Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Investigating /l/ variation in English through forced alignment

We present a new method for measuring the "darkness" of /l/, and use it to investigate the variation of English /l/ in a large speech corpus that is automatically aligned with phones predicted from an orthographic transcript. We found a correlation between the rime duration and /l/-darkness for syllable-final /l/, but no correlation between /l/ duration and darkness for syllable-initial /l/. The data showed a clear difference between clear and dark /l/ in English, and also showed that syllable-final /l/ was less dark preceding an unstressed vowel than preceding a consonant or a word boundary. Index Terms: gestural phonology, forced alignment, variation
Defining and Measuring Active Play Among Young Children: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND Many young children are not meeting the Canadian physical activity guidelines. In an effort to change this, the term active play has been used to promote increased physical activity levels. Among young children, physical activity is typically achieved in the form of active play behavior. The current study aimed to review and synthesize the literature to identify key concepts used to define and describe active play among young children. A secondary objective was to explore the various methods adopted for measuring active play. METHODS A systematic review was conducted by searching seven online databases for English-language, original research or reports, and were eligible for inclusion if they defined or measured active play among young children (ie, 2 to 6 years). RESULTS Nine studies provided a definition or description of active play, six measured active play, and 13 included both outcomes. While variability in active play definitions did exist, common themes included: increased energy exerted, rough and tumble, gross motor movement, unstructured, freely chosen, and fun. Alternatively, many researchers described active play as physical activity (n = 13) and the majority of studies used a questionnaire (n = 16) to assess active play among young children. CONCLUSION Much variability in the types of active play, methods of assessing active play, and locations where active play can transpire were noted in this review. As such, an accepted and consistent definition is necessary, which we provide herein.
Morphology of Susceptibility Vessel Sign Predicts Middle Cerebral Artery Recanalization After Intravenous Thrombolysis

Susceptibility vessel sign (SVS) of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) on gradient-recalled echo (GRE) imaging was demonstrated to be well correlated with the hyperdense MCA sign on computed tomography. Recently, an imaging– pathology correlation study proved that both GRE SVS and computed tomographic hyperdense MCA sign represent red blood cell–dominant thrombi. White thrombi composed of platelet-rich material displayed a relative resistance against intravenous thrombolysis, whereas red thrombi composed of erythrocyte-rich material showed a higher response rate. Therefore, the presence of SVS may have a potential prognostic value related to recanalization. We evaluated the burden and morphology of SVS by using a contiguous, thin-slice (2 mm), 3-dimensional multiecho GRE sequence.
Latino beliefs about diabetes.

OBJECTIVE To describe Latino beliefs about diabetes and assess heterogeneity in beliefs across different groups. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS This study comprised a survey of 161 representative Latino adults from four diverse communities: Hartford, Connecticut; Edinburg, Texas; Guadalajara, Mexico; and rural Guatemala. A 130-item questionnaire covered causes symptoms, and treatments for diabetes. Information on demographics and acquaintanceship with someone with diabetes was also collected. The cultural consensus model was used to analyze the variation in responses to determine whether the degree of consistency within and between samples was sufficient to warrant aggregation and description as a single set of beliefs. RESULTS Homogeneous beliefs were present within each of the four samples. Although variability in responses increased significantly from Connecticut to Guatemala (P < 0.00005), there was significant agreement between samples on the answers (P < 0.0005). Answers tended to be concordant with the biomedical description of diabetes. Greater acculturation, higher educational attainment, and higher diabetes prevalence were associated with greater cultural knowledge about diabetes. In Connecticut, greater knowledge correlated with longer mainland U.S. residency (P < 0.05). In Mexico, those with average educational attainment knew more (P < 0.05). Finally, average knowledge levels were higher in communities with greater diabetes prevalence. CONCLUSIONS The cultural consensus model facilitated assessment of cultural beliefs regarding diabetes and diabetes management. Overall, Latino cultural beliefs about diabetes were concordant with the biomedical model. Variation in responses tended to characterize less knowledge or experience with diabetes and not different beliefs.
Construction and use of linear regression models for processor performance analysis

Processor architects have a challenging task of evaluating a large design space consisting of several interacting parameters and optimizations. In order to assist architects in making crucial design decisions, we build linear regression models that relate processor performance to micro-architectural parameters, using simulation based experiments. We obtain good approximate models using an iterative process in which Akaike's information criteria is used to extract a good linear model from a small set of simulations, and limited further simulation is guided by the model using D-optimal experimental designs. The iterative process is repeated until desired error bounds are achieved. We used this procedure to establish the relationship of the CPI performance response to 26 key micro-architectural parameters using a detailed cycle-by-cycle superscalar processor simulator. The resulting models provide a significance ordering on all micro-architectural parameters and their interactions, and explain the performance variations of micro-architectural techniques.
Wage Gaps Large and Small

The law of one wage does not strictly hold, nor should it be expected to hold, in contemporary labor markets. The law of one wage, however, provides a surprisingly good first approximation of the structure of U.S. wages. This generalization is drawn from research on a diverse set of topics: the Mincerian wage equation and earnings imputation, union wage differentials, product market regulation and the labor market, wages in male and female jobs, the wage effects of military service, and interarea wages and cost-of-living.
Self-Control and Altruism: Delay of Gratification for Another.

KANFER, FREDERICK, H. ; STIFTER, ELFRIEDE; and MORRIS, STEVEN J. Self-Control and Altruism: Delay of Gratification for Another. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1981, 52, 674-682. 2 studies investigated the effects of altruistic outcomes on self-control in a modified delay-of-gratification paradigm. In study 1, children were assigned to 1 of 6 groups, which differed only in the beneficiary of the child's working at a tedious task. It was found that the subject's decision to work or not to work (decisional self-control) was significantly affected by the closeness of the relationship between the subject and the beneficiary. In study 2, children were placed in a protracted self-control situation, and their duration of working at a tedious task was assessed. It was found that children tended to engage in the task longest when working for themselves and shortest when working for an unidentified child. The findings are discussed in terms of their methodological implications for altruism research and also their implications for Kanfer's model of altruism.
New insight into the analysis of 6-[18F]fluoro-L-DOPA PET dynamic data in brain tissue without an irreversible compartment: comparative study of the Patlak and Logan analyses.

The objective of this study was to show that the Logan analysis is theoretically more appropriate than the Patlak analysis for the assessment of 6-[18F] fluoro-L-DOPA (FDOPA) positron emission tomography (PET) dynamic data in brain tissue without an irreversible compartment, e.g., occipital cortex. Another purpose was to provide the first application of this analysis to real data. Ten normal controls (NC), 10 Parkinson's disease (PD) patients, and 10 Parkinson's disease with dementia (PDD) patients underwent FDOPA PET. The Logan analysis and the Patlak analysis were applied to the occipital cortex with the cerebellum as a reference tissue. In the occipital cortex, the Logan analysis showed a significant difference (p=0.018) between NC and PDD patients. However, the Patlak analysis showed no significant differences, but larger variances. The Logan analysis of FDOPA PET dynamic data in the occipital cortex was considered to be theoretically appropriate and to provide new insight into the analysis of that region.
Post‐embryonic expression of C. elegans microRNAs belonging to the lin‐4 and let‐7 families in the hypodermis and the reproductive system

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are regulatory molecules that negatively control gene expression by binding to complementary sequences on target mRNAs. The most thoroughly characterized miRNAs, lin‐4 and let‐7, direct cell fate determination during the larval transitions in C. elegans and act as key regulators of temporal gene expression. lin‐4 and let‐7 are founding members of two distinct families of miRNA genes sharing strong sequence homology primarily in the 5′ end of the mature miRNAs. In this report, we characterize the temporal and spatial expression patterns of lin‐4 and let‐7 family members using northern blot analysis and mir::gfp fusion studies. Our results show that lin‐4 and let‐7 homologues possess distinct temporal and spatial expression patterns during nematode development and that known heterochronic genes regulate their expression. We find that certain lin‐4 and let‐7 family members display overlapping expression patterns in the hypodermis and the reproductive system, suggesting that combinations of miRNAs from across families may control common developmental events. Developmental Dynamics 234:868–877, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Noise Reduction of High Density Impulse Noise using First Order Neighborhood Mean Filter

In this paper, a new algorithm has been proposed for the restoration of gray scale and color images which get highly corrupted by fixed value impulse noise (salt and pepper). This paper is designed to get better result at high density noise in corrupted images. There are two steps in the proposed algorithm for de-noising the image first step is to detect that the pixel is corrupted or not and the second step is to replace the pixel if it is corrupted by mean of its neighborhood pixels. The proposed algorithm considers first order neighborhood pixels for detecting the noisy pixel and mean filter is considered. Proposed algorithm is compared with all other standard and well known algorithms and found to have better result at high noise densities i.e. 80-90%. The proposed algorithm shows better results than Median Filter (MF), Adaptive Median Filter (AMF), Progressive Switched Median Filter (PSMF), Decision Based Algorithm (DBA), Modified Decision Based Algorithm (MDBA), Modified Decision Based Unsymmetrical Trimmed Median Filter (MDBUTMF), and Modified Non-Linear Filter (MNF). Different grayscale and color images are tested by using the algorithm and it gave better Peak Signal Noise Ratio (PSNR) and Image Enhancement Factor (IEF) at low, medium and high noise densities. Keyword- Salt and Pepper (SNP), Mean Filter (MF), Peak Signal Noise Ratio (PSNR), Mean Square Error (MSE), Image Enhancement Factor (IEF)
Statistical data fusion of multi-sensor AOD over the Continental United States

This article illustrates two techniques for merging daily aerosol optical depth (AOD) measurements from satellite and ground-based data sources to achieve optimal data quality and spatial coverage. The first technique is a traditional Universal Kriging (UK) approach employed to predict AOD from multi-sensor aerosol products that are aggregated on a reference grid with AERONET as ground truth. The second technique is spatial statistical data fusion (SSDF); a method designed for massive satellite data interpolation. Traditional kriging has computational complexity O(N3), making it impractical for large datasets. Our version of UK accommodates massive data inputs by performing kriging locally, while SSDF accommodates massive data inputs by modelling their covariance structure with a low-rank linear model. In this study, we use aerosol data products from two satellite instruments: the moderate resolution imaging spectrometer and the geostationary operational environmental satellite, covering the Continental United States.
TOFA: Trace Oriented Feature Analysis in Text Categorization

Dimension reduction for large-scale text data is attracting much attention lately due to the rapid growth of World Wide Web. We can consider dimension reduction algorithms in two categories: feature extraction and feature selection. An important problem remains: it has been difficult to integrate these two algorithm categories into a single framework, making it difficult to reap the benefit of both. In this paper, we formulate the two algorithm categories through a unified optimization framework. Under this framework, we develop a novel feature selection algorithm called Trace Oriented Feature Analysis (TOFA). The novel objective function of TOFA is a unified framework that integrates many prominent feature extraction algorithms such as unsupervised Principal Component Analysis and supervised Maximum Margin Criterion are special cases of it. Thus TOFA can process not only supervised problem but also unsupervised and semi-supervised problems. Experimental results on real text datasets demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of TOFA.
Reconceptualizing Treatment Goals From Language Impairment to Functional Limitations: A Case Study

This case study of a preadolescent boy with severe expressive and receptive language impairments illustrates treatment focused on the functional limitations on the child's daily academic activities and social participation. Treatment goals incorporated language comprehension objectives into the student's reading program and language use objectives into peer recreation and life skill activities. This case study expands discussion of the World Health Organization's biopsychosocial model of functioning, disability, and health to suggest its value as a framework for rationalizing treatment decisions for chronic language disorders through childhood and adolescence.
Pancreatic expression of interleukin-4 abrogates insulitis and autoimmune diabetes in nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice

Diabetes in nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice is a T cell-dependent autoimmune disease. The destructive activities of autoreactive T cells have been shown to be tightly regulated by effector molecules. In particular, T helper (Th) 1 cytokines have been linked to diabetes pathogenesis, whereas Th2 cytokines and the cells that release them have been postulated to be protective from disease. To test this hypothesis, we generated transgenic NOD mice that express interleukin (IL) 4 in their pancreatic beta cells under the control of the human insulin promoter. We found that transgenic NOD-IL-4 mice, both females and males, were completely protected from insulitis and diabetes. Induction of functional tolerance to islet antigens in these mice was indicated by their inability to reject syngeneic pancreatic islets and the failure of diabetogenic spleen cells to induce diabetes in transgenic NOD-IL-4 recipients. Interestingly, however, islet expression of IL-4 was incapable of preventing islet rejection in overtly diabetic NOD recipient mice. These results demonstrate that the Th2 cytokine IL-4 can prevent the development of autoimmunity and destructive autoreactivity in the NOD mouse. Its ability to regulate the disease process in the periphery also indicates that autoimmune diabetes in NOD mice is not a systemic disease, and it can be modulated from the islet compartment.
Preservice Teachers' Views of Inclusive Education: A Content Analysis

Survey-based research was conducted with preservice teachers, from a large regional Australian university, to explore their views about inclusion and their readiness to teach in inclusive classrooms. Open-ended questions were included in the survey to glean information on the respondents' feelings and concerns about inclusion and inclusive practices. In addition, questions were framed to allow the respondents to discuss ways that the university could better prepare them as practising teachers. The responses to each of these questions were content analysed to delineate categories, and frequencies were calculated on the most salient categories. The results of this analysis are reported and comparisons are made of the views expressed by the respondents before they experienced an inclusive education subject and a related practicum with those expressed after. The implications of the results for teacher education programs are considered.
Rotationally Invariant Convolutional Channel Coding with Expanded Signal Space-Part I: 180°

Convolutional channel coding with expanded signal space improves error performance of synchronous data links without sacrificing data rate or requiring more bandwidth. Due to the phase ambiguity(ies) in the expanded signal space, it is desirable to design the code' to be transparent to signal element rotations. In this paper, design rules and procedures for 180° rotationally invariant codes are presented. In a companion paper, we extend these rules and procedures to codes which are transparent to 90, 180, and 270° signal element rotations. We illustrate these rules and procedures by designing simple codes that achieve coding gain of 3-4 dB. These are the codes of practical interest. Codes with higher coding gain can be obtained using the same rules and procedures. Both feedforward and feedback codes are considered.
New founder germline mutations of CDKN2A in melanoma‐prone families and multiple primary melanoma development in a patient receiving levodopa treatment

Germline mutations in the CDKN2A gene have been shown to predispose individuals to cutaneous malignant melanoma. Here, we describe three melanoma‐prone families and one isolated patient affected by multiple melanoma who carried a tandem germline mutation of CDKN2A at the nucleotide level, [c.339G>C;c.340C>T], [p.Leu113Leu;p.Pro114Ser]. We also describe three other melanoma‐prone families that carried a missense germline CDKN2A mutation, c.167G>T, p.Ser56Ile. All these families and patients resided in southeast France. We analyzed six 9p21 markers where the CDKN2A gene is located and found that carrier haplotypes for both mutations were consistent with two respective common founder ancestors. In one family, we identified two fourth‐degree relatives homozygous for the Ser56Ile mutation, indicating a possible consanguinity. Furthermore, we observed that a carrier of the founder CDKN2A [p.Leu113Leu;p.Pro114Ser] mutation as well as two MC1R moderate‐risk variants, [p.Arg151Cys(+)p.Arg163Gln] developed 22 primary melanomas in the three years that followed initiation of levodopa therapy for Parkinson's disease. This observation suggests that there is a need for reconsideration of the hypothesis that levodopa may play a role in melanoma development, at least when in the context of a high‐risk genetic background. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Application of Wavelet Threshold to Image De-noising

Wavelet based techniques have been used for a number of years to de-noise images. By means of the wavelet packet analysis, the low frequency part and high frequency part of the super stratum can be concurrently further broken down, and therefore, more exact analysis of localities can be conducted. By thresholding the wavelet packet transform coefficients of the noisy image, the original image can be reconstructed correctly. Different threshold selections and thresholding methods are discussed. A novel cubic thresholding function is presented based on wavelet packet shrinkage. Quantifying the performance of image de-noising schemes by using the peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and mean square error (MSE), the performance of the cubic threshold scheme is compared with the hard and soft threshold schemes. The experiment shows that image de-noising using the cubic threshold performs better than that using the hard and soft threshold
Single-molecule nonequilibrium periodic Mg2+-concentration jump experiments reveal details of the early folding pathways of a large RNA

The evolution of RNA conformation with Mg2+ concentration ([Mg2+]) is typically determined from equilibrium titration measurements or nonequilibrium single [Mg2+]-jump measurements. We study the folding of single RNA molecules in response to a series of periodic [Mg2+] jumps. The 260-residue catalytic domain of RNase P RNA from Bacillus stearothermophilus is immobilized in a microfluidic flow chamber, and the RNA conformational changes are probed by fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). The kinetics of population redistribution after a [Mg2+] jump and the observed connectivity of FRET states reveal details of the folding pathway that complement and transcend information from equilibrium or single-jump measurements. FRET trajectories for jumps from [Mg2+] = 0.01 to 0.1 mM exhibit two-state behavior whereas jumps from 0.01 mM to 0.4 mM exhibit two-state unfolding but multistate folding behavior. RNA molecules in the low and high FRET states before the [Mg2+] increase are observed to undergo dynamics in two distinct regions of the free energy landscape separated by a high barrier. We describe the RNA structural changes involved in crossing this barrier as a “hidden” degree of freedom because the changes do not alter the detected FRET value but do alter the observed dynamics. The associated memory prevents the populations from achieving their equilibrium values at the end of the 5- to 10-sec [Mg2+] interval, thereby creating a nonequilibrium steady-state condition. The capability of interrogating nonequilibrium steady-state RNA conformations and the adjustable period of [Mg2+]-jump cycles makes it possible to probe regions of the free energy landscape that are infrequently sampled in equilibrium or single-jump measurements.
An Improved Model for GaAs MESFETs Suitable for a Wide Bias Range

In this letter, we present a new large signal model for GaAs metal-semiconductor field effect transistors, incorporating features for enhancing the bias range for which accuracy is maintained, for use in the simulation of microwave circuits. The model parameters for a specific case were extracted from a wide range of dc I-V and S-parameter data, and the simulated behavior was observed to match the measured data closely. The model includes the possibility of showing negative slopes of the I-V curves at high power without sacrificing accuracy in predicting radio frequency behavior, while remaining simple enough for use in simulation tools