoxicity in vivo remains unknown. This understanding is critical for elucidating the role of α-syn in the pathogenesis of PD and for development of therapeutic strategies for PD. To better understand the structural and molecular consequences of Ser-129 phosphorylation, we compared the biochemical, structural, and membrane binding properties of wild type α-syn to those of the phosphorylation mimics (S129E, S129D) as well as of in vitro phosphorylated α-syn using a battery of biophysical techniques. Our results demonstrate that phosphorylation at Ser-129 increases the conformational flexibility of α-syn and inhibits its fibrillogenesis in vitro but does not perturb its membrane-bound conformation. In addition, we show that the phosphorylation mimics (S129E/D) do not reproduce the effect of phosphorylation on the structural and aggregation properties of α-syn in vitro. Our findings have significant implications for current strategies to elucidate the role of phosphorylation in modulating protein structure and function in health and disease and provide novel insight into the underlying mechanisms that govern α-syn aggregation and toxicity in PD and related α-synulceinopathies.
The ontogeny of mammalian sleep: a reappraisal of alternative hypotheses

Newborn mammals spend as much as 90% or more of their time in a sleep state characterized by frequent twitches, rapid eye movements (REMs), and irregular respiratory cycles. These motor and respiratory patterns resemble the phasic motor/respiratory components of adult REM sleep, and as a consequence, this sleep state is traditionally viewed as an immature form of REM sleep. An alternative view is that a significant portion of what has been called REM sleep in these species is a form of spontaneous activity typical of the immature nervous system. In this review, we compare and contrast these two opposing views about the ontogenetic origins of REM sleep, and review the evidence most often cited to support the idea that REM sleep is present in newborn altricial mammals. Critical review of this evidence indicates that REM sleep may not be present at birth in these species; rather, it appears that all mammals early in development exhibit spontaneous, dissociated activity that progressively becomes organized into the distinct states of REM and non‐rapid eye movement sleep.