Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Developing an Evaluation Methodology for Spoken Language Systems

There has been a long-standing methodology for evaluating work in speech recognition (SR), but until recently no community-wide methodology existed for either natural language (NL) researchers or speech understanding (SU) researchers for evaluating the systems they developed.Recently considerable progress has been made by a number of groups involved in the DARPA Spoken Language Systems (SLS) program to agree on a methodology for comparative evaluation of SLS systems, and that methodology is being used in practice for the first time.This paper gives an overview of the process that was followed in creating a meaningful evaluation mechanism, describes the current mechanism, and presents some directions for future development.
"It Takes a Village" to Promote Physical Activity: The Potential for Public Park and Recreation Departments

Physical activity is often considered the responsibility of individuals. Recently, however, interest has developed in social ecological approaches that focus on a full spectrum of behavioral influences such as social and physical environments. A public park and recreation department has influence over some of the environmental and policy determinants of physical activity in a community. Therefore, the purpose of this exploratory examination of one community was to analyze the perceptions of people regarding physical activity, and to interpret the results from a social ecological perspective regarding how public parks and recreation staff might further promote active lifestyles. Data came from six focus groups conducted during April-June 1999 in a community in the Southeast United States. The six groups included a women's walking group, teachers and school employees, YMCA members and employees, a Chamber of Commerce business group, a Community Coalition for Physical Activity group related to Healthy People 2000 objectives, and participants in senior (older adult) services. A total of 52 people who ranged in age from 22-75 years were involved in the group interviews. The participants were 46% African American and 54% European American with 70% of the partici- pants women. Each of the focus groups was audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. A systematic method was used for coding and analyzing these qualitative data. Focus group participants expressed their perceptions about quality of life in the community and the physical activity opportuni- ties that were available for themselves, their family, and friends. Constraints or barriers to participation were addressed. Although many of these constraints were individual in nature, they had environmental and policy implications. The potential for enhancing and promoting physical activity by public parks and recreation as well as local government, businesses, churches, schools, and health departments was described by the focus group members and was illustrated in a model that developed from these data. The results supported more efforts by the public park and recreation department, as well as a multisectoral approach, to providing physical activity opportunities in active communities. The major conclusions that emerged from these data that might be considered in other similar communities were: 1) Park and recreation departments, along with other
Self‐Deceptive Coping: Adaptive Only in Ambiguous Contexts

Two experiments investigated claims for the efficacy of self-deceptive coping (e.g., Sackeim, 1983, 1988). In Study I the performance of self-deceivers on solvable anagrams was found to he remarkably poor relative to that of non-self-deceivers after both groups were exposed to unsolvable problems. The starkly unambiguous failure experience may have precluded self-deception. Therefore, in Study 2 participants were exposed to unsolvable problems either with or without an excuse. Self-deceivers who encountered failure with an excuse subsequently performed much better on the solvable tasks than those without an excuse. These findings suggest that the use of self-deception following threat is constrained by the availability of contextual ambiguity (e.g., excuses). The effect of the excuse was not related to participants' mood or attributions for performance.
MMSE-Based MIMO Cooperative Relaying Systems: Closed-Form Designs and Outage Behavior

In this paper, we investigate minimum mean squared error (MMSE) based amplify-and-forward cooperative multiple antenna relaying systems where a non-negligible direct link exists between the source and the destination. First, we provide a new design strategy for optimizing the relay amplifying matrix. Instead of conventional optimal design approaches resorting to an iterative gradient method, we propose a near optimal closed-form solution which provides an insight. As relay systems with a direct link incur a non-convex problem in general, we exploit the decomposable property of the error covariance matrix and a relaxation technique imposing a structural constraint on the problem. Next, we study the error performance limit of the proposed scheme using diversity-multiplexing tradeoff analysis, which leads to several interesting observations on MMSE-based cooperative relaying systems. Finally, through numerical simulations, we confirm that the proposed solution shows the performance very close to the optimum with much reduced complexity and the analysis closely matches with simulation results.
Ultrasound Induced Cavitation and Sonochemical Yields

The introduction of a strong acoustic field to an aqueous solution results in the generation of cavitation microbubbles. The growth and collapse of these microbubbles focuses and transfers energy from the macroscale (acoustic wave) to the microscale (vapor inside the bubbles) producing extremely high localized pressures and temperatures. This unique energy focusing process generates highly reactive free radicals that have been observed to significantly enhance chemical processing. This paper presents a model that combines the dynamics of bubble collapse with the chemical kinetics of a single cavitation event. The effects on sonochemical yields and bubble dynamics of gas composition and heat transfer are assessed and compared with previous theoretical and experimental studies. Results from this model are used to explain unusual experimentally observed sonochemical phenomena.
Pharmacokinetics, Toxicities, and Efficacies of Sodium Stibogluconate Formulations after Intravenous Administration in Animals

ABSTRACT The pharmacokinetics and toxicities of free sodium stibogluconate (SSG) and two vesicular formulations of this drug (a nonionic surfactant vesicular formulation of SSG [SSG-NIV] and SSG-NIV-dextran) were determined after treatment with a single intravenous dose in healthy dogs and were related to their antileishmanial efficacies in mice. Analysis of the curves of the concentrations in plasma after intravenous administration of SSG and SSG-NIV in dogs showed that both formulations produced similar antimony (Sb) pharmacokinetics. In contrast, treatment with SSG-NIV-dextran significantly modified the pharmacokinetics of the drug. The elimination half-life was four times longer (280 min) than that observed after administration of SSG (71 min) (P = 0.01), and the volume of distribution at steady state (VSS) was also increased (VSS for SSG, 0.21 liters/kg; VSS for SSG-NIV-dextran, 0.34 liters/kg [P = 0.02]), thus indicating that drug encapsulation favors the distribution of Sb into organs and increases its residence time in tissues. This would explain the superior antileishmanial efficacy of this formulation compared to those of the free drug in mice. No signs of toxicity were found in dogs after SSG and SSG-NIV administration. However, SSG-NIV-dextran treatment was associated with short-term toxicity, demonstrated by the development of chills and diarrhea, which cleared by 24 h postdosing, and hepatic dysfunction at 24 h postdosing (P < 0.05). The levels of all the biochemical parameters had returned to normal at 1 month postdosing. No signs of toxicity were observed in mice treated with all three formulations.
Steady-State Analysis of Genetic Regulatory Networks Modelled by Probabilistic Boolean Networks

Probabilistic Boolean networks (PBNs) have recently been introduced as a promising class of models of genetic regulatory networks. The dynamic behaviour of PBNs can be analysed in the context of Markov chains. A key goal is the determination of the steady-state (long-run) behaviour of a PBN by analysing the corresponding Markov chain. This allows one to compute the long-term influence of a gene on another gene or determine the long-term joint probabilistic behaviour of a few selected genes. Because matrix-based methods quickly become prohibitive for large sizes of networks, we propose the use of Monte Carlo methods. However, the rate of convergence to the stationary distribution becomes a central issue. We discuss several approaches for determining the number of iterations necessary to achieve convergence of the Markov chain corresponding to a PBN. Using a recently introduced method based on the theory of two-state Markov chains, we illustrate the approach on a sub-network designed from human glioma gene expression data and determine the joint steadystate probabilities for several groups of genes.
New-onset Takayasu's Arteritis as Acute Myocardial Infarction

We herein report the case of a 25-year-old Japanese woman with left-main-trunk acute myocardial infarction (LMT-AMI). She had cardiogenic shock, so emergency percutaneous intervention was performed. Intravascular ultrasound of LMT-AMI showed that the three-layered structure of the intima, tunica media, and adventitia was not clearly visible, and the vessel was concentrically thickened; unstable plaque and calcification were not seen. AMI is rarely seen in young women, but Takayasu's arteritis is one major cause. If a young woman complaining of typical chest pain as acute coronary syndrome is encountered, systemic diseases must be considered.
Recombinant Kluyveromyces lactis expressing highly pathogenic porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus GP5 elicits mucosal and cell-mediated immune responses in mice

Currently, killed-virus and modified-live porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) vaccines are used to control porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome. However, both types of vaccines have inherent drawbacks; accordingly, the development of novel PRRSV vaccines is urgently needed. Previous studies have suggested that yeast possesses adjuvant activities, and it has been used as an expression vehicle to elicit immune responses to foreign antigens. In this report, recombinant Kluyveromyces lactis expressing GP5 of HP-PRRSV (Yeast-GP5) was generated and immune responses to this construct were analyzed in mice. Intestinal mucosal PRRSV-specific sIgA antibody and higher levels of IFN-γ in spleen CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were induced by oral administration of Yeast-GP5. Additionally, Yeast-GP5 administered subcutaneously evoked vigorous cell-mediated immunity, and PRRSV-specific lymphocyte proliferation and IFN-γ secretion were detected in the splenocytes of mice. These results suggest that Yeast-GP5 has the potential for use as a vaccine for PRRSV in the future.
Life satisfaction across life course transitions

This paper looks at how life satisfaction changes as we pass through various life transitions on the pathway from adolescence through young adulthood, middle age and into old age. It explores how leaving home, commencing a relationship, having children, separating, entering the “empty nest” phase, retirement and widowhood affect life satisfaction. Summary We all experience ups and downs at various points throughout life. This paper explores whether we experience predictable changes in life satisfaction over the life course—both as we get older and as we pass through a range of common life course transitions. The paper looks at how life satisfaction changes as we pass through various life transitions on the pathway from adolescence through young adulthood, middle age and into old age. It explores how leaving home, commencing a relationship, having children, separating, entering the “empty nest” phase, retirement and widowhood affect life satisfaction. We concentrate on three main questions: Do these life course transitions have an effect on life satisfaction, and if so, in what way? Is any such effect of life course transitions greater for men or for women? When a life course transition affects life satisfaction, is the change longlasting or relatively short-lived? For example, do people tend to “bounce back” within some years of experiencing transitions that erode life satisfaction, and if so, how long after the transition is this likely to become apparent? The same questions arise in relation to transitions that enhance life satisfaction. Research into subjective wellbeing suggests that most people tend to view life in a positive light and are able to adapt to various circumstances (Cummins, 2000; Diener, Lucas, & Scollon, 2006). It is argued that, except in extreme circumstances, people have their own “normal” level of wellbeing, which increases or decreases in response to personally important changes and challenges, but eventually returns to their “normal” level. That is, the ups and downs of wellbeing will usually be transitory and are governed by some sort of homeostatic mechanism. But people do not always bounce back—especially under severe circumstances (e.g., Cummins, 2000; Diener et al., 2006; Lucas, 2007). Diener et al. argued that individuals may have multiple “set points”, such that after experiencing adversity a person may bounce back, but not all the way, and thus they establish a new (but lower) baseline of life satisfaction. Cummins also maintained that extremes in adversity can defeat the homeostatic process.
Oral fluid testing for drugs of abuse.

BACKGROUND Oral fluid (OF) is an exciting alternative matrix for monitoring drugs of abuse in workplace, clinical toxicology, criminal justice, and driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) programs. During the last 5 years, scientific and technological advances in OF collection, point-of-collection testing devices, and screening and confirmation methods were achieved. Guidelines were proposed for workplace OF testing by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, DUID testing by the European Union's Driving under the Influence of Drugs, Alcohol and Medicines (DRUID) program, and standardization of DUID research. Although OF testing is now commonplace in many monitoring programs, the greatest current limitation is the scarcity of controlled drug administration studies available to guide interpretation. CONTENT This review outlines OF testing advantages and limitations, and the progress in OF that has occurred during the last 5 years in collection, screening, confirmation, and interpretation of cannabinoids, opioids, amphetamines, cocaine, and benzodiazepines. We examine controlled drug administration studies, immunoassay and chromatographic methods, collection devices, point-of-collection testing device performance, and recent applications of OF testing. SUMMARY Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration approval of OF testing was delayed because questions about drug OF disposition were not yet resolved, and collection device performance and testing assays required improvement. Here, we document the many advances achieved in the use of OF. Additional research is needed to identify new biomarkers, determine drug detection windows, characterize OF adulteration techniques, and evaluate analyte stability. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that OF offers multiple advantages as an alternative matrix for drug monitoring and has an important role in DUID, treatment, workplace, and criminal justice programs.
Bogusław Bierwiaczonek, Metonymy in language, thought and brain .Sheffield:Equinox,2013. Pp. iv + 291.

John Benjamins, 1994. ] Plag, Ingo & R. Harald Baayen. 2009. Suffix ordering an morphological processing. Language 85, 109–152. Ricca, Davide. 2010. Corpus data and theoretical implications, with special reference to Italian V–N compounds. In Sergio Scalise & Irene Vogel (eds.), Cross-disciplinary issues in compounding, 237–254. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Siegel, Dorothy C. 1974. Topics in English morphology. Ph.D. dissertation, MIT. Štekauer, Pavol. 2000. English word formation: A history of research (1960–1995). Tübingen: Gunter Narr.
Association of Ebola Virus Matrix Protein VP40 with Microtubules

ABSTRACT Viruses exploit a variety of cellular components to complete their life cycles, and it has become increasingly clear that use of host cell microtubules is a vital part of the infection process for many viruses. A variety of viral proteins have been identified that interact with microtubules, either directly or via a microtubule-associated motor protein. Here, we report that Ebola virus associates with microtubules via the matrix protein VP40. When transfected into mammalian cells, a fraction of VP40 colocalized with microtubule bundles and VP40 coimmunoprecipitated with tubulin. The degree of colocalization and microtubule bundling in cells was markedly intensified by truncation of the C terminus to a length of 317 amino acids. Further truncation to 308 or fewer amino acids abolished the association with microtubules. Both the full-length and the 317-amino-acid truncation mutant stabilized microtubules against depolymerization with nocodazole. Direct physical interaction between purified VP40 and tubulin proteins was demonstrated in vitro. A region of moderate homology to the tubulin binding motif of the microtubule-associated protein MAP2 was identified in VP40. Deleting this region resulted in loss of microtubule stabilization against drug-induced depolymerization. The presence of VP40-associated microtubules in cells continuously treated with nocodazole suggested that VP40 promotes tubulin polymerization. Using an in vitro polymerization assay, we demonstrated that VP40 directly enhances tubulin polymerization without any cellular mediators. These results suggest that microtubules may play an important role in the Ebola virus life cycle and potentially provide a novel target for therapeutic intervention against this highly pathogenic virus.
The who, what, why, where, and when of IT outsourcing

Outsourcing of IT functions has become so pervasive that IT managers and CIOs cannot ignore it. To complicate the matter, outsourcing to other countries has become increasingly popular. The advantages of this type of outsourcing include cost savings, 24/7 operation, and access to highly specialized skills. Yet a strategic alliance with a geographically and culturally remote partner presents its own unique challenges. Thus, IT professionals should not take the strategic questions of whether or not to outsource lightly, or avoid it. Rather, they can make such a decision by analyzing the responses to the following five key questions, what we call the five Ws: Who should outsource? What is outsourcing? Why outsource? Where should you outsource? When should you outsource? This article emerged from a focus group of CIOs conducted by the CIO Institute, a not-for-profit community of practice for CIOs in the Greater Philadelphia region.
Electrical Characterization of Megabit DRAMs, Part 1: External Testing

An approach to the electrical characterization of dynamic RAMs in which chip design and DRAM process technology are verified and optimized concurrently is reported. Both parametric and functional tests were performed. The authors describe an information and scheduling system for analysis and testing that handles the required electrical measuring data from the testers. It is shown how data analysis supports the interpretations by data correlations on a real statistical basis. The short learning cycle required by this approach was obtained by ensuring the smooth cooperation of all those involved in the overall analysis. >
Efficiency and Safety of Pulmonary Rehabilitation in Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Background Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is able to improve dyspnea, endurance capacity, and health-related quality of life in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients, but it is rarely used in China. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness and safety of PR after exacerbation of COPD. Material/Methods Patients admitted to hospital due to an exacerbation of COPD were randomized to receive either PR or routine care (control group). The PR program was performed from the second day of admission until discharge. The pre-post changes in 6-minute walk distance (6MWD), self-reported quality of life (QOL) assessed by CAT score and CRQ-SAS score, and activity of daily life assessed by ADL-D score were determined. The perceived end-effort dyspnea (Borg scale) was measured throughout the study. Results A total of 101 patients were enrolled, of whom 7 withdrew after randomization, and 94 completed this study. There were 66 patients in the PR group and 28 in the control group. The 6MWD, resting SpO2, and exercise Borg dyspnea score were significantly improved in the PR group. In addition, the PR group had greater improvement in the total CRQ-SAS score and had a lower CAT score. Significant improvements were also found in the ADL-D and BODE index in the PR group. No adverse events were recorded during exercise. Conclusions Our study provides evidence that it is safe and feasible to apply an early PR in patients with acute exacerbation of COPD.
Zero collision attack and its countermeasures on Residue Number System multipliers

The Residue Number System (RNS) has been introduced to accelerate the modular multiplications in public-key cryptography. We investigate in this contribution the side-channel leakage of RNS multipliers used in an elliptic curve crypto system. Next to the threat analysis by zero collision attack we investigate different countermeasures to cope with such a physical attack. The resistance against side-channel attacks is improved without great area overhead or loss of speed performance.
Reduction of metal artifacts from unilateral hip arthroplasty on dual-energy CT with metal artifact reduction software

Background The evaluation of hip arthroplasty is a challenge in computed tomography (CT). The virtual monochromatic spectral (VMS) images with metal artifact reduction software (MARs) in spectral CT can reduce the artifacts and improve the image quality. Purpose To evaluate the effects of VMS images and MARs for metal artifact reduction in patients with unilateral hip arthroplasty. Material and Methods Thirty-five patients underwent dual-energy CT. Four sets of VMS images without MARs and four sets of VMS images with MARs were obtained. Artifact index (AI), CT number, and SD value were assessed at the periprosthetic region and the pelvic organs. The scores of two observers for different images and the inter-observer agreement were evaluated. Results The AIs in 120 and 140 keV images were significantly lower than those in 80 and 100 keV images. The AIs of the periprosthetic region in VMS images with MARs were significantly lower than those in VMS images without MARs, while the AIs of pelvic organs were not significantly different. VMS images with MARs improved the accuracy of CT numbers for the periprosthetic region. The inter-observer agreements were good for all the images. VMS images with MARs at 120 and 140 keV had higher subjective scores and could improve the image quality, leading to reliable diagnosis of prosthesis-related problems. Conclusion VMS images with MARs at 120 and 140 keV could significantly reduce the artifacts from hip arthroplasty and improve the image quality at the periprosthetic region but had no obvious advantage for pelvic organs.