Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Information Extraction Strategies for Thai Documents

The development of an information extraction (IE) system for Thai documents raises a number of issues which are not important for IE in English and other European languages. We describe the characteristics of written Thai and the problem statements, and our approach to the Thai IE system. The structure of written Thai is highly ambiguous, which requires more sophisticated techniques than are necessary to perform comparable IE tasks in most European languages, and large amounts of domain knowledge to cope with these ambiguities. The basic characteristic of this system is to provide different natural language components to assess the surface structure of the documents. These components include word segmentation, specific lexical structure terms identification and part-of-speech tagger. Further analysis is to perform a shallow parsing based on the relevant regions that contain the specific trigger terms or patterns specified in the extraction templates. Finally, the information of interest is extracted from the grammar trees in corresponding to predefined concept definitions and returns the users with a list of answers responding to each concept.
The Pitfalls of External Dependence: Greece, 1829–2015

ABSTRACT:Two centuries of Greek debt crises highlight the pitfalls of relying on external financing. Since its independence in 1829, the Greek government has defaulted four times on its external creditors—with striking historical parallels. Each crisis is preceded by a period of heavy borrowing from foreign private creditors. As repayment difficulties arise, foreign governments step in, help to repay the private creditors, and demand budget cuts and adjustment programs as a condition for the official bailout loans; political interference from abroad mounts, and a prolonged episode of debt overhang and financial autarky follows. We conclude that these cycles of external debt and dependence are a perennial theme of Greek history, as well as in other countries that have been “addicted” to foreign savings. At present, there is considerable evidence to suggest that a substantial haircut on external debt is needed to restore the economic viability of Greece. Even with that, a policy priority for the country should be to reorient, to the extent possible, toward domestic sources of funding.
Efficient and Anonymous Mobile User Authentication Protocol Using Self-Certified Public Key Cryptography for Multi-Server Architectures

Rapid advances in wireless communication technologies have paved the way for a wide range of mobile devices to become increasingly ubiquitous and popular. Mobile devices enable anytime, anywhere access to the Internet. The fast growth of many types of mobile services used by various users has made the traditional single-server architecture inefficient in terms of its functional requirements. To ensure the availability of various mobile services, there is a need to deploy multi-server architectures. To ensure the security of various mobile service applications, the anonymous mobile user authentication (AMUA) protocol without online registration using the self-certified public key cryptography (SCPKC) for multi-server architectures was proposed in the past. However, most of the past AMUA solutions suffer from malicious attacks or have unacceptable computation and communication costs. To address these drawbacks, we propose a new AMUA protocol that uses the SCPKC for multi-server architectures. In contrast to the existing AMUA protocols, our proposed AMUA protocol incurs lower computation and communication costs. By comparing with two of the latest AMUA protocols, the computation and the communication costs of our protocol are at least 74.93% and 37.43% lower than them, respectively. Moreover, the security analysis of our AMUA protocol demonstrates that it satisfies the security requirements in practical applications and is provably secure in the novel security model. By maintaining security at various levels, our AMUA protocol is more practical for various mobile applications.
Long-term flux variations in Cen X-3: clues from flux-dependent orbital modulation and pulsed fraction

We have investigated the long-term flux variation in Cen X-3 using orbital modulation and pulsed fraction in different flux states using observations made with the All-Sky Monitor and the Proportional Counter Array on board the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer. In the high state, the eclipse ingress and egress are found to be sharp whereas in the intermediate state the transitions are more gradual. In the low state, instead of eclipse ingress and egress, the light curve shows a smooth flux variation with orbital phase. The orbital modulation of the X-ray light curve in the low state shows that the X-ray emission observed in this state is from an extended object. The flux-dependent orbital modulations indicate that the different flux states of Cen X-3 are primarily due to varying degree of obscuration. Measurement of the pulsed fraction in different flux states is consistent with the X-ray emission of Cen X-3 having one highly varying component with a constant pulsed fraction and an unpulsed component and in the low state, the unpulsed component becomes dominant. The observed X-ray emission in the low state is likely to be due to scattering of X-rays from the stellar wind of the companion star. Though we cannot ascertain the origin and nature of the obscuring material that causes the aperiodic long-term flux variation, we point out that a precessing accretion disc driven by radiative forces is a distinct possibility.
Real Time Fully Automatic 3D-Modelling of HRSC Landscape Data

This paper presents a fully automatic 3D-modelings-process of the landscape data obtained by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) assembled on a airplane. The input of this 3D-modellingsprocess is the huge 2.5D point-clouds resulted from the photogrammetric preprocessing and the output is a group of simplified colored meshes. The 3D-modelingsprocess consists of six steps: tilling with overlap, mesh generation, mesh simplifying, mesh cut, mesh merger and texture mapping. The whole process is fully automatic and is performed in real time. Validation of the method has been done on the reconstruction of various famous regions of Bavaria with tourist features.
Transcription profiling reveals mitochondrial, ubiquitin and signaling systems abnormalities in postmortem brains from subjects with a history of alcohol abuse or dependence

Alcohol abuse is a common human disorder with high rate of comorbidity with other psychiatric disorders. To identify candidate mechanisms for alcohol abuse, the expression of 12,626 genes was measured in postmortem temporal cortex from 11 subjects with a history of alcohol abuse or dependence, with or without other psychiatric diagnoses and compared pairwise with the expression in 11 nonalcoholic subjects matched for the other psychiatric diagnoses and demographics. Genes were defined to have altered expression in alcohol abuse if: 1) the gene showed decreased expression in at least 10 of 11 subjects with alcohol abuse, or showed increased expression in at least 10 of 11 subjects with this diagnosis compared to matched non‐abusers (P < 0.007, χ2test); or 2) the difference in the mean abuser/non‐abuser ratio for the gene from value of 1.0 was significant at P < 0.05 (one sample t‐test). In subjects with a history of alcohol abuse or dependence, 163 genes were changed significantly. The most abundant and consistent changes were in gene families encoding mitochondrial proteins, the ubiquitin system, and signal transduction. These alterations indicate disturbances in energy metabolism and multiple signaling mechanisms in the temporal cortex of subjects with a history of alcohol abuse or dependence. We hypothesize that these mechanisms may be related to alcohol abuse traits or long‐term effects of alcohol. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A Computational Analysis of Limb and Body Dimensions in Tyrannosaurus rex with Implications for Locomotion, Ontogeny, and Growth

The large theropod dinosaur Tyrannosaurus rex underwent remarkable changes during its growth from <10 kg hatchlings to >6000 kg adults in <20 years. These changes raise fascinating questions about the morphological transformations involved, peak growth rates, and scaling of limb muscle sizes as well as the body's centre of mass that could have influenced ontogenetic changes of locomotion in T. rex. Here we address these questions using three-dimensionally scanned computer models of four large, well-preserved fossil specimens as well as a putative juvenile individual. Furthermore we quantify the variations of estimated body mass, centre of mass and segment dimensions, to characterize inaccuracies in our reconstructions. These inaccuracies include not only subjectivity but also incomplete preservation and inconsistent articulations of museum skeletons. Although those problems cause ambiguity, we conclude that adult T. rex had body masses around 6000–8000 kg, with the largest known specimen (“Sue”) perhaps ∼9500 kg. Our results show that during T. rex ontogeny, the torso became longer and heavier whereas the limbs became proportionately shorter and lighter. Our estimates of peak growth rates are about twice as rapid as previous ones but generally support previous methods, despite biases caused by the usage of scale models and equations that underestimate body masses. We tentatively infer that the hindlimb extensor muscles masses, including the large tail muscle M. caudofemoralis longus, may have decreased in their relative size as the centre of mass shifted craniodorsally during T. rex ontogeny. Such ontogenetic changes would have worsened any relative or absolute decline of maximal locomotor performance. Regardless, T. rex probably had hip and thigh muscles relatively larger than any extant animal's. Overall, the limb “antigravity” muscles may have been as large as or even larger than those of ratite birds, which themselves have the most muscular limbs of any living animal.
The rotational evolution of low-mass stars

Abstract We summarise recent progress in the understanding of the rotational evolution of low-mass stars (here defined as solar mass down to the hydrogen burning limit) both in terms of observations and modelling. Wide-field imaging surveys on moderate-size telescopes can now efficiently derive rotation periods for hundreds to thousands of open cluster members, providing unprecedented sample sizes which are ripe for exploration. We summarise the available measurements, and provide simple phenomenological and model-based interpretations of the presently-available data, while highlighting regions of parameter space where more observations are required, particularly at the lowest masses and ages ≳500 Myr.
Monte Carlo Estimation of Bayesian Credible and HPD Intervals

Abstract This article considers how to estimate Bayesian credible and highest probability density (HPD) intervals for parameters of interest and provides a simple Monte Carlo approach to approximate these Bayesian intervals when a sample of the relevant parameters can be generated from their respective marginal posterior distribution using a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling algorithm. We also develop a Monte Carlo method to compute HPD intervals for the parameters of interest from the desired posterior distribution using a sample from an importance sampling distribution. We apply our methodology to a Bayesian hierarchical model that has a posterior density containing analytically intractable integrals that depend on the (hyper) parameters. We further show that our methods are useful not only for calculating the HPD intervals for the parameters of interest but also for computing the HPD intervals for functions of the parameters. Necessary theory is developed and illustrative examples—including a si.
Diversity performance of precoded OFDM with MMSE equalization

Two sets of bit error rate (BER) lower bounds for precoded orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems using minimum mean square error (MMSE) equalization over frequency-selective multipath fading channels are evaluated by Monte Carlo method in this paper. The first set represents the best performance under different data group sizes used for precoding, whereas the second set represents the best performance under different channel multipath diversity orders. These performance bounds can serve as the guidelines for system designers to decide proper data group sizes for precoded OFDM systems in order to achieve better trade-off between system performance and complexity. Numerical results also confirm the usefulness of these lower bounds for practical OFDM systems.
Plasticity of airway smooth muscle phenotype in airway remodeling

Increased airway smooth muscle (ASM) mass is a pathological feature that asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have in common. This increase has gained renewed interest in view of recent developments showing that ASM, instead of solely being a contractile partner, is capable of interacting dynamically with its environment, especially under inflammatory conditions. ASM are able to proliferate, to migrate, and to secrete chemokines, cytokines, extracellular matrix proteins and growth factors, and most importantly, to adapt to these functions by changing its phenotype from contractile to proliferative / synthetic. Conversely, switching to a (hyper)contractile phenotype may also occur. A vast number of inflammatory stimuli regulate these functions and exert their effects via excitatory G q or G i -coupled receptors. Since acetylcholine (ACh) activates muscarinic M 2 and M 3 receptors in the ASM cell membrane, which are coupled to G i and G q proteins, respectively, and since ACh release may be enhanced in airway inflammation, a pathophysiological role of ACh related to the above processes and exceeding contraction could be envisaged. In this review, evidence in favour of this hypothesis, based on recent data that show a role for muscarinic receptors in modulating ASM proliferation, contractility and contractile protein expression is discussed. Based on these findings, we postulate that endogenous ACh contributes to airway remodeling in asthma and COPD.
MIMO UWB Radar System with Compressive Sensing

A multiple input multiple output ultra-wideband cognitive radar based on compressive sensing is presented in this letter. For traditional UWB radar, high sampling rate analog to digital converter at the receiver is required to meet Shannon theorem, which increases hardware complexity. In order to bypass the bottleneck of ADC or further increase the radar bandwidth using the latest wideband ADC, we propose to exploit CS for signal reconstruction at the receiver of UWB radar for the sparse targets in the surveillance area. Besides, the function of narrowband interference cancellation is integrated into the proposed MIMO UWB radar. The field demonstration proves the feasibility and reliability of the proposed algorithm.
Glucose intolerance in Japanese patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

OBJECTIVE Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) often accompanies obesity and diabetes mellitus. This study was performed to investigate the prevalence of glucose intolerance and to determine independent predictors for insulin resistance in patients with OSAS. METHODS A cross-sectional study of 679 OSAS patients with an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI)>or=5/h and 73 controls subjects (AHI<5/h) was done in a tertiary university-based medical center. They were assessed by nocturnal polysomnography and underwent an oral glucose tolerance test. RESULTS The prevalence of diabetes mellitus in OSAS patients was higher than that of the control group (25.9% vs. 8.2%, p<0.001) and 424 patients (62.4%) received a new diagnosis of impaired glucose tolerance or diabetes mellitus. The very severe OSAS group (AHI >or=45/h) had significantly higher homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and HOMA beta-cell function than the other OSAS groups (AHI<45/h) and the control group. In a logistic regression model adjusting for potential confounders: age, AHI, minimum SpO(2) and body mass index (BMI), only BMI was associated with insulin resistance (HOMA-IR>3) (odds ratio: 1.272, 95% confidence interval 1.206-1.343, p<0.0001). CONCLUSION Glucose intolerance was more common in patients with OSAS. Insulin resistance was associated not with AHI but rather with BMI.
An αA-crystallin gene mutation, Arg12Cys, causing inherited cataract-microcornea exhibits an altered heat-shock response

Purpose To investigate the clinical features and molecular basis of inherited cataract-microcornea caused by an αA-crystallin gene (CRYAA) mutation in a Chinese family. Methods A three-generation Chinese family with members having autosomal dominant cataract and microcornea was recruited. Genomic DNA from peripheral blood or buccal swab samples of five affected and five unaffected members were obtained. Based on 15 genes known to cause autosomal dominant cataract, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) or microsatellite markers were selected and genotyped for two-point linkage analysis. Direct sequencing was performed to identify the disease-causing mutation. The expression construct coding for recombinant COOH-terminal myc-His-tagged wild type or R12C αA-crystallin protein (CRYAA) was expressed in COS-7 cells. Detergent solubility and subcellular distribution of wild type and R12C CRYAA were examined by western blotting and immunofluorescence, respectively. Heat-shock response was monitored by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) of heat-shock proteins 70 and 90α (HSP70 and HSP90α). Results The five affected family members showed variable lens opacities and microcornea. Clinical features of cataract were asymmetric in two eyes of some affected subjects. A heterozygous missense substitution, c.34C>T, in CRYAA, which is responsible for the R12C amino acid change, segregated with autosomal dominant cataract (ADCC) in this family. This substitution was absent in 103 unrelated controls. When expressed in COS-7 cells, the R12C mutant CRYAA resembled the wild type protein in its solubility when extracted with 0.5% Triton X-100 and with its cytoplasmic localization. However, mutant cells exhibited an altered heat-shock response, evidenced by the delayed expression of HSP70, when compared to cells expressing wild type CRYAA. Conclusions The R12C mutation in CRYAA was responsible for a variable type of inherited cataract associated with microcornea in this Chinese family. The altered heat-shock response of mutant cells suggested a change of chaperoning capacity and networking, which could be associated with the pathogenesis of hereditary cataract-microcornea syndrome.
Reducing and estimating the cost of test coverage criteria

Test coverage criteria define a set of entities of a program flowgraph and require that every entity is covered by some test. We first identify E/sub c/, the set of entities to be covered according to a criterion c, for a family of widely used test coverage criteria. We then present a method to derive a minimum set of entities, called a spanning set, such that a set of test paths covering the entities in this set covers every entity in E/sub c/. We provide a generalised algorithm, which is parametrized by the coverage criterion. We suggest several useful applications of spanning sets of entities to testing. In particular they help to reduce and to estimate the number of tests needed to satisfy test coverage criteria.
The N-Terminal of Aquareovirus NS80 Is Required for Interacting with Viral Proteins and Viral Replication

Reovirus replication and assembly occurs within viral inclusion bodies that formed in specific intracellular compartments of cytoplasm in infected cells. Previous study indicated that aquareovirus NS80 is able to form inclusion bodies, and also can retain viral proteins within its inclusions. To better understand how NS80 performed in viral replication and assembly, the functional regions of NS80 associated with other viral proteins in aquareovirus replication were investigated in this study. Deletion mutational analysis and rotavirus NSP5-based protein association platform were used to detect association regions. Immunofluorescence images indicated that different N-terminal regions of NS80 could associate with viral proteins VP1, VP4, VP6 and NS38. Further co-immunoprecipitation analysis confirmed the interaction between VP1, VP4, VP6 or NS38 with different regions covering the N-terminal amino acid (aa, 1–471) of NS80, respectively. Moreover, removal of NS80 N-terminal sequences required for interaction with proteins VP1, VP4, VP6 or NS38 not only prevented the capacity of NS80 to support viral replication in NS80 shRNA-based replication complementation assays, but also inhibited the expression of aquareovirus proteins, suggesting that N-terminal regions of NS80 are necessary for viral replication. These results provided a foundational basis for further understanding the role of NS80 in viral replication and assembly during aquareovirus infection.
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation as an Intervention for Chronic Pain Management

Chronic pain is a public health concern impacting approximately 100 million Americans; more than the rates of diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, and cancer combined. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is an effective treatment for chronic pain; however, the effects of MBSR tend to be small. A recent study suggests that tDCS in combination with a mindfulness-based intervention may enhance the learning of mindfulness skills (Witkiewitz et al., 2015). The current study used a randomized design to examine the effectiveness of active tDCS (2.0 mA) -enhanced MBSR compared to sham tDCS (0.1 mA)enhanced MBSR. Participants were individuals diagnosed with chronic pain (N= 52) recruited from the community and from providers in primary care and pain clinics. Pre and post measures of mindfulness and pain-related functioning were completed, as well as measures of pain intensity, pain interference, and tDCS sensations. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (F3 electrode placement), an area activated during meditation and also important for pain processing, was the target of tDCS stimulation as determined by a pilot test comparing its effects to a placement targeting the anterior frontal cortex (F10 electrode placement). At a four-week follow up, regression analyses found no main effects in support of the active tDCS simulation; however, individuals who received active tDCS and attended more treatment sessions reported significantly higher rates of mindfulness and significant improvements in overall general health after participating in the MBSR group. This study advances our knowledge of behavioral interventions for chronic pain by testing a novel combination intervention that may help individuals struggling with pain to learn mindfulness skills and increase their functioning and quality of life. Although there were no main effects of treatment with our small sample size and short duration follow-up, the current study suggests that combination tDCS and MBSR intervention is feasible, cost-effective, and may improve treatment outcomes for individuals with chronic pain.
A MODEL-BASED FRAMEWORK FOR AUTOMATIC TRACKING AND COUNTING OF PEDESTRIANS IN VIDEO SEQUENCES

In this paper we propose a framework for automatic detection, tracking and counting of pedestrians in video sequences. The detection and tracking parts are based on an integrated behavioral model for pedestrian dynamics with standard image processing techniques. The target’s counting method is based on a hierarchical clustering of pedestrian trajectories where the data representation is based on the maximum of cross correlation.