Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ASSESSMENT OF COLLABORATIVE MEDICAL TRAINING BASED ON VIRTUAL REALITY USING POSSIBILISTIC NETWORKS

1 Ronei Marcos de Moraes, Department of Statistics, Federal University of Paraíba CCEN, Cidade Universitária s/n, João Pessoa – PB, Brazil, ronei@de.ufpb. br 2 Liliane dos Santos Machado, Department of Computer Science, Federal University of Paraíba CCEN, Cidade Universitária s/n, João Pessoa – PB, Brazil, liliane@di.ufpb. br Abstract ⎯ In medicine, there are procedures performed not by only one person, but by a team of professionals acting simultaneously. By the use of Virtual Reality (VR) is possible to create virtual rooms that join people to simulate medical procedures. In these cases, collaborative features are used to coordinate the interactions of the multiple participants in the environment. Thus, interactions and graphics representations must be processed in real time to provide a sense of realism for all participants. Due to the fact in some medical procedures the positioning of participants in the room is important, tracking devices can be used to capture each user position to allow knowing all users position in the room. To verify if the group performed the procedure correctly, is proposed the use of an assessment methodology based on possibilistic networks. The goal is allow training of teams, developing individual competences to work together.
Concentration dependent selection of targets by an SR splicing regulator results in tissue-specific RNA processing

The splicing factor Transformer-2 (Tra2) is expressed almost ubiquitously in Drosophila adults, but participates in the tissue-specific regulation of splicing in several RNAs. In somatic tissues Tra2 participates in the activation of sex-specific splice sites in doublesex and fruitless pre-mRNAs. In the male germline it affects splicing of other transcripts and represses removal of the M1 intron from its own pre-mRNA. Here we test the hypothesis that the germline specificity of M1 repression is determined by tissue-specific differences in Tra2 concentration. We find that Tra2 is expressed at higher levels in primary spermatocytes of males than in other cell types. Increased Tra2 expression in other tissues reduces viability in a manner consistent with known dose-dependent effects of excessive Tra2 expression in the male germline. Somatic cells were found to be competent to repress M1 splicing if the level of Tra2 transcription was raised above endogenous concentrations. This suggests not only that M1 repression is restricted to the germline by a difference in Tra2 transcription levels but also that the protein's threshold concentration for M1 regulation differs from that of doublesex and fruitless RNAs. We propose that quantitative differences in regulator expression can give rise to cell-type-specific restrictions in splicing.
Dielectric tunability in (1−x)[Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3]−xPbTiO3 ceramics for tunable devices application

The dielectric properties of the 0.65[Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3]-0.35PbTiO3 ferroelectric ceramic composition were investigated viewing the capability to be used for tunable microwave applications. The dielectric response has been studied for three selected temperatures (300 K, 370 K and 400 K), below the paraelectric-ferroelectric phase transition temperature, as a function of the applied ‘bias’ electric field. The obtained dielectric tunability was found to be around 60 %, under an electric field of 19 kV/cm, which makes the studied ceramic composition an excellent candidate for application in the electro-electronic industry, as tunable devices.
Optimal Compensation for Temporal Uncertainty in Movement Planning

Motor control requires the generation of a precise temporal sequence of control signals sent to the skeletal musculature. We describe an experiment that, for good performance, requires human subjects to plan movements taking into account uncertainty in their movement duration and the increase in that uncertainty with increasing movement duration. We do this by rewarding movements performed within a specified time window, and penalizing slower movements in some conditions and faster movements in others. Our results indicate that subjects compensated for their natural duration-dependent temporal uncertainty as well as an overall increase in temporal uncertainty that was imposed experimentally. Their compensation for temporal uncertainty, both the natural duration-dependent and imposed overall components, was nearly optimal in the sense of maximizing expected gain in the task. The motor system is able to model its temporal uncertainty and compensate for that uncertainty so as to optimize the consequences of movement.
Angle QIM: on document to watermark ratio analysis

Max Costa original results on dirty paper codes have given the foundation for Quantizatin Index Modulation (QIM) based for digital image watermarking. However, the standard QIM methods can be greatly degraded by simple amplitude scaling attacks. In order to overcome this limitation, Angle Quantization Index Modulation (AQIM) schemes have been recently introduced. By quantizing the angle of the watermark vector according to a symbol dependent lattice, AQIM’s construction leads to an inherent invariance against amplitude scaling distortions. In this paper, we present a theoretical analysis of the watermark distortion introduced by AQIM during the embedding process based on the angle quantization step parameter, ¢µ. Such theoretical analysis is validated by comparison with experimental results, which are also included in this paper.
Uptake Rates for Breast Cancer Genetic Testing: A Systematic Review

Purpose: Individuals and families dealing with the possibility of hereditary cancer risk face numerous decisions, including whether to obtain genetic testing. The purpose of this article is to determine what is known about the rate at which people obtain cancer genetic testing. Methods: Using MEDLINE, CINAHL, and PSYCHINFO plus reviewing reference lists of relevant articles, we identified 40 studies in May 2002 that addressed breast cancer–related decisions, enrolled adult participants, were published in 1990 or more recently, were peer-reviewed primary clinical studies, addressed genetic testing either alone or in combination with genetic counseling, and reported rates at which participants showed interest in and/or underwent cancer genetic testing. Information regarding study design, participants, and genetic testing uptake rates was recorded. Each article was reviewed for methodologic quality using a flexible quality review system applicable to all study types. Results: Of the 40 studies, 25 provided information about hypothetical genetic testing decisions, 14 about real decisions, and 1 about both. Mean hypothetical uptake was 66% (range, 20-96%) and real uptake was 59% (range, 25-96%). Multivariate logistic regression analyses found that decision type (real/hypothetical), personal and family history of breast cancer, and variability in sampling strategy, recruitment setting, and criteria for real and hypothetical uptake were independently associated with uptake. Our systematic review identified additional explanations for uptake variability (investigator influences, small sample sizes, variability in target populations, lack of clearly described sampling strategies, sampling methods open to bias, and variability in reporting associated risk factors). Conclusion: In addition to clinical characteristics, research methodologic issues are likely to be major determinants of variability in published breast cancer genetic testing uptake rates. An understanding of these issues will clarify to clinicians why their clinical experience may not be congruent with published rates and help guide future research. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2006;15(5):840–55)
The role of self-control, self-efficacy, metacognition, and motivation in predicting school achievement

Self-control and self-regulated learning refer to those processes and strategies whereby individuals exert agency in facing educational demands. This study tested a structural model which predicts that self-control has direct effect on school achievement, as well as mediated by metacognitive self-regulation, academic self-efficacy, and regulatory motivational styles as the variables related to self-regulated learning. The research was carried out on a stratified random sample of 575 eighth grade students. It was shown that the effect of self-control on achievement is mediated by self-efficacy. In other words, students who have heightened selfcontrol and believe in their own ability to meet school demands will be successful in school regardless of the complexity of their learning or whether they are autonomously motivated. The implications of such a finding were considered, as well as the limitations of the research and the indications for future research.
MicroRNAs Associated with Metastatic Prostate Cancer

Objective Metastasis is the most common cause of death of prostate cancer patients. Identification of specific metastasis biomarkers and novel therapeutic targets is considered essential for improved prognosis and management of the disease. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) form a class of non-coding small RNA molecules considered to be key regulators of gene expression. Their dysregulation has been shown to play a role in cancer onset, progression and metastasis, and miRNAs represent a promising new class of cancer biomarkers. The objective of this study was to identify down- and up-regulated miRNAs in prostate cancer that could provide potential biomarkers and/or therapeutic targets for prostate cancer metastasis. Methods Next generation sequencing technology was applied to identify differentially expressed miRNAs in a transplantable metastatic versus a non-metastatic prostate cancer xenograft line, both derived from one patient's primary cancer. The xenografts were developed via subrenal capsule grafting of cancer tissue into NOD/SCID mice, a methodology that tends to preserve properties of the original cancers (e.g., tumor heterogeneity, genetic profiles). Results Differentially expressed known miRNAs, isomiRs and 36 novel miRNAs were identified. A number of these miRNAs (21/104) have previously been reported to show similar down- or up-regulation in prostate cancers relative to normal prostate tissue, and some of them (e.g., miR-16, miR-34a, miR-126*, miR-145, miR-205) have been linked to prostate cancer metastasis, supporting the validity of the analytical approach. Conclusions The use of metastatic and non-metastatic prostate cancer subrenal capsule xenografts derived from one patient's cancer makes it likely that the differentially expressed miRNAs identified in this study include potential biomarkers and/or therapeutic targets for human prostate cancer metastasis.
Safely and Effectively. See Full Prescribing Information for Fycompa Warning: Serious Psychiatric and Behavioral Reactions See Full Prescribing Information for Complete Boxed Warning

These highlights do not include all the information needed to use FYCOMPA ® • Serious or life-threatening psychiatric and behavioral adverse reactions including aggression, hostility, irritability, anger, and homicidal ideation and threats have been reported in patients taking FYCOMPA (5.1) • Monitor patients for these reactions as well as for changes in mood, behavior, or personality that are not typical for the patient, particularly during the titration period and at higher doses (5.1) • FYCOMPA should be reduced if these symptoms occur and should be discontinued immediately if symptoms are severe or are worsening (5. FYCOMPA, a non-competitive AMPA glutamate receptor antagonist, is indicated as adjunctive therapy for the treatment of: • Partial-Onset Seizures with or without secondarily generalized seizures in patients with epilepsy 12 years of age and older (1.1) • Primary Generalized Tonic-Clonic Seizures in patients with epilepsy 12 years of age and older (1.2) Dosing in the absence of enzyme-inducing antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) • Starting dose: 2 mg once daily at bedtime (2.1, 2.2) • May increase dose based on clinical response and tolerability by increments of 2 mg once daily no more frequently than at weekly intervals (2.1, 2.2) • Recommended maintenance dose: Partial-Onset Seizures – 8 to 12 mg once daily at bedtime; Primary Generalized Tonic-Clonic Seizures – 8 mg once daily at bedtime (2.1, 2.2) • Individual dosing should be adjusted based on clinical response and tolerability Dosing in the presence of concomitant enzyme-inducing AEDs: see section 2.3 Specific Populations • Mild and Moderate Hepatic Impairment: Maximum recommended daily dose is 6 mg (mild) and 4 mg (moderate) once daily at bedtime (2.4) • Severe Hepatic Impairment: Not recommended (2.4) • Severe Renal Impairment or on Hemodialysis: Not recommended (2.5) • Elderly: Increase dose no more frequently than every 2 weeks (2.6)
A Low-Cost Single-Frequency Positioning Approach

G PS has been the number-one positioning tool for a range of applications during the past few decades. The integration of the emerging global navigation satellite systems, such as the Chinese BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), can give improved precise (millimeterto centimeter-level) real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning. When BDS is combined with GPS, about double the number of satellites are visible in the Asia-Pacific region, which can make single-frequency RTK and low-cost receiver RTK positioning possible. In this article, we will analyze the performance of L1 GPS + B1 BDS in Dunedin, New Zealand, using low-cost receivers. We compare their performance to that of L1+L2 GPS survey-grade receivers. First, we describe the GPS+BDS functional and stochastic models and the data used for our evaluations. Least-squares variance component estimation (LS-VCE) is used as a means to determine the code and phase (co)variances to formulate a realistic stochastic model. (An incorrect stochastic model will deteriorate the ambiguity resolution and consequently the achievable positioning precisions.) Having correctly defined the stochastic model, we focus on the positioning performance. We investigated the ambiguity resolution and positioning performance, both formally and empirically, for customary and high-elevation cut-off angles. The high cutoff angles are used to mimic situations when low-elevation multipath is to be avoided. Lastly, we compared all our results between using low-cost and survey-grade antennas.
Effect of Dietary Nutrient Density on Small Intestinal Phosphate Transport and Bone Mineralization of Broilers during the Growing Period

A 2 × 4 factorial experiment was conducted to determine the effects of dietary nutrient density on growth performance, small intestinal epithelial phosphate transporter expression, and bone mineralization of broiler chicks fed with diets with different nutrient densities and nonphytate phosphorus (NPP) levels. The broilers were fed with the same starter diets from 0 to 21 days of age. In the grower phase (day 22 to 42), the broilers were randomly divided into eight groups according to body weight. Relatively high dietary nutrient density (HDND) and low dietary nutrient density (LDND) diets were assigned metabolic energy (ME) values of 3,150 and 2,950 kcal/kg, respectively. Crude protein and essential amino acid levels were maintained in the same proportion as ME to prepare the two diet types. NPP levels were 0.25%, 0.30%, 0.35%, and 0.40% of the diets. Results showed that a HDND diet significantly increased the body weight gain (BWG) of broilers and significantly decreased the feed conversion ratio and NPP consumed per BWG. HDND significantly decreased tibial P content of the broilers. Conversely, mRNA expression of NaPi-IIb and protein expression of calbindin were significantly increased in the intestine of broilers fed a HDND diet. HDND also increased vitamin D receptor (VDR) expression, especially at a relatively low dietary NPP level (0.25%). The mRNA expression of NaPi-IIa in the kidneys was significantly increased at a relatively low dietary NPP level (0.25%) to maintain P balance. Tibial P, calcium, and ash content were significantly decreased, as were calbindin and VDR expression levels in the intestine at a low NPP level. Therefore, HDND improved the growth rate of broilers and increased the expression of phosphate and calcium transporter in the small intestine, but adversely affected bone mineralization.
Charmonium spectral functions in Nf = 2 QCD at high temperature

Charmonium systems in two-flavour QCD at non-zero temperature are studied at, and above the deconfining transition. Using anisotropic lattices the MEM approach is used to extract spectral functions for these channels. By carefully varying some of the irrelevant parameters in the MEM procedure, we confirm that our systematic effects are under control. The eta_c and J/psi states are found to persist at temperatures >~ 1.3 T_c in agreement with our previous dynamical studies.
Machine Consciousness in CiceRobot, a Museum Guide Robot

The paper discusses a model of robot perceptual awareness based on a comparison process between the effective and the expected robot input sensory data generated by a 3D robot/environment simulator. The paper contributes to the machine consciousness research field by testing the added value of robot perceptual awareness on an effective robot architecture implemented on an operating autonomous robot RWI B21 offering guided tours at the Archaeological Museum of Agrigento, Italy.
Lp‐summability of Riesz means for the sublaplacian on complex spheres

In this paper we study the Lp‐convergence of the Riesz means SRδ(f) for the sublaplacian on the sphere S2n − 1 in the complex n‐dimensional space ℂn. We show that SRδ(f) converges to f in Lp(S2n − 1) when δ > δ(p)≔(2n − 1)|1/2 − 1/p| and R→ + ∞. The index δ(p) coincides with the one found by Mauceri and, with different methods, by Müller in the case of sublaplacian on the Heisenberg group. It is worth noticing that the index δ(p) depends on the topological dimension of the underlying space S2n−1.
Effects of training paradigms on performance of search dogs

The performance of search dogs trained to locate only live scent (live-only dogs) was compared to that of search dogs trained to locate either live or cadaver scent depending on the'verbal cue given by the handler (cross-trained dogs). Twenty-three dogs (11 live-only and 12 crosstrained) searched for live scent in four different scenarios: no scent, live scent, cadaver scent, and live/cadaver' scent. Each dog ran each scenario twice. Neither handlers nor observers knew the conditions of the scenarios. Live-only dogs significantly outperformed cross-trained dogs in the no scent, cadaver scent, and live/cadaver scent scenarios. There was no significant performance difference between live-only and cross-trained dogs in the live scent scenario, confirming efficacy of the cross-trained dogs with only live scent. The inferior ability of cross-trained dogs to detect live scent when cadaver scent is present strongly suggests that crosstrained dogs should not be deployed where cadaver scent is present, but live scent is the desired target. The primary example of this situation is a disaster deployment of search dogs to locate surviving victims.
Reliability of Transcutaneous Measurement of Renal Function in Various Strains of Conscious Mice

Measuring renal function in laboratory animals using blood and/or urine sampling is not only labor-intensive but puts also a strain on the animal. Several approaches for fluorescence based transcutaneous measurement of the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in laboratory animals have been developed. They allow the measurement of GFR based on the elimination kinetics of fluorescent exogenous markers. None of the studies dealt with the reproducibility of the measurements in the same animals. Therefore, the reproducibility of a transcutaneous GFR assessment method was investigated using the fluorescent renal marker FITC-Sinistrin in conscious mice in the present study. We performed two transcutaneous GFR measurements within three days in five groups of mice (Balb/c, C57BL/6, SV129, NMRI at 3–4 months of age, and a group of 24 months old C57BL/6). Data were evaluated regarding day-to-day reproducibility as well as intra- and inter-strain variability of GFR and the impact of age on these parameters. No significant differences between the two subsequent GFR measurements were detected. Fastest elimination for FITC-Sinistrin was detected in Balb/c with significant differences to C57BL/6 and SV129 mice. GFR decreased significantly with age in C57BL/6 mice. Evaluation of GFR in cohorts of young and old C57BL/6 mice from the same supplier showed high consistency of GFR values between groups. Our study shows that the investigated technique is a highly reproducible and reliable method for repeated GFR measurements in conscious mice. This gentle method is easily used even in old mice and can be used to monitor the age-related decline in GFR.
Stress-Induced Activation of Heterochromatic Transcription

Constitutive heterochromatin comprising the centromeric and telomeric parts of chromosomes includes DNA marked by high levels of methylation associated with histones modified by repressive marks. These epigenetic modifications silence transcription and ensure stable inheritance of this inert state. Although environmental cues can alter epigenetic marks and lead to modulation of the transcription of genes located in euchromatic parts of the chromosomes, there is no evidence that external stimuli can globally destabilize silencing of constitutive heterochromatin. We have found that heterochromatin-associated silencing in Arabidopsis plants subjected to a particular temperature regime is released in a genome-wide manner. This occurs without alteration of repressive epigenetic modifications and does not involve common epigenetic mechanisms. Such induced release of silencing is mostly transient, and rapid restoration of the silent state occurs without the involvement of factors known to be required for silencing initiation. Thus, our results reveal new regulatory aspects of transcriptional repression in constitutive heterochromatin and open up possibilities to identify the molecular mechanisms involved.
Investigating Contention Management for Complex Transactional Memory Benchmarks

In Transactional Memory (TM), contention management is the process of selecting which transaction should be aborted when a data access conflict arises. In this paper, the performance of published CMs (contention managers) is re-investigated using complex benchmarks recently published in the literature. Our results redefine the CM performance hierarchy. Greedy and Priority are found to give the best performance overall. Polka is still competitive, but by no means best performing as previously published, and in some cases degrading performance by orders of magnitude. In the worst example, execution of a benchmark completes in 6.5 seconds with Priority, yet fails to complete even after 20 minutes with Polka. Analysis of the benchmark found it aborted only 22% of all transactions, spread consistently over the duration of its execution. More generally, all delay-based CMs, which pause a transaction for some finite duration upon conflict, are found to be unsuitable for the evaluated benchmarks with even moderate amounts of contention. This has significant implications, given that TM is primarily aimed at easing concurrent programming for mainstream software development, where applications are unlikely to be highly optimised to reduce aborts.