Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tree-Structured Named Entity Recognition on OCR Data: Analysis, Processing and Results

In this paper we deal with named entity detection on data acquired via OCR process on documents dating from 1890. The resulting corpus is very noisy. We perform an analysis to find possible strategies to overcome errors introduced by the OCR process. We propose a preprocessing procedure in three steps to clean data and correct, at least in part, OCR mistakes. The task is made even harder by the complex tree-structure of named entities annotated on data, we solve this problem however by adopting an effective named entity detection system we proposed in previous work. We evaluate our procedure for preprocessing OCR-ized data in two ways: in terms of perplexity and OOV rate of a language model on development and evaluation data, and in terms of the performance of the named entity detection system on the preprocessed data. The preprocessing procedure results to be effective, allowing to improve by a large margin the system we proposed for the official evaluation campaign on Old Press, and allowing to outperform also the best performing system of the evaluation campaign.
Polymorphisms of renin-angiotensin system genes with high-altitude pulmonary edema in Japanese subjects.

STUDY OBJECTIVES The renin-angiotensin system (RAS), including angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT(1)R), plays an important role in the pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension, which is suggested to be critical in the development of high-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE). Investigating the associations of the polymorphisms in the genes of RAS with HAPE is to elucidate the genetic background underlying this disease. DESIGN A cross-sectional, case-control study. SETTING Shinshu University Hospital, Matsumoto, Japan. PARTICIPANTS Forty-nine HAPE-susceptible (HAPE-s) subjects with a history of HAPE, and 55 healthy climbers with HAPE resistance (HAPE-r). INTERVENTIONS Twenty-one of 49 HAPE-s subjects underwent right cardiac catheterization. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS The insertion/deletion polymorphism in the ACE gene (ACE-I/D) was investigated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). There was no significant difference of the distribution of the ACE-I/D polymorphism between the HAPE-s and HAPE-r groups. The A(1166)C and G(1517)T single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in AT(1)R gene were investigated by the PCR following digested by corresponding restricted endonuclease enzymes. The distribution of the G(1517)T SNP was significantly different between the two groups (p = 0.012). The pulmonary hemodynamics of the 21 HAPE-s subjects were retrospectively examined. The pulmonary artery pressure (PAP), pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR), and PVR index (PVRI) were all significantly increased on hospital admission. Moreover, the PVR and PVRI were significantly higher in the HAPE-s subjects with D positivity than in the HAPE-s subjects with I positivity (PVR, p = 0.015; PVRI, p = 0.028), while the PAP did not show any significant difference between the two subgroups. CONCLUSIONS The ACE-I/D polymorphism is not associated with HAPE susceptibility in Japanese subjects. The AT(1)R gene polymorphisms may likely associate with HAPE susceptibility. The D allele of the ACE-I/D polymorphism probably contributes to the hyperresponsive PVR and PVRI to acute hypoxia.
A non-electrolyte haemolysis assay for diagnosis and prognosis of sickle cell disease

Red blood cells (RBCs) from the two main genotypes of sickle cell disease (SCD) patients showed haemolysis in deoxygenated isosmotic sucrose solution, to a greater extent than those from sickle trait individuals (HbAS). RBCs from normal individuals (HbAA) did not lyse. Several treatments reduced haemolysis in RBCs from HbSS patients – cytochalasin B, aromatic aldehydes (o‐vanillin and 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural), urea, low temperature and high pH. These effects were not due to increased oxygen affinity of haemoglobin. Long‐term treatment of patients with hydroxyurea was also associated with reduced levels of haemolysis. Treatment with aromatic aldehydes and urea reduced sickling of HbSS RBCs in deoxygenated saline solutions. Further, RBCs from sickle trait individuals (HbAS) could be induced to sickle under acidic (pH 6), hypertonic (400 mosmol kg−1) conditions. When these conditions were reproduced in sucrose solutions, HbAS RBCs also showed considerable haemolysis. Results suggest that haemolysis of HbS‐containing RBCs is associated with HbS polymerisation, perhaps damaging the RBC membrane. These findings suggest that haemolysis may be used as a simple, novel technique to diagnose SCD, using the altered membrane permeability of RBCs rather than the presence of HbS per se. As extent of haemolysis varies between individuals and is reduced following hydroxyurea treatment, the method may also be useful prognostically.
Probabilistic parametric approach for rutting evaluation: application to hot and warm asphalt

This paper deals with a stochastic approach to evaluate the rut depth of hot and warm bituminous mixtures. First, the rutting performance of both mixtures using the French rutting tester device was evaluated. Given the random uncertainties derived from the numerous experimental measurements of the rut depth, statistical information was collected. Accordingly, the entropy maximum principle was used here to define adequate probability density function of the rut. Confidence regions with a high probability of 99% were determined for the estimation of the rut depth. In addition, comparison of mechanical and rheological results is performed with aged bitumen recovered from reclaimed asphalt and virgin bitumen to analyse the effect of ageing on bitumen viscoelastic properties. The experimental characterisation of the different binders based on rheological and conventional tests showed stiffening and hardening effects due to bitumen ageing.
Treatment Preferences for CAM in Children with Chronic Pain

CAM therapies have become increasingly popular in pediatric populations. Yet, little is known about children's preferences for CAM. This study examined treatment preferences in chronic pediatric pain patients offered a choice of CAM therapies for their pain. Participants were 129 children (94 girls) (mean age = 14.5 years ± 2.4; range = 8–18 years) presenting at a multidisciplinary, tertiary clinic specializing in pediatric chronic pain. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to examine the relationships between CAM treatment preferences and patient's sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, as well as their self-reported level of functioning. Over 60% of patients elected to try at least one CAM approach for pain. The most popular CAM therapies were biofeedback, yoga and hypnosis; the least popular were art therapy and energy healing, with craniosacral, acupuncture and massage being intermediate. Patients with a diagnosis of fibromyalgia (80%) were the most likely to try CAM versus those with other pain diagnoses. In multivariate analyses, pain duration emerged as a significant predictor of CAM preferences. For mind-based approaches (i.e. hypnosis, biofeedback and art therapy), pain duration and limitations in family activities were both significant predictors. When given a choice of CAM therapies, this sample of children with chronic pain, irrespective of pain diagnosis, preferred non-invasive approaches that enhanced relaxation and increased somatic control. Longer duration of pain and greater impairment in functioning, particularly during family activities increased the likelihood that such patients agreed to engage in CAM treatments, especially those that were categorized as mind-based modalities.
Arabic Inquiry-Answer Dialogue Acts Annotation Schema

We present an annotation schema as part of an effort to create a manually annotated corpus for Arabic dialogue language understanding including spoken dialogue and written "chat" dialogue for inquiry-answer domain. The proposed schema handles mainly the request and response acts that occurs frequently in inquiry-answer debate conversations expressing request services, suggests, and offers. We applied the proposed schema on 83 Arabic inquiry-answer dialogues.
Estimation of Network structures from partially observed Markov random fields

We consider the estimation of high-dimensional network structures from partially observed Markov random field data using a penalized pseudo-likelihood approach. We fit a misspecified model obtained by ignoring the missing data problem. We study the consistency of the estimator and derive a bound on its rate of convergence. The results obtained relate the rate of convergence of the estimator to the extent of the missing data problem. We report some simulation results that empirically validate some of the theoretical findings.
Participation Constraints in Pension Systems

We explore voluntary participation in pension arrangements. Individuals only participate when participation is more attractive than autarky. The benefit of participation is that risks can be shared with future generations. We apply our analysis to a pay-as-you-go system, a funded system without buffers and a funded system with buffers. Buffers play a particularly interesting role, because they raise the sensitivity of the contributions to the asset returns. In particular, compared to a system without buffer requirements, they require higher contributions when asset returns are low. Moreover, individual contributions may be increasing or decreasing in the size of the young cohort, depending on whether the fund has more or less reserves than required. We confine ourselves to recursive settings and study equilibria characterised by thresholds on the contribution that young generations are prepared to make assuming that the future young apply the same threshold. For standard parameter settings two such equilibria exist, of which only the one with the higher threshold is consistent with the initial young being prepared to start the system. Finally, we explore the social welfare maximising policy parameter settings for various levels of uncertainty and risk aversion.
Studying the self in people with dementia: How might we proceed?

The impact of dementia on the self has become the subject of much research over the last few years, mainly due to the implications for support and care for people with dementia. However, there are a number of limitations of this research that make it difficult to integrate the existing evidence and to draw any firm conclusions regarding the persistence of self. This highlights the need for a different approach to studying the self in people with dementia in order to obtain more robust evidence from future studies. This paper attempts to integrate current research using an existing systematic and comprehensive framework of the self, and outlines the advantages and limitations of using such a framework as the basis for future studies.
AN HMM-BASED AUDIO CHORD DETECTION SYSTEM ATTENUATING THE MAIN MELODY

This extended abstract describes an algorithm which was submitted to the 2008 Music Information Retrieval eXchange in the audio chord detection task. As it is not pre-trained it aims at the n-fold training/testing subtask. Part of this submission is a source separation algorithm which is used to attenuate the main melody. 1
Computing the 3D Voronoi Diagram Robustly: An Easy Explanation

Many algorithms exist for computing the 3D Voronoi diagram, but in most cases they assume that the input is in general position. Because of the many degeneracies that arise in 3D geometric computing, their implementation is still problematic in practice. In this paper, I describe a simple 3D Voronoi diagram (and Delaunay tetrahedralization) algorithm, and I explain, by giving as many details and insights as possible, how to ensure that it outputs a correct structure, regardless of the spatial distribution of the points in the input.
Accuracy of Regression Equation Prediction Across the Range of Estimated Premorbid IQ

Linear regression is often used to predict psychological criterion variables such as premorbid IQ. The prevailing method of evaluating the accuracy of prediction indicates poor accuracy for both high and low criterion values. These results have led to the conclusion that the equations are not applicable for predicting scores beyond about one standard deviation from the mean. The apparent inaccuracy at the extremes, however, is an artifact of inappropriate analysis. An alternative analysis method is described and used to re-analyze two sets of data. Empirical results show that both high and low WAIS-R IQ scores, predicted using versions of the NART, agree with actual measured IQ scores as accurately as do predicted scores near the mean. In addition, confidence intervals were only 5% larger for more extreme predicted values than for values near the mean, which would be of minor clinical consequence. The practical constraint on prediction of extreme values arises not from the regression technique, but from the limited range of the predictor variable(s). The two reviewed IQ prediction equations would, however, have adequate range for a high percentage of individuals.
FERRARI: Flexible and efficient reachability range assignment for graph indexing

In this paper, we propose a scalable and highly efficient index structure for the reachability problem over graphs. We build on the well-known node interval labeling scheme where the set of vertices reachable from a particular node is compactly encoded as a collection of node identifier ranges. We impose an explicit bound on the size of the index and flexibly assign approximate reachability ranges to nodes of the graph such that the number of index probes to answer a query is minimized. The resulting tunable index structure generates a better range labeling if the space budget is increased, thus providing a direct control over the trade off between index size and the query processing performance. By using a fast recursive querying method in conjunction with our index structure, we show that, in practice, reachability queries can be answered in the order of microseconds on an off-the-shelf computer - even for the case of massive-scale real world graphs. Our claims are supported by an extensive set of experimental results using a multitude of benchmark and real-world web-scale graph datasets.
Dynamic Intrusion Detection with Data Fusion and Aggregation in High-Security Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

Multimodal biometric technology provides potential solutions for continuous user to device authentication in highsecurity mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). This paper studies distributed combined authentication and intrusion detection with data fusion in such MANETs. Multimodal biometrics are deployed to work with improved intrusion detection systems (IIDSs) to alleviate the shortcomings of uni-modal biometric systems. Since each device in the network has measurement and estimation limitations, more than one device needs to be chosen, and observations can be fused to increase observation accuracy using Dempster–Shafer theory for data fusion. The system decides whether user authentication (or IIDS input) is required and which biosensors (or IIDSs) should be chosen, depending on the security posture. The decisions are made in a fully distributed manner by each authentication device and IIDS. Simulation results are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.
Identification of Histone Deacetylase 2 as a Functional Gene for Skeletal Muscle Development in Chickens

A previous genome-wide association study (GWAS) exposed histone deacetylase 2 (HDAC2) as a possible candidate gene for breast muscle weight in chickens. The present research has examined the possible role of HDAC2 in skeletal muscle development in chickens. Gene expression was measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction in breast and thigh muscles during both embryonic (four ages) and post-hatch (five ages) development and in cultures of primary myoblasts during both proliferation and differentiation. The expression of HDAC2 increased significantly across embryonic days (ED) in breast (ED 14, 16, 18, and 21) and thigh (ED 14 and 18, and ED 14 and 21) muscles suggesting that it possibly plays a role in myoblast hyperplasia in both breast and thigh muscles. Transcript abundance of HDAC2 identified significantly higher in fast growing muscle than slow growing in chickens at d 90 of age. Expression of HDAC2 during myoblast proliferation in vitro declined between 24 h and 48 h when expression of the marker gene paired box 7 (PAX7) increased and cell numbers increased throughout 72 h of culture. During induced differentiation of myoblasts to myotubes, the abundance of HDAC2 and the marker gene myogenic differentiation 1 (MYOD1), both increased significantly. Taken together, it is suggested that HDAC2 is most likely involved in a suppressive fashion in myoblast proliferation and may play a positive role in myoblast differentiation. The present results confirm the suggestion that HDAC2 is a functional gene for pre-hatch and post-hatch (fast growing muscle) development of chicken skeletal muscle.
Symmetric capacity of the Gaussian two-way relay channel to within 1/4e [nat]

The problem of reliable communication over the Gaussian two-way relay channel is considered and a new achievable rate region by combining structured lattice- and random Gaussian codes is presented. It is then demonstrated that the new bound can outperform previously known rate regions. In particular, having found the optimal time-sharing and power allocation policies, it is established that the proposed strategy achieves the symmetric capacity to within 1/4e ≈ 0.092 [nat] ≈ 0.133 [bit], which improves on earlier bounds.
Autonomous Terrain Mapping and Classification Using Hidden Markov Models

This paper presents a new approach for terrain mapping and classification using mobile robots with 2D laser range finders. Our algorithm generates 3D terrain maps and classifies navigable and non-navigable regions on those maps using Hidden Markov models. The maps generated by our approach can be used for path planning, navigation, local obstacle avoidance, detection of changes in the terrain, and object recognition. We propose a map segmentation algorithm based on Markov Random Fields, which removes small errors in the classification. In order to validate our algorithms, we present experimental results using two robotic platforms.
Nutrition Education by a Registered Dietitian Improves Dietary Intake and Nutrition Knowledge of a NCAA Female Volleyball Team

Eleven female participants from a NCAA Division I volleyball team were evaluated for adequate energy and macronutrient intake during two off-seasons. Total energy and macronutrient intake were assessed by food records and results were compared against estimated needs using the Nelson equation. Dietary intervention was employed regarding the individual dietary needs of each athlete as well as a pre- and post-sports nutrition knowledge survey. Post dietary intervention, total energy, and macronutrient intake improved, as well as a significant improvement in sports nutrition knowledge (p < 0.001). Nutrition education is useful in improving dietary intake and nutrition knowledge of female athletes.
Mycoplasma pneumoniae: Current Knowledge on Macrolide Resistance and Treatment

Mycoplasma pneumoniae causes community-acquired respiratory tract infections, particularly in school-aged children and young adults. These infections occur both endemically and epidemically worldwide. M. pneumoniae lacks cell wall and is subsequently resistant to beta-lactams and to all antimicrobials targeting the cell wall. This mycoplasma is intrinsically susceptible to macrolides and related antibiotics, to tetracyclines and to fluoroquinolones. Macrolides and related antibiotics are the first-line treatment of M. pneumoniae respiratory tract infections mainly because of their low MIC against the bacteria, their low toxicity and the absence of contraindication in young children. The newer macrolides are now the preferred agents with a 7-to-14 day course of oral clarithromycin or a 5-day course of oral azithromycin for treatment of community-acquired pneumonia due to M. pneumoniae, according to the different guidelines worldwide. However, macrolide resistance has been spreading for 15 years worldwide, with prevalence now ranging between 0 and 15% in Europe and the USA, approximately 30% in Israel and up to 90–100% in Asia. This resistance is associated with point mutations in the peptidyl-transferase loop of the 23S rRNA and leads to high-level resistance to macrolides. Macrolide resistance-associated mutations can be detected using several molecular methods applicable directly from respiratory specimens. Because this resistance has clinical outcomes such as longer duration of fever, cough and hospital stay, alternative antibiotic treatment can be required, including tetracyclines such as doxycycline and minocycline or fluoroquinolones, primarily levofloxacin, during 7–14 days, even though fluoroquinolones and tetracyclines are contraindicated in all children and in children < 8 year-old, respectively. Acquired resistance to tetracyclines and fluoroquinolones has never been reported in M. pneumoniae clinical isolates but reduced susceptibility was reported in in vitro selected mutants. This article focuses on M. pneumoniae antibiotic susceptibility and on the development and the evolution of acquired resistance. Molecular detection of resistant mutants and therapeutic options in case of macrolide resistance will also be assessed.
Prognostic significance of albuminuria for the development of nephropathy

Factors in renal disease: The factors that affect the development of renal disease are the same as those that influence its progression, that is, glycaemic control, blood pressure and albumin excretion rate. Effects of treatment: Many of these factors are modifiable by treatment and their modification appears to delay the evolution of diabetic nephropathy. Of primary importance is the treatment and reduction of albuminuria, microalbuminuria in particular.
Chronic Progressive Multiple Sclerosis – Pathogenesis of Neurodegeneration and Therapeutic Strategies

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory, autoimmune, demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS) that usually starts as a relapsing-remitting disease. In most patients the disease evolves into a chronic progressive phase characterized by continuous accumulation of neurological deficits. While treatment of relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) has improved dramatically over the last decade, the therapeutic options for chronic progressive MS, both primary and secondary, are still limited. In order to find new pharmacological targets for the treatment of chronic progressive MS, the mechanisms of the underlying neurodegenerative process that becomes apparent as the disease progresses need to be elucidated. New animal models with prominent and widespread progressive degenerative components of MS have to be established to study both inflammatory and non-inflammatory mechanisms of neurodegeneration. Here, we discuss disease mechanisms and treatment strategies for chronic progressive MS.