Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluating Discourse Processing Algorithms

In order to take steps towards establishing a methodology for evaluating Natural Language systems, we conducted a case study. We attempt to evaluate two different approaches to anaphoric processing in discourse by comparing the accuracy and coverage of two published algorithms for finding the co-specifiers of pronouns in naturally occurring texts and dialogues. We present the quantitative results of hand-simulating these algorithms, but this analysis naturally gives rise to both a qualititive evaluation and recommendations for performing such evaluations in general. We illustrate the general difficulties encountered with quantitative evaluation. These are problems with: (a) allowing for underlying assumptions, (b) determining how to handle underspecifications, and (c) evaluating the contribution of false positives and error chaining.
L-probe-Fed Fabry-Perot resonator antenna for millimeter-wave applications

Two parallel conducting plates are placed vertically on the ground plane to form a millimeter-wave Fabry-Perot resonator antenna. An L-probe is placed between the parallel plates to excite the Fabry-Perot mode. The antenna was studied using Ansoft HFSS. Simulated results of the reflection coefficient, radiation pattern, and antenna gain are reported.
Sulodexide in the treatment of intermittent claudication. Results of a randomized, double-blind, multicentre, placebo-controlled study.

AIMS Patients with peripheral arterial obstructive disease require treatment to prevent major cardiovascular events and to relieve intermittent claudication. The walking performance of peripheral arterial obstructive disease patients was used to evaluate the usefulness of sulodexide, a glycosaminoglycan containing fast moving heparin and dermatan sulphate. METHODS AND RESULTS A randomized, multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was performed in 286 patients with Leriche-Fontaine stage II peripheral arterial obstructive disease. Patients received placebo (n=143) or sulodexide (n=143) for 27 weeks. The primary end-point was the doubling of the pain-free walking distance at the end of treatment, and this was achieved by 23.8% of patients treated with sulodexide and 9.1% of those on placebo (P=0.001). The pain-free walking distance increased on average (+/-SE) by 83.2+/-8.6 m (+64.7% from baseline) with sulodexide and 36.7+/-6.2 m (+29.9% from baseline) with placebo (P=0.001). The maximum walking distance increased by 142.3+/-15.8 m (+76.0% from baseline) and 54.5+/-8.4 m (+27.9% from baseline) (P<0.001), respectively. Results for patients with type II diabetes were similar to those for non-diabetic patients. Plasma fibrinogen decreased with sulodexide, but increased with placebo. CONCLUSION Sulodexide improved the walking ability of peripheral arterial obstructive disease patients to a significantly greater extent than placebo, with a concurrent significant decrease in fibrinogen. The treatment was well tolerated.
Galectin-1 Overexpression in Endometriosis and Its Regulation by Neuropeptides (CRH, UCN) Indicating Its Important Role in Reproduction and Inflammation

Endometriosis is an inflammatory disease of women of reproductive age featured by the presence of ectopic endometrium and is strongly related to infertility. Galectins, carbonhydrate-binding proteins, have been found to have pro- or anti-inflammatory roles in the reproductive tract and in pathological conditions concerning infertility. Galectin-1, which is expressed at endometrium and decidua, plays a major role in implantation and trophoblast invasion. Also, the neuropeptides, corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) and urocortin (UCN) and their receptors are expressed in eutopic and ectopic endometrium showing a differential expression pattern in endometriotic women compared to healthy ones. The aim of this study was to examine the galectin-1 expression in endometriotic lesions and compare its expression in eutopic endometrium of endometriotic and healthy women. Furthermore, we examined the effect of CRH and UCN in galectin-1 expression in Ishikawa cell line and macrophages and investigated the implication of CRHR1 in these responses. Eutopic and ectopic endometrium specimens, Ishikawa cell line and mice macrophages were used. Immunohistochemistry and western blot analysis were performed in order to identify galectin-1 expression in ectopic and eutopic endometrium of women with and without endometriosis and the regulatory effect of CRH and UCN on galectin-1 expression. This study presents for the first time that galectin-1 is overexpressed in endometriotic lesions compared to eutopic endometrium of endometriotic women and is more abundantly expressed in eutopic endometrium of disease women compared to healthy ones. Furthermore, it is shown that CRH and UCN upregulate galectin-1 expression in Ishikawa cell line and macrophages and this effect is mediated through CRHR1. These results suggest that galectin-1 might play an important role in endometriosis pathology and infertility profile of women suffering from endometriosis by being at the same time regulated by CRH and UCN interfering in the immune disequilibrium which characterizes this pathological condition.
Energy-aware connected dominating set construction in mobile ad hoc networks

Connected dominating set (CDS) has been used widely in mobile ad hoc networks by numerous routing, broadcast, and time synchronization protocols. Although computing minimum CDS is known to be NP-hard, many distributed protocols have been proposed to construct a small CDS. However, these protocols are either too complicated, need non-local information, are not adaptive to topology changes, or fail to consider the difference in energy consumption for nodes within and outside the CDS. In this paper, we present two timer-based energy-aware connected dominating set protocols. Our protocols extend the MAC-layer timer-based connected dominating set protocol (MTCDS) so that the energy level at each node is taken into account when constructing the CDS. Simulation results have shown that our protocols effectively construct an energy-aware CDS with a very competitive size and prolong the network operation under different levels of nodal mobility.
Effect of botulinum toxin A on the autonomic nervous system of the rat lower urinary tract.

PURPOSE The magnitude and duration of the effects of botulinum toxin A on acetylcholine (ACh) and norepinephrine release from the bladder and urethra of rats were measured using a radiochemical method. MATERIALS AND METHODS Saline (sham treatment) or botulinum toxin A was injected into the bladder (50 microl.) or urethra (30 microl.) in separate groups of animals. The release of 3H-norepinephrine or 14C-choline was measured at 2 time points after injection (5 or 30 days). RESULTS The fractional release of ACh in botulinum toxin A treated animals was significantly inhibited at higher frequencies of electrical field stimulation (20 Hz.) but not at lower frequencies (2 Hz.) 5 days after injection. However, ACh release recovered to sham injected values 30 days after toxin injection. No significant differences in the fractional release of norepinephrine from sham injected or botulinum toxin A bladders were observed. In contrast, norepinephrine release from the urethra was inhibited by botulinum toxin A for at least 30 days after injection. Similar to its effect on transmitter release in the bladder, botulinum toxin A inhibited norepinephrine release in the urethra at high (20 Hz.) but not at low (4 Hz.) electrical stimulation frequencies. CONCLUSIONS These data indicate that the clinical effects of botulinum toxin A on the lower urinary tract may vary depending on the site of injection and level of nerve activity.
Paraconsistent OWL and related logics

The Web Ontology Language OWL is currently the most prominent formalism for representing ontologies in Semantic Web applications. OWL is based on description logics, and automated reasoners are used to infer knowledge implicitly present in OWL ontologies. However, because typical description logics obey the classical principle of explosion, reasoning over inconsistent ontologies is impossible in OWL. This is so despite the fact that inconsistencies are bound to occur in many realistic cases, e.g., when multiple ontologies are merged or when ontologies are created by machine learning or data mining tools.In this paper, we present four-valued paraconsistent description logics which can reason over inconsistencies. We focus on logics corresponding to OWL DL and its profiles. We present the logic $\mathcal {SROIQ}4$, showing that it is both sound relative to classical $\mathcal {SROIQ}$ and that its embedding into $\mathcal {SROIQ}$ is consequence preserving. We also examine paraconsistent varieties of $\mathcal{EL}^{++}$, DL-Lite, and Horn-DLs. The general framework described here has the distinct advantage of allowing classical reasoners to draw sound but nontrivial conclusions from even inconsistent knowledge bases. Truth-value gaps and gluts can also be selectively eliminated from models by inserting additional axioms into knowledge bases. If gaps but not gluts are eliminated, additional classical conclusions can be drawn without affecting paraconsistency.
Novel Clonal Complexes with an Unknown Animal Reservoir Dominate Campylobacter jejuni Isolates from River Water in New Zealand

ABSTRACT Campylobacter jejuni is widely distributed in the environment, and river water has been shown to carry high levels of the organism. In this study, 244 C. jejuni isolates from three river catchment areas in New Zealand were characterized using multilocus sequence typing. Forty-nine of the 88 sequence types identified were new. The most common sequence types identified were ST-2381 (30 isolates), ST-45 (25 isolates), and ST-1225 (23 isolates). The majority of the sequence types identified in the river water could be attributed to wild bird fecal contamination. Two novel clonal complexes (CC) were identified, namely, CC ST-2381 (11 sequence types, 46 isolates) and CC ST-3640 (6 sequence types, 12 isolates), in which all of the sequence types were new. CC ST-2381 was the largest complex identified among the isolates and was present in two of the three rivers. None of the sequence types associated with the novel complexes has been identified among human isolates. The ST-2381 complex is not related to complexes associated with cattle, sheep, or poultry. The source of the novel complexes has yet to be identified.
Insulin Resistance, Steatosis, and Fibrosis in Egyptian Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection

Background/Aim: Both nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection are common in Egypt, and their coexistence is expected. There is controversy regarding the influence of NAFLD on chronic HCV disease progression. This study evaluates the effect of NAFLD on the severity of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) (necroinflammation and fibrosis) and assesses the relative contribution of insulin resistance syndrome to the occurrence of NAFLD in patients with chronic HCV infection. Patients and Methods: Untreated consecutive adults with chronic HCV infection admitted for liver biopsy were included in this study. Before liver biopsy, a questionnaire for risk factors was completed prospectively, and a blood sample was obtained for laboratory analysis. Results: Our study included 92 male patients. Their mean ± SD age and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) level were 42 ± 7.7 years (range 20-56) and 68 ± 41.7 U/L (range 16-214), respectively. The mean insulin level and insulin resistance index were 15.6 ± 18.3 mIU/mL (range 5.1-137.4) and 5.9 ± 15.2 (range 0.9-136.2), respectively. Fifty four percent of patients had steatosis and 65% had fibrosis. In multivariate analyses, steatosis was associated with insulin resistance and fibrosis was associated with high AST level, age ≥40 years, and steatosis. Conclusions: Steatosis is a histopathologic feature in >50% of patients with chronic HCV infection. Insulin resistance has an important role in the pathogenesis of steatosis, which represents a significant determinant of fibrosis together with high serum AST level and older age.
A wavelet-based two-stage near-lossless coder

In this paper, we investigate a two-stage near-lossless compression scheme. It is in the spirit of "lossy plus residual coding" and consists of a wavelet-based lossy layer followed by an arithmetic coding of the quantized residual to guarantee a given L/sup /spl infin// error bound in the pixel domain. Our focus is on the selection of the optimum bit rate for the lossy layer to achieve the minimum total bit rate. Unlike other similar lossy plus lossless approaches using a wavelet-based lossy layer, the proposed method does not require iteration of decoding and the IWT(Inverse Wavelet Transform) to locate the optimum bit rate. We propose a simple method to estimate the optimal bit rate and provide a theoretical justification for it. It is based on the 'critical rate' argument from the Rate-Distortion theory and 'whiteness' of the residual.
ASSESSING THE EFFECTS OF INTRODUCED NORWAY RATS (RATTUS NORVEGICUS) ON SURVIVAL AND PRODUCTIVITY OF LEAST AUKLETS (AETHIA PUSILLA)

Abstract We assessed potential effects of introduced Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) on Least Auklets (Aethia pusilla) breeding at Sirius Point on Kiska Island, the largest auklet colony in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. We compared productivity, chick growth, and adult survival of Least Auklets during 2001-2003 at Kiska and two nearby, rat-free Least Auklet colonies on Buldir and Kasatochi islands. During 2001 and 2002 (when rats were abundant), productivity at Kiska was the lowest ever recorded for this species (0.09–0.16 chicks fledged per eggs laid), primarily because of high mortality of newly hatched chicks. Growth rates and mean fledging mass were both lower on Kiska than on rat-free islands, though there were some interannual differences in these patterns. Adult survival rates were highly variable among years but strongly concordant among colonies, and survival from 2001 to 2002 on Kiska (0.881 ± 0.033) did not differ significantly from long-term averages on either Buldir (0.853 ± 0.014, 1990-2003) or Kasatochi (0.893 ± 0.027, 1996-2003) islands. Although we found little evidence at nesting crevices of predation on adults, eggs, or chicks, low productivity and slow chick growth were both consistent with disturbance caused by rats, particularly through disruption of adults attempting to brood or provision young chicks. Breeding failure may have been exacerbated by low prey availability for chick provisioning, but the lack of concordance in either productivity or chick growth rates between Kiska Island and nearby rat-free Buldir Island cast doubt on this possibility. Évaluer les Effets de Rattus norvegicus Introduits sur la Survie et la Productivité de Aethia pusilla
Abnormal in vitro proliferation and differentiation of T cell colony- forming cells in patients with tropical spastic paraparesis/human T lymphocyte virus type I (HTLV-I)-associated myeloencephalopathy and healthy HTLV-I carriers

T cell colonies were generated from the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of 10 patients with tropical spastic paraparesis/human T lymphocyte virus type I (HTLV-I)-associated myeloencephalopathy (TSP/HAM), two healthy HTLV-I carriers, and 17 healthy HTLV-I- seronegative subjects. PBMC were cultured in methylcellulose in the absence of added growth factors (spontaneous T cell colonies), or in the presence of phorbol myristate acetate and interleukin 2 (induced T cell colonies). PBMC T cell colony-forming cells (T-CFC) from all TSP/HAM patients and HTLV-I carriers were able to grow in the absence of added growth factors and/or mitogenic stimulation. Pooled spontaneous and induced colonies were composed of cells bearing CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, and CD1+ antigens. Colonies from normal HTLV-I-seronegative subjects displayed mature cells bearing the CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, and CD1- surface phenotype. In addition, spontaneous and induced T cell colonies expressed HTLV-I antigens in 18-38% of the cells from TSP/HAM patients and HTLV-I carriers. These results demonstrate that HTLV-I infection is associated with an abnormal proliferation and differentiation of T cell progenitors in vitro and that the T-CFC from HTLV-I-seropositive individuals are infected, suggesting that T-CFC abnormalities may play a predominant role in the pathophysiology of HTLV-I.
Tissue Transglutaminase-Serology Markers for Coeliac Disease

Abstract Serology markers of coeliac disease (CD)–antigliadin IgA/IgG antibodies (AGA/AGG) with purified α-gliadin, antiendomysium IgA antibodies (EmA) and anti-tissue transglutaminase (atTG) IgA/IgG antibodies–determined in 1451 serum samples, were analysed with respect to different screening algorithms. Determination of atTG using five ELISA methods was compared taking into account the impact of human recombinant antigen and IgG class of atTG. A subgroup of 119 patients undergoing small intestinal biopsy was used to calculate sensitivity and specificity of CD markers. The highest sensitivity (94%) was obtained for AGG, and the highest specificity (93.5%) was obtained for EmA. All coeliac disease patients were detected using the combination of all four CD markers, resulting in 100% sensitivity. CD and type 1 diabetes mellitus autoantigens were determined in 139 diabetic patients. The atTG IgA mean value (16.7 IU/ml) was higher in the antiglutamate dehydrogenase antibody (GAD)-positive subgroup, where at least one CD marker was positive in 83.6% subjects. In the GAD-negative subgroup atTG IgA was 8.73 IU/ml and at least one CD marker was positive in 57.4% subjects. atTG in IgA and IgG classes could be recommended as valuable serological markers of CD in the differential diagnosis of malabsorption as well as in various screening algorithms. ELISA determination of atTG with human antigen could increase the specificity, especially in patients with other autoimmune diseases.
Assessment of 2006 and 2007 drought patterns in the vegetation drought response index across Nebraska

The Vegetation Drought Response Index (VegDRI), a hybrid geospatial drought indicator and monitoring tool, provides timely drought severity information with relatively higher spatial resolution (1 km) than traditional drought monitoring maps. The VegDRI models integrate climate-based drought index data, satellite-based vegetation index information, and several biophysical parameters. During the 2008 growing season, VegDRI was produced in near-real time for 22 states in the central and western United States. Coverage will expand across the conterminous United States in 2009. Validating the results of large-area, operational monitoring tools like VegDRI requires extensive ground truth information across space and time, and to date, only a limited number of assessments of this index have been conducted. This study initiates a comprehensive assessment of historical VegDRI based on a comparison with crop yields to better characterize the accuracy and performance of VegDRI for agricultural drought monitoring. This assessment evaluated drought severity information provided by VegDRI for Nebraska in 2006 and 2007 identified using crop and irrigation masks. Moderate to severe drought conditions occurred during 2006 and very little drought occurred in 2007. Spatial and statistical comparisons of VegDRI and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) crop yield data were conducted for both years. In this study, comparisons were restricted to Nebraska’s two predominant crops, corn and soybeans. Non-irrigated row crops were analyzed separately. Preliminary results showed that non-irrigated corn yields had a stronger relationship to late-season VegDRI than non-irrigated soybeans. Moderate drought impacts in 2006 were also highlighted by this analysis.
Environmental Stress as a Developmental Cue: Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone Is a Proximate Mediator of Adaptive Phenotypic Plasticity in Amphibian Metamorphosis

Environmentally induced phenotypic plasticity allows developing organisms to respond adaptively to changes in their habitat. Desert amphibians have evolved traits which allow successful development in unpredictable environments. Tadpoles of these species can accelerate metamorphosis as their pond dries, thus escaping mortality in the larval habitat. This developmental response can be replicated in the laboratory, which allows elucidation of the underlying physiological mechanisms. Here I demonstrate a link between a classical neurohormonal stress pathway (involving corticotropin-releasing hormone, CRH) and the developmental response to habitat desiccation. Injections of CRH-like peptides accelerated metamorphosis in western spadefoot toad tadpoles. Conversely, treatment with two CRH antagonists, the CRH receptor antagonist alpha-helical CRH(9-41) and anti-CRH serum, attenuated the developmental acceleration induced by habitat desiccation. Tadpoles subjected to habitat desiccation exhibited elevated hypothalamic CRH content at the time when they responded developmentally to the declining water level. CRH injections elevated whole-body thyroxine, triiodothyronine, and corticosterone content, the primary hormonal regulators of metamorphosis. In contrast, alpha-helical CRH(9-41) reduced thyroid activity. These results support a central role for CRH as a neurohormonal transducer of environmental stimuli into the endocrine response which modulates the rate of metamorphosis. Because in mammals, increased fetal/placental CRH production may initiate parturition, and CRH has been implicated in precipitating preterm birth arising from fetal stress, this neurohormonal pathway may represent a phylogenetically ancient developmental regulatory system that allows the organism to escape an unfavorable larval/fetal habitat.
Joint Base Station Association and Power Allocation for uplink sum-rate maximization

In this paper, the problem of sum-rate maximization with Quality of Service (QoS) for a multi-cell multi-user uplink is addressed. The problem is formulated as a Mixed Integer Nonlinear Programming (MINLP) problem with non-convex feasible region and hence is difficult to solve. A primal-dual infeasible-interior-point method (IIPM) is applied to jointly optimize resources. With this method, simultaneously optimizing the Base Station Association (BSA) and Power Allocation (PA) is possible. Further to reduce the size, the problem is decomposed into two subproblems. The NP-hard Integer Programming (IP) BSA subproblem from the decomposition is solved by two different methods. One method uses the IIPM and other uses a Semidefinite Programming formulation. The PA subproblem is solved iteratively by IIPM. Simulation results converge to the optimum obtained by an existing exhaustive search. Apart from the sum-rate objective, the IIPM is applicable to broad class of utility functions and objectives and it also eliminates the requirement of an initial primal feasible point to begin the algorithm.