Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Novel clustering selection criterion for fast binary key speaker diarization

Speaker diarization has become an important building block in many speech-related systems. Given the great increase of audiovisual media, fast systems are required in order to process large amounts of data in a reasonable time. In this regard, the recently proposed speaker diarization system based on binary key speaker modeling provides a very fast alternative to state-of-the-art systems at the cost of a slight decrease in performance. This decrease is mainly due to drawbacks in the final clustering selection algorithm, which is far from returning the optimum clustering the system is actually able to generate. At the same time, we have identified potential points of our system which can be further sped up. This paper aims to face these two issues by first lightening the processing at the main identified bottleneck, and second by proposing an alternative clustering selection technique capable of providing near-optimum clustering outputs. Experimental results on the REPERE test database validate the effectiveness of the proposed improvements, obtaining a relative performance gain of 20% and execution times of 0.037 xRT (being xRT the Real-Time factor).
Non-O1 Vibrio cholerae NRT36S produces a polysaccharide capsule that determines colony morphology, serum resistance, and virulence in mice

Non-O1 Vibrio cholerae produced two distinct colony types, designated as opaque and translucent. NRT36S, a clinical isolate shown to be virulent in volunteers, produced predominantly opaque colonies, but translucent colonies appeared on subculture. Opaque variants were recovered exclusively following exposure to normal human serum or animal passage. A nonreverting translucent mutant of NRT36S, JVB52, was isolated following mutagenesis with the transposon Tn5 IS50L::phoA (TnphoA). Only translucent colonies were produced by a nonpathogenic environmental isolate, A5. Electron microscopic examination of the opaque form of NRT36S revealed thick, electron-dense, fibrous capsules surrounding polycationic ferritin-stained cells. The ferritin-stained material around translucent NRT36S or A5 was patchy or absent. JVB52 had a thin but contiguous capsular layer. The amount of ferritin-stained capsular material correlated with the amount of surface polysaccharide determined by phenol-sulfuric acid assay: opaque NRT36S had approximately three times as much polysaccharide as translucent NRT36S or A5 and four times as much as JVB52. The encapsulated, opaque variant of NRT36S was protected from serum bactericidal activity, while translucent non-O1 V. cholerae was readily killed. The encapsulated form also had increased virulence in mice. Our data provide the first indication that non-O1 V. cholerae strains can have a polysaccharide capsule. This capsule may be important in protecting the organism from host defenses and may contribute to the ability of some non-O1 V. cholerae strains to cause septicemia in susceptible hosts.
Generation of cell diversity and segmental pattern in the embryonic central nervous system of Drosophila

Development of the central nervous system (CNS) involves the transformation of a two‐dimensional epithelial sheet of uniform ectodermal cells, the neuroectoderm, into a highly complex three‐dimensional structure consisting of a huge variety of different neural cell types. Characteristic numbers of each cell type become arranged in reproducible spatial patterns, which is a prerequisite for the establishment of specific functional contacts. The fruitfly Drosophila is a suitable model to approach the mechanisms controlling the generation of cell diversity and pattern in the developing CNS, as it allows linking of gene function to individually identifiable cells. This review addresses aspects of the formation and specification of neural stem cells (neuroblasts) in Drosophila in the light of recent studies on their segmental diversification. Developmental Dynamics 235:861–869, 2006. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Calcium/Calmodulin-dependent Kinase II Regulation of Cardiac Ion Channels

Calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII) is a multifunctional serine/threonine kinase expressed abundantly in the heart. CaMKII targets numerous proteins involved in excitation-contraction coupling and excitability, and its activation may simultaneously contribute to heart failure and cardiac arrhythmias. In this review, we summarize the modulatory effects of CaMKII on cardiac ion channel function and expression and illustrate potential implications in the onset of arrhythmias via a computer model.
PARP-1 and p53 Regulate the Increased Susceptibility to Oxidative Death of Lymphocytes from MCI and AD Patients

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a clinically detectable initial stage of cognitive deterioration with a high conversion rate to dementia. There is increasing evidence that some of the cerebral alterations present in Alzheimer type dementia can be found in peripheral tissues. We have previously shown that lymphocytes from Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients have increased susceptibility to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced death that depends on dementia severity. We here investigated whether lymphocytes from MCI patients show increased vulnerability to death, and explored the involvement of Poly [ADP-ribose] polymerase (PARP-1) and p53 in the regulation of this process. Lymphocytes from 16 MCI and 10 AD patients, and 15 healthy controls (HCs) were submitted to increasing concentrations of H2O2 for 20 h. Cell death was determined by flow cytometry, in the presence or absence of PARP-1 inhibitors (3-aminobenzamide (3-ABA) or Nicotinamide (NAM)), or the p53 inhibitor (nutlin-3) or stabilizer (pifithrin-α). PARP-1 and p53 mRNA levels were determined by quantitative PCR (qPCR). Lymphocytes from MCI patients showed increased susceptibility to death, attaining intermediate values between AD and controls. PARP inhibitors -3-ABA and NAM- markedly protected from H2O2-induced death, making the difference between MCI and controls disappear, but not the difference between AD and controls. PARP-1 mRNA expression was increased in MCI lymphocytes. Modulation of p53 with Nutlin-3 or pifithrin-α did not modify the H2O2-induced death of lymphocytes from MCI or AD patients, but augmented the death in control lymphocytes attaining levels similar to MCI and AD. Accordingly, p53 mRNA expression was increased in AD and MCI lymphocytes compared to controls. In all, these results show that increased oxidative death is present in lymphocytes at the MCI stage. PARP-1 has a preponderant role, with complete death protection achieved with PARP inhibition in MCI lymphocytes, but not in AD, suggesting that PARP-1 might have a protective role. In addition, deregulations of the p53 pathway seem to contribute to the H2O2-induced death in MCI and AD lymphocytes, which show increased p53 expression. The results showing a prominent protective role of PARP inhibitors opens the door to study the use of these agents to prevent oxidative death in MCI patients.
Striking multiple synergies created by combining reduced graphene oxides and carbon nanotubes for polymer nanocomposites

The extraordinary properties of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene stimulate the development of advanced composites. Recently, several studies have reported significant synergies in the mechanical, electrical and thermal conductivity properties of polymer nanocomposites by incorporating their nanohybrids. In this work, we created polypropylene nanocomposites with homogeneous dispersion of CNTs and reduced graphene oxides via a facile polymer-latex-coating plus melt-mixing strategy, and investigated their synergistic effects in their viscoelastic, gas barrier, and flammability properties. Interestingly, the results show remarkable synergies, enhancing their melt modulus and viscosity, O2 barrier, and flame retardancy properties and respectively exhibiting a synergy percentage of 15.9%, 45.3%, and 20.3%. As previously reported, we also observed remarkable synergistic effects in their tensile strength (14.3%) and Young’s modulus (27.1%), electrical conductivity (32.3%) and thermal conductivity (34.6%). These impressive results clearly point towards a new strategy to create advanced materials by adding binary combinations of different types of nanofillers.
Critical analysis of hopfield's neural network model for TSP and its comparison with heuristic algorithm for shortest path computation

For shortest path computation, Travelling-Salesman problem is NP-complete and is among the intensively studied optimization problems. Hopfield and Tank's proposed neural network based approach, for solving TSP, is discussed. Since original Hopfield's model suffers from some limitations as the number of cities increase, some modifications are discussed for better performance. With the increase in the number of cities, the best solutions provided by original Hopfield's neural network were considered to be far away from those provided by Lin and Kernighan using Heuristic algorithm. Results of both approaches are compared for different number of cities and are analyzed properly.
Apparent Diffusion Coefficient of Glial Neoplasms: Correlation with Fluorodeoxyglucose–Positron-Emission Tomography and Gadolinium-Enhanced MR Imaging

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Gd-enhancement provides essential information in the assessment of brain tumors. However, enhancement does not always correlate with histology or disease activity, especially in the setting of current therapies. Our aim was to compare FDG-PET scans to ADC maps and Gd-enhanced MR images in patients with glial neoplasms to assess whether DWI might offer information not available on routine MR imaging sequences and whether such findings have prognostic significance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Institutional review board approval was obtained for this retrospective review, which was conducted in full compliance with HIPAA regulations. Twenty-one patients (11 men and 10 women) with glial tumors underwent FDG-PET and MR imaging, including ADC and Gd- enhancement. Subjectively, regions of interest were drawn around the following areas: 1) increased FDG uptake, 2) decreased signal intensity on ADC maps, and 3) Gd-enhancement. Objectively, FDG-PET and MR images were co-registered, and pixel-by-pixel comparison of ADC to PET values was made for all regions of interest. Correlation coefficients (r values) were calculated for each region of interest. Percentage overlap between regions of interest was calculated for each case. RESULTS: Subjective evaluation showed 60% of patients with excellent or good correlation between ADC maps and FDG-PET. Pixel-by-pixel comparison demonstrated r values that ranged from −0.72 to −0.21. There was significantly greater overlap between decreased ADC and increased FDG-PET uptake (67.1 ± 15.5%) versus overlap between Gd-enhancement and increased FDG-PET uptake (54.4 ± 27.5%) (P < .05). ADC overlap was greater with increased FDG-PET than with Gd-enhancement in 8/9 cases. Survival data revealed that the presence of restricted diffusion on ADC correlated with patient survival (P < .0001). CONCLUSIONS: ADC maps in patients with brain tumors provide unique information that is analogous to FDG-PET. There is a greater overlap between ADC and FDG-PET compared with Gd-enhancement. ADC maps can serve to approximate tumor grade and predict survival.
Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Risk: Implications from Employee Satisfaction

The paper addresses the issue of whether employee satisfaction influences employee turnovers, firms’ operating performances and financial risk. Consistent with human relations theories of the firm, results show that firms’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) scores are positively related to employee satisfaction measured by Fortune reputation scores. Specifically, higher CSR scores of overall attributes, attributes in employee relations and employee related lead to lower employee turnovers through the channel of employee satisfaction. Moreover, higher CSR scores in the aforementioned attributes also lead to lower systematic risk and better operating performances. In my empirical tests, I address potential endogeneity concerns by instrumenting CSR using data on the political affiliation of the ﬁrm’s headquartered county. Overall, this CSR study contributes to the literature by identifying an important mechanism that higher corporate social performance reduces firm risk and leads to stronger corporate performances through the channel of employee satisfaction.
Oct‐6 (SCIP Tst‐1) is expressed in Schwann cell precursors, embryonic Schwann cells, and postnatal myelinating Schwann cells: Comparison with Oct‐1, Krox‐20, and Pax‐3

The POU domain transcription factor Oct‐6 (SCIP/ Tst‐1) is likely to control important stages of Schwann cell development, including the initiation of myelination around birth. Here, we use immunocytochemical and reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction techniques to examine Oct‐6 earlier in nerve development, to test the idea that Oct‐6 has an additional role in Schwann cell precursors or early embryonic Schwann cells, a possibility raised by previous studies on transgenic mice. Consistent with this, we find low but unambiguous levels of Oct‐6 mRNA and protein in Schwann cell precursors of mouse and rat (nerves from 12‐ and 14‐day‐old embryos, respectively), with expression levels gradually increasing during early Schwann cell development and towards birth. Unexpectedly, Oct‐6 immunoreactivity is clearly present in nuclei of most myelinating cells at least as late as postnatal day 12. Furthermore, many nonmyelinating Schwann cells express Oct‐6 in adult life. A comparison of Oct‐6 mRNA with other Schwann cell transcription factors—namely, Oct‐1, Krox‐20, and Pax‐3—reveals that each factor exhibits strong developmental regulation and a unique expression pattern in embryonic nerves. Therefore, they are likely to play distinct regulatory roles in early development of the Schwann cell lineage. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Role of the gerI Operon ofBacillus cereus 569 in the Response of Spores to Germinants

ABSTRACT Bacillus cereus 569 (ATCC 10876) germinates in response to inosine or to l-alanine, but the most rapid germination response is elicited by a combination of these germinants. Mutants defective in their germination response to either inosine or tol-alanine were isolated after Tn 917 -LTV1 mutagenesis and enrichment procedures; one class of mutant could not germinate in response to inosine as a sole germinant but still germinated in response to l-alanine, although at a reduced rate; another mutant germinated normally in response to inosine but was slowed in its germination response to l-alanine. These mutants demonstrated that at least two signal response pathways are involved in the triggering of germination. Stimulation of germination in l-alanine by limiting concentrations of inosine and stimulation of germination in inosine by low concentrations of l-alanine were still detectable in these mutants, suggesting that such stimulation is not dependent on complete functionality of both these germination loci. Two transposon insertions that affected inosine germination were found to be located 2.2 kb apart on the chromosome. This region was cloned and sequenced, revealing an operon of three open reading frames homologous to those in thegerA and related operons of Bacillus subtilis. The individual genes of this gerIoperon have been named gerIA, gerIB, and gerIC. The GerIA protein is predicted to possess an unusually long, charged, N-terminal domain containing nine tandem copies of a 13-amino-acid glutamine- and serine-rich sequence.
Interstitial Pneumonia With Autoimmune Features: Value of Histopathology.

CONTEXT - Patients with idiopathic interstitial pneumonia may display evidence of autoimmunity without meeting criteria for a defined connective tissue disease. A recent European Respiratory Society/American Thoracic Society statement proposed research criteria for interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features (IPAF), which includes findings from the clinical, serologic, and morphologic domains. OBJECTIVES - To investigate the importance of histopathologic criteria within the morphologic domain and to report our methodology for identifying these features. DESIGN - Patients with idiopathic interstitial pneumonia at the University of Chicago who underwent surgical lung biopsy or lung transplantation were assessed for IPAF histopathologic features, using the initial pathology interpretation in the electronic records. A focused rereview of available slides by a pulmonary pathologist was then performed for patients who failed to meet IPAF criteria on initial pathology assessment. RESULTS - Of 422 patients with idiopathic interstitial pneumonia, 176 (41.7%) underwent surgical lung biopsy or lung transplant. Forty-six of those 176 patients (26.1%) met IPAF criteria by initial pathology interpretation and a positive clinical or serologic feature. Of the remaining 130 patients, 73 (56.2%) met either the clinical or serologic domains without meeting the morphologic domain, whereas 36 (27.7%) had slides available for pathology rereview. This rereview demonstrated nonspecific interstitial pneumonia in 8 of 36 patients (22.2%) and lymphoplasmacytic infiltrates in 6 of 36 patients (16.7%), resulting in an additional 7 of 36 patients (19.4%) with idiopathic interstitial pneumonia that met the IPAF criteria. In IPAF, pulmonary vasculopathy was the most prevalent finding (45 of 84; 53.6%) and predicted increased mortality (hazard ratio, 2.5; P = .04). CONCLUSIONS - Using a methodological approach to identifying IPAF pathology, we demonstrate a significant increase in the number of patients meeting IPAF criteria because of focused pathologic review and highlight the prognostic value of the IPAF pathologic findings.
Chemical Composition and Biological Activity of the Essential Oils Obtained From Yellow and Red Carrot Fruits Cultivated In Egypt

The chemical composition of the essential oils from the fruits of Daucus carota var. sativus (yellow carrot) and var. boissieri (red carrot) was determined using GC/FID and GC/MS. Altogether; 29 and 32 compounds were identified accounting for 96.58 and 96.72 % of the total detected components in the hydrodistilled yellow and red carrot oils, respectively. Carotol constituted the major component in both oils (~66-68 %). The antioxidant activity was assessed using both diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH • ) and 2- deoxyribose degradation (2-DR) assays. Both oils reduced DPPH • and inhibit 2-DR with IC50 values of 12.71, 14.15, mg/ml and 87.15, 88.75 µg/ml for the yellow and red carrot oils, respectively. Inhibition of both 5- lipoxygenase (5-LOX) enzyme and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production were used to assess the anti- inflammatory activity. Yellow carrot oil showed better activity towards inhibition of 5-LOX (IC50 of 37.53 µg/ml). The cytotoxicity of both oils was determined against both MCF-7and HepG-2 cancer cell lines using the sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay. The highest cytotoxic activity was observed against HepG-2 cell with IC50 values ranging from 163-172 μg/ml for both oils. These results indicate promising antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity of both oils and provide a rationale for their uses in many skin diseases.
Problem behaviour in adolescent boys with fragile X syndrome: relative prevalence, frequency and severity.

BACKGROUND A large proportion of boys with fragile X syndrome (FXS), the most common known inherited form of intellectual disability (ID), exhibit problem behaviours (e.g. aggression, self-injury, property destruction and stereotypy) that can negatively impact the health and safety of others as well as the individual concerned. However, data are limited concerning the relative prevalence, frequency and severity of problem behaviours exhibited by boys with FXS compared with those by boys with mixed-aetiology ID who also exhibit problem behaviours. METHOD As part of a larger study on problem behaviour, we obtained survey data on 85 adolescent boys with FXS and 155 age-matched boys with mixed-aetiology ID who exhibited at least one form of problem behaviour. RESULTS For boys with FXS, stereotypy was reported to be more prevalent (χ2 = 4.52, P = 0.012), self-injury was reported to more frequent (U = 2525, P = 0.010) and aggression was reported to be less severe (U = 4176, P = 0.029) than for boys with mixed-aetiology ID. Ratings of aggression and property destruction were highly correlated in each group in terms of both frequency and severity (r = 0.60 to 0.71). Examination of the data by age indicated that the relative frequency of self-injury decreased with age in boys with FXS (χ2 = 8.29, P = 0.040). CONCLUSIONS Taken together, these results refine and extend previous studies concerning the specificity of the behavioural phenotype in FXS and indicate that specific forms of problem behaviour shown by boys with FXS appear to differ from those exhibited by boys with mixed-aetiology ID in terms of prevalence, frequency and severity. Studies employing more objective measures of frequency and severity, including direct observations, are needed to confirm these findings.
Fluid flow inhibits endothelial adhesiveness. Nitric oxide and transcriptional regulation of VCAM-1.

BACKGROUND In the arterial tree, regions exposed to reduced shear stress (low and/or disturbed flow) are predisposed to atherogenesis. Fluid flow is a potent stimulus for the release of endothelium-derived nitric oxide (NO). Because NO inhibits monocyte-endothelial cell interaction, we speculated that the effects of flow in inhibiting atherogenesis might be mediated in part by NO. METHODS AND RESULTS Confluent monolayers of human aortic endothelial cells were exposed to static or fluid flow conditions for 4 hours. The medium was replaced, and cells were then incubated with native LDL (50 micrograms/mL), oxidized LDL (30 micrograms/mL), or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (10 ng/mL)+tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) (10 U/mL) for an additional 4 hours. Functional binding assays using THP-1 monocytes were then performed. Superoxide production by human aortic endothelial cells was monitored by lucigenin chemiluminescence, and expression of the adhesion molecules vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 were quantified by flow cytometry. Whereas native LDL had little effect, incubation with either oxidized LDL or LPS/TNF-alpha significantly increased superoxide production, nuclear factor-kappa B activity, VCAM-1 expression, and endothelial adhesiveness for monocytes. Previous exposure to fluid flow inhibited these sequelae of exposure to cytokines or oxidized lipoprotein. The effect of fluid flow appears to be due in part to shear-induced release of NO, because coincubation with nitro-L-arginine completely abolished these effects of flow. Furthermore, the NO donor PAPA-NONO-ate and 8-Br-cGMP (but not 8-Br-cAMP) mimicked the effects of flow. CONCLUSIONS Previous exposure to fluid flow decreased cytokine- or lipoprotein-stimulated endothelial cell superoxide production, VCAM-1 expression, and monocyte binding; the effects of flow appear to be due to NO. Flow-mediated NO-dependent regulation of oxidant-responsive transcription may influence the site of a lesion.