Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Analyzing expressive styles and functions of bodily movement in violinist performance

Musical performance is a viable test case for studying the behavioural processes of the production and decoding of body expressivity in a naturalistic setting. The present study focuses on how a violinist's body expression can adapt to a variety of expressive styles. Using a motion capture system, we were able to capture body segments and the instrumental dynamics (head, arms, torso, sacrum, and violin) of three violinists during musical performances (J.S Bach, partita Dmin) played in metronomic, emphatic and concert-like styles. A General Linear Mixed Model has been developed as a statistical method to evaluate how the expressive style impacts body segment displacements. Preliminary results reveal distinct body configurations where body segments move more with respect to others. This questions the idea that various styles of body movement do not consist exclusively of change in full-body kinetics.
Invisible Wounds: Predicting the Immediate and Long-Term Consequences of Mental Health Problems in Veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom

This product is part of the RAND Health working paper series. RAND working papers are intended to share researchers’ latest findings and to solicit informal peer review. They have been approved for circulation by RAND Health but have not been formally edited or peer reviewed. Unless otherwise indicated, working papers can be quoted and cited without permission of the author, provided the source is clearly referred to as a working paper. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. is a registered trademark.
Characterizing the Conductivity and Enhancing the Piezoresistivity of Carbon Nanotube-Polymeric Thin Films

The concept of lightweight design is widely employed for designing and constructing aerospace structures that can sustain extreme loads while also being fuel-efficient. Popular lightweight materials such as aluminum alloy and fiber-reinforced polymers (FRPs) possess outstanding mechanical properties, but their structural integrity requires constant assessment to ensure structural safety. Next-generation structural health monitoring systems for aerospace structures should be lightweight and integrated with the structure itself. In this study, a multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)-based polymer paint was developed to detect distributed damage in lightweight structures. The thin film’s electromechanical properties were characterized via cyclic loading tests. Moreover, the thin film’s bulk conductivity was characterized by finite element modeling.
One bird with two stones: Abnormal word length effects in pure alexia and semantic dementia

In pure alexia (PA)—an acquired reading disorder consequent on posterior left-hemisphere stroke—the hallmark is a pronounced and abnormal impact of word length on reading speed. Some patients with semantic dementia (SD)—a neurodegenerative condition affecting semantic memory—have also been reported to show an abnormal word length effect (AWLE) in reading, even though they are not thought to have the basic visual-processing deficits hypothesized to underlie this phenomenon in PA. In the current study, an AWLE in reading was consistently observed in both PA and SD patients, but further manipulations demonstrated marked differences between the groups in the conditions that produce the length effect, its specific manifestation, and the pattern of other deficits accompanying it. All of the results are compatible with the twin hypotheses that the AWLE in reading arises from a visual-processing deficit in PA but from reduced top-down lexical/semantic support for word identification in SD. In other words, the AWLE in the two patient groups appears to be a common symptom arising from different underlying deficits: one bird with two stones.
Shaping UP for E-Commerce: Institutional Enablers of the Organizational Assimliation of Web Technologies

The global reach of the Web technological platform, along with the range of services that it supports, makes it a powerful business resource. However, realization of operational and strategic benefits is contingent on effective assimilation of this type III IS innovation. This paper draws upon institutional theory and the conceptual lens of structuring and metastructuring actions to explain the importance of three factors-top management championship, strategic investment rationale, and extent of coordination-in achieving higher levels of Web assimilation within an organization. Survey data are utilized to test a nomological network of relationships among these factors and the extent of organizational assimilation of Web technologies.
Posttraumatic growth and religion in Rwanda: individual well-being vs. collective false consciousness

Some scholars include changes in spirituality, such as a greater commitment to their religious beliefs or an enhanced understanding of spiritual matters, in the definition of posttraumatic growth; others conclude that questions of spirituality should be excluded from this definition. This article highlights the fundamental difference of religion to other domains of posttraumatic growth because religions are ideologies (and other domains of growth are not). As ideologies, it is argued that religions can affect different levels of identity in different ways. Based on testimonial evidence from Rwandan genocide survivors, the article demonstrates that although religious beliefs can bring existential comfort at the individual level, they can also lead to a state of false consciousness at the collective level. In Rwanda, the dominant religious ideology facilitated the spiritual and moral climate in which genocide became possible. Today, religious interpretations of the Rwandan Patriotic Front's (RPF) leadership provide spiritual backing to a government which has become increasingly authoritarian.
Differential Effects of Temperature on Natural Transformation to Erythromycin and Nalidixic Acid Resistance in Campylobacter coli

ABSTRACT Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli are naturally competent, but limited information exists on the impact of environmental conditions on transformation. In this study, we investigated the impact of temperature and microaerobic versus aerobic atmosphere on transformation of C. coli to erythromycin and nalidixic acid resistance. Frequency of transformation was not significantly different between microaerobic (5 to 10% CO2) and aerobic conditions. However, C. coli was transformed to erythromycin resistance at a significantly higher frequency at 42°C than at 25°C (P < 0.05), and few or no transformants were obtained at 25°C. In contrast, transformation to nalidixic acid resistance was highly efficient at both 42°C and 25°C and was similar or, at the most, fourfold higher at 42°C than at 25°C. DNase I treatment experiments suggested that steps both prior and subsequent to internalization of DNA were influenced by temperature in the case of transformation of C. coli to erythromycin resistance. However, the moderately increased (fourfold) frequency of transformation to nalidixic acid resistance at 42°C compared to that at 25°C was exclusively associated with steps prior to DNA internalization. These findings suggest that transformation to erythromycin resistance may be significantly more frequent in the gastrointestinal tract of hosts such as poultry (at 42°C) than in other habitats characterized by lower temperatures, whereas transformation to nalidixic acid resistance may be highly efficient both within and outside the animal hosts.
Preparation of hydroxyapatite/zirconia bioceramic nanocomposites for orthopaedic and dental prosthesis applications

Homogeneous mixtures of hydroxyapatite (HAp) and yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) nanoparticles were successfully synthesized using chemical co-precipitation and subsequent calcination. For the synthesis of HAp/YSZ nanopowder, the Ca/P atomic ratio was 1.73 to obtain high-content stoichiometric hydroxyapatite phase and to suppress β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) formation. The agglomerated crystalline powders were milled using YSZ ball media to obtain well-separated nanoparticles. The final particle size of the HAp and YSZ was ∼50–70 and ∼15–30 nm, respectively. The crystallinity and morphological feature of the nanopowder was analysed using x-ray diffraction (XRD) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) analyses. The ball-milled nanopowder mixture was hot pressed at 1100 °C for 1 h under 20 MPa in vacuum atmosphere. The sintered HAp/YSZ nanocomposites exhibited approximately 99% of the theoretical density, due not only to the fine nanoscale of the particles, but also to the homogeneous distribution of the nanoparticle mixture. They also showed fine grain structures of the HAp phase due to the suppressed grain growth by YSZ particles. The nanocomposites showed improved mechanical properties, flexural strength of ∼155 MPa and fracture toughness of ∼2.1 MP m1/2, due to the YSZ contribution to the HAp matrix.
Characterizing social cascades in flickr

Online social networking sites like MySpace and Flickr have become a popular way to share and disseminate content. Their massive popularity has led to the viral marketing of content, products, and political campaigns on the sites themselves. Despite the excitement, the precise mechanisms by which information is exchanged over these networks are not well understood. In this paper, we investigate social cascades, or how information disseminates through social links in online social networks. Using real traces of 1,000 popular photos and a social network collected from Flickr, and a theoretical framework borrowed from epidemiology, we show that social cascades are an important factor in the dissemination of content. Our work provides an important first step in understanding how information disseminates in social networks.
The world is too much: Effects of array size on the link between language comprehension and eye movements

programming of saccades. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance, 10 (5), 667 682. Rayner, K. , & Pollatsek, A. (1981). Eye movement control during reading: Evidence for direct control. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 33A , 351 373. Reingold, E. M. , & Stampe, D. M. (2002). Saccadic inhibition in voluntary and reflexive saccades. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 14 , 371 388. Torralba, A. , Oliva, A. , Castelhano, M. S. , & Henderson, J. M. (2006). Contextual guidance of eye movements and attention in real-world scenes: The role of global features in object search. Psychological Review, 113 , 766 786.
New Approaches to Clinical Trials in Vascular Dementia: Memantine in Small Vessel Disease

Although criteria for the diagnosis of vascular dementia (VaD) are established, the diagnostic concept is still controversial and there is no regulatory guidance for clinical drug development. Clinical trials in VaD present a number of pitfalls and challenges and, so far, no compound has received regulatory approval for this indication. The methodological issues of clinical VaD trials are discussed using the development of memantine for this indication as an example. In a pooled analysis of two placebo-controlled trials with the NMDA-antagonist memantine in VaD, the cognitive benefit by memantine treatment was more pronounced for patients with ‘small vessel disease’ than for those with other neuroradiological findings at baseline. In a subgroup of patients with ‘large vessel disease’ or macrolesions, there was less cognitive decline among the placebo patients. It may therefore be helpful to use predefined diagnostic subcategories in clinical studies in this indication. The findings further suggest that stroke or multiple infarctions may not be the primary reason for cognitive decline in VaD patients.
Mathematical Morphology Based ECG Feature Extraction for the Purpose of Heartbeat Classification

The paper presents the classification performance of an automatic classifier of the electrocardiogram (ECG) for the detection abnormal beats with new concept of feature extraction stage. Feature sets were based on ECG morphology and RR-intervals. Configuration adopted a Kohonen self-organizing maps (SOM) for analysis of signal features and clustering. In this study, a classifier was developed with SOM and learning vector quantization (LVQ) algorithms using the data from the records recommended by ANSI/AAMI EC57 standard. This paper compares two strategies for classification of annotated QRS complexes: based on original ECG morphology features and proposed new approach - based on preprocessed ECG morphology features. The mathematical morphology filtering is used for the preprocessing of ECG signal. The problem of choosing an appropriate structuring element of mathematical morphology filtering for ECG signal processing was studied. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated on the MIT-BIH Arrhythmia Database following the AAMI recommendations. Using this method the results of recognition beats either as normal or arrhythmias was improved.
Chronic Blockade of the Androgen Receptor Abolishes Age-Dependent Increases in Blood Pressure in Female Growth-Restricted Rats

Intrauterine growth restriction induced via placental insufficiency programs a significant increase in blood pressure at 12 months of age in female growth-restricted rats that is associated with early cessation of estrous cyclicity, indicative of premature reproductive senescence. In addition, female growth-restricted rats at 12 months of age exhibit a significant increase in circulating testosterone with no change in circulating estradiol. Testosterone is positively associated with blood pressure after menopause in women. Thus, we tested the hypothesis that androgen receptor blockade would abolish the significant increase in blood pressure that develops with age in female growth-restricted rats. Mean arterial pressure was measured in animals pretreated with and without the androgen receptor antagonist, flutamide (8 mg/kg/day, SC for 2 weeks). Flutamide abolished the significant increase in blood pressure in growth-restricted rats relative to control at 12 months of age. To examine the mechanism(s) by which androgens contribute to increased blood pressure in growth-restricted rats, blood pressure was assessed in rats untreated or treated with enalapril (250 mg/L for 2 weeks). Enalapril eliminated the increase in blood pressure in growth-restricted relative to vehicle- and flutamide-treated controls. Furthermore, the increase in medullary angiotensin type 1 receptor mRNA expression was abolished in flutamide-treated growth-restricted relative to untreated counterparts and controls; cortical angiotensin-converting enzyme mRNA expression was reduced in flutamide-treated growth-restricted versus untreated counterparts. Thus, these data indicate that androgens, via activation of the renin–angiotensin system, are important mediators of increased blood pressure that develops by 12 months of age in female growth-restricted rats.
Cystic fibrosis mortality and survival in the UK: 1947–2003

Data up to 1995 on the survival of 3-yr cohorts of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) born in the UK in the period 1968–1992 have previously been published. The present study reports survival data up to the end of 2003 together with a 2003 population estimate. All subjects with CF born in the UK in the period 1968–1992 were identified up to 1997 by active enquiry through recognised CF clinics and other hospital consultants. Information from the death certification authorities up to the end of 2003 was added. Death certificates that could not be matched with UK Cystic Fibrosis Survey records were investigated and the data reconciled. The observed survival up to 2003 of CF patients born in 1978 was 55% for males and 49% for females. For 1988 and 1992 the data were 91 and 88%, and 97 and 96%, respectively. The estimated 2003 mid-year CF population was 8,284. The continuing improvement in survival of cystic fibrosis patients in successive cohorts means that the previous prediction of median survival of >50 yrs of age for individuals born in 2000 continues to look realistic, even in the absence of proven effective therapy aimed at correcting the basic cystic fibrosis defect.
Contact probing of stretched membranes and adhesive interactions: graphene and other two-dimensional materials

Contact probing is the preferable method for studying mechanical properties of thin two-dimensional (2D) materials. These studies are based on analysis of experimental force–displacement curves obtained by loading of a stretched membrane by a probe of an atomic force microscope or a nanoindenter. Both non-adhesive and adhesive contact interactions between such a probe and a 2D membrane are studied. As an example of the 2D materials, we consider a graphene crystal monolayer whose discrete structure is modelled as a 2D isotropic elastic membrane. Initially, for contact between a punch and the stretched circular membrane, we formulate and solve problems that are analogies to the Hertz-type and Boussinesq frictionless contact problems. A general statement for the slope of the force–displacement curve is formulated and proved. Then analogies to the JKR (Johnson, Kendall and Roberts) and the Boussinesq–Kendall contact problems in the presence of adhesive interactions are formulated. General nonlinear relations among the actual force, displacements and contact radius between a sticky membrane and an arbitrary axisymmetric indenter are derived. The dimensionless form of the equations for power-law shaped indenters has been analysed, and the explicit expressions are derived for the values of the pull-off force and corresponding critical contact radius.
Downregulation of a human colonic sialyltransferase by a secondary bile acid and a phorbol ester.

Fecal constituents such as bile acids and increased sialylation of membrane glycoproteins by α-2,6-sialyltransferase (HST6N-1) may contribute to colorectal tumorigenesis. We hypothesized that bile acids and phorbol ester [12- O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)] would upregulate HST6N-1 in colonic cells. However, deoxycholate (DOC) (300 μmol/l), a secondary bile acid, and TPA (20 ng/ml) decreased expression of an ∼100-kDa glycoprotein bearing α-2,6-linked sialic acid in a colon cancer cell line (T84) in vitro. HST6N-1 mRNA levels were reduced ∼80% by treatment (≤24 h) with DOC or TPA but not by cholate, a primary bile acid. Treatment (24 h) with DOC or TPA decreased activity of this enzyme to 30% and 13% of control, respectively. These effects of DOC and TPA were transcriptional and were mediated by Ca2+ and protein kinase C, respectively. Thus DOC and TPA both downregulated, and did not upregulate, α-2,6-sialyltransferase expression in vitro, but by different transduction pathways. As colorectal tumors grow, their progressive removal from the fecal milieu that normally downregulates this enzyme may favor invasion and metastasis.
Radiotherapeutic Factors in the Management of Cervical-basal Chordomas and Chondrosarcomas

OBJECTIVE:To define prognostic factors for local control and survival in 90 consecutive patients treated by fractionated photon and proton radiation for chordoma or chondrosarcoma of the cranial base and upper cervical spine. METHODS:Between December 1995 and December 2000, 90 patients (median age, 51.3 yr; range, 10–85 yr; male/female ratio, 3:2) were treated by a combination of high-energy photons and protons. Sixty-four patients had a chordoma, and 26 had a chondrosarcoma. The proton component was delivered by the 201-MeV proton beam of the Centre de Protonthérapie d’Orsay. The median total dose delivered to the gross tumor volume (GTV) was 67 cobalt Gray equivalents (range, 22–70 cobalt Gray equivalents). RESULTS:With a median follow-up of 34 months (range, 3–74 mo), treatment of 25 tumors failed locally. The 3-year local control rates were 69.2% (±6.0%) and 91.6% (±8.4%) for chordomas and chondrosarcomas, respectively. According to multivariate analysis, a small tumor volume excluded from the 95% isodose line (P = 0.032; relative risk [RR], 0.098; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.01–0.81) and a controlled tumor (P = 0.049; RR, 0.19; 95% CI, 0.04–0.99) were independent favorable prognostic factors for overall survival. On multivariate analysis, a high minimum dose (P = 0.02; RR, 2.8; 95% CI, 1.2–6.6), a high tumor control probability (P = 0.02; RR, 3.8; 95% CI, 1.2–12.5), a high dose delivered to 95% of the GTV (P = 0.03; RR, 3.4; 95% CI, 1.15–10.2), a high GTV encompassed by the 90% isodose line (P = 0.01; RR, 3.29; 95% CI, 1.29–8.44), and a small GTV excluded from the 90% isodose line (P = 0.036; RR, 0.4; 95% CI, 0.1–0.9) were independent favorable prognostic factors for local control. CONCLUSION:In chordomas and chondrosarcomas of the cranial base and cervical spine treated by surgical resection and then by high-dose photon and proton irradiation, local control is mainly dependent on the quality of radiation, especially dose uniformity within the GTV. Special attention must be paid to minimize underdosed areas because of the close proximity of critical structures and to redefine and possibly escalate dose constraints to tumor targets in future studies in view of the low toxicity observed to date.
Deficient host-bacteria interactions in inflammatory bowel disease? The toll-like receptor (TLR)-4 Asp299gly polymorphism is associated with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis

Background and aims: Elicitation of an innate immune response to bacterial products is mediated through pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) such as the toll-like receptors (TLRs) and the NODs. The recently characterised Asp299Gly polymorphism in the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) receptor TLR4 is associated with impaired LPS signalling and increased susceptibility to Gram negative infections. We sought to determine whether this polymorphism was associated with Crohn’s disease (CD) and/or ulcerative colitis (UC). Methods: Allele frequencies of the TLR4 Asp299Gly polymorphism and the three NOD2/CARD15 polymorphisms (Arg702Trp, Gly908Arg, and Leu1007fsinsC) were assessed in two independent cohorts of CD patients (cohort 1, n = 334; cohort 2, n = 114), in 163 UC patients, and in 140 controls. A transmission disequilibrium test (TDT) was then performed on 318 inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) trios. Results: The allele frequency of the TLR4 Asp299Gly polymorphism was significantly higher in CD (cohort 1: 11% v 5%, odds ratio (OR) 2.31 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.28–4.17), p = 0.004; and cohort 2: 12% v 5%, OR 2.45 (95% CI 1.24–4.81), p = 0.007) and UC patients (10% v 5%, OR 2.05 (95% CI 1.07–3.93), p = 0.027) compared with the control population. A TDT on 318 IBD trios demonstrated preferential transmission of the TLR4 Asp299Gly polymorphism from heterozygous parents to affected children (T/U: 68/34, p = 0.01). Carrying polymorphisms in both TLR4 and NOD2 was associated with a genotype relative risk (RR) of 4.7 compared with a RR of 2.6 and 2.5 for TLR4 and NOD2 variants separately. Conclusion: We have reported on a novel association of the TLR4 Asp299Gly polymorphism with both CD and UC. This finding further supports the genetic influence of PRRs in triggering IBD.