Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Five Approaches to Collecting Tags for Music

We compare five approaches to collecting tags for music: conducting a survey, harvesting social tags, deploying annotation games, mining web documents, and autotagging audio content. The comparison includes a discussion of both scalability (financial cost, human involvement, and computational resources) and quality (the cold start problem & popularity bias, strong vs. weak labeling, vocabulary structure & size, and annotation accuracy). We then describe one state-ofthe-art system for each approach. The performance of each system is evaluated using a tag-based music information retrieval task. Using this task, we are able to quantify the effect of popularity bias on each approach by making use of a subset of more popular (short-head) songs and a set of less popular (long-tail) songs. Lastly, we propose a simple hybrid context-content system that combines our individual approaches and produces superior retrieval results.
3D-Printed Nanoporous Scaffolds Impregnated with Zoledronate for the Treatment of Spinal Bone Metastases

Zoledronate (Zol) is a bone-preserving/ anti-tumoral drug that is widely used for the treatment of many cancers including spinal bone metastases. High systemic Zol doses required to elicit an adequate effect in the spine often lead to significant side effects, limiting its prolonged use and effectiveness. Here, we aim to provide an alternative strategy to locally deliver Zol at the tumor site. We show that nanoporous 3D-printed scaffolds can be loaded with Zol and possess the ability to release Zol (10–28%) over a sustained period. Additionally, we demonstrate that Zol-impregnated scaffolds, mostly Gel Lay, impair the proliferation of the prostate cancer cell line LAPC4 and the prostate-induced bone metastasis cells in vitro. 3D-printed nanoporous polymers offer a novel and versatile opportunity for potential local delivery of drugs in future clinical settings. These polymers can decrease systemic exposure and related side effects of Zol while at the same time concentrating the drug effect at the tumor site thereby inhibiting tumor proliferation. Also, these scaffolds could be co-printed or coupled with other materials to produce custom implants that offer better structural support for bone growth at the tumor site following resection.
Involvement of Tuberomamillary Histaminergic Neurons in Isoflurane Anesthesia

Background:The brain histaminergic system plays a critical role in maintenance of arousal. Previous studies suggest that histaminergic neurotransmission might be a potential mediator of general anesthetic actions. However, it is not clear whether histaminergic tuberomamillary nucleus (TMN) is necessarily involved in the sedative/hypnotic effects of general anesthetics. Methods:Male Long Evans rats underwent either TMN orexin-saporin/sham lesion or implantation of intracerebroventricular cannula 2 weeks before the experiment. The behavioral endpoint of loss of righting reflex was used to assess the hypnotic property of isoflurane, propofol, pentobarbital, and ketamine in animals. Histaminergic cell loss was assessed by adenosine deaminase expression in the TMN using immunohistochemistry. Results:Rats with bilateral TMN orexin-saporin lesion induced an average 72% loss of histaminergic cells compared with sham-lesion rats. TMN orexin-saporin lesion or intracerebroventricular administration of triprolidine (an H1 receptor antagonist) decreased the 50% effective concentration for loss of righting reflex value and prolonged emergence time to isoflurane anesthesia. However, TMN orexin-saporin lesion had no significant effect on the anesthetic sensitivity to propofol, pentobarbital, and ketamine. Conclusions:These findings suggest a role of the TMN histaminergic neurons in modulating isoflurane anesthesia and that the neural circuits for isoflurane-induced hypnosis may differ from those of &ggr;-aminobutyric acid-mediated anesthetics and ketamine.
Elastic Stream Processing for the Internet of Things

Emerging trends like Big Data and the Internet of Things pose new challenges to established data stream processing engines. Especially, with the advent of the Internet of Things, the data that has to be processed can become very large. Since companies usually aim for cost efficiency, engines need to support resource elasticity to minimize the operational cost while maintaining real-time processing capabilities. In the work at hand, we propose and realize the distributed Platform for Elastic Stream Processing (PESP). An extensive evaluation demonstrates the practical feasibility and efficiency of the system design. The evaluation shows that PESP is able to reduce cost by 20% with minimal effects on the Quality of Service in comparison to an over-provisioning baseline. Compared to an under-provisioning baseline, PESP allows a Quality of Service improvement of 72%.
Constraint-based functional similarity of metabolic genes: going beyond network topology

MOTIVATION Several recent studies attempted to establish measures for the similarity between genes that are based on the topological properties of metabolic networks. However, these approaches offer only a static description of the properties of interest and offer moderate (albeit significant) correlations with pertinent experimental data. RESULTS Using a constraint-based large-scale metabolic model, we present two effectively computable measures of functional gene similarity, one based on the response of the metabolic network to gene knockouts and the other based on the metabolic flux activity across a variety of growth media. We applied these measures to 750 genes comprising the metabolic network of the budding yeast. Comparing the in silico computed functional similarities to Gene Ontology (GO) annotations and gene expression data, we show that our computational method captures functional similarities between metabolic genes that go beyond those obtained by the topological analysis of metabolic networks alone, thus revealing dynamic characteristics of gene function. Interestingly, the measure based on the network response to different growth environments markedly outperforms the measure based on its response to gene knockouts, though both have some added synergistic value in depicting the functional relationships between metabolic genes. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Competence to form electrical connections is restricted to growing neurites in the snail, Helisoma

Identified neurons of the snail, Helisoma, undergo extensive remodeling in response to axotomy, including the formation of specific sets of novel electrical connections. This communication addresses the question of why, under the conditions employed, some neurons readily form new connections with a single “test” neurons, whereas others do not. The present experiments are a test of the hypothesis that, for these adult neurons, competence to form electrical connections is restricted to pairs of neurons with interacting regions of active outgrowth. Morphological observations demonstrated profuse overlapping outgrowth from neurons which formed electrical connections, whereas neurons which did not connect displayed no simultaneous new outgrowth, although there could be regions of physical overlap or proximity. The causal relationship between growth and the ability to form new connections was tested more directly by two means: (1) Previously nonconnecting neurons were recruited into the connectivity pattern by axotomy-induced growth. (2) Previously connecting neurons did not connect when they were not induced to grow. Thus, growth or lack of growth is an effective discriminator for determining specific sets of interconnected neurons.
Analysis of Harrington limit for electrically small antenna directivity

Harrington has demonstrated a relation which links antenna directivity and size. This relationship has been calculated considering lossless antennas and represents the antenna directivity limit. In the case of electrically small antennas, this limit does not respect the directivity definition with a negative value (dB, maximum D <; 1 in linear scale) when 2r/A <; 0.13 and does not converges to the directivity of the infinitesimal Huygens source. In this paper, a renormalization of the Harrington limit is proposed to fulfill both directivity definition and physical behavior in the case of electrically small antennas.
Lessons about Virtual Environment Software Systems from 20 Years of VE Building

What are desirable and undesirable features of virtual environment (VE) software architectures? What should be present (and absent) from such systems if they are to be optimally useful? How should they be structured? In order to help answer these questions, we present experience from application designers, toolkit designers, and VE system architects along with examples of useful features from existing systems. Topics are organized under the major headings of 3D space management, supporting display hardware, interaction, event management, time management, computation, portability, and the observation that less can be better. Lessons learned are presented as discussion of the issues, field experiences, nuggets of knowledge, and case studies.
Prognostic Significance of Serum Levels of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor and Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 in Advanced Gastric Cancer Patients Treated with FOLFOX Chemotherapy

Background: Tumor vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a key angiogenic factor and may have an impact on tumor progression and response to chemotherapy. The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system is related to cell proliferation and tumor growth. However, there is limited available data regarding the clinical and prognostic significance of VEGF or IGF-1 in advanced gastric cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic significance of serum VEGF and IGF-1 levels in advanced gastric cancer patients who were treated with oxaliplatin/5-fluorouracil (FOLFOX). Methods: The study population consisted of 100 advanced gastric cancer patients (median age 56 years). Patients were treated with oxaliplatin 85 mg/m2 as a 2-hour infusion on day 1 plus leucovorin 20 mg/m2 over 10 min, followed by a 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) bolus 400 mg/m2 and 22 h of continuous infusion of 600 mg/m2 on days 1–2. Treatment was repeated in 2-week intervals. The levels of serum VEGF and IGF-1 were measured using enzyme-linked immunoassays. Results: There was a significant correlation between the serum level of VEGF and Lauren’s classification (p = 0.030) and previous operations (p = 0.010). IGF-1 was associated with the number of metastases (p = 0.012). The median level of serum VEGF was decreased after FOLFOX chemotherapy (p = 0.034). However, none of the measured serum markers were significantly correlated with response. In univariate analysis, overall survival (p < 0.001) was significantly shorter in patients with high serum levels of VEGF. Multivariate analysis revealed that VEGF was an independent factor for overall survival (HR 2.221; 95% CI 1.377–3.583, p = 0.001). Furthermore, IGF-1 had no significant influence on the clinical outcome. Conclusion: A high level of serum VEGF is an independent prognostic factor in patients with advanced gastric cancer treated with chemotherapy. This may help to identify the patients who are more sensitive to the FOLFOX regimen.
Toward New Generation Auditory Brainstem Implants: Electrical and Optogenetic Stimulation of the Cochlear Nucleus

Auditory brainstem implants (ABIs) help provide some hearing to patients with non-functional auditory nerves or ossified cochleae. ABIs bypass the cochlea and electrically stimulate the surface of the cochlear nucleus (CN). Performance of ABI users in speech reception tasks is usually poor. One of the possible explanations for their limited performance is the poor spatial selectivity of electrical stimulation that limits frequency resolution. In this project, we show that spatial selectivity of electrical stimulation was usually poor in a rat model, as stimulation in one point of the CN surface led to activation of most of the tonotopic axis in the inferior colliculus (IC). These results point to the need for new stimulation strategies to improve frequency representation in the central auditory system of ABI users. An optogenetic approach is promising, as light may be more easily focused than electrical current. To test the feasibility of optogenetic control of the CN, we transfected the CN of mice with AAV2/8-Channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2). We found a significant increase in activity in IC and primary auditory cortex during blue light stimulation in mice with successful ChR2 expression in the CN. Overall, these results lay the groundwork for a new generation opto-electronic ABI.
Experimental Evaluation of Some Indoor Exploration Strategies

A key capability of any indoor service robot is to explore arbitrary, unknown environments in order to record a complete and correct map in minimal time. Such a map is a prerequisite of common tasks like surveillance, transportation as well as search and rescue. In recent years a series of solutions has been proposed by the authors: a dynamic enhancement of the frontier-based approach, ground plan-based exploration and a hybrid combination of both. This paper evaluates the performance of each of these strategies within an everyday office scenario in simulation and reality and discusses their pros and cons.
Preparation and Characterization of High Specific Surface Area γ-Alumina Nanoparticles Via Sol-Gel Method

In the present investigation, γ-alumina nanoparticles with particle sizes less than 10 nm, high specific surface area (351 m2/g), high pore volumes and relatively narrow pore sizes distribution was prepared via sol-gel method in presence of aluminum isopropoxide as an aluminum precursor, distilled water, acetic acid as hydrolysis rate controller and tert-butanol as solvent. They had meso and macro porosities which the most of pores are in cylindrical shape. The received powder was characterized by simultaneous thermal analysis (STA) method. The calcined γ-alumina nanoparticles were characterized using X-ray diffractometer (XRD), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and nitrogen adsorption-desorption techniques. This study revealed that the precursor and solvent types, weight ratios of reactants, calcination temperatures and times were important factors to preparation of γ-alumina with high surface area and well defined narrow pore size distribution for heavy metals adsorption.
Prior Statin Use May Be Associated With Improved Stroke Outcome After Tissue Plasminogen Activator

Background and Purpose— Statins may exert some neuroprotection, because use before stroke onset has been related to better outcome and reduced mortality. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether patients who receive tissue plasminogen activator have better outcome when statins were taken before stroke. Methods— We evaluated 145 patients with a stroke involving the middle cerebral artery (who received tissue plasminogen activator treatment (<3 hours). Results— Fifty-eight patients (40%) became functionally independent at 3 months. Factors associated with good outcome were age (68 versus 74.4 years, P<0.001), baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score (13 versus 18, P<0.001), and proximal middle cerebral artery occlusion (56.1% versus 84.3%, P<0.001). Statins were the only drug taken before stroke that conditioned neurologic outcome. In fact, among patients who were functionally independent, 27.3% were under statins at the time of the index stroke as compared with 13.6% among the group of patients who were dependent or dead by the end of the study period (P=0.046). A logistic regression model identified baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score <15 (OR: 5.8, 95% CI: 2.05 to 16.36, P=0.001), age <70 years (OR: 2.93, 95% CI: 1.13 to 7.59, P=0.027), and previous treatment with statins (OR: 5.26, 95% CI: 1.48 to 18.72, P=0.027) as independent predictors of good functional outcome. Conclusions— Patients under statins at the moment of stroke who received thrombolytics had an improved neurologic outcome.
iPPBS-Opt: A Sequence-Based Ensemble Classifier for Identifying Protein-Protein Binding Sites by Optimizing Imbalanced Training Datasets

Knowledge of protein-protein interactions and their binding sites is indispensable for in-depth understanding of the networks in living cells. With the avalanche of protein sequences generated in the postgenomic age, it is critical to develop computational methods for identifying in a timely fashion the protein-protein binding sites (PPBSs) based on the sequence information alone because the information obtained by this way can be used for both biomedical research and drug development. To address such a challenge, we have proposed a new predictor, called iPPBS-Opt, in which we have used: (1) the K-Nearest Neighbors Cleaning (KNNC) and Inserting Hypothetical Training Samples (IHTS) treatments to optimize the training dataset; (2) the ensemble voting approach to select the most relevant features; and (3) the stationary wavelet transform to formulate the statistical samples. Cross-validation tests by targeting the experiment-confirmed results have demonstrated that the new predictor is very promising, implying that the aforementioned practices are indeed very effective. Particularly, the approach of using the wavelets to express protein/peptide sequences might be the key in grasping the problem’s essence, fully consistent with the findings that many important biological functions of proteins can be elucidated with their low-frequency internal motions. To maximize the convenience of most experimental scientists, we have provided a step-by-step guide on how to use the predictor’s web server (http://www.jci-bioinfo.cn/iPPBS-Opt) to get the desired results without the need to go through the complicated mathematical equations involved.
A new approach to automatic speech summarization

This paper proposes a new automatic speech summarization method. In this method, a set of words maximizing a summarization score is extracted from automatically transcribed speech. This extraction is performed according to a target compression ratio using a dynamic programming (DP) technique. The extracted set of words is then connected to build a summarization sentence. The summarization score consists of a word significance measure, a confidence measure, linguistic likelihood, and a word concatenation probability. The word concatenation score is determined by a dependency structure in the original speech given by stochastic dependency context free grammar (SDCFG). Japanese broadcast news speech transcribed using a large-vocabulary continuous-speech recognition (LVCSR) system is summarized using our proposed method and compared with manual summarization by human subjects. The manual summarization results are combined to build a word network. This word network is used to calculate the word accuracy of each automatic summarization result using the most similar word string in the network. Experimental results show that the proposed method effectively extracts relatively important information by removing redundant and irrelevant information.
Cardiovascular MR and CT in congenital heart disease

Children with congenital heart disease account for one in every 145 live births in the UK. Survival has improved dramatically over the past half century; in the 1950s only 20% of such patients could expect to reach adulthood, but now the number is closer to 80%. However, it is a maxim among congenital specialists that a significant proportion of their patients are “fixed, not cured”. There are currently at least 150 000 adults in the UK with congenital heart disease and this number is expected to rise by 25% by 2010. A smaller subset—roughly 12 000 patients—have complex forms of congenital heart disease and numbers are projected to rise by 50% over the same time period.w1 A vital component to the multidisciplinary management of the congenital heart disease patient is adequate imaging of the heart and circulation. However, simple anatomical delineation alone is not sufficient. Techniques are required which can measure function, flow and pressure as well as resolve anatomical structures with a high degree of detail. Such methods should be directed by a physician with both knowledge and interest in congenital heart disease. The major disadvantage of echocardiography has traditionally been its relatively limited field of view. Assessment of an entire congenital repair, which may include extra anatomic bypasses or systemic shunts, is often suboptimal. While central pulmonary arteries are visible there is no opportunity to evaluate the peripheral pulmonary arterial or venous structures. Similarly the tracheobronchial structures and lung parenchyma remain quite occult by this technique. Cardiac catheterisation remained for many years the reference standard for the investigation of congenital heart disease patients. Radiation dose to this population of children and young adults is a vital consideration, however, given the non-threshold risk of subsequent cancer induction. The European Heart Survey of congenital heart disease, which included over 4000 patients …
Optimality Criteria for Fixture Layout Design: A Comparative Study

Fixtures are devices used in manufacturing systems to locate, immobilize, and hold workpieces. There are many different numerical measures proposed in the literature to quantify the locating accuracy of a fixture, and its capability in firmly holding the workpiece in the presence of external loads. These numerical measures are useful in fixture layout design and the related area of grasp synthesis. As a number of numerical measures are available, a user may face the problem that how to choose an appropriate one as the optimality criterion in practice for fixture design. In this paper, we present a comparative study on several widely used optimality criteria, based on both theoretical analysis and simulation studies. First, we establish a set of inequalities, which describe the relations between several widely used numerical measures. Second, comparisons between optimality criteria are demonstrated by numerical examples.
A Corpus-Based Evaluation of Centering and Pronoun Resolution

In this paper we compare pronoun resolution algorithms and introduce a centering algorithm(Left-Right Centering) that adheres to the constraints and rules of centering theory and is an alternative to Brennan, Friedman, and Pollard's (1987) algorithm. We then use the Left-Right Centering algorithm to see if two psycholinguistic claims on Cf-list ranking will actually improve pronoun resolution accuracy. Our results from this investigation lead to the development of a new syntax-based ranking of the Cf-list and corpus-based evidence that contradicts the psycholinguistic claims.