Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Neural Network Approach to the Validation of Simulation Models

We tackle the problem of validating simulation models using neural networks. We propose a neural-network-based method that first learns key properties of the behaviour of alternative simulation models, and then classifies real system behaviour as coming from one of the models. We investigate the use of multi-layer perceptron and radial basis function networks, both of which are popular pattern classification techniques. By a computational experiment, we show that our method successfully allows to distinguish valid from invalid models for a multiserver queueing system
Combining Semantic and Temporal Constraints for Multimodal Integration in Conversation Systems

In a multimodal conversation, user referring patterns could be complex, involving multiple referring expressions from speech utterances and multiple gestures. To resolve those references, multimodal integration based on semantic constraints is insufficient. In this paper, we describe a graph-based probabilistic approach that simultaneously combines both semantic and temporal constraints to achieve a high performance.
Language and Executive Functions: The Effect of Articulatory Suppression on Executive Functioning in Children

In the present study, the role of language in executive functioning was explored in 6- and 9-year-old children. The experimental paradigm of articulatory suppression (with tapping as a control condition) was used on three different tasks placing low (Flanker Task), middle (Cognitive Flexibility Task), and high (Complex Span Task) demands on memory. The extent to which articulatory suppression specifically impaired performance coincided with the memory demand of the tasks as it was strongest in the Complex Span, present in the Cognitive Flexibility, and absent in the Flanker Task. The impairment was larger in the 9-year-olds than in the 6-year-olds. Taken together, results suggest that the use of speech substantially contributes to developmental progression in executive functioning by supporting memory sustaining processes.
Integrative Bioinformatics Analysis of Genomic and Proteomic Approaches to Understand the Transcriptional Regulatory Program in Coronary Artery Disease Pathways

Patients with cardiovascular disease show a panel of differentially regulated serum biomarkers indicative of modulation of several pathways from disease onset to progression. Few of these biomarkers have been proposed for multimarker risk prediction methods. However, the underlying mechanism of the expression changes and modulation of the pathways is not yet addressed in entirety. Our present work focuses on understanding the regulatory mechanisms at transcriptional level by identifying the core and specific transcription factors that regulate the coronary artery disease associated pathways. Using the principles of systems biology we integrated the genomics and proteomics data with computational tools. We selected biomarkers from 7 different pathways based on their association with the disease and assayed 24 biomarkers along with gene expression studies and built network modules which are highly regulated by 5 core regulators PPARG, EGR1, ETV1, KLF7 and ESRRA. These network modules in turn comprise of biomarkers from different pathways showing that the core regulatory transcription factors may work together in differential regulation of several pathways potentially leading to the disease. This kind of analysis can enhance the elucidation of mechanisms in the disease and give better strategies of developing multimarker module based risk predictions.
Civil society and democracy in global governance

Recent years have witnessed substantial civil society mobilisation on questions of global governance. This paper considers the implications of this development for democracy. After specifying concepts of ‘civil society’, ‘democracy’, ‘globality’ and ‘governance’, the paper identifies deep democratic deficits that have emerged as a consequence of contemporary globalisation. The discussion then outlines various ways that civil society can either enhance or undermine democracy in the governance of global relations.
Classification model to predict the learners' academic performance using big data

Big Data is an emerging technology. There are many applications using this concept and area of implementation is still larger. Different examples such as transport, healthcare, industry, and education. In recent years, the amount of data stored is developing rapidly. The main goal is to make a survey on “Classification model to predict the learners' academic performance using big data” to develop a model in order to predict students' semester grade result and also predict final year student campus placement. The ability to predict the student performance in education is very significant in educational environments. The stored database contains students' information to improve students' perspective and behavior. This paper shows Big Data trends and types of analyzes should be performed to improve education process.
The NCHLT speech corpus of the South African languages

The NCHLT speech corpus contains wide-band speech from approximately 200 speakers per language, in each of the eleven official languages of South Africa. We describe the design and development processes that were undertaken in order to develop the corpus, and report on associated materials such as orthographic transcriptions and pronunciation dictionaries that were released as part of the corpus. In order to benchmark speechrecognition performance on the corpus, we have also developed both phone-recognition and word-recognition systems for all eleven languages; we find that high accuracies can be achieved for these speaker-independent but vocabulary-dependent recognition tasks in all languages.
Vaccum Polarization for a Massless Scalar Field in the Global Monopole Spacetime at Finite Temperature

In this paper we calculate the effects produced by temperature in the renormalized vaccum expectation value of the square of the massless scalar field in the pointlike global monopole spacetime. In order to develop this calculation, we had to construct the Euclidean thermal Green function associated with this field in this background. We also calculate the high-temperature limit for the thermal average of the zero-zero component of the energy-momentum tensor.
A Counterstory of One's Own

Nationwide, virtually all secondary students interact with British literature, a traditionally Anglo, white, male canon. Yet, this revered curriculum provides few mirrors for students from historically marginalized populations to see their own cultures reflected. In this reflective practitioner piece, the authors first illustrate how counterstorytelling—a practice emerging from critical race theory—can break open the canon. Because counterstorytelling invites, values, and projects marginalized voices, when incorporated into the secondary English classroom, the practice helps engage students with the material while developing and honing their literacy skills. Second, the authors detail a lesson demonstrating that the canon and counterstorytelling can work synergistically. Throughout the article, the authors attend to the challenges of using an equity pedagogy to teach a canon that functions as the majoritarian story of the secondary literacy classroom—and society at large. Finally, the authors offer strategies for effectively incorporating counterstorytelling into the secondary English classroom.
Therapeutic targeting of PGBD5-induced DNA repair dependency in pediatric solid tumors

PGBD5 DNA transposase confers therapeutically actionable dependency in solid tumors. Synthetic lethality, pediatric edition Although a variety of therapeutic regimens are available for pediatric solid tumors, they are often ineffective and typically nonspecific. Henssen et al. determined that expression of a DNA transposase called PGBD5 is common in these tumors and presents a therapeutic vulnerability. The authors demonstrated that cells expressing PGBD5 are dependent on DNA repair through nonhomologous end joining, then identified a drug that inhibits this DNA repair pathway and is therefore active against many pediatric tumor types, particularly when combined with chemotherapy, while sparing surrounding nontumor tissues. Despite intense efforts, the cure rates of childhood and adult solid tumors are not satisfactory. Resistance to intensive chemotherapy is common, and targets for molecular therapies are largely undefined. We have found that the majority of childhood solid tumors, including rhabdoid tumors, neuroblastoma, medulloblastoma, and Ewing sarcoma, express an active DNA transposase, PGBD5, that can promote site-specific genomic rearrangements in human cells. Using functional genetic approaches, we discovered that mouse and human cells deficient in nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) DNA repair cannot tolerate the expression of PGBD5. In a chemical screen of DNA damage signaling inhibitors, we identified AZD6738 as a specific sensitizer of PGBD5-dependent DNA damage and apoptosis. We found that expression of PGBD5, but not its nuclease activity–deficient mutant, was sufficient to induce sensitivity to AZD6738. Depletion of endogenous PGBD5 conferred resistance to AZD6738 in human tumor cells. PGBD5-expressing tumor cells accumulated unrepaired DNA damage in response to AZD6738 treatment and underwent apoptosis in both dividing and G1-phase cells in the absence of immediate DNA replication stress. Accordingly, AZD6738 exhibited nanomolar potency against most neuroblastoma, medulloblastoma, Ewing sarcoma, and rhabdoid tumor cells tested while sparing nontransformed human and mouse embryonic fibroblasts in vitro. Finally, treatment with AZD6738 induced apoptosis and regression of human neuroblastoma and medulloblastoma tumors engrafted in immunodeficient mice in vivo. This effect was potentiated by combined treatment with cisplatin, including substantial antitumor activity against patient-derived primary neuroblastoma xenografts. These findings delineate a therapeutically actionable synthetic dependency induced in PGBD5-expressing solid tumors.
Collaborative peer production as an alternative to hierarchical internet based business systems

As we move towards more data intensive, device centric global communication networks, our ability to usefully harvest these large datastores is degrading. The widening asymmetry in the explosive growth of data versus our ability to use it, is forcing us towards centralized analytics. This splintered concentration of data further consolidates analytical capabilities in the hands of the few and divides the network into the analysors and the analysed. The fracturing of the system into opaque datastores and analytics blocks creates a strong positive feedback loop and has a significant negative impact on the stability, transparency and freedom of the network. This paper attempted to identify problems associated with the internet, internet dependent business models and reviewing available solutions and discuss possible solutions which became necessary.
Multi-dimensional Hashing for Fast Network Information Processing in SDN

To realize the potential benefits of SDN, tremendous amount of network information has to be collected, stored, processed and retrieved for the central routing and resource allocation optimization in near real-time. However, the current SDN-Open Flow controller and management applications did not address this issue properly and could not easily and efficiently retrieve and utilize the available analytics on-time. Their "network information bases" are rudimentary, and could not facilitate the required fast processing and accessing for required intelligent information for large networks. We present an innovative mechanism that architects such information into a multi-dimensional model, utilizing prevailing technologies in large scale real-time data processing, the advances in in-memory SQL and NoSQL and the Online Analytical Processing (OLAP). Data and their hidden characteristics and inter-relationships can then be stored in-memory or cached using key/values as in NoSQL, while more static information could be persisted into local file system or SQL database, and globally in a centralized SQL database (or a data warehouse) that can store large amounts of historical data that can be easily processed with OLAP or data mining for intelligence. Extensive experiments and comparison with traditional relational database or in-memory hashing table clearly demonstrated the feasibility, capability and performance advantage of the proposed approach.
Practitioner-based research: Power, discourse, and transformation

therapists traditionally trained in psychodynamic practice. Traditionalists may argue that focusing on one problem chosen from a pre-established short list sets narrow boundaries for the work, risking premature closure to the processes of reflection and analysis. In addition, the increased controlling activity of the therapist encouraged here will influence the content and intensity of potential transferences which in turn may limit the potential benefit of the treatment episode. Summers and Barber are likely to claim, however, that these concerns can be formulated as empirical questions and would welcome such research. Theirs is a strong proposal that the profession should seek to free practice from unexamined tradition and orthodoxy.
Intestinal protection by lafutidine, a histamine H(2)-receptor antagonist, against indomethacin-induced damage in rats--role of endogenous nitric oxide.

BACKGROUND We previously reported that lafutidine ((I)-2-(furfurylsulfinyl)-N-[4-[4-(piperidinomethyl)-2-pyridyl]oxy-(Z)-2-butenyl] acetamide), a novel histamine H(2)-receptor antagonist, protects the small intestine against indomethacin-induced damage, mediated by capsaicin-sensitive afferent neurons (CSN). MATERIAL AND METHODS In the present study, we investigated whether or not the protective action of lafutidine against indomethacin-induced intestinal damage is mediated by endogenous nitric oxide (NO). Male SD rats were given indomethacin (10 mg/kg, s.c), killed 24 hr later, and the small intestinal mucosa was examined. Lafutidine (10 mg/kg) and capsaicin (10 mg/kg) was given p.o. twice 0.5 hr before and 9 hr after indomethacin. The NO synthase inhibitor N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME: 10 mg/kg) or the selective iNOS inhibitor aminoguanidine (10 mg/kg) was given s.c. 1 hr before lafutidine, while L-arginine (200 mg/kg) was given i.p. 10 min before L-NAME. RESULTS Indomethacin produced severe lesions in the small intestine, accompanied by increases in enterobacterial translocation in the mucosa. Both lafutidine and capsaicin significantly reduced the severity of these lesions, together with suppression of bacterial translocation. The protective action of lafutidine as well as capsaicin was almost totally abolished by L-NAME but not aminoguanidine, in a L-arginine-sensitive manner. Both lafutidine and capsaicin significantly increased intestinal mucus secretion, and these effects were also attenuated by prior administration of L-NAME. The exogenous NO donor NOR-3 prevented indomethacin-induced intestinal lesions at the dose that stimulated the mucus secretion and inhibited the bacterial translocation. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that lafutidine protects the small intestine against indomethacin-induced damage, the action being dependent on CSN and mediated by endogenous NO produced by cNOS. The protective action of lafutidine may be attributable to suppression of the bacterial translocation following indomethacin, probably due to stimulation of intestinal mucus secretion.
Insights into Gasdermin D activation from the crystal structure of its C-terminal domain

Gasdermin D (GSDMD) is the central executioner of pyroptosis, a proinflammatory type of cell death. GSDMD is activated by the proinflammatory caspase-1 and caspase-11 via proteolytic cleavage in the linker connecting its N-terminal and C-terminal domain (GSDMDNterm, Cterm). The released N-terminal domain is sufficient to form pores in the plasma membrane, resulting in swelling and subsequent rupture of the cell. Here, we report the crystal structure of the autoinhibitory C-terminal domain of GSDMD at 2.04 Å resolution to further analyse determinants of GSDMD activation. GSDMDCterm adopts a compact helical fold unique to gasdermin proteins. Structural analysis and comparison to other gasdermin proteins reveals a conserved key interface for interactions between GSDMDNterm and GSDMDCterm. Variations in two additional surface patches involved in interdomain interactions in full-length gasdermins suggest a role of these regions in modulating activation pathways, in agreement with biochemical characterization of different gasdermins.
Distinguishing Patients with Parkinson's Disease Subtypes from Normal Controls Based on Functional Network Regional Efficiencies

Many studies have demonstrated that the pathophysiology and clinical symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD) are inhomogeneous. However, the symptom-specific intrinsic neural activities underlying the PD subtypes are still not well understood. Here, 15 tremor-dominant PD patients, 10 non-tremor-dominant PD patients, and 20 matched normal controls (NCs) were recruited and underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Functional brain networks were constructed based on randomly generated anatomical templates with and without the cerebellum. The regional network efficiencies (i.e., the local and global efficiencies) were further measured and used to distinguish subgroups of PD patients (i.e., with tremor-dominant PD and non-tremor-dominant PD) from the NCs using linear discriminant analysis. The results demonstrate that the subtype-specific functional networks were small-world-organized and that the network regional efficiency could discriminate among the individual PD subgroups and the NCs. Brain regions involved in distinguishing between the study groups included the basal ganglia (i.e., the caudate and putamen), limbic regions (i.e., the hippocampus and thalamus), the cerebellum, and other cerebral regions (e.g., the insula, cingulum, and calcarine sulcus). In particular, the performances of the regional local efficiency in the functional network were better than those of the global efficiency, and the performances of global efficiency were dependent on the inclusion of the cerebellum in the analysis. These findings provide new evidence for the neurological basis of differences between PD subtypes and suggest that the cerebellum may play different roles in the pathologies of different PD subtypes. The present study demonstrated the power of the combination of graph-based network analysis and discrimination analysis in elucidating the neural basis of different PD subtypes.
COMPARISON OF THREE INSTRUMENTAL METHODS FOR PREDICTING SENSORY TEXTURE ATTRIBUTES OF POULTRY DELI MEAT

This study aimed to compare how Texture Profile Analysis (TPA), BluntMeullenet-Owens Razor Shear (BMORS) test and Allo-Kramer Shear Press test predict sensory texture attributes of poultry deli meats. Descriptive analysis found that 15 different commercial poultry deli meats differed in the sensory attributes of springiness, hardness, cohesiveness of mass, fibrousness between teeth and rubberiness. Using partial least squares regression, the BMORS test proved to be an excellent predictor of the sensory attributes of hardness (R 2 = 0.95) and fibrousness (R 2 = 0.93), while TPA provided an excellent model for predicting springiness (R 2 = 0.97). Cohesiveness of mass (R 2
Efficient Multi-source Location in Unstructured P2P Systems

Unstructured P2P systems are popular resource sharing platforms. Selection of high quality peers and parallel downloads require a multi-source-hit query paradigm. The existing algorithms for multi-source locations need more message and replica maintenance overheads. According to the resource layout attributes in unstructured P2P systems, in this paper, a Replica Pointer Maintenance (RPM) scheme is proposed. RPM focuses on replica management which improves the query hit rate. Our comprehensive analysis and simulations show that the search performance of unstructured P2P systems can be significantly improved by RPM.
Current-Controlled Multiphase Slice Permanent Magnetic Bearingless Motors With Open-Circuited Phases: Fault-Tolerant Controllability and Its Verification

The fault-tolerant control of bearingless motors is vital for their safe and robust operation. In this paper, the operation of current-controlled multiphase slice permanent-magnet bearingless motors (PMBMs) with different open-circuited faulty phases is analyzed, and their fault-tolerant controllability in the general case is investigated. As an example, the feasibility of fault-tolerant control with arbitrary single, double, or triple open-circuited faulty phase(s) for a six-phase slice PMBM is discussed in detail. Simulation results from finite-element analysis are presented to demonstrate the operation of the motor under the proposed fault-tolerant control strategy. Moreover, experimental results are also provided to further verify the theoretical development.
An electropalatographic study of Greek spontaneous speech

This paper aims to examine spatio-temporal variability during the production of the lingual consonants /t, d, s, z, k, g l, n, XXX/ in a sample of Greek spontaneous speech. It provides a description of the range of segmental variability and explores the relationship between articulatory and temporal variability. It also discusses instances of common connected speech processes including assimilations and deletions. Data from two Greek speakers producing a monologue was recorded with the technique of electropalatography (Reading EPG system). The results indicated that segmental variability ranges over a continuum from over-articulated to under-articulated forms, i.e. fully articulated tokens to very open articulations. In addition, duration dependent variability was found to be a function of the production characteristics of the consonant. Evidence of both gradient and categorical changes in spontaneous speech were suggested by the data and are discussed with reference to current theoretical frameworks.
Assessing the Preliminary Validity of an Adaptation of the Sociocentric Egocentric Questionnaire With a Hispanic and Non-Hispanic White Sample

The goal of this article is to assess the validity of the Sociocentric Egocentric Questionnaire (SEQ) with Latinos (n = 88) and non-Hispanic Whites (n = 85) by comparing it with the Individualism and Collectivism Scale (IndCol). Both scales were designed to measure similar constructs, and it is hypothesized that high correlations between both scales would provide evidence to support the validity of the SEQ for Latinos and non-Hispanic Whites. Three different procedures assessed and found preliminary evidence to support the validity of the SEQ. First, 11 of the 12 correlations between the IndCol and the SEQ were significant in the expected direction; second, Latinos and non-Hispanic Whites’ scoring patterns were similar to those reported in national samples; and third, an exploratory factor analyses found the existence of two factors explaining the intercorrelations of the SEQ. Implications of these findings for research, clinical practice, and the amelioration of Latino health disparities are discussed.