Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Semantic Similarity/Relatedness for Cross Language Plagiarism Detection

Generally utterances in natural language are highly ambiguous, and a unique interpretation can usually be determined only by taking into account the context in the utterance occurred. Automatically determining the correct sense of a polysemous word is a complicated problem especially in multilingual corpuses. This paper presents an application programming interface for several Semantic Relatedness/Similarity metrics measuring semantic similarity/distance between multilingual words and concepts, in order to use it after for sentences and paragraphs in Cross Language Plagiarism Detection (CLPD), using WordNet for the English-French and English-Arabic multilingual plagiarism cases.
A Review of the Assessment Methods of Voice Disorders in the Context of Parkinson's Disease

In recent years, a significant progress in the field of research dedicated to the treatment of disabilities has been witnessed. This is particularly true for neurological diseases, which generally influence the system that controls the execution of learned motor patterns. In addition to its importance for communication with the outside world and interaction with others, the voice is a reflection of our personality, moods and emotions. It is a way to provide information on health status, shape, intentions, age and even the social environment. It is also a working tool for many, but an important element of life for all. Patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) are numerous and they suffer from hypokinetic dysarthria, which is manifested in all aspects of speech production: respiration, phonation, articulation, nasalization and prosody. This paper provides a review of the methods of the assessment of speech disorders in the context of PD and also discusses the limitations.
Hippocampal Polysynaptic Computation

Neural circuitry is a self-organizing arithmetic device that converts input to output and thereby remodels its computational algorithm to produce more desired output; however, experimental evidence regarding the mechanism by which information is modified and stored while propagating across polysynaptic networks is sparse. We used functional multineuron calcium imaging to monitor the spike outputs from thousands of CA1 neurons in response to the stimulation of two independent sites of the dentate gyrus in rat hippocampal networks ex vivo. Only pyramidal cells were analyzed based on post hoc immunostaining. Some CA1 pyramidal cells were observed to fire action potentials only when both sites were simultaneously stimulated (AND-like neurons), whereas other neurons fired in response to either site of stimulation but not to concurrent stimulation (XOR-like neurons). Both types of neurons were interlaced in the same network and altered their logical operation depending on the timing of paired stimulation. Repetitive paired stimulation for brief periods induced a persistent reorganization of AND and XOR operators, suggesting a flexibility in parallel distributed processing. We simulated these network functions in silico and found that synaptic modification of the CA3 recurrent excitation is pivotal to the shaping of logic plasticity. This work provides new insights into how microscopic synaptic properties are associated with the mesoscopic dynamics of complex microcircuits.
Iron Stores and Vascular Function in Voluntary Blood Donors

Background—Iron is a pro-oxidant cofactor that may be linked to atherosclerosis progression. Reduction of body iron stores secondary to blood donation has been hypothesized to reduce coronary risk, but retrospective studies have yielded inconsistent findings. We sought to assess the effects of blood donation frequency on body iron stores and physiological and biochemical biomarkers of vascular function associated with atherosclerosis progression. Methods and Results—Forty high-frequency voluntary blood donors (≥8 donations in past 2 years) and 42 low-frequency blood donors (1 to 2 donations in past 2 years) aged 50 to 75 years were randomly selected from American Red Cross of Connecticut blood donor records. Flow-mediated dilation in the brachial artery, serum markers of iron stores, vascular inflammation and oxidative stress, and cardiac risk factors were assessed in all subjects. Serum ferritin was significantly decreased in high-frequency blood donors when compared with low-frequency blood donors (median values 17 versus 52 ng/mL; P<0.001), but hematocrit did not differ between groups. Flow-mediated dilation in the brachial artery was significantly greater in high-frequency donors when compared with low-frequency donors in univariate analysis (5.5±2.6% versus 3.8±1.6%; P=0.0003) and in multivariate analysis adjusting for cardiac risk factors and other potential confounders. Serum biomarkers of vascular inflammation did not differ between groups but 3-nitrotyrosine, a marker of oxidative stress, was decreased in high-frequency donors when compared with low-frequency donors. Conclusions—High-frequency blood donors had evidence of decreased body iron stores, decreased oxidative stress, and enhanced vascular function when compared with low-frequency donors. These findings support a potential link between blood donation and reduced cardiovascular risk that warrants further investigation in prospective outcome studies.
An Enhanced Algorithm for MANET Clustering Based on Weighted Parameters

Mobile Ad-Hoc network (MANET) is a type of communication network which is used for data communication between a mobile nodes using wireless channels. Clustering has evolved as an important research topic in MANETs as it improves the system performance of large MANETs. Clustering is a process that divides the network into nodes groups, called clusters. Each cluster has a Cluster Head (CH) as coordinator within the substructure. This paper proposes a clustering technique for MANETs, which is weighted clustering algorithm. The performances of this algorithm is evaluated through simulation and the results are encouraging.
The datacycle architecture for very high throughput database systems

The evolutionary trend toward a database-driven public communications network has motivated research into database architectures capable of executing thousands of transactions per second. In this paper we introduce the Datacycle architecture, an attempt to exploit the enormous transmission bandwidth of optical systems to permit the implementation of high throughput multiprocessor database systems. The architecture has the potential for unlimited query throughput, simplified data management, rapid execution of complex queries, and efficient concurrency control. We describe the logical operation of the architecture and discuss implementation issues in the context of a prototype system currently under construction.
Peer-to-peer multi-robot coordination algorithms: petri net based analysis and design

In this paper, a peer-to-peer coordination algorithm is developed to provide robustness to multi-robot missions, in the context of exploring unknown environments. The validation, analysis and design of the coordination algorithm require formal modeling methodologies. We propose a stochastic Petri net (SPN) based method to analyze and design efficient peer-to-peer coordination algorithms. By running the Petri net model, optimized parameters are obtained to improve the efficiency of the multi-robot team. Peri Net simulation and algorithm implementation have validated the proposed algorithm
Newcastle University Eprints Date Deposited: 11 Mitochondria: Impaired Mitochondrial Translation in Human Disease

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works License, which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. a b s t r a c t Defects of the mitochondrial protein synthesis cause a subgroup of mitochondrial diseases, which are usually associated with decreased activities of multiple respiratory chain (RC) enzymes. The clinical presentations of these disorders are often disabling, progressive or fatal, affecting the brain, liver, skeletal muscle, heart and other organs. Currently there are no effective cures for these disorders and treatment is at best symptomatic. The diagnosis in patients with multiple respiratory chain complex defects is particularly difficult because of the massive number of nuclear genes potentially involved in intra-mitochondrial protein synthesis. Many of these genes are not yet linked to human disease. Whole exome sequencing rapidly changed the diagnosis of these patients by identifying the primary defect in DNA, and preventing the need for invasive and complex biochemical testing. Better understanding of the mitochondrial protein synthesis apparatus will help us to explore disease mechanisms and will provide clues for developing novel therapies. Organelle facts • Mitochondrial protein synthesis requires several mitochon-drial and nuclear-encoded factors for optimal translation. • The clinical presentation of diseases due to defective mito-chondrial protein synthesis is very variable and tissue specific presentations are common. • The reasons behind the tissue specificity are largely unknown. • Besides mitochondrial tRNA mutations and mtDNA deletions or depletion, autosomal recessive mutations have been reported in genes encoding ribosomal proteins, ribo-some assembly proteins, mitochondrial aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, tRNA modifying enzymes and initiation, elon-gation and termination factors of translation. • Frequent and clinically recognisable genetic causes of human diseases due to impaired mitochondrial translation are caused by mutations in mitochondrial tRNA synthetase and tRNA modifying genes. • The potential interaction between cytosolic and mitochon-drial translation requires further investigations. ଝ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works License, which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Emerging Molecular and Biological Functions of MBD2, a Reader of DNA Methylation

DNA methylation is an epigenetic mark that is essential for many biological processes and is linked to diseases such as cancer. Methylation is usually associated with transcriptional silencing, but new research has challenged this model. Both transcriptional activation and repression have recently been found to be associated with DNA methylation in a context-specific manner. How DNA methylation patterns are interpreted into different functional output remains poorly understood. One mechanism involves the protein ‘readers’ of methylation, which includes the methyl-CpG binding domain (MBD) family of proteins. This review examines the molecular and biological functions of MBD2, which binds to CpG methylation and is an integral part of the nucleosome remodeling and histone deacetylation (NuRD) complex. MBD2 has been linked to immune system function and tumorigenesis, yet little is known about its functions in vivo. Recent studies have found the MBD2 protein is ubiquitously expressed, with relatively high levels in the lung, liver, and colon. Mbd2 null mice surprisingly show relatively mild phenotypes compared to mice with loss of function of other MBD proteins. This evidence has previously been interpreted as functional redundancy between the MBD proteins. Here, we examine and contextualize research that suggests MBD2 has unique properties and functions among the MBD proteins. These functions translate to recently described roles in the development and differentiation of multiple cell lineages, including pluripotent stem cells and various cell types of the immune system, as well as in tumorigenesis. We also consider possible models for the dynamic interactions between MBD2 and NuRD in different tissues in vivo. The functions of MBD2 may have direct therapeutic implications for several areas of human disease, including autoimmune conditions and cancer, in addition to providing insights into the actions of NuRD and chromatin regulation.
The Geometry of Reflectance Symmetries

Different materials reflect light in different ways, and this reflectance interacts with shape, lighting, and viewpoint to determine an object's image. Common materials exhibit diverse reflectance effects, and this is a significant source of difficulty for image analysis. One strategy for dealing with this diversity is to build computational tools that exploit reflectance symmetries, such as reciprocity and isotropy, that are exhibited by broad classes of materials. By building tools that exploit these symmetries, one can create vision systems that are more likely to succeed in real-world, non-Lambertian environments. In this paper, we develop a framework for representing and exploiting reflectance symmetries. We analyze the conditions for distinct surface points to have local view and lighting conditions that are equivalent under these symmetries, and we represent these conditions in terms of the geometric structure they induce on the Gaussian sphere and its abstraction, the projective plane. We also study the behavior of these structures under perturbations of surface shape and explore applications to both calibrated and uncalibrated photometric stereo.
Machine Learning for Modeling the Biomechanical Behavior of Human Soft Tissue

An accurate modeling of the biomechanical properties of human soft tissue is crucial in many clinical applications, such as, radiotherapy administration or surgery. The finite element method (FEM) is the usual choice to carry out such modeling due to its high accuracy. However, FEM is computationally very costly, and hence, its application in real-time or even off-line with short delays are still challenges to overcome. This paper proposes a framework based on Machine Learning to learn FEM modeling, thus having a tool able to yield results that may be sufficiently fast for clinical applications. In particular, the use of ensembles of Decision Trees has shown its suitability in modeling the behavior of the liver and the breast.
Comparison study of different feature classifiers for hand posture classification

Hand posture classification has attracted much attention in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). In hand posture classification, vision based approach is popularly used. However, it has difficulty of dealing with illumination change and pose variation. In this paper, we compare the performance of combination with features, which are HOG, LBP, and classifiers, which are SVM and Neural Network for hand posture classification. Experiments are performed with Cambridge hand gesture dataset.
Combined error protection and compression using turbo codes for error resilient image transmission

A joint source channel coding scheme for error resilient image transmission is proposed. A practical image coder was introduced in AN Kim et al, (2004) using modified differential pulse coded modulation (DPCM) codec with multi-rate processing and adaptive entropy coding. In this paper the residual redundancy of the prediction error image is exploited by using turbo codes for both data compression and error protection. In the paper we deal with robust transmission of the source over a BSC channel, but the results can be easily extended for non binary channels. Note also that simple modification of the quantizer allows for progressive transmission and successive refinement of information. With properly chosen rate and puncturing, the system is able to approach the limit theoretically attainable and to outperform the separated approach that consists on the concatenation of the system in AN Kim et al, (2004) and the best turbo codes for the same spectral efficiency.
Implicit Gender Associations in the Approximant /r/ Sound Change in Dutch

Since the second half of the twentieth century rhotic use has rapidly been changing in Dutch. A new variant, approximant /r/ is replacing the traditional alveolar and uvular /r/ in coda. The sound change has been completed in the western part of the country, an area called the Randstad as is now moving west and possibly north. The change resembles Labov’s change from below and is being led by young women. The genderedness of the sound change could influence speakers associations with the approximant /r/. through indexical linking. To investigate this hypotheses, The speech production and gender association of 13 speakers from Friesland were tested, who traditionally use the alveolar /r/. If the sound change has reached Friesland, we would expect young women to introduce the new variant. The approximant /r/ would in this region then likely be associated with femininity. Additionally, 20 participants from the Randstad were tested as a control group. The approximant /r/ sound change has been completed in this region, and since both men and women use the approximant /r/ here, there should be no gender association. The participants performed a production task to map their speech patterns concerning the coda /r/. An Implicit Associations Test was used to determine the relative strength of their gender associations. The results of the production task confirm that both male and female speakers from the Randstad use the approximant /r/ frequently in coda. There was a significant association between rhotic use and region, as the speech patterns of the coda /r/ looked very different for Frisian speakers. Surprisingly, some Frisian speakers did use the approximant /r/. A gender comparison revealed that women used the approximant /r/ more than men. It seems that the approximant /r/ is spreading towards the north, where it is introduced into the Frisian speech community by young women. The IAT results showed an overall gender association close to neutral for the participants form the Randstad and stronger towards femininity for the Frisian participants. However, the difference was not significant. These results indicate that there is a possible indexical link between gender and the approximant /r/ in Friesland, but it is not strong enough to produce a significantly feminine association.
Global well-posedness and scattering for the mass-critical nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation for radial data in high dimensions

We establish global well-posedness and scattering for solutions to the defocusing mass-critical (pseudoconformal) nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation $iu_t + \Delta u = |u|^{4/n} u$ for large spherically symmetric $L^2_x(\R^n)$ initial data in dimensions $n\geq 3$. After using the reductions in \cite{compact} to reduce to eliminating blowup solutions which are almost periodic modulo scaling, we obtain a frequency-localized Morawetz estimate and exclude a mass evacuation scenario (somewhat analogously to \cite{ckstt:gwp}, \cite{RV}, \cite{thesis:art}) in order to conclude the argument.
A prion like-protein, protein kinase Mzeta and memory maintenance

Molecular studies of both declarative and non-decla rative memory in Aplysia californica, lymaea stagnalis and hippocampal slices implicate experience-depende nt changes of synaptic structure and strength as the fundamental basis of memory storage and maintenance. The essential outcome of these changes in synaptic structure and strength is our ability to remember what we are thought. Remembrance is of critical importance. In disease c onditions like Alzheimer’s there is lack of the ability to recreate the past. From this perspective , memory literally is the glue that binds our menta l life, the scaffolding that holds our personal histo ry and that makes it possible to change throughout life. What causes memory persistence after labile p hase of memory is not yet fully known. Elegant discoveries have explained why labile memory phase could persist over time into long term memory phase. Synaptic connections are not fixed but becom e modified by learning. These modifications in synaptic structure and strength persist and become the fundamental component of memory storage after learning. Learning-induced changes in behavio ural performance are the result of a fundamental physiological phenomenon. The fundamental physiolog ical phenomenon is neuronal plasticity. In the process of neuronal plasticity, we review only the emerging aspect of the roles of prion like-protein, neuronal astrocyte and protein kinase Mzeta (PKM ζ ) in memory maintenance
d-Wave Superconductivity and s-Wave Charge Density Waves: Coexistence between Order Parameters of Different Origin and Symmetry

A review of the theory describing the coexistence between d-wave superconductivity and s-wave charge-density-waves (CDWs) is presented. The CDW gapping is identified with pseudogapping observed in high-Tc oxides. According to the cuprate specificity, the analysis is carried out for the two-dimensional geometry of the Fermi surface (FS). Phase diagrams on the σ0 − α plane—here, σ0 is the ratio between the energy gaps in the parent pure CDW and superconducting states, and the quantity 2α is connected with the degree of dielectric (CDW) FS gapping—were obtained for various possible configurations of the order parameters in the momentum space. Relevant tunnel and photoemission experimental data for high-Tc oxides are compared with theoretical predictions. A brief review of the results obtained earlier for the coexistence between s-wave superconductivity and CDWs is also given.
Horticultural applications of jasmonates : A review

Plant growth and development are controlled, in part, by endogenous growth substances which are affected by biotic and abiotic signals and events. A particular class of growth regulators, collectively called ‘jasmonates’ are involved in plant responses to such events and elicit unique responses. The effects of jasmonates on plant growth are varied and include storage organ formation, induction of plant defences against biotic (e.g., herbivores and pathogens) and abiotic (e.g., drought and ozone) stresses, and growth inhibition in tissues such as roots and young shoots. In addition, jasmonates can interact with other hormone pathways, especially ethylene, to affect growth and development. Detailed knowledge of jasmonate responses in models such as Arabidopsis is being put to use in a wide variety of horticultural crops. This review summarises the impacts of jasmonates on plant growth and physiology, and how jasmonates may impact horticultural crop growth, physiology, protection from stresses, and/or handling.
Computational and Experimental Studies in Auction Theory and Mechanism Design

In a series of four essays, this dissertation addresses a number of key issues relevant to the actual implementation of auctions and other economic institutions to produce a desired allocation of resources. The objective is to improve our understanding of the design of economic institutions and of people’s actual behavior in strategic environments, which entails the good exercise of the theory and the use of laboratory experiments, numerical methods and computer simulations.
Development of synthesis method of fault tolerant systems for autonomous underwater robots with navigation sensors failures

The development of a synthesis method of highquality fault tolerant systems for autonomous underwater robots with navigation sensors failures is addressed in this paper. The offered new method bases on using of kinematic models of these robots and a special fusion of data obtained from their onboard navigation sensors. The advantage of method is simplicity of realization and high precision of compensation of detected faults in the conditions of uncertainty and essential variability of parameters of environment and underwater robot. The results of modeling confirm high efficiency of functioning of the synthesized fault tolerant systems.