Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hey Cortana! Exploring the use cases of a Desktop based Digital Assistant

With the advent of improved speech recognition and information retrieval systems, more and more users are increasingly relying on digital assistants to solve their information needs. Intelligent digital assistants on mobile devices and computers, such as Windows Cortana and Apple Siri, provide users with more functionalities than was possible in the traditional web search paradigm. While most user interaction studies have focused on the traditional web search setting; in this work, we instead consider user interactions with digital assistants (e.g. Cortana, Siri) and aim at identifying the differences in user interactions, session characteristics and use cases. To our knowledge, this is one of the first studies investigating the different use cases of user interactions with a desktop based digital assistant. Our analysis reveals that given the conversational nature of user interactions, longer sessions (i.e. sessions with a large number of queries) are more common than they were in the traditional web search paradigm. Exploring the different use cases, we observe that users go beyond general search and use a digital assistant to issue commands, seek instant answers and find local information. Our analysis could inform the design of future support systems capable of proactively understanding user needs and developing enhanced evaluation techniques for developing appropriate metrics for the evaluation of digital assistants.
Phenolics as Mediators to Accelerate the Enzymatically Initialized Oxidation of Laccase-Mediator-Systems for the Production of Medium Density Fiberboards

Crude oil as a non-renewable resource is creating new challenges in many industrial sectors. Unsteady costs of crude oil at present and expected increases in the future are due to its limited availability as a finite resource, and these costs negatively impact the industry for wood-based panels, which use petrochemical resins in binding agents. Furthermore, wood panels that are conventionally bonded using urea formaldehyde diffuse formaldehyde into the surrounding air. To achieve independence from petrochemical products and harmful formaldehyde emissions, alternatives for their substitution are in demand. An alternative approach is the enzymatic activation of lignin located on the surface of thermomechanical pulp (TMP) fibers. The present study shows the results of internal bond strength (DIN EN 319 1993), modulus of rupture (DIN EN 310 1993), and thickness swelling (EN 317 2003) of medium-density fiberboards (MDF) bonded with laccase-mediator-system (LMS). Caffeic acid (CA), 4-hydoxy benzoic acid (HBA), and vanillic alcohol (VAl) were used as mediators. The physical and technological properties of MDF, such as internal bond strength, modulus of rupture, and thickness swelling, mostly fulfilled the European standards.
Motor cortex and spinal cord neuromodulation promote corticospinal tract axonal outgrowth and motor recovery after cervical contusion spinal cord injury

Cervical injuries are the most common form of SCI. In this study, we used a neuromodulatory approach to promote skilled movement recovery and repair of the corticospinal tract (CST) after a moderately severe C4 midline contusion in adult rats. We used bilateral epidural intermittent theta burst (iTBS) electrical stimulation of motor cortex to promote CST axonal sprouting and cathodal trans-spinal direct current stimulation (tsDCS) to enhance spinal cord activation to motor cortex stimulation after injury. We used Finite Element Method (FEM) modeling to direct tsDCS to the cervical enlargement. Combined iTBS-tsDCS was delivered for 30 min daily for 10 days. We compared the effect of stimulation on performance in the horizontal ladder and the Irvine Beattie and Bresnahan forepaw manipulation tasks and CST axonal sprouting in injury-only and injury + stimulation animals. The contusion eliminated the dorsal CST in all animals. tsDCS significantly enhanced motor cortex evoked responses after C4 injury. Using this combined spinal-M1 neuromodulatory approach, we found significant recovery of skilled locomotion and forepaw manipulation skills compared with injury-only controls. The spared CST axons caudal to the lesion in both animal groups derived mostly from lateral CST axons that populated the contralateral intermediate zone. Stimulation enhanced injury-dependent CST axonal outgrowth below and above the level of the injury. This dual neuromodulatory approach produced partial recovery of skilled motor behaviors that normally require integration of posture, upper limb sensory information, and intent for performance. We propose that the motor systems use these new CST projections to control movements better
Probiotics, enteric and diarrheal diseases, and global health.

Enteric and diarrheal diseases are a major worldwide cause of death among children under the age of 5. In this age group, diarrhea occurs 2.5 billion times per year [1] and causes 15% of childhood deaths. [2] Diarrheal diseases claim 59 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), nearly all from children in low- and middle-income countries. [3] Despite this enormous burden, these numbers fail to capture the full impact of enteric and diarrheal diseases. Early and frequent exposure to intestinal pathogens begins a cycle (Figure 1A) that affects digestion, nutrient absorption, growth, and immunity. [4] Repeated infections, with either overt diarrhea or subclinical enteropathy, produce acute and chronic undernutrition,[5] which leads to more frequent and severe infections. [6] Undernutrition contributes to 53% of childhood deaths [7] and is the leading risk factor for poor health outcomes in childhood;[8] survivors are at risk for developmental deficits in growth, fitness, and cognition that persist into adulthood with devastating consequences. [4] These consequences have a multiplicative effect on calculations of DALYs from diarrheal disease. [9] Open in a separate window Figure 1 The vicious cycle of diarrhea and undernutrition in susceptible children (A) The devastating synergy between enteric infections and undernutrition is influenced by the environment, the human genome, host nutrition, and the human microbiome. Various interventions (red boxes) may inhibit progression to the next step in the cycle, minimizing both acute and chronic morbidities. (B) Employing a spectrum of disease outcome measures would lend greater insight into the pathology underlying enteric and diarrheal diseases, while providing a more complete understanding of interventions targeting basic steps of enteric and diarrheal disease pathogenesis. Adapted with permission from Wiley: Nutrition Reviews,4 copyright 2008. http://www.http://onlinelibrary.wiley. com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1753-4887.
Acute Stress in Patients with Panic Disorder Produces Effects on Salivary Amylase and Cortisol

Salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) has been suggested to reflect stress-related body changes. Psychosocial stress increases the release of salivary alpha-amylase, which reflects the activity of the sympathetic-adrenal-medullary (SAM) system. Therefore, it is presumed that sAA measurement is a useful tool for evaluating the SAM system. In addition, previous studies examining the response of sAA levels to SAM system activity showed that increased sAA levels were correlated with increased plasma catecholamine, indicating sympathetic nervous system activation. So far, numerous studies have shown that changes in sAA levels are dependent on stress stimuli. It is difficult to objectively evaluate the emotional and physical state. sAA measurement can be performed easily and quickly, and therefore, could be used to aid the evaluation of the psychosocial and/or physical stress levels. It is very important to be able to evaluate and understand the level of psychosocial and/or physical stress (distress) experienced by patients. The measurement of sAA is expected to be useful tool as a patient distress. In panic disorder, stressful events are frequently comprised of both neutral and emotionally arousing information, yet the impact of stress on emotional and neutral events is still not fully understood. The hippocampus contains dense concentrations of receptors for stress hormones (such as cortisol), and elevated stress hormone levels can impair performance on hippocampal-dependent memory tasks. Yet, cortisol can also facilitate memory for emotional information, and this involves interactions between the hippocampus and amygdala. Physiological and psychological stresses have the short-term effects on salivary amylase (sAA) and salivary cortisol levels during both emotional and neutral episodes. The stress manipulation results sAA and salivary cortisol responsiveness. The stress manipulation also increases salivary cortisol levels, catecholamine function as indicated by
A Modified PI Control for Grid-tied Inverters to Improve Grid Injected Current Quality

The injection of good quality current into the grid is always prominent task for the grid-tied inverters. The usage of classical Proportional Integral (PI) controllers, though, dominates in all process control industry, they fail to track periodic signals like sine waves without DQ transformations. To eliminate the usage of DQ coordinates and also the steady state error in sinusoidal signals tracking, the sinusoidal error input feeding to the PI controller is divided into N-step shaped single. The value of N is decided by the switching frequency used in the controller loop, to eliminate the dead-zone effect of inverter switches. Mathematical analysis and extensive simulation results are proved that elimination of steady state error and injection of good quality of sinusoidal current when compared to Conventional PI controller. The THD analysis clearly approves the outperformance of the modified PI controller over the conventional one. Keyword Current control, feed-forward, grid-tied inverters, PI controllers, Steady state error, Steady-state error, Total Harmonic Distortion
Quality Control Based Tool Condition Monitoring

Quality control and tool condition monitoring are two most important aspects of machining process. This paper studies the correlation between tool wear and surface roughness to explore the possibility of modelling the interdependencies between these two aspects. An experimental study is presented in this paper to model the relationship between product quality parameter i.e. average surface roughness and tool wear. Current study reveals that there is a strong positive correlation between surface roughness and tool wear. To map this relationship an ensemble (random forest) fault estimation model is developed for identification and estimation of cutting tool health state. The results from fault estimation model are then used to provide guidelines for future process monitoring and developing dynamic quality control policy.
Clinical Interventions in Aging Dovepress Physical Exercise and Cognitive Performance in the Elderly: Current Perspectives

In an aging population with increasing incidence of dementia and cognitive impairment, strategies are needed to slow age-related decline and reduce disease-related cognitive impairment in older adults. Physical exercise that targets modifiable risk factors and neuroprotective mechanisms may reduce declines in cognitive performance attributed to the normal aging process and protect against changes related to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia. In this review we summarize the role of exercise in neuroprotection and cognitive performance, and provide information related to implementation of physical exercise programs for older adults. Evidence from both animal and human studies supports the role of physical exercise in modifying metabolic, structural, and functional dimensions of the brain and preserving cognitive performance in older adults. The results of observational studies support a dose-dependent neuroprotective relationship between physical exercise and cognitive performance in older adults. Although some clinical trials of exercise interventions demonstrate positive effects of exercise on cognitive performance, other trials show minimal to no effect. Although further research is needed, physical exercise interventions aimed at improving brain health through neuroprotective mechanisms show promise for preserving cognitive performance. Exercise programs that are structured, individualized, higher intensity, longer duration, and multicomponent show promise for preserving cognitive performance in older adults.
Sparse regularized total least squares for sensing applications

This paper focuses on solving sparse reconstruction problems where we have noise in both the observations and the dictionary. Such problems appear for instance in compressive sampling applications where the compression matrix is not exactly known due to hardware non-idealities. But it also has merits in sensing applications, where the atoms of the dictionary are used to describe a continuous field (frequency, space, angle, …). Since there are only a finite number of atoms, they can only approximately represent the field, unless we allow the atoms to move, which can be done by modeling them as noisy. In most works on sparse reconstruction, only the observations are considered noisy, leading to problems of the least squares (LS) type with some kind of sparse regularization. In this paper, we also assume a noisy dictionary and we try to combat both noise terms by casting the problem into a sparse regularized total least squares (SRTLS) framework. To solve it, we derive an alternating descent algorithm that converges to a stationary point at least. Our algorithm is tested on some illustrative sensing problems.
A fast high quality pseudo random number generator for nVidia CUDA

Previously either due to hardware GPU limits or older versions of software, careful implementation of PRNGs was required to make good use of the limited numerical precision available on graphics cards. Newer nVidia G80 and Tesla hardware support double precision. This is available to high level programmers via CUDA. This allows a much simpler C++ implementation of Park-Miller random numbers, which provides a four fold speed up compared to an earlier GPU implementation. Code is available via http://www.cs. ucl.ac. uk/staff/W.Langdon/ftp/gp-code/random-numbers/cuda_park-miller.tar. gz
Diversity and Function of Microbial Community in Chinese Strong-Flavor Baijiu Ecosystem: A Review

Strong flavor baijiu (SFB), also called Luzhou-flavor liquor, is the most popular Chinese baijiu. It is manufactured via solid fermentation, with daqu as the starter. Microbial diversity of the SFB ecosystem and the synergistic effects of the enzymes and compounds produced by them are responsible for the special flavor and mouthfeel of SFB. The present review covers research studies focused on microbial community analysis of the SFB ecosystem, including the culturable microorganisms, their metabolic functions, microbial community diversity and their interactions. The review specifically emphasizes on the most recently conducted culture-independent analysis of SFB microbial community diversity. Furthermore, the possible application of systems biology approaches for elucidating the molecular mechanisms of SFB production were also reviewed and prospected.
Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy: current perspectives

Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD) is the most common corneal dystrophy and frequently results in vision loss. Hallmarks of the disease include loss of corneal endothelial cells and formation of excrescences of Descemet’s membrane. Later stages involve all layers of the cornea. Impairment of endothelial barrier and pump function and cell death from oxidative and unfolded protein stress contribute to disease progression. The genetic basis of FECD includes numerous genes and chromosomal loci, although alterations in the transcription factor 4 gene are associated with the majority of cases. Definitive treatment of FECD is corneal transplantation. In this paper, we highlight advances that have been made in understanding FECD’s clinical features, pathophysiology, and genetics. We also discuss recent advances in endothelial keratoplasty and potential future treatments.
Assembly of the Type II Secretion System such as Found in Vibrio cholerae Depends on the Novel Pilotin AspS

The Type II Secretion System (T2SS) is a molecular machine that drives the secretion of fully-folded protein substrates across the bacterial outer membrane. A key element in the machinery is the secretin: an integral, multimeric outer membrane protein that forms the secretion pore. We show that three distinct forms of T2SSs can be distinguished based on the sequence characteristics of their secretin pores. Detailed comparative analysis of two of these, the Klebsiella-type and Vibrio-type, showed them to be further distinguished by the pilotin that mediates their transport and assembly into the outer membrane. We have determined the crystal structure of the novel pilotin AspS from Vibrio cholerae, demonstrating convergent evolution wherein AspS is functionally equivalent and yet structurally unrelated to the pilotins found in Klebsiella and other bacteria. AspS binds to a specific targeting sequence in the Vibrio-type secretins, enhances the kinetics of secretin assembly, and homologs of AspS are found in all species of Vibrio as well those few strains of Escherichia and Shigella that have acquired a Vibrio-type T2SS.
2018-00663-Deep Neural Networks for End-to-end Human 3 D Shape Retrieval in Single

Grenoble is the capital city of the French Alpes. Combining the urban life-style of southern France with a unique mountain setting, it is ideally situated for outdoor activities. The Grenoble area is today an important centre of industry and science (second largest in France). Dedicated to an ambitious policy in the arts, the city is host to numerous cultural institutions. With 60,000 students (including 6,000 foreign students), Grenoble is the third largest student area in France.
Free to Choose: Can School Choice Reduce Student Achievement?

A central argument for school choice is that families value the freedom to exercise choice and can make wise decisions. This principle may underlie why lottery-based school evaluations, which exploit over-subscription due to excess demand, have almost always reported positive or zero achievement effects. This paper reports on a striking empirical counterexample to these results. We evaluate the Louisiana Scholarship Program (LSP), a school voucher plan providing public funds for disadvantaged students to attend private schools of their choice. We exploit random assignment of LSP vouchers at oversubscribed private schools to estimate the program’s effects on test scores. LSP participation substantially reduces academic achievement: attendance at an LSP-eligible private school lowers math scores by 0.4 standard deviations and increases the likelihood of a failing math score by 50 percent. Voucher effects for reading, science and social studies are also negative and large. Participating private schools charge below-average tuition, and the program’s negative math effects are concentrated among participating schools with lower tuition. Negative voucher effects may be due in part to selection of low-quality private schools into the program.
On Communication Complexity of Classification Problems

This work introduces a model of distributed learning in the spirit of Yao's communication complexity model. We consider a two-party setting, where each of the players gets a list of labelled examplesand they communicate in order to jointly perform some learning task. To naturally fit into the framework of learning theory, we allow the players to send each other labelled examples, where each example costs one unit of communication. This model can also be thought of as a distributed version of sample compression schemes. We study several fundamental questions in this model. For example, we define the analogues of the complexity classes P, NP and coNP, and show that in this model P equals the intersection of NP and coNP. The proof does not seem to follow from the analogous statement in classical communication complexity; in particular, our proof uses different techniques, including boosting and metric properties of VC classes. This framework allows to prove, in the context of distributed learning, unconditional separations between various learning contexts, like realizable versus agnostic learning, and proper versus improper learning. The proofs here are based on standard ideas from communication complexity as well as learning theory and geometric constructions in Euclidean space. As a corollary, we also obtain lower bounds that match the performance of algorithms from previous works on distributed classification.
Synthesis and anti-tumor evaluation of novel hydrazide and hydrazide-hydrazone derivatives

The reaction of cyclopentanone with cyanoacetylhydrazine gave 2-cyano-2-cyclopentylideneacetohydrazide (1). Treatment of compound 1 with elemental sulphur in the presence of triethylamine afforded 2-amino-5,6-dihydro- -4H-cyclopenta[b]thiophene-3-carbohydrazide (2), which in-turn formed the corresponding intermediate diazonium salt. The latter was coupled with either ethyl cyanoacetate or ethyl acetoacetate to form 2-cyano-2-(3-(hydrazinecarbonyl)- 5,6-dihydro-4H-cyclopenta[b]thiophen-2-yl)hydrazono) acetate (3) and ethyl 2-(2-(3-(hydrazinecarbonyl)-5,6-dihydro- 4H-cyclopenta[b]thiophen-2-yl)hydrazono)-3-oxobutanoate (4), respectively. On the other hand, the reaction of compound 1 with either benzaldehyde or acetophenone afforded N’-benzylidene-2-cyano-2-cyclopentylideneacetohydrazide (7) and 2-cyano-2-(2-cyclopentylidene)phenylacetohydrazide (10), respectively. Moreover, compound 1 was used to synthesize 2-cyano-2-cyclopentylidene- N'-(arylthiazol-2(3H)-ylidene)acetohydrazides (6a,b), 2-(2-benzylidenecyclopentylidene)-2-cyanoacetohydrazide (8), 2-amino-N'-benzylidene-5,6-dihydro-4H- -cyclopenta[b]thiophene-3-carbohydrazide (9), 2-cyano- -2-(2-(2-phenylhydrazono)cyclopentylidene)acetohydrazide (11), N'-(1-chloropropan-2-ylidene)-2-cyano-2-cyclopentylideneacetohydrazide (12), and 2-cyclopentylidene-3- -(3,5-disubstituted-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)-3-oxopropanenitriles (13a,b) through its reaction with the respective reagents. Antitumor evaluation of the newly synthesized compounds against the three human tumor cells lines, namely, breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7), non-small cell lung cancer (NCI-H460) and CNS cancer (SF-268) showed that some of the described compounds exhibited higher inhibitory effects towards the three tumor cell lines than the reference compound doxorubicin.