Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effects of Syllabic Compression and Frequency Shaping on Speech Intelligibility in Hearing

The effect of syllabic compression on speech intelligibility is rarely positive and in those cases that positive effects have been found, the same positive results could in general be obtained by frequency shaping of the frequency response curve. We programmed a syllabic compressor on a digital processor; the compressor differed from a conventional syllabic compressor by incorporating a delay in the signal path to suppress overshoots and thus minimize transient distortion. Furthermore, the time constants were short: attack time of 5 msec and release time of 15 msec. The compressor was only active in the high-frequency band. An essentially linear signal was added to deliver the low-frequency speech components. The processing resulted in a frequency response that mirrored the hearing loss near threshold and became much flatter for higher level input signals. Speech intelligibility scores for nonsense consonant-vowel-consonant words embedded in carrier phrases were determined for hearing-impaired persons with sloping audiograms and discrimination losses for speech. Results showed little additional effect of frequency shaping to the existing improved speech score for compressed speech. Optimum results were found for a compression ratio 2 with lower speech scores for linear amplification and for compression ratio 8. We next determined the effect of providing high-frequency emphasis to the speech signal and/or to the compression control signal to compensate for the upward spread of masking. The frequency response at the root-mean-square level was adjusted according to the half-gain rule. The positive effects of moderate compression could be found again; the high-frequency emphasis, however, was positive for the vowels but made consonant recognition poorer. We concluded that smoothing the speech intelligibility score improved for moderate compression with relative little effect of frequency shaping. Adding high-frequency emphasis to a half-gain rule response curve was not advantageous.
Comparative study of traumatic and spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage.

OBJECT Spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (SICH) and traumatic intracerebral hemorrhage (TICH) are common disorders. The authors planned to study how these two types of hemorrhage behave pathologically and clinically to gain further insight into their causes, pathogeneses, indications for surgical intervention, and prognoses. METHODS Prospectively filled databases of demographic, clinical, radiological, and outcome details have been maintained for all patients admitted to the Regional Neurosciences Centre with head injury since 1987 and with SICH since 1993. Of the 5686 patients whose case information was included in the head-injury database, 90 were found to suffer from an isolated intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) as the only major abnormality observed on computerized tomography scans (subdural and extradural hematomas were excluded). Case details on these 90 patients and the 440 patients from the SICH database were extracted and analyzed using a statistical software program. The median age of patients with TICH was lower than the median age of patients with SICH (51 years compared with 65 years, respectively), but it was much higher than the median age of the entire head-injury group (21 years). Among patients younger than 45 years of age, 0.8% of patients who experienced trauma suffered from an ICH compared with 4.3% of patients older than 45 years of age. Irrespective of intervention, much better outcomes were achieved by patients with TICH compared with those with SICH (67% favorable outcomes compared with 24% in patients with SICH). Following trauma, there was no significant relationship between the severity of injury and the development of ICH. At presentation the median Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score for both groups was 13. Younger age and higher GCS score at presentation were strongly related to a favorable outcome for both types of hemorrhage. There was no significant difference in patient age, presenting GCS score, or outcomes of patients who underwent surgery compared with those who did not for either type of hemorrhage. No conclusions can be drawn about the efficacy of surgery from such observational studies. CONCLUSIONS On the basis of these data the authors suggest that TICH and SICH have different features: TICH affects a slightly younger age group and carries a much better prognosis compared with SICH. In addition, indications for surgical intervention are not well defined for either type of hemorrhage. Practice is subjective and inconsistent. The International Surgical Trial in Intracerebral Haemorrhage may resolve the dilemma for SICH. A similar trial in which surgery is compared with conservative management should be considered for cases of TICH.
Induction of the Chlamydia muridarum Stress/Persistence Response Increases Azithromycin Treatment Failure in a Murine Model of Infection

ABSTRACT Viable but noninfectious (stressed/persistent) chlamydiae are more resistant to azithromycin (AZM) in culture than are organisms in the normal developmental cycle. Chlamydia muridarum-infected mice were exposed to amoxicillin to induce the organisms to enter the persistent/stressed state and subsequently treated with AZM. AZM treatment failure was observed in 22% of persistently infected mice, with an average of 321,667 inclusion-forming units (IFU) shed after AZM treatment. Productively infected mice had a 9% rate of AZM treatment failure and shed an average of 12,083 IFU. These data suggest that stressed chlamydiae are more resistant to frontline antichlamydial drugs in vivo.
The Approach to Transforming the Traditional Agricultural Economy: China's Case

Transforming traditional agricultural economy into modern economic growth path is the main theme of economic development. Through theoretical and empirical analysis, we find that the key of transformation is to raise the economic value of people, to improve human capital investment and to match the stocks of physical and human capital. China? s rural economy is on the edge of economic takeoff, and different zones may pursue different paths for transformation. The source of rural poverty is not the scarcity of income or consumption, but the deficiency of education, social security, medical care and opportunity, which we define as "capability poverty".
Clinical and immunomodulating effects of ketamine in horses with experimental endotoxemia.

BACKGROUND Ketamine has immunomodulating effects both in vitro and in vivo during experimental endotoxemia in humans, rodents, and dogs. HYPOTHESIS Subanesthetic doses of ketamine will attenuate the clinical and immunologic responses to experimental endotoxemia in horses. ANIMALS Nineteen healthy mares of various breeds. METHODS Experimental study. Horses were randomized into 2 groups: ketamine-treated horses (KET; n = 9) and saline-treated horses (SAL; n = 10). Both groups received 30 ng/kg of lipopolysaccharide (LPS, Escherichia coli, O55:B5) 1 hour after the start of a continuous rate infusion (CRI) of racemic ketamine (KET) or physiologic saline (SAL). Clinical and hematological responses were documented and plasma concentrations of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and thromboxane B(2) (TXB(2)) were quantified. RESULTS All horses safely completed the study. The KET group exhibited transient excitation during the ketamine loading infusion (P < .05) and 1 hour after discontinuation of administration (P < .05). Neutrophilic leukocytosis was greater in the KET group 8 and 24 hours after administration of LPS (P < .05). Minor perturbations of plasma biochemistry results were considered clinically insignificant. Plasma TNF-α and TXB(2) production peaked 1.5 and 1 hours, respectively, after administration of LPS in both groups, but a significant difference between treatment groups was not demonstrated. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE A subanesthetic ketamine CRI is well tolerated by horses. A significant effect on the clinical or immunologic response to LPS administration, as assessed by clinical observation, hematological parameters, and TNF-α and TXB(2) production, was not identified in healthy horses with the subanesthetic dose of racemic ketamine utilized in this study.
Colonic epithelial atrophy induced by a fibre‐free diet in rats is reversed by minimal amounts of luminal butyrate, but only in the short term

Background: Luminal butyrate may be trophic to the colonic epithelium, but this effect is poorly characterized. The aim of the present study was to define the dose−response, time‐course, site‐specificity and the dependence on background diet of the effects of butyrate on epithelial proliferation in normal distal colon, using an in vivo rat model of colonic substrate delivery.
The performance of complex SSC/MRC combiner in the presence of α-μ fading

The expressions for probability density function (PDF) of the Switch and Stay Combiner (SSC) output signal to noise ratio (SNR) at one time instant and the joint probability density function of the SSC combiner output signal to noise ratio at two time instants in the presence of α-μ fading are determined in this paper. Then, these expressions are used for calculation of the Outage probability and Amount of fading for complex Switch and Stay Combining/Maximal Ratio Combining (SSC/MRC) combiner versus some parameter values. The results are shown graphically in some figures and the analysis of the parameters influence and different types of combiners is given.
Induction and persistence in vivo of NK/LAK activity by a mannoprotein component of Candida albicans cell wall.

In a previous study we demonstrated that NK/LAK effectors are quickly induced in the peritoneal cavity of CD2F1 mice by a booster dose with inactivated Candida albicans (CA) cells or by the purified cell wall mannoprotein (MP), for a long time after CA sensitization. In this study we investigated the immunologic nature and kinetics of early events of the booster phenomenon. Intraperitoneal inoculation of CA in CD2F1 mice, 30 days after pretreatment with five doses of CA (2 x 10(7) cells/mouse) over a 2-week period (CA-5d treatment), elicited a very rapid recruitment of asialo GM1+ cells, L3T4+ cells, and Ly 2+ cells. Asialo GM1+ cells and Ly 2+ cells reached a maximum number 12 hr after the booster dose, while L3T4+ cells reached the maximum after 24 hr. The number of L3T4+ cells was about twofold greater than Ly 2+ cells at all times tested. A similar kinetic pattern was found after MP booster. In C57BL/6 mice we confirmed that CA and MP boosters induced LGL which express a NK antigen, detected by 3A4 mAb, and the activation marker CD25. The peak of non-MHC-restricted PEC cytotoxicity, which was reached 24 hr after MP or CA booster, did not correspond to the time (12 hr) for maximum number increase of asialo GM1+ cells and 3A4+ cells. Two hours after CA or MP booster in PEC there was a rapid and strong increase of IL-2 mRNA expression, which persisted at a high level 24 hr after booster. In CA-5d-pretreated mice, a persistent NK/LAK-like activity in the peritoneal cavity can be maintained by boosters with MP administered every 3 days. Such treatment, which we performed up to 15 days after CA sensitization, rendered the mice more responsive to further MP boosters. Effects of CA were not restricted to the peritoneal compartment because (a) there was a rebound of splenic NK activity about 10 days after CA-5d treatment by ip route and (b) CA given by iv route significantly increased splenic NK activity up to 15-20 days after CA-5d treatment. Recombinant human interleukin 2 (rhIL-2), given ip to mice (1000 U/mouse) in combination with CA during CA-5d treatment and with MP in the booster, strongly increased the level of peritoneal NK/LAK activity and PEC cellularity. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Bradycardia-induced long QT syndrome caused by a de novo missense mutation in the S2-S3 inner loop of HERG.

Long QT syndrome is a congenital disorder that presents with a defective cardiac ion channel and is either associated with prolonged action potential or, more commonly, known as an acquired form in which "torsades de pointes" type arrhythmias specifically occur after secondary causes. We report a case of a novel HERG mutation (A490T) that caused a bradycardia-associated form of long QT syndrome. A 27-year-old woman exhibited recurrent syncope due to torsades de pointes associated with a disturbance of the cardiac conduction system. By using polymerase chain reaction and single strand conformational polymorphism analyses, we identified a heterozygous single nucleotide substitution of HERG (G to A at nt 1468). This mutational change was not present in 140 Japanese control individuals. Electrophysiological assays for the A490T mutant HERG channel were conducted in the heterologous expression system with COS7 cells. The mutant channel was found to reconstitute functional channel currents, suggesting the homomeric mutant channel was functional. The mutation did not change the properties of the activation gate and inward rectification, however the current density of this mutant channel was small compared with that of wild type HERG. Taken together, this mutant may cause subtle changes in HERG channel functions (I(Kr)) in vivo. In this case, genetic background and unexpected bradycardia may have contributed to the development of long QT syndrome.
Livestock Disease Indemnity Design under Common Uncertainty: A Multi-agent Problem

For most of the contagious livestock diseases, the disease prevalence rates among farms are interrelated. This article develops a principal multi-agent model to study the optimal livestock indemnity design in face of common uncertainties. Our results indicate that the indemnity scheme taking multiple farms into account is most applicable in two cases: 1) the farmers' disease prevalence rates are highly correlated and 2) the effectiveness of biosecurity effort proves to be low.
LOS CLUSTERS Y EL USO DE MARCAS COLECTIVAS EN CONSORCIOS DE EXPORTACIÓN

En el presente articulo se elabora un modelo teorico para analizar las condiciones en que un grupo de empresas organizadas en cluster de un pais en desarrollo puede asociarse de manera cooperativa y conformar un consorcio de exportacion para comercializar colectivamente sus productos en el mercado de un pais desarrollado. El consorcio elimina el papel de las empresas intermediarias en el pais desarrollado. La calidad esperada de la produccion de las empresas del cluster es heterogenea. Las empresas del cluster conocen el tipo de calidad de otras empresas, pero el intermediario extranjero, no. Sin embargo, el intermediario extranjero tiene un costo de comercializacion inferior al de las empresas del cluster. Incluso al hacer suposiciones favorables acerca de las ganancias de la cooperacion intracluster, el modelo muestra que la comercializacion colectiva que se realiza en un consorcio solo puede ocurrir entre empresas de alta calidad, y solo dentro de valores de parametros limitados. El aumento en el diferencial de la calidad entre las empresas de baja y alta calidad amplia el rango de los valores de parametros para los cuales se presenta la comercializacion colectiva de las empresas de alta calidad del cluster. Hay una mayor eficiencia social si el intermediario extranjero comercializa la produccion del cluster, pero la creible amenaza de un consorcio puede conducir a una redistribucion del superavit a favor del cluster.
Association of pulmonary inflammation and increased microvascular permeability during the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia: a sequential analysis of inflammatory mediators in respiratory fluids of high-risk preterm neonates.

OBJECTIVE Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) of preterm neonates is associated with an increased recruitment of inflammatory cells into the airways. To evaluate further the role of inflammation in the pathogenesis of BPD, tracheobronchial aspirate fluid of neonates with birth weight < 1200 g (n = 59) was sequentially analyzed in a prospective study. METHODS Tracheobronchial aspirate fluid was assessed for chemotactic activity, neutrophil cell count, concentrations of elastase-alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor and activity of free elastase, concentrations of chemoattractants (complement component C5-derived anaphylatoxin, leukotriene B4, interleukin-8), and albumin concentrations as well as alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor activity. The secretory component for immunoglobulin A was used as reference protein. Only specimens without evidence of microbiological colonization were studied. RESULTS In neonates with prolonged respiratory disease (BPD-risk neonates, n = 24, fraction of inspired oxygen > or = 0.3 and/or peak inspiratory pressure > or = 16 cm H2O at day 10 postnatal age, birth weight 892 +/- 36 g, gestational age 27.2 +/- 0.3 weeks) chemotactic activity, cell count, concentrations of the chemoattractants complement component C5-derived anaphylatoxin, leukotriene B4, interleukin-8, as well as levels of elastase-alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor were significantly higher at day 10 and/or day 15 of postnatal age compared with neonates without chronic pulmonary disease (total n = 35; day 10, n = 11; day 15, n = 8). There was no difference in free elastolytic activity. Concentrations of albumin as well as alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor activity were higher in BPD-risk patients on day 15, indicating an increased pulmonary leak. CONCLUSION We conclude that preterm neonates at risk for the development of BPD show an enhanced inflammatory reaction in the lungs and an associated increase in pulmonary microvascular permeability. We speculate that inflammation may play an important role in the pathogenesis of BPD.
Tamoxifen‐dependent, inducible Hoxb6CreERT recombinase function in lateral plate and limb mesoderm, CNS isthmic organizer, posterior trunk neural crest, hindgut, and tailbud

The ability to generate conditional mutant alleles in mice using Cre‐lox technology has facilitated analysis of genes playing critical roles in multiple developmental processes at different times. We used a transgenic Hoxb6 promoter to drive tamoxifen‐dependent Cre recombinase expression in several developing systems that serve as major models for elucidating inductive interactions and mechanisms of morphogenesis, including lateral plate mesoderm and descendant limb buds, neural crest progenitors of the neural tube, tailbud, and CNS isthmic organizer. The Hoxb6CreERT line gives very rapid and complete recombination over a short time window after a single tamoxifen dose, allowing precise time requirements for gene function to be assessed accurately. Embryonic cells cultured from the Hoxb6CreERT line also display rapid recombination ex vivo after tamoxifen exposure. Hence, the Hoxb6CreERT line provides a valuable tool for analyzing gene function, as well as lineage tracing studies using genetic cell marking, in several developing systems. Developmental Dynamics 238:467–474, 2009. Published 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Optical networking technologies: what worked and what didn't

This article takes a broad look at a variety of optical network technologies that have been developed over the past two decades and comments on why some were successful in the real world while others have yet to make it beyond research laboratories or paper publications. We describe each technology briefly and then offer possible explanations for its rapid or slow adoption by the industry
The Changing in Welfare of Older People Compared to Previous Generations

The aim of the study is to examine such a question as: are older people today better off than older people from previous generations in terms of financial and social resources? And also we’ll try to answer the question whether increasing live expectancy is a result of improvement of living conditions for older people or it is the only result of medical science achievements. The paper investigates how the changes in population aged proportion influence on conditions of live of the older people, is it become better than the live of previous generations or not? Also data of such countries as UK and Russia are compared in order to see the differences and similarities and try to give some kind of recommendations. The article examines the determinants of the quality of life of older people such as life expectancy, income, social and marital support, the impact of innovation and how these factors changed over the past decades. © 2016 Published by Future Academy www.FutureAcademy. org.uk
Non-production vegetation has a positive effect on ecological processes in agroecosystems

An ever-expanding human population, ongoing global climatic changes, and the spread of intensive farming practices is putting increasing pressure on agroecosystems and the inherent biodiversity they contain. Non-production vegetation elements, such as woody patches, riparian margins, and inter-crop and restoration plantings, are vital for conserving biodiversity in agroecosystems and are therefore considered key to sustaining the biotic and abiotic processes underpinning sustainable and resilient agroecosystems. Despite this critical role, there is a surprising lack of synthesis of which types of non-production vegetation elements drive and/or support ecological processes and the mechanisms by which this occurs. Using a systematic, quantitative literature review of 342 articles, we asked: what are the effects of non-production vegetation elements on agroecosystem processes and how are these processes measured within global agroecosystems? Our literature search focussed on the effects of non-production vegetation related to faunal, weed, disease, and abiotic processes. The majority (61%) of studies showed positive effects on ecological processes: non-production vegetation increased the presence, level or rate of the studied process. However, rather than directly measuring ecosystem processes, 83% of studies inferred processes using proxies for ecosystem function, such as biodiversity and soil physicochemical properties. Studies that directly measured non-production vegetation effects focussed on a limited number of vegetation effects including comparisons of vegetation types, farm-scale configuration, and proximity to vegetation. Moreover, studies directly measuring ecosystem processes were similarly limited, dominated by invertebrate biocontrol, predator and natural enemy spillover, animal movement, and ecosystem cycling. We identify research gaps and present a pathway for future research in understanding the ecosystem components and processes that build resilient, sustainable agroecosystems.
Web-based visualisation of the transcriptional control network of Escherichia coli

Transcription is one of the basic processes of gene expression, controlled by a complex network of biochemical reactions. Despite its importance, most work on the visualisation of biochemical networks focuses on the representation of metabolic pathways. The visualisation of the complex networks controlling transcription requires the implementation of a hierarchical approach that allows the display of the structure of each regulatory region with its transcription factors and regulated operons. This paper presents a web-based application for the visualisation of transcriptional control networks. It takes as case study the organism Escherichia coli. The definition of the visual components implemented is mainly based on those proposed by Shen-Orr et al., 2002, slightly extended to visualise complex networks.