Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Statistical, Grammar-Based Approach to Microplanning

Although there has been much work in recent years on data-driven natural language generation, little attention has been paid to the fine-grained interactions that arise during microplanning between aggregation, surface realization, and sentence segmentation. In this article, we propose a hybrid symbolic/statistical approach to jointly model the constraints regulating these interactions. Our approach integrates a small handwritten grammar, a statistical hypertagger, and a surface realization algorithm. It is applied to the verbalization of knowledge base queries and tested on 13 knowledge bases to demonstrate domain independence. We evaluate our approach in several ways. A quantitative analysis shows that the hybrid approach outperforms a purely symbolic approach in terms of both speed and coverage. Results from a human study indicate that users find the output of this hybrid statistic/symbolic system more fluent than both a template-based and a purely symbolic grammar-based approach. Finally, we illustrate by means of examples that our approach can account for various factors impacting aggregation, sentence segmentation, and surface realization.
Inactivation of Specific Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilm Factors Does Not Alter Virulence in Infected Cholesteatomas

Hypothesis When experimental cholesteatomas are infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) mutants lacking factors associated with the formation of biofilms, host defenses are more effective against these strains when compared with wild-type strains (PAO1 and OPPA8) in preventing tissue destruction. Background Previous studies have identified biofilms within chronically infected aural cholesteatomas. These infected cholesteatomas are associated with increased tissue destruction. Because biofilms are highly resistant to host defenses leading to prolonged infection, we propose that the biofilm phenotype of P. aeruginosa may be a virulence factor leading to persistence of infection and increased tissue destruction. Methods Aural cholesteatomas were induced in Mongolian gerbils. At the time of induction, the ear canals were inoculated with wild-type (PAO1 and OPPA8) and biofilm-deficient (PAO1 &Dgr;pilA, PAO1 algD::aacC1 and PAO1 galU::aacC1) strains of P. aeruginosa. After 8 weeks, the size of the cholesteatomas and levels of bone destruction and deposition were measured using microCT scanning and double fluorochrome bone labeling. Result Infected cholesteatomas resulted in increased growth, bone destruction, and bone deposition when compared with vehicle-only controls. We observed no differences between the wild-type (biofilm forming) and the biofilm-deficient strains of P. aeruginosa. Conclusion Our hypothesis that biofilm formation is a virulence factor in cholesteatomas infected with P. aeruginosa was not supported. A number of interpretations of these data are reasonable. It is possible that biofilms are not critical in infected cholesteatomas. Alternatively, the mutants that are deficient in generating biofilms in vitro may be able to form effective biofilms in vivo using alternative pathways.
Differential involvement of oriens/pyramidale interneurones in hippocampal network oscillations in vitro

Using whole‐cell patch‐clamp recordings in conjunction with post hoc anatomy we investigated the physiological properties of hippocampal stratum oriens and stratum pyramidale inhibitory interneurones, before and following the induction of pharmacologically evoked gamma frequency network oscillations. Prior to kainate‐induced transient epochs of gamma activity, two distinct classes of oriens interneurones, oriens lacunosum‐moleculare (O‐LM) and trilaminar cells, showed prominent differences in their membrane and firing properties, as well as in the amplitude and kinetics of their excitatory postsynaptic events. In the active network both types of neurone received a phasic barrage of gamma frequency excitatory inputs but, due to their differential functional integration, showed clear differences in their output patterns. While O‐LM cells fired intermittently at theta frequency, trilaminar interneurones discharged on every gamma cycle and showed a propensity to fire spike doublets. Two other classes of fast spiking interneurones, perisomatic targeting basket and bistratified cells, in the active network discharged predominantly single action potentials on every gamma cycle. Thus, within a locally excited network, O‐LM cells are likely to provide a theta‐frequency patterned output to distal dendritic segments, whereas basket and bistratified cells are involved in the generation of locally synchronous gamma band oscillations. The anatomy and output profile of trilaminar cells suggest they are involved in the projection of locally generated gamma rhythms to distal sites. Therefore a division of labour appears to exist whereby different frequencies and spatiotemporal properties of hippocampal rhythms are mediated by different interneurone subtypes.
Reliability Tradeoffs in Design of Cache Memories

Cache memory is a fundamental component of all modern microprocessors. Caches provide for efficient read/write access to memory, and their reliability is essential to assure dependable computing. Among the primary threats to cache reliability are soft (transient) errors. When incident in a cache, these errors can corrupt data values or result in invalid state, and can easily propagate throughout the system to cause data integrity issues. In most modern processors, a significant portion of the chip area is dedicated to the L2 cache. In this paper, we examine the vulnerability (on a per bit basis) of different components of on-chip L2 caches, including data and tag bits. Vulnerability per bit is important when considering the reliability of a design; the higher the per-bit vulnerability of a structure, the greater its impact on overall reliability. We show that the vulnerability per bit of the tag array and data array differ significantly, and thus should motivate our implementation decisions when considering design tradeoffs for reliability.
Mimicking nature by codelivery of stimulant and inhibitor to create temporally stable and spatially restricted angiogenic zones

Nature frequently utilizes opposing factors to create a stable activator gradient to robustly control pattern formation. This study employs a biomimicry approach, by delivery of both angiogenic and antiangiogenic factors from spatially restricted zones of a synthetic polymer to achieve temporally stable and spatially restricted angiogenic zones in vivo. The simultaneous release of the two spatially separated agents leads to a spatially sharp angiogenic region that is sustained over 3 wk. Further, the contradictory action of the two agents leads to a stable level of proangiogenic stimulation in this region, in spite of significant variations in the individual release rates over time. The resulting spatially restrictive and temporally sustained profiles of active signaling allow the creation of a spatially heterogeneous and functional vasculature.
Enhancing iris-feature security with steganography

This paper introduces a novel steganography-based approach to protect the iris data by hiding it into a digital image for personal identification purpose. Logistic map is utilized for generating two pseudorandom sequences, one for encrypting the biometric data before hiding, and another for hiding position encryption. Meanwhile, JND (Just Noticeable Difference) model and JPEG quantization table are investigated for exploring an efficient hiding algorithm with high transparency and strong robustness especially for JPEG compression. The extraction of iris data does not require original image and provide high accuracy under different attacks. Experimental results show that this proposed method improves the security of the iris-feature with hardly detectable decrease in recognition performance.
The Non-Catalytic Carboxyl-Terminal Domain of ARFGAP1 Regulates Actin Cytoskeleton Reorganization by Antagonizing the Activation of Rac1

Background The regulation of the actin cytoskeleton and membrane trafficking is coordinated in mammalian cells. One of the regulators of membrane traffic, the small GTP-binding protein ARF1, also activates phosphatidylinositol kinases that in turn affect actin polymerization. ARFGAP1 is a GTPase activating protein (GAP) for ARF1 that is found on Golgi membranes. We present evidence that ARFGAP1 not only serves as a GAP for ARF1, but also can affect the actin cytoskeleton. Principal Findings As cells attach to a culture dish foci of actin appear prior to the cells flattening and spreading. We have observed that overexpression of a truncated ARFGAP1 that lacks catalytic activity for ARF, called GAP273, caused these foci to persist for much longer periods than non-transfected cells. This phenomenon was dependent on the level of GAP273 expression. Furthermore, cell spreading after re-plating or cell migration into a previously scraped area was inhibited in cells transfected with GAP273. Live cell imaging of such cells revealed that actin-rich membrane blebs formed that seldom made protrusions of actin spikes or membrane ruffles, suggesting that GAP273 interfered with the regulation of actin dynamics during cell spreading. The over-expression of constitutively active alleles of ARF6 and Rac1 suppressed the effect of GAP273 on actin. In addition, the activation of Rac1 by serum, but not that of RhoA or ARF6, was inhibited in cells over-expressing GAP273, suggesting that Rac1 is a likely downstream effector of ARFGAP1. The carboxyl terminal 65 residues of ARFGAP1 were sufficient to produce the effects on actin and cell spreading in transfected cells and co-localized with cortical actin foci. Conclusions ARFGAP1 functions as an inhibitor upstream of Rac1 in regulating actin cytoskeleton. In addition to its GAP catalytic domain and Golgi binding domain, it also has an actin regulation domain in the carboxyl-terminal portion of the protein.
The Genomic Analysis of Erythrocyte microRNA Expression in Sickle Cell Diseases

Background Since mature erythrocytes are terminally differentiated cells without nuclei and organelles, it is commonly thought that they do not contain nucleic acids. In this study, we have re-examined this issue by analyzing the transcriptome of a purified population of human mature erythrocytes from individuals with normal hemoglobin (HbAA) and homozygous sickle cell disease (HbSS). Methods and Findings Using a combination of microarray analysis, real-time RT-PCR and Northern blots, we found that mature erythrocytes, while lacking ribosomal and large-sized RNAs, contain abundant and diverse microRNAs. MicroRNA expression of erythrocytes was different from that of reticulocytes and leukocytes, and contributed the majority of the microRNA expression in whole blood. When we used microRNA microarrays to analyze erythrocytes from HbAA and HbSS individuals, we noted a dramatic difference in their microRNA expression pattern. We found that miR-320 played an important role for the down-regulation of its target gene, CD71 during reticulocyte terminal differentiation. Further investigation revealed that poor expression of miR-320 in HbSS cells was associated with their defective downregulation CD71 during terminal differentiation. Conclusions In summary, we have discovered significant microRNA expression in human mature erythrocytes, which is dramatically altered in HbSS erythrocytes and their defect in terminal differentiation. Thus, the global analysis of microRNA expression in circulating erythrocytes can provide mechanistic insights into the disease phenotypes of erythrocyte diseases.
Evaluation of leukocyte esterase activity as a rapid screening technique for bacteriuria

Microscopy and leukocyte esterase activity, both employed as screening techniques for urine cultures, were evaluated with respect to two distinct populations, male and female. When 424 urine specimens from males were examined, 95% of the Gram-stained smears and 91% of the leukocyte esterase tests correctly correlated with culture results, indicating significant bacteriuria. There were no significant differences between the Gram stain and leukocyte esterase activity in predicting a negative culture: 99% and 98%, respectively. Neither microscopy nor esterase activity proved as sensitive or as efficient in predicting a negative culture with the female population.
Hey Babe—Take a Walk on the Wild Side!

ABSTRACT There is a self-evident need to “think thief” when designing against crime. If we do not understand how thieves operate, how are we to thwart their efforts? Also, precisely how should designers go about trying to think like a thief? This paper attempts to address a gap in knowledge. It seeks to introduce role-playing and empathic tools and techniques from drama and design to generate strategies that might inspire and help designers to design against crime. The paper describes how immersive and empathic methods employed in design and theater, supported by “scripting” exercises detailing the human and non-human actors and competencies in given crime scenarios, provide tools for designers to better understand the problem context. Such methods help generate insight into the opportunistic mindset of the casual thief, or even the professional career criminal, without losing sight of the need to design for users.
An Empirical Comparison of Fault-Prone Module Detection Approaches: Complexity Metrics and Text Feature Metrics

In order to assure the quality of software product, early detection of fault-prone products is necessary. Fault-prone module detection is one of the major and traditional area of software engineering. However, comparative study using the fair environment rarely conducted so far because there is little data publicly available. This paper tries to conduct a comparative study of fault-prone module detection approaches.
What Makes Russian Women (Un)Happy? A Closer Look at the Family

Two decades of economic transition revealed that Russian women are on average less happy than men. This paper addresses individual subjective well-being from the intra-family perspective and investigates whether the gender satisfaction gap could be caused, among all, by a mismatch between the socially imposed patriarchal family gender roles and the actually performed ones. I test for the presence of the following phenomena: (1) a “fair�? share of income brought by each of the spouses into their household is judged according to the patriarchal model attributing the role of the breadwinner to men; (2) division of housework, with women, even if working, holding the main responsibility for housekeeping activities, is perceived as “fair�? Prime-age working adults living in partnership constitute the dataset which is a part of the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey for 1994-2004. Life satisfaction is modeled with the help of the seemingly unrelated bivariate ordered probit model aiming at the adjustment for unobserved factors influencing happiness evaluation of both partners. For the period 1994-1998, the results show that women’s relative unhappiness is likely to be causes by their increasing earning powers with relative to men, and overload with hours spent on housekeeping in households with children. In the second period of economic growth, 2000 - 2004, I observe a change in women’s preferences over time-use and total income shares, suggesting a tendency towards their emancipation.
Age-Associated Gene Expression in Normal Breast Tissue Mirrors Qualitative Age-at-Incidence Patterns for Breast Cancer

Background: Age is the strongest breast cancer risk factor, with overall breast cancer risk increasing steadily beginning at approximately 30 years of age. However, while breast cancer risk is lower among younger women, young women's breast cancer may be more aggressive. Although, several genomic and epidemiologic studies have shown higher prevalence of aggressive, estrogen-receptor negative breast cancer in younger women, the age-related gene expression that predisposes to these tumors is poorly understood. Characterizing age-related patterns of gene expression in normal breast tissues may provide insights on etiology of distinct breast cancer subtypes that arise from these tissues. Methods: To identify age-related changes in normal breast tissue, 96 tissue specimens from patients with reduction mammoplasty, ages 14 to 70 years, were assayed by gene expression microarray. Results: Significant associations between gene expression levels and age were identified for 802 probes (481 increased, 321 decreased with increasing age). Enriched functions included “aging of cells,” “shape change,” and “chemotaxis,” and enriched pathways included Wnt/beta-catenin signaling, Ephrin receptor signaling, and JAK/Stat signaling. Applying the age-associated genes to publicly available tumor datasets, the age-associated pathways defined two groups of tumors with distinct survival. Conclusion: The hazard rates of young-like tumors mirrored that of high-grade tumors in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program, providing a biologic link between normal aging and age-related tumor aggressiveness. Impact: These data show that studies of normal tissue gene expression can yield important insights about the pathways and biologic pressures that are relevant during tumor etiology and progression. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 21(10); 1735–44. ©2012 AACR.
A Novel Erythromycin Resistance Methylase Gene (ermTR) in Streptococcus pyogenes

ABSTRACT Erythromycin resistance among streptococci is commonly due to target site modification by an rRNA-methylating enzyme, which results in coresistance to macrolide, lincosamide, and streptogramin B antibiotics (MLSB resistance). Genes belonging to theermAM (ermB) gene class are the only erythromycin resistance methylase (erm) genes inStreptococcus pyogenes with MLSB resistance that have been sequenced so far. We identified a novelerm gene, designated ermTR, from an erythromycin-resistant clinical strain of S. pyogenes(strain A200) with an inducible type of MLSBresistance. The nucleotide sequence of ermTR is 82.5% identical to ermA, previously found, for example, in Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci. Our finding provides the first sequence of anerm gene other than ermAM that mediates MLSB resistance in S. pyogenes.
INDiC: Improved Non-intrusive Load Monitoring Using Load Division and Calibration

Residential buildings contribute significantly to the overall energy consumption across most parts of the world. While smart monitoring and control of appliances can reduce the overall energy consumption, management and cost associated with such systems act as a big hindrance. Prior work has established that detailed feedback in the form of appliance level consumption to building occupants improves their awareness and paves the way for reduction in electricity consumption. Non-Intrusive Load Monitoring (NILM), i.e. the process of disaggregating the overall home electricity usage measured at the meter level into constituent appliances, provides a simple and cost effective methodology to provide such feedback to the occupants. In this paper we present Improved Non-Intrusive load monitoring using load Division and Calibration (INDiC) that simplifies NILM by dividing the appliances across multiple instrumented points (meters/phases) and calibrating the measured power. Proposed approach is used together with the Combinatorial Optimization framework and evaluated on the popular REDD dataset. Empirical results demonstrate significant improvement in disaggregation accuracy, achieved by using INDiC based Combinatorial Optimization, demonstrate significant improvement in disaggregation accuracy.
The K-moment problem for continuous linear functionals

Given a closed (and non necessarily compact) basic semi-algebraic set $K\subseteq R^n$, we solve the $K$-moment problem for continuous linear functionals. Namely, we introduce a weighted $\ell_1$-norm $\ell_w$ on $R[x]$, and show that the $\ell_w$-closures of the preordering $P$ and quadratic module $Q$ (associated with the generators of $K$) is the cone $psd(K)$ of polynomials nonnegative on $K$. We also prove that $P$ an $Q$ solve the $K$-moment problem for $\ell_w$-continuous linear functionals and completely characterize those $\ell_w$-continuous linear functionals nonnegative on $P$ and $Q$ (hence on $psd(K)$). When $K$ has a nonempty interior we also provide in explicit form a canonical $\ell_w$-projection $g^w_f$ for any polynomial $f$, on the (degree-truncated) preordering or quadratic module. Remarkably, the support of $g^w_f$ is very sparse and does not depend on $K$! This enables us to provide an explicit Positivstellensatz on $K$. At last but not least, we provide a simple characterization of polynomials nonnegative on $K$, which is crucial in proving the above results.
Specific Deletion of β-Catenin in Col2-Expressing Cells Leads to Defects in Epiphyseal Bone

The role of canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling in postnatal bone growth has not been fully defined. In the present studies, we generated β-catenin conditional knockout (KO) mice and deleted β-catenin in Col2-expressing chondrocytes and mesenchymal progenitor cells. Findings from analyzing the β-cateninCol2CreER KO mice revealed severe bone destruction and bone loss phenotype in epiphyseal bone, probably due to the increase in osteoclast formation and the accumulation of adipocytes in this area. In addition, we also found bone destruction and bone loss phenotype in vertebral bone in β-cateninCol2CreER KO mice. These findings indicate that β-catenin signaling plays a critical role in postnatal bone remodeling. Our study provides new insights into the regulation of epiphyseal bone homeostasis at postnatal stage.
Score-Informed Source Separation for Musical Audio Recordings: An overview

In recent years, source separation has been a central research topic in music signal processing, with applications in stereo-to-surround up-mixing, remixing tools for disc jockeys or producers, instrument-wise equalizing, karaoke systems, and preprocessing in music analysis tasks. Musical sound sources, however, are often strongly correlated in time and frequency, and without additional knowledge about the sources, a decomposition of a musical recording is often infeasible. To simplify this complex task, various methods have recently been proposed that exploit the availability of a musical score. The additional instrumentation and note information provided by the score guides the separation process, leading to significant improvements in terms of separation quality and robustness. A major challenge in utilizing this rich source of information is to bridge the gap between high-level musical events specified by the score and their corresponding acoustic realizations in an audio recording. In this article, we review recent developments in score-informed source separation and discuss various strategies for integrating the prior knowledge encoded by the score.
Context relevance assessment for recommender systems

Research on context aware recommender systems is taking for granted that context matters. But, often attempts to show the influence of context have failed. In this paper we consider the problem of quantitatively assessing context relevance. For this purpose we are assuming that users can imagine a situation described by a contextual feature, and judge if this feature is relevant for their decision making task. We have designed a UI suited for acquiring such information in a travel planning scenario. In fact, this interface is generic and can also be used for other domains (e.g., music). The experimental results show that it is possible to identify the contextual factors that are relevant for the given task and that the relevancy depends on the type of the place of interest to be included in the plan.