Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Synthesizing Bark

Despite the high quality reached by today's CG tree generators, there exists no realistic model for generating the appearance of bark: simple texture maps are generally used, showing obvious flaws if the tree is not entirely painted by an artist. Beyond modeling the appearance of bark, difficulties lies in adapting the bark features to the age of each branch, ensuring continuity between adjacent parts of the tree, and possibly ensuring continuity through time.We propose a model of bark generation which produces either geometry or texture, and is dedicated to the widespread family of fracture-based bark. Given that the tree growth is mostly on its circumference, we consider circular strips of bark on which fractures can appear, propagate these fractures to the other strips, and enlarge them with time. Our semi-empirical model runs in interactive time, and allows automatic or influenced bark generation with parameters that are intuitive for the artist. Moreover we can simulate many different instances of the same bark family. In the paper, our generated bark is compared (favourably) to real bark.
The Genetic Architecture of a Complex Trait is more Sensitive to Genetic Model than Population Growth

The genetic component of complex disease risk in humans remains largely unexplained. A corollary is that the allelic spectrum of genetic variants contributing to complex disease risk is unknown. Theoretical models that relate population genetic processes to the maintenance of genetic variation for quantitative traits may suggest profitable avenues for future experimental design. Here we use forward simulation to model a genomic region evolving under a balance between recurrent deleterious mutation and Gaussian stabilizing selection. We consider three different genetic models, two different population growth models, and several different methods for identifying genomic regions harboring variants associated with complex disease risk. We demonstrate that the genetic model, relating genotype to phenotype, has a qualitative effect on the genetic architecture of a complex trait. In particular, the variance component partitioning across the allele frequency spectrum and the power of statistical tests is more affected by the assumed genetic model than by population growth. Models with incomplete recessivity most closely match the minor allele frequency distribution of significant hits from empirical genome-wide association studies. Such models show little dominance variance, which is consistent with recent empirical estimates of heritability explained by typed markers. We highlight a particular model of incomplete recessivity that is appealing from first principles. Under that model, deleterious mutations at the same gene partially fail to complement one another. Interestingly this gene-based model predicts considerable levels of unexplained variance associated with within locus epistasis. Our results suggest a need for improvement of statistical tools for region based genetic association and heritability estimation.
Frequent items mining on data stream using hash-table and heap

Most of the existing algorithms for mining frequent items on data stream do not emphasis the importance of the recent data items. We present an algorithm to detect the items with frequency counts exceeding a user-specified threshold. Our algorithm uses a hash table L and a heap to record the potential frequent items, and can detect ε-approximate frequent data items on data stream using O(|L|+ ε−1) memory space and the processing time for each data item is O(logε−1). Experimental results on several artificial and real datasets show our algorithm has higher precision, requires less memory and consumes less computation time than other similar methods.
The effects of dialect variation on speech intelligibility in a multitalker background

ABSTRACT Speech intelligibility in a multitalker background can be affected by the language of both the talker and the interfering speech. This study investigated whether this interaction is modulated by dialect variations of the same language. American English listeners were presented with target sentences in either their own General American English (GAE) or a different accent (Southern American English [SAE]) masked by either GAE or SAE two-talker babble at three sound to noise ratios (SNRs): +3, 0, and –3 dB. All speech materials were produced by male talkers. Across all conditions, SAE target was more intelligible than GAE. Intelligibility of either target decreased as the level of the interfering babble noise increased. Target accent interacted with masking accent: at +3 dB SNR, GAE (and not SAE) was the more effective masker. The target-masker interaction was different as listening conditions deteriorated: at 0 and –3 dB SNR, masking accent did not affect GAE target, but when the target was SAE, the SAE masker (and not GAE) was more effective. Thus, at increased noise levels, listeners benefited from the mismatch between the target and masking accents only when the target was in a nonnative accent. These results demonstrate that dialect variation can influence listeners’ performance in a multitalker environment. The apparent asymmetry in intelligibility of accents may be in part related to dialect-specific prosodic and phonetic features.
The complexities of family health: Effects on women's employment outcomes

An extensive sociological literature links women's health, their children's health, and their disproportionate designation as unpaid caregivers to variation in women's labor supply and earnings. However, there is a dearth of research that simultaneously considers the health of multiple family members to explore how the distribution of chronic conditions within and across families may relate to women's work. Using data from the 2007 Panel Study of Income Dynamics (and its supplemental surveys, the Child Development Supplement and the Transition into Adulthood Study), this dissertation conceptualizes health as a family-level construct and explores how the distribution of chronic conditions in families relates to women's employment, hours, and earnings, with particular attention to disparities by women's educational attainment. I note substantial variation in the distribution of illness across families, and find that the relationship between health and women's employment is complex, with relationships that are diagnostically specific, vary by employment outcome, and stratified by women's characteristics, with particular impacts for women who are nonwhite, less educated, or who have more illnesses in their families. This research emphasizes the importance of multidimensional examinations of health, and the utility in considering the broader family context in which women's employment outcomes unfold.
Beyond Sociomaterial: An Alternative Approach to Theorizing About Digital Artifacts

Information Systems researchers often study artifacts in light of their purpose, use, and effects. Their research is often conducted relying on a socio-technical or sociomaterial based ontology. For these realism-based approaches, ever-present security vulnerabilities, conflate the properties of the digital artifact making it impossible to conceive of a universal artifact. This paper explores how the types, tokens, and properties of IT artifacts change because of these vulnerabilities. This problematic condition for realism can be resolved by the adoption of agential functionalism. A functionalist views the type and token of an artifact by the function that it performs which results in a more consistent ontology when considering the impacts of security events. This move beyond materialism considers the properties of the IT artifact important but atheoretical allowing researchers to focus on the artifact’s purpose, use, and effects. Ultimately, this ontology allows research to retain a type/token distinction necessary for generalized theories.
The transmission of social and moral education through sports. School and federated sports: relationships, bridges and possible transfers.

The relation between sport and social and moral education has many spots that are worth to be considered. In the present article we begin by considering the need to be aware about the significant presence of sport on a social level and how to analyze the influence it has as a social and moral agent, taking into account the need to intentionally promote the relationship sport – social and moral education. We cannot think that the simple sport promotes the development of appropriate values, it is necessary to work intentionally this aspect so that the relationship is positive. Once set the framework a model of school sports is analyzed, the Comprehensive Program Township School Sports in the municipality of Segovia (PIDEMSG) as an example of training proposal that has been developed successfully the last decade and based on it, we assess the possibility of changing the usual direction of influence between school sport and federated sport, developing transfers from the school sports model, usually more formative, to the more competitive and less educational federated sport. In this way we try to realize of sport as an educational tool reality. Following this line, alternative actions related to the development of training competitions that may pose an interesting change in the conception and development of sports are exposed.
On the Relations among Priming, Conscious Recollection, and Intentional Retrieval: Evidence from Neuroimaging Research

Neurobiological distinctions among forms of memory have been investigated mainly from the perspective of lesion studies in nonhuman animals and experiments with human neurological patients. We consider recent neuroimaging studies of healthy human volunteers using positron emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) that provide new information concerning the neural correlates of particular forms of memory retrieval. More specifically, we consider evidence indicating that priming, a form of implicit retrieval, is associated with decreased activity in various cortical regions. We also consider evidence suggesting that two components of explicit retrieval-intentional or effortful search and successful conscious recollection-are preferentially associated with increased activity in prefrontal and medial temporal regions, respectively.
Examining the role of self-regulated learning in adolescent physical activity behaviour

Purpose Hong Kong’s children have been said to be some of the most inactive children in the world with 12.8% of boys and only 4.2% of girls being classified as physically active. This investigation gathered Hong Kong adolescent PA perspectives to inform the design of an intervention study to teach SRL skills to enhance physical activity. Methods Two focus groups were conducted with a total of 26 participants. A framework analysis approach was used to analyse the data that emerged eight pre-determined questions. Results Participants reported engaging in a variety of activities outside of school no more than twice a week. The most common physical activity suggested by the participants as a feasible activity was walking. Most adolescents understood the health benefits but discussed many barriers, particularly a lack of time, and being too tired. Low initial exercise loading and walking were suggested methods of overcoming barriers. Finally, using Whatsapp was considered useful for encouraging PA. Conclusions Despite the limitations due to one overly large focus group, students demonstrated their knowledge of the health benefits of engaging in physical activity, and most were particularly interested in the aesthetic aspects of being fitter. However, the majority of adolescents only engaged in PA during PE lessons. The academic demands on the students were high, and considering the pressure they were constantly under the required effort to overcome barriers to engage in more PA seemed too much. Focussing on the value in engaging in PA, building self-efficacy, and encouraging more walking that can fit in with adolescents’ busy schedules may be effective. Novel ways to encourage PA behaviours, such as through WhatsApp peer groups could also potentially encourage Hong Kong adolescents PA.
Uso de aparelho de amplificação sonora individual por idosos: estudo SABE - saúde, bem- estar e envelhecimento

PURPOSE: Describe hearing aid use by the elderly population in the city of Sao Paulo and identify associated factors. METHODS: A cross-sectional, descriptive, quantitative study integrated with the SABE (health, well-being and aging) project developed in 2006. A total of 1.115 individuals aged 65 or over were interviewed. Sample selection occurred in two stages, with replacement and probabilities proportional to the population to complement those aged 75 or over. Structured questionnaires and validated instruments were used. The data were weighted, the Rao-Scott test was used for univariate analysis and backward stepwise logistic regression was used for multivariate analysis, performed on Stata 10® software. RESULTS: Three hundred and seventy-seven subjects (30.4%) were classified as hearing impaired and 10.1% of these reported using hearing aids. To acquire the devices, 78.8% used their own resources and 16.9% acquired them through the Brazilian public health system (SUS). Among non-users of hearing aids, 16.6% reported prior indication; however, 8.6% were unable to adapt to the device and 8.0% could not afford to acquire one. Hearing aid use was associated with lower prevalence of probable dementia. CONCLUSION: The low number of hearing aid users indicates the difficulties elderly people face in acquiring them and/or that the health services face in effectively helping them to adapt. These findings may influence the quality of life of elderly with hearing impairment, given the association with probable dementia revealed by this study.
How to reach the top? Fields, forms of capital, and strategies in accessing leadership positions in France among descendants of migrants from Turkey

ABSTRACT This article explores the experiences of highly educated descendants of migrants from Turkey when achieving leading positions in the corporate business, education, and law sectors in France. It illustrates the forms of capital and strategies that are considered significant for accessing leadership positions in these sectors, and how experiences vary across different fields. Our research illuminates the various strategies pursued by descendants of migrants from Turkey in their pathways to attaining leadership positions, and suggests how similar forms of capital work in distinct ways across different sectors.
Right Ventromedial and Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortices Mediate Adaptive Decisions under Ambiguity by Integrating Choice Utility and Outcome Evaluation

The Iowa gambling task (IGT) is one of the most influential behavioral paradigms in reward-related decision making and has been, most notably, associated with ventromedial prefrontal cortex function. However, performance in the IGT relies on a complex set of cognitive subprocesses, in particular integrating information about the outcome of choices into a continuously updated decision strategy under ambiguous conditions. The complexity of the task has made it difficult for neuroimaging studies to disentangle the underlying neurocognitive processes. In this study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging in combination with a novel adaptation of the task, which allowed us to examine separately activation associated with the moment of decision or the evaluation of decision outcomes. Importantly, using whole-brain regression analyses with individual performance, in combination with the choice/outcome history of individual subjects, we aimed to identify the neural overlap between areas that are involved in the evaluation of outcomes and in the progressive discrimination of the relative value of available choice options, thus mapping the two fundamental cognitive processes that lead to adaptive decision making. We show that activation in right ventromedial and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was predictive of adaptive performance, in both discriminating disadvantageous from advantageous decisions and confirming negative decision outcomes. We propose that these two prefrontal areas mediate shifting away from disadvantageous choices through their sensitivity to accumulating negative outcomes. These findings provide functional evidence of the underlying processes by which these prefrontal subregions drive adaptive choice in the task, namely through contingency-sensitive outcome evaluation.
N-Linked Glycosylation Supports Cross-Talk between Receptor Tyrosine Kinases and Androgen Receptor

Prostate cancer is the second most common cause of cancer-associated deaths in men and signalling via a transcription factor called androgen receptor (AR) is an important driver of the disease. Androgen treatment is known to affect the expression and activity of other oncogenes including receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs). In this study we report that AR-positive prostate cancer cell-lines express 50% higher levels of enzymes in the hexosamine biosynthesis pathway (HBP) than AR-negative prostate cell-lines. HBP produces hexosamines that are used by endoplasmic reticulum and golgi enzymes to glycosylate proteins targeted to plasma-membrane and secretion. Inhibition of O-linked glycosylation by ST045849 or N-linked glycosylation with tunicamycin decreased cell viability by 20%. In addition, tunicamycin inhibited the androgen-induced expression of AR target genes KLK3 and CaMKK2 by 50%. RTKs have been shown to enhance AR activity and we used an antibody array to identify changes in the phosphorylation status of RTKs in response to androgen stimulation. Hormone treatment increased the activity of Insulin like Growth Factor 1-Receptor (IGF-1R) ten-fold and this was associated with a concomitant increase in the N-linked glycosylation of the receptor, analyzed by lectin enrichment experiments. Glycosylation is known to be important for the processing and stability of RTKs. Inhibition of N-linked glycosylation resulted in accumulation of IGF-1R pro-receptor with altered mobility as shown by immunoprecipitation. Confocal imaging revealed that androgen induced plasma-membrane localization of IGF-1R was blocked by tunicamycin. In conclusion we have established that the glycosylation of IGF-1R is necessary for the full activation of the receptor in response to androgen treatment and that perturbing this process can break the feedback loop between AR and IGF-1R activation in prostate cells. Achieving similar results selectively in a clinical setting will be an important challenge in the future.
Implementation of High-Performance Schedulers for Decoupled Electro-Optical Packet Switches ( Invited )

F. J. González-Castaño, C. López-Bravo, M. Rodelgo-Lacruz, J. García-Haro, P. Pavón-Mariño, J. Veiga-Gontán, E. Soto-Campos, J. J. Rodríguez-Andina, E. Lago 1 Departamento de Ingeniería Telemática, Univ. de Vigo, Spain Tel: +34 986813788, Fax: +34 986812116, E-mail: javier@det.uvigo. es 2 Departamento de Ingeniería Telemática, Univ. Politécnica de Cartagena, Spain 2 Departamento de Tecnología Electrónica, Univ. de Vigo, Spain
Subclinical Hypothyroidism in Children: Natural History and When to Treat

Subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) is a quite common disorder in the pediatric age group. The aim of this paper is to present a review of the studies investigating the natural course of SH and the effects of replacement therapy with levothyroxine in childhood. We systematically searched PubMed, Cochrane, and EMBASE (1990 to 2012) and identified 14 articles suitable to be included. SH is a benign process that does not influence anthropometric parameters or puberty onset, and in most cases, it is a remitting disease, with a low risk of development of overt hypothyroidism, more frequently evolving toward euthyroidism or steadily remaining in a condition of isolated hyperthyrotropinemia. Studies analyzing the effects of replacement therapy in SH have reported an increased growth velocity in children with short stature or chronic diseases, discordant effects on thyroid volume reduction, and no effects on neurocognitive function. SH in children and adolescent is often a self-remitting process and its treatment should be considered only when thyroid stimulating hormone values are higher than 10 mIU/L, when clinical signs or symptoms of impaired thyroid function or goiter are detected, or when SH is associated with other chronic diseases. Conflict of interest:None declared.
RDP 9401: Resource Flows to the Traded Goods Sector

This paper examines the allocation of private investment and employment between the traded and non-traded goods sectors in Australia. Industries are defined as export oriented, import competing or non-traded according to a classification system not used in previous studies of tradeable capacity. Applying this new system to disaggregated investment and employment data we find that there has been an increase in the share of total investment allocated to export oriented industries, but that their share of total employment has not changed. The share of both investment and employment in import competing industries has, on the other hand, fallen. These changes in the sectoral allocation of resources are consistent with the specialisation in production that accompanies international integration.
Chronic bronchitis is an independently associated factor for more symptom and high-risk groups

Background The chronic bronchitis (CB) phenotype has been associated with poor quality of life and an increased risk of disease in patients with COPD. However, little information exists regarding the relationship between the CB phenotype and the COPD assessment test (CAT) score. The goal of this study was to reveal the different pattern of CAT scores between CB and non-CB patients. Moreover, we aimed to investigate whether the CB phenotype is an independently associated factor for more symptom and high-risk groups. Methods Data were obtained from the Korea COPD Subgroup Study cohort recruited from 46 centers in South Korea since April 2012. CB patients were defined as having a chronic cough and sputum for 3 months per year, for a period of 2 consecutive years. We investigated the pattern of CAT and subquestionnaire scores between CB and non-CB patients. We also analyzed the proportion of CB phenotypes in each Global initiative for chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) stage. Finally, we performed a logistic regression analysis to identify whether the CB phenotype was an independently associated factor for more symptom and high-risk groups. Results Of the 1,106 study patients, 11.5% of patients were found to have a CB phenotype. CB phenotypes were most common in GOLD III (GOLD 2006) and GOLD D (GOLD 2015) stages. CAT scores were significantly higher in CB patients not only in terms of the total score but also for each subquestionnaire. Logistic regression revealed that the CB phenotype is an independently associated factor for more symptom and high-risk groups. Conclusion The present study revealed that CB patients have higher CAT scores and subquestionnaire results compared to non-CB patients. Additionally, we demonstrated that the CB phenotype is an independently associated factor for both more symptom and high-risk groups.