Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessment of Deep Percolation in Citrus Orchard

Australian irrigators are under considerable pressure to increase irrigation efficiency and reduce deep drainage, driven by environmental and economic imperatives. Capacitance probe sensors are relatively cheap and popular electromagnetic equipment to measure soil water content. A field experiment was performed with capacitance probe in Mallee area of Australia, to collect the water content dynamics and deep percolation below of root zone. A relationship between these multi-sensor probes and estimates of deep percolation calculated using the Darcy's flux equation. Two empirical models of water retention curve were compared to illuminate the importance of water retention curve in deep percolation. The deep percolation estimate shows considerable daily and seasonal variations of drainage rate.
Identification of Diagnostic Evoked Response Potential Segments in Alzheimer's Disease

Evoked response potentials (ERPs) to brief flashes of light were analyzed for constituent features that could be used to distinguish individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD, n = 15) from matched control subjects (n = 17). Statistical k nearest-neighbor methods distinguished AD from control with a maximum sensitivity of 29% and false alarm rate of 12%. The comparable sensitivity/false-alarm values for a statistical projection pursuit method and an extended projection pursuit method, which selectively identify discriminative features for classification, were 75%/18% and 100%/6%, respectively. The results demonstrate that combinations of selected ERP time segments across different electrodes contain signal features that discriminate AD from control subjects with high sensitivity and specificity.
A Systematic Assessment of Smartphone Usage Gaps

Researchers who analyse smartphone usage logs often make the assumption that users who lock and unlock their phone for brief periods of time (e.g., less than a minute) are continuing the same "session" of interaction. However, this assumption is not empirically validated, and in fact different studies apply different arbitrary thresholds in their analysis. To validate this assumption, we conducted a field study where we collected user-labelled activity data through ESM and sensor logging. Our results indicate that for the majority of instances where users return to their smartphone, i.e., unlock their device, they in fact begin a new session as opposed to continuing a previous one. Our findings suggest that the commonly used approach of ignoring brief standby periods is not reliable, but optimisation is possible. We therefore propose various metrics related to usage sessions and evaluate various machine learning approaches to classify gaps in usage.
Measuring Conceptual Distance Using WordNet: The Design of a Metric for Measuring Semantic Similarity*

This paper describes the development of a metric for measuring the semantic distance or similarity of words using the WordNet lexical database. Such a metric could be of use in development of search engines and text retrieval systems, tasks for which the richness of natural language can cause difficulty. Further, such a metric can prove invaluable to psycholinguists who wish to study lexical semantic similarity or speech errors (specifically malapropisms).
Hearing thresholds among young professional divers: a 6-year longitudinal study.

INTRODUCTION Diving is associated with pressure effects and noise exposure that can impair hearing. We were interested in finding out whether changes in hearing thresholds were related to cumulative exposure in young professional divers. METHODS In a prospective follow-up design, we studied a cohort of 47 men from the beginning of their education as professional divers at a mean age of 25.6 yr (range 18-38 yr). They had audiograms taken at baseline, after 1 and 3 yr, and finally after 6 yr, during which they performed 40-1458 (median 184) sea dives, most of them to a depth of 10 m or less. The hearing tests measured pure tone air conduction thresholds at 0.25-8.0 kHz in a sound-treated booth. Annual change of hearing thresholds were calculated by fitting linear regression lines to individual data. For purposes of analysis, the divers were divided into two groups, low-exposure (199 or fewer dives, n = 26) and high-exposure (200 or more dives, n = 21). RESULTS Hearing was better in the divers than in the general population at baseline and follow-up. At 6 yr, significant reductions were found in the divers' hearing at 4 kHz and 8 kHz. Significant increases in thresholds were found at 0.5, 2, 3, and 6 kHz for the right ear and 3, 4, and 6 kHz for the left ear. The annual change at 4 kHz was 0.95 dB in the left ear and 0.18 dB in the right ear (p = 0.01). There was no significant difference in hearing changes between the high- and low-exposure groups. DISCUSSION The results suggest that a mild hearing impairment can occur in young professional divers due to occupational and other noise exposure.
Spermicide acceptability among patients at a sexually transmitted disease clinic in Zambia.

OBJECTIVE This study assessed the acceptability of three nonoxynol-9 spermicides among persons attending a sexually transmitted disease clinic in Lusaka, Zambia. METHODS Spermicidal foam, suppositories, and foaming tablets were evaluated. Women (n = 114) and men (n = 150) attending an sexually transmitted disease clinic were enrolled. After each participant used two products, each for 2 weeks, consistency of use and acceptability were evaluated. RESULTS At admission, most women (74%) and men (58%) were not using any family planning method. Moreover, most women (85%) and men (98%) had at least one sexually transmitted disease or genital infection. During the study, the proportion of coital episodes protected by spermicide use was high, yet loss to follow-up and discontinuation were also substantial. Discontinuation was frequently unrelated to acceptability. Women and men rated all three products positively along several acceptability parameters. Foam was the least desirable delivery system due to excess messiness. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study suggest that it is feasible to distribute spermicides to women and men at increased risk for sexually transmitted disease and that the products will be used. Further research should be done among different populations and include other spermicidal delivery mechanisms.
Integrating Medical Text Extraction Tools

This report describes the steps taken to integrate the components of Category and Relationship Extractor (CaRE) into the General Architecture for Text Engineering (GATE). A Link Grammar Interface was developed and its output added as annotations into GATE’s system. Then GATE’s tokenizer, sentence splitter, part-of-speech tagger and noun phrase chunker tools were modified to resemble CaRE’s preprocessing components. Next CaRE’s Map and Mesh programs were adjusted to work with GATE. Finally, a Support Vector Machine (SVM) application was created using the features described above.
Activation of NADPH Oxidase 4 in the Endoplasmic Reticulum Promotes Cardiomyocyte Autophagy and Survival During Energy Stress Through the Protein Kinase RNA-Activated-Like Endoplasmic Reticulum Kinase/Eukaryotic Initiation Factor 2&agr;/Activating Transcription Factor 4 Pathway

Rationale: Autophagy is an essential survival mechanism during energy stress in the heart. Oxidative stress is activated by energy stress, but its role in mediating autophagy is poorly understood. NADPH oxidase (Nox) 4 is an enzyme that generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) at intracellular membranes. Whether Nox4 acts as a sensor of energy stress to mediate activation of autophagy is unknown. Objective: We investigated whether Nox4 is involved in the regulation of autophagy and cell survival during energy stress in cardiomyocytes. Methods and Results: Production of ROS in cardiomyocytes was increased during glucose deprivation (GD) in a Nox4-dependent manner. Protein levels and the ROS-producing activity of Nox4 were increased in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), but not in mitochondria, in response to GD. Selective knockdown of Nox4, but not Nox2, or selective reduction of ROS in the ER with ER-targeted catalase, but not mitochondria-targeted perioxiredoxin 3, abrogated GD-induced autophagy. Nox4 promoted autophagy during GD through activation of the protein kinase RNA-activated-like ER kinase pathway by suppression of prolyl hydroxylase 4. The decrease in cell survival during GD in the presence of Nox4 knockdown was rescued by reactivation of autophagy by Atg7 overexpression, indicating that the effect of Nox4 on cell survival is critically mediated through regulation of autophagy. Nox4 was activated during fasting and prolonged ischemia in the mouse heart, where Nox4 is also required for autophagy activation and cardioprotection. Conclusions: Nox4 critically mediates autophagy in response to energy stress in cardiomyocytes by eliciting ROS in the ER and stimulating the protein kinase RNA-activated-like ER kinase signaling pathway.
Characterizing home networks with HomeNet Profiler

This paper presents the first large-scale study of home netwo rks. We designHomeNet Profiler , a tool that runs on an end-host in the home to collect data from home networks. HomeNet Profiler collects a wide range of measurements including: the set of devices, the set of servi ces (with UPnP and Zeroconf), the home gateway configuration, and the chara teristics of the WiFi environment. Since the release of HomeNet Profiler i n April 2011, we have collected data on 1191 distinct homes. Our analysis l eads to a number of insights on current home networks. Home networks a re diverse; some home networks connect just one end device, whereas othe r have more than a dozen. In most home networks, however, only a small fra ction of devices are powered on during our measurements. The support for UPnP and Zeroconf is still limited. We observe significant differ ences among the WiFi neighborhoods (i.e., the WiFi networks around a home) i n different countries. The signal strength of in-home WiFi, however, is surprisingly good independently of geography.
Amino acid analysis of serum proteins in multiple myeloma.

Eight proteins have been separated by ammonium sulfate precipitation from the sera of different patients with multiple myeloma. The electrophoretic and ultracentrifugal properties of these proteins are summarized. Analytical data for the amino acid composition of these proteins indicate differences among them, especially for one relatively insoluble protein which differed markedly from the rest in that it had an increased arginine and decreased tyrosine, leucine, and lysine concentrations. It was further distinguished by having as its main component a protein with a sedimentation constant ( S 20) of 19.2. In a comparison with the amino acid composition of normal gamma globulins, the myeloma proteins were in general high in lysine and proline and low in valine. The over-all similarity of the amino acid composition of these proteins to normal γ-globulin is discussed.
Aggregate a posteriori linear regression for speaker adaptation

In this paper, we present a rapid and discriminative speaker adaptation algorithm for speech recognition. The adaptation paradigm is constructed under the popular linear regression transformation framework. Attractively, we estimate the regression matrices from the speaker-specific adaptation data according to the aggregate a posteriori criterion, which can be expressed in a form of classification error function. The goal of the proposed aggregate a posteriori linear regression (AAPLR) is to estimate the discriminative linear regression matrices for transformation-based adaptation so that the classification errors can be minimized. Different from minimum classification error linear regression (MCELR), the AAPLR algorithm has a closed-form solution to achieve rapid speaker adaptation. The experimental results reveal that AAPLR speaker adaptation does improve speech recognition performance with moderate computational cost compared to the maximum likelihood linear regression (MLLR), maximum a posteriori linear regression (MAPLR) and MCELR.
A Customized Gene Expression Microarray Reveals That the Brittle Stem Phenotype fs2 of Barley Is Attributable to a Retroelement in the HvCesA4 Cellulose Synthase Gene1[W][OA]

The barley (Hordeum vulgare) brittle stem mutants, fs2, designated X054 and M245, have reduced levels of crystalline cellulose compared with their parental lines Ohichi and Shiroseto. A custom-designed microarray, based on long oligonucleotide technology and including genes involved in cell wall metabolism, revealed that transcript levels of very few genes were altered in the elongation zone of stem internodes, but these included a marked decrease in mRNA for the HvCesA4 cellulose synthase gene of both mutants. In contrast, the abundance of several hundred transcripts changed in the upper, maturation zones of stem internodes, which presumably reflected pleiotropic responses to a weakened cell wall that resulted from the primary genetic lesion. Sequencing of the HvCesA4 genes revealed the presence of a 964-bp solo long terminal repeat of a Copia-like retroelement in the first intron of the HvCesA4 genes of both mutant lines. The retroelement appears to interfere with transcription of the HvCesA4 gene or with processing of the mRNA, and this is likely to account for the lower crystalline cellulose content and lower stem strength of the mutants. The HvCesA4 gene maps to a position on chromosome 1H of barley that coincides with the previously reported position of fs2.
Object tracking based on the improved particle filter method using on the bionic eye PTZ

Our bionic eye PTZ requires the tracking target at the central field of view of the camera, which means it is so important to realize the target tracking well in the first step. The particle filter method is famous for its robust tracking performance in cluttered environments. However, most methods are in the mode of moving object and stationary camera and they are not utilizing so well on the bionic eye PTZ since the camera in our project needs real-time motion. In this paper, we proposed an improved particle filter based on the SKL (Symmetric Kullback-Leibler divergence) similarity measure to realize object tracking and a closed-loop control model based on speed regulation to keep the target at the centre of the camera. The experiment results show that our system can track the moving object well and can always keep the object in the middle of the field of the view.
Prey preferences of the lion (Panthera leo)

Lions Panthera leo are generally thought to prey on medium to large ungulates. Knowledge of which species are actually preferred and which are avoided is lacking, however, as is an understanding of why such preference or avoidance may arise. An analysis of 32 studies over 48 different spatial locations or temporal periods throughout the distribution of the lion shows that it preferentially preys upon species within a weight range of 190–550 kg. The most preferred weight of lion prey is 350 kg. The mean mass of significantly preferred prey species is 290 kg and of all preferred species is 201 kg. Gemsbok, buffalo, wildebeest, giraffe and zebra are significantly preferred. Species outside the preferred weight range are generally avoided. Species within the preferred weight range that are not significantly preferred (such as roan, sable and eland) generally have features that reduce predation either morphologically (e.g. sable horns), ecologically (e.g. roan and sable occurring at low density), or behaviourally (e.g. the large herd size and increased vigilance of eland). Warthog are below the preferred weight range yet are taken in accordance with their availability and this is probably due to their sympatry with lion, their relatively slow evasion speed and their lower level of vigilance. Plots of prey preference against prey body mass follows a bell curve with a right skew that, we argue, is caused by collective hunting by lions of larger-bodied prey. Our methods can be used on all large predators and are likely to be useful in assessing competition in sympatric communities of predators, cooperative hunting and predicting predator diets. This will allow us to move beyond descriptive dietary studies to improve our predictive understanding of the mechanisms underlying predator–prey interactions.
Hippocampal activation during transitive inference in humans

Studies in rodents have demonstrated that the integration and flexible expression of memories, necessary for transitive inference, depend on an intact hippocampus. To test this hypothesis in humans, we studied brain activation during the discrimination of a series of overlapping and non‐overlapping arbitrary visual stimulus pairs. We report that transitive inference about overlapping pairs is associated with right anterior hippocampal activation, whereas recognition of non‐overlapping stimulus pairs is associated with bilateral medial temporal lobe activation centered in the anterior parahippocampal gyrus. We conclude that immediate access to simple stimulus‐stimulus relationships is mediated via the parahippocampal gyrus, whereas the flexible representation of memory requires the recruitment of the hippocampus. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A quantitative evaluation of the magnetic field generated by a CA3 pyramidal cell at EPSP and action potential stages

We evaluate quantitatively which behavioral stage dominantly generates magnetic field adjacent to a CA3 pyramidal cell by using a compartmental model with dendrites and an axon. Generally speaking, there are four stages in the potential behavior, i.e., excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic potential, firing action potential, bursting action potential, if any, and after-hyperpolarization potential stages. Calculated magnetic field also consists of corresponding four stages. We find, first, the dominant origin of the peaks of the magnetic field is counter propagating pulses at the firing and bursting stage at basal and apical dendrites. Second, the amplitude of the magnetic field changes to a great extent by the cancellation timing of the apical- and basal-originating fields depending on the calcium ionic channel spikes. Third, the field generated by the current flowing through the axon is significant enough when the temporal resolution of the measurement system becomes high. The results predict that the magnetic-field waveform measured in physiological experiments represents the dendritic configurations, channel density distributions; and bursting characteristics. These facts enable new investigations of neuronal activities in more detail through the observation of the magnetic-field waveform.
CLaC at SemEval-2016 Task 11: Exploring linguistic and psycho-linguistic Features for Complex Word Identification

This paper describes the system deployed by the CLaC-EDLK team to the "SemEval 2016, Complex Word Identification task". The goal of the task is to identify if a given word in a given context is "simple" or "complex". Our system relies on linguistic features and cognitive complexity. We used several supervised models, however the Random Forest model outperformed the others. Overall our best configuration achieved a G-score of 68.8% in the task, ranking our system 21 out of 45.
Automatic Detection of Nonverbal Behavior Predicts Learning in Dyadic Interactions

Nonverbal behavior can reveal the psychological states of those engaged in interpersonal interaction. Previous research has highlighted the relationship between gesture and learning during instruction. In the current study we applied readily available computer vision hardware and machine learning algorithms to the gestures of teacher/student dyads (N = 106) during a learning session to automatically distinguish between high and low success learning interactions, operationalized by recall for information presented during that learning session. Models predicted learning performance of the dyad with accuracies as high as 85.7 percent when tested on dyads not included in the training set. In addition, correlations were found between summed measures of body movement and learning score. We discuss theoretical and applied implications for learning.
The River Gelså restoration revisited: Habitat specific assemblages and persistence of the macroinvertebrate community over an 11-year period

The study was undertaken on the River Gelså, Denmark, where a 1.8 km meandering course was established in 1989 to replace a channelized river reach. This restoration project was the first of its kind in Denmark and has the longest time-series of post-intervention data of any restoration project conducted world-wide. Additionally, a 0.5 km upstream (control) reach that remained channelized has been sampled since 1989. In this paper, we examined macroinvertebrate assemblages in distinct habitats in 2008, 19 years after the restoration, and community persistence between two years, 1997 and 2008, to investigate the longer-term effects of restoration on the biota. We found that habitat type influenced macroinvertebrate community composition to some degree, while there were no clear effects on and -diversity of habitat or reach type. Stony substrate habitats introduced as part of the restoration could, however, still be separated from other habitat types and were much more frequent in the restored reach. Furthermore, very little change had occurred over the 11-year period from 1997 to 2008, suggesting a high degree of community persistence. Our results suggest that the local species pool was already close to saturation in 1997 and that only limited immigration of new species occurred in the intervening period until 2008. The lack of long term benefits could be attributed to the simultaneous cessation of weed cutting (which had almost as big a positive impact as restoration), other types of stress on the river (eutrophication) and dispersal limitations. However, it might also reflect that River Gelså is still functionally channelized and is far from exhibiting a dynamic river morphology governed by natural processes that create a range of habitats for the biota and this might explain why there has not been a more pronounced increase in macroinvertebrate diversity in River Gelså. © 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V.
Using eye movements for online evaluation of speech synthesis

This paper * describes an eye tracking experiment to study the processing of diphone synthesis, unit selection synthesis, and human speech taking segmental and suprasegmental speech quality into account. The results showed that both factors influenced the processing of human and synthetic speech, and confirmed that eye tracking is a promising albeit time consuming research method to evaluate synthetic speech. Index Terms: eye movements, human speech, diphone synthesis, unit selection synthesis.
Spatial focusing of time-reversed UWB electromagnetic waves in a hallway environment

Spatial focusing of time-reversed UWB electromagnetic waves is demonstrated in a hallway environment. Firstly, a general time domain channel model for the hallway environment has been built. This model takes into account the materials as well as the geometric configuration of the environment. Based on this model, spatial focusing of TR technique is investigated and simulation results show there is 10dB energy drop when the receiver is 1 m away from the intended receiver