Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A contrastive review of paraphrase acquisition techniques

This paper addresses the issue of what approach should be used for building a corpus of sententential paraphrases depending on one's requirements. Six strategies are studied: (1) multiple translations into a single language from another language; (2) multiple translations into a single language from different other languages; (3) multiple descriptions of short videos; (4) multiple subtitles for the same language; (5) headlines for similar news articles; and (6) sub-sentential paraphrasing in the context of a Web-based game. We report results on French for 50 paraphrase pairs collected for all these strategies, where corpora were manually aligned at the finest possible level to define oracle performance in terms of accessible sub-sentential paraphrases. The differences observed will be used as criteria for motivating the choice of a given approach before attempting to build a new paraphrase corpus.
Information-selectivity of Alzheimer's disease progression

Homeostatic synaptic scaling mechanisms, which normally balance potentiation during learning, may direct the progression of the disease throughout the brain as cells scale up their sensitivity to compensate for lost activation. Such a mechanism would be likely to target those cells with the lowest contribution of information to the network in early stages of the disease, resulting in delayed onset of cognitive symptoms and making timely intervention and treatment of the disease more difficult. These predictions were investigated in a Hopfield-type neural network. Lesioning according to the scaling-driven progression hypothesis of AD showed that the pathology is capable of targeting neurons with lowest information contribution to the network at early stages of the disease. Additional experiments revealed a positive-feedback loop by which noisy compensatory synaptic scaling mechanisms caused the accelerated degradation of recent memories, which were themselves preferentially used as drivers of the compensatory mechanism. The hypothesis was then tested in a biologically-realistic spiking model of neocortex. Cell death, modelled as an abstract excitotoxicity mechanism based on scaling factor values, confirmed the earlier results and showed that low-information neurons (and neurons from cortical layers with the lowest information contribution) were again the first to die in scaling-driven AD pathology.
SOX2 Is Regulated Differently from NANOG and OCT4 in Human Embryonic Stem Cells during Early Differentiation Initiated with Sodium Butyrate

Transcription factors NANOG, OCT4, and SOX2 regulate self-renewal and pluripotency in human embryonic stem (hES) cells; however, their expression profiles during early differentiation of hES cells are unclear. In this study, we used multiparameter flow cytometric assay to detect all three transcription factors (NANOG, OCT4, and SOX2) simultaneously at single cell level and monitored the changes in their expression during early differentiation towards endodermal lineage (induced by sodium butyrate). We observed at least four distinct populations of hES cells, characterized by specific expression patterns of NANOG, OCT4, and SOX2 and differentiation markers. Our results show that a single cell can express both differentiation and pluripotency markers at the same time, indicating a gradual mode of developmental transition in these cells. Notably, distinct regulation of SOX2 during early differentiation events was detected, highlighting the potential importance of this transcription factor for self-renewal of hES cells during differentiation.
Accurate time-domain semisymbolic analysis

The paper deals with a method for accurate semisymbolic time-domain analysis of highly idealized linear lumped circuits. Pulse and step responses can be computed by means of the partial fraction decomposition. The procedure relies on an accurate computation of poles of the transfer function. The well known problem of the QR and QZ algorithms is their poor accuracy in the case of multiple roots. Moreover, the partial fraction decomposition itself is an ill-posed problem for closely-spaced clusters of roots. The method presented in this paper is based on an improved reduction procedure for transforming the generalized eigenproblem into a standard one in combination with an algorithm for computing the Jordan canonical form of inexact matrices [1].
Seismic evidence for lithospheric modification associated with intracontinental volcanism in Northeastern China

S U M M A R Y Using data predominantly from the NECESS Array, but also incorporating surface wave data from surrounding networks, we present the results of a Bayesian Monte Carlo inversion of receiver functions, Rayleigh wave ellipticity (H/V ratio) and Rayleigh wave group and phase speeds from 8 to 80 s period for the 3-D shear velocity structure of the crust and uppermost mantle beneath Northeast China. We define the final model as the mean and standard deviation of the posterior distribution at each location on a 0.5◦ × 0.5◦ grid from the surface to 150 km depth. The primary scientific motivation is to investigate the expression of intracontinental volcanism across the region. The model lithosphere displays prominent features (middle and lower crustal velocity, Moho depth, lithospheric thickness) across the study area that coincide with the location of volcanoes, which are predominantly situated in two distinct volcanic regions, which we call the ‘Northeast China Lineated Quaternary Volcanic Zone’, found near the eastern margin of the Songliao Basin and extending to Changbaishan Volcano, and the ‘Northern and Southern Greater Xing’an Range Pleistocene Volcanic Zones’. There is a strong similarity between the lateral distribution of depth-integrated mantle velocity anomalies in our model with the teleseismic body wave model of Tang et al., although the vertical distribution of anomalies differ.
Exudate segmentation on retinal atlas space

Diabetic macular edema is characterized by hard exudates. Presence of such exudates cause vision loss in the affected areas. We present a novel approach of segmenting exudates for screening and follow-ups by building an ethnicity based statistical atlas. The chromatic distribution in such an atlas gives a good measure of probability of the pixels belonging to the healthy retinal pigments or to the abnormalities (like lesions, imaging artifacts etc.) in the retinal fundus image. Post-processing schemes are introduced in this paper for the enhancement of the edges of such exudates for final segmentation and to separate lesion from false positives. A sensitivity(recall) of 82.5 % at 35% of positive predictive value on FROC-curve is achieved. Results are obtained on a publicly available HEI-MED dataset and have been compared to two reference methods on the same dataset showing the competitiveness of the proposed algorithm.
A Self-Determination Perspective on IT-Based Citizen Advisory Support

In public advisory services, the individual's satisfaction depends less on extrinsic factors (e.g., monetary rewards) than on their inner needs fulfillment. Currently used IT-systems supporting citizen advisory services neglect these intrinsic needs of their users, hence insufficiently fostering their satisfaction. In this paper, we aim to close this gap by assessing the design requirements needed to develop value-added IT-systems for citizen advisory services. We thus refer to self-determination theory to analyze current literature perspectives on how to design adequate IT-systems fostering users' basic needs. We follow a design science approach and implement these requirements in a software prototype, and evaluate them qualitatively in a user study with real-world advisors and citizens. Our preliminary results show that this approach promises to reveal the design requirements that matter in citizen counseling, signifying an important step toward developing a conceptual IT systems design model.
Epigenetic suppression of EGFR signaling in G-CIMP+ glioblastomas

The intrinsic signaling cascades and cell states associated with the Glioma CpG Island Methylator Phenotype (G-CIMP) remain poorly understood. Using published mRNA signatures associated with EGFR activation, we demonstrate that G-CIMP+ tumors harbor decreased EGFR signaling using three independent datasets, including the Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas(CGGA; n=155), the REMBRANDT dataset (n=288), and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA; n=406). Additionally, an independent collection of 25 fresh-frozen glioblastomas confirmed lowered pERK levels in G-CIMP+ specimens (p<0.001), indicating suppressed EGFR signaling. Analysis of TCGA glioblastomas revealed that G-CIMP+ glioblastomas harbored lowered mRNA levels for EGFR and H-Ras. Induction of G-CIMP+ state by exogenous expression of a mutated isocitrate dehydrogenase 1, IDH1-R132H, suppressed EGFR and H-Ras protein expression as well as pERK accumulation in independent glioblastoma models. These suppressions were associated with increased deposition of the repressive histone markers, H3K9me3 and H3K27me3, in the EGFR and H-Ras promoter regions. The IDH1-R132H expression-induced pERK suppression can be reversed by exogenous expression of H-RasG12V. Finally, the G-CIMP+ Ink4a-Arf−/− EGFRvIII glioblastoma line was more resistant to the EGFR inhibitor, Gefitinib, relative to its isogenic G-CIMP- counterpart. These results suggest that G-CIMP epigenetically regulates EGFR signaling and serves as a predictive biomarker for EGFR inhibitors in glioblastoma patients.
Utility of electronic medical recordbased fibrosis scores in predicting advanced cirrhosis in patients with hepatitic C virus infection

Abstract Objective To determine whether advanced cirrhosis - defined by the detection of nodular liver contours or portal venous collaterals on imaging studies - could be predicted by fibrosis algorithms, calculated using laboratory and demographic features extracted from patients’ electronic medical records. To this end, we compared seven EMR-based fibrosis scores with liver imaging studies in a cohort of HCV patients. Methods A search of our health system’s patient data warehouse identified 867 patients with chronic HCV infection. A total of 565 patients had undergone at least one liver imaging study and had no confounding medical condition affecting the imaging features or fibrosis scores. Demographic and laboratory data were used to calculate APRI, Fib4, Fibrosis Index, Forns, GUCI, Lok Index and Vira-HepC scores for all viremic patients who had undergone liver imaging. Data points selected for the calculation of these scores were based on laboratory results obtained within the shortest possible time from the imaging study. Areas under the receiver operating curves (AUROC), optimum cut-offs, sensitivities, specificities and positive and negative predictive values were calculated for each score. Results Seven algorithms were performed similarly in predicting cirrhosis. Sensitivities ranged from 0.65 to 1.00, specificities from 0.67 to 0.90, positive predictive values from 0.33 to 0.38, and negative predictive values from 0.93 to 1.00. No individual test was superior, as the confidence intervals of all AUROCs overlapped. Conclusions EMR-based scoring systems performed relatively well in ruling out advanced, radiologically-defined cirrhosis. However, their moderate sensitivity and positive predictive values limit their reliability for EMR-based diagnosis.
A study on SLAM for indoor blimp with visual markers

The simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) is an essential capability for mobile robots traveling in unknown environments where globally accurate position data is not available. In this paper, we address the SLAM problem of indoor toy blimp that has no sensors such as accelerometers and gyro except a micro camera because of the weight limits. Since it is difficult to determine the exact motion models preliminarily, we assume the motion models of the blimp. The goal of this paper is to construct a 3D map of the landmarks in environment and estimate the path taken by the indoor blimp. In this paper, we use visual markers as the landmarks, since it is difficult to detect features of the landmarks. We propose the approach to SLAM using Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) and verify the effectiveness of this approach by the experiments.
Geography of Emotion: Where in a City are People Happier?

During the last years, researchers explored the geographic and environmental factors that affect happiness. More recently, location-sharing services provided by the social media has given an unprecedented access to geo-located data for studying the interplay between these factors on a much bigger scale. Do location-sharing services help in turn at distinguishing emotions in places within a city? Which aspects contribute better at understanding happier places? To answer these questions, we use data from Foursquare location-sharing service to identify areas within a major US metropolitan area with many check-ins, i.e., areas that people like to use. We then use data from the Twitter microblogging platform to analyze the properties of these areas. Specifically, we have extracted a large corpus of geo-tagged messages, called tweets, from a major metropolitan area and linked them US Census data through their locations. This allows us to measure the sentiment expressed in tweets that are posted from a specific area, and also use that area's demographic properties in analysis. Our results reveal that areas with many check-ins are different from other areas within the metropolitan region. In particular, these areas have happier tweets, which also encourage people living in it or from other areas to commute longer distances to these places. These findings shed light on the influence certain places play within a city regarding people's emotions and mobility, which in turn can be used for city planners for designing happier and more equitable cities.
Meta-analysis of amyloid-cognition relations in cognitively normal older adults

Objective: We conducted a meta-analysis of relationships between amyloid burden and cognition in cognitively normal, older adult humans. Methods: Methods of assessing amyloid burden included were CSF or plasma assays, histopathology, and PET ligands. Cognitive domains examined were episodic memory, executive function, working memory, processing speed, visuospatial function, semantic memory, and global cognition. Sixty-four studies representing 7,140 subjects met selection criteria, with 3,495 subjects from 34 studies representing independent cohorts. Weighted effect sizes were obtained for each study. Primary analyses were conducted limiting to independent cohort studies using only the most common assessment method (Pittsburgh compound B). Exploratory analyses included all assessment methods. Results: Episodic memory (r = 0.12) had a significant relationship to amyloid burden. Executive function and global cognition did not have significant relationships to amyloid in the primary analysis of Pittsburgh compound B (r = 0.05 and r = 0.08, respectively), but did when including all assessment methods (r = 0.08 and r = 0.09, respectively). The domains of working memory, processing speed, visuospatial function, and semantic memory did not have significant relationships to amyloid. Differences in the method of amyloid assessment, study design (longitudinal vs cross-sectional), or inclusion of control variables (age, etc.) had little influence. Conclusions: Based on this meta-analytic survey of the literature, increased amyloid burden has small but nontrivial associations with specific domains of cognitive performance in individuals who are currently cognitively normal. These associations may be useful for identifying preclinical Alzheimer disease or developing clinical outcome measures.
Cellular Contractility Requires Ubiquitin Mediated Proteolysis

Background Cellular contractility, essential for cell movement and proliferation, is regulated by microtubules, RhoA and actomyosin. The RhoA dependent kinase ROCK ensures the phosphorylation of the regulatory Myosin II Light Chain (MLC) Ser19, thereby activating actomyosin contractions. Microtubules are upstream inhibitors of contractility and their depolymerization or depletion cause cells to contract by activating RhoA. How microtubule dynamics regulates RhoA remains, a major missing link in understanding contractility. Principal Findings We observed that contractility is inhibited by microtubules not only, as previously reported, in adherent cells, but also in non-adhering interphase and mitotic cells. Strikingly we observed that contractility requires ubiquitin mediated proteolysis by a Cullin-RING ubiquitin ligase. Inhibition of proteolysis, ubiquitination and neddylation all led to complete cessation of contractility and considerably reduced MLC Ser19 phosphorylation. Conclusions Our results imply that cells express a contractility inhibitor that is degraded by ubiquitin mediated proteolysis, either constitutively or in response to microtubule depolymerization. This degradation seems to depend on a Cullin-RING ubiquitin ligase and is required for cellular contractions.
Understanding the Politics of Research in Education

Research in education is a value-free, unbiased, neutral, social scientific pursuit of truth, using the best methods, and models available—or so we were told when we were learning the craft. The past 30 years have witnessed dramatic changes in how we view research and education. Traditional paradigms of research of methodology now compete with a variety of qualitative approaches and critical theory has unmasked the neutrality of education. This article provides an introduction to these issues and concerns of the politics of research on education as well as an outline of each chapter.
Cross-People Mobile-Phone Based Activity Recognition

Activity recognition using mobile phones has great potential in many applications including mobile healthcare. In order to let a person easily know whether he is in strict compliance with the doctor's exercise prescription and adjust his exercise amount accordingly, we can use a smart-phone based activity reporting system to accurately recognize a range of daily activities and report the duration of each activity. A triaxial accelerometer embedded in the smart phone is used for the classification of several activities, such as staying still, walking, running, and going upstairs and downstairs. The model learnt from a specific person often cannot yield accurate results when used on a different person. To solve the cross-people activity recognition problem, we propose an algorithm known as TransEMDT (Transfer learning EMbedded Decision Tree) that integrates a decision tree and the k-means clustering algorithm for personalized activity-recognition model adaptation. Tested on a real-world data set, the results show that our algorithm outperforms several traditional baseline algorithms.
Ethnicity, Acculturation, Self-Construal, and Motivations for Outdoor Recreation

Research on the leisure of racial and ethnic groups has recently been criticized for a variety of different reasons. In response to some of these concerns, this article examines the motivations of outdoor recreationists who identify themselves as being Chinese ( n = 53); it compares their motivations with those of Euro-North Americans ( n = 180) at the same outdoor setting; and it does so using the construct of self-construal as an intervening variable between ethnicity, acculturation, and motivations for outdoor recreation. According to Markus and Kitayama (1991), individuals with independent self-construals value being unique, expressing themselves, and promoting their own goals, whereas individuals with interdependent self-construals value belonging, fitting in, and promoting others' goals. Furthermore, although people in or from Western Europe and North America are more likely to have independent self-construals, people in or from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Southern Europe are more likely to hold interdependent self-construals. On the basis of the above, a series of regressions were conducted. Results suggest that (a) ethnicity does affect both types of self-construal; (b) ethnicity does affect four outdoor recreation motivations directly, although this relationship is usually, but not always, mediated by self-construal; (c) ethnicity does affect four other recreation motivations indirectly, either through the interdependent self-construal or through both types of self-construal; and (d) with Chinese respondents, acculturation did affect one recreation motivation directly and, through the independent self-construal, two other motivations indirectly.
Impossibilities of Reconciliation: Validity in Mixed Theory Projects

This article discusses how validity and truth claims, which are often based on singular theoretical and philosophical assumptions, are negotiated within qualitative research practices created at the intersection of two theoretical perspectives. The article asks, What are the possibilities and impossibilities of validity established within the discursive fields that form and shape mixed theory projects? More specifically, this article explores how mixed theory projects are theoretically and methodologically created and consequently, how shifting discourses shape the validity claims. The author argues that critical and deconstructive ethnography are both variations of the same theme. This theme is a part of a constellation that does not aim to unify theoretical perspectives; instead, it limits some of the dangers of Othering by promoting ways of knowing that escape normativity and essentializing discourses.
Measuring the effects of aspect-oriented refactoring on component relationships: two case studies

Aspect-oriented refactoring is a promising technique for improving modularity and reducing complexity of existing software systems through encapsulating crosscutting concerns. As complexity of a system is often linked to the degree to which its components are connected, we investigate in this paper the impact of such refactoring activities on component relationships. We analyze two aspect-refactoring projects to determine circumstances when such activities are effective at reducing component relationships and when they are not. We measure two kinds of relationships between components, use and clone relations. We compare how these metrics changed between the original and the refactored system. Our findings indicate that aspect-oriented refactoring is successful in improving the modularity and complexity of the base code. However, we obtain mixed results when aspects are accounted for. Based on these results, we also discuss constraints to the technology as well as other design considerations that may limit the effectiveness of aspect-oriented refactoring on actual systems.
Computer-Assisted Sensate Focus: Integrating Technology with Sex Therapy Practice

It is well established that computer technology can be ethically, legally, usefully, and efficaciously integrated with the psychosocial treatment of mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. There is, however, a paucity of literature regarding how these applications could be applied to sex therapy. This article will briefly review the adaptation of computer technology to mental health treatment, provide a rationale for using computer applications in sex therapy, and demonstrate how computer technology could be applied to Masters and Johnson's sensate focus technique. The Sensate Focus Prototype (an Internet-delivered therapeutic module) presented is a working application designed for use by psychotherapists and researchers.