Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Distinct Roles of T Cell-Derived Cytokines and a Novel Follicular Dendritic Cell-Signaling Molecule 8D6 in Germinal Center-B Cell Differentiation

Germinal center-B (GC-B) cells differentiate into memory B cells and plasma cells (PC) through interaction with T cells and follicular dendritic cells (FDC). Activated T cell and FDC play distinct roles in this process. The detailed kinetic experiments revealed that cytokines secreted by activated T cells determined the pathway of GC-B cell differentiation. IL-4 directs GC-B cells to differentiate into memory B cells, whereas IL-10 steers them into PC. FDC/HK cells do not direct either pathway, but provide signals for proliferation of GC-B cells. A novel FDC-signaling molecule 8D6 (FDC-SM-8D6) produced by FDC augments PC generation in the GC. FDC-SM-8D6-specific mAb blocked PC generation and IgG secretion but not memory B cell proliferation. COS cells expressing FDC-SM-8D6 enhanced GC-B cell proliferation and Ab secretion, which was blocked by mAb 8D6. In the cultures with B cell subsets, PC generation was inhibited by mAb 8D6 in the cultures with CD27+ B cells but not in the culture with CD27− B cells, suggesting that CD27+ PC precursor is the specific target of FDC-SM-8D6 stimulation.
Metachromatic leukodystrophy manifesting as a schizophrenic disorder: Computed tomographic correlation

A 32‐year‐old woman with a 12‐year history of schizophrenia demonstrated symmetrical bifrontal and biparietal periventricular hypodensities on computed tomographic scan. Sural nerve biopsy and urine and leukocyte enzyme assay confirmed the diagnosis of metachromatic leukodystrophy. The computed tomographic correlate in an adult with metachromatic leukodystrophy in whom the psychiatric manifestations were the predominant clinical feature is described.
Authentic leadership strategies in support of mentoring processes

The aim of the study was to determine whether teacher-mentees perceive their mentors as authentic leaders and if so, how these perceptions affected their leadership strategies. The sample included 60 Israeli teacher-mentees from different school levels and different sectors, who volunteered to participate in the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore participants' perceptions of mentoring processes that had influenced them professionally. Based on a confirmatory approach in qualitative analysis, using ATLAS.ti 5.0, we found that the influential mentors were perceived as authentic leaders who acted within four dimensions that were consistent with authentic leadership theory: self-awareness, balanced processing, relational transparency and internalised moral perspective. In addition, it was found that the influential mentors had contributed to the mentees' development of leadership strategies that included envisioning, engaging, evaluating, reflecting and monitoring. These findings may contribute to the development of preparatory programmes that can focus on development of authentic leaders among mentors, and may assist in developing middle-level leadership among their mentees. The present study indicated that mentoring characterised by authentic leadership could contribute to the broadening of leadership circles and to the construction of middle-level leadership through advancing mentees' leadership strategies within their educational spheres.
Predictors of behavioral avoidance in dental phobia: The role of gender, dysfunctional cognitions and the need for control

Abstract Dental anxiety and the related avoidance of dental treatment can result in severe impairment of health. We investigated the influence on avoidance behavior of phobic severity, gender, characteristics related to generalized anxiety and depression, such as dysfunctional cognitions and sensitivity of bodily symptoms, as well as personality traits of self-efficacy and locus of control. Forty-eight dental phobics were given an initial assessment and avoidance behavior was determined by the degree of observance of three subsequent dental appointments. Principal component analysis revealed separate factors for trait and phobic anxiety as well as for avoidance and dysfunctional cognitions. Women showed a higher degree of avoidance than men. Regression analysis revealed a high desire for control over dental treatment combined with a low level of perceived control as the only significant predictor variable of avoidance. The results suggest that avoidance behavior in dental phobia could be reduced by extending patients’ control over treatment conditions.
[Cannabis use and the risk of psychotic disorders. An update].

BACKGROUND The use of cannabis has been linked to an increased risk for psychosis, irrespective of confounding factors such as age, gender, use of other drugs and reverse causality. Over the last few years a great deal of research has been done to broaden our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of this link. AIM To update studies that have examined the link between cannabis use and psychosis and that have investigated the possible mechanisms underlying this link. METHOD This article discusses recent epidemiological and experimental research that sheds light on the nature of the link and the influence of interactions between genes and environment. RESULTS The long-term effects of cannabis on the risk factors for psychosis and psychotic disorders are influenced to a large extent by genetic and environmental factors. Furthermore, patients with a psychotic disorder seem to be extremely vulnerable to the acute effects of cannabis. CONCLUSION Studies show that cannabis use is an important risk factor for psychosis and psychotic disorders. So far, however, less research has been done into the effects of cannabis use on patients already suffering from a psychotic disorder.
BTF Rendering for Virtual Environments

Virtual Environments mostly try to convey as realistic as possible impressions. Among other senses, the eye provides the users with the most important inputs. Achieving visual realism typically relies on highly accurate geometric models. Unfortunately unhandleable amounts of triangles need to be rendered to adequately represent mesostructure. Furthermore, sophisticated lighting calculations need to be computed to incorporate local self-shadowing and interreflection effects. In current VR systems material representations like textures and bump-maps are utilized to compensate the abovementioned problems. While these approximations yield sufficient results for very simple materials, they are insufficient for more ambitious applications like cloth visualization or interior design, which require highly realistic material representations like the bi-directional texture function (BTF). In this work, we compare several real-time BTF rendering methods concerning accuracy, runtime and memory requirements, and identify application areas for the different techniques. In addition, we show how BTF rendering can be integrated into scene-graph systems.
Critical multicultural education and teacher sense of agency

The interface between individual agency and subjectivity, and the hegemonic force of larger structures has brought many to characterize identity as not only being multiple and fluid but also as a site of struggle. Norton characterizes these aspects of our subjectivity in terms of ‘imagined communities’, groups, intangible or not readily accessible, to which an individual desires to belong. An individual's membership in a particular community of practice is at times contested either by their current situation or by the way they are positioned (or believe they are positioned) by others. Within this context of identity construction, teacher candidates begin to shape their sense of agency. In conjunction with the social structures that shape one's sense of agency, neoliberal factors frame the context wherein teachers' develop their perceptions about incorporating critical multicultural curricula. In this research project, I examined this intersection – between the local and the global – to better understand how teacher education can work to support and strengthen the possibility for critical pedagogy to be realized in teachers' classrooms. The findings indicate that structural obstacles undermined these teachers' ability to visualize and place aspects of social justice and diversity at the foundation of instruction.
Learning and motivation to transfer after an e-learning programme: impact of trainees’ motivation to train, personal interaction and satisfaction

While e-learning appears to be increasingly present in training and education, the systematic evaluation of its effectiveness remains understudied. In this paper, we determine the mediating role of satisfaction between motivation to train and personal interaction, on the one hand, and learning and motivation to transfer, on the other hand. A particularity of this study is that we distinguish between different dimensions of satisfaction – enjoyment, utility, difficulty and take into account lack of personal interaction as a variable influencing satisfaction. Results of structural equation modelling analyses show an impact of the enjoyment dimension on learning, and of the utility and difficulty dimensions on motivation to transfer. The results also stress the importance of interaction opportunities, as these have an indirect effect on learning and motivation to transfer.
Fast exact minimization of BDDs

We present a new exact algorithm for finding the optimal variable ordering for reduced ordered Binary Decision Diagrams (BDDs). The algorithm makes use of a lower bound technique known from VLSI design. Up to now this technique has been used only for theoretical considerations and if is adapted here for our purpose. Furthermore, the algorithm supports symmetry aspects and makes use of a hashing based data structure. Experimental results are given to demonstrate the efficiency of our approach. We succeeded in minimizing adder functions with up to 64 variables, while all other previously presented approaches fail.
DESINIBIÇÃO, ESPONTANEIDADE E CODIFICAÇÃO PERCEBIDA PELOS ALUNOS DE EXPRESSÃO CORPORAL

This article aims to identify student’s perceptions regarding the lack of inhibition, spontaneity and codification of the tasks associated with corporal expression. The study sample comprised 18 students (24.46 ± 2.22 years old) of corporal expression at the University of Vigo (Spain). A content analysis of the student’s logbooks was undertaken. Data was processed using the NVIVO 8 software. Results showed that visual and tactile interaction inhibits expressive commitment, instructions based on metaphors facilitate spontaneous movement and codification of gestures favours the transmission of messages .
DISC1: Structure, Function, and Therapeutic Potential for Major Mental Illness

Disrupted in schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) is well established as a genetic risk factor across a spectrum of psychiatric disorders, a role supported by a growing body of biological studies, making the DISC1 protein interaction network an attractive therapeutic target. By contrast, there is a relative deficit of structural information to relate to the myriad biological functions of DISC1. Here, we critically appraise the available bioinformatics and biochemical analyses on DISC1 and key interacting proteins, and integrate this with the genetic and biological data. We review, analyze, and make predictions regarding the secondary structure and propensity for disordered regions within DISC1, its protein-interaction domains, subcellular localization motifs, and the structural and functional implications of common and ultrarare DISC1 variants associated with major mental illness. We discuss signaling pathways of high pharmacological potential wherein DISC1 participates, including those involving phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) and glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3). These predictions and priority areas can inform future research in the translational and potentially guide the therapeutic processes.
Brainatwork: logging cognitive engagement and tasks in the workplace using electroencephalography

Today's workplaces are dynamic and complex. Digital data sources such as email and video conferencing aim to support workers but also add to their burden of multitasking. Psychophysiological sensors such as Electroencephalography (EEG) can provide users with cues about their cognitive state. We introduce BrainAtWork, a workplace engagement and task logger which shows users their cognitive state while working on different tasks. In a lab study with eleven participants working on their own real-world tasks, we gathered 16 hours of EEG and PC logs which were labeled into three classes: central, peripheral and meta work. We evaluated the usability of BrainAtWork via questionnaires and interviews. We investigated the correlations between measured cognitive engagement from EEG and subjective responses from experience sampling probes. Using random forests classification, we show the feasibility of automatically labeling work tasks into work classes. We discuss how BrainAtWork can support workers on the long term through encouraging reflection and helping in task scheduling.
Declustered disk array architectures with optimal and near-optimal parallelism

This paper investigates the placement of data and parity on redundant disk arrays. Declustered organizations have been traditionally used to achieve fast reconstruction of a failed disk's contents. In previous work, Holland and Gibson identified six desirable properties for ideal layouts; however no declustered layout satisfying all properties has been published in the literature. We present a complete, constructive characterization of the collection of ideal declustered layouts possessing all six properties. Given that ideal layouts exist only for a limited set of configurations, we also present two novel layout families. PRIME and RELPR can tolerate multiple failures in a wide variety of configurations with slight deviations from the ideal. Our simulation studies show that the new layouts provide excellent parallel access performance and reduced incremental loads during degraded operation, when compared with previously published layouts. For large accesses and under high loads, response times for the new layouts are typically smaller than those of previously published declustered layouts by a factor of 2.5.
Problem‐based learning: Using ill‐structured problems in biology project work

This case study involved year 9 students carrying out project work in biology via problem-based learning. The purpose of the study was to (a) find out how students approach and work through ill-structured problems, (b) identify some issues and challenges related to the use of such problems, and (c) offer some practical suggestions on the implementation of problem-based project work. Data sources included observation and field notes, students' written documents, audiotapes and videotapes of students at work, and student interviews. The findings showed that several students initially experienced difficulties in identifying a problem themselves but after discussing with family and friends, were able to overcome this initial barrier and subsequently formulated personally meaningful problems for investigation. The ill-structured problems stimulated students to pose questions which charted their courses of action, leading to independent inquiry. Students were led to investigate multidisciplinary elements beyond the boundaries of typical school science, and also learned about different modes of inquiry. The issues and challenges identified included identifying a problem for investigation; asking questions to negotiate the learning pathway; deciding what areas to pursue, given a multitude of possibilities; and figuring out how to extract relevant information from the available mass. Implications of the findings for instructional practice are discussed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed90:,44–67, 2006
Semiclassical time-dependent propagation in three dimensions for a Coulomb potential

A unified semiclassical time propagator is used to calculate the semiclassical time-correlation function in three cartesian dimensions for a particle moving in an attractive Coulomb potential. It is demonstrated that under these conditions the singularity of the potential does not cause any difficulties and the Coulomb interaction can be treated as any other non-singular potential. Moreover, by virtue of our three-dimensional calculation, we can explain the discrepancies between previous semiclassical and quantum results obtained for the one-dimensional radial Coulomb problem.
Some Convergence Results for Howard's Algorithm

This paper deals with convergence results of Howard's algorithm for the resolution of $\min_{a\in\mathcal{A}} (B^a x - c^a) = 0$, where $B^a$ is a matrix, $c^a$ is a vector, and $\mathcal{A}$ is a compact set. We show a global superlinear convergence result, under a monotonicity assumption on the matrices $B^a$. Extensions of Howard's algorithm for a max-min problem of the form $\max_{b\in\mathcal{B}} \min_{a\in\mathcal{A}} (B^{a,b}x - c^{a,b}) = 0$ are also proposed. In the particular case of an obstacle problem of the form $\min (Ax - b,$ $x - g) = 0$, where $A$ is an $N \times N$ matrix satisfying a monotonicity assumption, we show the convergence of Howard's algorithm in no more than $N$ iterations, instead of the usual $2^N$ bound. Still in the case of an obstacle problem, we establish the equivalence between Howard's algorithm and a primal-dual active set algorithm [M. Hintermuller, K. Ito, and K. Kunisch, SIAM J. Optim. , 13 (2002), pp. 865-888]. The algorithms are illustrated on the discretization of nonlinear PDEs arising in the context of mathematical finance (American option and Merton's portfolio problem), of front propagation problems, and for the double-obstacle problem.
Impact of the calculation algorithm on biexponential fitting of diffusion‐weighted MRI in upper abdominal organs

To compare the variability, precision, and accuracy of six different algorithms (Levenberg–Marquardt, Trust‐Region, Fixed‐Dp, Segmented‐Unconstrained, Segmented‐Constrained, and Bayesian‐Probability) for computing intravoxel‐incoherent‐motion‐related parameters in upper abdominal organs.
Capacity theorems for the Cognitive Radio Channel with confidential messages

In this paper, capacity limits are explored for the Cognitive Radio Channel (CRC) with confidential messages. As an idealized information theoretic model for the cognitive radio, this channel includes two transmitters which send independent messages to their corresponding receivers such that one transmitter, i.e., the cognitive transmitter, has access non-causally to the message of the other transmitter, i.e., the primary transmitter. The message designated to each receiver is required to be kept confidential with respect to the other receiver. The secrecy level for each message is evaluated using the equivocation rate. Novel inner and outer bounds for the capacity-equivocation region are established. It is shown that these bounds coincide for some special cases. Specifically, the capacity-equivocation region is derived for a class of less-noisy CRCs and also a class of semi-deterministic CRCs. For the case where only the message of the cognitive transmitter is required to be kept confidential, the capacity-equivocation region is also established for the Gaussian CRC with weak interference.
Monitoring and Risk Assessment of Pesticide Residues in Commercially Dried Vegetables

We tested for residual pesticide levels in dried vegetables in Seoul, Korea. A total of 100 samples of 13 different types of agricultural products were analyzed by a gas chromatography-nitrogen phosphate detector (GC-NPD), an electron capture detector (GC-μECD), a mass spectrometry detector (GC-MSD), and a high performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detector (HPLC-UV). We used multi-analysis methods to analyze for 253 different pesticide types. Among the selected agricultural products, residual pesticides were detected in 11 samples, of which 2 samples (2.0%) exceeded the Korea Maximum Residue limits (MRLs). We detected pesticide residue in 6 of 9 analyzed dried pepper leaves and 1 sample exceeded the Korea MRLs. Data obtained were then used for estimating the potential health risks associated with the exposures to these pesticides. The estimated daily intakes (EDIs) range from 0.1% of the acceptable daily intake (ADI) for bifenthrin to 8.4% of the ADI for cadusafos. The most critical commodity is cadusafos in chwinamul, contributing 8.4% to the hazard index (HI). This results show that the detected pesticides could not be considered a serious public health problem. Nevertheless, an investigation into continuous monitoring is recommended.
The effect of flange connectors on the radiation performance of narrow wall slotted waveguide antenna at X-band frequency

This paper demonstrated the radiation performance of the effect of connecting two narrow wall slotted waveguide antennas using flange connectors at X-Band Frequency. The antenna designs consist of 64 slot at WR90 waveguide, with UBR100 flange connector. The simulation results show that side lobe level is the most influenced performance by connection. The antenna without flange connector has a better side lobe level of 5.06 dB compared to the antenna using a flange connector. The antenna without flange connector has a better side lobe level of 2.15 dB compared with the connecting trimmed flanges.
On Equitable Coloring of d-Degenerate Graphs

An equitable coloring of a graph is a proper vertex coloring such that the sizes of any two color classes differ by at most 1. A d-degenerate graph is a graph G in which every subgraph has a vertex with degree at most d. A star Sm with m rays is an example of a 1-degenerate graph with maximum degree m that needs at least 1+m/2 colors for an equitable coloring. Our main result is that every n-vertex d-degenerate graph G with maximum degree at most n/15 can be equitably k-colored for each $k \ge 16d$. The proof of this bound is constructive. We extend the algorithm implied in the proof to an O(d)-factor approximation algorithm for equitable coloring of an arbitrary d-degenerate graph. Among the implications of this result is an O(1)-factor approximation algorithm for equitable coloring of planar graphs with fewest colors. A variation of equitable coloring (equitable partitions) is also discussed.
Contour Detection and Characterization for Asynchronous Event Sensors

The bio-inspired, asynchronous event-based dynamic vision sensor records temporal changes in the luminance of the scene at high temporal resolution. Since events are only triggered at significant luminance changes, most events occur at the boundary of objects and their parts. The detection of these contours is an essential step for further interpretation of the scene. This paper presents an approach to learn the location of contours and their border ownership using Structured Random Forests on event-based features that encode motion, timing, texture, and spatial orientations. The classifier integrates elegantly information over time by utilizing the classification results previously computed. Finally, the contour detection and boundary assignment are demonstrated in a layer-segmentation of the scene. Experimental results demonstrate good performance in boundary detection and segmentation.