Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
AN ANALYSIS OF THE MECHANISM OF MICRODAMAGE HEALING BASED ON THE APPLICATION OF MICROMECHANICS FIRST PRINCIPLES OF FRACTURE AND HEALING

The fatigue process is viewed as the result of the competing processes of crack growth and crack healing. The crack growth or damage process is one of microcrack development and growth and ultimately coalescence of microcracks and propagation in the form of macrocracks. During the entire process, and especially during the period of microcrack growth, microdamage healing strongly influences the process. The significance of the process of healing on fatigue damage is proven through laboratory testing during which a very significant recovery of dissipated pseudo energy is demonstrated following rest periods. The significance of the healing process is also proven from field data demonstrating recovery of stiffness measured by surface wave techniques. The mechanism of healing is discussed based on first principles of fracture and healing. These principles show that surface energy of the mixture constituents and mixture compliance must affect both fracture speed and healing speed. The impact of surface energy on the healing process was verified by comparing bitumen surface energies measured for various bitumens to the rate of healing of mixtures containing those bitumens. A micromechanics fracture and healing model linked to a finite element analysis of direct tensile, controlled-strain fatigue tests further verifies the link between surface energy and fracture and healing.
Identification of the Carotenoid Isomerase Provides Insight into Carotenoid Biosynthesis, Prolamellar Body Formation, and Photomorphogenesis Article, publication date, and citation information can be found at www.plantcell.org/cgi/doi/10.1105/tpc.010302.

Carotenoids are essential photoprotective and antioxidant pigments synthesized by all photosynthetic organisms. Most carotenoid biosynthetic enzymes were thought to have evolved independently in bacteria and plants. For example, in bacteria, a single enzyme (CrtI) catalyzes the four desaturations leading from the colorless compound phytoene to the red compound lycopene, whereas plants require two desaturases (phytoene and ζ-carotene desaturases) that are unrelated to the bacterial enzyme. We have demonstrated that carotenoid desaturation in plants requires a third distinct enzyme activity, the carotenoid isomerase (CRTISO), which, unlike phytoene and ζ-carotene desaturases, apparently arose from a progenitor bacterial desaturase. The Arabidopsis CRTISO locus was identified by the partial inhibition of lutein synthesis in light-grown tissue and the accumulation of poly-cis-carotene precursors in dark-grown tissue of crtISO mutants. After positional cloning, enzymatic analysis of CRTISO expressed in Escherichia coli confirmed that the enzyme catalyzes the isomerization of poly-cis-carotenoids to all-trans-carotenoids. Etioplasts of dark-grown crtISO mutants accumulate acyclic poly-cis-carotenoids in place of cyclic all-trans-xanthophylls and also lack prolamellar bodies (PLBs), the lattice of tubular membranes that defines an etioplast. This demonstrates a requirement for carotenoid biosynthesis to form the PLB. The absence of PLBs in crtISO mutants demonstrates a function for this unique structure and carotenoids in facilitating chloroplast development during the first critical days of seedling germination and photomorphogenesis.
Bolstering Implementation Plans for the Long Haul: The Benefits of Simultaneously Boosting Self-Concordance or Self-Efficacy

Recent studies suggest that implementation planning exercises may not be as helpful for long-term, self-initiated goals as for short-term, assigned goals. Two studies used the personal goal paradigm to explore the impact of implementation plans on goal progress over time. Study 1 examined whether administering implementation plans in an autonomy supportive manner would facilitate goal progress relative to a neutral, control condition and a condition in which implementation plans were administered in a controlling manner. Study 2 examined whether combining implementation plans with a self-efficacy boosting exercise would facilitate goal progress relative to a neutral, control condition and a typical implementation condition. The results showed that implementation plans alone did not result in greater goal progress than a neutral condition but that the combination of implementation plans with either autonomy support or self-efficacy boosting resulted in significantly greater goal progress.
Frequency Selective Convolutional Neural Networks for Traffic Sign Recognition

Image recognition, especially traffic sign recognition is an important task for autonomous driving and driver assistance systems. A new Convolutional Neural Network model with the ability of feature selection in frequency domain is presented in this paper, called Frequency Selective Filter Aided (FSFA) CNN model. The new model can integrate low-pass and high-pass filters into both forward and backward propagations in order to place special emphases on feature components in different frequency bands. The theoretical basis, as well as forward and backward propagations are also formulated. Experiments on CIFAR and GTSRB traffic sign recognition datasets show that the proposed model yields better performance for the task of image recognition compared with classic methods.
A First Look at Music Composition using LSTM Recurrent Neural Networks

In general music composed by recurrent neural networks (RNNs) suffers from a lack of global structure. Though networks can learn note-by-note transition probabilities and even reproduce phrases, attempts at learning an entire musical form and using that knowledge to guide composition have been unsuccessful. The reason for this failure seems to be that RNNs cannot keep track of temporally distant events that indicate global music structure. Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) has succeeded in similar domains where other RNNs have failed, such as timing \& counting and CSL learning. In the current study I show that LSTM is also a good mechanism for learning to compose music. I compare this approach to previous attempts, with particular focus on issues of data representation. I present experimental results showing that LSTM successfully learns a form of blues music and is able to compose novel (and I believe pleasing) melodies in that style. Remarkably, once the network has found the relevant structure it does not drift from it: LSTM is able to play the blues with good timing and proper structure as long as one is willing to listen.
Pilot Tolerability Studies of Hydroxychloroquine and Colchicine in Alzheimer Disease

Anti-inflammatory drugs may be useful in the treatment of Alzheimer disease (AD). In preparation for therapeutic trials, we conducted pilot feasibility studies of hydroxychloroquine alone and in combination with colchicine in subjects with AD. A total of 20 subjects with probable AD were treated with hydroxychloroquine 200 mg twice daily for 11 weeks, or hydroxychloroquine 200 mg twice daily plus colchicine 0.6 mg twice daily for 12 weeks; subjects were monitored for adverse medical, cognitive, or behavioral effects. Neither regimen caused adverse effects on cognitive or behavioral assessment scores. There were no significant side effects in subjects receiving hydroxychloroquine alone; 2 subjects receiving the two drugs together experienced diarrhea. We conclude that these regimens of anti-inflammatory therapy are well tolerated in subjects with AD, indicating the feasibility of large-scale therapeutic trials of these agents.
Instant Messaging Acceptance and Use Among College Students

The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model is used to study acceptance and usage of instant messaging among college students. This study validates the UTAUT model in a new environment which is not work related. The results show that functional capability (the presence of various functions in the application) has a direct effect on behavior intention as well as on performance and effort expectancies. The results also show that performance expectancy does not have the hypothesized effect on behavioral intention. This may be attributed to the non-work environment. As replacement, attitude becomes a significant factor on behavioral intention. Peer influence is also found to be an important factor. The model explains more than 60% of the variance in behavioral intention. With the identification of new important variables and relationships for instant messaging, companies of such products can adjust their focus accordingly.
An empirical investigation of a modified technology acceptance model of IPTV

This study explores the factors influencing the adoption of IPTV, and tests the applicability of the technology acceptance model (TAM) in a new convergent technology. The behavioural constructs from TAM were tested for predicting user acceptance of IPTV. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse data and to design a theoretical model predicting the individual's intention to adopt IPTV. A modified TAM for IPTV proposes that new constructs determine user-perceived usefulness and enjoyment of using IPTV. Although this study confirms the impact of information quality and system quality on consumers' technology experience, it specifically shows that the perceived quality of content and system were found to have a significant effect on users' perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment. In addition, social influences had a positive effect on the intention to use IPTV. These findings suggest an extension of the TAM model for convergence technologies. This research advances theory and contributes to the foundation for future research aimed at improving the understanding of users' adoption behaviour of convergence technologies. Implications of these findings for practice and research are examined.
Functionally-focused algorithmic analysis of high resolution microarray-CGH genomic landscapes demonstrates comparable genomic copy number aberrations in MSI and MSS sporadic colorectal cancer

Array-based comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) emerged as a powerful technology for studying copy number variations at higher resolution in many cancers including colorectal cancer. However, the lack of standardized systematic protocols including bioinformatic algorithms to obtain and analyze genomic data resulted in significant variation in the reported copy number aberration (CNA) data. Here, we present genomic aCGH data obtained using highly stringent and functionally relevant statistical algorithms from 116 well-defined microsatellites instable (MSI) and microsatellite stable (MSS) colorectal cancers. We utilized aCGH to characterize genomic CNAs in 116 well-defined sets of colorectal cancer (CRC) cases. We further applied the significance testing for aberrant copy number (STAC) and Genomic Identification of Significant Targets in Cancer (GISTIC) algorithms to identify functionally relevant (nonrandom) chromosomal aberrations in the analyzed colorectal cancer samples. Our results produced high resolution genomic landscapes of both, MSI and MSS sporadic CRC. We found that CNAs in MSI and MSS CRCs are heterogeneous in nature but may be divided into 3 distinct genomic patterns. Moreover, we show that although CNAs in MSI and MSS CRCs differ with respect to their size, number and chromosomal distribution, the functional copy number aberrations obtained from MSI and MSS CRCs were in fact comparable but not identical. These unifying CNAs were verified by MLPA tumor-loss gene panel, which spans 15 different chromosomal locations and contains 50 probes for at least 20 tumor suppressor genes. Consistently, deletion/amplification in these frequently cancer altered genes were identical in MSS and MSI CRCs. Our results suggest that MSI and MSS copy number aberrations driving CRC may be functionally comparable.
The Lim homeobox gene Lhx2 is required for olfactory sensory neuron identity

Progenitor cells in the mouse olfactory epithelium generate over a thousand subpopulations of neurons, each expressing a unique odorant receptor (OR) gene. This event is under the control of spatial cues, since neurons in different epithelial regions are restricted to express region-specific subsets of OR genes. We show that progenitors and neurons express the LIM-homeobox gene Lhx2 and that neurons in Lhx2-null mutant embryos do not diversify into subpopulations expressing different OR genes and other region-restricted genes such as Nqo1 and Ncam2. Lhx2-/- embryos have, however, a normal distribution of Mash1-positive and neurogenin 1-positive neuronal progenitors that leave the cell cycle, acquire pan-neuronal traits and form axon bundles. Increased cell death in combination with increased expression of the early differentiation marker Neurod1, as well as reduced expression of late differentiation markers (Gαolf and Omp), suggests that neuronal differentiation in the absence of Lhx2 is primarily inhibited at, or immediate prior to, onset of OR expression. Aberrant regional expression of early and late differentiation markers, taken together with unaltered region-restricted expression of the Msx1 homeobox gene in the progenitor cell layer of Lhx2-/- embryos, shows that Lhx2 function is not required for all aspects of regional specification of progenitors and neurons. Thus, these results indicate that a cell-autonomous function of Lhx2 is required for differentiation of progenitors into a heterogeneous population of individually and regionally specified mature olfactory sensory neurons.
Effectiveness of a computer-based program for improving the reading performance of deaf students

The purpose of this study was to determine if the use of the reading component of Ticket to Read®, a computer-based educational program, developed to improve hearing students’ fluency could improve deaf students’ fluency in order to improve comprehension. Fluency, the ability to read text accurately and automatically, forms a bridge from decoding to comprehension. This research is significant because the median reading level of deaf students who graduate high school has remained around a fourth grade level equivalent for the past thirty years, and there is a paucity of research that examines evidence-based practices to improve the reading performance of deaf students. There were 27 subjects in this study from an urban day school for the deaf. A dependent t-test was conducted using the subjects’ scores on a pretreatment and posttreatment reading assessment after nine weeks of treatment. No significant difference from pretreatment to posttreatment assessment was found, t(26) = 1.813, p > . 05. In addition, an exploratory analysis using treatment and control groups was conducted using a quasi-experimental design based on mean gain scores from a pretreatment and posttreatment reading assessment. Twenty-seven pairs of subjects were matched on ethnicity, gender, and grade level to determine the main effect of treatment, the interaction effect of treatment and gender, and the interaction effect of treatment and grade level. No significant difference was found for the main effect of treatment, F(1,42) = 1.989, p >. 05. Statistical significance was not found for the interaction between treatment and gender, F(1,50) = 1.209, p >. 05. Statistical significance was not found for the interaction between treatment and grade level, F(2,48) = . 208, p >. 05. The results of this study have implications in the field of deaf education and are congruent with the findings of similar studies involving Repeated Readings to influence comprehension. Although significant tests were non-significant regarding students’ improvement on the reading assessment after the intervention, the direction and magnitude of the mean differences effect sizes for students in the treatment group support the need for further research regarding the evaluation of computer-based educational programs that can be used as effective educational strategies to improve deaf students’ reading performance.
Single-Dose Pharmacokinetics of Enteric-Coated Didanosine in HIV-Infected Children

Didanosine remains a cornerstone nucleoside analogue for the treatment of HIV infection. A potential problem with the buffered formulations of didanosine is the likelihood of interactions with other drugs that require an acidic pH for absorption or can be chelated by cations in the buffer. An encapsulated enteric-coated (EC) bead formulation of didanosine has been approved and is routinely used as an alternative to the chewable/dispersible buffered tablet formulation. The objective of this study was to evaluate the single-dose pharmacokinetics of didanosine EC at 240 mg/m2 in 10 HIV-infected children. Didanosine EC was administered at time 0 on an empty stomach with no other concomitant medications. Blood samples were collected at pre-dose, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8 and 12 h post-dose. Didanosine was measured in plasma using radioimmunoassay. Ten subjects completed the intensive pharmacokinetic evaluation; data are available for eight participants. Plasma concentrations of didanosine following EC administration were analysed using non-compartmental methods. Median (range) AUC∞, Cmax, Tmax and CL/F for didanosine following EC administration were 2385 (1291, 3966) ngxh/ml, 854 (300, 1799) ng/ml, 3.0 (1.0, 8.1) h and 3.3 (2.7–6.4) l/h/kg, respectively. Results from this study indicate that the didanosine Cmax is decreased and Tmax is prolonged, but total exposure of didanosine in plasma following didanosine EC administration appears similar to previous data collected in HIV-infected children following buffered didanosine administration.
Modernization Discourse, Academic Advocacy, and Vested Interests: The Promotion of English-Medium Instruction in Chinese Schools

Like many other developing countries around the world, China is witnessing a growing prominence of English in its school system. One immensely popular form of English provision in the country is Chinese–English bilingual education for majority-language students, which involves the varying use of English as a medium of instruction in the teaching of various school subjects. An overview of this recent development was presented in an earlier article (Hu, 2010). As its sequel, this article presents a critical analysis of the major driving forces behind the current craze for English-medium instruction in China.
Different Aortic Reflection Wave Responses Following Long‐Term Angiotensin‐Converting Enzyme Inhibition And Beta‐Blocker In Essential Hypertension

1. In arterial hypertension, aortic wave reflections contribute to determining central systolic and pulse pressures. The present study assessed the central pressure alterations at the level of the common carotid artery following 1 month treatment with perindopril or atenolol and investigated during the 8 h following drug intake.
Establishing structured support for programming students

This paper describes the structure, implementation, and impact evaluation of a programming support centre for engineering and computing students. The main focus of this centre is to provide a positive, supportive atmosphere where students can voluntarily seek one-to-one assistance with programming difficulties. The support offered is specifically structured to nurture and leverage each student's motivation for taking a programming course whilst providing them with individually tailored advice and practical help. A qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the centre's operation is presented, together with analysis of statistics on student motivation. The results of this research suggest that the newly developed programming support centre has had a positive impact on student learning.
Rapid Signer Adaptation for Isolated Sign Language Recognition

Research in the field of sign language recognition has not yet addressed the problem of interpersonal variance in large vocabulary on the classification level. Current recognition systems are designed for signer-dependent operation. Applied to signer-independent tasks, they show poor performance even when increasing the number of training signers. Better results can be achieved with dedicated adaptation methods. This paper describes a vision-based recognition system that quickly adapts to unknown signers. A combination of Maximum Likelihood Linear Regression and Maximum A Posteriori estimation was implemented and modified to consider the specifics of sign languages, such as one-handed signs. An extensive evaluation was performed in supervised and unsupervised mode on a vocabulary of 153 isolated signs. The proposed adaptation approach significantly increases accuracy even with a small amount of adaptation data. Supervised adaptation with 80 adaptation sequences yields a recognition accuracy of 78.6%, which is a relative improvement of 41.6% compared to the signerindependent baseline.
Chemotopic, Combinatorial, and Noncombinatorial Odorant Representations in the Olfactory Bulb Revealed Using a Voltage-Sensitive Axon Tracer

Odor information is first represented in the brain by patterns of input activity across the glomeruli of the olfactory bulb (OB). To examine how odorants are represented at this stage of olfactory processing, we labeled anterogradely the axons of olfactory receptor neurons with the voltage-sensitive dye Di8-ANEPPQ in zebrafish. The activity induced by diverse natural odorants in afferent axons and across the array of glomeruli was then recorded optically. The results show that certain subregions of the OB are preferentially activated by defined chemical odorant classes. Within these subregions, “ordinary” odorants (amino acids, bile acids, and nucleotides) induce overlapping activity patterns involving multiple glomeruli, indicating that they are represented by combinatorial activity patterns. In contrast, two putative pheromone components (prostaglandin F2α and 17α,20β-dihydroxy-4-pregnene-3-one-20-sulfate) each induce a single focus of activity, at least one of which comes from a single, highly specific and sensitive glomerulus. These results indicate that the OB is organized into functional subregions processing classes of odorants. Furthermore, they suggest that individual odorants can be represented by “combinatorial” or “noncombinatorial” (focal) activity patterns and that the latter may serve to process odorants triggering distinct responses such as that of pheromones.
Two new phosphoglycerate kinase mutations associated with chronic haemolytic anaemia and neurological dysfunction in two patients from Spain

We report two previously undescribed mutations of the phosphoglycerate kinase gene (PGK1) leading to enzyme deficiency. In both cases, the patients were of Spanish origin and they exhibited a severe life‐long chronic haemolytic anaemia associated with progressive neurological impairment. Sequence analysis of the first patient's entire PGK1 gene found a novel missense mutation (140T > A). This mutation caused an amino acid change of Ile to Asn at 46th position from the NH2‐terminal serine residue (Ile46Asn), which has been called PGK‐Barcelona based on the place of origin of the patient. In the second patient, a G to A transversion was discovered at nucleotide 958 (958G > A). This caused a Ser319Asn amino acid substitution. Since this mutation had not been previously described, the provisional name of PGK‐Murcia was given to this deficient enzyme. The crystal structure of porcine PGK was used as a molecular model to investigate how these mutations may affect enzyme structure and function. In both cases, the mutations did not modify any of the PGK binding sites for ATP or 3PG, so their consequence is related to a loss of enzyme stability rather than a decrease of enzyme catalytic function.