Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Domain minimization and beyond: Modeling prepositional phrase ordering

Abstract An important account of linear ordering in syntax is John A. Hawkins' (2004) theory of cognitive efficiency and the principles of domain minimization formulated therein. In its latest formulation, the theory postulates syntactic and semantic minimization principles. With regard to the relative strength of these principles, prior research into the dynamics of these constraints has come to differing conclusions. Using the relative ordering of prepositional phrases (PPs) in English as a test phenomenon, the present study contributes to the further development of a theory of syntactic serialization through the multifactorial analysis of naturalistic data from a corpus of present-day British English. We find that lexical-semantic dependency constitutes the strongest constraint on serialization followed by the weight-related, syntactic one. More specifically, our results show that although syntactic minimization has much greater data coverage – it applies to a much larger proportion of the data – the lexical-semantic factor has a much greater effect size, thus is more seldomly violated. In addition to assessing the relative importance of the two minimization principles, we also investigate the effects of other potential codeterminants of PP order, namely the manner > place > time generalization and pragmatic information status. Our results suggest that these play statistically significant but tangential roles in PP ordering.
New Photometry for the Intermediate-Age Large Magellanic Cloud Globular Cluster NGC 2121 and the Nature of the LMC Age Gap

We report new photometry for the cluster NGC 2121 in the Large Magellanic Cloud, which shows a prominent hydrogen core exhaustion gap at the turnoff and a descending subgiant branch reminiscent of Galactic open clusters. We achieve an excellent fit using the Girardi isochrones, finding an age of 3.2 ± 0.5 Gyr, with [Fe/H] = -0.6 ± 0.2. The isochrones fit the color and shape of the turnoff and subgiant branch so precisely that we can constrain the metallicity, as well as the age. The same isochrones also fit SL 663 and NGC 2155, although our photometry for these clusters has much larger errors. We find these clusters to be 0.8 Gyr younger and 0.4 dex more metal-rich than recently reported in the literature. Consequently, we argue that NGC 2121, NGC 2155, and SL 663 are not properly assigned to the age gap in the LMC, but instead are among the first clusters to be have formed in the relatively metal-rich, younger group of LMC clusters. We propose a new definition of the LMC age gap as extending from 3.2 to 13 Gyr, with ESO 121-SC03 still the only remaining candidate for membership in the age gap.
Serum HE4: An Independent Prognostic Factor in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Human epididymis secretory protein 4 (HE4) is a secreted glycosylated protein encoded by the WAP four-disulfide core domain 2 (WFDC2) gene, located on a chromosome 20 segment that is frequently amplified in many cancers. This study aimed at determining serum HE4 prognostic value in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), following the REMARK guidelines. Serum samples from 346 consecutive patients with histologically proven and previously untreated NSCLC and 41 patients with benign pulmonary disease were collected at the Montpellier-Nimes Academic Hospital. Work-up investigations performed to determine the disease characteristics and treatment algorithms were congruent with international guidelines. HE4 levels in serum were measured with an ELISA test (Fujirebio Diagnostics) that uses two monoclonal antibodies, 2H5 and 3D8, against the C-WFDC domain of HE4. The area under the ROC curve (i.e., overall ability of HE4 to discriminate between controls and patients) was 0.78 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.738–0.821; z test P <0.0001). Serum HE4 levels were significantly higher in patients with worse performance status, advanced TNM stage and positive nodal status. In the Cox model, overall survival was shorter in patients with high pretreatment serum HE4 (above 140 pmol/L) than in patients with serum H4 level ≤ 140 pmol/L [median survival: 17.7 weeks (95% CI, 11.9 to 24.9) and 46.4 weeks (95% CI, 38.6 to 56.3), respectively; hazard ratio: 1.48 (95% CI, 1.12 to 1.95) for high HE4; adjusted P = 0.0057]. High serum HE4 level at diagnosis is an independent determinant of poor prognosis in NSCLC.
N400 ERPs for actions: building meaning in context

Converging neuroscientific evidence suggests the existence of close links between language and sensorimotor cognition. Accordingly, during the comprehension of meaningful actions, our brain would recruit semantic-related operations similar to those associated with the processing of language information. Consistent with this view, electrophysiological findings show that the N400 component, traditionally linked to the semantic processing of linguistic material, can also be elicited by action-related material. This review outlines recent data from N400 studies that examine the understanding of action events. We focus on three specific domains, including everyday action comprehension, co-speech gesture integration, and the semantics involved in motor planning and execution. Based on the reviewed findings, we suggest that both negativities (the N400 and the action-N400) reflect a common neurocognitive mechanism involved in the construction of meaning through the expectancies created by previous experiences and current contextual information. To shed light on how this process is instantiated in the brain, a testable contextual fronto-temporo-parietal model is proposed.
Reliability and validity of the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale, Revised Edition, ECERS-R in Arabic

The aim of this study was to test reliabilities and validations for the Arabic translation of the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale, Revised (ECERS-R) scale [Harms, T. , Clifford, R. M. , & Cryer, D. (1998). Early childhood environment rating scale, revised edition. New York: Teachers College Press]. ECERS-R mean scores were tested for reliability at the indicator, item and total score levels. Test–retest, inter-rater and internal consistency correlation agreements were used on a sample of 50 childcare centres randomly sampled, representing category (national or private), region, type of childcare provision and classroom level (3–6 years) in Bahrain. High agreement levels (Cohen's kappas) between raters for mean total (0.797), item (0.78) and indicator (0.91) scores and internal consistency, 0.95 (Cronbach alpha) support ECERS-R as a reliably translated measure of quality identifiable in Arabic. Content, concurrent and predictive measures of validity included the Caregiver Interaction Scale significantly related with the ECERS-R (r = .56 Pearson product moment) and higher staff qualification levels which predicted higher ECERS-R scores, ANOVA F(1, 49) = 3.81, p = . 05. Factor analyses identified high item loadings (>.69) for the total ECERS-R scale and also with the two factors: teaching and interaction and provisions and learning (Clifford, R., Reszka, S. and Rossbach, H. (2010). Reliability and validity of the early childhood environment rating scale. Chapel Hill: FPG Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina), demonstrating the ECERS-R in Arabic to be a reliable and valid instrument. Further research evidence using the Arabic scale is needed.
Neural-network control of mobile manipulators

In this paper, a neural network (NN)-based methodology is developed for the motion control of mobile manipulators subject to kinematic constraints. The dynamics of the mobile manipulator is assumed to be completely unknown, and is identified online by the NN estimators. No preliminary learning stage of NN weights is required. The controller is capable of disturbance-rejection in the presence of unmodeled bounded disturbances. The tracking stability of the closed-loop system, the convergence of the NN weight-updating process and boundedness of NN weight estimation errors are all guaranteed. Experimental tests on a 4-DOF manipulator arm illustrate that the proposed controller significantly improves the performance in comparison with conventional robust control.
Ovarian function in ewes made hypogonadal with GnRH antagonist and stimulated with FSH in the presence or absence of low amplitude LH pulses.

This study examined the effect of LH pulses, of similar amplitude and frequency to those found in the luteal phase, on the pattern of hormone secretion and follicle development in GnRH antagonist-suppressed ewes stimulated with exogenous FSH. This experiment was conducted on ewes with ovarian autotransplants in a continuous study. Follicle development was suppressed in 18 ewes by 3 weeks of GnRH antagonist treatment (50 micrograms/kg per 4 days s.c.), and was then stimulated by infusion of ovine (o)FSH (5 micrograms NIADDK-oFSH-16/h i.v.) for 3 days. In addition to FSH, 10 animals received pulses of LH (2.5 micrograms NIADDK-oLH-26 i.v.) every 4 h for the entire period of the FSH infusion. The follicle population was determined by daily ultrasound. Samples of ovarian and jugular venous blood were collected at 4-h intervals over the period of the FSH infusion and there were three periods of intensive blood sampling (15-min intervals for 2.5 h at 24, 48 and 72 h after the start of the FSH infusion) when the steroidogenic capacity of the follicles in all 18 ewes was tested around an LH challenge (2.5 micrograms i.v.). GnRH antagonist treatment resulted in a 57% decrease in FSH concentrations and prevented ovarian follicle development beyond 3 mm in diameter. Infusion of FSH resulted in a 60% increase in FSH concentrations and stimulated the development of large antral follicles and a coincident increase in ovarian androstenedione, inhibin and oestradiol secretion in both experimental groups. In the absence of 4-hourly LH pulses basal steroid secretion was negligible (< 1 ng/min; P < 0.001). Daily LH challenges, however, revealed no difference in the steroidogenic capacity of the follicle population in either experimental group. Similarly, LH pulses had no effect on the growth rate and number of antral follicles stimulated by FSH infusion, or the pattern of ovarian inhibin secretion. In conclusion, these results show that while FSH alone can stimulate the development of ovulatory sized follicles in ewes made hypogonadal with GnRH antagonist, physiological patterns of LH stimulation have no deleterious effects on FSH-stimulated follicle development and are essential for normal steroidogenesis.
Cutaneous Manifestations of Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract Cutaneous involvement is common in diabetes, with approximately 30% of patients experiencing some dermatological problem during the course of their illness. Skin manifestations may be the first presenting sign of diabetes or even precede the diagnosis by many years, but they generally appear during the course of the disease in patients known to have diabetes. The involvement of skin can be autoimmune in nature, such as necrobiosis lipoidica, acanthosis nigricans, scleredema, diabetic dermopathy, granuloma annulare or infectious like erythrasma, necrotizing fasciitis, and mucormycosis. Pharmacologic management of diabetes, in addition, can also result in skin changes, such as lipoatrophy and lipohypertrophy, at the site of injection of insulin, and oral antidiabetic agents can cause multiple skin reactions as adverse effects. The management of these cutaneous manifestations is modified depending upon the underlying pathophysiology, but a tight control of blood sugar is a prerequisite in all treatment approaches.
An efficient coded multicasting scheme preserving the multiplicative caching gain

Coded multicasting has been shown to be a promising approach to significantly improve the caching performance of content delivery networks with multiple caches downstream of a common multicast link. However, achievable schemes proposed to date have been shown to achieve the proved order-optimal performance only in the asymptotic regime in which the number of packets per requested item goes to infinity. In this paper, we first extend the asymptotic analysis of the achievable scheme in [1], [2] to the case of heterogeneous cache sizes and demand distributions, providing the best known upper bound on the fundamental limiting performance when the number of packets goes to infinity. We then show that the scheme achieving this upper bound quickly loses its multiplicative caching gain for finite content packetization. To overcome this limitation, we design a novel polynomial-time algorithm based on random greedy graph-coloring that, while keeping the same finite content packetization, recovers a significant part of the multiplicative caching gain. Our results show that the order-optimal coded multicasting schemes proposed to date, while useful in quantifying the fundamental limiting performance, must be properly designed for practical regimes of finite packetization.
Reduced Expression of Uroplakin 1A Is Associated with the Poor Prognosis of Gastric Adenocarcinoma Patients

Background The aim of this study was to investigate the expression and prognostic significance of Uroplakin1A (UPK1A) in gastric adenocarcinoma patients. Functional studies were also analyzed in vitro. Methodology/Principal Findings Real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR), western blotting, and immunohistochemical (IHC) staining methods were used to analyze the expression of UPK1A in primary gastric adenocarcinoma tissue samples. Compared with matched adjacent non-tumor, the expression of UPK1A in fresh surgical specimens was reduced, which was confirmed by RT-qPCR (P<0.01) and western blotting analysis (P<0.01). The paraffin specimens from a consecutive series of 445 gastric adenocarcinoma patients who underwent surgery between 2003 and 2006 were analyzed by IHC staining. The relationship between UPK1A expression, clinicopathological factors, and survival were evaluated. IHC staining analysis revealed that the reduced expression of UPK1A was observed in 224 cases (50.3%). Additionally, the correlation analysis of clinicopathological factors demonstrated that reduced expression of UPK1A was significantly associated with histological grade (P = 0.022), node metastasis (P<0.001) and tumor node metastasis (TNM) stage (P = 0.008) (7th edition of the International Union Against Cancer (UICC)). Furthermore, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed that the reduced expression of UPK1A was significantly associated with poor prognosis (P = 0.043). Cox hazards model analysis indicated that UPK1A expression was an independent risk factor at the 0.1 level (P = 0.094). The function of UPK1A in cell cycle, migration, and invasion was investigated by overexpressing UPK1A in the MKN45 gastric cancer cell line. The elevated expression of UPK1A cells induced G1 phase arrest and significantly inhibited migration and invasion. Conclusions/Significance The reduced expression of UPK1A might play a role in the progression of gastric cancer. Thus, UPK1A could be a potential favorable biomarker associated with gastric cancer prognosis.
Toll-Like Receptor Polymorphisms and Susceptibility to Urinary Tract Infections in Adult Women

Background Although behavioral risk factors are strongly associated with urinary tract infection (UTI) risk, the role of genetics in acquiring this disease is poorly understood. Methodology/Principal Findings To test the hypothesis that polymorphisms in Toll-like receptor (TLR) pathway genes are associated with susceptibility to UTIs, we conducted a population-based case-control study of women ages 18–49 years. We examined DNA variants in 9 TLR pathway genes in 431 recurrent cystitis (rUTI) cases, 400 pyelonephritis cases, and 430 controls with no history of UTIs. In the Caucasian subgroup of 987 women, polymorphism TLR4_A896G was associated with protection from rUTI, but not pyelonephritis, with an odds ratio (OR) of 0.54 and a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 0.31 to 0.96. Polymorphism TLR5_C1174T, which encodes a variant that abrogates flagellin-induced signaling, was associated with an increased risk of rUTI (OR(95%CI): 1.81 (1.00–3.08)), but not pyelonephritis. Polymorphism TLR1_G1805T was associated with protection from pyelonephritis (OR(95%CI): 0.53 (0.29–0.96)). Conclusions These results provide the first evidence of associations of TLR5 and TLR1 variants with altered risks of acquiring rUTI and pyelonephritis, respectively. Although these data suggest that TLR polymorphisms are associated with adult susceptibility to UTIs, the statistical significance was modest and will require further study including validation with independent cohorts.
Fullwave-mode analysis of shielded microstrip discontinuities on anisotropic substrates

This paper presents a full-wave FDTD analysis of open/shielded microstrip discontinuities on anisotropic substrates through the evaluation of their S parameters. A wideband Gaussian pulse excitation was used to obtain frequency-domain information from dc up to the desired cutoff frequency. Numerical results demonstrate the necessity to include the effect of dielectric anisotropy in the modeling of microstrip discontinuities.
A new efficient ellipse detection method

In this paper, we introduce a new method for ellipse detection. This method takes the advantages of major axis of an ellipse to find ellipse parameter fast and efficiently. It only needs a one-dimensional accumulator array to accumulate the length information for minor axis of the ellipse. This method does not require the evaluation of the tangents or curvatures of the edge contours, which are generally very sensitive to noisy working conditions. No complicated mathematical computation is involved in the implementation and the required computational storage space is much cheaper compared to the current methods. Experiments with both synthetic and real images indicate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
A new method for attributing climate variations over the Atlantic Hurricane Basin's main development region

We propose a new approach to decompose observed climate variations over the Atlantic Hurricane Basin's main development region (MDR) into components attributable to radiative forcing changes and to internal oceanic variability. Our attribution suggests that the observed multidecadal anomalies of vertical shear (Uz) and a simple index of maximum potential intensity (SIMPI) for tropical cyclones are both dominated by internal variability, consistent with multidecadal variations of Atlantic Hurricane activity; changes in radiative forcing led to increasing Uz and decreasing SIMPI since the late 50's, unfavorable for Atlantic Hurricane activity. Physically, at least for the GFDL model, sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies induced by ocean heat transport variations are more efficient in producing negative Uz anomalies than that induced by altered radiative forcing.
Seasons and other factors affecting the quality of life of asthmatic children.

OBJECTIVE To study the effect of seasons on the health-related quality of life (HRQL) of asthmatic children. METHODS Four groups of asthmatic children 7 to 14 years old were recruited by pediatricians during each season of the year. Their HRQL was assessed by means of the Paediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (PAQLQ). Other factors surveyed were asthma severity, atopy, medical treatment, immunotherapy, obesity, parental smoking, and anti-allergic measures. RESULTS The mean (SD) overall PAQLQ score was highest in summer at 6.2 (1.0) and lowest in autumn at 5.5 (1.2). The same trend was found for domains in summer and autumn, respectively: symptoms, 6.2 (1.0) vs 5.4 (1.4); emotions, 6.5 (0.8) vs 6.0 (1.0); and activities, 5.9 (1.4) vs. 5.0 (1.5). Factors such as male gender (odds ratio [OR], 0.60; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.41-0.87), being on immunotherapy (OR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.38-0.92), living in an urban environment (OR, 0.56; 0.33-0.93), and residing on the northern coast of Spain along the Bay of Biscay (OR, 0.56; 0.36-0.89) were independent protective factors against having a total PAQLQ score in the lower tertile. Conversely, being recruited in a primary care setting (OR, 1.55; 1.01-2.38) and having more severe asthma were risks for being in the lower tertile. CONCLUSIONS Irrespective of the severity of the disease, season has a significant influence on the HRQL of asthmatic children.
The Gluten-Free Diet: Can Oats and Wheat Starch Be Part of It?

Objective and Conclusion: Uncertainty still exists about the use of oats and wheat starch as part of a gluten-free diet in patients with celiac disease (CD). This review should help to clarify the issues at hand. Whereas uncontaminated (from gluten/gliadin) oats and oats from cultivars not containing celiac-activating sequences of proline and glutamine can be used without risk of intestinal damage, wheat starch should not be used, unless it is free of gluten—that is, deglutinized—because even small amounts of gluten over time are able to induce small intestinal mucosal damage.
Employee Assistance Programs in Australia: Evaluating Success

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) are a vital aspect of organizational support and a significant and important element of Human Resources Management. The efficacy of an EAP will therefore have strong implications for the effective functioning of the people processes within an organization. It is incumbent upon organizations to assess the success of their program, its effectiveness, and its efficiency. An employer survey was conducted with 44 organizations that currently provide EAPs to their employees. The study was conducted in 2010, 2011, and 2012 and was based on a range of organizations with a total of approximately 50,500 employees who are in receipt of EAP services, from providers who are members of the Employee Assistance Professional Association of Australasia. The results concluded that EAPs do indeed attend to a wide range of psychological issues and that organizations benefit widely from the existence of EAPs. Furthermore, the study revealed that a close connection between EAPs and Human Resources Management is shown to be beneficial in terms of the broader organizational issues. Even though there is evidence of extensive satisfaction with EAP services it is also evident that there is opportunity to improve the level of monitoring and evaluation of such services to ensure their part in adding value to the organization.
Problems and preferences in pediatric imaging

Abstract Radiological imaging is extremely valuable as a diagnostic tool in the pediatric population, but it comes with a number of distinct challenges as compared to the imaging of adults. This is because of the following: It requires dedicated imaging protocols to acquire the images, there is need for sedation or general anesthesia for longer procedures such as MRI, specific training is required for the healthcare personnel involved, thorough knowledge and expertise should be applied for evaluating the images, and most importantly, it requires consideration for radiation exposure if ionizing radiation is being used. One of the challenges for clinical care personnel is to gain the child's trust and co-operation before and throughout the duration of an examination, which can prove to be difficult in children who may be ill and have pain. This is important to acquire quality images and prevent repeat examinations. Even with a quality examination, the accurate interpretation of images requires a thorough knowledge of the intricate and dynamic face of anatomy and specific pathological presentations in children. The increased radiation sensitivity of growing organs and children's longer expected life spans make them more susceptible to the harmful effects of radiation. Imaging pediatric patients in a dedicated pediatric imaging department with dedicated pediatric CT technologists may result in greater compliance with pediatric protocols and significantly reduced patient dose. In order to prevent the harmful effects of ionizing radiation, As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) principle should be strictly followed. This article seeks to draw attention to various challenges of pediatric imaging and the ways to overcome them.