Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Social Network Analysis in Multimedia Indexing: Making Sense of People in Multiparty Recordings

This paper presents an automatic approach to analyze the human interactions appearing in multiparty data, aiming at understanding the data content and at extracting social informa- tion such as Which role do people play? , What is their attitude? , or Can people be split into meaningful groups? To extract such information, we use a set of mathematical techniques, namely Social Networks Analysis (SNA), developed by sociologists to analyze social interac- tions. This paper shows that a strong connection can be established between the content of broadcast data and the social interactions of the individuals involved in the recordings. Experiments aiming at assigning each individual to a social group corresponding to a specific topic in broadcast news, and experiments aiming at recognizing the role played by each indi- vidual in multiparty data are presented in this paper. The results achieved are satisfactory, which suggests on one side that the application of SNA to similar problems could lead to useful contributions in the domain of multimedia content analysis, and on the other side, that the presented analysis of social interactions could be a significant breakthrough for affective computing.
Acute exacerbations and respiratory failure in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) describe the phenomenon of sudden worsening in airway function and respiratory symptoms in patients with COPD. These exacerbations can range from self-limited diseases to episodes of florid respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation. The average patient with COPD experiences two such episodes annually, and they account for significant consumption of health care resources. Although bacterial infections are the most common causes of AECOPD, viral infections and environmental stresses are also implicated. AECOPD episodes can be triggered or complicated by other comorbidities, such as heart disease, other lung diseases (e.g., pulmonary emboli, aspiration, pneumothorax), or systemic processes. Pharmacologic management includes bronchodilators, corticosteroids, and antibiotics in most patients. Oxygen, physical therapy, mucolytics, and airway clearance devices may be useful in selected patients. In hypercapneic respiratory failure, noninvasive positive pressure ventilation may allow time for other therapies to work and thus avoid endotracheal intubation. If the patient requires invasive mechanical ventilation, the focus should be on avoiding ventilator-induced lung injury and minimizing intrinsic positive end-expiratory pressure. These may require limiting ventilation and "permissive hypercapnia. " Although mild episodes of AECOPD are generally reversible, more severe forms of respiratory failure are associated with a substantial mortality and a prolonged period of disability in survivors.
Minimal consistent set (MCS) identification for optimal nearest neighbor decision systems design

A new approach is presented in this study for tackling the problem of high computational demands of nearest neighbor (NN) based decision systems. The approach, based on the concept of an optimal subset selection from a given training data set, derives a consistent subset which is aimed to be minimal in size. This minimal consistent subset (MCS) selection, in contrast to most of the other previous attempts of this nature, leads to an unique solution irrespective of the initial order of presentation of the data. Further, consistency property is assured at every iteration. Also, unlike under most prior approaches, the samples are selected here in the order of significance of their contribution for enabling the consistency property. This provides insight into the relative significance of the samples in the training set. Experimental results based on a number of independent training and test data sets are presented and discussed to illustrate the methodology and bring to focus its benefits. These results show that the nearest neighbor decision system performance suffers little degradation when the given large training set is replaced by its much smaller MCS in the operational phase of testing with an independent test set. A direct experimental comparison with a prior approach is also furnished to further strengthen the case for the new methodology. >
Analyst Reputation , Conflict of Interest , and Forecast Accuracy

We study the effect of analyst reputation on earnings forecast accuracy using the 1983-2002 U.S. data. We find that All-American analysts are significantly more accurate than non-AllAmericans. We also find that analysts who work at top-tier investment banks (large underwriters) are more accurate than others but become inaccurate in boom IPO markets, which is consistent with conflict of interest. Finally, we find that All-Americans do not become inaccurate in boom IPO markets. Personal reputation, as measured by All-American status, apparently mitigates the conflict of interest that becomes particularly acute for analysts employed at top-tier investment banks during boom years. JEL classification: G1, G2
EAC: a compiler framework for high-level energy estimation and optimization

This paper presents a novel Energy-Aware Compilation (EAC) framework that can estimate and optimize energy consumption of a given code taking as input the architectural and technological parameters, energy models, and energy/performance constraints,. The framework has been validated using a cycle-accurate architectural-level energy simulator and found to be within 6% error margin while providing significant estimation speedup. The estimation speed of EAC is the key to the number of optimization alternatives that can be explored within a reasonable compilation time.
Modulation of p21‐activated kinase 1 alters the behavior of renal cell carcinoma

The p21‐activated kinase 1 (Pak1) is a serine/threonine kinase whose activity is regulated by both Rho GTPases and AGC kinase family members. It plays a role in cytoskeletal remodeling and cell motility as well as cell proliferation, angiogenesis, tumorigenesis and metastasis. An involvement of Pak1 in renal cell carcinoma (RCC), which remains highly refractory to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, remains to be investigated. Pak1 expression, phosphorylation and kinase activity were examined in RCC cell lines and human tissue from normal and renal carcinoma. We report increased Pak1 expression and constitutive activity in the membrane and nucleus but not the cytoplasm of resected human RCC. To study a role for Pak1 in RCC, we developed 786‐0 clones that expressed either a kinase‐active Pak1L83,L86 2 different Pak1 dominant negative mutants, Pak1R299 and Pak1L83,L86,R299 or Pak1 siRNA. The expression of Pak1L83,L86 increased 786‐0 proliferation, motility and anchorage independent growth, while the dominant negative mutants and Pak1 siRNA abrogated these effects. In addition, Pak1L83,L86 conferred resistance to 5‐fluorouracil with a 40% ± 10% increase in cell viability. Conversely, Pak1L83,L86,R299, Pak1R299 and Pak1 siRNA conferred sensitivity with a 65.2% ± 5.5%, 69.2% ± 3.3% and 73.0% ± 8.4% loss in viability, respectively. Finally, Pak1 plays a role in renal tumor growth in vivo. Only 33% of mice developed tumors in the Pak1L83,L86,R299 group and no tumors developed from Pak1R299 cell challenge. Together these findings point to Pak1 as an exciting target for therapy of renal cancer, which remains highly refractory to existing treatments. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Role of Brassinosteroids in Shoot Gravitropism1[C][W]

In the current model of gravitropism, negative gravitropic (upward) growth of the shoot of a dicotyledonous plant involves sedimentation of starch-containing plastids (statoliths) in the endodermis (starch sheath). Here we show that high levels of brassinosteroids (BRs) counteract gravitropic growth, while BR deficiency enhances gravitropism irrespective of the presence of a functional starch sheath. These data support a role for BRs as negative regulators of the shoot graviresponse.
Health benefits of physical activity: the evidence

The primary purpose of this narrative review was to evaluate the current literature and to provide further insight into the role physical inactivity plays in the development of chronic disease and premature death. We confirm that there is irrefutable evidence of the effectiveness of regular physical activity in the primary and secondary prevention of several chronic diseases (e.g., cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, hypertension, obesity, depression and osteoporosis) and premature death. We also reveal that the current Health Canada physical activity guidelines are sufficient to elicit health benefits, especially in previously sedentary people. There appears to be a linear relation between physical activity and health status, such that a further increase in physical activity and fitness will lead to additional improvements in health status.
Relative deprivation in income and mortality by leading causes among older Japanese men and women: AGES cohort study

Background Relative deprivation of income is hypothesised to generate frustration and stress through upward social comparison with one's peers. If psychosocial stress is the mechanism, relative deprivation should be more strongly associated with specific health outcomes, such as cardiovascular disease (compared with other health outcomes, eg, non-tobacco-related cancer). Methods We evaluated the association between relative income deprivation and mortality by leading causes, using a cohort of 21 031 community-dwelling adults aged 65 years or older. A baseline mail-in survey was conducted in 2003. Information on cause-specific mortality was obtained from death certificates. Our relative deprivation measure was the Yitzhaki Index, derived from the aggregate income shortfall for each person, relative to individuals with higher incomes in that person's reference group. Reference groups were defined according to gender, age group and same municipality of residence. Results We identified 1682 deaths during the 4.5 years of follow-up. A Cox regression demonstrated that, after controlling for demographic, health and socioeconomic factors including income, the HR for death from cardiovascular diseases per SD increase in relative deprivation was 1.50 (95% CI 1.09 to 2.08) in men, whereas HRs for mortality by cancer and other diseases were close to the null value. Additional adjustment for depressive symptoms and health behaviours (eg, smoking and preventive care utilisation) attenuated the excess risks for mortality from cardiovascular disease by 9%. Relative deprivation was not associated with mortality for women. Conclusions The results partially support our hypothesised mechanism: relative deprivation increases health risks via psychosocial stress among men.
Developing Effective Corporate Performance Management Systems: A Design-Science Investigation

Corporate Performance Management (CPM) has been recognised as having an important role to play in the effective management of organisations. However, a number of researchers have identified that developing IT support for CPM systems can be difficult. Developers need methods and tools to guide CPM system development. Using a design-science approach, this paper describes the use of a CPM systems development method, RED-CPM, and a CPM systems development environment, Performatica, at a large manufacturing company.
Rainbow: A Robust and Versatile Measurement Tool for Kademlia-Based DHT Networks

In recent years, peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing applications have dominated the Internet traffic volumes, and among them, Bit Torrent and eMule constitute the majority. Bit Torrent and eMule deploy their distributed networks based on Kademlia, a robust distributed hash table (DHT) protocol, to facilitate the delivery of content. Kademlia-based DHT networks have intrigued researchers in P2P community to measure and analyze them. However, to the best of our knowledge, there is still not a well-designed crawler to carry out intensive measurement and analysis on them. In this paper, we develop Rainbow, a robust and versatile crawler for Kademlia-based DHT networks. For the first time, we theoretically analyze its convergence (a main issue of robustness), that is, Rainbow can complete the crawling within a limited time. Our analysis can also be applied to other P2P crawlers with the same sampling nature. Finally, we demonstrate that Rainbow can be applied as a versatile measurement tool to identify various characteristics of Kademlia-based DHT networks at a deep level.
Basilar and Middle Cerebral Artery Reserve: A Comparative Study Using Transcranial Doppler and Breath-Holding Techniques

Background and Purpose— A 1997 report suggests that the posterior circulation of the normal brain has diminished vasoreactivity compared with the anterior circulation. To further study this, we quantified and compared the vasodilatory capacities of the middle cerebral (MCA) and basilar artery (BA) territories in response to changes in Paco2, as indices of respective cerebrovascular reserve (CVR). If posterior circulation CVR is indeed physiologically lower than that of the MCA, it might indicate a greater risk of low-flow ischemia distal to basilar obstructive cerebrovascular lesions and provide a rationale for earlier treatment of such lesions with interventional techniques. We also wished to establish normal baseline CVR values for the posterior circulation. Methods— Twelve patients with signs and/or symptoms suggestive of posterior circulation disease but without flow-limiting obstructive changes and 11 normal controls were entered into the study. With the use of transcranial Doppler techniques, alterations in blood flow velocity in response to sequential breath-holding trials of varying duration were simultaneously monitored in both MCAs and the BA. CVR was measured as the percent velocity increase (during breath-holding) from resting baseline values. Results— No significant differences were found in CVR between the MCA and BA territories in or between patients and controls. Conclusions— Our study suggests that the anterior and posterior circulations have similar reserve capacities in individuals without flow-limiting cerebrovascular obstructive lesions and that the BA territory, relative to the MCA territory, is not at increased risk for low-flow stroke on the basis of limited reserve potential.
Prediction of war veteran's mental health based on spiritual well-being, social support and self-efficacy variables: The mediating role of life satisfaction

Introduction: The present study aims to provide a model for explaining the mental health of war veterans based on the variables of spiritual well-being, social support, and self-efficacy, with the mediating role of life satisfaction. Materials and Methods: The research method was descriptive a correlational. The study samples included 210 veterans, who had records in the Veterans Foundation in Tehran's number one district, Sarallah and Imam Khomeini shelters and Essaar Sports Center in Tehran. They were selected randomly and were asked to respond to questionnaires on mental health, spiritual well-being, life satisfaction, social support, and self-efficacy. The data was analyzed by LISREL software version 8.5, using the path analysis. Results: The results showed that the designed model fitted the data (AGFI = 1.00, RMSEA = 0.00 and NFI = 1.00). In the fitted model, life satisfaction and spiritual well-being directly, and social support indirectly, had a significant relationship with the mediator variable of life satisfaction of the war veterans’ mental health. Conclusions: Veterans with better social support, life satisfaction, and spiritual well-being have better mental health.
Exploring the Boundaries between Diversity Discourses and Practices, Identity Regulation and Workforce Control

The main goal of the paper is to interpret the concepts of national and linguistic identity/diversity in the perspective of ideological control, by analysing both the managerial discourses and the work practices. We have studied how identity and diversity discourses reflect existing managerial practices and underlying power relations, and how they reproduce those managerial practices and power relations. For this purpose, a case study of a large Italian-French company will be presented: it is one of the world's leading aerospace company and the largest manufacturer of regional aircraft. The analysis is based on a qualitative investigation conducted in terms of grounded theory. We further show how such managerial language and practices tends to act on individual and collective identity, having an impact on organizational action in terms of ideological control. The dominating group (French management) tries to affect the sense of group identity/diversity in order to establish models of action for the organizational actors in a logic of maintaining the status quo. Under this respect, the discourse and praxis of diversity management are functional to reinforcing a binary vision of the type “in-group versus out-group” which reinforces the stereotypes and consolidates the “sense of the other” with respect to a category of “normality. ”
Improving Security Through Analysis of Log Files Intersections

The paper discusses our research in development of general and systematic methods for intrusion prevention. The key idea is to use data mining techniques to discover repeated patterns of system features that describe program and user behavior. Server systems customarily write comprehensive activity logs whose value is useful in detecting intrusion. Unfortunately, production volumes overwhelm the capacity and manageability of traditional approach. This paper discusses the issues involving large-scale log processing that helps to analyze log records. Here, we propose to analyze intersections of firewall log files with application log files installed on one computer, as well as intersections resulting from firewall log files with application log files coming from different computers. Intersections of log files are substantially shorter than full logs and consist of records that indicate abnormalities in accessing single computer or set of computers. The paper concludes with some lessons we learned in building the system.
Leveraging Sentence-level Information with Encoder LSTM for Semantic Slot Filling

Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) and one of its specific architectures, Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), have been widely used for sequence labeling. In this paper, we first enhance LSTM-based sequence labeling to explicitly model label dependencies. Then we propose another enhancement to incorporate the global information spanning over the whole input sequence. The latter proposed method, encoder-labeler LSTM, first encodes the whole input sequence into a fixed length vector with the encoder LSTM, and then uses this encoded vector as the initial state of another LSTM for sequence labeling. Combining these methods, we can predict the label sequence with considering label dependencies and information of whole input sequence. In the experiments of a slot filling task, which is an essential component of natural language understanding, with using the standard ATIS corpus, we achieved the state-of-the-art F1-score of 95.66%.
Synthesis and Antibacterial Activity of Urea and Thiourea Derivatives of Anacardic Acid Mixture Isolated from A Natural Product Cashew Nut Shell Liquid (CNSL)

Synthesis and antibacterial activity of some novel urea and thiourea derivatives (8a - 8k, 9a - 9f) of anacardic acid prepared from commercially available anacardic acid which is obtained from natural product Cashew Nut Shell Liquid (CNSL). Compounds (8a - 8k, 9a - 9f) were tested for Gram positive and Gram negative bacterial cultures. Most of the compounds were showed active compared with standard drug ampicilline.
Visualization of mucosal homeostasis via single‐ and multiphoton intravital fluorescence microscopy

FIVM has provided many insights into the regulation of immunity. We report the validation of an approach for visualizing murine small bowel via single‐ and multiphoton FIVM. Tissue damage is limited to ∼200 μm, immediately adjacent to the incision, as confirmed by intravital PI staining. Treatment with 10 KDa dextran‐FITC and 70 KDa dextran‐TR confirms that perfusion is intact. Selective filtration of 10 KDa but not 70 KDa dextran from the blood indicated that kidney function is also intact. Interestingly, lamina propria vasculature is semipermeable to 10 KDa dextran. Next, reporter mice expressing egfp from the CX3CR1 locus, egfp from the FoxP3 locus, or RFP from the IL‐17F locus were used to track DC subsets, FoxP3+ Tregs, or Th17f cells, respectively. Resident cx3cr1+/egfp cells were sessile but actively probed the surrounding microenvironment. Both T cell populations patrol the lamina propria, but the Th17f cells migrate more rapidly than Tregs. Together, these data demonstrate intact vascular perfusion, while intravitally visualizing the mucosal surface of the small bowel. Lastly, the cx3cr1+ DCs and T cells display activity similar to that found in steady‐state, secondary lymphoid organs.
Hierarchical action learning by instruction through interactive grounding of body parts and proto-actions

Learning by instruction allows humans programming a robot to achieve a task using spoken language, without the requirement of being able to do the task themselves, which can be problematic for users with motor impairments. We provide a developmental framework to program the humanoid robot iCub without any hand-coded a-priori knowledge about any motor skills. Inspired by child development theories, the system involves hierarchical learning, starting with the human verbally labelling robot body parts. The robot can then focus its attention on a precise body part during robot motor babbling, and link the on-the-fly spoken descriptions of proto-actions to angle values of a specific joint. The direct grounding of proto-actions is possible through the use of a linear model which calculates the effects on the joint of the proto-action and the body part used, allowing a generalisation of the proto-action if the joint has never been used before. Eventually, transferring the grounding is allowed via learning by instructions where humans can combine the newly acquired proto-actions to build primitives and more complex actions by scaffolding them. The framework has been validated using a humanoid robot iCub, which is able to learn without any prior knowledge: 1) the name of its fingers and the corresponding joint number, 2) how to fold and unfold them and 3) how to close or open its hand and how to show numbers with its fingers.
A consistent specification test for models defined by conditional moment restrictions

This article addresses statistical inference in models defined by conditional moment restrictions. Our motivation comes from two observations. First, generalized method of moments, which is the most popular methodology for statistical inference for these models, provides a unified methodology for statistical inference, but it yields inconsistent statistical procedures. Second, consistent specification testing for these models has abandoned a unified approach by regarding as unrelated parameter estimation and model checking. In this article, we provide a consistent specification test, which allows us to propose a simple unified methodology that yields consistent statistical procedures. Although the test enjoys optimality properties, the asymptotic distribution of the considered test statistic depends on the specific data generating process. Therefore, standard asymptotic inference procedures are not feasible. Nevertheless, we show that a simple original wild bootstrap procedure properly estimates the asymptotic null distribution of the test statistic.