Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Complex Cross-lingual Question Answering as a Sequential Classification and Multi-Document Summarization Task

In this paper, we describe the JAVELIN IV system, which treats complex question answering as a sequential classification and multi-document summarization task. Our research and development effort is based on various forms of linguistic annotation, and a comparison of various answer extraction and summarization algorithms. We discuss the use of different units of extraction, the effect of different syntactic features for classification, and the effect of different summarization strategies. We also analyze how the performance of machine translation and information retrieval affect the performance of question answering. In the NTCIR-7 CCLQA main track official evaluation, our system achieved 16.3% and 19.2% accuracy in the English-toJapanese and English-to-Chinese subtasks, respectively.
Hepatitis B virus.

Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) is a member of the hepadnavirus family. Viruses from this family infect primate, rodent and avian species. Wild type HBV virions consist of partially double-stranded circular DNA which is converted into covalently closed circular molecules in nuclei upon infection into host cells. The HBV genome is about 3 . 2kb in size and consists of four transcripts encoding the surface, core, polymerase and X proteins, in overlapping reading frames. HBV infection causes a variety of liver diseases in humans, for example, liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Clinical manifestations range from asymptomatic to acute. The outcome of acute hepatitis B infection may be influenced by host factors some of which are controlled by the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC). In humans the MHC is known as the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) region. Accordingly, the individuals involved in this study were HLA typed. The aim of this study is to investigate HBV DNA differences in three different clinical types of hepatitis B disease over a 15 year period, and to determine if there is a correlation between specific HBV variants and particular clinical states. In 1 985, 93% of the population of Kawerau (7,90 1 ) was tested for HBV, those found to be positive (5 1 9) have been monitored ever since. In 1 998, individuals that fitted our requirements were invited to participate in our study. HBV DNA was extracted from blood samples and complete genomes sequenced, over 120,000 nucleotides were sequenced. Differences in HBV genomes sequenced between clinical types and HBV genotypes were compared. HLA alleles between the different clinical types were compared, as well as comparing HBV infected individuals with the general New Zealand population. The overall project is a major one and the results of this thesis get it well underway.
A Serious Game for Improving Inferencing in the Presence of Foreign Language Unknown Words

This study presents the design of a serious game for improving inferencing for foreign language students. The design of the game is grounded in research on reading theory, motivation and game design. The game contains trial-and-error activities in which students create conversations and then watch these conversations play out. Making mistakes results in students receiving feedback and being requested to try again. An evaluation of the system was also conducted, in which participants used both simple text and the game. Post-test scores for using the game were significantly higher than scores when reading the text. User reception to the system was also positive. These results suggest that serious games can be effective for enhancing inferencing when foreign language students face unknown words. Implications for reading comprehension and for incidental vocabulary learning are also discussed.
Microsegregation in Ni Base Alloy

Synopsis : In Ni base alloys, the precipitates resulting from the segregation of alloy elements often harm the quality of the material. The experiments of solidification and solution treatment with Hastelloy were done. The formation and elimination of precipitates were investigated, and the following results were obtained. 1) The equilibrium distribution ratio of Mo is 0.77 and Mo is easy to segregate. 2) The precipitates are formed in the interdendritic region at final solidification stage and their size is determined by the cooling rate during solidification. 3) The effect of cooling rates on the precipitate size can be explained by the solidification model referred to the segregation of Mo. 4) The precipitates are fully eliminated by the solution treatment for 24 h at 1 250•Ž. The elimination of precipitates can be described by the model where the diffusion of Mo is a rate controlling step.
Preparing for Burn Disasters: Evaluation of a Continuing Education Training Course for Pre-hospital and Hospital Professionals in Kansas

“Preparing for Burn Disasters: A Training Course for Pre-Hospital and Hospital Professionals in Kansas,” a continuing education program designed to provide licensed health care practitioners a training opportunity for multiple burn victim incidents, emphasized the challenges that the community-wide multidisciplinary team faces when responding to burn disasters. A pre-post survey design was used to assess changes in participants’ knowledge and self-rated ability, confidence, and competence to perform in a burn disaster before and after training. Participants (N = 383) were predominantly female (71.1%), 40 years or older (57.7%), nurses (52.2%), were employed in a pre-hospital care setting (38%), and had worked in healthcare for 10 years or fewer (53.6%). The percentage of correct responses pre- vs post-test increased between 30% and 65% on two-thirds of the knowledge items. On the basis of paired-samples t-test analysis, statistically significant increases in participants’ overall self-ratings of ability and confidence in burn management were observed in every content area. Most participants (64%) felt competent or highly competent to manage multiple burn casualties after the training program, and most participants (58%) indicated that they intended to incorporate the newly acquired knowledge into their daily practice within 2 weeks. Evaluation results demonstrate that a successful program was designed and implemented. The curriculum and teaching methods achieved desired goals for improved knowledge, which appear to have been translated to enhanced abilities, confidence and competence in burn assessment and treatment modalities.
Pruritus in Adult Burn Survivors: Postburn Prevalence and Risk Factors Associated With Increased Intensity

Pruritus (itching) is a common and distressing complaint after injury. The purpose of this study was to investigate self-reported postburn pruritus in a large, multisite cohort study of adult burn survivors. Descriptive statistics, general linear regression, and mixed model repeated measures analyses were employed to test statistical significance. Two cohorts of adult burn survivors were studied. Group 1 participants (n = 637) were injured from 2006 to 2010 and were followed up prospectively for 2 years from the time of injury. Prevalence and severity of pruritus were compared across multiple subgroups. Prevalence of pruritus at discharge, 6, 12, and 24 months following injury were 93, 86, 83, and 73%, respectively. Regression results established that %TBSA-burn and %TBSA-grafted were correlated to itch intensity values. Group 2 participants (n = 336) were injured 4 to 10 years before an assessment using the validated 5-D Itch Scale. Many patients (44.4%) reported itching in the area of the burn, graft, or donor site. Within this group, 76% reported itching for <6 hours/day, and 52 and 29% considered itch intensity to be mild or moderate, respectively. This study confirms that the prevalence of burn pruritus is high, initially affecting >90% and persisting for >40% of long-term burn survivors. New predictors for postburn itch were identified to include younger age, dry skin, and raised/thick scars. Characterization of the impact of postburn pruritus on leisure, vocation, and sleep are quantified for those long-term survivors suffering from postburn pruritus.
Cardiac myofibroblast engulfment of dead cells facilitates recovery after myocardial infarction

Myocardial infarction (MI) results in the generation of dead cells in the infarcted area. These cells are swiftly removed by phagocytes to minimize inflammation and limit expansion of the damaged area. However, the types of cells and molecules responsible for the engulfment of dead cells in the infarcted area remain largely unknown. In this study, we demonstrated that cardiac myofibroblasts, which execute tissue fibrosis by producing extracellular matrix proteins, efficiently engulf dead cells. Furthermore, we identified a population of cardiac myofibroblasts that appears in the heart after MI in humans and mice. We found that these cardiac myofibroblasts secrete milk fat globule-epidermal growth factor 8 (MFG-E8), which promotes apoptotic engulfment, and determined that serum response factor is important for MFG-E8 production in myofibroblasts. Following MFG-E8–mediated engulfment of apoptotic cells, myofibroblasts acquired antiinflammatory properties. MFG-E8 deficiency in mice led to the accumulation of unengulfed dead cells after MI, resulting in exacerbated inflammatory responses and a substantial decrease in survival. Moreover, MFG-E8 administration into infarcted hearts restored cardiac function and morphology. MFG-E8–producing myofibroblasts mainly originated from resident cardiac fibroblasts and cells that underwent endothelial-mesenchymal transition in the heart. Together, our results reveal previously unrecognized roles of myofibroblasts in regulating apoptotic engulfment and a fundamental importance of these cells in recovery from MI.
Microstructure and properties of plasma spraying boron carbide coating

血浆水花碳化硼涂层的微观结构被 SEM 和 TEM 学习。 它的物理、机械、电的性质被测量。 结果证明高微的坚硬，模量和 B4C 涂层的低孔被血浆水花生产。 它是薄片状的收拾行李并且稠密。 这里检验的 B4C 涂层除主要阶段以外包含了二主要结构和二个杂质阶段。 幼仔的模量的相对小的价值，与疏松物质的作比较，被孔解释。 Fe 杂质阶段能由与一般碳化硼材料作比较说明碳化硼涂层的相对高的电的传导性。
Monocyte Chemotactic Protein-1–Interleukin-6–Osteopontin Pathway of Intra-Aneurysmal Tissue Healing

Background and Purpose— We have previously demonstrated that the local delivery of monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) via an MCP-1–releasing poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)–coated coil promotes intra-aneurysmal tissue healing. In this study, we demonstrate that interleukin-6 (IL-6) and osteopontin are downstream mediators in the MCP-1–mediated aneurysm-healing pathway. Methods— Murine carotid aneurysms were created in C57BL/6 mice. Drug-releasing coils (MCP-1, IL-6, and osteopontin) and control poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) coils were created and then implanted into the aneurysms to evaluate their intra-aneurismal–healing capacity. To investigate the downstream mediators for aneurysm healing, blocking antibodies for IL-6 receptor and osteopontin were given to the mice implanted with the MCP-1–releasing coils. A histological analysis of both murine and human aneurysms was utilized to cross-validate the data. Results— We observed increased expression of IL-6 in MCP-1-coil–treated aneurysms and not in control-poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)-only–treated aneurysms. MCP-1–mediated intra-aneurysmal healing is inhibited in mice given blocking antibody to IL-6 receptor. MCP-1–mediated intra-aneurysmal healing is also inhibited by blocking antibody to osteopontin. The role of IL-6 in intra-aneurysmal healing is in recruiting of endothelial cells and fibroblasts. Local delivery of osteopontin to murine carotid aneurysms via osteopontin-releasing coil significantly promotes intra-aneurysmal healing, but IL-6–releasing coil does not, suggesting that IL-6 cannot promote aneurysm healing independent of MCP-1. In the MCP-1–mediated aneurysm healing, osteopontin expression is dependent on IL-6; inhibition of IL-6 receptor significantly inhibits osteopontin expression in MCP-1–mediated aneurysm healing. Conclusions— Our findings suggest that IL-6 and osteopontin are key downstream mediators of MCP-1–mediated intra-aneurysmal healing.
Frequency-Domain Substructure Isolation for Local Damage Identification

This paper proposes a frequency-domain method of substructure identification for local health monitoring using substructure isolation method (SIM). The first key step of SIM is the numerical construction of the isolated substructure, which is a virtual and independent structure that has the same physical parameters as the real substructure. Damage identification and local monitoring can be then performed using the responses of the simple isolated substructure and any of the classical methods aimed originally at global structural analysis. This paper extends the SIM to frequency domain, which allows the computational efficiency of the method to be significantly increased in comparison to time domain. The mass-spring numerical model is used to introduce the method. Two aluminum beams with the same substructure are then used in experimental verification. In both cases the method performs efficiently and accurately.
Wearable low-cost inertial sensor-based electrogoniometer for measuring joint range of motion

espanolEl analisis del movimiento humano ha llegado a ser fundamental para una amplia gama de aplicaciones, tales como terapias fisicas, neuro-rehabilitacion, medicina deportiva, la evaluacion de la funcionalidad del sistema motor y la medicina del trabajo. Este articulo se centra en el diseno, implementacion y validacion de un electrogoniometro portatil basado en sensores inerciales y magneticos para la adquisicion del rango articular de movimiento. El sistema se compone de dos unidades de medicion inercial y un microcontrolador que permite la captura de movimiento humano en tiempo real. El electrogoniometro se valido tanto en condiciones estaticas como dinamicas, en comparacion con un electrogoniometro estandar comercial para movimientos de la articulacion del codo. Para validacion estatica, el coeficiente de correlacion de concordancia (ρC) obtenido fue 0.9605. El ρC obtenido para los movimientos ciclicos de baja velocidad fue 0.9830 y el ρC obtenido para los movimientos ciclicos de velocidad moderada fue 0.9619. EnglishHuman movement analysis havebecome fundamental for a wide range of applications, such as physical therapies, neuro-rehabilitation, sports medicine, human motor system performance assessment and occupational medicine. This paper focuses on the design, implementation and validation ofan inertial sensor-based portable electrogoniometer aimed at measuring joint range of motion. The system is composed of two inertial measurement units and a microcontroller that permits real-time human motion capture. The electrogoniometer was tested bothin static and dynamic conditions in comparison to a standard commercial electrogoniometer during elbow movements. For static validation, the concordance correlation coefficient (ρC) obtained was 0.9605. The ρCfound for slow-speed cyclical movements was 0.9830 and the ρCfound for moderate-speed cyclical movements was 0.9619.
University of Southern Denmark Circulating miRNAs as biomarkers for oral squamous cell carcinoma recurrence in operated patients

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small regulatory non-coding RNAs for which altered expression in cancers can serve as potential biomarkers for diseases. We here investigated whether circulating miRNAs can serve as biomarkers for predicting post-operational recurrence of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) in patients. Plasma samples from 8 Danish OSCC patients were collected before, and one year after surgical operation, as well as from 3 Danish healthy controls and subjected to miRNA profiling by next generation sequencing. Disease recurrence did not occur in the 8 patients when the post-operative plasma samples were collected. Based on the sequencing data, three up-regulated miRNAs (miR-148a-3p, miR-26a-5p and miR21-5p) and three down-regulated miRNAs (miR-375, miR-92b-3p and miR-486-5p) in the OSCC samples compared to healthy controls were selected for qRT-PCR validation in a Chinese cohort of 20 plasma samples collected before, and 9-12 months after surgical operation, and 18 healthy controls. Disease recurrence had occurred in 8 out of the 20 Chinese patients at the time their post-operative plasma samples were collected. The results of qRT-PCR showed that down-regulation of miR-486-5p, miR-375 and miR-92b-3p were highly associated with OSCC recurrence. This study indicates that the plasma miRNA profile is altered in OSCC during its progression and can be used to monitor the likelihood of OSCC recurrence in patients after surgery.
Development and Application of the Lincoln Adherence Instrument Record for Assessing Client Adherence to Advice in Dog Behavior Consultations and Success

Adherence to the advice of medical practitioners is critical to successful treatment outcomes and has been much researched in human health, but is less well studied in the veterinary and clinical animal behavior fields. Given that the management of behavior problems often requires substantial change in established client behavior, it is likely that adherence is a substantive issue affecting success. However, little is known about the relationships between relevant factors, and there is no established way of assessing these. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop an instrument for coding factors likely to impinge on pet owner adherence to behavior advice and validate its utility through the identification of the factors appearing to relate most closely to a successful treatment outcome in a sample population from our clinic. Potential factors affecting adherence were identified from human health and animal behavior studies, and a survey instrument developed with items matched to these factors. Forty-two dog owners who had attended the University of Lincoln Animal Behavior Clinic over a 2-year period provided data used in the analysis. The assessment of treatment outcome success by clients and clinicians was correlated, but clinicians tended to overestimate success by half a point on a 5-point scale. Eleven items relating to adherence were found to correlate with client ratings of treatment success in a univariate analysis, with three of these remaining in an ordinal logistic regression model. These three related to trust in the advice given by the clinician, concern over distress caused to the pet in the longer term and the perceived recommendation of treatment measures that had failed. By further examining the relationship between all of these factors in a hierarchical cluster analysis, we were able to postulate ways in which we might be able to improve client adherence and thus treatment success. This provides a model for the application of the instrument in any veterinary behavior practice wishing to use client feedback to rationalize areas of the consultation which might be improved.
Feature selection for texture-based plant leaves classification

Automatic identification of plant species is an essentialfield of research that is required in several areas. Plant leaves recognition plays an influential part in plant identification due to leaves obtainability andstationary features. In this paper, an efficient automatic leave identification system based on texture features is presented. The proposed system is based on several steps. First, the leaf image is pre-processed to remove the noise, enhance the image appearance and extract the region of interest (ROI). Next, texture features, including curvelet transform descriptors (CTD), local binary pattern (LBP) and grey level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) texture features, are extracted and normalized. Afterward, the Neighbourhood Component Feature Selection (NCFS) method is performed to reduce the feature space as well as select the significant features that are capable ofseparatingdifferent leaves classes. Finally, the selected features are fed to k-Nearest Neighbour (k-NN) classifier to categorize the plant leaves. A combination of 78 CTD, 17 GLCM texture features, and 59 LBP, with a total of 154, are reduced to 16 significant features using NCFS. The proposed technique is tested and evaluated on Flavia Leaves dataset. The selected 16 features achieved an accuracy of 98% using K-NN classifier. The system is evaluated using K-fold cross-validation method.
Casual movement speed but not maximal locomotor capacity predicts mate searching success

Maximal locomotor performance is often used as a proxy for fitness. Maximal speed may be important under high‐threat conditions, such as during predator escape. However, animals do not always move at a speed that reflects their maximal physiological capacities when undisturbed. The physiological factors that determine the movement speed chosen by animals, such as minimization of energy use, may be independent from maximal performance. As a result, the casual speed at which individuals move when undisturbed in a given context may better represent an individual's motivation to move. The casual speed may therefore be a better predictor of fitness in natural contexts than maximal performance capacity. We tested the hypothesis that casual movement speed rather than maximal speed predicts fitness in the golden orb‐web spider, Nephila plumipes. We measured fitness in two separate contexts, mate‐searching success and the positional rank near a female. We show that casual but not maximal locomotor speed predicted both aspects of fitness. Casual speed was linearly related to maximal speed, indicating that casual speed is determined by physiological optimization. Size and metabolic scope were not related to either maximal or chosen speeds, indicating that the supply of ATP does not limit locomotor performance in this species. Overall, our results demonstrate that locomotor performance is related to fitness, but suggest that different types of performance and not necessarily maximal physiological capacities are most relevant for particular ecologically relevant tasks.
A model to determine colorectal cancer risk using common genetic susceptibility loci.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Risk for colorectal cancer (CRC) can be greatly reduced through screening. To aid in the development of screening strategies, we refined models designed to determine risk of CRC by incorporating information from common genetic susceptibility loci. METHODS By using data collected from more than 12,000 participants in 6 studies performed from 1990 through 2011 in the United States and Germany, we developed risk determination models based on sex, age, family history, genetic risk score (number of risk alleles carried at 27 validated common CRC susceptibility loci), and history of endoscopic examinations. The model was validated using data collected from approximately 1800 participants in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial, conducted from 1993 through 2001 in the United States. RESULTS We identified a CRC genetic risk score that independently predicted which patients in the training set would develop CRC. Compared with determination of risk based only on family history, adding the genetic risk score increased the discriminatory accuracy from 0.51 to 0.59 (P = .0028) for men and from 0.52 to 0.56 (P = .14) for women. We calculated age- and sex-specific 10-year CRC absolute risk estimates based on the number of risk alleles, family history, and history of endoscopic examinations. A model that included a genetic risk score better determined the recommended starting age for screening in subjects with and without family histories of CRC. The starting age for high-risk men (family history of CRC and genetic risk score, 90%) was 42 years, and for low-risk men (no family history of CRC and genetic risk score, 10%) was 52 years. For men with no family history and a high genetic risk score (90%), the starting age would be 47 years; this is an intermediate value that is 5 years earlier than it would be for men with a genetic risk score of 10%. Similar trends were observed in women. CONCLUSIONS By incorporating information on CRC risk alleles, we created a model to determine the risk for CRC more accurately. This model might be used to develop screening and prevention strategies.