Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Extending a CRF-based named entity recognition model for Turkish well formed text and user generated content

Named entity recognition (NER), which provides useful information for many high level NLP applications and semantic web technologies, is a well-studied topic for most of the languages and especially for English. However the studies for Turkish, which is a morphologically richer and lesser-studied language, have fallen behind these for a long while. In recent years, Turkish NER intrigued researchers due to its scarce data resources and the unavailability of high-performing systems. Especially, the need to discover named entities occurring in Web datasets initiated many studies in this field. This article presents the enhancements made to a Turkish named entity recognition model [5] (based on conditional random fields (CRFs) and originally tailored for well formed texts) in order to extend its covered named entity types, and also to process extra challenging user generated content coming with Web 2.0. The article introduces the re-annotation of the available datasets to extend the covered named entity types, and a brand new dataset from Web 2.0. The introduced approach reveals an exact match F1 score of 92% on a dataset collected from Turkish news articles and ∼65% on different datasets collected from Web 2.0.
Generation of Subgigawatt RF Pulses in Nonlinear Transmission Lines

This paper presents the experimental results on the generation of subgigawatt radio frequency (RF) pulses using two types of nonlinear transmission lines (NLTLs). In the high-voltage coaxial lines, we used the following: 1) a periodic gas gap structure and 2) uniformly loaded saturated ferrite with axial bias. The concept of the first line is based on the in-phase composition of RF fields produced by currents in the periodic gas gap structure of the inner conductor. The most stable and efficient narrow-band operation of the system with 12 cylindrical gas gaps (200 kV, 18 ns) was realized at an RF of 1 GHz and an RF power of several hundreds of megawatts. The maximum power conversion reached 10%. The second NLTL lacks spatial dispersion. The self-consistent dynamics of the traveling wave is observed by coherent magnetic switching in ferrites with axial bias. The pulsed voltage driver produced 9-ns pulses of voltage between 110 and 290 kV. With the optimum external magnetic field, the efficiency of energy conversion was 10%. The peak power of oscillations produced on a resistive load was 700 MW. An increase in central frequency from 600 MHz to 1.1 GHz with incident pulse amplitude was found.
I Like the Way You Move: An Empirical Investigation into the Mechanisms Behind First Mover and Follower Strategies

There appears to be an ambivalent dimension in innovation strategies: timing. When is an innovation ready for the market or when is the market ready for the innovation? This paper empirically investigates the determinants of a firm's decision to become a first mover or a follower in innovation strategies. Much of theoretical and empirical work has focused on whether first mover strategies pay off or not. Here we take a different approach by analysing the determinants that lead companies to opt for either a first mover or a follower strategy. One of this paper's major goals is to distinguish between firm and industry specific effects on this particular strategic choice. We estimate our model using the most recent data from the German innovation survey of 2003. This dataset allows us to identify deliberate followers rather than outstripped first movers. One of our main findings is that firms choosing a first mover strategy operate in industries with intensive knowledge exchange and further leverage this advantage through excellent internal absorptive capacities. Followers, though, compete by way of their operational excellence for streamlining processes and cutting costs. Hence, we argue that neither of these two innovation strategies is per se superior to the other.
Our experience with papillary thyroid microcancer

Background: Papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) describes a focus of papillary thyroid cancer that is less than 1 cm in size. These tumors are frequently found on histopathological examination of thyroid specimens, operated upon for an indication other than suspected malignancy. Materials and Methods: From 2005 to 2012, 94 of 1300 thyroidectomy specimens in our institution were found to have PTMC. Of these, 77 were isolated PTMC while the others were associated with other differentiated cancers. We studied their clinicopathologic features, treatment and long-term outcome. Results: There were 18 men and 59 women (the male: female ratio was 1:3), their mean age was 44 ± 10.5 years (range: 18-72 years). Multinodular goiter was the most common indication for surgery. Malignancy was suspected in only 31.4% cases. The mean tumor size was 4.1 ± 2.3 mm. Nearly 17% cases had slightly larger tumors measuring >6 but <10 mm. Multifocal tumor was found in 44.1% of cases and among these, multifocal disease restricted to a single lobe was found in 19.5%. Eleven patients (14.2%) had cervical lymph node metastasis, 3 (3.9%) had extra thyroid tumor extension and 2 (2.6%) had evidence of vascular invasion. One patient (1.3%) presented with bone metastasis. Majority of the patients (79.2%) underwent total thyroidectomy with or without lymph node dissection. Sixteen patients (20.7%) who had initially undergone hemithyroidectomy went on to have completion thyroidectomy. Twenty nine patients (36.8%) also received radioactive iodine. The mean duration of follow-up was 20.2 ± 13.5 months. On follow-up one patient developed cervical lymph node recurrence and one died due to a second malignancy. Conclusions: PTMC is often found as an incidental finding on the thyroidectomy specimen. Sometimes they present with regional lymph node metastasis and very rarely with distant metastasis. They have a good prognosis similar to papillary thyroid carcinoma.
[The relationship between the genotype of hepatitis B virus and clinical and liver pathological features of infected patients in the Zhoushan Islands, China].

OBJECTIVE To investigate the relationship between the genotypes of hepatitis B virus and the clinical and liver pathological features of patients with chronic hepatitis in the Zhoushan Islands. METHODS One hundred eighty HBV DNA positive chronic hepatitis patients with HBV markers were enrolled in this study. They were at least second generation Zhoushan Island residents. One hundred forty-seven of them were males and 33 were females with an average age of 39.0+/-11.3. Among the 180 patients, 17 had ASC, 57 had mild CHB, 48 moderate CHB, 9 severe CHB, 6 SHB, 39 LC, and 4 had HCC. The genotypes of their serum HBV were detected by using PCR integrated with Tagman MGB probe technology, and their serum HBV markers, HBV DNA and liver functions were also examined. Out of 180 patients, 129 accepted a liver biopsy. A pathological evaluation was then performed. RESULTS HBVs of genotype C, 135 cases (75.0%), of B, 40 cases (22.2%), and of B+C, 5 cases (2.8%) were found among these 180 patients. No genotype A or D HBV were found. The proportions of genotype C virus were 7/17, 86/114, 34/39, 6/6 in ASC, CHB, LC and SHB patients. In the hepatocellular carcinoma patients, there were 2 each of genotype B and C. Among the 99 patients with genotype C HBV, 84 cases (84.8%) showed moderate and severe inflammation histologically in their livers and among the 30 patients with B, 7 cases (23.3%) showed moderate to severe inflammation in their livers (z = 6.47, P less than 0.01). The proportion of genotype C HBV was significantly different from that of genotype B HBV in those that showed moderate and severe (S3-4) liver fibrosis. In patients infected with genotype C HBV who had moderate and severe liver pathological changes, their clinical manifestations reflected better the histological alterations of their livers. CONCLUSION Genotypes C, B and B+C HBV were found in CHB patients in the Zhoushan Islands of China, and type C was the predominant one. The liver pathological damage level of genotype C HBV infected patients is more serious than that of genotype B.
An overview of SiC power devices

Considering the recent global interest in reducing energy consumption, SiC technology is now ready to enable the step to the next plateau for efficiency standards. The reduction in power losses that this technology provides in power conversion systems is enabling a quicker adoption of alternative energy systems, improving existing technology and allowing a reduction in future fossil-fuel consumption. As these devices are further optimized in the coming years we can expect even better performance results. SiC Schottky diodes that are commercially available today and the pending introduction of SiC DMOSFETs will help develop much more efficient next generation alternative energy systems and greatly improve power supply, motor drive and UPS efficiencies. The on-going development of 15 kV SiC IGBTs will enable the more efficient interfaces for Distributed Energy Resources to the electric grid.
Correlations of Serum IL-6 Levels and Prolidase Activity Between Bone Turnover Markers and Bone Mineral Density in Postmenopausal Women With and Without Osteoporosis

Aim: The purpose of this study was to measure serum prolidase activity and interleukin-2 and 6 (IL-2, IL-6) levels and to investigate the relationship of these parameters with bone mineral density (BMD) and bone turnover markers in postmenopausal women with and without osteoporosis. Materials and Methods: 59 postmenopausal women were included in this study (21 women with osteoporosis and 38 without). Serum IL-2 and IL-6 levels, prolidase activity, osteocalcin (OSC), calcium (Ca), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), urinary deoxypyridinoline (DPD) and BMD were measured in postmenopausal women with and without osteoporosis. Results: Serum prolidase activity was slightly higher in postmenopausal nonosteoporotic women than in postmenopausal osteoporotic women, but the difference did not reach a statistical significance. Mean values of OSC and IL-6 levels were significantly higher in postmenopausal osteoporotic than in nonosteoporotic women (P < 0.05). There were significant correlations between OSC with IL-6 (r = 0.545, p = 0.01) and urinary DPD (r = -0.513, p = 0.01) in postmenopausal osteoporotic women. Conclusions: Serum prolidase activity in postmenopausal osteoporotic women was not correlated with the bone turnover markers and BMD. Elevated levels of IL-6 in postmenopausal osteoporosis might have an important role in the pathogenesis of postmenopausal osteoporosis.
The current status of psychological treatments in bipolar disorders: a systematic review of relapse prevention.

OBJECTIVE This paper reviews published randomized-controlled treatment trials of psychological therapies added to standard psychiatric treatment versus medication and standard psychiatric treatment alone to explore whether adjunctive psychotherapy reduces relapse rates in individuals with bipolar disorders (BDs). METHOD Relapse rates were calculated for individual trials that met inclusion criteria and then pooled odds ratios were calculated using meta-analytic techniques. RESULTS The majority of studies quoted demonstrate that individuals receiving psychological treatments had significantly fewer relapses. The length of therapy required was between 10 and 20 h over 6-9 months and the models of effective therapies had many shared characteristics in terms of style and content. CONCLUSIONS Adjunctive psychological treatments for individuals with BDs are acceptable and feasible and reduce relapse risk. There are relatively few differences in the benefits that accrue from the different therapy models. It is now important to explore whether they have added value in terms of additional health gains and social functioning compared with standard treatment approaches.
Linkage and segregation analyses of apolipoproteins A1 and B, and lipoprotein cholesterol levels in a large pedigree with excess coronary heart disease: The Bogalusa heart study

Robust methods were employed, using data from a single large pedigree, to screen serum apolipoprotein A1 and B levels, serum lipoprotein cholesterol levels, and ratios of serum lipoprotein cholesterol fractions to apolipoprotein A1 and B levels for genetic linkage to 31 polymorphic markers. Segregation analyses were performed for each of the apolipoprotein and lipoprotein cholesterol fractions to obtain estimates for use in applying likelihood methods of linkage analysis. Trait‐marker combinations for which linkages were suggested from the robust methods were then reexamined for linkage using the likelihood (lod score) method. Results from the segregation analyses were consistent with major gene determination of apo B and HDL‐C levels, the HDL‐C to apo A1 ratio, the LDL‐C to apo B ratio, and a measure of relative content of cholesterol in HDL‐C and LDL‐C. Linkage between haptoglobin and the HDL‐C/apo A1 ratio was suggested, with a lod score of 1.72 at θ = 0.05.
Turbo Coding, Turbo Equalisation and Space-Time Coding: EXIT-Chart-Aided Near-Capacity Designs for Wireless Channels

Covering the full range of channel codes from the most conventional through to the most advanced, the second edition of Turbo Coding, Turbo Equalisation and Space-Time Coding is a self-contained reference on channel coding for wireless channels. The book commences with a historical perspective on the topic, which leads to two basic component codes, convolutional and block codes. It then moves on to turbo codes which exploit iterative decoding by using algorithms, such as the Maximum-A-Posteriori (MAP), Log-MAP and Soft Output Viterbi Algorithm (SOVA), comparing their performance. It also compares Trellis Coded Modulation (TCM), Turbo Trellis Coded Modulation (TTCM), Bit-Interleaved Coded Modulation (BICM) and Iterative BICM (BICM-ID) under various channel conditions.The horizon of the content is then extended to incorporate topics which have found their way into diverse standard systems. These include space-time block and trellis codes, as well as other Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) schemes and near-instantaneously Adaptive Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (AQAM). The book also elaborates on turbo equalisation by providing a detailed portrayal of recent advances in partial response modulation schemes using diverse channel codes.A radically new aspect for this second edition is the discussion of multi-level coding and sphere-packing schemes, Extrinsic Information Transfer (EXIT) charts, as well as an introduction to the family of Generalized Low Density Parity Check codes.This new edition includes recent advances in near-capacity turbo-transceivers as well as new sections on multi-level coding schemes and of Generalized Low Density Parity Check codesComparatively studies diverse channel coded and turbo detected systems to give all-inclusive information for researchers, engineers and students Details EXIT-chart based irregular transceiver designs Uses rich performance comparisons as well as diverse near-capacity design examples
Community acquired Clostridium difficile infection due to a moxifloxacin susceptible ribotype 027 strain

Sir, Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) has increased in frequency and severity in North America and Europe over the last 5 y, largely due to emergence of the epidemic ribotype 027 strain. In contrast to 027 isolates collected before 2001, this epidemic clone demonstrates universal high-level resistance to the fluoroquinolones such as moxifloxacin and gatifloxacin [1]. Most of the reports have dealt with nosocomial CDI; however, we here describe a case of community acquired CDI due to a moxifloxacin susceptible 027 strain. A 73-y-old Swedish female was admitted to the Emergency Department at Karolinska University Hospital Huddinge with mild diarrhoea. She travelled to Italy for a vacation at the beginning of 2008. At the end of January, she suffered from unformed stools mixed with blood, fever, abdominal pain and nausea. Five d later she returned to Sweden and visited the Emergency Department. At that time all the symptoms had resolved without any special treatment. Laboratory investigations revealed a haemoglobin of 125 g/l and C-reactive protein of 57 mg/l. The stool sample was toxin B-positive by cytotoxicity neutralization assay and culture-positive. Both the stool sample and the C. difficile isolate were positive for genes encoding toxin A, toxin B and binary toxin, and had a deletion in the tcd C gene at position 117 by real-time PCR. PCR ribotyping was performed and this isolate was identified as 027. The present isolate was susceptible to moxifloxacin (MIC, 0.5 mg/l), clindamycin (MIC, 1.5 mg/l), meropenem (MIC, 3 mg/l), metronidazole (MIC, 0.125 mg/l) and vancomycin (MIC, 1 mg/l) by E-test. The patient was not treated with any new drug at the Emergency Department. She was diagnosed with diverticulitis and had received medical treatment including azathioprine (75 mg o.d.) and prednisolone (15 mg o.d.) since November 2007 as an outpatient. In 2000 she underwent a hip operation. CDI is usually considered to be a hospital associated infection. However, C. difficile can also cause disease in previously healthy individuals. A previous Swedish study suggested that as many as 1 of 5 cases with CDI might be community acquired (CA-CDI) [2]. In addition, some patients with CACDI may have no history of recent use of antimicrobial agents [3]. In 1 previous study [4], 35% of patients had no recent (4 weeks) exposure to antimicrobial therapy. The present patient neither had recent exposure to antibiotics nor to hospitals. However, she was 73 y of age and had received azathioprine and prednisolone therapy for about 3 months. Although this type of chemotherapy is not as strong as that used to treat lymphoma, it may affect the immune function. Therefore, both increased age and chemotherapy may have contributed to her infection. Differences in the distribution of ribotypes in CACDI have previously been reported. Recent typing reports have shown that a hypervirulent C. difficile strain 027 accounted for most hospital cases and some of CA cases [5]. This hypervirulent strain
The dopamine D2 receptor gene and alcoholism.

To the Editor. — Bolos et al, 1 in contrast to us, 2 purport to find a lack of association between the dopamine D 2 receptor (D 2 R) gene and alcoholism. In the selection of 40 alcoholic subjects, Bolos et al used as an exclusion criterion "an acutely active medical disorder as revealed by the patient's medical history, physical examination, or clinical laboratory assessment. " By systematically excluding severely ill alcoholics (or presumably even alcoholics with minor abnormalities in clinical chemistry), these investigators studied a quite different and less severely ill alcoholic population than we did. Our study consisted of alcoholics who had experienced repeated failures in their alcoholic rehabilitation and whose cause of death was primarily attributed to alcohol-induced damage to their bodily systems. We used a sample of 35 alcoholics and 35 nonalcoholic controls, and the two groups were matched on age and other important variables. Bolos et al
Random Walks on Barycentric Subdivisions and the Strichartz Hexacarpet

We investigate simple random walks on graphs generated by repeated barycentric subdivisions of a triangle. We use these random walks to study the diffusion on the self-similar fractal known as the Strichartz hexacarpet, which is generated as the limit space of these graphs. We make this connection rigorous by establishing a graph isomorphism between the hexacarpet approximations and graphs produced by repeated barycentric subdivisions of the triangle. This includes a discussion of various numerical calculations performed on these graphs and their implications to the diffusion on the limiting space. In particular, we prove that equilateral barycentric subdivisions—a metric space generated by replacing the metric on each 2-simplex of the subdivided triangle with that of a scaled Euclidean equilateral triangle—converge to a self-similar geodesic metric space of dimension log(6)/log(2), or about 2.58. Our numerical experiments give evidence to a conjecture that the simple random walks on the equilateral barycentric subdivisions converge to a continuous diffusion process on the Strichartz hexacarpet corresponding to a different spectral dimension (estimated numerically to be about 1.74).
PKC-mediates flow-stimulated superoxide production in thick ascending limbs

Hong NJ, Silva GB, Garvin JL. PKCmediates flow-stimulated superoxide production in thick ascending limbs. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 298: F885–F891, 2010. First published January 6, 2010; doi:10.1152/ajprenal.00543. 2009. —We showed that luminal flow increases net superoxide (O2 ) production via NADPH oxidase in thick ascending limbs. Protein kinase C (PKC) activates NADPH oxidase activity in phagocytes, cardiomyocytes, aortic endothelial cells, vascular smooth muscle cells, and renal mesangial cells. However, the flow-activated pathway that induces NADPH oxidase activity in thick ascending limbs is unclear. We hypothesized that PKC mediates flow-stimulated net O2 production by thick ascending limbs. Initiation of flow (20 nl/min) increased net O2 production from 4 1 to 61 12 AU/s (P 0.007; n 5). The NADPH oxidase inhibitor apocynin completely blocked the flow-induced increase in net O2 production (2 1 vs. 1 1 AU/s; P 0.05; n 5). Flow-stimulated O2 was also blocked in p47-deficient mice. We measured flowstimulated PKC activity with a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based membrane-targeted PKC activity reporter and found that the FRET ratio increased from 0.87 0.02 to 0.96 0.04 AU (P 0.05; n 6). In the absence of flow, the PKC activator phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (200 nM) enhanced net O2 production from 5 2 to 92 6 AU/s (P 0.001; n 6). The PKCand I-selective inhibitor Gö 6976 (100 nM) decreased flow-stimulated net O2 production from 54 15 to 2 1 AU/s (P 0.04; n 5). Flow-induced net O2 production was inhibited in thick ascending limbs transduced with dominant-negative (dn)PKCbut not dnPKC I or LacZ ( 11 3 AU/s for dnPKC , 55 7 AU/s for dnPKC I, and 63 7 AU/s for LacZ; P 0.001; n 6). We concluded that flow stimulates net O2 production in thick ascending limbs via PKC-mediated activation of NADPH oxidase.