Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Concurrent processing of voice activity detection and noise reduction using empirical mode decomposition and modulation spectrum analysis

Voice activity detection (VAD) is mainly used to detect speech/non-speech periods in observed noisy signals. The detected periods are used to reduce noise components or enhance speech components in noisy speech. However, current VAD techniques have serious problems in that the accuracy of detection of speech/non-speech periods drastically reduces if they are used for noisy speech and/or for mixtures of non-speech such as those in musical and environmental sounds. Thus, VAD needs to be robust to enable speech periods to be accurately detected in these situations. This paper proposes concurrent processing of VAD and noise reduction (NR) using empirical mode decomposition (EMD) and modulation spectrum analysis (MSA) to simultaneously resolve these problems. The proposed method effectively works on reducing stationary background noise by us-ing EMD without estimating SNR (noise conditions), and then on reducing non-stationary noise including non-speech components by using MSA while this is determining speech/non-speech periods by thresholding the noise-reduced speech. Three experiments on VAD/NR in real environments were conducted to evaluate the proposed method by comparing it with typical methods (Otsu’s method, G.729B, and AMR) and our previous methods. The results demonstrated that the proposed method could accurately detect speech/non-speech periods and effectively reduce noise components simultaneously.
Isolation and in silico characterization of cDNA encoding cyclophilin from etiolated Vigna mungo seedlings

A full-length cDNA clone encoding cyclophilin gene of 848 bp, including a 519 bp open reading frame, has been isolated from the cDNA library constructed from etiolated seedlings of Vigna mungo (GenBank FN668732). The cDNA sequence showed 97% identity with Vigna radiata cyclophilin mRNA. The sequence was GC rich and lacked introns. The open reading frame encoded 172 amino acid polypeptide with molecular weight 18.3 kDa and theoretical pI 8.61. BlastP analysis indicated that its putative amino acid sequence shared 100% identity with several plant cyclophilins particularly legumes. The conserved seven amino acid residues region in V. mungo cyclophilin was RSGKPLH (present in legumes) instead of KSGKPLH, indicating its similarity to the cyclophilins of other legumes. This novel V. mungo cyclophilin gene will broaden the pool of plant cyclophilin genes for further studies.
Association of TRAF1, TRAF2, and TRAF3 with an Epstein-Barr virus LMP1 domain important for B-lymphocyte transformation: role in NF-kappaB activation

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) transforming protein LMP1 appears to be a constitutively activated tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) on the basis of an intrinsic ability to aggregate in the plasma membrane and an association of its cytoplasmic carboxyl terminus (CT) with TNFR-associated factors (TRAFs). We now show that in EBV-transformed B lymphocytes most of TRAF1 or TRAF3 and 5% of TRAF2 are associated with LMP1 and that most of LMP1 is associated with TRAF1 or TRAF3. TRAF1, TRAF2, and TRAF3 bind to a single site in the LMP1 CT corresponding to amino acids (aa) 199 to 214, within a domain which is important for B-lymphocyte growth transformation (aa 187 to 231). Further deletional and alanine mutagenesis analyses and comparison with TRAF binding sequences in CD40, in CD30, and in the LMP1 of other lymphycryptoviruses provide the first evidence that PXQXT/S is a core TRAF binding motif. The negative effects of point mutations in the LMP1(1-231) core TRAF binding motif on TRAF binding and NF-kappaB activation genetically link the TRAFs to LMP1(1-231)-mediated NF-kappaB activation. NF-kappaB activation by LMP1(1-231) is likely to be mediated by TRAF1/TRAF2 heteroaggregates since TRAF1 is unique among the TRAFs in coactivating NF-kappaB with LMP1(1-231), a TRAF2 dominant-negative mutant can block LMP1(1-231)-mediated NF-kappaB activation as well as TRAF1 coactivation, and 30% of TRAF2 is associated with TRAF1 in EBV-transformed B cells. TRAF3 is a negative modulator of LMP1(1-231)-mediated NF-kappaB activation. Surprisingly, TRAF1, -2, or -3 does not interact with the terminal LMP1 CT aa 333 to 386 which can independently mediate NF-kappaB activation. The constitutive association of TRAFs with LMP1 through the aa 187 to 231 domain which is important in NF-kappaB activation and primary B-lymphocyte growth transformation implicates TRAF aggregation in LMP1 signaling.
Integrating Quickbird Multi-Spectral Satellite and Field Data: Mapping Bathymetry, Seagrass Cover, Seagrass Species and Change in Moreton Bay, Australia in 2004 and 2007

Shallow coastal ecosystems are the interface between the terrestrial and marine environment. The physical and biological composition and distribution of benthic habitats within these ecosystems determines their contribution to ecosystem services and biodiversity as well as their connections to neighbouring terrestrial and marine ecosystem processes. The capacity to accurately and consistently map and monitor these benthic habitats is critical to developing and implementing management applications. This paper presents a method for integrating field survey data and high spatial resolution, multi-spectral satellite image data to map bathymetry and seagrass in shallow coastal waters. Using Quickbird 2 satellite images from 2004 and 2007, acoustic field survey data were used to map bathymetry using a linear and ratio algorithm method; benthic survey field data were used to calibrate and validate classifications of seagrass percentage cover and seagrass species composition; and a change detection analysis of seagrass cover was performed. The bathymetry mapping showed that only the linear algorithm could effectively and accurately predict water depth; overall benthic map accuracies ranged from 57–95%; and the change detection produced a reliable change map and showed a net decrease in seagrass cover levels, but the majority of the study area showed no change in seagrass cover level. This study demonstrates that multiple spatial products (bathymetry, seagrass and change maps) can be produced from single satellite images and a concurrent field survey dataset. Moreover, the products were produced at higher spatial resolution and accuracy levels than previous studies in Moreton Bay. The methods are developed from previous work in the study area and are continuing to be implemented, as well as being developed to be repeatable in similar shallow coastal water environments.
Mutations in Nature Conferred a High Affinity Phosphatidylinositol 4,5-Bisphosphate-binding Site in Vertebrate Inwardly Rectifying Potassium Channels*

Background: A native Kir channel in a distant relative of vertebrates interacts weakly with PIP2. Results: Mutagenesis restores the vertebrate channel sensitivity to PIP2 in sponge channels. Conclusion: A basic residue in the tether helix of Kir is required for high affinity PIP2 regulation. Significance: Evolution conferred a high affinity interaction of vertebrate Kir channels with PIP2, which is lacking in a distant relative. All vertebrate inwardly rectifying potassium (Kir) channels are activated by phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) (Logothetis, D. E., Petrou, V. I., Zhang, M., Mahajan, R., Meng, X. Y., Adney, S. K., Cui, M., and Baki, L. (2015) Annu. Rev. Physiol. 77, 81–104; Fürst, O. , Mondou, B. , and D'Avanzo, N. (2014) Front. Physiol. 4, 404–404). Structural components of a PIP2-binding site are conserved in vertebrate Kir channels but not in distantly related animals such as sponges and sea anemones. To expand our understanding of the structure-function relationships of PIP2 regulation of Kir channels, we studied AqKir, which was cloned from the marine sponge Amphimedon queenslandica, an animal that represents the phylogenetically oldest metazoans. A requirement for PIP2 in the maintenance of AqKir activity was examined in intact oocytes by activation of a co-expressed voltage-sensing phosphatase, application of wortmannin (at micromolar concentrations), and activation of a co-expressed muscarinic acetylcholine receptor. All three mechanisms to reduce the availability of PIP2 resulted in inhibition of AqKir current. However, time-dependent rundown of AqKir currents in inside-out patches could not be re-activated by direct application to the inside membrane surface of water-soluble dioctanoyl PIP2, and the current was incompletely re-activated by the more hydrophobic arachidonyl stearyl PIP2. When we introduced mutations to AqKir to restore two positive charges within the vertebrate PIP2-binding site, both forms of PIP2 strongly re-activated the mutant sponge channels in inside-out patches. Molecular dynamics simulations validate the additional hydrogen bonding potential of the sponge channel mutants. Thus, nature's mutations conferred a high affinity activation of vertebrate Kir channels by PIP2, and this is a more recent evolutionary development than the structures that explain ion channel selectivity and inward rectification.
Web Intelligence (WI)

The 21st century is the age of the Internet and the World Wide Web. The Web revolutionizes the way we gather, process, and use information. At the same time, it also redefines the meanings and processes of business, commerce, marketing, finance, publishing, education, research, development, as well as other aspects of our daily life. The revolution is just beginning. Although individual Web based information systems are constantly being deployed, advanced issues and techniques for developing and for benefiting from Web intelligence still remain to be systematically studied. The article defines a new research field, namely Web Intelligence (WI) by giving a complete picture of WI related topics for systematic study on advanced Web technology and developing Web based intelligent information systems. Roughly speaking, WI exploits AI and advanced information technology on the Web and Internet. It is the key and the most urgent research field of IT for business intelligence.
Women’s status and domestic violence in rural Bangladesh: Individual- and community-level effects

We explore the determinants of domestic violence in two rural areas of Bangladesh. We found increased education, higher socioeconomic status, non-Muslim religion, and extended family residence to be associated with lower risks of violence. The effects of women’s status on violence was found to be highly context-specific. In the more culturally conservative area, higher individual-level women’s autonomy and short-term membership in savings and credit groups were both associated with significantly elevated risks of violence, and community-level variables were unrelated to violence. In the less culturally conservative area, in contrast, individual-level women’s status indicators were unrelated to the risk of violence, and community-level measures of women’s status were associated with significantly lower risks of violence, presumably by reinforcing nascent normative changes in gender relations.
MATRIARCHAL POPULATION GENETIC STRUCTURE IN AN AVIAN SPECIES WITH FEMALE NATAL PHILOPATRY

We employ mitochondrial (mt) DNA markers to examine the matrilineal component of population genetic structure in the snow goose Chen caerulescens. From banding returns, it is known that females typically nest at their natal or prior nest site, whereas males pair with females on mixed wintering grounds and mediate considerable nuclear gene flow between geographically separate breeding colonies. Despite site philopatry documented for females, mtDNA markers show no clear distinctions between nesting populations across the species' range from Wrangel Island, USSR to Baffin Island in the eastern Canadian Arctic. Two major mtDNA clades (as well as rare haplotypes) are distributed widely and provide one of the few available examples of a phylogeographic pattern in which phylogenetic discontinuity in a gene tree exists without obvious geographic localization within a species' range. The major mtDNA clades may have differentiated in Pleistocene refugia, and colonized current nesting sites through recent range expansion via pulsed or continual low‐level dispersal by females. The contrast between results of banding returns and mtDNA distributions in the snow goose raises general issues regarding population structure: direct contemporary observations on dispersal and gene flow can in some cases convey a misleading impression of phylogeographic population structure, because they fail to access the evolutionary component of population connectedness; conversely, geographic distributions of genetic markers can provide a misleading impression of contemporary dispersal and gene flow because they retain a record of evolutionary events and past demographic parameters that may differ from those of the present. An understanding of population structure requires integration of both evolutionary (genetic) and contemporary (direct observational) perspectives.
Realizing exactly solvable SU(N) magnets with thermal atoms.

We show that n thermal fermionic alkaline-earth-metal atoms in a flat-bottom trap allow one to robustly implement a spin model displaying two symmetries: the S n symmetry that permutes atoms occupying different vibrational levels of the trap and the SU(N) symmetry associated with N nuclear spin states. The symmetries make the model exactly solvable, which, in turn, enables the analytic study of dynamical processes such as spin diffusion in this SU(N) system. We also show how to use this system to generate entangled states that allow for Heisenberg-limited metrology. This highly symmetric spin model should be experimentally realizable even when the vibrational levels are occupied according to a high-temperature thermal or an arbitrary nonthermal distribution.
Bilingual topic taxonomy generation based on bilingual documents clustering

Bilingual taxonomy is one of key components of multilingual Ontology. In this paper, affinity propagation clustering algorithm is used to cluster bilingual documents collection and generate bilingual topic taxonomy. Two bilingual topic taxonomy generation methods, i.e. bilingual documents clustering before or after text feature reconstruction, are described. Dataset in two domains are tested and result shows that: according to net similarity, the result of documents clustering after feature reconstruction is better than that before feature reconstruction.
L’amélioration des performances des systèmes sans fil 5G par groupements adaptatifs des utilisateurs

5G est prevu pour s'attaquer, en plus d'une augmentation considerable du volume de trafic, la tâche de connecter des milliards d'appareils avec des exigences de service heterogenes. Afin de relever les defis de la 5G, nous preconisons une utilisation plus efficace des informations disponibles, avec plus de sensibilisation par rapport aux services et aux utilisateurs, et une expansion de l'intelligence du RAN. En particulier, nous nous concentrons sur deux activateurs cles de la 5G, a savoir le MIMO massif et la mise en cache proactive. Dans le troisieme chapitre, nous nous concentrons sur la problematique de l'acquisition de CSI dans MIMO massif en TDD. Pour ce faire, nous proposons de nouveaux schemas de regroupement spatial tels que, dans chaque groupe, une couverture maximale de la base spatiale du signal avec un chevauchement minimal entre les signatures spatiales des utilisateurs est obtenue. Ce dernier permet d'augmenter la densite de connexion tout en ameliorant l'efficacite spectrale. MIMO massif en TDD est egalement au centre du quatrieme chapitre. Dans ce cas, en se basant sur les differents taux de vieillissement des canaux sans fil, la periodicite d'estimation de CSI est supplementaire. Nous le faisons en proposant un exploite comme un degre de liberte supplementaire. Nous le faisons en proposant une adaptation dynamique de la trame TDD en fonction des temps de coherence des canaux heterogenes. Les stations de bases MIMO massif sont capables d'apprendre la meilleure politique d’estimation sur le uplink pour de longues periodes. Comme les changements de canaux resultent principalement de la mobilite de l'appareil, la connaissance de l'emplacement est egalement incluse dans le processus d'apprentissage. Le probleme de planification qui en a resulte a ete modelise comme un POMDP a deux echelles temporelles et des algorithmes efficaces a faible complexite ont ete fournis pour le resoudre. Le cinquieme chapitre met l'accent sur la mise en cache proactive. Nous nous concentrons sur l'amelioration de l'efficacite energetique des reseaux dotes de mise en cache en exploitant la correlation dans les modeles de trafic en plus de la repartition spatiale des demandes. Nous proposons un cadre qui etablit un compromis optimal entre la complexite et la veracite dans la modelisation du comportement des utilisateurs grâce a la classification adaptative basee sur la popularite du contenu. Il simplifie egalement le probleme du placement de contenu, ce qui se traduit par un cadre d'allocation de contenu rapidement adaptable et econome en energie.
Analysing Urban Community Informatics from a Resilience Perspective

The concept of resilience – the capacity to cope with, adjust to and potentially transform amid change and uncertainty – is of increasing interest and activity within community development. It therefore presents a new lens that may be used to understand and guide community informatics. Yet resilience is a concept that has often been well-understood but poorly-applied or, when applied, has been poorly-understood. The purpose of this paper is therefore to develop a well-conceptualised model of resilience that can be applied in both community informatics research and practice. The model presented here sees communities as systems and resilience as a set of foundational and enabling system sub-properties. It is used as the basis for analysing ICT interventions in urban communities; showing how ICTs largely strengthen community resilience but may also weaken some aspects. The paper demonstrates the viability of the developed resilience model to both understand and evaluate community informatics interventions, and it argues that this provides a broader and deeper understanding of those interventions than other perspectives can offer. Further practical application of the model is, however, required.
ANALYSIS OF MATRIX GLYCOSAMINOGLYCANS (GAGS) IN URINARY STONES BY HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) have been identified as one of the macromolecules present in the stone matrix. Although electrophoresis has been used to analyze the composition of GAGs, this method is laborious and insensitive. The aim of this study was to examine GAG profiles in the stone matrix from 4 types of stones using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). This method has been shown to be rapid, accurate, and highly sensitive. We could isolate and quantitate the amounts of matrix GAGs in various stones. In the calcium and uric acid stones, the predominant GAG component was heparan sulfate (HS) followed by chondroitin 4 sulfate (Ch-4S) or chondroitin 6 sulfate (Ch-6S), respectively. Chondroitin (Chon) and hyaluronic acid (HA) were absent or present in small amounts. In the MAP stones, the predominant GAG component was ChS and Chon, followed by HA. HS was not detected in magnesium ammonium phosphate (MAP) stones. In conclusion, the process of selective inclusion of GAGs into calcium and uric acid stone matrix is more greatly related to binding affinity than to urinary GAG concentration. The GAGs present in MAP stone matrix differed from those in other types of stones which suggests that the inclusion of GAGs into MAP stone matrix is dependent up on the concentration of urinary GAGs.
Sustained inhibition of corneal neovascularization by genetic ablation of CCR5.

PURPOSE To determine whether genetic ablation of the CC chemokine receptor CCR5 (involved in leukocyte and endothelial chemotaxis) inhibits the development of corneal neovascularization. METHODS Wild-type C57BL/6J mice and species-specific counterparts with targeted homozygous disruption of the CCR5 gene underwent chemical and mechanical denudation of corneal and limbal epithelium. Corneas were harvested 2 and 4 weeks after injury. Neovascularization was quantified by CD31 immunostaining. Expression of VEGF protein was quantified by ELISA. RESULTS The mean percentages of neovascularized corneal area in control mice and CCR5-deficient mice 2 weeks after denudation were 58.3% and 38.5% (P = 0.05), respectively. At 4 weeks after denudation, the corresponding percentages were 67.6% and 44.0% (P = 0.028). In CCR5-deficient mice, VEGF protein levels were reduced 51.1% at 2 weeks (P = 0.05) after injury and 37.3% at 4 weeks (P = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS CCR5-deficient mice showed a persistent 34% to 35% inhibition of corneal neovascularization for up to 4 weeks. This inhibition correlates with reduced expression of VEGF. These data implicate CCR5 as one essential component in the development of corneal neovascularization.
Progress in Verification of Skillfully Simulated Handwritten Signatures

This paper compares the performances of parametric and reference pattern based features (RPBFs) in the verification of skillfully simulated handwritten signatures. The comparison shows that RPBFs significantly improve results and give about 90% correct verification using only shape features. The performance of the used shape features is independent of the signature shape, language and position in the document. The careful analysis of the experimental results of using RPBFs in verification has led to the conclusion that two-dimensional RPBFs will give much better performance.
Relationship Between Migraine and Patent Foramen Ovale: A Study of 121 Patients with Migraine

Background. —Migraine is a common neurological disorder, the origins of which remain unknown. Patent foramen ovale (PFO) is considered to have a role in migraine. The relationship between migraine and patent foramen ovale may be stronger in patients suffering from migraine with aura compared to patients with common migraine.
Discoloration and Mineralization of Non-biodegradable Azo Dye Orange II by Copper-doped TiO2 Nanocatalysts

Abstract Copper-doped TiO2 nanocatalysts were synthesized by photo-deposition and sol–gel methods. The nanocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and the BET method. The catalysts’ activities in the discoloration and mineralization of 0.2 mM Orange II were evaluated. The results indicated that the Cu-doped TiO2 nanocatalysts with a low copper concentration prepared by the photo-deposition method showed enhanced photocatalytic activity; while catalysts synthesized by the sol–gel method did not. In particular, the TiO2 nanocatalyst doped with 1% Cu showed the best performance. Complete color removal and 99% of total organic carbon (TOC) removal were achieved after 150-min of reaction. TiO2 nanocatalysts doped with more than 1% Cu by the photo-deposition method showed decreased photocatalytic activities.