Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of signal-to-noise ratio on the nonsense syllable test.

Over the past few years, Danhauer and his colleagues (1-5) have shown that the Edgerton and Danhauer nonsense syllable test (NST) (1) may be a useful part of the speech perception test battery for normally hearing and hearing-impaired adults and children. Recently, we provided data for 20 normally hearing young adults’ performance on the NST in various noise competitors at a single signal-to-noise ratio (SN), 0 dB (5). Listeners’ responses were scored on a whole-word basis and indicated that the NST is sufficiently difficult in quiet to not warrant testing in noise regardless of the noise types tested, at least at the SN. We have since expanded our earlier (5) study by (a) investigating the effects of noise competitors on the NST at different SNs and (b) determining whether noise is needed with the NST at SNs other than 0 dB. Five native English speaking, normally hearing, young adults (23-32 yr of age) served as listeners for this investigation. They all had pure-tone thresholds <25 dB HTL for the octave frequencies 250 to 8000 Hz and no reported history of hearing loss or ear disease. All listeners were experienced with phonetic transcription. The methodology used here was the same as that in our earlier study (5). The listeners were informed that a competing signal would be present throughout the procedure, but that they should disregard it and attend only to the speech stimuli presented. Six signal-to-noise ratios (SNs), -1 0, -7, -5, 0, +lo, +20 dB, were used based on pilot data which indicated that these levels should be sufficient for defining the effectiveness of the noise competitors. The NST stimuli were always presented at 50 dB HTL; the level of each noise competitor was varied around the NST to achieve each SN. The listeners’ mean percent correct NST scores, standard deviations, and ranges within each of the three competing noise conditions and across the six SNs are presented in Table 1. As expected, these results show increasingly better listener performance as the SN improved. Separate one-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs) generally revealed no major differences among the three noise competitors. Post hoc analyses revealed that all the SNs were significantly different from each other, except Table 1. Listeners’ mean percent correct scores (x), standard deviations (SDs), and ranges (in percent) for the NST in three noise conditions: Bowling Green Multitalker Noise (BGMTN), White Noise (WN), and Amplitude Modulated White Noise (AM)
The iOSC3 System: Using Ontologies and SWRL Rules for Intelligent Supervision and Care of Patients with Acute Cardiac Disorders

Physicians in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) are specially trained to deal constantly with very large and complex quantities of clinical data and make quick decisions as they face complications. However, the amount of information generated and the way the data are presented may overload the cognitive skills of even experienced professionals and lead to inaccurate or erroneous actions that put patients' lives at risk. In this paper, we present the design, development, and validation of iOSC3, an ontology-based system for intelligent supervision and treatment of critical patients with acute cardiac disorders. The system analyzes the patient's condition and provides a recommendation about the treatment that should be administered to achieve the fastest possible recovery. If the recommendation is accepted by the doctor, the system automatically modifies the quantity of drugs that are being delivered to the patient. The knowledge base is constituted by an OWL ontology and a set of SWRL rules that represent the expert's knowledge. iOSC3 has been developed in collaboration with experts from the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) of the Meixoeiro Hospital, one of the most significant hospitals in the northwest region of Spain.
Enhanced service differentiation using priority-based MAC protocol for MANETs

MAC layer plays an important role for providing quality of service in mobile ad hoc networks. Accordingly, a real-time data frame should be provided with higher channel access priority than that of a best-effort data frame. This paper proposes a strict priority-based variant of the IEEE 802.11 DCF for QoS provision at the MAC layer of MANETs. The service differentiation is achieved by two mechanisms: a) a priority-based non-overlapping contention window selection, so that smaller backoff timer values are assigned to real-time data frames to reduce their channel access delay; b) a priority-based queue management and packet scheduling to improve the intra-node service differentiation. Performance of the proposed scheme is investigated for single hop scenarios using a Markov chain model whose accuracy is validated through simulation. Furthermore, simulation studies in multihop scenarios show suitability of the proposed scheme to provide an enhanced level of service differentiation, especially in terms of end-to-end delay and throughput, for supporting QoS at MAC layer of MANETs.
Utilizing don't care states in SAT-based bounded sequential problems

Boolean Satisfiability (SAT) solvers are popular engines used throughout the verification world. Bounded sequential problems such as bounded model checking and bounded sequential equivalence checking rely on fast and robust SAT solvers. In this work, we introduce a technique that improves the performance of the underlying SAT solver for bounded sequential problems by taking advantage of a design's don't care states. We develop cost effective methods of filtering, replicating and applying the don't care states to the original problem thus reducing the search space. Experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method on ISCAS'89 benchmarks.
Localization, Annotation, and Comparison of the Escherichia coli K-12 Proteome under Two States of Growth*S

Here we describe a proteomic analysis of Escherichia coli in which 3,199 protein forms were detected, and of those 2,160 were annotated and assigned to the cytosol, periplasm, inner membrane, and outer membrane by biochemical fractionation followed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and tandem mass spectrometry. Represented within this inventory were unique and modified forms corresponding to 575 different ORFs that included 151 proteins whose existence had been predicted from hypothetical ORFs, 76 proteins of completely unknown function, and 222 proteins currently without location assignments in the Swiss-Prot Database. Of the 575 unique proteins identified, 42% were found to exist in multiple forms. Using DIGE, we also examined the relative changes in protein expression when cells were grown in the presence and absence of amino acids. A total of 23 different proteins were identified whose abundance changed significantly between the two conditions. Most of these changes were found to be associated with proteins involved in carbon and amino acid metabolism, transport, and chemotaxis. Detailed information related to all 2,160 protein forms (protein and gene names, accession numbers, subcellular locations, relative abundances, sequence coverage, molecular masses, and isoelectric points) can be obtained upon request in either tabular form or as interactive gel images.
Social anxiety disorder

Summary Although social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a common and disabling disorder that may occur in different cultural settings, it is under-diagnosed by clinicians. In order to facilitate accurate diagnosis, the clinical features and differential diagnosis of SAD are described, together with useful assessment instruments for clinicians. Aetiological evidence suggests that the causal pathways for SAD include genetic, neurobiological, temperamental and cognitive factors. A range of effective treatments for SAD are available: current findings suggest that the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the first-line choice of pharmacotherapy for SAD, while several other agents show promise in treating refractory cases; furthermore, SAD responds well to psychotherapeutic interventions such as exposure therapy and cognitive restructuring.
Nonadherence to antihypertensive drugs

Background: Hypertension drives the global burden of cardiovascular disease and its prevalence is estimated to increase by 30% by the year 2025. Nonadherence to chronic medication regimens is common; approximately 43% to 65.5% of patients who fail to adhere to prescribed regimens are hypertensive patients. Nonadherence to medications is a potential contributing factor to the occurrence of concomitant diseases. Objective: This systematic review applied a meta-analytic procedure to investigate the medication nonadherence in adult hypertensive patients. Methods: Original research studies, conducted on adult hypertensive patients, using the 8-item Morisky medication adherence scale (MMAS-8) to assess the medication adherence between January 2009 and March 2016 were included. Comprehensive search strategies of 3 databases and MeSH keywords were used to locate eligible literature. Study characteristics, participant demographics, and medication adherence outcomes were recorded. Effect sizes for outcomes were calculated as standardized mean differences using random-effect model to estimate overall mean effects. Results: A total of 28 studies from 15 countries were identified, in total comprising of 13,688 hypertensive patients, were reviewed. Of 25 studies included in the meta-analysis involving 12,603 subjects, a significant number (45.2%) of the hypertensive patients and one-third (31.2%) of the hypertensive patients with comorbidities were nonadherent to medications. However, a higher proportion (83.7%) of medication nonadherence was noticed in uncontrolled blood pressure (BP) patients. Although a higher percentage (54%) of nonadherence to antihypertensive medications was noticed in females (P < 0.001), the risk of nonadherence was 1.3 times higher in males, with a relative risk of 0.883. Overall, nearly two-thirds (62.5%) of the medication nonadherence was noticed in Africans and Asians (43.5%). Conclusion: Nonadherence to antihypertensive medications was noticed in 45% of the subjects studied and a higher proportion of uncontrolled BP (83.7%) was nonadherent to medication. Intervention models aiming to improve adherence should be emphasized.
An Improved Low-optical-power Variable Focus Lens with a Large Aperture References and Links

We report an improved method of fabricating a variable focus lens in which an in-plane pretension force is applied to a membrane. This method realized a lens with a large optical aperture and high performance in a low-optical-power region. The method was verified by comparing membranes in a simulation using the finite element method. A prototype with a 26 mm-diameter aperture was fabricated, and the wavefront behavior was measured by using a Shack-Hartmann sensor. Thanks to the in-plane pretension force, the lens achieved an infinite focal length with a wavefront error of 105.1 nm root mean square. Fluidic adaptive lens with high focal length tunability, " Appl. Tunable-focus liquid lens controlled using a servo motor, " Opt. High-speed liquid lens with 2 ms response and 80.3 nm root-mean-square wavefront error, " Appl. A novel adaptive mechanical-wetting lens for visible and near infrared imaging, " Opt. Variable-focus lens with 30 mm optical aperture based on liquid– membrane–liquid structure, " Appl. Chromatic aberration control for tunable all-silicone membrane microlenses, " Opt. Electrically tunable-focusing and polarizer-free liquid crystal lenses for ophthalmic applications, " Opt. Focus tuning by liquid crystal lens in imaging system, " Appl. Variable-focus liquid lens for miniature cameras, " Appl. Three-dimensional surface profiling and optical characterization of liquid microlens using a Shack-Hartmann wave front sensor, " Appl. Strehl ratio for primary aberrations: some analytical results for circular and annular pupils, " J.
Towards Effective Collaborative Analysis for Distributed Intrusion Detection

This paper addresses the problem of collaborative analysis in a distributed setting via a network security application. Network security analysis often requires accurate and timely results, which is very challenging to achieve in large dynamic networks with a single user. To address this issue, we design and develop a collaborative detection mechanism for complex intrusion detection applications. We also establish a set of collaboration guidelines for team coordination with distributed visualization tools. These collaboration guidelines cover the designs of coordination roles, workflow, collaborative environments and human computer interactions. We apply them to generate a prototype system with interactions that facilitates collaborative visual analysis. According to the expert feedback acquired for assessing our approach, we propose directions for improving the efficiency of collaborative analysis.
Motility in Echinosphaerium nucleofilum. II. Cytoplasmic contractility and its molecular basis

Echinosphaerium nucleofilum exhibits at least three kinds of movement: locomotion by the bending and shortening of its many axopodia, feeding by means of food-cup pseudopodia formed from its cortical cytoplasm, and saltatory motion of cytoplasmic particles, especially in the cortex and axopodia. Since previously presented evidence indicated that the microtubular axoneme is not essential for particle motion, the cytoplasm was investigated for the possible existence of contractile behavior and for the possible presence of linear elements other than microtubules. Cytoplasm can be isolated in physiological media in which rigor, relaxation, and contraction can be induced, as in muscle, by manipulating the concentrations of calcium ions and magnesium-adenosine triphosphate. Contraction is initiated by calcium ions at concentrations above 2.4 times 10-minus 7 M. The rigor-to-relaxation transition occurs at subthreshold calcium concentrations on the addition of 10-minus 3 M ATP. Negatively stained preparations of isolated cytoplasm show two types of filaments: thin filaments identified as cytoplasmic actin by virtue of their binding heavy meromyosin from striated muscle in characteristic arrowhead arrays, and thicker filaments which do not strictly resemble myosin aggregates from muscle or amoeba but could conceivably by myosin aggregated in an unfamiliar form.
S-NAR: generating narrations of SQL queries using regular expressions

Structured Query Language (SQL) is popular with relational databases. Despite the simple and highly structured nature of SQL, end users often find it difficult to comprehend written queries and/or write new queries. Hence, a number of tools have been proposed to aid the comprehension of SQL queries via visualisation. In this paper, we present a different comprehension aid called narrations. Narrations are non-technical, textual descriptions of SQL queries. Using a representation of regular languages, regular expressions, we have designed a tool, called S-NAR (or Sql-NARrator), that reads queries and generates a narration of these queries using pre-defined templates. S-NAR was tested with 5,000 queries and narrated 96% of the queries. The generated narrations should find applications in aiding comprehension in the teaching of database courses at higher institutions of learning, and assisting the comprehension of legacy queries in data-centered industries.
Modeling the genetic dual-feedback oscillator

— Recently, we constructed a genetic oscillator comprised of coupled positive and negative feedback loops. The robustness of the observed oscillations, however, challenged our understanding of the network, which was based on previous theoretical work. We find that a more complete model of the system not only quantitatively predicts the dynamics of the oscillator, but also changes our qualitative understanding of the mechanism behind oscillations. Introduction of several intermediate steps create a small delay in the feedback loops, leading to robust relaxation oscillations. Furthermore, our modeling predicts, and experiments confirm, that the system oscillates even in the absence of positive feedback.
On adelic model of boson Fock space

We construct a canonical embedding of the Schwartz space on R n to the space of distributions on the adelic product of all the p-adic numbers. This map is equivariant with respect to the action of the symplectic group Sp(2n, Q) over rational numbers and with respect to the action of rational Heisenberg group. These notes contain two elements. First, we give a fanny funny? realization of a space of complex functions of a real variable as a space of functions of p-adic variable. Secondly, we try to clarify classical contstruction of modular forms through θ-functions and Howe duality.
Differential Expression of the mRNA for the Vanilloid Receptor Subtype 1 in Cells of the Adult Rat Dorsal Root and Nodose Ganglia and Its Downregulation by Axotomy

Sensitivity to the pungent vanilloid, capsaicin, defines a subpopulation of primary sensory neurons that are mainly polymodal nociceptors. The recently cloned vanilloid receptor subtype 1 (VR1) is activated by capsaicin and noxious heat. Using combined in situ hybridization and histochemical methods, we have characterized in sensory ganglia the expression of VR1 mRNA. We show that this receptor is almost exclusively expressed by neurofilament-negative small- and medium-sized dorsal root ganglion cells. Within this population, VR1 mRNA is detected at widely varying levels in both the NGF receptor (trkA)-positive, peptide-producing cells that elicit neurogenic inflammation and the functionally less characterized glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor-responsive cells that bind lectin Griffonia simplicifolia isolectin B4 (IB4). Cells without detectable levels of VR1 mRNA are found in both classes. A subpopulation of the IB4-binding cells that produce somatostatin has relatively low levels of VR1 mRNA. A previously uncharacterized population of very small cells that express the receptor tyrosine kinase (RET) and that do not label for trkA or IB4-binding has the highest relative levels of VR1 mRNA. The majority of small visceral sensory neurons of the nodose ganglion also express VR1 mRNA, in conjunction with the BDNF receptor trkB but not trkA. Axotomy results in the downregulation of VR1 mRNA in dorsal root ganglion cells. Our data emphasize the heterogeneity of VR1 mRNA expression by subclasses of small sensory neurons, and this may result in their differential sensitivity to chemical and noxious heat stimuli. Our results also indicate that peripherally derived trophic factors may regulate levels of VR1 mRNA.
Four novel ARSA gene mutations with pathogenic impacts on metachromatic leukodystrophy: a bioinformatics approach to predict pathogenic mutations

Metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) disorder is a rare lysosomal storage disorder that leads to severe neurological symptoms and an early death. MLD occurs due to the deficiency of enzyme arylsulfatase A (ARSA) in leukocytes, and patients with MLD excrete sulfatide in their urine. In this study, the ARSA gene in 12 non-consanguineous MLD patients and 40 healthy individuals was examined using polymerase chain reaction sequencing. Furthermore, the structural and functional effects of new mutations on ARSA were analyzed using SIFT (sorting intolerant from tolerant), I-Mutant 2, and PolyPhen bioinformatics software. Here, 4 new pathogenic homozygous mutations c.585G>T, c.661T>A, c.849C>G, and c.911A>G were detected. The consequence of this study has extended the genotypic spectrum of MLD patients, paving way to a more effective method for carrier detection and genetic counseling.
A New Genetic Algorithm for Minimum Span Frequency Assignment using Permutation and Clique

We propose a new Genetic Algorithm (GA) for solving the minimum span frequency assignment problem (MSFAP). The MSFAP is minimizing the range of the frequencies assigned to each transmitter in a region satisfying a number of constraints. The proposed method involves finding and ordering of the transmitters for use in a greedy (sequential) assignment process, and it also utilizes graph theoretic constraint to reduce search space. Results are given which show that our GA produces optimal solutions to several practical problems, and the performance of our GA is far better than the existing GAs.
Isolation and mapping of Salmonella typhimurium mutants defective in the utilization of trehalose

Interest in genetic markers mapping near the histidme (his) loci on the Salmonella typhimurium genetic map prompted a study of the "locus" for the utilization of trehalose as a carbon source. In colicin factor-mediated crosses of S. typhimurium LT2, which gives only weak or negative trehalose fermentation tests, to strongly fermenting S. typhimurium strains, the trehalose fermentation character segregated as though determined at a locus between trp (tryptophan requirement) and cysCD (cysteine requirement), i.e., near his (T. V. Subbaiah and B. A. D. Stocker, personal communication). Since strain LT2, despite its weak fermentation reaction on trehalose, utilized this sugar as sole carbon source, it was convenient to isolate mutants unable to utilize trehalose. For mutagen treatment, 0.1 ml of an overnight minimal-medium culture of LT2 wild-type bacteria was added to 5 ml of minimal salts solution containing several drops of diethyl sulfate (Fisher Scientific Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.) or 2 Ag (per ml) of N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (Aldrich Chemical Co., Inc., Milwaukee, Wis.). The tubes were incubated at 37 C for 30 min; samples were then transferred to tubes containing Difco Nutrient Broth and incubated overnight at 37 C. Overnight cultures were plated on minimal medium lacking citrate but containing 0.01% (w/v) sodium succinate, 0.4% trehalose (Pfanstiehl Chemical Corp., Waukegan, Ill.), and 0.015% Casamino Acids (Difco). Casamino Acids was added to allow growth of amino acid auxotrophs, and the succinate concentration was sufficient to enable limited growth of bacteria incapable of utilizing trehalose (Tre-). Small colonies were selected from plates incubated for 48 hr at 37 C. Master plates of these presumptive Tremutants were replicaplated on minimal medium containing 0.4% (w/v) trehalose as sole carbon source. Eleven Tremutants were found. None of the mutants grew on trehalose medium within 48 hr, whereas
A unique visual pigment expressed in green, red and deep-red receptors in the eye of the small white butterfly, Pieris rapae crucivora

SUMMARY The full primary structure of a long-wavelength absorbing visual pigment of the small white butterfly, Pieris rapae crucivora, was determined by molecular cloning. In situ hybridization of the opsin mRNA of the novel visual pigment (PrL) demonstrated that it is expressed in the two distal photoreceptor cells (R3 and R4) as well as in the proximal photoreceptors (R5–8) in all three types of ommatidia of the Pieris eye. The main, long-wavelength band of the spectral sensitivities of the R3 and R4 photoreceptors is well described by the absorption spectrum of a visual pigment with absorption maximum at 563 nm; i.e. PrL is a visual pigment R563. The spectral sensitivities of R5–8 photoreceptors in ommatidial type I and III peak at 620 nm and those in type II ommatidia peak at 640 nm. The large shifts of the spectral sensitivities of the R5–8 photoreceptors with respect to the absorption spectrum of their visual pigment can be explained with the spectral filtering by pale-red (PR) and deep-red (DR) screening pigments that are concentrated in clusters of granules near the rhabdom boundary. The peak absorbance of the two spectral filters appears to be approximately 1 (PR) and 2 (DR).