Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Physical and Mechanical Evaluation of Five Suture Materials on Three Knot Configurations: An in Vitro Study

The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the mechanical properties of five suture materials on three knot configurations when subjected to different physical conditions. Five 5-0 (silk, polyamide 6/66, polyglycolic acid, glycolide-e-caprolactone copolymer, polytetrafluoroethylene) suture materials were used. Ten samples per group of each material were used. Three knot configurations were compared A.2=1=1 (forward–forward–reverse), B.2=1=1 (forward–reverse–forward), C.1=2=1 (forward–forward–reverse). Mechanical properties (failure load, elongation, knot slippage/breakage) were measured using a universal testing machine. Samples were immersed in three different pH concentrations (4,7,9) at room temperature for 7 and 14 days. For the thermal cycle process, sutures were immersed in two water tanks at different temperatures (5 and 55 °C). Elongation and failure load were directly dependent on the suture material. Polyglycolic acid followed by glycolide-e-caprolactone copolymer showed the most knot failure load, while polytetrafluoroethylene showed the lowest (p < 0.001). Physical conditions had no effect on knot failure load (p = 0.494). Statistically significant differences were observed between knot configurations (p = 0.008). Additionally, individual assessment of suture material showed statistically significant results for combinations of particular knot configurations. Physical conditions, such as pH concentration and thermal cycle process, have no influence on suture mechanical properties. However, knot failure load depends on the suture material and knot configuration used. Consequently, specific suturing protocols might be recommended to obtain higher results of knot security.
Efficient parametric decoder of low density lattice codes

A new efficient parametric algorithm for implementing the low density lattice codes belief propagation decoder is presented. In the new algorithm the messages passed over the edges are represented by Gaussian parameters lists, and the decoding algorithm uses the low density lattice codes propagation properties in order to group lists efficiently according to a new criteria. The new algorithm attains essentially the same performance as the quantized decoder, proposed in previous work. The new algorithm advantage in comparison to previous works is its smaller storage requirements and its relatively low computational complexity.
Sentence Parsing in a Morphologically Rich Language - Finnish

We review evidence on how sentences are parsed in Finnish – a morphologically rich language. The reviewed studies focus on effects of word order, morphological agreement, and morphological complexity. As regards word order, it has been shown that infrequent word orders are more difficult to process than frequent word orders. Moreover, pragmatic constraints can wipe out the effect of structural frequency, although the pragmatic influence is non-immediate. Morphological agreement in modifier–head noun phrases facilitates their processing. The effect is delayed in nature, which (in combination with other evidence) suggests that facilitation operates at the level of syntactic integration. Finally, evidence is reviewed that demonstrates an effect of morphological complexity and density in the processing of complex verb constructions, but only when the complex and less complex constructions are equally frequent. This is not the case when the complex construction is more frequent, suggesting the structural frequency can override a morphological complexity effect.
The school as social context: social interaction patterns of children with physical disabilities.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of the school social environment experienced by children with physical disabilities and the social interactional characteristics of children with physical disabilities in the school environment. The goal was to understand the interactive processes that support or inhibit these children's social interactions. METHOD Naturalistic observation and participant interviews were used to collect data on social interaction patterns of three children with physical disabilities 5 to 8 years of age who were enrolled in age-appropriate regular education classrooms. Descriptive codes were obtained through constant comparative analysis. RESULTS Four themes were identified that characterized aspects of the social environment affecting the social interactions of children with disabilities: reciprocity, characteristics of social and play interactions, effects of adult involvement, and quality of occupational engagement. CONCLUSION The study supports the need for occupational therapists to focus intervention on multiple aspects of the social environment to facilitate children's socialization.
Author ' s Accepted Manuscript Feature fusion for facial landmark detection

Facial landmark detection is a crucial first step in facial analysis for biometrics and numerous other applications. However, it has proved to be a very challenging task due to the numerous sources of variation in 2D and 3D facial data. Although landmark detection based on descriptors of the 2D and 3D appearance of the face has been extensively studied, the fusion of such feature descriptors is a relatively under-studied issue. In this paper, a novel generalized framework for combining facial feature descriptors is presented, and several feature fusion schemes are proposed and evaluated. The proposed framework maps each feature into a similarity score, combines the individual similarity scores into a resultant score, used to select the optimal solution for a queried landmark. The evaluation of the proposed fusion schemes for facial landmark detection clearly indicates that a quadratic distance to similarity mapping in conjunction with a root mean square rule for similarity Email addresses: p.perakis@di.uoa. gr (Panagiotis Perakis), theotheo@di.uoa. gr (Theoharis Theoharis), ikakadia@central.uh. edu (Ioannis A. Kakadiaris) Preprint submitted to Pattern Recognition March 19, 2014 fusion achieves the best performance in accuracy, efficiency, robustness and monotonicity.
Systematic effects on dark energy from 3D weak shear

We present an investigation into the potential effect of systematics inherent in multiband wide-field surveys on the dark energy equation-of-state determination for two 3D weak lensing methods. The weak lensing methods are a geometric shear-ratio method and 3D cosmic shear. The analysis here uses an extension of the Fisher matrix framework to include jointly photometric redshift systematics, shear distortion systematics and intrinsic alignments. Using analytic parametrizations of these three primary systematic effects allows an isolation of systematic parameters of particular importance. We show that assuming systematic parameters are fixed, but possibly biased, results in potentially large biases in dark energy parameters. We quantify any potential bias by defining a Bias Figure of Merit. By marginalizing over extra systematic parameters, such biases are negated at the expense of an increase in the cosmological parameter errors. We show the effect on the dark energy Figure of Merit of marginalizing over each systematic parameter individually. We also show the overall reduction in the Figure of Merit due to all three types of systematic effects. Based on some assumption of the likely level of systematic errors, we find that the largest effect on the Figure of Merit comes from uncertainty in the photometric redshift systematic parameters. These can reduce the Figure of Merit by up to a factor of 2 to 4 in both 3D weak lensing methods, if no informative prior on the systematic parameters is applied. Shear distortion systematics have a smaller overall effect. Intrinsic alignment effects can reduce the Figure of Merit by up to a further factor of 2. This, however, is a worst-case scenario, within the assumptions of the parametrizations used. By including prior information on systematic parameters, the Figure of Merit can be recovered to a large extent, and combined constraints from 3D cosmic shear and shear ratio are robust to systematics. We conclude that, as a rule of thumb, given a realistic current understanding of intrinsic alignments and photometric redshifts, then including all three primary systematic effects reduces the Figure of Merit by at most a factor of 2.
ICT in road vehicles — Reliable vehicle sensor information from OBD versus CAN

The focus of the research and development activities in Intelligent Transportation Systems is to increase road traffic safety and improve transport efficiency. Telematics Systems can provide values on both fields, by providing real-time reliable vehicle specific information [1]. Road vehicle related information can be categorized into several types, but technical information provided through the electronic network of today's vehicles is becoming an increasingly important segment. Using the standard onboard diagnostics (OBD) is a popular solution nowadays for getting out technical data from the vehicle, but it has its limitations [2]. Professional systems rather use direct access to the vehicles CAN network to extract more detailed technical data out from the ECU communication [3]. Even automatic vehicle location (AVL) service providers have difficulties in differentiating between the possibilities and potentials of CAN bus and OBD. This article clearly identifies the differences between the solutions available on the market, by means of comparing the FMS CAN standard, the OBD standard and the Proprietary Vehicle CAN protocol. The comparison is not only theoretical, but it is based on different measurements and analysis. The measurement results demonstrate the benefits and limitations of these information sources. For the measurement we have used our VehicleICT [4] framework that provided the platform for storing and analyzing the data. Based on the provided comparison, the identified advantages and disadvantages of certain source types, we can select the proper solution for a specific requirement. One objective of this research activity is to clarify confusions about the relation of OBD and CAN from the Telematics Systems providers point of view. Besides that this research can be also considered as a pioneer work that demonstrates the capabilities of our VehicleICT framework.
Discovering personal behavioral rules in a health management system

Designing interactive systems that support health management among chronic care patients has become a research interest in the HCI community. These systems are meant to allow patients to act as normal people, without letting illnesses affect their everyday lives. In particular, various diary and logging applications have been developed to allow people to record, monitor and visualize their daily behaviors and the progress of their disease. One critical aspect of personal health management that such systems do not yet sufficiently support is the diversity of health behaviors among individuals. As previous research indicates, individuals vary greatly in how they manage their health and what “works for them” [1-3]. Discovering personal behavioral rules is critical for wellness and for health maintenance. Technologies that encourage and promote personal rule discovery are thus needed. In this paper, we present our ongoing research on developing such a system, and discuss preliminary findings from an initial user study.
Characterizing Social Insider Attacks on Facebook

Facebook accounts are secured against unauthorized access through passwords and device-level security. Those defenses, however, may not be sufficient to prevent social insider attacks, where attackers know their victims, and gain access to a victim's account by interacting directly with their device. To characterize these attacks, we ran two MTurk studies. In the first (n = 1,308), using the list experiment method, we estimated that 24% of participants had perpetrated social insider attacks and that 21% had been victims (and knew about it). In the second study (n = 45), participants wrote stories detailing personal experiences with such attacks. Using thematic analysis, we typified attacks around five motivations (fun, curiosity, jealousy, animosity, and utility), and explored dimensions associated with each type. Our combined findings indicate that social insider attacks are common, often have serious emotional consequences, and have no simple mitigation.
From data to knowledge: city-wide traffic flows analysis and prediction using bing maps

Traffic jam is a common contemporary society issue in urban areas. City-wide traffic modeling, visualization, analysis, and prediction are still challenges in this context. Based on Bing Maps information, this work aims to acquire, aggregate, analyze, visualize, and predict traffic jam. Chicago area was evaluated as case study. The flow intensity (free or congested) was analyzed to allow the identification of phase transitions (shocks in the system). Also, a prediction model was developed based on logistic regression to correct discovery future flow intensities for a target street.
The Emotional and Psychological Experiences of Drag Performers: A Qualitative Study

ABSTRACT To better understand psychological experiences of drag queens, the authors conducted interviews with 12 cisgender, gay male drag queens from a midsouth state. Participants were age 22 to 54 years (M = 34) and reported participating in drag for 2 to 33 years (M = 13). The authors used consensual qualitative analysis to identify five main themes: motivation, effects, protective factors, stressors, and involvement. Results indicate that participants in drag may benefit from social support, a creative outlet, and empowerment. Participants also reported experiences of discrimination, performance anxiety, and loss of friendships. We discuss implications for counseling lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people who may perform in drag.
Dynamic shared control for human-wheelchair cooperation

Shared control is a common used method for human and wheelchair cooperation. However, most of the previous shared control methods didn't think much of the effect caused by the difference in the user's control ability. The control weight of a user in these methods is irrelevant to the user's capability or the driving conditions. In this paper, a dynamic shared control method is proposed to adapt wheelchair's assistance to the variations of user performance and the environmental changes. Three evaluation indices including safety, comfort and obedience are designed to evaluate wheelchair performance in real time. A minimax multi-objective optimization algorithm is adopted to calculate the user's control weight. The results of lab experiments and elderly home field tests show that this method can adapt the degree of wheelchair's autonomy to the user's control ability and it makes driving wheelchair much easier for elder people.
Behavior of kinetochores during mitosis in the fungus Saprolegnia ferax

In rapidly growing hyphae of Saprolegnia ferax, all nuclei contain arrays of kinetochore microtubules, which suggests that the nuclei are all in various phases of mitosis, with no apparent interphase. In prophase nuclei, kinetochore microtubules form a single, hemispherical array adjacent to the centrioles. This array separates into two similar arrays after centriole replication. The two arrays form by separation of the initial group of microtubules, with no kinetochore replication. During metaphase, between 6.5 and 85% of the kinetochores occur as amphitelic pairs, with a slight tendency for pairing to increase as the spindle elongates. 100% pairing has never been observed. The interkinetochore distance in these pairs is consistently similar to or approximately 0.17 microns. Throughout metaphase and early anaphase, there is extensive and increasing diversity in kinetochore microtubule length, so that a true metaphase plate has not been found. During metaphase, anaphase, and telophase, kinetochore numbers vary considerably, with a mean of similar to or approximately 30 per half spindle. A number of artefactual causes for this variability were examined and discarded. Thus, these results are accepted as real, suggesting either variable ploidy levels in the coenocytic hyphae or kinetochore replication during mitosis.
‘Is it because I’m a woman?’ Gender-based attributional ambiguity in higher education administration

ABSTRACT This study examines gender-based attributional ambiguity among higher education administrators in the US, specifically academic deans. Attributional ambiguity involves situations in which members of underrepresented groups cannot determine whether interactions both negative and positive have occurred because of their minority status or for some unrelated yet plausible reason. A conceptual model of attributional ambiguity in higher education administration is presented highlighting the types of situations that produce this ambiguity, two variants of attributional ambiguity (i.e. cognitive and social), and the psychological and organizational consequences of such ambiguity. Reasons that attributional ambiguity is inherent to higher education administration are examined including the fluidity of gender roles, the culture of academia, and leaders’ minimization of discriminatory experiences. Implications for professional practice are also presented such as the need for curricula, trainings, mentoring, and coaching that addresses attributional ambiguity and greater publicity related to women’s underrepresentation in leadership roles in higher education.
Review Sociophysiology of Squirrel Monkeys

Primate sociophysiology is a n emerging discipline concerned with understanding the proximate mechanisms that contribute to the generation and maintenance of species-typical social systems. Studies of squirrel monkeys illustrate that sociophysiological processes are more varied than is commonly assumed with respect to both the effective social dimensions that influence physiological function and the nature of concomitant physiological effects. For adult squirrel monkeys, a major consequence of social stimulation is altered regulation of pituitary-adrenal, pituitary-gonadal, and autonomic function. In females, socially-induced physiological changes appear to be independent of specific interindividual relationships with other adults, whereas in males, many sociophysiological effects can be understood only when specific relational attributes are considered. In all instances, adult relationships are associated with distinctly different sociophysiological profiles than have been found for the mother-infant relationship and do not conform to the stresslbuffering model within which they are often interpreted. INTRODUCTION One of the earliest and most enduring findings in primatology is that primate species differ in the kinds of social systems they form [Carpenter, 1934, 19351. Discovering the processes involved in the formation, maintenance, and transformation of species-characteristic modes of social organization has long been recognized as a n important task for primatology [Carpenter, 19421. This problem is traditionally viewed i n terms of two interrelated levels of analysis. One level concerns the ultimate forces of natural selection involved in the evolution of primate societies, a topic that has received considerable attention following the sem-inal work of Crook [1970] and Crook & Gartlan [1966]. Ultimate processes involve phylogenetic time scales, population dynamics, and evolutionary forces that are usually construed in terms of socioecological pressures or constraints. The other level of analysis concerns the proximate social processes by which mutually interdependent individuals function in coherent, self-organized societies across lifespan development. Until quite recently, scientific disciplines concerned with social behavior have emphasized either the ultimate or the proximate sources of variation; it is becoming clear, however, that previously distinct disciplines are converging in their interests. Ethologists, traditionally concerned with innate behavior, are becoming increasingly interested in behavioral flexibility and modification. Sociobiology no longer considers only the ultimate explanations of behavior but is beginning to explore proximate mechanisms. Psychologists concerned with general principles governing the behavior of individuals have turned to neurophysiology on the one hand and to ecological and evolutionary theory on the other. A major consequence of these changes in the behavioral sciences is renewed interest in …
Differences in projection patterns between large and small corticothalamic terminals

We injected tracer into wide regions of visual cortex in the cat to produce retrograde and orthograde labeling in the thalamus, chiefly in the lateral geniculate nucleus and lateral posterior–pulvinar complex (LP‐Pulvinar). We used the electron microscope to measure the sizes of orthogradely labeled terminals in thalamus and used these measurements to help determine whether the terminals were “RL” (large, presumed excitatory) or “RS” (small, presumed excitatory). We also distinguished reciprocal regions, which were zones of corticothalamic feedback defined by the presence of many retrogradely labeled cell bodies and orthogradely labeled terminals, from nonreciprocal regions, which were zones of feedforward corticothalamic projections defined by the presence of orthogradely labeled terminals alone. The lateral geniculate nucleus, a reciprocal region, had retrogradely labeled cell bodies as well as labeled RS terminals. Likewise, reciprocal regions in LP‐Pulvinar were dominated by labeled RS terminals. In contrast, nonreciprocal regions were dominated by labeled RL terminals. Based on other evidence of corticothalamic projections that RL and RS terminals derive, respectively, from layer 5 and layer 6, we suggest the same relationship here, leading to the conclusion that the corticothalamic input from layer 6 is largely feedback, whereas that from layer 5 is largely feedforward. This finding lends credence to a recent hypothesis that layer 5 corticothalamic axons represent the afferent limb of a cortico‐thalamo‐cortical pathway that is critical for corticocortical communication. J. Comp. Neurol. 475:406–415, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Automatic Construction and Ranking of Topical Keyphrases on Collections of Short Documents

We introduce a framework for topical keyphrase generation and ranking, based on the output of a topic model run on a collection of short documents. By shifting from the unigramcentric traditional methods of keyphrase extraction and ranking to a phrase-centric approach, we are able to directly compare and rank phrases of different lengths. Our method defines a function to rank topical keyphrases so that more highly ranked keyphrases are considered to be more representative phrases for that topic. We study the performance of our framework on multiple real world document collections, and also show that it is more scalable than comparable phrase-generating models.