Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Non-contact time varying heart rate monitoring in exercise by video camera

In order to monitor the time varying heart rate (HR) of human in exercise effectively, a noncontact detection method based on video camera is realized in this paper. Based on the principle of Photoplethysmography (PPG), the camera records the regular changes of the skin surface in human face due to their blood volume pulse (BVP). After a series of preprocessing including facial recognition, band-pass filter, trend removal, and reconstruction of source signal, the BVP waveform was retrieved from the video signal. In this way, the extraction of HR could be re-formulated as the problem of extracting the frequency of the BVP signal, which is in a traditional digital signal form. In this paper, five classical frequency extraction methods are compared to find the most proper one. The simulation results show that the frequency extracted from the BVP signal could match the time varying heart rate detected by professional equipment and the approach of calculating the mean value of interbeat intervals (IBI) has the best performance in frequency extraction, especially in the stage of postexercise.
Pre-Service and In-Service ESL Teachers' Beliefs About the Use of Digital Technology in the Classroom

It has long been accepted that teachers’ beliefs guide their classroom practices (Pajares, 1992; Fang, 1996; Woods, 1996; Borg, 2006). Yet, little is known about what teachers believe about digital technology integration, despite the attempts by mainstream education to incorporate it into language teaching, especially in the field of second language education. Using Borg’s (2006) framework of language teacher cognition, this study investigated the beliefs of pre-service and in-service ESL teachers about the use of digital technology in the classroom, and the factors that influence those beliefs. Thirty-five Canadian pre-service and in-service ESL teachers completed an online survey and some were interviewed (n =10). The findings suggest that the participants generally hold positive attitudes about using digital technology in the classroom. These beliefs seem to be influenced by the participants’ classroom practice, experiences with digital technology, technology-related training, context(s) in which such digital technology was used, and age.
Conscious and Unconscious Processing of Nonverbal Predictability in Wernicke's Area

The association of nonverbal predictability and brain activation was examined using functional magnetic resonance imaging in humans. Participants regarded four squares displayed horizontally across a screen and counted the incidence of a particular color. A repeating spatial sequence with varying levels of predictability was embedded within a random color presentation. Both Wernicke's area and its right homolog displayed a negative correlation with temporal predictability, and this effect was independent of individuals' conscious awareness of the sequence. When individuals were made aware of the underlying sequential predictability, a widespread network of cortical regions displayed activity that correlated with the predictability. Conscious processing of predictability resulted in a positive correlation to activity in right prefrontal cortex but a negative correlation in posterior parietal cortex. These results suggest that conscious processing of predictability invokes a large-scale cortical network, but independently of awareness, Wernicke's area processes predictive events in time and may not be exclusively associated with language.
Electrospun Gelatin/β-TCP Composite Nanofibers Enhance Osteogenic Differentiation of BMSCs and In Vivo Bone Formation by Activating Ca2+-Sensing Receptor Signaling

Calcium phosphate- (CaP-) based composite scaffolds have been used extensively for the bone regeneration in bone tissue engineering. Previously, we developed a biomimetic composite nanofibrous membrane of gelatin/β-tricalcium phosphate (TCP) and confirmed their biological activity in vitro and bone regeneration in vivo. However, how these composite nanofibers promote the osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) is unknown. Here, gelatin/β-TCP composite nanofibers were fabricated by incorporating 20 wt% β-TCP nanoparticles into electrospun gelatin nanofibers. Electron microscopy showed that the composite β-TCP nanofibers had a nonwoven structure with a porous network and a rough surface. Spectral analyses confirmed the presence and chemical stability of the β-TCP and gelatin components. Compared with pure gelatin nanofibers, gelatin/β-TCP composite nanofibers caused increased cell attachment, proliferation, alkaline phosphatase activity, and osteogenic gene expression in rat BMSCs. Interestingly, the expression level of the calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) was significantly higher on the composite nanofibrous scaffolds than on pure gelatin. For rat calvarial critical sized defects, more extensive osteogenesis and neovascularization occurred in the composite scaffolds group compared with the gelatin group. Thus, gelatin/β-TCP composite scaffolds promote osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs in vitro and bone regeneration in vivo by activating Ca2+-sensing receptor signaling.
Towards a Computer Interaction-Based Mood Measurement Instrument

The purpose of this explorative research was to explore the mood of a computer user and his or her use of keyboard and mouse. Twenty-six users (13 programmers and 13 frequent computer users) took part in the study. A background software application executing on participants’ computers logged the keyboard key press and mouse click events. The correlations between moods of the participants and their use of keyboard and mouse show that it might be possible to create individual tailor made mood measures based on individuals keyboard and mouse use. The highest and lowest significant correlations found were r (63) = 0.39, p<= 0.01 and r (73) = -0.24, p<= 0.05 respectively. About 31% of participants showed significant correlations towards valence whereas about 27% showed significant correlations toward arousal. Further, the data shows that experience and self discipline might be a factor to predict people who show significant correlation between their behaviour and valence level. Similarly dutifulness might help in predicting people who show significant correlation between their behaviour and arousal level.
Neurotensin receptor-1 mRNA analysis in normal pancreas and pancreatic disease.

By autoradiography, neurotensin (NT) binding is specifically detectable in pancreatic cancer, but not in the normal pancreas, chronic pancreatitis (CP), or other pancreatic disorders. In the present study, we investigated whether this is due to NT receptor-1 (NTR-1) mRNA up-regulation and whether NTR-1 mRNA could also be used as a specific diagnostic marker and treatment target in pancreatic cancer. Fifteen normal pancreas tissue samples, 20 CP samples, and 30 pancreatic cancer samples were studied. Expression and localization of NTR-1 mRNA was investigated by Northern blot analysis and in situ hybridization. Furthermore, consecutive tissue sections were analyzed for NTR-1 mRNA expression and NT binding. By Northern blot analysis, NTR-1 mRNA expression was 4.4-fold (P < 0.01) and 3.0-fold (P < 0.01) higher in pancreatic cancer and CP tissue samples, respectively, compared with normal controls. There was no difference in NTR-1 mRNA levels between CP and cancer samples (P > 0.05). In pancreatic cancer, the NTR-1 mRNA levels were higher in advanced tumor stage (stages III and IV) than early tumor stage (stages I and II; P < 0.05), but no difference was found between well/moderately differentiated (grades 1 and 2) and poorly differentiated/undifferentiated cancers (grades 3 and 4; P > 0.05). By in situ hybridization, NTR-1 mRNA signals were weakly present in the cytoplasm of acinar and ductal cells of the normal pancreas. Moderate to intense NTR-1 mRNA signals were present in the cytoplasm of acinar cells dedifferentiating into tubular complexes and degenerating acinar cells of CP samples. In the cancer samples, NTR-1 mRNA was moderately to intensely expressed in the cytoplasm of cancer cells. When on consecutive tissue sections NTR-1 mRNA expression was compared with the presence of NTR-1, measured by receptor autoradiography, a correlation was found in carcinomas but not in CP samples, in which no receptors were detectable by autoradiography. The enhanced expression of NTR-1 mRNA in pancreatic cancer cells further suggests that neuroendocrine hormones might modulate pancreas cancer cell behavior. However, its relatively high levels in CP excludes NTR-1 mRNA as a specific parameter for pancreatic cancer and for the differentiation of pancreatic cancer from CP.
How preferable and possible is management research-led teaching impact?

Despite some research-led teaching relying heavily on an individual’s research, we find very few impact cases studies from the United Kingdom’s research excellence framework 2014 which use this mechanism for impact. This article questions this absence, identifies problems and challenges of ignoring it and suggests recognising students as research translators to create change. Using research excellence framework 2014 as a case, we define research-led teaching and use Boyer’s scholarship of application as our pedagogical base arguing that ignoring this impact pathway is unjustifiable, demotivating and a missed opportunity which underrepresents the impact of management research. The article provokes new thinking on research-led teaching impact for faculty, research managers, universities and international impact assessment organisations.
Nearly Optimal Private LASSO

We present a nearly optimal differentially private version of the well known LASSO estimator. Our algorithm provides privacy protection with respect to each training example. The excess risk of our algorithm, compared to the non-private version, is O(1/n2/3), assuming all the input data has bounded l∞ norm. This is the first differentially private algorithm that achieves such a bound without the polynomial dependence on p under no additional assumptions on the design matrix. In addition, we show that this error bound is nearly optimal amongst all differentially private algorithms.
Designing an Optimal Subsidy Scheme to Reduce Emissions for a Competitive Urban Transport Market

With the purpose of establishing an effective subsidy scheme to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, this paper proposes a two-stage game for a competitive urban transport market. In the first stage, the authority determines operating subsidies based on social welfare maximization. Observing the predetermined subsidies, two transit operators set fares and frequencies to maximize their own profits at the second stage. The detailed analytical and numerical analyses demonstrate that of the three proposed subsidy schemes, the joint implementation of trip-based and frequency-related subsidies not only generates the largest welfare gains and makes competitive operators provide equilibrium fares and frequencies, which largely resemble first-best optimal levels but also greatly contributes to reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions on major urban transport corridors.
Antifungal suscepitibility profile of candida spp. oral isolates obtained from denture wearers

Denture stomatitis is an inflammatory condition that occurs in denture wearers and is frequently associated with Candida yeasts. Antifungal susceptibility profiles have been extensively evaluated for candidiasis patients or immunosupressed individuals, but not for healthy Candida carriers. In the present study, fluconazole, itraconazole, voriconazole, terbinafine and 5-flucytosin were tested against 109 oral Candida spp. isolates. All antifungal agents were effective against the samples tested except for terbinafine. This work might provide epidemiological information about Candida spp. drug susceptibility in oral healthy individuals.
Performance of voice/data integration for two MAC protocols in DS-CDMA wireless networks

Code division multiple access (CDMA) has become an attractive technique for media access control in personal communication networks (PCN). Two MAC protocols, namely preamble signaling access (PSA) and minislot signaling access (MSA) are defined and evaluated for voice/data integration at the base station. It assumes that there are two types of mobile hosts, voice mobiles and data mobiles. The base station integrates the data and voice transmission access so that there are no contentions between voice and data users. An adaptive access control is proposed with parameters which affect the system performance. Markovian chain models have been developed to analyze the performance of PSA and MSA protocols. Performance results based upon simulations are also provided.
Long‐term temporal and spatial trends in phytoplankton biomass and class‐level taxonomic composition in the hydrologically variable Neuse‐Pamlico estuarine continuum, North Carolina, U.S.A.

Phytoplankton diagnostic photopigments in near‐surface waters (≈0.5 m) were identified and quantified by high‐performance liquid chromatography beginning in April 1994 in the Neuse River Estuary and in October 1999 in the Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Photopigment concentrations were analyzed using ChemTax to determine the class‐specific biomass of the dominant phytoplankton groups. Long‐term annual and seasonal trends in phytoplankton biomass and composition were characterized along the river‐estuarine continuum and compared to river flow rates, which were variable because of droughts, uncharacteristic seasonal rainfall patterns, and, since 1996, an increase in the frequency of tropical storms and hurricanes. We tested the hypothesis that temporal and spatial patterns of phytoplankton biomass and composition were largely controlled by changes in river flow rate through associated changes in salinity and residence time or through physical transport and advection of phytoplankton classes with river flow along the estuary. Significant interannual, seasonal, and spatial variability in phytoplankton biomass and composition was observed and coincided with variability in river flow rates. The five dominant phytoplankton classes (Chlorophyceae, Cryptophyceae, Cyanobacteria, Bacillariophyceae, and Dinophyceae) were physically displaced downstream during periods of elevated river flow. Dinoflagellates were reduced in abundance during high flow conditions, especially in the upper Neuse River Estuary. The abundance of cyanobacteria was also reduced throughout the system during elevated river flow conditions, although chlorophytes were more abundant. Changes in hydrology can be a useful indicator of seasonal phytoplankton distribution and higher level compositional changes along hydrologic gradients in these and similar systems.
Tyrosinase Depletion Prevents the Maturation of Melanosomes in the Mouse Hair Follicle

The mechanisms that lead to variation in human skin and hair color are not fully understood. To better understand the molecular control of skin and hair color variation, we modulated the expression of Tyrosinase (Tyr), which controls the rate-limiting step of melanogenesis, by expressing a single-copy, tetracycline-inducible shRNA against Tyr in mice. Moderate depletion of TYR was sufficient to alter the appearance of the mouse coat in black, agouti, and yellow coat color backgrounds, even though TYR depletion did not significantly inhibit accumulation of melanin within the mouse hair. Ultra-structural studies revealed that the reduction of Tyr inhibited the accumulation of terminal melanosomes, and inhibited the expression of genes that regulate melanogenesis. These results indicate that color in skin and hair is determined not only by the total amount of melanin within the hair, but also by the relative accumulation of mature melanosomes.
Particle acceleration by ultrarelativistic shocks: theory and simulations

We consider the acceleration of charged particles near ultra-relativistic shocks, with Lorentz factor Gamma_s >> 1. We present simulations of the acceleration process and compare these with results from semi-analytical calculations. We show that the spectrum that results from acceleration near ultra-relativistic shocks is a power law, N(E) \propto E^{-s}, with a nearly universal value s \approx 2.2 - 2.3 for the slope of this power law. We confirm that the ultra-relativistic equivalent of Fermi acceleration at a shock differs from its non-relativistic counterpart by the occurence of large anisotropies in the distribution of the accelerated particles near the shock. In the rest frame of the upstream fluid, particles can only outrun the shock when their direction of motion lies within a small loss cone of opening angle theta_c \approx 1/Gamma_s around the shock normal. We also show that all physically plausible deflection or scattering mechanisms can change the upstream flight direction of relativistic particles originating from downstream by only a small amount: Delta theta ~ 1/Gamma_s. This limits the energy change per shock crossing cycle to Delta E ~ E, except for the first cycle where particles originate upstream. In that case the upstream energy is boosted by a factor ~ Gamma_s^2 for those particles that are scattered back across the shock into the upstream region.
Individual differences in second language speech learning in classroom settings: Roles of awareness in the longitudinal development of Japanese learners’ English /ɹ/ pronunciation

The current study longitudinally examined a crucial individual difference variable – i.e. awareness (operationalized as explicit attention and articulatory knowledge) – in adult second language (L2) speech learning in the context of 40 Japanese learners’ English /ɹ/ pronunciation development in an EFL classroom. The participants’ speech, elicited from word reading, sentence reading and timed picture description tasks at the beginning and end of one academic semester, were analysed in terms of three acoustic dimensions of English /ɹ/: third formant (F3), second formant (F2) and duration. Whereas the participants showed gains in the relatively easy aspect of the English /ɹ/ acquisition (F2 reduction for tongue retraction) as a function of increased L2 input, their explicit awareness of accurate English /ɹ/ pronunciation played a significant role in the acquisition of the relatively difficult dimension (lengthening phonemic duration). The awareness-acquisition link was not found, however, for the most difficult dimension (F3 reduction for labial, alveolar and pharyngeal constrictors) at least within the timeframe of the project.
Adaptive structured parallelism for distributed heterogeneous architectures: a methodological approach with pipelines and farms

Algorithmic skeletons abstract commonly used patterns of parallel computation, communication, and interaction. Based on the algorithmic skeleton concept, structured parallelism provides a high‐level parallel programming technique that allows the conceptual description of parallel programs while fostering platform independence and algorithm abstraction. This work presents a methodology to improve skeletal parallel programming in heterogeneous distributed systems by introducing adaptivity through resource awareness. As we hypothesise that a skeletal program should be able to adapt to the dynamic resource conditions over time using its structural forecasting information, we have developed adaptive structured parallelism (ASPARA). ASPARA is a generic methodology to incorporate structural information at compilation into a parallel program, which will help it to adapt at execution. ASPARA comprises four phases: programming, compilation, calibration, and execution. We illustrate the feasibility of this approach and its associated performance improvements using independent case studies based on two algorithmic skeletons—the task farm and the pipeline—evaluated in a non‐dedicated heterogeneous multi‐cluster system. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Weaving for tourists in Chinchero, Peru

This article examines the effects that ‘performing’ weaving for the tourists is having on the organization of textile production for sale in the Peruvian Quechua-speaking town of Chinchero. Recent dynamics of tourism in town have encouraged the transformation of households into weaving centres for textile exhibitions, a transformation that has substantially altered the relations between weavers and weaving, as well as with the production mode in a context of hierarchical control. Analysis shows how artisan centres that have been set up to demonstrate weaving techniques to tourists do not work as a location of production, so that production needs to be organized externally. In the wake of this transition and of the social changes introduced, household economies have been forced to redefine the terms of their articulation with the wider community organization. In relation to this point, the article explores the tensions that arise when non-family members are taken to work within the household.
A Universal Decline Law of Classical Novae. II. GK Persei 1901 and Novae in 2005

Optical and infrared light curves of classical novae are approximately homologous among various white dwarf (WD) masses and chemical compositions when free-free emission from optically thin ejecta is spherical and dominates the continuum flux of novae. Such a homologous template light curve is called "a universal decline law. " Various nova light curves are approximately reproduced from this universal law by introducing a timescaling factor which stretches or squeezes the template light curve to match the observation. The timescale of the light curve depends strongly on the WD mass but weakly on the chemical composition, so we are able to roughly estimate the WD mass from the light-curve fitting. We have applied the universal decline law to the old nova GK Persei 1901 and recent novae that outbursted in 2005. The estimated WD mass is 1.15 M☉ for GK Per, which is consistent with a central value of the WD mass determined from the orbital velocity variations. The other WD masses of 10 novae in 2005 are also estimated to be 1.05 M☉ (V2361 Cyg), 1.15 M☉ (V382 Nor), 1.2 M☉ (V5115 Sgr), 0.7 M☉ (V378 Ser), 0.9 M☉ (V5116 Sgr), 1.25 M☉ (V1188 Sco), 0.7 M☉ (V1047 Cen), 0.95 M☉ (V476 Sct), 0.95 M☉ (V1663 Aql), and 1.30 M☉ (V477 Sct), within a rough accuracy of ±0.1 M☉. Four (V382 Nor, V5115 Sgr, V1188 Sco, and V477 Sct) of 10 novae in the year 2005 are probably neon novae on an O-Ne-Mg WD. Each WD mass depends weakly on the chemical composition (especially the hydrogen content X in mass weight), i.e., the obtained WD masses increase by +0.5(X - 0.35) M☉ for the six CO novae and by +0.5(X - 0.55) M☉ for the four neon novae above. Various nova parameters are discussed in relation to its WD mass.