Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Approximate Newton Methods

Many machine learning models involve solving optimization problems. Thus, it is important to deal with a large-scale optimization problem in big data applications. Recently, subsampled Newton methods have emerged to attract much attention due to their efficiency at each iteration, rectified a weakness in the ordinary Newton method of suffering a high cost in each iteration while commanding a high convergence rate. Other efficient stochastic second order methods are also proposed. However, the convergence properties of these methods are still not well understood. There are also several important gaps between the current convergence theory and the performance in real applications. In this paper, we aim to fill these gaps. We propose a unifying framework to analyze both local and global convergence properties of second order methods. Based on this framework, we present our theoretical results which match the performance in real applications well.
Redundant Convolutional Network With Attention Mechanism For Monaural Speech Enhancement

The redundant convolutional encoder-decoder network has proven useful in speech enhancement tasks. It can capture localized time-frequency details of speech signals through both the fully convolutional network structure and feature selection capability resulting from the encoder-decoder mechanism. However, it does not explicitly consider the signal filtering mechanism, which we regard as important for speech enhancement models. In this study, we introduce an attention mechanism into the convolutional encoderdecoder model. This mechanism adaptively filters channelwise feature responses by explicitly modeling attentions (on speech versus noise signals) between channels. Experimental results show that the proposed attention model is effective in capturing speech signals from background noise, and performs especially better in unseen noise conditions compared to other state-of-the-art models.
Working Conditions and Salary as Correlates of Teachers’ Productivity in Government-Owned Secondary Schools in Emure Local Government Area of Ekiti State, Nigeria

The poor performance of candidates in external examination between 2014 and 2018 could be an indication of low productivity of teachers. The research study examined the influence of working conditions and salary on teachers’ productivity in government owned secondary schools in Emure Local Government Area of Ekiti State, Nigeria. The descriptive research of the survey type was employed for the research study. The population for this research study was seven government-owned secondary schools while the sample was four government-owned secondary schools. The research study found out the relationship between working conditions and teachers’ productivity; salary and teachers’ productivity in government-owned secondary schools in Emure Local Government Area of Ekiti State, Nigeria. Validated instruments tagged, “Working Conditions and Salary Questionnaire” (WCSQ) and “Teachers’ Productivity Questionnaire” (TPQ) were used to collect data from sample of 80 respondents. Simple random sampling technique was used to select four secondary schools while, proportional sampling technique was used to select 80 teachers. The research study revealed that there was significant relationship between working conditions and teachers’ productivity; salary and teachers’ productivity. This research study has shown that working conditions and salary had influence on teachers’ productivity.
Functional Outcomes Graded With Normative Data Can Predict Postdischarge Falls and 30-Day Readmissions in Hospitalized Older Adults

Supplemental Digital Content is Available in the Text. Purpose: Acute care physical therapists are asked to determine safe discharge plans for older patients who may be at risk for falls. Quantifying risk based on functional tests may be an effective way to educate patients on their risk and reduce falls after discharge. Methods: A total of 110 ambulatory patients 65 years and older on the medicine service of an acute care hospital were tested for the American Geriatric Society's top 5 fall risk factors. Results on functional tests of leg strength (5 times sit-to-stand), balance (functional reach test), gait deviation (gait speed), use of assistive device (yes or no), and history of falls (yes or no) were compared to normative data and entered into an algorithm that calculated a “fall risk score. ” Participants were followed up via phone at 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months postdischarge. Results: Our tool predicted repeated falls (P = .05) but not whether or not a participant would fall. Individual factors including history of falls (odds ratio [OR] 2.4 entire cohort, OR 8.7 females) and balance impairment (OR 13.14 females) did predict falls. An incidental finding linked history of falls with 30-day readmissions for the entire cohort (OR 4.6) and in particular for females (OR 14.8). Conclusion: Testing functional measures prior to discharge can predict fall rate and 30-day readmission rate in older patients.
Analysis on Spatial Pattern and Driving Factors of Carbon Emission in Urban–Rural Fringe Mixed-Use Communities: Cases Study in East Asia

Urban-intensive areas are responsible for an estimated 80% of greenhouse gas emissions, particularly carbon dioxide. The urban–rural fringe areas emit more greenhouse gases than urban centers. The purpose of this study is to analyze the spatial pattern and driving factors of carbon emissions in urban–rural fringe mixed-use communities, and to develop planning methods to reduce carbon emissions in communities. This study identifies mixed-use communities in East Asian urban–rural fringe areas as industrial, commercial, tourism, and rental-apartment communities, subsequently using the emission factor method to calculate carbon emissions. The statistical information grid analysis and geographic information systems spatial analysis method are employed to analyze the spatial pattern of carbon emission and explore the relationship between established space, industrial economy, material consumption, social behavior, and carbon emission distribution characteristics by partial least squares regression, ultimately summing up the spatial pattern of carbon emission in the urban–rural fringe areas of East Asia. Results show that (1) mixed-use communities in the East Asian urban–rural fringe areas face tremendous pressure to reduce emissions. Mixed-use community carbon emissions in the late urbanization period are lower than those the early urbanization. (2) Mixed-use community carbon emission is featured by characteristics, such as planning structure decisiveness, road directionality, infrastructure directionality, and industrial linkage. (3) Industrial communities produce the highest carbon emissions, followed by rental-apartment communities, business communities, and tourism communities. (4) The driving factor that most affects the spatial distribution of carbon emissions is the material energy consumption. The fuel consumption per unit of land is the largest driver of carbon emissions. Using the obtained spatial pattern and its driving factors of carbon emissions, this study provides suggestions for planning and construction, industrial development, material consumption, and convenient life guidance.
Taking Time: A Mixed Methods Study of Parkinson's Disease Caregiver Participation in Activities in Relation to Their Wellbeing

Objectives Although many studies have shown that psychosocial interventions, such as dance classes, can improve quality of life for people with Parkinson's disease (PD): few have addressed the role of, and potential benefits to, the caregivers in such activities. This mixed methods study explored the reasons for caregiver participation in a variety of activities and considered whether participation in, or abstention from these, affected the wellbeing of the caregivers. Method Transcriptions of a focus group (two people with PD, two caregivers) and eight semistructured interviews (caregivers) were analysed using Grounded Theory (GT). To test the hypotheses derived from the GT, caregivers (n = 75) completed an online survey about activities they and the person they care for participated in, alongside the PDQ-Carer questionnaire, to establish the caregiver's levels of wellbeing. Results Qualitative findings suggested that caregivers tried to find a balance between caring for the person with PD and participating in activities to attend to their own needs. Reasons for participating in activities for people with PD included being able to socialise in an empathetic safe space, alongside engaging in physical activity that provided some respite distraction, such as dancing with others to music. Reasons for not participating included generating time for oneself and increasing the independence of the person with PD. Quantitative results suggested that most of the participants' wellbeing was not compromised, although this was gendered: female caregivers reported lower wellbeing scores than male caregivers. Overall, 62% of caregivers participated in joint activities. Linear regression revealed a significant relationship between nonparticipation in daily activities and stress levels for female caregivers only, whereby the more independent the person with PD was, the lower the stress of the caregiver. Conclusion This study suggests that caregivers of people with PD can find a healthy balance in terms of their own wellbeing by jointly participating in two-thirds of activities while ensuring the remaining third is time reserved for themselves.
Characterization of microsatellite DNA markers for the alligator snapping turtle, Macrochelys temminckii: Primer note

Two trinucleotide and seven tetranucleotide microsatellite loci were isolated from an alligator snapping turtle Macrochelys temminckii. To assess the degree of variability in these nine microsatellite loci, we genotyped 174 individuals collected from eight river drainage basins in the southeastern USA. These markers revealed a moderate degree of allelic diversity (six to 16 alleles per locus) and observed heterozygosity (0.166–0.686). These polymorphic microsatellite loci provide powerful tools for population genetic studies for a species that is afforded some level of conservation protection in every state in which it occurs.
Biosynthesis of triacylglycerols and volatiles in olives

For many reasons (history, myth, oil quality, etc.) olive is unique among the commercially important oil crops. The biochemistry of the olive tree is also singular. From the photosynthetic point of view olive is one of the few species capable of synthesising both polyols (mannitol) and oligosaccharides (raffinose and stachyose) as the final products of the photosynthetic CO2 fixation in the leaf cell. These carbohydrates, together with sucrose, can be exported from the leaves to the fruits to fulfil the metabolic requirements for oil synthesis. On the other hand, contrary to oilseeds, which are absolutely dependent on the leaves to supply photoassimilates for the synthesis of storage oil, developing olives contain active chloroplasts capable of fixing CO2. Thus, the olive contributes to its own carbon economy. In fact, detached olives have been demonstrated to be capable of fixing radiolabelled CO2 in the light and using the reduced photosynthetic products to form storage oil. Soluble fractions from olive pulp have been demonstrated to catalyse the synthesis of fatty acids from malonyl-CoA. The properties of this subcellular fraction indicate that fatty acids are formed by the same type of fatty acid synthase complex established for other plant systems. By the same token, glycerolipids, including storage triacylglycerols, are formed from glycerophosphate and acyl-CoAs according to the Kennedy pathway, as it has been demonstrated in particulate fractions from olive pulp and tissue culture. Also unique to virgin olive oil is its characteristic aroma. The most abundant volatile compounds in the aroma of olive oil are aldehydes and alcohols of six carbon atoms. Such compounds are formed from linoleic and α-linolenic acids through a sequence of enzymatic reactions known as the lipoxygenase pathway, which is stimulated when olives are crushed during the process of oil extraction. The properties of the different reactions involved in the metabolic pathway leading to the formation of such volatile compounds are described in this paper.
A New Benchmark for Mechanical Avoidance of Radio Advertising

Radio remains popular, delivering an audience reach of over 90 percent, but radio ratings may overestimate real advertising exposure. Little is known about audience and media factors affecting radio-advertising avoidance. Many advertisers have believed as much as one-third of the audience switch stations during radio-advertising breaks. In the current study, the authors combined Canadian portable people-meter data ratings to measure loss of audience during advertising. They discovered a new benchmark of 3 percent (across conditions) for mechanical (or actual physical) avoidance of radio advertising, such as switching stations or turning off the radio. This rate is about one-tenth of current estimates, but was higher for music versus talk stations, out-of-home versus in-home listening, and early versus late dayparts.
SURFACE MODIFICATION OF NANOPARTICLES FOR SUSTAINING SENSITIVITY OF SURFACE-ENHANCED RAMAN SPECTROMETRIC MEASUREMENTS IN SALINATED ENVIRONMENT

Surface-enhanced Raman spectrometry (SERS) represents a powerful method for analysis of a broad spectrum of analytes ranging from inorganic ions to biomolecules of high complexity. It combines the potential of Raman spectrometry for a definite identification of an analyte with remarkable sensitivity achieved by the surface enhancement effect occurring on metal nanoparticles. While low ionic strength influences positively the sensitivity of the SERS measurement, a higher level of inorganic salts leads to fast ruining of colloidal character, which completely devastates the effect of the surface enhancement. The common stabilization of nanoparticles by a layer of polymers has a negative impact on the SERS sensitivity since it shields the nanoparticle surface from the analytes. In this work, we aim at the development of the bi-ligand system of nanoparticles surface modification for improved stability of colloid in saline solution at sustaining the potential for sensitive SERS analyses. The proposed system relies on the binding of 3-mercaptopropionic acid and thiolated polyethylene glycol in a suitable ratio onto the nanoparticle surfaces. While the short chains of the acid sustain the accessibility of the surface for analytes, the polymeric structures act as a steric barrier preventing colloid aggregation.
Nanostructured TiC Layer is Highly Suitable Surface for Adhesion, Proliferation and Spreading of Cells

Cell culture is usually performed in 2D polymer surfaces; however, several studies are conducted with the aim to screen functional coating molecules to find substrates more suitable for cell adhesion and proliferation. The aim of this manuscript is to compare the cell adhesion and cytoskeleton organization of different cell types on different surfaces. Human primary fibroblasts, chondrocytes and osteoblasts isolated from patients undergoing surgery were seeded on polystyrene, poly-d-lysine-coated glass and titanium carbide slides and left to grow for several days. Then their cytoskeleton was analyzed, both by staining cells with phalloidin, which highlights actin fibers, and using Atomic Force Microscopy. We also monitored the production of Fibroblast Growth Factor-2, Bone Morphogenetic Protein-2 and Osteocalcin, using ELISA, and we highlighted production of Collagen type I in fibroblasts and osteoblasts and Collagen type II in chondrocytes by immunofluorescences. Fibroblasts, chondrocytes and osteoblasts showed both an improved proliferative activity and a good adhesion ability when cultured on titanium carbide slides, compared to polystyrene and poly-d-lysine-coated glass. In conclusion, we propose titanium carbide as a suitable surface to cultivate cells such as fibroblasts, chondrocytes and osteoblasts, allowing the preservation of their differentiated state and good adhesion properties.
The impact of tumour pH on cancer progression: strategies for clinical intervention

Dysregulation of cellular pH is frequent in solid tumours and provides potential opportunities for therapeutic intervention. The acidic microenvironment within a tumour can promote migration, invasion and metastasis of cancer cells through a variety of mechanisms. Pathways associated with the control of intracellular pH that are under consideration for intervention include carbonic anhydrase IX, the monocarboxylate transporters (MCT, MCT1 and MCT4), the vacuolar-type H+-ATPase proton pump, and the sodium-hydrogen exchanger 1. This review will describe progress in the development of inhibitors to these targets.
Social Media Expression as a Collective Strategy: How Perceptions of Discrimination and Group Status Shape US Latinos’ Online Discussions of Immigration

The visibility and association affordances of social media facilitate their potential use for collective action, especially for marginalized and disempowered groups. Guided by social identity theory (SIT), this study examines how perceived discrimination and perceptions of personal and objective constraints on Latinos’ social status increase Latinos’ social media expression. The results indicate that increased perceived discrimination is associated with increased social media expression, especially for those who strongly endorse the use of collective strategies to improve the in-group’s status. Furthermore, status boundaries that are perceived to be impermeable due to objective and subjective barriers are also associated with increased social media expression, regardless of the participants’ reported need for collective action. The results are discussed regarding the relevant literature and theoretical implications are offered.
An Ensemble Based Approach for Generalized Detection of Spoofing Attacks to Automatic Speaker Recognizers

As automatic speaker recognizer systems become mainstream, voice spoofing attacks are on the rise. Common attack strategies include replay, the use of text-to-speech synthesis, and voice conversion systems. While previouslyproposed end-to-end detection frameworks have shown to be effective in spotting attacks for one particular spoofing strategy, they have relied on different models, architectures, and speech representations, depending on the spoofing strategy. In practice, however, one does not have a priori information regarding the strategy an attacker might employ to fool a speaker recognizer, thus it is necessary to devise approaches which are able to detect attacks regardless of the strategy employed to generate them. In this work, we introduce an end-to-end ensemble based approach such that two models – previously shown to perform well on each considered attack strategy – are trained jointly, while a third model learns how to mix their outputs yielding a single score. Experimental results with replay and text-to-speech/voice conversion attacks show the proposed ensemble method achieving similar or superior performance when compared to systems specialized on each spoofing strategy separately.
The Processing of Mandarin Chinese Tonal Alternations in Contexts: An Eye-Tracking Study

This study investigated the perception of Mandarin tonal alternations in disyllabic words. In Mandarin, a low-dipping Tone3 is converted to a high-rising Tone2 when followed by another Tone3, known as third tone sandhi. Although previous studies showed statistically differences in F0 between a high-rising Sandhi-Tone3 (T3) and a Tone2, native Mandarin listeners failed to correctly categorize these two tones in perception tasks (Peng, 2000). The current study utilized the visual-world paradigm in eye-tracking to further examine whether acoustic details in lexical tone aid lexical access in Mandarin. Results showed that Mandarin listeners tend to first process Sandhi-T3 as Sandhi-T3 and Tone2 as both tones, then later detect the acoustic differences between the two tones revealed by the sandhi context, and finally activate the target word during lexical access. The eye-tracking results suggest that subtle acoustic details of F0 may facilitate lexical access in automatic fashion in a tone language.
EFFECTS OF CHANGING SCALES ON LANDSCAPE PATTERNS AND SPATIAL MODELING UNDER URBANIZATION

Spatial scale is an eternal topic in landscape pattern related analysis. This paper examined the spatial scale effect of landscape pattern changes and their relationships with urbanization indicators in Qingdao using a series of sampling blocks. The results indicated that, with the increasing block scale, the mean patch density and aggregation within a block decreased, whereas the diversity increased. Furthermore, the expanding scale amplified the mean change ratio of landscape metrics and eliminated local drastic changes and regional variation trends along an urban-to-rural gradient, which would be obvious at a finer block scale. Meanwhile, the adjusted R2 of GWR (Geographically Weighted Regression) models increased with an increasing block size, especially when the block scale changed from 1 km to 5 km. Odd-numbered block scales performed better than even-numbered block scales.
Effect of sire population on the genetic diversity and fitness of F1 progeny in the endangered Chinese endemic Sinocalycanthus chinensis

Abstract Sinocalycanthus chinensis Cheng et S. Y. Chang (Calycanthaceae), which has a unique systematic status, is listed as a national second‐class protected plant of China. In this study, the genetic diversity, performance, and fitness of F1 progeny from crosses between the Damingshan (DMS) population of S. chinensis and pollen parents from the Daleishan (DLS) and Longxushan (LXS) populations were examined. The DLS population has a relatively small population size, low genetic diversity, and considerable geographical and genetic distances from the DMS population relative to the LXS population. Compared with naturally occurring seeds, DLS‐sired seeds had the highest thousand‐seed weight, starch content, fat content, germination rate, germination index, and emergence rate, but the lowest protein content. Naturally occurring, open‐pollinated seeds had the lowest thousand‐seed weight, starch content, and fat content, but the highest protein content. Compared with natural F1 progeny, DMS × DLS seedlings had the highest genetic diversity, photosynthetic parameters, and growth characteristics, except for leaf mass ratio and stem mass ratio. Under strong light, DMS × DLS seedlings exhibited a F v/F m value of 0.75, while the other two seedling types exhibited F v/F m values of 0.65. DLS‐sired seeds had the most vigorous growth characteristics except for leaf mass ratio and stem mass ratio. These results suggest that genetic rescue by transplanting seedlings from the DLS population or hand pollination with pollen from the DLS population would be effective methods to reduce inbreeding depression and obtain strong offspring with high genetic diversity and fitness in the DMS population.