Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sentiment lexicons

Goals • Gain new insights into how sentiment is expressed lexically. • Begin developing resources that are useful for higher-level classification tasks (phrases, sentences, documents, websites, . . . ). • Explore different philosophies for how to build large sentiment lexicons: – what to classify (strings (with parts-of-speech) (in context) . )? – which sentiment categories? – comparatively small hand-built resources or comparatively large wild ones (or both)? Plan §3 Hand annotated/compiled lexicons: Harvard Inquirer, WordNet(s), Micro-WNOp. §4 A few notes on assessment: accuracy, precision, recall, and friends. §5 WordNet-based approaches, with and without scores. §6 Distributional approaches using less-structured corpora. §7 Summary assessment of theories reviewed.
Calcitriol pulse therapy and histology of parathyroid glands in hemodialysis patients.

BACKGROUND Calcitriol pulse therapy (CPT) is considered the most appropriate treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism (sHPTH). This treatment inhibits parathyroid hormone (PTH) synthesis and secretion, suppresses parathyroid cell proliferation and controls parathyroid gland growth. However, not much is known about the effect of such therapy on parathyroid morphology. METHODS To investigate this, we studied all first parathyroidectomies (PTx, either total or subtotal) effected in 30 hemodialysis (HD) patients referred to our surgery department by five regional dialysis units in 2000-2001. Six patients were excluded from the study because of either the persistence or the precocious relapse (in the 1st 6 months post-operation) of sHPTH. Twenty-four HD patients were considered eligible as four parathyroid glands were ablated in each patient; 96 glands were then examined histologically. The cohort consisted of 16 males and 8 females with a mean age of 54 +/- 13 SD yrs (range 20-73) and a dialysis duration of 142 +/- 71 months (range 14-289). Data concerning calcitriol treatment (doses, administration route and treatment duration) were collected for each patient. The patients were subdivided into two groups according to the treatment effected in the months preceding PTx: group A (n=13), treated by either intravenous (i.v.) (n=12) or per os (n=1) CPT, and group B (n=11), not treated at all with calcitriol or vitamin D sterols. Parathyroid gland morphology and the parenchymal cell distribution of the parathyroid glands were evaluated by a semiquantitative assessment. Serum intact PTH (iPTH), alkaline phosphatase (AP), calcium (Ca) and phosphate (P) levels were studied pre- and post-PTx. RESULTS Chief cells (CC) were found in all glands, either alone or associated with oxyphil cells (OC). OC were present in 13 of 24 patients (54%); however, it must be underlined that they were present 12 times in group A parathyroid glands (92%), and only once in group B (9%) (p<0.01). Nodular hyperplasia was found in 71% (17/24) of patients: 92% (12/13) in group A, and 45% (5/11) in group B (p<0.05). There were no significant differences in age, gender, dialysis duration, serum levels of iPTH, AP, Ca and P levels between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS There was a strong association between OC presence in parathyroid glands and CPT. Furthermore, nodular hyperplasia appeared to be associated significantly with CPT. There is still speculation regarding the meaning of these CPT effects on parathyroid gland histology and consequently on sHPTH pathophysiology.
Approaching healthy body mass index norms for children and adolescents from health‐related physical fitness

Current body mass index (BMI) norms for children and adolescents are developed from a reference population that includes obese and slim subjects. The validity of these norms is influenced by the observed secular increase in body weight and BMI. We hypothesized that the performance of children in health‐related physical fitness tests would be negatively related to increased BMIs, and therefore fitness tests might be used as criteria for developing a more appropriate set of BMI norms. We evaluated the existing data from a nation‐wide fitness survey for students in Taiwan (444 652 boys and 433 555 girls) to examine the relationship between BMI and fitness tests. The fitness tests used included: an 800/1600‐m run/walk; a standing long jump; bent‐leg curl‐ups; and a sit‐and‐reach test. The BMI percentiles developed from the subgroup whose test scores were better than the ‘poor’ quartile in all four tests were compared with those of the whole population and linked to the adult criteria for overweight and obesity. The BMIs were significantly related to the results of fitness testing. A total of 43% of students had scores better than the poorest quartile in all of their tests. The upper BMI percentile curves of this fitter subgroup were lower than those of the total population. The 85th and 95th BMI percentile values of the fitter 18‐year‐old‐students (23.7 and 25.5 kg m−2 for boys; 22.6 and 24.6 kg m−2 for girls) linked well with the adult cut‐off points of 23 and 25 kg m−2, which have been recommended as the Asian criteria for adult overweight and obesity. Hence, the BMI norms for children and adolescents could be created from selected subgroups that have better physical fitness. We expect that the new norms based on this approach will be used not only to assess the current status of obesity or overweight, but also to encourage activity and exercise.
Protective and pathologic immune responses in human tegumentary leishmaniasis

Studies in the recent years have advanced the knowledge of how host and parasite factors contribute to the pathogenesis of human tegumentary leishmaniasis. Polymorphism within populations of Leishmania from the same species has been documented; indicating that infection with different strains may lead to distinct clinical pictures and can also interfere in the response to treatment. Moreover, detection of parasite genetic tags for the precise identification of strains will improve diagnostics and therapy against leishmaniasis. On the host side, while a predominant Th1 type immune response is important to control parasite growth, it does not eradicate Leishmania and, in some cases, does not prevent parasite dissemination. Evidence has accumulated showing the participation of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, as well as macrophages, in the pathology associated with L. braziliensis, L. guayanensis, and L. major infection. The discovery that a large percentage of individuals that are infected with Leishmania do not develop disease will help to understand how the host controls Leishmania infection. As these individuals have a weaker type 1 immune response than patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis, it is possible that control of parasite replication in these individuals is dependent, predominantly, on innate immunity, and studies addressing the ability of neutrophils, macrophages, and NK cells to kill Leishmania should be emphasized.
Entrepreneurial Spawning: Public Corporations and the Genesis of New Ventures, 1986-1999

This paper examines the factors that lead to the creation of venture capital backed start-ups, a process we term entrepreneurial spawning. ' We contrast two alternative views of the spawning process. In one view, employees of established firms are trained and conditioned to be entrepreneurs by being exposed to the entrepreneurial process and by working in a network of entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. Alternatively, individuals become entrepreneurs because the large bureaucratic companies for which they work are reluctant to fund their entrepreneurial ideas. Controlling for a firm's size, patent portfolio and industry, we find that the most prolific spawning firms were public companies located in Silicon Valley and Massachusetts that were themselves once venture capital backed. Less diversified firms are also more likely to spawn new firms. Spawning levels for these firms rise as their sales growth declines. Firms based in Silicon Valley and Massachusetts and originally backed by venture capitalists are more likely to spawn firms only peripherally related to their core businesses. Overall, these findings appear to be more consistent with the view that entrepreneurial learning and networks are important factors in the creation of venture capital backed firms.
Complex networks in the curriculum of computer engineers

Recent investigations in the field of complex networks include the analysis of distributions of connections in particular networks and the clustering properties of networks. In the first part of this presentation we analyse a network: the dependency network of the software packages of the Ubuntu distribution of GNU/Linux. It is a directed network, and we analyse the degree distribution of the network for in-degrees (connections directed into a node, the dependent packages), out-degrees (connections directed away from a node) and plain degrees. We also analyse the clustering properties of the network. In the second part, we discuss the teaching of these topics at the college level. Using the NetworkX modul for the Python programming language students can easily investigate these properties of the package dependency network.
Regulatory acceptance and use of 3R models: a multilevel perspective.

The importance placed on risk avoidance in our society has resulted in a broad range of regulations intended to guarantee safety of products such as pharmaceuticals and chemicals. Many of these regulations rely on animal tests. As a result, about 25% of the animal experiments in Europe are done for regulatory purposes. There are many initiatives that aim to replace, reduce, or refine laboratory animal use, but the regulatory acceptance and use of 3R models lags behind. The central question of this study is: "Which variables influence the regulatory acceptance and use of 3R models and in what way? " Regulatory acceptance is seen as one of the biggest hurdles 3R models face, but the rationale behind this is still underexplored. This study is an approach to filling that gap by combining opinions from experts in the field with literature on technology acceptance and risk regulation, resulting in a model of the variables that determine the process of the regulatory acceptance and use of 3R models.
Design and Analysis of a Linear Feedback Shift Register with Reduced Leakage Power

As the CMOS technology is scaling down, leakage power has become one of the most critical design concerns for the chip designer. This paper proposes a low leakage linear feedback shift register that can be used in a crypto-processor. In this work, three bit, four bit and five bit linear feedback shift registers are implemented in 90nm and 65nm technology . This paper also proposes two leakage reduction techniques such as reverse body bias and transistor stack, which are applied to the above circuits. The leakage power of the circuits is analyzed with and without the application of reduction techniques. The results show that for all the circuits the combined effect of (RBB + Stack ) leakage reduction method gives the least leakage power of 23.16nW, 47.53nWand 72.18nW for 3-bit, 4-bit and 5-bit linear feedback shift register respectively at 90nm technology. In 65nm technology the combined leakage reduction method gives the least leakage power of 33.86nW, 64.73nWand 95.14nW respectively. The circuits have been simulated with HSPICE using MOSFET models of level 54 with a supply voltage of 1 volt.
Effects of Mannanoligosaccharide on Growth Performance, the Development of Gut Microflora, and Gut Function of Broiler Chickens Raised on New Litter

SUMMARY In search of substances to replace antibiotics as growth promoters for farm animals, mannanoligosaccharides (MOS) have been proposed as a possible alternative. In the present experiment, the influence of MOS on growth performance and bacteriological, morphological, and functional aspects of small intestine was investigated in broiler chickens at different ages. Three dietary treatments were used: a negative control without MOS or antibiotic, a positive control (Zn bacitracin), an d2go fMOS/kg of diet. The MOS supplement tended to improve BW gain compared with the negative control in early life (P = 0.07). The counts of total anaerobic bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, and Clostridium perfringens were not affected by the supplementation of MOS. The counts of coliform bacteria were increased in young birds treated with MOS. No significant differences in the gut morphology and function were noticed between the MOS treatment and the negative or the positive control at d 14, but birds in the positive control group had significantly higher jejunal villi and mucosal alkaline phosphatase activities than MOS-supplemented birds at d 35. In the current study conducted under hygienic experimental conditions, the addition of MOS did not show a clear positive effect on performance or intestinal morphology and function.
Reliability and validity of five radiographic dental-age estimation methods in a population of Malaysian children.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the reliability and validity of Demirjian's, Willems, Nolla's, Haavikko's, and Cameriere's radiographic methods of dental-age estimation in a population of Malaysian children. METHODS A total of 426 dental panoramic radiographs of 5-15-year-old Malaysian children were included in the study. The mean age error and absolute age error for all the methods were calculated and their usability analyzed. RESULTS The Nolla, Willems. and Demirjian methods overestimated the dental age with a mean of 0.97, 0.54, and 0.54 years, respectively, while the Cameriere and Haavikko methods underestimated by 0.41 and 1.31 years, respectively. The Cameriere method was highly precise and accurate in the population of Malaysian children, whereas the Haavikko and Demirjian methods were the least precise and accurate. CONCLUSIONS The Cameriere method of dental-age estimation is highly valid and reliable for Malaysian population, followed by the Willems and Nolla methods.
The Föppl-von Kármán equations for plates with incompatible strains

We provide a derivation of the Föppl-von Kármán equations for the shape of and stresses in an elastic plate with incompatible or residual strains. These might arise from a range of causes: inhomogeneous growth, plastic deformation, swelling or shrinkage driven by solvent absorption. Our analysis gives rigorous bounds on the convergence of the three-dimensional equations of elasticity to the low-dimensional description embodied in the plate-like description of laminae and thus justifies a recent formulation of the problem to the shape of growing leaves. It also formalizes a procedure that can be used to derive other low-dimensional descriptions of active materials with complex non-Euclidean geometries.
Translation validation for an optimizing compiler

We describe a translation validation infrastructure for the GNU C compiler. During the compilation the infrastructure compares the intermediate form of the program before and after each compiler pass and verifies the preservation of semantics. We discuss a general framework that the optimizer can use to communicate to the validator what transformations were performed. Our implementation however does not rely on help from the optimizer and it is quite successful by using instead a few heuristics to detect the transformations that take place. The main message of this paper is that a practical translation validation infrastructure, able to check the correctness of many of the transformations performed by a realistic compiler, can be implemented with about the effort typically required to implement one compiler pass. We demonstrate this in the context of the GNU C compiler for a number of its optimizations while compiling realistic programs such as the compiler itself or the Linux kernel. We believe that the price of such an infrastructure is small considering the qualitative increase in the ability to isolate compilation errors during compiler testing and maintenance.
Intermittent Coronary Sinus Occlusion After Coronary Arterial Ligation Results in Venous Retroperfusion

Coronary sinus occlusion retards necrosis of ischemic myocardium. To test the hypothesis that coronary sinus occlusion induces retrograde venoarterial flow, the coronary arteriovenous pressure gradient and the coronary arterial oxygen saturation were measured distal to a left anterior descending coronary artery ligature in dogs. In parallel, we constructed a mathematical model of known coronary physiology to characterize pressure and flow patterns during coronary sinus occlusion. In dogs, coronary sinus occlusion produced a systolic pressure gradient between the coronary artery and the coronary sinus of -20 ± 9 mm Hg (higher venous pressure, p<0.0001) and a positive diastolic gradient of 3 ± 5 mm Hg (lower venous pressure < 0.01). An average reduction in the oxygen saturation in the ligated coronary artery of 20 ± 13% was also observed (p <0.005) consequent to admixture of venous (desaturated) blood. By graded inflation of the coronary sinus balloon, it was demonstrated that desaturation of arterial blood typically occurs above a coronary sinus systolic pressure of 40–50 mm Hg. The mathematical model indicates the possibility of venoarterial pressure gradients and reversal of flow at the microcirculatory level during coronary sinus occlusion. These studies provide evidence that retrograde flow into the ischemic zone occurs in association with intermittent coronary sinus occlusion. Thus, alternating flow over the ischemic territory may be the mechanism of myocardial salvage during intermittent coronary sinus occlusion.
Peptide Inhibitors of Dengue-Virus Entry Target a Late-Stage Fusion Intermediate

The mechanism of membrane fusion by “class II” viral fusion proteins follows a pathway that involves large-scale domain rearrangements of the envelope glycoprotein (E) and a transition from dimers to trimers. The rearrangement is believed to proceed by an outward rotation of the E ectodomain after loss of the dimer interface, followed by a reassociation into extended trimers. The ∼55-aa-residue, membrane proximal “stem” can then zip up along domain II, bringing together the transmembrane segments of the C-terminus and the fusion loops at the tip of domain II. We find that peptides derived from the stem of dengue-virus E bind stem-less E trimer, which models a conformational intermediate. In vitro assays demonstrate that these peptides specifically block viral fusion. The peptides inhibit infectivity with potency proportional to their affinity for the conformational intermediate, even when free peptide is removed from a preincubated inoculum before infecting cells. We conclude that peptides bind virions before attachment and are carried with virions into endosomes, the compartment in which acidification initiates fusion. Binding depends on particle dynamics, as there is no inhibition of infectivity if preincubation and separation are at 4°C rather than 37°C. We propose a two-step model for the mechanism of fusion inhibition. Targeting a viral entry pathway can be an effective way to block infection. Our data, which support and extend proposed mechanisms for how the E conformational change promotes membrane fusion, suggest strategies for inhibiting flavivirus entry.
An Acoustic Study on Focus in Chinese: The Variation of Intensity

In this paper, the average intensity and the effect of focus on it for disyllabic words in Chinese is analyzed. It is found that, under focused condition, the average intensity of rhyme in the first syllable is comparatively great, while for the onset, due to intervocalic voicing, that in the second syllable is great. Focus has great effect on intensity. Under focused condition, the overall intensity will increase. The results from this study will be applicable in speech engineering.
Comparative Safety and Effectiveness of Metformin in Patients With Diabetes Mellitus and Heart Failure: Systematic Review of Observational Studies Involving 34 000 Patients

Background—There is an ongoing controversy regarding the safety and effectiveness of metformin in the setting of heart failure (HF). Therefore, we undertook a systematic review of the trial and nontrial evidence for metformin in patients with diabetes mellitus and HF. Methods and Results—We conducted a comprehensive search for controlled studies, evaluating the association between metformin and morbidity and mortality in people with diabetes mellitus and HF. Two reviewers independently identified citations, extracted data, and evaluated quality. Risk estimates were abstracted and pooled where appropriate. As measures of overall safety, we examined all-cause mortality and all-cause hospitalizations. Nine cohort studies were included; no randomized controlled trials were identified. Most (5 of 9) studies were published in 2010 and were of good quality. Metformin was associated with reduced mortality compared with controls (mostly sulfonylurea therapy): 23% versus 37% (pooled adjusted risk estimates: 0.80; 0.74–0.87; I2=15%; P<0.001). No increased risk was observed for metformin in those with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (mortality pooled adjusted risk estimate: 0.91; 0.72–1.14; I2=0%; P=0.34), nor in those with HF and chronic kidney disease (pooled adjusted risk estimate: 0.81; 0.64–1.02; P=0.08). Metformin was associated with a small reduction in all-cause hospitalizations (pooled adjusted risk estimate: 0.93; 0.89–0.98; I2=0%; P=0.01). Metformin was not associated with increased risk of lactic acidosis. Conclusions—The totality of evidence indicates that metformin is at least as safe as other glucose-lowering treatments in patients with diabetes mellitus and HF and even in those with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction or concomitant chronic kidney disease. Until trial data become available, metformin should be considered the treatment of choice for patients with diabetes mellitus and HF.