Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Use of the fluorescent micronucleus assay to detect the genotoxic effects of radiation and arsenic exposure in exfoliated human epithelial cells

The exfoliated cell micronucleus (MN) assay using fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) with a centromeric probe is a rapid method for determining the mechanism of MN formation in epithelial tissues exposed to carcinogenic agents. Here, we describe the use of this assay to detect the presence or absence of centromeric DNA in MN induced in vivo by radiation therapy and chronic arsenic (As) ingestion. We examined the buccal cells of an individual receiving 6,500 rads of photon radiation to the head and neck. Exfoliated cells were collected before, during, and after treatment. After radiation exposure a 16.6‐fold increase in buccal cell MN frequency was seen. All induced MN were centromere negative (MN −) resulting from chromosome breakage. This finding is consistent with the clastogenic action of radiation and confirmed the reliability of the method. Three weeks post‐therapy, MN frequencies returned to baseline. We also applied the assay to exfoliated bladder cells of 18 people chronically exposed to high levels of inorganic arsenic (In‐As) in drinking water (average level, 1,312 μg As/L) and 18 matched controls (average level, 16 μg As/L). The combined increase in MN frequency was 1.8‐fold (P = 0.001, Fisher's exact test). Frequencies of micronuclei containing acentric fragments (MN −) and those containing whole chromosomes (MN+) both increased (1.65‐fold, P = 0.07, and 1.37‐fold, P = 0.15, respectively), suggesting that arsenic may have both clastogenic and weak aneuploidogenic properties in vivo. After stratification on sex, the effect was stronger in male than in female bladder cells. In males the MN‐frequency increased 2.06‐fold (P = 0.07) while the frequency of MN+ increased 1.86‐fold (P = 0.08). In addition, the frequencies of MN − and MN+ were positively associated with urinary arsenic and its metabolites. However, the association was stronger for micronuclei containing acentric fragments. By using FISH with centromeric probes, the mechanism of chemically induced genotoxicity can now be determined in epithelial tissues. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
OnlineTED.com − a novel web-based audience response system for higher education. A pilot study to evaluate user acceptance

Background and aim: Audience response (AR) systems are increasingly used in undergraduate medical education. However, high costs and complexity of conventional AR systems often limit their use. Here we present a novel AR system that is platform independent and does not require hardware clickers or additional software to be installed. Methods and results: “OnlineTED” was developed at Technische Universität München (TUM) based on Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) with a My Structured Query Language (MySQL)-database as server- and Javascript as client-side programming languages. “OnlineTED” enables lecturers to create and manage question sets online and start polls in-class via a web-browser. Students can participate in the polls with any internet-enabled device (smartphones, tablet-PCs or laptops). A paper-based survey was conducted with undergraduate medical students and lecturers at TUM to compare "OnlineTED" with conventional AR systems using clickers. "OnlineTED" received above-average evaluation results by both students and lecturers at TUM and was seen on par or superior to conventional AR systems. The survey results indicated that up to 80% of students at TUM own an internet-enabled device (smartphone or tablet-PC) for participation in web-based AR technologies. Summary and Conclusion: “OnlineTED” is a novel web-based and platform-independent AR system for higher education that was well received by students and lecturers. As a non-commercial alternative to conventional AR systems it may foster interactive teaching in undergraduate education, in particular with large audiences.
Analysis of the virtual rate control algorithm in TCP networks

The virtual rate control (VRC) algorithm has been proposed for active queue management (AQM) in TCP networks. This algorithm uses an adaptive rate control instead of queue length control in order to respond quickly to traffic change with high utilization and small loss. By introducing the notion of virtual target rate, the VRC algorithm can maintain an input rate around the target rate, while attempting to regulate the queue length. In this paper, we analyze the stability of the VRC algorithm in a linearized model. From the results of our analysis, we provide a design guideline for the system to remain stable. We show the validity of our analysis and the effectiveness of the VRC algorithm compared to RED, PI, REM and AVQ algorithms through ns-2 simulations.
Change Detection Using Wavelets in Solution Monitoring Data for Nuclear Safeguards

Wavelet analysis is known to be a good option for change detection in many contexts. Detecting changes in solution volumes that are measured with both additive and relative error is an important aspect of safeguards for facilities that process special nuclear material. This paper qualitatively compares wavelet-based change detection to a lag-one differencing option using realistic simulated solution volume data for which the true change points are known. We then show quantitatively that Haar wavelet-based change detection is effective for finding the approximate location of each change point, and that a simple piecewise linear optimization step is effective to refine the initial wavelet-based change point estimate.
Bayesian Gene Set Analysis

Author(s): Shahbaba, Babak; Tibshirani, Robert; Shachaf, Catherine M; Plevritis, Sylvia K | Abstract: Gene expression microarray technologies provide the simultaneous measurements of a large number of genes. Typical analyses of such data focus on the individual genes, but recent work has demonstrated that evaluating changes in expression across predefined sets of genes often increases statistical power and produces more robust results. We introduce a new methodology for identifying gene sets that are differentially expressed under varying experimental conditions. Our approach uses a hierarchical Bayesian framework where a hyperparameter measures the significance of each gene set. Using simulated data, we compare our proposed method to alternative approaches, such as Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) and Gene Set Analysis (GSA). Our approach provides the best overall performance. We also discuss the application of our method to experimental data based on p53 mutation status.
A New Bayesian Classifier for Skin Detection

Skin detection has different applications in computer vision such as face detection, human tracking and adult content filtering. One of the major approaches in pixel based skin detection is using Bayesian classifiers. Bayesian classifiers performance is highly related to their training set. In this paper, we introduce a new Bayesian classifier skin detection method. The main contribution of this paper is creating a huge database to create color probability tables and new method for creating skin pixels data set. Our database consists of about 80000 images containing more than 5 billions pixels. Our tests shows that the performance of Bayesian classifier trained on our data set is better than Compaq data set which is one of the currently greatest data sets.
European measures of income, poverty, and social exclusion: Recent developments and lessons for U.S. poverty measurement

As this volume is going to press, the U.S. government seems poised to make the first major changes in the official poverty measure in more than 40 years.1 The official measure was initially formulated in 1963 by Mollie Orshansky of the Social Security Administration, who had been asked to develop a gauge of economic need that could provide data useful to the War on Poverty. Orshansky created the poverty measure by multiplying the USDA’s Economy Food Plan for a family of four by three (as the 1955 Household Food Consumption Survey showed that food made up one-third of the after-tax spending of a family of three or more). The Bureau of the Budget adopted this threshold as the official measure of poverty in the United States in 1969. Kenneth Couch, Guest Editor Professional Practice
The role of electrical and thermal contact resistance for Joule breakdown of single-wall carbon nanotubes

Several data sets for the electrical breakdown in air of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) on insulating substrates are collected and analyzed. A universal scaling of the Joule breakdown power with nanotube length is found, which appears to be independent of the substrate thermal properties of their thickness. This suggests that the thermal resistances at SWNT–insulator and at SWNT–electrode interfaces govern heat sinking from the nanotube. Analytical models for the breakdown power scaling are presented, providing an intuitive, physical understanding of the breakdown process. The electrical and thermal resistances at the electrode contacts limit the breakdown behavior for sub-micron SWNTs; the breakdown power scales linearly with length for tubes that are microns long, and a minimum breakdown power (∼0.05 mW) is observed for the intermediate (∼0.5 µm) length range.
The Long‐Run Educational Cost of World War II

An important component of the long‐run cost of a war is the loss of human capital suffered by school‐age children who receive less education. Austrian and German individuals who were 10 years old during the conflict, or were more directly involved through their parents, received less education than comparable individuals from nonwar countries, such as Switzerland and Sweden. We also show that these individuals experienced a sizable earnings loss some 40 years after the war, which can be attributed to the educational loss caused by the conflict. The implied consequences in terms of gross domestic product loss are calculated.
Actively articulated suspension for a wheel-on-leg rover operating on a Martian analog surface

Actively articulated wheel-on-leg rovers offer high degrees of mobility for traversing unstructured and scientifically interesting terrain. An ability to actively conform to the terrain to increase traversability is sought. A kinematic model based on recursive kinematic propagation in combination with a terrain map generated online is used to solve desired limb articulation angles that meet operator defined rover body trajectories. This technique is validated in field tests on a Martian analog terrain.
Control of an 2-DOF electromagnetic actuator for high precision and high-throughput pick-and-place tasks

A linear-rotary (LR) direct-drive actuator is designed for IC chips Pick-and-place (PnP) application. The entire PnP process is designed with sequential motion of z and θ axes, where the accuracy is ensured by triggering of In-Position Signal. The decentralized PIV controllers with feedforward terms are carefully tuned to achieve the minimization of the settling time as well as maintenance of short raise time. After fine tuning of controller, the single LR actuator can pick and place up to 8000 IC chips per hour.
Metabolic aspects of obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome

Insulin resistance is often associated with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) and could contribute to cardiovascular risk in OSAS. Sleep loss and intermittent hypoxia could contribute to the pathogenesis of the metabolic alterations associated with obesity, a common feature of OSAS. The biology of the adipocyte is being increasingly studied, and it has been found that hypoxia negatively affects adipocyte function. In November 2007, the European Respiratory Society and two EU COST Actions (Cardiovascular risk in OSAS (B26) and Adipose tissue and the metabolic syndrome (BM0602)), held a Research Seminar in Düsseldorf, Germany, to discuss the following: 1) the effects of hypoxia on glucose metabolism and adipocyte function; 2) the role of inflammatory activation in OSAS and obesity; 3) the alarming rates of obesity and OSAS in children; 4) the harmful effects of the metabolic syndrome in OSAS; 5) the effects of OSAS treatment on metabolic variables; and 6) the relationship between daytime sleepiness and hormonal and inflammatory responses. Insulin resistance in skeletal muscle, the role of the endocannabinoid system and novel pharmacological approaches to treat insulin resistance were also discussed. As obesity and hypoxia could be the basic links between OSAS and adipocyte dysfunction, further research is needed to translate these new data into clinical practice.
The Influence of Age and Fitness on Performance and Learning

The primary purpose of this study was to examine differences in performance on fluid and crystallized intelligence tasks as a function of age and fitness. A secondary purpose was to examine the influence of age and fitness on the beneficial effects that practice has on both performance and retention on these tasks. Fitness was assessed in 41 older and 42 younger participants who were then randomly assigned to either experimental or control conditions. Participants performed repeated trials on two cognitive tasks during acquisition and retention, with the experimental group practicing for 100 trials and the control group practicing for 20 trials. Older participants performed better than younger participants on the crystallized intelligence task: however, younger participants performed better than older participants on the fluid intelligence task. On the fluid intelligence task, older fit participants performed better than older unfit participants. Learning did occur on the fluid task and differed as a func.
Lifelong learning characteristics, adjustment and extra-role performance in cooperative education

Abstract Many organisations hire students from cooperative education (co-op) programmes. These organisations are interested in students’ performance, particularly in their extra-role performance. Previous studies show that socialisation processes play an important part in establishing adjustment and performance. It may also be the case that students’ approach to learning (their motivations, attitudes and strategies) influences the socialisation process, and consequently adjustment and performance. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of co-op students’ lifelong learning characteristics on two organisational socialisation outcomes (role understanding and social acceptance) and three types of extra-role performance (proactive, adaptive and prosocial). Data were collected from a cross-sectional survey of undergraduates (n = 1698) enrolled in co-op who had just completed a work term in a new role. Regression analyses showed that lifelong learning characteristics influenced both forms of adjustment, and all three forms of performance. Further mediation analyses showed that both forms of adjustment partially mediated the relationships between lifelong learning and all three forms of performance. These results suggest that co-op students’ lifelong learning characteristics play an important role during organisational socialisation and subsequent extra-role performance. Implications for future research and for practice are discussed.
Murnong - Microseris scapigera: A study of a staple food of Victorian Aborigines

The first record of the use of Murnong in Victoria is from the Geelong area, in Wedge's diary of 1835: 'murning - a root eat by the native'. Although roots in general are spoken of as food this is the only one which is singled out. Buckley's life with the Aborigines of the same area preceded Wedge's arrival by 30 years, although his experiences were not recorded until 1852 by Morgan. He used 'murning' as a staple vegetable food while living at the mouth of Bream Creek (Karaaf River), and he told J. Malcolm (NSW Leg. Council Sel. C'tee. 1845:955) that 'a man may live on the root for weeks together'.
The relationships of self-esteem and affect of university students with avoidant personality disorder

Objective:To study the relationships among explicit self-esteem,implicit self-esteem,positive affect and negative affect of university students with avoidant personality disorder(AVD),and explore their effects on the prediction of AVD.Methods:Twenty-six subjects only with AVD selected according to Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire(PDQ+4)and Personality Disorder Interview-IV(PDI-IV)from Soochow University' s 1990 students participated the study voluntarily,30 normal subjects were selected randomly from the students without any personality disorder matched by gender and age.They were assessed by the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale(SES)for explicit self-esteem,Implicit Association Test(IAT)for implicit self-esteem,and Positive and Negative Affect Scale(PANAS)for experience of affect.Results:(1)The degree of explicit self-esteem in AVD students was significantly lower than that of the control group[(23.6±3.0)vs.(29.6±4.3),P0.001]. The implicit self-esteem of two groups had no significant differences(P=0.86). (2)The degree of negative affect of AVD students was significantly higher than that of the control group [(24.5±6.1) vs.(20.2±5.3),P0.01]while the degree of positive affect was significantly lower[(23.9±5.1)vs.(27.8±5.7),P0.01]. (3)Correlation analysis showed AVD students' explicit self-esteem was positively correlated with positive affect(r=0.46,P0.05);normal students' explicit self-esteem was positively correlated with positive affect(r=0.61,P0.01)and negatively correlated with negative affect(r=-0.45,P0.05). (4)Only explicit self-esteem would be a parameter in the prediction of the form of AVD(β=0.50,P0.001). Individuals with lower explicit self-esteem were easier to be AVD.Conclusion:Compared to normal students,the explicit self-esteem of individuals with AVD is lower while the implicit self-esteem has no significant difference.Those AVD students experience more negative affect and less positive affect.
Prediction Driven Behavior: Learning Predictions that Drive Fixed Responses

We introduce a new method for robot control that combines prediction learning with a fixed, crafted response---the robot learns to make a temporally-extended prediction during its normal operation, and the prediction is used to select actions as part of a fixed behavioral response. Our method is inspired by Pavlovian conditioning experiments in which an animal's behavior adapts as it learns to predict an event. Surprisingly the animal's behavior changes even in the absence of any benefit to the animal (i.e. the animal is not modifying its behavior to maximize reward). Our method for robot control combines a fixed response with online prediction learning, thereby producing an adaptive behavior. This method is different from standard non-adaptive control methods and also from adaptive reward-maximizing control methods. We show that this method improves upon the performance of two reactive controls, with visible benefits within 2.5 minutes of real-time learning on the robot. In the first experiment, the robot turns off its motors when it predicts a future over-current condition, which reduces the time spent in unsafe over-current conditions and improves efficiency. In the second experiment, the robot starts to move when it predicts a human-issued request, which reduces the apparent latency of the human-robot interface.
The Role of Cultural Clustering in Attracting New Immigrants

This paper argues that new immigrants cluster in culturally homogeneous groups in the host country because of imperfect information. However, a pulling effect exists provided that the cultural communities are not too large. With a panel of migration flows to the major O.E. C.D. countries from the mid 1980s to the mid 1990s, it is shown that the existence of similar cultural communities attracts new immigrants. However, the effect is not homogeneous for all types of source and destination countries. Furthermore, the pulling effect is shown to fall to zero for cultural communities above a certain threshold size. Copyright Blackwell Publishing, Inc 2003
The 'Quiescent' black hole in M87

It is believed that most giant elliptical galaxies possess nuclear black holes with masses in excess of 10 8 M⊙. Bondi accretion from the interstellar medium might then be expected to produce quasar-like luminosities from the nuclei of even quiescent elliptical galaxies. It is a puzzle that such luminosities are not observed. Motivated by this problem, Fabian & Rees have recently suggested that the final stages of accretion in these objects occurs in an advection-dominated mode with a correspondingly small radiative efficiency. Despite possessing a long-known active nucleus and dynamical evidence for a black hole, the low radiative and kinetic luminosities of the core of M87 provide the best illustration of this problem. We examine an advection-dominated model for the nucleus of M87 and show that accretion at the Bondi rate is compatible with the best known estimates for the core flux from radio through to X-ray wavelengths. The success of this model prompts us to propose that FR-I radio galaxies and quiescent elliptical galaxies accrete in an advection dominated mode whereas FR-II type radio-loud nuclei possess radiatively efficient thin accretion disks.
The James Clerk Maxwell telescope Legacy Survey of the Gould Belt: a molecular line study of the Ophiuchus molecular cloud

CO, 13CO, and C18O J = 3-2 observations are presented of the Ophiuchus molecular cloud. The 13CO and C18O emission is dominated by the Oph A clump, and the Oph B1, B2, C, E, F, and J regions. The optically thin(ner) C18O line is used as a column density tracer, from which the gravitational binding energy is estimated to be 4.5 × 1039 J (2282 M⊙ km2 s-2). The turbulent kinetic energy is 6.3 × 1038 J (320 M⊙ km2 s-2), or seven times less than this, and therefore the Oph cloud as a whole is gravitationally bound. 30 protostars were searched for high-velocity gas, with 8 showing outflows, and 20 more having evidence of high-velocity gas along their lines of sight. The total outflow kinetic energy is 1.3 × 1038 J (67 M⊙ km2 s-2), corresponding to 21 per cent of the cloud's turbulent kinetic energy. Although turbulent injection by outflows is significant, but does not appear to be the dominant source of turbulence in the cloud. 105 dense molecular clumplets were identified, which had radii ˜0.01-0.05 pc, virial masses ˜0.1-12 M⊙, luminosities ˜0.001-0.1 K km s-1 pc-2, and excitation temperatures ˜10-50 K. These are consistent with the standard Giant Molecular Cloud (GMC) based size-linewidth relationships, showing that the scaling laws extend down to size scales of hundredths of a parsec, and to subsolar-mass condensations. There is however no compelling evidence that the majority of clumplets are undergoing free-fall collapse, nor that they are pressure confined.