Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Underestimating the Alcohol Content of a Glass of Wine: The Implications for Estimates of Mortality Risk

Aims Increases in glass sizes and wine strength over the last 25 years in the UK are likely to have led to an underestimation of alcohol intake in population studies. We explore whether this probable misclassification affects the association between average alcohol intake and risk of mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. Methods Self-reported alcohol consumption in 1997–1999 among 7010 men and women in the Whitehall II cohort of British civil servants was linked to the risk of mortality until mid-2015. A conversion factor of 8 g of alcohol per wine glass (1 unit) was compared with a conversion of 16 g per wine glass (2 units). Results When applying a higher alcohol content conversion for wine consumption, the proportion of heavy/very heavy drinkers increased from 28% to 41% for men and 15% to 28% for women. There was a significantly increased risk of very heavy drinking compared with moderate drinking for deaths from all causes and cancer before and after change in wine conversion; however, the hazard ratios were reduced when a higher wine conversion was used. Conclusions In this population-based study, assuming higher alcohol content in wine glasses changed the estimates of mortality risk. We propose that investigator-led cohorts need to revisit conversion factors based on more accurate estimates of alcohol content in wine glasses. Prospectively, researchers need to collect more detailed information on alcohol including serving sizes and strength. Short summary The alcohol content in a wine glass is likely to be underestimated in population surveys as wine strength and serving size have increased in recent years. We demonstrate that in a large cohort study, this underestimation affects estimates of mortality risk. Investigator-led cohorts need to revisit conversion factors based on more accurate estimates of alcohol content in wine glasses.
Bayesian Occupancy Filter based "Fast Clustering-Tracking" algorithm

It has been shown that the dynamic environment around the mobile robot can be efficiently and robustly represented by the Bayesian occupancy filter (BOF) . In the BOF framework, the environment is decomposed into a grid based representation in which both the occupancy and the velocity distributions are estimated for each grid cell. In such a representation, concepts such as objects or tracks do not exist and the estimation is achieved at the cell level. However, the object-level representation is mandatory for applications needing high-level representations of obstacles and their motion. To achieve this, a natural approach is to perform clustering on the BOF output grid in order to extract objects. We present in this paper a novel clustering-tracking algorithm. The main idea is to use the prediction result of the tracking module as a form of feedback to the clustering module, which reduces drastically the complexity of the data association. Compared with the traditional joint probabilistic data association filter (JPDAF) approach, the proposed algorithm demands less computational costs, so as to be suitable for environments with large amount of dynamic objects. The experiment result on the real data shows the effectiveness of the algorithm.
n-Dependency: dependency diversity in anatomised microdata tables

k-Anonymity and l-Diversity have laid the fundamental techniques for preserving privacy in microdata, and many research works have been inspired by them, proposing better and stronger levels of privacy. A common technique for achieving higher privacy in microdata tables is to diversify the records in such a way that sensitive information stored in the data is less likely to be disclosed. While most of the approaches succeed in protecting the original sensitive information to a high degree, issues arise when sensitive values are generalised along a hierarchical taxonomy, causing an increase in probability of privacy disclosure already after the first level of generalisation. This paper introduces n-Dependency, a novel technique that considers the hierarchical nature of sensitive information and their generalisations when diversifying the microdata. We propose a formal model and algorithms, and verify our technique by conducting extensive experiments.
The Influence of Simultaneous Multiple Exposure on the Mere Exposure Effect

The mere exposure effect (MEE) is the phenomenon that repeated exposure to a stimulus promotes preference for that stimulus. Conventionally, the MEE has been observed as a result of successive presentation of a single object. This study instead examined whether the simultaneous exposure to multiple stimuli could modulate the MEE. The participants observed the stimulus display consisting of 1–25 stimulus elements and evaluated their preference for them. The results showed that the multiple element display produced a significant MEE when the stimulus elements were presented within the central visual field. More importantly, the exposure to the multiple element stimulus produced a stronger MEE when the number of elements was moderate. The present results suggest that the simultaneous exposure to multiple stimulus elements could facilitate the MEE but only when the number of stimulus elements does not exceed the capacity of processing resources.
How does information diffuse in large recommendation social networks?

This article investigates how information diffuses in Douban, an online social network. First, we analyze properties of the user relationships in Douban, observing its degree distribution, network reciprocity, and degree of separation. Second, we propose a method that infers how the information diffuses through this network. Subsequently, using this method we rebuild possible information diffusion graphs, and make statistical observations of the disconnected properties, size distributions, and diffusion patterns in Douban. Based on our empirical analysis, we found that in most cases, information diffuses with multiple origins in Douban. We attribute this to the two different kinds of influence that lead to the diffusion: internal and external influence. Finally, based on the observations, we propose a novel SID model to formulate the diffusions in online social network environments. In the model, there are n iterations. On each iteration, each non-infected node can be infected, either externally with probability Pex, or internally with probability Pin from each of the nodes it follows that were already infected. Our simulation results reveal that the SID model can flexibly portray the diffusion processes in Douban through adjusting these two probabilities.
Syllable based Feature-Contours for Speaker Recognition

The use of acoustic short-time features for speaker identiﬁcation has established itself for several years. In this work, classical acoustic as well as prosodic features are jointly used in a lexical context. The contours of pitch, energy and cepstral coefﬁ-cients are continuously modeled over the time span of a syllable to capture the speaking style on phonetic level. Especially the addition of cepstral contours highly improves the performance. Due to the small amount of data, best results are achieved with a factor analysis framework. Results are presented for the NIST SRE 2006 speaker identiﬁcation task.
On a resequencing model for high speed networks

The authors analyze the effect of fixed delay in conjunction with queueing and resequencing delay on the optimal distribution of traffic on multiple disjoint paths. They study a system of two hosts or end nodes, connected by a high speed network communicating on two virtual channels which follow disjoint physical paths. The paths have a different number of hops and/or physical length which leads to a different amount of constant delay for each of them. The variable delay on each path is modelled by a queue with exponential service. Furthermore the destination node delivers packets an the order they arrived at the source node, which entails additional resequencing delay. They find the optimal split of traffic, so as to minimize the total average system time (including the resequencing delay). The results show that the optimal splitting probability may be heavily dependant on the difference in the fixed delays on the two paths. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the effect of fixed delay on the fraction of traffic routed to different paths. Performance can be further improved when they do a deterministic split of the traffic. <<ETX>>
The Russian Genitive of Negation: Integration of Lexical and Compositional Semantics Project Description 1. Integration of Lexical and Compositional Semantics 1.1. Background and Long-term Goals

1.1. Background and Long-term Goals. The present project has three goals: (i) the integration of lexical and compositional semantics, a longterm goal; (ii) a better understanding of the semantics of the Russian Genitive of Negation (Gen Neg), a construction which offers intriguing challenges for the first goal; and (iii) the integration of Russian lexical semantics with Western formal semantics, a broader-impact goal, important in its own right, and in our view, a particularly promising way to approach the first two goals. Background for our goals and broader impact are described in Section 1. The Gen Neg construction, its problems, prior work, and our hypotheses are described in Sections 2-4. The plan of work is in Section 5. In Section 6 we describe our earlier project on Possessive constructions, which addressed the same long-range goals through a different family of constructions. Lexical semantics has a long history in many traditions. Compositional semantics, particularly in the guise of formal semantics, is a younger field but has undergone rapid development and diversification since the seminal Montague (1973). The task of integrating these two fields is essential for a comprehensive view of semantics and its relation to lexicon and syntax; but such integrative work is in its infancy. There is exciting new work and recognition of the need, and such work may soon coalesce into a field. Our project will draw on recent relevant work in several frameworks; we believe it will be extremely valuable to draw Russian lexical semantics into this mix. Formal semantics has benefited from increased attention to sublexical structure and to finer-grained model structures, especially in the entity and event domains (Bach 1986, Kratzer 1994, Krifka 1992, Landman 2000, Link 1983). Type-driven interpretation and coerced type shifts and meaning shifts provide part of the account of how lexical meaning both influences and is influenced by the meanings of constructions (Bittner 2001, Borschev and Partee 2001a, Partee 1986, Pustejovsky 1995). Other relevant foundational work, in approaches better known in Russia than formal semantics, includes (Goldberg 1995, Jackendoff 1996, Lakoff 1977, Talmy 2000). Building on such pioneering work as (Apresjan 1974, Bierwisch 1983, Dowty 1979), recent work in several frameworks advances the integration of lexical and compositional meaning (Ackerman and Moore 2001, Bierwisch and Schreuder 1992, Boguslavskij 1996, Dölling 1992, Dowty 1991, Kamp and Rossdeutscher 1994, Kiparsky 1997, Krifka 2000, Levin 1993, Levin and Rappaport Hovav 1996, Padučeva 1997a, Padučeva in press-a, Padučeva in press-b, Rappaport Hovav and Levin 1998, Rappaport Hovav and Levin 2002, Wunderlich 1997). Working together with our Russian colleagues and in dialogue with this wider community, we believe we can make distinctive foundational contributions to an important new field of research.
The Dynamics of Vehicular Networks in Urban Environments

Vehicular Ad hoc NETworks (VANETs) have emerged as a platform to support intelligent inter-vehicle communication and improve traffic safety and performance. The road-constrained, high mobility of vehicles, their unbounded power source, and the emergence of roadside wireless infrastructures make VANETs a challenging research topic. A key to the development of protocols for inter-vehicle communication and services lies in the knowledge of the topological characteristics of the VANET communication graph. This paper explores the dynamics of VANETs in urban environments and investigates the impact of these findings in the design of VANET routing protocols. Using both real and realistic mobility traces, we study the networking shape of VANETs under different transmission and market penetration ranges. Given that a number of RSUs have to be deployed for disseminating information to vehicles in an urban area, we also study their impact on vehicular connectivity. Through extensive simulations we investigate the performance of VANET routing protocols by exploiting the knowledge of VANET graphs analysis.
Analysis and Optimization of Three-Resonator Wireless Power Transfer System for Predetermined-Goals Wireless Power Transmission

Three-resonator wireless power transfer (WPT) systems have been proposed to improve the power transfer efficiency (PTE) and power delivered to the load (PDL) in recent years. However, analysis formulas of a three-resonator WPT system are complicated, and the parameters for clarifying the transfer characteristics of this system are difficult to extract. In this paper, concise formulas for analyzing PTE and PDL of the three-resonator system are derived by introducing three factors. Diagram discriminance based on the derived formulas is proposed to obtain the frequency splitting criterions of PTE and PDL in this system. Further, at the transfer distances, where the PTE and PDL are low at original frequency due to frequency splitting phenomenon, the two predetermined-goals of maximizing PTE and PDL are achieved by optimizing coupling strength between the three resonators. The third predetermined-goal of obtaining a constant amount of PDL transfer at maximum PTE is also implemented based on basic algorithms in numerical software. Finally, Simulation and measurement results verify the correctness of analyzing the transfer characteristics of three-resonator WPT system using the presented concise formulas and discriminance. Moreover, effectiveness of realizing the three predetermined-goals via the proposed optimization method is confirmed with experiments.
Low-Dimensional Sensory Feature Representation by Trigeminal Primary Afferents

In any sensory system, the primary afferents constitute the first level of sensory representation and fundamentally constrain all subsequent information processing. Here, we show that the spike timing, reliability, and stimulus selectivity of primary afferents in the whisker system can be accurately described by a simple model consisting of linear stimulus filtering combined with spike feedback. We fitted the parameters of the model by recording the responses of primary afferents to filtered, white noise whisker motion in anesthetized rats. The model accurately predicted not only the response of primary afferents to white noise whisker motion (median correlation coefficient 0.92) but also to naturalistic, texture-induced whisker motion. The model accounted both for submillisecond spike-timing precision and for non-Poisson spike train structure. We found substantial diversity in the responses of the afferent population, but this diversity was accurately captured by the model: a 2D filter subspace, corresponding to different mixtures of position and velocity sensitivity, captured 94% of the variance in the stimulus selectivity. Our results suggest that the first stage of the whisker system can be well approximated as a bank of linear filters, forming an overcomplete representation of a low-dimensional feature space.
Characteristics of La Nina Climate Events and its Influence on Extreme Weather Conditions in Southeast China

In this paper, the time series data of sea surface temperature in the region of central Pacific is used to analyze the wavelet power spectrum and its time frequency characteristics have been exacted. On the basis of comprehensive analysis of the time series data and changing characteristics of physical factors such as atmospheric circulation, the judgment of La Nina climate events becomes more accurate. The relationship between La Nina climate events and the extreme weather conditions in southeast China is also discussed in this paper.
On control by interconnection of port Hamiltonian systems

Abstract: In the standard approach of control by interconnection the plant and the controller are assumed to be passive and coupled via a power�preserving interconnection� generating an overall passive system with storage function the sum of the plant and controller storage functions. To achieve stabilization of a desired equilibrium one must make this point a minimum of the new storage function. Towards this end, dynamic invariants�called Casimirs�are first computed. Restricting the dynamics to the level sets of the Casimirs, the overall storage function becomes a bona fide function of the plant states and the storage function can be shaped. Unfortunately, this procedure is applicable only if one fixes the initial conditions of the controller to some specific values. To remove this drawback we propose in this paper to carry out the stability analysis in the full plant and controller state spaces. The new storage function is then the sum of the plant and the controller Hamiltonians and an arbitrary functions of the corresponding Casimir functions. We also provide some examples which illustrate the possibilities and limitations of the new method.
Event-Based Design and Runtime Verification of Composite Service Transactional Behavior

Different from process components, Web services are defined independently from any execution context. A key challenge of (Web) service compositions is how to ensure reliable execution. Due to their inherent autonomy and heterogeneity, it is difficult to reason about the behavior of service compositions especially in case of failures. Therefore, there is a growing interest for verification techniques which help to prevent service composition execution failures. In this paper, we propose an event-driven approach to validate the transactional behavior of service compositions. The transactional behavior verification is done either at design time to validate recovery mechanisms consistency, or after runtime to report execution deviations and repair design errors, and therefore, formally ensure service execution reliability. By using the Event Calculus formalism to specify and check the transactional behavior consistency of service composition, our approach provides a logical foundation to ensure service execution reliability.
Selection of Metal-poor Giant Stars Using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Photometric System

We present a method for the photometric selection of metal-poor halo giants from the imaging data of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). These stars are offset from the stellar locus in the g-r versus u-g color-color diagram. Based on a sample of 29 candidates for which spectra were taken, we derive a selection efficiency of the order of 50% for stars brighter than r ~ 17 mag. The candidates selected in 400 deg2 of sky from the SDSS Early Data Release trace the known halo structures (tidal streams from the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy and the Draco dwarf spheroidal galaxy), indicating that such a color-selected sample can be used to study the halo structure even without spectroscopic information. This method, and supplemental techniques for selecting halo stars, such as RR Lyrae stars and other blue horizontal-branch stars, can produce an unprecedented three-dimensional map of the Galactic halo based on the SDSS imaging survey.
The mirror‐neuron system and handedness: A “right” world?

To assess the relationship between the mirror‐neuron system (MNS), an observation‐execution matching system, and handedness, we acquired functional magnetic resonance imaging from 11 right‐handed (RH) and eight left‐handed (LH) subjects to identify regions involved in processing action (execution and observation) of the right and left upper limbs. During the execution tasks, LH subjects had a more bilateral pattern of activation than RH. An interaction between handedness and hand observed during the observation conditions was detected in several areas of the MNS and the motor system. The within‐ and between‐groups analyses confirmed different lateralizations of the MNS and motor system activations in RH and LH subjects during the observation tasks of the dominant and nondominant limbs. The comparison of the execution vs. observation task demonstrated that during the execution task with their dominant limbs, RH subjects activated areas of the motor system in the left hemisphere, whereas LH subjects also activated areas of the MNS. During the execution task with the nondominant limbs, both groups activated regions of the MNS and motor system. Albeit this study is based on a small sample, the patterns of MNS activations observed in RH and LH subjects support the theory that suggests that this system is involved in brain functions lateralization. In LH people, this system might contribute to their adaptation to a world essentially built for right‐handers through a mechanism of mirroring and imitation. Hum Brain Mapp, 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Aldehyde Dehydrogenase Inhibitors: a Comprehensive Review of the Pharmacology, Mechanism of Action, Substrate Specificity, and Clinical Application

Aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDHs) belong to a superfamily of enzymes that play a key role in the metabolism of aldehydes of both endogenous and exogenous derivation. The human ALDH superfamily comprises 19 isozymes that possess important physiological and toxicological functions. The ALDH1A subfamily plays a pivotal role in embryogenesis and development by mediating retinoic acid signaling. ALDH2, as a key enzyme that oxidizes acetaldehyde, is crucial for alcohol metabolism. ALDH1A1 and ALDH3A1 are lens and corneal crystallins, which are essential elements of the cellular defense mechanism against ultraviolet radiation-induced damage in ocular tissues. Many ALDH isozymes are important in oxidizing reactive aldehydes derived from lipid peroxidation and thereby help maintain cellular homeostasis. Increased expression and activity of ALDH isozymes have been reported in various human cancers and are associated with cancer relapse. As a direct consequence of their significant physiological and toxicological roles, inhibitors of the ALDH enzymes have been developed to treat human diseases. This review summarizes known ALDH inhibitors, their mechanisms of action, isozyme selectivity, potency, and clinical uses. The purpose of this review is to 1) establish the current status of pharmacological inhibition of the ALDHs, 2) provide a rationale for the continued development of ALDH isozyme-selective inhibitors, and 3) identify the challenges and potential therapeutic rewards associated with the creation of such agents.
Isolation and immunomodulatory activity of bursal peptide, a novel bursal peptide from the chicken bursa of Fabricius

The bursa of Fabricius (BF), which is unique to birds, serves as the central humoral immune organ and plays a significant role in B lymphocyte differentiation. In this study, a new bursal peptide (BP-IV) was isolated from BF, which promoted colony-forming unit pre-B formation and regulated B cell differentiation. BP-IV also exerted immunomodulatory effects on antigen-specific immune responses via both humoral and cellular immunity in chicken and mice that had been immunized with inactivated avian influenza virus (AIV; H9N2 subtype), including enhancing AIV-specific antibody and cytokine production. The results of this study provided novel insights into the use of a potential candidate reagent for B cell development and future immuno-pharmacological use.