Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
In-car speech recognition using distributed microphones-adapting to automatically detected driving conditions

In this paper, we describe a multichannel method of noisy speech recognition that can adapt to various in-car noise situations during driving. The method allows us to estimate the log spectrum of speech at a close-talking microphone based on the multiple regression of the log spectra (MRLS) of noisy signals captured by multiple distributed microphones. Through clustering of the spatial noise distributions under various driving conditions, the regression weights for MRLS are effectively adapted to the driving conditions. The experimental evaluation shows an average error rate reduction of 43 % in isolated word recognition under 15 different driving conditions.
Effects of intravenous nifekalant as a lifesaving drug for severe ventricular tachyarrhythmias complicating acute coronary syndrome.

BACKGROUND Intravenous amiodarone (AMD) has been used for the treatment of ventricular tachycardia/fibrillation (VT/VF) in emergency care medicine. However, AMD acts slowly and is occasionally accompanied by hypotension and bradycardia. The antiarrhythmic effect of intravenous nifekalant (NIF) was assessed in patients with VT/VF complicating acute coronary syndrome (ACS) according to our study protocol. METHODS AND RESULTS Among a series of 1,143 ACS patients, 41 patients who suffered sustained VT/VF were enrolled; 19 failed to respond to a preceding lidocaine (LID) injection. NIF was given first as an intravenous bolus injection (0.2 mg/kg) and then as a continuous intravenous infusion at a relatively low dose level (0.2 mg x kg(-1) x h(-1)). Sustained VT/VF was successfully inhibited by NIF in 34 patients (83%). In subgroup analysis, NIF achieved VT/VF inhibition in 79% of patients who received preceding LID and in 86% of patients who received direct NIF. There were no significant changes in systolic blood pressure or heart rate following NIF therapy. A corrected QT interval was significantly prolonged (P<0.01), whereas torsade de pointes developed in only 1 patient (2%). CONCLUSIONS An intravenous bolus injection and subsequent continuous infusion of NIF at a relatively low dosage were effective in treating severe ventricular tachyarrhythmias complicating ACS, reducing the potential risk of proarrhythmia.
Optimal market indices using value-at-risk: a first empirical approach for three stock markets

Since Fama's Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH), numerous authors have argued that it is impossible to constantly beat the market. The best an investor can do is buy and hold ‘the market’ through a market index. Taking into account the important role of market indices as benchmarks against which we compare performance and as tools to prove efficiency or calculate Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), few articles have studied how we should build, weigh or incorporate Modern Portfolio Theory into market index construction. Everybody accepts market indices as an essential part of finance, but nobody seems to care about them. In this article, we propose a different way of calculating market indices, which uses characteristics of optimal portfolios and risk control to establish the components’ weights. We present the minimum risk indices using a Value-at-Risk (VaR) minimization problem and prove that they have less risk than current market indices, and that in some markets they beat the actual market index.
0 . 0 / Farrell et . al . 0 . 0 : Visual Preference for ClearType Technology

ClearType filtering is a sub-pixel rendering method that improves the perceived image quality of text. The method renders text at subpixel resolution and then applies a onedimensional filter to reduce color artifacts. We performed behavioral and computational experiments to analyze the effect of varying the linear filter parameters. Specifically, we systematically varied the values of a symmetric, meanpreserving, five-tap filter; such filters are described by a twodimensional parameterization. We generated ClearType versions of the same letter from a large set of these filters and asked subjects to select the version that they preferred. Subjects’ preferred renderings from a compact region in the twodimensional parameter space. Computational analyses show that the preference data are predicted by the SCIELAB metric, a spatio-chromatic metric of human visual sensitivity.
Negotiating value and priorities: evaluating the demands of green infrastructure development

The potential of green infrastructure (GI) development has been recognised in a number of countries. In the UK, planning policy has identified GI and brought it into the legislative framework. It is assumed that it has a value for landscape enhancement for multifunctional aims: for increasing the adaptive capacity of the environment for climate change and long-term sustainability whilst protecting its ecological and social values. This paper uses an evaluative tool developed from a plan of action proposed in the early stages of GI thinking by applying it to a contemporary case study in England. This assessment reveals a mismatch between policy aims and the potential on the ground for creating GI. The study reveals ‘institutional schizophrenia’, a fragmented approach to the delivery of GI that affects stakeholder collaboration and confidence. The findings suggest a possible decrease in the level of GI creation because of restrictions placed upon local authorities and important repercussions for GI development and potential ecosystem services.
IL-17A gene transfer induces bone loss and epidermal hyperplasia associated with psoriatic arthritis.

BACKGROUND Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterised by clinical features that include bone loss and epidermal hyperplasia. Aberrant cytokine expression has been linked to joint and skin pathology; however, it is unclear which cytokines are critical for disease initiation. Interleukin 17A (IL-17A) participates in many pathological immune responses; however, its role in PsA has not been fully elucidated. OBJECTIVE To determine the role of IL-17A in epidermal hyperplasia and bone destruction associated with psoriatic arthritis. DESIGN An in vivo gene transfer approach was used to investigate the role of IL-17A in animal models of inflammatory (collagen-induced arthritis) and non-inflammatory (receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL)-gene transfer) bone loss. RESULTS IL-17A gene transfer induced the expansion of IL-17RA(+)CD11b(+)Gr1(low) osteoclast precursors and a concomitant elevation of biomarkers indicative of bone resorption. This occurred at a time preceding noticeable joint inflammation, suggesting that IL-17A is critical for the induction of pathological bone resorption through direct activation of osteoclast precursors. Moreover, IL-17A induced a second myeloid population CD11b(+)Gr1(high) neutrophil-like cells, which was associated with cutaneous pathology including epidermal hyperplasia, parakeratosis and Munro's microabscesses formation. CONCLUSIONS Collectively, these data support that IL-17A can play a key role in the pathogenesis of inflammation-associated arthritis and/or skin disease, as observed in PsA.
Effect of reduced dietary sodium on blood pressure: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

OBJECTIVE - To ascertain whether restriction of dietary sodium lowers blood pressure in hypertensive and normotensive individuals. DATA SOURCES - An English-language computerized literature search, restricted to human studies with Medical Subject Heading terms, "hypertension," "blood pressure," "vascular resistance," "sodium and dietary," "diet and sodium restricted," "sodium chloride," "clinical trial," "randomized controlled trial," and "prospective studies," was conducted. Bibliographies of review articles and personal files were also searched. TRIAL SELECTION - Trials that had randomized allocation to control and dietary sodium intervention groups, monitored by timed sodium excretion, with outcome measures of both systolic and diastolic blood pressure were selected by blinded review of the methods section. DATA EXTRACTION - Two observers extracted data independently, using purpose-designed forms, and discrepancies were resolved by discussion. DATA SYNTHESIS - The 56 trials that met our inclusion criteria showed significant heterogeneity. Publication bias was also evident. The mean reduction (95% confidence interval) in daily urinary sodium excretion, a proxy measure of dietary sodium intake, was 95 mmol/d (71-119 mmol/d) in 28 trials with 1131 hypertensive subjects and 125 mmol/d (95-156 mmol/d) in 28 trials with 2374 normotensive subjects. After adjustment for measurement error of urinary sodium excretion, the decrease in blood pressure for a 100-mmol/d reduction in daily sodium excretion was 3.7 mm Hg (2.35-5.05 mm Hg) for systolic (P<.001) and 0.9 mm Hg (-0.13 to 1.85 mm Hg) for diastolic (P=.09) in the hypertensive trials, and 1.0 mm Hg (0.51-1.56 mm Hg) for systolic (P<.001) and 0.1 mm Hg (-0.32 to 0.51 mm Hg) for diastolic (P=.64) in the normotensive trials. Decreases in blood pressure were larger in trials of older hypertensive individuals and small and nonsignificant in trials of normotensive individuals whose meals were prepared and who lived outside the institutional setting. CONCLUSION - Dietary sodium restriction for older hypertensive individuals might be considered, but the evidence in the normotensive population does not support current recommendations for universal dietary sodium restriction.
The role of political tactics on the organizational context–career success relationship

Drawing from the norm of reciprocity, signal theory, and psychological contracts, we argue that the use of different types of political tactics, based on their social desirability, can be reciprocal behavioral reactions to contextual cues (i.e. perceptions of organizational support and politics) that can predict career success. Using a sample of 117 middle managers, our findings suggest that the use of sanctioned political tactics partially mediates the relationship between perceptions of organizational support and career success, while non-sanctioned political tactics suppress the relationship between perceptions of organizational politics and career success.
The application of new public management doctrines in the developing world: An exploratory study of the autonomy and control of executive agencies in Tanzania

This article examines the agencification of public service in Tanzania. This is discussed with reference to the New Public Management (NPM)‐inspired reforms of which the creation of executive agencies is one of its core features. The article attempts to understand the extent to which executive agencies in Tanzania display characteristic features of an ideal‐agency model as propagated by the NPM reform doctrines. Key features of the ideal‐agency model have been described as structural disaggregation, autonomy and contractualisation. It questions views held by many NPM‐minded reformers, such as the EU and World Bank that this model is universally applicable and can be emulated in different parts of the world. The article's assumption is that the NPM‐agency model is based on a weak empirical foundation and its universal applicability is questionable. To illustrate our arguments we confront the NPM‐agency model with the empirical data drawn from the agencification of public services in Tanzania. Findings indicate that agencies in Tanzania display hybrid characteristics in terms of their autonomy and control. Our conclusion is that the universality of NPM‐agency model is illusive. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Ethnic tourism in Lao PDR: gendered divisions of labour in community-based tourism for poverty reduction

A simultaneous analysis of gender and ethnicity provides a fuller understanding of how tourism initiatives benefit marginalised groups in developing countries. In this article, the gendered division of labour is analysed as a way to understand the micro-politics of ethnic tourism production aiming at poverty reduction in Laos. The aim is to demonstrate how constructions of gender and ethnicity impact on women's possibilities to benefit from community-based pro-poor tourism initiatives. Socially constructed notions of gendered behaviour influence divisions of tourism labour in specific spatialities, which we argue is crucial knowledge in the implementation of tourism projects aiming at poverty reduction. The assumption that ‘the poor’ constitute a homogenous group might hide an uneven distribution of tourism benefits in local communities. By focusing on factors which marginalise women, the article demonstrates inequalities between men and women in the division of tourism work. A village in northern Laos is used as a case study to examine aspects impacting on gendered divisions of labour in community-based tourism in Laos. Two examples, the Akha people's belief in and worship of spirits, and provision of massage, are used to illuminate reasons behind gendered imbalances in more detail.
International retirement migration in the Alicante region, Spain: process, spatial pattern and environmental impacts

International retirement migration has become an increasing phenomenon in the Mediterranean region of Alicante, Spain. Through an interdisciplinary approach, relationships between the migration process, landscape change and environmental impacts are examined. Lifestyle-related perceptions and demands of UK retirees are studied as a major driving force of urbanisation. The extent and quality of the process is assessed by statistical and land use data analysis. Results reveal a distinctive spatial pattern of in-migration and the emergence of an archetypical landscape, consisting of a mosaic of remaining natural and urbanised landscape along the Mediterranean coast. The paper discusses the necessity of retirees' integration into sustainable planning and decision making.
Capital Account Liberalisation and Poverty: How Close is the Link?

The literature on the theoretical and empirical aspects of the relationship between finance and economic growth is both substantial and extensive. The same cannot be said on the relationship between financial development and poverty reduction--an equally important aspect. In this study, we visit the theoretical arguments and conduct an empirical analysis of the relationship between the capital account dimension of financial liberalisation and poverty for developing countries for the period 1985--2005. In particular, we employ the 'system GMM' technique to test whether capital account liberalisation has helped alleviate poverty, and also whether the extent to which capital account liberalisation affects poverty depends on the quality of institutions. We also use OLS and IV techniques to verify our findings. Our findings indicate that there is no statistically significant relationship between the degree of capital account liberalisation during the period and the poverty rate. Developing countries with higher institutional quality have lower poverty rates, but the effect has low statistical significance. A higher degree of capital account liberalisation is associated with a lower income share for the poor. Copyright The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Cambridge Political Economy Society. All rights reserved. , Oxford University Press.
Value at Risk and Dependency over time for Exchange Rates with Time-Varying Copulas

We use constant and time-varying copulas, both Normal and Symmetrized JoeClayton copulas, to describe the dependency of exchange rates. We test wether copulas describe the exchange rates better than more conventional models as the AR(p)-GARCH(P,Q) and test whether there is a dierence between the stability of the copula parameters between emerging markets and advanced markets versus the Euro. We
Boosted classifier and features selection for enhancing chronic kidney disease diagnose

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a disease caused by degeneration function of the kidneys. CKD is top ten leading causes of death in the world. There are two leading causes of CKD, i.e. diabetes and hypertension. When the symptoms become more severe, the disease can only be treated with dialysis and kidney transplantation. This disease can be treated if the diagnose is conducted appropriately and quickly. However, the signs and symptoms are often not specific. Because of that, diagnosis from medical personnel is may subjective and vary. This study developed machine learning method using ensemble learning and feature selection to improve the quality of CKD diagnosis. The CKD dataset was taken from UCI machine learning repository, it contain 400 instances. CKD dataset have 24 attributes including signs, symptoms and risk factors that might appear due to CKD. In this study, features were selected using a Correlation-based Feature Selection (CFS) and AdaBoost was used for ensemble learning to improve the detection of CKD. K-Nearest Neighbour algorithm (kNN), Naive Bayes and Support Vector Machine (SVM) was used as base classifier. Overall, the best result was achieved by combination of kNN classifier with CFS and AdaBoost, with 0.981 accuracy rate, 0.980 recall rate and 0.980 f-measure rate. Highest precision rate was achieved by the combination of Naive Bayes classifier with CFS and AdaBoost, with 0.981 precision rate.
EXCHANGE RATE OVERSHOOTING AND PATH-DEPENDENCE IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE

This paper integrates a traditional Dornbusch overshooting model with a macro-economic model of hysteresis in foreign trade. We apply an approach which allows an aggregation of heterogeneous agents and which results in a continuous macroeconomic hysteresis-loop. In our model, short-run exchange rate overshooting generates a persistent current account effect, which feeds back into the exchange rate process and ultimately results in changes of the long-run equilibrium exchange rate. Monetary shocks can lead to hysteresis in both foreign trade and exchange rate processes, invalidating the long-run neutrality of money hypothesis and the purchasing power parity assumption of the conventional overshooting model.
Normal range of emphysema and air trapping on CT in young men.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of our study was to assess the normal range of CT measures of emphysema and air trapping in young men with normal lung function. MATERIALS AND METHODS A cohort of 70 young men with high-normal spirometry and body plethysmography underwent paired inspiratory and expiratory CT. Visual and quantitative scores of emphysema and air trapping were obtained. On CT, emphysema was defined as the 15th percentile of the attenuation curve (Perc(15)), and as the percentage of inspiratory voxels below -950 (IN(-950)) and below -960 (IN(-960)) HU. On CT, air trapping was defined as the expiratory-to-inspiratory ratio of mean lung density (EI-ratio(MLD)), and the percentage of voxels below -856 HU in expiration (EXP(-856)). Means, medians, and upper limits of normal (ULN) are presented for the total population and for smokers and nonsmokers separately. RESULTS The mean age (± SD) of the subjects was 36.1 ± 9.3 years. Smoking history was limited (range, 0-11 pack-years). Spirometry was high normal, ranging from 113% to 160% of predicted for vital capacity (VC), and from 104% to 140% of predicted for forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV(1)). The ULN was 2.73% for IN(-950), 0.87% for IN(-960), -936 HU for Perc(15), 89.0% for EI-ratio(MLD), and 17.2% for EXP(-856). Visual CT scores showed minimal emphysema in eight (11%), > 5 lobules of air trapping in five (7%), and segmental air trapping in three (4%) subjects. CT measures were similar for never- and ever-smokers. CONCLUSION We report the normal range of CT values for young male subjects with normal lung function, which is important to define pulmonary disease.
A comprehensive contribution of genes for aryl hydrocarbon receptor signaling pathway to hypertension susceptibility

Objective The present study was designed to investigate whether genetic polymorphisms of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) signaling pathway are involved in the molecular basis of essential hypertension (EH). Methods A total of 2160 unrelated Russian individuals comprising 1341 EH patients and 819 healthy controls were recruited into the study. Seven common AHR pathway single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) such as rs2066853, rs2292596, rs2228099, rs1048943, rs762551, rs1056836, and rs1800566 were genotyped by TaqMan-based allele discrimination assays. Results We found that SNP rs2228099 of ARNT is associated with an increased risk of EH (odds ratio=1.20 95% confidence interval: 1.01–1.44, P=0.043) in a dominant genetic model, whereas polymorphism rs762551 of CYP1A2 showed an association with a decreased risk of disease in a recessive genetic model (odds ratio=0.68, 95% confidence interval: 0.52–0.89, P=0.006). A log-likelihood ratio test enabled identification of epistatic interaction effects on EH susceptibility for all SNPs. MB-MDR analysis showed that cigarette smoking, rs1048943, rs762551, rs1056836, and rs2228099 were significant contributing factors in 19, 18, 13, 13, and 11 interaction models, respectively. The best MDR model associated with EH risk included rs1048943, rs762551, rs1056836, and cigarette smoking (cross-validation consistency 100%, prediction error 45.7%, Ppermutation<0.0001). The mRNA expression and in-silico function prediction analyses have confirmed a regulatory potential for a majority of SNPs associated with EH susceptibility. Conclusion Our pilot study was the first to show that gene–gene and gene–environment interactions in the AHR signaling pathway represent important determinants for the development of EH, and the pathway may become an attractive target for a pharmacological intervention in hypertensive patients in the future.
Mobile robot vision tracking system using Unscented Kalman Filter

This paper introduces a vision tracking system for mobile robot by using Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF). The proposed system accurately estimates the position and orientation of the mobile robot by integrating information received from encoders, inertial sensors, and active beacons. These position and orientation estimates are used to rotate the camera towards the target during robot motion. The UKF, used as an efficient sensor fusion algorithm, is an advanced filtering technique which reduces the position and orientation errors of the sensors. The designed system compensates for the slip error by switching between two different UKF models, which are designed for slip and no-slip cases, respectively. The slip detector is used to detect the slip condition by comparing the data from the accelerometer and encoder to select the either UKF model as the output of the system. The experimental results show that proposed system is able to locate robot position with significantly reduced position errors and successful tracking of the target for various environments and robot motion scenarios.
Threshold Adjustment in Deviations from the Law of One Price

Using self-exciting threshold autoregressive models, we explore the validity of the law of one price (LOOP) for sixteen sectors in nine European countries. We and strong evidence of nonlinear mean reversion in deviations from the LOOP and highlight the importance of modelling the real exchange rate in a nonlinear fashion in an attempt to measure speeds of real exchange rate adjustment. Using the US dollar as a reference currency, the half-lives of sectoral real exchange rates shocks, calculated by Monte Carlo integration, imply much faster adjustment than the consensus half-life estimates of three to five years. The results also imply that transaction costs vary significantly across sectors and countries.