Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Social-Neuroscience Perspective on Empathy

In recent years, abundant evidence from behavioral and cognitive studies and functional-imaging experiments has indicated that individuals come to understand the emotional and affective states expressed by others with the help of the neural architecture that produces such states in themselves. Such a mechanism gives rise to shared representations, which constitutes one important aspect of empathy, although not the sole one. We suggest that other components, including people's ability to monitor and regulate cognitive and emotional processes to prevent confusion between self and other, are equally necessary parts of a functional model of empathy. We discuss data from recent functional-imaging studies in support of such a model and highlight the role of specific brain regions, notably the insula, the anterior cingulate cortex, and the right temporo-parietal region. Because this model assumes that empathy relies on dissociable information-processing mechanisms, it predicts a variety of structural or functional dysfunctions, depending on which mechanism is disrupted.
Continuous edgewrite: dictionary-based disambiguation instead of explicit segmentation by the user

Edgewrite is a text entry method where the user follows the edges of a physical guiding rectangle to enter corner sequences that are interpreted as characters. The original Edgewrite character set resembles the Latin alphabet and includes explicit character segmentation by lifting the stylus (or centering the joystick, etc). We present a variant of Edgewrite that we call the continuous Edgewrite. It relies on a dictionary instead of user's character segmentation to disambiguate words. New users can use the continuous Edgewrite with the help of an interactive visualization of possible continuations while writing. In a 6-session user study we measured initial text transcription performance (increased from 1 to 5.4 wpm) and the ratio of observed explicit segmentations to optimal continuous writing (decreased from 2.5 to 1.5). These results show that it is possible to learn to use the continuous writing mode, but also that the learning takes some time.
Automatic registration of 2-D with 3-D imagery in urban environments

We are building a system that can automatically acquire 3D range scans and 2D images to build geometrically correct, texture mapped 3D models of urban environments. This paper deals with the problem of automatically registering the 3D range scans with images acquired at other times and with unknown camera calibration and location. The method involves the utilization of parallelism and orthogonality constraints that naturally exist in urban environments. We present results for building a texture mapped 3-D model of an urban building.
Altered pain perception in self-injurious behavior and the association of psychological elements with pain perception measures: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND The pathophysiology of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is controversial. There is growing evidence of altered pain perception in people engaging in NSSI. Some hypotheses have been made on addictive aspects of this behavior. Pain and addictive behavior are modulated by the opioid system, which makes the endogenous opioids one of the candidate neurotransmitters related to NSSI. This article explains the theoretical background on NSSI as an addictive behavior, endogenous opioids involvement and pain perception changes in NSSI and updates the latest findings in this field. The main aim of this paper is a comprehensive review of published studies on pain perception in NSSI and an evaluation of the impact of NSSI functions and other psychological elements on pain perception measures. SUBJECTS AND METHODS We have reviewed six studies of pain perception in participants with NSSI compared with controls. The participants of these studies were not mentally disabled or autistic and did not have a diagnosed personality disorder. RESULTS The reviewed studies have demonstrated a higher pain threshold and longer pain tolerance or endurance in five of six studies. Emotional dysregulation was significantly associated with all pain perception variables in one study. Neuroticism, self-criticism and painful and provocative experiences revealed correlated with pain endurance or pain tolerance. No correlation between pain perception measures and dissociation, hopelessness or locus of control was found. CONCLUSIONS Pain perception was altered in participants with NSSI. Pain perception was associated to emotional dysregulation, self-criticism, neuroticism and painful and provocative experiences. Because of the small number of studies reviewed, results should be seen as guidelines for further studies. They should be replicated on a bigger sample of studies. Further research should focus on pain perception measures in participants with NSSI and an excluded personality disorder.
The Effectiveness of a Web-Based Computer-Tailored Intervention on Workplace Sitting: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background Effective interventions to influence workplace sitting are needed, as office-based workers demonstrate high levels of continued sitting, and sitting too much is associated with adverse health effects. Therefore, we developed a theory-driven, Web-based, interactive, computer-tailored intervention aimed at reducing and interrupting sitting at work. Objective The objective of our study was to investigate the effects of this intervention on objectively measured sitting time, standing time, and breaks from sitting, as well as self-reported context-specific sitting among Flemish employees in a field-based approach. Methods Employees (n=213) participated in a 3-group randomized controlled trial that assessed outcomes at baseline, 1-month follow-up, and 3-month follow-up through self-reports. A subsample (n=122) were willing to wear an activity monitor (activPAL) from Monday to Friday. The tailored group received an automated Web-based, computer-tailored intervention including personalized feedback and tips on how to reduce or interrupt workplace sitting. The generic group received an automated Web-based generic advice with tips. The control group was a wait-list control condition, initially receiving no intervention. Intervention effects were tested with repeated-measures multivariate analysis of variance. Results The tailored intervention was successful in decreasing self-reported total workday sitting (time × group: P<.001), sitting at work (time × group: P<.001), and leisure time sitting (time × group: P=.03), and in increasing objectively measured breaks at work (time × group: P=.07); this was not the case in the other conditions. The changes in self-reported total nonworkday sitting, sitting during transport, television viewing, and personal computer use, objectively measured total sitting time, and sitting and standing time at work did not differ between conditions. Conclusions Our results point out the significance of computer tailoring for sedentary behavior and its potential use in public health promotion, as the effects of the tailored condition were superior to the generic and control conditions. Trial Registration Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02672215; http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02672215 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6glPFBLWv)
PLFS: a checkpoint filesystem for parallel applications

Parallel applications running across thousands of processors must protect themselves from inevitable system failures. Many applications insulate themselves from failures by checkpointing. For many applications, checkpointing into a shared single file is most convenient. With such an approach, the size of writes are often small and not aligned with file system boundaries. Unfortunately for these applications, this preferred data layout results in pathologically poor performance from the underlying file system which is optimized for large, aligned writes to non-shared files. To address this fundamental mismatch, we have developed a virtual parallel log structured file system, PLFS. PLFS remaps an application's preferred data layout into one which is optimized for the underlying file system. Through testing on PanFS, Lustre, and GPFS, we have seen that this layer of indirection and reorganization can reduce checkpoint time by an order of magnitude for several important benchmarks and real applications without any application modification.
A scene graph based shared 3D world model for robotic applications

This paper presents a novel approach for representing and maintaining a shared 3D world model for robotic applications. This approach is based on the scene graph concept which has been adapted to the requirements of the robotic domain. A key feature is the temporal and centralized sharing of all available 3D data in the leaves of the graph structure. The approach enables tracking of dynamic objects, incorporates uncertainty and allows for annotations by semantic tags. A demonstration is given for a perception application that exploits the temporal sharing of 3D data. A Region of Interest (ROI) is extracted from the stored scene data in order to accelerate processing cycle times.
Rock Art in Darwin ’ s Cathedral Shamanism and the Ancient Mind : A Cognitive Approach to Archaeology

The two books under review ask us to think about complementary aspects of religion: social group and symbolic order. In Darwin's Cathedral David Sloan Wilson examines religious beliefs as biological adaptations for group living; he writes for an intellectually sophisticated general audience. Writing for specialists—the literature review is a sure sign, James L. Pearson sets out to find the nature of rock art in Shamanism and the Ancient Mind. He considers rock art within a psycho-cultural framework that gives his argument general interest. Wilson tackles religion head-on, arguing that it provides the bio-cultural cohesive force that binds individual humans into coherent groups that function as a single organism. He is thus updating an old metaphor—society as organism— by explicating it in terms of group selection, arguing that the causal structure of evolution forces us to regard human groups as unitary evolutionary actors. Pearson's purview is more limited. He's not concerned about religion in general, nor about human society, nor even about evolution. He is interested in the symbolic and ritual proclivities of the human mind as it is revealed in the activities of a particular kind of religious specialist, the shaman. Still more specifically, he focuses on rock art, arguing that it is derived from shamanic visions which, in turn, follow patterns inherent in the visual nervous system. On the question that most interests Wilson—the adaptive nature of religious groups, Pearson says nothing. But we can surmise that he would be less than satisfied. For, in the course of reviewing a century of archaeological thought and research Pearson argues that adaptive explanation cannot account for rock art. Where Wilson argues for groups and adaptation, Pearson argues for cognition and symbols. And that is what interests me, the disjunction between these books.
University of São Paulo Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture Pedogenesis, clay mineralogy, and silicon geochemistry in hypersaline tidal flat soils on the Brazilian coast

Pedogenesis, clay mineralogy, and silicon geochemistry in hypersaline tidal flat soils on the Brazilian coast Hypersaline tidal flats (HTFs) are transitional ecosystems commonly occurring in arid and semiarid coastal areas. (e.g. Australia and New Caledonia), Africa (e.g. Senegal, Gambia, and Madagascar), Central America (e.g. Nicaragua), South America (e.g. Ecuador and on the north, northeast, and southeast Brazilian coasts). Due to their location, HTFs might exert biogeochemical control over cycling of nutrients (e.g. Fe and Si) across the land to ocean transition, accelerating or retarding the nutrient export to the ocean and other adjacent ecosystems. This biogeochemical control is governed by soil physicochemical conditions (e.g. pH and salinity) and pedogenesis (e.g. redox processes). Thus, study of the soil coloidal fraction, the pedogenic processes, and the distribution of Si in the different soil components can provide a detailed characterization of HTF soils and give insights into the Si dynamics in these environments. In view of this, two HTFs on the Brazilian coast were studied on the Brazilian coast and the data are presented here. The first chapter aims to investigate the pedogenesis in HTF soils based on detailed morphological descriptions and Fe and Mn sequential extractions. The second chapter discusses silicon geochemistry in HTF soils based on sequential extractions, SEM, and XRD modeling of the fine clay fraction. And lastly, the third one reports the characteristics, distribution, and genesis of clay minerals in HTF soils on the basis of XRD modeling, TEM-EDS, FTIR, and XRF analysis. Redox reactions control the pedogenic evolution in HTF soils. These processes lead to a mobilization of Fe2+ and Mn2+ upward in the soils profiles, followed by oxidation and precipitation of Fe and Mn oxyhydroxides. These reactions, along with pyrite oxidation, lead to a transformation of the deeper soil horizons. Formation of Fe oxyhydroxides in the uppermost soil horizons exerts control on Si dynamics by co-precipitation and adsorption reactions. Together, Si associated with Fe oxyhydroxides and amorphous silicates are the main components of the readily soluble Si pool in HTF soils. The environmental conditions are conducive to clay transformations in the soils. Our data indicate that kaolinite is progressively altered to Mg-rich smectite through mixed-layering, withdrawing Si from the soil porewater.
Persistence of minimal residual disease in bone marrow predicts outcome in follicular lymphomas treated with a rituximab-intensive program.

We assessed the prognostic value of minimal residual disease (MRD) within the ML17638 phase 3 trial from the Fondazione Italiana Linfomi, investigating the role of rituximab maintenance in elderly follicular lymphoma (FL) patients after a brief first-line chemoimmunotherapy. MRD for the bcl-2/IgH translocation was determined on bone marrow cells in a centralized laboratory belonging to the Euro-MRD consortium, using qualitative and quantitative polymerase chain reactions (PCRs). Of 234 enrolled patients, 227 (97%) were screened at diagnosis. A molecular marker (MM) was found in 51%. Patients with an MM were monitored at 8 subsequent times. Of the 675 expected follow-up samples, 83% were analyzed. Conversion to PCR negativity predicted better progression-free survival (PFS) at all post-treatment times (eg, end of therapy: 3-year PFS, 72% vs 39%; P < .007). MRD was predictive in both maintenance (83% vs 60%; P < .007) and observation (71% vs 50%; P < .001) groups. PCR positivity at the end of induction was an independent adverse predictor (hazard ratio, 3.1; 95% confidence interval, 1.36-7.07). MRD is a powerful independent outcome predictor in FL patients who receive rituximab-intensive programs, suggesting a need to investigate its value for decision-making. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrial. gov as #NCT01144364.
RLAB : A Reinforcement Learning-based Adaptive Broadcasting for Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks

Effective context-aware broadcasting of information to the areas of interest (AoI) is a challenging problem in veh icular ad-hoc networks. It is usually assumed that the information about these AoI are a priori known, either by a centralized source of information or by the entire set of vehicles. In thi s paper, we propose a self-adaptive broadcast scheme based on distributed reinforcement learning, in which the vehicles are able to collaboratively tune the rate of their broadcast based on the network dynamics and without the initial knowledge about geographical distribution of AoI. The proposed approach enables a more practical implementation of distributed context-aware broadcasting, where no global information and only a partial synchronization is required. The convergence and broadcas t performance of the proposed learning system is evaluated us ing simulations for several setups. These results show a signifi cant improvement, in temrs of number of useful broadcasts and del ay, over the existing approaches, such as gossip-based broadca sting.
Family structure and income inequality in families with children, 1976 to 2000

Using 24 years of data from the March supplements to the Current Population Survey and detailed categories of family structure, including cohabiting unions, I assess the contribution of changes in family structure to the dramatic rise in family income inequality. Between 1976 and 2000, family structure shifts explain 41% of the increase in inequality, but the influence of family structure change is not uniform within this period or across racial-ethnic groups. In general, the estimated role of family structure change is inversely related to the magnitude of the changes in inequality. Furthermore, by including cohabitation, I find lower levels of total inequality and a weaker role for demographic shifts in family structure for trends in income inequality.
Assimilation of satellite soil moisture data into rainfall-runoff modelling for several catchments worldwide

The assimilation of satellite soil moisture data into rainfall-runoff modelling represents an important issue not only for research purposes but also for hydrological application addressing flood forecasting. Notwithstanding the large effort made in the last three decades, only few studies demonstrated a benefit deriving from the use of satellite soil moisture data in hydrology. This matter can be ascribed to the differences in the quality of the assimilated data, in the climatic conditions and in the data assimilation techniques that have been adopted. Based on that, this study compares different satellite soil moisture products in different catchments worldwide to shed light about the more suitable products and climatic conditions that should be employed for improving runoff prediction. The results reveal that the employed soil moisture products can be conveniently used to improve runoff prediction. However, reliability differs according to the climatic region and the accuracy of satellite retrievals.
Effects of Sensor Nodes Mobility on Routing Energy Consumption Level and Performance of Wireless Sensor Networks

Due to wireless sensor networks (WSN) characteristics, routing in these networks is a challenging task particularly when the wireless nodes, which are energy constrained, are moving. Mobility in WSNs can cause frequent route changes or breaks. In case of route breaks, each routing protocol reacts differently which in turn cause a different pattern in the energy consumption. Therefore, it is important to consider the impact of mobility on energy level of sensor nodes to select a proper routing scheme for a particular WSN. In this paper, an attempt has been made to measure energy consumption level of the sensor nodes while moving through the WSN environment on different locations. The main contribution of this paper is to compare and analyze performance of the mobile nodes using two well-know routing protocols, DSR and AODV, in terms of three performance metrics as energy efficiency, packet delay, and packet lost rate. The comparison has been done using NS2 network simulator.
9-O-Acetylation of Sialomucins: A Novel Marker of Murine CD4 T Cells that Is Regulated during Maturation and Activation

Terminal sialic acids on cell surface glycoconjugates can carry 9-O-acetyl esters. For technical reasons, it has previously been difficult to determine their precise distribution on different cell types. Using a recombinant soluble form of the Influenza C virus hemagglutinin-esterase as a probe for 9-O-acetylated sialic acids, we demonstrate here their preferential expression on the CD4 T cell lineage in normal B10.A mouse lymphoid organs. Of total thymocytes, 8–10% carry 9-O-acetylation; the great majority of these are the more mature PNA−, HSA−, and TCRhi medullary cells. While low levels of 9-O-acetylation are seen on some CD4/CD8 double positive (DP) and CD8 single positive (SP) cells, high levels are present primarily on 80– 85% of CD4 SP cells. Correlation with CD4 and CD8 levels suggests that 9-O-acetylation appears as an early differentiation marker as cells mature from the DP to the CD4 SP phenotype. This high degree of 9-O-acetylation is also present on 90–95% of peripheral spleen and lymph node CD4 T cells. In contrast, only a small minority of CD8 T cells and B cells show such levels of 9-O-acetylation. Among mature peripheral CD4 T lymphocytes, the highly O-acetylated cells are Mel 14hi, CD44lo, and CD45R(exon B)hi, features typical of naive cells. Digestions with trypsin and O-sialoglycoprotease (OSGPase) and ELISA studies of lipid extracts indicate that the 9-O-acetylated sialic acids on peripheral CD4 T cells are predominantly on O-linked mucintype glycoproteins and to a lesser degree, on sialylated glycolipids (gangliosides). In contrast, sialic acids on mucin type molecules of CD8 T cells are not O-acetylated; instead these molecules mask the recognition of O-acetylated gangliosides that seem to be present at similar levels as on CD4 cells. The 9-O-acetylated gangliosides on mouse T cells are not bound by CD60 antibodies, which recognize O-acetylated gangliosides in human T cells. Tethering 9-O-acetylated mucins with the Influenza C probe with or without secondary cross-linking did not cause activation of CD4 T cells. However, activation by other stimuli including TCR ligation is associated with a substantial decrease in surface 9-O-acetylation, primarily in the mucin glycoprotein component. Thus, 9-O-acetylation of sialic acids on cell surface mucins is a novel marker on CD4 T cells that appears on maturation and is modulated downwards upon activation.
IL-17-Mediated Regulation of Innate and Acquired Immune Response against Pulmonary Mycobacterium bovis Bacille Calmette-Guérin Infection1

IL-17 is a cytokine that induces neutrophil-mediated inflammation, but its role in protective immunity against intracellular bacterial infection remains unclear. In the present study, we demonstrate that IL-17 is an important cytokine not only in the early neutrophil-mediated inflammatory response, but also in T cell-mediated IFN-γ production and granuloma formation in response to pulmonary infection by Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG). IL-17 expression in the BCG-infected lung was detected from the first day after infection and the expression depended on IL-23. Our observations indicated that γδ T cells are a primary source of IL-17. Lung-infiltrating T cells of IL-17-deficient mice produced less IFN-γ in comparison to those from wild-type mice 4 wk after BCG infection. Impaired granuloma formation was also observed in the infected lungs of IL-17-deficient mice, which is consistent with the decreased delayed-type hypersensitivity response of the infected mice against mycobacterial Ag. These data suggest that IL-17 is an important cytokine in the induction of optimal Th1 response and protective immunity against mycobacterial infection.