Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A study of applying subspace based pronunciation modeling in verifying pronunciation accuracy

This paper investigates a new approach for detecting phoneme level mispronunciations from utterances obtained from impaired children with neuromuscular disorders. This new pronunciation verification (PV) approach is obtained from the subspace based Gaussian mixture model (SGMM) based pronunciation model, where a set of state level projection vectors is applied for representing phonetic variability. SGMM models are trained from disabled speakers' utterances and PV scores are computed directly from distances between disabled and reference speaker projection vectors. An experimental study was performed to evaluate the performance of the SGMM based approach with respect to an approach based on the lattice posterior probabilities. A reduction in equal error rate (EER) of approximately 15% was obtained when the SGMM based scores were combined with lattice posterior probabilities.
Fast output sampling regulators with integral action

Fast output sampling controllers have been shown in case studies to provide a sometimes superior alternative to observer-based state feedback control. Nondynamic feedback of output samples allows a particularly flexible design; however the error dynamics cannot be designed independent of the controller in that case. Here an LMI design procedure is proposed that allows to move the error dynamics close to the origin, and that also makes it possible to include integral action and achieve low noise sensitivity. As a practical application, a multivariable regulator for a turbogenerator is designed and experimental results are shown.
Programming for Serendipity

Serendipity, the faculty of making fortunate and unexpected discoveries by accident, is recognized today as playing a key role in sparking innovation. It does not seem, however, to be manageable by any means, which has kept it as a relatively unexplored subject of research. This paper claims that, although it may not be possible to program serendipity, it is quite possible to program for serendipity, that is, to induce serendipitous insights through the use of computers. The paper begins by commenting on the nature of serendipity and on its relationship to conventional creativity, before it presents Max, a software agent that uses simple information retrieval techniques and heuristic search to wander on the Internet and uncover information aimed at stimulating serendipitous insights.
Specificity of Mimotope-Induced Anti-High Molecular Weight-Melanoma Associated Antigen (HMW-MAA) Antibodies Does Not Ensure Biological Activity

Vaccines based on peptide mimics (mimotopes) of conformational tumor antigen epitopes have been investigated for a variety of human tumors including breast cancer, tumors expressing the carcinoembryonic antigen, B cell lymphoma, neuroblastoma, and melanoma. In our previous work, we designed a vaccine based on a mimotope of the high molecular weight-melanoma associated antigen (HMW-MAA) that elicited HMW-MAA-specific antibodies (Abs) with anti-tumor activity in vitro and in vivo. In this study, we aimed to identify mimotopes of additional distinct HMW-MAA epitopes, since they could be used to construct a polymimotope melanoma vaccine. For this purpose, random peptide phage libraries were screened with the anti-HMW-MAA monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) VT80.12 and VF1-TP43 yielding one peptide ligand for each mAb. Both peptides inhibited the binding of the corresponding mAb to the HMW-MAA. Furthermore, when coupled to the carrier protein keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH), both HMW-MAA mimotopes elicited peptide-specific Abs in rabbits or BALB/c mice, but only the mimotope isolated with the mAb VT80.12 elicited HMW-MAA-specific Abs and only in mice. However, the latter Abs had no detectable effect on HMW-MAA expressing human melanoma cells in vitro. These results describe limitations related to the phage display technique and emphasize the need to characterize the functional properties of the mAb utilized to isolate mimotopes of the corresponding epitopes.
Intruder recognition using ECG signal

The electrocardiogram (ECG) is becoming a promising technology for biometric human identification. Usually ECG is used for health measurements and this is useful for biometric applications to state that the subject under analysis is live. But an individual identification shouldn't require a classical ECG clinical analysis where several contacts are applied to the person to be identified. In literature, ECG biometric recognition is usually studied for the recognition of a subject within a group of known subjects. In this paper, a new approach is considered. The aim of our embedded wearable controller is to authorize a subject or to reject him, labeling as an intruder unknown to the system. The study used 40 healthy subjects: two authorized and 38 intruders. A one-lead ECG trace has been recorded from the wrists of subjects, features have been extracted using a combination of Autocorrelation and Discrete Cosine Transform (AC/DCT) and then classified using a Multilayer Perceptron. Results show that intruder recognition can be performed with a success rate equal to 100%.
A Statewide Professional Development Conference: Useful Strategy for Learning or Inefficient Use of Resources?.

In an environment increasingly skeptical of the effectiveness of large-scale professional development activities, this study examines K-12 educators' reasons for participating and beliefs in the utility in a large-scale professional development conference. Preand post-conference surveys revealed that while financial support played a significant role in educators' ability to participate, they were drawn to the conference by the promise to learn substantive issues related to, in this case, performance assessment—what it means, how to implement it, and how to address community concerns. In spite of the conference's utility as a means to increase awareness of critical issues and to facilitate formal and informal learning, well conceived linkages to transfer new knowledge to the school and classroom were lacking.
Community in the Digital Age: Philosophy and Practice

Chapter 1 Preface Chapter 3 1 Consumers or Citizens? The Online Community Debate Part 4 Part I: The Question of Community and Digital Technology Chapter 5 2 The Vanishing Table, or Community in a World That is No World Chapter 6 3 Is the Internet the Solution to the Problem of Community? Chapter 7 4 Nihilism on the Information Highway: Anonymity versus commitment in the Present Age Chapter 8 5 Workers as Cyborgs: Labor and Networked Computers Chapter 9 6 Our Split Screens Part 10 Part II Observing Online Communities Chapter 11 7 Virtual Togetherness: An Everyday Life Perspective Chapter 12 8 Gender and the Commodification of Community: Women.com and gURL.com Chapter 13 9 Ethics on the Internet: A Comparative Study of Japan, the United States, and Singapore Part 14 Part III The Democratic Potential of the Internet Chapter 15 10 Virtually Democratic: Online Communities and Internet Activism Chapter 16 11 The Practical Republic: Social Skills and the Progress of Citizenship Chapter 17 12 On Virtual, Democratic Communities Chapter 18 13 The Internet and Political Transformation Revisited Chapter 19 14 Towards Civic Intelligence: Building a New Sociotechnological Infrastructure
Predicting Portuguese Steam Review Helpfulness Using Artificial Neural Networks

Online consumer reviews are currently available in most e-Commerce websites. By discussing products features, reviews help consumers during the search stage of the buying process. However, from thousands of reviews published daily, it is not always clear which ones consumers should read. To help with that, consumers can vote user reviews as helpful or not helpful. This paper proposes an automatic method to analyze the helpfulness of online consumer reviews. This analysis was made on reviews collected from Steam using Multilayer Perceptron Artificial Neural Network. We found out indication that certain features of reviews affect the perception of helpfulness and we discuss applications and future researches.
Measuring Carotid Stenosis on Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Angiography: Diagnostic Performance and Reproducibility of 3 Different Methods

Background and Purpose— The aim of this study was to compare diagnostic performance and reproducibility of 3 different methods of quantifying stenosis on contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (CEMRA), with intra-arterial digital subtraction angiography (DSA) as the reference standard. Methods— 167 symptomatic patients scheduled for DSA, after screening Doppler ultrasound, were prospectively recruited to undergo CEMRA. Severity of stenosis was measured according to the North American Symptomatic Trial Collaborators (NASCET), European Carotid Surgery Trial (ECST), and the common carotid (CC) methods. Measurements for each method were made for 284 vessels (142 included patients) on both CEMRA and DSA in a blinded and randomized manner by 3 independent attending neuroradiologists. Results— Significant differences in prevalence of severe stenosis were seen with the 3 methods on both DSA and CEMRA, with ECST yielding the least and NASCET the most cases of severe stenosis. Overall, all 3 methods performed similarly well in terms of intermodality correlation and agreement. No significant differences in interobserver agreement were found on either modality. With CEMRA, however, we found a significantly lower sensitivity for detection of severe stenosis with ECST (79.8%) compared with NASCET (93.0%), with DSA as reference standard. Conclusions— Uniformity of carotid stenosis measurement methods is desirable because patient management may otherwise differ substantially. All 3 methods are adequate for use with DSA. With CEMRA, however, this study supports use of the NASCET method because of improved sensitivity for detecting severe stenosis.
JL Lemma Based Dimensionality Reduction: On Using CDS Based Partial Fourier Matrices

In the Big Data regime, Dimensionality Reduction (DR) has a fundamental role towards facilitating useful analytics on the data. Quite recently, Johnson Lindenstrauss (JL) Lemma-based DR is actively researched from both theoretical and application perspectives. In this paper, we provide some preliminary results demonstrating the utility of the deterministic partial Fourier matrices with the rows picked according to an appropriate Cyclic Difference Set (CDS), for projecting the data vectors into the lower dimension. Apart from bringing out the fact that these matrices preserve the pair-wise distances among the vectors equally well as their random counterparts, results are also provided for their applicability in image classification and clustering.
Assessing Body Composition Among Male Collegiate Runners and Swimmers Using Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA)

This observational study investigated whole body and regional differences in bone mineral density and soft tissue amounts (fat mass versus lean mass) among collegiate runners and swimmers using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) for body composition measurement. A data subset was gathered for post-hoc analysis on a group of Caucasian male Cal Poly swimmers (n=20) and Cal Poly track and field runners (n=20) of similar age (18-25 years) and race. In addition to their sport-specific training, both teams had engaged in free weight training and running for approximately 12 weeks prior to their DXA scans. Group mean values for total body and regional bone mineral density (BMD) and percent body fat (% BF) were then compared, as were ratios for soft tissue distribution among the athletes. Multiple correlations between BMD, age, body weight (BW), fat mass (FM), lean tissue mass (LTM) and sport grouping were also determined. Results for bone mineral differences between the two groups were consistent with past literature, as the runners had significantly greater total body BMD (p=0.000), and regional BMD of the legs (p=0.000). Swimmers possessed significantly greater total % BF (p=0.004), and legs % BF (p=0.004), despite having a greater lean torso-to-legs (LTL) ratio than the runners (p=0.000). However, even though the swimmers exhibited the greater average BW of the two groups, the runners actually had more measured LTM (in kg) located in the legs than the swimmers. The track v runners had a greater FFM/FM ratio, but this value narrowly missed significance (p=0.012) after Bonferroni correction for multiple test comparisons lowered the level of significance (p<0.0083). The FFM/FM ratio was not correlated to the BMD among all subjects. Several significant correlations were found among the body composition and group descriptive variables. Total BMD was predicted by BW (Pearson r=0.421, p=0.007) and whole-body LTM (r=0.468, p=0.002) among both groups. The strongest correlation was displayed between LTM and BW for both groups (r=0.932, p=0.000). While much is known in the research about the relationship between BW and load-bearing forces among weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing athletes, these data findings suggest that soft tissue distribution differences among such athletes should be further evaluated. Future research conducted with larger athlete sample sizes may possibly be able to determine what other physiological factors (age, hormonal and metabolic variations, muscular contractions, etc.) have the most influence on such differences in body composition. vi Acknowledgements First and foremost I would like to thank …
A facile O-glycosidation using stannic chloride.

Using stannic chloride, O-glycosidation, especially O-glucuronidation of p-nitrophenol, estradiol 17-acetate, estriol 16, 17-diacetate, p-nitrobenzyl alcohol, trichloroethanol was carried out. This method is available for the preparation of some alkyl α- and β-glucuronosides and aryl β-glucuronosides, especially estrogen derivatives which are obtained in comparatively low yield by the Koenigs-Knorr method. Spectral differences of α- and β-anomers obtained were examined.
Stress Management for Life: A Research-Based Experiential Approach

1. Stress In Today's World. 2. Self-Assessment. 3. The Science of Stress. 4. The Mind/Body Connection. 5. Power of Perceptions. 6. Thinking and Choosing. 7. Mindfulness. 8. Managing Emotions. 9. The Importance of Values. 10. Spirituality. 11. Time and Life Management. 12. Money Matters. 13. Social Support, Relationships and Communication. 14. Creating a Healing Environment. 15. Healthy Lifestyles. 16. Introduction to Relaxation. 17. Take a Breath. 18. Autogenics. 19. Progressive Relaxation. 20. Guided Imagery: Using Your Imagination. 21. Meditation. 22. Yoga. 23. Alternative and Complementary Health. 24. More Stress-Reduction Strategies.
Novel Mechanisms Of Trophoblast Responses To Antiphospholipid Antibodies And Therapeutics In Obstetric Antiphospholipid Syndrome

Obstetric antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is a systemic autoimmune disorder characterized by circulating antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) and an increased risk of recurrent pregnancy loss and preeclampsia. Current treatments, such as low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) may maintain pregnancy but do not reduce the risk of these late gestational complications. aPL trigger placental inflammation by activating trophoblast Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), leading to cytokine production. Since some microRNAs (miRs) regulate TLR responses, this study sought to determine the functional role of aPL-induced miR expression in regulating trophoblast inflammation. Since vitamin D deficiency is common in APS patients, the effect of vitamin D on trophoblast function in the setting of aPL and LMWH was also evaluated. Thus, the human first trimester trophoblast cell line (HTR8) and primary trophoblast cultures were incubated with or without aPL in the presence or absence of vitamin D and/or LMWH. miR expression was profiled using RT-qPCR, and cytokine secretion was measured by ELISA. miR function was assessed by transfection of specific miR mimics or inhibitors. Indeed, treatment of trophoblast cells with aPL significantly upregulated expression of miR-146a-5p, miR146a-3p, miR-155, and miR-210 when compared to controls. Furthermore, miR-146a-5p and miR-146a-3p upregulation by aPL was TLR4 dependent. Functional studies demonstrated that miR-146a-3p directly promoted trophoblast IL-8 secretion by activating the RNA sensing receptor, TLR8. Vitamin D reduced aPL-induced miR-146a5p, IL-8 and LMWH-induced sFlt-1 release, but did not reduce aPL-induced miR-146a3p. These findings suggest that aPL induce trophoblast IL-8 production through upregulation of miR-146a-3p and subsequent activation of TLR8. Our findings also suggest that that vitamin D can dampen this inflammatory response downstream of miR146a-3p. Thus, further study of trophoblast miR function in the context of aPL and the therapeutic potential of vitamin D for obstetric APS is warranted.
Comorbidities of Obsessive and Compulsive Symptoms in Huntington's Disease

Although current reports document a high rate of obsessive and compulsive symptoms (O/Cs) in Huntington's disease (HD), there have been no studies published that have made an attempt to identify comorbidities of O/Cs in HD. We examined O/Cs in 1642 individuals with a diagnosis of HD. Of those endorsing significant O/Cs (27.2%), nearly one-quarter reported obtaining treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder. Individuals with HD and O/Cs were older, had poorer functioning, and a longer duration of illness than those without O/Cs. Individuals with HD and O/Cs endorsed significantly higher psychiatric comorbidities of depression, suicidal ideation, aggression, delusions, and hallucinations. Participants with the most severe O/Cs and worse performance on the Stroop task, a measure of executive function. Clinicians should be aware that patients with HD and O/Cs might have a somewhat different clinical picture from those without, and may require a specialized treatment plan.
Breaking the 64 spatialized sources barrier

Spatialized soundtracks and sound-effects are standard elements of today's video games. However, although 3D audio modeling and content creation tools (e.g., Creative Lab's EAGLE [4]) provide some help to game audio designers, the number of available 3D audio hardware channels remains limited, usually ranging from 16 to 64 in the best case. While one can wonder whether more hardware channels are actually required, it is clear that large numbers of spatialized sources might be needed to render a realistic environment. This problem becomes even more significant if extended sound sources are to be simulated: think of a train for instance, which is far too long to represented as a point source. Since current hardware and APIs implement only point-source models or limited extended source models [2,3,5], a large number of such sources would be required to achieve a realistic effect (view Example1). Finally, 3D-audio channels might also be used for restitution-independent representation of surround music tracks, leaving the generation of the final mix to the audio rendering API but requiring the programmer to assign some of the precious 3D channels to the soundtrack. Also, dynamic allocation schemes currently available in game APIs (e.g. Direct Sound 3D [2]) remain very basic. As a result, game audio designers and developers have to spend a lot of effort to best-map the potentially large number of sources to the limited number of channels. In this paper, we provide some answers to this problem by reviewing and introducing several automatic techniques to achieve efficient hardware mapping of complex dynamic audio scenes in the context of currently available hardware resources.
Internalization Dissociates β2-Adrenergic Receptors

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) self-associate as dimers or higher-order oligomers in living cells. The stability of associated GPCRs has not been extensively studied, but it is generally thought that these receptors move between the plasma membrane and intracellular compartments as intact dimers or oligomers. Here we show that β2-adrenergic receptors (β2ARs) that self-associate at the plasma membrane can dissociate during agonist-induced internalization. We use bioluminescence-resonance energy transfer (BRET) to monitor movement of β2ARs between subcellular compartments. BRET between β2ARs and plasma membrane markers decreases in response to agonist activation, while at the same time BRET between β2ARs and endosome markers increases. Energy transfer between β2ARs is decreased in a similar manner if either the donor- or acceptor-labeled receptor is mutated to impair agonist binding and internalization. These changes take place over the course of 30 minutes, persist after agonist is removed, and are sensitive to several inhibitors of arrestin- and clathrin-mediated endocytosis. The magnitude of the decrease in BRET between donor- and acceptor-labeled β2ARs suggests that at least half of the receptors that contribute to the BRET signal are physically segregated by internalization. These results are consistent with the possibility that β2ARs associate transiently with each other in the plasma membrane, or that β2AR dimers or oligomers are actively disrupted during internalization.
Production of a hemolytic factor by Candida albicans

Candida albicans exhibits hemolytic activity when grown on glucose-enriched blood agar. This activity is present on intact organisms, and it is secreted into the culture medium. Hemoglobin released from lysed erythrocytes can restore the transferrin-inhibited growth of C. albicans. We conclude that C. albicans expresses a hemolytic factor which allows it to acquire iron from host erythrocytes.
Radial basis neural network state estimation of electric power networks

An original application of radial basis function (RBF) neural network for power system state estimation is proposed in this paper. The property of massive parallelism of neural networks is employed for this. The application of RBF neural network for state estimation is investigated by testing its applicability on a IEEE 14 bus system. The proposed estimator is compared with conventional weighted least squares (WLS) state estimator on basis of time, accuracy and robustness. It is observed that the time taken by the proposed estimator is quite low. The proposed estimator is more accurate and robust in case of gross errors and topological errors present in the measurement data.
A customized flocking algorithm for swarms of sensors tracking a swarm of targets

Wireless mobile sensor networks (WMSNs) are groups of mobile sensing agents with multi-modal sensing capabilities that communicate over wireless networks. WMSNs have more flexibility in terms of deployment and exploration abilities over static sensor networks. Sensor networks have a wide range of applications in security and surveillance systems, environmental monitoring, data gathering for network-centric healthcare systems, monitoring seismic activities and atmospheric events, tracking traffic congestion and air pollution levels, localization of autonomous vehicles in intelligent transportation systems, and detecting failures of sensing, storage, and switching components of smart grids. The above applications require target tracking for processes and events of interest occurring in an environment. Various methods and approaches have been proposed in order to track one or more targets in a pre-defined area. Usually, this turns out to be a complicated job involving higher order mathematics coupled with artificial intelligence due to the dynamic nature of the targets. To optimize the resources we need to have an approach that works in a more straightforward manner while resulting in fairly satisfactory data. In this paper we have discussed the various cases that might arise while flocking a group of sensors to track targets in a given environment. The approach has been developed from scratch although some basic assumptions have been made keeping in mind some previous theories. This paper outlines a customized approach for feasibly tracking swarms of targets in a specific area so as to minimize the resources and optimize tracking efficiency.