Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Linear interpolation of spectrotemporal excitation pattern representations for automatic speech recognition in the presence of noise

This article is based on the study of new methods to improve recognition capabilities of automatic speech recognition in the presence of noise systems. Instead of trying to modify complex recognition models, the study is aimed at enhancing the input data's reliability. This is achieved through processing of the acoustic representations of speech. One of these representations, called SpectroTemporal Excitation Pattern (STEP) is used in recognition systems with missing or unreliable data. One of the ideas behind this study was to increase the glimpsing areas in the STEP representations. And, because the glimpsing algorithm requires previous knowledge of the noise, another idea was to estimate noise characteristics, and base the glimpsing areas determination on these estimations. Preliminary tests were conducted with an HMM recognition system, but this will be the object of a future study.
IN SITU OBSERVATION OF ANTIBIOTIC SUSCEPTIBILITY OF BIOFILMS USING MICROFLUIDIC DEVICE

Antibiotic susceptibility of biofilms is a growing public concern due to overuse use of antibiotics. Thus, determining an effective minimal concentration of antibiotics to eradicate biofilms is crucial. Here we present a novel one-pot assay for the analysis of antibiotic susceptibility of biofilms using a microfluidics system where continuous concentration gradients of antibiotics are generated. The results of minimal biofilm eradication concentration (MBEC) confirm that the concentration required to eradicate biofilm-grown Pseudomonas aeruginosa is higher than the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) that has been widely used to determine the lowest concentration of antibiotics against planktonically grown bacteria.
SHORT NOTE Evaluation of Alternative Media Used with a Groupware Editor in a Simulated Telecommunications Environment

Writing efficiency using a groupware editor was evaluated in six configurations by factorially combining three communication media (audio only, audio plus video, and face-to-face) each with and without groupware editing in a within-subjects design. Twelve subjects familiar with journalistic writing were matched into dyads and wrote news articles based on sets of questions about video clips shown to them. The quality of the writing task products was consistently high and showed no differences among conditions. Results indicated that face-to-face conditions resulted in significantly less time to complete the task than did other communication conditions. When groupware editing was used, however, all communication media were equally efficient. The results were discussed in terms of the benefits of using the groupware editor to increase efficiency when face-to-face communication is not practical. Methodological procedures were discussed as a means of reducing team variability in evaluating groupware using telecommunications.
Poor grounding — Major contributor to EOS

Electrical Overstress (EOS) is one of the major complaints from customers in the semiconductor industry. This paper will focus on the area of EOS which is power induced. Some real life examples of cases will be discussed. Practical approaches to identify the root cause in a large manufacturing environment are demonstrated. Long term preventive measures to avoid re-occurrence are proposed.
On the Jeffreys-Lindley Paradox and the Looming Reproducibility Crisis in Machine Learning

Null hypothesis significance testing has become a mainstay in machine learning, with the p-value being firmly embedded in the current research practice. Significance testing is widely believed to lend scientific rigor to the interpretation of empirical findings; however, its serious problems have received scant attention in the machine learning literature so far. Here, we investigate one particular problem: the Jeffreys-Lindley paradox. This paradox describes a statistical conundrum where the frequentist and Bayesian interpretation are diametrically opposed. In four experiments using synthetic data sets and a subsequent thought experiment, we demonstrate that this paradox has severe, real consequences for the current research practice. We caution that this practice might lead to a situation that is similar to the current reproducibility crisis in other fields of science. We offer for debate four avenues that might avert the looming crisis.
Multi-objective Low-Power CDFG Scheduling Using Fine-Grained DVS Architecture in Distributed Framework

There has been a renewed interest in the operator scheduling problem due to the down-scaling trend of CMOS technology and the increasing adoption of the fine-grained power management at the level of individual functional unit. Traditionally branch-and-bound has been a popular choice for determining the pareto-optimal frontier with respect to area and power under certain user constraints. In this paper we explore the scope of parallelism within the branch-and-bound(B/B) algorithm for control and data-flow intensive circuits in order to address the scalability issue. The scheduling also aims at maximum conditional and unconditional resource sharing and is able to attain sufficient area and power gains for complex benchmarks under strict and relaxed timing constraints. Experimental results reveals that the distributed framework is able to parallelize the search space uniformly and is able to achieve promising speedup compared to the serial B/B counterpart.
Human-Robot Systems Facing Ethical Conflicts: A Preliminary Experimental Protocol

This paper focuses on a preliminary experimental protocol that aims at assessing a robot operator’s behavior when the robot is equipped with what appears as moral decision capabilities. The protocol is derived from the trolley dilemma, a well-known decision making paradigm. Indeed the participants, acting as operators of simulated aerial robots via a computer screen, are faced to impersonal moral dilemmas, i.e. decide to crash a damaged robot on one of two inhabited areas, and to non-moral choices, i.e. decide to crash a damaged robot on one of two uninhabited areas. In each situation, the robot has a default crash behavior which is displayed to the participant who will have to decide whether to follow it or not. The participants are equipped with fNIRS and eye-tracking and answer a post-experimental questionnaire. As some of the behavioral and physiological results do not match the hypotheses we had set, we give the features of the further experiments that we are plan-
Validation of the screening strategy in the NIAAA "Physicians' Guide to Helping Patients with Alcohol Problems".

OBJECTIVE This study was undertaken to determine the diagnostic test characteristics of the alcohol screening strategy recommended in the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA) "Physicians' Guide to Helping Patients with Alcohol Problems. " METHOD A research interview was performed on patients who presented to one urban emergency department (N = 395; 61% women). It asked three alcohol consumption questions, the CAGE questionnaire, and about past alcohol problems. The NIAAA-recommended screen was considered positive for alcohol consumption in excess of 14 drinks per week or 4 drinks per occasion for men, or 7 drinks per week or 3 drinks per occasion for women, or a CAGE score of 1 or greater. A sample of patients (n = 250) received the Composite International Diagnostic Interview substance abuse module, a gold standard interview, to determine lifetime or prior 12-month alcohol abuse or dependence; results were adjusted for verification bias. RESULTS The prevalence of lifetime:alcohol abuse or dependence was 13%, for which the NIAAA strategy was 81% sensitive and 80% specific. The prevalence of alcohol abuse or dependence in the prior 12 months was 10%, for which the strategy was 83% sensitive and 84% specific. Its positive likelihood ratio exceeded that of the CAGE, augmented CAGE or consumption questions alone, and its negative likelihood ratio was the lowest. CONCLUSIONS The screening strategy combining alcohol consumption and CAGE questions recommended in the NIAAA "Physicians' Guide" is valid, and has superior test characteristics compared to the CAGE alone, in this predominantly black (86%) emergency department population. Its brevity and simple interpretation recommend wider dissemination of the NIAAA "Physicians' Guide," although future research should examine its test characteristics in other clinical settings and with other populations.
A Sensitive HPLC-MS/MS Analysis of Dencichine in Rat Plasma and Its Application to Pharmacokinetics

In order to quantitate dencichine in biological samples, a selective and sensitive method for the determination of dencichine in rat plasma based on high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) was developed and validated. (l)-2-amino-3-(carboxymethylthio)propionic acid was used as the internal standard (I.S.). After a protein precipitation extraction with acetonitrile, dencichine and the I.S. were chromatographed on an Xterra MS-C18 column. The mobile phase was consisted of 20mmol/L ammonium acetate solution-acetonitrile (35:65, V/V) at a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min. The detection was performed on a triple quadrupole mass via electrospray ionization (ESI) source in the positive mode. The intra- and inter-day precision (relative standard deviation, R.S.D.) values of dencichine were below 6.7%. The extraction recoveries were up 85%. The lower limit of quantification was 20 ng/ml, which was sensitive enough to detect the analyte. The HPLC-MS/MS method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study after an intravenous administration of dencichine in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat.
Fitness of a Turnip Crinkle Virus Satellite RNA Correlates with a Sequence-Nonspecific Hairpin and Flanking Sequences That Enhance Replication and Repress the Accumulation of Virions

ABSTRACT satC, a satellite RNA associated with Turnip crinkle virus (TCV), enhances the ability of the virus to colonize plants by interfering with stable virion accumulation (F. Zhang and A. E. Simon, unpublished data). Previous results suggested that the motif1-hairpin (M1H), a replication enhancer on minus strands, forms a plus-strand hairpin flanked by CA-rich sequence that may be involved in enhancing systemic infection (G. Zhang and A. E. Simon, J. Mol. Biol. 326:35-48, 2003). In this study, sequence and structural requirements of the M1H were further assayed by replacing the 28-base M1H with 10 random bases and then subjecting the pool of satellite RNA to functional selection in plants. Unlike previous results with 28-base replacement sequences (G. Zhang and A. E. Simon, J. Mol. Biol. 326:35-48, 2003), only a few of the 10-base SELEX (systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment) assay winners contained short motifs in their minus-sense orientation that were similar to TCV replication elements. However, all second- and third-round winning replacement sequences folded into hairpins flanked by CA-rich sequence predicted to be more stable on plus strands than minus strands. Plus strands of several of the most fit satellite RNAs contained insertions of CA-rich sequence at the base of their hairpins whose presence correlated with enhanced replication and reduced detection of virions. Deletion of the M1H resulted in no detectable virions despite very low satellite accumulation. These results support the hypothesis that a sequence-nonspecific plus-strand hairpin brings together flanking CA-rich sequences in the M1H region that confers fitness to satC by reducing the accumulation of stable virions.
Vitamin A Deficiency: Effect on Retinal Structure of the Moth Manduca sexta

Sphingid moths (Manduca sexta) were reared for several generations on an artificial diet deficient in vitamin A and its precursors. Retinal tissue from depleted moths was removed for histological examination. There was extensive histolysis in the retinal epithelium and underlying nervous and connective tissues. This pathology correlated with severe visual impairment, even though normal growth, metamorphosis, and reproduction occurred. In the adult this pathology could be reversed when the larvae were reared only on tobacco (its usual host) or on the artificial diet supplemented with β-carotene or vitamin A palmitate.
Treatment of Peyronie's disease by extracorporeal shockwave therapy: evaluation of our preliminary results.

BACKGROUND Peyronie's disease is an idiopathic disorder of the penis that produces erectile dysfunction. It affects mainly the tunica albuginea. We describe our preliminary results with extracorporal shockwave therapy (ESWT) as a new noninvasive modality for the treatment of Peyronie's disease. PATIENTS AND METHODS In this study, 24 patients aged 36 to 67 years were treated with ESWT on the Lithostar overhead-module (Siemens). All our patients had unsuccessful medical treatment before ESWT. The average plaque was 7x15 mm. The number of shockwaves ranged from 15,000 to 25,000 (18-21 kV) delivered in four to ten sessions. Most patients needed local anesthesia before therapy. RESULTS Four patients (17%) showed marked improvement and complete remission of the penile deviation. Six patients (25%) showed partial remission with painless erections after treatment. Four patients had painless erections after treatment but still had some penile deviation. In 10 patients (41%), ESWT failed, necessitating subsequent penile surgery. CONCLUSIONS Our preliminary results with a response rate of 59% with ESWT for Peyronie's disease, including a 17% complete remission rate, is encouraging. However, further multicenter studies will have to prove if ESWT is a real therapeutic option for this disease.
Preliminary evaluation of a virtual needle insertion training system

Inserting a needle to perform a biopsy requires a high haptic sensitivity. The traditional learning methods based on observation and training on real patients are questionable. In this paper, we present a preliminary evaluation of a VR trainer for needle insertion tasks. The system aims to replicate an existing physical setup while overcoming some of its limitations. Results permit to validate some design choices and suggest some UI improvements.
Impact of highly active antiretroviral therapy initiation on CD4+ T-cell repopulation in duodenal and rectal mucosa

Objective:The objective of this study was to assess the effects of HAART initiation on CD4+ T-cell repopulation and T-cell immune activation in rectal and duodenal mucosa. Design:The effects of HAART on the gastrointestinal tract remain controversial, and studies have reached different conclusions regarding its effectiveness at restoring mucosal CD4+ T cells depending upon time of initiation, duration of treatment and gastrointestinal tract region studied. Methods:We obtained blood, rectal biopsies and duodenal biopsies from 14 chronically infected individuals at baseline and at 4–9 months post-HAART initiation. We examined CD4+ T-cell frequencies in blood, rectum and duodenum at both time points, and performed a detailed assessment of CD4+ T-cell phenotype, immune activation marker expression and HIV-specific CD8+ T-cell responses in blood and rectal mucosa. Results:CD4+ T-cell percentages increased significantly in blood, rectal and duodenal mucosa after 4–9 months of HAART (P = 0.02, 0.0005, 0.0002), but remained lower than in uninfected controls. HIV-specific CD8+ T-cell responses in blood and rectal mucosa declined following HAART initiation (P = 0.0015, 0.021). CD8+ T-cell coexpression of CD38 and HLA-DR in blood and mucosa, as well as plasma sCD14, declined significantly. CD28 expression on blood and mucosal CD8+ T cells increased, whereas programmed death receptor-1 expression on blood HIV-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells decreased. Conclusion:Within the first months of HAART, limited CD4+ T-cell reconstitution occurs in small and large intestinal mucosa. Nevertheless, decreased immune activation and increased CD28 expression suggest rapid immunological benefits of HAART despite incomplete CD4+ T-cell reconstitution.
Lupines, Manganese, and Devil-Sickness: An Anglo-Saxon Medical Response to Epilepsy

The most frequently prescribed herb for "devil-sickness" in the vernacular medical books from Anglo-Saxon England, the lupine, is exceptionally high in manganese. Since manganese depletion has been linked with recurring seizures in both clinical and experimental studies, it is possible that lupine administration responded to the particular pathophysiology of epilepsy. Lupine is not prescribed for seizures in classical Mediterranean medical sources, implying that the Northern European peoples (if not the Anglo-Saxons themselves) discovered whatever anticonvulsive properties the herb may exhibit.
Food-processing wastes.

Literature published in 2014 and early 2015 related to food processing wastes treatment for industrial applications are reviewed. This review is a subsection of the Treatment Systems section of the annual Water Environment Federation literature review and covers the following food processing industries and applications: general, meat and poultry, fruits and vegetables, dairy and beverage, and miscellaneous treatment of food wastes.
Cholesterol and nicotinic acetylcholine receptor: An intimate nanometer-scale spatial relationship spanning the billion year time-scale

Fil: Barrantes, Francisco Jose. Pontificia Universidad Catolica Argentina "Santa Maria de los Buenos Aires". Instituto de Investigaciones Biomedicas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomedicas; Argentina
Meta-material lens incorporated 5.8 GHz omni-directional conformal patch antenna for wireless communication

The paper aims at improving the efficacy and enhancing the gain of conformal omni directional patch antenna. It evaluates the performance Conformal Patch Antenna (CPA) in terms of various metrics viz. efficiency, gain, directivity, main lobe level, power radiation level and bandwidth. In order to enhance these parameters Meta-materials (MMs) are used as an uniform flat lens in front of designed CPA. The paper demonstrates the simulation results of CPA, designed at 5.8 GHz which is crucial Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) band in wireless communication. The performance evaluation of CPA with and without the meta-material lens is illustrated. Incorporation of MM lens along with CPA improves the gain with 2.608 dB (82.231%), directivity with 2.516 dBi (78.484%) and bandwidth (0.331%). It also strengthens the main lobe level and fosters maximum power radiation per unit area (87.715% enhancement). It also improves the power radiation (0.80064 W, 5.554%). Hence, the results delineate improvement in overall efficacy of antenna system by 3.955%.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) E6/E7 mRNA as a triage test after detection of HPV 16 and HPV 18 DNA

High‐risk human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA detection provides high sensitivity but low specificity for moderate‐grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia or worse histological identification. A prospective study evaluated mRNA testing efficacy for predicting this histological diagnosis in case of HPV 16 and/or 18 DNA detection. A total of 165 endocervical samples harboring HPV 16 and/or 18 DNA were tested with NucliSENS‐EasyQ® HPV E6/E7‐mRNA‐assay (Biomerieux, Marcy l´Etoile, France). Women with cytological alterations were referred to colposcopy (n = 111). Moderate‐grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia or worse was diagnosed in 25.8% of women presenting atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance or low‐grade squamous intraepithelial lesions and in 89.8% of women with high‐grade squamous intraepithelial lesions. mRNA sensitivity was 81.3% and 84.1%, respectively. Specificity was 52.2%, and 80.0%, respectively. Negative predictive value (NPV) was 88.9% in undetermined or low‐grade squamous lesions. Positive predictive value (PPV) was 97.4% in high‐grade squamous lesions. mRNA reduced colposcopies by 44.3% in undetermined or low‐grade squamous lesions. Direct treatment of mRNA‐positive cases reduced 77.5% of colposcopies in high‐grade squamous lesions. Women without cytological alterations were followed for 18 months (n = 35), and moderate‐grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia or worse was diagnosed in 34.3%; mRNA sensitivity and specificity were 83.3% and 86.9%, respectively. PPV and NPV were 76.9% and 90.9%, respectively for predicting moderate‐grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia or worse in 18 months. mRNA reduced the number of visits for follow‐up in 62.2%. In conclusion, NucliSENS‐EasyQ® HPV E6/E7‐mRNA‐assay (Biomerieux) can serve as a triage test in case of HPV 16 and/or 18 DNA detection. J. Med. Virol. 85: 1063–1068, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The Seasonal Reproductive Condition of Female Norway (Brown) Rats in Baltimore, Maryland

production in population changes, a collection of Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) was obtained in Baltimore, Maryland. An analysis of the reproductive condition of the males (Davis and Hall, 1948) showed that males produced sperm at all months of the year. Hence, if seasonal changes in pregnancy rates occur, they must be caused by changes in the female or by some changes in behavior patterns. This paper describes the reproductive condition of the females during all seasons of the year. Since the paper on males (Davis and Hall, 1948) describes the methods in some detail, only a brief statement is necessary here. The rats were captured in poultry warehouses at regular intervals and brought to the laboratory alive for autopsy. For the females the following data were recorded: location of capture, date, weight, length of head plus body, third molar erupted or not, skull ossified or not, vagina perforate or imperforate, number of visible nipples, lactating or not, size of uterus (four grades), vascularity of uterus (four grades), number of embryos macroscopically visible, and number of placental scars. These data were coded and transferred to cards for mechanical sorting and tabulation. The entire reproductive tract was removed, fixed in Bouin's solution, and stored in alcohol. Later the embryos were recounted, resorbing embryos were recorded, and the length of the median embryo of each pregnant female was measured. The ovaries and frequently the oviducts (not uterus) were sectioned serially. To divide the year into biologically meaningful parts, a hythergraph was made to show the weekly mean temperature and weekly precipitation from January i, 1946, to March 3, 1947. By these data the year was divided into eight seasons (for details see Davis and Hall, 1948): hibernal (1946), January I-February 25; prevernal, February 26-May 6; vernal, May 7-June 24; estival, June 25August g9; postestvial, August 20o-September 30; serotinal, October I-November 11; autumnal, November I2-December 16; hibernal (1947), December 17March 3.