Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Biocompatibility of Solid-Dosage Forms of Anti-Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Microbicides with the Human Cervicovaginal Mucosa Modeled Ex Vivo

ABSTRACT Topical anti-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) microbicides are being sought to reduce the spread of HIV type 1 (HIV-1) during sexual intercourse. The success of this strategy depends upon the selection of formulations compatible with the natural vaginal mucosal barrier. This study applied ex vivo-modeled human cervicovaginal epithelium to evaluate experimental solid-dosage forms of the anti-HIV-1 microbicide cellulose acetate 1,2-benzenedicarboxylate (CAP) and over-the-counter (OTC) vaginal products for their impact on inflammatory mediators regarded as potential HIV-1-enhancing risk factors. We assessed product-induced imbalances between interleukin-1α (IL-1α) and IL-1β and the natural IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA) and changes in levels of IL-6, tumor necrosis factor alpha, IL-8, gamma interferon inducible protein 10 (IP-10), and macrophage inflammatory protein 3α (MIP-3α), known to recruit and activate monocytes, dendritic cells, and T cells to the inflamed mucosa. CAP film and gel formulation, similarly to the hydroxyethylcellulose universal vaginal placebo gel and the OTC K-Y moisturizing gel, were nontoxic and caused no significant changes in any inflammatory biomarker. In contrast, OTC vaginal cleansing and contraceptive films containing octoxynol-9 or nonoxynol-9 (N-9) demonstrated similar levels of toxicity but distinct immunoinflammatory profiles. IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-8, and IP-10 were increased after treatment with both OTC vaginal cleansing and contraceptive films; however, MIP-3α was significantly elevated by the N-9-based film only (P < 0.01). Although both films increased extracellular IL-1RA, the cleansing film only significantly elevated the IL-1RA/IL-1 ratio (P < 0.001). The N-9-based film decreased intracellular IL-1RA (P < 0.05), which has anti-inflammatory intracrine functions. This study identifies immunoinflammatory biomarkers that can discriminate between formulations better than toxicity assays and should be clinically validated in relevance to the risk of HIV-1 acquisition.
Seismic Monitoring of the North Korea Nuclear Test Site Using a Multichannel Correlation Detector

North Korea announced a second nuclear test on 25 May 2009, the first having taken place on October 9, 2006. Both tests were detected by the global seismic network of the Comprehensive nuclear Test-Ban-Treaty Organisation. We apply a correlation detector using a 10-s signal template from the 2006 test on the MJAR array in Japan to: 1) assess the potential for automatically detecting subsequent explosions at or near the test site; and 2) monitor the associated false alarm rate. The 2009 signal is detected clearly with no false alarms in a three-year period. By detecting scaled-down copies of the explosion signals submerged into background noise, we argue that a significantly smaller explosion at the site would have been detected automatically, with a low false alarm rate. The performance of the correlator on MJAR is not diminished by the signal incoherence that makes conventional array processing problematic at this array. We demonstrate that false alarm elimination by f-k analysis of single channel detection statistic traces is crucial for maintaining a low detection threshold. Correlation detectors are to be advocated as a routine complement to the existing pipeline detectors, both for reducing the detection threshold for sites of interest and providing automatic classification of signals from repeating sources.
Leisure Experiences and Depressive Symptoms Among Chinese Older People: A National Survey in Taiwan

We aimed to explore older people's subjective leisure experiences and to further examine associations of such experiences with their depressive symptoms in Taiwan. Known correlates of depression, such as demographics, physical health, and social support, were taken into account. Face-to-face interviews were conducted to collect data using structured questionnaires from a national representative sample of community older people (N = 1308, aged 65 +). We found that (a) being female, older, single, less educated, and having lower family income were demographic risk factors of depression; (b) worse physical health, lack of independent functioning in Activities of Daily Living (ADL), and disability were related to more depressive symptoms; (c) greater social support was related to fewer depressive symptoms; (d) having controlled for effects of demographics, physical health, and social support, positive leisure experiences were independently related to fewer depressive symptoms. The benefits of meaningful leisure pursuits for successful aging are discussed.
Mimicking accented speech as L2 phonological awareness

This study investigated Spanish-speaking learners’ awareness of a non-distinctive phonetic difference between Spanish and English through a delayed mimicry paradigm. We assessed learners' speech production accuracy through voice onset time (VOT) duration measures in word-initial pre-vocalic /p t k/ in Spanish and English words, and in Spanish words produced with an English accent. In addition, the second language (L2) English words and the English-accented Spanish words were rated, respectively, by first language (L1) English and L1 Spanish listeners on 9-point accentedness scales. Spanish-speaking learners were found to modify their native short-lag laryngeal timing patterns significantly, producing longer VOT durations in L2 English and, crucially, in their production of English-accented Spanish words, than they did in the production of L1 Spanish words. This was taken as evidence of learners having developed tacit phonological awareness of the cross-language VOT difference between Spanish and English voiceless stops.
A Feature Learning Siamese Model for Intelligent Control of the Dynamic Range Compressor

In this paper, a siamese DNN model is proposed to learn the characteristics of the audio dynamic range compressor (DRC). This facilitates an intelligent control system that uses audio examples to configure the DRC, a widely used nonlinear audio signal conditioning technique in the areas of music production, speech communication and broadcasting. Several alternative siamese DNN architectures are proposed to learn feature embeddings that can characterise subtle effects due to dynamic range compression. These models are compared with each other as well as handcrafted features proposed in previous work. The evaluation of the relations between the hyperparameters of DNN and DRC parameters are also provided. The best model is able to produce a universal feature embedding that is capable of predicting multiple DRC parameters simultaneously, which is a significant improvement from our previous research. The feature embedding shows better performance than handcrafted audio features when predicting DRC parameters for both mono-instrument audio loops and polyphonic music pieces.
Vehicular Communications Over TV White Spaces in the Presence of Secondary Users

The lack of available spectrum for wireless communications is a threat to the successful deployment of applications designed for intelligent transportation systems (ITSs). The ITS services should be available to a high number of road users and have a fast response time. The interworking between radio access networks is one way to increase spectrum availability. In particular, the joint operation of the dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) technology and TV white spaces (TVWS) has been proposed to increase the dissemination distance for safety messages in vehicular networking. However, previous works have often assumed that the only restriction on the opportunistic access of TVWS is the presence of a TV transmitter (i.e., the primary user). Other secondary users, such as the popular White-Fi networks to be deployed in TV bands, are omitted from the analysis of opportunistic channel access over TVWS. This is despite several proposals in the literature that use secondary networks for purposes other than vehicular networking over TVWS. In this paper, we analyze the opportunistic use of TVWS when other fixed users, such as White-Fi networks, are present. We estimate channel access opportunities and introduce a new metric, the channel availability for opportunistic vehicular access (CAFOVA), which relates the channel occupancy of the White-Fi network, the speed of the vehicle, and the channel verification distance. The results show that there are opportunities for vehicular access even when a White-Fi network occupies the TVWS. Vehicles may use these opportunities for transmission, instead of spending time looking for a new available TVWS and establishing a new link with another vehicle. Therefore, even when a White-Fi network occupies the same TVWS, it may be possible to exploit dynamic spectrum access to extend the available spectrum for vehicular communications.
Robot motor skill coordination with EM-based Reinforcement Learning

We present an approach allowing a robot to acquire new motor skills by learning the couplings across motor control variables. The demonstrated skill is first encoded in a compact form through a modified version of Dynamic Movement Primitives (DMP) which encapsulates correlation information. Expectation-Maximization based Reinforcement Learning is then used to modulate the mixture of dynamical systems initialized from the user's demonstration. The approach is evaluated on a torque-controlled 7 DOFs Barrett WAM robotic arm. Two skill learning experiments are conducted: a reaching task where the robot needs to adapt the learned movement to avoid an obstacle, and a dynamic pancake-flipping task.
A Survey of Green Networking Research

Reduction of unnecessary energy consumption is becoming a major concern in wired networking, because of the potential economical benefits and of its expected environmental impact. These issues, usually referred to as "green networking", relate to embedding energy-awareness in the design, in the devices and in the protocols of networks. In this work, we first formulate a more precise definition of the "green" attribute. We furthermore identify a few paradigms that are the key enablers of energy-aware networking research. We then overview the current state of the art and provide a taxonomy of the relevant work, with a special focus on wired networking. At a high level, we identify four branches of green networking research that stem from different observations on the root causes of energy waste, namely (i) adaptive link rate, (ii) interface proxying, (iii) energy-aware infrastructure and (iv) energy-aware applications. In this work, we not only explore specific proposals pertaining to each of the above branches, but also offer a perspective for research.
Using the Visual World Paradigm to Study Retrieval Interference in Spoken Language Comprehension

The cue-based retrieval theory (Lewis et al., 2006) predicts that interference from similar distractors should create difficulty for argument integration, however this hypothesis has only been examined in the written modality. The current study uses the Visual World Paradigm (VWP) to assess its feasibility to study retrieval interference arising from distractors present in a visual display during spoken language comprehension. The study aims to extend findings from Van Dyke and McElree (2006), which utilized a dual-task paradigm with written sentences in which they manipulated the relationship between extra-sentential distractors and the semantic retrieval cues from a verb, to the spoken modality. Results indicate that retrieval interference effects do occur in the spoken modality, manifesting immediately upon encountering the verbal retrieval cue for inaccurate trials when the distractors are present in the visual field. We also observed indicators of repair processes in trials containing semantic distractors, which were ultimately answered correctly. We conclude that the VWP is a useful tool for investigating retrieval interference effects, including both the online effects of distractors and their after-effects, when repair is initiated. This work paves the way for further studies of retrieval interference in the spoken modality, which is especially significant for examining the phenomenon in pre-reading children, non-reading adults (e.g., people with aphasia), and spoken language bilinguals.
A shRNA library constructed through the generation of loop‐stem‐loop DNA

Short hairpin RNA (shRNA) libraries are considered to comprise a powerful tool in genetic screening. Several library construction methods have been proposed; these methods require between four and nine tedious reaction steps to construct the library. In the present study, we describe a method of generating shRNA‐coding DNA efficiently from randomized oligonucleotides based on four reaction steps.
Preparing fingers within and between hands: Examining the maximal preparation benefit in older age

Previous research has demonstrated an age-related deficit in the preparation of finger responses. A key question is whether the age-related deficit reflects differences in speed of preparation or differences in the maximal preparation benefit that can be attained given sufficiently long preparation intervals. The present study examined this issue by asking a group of younger and older adults to perform the finger-cueing task with four, relatively long, preparation intervals that varied randomly across trials. Reaction time results demonstrated that older adults were deficient in preparing two fingers on two hands at the two shortest preparation intervals, but not at the two longest ones. This outcome suggests that, with randomised preparation intervals, older adults require more time than younger adults to achieve the maximal level of between-hands preparation.
Identification and characterization of a human monoclonal antagonistic antibody AL‐57 that preferentially binds the high‐affinity form of lymphocyte function‐associated antigen‐1

LFA‐1 (αLβ2) mediates cell‐cell and cell‐extracellular matrix adhesions essential for immune and inflammatory responses. One critical mechanism regulating LFA‐1 activity is the conformational change of the ligand‐binding αL I domain from low‐affinity (LA), closed form, to the high‐affinity (HA), open form. Most known integrin antagonists bind both forms. Antagonists specific for the HA αL I domain have not been described. Here, we report the identification and characterization of a human antibody AL‐57, which binds to the αL I domain in a HA but not LA conformation. AL‐57 was discovered by selection from a human Fab‐displaying library using a locked‐open HA I domain as target. AL‐57 Fab‐phage bound HA I domain‐expressing K562 cells (HA cells) in a Mg2+‐dependent manner. AL‐57 IgG also bound HA cells and PBMCs, activated by Mg2+/EGTA, PMA, or DTT. The binding profile of AL‐57 IgG on PBMCs was the same as that of ICAM‐1, the main ligand of LFA‐1. In contrast, an anti‐αL murine mAb MHM24 did not distinguish between the HA and LA forms. Moreover, AL‐57 IgG blocked ICAM‐1 binding to HA cells with a potency greater than MHM24. It also inhibited ICAM‐1 binding to PBMCs, blocked adhesion of HA cells to keratinocytes, and inhibited PHA‐induced lymphocyte proliferation with potencies comparable with MHM24. These results indicate that specifically targeting the HA I domain is sufficient to inhibit LFA‐1‐mediated, adhesive functions. AL‐57 represents a therapeutic candidate for treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.
Annotations for Dynamic Diagnosis of the Dialog State

This paper describes recent work aimed at relating multi-level dialog annotations with meta-data annotations for a corpus of real humanhuman dialogs. This work is carried out in the context of the AMITIES project in which spoken dialog systems for call center services are being developed. A corpus of 100 agent-client dialogs have been annotated with three types of annotations. The first are utterance-level DAMSL-style dialogic labels. The second set of annotations applies to exchanges and takes into account of the dynamic aspect of dialog progress. Finally, 5 emotions types are annotated at the utterance level. Some of these multi-style annotations were used in a multiple linear regression analysis to predict dialog quality. The predictive factors are able to explain about 80% of the dialog accidents.
Gate stack thermal stability and PBTI reliability challenges for 3D sequential integration: Demonstration of a suitable gate stack for top and bottom tier nMOS

3D Sequential integration has been envisioned to stack transistors in the same front-end process. A crucial challenge is the management of the thermal budget. This work focuses on Si nMOS gate stack challenges, specifically: for a top tier device, by inserting a thin LaSiOx interlayer between SiO2 and HfO2 a sufficient PBTI reliability is demonstrated without resorting to unsuitable high temperature anneals. This gate stack also offers good thermal stability for a pMOS over nMOS scenario.
Evaluation of SAT-based Bounded Model Checking of ACTL Properties

Bounded model checking (BMC) based on SAT has been introduced as a complementary method to BDD based symbolic model checking of LTL and ACTL properties in recent years. For general LTL and ACTL properties, BMC has traditionally aimed mainly at error detection, taking the advantage that error detection may only need to explore a small portion of the whole state space. Recently bounded model checking aiming at verification has also been proposed. The aim of this paper is to exploit the strength of BMC methods by combining different BMC approaches and compare it with the traditional BDD-based symbolic methods. We consider two bounded model checking methods, which are for error detection and verification of ACTL properties, respectively, and then combine them to a BMC algorithm. Based on this algorithm, we have implemented a tool named BMV (bounded model verifier), and carried out a number of experiments, and we have then compared BMV with Cadence SMV. The experimental results show that for certain types of problems, both for verification and error detection, BMV can perform much better than Cadence SMV in both time and memory consumption, and we believe that this is the first attempt to have an implementation of a method that combines practical error detection and verification of ACTL properties by SAT-based model checking.
NURR1 promoter polymorphisms: Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, and personality traits

We have previously identified mutations in exon three in NURR1 (NR4A2) in two patients with schizophrenia (SZ) and one patient with bipolar disease with psychotic symptoms. In the present study we analyzed the promoter region of NURR1 and identified five polymorphic sites: three were found to be in strong linkage disequilibrium with a previously identified polymorphic site in the sixth intron. One polymorphism of this haplotype and the two other independent polymorphisms were investigated for their possible association with SZ and Parkinson's disease (PD) by comparing their frequencies in a Swedish material consisting of 134 subjects with SZ and 207 matched controls and 108 subjects with PD and 125 matched controls. Exon 1 was also investigated in our Parkinson and control material but no variances were found. The distributions of the two most informative polymorphisms in the promoter were investigated in an American material as well consisting of 141 subjects with SZ and 139 matched controls. Furthermore, the identified markers were screened for association with putative endophenotypes of SZ in the Swedish material. The distribution of sequence variants among the Swedish controls matched for SZ was investigated with regard to personality. No significant genotype or allelic association of the three sequence variants with SZ or PD was found. Several comparisons regarding endophenotypes or personality indicated association at the 5% confidence level, although correction for multiple testing rendered none of these findings significant. We conclude that the identified polymorphic sites in the human NURR1 are unlikely to be involved in conferring susceptibility for SZ or PD in our patient material. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Low cost and flexible processor-based controller for timing signal generation in PDP

This paper presents a processor for timing signal generation, developed to provide the capability to generate the real-time control signal outputs through software programming. Using the proposed processor, we also developed a low cost and flexible timing signal generator for driving PDP system. The proposed timing signal generator adopts efficient architecture to control the PDP operations, implemented with small hardware resources. The controller using FPGA implementation runs at 50MHz operating clock frequency, and it successfully displays motion pictures on 42-inch PDP.
Genotypic Association Analysis Using Discordant‐Relative‐Pairs

In practice, family‐based design has been widely used in disease‐gene association analysis. The major advantage of such design is that it is not subject to spurious association due to population structure such as population stratification (PS) and admixture. A disadvantage is that parental genotypes are hard to obtain if the disease is late onset for which a discordant‐relative‐pair design is useful. Designs of such kind include full‐sib‐pair, half‐sib‐pair, first‐cousin‐pair, and so on. The closer the relatedness of the pair, the less possible that they are subject to population stratification. On the other hand, the association test using close relative‐pairs may be less powerful due to over‐matching. Trade‐off between these two factors (population structure and over‐matching) is the major concern of this study. Some tests, namely McNemar's test, matched Cochran‐Armitage trend tests (CATTs), matched maximum efficient robust test (MERT), and Bhapkar's test, are used for testing disease‐gene association based on relative‐pair designs. These tests are shown to be valid in the presence of PS but not admixture. Numerical studies show that the McNemar's test, additive CATT, MERT, and Bhapkar's test are robust in power, but none of them is uniformly more powerful than the others. In most simulations, the power of any of the tests increases as the pair is more distant. The proposed methods are applied to two real examples.
Sub-pixel X-marker detection by Hough transform

High precision center detection of X-markers is required in many applications such as navigation surgery systems and camera calibration. Hough transform is a preferable tool for extracting intersecting lines in an image, which leads to center detection. In this paper, we detect X-marker centers by the sub-pixel precision, using Hough transform. Switching to Hough space helps us to apply processes like thresholding, filtering and weighted averaging on coordinates. The algorithm involves two parameters ‘Hough Size’ and ‘Filter Size’ required to be adjusted for best performance of the algorithm. A dataset of 900 images is used and best performance is achieved by values of 180 and 23 for the above parameters, respectively. Using this setting, 90.8% of the centers are detected successfully by the sub-pixel precision. The average distance between detected centers and reference centers is 0.51 pixels. This suggests that the proposed algorithm has the potential to be utilized for sub-pixel marker detection.