Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Novel animal model for studying the molecular mechanisms of bacterial adhesion to bone‐implanted metallic devices: Role of fibronectin in Staphylococcus aureus adhesion

Infection around metallic implants is a rare but severe complication of orthopaedic surgery. A novel animal model mimicking conditions of internal fixation devices was developed to evaluate the role of host proteins adsorbed on metallic devices in promoting adhesion and colonization of the material surfaces by Staphylococcus aureus. Small plates made of pure titanium were either fixed (three screws per plate) onto the iliac bones of guinea pigs or implanted into their subcutaneous space as controls. Five to 6 weeks after surgery, the plates and screws were removed from the previously killed animals, carefully rinsed in buffer, and tested in an in vitro assay of S. aureus adhesion to metallic surfaces. To evaluate the role of fibronectin in staphylococcal adhesion to explanted plates and screws, a mutant of S. aureus that is specifically defective in fibronectin adhesion due to decreased expression of the fibronectin adhesin was compared with its isogenic parental strain. A significant reduction in adhesion of the fibronectin adhesin‐defective mutant compared with the parental strain occurred on both the subcutaneously implanted and bone‐implanted metallic plates. The results of this specific biological assay suggest that fibronectin is present on bone‐implanted metallic devices and promotes attachment of S. aureus to their surfaces. This novel experimental model should help to characterize several parameters of bacterial adhesion to metallic orthopaedic devices and to develop novel anti‐adhesive strategies for preventing such infections.
Metadata quality in the cultural heritage sector: stakes, problems and solutions

Contrairement a l'opinion dominante, les nouvelles technologies n'ont pas toujours un impact positif sur la qualite des metadonnees dans le secteur culturel. Apres dix ans d'experience avec les projets de numerisation dans nos musees, bibliotheques et archives, une reflexion critique se montre plus que jamais necessaire pour evaluer a quelles conditions ce genre de projets d'informatisation peuvent offrir une valeur ajoutee pour la documentation de notre patrimoine culturel. Cette reflexion se base, entre autres, sur un ensemble de case studies representatifs dans un contexte international. A cette fin, nous presenterons et definirons un cadre methodologique et conceptuel original concernant l'impact des technologies sur la qualite des metadonnees. Sur cette base, nous proposons et experimentons trois approches operationnelles novatrices en vue d'ameliorer la qualite des systemes d'information deployes dans le secteur culturel.
THE IMPACT OF SHORT‐TERM USE OF CRITERIONSM ON WRITING SKILLS IN NINTH GRADE

In this study, a hierarchical linear model (HLM) was used within a cluster random assignment design to test the impact of Criterionsm on students' writing skill when Criterion was used as a supplementary instructional tool in ninth grade English classrooms over a 4 week period. The study was conducted in three states: Indiana, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. The sample consisted of 1,464 ninth graders aggregated across 10 schools, 34 teachers, and 61 classes. Findings indicate that over a short time period, Criterion use improved the mechanical aspects of student essays as measured by the analytic scores given to their essays. Students in ninth grade English classes who used Criterion several times a week over a 1 month period received higher analytic scores on their essays written at the end of the study period than those who were in classes that did not. The effect was small, but statistically significant at the . 05 level using a one-tailed test. These findings suggest a role for automated feedback systems in supporting writing instruction.
The changing face of aggression: the effect of personalized avatars in a violent video game on levels of aggressive behavior

Video game developments allow players to design their own personalized avatars. Previous research has shown that this capability increases levels of aggression within socially acceptable forms of violence. Using the general aggression model (GAM), the current study examined the effect of avatar personalization on behavioral aggression within a violent video game. Participants who played a violent video game and designed their own avatars were significantly more aggressive than those who played the same violent video game with a generic avatar, and were also more aggressive than those who played the nonviolent video game, regardless of whether or not they designed their own personalized characters. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.
Bicriterion Traffic Assignment: Basic Theory and Elementary Algorithms

This paper describes a bicriterion equilibrium traffic assignment model that accurately forecasts path choices and consequent total arc flows for a stochastically diverse set of trips. Called T2, its develops around a linear generalized cost model, which generalizes classical traffic assignment by relaxing the value-of-time parameter from a constant to a random variable with an arbitrary probability distribution. For the case where arc time and/or cost are flow dependent, this paper formulates conditions and algorithms for stochastic bicriterion user-optimal equilibrium arc flows, which reflect every trip's exclusive use of a path that minimizes its particular perception of generalized cost.
Micro-Institutional Affordances and Strategies of Radical Innovation

Institutional theory emphasizes the institutional constraints that render radical innovations illegitimate, but fails to explain how such innovations might succeed. Adopting a micro-institutional perspective, this paper addresses why and how embedded agency may overcome legitimacy crises within established systems. Drawing on a sample of 20 legitimacy problems identified in five radical innovation trajectories at two mature companies, we develop an empirically grounded theory of the institutional work through which proponents legitimize radical innovations within established firms. This theory describes a variety of micro-institutional affordances that enable different strategic responses to legitimacy crises. We thus extend institutional theory by explaining embedded agents’ use of a range of options to pursue radical innovation, providing a robust explanation of both institutional stability and radical change.
“I’ve Never Seen People Work So Hard!” Teachers’ Working Conditions in the Early Stages of School Turnaround

School turnaround—a reform strategy that strives for quick and dramatic transformation of low-performing schools—has gained prominence in recent years. This study uses interviews and focus groups conducted with 86 teachers in 13 schools during the early stages of school turnaround in a large urban district to examine teachers’ perceptions of the social and organizational conditions within their schools. The study shows that some turnaround schools provided more positive working conditions than others, particularly with respect to organizational function and culture. It further finds a strong association between teachers’ perceptions of school-level working conditions and support for school turnaround.
Data plane throughput vs control plane delay: Experimental study of BitTorrent performance

In this paper, we address the trade-off between the data plane efficiency and the control plane timeliness for the BitTorrent performance. We argue that loss-based congestion control protocols can fill large buffers, leading to a higher end-to-end delay, unlike low-priority or delay-based congestion control protocols. We perform experiments for both the uTorrent and mainline BitTorrent clients, and we study the impact of uTP (a novel transport protocol proposed by BitTorrent) and several TCP congestion control algorithms (Cubic, New Reno, LP, Vegas and Nice) on the download completion time. Briefly, in case peers in the swarm all use the same congestion control algorithm, we observe that the specific algorithm has only a limited impact on the swarm performance. Conversely, when a mix of TCP congestion control algorithms coexists, peers employing a delay-based low-priority algorithm exhibit shorter completion time.
Flow parsing and heading perception show similar dependence on quality and quantity of optic flow

Here we examine the relationship between the perception of heading and flow parsing. In a companion study we have investigated the pattern of dependence of human heading estimation on the quantity (amount of dots per frame) and quality (amount of directional noise) of motion information in an optic flow field. In the present study we investigated whether the flow parsing mechanism, which is thought to aid in the assessment of scene-relative object movement during observer movement, exhibits a similar pattern of dependence on these stimulus manipulations. Finding that the pattern of flow parsing effects was similar to that observed for heading thresholds would provide some evidence that these two complementary roles for optic flow processing are reliant on the same, or similar, neural computation. We found that the pattern of flow parsing effects observed does indeed display a striking similarity to the heading thresholds. As with judgements of heading, there is a critical value of around 25 dots per frame; below this value flow parsing effects rapidly deteriorate and above this value flow parsing effects are stable [see Warren et al. (1988) for similar results for heading]. Also, as with judgements of heading, when there were 50 or more dots there was a systematic effect of noise on the magnitude of the flow parsing effect. These results are discussed in the context of different possible schemes of flow processing to support both heading and flow parsing mechanisms.
A Longitudinal Study of Adolescents' Perceptions of Support and Stress

Social support has been found to reduce adolescents' perceptions of stress and to contribute to greater well-being; however, lacking in much of the research has been the examination of changes in social support in the lives of'adolescents. Examined in this study were changes in adolescent support and stress over a 7-month period. Three-hundred fifty-two students completed a questionnaire at three points in time over 7 months. Results indicated that mothers were selected most often as the primary support person at each time. However, 42% of the adolescents changed their nomination of support provider at all three times. Perceptions of parental and fitmily support were key in discriminating adolescents who did or did not change their primary support person. Parental and family support also were instrumental in predicting adolescents'perceptions of stress. The results of this study show that parents and,faimily continue to play an important role in the lives of adolescentv.
Non-Destructive Techniques Based on Eddy Current Testing

Non-destructive techniques are used widely in the metal industry in order to control the quality of materials. Eddy current testing is one of the most extensively used non-destructive techniques for inspecting electrically conductive materials at very high speeds that does not require any contact between the test piece and the sensor. This paper includes an overview of the fundamentals and main variables of eddy current testing. It also describes the state-of-the-art sensors and modern techniques such as multi-frequency and pulsed systems. Recent advances in complex models towards solving crack-sensor interaction, developments in instrumentation due to advances in electronic devices, and the evolution of data processing suggest that eddy current testing systems will be increasingly used in the future.
Searching for authenticity? Understanding representation in network governance: the case of faith engagement

With the growth of network governance, non-electoral forms of representation are of increasing significance. The claims of non-elected representatives are potentially more specific, explicit, and flexible than those of their elected counterparts. The quality of such claims can be assessed in relation to ‘authenticity’, rather than traditional criteria of authorization or accountability. These propositions are explored through first-hand accounts of ‘faith representatives’ involved in a variety of English urban governance partnerships. Representatives' claims expressed an aspiration to authenticity (which was not necessarily realized) in the sense of seeking ongoing and substantive consent from constituents, rather than assuming consent via a formalized and symbolic moment of election. Network governance may be best served by a mix of elected and non-elected representation, based upon an understanding of their complementary characteristics and of representation itself as a relational and emergent property.
A Two-Streamed Network for Estimating Fine-Scaled Depth Maps from Single RGB Images

Estimating depth from a single RGB image is an ill-posed and inherently ambiguous problem. State-of-the-art deep learning methods can now estimate accurate 2D depth maps, but when the maps are projected into 3D, they lack local detail and are often highly distorted. We propose a fast-to-train two-streamed CNN that predicts depth and depth gradients, which are then fused together into an accurate and detailed depth map. We also define a novel set loss over multiple images; by regularizing the estimation between a common set of images, the network is less prone to overfitting and achieves better accuracy than competing methods. Experiments on the NYU Depth v2 dataset shows that our depth predictions are competitive with state-of-the-art and lead to faithful 3D projections.
Gene Expression Correlates of Unexplained Fatigue

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is a debilitating illness and as unexplained fatigue is a central feature of the case definition, we sought to determine peripheral blood gene expression correlates of fatigue using Quantitative Trait Analysis. Women identified in a population based survey of Wichita residents with CFS (n=39), other fatiguing illnesses (n=35) and non‐fatigued controls (n=37) were studied. MWG oligonucleotide arrays were hybridized with biotinylated cDNA and detected with Resonance Light Scattering. Background‐subtracted intensities were quantile normalized and genes that did not vary more than replicates were omitted. The 15,300 genes were correlated with fatigue measures from the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory. The Spearman coefficient identified 839 genes, 50% mapping to metabolic and cell regulatory pathways. Nine genes, including proteins in the ATP binding cassette family, transcription initiation factor complex, mitochondrial ribosome, and programmed cell death, were reported independently validated in association with CFS [JPath(2005)58:826]. The metabolic pathways affected indicate impaired energy metabolism as a result or cause of mitochondrial dysfunction and cell regulatory pathways include the mTOR, Jak‐STAT and MAPK signaling.
Intermediate-Grade Students' Sensitivity to Macrostructure Intrusions

Students' sensitivity to four top-level text structures was investigated using a methodology not used previously in this area of research—the error-detection paradigm. Forty-eight students in Grades 4, 6, and 8 read short paragraphs organized according to the following text structures: compare/contrast, description, enumeration, and sequence. An intrusion sentence which signalled an enumeration text structure was inserted in the compare/contrast, description, and sequence paragraphs. The enumeration paragraphs did not contain any intrusive text-structure information. Following the reading of each paragraph, students performed a recall and a recognition task. Oral recalls were assessed qualitatively according to the following criteria: (a) followed the text's structure, (b) followed the text's structure but included the intrusion, (c) followed the text's structure/recognized the intrusive information, and (d) did not follow the text's structure. Students' performance on the recognition task was assessed according to the following criteria: (a) did not recognize the intrusion, (b) recognized the intrusion after a prompt, and (c) spontaneously recognized the intrusion. Results of the study showed that task, text structure, and grade level differentially affected students' sensitivity to the four text structures. Implications for future research are proposed.
Neuro-linguistic programming and learning theory: a response

In an earlier issue of this journal, Craft (2001) explored Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP) in relation to a classification of learning theories. Craft also offered various observations on, and criticisms of, aspects of NLP such as its theoretical coherence, modelling, Dilts’s ‘logical levels’ and possible dissonance of NLP’s espousal of individuality in learning with its experiential emphasis. This article offers a response to Craft’s article. It describes the origins and nature of NLP, and explores its theoretical identity. NLP is portrayed here as based primarily on the cybernetic epistemology of Gregory Bateson (1972, 1979). The article offers a critique of many of the views put across in Craft’s article, and builds on her attempt to position NLP theoretically. The broad aims of this article are to offer an informed perspective on the nature of NLP; to extend the academic literature on NLP; and to develop debate about its relevance to the theory and practice of education.
Word Superiority Effects Across the Varieties of Attention

The word superiority effect (WSE) in visual information processing was described more than a century ago. However, the ambiguity remains regarding the interaction between WSE and attention. An attempt was made to investigate this issue using a number of experimental paradigms, including the attentional blink, motion-induced blindness, perceptual latency priming, and visual search. The data obtained agree with the previous findings and demonstrate that full attention is not required for the WSE to occur, but only when attention is directed toward or diverted from the word as a whole rather than toward or from word components.
Replication of human immunodeficiency virus in monocytes. Granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) potentiates viral production yet enhances the antiviral effect mediated by 3'-azido- 2'3'-dideoxythymidine (AZT) and other dideoxynucleoside congeners of thymidine

We have investigated the influence of granulocyte-macrophage CSF (GM- CSF) on the replication of HIV-1 in cells of monocyte/macrophage (M/M) lineage, and its effect on the anti-HIV activity of several 2'3'- dideoxynucleoside congeners of thymidine in these cells in vitro. We found that replication of both HTLV-IIIBa-L (a monocytotropic strain of HIV-1) and HTLV-IIIB (a lymphocytotropic strain) is markedly enhanced in M/M, but not in lymphocytes exposed to GM-CSF in culture. Moreover, GM-CSF reduced the dose of HIV required to obtain productive infection in M/M. Even in the face of this increased infection, GM-CSF also enhanced the net anti-HIV activity of 3'-azido-2'3'-dideoxythymidine (AZT) and several related congeners: 2'3'-dideoxythymidine (ddT), 2'3'- dideoxy-2'3'-didehydrothymidine (D4T), and 3'-azido-2'3'-dideoxyuridine (AZddU). Inhibition of viral replication in GM-CSF-exposed M/M was achieved with concentrations of AZT and related drugs, which were 10- 100 times lower than those inhibitory for HIV-1 in monocytes in the absence of GM-CSF. Other dideoxynucleosides not related to AZT showed unchanged or decreased anti-HIV activity in GM-CSF-exposed M/M. To investigate the possible biochemical basis for these effects, we evaluated the metabolism of several drugs in M/M exposed to GM-CSF. We observed in these cells markedly increased levels of both parent and mono-, di-, and triphosphate anabolites of AZT and D4T compared with M/M not exposed to GM-CSF. By contrast, only limited increases of endogenous competing 2'-deoxynucleoside-5'-triphosphate pools were observed after GM-CSF exposure. Thus, the ratio of AZT-5'- triphosphate/2'-deoxythymidine-5'-triphosphate and 2'3'-dideoxy-2'3'- didehydrothymidine-5'-triphosphate/2'-deoxythymi dine- 5'-triphosphate is several-fold higher in GM-CSF-exposed M/M, and this may account for the enhanced activity of such drugs in these cells. Taken together, these findings suggest that GM-CSF increases HIV-1 replication in M/M, while at the same time enhancing the anti-HIV activity of AZT and related congeners in these cells. These results may have implications in exploring new therapeutic strategies in patients with severe HIV infection.
DETERMINATION OF THE GLOBULAR CLUSTER AND HALO STELLAR MASS FUNCTIONS AND STELLAR AND BROWN DWARF DENSITIES

We use recent low-mass star models, which reproduce accurately the observed sequences of various globular clusters, to convert the observed luminosity functions into bolometric luminosity functions. These latter are shown to exhibit a similar behaviour with a rising slope up to Mbol ∼ 9, i.e. m ∼ 0.2 − 0.3M , and a decreasing behaviour beyond this limit. We then derive mass functions for globular star clusters down to the bottom of the main sequence. These mass functions are well described by a slowly rising power-law dN/dm ∝ m−α, with 0.5 ∼< α ∼< 1.5, down to ∼ 0.1M , independently of the metallicity, suggesting a rather universal behaviour of the cluster initial mass functions. The effects of tidal stripping and mass segregation are illustrated by the overabundance of very low-mass stars in the outer parts of NGC6397 and their depletion in the central parts. This analysis confirms that the mass function determined near the half-mass radius has been weakly affected by external and internal dynamical effects and reflects relatively closely the initialmass function. We predict luminosity functions in the NICMOS filters in the stellar and in the brown dwarf domains for different mass functions and metallicities. We apply these calculations to the determination of the mass function in theGalactic halo, including theDeVaucouleurs spheroid and the 1/r2 dark halo.We derive the slope and the normalization of the spheroidmass functionwhich iswell described by the afore-mentioned power-law function with α ∼ 1.7±0.2 down to 0.1 M , although a slowly decreasing mass function below ∼ 0.15M can not be excluded with the data presently available. Comparisonwith theHubbleDeep Field star counts is consistent with such a mass function and excludes a significant stellar population in the dark halo. This shows that essentially all the high-velocity subdwarfs observed in the solar neighborhood belong to the Galactic spheroid. Consistent analysis with recent microlensing experiments towards the LMC shows that the spheroid and the dark-halo stellar+brown dwarf populations represent at most ∼ 1% of ? The bolometric LF’s displayed in Fig. 1 are available at CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html the Galactic dark matter density. This clearly excludes brown dwarfs and low-mass stars as significant darkmatter candidates.