Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adaptive Parser-Centric Text Normalization

Text normalization is an important ﬁrst step towards enabling many Natural Language Processing (NLP) tasks over informal text. While many of these tasks, such as parsing, perform the best over fully grammatically correct text, most existing text normalization approaches narrowly deﬁne the task in the word-to-word sense; that is, the task is seen as that of mapping all out-of-vocabulary non-standard words to their in-vocabulary standard forms. In this paper, we take a parser-centric view of normalization that aims to convert raw informal text into grammatically correct text. To understand the real effect of normalization on the parser, we tie normalization performance directly to parser performance. Additionally, we design a customizable framework to address the often overlooked concept of domain adaptability, and illustrate that the system allows for transfer to new domains with a minimal amount of data and effort. Our experimental study over datasets from three domains demonstrates that our approach outperforms not only the state-of-the-art word-to-word normalization techniques, but also manual word-to-word annotations.
Short Message Noisy Network Coding with Rate Splitting

Short message noisy network coding with rate splitting (SNNC-RS) encoding strategy is presented. It has been shown by Hou and Kramer that mixed cooperative strategies in which relays in favorable positions perform decode-and-forward (DF) and the rest of the relays perform short message noisy network coding (SNNC) can outperform noisy network coding (NNC). Our proposed strategy further improves the rate performance of such mixed SNNC-DF cooperative strategy. In the proposed scheme, superposition coding is incorporated into the SNNC encoding in order to facilitate partial interference cancellation at DF relays, thereby increasing the overall rate. To demonstrate gains of the proposed SNNC-RS strategy, the achievable rate is analyzed for the discrete memoryless two-relay network with one DF relay and one SNNC-RS relay and compared to the case without rate-splitting. The obtained rate is evaluated in the Gaussian two-relay network and gains over the rate achieved without rate splitting are demonstrated.
A possible role for IGE-II: evidence in sheep for in vivo regulation of IGF-I mediated protein anabolism.

Using primed constant infusions of [14C]urea we assessed the effects in castrate male lambs of insulin-like growth factor (IGF) II infusion on protein metabolism during concurrent IGF-I infusion. A 300 minute infusion of IGF-I at 15 micrograms/kg.hour (n = 4) increased (p less than 0.001) the plasma IGF-I concentration from 72.5 +/- 6.4 ng/ml to 213.6 +/- 17.4 ng/ml and decreased (p less than 0.01) the rate of net protein catabolism (NPC) from 1.48 +/- 0.28 g/kg.day to 1.02 +/- 0.18 g/kg.day. Infusion of IGF-II at a dose of 50 micrograms/kg.hour concurrently with IGF-I at 15 micrograms/kg.hour (n = 4) was associated with a similar rise (p less than 0.01) in plasma IGF-I concentration from 79.4 +/- 4.1 ng/ml to 225.2 +/- 32.8 ng/ml. Plasma IGF-II increased (p less than 0.05) from 350.6 +/- 41.6 ng/ml to 746.7 +/- 165.5 ng/ml over the infusion. Coadministration of IGF-II completely blocked (p less than 0.01) the anabolic effect of IGF-I and the rate of NPC remained unchanged throughout the combined IGF-I and IGF-II infusion at a level comparable to saline infused controls (n = 4). This study suggests that IGF-II may play a physiological role as a circulating modulator of the anabolic effects of IGF-I.
Bone Marrow Stem Cells in Response to Intervertebral Disc-Like Matrix Acidity and Oxygen Concentration: Implications for Cell-based Regenerative Therapy

Study Design. In vitro culture of porcine bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) in varying pH microenvironments in a three-dimensional hydrogel system. Objective. To characterize the response of BMSCs to varying pH environments (blood [pH 7.4], healthy intervertebral disc (IVD) (pH 7.1), mildly degenerated IVD (pH 6.8), and severely degenerated IVD (pH 6.5) in three-dimensional culture under normoxic (20%) and hypoxic (5%) conditions. Summary of Background Data. The IVD is an avascular organ relying on diffusion of essential nutrients through the cartilaginous endplates (CEPs) thereby creating a challenging microenvironment. Within a degenerated IVD, oxygen and glucose concentrations decrease further (<5% oxygen, <5 mmol/L glucose) and matrix acidity (<pH 6.8) increases resulting in especially adverse conditions. This has major implications for injectable cell-based strategies as these adverse microenvironmental conditions might severely affect the survival and regenerative potential of transplanted cells. Methods. BMSCs were encapsulated in 1.5% alginate and ionically cross-linked in 102 mmol/L CaCl2 solution to form beads (diameter = 5 mm), which were cultured in different microenvironmental conditions (pH 6.5, 6.8, 7.1, and 7.4; oxygen: 5% and 20%). Results. This study demonstrated decreased DNA content, increased cell death and minimal sulphated-glycosaminoglycans (sGAG) and collagen accumulation at pH 6.5 with increased proliferation, sustained cell viability and increased sGAG and collagen accumulation in pH 6.8 or higher. These findings suggest that there is a threshold at pH 6.8, below which cells cannot survive and accumulate nucleus pulposus–like matrix components (sGAG and collagen). Conclusion. Translation into a multimodal protocol requires the survival of stem cells and their ability to function normally amidst the harsh microenvironment. This study demonstrates the critical implication of degeneration stage and suggests stratified targeting to identify suitable candidates through measurement of the local pH thereby maximizing the efficacy for IVD cellular regenerative interventions. Level of Evidence: N/A
CREB coactivators CRTC2 and CRTC3 modulate bone marrow hematopoiesis

Significance The second messenger cAMP mediates the salutary effects of prostaglandin E2 on hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) engraftment in bone marrow (BM). We found that disruption of the cAMP-inducible coactivators CRTC2 and CRTC3 in BM stromal cells promotes neutrophilia and HSC egress due to up-regulation of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF). CRTC2/3 were found to reduce G-CSF expression by inhibiting signaling through the transcription factor STAT3. These results demonstrate how cross-talk between cAMP and cytokine signaling pathways contributes to BM homeostasis. Populations of circulating immune cells are maintained in equilibrium through signals that enhance the retention or egress of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) from bone marrow (BM). Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) stimulates HSC renewal and engraftment through, for example, induction of the cAMP pathway. Triggering of PGE2 receptors increases HSC survival in part via the PKA-mediated induction of the cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) signaling pathway. PKA stimulates cellular gene expression by phosphorylating CREB at Ser133 and by promoting the dephosphorylation of the cAMP- responsive transcriptional coactivators (CRTCs). We show here that disruption of both CRTC2 and CRTC3 causes embryonic lethality, and that a single allele of either CRTC2 or CRTC3 is sufficient for viability. CRTC2 knockout mice that express one CRTC3 allele (CRTC2/3m mice) develop neutrophilia and splenomegaly in adulthood due to the up-regulation of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF); these effects are reversed following administration of neutralizing anti–G-CSF antiserum. Adoptive transfer of CRTC2/3m BM conferred the splenomegaly/neutrophilia phenotype in WT recipients. Targeted disruption of both CRTC2 and CRTC3 in stromal cells with a mesenchymal Prx1-Cre transgene also promoted this phenotype. Depletion of CRTC2/3 was found to decrease the expression of Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling 3 (SOCS3), leading to increases in STAT3 phosphorylation and to the induction of CEBPβ, a key regulator of the G-CSF gene. As small molecule inhibition of JAK activity disrupted CEBPβ induction and reduced G-CSF expression in CRTC2/3m stromal cells, our results demonstrate how cross-coupling between the CREB/CRTC and JAK/STAT pathways contributes to BM homeostasis.
Insights Into the Kinematic Rupture of the 2015 Mw 8.3 Illapel, Chile, Earthquake From Joint Analysis of Geodetic, Seismological, Tsunami, and Superconductive Gravimeter Observations

We investigated the spatiotemporal slip distribution of the 2015 Illapel earthquake (Mw = 8.3) by joint analyses of geodetic, seismological, tsunami, and superconductive gravimeter observations. The coseismic rupture directly overlaps the interseismic coupling zone determined by onshore geodetic measurements. The main slip asperity is located north of the hypocenter with a peak slip of ~9.2 m, and the rupture spans ~200 km along strike and ~150 km along dip with an average rupture speed of ~2.0 km/s. Most aftershocks reveal a clear complementary distribution with the coseismic rupture; that is, aftershock clusters are located at the border of unbroken barriers and regions of sudden transition from high to low rupture area. The calculated Coulomb failure stress changes indicate that 80% of the aftershocks were triggered by the main event. The low‐frequency radiation corresponds to the large coseismic rupture at the shallow portion of the megathrust, while the high‐frequency radiation is associated with the edge of large slip asperity or an isolated patch at a deeper position. The large coseismic slip region correlates well with the high Vp/Vs ratio of the subduction interface, which implies that the Illapel earthquake might nucleate at a relatively weak patch within a strong coupled zone. Furthermore, we argue that the coseismic slip did reach to the trench from tsunami simulations, and historical earthquakes analyses indicate a complex strain accumulation and release in central Chile.
Health risk assessment of exposure to ambient concentrations of benzene, toluene and xylene in Pretoria West, South Africa

Benzene, toluene and xylene (BTX) are part of the volatile organic group of pollutants and are seen as international environmental priority air pollutants that can constitute a threat to public health. This study assessed the non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks of exposure to BTX in an industrial area located in Pretoria West, South Africa. The study comprised two parts, namely ambient air monitoring and the application of a Human Health Risk Assessment (HHRA) model. The study included sampling data for the 2014 calendar year (January – December). Sampling frequency were hourly samples of ambient concentrations of BTX. Estimate of the possible non-carcinogenic risk of BTX and carcinogenic risk of benzene were determined using the hazard quotient (HQ) and lifetime cancer risk (LCR) respectively. Annual average concentration (µg/m3) of BTX was 0.9 ± 0.9, 2.2 ± 2.5 and 0.8 ± 0.6, respectively, with higher concentrations during winter months. The HQ indicated no likelihood of adverse health effects on children and adults. The HQ of exposure to BTX were <1 for both children (0.094 µg/m3) and adults (0.38 µg/m3). The LCR of exposure to benzene among children (4.4 × 10−7) as well as adults (1.8 × 10−6) was lower than those stipulated by regulatory organizations.
On the Corner Points of the Capacity Region of a Two-User Gaussian Interference Channel

This paper considers the corner points of the capacity region of a two-user Gaussian interference channel (GIC). In a two-user GIC, the rate pairs where one user transmits its data at the single-user capacity (without interference), and the other at the largest rate for which reliable communication is still possible are called corner points. This paper relies on existing outer bounds on the capacity region of a two-user GIC that are used to derive informative bounds on the corner points of the capacity region. The new bounds refer to a weak two-user GIC (i.e., when both crosslink gains in standard form are positive and below 1), and a refinement of these bounds is obtained for the case where the transmission rate of one user is within ε > 0 of the single-user capacity. The bounds on the corner points are asymptotically tight as the transmitted powers tend to infinity, and they are also useful for the case of moderate SNR and INR. Upper and lower bounds on the gap (denoted by A) between the sum-rate and the maximal achievable total rate at the two corner points are derived. This is followed by an asymptotic analysis analogous to the study of the generalized degrees of freedom [where the SNR and INR scalings are coupled such that (log(INR)/log(SNR)) = α ≥ 0], leading to an asymptotic characterization of this gap which is exact for the whole range of α. The upper and lower bounds on A are asymptotically tight in the sense that they achieve the exact asymptotic characterization. Improved bounds on A are derived for finite SNR and INR, and their improved tightness is exemplified numerically.
Names for things . . . and actions and events: Following in the footsteps of Roger Brown.

nouns (peace, hope) Relational nouns (uncle, grandmother) Instrument/object verbs (hammer, eat/meat) Proper nouns (Marty, Sue) Concrete nouns (spoon, ball) Action verbs (jump, hug) Path verbs (exit, ascend) Intention verbs (pour, spill) Mental verbs (think, believe) Verbs Figure 24.1 The SICI Continuum. ‘SICI’ is an acronym for four factors (shape, individuation, concreteness, and imageability) that contribute to the ease or difficulty of learning nouns and verbs. The concepts that these words represent lie on a continuum defined by the reliability of the concept’s shape, the ease with which the concept can be individuated from other items, the concreteness of the concept to sensory systems, and the degree to which the word elicits a mental image. Although nouns typically precede verbs in vocabulary acquisition, this pattern is a by‐product of the SICI continuum. Reproduced, with permission, from Maguire, Hirsh‐Pasek, and Golinkoff (2006) and Oxford University
Two-phase Multicast Routing Algorithms for Two-dimensional Meshes 1

Multicast communication is a signiicant operation in multicomputer systems and can be used to support several other collective communication operations. Hardware implementation is a viable solution to develop a low latency multicast algorithm. In this paper, we present a new multicast routing algorithm for two-dimensional meshes. The algorithm uses wormhole routing mechanism and can send messages to any number of destinations within two start-up communication phases; hence the name, two-phase multicast (TPM) algorithm. The algorithm uses the base routing scheme employed for unicast communication , thereby minimizing the requirement of additional hardware support. The algorithm allows some intermediate nodes that are not in the destination set to perform multicast functions. This feature provides exibility in multicast path selection and therefore improves the performance. We have proposed both deterministic as well as adaptive TPM routing algorithms. A simulation study has been conducted to investigate the performance of the purposed TPM algorithm. The simulation results show that the proposed TPM algorithms perform signiicantly better for both contention-free and mixed-traac conditions, when compared with the previously proposed multicast routing algorithms.
Opposing Effects of Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) on Estrogen Receptor β (ERβ) Response to 5α-Reductase Inhibition in Prostate Epithelial Cells*

Current pharmacotherapies for symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), an androgen receptor-driven, inflammatory disorder affecting elderly men, include 5α-reductase (5AR) inhibitors (i.e. dutasteride and finasteride) to block the conversion of testosterone to the more potent androgen receptor ligand dihydrotestosterone. Because dihydrotestosterone is the precursor for estrogen receptor β (ERβ) ligands, 5AR inhibitors could potentially limit ERβ activation, which maintains prostate tissue homeostasis. We have uncovered signaling pathways in BPH-derived prostate epithelial cells (BPH-1) that are impacted by 5AR inhibition. The induction of apoptosis and repression of the cell adhesion protein E-cadherin by the 5AR inhibitor dutasteride requires both ERβ and TGFβ. Dutasteride also induces cyclooxygenase type 2 (COX-2), which functions in a negative feedback loop in TGFβ and ERβ signaling pathways as evidenced by the potentiation of apoptosis induced by dutasteride or finasteride upon pharmacological inhibition or shRNA-mediated ablation of COX-2. Concurrently, COX-2 positively impacts ERβ action through its effect on the expression of a number of steroidogenic enzymes in the ERβ ligand metabolic pathway. Therefore, effective combination pharmacotherapies, which have included non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, must take into account biochemical pathways affected by 5AR inhibition and opposing effects of COX-2 on the tissue-protective action of ERβ.
WASP-1b and WASP-2b: Two new transiting exoplanets detected with SuperWASP and SOPHIE

We have detected low-amplitude radial-velocity variations in two stars, USNO-B1.0 1219‐ 0005465 (GSC 02265‐00107 = WASP‐1) and USNO-B1.0 0964‐0543604 (GSC 00522‐ 01199 = WASP‐2). Both stars were identified as being likely host stars of transiting exoplanets in the 2004 SuperWASP wide-field transit survey. Using the newly commissioned radial-velocity spectrograph SOPHIE at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence, we found that both objects exhibit reflex orbital radial-velocity variations with amplitudes characteristic of planetary-mass companions and in-phase with the photometric orbits. Line-bisector studies rule out faint blended binaries as the cause of either the radial-velocity variations or the transits. We perform preliminary spectral analyses of the host stars, which together with their radialvelocity variations and fits to the transit light curves yield estimates of the planetary masses and radii. WASP-1b and WASP-2b have orbital periods of 2.52 and 2.15 d, respectively. Given mass estimates for their F7V and K1V primaries, we derive planet masses 0.80‐0.98 and 0.81‐ 0.95 times that of Jupiter, respectively. WASP-1b appears to have an inflated radius of at least 1.33 RJup, whereas WASP-2b has a radius in the range 0.65‐1.26 RJup.
Human Papillomavirus Type 16 and 18 E7-Pulsed Dendritic Cell Vaccination of Stage IB or IIA Cervical Cancer Patients: a Phase I Escalating-Dose Trial

ABSTRACT The safety and immunogenicity of the human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) or HPV18 (HPV16/18) E7 antigen-pulsed mature dendritic cell (DC) vaccination were evaluated for patients with stage IB or IIA cervical cancer. Escalating doses of autologous DC (5, 10, and 15 × 106 cells for injection) were pulsed with recombinant HPV16/18 E7 antigens and keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH; an immunological tracer molecule) and delivered in five subcutaneous injections at 21-day intervals to 10 cervical cancer patients with no evidence of disease after they underwent radical surgery. Safety, toxicity, delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) reaction, and induction of serological and cellular immunity against HPV16/18 E7 and KLH were monitored. DC vaccination was well tolerated, and no significant toxicities were recorded. All patients developed CD4+ T-cell and antibody responses to DC vaccination, as detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot (ELISpot) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), respectively, and 8 out of 10 patients demonstrated levels of E7-specific CD8+ T-cell counts, detected by ELISpot during or immediately after immunization, that were increased compared to prevaccination baseline levels. The vaccine dose did not predict the magnitude of the antibody or T-cell response or the time to detection of HPV16/18 E7-specific immunity. DTH responses to intradermal injections of HPV E7 antigen and KLH were detected for all patients after vaccination. We conclude that HPV E7-loaded DC vaccination is safe and immunogenic for stage IB or IIA cervical cancer patients. Phase II E7-pulsed DC-based vaccination trials with cervical cancer patients harboring a limited tumor burden, or who are at significant risk of tumor recurrence, are warranted.
Write mode aware loop tiling for high performance low power volatile PCM

Architecting PCM, especially MLC PCM, as main memory for MCUs is a promising technique to replace conventional DRAM deployment. However, PCM/MLC PCM suffers from long write latency and large write energy. Recent work has proposed a compiler directed dual-write (CDDW) scheme to combat the drawbacks of PCM by adopting fast or slow write mode for different write operations. We observe that write instances' lifetime is very long and can only be written by the expensive slow mode for large-scale loops. This paper proposes a write mode aware loop tiling approach to effectively reduce the lifetime of write instances and maximize the number of efficient fast writes in loops. The experimental results show that the proposed approach improves performance by 50.8% and reduces dynamic energy by 32.0% across a set of benchmarks compared to the CDDW approach on average.
Hierarchy of risk factors for chronic kidney disease in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Diabetic kidney disease is a significant complication of type 2 diabetes mellitus and has a significant impact on quality of life and patient survival, both due to progression towards endstage kidney disease and associated atherosclerosis. Identification of the risk factors, especially in incipient kidney disease, is an important focus of research. The aim of our study was to rank the risk factors of two separate criteria for renal function: albumin excretion - quantified as urinary albumin/creatinine ratio (UACR) and GFR (glomerural filtration rate) in type 2 diabetes patients. Data from 53 type 2 diabetic patients were analyzed first with TOPSIS method and then compared with relative risk of each factor for UACR and GFR separately. 18 possible risk factors were taken in consideration. In the top of the TOPSIS method hierarchy was serum adiponectin (RR=2.06 for UACR and RR=1.65 for GFR) followed by C reactive protein (RR=1.74 for UACR and RR=1.02 for GFR), systolic blood pressure (RR=1.69 for UACR and RR=1.03 for GFR) and triglycerides (RR=1.57 for UACR and RR=0.96 for GFR). The Spearman coefficient of correlation between hierarchy provided by RR for UACR and TOPSIS method hierarchy was r=0.53, p=0.03. The Spearman coefficient of correlation between hierarchy provided by RR for GFR and TOPSIS method hierarchy was r=0.73, p=0.001. In conclusion, using TOPSIS method in this case brought new information about factors that may influence the occurrence of diabetic kidney disease.