Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Efficient and Effective Higher Order Proximity Modeling

Bag-of-words retrieval models are widely used, and provide a robust trade-off between efficiency and effectiveness. These models often make simplifying assumptions about relations between query terms, and treat term statistics independently. However, query terms are rarely independent, and previous work has repeatedly shown that term dependencies can be critical to improving the effectiveness of ranked retrieval results. Among all term-dependency models, the Markov Random Field (MRF) [Metzler and Croft, SIGIR, 2005] model has received the most attention in recent years. Despite clear effectiveness improvements, these models are not deployed in performance-critical applications because of the potentially high computational costs. As a result, bigram models are generally considered to be the best compromise between full term dependence, and term-independent models such as BM25. Here we provide further evidence that term-dependency features not captured by bag-of-words models can reliably improve retrieval effectiveness. We also present a new variation on the highly-effective MRF model that relies on a BM25-derived potential. The benefit of this approach is that it is built from feature functions which require no higher-order global statistics. We empirically show that our new model reduces retrieval costs by up to 60%, with no loss in effectiveness compared to previous approaches.
Functional and Neurophysiological Correlates of Corticospinal Function in Human Aging

Acknowledgments First and farmost, I would like to thank my thesis supervisor Dr. François Tremblay for his time and guidance throughout my research project. Thanks to him I was not only able successfully complete my project, but also have the opportunity to develop as a researcher by participating at various conferences. I extend my gratitude to Sabah Master for her help in data collection as well as her company, guidance and suggestions throughout my whole research project. I would also like to acknowledge Marielle Young-Bernier help with data collection. University of Ottawa for their financial support. They provided a master's graduate study scholarship and a research trainee fellowship respectively, towards the completion and presentation of this project. AMT active motor threshold ANOVA analysis of variance ANCOVA analysis of covariance cm centimetre CM corticomotor cSP contralateral silent period CST corticospinal tract DTI duration of transcallosal inhibition EMG electromyogram FA fractional anisotropy FDI first dorsal interosseous FTT simple finger tapping test GABA gamma-aminobutyric acid GPT grooved pegboard test HAROLD hemispheric asymmetry reduction in older adults IHI interhemispheric inhibition ISI inter-stimulus interval iSP ipsilateral silent period iSParea area under the curve during the ipsilateral silent period kg kilogram Latency fac Latency facilitated during active contraction Latency 120 MEP latency at 120% RMT iv LTI latency of transcallosal inhibition MEP motor evoked potential MEP fac facilitated motor evoked potential amplitude MEP 120 MEP elicited at 120% RMT ms milliseconds MovT reaction/movement time MT motor threshold mV millivolt MVC maximal voluntary contraction M1 primary motor cortex PFC prefontral cortex RC recruitment curve RMT resting motor threshold sqrtRC Squareroot transformed slope of the recruitment curve s second SRT simple reaction time TES transcranial electric stimulation TMS transcranial magnetic stimulation µV microvolt v Summary Healthy normal aging is characterized by a series of progressive changes observed throughout the body, such as those at the neurological and musculoskeletal level. However, few studies have examined the link that exists between age-related alteration in neurophysiology and hand function. In this study, we used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to investigate age-related effects on intracortical excitability and interhemispheric inhibition, including how changes in these measures could predict hand function. Participants consisted of young (n=13) and senior (n=17) healthy, right-handed individuals. Participants underwent a series of stimulations to determine their intracortical excitability and interhemispheric inhibition of each hemisphere. The former was evaluated by measuring the resting motor threshold (RMT), recruitment curve (RC) and …
Doxycycline as an Inhibitor of the Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition and Vasculogenic Mimicry in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

This study was conducted to examine the effects of doxycycline on the survival time and proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in vivo and on the biologic functions of HCC in vitro. This study was also designed to evaluate the effects of doxycycline on epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT)– and vasculogenic mimicry (VM)–related protein expression and on matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) and DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) activity in vitro. Human MHCC97H cells were injected into BALB/c mice, which were divided into treatment and control groups. Doxycycline treatment prolonged the mouse survival time and partly suppressed the growth of engrafted HCC tumor cells, with an inhibition rate of 43.39%. Higher amounts of VM and endothelium-dependent vessels were found in the control group than the treatment group. IHC indicated that epithelial (E)-cadherin expression was increased in the doxycycline-treated mice compared with the control group. In in vitro experiments, doxycycline promoted HCC cell adhesion but inhibited HCC cell viability, proliferation, migration, and invasion. Western blot analysis, semiquantitative RT-PCR, qRT-PCR, and immunofluorescence demonstrated that doxycycline inhibited the degradation of the epithelial marker E-cadherin and downregulated the expression levels of EMT promoters, the mesenchymal marker vimentin, and the VM-associated marker vascular endothelial (VE)-cadherin. Furthermore, the activities of MMPs and DNMTs were examined in different groups via gelatin zymography and a DNMT activity assay kit. A methylation-specific PCR was performed to assess the promoter methylation of CDH1 (the gene encoding E-cadherin). Doxycycline prolonged the mouse survival time by inhibiting EMT progression and VM formation. Mol Cancer Ther; 13(12); 3107–22. ©2014 AACR.
Aspects concerning the heavy metal analysis in samples with difficult matrix

_________________________________________________________________________________________ Abstract. The determination of the metals content in highly loaded samples with complex matrix is always difficult because of interferences affecting the results of the analysis. The present study was worked out on soil samples from steel loading berths, the metal content being determined using the FAAS technique. This type of samples is very rich in Fe, Si and Al, but it also contains heavy metals in low concentrations (Cr and Ni). Because of the presence of Si in the samples, the use of HF at digestion is compulsory; it proved to be benefic for the digestion of soil samples, in general, since the metal content was found higher in samples treated with HNO3+HCl+HF, comparing with those treated with HNO3+HCl in the standard method, due to the complete digestion of the sample. The heavy metals Ni and Cr were determined at concentrations close to the detection limit. Making-up a matrix with 0.2 g/L Fe and 0.02 g/L Si and 0.002 g/L Al for the standard curves of minor elements (Ni, Cr), the influence of major elements (Fe, Si, Al) on the analysis result was investigated. Also, the determination of minor elements Cr and Ni was checked by addition of 0.2 g/L of each metal to the samples, so that the concentration would be found in the middle concentration range of standard curves. The conclusions of the study confirm the modifications proposed to the standard method applied to the soil samples proceeding from steel loading berths.
The Environments of Supernovae in Post-Refurbishment Hubble Space Telescope Images

The locations of supernovae (SNe) in the local stellar and gaseous environment in galaxies contain important clues to their progenitor stars. Access to this information, however, has been hampered by the limited resolution achieved by ground-based observations. High spatial resolution Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images of galaxy fields in which supernovae had been observed can improve the situation considerably. We have examined the immediate environments of a few dozen supernovae using archival post-refurbishment HST images. Although our analysis is limited because of signal-to-noise ratio and filter bandpass considerations, the images allow us for the first time to resolve individual stars in, and to derive detailed color-magnitude diagrams for, several environments. We are able to place more rigorous constraints on the masses of these supernovae. A search was made for late-time emission from supernovae in the archival images and for the progenitor stars in presupernova images of the host galaxies. We have detected SN 1986J in NGC 891 and, possibly, SN 1981K in NGC 4258. We have also identified the progenitor of the Type IIn SN 1997bs in NGC 3627. By removing younger resolved stars in the environments of SNe Ia, we can measure the colors of the unresolved stellar background and attribute these colors generally to an older, redder population. HST images "accidentally" caught the Type Ia SN 1994D in NGC 4526 shortly after its outburst; we measure its brightness. Finally, we add to the statistical inferences that can be made from studying the association of SNe with recent star-forming regions.
White Matter Changes in Alzheimer's Disease Revealed by Diffusion Tensor Imaging with TBSS

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive, neurodegenerative disorder characterized by impairments in multiple cognitive domains and it is hard to diagnose in early stage because it’s not easy to recognize and develop slowly. In this study, we try to evaluate the difference of white matter between AD and health volunteers using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and try to provide some evidence for diagnose AD in early stage. Twelve elderly Chinese patients with AD and twelve healthy volunteers were recruited and underwent DTI. The raw diffusion data were dealt with the toolkit of FSL image post-processing. Fractional anisotrogy (FA) data were then carried out by using tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS). The result showed that the FA of cingulum, hippocampus, corticospinal tract, and inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus significantly reduced in AD patients than that of volunteers. This indicated that the integrity of white matter tracts in these regions with AD was disturbed. On the other hand, the FA of other encephalic regions had no discrepancy compared with that of healthy volunteers. FA values were found reduced significantly in AD patients, especially in the posterior of the brain. These findings may provide image methods to diagnose patients with early stage of AD.
Capturing image semantics with low-level descriptors

We propose a method for semantic categorization and retrieval of photographic images based on low-level image descriptors. In this method, we first use multidimensional scaling (MDS) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) to model the semantic categories into which human observers organize images. Through a series of psychophysical experiments and analyses, we refine our definition of these semantic categories, and use these results to discover a set of low-level image features to describe each category. We then devise an image similarity metric that embodies our results, and develop a prototype system, which identifies the semantic category of the image and retrieves the most similar images from the database. We tested the metric on a new set of images, and compared the categorization results with that of human observers. Our results provide a good match to human performance, thus validating the use of human judgments to develop semantic descriptors.
Affective Influences on Stereotyping and Intergroup Relations

A major theme of recent research on emotion has been the recognition of the intimate connections between feeling and thinking. Emotions have long been conceived of as arising from a functionally separate system that is at best orthogonal to or, more likely, at odds with effective reasoning and intellectual functioning. This view has been supplanted by an emerging acknowledgement of the elaborately coordinated interactions, and indeed indispensable collaboration, between the cognitive and affective systems (e.g., Clore, Schwarz, & Conway, 1994; Damasio, 1994; Frijda, 1986; Zajonc & Markus, 1984). For example, Damasio (1994) reports compelling evidence of the dysfunctions that arise when subjective feelings are no longer available to guide reactions, dysfunctions that are especially pronounced in the sphere of social functioning. As he notes, the “social domain is the one closest to our destiny and the one which involves the greatest uncertainty and complexity” (p. 169), so it is perhaps not too surprising that it is in this domain that we most urgently need guidance from our “gut reactions” and subjective feelings. In this chapter, we will explore the role of affect in one particularly important social arena, namely intergroup perception and behavior. Examination of the growing body of research directed at this topic reveals a complex but largely coherent picture of multiple pathways by which our subjective feeling states influence the way we perceive and respond to the members of stereotyped social groups. In many respects, the major findings challenge common preconceptions about the role of affect in intergroup relations, such as the notion that negative affect is uniformly associated with patterns of intergroup bias and discrimination or the idea that positive affect is an all-purpose remedy for these same problems. Although perhaps initially surprising, the overall pattern of findings, as we shall see, does accord with more general principles being uncovered by contemporary affect researchers. The Affective Context of Intergroup Relations
Fascioliasis and Intestinal Parasitoses Affecting Schoolchildren in Atlixco, Puebla State, Mexico: Epidemiology and Treatment with Nitazoxanide

Background The Atlixco municipality, Puebla State, at a mean altitude of 1840 m, was selected for a study of Fasciola hepatica infection in schoolchildren in Mexico. This area presents permanent water collections continuously receiving thaw water from Popocatepetl volcano (5426 m altitude) through the community supply channels, conforming an epidemiological scenario similar to those known in hyperendemic areas of Andean countries. Methodology and Findings A total of 865 6–14 year-old schoolchildren were analyzed with FasciDIG coproantigen test and Lumbreras rapid sedimentation technique, and quantitatively assessed with Kato-Katz. Fascioliasis prevalences ranged 2.94–13.33% according to localities (mean 5.78%). Intensities were however low (24–384 epg). The association between fascioliasis and the habit of eating raw vegetables was identified, including watercress and radish with pronouncedly higher relative risk than lettuce, corncob, spinach, alfalfa juice, and broccoli. Many F. hepatica-infected children were coinfected by other parasites. Entamoeba histolytica/dispar, Giardia intestinalis, Blastocystis hominis, Hymenolepis nana and Ascaris lumbricoides infection resulted in risk factors for F. hepatica infection. Nitazoxanide efficacy against fascioliasis was 94.0% and 100% after first and second treatment courses, respectively. The few children, for whom a second treatment course was needed, were concomitantly infected by moderate ascariasis burdens. Its efficacy was also very high in the treatment of E. histolytica/E. dispar, G. intestinalis, B. hominis, H. nana, A. lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, and Enterobius vermicularis. A second treatment course was needed for all children affected by ancylostomatids. Conclusions Fascioliasis prevalences indicate this area to be mesoendemic, with isolated hyperendemic foci. This is the first time that a human fascioliasis endemic area is described in North America. Nitazoxanide appears as an appropriate alternative to triclabendazole, the present drug of choice for chronic fascioliasis. Its wide spectrum efficacy against intestinal protozooses and helminthiasis, usually coinfecting liver fluke infected subjects in human endemic areas, represents an important added value.
Immunochemical demonstration of the clonal organization of chimaeric mouse epidermis.

The clonal organization of chimaeric mouse epidermis was demonstrated by in situ staining of whole-mount preparations using monoclonal antibodies directed against H-2k and H-2b antigens. A striking pattern of transversely oriented stripes or patches was found which extended from mid-dorsum to the flank region. The orientation of these patches indicates a preferred directional expansion of clones during the development of dorsal/lateral epidermis. The clonal pattern of the belly region differed in that stripes were not found, but a marked ventral midline boundary was observed. This demarcation line may be due to a physical effect, i.e. isolation of the left and right ventral halves of the epidermis during early embryogenesis with relatively little cell mingling following closure of the abdominal wall. The obvious nonhomogenous distribution of chimaeric components in dorsal/lateral and ventral epidermis contradicts assumptions of homogenous, fine-grained patchiness derived from electrophoretic analysis of tissue samples and used in studies of skin carcinogenesis. The observation that hair follicles may contain cells of both parental genotypes implies a polyclonal origin. Epidermal proliferative units as described by Potten (1974) were not revealed by the pattern of mosaicism at the cellular level in these chimaeric tissue sheets. This indicates that the proliferative compartment of each putative epidermal unit is polyclonal.
Predicting item difficulty of science national curriculum tests: the case of key stage 2 assessments

ABSTRACT Predicting item difficulty is highly important in education for both teachers and item writers. Despite identifying a large number of explanatory variables, predicting item difficulty remains a challenge in educational assessment with empirical attempts rarely exceeding 25% of variance explained. This paper analyses 216 science items of key stage 2 tests which are national sampling assessments administered to 11 year olds in England. Potential predictors (topic, subtopic, concept, question type, nature of stimulus, depth of knowledge and linguistic variables) were considered in the analysis. Coding frameworks employed in similar studies were adapted and employed by two coders to independently rate items. Linguistic demands were gauged using a computational linguistic facility. The stepwise regression models predicted 23% of the variance with extended constructed questions and photos being the main predictors of item difficulty. While a substantial part of unexplained variance could be attributed to the unpredictable interaction of variables, we argue that progress in this area requires improvement in the theories and the methods employed. Future research needs to be centred on improving coding frameworks as well as developing systematic training protocols for coders. These technical advances would pave the way to improved task design and reduced development costs of assessments.
Recombination Dynamics of a Human Y-Chromosomal Palindrome: Rapid GC-Biased Gene Conversion, Multi-kilobase Conversion Tracts, and Rare Inversions

The male-specific region of the human Y chromosome (MSY) includes eight large inverted repeats (palindromes) in which arm-to-arm similarity exceeds 99.9%, due to gene conversion activity. Here, we studied one of these palindromes, P6, in order to illuminate the dynamics of the gene conversion process. We genotyped ten paralogous sequence variants (PSVs) within the arms of P6 in 378 Y chromosomes whose evolutionary relationships within the SNP-defined Y phylogeny are known. This allowed the identification of 146 historical gene conversion events involving individual PSVs, occurring at a rate of 2.9–8.4×10−4 events per generation. A consideration of the nature of nucleotide change and the ancestral state of each PSV showed that the conversion process was significantly biased towards the fixation of G or C nucleotides (GC-biased), and also towards the ancestral state. Determination of haplotypes by long-PCR allowed likely co-conversion of PSVs to be identified, and suggested that conversion tract lengths are large, with a mean of 2068 bp, and a maximum in excess of 9 kb. Despite the frequent formation of recombination intermediates implied by the rapid observed gene conversion activity, resolution via crossover is rare: only three inversions within P6 were detected in the sample. An analysis of chimpanzee and gorilla P6 orthologs showed that the ancestral state bias has existed in all three species, and comparison of human and chimpanzee sequences with the gorilla outgroup confirmed that GC bias of the conversion process has apparently been active in both the human and chimpanzee lineages.
Evaluation of the atmospheric lifetime and radiative forcing

The compound 1,2,2,2-Tetrafluoroethyl Trifluoromethyl Ether, CF3OCHFCF3 (HFE-227), is currently being considered as a potential replacement for certain halocarbons, particularly for perfluorocarbons (PFCs), as a dry etching gas in the semiconductor industry. For this reason, it is important to determine the potential environmental effects resulting from the use and emissions of this compound. In this paper, the atmospheric lifetime, radiative forcing, and Global Warming Potentials (GWPs), an important measure of the potential effects of a gas on climate, are evaluated for this compound using our zonally averaged chemical transport and radiative transfer models of the atmosphere. To our knowledge, this is the first time this compound has been evaluated with such atmospheric models. In order to calculate the lifetime and radiative forcing, the rate constants and infrared cross sections of this compound were measured in laboratories at Illinois and Purdue, and results are reported here. The model-evaluated atmospheric lifetime is 11.3 years, mainly due to reaction with OH radicals. The model-evaluated instantaneous-clear-sky radiative forcing is 0.38 W m−2 ppbv−1, about 45% lower than previously estimated [Imasu et al., 1995]. However, the model-estimated cloudy-sky adjusted forcing, needed to calculated GWPs, is about 25% lower than the model-estimated instantaneous-clear-sky forcing. The GWPs are calculated to be 3400, 1200, and 370 for 20, 100, and 500 year time horizons, respectively.
Journal of Ship Research Bow Wave Dynamics

Experimental studies of air entrainment by breaking waves are essential for advancing the understanding of these ows and creating valid models. The present study used experimental simulations of a ship bow wave to examine its dynamics and air entrainment processes. The simulated waves were created by a de ecting plate mounted at an angle in a supercritical free-surface  ow in a ume. Measurements of the bow wave geometry at two scales and also for a bow wave created by a wedge in a towing tank are presented. Contact line and bow wave pro le measurements from the different experiments are compared and demonstrate the similarity of the  ume simulations to the towing tank experiments. The bow wave pro le data from the towing tank experiments were used to investigate the scaling of the wave with the ow and the dependence on geometric parameters. In addition, surface disturbances observed on the plunging wave are documented herein because of the role they play in air entrainment. The air entrainment itself is explored in Waniewski et al (2001).