Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Taxonomy of Applications that Utilize Emotional Awareness

This paper deals with human-computer interaction applications that utilize emotional awareness. We will confine our discussion on speech-based applications. Prerequisites — training data, annotations — as well as state of the art in recognition and synthesis are addressed focusing on usability in possible applications and keeping restrictions in industrial environments in mind. We will present a taxonomy of applications using criteria such as online/offline, mirroring/non-mirroring, emotional/non-emotional and critical/noncritical system reactions. Based on a list of prototypical applications we check the consistency and usefulness of this taxonomy. Taksonomija aplikacij, ki uporabljajo custveno zavedanje Prispevek se ukvarja z aplikacijami za interakcijo med clovekom in racunalnikom, ki uporabljajo custveno zavedanje. Diskusijo omejujemo na govorne aplikacije. Obravnavamo predpogoje — ucni podatki, oznacevanje — in najnovejsa dognanja v razpoznavanju in sintezi govora, osredotocamo se na uporabnost možnih aplikacij ob upostevanju omejitev v industrijskih okoljih. Predstavljamo taksonomijo aplikacij glede na to, ali omogocajo sprotni odziv ali ne, ali so zrcaljene ali ne, ali so custvene ali ne ter ali so reakcije sistema kriticne ali ne. Na podlagi seznama prototipskih aplikacij preverjamo doslednost in uporabnost te taksonomije.
Using eye-tracking and form completion data to optimize form instructions

Reading and effectively following instructions on forms is a critical part of daily living. We all encounter forms (and instructions) in almost every facet of life, ranging from education (homework, tests, and applications), to work (employment forms or benefits forms), to life (tax forms, immigration forms, voter registration forms, government benefits forms, etc.). However, published research provides little behavioral insight specific to effectively designing form instructions. To wit, it suggests that users do not read instructions. Design manuals do offer some insights into form design; however, their suggestions tend to be trite and based on maintaining the status quo of form design. Our research will offer form designers an empirically substantiated preliminary set of concrete guidelines to optimize the design and presentation of instructions on complex forms, thus increasing the likelihood that both at-risk and expert users will notice and read critical instructions.
Fitts' Law in the Wild: A Field Study of Aimed Movements

This paper presents the first field study of aimed movements in graphical user interfaces, designed to get better insight into pointing in the real (electronic) world and assess the validity of Fitts' law in the wild. We unobtrusively collected kinematic data from 24 users over several months, and segmented it into a table of 2 million movements. We show that Fitts' law is indeed robust for modeling pointing performance, provided that an adequate noise reduction process is applied. We introduce the length-distance index (LDI) to take into account the fact that many movements are not straight, and we introduce an extension of Fitts' law that includes an LDI term. We also show evidence of the effect of cognitive tasks in pause and click time, and the sensitivity of differences in performance, e.g., across input devices, to LDI. Altogether, these findings provide a firm ground to better assess the validity of results obtained in the laboratory.
Anomalous origin of the pulmonary artery from the left coronary artery

Objective: To compare the clinical characteristics, haemodynamic findings, and symptomatic outcome in four age groups of patients in the UK undergoing percutaneous mitral balloon valvotomy. Design: A review of patients with mitral stenosis treated by balloon dilatation. Setting: Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, a cardiac referral centre. Results: Of 405 patients who had mitral balloon valvotomy, 19 were aged under 40 years, 101 aged 40–54, 173 aged 55–69, and 112 were 70 years old or more. Medical co-morbidity and Parsonnet score for risk at surgery increased notably with age. Older patients had greater symptomatic limitation and a more severe degree of mitral stenosis, with more valve degenerative change. The incidence of atrial fibrillation, mitral reflux, left ventricular impairment, coronary artery disease, and aortic valve disease increased progressively with age. Before balloon dilatation the right ventricular systolic and left atrial pressures were similar in all age groups, but younger patients had a higher transmitral gradient and cardiac output. After balloon dilatation the younger patients achieved a greater increase in valve area. Complications of balloon valvotomy were more common in the older patients. At five years after balloon dilatation the percentages of patients in each age group who were in New York Heart Association classes I and II were 87%, 63%, 36%, and 19%, respectively. Mortality at five years was 0%, 5%, 31%, and 59%. Conclusions: Percutaneous balloon valvotomy gives a good haemodynamic and symptomatic result in patients under 55. In older patients improvement is often less pronounced and less sustained, but the procedure is a well tolerated palliative treatment for those unsuitable for surgery.
Stabilizing a Laminar Boundary-Layer Using Plasma-Actuators

This is a fundamental study about the influence of plasma-actuators on boundary-layer flows, including both experimental and numerical investigations. The actuator is placed in a boundary-layer of a flat plate and imparts momentum to the flow, resulting in a deformation of the velocity profile. The curvature of the velocity profile is amplified which leads to a more stable boundary layer with a higher critical Reynolds number. The effect of the altered velocity profile decays downstream since the actuator imparts momentum only at a given position. However, the influence on the velocity profile remains long enough to damp the growth of disturbances and to delay transition over a considerable length.
A Protocol for Content-Based Communication in Disconnected Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

In content-based communication, information flows towards interested hosts rather than towards specifically set destinations. This new style of communication perfectly fits the needs of applications dedicated to information sharing, news distribution, service advertisement and discovery, etc. In this paper we address the problem of supporting content-based communication in partially or intermittently connected mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). The protocol we designed leverages on the concepts of opportunistic networking and delay-tolerant networking in order to account for the absence of end-to-end connectivity in disconnected MANETs. The paper provides an overview of the protocol, as well as simulation results that show how this protocol can perform in realistic conditions.
Rapid Rhino versus Merocel nasal packs in septal surgery

Dear Sirs, We read with great interest the article by Hesham and Ghali entitled ‘Rapid Rhino versus Merocel nasal packs in septal surgery’. Whilst we would also consider the use of Rapid Rhino packs following septal surgery, on account of their superior haemostatic quality and reduced pain, we thought it prudent to express a word of warning based on our experience. The Rapid Rhino pack, particularly if heavily inflated, will cause significant pressure on what remains of the nasal septum. Given that the septum will have been mobilised during surgery, this can lead to displacement of the septal cartilage into the contralateral nostril. Consequently, the cartilage may heal in this new position, increasing the risk of operative failure. We have experienced poor outcomes following unilateral packing with Rapid Rhino nasal packs, such that revision surgery has been required. Our cases were not packed at the end of the operation; rather, packing was carried out by the ‘Hospital at Night’ on-call doctor, whose commitment to control the patient’s post-operative epistaxis exceeded their understanding of the surgery. Overnight packing with a fully inflated, unilateral Rapid Rhino nasal pack led to permanent displacement of the septum, with persistent nasal obstruction in the contralateral nostril. Revision surgery was required, and was found to be more complicated than the original surgery because of dislocation of the caudal and basal aspects of the septum. Out-of-hours ENT care is commonly managed by generic junior surgical doctors, who are often unfamiliar with the finer details of septal surgery. We would suggest that, in the early post-operative period after septal surgery, Rapid Rhino packs are always inserted bilaterally and inflated simultaneously. This will enable equal pressure distribution across the septum, preventing post-operative displacement.
Coincident Elevation of cAMP and Calcium Influx by PACAP-27 Synergistically Regulates Vasoactive Intestinal Polypeptide Gene Transcription through a Novel PKA-Independent Signaling Pathway

Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) causes calcium influx, intracellular calcium release, and elevation of cAMP in chromaffin cells. Calcium influx is required for PACAP-stimulated secretion of catecholamines and neuropeptides. The role of cAMP elevation in the action of PACAP at either sympathetic or adrenomedullary synapses, however, is unknown. Here, we show that PACAP-27-induced calcium influx through voltage-sensitive calcium channels (VSCCs), together with elevation of intracellular cAMP, was sufficient to stimulate vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) biosynthesis at least 40-fold. Combined treatment of chromaffin cells with 40 mm KCl, which elevates intracellular calcium, and 25 μm forskolin, which elevates intracellular cAMP, caused an increase in VIP peptide and mRNA much greater than that elicited by either agent alone, and comparable to the increase caused by 10–100 nm PACAP-27. Elevation of VIP mRNA by either KCl plus forskolin, or PACAP, (1) was independent of new protein synthesis, (2) was blocked by inhibition of calcium influx through voltage-sensitive calcium channels, (3) was calcineurin dependent, and (4) was dependent on MAP kinase activation but not activation of protein kinase A. The degree of activation of two different second-messenger pathways, calcium influx and cAMP elevation, appears to determine the magnitude of transcriptional activation of the VIP gene in chromaffin cells. Maximal stimulation of VIP biosynthesis by PACAP appears to require the coincident activation of both of these pathways.
Effects of tenascin-C on normal and diabetic retinal endothelial cells in culture.

PURPOSE Tenascin-C (TN-C) is expressed in embryogenesis, tissue remodeling, and healing. It is up-regulated in retinas of patients affected by diabetic retinopathy (DR). Because TN-C may promote neovascularization, its potential angiogenic effects were examined in vitro in normal and diabetic retinal endothelial cells (RECs). METHODS Bovine and human RECs were cultured on plastic or reconstituted basement membrane (BM) matrix. Production of TN-C, capillary-like tube formation, secondary sprouting, and cell migration, survival, and proliferation were measured with or without angiogenic growth factors (GFs). Antibodies and inhibitors were used to determine the involvement of specific TN-C receptors and signaling pathways. RESULTS TN-C significantly delayed collapse of REC capillary-like tubes on BM matrix. It decreased tube involution associated with serum deprivation, high glucose, and exposure to TGF-beta. TN-C's enhancement of tube stability was mediated by alphavbeta3 integrin. TN-C increased REC viability in 0.5% serum and stimulated REC proliferation in 10% serum. It promoted REC secondary sprouting on BM matrix, which involved signaling through mitogen-activated kinase kinase (MEK) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase. TN-C also enhanced tube branching after treatment with VEGF and stimulated REC migration twofold. Angiogenic GF increased TN-C production by RECs in an additive manner, which may explain higher levels of TN-C deposition in DR cells. CONCLUSIONS TN-C was overexpressed in diabetic and DR REC cultures. TN-C enhanced the sprouting, migratory, and survival effects of angiogenic GFs, and had distinct proliferative, migratory, and protective capacities. The data suggest that TN-C may act as a proangiogenic mediator in DR and other pathologic conditions involving neovascularization.
Identification of the HSPB4/TLR2/NF-κB axis in macrophage as a therapeutic target for sterile inflammation of the cornea

Sterile inflammation underlies many diseases of the cornea including serious chemical burns and the common dry eye syndrome. In search for therapeutic targets for corneal inflammation, we defined the kinetics of neutrophil infiltration in a model of sterile injury to the cornea and identified molecular and cellular mechanisms triggering inflammatory responses. Neutrophil infiltration occurred in two phases: a small initial phase (Phase I) that began within 15 min after injury, and a larger second phase (Phase II) that peaked at 24–48 h. Temporal analysis suggested that the neuropeptide secretoneurin initiated Phase I without involvement of resident macrophages. Phase II was initiated by the small heat shock protein HSPB4 that was released from injured keratocytes and that activated resident macrophages via the TLR2/NF‐κB pathway. The Phase II inflammation was responsible for vision‐threatening opacity and was markedly suppressed by different means of inhibition of the HSPB4/TLR2/NF‐κB axis: in mice lacking HSPB4 or TLR2, by antibodies to HSPB4 or by TNF‐α stimulated gene/protein 6 that CD44‐dependently inhibits the TLR2/NF‐κB pathway. Therefore, our data identified the HSPB4/TLR2/NF‐κB axis in macrophages as an effective target for therapy of corneal inflammation.
On the stability of network indices defined by means of matrix functions

Identifying important components in a network is one of the major goals of network analysis. Popular and effective measures of importance of a node or a set of nodes are defined in terms of suitable entries of functions of matrices $f(A)$. These kinds of measures are particularly relevant as they are able to capture the global structure of connections involving a node. However, computing the entries of $f(A)$ requires a significant computational effort. In this work we address the problem of estimating the changes in the entries of $f(A)$ with respect to changes in the edge structure. Intuition suggests that, if the topology of connections in the new graph $\tilde G$ is not significantly distorted, relevant components in $G$ maintain their leading role in $\tilde G$. We propose several bounds giving mathematical reasoning to such intuition and showing, in particular, that the magnitude of the variation of the entry $f(A)_{k\ell}$ decays exponentially with the shortest-path distance in $G$ that separates either $k$ or $\ell$ from the set of nodes touched by the edges that are perturbed. Moreover, we propose a simple method that exploits the computation of $f(A)$ to simultaneously compute the all-pairs shortest-path distances of $G$, with essentially no additional cost. As the nodes whose edge connection tends to change more often or tends to be more often affected by noise have marginal role in the graph and are distant from the most central nodes, the proposed bounds are particularly relevant.
Scholarlycommons Psc Working Paper Series Population Studies Center an Equilibrium Model of the African Hiv/aids Epidemic an Equilibrium Model of the African Hiv/aids Epidemic an Equilibrium Model of the African Hiv/aids Epidemic *

Eleven percent of the Malawian population is HIV infected. Eighteen percent of sexual encounters are casual. A condom is used one quarter of the time. A choice-theoretic general equilibrium search model is constructed to analyze the Malawian epidemic. In the developed framework, people select between different sexual practices while knowing the inherent risk. The analysis suggests that the efficacy of public policy depends upon the induced behavioral changes and general equilibrium effects that are typically absent in epidemiological studies and small-scale field experiments. For some interventions (some forms of promoting condoms or marriage), the quantitative exercise suggests that these effects may increase HIV prevalence, while for others (such as male circumcision or increased incomes) they strengthen the effectiveness of the intervention. The underlying channels giving rise to these effects are discussed in detail. Abstract Eleven percent of the Malawian population is HIV infected. Eighteen percent of sexual encounters are casual. A condom is used one quarter of the time. A choice-theoretic general equilibrium search model is constructed to analyze the Malawian epidemic. In the developed framework, people select between different sexual practices while knowing the inherent risk. The analysis suggests that the efficacy of public policy depends upon the induced behavioral changes and general equilibrium effects that are typically absent in epidemiological studies and small-scale field experiments. For some interventions (some forms of promoting condoms or marriage), the quantitative exercise suggests that these effects may increase HIV prevalence, while for others (such as male circumcision or increased incomes) they strengthen the effectiveness of the intervention. The underlying channels giving rise to these effects are discussed in detail.
Infrared Patch-Image Model for Small Target Detection in a Single Image

The robust detection of small targets is one of the key techniques in infrared search and tracking applications. A novel small target detection method in a single infrared image is proposed in this paper. Initially, the traditional infrared image model is generalized to a new infrared patch-image model using local patch construction. Then, because of the non-local self-correlation property of the infrared background image, based on the new model small target detection is formulated as an optimization problem of recovering low-rank and sparse matrices, which is effectively solved using stable principle component pursuit. Finally, a simple adaptive segmentation method is used to segment the target image and the segmentation result can be refined by post-processing. Extensive synthetic and real data experiments show that under different clutter backgrounds the proposed method not only works more stably for different target sizes and signal-to-clutter ratio values, but also has better detection performance compared with conventional baseline methods.
Tabulation-Based 5-Independent Hashing with Applications to Linear Probing and Second Moment Estimation

In the framework of Wegman and Carter, a $k$-independent hash function maps any $k$ keys independently. It is known that 5-independent hashing provides good expected performance in applications such as linear probing and second moment estimation for data streams. The classic $5$-independent hash function evaluates a degree 4 polynomial over a prime field containing the key domain $[n]=\{0,\ldots,n-1\}$. Here we present an efficient 5-independent hash function that uses no multiplications. Instead, for any parameter $c$, we make $2c-1$ lookups in tables of size $O(n^{1/c})$. In experiments on different computers, our scheme gained factors of 1.8 to 10 in speed over the polynomial method. We also conducted experiments on the performance of hash functions inside the above applications. In particular, we give realistic examples of inputs that make the most popular 2-independent hash function perform quite poorly. This illustrates the advantage of using schemes with provably good expected performance for all inputs.
NONPHOSPHORUS LIPIDS IN PERIPHYTON REFLECT AVAILABLE NUTRIENTS IN THE FLORIDA EVERGLADES, USA 1

Algal and plant production of nonphosphorus lipids in place of phospholipids is a physiological response to low phosphorus (P) availability. This response has been shown in culture and in marine plankton studies, but examples from freshwater algae remain minimal. Herein, we analyzed the nutrient contents and lipid composition of periphyton communities across the Florida Everglades ecosystem. We hypothesized that in phosphate‐poor areas, periphyton in high‐ and low‐sulfate waters would vary the proportion of sulfolipids (SLs) and betaine lipids (BLs), respectively. In phosphate‐enriched areas, periphyton would produce more phospholipids (PLs). We observed that at low‐P sites, PLs were a minor lipid component. In cyanobacteria‐dominated periphyton where sulfate was abundant, BLs were only slightly more abundant than SLs. However, in the low‐P, low‐sulfate area, periphyton were comprised to a greater degree green algae and diatoms, and BLs represented the majority of the total lipids. Even in a P‐rich area, PLs were a small component of periphyton lipid profiles. Despite the phosphorus limitations of the Everglades, periphyton can develop tremendous biomass. Our results suggest a physiological response by periphyton to oligotrophic conditions whereby periphyton increase abundances of nonphosphorus lipids and have reduced proportions of PLs.
Regional analysis of FDG-PET for use in the classification of Alzheimer'S Disease

We present the first use of multi-region FDG-PET data for classification of subjects from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. Image data were obtained from 69 healthy controls, 71 AD patients, and 147 patients with a baseline diagnosis of MCI. Anatomical segmentations were automatically generated in the native MRI-space of each subject, and the mean signal intensity per cubic millimetre in each region was extracted from the FDG-PET images. Using a support vector machine classifier, we achieve excellent discrimination between AD patients and HC (accuracy 82%), and good discrimination between MCI patients and HC (accuracy 70%). Using FDG-PET, a technique which is often used clinically in the workup of dementia patients, we achieve results which are comparable with those obtained using data from research-quality MRI, or biomarkers obtained invasively from the cerebrospinal fluid.