Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A speech retrieval system based on fuzzy logic and knowledge-base filtering

The objective of this paper is two-fold. First, to adapt the earlier cognitive interactive framework for speech retrieval application and second, to enhance the accuracy of continuous speech retrieval system using fuzzy word mesh representing linguistic knowledge of users. The proposed method recognizes the audio query and retrieves the audio file(s) in corpus using an information retrieval (IR) Engine. We have used CMUSphinx4 Library for automatic speech recognition after adapting it to Indian accent and lab environment. The IR Engine in the back-end uses Fuzzy Logic based reasoning and knowledge-based filtering to retrieve relevant sentences (transcribed).
Detection of expanded-spectrum β-lactamases in Gram-negative bacteria in the 21st century

Emerging β-lactamase-producing-bacteria (ESBL, AmpC and carbapenemases) have become a serious problem in our community due to their startling spread worldwide and their ability to cause infections which are difficult to treat. Diagnosis of these β-lactamases is of clinical and epidemiological interest. Over the past 10 years, several methods have been developed aiming to rapidly detect these emerging enzymes, thus preventing their rapid spread. In this review, we describe the range of screening and detection methods (phenotypic, molecular and other) for detecting these β-lactamases but also whole genome sequencing as a tool for detecting the genes encoding these enzymes.
Iron loss in a modular rotor switched reluctance machine for the "More-Electric" aero-engine

This paper investigates the iron loss that results in a novel topology of switched reluctance (SR) machine which has been developed for application as a starter/generator within the high pressure region of an aero-engine. It will be shown that the machine has a significantly lower loss than that of an equivalent SR machine equipped with a conventional rotor and, thus, a lower operating temperature, which is a critical factor. The iron losses in the cobalt-iron stator and rotor laminations are calculated on a per-element basis using flux density data derived from electric circuit-coupled finite-element analysis.
Attribute-based encryption without key cloning

In this work, we consider the problem of key cloning in attribute-based encryption schemes. We introduce a new type of attribute-based encryption scheme, called token-based attribute-based encryption (tk-ABE) that provides strong deterrence for key cloning, in the sense that delegation of keys reveals some personal information about the user. It also has the feature that a misbehaving user can be easily revoked. We formalise the security requirements for such a scheme in terms of indistinguishability of the ciphertexts and two new security requirements which we call uncloneability and privacy-preserving. We construct a privacy-preserving uncloneable token-based attribute-based encryption scheme based on Cheung and Newport's ciphertext-policy attribute-based encryption scheme and prove the scheme satisfies the above three security requirements. We also introduce the notion of non-interactive uncloneable attribute-based encryption in order to remove the online token server in the tk-ABE. We then construct such a new scheme with provable security. It should be pointed out that, although our non-interactive scheme is token-free, the scheme does not have the capability to easily revoke users from the scheme. Hence, both types of schemes have their own merits of existence.
Hepatotoxicity Induced by Sophora flavescens and Hepatic Accumulation of Kurarinone, a Major Hepatotoxic Constituent of Sophora flavescens in Rats

Our previous study showed that kurarinone was the main hepatotoxic ingredient of Sophora flavescens, accumulating in the liver. This study characterized the mechanism of Sophora flavescens extract (ESF) hepatotoxicity and hepatic accumulation of kurarinone. ESF impaired hepatic function and caused fat accumulation in the liver after oral administration (1.25 and 2.5 g/kg for 14 days in rats). Serum metabolomics evaluation based on high-resolution mass spectrometry was conducted and real-time PCR was used to determine the expression levels of CPT-1, CPT-2, PPAR-α, and LCAD genes. Effects of kurarinone on triglyceride levels were evaluated in HL-7702 cells. Tissue distribution of kurarinone and kurarinone glucuronides was analyzed in rats receiving ESF (2.5 g/kg). Active uptake of kurarinone and kurarinone glucuronides was studied in OAT2-, OATP1B1-, OATP2B1-, and OATP1B3-transfected HEK293 cells. Our results revealed that after oral administration of ESF in rats, kurarinone glucuronides were actively transported into hepatocytes by OATP1B3 and hydrolyzed into kurarinone, which inhibited fatty acid β-oxidation through the reduction of l-carnitine and the inhibition of PPAR-α pathway, ultimately leading to lipid accumulation and liver injury. These findings contribute to understanding hepatotoxicity of kurarinone after oral administration of ESF.
Topologies, convergence and uniformities in general hybrid path spaces

Topological and/or metric structure on sets of hybrid trajectories is central to stability and robustness theory for hybrid systems, and their generalizations to systems over higher-dimensional heterogeneous signal domains. Recent work by Goebel, Teel and co-workers (2004,2006,2007), and also by Collins (2005,2006), utilizes a 2-dimensional hybrid time structure, and indirectly develops topological structure on hybrid path spaces by studying the convergence of a sequence of paths in terms of the set-convergence of the graphs of those paths, considered as subsets of the product of the time structure and the state space. In this paper, we explicitly develop a topology on spaces of hybrid paths (of both finite and infinite length), where the topology derives from a 3-parameter uniformity giving quantitative measures of closeness. Based on a quite general notion of a time structure as a partially-ordered abelian group equipped with a norm function (which includes 2-dimensional hybrid time), we prove that the path operations of prefix, suffix and fusion all respect the uniformity, and that this uniformity gives topological structure equivalent to that of graph-convergence, which is in turn equivalent to the modified compact-open topology considered by Collins (2005,2006). The uniform topology is metrizable for many spaces of hybrid paths, but it is coarser than the Skorokhod metric topologies considered by Broucke (1998,2002) and Kossentini and Caspi (2004) for a restricted class of hybrid paths.
Ethnic Disparities in the Prevalence of the Metabolic Syndrome in American Adults: Data from the Examination of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2010

Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were stratified by weight, gender, and ethnicity for six survey years from 1999 to 2010 for variables that satisfy the criteria for metabolic syndrome (MS). Results showed that 34% of the US adult population had MS. No significant gender disparities in MS prevalence were found. Black men had a significantly lower prevalence of MS than Black women and White men from 1999 to 2008 (P < 0.05). Women had a 60% higher abdominal adiposity than men in the US population (P = 0.00048; pregnant females were excluded). Although there seem to be ethnic differences in the prevalence of MS, the expression of MS is not a sufficient risk to culminate in cardiovascular disease; rather, nutritional, genetic, and environmental factors are necessary to finalize its expression into overt disease.
An approach towards selection of the oscillation frequency for oscillation test of analog ICs

The paper deals with a new approach to selection of the optimum value of the oscillation frequency towards increasing the efficiency of the oscillation-based test methods in covering hard-detectable short faults in nanoscale technologies. For this purpose, the Describing-Function analysis was used to calculate of the oscillation frequency of a simple oscillator (an analog circuit under test) modeled in MATLAB. Accuracy of the model was evaluated through comparison of computed parameters to parameters achieved for the same circuit in Cadence.
The trauma of colonization: a psycho-historical analysis of one aboriginal community in the north american "northwest"

Abstract This article examines two models of mass trauma as applied to the social conditions and history of an aboriginal community in the boreal forest of northern Canada. A psycho-historical examination of the colonial history of the community failed to uncover evidence of Historic Trauma as pathology linked to the general process of colonization in the Americas. While evidence emerged of a syndrome linked to attendance at regionally specific Indian residential schools, it was not clear whether this syndrome was distinct from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It is suggested that the intergenerational transfer of this symptomatology would involve mechanisms of culture that impact self-construction. Community development is proposed as a method for improving local cultures. The use of psycho-historical analysis is recommended for future research. Abstracto Este articulo examina dos modelos de trauma masivo aplicados a las condiciones sociales e historia de una comunidad indigena en los bosques boreales del norte de Canada. Este examen de la historia colonial de la comunidad no descubrio evidencia de trauma historico como patologia relacionada al proceso general de colonizacion de las Americas. Lo que si emergio fue evidencia de un sindrome relacionado con la asistencia a escuelas indigenas residenciales en regiones especificas. No esta claro si este sindrome es distinto al trastorno de estres postraumatico. Se sugiere que el traspaso inter-generacional de esta sintomatologia incluiria mecanismos culturales que influyen en su autoconstruccion. Desarrollo comunitario se propone como metodo para mejorar las culturas locales. El uso de analisis psico historico se recomienda para investigaciones futuras.
Design of a robust fusion of probability densities

The paper deals with the fusion of probability densities. A selection of the weights of the weighted geometric mean of densities is justified, as well as the selection of the geometric mean itself, from a more general perspective. It is shown that the Chernoff fusion provides the density that minimises the greatest Kullback-Leibler divergence to the densities that are being fused. The interpretation of the densities is discussed and finally, illustrative examples are provided.
Different distribution of NOTCH1 mutations in chronic lymphocytic leukemia with isolated trisomy 12 or associated with other chromosomal alterations

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common leukemia among adults in Western countries. Chromosomal abnormalities commonly found using conventional cytogenetics and FISH are del(11)(q22‐23), trisomy 12, del(13)(q14), and del(17)(p13). Trisomy 12 is the most frequent numerical abnormality in CLL. It can appear isolated or associated with other chromosomal aberrations, including t(14;18)(q32;q21) and trisomy 18. The aim of this study was to determine whether CLL patients with isolated trisomy 12 or associated with other chromosomal alterations have different clinico‐pathological features, including a different distribution NOTCH1 mutation. Patients were classified into four groups: Group 1, isolated trisomy 12 (n = 14); Group 2, trisomy 12 plus trisomy 18 (n = 4); Group 3, trisomy 12 plus t(14;18) (n = 8); and Group 4: patients with trisomy 12 plus other abnormalities not involving BCL2 (n = 28). The Binet stage and expression of ZAP70 were significantly different among cytogenetic groups. NOTCH1 mutations were detected in 6/12 (50%) patients from Group 1, 4/25 (16%) patients from Group 4, and in no patient from groups 2 and 3 (P = 0.020). Patients in Group 2 had a more rapid disease progression (median Treatment‐free Survival 2 months) as against patients from Groups 1 (50 months), 3 (69 months), or 4 (68 months; P = 0.001). These findings indicate that the distribution of NOTCH1 mutations in CLL with trisomy 12 is heterogeneous and that the presence of additional chromosomal abnormalities such as trisomy 18 could change the prognosis of these patients. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Hypotonic shock mediation by p38 MAPK, JNK, PKC, FAK, OSR1 and SPAK in osmosensing chloride secreting cells of killifish opercular epithelium

SUMMARY Hypotonic shock rapidly inhibits Cl- secretion by chloride cells, an effect that is osmotic and not produced by NaCl-depleted isosmotic solutions, yet the mechanism for the inhibition and its recovery are not known. We exposed isolated opercular epithelia, mounted in Ussing chambers, to hypotonic shock in the presence of a variety of chemicals: a general protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor chelerythrine, Gö6976 that selectively blocks PKCα and β subtypes, H-89 that blocks PKA, SB203580 that blocks p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), as well as serine/threonine protein phosphatase (PP1 and 2A) inhibitor okadaic acid, and finally tamoxifen, a blocker of volume-activated anion channels (VSOAC). Chelerythrine has no effect on hypotonic inhibition but blocked the recovery, indicating PKC involvement in stimulation. Gö6976 had little effect, suggesting that PKCα and PKCβ subtypes are not involved. H-89 did not block hypotonic inhibition but decreased the recovery, indicating PKA may be involved in the recovery and overshoot (after restoration of isotonic conditions). SB203580 significantly enhanced the decrease in current by hypotonic shock, suggesting an inhibitory role of p38 MAPK in the hypotonic inhibition. Okadaic acid increased the steady state current, slowed the hypotonic inhibition but made the decrease in current larger; also the recovery and overshoot were completely blocked. Hypotonic stress rapidly and transiently increased phosphorylated p38 MAPK (pp38) MAPK (measured by western analysis) by eightfold at 5 min, then more slowly again to sevenfold at 60 min. Hypertonic shock slowly increased p38 by sevenfold at 60 min. Phosphorylated JNK kinase was increased by 40-50% by both hypotonic and hypertonic shock and was still elevated at 30 min in hypertonic medium. By immunoblot analysis it was found that the stress protein kinase (SPAK) and oxidation stress response kinase 1 (OSR1) were present in salt and freshwater acclimated fish with higher expression in freshwater. By immunocytochemistry, SPAK, OSR1 and phosphorylated focal adhesion kinase (pFAK) were colocalized with NKCC at the basolateral membrane. The protein tyrosine kinase inhibitor genistein (100 μmol l-1) inhibited Cl- secretion that was high, increased Cl- secretion that was low and reduced immunocytochemical staining for phosphorylated FAK. We present a model for rapid control of CFTR and NKCC in chloride cells that includes: (1) activation of NKCC and CFTR via cAMP/PKA, (2) activation of NKCC by PKC, myosin light chain kinase (MLCK), p38, OSR1 and SPAK, (3) deactivation of NKCC by hypotonic cell swelling, Ca2+ and an as yet unidentified protein phosphatase and (4) involvement of protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) acting on FAK to set levels of NKCC activity.
A pilot study of tele-oncology in Scotland

A pilot study of tele-oncology linking a cancer centre with a rural district general hospital was carried out; it involved patients, physicians, surgeons, radiologists and nursing staff. Its purpose was to complement the existing on-site outpatient services, providing oncological advice on non-clinic days. During the six months of the trial, 18 videoconferences were conducted. Their median duration was 17 min range 7-40 . Eight videoconferences involved patients directly. Acceptability of videoconferencing to doctors, nurses and patients was assessed by a questionnaire. Patients and staff found the technique acceptable and were satisfied with the results. The addition of a teleradiology system to teleconsultations was found to be important when decisions on patient management were taken. Following the success of this pilot trial, larger studies of tele-oncology in the UK with measures of cost-effectiveness are needed.
Construction of an eae deletion mutant of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli by using a positive-selection suicide vector

The ability to attach to epithelial cells, efface the microvillus surface, and disrupt the underlying cytoskeleton is characteristic of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC). Recently, eae, a gene necessary for this phenomenon, was described (A. E. Jerse, J. Yu, B. D. Tall, and J. B. Kaper, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 87:7839-7843, 1990). We report the use of a novel suicide vector containing the pir-dependent R6K replicon and the sacB gene of Bacillus subtilis to construct an eae deletion mutant of EPEC. This system enables positive selection for the loss of vector sequences. The resulting mutant, CVD206, is indistinguishable from the wild-type strain except for the loss of a 94-kDa outer membrane protein and attaching and effacing ability. Both the 94-kDa outer membrane protein and attaching and effacing ability are restored upon reintroduction of the eae gene on a plasmid. These results confirm the role of the eae gene in the attaching and effacing activity of EPEC and establish the utility of a new system for the construction of deletion mutations.
Design of microstrip dual-band filters using a double- diplexing configuration

Two microstrip filters are diplexed at the input and output ports to realize a dual-band characteristic. The center frequencies, bandwidths and orders can be quite arbitrary since the two individual filters are realized independently. T- junctions are used to connect filters in parallel and extended microstrip arms are added to each filter for minimizing the mutual couplings at design frequencies. Two-port F-parameter analysis is performed to determine the length of the arms. Three experimental circuits are fabricated and measured to validate the design idea. All the measured results agree well with the simulation.
Sensorless Control of Late-Stage Offshore DFIG-WT with FSTP Converters by Using EKF to Ride through Hybrid Faults

A hybrid fault scenario in a late-stage offshore doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG)-based wind turbine (DFIG-WT) with converter open-circuit fault and position sensor failure is investigated in this paper. An extended Kalman filter (EKF)-based sensorless control strategy is utilized to eliminate the encoder. Based on the detailed analysis of the seventh-order dynamic state space model of DFIG, along with the input voltage signals and measured current signals, the EKF algorithm for DFIG is designed to estimate the rotor speed and position. In addition, the bridge arm open circuit in the back-to-back (BTB) power converter of DFIG is taken as a commonly-encountered fault due to the fragility of semiconductor switches. Four-switch three-phase (FSTP) topology-based fault-tolerant converters are employed for post-fault operation by considering the minimization of switching losses and reducing the circuit complexity. Moreover, a simplified space vector pulse width modulation (SVPWM) technique is proposed to reduce the computational burden, and a voltage balancing scheme is put forward to increase the DC-bus voltage utilization rate. Simulation studies are carried out in MATLAB/Simulink2017a (MathWorks, Natick, MA, USA) to demonstrate the validity of the proposed hybrid fault-tolerant strategy for DFIG-WT, with the wind speed fluctuation, measurement noises and grid voltage sag taken into consideration.
Control Versus No Control: Options for Avian Influenza H5N1 in Nigeria

In January 2006, an outbreak of a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was recorded in Nigeria for the first time. This present work describes an estimation of possible costs associated with a vaccination‐based control policy added to other measures to restrict HPAI H5N1 virus infections. The evaluations used epidemiological and production data, including budgets necessary for the vaccine acquisition, distribution and administration in arriving at the final costs. Using decision tree and cost benefit analysis the economical benefits for Nigeria and countries with similar veterinary infrastructures, biosecurity and farming systems are calculated. The result indicated that a halting in the continued spread of the virus through effective control measure will be 52 times better than taking no action. This should help policy makers in deciding in favour of vaccination combined with other tools as an effective means of controlling avian influenza H5N1. • Control of HPAI H5N1 will best be understood by policy makers in financial terms. • Effective control through vaccination of poultry is much cheaper and reduces the chances of human zoonoses. • Poultry vaccination combined with other control measures will be the most effective means of control in most developing economies.
Current Account Balance Implications of Consumer Loans : The Case of Turkey

This paper analyzes the impact of consumer loans on the current account balance of Turkey over the period 2000q1-2013q1. Consumer loans are decomposed into sub-categories as real estate loans, vehicle loans and other loans to investigate their individual effects on the current account balance. Depreciation rate, real interest rate and GDP growth rate are also included in the model. Existence of the long-run equilibrium relationship among the variables is analyzed by bounds test developed by Pesaran et al. (2001). The estimated long run coefficients indicate that real estate loans and other loans which have increased dramatically after the recent global financial crisis, have significant negative effect on the current account balance. Moreover, depreciation of the Turkish Lira and increase in the interest rates deepen the current account deficit in Turkey. The results may provide important implications for the authorities in similar capital importing developing economies. The polices to encourage domestic investment and demand to avoid recession may create financial fragilitiy problems and lead to current account imbalances.
Training Sequence Design for Wireless Collaborative Communication Systems in Frequency-Selective Fading

We consider a collaborative communication system consisting of several nodes jointly communicating to a common destination node. Once each node determines the message to send, a space-time code across the sources is used to transmit the signal to the destination. As there may be frequency offsets and unknown frequency selective channels, we assume a training sequence is sent in the preamble to estimate these parameters. In this paper, we derive an algorithm that designs training sequences that minimize the Cramer-Rao Bound for frequency estimation in a frequency-selective environment for a multiple node collaborative communication system.