Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hidden Markov models for grapheme to phoneme conversion

We propose a method for determining the canonical phone-mic transcription of a word from its orthography using hidden Markov models. In the model, phonemes are the hidden states and graphemes the observations. Apart from one pre-processing step, the model is fully automatic. The paper describes the basic HMM framework and enhancements which use preprocessing, context dependent models and a syllable level stress model. In all cases the power of the framework lies in that training of the models (which includes alignment of graphemes and phonemes, training of transitions and training observation probabilities) is performed in a single step.
Macroeconomics and the Term Structure

This paper provides an overview of the analysis of the term structure of interest rates with a special emphasis on recent developments at the intersection of macroeconomics and finance. The topic is important to investors and also to policymakers, who wish to extract macroeconomic expectations from longer-term interest rates, and take actions to influence those rates. The simplest model of the term structure is the expectations hypothesis, which posits that long-term interest rates are expectations of future average short-term rates. In this paper, we show that many features of the configuration of interest rates are puzzling from the perspective of the expectations hypothesis. We review models that explain these anomalies using time-varying risk premia. Although the quest for the fundamental macroeconomic explanations of these risk premia is ongoing, inflation uncertainty seems to play a large role. Finally, while modern finance theory prices bonds and other assets in a single unified framework, we also consider an earlier approach based on segmented markets. Market segmentation seems important to understand the term structure of interest rates during the recent financial crisis.
Corporate Space Preferences: A New Zealand Example

The paper demonstrates the problems encountered in the measurement of corporate space preferences which are not present in the residential space preference context—most notably the assignment of people to levels in a decisionmaking hierarchy, and the weighting that is necessary to reflect the contribution that each level makes to any final decision. The greater complexity of the corporate situation highlights the conceptual inadequacy of the principal components technique for the construction of mental maps, with a simple psychological scaling technique appearing to be conceptually more adequate and equally as effective. But, it is the number of items on which data are collected which emerges as the issue of greatest consequence in this type of study, the suggestion having been made that respondents should not be asked to select more than say nine or ten locations from a list of alternatives. The example of a corporate mental map, constructed in the light of the methodological discussion, was shown to have important implications for the spatial learning model proposed by Taylor (1975b), which had been derived from industrial linkage studies. Instead it was suggested that a metric reflecting the organisation of a national space economy into a series of hierarchically arranged and reasonably discrete regional space economies should replace simple euclidean measures of distance (that is, geographic space) within the model.
Vitamin C supplementation and salivary immune function following exercise-heat stress.

PURPOSE Prolonged physical exertion and environmental heat stress may elicit postexercise depression of immune cell function, increasing upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) susceptibility. We investigated the effects of acute and short-term vitamin C (VC) compared with placebo (PL) supplementation on URTI susceptibility, salivary immunoglobulin A (s-IgA), and cortisol responses in healthy individuals following prolonged exercise-heat stress. METHODS Twelve participants were randomized into the VC or PL group in a double-blind design. For 12 days, participants consumed 3x500 mg tablets of VC or PL per day, with testing completed at baseline, then following acute (1 d) and short-term (8 d) supplementation. Participants performed 120.1+/-49.6 min of cycling at 54+/-6% VO2max in a hot (34.8+/-1.0 degrees C and 13+/-3% relative humidity) environment, with saliva samples collected at pre-, post-, and 72 h postexercise. Health logs specifying URTI symptoms were completed for 7 days postexercise. RESULTS A 2x3x3 mixed ANOVA with a post hoc Bonferroni correction factor revealed a significant linear trend in postexercise cortisol attenuation in the VC group, 21.7+/-15.1 nmol/L (mean+/-SD) at baseline, to 13.5+/-10.0 at acute, to 7.6+/-4.2 after short term (P=.032). No differences were detected in ratio of s-IgA to protein or URTI symptoms between groups. CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that vitamin C supplementation can decrease postexercise cortisol in individuals performing exercise similar to that of a half-marathon or marathon in hot conditions. However, no changes in s-IgA and URTI were evident, possibly due to previous moderate training and reduced physical and psychological stress compared with athletes participating in ultramarathons.
Intermolecular Interactions between Retroviral Gag Proteins in the Nucleus

ABSTRACT The retroviral Gag polyprotein directs virus particle assembly, resulting in the release of virions from the plasma membranes of infected cells. The earliest steps in assembly, those immediately following Gag synthesis, are very poorly understood. For Rous sarcoma virus (RSV), Gag proteins are synthesized in the cytoplasm and then undergo transient nuclear trafficking before returning to the cytoplasm for transport to the plasma membrane. Thus, RSV provides a useful model to study the initial steps in assembly because the early and later stages are spatially separated by the nuclear envelope. We previously described mutants of RSV Gag that are defective in nuclear export, thereby isolating these “trapped” Gag proteins at an early assembly step. Using the nuclear export mutants, we asked whether Gag protein-protein interactions occur within the nucleus. Complementation experiments revealed that the wild-type Gag protein could partially rescue export-defective Gag mutants into virus-like particles (VLPs). Additionally, the export mutants had a trans-dominant negative effect on wild-type Gag, interfering with its release into VLPs. Confocal imaging of wild-type and mutant Gag proteins bearing different fluorescent tags suggested that complementation between Gag proteins occurred in the nucleus. Additional evidence for nuclear Gag-Gag interactions was obtained using fluorescence resonance energy transfer, and we found that the formation of intranuclear Gag complexes was dependent on the NC domain. Bimolecular fluorescence complementation allowed the direct visualization of intranuclear Gag-Gag dimers. Together, these experimental results strongly suggest that RSV Gag proteins are capable of interacting within the nucleus.
Dynamical friction and evolution of black holes in cosmological simulations: a new implementation in OpenGadget3

We implement a sub-resolution prescription for the unresolved dynamical friction onto black holes (BHs) in the OpenGadget3 code. We carry out cosmological simulations of a volume of 16 cMpc3 and zoom-ins of a galaxy group and of a galaxy cluster. The advantages of our new technique are assessed in comparison to commonly adopted methods to hamper spurious BH displacements, i.e. repositioning onto a local minimum of the gravitational potential and ad-hoc boosting of the BH particle dynamical mass. The newly-introduced dynamical friction correction provides centering of BHs on host halos which is at least comparable with the other techniques. It predicts half as many merger events with respect to the repositioning prescription, with the advantage of being less prone to leave sub-structures without any central BH. Simulations featuring our dynamical friction prescription produce a smaller (by up to 50% with respect to repositioning) population of wandering BHs and final BH masses in good agreement with observations. As for individual BH-BH interactions, our dynamical friction model captures the gradual inspiraling of orbits before the merger occurs. By contrast, the repositioning scheme, in its most classical renditions considered, describes extremely fast mergers, while the dynamical mass misrepresents the BHs' dynamics, introducing numerical scattering between the orbiting BHs. Given its performances in describing the centering of BHs within host galaxies and the orbiting of BH pair before their merging, our dynamical friction correction opens interesting applications for an accurate description of the evolution of BH demography within cosmological simulations of galaxy formation at different cosmic epochs and within different environments.
Fluid replacement and heat stress during exercise alter post‐exercise cardiac haemodynamics in endurance exercise‐trained men

It has been reported that endurance exercise‐trained men have decreases in cardiac output with no change in systemic vascular conductance during post‐exercise hypotension, which differs from sedentary and normally active populations. As inadequate hydration may explain these differences, we tested the hypothesis that fluid replacement prevents this post‐exercise fall in cardiac output, and further, exercise in a warm environment would cause greater decreases in cardiac output. We studied 14 trained men ( 4.66 ± 0.62 l min−1) before and to 90 min after cycling at 60% for 60 min under three conditions: Control (no water was consumed during exercise in a thermoneutral environment), Fluid (water was consumed to match sweat loss during exercise in a thermoneutral environment) and Warm (no water was consumed during exercise in a warm environment). Arterial pressure and cardiac output were measured pre‐ and post‐exercise in a thermoneutral environment. The fall in mean arterial pressure following exercise was not different between conditions (P= 0.453). Higher post‐exercise cardiac output (Δ 0.41 ± 0.17 l min−1; P= 0.027), systemic vascular conductance (Δ 6.0 ± 2.2 ml min−1 mmHg−1; P= 0.001) and stroke volume (Δ 9.1 ± 2.1 ml beat−1; P < 0.001) were seen in Fluid compared to Control, but there was no difference between Fluid and Warm (all P > 0.05). These data suggest that fluid replacement mitigates the post‐exercise decrease in cardiac output in endurance‐exercise trained men. Surprisingly, exercise in a warm environment also mitigates the post‐exercise fall in cardiac output.
QueryMarket Demonstration: Pricing for Online Data Markets

Increasingly data is being bought and sold online. To facilitate such transactions, online data market-places have emerged to provide a service for sellers to price views on their data, and buyers to buy such views. These marketplaces neither support the sale of ad-hoc queries (that are not one of the specified views), nor do they support queries that join datasets. We present QueryMarket, a prototype data marketplace that automatically extrapolates prices to ad-hoc queries, including those with joins, from the manually priced views. We call this capability "query-based pricing" and describe how it is superior to existing pricing methods, and how it provides more flexible pricing for the sellers. We then show how QueryMarket implements query-based pricing and how it generates explanations for the prices it computes.
Two-Stage and Integrated Fuel Cell Power Conditioner: Performance Comparison

Fuel cell based power supply system needs a power conditioner to convert the low dc output voltage generated by the fuel cell into usable ac voltage for any practical application. For proper power conditioning design, fuel cell electrical characteristics as well as customer requirements are taken into account. This paper presents a design methodology and performance comparison for two different power conditioner architectures recommended for using in a stand-alone power generation system with 120 Vac output voltage (sinusoidal single phase) and low input voltage (26 Vdc). Traditional two-stage power conditioner architecture which consists of an active clamp full-bridge boost converter (ACFBC) for the dc-dc stage and a full-bridge sinusoidal pulse width modulation (SPWM) inverter for dc-ac stage is presented. Besides, attempting to reduce the conversion stages (and hence reducing the total components number) a single stage power conditioner architecture which combines the ACFBC structure with the SPWM technique into an integrated architecture is also presented. In addition, a brief introduction of fuel cells and an examination of the main power conditioning requirements for residential application are included.
Holographic Energy Correlators for Confining Theories

We present a holographic calculation of energy correlators in a simple model of confinement based on a warped extra dimension with an IR brane. For small distances we reproduce the constant correlators of a strongly-coupled conformal field theory, while for large distances the effects of confinement dominate and the correlators decay exponentially. We find exact shockwave solutions to the Einstein equations in the presence of the IR brane, hence avoiding the need for a perturbative expansion in terms of Witten diagrams. While some of the expected qualitative features of energy correlators in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) are reproduced, our crude model of confinement does not capture the effects of asymptotic freedom nor exhibit jetty behavior. We expect that our method can also be applied to more realistic models of confinement incorporating asymptotic freedom, which should fix some of the deviations from QCD.
Indicators for the use of robotic labs in basic biomedical research: a literature analysis

Robotic labs, in which experiments are carried out entirely by robots, have the potential to provide a reproducible and transparent foundation for performing basic biomedical laboratory experiments. In this article, we investigate whether these labs could be applicable in current experimental practice. We do this by text mining 1,628 papers for occurrences of methods that are supported by commercial robotic labs. Using two different concept recognition tools, we find that 86%–89% of the papers have at least one of these methods. This and our other results provide indications that robotic labs can serve as the foundation for performing many lab-based experiments.
SARCOLEMMAL SCALLOPING AT SHORT SARCOMERE LENGTHS WITH INCIDENTAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE T TUBULES

It is now well established that the transverse tubular system (T system) in skeletal muscle communicates with the extracellular space . Moreover, it is also generally agreed that the T tubules act as a conducting mechanism for the spread of electrical activity from the surface to the interior of the cell . Experiments using tracers such as ferritin, lanthanum, and horseradish peroxidase confirmed the sarcolemmal invaginations (Huxley, 1964 ; Page, 1964 ; Revel and Karnovsky, 1967; Forssmann and Girardier, 1970) . However, in fish skeletal muscle well-defined sarcolemmal invaginations which form the T system have been illustrated without the use of tracers (Franzini-
Searching for Shereshevskii: What is superior about the memory of synaesthetes?

Some individuals with superior memory, such as the mnemonist Shereshevskii (Luria, 1968), are known to have synaesthesia. However, the extent to which superior memory is a general characteristic of synaesthesia is unknown, as is the precise cognitive mechanism by which synaesthesia affects memory. This study demonstrates that synaesthetes tend to report subjectively better than average memory and that these reports are borne out with objective testing. Synaesthetes experiencing colours for words show better memory than matched controls for stimuli that induce synaesthesia (word lists) relative to stimuli that do not (an abstract figure). However, memory advantages are not limited to material that elicits synaesthesia because synaesthetes demonstrate enhanced memory for colour per se (which does not induce a synaesthetic response). Our results suggest that the memory enhancement found in synaesthetes is related to an enhanced retention of colour in both synaesthetic and nonsynaesthetic situations. Furthermore, this may account for the fact that synaesthetic associations, once formed, remain highly consistent.
Energy Efficient Design of Massive MIMO: How Many Antennas?

We provide explicit formulas for the optimal number of antennas per base station to maximize the cell total energy efficiency of a power- controlled multi-cell Massive MIMO. Furthermore, we show that equipping the same number of antennas in each base station results in virtually no loss in energy efficiency due to the flatness of energy efficiency function. Conjugate beamforming compares very competitively with zero-forcing and in fact, due to the loss in effective array gain and the additional computational cost in zero-forcing, conjugate beamforming can achieve better energy efficiency when per user throughput demand is moderate. In single cell case, we provide explicit algebraic formulas for the optimal number of antennas and optimal radiated power when a target per user throughput is given.
Metabolic Imaging: A Link between Lactate Dehydrogenase A, Lactate, and Tumor Phenotype

Purpose: We compared the metabolic profiles and the association between LDH-A expression and lactate production in two isogenic murine breast cancer cell lines and tumors (67NR and 4T1). These cell lines were derived from a single mammary tumor and have different growth and metabolic phenotypes. Experimental Design: LDH-A expression, lactate concentration, glucose utilization, and oxygen consumption were measured in cells, and the potential relationship between tumor lactate levels [measured by magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI)] and tumor glucose utilization [measured by [18F]2-deoxy-2-fluoro-d-glucose positron emission tomography ([18F]FDG-PET)] was assessed in orthotopic breast tumors derived from these cell lines. Results: We show a substantial difference in LDH-A expression between 67NR and 4T1 cells under normoxia and hypoxia. We also show that small orthotopic 4T1 tumors generate 10-fold more lactate than corresponding 67NR tumors. The high lactate levels in small primary 4T1 tumors are associated with intense pimonidazole staining (a hypoxia indicator). Less-intense hypoxia staining was observed in the larger 67NR tumors and is consistent with the gradual increase and plateau of lactate concentration in enlarging 67NR tumors. Conclusions: Lactate-MRSI has a greater dynamic range than [18F]FDG-PET and may be a more sensitive measure with which to evaluate the aggressive and metastatic potential of primary breast tumors. Clin Cancer Res; 17(19); 6250–61. ©2011 AACR.
DDoS Detection Method Based on Chaos Analysis of Network Traffic Entropy

Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) flooding attacks are still great threat to the network security, although methodologies and tools have been implemented to combat this problem. In this paper, a variation of Lyapunov exponent is proposed to detect anomalies in network traffic, based on entropy. Experimental results show that our approach outperforms entropy-based method while reflecting relationship between source IPs and destination IPs, which is enabled by the possibility of combining their entropies.
Link law: The emerging law of internet hyperlinks

Although Internet enthusiasts often claim a right of on‐line associations, that is, a right freely to link to other content on the Internet, evolving case law demonstrates that there is no absolute right to associate or link on the Internet. Rather, business law at times imposes limits and penalties on linking. As business grows on the Internet, litigants are likely to use creative theories based on unfair competition and intellectual property law to seek limits on linking. This article examines the first waves of Internet link law cases, how the legal positions have been framed and the principles with which those cases have been resolved. The article reviews the basics of the legal theories used (and likely to be used in the future) to challenge links. The article then reviews key linking cases involving, among other issues, direct links, “framing” and “inlining,” hidden metalinks and contributory infringement through links and mirror sites. The article concludes that, contrary to the original ethos of I.
Enhancing transparent skin surfaces with ridge and valley lines

There are many applications that can benefit from the simultaneous display of multiple layers of data. The objective in these cases is to render the layered surfaces in a such way that the outer structures can be seen and seen through at the same time. The paper focuses on the particular application of radiation therapy treatment planning, in which physicians need to understand the three dimensional distribution of radiation dose in the context of patient anatomy. We describe a promising technique for communicating the shape and position of the transparent skin surface while at the same time minimally occluding underlying isointensity dose surfaces and anatomical objects: adding a sparse, opaque texture comprised of a small set of carefully chosen lines. We explain the perceptual motivation for explicitly drawing ridge and valley curves on a transparent surface, describe straightforward mathematical techniques for detecting and rendering these lines, and propose a small number of reasonably effective methods for selectively emphasizing the most perceptually relevant lines in the display.
Inside immigration law. Migration management and policy application in Germany, by Tobias G. Eule

I am a political scientist who specializes in public administration in Australia and Britain. So, why am I reviewing a book by a sociologist on immigration policy in Germany? The answer is surprisingly simply: I seek to persuade scholars and students of political science and public administration that they have much to learn from students of ethnography, and the best work is done in disciplines other than political science, notably cultural anthropology, sociology and organization studies. The dominant research idiom of much present-day political science in Britain and America is rooted in rational choice theory and quantitative studies. Auyero and Joseph (2007, 2) examined 1000 articles published in the American Journal of Political Science and the American Political Science Review between 1996 and 2005. They found that ‘only one article relies on ethnography as a data-production technique’. We confront the ‘“double absence” of politics in ethnographic literature and of ethnography in the study of politics’ (Auyero and Joseph 2007, 2, emphasis in the original). To compound the problem, ethnography needs nurturing, recognition and promotion. In the social sciences more generally, it is under threat. For example, Taylor (2014) argued ethnography was ‘endangered’ because it took a long time, was ethically sensitive and had difficulty in securing funds. In addition, he emphasized the harmful effects of the performance assessment regime to which universities in the UK were subjected: