Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sleep duration and subjective psychological well-being in adolescence: a longitudinal study in Switzerland and Norway

Background Adolescents’ sleep duration and subjective psychological well-being are related. However, few studies have examined the relationship between sleep duration and subjective psychological well-being longitudinally across adolescence – a time of profound biological and psychosocial change. The aim of this longitudinal study was to investigate whether shorter sleep duration in adolescents is predictive of lower subjective psychological well-being 6 months and 12 months later or whether lower subjective psychological well-being is predictive of shorter sleep duration. Methods Adolescents (age range, 10.02–15.99 years; mean age, 13.05±1.49 years; 51.8%, female) from German-speaking Switzerland (n=886) and Norway (n=715) reported their sleep duration and subjective psychological well-being on school days using self-rating questionnaires at baseline (T1), 6 months (T2), and 12 months from baseline (T3). Results Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses revealed that sleep duration decreased with age. Longer sleep duration was concurrently associated with better subjective psychological well-being. Crossed-lagged autoregressive longitudinal panel analysis showed that sleep duration prospectively predicted subjective psychological well-being while there was no evidence for the reverse relationship. Conclusion Sleep duration is predictive of subjective psychological well-being. The findings offer further support for the importance of healthy sleep patterns during adolescence.
Iterative cepstrum-based approach for speech dereverberation

This paper presents a novel approach for dereverberation of speech signals, based on an iterative cepstral separation of the non-minimum phase room response. The algorithm performs an iterative flattening of the room transfer function (RTF) magnitude spectrum prior to suppression of phase distortion. For ill-conditioned inversion problems, the proposed method is superior to the standard homomorphic techniques, as it overcomes the loss in computational efficiency inflicted by the long time responses of the inverse filters. By using the fast-decaying sequences shorter than the length of a full inverse, the finite-point nature of a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) is made noncritical. Results with measured room responses conform with the theory presented in the paper.
Isolation and characterization of a beta-D-glucuronidase-producing strain of Escherichia coli serotype O157:H7 in the United States

A phenotypic variant of Escherichia coli serotype O157:H7 (G5101) was isolated from a patient with bloody diarrhea. Strain G5101 does not ferment sorbitol but is beta-D-glucuronidase and urease positive. Serotyping and colony hybridization using a serotype-specific DNA probe confirmed that the isolate was O157:H7. G5101 produces Shiga-like toxins I and II and contains an eae gene that is highly conserved in the O157:H7 serotype. This strain would have been missed by laboratories that screen for the sorbitol-negative, beta-D-glucuronidase-negative phenotype in isolating E. coli O157:H7 from clinical and food specimens.
Incremental Semantic Construction Using Normal Form CCG Derivation

This paper proposes a method of incrementally constructing semantic representations. Our method is based on Steedman’s Combinatory Categorial Grammar (CCG), which has a transparent correspondence between the syntax and semantics. In our method, a derivation for a sentence is constructed in an incremental fashion and the corresponding semantic representation is derived synchronously. Our method uses normal form CCG derivation. This is the difference between our approach and previous ones. Previous approaches use most left-branching derivation called incremental derivation, but they cannot process coordinate structures incrementally. Our method overcomes this problem.
Phyllostomid Bat Occurrence in Successional Stages of Neotropical Dry Forests

Tropical dry forests (TDFs) are highly endangered tropical ecosystems being replaced by a complex mosaic of patches of different successional stages, agricultural fields and pasturelands. In this context, it is urgent to understand how taxa playing critical ecosystem roles respond to habitat modification. Because Phyllostomid bats provide important ecosystem services (e.g. facilitate gene flow among plant populations and promote forest regeneration), in this study we aimed to identify potential patterns on their response to TDF transformation in sites representing four different successional stages (initial, early, intermediate and late) in three Neotropical regions: México, Venezuela and Brazil. We evaluated bat occurrence at the species, ensemble (abundance) and assemblage level (species richness and composition, guild composition). We also evaluated how bat occurrence was modulated by the marked seasonality of TDFs. In general, we found high seasonal and regional specificities in phyllostomid occurrence, driven by specificities at species and guild levels. For example, highest frugivore abundance occurred in the early stage of the moistest TDF, while highest nectarivore abundance occurred in the same stage of the driest TDF. The high regional specificity of phyllostomid responses could arise from: (1) the distinctive environmental conditions of each region, (2) the specific behavior and ecological requirements of the regional bat species, (3) the composition, structure and phenological patterns of plant assemblages in the different stages, and (4) the regional landscape composition and configuration. We conclude that, in tropical seasonal environments, it is imperative to perform long-term studies considering seasonal variations in environmental conditions and plant phenology, as well as the role of landscape attributes. This approach will allow us to identify potential patterns in bat responses to habitat modification, which constitute an invaluable tool for not only bat biodiversity conservation but also for the conservation of the key ecological processes they provide.
Radiation hardening effects on localized deformation and stress corrosion cracking of stainless steels

Radiation hardening in austenitic stainless steels modifies deformation characteristics and correlate well with increased susceptibility to intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC). Available data on neutron-irradiated materials have been analyzed and correlations developed between fluence, yield strength, and cracking susceptibility in high-temperature water environments. Large heat-to-heat differences in critical fluence (0.2 to 2.5 {times} 10{sup 21} n/cm{sup 2}) for IGSCC are documented. In many cases, this variability is consistent with yield strength differences among irradiated materials. IGSCC correlates better to yield strength than to fluence for most heats suggesting a possible role of radiation-induced hardening (and microstructure) on cracking. Microstructural evolution during proton and heavy-ion irradiation has been characterized in low-carbon 302SSs. Hardening results from dislocation loops. SEM and TEM are used to examine dose, strain, and temperature effects on deformation. This hardened microstructure produces inhomogeneous planar deformation within the matrix. Regularly spaced steps are created at the surface during deformation which increase in number with increasing macroscopic strain. Twinning is the dominant deformation mechanism at low temperature, while dislocation channeling is observed at 288C. Deformation characteristics are discussed in terms of potential impact on IGSCC.
NAD+ binding to the Escherichia coli K+‐uptake protein TrkA and sequence similarity between TrkA and domains of a family of dehydrogenases suggest a role for NAD+ in bacterial transport

The nucleotide sequence of trkA, a gene encoding a surface component of the constitutive K+‐uptake systems TrkG and TrkH from Escherichia coli, was determined. The structure of the TrkA protein deduced from the nucleotide sequence accords with the view that TrkA is peripherally bound to the inner side of the cytoplasmic membrane. Analysis by a dot matrix revealed that TrkA is composed of similar halves. The M‐terminal part of each TrkA half (residues 1–130 and 234–355, respectively) is similar to the complete NAD+‐binding domain of NAD+‐dependent dehydrogenases. The C‐terminal part of each TrkA half (residues 131–233 and 357–458, respectively) aligns with the first 100 residues of the catalytic domain of glyceraldehyde‐3‐phosphate dehydrogenase. Strong u.v. illumination at 252 nm led to cross‐linking of NAD+ or NADH, but not of ATP to the isolated TrkA protein.
Depth estimation from single image using Defocus and Texture cues

As imaging is a process of 2D projection of a 3D scene, the depth information is lost at the time of image capture from conventional camera. This depth information can be inferred back from a set of visual cues present in the image. In this work, we present a model that combines two monocular depth cues namely Texture and Defocus. Depth is related to the spatial extent of the defocus blur by assuming that more an object is blurred, the farther it is from the camera. At first, we estimate the amount of defocus blur present at edge pixels of an image. This is referred as the Sparse Defocus map. Using the sparse defocus map we generate the full defocus map. However such defocus maps always contain hole regions and ambiguity in depth. To handle this problem an additional depth cue, in our case texture has been integrated to generate better defocus map. This integration mainly focuses on modifying the erroneous regions in defocus map by using the texture energy present at that region. The sparse defocus map is corrected using texture based rules. The hole regions, where there are no significant edges and texture are detected and corrected in sparse defocus map. We have used region wise propagation for better defocus map generation. The accuracy of full defocus map is increased with the region wise propagation.
Performance estimation of embedded software with instruction cache modeling

Embedded systems generally interact with the outside world. Thus, some real-time constraints may be imposed on the system design. Verification of these constraints requires computing a tight upper bound on the worst case execution time (WCET) of a hardware/software system. The problem of bounding WCET is particularly difficult on modern processors, which use cache-based memory systems that vary memory access time significantly. This must be accurately modeled in order to tightly bound WCET. Existing approaches either search all possible program paths, an intractable problem, or they use pessimistic assumptions to limit the search space. In this paper we present afar more effective and accurate method for modeling instruction cache activity and computing a tight bound on WCET. It is implemented in the program cinderella. We present some preliminary results of using this tool on sample embedded programs.
Impact of LED Nonlinearity on Discrete Multitone Modulation

In the context of communications based on light-emitting diodes (LEDs), spectrally efficient modulation has been considered for overcoming their limited bandwidth, and one scheme under investigation is quadrature-amplitude modulation on discrete multitones. The dependence of the output optical power on the driving current of practical LEDs is nonlinear, which distorts the transmitted signal. We investigate the impact of the nonlinear LED transfer function, i.e., the dependence of the emitted optical power on the driving current, on discrete multitone modulation. The effect incurred by this distortion was analyzed by using detailed numerical simulations addressing the impact of clipping, individual subcarriers, signal-to-noise ratio, and bit-error ratio. The approach was generalized to describe the impact of the nonlinearity of arbitrary LEDs and laser diodes, resulting in a powerful tool for assessing the impact of the nonlinearity on the link performance. This approach was applied to three types of LED, showing anything from a minuscule effect to the case in which error-free data transmission is made impossible by the transfer-function nonlinearity.
A prospective study of dairy foods intake and anovulatory infertility.

BACKGROUND Dairy foods and lactose may impair fertility by affecting ovulatory function. Yet, few studies have been conducted in humans and their results are inconsistent. We evaluated whether intake of dairy foods was associated with anovulatory infertility and whether this association differed according to fat content. METHODS We prospectively followed 18,555 married, premenopausal women without a history of infertility who attempted a pregnancy or became pregnant during an 8-year period. Diet was assessed twice during the study using food-frequency questionnaires. RESULTS During follow-up, 438 women reported infertility due to an ovulatory disorder. The multivariate-adjusted relative risks (RR) [95% confidence interval (CI); P, trend] of anovulatory infertility comparing women consuming > or = 2 servings per day to women consuming < or = 1 serving per week was 1.85 (1.24-2.77; 0.002) for low-fat dairy foods. The RR (95% CI; P, trend) comparing women consuming > or = 1 serving per day of high-fat dairy foods to those consuming < or = 1 serving per week was 0.73 (0.52-1.01; 0.01). There was an inverse association between dairy fat intake and anovulatory infertility (P, trend = 0.05). Intakes of lactose, calcium, phosphorus and vitamin D were unrelated to anovulatory infertility. CONCLUSIONS High intake of low-fat dairy foods may increase the risk of anovulatory infertility whereas intake of high-fat dairy foods may decrease this risk. Further, lactose (the main carbohydrate in milk and dairy products) may not affect fertility within the usual range of intake levels in humans.
Gp135/podocalyxin and NHERF-2 participate in the formation of a preapical domain during polarization of MDCK cells

Epithelial polarization involves the segregation of apical and basolateral membrane domains, which are stabilized and maintained by tight junctions and membrane traffic. We report that unlike most apical and basolateral proteins in MDCK cells, which separate only after junctions have formed, the apical marker gp135 signifies an early level of polarized membrane organization established already in single cells. We identified gp135 as the dog orthologue of podocalyxin. With a series of domain mutants we show that the COOH-terminal PSD-95/Dlg/ZO-1 (PDZ)–binding motif is targeting podocalyxin to the free surface of single cells as well as to a subdomain of the terminally polarized apical membrane. This special localization of podocalyxin is shared by the cytoplasmic PDZ-protein Na+/H+ exchanger regulatory factor (NHERF)-2. Depleting podocalyxin by RNA interference caused defects in epithelial polarization. Together, our data suggest that podocalyxin and NHERF-2 function in epithelial polarization by contributing to an early apical scaffold based on PDZ domain-mediated interactions.
A Complete Generalized Adjustment Criterion

Covariate adjustment is a widely used approach to estimate total causal effects from observational data. Several graphical criteria have been developed in recent years to identify valid covariates for adjustment from graphical causal models. These criteria can handle multiple causes, latent confounding, or partial knowledge of the causal structure; however, their diversity is confusing and some of them are only sufficient, but not necessary. In this paper, we present a criterion that is necessary and sufficient for four different classes of graphical causal models: directed acyclic graphs (DAGs), maximum ancestral graphs (MAGs), completed partially directed acyclic graphs (CPDAGs), and partial ancestral graphs (PAGs). Our criterion subsumes the existing ones and in this way unifies adjustment set construction for a large set of graph classes.
Temperature Impact on the Forage Quality of Two Wheat Cultivars with Contrasting Capacity to Accumulate Sugars

Wheat is increasingly used as a dual-purpose crop (for forage and grain production) worldwide. Plants encounter low temperatures in winter, which commonly results in sugar accumulation. High sugar levels might have a positive impact on forage digestibility, but may also lead to an increased risk of bloat. We hypothesized that cultivars with a lower capacity to accumulate sugars when grown under cold conditions may have a lower bloat risk than higher sugar-accumulating genotypes, without showing significantly lower forage digestibility. This possibility was studied using two wheat cultivars with contrasting sugar accumulation at low temperature. A series of experiments with contrasting temperatures were performed in controlled-temperature field enclosures (three experiments) and growth chambers (two experiments). Plants were grown at either cool (8.1 °C–9.3 °C) or warm (15.7 °C–16.5 °C) conditions in field enclosures, and at either 5 °C or 25 °C in growth chambers. An additional treatment consisted of transferring plants from cool to warm conditions in the field enclosures and from 5 °C to 25 °C in the growth chambers. The plants in the field enclosure experiments were exposed to higher irradiances ( i.e. , 30%–100%) than those in the growth chambers. Our results show that (i) low temperatures led to an increased hemicellulose content, in parallel with sugar accumulation; (ii) low temperatures produced negligible changes in in vitro dry matter digestibility while leading to a higher in vitro rumen gas production, especially in the higher sugar-accumulating cultivar; (iii) transferring plants from cool to warm conditions led to a sharp decrease in in vitro rumen gas production in both cultivars; and (iv) light intensity (in contrast to temperature) appeared to have a lower impact on forage quality.
Inflammation and Prolonged QT Time: Results from the Cardiovascular Disease, Living and Ageing in Halle (CARLA) Study

Background Previous research found an association of CRP with QT time in population based samples. Even more, there is evidence of a substantial involvement of the tumor necrosis factor-alpha system in the pathophysiology of cardiac arrhythmia, while the role of Interleukin 6 remains inconclusive. Objective To determine the association between inflammation with an abnormally prolonged QT-time (APQT) in men and women of the elderly general population. Methods Data descend from the baseline examination of the prospective, population-based Cardiovascular Disease, Living and Ageing in Halle (CARLA) Study. After exclusion of subjects with atrial fibrillation and missing ECG recording the final study cohort consisted of 919 men and 797 women. Blood parameters of inflammation were the soluble TNF-Receptor 1 (sTNF-R1), the high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP), and Interleukin 6 (IL-6). In accordance with major cardiologic societies we defined an APQT above a QT time of 460 ms in women and 450 ms in men. Effect sizes and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated by performing multiple linear and logistic regression analyses including the analysis of sex differences by interaction terms. Results After covariate adjustment we found an odds ratio (OR) of 1.89 (95% CI: 1.13, 3.17) per 1000 pg/mL increase of sTNF-R1 in women, and 0.74 (95% CI: 0.48, 1.15) in men. In the covariate adjusted linear regression sTNF-R1 was again positively associated with QT time in women (5.75 ms per 1000 pg/mL, 95% CI: 1.32, 10.18), but not in men. Taking possible confounders into account IL-6 and hsCRP were not significantly related to APQT in both sexes. Conclusion Our findings from cross-sectional analyses give evidence for an involvement of TNF-alpha in the pathology of APQT in women.
Bankruptcy prediction in construction companies via Fisher's Linear Discriminant Analysis

Based on Fisher's Linear Discriminant Analysis, the paper proposed an early warning model to predict the bankruptcy possibility for construction companies in China. Sample and variable set of the study came from 56 privately owned Chinese construction companies and their financial ratios, and 27 companies' crisis occurred during the period 2008–2009. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to examine the significance of the basic financial characteristics. The correlative analysis was used to exclude the influence of multicollinearity. Six financial ratios were determined to be significant. Based on these financial ratios, Fisher-LDA was applied to construct the bankruptcy prediction model. Availability of the bankruptcy prediction model was evaluated with other statistic models and intelligent technique (Bayes, PCA, Logistic regression and Neural Network) with the same sample data. The accuracy of the model reached 88.46% and 92.31% on the validation sample with two years and one year in advance respectively, which was better than other models. Results of the study show that our model has good accuracy in early prediction.
A link between Guruswami-Sudan's list-decoding and decoding of interleaved Reed-Solomon codes

The Welch-Berlekamp approach for Reed-Solomon (RS) codes forms a bridge between classical syndrome-based decoding algorithms and interpolation-based list-decoding procedures for list size ℓ = 1. It returns the univariate error-locator polynomial and the evaluation polynomial of the RS code as a y-root. In this paper, we show the connection between the Welch-Berlekamp approach for a specific Interleaved Reed-Solomon code scheme and the Guruswami-Sudan principle. It turns out that the decoding of Interleaved RS codes can be formulated as a modified Guruswami-Sudan problem with a specific multiplicity assignment. We show that our new approach results in the same solution space as the Welch-Berlekamp scheme. Furthermore, we prove some important properties.
Domain separation for efficient adaptive active learning

This paper proposes a procedure aimed at efficiently adapting a classifier trained on a source image to a similar target image. The adaptation is carried out through active queries in the target domain following a strategy particularly designed for the case where class distributions have shifted between the two images. We first suggest a pre-selection of candidate pixels issued from the target image by keeping only those samples appearing to be lying in a region of the input space not yet covered by the existing ground truth (source domain pixels). Then, exploiting a classifier integrating instance weights, active queries are performed on the target image. As the inclusion to the training set of the samples progresses, the weights associated with the training pixels are updated using different criteria according to their origin (source or target domain). Experiments on a pair of QuickBird images of urban scenes prove the validity of the proposed approach if compared to existing benchmark methods.
Formation of the structure of wear-resisting coatings in electron beam deposition of tungsten carbide

The method of out-of-vacuum electron beam deposition of tungsten carbide powder on low-carbon steel is used to produce the coatings whose structure, hardness and wear resistance are determined by the specific surface energy of radiation. It is shown that the highest properties are exhibited by the structure of the carbide inclusions – the austenitic matrix, similar to the structure of the hard alloy whose working principle is based on a compromise between strength and plasticity. Heat treatment of the deposited layers improves the structure and increases hardness and wear resistance. Additional improvement of the properties is achieved by adding a modification agent.