Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An analysis-by-synthesis encoding approach for multiple audio objects

Object-based audio techniques are becoming popular as they provide the flexibility for personalized rendering. For encoding multiple audio objects, a recent approach based on the intra-object sparsity was proposed. However, the allocation strategy of the number of preserved time-frequency (TF) instants (NPTF) utilized in this approach usually leads to an unbalanced perceptual quality for the decoded audio objects. To overcome this issue, an analysis-by-synthesis (ABS) encoding approach for multiple audio objects is proposed in this work. By using the ABS framework, the allocated NPTF for each object is adjusted through an iterative processing, such that the maximum difference of preserved frame energy among all objects is minimized. Thereafter, multiple audio objects are encoded into a downmix signal plus side information. Both objective and subjective evaluations validated that the proposed approach is robust to different types of audio objects whilst confirming all the decoded audio objects with similar perceptual quality.
Security of Mobile and Heterogeneous Wireless Networks in Battlefields

Wireless communications are central part of the new military doctrines, based on interacting networks in the physical, information, cognitive, and social domains. In particular, it is important to enable flexible and secure communications among groups of stationary nodes, such as sensor nodes that collect information about the battlefield, and mobile nodes that operate in the same environment, such as solders, vehicles, and so on. The security of information in such highly dynamic environment is paramount. Therefore, we have developed a new security scheme based on key distribution among stationary sensor and ad hoc networks, and mobile nodes. Our scheme is based on key predistribution using a large key pool, which is segmented into smaller key pools. Each of these segments acts as the key pool for different stationary sensor networks. The mobile nodes get keys from the aggregate of all these segments. The aggregate key pool can have some segments which can be used for future deployments. We have performed extensive analysis and simulations to validate the proposed scheme.
Provider Attitudes toward Discussing Fertility Intentions with HIV-Infected Women and Serodiscordant Couples in the USA

Background Recent research suggests that pregnancy is a potentially safe option for couples with at least one HIV-infected adult. Data regarding provider discussion of fertility intentions with women living with HIV (WLWH) or in serodiscordant relationships is limited. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional self-administered survey of health professionals who provide HIV services to women in order to assess knowledge and behaviors regarding family planning options for HIV-infected women and serodiscordant couples. Results Of 77 respondents, 47(61%) met the inclusion criteria (health care provider who cares for WLWH). Approximately half (57%) of the participants indicated that they always or usually discuss contraception or fertility intentions with their HIV+ female patients of reproductive age. When asked to indicate their awareness of techniques to decrease HIV transmission risk among serodiscordant couples attempting pregnancy, most participants reported awareness of multiple options. Discussion of contraception or fertility intentions was not associated with provider gender, age, and experience in caring for HIV-infected patients, previous training in women’s health or provider’s awareness of options to decrease transmission risk. Conclusions HIV providers in this study were knowledgeable of practices that can lead to safer conception and prevent HIV transmission among individuals in serodiscordant relationships but did not always discuss this information with their patients. Further research is needed to explore optimal methods for encouraging such conversations.
Prehospital delay and stroke-related symptoms.

OBJECTIVE Prehospital delay is the major cause of treatment delay in stroke. This study was conducted to clarify the contribution of specific stroke-related symptoms to prehospital delay. METHODS A consecutive series of 469 patients hospitalized within 2 weeks of stroke onset was collected. In this study, prehospital delay was defined as the time interval from recognition of stroke-related symptoms to hospital arrival. The prevalence of each symptom or sign and prehospital delay were analyzed. RESULTS Weakness of the lower limb (43.5%) was the most common symptom followed by weakness of the upper limb (37.1%) and dysarthria (31.6%). Conversely, the most common sign was weakness of the upper limb (54.1%) followed by dysarthria (53.3%), weakness of the lower limb (53.1%), and sensory disturbance (39.0%). The presence of confusion/decreased level of consciousness (p<0.001), aphasia (p<0.001), headache (p=0.017), and nausea/vomiting (p=0.035) were associated with earlier hospital visitation compared with the absence of these symptoms in univariate analyses. Conversely, the presence of sensory disturbance (p=0.0017) and vertigo/dizziness (p=0.044) were associated with a significant delay in hospital visitation compared with the absence of these symptoms. There was a discrepancy in the prevalence between symptoms recognized by the patients or bystanders and signs diagnosed by the physicians. CONCLUSION There was a significant overall correlation between prehospital delay and the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale scores. Public education is therefore necessary to encourage early hospital visitation even with the appearance of mild symptoms.
InfectionsMajor Source of IL-4 in Human Filarial Parasite Antigen-Driven Basophils Are a

Basophil contribution to the IL-4 pool in ﬁlarial infections was assessed using PBMC from 20 patients with active ﬁlarial infections and from 9 uninfected subjects. Patient basophils released histamine in response to Brugia malayi Ag (BmAg). They also released IL-4 within 2 h after exposure to BmAg, as assessed by intracellular cytokine ﬂow cytometry. This IL-4 induction was Ag speciﬁc, as IL-4 was not detected in BmAg-exposed basophils obtained from uninfected subjects. Although there were, on average, 64 times more CD4 (cid:1) T cells than basophils in the peripheral circulation of ﬁlaria-infected patients, the absolute numbers of basophils and CD4 (cid:1) T cells producing IL-4 per 100,000 PBMC were equivalent (geometric mean: 16 IL-4-producing basophils/100,000 PBMC vs 22 IL-4-producing CD4 (cid:1) T cells/100,000 PBMC). Basophils also released IL-4 in response to both low and high concentrations of BmAg, whereas CD4 (cid:1) T cells released IL-4 only after incubation with a high concentration of BmAg, raising the possibility that basophils, due to their lower threshold for activation, may actually release IL-4 more frequently than CD4 (cid:1) T cells in vivo. Furthermore, IL-4 production in vitro by Ag-stimulated puriﬁed basophils or CD4 (cid:1) T cells provided evidence that basophils release greater quantities of IL-4 per cell than CD4 (cid:1) T cells in response to BmAg. These results suggest that, when Ag-speciﬁc IgE is present in a ﬁlaria-infected individual, basophils function to amplify the ongoing Th2 response by releasing IL-4 in greater amounts and possibly more frequently than CD4
Seeing, Believing, and Feeling: The Relationship between Sense of Place and Geovisualization Research

Advancements in GIS and media technologies have created opportunities for developing realistic and geographically-accurate representations of the environment that can be recognized and related to as “real places. ” In turn, these “geovisualizations” can connect with the meanings, values, beliefs, and/or feelings people associate with places, i.e., their “sense of place,” which positions them as powerful place-based tools for inclusive and collaborative environmental management efforts. However, despite their place-based applications, geovisualization studies rarely explicitly incorporate place theories and concepts. This lack of integration is reflected in the current state of knowledge, as much of geovisualization research has advanced knowledge on technological capacity for processing and rendering images from spatial data, whereas knowledge on how people interact with and use these tools in collaborative management strategies has lagged behind. This research effort serves as a move toward addressing this knowledge gap by explicitly illustrating the relationship between sense of place and applications of geovisualizations in collaborative management. The paper employs ideas from research on human-media interactions and conceptual models from research on sense of presence to synthesize a coherent theory on how geovisualizations can function as place-based tools. The paper then reviews landscape visualization studies to provide evidence that geovisualizations can operate as place-based tools. Such evidence includes observations on geovisualizations’ ability to communicate “meaningful information” on places, elicit responses reflective of particular place-based values, and evoke emotional responses associated with
Androgen receptor signals regulate UDP‐glucuronosyltransferases in the urinary bladder: A potential mechanism of androgen‐induced bladder carcinogenesis

UDP‐glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs), major phase II drug metabolism enzymes, play an important role in urinary bladder cancer initiation by detoxifying carcinogens. We aimed to determine if androgens regulate UGT expression via the androgen receptor (AR) pathway in the bladder. Real‐time reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analyses were used to assess UGT1A levels in the normal urothelium SVHUC cell line stably expressed with AR and in bladder tissues from AR knockout (ARKO) and castrated male mice. Immunohistochemistry was also performed in radical cystectomy specimens. Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) treatment in SVHUC‐AR reduced mRNA expression of all the UGT1A subtypes (19–75% decrease), and hydroxyflutamide antagonized the DHT effects. In contrast, DHT showed only marginal effects on UGT1A expression in SVHUC‐Vector. Of note were higher expression levels of UGT1As in SVHUC‐Vector than in SVHUC‐AR. In ARKO mice, all the Ugt1a subtypes were up‐regulated, compared to wild‐type littermates. In wild‐type male mice, castration increased the expression of Ugt1a8, Ugt1a9, and Ugt1a10. Additionally, wild‐type female mice had higher levels of Ugt1a than wild‐type males. Immunohistochemical studies showed strong (3+) UGT1A staining in 11/24 (46%) cancer tissues, which was significantly lower than in corresponding benign tissues [17/18 (94%) cases (P = 0.0009)]. These results suggest that androgen‐mediated AR signals promote bladder carcinogenesis by down‐regulating the expression of UGTs in the bladder. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Optimization and search

Search theory consists of models and optimization algorithms to find the best way to search for hidden targets. The difficulty of optimizing the search path is related to the motion, if any, of the target. If the target is stationary, the main optimal search problems have been essentially solved, as is outlined in Stone's classic text, while if the target's motion is much slower than the searcher's motion-search density problem-solution algorithms based on necessary conditions for optimality were developed in the early 80's. After reviewing briefly these results, the paper concentrates on two cases-where the target's motion is random and about the same speed as the searcher's motion and when the target is intelligent, where no satisfactory solution algorithms exist. Approaches based on partially observable Markov decision processes and on stochastic games to these problems are very attractive, but in order to obtain computationally feasible algorithms one has to introduce heuristic approximations or simplifying bounds. <<ETX>>
Shape matching and object recognition via common base triangle area descriptor

To obtain high recognition accuracy with low time complexity and to reduce the influence of contour deformation due to noise in shape matching, a novel shape matching method based on common base triangle area is proposed. Firstly, a common base triangle area descriptor of each contour point is defined based on the area functions of the triangles formed by its two neighbor points and other contour points. Then the descriptor is local smoothed to keep more compact and robust to noise. Secondly, a match cost matrix is obtained by computing the common base triangle area descriptors of all the contour points on two shapes. Finally, the similarity between two shapes is measured on the basis of the match cost matrix by dynamic programming algorithm (DP). The experimental results indicate that this method is robust to contour deformation, and both the computational efficiency and the retrieval rate are essentially improved.
A functional variant at miRNA-122 binding site in IL-1α 3′ UTR predicts risk of recurrence in patients with oropharyngeal cancer

IL-1α, an important regulator of immune and inflammation responses, has been implicated in cancer development and prognosis. An insertion (Ins)/deletion (Del) polymorphism (IL-1α rs3783553) in the 3′ UTR of IL-1α may disrupt a binding site for miRNA-122 and may affect its transcription level. Thus, this polymorphism may cause interindividual variation in immune and inflammation responses and thus may lead to different susceptibility to treatment response and prognosis of such patients. We evaluated the association of IL-1α rs3783553 polymorphism with risk of recurrence of squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx (SCCOP) in a cohort of 1008 patients. Log-rank test and univariate and multivariable Cox models were used to evaluate associations. Compared with patients with Del/Del homozygous genotype, the patients with Ins/Del+Ins/Ins variant genotypes had worse disease-free survival (log-rank P < 0.0001) and increased risk of SCCOP recurrence (HR, 2.4, 95% CI, 1.7-3.3) after multivariable adjustment. Furthermore, among patients with HPV16-positive tumors, the patients with Ins/Del+Ins/Ins variant genotypes of the IL-1α polymorphism had worse disease-free survival (log-rank P < 0.0001) and much higher recurrence risk than those with Del/Del homozygous genotype of this polymorphism (HR, 16.3, 95% CI, 5.0-52.7). Our findings suggest that IL-1α rs3783553 polymorphism may modulate the risk of SCCOP recurrence in patients, particularly for patients with HPV16-positive tumors. However, larger studies are needed to validate these results.
The Pulsar kick velocity distribution

We analyse the sample of pulsar proper motions, taking detailed account of the selection effects of the original surveys. We treat censored data using survival statistics. From a comparison of our results with Monte Carlo simulations, we find that the mean birth speed of a pulsar is 250-300 km/s, rather than the 450 km/s foundby Lyne & Lorimer (1994). The resultant distribution is consistent with a maxwellian with dispersion $ \sigma_v = 190 km/s$. Despite the large birth velocities, we find that the pulsars with long characteristic ages show the asymmetric drift, indicating that they are dynamically old. These pulsars may result from the low velocity tail of the younger population, although modified by their origin in binaries and by evolution in the galactic potential.
Polarized downregulation of the paxillin-p130CAS-Rac1 pathway induced by shear flow

Exposure of sparsely plated endothelial cells or a wounded monolayer to shear flow induces an instantaneous inhibition of `upstream' lamellipodial protrusion and suppresses cell migration against the flow. This phenomenon is caused by the inhibition of Rac1 activity in the upstream lamellae, as demonstrated by fluorescence resonance energy transfer experiments, and by the capacity of constitutively active Rac1 to abolish flow-induced cell polarization. The local inactivation of Rac1 coincides with rapid dephosphorylation of paxillin and the adapter protein p130CAS, which, in their phosphorylated state, participate in the activation of the Rac1 exchange factor complex DOCK180/ELMO. Indeed, overexpression of DOCK180 and ELMO rescue upstream protrusion in cells exposed to flow. Searching for the mechanosensors responsible for the polarized p130CAS dephosphorylation, we discovered that shear stress stimulates the turnover and overall growth of upstream focal adhesions, whereas downstream adhesions tend to shrink. We propose that polarized, shear stress-induced signaling from focal adhesions at the upstream lamellae, leads to the local inactivation of Rac1 by inhibiting paxillin and p130CAS phosphorylation, and consequently blocking the DOCK180/ELMO pathway.
Detecting Anomalies in Open Source Information Diffusion

Abstract : The adoption of the Internet as a massive information diffusion medium has considerably modified information dynamics. An increasing amount of available information from uncontrolled, various and unreferenced sources makes this new mediatic environment suitable for various information diffusion phenomena like amplification phenomena that may affect significantly political, strategical or economical matters. Strategical or economical intelligence analysts using open sources have to adapt their methods to face significant and changing information flows. In this context, they need automatic tools to select interesting phenomena among large quantities of data. This paper focuses on substantial variations in open source information diffusion that we call anomalies. Firstly, we introduce a model of a website network considering relevant parameters taking part in the dynamics of information flows over the Web. Then we propose a methodology based on this network to detect anomalies.
Uso de objetos educacionais digitais para ensinar sistemas do corpo humano em uma escola do campo

El estudio tuvo como objetivo evaluar el uso de software educativo y aplicaciones en dispositivos moviles para ensenar sistemas del cuerpo humano en una escuela del campo. Se trata de una investigacion-accion, de abordaje cualitativo, desarrollada en 2016 y que involucro a 14 estudiantes del 8o ano de la Ensenanza Fundamental de la Escuela Estadual Sol Nascente, de Confresa-MT. El software y la aplicacion elegidos fueron el Atlas del Cuerpo Humano y Sistemas del Cuerpo Humano 3D, respectivamente, conenfasis en los sistemas digestivo y circulatorio. Los resultados del pre y post test, constituidos por 20 preguntas, corroboran la hipotesis de que el uso de objetos educativos digitales beneficia el proceso educativo. Los estudiantes aprendieron mejor los sistemas comparado a cuando se utilizo solo recursos tradicionales, como el libro didactico. Este avance puede estar vinculado al hecho de que los recursos utilizan imagenes en 3D y puntualizan cada parte del cuerpo, ademas de proporcionar importantes informaciones y curiosidades sobre el tema. Por lo tanto, se espera que las tecnologias digitales puedan, cada vez mas, ser insertadas y explotadas en las practicas pedagogicas, pues estos recursos posibilitan estudiar y sacar dudas, ampliando el tiempo y los espacios educativos
Survey of graph rewriting applied to model transformations

Model-based software development has become a mainstream approach for efficiently producing designs, test suites and program code. In this context, model-to-model transformations have become first-class entities and their classification, formalization and implementation are the subject of ongoing research. This work surveys the characteristics and properties of graph rewriting systems and their application to formalize and implement transformations of language-based software models. A model's structure or behaviour can be abstracted into the definition of a given graph type. Its structural and behavioural changes can be represented by rule-based transformation of graphs.
A UDP Based Protocol for Distributed P2P File Sharing

Some peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing operation models over asymmetric networks have several shortcomings that may have a significant impact to the system and network performance: data transmission paths are highly redundant wasting a lot of backbone bandwidth; the download throughput in a peer node may be limited by the upward bandwidth of other peer nodes; TCP performance is deteriorated due to the blocking of acknowledge packets on the upward channel. These shortcomings severely impair the efficiency of P2P file sharing as well as network performance. We designed a UDP based transport mechanism at the application level to alleviate parts of problems caused by TCP
The influence of the mutual drag of carrier-phonon system on the thermopower and the transverse Nernst-Ettingshausen effect

The thermopower and Nernst-Ettingshausen (NE) effect in degenerate semiconductors and semimetals placed in high electric and magnetic fields are calculated by taking into account the heating of both electrons and phonons as well as their thermal and mutual drags. The magnetic and electric field dependences of the thermoelectric power and the transverse NE voltage are found in analytical forms. It is shown that in weak and high transverse magnetic fields, the electronic and phonon parts of NE coefficients change their sign for some scattering mechanisms.
Sign Language Ability in Young Deaf Signers Predicts Comprehension of Written Sentences in English

We investigated the robust correlation between American Sign Language (ASL) and English reading ability in 51 young deaf signers ages 7;3 to 19;0. Signers were divided into ‘skilled’ and ‘less-skilled’ signer groups based on their performance on three measures of ASL. We next assessed reading comprehension of four English sentence structures (actives, passives, pronouns, reflexive pronouns) using a sentence-to-picture-matching task. Of interest was the extent to which ASL proficiency provided a foundation for lexical and syntactic processes of English. Skilled signers outperformed less-skilled signers overall. Error analyses further indicated greater single-word recognition difficulties in less-skilled signers marked by a higher rate of errors reflecting an inability to identify the actors and actions described in the sentence. Our findings provide evidence that increased ASL ability supports English sentence comprehension both at the levels of individual words and syntax. This is consistent with the theory that first language learning promotes second language through transference of linguistic elements irrespective of the transparency of mapping of grammatical structures between the two languages.
Relative group sparsity for non-negative matrix factorization with application to on-the-fly audio source separation

We consider dictionary-based signal decompositions with group sparsity, a variant of structured sparsity. We point out that the group sparsity-inducing constraint alone may not be sufficient in some cases when we know that some bigger groups or so-called supergroups cannot vanish completely. To deal with this problem we introduce the notion of relative group sparsity preventing the supergroups from vanishing. In this paper we formulate practical criteria and algorithms for relative group sparsity as applied to non-negative matrix factorization and investigate its potential benefit within the on-the-fly audio source separation framework we recently introduced. Experimental evaluation shows that the proposed relative group sparsity leads to performance improvement over group sparsity in both supervised and semi-supervised on-the-fly audio source separation settings.
Spatial Interferer Rejection in a Four-Element Beamforming Receiver Front-End With a Switched-Capacitor Vector Modulator

A 1-4-GHz 4-element phased array receiver front-end demonstrates spatial interferer rejection using null steering. Element phase and amplitude control are performed by a switched-capacitor vector modulator with integrated downconversion, utilizing a rational sine/cosine approximation. The 65-nm CMOS receiver achieves more than 20 dB of spatial interferer rejection up to an angular separation of 15°.