Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Do Listeners Store in Memory a Speaker’s Habitual Utterance-Final Phonation Type?

Abstract Earlier studies report systematic differences across speakers in the occurrence of utterance-final irregular phonation; the work reported here investigated whether human listeners remember this speaker-specific information and can access it when necessary (a prerequisite for using this cue in speaker recognition). Listeners personally familiar with the voices of the speakers were presented with pairs of speech samples: one with the original and the other with transformed final phonation type. Asked to select the member of the pair that was closer to the talker’s voice, most listeners tended to choose the unmanipulated token (even though they judged them to sound essentially equally natural). This suggests that utterance-final pitch period irregularity is part of the mental representation of individual speaker voices, although this may depend on the individual speaker and listener to some extent.
Quality of life in patients with erectile dysfunction in the Niger Delta region, Nigeria

Background Erectile dysfunction (ED) in men is increasingly becoming a major problem worldwide. The damaging effects on the psyche and the anxiety regarding sexual performance and overall life satisfaction could be irreversible. Aims The objective of this study was to compare domains of quality of life (QOL) in men with ED in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria in order to determine the contextual social variables. Method. In a cross-sectional study, 400 male patients attending the general outpatient clinic between January and March 2009 were randomly assessed for ED and QOL, using abridged version of the International Index of Erectile function and the World Health Organization Quality of life instrument. Results A total of 166 (41.7%) subjects suffered from ED, 80 (48.2%) from medical illness, 56 (33.7%) from surgical problems and 30 (18.1%) from undiagnosed problems. Social relationships and psychological health indices of QOL were severely impaired in men with ED than the general, overall, physical and environmental health. Conclusion An inference from this study suggests that sexual function promotes psychological well-being as well as interpersonal relationships. Therefore, monitoring these indices of QOL in men with ED is important to boost their confidence and self-esteem needed for a better QOL.
2,3,5,6-Tetrafluorophenylnitren-4-yl: electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopic characterization of a quartet-ground-state nitreno radical.

2,3,5,6-Tetrafluorophenylnitren-4-yl (5) was synthesized in argon at 4 K via the photolysis of 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-4-iodo-phenyl azide (6). Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy allows us to observe triradical 5 in its quartet state with the zero-field splitting (ZFS) parameters |D/hc| = 0.285 and |E/hc| = 0.043 cm-1. The quartet ground state of 5 is in accordance with our previous infrared (IR) spectroscopic investigation, in which the high-spin quartet state, but no low-spin doublet state, of 5 was observed in solid argon at 4 K [Wenk, H. H. ; Sander, W. Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2002, 41, 2742-2745]. Because annealing of the matrix at temperatures of >10 K results in the rapid recombination of the highly reactive species 5 with I atoms produced during the photolysis of 6, the Curie-Weiss behavior could not be investigated. However, the absence of low-spin states in the IR investigations, as well as the results of ab initio and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, strongly suggest that 5 has a robust quartet ground state that is best-described as an unprecedented sigma,sigma,pi-triradical. The ZFS of 5 has been successfully reproduced by DFT calculations, which furthermore provide qualitative insight into the origin of the observed EPR parameters.
Stretching-Induced Deficit of Maximal Isometric Torque Is Restored Within 10 Minutes

Abstract Mizuno, T, Matsumoto, M, and Umemura, Y. Stretching-induced deficit of maximal isometric torque is restored within 10 minutes. J Strength Cond Res 28(1): 147–153, 2014—The purpose of this study was to clarify the time course of the stretching-induced decrease in maximal isometric plantar flexion torque. Nineteen women participated in 2 randomly ordered experimental trials: static 5-minute stretching or control with no stretching. The participants performed isometric maximal voluntary contractions (MVCs) of the right plantar flexor muscles, whereas electromyographic (EMG) amplitude (root mean square) was calculated for the medial and lateral gastrocnemius muscles. Measurements were conducted preintervention; immediately after intervention; and 5, 10, 15, and 30 minutes postintervention. The static 5-minute stretching trial consisted of dorsiflexion to the end range of motion and holding that position for 1 minute, 5 times, whereas the control trial consisted of 5 minutes of resting. As a result, the MVC torque was significantly decreased immediately after, and 5 minutes after the static 5-minute stretching intervention compared with the preintervention value (p < 0.05), and this change recovered within 10 minutes. However, the EMG amplitude did not change from preintervention to postintervention under any conditions. These results suggest that the deficits of static stretching are disabled in a short time after static stretching.
A review of models of fluctuating protrusion and retraction patterns at the leading edge of motile cells

A characteristic feature of motile cells as they undergo a change in motile behavior is the development of fluctuating exploratory motions of the leading edge, driven by actin polymerization. We review quantitative models of these protrusion and retraction phenomena. Theoretical studies have been motivated by advances in experimental and computational methods that allow controlled perturbations, single molecule imaging, and analysis of spatiotemporal correlations in microscopic images. To explain oscillations and waves of the leading edge, most theoretical models propose nonlinear interactions and feedback mechanisms among different components of the actin cytoskeleton system. These mechanisms include curvature‐sensing membrane proteins, myosin contraction, and autocatalytic biochemical reaction kinetics. We discuss how the combination of experimental studies with modeling promises to quantify the relative importance of these biochemical and biophysical processes at the leading edge and to evaluate their generality across cell types and extracellular environments. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Pseudo-Random Graphs for Fast Consensus Protocol

In this paper, we focus on the design of network topology to achieve fast information distribution. We present the information distribution performance of Borel Cayley graphs, a family of pseudo-random graphs, is far superior than that of other well-known graph families. To demonstrate the effectiveness of this pseudo-random approach, we compare the convergence speed of the average consensus protocol on Borel Cayley graphs against that of a wide range of graph families with the sizes ranging from around 100 nodes to 5,000 nodes. In the comparison study, we compare the convergence speed of Borel Cayley graphs, regular ring lattices, Erdos-Renyi random graphs, Watts-Strogatz smallworld networks, and toroidal and diagonal meshes. Our results indicate that the proposed pseudo-random approach based on Borel Cayley graphs yields a 2 to 100 times faster convergence than the small-world network (rewiring probability p = 0.01, 0.1 and 0.2) does. More importantly, Borel Cayley graph has the best scalability over different graph sizes and degrees.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the management of diabetic lower limb wounds.

INTRODUCTION Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) involves the inhalation of 100 percent oxygen at pressures greater than at sea level. One of the most common indications for HBOT is to aid healing of diabetic foot wounds. METHODS All cases of diabetic foot wounds that were seen by the Hyperbaric Medicine Centre in Tan Tock Seng Hospital from May 2005 to March 2006 were analysed in terms of outcome (wound healing) after HBOT. RESULTS A total of 45 cases of foot ulcers/wounds were analysed. 32 patients had a favourable outcome, giving a success rate of 71 percent. The remaining 13 (28 percent) did not have a favourable outcome to HBOT. The success rate was even more significant as a large number of these patients (34 [77 percent]) were told by their specialist that they were at high risk of a further amputation. No major complications were noted. CONCLUSION The experience of the Hyperbaric Medicine Centre in Singapore is consistent with that reported in other centres. With proper patient selection, HBOT, together with a multidisciplinary team of vascular and orthopaedic surgeons, podiatrists, infection disease physicians and endocrinologists, can help reduce the numbers and severity of amputations as well as downtime due to increased wound healing.
Patellar Maltracking Persists in Adolescent Females With Patellofemoral Pain

Background: Patellofemoral pain is one of the most common conditions seen in sports medicine practices, particularly among adolescent females. However, the natural history of the underlying pathology in patellofemoral pain during puberty remains poorly understood. Purpose: The purpose of this longitudinal study is to assess changes in patellar maltracking patterns in subjects with patellofemoral pain as they mature from mid- to late adolescence. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: Three-dimensional patellofemoral kinematic data were acquired during active knee extension-flexion using dynamic magnetic resonance imaging in 6 girls (10 knees; mean age, 14.0 years) with clinically diagnosed patellofemoral pain. The subjects then returned as late adolescents (mean age, 18.5 years) for follow-up scanning. Three-dimensional patellofemoral kinematic parameters were evaluated across the range of motion, but comparison between time points was restricted to 10° of flexion. Participation in impact and nonimpact physical activities, pain score based on the visual analog scale, and the anterior knee pain score were also compared across initial and follow-up visits. Results: All subjects reported improved patellofemoral pain symptoms at follow-up, and one subject reported complete resolution. However, relative to the initial visit, no differences were found in patellar maltracking. There was a decrease in hours engaged in impact physical activities for all subjects at follow-up. Conclusion: This study provides insight into the natural history of patellofemoral pain in adolescent females. The relatively unchanged patellofemoral maltracking across subjects suggests that potential anatomic and kinematic abnormalities contributing to patellofemoral pain during mid-adolescence persist during skeletal maturation. Symptom improvement for these subjects did not result from a change in patellofemoral tracking, but rather from other causes.
Preoperative arterial microcalcification and clinical outcomes of arteriovenous fistulas for hemodialysis.

BACKGROUND Arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) often fail to mature, but the mechanism of AVF nonmaturation is poorly understood. Arterial microcalcification is common in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and may limit vascular dilatation, thereby contributing to early postoperative juxta-anastomotic AVF stenosis and impaired AVF maturation. This study evaluated whether preexisting arterial microcalcification adversely affects AVF outcomes. STUDY DESIGN Prospective study. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS 127 patients with CKD undergoing AVF surgery at a large academic medical center. PREDICTORS Preexisting arterial microcalcification (≥1% of media area) assessed independently by von Kossa stains of arterial specimens obtained during AVF surgery and by preoperative ultrasound. OUTCOMES Juxta-anastomotic AVF stenosis (ascertained by ultrasound obtained 4-6 weeks postoperatively), AVF nonmaturation (inability to cannulate with 2 needles with dialysis blood flow ≥ 300mL/min for ≥6 sessions in 1 month within 6 months of AVF creation), and duration of primary unassisted AVF survival after successful use (time to first intervention). RESULTS Arterial microcalcification was present by histologic evaluation in 40% of patients undergoing AVF surgery. The frequency of a postoperative juxta-anastomotic AVF stenosis was similar in patients with or without preexisting arterial microcalcification (32% vs 42%; OR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.28-1.52; P=0.3). AVF nonmaturation was observed in 29%, 33%, 33%, and 33% of patients with <1%, 1% to 4.9%, 5% to 9.9%, and ≥10% arterial microcalcification, respectively (P=0.9). Sonographic arterial microcalcification was found in 39% of patients and was associated with histologic calcification (P=0.001), but did not predict AVF nonmaturation. Finally, among AVFs that matured, unassisted AVF maturation (time to first intervention) was similar for patients with and without preexisting arterial microcalcification (HR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.35-1.21; P=0.2). LIMITATIONS Single-center study. CONCLUSIONS Arterial microcalcification is common in patients with advanced CKD, but does not explain postoperative AVF stenosis, AVF nonmaturation, or AVF failure after successful cannulation.
TRINH , MCALLESTER : UNSUPERVISED LEARNING FOR STEREO 1 Unsupervised Learning of Stereo Vision with Monocular Cues

We demonstrate unsupervised learning of a 62 parameter slanted plane stereo vision model involving shape from texture cues. Our approach to unsupervised learning is based on maximizing conditional likelihood. The shift from joint likelihood to conditional likelihood in unsupervised learning is analogous to the shift from Markov random fields (MRFs) to conditional random fields (CRFs). The performance achieved with unsupervised learning is close to that achieved with supervised learning for this model.
Modeling, microstructure, and mechanical properties of dissimilar 2017A and 5083 aluminum alloys friction stir welds

Dissimilar aluminum alloy plates of 2017A-T451 and 5083-H111 were friction stir welded in a butt joint configuration along the longitudinal direction. Welding trials demonstrated that placing 5083 on the advancing side enhanced material flow and consequently formed a larger weld nugget. Numerical simulation supported this observation through analysis of volumetric flow rates through reference planes surrounding the stir zone. The analysis also suggests that the weld configuration that results in a decreasing temperature-dependent flow stress in the weldment from the leading edge of the tool to the trailing edge will maximize material flow in dissimilar friction stir welding welds. The decreasing flow stress promotes material flow along the retreating side of the tool as flow conditions necessarily become easier from the front to the back. Regardless of its position during welding, however, 2017A alloy dominated the nugget region. In either weld configuration, alternating bands of 2017A and 5083 with similar grain sizes (approximately 10 µm) comprised the weld microstructure. Within the nugget, numerous second-phase particles as well as dislocations occurring as single dislocations or in the form of dislocation tangles or walls (low angle grain boundaries) were present. The relatively high dislocation density observed in both alloys suggested that recrystallization was incomplete. Hardness mapping revealed an asymmetric variation of hardness across the weld centerline that strictly corresponded to the distribution of particular alloys within the nugget. During tensile testing, the AS 5083-RS 2017A configuration failed under ductile shear rupture occurring in the base 5083 material far from the weld. For the opposite configuration, the tensile samples ruptured perpendicular to the load axis exactly on the border between the nugget and the thermomechanically affected zone on the 2017A alloy side.
Central sensitisation in visceral pain disorders

The concepts of visceral hyperalgesia and visceral hypersensitivity have been examined in a variety of functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs). Although the pathophysiological mechanisms of pain and hypersensitivity in these disorders are still not well understood, exciting new developments in research have been made in the study of the brain-gut interactions involved in the FGIDs
Learning Phrase Representations using RNN Encoder–Decoder for Statistical Machine Translation

In this paper, we propose a novel neural network model called RNN Encoder‐ Decoder that consists of two recurrent neural networks (RNN). One RNN encodes a sequence of symbols into a fixedlength vector representation, and the other decodes the representation into another sequence of symbols. The encoder and decoder of the proposed model are jointly trained to maximize the conditional probability of a target sequence given a source sequence. The performance of a statistical machine translation system is empirically found to improve by using the conditional probabilities of phrase pairs computed by the RNN Encoder‐Decoder as an additional feature in the existing log-linear model. Qualitatively, we show that the proposed model learns a semantically and syntactically meaningful representation of linguistic phrases.
Relatively hyperbolic groups, rapid decay algebras and a generalization of the Bass conjecture

By deploying dense subalgebras of ` 1 . G/ we generalize the Bass conjecture in terms of Connes' cyclic homology theory. In particular, we propose a stronger version of the ` 1 -Bass Conjecture. We prove that hyperbolic groups relative to finitely many subgroups, each of which posses the polynomial conjugacy bound property and nilpotent periodicity property, satisfy the ` 1 -Stronger-Bass Conjecture. Moreover, we determine the conjugacy bound for relatively hyperbolic groups and compute the cyclic cohomology of the ` 1 -algebra of any
Second-Look Arthroscopic Findings After Repairs of Posterior Root Tears of the Medial Meniscus

Background: A posterior root tear of the medial meniscus disrupts hoop tension and causes extrusion of the meniscus, which results in progressive cartilage degeneration. Purpose: To identify the structural integrity of healing after arthroscopic repair of a posterior root tear of the medial meniscus by second-look arthroscopy and to determine the clinical relevance of the findings. Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: From December 2006 to August 2008, 21 consecutive patients underwent arthroscopic pullout suture repair for a posterior root tear of the medial meniscus. Eleven were available for second-look arthroscopy evaluation (mean, 13.4 months; range, 10 to 22 months). The healing status of the repaired meniscus was classified as complete healing, lax healing, scar tissue healing, and failed healing. Chondral lesions were reviewed using arthroscopic photographs, and clinical evaluation was based on the Lysholm knee scores and the Hospital for Special Surgery scores. Results: There was no case with complete healing. Five knees had lax healing (symptomatic in 2 and asymptomatic in 3); 4, scar tissue healing (asymptomatic in all 4); and 2, failed healing (symptomatic in 1 and asymptomatic in 1). Progression of the chondral lesion was found in 1 case. Mean Lysholm scores improved from 56.1 preoperatively (range, 41 to 71) to 83.0 at follow-up (range, 69 to 91; P = .003); mean Hospital for Special Surgery score also significantly increased, from 64.1 (range, 50 to 76) to 87.4 (range, 77 to 95; P = .003). Conclusion: Complete healing was not observed in this retrospective case series of posterior horn meniscus repairs performed by 2 surgeons using a single technique. Further research is needed to clarify why all patients showed clinical improvement despite findings of incomplete or failed healing on second-look arthroscopy. Treatment modalities for managing posterior root tears of the medial meniscus require further investigation to determine their efficacy.
Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane-phosphate Glass Matrix Nanocomposites with Additional Chapter on Phosphate Glass-Poly(ethylene terephthalate) Matrix Composites

ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . iv DEDICATION . v LIST OF TABLES . xiii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS . xiv CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION . 1 1.1 Thesis Organization . 1 1.2 Literature Review. 2 1.3 References . 15 – SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION ON NOVEL PHOSPHATE GLASS MATRIX NANOCOMPOSITES CONTAINING POLYHEDRAL OLIGOMERIC SILSESQUIOXANE WITH IMPROVED PROPERTIES . 36 2.
Identification of putative transcriptional regulatory networks in Entamoeba histolytica using Bayesian inference

Few transcriptional regulatory networks have been described in non-model organisms. In Entamoeba histolytica seminal aspects of pathogenesis are transcriptionally controlled, however, little is known about transcriptional regulatory networks that effect gene expression in this parasite. We used expression data from two microarray experiments, cis-regulatory motif elucidation, and a naïve Bayesian classifier to identify genome-wide transcriptional regulatory patterns in E. histolytica. Our algorithm identified promoter motifs that accurately predicted the gene expression level of 68% of genes under trophozoite conditions. We identified a promoter motif (A/TAAACCCT) associated with high gene expression, which is highly enriched in promoters of ribosomal protein genes and tRNA synthetases. Additionally, we identified three promoter motifs (GAATGATG, AACTATTTAAACATC/TC and TGAACTTATAAACATC) associated with low gene expression. The promoters of a large gene family were highly enriched for these motifs, and in these genes the presence of ⩾2 motifs predicted low baseline gene expression and transcriptional activation by heat shock. We demonstrate that amebic nuclear protein(s) bind specifically to four of the motifs identified herein. Our analysis suggests that transcriptional regulatory networks can be identified using limited expression data. Thus, this approach is applicable to the multitude of systems for which microarray and genome sequence data are emerging.
The Radio-Loud Narrow-Line Quasar SDSS J172206.03+565451.6

We report identification of the radio-loud narrow-line quasar SDSS J172206.03+565451.6, which we found in the course of a search for radio-loud narrow-line active galactic nuclei (AGNs). SDSS J172206.03+565451.6 is only about the fourth securely identified radio-loud narrow-line quasar and the second-most radio loud, with a radio index R1.4 ≈ 100-700. Its black hole mass, MBH ≃ (2-3) × 107 M☉ estimated from Hβ line width and 5100 Å luminosity, is unusually small given its radio loudness, and the combination of mass and radio index puts SDSS J172206.03+565451.6 in a scarcely populated region of MBH-R diagrams. SDSS J172206.03+565451.6 is a classical narrow-line Seyfert 1-type object with FWHMHβ ≃ 1490 km s-1, an intensity ratio of [O ]/Hβ ≃ 0.7, and Fe II emission complexes with Fe λ4570/Hβ ≃ 0.7. The ionization parameter of its narrow-line region, estimated from the line ratio [O ]/[O ], is similar to Seyferts, and its high ratio of [Ne ]/[Ne ] indicates a strong EUV-to-soft X-ray excess. We advertise the combined usage of [O ]/[O ] and [Ne ]/[Ne ] diagrams as a useful diagnostic tool to estimate ionization parameters and to constrain the EUV-soft X-ray continuum shape relatively independently from other parameters.