Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
From documents to datasets: A MediaWiki-based method of annotating and extracting species observations in century-old field notebooks

Abstract Part diary, part scientific record, biological field notebooks often contain details necessary to understanding the location and environmental conditions existent during collecting events. Despite their clear value for (and recent use in) global change studies, the text-mining outputs from field notebooks have been idiosyncratic to specific research projects, and impossible to discover or re-use. Best practices and workflows for digitization, transcription, extraction, and integration with other sources are nascent or non-existent. In this paper, we demonstrate a workflow to generate structured outputs while also maintaining links to the original texts. The first step in this workflow was to place already digitized and transcribed field notebooks from the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History founder, Junius Henderson, on Wikisource, an open text transcription platform. Next, we created Wikisource templates to document places, dates, and taxa to facilitate annotation and wiki-linking. We then requested help from the public, through social media tools, to take advantage of volunteer efforts and energy. After three notebooks were fully annotated, content was converted into XML and annotations were extracted and cross-walked into Darwin Core compliant record sets. Finally, these recordsets were vetted, to provide valid taxon names, via a process we call “taxonomic referencing. ” The result is identification and mobilization of 1,068 observations from three of Henderson’s thirteen notebooks and a publishable Darwin Core record set for use in other analyses. Although challenges remain, this work demonstrates a feasible approach to unlock observations from field notebooks that enhances their discovery and interoperability without losing the narrative context from which those observations are drawn. “Compose your notes as if you were writing a letter to someone a century in the future. ” Perrine and Patton (2011)
Improving out-domain PLDA speaker verification using unsupervised inter-dataset variability compensation approach

Experimental studies have found that when the state-of-the-art probabilistic linear discriminant analysis (PLDA) speaker verification systems are trained using out-domain data, it significantly affects speaker verification performance due to the mismatch between development data and evaluation data. To overcome this problem we propose a novel unsupervised inter dataset variability (IDV) compensation approach to compensate the dataset mismatch. IDV-compensated PLDA system achieves over 10% relative improvement in EER values over out-domain PLDA system by effectively compensating the mismatch between in-domain and out-domain data.
A Randomized Control Trial Comparing 2 Levofloxacin-Containing Second-Line Therapies for Helicobacter pylori Eradication

AbstractSummary of Trial Design.Lengthy exposure to quinolone-containing triple therapy in Helicobacter pylori eradication leads to the development of drug resistance. Sequential therapy with a quinolone and metronidazole -containing regimen appears to be an effective treatment option. This randomized controlled trial aimed to compare the efficacy of 5-plus 5 days’ levofloxacin and metronidazole-containing sequential therapy (EALM) with that of 10-day levofloxacin-containing triple therapy (EAL) in second-line H pylori eradication treatment.One hundred and sixty-four patients who had failed the H pylori eradication attempts using the standard triple therapy (proton pump inhibitor bid, clarithromycin 500 mg bid, amoxicillin 1 g bid × 7 days) were randomly assigned to either an EALM therapy group (n = 82; esomeprazole 40 mg bid and amoxicillin 1 g bid for 5 days, followed by esomeprazole 40 mg bid, levofloxacin 500 mg qd, and metronidazole 500 mg tid, for 5 days) or a 10-day EAL therapy group (n = 82; levofloxacin 500 mg qd, amoxicillin 1 g bid, and esomeprazole 40 mg bid). One patient was lost to follow-up in each group. Follow-up for H pylori status was performed 4 to 8 weeks later.Eradication rates for the EALM and EAL groups were 90.2% (74/82, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 83.7%–96.8%) and 80.5% (66/82, 95% CI = 71.7%–89.2%, P = 0.077) in the intention-to-treat analysis; and 91.4% (74/81, 95% CI = 85.1%–97.6%) and 81.5% (66/81, 95% CI = 72.8%–90.1%, P = 0.067) in the per-protocol analysis. The adverse events for the EALM and EAL groups were 23.5% versus 11.1%, P = 0.038 but were all very mild and were well tolerated except for 1 patient with poor compliance. The compliances were 98.8% and 100%, respectively, between the 2 groups. An antibiotic resistance to levofloxacin was the clinical factor influencing the efficacy of H. pylori eradication therapy in the EAL group, and dual resistance to levofloxacin and metronidazole in the EALM group.Levofloxacin and metronidazole-containing sequential therapy achieved a >90% eradication rate as a second-line H pylori therapy. Dual antibiotic resistance to levofloxacin and metronidazole was the clinical factor influencing the efficacy of H pylori eradication therapy in the sequential therapy (ClinicalTrials.gov number: NCT02596620).
Comparative study of linear and nonlinear color model identification based optimal feature extraction

Feature extraction involves detecting and separating fundamental portions of digital images, as well as simplifying a complex input data set into a set of features in a reduced order. It has a variety of practical applications in virtually all areas of pattern recognition and image processing disciplines. Dimensionality reduction is a major goal of feature extraction to retain the relevant information and eliminate the redundant and noisy information. To accurately describe a huge set of complex data with a lower dimensional space representation, optimality should be introduced into feature extraction, which includes both linear and nonlinear approaches, among which, both Principal Components Analysis (PCA) and Independent Component Analysis (ICA) are the most successful ones. Merits and drawbacks of these two linear and nonlinear approaches can be obtained via comparative analysis. The RGB model is an additive color model which displays a color by mixing intensity levels of red, green and blue components. The grayscale value is set when all three primary colors have the same intensity. Most digital images are displayed in RGB format, so optimal feature extraction should be conducted according to three individual components in the RGB model. In order to evaluate the two leading schemes of PCA and ICA for feature extraction, the quantitative metrics based on the information theory have been introduced so as to examine the qualities of optimal feature extraction approaches from both subjective and objective points of view.
Rebellious Collective Action Revisited

Why does it happen that ordinary people can come to participate in rebellious collective action? In the June 1986 issue of this Review, Edward N. Muller and Karl-Dieter Opp argued a public-goods model to account for why rational citizens may become rebels. They offered empirical data drawn from samples in New York City and Hamburg, Germany in support of the public-goods model. George Kolsko takes issue with the rationale of Muller and Opp, arguing that their public-goods model is not a rational-choice explanation of rebellious collective action. In response, Muller and Opp clarify their theory and further elaborate its assumptions.
Bipolar Plasma Membrane Distribution of Phosphoinositides and Their Requirement for Auxin-Mediated Cell Polarity and Patterning in Arabidopsis[W]

This work shows that PtdIns4P and PtdIns(4,5)P2, together with PIP5K1 and PIP5K2, mark the apical and basal polar domains in the root epidermis, embryos, and lateral root primordia. The findings support the idea that a regulatory loop involving plasma membrane–associated phosphoinositides modulates apical–basal PIN polarity via crosstalk between auxin signaling and the PIN polarizing machinery. Cell polarity manifested by asymmetric distribution of cargoes, such as receptors and transporters, within the plasma membrane (PM) is crucial for essential functions in multicellular organisms. In plants, cell polarity (re)establishment is intimately linked to patterning processes. Despite the importance of cell polarity, its underlying mechanisms are still largely unknown, including the definition and distinctiveness of the polar domains within the PM. Here, we show in Arabidopsis thaliana that the signaling membrane components, the phosphoinositides phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (PtdIns4P) and phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate [PtdIns(4,5)P2] as well as PtdIns4P 5-kinases mediating their interconversion, are specifically enriched at apical and basal polar plasma membrane domains. The PtdIns4P 5-kinases PIP5K1 and PIP5K2 are redundantly required for polar localization of specifically apical and basal cargoes, such as PIN-FORMED transporters for the plant hormone auxin. As a consequence of the polarity defects, instructive auxin gradients as well as embryonic and postembryonic patterning are severely compromised. Furthermore, auxin itself regulates PIP5K transcription and PtdIns4P and PtdIns(4,5)P2 levels, in particular their association with polar PM domains. Our results provide insight into the polar domain–delineating mechanisms in plant cells that depend on apical and basal distribution of membrane lipids and are essential for embryonic and postembryonic patterning.
Assessing the relationship between locus of control and continued hearing aid use: Application of the Origin and Pawn Scales

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to measure the relationship between locus of control (LoC) and continued hearing aid (HA) use with a novel approach employing content analysis. Method: Participants were 70 adults with hearing impairment (HI): 35 HA wearers and 35 former HA wearers. Demographic, audiometric, self-report questionnaires, and perception of LoC were compared between the groups. Data for the LoC measurement were obtained through an interview and assessed using the Origin Scale (OS) and Pawn Scale (PS), a content analysis procedure. Results: Current HA wearers were older, had greater difficulty understanding speech in noise, had greater perception of hearing problems, and better HA outcomes than former HA users. Former HA users had higher PS scores and lower OS scores than current HA users. There was no effect of gender on the perception of LoC. Conclusion: The OS and PS can be used reliably to assess LoC for adults with HI. Informal assessment of the perception of LoC through interviews may assist clinicians in identifying clients at risk for HA disuse.
The effects of cadmium on enzymatic antioxidant system and lipid peroxidation of human erythrocytes in vitro and the protective role of plasma level of vitamins C and E

In our study, the effect of simultaneous pretreatment with plasma levels of vitamins C and E on the toxicity of CdCl2 in human erythrocytes was evaluated. We aimed to examine how several different doses of CdCl2 or CdCl2, in combination with vitamins, affects lipid peroxidation and the antioxidant defense system in vitro. Levels of malondialdehyde and the activities of antioxidant enzymes changed in CdCl2-treated groups in different concentrations. Vitamin-pretreated erythrocytes showed significant protection aganist the cytotoxic effects induced by low and moderate CdCl2 concentrations on the studied parameters.
Investigating face-property specific processing in the right OFA

Within the neural face-processing network, the right occipital face area (rOFA) plays a prominent role, and it has been suggested that it receives both feed-forward and re-entrant feedback from other face sensitive areas. Its functional role is less well understood and whether the rOFA is involved in the initial analysis of a face stimulus or in the detailed integration of different face properties remains an open question. The present study investigated the functional role of the rOFA with regard to different face properties (identity, expression, and gaze) using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Experiment 1 showed that the rOFA integrates information across different face properties: performance for the combined processing of identity and expression decreased after TMS to the rOFA, while no impairment was seen in gaze processing. In Experiment 2 we examined the temporal dynamics of this effect. We pinpointed the impaired integrative computation to 170 ms post stimulus presentation. Together the results suggest that TMS to the rOFA affects the integrative processing of facial identity and expression at a mid-latency processing stage.
A Multidomain Spectral Method for Scalar and Vectorial Poisson Equations with Noncompact Sources

We present a spectral method for solving elliptic equations which arise in general relativity, namely three-dimensional scalar Poisson equations, as well as generalized vectorial Poisson equations of the type ΔN→+λ∇→(∇→cN→=S→ with λ≠−1. The source can extend in all the Euclidean space R3, provided it decays at least as r−3. A multidomain approach is used, along with spherical coordinates (r, θ, φ). In each domain, Chebyshev polynomials (in r or 1/r) and spherical harmonics (in θ and φ) expansions are used. If the source decays as r−k the error of the numerical solution is shown to decrease at least as N−2(k−2), where N is the number of Chebyshev coefficients. The error is even evanescents; i.e., it decreases as exp(−N), if the source does not contain any spherical harmonics of index l≥k−3 (scalar case) or l≥k−5 (vectorial case).
Song identification through HMM-Based Modeling of the Main Melody

This paper describes a methodology for the identification of pop and rock songs based on the statistical modeling of the leading voice. The identification is based on the use of hidden Markov models (HMM), which are automatically built from digital music scores. States of the HMMs are labeled by the notes of the leading voice, and the transition and observation probabilities are directly computed from the information on the score. The methodology has been experimentally evaluated on a collection of pop and rock songs, with encouraging results.
Road vehicle classification using Support Vector Machines

The Support Vector Machine (SVM) provides a robust, accurate and effective technique for pattern recognition and classification. Although the SVM is essentially a binary classifier, it can be adopted to handle multi-class classification tasks. The conventional way to extent the SVM to multi-class scenarios is to decompose an m-class problem into a series of two-class problems, for which either the one-vs-one (OVO) or one-vs-all (OVA) approaches are used. In this paper, a practical and systematic approach using a kernelised SVM is proposed and developed such that it can be implemented in embedded hardware within a road-side camera. The foreground segmentation of the vehicle is obtained using a Gaussian mixture model background subtraction algorithm. The feature vector describing the foreground (vehicle) silhouette encodes size, aspect ratio, width, solidity in order to classify vehicle type (car, van, HGV), In addition 3D colour histograms are used to generate a feature vector encoding vehicle color. The good recognition rates achieved in the our experiments indicate that our approach is well suited for pragmatic embedded vehicle classification applications.
Low Oxygen Tension Enhances Endothelial Fate of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

Objective—A critical regulator of the developing or regenerating vasculature is low oxygen tension. Precise elucidation of the role of low oxygen environments on endothelial commitment from human pluripotent stem cells necessitates controlled in vitro differentiation environments. Approach and Results—We used a feeder-free, 2-dimensional differentiation system in which we could monitor accurately dissolved oxygen levels during human pluripotent stem cell differentiation toward early vascular cells (EVCs). We found that oxygen uptake rate of differentiating human pluripotent stem cells is lower in 5% O2 compared with atmospheric conditions. EVCs differentiated in 5% O2 had an increased vascular endothelial cadherin expression with clusters of vascular endothelial cadherin+ cells surrounded by platelet-derived growth factor &bgr;+ cells. When we assessed the temporal effects of low oxygen differentiation environments, we determined that low oxygen environments during the early stages of EVC differentiation enhance endothelial lineage commitment. EVCs differentiated in 5% O2 exhibited an increased expression of vascular endothelial cadherin and CD31 along with their localization to the membrane, enhanced lectin binding and acetylated low-density lipoprotein uptake, rapid cord-like structure formation, and increased expression of arterial endothelial cell markers. Inhibition of reactive oxygen species generation during the early stages of differentiation abrogated the endothelial inductive effects of the low oxygen environments. Conclusions—Low oxygen tension during early stages of EVC derivation induces endothelial commitment and maturation through the accumulation of reactive oxygen species, highlighting the importance of regulating oxygen tensions during human pluripotent stem cell-vascular differentiation.
Critical moments in negotiating authority: grading, accountability, and teacher education

Understanding teacher educators’ reasoning about critical moments in negotiating authority can inform efforts to foster democratic teacher education practices and prepare future teachers to teach democratically. We know very little, however, about critical moments in negotiating authority, particularly in teacher educators’ practices. The purpose of this study was to examine, using self-study methodology, a teacher educator’s assumptions and perspectives about purposefully and explicitly negotiating authority through grading and accountability processes in an undergraduate teacher education course. From a critical pedagogical lens – concerning the intersection of classroom power relations, democratic citizenship, and student growth – the findings suggest that seeking legitimacy through consensual acceptance, responding to students’ expressed interests, and constructing knowledge through continual questioning present potential frameworks for constructing purposeful pedagogical partnerships consistent with democratic aims in teacher education.
Fast Robust Inverse Transform SAT and Multi-stage Adaptation

We present a new method of Speaker Adapted Training (SAT) that is more robust, faster, and results in lower error rate than the previous methods. The method, called Inverse Transform SAT (ITSAT) is based on removing the di erences between speakers before training, rather than modeling the di erences during training. We develop several methods to avoid the problems associated with inverting the transformation. In one method, we interpolate the transformation matrix with an identity or diagonal transformation. We also apply constraints to the matrix to avoid estimation problems. We show that by using many diagonal-only transformation matrices with constraints we can achieve performance that is comparable to that of the original SAT method at a fraction of the cost. In addition, we describe a multi-stage approach to Maximum Likelihood Linear Regression (MLLR) unsupervised adaptation and we show that is more e ective than a single stage regular MMLR adaptation. As a nal stage, we adapt the resulting model at a ner resolution, using Maximum A Posteriori (MAP) adaptation. With the combination of all the above adaptation methods we obtain a 13.6% overall reduction in WER relative to Speaker Independent (SI) training and decoding.
Process evaluation of a community-based intervention program: Healthy Youth Healthy Communities, an adolescent obesity prevention project in Fiji

Nearly one-half of the adult population in Fiji between the ages of 15–64 years is either overweight or obese; and rates amongst school children have, on average, doubled during the last decade. There is an urgent need to scale up the promotion of healthy behaviors and environments using a multi-sectoral approach. The Healthy Youth Healthy Community (HYHC) project in Fiji used a settings approach in secondary schools and faith-based organizations to increase the capacity of the whole community, including churches, mosques and temples, to promote healthy eating and regular physical activity, and to prevent unhealthy weight gain in adolescents aged 13–18 years. The team consisted of a study manager, project coordinator and four research assistants (RAs) committed to planning, designing and facilitating the implementation of intervention programs in collaboration with other stakeholders, such as the wider school communities, government and non-governmental organizations and business partners. Process data were collected on all intervention activities and analyzed by dose, frequency and reach for each specific strategy. The Fiji Action Plan included nine objectives for the school settings; four were based on nutrition and two on physical activity in schools, plus three general objectives, namely capacity building, social marketing and evaluation. Long-term change in nutritional behavior was difficult to achieve; a key contributor to this was the unhealthy food served in the school canteens. Whilst capacity-building proved to be one of the best mechanisms for intervening, it is important to consider the cultural and social factors influencing health behaviors and affecting specific groups.
Broadband Continuous Extraction of Complex Propagation Constants in Methods Using Two-Line Measurements

This letter proposes a new set of formulas that readily remove the sign-assignment problem of square roots frequently occurring in complex propagation constant extractions and error-box calibrations by using two-line test vehicles or standards. Instead of direct complex-number calculations, real transcendental functions of attenuation and phase factors are calculated first. They are then combined, with a proper sign assignment, to recover eigenvalues that contain information on the propagation constant γ. The forward and backward γ's are continuously extracted by taking the logarithms of the calculated eigenvalues.