Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Speaker diarization system for autism children's real-life audio data

In this paper, we introduce several methods to improve the performance of speaker diarization system for autism children's real-life audio data. This system serves as the frontend module for further speech analysis. Our objective is to detect the children's speech from single channel, noisy and daily audio recordings collected by wearable devices in real environment. First, in the conventional generalized likelihood ratio (GLR) distance with agglomerative hierarchical clustering (AHC) framework, besides using the line spectral pair (LSP) based GLR distance, we further propose a weighted summation of multiple GLR distances combining LSP, pitch, energy and phoneme duration information together. Second, since we only want to extract children's speech in high purity for further speech analysis, we utilize a 30 seconds long enrollment utterance from each child to perform supervised child cluster selection using i-vector cosine distance. We find out that performing supervised cluster selection at AHC early stages generates higher purity. We evaluate our methods on a 120 minutes subset data collected from three children during the child-therapist interactions. Experimental results show that our methods significantly outperform the GLR-AHC baseline in terms of child cluster's recall and precision.
Communication over Doppler spread channels. Part I: Channel and receiver presentation

Scattering functions from several experiments demonstrate that acoustic underwater channels are doubly spread. Receivers used on these channels to date have difficulty with large Doppler spreads. A receiver to perform coherent communication over Doppler spread channels is presented in this first paper of two. The receiver contains a channel tracker and a linear decoder. The tracker operates by means of a modified recursive least squares algorithm which makes use of frequency-domain filters called Doppler lines. The decoder makes use of the channel tracker coefficients in order to perform minimum mean square error decoding. This first paper treats theoretical aspects whereas the second part presents implementation issues and results.
Dietary PUFA and the metabolic syndrome in Indian Asians living in the UK

Indian Asians living in the UK have a 50% higher CHD mortality rate compared with the indigenous Caucasian population, which cannot be attributed to traditional risk factors. Instead, features of the metabolic syndrome, including raised plasma triacylglycerol, reduced HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) and an increased proportion of small dense LDL particles, together with insulin resistance and central obesity, are prevalent among this population. The present review examines evidence to support the hypothesis that an imbalance in dietary PUFA intake, specifically a higher intake of n-6 PUFA in combination with the lower intake of the long-chain (LC) n-3 PUFA, plays an important role in the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome observed in Indian Asians. Data are presented to illustrate the impact of manipulation of the background n-6 PUFA intake (moderate or high n-6 PUFA) and the subsequent response to supplementation with LC n-3 PUFA on blood lipids and insulin action in a group of Indian Asian volunteers. The results demonstrate that supplementation with LC n-3 PUFA had no impact on insulin action in those subjects consuming either the moderate- or high-n-6 PUFA diet. In the postprandial phase reductions in plasma triacylglycerol concentrations were greater in those consuming the high-n-6 PUFA background diet subsequent to fish oil supplementation. The present study concludes that, contrary to the central hypothesis, the prevalence of metabolic abnormalities in Indian Asians compared with Caucasians may not be attributable to differences in intakes of n-6 and n-3 PUFA.
CASPER: a computer program used for structural analysis of carbohydrates

The computer program CASPER and its algorithms are described. The program is aimed at facilitating the determination of structures of oligosaccharides and regular polysaccharides, requiring as input either the one-dimensional 1H or 13C NMR spectrum or the 2D C,H-correlation NMR spectrum together with information on components and linkages. The databases, the method of simulating spectra, options of the program, and techniques for faster calculations are described as well as an example of a structural determination.
Cardiac cell therapy in vitro: reproducible assays for comparing the efficacy of different donor cells [Cellular/Tissue Engineering]

Cardiovascular disease remains a pervasive and significant clinical problem, making it the target of extensive research for novel therapeutic strategies. In this report, we focus on describing the methods for the fabrication of cardiac strands with donor inserts and the application of this assay to test the ability of a few selected donor cell types to bridge and propagate electrical impulses from one cardiomyocyte area to another. We showed a set of reproducible, well-controlled in vitro assays that allow for the comparative and quantitative studies of cardiomyocyte and donor cell interactions on several functional levels. Cellular therapies are emerging rapidly as one of the more promising methodologies to repair injured myocardium.
Dehiscence Treated With Non-Resorbable Gore-Tex Membrane - A Case Report

Several gingival recession caused by dehiscence usually present a challenging task to the clinician as any mucogingival surgery without bony regeneration will not prevent the condition from recurring. The procedures of guided tissue regeneration ( GTR ) which allow regeneration of the lost periodontium may offer some solution to the condition. This paper reports on the use of a non-resorbable GTR membrane to treat an isolated lower incisor gingival recession associated with dehiscence.
Ricardo Piglia: Towards a Re‐socialized Literature

The question of the potential of ®ction to engage with its historical moment is the theme par excellence of the post-dictatorship era in Argentina, which is de®ned by a radical scepticism towards traditional notions of political commitment in literature. In the 1960s and early 1970s AndreÂs Avellaneda notes `una casi indiscutida con®anza en la posibilidad de relacionar estrechamente el arte con la polõÂtica' (Avellaneda 1997, p. 145); Beatriz Sarlo points to the in ̄uence of the Cuban Revolution on Argentine avant-garde thought during this period, in which La Habana appeared to represent a new kind of utopia, `un espacio gigantesco de mediacioÂ n: allõÂ se encontraban los intelectuales y los artistas, los polõ Âticos y los milicianos revivõÂan allõÂ, casi byronianamente, una versioÂ n romaÂntica del compromiso' (Sarlo 1988, p. 96). The repressive terror of the 1976±83 military regime had the effect of fragmenting the intellectual community and disconnecting it from the public. In this `doble fractura' described by Sarlo, the dictatorship `cortoÂ el tejido social que habõÂa hecho posible la circulacioÂ n de ideas y la comunicacioÂ n con otros espacios' (1988, p. 101). Ricardo Piglia's ®ctional and critical work may be read as an attempt to trace (albeit in a tentative and provisional manner) possibilities for the rebuilding of those networks that permit the circulation of ideas within a society. In Piglia's hands, the novel becomes a mediating force between the oral and the written, between popular culture and high culture, the visual and the textual, the public and the individual. In this sense his work is part of a larger regenerative project that seeks to re-socialize a bourgeois form of art and to explore the power of art, and narrative in particular, to rebuild the broken bridges of a fragmented community.
Net energy of ensiled wet corn gluten feed in corn silage diets for finishing steers.

Two trials were conducted to determine the NE value of ensiled wet corn gluten feed (WCGF) in corn silage finishing diets for beef cattle. In Trial 1, 96 Angus-crossbred yearling steers were fed corn silage-based diets containing 0, 20, 40, or 60% ensiled WCGF. Increased dietary WCGF resulted in improved DMI (linear, P less than .05), ADG (linear; P less than .05), and feed/gain (linear, P less than .05). Levels of WCGF had no (P greater than .05) effect on fat thickness, marbling, quality grade, carcass protein, and carcass fat. In Trial 2, four Angus-crossbred yearling steers were used in a 4 x 4 Latin square design to determine the effect of feeding 0, 20, 40, or 60% WCGF on DE and ME values. Level of WCGF had no (P greater than .05) effect on dietary DE and ME values. Regression equations were developed for predicting NEm (Y = 1.51 + .0009X; R2 = .22) and NEg (Y = 1.04 + .0028X; R2 = .35) in which Y = predicted diet NE values in megacalories/kilogram and X = percentage of dietary WCGF. The NEg value increased . 06 Mcal/kg for each 20% increase in WCGF. Predicted NEm and NEg values for WCGF are 1.60 and 1.32 Mcal/kg, respectively.
Single phase multifunctional VSC interfaced with solar PV and bidirectional battery charger

This paper demonstrates the multifunction capabilities of a two stage grid interfaced solar photovoltaic (PV) system with a battery energy storage support (BESS). The maximum power extracted from the solar PV array through incremental conductance is fed to the grid and the load. The battery is incorporated in the system with a bidirectional converter performing charging and discharging operation to stabilize the power dynamics of the system. The fundamental component extraction of the load current through an adaptive filter technique helps in achieving unity power factor operation, reactive power compensation and harmonics elimination. Depending upon the environmental conditions, different modes of operation are identified and demonstrated. The system is designed for the peak power of 4.5 kW and is connected to a nonlinear diode bridge rectifier load. The experimental results of the proposed system and control are presented for validation of the work.
A polyomavirus enhancer-binding protein, PEBP5, responsive to 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate but distinct from AP-1

Element I, homologous to the adenovirus type 5 E1A enhancer core, is a 10-bp sequence in the A core of the polyomavirus enhancer and was shown previously to be responsive to 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA). We found that element I by itself was capable of activating polyomavirus DNA replication in COP-5 cells which express the polyomavirus large T antigen. A nuclear factor, polyomavirus enhancer-binding protein 5 (PEBP5), which bound to the entire sequence of element I and was responsive to TPA was identified by an in vitro binding assay. Although the binding site of PEBP5 partly overlaps with that of PEBP1 (PEA1), a member of the AP-1 family, PEBP5 appears to be a distinct factor. Since we previously showed that element I alone was able to activate transcription, our present results suggest that PEBP5 is involved in the regulation of both transcription and replication of DNA. The amount of PEBP5 increased after F9 cells were induced to differentiate by retinoic acid. A relatively large amount of PEBP5 was detected in lymphoid and trophoblast cells.
Nutritional management of the high yielding cow into the future.

Summary This paper considers the nutritional management of high yielding cows by examining energy flux during early lactation and providing quantitative data on the extent and duration of body tissue mobilisation. Early studies failed to establish the commencement of energy repletion by lactation week 20 but in a later study, where higher ME intakes were achieved, body energy loss ceased at week 14. This did not, however, coincide with body weight change which fell from calving to week 5 before increasing thereafter, irrespective of genetic merit, albeit at different rates. Body condition score changes were a much closer reflection of measured body energy change. The possible implications of impaired energy intake in early lactation on reproductive function are presented, where a reduction in conception rate to first service with high yielding cows was attributed to significant disruptions in the cyclity of the cows post calving, with persistent corpus lutea being an important factor, as well as cows that showed early cyclity, followed by a considerable period of anoestrus. High yielding cows in early lactation appear to spend as much as 12 h per day either eating or ruminating, and an estimate of 14 minutes required to ingest and ruminate each kg of fresh food was obtained. Without significant changes in diet composition, especially total DM content, intakes of 30 kg DM/d appear close to the limit for most cows; higher levels could only be achieved by providing drier diets. Finally the paper examines the concepts of metabolic load and capacity and, whilst recognising that Holsteins have high total energy fluxes, these are not excessive when body weight (and hence metabolic body weight) are taken into account. Furthermore, when compared against the feats of other animals (including humans) these fluxes are not major cause for concern, provided deficits between energy input and output are kept to a minimum in both extent and duration.
Worker Recovery Expectations and Fear-Avoidance Predict Work Disability in a Population-Based Workers’ Compensation Back Pain Sample

Study Design. Prospective, population-based cohort study. Objectives. To examine whether worker demographic, pain, disability, and psychosocial variables, assessed soon after work-related back pain disability onset, predict 6-month work disability. Summary of Background Data. Greater age, pain, and physical disability, and certain psychosocial characteristics may be risk factors for prolonged back pain-related work disability, although many studies have been small, findings have been inconsistent, and some psychosocial variables have not been examined prospectively. Methods. Workers (N = 1,068) completed telephone interviews assessing demographic, pain, disability, and psychosocial variables 18 days (median) after submitting Workers’ Compensation back pain disability claims. Administrative measures of work disability 6 months after claim submission were obtained. Results. At 6 months, 196 workers (18.4%) were receiving work disability compensation. Age, race, education, and baseline pain and disability were significant predictors of 6-month disability. Adjusting for baseline demographics, pain, disability, and other psychosocial variables, high work fear-avoidance (odds ratio, 4.6; 95% confidence interval, 1.6–13.7) and very low recovery expectations (odds ratio, 3.1, 95% confidence interval, 1.5–6.5) were significant independent predictors. Conclusions. Among individuals with acute work-related back pain, high pain and disability, low recovery expectations, and fears that work may increase pain or cause harm are risk factors for chronic work disability.
Wnt5a expression is associated with the tumor proliferation and the stromal vascular endothelial growth factor--an expression in non-small-cell lung cancer.

PURPOSE The Wnt gene family encodes the multifunctional signaling glycoproteins. We performed the present study to investigate the clinical significance of Wnt5a expression in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). PATIENTS AND METHODS One hundred twenty-three patients with NSCLC who had undergone resection were investigated. Real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction was performed to evaluate the Wnt5a gene expression. Immunohistochemistry was performed to investigate the Wnt5a protein expression, the Ki-67 proliferation index, tumor angiogenesis, and the expression of beta-catenin and vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A). RESULTS Wnt5a gene expression in squamous cell carcinoma was significantly higher than that in adenocarcinoma (P < .0001). There was a significant correlation between the normalized Wnt5a gene expression ratio and the intratumoral Wnt5a protein expression (r = 0.729; P < .0001). The intratumoral Wnt5a expression was significantly correlated with the Ki-67 proliferation index (r = 0.708; P < .0001). In contrast, no correlation was observed between the intratumoral Wnt5a expression and tumor angiogenesis. Furthermore, the intratumoral Wnt5a expression was significantly correlated with the stromal expression of beta-catenin (r = 0.729; P < .0001) and VEGF-A (r = 0.661; P < .0001). In addition, the stromal VEGF-A expression was also correlated with Ki-67 proliferation (r = 0.627; P < .0001). Cox regression analyses demonstrated Wnt5a status to be a significant prognostic factor for NSCLC patients (P = .0193), especially for patients with squamous cell carcinomas (P = .0491). CONCLUSION The present study revealed that an overexpression of Wnt5a could produce more aggressive NSCLC, especially in squamous cell carcinomas, during tumor progression.
Of mice and men: tyrosinase modification of congenital glaucoma in mice but not in humans.

PURPOSE Primary congenital glaucoma (PCG) is an autosomal recessive ocular trait caused by mutations in the gene for cytochrome P4501B1 (CYP1B1). Although PCG is often considered to be fully penetrant, the disease shows 50% penetrance in some Saudi Arabian families. The familial segregation of the nonpenetrance suggests a genetic modifier. Recently, tyrosinase (Tyr) deficiency was found to worsen the drainage structure/ocular dysgenesis phenotype of Cyp1b1-/- mice, suggesting that Tyr is a modifier of the phenotype. In the current study, tyrosinase (TYR) was investigated in human PCG. METHODS A genome-wide screen, a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis in the TYR chromosomal region 11q13-q21, and sequencing of the TYR gene was performed with individuals from Saudi Arabian families with multiple, clinically confirmed, molecularly proven, nonpenetrant members. RESULTS The study outcome did not support TYR as a modifier of the PCG phenotype in this population. The sequencing data showed no TYR mutations in the nonpenetrant family members and no difference in polymorphism frequencies between nonpenetrant or fully penetrant families. CONCLUSIONS TYR is not a modifier of the CYP1B1-associated PCG phenotype in the Saudi Arabian population.
Perceived control and change in physical functioning after coronary artery bypass grafting: A prospective study

We determined if perceived general and health-related control predicted change in physical functioning after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in 1,038 patients. Control and physical functioning were assessed prior to hospital discharge and physical functioning also was assessed 6 weeks and 6 months later. The repeated measures outcome was modeled using a one-way analysis of covariance with interaction terms for General and Health-Related Control x Time. The sample was primarily composed of Caucasian (94%) men (73%) with a mean age of 65 ± 11 years. Increasing health-related control was an independent predictor of positive change in physical functioning with a stronger effect in women. There was a nearly significant association between increasing general control and positive physical functioning change. Lack of significant interactions with time indicate that higher control has a beneficial impact on physical functioning change at 6 weeks and 6 months. Assessing control may help clinicians predict post-CABG physical functioning and may shape intervention efforts.
The use of micromachined surfaces to investigate the cell behavioural factors essential to osseointegration.

OBJECTIVE Although currently available implants can be used to achieve osseointegration under well-defined conditions, a greater understanding of cell behaviour is required to improve the designs and embark on actual tissue engineering. MATERIALS AND METHODS We employed micromachined substrata to investigate some of the main behavioural responses of osteoblasts from rat fetal calvaria to surface topography. In particular, confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), differential interference contrast microscopy, time-lapse cinemicrography, immunofluorescence, digital radiography and image analysis were used to investigate cell adhesion, cell shape and cytoskeleton distribution, tissue organization, cell differentiation, and microenvironment. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS A grooved surface permitted the attachment of more cells than a smooth one. Cell shape and cytoskeleton were strikingly influenced as early as 20 min after cell attachment, when the cytoskeleton begins to align with the topography. Some grooved surfaces appeared to promote osteogenesis in vitro as assessed by the production of bone-like nodules. Moreover, these nodules align with the topography in vitro, and preliminary results indicate that bone-like tissue also aligns with grooves when such surfaces are implanted in vivo.
Survival of the Friendliest : Homo sapiens Evolved via Selection for Prosociality

The challenge of studying human cognitive evolution is identifying unique features of our intelligence while explaining the processes by which they arose. Comparisons with nonhuman apes point to our early-emerging cooperative-communicative abilities as crucial to the evolution of all forms of human cultural cognition, including language. The human selfdomestication hypothesis proposes that these early-emerging social skills evolved when natural selection favored increased in-group prosociality over aggression in late human evolution. As a by-product of this selection, humans are predicted to show traits of the domestication syndrome observed in other domestic animals. In reviewing comparative, developmental, neurobiological, and paleoanthropological research, compelling evidence emerges for the predicted relationship between unique human mentalizing abilities, tolerance, and the domestication syndrome in humans. This synthesis includes a review of the first a priori test of the self-domestication hypothesis as well as predictions for future tests. 155 Click here to view this article's online features: • Download figures as PPT slides • Navigate linked references • Download citations • Explore related articles • Search keywords ANNUAL REVIEWS Further A nn u. R ev . P sy ch ol . 2 01 7. 68 :1 55 -1 86 . D ow nl oa de d fr om w w w . a nn ua lr ev ie w s. or g A cc es s pr ov id ed b y D uk e U ni ve rs ity o n 01 /1 1/ 18 . F or p er so na l u se o nl y. PS68CH07-Hare ARI 17 November 2016 12:56 kya: thousands of years ago
[A comparative study of the effect of intraocular pressure elevation on ERG and VECP in the rabbit].

A self-designed hydraulic instrument was used for elevating intraocular pres-sure(IOP)in the rabbit.Electroretinograms(ERG)and visual evoked corticalpotentials(VECP)elicited by flashes were simultaneously recorded from 9 urethane-anaesthetized rabbits.The mean normal IOP of rabbits measured directly was 21.4±3.0 mmHg(S.D.,n=7). When the IOP was increased to 49 mmHg both VECPand ERG b-wave amplitude decreased to a minimum value of about 60% of thenormal within 4 minutes.VECP then began to recover to about 75% of the normal.in about 10-minute time,while ERG showed very little recovery.With further increase of IOP,both VECP and ERG decreased continuously,but VECP declined more rapidly than ERG.Thus when IOP was elevated to acertain level,VECP disappeared suddenly,while a small ERG still persisted.Sucha difference may be due to the fact that the retinal ganglion cell,which receives itsblood supply only from the central retinal artery,is more susceptible to increase ofIOP.After the added pressure was removed,both VECP and ERG gradualiy re-covered to the normal level.