Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Towards measuring the visualness of a concept

In this paper, we propose a new method to measure the visualness of a concept. The visualness of a concept is generally defined as what extent a concept has visual characteristics. Even though the visualness of a concept is important and useful for various image search tasks, it has not received much spotlight yet. In this work, we especially focus on how to measure the visualness of a complex concept such as "round table", "dry bed" rather than a simple concept like "ball", "apple". To measure the visualness, we first collect sample images of a complex concept using web image search engines, and then group the images based on the visual features. Finally, we compute visual purity and weighted entropy of the clusters, which will act as a visualness score for the concept. Through various experiments, we show and discuss interesting results about the visualness of a concept.
The persuasive effects of anti-binge drinking PSA on college students's binge drinking

This research investigates the influence of messenger sources and message appeals. The effects of interactions of messenger sources and appeals were found regarding (a) attitudes toward radio anti-binge drinking Public Service Announcements (PSAs); (b) attitudes toward binge drinking; and (c) intention to binge drink. The superiorities of matches between the sources and appeals were also examined using match-up hypotheses. College students (N=251) participated in a 2 x 2 (sources: medical expert vs. peer spokesperson x appeals: belief vs. evaluative) factorial design online experiment. Four transcribed radio PSAs were created and evaluated by MANCOVA with four covariates. The primary results were that there were conditional impacts of a similar source (peer) on creating favorable attitude towards the PSAs. Messages were more effective when there is consistency between sources and appeals (ex: expert/belief and peer/evaluative). The Fishbein’s expectancy-value theory was used to assess attitudinal changes and discussed in its usefulness and application in health-related campaigns. INDEX WORDS: Similarity, Expertise, Likelihood, Valance, Belief and Evaluative appeal, Binge drinking, Public Service Announcements, Match-up hypotheses, Fishbein, Expectancy-value model
Evidence for rRNA 2′-O-methylation plasticity: Control of intrinsic translational capabilities of human ribosomes

Significance Translational control is a cornerstone of gene-expression regulation in physiological and pathological contexts. The contribution of nonribosomal factors, including messenger RNAs (mRNAs) and mRNA-bound factors, to translational control have been extensively studied. Recently, the hypothesis of a ribosome-mediated regulation emerged, which proposes that cells produce ribosomes of different composition and displaying different translational properties. This work reveals that ribosomal RNA 2′-O-methylation can be modulated in human ribosomes, including at key functional sites for translation, and that changes in the 2′-O-methylation pattern control the intrinsic capabilities of ribosomes to translate mRNAs. This work directly demonstrates the existence of composition-modified ribosomes and their associated change in translational activity as conceptualized by the specialized ribosome concept. Ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs) are main effectors of messenger RNA (mRNA) decoding, peptide-bond formation, and ribosome dynamics during translation. Ribose 2′-O-methylation (2′-O-Me) is the most abundant rRNA chemical modification, and displays a complex pattern in rRNA. 2′-O-Me was shown to be essential for accurate and efficient protein synthesis in eukaryotic cells. However, whether rRNA 2′-O-Me is an adjustable feature of the human ribosome and a means of regulating ribosome function remains to be determined. Here we challenged rRNA 2′-O-Me globally by inhibiting the rRNA methyl-transferase fibrillarin in human cells. Using RiboMethSeq, a nonbiased quantitative mapping of 2′-O-Me, we identified a repertoire of 2′-O-Me sites subjected to variation and demonstrate that functional domains of ribosomes are targets of 2′-O-Me plasticity. Using the cricket paralysis virus internal ribosome entry site element, coupled to in vitro translation, we show that the intrinsic capability of ribosomes to translate mRNAs is modulated through a 2′-O-Me pattern and not by nonribosomal actors of the translational machinery. Our data establish rRNA 2′-O-Me plasticity as a mechanism providing functional specificity to human ribosomes.
ProteoMiner™ and SELDI-TOF-MS: A robust and highly reproducible combination for biomarker discovery from whole blood serum

Surface-enhanced laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF-MS) has been recognized as an appropriate technology for biomarker discovery. Nevertheless, whenever human blood serum is studied, its sensitivity is restricted due to the wide dynamic range of serum protein concentrations. In this context, sample pre-fractionation targeting the low abundant proteins may help to overcome these limitations. Here, we evaluate the combination of ProteoMiner™ pre-fractionation and SELDI based protein profiling. We introduce a simplified workflow and demonstrate the high sensitivity and reproducibility of this combined profiling approach. Our analyses show that this combination is suitable for large-scale serum proteome profiling studies yielding reliable and reproducible results.
Automatic aspectization of systemC

A successful monitoring framework for SystemC requires access to internal variables of modules and channels, and the ability to trace the execution of threads and methods. We propose a framework for automatically instrumenting user code and exposing its state and syntax via automatically generated Aspect-Oriented Programming code and direct instrumentation. This allows monitoring the execution with a fine-grained temporal resolution. Our tool, CHIMP, allows the users to declare specification primitives referring to the values of internal variables, the values of parameters passed to function calls, and function return values. Tracing execution of processes is enabled by allowing statements' execution or function calls to be used as atomic propositions. The correct behavior of the model can then be specified by forming temporal formulas and clock expressions using these primitives, without requiring manual instrumentation of the user code.
High-resolution acoustic modeling and compact language modeling of language-universal speech attributes for spoken language identification

We propose a framework to automatically construct a collection of high-resolution (HR) language-universal units for spoken language identiﬁcation (LID). Based on the popular phone recognition language modeling (PRLM) approach to LID, a set of universal attribute recognizers (UARs) is ﬁrst established to replace phone recognizers (PRs) using manner and place of articulation as attribute units and context-dependent (CD) attribute models are then built to achieve high-performance attribute transcription. To alleviate the difﬁculty of data sparsity in n -gram language modeling (LM) of these CD units, a clustering algorithm is proposed to compact the number of utilized attribute units in LM. Tested on the 2009 National Institute of Standards and Technology Language Recognition Evaluation for the 30-sec task using the same English Switchboard-I training data for acoustic modeling, our proposed approach achieves an equal error rate (EER) of 2.34%, representing a relative EER reduction of over 20% from the results of 2.88% obtained with the conventional PRLM techniques. To the best of our knowledge, this is the ﬁrst time a single UAR based LID system sig-niﬁcantly outperforms a signal PR based system with the same set of training data from a single language.
A clinical report demonstrating the significance of distinguishing a nasopalatine duct cyst from a radicular cyst

Endodontic diagnosis is challenging and depends on the organisation of information from the patient history, clinical examination and analysis of the pulp, radiographic and histopathological assessment. A 35-year-old man was endodontically treated for radiolucency in relation to the roots of maxillary central incisors as it was a provisionally diagnosed case of radicular cyst. Since the palatal swelling persisted, the lesion was re-evaluated using relevant diagnostic aids and a diagnosis of nasopalatine duct cyst (NPDC) was made, which was missed during the initial assessment. An erroneous interpretation of cystic radiolucency in relation to maxillary central incisors can often lead to inappropriate treatment planning. This case highlights the relevant aspects in the diagnosis of NPDC when it is mistaken for a radicular cyst and emphasises the need for thorough clinical examination and relevant investigations for periapical radiolucencies of questionable origin before initiating endodontic therapy.
Crucial pathophysiological role of CXCR2 in experimental ulcerative colitis in mice

Polymorphonuclear leukocyte infiltration and activation into colonic mucosa are believed to play a pivotal role in mediating tissue damage in human ulcerative colitis (UC). Ligands of human CXC chemokine receptor 1 and 2 (CXCR1/R2) are chemoattractants of PMN, and high levels were found in the mucosa of UC patients. To investigate the pathophysiological role played by CXCR2 in experimental UC, we induced chronic experimental colitis in WT and CXCR2−/− mice by two consecutive cycles of 4% dextran sulfate sodium administration in drinking water. In wild‐type (WT) mice, the chronic relapsing of DSS‐induced colitis was characterized by clinical signs and histopathological findings that closely resemble human disease. CXCR2−/− mice failed to show PMN infiltration into the mucosa and, consistently with a key role of PMN in mediating tissue damage in UC, showed limited signs of mucosal damage and reduced clinical symptoms. Our data demonstrate that CXCR2 plays a key pathophysiological role in experimental UC, suggesting that CXCR2 activation may represent a relevant pharmacological target for the design of novel pharmacological treatments in human UC.
Knowledge, ignorance and the popular culture: climate change versus the ozone hole

This paper begins with the “knowledge-ignorance paradox”—the process by which the growth of specialized knowledge results in a simultaneous increase in ignorance. It then outlines the roles of personal and social motivations, institutional decisions, the public culture, and technology in establishing consensual guidelines for ignorance. The upshot is a sociological model of how the “knowledge society” militates against the acquisition of scientific knowledge. Given the assumption of widespread scientific illiteracy, the paper tries to show why the ozone hole was capable of engendering some public understanding and concern, while climate change failed to do so. The ozone threat encouraged the acquisition of knowledge because it was allied and resonated with easy-to-understand bridging metaphors derived from the popular culture. It also engendered a “hot crisis. ” That is, it provided a sense of immediate and concrete risk with everyday relevance. Climate change fails at both of these criteria and remains in a public limbo.
Resting energy expenditure measured longitudinally following hip fracture compared to predictive equations: is an injury adjustment required?

The present study measuring resting energy expenditure (REE; kJ/d) longitudinally using indirect calorimetry in six elderly women aged ≥70 years following surgery for hip fracture, describes changes over time (days 10, 42 and 84 post-injury) and compares measured values to those calculated from routinely applied predictive equations. REE was compared to REE predicted using the Harris Benedict and Schofield equations, with and without accounting for the theoretical increase in energy expenditure of 35 % secondary to physiological stress of injury and surgery. Mean (95 % CI) measured REE (kJ/d) was 4704 (4354, 5054), 4090 (3719, 4461) and 4145 (3908, 4382) for days 10, 42 and 84, respectively. A time effect was observed for measured REE, P=0·003. Without adjusting for stress the mean difference and 95 % limits of agreement for measured and predicted REE (kJ/kg per d) for the Harris Benedict equation were 1 (−9, 12), 10 (2, 18) and 9 (1, 17) for days 10, 42 and 84, respectively. The mean difference and 95 % limits of agreement for measured and predicted REE (kJ/kg per d) for the Schofield equation without adjusting for stress were 8 (−3, 19), 16 (6, 26) and 16 (10, 22) for days 10, 42 and 84, respectively. After adjusting for stress, REE predicted from the Harris Benedict or Schofield equations overestimated measured REE by between 38 and 69 %. Energy expenditure following fracture is poorly understood. Our data suggest REE was relatively elevated early in recovery but declined during the first 6 weeks. Using the Harris Benedict or Schofield equations adjusted for stress may lead to overestimation of REE in the clinical setting. Further work is required to evaluate total energy expenditure before recommendations can be made to alter current practice for calculating theoretical total energy requirements of hip fracture patients.
A Bacterial Component to Alzheimer’s-Type Dementia Seen via a Systems Biology Approach that Links Iron Dysregulation and Inflammagen Shedding to Disease

The progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is accompanied by a great many observable changes, both molecular and physiological. These include oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and (more proximal to cognitive decline) the death of neuronal and other cells. A systems biology approach seeks to organize these observed variables into pathways that discriminate those that are highly involved (i.e., causative) from those that are more usefully recognized as bystander effects. We review the evidence that iron dysregulation is one of the central causative pathway elements here, as this can cause each of the above effects. In addition, we review the evidence that dormant, non-growing bacteria are a crucial feature of AD, that their growth in vivo is normally limited by a lack of free iron, and that it is this iron dysregulation that is an important factor in their resuscitation. Indeed, bacterial cells can be observed by ultrastructural microscopy in the blood of AD patients. A consequence of this is that the growing cells can shed highly inflammatory components such as lipopolysaccharides (LPS). These too are known to be able to induce (apoptotic and pyroptotic) neuronal cell death. There is also evidence that these systems interact with elements of vitamin D metabolism. This integrative systems approach has strong predictive power, indicating (as has indeed been shown) that both natural and pharmaceutical iron chelators might have useful protective roles in arresting cognitive decline, and that a further assessment of the role of microbes in AD development is more than highly warranted.
Fibre-optic laser-based sorting machine

FIELD: physics. SUBSTANCE: fibre-optic laser-based sorting machine comprises a device for transporting material to be sorted, a device for laser illumination of the material to be sorted, a laser beam scanning device, two or more image reading and processing devices and a device for removing defective materials. The device for laser illumination further includes an optical fibre whose input is connected through a focusing optical system to optical outputs of one or more lasers; the output of the optical fibre is connected to the focusing and cylindrical optical system of the laser beam scanning device. The image reading and processing devices are configured to read laser light reflected and transmitted through the material and read in different spectral ranges. The sorting machine further includes laser light intensity modulators. EFFECT: high efficiency of sorting. 4 cl, 2 dwg
SPECIFICATION OF HEALTHCARE EXPERT SYSTEMS USING A MULTI-MECHANISM RULE-EXTRACTION PIPELINE

The application of knowledge extraction methodologies in support of medical informatics promises interesting developments that could potentially improve many aspects of healthcare services. In this paper we outline a multi-stage rule extraction pipeline for rule-based knowledge discovery. The featured methodology would facilitate operationally straightforward extraction of symbolic rules from medical datasets, in particular those with unannotated ordinal or continuous-valued datavectors. The extracted rulesets will be used in the construction or enrichment of rule-based expert systems. Our pipeline incorporates well-established supervised and unsupervised machine learning methods used for data mining. The motivation for our work stems from the individual effectiveness of data mining methods available for datavector clustering, attribute discretisation and rule extraction. The featured knowledge extraction architecture will be tested and analysed using several wellknown medical datasets.
Schumpeter's Plea: Rediscovering History and Relevance in the Study of Entrepreneurship

Joseph Schumpeter believed that history was essential to the study of entrepreneurship. It is a perspective that has been lost in recent scholarship. This paper shows why this has been detrimental to the field, and explores how the current situation can be improved. We begin by surveying the development of the social scientific literature on entrepreneurship since the field first emerged as an area of academic interest in the 1940s. We show that, despite theoretical agreement on the importance of context in the study of entrepreneurship, empirical research in recent years has ignored historical setting in favor of focusing on entrepreneurial behavior and cognition. The result has been a preoccupation with high-tech start-ups in the United States, and growing irrelevance from the major issues in the contemporary global economy. The paper outlines ways in which the rediscovery of history can facilitate entrepreneurial studies, using examples from international entrepreneurship. We conclude by arguing that these methods can stimulate the kind of exchanges between the history and theory of entrepreneurship that Schumpeter envisioned. 3 Joseph Schumpeter began his now-famous 1947 article on " Creative Response in Economic History " with this plea: " Economic historians and economic theorists can make an interesting and socially valuable journey together, if they will " (Schumpeter, 1947). Though his article is most often cited for the distinction it developed between " adaptive " and " creative " responses in business, Schumpeter's main purpose was to call for the extensive use of historical methods in the study of entrepreneurship. To Schumpeter, the very nature of entrepreneurship – the empirical difficulty of identifying it ex ante, the way it " shapes the whole course of subsequent events and their 'long-run' outcomes, " the great extent to which its character differed from place to place and over the course of time – suggested that a dynamic historical perspective was necessary in studying how it worked within capitalist economies. The purpose of this paper is to elaborate on the role of historical methods in the study of entrepreneurship. We outline the arguments for why and how historical approaches are essential for understanding entrepreneurial processes. Our more ambitious agenda is to re-stimulate the exchange between historical and social scientific studies of entrepreneurship that Schumpeter envisioned and at least briefly inspired in the decades after World War II. Today, empirical historical research on entrepreneurship and social scientific theorizing about it are separated …
Degradation of 17β-Estradiol by a Gram-Negative Bacterium Isolated from Activated Sludge in a Sewage Treatment Plant in Tokyo, Japan

ABSTRACT A 17β-estradiol (E2)-degrading bacterium was isolated from activated sludge in a sewage treatment plant in Tokyo, Japan. The isolate was suggested to be a new Novosphingobium species. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance analyses of the metabolites of E2 degradation suggested that no toxic products accumulated in the culture medium.
Temporal trends in cardiogenic shock complicating acute myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND Limited information is available on trends in the incidence of and mortality due to cardiogenic shock complicating acute myocardial infarction. We studied the incidence of cardiogenic shock complicating acute myocardial infarction and in-hospital death rates among patients with this condition in a single community from 1975 through 1997. METHODS We conducted an observational study of 9076 residents of metropolitan Worcester, Massachusetts, who were hospitalized with confirmed acute myocardial infarction in all local hospitals during 11 one-year periods between 1975 and 1997. Our study included periods before and after the advent of reperfusion therapy. RESULTS The incidence of cardiogenic shock remained relatively stable over time, averaging 7.1 percent among patients with acute myocardial infarction. The results of a multivariable regression analysis indicated that the patients hospitalized during recent study years were not at a substantially lower risk for shock than patients hospitalized in the mid-to-late 1970s. Patients in whom cardiogenic shock developed had a significantly greater risk of dying during hospitalization (71.7 percent) than those who did not have cardiogenic shock (12.0 percent, P<0.001). A significant trend toward an increase in in-hospital survival among patients with cardiogenic shock in the mid-to-late 1990s was found in crude and adjusted analyses. CONCLUSIONS Our findings indicate no significant change in the incidence of cardiogenic shock complicating acute myocardial infarction over a 23-year period. However, the short-term survival rate has increased in recent years at the same time as the use of coronary reperfusion strategies has increased.
Connectivity in a wireless sensor network

Summary In this paper, the issue of full connection probability and network efficiency using a minimum number of nodes in wireless sensor networks is addressed. We investigate the network characteristics through a number of simulations in Matlab. Using various input parameters, we try to approximate four realistic scenarios: a football pitch, a forest, a building and a tunnel. We also examine the impact of different parameters on the full connection probability (sensors scattering model, path loss model, Tx / Rx powers and observer placement). Determining the order of all parameters with respect to the full connection probability is quite difficult, as some of them are dependent on each other. We found out that the environment itself, defined by its radio propagation properties, has the greatest impact on the full connection probability.