Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Using prosodic and spectral characteristics for sleepiness detection

This paper describes a promising sleepiness detection approach based on prosodic and spectral speech characteristics and illustrates the validity of this method by briefly discussing results from a sleep deprivation study (N=20). We conducted a within-subject sleep deprivation design (8.00 p.m to 4.00 a.m). During the night of sleep deprivation, a standardized selfreport scale was used every hour just before the recordings to determine the sleepiness state. The speech material consisted of simulated driver assistance system phrases. In order to investigate sleepiness induced speech changes, a standard set of spectral and prosodic features were extracted from the sentences. After forward selection and a PCA were employed on the feature space in an attempt to prune redundant dimensions, LDA- and ANN-based classification models were trained. The best level-0 model (RA15, LDA) offers a mean recognition rate of 80.0% for the two-class problem. Using a ensemble classification strategy (majority voting as meta-classifier) we achieved a recognition rate of 88.2%.
Rhetoric, Induction, and the Free Speech Dilemma*

Scientists can choose different claims as interpretations of the results of their research. Scientific rhetoric is understood as the attempt to make those claims most beneficial for the scientists’ interests. A rational choice, game‐theoretic model is developed to analyze how this choice can be made and to assess it from a normative point of view. The main conclusion is that ‘social’ interests (pursuit of recognition) may conflict with ‘cognitive’ ones when no constraints are put on the choices of the authors of scientific papers, as in an ‘ideal free speech situation’. Scientific institutions may help to solve this conflict. Lastly, some empirical predictions are offered that can inspire future social research of the refereeing process.
Rab11 regulates recycling through the pericentriolar recycling endosome

Small GTPases of the rab family are crucial elements of the machinery that controls membrane traffic. In the present study, we examined the distribution and function of rab11. Rab11 was shown by confocal immunofluorescence microscopy and EM to colocalize with internalized transferrin in the pericentriolar recycling compartment of CHO and BHK cells. Expression of rab11 mutants that are preferentially in the GTP- or GDP-bound state caused opposite effects on the distribution of transferrin-containing elements; rab11-GTP expression caused accumulation of labeled elements in the perinuclear area of the cell, whereas rab11-GDP caused a dispersion of the transferrin labeling. Functional studies showed that the early steps of uptake and recycling for transferrin were not affected by overexpression of rab11 proteins. However, recycling from the later recycling endosome was inhibited in cells overexpressing the rab11-GDP mutant. Rab5, which regulates early endocytic trafficking, acted before rab11 in the transferrin-recycling pathway as expression of rab5-GTP prevented transport to the rab11- positive recycling endosome. These results suggest a novel role for rab11 in controlling traffic through the recycling endosome.
Proceedings of the IJCAI-01 Workshop on Ontologies and Information Sharing Seattle, USA, August 4-5, 2001

Ontologies and information sharing have a major role to play in the development of knowledge-based agents and the overcome of the knowledge acquisition bottleneck. This paper supports this claim by presenting an approach to ontology specification, import, and development that is part of Disciple-RKF. Disciple-RKF is a theory, methodology, and learning agent shell for the rapid development of knowledge-based agents by subject matter experts, with limited assistance from knowledge engineers. The Disciple approach has been subject of intensive evaluations, as part of DARPA’s “High Performance Knowledge Bases” and “Rapid Knowledge Formation” programs, demonstrating very good results.
Adversarial Attacks on Image Recognition *

This project extends the work done by Papernot et al. in [4] on adversarial attacks in image recognition. We investigated whether a reduction in feature dimensionality using principle component analysis (PCA) can maintain a comparable level of misclassification success while increasing computational efficiency. We attacked black-box image classifiers trained on the MNIST dataset by forcing the oracle to misclassify images that were modified with small perturbations. The method we used was two-fold: the target classifier was imitated with a substitute logistic regression model and then the adversarial samples were generated off of the substitute model [4]. The results show that reasonable misclassification rates with reduced computation time can be achieved for a PCA-reduced feature set utilizing the Papernot adversarial crafting algorithm.
Common mental disorder and obesity: insight from four repeat measures over 19 years: prospective Whitehall II cohort study

Objectives To examine potential reciprocal associations between common mental disorders and obesity, and to assess whether dose-response relations exist. Design Prospective cohort study with four measures of common mental disorders and obesity over 19 years (Whitehall II study). Setting Civil service departments in London. Participants 4363 adults (28% female, mean age 44 years at baseline). Main outcome Common mental disorder defined as general health questionnaire “caseness;” overweight and obesity based on Word Health Organization definitions. Results In models adjusted for age, sex, and body mass index at baseline, odds ratios for obesity at the fourth screening were 1.33 (95% confidence interval 1.00 to 1.77), 1.64 (1.13 to 2.36), and 2.01 (1.21 to 3.34) for participants with common mental disorder at one, two, or three preceding screenings compared with people free from common mental disorder (P for trend<0.001). The corresponding mean differences in body mass index at the most recent screening were 0.20, 0.31, and 0.50 (P for trend<0.001). These associations remained after adjustment for baseline characteristics related to mental health and exclusion of participants who were obese at baseline. In addition, obesity predicted future risk of common mental disorder, again with evidence of a dose-response relation (P for trend=0.02, multivariable model). However, this association was lost when people with common mental disorder at baseline were excluded (P for trend=0.33). Conclusions These findings suggest that in British adults the direction of association between common mental disorders and obesity is from common mental disorder to increased future risk of obesity. This association is cumulative such that people with chronic or repeat episodes of common mental disorder are particularly at risk of weight gain.
True multi-image alignment and its application to mosaicing and lens distortion correction

Multiple images of a scene are related through 2D/3D view transformations and linear and non-linear camera transformations. In all the traditional techniques to compute these transformations, especially the ones relying on direct intensity gradients, one image and its coordinate system have been assumed to be ideal and distortion free. In this paper, we present a formulation and an algorithm for true multi-image alignment that does not rely on the measurements of a reference image being distortion free. For instance, in the presence of lens distortion, none of the images can be assumed to be ideal. In our formulation, all the images are modeled as intensity measurements represented in their respective coordinate systems, each of which is related to an ideal coordinate system through an interior camera transformation and an exterior view transformation. The goal of the accompanying algorithm is to compute an image in the ideal coordinate system while solving for the transformations that relate the ideal system with each of the data images. Key advantages of the technique presented in this paper are: (i) no reliance on one distortion free image, (ii) ability to register images and compute coordinate transformations even when the multiple images are of an extended scene with no overlap between the first and last frame of the sequence, and (iii) ability to handle linear and non-linear transformations within the same framework. The new algorithm is evaluated in the context of two applications: (i) correction of lens distortion, and (ii) creation of video mosaics.
MULTI-CLASS SUPPORT VECTOR MACHINE ACTIVE LEARNING FOR MUSIC ANNOTATION

Music annotation is an important research topic in the multimedia area. One of the challenges in music annotation is how to reduce the human effort in labeling musicles for building reliable classication models. In the past, there have been many studies on applying support vector machine active learning methods to automatic mul- timedia data annotation, which try to select the most informative examples for labeling manually. Most of these studies focused on selecting a single unlabeled example in each iteration process for binary classication. As a result, the model has to be retrained after each labeled example is solicited, and the user is likely to lose patience after a few rounds of labeling. In this paper, we present a novel multi-class active learning algorithm that can select multiple music examples for labeling in each iteration process. The key of the multi-sample selection for multi-class active learning is how to reduce the redundancy and avoid selecting the outliers among the selected examples such that each example provides unique information for model updating. To this end, we propose the distance diversity and set density in the support vector machine feature space as the measurement of the scatter of the selected sample set. Experiment results on two music data sets demonstrate the effectiveness of our method. Moreover, although our criterion is designed for music annotation, it can be used in a general frame work.
Feedback bit reduction for antenna selection methods in wireless systems

A well known method to reduce the intrinsic complexity of multiple input multiple output (MIMO) systems is to choose a subset of available antennas which have stronger links than the others, in order to perform the specified MIMO algorithm. The data resulted from the antenna selection process (at the receiver side) is sent back to the transmitter side via a feedback channel. There seems to be a need to reduce the number of feedback bits, specially when the number of antennas is not small. In this paper, we investigate the problem of reducing the number of feedback bits in antenna selection techniques. We've proposed two methods using vector quantization techniques to perform feedback bit reduction. The performance of these two methods is investigated by simulations in both correlated and uncorrelated wireless channels.
Sources and Influence Approaches Analysis of Cumulative Ecological Impacts in an Offshore Area of Dalian, China

Cumulative impacts of productive enterprises are an increasingly serious problem in coastal areas. By analyzing the industrial structure during the last few decades in Dalian, China, we conclude there are five main sources of cumulative impacts: industrial enterprises, domestic sewage, agriculture, coastal engineering and marine aquaculture. According to the cumulative ecological effect causation diagram of the main sources, six key ecological indicators are selected to examine the cumulative impacts of these activities: marine water quality, sediment quality, organism quality, chlorophyll-a, biological communities and wetlands. Correlation analysis was carried out to explore the primary impact sources corresponding to each indicator in an offshore area of Dalian.
Relationships Between Hostility, Affective Ratings of Pictures, and State Affects During Task-Induced Stress

The authors examined the relationship of hostility with (a) affective ratings of pictures and (b) state affects evoked by task-induced stress in 95 healthy men and women 22-37 years of age. Pictures were from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS; P. J. Lang, M. M. Bradley, & B. N. Cuthbert, 1999). Stressors included a startle task, mental arithmetic task, and choice-deadline reaction time task. The circumplex model of affect was used to structure the self-reported state affects. The authors found that hostility was associated with displeasure, high arousal, and low dominance ratings of IAPS pictures. Hostility was related to unpleasant affect and unactivated unpleasant affect during the experiment, and subscale paranoia was related to activated unpleasant affect. Findings suggest that participants scoring high on hostility are prone to negative emotional reactions.
Weight Reduction following Abdominoplasty: A Retrospective Case Review Pilot Study

Background: The question of whether or not abdominoplasty is associated with permanent weight reduction remains controversial. In coalition, should abdominoplasty be used as an adjunct for weight reduction in the overweight/obese patient? Methods: This retrospective patient case series attempts to determine the most important factors associated with weight reduction. Results: All patients undergoing abdominoplasty had weight loss beyond that of their resected pannus, with a minimum body mass index reached 11.6 ± 1.7 weeks after surgery. Weight loss is attributed to an increase in satiety by 75 percent (n = 15) of patients. Preoperative body mass index greater than or equal to 24.5 kg/m2 can be used to predict long-term weight loss with a sensitivity and specificity of 92.9 percent and 83.3 percent, respectively. Patients above this threshold achieved significantly more weight loss (−4.5 ± 1.4 percent body mass index) at 1 year compared with their lower body mass index counterparts (p = 0.014), as did those with pannus resections weighing greater than 4.5 lb (p = 0.01). Conclusions: Abdominoplasty performed on patients with a body mass index greater than 24.5 kg/m2 appears to be linked to sustained weight loss at 1 year. Satiety appears to be a prominent contributing factor, as does the amount of fat resected. Possible neurocrine mechanisms are discussed. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic, IV.
Non-Darcy Mixed Convection between Differentially Heated Vertical Walls Filled with a Porous Material: Application of New Modified Adomian Decomposition Method

This paper presents non-Darcy mixed convective flow of an incompressible and viscous fluid in a differentially heated vertical channel filled with a porous material in the presence of a temperature dependent source/sink. The analytical solution of fourth order non-linear ordinary differential equation for temperature field, which is formed by eliminating velocity field from system of governing equations in non-dimensional form, is obtained by using new modified Adomian decomposition method (NMADM) in terms of various parameters. In order to illustrate the interactive influences of governing parameters on the temperature and velocity fields, a numerical study of the analytical solution is performed with respect to three categories of transport processes i) when forced convection is dominated, ii) when forced and natural convection are equal and iii) when natural convection is dominated. Analysis of all categories has revealed that the temperature and velocity profiles are increasing function of modified Darcy number while decreasing function of Forchheimer number.
Intravenous Thrombolysis in Nonagenarians With Ischemic Stroke

Background and Purpose— Demographic changes will result in a rapid increase of patients age ≥90 years (nonagenarians), but little is known about outcomes in these patients after intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) for acute ischemic stroke. We aimed to assess safety and functional outcome in nonagenarians treated with IVT and to compare the outcomes with those of patients age 80 to 89 years (octogenarians). Methods— We analyzed prospectively collected data of 284 consecutive stroke patients age ≥80 years treated with IVT in 7 Swiss stroke units. Presenting characteristics, favorable outcome (modified Rankin scale [mRS] 0 or 1), mortality at 3 months, and symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (SICH) using the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and Safe Implementation of Thrombolysis in Stroke-Monitoring Study (SITS-MOST) criteria were compared between nonagenarians and octogenarians. Results— As compared with octogenarians (n=238; mean age, 83 years), nonagenarians (n=46; mean age, 92 years) were more often women (70% versus 54%; P=0.046) and had lower systolic blood pressure (161 mm Hg versus 172 mm Hg; P=0.035). Patients age ≥90 years less often had a favorable outcome and had a higher incidence of mortality than did patients age 80 to 89 years (14.3% versus 30.2%; P=0.034; and 45.2% versus 22.1%; P=0.002; respectively), while more nonagenarians than octogenarians experienced a SICH (SICHNINDS, 13.3% versus 5.9%; P=0.106; SICHSITS-MOST, 13.3% versus 4.7%; P=0.037). Multivariate adjustment identified age ≥90 years as an independent predictor of mortality (P=0.017). Conclusions— Our study suggests less favorable outcomes in nonagenarians as compared with octogenarians after IVT for ischemic stroke, and it demands a careful selection for treatment, unless randomized controlled trials yield more evidence for IVT in very old stroke patients.
On muscle, tendon and high heels

SUMMARY Wearing high heels (HH) places the calf muscle–tendon unit (MTU) in a shortened position. As muscles and tendons are highly malleable tissues, chronic use of HH might induce structural and functional changes in the calf MTU. To test this hypothesis, 11 women regularly wearing HH and a control group of 9 women were recruited. Gastrocnemius medialis (GM) fascicle length, pennation angle and physiological cross-sectional area (PCSA), the Achilles' tendon (AT) length, cross-sectional area (CSA) and mechanical properties, and the plantarflexion torque–angle and torque–velocity relationships were assessed in both groups. Shorter GM fascicle lengths were observed in the HH group (49.6±5.7 mm vs 56.0±7.7 mm), resulting in greater tendon-to-fascicle length ratios. Also, because of greater AT CSA, AT stiffness was higher in the HH group (136.2±26.5 N mm–1 vs 111.3±20.2 N mm–1). However, no differences in the GM PCSA to AT CSA ratio, torque–angle and torque–velocity relationships were found. We conclude that long-term use of high-heeled shoes induces shortening of the GM muscle fascicles and increases AT stiffness, reducing the ankle's active range of motion. Functionally, these two phenomena seem to counteract each other since no significant differences in static or dynamic torques were observed.
Gap percolation in rainforests

Rainforests biodiversity is sustained by the three-dimensional structure of their canopy which provides a wide range of physical microenvironments. Given the dynamic nature of the forest, the recognition of stable vertical layers or strata in the canopy is controversial. The spatial characterisation of potential habitats of understory species is not straightforward due to the complex structure of rainforest canopies and the wide ecological variability to which rainforest species can be adapted. Here we present a new description of potential understory habitats that give rise to a well-defined characteristic vertical scale of forest organization h c 13 m. Species living in microenvironments occurring at canopy heights below this critical height he can only experience landscapes with disconnected habitat patches (i.e. fragmented habitat landscapes), while those species capable of living also above he will experience a fully connected landscape of suitable microenvironmental conditions. The possible implications for plant dispersal and animal colonisation strategies living at the understory or close-to-floor are discussed in relation to rainforest gap-dynamics, habitat loss and habitat fragmentation processes. Long-range and directed dispersal strategies (e.g. plant seed dispersal by animals) are optimal for those species living below h c , providing the best exploration of scarce habitats and a major robustness to habitat changes. On the other hand, dispersal strategies of those species capable to exploit habitats above he need not to be based on directed long-range mechanisms. Different dispersal strategies may in turn imply different sensitiveness of species to habitat loss and habitat fragmentation processes in the rainforest.
Current role of imaging in the diagnosis and management of pulmonary hypertension.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this review is to describe classification schemes and imaging findings in the diagnosis and management of pulmonary hypertension. CONCLUSION Pulmonary hypertension is a complex pathophysiologic condition in which several clinical entities increase pressure in the pulmonary circulation, progressively impairing cardiopulmonary function and, if untreated, causing right ventricular failure. Current classification schemes emphasize the necessity of an early, accurate etiologic diagnosis for a tailored therapeutic approach. Imaging plays an increasingly important role in the diagnosis and management of suspected pulmonary hypertension.
A Pilot Study of Bortezomib in Korean Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Myeloma

Recent clinical trials showed that bortezomib, a novel proteasome inhibitor, had therapeutic activity in multiple myeloma. However, there was no data about the feasibility of bortezomib in Korean patients. We performed a pilot study of bortezomib in patients with relapsed or refractory myeloma (1.3 mg/m2 twice weekly for 2 week in a 3-week cycle). Seven patients were enrolled. The median age of patients was 59 yr. All patients previously received VAD (vincristine, doxorubicin and dexamethasone) and thalidomide chemotherapy. Three patients previously received alkylator-containing chemotherapy and 4 patients, autologous stem cell transplantation. Bortezomib monotherapy resulted in 3 partial remissions (43%), 3 no changes (43%) and 1 progressive disease (14%). One patient who had no response to bortezomib monotherapy experienced partial remission after addition of dexamethasone to bortezomib. The most common serious toxicity was thrombocytopenia (grade 3/4, 10 of 20 cycles (50%)) and grade 3 peripheral neuropathy was developed in 2 of 20 cycles (10%). Drug-related adverse event led to discontinuation of bortezomib in 1 patient. There was no treatment related mortality. Overall, bortezomib seems to be effective and feasible. Conduction of larger clinical studies on Korean patients is necessary to characterize clinical efficacy and safety of bortezomib more precisely.
Lowering the error floors of low-density parity-check codes with additional check nodes

This paper proposes a novel scheme for bit recovery of Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC) Codes. Firstly, the most erroneous and the most reliable bits are located by searching the codeword bits. Subsequently, new check nodes are added to connect them, thus the negative effects of the most erroneous bits along with the corresponding trapping sets are avoided. Eventually, the BER performance is dramatically improved in the error-floor region according to the simulated results. This idea could be a more concise and simple alternative to weaken the effects of trapping sets in LDPC applications.
Combining Local and Global Word Embeddings for Microblog Stemming

Stemming is a vital step employed to improve retrieval performance through efficient unification of morphological variants of a word. We propose an unsupervised, context-specific stemming algorithm for microblogs, based on both local and global word embeddings, which is capable of handling the informal, noisy vocabulary of microblogs. Experiments on two standard microblog data collections (TREC 2016 and FIRE 2016) show that, the proposed stemmer enables significantly better retrieval performance than several state-of-the-art stemming algorithms, for the same queries.