Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Compensation of Intrinsic Variability with Factor Analysis Modeling for Robust Speaker Verification

Performances of speaker verification systems are adversely affected by intrinsic variability in the real world applications. In this paper, factor analysis approaches of Joint Factor Analysis (JFA) and i-vector modeling are used to address the effects of intrinsic variations for robust speaker verification. The speaker variability and intrinsic variability are modeled with the speaker and session factors respectively in the JFA approach. In the i-vector framework, a low-dimensional space is defined to model the total variability and intrinsic variations are compensated with a variety of techniques including Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), Within-Class Covariance Normalization (WCCN) and Nuisance Attribute Projection (NAP). Experiments in the intrinsic variation corpus show that factor analysis approaches of JFA and i-vector framework perform much better than the GMMUBM paradigm in modeling the intrinsic variability. Relative reductions in Error Equal Rate (EER) of around 39.85% and 36.76% are obtained respectively for JFA and i-Vector+LDA+WCCN speaker verification systems, compared to the GMM-UBM baseline system.
The Myristoylated Protein Rapsyn is Cotargeted with the Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor to the Postsynaptic Membrane via the Exocytic Pathway

Rapsyn, a 43 kDa protein required to cluster nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) at the neuromuscular junction, is tightly associated with the postsynaptic membrane via an N-terminal myristoylated site. Recent studies have shown that some acylated proteins associate with the exocytic pathway to become targeted to their correct destination. In this work, we usedTorpedo electrocyte to investigate the intracellular routing of rapsyn compared to those of AChR and Na,K-ATPase, the respective components of the innervated and noninnervated membranes. We previously demonstrated that these latter two proteins are sorted and targeted to plasma membrane via distinct populations of post-Golgi vesicles (Camus et al., 1998). Biochemical and immunoelectron microscopy analyses of various populations of post-Golgi vesicles immunopurified with magnetic beads led us to identify post-Golgi transport vesicles containing both rapsyn and AChR. These data suggest that rapsyn, as for AChR, specifically follows the exocytic pathway. Furthermore, immunogold-labeling experiments provided in situ evidence that AChR and rapsyn are cotransported in the same post-Golgi vesicles. Taken together, our observations suggest that rapsyn and AChR are cotargeted to the postsynaptic membrane.
Oncogenic Forms of NOTCH1 Lacking Either the Primary Binding Site for RBP-Jκ or Nuclear Localization Sequences Retain the Ability to Associate with RBP-Jκ and Activate Transcription*

Truncated forms of the NOTCH1 transmembrane receptor engineered to resemble mutant forms of NOTCH1 found in certain cases of human T cell leukemia/lymphoma (T-ALL) efficiently induce T-ALL when expressed in the bone marrow of mice. Unlike full-sized NOTCH1, two such truncated forms of the protein either lacking a major portion of the extracellular domain (ΔE) or consisting only of the intracellular domain (ICN) were found to activate transcription in cultured cells, presumably through RBP-Jκ response elements within DNA. Both truncated forms also bound to the transcription factor RBP-Jκ in extracts prepared from human and murine T-ALL cell lines. Transcriptional activation required the presence of a weak RBP-Jκ-binding site within the NOTCH1 ankyrin repeat region of the intracellular domain. Unexpectedly, a second, stronger RBP-Jκ-binding site, which lies within the intracellular domain close to the transmembrane region and significantly augments association with RBP-Jκ, was not needed for oncogenesis or for transcriptional activation. While ICN appeared primarily in the nucleus, ΔE localized to cytoplasmic and nuclear membranes, suggesting that intranuclear localization is not essential for oncogenesis or transcriptional activation. In support of this interpretation, mutation of putative nuclear localization sequences decreased nuclear localization and increased transcriptional activation by membrane-bound ΔE. Transcriptional activation by this mutant form of membrane-bound ΔE was approximately equivalent to that produced by intranuclear ICN. These data are most consistent with NOTCH1 oncogenesis and transcriptional activation being independent of association with RBP-Jκ at promoter sites.
A phase II study of lenalidomide in patients with extranodal marginal zone B-cell lymphoma of the mucosa associated lymphoid tissue (MALT lymphoma)

Mucosa associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma shares certain features with multiple myeloma. In view of this and the activity of lenalidomide in various B-cell lymphomas, we have initiated a phase II study of lenalidomide in patients with mucosa associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma. Patients with histologically verified advanced stages of this lymphoma were included in the study. Treatment consisted of oral lenalidomide 25 mg Days 1–21, with a 7-day break after each cycle. A total of 18 patients were included in the trial: 5 had gastric and 13 had extragastric mucosa associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma, but 2 discontinued therapy during the first course of therapy. In the intent to treat analysis, an overall response rate of 61% was seen (11 of 18; 6 complete and 5 partial remissions). Three patients had stable disease while 2 progressed. Side effects were manageable and included neutropenia (grade III in 3 patients) as the leading hematotoxicity. After a median follow up of 20.3 months, one patient has died from lymphoma while the remaining patients are alive and relapse-free. These data suggest activity of lenalidomide monotherapy in mucosa associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma. The study protocol had been approved by the Ethical Board of the Medical University Vienna (EK-No.: 146/09), and before opening the trial, it had been registered at www.clinicaltrials. gov. (identifier: NCT00923663).
Lineage commitment in human hemopoiesis involves asymmetric cell division of multipotent progenitors and does not appear to be influenced by cytokines

Different models have been proposed to explain lineage commitment in hemopoiesis. Some suggest that lineage commitment occurs in a stochastic manner without the direct influence of extracellular factors; others postulate that cytokines determine whether multipotent cells will become erythroid or granulocyte/macrophage progenitors. In the present study, the patterns of proliferation and differentiation of individually sorted human cord blood‐derived primitive hemopoietic cells (highly enriched for multipotent progenitors) were analyzed in a serum‐free culture system supplemented with different cytokine combinations. In a first set of experiments, the response of individual cells to different cytokine combinations was compared, whereas in a second set of experiments, single cells were allowed to undergo one division after which the two daughter cells were physically separated and cultured in either the same or different cytokine combinations. Proliferation of progenitor cells was absolutely dependent on cytokines, and the combination of mast cell growth factor plus interleukin 6 was sufficient to induce mitosis. When cytokine combinations favoring erythropoiesis and/or myelopoiesis were added to the cultures, a more vigorous proliferative response of the sorted primitive progenitors was observed. Interestingly, the relative proportions of granulocyte/macrophage, erythroid, and multipotent progenitors remained more or less the same regardless of the cytokine combination used, indicating a permissive rather than an instructive role for cytokines in hemopoietic differentiation. Asymmetric cell divisions, defined as a division that yields two daughter cells with distinct functional properties, were observed in 3–17% of the progenitor cells capable of forming colonies under our experimental conditions. In the rest, symmetric divisions involving multipotent and lineage‐committed progenitors were observed. The results of this study demonstrate that the asymmetric cell divisions that occur in the early stages of hemopoiesis at the level of multipotent progenitors cannot be skewed by the addition of specific cytokine combinations. These findings support the hypothesis that lineage commitment in hemopoiesis occurs in a stochastic manner by mechanisms that remain to be elucidated. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Nosocomial Infections Due to Multidrug‐Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa: Epidemiology and Treatment Options

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the leading gram‐negative organisms associated with nosocomial infections. The increasing frequency of multi‐drug‐resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MDRPA) strains is concerning as efficacious antimicrobial options are severely limited. By searching MEDLINE from January 1966–February 2005 and relevant journals for abstracts, we reviewed the frequency, risk factors, and patient outcomes of MDRPA nosocomial infections in critically ill patients, determined the available antimicrobial therapies, and then provided recommendations for clinicians. The definition of MDRPA was established as isolates intermediate or resistant to at least three drugs in the following classes: β‐lactams, carbapenems, aminoglycosides, and fluoroquinolones. Reported rates of MDRPA varied from 0.6–32% according to geographic location and type of surveillance study. Risk factors for MDRPA infection included prolonged hospitalization, exposure to antimicrobial therapy, and immunocompromised states such as human immunodeficiency virus infection. Emergence of MDRPA isolates during therapy was reported in 27–72% of patients with initially susceptible P. aeruginosa isolates. Patients with severe MDRPA infections should be treated with combination therapy, consisting of an antipseudomonal β‐lactam with an aminoglycoside or fluoroquinolone rather than aminoglycoside and fluoroquinolone combinations, to provide adequate therapy and improve patient outcomes. Synergy has been observed when resistant antipseudomonal drugs were combined in vitro against MDRPA with successful clinical application reported in two centers. Colistin with adjunctive therapy, such as a β‐lactam or rifampin, may be a useful agent in MDRPA when antimicrobial options are limited, but patients should be monitored closely for toxicities associated with this agent. Standardization of terminology for MDRPA isolates is needed for consistency and comparability of surveillance and institutional reports. Clinical studies are needed to identify risk factors for MDRPA development and to determine the economic impact of these infections, as well as to determine the most efficacious antimicrobial regimens and duration of therapy to maximize outcomes in the treatment of MDRPA infections.
A novel miniaturized Circularly Polarized PIFA antenna for RFID readers

In this paper, a novel miniaturized Planar Inverted F Antenna (PIFA) for RFID readers with Circular Polarization (CP) is studied. The techniques of slots and miniaturization are applied in the designing of the antenna in order to decrease its size and its resonance frequency. The proposed structure is simulated under CST software and fabricated on a 0. 4λ0×0. 4λ0×0. 06λ0. It operates in the European RFID UHF band. The measurement results obtained are very encouraging.
Removal of an Endocrine Disrupting Chemical (17α-ethinyloestradiol) from Wastewater Effluent by Activated Carbon Adsorption: Effects of Activated Carbon Type and Competitive Adsorption

Granular activated carbon has been extensively used for the adsorption of organic micropollutants for potable water production. In this study the removal of an endocrine disrupting chemical from wastewater final effluent by three types of granular activated carbon (wood, coconut and coal based) has been investigated in batch adsorption experiments and correlated with the removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total organic carbon (TOC) and ultraviolet absorbance (UV). The results obtained demonstrated 17α-ethinyloestradiol (EE2) removals of 98.6%, 99.3%, and 96.4% were achieved by the coal based (ACo), coconut based (ACn) and wood based (AWd) carbons respectively at the lowest dose of carbon (0.1gl−1). The other adsorbates investigated all exhibited good removal. At an equilibrium concentration of 7mgl−1 the COD adsorption capacities were 3.16mg g−1, 4.8 mg g−1 and 7.1 mg g−1 for the wood, coconut and coal based carbons respectively. Overall, the order of removal efficiency of EE2 and the other adsorbates for the three activated carbons was ACn > ACo > AWd. The adsorption capacities of the carbons were found to be reduced by the effects of other competing adsorbates in the wastewater effluent.
CONDIÇÕES PARA BIESTABILIDADE EM FREQUÊNCIA DE LASER SEMICONDUTOR SOB REALIMENTAÇÃO ÓTICA ORTOGONAL

Biestabilidade na frequencia de emissao de um laser semicondutor sujeito a realimentacao otica com polarizacao ortogonal foi observada experimentalmente por Farias et al. em 2005. Um modelo de equacoes de taxa para esse sistema dinâmico, apresentado posteriormente por Masoller et al. em 2007, que leva em conta os efeitos termicos e ganho de saturacao, preve uma variacao linear da frequencia do laser com a intensidade do campo de realimentacao. Nesse trabalho, usando o mesmo modelo, estudamos o processo de biestabilidade otica em frequencia nesses sistemas com realimentacao filtrada, determinando as condicoes espectrais do filtro de realimentacao necessarias para o aparecimento de histerese que leva a biestabilidade.
An Attempt to Integrate the Individual–Psychological and Interactional Concepts of the Origins of Schizophrenia

Individual–psychological studies (psychoanalytical) and interactional studies (based on family research and family therapy) approach the psychological processes connected with the origins of schizophrenia from different angles. They thus complement each other. Five major propositions are formulated to integrate the psychodynamic concepts dealing with vulnerability to schizophrenia. The integration of family- and individual-centred starting-points has proved to be very useful in developing treatment methods for schizophrenic patients.
Refining Subgames in Large Imperfect Information Games

The leading approach to solving large imperfect information games is to pre-calculate an approximate solution using a simplified abstraction of the full game; that solution is then used to play the original, full-scale game. The abstraction step is necessitated by the size of the game tree. However, as the original game progresses, the remaining portion of the tree (the subgame) becomes smaller. An appealing idea is to use the simplified abstraction to play the early parts of the game and then, once the subgame becomes tractable, to calculate a solution using a finer-grained abstraction in real time, creating a combined final strategy. While this approach is straightforward for perfect information games, it is a much more complex problem for imperfect information games. If the subgame is solved locally, the opponent can alter his play in prior to this subgame to exploit our combined strategy. To prevent this, we introduce the notion of subgame margin, a simple value with appealing properties. If any best response reaches the subgame, the improvement of exploitability of the combined strategy is (at least) proportional to the subgame margin. This motivates subgame refinements resulting in large positive margins. Unfortunately, current techniques either neglect subgame margin (potentially leading to a large negative subgame margin and drastically more exploitable strategies), or guarantee only non-negative subgame margin (possibly producing the original, unrefined strategy, even if much stronger strategies are possible). Our technique remedies this problem by maximizing the subgame margin and is guaranteed to find the optimal solution. We evaluate our technique using one of the top participants of the AAAI-14 Computer Poker Competition, the leading playground for agents in imperfect information setting
Propriétés d'un Pré-processeur de Vision Fovéale

5pVXPp – Nous avons developpe un modele simplifie de retine artificielle : le modele Retina. Il est fonde sur un reseau de neurones artificiels organise de maniere a simuler la variation radiale de l'acuite visuelle (vision foveale). Il s'apparente a la classe des pre-processeurs de vision foveale. La mise en œuvre de neurones analogiques et impulsionnels (Hodgkin Huxley) nous a permis d'encoder les informations. Les parametres pertinents qui encodent le mouvement et les contours sont extraits des signaux de sorties de la Retina a l'aide d'une analyse temps / frequence (Wigner Ville). L'interet principal de ce modele est sa reponse aux stimuli stationnaires ou en mouvements, differenciee suivant les formes et les vitesses. Ce modele est dote des proprietes d'adaptativite aux differentes conditions d'illuminations, de robustesse au bruit et sa caracteristique de multi-resolution permet la detection et l'estimation d'une large echelle de vitesses. L’objectif final est l’implementation de ce capteur sur un systeme de robotique mobile.
Risk factors for ambulatory urinary tract infections caused by high-MIC fluoroquinolone-susceptible Escherichia coli in women: results from a large case-control study.

OBJECTIVES The prevalence of high-MIC fluoroquinolone-susceptible Escherichia coli (FQSEC) has been increasing. These isolates are one step closer to full fluoroquinolone (FQ) resistance and may lead to delayed response to FQ therapy. Our study aimed to investigate the epidemiology of high-MIC FQSEC in ambulatory urinary tract infections (UTIs). PATIENTS AND METHODS A case-control study was conducted at outpatient services within the University of Pennsylvania Health System, Philadelphia. All female subjects with non-recurrent UTI caused by FQSEC (levofloxacin MIC < 4 mg/L) were enrolled. Cases were subjects with high-MIC FQSEC UTI (levofloxacin MIC >0.12 but < 4 mg/L) and controls were subjects with low-MIC FQSEC UTI (levofloxacin MIC ≤0.12 mg/L). Data on microbiology results and baseline characteristics were extracted from electronic medical records. RESULTS During the 3 year study period (May 2008-April 2011), 11 287 episodes of E. coli bacteriuria were identified. The prevalence of FQSEC, FQ-intermediate susceptible E. coli and FQ-resistant E. coli was 75.0%, 0.4% and 24.6%, respectively. A total of 2001 female subjects with FQSEC UTI were enrolled into our study (165 cases and 1836 controls). Independent risk factors for high-MIC FQ susceptibility included Asian race (OR = 2.92; 95% CI = 1.29-6.58; P = 0.02), underlying renal disease (OR = 2.18; 95% CI = 1.15-4.14; P = 0.02) and previous nitrofurantoin exposure (OR = 8.86; 95% CI = 1.95-40.29; P = 0.005). CONCLUSIONS Asian race, underlying renal disease and previous exposure to nitrofurantoin were identified as independent risk factors for high-MIC FQSEC. There may be some factors that are more common in Asians, which may result in the selection of high-MIC FQSEC. Further studies are necessary to explore these findings.
A Critical Appreciation of Ken Wilber’s Critique of Eco-Holism

The purpose of this essay is to assess Ken Wilber’s critique of eco-holism or radical ecology. It (a) summarizes Wilber’s integral paradigm, then (b) reviews the eco-holistic paradigm (as interpreted by Wilber), (c) summarizes his critique, (d) reviews the rebuttal and counter-rebuttal, (e) assesses briefly the adequacy of Wilber’s critique, (f) reviews his recommended solution to the ecological crisis, then (g) ends with a rejoinder and conclusion. The focus of this essay is on the question of the potential validity of Wilber’s theoretical model upon which his critique of eco-holism is based. The reason for this focus is that Wilber’s specific criticisms of radical ecology are based on his model. If his model can be shown to be implausible or invalid, then Wilber's critique of eco-holism is undermined, if not invalidated. On the contrary, if his model is demonstrated to be plausible or potentially valid, his critique must be taken seriously and then evaluated on other grounds, such as its groundedness in the relevant radical ecological literature. The author concludes that Wilber’s all-quadrant all-level model can be accepted as potentially valid. Therefore, his critique of eco-holism is at least potentially valid, but it suffers from a lack of grounding in the radical ecological literature and unjustifiably broad characterizations of eco-holists.
Unexplained Deaths and Critical Illnesses of Suspected Infectious Cause, Taiwan, 2000–2005

We report 5 years’ surveillance data from the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control on unexplained deaths and critical illnesses suspected of being caused by infection. A total of 130 cases were reported; the incidence rate was 0.12 per 100,000 person-years; and infectious causes were identified for 81 cases (62%).
A Usage-Based Unified Resource Model

Within Agile methods, User Stories (US) are mostly used as primary requirements artifacts and units of functionality of the project. The idea is to express requirements on a low abstraction basis using natural language. Most of them are exclusively centered on the final user as only stakeholder. Over the years, some templates (in the form of concepts relating the WHO, WHAT and WHY dimensions into a phrase) have been proposed by agile methods practitioners or academics to guide requirements gathering. Using these templates can be problematic. Indeed, none of them define any semantic related to a particular syntax precisely or formally leading to various possible interpretations of the concepts. Consequently, these templates are used in an ad–hoc manner, each modeler having idiosyncratic preferences. This can nevertheless lead to an underuse of representation mechanisms, misunderstanding of a concept use and poor communication between stakeholders. This paper studies templates found in literature in order to reach unification in the concepts’ syntax, an agreement in their semantics as well as methodological elements increasing inherent scalability of US-based projects.
On Right Node Raising in Catalan and Spanish

La derivacio de les construccions d’elevacio del nus dret (END) ha estat objecte de forca debat en la bibliografia generativista, pero l’analisi d’aquest tipus de construccions no ha rebut, fins ara, gaire atencio en els treballs dedicats al catala i a l’espanyol. En aquest article analitzo les propietats de l’END en aquestes dues llengues i proposo que tambe hi ha la distincio introduida a Valmala (2012) per a les construccions equivalents de l’angles: defenso que en catala i en espanyol hi ha dos tipus d’END que contenen propietats sintactiques, prosodiques i d’estructuracio de la informacio diferents. A les END amb pivot focalitzat, el sintagma que fa de pivot es focus i va precedit per una ruptura en l’entonacio, i hi ha trasllat de cap a cap en els dos constituents coordinats (es a dir, el pivot es ex situ). Contrariament, a les END amb pivot no focalitzat aquest element no es focus, no va precedit per cap ruptura entonacional i ocupa la seva posicio canonica (es a dir, es in situ). Aquest tipus d’END es consequencia d’un proces d’elisio del primer conjunt de la coordinacio o d’una relacio de multidominanca del pivot.