Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rule based Sentence Simplification for English to Tamil Machine Translation System

Machine translation is the process by which computer software is used to translate a text from one natural language to another but handling complex sentences by any machine translation system is generally considered to be difficult. In order to boost the translation quality of the machine translation system, simplifying an input sentence becomes mandatory. Many approaches are available for simplifying the complex sentences. In this paper, Rule based technique is proposed to simplify the complex sentences based on connectives like relative pronouns, coordinating and subordinating conjunction. Sentence simplification is expressed as the list of sub-sentences that are portions of the original sentence. The meaning of the simplified sentence remains unaltered. Characters such as („.‟,‟? ‟) are used as delimiters. One of the important pre-requisite is the presence of delimiter in the given sentence. Initial splitting is based on delimiters and then the simplification is based on connectives. This method is useful as a preprocessing tool for machine translation.
Speech Enhancement Using Inter-Frame Dependence in DCT Domain

This paper investigates the time correlation between successive speech components and presents a novel speech enhancement algorithm taking into account the inter-frame dependence information in the discrete cosine transform (DCT) domain. The algorithm does not rely on any statistic model and can efficiently attain the optimal estimation of clean speech components from successive noisy speech components using minimum mean square error (MMSE) estimation. Moreover, it overcomes the disadvantage of independent assumption in conventional method for speech components estimation. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm possesses good performance both in objective and subjective tests with different kinds of noise
Pareto-based Process Model of Target Selection for Textile Industrial Enterprise Mergers and Acquisitions

Researches on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in textile and garment industry are seldom studied in literature. Considering the specific characteristics in China, the textile M&As are important and challenging. Target enterprise selection is a key procedure in the process of M&A. A Pareto-based process model is studied to incorporate the Chinese industry environment and industrial features. The simulation case study shows a route to reduce the selection complexity by Pareto-based suppression of inferior targets.
Immune Responses to Bacillus Calmette–Guérin Vaccination: Why Do They Fail to Protect against Mycobacterium tuberculosis?

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb), the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB), is the current leading cause of death due to a single infectious organism. Although curable, the broad emergence of multi-, extensive-, extreme-, and total-drug resistant strains of M.tb has hindered eradication efforts of this pathogen. Furthermore, computational models predict a quarter of the world’s population is infected with M.tb in a latent state, effectively serving as the largest reservoir for any human pathogen with the ability to cause significant morbidity and mortality. The World Health Organization has prioritized new strategies for improved vaccination programs; however, the lack of understanding of mycobacterial immunity has made it difficult to develop new successful vaccines. Currently, Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) is the only vaccine approved for use to prevent TB. BCG is highly efficacious at preventing meningeal and miliary TB, but is at best 60% effective against the development of pulmonary TB in adults and wanes as we age. In this review, we provide a detailed summary on the innate immune response of macrophages, dendritic cells, and neutrophils in response to BCG vaccination. Additionally, we discuss adaptive immune responses generated by BCG vaccination, emphasizing their specific contributions to mycobacterial immunity. The success of future vaccines against TB will directly depend on our understanding of mycobacterial immunity.
New options and insights for survivable transport networks

This article is devoted to a selection of recent topics in survivable networking. New ideas in capacity design and ring-to-mesh evolution are given, as well as a systematic comparison of the capacity requirements of several mesh-based schemes showing how they perform over a range of network graph connectivity. The work provides new options and insights to address the following questions. How does one evolve from an existing ring-based network to a future mesh network? If the facilities graph is very sparse, how can mesh efficiency be much better than rings? How do the options for mesh protection or restoration rank in capacity requirements? How much is efficiency increased if we enrich our network connectivity? We also outline p-cycles, showing this new concept can realize ring-like speed with meshlike efficiency. The scope is limited to conveying basic ideas with an understanding that they could be further adapted for use in IP or DWDM layers with GMPLS-type protocols or a centralized control plane.
Novel approach for the automated detection of allergy test using spectral imaging

This paper proposes a novel approach for the automatic detection of allergy test (allergy lesion). A hyperspectral microscope system was used to image the test samples which were diagnosed by dermatologist. It was found that allergy of different levels, and healthy skin cells show absorption spectra, which are sufficiently characteristic and yet reproducible enough to allow for differentiation when using a spectroscopic system. Principal components analysis was used to extract relevant features that could be used for classification from these spectra. Preliminary results indicate that the different types of allergy cells can be reliably distinguished by these features. We conclude that hyperspectral microscopic analysis is a promising approach for improving and automating the diagnosis of allergy test as well as another skin lesions.
Private Benefits Extraction and the Opposing Effects of Income Smoothing on Private Debt Contracts

We provide evidence that a prevalent discretionary accounting action, income smoothing, affects private debt contract design in a manner that is fundamentally distinct from the effects of other accounting attributes. In particular, lenders use their understanding of the threat of private benefits extraction in the contracting environment to infer whether observed discretionary smoothing is associated with higher or lower expected credit loss. Discretionary smoothing decreases cost of debt within low extraction threat environments, consistent with lenders viewing smoothing as revealing managers' private information about economic earnings in low threat settings. In contrast, discretionary smoothing increases cost of debt within environments where the ability of insiders to extract private benefits is less well controlled, consistent with lenders viewing smoothing as attempts to enable the extraction of private benefits in high threat settings. We also find evidence that these effects are more pronounced for firms with relatively high credit risk.
Challenges impacting performance management implementation in public universities: A case of Uganda

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to identify the challenges impacting performance management implementation (PMI) in public universities in Uganda. Design/methodology/approach - The philosophy underpinning this study was the pragmatic world view. A mixed methods approach was adopted. Both qualitative and quantitative methodologies were used. The phenomenology strategy through interviews conducted with purposively selected top administrators of a selected public university; and a cross-sectional survey strategy administered to academic staff in four public universities, using a disproportionate stratified random sampling technique, were applied. Findings - The findings reveal that the major challenges impacting PMI in universities in Uganda could be categorised as: lack of a formal performance management environment; limited employee engagement/communication problems; institutional systems and structural constraints; and institutional governance challenges. Among the enlisted challenges the specific items on which respondents had the highest level of agreement are: limited motivation and staff morale; limited and uneven cash flows; and poor physical infrastructure. Practical implications - Knowledge of the challenges impacting public universities allows managers to pay close attention to the critical challenges, thereby taking precautionary measures on how to minimize and overcome them. Originality/value - This study is an empirical contribution to the literature on institutional performance management, specifically with regard to challenges of PMI in public universities in Uganda.
Performance Evaluation of Raptor Codes in TCP / IP-based Wireless Networks

This paper evaluates the performance of Raptor codes on Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) packet-based wireless networks. Performance metrics such as packet loss rate and recovery rate are studied closely. This is carried out by building a functional module in a network simulator 2 (ns2) environment that models the Raptor transmitter and Raptor receiver. At completion of this, the standalone platform for the development of the actual Raptor module as an ns2 compatible protocol is implemented. The results show that packet recovery rate increases to over 60% when Raptor code was integrated into the transport layer.
Signalling mechanisms of long term facilitation of breathing with intermittent hypoxia

Intermittent hypoxia causes long-term facilitation (LTF) of respiratory motor nerve activity and ventilation, which manifests as a persistent increase over the normoxic baseline for an hour or more after the acute hypoxic ventilatory response. LTF is likely involved in sleep apnea, but its exact role is uncertain. Previously, LTF was defined as a serotonergic mechanism, but new evidence shows that multiple signaling pathways can elicit LTF. This raises new questions about the interactions between signaling pathways in different time domains of the hypoxic ventilatory response, which can no longer be defined simply in terms of neurochemical mechanisms.
UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) 16 years of RoboCup Rescue 16 Years of RoboCup Rescue

The RoboCup Rescue competitions have been initiated in 2000. To celebrate 16 years of research and development in this socially relevant initiative this article gives an overview of the experience gained during these competitions. This article provides an overview the state-of-the-art and the lessons learned from the RoboCup Rescue competitions.
Synthesis and characterization of a novel organic phosphorescent Iridium(III) complex

A new phosphorescent 2-(para-nitryl-phenyl)-benzothiazo late Iridium(III) acetylacetone complex (p-NO2-bt)2Ir(acac) is synthesized from para-nitrobenzoic acid, 2-aminothiophenol and Iridium trichloride anhydrate via a three-step reaction. The complex is characterized by FT-IR, 1HNMR, mass spectrometry and elemental analysis. The solubility, thermogravitometric analysis, UV-vis absorption, photoluminescence, and quantum efficiency of the complex are also investigated.
Many Sources Asymptotic and Eeective Bandwidths: Investigation with Mpeg Traac

The ability to quantify and accurately measure resource usage in broadband networks is important in areas such as network dimensioning, call acceptance control, and charging for network services. Closely related is the ability to identify and measure quantities such as the relevant space and time scales (see below). This is important for accurate and eecient traac modeling. The many sources asymptotic CW96, BD95, SG95], based on the theory of large deviations, is an approach for estimating the overrow probability and identifying the relevant time scales at a buuered ATM output link which multiplexes a large number of sources. In addition, the eeective bandwidth formula based on this asymptotic appears to be a promising approach for quantifying resource usage Kel96, Gib96]. Speciically, the eeective bandwidth of a source of type j is deened as j (s; t) = 1 st log Ee sXj0;t] ] ; (1) where X j 0; t] is the workload produced by a source of type j in an interval of length t. The parameters t (time scale parameter measured in, e.g. milliseconds) and s (space scale parameter measured in, e.g. kb ? 1) are speciic to a link's operating point. The many sources asymptotic allows us to compute the correct values of s; t, hence makes (1) more accurate than the deenition based on the large buuer asymptotic EM93, dVW95]. We investigate the accuracy of approximations based on the many sources asymptotic, and evaluate the eeective bandwidth formula for real MPEG traac. The speciic questions we address include the following: How does the overrow probability predicted by the many sources asymptotic and its Bahadur-Rao improvement HW94, MdV96] compare with the actual cell loss probability? What is the maximum utilization if we use (1) as a measure of resource usage? How is the utilization (multiplexing gain) aaected by increasing the link capacity? How do the values of s; t computed by the theory compare with the values computed by direct estimation using simulation? How do the values of s; t, and subsequently the eeective bandwidth, depend on the traac mix? The next section presents the basic results from the many sources asymptotic and its Bahadur-Rao improvement , which are used in the numerical investigations presented in Section 2. Section 3 concludes with a summary of our results. 1 Many Sources Asymptotic Approximations and EEective Bandwidths Consider an ATM output link with buuer B = Nb and capacity C …
Effects of ethyl pyruvate on leukocyte-endothelial interactions in the mesenteric microcirculation during early sepsis treatment

OBJECTIVES: Experimental studies on sepsis have demonstrated that ethyl pyruvate is endowed with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. This study aimed to investigate the effects of ethyl pyruvate on leukocyte-endothelial interactions in the mesenteric microcirculation in a live Escherichia coli-induced sepsis model in rats. METHODS: Male Wistar rats were administered an intravenous suspension of E. coli bacteria or were subjected to a sham procedure. Three hours after bacterial infusion, the rats were randomized into the following groups: a control group without treatment, a group treated with lactated Ringer's solution (4 mL/kg, i.v.), and a group treated with lactated Ringer's solution (4 mL/kg, i.v.) plus ethyl pyruvate (50 mg/kg). At 24 h after bacterial infusion, leukocyte-endothelial interactions were investigated using intravital microscopy, and the expression of P-selectin and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 was evaluated via immunohistochemistry. White blood cell and platelet counts were also determined at baseline and 3 h and 24 h after E. coli inoculation. RESULTS: The non-treated and lactated Ringer's solution-treated groups exhibited increases in the numbers of rolling leukocytes (∼2.5-fold increase), adherent cells (∼3.0-fold), and migrated cells (∼3.5-fold) compared with the sham group. In contrast, treatment with Ringer's ethyl pyruvate solution reduced the numbers of rolling, adherent and migrated leukocytes to the levels observed in the sham group. Additionally, the expression of P-selectin and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 was significantly increased on mesenteric microvessels in the non-treated group compared with the sham group (p<0.001). The expression of both adhesion molecules was reduced in the other groups, with ethyl pyruvate being more effective than lactated Ringer's solution. Infusion of bacteria caused significant leukopenia (3 h), followed by leukocytosis with granulocytosis (24 h). There was also an intense and progressive reduction in the number of platelets. However, no differences were observed after treatment with the different solutions. CONCLUSIONS: The presented data suggest that ethyl pyruvate efficiently reduces the inflammatory response in the mesenteric microcirculation in an experimental model of sepsis induced by live E. coli and is associated, at least in part, with down-regulation of P-selectin and intercellular adhesion molecule-1.
Diagnostic Imaging of Primary Hepatic Neuroendocrine Tumors: A Case and Discussion of the Literature

Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are derived from neuroendocrine cells that are capable of producing functional peptide hormones. These tumors occur most frequently in the GI tract and lungs. GI NETs frequently metastasize into the liver, though NETs of primary hepatic origin are extremely rare. Ultrasound, CT, and MRI are typically all employed for characterization of these lesions but their appearance on diagnostic imaging can be highly variable. Reported here is an interesting case of a primary hepatic neuroendocrine tumor (PHNET), along with a discussion of the imaging characteristics of these tumors. Additionally, the current standards for definitive diagnosis and treatment of PHNETs are discussed.
Developmental dyslexia and vision

Developmental dyslexia affects almost 10% of school-aged children and represents a significant public health problem. Its etiology is unknown. The consistent presence of phonological difficulties combined with an inability to manipulate language sounds and the grapheme–phoneme conversion is widely acknowledged. Numerous scientific studies have also documented the presence of eye movement anomalies and deficits of perception of low contrast, low spatial frequency, and high frequency temporal visual information in dyslexics. Anomalies of visual attention with short visual attention spans have also been demonstrated in a large number of cases. Spatial orientation is also affected in dyslexics who manifest a preference for spatial attention to the right. This asymmetry may be so pronounced that it leads to a veritable neglect of space on the left side. The evaluation of treatments proposed to dyslexics whether speech or oriented towards the visual anomalies remains fragmentary. The advent of new explanatory theories, notably cerebellar, magnocellular, or proprioceptive, is an incentive for ophthalmologists to enter the world of multimodal cognition given the importance of the eye’s visual input.
Parameterizations for reducing camera reprojection error for robot-world hand-eye calibration

Accurate robot-world, hand-eye calibration is crucial to automation tasks. In this paper, we discuss the robot-world, hand-eye calibration problem which has been modeled as the linear relationship AX = ZB, where X and Z are the unknown calibration matrices composed of rotation and translation components. While there are many different approaches to determining X and Z, including linear and iterative methods, we parameterize the rotation components using Euler angles and find a solution using Levenberg-Marquadt iterative approach. We also offer a method to determine A, X, and Z, by formulating the robot-world, hand-eye calibration problem in terms of camera reprojection error. We compare both of these approaches to the state-of-the-art and conclude that our approaches yield lower values of camera reprojection error. In addition, we demonstrate the improved reconstruction accuracy when using the robot-world, hand-eye calibrations produced from our methods.
Revisiting Chandler on the Theory of the Firm

The essay provides a review of Alfred Chandler's contribution to the theory of the firm in his three main works: Strategy and Structure (1962), The Visible Hand (1977) and Scale and Scope (1990). Focusing on the economic components of Chandler's analysis, it examines linkages to subsequent developments in the theory of the firm, including the resource based view. It discusses possible extensions of the Chandlerian perspective incorporating elements of capital market transaction cost theory
Biologics: Targets and Therapy Dovepress

Does the cis/trans configuration of peptide bonds in bioactive tripeptides play a role in ACe-1 enzyme inhibition? Background: The milk casein-derived bioactive tripeptides isoleucine-proline-proline (IPP) and valine-proline-proline (VPP) have been shown to prevent development of hypertension in animal models and to lower blood pressure in moderately hypertensive subjects in most but not all clinical trials. Inhibition of angiotensin-converting enzyme 1 (ACE-1) has been suggested as the explanation for these antihypertensive and beneficial vascular effects. Previously, human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) have not been used to test ACE-1 inhibiting properties of casein derived tripeptides in vasculature. Purpose: We focused on the cis/trans configurations of the peptide bonds in proline-containing tripeptides in order to discover whether the different structural properties of these peptides influence their activity in ACE-1 inhibition. We hypothesized that the configuration of proline-containing peptides plays a significant role in enzyme inhibition. Methods: AutoDock 4.2 docking software was used to predict suitable peptide bond configurations of the tripeptides. Besides modeling studies, we completed ACE-1 activity measurements in vitro using HUVEC cultures. Results: In HUVEC cells, both IPP and VPP inhibited ACE-1. Based on molecular docking studies, we propose that in ACE-1 inhibition IPP and VPP share a similar cis configuration between the first aliphatic (isoleucine or valine) and the second (proline) amino acid residues and more different configurations between two proline residues. In vivo experiments are needed to validate the significance of the present findings.
Genome-Scale Discovery of DNA-Methylation Biomarkers for Blood-Based Detection of Colorectal Cancer

Background There is an increasing demand for accurate biomarkers for early non-invasive colorectal cancer detection. We employed a genome-scale marker discovery method to identify and verify candidate DNA methylation biomarkers for blood-based detection of colorectal cancer. Methodology/Principal Findings We used DNA methylation data from 711 colorectal tumors, 53 matched adjacent-normal colonic tissue samples, 286 healthy blood samples and 4,201 tumor samples of 15 different cancer types. DNA methylation data were generated by the Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation27 and the HumanMethylation450 platforms, which determine the methylation status of 27,578 and 482,421 CpG sites respectively. We first performed a multistep marker selection to identify candidate markers with high methylation across all colorectal tumors while harboring low methylation in healthy samples and other cancer types. We then used pre-therapeutic plasma and serum samples from 107 colorectal cancer patients and 98 controls without colorectal cancer, confirmed by colonoscopy, to verify candidate markers. We selected two markers for further evaluation: methylated THBD (THBD-M) and methylated C9orf50 (C9orf50-M). When tested on clinical plasma and serum samples these markers outperformed carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) serum measurement and resulted in a high sensitive and specific test performance for early colorectal cancer detection. Conclusions/Significance Our systematic marker discovery and verification study for blood-based DNA methylation markers resulted in two novel colorectal cancer biomarkers, THBD-M and C9orf50-M. THBD-M in particular showed promising performance in clinical samples, justifying its further optimization and clinical testing.