Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Towards a Northern Sotho talking head

Speech-synchronized facial animation forms an increasingly important aspect of computer animation. The majority of commercial animation products are produced using the English language. Major stakeholders in the industry are the producers of animated movies and the developers of computer games, while the creation of conversational agents for communication in cyberspace and for applications in, for example, language learning is an active field of investigation. It is, therefore, not surprising that most of the commercial facial animation and lip synchronization software caters mainly for English. Northern Sotho, one of the eleven official languages of South Africa, belongs to the so-called Bantu language family and is a resource-scarce (in terms of language resources, technological infrastructure and funding), lesser-studied language of the world. The general question as to whether facial animation tools mainly developed and used for English are appropriate for Northern Sotho speech animation is addressed. More specifically, we investigate what can be achieved with commercially available animation products for English. The paper reports on the process followed, the first results obtained and insights acquired. It is demonstrated that a variety of non-English (Northern Sotho) phonemes can indeed be modelled by tools developed for English by combining multiple different English phonemes and manipulating facial muscles and their actions.
Change in the shape and density of dendritic spines caused by overexpression of acidic calponin in cultured hippocampal neurons

Dendritic spines are morphing structures believed to provide a cellular substrate for synaptic plasticity. It has been suggested that the actin cytoskeleton is the target of molecular mechanisms regulating spine morphology. Here we hypothesized that acidic calponin, an actin‐binding protein, is one of the key regulators of actin filaments during spine plasticity. Our data showed that the overexpression of acidic calponin‐GFP (green fluorescent protein) in primary cultures of rat hippocampal neurons causes an elongation of spines and an increase of their density as compared with those of GFP‐expressing neurons. These effects required the actin‐binding domains of acidic calponin. The close apposition of the presynatic marker synaptophysin to these long spines and the presence of specific postsynaptic markers actin, PSD‐95, NR1, and GluR1 suggested the existence of functional excitatory synaptic contacts. Indeed, electrophysiological data showed that the postsynaptic overexpression of acidic calponin enhanced the frequency of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents as compared with that of GFP‐expressing neurons, but did not affect their properties such as amplitude, rise time, and half width. Studies in heterologous cells revealed that acidic calponin reorganized the actin filaments and stabilized them. Taken together, these findings show that acidic calponin regulates dendritic spine morphology and density, likely via regulation of the actin cytoskeleton reorganization and dynamic. Furthermore, the acidic calponin‐induced spines are able to establish functional glutamatergic synapses. Such data suggest that acidic calponin is a key factor in the regulation of spine plasticity and synaptic activity. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
miRNA Expression Profile Analysis in Kidney of Different Porcine Breeds

microRNAs (miRNAs) are important post-transcriptional regulators in eukaryotes that target mRNAs repressing their expression. The uncertain process of pig domestication, with different origin focuses, and the selection process that commercial breeds suffered, have generated a wide spectrum of breeds with clear genetic and phenotypic variability. The aim of this work was to define the miRNAs expression profile in kidney of several porcine breeds. Small RNA libraries from kidney were elaborated and high-throughput sequenced with the 454 Genome Sequencer FLX (Roche). Pigs used were classified into three groups: the European origin group (Iberian breed and European Wild Boar ancestor), European commercial breeds (Landrace, Large White and Piétrain breeds) and breeds with Asian origin (Meishan and Vietnamese breeds). A total of 229 miRNAs were described in the pig kidney miRNA profile, including 110 miRNAs out of the 257 previously described pig miRNAs and 119 orthologous miRNAs. The most expressed miRNAs in pig kidney microRNAome were Hsa-miR-200b-3p, Ssc-miR-125b and Ssc-miR-23b. Moreover, 5 novel porcine miRNAs and 3 orthologous miRNAs could be validated through RT-qPCR. miRNA sequence variation was determined in 116 miRNAs, evidencing the presence of isomiRs. 125 miRNAs were differentially expressed between breed groups. The identification of breed-specific miRNAs, which could be potentially associated to certain phenotypes, is becoming a new tool for the study of the genetic variability underlying complex traits and furthermore, it adds a new layer of complexity to the interesting process of pig evolution.
Does Drinking Location Matter? Profiles of Risky Single-Occasion Drinking by Location and Alcohol-Related Harm among Young Men

In adolescents and young adults, acute consequences like injuries account for a substantial proportion of alcohol-related harm, especially in risky single-occasion (RSO) drinkers. The primary aim of the study was to characterize different drinking profiles in RSO drinkers according to drinking locations and their relationship to negative, alcohol-related consequences. The sample consisted of 2746 young men from the Cohort Study on Substance Use Risk Factors who had reported drinking six or more drinks on a single-occasion at least monthly over the preceding 12 months. Principal component analysis on the frequency and amount of drinking at 11 different locations was conducted, and 2 distinguishable components emerged: a non-party-dimension (loading high on theater/cinema, sport clubs, other clubs/societies, restaurants, and sport events) and a party-dimension (loading high on someone else’s home, pubs/bars, discos/nightclubs, outdoor public places, special events, and home). Differential impacts of drinking location profiles were observed on severe negative alcohol-related consequences (SAC). Relative to those classified as low or intermediate in both dimensions, no significant difference experiencing SAC was found among those who were classified as high in the non-party-dimension only. However, those who were classified as high in the party-dimension alone or in both dimensions were more likely to experience SAC. These differential effects remained after adjusting for alcohol consumption (volume and risky single-occasion drinking), personality traits, and peer-influence [adjusted OR = 0.83 (0.68–1.02), 1.57 (1.27–1.96), and 1.72 (1.23–2.41), respectively], indicating independent effects of drinking location on SAC. The inclusion of sociodemographic factors did not alter this association. The fact that this cluster of party-dimension locations seems to predispose young men to experiencing SAC has important implications for alcohol control policies.
Java simulator for an autonomous mobile robot operating in the presence of sensor faults

This paper presents a two-dimensional mobile robot s imulator written in Java. This robot performs autonomous navigation based on infra red sensors. Sensing range and angle can be adjusted in real-time. Obstacle detection and avo id nce algorithm have been implemented. In this paper, the wall-following problem for mobile robot in the presence of sensors faults is considered in detail. Time related method of robot orientation relative to the wall is shown. A few experimental tests are reported to discuss the r obustness of control algorithm and verify simulations results.
CUSE: A novel cube-based approach for sequential pattern mining

Sequences are one of the most important types of patterns which are extracted from datasets and are used to construct association rules. Several sequential pattern mining methods have been proposed in the literature. This paper introduces a novel bit wise approach to compress and represent the sequence database as a 3-dimentional array and use a corresponding mining method to extract frequent sequences from the compressed structure. Experimental results and performance study show that this algorithm outperforms the best previously developed algorithms.
A knowledge-based tutor for music composition

The work described here forms part of a project using models of musical ideas within an AI and education framework whose goal is to encourage and facilitate music composition by novices. Formal knowledge of the domain (popular music) is too incomplete and fragmented to support a traditional expert-based tutor for precisely constrained tasks with clear-cut rules. Instead the proposed system will use a net of disparate, incomplete knowledge sources linked with a small number of microworlds. The proposed system includes a new microworld for harmony, based on recent cognitive theories. The knowledge-based component will take the form of a net of objects corresponding to knowledge about pieces of music, musical styles and the musical strategies and techniques employed in them . The net is connected by links of generality, specificity and similarity. The proposed knowledge base is intended be explored in its own right, used to transform and generate fragments of music and used to guide discovery in the microworlds. The system will try to construct teaching plans on the basis of what a novice can do, and equally importantly, what he likes in order to help him find paths to personally important goals. As well as an attempt to tackle the stringent demands of the particular domain, the research is an exploration of whether it is possible to tutor effectively with incomplete knowledge in a complex domain .
Fuzzy classification improvement by a pre-perceptual labelled segmentation algorithm

The goal of this paper is to present how two different image processing approaches can be enhanced by merging both methodologies. We will see how the results of a perceptual labelled segmentation methodology [7] can be improved by applying a fuzzy classification algorithm [2] based on a fuzzy outranking methodology [9] as a postprocessing algorithm, and viceversa. A comparison of the individual algorithms with the combination of both algorithms will be presented in order to demonstrate the improvement. Color Bone Marrow /sup 1/ images will be used. The objective is to detect White Blood Cells. The detection of white blood cells in bone marrow microscopic images presents big difficulties because of the great variance in their characteristics and also because of staining and illumination inconsistences. On the other hand, the maturity classes of white blood cells actually represents a continuum; cells frequently overlap each other, and there is a fairly wide variation in size and shape of nucleus and cytoplasm regions within given cell classes.
Associations of disease activity and treatments with mortality in men with rheumatoid arthritis: results from the VARA registry.

OBJECTIVES To examine the all-cause mortality rate and factors associated with mortality in US veteran men with RA. METHODS Men with RA were enrolled and followed until death or censoring. Vital status was ascertained through systematic record review and standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were calculated using US life tables for men. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression was used to examine the independent associations of patient factors including socio-demographics, comorbidity, measures of RA disease activity/severity and medication use with mortality. Measures of RA disease activity and medications were examined as time-varying factors. RESULTS A total of 138 deaths were observed during 2314 patient-years of follow-up (n=1015 patients), corresponding to a crude morality rate of 5.9 deaths per 100 patient-years (95% CI 5.0, 7.0) and an SMR of 2.1 (95% CI 1.8, 2.5). After multivariate adjustment, factors independently associated with higher mortality risk in men with RA included older age, Caucasian race, low body weight, an increased frequency of rheumatology visits, higher ESR and RF concentrations, increased DAS28, subcutaneous nodules and prednisone use. In contrast, MTX use [hazard ratio (HR) 0.63; 95% CI 0.42, 0.96] was associated with ∼40% lower mortality risk. CONCLUSION Mortality rates among US male veterans with RA are more than twice those of age-matched men in the general population. These results suggest that optimizing disease control, particularly with regimens that include MTX and minimize glucocorticoid exposure, could improve long-term survival in this population.
Collaboration Across the Enterprise - An Ontology-based Approach for Enterprise Interoperability

In the current competitive industrial context, enterprises must react swiftly to market changes. In order to face this problem, enterprises must increase their collaborative activities. This implies at one hand high communication between their information systems and at the other hand the compatibility of their practices. An important amount of work must be performed towards proper practices of standardization and harmonization. This is the concept of Interoperability. Interoperability of enterprises is a strategic issue, caused as well as enabled by the continuously growing ability of integration of new legacy and evolving systems, in particular in the context of networked organisations. of the reconciliation of the communicated business semantics is crucial to success. For this, non-disruptive re-use of existing business data stored in “legacy” production information systems is an evident prerequisite. In addition the integration of a methodology as well as the scalability of any proposed semantic technological solution are equally evident prerequisites. Yet on all accounts current semantic technologies as researched and developed for the socalled Semantic Web may be found lacking. Still, semantic technology is claimed about to become mainstream, as it is pused by enterprise interoperation needs and increasing availability of domain specific content (for example ontologies) rather than pulled by basic technology (for example OWL) providers. In this paper we present a methodology which has resulted in the implementation of a highly customizable collaborative environment focussed to support ontology-based enterprise interoperability. The main benefit of this environment is its ability to integrate with legacy systems, rescuing enterprises from having to adapt or upgrade their existing systems in order to interoperate with their partners.
Fisher vectors in PLDA speaker verification system

The goal of this paper is to examine the Fisher Vector and incorporate this vector in the PLDA based speaker verification system. The PLDA based system utilizes the Supervector of Statistics extracted from a Gaussian Mixture Model (adopted from the speaker adaptation task) to collect the information about a speaker from a dataset. We compare the efficiency of the PLDA based speaker verification system using Supervector of Statistics and the same system with Fisher vector. The experimental results of these two approaches to the verification task and the fusion of these two systems indicate that the Fisher Vector brings almost the same information to the PLDA verification process as the Supervector of Statistics when sufficient data are available.
European Cinema after 1989: Cultural Identity and Transnational Production

The Political Discourse Around the European Union: A Supranational Europe * The Return of the Repressed: European Cinema and the New Cinematographic Coproductions * Nostalgia as a Weak Utopia for Europe * Underground and the Balkanization of History * Postcolonial Europe * A Global European Cinema
An analytical model for provisioning of emerging personalized content distribution services

An emerging communication service with significant potential is delivery of personalized content. Such a service typically is provided through either live or time-shifted program multicast. While the former requires adequate bandwidth for a combination of unicast, multicast or broadcast, the latter typically leverages caching. Both modes of distribution have hard resource constraints. Determination of effective tradeoffs between transmission-constrained multicast and storage-constrained caching presents a significant challenge, particularly in a bandwidth-limited wireless environment. We describe a general analytical model for efficient and effective solutions to these multi-dimensional problems in content delivery networks. We illustrate the utility of this analytical framework via a prototypical scenario in personalized wireless video services.
An Optically Powered Single-Channel Stimulation Implant as Test System for Chronic Biocompatibility and Biostability of Miniaturized Retinal Vision Prostheses

A microsystem based microimplant with an optically powered single-channel stimulator was designed and developed as test system for an epi-retinal vision implant. Biostability of the hybrid assembly and the encapsulation materials were evaluated in pilot experiments in chronic implantations in a cat animal model. The implant was fabricated on a flexible polyimide substrate with integrated platinum electrode, interconnection lines, and contact pads for hybrid integration of electronic components. The receiver part was realized with four photodiodes connected in series. A parylene C coating was deposited on the electronic components as insulation layer. Silicone rubber was used to encapsulate the electronics in the shape of an artificial intraocular lens to allow proper implantation in the eye. Pilot experiments showed the biostability of the encapsulation approach and full electric functionality of the microimplant to generate stimulation currents over the implantation period of three months in two cats. In one cat, electrical stimulation of the retina evoked neuronal responses in the visual cortex and indicated the feasibility of the system approach for chronic use
Dynamic, Stochastic Models for Congestion Pricing and Congestion Securities

This research considers congestion pricing under demand uncertainty. In particular, a robust optimization (RO) approach is applied to optimal congestion pricing problems under user equilibrium. A mathematical model is developed and an analysis performed to consider robust, dynamic user equilibrium, optimal tolls based on the second-best problem known as the dynamic optimal toll problem with equilibrium constraints, or DOTPEC. Finally, numerical experiments and qualitative analyses are conducted to investigate the performance and robustness of the solutions obtained.
A String Metric Based on a One-to-one Greedy Matching Algorithm

We introduce a novel string similarity metric based on a matching problem formulation. This formulation combined with other heuristics generates comparatively more accurate string similarity scores than some other methods. The results of the proposed method are improved by training the method on domain data. A detailed description of the method as well as computational results on many databases are given.
Noradrenergic Innervation of the Dorsal Medial Prefrontal Cortex Modulates Hypothalamo-Pituitary-Adrenal Responses to Acute Emotional Stress

The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) has been proposed to play a role in the inhibition of hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) responses to emotional stress via influences on neuroendocrine effector mechanisms housed in the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus (PVH). Previous work also suggests an involvement of the locus ceruleus (LC) in behavioral and neuroendocrine responses to a variety of acute stressors. The LC issues a widespread set of noradrenergic projections, and its innervation of the prefrontal cortex plays an important role in the modulation of working memory and attention. Because these operations are likely to be critical for stimulus selection, evaluation, and comparison with past experience in mounting adaptive responses to emotional stress, it follows that the LC-to-mPFC pathway might also be involved in regulating HPA activity under such conditions. Therefore, in the present study, we assessed the effects of selectively ablating noradrenergic inputs into the mPFC, using the axonally transported catecholamine immunotoxin, saporin-conjugated antiserum to dopamine-β-hydroxylase, on acute restraint stress-induced activation of HPA output. Immunotoxin injections in the dorsal mPFC (centered in the prelimbic cortex) attenuated increments in restraint-induced Fos and corticotropin-releasing factor mRNA expression in the neurosecretory region of PVH, as well as HPA secretory responses. Stress-induced Fos expression in dorsal mPFC was enhanced after noradrenergic deafferentation and was negatively correlated with stress-induced PVH activation, independent of lesion status. These findings identify the LC as an upstream component of a circuitry providing for dorsal mPFC modulation of emotional stress-induced HPA activation.
Gender Quotas and Female Leadership

Despite significant advances in education and political participation, women remain underrepresented in leadership positions in politics and business across the globe. In many countries, policy-makers have responded by introducing gender quotas in politics and increasingly, many have expressed an interest in requiring gender quotas for corporate boards. This paper reviews the evidence on the equity and efficiency impacts of gender quotas for political positions and corporate board membership. Adoption of quotas by countries is likely correlated with attitudes about women within a country. However, the randomized allocation of political quotas in India and the unanticipated introduction of board quotas in Norway have allowed researchers to provide causal analysis and this review focuses on evidence from these two settings. The Indian evidence demonstrates that quotas increase female leadership and influences policy outcomes. In addition, rather than create a backlash against women, quotas can reduce gender discrimination in the long-term. The board quota evidence is more mixed. While female entry on boards is correlated with changing management practices, this change appears to adversely influence short-run profits. Whether this is partly driven by negative perceptions of female management choices remains an open question. Returning to the broader cross-country context, we find evidence in many different settings that political and corporate entities often act strategically to circumvent the intended impact of quotas. Consistent with this, we report suggestive evidence that the design of the quota and selection systems matter for increasing female leadership. * The authors are from Harvard University. We thank the World Bank for funding. We also thank Anne Brockmeyer and Nirvana Abou-Gabal for excellent research assistance.
Application of Hybrid Multi-resolution Wavelet Decomposition Method in Detecting Human Walking Gait Events

Identifying walking gait events is important in gait analysis. In particular, heel-strike and toe-off are commonly used to define the stance phase and swing phase in normal human walking gait cycle. They are used to segment a stream of human motion data into discrete and meaningful sections that can be analyzed and compared with available literatures. This paper proposes multi-resolution wavelet decomposition to reveal relevant information. Subsequently, proposed method differentiates the signal twice to identify the heel-strike and toe-off events. With this information, various temporal gait parameters can be easily estimated, such as the duration of swing phase and stance phase, and the duration of initial double support and terminal double support. Experimental results on the temporal parameters are comparable to the available benchmark data with minimal discrepancies due to the anthropometric properties of the subjects and inconsistent walking speed.