Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimising Spoken Dialogue Strategies within the Reinforcement Learning Paradigm

Human-Computer Interfaces are now widely studied and become one of the major interests among the scientific community. More and more electronic devices surround people in their day-to-day life. This exponential incursion of electronics in homes, cars and work places is not only due to its ability to ease the achievement of common and boring tasks or the continuously decreasing prices but also because the increasing “user-friendliness” of interfaces makes it easier to use. Being studied for more than fifty years, speech and natural language processing knew major progresses during the two last decades. It is now feasible to build real Spoken Dialogue Systems (SDS) interacting with human users through voice-enabled interactions. Speech often appears as a natural way to interact for a human being and it provides potential benefits such as hand-free access to machines, ergonomics and greater efficiency of interaction. Yet, speech-based interfaces design has been an expert job for a long time. It necessitates good skills in speech technologies and low-level programming. Moreover, rapid design and reusability of previously designed systems are almost impossible. For these reasons, but not only, people are less used to interact with speech-based interfaces which are therefore thought as less intuitive. Designing and optimizing a SDS is not only the combination of speech and language processing systems such as Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) (Rabiner & Juang 1993), Spoken Language Understanding (SLU) (Allen 1998), Natural Language Generation (NLG) (Reiter & Dale 2000), and Text-to-Speech (TTS) synthesis (Dutoit 1997) systems. It also requires the development of dialogue strategies taking at least into account the performances of these subsystems (and others), the nature of the task (e.g. form filling (Pietquin & Dutoit 2006a), tutoring (Graesser et al 2001), robot control, or database querying (Pietquin 2006b)), and the user’s behaviour (e.g. cooperativeness, expertise (Pietquin 2004)). The great variability of these factors makes rapid design of dialogue strategies and reusability across tasks of previous work very complex. Most often, such a design is a cyclic process composed of strategy hand-coding, prototype releases and expansive and time consuming user tests. In addition, there is also no guarantee that hand-crafted strategies developed by experts are anything close to optimal. Because it provides data-driven methods and objective clues about performances, statistical learning of optimal dialogue strategies became a leading domain of research (Lemon & Pietquin, 2007). The goal of such
Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 4α, a Key Factor for Homeostasis, Cell Architecture, and Barrier Function of the Adult Intestinal Epithelium

ABSTRACT Hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α (HNF-4α) is a transcription factor which is highly expressed in the intestinal epithelium from duodenum to colon and from crypt to villus. The homeostasis of this constantly renewing epithelium relies on an integrated control of proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis, as well as on the functional architecture of the epithelial cells. In order to determine the consequences of HNF-4α loss in the adult intestinal epithelium, we used a tamoxifen-inducible Cre-loxP system to inactivate the Hnf-4a gene. In the intestines of adult mice, loss of HNF-4α led to an increased proliferation in crypts and to an increased expression of several genes controlled by the Wnt/β-catenin system. This control of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway by HNF-4α was confirmed in vitro. Cell lineage was affected, as indicated by an increased number of goblet cells and an impairment of enterocyte and enteroendocrine cell maturation. In the absence of HNF-4α, cell-cell junctions were destabilized and paracellular intestinal permeability increased. Our results showed that HNF-4α modulates Wnt/β-catenin signaling and controls intestinal epithelium homeostasis, cell function, and cell architecture. This study indicates that HNF-4α regulates the intestinal balance between proliferation and differentiation, and we hypothesize that it might act as a tumor suppressor.
Regulation of intracellular pH in the smooth muscle of guinea-pig ureter: Na+ dependence.

1. Mechanisms involved in the regulation of intracellular pH (pHi) in smooth muscle cells of guinea-pig ureter have been investigated using double-barrelled pH-sensitive microelectrodes in isolated strips of tissue. 2. Removal of CO2-HCO3- from the superfusing solution caused a fall in the steady-state pHi except in a few cells which had been excised from the animal for many hours (usually > 24 h). The pHi value was 7.22 +/- 0.09 (n = 89; mean +/- S.D. of an observation) in solution buffered with 5% CO2-21 mM HCO3-, compared with 6.92 +/- 0.24 (n = 67) in the nominal absence of CO2-HCO3-. Recovery from experimentally induced acidosis was faster in the presence, rather than nominal absence, of CO2-HCO3- (mean half-times of 2.7 +/- 0.7 min, n = 41, and 4.6 +/- 1.3 min, n = 12, respectively). These results suggest the presence of both HCO(3-)-dependent and -independent mechanisms for the effective extrusion of acid equivalents. 3. Recovery from acidosis was dependent on external Na+ (Na+o) in both the presence and nominal absence of CO2-HCO3-, with an apparent half-maximal activation at approximately 4 and 20 mM Na+o, respectively. Removal of Na+o in the steady state caused a fall in pHi which proceeded at a faster rate in the presence rather than in the nominal absence of CO2-HCO3-. 4. Amiloride (100 microM-1 mM) reversibly inhibited the recovery from acidosis and caused a fall in the steady-state pHi when applied in the nominal absence of CO2-HCO3-, but had no measurable effect on either the recovery from acidosis or steady-state pHi in the presence of CO2-HCO3-. These results suggest that Na(+)-H+ exchange was responsible for extrusion of acid equivalents in the nominal absence of CO2 and HCO3-, but that it played little part under more physiological conditions. 5. Although Na(+)-H+ exchange appeared to be activated below a pHi of about 7.2, it was incapable of maintaining a 'normal' pHi in the nominal absence of CO2-HCO3- in freshly excised cells, where values between 6.06 and 6.89 were recorded. Only in aged preparations, in which the intrinsic intracellular acid loading was substantially reduced (as judged from the rate of acidification on application of amiloride in the nominal absence of CO2-HCO3-) did the steady-state value approximate to that observed in the presence of CO2-HCO3-, at about 7.2.
Overview of the TREC 2012 Web Track

Abstract : If you are an experienced participant, you may not need to read the full report. Apart from the results themselves (see tables 1, 2, and 3) little has changed from TREC 2011. A six-point scale was used for relevance assessment (see section 4.1). Limitations on available assessor time meant that some topics were judged to depth 30 and others to depth 20, as well as causing other minor problems (see section 4.3). However, our plans for next year, as outlined in the concluding section, are quite different from this year.
Contemporary Primatology in Anthropology: Beyond the Epistemological Abyss

In this article, I articulate what I call an “informed primatology,” exploring how primatologists’ study populations and the sociocultural and political contexts in which we work have shaped research in anthropological primatology. One particularly salient context is the disciplinary context: that is, how primatology relates to and is informed by the broader discipline of anthropology. In a 1999 Annual Review of Anthropology piece titled “Whither Primatology? ,” anthropologist Peter Rodman wrote “not only is there a lack of common interest, there is a wide epistemological abyss between sociocultural anthropology and primatology. ” I aim here to demonstrate otherwise. To do so, I make three main arguments. First, I argue that primatology has actually embraced and benefitted from the humanist tradition of reflexivity, thereby demonstrating an epistemological affinity between primatology and sociocultural anthropology. Second, I demonstrate how the increasingly anthropogenic context in which primate populations live has resulted in two critical developments for anthropological primatology: an expanding theoretical landscape and a concern (one shared with sociocultural anthropology) with the human–environment interface. Last, I explore how applied primatology (e.g., primate conservation) can learn from recent scholarship on the anthropology of conservation.
Intra-participant variability in Parkinson's disease: An electropalatographic examination of articulation

The articulation of individuals with dysarthria has traditionally been described as consistent. However, conflicting findings have resulted from research examining intra-participant variation in the articulation of individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) and hypokinetic dysarthria. The current study used electropalatography (EPG) to examine the degree of intra-participant variation in both tongue-palate contact patterns and duration of contact in a group of speakers with PD and hypokinetic dysarthria including consonant imprecision (n = 8). The study also aimed to determine if ageing contributed to any articulatory instability observed. Therefore, two control groups were employed consisting of aged adult (n = 7) and young adult (n = 8) speakers respectively. Participants were asked to read aloud the phrase “I saw a CVC today” were C = /t/, /s/, and /l/ and V = /a/. Intra-participant variation in tongue-palate contact was measured using the absolute and relative variability indexes. Coefficients of variation of duration of tongue contact were employed to examine intra-participant variation in consonant duration. In contrast to the study hypotheses, similar levels of intra-participant variation were observed across the three groups. However, a trend towards increased intra-participant variation in consonant duration was noted in the group with PD. The results of the study suggest that, at least spatially, the articulatory errors of individuals with PD are consistent across repetitions. Research including increased participant numbers and individuals exhibiting greater severity of dysarthria is required to provide further understanding of intra-participant variation in consonant duration in PD.
Infant-feeding consumerism in the age of intensive mothering and risk society

The ideologies of intensive mothering and risk society place increasing burden on mothers to make critical choices regarding infant feeding that are understood as having irreversible consequences for their children's long-term health and emotional well-being. Although research has examined consequences of these ideologies on mothers’ decisions to breastfeed or formula-feed their infants, little has focused on consumer decisions regarding formulas, baby food and feeding-related items. This article examines symbolic meanings attached to infant food and feeding-related consumer items among first-time mothers in the United States. Results indicate broad categories of baby-oriented consumerism—qualities and characteristics mothers sought for their babies through feeding-related consumer behaviors—and mother-oriented consumerism—qualities and characteristics mothers sought for themselves through consumer behaviors. Baby-oriented consumerism included health, comfort, taste and development, and mother-oriented consumerism included knowledge/control, compliance, convenience, frugality, relationships and self-image.
Visual Exploration of Global Trade Networks with Time‐Dependent and Weighted Hierarchical Edge Bundles on GPU

The UN Comtrade database is the world's largest repository of bilateral trade data. Their complexity poses a challenge to visualization systems, leading to issues such as scalability and visual clutter. Thus, we propose a radial layout‐based visual exploration system to enable the user to smoothly explore the change over time and to explore different commodity classes at once by using a novel edge bundling concept. We evaluated our system with the aid of a group of domain experts.
Econometric analyses of microfinance credit group formation, contractual risks and welfare impacts in northern Ethiopia.

Key words Microfinance, joint liability, contractual risk, group formation, risk-matching, impact evaluation, Panel data econometrics, dynamic panel probit, trend models, fixed-effects, composite counterfactuals, propensity score matching, farm households, Ethiopia. Lack of access to credit is a key obstacle for economic development in poor countries. The underlying problem is related to information asymmetry combined with the poor’s lack of collateral to pledge. New mechanisms in microfinance offer ways to deal with this problem without resorting to collateral requirements. The objective of this thesis is to examine the mechanisms of providing credit through microfinance and assess the long-run borrowing effects on household welfare in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian environment provides a suitable setting to examine these issues. To meet this objective, two unique data sets - a five-wave panel data on 400 and a cross-sectional data on 201 households - from northern Ethiopia are used. Borrowing decision is first conceptualized using a dynamic stochastic theoretical framework. Two types of risks involved in joint liability lending are incorporated, i.e., risk of partner failure and risk of losing future access to credit. Empirical analysis using recent dynamic panel data probit techniques show that these contractual risks indeed impede participation in borrowing. The impediment is higher for the poorer, and for new than repeat participants. Second, group formation is analyzed within the framework of alternative microeconomic theories of joint liability where the commonly held hypothesis that groups formed are homogeneous in risk profiles is tested. Empirical results reject this hypothesis indicating that the formation of heterogeneous risk profiles is an inherent feature in group formation and repayment. In fact, there is evidence that borrowers take advantage of established informal credit and saving, and other social networks, which also suggests that group formation outcomes vary depending on underlying socioeconomic contexts. Third, the impact of long-term borrowing on household welfare is assessed from the dimension of intensity and timing of participation in borrowing. Panel data covering relatively long period enabled to account for duration and timing concerns in program evaluation. Recent parametric and semi-parametric panel data techniques are innovatively employed to mitigate participation selection biases. Results from both approaches indicate that borrowing has increased household welfare significantly: the earlier and more frequent the participation the higher the impact partly due to lasting effects of credit. This also suggests that impact studies that are based on a single-shot observation of outcomes and that do not account for the timing and duration of participation may underestimate microfinance credit impacts.
On the Place of Text Data in Lifelogs, and Text Analysis via Semantic Facets

Current research in lifelog data has not paid enough attention to analysis of cognitive activities in comparison to physical activities. We argue that as we look into the future, wearable devices are going to be cheaper and more prevalent and textual data will play a more significant role. Data captured by lifelogging devices will increasingly include speech and text, potentially useful in analysis of intellectual activities. Analyzing what a person hears, reads, and sees, we should be able to measure the extent of cognitive activity devoted to a certain topic or subject by a learner. Test-based lifelog records can benefit from semantic analysis tools developed for natural language processing. We show how semantic analysis of such text data can be achieved through the use of taxonomic subject facets and how these facets might be useful in quantifying cognitive activity devoted to various topics in a person's day. We are currently developing a method to automatically create taxonomic topic vocabularies that can be applied to this detection of intellectual activity.
Factors influencing student satisfaction in universities in the Gulf region: does gender of students matter?

While various research studies have focused on antecedents and consequences of student satisfaction, few studies have done so in the Gulf region. The objective of the present study was therefore to design and empirically examine a model of student satisfaction in a private university in the Gulf region that operates in a high-technology-enabled environment. Based on a literature review and conducted focus groups, draft measures for the study constructs were developed. Data were collected from 217 students and an exploratory factor analysis identified 6 factors that potentially influenced satisfaction. After scale development, multiple regression analysis was used to test the research questions. It was found that the two genders displayed a difference in the factors influencing their satisfaction. For female students, only reputation (beta = .499, p < .01) was significant, while for male students, both reputation (beta = .763, p < .01) and perceived faculty academic competence (beta = .301, p < .01) were significant. Various theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.
Sub-phrasal matching and structural templates in example-based MT

In this work I look at two different paradigms of Example-Based Machine Translation (EBMT). I combine the strengths of these two systems and build a new EBMT engine that combines sub-phrasal matching with structural templates. This synthesis results in higher translation quality and more graceful degradation, yielding 1.5% to 7.5% relative improvement in BLEU scores.
Uneven Borders, Coloured (Im)mobilities: ID Cards in Palestine/Israel

The Israeli state apparatus mandates differentiated IDs to Palestinian citizens of Israel, Palestinian non-citizens in East Jerusalem, Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. The bureaucracy of Palestinian ID cards since 1948 has rendered Palestinians more legible for the security interests of Israel while simultaneously discriminating Palestinians from Jews as unequal citizens and non-citizens. The ID card regime, and less so the permit regime, limits Palestinian geographic movement and economic mobility while simultaneously permitting freer Jewish-Israeli flows and mobilities. ID cards demonstrate the power of the Israeli regime to produce distinct people and bind them to specific territories (such as the Palestinians), while allowing others (Jewish-Israelis) to ‘trespass’ over those same boundaries. Through ID cards borders are erected between Jewish and Arab people, not Israeli and Palestinian territory. The ID card regime puts into question the nature and territorial boundaries of ‘Israel’, and the geopolitical existence of the ‘Palestinian Territories. ’
COGNITIVE THERAPY FOR PREVENTING TRANSITION TO PSYCHOSIS IN HIGH RISK INDIVIDUALS: A CASE SERIES

Early interventions for psychosis have recently received a great deal of interest. This is because research findings have indicated the importance of duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) in influencing future prognosis. Most interventions have so far centered around the early identification of first episode cases in an attempt to minimize the DUP. A further development of the early intervention strategy aims to identify high-risk cases prior to the onset of psychosis. Treatment of this at risk group could potentially prevent the onset of psychosis. In this paper we describe three cases from a randomized controlled trial designed to test the feasibility of a cognitive therapy intervention, to prevent the onset of psychosis. These are presented with formulations based on a recent cognitive model conceptualizing the onset of psychosis. Implications of this approach for future research and clinical practice are also discussed.
Involvement of two domains with helix–turn–helix and zinc finger motifs in the binding of IS1 transposase to terminal inverted repeats

The insertion element IS1 has two open reading frames (ORFs), insA and insB, and produces a transframe protein InsAB, known as IS1 transposase, by translational frameshifting. The transposase binds to terminal inverted repeats (IRL and IRR) to promote IS1 transposition. Unless frameshifting occurs, IS1 produces InsA protein, which also binds to IRs and therefore acts as an inhibitor of transposition, as well as a transcriptional repressor of the promoter in IRL. A helix–turn–helix (HTH) motif present in both transposase and InsA is thought to be involved in IR‐specific DNA binding. A comparison of transposases encoded by IS1 family elements reveals that the N‐terminal regions contain four conserved cysteine residues, which appear to constitute a C2C2 zinc finger (ZF) motif. This motif is also thought to be involved in IR‐specific DNA binding. In this study, we show that IS1 transposases with an amino acid substitution in the HTH or ZF motif lose the ability to promote transposition. We also show that transposases, as well as InsA proteins with the same substitution, lose the ability to repress the activity of the IRL promoter, and that purified InsA mutant proteins lose the ability to bind to the IRL‐containing fragment. Furthermore, we show that InsA protein co‐ordinates Zn(II) with the four cysteine residues as ligands and loses the ability to bind to the IRL‐containing fragment in the presence of an agent chelating Zn(II). These findings indicate that IS1 transposase has two domains with HTH and ZF motifs responsible for IR‐specific DNA binding in promoting transposition. It is assumed that the two domains are needed for transposase to bind to each IR in an oriented manner in order to place a catalytic domain in the C‐terminal region of the transposase to a region around the IR end, where the strand transfer reaction occurs in a transpososome.
Antiproliferative Activity of Hamigerone and Radicinol Isolated from Bipolaris papendorfii

Secondary metabolites from fungi organisms have extensive past and present use in the treatment of many diseases and serve as compounds of interest both in their natural form and as templates for synthetic modification. Through high throughput screening (HTS) and bioassay-guided isolation, we isolated two bioactive compounds hamigerone (1) and radicinol (2). These compounds were isolated from fungus Bipolaris papendorfii, isolated from the rice fields of Dera, Himachal Pradesh, India. The structures of the compounds were established on the basis of spectroscopic data, namely, NMR (1H, 13C, mass, and UV). Both compounds were found to be antiproliferative against different cancer cells. Furthermore we have also noted that both compounds showed increase in apoptosis by favorably modulating both tumor suppressor protein (p53) and antiapoptic protein (BCL-2), and in turn increase caspase-3 expression in cancer cells. This is the first report of these compounds from fungus Bipolaris papendorfii and their anticancer activity.
Burnout: Summary and Future Research

The burnout literature is reviewed, compared, and summarized. Based on this process a definition of burnout is proposed encompassing three components: emotional and/or physical exhaustion, lowered work productivity, and overdepersonalization. A model to aid researchers is presented accompanied by research questions in need of answer if burnout is to be more fully understood.