Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
LFG parse disambiguation for Wolof

This paper presents several techniques for managing ambiguity in LFG parsing of Wolof, a less-resourced Niger-Congo language. Ambiguity is pervasive in Wolof and This raises a number of theoretical and practical issues for managing ambiguity associated with different objectives. From a theoretical perspective, the main aim is to design a large-scale grammar for Wolof that is able to make linguistically motivated disambiguation decisions, and to find appropriate ways of controlling ambiguity at important interface representations. The practical aim is to develop disambiguation strategies to improve the performance of the grammar in terms of efficiency, robustness and coverage. To achieve these goals, different avenues are explored to manage ambiguity in the Wolof grammar, including the formal encoding of noun class indeterminacy, lexical specifications, the use of Constraint Grammar models (Karlsson 1990) for morphological disambiguation, the application of the c-structure pruning mechanism (Cahill et al. 2007, 2008; Crouch et al. 2013), and the use of optimality marks for preferences (Frank et al. 1998, 2001). The parsing system is further controlled by packing ambiguities. In addition, discriminant-based techniques for parse disambiguation (Rosen et al. 2007) are applied for treebanking purposes.
Generation of monoclonal antibodies to cancer / testis ( CT ) antigen CT 10 / MAGE-C 2

CT10/MAGE-C2 is a recently identified antigen that, typically of cancer/testis (CT) antigens, can be found in various malignant tumors and in normal adult testis. As with many other CT antigens, our knowledge is based mainly on mRNA expression data. In the present study, we describe the generation of mAbs to CT10/ MAGE-C2 for the analysis of its protein expression. Newly generated clones were chosen based on their reactivity in ELISA, immunoblotting, and immunohistochemistry (IHC). Emphasis was put on the reactivity of newly generated reagents on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue to ensure their applicability to archival material. Eventually we selected two clones, LX-CT10.5 and LX-CT10.9, that showed intense reactivity to CT10/MAGE-C2 protein and CT10/MAGE-C2 mRNA-positive cell lines, but no crossreactivity with other CT antigens. Both mAbs show superior staining characteristics in IHC and are applicable to frozen and paraffin sections. In testis, CT10/MAGE-C2 displays the typical CT pattern with regard to staining of germ cells, which is intense during the early maturation stages. In tumors, we analyzed a limited number of cases displaying the typical heterogeneous CT expression pattern. Interestingly, immunoreactivity was seen solely in the nucleus: No staining was seen in the cytoplasm of tumor cells.
Nanomagnet Fabrication Using Nanoimprint Lithography and Electrodeposition

We present a novel fabrication process for the growth of metal nanostructures that combines nanoimprint lithography and electrodeposition, both of which are suitable for large-scale industrial fabrication. Gold nanostructures fabricated by nanoimprint lithography on a highly doped, p-type, Si wafer act as a seed layer for metal electrodeposition. This novel process has wide applications in nanomagnet logic and surface-enhanced electrochemistry. We fabricate magnetic nanowires and nanodots using this process. The resulting nanostructures are analyzed with atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, the composition of the electrodeposited nanostructures are analyzed by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and the magnetic properties are measured with magnetic force microscopy.
Using voltage‐sensor toxins and their molecular targets to investigate NaV1.8 gating

Voltage‐gated sodium (NaV) channel gating is a complex phenomenon which involves a distinct contribution of four integral voltage‐sensing domains (VSDI, VSDII, VSDIII and VSDIV). Utilizing accrued pharmacological and structural insights, we build on an established chimera approach to introduce animal toxin sensitivity in each VSD of an acceptor channel by transferring in portable S3b–S4 motifs from the four VSDs of a toxin‐susceptible donor channel (NaV1.2). By doing so, we observe that in NaV1.8, a relatively unexplored channel subtype with distinctly slow gating kinetics, VSDI–III participate in channel opening whereas VSDIV can regulate opening as well as fast inactivation. These results illustrate the effectiveness of a pharmacological approach to investigate the mechanism underlying gating of a mammalian NaV channel complex.
Kinematic and postural characteristics of sprint running on sloping surfaces

The aim of this study was to identify the kinematic and postural characteristics associated with sprint running on uphill and downhill slopes of 3° and on a horizontal surface. Eight male physical education students were filmed while sprinting maximally on an uphill-downhill platform under each of three conditions: (a) uphill at 3°, (b) downhill at 3° and (c) horizontal. Running speed, step rate, step length, step time, contact time, flight time and selected postural characteristics of the step cycle were analysed. Running speed was 9.2% faster ( P < 0.05) during downhill and 3.0% slower ( P < 0.05) during uphill compared with horizontal sprint running. During downhill and uphill sprint running, step length was the main contributor to the observed changes in running speed. It increased by 7.1% ( P < 0.05) for downhill sprint running and was associated with significant changes in posture at touchdown and take-off. During uphill sprint running, step length decreased by 5.2% ( P < 0.05), which was associated with significant changes in posture and reduced flight distance. Given the interaction between the acute changes in step length and posture when sprinting on a sloping surface, our findings suggest that such changes in posture may detract from the specificity of training on such surfaces. The chronic effects of training on such slopes on the kinematics and posture of horizontal sprint running are currently unclear.
60GHz RF-path phase-shifting two-element phased-array front-end in silicon

This paper presents the first 60GHz two-element phased array front-end in silicon which achieves RF-path phase-shifting enabling low power 60GHz array implementation. Each element in the 0. 13μm SiGe BiCMOS front-end incorporates a novel variable-gain LNA, 60GHz reflection-type phase shifter (RTPS) and a phase-inverting variable-gain amplifier (PIVGA), and provides 360° phase variation across the 60GHz band, while achieving 14dB gain, 6dB NF and consuming 18mA from 2.7V. The front-end rms phase variation is ≪7° across 18 sites on a wafer, and the phase error due to coupling between the elements is ≪5°.
Chlamydial hemagglutinin identified as lipopolysaccharide

Chlamydial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) agglutinated mouse and rabbit erythrocytes but not human, guinea pig, or pronghorn antelope erythrocytes. Hemagglutination was not specific for Chlamydia spp. , as rough LPSs from Coxiella burnetii and Escherichia coli also agglutinated erythrocytes from the same animal species. Nonagglutinated and agglutinated erythrocytes bound equivalent amounts of LPS, indicating that hemagglutination was not due to a specific interaction of chlamydial LPS with erythrocytes. Thus, hemagglutination by chlamydial LPS is not mediated by specific receptor-ligand interactions but is a property of the altered surface of the LPS-coated erythrocytes.
Half-Bridge Full-Bridge AC–DC Resonant Converter for Bi-Directional EV Charger

A new topology and controller based on single-stage AC-DC resonant converter, without Electrolytic capacitors (E-cap), for bi-directional EV battery chargers is proposed in this paper. The topology is a Half-Bridge (HB)-Full-Bridge (FB) resonant converter with MOSFET’s connected in series and in opposite direction on its AC Half-Bridge side plus an active filter on the DC-side. No use of E-cap makes the converter more reliable. The establishment of an appropriate control scheme enables a wide range of active and reactive power control under different AC and DC voltage levels. The proposed controller not only facilitates the converter to operate under Zero Voltage Switching (ZVS) for all switching instants, but also it minimizes the conduction loss. ZVS allows higher switching frequencies and together with reduction in conduction losses improves the efficiency. The active filter is controlled to absorb the low frequency current ripple and prevent it from going to battery. Charging the battery with reduced low frequency ripple prevents extra heat production and increases the lifespan of the battery. Mathematical analysis, simulation and experimental results are presented.
Nonylphenol induces the death of neural stem cells due to activation of the caspase cascade and regulation of the cell cycle

Endocrine disruptors (EDs) are a great concern throughout the world, because they have adverse effects on human health and wildlife. In the present study, we investigated the effects of EDs on the proliferation and survival of murine neural stem cells (NSCs). In contrast to bisphenol A, phthalic acid benzyl n‐butyl ester, phthalic acid di‐n‐butyl ester and phthalic acid di(2‐ethylhexyl) ester, the treatment of NSCs with 4‐nonylphenol for 24 h inhibited cell growth in a concentration‐dependent manner. In addition, treatment with 4‐nonylphenol resulted in nuclear condensation and DNA fragmentation (morphological changes due to apoptosis) in NSCs after 12 h of exposure, and activated caspase‐3 after 6 h and 9 h of exposure. Furthermore, an exposure to 4‐nonylphenol led to the accumulation of cells at the G2/M phase interface and down‐regulated the protein levels of cyclin A and B1, which are the major regulatory proteins at the G2 to M transition of the cell cycle. Together, these results indicate that, in contrast to other EDs, 4‐nonylphenol may exhibit a potent cytotoxicity through apoptosis via the caspase cascade and cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase, and suggest that 4‐nonylphenol may affect neurogenesis in the CNS.
Study of the wear Behaviour of Conventional and Rapid Tooling Mould Materials

Conventional thinking let European mould makers choose for a standard, well-established strategy: make the mould the hardest possible. In our actual global economy however, the price/performance ratio has become essential to keep a place in this increasingly competitive market, especially in the case of smaller batch sizes. This paper studies the influence of tool manufacturing method and tool materials on tool wear and tool life in plastic injection. A product with several wear sensitive elements was developed to be moulded with a glass filled polymer (PA6 GF30). An exhaustive dimensional inspection program was set up to monitor the wear resistance. The test mould contained 4 inserts made in different materials and by different production techniques. Two inserts were produced by rapid tooling techniques: one was selective laser sintered
Dendritic Cells (DC) Activated by CpG DNA Ex Vivo Are Potent Inducers of Host Resistance to an Intracellular Pathogen That Is Independent of IL-12 Derived from the Immunizing DC 1

We used the model of murine leishmaniasis to evaluate the signals enabling Ag-pulsed dendritic cells (DC) to prime a protective Th1 response in vivo. Bone marrow-derived DC (BMDC) that had been activated by TNF-α or CD40 ligation were not able to induce protection against leishmaniasis in susceptible BALB/c mice. In contrast, all mice vaccinated with a single dose of Leishmania major Ag-pulsed BMDC stimulated by prior in vitro exposure to CpG-containing oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN) were completely protected, had a dramatic reduction in parasite burden, and developed an Ag-specific Th1 response. Importantly, systemic administration of CpG ODN was not required. Protection mediated by ex vivo CpG ODN-activated and Ag-pulsed DC was solid, as documented by resistance to reinfection with a higher parasite dose, and long-lasting, as immunized mice were still protected against L. major challenge 16 wk after vaccination. A significantly increased level of protection could also be elicited in resistant C57BL/6 mice. Surprisingly, IL-12 expression by the immunizing BMDC was not required for induction of host resistance. In contrast, the availability of IL-12 derived from recipient cells was essential for the initial triggering of protective immunity by transferred BMDC. Together, these findings demonstrate that the type of stimulatory signal is critical for activating the potential of DC to induce a Th1 response in vivo that confers complete protection against an intracellular pathogen. Moreover, they show that the impact of activated DC on the initiation of a protective Th cell response in vivo may be independent of their ability to produce IL-12.
Efficiency measurement and the operationalization of hospital production.

OBJECTIVE To discuss the usefulness of efficiency measures as instruments of monitoring and resource allocation by analyzing their invariance to changes in the operationalization of hospital production. STUDY SETTING Norwegian hospitals over the three-year period 1989-1991. STUDY DESIGN Efficiency is measured using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The distribution of efficiency and the ranking of hospitals is compared across models using various distribution-free tests. DATA COLLECTION Input and output data are collected by the Norwegian Central Bureau of Statistics. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS The distribution of efficiency is found to be unaffected by changes in the specification of hospital output. Both the ranking of hospitals and the scale properties of the technology, however, are found to depend on the choice of output specification. CONCLUSION Extreme care should be taken before resource allocation is based on DEA-type efficiency measures alone. Both the identification of efficient and inefficient hospitals and the cardinal measure of inefficiency will depend on the specification of output. Since the scale properties of the technology also vary with the specification of output, the search for an optimal hospital size may be futile.
The Recurrent Temporal Discriminative Restricted Boltzmann Machines

Classification of sequence data is the topic of interest for dynamic Bayesian models and Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs). While the former can explicitly model the temporal dependencies between class variables, the latter have a capability of learning representations. Several attempts have been made to improve performance by combining these two approaches or increasing the processing capability of the hidden units in RNNs. This often results in complex models with a large number of learning parameters. In this paper, a compact model is proposed which offers both representation learning and temporal inference of class variables by rolling Restricted Boltzmann Machines (RBMs) and class variables over time. We address the key issue of intractability in this variant of RBMs by optimising a conditional distribution, instead of a joint distribution. Experiments reported in the paper on melody modelling and optical character recognition show that the proposed model can outperform the state-of-the-art. Also, the experimental results on optical character recognition, part-of-speech tagging and text chunking demonstrate that our model is comparable to recurrent neural networks with complex memory gates while requiring far fewer parameters.
Effectiveness of a simplified "patient friendly" split dose polyethylene glycol colonoscopy prep in Veterans Health Administration patients.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Adequate colon cleansing is an important factor in performing quality colonoscopy. Split dose Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) solutions have been shown to improve colon cleansing, but the effectiveness in a large clinical practice of elderly co-morbid patients has not been demonstrated. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of a simplified split PEG bowel prep in Veterans Health Administration (VHA) patients. METHODS Prospective pre-post study design of VHA patients undergoing routine colonoscopy. Bowel prep quality was assessed using a standardized semi-quantitative 5-point scale. "Standard" 4L PEG prep was consumed once the evening before the procedure. "Split" prep was consumed half in the early evening and half in the late evening or early morning depending on procedure time. RESULTS Right colon preps were Excellent/Good in 81.4% of split preps (n=199) vs. 63% of standard preps (n=447, p<0.001). Left colon preps were Excellent/Good in 85.9% of split preps vs. 71.6% of standard preps (p<0.001). Diabetics (n=133) had significantly more right colon preps rated fair or worse compared to non-diabetics irrespective of prep (39.9% vs. 29.0%, p=0.02). Split prep in diabetics resulted in fewer right colon preps rated fair or worse compared to diabetics using standard prep (28.3% vs. 45.9%, p=0.049). Average adenomas detected per colonoscopy were 1.04 for split prep vs. 0.85 for standard prep (p=NS). Patient satisfaction was higher for split preps. CONCLUSION System-wide implementation of a split PEG prep resulted in significantly improved bowel cleansing in VHA patients, particularly in the right colon. Improved bowel cleansing with split preps was associated with higher patient satisfaction.
Amelioration of Radiation-induced Fibrosis

Radiation-induced fibrosis is an untoward effect of high dose therapeutic and inadvertent exposure to ionizing radiation. Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) has been proposed to be critical in tissue repair mechanisms resulting from radiation injury. Previously, we showed that interruption of TGF-β signaling by deletion of Smad3 results in resistance to radiation-induced injury. In the current study, a small molecular weight molecule, halofuginone (100 nm), is demonstrated by reporter assays to inhibit the TGF-β signaling pathway, by Northern blotting to elevate inhibitory Smad7 expression within 15 min, and by Western blotting to inhibit formation of phospho-Smad2 and phospho-Smad3 and to decrease cytosolic and membrane TGF-β type II receptor (TβRII). Attenuation of TβRII levels was noted as early as 1 h and down-regulation persisted for 24 h. Halofuginone blocked TGF-β-induced delocalization of tight junction ZO-1, a marker of epidermal mesenchymal transition, in NMuMg mammary epithelial cells and suggest halofuginone may have in vivo anti-fibrogenesis characteristics. After documenting the in vitro cellular effects, halofuginone (intraperitoneum injection of 1, 2.5, or 5 μg/mouse/day) efficacy was assessed using ionizing radiation-induced (single dose, 35 or 45 Gy) hind leg contraction in C3H/Hen mice. Halofuginone treatment alone exerted no toxicity but significantly lessened radiation-induced fibrosis. The effectiveness of radiation treatment (2 gray/day for 5 days) of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) tumors grown in C3H/Hen was not affected by halofuginone. The results detail the molecular effects of halofuginone on the TGF-β signal pathway and show that halofuginone may lessen radiation-induced fibrosis in humans.
Midway Video Equalization

This article presents an implementation of the ‘Midway Equalization’ method for videos. This technique allows us to modify the image histograms so that they present similar luminances. We propose two algorithms: the ﬁrst one based on histogram inversion and the second one on the sorting of images intensities. The former computes the histograms and then ﬁnds the contrast change functions by convolving the inverse histograms with a Gaussian function. The latter starts by sorting the pixels of each image by intensity; the temporal signals, composed of all gray levels of the same rank, are then convolved with a Gaussian function. In this sorting method, the resulting histograms are more similar and homogeneous. Nevertheless, the histogram strategy is faster and provides good results in general. The algorithms include a ‘dithering’ option for reducing quantization artifacts. The whole implementation depends on a single parameter, the standard deviation, that is used for Gaussian convolutions. The experiments show several examples, including the quantization artifacts that appear in some situations and the beneﬁts of dithering. We observe that these artifacts are usually more important in the histogram method.
A detailed comparison of analysis processes for MCC-IMS data in disease classification—Automated methods can replace manual peak annotations

Motivation Disease classification from molecular measurements typically requires an analysis pipeline from raw noisy measurements to final classification results. Multi capillary column—ion mobility spectrometry (MCC-IMS) is a promising technology for the detection of volatile organic compounds in the air of exhaled breath. From raw measurements, the peak regions representing the compounds have to be identified, quantified, and clustered across different experiments. Currently, several steps of this analysis process require manual intervention of human experts. Our goal is to identify a fully automatic pipeline that yields competitive disease classification results compared to an established but subjective and tedious semi-manual process. Method We combine a large number of modern methods for peak detection, peak clustering, and multivariate classification into analysis pipelines for raw MCC-IMS data. We evaluate all combinations on three different real datasets in an unbiased cross-validation setting. We determine which specific algorithmic combinations lead to high AUC values in disease classifications across the different medical application scenarios. Results The best fully automated analysis process achieves even better classification results than the established manual process. The best algorithms for the three analysis steps are (i) SGLTR (Savitzky-Golay Laplace-operator filter thresholding regions) and LM (Local Maxima) for automated peak identification, (ii) EM clustering (Expectation Maximization) and DBSCAN (Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise) for the clustering step and (iii) RF (Random Forest) for multivariate classification. Thus, automated methods can replace the manual steps in the analysis process to enable an unbiased high throughput use of the technology.
Determination of Fenofibric Acid in Rat Plasma and its Application to a Comparative Pharmacokinetic Study of JW322 and Fenofibrate

Abstract In this study, a sensitive and reliable method for the quantitation of fenofibric acid in rat plasma was developed and validated using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The plasma samples were prepared by deproteinization, and sildenafil was used as an internal standard. Chromatographic separation was achieved using a reversed-phase (C18) column. The mobile phase, 0.02 M ammonium acetate buffer:acetonitrile (35:65, v/v), was run at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min, and the column eluent was monitored using an ultraviolet detector at 280 nm at room temperature. The retention times of sildenafil (an internal standard), and fenofibric acid were approximately 5.9 and 7.7 min, respectively. The quantitation limit of fenofibric acid in rat plasma was 0.03 μg/mL. Pharmacokinetic parameters of fenofibric acid was evaluated after oral (at doses of 20 mg/kg) administration of JW322 and fenofibrate in rats. After oral administration (20 mg/kg) of JW322, relative bioavailability was approximately 272.8% compared to fenofibrate.