Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multilayer thin film deposition of Pd/Ag alloy as an application for hydrogen sensing

A highly sensitive H2 gas sensor was fabricated using a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) procedure having an embedded micro-heater. The palladium-silver (Pd/Ag having stoichiometric ratios 77:23) thin film was deposited by the RF/DC magnetron sputtering and used as the hydrogen sensing layer designed as a zig-zag pattern. The working temperature of the micro heater showed a linear relation with variations of the heater voltage. The electrothermal properties of the H2 sensor were studied by finite element method (FEM). The sensing properties of the fabricated H2 sensor as the change of electrical resistance were studied with respect to hydrogen concentration and temperature. Experimental results showed high sensitivity and response time after application of the heater voltage. The sensing properties of the alloyed Pd/Ag thin film were more improved than those of pure palladium. The maximum sensitivity (Rs) of the fabricated H2 sensor was 14.26% for 1000 ppm H2. The gas sensitivity of the fabricated H2 sensor showed linear behavior with the heater voltage (operating temperature) and positively corresponded with the hydrogen concentration.
Speaker Identification Method Using Earth Mover's Distance for CCC Speaker Recognition Evaluation 2006

In this paper, we present a non-parametric speaker identification method using Earth Mover's Distance (EMD) designed for text-indepedent speaker identification and its evaluation results for CCC Speaker Recognition Evaluation 2006, organized by the Chinese Corpus Consortium (CCC) for the th International Symposium on Chinese Spoken Language Processing (ISCSLP 2006). EMD based speaker identification (EMD-IR) was originally designed to be applied to a distributed speaker identification system, in which the feature vectors are compressed by vector quantization at a terminal and sent to a server that executes a pattern matching process. In this structure, we had to train speaker models using quantized data, then we utilized a non-parametric speaker model and EMD. From the experimental results on a Japanese speech corpus, EMD-IR showed higher robustness to the quantized data than the conventional GMM technique. Moreover, it achieved higher accuracy than GMM even if the data was not quantized. Hence, we have taken the challenge of CCC Speaker Recognition Evaluation 2006 using EMD-IR. Since the identification tasks defined in the evaluation were on an open-set basis, we introduce a new speaker verification module. Evaluation results show that EMD-IR achieves 99.3 % Identification Correctness Rate in a closed-channel speaker identification task.
Xchart: um modelo de especificação e implementação de gerenciadores de dialogos

O gerenciador de dialogo e um dos componentes mais complexos de uma interface e continua, em grande parte, sendo codificado manualmente em linguagens de programacao convencionais. Isto contribui para elevar os custos de desenvolvimento e inibir alteracoes, que sao indispensaveis ao desenvolvimento de interfaces. Essa dissertacao propoe a linguagem Xchart e um ambiente de apoio voltados para o desenvolvimento de gerenciadores de dialogo. Xchart possui recursos para capturar adequadamente as funcoes desses componentes de interfaces. Cada gerenciador e especificado atraves de um conjunto de diagramas. A semântica formal de Xchart permite que esses diagramas sejam automaticamente executados por um interpretador. Em tempo de execucao, instâncias desses diagramas podem ser criadas dinamicamente e executadas concorrentemente, possivelmente em um sistema distribuido, apoiadas pelo sistema de execucao de Xchart Abstract
Reasoning about Eeects of Concurrent Actions

Gelfond and Lifschitz introduce a declarative language A for describing eeects of actions and deene translations of theories in this language into extended logic programs. The purpose of this paper is to extend the language and the translation to allow reasoning about the eeects of concurrent actions. Logic programming formalization of situation calculus with concurrent actions presented in the paper can be of independent interest and may serve as a test bed for the investigation of various transformations and logic programming inference mechanisms.
Prevalence and associated factors of musculoskeletal pain among the dental personnel in a dental school.

OBJECTIVE To study the prevalence and associated factors of musculoskeletal (MS) pain among the dental personnel. In addition, impacts and treatment of MS pain were reported. MATERIAL AND METHOD Random sampling of 390 participants from the name lists of dental personnel working in each department. Self-administered questionnaires were equally distributed to three groups of dental personnel namely clinical instructors, postgraduate students, and dental assistants. The present study was conducted as a survey in the Faculty of Dentistry, Mahidol University, Bangkok between December 2008 and January 2009. RESULTS Three hundred and ninety questionnaires were delivered and 164 questionnaires were returned (response rate 42.5%). The participants with MS pain were 32 clinical instructors (20.3%), 52 postgraduate students (32.9%), and 74 dental assistants (46.8%). Their mean age was 33.0 +/- 9.1 years old. The MS pain found respectively was shoulder pain 72.2% (n = 114), neckpain 70.3% (n = 111), and low backpain 50.6% (n = 80). The participants with shoulder and neckpain were combined and defined as cervicobrachial pain. The associated factor of cervicobrachial pain was working status. Being a clinical instructor and postgraduate student were associated with cervicobrachial pain with OR being 4.7 [1.3, 7.1] and 4.6 [1.6, 13.4], respectively. The impacts of MS pain among the dental personnel included usage of pain relieving medication (34.8%), seeking medical evaluation (32.3%), reduction in working hours (27.2%), difficulty sleeping (22.8%), and work absence (10.8%), respectively. The treatments of MS pain utilized to alleviate those impacts were Thai traditional massage (51.9%), medication (28.5%), physical therapy (15.8%), acupuncture (7.6%), and alternative medicine (4.4%), respectively. CONCLUSION Cervicobrachial pain was the most prevalent MS pain among the dental personnel and working status was associated with their MS pain problems. The impact of MS pain was predominantly usage of pain relieving medication. Thai traditional massage was the most utilized treatment.
Improving Gabor Noise

We have recently proposed a new procedural noise function, Gabor noise, which offers a combination of properties not found in the existing noise functions. In this paper, we present three significant improvements to Gabor noise: 1) an isotropic kernel for Gabor noise, which speeds up isotropic Gabor noise with a factor of roughly two, 2) an error analysis of Gabor noise, which relates the kernel truncation radius to the relative error of the noise, and 3) spatially varying Gabor noise, which enables spatial variation of all noise parameters. These improvements make Gabor noise an even more attractive alternative for the existing noise functions.
Systems Neuroplasticity in the Aging Brain: Recruiting Additional Neural Resources for Successful Motor Performance in Elderly Persons

Functional imaging studies have shown that seniors exhibit more elaborate brain activation than younger controls while performing motor tasks. Here, we investigated whether this age-related overactivation reflects compensation or dedifferentiation mechanisms. “Compensation” refers to additional activation that counteracts age-related decline of brain function and supports successful performance, whereas “dedifferentiation” reflects age-related difficulties in recruiting specialized neural mechanisms and is not relevant to task performance. To test these predictions, performance on a complex interlimb coordination task was correlated with brain activation. Findings revealed that coordination resulted in activation of classical motor coordination regions, but also higher-level sensorimotor regions, and frontal regions in the elderly. Interestingly, a positive correlation between activation level in these latter regions and motor performance was observed in the elderly. This performance enhancing additional recruitment is consistent with the compensation hypothesis and characterizes neuroplasticity at the systems level in the aging brain.
Targeted Sorting of Single Virus-Infected Cells of the Coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi

Discriminating infected from healthy cells is the first step to understanding the mechanisms and ecological implications of viral infection. We have developed a method for detecting, sorting, and performing molecular analysis of individual, infected cells of the important microalga Emiliania huxleyi, based on known physiological responses to viral infection. Of three fluorescent dyes tested, FM 1-43 (for detecting membrane blebbing) gave the most unequivocal and earliest separation of cells. Furthermore, we were able to amplify the genomes of single infected cells using Multiple Displacement Amplification. This novel method to reliably discriminate infected from healthy cells in cultures will allow researchers to answer numerous questions regarding the mechanisms and implications of viral infection of E. huxleyi. The method may be transferable to other virus-host systems.
Health risks to infants from exposure to PCBs, PCDDs and PCDFs

Global contamination by a variety of anthropogenic persistent organic chemicals, such as dioxins and PCBs, has resulted in human exposure throughout all phases of development. Detectable concentrations of PCBs and dioxins have been found in amniotic fluid, placenta and foetal tissue samples while infants who are breast-fed can obtain blood levels greater than those of their mother's. In two separate food poisoning episodes where infants were exposed in utero to elevated levels of heat-degraded PCBs (PCBs, PCQs, PCDFs), a variety of adverse mental and physical developmental abnormalities have been observed. In additional human cohorts where exposure could be considered as environmental or background, more subtle effects, including lower birth weights, alterations in thyroid hormones and lymphocyte subpopulations and detriments in neurological development, have been consistently seen. In most instances, negative associations were made between in utero exposure to contaminants compared with lactational. Although the observed neurodevelopmental deficits have been described as subtle, there could be unknown consequences related to future intellectual functionality. Current regulatory efforts should focus on identification and control of environment and food chain contamination as in utero exposure is a direct consequence of the accumulated maternal body burdens.
Optimal serum selenium concentrations are associated with lower depressive symptoms and negative mood among young adults.

BACKGROUND There is evidence that low, and possibly high, selenium status is associated with depressed mood. More evidence is needed to determine whether this pattern occurs in young adults with a wide range of serum concentrations of selenium. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to determine if serum selenium concentration is associated with depressive symptoms and daily mood states in young adults. METHODS A total of 978 young adults (aged 17-25 y) completed the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale and reported their negative and positive mood daily for 13 d using an Internet diary. Serum selenium concentration was determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. ANCOVA and regression models tested the linear and curvilinear associations between decile of serum selenium concentration and mood outcomes, controlling for age, gender, ethnicity, BMI, and weekly alcohol intake. Smoking and childhood socioeconomic status were further controlled in a subset of participants. RESULTS The mean ± SD serum selenium concentration was 82 ± 18 μg/L and ranged from 49 to 450 μg/L. Participants with the lowest serum selenium concentration (62 ± 4 μg/L; decile 1) and, to a lesser extent, those with the highest serum selenium concentration (110 ± 38 μg/L; decile 10) had significantly greater adjusted depressive symptoms than did participants with midrange serum selenium concentrations (82 ± 1 to 85 ± 1 μg/L; deciles 6 and 7). Depressive symptomatology was lowest at a selenium concentration of ∼85 μg/L. Patterns for negative mood were similar but more U-shaped. Positive mood showed an inverse U-shaped association with selenium, but this pattern was less consistent than depressive symptoms or negative mood. CONCLUSIONS In young adults, an optimal range of serum selenium between ∼82 and 85 μg/L was associated with reduced risk of depressive symptomatology. This range approximates the values at which glutathione peroxidase is maximal, suggesting that future research should investigate antioxidant pathways linking selenium to mood. This trial was registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry as ACTRN12613000773730.
Genome Sequence of Staphylococcus aureus Newbould 305, a Strain Associated with Mild Bovine Mastitis

ABSTRACT Staphylococcus aureus is a major etiological agent of mastitis in ruminants. We report here the genome sequence of bovine strain Newbould 305, isolated in the 1950s in a case of bovine mastitis and now used as a model strain able to reproducibly induce chronic mastitis in cows.
Segmentation of Bimanual Virtual Object Manipulation Tasks Using Multifinger Haptic Interfaces

This paper describes data processing using a haptic interface for virtual object grasping tasks. The haptic interface known as MasterFinger-2 (MF-2) is used. This haptic device enables the simulation of object manipulation using the thumb and index finger, which are inserted within thimbles located at the far end of the haptic interface. The experiments were conducted using a setup that provides the operator with two MF-2s. This setup enables bimanual virtual object manipulation. The haptic device provides data about the angular position of all joints and data from four contact sensors located within the thimbles. The values obtained from the angular positions of the joints enable a calculation of the position and orientation of the thimbles, whereas the values obtained from the contact sensors are used to formulate an approximate calculation of the user's force during object manipulation. This information regarding forces enables the segmentation of manipulation tasks and is essentially based on the rising edges produced by the contact sensor signals. After performing task segmentation, the state of the task in progress is detected. This facilitates improvements in user interaction because restrictions can be established in the relationships between the objects that change dynamically depending on the stage of manipulation. This information allows for an improvement in the realism of the simulation because the forces reflected take into account how the relationships between objects vary over the course of the task. Task segmentation is also used to ascertain objects' physical properties. These features are then used to simulate virtual objects with the same properties.
Activity of glutamate dehydrogenase is increased in ammonia-stressed hybridoma cells.

The effect of added ammonia on the intracellular fluxes in hybridoma cells was investigated by metabolic-flux balancing techniques. It was found that, in ammonia-stressed hybridoma cells, the glutamate-dehydrogenase flux is in the reverse direction compared to control cells. This demonstrates that hybridoma cells are able to prevent the accumulation of ammonia by converting ammonia and alpha-ketoglutarate into glutamate. The additional glutamate that is produced by this flux, as compared to the control culture, is converted by the reactions catalyzed by alanine aminotransferase (45% of the extra glutamate) and aspartate aminotransferase (37%), and a small amount is used for the biosynthesis of proline (6%). The remaining 12% of the extra glutamate is secreted into the culture medium. The data suggest that glutamate dehydrogenase is a potential target for metabolic engineering to prevent ammonia accumulation in high-cell-density culture.
Assessment of Faculty Mentoring Strategies of Student Learning Communities at Western Michigan University College of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Learning communities involving 263 first-year students were created at Western Michigan University College of Engineering and Applied Sciences in Fall Semester 2005 to enhance student learning and improve first-year retention. Placing groups of students in the same 2-to-4 classes did achieve the program's goals of creating connection among students and forming student study groups. There do not appear to be any major differences in student satisfaction among learning communities with regular "face-to-face" contact with a faculty mentor and those without regular "face-to-face" contact However, it appears that it is important to students' satisfaction with the first semester, and perhaps to their more promptly "testing" their fit in the field, to enroll them in an engineering course early in their academic career
The Presence of Hyperlinks on Social Network Sites: A Case Study of Cyworld in Korea

A study was conducted to determine the extent to which hyperlinks appear within user-submitted comments on Korean social network service Cyworld. Links to social movements were common as was news stories regarding the bleak economic forecast. Males were found to post hyperlinks more frequently than females, and those politicians in the ruling party received more links than those in opposition parties. The purpose of posting a link was evaluated and tasks such as performing Message Amplification and Network Building were prominent. Natural-language processing revealed primarily negative sentiment towards the governing president. The findings go some way to indicate how the presence of hyperlinks and short messages within online dialogs can provide an insight into public perception as a whole.
Application of Semi-Automated Filter to Improve Waveform Lidar Sub-Canopy Elevation Model

Modeling sub-canopy elevation is an important step in the processing of waveform lidar data to measure three dimensional forest structure. Here, we present a methodology based on high resolution discrete-return lidar (DRL) to correct the ground elevation derived from large-footprint Laser Vegetation Imaging Sensor (LVIS) and to improve measurement of forest structure. We use data acquired over Barro Colorado Island, Panama by LVIS large-footprint lidar (LFL) in 1998 and DRL in 2009. The study found an average vertical difference of 28.7 cm between 98,040 LVIS last-return points and the discrete-return lidar ground surface across the island. The majority (82.3%) of all LVIS points matched discrete return elevations to 2 m or less. Using a multi-step process, the LVIS last-return data is filtered using an iterative approach, expanding window filter to identify outlier points which are not part of the ground surface, as well as applying vertical corrections based on terrain slope within the individual LVIS footprints. The results of the experiment demonstrate that LFL ground surfaces can be effectively filtered using methods adapted from discrete-return lidar point filtering, reducing the average vertical error by 15 cm and reducing the variance in LVIS last-return data by 70 cm. The filters also reduced the largest vertical estimations caused by sensor saturation in the upper reaches of the forest canopy by 14.35 m, which improve forest canopy structure measurement by increasing accuracy in the sub-canopy digital elevation model.
Neurite outgrowth in molluscan organ and cell cultures: the role of conditioning factor(s)

Isolated neurons from adult central ganglia of the snail Helisoma were cultured in vitro in modified Liebowitz L-15 medium. Such neurons displayed electrical excitability comparable to that in acutely dissected ganglia. Isolated neurons remained spherical in defined medium throughout culture durations up to 2 weeks. This static morphology was contrasted by the significant neuritic outgrowth which occurred from neurons maintained in medium with co-cultured intact Helisoma brains or in brain conditioned medium. A morphological sequence of growth cone formation and neurite extension occurred only in the presence of a conditioning factor(s) with a mode of action which included tight binding of the conditioning factor to the substratum. Under these conditions, the two primary neuronal phenotypes, electrical excitability and complex neuronal architecture, could be affected independently in adult molluscan neurons cultured in vitro.
Representation and learning schemes for sentiment analysis

This thesis identifies four novel techniques of improving the performance of sentiment analysis of text systems. Thes include feature extraction and selection, enrichment of the document representation and exploitation of the ordinal structure of rating classes. The techniques were evaluated on four sentiment-rich corpora, using two well-known classifiers: Support Vector Machines and NaÂ¨A±ve Bayes. This thesis proposes the Part-of-Speech Pattern Selector (PPS), which is a novel technique for automatically selecting Part-of-Speech (PoS) patterns. The PPS selects its patterns from a background dataset by use of a number of measures including Document Frequency, Information Gain, and the Chi-Squared Score. Extensive empirical results show that these patterns perform just as well as the manually selected ones. This has important implications in terms of both the cost and the time spent in manual pattern construction. The position of a phrase within a document is shown to have an influence on its sentiment orientation, and that document classification performance can be improved by weighting phrases in this regard. It is, however, also shown to be necessary to sample the distribution of sentiment rich phrases within documents of a given domain prior to adopting a phrase weighting criteria. A key factor in choosing a classifier for an Ordinal Sentiment Classification (OSC) problem is its ability to address ordinal inter-class similarities. Two types of classifiers are investigated: Those that can inherently solve multi-class problems, and those that decompose a multi-class problem into a sequence of binary problems. Empirical results showed the former to be more effective with regard to both mean squared error and classification time performances. Important features in an OSC problem are shown to distribute themselves across similar classes. Most feature selection techniques are ignorant of inter-class similarities and hence easily overlook such features. The Ordinal Smoothing Procedure (OSP), which augments inter-class similarities into the feature selection process, is introduced in this thesis. Empirical results show the OSP to have a positive effect on mean squared error performance.