Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance Analysis and Optimization of Automatic Speech Recognition

Fast and accurate Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) is emerging as a key application for mobile devices. Delivering ASR on such devices is challenging due to the compute-intensive nature of the problem and the power constraints of embedded systems. In this paper, we provide a performance and energy characterization of Pocketsphinx, a popular toolset for ASR that targets mobile devices. We identify the computation of the Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) as the main bottleneck, consuming more than 80 percent of the execution time. The CPI stack analysis shows that branches and main memory accesses are the main performance limiting factors for GMM computation. We propose several software-level optimizations driven by the power/performance analysis. Unlike previous proposals that trade accuracy for performance by reducing the number of Gaussians evaluated, we maintain accuracy and improve performance by effectively using the underlying CPU microarchitecture. First, we use a refactored implementation of the innermost loop of the GMM evaluation code to ameliorate the impact of branches. Second, we exploit the vector unit available on most modern CPUs to boost GMM computation, introducing a novel memory layout for storing the means and variances of the Gaussians in order to maximize the effectiveness of vectorization. Third, we compute the Gaussians for multiple frames in parallel, so means and variances can be fetched once in the on-chip caches and reused across multiple frames, significantly reducing memory bandwidth usage. We evaluate our optimizations using both hardware counters on real CPUs and simulations. Our experimental results show that the proposed optimizations provide 2.68x speedup over the baseline Pocketsphinx decoder on a high-end Intel Skylake CPU, while achieving 61 percent energy savings. On a modern ARM Cortex-A57 mobile processor our techniques improve performance by 1.85x, while providing 59 percent energy savings without any loss in the accuracy of the ASR system.
Product image search with regional evidences

In the task of product image search, the database consists of clean versions of product images, while the query photos are often captured from mobile phone cameras under uncontrolled conditions. Conventional methods usually adopt the SIFT based bag-of-words (BoW) representation of the whole query image, which suffers from the interference of background noise. To address the problem, we extract multiple candidate regions from the query image and compute the regional similarity to database images individually. Then a verification strategy is proposed to evaluate the similarity based on regional semantic evidences. With the proposed method, we can not only improve the search accuracy, but also obtain the location of the product in the query image. Extensive experiments on two public datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of our method.
Digital titration: Automated image acquisition and analysis of load and growth of Chlamydophila psittaci

Traditionally, the amount of infective chlamydiae in a given sample is determined by inoculating dilution series into cell cultures and physically counting chlamydial inclusions. This approach is time consuming, tedious, and error prone, mainly when dealing with high titers. Therefore, this paper describes a largely automated technique that was developed to standardize the determination of chlamydial load in vitro. Cells are fixed at 36 h post‐inoculation and bacteria visualized using standard immunological detection methods. Consequently, for 81 microscopic fields, an image is recorded at the interpolated focal plane. These images are then automatically processed using an ImageJ plugin and the obtained results are imported into Excel to determine the number of inclusion forming units per mL in the sample. The main advantage of this technique is that no or minimal sample dilution is required, thus minimizing dilution errors. In addition, this technique was employed during the early, middle and late growth stages of the chlamydial developmental cycle and results correlated well (P < 0.01) with 16S rRNA values from previous experiments, thereby proving its suitability to follow chlamydial growth in vitro. The method described is highly suitable for high throughput titration of cell culture inoculated samples and assessment of possible antichlamydial effects of novel compounds throughout the chlamydial growth cycle. Microsc. Res. Tech., 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Gravitational wave memory: A new approach to study modified gravity

It is well known that two types of gravitational wave memory exist in general relativity (GR): the linear memory and the nonlinear, or Christodoulou, memory. These effects, especially the latter, depend on the specific form of the Einstein equation. It can then be speculated that, in modified theories of gravity, the memory can differ from the GR prediction and provides novel phenomena to study these theories. We support this speculation by considering scalar-tensor theories, for which we find two new types of memory: the T memory and the S memory, which contribute to the tensor and scalar components of a gravitational wave, respectively. Specifically, the former is caused by the burst of energy carried away by scalar radiation, while the latter is intimately related to the no scalar hair property of black holes in scalar-tensor gravity. We estimate the size of these two types of memory in gravitational collapses and formulate a detection strategy for the S memory, which can be singled out from tensor gravitational waves. We show that (i) the S memory exists even in spherical symmetry and is observable under current model constraints, and (ii) while the T memory is usually much weaker than the S memory, it can become comparable in the case of spontaneous scalarization.
A high performance controller for parallel operation of three-phase UPSs powering unbalanced and nonlinear loads

In this paper, a high performance controller for parallel operation of uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) is proposed. The proposed controller is based on synchronous reference frame that is developed for parallel UPSs. Applying master-slave algorithm in this controller, power sharing and voltage regulation are controlled centrally by master UPS and commands are send through CAN bus to slave UPS. But each UPS performs voltage harmonic compensation locally and independently. Virtual impedance technique is used to share harmonic currents perfectly. Controller also is modified for unbalanced nonlinear loads. The performance of the proposed controller has been verified with simulation results for 20KVA, 380V three-phase parallel UPS.
Prospective Biomarker Analysis of the Randomized CHER-LOB Study Evaluating the Dual Anti-HER2 Treatment With Trastuzumab and Lapatinib Plus Chemotherapy as Neoadjuvant Therapy for HER2-Positive Breast Cancer.

BACKGROUND The CHER-LOB randomized phase II study showed that the combination of lapatinib and trastuzumab plus chemotherapy increases the pathologic complete remission (pCR) rate compared with chemotherapy plus either trastuzumab or lapatinib. A biomarker program was prospectively planned to identify potential predictors of sensitivity to different treatments and to evaluate treatment effect on tumor biomarkers. MATERIALS AND METHODS Overall, 121 breast cancer patients positive for human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2) were randomly assigned to neoadjuvant chemotherapy plus trastuzumab, lapatinib, or both trastuzumab and lapatinib. Pre- and post-treatment samples were centrally evaluated for HER2, p95-HER2, phosphorylated AKT (pAKT), phosphatase and tensin homolog, Ki67, apoptosis, and PIK3CA mutations. Fresh-frozen tissue samples were collected for genomic analyses. RESULTS A mutation in PIK3CA exon 20 or 9 was documented in 20% of cases. Overall, the pCR rates were similar in PIK3CA wild-type and PIK3CA-mutated patients (33.3% vs. 22.7%; p = .323). For patients receiving trastuzumab plus lapatinib, the probability of pCR was higher in PIK3CA wild-type tumors (48.4% vs. 12.5%; p = .06). Ki67, pAKT, and apoptosis measured on the residual disease were significantly reduced from baseline. The degree of Ki67 inhibition was significantly higher in patients receiving the dual anti-HER2 blockade. The integrated analysis of gene expression and copy number data demonstrated that a 50-gene signature specifically predicted the lapatinib-induced pCR. CONCLUSION PIK3CA mutations seem to identify patients who are less likely to benefit from dual anti-HER2 inhibition. p95-HER2 and markers of phosphoinositide 3-kinase pathway deregulation are not confirmed as markers of different sensitivity to trastuzumab or lapatinib. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE HER2 is currently the only validated marker to select breast cancer patients for anti-HER2 treatment; however, it is becoming evident that HER2-positive breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease. In addition, more and more new anti-HER2 treatments are becoming available. There is a need to identify markers of sensitivity to different treatments to move in the direction of treatment personalization. This study identified PIK3CA mutations as a potential predictive marker of resistance to dual anti-HER2 treatment that should be further studied in breast cancer.
Increased behavioral responses to ethanol in Lmo3 knockout mice

LIM‐domain‐only 3 (LMO3) is a transcriptional regulator involved in central nervous system development and neuroblastoma. Our previous studies implicated a potential role for LMO3 in regulating ethanol sensitivity and consumption. Here, we examined behavioral responses to ethanol in a line of Lmo3 null (Lmo3Z) mice, utilizing the ethanol‐induced loss‐of‐righting‐reflex (LORR) test, two‐bottle choice ethanol consumption and the drinking in the dark (DID) test, which models binge‐like ethanol consumption. We found that Lmo3Z mice exhibited increased sedation time in response to ethanol in the LORR test and drank significantly more ethanol in the DID test compared with their wild‐type counterparts, but showed no differences in two‐bottle choice ethanol consumption. To explore where LMO3 may be acting in the brain to produce an ethanol phenotype, we also examined reporter gene (β‐galactosidase) expression in heterozygous Lmo3Z mice and found strong expression in subcortical areas, particularly in those areas implicated in drug abuse, including the nucleus accumbens (Acb), cortex, hippocampus and amygdala. We also examined Lmo3 expression in the brains of wild‐type mice who had undergone the DID test and found a negative correlation between Lmo3 expression in the Acb and the amount of ethanol consumed, consistent with the increased binge‐like drinking observed in Lmo3Z mice. These results support a role for LMO3 in regulating behavioral responses to ethanol, potentially through its actions in the Acb.
Crosstalk between Two Nonparallel MQW Waveguides in Y Branch Optical Switch

Based on the mutual coupling coefficient between two identical structure parallel rectangular waveguides and the scalar integral method for analyzing the mutual coupling factor between two nonparallel waveguides, the coupling characteristic between two nonparallel straight rectangular single mode waveguides is discussed, and a computing instance is introduced for showing the crosstalk characteristic between two nonparallel output rectangular waveguides in the Y branch optical switch. These works provide some theoretical support for ascertaining the fundamental parameters of a Y branch MQW waveguides optical switches.
Genome and gene duplications and gene expression divergence: a view from plants

With many plant genomes sequenced, it is now clear that one distinguishing feature of angiosperm (flowering plant) genomes is their high frequency of whole‐genome duplication. Single‐gene duplication is also widespread in angiosperm genomes. Following various mechanisms of gene duplication, genes are often retained or lost in a biased manner, which has suggested recent models for gene family evolution, such as functional buffering and the gene balance hypothesis in addition to now‐classical models, including neofunctionalization and subfunctionalization. Evolutionary consequences of gene duplication, often studied through analyzing gene expression divergence, have enhanced understanding of the biological significance of different mechanisms of gene duplication.
Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) – probably one of the most cited papers in health science

1. Prakash O. Role of community health workers to diagnose dementia. Acta Psychiatr Scand 2007;116:155. 2. Jacob KS, Senthil Kumar P, Gayathri K, Abraham S, Prince MJ. Can health workers diagnose dementia in the community? Acta Psychiatr Scand 2007;116:125–128. 3. Joseph A, Joseph KS, Kamaraj K. Use of computers in primary health care. Int J Health Sci, 1991;2:93–101. 4. Jacob KS, Kumar SP, Gayathri K, Abraham S, Prince M. The diagnosis of dementia in the community. Int Psychogeriatr 2007; August (in press). 5. Shaji KS, Kishore A, Lal PK, Prince M. Revealing A. Hidden problem. An evaluation of a community dementia casefinding program from the Indian 10/66 dementia research network. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry, 2002;17:222–225. 6. Ramos-Cerqueira ATA, Torres AR, Crepaldi AL, Oliveira NI, Scazufca M, Menezes PR, Prince M. Identification of dementia cases in the community: a Brazilian experience. J Am Geriatr Soc 2005;53:1738–1742. 7. Jacob KS. Community care for mental disorders in developing countries: problems and possible solutions. Br J Psychiatry 2001;178:296–298.
Automated Spline Surface Modeling And Matching For Recognition Of Free-Form Objects

Surface representations are utilized in a multitude of applications such as computer vision, medical imaging and computer graphics. B-spline surfaces have a number of desirable properties for representing surfaces, however, the complexity of knot placement strategies has prevented their widespread use in high-level vision environments. A solution to this problem is formulated within the reversible jump Markov chain Monte Carlo framework, whereby a derived posterior distribution may be sampled to calculate expected values for the number of knots required, their expected positions and a maximum likelihood estimate for the resulting control net of a given surface. Recognition of individual models may then be achieved using a hash table constructed using the principal components of the model control nets. Results of the fitting procedure, in terms of estimated knot vectors and spline surface errors, and the recognition of objects are provided for a set of free-form objects.
CT angiography in non-traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage: the importance of arterial attenuation for the detection of intracranial aneurysms

Background Computed tomography angiography (CTA) is today the primary method for the detection of intracranial aneurysms. The technique has evolved considerably during the last decade, and it is important to establish criteria for high image quality, especially with regard to improving the diagnosis of small aneurysms. Purpose To evaluate diagnostic accuracy and image quality by arterial attenuation of CTA in patients with non-traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Material and Methods Between 2005 and 2011, CTA and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) were performed in 326 patients with non-traumatic SAH. Sensitivity and specificity for aneurysm detection were evaluated per patient, per aneurysm, and per ruptured aneurysm. The image quality of CTA was evaluated by arterial attenuation measurements (mean Hounsfield units [HU]) in the internal carotid artery (ICA). Results In all, 285 aneurysms in 235 patients were detected by DSA, 19 aneurysms were missed on CTA, and 223 aneurysms were classified as ruptured. In 91 patients, no aneurysm was found. Correct diagnosis with CTA was made in 28 patients with perimesencephalic hemorrhage. Sensitivity and specificity (95% confidence interval) calculated per patient were 91.6% (87.3–94.9) and 87.9% (79.8–93.6), respectively, per aneurysm 93.3% (89.7–95.9) and 88% (79.9–93.6), and per ruptured aneurysm 94.9% (91.3–97.3) and 96.7% (90.7–99.3). Arterial attenuation (in HU) in CTA revealing true positive ruptured aneurysms and true negative aneurysms (mean 535 ± 110 HU) differed significantly (P = 0.02) from false negative ruptured aneurysms (mean 424 ± 30 HU). Conclusion CTA has high sensitivity and specificity for the detection of ruptured aneurysms. The sensitivity is related to arterial attenuation in the ICA.
Angiotensin converting enzyme insertion/deletion gene polymorphism: An observational study among diabetic hypertensive subjects in Malaysia.

Purpose: This study investigated the influence of angiotensin-1 converting enzyme (ACE) insertiondeletion (ID) gene polymorphism on the treatment responses of type 2 diabetic subjects at varying stages of nephropathy to ACE inhibitors (ACEI) with regard to blood pressure (MAP) and renal response (GFR). Methods: The pharmacological effect of ACE inhibition on mean arterial pressure (MAP) and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) were observed among a total of 62 subjects for a short-term duration of 15 months. MAP and GFR were calculated by standard mathematical formulae while the ACE ID genotype was determined using triple primer PCR. The general linear model repeated measures were applied to study the modulation of ACE inhibition on these parameters. Results: ACE ID genotyping of the 62 subjects showed that 19 (30.6 %) subjects had the II genotype, while 35 (56.4 %) subjects showed ID genotype and 8 (12.9 %) subjects had the DD genotype. Significant mean MAP reduction (p 0.05) from baseline values were observed among the subjects following antihypertensive treatment. However, when stratified according to ACE genotypes, no significant mean MAP and GFR changes were observed between genotypes following antihypertensive treatment (p > 0.05). Conclusion: ACE ID gene polymorphism does not determine the treatment efficacy of ACE inhibitors in the Malaysian population.
Optical cascade star network - A new configuration for a passive distribution system with optical collision detection capability

A new fiber-optic passive network configuration with novel star couplers is reported. The new optical network configuration, an Optical Cascade Star Network, optimizes contradictory requirements for network system size and cable cost, and matches the actual layout in offices or factories. The star coupler is novel in that the optical signal does not return to the source terminals. This feature enables cascade connection of star networks, the use of simple repeaters for system extension, and the easy support of carrier sense multiple access with collision detection (CSMA/CD) bus access procedure. Experimental results obtained from novel star couplers, optical transceivers with (CSMA/CD) bus compatibility, and a total network system are also discussed.
Validation of three adaptations of the Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale (MAIS) to German, English and Polish

The Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale (MAIS) is a parent-report questionnaire for assessing auditory behaviour in aurally habilitated children. This study addressed the reliability and convergent validity of three different language versions of the MAIS: English, German, and Polish. In total, 114 parents (English, n=27; Polish, n=37; German, n=50) completed the MAIS preoperatively and at 6 months after cochlear implantation. Internal reliability (Cronbach's alpha) ranged from 0.92 to 0.95 preoperatively, and from 0.87 to 0.93 at 6 months. Split-half reliability was at least 0.90 preoperatively, and ranged from 0.76 to 0.89 at 6 months. Corrected item-total correlation coefficients were significant (p<0.05) for all items except for item 1, which showed poor correlations in the Polish version. Correlation of the MAIS with the Listening Progress Profile (LiP), as a measure for convergent validity, yielded coefficients between 0.81 and 0.73 preoperatively, and between 0.79 and 0.61 at 6 months. These findings demonstrate high reliability and convergent validity of the three MAIS versions. Sumario La Escala de Integracio´n Auditiva Significativa (MAIS) es un cuestionario que se aplica a los padres para evaluar la conducta auditiva de nin˜os habilitados auditivamente. Este estudio analizo´ la utilidad y la validacio´n convergente del MAIS en tres versiones lingu¨i´sticas: ingle´s, alema´n y polaco. En total, 114 padres (ingle´s, n=27; polaco, n=37; alema´n, n=50) respondieron el MAIS antes de la operacio´n y 6 meses despue´s de implantacio´n coclear. La consistencia interna (alfa de Cronbach) vario´ de 0.92 a 0.95 en el preoperatorio y de 0.87 a 0.93 a los 6 meses. La consistencia de la mitad dividida fue de al menos 0.90 en el preoperatorio y vario´ de 0.76 a 0.89 a los 6 meses. El coeficiente de correlacio´n del total de los items correctos fue significativo (p<0.05) para todos los items excepto el nu´mero 1, que mostro´ una pobre correlacio´n en la versio´n polaca. La correlacio´n del MAIS con el Perfil de Progreso de Escucha (LiP), como medida de validez de convergencia, demostro´ coeficientes entre 0.81 y 0.73 en el preoperatorio y entre 0.79 y 0.61 a los 6 meses. Estos hallazgos demostraron alta consistencia y validez de convergencia de las tres versiones del MAIS.
US2, a Human Cytomegalovirus-encoded Type I Membrane Protein, Contains a Non-cleavable Amino-terminal Signal Peptide* 210

The human cytomegalovirus US2 gene product targets major histocompatibility class I molecules for degradation in a proteasome-dependent fashion. Degradation requires interaction between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) lumenal domains of US2 and class I. While ER insertion of US2 is essential for US2 function, US2 lacks a cleavable signal peptide. Radiosequence analysis of glycosylated US2 confirms the presence of the NH2 terminus predicted on the basis of the amino acid sequence, with no evidence for processing by signal peptidase. Despite the absence of cleavage, the US2 NH2-terminal segment constitutes its signal peptide and is sufficient to drive ER translocation of chimeric reporter proteins, again without further cleavage. The putative US2 signal peptide c-region is responsible for the absence of cleavage, despite the presence of a suitable −3,−1 amino acid motif for signal peptidase recognition. In addition, the US2 signal peptide affects the early processing events of the nascent polypeptide, altering the efficiency of ER insertion and subsequentN-linked glycosylation. To our knowledge, US2 is the first example of a membrane protein that does not contain a cleavable signal peptide, yet otherwise behaves like a type I membrane glycoprotein.