Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Jamming bacterial communication: New approaches for the treatment of infectious diseases

The global rise of anti‐microbial resistance, combined with the rapid rate of microbial evolution, and the slower development of novel antibiotics, underscores the urgent need for innovative therapeutics. We are facing a post‐antibiotic era with a decreased armamentarium to combat infectious diseases. Development of novel drugs will rely on basic research aimed to increase our understanding of bacterial pathogenesis and the inter‐cellular chemical signalling among bacterial cells. Such basic science, when combined with contemporary drug discovery technologies, may be translated into therapeutic applications to combat bacterial infections. In this review, we discuss many strategies aimed to interfere with bacterial cell‐to‐cell signalling via the quorum‐sensing (QS) pathway to inhibit bacterial virulence and/or the development of microbial communities (known as biofilms), which are refractory to antibiotic treatment. QS antagonists should be viewed as blockers of pathogenicity rather than as anti‐microbials and because QS is not involved in bacterial growth, inhibition of QS should not yield a strong selective pressure for development of resistance. QS inhibitors (QSIs) hold great expectations and we look forward to their application in fighting bacterial infections.
Sensitivity analysis and explanations for robust query evaluation in probabilistic databases

Probabilistic database systems have successfully established themselves as a tool for managing uncertain data. However, much of the research in this area has focused on efficient query evaluation and has largely ignored two key issues that commonly arise in uncertain data management: First, how to provide explanations for query results, e.g., Why is this tuple in my result? or Why does this output tuple have such high probability? Second, the problem of determining the sensitive input tuples for the given query, e.g., users are interested to know the input tuples that can substantially alter the output, when their probabilities are modified (since they may be unsure about the input probability values). Existing systems provide the lineage/provenance of each of the output tuples in addition to the output probabilities, which is a boolean formula indicating the dependence of the output tuple on the input tuples. However, lineage does not immediately provide a quantitative relationship and it is not informative when we have multiple output tuples. In this paper, we propose a unified framework that can handle both the issues mentioned above to facilitate robust query processing. We formally define the notions of influence and explanations and provide algorithms to determine the top-l influential set of variables and the top-l set of explanations for a variety of queries, including conjunctive queries, probabilistic threshold queries, top-k queries and aggregation queries. Further, our framework naturally enables highly efficient incremental evaluation when input probabilities are modified (e.g., if uncertainty is resolved). Our preliminary experimental results demonstrate the benefits of our framework for performing robust query processing over probabilistic databases.
Acute Enhancement of Power Performance From Heavy Load Squats

The purpose of this research was to determine whether a loaded countermovement jump (LCMJ) could be enhanced if preceded by a set of half-squats with a 5-RM load. Ten subjects experienced with the squat exercise performed 2 sets of 5 LCMJ, 1 set of 5 squat reps with a 5-RM load, and 1 set of 5 LCMJ with 4 min rest between all sets. There was no significant difference between the first 2 sets of LCMJ, and the repeatability between these sets was high. However, the jump height for the set of LCMJ after the squat set was significantly greater (2.8%) than for the LCMJ set immediately preceding the squats. It was concluded that squats with a 5-RM load produce dramatic improvements in power performance. In addition, there was a significant correlation between performance enhancement from the squats and the 5-RM load. This suggests that stronger individuals may benefit more from resistance training exercises that utilize contrasting loads.
ElasticPlay: Interactive Video Summarization with Dynamic Time Budgets

Video consumption is being shifted from sit-and-watch to selective skimming. Existing video player interfaces, however, only provide indirect manipulation to support this emerging behavior. Video summarization alleviates this issue to some extent, shortening a video based on the desired length of a summary as an input variable. But an optimal length of a summarized video is often not available in advance. Moreover, the user cannot edit the summary once it is produced, limiting its practical applications. We argue that video summarization should be an interactive, mixed-initiative process in which users have control over the summarization procedure while algorithms help users achieve their goal via video understanding. In this paper, we introduce ElasticPlay, a mixed-initiative approach that combines an advanced video summarization technique with direct interface manipulation to help users control the video summarization process. Users can specify a time budget for the remaining content while watching a video; our system then immediately updates the playback plan using our proposed cut-and-forward algorithm, determining which parts to skip or to fast-forward. This interactive process allows users to fine-tune the summarization result with immediate feedback. We show that our system outperforms existing video summarization techniques on the TVSum50 dataset. We also report two lab studies (22 participants) and a Mechanical Turk deployment study (60 participants), and show that the participants responded favorably to ElasticPlay.
Training Postgraduates for Teaching: considerations for programme planning and development

Abstract With the publication of the Higher Education Funding Council (HEFCE) report, Review of Postgraduate Education (1996), much interest is focusing on the quality of course provision for graduate students. This paper reviews several rationales for supporting postgraduates in their roles as graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) and considers content areas that might be included in the design of training programmes. The paper builds on the author's involvement in a university‐wide study that reviewed current practice, and that examined how graduate students and hourly paid lecturers are deployed, and what might be done in order to make training support work most effectively. Future roles of GTAs and suggestions for introducing and managing change in general and gaining support for the introduction of GTA training are also briefly explored.
Effects of Two Voice Characteristics on the Attitudes toward Advertising Messages

Abstract This study explored the effects of two prosodic variables, voice intonation and voice intensity, on the attitudes of a sample of Canadian students toward two messages advertising automated teller machines and student loans. The elaboration likelihood model (ELM) was used as a theoretical framework. The ELM proposes that peripheral cues such as voice characteristics should enhance the receiver's attitude only under low-issue involvement situations. A 2 × 2 × 2 (Level of Intensity × Level of Intonation × Levels of Issue Involvement) experiment was used. The two advertising messages provided very different levels of issue involvement, measured in terms of the Zaichkowski scale (1985) by the 221 subjects. The results confirmed those proposed by the ELM-that the two voice characteristics are significant only under low-involvement conditions. The most efficient voice combined low-intonation and low-intensity features and was interpreted as efficient because its qualities bypassed the respondents' defen.
Obstacles to the adoption of radio frequency identification technology in the emergency rooms of hospitals

The Emergency Room (ER) receives patients in critical conditions. The operation of many emergency service chains is hampered because the required medical equipment is not always conveniently available and patient vital signs are manually monitored, but not automatically tracked on a real-time basis. This has resulted in medical errors, increased stress levels of medical teams, and poor utilisation of staff and equipment. Our research investigates factors that contribute to the adoption of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies by the medical team in ERs. We propose a theoretical framework to address this issue based upon the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) theory.
Multiple Independent Defective Suppressor-mutator Transposon Insertions in Arabidopsis: A Tool for Functional Genomics

A new system for insertional mutagenesis based on the maize Enhancer/Suppressor-mutator (En/Spm) element was introduced into Arabidopsis. A single T-DNA construct carried a nonautonomous defective Spm (dSpm) element with a phosphinothricin herbicide resistance (BAR) gene, a transposase expression cassette, and a counterselectable gene. This construct was used to select for stable dSpm transpositions. Treatments for both positive (BAR) and negative selection markers were applicable to soil-grown plants, allowing the recovery of new transpositions on a large scale. To date, a total of 48,000 lines in pools of 50 have been recovered, of which ∼80% result from independent insertion events. DNA extracted from these pools was used in reverse genetic screens, either by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using primers from the transposon and the targeted gene or by the display of insertions whereby inverse PCR products of insertions from the DNA pools are spotted on a membrane that is then hybridized with the probe of interest. By sequencing PCR-amplified fragments adjacent to insertion sites, we established a sequenced insertion-site database of 1200 sequences. This database permitted a comparison of the chromosomal distribution of transpositions from various T-DNA locations.
Success and Failure in Junior High School: A Critical Incident Approach to Understanding Students’ Attributional Beliefs

Attribution theory, which focuses on students’ beliefs about why they succeed or fail, has served as the interpretative framework for numerous studies of student motivation. Yet, the relevance of this research to educational practice has been questioned because most studies focus on college students’ reactions to hypothetical scenarios or contrived laboratory tasks. To address this problem, we employed a critical incident methodology in which junior high school students recalled naturally occurring successes and failures in four subject areas (English, math, general music, and physical education) and rated the relevance of eight causal attributions in explaining each outcome. We explored the effects of situational context (subject area, activity) on attributional beliefs, the relations between attributional beliefs and reported grades, and the dimensionality of attributional beliefs. Our results highlighted the context-specific nature of causal beliefs and their strong linkages to reported classroom achievement. Our factor analyses of attributional ratings did not yield dimensions of locus, stability, and controllability but instead showed a systematic trend for external attributions to generalize across subject areas and for internal attributions to remain subject-area specific. We discuss implications for teachers and researchers.
Wise, a context-dependent activator and inhibitor of Wnt signalling

We have isolated a novel secreted molecule, Wise, by a functional screen for activities that alter the anteroposterior character of neuralised Xenopus animal caps. Wise encodes a secreted protein capable of inducing posterior neural markers at a distance. Phenotypes arising from ectopic expression or depletion of Wise resemble those obtained when Wnt signalling is altered. In animal cap assays, posterior neural markers can be induced by Wnt family members, and induction of these markers by Wise requires components of the canonical Wnt pathway. This indicates that in this context Wise activates the Wnt signalling cascade by mimicking some of the effects of Wnt ligands. Activation of the pathway was further confirmed by nuclear accumulation of β-catenin driven by Wise. By contrast, in an assay for secondary axis induction, extracellularly Wise antagonises the axis-inducing ability of Wnt8. Thus, Wise can activate or inhibit Wnt signalling in a context-dependent manner. The Wise protein physically interacts with the Wnt co-receptor, lipoprotein receptor-related protein 6 (LRP6), and is able to compete with Wnt8 for binding to LRP6. These activities of Wise provide a new mechanism for integrating inputs through the Wnt coreceptor complex to modulate the balance of Wnt signalling.
Let's Collaborate! But Who's Really Collaborating? Individual Interests as a Leitmotiv for Urban Renewal and Regeneration Strategies

Many planning theorists have suggested that peoples' non-participation in collaborative processes is due to disempowerment. This paper challenges that assertion, arguing that a person's tendency to participate in neighbourhood interventions is intimately related to their lifestyle as well. Analysing the results of a survey conducted in a Dutch city, we compare and contrast the personal circumstances and the mental attitudes of participants and non-participants. The results show that participants tend to evaluate participation more positively and in more altruistic terms than those who do not get involved. Participants are not necessarily older or poorer than non-participants, but tend to have lived in their neighbourhoods for longer and to have a greater sense of belonging to their local community. This suggests that collaborative planning has a structural bias towards inclusion of some parts of the community over others, excluding those whose social lives are not concentrated within the boundaries of the neighbourhood. Consequently, some of the perceived positive outcomes of collaborative processes are under pressure in the field of urban regeneration.
A Social Classification Scheme for Historical Occupational Data

The authors introduce a new directly comparative approach to the coding and classification of occupational data for the purposes of social analysis. The lack of an explicit way of translating historical occupational titles into a meaningful class or social scheme, which can also be applied across national boundaries, has hindered studies of both past and present societies. The authors present a possible solution—the Social Power (SOCPO) scheme—to the problem. To illustrate how it works empirically, they apply the scheme to a comparison of marital mobility in the industrial districts of two northern European countries over the course of the nineteenth century.
Disturbances in Body Ownership in Schizophrenia: Evidence from the Rubber Hand Illusion and Case Study of a Spontaneous Out-of-Body Experience

Background A weakened sense of self may contribute to psychotic experiences. Body ownership, one component of self-awareness, can be studied with the rubber hand illusion (RHI). Watching a rubber hand being stroked while one's unseen hand is stroked synchronously can lead to a sense of ownership over the rubber hand, a shift in perceived position of the real hand, and a limb-specific drop in stimulated hand temperature. We aimed to assess the RHI in schizophrenia using quantifiable measures: proprioceptive drift and stimulation-dependent changes in hand temperature. Methods The RHI was elicited in 24 schizophrenia patients and 21 matched controls by placing their unseen hand adjacent to a visible rubber hand and brushing real and rubber hands synchronously or asynchronously. Perceived finger location was measured before and after stimulation. Hand temperature was taken before and during stimulation. Subjective strength of the illusion was assessed by a questionnaire. Results Across groups, the RHI was stronger during synchronous stimulation, indicated by self-report and proprioceptive drift. Patients reported a stronger RHI than controls. Self-reported strength of RHI was associated with schizotypy in controls Proprioceptive drift was larger in patients, but only following synchronous stimulation. Further, we observed stimulation-dependent changes in skin temperature. During right hand stimulation, temperature dropped in the stimulated hand and rose in the unstimulated hand. Interestingly, induction of RHI led to an out-of-body experience in one patient, linking body disownership and psychotic experiences. Conclusions The RHI is quantitatively and qualitatively stronger in schizophrenia. These findings suggest that patients have a more flexible body representation and weakened sense of self, and potentially indicate abnormalities in temporo-parietal networks implicated in body ownership. Further, results suggest that these body ownership disturbances might be at the heart of a subset of the pathognomonic delusions of passivity.
Cumulative prevalence of atopic eczema and related skin symptoms in a well‐baby clinic: a retrospective cohort study

The aim of the study was to assess the frequency and treatment policy of atopic eczema (AE) and related skin symptoms including rash, redness, dryness and itch in 0‐ to 5‐year‐old children. Health records of 320 children born in 1994 were systematically studied. The main results were that 77% of children suffered from skin symptoms during their first 5 years while the cumulative prevalence of AE was 16%, and 11% of children with skin symptoms were referred to a specialist. AE and related skin symptoms were common in the first 5 years of life, and were mostly temporary and responsive to topical treatment. Well‐baby clinics play a key role in the treatment of skin‐symptomatic children.
Nurturing talent in the Australian context: A reflective approach

The history of gifted education in Australia has taken many paths that have been influenced by successive government policies and practices. The ethos of a fair go for all does not sit easily with the concept of cultivating individual excellence. However, the last two decades have witnessed diverse opportunities emerge from grassroots initiatives such as the growth of local associations supporting gifted and talented children as well as through education policy change. There has been ongoing debate concerning the perceived incompatibility of equality and excellence in a climate of competition for limited financial resources. The controversy continues. This article provides an historical overview of these developments, highlighting the formal institutional provisions which have been available to gifted young people, then moves into the contemporary context focusing on the interactions between these individuals and their psycho‐social environments, to explore factors which contribute to effective use of these environments in developing their talents. Five young adults reflect on their educational and career paths in the creative arts, sport, music, medicine and business to illustrate how talents are nurtured in Australia at the end of the 20th century.
The Role of Perceived Relational Support in Entrepreneur–Customer Dyads

Drawing from social exchange theory and the marketing literature, we posit that entrepreneurs’ commitment to and satisfaction with a customer depends on the extent to which they believe the customer is willing to provide strong support to entrepreneurs in their role as suppliers. We tested the hypotheses among 217 entrepreneurs in a Western European country and found that entrepreneurs’ perceptions of relational support relate positively to their commitment to and satisfaction with the customer. In turn, the reliability and quality of the exchanges that took place between entrepreneurs and the customer affected their perceptions of relational support, as well as their attitudes through perceived relational support. We thus identify a key mechanism that explains relationship outcomes in entrepreneur–customer dyads. We discuss the implications and limitations of our findings and provide directions for further research.
Helping adults with a learning disability keep safe in the local community: report of a group design, development and evaluation

Summary The present paper describes the design, delivery and evaluation of a Keeping Safe Group for adults with a learning disability. The group was designed to provide participants with information on keeping safe in the local community by avoiding potentially dangerous situations. The effectiveness of the group structure and format was evaluated during three pilot Keeping Safe Groups using an 18-item test of knowledge administered before and after group attendance, and at follow-up 4–6 months later. The results indicate that the Keeping Safe Group sessions provided an effective method for teaching participants the knowledge necessary to ensure that they kept themselves as safe as possible in the local community. The knowledge gained was maintained 4–6 months after the group finished. There were no gender variations or differences in the amount of knowledge learned during the three separate groups. Possible directions for future research are highlighted.
A General Method for Reducing the Complexity of Relational Inference and its Application to MCMC

Many real-world problems are characterized by complex relational structure, which can be succinctly represented in first-order logic. However, many relational inference algorithms proceed by first fully instantiating the first-order theory and then working at the propositional level. The applicability of such approaches is severely limited by the exponential time and memory cost of propositionalization. Singla and Domingos (2006) addressed this by developing a "lazy" version of the WalkSAT algorithm, which grounds atoms and clauses only as needed. In this paper we generalize their ideas to a much broader class of algorithms, including other types of SAT solvers and probabilistic inference methods like MCMC. Lazy inference is potentially applicable whenever variables and functions have default values (i.e., a value that is much more frequent than the others). In relational domains, the default is false for atoms and true for clauses. We illustrate our framework by applying it to MC-SAT, a state-of-the-art MCMC algorithm. Experiments on a number of real-world domains show that lazy inference reduces both space and time by several orders of magnitude, making probabilistic relational inference applicable in previously infeasible domains.
The contributions of compositional structure and performance expression to the communication of emotion in music

In this investigation, eight highly-trained musicians communicated emotions through composition, performance expression, or the combination of the two. In the performance condition, they performed melodies with the intention of expressing six target emotions: anger, fear, happiness, neutral, sadness, and tenderness. In the composition condition, they composed melodies to express the same six emotions. The notated compositions were then played digitally without performance expression. In the combined condition, musicians performed the melodies they composed to convey the target emotions. Forty-two listeners heard the stimuli and attempted to decode the emotions in a forced-choice paradigm. Decoding accuracy varied significantly as a function of the channel of communication. Fear was comparatively well-decoded in the composition condition whereas anger was comparatively well decoded in the performance condition. Happiness and sadness were comparatively well-decoded in all three channels of communication. A principal component analysis of cues used by musicians clarified the distinct approaches adopted in composition and performance to differentiate emotional intentions. The results confirm that composition and performance involve the manipulation of distinct cues and have different emotional capabilities.