Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Summarization of Spontaneous Speech using Automatic Speech Recognition and a Speech Prosody based Tokenizer

This paper addresses speech summarization of highly spontaneous speech. The audio signal is transcribed using an Automatic Speech Recognizer, which operates at relatively high word error rates due to the complexity of the recognition task and high spontaneity of speech. An analysis is carried out to assess the propagation of speech recognition errors into syntactic parsing. We also propose an automatic, speech prosody based audio tokenization approach and compare it to human performance. The so obtained sentence-like tokens are analysed by the syntactic parser to help ranking based on thematic terms and sentence position. The thematic term is expressed in two ways: TF-IDF and Latent Semantic Indexing. The sentence scores are calculated as a linear combination of the thematic term score and a positional score. The summary is generated from the top 10 candidates. Results show that prosody based tokenization reaches human average performance and that speech recognition errors propagate moderately into syntactic parsing (POS tagging and dependency parsing). Nouns prove to be quite error resistant. Audio summarization shows 0.62 recall and 0.79 precision by an F-measure of 0.68, compared to human reference. A subjective test is also carried out on a Likert-scale. All results apply to spontaneous Hungarian.
Flaked sorghum biscuits increase postprandial GLP-1 and GIP levels and extend subjective satiety in healthy subjects.

SCOPE Sorghum grain components may play a role in mechanisms that protect against development of obesity-related chronic diseases. We conducted a randomized, cross-over trial (40 healthy subjects) using whole grain sorghum flaked biscuits to investigate mechanisms related to satiety. METHODS AND RESULTS Subjects were tested on four occasions after a 12-h fast. At baseline, they consumed 50 grams of one of four treatment meals: white, red, or brown sorghum biscuits or a wheat control. Subjective satiety was measured at 8 time-points over four hours. In a subset of 20 subjects, plasma glucose, insulin, gastric inhibitory peptide (GIP), glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), peptide-tyrosine-tyrosine (PYY), and ghrelin were measured. Subjects reported significantly lower subjective satiety ratings after consuming wheat compared to sorghum biscuits. Incremental area under the plasma concentration-time curve of postprandial GLP-1, GIP and in males, PYY, were significantly higher (p = 0.018, p = 0.031, p = 0.036, respectively) for sorghum breakfasts compared to wheat. Energy intake at a subsequent meal did not differ between treatments. CONCLUSIONS Sorghum whole grain is a promising novel ingredient in foods targeting satiety as an adjunct for weight control. Evidence is now required from randomized controlled trials that aim to examine specific effects on health outcomes from a sorghum-enriched intervention diet.
MicroRNAs in glioblastoma multiforme pathogenesis and therapeutics

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and lethal cancer of the adult brain, remaining incurable with a median survival time of only 15 months. In an effort to identify new targets for GBM diagnostics and therapeutics, recent studies have focused on molecular phenotyping of GBM subtypes. This has resulted in mounting interest in microRNAs (miRNAs) due to their regulatory capacities in both normal development and in pathological conditions such as cancer. miRNAs have a wide range of targets, allowing them to modulate many pathways critical to cancer progression, including proliferation, cell death, metastasis, angiogenesis, and drug resistance. This review explores our current understanding of miRNAs that are differentially modulated and pathologically involved in GBM as well as the current state of miRNA‐based therapeutics. As the role of miRNAs in GBM becomes more well understood and novel delivery methods are developed and optimized, miRNA‐based therapies could provide a critical step forward in cancer treatment.
Surface Micropattern Resists Bacterial Contamination Transferred by Healthcare Practitioners

Environmental contamination contributes to an estimated 20-40% of all hospital- acquired infections (HAI). Infection control practices continue to improve, but multipronged approaches are necessary to fully combat the diversity of nosocomial pathogens and emerging multidrug resistant organisms. The Sharklet™ micropattern, inspired from the microtopography of shark skin, was recently shown to significantly reduce surface contamination but has not been evaluated in a clinical setting. The focus of this study was the transfer of bacteria onto micropatterned surfaces compared to unpatterned surfaces in a clinical simulation environment involving healthcare practitioners. Physician volunteers were recruited to participate in an emergency medicine scenario involving a contact-precaution patient with an acute pulmonary embolism. Prior to scenario initiation, Staphylococcus aureus was inoculated onto the leg of a simulation mannequin and fresh micropatterned and unpatterned surface films were placed on a code cart, cardiac defibrillator shock button, and epinephrine medication vial. Six physicians interacted with micropatterned surfaces and five physicians interacted with unpatterned surfaces in separate scenarios. Bacterial load loss from the first contact location (control film over the femoral pulse) to subsequent unpatterned or micropatterned surface test locations was quantified as a log reduction (LR) for each surface type. The code cart, cardiac defibrillator button, and medication vial locations with micropatterned surfaces resulted in LRs that were larger than the unpatterned LRs by 0.64 (p=0.146), 1.14 (p=0.023), and 0.58 (p=0.083) respectively for each location. The geometric mean CFU/RODAC at the first control surface touched at the femoral pulse pads ranged from 175-250 CFU/RODAC (95% confidence interval). Thus, the micropatterned LRs were consistently greater than the unpatterned LRs, substantiating the micropattern-dependent reduction of microorganism transfer. Principal component analysis showed that the LRs for the code cart and the cardiac defibrillator button highly covaried. Thus, a single mean LR was calculated from these two locations for each surface type; 5.4 times more bacteria attached to the unpatterned surfaces compared to the micropatterned surfaces (p = 0.058). The simulated clinical scenario involving healthcare practitioners demonstrated that the micropatterned surface reduced the transfer of bacterial contamination based on the larger LRs for the micropatterned surface compared to control surfaces. Further investigation in hospital rooms where patients are receiving care will ultimately reveal the capability of micropatterned surfaces to minimize the incidence of HAIs.
Quantum Dots in Cell Biology

Quantum dots are semiconductor nanocrystals that have broad excitation spectra, narrow emission spectra, tunable emission peaks, long fluorescence lifetimes, negligible photobleaching, and ability to be conjugated to proteins, making them excellent probes for bioimaging applications. Here the author reviews the advantages and disadvantages of using quantum dots in bioimaging applications, such as single-particle tracking and fluorescence resonance energy transfer, to study receptor-mediated transport.
Performance-Based Impairment Measures as Predictors of Early-Stage Activity Limitations in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Objective: The objective of the current investigation was to explore performance-based predictors of decline in the performance quality of everyday tasks as a first step for early identification, screening, and referral to minimize disability in community-dwelling older adults. Method: This was a secondary analysis of data from 256 community-based older women. Mobility, activities of daily living (ADLs), and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) were measured using the Performance Assessment of Self-Care Skills (PASS). Logistic regression models explored cognitive and motor predictors of performance quality while controlling for demographics and diagnoses. Results: Functional reach (p = .049) and cognition (p = .012) were predictive of mobility quality, whereas balance (p = .007) and the Keitel Function (p = .005) were predictive of ADL quality. Manipulation and cognitive measures were predictive of cognitive and physical IADL quality. Discussion: Cognitive and physical screens are both important to identify older adults at risk for disability.
Sequence of pp42/MAP kinase, a serine/threonine kinase regulated by tyrosine phosphorylation

Pp42/MAP kinase (refered to here as p42P) becomes enzymatically activated within 5 minutes following addition to quiescent cells of various growth and metabolic agonists (1,2). The activated form of p42P is phosphorylated on threonine and tyrosine and both phosphorylations are required for activity (3), suggesting the enzyme serves to integrate different signaling pathways. We purified p42P to homogeneity, and determined the sequence of the tryptic peptide which contains both of the regulatory phosphorylations (4). This sequence was found to be similar to a previously published partial sequence of a cDNA (ERK1) for another mitogen-activated protein kinase (5). Using oligonucleotides based on this sequence information, we isolated from a mouse 3T3 library a full-length cDNA which encodes p42TMP (Figure 1). The sequence is 85% identical to the rat ERK1 sequence at the amino acid level. However, P42'* is not the murine equivalent of rat ERK1, as we also have isolated a mouse 3T3 cDNA which is 97% identical to the published ERK1 sequence. Thus, there appears to be a family of kinases related to p42P, as suggested by Northern analysis using ERK1 probes (5, 6). This is the first report of a full length sequence for one of these family members. The p42r amino acid sequence is 50% identical to KSS1 (7) and FUS3 (8), two yeast kinases which also function in Go. Interestingly, the region in p42P which contains the regulatory phosphorylations is perfectly conserved in all four kinases, raising the possibility that both the function and the mechanisms of regulation have been evolutionarily conserved in this kinase family.
Detection of Eccentricity Fault in Closed-Loop Induction Motor Drive using Wavelet Transform

-The present paper examines eccentricity fault detection for a variable speed induction motor (IM) using an indirect field oriented control (IFOC) based inverter (PWM) for speed and stator current regulation. Although the induction machine is well known to be robust, it is subject to certain constraints due to operating conditions. Hence, detection of faults inherent to the machine is essential for improving reliability, security and avoiding unwanted or even catastrophic failures. In this work, we propose to use the Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) with different approaches for the diagnosis of induction machine to detect faults and identify their severity. The obtained results show that the considered methods can effectively diagnose and detect mixed eccentricity faults.
Detection and analysis of a small round-structured virus strain in oysters implicated in an outbreak of acute gastroenteritis

Outbreaks of shellfish-transmitted viral disease occur periodically, but frequently the causative agent is not identified. In November 1993, during investigation of a multistate outbreak of acute gastroenteritis, incriminated lots of oysters were collected. Oyster tissues (stomachs and digestive diverticula) were processed for virus extraction and nucleic acid purification. Human calicivirus sequences were sought by reverse transcriptase PCR using different primer sets. Amplicons were obtained from 9 of 10 shellfish samples from four different lots when primers specific for the outbreak virus strain were used. The specificity of the amplification was confirmed by hybridization. The amplicons from the nine positive oysters were cloned and sequenced. The sequence of each of the clones was identical to the others but showed some variation (7 of 81 bp) from the sequences obtained from the stools of three persons made III by the outbreak.
Socially induced behavioural plasticity precedes pronounced epigenetic differentiation in the CNS of Desert Locusts

Desert locusts (Schistocerca gregaria) show a dramatic form of socially induced phenotypic plasticity known as phase polyphenism. In the absence of conspecifics, locusts occur in a shy and cryptic solitarious phase. Crowding with conspecifics drives a behavioural transformation towards gregariousness that occurs within hours and is followed by changes in physiology, colouration and morphology, resulting in the full gregarious phase syndrome. We analysed methylation-sensitive amplified fragment length polymorphisms (MS-AFLP) to compare the effect of acute and chronic crowding on DNA methylation in the central nervous system. We find that rearing the offspring of gregariousphase locusts in social isolation causes pronounced differentiation of the neuromethylome within an individual’s life-time. Crowding isolationreared locusts for a day, however, has no significant effect on their MS-AFLP fingerprint. The differentiation of the neuromethylome seen in long-term gregarious locusts is therefore unrelated to the acquisition and expression of gregarious behaviour, suggesting that it serves to consolidate long-term phase state.
Cell- and Tissue-Specific Transcriptome Analyses of Medicago truncatula Root Nodules

Legumes have the unique ability to host nitrogen-fixing Rhizobium bacteria as symbiosomes inside root nodule cells. To get insight into this key process, which forms the heart of the endosymbiosis, we isolated specific cells/tissues at different stages of symbiosome formation from nodules of the model legume Medicago truncatula using laser-capture microdissection. Next, we determined their associated expression profiles using Affymetrix Medicago GeneChips. Cells were collected from the nodule infection zone divided into a distal (where symbiosome formation and division occur) and proximal region (where symbiosomes are mainly differentiating), as well as infected cells from the fixation zone containing mature nitrogen fixing symbiosomes. As non-infected cells/tissue we included nodule meristem cells and uninfected cells from the fixation zone. Here, we present a comprehensive gene expression map of an indeterminate Medicago nodule and selected genes that show specific enriched expression in the different cells or tissues. Validation of the obtained expression profiles, by comparison to published gene expression profiles and experimental verification, indicates that the data can be used as digital “in situ”. This digital “in situ” offers a genome-wide insight into genes specifically associated with subsequent stages of symbiosome and nodule cell development, and can serve to guide future functional studies.
Effect of Daisaikoto on Expressions of SIRT1 and NF-kappaB of Diabetic Fatty Liver Rats Induced by High-Fat Diet and Streptozotocin

BACKGROUND Daisaikoto (DSKT), a classical traditional Chinese herbal formula, has been used for treating digestive diseases for 1800 years in China. Therefore, in this study, we are going to investigate the effect of DSKT on diabetic fatty liver rats induced by a high-fat diet and streptozotocin (STZ), and the effects of DSKT on silent mating type information regulation 2 homolog 1 (SIRT1) and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB). METHODS Diabetic fatty liver rat model was selected to establish a high-fat diet and STZ. Sixty Wistar rats were divided into six groups (n = 10): control group, high-fat diet + STZ group, simvastatin treatment group, DSKT low dose, medial dose and high dose treatment groups. After 8 weeks of drug intervention, body and liver weights, blood chemistry, blood glucose and insulin were examined. The expressions of sirtuin 1 and NF-kappaB in the liver were observed by RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry, respectively. RESULTS A high-fat diet increased body, liver weights, and serum cholesterol concentrations. Intraperitoneal injection of STZ increased blood glucose and decreased body weights. DSKT improved them. Homeostasis model assessment-estimated insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) indices were increased in the high-fat diet groups. DSKT improved them too. In histological examinations of the liver, we observed a significant improvement after treatment. Immunostaining expression of NF-kappaB in the liver was improved by DSKT and simvastatin. The mRNA expressions of SIRT1 in the liver were increased by DSKT and simvastatin. CONCLUSION We have demonstrated that DSKT is capable of reversing dyslipidemia and insulin resistance induced by a high-fat diet and STZ. High dose DSKT reveals a stronger effect than simvastatin on the expressions of SIRT1 and NF-kappaB. Furthermore, DSKT has shown a strong dose-depended protective effect on diabetic fatty liver.
Identification of neonatal haemolysis: an approach to predischarge management of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia

Relative contributions of increased production [by end‐tidal carbon monoxide concentrations (ETCOc)] and decreased elimination of bilirubin to predischarge hour‐specific total bilirubin (TB) levels were assessed in healthy late‐preterm and term newborns. Secondly, we report predischarge ETCOc ranges to guide clinical management of hyperbilirubinemia.
Mining social interactions in privacy-preserving temporal networks

The opportunities to empirically study temporal networks nowadays are immense thanks to Internet of Things technologies along with ubiquitous and pervasive computing that allow a real-time fine-grained collection of social network data. This empowers data analytics and data scientists to reason about complex temporal phenomena, such as disease spread, residential energy consumption, political conflicts etc., using systematic methologies from complex networks and graph spectra analysis. However, a misuse of these methods may result in privacy-intrusive and discriminatory actions that may threaten citizens' autonomy and put their life under surveillance. This paper studies highly sparse temporal networks that model social interactions such as the physical proximity of participants in conferences. When citizens can self-determine the anonymized proximity data they wish to share via privacy-preserving platforms, temporal networks may turn out to be highly sparse and have low quality. This paper shows that even in this challenging scenario of privacy-by-design, significant information can be mined from temporal networks such as the correlation of events happening during a conference or stable groups interacting over time. The findings of this paper contribute to the introduction of privacy-preserving data analytics in temporal networks and their applications.
A hybrid system for temporal information extraction from clinical text

OBJECTIVE To develop a comprehensive temporal information extraction system that can identify events, temporal expressions, and their temporal relations in clinical text. This project was part of the 2012 i2b2 clinical natural language processing (NLP) challenge on temporal information extraction. MATERIALS AND METHODS The 2012 i2b2 NLP challenge organizers manually annotated 310 clinic notes according to a defined annotation guideline: a training set of 190 notes and a test set of 120 notes. All participating systems were developed on the training set and evaluated on the test set. Our system consists of three modules: event extraction, temporal expression extraction, and temporal relation (also called Temporal Link, or 'TLink') extraction. The TLink extraction module contains three individual classifiers for TLinks: (1) between events and section times, (2) within a sentence, and (3) across different sentences. The performance of our system was evaluated using scripts provided by the i2b2 organizers. Primary measures were micro-averaged Precision, Recall, and F-measure. RESULTS Our system was among the top ranked. It achieved F-measures of 0.8659 for temporal expression extraction (ranked fourth), 0.6278 for end-to-end TLink track (ranked first), and 0.6932 for TLink-only track (ranked first) in the challenge. We subsequently investigated different strategies for TLink extraction, and were able to marginally improve performance with an F-measure of 0.6943 for TLink-only track.
HBV Core Protein Enhances Cytokine Production

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, a cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), remains a serious global health concern. HCC development and human hepatocarcinogenesis are associated with hepatic inflammation caused by host interferons and cytokines. This article focused on the association between the HBV core protein, which is one of the HBV-encoding proteins, and cytokine production. The HBV core protein induced the production of interferons and cytokines in human hepatoma cells and in a mouse model. These factors may be responsible for persistent HBV infection and hepatocarcinogenesis. Inhibitors of programmed death (PD)-1 and HBV core and therapeutic vaccines including HBV core might be useful for the treatment of patients with chronic HBV infection. Inhibitors of HBV core, which is important for hepatic inflammation, could be helpful in preventing the progression of liver diseases in HBV-infected patients.
The gender gap in math : its possible origins in neighborhood effects

Les AA. montrent que les differences entre les deux sexes dans la plupart des disciplines scolaires tend a diminuer mais ils constatent, au niveau de l'enseignement primaire, une difference entre garcons et filles en faveur de ces derniers en ce qui concerne le niveau de connaissance en mathematiques. Ils s'efforcent de comprendre le phenomene et cela a partir d'une enquete menee aupres d'enfants du primaire a Baltimore. Ils montrent que les garcons sont plus impliques dans des activites extra-scolaires mobilisant leurs connaissances en mathematiques que les filles. Ceci explique que la difference de niveau dans ce domaine tend sans cesse a croitre entre les deux sexes
Lean (underweight) NIDDM - peculiarities and differences in metabolic and hormonal status - a pilot study.

In the present series of 204 patients with NIDDM, 37 were lean and 35 obese. Mean FBG and HbA1C were significantly higher (P<0.02 and <0.01) in the former. Serum lipids such as total cholesterol (Tc) and triglycerides (Tg) were lower (P<0.05) in the lean while HDLc values were similar. Eight lean patients and 6 obese (Mean BMI : 15.7 vs.27.4) having similar age (48.0 vs 47.7 years) and mean duration of diabetes (4.6 vs 4.2 years) were subjected to the study of insulin and C-peptide status as well as beta cell reserve. The mean basal serum insulin (IRI) level was lower in the lean (15.3 vs. 28.9 mu u/ml ; P<0.05) while there was no statistical difference in the basal C-peptide values. Serum samples analysed 2 hours after 75 G of oral glucose and 1 mg I.V. glucagon (Novo) on two consecutive occasions for IRI and C-peptide responses revealed remarkable differences. The rise in IRI was significantly lower (p<0.01) in the lean after oral glucose and glucagon as compared to the obese. But the C-peptide values did not reveal significant difference suggesting similar reserve in beta cell function in both these groups of patients with NIDDM. The disparity between IRI and C-peptide levels observed was most likely due to excess extraction of insulin by the liver in lean-NIDDM, leading to lower peripheral levels. This phenomenon accounts for the occurrence of severe hyperglycemia inspite of good beta cell function in lean NIDDM.