Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance analysis of Z-source inverter operating under random PWM

The paper provides performance analysis of an induction motor drive fed by a Z-source inverter operating under random pulse width modulation. The paper also provides a description of control techniques based on a random pulse position PWM obtained using a triangular carrier waveform. The control algorithm has characteristics of both space vector and random lead-lag modulations. The random PWM signal is generated using pseudorandom binary sequence bits and the PWM pulses obtained from a comparison of two fixed frequency triangular carrier waveforms and a reference voltage. The control technique has been applied to a Matlab/Simulink model of the induction motor drive which has been simulated and analysed. The results showed that the harmonics of a Z-source inverter output are dispersed and continuously distributed across the spectrum.
The Cyclic Beat Spectrum: Tempo-Related Audio Features for Time-Scale Invariant Audio Identification

In this paper, we present a novel set of tempo-related audio features for applications in audio retrieval. As opposed to existing feature sets commonly used in the retrieval domain which mainly focus on local spectral characteristics of the audio signal, our features capture its local temporal behaviour w.r. t. tempo, rhythm, and meter. As a key component to obtaining a high level of feature robustness we introduce the cyclic beat spectrum (CBS) consisting of residual tempo classes which are constructed similarly to the wellknown pitch chroma classes. We illustrate the use of the newly constructed features by applying them to robust timescale invariant audio identification.
A framework for assessing hydrological regime sensitivity to climate change in a convective rainfall environment: a case study of two medium-sized eastern Mediterranean catchments, Israel

A modeling framework is formulated and applied to assess the sensitivity of the hydrological regime of two catchments in a convective rainfall environment with respect to projected climate change. The study uses likely rainfall scenarios with high spatiotemporal resolution that are dependent on projected changes in the driving regional meteorological synoptic systems. The framework was applied to a case study in two medium-sized Mediterranean catchments in Israel, affected by convective rainfall, by combining the HiReS-WG rainfall generator and the SAC-SMA hydrological model. The projected climate change impact on the hydrological regime was examined for the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 emission scenarios, comparing the historical (beginning of the 21st century) and future (mid-21st-century) periods from three general circulation model simulations available from CMIP5. Focusing on changes in the occurrence frequency of regional synoptic systems and their impact on rainfall and streamflow patterns, we find that the mean annual rainfall over the catchments is projected to be reduced by 15% (outer range 2–23%) and 18% (7–25%) for the RCP4.5 sand RCP8.5 emission scenarios, respectively. The mean annual streamflow volumes are projected to be reduced by 45% (10–60%) and 47% (16–66%). The average events' streamflow volumes for a given event rainfall depth are projected to be lower by a factor of 1.4–2.1. Moreover, the streamflow season in these ephemeral streams is projected to be shorter by 22% and 26–28% for the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, respectively. The amplification in reduction of streamflow volumes relative to rainfall amounts is related to the projected reduction in soil moisture, as a result of fewer rainfall events and longer dry spells between rainfall events during the wet season. The dominant factors for the projected reduction in rainfall amount were the reduction in occurrence of wet synoptic systems and the shortening of the wet synoptic systems durations. Changes in the occurrence frequency of the two dominant types of the regional wet synoptic systems (active Red Sea trough and Mediterranean low) were found to have a minor impact on the total rainfall.
Cholinergic Interneurons Amplify Corticostriatal Synaptic Responses in the Q175 Model of Huntington’s Disease

Huntington’s disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by deficits in movement control that are widely viewed as stemming from pathophysiological changes in the striatum. Giant, aspiny cholinergic interneurons (ChIs) are key elements in the striatal circuitry controlling movement, but whether their physiological properties are intact in the HD brain is unclear. To address this issue, the synaptic properties of ChIs were examined using optogenetic approaches in the Q175 mouse model of HD. In ex vivo brain slices, synaptic facilitation at thalamostriatal synapses onto ChIs was reduced in Q175 mice. The alteration in thalamostriatal transmission was paralleled by an increased response to optogenetic stimulation of cortical axons, enabling these inputs to more readily induce burst-pause patterns of activity in ChIs. This adaptation was dependent upon amplification of cortically evoked responses by a post-synaptic upregulation of voltage-dependent Na+ channels. This upregulation also led to an increased ability of somatic spikes to invade ChI dendrites. However, there was not an alteration in the basal pacemaking rate of ChIs, possibly due to increased availability of Kv4 channels. Thus, there is a functional “re-wiring” of the striatal networks in Q175 mice, which results in greater cortical control of phasic ChI activity, which is widely thought to shape the impact of salient stimuli on striatal action selection.
Parallel Networks that Learn to Pronounce English Text

This paper describes NETtalk, a class of massively-parallel network systems that learn to convert English text to speech. The memory representations for pronunciations are learned by practice and are shared among many processing units. The performance of NETtalk has some similarities with observed human performance. (i) The learning follows a power law. (ii) The more words the network learns, the better it is at generalizing and correctly pronouncing new words, (iii) The performance of the network degrades very slowly as connections in the network are damaged: no single link or processing unit is essential. (iv) Relearning after damage is much faster than learning during the original training. (v) Distributed or spaced practice is more effective for long-term retention than massed practice. Network models can be constructed that have the same performance and learning characteristics on a particular task, but differ completely at the levels of synaptic strengths and single-unit responses. However, hierarchical clustering techniques applied to NETtalk reveal that these different networks have similar internal representations of letter-to-sound correspondences within groups of processing units. This suggests that invariant internal representations may be found in assemblies of neurons intermediate in size between highly localized and completely distributed representations.
Effects on Text Simplification: Evaluation of Splitting Up Noun Phrases

To help increase health literacy, we are developing a text simplification tool that creates more accessible patient education materials. Tool development is guided by a data-driven feature analysis comparing simple and difficult text. In the present study, we focus on the common advice to split long noun phrases. Our previous corpus analysis showed that easier texts contained shorter noun phrases. Subsequently, we conducted a user study to measure the difficulty of sentences containing noun phrases of different lengths (2-gram, 3-gram, and 4-gram); noun phrases of different conditions (split or not); and, to simulate unknown terms, pseudowords (present or not). We gathered 35 evaluations for 30 sentences in each condition (3 × 2 × 2 conditions) on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (N = 12,600). We conducted a 3-way analysis of variance for perceived and actual difficulty. Splitting noun phrases had a positive effect on perceived difficulty but a negative effect on actual difficulty. The presence of pseudowords increased perceived and actual difficulty. Without pseudowords, longer noun phrases led to increased perceived and actual difficulty. A follow-up study using the phrases (N = 1,350) showed that measuring awkwardness may indicate when to split noun phrases. We conclude that splitting noun phrases benefits perceived difficulty but hurts actual difficulty when the phrasing becomes less natural.
UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DO RIO GRANDE DO SUL FACULDADE DE MEDICINA PROGRAMA DE PÓS - GRADUAÇÃO EM CIÊNCIAS MÉDICAS: PSIQUIATRIA CURSO DE MESTRADO ANÁLISE DO GENE TRANSPORTADOR DA SEROTONINA EM PACIENTES DEPRIMIDOS QUE TENTARAM O SUICÍDIO

A polymorphism in the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) is being studied for association with suicidal behavior. We verified the relationship between the frequencies of the 5-HTTLPR alleles in 84 depressed patients with suicide attempts compared to 152 controls. We found a higher risk for suicide behavior among depressed patients bearing SS or LS genotypes.
Chlamydomonas alpha-tubulin is posttranslationally modified in the flagella during flagellar assembly

The principal alpha-tubulin within Chlamydomonas reinhardtii flagellar axonemes differs from the major alpha-tubulin in the cell body. We show that these two isoelectric variants of alpha-tubulin are related to one another since posttranslational modification of the cell body precursor form converts it to the axonemal form. During flagellar assembly, precursor alpha-tubulin enters the flagella and is posttranslationally modified within the flagellar matrix fraction prior to or at the time of its addition to the growing axonemal microtubules. Experiments designed to identify the nature of this posttranslational modification have also been conducted. When flagella are induced to assemble in the absence of de novo protein synthesis, tritiated acetate can be used to posttranslationally label alpha-tubulin in vivo and, under these conditions, no other flagellar polypeptides exhibit detectable labeling.
Will a Japanese Intravenous Ketamine‐Resistant Patient Lose a Chance to Undergo the Spinal Cord Stimulation in the Future? Problems of Drug Challenge Test

To the Editor: Dr. Yamamoto and colleagues reported that VAS score reduction induced by spinal cord stimulation (SCS) was more significant in intravenous ketamine-sensitive patients than in intravenous ketamine-resistant patients in patients with central post-stroke pain (1). This method is similar to the drug challenge test (DCT) (2). A website of the Japan Society of Pain Clinicians presents the DCT theory (3): The analgesic effect of specific intravenous drugs such as ketamine and morphine moderately suggests the mechanism of pain and moderately predicts the efficacy of corresponding oral medication. To my knowledge, the DCT theory is believed only in Japan. Even if the analgesic effect of a specific intravenous drug significantly predicts the efficacy of the corresponding oral medication, some patients who are resistant to a specific intravenous drug respond to the corresponding oral medication. Some Japanese patients have thus lost a chance to undergo specific oral medication therapy based on the DCT. The efficacy of continuous oral medication suggests the mechanism of pain better than an intravenous drug test dose. Is oral pregabalin-resistant pain not neuropathic pain? I have submitted many Japanese manuscripts that demonstrated the weakness of the DCT, but all manuscripts submitted to Japanese medical journals were rejected. I am afraid that some Japanese intravenous ketamine-resistant patients will lose a chance to undergo the SCS in the future. If an intravenous ketamine-resistant patient undergoes SCS, what is a clinical value of the article (1)?
Basaloid squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck: Location means everything

Head and neck basaloid squamous cell carcinoma (BSCC) is increasingly recognized as a malignancy with an evolving duel behavior. Our objective was to describe the site‐specific presentation and prognosis of head and neck BSCC in comparison to conventional‐type squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) using population‐based data.
N-acetyl-seryl-aspartyl-lysyl-proline stimulates angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo.

N-acetyl-seryl-aspartyl-lysyl-proline (Ac-SDKP), a natural inhibitor of pluripotent hematopoietic stem cell proliferation, has been suggested as capable of promoting an angiogenic response. We studied whether Ac-SDKP stimulates endothelial cell proliferation, migration, and tube formation; enhances angiogenic response in the rat cornea after implantation of a tumor spheroid; and increases capillary density in rat hearts with myocardial infarction (MI). In vitro, an immortal BALB/c mouse aortic endothelial 22106 cell line was used to determine the effects of Ac-SDKP on endothelial cell proliferation and migration and tube formation. In vivo, a 9L-gliosarcoma cell spheroid (250-300 microm in diameter) was implanted in the rat cornea and vehicle or Ac-SDKP (800 microg.kg(-1). day(-1) ip) infused via osmotic minipump. Myocardial capillary density was studied in rats with MI given either vehicle or Ac-SDKP. We found that Ac-SDKP 1) stimulated endothelial cell proliferation and migration and tube formation in a dose-dependent manner, 2) enhanced corneal neovascularization, and 3) increased myocardial capillary density. Endothelial cell proliferation and angiogenesis stimulated by Ac-SDKP could be beneficial in cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension and MI. Furthermore, because Ac-SDKP is mainly cleaved by ACE, it may partially mediate the cardioprotective effect of ACE inhibitors.
Potential Boosters?

Recent interpretations of the Adaboost algorithm view it as performing a gradient descent on a potential function. Simply changing the potential function allows one to create new algorithms related to AdaBoost. However, these new algorithms are generally not known to have the formal boosting property. This paper examines the question of which potential functions lead to new algorithms that are boosters. The two main results are general sets of conditions on the potential; one set implies that the resulting algorithm is a booster, while the other implies that the algorithm is not. These conditions are applied to previously studied potential functions, such as those used by LogitBoost and Doom II.
High-rate Locally-testable Codes with Quasi-polylogarithmic Query Complexity

An error correcting code is said to be locally testable if there is a test that checks whether a given string is a codeword, or rather far from the code, by reading only a small number of symbols of the string. Locally testable codes (LTCs) are both interesting in their own right, and have important applications in complexity theory. A long line of research tries to determine the best tradeoff between rate and distance that LTCs can achieve. In this work, we construct LTCs that have high rate (arbitrarily close to 1), have constant relative distance, and can be tested using (log n) O(log logn) queries. This improves over the previous best construction of LTCs with high rate, by the same authors, which uses exp( √ log n · log log n) queries [KMRS15]. In fact, as in [KMRS15], our result is actually stronger: for binary codes, we obtain LTCs that match the Zyablov bound for any rate 0 < r < 1. For codes over large alphabet (of constant size), we obtain LTCs that approach the Singleton bound, for any rate 0 < r < 1.
The team climate inventory as a measure of primary care teams' processes: validation of the French version.

PURPOSE Evaluate the psychometric properties of the French version of the short 19-item Team Climate Inventory (TCI) and explore the contributions of individual and organizational characteristics to perceived team effectiveness. METHOD The TCI was completed by 471 of the 618 (76.2%) healthcare professionals and administrative staff working in a random sample of 37 primary care practices in the province of Quebec. RESULTS Exploratory factor analysis confirmed the original four-factor model. Cronbach's alphas were excellent (from 0.88 to 0.93). Latent class analysis revealed three-class response structure. Respondents in practices with professional governance had a higher probability of belonging to the "High TCI" class than did practices with community governance (36.7% vs. 19.1%). Administrative staff tended to fall into the "Suboptimal TCI" class more frequently than did physicians (36.5% vs. 19.0%). CONCLUSION Results confirm the validity of our French version of the short TCI. The association between professional governance and better team climate merits further exploration.
Sirt7 promotes adipogenesis in the mouse by inhibiting autocatalytic activation of Sirt1

Significance This paper describes a mechanism of regulation of Sirt1 activity by Sirt7. Deacetylases Sirt1 and Sirt7 belong to the mammalian family of seven sirtuins, which play important regulatory roles in several biological processes such as metabolism and aging. We discovered that Sirt1 is able to augment its own catalytical activity by autodeacetylation. Sirt7 binds to Sirt1 and inhibits its activity. The biological importance of this regulation was revealed in the differentiation and maintenance of white adipose tissue (WAT). Sirt7 knockout mice contain a significantly diminished amount of WAT due to the increased Sirt1 activity and Sirt1 inhibition restores WAT in Sirt7 knockout mice. Sirtuins (Sirt1–Sirt7) are NAD+-dependent protein deacetylases/ADP ribosyltransferases, which play decisive roles in chromatin silencing, cell cycle regulation, cellular differentiation, and metabolism. Different sirtuins control similar cellular processes, suggesting a coordinated mode of action but information about potential cross-regulatory interactions within the sirtuin family is still limited. Here, we demonstrate that Sirt1 requires autodeacetylation to efficiently deacetylate targets such as p53, H3K9, and H4K16. Sirt7 restricts Sirt1 activity by preventing Sirt1 autodeacetylation causing enhanced Sirt1 activity in Sirt7−/− mice. Increased Sirt1 activity in Sirt7−/− mice blocks PPARγ and adipocyte differentiation, thereby diminishing accumulation of white fat. Thus, reduction of Sirt1 activity restores adipogenesis in Sirt7−/− adipocytes in vitro and in vivo. We disclosed a principle controlling Sirt1 activity and uncovered an unexpected complexity in the crosstalk between two different sirtuins. We propose that antagonistic interactions between Sirt1 and Sirt7 are pivotal in controlling the signaling network required for maintenance of adipose tissue.
Detecting social network profile cloning

Social networking is one of the most popular Internet activities, with millions of users from around the world. The time spent on sites like Facebook or LinkedIn is constantly increasing at an impressive rate. At the same time, users populate their online profile with a plethora of information that aims at providing a complete and accurate representation of themselves. Attackers may duplicate a user's online presence in the same or across different social networks and, therefore, fool other users into forming trusting social relations with the fake profile. By abusing that implicit trust transferred from the concept of relations in the physical world, they can launch phishing attacks, harvest sensitive user information, or cause unfavorable repercussions to the legitimate profile's owner. In this paper we propose a methodology for detecting social network profile cloning. We present the architectural design and implementation details of a prototype system that can be employed by users to investigate whether they have fallen victims to such an attack. Our experimental results from the use of this prototype system prove its efficiency and also demonstrate its simplicity in terms of deployment by everyday users. Finally, we present the findings from a short study in terms of profile information exposed by social network users.
Empirical Tests of the Reliability of Phylogenetic Trees Constructed With Microsatellite DNA

Microsatellite DNA loci or short tandem repeats (STRs) are abundant in eukaryotic genomes and are often used for constructing phylogenetic trees of closely related populations or species. These phylogenetic trees are usually constructed by using some genetic distance measure based on allele frequency data, and there are many distance measures that have been proposed for this purpose. In the past the efficiencies of these distance measures in constructing phylogenetic trees have been studied mathematically or by computer simulations. Recently, however, allele frequencies of 783 STR loci have been compiled from various human populations. We have therefore used these empirical data to investigate the relative efficiencies of different distance measures in constructing phylogenetic trees. The results showed that (1) the probability of obtaining the correct branching pattern of a tree (PC) is generally highest for DA distance; (2) FST*, standard genetic distance (DS), and \batchmode \documentclass[fleqn,10pt,legalpaper]{article} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amsmath} \pagestyle{empty} \begin{document} \(F_{\mathrm{ST}}/(1{-}F_{\mathrm{ST}})\) \end{document} give similar PC-values, FST* being slightly better than the other two; and (3) (δμ)2 shows PC-values much lower than the other distance measures. To have reasonably high PC-values for trees similar to ours, at least 30 loci with a minimum of 15 individuals are required when DA distance is used.
Crossover effects of work-family conflict among Chinese couples

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the crossover effects of one partner’s work-family conflict (WFC) on the other partner’s family satisfaction, physical well-being, and mental well-being. The study tests the moderating effect of the opposite partner’s family identity salience within the crossover process in a Chinese context. Design/methodology/approach – A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect matched data from 212 Chinese dual-earner couples. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was employed to test the research hypotheses. Findings – The results showed that there were significantly negative crossover effects of husbands’ WFC on their wives’ family satisfaction, physical well-being, and mental well-being, and vice versa. The authors found that the wives’ family identity salience mitigated the crossover effects of the husbands’ WFC, but the husbands’ family identity did not moderate the crossover effect of the wives’ WFC. Originality/value – This is the first study .
6.2 A 60Gb/s 288mW NRZ transceiver with adaptive equalization and baud-rate clock and data recovery in 65nm CMOS technology

The demand for ultra-high speed transceivers continues to explode, and while the data-rate for high-speed I/O standards has increased accordingly, the historically constant or even decreasing power budgets available for the transceivers push these designs to be extremely energy efficient. To begin addressing this need, recently published NRZ transceivers operating up to 56.5Gb/s with a 1-tap DFE and/or CTLE [1,2] in 28–40nm CMOS processes have been demonstrated for <20dB loss channels with energy efficiencies ranging from 4.4 to 11.96pJ/b. In order to support channels with higher losses, the half-rate 65nm receiver front-end design described in [3] includes a 3-tap DFE, a 2-tap FFE, and a CTLE at ∼2.88pJ/b, but neither closed-loop equalizer adaptation nor clock and data recovery were demonstrated. Closing these loops is especially critical in such an interleaved architecture, since at these data-rates each interleaved datapath can result in a noticeably different overall channel response (ISI), and the need for closed-loop CDR is self-evident. This paper therefore presents a fully adaptive 60Gb/s transceiver, supporting >20dB channel loss, implemented in a 65nm CMOS technology (Fig. 6.2.1). The full transceiver (including baud-rate CDR) achieves 60Gb/s and 4.8pJ/b energy efficiency over a 0.7m Twinax cable.