Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An effective voiceprint based identity authentication system for Mandarin smartphone users

Voiceprint based identity authentication system (IAS) for smartphone users is highly demanded in mobile internet times. There are some successful application cases for English smartphone users. However, to our knowledge, the research outcomes are few for Mandarin smartphone users. Analysis shows that there remain some issues need to be carefully considered: (1) security issue: vulnerable to replay attacks; (2) user experience issue: zero-tolerance of misreading; (3) channel mismatch issue: perform poorly when user change his smartphone. Taking above issues into account, this study strives to develop an effective voiceprint based IAS (termed as DR-EiSV-IAS) for Mandarin smartphone users. Specifically, a content disorder degree (CDD) module implemented with DNN based digit recognition is introduced to resist replay attacks and enhance the fault-tolerance of misreading. Besides, the speaker verification is carefully designed using enhanced ivector technique where ivector framework is incorporated with WCCN to compensate for channel variability. To facilitate this study, we have built up a Mandarin corpus MTDSR2015, which is the first public and free Mandarin database recorded by smartphones for text-dependent speaker recognition research. Extensive experiments have been conducted on both MTDSR2015 and RSR2015 to validate the effectiveness of our proposed DR-EiSV-IAS.
Very low concentrations of arsenite suppress poly(ADP‐ribosyl)ation in mammalian cells

Arsenite is a naturally occurring environmental pollutant of major concern, since adverse health effects including cancer of skin and internal organs have been attributed to chronic arsenic exposure especially via drinking water. Arsenite is not a significant inducer of point mutations but exerts clastogenic activities and interferes with various DNA repair systems at concentrations in the low micromolar range. Nevertheless, no single DNA repair protein exquisitely sensitive to arsenic has been identified. Here we report that poly(ADP‐ribosyl)ation, which is predominantly mediated by poly(ADP‐ribose) polymerase‐1 (PARP‐1), is inhibited at concentrations as low as 10 nM in cultured HeLa cells, closely matching arsenic concentrations in blood and urine of the general population. Since poly(ADP‐ribosyl)ation is an immediate cellular response to DNA damage, playing a major role in DNA base excision repair and the maintenance of genomic stability, its inhibition by arsenite may add to the risk of cancer formation under low‐exposure conditions. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The causal modelling on equity market innovations: fit or forecast?

This article considers innovation accounting using an Error Correction Model and Directed Acyclical Graphs (DAGs) on 10 Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) aggregations of daily US equity values over the years 1995 to 2003. The GICS equity aggregates studied are: Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Energy, Financials, Health Care, Industrials, Information Technology, Materials, Telecommunication Services and Utilities. DAGs are constructed from ex post and ex ante forecast innovations from an error correction model fit to these data. The DAG constructed from ex ante forecast innovations is consistent with the DAG from ex post fit innovations, a result that supports innovation accounting based on DAGs using ex post innovations.
Linking Popular Initiative and Aid Agencies: The Case of Refugees

perhaps i t i s more accurate to see l a b e l l i n g as d e s i g n a t i o n . Thus the v a l i d i t y of l a b e l s becomes not a matter of s u b s t a n t i v e o b j e c t i v i t y but of the a b i l i t y to use l a b e l s e f f e c t i v e l y i n a c t i o n as d e s i g n a t i o n s which d e f i n e parameters f o r thought and behavior, which render environments s t a b l e , and which e s t a b l i s h spheres of competence and areas of r e s p o n s i b i l i t y . In t h i s way l a b e l l i n g through these s o r t s of d e s i g n a t i o n s i s p a r t of the process of c r e a t i n g s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e . I t i s people making h i s t o r y by making r u l e s f o r themselves and others to f o l l o w . By t h i s l o g i c l a b e l s are a l s o r e l a t i v e and c o n t i n g e n t s o c i a l c o n s t r u c t s which r e f l e c t p a t t e r n s of a u t h o r i t y and the acceptance of i t i n the context of p a r t i c u l a r events and
Cyclosporine in severe ulcerative colitis refractory to steroid therapy.

BACKGROUND There has been no new effective drug therapy for patients with severe ulcerative colitis since corticosteroids were introduced almost 40 years ago. In an uncontrolled study, 80 percent of 32 patients with active ulcerative colitis refractory to corticosteroid therapy had a response to cyclosporine therapy. METHODS We conducted a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial in which cyclosporine (4 mg per kilogram of body weight per day) or placebo was administered by continuous intravenous infusion to 20 patients with severe ulcerative colitis whose condition had not improved after at least 7 days of intravenous corticosteroid therapy. A response to therapy was defined as an improvement in a numerical symptom score (0 indicated no symptoms, and 21 severe symptoms) leading to discharge from the hospital and treatment with oral medications. Failure to respond to therapy resulted in colectomy, but some patients in the placebo group who had no response and no urgent need for surgery were subsequently treated with cyclosporine. RESULTS Nine of 11 patients (82 percent) treated with cyclosporine had a response within a mean of seven days, as compared with 0 of 9 patients who received placebo (P < 0.001). The mean clinical-activity score fell from 13 to 6 in the cyclosporine group, as compared with a decrease from 14 to 13 in the placebo group. All five patients in the placebo group who later received cyclosporine therapy had a response. CONCLUSIONS Intravenous cyclosporine therapy is rapidly effective for patients with severe corticosteroid-resistant ulcerative colitis.
Dynamics Analysis of a Three-DOF Planar Serial-Parallel Mechanism for Active Dynamic Balancing with Respect to a Given Trajectory

The concept of dynamic balancing with respect to a given trajectory is proposed in this paper. Trajectory-based dynamic balancing is a technique that brings additional mechanisms to unbalanced mechanisms with the purpose of actuating the original mechanism to move along a predefined trajectory, regardless of the shaking forces and moments. In this work, a planar three degrees of freedom (3-DOF) serial-parallel mechanism is proposed to implement this technique on an unbalanced platform. The overall structure of the system is firstly introduced and the mechanical design and kinematics of the proposed mechanism is then presented. The dynamic model of the mechanism and the platform is derived and analysed. Finally, numerical examples are presented to verify the effectiveness of the active dynamic balancing mechanism and the improved dynamic performance of the system.
The impact of local spatial resistance on the movement behaviour of Tenebrio molitor L.

Although the impact of vegetation and other environmental factors on the distribution of terrestrial invertebrates has been known since the 1950s, basic knowledge about their interaction with micro-landscape elements is lacking. In experimental model systems, the impact of varying local spatial resistance (LSR) on the distribution of Tenebrio molitor individuals was analysed in the laboratory. In the setups, LSR led to a reduction of the average distance covered (move step length) and a reduction of the velocity (the maximum speed ranging from 36.1 in the control groups to 20.4 [mm*step−1] in areas with a maximum LSR). Also, the covered distances per individual varied among three groups, from 2.97 m in the control to 1.11 m in areas with medium LSR to 0.88 m in areas with maximum LSR. Thus, in areas with LSR, animals were forced by their habitats to perform shorter move steps on average and covered less distance. The distance covered (i.e., dispersal performances) were not correlated with such factors as sex, weight and length of the Tenebrio individuals from other studies. Analysis of the data for net squared displacement indicated that the dispersal of the beetles did not follow a diffusion process. The move step directions of the dispersal data showed pronounced autocorrelation, which means that in contrast to other findings, the individuals were not performing a random walk. This effect was strongly dependent on the temporal resolution (i.e. grain), and was also influenced by the experimental conditions. The entire array of data showed high variability among the sub-groups (as well as many outliers), revealing nonparametric characteristics. The results showed that the specific physical configuration of suitable habitat for Tenebrio is one of the key indicators of landscape connectivity on the micro-scale.
The Network of Weighted Majority Rules and Weighted Majority Games

Abstract The network organizes in space the weighted majority rules (WMR) and weighted majority games (WMG). The WMRs are the potentially optimal decision rules in uncertain dichotomous choice situations. The WMGs are the well-known subgroup of coalitional games. The nodes are the WMRs or the WMGs, and the directed edges are the decision profiles of the decision makers or the coalitions among the players, respectively. For any group of decision makers, the network yields the ranking of all the WMRs by their efficiency; for any group of players, it yields the differences among the WMGs in terms of winning and losing coalitions. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: C45, C70, C71, D81.
A Novel Efficient Address Mutation Scheme for IPv6 Networks

IP mutation is an effective moving target defense method against sniffer or hijacking attack. The mutation frequency is one of the most important parameters that influence the security of mutation method. However, higher frequency is inconsistent with data transmission that will decrease the efficiency and stability. Moreover, most of existing mutation methods have shortcomings under various conditions, such as address allocation or network architecture. In this paper, sliding window and full transparent (SWIFT) scheme for IPv6 address mutation is proposed. With the sliding window design, the SWIFT scheme can provide an address mutation with very high frequency. This scheme is transparent to both network side and user side so that the existing equipment and architecture need not to be changed. A prototype by the SWIFT scheme is designed and developed over an IPv6 network. The experiment result shows that our method can achieve high transmission efficiency with a high mutation frequency, which provides a good experience for most mutation methods.
Virtual Water Trade, Sustainability and Territorial Equity across Phases of Globalisation in India

The aim of this paper is to bring out the effect of economic reforms introduced in India on the direction of virtual water trade (through trade of agricultural products). The study also identifies the dual role that virtual water has in an economy. It is a source of export earnings (benefit side), but at the same time there is a loss of virtual water (cost side) through agricultural trade. The study is novel in the sense that it not only identifies the trade-off between benefits and costs of virtual water trade for India, but also tries to capture the impact of phases of globalisation on the trade-off. The cost side has serious implications on sustainability and territorial equity. In order to address the issues more coherently, we have to introduce a concept of virtual water miles. Then we argue with intuitive reasoning about the possible effects of virtual water trade on sustainability as well as on territorial equity.
Ceria-Zirconia Nanoparticles as an Enhanced Multi-Antioxidant for Sepsis Treatment.

The two oxidation states of ceria nanoparticles, Ce3+ and Ce4+ , play a pivotal role in scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS). In particular, Ce3+ is largely responsible for removing O2- and . OH that are associated with inflammatory response and cell death. The synthesis is reported of 2 nm ceria-zirconia nanoparticles (CZ NPs) that possess a higher Ce3+ /Ce4+ ratio and faster conversion from Ce4+ to Ce3+ than those exhibited by ceria nanoparticles. The obtained Ce0.7 Zr0.3 O2 (7CZ) NPs greatly improve ROS scavenging performance, thus regulating inflammatory cells in a very low dose. Moreover, 7CZ NPs are demonstrated to be effective in reducing mortality and systemic inflammation in two representative sepsis models. These findings suggest that 7CZ NPs have the potential as a therapeutic nanomedicine for treating ROS-related inflammatory diseases.
Reduction of indole‐3‐acetic acid methyltransferase activity compensates for high‐temperature male sterility in Arabidopsis

Summary High temperature is a general stress factor that causes a decrease in crop yield. It has been shown that auxin application reduces the male sterility caused by exposure to higher temperatures. However, widespread application of a hormone with vast effects on plant physiology may be discouraged in many cases. Therefore, the generation of new plant varieties that locally enhance auxin in reproductive organs may represent an alternative strategy. We have explored the possibility of increasing indole‐3‐acetic acid (IAA) in ovaries by reducing IAA methyltransferase1 (IAMT1) activity in Arabidopsis thaliana. The iamt1 mutant showed increased auxin signalling in funiculi, which correlated with a higher growth rate of wild‐type pollen in contact with mutant ovaries and premature ovule fertilization. While the production of seeds per fruit was similar in the wild type and the mutant at 20 °C, exposure to 29 °C caused a more severe decrease in fertility in the wild type than in the mutant. Loss of IAMT1 activity was also associated with the production of more nodes after flowering and higher tolerance of the shoot apical meristem to higher temperatures. As a consequence, the productivity of the iamt1 mutant under higher temperatures was more than double of that of the wild type, with almost no apparent trade‐off.
Strategic IT management in Brazilian banks

Success in the competition in the banking business is related to the development of core competencies, strategic alliances and long term strategic planning. Significant changes in the Brazilian financial sector have required banks to continually reinvent their business supported by adequate strategies and resource management. This paper, based on a survey of Brazilian banks, shows that the effectiveness of IT management is strongly related to the alignment of human resources management and formalization of the planning process. These variables influence their economic performance and ability to "compete for the future". The survey results are useful in establishing the proper alignment of strategic IT management with corporate management and emphasize the importance of human resources and formal planning in this process.
Hyperglycemia Markedly Enhances Skeletal Muscle Glycogen Synthase Activity in Diabetic, But Not in Normal Conscious Rats

Both hyperinsulinemia and hyperglycemia stimulate skeletal muscle glucose uptake. However, the intracellular metabolic fate of the phosphorylated glucose may be different when the prevalent stimulus for glucose uptake is hyperinsulinemia or hyperglycemia. To define the impact of hyperglycemia on the intracellular glucose disposal, we studied control and diabetic conscious rats under four experimental conditions: 1) basal insulin and basal glucose; 2) basal insulin and high glucose; 3) high insulin and basal glucose; and 4) high insulin and high glucose. Under both basal insulin (130 pM) and high insulin (2500 pM), hyperglycemia (15 mM) increased glucose uptake and muscle and liver glycogen synthesis similarly in control and diabetic rats. Hyperglycemia resulted in a more significant decline in the muscle G-6-P concentration in diabetic rats than in control rats, suggesting activation of intracellular glucose metabolism. The diabetic skeletal muscle glycogen synthase was severely resistant to insulin stimulation compared with control (FV0.1 = 0.31 ± 0.04 vs. 0.49 ± 0.03; Km = 0.19 ± 0.05 vs. 0.10 ± 0.01 mM; P < 0.01), but it was markedly responsive to glucose stimulation under both basal (FV0.1 = 0.38 ± 0.03 vs. 0.21 ± 0.03; Km = 0.10 ± 0.01 vs. 6.35 ± 0.08 mM) and high insulin (FV0.1 = 0.65 ± 0.07 vs. 0.31 ± 0.04; Km = 0.11 ± 0.02 vs. 0.19 ± 0.05 mM). By contrast, in control rats, hyperglycemia did not exert any stimulatory effect on skeletal muscle glycogen synthase. Thus, some metabolic alteration associated with the diabetic state renders the skeletal muscle glycogen synthase selectively responsive to glucose stimulation. This may represent a compensatory mechanism for the severe impairment in insulin's activation of this enzyme in diabetes.
The Impact of Perceived Service and Food Quality on Behavioral Intentions in Continuing Care Retirement Communities: A Mediating Effect of Satisfaction

This study examined relationships among service quality, food quality, satisfaction, and behavioral intention regarding dining experiences in continuing care retirement communities in the United States. Specifically, the effects of service quality and food quality on residents’ satisfaction and behavioral intentions were investigated. Overall, the results of this study indicated that both service and food quality have positive impacts on residents’ satisfaction. However, only food quality positively influenced behavioral intention. This implies that service quality did not have a direct impact on behavioral intention. However, service quality influenced behavioral intention by mediating residents’ satisfaction. Practical implications based on the findings were also discussed.
Whole-body positron emission tomography-CT: optimized CT using oral and IV contrast materials.

OBJECTIVE Our objective was to show that oral and IV contrast materials improve CT image quality in dual-modality positron emission tomography (PET) and CT, resulting in an increase in diagnostic capacity. We also present a standardized scanning protocol for whole-body PET-CT with oral and IV contrast materials. SUBJECTS AND METHODS To evaluate the use of whole-body PET-CT in clinical practice, we examined 30 patients according to the protocol. The CT images were evaluated quantitatively by signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) analyses and qualitatively by two radiologists in consensus. PET quality was assessed quantitatively by measurements of standard uptake values that were compared with standard uptake values in 10 PET-CT examinations without contrast agents. RESULTS . The application of oral and IV contrast materials led to a highly sufficient delineation of vascular and intestinal structures in 26 of 30 patients. Quantitative analysis revealed a mean vascular SNR of 15.8 +/- 7.71 for the 30 patients who received contrast materials compared with 4.79 +/- 1.45 for the 10 control group patients (p < 0.001). Similarly, the mean intestinal SNR of 17.06 +/- 7.96 far exceeded that seen in the control group of 3.83 +/- 1.16 (p < 0.001). Analyses led to a vessel-to-muscle CNR of 10.78 +/- 5.89 (control group, -1.21 +/- 0.89; p < 0.001) and an intestine-to-muscle CNR of 12.04 +/- 6.07 (control group, -2.17 +/- 1.22; p = 0.001) in the 30 patients. An evaluation of PET quality in patients who received contrast materials showed a mean standard uptake value of 2.09 +/- 1.16 compared with 2.04 +/- 0.83 in the control group (p = 0.702). CONCLUSION Our whole-body PET-CT protocol provided good vascular and intestinal enhancement without compromising PET quality, leading to a potential improvement in the diagnostic capacity of the combined PET-CT examination.
Using intraslice covariances for improved estimation of the central subspace in regression

Popular methods for estimating the central subspace in regression require slicing a continuous response. However, slicing can result in loss of information and in some cases that loss can be substantial. We use intraslice covariances to construct improved inference methods for the central subspace. These methods are optimal within a class of quadratic inference functions and permit chi-squared tests of conditional independence hypotheses involving the predictors. Our experience gained through simulation is that the new method is never worse than existing methods, and can be substantially better. Copyright 2006, Oxford University Press.
Horizontal Mergers with Scale Economies

We examine the profitability and social efficiency of horizontal mergers in a Cournot oligopoly with decreasing average costs. Assuming the merger allows for a reduction in the total amount of fixed costs, we identify the conditions under which the merger is, respectively, profitable and socially desirable. There exists an admissible parameter range wherein the merger is socially convenient but not profitable. In such a case, the policy maker may induce firms to merge through subsidies financed via a lump sum tax.
Disentangling Size from Momentum in Australian Stock Returns

Prior evidence concerning momentum in Australian equity returns has produced inconsistent results. This study examines the interaction between momentum and firm size. Specifically, we report that momentum returns are significant only for larger portfolios, and that this finding explains the inconsistent results of prior research. We demonstrate that momentum is present only in the top 500 stocks, and is most economically significant among the mid-cap stocks, which we call a relative size effect. However, the momentum returns are primarily generated from poor performance of the loser portfolio rather than any superior performance of the winner portfolio. In a more formal examination of the impact of size, we find significant exposure to a size factor among the combinations of size and performance portfolios. The strongest exposure to the size factor is found in small loser portfolios which also have the strongest exposure to market risk. In explaining the source of momentum returns, our findings cast doubt on the practical implementation of a trading strategy, and we suggest that successful momentum trading strategies are likely to realize ‘paper’ profits rather than generate real investment returns.
The E protein of satellite phage P4 acts as an anti‐repressor by binding to the C protein of helper phage P2

Temperate phage P2 has the capacity to function as a helper for the defective, unrelated, satellite phage P4. In the absence of a helper, P4 can either lysogenize its host or establish itself as a plasmid. For lytic growth, P4 requires the structural genes, packaging and lysis functions of the helper. P4 can get access to the late genes of prophage P2 by derepression, which is mediated by the P4 E protein. E has been hypothesized to function as an anti‐repressor. To locate possible epitopes interacting with E, an epitope display library was screened against E, and the most frequent sequence found had some identities to a region within P2 C. Using the yeast two‐hybrid system, a clear activation of a reporter gene was found, strongly supporting an interaction between E and C. The P2 C repressor is believed to act as a dimer, which is confirmed in this work using in vivo dimerization studies. The E protein was also found to form dimers in vivo. The E protein only affects dimerization of C marginally, but the presence of E enhances multimeric forms of C. Furthermore, binding of the C protein to its operator is inhibited by E in vitro, indicating that the anti‐repressor function of E is mediated by the formation of multimeric complexes of E and C that interfere with the binding of C to its operator.