gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
LAReQA: Language-agnostic answer retrieval from a multilingual pool (2020)

We present LAReQA, a challenging new benchmark for language-agnostic answer retrieval from a multilingual candidate pool. Unlike previous cross-lingual tasks, LAReQA tests for "strong" cross-lingual alignment, requiring semantically related cross-language pairs to be closer in representation space than unrelated same-language pairs. Building on multilingual BERT (mBERT), we study different strategies for achieving strong alignment. We find that augmenting training data via machine translation is effective, and improves significantly over using mBERT out-of-the-box. Interestingly, the embedding baseline that performs the best on LAReQA falls short of competing baselines on zero-shot variants of our task that only target "weak" alignment. This finding underscores our claim that languageagnostic retrieval is a substantively new kind of cross-lingual evaluation.
Kinetic studies on the effect of heparin and fibrin on plasminogen activators (1988)

1. Possible interactions between fibrin(ogen) and heparin in the control of plasminogen activation were studied in model systems using the thrombolytic agents tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA), urokinase and streptokinase.plasminogen activator complex and the substrates Glu- and Lys-plasminogen. 2. Both t-PA and urokinase activities were promoted by heparin and by pentosan polysulphate, but not by chondroitin sulphate or hyaluronic acid. The effect was on Km. 3. In the presence of soluble fibrin (and its mimic, CNBr-digested fibrinogen) the effect of heparin on t-PA was attenuated, although not abolished. In studies using a monoclonal antibody and 6-aminohexanoic acid, it was found that heparin and fibrin did not seem to share a binding site on t-PA. 4. The activity of t-PA B-chain was unaffected by heparin, so the binding site is located on the A-chain of t-PA (and urokinase). 5. Fibrin potentiated the activity of heparin on urokinase. The activity of streptokinase.plasminogen was unaffected by heparin whether or not fibrin was present. 6. If these influences of heparin and fibrin also occur in vivo, then, in the presence of heparin, the relative fibrin enhancement of t-PA will be diminished and the likelihood of systemic activation by t-PA is increased.
Effects of Sucking Acidic Candy on Whole-Mouth Saliva Composition (2005)

Limited information is available on the effects of sucking acidic candies on saliva composition and the protective role of saliva in this relation. Therefore the aim of this study was to determine salivary effects of sucking acidic candies in vivo in relation to individual variations in whole-saliva flow rate (WSFR) and buffer capacity (WSbeta). Ten healthy young males (24 +/- 2 years) sucked a rhubarb-flavoured acidic hard-boiled candy with tartaric acid available on the Danish market. The whole saliva was collected into a closed system, regarding CO2, at different times as follows: firstly, unstimulated saliva for 5 min (baseline), secondly stimulated saliva for 4 min upon sucking the candy, and finally post-stimulated saliva for 10 min. Saliva pH was determined on a blood gas analyser and WSbeta was estimated from the saliva bicarbonate concentration obtained by the analyser and by ionic balance calculation. The erosive potential of the candy in saliva was estimated from the saliva pH values and degree of saturation with respect to hydroxyapatite (DS(HAp)). The results showed that saliva pH dropped from 6.5 (baseline) down to 4.5 at the fourth minute of sucking the candy, and returned to pH 6.5 five minutes after stimulation (post-stimulated). DS(HAp) decreased upon sucking the candy and saliva from all subjects became undersaturated with respect to HAp. Significant positive correlations were obtained between pH and WSFR (r(s) = 0.47; p < 0.05) and between pH and WSbeta (r(s) = 0.65; p < 0.01). In relation to WSbeta we found that 70% of the buffer capacity originating from the bicarbonate buffer system upon sucking the candy was exerted as phase buffering. We conclude that sucking this type of acidic candies changes whole-mouth saliva composition so that it may have erosive potential and that high WSFR and WSbeta have protective effects against these salivary changes.
The lack of anti-idiotypic antibodies, not the presence of the corresponding autoantibodies to glutamate decarboxylase, defines type 1 diabetes (2008)

Autoantibodies to glutamate decarboxylase 65 (GAD65Ab) are commonly believed to be a major characteristic for type 1 diabetes (T1D). We investigated the presence of GAD65Ab in healthy individuals (n = 238) and first-degree relatives (FDRs) of T1D patients (n = 27) who tested negative for GAD65Ab in conventional RIAs. Sera were applied to affinity columns coated with GAD65-specific mAbs to absorb anti-idiotypic antibodies (anti-Ids). The absorbed sera were analyzed for binding to GAD65 by RIAs. Both healthy individuals and FDRs present GAD65Ab that are inhibited by anti-Id, masking them in conventional detection methods. The presence of GAD65Ab-specific anti-Ids was confirmed by competitive ELISA. Remarkably, T1D patients (n = 54) and Stiff Person Syndrome patients (n = 8) show a specific lack of anti-Ids to disease-associated GAD65Ab epitopes. Purified anti-Ids from healthy individuals and FDRs inhibited the binding of GAD65Ab from T1D patients to GAD65. We conclude that masked GAD65Ab are present in the healthy population and that a lack of particular anti-Ids, rather than GAD65Ab per se, is a characteristic of T1D. The lack of these inhibitory antibodies may contribute to T cell activation by GAD65Ab.
Terminal Differentiation of Facial Epidermis of the Aged: Immunohistochemical Studies (1994)

In old age, the epidermis tends to become dry and flaky, especially on the lower legs. However, this does not occur on the face, although long-term ultraviolet light irradiation has important effects on the differentiation of facial keratinocytes. Therefore, the differentiation of the epidermal cells of the facial skin in the young and the aged was immunohistochemically examined using antibodies against four differentiation products: filaggrin, involucrin, cystatin A (CTA) and carbonic anhydrase-like protein. The results showed that there was no difference in the amounts of the above three proteins in facial skin between the young and the aged with the exception of CTA. The amount of CTA was much greater in the facial skin of the aged. However, there was a striking decrease of filaggrin content in the skin of the lower leg in the aged. One of the reasons why no scaly skin is found on the face in the aged may be the fact that especially filaggrin does not decrease with aging.
Scatter rejection in multislit digital mammography (2006)

The scatter to primary ratio (SPR) was measured on a scanning multislit full-field digital mammography system for different thickness of breast equivalent material and different tube voltages. Scatter within the detector was measured separately and was found to be the major source of scatter in the assembly. Measured total SPRs below 6% are reported for breast range 3-7 cm. The performance of the multislit assembly is compared to other imaging geometries with different scatter rejection schemes by using the scatter detective quantum efficiency.
Method for removing trace pollutants from aqueous solutions (2023)

A method of substantially removing a trace metallic contaminant from a liquid containing the same comprises, adding an oxidizing agent to a liquid containing a trace amount of a metallic contaminant of a concentration of up to about 10.sup.-1 ppm, the oxidizing agent being one which oxidizes the contaminant to form an oxidized product which is insoluble in the liquid and precipitates therefrom, and the conditions of the addition being selected to ensure that the precipitation of the oxidized product is homogeneous, and separating the homogeneously precipitated product from the liquid.
Genetics of auditory mechano-electrical transduction (2014)

The hair bundles of cochlear hair cells play a central role in the auditory mechano-electrical transduction (MET) process. The identification of MET components and of associated molecular complexes by biochemical approaches is impeded by the very small number of hair cells within the cochlea. In contrast, human and mouse genetics have proven to be particularly powerful. The study of inherited forms of deafness led to the discovery of several essential proteins of the MET machinery, which are currently used as entry points to decipher the associated molecular networks. Notably, MET relies not only on the MET machinery but also on several elements ensuring the proper sound-induced oscillation of the hair bundle or the ionic environment necessary to drive the MET current. Here, we review the most significant advances in the molecular bases of the MET process that emerged from the genetics of hearing.
ElasticSwitch (2013)

While cloud computing providers offer guaranteed allocations for resources such as CPU and memory, they do not offer any guarantees for network resources. The lack of network guarantees prevents tenants from predicting lower bounds on the performance of their applications. The research community has recognized this limitation but, unfortunately, prior solutions have significant limitations: either they are inefficient, because they are not work-conserving, or they are impractical, because they require expensive switch support or congestion-free network cores. In this paper, we propose ElasticSwitch, an efficient and practical approach for providing bandwidth guarantees. ElasticSwitch is efficient because it utilizes the spare bandwidth from unreserved capacity or underutilized reservations. ElasticSwitch is practical because it can be fully implemented in hypervisors, without requiring a specific topology or any support from switches. Because hypervisors operate mostly independently, there is no need for complex coordination between them or with a central controller. Our experiments, with a prototype implementation on a 100-server testbed, demonstrate that ElasticSwitch provides bandwidth guarantees and is work-conserving, even in challenging situations.
U.S. Aid falls short in the social, political and economic advancement of Afghan women (2012)

In this article, the author addresses the effect of USAID investments in educational programs offered to Afghan women and how this investment is falling short in its goal to assist females in securing leadership opportunities that allow them to participate in decision making activity. Annual gross domestic product (GDP) data is reviewed along with the results of newly implemented quota systems in Afghanistan to confirm if educational programs are revealing evidence that their efforts are affecting economic growth and development through the hiring of Afghan women into jobs that coincide with their education. This information is compared to GDP data from western cultures where women play a significant role in economic growth and development through workforce participation.

	 

	Key words: Afghan women, social, women’s rights, gross domestic product, USAID, Afghan culture.
Size and Aggregation of Corticosteroids Used for Epidural Injections (2007)

Objective. The purpose of this study was to document particulate size in commonly used corticosteroid preparations. Inadvertent injection of particulate corticosteroids into a vertebral or foraminal artery can cause brain and spinal cord embolic infarcts and the size of the particles could be directly related to the chance that a clinically significant infarct would occur. One might assume that corticosteroids with particles significantly smaller than red blood cells might be safer. Design. The following four types of corticosteroid preparations were used in various solutions and evaluated under light microscopy: dexamethasone sodium phosphate injection, triamcinolone acetonide injectable suspension, betamethasone sodium phosphate and betamethasone acetate injectable suspension, and methylprednisolone acetate injectable suspension. Results. Dexamethasone sodium phosphate particle size was approximately 10 times smaller than red blood cells and the particles did not appear to aggregate; even mixed with 1% lidocaine HCl solution and with contrast dye, the size of the particles were unchanged. Triamcinolone acetonide and betamethasone sodium phosphate showed variable sizes; some particles were larger than red blood cells, and aggregation of particles was evident. Methylprednisolone acetate showed uniformity in size and the majority were smaller than red blood cells which were not aggregated, but the particles were densely packed. Conclusions. Compared with the particulate steroid solutions, dexamethasone sodium phosphate had particles that were significantly smaller than red blood cells, had the least tendency to aggregation, and had the lowest density. These characteristics should significantly reduce the risk of embolic infarcts or prevent them from occurring after intra-arterial injection. Until shown otherwise in clinical studies, interventionalists might consider using dexamethasone or another corticosteroid preparation with similar high solubility and negligible particle size when performing epidural injections.
Tradeoffs in implementing primary-backup protocols (2002)

One way to implement a fault-tolerant service is to replicate the state of the service across a primary server and a set of backup servers. Clients make requests to the primary, which then computes the response, informs the backups of the state change, and then replies to the client. If the primary subsequently fails, then a backup takes over as the new primary. Informally, a primary-backup protocol is non-blocking if the primary need not wait for acknowledgements from the backup before responding to the client; otherwise, the protocol is blocking. While most of the existing protocols are blocking, we show that non-blocking protocols can be constructed for the kinds of failures that are expected to occur in many future primary-backup systems. We implement and measure the performance in failure-free runs of two kinds of non-blocking protocols-one based on point-to-point communication and one based on broadcast-and compare the results with conventional blocking primary-backup protocols. Finally, we discuss extending our results to runs with failures.
Music-induced emotions influence intertemporal decision making (2021)

People tend to choose smaller, immediate rewards over larger, delayed rewards. This phenomenon is thought to be associated with emotional engagement. However, few studies have demonstrated the real-time impact of incidental emotions on intertemporal choices. This research investigated the effects of music-induced incidental emotions on intertemporal choices, during which happy or sad music was played simultaneously. We found that music-induced happiness made participants prefer smaller-but-sooner rewards (SS), whereas music-induced sadness made participants prefer larger-but-later rewards (LL). Time perception partially mediated this effect: the greater the perceived temporal difference, the more likely they were to prefer SS. Tempo and mode were then manipulated to disentangle the effects of arousal and mood on intertemporal choices. Only tempo-induced arousal, but not mode-induced mood, affected intertemporal choices. These results suggest the role of arousal in intertemporal decision making and provide evidence in support of equate-to-differentiate theory with regard to the non-compensatory mechanism in intertemporal choices.
Exploring Multi-Scale Feature Propagation and Communication for Image Super Resolution (2020)

Multi-scale techniques have achieved great success in a wide range of computer vision tasks. However, while this technique is incorporated in existing works, there still lacks a comprehensive investigation on variants of multi-scale convolution in image super resolution. In this work, we present a unified formulation over widely-used multi-scale structures. With this framework, we systematically explore the two factors of multi-scale convolution -- feature propagation and cross-scale communication. Based on the investigation, we propose a generic and efficient multi-scale convolution unit -- Multi-Scale cross-Scale Share-weights convolution (MS$^3$-Conv). Extensive experiments demonstrate that the proposed MS$^3$-Conv can achieve better SR performance than the standard convolution with less parameters and computational cost. Beyond quantitative analysis, we comprehensively study the visual quality, which shows that MS$^3$-Conv behave better to recover high-frequency details.
Tumor Angiogenesis Promoted by <i>Ex vivo</i> Differentiated Endothelial Progenitor Cells Is Effectively Inhibited by an Angiogenesis Inhibitor, TK1-2 (2007)

Neovascularization plays a critical role in the growth and metastatic spread of tumors and involves recruitment of circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) from bone marrow as well as sprouting of preexisting endothelial cells. In this study, we examined if EPCs could promote tumor angiogenesis and would be an effective cellular target for an angiogenesis inhibitor, the recombinant kringle domain of tissue-type plasminogen activator (TK1-2). When TK1-2 was applied in the ex vivo culture of EPCs isolated from human cord blood, TK1-2 inhibited adhesive differentiation of mononuclear EPCs into endothelial-like cells. In addition, it inhibited the migration of ex vivo cultivated EPCs and also inhibited their adhesion to fibronectin matrix or endothelial cell monolayer. When A549 cancer cells were coimplanted along with ex vivo cultivated EPCs s.c. in nude mice, the tumor growth was increased. However, the tumor growth and the vascular density of tumor tissues increased by coimplanted EPCs were decreased upon TK1-2 treatment. Accordingly, TK1-2 treatment reduced the remaining number of EPCs in tumor tissues and their incorporation into the host vascular channels. In addition, overall expression levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and von Willebrand factor in tumor tissues were decreased upon TK1-2 treatment. Interestingly, strong VEGF expression by implanted EPCs was decreased by TK1-2. Finally, we confirmed in vitro that TK1-2 inhibited VEGF secretion of EPCs. TK1-2 also inhibited endothelial cell proliferation and migration induced by the conditioned medium of EPCs. Therefore, we concluded that EPCs, as well as mature endothelial cells, could be an important target of TK1-2.
Rapid pain relief using transdermal film forming polymeric solution of ketorolac (2011)

Optimized transdermal ketorolac formulation showed marked ability to ensure fast and augmented analgesic effect that is an essential request in pain management.
PIFA-Mediated Synthesis of Acylsulfenic Acid Alkyl Esters and Benzoyl Alkyl Disulfides from Thioacids (2016)

A simple and convenient approach for the synthesis of acylsulfenic acid alkyl esters and benzoyl alkyl disulfides from thiobenzoic acids is described. This reaction uses commercially available [bis(trifluoroacetoxy)iodo]benzene (PIFA) as an oxidant under mild reaction conditions.
Enhanced Inversion Mobility on 4H-SiC $(\hbox{11}\overline{\hbox{2}} \hbox{0})$ Using Phosphorus and Nitrogen Interface Passivation (2013)

Low interface trap density and high channel mobility on nonpolar faces of 4H-SiC, such as the (11[2̅]0) a-face, are of fundamental importance in the understanding of SiC MOS devices. It is also critical for high-voltage trench power MOSFET development. We report new results on the passivation of the SiO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> /a-face 4H-SiC interface using phosphorus, yielding field effect mobility of ~125 cm <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> /V · s. We also revisit the conventional NO passivation, for which a mobility of ~85 cm <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> /V · s was achieved on the a-face. These results not only establish new levels of mobility in SiC MOSFETS but also lead to further insights into factors currently limiting SiC inversion layer mobility.
Performance characteristics of anthropomorphic prosthetic hands (2011)

In this paper we set forth a review of performance characteristics for both common commercial prosthetics as well as anthropomorphic research devices. Based on these specifications as well as surveyed results from prosthetic users, ranges of hand attributes are evaluated and discussed. End user information is used to describe the performance requirements for prosthetic hands for clinical use.
Visual language and software development environment for image processing (1990)

Abstract The Khoros system integrates multiple user interface modes, code generators, instructional aids, data visualization, and information processing to produce a comprehensive image processing research tool. This system can easily be tailored to other application domains because the tools of the system can modify themselves as well as the system. This attribute is important in a system that is designed to be extensible and portable. The Khoros infrastructure consists of three major components: a high‐level user interface specification, methods of software development embedded in a code generation tool set, and an interoperable data exchange format and algorithm library. These basic facilities have been used to build a set of applications for performing image processing research, algorithm development, and data visualization. One of the most powerful features of the system is its high‐level abstract visual language. Khoros is a successful demonstration of how development programming, end‐user applications programming, information processing, data display, instruction, documentation, and maintenance can be integrated to build a state‐of‐the‐art image/data processing and visualization software environment.
Design issues for achieving latchup-free, deep trench-isolated, bulk, non-epitaxial, submicron CMOS (2002)

The authors describe the improvement of latchup immunity through the use of deep trench-isolation in bulk nonepitaxial CMOS technology. An extensive two-dimensional numerical analysis of a deep trench-isolated, bulk CMOS structure was performed using PISCES-IIB. It is shown that deep trench-isolation, in conjunction with properly designed layout, trench geometry, and doping profiles, can increase the holding voltage significantly. This improvement is due to an increase of the two-dimensional spreading resistance of the conductivity-modulated well and substrate regions in the latched-up state that is caused by the deep trench. By increasing the holding voltage to above the power supply voltage (3.3 V in deep submicron CMOS), latchup-free CMOS can be achieved even in bulk, nonepitaxial substrates.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">></ETX>
Design of cadmium-free colloidal II–VI semiconductor quantum dots exhibiting RGB emission (2017)

The size and composition dependence of the optical gap of colloidal alloyed quantum dots (QDs) of Zn(Te1−xSex) and Zn(Te1−xSx) were calculated by the finite-depth-well effective mass approximation method. QDs that exhibited red, green and blue emission were explored to develop cadmium-free II–VI chalcogenide-based QD-phosphors. We considered that highly monodisperse colloidal QDs with diameters of 3–6 nm are easy to synthesize and II–VI semiconductor QDs usually exhibit a Stokes shift ranging between 50 and 150 meV. We showed that Zn(Te1−xSex) QDs with 0.02≤x≤0.68, and 0≤x≤0.06, and 0.66≤x≤0.9 may be expected to exhibit green, and blue emission, respectively. Zn(Te1−xSx) QDs with 0.26≤x≤0.37, 0.01≤x≤0.2 and 0.45≤x≤0.61, 0≤x≤0.02, and 0.63≤x≤0.72, should give red, green and blue emission respectively. On the basis of our calculations, we showed that Zn(Te,Se) and Zn(Te,S) QDs are very promising cadmium-free II-VI chalcogenide semiconductor QD phosphors.