Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Efficient Method for Content Reconstruction With Self-Embedding

This paper presents a new model of the content reconstruction problem in self-embedding systems, based on an erasure communication channel. We explain why such a model is a good fit for this problem, and how it can be practically implemented with the use of digital fountain codes. The proposed method is based on an alternative approach to spreading the reference information over the whole image, which has recently been shown to be of critical importance in the application at hand. Our paper presents a theoretical analysis of the inherent restoration trade-offs. We analytically derive formulas for the reconstruction success bounds, and validate them experimentally with Monte Carlo simulations and a reference image authentication system. We perform an exhaustive reconstruction quality assessment, where the presented reference scheme is compared to five state-of-the-art alternatives in a common evaluation scenario. Our paper leads to important insights on how self-embedding schemes should be constructed to achieve optimal performance. The reference authentication system designed according to the presented principles allows for high-quality reconstruction, regardless of the amount of the tampered content. The average reconstruction quality, measured on 10000 natural images is 37 dB, and is achievable even when 50% of the image area becomes tampered.
Proteome profiling of exosomes derived from human primary and metastatic colorectal cancer cells reveal differential expression of key metastatic factors and signal transduction components

Exosomes are small extracellular 40–100 nm diameter membrane vesicles of late endosomal origin that can mediate intercellular transfer of RNAs and proteins to assist premetastatic niche formation. Using primary (SW480) and metastatic (SW620) human isogenic colorectal cancer cell lines we compared exosome protein profiles to yield valuable insights into metastatic factors and signaling molecules fundamental to tumor progression. Exosomes purified using OptiPrep™ density gradient fractionation were 40–100 nm in diameter, were of a buoyant density ∼1.09 g/mL, and displayed stereotypic exosomal markers TSG101, Alix, and CD63. A major finding was the selective enrichment of metastatic factors (MET, S100A8, S100A9, TNC), signal transduction molecules (EFNB2, JAG1, SRC, TNIK), and lipid raft and lipid raft‐associated components (CAV1, FLOT1, FLOT2, PROM1) in exosomes derived from metastatic SW620 cells. Additionally, using cryo‐electron microscopy, ultrastructural components in exosomes were identified. A key finding of this study was the detection and colocalization of protein complexes EPCAM‐CLDN7 and TNIK‐RAP2A in colorectal cancer cell exosomes. The selective enrichment of metastatic factors and signaling pathway components in metastatic colon cancer cell‐derived exosomes contributes to our understanding of the cross‐talk between tumor and stromal cells in the tumor microenvironment.
Carcinogens are mutagens: their detection and classification.

We detect mutagens by using a special set of bacterial tester strains. We have described our test system for mutagen and carcinogen detection in a series of recent papers. I will give here only a summary of some of these results, omitting references to other work, which is credited in our original papers. A simple procedure for combining human (or rat) liver for carcinogen activation and the bacteria for detection and classification is used. We show that a wide variety of carcinogens (aflatoxin, benzpyrene, acetylaminofluorene, etc.) are frame shift mutagens after activation and can be detected with these strains. We explain the structure of these carcinogens on the basis of the theory of frameshift mutagenesis. We postulate that carcinogens cause cancer by somatic mutation and suggest what the combined bacteria/ liver system be used as a simple procedure for carcinogen detection.
Inner–Outer Loop Control for Quadrotor UAVs With Input and State Constraints

The constrained control of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is a challenging task due to their nonlinear and underactuacted dynamics. This brief focuses on the position control of a quadrotor UAV with state and input constraints using an inner-outer loop control structure. The outer loop generates a saturated thrust, and the reference roll and pitch angles, while the inner loop is designed to follow these reference angles using a traditional PID controller. Assuming perfect inner loop tracking, the outer loop nested saturation controller guarantees global asymptotic stability for output regulation and tracking. The effect of nonideal inner loop tracking on closed-loop stability is analyzed. The proposed method is experimentally validated on an indoor quadrotor platform.
Motivación y rendimiento académico en alumnos de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria y bachillerato LOGSE

sexo y del nivel educativo a lo largo de estas etapas, continuando con el estudio de posibles «predictores» del rendimiento academico final entre una serie de variables independientes motivadoras relativas a los items y subescalas principales del instrumento de medida utilizado, el curso, el genero, el rendimiento previo y otras variables de interes. En esta linea, se presentan hallazgos correlacionales iniciales de 521 alumnos que parecen indicar una cierta irrelevancia de dichas variables motivadoras en el rendimiento academico a final de curso, asi como elevadas correlaciones observadas durante todo el periodo academico basadas en evaluaciones previas, que implican una cierta continuidad y determinismo en el rendimiento final de los alumnos que puede vislumbrarse ya casi desde el inicio del curso escolar. Se termina con algunas pautas de intervencion a introducir por parte de los profesores en sus clases, asi como referencias a modelos teoricos que pueden aportar «conceptualizaciones» y tratamientos complementarios a este complejo problema. Palabras clave: rendimiento academico, motivacion, tipologias motivacionales, correlacion, regresion, Educacion Secundaria Obligatoria, Bachillerato, profesorado, fracaso escolar.
Seed dispersal by neotropical seed predators

From a plant's perspective, the difference between a seed predator and a seed disperser should be straightforward: attract animals that will disperse seeds and defend seeds from potential predators. Unlike pulp‐eating frugivores, seed predators regularly encounter diverse plant protective mechanisms. The purpose of this paper is to examine feeding constraints, morphological adaptations, and the mechanical process of seed predation. While there is evidence that some seed predators cause severe losses to seed crops, there is also evidence that seed predators enhance seed dispersal and germination. We also examine four methods by which neotropical seed predators may contribute to dispersal. 1) Seed predators examined here ingested fruit when seeds were full‐sized, but not yet mature (i.e., seeds of mature fruit may be avoided by seed predators and available for dispersal by other frugivores). 2) Sympatric seed predators may ingest seeds from different plants thus reducing overall predator load on any individual plant. 3) Seed predators that manipulate seeds (e.g., remove pericarp and seed coat) may enhance germination if the prepared seeds are dropped, discarded, or buried and not ingested. 4) Small seeds may miss mastication and swallowed intact with a food bolus. The last mechanism is the most likely to contribute to seed dispersal by the widest array of vertebrate seed predators, but primate seed predators may facilitate seed dispersal using all four mechanisms. Therefore, the traditional dichotomy of seed predator vs. seed disperser oversimplifies the interactions between seed predators and plants. Am. J. Primatol. 45:103–126, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Portraying intelligence: children’s drawings of intelligent men and women in Finnish and Russian Karelia

This study sets out to examine Finnish and Russian children’s representations of intellectual competence as contextualised in the hierarchies of abilities, age and gender. Finnish and Russian pupils, aged 11–12 years, were asked to draw pictures of an intelligent person and an ordinary person. It was found that gender appearance of intelligent men and women was less heterosexual than that of ordinary men and women. In Russian pictures, the intelligent characters, especially women, were widely separated from the ordinary ones in terms of cognitive-mental features. In Finnish depictions, the differentiation between the intelligent and ordinary characters, especially women, was not so categorical and was primarily based on status. It appears that Russian children are apt to relate their representations of intellectual ability to the institutionalised systems of cognitive competence, education and science, whereas Finnish children associate intelligence to social success as well. Further, cultural and gender-related hierarchies of age seemed to reflect in the children’s images.
Factors Predicting Nurse Intent and Status Regarding Pap Smear Examination in Taiwan: a Cross-sectional Survey.

BACKGROUND Nurses are the most visible, frontline personnel providing health education to patients. In particular, nurse experience with Pap examinations have the potential to influence women's attitudes toward screening for cervical cancer. However, nurses in Taiwan have lower rates of Pap testing than the general population. Understanding the factors predicting nurse intent to have a Pap exam and Pap exam status would inform interventions and policies to increase their Pap exam uptake. Therefore, the present study was undertaken. MATERIALS AND METHODS Data were collected by questionnaire from a convenient sample of 504 nurses at a regional hospital in central Taiwan between August and October 2011 and analyzed by descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis, and logistic regression. RESULTS Nurse intention to have a Pap exam was predicted by younger age, less negative attitudes toward Pap exams, and greater influence of others recommendations. However, nurses were more likely to actually have had a Pap exam if they were older, married, had sexual experience, and had a high intention to have a Pap exam. CONCLUSIONS Nurses who are younger than 34 years old, unmarried, sexually inexperienced, and with low intention to have a Pap exam should be targeted with interventions to educate them not only about the importance of Pap exams in detecting cervical cancer, but also about strategies to decrease pain and embarrassment during exams. Nurses with less negative attitudes and experiences related to Pap exams would serve as role models to persuade women to have Pap exams, thus increasing the uptake rate of Pap exams in Taiwan.
Ecological Regression and Voting Rights

Ecological regression is a statistical mainstay in litigation brought under the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The technique is discussed in the context of a suit against the County of Los Angeles that came to trial in 1990. Ecological regression depends on very strong assumptions about political behavior The authors identify these assumptions and show that they are not supported by the data. Also described is an alternative "neighborhood model, " which is a priori more plausible and fits the facts better. The neighborhood model leads to quite different conclusions about voting behavior.
Grief reactions among suicide survivors: An exploratory comparison of relationships

Abstract Little research has focused upon those who survive the suicide death of a family member. Among the existing research, survivors representing only one interpersonal relationship class to the deceased (e.g., widows or parents) are usually studied or no differentiation is made with respect to this factor. The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate some of the assumptions frequently made regarding differences among suicide survivors as a result of their kinship relation to the deceased. Questionnaires were sent to a convenience sample of survivors who had contacted the Minneapolis Suicide Survivors Grief Group. Responses from 141 individuals who survived the suicide death of a child (N = 56), spouse (N = 24), parent (N = 24), or sibling (N = 37) were studied. Few kinship group differences were observed for feelings of guilt or anger, the severity of seeing the death scene in one's mind, personal symptoms following the suicide, or aspects of social stigma or shame. When kinship group dif.
Multiple-dose pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of evogliptin (DA-1229), a novel dipeptidyl peptidase IV inhibitor, in healthy volunteers

Purpose Evogliptin (DA-1229) is a novel, potent, and selective dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV) inhibitor in clinical development for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. This study aimed to investigate the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles and tolerability of evogliptin after repeated oral administration in healthy subjects. Patients and methods A block-randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multiple-dose, dose-escalation study was performed in a total of 30 subjects. Repeated once-daily doses of 5, 10, or 20 mg evogliptin or the same doses of placebo were orally administered to ten subjects in each dosage group for 10 days. Subjects in each group were randomized to receive evogliptin or placebo with a ratio of 8:2. Pharmacokinetics of evogliptin were evaluated, with its concentrations in serial plasma and urine samples collected following the first and last administrations. DPP-IV activity and glucagon-like peptide-1, glucose, and insulin levels were quantified to evaluate evogliptin’s pharmacodynamics on the first and last dosing days. Results All participants completed the study without any serious or severe adverse event. The evogliptin plasma concentration reached its peak within 4–5 hours and decreased relatively slowly, with a terminal elimination half-life of 33–39 hours. Repeated administration resulted in a 1.4- to 1.5-fold accumulation. Evogliptin’s systemic exposure and inhibition of plasma DPP-IV activity increased in a dose-dependent manner. Inhibition of DPP-IV activity >80% was sustained over 24 hours in all evogliptin dose groups and provided an increase in postprandial active glucagon-like peptide-1 levels by 1.5- to 2.4-fold. Postprandial glucose levels in the evogliptin-treated groups were reduced 20%–35% compared to placebo, but were not accompanied by increased insulin levels. Conclusion Repeated administration of evogliptin in healthy subjects was well tolerated and exhibited linear pharmacokinetics within the 5–20 mg dose range. A once-daily regimen of 5–20 mg evogliptin effectively inhibited DPP-IV activity.
Education and the Rationale of Cost–Benefit Analysis

ABSTRACT It is increasingly maintained that cost–benefit analysis (CBA) should play a greater role in educational policy-making. This article critically examines the rationale guiding CBA and its compatibility to educational settings. Drawing on philosophical discussions, it argues that the rationale guiding CBA has some fundamental limitations that render the use of it in education beneficial only under certain restrictive circumstances.
Association of HSPB2, a member of the small heat shock protein family, with mitochondria.

We previously identified HSPB2, a new member of the small heat shock protein family, expressed in heart and skeletal muscles. In this study, we used a polyclonal anti-HSPB2 antibody and examined the subcellular localization of HSPB2 in differentiated C2C12 cells, KNS-81 cells, and NIH3T3 transfectants expressing human HSPB2. Double staining with anti-HSPB2 and various markers for cytoplasmic structures showed that HSPB2 was present in the cytosol as granules, some of which colocalized with mitochondria. This colocalization was not altered by a colchicine treatment, indicating that it is independent of microtubules. The subcellular fractionation of differentiated C2C12 cells revealed that HSPB2 was mainly detected in the postmitochondrial supernatant, but mild heat treatment enriched the amount of HSPB2 in the mitochondrial fraction. The expression of HSPB2 protected the cells from heat-induced cell death. In addition, Northern blot analysis revealed that expression of HSPB2 mRNA is higher in slow-twitch muscle than in fast-twitch muscle, which correlates with the amounts of mitochondria present in these two types of tissue. Taken together, these results suggest that HSPB2 may not localize in the matrix, but rather associates with the outer membrane components of the mitochondria and thus plays a role in the stress response.
Assessing the Policy Impact of Parliament: Methodological Challenges and Possible Future Approaches

Both academic and public discourse tends to dismiss the British parliament as a relatively marginal policy actor. Whilst parliament is clearly highly visible, and in many ways central to politics, it has long been seen as weak. Indeed, given for example that government legislation is defeated rarely in the House of Commons (including only two occasions in the past 12 years), some view it as having practically no policy influence at all. There are two difficulties with this analysis, however. First, it was probably never true. Much of parliament’s influence is subtle, largely invisible, and frequently even immeasurable. An analysis based on crude indicators is therefore likely to reach incorrect conclusions. Second, even if such allegations had some truth in the past, there are clear signs that parliament is becoming more assertive for example through increased rebelliousness in the Commons and greater resistance from the Lords. The time is ripe, therefore, for a reassessment of parliament’s role in the policy process. This paper is an exploratory piece, which it is hoped will be the first output from a major programme of research in this area. It asks what are the challenges to measuring parliament’s impact on policy, and what approaches might be taken to conducting such an assessment. It is based on a wide literature review of parliamentary policy impact, both in Britain and in other settings. It defines parliamentary impact broadly, looking at the legislative process, committees of different kinds, and different parliamentary actors. It identifies a range of possible methods, but also a number of significant gaps. The paper’s purpose is to spark discussion, and hopefully interest, in the proposed future project and how it should proceed.
Hypermethylation of the promoter region of the E-cadherin gene (CDH1) in sporadic and ulcerative colitis associated colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND Ulcerative colitis associated colorectal cancer (UCACRC) has several distinctive clinicopathological and genetic features which differ from sporadic colorectal cancer (SCRC). Hypermethylation of the E-cadherin gene (CDH1) has not been described previously in colorectal cancer. AIMS A panel of SCRC and UCACRC were investigated for mutations inCDH1, and for hypermethylation of the promoter region of CDH1. SUBJECTS AND METHODS DNA was available from 14 patients with UCACRC and from 14 with SCRC. All exons ofCDH1 were amplified with the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and screened using single strand conformational polymorphism and direct sequencing. Hypermethylation of theCDH1 promoter region was determined by methylation specific PCR following bisulphite modification, and compared with E-cadherin protein expression from a previous immunohistochemistry study. RESULTS Thirteen of 28 cancers (46%) were hypermethylated in theCDH1 promoter region—eight cancers (57%) in the UCACRC group and five cancers (36%) in the SCRC group (NS)—and this correlated with reduced E-cadherin expression (p<0.05). There was a trend for methylation to be associated with a more advanced stage of cancer although this did not reach statistical significance. There were no mutations in CDH1 in either group although there were several polymorphisms. CONCLUSION We have demonstrated hypermethylation of the promoter region inCDH1 in 46% of colorectal cancers studied. There was no difference between the UCACRC and SCRC groups. Just as there are specific differences in the genetic changes between UCACRC and SCRC, there is also likely to be a large degree of overlap among the genetic pathways of these cancers.
Different Effects of Exogenous Cues in a Visual Detection and Discrimination Task: Delayed Attention Withdrawal and/or Speeded Motor Inhibition?

Several studies examining spatial attention have found a discrepancy regarding the effects of exogenous cues on reaction times in visual detection and discrimination tasks. Namely, across a wide range of cue-target intervals, responses are slower for targets at cued than at uncued locations (inhibition of return) in detection tasks, whereas responses are faster for targets at cued than at uncued locations (facilitation) in discrimination tasks. Two hypotheses were proposed to account for this discrepancy. First, attention may dwell much longer on the exogenously cued location in discrimination tasks because stimuli have to be identified (i.e., the delayed attention withdrawal hypothesis). Secondly, due to increased motor preparation in detection tasks, cue-induced motor inhibition may rise much faster in these tasks than in discrimination tasks (i.e., the speeded motor inhibition hypothesis). We examined to what extent these hypotheses can account for effects of exogenous cues in a detection and discrimination task on the extrastriate P1 component, and the onset of motor activation, as indexed by the lateralized readiness potential. Some support was found for the delayed attention withdrawal hypothesis, as task-dependent cueing effects were found on the P1 component. Other aspects of our data, however, indicate that motor inhibition is also involved. Based on these findings, we propose that effects of exogenous cues in detection and discrimination tasks are determined by the interplay between two mechanisms, of which the time courses of activation may be modulated by the specific setting.
The Implied-Realized Volatility Relation with Jumps in Underlying Asset Prices

Recent developments allow a nonparametric separation of the continuous sample path component and the jump component of realized volatility. The jump component has very different time series properties than the continuous component, and accounting for this allows improved forecasting of future realized volatility. We investigate the potential forecasting role of implied volatility backed out from option prices in the presence of these new separate realized volatility components. We show that implied volatility has incremental information relative to both the continuous and jump components of realized volatility when forecasting subsequently realized return volatility, and it appears to be an unbiased forecast. Furthermore, implied volatility has predictive power for future values of each component of realized volatility separately, showing in particular that even the jump component of realized volatility is, to some extent, predictable.
On the genesis of confidence.

Confidence in personality impressions is proposed to stem from the richness of people's mental representations of others. Representational richness produces confidence because it enhances the fluency with which people can make judgments, and it increases confidence even when it does not result in more accurate impressions. Results of 3 experiments support these propositions. A 4th experiment suggests that representational richness is increased by both pseudorelevant and relevant information, but not by irrelevant information. A 5th experiment suggests that representational richness has effects on confidence above and beyond the effects of metainformation (i.e., extracontent aspects of information ). The implications of these findings for evaluating evidence of error in person perception and for reducing stereotyping and prejudice are discussed.