Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Classifier fusion for speech emotion recognition

According to multidimensional emotion space model, an improved queuing voting algorithm was proposed to implement the fusion among multiple emotion classifiers for a good emotion recognition result. Firstly, three kinds of classifier were designed based on hidden Markov model (HMM) and artificial neural network (ANN). Then, the improved queuing voting algorithm was used to fuse them. Experimental study had been carried out using Beihang University mandarin emotion speech database and Berlin database of emotional speech respectively. The results proved that the improved queuing voting algorithm can attain better fusion effect than conventional fusion algorithm and excel any single classifier evidently.
Toward a Comprehensive Approach to the Collection and Analysis of Pica Substances, with Emphasis on Geophagic Materials

Background Pica, the craving and subsequent consumption of non-food substances such as earth, charcoal, and raw starch, has been an enigma for more than 2000 years. Currently, there are little available data for testing major hypotheses about pica because of methodological limitations and lack of attention to the problem. Methodology In this paper we critically review procedures and guidelines for interviews and sample collection that are appropriate for a wide variety of pica substances. In addition, we outline methodologies for the physical, mineralogical, and chemical characterization of these substances, with particular focus on geophagic soils and clays. Many of these methods are standard procedures in anthropological, soil, or nutritional sciences, but have rarely or never been applied to the study of pica. Principal Findings Physical properties of geophagic materials including color, particle size distribution, consistency and dispersion/flocculation (coagulation) should be assessed by appropriate methods. Quantitative mineralogical analyses by X-ray diffraction should be made on bulk material as well as on separated clay fractions, and the various clay minerals should be characterized by a variety of supplementary tests. Concentrations of minerals should be determined using X-ray fluorescence for non-food substances and inductively coupled plasma–atomic emission spectroscopy for food-like substances. pH, salt content, cation exchange capacity, organic carbon content and labile forms of iron oxide should also be determined. Finally, analyses relating to biological interactions are recommended, including determination of the bioavailability of nutrients and other bioactive components from pica substances, as well as their detoxification capacities and parasitological profiles. Significance This is the first review of appropriate methodologies for the study of human pica. The comprehensive and multi-disciplinary approach to the collection and analysis of pica substances detailed here is a necessary preliminary step to understanding the nutritional enigma of non-food consumption.
Optimal Memory Size Formula for Moving-Average Digital Phase-Locked Loop

This letter proposes a new moving-average form of digital phase-locked loop (DPLL) that uses the average value of measurements on a memory horizon and the correction term to estimate phase information. This ensures the desired unbiasedness property for the phase information. A new formula for the optimal memory size of the proposed DPLL with minimization of the expected squared phase error is established. A numerical example is given to show that the developed DPLL has superior robustness against quantization and incorrect noise compared to the existing DPLLs.
A real-time capable enhanced dynamic programming approach for predictive optimal cruise control in hybrid electric vehicles

Hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) combine both a powerful engine and the ability to reduce fuel consumption through an electric machine by intelligent control of a complex drive train. The driving strategy controls the speed and the operating strategy controls the energy management of the HEV. Both are combined in one optimization. The result is a driver assistance system that is tuned with predictive information about the upcoming route. A novel algorithm based on dynamic programming (DP) is presented that allows real-time application by introducing heuristic model-based optimization space reductions. The main focus is on the design and dimensioning of a slim DP algorithm with the capability to find an optimal control in close real-time.
Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor induces histologic and functional protection of rod photoreceptors in the rd/rd mouse.

PURPOSE To evaluate the neuroprotective potential of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) in the retinal degeneration (rd/rd) mouse model of human retinitis pigmentosa. METHODS Subretinal injections of GDNF were made into rd/rd mice at 13 and 17 days of age and electroretinograms (ERGs) recorded at 22 days. Control mice received saline vehicle injections or underwent no procedure. At 23 days of age, retinas from treated and control mice were fixed and processed for wholemount immunohistochemistry using an anti-rod opsin antibody, and rod numbers were estimated using an unbiased stereological systematic random approach. Subsequent to counting, immunolabeled retinas were re-embedded and sectioned in a transverse plane and the numbers of rods recalculated. RESULTS Although ERGs could not be recorded from sham-operation or nonsurgical rd/rd mice at 22 days of age, detectable responses (both a- and b-waves) were observed in 4 of 10 GDNF-treated mice. Stereological assessment of immunolabeled rods at 23 days showed that control rd/rd retinas contained 41,880+/-3,890 (mean +/- SEM; n = 6), phosphate-buffered saline (PBS)-injected retinas contained 61,165+/-4,932 (n = 10; P < 0.001 versus control retinas) and GDNF-injected retinas contained 89,232+/-8,033 (n = 10; P < 0.001 versus control retinas, P < 0.002 versus PBS). This increase in rod numbers after GDNF treatment was confirmed by cell counts obtained from frozen sections. CONCLUSIONS GDNF exerts both histologic and functional neuroprotective effects on rod photoreceptors in the rd/rd mouse. Thus rescue was demonstrated in an animal model of inherited retinal degeneration in which the gene defect was located within the rods themselves, similar to most forms of human retinitis pigmentosa. GDNF represents a candidate neurotrophic factor for palliating some forms of hereditary human blindness.
Risk for exercise dependence, eating disorder pathology, alcohol use disorder and addictive behaviors among clients of fitness centers

Background and Aims Exercise dependence (EXD) is considered a behavioral addiction that is often associated with eating disorders. To date, only few studies examined the potential overlap between EXD and other addictive behaviors. Therefore, the present study aimed at investigating the relationship of EXD with pathological buying, pathological video gaming (offline and online), hypersexual behavior, and alcohol use disorder in a sample of clients of fitness centers. Methods The following questionnaires were answered by 128 individuals (age M = 26.5, SD = 6.7 years; 71.7% men, 74.2% university students): Exercise Dependence Scale, Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire, Compulsive Buying Scale, Pathological Computer-Gaming Scale, Hypersexual Behavior Inventory, and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Results 7.8% of the sample were at-risk for EXD, 10.9% reported eating disorder pathology, 2.3% pathological buying, 3.1% hypersexual behavior, and none of the participants suffered from pathological video gaming. The criteria for severe alcohol disorder pathology (AUDIT ≥ 16) were fulfilled by 10.2%. With regard to continuous symptom scores, EXD symptoms were positively correlated with both eating disorder pathology and pathological buying but not with pathological video gaming, hypersexuality or alcohol use disorder. It is noteworthy that more symptoms of pathological buying corresponded with more symptoms of hypersexual behavior. The correlation pattern did not differ by gender. Discussion The co-occurrence of EXD, pathological buying and hypersexual behavior on a subclinical level or in the early stage of the disorders should be taken into account when assessing and treating patients. More research is warranted in order to investigate possible interactions between these conditions.
Check and mate to exosomal extracellular miRNA: new lesson from a new approach

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are 19–24 nt single-stranded RNAs which regulate gene expression by sequence-specific targeting of corresponding mRNAs. Extracellular miRNAs have been consistently detected in all human body fluids, and were shown to be prominent non-invasive biomarkers for various diseases including cancer. Albeit biological function of cell-free miRNA remains questionable, some studies demonstrated that exosomes encapsulated extracellular miRNAs could mediate inter-cellular signaling. While others suggested that these miRNAs are mostly by-products of cellular activity and do not carry any significant biological function. This article aims to discuss the current theories of origin of extracellular miRNA, and to highlight recent application of a novel technique of micro-vesicles counting, that may challenge the existence of exosomal miRNA.
An Econometric Analysis of Costs and Scale Economies in the Nursing Home Industry

This paper examines costs in the nursing home industry, an issue of concern to policymakers because Medicaid pays about half of the expenditures on nursing home care. The paper estimates two cost functions for a sample of Texas nursing homes in 1983: one assumes that all homes provide the same quality of care, the other considers quality differences. The results indicate that there are economies of scale in the production of nursing home care. This suggests that many states could serve the same number of Medicaid patients at a lower total cost if occupancy rates were higher, and that a fixed rate reimbursement policy could lower costs.
Switched reluctance motor in electric or hybrid vehicle applications: A status review

Drive systems based on a switched reluctance motor (SRM) are important alternatives in traction applications because of the motor simple and robust structure without using rare-earth permanent magnets. In this paper, different aspects of the SRM-based drive systems for the vehicle traction are presented and reviewed. Motor design and comparison with the permanent magnet motors, power electronics, simulation, control, and thermal design of the drive are explained and discussed.
Artificial Neural Networks as Decision Support Tools in Cytopathology: Past, Present, and Future

Objective This study aims to analyze the role of artificial neural networks (ANNs) in cytopathology. More specifically, it aims to highlight the importance of employing ANNs in existing and future applications and in identifying unexplored or poorly explored research topics. Study Design A systematic search was conducted in scientific databases for articles related to cytopathology and ANNs with respect to anatomical places of the human body where cytopathology is performed. For each anatomic system/organ, the major outcomes described in the scientific literature are presented and the most important aspects are highlighted. Results The vast majority of ANN applications are related to cervical cytopathology, specifically for the ANN-based, semiautomated commercial diagnostic system PAPNET. For cervical cytopathology, there is a plethora of studies relevant to the diagnostic accuracy; in addition, there are also efforts evaluating cost-effectiveness and applications on primary, secondary, or hybrid screening. For the rest of the anatomical sites, such as the gastrointestinal system, thyroid gland, urinary tract, and breast, there are significantly less efforts relevant to the application of ANNs. Additionally, there are still anatomical systems for which ANNs have never been applied on their cytological material. Conclusions Cytopathology is an ideal discipline to apply ANNs. In general, diagnosis is performed by experts via the light microscope. However, this approach introduces subjectivity, because this is not a universal and objective measurement process. This has resulted in the existence of a gray zone between normal and pathological cases. From the analysis of related articles, it is obvious that there is a need to perform more thorough analyses, using extensive number of cases and particularly for the nonexplored organs. Efforts to apply such systems within the laboratory test environment are required for their future uptake.
Risk factors for anorexia nervosa: three integrated case-control comparisons.

BACKGROUND Many risk factors have been implicated in the development of anorexia nervosa. Little is known about their relative contributions, nor in most cases is it clear whether they are specific to anorexia nervosa or risk factors for all eating disorders or for psychiatric disorder in general. METHODS We used a case-control design involving the comparison of 67 female subjects with a history of anorexia nervosa with 204 healthy control subjects, 102 subjects with other psychiatric disorders, and 102 subjects with bulimia nervosa. A broad range of risk factors was assessed by interview. RESULTS The subjects with anorexia nervosa and the healthy controls differed in their exposure to most of the putative risk factors. There was no greater exposure to factors that increased the likelihood of dieting, once the influence of other classes of risk factors had been taken into account. Premorbid perfectionism and negative self-evaluation were especially common and more so than among the general psychiatric controls. Parental obesity and an early menarche, together with parental psychiatric disorder, distinguished those with bulimia nervosa from those with anorexia nervosa. CONCLUSIONS There appears to be a broad range of risk factors for anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, some of which are shared with other psychiatric disorders. Factors that increase the likelihood of dieting seem to have more important influence as risk factors for bulimia nervosa than anorexia nervosa. Perfectionism and negative self-evaluation appear to be particularly common and characteristic antecedents of both eating disorders.
Hepatitis B virus pre-S deletion mutations are a risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma: a matched nested case–control study

A matched nested case–control study of 33 paired cases and controls was conducted, based on a study cohort in Long An county, Guangxi, China, to determine whether infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) with pre-S deletions is independently associated with the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), without the confounding effects of basal core promoter (BCP) double mutations. The prevalence of pre-S deletions was significantly higher in HCC (45.5 %, 15 of 33) than the controls (18.2 %, 6 of 33) (P<0.01), under the control of the influence of BCP double mutations. Most of the pre-S deletions occurred in, or involved, the 5′ half of the pre-S2 region and the difference between HCC (93.3 %, 14 of 15) and controls (66.7 %, four of six) was significant for this region (P=0.015). There was no significant difference in pre-S deletions between the BCP mutant group and BCP wild-type group (P>0.05), nor was the prevalence of pre-S deletions significantly different between genotypes B and C (P>0.1). These results suggest that pre-S deletions constitute an independent risk factor for HCC and their emergence and effect are independent of BCP mutations. The 5′ terminus of pre-S2 is the favoured site for the deletion mutations, especially in HCC cases. Further prospective studies are required to confirm the role of these mutations in the development of HCC.
Interdependency of &bgr;-Adrenergic Receptors and CFTR in Regulation of Alveolar Active Na+ Transport

&bgr;-Adrenergic receptors (&bgr;AR) regulate active Na+ transport in the alveolar epithelium and accelerate clearance of excess airspace fluid. Accumulating data indicates that the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is important for upregulation of the active ion transport that is needed to maintain alveolar fluid homeostasis during pulmonary edema. We hypothesized that &bgr;AR regulation of alveolar active transport may be mediated via a CFTR dependent pathway. To test this hypothesis we used a recombinant adenovirus that expresses a human CFTR cDNA (adCFTR) to increase CFTR function in the alveolar epithelium of normal rats and mice. Alveolar fluid clearance (AFC), an index of alveolar active Na+ transport, was 92% greater in CFTR overexpressing lungs than controls. Addition of the Cl− channel blockers NPPB, glibenclamide, or bumetanide and experiments using Cl− free alveolar instillate solutions indicate that the accelerated AFC in this model is due to increased Cl− channel function. Conversely, CFTR overexpression in mice with no &bgr;1- or &bgr;2-adrenergic receptors had no effect on AFC. Overexpression of a human &bgr;2AR in the alveolar epithelium significantly increased AFC in normal mice but had no effect in mice with a non-functional human CFTR gene (&Dgr;&phgr;508 mutation). These studies indicate that upregulation of alveolar CFTR function speeds clearance of excess fluid from the airspace and that CFTRs effect on active Na+ transport requires the &bgr;AR. These studies reveal a previously undetected interdependency between CFTR and &bgr;AR that is essential for upregulation of active Na+ transport and fluid clearance in the alveolus.
Influence of color on visual saliency in short videos

The architecture of computational models of visual attention designed for videos is generally the result of a direct extension of techniques dedicated to static images. These models try to extract the salient areas of dynamic scenes (i.e. areas that may capture visual attention) by fusing static saliency maps computed frame per frame with saliency maps independently obtained from dynamic features. The problem is that there is no evidence for assuming that visual saliency of videos can be accurately identified from such a fusion process. In addition, there is no guarantee that visual saliency is the same for still and dynamic scenes. Then we propose to investigate this issue for short videos from the perspective of color information that has been clearly identified as an important salient property in static images.
VdNEP, an Elicitor from Verticillium dahliae, Induces Cotton Plant Wilting

ABSTRACT Verticillium wilt is a vascular disease of cotton. The causal fungus, Verticillium dahliae, secretes elicitors in culture. We have generated ∼1,000 5′-terminal expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from a cultured mycelium of V. dahliae. A number of ESTs were found to encode proteins harboring putative signal peptides for secretion, and their cDNAs were isolated. Heterologous expression led to the identification of a protein with elicitor activities. This protein, named V. dahliae necrosis- and ethylene-inducing protein (VdNEP), is composed of 233 amino acids and has high sequence identities with fungal necrosis- and ethylene-inducing proteins. Infiltration of the bacterially expressed His-VdNEP into Nicotiana benthamiana leaves resulted in necrotic lesion formation. In Arabidopsis thaliana, the fusion protein also triggered production of reactive oxygen species and induced the expression of PR genes. When added into suspension cultured cells of cotton (Gossypium arboreum), the fusion protein elicited the biosynthesis of gossypol and related sesquiterpene phytoalexins at low concentrations, and it induced cell death at higher concentrations. On cotton cotyledons and leaves, His-VdNEP induced dehydration and wilting, similar to symptoms caused by a crude preparation of V. dahliae elicitors. Northern blotting showed a low level of VdNEP expression in the mycelium during culture. These data suggest that VdNEP is a wilt-inducing factor and that it participates in cotton-V. dahliae interactions.
Preparation of Nanosilver and Nanogold Based on Dog Rose Aqueous Extract

This paper describes a process of obtaining nanosilver and nanogold based on chemical reduction using substances contained in the aqueous extract of dog rose (Rosa canina). The resulting products were subjected to spectrophotometric analysis (UV-Vis), and testing of the nanoparticles' size and suspension stability was carried out by measuring the electrokinetic potential, ζ, via dynamic light scattering (DLS). Solid samples were imaged by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The obtained data were given to statistical analysis in order to illustrate the properties of the suspension depending on the values of the input parameters: metal salts concentration, pH of the reaction mixture, and process temperature. In the course of the work, samples of nanosilver and nanogold were obtained, which were stable for over two months and which had a monomodal particle size distribution.
Geodesics and Geodesic Deviation in a Stringy Charged Black Hole

The radial motion along null geodesics in the charged black hole space-times, in particular, the Reissner-Nordström and stringy charged black holes are studied. We analyze the properties of the effective potential. The circular photon orbits in these space-times are investigated. We find that the radius of circular photon orbits in both charged black holes are different and differ from that given in Schwarzschild space-time. We Study the physical effects of the gravitational field between two test particles in stringy charged black hole and compare the results with that given in Schwarzschild and Reissner-Nordström black holes.
A nash bargaining solution based cooperation pattern for open spectrum cognitive radio networks

A cooperation pattern is proposed in which cognitive users can cooperate with each other by means of relaying. The cooperation between cognitive users is modeled as a two-person bargaining problem and cooperation strategies are obtained based on Nash bargaining solution (NBS). Simulations shows that the cooperation willingness of an user depends on how appropriate its counterpart can be served as its relay.
Adaptive fuzzy position/force hybrid control for constrained reconfigurable manipulators with unknown disturbances

This paper is concerned with an adaptive fuzzy position/force hybrid control scheme for constrained reconfigurable manipulators with unknown disturbance. A reduced dynamic model of the system is derived in the presence of the environmental constraints. Based on the reduced dynamics, the fuzzy logic systems are designed to approximate the overall dynamics, and unknown disturbance is overcome by adaptive algorithm. Then the effect of the approximation error is removed by employing an adaptive sliding mode compensation term. According to Lyapunov stability theorem, the stability of the system can be verified. Finally, the simulations of two 2-DOF reconfigurable manipulators with different configurations demonstrate that the proposed control scheme is useful and efficient.