Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Speaker-specific processing of anomalous utterances

Existing work shows that readers often interpret grammatical errors (e.g., The key to the cabinets *were shiny) and sentence-level blends (“without-blend”: Claudia left without her headphones *off) in a non-literal fashion, inferring that a more frequent or more canonical utterance was intended instead. This work examines how interlocutor identity affects the processing and interpretation of anomalous sentences. We presented anomalies in the context of “emails” attributed to various writers in a self-paced reading paradigm and used comprehension questions to probe how sentence interpretation changed based upon properties of the item and properties of the “speaker. ” Experiment 1 compared standardised American English speakers to L2 English speakers; Experiment 2 compared the same standardised English speakers to speakers of a non-Standardised American English dialect. Agreement errors and without-blends both led to more non-literal responses than comparable canonical items. For agreement errors, more non-literal interpretations also occurred when sentences were attributed to speakers of Standardised American English than either non-Standardised group. These data suggest that understanding sentences relies on expectations and heuristics about which utterances are likely. These are based upon experience with language, with speaker-specific differences, and upon more general cognitive biases.
Multiple Origin but Single Domestication Led to Oryza sativa

The domestication scenario that led to Asian rice (Oryza sativa) is a contentious topic. Here, we have reanalyzed a previously published large-scale wild and domesticated rice data set, which was also analyzed by two studies but resulted in two contrasting domestication models. We suggest that the analysis of false-positive selective sweep regions and phylogenetic analysis of concatenated genomic regions may have been the sources that contributed to the different results. In the end, our result indicates that Asian rice originated from multiple wild progenitor subpopulations; however, de novo domestication appears to have occurred only once and the domestication alleles were transferred between rice subpopulations through introgression.
Pulmonary Vascular Dysfunction and Cor Pulmonale During Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in Sicklers

Background: Acute chest syndrome (ACS) is the most common cause of death among sickle cell disease (SCD) adult patients. Pulmonary vascular dysfunction (PVD) and acute cor pulmonale (ACP) are common during acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and their prevalence may be even more important during ARDS related to ACS (ACS-ARDS). The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and prognosis of PVD and ACP during ACS-ARDS. Patients and Methods: This was a retrospective analysis over a 10-year period of patients with moderate-to-severe ARDS. PVD and ACP were assessed by echocardiography. ARDS episodes were assigned to ACS-ARDS or nonACS-ARDS group according to whether the clinical insult was ACS or not, respectively. To evaluate independent factors associated with ACP, significant univariable risk factors were examined using logistic regression and propensity score analyses. Results: A total of 362 patients were analyzed, including 24 ACS-ARDS. PVD and ACP were identified, respectively, in 24 (100%) and 20 (83%) ACS-ARDS patients, as compared with 204 (60%) and 68 (20%) nonACS-ARDS patients (P < 0.0001). The mortality did not differ between ACS-ARDS and nonACS-ARDS patients. Both the crude (odds ratio [OR], 19.9; 95% confidence interval [CI], 6.6–60; P < 0.0001), multivariable adjustment (OR, 27.4; 95% CI, 8.2–91.5; P < 0.001), and propensity-matched (OR, 11.7; 95% CI, 1.2–110.8; P = 0.03) analyses found a significant association between ACS-ARDS and ACP. Conclusions: All SCD patients presenting with moderate-to-severe ARDS as a consequence of ACS experienced PVD and more than 80% of them exhibited ACP. These results suggest a predominant role for PVD in the pathogenesis of severe forms of ACS.
Preseason Strength Assessment of the Rotator Muscles and Shoulder Injury in Handball Players.

CONTEXT Few researchers have identified intrinsic risk factors for shoulder injury in team handball players by analyzing measurements of maximal isokinetic rotator muscle strength. OBJECTIVE To identify possible intrinsic risk factors for shoulder injury by analyzing measurements of maximal isokinetic rotator muscle strength. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. SETTING Male team handball senior divisions (the highest level) in France and Belgium. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS A total of 108 male high-level handball players (age = 24 ± 4 years, height = 189 ± 6 cm, mass = 87 ± 11 kg) were enrolled. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) All players completed a preseason questionnaire and performed a bilateral isokinetic assessment of the shoulder rotator muscles. On a monthly questionnaire, players reported any shoulder injury that they sustained during the season. RESULTS On the preseason questionnaire, 51 of 108 (47%) participants reported a history of dominant-shoulder injury. A total of 106 participants completed the in-season questionnaire, with 22% (n = 23) reporting a shoulder injury on their dominant side during the subsequent season. Fourteen percent (n = 15) sustained microtraumatic injuries, and 8% (n = 8) described a traumatic injury. Backcourt players had a 3.5-times increased risk of injury during the new season compared with players in other positions. Among the isokinetic results, no risk factor for further injury was identified in handball players with microtraumatic injuries. For traumatic injuries, the concentric maximal strength developed by the internal rotators at high speed (240°/s) in the dominant shoulder was a protective factor against the risk of further injury. CONCLUSIONS These results can potentially identify intrinsic risk factors for shoulder injury and may be used to determine potential interventions for reducing this risk in handball players.
Effects of phosphorus on stress of multi-stacked polysilicon film and single crystalline silicon

In multi-stacked polysilicon films, the stress was examined in terms of dopant distribution and the polysilicon/polysilicon interface at which phosphorus and oxygen atoms were piled up. The phosphorus dopant introduced the compressive stress in the films. The thin oxidized layer formed at the interface was an important factor governing the stress gradient in the multi-stacked film. This interface effect could be minimized using symmetrical stacking of polysilicon films and resulted in a low stress gradient of -0.15 MPa µm-1 for a 5.3 µm thick polysilicon layer. In single crystalline silicon, the phosphorus dopant induced the tensile stress. The lattice dilation coefficient of 4.5 × 10-24 cm3 for phosphorus was measured using a high-resolution x-ray rocking curve. A stress model was introduced on the basis of the lattice dilation theory to calculate the stress and stress gradient induced by the dopant.
Developing a functional prototype master patient index (MPI) for interoperability of e-health systems in Sri Lanka

Introduction: A Master Patient Index(MPI) is a centralized index of all patients in a healthcare system. This index is composed of a unique identifier for each patient link to his/her demographic data and clinical encounters. A MPI is essential to ensure data interoperability in the different healthcare institution. The The health ministry of Sri Lanka planning to develop MPI for the country. This project focused on developing the prototype MPI for Sri Lanka with the view to implementing and scaling up at the national level. Methods: This project consisted of 3 phases. Phase 1: requirement analysis using focus group discussions (FGD) with information system users. Phase 2: identification of the suitable Application Programming interface (API) model. Phase 3: development of the prototype MPI. Results: FGD were conducted in 6 hospitals. There were 78 interviewers (Male -36, and female - 42). They highlighted the key requirements for the MPI. Which were the unique identification method and different searching criteria and merging records to avoid duplication. Using this information, the requirements specification for MPI was developed. A combination of monolithic and microservices architecture was selected to develop the MPI. The API using the Personal Health Number (PHN) as the unique patient identifier and HL7 standard was developed and implemented. Conclusions: Development and implementation of a MPI has facilitated the long due need for interoperability among health information systems in Sri Lankan. KEYWORDS MPI, Interoperability, Unique Identifier, PHN, API
Segmentation of brain MR images using an adaptively regularized kernel FCM algorithm with spatial constraints

FCM algorithm is a popular algorithm for medical image segmentation. The precise process of segmenting brain tissue images becomes more challenging in the presence of noise and other image artifacts. An improved adaptively regularized kernel FCM method is proposed in this paper. The spatial constraint function of membership is introduced to enhance clustering by adjusting the degree of influence between pixels and clustering centers. Experimental results on the brain images with different types and levels of noises demonstrate that the improved algorithm increases the accuracy of segmentation compared with the other soft clustering algorithms.
Development of motion capture system using multiple depth sensors

The motion capture technology is used in various scenes. Several types of motion capturing systems (e.g., optical, inertial, magnetic) have been developed so far. These motion capture methods can get high precision motion capture data, but they need to attach markers or sensors on a human body. It may disturb the measurement of natural motion. There are marker less motion capture methods with RGB or depth image sensor, such as Microsoft Kinect. However, these methods cannot measure the motion in occlusion regions of sensor. In this paper, we propose the motion capture system using multiple depth sensors. At first, multiple depth data from the depth sensors are transformed into multiple point clouds, and they are combined into a combined point cloud. Then, the system computes skeleton lines from the combined point cloud by using the Reeb graph. Finally, the system estimates the joint positions from the skeleton lines according to the joint structure of the human. Through an experiment, this method can estimate accurate joint position when the object is standing with large angle to the sensor.
Tetraspecific scFv construct provides NK cell mediated ADCC and self-sustaining stimuli via insertion of IL-15 as a cross-linker

Background The design of a highly effective anti-cancer immune-engager would include targeting of highly drug refractory cancer stem cells (CSC). The design would promote effective antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) and simultaneously promote costimulation to expand and self-sustain the effector NK cell population. Based on our bispecific NK cell engager platform we constructed a tetraspecific killer engager (TetraKE) comprising single-chain variable fragments (scFvs) binding FcγRIII (CD16) on NK cells, EpCAM on carcinoma cells and CD133 on cancer stem cells in order to promote ADCC. Furthermore, an Interleukin (IL)-15-crosslinker enhanced NK cell related proliferation resulting in a highly active drug termed 1615EpCAM133. Results Proliferation assays showed TetraKE promoted proliferation and enhanced NK cell survival. Drug-target binding, NK cell related degranulation, and IFN-γ production was specific for both tumor related antigens in EpCAM and CD133 bearing cancer cell lines. The TetraKE showed higher killing activity and superior dose dependent degranulation. Cytokine profiling showed a moderately enhanced IFN-γ production, enhanced GM-CSF production, but no evidence of induction of excessive cytokine release. Methods Assembly and synthesis of hybrid genes encoding the TetraKE were performed using DNA shuffling and ligation. The TetraKE was tested for efficacy, specificity, proliferation, survival, and cytokine production using carcinoma cell lines and functional assays measuring NK cell activity. Conclusion 1615EpCAM133 combines improved induction of ADCC with enhanced proliferation, limited cytokine response, and prolonged survival and proliferation of NK cells. By linking scFv-related targeting of carcinoma and CSCs with a sustaining IL-15 signal, our new construct shows great promise to target cancer and CSCs.
LeadOp+R: Structure-Based Lead Optimization With Synthetic Accessibility

We previously described a structure-based fragment hopping for lead optimization using a pre-docked fragment database, “LeadOp,” that conceptually replaced “bad” fragments of a ligand with “good” fragments while leaving the core of the ligand intact thus improving the compound's activity. LeadOp was proven to optimize the query molecules and systematically developed improved analogs for each of our example systems. However, even with the fragment-based design from common building blocks, it is still a challenge for synthesis. In this work, “LeadOp+R” was developed based on 198 classical chemical reactions to consider the synthetic accessibility while optimizing leads. LeadOp+R first allows user to identify a preserved space defined by the volume occupied by a fragment of the query molecule to be preserved. Then LeadOp+R searches for building blocks with the same preserved space as initial reactants and grows molecules toward the preferred receptor-ligand interactions according to reaction rules from reaction database in LeadOp+R. Multiple conformers of each intermediate product were considered and evaluated at each step. The conformer with the best group efficiency score would be selected as the initial conformer of the next building block until the program finished optimization for all selected receptor-ligand interactions. The LeadOp+R method was tested with two biomolecular systems: Tie-2 kinase and human 5-lipoxygenase. The LeadOp+R methodology was able to optimize the query molecules and systematically developed improved analogs for each of our example systems. The suggested synthetic routes for compounds proposed by LeadOp+R were the same as the published synthetic routes devised by the synthetic/organic chemists.
A PKM generated by calpain cleavage of a classical PKC is required for activity-dependent intermediate-term facilitation in the presynaptic sensory neuron of Aplysia

Atypical PKM, a persistently active form of atypical PKC, is proposed to be a molecular memory trace, but there have been few examinations of the role of PKMs generated from other PKCs. We demonstrate that inhibitors used to inhibit PKMs generated from atypical PKCs are also effective inhibitors of other PKMs. In contrast, we demonstrate that dominant-negative PKMs show isoform-specificity. A dominant-negative PKM from the classical PKC Apl I blocks activity-dependent intermediate-term facilitation (a-ITF) when expressed in the sensory neuron, while a dominant-negative PKM from the atypical PKC Apl III does not. Consistent with a specific role for PKM Apl I in activity-dependent facilitation, live imaging FRET-based cleavage assays reveal that activity leads to cleavage of the classical PKC Apl I, but not the atypical PKC Apl III in the sensory neuron varicosities of Aplysia. In contrast, massed intermediate facilitation (m-ITF) induced by 10 min of 5HT is sufficient for cleavage of the atypical PKC Apl III in the motor neuron. Interestingly, both cleavage of PKC Apl I in the sensory neuron during a-ITF and cleavage of PKC Apl III in the motor neuron during m-ITF are inhibited by a dominant-negative form of a penta-EF hand containing classical calpain cloned from Aplysia. Consistent with a role for PKMs in plasticity, this dominant-negative calpain also blocks both a-ITF when expressed in the sensory neuron and m-ITF when expressed in the motor neuron. This study broadens the role of PKMs in synaptic plasticity in two significant ways: (i) PKMs generated from multiple isoforms of PKC, including classical isoforms, maintain memory traces; (ii) PKMs play roles in the presynaptic neuron.
Feature matching using sequential evaluation on sample consensus

Consensus evaluation is one of the key issues in vision based feature matching. To improve both efficiency and accuracy of local feature matching, we proposed a Sequential Evaluation on Sample Consensus (SESAC). The addressed approach first sorts the matching pairs in terms of the similarity of the corresponding features, then it sequentially selects the samples, and uses the least squares method to fit the model, by which to reject the outlier points and update the optimal solution. The experimental results demonstrate that compared with the classic PROSAC and RANSAC algorithm, SESAC algorithm can achieve similar accuracy, whereas reduce the running time greatly.
Comparative Performance of Deep Learning and Machine Learning Algorithms on Imbalanced Handwritten Data

Imbalanced data is one of the challenges in a classification task in machine learning. Data disparity produces a biased output of a model regardless how recent the technology is. However, deep learning algorithms, such as deep belief networks showed promising results in many domains, especially in image processing. Therefore, in this paper, we will review the effect of imbalanced data disparity in classes using deep belief networks as the benchmark model and compare it with conventional machine learning algorithms, such as backpropagation neural networks, decision trees, naive Bayes and support vector machine with MNIST handwritten dataset. The experiment shows that although the algorithm is stable and suitable for multiple domains, the imbalanced data distribution still manages to affect the outcome of the conventional machine learning algorithms.
S100A4 Protects Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells from Intrinsic Apoptosis via TLR4–ERK1/2 Signaling

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) often expand during cancer or chronic inflammation and dampen immune responses. However, mechanisms underlying their capacity to escape intrinsic apoptosis in the inflammatory environment are still largely unknown. In this study, we investigated this in mouse tumor models with MDSC accumulation. Spontaneous rejection of tumors implanted into mice deficient for the small Ca2+-binding protein S100A4 (S100A4−/−) was accompanied by low numbers of peripheral MDSCs. This was independent of S100A4 expression on tumor cells. In contrast, MDSCs from S100A4−/− tumor-bearing mice showed a diminished resistance to the induction of intrinsic apoptosis. Further studies demonstrated that S100A4 protects MDSCs from apoptosis through toll-like receptor-4/extracellular signal-regulated kinase-dependent caspase-9 inhibition. The finding that S100A4 is critical for MDSC survival in inflammatory environments might have important implications for the clinical treatment of cancer or inflammation-related diseases.
Conservative and dietary interventions for cancer‐related lymphedema

The findings support the use of compression garments and compression bandaging for reducing lymphedema volume in upper and lower extremity cancer‐related lymphedema. Specific to breast cancer, a statistically significant, clinically small beneficial effect was found from the addition of manual lymph drainage massage to compression therapy for upper extremity lymphedema volume. Cancer 2011. © 2010 American Cancer Society.
Circularly Polarized Implantable Antenna for 915 MHz ISM-Band Far-Field Wireless Power Transmission

A wireless power link with circular polarization is studied in this letter for far-field wireless power transmission. First, a miniaturized circularly polarized (CP) implantable antenna is designed at 915 ISM band. The proposed antenna features a good miniaturization with the dimensions of 11 × 11 × 1.27 mm3 by employing the stub loading and capacitive coupling among the stubs. It has the smallest size and maintains good radiation performance, compared with previous CP implantable antennas. The simulated impedance bandwidth covers from 889 to 924 MHz for |S11| less than −10 dB, and the axial-ratio (AR) bandwidth (AR < 3 dB) is from 901 to 912 MHz. The results show that the antenna is suitable for far-field wireless power transmission. The proposed wireless power link achieves higher converted dc power compared to previous similar letter.
Using Machine Learning Gradient Boosting to model commercial activities

As urban population grow, commercial activities play a fundamental role in providing goods, services and are part of cities fabric. Policy makers and urban planners need new tools to study these areas. This paper describes how machine learning can be applied to predict the density of commercial activities in cities. A supervised machine learning method called Gradient Boosting was applied to a group of spatial data sets. These were used to fit a model, allowing to analyse their combined interactions and predict commercial activities in London at 1 km 2 grid level for 2010 and 2030. The spatial resolution allowed comparing current and future trends. This type of activity is expected to lower closest to the city centre while increasing in further distant areas. Machine Learning has a great potential as a planning tool and the methodology presented in this paper could be further expanded to other cities.
Removal of High and Low Levels of Ammonium from Industrial Wastewaters

iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v TABLE OF CONTENTS vi LIST OF FIGURES vii LIST OF TABLES viii LIST OF ACRONYMS ix CHAPTER 1 – PROBLEM STATEMENT 1 CHAPTER 2STATE OF THE KNOWLEDGE: AMMONIA AND TECHNOLOGIES TO REMOVE AMMONIA FROM WATERS 4 CHAPTER 3AMMONIUM REMOVAL FROM MINE WASTEWATER WITH ZEOLITE AND ION-EXCHANGE RESINS 37 CHAPTER 4 – TREATMENT OF AMMONIA IN SULFIDIC CAUSTIC SOLUTIONS FROM SPENT OIL REFINING USING CHLORAMINATION 60 REFERENCES 71 CURRICULUM VITAE 81
The Repetitive Thinking Questionnaire : Psychometric properties in Iraninan Students , and Relationship with depression , Anxiety and Social Anxiety

Repetitive Thinking (RT) defined as the Process of thinkig attentively , repetitively or frequently about one s self and one s world . (segerstorm et al.2003) . Various form of Repetitive Negative Thinking (RNT) such as worry , rumination and post event processing have been assessed using seprated , but RT would facilitate assesstion of RNT measures. The aims of this study : 1) The factor structure and internal reliability of Repetitive Thinking Questionnaire ( Peter M.McEvoy et.al 2010). The questionnaire completed with undergraduate and MSc. students (N=321) . Exploratory factor analysis yielded two factors labeled Repetitive Negative Thinking (RNT) and Absence of Repetitive Thinking (ART). 2)The examined Relationship between RTQ and depression, that was significantly correlated with depression. (N=114). 3) The examined Relationship between RTQ and Anxiety, that was significantly correlated with Anxiety . (N=114) Keyword : repetitive thinking , depression, anxiety , worry, rumination, post event processing.
A pointwise estimate for the local sharp maximal function with applications to singular integrals

Following the ideas of Carleson, Garnett–Jones and Fujii, we obtain a decomposition of an arbitrary measurable function f in terms of local mean oscillations. As a main application, in the case p > n we prove a conjecture by Cruz‐Uribe and Pérez about two‐weight norm inequalities for singular integrals. Also we extend an inequality, due to the author, relating f and the local sharp maximal function Mλ#f . This allows us to get new estimates involving singular integrals and maximal functions.