Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Improving dialogue classification using a topic space representation and a Gaussian classifier based on the decision rule

In this paper, we study the impact of dialogue representations and classification methods in the task of theme identification of telephone conversation services having highly imperfect automatic transcriptions. Two dialogue representations are firstly compared: the classical Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency with Gini purity criteria (TF-IDF-Gini) method and the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) approach. We then propose to study an original classification method that takes advantage of the LDA topic space representation, highlighted as the best dialogue representation. To do so, two assumptions about topic representation led us to choose a Gaussian process (GP) based method. This approach is compared with a Support Vector Machine (SVM) classification method. Results show that the GP approach is a better solution to deal with the multiple theme complexity of a dialogue, no matter the conditions studied (manual or automatic transcriptions). We finally discuss the impact of the topic space reduction on the classification accuracy.
Beautiful Parallel Code: Evolution vs. Intelligent Design

The individual node of a massively parallel distributed memory cluster is now itself a complex parallel computer with multiple processors, each of which may have multiple cores and/or hardware accelerators. We focus on the question of how to effectively code such nodes targeting the problem domain of dense matrix computations. We argue that the traditional way of programming leads to a level of complexity that stifﬂes productivity, performance, and ﬂex-ibility. We review lessons learned from our own FLAME project that appear to point to what we consider a more intelligent and desirable design.
Integrating virtual agents in BCI neurofeedback systems

The recent development of Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI) to Virtual World has resulted in a growing interest in realistic visual feedback. In this paper, we investigate the potential role of Virtual Agents in neurofeedback systems, which constitute an important paradigm for BCI. We discuss the potential impact of virtual agents on some important determinants of neurofeedback in the context of affective BCI. Throughout the paper, we illustrate our presentation with two fully implemented neurofeedback prototypes featuring virtual agents: the first is an interactive narrative in which the user empathises with the character through neurofeedback; the second recreates a natural environment in which crowd behaviour becomes a metaphor for arousal and the user engages in emotional regulation.
RHON1 is a novel ribonucleic acid-binding protein that supports RNase E function in the Arabidopsis chloroplast

The Arabidopsis endonuclease RNase E (RNE) is localized in the chloroplast and is involved in processing of plastid ribonucleic acids (RNAs). By expression of a tandem affinity purification-tagged version of the plastid RNE in the Arabidopsis rne mutant background in combination with mass spectrometry, we identified the novel vascular plant-specific and co-regulated interaction partner of RNE, designated RHON1. RHON1 is essential for photoautotrophic growth and together with RNE forms a distinct ∼800 kDa complex. Additionally, RHON1 is part of various smaller RNA-containing complexes. RIP-chip and other association studies revealed that a helix-extended-helix-structured Rho-N motif at the C-terminus of RHON1 binds to and supports processing of specific plastid RNAs. In all respects, such as plastid RNA precursor accumulation, protein pattern, increased number and decreased size of chloroplasts and defective chloroplast development, the phenotype of rhon1 knockout mutants resembles that of rne lines. This strongly suggests that RHON1 supports RNE functions presumably by conferring sequence specificity to the endonuclease.
Enhancing Mental Readiness in Military Personnel

Abstract : In this paper we explore how the psychological literature on stress and coping might inform military training programs to enhance "mental readiness" as a method to develop the baseline psychological resiliency of military personnel. Accordingly, mental readiness training involves an integrated approach, infusing the principles of emotional, cognitive and behavioral control in the context of realistic military training. More specifically, in selected training situations, instructors would note physiological and cognitive responses to stress, how these responses may affect soldiers reactions, and the decisions made and the course of action taken, as well as how these factors interact. Trainers also would provide instruction in the techniques of maintaining cognitive and emotional control in situ, demonstrating these techniques as required until a specific level of proficiency is achieved. In this way, the valuable lessons and training points of stress management are more intrinsically applicable and salient to soldiers, the techniques more contiguously practiced, and the benefits of these techniques more immediately experienced in operationally relevant contexts. Thus, integrating these principles and tools into relevant training opportunities encourages the reflexive application of mental readiness responses in the same way that technical proficiencies become reflexive in military contexts. We review two studies that have particular application to a mental readiness approach. We conclude with a discussion of specific training issues relevant to mental readiness preparation, and the placement of mental readiness training in the continuum of military mental health training, services and programs.
Understanding and Mitigating Uncertainty 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 in Online Exchange Relationships : A Principal-Agent Perspective

Despite a decade since the inception of B2C e-commerce, the uncertainty of the online environment still makes many consumers reluctant to engage in online exchange relationships. Even if uncertainty has been widely touted as the primary barrier to online transactions, the literature has viewed uncertainty as a “background” mediator with insufficient conceptualization and measurement. To better understand the nature of uncertainty and mitigate its potentially harmful effects on B2C e-commerce adoption (especially for important purchases), this study draws upon and extends the principal-agent perspective to identify and propose a set of four antecedents of perceived uncertainty in online buyer-seller relationships – perceived information asymmetry, fears of seller opportunism, information privacy concerns, and information security concerns which are drawn from the agency problems of adverse selection (hidden information) and moral hazard (hidden action). To mitigate uncertainty in online exchange relationships, this study integrates the principal-agent perspective with information systems, marketing, and sociological theories to propose a set of four mitigating factors – trust, website informativeness, product diagnosticity, and social presence that enable online transactions by overcoming the problems of hidden information and hidden action through the logic of signals and incentives. The proposed structural model is empirically tested with longitudinal data from 521 consumers for two products (prescription drugs and books) that differ on their level of purchase importance. The results support our model, delineating the process by which buyers engage in online exchange relationships by mitigating uncertainty. Interestingly, the proposed model is validated for two distinct targets, a specific website and a class of websites. Implications for understanding and facilitating online exchange relationships for different types of purchases, mitigating uncertainty perceptions, and extending the principal-agent perspective are discussed.
Customer Information Sharing with E-Vendors: The Roles of Incentives and Trust

The collection of personal information from customers is a necessity for Internet merchants, who need such information to effectively provide service to customers. The ease with which data can be acquired and disseminated across the Web, and the peculiarities of the electronic environment have led to growing concerns from many potential customers over disclosing personal information to e-service providers. Self-disclosure theories suggest that consumers' willingness to disclose personal information is based on their assessments of the related costs, risks, and benefits. This study experimentally manipulated initial trust and the nature of the incentive given to encourage information disclosure. It also measured actual disclosure behavior rather than just intention or attitude. A key finding is that subjects did not claim to be more willing to provide information in the presence of incentives, but in fact, as indicated by their behavior, were more inclined to do so. What is more, privacy concern, involvement with the service category considered, and attitude toward on-line shopping act like antecedents for a willingness to share attitudinal measure but are not diagnostic of actual behavior.
The Use of a Computerized Provider Order Entry Alert to Decrease Rates of Clostridium difficile Testing in Young Pediatric Patients

BACKGROUND Infants and young children are frequently colonized with C. difficile but rarely have symptomatic disease. However, C. difficile testing remains prevalent in this age group. OBJECTIVE To design a computerized provider order entry (CPOE) alert to decrease testing for C. difficile in young children and infants. DESIGN An interventional age-targeted before-after trial with comparison group SETTING Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee. PATIENTS All children seen in the inpatient or emergency room settings from July 2012 through July 2013 (pre-CPOE alert) and September 2013 through September 2014 (post-CPOE alert) INTERVENTION In August of 2013, we implemented a CPOE alert advising against testing in infants and young children based on the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations with an optional override. We further offered healthcare providers educational seminars regarding recommended C. difficile testing. RESULTS The average monthly testing rate significantly decreased after the CPOE alert for children 0–11 months old (11.5 pre-alert vs 0 post-alert per 10,000 patient days; P<.001) and 12–35 months old (61.6 pre-alert vs 30.1 post-alert per 10,000 patients days; P<.001), but not for those children ≥36 months old (50.9 pre-alert vs 46.4 post-alert per 10,000 patient days; P=.3) who were not targeted with a CPOE alert. There were no complications in those children who testing positive for C. difficile. CONCLUSIONS The average monthly testing rate for C. difficile for children <35 months old decreased without complication after the use of a CPOE alert in those who tested positive for C. difficile. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2017;38:542–546
Hypochondriacal concerns and somatization in panic disorder

To clarify the relationship between panic disorder and the symptoms of hypochondriasis and somatization, we evaluated these symptoms and diagnoses in patients attending an Anxiety Disorders Clinic. Structured clinical interviews, self‐report measures, and symptom diaries were used to assess 21 patients with panic disorder, 23 patients with social phobia, and 22 control subjects with no psychiatric disorders. Ten of the patients with panic disorder (48%) also met DSM‐IV criteria for hypochondriasis, whereas only one of the patients with social phobia and none of the healthy control subjects met the criteria for this diagnosis. None of the participants met DSM‐IV criteria for somatization disorder, even though both anxiety groups reported high levels of somatic symptoms. The panic disorder group reported higher levels of fear about illness and disease conviction and endorsed more somatic symptoms than did the other groups. A higher proportion of panic disorder patients reported previously diagnosed medical conditions (48%) as compared with patients with social phobia (17%) or healthy control subjects (14%). The panic disorder patients with DSM‐IV hypochondriasis obtained higher scores on measures of hypochondriacal concerns, somatization, blood–injury phobia, and general anxiety and distress than did the panic disorder patients without hypochondriasis. The results suggest a strong association between panic disorder and hypochondriasis. Depression and Anxiety 6:78–85, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Can we beat legitimate cyber behavior mimicking attacks from botnets?

Botnets are the engine for malicious activities in cyber space. In order to sustain their botnets and disguise their illegal actions, botnet owners are exhausting their strength to mimic legitimate cyber behavior to fly under the radar, e.g. flash crowd mimicking attacks on popular websites. It is an open and challenging problem: can we beat mimicking attacks or not? We use web browsing on popular websites as an example to explore the issue. In our previous work, we discovered that it is almost impossible to detect mimicking attacks from statistics if the number of active bots of a botnet is sufficient (no less than the number of active legitimate users). In this paper, we pointed out that it is usually hard for botnet owners to have sufficient number of active bots in practice. Therefore, we can discriminate mimicking attacks when the sufficient number condition is not met. We prove our claim theoretically and confirm it with simulations. Our findings can also be applied to a large number of other detection related cases.
Longitudinal monitoring of 2-long terminal repeat circles in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with chronic HIV-1 infection

Objective: To evaluate the potential use of 2-long terminal repeats (LTR) HIV circular DNA quantification for the monitoring of ongoing virus replication in treated HIV-1-infected patients. Design and methods: In a longitudinal setting, where the natural course of HIV-1 infection was in most cases disrupted by continuous or discontinuous antiviral therapy, 2-LTR circles of HIV-1 DNA were quantified in serial peripheral blood mononuclear cell samples, selected in retrospect from 16 patients with chronic HIV-1 infection, using quantitative real-time PCR. We compared variations of 2-LTR circle level with concomitant variations in plasma viral RNA level and with the frequency of productively infected cells and chromosome associated proviral DNA copy numbers in patient's peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Results: Antiviral treatment led to a sharp decrease in plasma viraemia and infectious cell frequency. In contrast, we found that levels of proviral DNA and 2-LTR circles were significantly lower under treatment only when groups of specimens that were homogeneous, with respect both to plasma viraemia and infectious cell frequency, were compared. Moreover, during the time of undetectable plasma viraemia, scarcely any decline in proviral DNA or 2-LTR circle levels was observed. Conclusions: The low impact of antiviral treatment on 2-LTR circle levels in vivo, when plasma viraemia and infectious cell frequency both dramatically decline lead us to conclude that 2-LTR circles should not be used for the monitoring of recent viral replication in treated patients.
A Two-Level Discretization Method for the Smagorinsky Model

A two-level method for discretizing the Smagorinsky model for the numerical simulation of turbulent flows is proposed and analyzed. In the two-level algorithm, the solution to the fully nonlinear coarse mesh problem is utilized in a single-step linear fine mesh problem. When modeling parameters are chosen appropriately, the error in the two-level algorithm is comparable to the error in solving the fully nonlinear problem on the fine mesh. We demonstrate numerically that, for an appropriate choice of grids, the two-level algorithm is significantly more efficient than the standard one-level algorithm. We also provide a rigorous numerical analysis of the two-level method, which yields appropriate scalings between the coarse and fine mesh-sizes (H and h, respectively), and the radius of the spatial filter used in the Smagorinsky model ($\delta$). Our analysis provides a mathematical answer to the large eddy simulation mystery of finding the scaling between the filter radius and numerical mesh-size.
Parental report of health conditions and health care use among children with and without autism: National Survey of Children's Health.

OBJECTIVE To compare parent-reported prevalence of health conditions and health care use between children with and without autism. DESIGN Cross-sectional analysis of the 2003 to 2004 National Survey of Children's Health. SETTING Population-based sample across the United States. PARTICIPANTS More than 100 000 parents. The main exposure was "autism" (not further defined), from response to the question: "Has a doctor or health professional ever told you that your child has autism? " MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Medical and mental health conditions and measures of health care use. RESULTS Autism prevalence among children aged 3 to 17 years was 53 per 10 000 (95% confidence interval, 45-61 per 10,000), equating to a national estimate of 324 000 children (95% confidence interval, 274,000-375,000 children). Children with autism had a significantly (P<.001) higher prevalence of depression or anxiety problems (38.9% vs 4.2%) and behavioral or conduct problems (58.9% vs 5.2%) than children without autism. Respiratory, food, and skin allergies were reported by parents more often for children with autism, with food allergies having the strongest relative difference between the groups (odds ratio, 4.5; 95% confidence interval, 3.0-7.0). Children with autism had significantly (P<.001) higher mean physician visits over 12 months for preventive care, nonemergency care, and hospital emergency care, and were far more likely than children without autism to receive physical, occupational, or speech therapy (76.0% vs 6.3%), to need treatment or counseling for an emotional, developmental, or behavioral problem (75.4% vs 7.0%), and, among those taking a prescribed medication, to be using a medication long-term (51.4% vs 14.5%). CONCLUSION We found markedly higher reports of concurrent conditions and health care use associated with childhood autism in this study.
The adhesion molecule NCAM promotes ovarian cancer progression via FGFR signalling

Epithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC) is an aggressive neoplasm, which mainly disseminates to organs of the peritoneal cavity, an event mediated by molecular mechanisms that remain elusive. Here, we investigated the expression and functional role of neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM), a cell surface glycoprotein involved in brain development and plasticity, in EOC. NCAM is absent from normal ovarian epithelium but becomes highly expressed in a subset of human EOC, in which NCAM expression is associated with high tumour grade, suggesting a causal role in cancer aggressiveness. We demonstrate that NCAM stimulates EOC cell migration and invasion in vitro and promotes metastatic dissemination in mice. This pro‐malignant function of NCAM is mediated by its interaction with fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR). Indeed, not only FGFR signalling is required for NCAM‐induced EOC cell motility, but targeting the NCAM/FGFR interplay with a monoclonal antibody abolishes the metastatic dissemination of EOC in mice. Our results point to NCAM‐mediated stimulation of FGFR as a novel mechanism underlying EOC malignancy and indicate that this interplay may represent a valuable therapeutic target.
Musculoskeletal symptoms among seafood production workers in North Norway.

AIMS To investigate the prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints among male and female production workers in different types of seafood industries in North Norway and to analyse associations between musculoskeletal symptoms and some possible risk factors in the seafood industry. METHODS A self-administered anonymous questionnaire, covering several aspects concerning occupational environment and health issues, was mailed to employees in seafood-processing plants in North Norway. RESULTS A total of 1767 employees in 118 seafood-processing plants participated giving a 50% response rate. This included 744 production workers in whitefish, shrimp and salmon industries, and 129 administrative workers in all types of seafood industries. The prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms was high among seafood production workers. The odds ratio for symptoms from upper limbs was significantly higher for females compared to men. Production workers had the highest relative risk for symptoms from wrist/hands (OR = 4.1-9.4) and elbows (OR = 3.5-5.2) when compared to administrative workers. The main difference between types of seafood industries was the high prevalence of symptoms from wrist/hands among female (82%) and male (64%) production workers in the salmon industry compared to whitefish (62 and 47%, respectively) and shrimp industry (66 and 37%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS Musculoskeletal symptoms were found among the majority of production workers in the whitefish, shrimp and salmon industry, the highest prevalence being among female workers. The main difference between types of seafood industries was the high prevalence of symptoms from wrist/hands among workers in the salmon industry. Cold work was an important risk factor for musculoskeletal symptoms.
A Test of Founder Effect Speciation Using Multiple Loci in the Auklets (Aethia spp.)

Whether speciation results more frequently from the genetic consequences of founder events or from gradual genetic divergence of large populations is a matter of debate. In this study, multiple analyses were applied to data from three loci (cytochrome b, α-enolase intron VIII, and MHC class II B) to test for founder effects associated with speciation in Aethia (Aves: Alcidae), a genus of seabirds thought to have undergone a rapid founder-induced radiation. Effective population sizes (Ne) were derived from estimators of θ based on allelic diversity and the coalescent and from data on trans-species polymorphism. Results indicated that Ne has been on the order of 105–106 individuals throughout the evolutionary histories of least and crested auklets (A. pusilla and A. cristatella, respectively) and that Ne of the ancestral species was at least 16,000 individuals. Computer simulations of MHC evolution indicated that a single-generation bottleneck at speciation could not have involved <85 individuals for each species. More moderate simulation scenarios indicated that population size could not have dropped below 2000 individuals at the time of species founding. Demographic history appears to have been stable for the auklets throughout the past several million years, and a founder effect associated with their speciation is unlikely.