Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Word Embedding Evaluation and Combination

Word embeddings have been successfully used in several natural language processing tasks (NLP) and speech processing. Different approaches have been introduced to calculate word embeddings through neural networks. In the literature, many studies focused on word embedding evaluation, but for our knowledge, there are still some gaps. This paper presents a study focusing on a rigorous comparison of the performances of different kinds of word embeddings. These performances are evaluated on different NLP and linguistic tasks, while all the word embeddings are estimated on the same training data using the same vocabulary, the same number of dimensions, and other similar characteristics. The evaluation results reported in this paper match those in the literature, since they point out that the improvements achieved by a word embedding in one task are not consistently observed across all tasks. For that reason, this paper investigates and evaluates approaches to combine word embeddings in order to take advantage of their complementarity, and to look for the effective word embeddings that can achieve good performances on all tasks. As a conclusion, this paper provides new perceptions of intrinsic qualities of the famous word embedding families, which can be different from the ones provided by works previously published in the scientific literature.
The Safety of H2‐Blockers Use During Pregnancy

Little data exist on the safety of H2‐blockers during pregnancy. A computerized database of medications dispensed from 1998 to 2007 to all women registered in the “Clalit” health maintenance organization, in the Southern District of Israel, was linked with computerized databases containing maternal and infant hospitalization records from the district hospital. The following confounders were controlled for: parity, maternal age, ethnic group, maternal diabetes, smoking, and peripartum fever. Also, therapeutic pregnancy termination data were analyzed. A total of 117 960 infants were born during the study period, 84 823 of them (72%) to women registered at Clalit; 1148 of the latter were exposed to H2‐blockers during the first trimester of pregnancy. Exposure to H2‐blockers was not associated with an increased risk for congenital malformations (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 1.03, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.80–1.32); also, no such association was found when therapeutic pregnancy terminations were included in the analysis (adjusted OR = 1.17, 95% CI: 0.93–1.46). Exposure to H2‐blockers was not associated with perinatal mortality, premature delivery, low birth weight, or low Apgar scores.
Concordance with clinical practice guidelines for adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with stage I-III colon cancer: experience in 2 Canadian provinces.

BACKGROUND Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for the adjuvant treatment of colorectal cancer were published by the National Institutes of Health in 1991. The American Society of Clinical Oncology and Cancer Care Ontario have recommended adjuvant chemotherapy for patients with high-risk stage II colon cancer. We evaluated differences in concordance with guidelines in the treatment of patients with stage I-III colon cancer in the Canadian provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador and Ontario. METHODS We assessed clinical data and treatment from January 1999 to December 2000 for 130 patients from Newfoundland and Labrador and 315 patients from Ontario who had stage I-III colon cancer. The primary outcome was concordance with guidelines for adjuvant treatment. We evaluated factors affecting the use of chemotherapy in patients with stage II disease. RESULTS No patients received adjuvant therapy for stage I disease. Forty-five of 52 patients (87%) in Newfoundland and Labrador and 108 of 115 patients (94%) in Ontario received adjuvant chemotherapy for stage III colon cancer. Twenty of 55 patients (36%) in Newfoundland and Labrador and 44 of 116 patients (38%) in Ontario received adjuvant therapy for stage II disease. Eighteen of 41 patients (44%) in Newfoundland and Labrador and 30 of 53 patients (57%) in Ontario with high-risk features received adjuvant treatment, which was significantly higher than patients without high-risk features. There was a strong trend toward using chemotherapy in patients with stage II disease who were 50 years or younger, independent of high-risk status. CONCLUSION Concordance with CPGs for adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with stage II colon cancer was not optimal. This may reflect selection bias among referring surgeons, a paucity of level-I evidence and the belief that other factors such as age may play a role in predicting outcome.
Iron‐induced tissue damage and cancer: The role of reactive oxygen species‐free radicals

Oxygen is poisonous, but we cannot live without It. The high oxidizing potential of oxygen molecules (dioxygen) Is a valuable source of energy for the organism and its reactivity is low; that is, spin forbidden. However, the dioxygen itself is a ‘free radical’ and, especially in the presence of transition metals, K is a major promoter of radical reactions in the cell. Humans survive only by virtue of their elaborate defense mechanisms against oxygen toxicity.
Gas concentration analysis of resistive gas sensor array

The concept of Mobile Electronic Nose (MoLen) is very promising for Sensing as a Service (S2aaS) applications. In Internet of Things (IoT) era, MoLen can be implemented in many real-world applications such as food quality assessment, medical applications, gas leakage detection, home or automotive safety system, environment monitoring, etc. The most important component of MoLen is gas sensor array used to detect and to collect the odor data. In this study, the resistive gas sensor is used to detect various gasses associated with beef spoilage. Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (MOS) gas sensor is one example of resistive gas sensor which is utilized to arrange MoLen gas sensor array. This work has following contributions to assist researchers and practitioners for MoLen applications. First, the mathematical model is proposed to analyze various gas concentrations based on low-cost MOS gas sensor. Second, we demonstrate gas sensor response and MoLen capability to detect various gasses associated with beef spoilage based on proposed model. The experimental result shows that the MoLen and the proposed model are feasible to be implemented for real-world applications.
Expression of nifH Genes in Natural Microbial Assemblages in Lake George, New York, Detected by Reverse Transcriptase PCR

ABSTRACT A modified nested reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) method was used to detect the expression of nitrogenase genes in meso-oligotrophic Lake George, New York. Net (>20-μm pore size) plankton samples collected from two sites (Dome Island and Hague Marina) were extracted for total RNA and genomic DNA to determine the identity of diazotrophic organisms that were present and those that were actively expressing nitrogenase genes. Phylogenetic analysis of individual sequences cloned from PCR amplifications showed that there were phylogenetically diverse groups of bacteria that possessed a nifH gene, including representatives of unicellular and filamentous cyanobacteria, the α- and γ-subdivisions of the division Proteobacteria (α- and γ-proteobacteria), and a previously undefined group of bacteria. The phylotypes cloned from RT-PCR amplifications, which were actively expressing nifH transcripts, clustered with the unicellular and filamentous cyanobacteria, α-proteobacteria, and the novel bacterial cluster. No bacterial sequences were found which clustered with sequences from cluster II (alternative nitrogenases), III (nitrogenases in strict anaerobes), or IV (nifH-like sequences). These results indicate that there were several distinct groups of nitrogen-fixing microorganisms in the net plankton from both sampling sites and that most of the groups had representative phylotypes that were actively expressing nitrogenase genes.
Word of mouth: understanding and managing referral marketing

Marketing practitioners and theorists routinely cite the power of the personal referral on customer behaviour. However, relatively few companies have tried to harness the power of word of mouth (WOM). Scholars have been pondering WOM over 2400 years, although modern marketing research into WOM started only relatively recently, in the post-war 1940s. WOM can be characterized by valence, focus, timing, solicitation and degree of management intervention. Most recent WOM research has been conducted from a customer-to-customer perspective, even though WOM is found in other contexts such as influence, employee and recruitment markets. Marketing research into WOM has attempted to answer two questions. What are the antecedents of WOM? What are the consequences of WOM? This paper integrates that research into a contingency model and attempts to identify researchable gaps in our knowledge.
Long-term associations between inflammatory dietary scores in relation to long-term C-reactive protein status measured 12 years later: findings from the Supplémentation en Vitamines et Minéraux Antioxydants (SU.VI.MAX) cohort

Abstract Chronic low-grade inflammation has been recognised as a key underlying mechanism for several chronic diseases, including cancer and CVD. Nutrition represents a host of key modifiable factors that influence chronic inflammation. Dietary inflammatory scores were developed to assess the inflammatory potential of the diet and have been associated with inflammatory biomarkers in cross-sectional and short-term longitudinal studies. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between the dietary inflammatory index (DII), the alternate dietary inflammatory index (ADII) and long-term C-reactive protein (CRP). We also tested age as an effect modifier of this relationship. Participants were selected in the Supplémentation en Vitamines et Minéraux Antioxydants study, which included subjects aged 45–60 years old for men and 35–60 years old for women in 1994. Participants with ≥3 24-h dietary records at baseline and a CRP measurement at the 12-year follow-up evaluation were included in the present study (n 1980). The relationships between the DII and ADII and elevated CRP (>3 mg/l) were investigated using logistic multivariable regression. All analyses were stratified by age (cut-off at median age=50 years old). The overall associations between DII and ADII and long-term CRP were not statistically significant (P trend across tertiles=0·16 for DII and 0·10 for ADII). A quantitative interaction was found between ADII score and age (P=0·16 for ADII, 0·36 for DII). In stratified analyses the ADII was significantly prospectively associated with CRP only in younger participants: OR tertile 3 v. tertile 1: 1·79 (95 % CI 1·04, 3·07). Pro-inflammatory diets may have long-term effect on CRP only in younger subjects.
IMPACT OF DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS OF CONSUMERS ON ONLINE SHOPPING BEHAVIOUR: A STUDY OF CONSUMERS IN INDIA

On-line shopping is a recent phenomenon in the field of E-Business and is definitely going to be the future of shopping in the world. Most of the companies are running their on-line portals to sell their products/services on-line. Though online shopping is very common outside India, its growth in Indian Market, which is a large and strategic consumer market, is still not in line with the global market. The potential growth of on-line shopping has triggered the idea of conducting a study on on-line shopping in India. The present research paper has used Qualitative and Quantitative research methods to study the impact of Demographic factors of consumers on on-line shopping parameters like satisfaction with on-line shopping, future purchase intention, frequency of on-line shopping, numbers of items purchased, and overall spend on on-line shopping. The data was collected through Questionnaires on a sample of 580 respondents from Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore. The results of study reveal that on-line shopping in India is significantly affected by various Demographic factors like age, gender, marital status, family size and income. The results of the study could be further used by the researchers and practitioners for conducting future studies in the similar area.
TESTING FOR LONG MEMORY IN VOLATILITY

We consider the asymptotic behavior of log-periodogram regression estimators of the memory parameter in long-memory stochastic volatility models, under the null hypothesis of short memory in volatility. We show that in this situation, if the periodogram is computed from the log squared returns, then the estimator is asymptotically normal, with the same asymptotic mean and variance that would hold if the series were Gaussian. In particular, for the widely used GPH estimator [d with circumflex above]GPH under the null hypothesis, the asymptotic mean of m1/2[d with circumflex above]GPH is zero and the asymptotic variance is π2/24 where m is the number of Fourier frequencies used in the regression. This justifies an ordinary Wald test for long memory in volatility based on the log periodogram of the log squared returns.
MILK FAT FREE FATTY ACIDS IN DEPENDENCE ON HEALTH OF DAIRY COWS

HANUŠ, O. , M. KLIMEŠOVÁ, P. ROUBAL, E. SAMKOVÁ, D. FALTA, M. ŠLACHTA, L. HASOŇOVÁ and I. NĚMEČKOVÁ, 2016. Milk fat free fatty acids in dependence on health of dairy cows. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 22: 796–803 Free fatty acids (FFAs) in fat are important indicator of raw milk quality. The aim was to analyse the relationships and quantify effects of dairy cow mastitis on FFAs. Individual milk samples (IMSs; n 307) came form Holstein and Czech Fleckvieh cows (67 : 33%). Sampling was from 10 to 270 days in milk for 1 year. Cows were fed in stables (n 5) by total mixed ration. Herd lactation milk yield varied from 7000 to 10 000 kg. Milking was performed twice a day using pipeline milking equipment and in milking parlours (20 : 80%). IMSs were classifi ed into 3 groups according to somatic cell count (SCC): A ≤ 150, healthy; B from 800 to 1500, subclinical mastitis; C > 1500 103.ml–1, subclinical and clinical mastitis. Lactose (L) decreased with growing intensity of mammary gland secretion disorder from 4.90 ± 0.278 (A) to 4.49 ± 0.44% (C; P < 0.001). The values increased in the same direction: content of FFAs from 0.65 ± 0.209 to 1.44 ± 0.379 mmol.100g–1 (P < 0.001); milk energy quotients fat/protein (F/P) from 0.88 ± 0.386 to 1.23 ± 0.335 (P < 0.001) and fat/lactose (F/L) from 0.63 ± 0.266 to 1.98 ± 0.309 (P < 0.001). The mastitis state (SCC) deteriorated milk quality by increase of FFAs, 0.703 (P < 0.001; by 121.5%) and reduced L, –0.522 (P < 0.001). 49.4% of FFA variability could be explained by SCC variations. Increased SCC by 1000 103.ml–1 increased FFAs by 0.433 mmol.100g–1. The L decrease due to worse mastitis state or cow energy malnutrition increased FFAs, –0.312 (P < 0.001). A risk increase of ketosis coeffi cients (F/P and F/L) deteriorated milk quality by increase of FFAs, 0.395 and 0.443 (P < 0.001) where 0.1 is equal to 0.05 and 0.067 mmol.100 g–1. Values of FFAs can serve to control the health of dairy cows and quality of IMSs in regular milk recording.
Breast Cancer Stage at Diagnosis in Relation to Duration of Medicaid Enrollment

Background.Stage at diagnosis has been used to compare the quality of cancer screening services by health insurance type, using membership at diagnosis or treatment. This study evaluates breast cancer stage among women on Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program, in relation to duration of coverage to assess the impact of including women with recently acquired benefits in the Medi-Cal group. Methods.Breast cancers diagnosed in 1993 among women ages 30 to 64 were obtained from the statewide, population-based cancer registry and linked to Medi-Cal enrollment files. Women on Medi-Cal when diagnosed were categorized based on months covered during the 12 months preceding diagnosis (12, 1–11, or none), and compared with all other women with breast cancer. Logistic regression models measured the effect of duration of Medi-Cal coverage on the odds of late-stage disease, controlling for demographic, socioeconomic, health access, and tumor characteristics. Results.Among women with Medi-Cal benefits when diagnosed, 18% were not covered during the year preceding diagnosis, and late-stage disease was common among these women. The odds ratio for late-stage disease among all women on Medi-Cal was 1.67 (95% CI 1.41, 1.97), but was reduced by 42% to 1.39 (95% CI 1.15, 1.67) when women without benefits before diagnosis were excluded from the Medi-Cal group. Conclusions.Women with Medi-Cal benefits before diagnosis were more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage disease than other women with breast cancer. However, the practice of assigning health insurance status based on enrollment at diagnosis underestimates the effect of access to breast cancer screening through Medicaid.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002: Implications for Market Efficiency and Analysts' Performance

The Sarbanes-Oxley act of 2002 is considered to be one of the most important reforms in the corporate disclosure policy with potentially far-reaching conclusions for the stock markets. In this paper we study the implications of this reform for two major "consumers" of information released by the companies, namely investors and analysts. Our results suggest that following the reform US stock market is characterized by significantly higher speed of adjustment to new information, suggesting that the latter is more rapidly incorporated in the stock prices by investors, thus, leading to an increase in informational market efficiency. On the other hand, we find strong evidence of the analysts' forecasts becoming more downward biased in the post reform period, suggesting that following the corporate scandals of 2001-2002 analysts became more cautious. The shift in bias is especially pronounced during turbulent periods and when the "good" news is released. This is consistent with our hypothesis that following the bankruptcy of reknown firms with blown-up earnings analysts treat the disclosed information more carefully.
Zero tolerance : resisting the drive for punishment in our schools : a handbook for parents, students, educators, and citizens

In the mid-nineties, a Chicago high school principal announced a new policy, one of zero tolerance. No longer would there be excuses for student misconduct. No longer would violations of major school rules, especially bans on drugs and guns, be tolerable. To many at the time, the new policy seemed to be redundant. There had never been any confusion that students were forbidden from bringing such objects to school. William Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn considered this policy unnecessary and when they questioned the principal about it, she responded that zero tolerance was “a contemporary way of expressing what we already believed and practiced” (Ayers xi). However, since 1993, such policies have been emerging in schools across the nation. They grew out of an increasing fear of gang violence and juvenile delinquency that appeared to have skyrocketed coming out of the 1980’s. In 1994, the federal government mandated the program at a national level, and President Clinton signed the Gun-Free Schools Act into law (Skiba 373). The law requires a one-year expulsion for the possession of a firearm and referral of the violating students to a criminal justice center. In order to continue receiving federal funding, schools across the country rushed to comply with the policy.
Amino acid residues in Anabaena ferredoxin crucial to interaction with ferredoxin-NADP+ reductase: site-directed mutagenesis and laser flash photolysis.

Ferredoxin (Fd) functions in photosynthesis to transfer electrons from photosystem I to ferredoxin-NADP+ reductase (FNR). We have made several site-directed mutants of Anabaena 7120 Fd and have used laser flash photolysis to investigate the effects of these mutations on the kinetics of reduction of oxidized Fd by deazariboflavin semiquinone (dRfH.) and the reduction of oxidized Anabaena FNR by reduced Fd. None of the mutations influenced the second-order rate constant for dRfH. reduction by more than a factor of 2, suggesting that the ability of the [2Fe-2S] cluster to participate in electron transfer was not seriously affected. In contrast, a surface charge reversal mutation, E94K, resulted in a 20,000-fold decrease in the second-order rate constant for electron transfer from Fd to FNR, whereas a similar mutation at an adjacent site, E95K, produced little or no change in reaction rate constant compared to wild-type Fd. Such a dramatic difference between contiguous surface mutations suggests a very precise surface complementarity at the protein-protein interface. Mutations introduced at F65 (F65I and F65A) also decreased the rate constant for the Fd/FNR electron transfer reaction by more than 3 orders of magnitude. Spectroscopic and thermodynamic measurements with both the E94 and F65 mutants indicated that the kinetic differences cannot be ascribed to changes in gross conformation, redox potential, or FNR binding constant but rather reflect the protein-protein interactions that control electron transfer. Several mutations at other sites in the vicinity of E94 and F65 (R42, T48, D68, and D69) resulted in little or no perturbation of the Fd/FNR interaction. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Physiological responses to incremental exercise in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.

PURPOSE The purpose of this investigation was to characterize the physiological response profiles of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), to an incremental exercise test, performed to the limit of tolerance. METHODS Fifteen patients (12 women and three men) who fulfilled the case definition for chronic fatigue syndrome, and 15 healthy, sedentary, age- and sex-matched controls, performed an incremental progressive all-out treadmill test (cardiopulmonary exercise test). RESULTS As a group, the CFS patients demonstrated significantly lower cardiovascular as well as ventilatory values at peak exercise, compared with the control group. At similar relative submaximal exercise levels (% peak VO(2)), the CFS patients portrayed response patterns (trending phenomenon) characterized, in most parameters, by similar intercepts, but either lower (VCO(2), HR, O(2pulse), V(E), V(T), PETCO(2)) or higher (B(f), V(E)/VCO(2)) trending kinetics in the CFS compared with the control group. It was found that the primary exercise-related physiological difference between the CFS and the control group was their significantly lower heart rate at any equal relative and at maximal work level. Assuming maximal effort by all (indicated by RER, PETCO(2), and subjective exhaustion), these results could indicate either cardiac or peripheral insufficiency embedded in the pathology of CFS patients. CONCLUSION We conclude that indexes from cardiopulmonary exercise testing may be used as objective discriminatory indicators for evaluation of patients complaining of chronic fatigue syndrome.
A study of thigh muscle weakness in different pathological states of the lower extremity

from a study of the lower body strength of 806 West Point Cadets that &dquo; . individuals who have strength differences greater than 10% between the limbs, and also those in the lower quartile strengthwise, are more likely to be injured than are those who possess normal strength levels. &dquo; These studies were limited to isometrics, with the subjects tested according to the multiple angle testing method and then exercised with