Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Death roll of the alligator: mechanics of twist feeding in water

SUMMARY Crocodilians, including the alligator (Alligator mississippiensis), perform a spinning maneuver to subdue and dismember prey. The spinning maneuver, which is referred to as the `death roll', involves rapid rotation about the longitudinal axis of the body. High-speed videos were taken of juvenile alligators (mean length=0.29 m) performing death rolls in water after biting onto a pliable target. Spinning was initiated after the fore- and hindlimbs were appressed against the body and the head and tail were canted with respect to the longitudinal body axis. With respect to the body axis, the head and tail bending averaged 49.2° and 103.3°, respectively. The head, body and tail rotated smoothly and freely around their individual axes of symmetry at 1.6 Hz. To understand the dynamics of the death roll, we mathematically modeled the system. The maneuver results purely from conservation of angular momentum and is explained as a zero angular momentum turn. The model permits the calculation of relevant dynamical parameters. From the model, the shear force, which was generated at the snout by the juvenile alligators, was 0.015 N. Shear force was calculated to scale with body length to the 4.24 power and with mass to the 1.31 power. When scaled up to a 3 m alligator, shear force was calculated at 138 N. The death roll appears to help circumvent the feeding morphology of the alligator. Shear forces generated by the spinning maneuver are predicted to increase disproportionately with alligator size, allowing dismemberment of large prey.
Financial Constraints Risk

We construct an index of firms' external finance constraints via generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation of an investment Euler equation. Unlike the commonly used KZ index, ours is consistent with firm characteristics associated with external finance constraints. Constrained firms' returns move together, suggesting the existence of a financial constraints factor. This factor earns a positive but insignificant average return. Much of the variation in this factor cannot be explained by the Fama--French and momentum factors. Cross-sectional regressions of returns on our index and other firm characteristics show that constrained firms earn higher returns and that the financial-constraints effect dominates the size effect. Copyright 2006, Oxford University Press.
An Experimental Study on the Self-Report of Acupuncture Needle Sensation during Deep Needling with Bi-Directional Rotation

Background Traditionally, acupuncturists manipulate needles to enhance sensations referred to as de qi or ‘acupuncture needle sensation’. Acupuncture needle sensations are complex and quantifying the experience has been difficult. The aim of this crossover study was to measure self-reported needle sensation during deep and bi-directional rotated needling in 15 healthy volunteers. Methods Each participant received an experimental intervention consisting of superficial needling followed by deep needling and then deep needling with bi-directional rotation. The control intervention consisted of superficial needling, followed by mock deep needling and then mock bi-directional rotation of the needle. The intensity of overall needle sensation was measured using a visual analogue scale (VAS). The subjective acupuncture sensation scale was used to capture component sensations. Results VAS scores were higher during ‘deep’ needle penetration when compared to superficial needling with mock deep insertion (p=0.0002). VAS scores were also higher during deep needling with bi-directional rotation compared to superficial needling with mock bi-directional rotation (p<0.0001). There were higher scores for total component sensation scores and for the sensation of throbbing during the deep needling with bi-directional rotation (p=0.001) when compared to superficial needling with mock bi-directional rotation. Tentative evidence that bi-directional needle rotation generated stabbing, tingling, heaviness, soreness and aching was also found. Conclusion Bi-directional rotation of a needle inserted into deep soft tissue produced higher acupuncture needle sensation intensities when compared to superficial needle insertion with mock deep penetration and bi-directional rotation.
Estrogen modulates estrogen receptor α and β expression, osteogenic activity, and apoptosis in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) of osteoporotic mice

In the mouse, ovariectomy (OVX) leads to significant reductions in cancellous bone volume while estrogen (17β‐estradiol, E2) replacement not only prevents bone loss but can increase bone formation. As the E2‐dependent increase in bone formation would require the proliferation and differentiation of osteoblast precursors, we hypothesized that E2 regulates mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) activity in mouse bone marrow. We therefore investigated proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, and estrogen receptor (ER) α and β expression of primary culture MSCs isolated from OVX and sham‐operated mice. MSCs, treated in vitro with 10−7 M E2, displayed a significant increase in ERα mRNA and protein expression as well as alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and proliferation rate. In contrast, E2 treatment resulted in a decrease in ERβ mRNA and protein expression as well as apoptosis in both OVX and sham mice. E2 up‐regulated the mRNA expression of osteogenic genes for ALP, collagen I, TGF‐β1, BMP‐2, and cbfa1 in MSCs. In a comparison of the relative mRNA expression and protein levels for two ER isoforms, ERα was the predominant form expressed in MSCs obtained from both OVX and sham‐operated mice. Cumulatively, these results indicate that estrogen in vitro directly augments the proliferation and differentiation, ERα expression, osteogenic gene expression and, inhibits apoptosis and ERβ expression in MSCs obtained from OVX and sham‐operated mice. Co‐expression of ERα, but not ERβ, and osteogenic differentiation markers might indicate that ERα function as an activator and ERβ function as a repressor in the osteogenic differentiation in MSCs. These results suggest that mouse MSCs are anabolic targets of estrogen action, via ERα activation. J. Cell. Biochem. Suppl. 36: 144–155, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Heuristic decision making.

As reflected in the amount of controversy, few areas in psychology have undergone such dramatic conceptual changes in the past decade as the emerging science of heuristics. Heuristics are efficient cognitive processes, conscious or unconscious, that ignore part of the information. Because using heuristics saves effort, the classical view has been that heuristic decisions imply greater errors than do "rational" decisions as defined by logic or statistical models. However, for many decisions, the assumptions of rational models are not met, and it is an empirical rather than an a priori issue how well cognitive heuristics function in an uncertain world. To answer both the descriptive question ("Which heuristics do people use in which situations? ") and the prescriptive question ("When should people rely on a given heuristic rather than a complex strategy to make better judgments? "), formal models are indispensable. We review research that tests formal models of heuristic inference, including in business organizations, health care, and legal institutions. This research indicates that (a) individuals and organizations often rely on simple heuristics in an adaptive way, and (b) ignoring part of the information can lead to more accurate judgments than weighting and adding all information, for instance for low predictability and small samples. The big future challenge is to develop a systematic theory of the building blocks of heuristics as well as the core capacities and environmental structures these exploit.
The hyperserotonemia of autism spectrum disorders

Serotonine zorgt voor de prikkeloverdracht in de hersenen. Bij sommige hersenaandoe­ningen is het serotoninesysteem verstoord. Promovendus Erik Mulder onderzocht of dit ook zo is bij kinderen en jongeren met autisme. Hij toont aan dat zowel bij kinderen met autisme als bij kinderen met PDD-NOS (een minder ernstige variant van autisme) de hoeveelheid serotonine soms verhoogd is. Bovendien is er een duidelijke subgroep met een verhoogd serotoninegehalte. Ook is er een verband tussen de ernst van dwangmatig gedrag en het serotonine transporter gen. Dit gen bepaalt deels de hoogte van het serotoninegehalte. In de urine van kinderen en jeugdigen met autisme is een afbraakproduct van serotonine licht verhoogd. Wellicht zijn het serotoninegehalte en andere biologische markers bruikbaar bij onderzoek naar het effect van medicatie. Ook zouden de conclusies uit dit onderzoek bruikbaar kunnen zijn bij onderzoek naar erfelijke oorzaken van autisme en PDD-NOS.
Application Support for Opportunistic Communication on Multiple Wireless Networks

Many wireless network technologies are in use today. However, each technology has to make a difficult but unavoidable tradeoff between the area covered by a single access point and the capacity available to an individual user. Fortunately, current and future mobile devices are likely to come equipped with multiple wireless interfaces that can be used either singly or in parallel. By opportunistically using these multiple wireless interfaces a mobile device can mitigate the coverage-capacity tradeoff of the underlying networks. However, actually using multiple interfaces– requiring sessions to be maintained across interface switches, disconnections, and device shutdowns–is complex. Consequently, to be useful in practice, we believe that application writers need to be shielded from these details, while still exercising fine-grained control over network usage policies. In this paper we describe a system that allows applications running on a mobile device to seamlessly exploit multiple heterogeneous wireless networks. We have designed, implemented, and evaluated the performance of an Opportunistic Connection Management Protocol (OCMP) that allows such applications to opportunistically communicate on multiple network interfaces, switch across interfaces, aggregate their bandwidths, remain disconnected or powered off for arbitrarily long periods, package and move their state across devices, and interoperate with legacy applications and servers. The implementation is in J2ME so that it can be run on any Java-based mobile device. Extensive policy control for interface selection is also provided to applications, along with a very simple API for application developers. This paper explains the design, architecture, and implementation of OCMP, and illustrates its benefits through both analysis and field experiments. Our results are encouraging and suggest that application support for multi-network opportunistic communication is both achievable in current systems, and of significant practical value.
The adwords problem: online keyword matching with budgeted bidders under random permutations

We consider the problem of a search engine trying to assign a sequence of search keywords to a set of competing bidders, each with a daily spending limit. The goal is to maximize the revenue generated by these keyword sales, bearing in mind that, as some bidders may eventually exceed their budget, not all keywords should be sold to the highest bidder. We assume that the sequence of keywords (or equivalently, of bids) is revealed on-line. Our concern will be the competitive ratio for this problem versus the off-line optimum. We extend the current literature on this problem by considering the setting where the keywords arrive in a random order. In this setting we are able to achieve a competitive ratio of 1-ε under some mild, but necessary, assumptions. In contrast, it is already known that when the keywords arrive in an adversarial order, the best competitive ratio is bounded away from 1. Our algorithm is motivated by PAC learning, and proceeds in two parts: a training phase, and an exploitation phase.
Phylogenetic Clades 6 and 8 of Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 With Particular stx Subtypes are More Frequently Found in Isolates From Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome Patients Than From Asymptomatic Carriers

EHEC O157:H7 clade 6 strains harboring stx2a and/or stx2c and clade 8 strains harboring stx2a or stx2a/stx2c were frequently associated with childhood HUS cases in Japan. Rapid and specific detection of such lineages are required for infection control measures.
Sub-2-Sub: Self-Organizing Content-Based Publish Subscribe for Dynamic Large Scale Collaborative Networks

In this paper, we address the problem of constructing scalab le content-based publish/subscribe systems. Publish/subsc ribe systems are asynchronous event-notification systems in which a published event is forwarded to exactly those nodes that have pr eviously subscribed for that event. Subscriptions can range from a si mple specification of merely the type of an event to a specification of the value ranges that an event’s attributes can have. Notably th e la ter poses potential scalability problems. Structured peer-to-peer systems can provide scalable solu tions to publish/subscribe systems with simple subscription patte rns. For complex subscription types their applicability is less obv i us. In this paper, we present S UB-2-SUB, a collaborative self-organizing publish/subscribe system deploying an unstructured overlay n etwork. SUB-2-SUB relies on an epidemic-based algorithm in which peers continuously exchange subscription information to get clu stered to similar peers. In contrast to many existing approaches, S UB-2-SUB supports both value-based and interval-based subscriptio ns. Simulations of SUB-2-SUB on synthetic and reusable workloads convey its good properties in terms of routing efficiency, fairness , accuracy
Why Does a City Grow? Specialization, Human Capital, or Institutions?

Why does a certain metropolitan area grow more than another? The answer to this question has evaded much of the considerable body of scholarship on the topic. One problem may be that some of the frameworks that drive empirical research in this field tend be based on ad hoc combinations of explanatory factors, ranging from natural climate to business climate to land and labor costs. Theoretical approaches emphasize differences in economic specialization: some activities have higher rates of growth than others, and this translates into divergence in medium-term rates of inter-urban growth and income. But specialization itself needs to be explained. International economics has adopted theoretical frameworks for explaining different growth rates and income levels among countries involving multiple causes and their potentially recursive interactions. Three main forces are at the heart of this literature: specialization, labor force and human capital issues, and institutions. This framework can be fruitfully adapted to the analysis of metropolitan growth and change. The thorniest aspect of doing so is to consider recursive relationships among the three in a dynamic model, where specialization, human capital and institutions are endogenous to the explanation, and where causality can reverse over time in complex sequences. In this paper, we lay out the elements of such an approach and argue that it could serve as the basis for a new generation of research on differences in metropolitan growth processes.
From Digital Divides to the First Mile: Indigenous Peoples and the Network Society in Canada

Indigenous peoples interact with the emergent network society in diverse ways that reflect the colonialism/self-determination dialectic. One area where this process unfolds is in the bridging of digital divides. I use the concept of the First Mile to show how First Nations and Inuit peoples in Canada’s geographic periphery are asserting their self-determination in the sphere of digital ICTs. While most digital divide literature presumes that a connection to the network society is inherently beneficial, when framed in the context of historic and ongoing processes of colonialism, integration alone is not adequate. An example of a not-for-profit satellite network cooperative demonstrates how three Indigenous organizations shaped the problem of the digital divide into an opportunity to establish a platform for digital self-determination.
Valuing environmental amenities using stated choice studies : a common sense approach to theory and practice

Contributing Authors. - Preface. - Acknowledgments. - 1. Getting Started, Carol Mansfield and Subhrendu Pattanayak. - 2. Survey Methodologies for Stated-Choice Studies, Patricia A. Champ and Michael P. Welsh. - 3. Supporting Questions in Stated-Choice Studies, Alan Krupnick and W. Vic Adamowicz. - 4. Making Choice Studies Incentive Compatible, Glenn Harrison. - 5. How and How Much? The Role of Information in Stated-Choice Questionnaires, Kristy E. Mathews, Miranda L. Freeman and William H. Desvousges. - 6. Attribute Processing in Choice Experiments and Implications on Willingness to Pay, David A. Hensher. - 7. Experimental Design for Stated-Choice Studies, F. Reed Johnson, Barbara Kanninen and Matthew Bingham. - 8. Basic Statistical Models for Stated-Choice Studies, Anna Alberini, Alberto Longo and Marcella Veronesi. - 9. Advanced Choice Models, Joffre Swait. - 10. Computer Software to Estimate Choice Models, Daniel Hellerstein. - 11. Judging Quality, V. Kerry Smith. - Index.
Der Einfluß gefälschter Interviews auf Survey-Ergebnisse

Zusammenfassung Zu den vielen möglichen Kritikpunkten an Umfrageergebnissen gehören Verzerrungen durch gefälschte Interviews. Diese Bedenken werden analytisch und empirisch untersucht. Interviewfälschungen sind ein Spezialfall von „Missing-Data-Problemen“ und können daher mit denselben Formeln abgeschätzt werden. Die entsprechenden analytischen Ergebnisse legen für einfache Statistiken nur kleine Verzerrungen nahe. Da solche analytischen Abschätzungen für multivariate Statistiken kaum möglich sind, werden mögliche Verzerrungseffekte mit verschiedenen Methoden empirisch untersucht. Die Ergebnisse einer Untersuchung zur „Qualität“ gefälschter Interviews mit 22 „Interviewern“, die je 10 „Interviews“ durchführten, zeigt zwar u. a. eine größere Konsistenz gefälschter Interviews im Vergleich zu echten Interviews, aber keine größeren Unterschiede zu den echten Daten. Diese Fälschungen hätten sich weder auf die Berechnung univariater Statistiken noch auf multivariate Analysen ausgewirkt, wenn sie 5 %-Bestandteil eines Datensatzes gewesen wären. Schließlich wird mit einigen Simulationen die Robustheit eines Regressionsmodells selbst gegenüber höheren Anteilen von Interviewfälschungen demonstriert. Falls die Abschätzung möglicher Effekte von Interviewfälschungen notwendig erscheint, müssen ähnliche Simulationen in jedem Einzelfall durchgeführt werden.
Update: Systemic Diseases and the Cardiovascular System (X) The Heart During Pregnancy

on the rise, so identiﬁcation of risk factors that predict cardiac outcomes is essential to proper screening of the obstetrical patient. In diagnosed preexisting conditions, such as pulmonary hypertension, counseling is important prior to pregnancy. In the case of underlying disorders unmasked by pregnancy, or new-onset complications like preeclampsia, appropriate monitoring and treatment of the cardiovascular complications is warranted. Ultimately, collaborative care by both obstetricians and cardiologists is essential for the successful resolution of cardiovascular dysfunction in the obstetrical patient.
Silent Crohn's Disease: Asymptomatic Patients with Elevated C-reactive Protein Are at Risk for Subsequent Hospitalization

Background:Patient-reported Crohn's disease (CD) symptoms and endoscopic evaluation have historically guided routine care, but the risk of complications in asymptomatic patients with elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) is unknown. Methods:We conducted a prospective observational cohort study of patients with CD from a tertiary care center. Subjects with short inflammatory bowel disease questionnaire scores ≥50, Harvey–Bradshaw CD scores ⩽4, and same-day CRP measurement were eligible for inclusion. The primary outcome was disease-related hospitalization up to 24 months after the qualifying clinic visit. We assessed the relationship between CRP elevation and subsequent hospitalization. Results:There were 351 asymptomatic patients with CD (median age 40 yr; 50.4% female) who met inclusion criteria, and CRP was elevated in 19.7% of these individuals (n = 69). At 24 months, 16.8% (n = 59) of the study population had been hospitalized for CD-related complications. Significantly, more patients with an elevated CRP were hospitalized (33.3% versus 12.8%, P < 0.0001) compared with those with a normal CRP and were hospitalized at increased rate (P < 0.001) on Kaplan–Meier analysis. CRP elevation was significantly and independently associated with increased risk of hospitalization (adjusted hazard ratio 2.12; 95% confidence interval, 1.13–3.98; P = 0.02) in multivariable survival analysis. Conclusions:Asymptomatic patients with CD with elevated CRP are at a nearly 2-fold higher risk for hospitalization over the subsequent 2 years compared with asymptomatic patients with CD without CRP elevation.
Point feature matching adopting Walsh transform

This paper introduces a new method to solve the problem of matching correspondent feature points across two images containing a moving rigid object. Two successive time-varying images are used. Edge points are first extracted using a 3 by 3 Laplacian mask. Walsh transformation is then applied to the feature points in both images. The choice of Walsh transformation in contrast to other orthogonal transforms is a direct result of its computational simplicity and its interpretative meaning in terms of information contained in the spatial domain. Two premises are applied as matching rules. The first involves the speed of object and imaging system, while the other involves the selection of the best match from the set of candidate matches. Unlike other matching techniques, the computational complexity of the proposed technique does not grow up with to the number of detected feature points in either of the two images. This characteristic gives the technique a great flexibility. Experimental results are given and assessed in terms of both accuracy and computational complexity.
Towards a 'neural' architecture for abductive reasoning

The authors formulate the general task of abduction as a nonlinear nonmonotonic constrained optimization problem. They then consider a linear monotonic version of the general abductive problem, and propose a neural network for solving it. The neurons in this network represent the elementary explanatory hypotheses and the connections between them are symmetric. It is found that representing the abductive problem as minimization of an energy function requires a network of order greater than two. The authors outline a second 'neural' architecture that reflects the structure of the abductive problem. In this model, the constraints of the problem are represented explicitly, the network is composed of functional modules, and the connections between the 'neurons' are asymmetric. Suggestions are made as to how this second-order network can accommodate certain interactions between the elementary hypotheses. <<ETX>>
Empirical Investigation on Time Dispersion of Microwave Electron Device Characteristics under Nonlinear Dynamic Operating Conditions

In this paper, a measurement set-up is described for the investigation on microwave electron device characteristic time dispersion (or "walkout"), occurring in nonlinear dynamic operation. The stress procedure is carried out by applying a large-amplitude excitation signal at moderately high frequency at either the input or the output port of the device. The corresponding forward or reverse mode of operation can be easily configured by means of a switch manipulation, exploiting the symmetrical, dual-channel architecture of the system. The walkout of the device characteristics, which can be either a bipolar-or a field effect-transistor, can be observed both at the end of the stress test and in real-time during the test execution.