Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Learning Probabilistic Models of Word Sense Disambiguation

This dissertation presents several new methods of supervised and unsupervised learning of word sense disambiguation models. The supervised methods focus on performing model searches through a space of probabilistic models, and the unsupervised methods rely on the use of Gibbs Sampling and the Expectation Maximization (EM) algorithm. In both the supervised and unsupervised case, the Naive Bayesian model is found to perform well. An explanation for this success is presented in terms of learning rates and bias-variance decompositions.
Primate Vocal Communication

In 1871, Charles Darwin drew attention to a dichotomy in the vocal communication of animals that had perplexed philosophers and naturalists for at least 2,000 years. In marked contrast to human language, he wrote, animal vocalizations appeared to be involuntary expressions of emotion and movement: ‘‘When the sensorium is strongly excited, the muscles of the body are generally thrown into violent action; and as a consequence, loud sounds are uttered, . although the sounds may be of no use’’ (1871/1981, p. 83). However, two pages later Darwin wrote: ‘‘That which distinguishes man from the lower animals is not the understanding of articulate sounds, for, as every one knows, dogs understand many words and sentences. Nor is it the mere capacity of connecting definite sounds with definite ideas; for it is certain that some parrots, which have been taught to speak, connect unerringly words with things, and persons with events’’ (1871/1981, p. 85). The vocal communication of monkeys and apes appears to be no different from that of other animals. Production is highly constrained. Nonhuman primates have a relatively small repertoire of calls, each of which is closely linked to particular social circumstances and shows little modification during development (see Hammerschmidt & Fischer, 2008, for a review). Perception, by contrast, is more flexible, open ended, and modifiable as a result of experience. The difference between production and perception is puzzling because producers are also perceivers: Why should an individual who can deduce an almost limitless number of meanings from the calls of others be able to produce only a limited number of calls of his or her own? The difference between production and perception is also puzzling because it constitutes a crucial distinction between human and nonhuman primates. Why should monkeys and apes—so similar to humans in so many other respects—be so different when it comes to vocal production? The contrast between vocal production and perception constitutes the starting point for this chapter. We wish to make three points. First, it is important to be clear exactly what we mean when we say that primate vocal production is ‘‘sharply constrained. ’’ Many scientists have taken this to mean that primate call production is fixed, uncontrollable, and involuntary. This conclusion is too extreme. In fact, both field and laboratory studies paint a more complex picture. Monkeys and apes can call or remain silent, modify the timing and duration of calling, and make subtle acoustic modifications to the calls they give in specific social contexts. However, although they can modify call production in many ways, they rarely create entirely new calls or call combinations, or sever the link between a particular call type and the circumstances in which it is normally given. Second, the dichotomy between production and perception has important theoretical implications, because it draws our attention to the very different mechanisms that underlie the behavior of speakers and listeners, even when these individuals are involved in the same
Delirium in elderly patients: association with educational attainment

Objective Among cognitive reserve markers, educational attainment is the most widely studied, with several studies establishing a strong association with risk of dementia. However, it has not yet been fully examined in delirium. This study aims to analyse the relationship between educational attainment and delirium. Methods The study included elderly hospitalised patients admitted (≥48 h) into an intermediate care unit (IMCU) of Intensive Care Medicine Service. Exclusion criteria were as follows: Glasgow Coma Scale (total≤11), blindness/deafness, inability to communicate or to speak Portuguese. The European Portuguese Version of the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) was used for delirium assessment. Results The final sample (n=157) had a mean age of 78.8 (SD=7.6) the majority being female (52.2%), married (51.5%) and with low educational level (49%). According to CAM, 21% of the patients had delirium. The delirium group presented the fewest years of education (median 1 vs. 4), with statistical significance (p=0.003). Delirium was more frequent among male patients [odds ratio (OR) 0.32; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.12–0.86; p=0.023], as well as those patients with lower education (OR 0.76; 95% CI 0.62–0.95; p=0.016), and with respiratory disease (OR 3.35; 95% CI 1.20–9.33; p=0.020), after controlling for age and medication. Conclusion Similar to previous studies, these findings point to a negative correlation between education and delirium. This study appears as an attempt to contribute to the knowledge about the role of cognitive reserve in risk of delirium, particularly because is the first one that has been carried out in an IMCU, with lower educated elderly patients. Further studies are needed to clarify this relationship considering other markers (e.g. cognitive activities), which can contribute to the definition of preventive strategies.
Design of rectenna array panel taking into account mutual coupling for RF energy harvesting

A study of a rectenna (rectifying anntena) array on a 1×1-m substrate for RF energy harvesting is presented. Square loop antennas are laid out on the given substrate size assuming to harvest 500-MHz Digital TV radio waves. The optimum number of elements is determined from the obtainable DC power and its angle characteristics taking into account mutual coupling between antenna elements and the non-linear RF-to-DC conversion efficiency of the rectifier. Mutual coupling effects can be exploited to control the angle characteristics to some extent. In this particular consideration, a 4×3 rectenna array was optimum in the harvesting of 500-MHz radio waves from a broad angle range in the horizontal dimension.
Amplify-and-Forward Multihop Relaying with Adaptive M-QAM in Nakagami-m Fading

An amplify-and-forward (AF) multihop relaying system employing constant-power rate-adaptive $M$-QAM transmission is investigated. Accurate expressions for performance evaluation in Nakagami-$m$ fading of adaptive continuous rate (ACR) and adaptive discrete rate (ADR) $M$-QAM are obtained. The analysis is based on a new approximation for the instantaneous end-to-end received SNR in the form of a scaled version of the harmonic mean of the individual per-hop SNRs. The scaling factor is determined based on the average link SNRs. Performance results evaluated using the proposed approximation are more accurate than the performance bounds obtained using the conventional harmonic- mean-based upper bound on the instantaneous received SNR, even though they are obtained with the same computational complexity. Numerical results show that the approximate performance results are very close to the exact results especially in small SNR regimes and for larger values of the Nakagami parameter. It is shown that the ACR QAM achieves an average spectral efficiency within a certain distance of the Shannon limit. The ADR QAM achieves smaller bit error rates than the target bit error rate but at the expense of an additional penalty on the average spectral efficiency, especially for smaller numbers of region boundaries.
Asymptotics of greedy algorithms for variable-to-fixed length coding of Markov sources

In this paper, alphabet extension for Markov sources is studied such that each extension tree is grown by splitting the node with the maximum value for a weight as a generalization of the leaf probability in Tunstall's (1967) algorithm. We show that the optimal asymptotic rate of convergence of the per-symbol code length to the entropy does not depend on an a priori selected proportional allocation of the sizes of the extension trees at the states. We show this without imposing restrictive conditions on the weight by which the trees are extended. Further, we prove the asymptotic optimality of an algorithm that allocates an increasing total number of leaves among the states. Finally, we give exact formulas for all the relevant quantities of the trees grown.
Visualizing the differences in visual primitives used by CNNs and radiologists

We propose a method to compare the visual primitives used by radiologists and convolutional neural networks (CNNs) for the identification of diseased tissue in mammograms. Using the latest advances in neural network interpretability, we investigate the visual primitives used by two different CNNs, a baseline model and our own high-performance model, to perform automatic medical diagnosis. By visualizing the phenomena identified by diagnosis CNNs and interviewing specialists about the CNNs’ behavior, we show the difference between visual factors used by radiologists and automatic systems. Our proposed method yields insights into improving accuracy and interpretability in automatic diagnosis systems. 1. PURPOSE Many state-of-the-art CNNs can now match and even supersede human performance on generic recognition tasks; however, these significant advances in discriminative ability have been achieved in part by deepening nets which compounds computational obscurity. Due to the depth and complexity of CNN, they are often criticized as black boxes. Lack of intepretability prevents CNNs from being used for scientific exploration of medical phenomena. Medical applications are also heavily dependent on a sense of trust between patient and practitioner, which can impeded by monolithic automatic diagnosis systems. Thus, automated image diagnosis provides a compelling opportunity to investigate both the discriminatory ability of state-of-the-art CNNs as well as the difference between factors used by humans and automatic systems. Using canonical network activation visualization techniques, we investigate the potential of CNNs to provide insight into image-based diagnostics of tissue lesions. Given the level of trust needed in medical applications, we also examine how visualization techniques may help us confirm that neural networks can “diagnose” in a human-interpretable fashion. Understanding the classification behavior of CNNs may reveal similarities and differences between the diagnostic processes of human radiologists and automated systems, potentially yielding insights that help both do their job more accurately and responsibly. 2. METHODS To gain a richer understanding of which visual primitives CNNs use to automate diagnosis, we passed images from the Digital Database for Screening Mammography (DDSM) through two different models and recorded their discrimination performance. We then evaluated the visual primitives that emerged for each model using Network Dissection, a novel visualization technique. Further author information: Send correspondence to Diondra Peck diondrapeck@college. harvard.edu; This paper is being submitted solely to SPIE for publication and presentation.
Cytotoxic and Antimicrobial Activity of the Crude Extract of Abutilon Indicum

The investigation was conducted with crude methanolic extract of leaf of Abutilon indicum for its cytotoxic and antimicrobial activity. Antimicrobial activity of the extract was evaluated against various Gram-positive, Gramnegative bacteria and fungi using disk diffusion technique. For cytotoxic activity, brine shrimp lethality bioassay was performed to estimate LC50 values. The average zone of inhibition produced by carbon tetrachloride extract was found 7-10 mm at a concentration of 400µg/disc. The chloroform extract exhibited no antibacterial activity except Sarcina lutea (8.4 mm). In brine shrimp lethality bioassay, LC50 obtained from the best-fit line slope were 0.419, 3.01, 5.62, 1.51, and 11.20 µg/ml for positive control (vincristine sulfate), n-hexane, carbon tetrachloride, chloroform and aqueous fraction respectively. The cytotoxicity exhibited by chloroform soluble fraction of methanol extract was promising. The carbon tetrachloride extract showed mild to moderate antimicrobial activity.
Theoretical Advantages of Lenient Learners: An Evolutionary Game Theoretic Perspective

This paper presents the dynamics of multiple learning agents from an evolutionary game theoretic perspective. We provide replicator dynamics models for cooperative coevolutionary algorithms and for traditional multiagent Q-learning, and we extend these differential equations to account for lenient learners: agents that forgive possible mismatched teammate actions that resulted in low rewards. We use these extended formal models to study the convergence guarantees for these algorithms, and also to visualize the basins of attraction to optimal and suboptimal solutions in two benchmark coordination problems. The paper demonstrates that lenience provides learners with more accurate information about the benefits of performing their actions, resulting in higher likelihood of convergence to the globally optimal solution. In addition, the analysis indicates that the choice of learning algorithm has an insignificant impact on the overall performance of multiagent learning algorithms; rather, the performance of these algorithms depends primarily on the level of lenience that the agents exhibit to one another. Finally, the research herein supports the strength and generality of evolutionary game theory as a backbone for multiagent learning.
A simplified technique for the transfer of ovine embryos by laparoscopy

Embryos collected from ewes on days 5, 6 and 7 after oestrus were transferred to synchronised recipient ewes by a simple laparoscopic technique which resulted in a pregnancy rate of 75 per cent. The reduced surgical trauma and operative time have benefits in terms of animal welfare as well as for the economics of the embryo transfer industry.
[Application of collagen-binding assay for von Willebrand disease].

OBJECTIVE To explore the application of collagen-binding assay for von Willebrand disease (vWD). METHODS We investigated the sensitivity and reproducibility of collagen-binding assays (CBA) of vWF using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique and compared CBA with 3 other assays for their ability to detect vWD. RESULTS It was found that the vWF: CBA level of plasma from patients with different types of vWD is lower than that from healthy donors, hemophilia and other bleeding disorders (P < 0.001). In general, the four assays have the capability to identify vWD from normal and other bleeding disorders, and can be used for diagnosing vWD. The concordance rates of the four assays on vWD are vWF: Ag 85.7%, vWF: Rcof 76.2%, RIPA 80.9%, vWF: CBA 95.2% respectively. CONCLUSION vWF: CBA measured by ELISA is highly sensitive, specific and reproducible, and easy to operate. The measurement of the functional activity of vWF by vWF: Rcof or RIPA can be replaced by the more reliable vWF: CBA.
Leishmaniasis Recidivans in Pediatric Patients.

D to the war in Syria, the epidemiology of leishmaniasis and species distribution of the causative agents are rapidly changing as a result of migration of refugees from Syria to neighboring Turkey and the other countries. Unusual manifestations of the disease frequently occur, which complicates the diagnosis and treatment. This letter aims to reflect our experience with leishmaniasis recidivans (LR) in pediatric cases, the most prevalent group for cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). LR is a rare clinical form that occurs following years after resolution of localized CL because of reactivation of the dormant parasites. In the Old World, LR is usually caused by Leishmania tropica, the main causative agent for CL in Turkey, an endemic country. The scarcity of the parasites in skin biopsy complicates the diagnosis, especially for patients in a nonendemic region. The lesions become destructive and disfiguring after many years because most of the patients may be resistant to regular treatment. The pathogenesis of LR is still unclear. Receiving incomplete course of treatment may play a role in resistance and recurrence of the lesions. The host immunologic status, especially defective Th1-type immune response, can also result in reduction of parasitic clearance. In our study covering 14-years and 8786 patients, we observed LR in 2,·29% of the pediatric CL patients, most commonly in 0 to 5-year-old group (4.34%). A more immature immune system relative to older children could explain this observation. This age group responded better than other groups to intralesional treatment, although follow-up observation is required because they were more prone to develop recidivans. Surprisingly, Sharifi et al reported more prevalent LR in the 6 to 10-year-old group. We observed that the population in the refugee camps mostly consists of pediatric age groups. Thus, pediatric population is at risk of the diseases, indirectly LR. In LR, the high rates resistant to the first line drugs necessitate new treatment
A system for generalized mutagenesis of Haemophilus ducreyi

The lack of a generalized mutagenesis system for Haemophilus ducreyi has hampered efforts to identify virulence factors expressed by this sexually transmitted pathogen. To address this issue, the transposable element Tn1545-delta 3, which encodes resistance to kanamycin, was evaluated for its ability to insert randomly into the H. ducreyi chromosome and produce stable, isogenic mutants. Electroporation of H. ducreyi with 1 microgram of plasmid pMS1 carrying Tn1545-delta 3 resulted in the production of 10(4) kanamycin-resistant transformants; Southern blot analysis of a number of these transformants indicated that insertion of the transposon into the chromosome occurred at a number of different sites. This pMS1-based transposon delivery system was used to produce an H. ducreyi mutant that expressed an altered lipooligosaccharide (LOS). Passage of this mutant in vitro in the presence or absence of kanamycin did not affect the stability of the transposon insertion. To confirm that the observed mutant phenotype was the result of the transposon insertion, a chromosomal fragment containing Tn1545-delta 3 was cloned from this H. ducreyi LOS mutant. Electroporation of the wild-type H. ducreyi strain with this DNA fragment yielded numerous kanamycin-resistant transformants, the majority of which had the same altered LOS phenotype as the original mutant. Southern blot analysis confirmed the occurrence of proper allelic exchange in the LOS-deficient transformants obtained in this backcross experiment. The ability of Tn1545-delta 3 to produce insertion mutations in H. ducreyi should facilitate genetic analysis of this pathogen.
Genetic evidence for involvement of type 1, type 2 and type 3 inositol 1,4,5‐trisphosphate receptors in signal transduction through the B‐cell antigen receptor

Stimulation of B‐cell antigen receptor (BCR) induces a rapid increase in cytoplasmic free calcium due to its release from intracellular stores and influx from the extracellular environment. Inositol 1,4,5‐trisphosphate receptors (IP3Rs) are ligand‐gated channels that release intracellular calcium stores in response to the second messenger, inositol 1,4,5‐trisphosphate. Most hematopoietic cells, including B cells, express at least two of the three different types of IP3R. We demonstrate here that B cells in which a single type of IP3R has been deleted still mobilize calcium in response to BCR stimulation, whereas this calcium mobilization is abrogated in B cells lacking all three types of IP3R. Calcium mobilization by a transfected G protein‐coupled receptor (muscarinic M1 receptor) was also abolished in only triple‐deficient cells. Capacitative Ca2+ entry, stimulated by thapsigargin, remains unaffected by loss of all three types of IP3R. These data establish that IP3Rs are essential and functionally redundant mediators for both BCR‐ and muscarinic receptor‐induced calcium mobilization, but not for thapsigargin‐induced Ca2+ influx. We further show that the BCR‐induced apoptosis is significantly inhibited by loss of all three types of IP3R, suggesting an important role for Ca2+ in the process of apoptosis.
The “Hot Mess” of Situational Judgment Test Construct Validity and Other Issues

The construct validity of situational judgment tests (SJTs) is a “hot mess. ” The suggestions of Lievens and Motowidlo (2016) concerning a strategy to make the constructs assessed by an SJT more “clear and explicit” (p. 5) are worthy of serious consideration. In this commentary, we highlight two challenges that will likely need to be addressed before one can develop SJTs with clear and explicit constructs. We also offer critiques of four positions presented by Lievens and Motowidlo that are not well supported by evidence.
Improved staining of proteins in polyacrylamide gels including isoelectric focusing gels with clear background at nanogram sensitivity using Coomassie Brilliant Blue G‐250 and R‐250

An improved procedure for staining of proteins following separation in polyacrylamide gels is described which utilizes the colloidal properties of Coomassie Brilliant Blue G‐250 and R‐250. The new method is based on addition of 20 % v/v methanol and higher concentrations of ammonium sulfate to the staining solution previously described [1]. The method combines the advantage of much shorter staining time with high sensitivity, a clear background not requiring destaining, stepwise staining, and stable fixation after staining. The method has been applied to staining of polyacrylamide gels after sodium dodecyl sulfate‐electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing in carrier ampholyte‐generated pH gradients.
[Impacts of electroacupuncture at Lingtai (GV 10) and Shendao (GV 11) on premature heartbeat].

OBJECTIVE To observe the specific clinical efficacy of electroacupuncture at Lingtai (GV 10) and Shendao (GV 11) on premature heartbeat. METHODS Seventy-two cases of premature heartbeat were randomized into an observation group and a control group. In the observation group, electroacupuncture was applied at Lingtai (GV 10) and Shendao (GV 11). In the control group, electroacupuncture was applied at bilateral Xuanzhong (GB 39). The treatment was given once a day and 10 times made one session in both groups. Respectively, the dynamic electrocardiogram detection was done before treatment and after one session of treatment in each group. RESULTS The total effective rate was 47.1% (16/34) in the observation group and 6.5% (2/31) in the control group. The efficacy in the observation group was superior to that in the control group, presenting the statistical significant difference in comparison (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Electroacupuncture at Lingtai (GV 10) and Shendao (GV 11) has specific clinical efficacy on premature heartbeat.