Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lower cortisol response in high‐resilient caregivers of people with autism: the role of anger

Caring for an offspring with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been related to high stress levels and health disturbances. However, a protective effect against these negative health outcomes has been described in high-resilient caregivers. In this context, the main aim of the present study was to assess the association between resilient coping and cortisol response to acute stress in caregivers of people with ASD. Furthermore, the study aimed to explore the mediating role of anger in this association. We exposed 40 caregivers of people with ASD to an acute psychosocial stressor in the laboratory. Salivary cortisol samples were obtained before, during, and after the stressor. Resilient coping, anger, and socio-demographic variables were also assessed. Resilient coping was negatively correlated with cortisol response. Specifically, cortisol release was lower in high-resilient than low-resilient caregivers. Anger was positively correlated with cortisol response, mediating the association with resilient coping. The observed associations of resilient coping and anger with cortisol response indicate that these variables may affect health outcomes, resilience being protective and anger harmful. Psychotherapeutic interventions focused on strengthening resilience and anger management could benefit caregivers, improving their health status and quality of life.
Impact of MET targeting on tumor-associated angiogenesis and growth of MET mutations-driven models of liver cancer

Deregulated expression of the MET receptor tyrosine kinase has been reported in up to 50% of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, the most abundant form of liver cancers, and is associated with decreased survival. Consequently, MET is considered as a molecular target in this malignancy, whose progression is highly dependent on extensive angiogenesis. Here we studied the impact of MET small molecule inhibitors on angiogenesis-associated parameters and growth of xenograft liver models consisting of cells expressing MET-mutated variants M1268T and Y1248H, which exhibit constitutive kinase activity. We demonstrate that MET mutations expression is associated with significantly increased production of vascular endothelial growth factor, which is blocked by MET targeting only in cells expressing the M1268T inhibitor-sensitive but not in the Y1248H inhibitor-resistant variant. Decrease in vascular endothelial growth factor production is also associated with reduction of tyrosine phopshorylation of the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 expressed on primary liver sinusoidal endothelial cells and with inhibition of vessel formation. Furthermore, MET inhibition demonstrated an efficient anti-tumor activity and considerable reduction in microvessel density only against the M1268T-derived intrahepatic tumors. Collectively, our data support the role of targeting MET-associated angiogenesis as a major biological determinant for liver tumor growth control.
Tag suggestion and localization for images by bipartite graph matching

Given an image that is loosely tagged by a few tags, we would like to accurately localize these tags into appropriate image regions, and at the same time suggest new tags for regions if necessary. In this paper, this task is formulated on a bipartite graph, and is solved by finding the best matching between two disjoint sets of nodes. One set of nodes represents regions segmented from an image, and another set represents a combination of existing tags and new candidate tags retrieved from photo sharing platforms. In graph construction, visual characteristics in the representation of the bag of word model and users' tagging behaviors are jointly considered. By finding the best matching with the Hungarian algorithm, the region-tag correspondence is determined, and tag suggestion and tag localization are accomplished simultaneously. Experimental results show that the proposed unified framework achieves promising image tagging performance.
MIPModDB: a central resource for the superfamily of major intrinsic proteins

The channel proteins belonging to the major intrinsic proteins (MIP) superfamily are diverse and are found in all forms of life. Water-transporting aquaporin and glycerol-specific aquaglyceroporin are the prototype members of the MIP superfamily. MIPs have also been shown to transport other neutral molecules and gases across the membrane. They have internal homology and possess conserved sequence motifs. By analyzing a large number of publicly available genome sequences, we have identified more than 1000 MIPs from diverse organisms. We have developed a database MIPModDB which will be a unified resource for all MIPs. For each MIP entry, this database contains information about the source, gene structure, sequence features, substitutions in the conserved NPA motifs, structural model, the residues forming the selectivity filter and channel radius profile. For selected set of MIPs, it is possible to derive structure-based sequence alignment and evolutionary relationship. Sequences and structures of selected MIPs can be downloaded from MIPModDB database which is freely available at http://bioinfo.iitk. ac.in/MIPModDB.
Recent results of the second generation of vector vortex coronagraphs on the high-contrast imaging testbed at JPL

The Vector Vortex Coronagraph (VVC) is an attractive internal coronagraph solution to image and characterize exoplanets. It provides four key pillars on which efficient high contrast imaging instruments can be built for ground- and space-based telescopes: small inner working angle, high throughput, clear off-axis discovery space, and simple layout. We present the status of the VVC technology development supported by NASA. We will review recent results of the optical tests of the second-generation topological charge 4 VVC on the actively corrected High Contrast Imaging Testbed (HCIT) at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). New VVC contrast records have been established.
Use of Generalised Nonlinearity in Vector Taylor Series Noise Compensation for Robust Speech Recognition

Designing good normalisation to counter the effect of environmental distortions is one of the major challenges for automatic speech recognition (ASR). The Vector Taylor series (VTS) method is a powerful and mathematically well principled technique that can be applied to both the feature and model domains to compensate for both additive and convolutional noises. One of the limitations of this approach, however, is that it is tied to MFCC (and log-filterbank) features and does not extend to other representations such as PLP, PNCC and phase-based front-ends that use power transformation rather than log compression. This paper aims at broadening the scope of the VTS method by deriving a new formulation that assumes a power transformation is used as the non-linearity during feature extraction. It is shown that the conventional VTS, in the log domain, is a special case of the new extended framework. In addition, the new formulation introduces one more degree of freedom which makes it possible to tune the algorithm to better fit the data to the statistical requirements of the ASR back-end. Compared with MFCC and conventional VTS, the proposed approach provides upto 12.2% and 2.0% absolute performance improvements on average, in Aurora-4 tasks, respectively
Electrochemical Properties of Sulfurized-Polyacrylonitrile Cathode for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries: Effect of Polyacrylic Acid Binder and Fluoroethylene Carbonate Additive.

Sulfurized carbonized polyacrylonitrile (S-CPAN) is a promising cathode material for Li-S batteries owing to the absence of polysulfide dissolution phenomena in the electrolyte solutions and thus the lack of a detrimental shuttle mechanism. However, challenges remain in achieving high performance at practical loading because of large volume expansion of S-CPAN electrodes and lithium anode degradation at high current densities. To mitigate this problem, we propose a novel cell design including poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) binder for improved integrity of the composite electrodes and fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC) as additive in the electrolyte solutions for stabilizing the lithium metal surface. As a result, these cells delivered high initial discharge capacity of 1500 mAh g-1 and a superior cycling stability ∼98.5% capacity retention after 100 cycles, 0.5 C rate, and high sulfur loading of 3.0 mg cm-2. Scaled-up 260 mAh pouch cells are working very well, highlighting the practical importance of this work.
Application of the Fast Gauss Transform to Option Pricing

In many of the numerical methods for pricing American options based on the dynamic programming approach, the most computationally intensive part can be formulated as the summation of Gaussians. Though this operation usually requiresO( NN') work when there areN' summations to compute and the number of terms appearing in each summation isN, we can reduce the amount of work toO( N +N') by using a technique called the fast Gauss transform. In this paper, we apply this technique to the multinomial method and the stochastic mesh method, and show by numerical experiments how it can speed up these methods dramatically, both for the Black-Scholes model and Merton's lognormal jump-diffusion model. We also propose extensions of the fast Gauss transform method to models with non-Gaussian densities.
Retrograde Aortic Dissection After Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair

Objective:To provide data regarding the etiology and timing of retrograde type A aortic dissection (RTAD) after thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR). Methods:Details of patients who had RTAD after TEVAR were obtained from the MOTHER Registry supplemented by data from a systematic review of the literature. Univariate analysis and binary logistic regression analysis of patient or technical factors was performed. Results:In MOTHER, RTAD developed in 16 of the 1010 patients (1.6%). Binary logistic regression demonstrated that an indication of TEVAR for aortic dissection (acute P = 0.000212; chronic P = 0.006) and device oversizing (OR 1.14 per 1% increase in oversizing above 9%, P < 0.0001) were significantly more frequent in patients with RTAD. Data from the systematic review was pooled with MOTHER data and demonstrated that RTAD occurred in 1.7% (168/9894). Most of RTAD occurred in the immediate postoperative (58%) period and was associated with a high mortality rate (33.6%). The odds ratio of RTAD for an acute aortic dissection was 10.0 (CI: 4.7–21.9) and 3.4 (CI: 1.3–8.8) for chronic aortic dissection. The incidence of RTAD was not significantly different for endografts with proximal bare stent (2.8%) or nonbare stent (1.9%) (P = 0.1298). Conclusions:Although RTAD after TEVAR is an uncommon complication, it has a high mortality rate. RTAD is significantly more frequent in patients treated for acute and chronic type B dissection, and when the endograft is significantly oversized. The proximal endograft configuration was not associated with any difference in the incidence of RTAD.
The Natural Origins of Economics

References to the economy are ubiquitous in modern life, and virtually every facet of human activity has capitulated to market mechanisms. In the early modern period, however, there was no common perception of the economy, and discourses on money, trade, and commerce treated economic phenomena as properties of physical nature. Only in the early nineteenth century did economists begin to posit and identify the economy as a distinct object, divorcing it from natural processes and attaching it exclusively to human laws and agency. In The Natural Origins of Economics , Margaret Schabas traces the emergence and transformation of economics in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries from a natural to a social science. Focusing on the works of several prominent economists—David Hume, Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, David Ricardo, and John Stuart Mill—Schabas examines their conceptual debt to natural science and thus locates the evolution of economic ideas within the history of science. An ambitious study, The Natural Origins of Economics will be of interest to economists, historians, and philosophers alike.
Occupational exposure to selected isocyanates in Polish industry.

BACKGROUND Isocyanates constitute a group of highly reactive, low molecular weight chemicals used worldwide for polyurethane manufacturing. The occupational exposure to these compounds is a major cause of occupational asthma, thus it is very important to monitor their concentration in the workplace atmosphere. The aim of the study was to measure the concentration of 4,4'-methylenediphenyl diisocyanate (MDI; CAS 101-68-8), toluene-2,4-di-isocyanate (2,4-TDI; CAS 584-84-9), toluene-2,6-di-isocyanate (2,6-TDI; CAS 91-08-7) and hexamethylene di-isocyanate (HDI; CAS 822-06-0) in the work environment for evaluation of the occupational exposure to these compounds. MATERIAL AND METHODS Determination of concentrations of selected isocyanates was carried out in 21 manufacturing plants, during different industrial processes. The collected air samples (personal samples) were analyzed by means of the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). RESULTS The presented results represent the 1st data on the occupational exposure to isocyanates in Poland. This set of data is generally indicative of concentrations of analyzed isocyanates that are low and do not exceed the maximum admissible concentration (MAC) values in Poland. Elevated concentrations (above the MAC value) were found only for the TDI in the course of manufacturing of polyurethane foam blocks. CONCLUSIONS Results of many studies show that low concentrations of isocyanates (particularly of low volatility like for example MDI) in the air cannot exclude the possibility of additional absorption of these compounds through skin. Taking into consideration all the uncertainties associated with the evaluation of the risk of exposure to isocyanates based solely on measurement of their levels in the air, it would seem that the simultaneous application of environmental and biological monitoring would only facilitate a reliable assessment of the occupational exposure risk.
Use of nuclepore filters for counting bacteria by fluorescence microscopy

Polycarbonate Nuclepore filters are better than cellulose filters for the direct counting of bacteria because they have uniform pore size and a flat surface that retains all of the bacteria on top of the filter. Although cellulose filters also retain all of the bacteria, many are trapped inside the filter where they cannot be counted. Before use, the Nuclepore filters must be dyed with irgalan black to eliminate autofluorescence. Direct counts of bacteria in lake and ocean waters are twice as high with Nuclepore filters as with cellulose filters.
The Views of Turkish Pre-Service Science Teachers Concerning Microteaching Practices

The purpose of the present study is to detect what micro-teaching provides to the pre-service teachers, and what is liked or disliked about its implementations, by obtaining the views of pre-service science teachers on micro-teaching practices in general. With this purpose, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 pre-service teachers. Pre-service teachers made presentations using micro-teaching techniques in the Special Teaching Methods I-II classes. A total of 12 pre-service teachers, who received either high or low scores from the assessment made after the practice, were selected; and their views on micro-teaching practices were obtained. According to the findings, pre-service teachers stated that micro-teaching was beneficial in performing various teaching activities, in the conduct of class management and for the teaching of various individual development skills. Also, pre-service teachers stated that the opportunity for self-evaluation was the aspect they most liked, while its creation of anxiety and the possibility of biased behavior in peer assessment were the most disliked aspects.
Endowment Game and Optimal Total Quantity in the Market for Tradeable Permits

The paper extends previous literature on tradeable permits in two directions. First the initial allocation of permits is modeled as a cooperative bargaining game between participants of the subsequent market situation. Using this framework, it is shown how market design affects the connection between 'Utilitarian,' 'Nash,' and 'Equal Gains' allocation principles. Second, the total quantity of permits is made endogenous through the introduction of a social planner maximising social utility. The effects of both market design and rules of allocation on optimal total quantity are described. Results are used to evaluate related aspects of International Emission Trading established by the UN's 1997 Kyoto protocol.
Graph indexing and querying: a review

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a detailed discussion for different types of graph queries and a different mechanism for indexing and querying graph databases.Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews the existing approaches and techniques for indexing and querying graph databases. For each approach, the strengths and weaknesses are discussed with particular emphasis on the target application domain. Based on an analysis of the state‐of‐the‐art of research literature, the paper provides insights for future research directions and untouched challenging research aspects.Findings – Several graph indexing and querying techniques have been proposed in the literature. However, there is still a clear room for improvement and further research issues in that domain.Research limitations/implications – The paper identifies the advantages and disadvantages of the different graph indexing mechanisms and their suitability for different practical applications. The paper provides some guidelines a.
Myocardial Biomarkers for Prediction of Cardiovascular Disease

The identification of those persons in the population who have the highest risk of future cardiovascular events is important for targeting intensive preventive efforts. This can be reliably done using a handful of long since established risk factors. The unmet need for new molecular biomarkers for prediction of cardiovascular events in the general population is therefore low. In order for a new biomarker to be used clinically for risk prediction, a statistically significant association of levels of the biomarker to adverse outcome is not enough, but the biomarker should also be demonstrated to add discriminative capacity beyond established risk factors. In contrast to the limited value of new biomarkers for risk prediction, their usefulness for unraveling the pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease is large. The myocardium is the source of a vast number of interesting biomarkers, of which a few may be useful for risk prediction in the general population. Two of these, troponin-I and the N-terminal fragment of brain natriuretic peptide, have passed tests of added discriminatory value. Numerous other biomarkers produced by cardiomyocytes or non-cardiomyocytes in the myocardium are promising, and if they are not proven useful for risk prediction, they will unquestionably enhance our understanding of cardiovascular disease.
Support Vector Machine Classiﬁcation of Gunshots

Crime scene investigation involves a forensic analysis of the information available with the goal of determining the innocence or guilt of a suspect. Sometimes, this information can be physical, chemical, visual, or aural. In particular, crimes where audio evidence is available faces investigators with the problem of determining a reasonable sequence of events that explain the audio data. In the case of gun crimes where such audio evidence is available, knowledge of the type of gun used could provide more useful information to investigators. In this work, we explore the performance of Support Vector Machines when used to classify audio recordings of gunshots. We use supervised learning techniques with the goal of matching gunshot sounds with their observed labels. We also experiment with different feature types, kernel parameters, and datasets to compare their relative performance impact on classification.
Vibration of micromachined circular piezoelectric diaphragms

The electrically and mechanically excited resonances in micromachined circular piezoelectric diaphragms have been investigated. The diaphragm structures were piezoelectric unimorphs consisting of Pb(Zr/sub 0.52/,Ti/sub 0.48/)O/sub 3/ (PZT) films and thermally grown silicon oxide (SiO/sub 2/) layers. For electrical excitation, ring-shaped interdigitated (IDT) electrodes formed on the top of the PZT layer were used to induce strain in the diaphragms. The diaphragm structures behaved much like circular membranes in which the membrane tension was /spl sim/206 N/m, at the fundamental modes. For higher modes, the resonance frequencies deviated from the theoretical values due to the finite stiffness of the diaphragms. Under mechanical drive, both symmetric and asymmetric modes were excited. However, for electrical excitation, the symmetric modes were dominant due to the symmetry of the driving IDT electrodes. At a pressure of 727 Torr, the quality factor was /spl sim/250, and this rose to 2000 at pressures below 1 Torr. When a forward bias was applied to the diaphragm, the membrane tension decreased, but under reverse biases the tension increased. However, because of repoling under reverse biases greater than the coercive field of the PZT film, the achievable increase in the membrane tension was limited. In the diaphragm structure, the nonlinear vibration was governed by geometric nonlinearity rather than material nonlinearity. In addition, evidence of non-180/spl deg/ domain wall motion of the PZT layer in released diaphragms was observed.
Involvement of fixLJ in the regulation of nitrogen fixation in Azorhizobium caulinodans

A gene bank of Azorhizobium caulinodans DNA constructed in the bacteriophage λGEM11 was screened with Rhizobium meliloti fixL and fixJ genes as probes. One positive recombinant phage, ORSλL, was isolated. The nucleotide sequence of a 3.7 kb fragment was established. Two open reading frames of 1512 bp and 613bp were identified as fixL and fixJ. Kanamycin cartridges were inserted into the cloned fixL and fixJ genes and recombined into the host genome. The resulting mutants were Nif− Fix−, suggesting that the two genes were required for symbiotic nitrogen fixation and for nitrogen fixation in the free‐living state. Using pnifH–lacZ and pnifA–lacZ fusions, it was shown that the FixLJ products controlled the expression of nifH and nifA in bacteria grown in the free‐living state.
A Covariance-Tying Technique for HMM-Based Speech Synthesis

SUMMARY A technique for reducing the footprints of HMM-based speech synthesis systems by tying all covariance matrices of state distributions is described. HMM-based speech synthesis systems usually leave smaller footprints than unit-selection synthesis systems because they store statistics rather than speech waveforms. However, further reduction is essential to put them on embedded devices, which have limited memory. In accordance with the empirical knowledge that covariance matrices have a smaller impact on the quality of synthesized speech than mean vectors, we propose a technique for clustering mean vectors while tying all covariance matrices. Subjective listening test results showed that the proposed technique can shrink the footprints of an HMM-based speech synthesis system