Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Past adult lead exposure is associated with longitudinal decline in cognitive function

Objective: To determine whether adults with past exposure to neurotoxicants have progressive declines in cognitive function years after exposure has ceased, and whether tibia lead is a predictor of the magnitude of change. Methods: A total of 535 former organolead manufacturing workers with a mean age of 55.6 years, a mean duration of 16 years since last occupational lead exposure, and low blood lead levels at the first study visit and 118 controls were evaluated with neurobehavioral tests two to four times over 4 years. “Peak” tibia lead levels, estimated from current levels measured by X-ray fluorescence, were used to predict changes in cognitive function over time. Results: In former lead workers, peak tibia lead ranged from −2.2 to 98.7 μg Pb/g bone mineral. Compared to controls, former lead workers performed worse over time for three tests of visuo-constructive ability and verbal memory and learning (p < 0.05). In former lead workers, peak tibia lead predicted declines for six tests of verbal memory and learning, visual memory, executive ability, and manual dexterity (p < 0.05 for four tests and < 0.10 for two additional tests). On average, for these six tests, an increase of 15.7 μg/g of peak tibia lead was equivalent in its effects on annual test decline to 5 more years of age at baseline. Conclusions: These are the first data to suggest that cognitive function can progressively decline due to past occupational exposures to a neurotoxicant.
AOPUT: A recommendation framework based on social activities and content interests

Content consuming and sharing are two most important user activities in social networking sites (SNSs). Lots of studies have been conducted on content recommendation using users' common interests. However, little has been done to help users to select friends and share content within their social networks. In this paper, we contribute a recommendation framework AOPUT to recommend both content and friend list for sharing to users leveraging content and social information in SNSs. It consists of two recommendation components: Recder and ShareAider. Recder generates content recommendations by connecting users with common interests. An improved Jaccard similarity is proposed to improve the Collaborative Filtering (CF) recommendation quality. ShareAider recommends a friend list to users when they want to share content with their friends. CF method and a social-based method are compared and the combination of them are explored to achieve better results. AOPUT is evaluated on a real world social network. The experimental results show that (1) Recder can provide better recommendation quality than the traditional CF method thanks to the improved Jaccard similarity; (2) social-based method performs better than CF since the sharing behavior in SNSs are highly dominated by users' social preferences, and the combination of these two methods performs better than each of them individually.
Eye movement controlled portable human computer interface for the disabled

This paper aims at the analysis and design of an interface to control the Mouse Pointer of a PC using the eye movements of the user. The potential difference between cornea and retina is measured and the movements of eyes were detected. The horizontal and vertical eye movement signals were recorded by the five electrodes placed on various locations surrounding the eye and were processed by horizontal and vertical channel amplifiers which consist of bio-potential amplifiers, band-pass filters and dc level shift circuits. Based on the kind of signal, an appropriate data is sent from the microcontroller to the PC serially. Mouse pointer movement in the PC is achieved based on the data received via serial port.
Depressed mood amongst adolescents: The roles of perceived control and coping style

The present study explores the link between perceived control (locus of causation and perceived competence), self-reported coping style (productive and nonproductive coping), and depressed mood amongst a sample of high school students. Internal locus beliefs positively predicted productive coping and negatively predicted non-productive coping. Perceived competence positively predicted productive coping and negatively predicted depressed mood. Non-productive coping positively predicted depressed mood. Findings are discussed with a focus on the implications for counselling professionals in promoting adolescent resilience to depression.
Hierarchical Phrase Table Combination for Machine Translation

Typical statistical machine translation systems are batch trained with a given training data and their performances are largely influenced by the amount of data. With the growth of the available data across different domains, it is computationally demanding to perform batch training every time when new data comes. In face of the problem, we propose an efficient phrase table combination method. In particular, we train a Bayesian phrasal inversion transduction grammars for each domain separately. The learned phrase tables are hierarchically combined as if they are drawn from a hierarchical Pitman-Yor process. The performance measured by BLEU is at least as comparable to the traditional batch training method. Furthermore, each phrase table is trained separately in each domain, and while computational overhead is significantly reduced by training them in parallel.
A novel similarity measure for semantic class induction in human-computer spoken dialogues

In this paper, we introduced a new semantic induction metric which can induce some semantic classes from a set of domain-specific unannotated data. We emphasized on the co-occurrence probability instead of just distances of word probability distribution. Compared to the traditional approach on right or left context to calculate the similarity, we used both left and right information simultaneously in the metric. Before processing, we removed fillers based on their unigram and bigram context distribution. We can find that co-occurrence metric is simple, effective and have lower misclassified portion. We test the metric on our Chinese voice-search data, and get F1 for 84.3.
High performance pattern matching using Bloom-Bloomier Filter

In this paper, we propose a high performance architecture based on the combination of Bloom Filter and Bloomier Filter (BBF) to enhance the speed of pattern matching process on Clam Antivirus (ClamAV) database. BBF maintains small on-chip memory, low number of fault positives and can indicate which patterns are the candidate matches. The implementation results on low-cost Altera Cyclone II show that our architecture can handle 43,491-characters of ClamAV pattern set with only 9.5 bits per character and achieve a throughput of 1 gigabit per second (Gbps). As compared with previous systems, our memory utilization is far better up to 73%.
Delayed discharges at a major arterial centre: a 4-month cross-sectional study at a single specialist vascular surgery ward

Objectives Delayed discharges are a significant problem for the National Health Service. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence and impact of delayed discharge at a single specialist vascular surgery ward. Design A cross-sectional observational study. Setting A single specialist vascular unit in the UK during a 4-month study period (01/09/2014–31/12/2014). Participants All patients admitted to the ward during the study period were included. Patients spending ≥1 night on the ward once declared medically fit for discharge (MFFD) were prospectively identified and data prospectively collected. All other patients were identified retrospectively with data collected retrospectively from electronic records. Outcome measures Primary outcome was number of patients experiencing delayed discharge. Secondary outcome measures were length of stay, length of delay and cost of delay. Results There were 268 admissions with a total length of stay (LoS) of 2776 days. 57 admissions (21.3%) experienced delayed discharges with a total 535 excess bed days (19.3% total LoS) once MFFD. Unplanned admission (relative risk 7.3 (95% CI 2.7 to 20.0; p<0.001)) and index amputation (relative risk 9.2 (95% CI 3.8 to 22.0; p<0.001)) were associated with increased risk of delayed discharge. There were significant differences in the length of delay by the reason for the delay (p=0.01). Delay due to the provision of social services and inpatient rehabilitation were associated with longer length of delay (post hoc analysis). Age was not independently associated with either increased risk of delayed discharge or length of delay. The total estimated cost of delayed discharges during the study period was £146 055. Conclusions A significant number of vascular patients experience delayed discharge. MFFD vascular patients occupy a high proportion of vascular beds at considerable financial cost. Unplanned admissions, amputees and those delayed due to social services contributed most to delays. Closer integration with community health and social care providers may reduce delays.
Comparison of Three Troponins as Predictors of Future Cardiovascular Events – Prospective Results from the FINRISK and BiomaCaRE Studies

Importance and Objective Besides their role in diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (MI), troponins may be powerful biomarkers for risk stratification in the general population. The objective of our study was to compare the performance of three troponin assays in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk prediction in a population-based cohort without a history of CVD events. Design, Setting and Participants Troponin I concentrations were measured using a contemporary-sensitivity, high-sensitivity, and super-sensitivity assay in 7,899 participants of the general-population based FINRISK 1997 cohort. We used Cox proportional hazards regression to determine relative risks, followed by measures of discrimination and reclassification using 10-fold cross-validation to control for over-optimism. Main Outcome As outcome measures we used CVD, MI, ischemic stroke, heart failure (HF), and major adverse cardiac events (MACE). During the follow-up of 14 years 1,074 incident MACE were observed. Results Values above the lower limit of detection were observed in 26.4%, 81.5% and 93.9% for the contemporary-sensitivity, high-sensitivity and super-sensitivity assay, respectively. We observed significant associations of troponin concentrations with the risk of future CVD events and the results tended to become stronger with increasing assay sensitivity. For the super-sensitivity assay the multivariate adjusted hazard ratios (per one standard deviation increase) for different outcomes were: MI 1.24 [95% CI 1.11–1.39], stroke 1.14 [1.01–1.28], CVD 1.15 [1.07–1.24], HF 1.28 [1.18–1.39], and MACE 1.18 [1.11–1.25]. In subjects with intermediate risk, we found an improvement of net reclassification for HF (10.2%, p<0.001), and MACE (5.1%, p<0.001). Conclusion Using a super-sensitivity assay, cardiac troponin was detectable in almost all healthy individuals. Its concentration improved risk prediction and reclassification for cardiovascular endpoints.
Hydromechanics of swimming propulsion. Part 3. Swimming and optimum movements of slender fish with side fins

This paper seeks to evaluate the swimming flow around a typical slender fish whose transverse cross-section to the rear of its maximum span section is of a lenticular shape with pointed edges, such as those of spiny fins, so that these side edges are sharp trailing edges, from which an oscillating vortex sheet is shed to trail the body in swimming. The additional feature of shedding of vortex sheet makes this problem a moderate generalization of the paper on the swimming of slender fish treated by Lighthill (1960a). It is found here that the propulsive thrust depends not only on the virtual mass of the tail-end section, but also on an integral effect of variations of the virtual mass along the entire body segment containing the trailing side edges, and that this latter effect can greatly enhance the thrust-making. The optimum shape problem considered here is to determine the transverse oscillatory movements a slender fish can make which will produce a prescribed thrust, so as to overcome the frictional drag, at the expense of the minimum work done in maintaining the motion. The solution is for the fish to send a wave down its body at a phase velocity c somewhat greater than the desired swimming speed U, with an amplitude nearly uniform from the maximum span section to the tail. Both the ratio U/c and the optimum efficiency are found to depend upon two parameters: the reduced wave frequency and a ‘proportionalloading parameter’, the latter being proportional to the thrust coefficient and to the inverse square of the wave amplitude. The basic mechanism of swimming is examined in the light of the principle of action and reaction by studying the vortex wake generated by the optimum movement.
Applicant Reactions to Selection Methods in China

This study examines applicant reactions to ten popular selection methods in China. Using a sample of 294 graduates we found that Chinese applicants’ reactions were highly favorable for work sample tests, interviews, and written ability tests, whereas Guanxi (i.e., relying on personal contacts when applying for a job) and graphology were perceived as the least favorable selection methods. Guanxi was also perceived as significantly less fair method compared with all others on all seven procedural dimensions studied. These findings suggest that Guanxi as an informal selection channel might threaten the fairness of personnel selection in China. Implications for the design of selection systems in Chinese companies are discussed, and ramifications for future research into applicant reactions are considered.
Enhancing the Antioxidant Ability of Trametes versicolor Polysaccharopeptides by an Enzymatic Hydrolysis Process

Polysaccharopeptides (PSPs) are among the main bioactive constituents of Trametes versicolor (T. versicolor). The purpose of this research was to investigate the antioxidant activities of enzymatic hydrolysates obtained from T. versicolor polysaccharopeptides by 80 U/mL β-1,3-glucanase (PSPs-EH80). The half-inhibitory concentration (IC50) of PSPs-EH80 in metal chelating assay, ABTS and DPPH radical scavenging test results were 0.83 mg/mL, 0.14 mg/mL and 0.52 mg/mL, respectively, which were lower than that of PSPs-EH 20 U/mL. The molecular weights of the PSPs-EH80 hydrolysates were 300, 190, 140 and 50 kDa, respectively, and the hydrolysis of polysaccharides by β-1,3-glucanase did not change the original functional group. PSPs-EH80 reduced the reactive oxygen species (ROS) content at least twice that of treatment without PSPs-EH80. In addition, an oxidative damage test showed that PSPs-EH80 can improve HaCaT cell survival. According to our results, PSP demonstrates the potential of anti-oxidative damage; besides, enzyme hydrolysis can improve the ability of the PSP.
Reconstruction of 3D dynamic expressions from single facial image

Recently automatic facial expression analysis and recognition is rapidly gaining more and more interest in the field of computer vision. The capture and construction of 3D dynamic expressions often take large time and need specialized hardware, which limits its possible applications. In this paper, we try to reconstruct 3D dynamic expression images from single 2D facial image. The proposed method is based on statistical learning, where multiple subspaces are learned and support for 3D dynamic expression generation. The results show that the proposed method can effectively generate 3D dynamic expressions using only one input 2D facial image.
Phased-array antennas for inter-satellite links

Antennas are key components of inter-satellite links (ISLs). To achieve the necessary antenna gains with modest physical size, directional Ka or V Band antennas are required that may be steered throughout the duration of the ISL. This paper considers options for ISL antennas on low-earth orbit satellites that avoid any mechanical steering. A linear array of phased feed elements is assumed, operating in conjunction with a shaped reflector, that allows the antenna beam to be steered. Two types of shaped reflector are described and promising results from geometric ray-tracing simulations are presented for a Ka-Band sectorised antenna and a V-band torus design.
Criticizing and responding to criticism in a foreign language: A study of Vietnamese learners of English

Interlanguage pragmatics research has contributed a great deal to our understanding of L2 pragmatic use but less to our understanding of L2 pragmatic development, although developmental issues are also its primary research goal. Additionally, previous studies have been confined to a rather small set of speech acts, underresearching such face-damaging acts as criticizing and responding to criticism even though these may be more challenging for L2 learners. The present study examines pragmatic development in the use of criticizing and responding to criticism by a group of Vietnamese EFL learners with a view to shedding light on the pragmatic properties of these speech acts. IL data were collected from 12 high beginners, 12 intermediate learners, and 12 advanced learners, via a written questionnaire and role play, and analyzed with reference to L1 and L2 baseline data collected from 12 Vietnamese and 12 Australian NSs via the same methods. Metapragmatic data were collected via retrospective interview. Four main findings are discussed. Firstly, the learners criticized and responded to criticism very differently from the NSs. This difference might have adversely affected how the learners negotiated their intentions expressed via speech act realizations. Secondly, there was little evidence of any proficiency effect on the learners’ use of these two speech acts. This was probably because pragmatic development was limited by the EFL context, as the learners had had insufficient exposure to the target norms. Thirdly, there was evidence of pragmatic transfer in the learners’ production. This transfer was affected by the learners’ perception of L1-L2 proximity and assumption of L2 reasonableness. Finally, the retrospective interviews with learners suggested four main sources of influence on their pragmatic decision-making: insufficient L2
FlexFS: A Flexible Flash File System for MLC NAND Flash Memory

The multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash memory technology enables multiple bits of information to be stored on a single cell, thus making it possible to increase the density of the memory without increasing the die size. For most MLC flash memories, each cell can be programmed as a single-level cell or a multi-level cell during runtime. Therefore, it has a potential to achieve both the high performance of SLC flash memory and the high capacity of MLC flash memory. In this paper, we present a flexible flash file system, called FlexFS, which takes advantage of the dynamic reconfiguration facility of MLC flash memory. FlexFS divides the flash memory medium into SLC and MLC regions, and dynamically changes the size of each region to meet the changing requirements of applications. We exploit patterns of storage usage to minimize the overhead of reorganizing two different regions. We also propose a novel wear management scheme which mitigates the effect of the extra writes required by FlexFS on the lifetime of flash memory. Our implementation of FlexFS in the Linux 2.6 kernel shows that it can achieve a performance comparable to SLC flash memory while keeping the capacity of MLC flash memory for both simulated and real mobile workloads.
Evaluating Web applications testability by combining metrics and analogies

This paper introduces an approach to describe a Web application through an object-oriented model and to study application testability using a quality model focused on the use of object-oriented metrics and software analogies analysis. The proposed approach uses traditional Web and object-oriented metrics to describe structural properties of Web applications and to analyze them. These metrics are useful to measure some important software attributes, such as complexity, coupling, size, cohesion, reliability, defects density, and so on. Furthermore, the presented quality model uses these object-oriented metrics to describe applications in order to predict some software quality factors (such as test effort, reliability, error proneness, and so on) through an instance-based classification system. The approach uses a classification system to study software analogies and to define a set of information then used as the basis for applications quality factors prediction and evaluation. The presented approaches are applied into the WAAT (Web Applications Analysis and Testing) project
Metagenomic Analysis of Lysogeny in Tampa Bay: Implications for Prophage Gene Expression

Phage integrase genes often play a role in the establishment of lysogeny in temperate phage by catalyzing the integration of the phage into one of the host's replicons. To investigate temperate phage gene expression, an induced viral metagenome from Tampa Bay was sequenced by 454/Pyrosequencing. The sequencing yielded 294,068 reads with 6.6% identifiable. One hundred-three sequences had significant similarity to integrases by BLASTX analysis (e≤0.001). Four sequences with strongest amino-acid level similarity to integrases were selected and real-time PCR primers and probes were designed. Initial testing with microbial fraction DNA from Tampa Bay revealed 1.9×107, and 1300 gene copies of Vibrio-like integrase and Oceanicola-like integrase L−1 respectively. The other two integrases were not detected. The integrase assay was then tested on microbial fraction RNA extracted from 200 ml of Tampa Bay water sampled biweekly over a 12 month time series. Vibrio-like integrase gene expression was detected in three samples, with estimated copy numbers of 2.4-1280 L−1. Clostridium-like integrase gene expression was detected in 6 samples, with estimated copy numbers of 37 to 265 L−1. In all cases, detection of integrase gene expression corresponded to the occurrence of lysogeny as detected by prophage induction. Investigation of the environmental distribution of the two expressed integrases in the Global Ocean Survey Database found the Vibrio-like integrase was present in genome equivalents of 3.14% of microbial libraries and all four viral metagenomes. There were two similar genes in the library from British Columbia and one similar gene was detected in both the Gulf of Mexico and Sargasso Sea libraries. In contrast, in the Arctic library eleven similar genes were observed. The Clostridium-like integrase was less prevalent, being found in 0.58% of the microbial and none of the viral libraries. These results underscore the value of metagenomic data in discovering signature genes that play important roles in the environment through their expression, as demonstrated by integrases in lysogeny.