Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Full tensor diffucion is not required to access the white-matter integrity in mouse contusion spinal cord injury

In vivo diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) derived indices have been demonstrated to quantify accurately whitematter injury after contusion spinal cord injury (SCI) in rodents. In general, a full diffusion tensor analysis requires the acquisition of diffusion-weighted images (DWI) along at least six independent directions of diffusion-sensitizing gradients. Thus, DTI measurements of the rodent central nervous system are time consuming. In this study, diffusion indices derived using the two-direction DWI (parallel and perpendicular to axonal tracts) were compared with those obtained using six-direction DTI in a mouse model of SCI. It was hypothesized that the mouse spinal cord ventral-lateral white-matter (VLWM) tracts, T8–T10 in this study, aligned with the main magnet axis (z) allowing the apparent diffusion coefficient parallel and perpendicular to the axis of the spine to be derived with diffusion-weighting gradients in the z and y axes of the magnet coordinate respectively. Compared with six-direction full tensor DTI, two-direction DWI provided comparable diffusion indices in mouse spinal cords. The measured extent of spared white matter after injury, estimated by anisotropy indices, using both six-direction DTI and two-direction DWI were in close agreement and correlated well with histological staining and behavioral assessment. The results suggest that the two-direction DWI derived indices may be used, with significantly reduced imaging time, to estimate accurately spared white matter in mouse SCI.
Plan execution under resource consumption uncertainty

This paper examines the problem of executing plans where there is uncertainty about resource consumption values. The amount of time, fuel or any other resource used by an action in a plan is traditionally viewed as an absolute value during a planning phase, but can be more accurately represented by a distribution of values. Current methods for plan execution cannot deal with this type of uncertainty, especially when the amount of uncertainty is large. A strategy for executing plans with these resource consumption distributions is discussed within this paper, and techniques to improve utility by exploiting opportunities are also described. Results are then presented comparing a basic greedy strategy for opportunity selection with a new technique called best expected utility.
Impact of the Query Model and System Settings on Performance of Distributed Inverted Indexes

This paper presents an evaluation of three partitioning methods for distributed inverted indexes: local, global and hybrid indexing, combined with two generalized query models: conjunctive query model (AND) and disjunctive query model (OR). We performed simulations of various settings using a dictionary dump of the TREC GOV2 document collection and a subset of the Terabyte Track 05 query log. Our results indicate that, in situations when a conjunctive query model is used in combination with a high level of concurrency, the best performance and scalability are provided by global indexing with pipelined query execution. For other situations local indexing is a more advantageous method in terms of average query throughput, query wait time, system load and load imbalance.
Null players out ? : values for games with variable supports

The paper studies the consequences of the Null Player Out (NPO) property for single-valued solutions on the class of cooperative games in characteristic function form. We allow for variable player populations (supports or carriers). A solution satis es the NPO property, if elimination of a null player does not a ect the payo s of the other players. Our main emphasis lies on individual values. For linear values satisfying the null player property and a weak symmetry property, necessary and su cient conditions for the NPO property are derived. Jean Derks, Department of Mathematics, Faculty of General Sciences, University of Maastricht, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MDMaastricht, The Netherlands (the correspond address) Hans Haller, Department of Economics, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061-0316, USA
The Analysis of Mathematical Creative Thinking Skills and Self-Efficacy of High School Students Built Through Implementation of Problem Based Learning and Discovery Learning

This research implements Problem Based Learning and Discovery Learning model to analysis the increase of mathematical creative thinking skills, mistakes in the process of mathematical creative thinking, and self-efficacy of high school students in Tasikmalaya. The research method used is descriptive, data collection techniques through creative thinking ability tests and questionnaires mathematics self-efficacy. The instruments were previously assessed by experts in mathematics education. Based on the data analysis, it is concluded that the mathematical creative thinking abilities of students through Problem Based Learning is increasing compared to the mathematical creative thinking abilities of students through Discovery Learning. Mistakes students of mathematical creative thinking processes in Problem Based Learning, generally on flexibility and originality indicators. While at Discovery Learning, mistakes students of mathematical creative thinking processes is generally on sensitivity, flexibility and originality indicators. Flexibility is solving the problem with a variety of different ways, but the result is the same, and originality is to solve the problem in its own way does not use a standard formula. Sensitivity is the ability to detect problems. Self-efficacy of students in Problem Based Learning and Discovery Learning are both at high qualifications.
A comparison of DNA damage probes in two HMEC lines with X-irradiation

A COMPARISON OF DNA DAMAGE PROBES IN TWO HMEC LINES WITH X-IRRADIATION CHRISTY L. WISNEWSKI, KATHLEEN A. BJORNSTAD, CHRISTOPHER J. ROSEN, POLLY Y. CHANG, AND ELEANOR A. BLAKELY ABSTRACT In this study, we investigated γH2AX ser139 and 53BP1 ser25 , DNA damage pathway markers, to observe responses to radiation insult. Two Human Mammary Epithelial Cell (HMEC) lines were utilized to research the role of immortalization in DNA damage marker expression, HMEC HMT-3522 (S1) with an infinite lifespan, and a subtype of HMEC 184 (184V) with a finite lifespan. Cells were irradiated with 50 cGy X-rays, fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde after 1 hour repair at 37oC, and processed through immunofluorescence. Cells were visualized with a fluorescent microscope and images were digitally captured using Image- Pro Plus software. The 184V irradiated cells exhibited a more positive punctate response within the nucleus for both DNA damage markers compared to the S1 irradiated cells. We will expand the dose and time course in future studies to augment the preliminary data from this research. It is important to understand whether the process of transformation to immortalization compromises the DNA damage sensor and repair process proteins of HMECs in order to understand what is “normal” and to evaluate the usefulness of cell lines as experimental models. INTRODUCTION DNA damage from ionizing radiation triggers the mobilization of damage sensor proteins to damage sites resulting in temporary delay of cell cycle progression and activation of repair machinery (1). ATM (Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated) and ATR (Ataxia Telangiectasia and Rad- 3-related) proteins are two related kinases central to signaling DNA damage, and recent evidence
Nonlinear color space and spatiotemporal MRF for hierarchical segmentation of face features in video

This paper deals with the low-level joint processing of color and motion for robust face analysis within a feature-based approach. To gain robustness and contrast under unsupervised viewing conditions, a nonlinear color transform relevant for hue segmentation is derived from a logarithmic model. A hierarchical segmentation scheme is based on Markov random field modeling, that combines hue and motion detection within a spatiotemporal neighborhood. Relevant face regions are segmented without parameter tuning. The accuracy of the label fields enables not only face detection and tracking but also geometrical measurements on facial feature edges, such as lips or eyes. Results are shown both on typical test sequences and on various sequences acquired from micro- or mobile-cameras. The efficiency of the method makes it suitable for real-time applications aiming at audiovisual communication in unsupervised environments.
At return to play following hamstring injury the majority of professional football players have residual isokinetic deficits

Background There is an ongoing debate regarding the optimal criteria for return to sport after an acute hamstring injury. Less than 10% isokinetic strength deficit is generally recommended but this has never been documented in professional football players after rehabilitation. Our aim was to evaluate isokinetic measurements in MRI-positive hamstring injuries. Methods Isokinetic measurements of professional football players were obtained after completing a standardised rehabilitation programme. An isokinetic strength deficit of more than 10% compared with the contralateral site was considered abnormal. Reinjuries within 2 months were recorded. Results 52 players had a complete set of isokinetic testing before clinical discharge. There were 27 (52%) grade 1 and 25 (48%) grade 2 injuries. 35 of 52 players (67%) had at least one of the three hamstring-related isokinetic parameters that display a deficit of more than 10%. The percentage of players with 10% deficit for hamstring concentric 60°/s, 300°/s and hamstring eccentric was respectively 39%, 29% and 28%. There was no significant difference of mean isokinetic peak torques and 10% isokinetic deficits in players without reinjury (N=46) compared with players with reinjury (N=6). Conclusions When compared with the uninjured leg, 67% of the clinically recovered hamstring injuries showed at least one hamstring isokinetic testing deficit of more than 10%. Normalisation of isokinetic strength seems not to be a necessary result of the successful completion of a football-specific rehabilitation programme. The possible association between isokinetic strength deficit and increased reinjury risk remains unknown.
STEP61: A Member of a Family of Brain-Enriched PTPs Is Localized to the Endoplasmic Reticulum

The STEP family of protein tyrosine phosphatases is highly enriched within the CNS. Members of this family are alternatively spliced to produce both transmembrane and cytosolic variants. This manuscript describes the distinctive intracellular distribution and enzymatic activity of the membrane-associated isoform STEP61. Transfection experiments in fibroblasts, as well as subcellular fractionations, sucrose density gradients, immunocytochemical labeling, and electron microscopy in brain tissue, show that STEP61is an intrinsic membrane protein of striatal neurons and is associated with the endoplasmic reticulum. In addition, structural analysis of the novel N-terminal region of STEP61 reveals several motifs not present in the cytosolic variant STEP46. These include two putative transmembrane domains, two sequences rich in Pro, Glu, Asp, Ser, and Thr (PEST sequences), and two polyproline-rich domains. Like STEP46, STEP61 is enriched in the brain, but the recombinant protein has less enzymatic activity than STEP46. Because STEP46 is contained in its entirety within STEP61 and differs only in the extended N terminus of STEP61, this amino acid sequence is responsible for the association of STEP61 with membrane compartments and may also regulate its enzymatic activity.
Proximal Sodium Reabsorption: An Independent Determinant of Blood Pressure Response to Salt

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the contribution of renal sodium handling by the proximal tubule as an independent determinant of blood pressure responsiveness to salt in hypertension. We measured blood pressure (BP), renal hemodynamics, and segmental renal sodium handling (with lithium used as a marker of proximal sodium reabsorption) in 38 hypertensive patients and 27 normotensive subjects (15 young and 12 age-matched) on a high and low sodium diet. In control subjects, changing the diet from a low to a high sodium content resulted in no change in BP and increases in glomerular filtration rate (P <0.05), renal plasma flow (P <0.05), and fractional excretion of lithium (FELi, P <0.01). In hypertensive patients, comparable variations of sodium intake induced an increase in BP with no change in renal hemodynamics and proximal sodium reabsorption. When analyzed by tertiles of their BP response to salt, salt-insensitive hypertensive patients of the first tertile disclosed a pattern of adaptation of proximal sodium reabsorption comparable to that of control subjects, whereas the most salt-sensitive patients of the third tertile had an inverse pattern with a high FELi on low salt and a lower FELi on high salt, suggesting an inappropriate modulation of proximal sodium reabsorption. The BP response to salt correlated positively with age (r =0.34, P =0.036) and negatively with the changes in FELi (r =−0.37, P =0.029). In a multivariate analysis, the changes in FELi were significantly and independently associated with the salt-induced changes in BP. These results suggest that proximal sodium reabsorption is an independent determinant of the BP response to salt in hypertension.
A genome-wide search for genes that relate to a low level of response to alcohol.

BACKGROUND The low level of response (LR) to alcohol is genetically influenced in both humans and animals, and a low LR is a characteristic of offspring of alcoholics that has been reported to predict alcoholism 10 and 15 years later. The genes that contribute to a low LR have not yet been identified. METHODS A 12-item questionnaire that measures LR, the Self Rating of the Effects of Alcohol (SRE) instrument, was filled out by 745 individuals from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA) for whom genetic material was available. These subjects were genotyped by using 336 markers with an average heterozygosity of 0.74 and an average intermarker distance of 10.5 cM. Both quantitative and qualitative nonparametric, sib-pair analyses were carried out for the SRE measure related to early drinking experiences. RESULTS Correlations of SRE scores across related individuals were significant and between 0.16 and 0.22 for most values, compared with nonsignificant correlations of 0.03 or less among unrelated individuals. Linkage analyses performed by using the FIRST 5 variables (first five times alcohol is consumed) identified four chromosomal regions with lod scores > or = 2.0 whose maximum was also near a marker. One of these chromosomal regions previously was linked to alcohol dependence in the COGA sample. CONCLUSIONS These data document the familial nature of a low LR to alcohol as measured by the SRE and suggest several chromosomal regions that might contribute to the phenomenon.
Algorithmic Methods for Computing Threshold Conditions in Epidemic Modelling

The calculation of threshold conditions for models of infectious diseases is of central importance for developing vaccination policies. Frequently coupled systems of ordinary diﬀerential equations are used as models and the computation of threshold conditions can be reduced to the question of stability of the disease free equilibrium. We show how the computations of threshold conditions for such models can be done fully algorithmically by using techniques of quantiﬁer elimination for real closed ﬁelds and related simpliﬁcation methods for quantiﬁer-free formulas.
TCAD simulations of irradiated power diodes over a wide temperature range

A SRH model with temperature-dependent capture cross-sections is proposed for a better accuracy of TCAD simulations of combined ion and electron irradiated power diodes over a large temperature range. A robust procedure is proposed for the identification of the model parameters of deep levels on the basis of static and dynamic diode measurements.
KESULITAN BELAJAR SISWA DALAM PEMBELAJARAN BAHASA INDONESIA

Abstract This study aims to describe students’ learning difficulties in the Indonesian language learning process at the senior high school. The research subjects were students of SMAN 1 Klaten, SMAN 1 Karangnongko, and SMAN 1 Karangdowo. The data were collected by means of tests and interviews. They were analyzed using qualitative and quantitative descriptive techniques with the AnBuso computer program. The results of the data analysis show that the students have difficulties in: the language sub-competencies of structure (61.07%) and vocabulary (52.6%); the language competencies of listening (41.88%), speaking (18.89%), reading (21.15%), and writing (20.02%); and the literary competency at the levels of information (45.69%), concepts (40.9%), perspectives (41.74%), and appreciation (47.1%). These show that the difficulties are evenly distributed on the various components of learning materials, both for language and literary competencies, so that the solutions must be comprehensive including the selection of learning methods. Keywords: learning difficulties, competencies, Indonesian language
Los recreos, laboratorios para la construcción social de la masculinidad hegemónica

El estudio de la ocupacion de los patios de recreo escolares por el futbol no es algo novedoso hoy en dia. Pero llama la atencion la normalidad con la que se asume esta practica, siendo el motor clave en la construccion de la masculinidad hegemonica y los sesgos de genero por la no intervencion de la escuela. Se presenta un estudio de caso realizado en Vitoria-Gasteiz que tiene por objeto conocer cual es el significado que las personas de la comunidad escolar otorgan a esta situacion, mediante cuestionarios y grupos de discusion, con familias, profesorado y estudiantes. Se puede percibir la persistencia de desequilibrios en las dinamicas de los recreos escolares y justificaciones biologicistas para la no intervencion, por parte de un sector del profesorado. Se propone una intervencion seductora en estos espacios, y una mayor reflexion formativa del profesorado en la elaboracion de programas especificos para las dinamicas de los patios.
Exploring contested authenticity among speakers of a contested language: the case of ‘Francoprovençal’

ABSTRACT This paper explores the notion of speaker authenticity in the context of obsolescent ‘Francoprovençal’: a highly fragmented grouping of Romance varieties spoken in parts of France, Italy, and Switzerland by less than 1% of the total regional population. While Francoprovençal has long been losing ground to the dominant language(s) with which it is in contact, new speakers have begun to emerge within the context of revitalisation movements and activities geared more favourable language planning policies and increased literacy. The emergence of these new speakers has polarised native-speaker communities, and has blurred the lines associated with the traditional view of sociolinguistic authenticity. Through an analysis of qualitative data collected in 2012, this article argues in particular that it may not be sufficient to simply examine contested authenticities from a native–non-native perspective, but rather it is important to consider how new speakers might themselves form a complex spectrum of speaker types with new sets of tensions as has been argued elsewhere.
Relationship between Oscillatory Neuronal Activity during Reward Processing and Trait Impulsivity and Sensation Seeking

Background The processing of reward and punishment stimuli in humans appears to involve brain oscillatory activity of several frequencies, probably each with a distinct function. The exact nature of associations of these electrophysiological measures with impulsive or risk-seeking personality traits is not completely clear. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate event-related oscillatory activity during reward processing across a wide spectrum of frequencies, and its associations with impulsivity and sensation seeking in healthy subjects. Methods During recording of a 32-channel EEG 22 healthy volunteers were characterized with the Barratt Impulsiveness and the Sensation Seeking Scale and performed a computerized two-choice gambling task comprising different feedback options with positive vs. negative valence (gain or loss) and high or low magnitude (5 vs. 25 points). Results We observed greater increases of amplitudes of the feedback-related negativity and of activity in the theta, alpha and low-beta frequency range following loss feedback and, in contrast, greater increase of activity in the high-beta frequency range following gain feedback. Significant magnitude effects were observed for theta and delta oscillations, indicating greater amplitudes upon feedback concerning large stakes. The theta amplitude changes during loss were negatively correlated with motor impulsivity scores, whereas alpha and low-beta increase upon loss and high-beta increase upon gain were positively correlated with various dimensions of sensation seeking. Conclusions The findings suggest that the processing of feedback information involves several distinct processes, which are subserved by oscillations of different frequencies and are associated with different personality traits.
Does perceived direct gaze boost detection in adults and children with and without autism? The stare-in-the-crowd effect revisited

This study extended that of von Grünau and Anston (1995) and explored whether perceived direct gaze is easily detected by individuals with and without autism, utilizing a visual-search paradigm. Participants detected target faces with either direct gaze or averted gaze. Laterally averted faces were used to eliminate the involvement of lower perceptual characteristics such as symmetry, which were inherent with the “straight gaze” used by von Grünau and Anston. Both typically developed adults and children detected targets with direct gaze more quickly than those with averted gaze, but face inversion distorted this asymmetrical performance, suggesting the contribution of configurative facial processing. In contrast, children with autism were not affected by the gaze direction presented by realistic facial stimuli. They were, however, faster to detect straight gaze defined solely by local features, which suggests that their impairment might be specific to the detection of direct gaze presented within a facial context.
Design and realization of the CUFF - clenching upper-limb force feedback wearable device for distributed mechano-tactile stimulation of normal and tangential skin forces

Rendering forces to the user is one of the main goals of haptic technology. While most force-feedback interfaces are robotic manipulators, attached to a fixed frame and designed to exert forces on the users while being moved, more recent haptic research introduced two novel important ideas. On one side, cutaneous stimulation aims at rendering haptic stimuli at the level of the skin, with a distributed, rather than, concentrated approach. On the other side, wearable haptics focuses on highly portable and mobile devices, which can be carried and worn by the user as the haptic equivalent of an mp3 player. This paper presents a light and simple wearable device (CUFF) for the distributed mechano-tactile stimulation of the user's arm skin with pressure and stretch cues, related to normal and tangential forces, respectively. The working principle and the mechanical and control implementation of the CUFF device are presented. Then, after a basic functional validation, a first application of the device is shown, where it is used to render the grasping force of a robotic hand (the Pisa/IIT SoftHand). Preliminary results show that the device is capable to deliver in a reliable manner grasping force information, thus eliciting a good softness discrimination in users and enhancing the overall grasping experience.