Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Using small screen space more efficiently

This paper describes techniques for maximizing the efficient use of small screen space by combining delayed response with semi-transparency of control objects ("widgets") and on-screen text. Most research on the limitations of small display screens has focused on methods for optimizing concurrent display of text and widgets at the same level of transparency (that is, both are equally opaque). Prior research which proposes that widgets may be made semi-transparent is promising, but it does not, we feel, adequately address problems associated with user interaction with text that is partially obscured by the widgets. In this paper, we will propose that a variable delay in the response of overlapping widgets and text improves the effectiveness of the semi-transparent widget/text model. Our conclusions are based on usability studies of a prototype of an online newspaper that combined transparency and delayed-response techniques.
A survey of mobile and wireless technologies for augmented reality systems

Recent advances in hardware and software for mobile computing have enabled a new breed of mobile augmented reality (AR) systems and applications. A new breed of computing called ‘augmented ubiquitous computing’ has resulted from the convergence of wearable computing, wireless networking, and mobile AR interfaces. In this paper, we provide a survey of different mobile and wireless technologies and how they have impact AR. Our goal is to place them into different categories so that it becomes easier to understand the state of art and to help identify new directions of research. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Strength, Power, Speed, and Agility of Women Basketball Players According to Playing Position

Delextrat, A and Cohen, D. Strength, power, speed, and agility of women basketball players according to playing position. J Strength Cond Res 23(7): 1974-1981, 2009-The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of playing position on strength, power, speed, and agility performances of women basketball players. Thirty subjects playing at national level participated in this study. They were divided into 3 groups according to playing position: guards (positions 1 and 2), forwards (positions 3 and 4), and centers (position 5). Each subject performed 8 tests presented in a random order: The 30-second Wingate Anaerobic test (WAnT), isokinetic testing of the knee extensors, 2 types of jump tests, a 20-m sprint, the agility T-test, a suicide run, and a basketball chest pass. Statistical differences between playing positions were assessed using a 1-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Scheffe post hoc analyses. Results showed that guards performed significantly better than centers for the relative peak and mean power achieved during the WAnT (+13% and +16.9%, respectively), relative peak torque of knee extensors (+19.5%), single-leg jump (+21.8), suicide run (+7.5%), and agility T-test (+6.4%, p < 0.05). In addition, guards achieved significantly better performances than forwards in the suicide run test (+7.1%) and forwards were characterized by a greater peak torque of the knee extensors compared to centers (+22.1%). These results indicate that specific fitness training must be undertaken according to playing position. The ability to perform the suicide run, the single-leg jump, and the different movements involved in the agility T-test must be developed in guards. In contrast, speed over short distances and strength development of lower body and upper body should be performed by all playing positions.
PREDICTING LEAKAGE THROUGH COMPOSITE LANDFILL LINERS

Leakage through composite landfill liners having various characteristics was analyzed using existing analytical and numerical models developed for the study. Three-dimensional numerical models were used to analyze leakage through circular defects and two-dimensional numerical models were used to analyze leakage from defective seams. Leakage rates predicted with the numerical models were compared to leakage rates predicted using existing equations and analytical models currently being used. These comparisons show that existing equations and analytical models all have limitations and no universal equation or method is available for predicting leakage rates. To overcome some of the deficiencies in the existing equations and models, new equations were developed based on results from the numerical models. Recommendations are made for using the new equations, existing equations, and analytical models to predict leakage rates in thick composite liners having a geomembrane overlaying a compacted soil liner and thin composite liners having a geomembrane overlaying a geosynthetic clay liner.
The Meliata suture in the Carpathians: regional significance and implications for the evolution of high-pressure wedges within collisional orogens

Abstract The Meliata nappe of the Western Carpathian orogen is comprised of Triassic deep-sea metasedimentary rocks and fragments of blueschist-bearing ophiolite. These were structurally emplaced onto Permian/Triassic shelf sequences and its Variscan basement. The nappe records a succession of deformational events which formed under decreasing pressure conditions. Subduction-related burial and resulting blueschist metamorphism is dated by 40Ar/39Ar plateau ages recorded by four phengitic muscovite concentrates (160–150 Ma). These crystallized during ductile deformation characterized by predominantly coaxial NW–SE stretching. The structures were overprinted by semiductile, nonpenetrative fabric elements which formed under greenschist facies conditions and contemporaneously with fabrics which developed in footwall tectonic units. Kinematic indicators record top north to NW shear during Middle Cretaceous loading of the Meliata unit onto the Inner Carpathian nappe complex recorded by a 40Ar/39Ar whole rock phyllite age of 105.8±1.5 Ma. A subsequent southeastern sense of shear is interpreted to have resulted from extension during Late Cretaceous uplift along hinterland margins of the tectonic wedge. The Meliata unit is part of a major Late Jurassic/Early Cretaceous suture which initially extended from the Alps to the Hellenides. It has been subsequently disrupted as a result of later strike-slip faulting following Tertiary collision of the Cretaceous orogen, and was transported onto extra-Alpine European units.
A prospective single-blind study of Gamma Knife thalamotomy for tremor

Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of unilateral Gamma Knife thalamotomy (GKT) for treatment of severe tremor with a prospective blinded assessment. Methods: Fifty patients (mean age: 74.5 years; 32 men) with severe refractory tremor (36 essential, 14 parkinsonian) were treated with unilateral GKT. Targeting of the ventral intermediate nucleus (Vim) was achieved with Leksell Gamma Knife with a single shot through a 4-mm collimator helmet. The prescription dose was 130 Gy. Neurologic and neuropsychological assessments including a single-blinded video assessment of the tremor severity performed by a movement disorders neurologist from another center were performed before and 12 months after treatment. MRI follow-up occurred at 3, 6, and 12 months. Results: The upper limb tremor score improved by 54.2% on the blinded assessment (p < 0.0001). All tremor components (rest, postural, and intention) were improved. Activities of daily living were improved by 72.2%. Cognitive functions remained unchanged. Following GKT, the median delay of improvement was 5.3 months (range 1–12 months). The only side effect was a transient hemiparesis associated with excessive edema around the thalamotomy in one patient. Conclusion: This blinded prospective assessment demonstrates that unilateral GKT is a safe and efficient procedure for severe medically refractory tremor. Side effects were rare and transient in this study. Classification of evidence: This study provides Class IV evidence that for patients with severe refractory tremor, GKT is well tolerated and effective in reducing tremor impairment.
Depth Map Calculation for a Variable Number of Moving Objects using Markov Sequential Object Processes

We advocate the use of Markov sequential object processes for tracking a variable number of moving objects through video frames with a view towards depth calculation. A regression model based on a sequential object process quantifies goodness of fit; regularization terms are incorporated to control within and between frame object interactions. We construct a Markov chain Monte Carlo method for finding the optimal tracks and associated depths and illustrate the approach on a synthetic data set as well as a sports sequence.
Incorporating porosity-dependent hysteretic water retention behavior into a new constitutive model of unsaturated soils

A new unsaturated soil model was recently developed at Ecole Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'Etat (ENTPE), based on the concept of bounding surface plasticity. The first version of this model (by Morvan et al. in 2010) only required 12 parameters for its definition, and yet can simulate a few behaviors typically observed on unsaturated fine sands, which more classical models fail to reproduce. These include post-peak softening, change from contractant to dilatant behavior dur- ing shearing, and the smooth transition from elastic to elastoplastic behavior upon yielding. Subsequent to this first publica- tion, additional mechanisms have been introduced in the model previously developed. Among them, the hysteretic phenomenon during cyclic variations of suction and water content, as well as the effects of porosity change on water reten- tion characteristics, are now taken into consideration. To this end, the water content is introduced as an independent general- ized strain variable, which is no longer uniquely linked to suction. Thanks to these developments, the model can now account for the bilateral couplings between hydraulic and mechanical quantities, with good precision under very general loading conditions. In the present paper, these new developments are presented in detail, and the experimental basis of this construction is discussed. The model is then validated using existing experimental data on kaolin, by considering two stress paths. The first stress path consists of a single cycle of wetting followed by drying at constant isotropic stress. The second, more complex loading path involves simultaneous variations of suction and isotropic compression or decompression. The re- sults confirm overall the satisfactory performance of the model. The main conclusions are then summarized in the last sec- tion, including perspectives for future developments.
Infectious Disease Immunohistochemistry in Placentas from HIV-Positive and HIV-Negative Patients

Studies comparing placental pathology between human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)–positive and HIV-negative patients have shown conflicting results. In addition, few studies have evaluated the infectious etiology of placental inflammation in HIV-positive patients. We examined a cohort of placentas from 73 HIV-positive and 41 HIV-negative patients to gain a better understanding of the spectrum of placental inflammatory lesions. Bacterial and viral immunohistochemistry (IHC) was run on a subset of placentas (12 HIV-positive and 7 HIV-negative) with the greatest amount of inflammation. Although few histologic differences were seen between the HIV-positive and HIV-negative groups, chorioamnionitis was of a higher stage in the HIV-positive placentas. An infectious agent was found by IHC in 3 of 7 HIV-negative patients (2 Neisseria spp. and 1 group B Streptococcus). One HIV-positive placenta showed gram-positive cocci on fetal membranes; organisms were not detected by IHC. In 2 patients, the etiologic agent was not suspected prior to IHC. This study identified that acute inflammation is less common in placentas from HIV-positive patients, compared with HIV-negative patients. However, when severe inflammation is present, infectious organisms may be identified by IHC, providing a more specific diagnosis and offering a beneficial impact in maternal and fetal management.
Interaction between a G-Patch Protein and a Spliceosomal DEXD/H-Box ATPase That Is Critical for Splicing

ABSTRACT Prp2 is an RNA-dependent ATPase that activates the spliceosome before the first transesterification reaction of pre-mRNA splicing. Prp2 has extensive homology throughout the helicase domain characteristic of DEXD/H-box helicases and a conserved carboxyl-terminal domain also found in the spliceosomal helicases Prp16, Prp22, and Prp43. Despite the extensive homology shared by these helicases, each has a distinct, sequential role in splicing; thus, uncovering the determinants of specificity becomes crucial to the understanding of Prp2 and the other DEAH-splicing helicases. Mutations in an 11-mer near the C-terminal end of Prp2 eliminate its spliceosome binding and splicing activity. Here we show that a helicase-associated protein interacts with this domain and that this interaction contributes to the splicing process. First, a genome-wide yeast two-hybrid screen using Prp2 as bait identified Spp2, which contained a motif with glycine residues found in a number of RNA binding proteins. SPP2 was originally isolated as a genetic suppressor of a prp2 mutant. In a reciprocal screen, Spp2 specifically pulled out the C-terminal half of Prp2. Mutations in the Prp2 C-terminal 11-mer that disrupted function or spliceosome binding also disrupted Spp2 interaction. A screen of randomly mutagenized SPP2 clones identified an Spp2 protein with a mutation in the G patch that could restore interaction with Prp2 and enhanced splicing in a prp2 mutant strain. The study identifies a potential mechanism for Prp2 specificity mediated through a unique interaction with Spp2 and elucidates a role for a helicase-associated protein in the binding of a DEXD/H-box protein to the spliceosome.
Luminescence dating and glacial stratigraphy in Westland, New Zealand

Abstract Westland is a key region in New Zealand for Quaternary stratigraphy; however, the regional glacial chronology is largely unsupported by numerical ages because of the unreliability of radiocarbon dating in this high‐rainfall region. Therefore, we tested the ability of thermoluminescence (TL) and infrared‐stimulated luminescence (IRSL) to produce stratigraphically consistent age estimates in this area. At Blue Spur Road, we obtained a stratigraphically reasonable TL age of 47 ± 7 ka in the second buried E horizon and a perhaps underestimated 53 ± 16 ka in the lower part of the fourth buried Bs horizon. A marine sand underlying Waimea outwash gave an incorrect (underestimated) IRSL age of c. 44 ka. In Saltwater Forest we collected five samples from two loess profiles overlying glacial moraines. Only one TL age (36 ± 3 ka in the lower part of the first Bs horizon) is acceptable. The next lower sample (c. 1.2 m), stratigraphically probably younger than 125 ka, gave a reasonable IRSL age of 89 ± 15 ka. In trench M1/1, on an older moraine, two TL age estimates were stratigraphically reversed, with a third result (87 ± 30 ka in unit L4) being reasonable. In contrast, IRSL produced ages of 65 ± 16 ka (1.1 m) and 145 ± 36 ka (2.0 m) for the upper two samples, removing the TL‐age reversal, although the age of the lower sample may be an overestimate. The third IRSL result (36 ± 5 ka, 2.7 m) is much too young, like the corresponding TL result. Thus, although TL is generally unreliable in the highly weathered loess‐paleosol sequences of Westland, the IRSL technique offers more promise, perhaps because of IRSL's feldspar specificity and its far greater signal‐zeroing efficiency.
Slope class maps from soil survey and digital elevation models

Special-purpose land use maps based on slope attributes form digital elevation models (DEMs) often are produced with geographic information system technology. Field verification is lacking for accuracy and precision of computer-generated slope class maps from 10- and 30-m DEMs, a standard USDA (1:24 000) soil survey, and field-measured slopes. Two 16-ha sites in Atchison County, Missouri, were selected, flagged on 10-m grids, and the slope was field measured for each grid cell. The field-measured slope class maps were templates for cell-by-cell comparisons with the computer-generated slope classes. More than 50% of the areas were classified into correct slope classes with 10-m DEM maps. The 30-m DEM maps were 30 and 21% correctly classified in the two study areas. Two iterations of low-pass filters increased the accuracy of the 10-m derived maps, but decreased the accuracy of one 30-m derived map. Soil survey techniques correctly classified >30% of each area, but did not capture landscape heterogeneity. The GIS-produced maps underestimated slopes on convexities and overestimated slopes on concavities. Slope class maps from 10-m DEMs have potential use for soil survey and land use planning
Linear Convergence of SVRG in Statistical Estimation

SVRG and its variants are among the state of art optimization algorithms for large scale machine learning problems. It is well known that SVRG converges linearly when the objective function is strongly convex. However this setup can be restrictive, and does not include several important formulations such as Lasso, group Lasso, logistic regression, and some non-convex models including corrected Lasso and SCAD. In this paper, we prove that, for a class of statistical M-estimators covering examples mentioned above, SVRG solves the formulation with {\em a linear convergence rate} without strong convexity or even convexity. Our analysis makes use of {\em restricted strong convexity}, under which we show that SVRG converges linearly to the fundamental statistical precision of the model, i.e., the difference between true unknown parameter $\theta^*$ and the optimal solution $\hat{\theta}$ of the model.
Do the Rich Always Become Richer? Characterizing the Leaf Physiological Response of the High-Yielding Rice Cultivar Takanari to Free-Air CO2 Enrichment

The development of crops which are well suited to growth under future environmental conditions such as higher atmospheric CO2 concentrations ([CO2]) is essential to meeting the challenge of ensuring food security in the face of the growing human population and changing climate. A high-yielding indica rice variety (Oryza sativa L. cv. Takanari) has been recently identified as a potential candidate for such breeding, due to its high productivity in present [CO2]. To test if it could further increase its productivity under elevated [CO2] (eCO2), Takanari was grown in the paddy field under season-long free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE, approximately 200 µmol mol−1 above ambient [CO2]) and its leaf physiology was compared with the representative japonica variety ‘Koshihikari’. Takanari showed consistently higher midday photosynthesis and stomatal conductance than Koshihikari under both ambient and FACE growth conditions over 2 years. Maximum ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylation and electron transport rates were higher for Takanari at the mid-grain filling stage in both years. Mesophyll conductance was higher in Takanari than in Koshihikari at the late grain-filling stage. In contrast to Koshihikari, Takanari grown under FACE conditions showed no decrease in total leaf nitrogen on an area basis relative to ambient-grown plants. Chl content was higher in Takanari than in Koshihikari at the same leaf nitrogen level. These results indicate that Takanari maintains its superiority over Koshihikari in regards to its leaf-level productivity when grown in elevated [CO2] and it may be a valuable resource for rice breeding programs which seek to increase crop productivity under current and future [CO2].
Elevated STAT3 Signaling-Mediated Upregulation of MMP-2/9 Confers Enhanced Invasion Ability in Multidrug-Resistant Breast Cancer Cells

The development of multidrug resistance greatly impedes effective cancer therapy. Recent advances in cancer research have demonstrated that acquisition of multidrug resistance by cancer cells is usually accompanied by enhanced cell invasiveness. Several lines of evidence indicated that cross activation of other signaling pathways during development of drug resistance may increase invasive potential of multidrug-resistant (MDR) cancer cells. However, the accurate mechanism of this process is largely undefined. In this study, to better understand the associated molecular pathways responsible for cancer progression induced by drug resistance, a MDR human breast cancer cell line SK-BR-3/EPR with P-glycoprotein overexpression was established using stepwise long-term exposure to increasing concentration of epirubicin. The SK-BR-3/EPR cell line exhibited decreased cell proliferative activity, but enhanced cell invasive capacity. We showed that the expression of metastasis-related matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2/9 was elevated in SK-BR-3/EPR cells. Moreover, SK-BR-3/EPR cells showed elevated activation of STAT3. Activation of STAT3 signaling is responsible for enhanced invasiveness of SK-BR-3/EPR cells through upregulation of MMP-2/9. STAT3 is a well-known oncogene and is frequently implicated in tumorigenesis and chemotherapeutic resistance. Our findings augment insight into the mechanism underlying the functional association between MDR and cancer invasiveness.
Online Dating

Many of us enter the dating pool looking for that special someone, but finding a romantic partner can be difficult. With the rise of the digital age, it is no surprise that people have flocked to the Internet as a way to take control of their dating lives and find their “soulmate. ” But is online dating essentially different than conventional dating, and does it promote better romantic outcomes? In this new report, Eli J. Finkel (Northwestern University), Paul W. Eastwick (Texas A & M University), Benjamin R. Karney (UCLA), Harry T. Reis (University of Rochester), and Susan Sprecher (Illinois State University) take a comprehensive look at the access, communication, and matching services provided by online dating sites.
FRACTURE MECHANICS OF CONCRETE STRUCTURES

State-of-the-art report: Fracture mechanics of concrete: concepts, models and determination of material properties. Why fracture mechanics? Essential results from linear elastic fracture mechanics. Nonlinear fracture models with softening zone. Special nonlinear fracture models based on adaptions of LEFM. Size effect and brittleness of structures. Experimental or analytical determination of material fracture parameters. Factors influencing fracture parameters. Effect of reinforcement. Crack systems. Concluding remarks. References and bibliography. Appendix 1- derivations of some formulas. Conference papers. Material models for concrete fracture. Damage modelling. Numerical analysis of concrete fracture. Experimental methods and determination of fracture characteristics. Measurements of damage and size effect. Dynamic fracture. Fracture under shear. Fracture of reinforced concrete. Interaction between concrete and reinforcement. Fatigue and rate effects. Environment effects [temperature, shrinkage, corrosion]. Index.