Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neural networks for distant speech recognition

Distant conversational speech recognition is challenging owing to the presence of multiple, overlapping talkers, additional non-speech acoustic sources, and the effects of reverberation. In this paper we review work on distant speech recognition, with an emphasis on approaches which combine multichannel signal processing with acoustic modelling, and investigate the use of hybrid neural network / hidden Markov model acoustic models for distant speech recognition of meetings recorded using microphone arrays. In particular we investigate the use of convolutional and fully-connected neural networks with different activation functions (sigmoid, rectified linear, and maxout). We performed experiments on the AMI and ICSI meeting corpora, with results indicating that neural network models are capable of significant improvements in accuracy compared with discriminatively trained Gaussian mixture models.
The capacity of the semi-deterministic cognitive interference channel with a common cognitive message and approximate capacity for the Gaussian case

In this paper we study the cognitive interference channel with a common message, a variation of the classical cognitive interference channel in which the cognitive message is decoded at both receivers. We derive the capacity for the semi-deterministic model, a class of channels in which the output at the cognitive decoder is a deterministic function of the channel inputs. We also show capacity to within a constant gap and a constant factor for the Gaussian channel. Most of these results are shown using an interesting transmission scheme in which the cognitive message, decoded at both receivers, is also pre-coded against the interference experienced at the cognitive receiver. The pre-coding of the cognitive message does not allow the primary decoder to reconstruct the interfering signal; the cognitive message acts instead as a side information at the primary receiver when decoding its intended message.
Recovering metabolic pathways via optimization

A metabolic pathway is a coherent set of enzyme catalysed biochemical reactions by which a living organism transforms an initial (source) compound into a final (target) compound. Some of the different metabolic pathways adopted within organisms have been experimentally determined. In this paper, we show that a number of experimentally determined metabolic pathways can be recovered by a mathematical optimization model.
CANNABINOID RECEPTOR MODULATES MDMA ACUTE RESPONSES AND REINFORCEMENT Abbreviated title : CB 1 receptor and MDMA reward

Corresponding author: Olga Valverde MD PhD Grup de Recerca de Neurobiologia del Comportament Departament de Ciències Experimentals I de la Salut Universitat Pompeu Fabra C/ Dr. Aiguader, 88 08003 Barcelona, Spain tel: 34 93 3160867 fax: 34 93 3160901 olga.valverde@upf.edu Number of figures: 7 Number of tables: 3 Number of pages: 25 Number of words in the abstract: 190 Number of words in the text: 4110
Incorporating ontology-driven similarity knowledge into functional genomics: an exploratory study

This research explores the feasibility of semantic similarity approaches to supporting predictive tasks in functional genomics. It aims to establish potential relationships between ontology-based similarity of gene products and important functional properties, such as gene expression correlation. Similarity measures based on the information content of the gene ontology (GO) were analyzed. Models have been implemented using data obtained from well-known studies in S. cerevisiae. Results suggest that there may exist significant relationships between gene expression correlation and semantic similarity. Analyses of protein complex data show that, in general, there is a significant correlation between the semantic similarity exhibited by a pair of genes and the probability of finding them in the same complex. These results can also be interpreted as an assessment of the quality and consistency of the information represented in the GO.
Serum Inflammatory Cytokine Levels Correlate with Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease Severity: A Nested Serial Case-Control Study

Background Hand-food-mouth disease (HFMD) cases can be fatal. These cases develop rapidly, and it is important to predict the severity of HFMD from mild to fatal and to identify risk factors for mild HFMD. The objective of this study was to correlate the levels of serum inflammatory cytokines with HFMD severity. Methods This study was designed as a nested serial case-control study. The data collected included general information, clinical symptoms and signs, laboratory findings and serum cytokine levels. Results The levels of IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α and IFN-γ in patients with severe HFMD were significantly higher than in mild patients during the 2nd to 5th day after disease onset. The levels of IL-4, IL-6, IL-10 and IFN-γ increased from the 2nd day to the 4th day and later decreased. The levels of TNF-α were high on the first two days and subsequently decreased. The changes of IL-10, TNF-α and IFN-γ in the controls were similar for all cases. The levels of IL-4, IL-6 and IL-17 in the controls were not significantly different with the progression of HFMD. Conclusions Our findings indicate that the IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α and IFN-γ levels correlate with HFMD severity.
New algorithms for gate sizing: a comparative study

Gate sizing consists of choosing for each node of a mapped network a gate implementation in the library so that some cost function is optimized under some constraints. It has a significant impact on the delay, power dissipation, and area, of the final circuit. This paper compares five gate sizing algorithms targeting discrete, non-linear, non-unimodal, constrained optimization. The goal is to overcome the non-linearity and non-unimodality of the delay and the power to achieve good quality results within a reasonable CPU time, e.g., handling a 10000 node network in two hours. We compare the five algorithms on constraint free delay optimization and delay constrained power optimization, and show that one method is superior to the others.
Gap Filling of 3-D Microvascular Networks by Tensor Voting

We present a new algorithm which merges discontinuities in 3-D images of tubular structures presenting undesirable gaps. The application of the proposed method is mainly associated to large 3-D images of microvascular networks. In order to recover the real network topology, we need to fill the gaps between the closest discontinuous vessels. The algorithm presented in this paper aims at achieving this goal. This algorithm is based on the skeletonization of the segmented network followed by a tensor voting method. It permits to merge the most common kinds of discontinuities found in microvascular networks. It is robust, easy to use, and relatively fast. The microvascular network images were obtained using synchrotron tomography imaging at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility. These images exhibit samples of intracortical networks. Representative results are illustrated.
Computing TCP's Retransmission Timer

This document defines the standard algorithm that Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) senders are required to use to compute and manage their retransmission timer. It expands on the discussion in section 4.2. 3.1 of RFC 1122 and upgrades the requirement of supporting the algorithm from a SHOULD to a MUST.
Incorporation of photo-controllable molecules in tunable DNA dye laser system

An azo dye DR1 was incorporated into DNA complex (DNA-CTMA) films as a guest dispersed in the host or as a copolymer (pDR1) side chain blended with the complex. Although the guest did not show photo-isomerization response, DR1 side chain in the blend showed photo-induced birefringence and photo-induced transparency under the excitation at 532 nm. Several cationic dyes were incorporated into pDR1/DNA-CTMA films with immersion method. Rhodamine 640 perchlorate showed amplified spontaneous emission with the excitation above 10mJ/cm2 by a pulsed laser of 532 nm.
Adaptive Software Architecture Based on Confident HCI for the Deployment of Sensitive Services in Smart Homes

Smart spaces foster the development of natural and appropriate forms of human-computer interaction by taking advantage of home customization. The interaction potential of the Smart Home, which is a special type of smart space, is of particular interest in fields in which the acceptance of new technologies is limited and restrictive. The integration of smart home design patterns with sensitive solutions can increase user acceptance. In this paper, we present the main challenges that have been identified in the literature for the successful deployment of sensitive services (e.g., telemedicine and assistive services) in smart spaces and a software architecture that models the functionalities of a Smart Home platform that are required to maintain and support such sensitive services. This architecture emphasizes user interaction as a key concept to facilitate the acceptance of sensitive services by end-users and utilizes activity theory to support its innovative design. The application of activity theory to the architecture eases the handling of novel concepts, such as understanding of the system by patients at home or the affordability of assistive services. Finally, we provide a proof-of-concept implementation of the architecture and compare the results with other architectures from the literature.
Impact Case Study : Guaranteed Performance on Controller Area Network ( CAN )

Controller Area Network (CAN) is a digital communications bus used by the automotive industry for invehicle networks. Research from the Real-Time Systems Group at the University of York introduced techniques that enable CAN to operate under high loads (approx. 80% utilisation) while ensuring that all messages meet their deadlines. The research led directly to the development of commercial products, now called Volcano Network Architect (VNA) and the Volcano Target Package (VTP). This Volcano technology (VNA and VTP) is now owned by Mentor Graphics. In recent years, VNA has been used to configure CAN communications for all Volvo production cars, with VTP used in the majority of Electronic Control Units (ECUs) in these vehicles, including the S40, S60, S80, V50, V70, XC60, XC70, XC90, C30, and C70; total production volume 330,000 to 450,000 vehicles per year. This Volcano technology is also used by Jaguar, LandRover, Aston Martin, Mazda, and the Chinese automotive company SAIC. It is used by the world’s leading automotive suppliers, including Bosch and Visteon. It is also used by Airbus.
Changing role of imaging-guided percutaneous biopsy of adrenal masses: evaluation of 50 adrenal biopsies.

OBJECTIVE Prior series of percutaneous imaging-guided biopsies of adrenal masses before the advent of dedicated CT and MRI of the adrenal glands have shown that 40-57% of adrenal masses biopsied were adenomas-benign lesions requiring no further evaluation or treatment. This study was performed to assess the effect of dedicated adrenal imaging with CT and MRI on the rate of percutaneous imaging-guided biopsies of adrenal masses. MATERIALS AND METHODS We reviewed 50 consecutive adrenal mass biopsies performed during a 48-month period. The patient demographics, technique of biopsy, pathology results, and results of any prior dedicated adrenal imaging with MRI or CT protocols were noted. RESULTS Only six (12%) of 50 biopsies were adenomas. Five of these six cases were preceded by dedicated adrenal CT or MRI. Thirty-five cases were metastatic disease, four were adrenal cortical carcinoma, three were pheochromocytoma, and two biopsies were nondiagnostic. Overall, 20 of 50 cases were preceded by a dedicated adrenal CT or MRI examination to exclude an adenoma; in 21 of the remaining 30 cases, the imaging characteristics before biopsy were inconsistent with the potential diagnosis of an adenoma and dedicated adrenal CT or MRI was not recommended. CONCLUSION The number of adrenal adenomas biopsied has declined markedly with the introduction of dedicated adrenal CT and MRI for adrenal adenomas. Percutaneous imaging-guided biopsy is useful in confirming the presence and nature of suspected metastatic deposits to the adrenal gland and in diagnosing or excluding adrenal adenomas in patients with equivocal imaging characteristics.
An Algorithm for Disk Space Management to Minimize Seeks

The past decade has witnessed a proliferation of reposito ries whose workload consists of queries that retrieve information These repositories provide on line access to vast amount of data and serve as an integral component of many applications e g library information systems scienti c applications and the entertainment industry Their storage subsystems are expected to be hierarchical consisting of mem ory magnetic disk drives optical disk drives and tape libraries The database itself resides permanently on the tape Files are staged and selectively cached on either the magnetic or optical disk drives and later deleted when the available space of a device is exhausted This behav ior will generally cause fragmentation of the disk space over a period of time resulting in a non contiguous layout of disk resident les As a consequence the disk is required to reposition its read head multiple times incurring seek operations whenever a resident le is retrieved in a sequential manner thus reducing the overall performance of the system This brief study describes an algorithm to manage the storage and placement of les cached on mechanical devices It acts in an online manner to maintain a dynamically changing working set of disk resident les while guaranteeing both maximum utilization of disk space and a maximum of dlg ne seeks for the continuous retrieval of each disk resident le of n blocks We present two variants of this algorithm which explore tradeo s in reorganization overhead and main memory utilization
Comparison of 99mTc-Tetrofosmin and 99mTc-Sestamibi Uptake in Glioma Cell Lines: The Role of P-Glycoprotein Expression

99mTc-Tetrofosmin (99mTc-TF) and 99mTc-Sestamibi (99mTc-MIBI) are SPECT tracers that have been used for brain tumor imaging. Tumor's multidrug resistance phenotype, namely, P-glycoprotein (p-gp), and the multidrug resistance related proteins (MRPs) expression have been suggested to influence both tracers' uptake. In the present study we set out to compare 99mTc-TF and 99mTc-MIBI uptake in high-grade glioma cell lines and to investigate the influence of gliomas p-gp expression on both tracers' uptake. We used four glioma cell lines (U251MG, A172, U87MG, and T98G). The expression of p-gp protein was evaluated by flow cytometry. Twenty μCi (7.4·105 Bq) of 99mTc-TF and 99mTc-MIBI were used. The radioactivity in the cellular lysate was measured with a dose calibrator. P-gp was significantly expressed only in the U251MG cell line (P < 0.001). In all gliomas cell lines (U251MG, U87MG, A172, and T98G) the 99mTc-TF uptake was significantly higher than 99mTc-sestamibi. The U251MG cell line, in which significant p-gp expression was documented, exhibited the strongest uptake difference. 99mTc-TF uptake was higher than 99mTc-MIBI in all studied high-grade glioma cell lines. Thus, 99mTc-TF may be superior to 99mTc-MIBI for glioma imaging in vivo.
Making Lexical Ontologies Functional and Context-Sensitive

Human categorization is neither a binary nor a context-free process. Rather, some concepts are better examples of a category than others, while the criteria for category membership may be satisfied to different degrees by different concepts in different contexts. In light of these empirical facts, WordNet’s static category structure appears both excessively rigid and unduly fragile for processing real texts. In this paper we describe a syntagmatic, corpus-based approach to redefining WordNet’s categories in a functional, gradable and context-sensitive fashion. We describe how the diagnostic properties for these definitions are automatically acquired from the web, and how the increased flexibility in categorization that arises from these redefinitions offers a robust account of metaphor comprehension in the mold of Glucksberg’s (2001) theory of category-inclusion. Furthermore, we demonstrate how this competence with figurative categorization can effectively be governed by automatically-generated ontological constraints, also acquired from the web.
Concurrent updates with RCU: search tree as an example

Read copy update (RCU) is a novel synchronization mechanism, in which the burden of synchronization falls completely on the updaters, by having them wait for all pre-existing readers to finish their read-side critical section. This paper presents citrus, a concurrent binary search tree (BST) with a wait-free Contains operation, using RCU synchronization and fine-grained locking for synchronization among updaters. This is the first RCU-based data structure that allows concurrent updaters. While there are methodologies for using RCU to coordinate between readers and updaters, they do not address the issue of coordination among updaters, and indeed, all existing RCU-based data structures rely on coarse-grained synchronization between updaters. Experimental evaluation shows that \citrus beats previous RCU-based search trees, even under mild update contention, and compares well with the best-known concurrent dictionaries.
Comparative Study of Captopril Derivatization Reaction by LC-UV, LC-MS and CE-UV Methods †

The LC-UV, LC-MS and CE-UV study of chemical reaction between captopril and p-bromo- phenacyl bromide as derivatizing reagent is reported. During transformation of captopril, its thiol group is involved and the reaction is irreversible. Neutral or alkaline environments favor derivatization. The yield of reaction increases linear with the concentration of the reagent, while changes in temperature do not influence it significantly. Kinetic studies show that derivatization of captopril flows quickly, reaching a plateau after 30 minutes. Based on the study of these effects some important parameters such as deri- va- tizing agent concentration, reaction time, temperature and pH were confined. The results were used for development of captopril determination methods both in pharmaceutical formulations and biological samples. (doi: 10.5562/cca1787)
The Vfl1 Protein in Chlamydomonas Localizes in a Rotationally Asymmetric Pattern at the Distal Ends of the Basal Bodies

In the unicellular alga Chlamydomonas, two anterior flagella are positioned with 180° rotational symmetry, such that the flagella beat with the effective strokes in opposite directions (Hoops, H.J., and G.B. Witman. 1983. J. Cell Biol. 97:902–908). The vfl1 mutation results in variable numbers and positioning of flagella and basal bodies (Adams, G.M.W., R.L. Wright, and J.W. Jarvik. 1985. J. Cell Biol. 100:955–964). Using a tagged allele, we cloned the VFL1 gene that encodes a protein of 128 kD with five leucine-rich repeat sequences near the NH2 terminus and a large α-helical–coiled coil domain at the COOH terminus. An epitope-tagged gene construct rescued the mutant phenotype and expressed a tagged protein (Vfl1p) that copurified with basal body flagellar apparatuses. Immunofluorescence experiments showed that Vfl1p localized with basal bodies and probasal bodies. Immunogold labeling localized Vfl1p inside the lumen of the basal body at the distal end. Distribution of gold particles was rotationally asymmetric, with most particles located near the doublet microtubules that face the opposite basal body. The mutant phenotype, together with the localization results, suggest that Vfl1p plays a role in establishing the correct rotational orientation of basal bodies. Vfl1p is the first reported molecular marker of the rotational asymmetry inherent to basal bodies.
Link Capacity Planning for Fault Tolerant Operation in Hybrid SDN/OSPF Networks

Link capacity dimensioning is the periodic task where ISPs have to make provisions for sudden traffic bursts and network failures to assure uninterrupted operations. This provision comes in the form of link working capacities with noticeable amounts of headroom, i.e., spare capacities that are used in case of congestions or network failures. Distributed routing protocols like OSPF provide convergence after network failures and have proven their reliable operation over decades, but require over-provisioning and headroom of over 50\%. However, SDN has recently been proposed to either replace or work together with OSPF in routing Internet traffic. This paper addresses the question of how to robustly dimension the link capacities in emerging hybrid SDN/OSPF networks. We analyze the networks with various implementations of hybrid SDN/OSPF control planes, and show that our idea of SDN Partitioning requires less amounts of spare capacity compared to legacy or other hybrid SDN/OSPF schemes, outperformed only by a full SDN deployment.
Skew and power reduction using tunable clock buffers and inverters

Clock signal plays a typical role in any synchronous IC design. The two important design parameters considered in clock design is clock skew and power, it has the highest switching activity and consumes major part of the total system power. As the technology shrinks, clock skew consumes larger part of clock period and also leakage power increases due to subthreshold leakage current. This paper presents the design of tunable clock buffers and inverters that can be used in backend of design process i.e., in clock tree synthesis (CTS). Layouts are drawn for designed tunable clock buffers and inverters. The results are obtained using cadence tool.
Etude expérimentale de l'impact de l'érosion par suffusion sur les propriétés physiques et mécaniques des sols

Ce travail de these s’est attache a investiguer, d’une part, le mecanisme d’erosion interne par suffusion dans les ouvrages hydrauliques en terre, et d’autre part, les consequences qu’il pourrait avoir sur le comportement mecanique du sol, l’objectif principal etant d’ameliorer notre comprehension de ce processus et du comportement des sols erodes. La demarche adoptee est principalement experimentale, realisee a differentes echelles : du macroscopique, a l’echelle du materiau, au microscopique, a l’echelle des grains constitutifs. A l’echelle macroscopique, des essais de suffusion ont ete realises sur des echantillons de sol a l’aide d’un nouveau dispositif d’essai d’erosion, appele permeametre de suffusion, developpe dans le cadre de cette these. Apres erosion dans le permeametre, les echantillons erodes sont transferes par une procedure de congelation / decongelation dans un dispositif d’essai triaxial afin d’etudier leur comportement sous chargement mecanique. Les resultats obtenus a cette echelle ont permis de donner un apercu general du mecanisme de suffusion et de mettre en evidence son impact sur les proprietes de resistance au cisaillement du sol. A l’echelle microscopique, une analyse fine a pu etre menee en realisant un essai de suffusion des mesures in-operando de tomographie a rayons X et de la visualisation locale par techniques optiques sur un sol artificiel. La caracterisation du sol a cette echelle microstructurale a permis de mieux comprendre le processus de suffusion, notamment en mettant en evidence l’apparition et le developpement de fortes heterogeneites qui semblent avoir une influence importante sur la reponse mecanique des sols erodes
XBench benchmark and performance testing of XML DBMSs

XML support is being added to existing database management systems (DBMSs) and native XML systems are being developed both in industry and in academia. The individual performance characteristics of these approaches as well as the relative performance of various systems is an ongoing concern. In this paper we discuss the XBench XML benchmark and report on the relative performance of various DBMSs. XBench is a family of XML benchmarks which recognizes that the XML data that DBMSs manage are quite varied and no one database schema and workload can properly capture this variety. Thus, the members of this benchmark family have been defined for capturing diverse application domains.