Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Various type digital filters for an arbitrary sound environmental system with quantized observation mechanism and its application

The authors describe various state estimation methods of a quantized sound environmental system. The elimination of not only the usual background noise but also the quantization noise owing to digital observation is discussed. The methods include the traditional Kalman filter as a special case when Gaussian distribution is employed and where there is no level quantization. The level quantization mechanism is discussed from the statistical viewpoint and from the deterministic viewpoint. The methods presented can estimate any kind of statistic, including the lower and the higher order moments from the level quantized observation data. Not only the linear correlation but also the higher order nonlinear correlations between a state variable and a quantized observation are hierarchically used in the estimation algorithm. The quantized observation data are used in the linear and nonlinear forms. The effectiveness of the proposed methods was confirmed experimentally by applications to room acoustics data. <<ETX>>
Targeted therapy in gastroesophageal cancers: past, present and future

Gastroesophageal cancer is a significant global problem that frequently presents at an incurable stage and has very poor survival with standard chemotherapy approaches. This review will examine the epidemiology and molecular biology of gastroesophageal cancer and will focus on the key deregulated signaling pathways that have been targeted in the clinic. A comprehensive overview of clinical data highlighting successes and failures with targeted agents will be presented. Most notably, HER2-targeted therapy with the monoclonal antibody trastuzumab has proven beneficial in first-line therapy and has been incorporated into standard practice. Targeting the VEGF pathway has also proven beneficial, and the VEGFR-targeted monoclonal antibody ramucirumab is now approved for second-line therapy. In contrast to these positive results, agents targeting the EGFR and MET pathways have been evaluated extensively in gastroesophageal cancer but have repeatedly failed to show benefit. An increased understanding of the molecular predictors of response to targeted therapies is sorely needed. In the future, improved molecular pathology approaches should subdivide this heterogeneous disease entity to allow individualization of cancer therapy based on integrated and global identification of deregulated signaling pathways. Better patient selection, rational combinations of targeted therapies and incorporation of emerging immunotherapeutic approaches should further improve the treatment of this deadly disease.
Increased expression of astrocyte markers in schizophrenia: Association with neuroinflammation

Objective: While schizophrenia may have a progressive component, the evidence for neurodegenerative processes as indicated by reactive astrocytes is inconclusive. We recently identified a subgroup of individuals with schizophrenia with increased expression of inflammatory markers in prefrontal cortex, and hypothesized that this subgroup would also have reactive astrocytes. Method: We measured glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) mRNA by quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and protein levels by immunoblotting in grey matter homogenate from 37 individuals with schizophrenia and 37 unaffected controls. We examined the morphology of GFAP-positive astrocytes in immunostained sections of middle frontal gyrus. We tested if GFAP expression or astrocyte morphology were altered in people with schizophrenia with increased expression of inflammatory markers. We used RNA-Seq data on a subset of patients and controls (n=20/group) to ascertain whether mRNA transcripts associated with astrogliosis were elevated in the individuals with active neuroinflammation. Results: GFAP (mRNA and protein) levels and astrocyte morphology were not significantly different between people with schizophrenia and controls overall. However, individuals with schizophrenia with neuroinflammation had increased expression of GFAP mRNA (t(33)=2.978, p=0.005), hypertrophic astrocyte morphology (χ2(2)=6.281, p=0.043), and statistically significant elevated expression of three mRNA transcripts previously associated with astrogliosis. Conclusions: We found clear evidence of astrogliosis in a subset of people with schizophrenia. We suggest that the lack of astrogliosis reported in previous studies may be due to cohort differences in aetiopathology, illness stage, treatment exposure, or a failure to examine subsets of people with schizophrenia.
Particle Creation in a Universe Filled with Radiation and Dust-Like Matter

In this article the particle creation process of scalar and spin 1/2 particles in a spatially open cosmological model associated with a universe filled with radiation and dustlike matter is analyzed. The Klein-Gordon and the Dirac equations are solved via separation of variables. After comparing the in and out vacua, we obtain that the number of created particles corresponds to Planckian and Fermi-Dirac distributions for the scalar and Dirac cases respectively.
Faint radio-loud quasars: clues to their evolution

The quasar sample selected by cross-correlating the Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty cm (FIRST) survey and the 2-degree Field Quasar Redshift Survey (2QZ) allows us to explore, for the first time, the faint end of the radio and optical luminosity functions up to z ≃2.2. We find indications (∼3σ) of a negative evolution for these faint sources at z ≥ 1.8, both in radio and optical bands. This corresponds to a decrement in the space density of faint quasars of approximately a factor 2 at z = 2.2 and confirms the presence of a differential evolution for the population of radio-active quasars. The faint end of both luminosity functions flattens and the comparison with the (optical) number density of the whole quasar population supports a dependence of the fraction of radio-detected quasars on the optical luminosity. A progressive decrease in the fraction of quasars in the whole radio source population can be consistently accounted for within the receding torus scenario. The population of low-luminosity quasars, which the FIRST-2dF detects, appears to depart from the classical scheme for radio-loud quasars.
ACUTE KIDNEY INJURY CLASSIFICATION: COMPARISON OF AKIN AND RIFLE CRITERIA

The Acute Kidney Injury Network (AKIN) group has recently proposed modifications to the risk of renal failure, injury to kidney, failure of kidney function, loss of kidney function, and end-stage renal failure (RIFLE) classification system. The few studies that have compared the two classifications have revealed no substantial differences. This study aimed to compare the AKIN and RIFLE classifications for predicting outcome in critically ill patients. This retrospective study investigated the medical records of 291 critically ill patients who were treated in medical intensive care units of a tertiary care hospital between March 2003 and February 2006. This study compared performance of the RIFLE and AKIN criteria for diagnosing and classifying AKI and for predicting hospital mortality. Overall mortality rate was 60.8% (177/291). Increased mortality was progressive and significant (chi-square for trend; P < 0.001) based on the severity of AKIN and RIFLE classification. Hosmer and Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test results demonstrated good fit in both systems. The AKIN and RIFLE scoring systems displayed good areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (0.720 ± 0.030, P = 0.001; 0.738 ± 0.030, P = 0.001, respectively). Compared with RIFLE criteria, this study indicated that AKIN classification does not improve the sensitivity and ability of outcome prediction in critically ill patients.
MARY C. GILLY, MARY WOLFINBARGER CELSI, AND HOPE JENSEN SCHAU It Don't Come Easy: Overcoming Obstacles to Technology Use Within a Resistant Consumer Group

To identify ways in which resistance can be overcome and technology’s potential realized, we study acceptance and use of a specific technology, the Internet, by a specific resistant group, older consumers. Using interviews and a survey of consumers who are over 65 years old, we discover that curiosity and proactive coping drive technology optimism, which then predicts adoption and heavier usage. Motivated seniors with technology discomfort get help to adopt and continued assistance to learn usage repertoires. Surprisingly, technology discomfort is positively rather than negatively related to usage enthusiasm. Implications are drawn for consumer groups resistant to technology. [T]echnology should be at the heart of social policy for several reasons. First, it is intergenerational in the sense that technology has the ability to improve the situation and quality of life for all people. Secondly, technology is important to a social policy of ageing because it pervades every aspect of life and has the potential for assisting with many of the ‘traditional’ problems associated with ageing . Thirdly, technology is pluralistic and preventative. It is about facilitating communication which can enable people, of whatever race, age or gender, to participate as citizens in decision-making and can empower people as they shop, vote and seek expert help ‘on line’ in all areas of policy. (Bernard and Philips 2000, p. 48; emphasis in the original)
Is Diversion Swift?

Formal diversion programs are increasingly popular options for offenders with mental illness. Diversion is recommended, and often assumed, to be swift in that eligible persons should be quickly identified and enrolled. In this study, the authors examine the length from initial arrest to enrollment into mental health court and compare it to time from arrest to disposition for offenders with and without mental illness traditionally processed. The authors, using medians as the metric and limiting the period to 1 year, found time to mental health court was 70 days, whereas traditional processing for offenders with and without known mental illness was 37 and 76 days, respectively. The authors also found detention status during this period to have a large effect on processing time.
Different strokes for different folks: a case study on software metrics for different defect categories

Defect prediction has been evolved with variety of metric sets, and defect types. Researchers found code, churn, and network metrics as significant indicators of defects. However, all metric sets may not be informative for all defect categories such that only one metric type may represent majority of a defect category. Our previous study showed that defect category sensitive prediction models are more successful than general models, since each category has different characteristics in terms of metrics. We extend our previous work, and propose specialized prediction models using churn, code, and network metrics with respect to three defect categories. Results show that churn metrics are the best for predicting all defects. The strength of correlation for code and network metrics varies with defect category: Network metrics have higher correlations than code metrics for defects reported during functional testing and in the field, and vice versa for defects reported during system testing.
Enhancement of the Knowledge on Fungal Communities in Directly Brined Aloreña de Málaga Green Olive Fermentations by Metabarcoding Analysis

Nowadays, our knowledge of the fungal biodiversity in fermented vegetables is limited although these microorganisms could have a great influence on the quality and safety of this kind of food. This work uses a metagenetic approach to obtain basic knowledge of the fungal community ecology during the course of fermentation of natural Aloreña de Málaga table olives, from reception of raw material to edible fruits. For this purpose, samples of brines and fruits were collected from two industries in Guadalhorce Valley (Málaga, Spain) at different moments of fermentation (0, 7, 30 and 120 days). The physicochemical and microbial counts performed during fermentation showed the typical evolution of this type of processes, mainly dominated by yeasts in apparent absence of Enterobacteriaceae and Lactobacillaceae. High-throughput barcoded pyrosequencing analysis of ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 region showed a low biodiversity of the fungal community, with the presence at 97% identity of 29 different fungal genera included in 105 operational taxonomic units (OTUs). The most important genera in the raw material at the moment of reception in the industry were Penicillium, Cladosporium, Malassezia, and Candida, whilst after 4 months of fermentation in brines Zygotorulaspora and Pichia were predominant, whereas in fruits were Candida, Penicillium, Debaryomyces and Saccharomyces. The fungal genera Penicillium, Pichia, and Zygotorulaspora were shared among the three types of substrates during all the course of fermentation, representing the core fungal population for this table olive specialty. A phylogenetic analysis of the ITS sequences allowed a more accurate assignment of diverse OTUs to Pichia manshurica, Candida parapsilosis/C. tropicalis, Candida diddensiae, and Citeromyces nyonensis clades. This study highlights the existence of a complex fungal consortium in olive fermentations including phytopathogenic, saprofitic, spoilage and fermentative genera. Insights into the ecology, identification and quantification of fungi species in olive fermentation will facilitate the design of new strategies to improve the quality and safety of this fermented vegetable.
Understanding Dynamic Transactions Between Personality Traits and Partner Relationships

When examining the associations between personality traits and partner relationships, the majority of studies have focused on the one-way effects of personality traits on the quality and stability of relationships. Recent work, however, has shown that relationships likewise retroact on personality traits and their development. Apart from these mutual influences, recent studies have also emphasized the necessity of considering both members of a couple in order to understand how their personalities and perceptions of the relationship interact. We review the status quo of research on personality-relationship transactions and outline suggestions for future research that move the focus from predicting the interplay between the two domains to explaining how personality traits and partner relationships dynamically interact. Specifically, we propose the need for (a) a functional perspective on personality traits, (b) a differentiated view of behavior, and (c) acknowledgment of the dynamic nature of traits and relationships in appropriate analysis models.
Language evolution:Current status and future directions

The topic of language evolution is characterised by the scarcity of records, but also by a large flow of research produced within multiple subtopics and perspectives. Over the past few decades, significant advancement has been made on the geographical and temporal origins of language, while current work is rather devoted to the underpinnings of language, in brain, genes, body, and culture of humans. Much of this literature is polarized over the crucial dichotomy of nativism versus emergentism. Our state of affairs report also confirms a high degree of speculation, albeit with a decrease for modelling. To tackle the speculation and the large research flow, we propose a more impersonal kind of review, focused on the topic’s questions rather than on particular accounts. Another observation is that novel perspectives are on the rise. One of these highlights the importance of perceptual cognition, often dubbed ‘embodiment,’ in the earlier evolution of language. In following this lead, we adapted a previous experiment which had investigated the correspondence between certain perceptual features of events, and different grammatical orders arising as participants acted out those events. That design made a perfect basis for us to put in an additional variable, namely the contrast between body-based communication (gestures), and more disembodied communication (symbol matching). Albeit tentative, the results of this pilot experiment reveal a greater effect of the embodiment variable on the grammatical preferences, which we see as inviting further exploration of embodied cognition in language evolution.
Sintering Behaviors of Carbon Nanotubes—Aluminum Composite Powders

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are promising reinforcements for fabricating aluminum (Al) matrix composites with outstanding properties. The understanding of the consolidation process of CNT–Al composite powders plays a significant role in achieving high performances of bulk composites. In this study, an advanced consolidation technique of spark plasma sintering (SPS) was used to fabricate CNT–Al composites with homogeneously dispersed CNTs. The sintering kinetics of pure Al powders and those powders coated with 1 wt % CNTs were studied. By combining the electrical conductivity and relative density results, it was found that the sintering process consisted of two stages with distinct densification rates. The second stage with a much lower rate was governed by the breaking down of alumina films at primary particle boundaries. The activation energy of the controlling second stage increased by 55% in CNT–Al composite powders compared to that of pure Al powder. As a result, CNT addition led to the overall decrease of sintering ability, which raised a challenge in the processing of CNT–Al composites.
A Procrustean Markov Process for Non-rigid Structure Recovery

Recovering a non-rigid 3D structure from a series of 2D observations is still a difficult problem to solve accurately. Many constraints have been proposed to facilitate the recovery, and one of the most successful constraints is smoothness due to the fact that most real-world objects change continuously. However, many existing methods require to determine the degree of smoothness beforehand, which is not viable in practical situations. In this paper, we propose a new probabilistic model that incorporates the smoothness constraint without requiring any prior knowledge. Our approach regards the sequence of 3D shapes as a simple stationary Markov process with Procrustes alignment, whose parameters are learned during the fitting process. The Markov process is assumed to be stationary because deformation is finite and recurrent in general, and the 3D shapes are assumed to be Procrustes aligned in order to discriminate deformation from motion. The proposed method outperforms the state-of-the-art methods, even though the computation time is rather moderate compared to the other existing methods.
Biosensors in Clinical Practice: Focus on Oncohematology

Biosensors are devices that are capable of detecting specific biological analytes and converting their presence or concentration into some electrical, thermal, optical or other signal that can be easily analysed. The first biosensor was designed by Clark and Lyons in 1962 as a means of measuring glucose. Since then, much progress has been made and the applications of biosensors are today potentially boundless. This review is limited to their clinical applications, particularly in the field of oncohematology. Biosensors have recently been developed in order to improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients affected by hematological malignancies, such as the biosensor for assessing the in vitro pre-treatment efficacy of cytarabine in acute myeloid leukemia, and the fluorescence resonance energy transfer-based biosensor for assessing the efficacy of imatinib in chronic myeloid leukemia. The review also considers the challenges and future perspectives of biosensors in clinical practice.
An Intensional Concurrent Faithful Encoding of Turing Machines

The benchmark for computation is typically given as Turing computability; the ability for a computation to be performed by a Turing Machine. Many languages exploit (indirect) encodings of Turing Machines to demonstrate their ability to support arbitrary computation. However, these encodings are usually by simulating the entire Turing Machine within the language, or by encoding a language that does an encoding or simulation itself. This second category is typical for process calculi that show an encoding of lambda-calculus (often with restrictions) that in turn simulates a Turing Machine. Such approaches lead to indirect encodings of Turing Machines that are complex, unclear, and only weakly equivalent after computation. This paper presents an approach to encoding Turing Machines into intensional process calculi that is faithful, reduction preserving, and structurally equivalent. The encoding is demonstrated in a simple asymmetric concurrent pattern calculus before generalised to simplify infinite terms, and to show encodings into Concurrent Pattern Calculus and Psi Calculi.
Creative Problem Solving (CPS): Powerful Tools for Managing Change and Developing Talent

Abstract Creative Problem Solving (CPS) offers a powerful, practical set of tools for people of all ages to learn and apply. In educational settings, CPS is valuable for adults and for students to empower individuals and groups to think creatively and critically, deal with complex, open-ended problems, and manage change; CPS also plays a role in promoting talent recognition and development. This article describes the foundations for understanding the CPS system and the reasons for its importance in education, summarizes major influences on the development and evolution of CPS over more than five decades, summarizes current educational applications, and outlines a number of current and emerging trends and issues for research, development, and practice.
No effect of orthographic neighbourhood in treatment with two cases of acquired dysgraphia

ABSTRACT Background: Studies on the nature of processing within the spelling system have provided evidence for interactivity, where activation between levels of processing flows bidirectionally. In particular, activated letters at the level of the graphemic buffer feed activation back to the lexicon. As a consequence lexical neighbours are activated, which in turn reactivate the graphemic buffer, supporting target selection and leading to an effect of orthographic neighbourhood size in spelling. As a consequence of this feedback, treating words with many neighbours may be more beneficial, and generalisation may be more likely to occur. Aims: The current study aimed to further examine this interactivity, and in particular the role of orthographic neighbourhood size in both treatment effects and generalisation, in the treatment of two individuals with acquired dysgraphia. Two phases of copy and recall treatment were conducted to investigate if orthographic neighbourhood size modulates treatment effects: in the first phase, treated words had no orthographic neighbours, in the second phase, treated words had many neighbours. Untreated control sets were used to investigate the influence of neighbourhood size on potential generalisation across items. Main Contribution: Results showed that treated items improved, however neighbourhood size did not significantly influence the size of the treatment effect for either participant, and no clear evidence was found for generalisation to untreated items. Conclusions: It is argued that (1) the amount of feedback from the buffer to the lexicon was reduced in the participants in this study, and consequently the treated items provide insufficient activation to orthographic neighbours or (2) the effect of feedback from neighbours is small compared to effects of treatment, resulting in similar results for treated words with and without neighbours. This study informs the relationship between spelling impairment and effects of treatment. Furthermore, the absence of generalisation emphasises the importance of choosing functionally relevant items for treatment.