Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Active Crowdsourcing for Annotation

Crowdsourcing has shown great potential in obtaining large-scale and cheap labels for different tasks. However, obtaining reliable labels is challenging due to several reasons, such as noisy annotators, limited budget and so on. The state-of-the-art approaches, either suffer in some noisy scenarios, or rely on unlimited resources to acquire reliable labels. In this article, we adopt the learning with expert~(AKA worker in crowdsourcing) advice framework to robustly infer accurate labels by considering the reliability of each worker. However, in order to accurately predict the reliability of each worker, traditional learning with expert advice will consult with external oracles~(AKA domain experts) on the true label of each instance. To reduce the cost of consultation, we proposed two active learning approaches, margin-based and weighted difference of advices based. Meanwhile, to address the problem of limited annotation budget, we proposed a reliability-based assigning approach which actively decides who to annotate the next instance based on each worker's cumulative performance. The experimental results both on real and simulated datasets show that our algorithms can achieve robust and promising performance both in the normal and noisy scenarios with limited budget.
α4-containing GABAA receptors on dopamine D2 receptor-expressing neurons mediate instrumental responding for conditioned reinforcers, and its potentiation by cocaine

Extrasynaptic GABAA receptors (GABAARs) composed of α4, β and δ subunits mediate GABAergic tonic inhibition and are pertinent molecular targets in the modulation of behavioural responses to drugs of abuse, including ethanol and cocaine. These GABAARs are highly expressed within the nucleus accumbens (NAc) where they influence the excitability of the medium spiny neurons (MSNs). Here we explore their role in modulating behavioural responses to reward-conditioned cues and the behaviour-potentiating effects of cocaine. α4-subunit constitutive knockout mice (α4-/-) showed higher rates of instrumental responding for reward-paired stimuli in a test of conditioned reinforcement (CRf). A similar effect was seen following viral knockdown of GABAAR α4 subunits within the NAc. Local infusion of the δ-GABAAR-preferring agonist, THIP, into the NAc had no effect on responding when given alone, but reduced cocaine potentiation of responding for conditioned reinforcers in wildtype but not α4-/- mice. Finally, specific deletion of α4-subunits from dopamine D2-, but not D1-receptor-expressing neurons, mimicked the phenotype of the constitutive knockout, potentiating CRf responding and blocking intra-accumbal THIP attenuation of cocaine-potentiated CRf responding. These data demonstrate that α4-GABAAR mediated inhibition of dopamine D2 receptor-expressing neurons reduces instrumental-responding for a conditioned reinforcer, and its potentiation by cocaine, and emphasise the potential importance of GABAergic signalling within the NAc in mediating cocaine’s effects.
Selenium is critical for cancer‐signaling gene expression but not cell proliferation in human colon Caco‐2 cells

Selenium (Se) is a potential anticarcinogenic nutrient, and the essential role of Se in cell growth is well recognized but certain cancer cells appear to have acquired a survival advantage under conditions of Se‐deficiency. To understand the molecular basis of Se‐anticancer effects at nutritional doses (nmol/L) for cultured cells, we generated Se‐deficient colon Caco‐2 cells by gradually reducing serum in media because serum contains a trace amount of Se. The glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity of Se‐deficient Caco‐2 cells was 10.8 mU/mg protein compared to 133.6 ∼146.3 mU/mg protein in Caco‐2 cells supplemented with 500 nmol/L selenite, SeMSC or SeMet (three tested Se‐chemical forms) after 7‐d culture in serum free media. Interestingly, there were no detectable differences in cell growth, cell cycle progression between Se‐deficient cells and cells supplemented with 500 nmol/L Se. To examine differential cancer signaling‐gene expression between Se‐deficient and Se‐supplemented cells, we employed a cancer signal pathway‐specific array assay coupled with the real time PCR analysis. Our data demonstrate that although Caco‐2 cells are resistant to Se deprivation, Se may exert its anticancer property through increasing the expression of humoral defense gene (A2M) and tumor suppressor‐related genes (IGFBP3, HHIP) while decreasing pro‐inflammatory gene (CXC L9, HSPB2) expression.
Measurement of Systolic-Diastolic Ratio in the Umbilical Artery by Continuous-Wave and Pulsed-Wave Doppler Ultrasound: Comparison at Different Sites

Analysis of umbilical artery flow velocity waveforms, especially systolic-diastolic (S-D) ratio, can predict some pregnancy abnormalities. Most of the earlier studies did not specify the exact segment of umbilical artery sampled. We studied 53 normal singleton pregnancies between 18-41 weeks' gestation to compare S-D ratio measurements of the umbilical artery at different sites: 1) abdominal insertion site, 2) placental insertion site, 3) mid-cord, and 4) an undetermined site. The mean S-D ratio was significantly different (P<.01) at various segments of the umbilical artery—higher near the abdominal insertion site when compared with the mid-cord, near-placental, and undetermined sites. The S-D ratio at mid-cord was higher than at the undetermined site and the placental insertion site. The near-placental-site S-D ratio was not different from the undetermined site. A lower S-D ratio at the undetermined site may not adequately reflect the true physiologic status of the fetus. Specifying the site of measurement should be an integral part of any report, in order to describe accurately the pathophysiology of fetoplacental circulatory diseases.
A Game Theoretic Approach to the Formation of Clustered Overlay Networks ( Supplemental Material ) ✦

The material in this addendum is structured as follows. In Section 1, we define an alternative measure to social cost for measuring the overall quality of the clustered overlay. Section 2 presents the derivation of the case study results, while Section 3 describes the coordinated protocol in detail. Section 4 presents additional experimental results and Section 5 additional related research. Finally, the Appendix includes all proofs of the Lemmas and Propositions in [14].
On the slowly rising phase of the sodium gating current in the squid giant axon

High–resolution records of the sodium gating current in the squid giant axon demonstrate the existence of a slowly rising phase that is first apparent at pulse potentials slightly below zero, and becomes increasingly pronounced at more positive potentials. At +80 mV the current reaches its peak with a delay of 30 μs at 10°C. It is suggested that this current is generated by the first two steps labelled R ←P and P ←A in the S4 units of all four domains of the series–parallel gating system, activating the channel before its opening by the third steps A ←B in domains I, II and III in conjunction with hydration. The kinetics of the slowly rising phase can only be explained by the incorporation of an appropriate degree of voltage–dependent cooperativity between the S4 voltage–sensors for their two initial transitions.
The Influence of Target and Masker Characteristics on Infants' and Adults' Detection of Speech.

Purpose Several investigators have compared infants' detection of speech in speech and nonspeech maskers to evaluate developmental differences in masking. Such comparisons have produced contradictory results, possibly because each investigation used different stimuli. The current study examined target and masker effects on infants' and adults' detection of speech. Method An observer-based procedure was used to compare infants' and adults' detection of the vowel /ʌ/ and the word "baby" in a 2-talker speech masker and matched speech-spectrum noise. The measure of performance was d'. A total of 43 7-month-old infants and 41 young adults were randomly assigned to 1 target-masker combination condition, and mean performance was compared across conditions at each age. Results Adults' detection was influenced by an interaction between the target and the masker: Adults detected the vowel better in the 2-talker masker than in speech-spectrum noise but detected the word equally well in the 2 maskers. In contrast, infants detected both targets better in speech-spectrum noise than in the 2-talker masker. Conclusions The relative effects of the masker on target detection by infants and adults depend on the target to be detected. Thus, conclusions drawn about differences between infants and adults in the mechanisms responsible for masking will depend on the stimuli. Standardization of speech stimuli in developmental research would help clarify the nature of infants' segregation difficulties. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.5613139.
Serum Levels Of Interleukin–12 And Tumour Necrosis Factor– In Patients With Active And Inactive Rheumatoid Arthritis

Seventeen patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (group I) and fifteen patients with inactive RA (group II), in addition to ten healthy control subjects were included in the present study. All patients were evaluated clinically and biochemically according to the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) core set measures, and a comparison was set between both groups of patients. Serum levels of interleukin–12 (IL–12) and tumour necrosis factor– (TNF– ) were measured using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in all patients and control subjects. It was found that there was no significant difference in age, sex, disease duration, degree of disability or physician's and patient's global assessments between both groups of patients (P>0.05), but patients with active RA had significantly higher tender joint score, swollen joint score, visual analogue pain scale, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C– reactive protein compared to patients with inactive RA (P<0.05). Detectable levels of IL–12 in serum were found in 13 out of 17 (76.5%) active RA patients, 6 out of 15 (40%) inactive RA patients and 1 out of 10 (10%) healthy controls. TNF– was also detected in the serum of 12 out of 17 (70.6%) active RA patients, 7 out of 15 (46.7%) inactive RA patients and 1 out of 10 (10%) healthy controls, with significantly higher detectability and significantly higher mean serum levels of IL–12 and TNF– in patients with active RA compared to patients with inactive RA and healthy controls (P<0.05). However, patients with inactive RA had significantly higher detectability and significantly higher serum levels of IL–12 and TNF– compared to the healthy controls (P<0.05) which may reflect the role of IL–12 and TNF– in the pathogenesis of RA. Serum levels of IL–12 correlated positively with TNF– levels in serum in case of active RA patients (r=0.493) and inactive RA patients (r=0.474). It was concluded that significantly elevated serum levels of IL–12 and TNF– may be associated with clinical and laboratory markers of activity of RA; and measurement of serum IL–12 and TNF– levels could be used for assessment of RA activity. IL–12 and TNF– may play an important role in the pathogenesis and inflammatory activity of RA.
Polyphonic Sound Event Detection Using Convolutional Bidirectional Lstm and Synthetic Data-based Transfer Learning

This paper presents a novel approach to improve the performance of polyphonic sound event detection that combines a convolutional bidirectional recurrent neural network (CBRNN) with transfer learning. The ordinary convolutional recurrent neural network (CRNN) is known to suffer from a vanishing gradient problem, which significantly reduces the efficiency of information transfer to past events. To resolve this issue, we combine forward and backward long short-term memory (LSTM) modules and demonstrate that they complement each other. To effectively deal with the issue of overfitting that arises from increased model complexity, we apply transfer learning with a dataset that contains synthesized artifacts. We show that the model achieves faster and better performance with less data. Simulations with the 2016 TUT dataset show that the performance of the CBRNN with transfer learning is dramatically improved compared to the ordinary CRNN; the F1 score was 28.4% higher, and the error rate was 0.42 lower.
Efficacy of Data Fusion Using Convolved Multi-Output Gaussian Processes

This paper evaluates the efficacy of a machine learning approach to data fusion using convolved multi-output Gaussian processes in the context of geological resource modeling. It empirically demonstrates that information integration across multiple information sources leads to superior estimates of all the quantities being modeled, compared to modeling them individually. Convolved multi-output Gaussian processes provide a powerful approach for simultaneous modeling of multiple quantities of interest while taking correlations between these quantities into consideration. Experiments are performed on large scale data taken from a mining context.
Cytoskeletal Changes of Mesenchymal Stem Cells During Differentiation

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are progenitors for tissues such as bone and cartilage. In this report, the actin cytoskeleton and nanomechanobiology of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) were studied using fluorescence microscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Human MSCs were differentiated into chondrocytes and osteoblasts as per previous approaches. Cytochalasin D (CytD) was used to temporarily disrupt cytoskeleton in hMSCs, hMSC-chondrocytes (hMSC-Cys) and hMSC-osteoblasts (hMSC-Obs). Fluorescence microscopy revealed a dose-dependent response to CytD. Removal of CytD from the media of cytoskeleton-disrupted cells led to the recovery of the cytoskeletal structures, as confirmed by both fluorescence microscopy and AFM. Force-volume imaging by AFM evaluated the nanomechanics of all three cell types before, during, and after CytD treatment. Cytochalasin D disruption of cytoskeleton had marked effects on hMSCs and hMSC-Cys, in comparison with limited cytoskeleton disruption in hMSC-Obs, as confirmed qualitatively by fluorescence microscopy and quantitatively by AFM. Treatment with CytD resulted in morphology changes of all cell types, with significant decreases in the observed Young’s Moduli of hMSCs and hMSC-Cys. These data suggest human mesenchymal stem cells alter their cytoskeletal components during differentiation. Additional studies will address the mechanisms of cytoskeletal changes using biochemical and biophysical methods.
Probability iterative closest point algorithm for position estimation

This paper proposes probability iterative closest point (ICP) method based on expectation maximization (EM) estimation for point set registration with noise. The classical ICP algorithm can deal with rigid registration between two point sets effectively, but always fails to register point sets with noise. In order to improve the registration precision, a Gaussian model is introduced into the rigid registration. In each iteration, the classical ICP algorithm includes two steps, building the corresponding relationship and computing the rigid transformation. Similar to the traditional ICP, at each step, firstly the corresponding relationship is set up. Secondly, the rigid transformation is solved by singular value decomposition (SVD) method, and then the Gaussian model is updated by the distance and variance between two point sets. The experimental results on part B of CE-Shape-1 database and real position dataset validate that the proposed algorithm is more accurate.
Diagnostics for the Combustion Science Workbench

As the cost of computers declines relative to outfitting andmaintaining laser spectroscopy laboratories, computers will account foran increasing proportion of the research conducted in fundamentalcombustion science. W.C. Gardiner foresaw that progress will be limitedby the ability to understand the implications of what has been computedand to draw inferences about the elementary components of the combustionmodels. Yet the diagnostics that are routinely applied to computerexperiments have changed little from the sensitivity analyses includedwith the original chemkin software distribution. This paper describessome diagnostics capabilities that may be found on the virtual combustionscience workbench of the future. These diagnostics are illustrated bysome new results concerning which of the hydrogen/oxygen chain branchingreactions actually occur in flames, the increased formation of NOx inwrinkled flames versus flat flames, and the adequacy oftheoreticalpredictions of the effects of stretch. Several areas are identified wherework is needed, including the areas of combustion chemistry and laserdiagnostics, to make the virtual laboratory a reality.
The effect of physical contact on changes in fatigue markers following rugby union field-based training

Abstract Repeated physical contact in rugby union is thought to contribute to post-match fatigue; however, no evidence exists on the effect of contact activity during field-based training on fatigue responses. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of contact during training on fatigue markers in rugby union players. Twenty academy rugby union players participated in the cross-over study. The magnitude of change in upper- and lower-body neuromuscular function (NMF), whole blood creatine kinase concentration [CK] and perception of well-being was assessed pre-training (baseline), immediately and 24 h post-training following contact and non-contact, field-based training. Training load was measured using mean heart rate, session rating of perceived exertion (sRPE) and microtechnology (Catapult Optimeye S5). The inclusion of contact during field-based training almost certainly increased mean heart rate (9.7; ±3.9%) and sRPE (42; ±29.2%) and resulted in likely and very likely greater decreases in upper-body NMF (−7.3; ±4.7% versus 2.7; ±5.9%) and perception of well-being (−8.0; ±4.8% versus −3.4; ±2.2%) 24 h post-training, respectively, and almost certainly greater elevations in [CK] (88.2; ±40.7% versus 3.7; ±8%). The exclusion of contact from field-based training almost certainly increased running intensity (19.8; ±5%) and distance (27.5; ±5.3%), resulting in possibly greater decreases in lower-body NMF (−5.6; ±5.2% versus 2.3; ±2.4%). Practitioners should be aware of the different demands and fatigue responses of contact and non-contact, field-based training and can use this information to appropriately schedule such training in the weekly microcycle.
Exploring Game Performance in the National Basketball Association Using Player Tracking Data

Recent player tracking technology provides new information about basketball game performance. The aim of this study was to (i) compare the game performances of all-star and non all-star basketball players from the National Basketball Association (NBA), and (ii) describe the different basketball game performance profiles based on the different game roles. Archival data were obtained from all 2013-2014 regular season games (n = 1230). The variables analyzed included the points per game, minutes played and the game actions recorded by the player tracking system. To accomplish the first aim, the performance per minute of play was analyzed using a descriptive discriminant analysis to identify which variables best predict the all-star and non all-star playing categories. The all-star players showed slower velocities in defense and performed better in elbow touches, defensive rebounds, close touches, close points and pull-up points, possibly due to optimized attention processes that are key for perceiving the required appropriate environmental information. The second aim was addressed using a k-means cluster analysis, with the aim of creating maximal different performance profile groupings. Afterwards, a descriptive discriminant analysis identified which variables best predict the different playing clusters. The results identified different playing profile of performers, particularly related to the game roles of scoring, passing, defensive and all-round game behavior. Coaching staffs may apply this information to different players, while accounting for individual differences and functional variability, to optimize practice planning and, consequently, the game performances of individuals and teams.
A review on battery management system from the modeling efforts to its multiapplication and integration

Progress in battery technology accelerates the transition of battery management system (BMS) from a mere monitoring unit to a multifunction integrated one. It is necessary to establish a battery model for the implementation of BMS's effective control. With more comprehensive and faster battery model, it would be accurate and effective to reflect the behavior of the battery level to the vehicle. On this basis, to ensure battery safety, power, and durability, some key technologies based on the model are advanced, such as battery state estimation, energy equalization, thermal management, and fault diagnosis. Besides, the communication of interactions between BMS and vehicle controllers, motor controllers, etc is an essential consideration for optimizing driving and improving vehicle performance. As concluded, a synergistic and collaborative BMS is the foundation for green‐energy vehicles to be intelligent, electric, networked, and shared. Thus, this paper reviews the research and development (R&D) of multiphysics model simulation and multifunction integrated BMS technology. In addition, summary of the relevant research and state‐of‐the‐art technology is dedicated to improving the synergy and coordination of BMS and to promote the innovation and optimization of new energy vehicle technology.
Methazolamide Is a New Hepatic Insulin Sensitizer That Lowers Blood Glucose In Vivo

We previously used Gene Expression Signature technology to identify methazolamide (MTZ) and related compounds with insulin sensitizing activity in vitro. The effects of these compounds were investigated in diabetic db/db mice, insulin-resistant diet-induced obese (DIO) mice, and rats with streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes. MTZ reduced fasting blood glucose and HbA1c levels in db/db mice, improved glucose tolerance in DIO mice, and enhanced the glucose-lowering effects of exogenous insulin administration in rats with STZ-induced diabetes. Hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamps in DIO mice revealed that MTZ increased glucose infusion rate and suppressed endogenous glucose production. Whole-body or cellular oxygen consumption rate was not altered, suggesting MTZ may inhibit glucose production by different mechanism(s) to metformin. In support of this, MTZ enhanced the glucose-lowering effects of metformin in db/db mice. MTZ is known to be a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor (CAI); however, CAIs acetazolamide, ethoxyzolamide, dichlorphenamide, chlorthalidone, and furosemide were not effective in vivo. Our results demonstrate that MTZ acts as an insulin sensitizer that suppresses hepatic glucose production in vivo. The antidiabetic effect of MTZ does not appear to be a function of its known activity as a CAI. The additive glucose-lowering effect of MTZ together with metformin highlights the potential utility for the management of type 2 diabetes.