Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neural Network - Gaussian Mixture Hybrid for Speech Recognition or Density Estimation

The subject of this paper is the integration of multi-layered Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) with probability density functions such as Gaussian mixtures found in continuous density Hidden Markov Models (HMM). In the first part of this paper we present an ANN/HMM hybrid in which all the parameters of the system are simultaneously optimized with respect to a single criterion. In the second part of this paper, we study the relationship between the density of the inputs of the network and the density of the outputs of the networks. A few experiments are presented to explore how to perform density estimation with ANNs.
The Case of the Toothless Watchdog

Numerous scholars and activists have advocated a notion of language rights as a tool by which minority ethnic groups may protect their cultural integrity against the incursions of hegemonic groups. At the same time, critics have problematized language rights as a dangerous notion that may provoke inter-ethnic competition or worse. This article seeks to contribute to this debate a case study of the ‘rights mediation function’ of the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB), a central component of South Africa’s uniquely progressive language rights framework. First, it is considered whether PanSALB’s support of ‘group’ language rights gives incentive to potentially divisive ethnic mobilization. Second, the efficacy and equitability of PanSALB’s service delivery is interrogated, as are the responses of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) to ethnolinguistic grievance. This article concludes that PanSALB does not give incentive to ethnic mobilization, but fails to protect language rights, and, as a structure, serves to co-opt civil society and help make ‘docile bodies’ of ordinary citizens.
Global temperature evolution 1979–2010

We analyze five prominent time series of global temperature (over land and ocean) for their common time interval since 1979: three surface temperature records (from NASA/GISS, NOAA/NCDC and HadCRU) and two lower-troposphere (LT) temperature records based on satellite microwave sensors (from RSS and UAH). All five series show consistent global warming trends ranging from 0.014 to 0.018 K yr−1. When the data are adjusted to remove the estimated impact of known factors on short-term temperature variations (El Niño/southern oscillation, volcanic aerosols and solar variability), the global warming signal becomes even more evident as noise is reduced. Lower-troposphere temperature responds more strongly to El Niño/southern oscillation and to volcanic forcing than surface temperature data. The adjusted data show warming at very similar rates to the unadjusted data, with smaller probable errors, and the warming rate is steady over the whole time interval. In all adjusted series, the two hottest years are 2009 and 2010.
Against Localism: Does Decentralising Power to Communities Fail Minorities?

The continued decline in levels of political engagement among British citizens has led many politicians, commentators and academics from across the political spectrum to advocate a move toward a more direct form of democracy via some kind of localism. The claim is that citizens feel increasingly estranged from the democratic process, and from those organisations on which they have historically relied to represent them within the political system. Consequently, localists argue, there now exists a gap between the people, the institutions which are supposed to work on their behalf, and the decisions made in their name, so the system needs to be reformed in such a way as to give individuals and local communities more of a direct input into the decision-making process. Calls for a more direct form of democracy via localism are popular among members of the progressive left and the ‘new Conservative’ right, and have become so dominant in political discourse that it is often suggested that ‘we are all localists now’. This article raises questions about the localist agenda, and suggests that the adoption of a more direct form of democracy in Britain may not only fail to address the decline in political engagement, but may also result in the exclusion, marginalisation, and oppression of minority groups.
Inflammation and Immune Response in COPD: Where Do We Stand?

Increasing evidence indicates that chronic inflammatory and immune responses play key roles in the development and progression of COPD. Recent data provide evidence for a role in the NLRP3 inflammasome in the airway inflammation observed in COPD. Cigarette smoke activates innate immune cells by triggering pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) to release “danger signal”. These signals act as ligands to Toll-like receptors (TLRs), triggering the production of cytokines and inducing innate inflammation. In smokers who develop COPD there appears to be a specific pattern of inflammation in the airways and parenchyma as a result of both innate and adaptive immune responses, with the predominance of CD8+ and CD4+ cells, and in the more severe disease, with the presence of lymphoid follicles containing B lymphocytes and T cells. Furthermore, viral and bacterial infections interfere with the chronic inflammation seen in stable COPD and exacerbations via pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). Finally, autoimmunity is another novel aspect that may play a critical role in the pathogenesis of COPD. This review is un update of the currently discussed roles of inflammatory and immune responses in the pathogenesis of COPD.
Burst scheduling: architecture and algorithm for switching packet video

The authors observed that variable bit rate (VBR) video, which is a sequence of encoded pictures, has very large rate fluctuations from picture to picture. In designing a new traffic model, the authors retain the basic notion of a flow but allow the flow rate to fluctuate. In particular, they introduce the concept of a burst which, in a video flow, is a sequence of packets that carry the bits of an encoded picture. They present the architecture of a class of packet switching networks, called burst scheduling networks, for carrying video, audio, and data traffic. The class is characterized by (i) use of virtual clock value as priority in scheduling, (ii) end-to-end delay and delay jitter guarantees provided to flows conforming to the new traffic model, and (iii) traffic flows (in particular, video flows) scheduled efficiently in bursts. Some experimental results are presented from a discrete-event simulation in which traces from several MPEG video sequences were used as video sources.
Thf1 interacts with PS I and stabilizes the PS I complex in Synechococcus sp. PCC7942

Thylakoid formation1 protein (Thf1) is a multifunctional protein that is conserved in all photosynthetic organisms. In this study, we used the model cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC7942 (hereafter Synechococcus) to show that the level of Thf1 is altered in response to various stress conditions. Although this protein has been reported to be involved in thylakoid formation, the thylakoid membrane in the thf1 deletion strain (ΔThf1) was not affected. Compared with the WT, ΔThf1 showed reduced PS II activity, with increased levels of D1 under high light (HL) conditions, which was resulted from blocked D1 degradation by the FtsH protease and thus inhibits PS II repair. PS I was found to be more seriously affected than PS II in ΔThf1, even under low light conditions, suggesting that PS I damage could be the primary effect of thf1 deletion in Synechococcus. Further analysis revealed that the ΔThf1 mutant had a lower PS I subunit content and lower PS I stability under HL conditions. Further sucrose gradient fractionation of the membrane protein complexes and crosslinking and immunoblot analysis indicated that Thf1 interacts with PS I. Together, our results reveal that Thf1 interacts with PS I and thereby stabilizes PS I in Synechococcus.
Both L3T4+ and Lyt-2+ helper T cells initiate cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses against allogenic major histocompatibility antigens but not against trinitrophenyl-modified self

This study characterizes the T helper (Th) cells that initiate primary cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses against allogeneic and trinitrophenyl (TNP)-modified self class I major histocompatibility (MHC) determinants. We show that two distinct Th cell subsets participate in allospecific CTL responses: (a) an L3T4+,Lyt-2- class II- restricted Th cell population, and (b) an L3T4-,Lyt-2+ class I- restricted Th cell population. Both of these T cell subpopulations were shown to function in allospecific CTL responses as helper cells by their ability to show synergy with allospecific CTL precursors. Thus, primary class I allospecific CTL responses represent an immune response involving not only L3T4+ Th cells, but Lyt-2+ Th cells as well. One of the necessary functions performed by both L3T4+ and Lyt-2+ Th cell populations in allospecific CTL responses was found to be the secretion of interleukin 2. Finally, despite the many similarities between anti- allo- and anti-TNP-CTL responses, anti-TNP-CTL responses were found to be mediated by only L3T4+ Th cells, not by Lyt-2+ Th cells. Consequently, Lyt-2+ Th cells appear to be a helper cell population that is primarily involved in MHC-specific immune responses.
On the Lumping Semantics of Counterfactuals

Kratzer (1981) discussed a naive premise semantics of counterfactual conditionals, pointed to an empirical inadequacy of this interpretation, and presented a modification—partition semantics—which Lewis (1981) proved equivalent to Pollock's (1976) version of his ordering semantics. Subsequently, Kratzer (1989) proposed lumping semantics, a different modification of premise semantics, and argued it remedies empirical failings of ordering semantics as well as of nao¨ve premise semantics. We show that lumping semantics yields truth conditions for counter- factuals that are not only different from what she claims they are, but also inferior to those of the earlier versions of premise semantics.
STEvent: Spatio-temporal event model for social network discovery

Spatio-temporal data concerning the movement of individuals over space and time contains latent information on the associations among these individuals. Sources of spatio-temporal data include usage logs of mobile and Internet technologies. This article defines a spatio-temporal event by the co-occurrences among individuals that indicate potential associations among them. Each spatio-temporal event is assigned a weight based on the precision and uniqueness of the event. By aggregating the weights of events relating two individuals, we can determine the strength of association between them. We conduct extensive experimentation to investigate both the efficacy of the proposed model as well as the computational complexity of the proposed algorithms. Experimental results on three real-life spatio-temporal datasets cross-validate each other, lending greater confidence on the reliability of our proposed model.
Ethnic disparities in perinatal mortality at 40 and 41 weeks of gestation

Abstract Objective: To evaluate whether maternal ethnicity affects perinatal mortality by week of gestation from 39 weeks onwards. Study design: In this cohort study, we used data from the nationwide Netherlands Perinatal Registry from 1999 until 2008. All singleton infants born between 39+0 and 42+6 weeks of gestation without congenital anomalies were included. We used crude and multivariate logistic regression analyses with white Europeans as the reference to calculate the adjusted odds ratios (aOR) of South Asian, African and Mediterranean women. The main outcome measure was perinatal mortality (antepartum and intrapartum/neonatal mortality within 7 days after birth). Results: We studied 1,092,255 singleton deliveries. Perinatal mortality occurred in 2315 infants (2.1‰). There was interaction between gestational age and ethnicity (P<0.0001). In week 40 (40+0–40+6) South Asian (aOR 1.9; 95% CI 1.1–3.4) and Mediterranean (aOR 1.3; 95% CI 1.04–1.7) women had an increased risk of perinatal mortality. The perinatal mortality risk became greater in week 41 for South Asian (aOR 4.5 95% CI 2.8–7.2), African (aOR 2.2; 95%CI 1.4–3.4) and Mediterranean (aOR 2.2; 95% CI 1.8–2.9) women, especially among small for gestational age infants. Conclusion: With increasing gestational age beyond 39 weeks, perinatal mortality risk increases more strongly among South Asian, African and Mediterranean women compared to European whites.
The high frequency and power performance of SiGe HBTs with SIC structure at cryogenic temperature

The high-frequency behavior and power capability of SiGe HBTs with selectively implanted collector structure have been measured at temperature between 77 and 350 K. Detailed analyses of temperature dependence on dc, high-frequency parameters, and power performances are presented. An HBT transit-time analysis is also described to find out the factors causing the increase in cutoff frequency (f/sub T/) at low temperature operation of different functionality of devices. In addition, the power capability of enhanced-breakdown device at liquid-nitrogen temperature is severely degraded.
Efficacy and safety of lovastatin in adolescent males with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia: a randomized controlled trial.

CONTEXT Heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH) is a common disorder associated with early coronary artery disease, especially in men. The age at which drug therapy should be started is still controversial, as is the use of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins). OBJECTIVE To assess the lipid-lowering efficacy, biochemical safety, and effect on growth and sexual development of lovastatin in adolescent boys with HeFH. DESIGN One-year, double-blind, placebo-controlled, balanced, 2-period, 2-arm randomized trial. In the first period (24 weeks), lovastatin was increased at 8 and 16 weeks and the dosage remained stable during the second period (24 weeks). The study was conducted between 1990 and 1994. SETTING Fourteen pediatric outpatient clinics in the United States and Finland. PATIENTS Boys aged 10 to 17 years with HeFH. Of 132 randomized subjects (67 intervention, 65 placebo), 122 (63 intervention, 59 placebo) and 110 (61 intervention, 49 placebo) completed the first and second periods, respectively. INTERVENTION Lovastatin, starting at 10 mg/d, with a forced titration at 8 and 16 weeks to 20 and 40 mg/d, respectively, or placebo. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The primary efficacy outcome measure was low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). Primary safety measures were growth and sexual development. RESULTS Compared with placebo, LDL-C levels of patients receiving lovastatin decreased significantly (P<.001) by 17%, 24%, and 27% receiving dosages of 10, 20, and 40 mg/d, respectively, and remained 25 % lower than baseline at 48 weeks. Growth and sexual maturation assessed by Tanner staging and testicular volume were not significantly different between the lovastatin and placebo groups at 24 weeks (P = .85) and 48 weeks (P = .33); neither were serum hormone levels or biochemical parameters of nutrition. However, the study was underpowered to detect significant differences in safety parameters. Serum vitamin E levels were reduced with lovastatin treatment consistent with reductions in LDL-C, the major carrier of vitamin E in the circulation. CONCLUSIONS This study in adolescent boys with HeFH confirmed the LDL-C-reducing effectiveness of lovastatin. Comprehensive clinical and biochemical data on growth, hormonal, and nutritional status indicated no significant differences between lovastatin and placebo over 48 weeks, although further study is required.
Profile scanning for three-dimensional structural patterns in protein sequences

Profile analysis measures the similarity between a target sequence and a group of aligned sequences (the probe). The probe sequences are used to produce a position-specific scoring table (the profile) that can be aligned with any sequence (the target) using standard dynamic programming methods. We are developing a library of profiles, each describing a different structural motif. This allows any target sequence to be rapidly scanned for the presence of structural motifs. Levels of significance for the comparison of target sequences with the profile are determined in advance, permitting an objective decision to be made as to whether a protein is likely to possess a structural motif.
Cognitive radio network secure communication with and without cooperative jammer

This paper investigates optimal power allocation strategies over a bank of idle independent parallel Gaussian wiretap channels where a cognitive-based transmitter and a cognitive-based receiver communicate in the presence of an eavesdropper and a friendly jammer. We initially focus on the scenario where the cognitive transceiver's confidential message is transmitted without the assistance of a cooperative jammer (CJ) and characterize the secrecy rate maximization power allocation strategy, which indicates that only part of the sensing idle subchannels are utilized. This is a case of inefficiency in spectrum usage for cognitive radio network whose resource comes from spectrum sensing. Thus, we then extend our scenario by introducing a CJ and investigate whether we can further improve the system secrecy rate as that in non-cognitive network. In which, we focus on the joint transmitter and jammer power control and propose a suboptimal algorithm to demonstrate the benefits of introducing a CJ in our scenario.
Sivelestat Relaxes Porcine Coronary Artery via Inhibition of Ca2+ Sensitization Induced by a Receptor Agonist

Sivelestat sodium hydrate (sivelestat) is a novel synthetic drug and specific inhibitor of neutrophil elastase that has been approved in Japan as a treatment for acute lung injury associated with systemic inflammatory response syndrome. There are no reports on the effects of sivelestat on the contractile regulation of vascular smooth muscle. The purpose of the present study was to assess the effects of sivelestat on porcine coronary artery. Sivelestat induced concentration-dependent (3 × 10−5 to 3 × 10−4 M) vasorelaxation in U46619 (100 nM)-precontracted porcine coronary artery with or without endothelium. Simultaneous measurements of tension and the cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) revealed that sivelestat shifted the [Ca2+]i-tension curve to the right and downward during stimulation with 118 mM K+ and 100 nM U46619. In β-escin-permeabilized arterial strips, sivelestat abolished GTP plus U46619-induced contractions at constant [Ca2+]i, whereas it had no effect on Ca2+-induced contractions. Thus, sivelestat relaxes porcine coronary artery smooth muscle via the selective inhibition of Ca2+ sensitization induced by a receptor agonist, without affecting Ca2+-induced contraction.
Maternal malignancy involving the products of conception: a report of malignant melanoma and medulloblastoma.

PURPOSE Cancer in pregnancy is not uncommon, but cases of maternal malignancy involving the placenta or the fetus are much more rare. We report two additional cases. PATIENTS AND METHODS We report one case of malignant melanoma discovered during pregnancy and found to have metastasized to the placenta. We also describe a case of maternal medulloblastoma involving the placenta at delivery. CONCLUSIONS Although maternal malignancy during pregnancy occurs in as many as one in 1,000 pregnancies, involvement of the products of conception is rare. Subsequent malignancy in the fetus is even more rare. We report two cases, one of melanoma and another of medulloblastoma (the first such case described). Both infants are alive and well.
Inter-symbol interference suppression scheme employing periodic signals in network MIMO-OFDM systems

This paper proposes an inter-symbol interference (ISI) suppression scheme employing periodic signals for network MIMO-OFDM systems. Network MIMO-OFDM suffers from the ISI due to long time difference of arrival (TDOA) among the users especially in large cells. In the proposed scheme, the periodic signals generated by only the even-numbered sub-carriers is adopted for suppressing the ISI and the appropriate transmission mode is chosen between the traditional non-periodic and periodic signals based on the theoretical BER obtained by means of correlation operation. The proposed approach makes the most of the useful properties that a certain ISI-affected user does not interfere at all with the other users, which enables us to make the counter-measure individually. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated in comparison with the traditional non-periodic transmission by means of computer simulations.
Implementation of privacy-friendly aggregation for the smart grid

In recent years a number of protocols have been suggested toward privacy-preserving aggregation of smart meter data, allowing electricity network operators to perform a large part of grid maintenance and administrative operations without having to touch any privacy-sensitive data. In light of upcoming European legislation, this approach has gained quite some attention. However, to allow such protocols to have a chance to make it into a real system, it is vital to add credibility by demonstrating that the approach scales, is reasonably robust, and can be integrated into the existing and planned smart metering chains. This paper presents results from integration and scalability tests performed on 100 DLMS/COSEM smart meters in collaboration with a meter manufacturer and a Dutch utility. We outline the use cases, lessons learned, and choices that had to be made to allow the protocols to run in a real system, as well as some privacy challenges that cannot be covered by this technology.
Asymmetric localization of natural antisense RNA of neuropeptide sensorin in Aplysia sensory neurons during aging and activity

Despite the advances in our understanding of transcriptome, regulation and function of its non-coding components continue to be poorly understood. Here we searched for natural antisense transcript for sensorin (NAT-SRN), a neuropeptide expressed in the presynaptic sensory neurons of gill-withdrawal reflex of the marine snail Aplysia californica. Sensorin (SRN) has a key role in learning and long-term memory storage in Aplysia. We have now identified NAT-SRN in the central nervous system (CNS) and have confirmed its expression by northern blotting and fluorescent RNA in situ hybridization. Quantitative analysis of NAT-SRN in micro-dissected cell bodies and processes of sensory neurons suggest that NAT-SRN is present in the distal neuronal processes along with sense transcripts. Importantly, aging is associated with reduction in levels of NAT-SRN in sensory neuron processes. Furthermore, we find that forskolin, an activator of CREB signaling, differentially alters the distribution of SRN and NAT-SRN. These studies reveal novel insights into physiological regulation of natural antisense RNAs.