Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of Speed of Processing Training on Older Driver Screening Measures

Objective: Computerized training for cognitive enhancement is of great public interest, however, there is inconsistent evidence for the transfer of training gains to every day activity. Several large trials have focused on speed of processing (SOP) training with some promising findings for long-term effects on daily activity, but no immediate transfer to other cognitive tests. Here, we examine the transfer of SOP training gains to cognitive measures that are known predictors of driving safety in older adults. Methods: Fifty-three adults aged 65–87 years who were current drivers participated in a two group non-randomized design with repeated measures and a no-contact matched control group. The Intervention group completed an average of 7.9 (SD = 3.0) hours of self-administered online SOP training at home. Control group was matched on age, gender and test-re-test interval. Measures included the Useful Field of View (UFOV) test, a Hazard Perception test, choice reaction time (Cars RT), Trail Making Test B, a Maze test, visual motion threshold, as well as road craft and road knowledge tests. Results: Speed of processing training resulted in significant improvement in processing speed on the UFOV test relative to controls, with an average change of -45.8 ms (SE = 14.5), and effect size of ω2 = 0.21. Performance on the Maze test also improved, but significant slowing on the Hazard Perception test was observed after SOP training. Training effects on the UFOV task was associated with similar effects on the Cars RT, but not the Hazard Perception and Maze tests, suggesting transfer to some but not all driving related measures. There were no effects of training on any of the other measures examined. Conclusion: Speed of processing training effects on the UFOV task can be achieved with self-administered, online training at home, with some transfer to other cognitive tests. However, differential effects of training may be observed for tasks requiring goal-directed search strategies rather than diffuse attention.
Fair QoI and energy-aware task allocation in participatory sensing

Participatory Sensing is an emerging paradigm that enables users carrying sensors-equipped smart devices to gather and share data about a particular phenomenon. However, involving individuals in sensing tasks raises new challenges such as the quality of collected data, denoted as Quality of Information (QoI), and the dedicated resources for its acquisition. Besides, a fair task assignment is highly recommended to ensure participants' commitment. This trade-off is challenging to achieve due to the two conflicting objectives of maximizing data quality and minimizing the sensing time among all participants. In this work, we design a Fair QoI and Energy-aware Mobile Sensing Scheme (F-QEMSS) to ensure both requestors' and participants' satisfaction. We formally model the corresponding multi-objective optimization problem and generate its weighted-sum objective function. Next, we employ our Tabu-Search based algorithm to solve it. Simulation results show the effectiveness of our solution. Particularly, our approach achieves up to 96% of fairness, measured by the Jain's index, while preserving the same data quality as non-fair algorithms.
A Principles-Based Enterprise Architecture: Lessons from Texaco and Star Enterprise

Star Enterprise is a joint venture partnership between Texaco Inc. and the Saudi Arabian Oil Company. Created in 1988, it became fully operational on January 1, 1989. This new organization inherited staff, facilities, and information resources existing within Texaco Inc. at the time of formation. A significant opportunity for the new organization was to create a new Enterprise Information Technology Architecture to support business functions and management decision making. While this venture was an opportunity, it was also a challenge because of the existing information technology that was comprised of incompatible hardware and nonintegrated systems. This paper describes the architecture that emerged and reviews its current status. Two major contributions of the paper are to identify the principles upon which the architecture is being created and to review what has been learned to date in the process of implementing the architecture.
Rescaling Migration Studies: Migration Policy-Making and Implementation at the Local Government Level

ABSTRACT How ‘the state’ perceives and responds to migration is gaining increasing attention. This analysis seeks to encourage debate on scales of governance in migration studies through a focus on policy-making and implementation on the part of local government officials in Scotland. Contributions include the elucidation of how immigrants are differentiated by individual local state actors and how this relates to the wider practices of local government towards them, and a typology conceptualising the heterogeneity of local state responses to immigration. This analytic emphasis on local state perceptions of, and responses to, migration and migrants hopes to inspire more nuanced and policy relevant understandings of ‘the state’ in migration research.
Ambient concentrations of aldehydes in relation to Beijing Olympic air pollution control measures

Abstract. Aldehydes are ubiquitous constituents of the atmosphere. Their concentrations are elevated in polluted urban atmospheres. The present study was carried out to characterize three aldehydes of most health concern (formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and acrolein) in a central Beijing site in the summer and early fall of 2008 (from June to October). Measurements were made before, during, and after the Beijing Olympics to examine whether the air pollution control measures implemented to improve Beijing's air quality during the Olympics had any impact on concentrations of the three aldehydes. Average concentrations of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and acrolein were 29.34 ± 15.12 μg/m3, 27.09 ± 15.74 μg/m3 and 2.32 ± 0.95 μg/m3, respectively, for the entire period of measurements, all being the highest among the levels measured in cities around the world in photochemical smog seasons. Among the three measured aldehydes, only acetaldehyde had a substantially reduced mean concentration during the Olympic air pollution control period compared to the pre-Olympic period. Formaldehyde and acrolein followed the changing pattern of temperature and were each significantly correlated with ozone (a secondary product of photochemical reactions). In contrast, acetaldehyde was significantly correlated with several pollutants emitted mainly from local emission sources (e.g., NO2, CO, and PM2.5). These findings suggest that local direct emissions had a larger impact on acetaldehyde than formaldehyde and acrolein.
Device simulation of pentacene based organic field-effect transistors

In this paper we describe the major modifications, which have to be applied to a drift diffusion device simulator in order to simulate the electrical as well as the temperature behaviour of organic FETs (OFETs). In particular we use a charge carrier mobility which depends on the electric field and on the temperature. These modifications have been implemented in a device simulator developed by the author, which is based on a two dimensional drift-diffusion-model and which solves the static semiconductor equations. We demonstrate that this modification suffices for a good agreement between simulation and measurement.
Defective angiogenesis and fatal embryonic hemorrhage in mice lacking core 1–derived O-glycans

The core 1 β1-3-galactosyltransferase (T-synthase) transfers Gal from UDP-Gal to GalNAcα1-Ser/Thr (Tn antigen) to form the core 1 O-glycan Galβ1-3GalNAcα1-Ser/Thr (T antigen). The T antigen is a precursor for extended and branched O-glycans of largely unknown function. We found that wild-type mice expressed the NeuAcα2-3Galβ1-3GalNAcα1-Ser/Thr primarily in endothelial, hematopoietic, and epithelial cells during development. Gene-targeted mice lacking T-synthase instead expressed the nonsialylated Tn antigen in these cells and developed brain hemorrhage that was uniformly fatal by embryonic day 14. T-synthase–deficient brains formed a chaotic microvascular network with distorted capillary lumens and defective association of endothelial cells with pericytes and extracellular matrix. These data reveal an unexpected requirement for core 1–derived O-glycans during angiogenesis.
Neurobiological and Psychophysical Mechanisms Underlying the Oral Sensation Produced by Carbonated Water

Carbonated drinks elicit a sensation that is highly sought after, yet the underlying neural mechanisms are ill-defined. We hypothesize that CO2 is converted via carbonic anhydrase into carbonic acid, which excites lingual nociceptors that project to the trigeminal nuclei. We investigated this hypothesis using three methodological approaches. Electrophysiological methods were used to record responses of single units located in superficial laminae of the dorsomedial aspect of trigeminal subnucleus caudalis (Vc) evoked by lingual application of carbonated water in anesthetized rats. After pretreatment of the tongue with the carbonic anhydrase inhibitor dorzolamide, neuronal responses to carbonated water were significantly attenuated, followed by recovery. Using c-Fos immunohistochemistry, we investigated the distribution of brainstem neurons activated by intraoral carbonated water. Fos-like immunoreactivity (FLI) was significantly higher in the superficial laminae of dorsomedial and ventrolateral Vc in animals treated with carbonated water versus controls. Dorzolamide pretreatment significantly reduced FLI in dorsomedial Vc. We also examined the sensation elicited by carbonated water in human psychophysical studies. When one side of the tongue was pretreated with dorzolamide, followed by bilateral application of carbonated water, a significant majority of subjects chose the untreated side as having a stronger sensation and assigned significantly higher intensity ratings to that side. Dorzolamide did not reduce irritation elicited by pentanoic acid. The present data support the hypothesis that carbonated water excites lingual nociceptors via a carbonic anhydrase-dependent process, in turn exciting neurons in Vc that are presumably involved in signaling oral irritant sensations.
High-Resolution Functional Profiling of the Norovirus Genome

ABSTRACT Human noroviruses (HuNoV) are a major cause of nonbacterial gastroenteritis worldwide, yet details of the life cycle and replication of HuNoV are relatively unknown due to the lack of an efficient cell culture system. Studies with murine norovirus (MNV), which can be propagated in permissive cells, have begun to probe different aspects of the norovirus life cycle; however, our understanding of the specific functions of the viral proteins lags far behind that of other RNA viruses. Genome-wide functional profiling by insertional mutagenesis can reveal protein domains essential for replication and can lead to generation of tagged viruses, which has not yet been achieved for noroviruses. Here, transposon-mediated insertional mutagenesis was used to create 5 libraries of mutagenized MNV infectious clones, each containing a 15-nucleotide sequence randomly inserted within a defined region of the genome. Infectious virus was recovered from each library and was subsequently passaged in cell culture to determine the effect of each insertion by insertion-specific fluorescent PCR profiling. Genome-wide profiling of over 2,000 insertions revealed essential protein domains and confirmed known functional motifs. As validation, several insertion sites were introduced into a wild-type clone, successfully allowing the recovery of infectious virus. Screening of a number of reporter proteins and epitope tags led to the generation of the first infectious epitope-tagged noroviruses carrying the FLAG epitope tag in either NS4 or VP2. Subsequent work confirmed that epitope-tagged fully infectious noroviruses may be of use in the dissection of the molecular interactions that occur within the viral replication complex.
In Vitro Evaluation of Optionally Retrievable and Permanent IVC Filters

Purpose:To systematically evaluate different optionally retrievable and permanent inferior vena cava (IVC)-filters with respect to their capture rates. Material and Methods:Seven optionally retrievable and permanent IVC filters were tested in an in vitro flow model with a tube size of 22 mm in horizontal and vertical positions. To analyze the capture efficiency the IVC filters were implanted in concentric and eccentric positions and subsequently exposed to single and multiple blood clots of different sizes (3 × 5, 3 × 10, 5 × 10, 5 × 20, 7 × 20, 10 × 24 mm). Capture rates and pressure changes were measured and compared between the different IVC filters. Results:There were significant differences between the tested IVC filters. In general, the capture rate improved with increasing clot size (P < 0.0001). In the single-clot exposure the highest mean capture rate was achieved with the Celect filter (90.4% ± 15.7%), whereas the Günther Tulip filter achieved best results in the multi-clot exposure (76.7% ± 12.5%). Capture rates differed significantly between the various IVC filters (single-clot: P < 0.0001; multi-clot: P = 0.0016). The position (horizontal or vertical) did not show a significant influence, whereas capture rates significantly decreased in the multi-clot test with eccentric filter positions (P = 0.0299). In this study optionally retrievable IVC filters were more efficient than the tested permanent IVC filters (single-clot: P < 0.0001; multi-clot: P = 0.0002). Conclusions:Optionally retrievable IVC filters are efficient. Clot size, IVC filter type, and position significantly influence capture rate. Deliberate selection of the most efficient IVC filter and concentric positioning are important to ensure optimal results.
A High-Density SNP and SSR Consensus Map Reveals Segregation Distortion Regions in Wheat

Segregation distortion is a widespread phenomenon in plant and animal genomes and significantly affects linkage map construction and identification of quantitative trait loci (QTLs). To study segregation distortion in wheat, a high-density consensus map was constructed using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers by merging two genetic maps developed from two recombinant-inbred line (RIL) populations, Ning7840 × Clark and Heyne × Lakin. Chromosome regions with obvious segregation distortion were identified in the map. A total of 3541 SNPs and 145 SSRs were mapped, and the map covered 3258.7 cM in genetic distance with an average interval of 0.88 cM. The number of markers that showed distorted segregation was 490 (18.5%) in the Ning7840 × Clark population and 225 (10.4%) in the Heyne × Lakin population. Most of the distorted markers (630) were mapped in the consensus map, which accounted for 17.1% of mapped markers. The majority of the distorted markers clustered in the segregation distortion regions (SDRs) on chromosomes 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4B, 5A, 5B, 5D, 6B, 7A, and 7D. All of the markers in a given SDR skewed toward one of the parents, suggesting that gametophytic competition during zygote formation was most likely one of the causes for segregation distortion in the populations.
Differential regulation of Paramecium ciliary motility by cAMP and cGMP

cAMP and cGMP had distinct effects on the regulation of ciliary motility in Paramecium. Using detergent-permeabilized cells reactivated to swim with MgATP, we observed effects of cyclic nucleotides and interactions with Ca2+ on the swimming speed and direction of reactivated cells. Both cAMP and cGMP increased forward swimming speed two- to threefold with similar half-maximal concentrations near 0.5 microM. The two cyclic nucleotides, however, had different effects in antagonism with the Ca2+ response of backward swimming and on the handedness of the helical swimming paths of reactivated cells. These results suggest that cAMP and cGMP differentially regulate the direction of the ciliary power stroke.
Greatly Expanded Tropical Warm Pool and Weakened Hadley Circulation in the Early Pliocene

The Pliocene warm interval has been difficult to explain. We reconstructed the latitudinal distribution of sea surface temperature around 4 million years ago, during the early Pliocene. Our reconstruction shows that the meridional temperature gradient between the equator and subtropics was greatly reduced, implying a vast poleward expansion of the ocean tropical warm pool. Corroborating evidence indicates that the Pacific temperature contrast between the equator and 32°N has evolved from ∼2°C 4 million years ago to ∼8°C today. The meridional warm pool expansion evidently had enormous impacts on the Pliocene climate, including a slowdown of the atmospheric Hadley circulation and El Niño–like conditions in the equatorial region. Ultimately, sustaining a climate state with weak tropical sea surface temperature gradients may require additional mechanisms of ocean heat uptake (such as enhanced ocean vertical mixing).
Language as a multimodal phenomenon: implications for language learning, processing and evolution

Our understanding of the cognitive and neural underpinnings of language has traditionally been firmly based on spoken Indo-European languages and on language studied as speech or text. However, in face-to-face communication, language is multimodal: speech signals are invariably accompanied by visual information on the face and in manual gestures, and sign languages deploy multiple channels (hands, face and body) in utterance construction. Moreover, the narrow focus on spoken Indo-European languages has entrenched the assumption that language is comprised wholly by an arbitrary system of symbols and rules. However, iconicity (i.e. resemblance between aspects of communicative form and meaning) is also present: speakers use iconic gestures when they speak; many non-Indo-European spoken languages exhibit a substantial amount of iconicity in word forms and, finally, iconicity is the norm, rather than the exception in sign languages. This introduction provides the motivation for taking a multimodal approach to the study of language learning, processing and evolution, and discusses the broad implications of shifting our current dominant approaches and assumptions to encompass multimodal expression in both signed and spoken languages.
A Novel Architecture for Elementary-Check-Node Processing in Nonbinary LDPC Decoders

This brief presents an efficient architecture design for elementary-check-node processing in nonbinary low-density parity-check decoders based on the extended min-sum algorithm. This architecture relies on a simplified version of the bubble check algorithm and is implemented by the means of first-in–first-out. The adoption of this new design at the check node level results in a high-rate low-cost full-pipelined processor. A proof-of-concept implementation of this processor shows that the proposed architecture halves the occupied the field-programmable gate array (FPGA) surface and doubles the maximum frequency without modifying the input/output behavior of the previous one.
Diversity and Expression of MicroRNAs in the Filarial Parasite, Brugia malayi

Human filarial parasites infect an estimated 120 million people in 80 countries worldwide causing blindness and the gross disfigurement of limbs and genitals. An understanding of RNA-mediated regulatory pathways in these parasites may open new avenues for treatment. Toward this goal, small RNAs from Brugia malayi adult females, males and microfilariae were cloned for deep-sequencing. From ∼30 million sequencing reads, 145 miRNAs were identified in the B. malayi genome. Some microRNAs were validated using the p19 RNA binding protein and qPCR. B. malayi miRNAs segregate into 99 families each defined by a unique seed sequence. Sixty-one of the miRNA families are highly conserved with homologues in arthropods, vertebrates and helminths. Of those miRNAs not highly conserved, homologues of 20 B. malayi miRNA families were found in vertebrates. Nine B. malayi miRNA families appear to be filarial-specific as orthologues were not found in other organisms. The miR-2 family is the largest in B. malayi with 11 members. Analysis of the sequences shows that six members result from a recent expansion of the family. Library comparisons found that 1/3 of the B. malayi miRNAs are differentially expressed. For example, miR-71 is 5–7X more highly expressed in microfilariae than adults. Studies suggest that in C.elegans, miR-71 may enhance longevity by targeting the DAF-2 pathway. Characterization of B. malayi miRNAs and their targets will enhance our understanding of their regulatory pathways in filariads and aid in the search for novel therapeutics.
A Visual Representation of Clusters Characteristics using Edge Bundling for Parallel Coordinates

This paper proposes an edge bundling approach applied on parallel coordinates to improve the visualization of cluster information directly from the overview. Lines belonging to a cluster are bundled into a single curve between axes, where the horizontal and vertical positioning of the bundling intersection (known as bundling control points) to encode pertinent information about the cluster in a given dimension, such as variance, standard deviation, mean, median, and so on. The hypothesis is that adding this information to the overview improves the visualization overview at the same that it does not prejudice the understanding in other aspects. We have performed tests with participants to compare our approach with classic parallel coordinates and other consolidated bundling technique. The results showed most of the initially proposed hypotheses to be confirmed at the end of the study, as the tasks were performed successfully in the majority of tasks maintaining a low response time in average, as well as having more aesthetic pleasing according to participants’ opinion. KeywordsEdge Bundling, Parallel Coordinates, Data Clustering.
Differential sensitivity of CD8+ suppressor and cytotoxic T lymphocyte activity to bacterial monophosphoryl lipid A

Treatment with a preparation of monophosphoryl lipid A, known to be capable of abolishing the expression of CD8+ suppressor T cell activity generated during the antibody response to type III pneumococcal polysaccharide (SSS-III), was found to have no adverse effect upon either induction or expression of CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocyte activity specific for influenza A virus antigens. This suggests that suppressor T cells and cytotoxic T lymphocytes represent functionally distinct subsets of CD8+ T cells which can be differentiated on the basis of their sensitivities to inactivation by monophosphoryl lipid A.
An Operational Approach to Requirements Specification for Embedded Systems

The approach to requirements specification for embedded systems described in this paper is called "operational" because a requirements specification is an executable model of the proposed system interacting with its environment. The approach is embodied by the language PAISLey, which is motivated and defined herein. Embedded systems are characterized by asynchronous parallelism, even at the requirements level; PAISLey specifications are constructed by interacting processes so that this can be represented directly. Embedded systems are also characterized by urgent performance requirements, and PAISLey offers a formal, but intuitive, treatment of performance.