Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Biological Responses to Ultraviolet Radiation and the Effect of Intra-S Checkpoint Inhibition on Ultraviolet Radiation-Induced Mutagenesis

Sunlight emits a spectrum of electromagnetic radiation that includes ultraviolet, visible, and infrared wavelengths. It is widely accepted that the ultraviolet radiation (UVR) component is responsible for the mutagenic and carcinogenic effects of sunlight. UVR is further subdivided into three wavelength ranges: UVC (100-280 nm), UVB (280-315 nm) and UVA (315-400 nm) and each of these induce differing types and proportions of DNA damage. Despite much research, there is debate about the relative contributions from different wavelengths in initiating and promoting mutagenesis and carcinogenesis. DNA damage responses have been widely characterized using UVC, which is effectively filtered out by the Earth's atmosphere, while comparatively fewer studies have been conducted utilizing UVA and UVB. The research reported here assessed the biological outcomes of irradiating human dermal fibroblasts with UVR of different wavelengths, using DNA damage dosimetry to allow comparison between different irradiation sources. Cylobutane pyrimidine dimer (CPD) and 6-4 pyrimidine-pyrimidone photoproduct (6-4PP) densities were quantified and used as biomarkers following irradiation with lamps emitting UVA, UVB, or UVC. Comparing fluences that produced equal CPD densities, cytotoxicity, intra-S phase checkpoint response, and mutagenesis were assessed. Regardless of the source of UVR, results showed a striking similarity in the biological outcomes measured when exposures iii were compared on the basis of CPD dosimetry, suggesting that this UV-induced photolesion significantly contributed to the measured effect. The S-phase checkpoint response to UVR is a signaling cascade that recognizes damaged DNA or abnormal DNA structures and halts or slows new/ongoing DNA replication, potentially reducing the chance that damaged DNA will be replicated prior to its repair. Experiments reported here tested the hypothesis that this checkpoint is a protective system that reduces UVR-induced mutagenesis. Essential S-phase checkpoint components ATR or CHK1 were depleted using siRNA, or the CHK1 kinase pharmacologically inhibited using TCS2312, thereby inhibiting the S-phase checkpoint response to UVR. Subsequently, the UVR-induced mutation frequency at the HPRT locus was measured. Results showed that despite reversing the S-phase checkpoint response to UVR, the mutation frequency in the irradiated population was not increased, challenging the broadly accepted role of this signaling cascade in minimizing mutation burden.
HDR image compression and evaluation based on local adaptation using a retinal model

Abstract— The retinal adaptation process helps the human visual system to see high‐dynamic‐range (HDR) scenes in the real world. A simple static local adaptation method for HDR image compression based on a retinal model is presented. The proposed simple model aims at recreating the same sensations of the human visual system between the real‐world scene and the range compressed image on the display device when viewed after the human visual system reaches the steady local adaptation state, respectively. In computing scene local adaptation, the use of a non‐linear edge‐preserving bilateral filter not only presents a better tonal rendition in compressing local contrast and preserving details but also avoids banding artifacts across high‐gradient edges. Our new model relates the display adaptation with the scene adaptation based on the retinal model. In order to verify the effectiveness, a subjective evaluation is made by comparing the real scene and the display image using the paired comparison technique.
Embodiment: A New Perspective for Evaluating Physicality in Learning

The purpose of this study is to provide a new perspective for evaluating physicality in learning with a preliminary experimental study based on embodied cognition. While there are studies showing no superiority of physical manipulation over virtual manipulation, there are also studies that seem to advocate adding more physicality in simulations for learning. Thus, this study addressed an alternative explanation for explaining the effects of physicality by focusing more on perceptual experiences and embodiment. The experimental study with 48 graduate students supported pre-existing results, which did not discover any differences between physical and virtual manipulations in learning physics. More importantly, the results of this study showed that the perceptual experience of driving a manual transmission car was critical for comprehending how gears work. This implies that the physicality added to a learning experience should be evaluated in terms of its potential to create embodiment rather than the mode of interaction—physical or virtual.
Materiality of Works: The Bibliographic Record as Text

SUMMARY Conceptualizing the bibliographic record as text implies that it needs to be treated as such in order to fully exploit its function in information retrieval activities, which affects how access to works can be achieved. A theoretical framework is outlined, including methodological consequences in terms of how to go about teaching students of knowledge organization and users of information retrieval systems the literate activity of using the bibliographic record as a text. For knowledge organization research, this implies that providing access to texts and the works they embody is not a technical matter, but rather a literate issue.
Nonlinear fixed-order dynamic compensation for passive systems

A general framework for designing nonlinear fixed order (i.e., full- and reduced-order) dynamic passive controllers for passive systems is developed using nonlinear dissipation theory. Specifically, by extending linear passive controller synthesis frameworks a family of globally asymptotically stabilizing nonlinear passive controllers is developed that can serve to enhance system performance and energy dissipation. The proposed approach is applied to the rotational/translational proof mass actuator nonlinear benchmark problem to develop fixed-order dynamic output feedback nonlinear controllers.
Dynamic bandwidth allocation in integrated communication networks

With the advances in switching technology and network management, dynamic allocation of link bandwidth in logical networks built on top of the physical transmission network is possible. An algorithm for dynamic bandwidth allocation is proposed. The proposed algorithm integrates bandwidth allocation of the packet switched network and the circuit-switched network. Flexible channel assignment of logical links and inverse multiplexing are considered to ensure full flexibility. Extensive numerical results are obtained. A simulation system is built to test the dynamic bandwidth allocation algorithm in discrete event simulation. <<ETX>>
Attending Musical Performances: Teachers' and Students' Expectations and Experiences at a Youth Programme in Madrid

Abstract In order to understand the characteristics of young audiences' experiences, a study was carried out that focused on primary and secondary students who attended a youth programme in Madrid that provided opera, classical music and dance performances. The study did not investigate its artistic or instructional features. Instead, it aimed at comprehending the meanings attributed by children and adolescents to all the aspects of the performances; on what influenced that meaning construction; and on the different types of learning that took place. The research design included the observation of performances and follow-up lessons in schools, individual open-ended interviews with teachers and group interviews with students. Teachers' perspectives were analysed in relation to their previous experiences as audience members, to their pedagogical approaches, and to their expectations about students' learning. Students' perspectives were analysed in relation to school, family and social expectations, and in relation with their own experience. The findings suggest that young people's expectations were influenced by their social context but could vary after attending the performances, depending on their teachers' pedagogical approaches, which were crucial in the meaning attributed to the experience.
A Tale of Two Problems

A tale is told of two problems. The scientific problem is how do people decide that random groupings of targets belong in the same or different clusters. The practical problem is whether data collection using a web-based study distorts our results. A validation study was conducted to determine whether the clustering judgments made by participants using a web-based interface are comparable to judgments made by participants who did a paper-based version of the task. Previewing the results, there was a good deal of correspondence between paper and web-based responses.
Measuring Urban Compactness in UK Towns and Cities

Although promotion of the compact city is now enshrined in land-use planning policy in many countries, including the United Kingdom, there is little evidence to support the many claims in its favour. In seeking to provide empirical data to advance the debate, one of the key problems researchers face is the task of measuring urban compactness. Research on the compact city is hampered both by a lack of consensus on its meaning and by the absence of recognised indicators for measuring it. This paper describes the development of a large set of urban compactness indicators used in an investigation of social sustainability outcomes in twenty-five English towns and cities. The paper begins by identifying and defining the different aspects of urban compactness, then outlines the indicators (including sources and methods) used for measuring each of these aspects. Finally, the values of these indicators for a range of English towns and cities are presented and reviewed. The aim of the paper is to contribute methodological tools to the compact city debate and provide a model for further research, essential in this field.
Explorative coastal oceanographic visual analytics : oceans of data

The widely acknowledged challenge to data analysis and understanding, resulting from the exponential increase in volumes of data generated by increasingly complex modelling and sampling systems, is a problem experienced by many researchers, including ocean scientists. The thesis explores a visualization and visual analytics solution for predictive studies of coastal shelf and estuarine modelled, hydrodynamics undertaken to understand sea level rise, as a contribution to wider climate change studies, and to underpin coastal zone planning, flood prevention and extreme event management. But these studies are complex and require numerous simulations of estuarine hydrodynamics, generating extremely large datasets of multi-field data. This type of data is acknowledged as difficult to visualize and analyse, as its numerous attributes present significant computational challenges, and ideally require a wide range of approaches to provide the necessary insight. These challenges are not easily overcome with the current visualization and analysis methodologies employed by coastal shelf hydrodynamic researchers, who use several software systems to generate graphs, each taking considerable time to operate, thus it is difficult to explore different scenarios and explore the data interactively and visually. The thesis, therefore, develops novel visualization and visual analytics techniques to help researchers overcome the limitations of existing methods (for example in understanding key tidal components); analyse data in a timely manner and explore different scenarios. There were a number of challenges to this: the size of the data, resulting in lengthy computing time, also many data values becoming plotted on one pixel (overplotting). The thesis presents: (1) a new visualization framework (VINCA) using caching and hierarchical aggregation techniques to make the data more interactive, plus explorative, coordinated multiple views, to enable the scientists to explore the data. (2) A novel estuarine transect profiler and flux tool, which provides instantaneous flux calculations across an estuary. Measures of flux are of great significance in oceanographic studies, yet are notoriously difficult and time consuming to calculate with the commonly used tools. This derived data is added back into the database for further investigation and analysis. (3) New views, including a novel, dynamic, spatially aggregated Parallel Coordinate Plots (Sa-PCP), are developed to provide different perspectives of the spatial, time dependent data, also methodologies for developing high-quality (journal ready) output from the visualization tool. Finally, (4) the dissertation explored the use of hierarchical data-structures and caching techniques to enable fast analysis on a desktop computer and to overcome the overplotting challenge for this data.
Influence of practice on visual reaction time

Background: The present study was aimed to see the effect of practice on visual information processing speed. Reaction time is one of the important physiological parameters, which gives information how fast and quickly person responses. Reaction is purposeful voluntary response to different stimuli as visual stimuli. Visual reaction time (VRT) is the time required to response to visual stimuli. Materials and Methods: The VRT was measured by the multiple choice apparatus in subjects. Simple reaction time and choice reaction time measured. Reaction time was measured in two sessions. In the first session, VRT was measured without practice of task and in the second session VRT was measured after practice of task. The results were statistically analyzed and were recorded as mean ± standard deviation and Student′s paired t-test was applied to check the level of significance. Result and Conclusion: In the present study, we found that VRT was less after practice for both simple and choice VRT tasks. Reaction time decreases by practice. Skills can be improved by practice. In daily life majority of work is done by the use of visual information. By the practice of an important task time required for stimulus identification and response can be decreased. Practice is useful for driving vehicles. It is helpful to students, as they have identification of bones, instruments, graphs and viva questions in examination of various medical subjects. Hence by practice students can identify, understand and answer quickly.
A principle-based approach to teaching grammar on the web

The advantages of computer-assisted grammar teaching and more recently, web-based grammar teaching, include the possibility, for the instructor, of devoting class time to teaching communication skills, and the capacity of individualizing the course work. Several websites have been created for these very reasons. However, most of these sites include only a small portion of the grammar and very few are based on educational principles. This paper will summarize what should be the guiding principles in the design of this type of website, most of which involve instructional design and the need for structure and adaptability to different learning styles. It should also be noted that there are design principles specific to grammar teaching, such as the distinction between exploratory and pre-established modes, and the scaffolding of concepts. The application of these principles will be illustrated through the presentation of a web site.
Writing Across the Curriculum for Secondary School English Language Learners: A Case Study

This study employs ethnographic case study method to explore secondary English language learners’ experiences with content-area writing in a U.S. public school setting. Documentary evidence, interviews, and students’ written work comprise the data set. Data are interpreted through a sociocognitive theoretical lens to take into account contextual and individual cognitive factors that come into play in English language learners’ development of content-specific writing. Findings suggest that a combination of institutional factors (e.g. school program design, state regulations, and state assessment systems) in concert with teacher beliefs and expectations of English language learners impact the content-area writing instruction which English language learners receive. This study points to the need for continued investigation of state policies, school processes, and teacher beliefs and practices that may enhance the quality and breadth of writing English language learners experience as they move through secondary school.
Towards a Better Understanding of Building Regulation

This paper reviews a large body of regulatory literature and applies four major debates to the field of building regulation and control. We find that this field has attracted little attention of regulatory scholars, whilst fields such as the ‘natural’ or ‘occupational’ environment are often addressed in regulatory studies. We furthermore find that studies of building regulation and control often lack theoretical descriptions or applications. We argue that such details are necessary for a better understanding of building regulations and control.
Student Modeling in Intelligent Tutoring Systems: Acquisition of Cognitive Skill and Tutorial Interventions

In intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) student models are used for diagnosis resulting in didactical choices. Among others, didactical choices concern at a global level decisions about the sequencing of learning materials and at a local level decisions about presenting additional material and remediation. In ITS didactical choices are often implicit. In some cases choices are derived from models of human tutoring behavior. As far as ITS are based on student (and expert) models, which are plausible from the cognitive psychological point of view, implicit didactical choices or human tutor models can be avoided. When a student model is constructed according to the principles of ACT*, predictions of the effects of didactical interventions on learning outcomes can be made. It can be shown that learning outcomes as speed of processing and probability of correct response are mediated by the storage-and-strengthening parameters of the control structure. Storage and strengthemng in turn are induced by specific types of instruction, such as outcome feedback, working through examples, and providing the correct answer. A provided theoretical analysis explains why the buggy rule approach is, as such, of limited benefit. The results of this analysis are further illustrated by empirical research. The comparison of our predictions about the effects of feedback with the results obtained in empirical research in the domain of concept learning shows that optimal provisions for feedback (direct or postponed) depend on the type of learning: deterministic or probabilistic. This factor should be taken into account when designing didactical modules. Keywords: ITS, intelligent tutoring systems, student models, didactical interventions.
NARROW FIELD-OF-VIEW VISUAL ODOMETRY BASED ON A FOCUSED PLENOPTIC CAMERA

In this article we present a new method for visual odometry based on a focused plenoptic camera. This method fuses the depth data gained by a monocular Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) algorithm and the one received from a focused plenoptic camera. Our algorithm uses the depth data and the totally focused images supplied by the plenoptic camera to run a real-time semi-dense direct SLAM algorithm. Based on this combined approach, the scale ambiguity of a monocular SLAM system can be overcome. Furthermore, the additional light-field information highly improves the tracking capabilities of the algorithm. Thus, visual odometry even for narrow field of view (FOV) cameras is possible. We show that not only tracking profits from the additional light-field information. By accumulating the depth information over multiple tracked images, also the depth accuracy of the focused plenoptic camera can be highly improved. This novel approach improves the depth error by one order of magnitude compared to the one received from a single light-field image.
Expression, Perception, and Induction of Musical Emotions: A Review and a Questionnaire Study of Everyday Listening

In this article, we provide an up-to-date overview of theory and research concerning expression, perception, and induction of emotion in music. We also provide a critique of this research, noting that previous studies have tended to neglect the social context of music listening. The most likely reason for this neglect, we argue, is that that most research on musical emotion has, implicitly or explicitly, taken the perspective of the musician in understanding responses to music. In contrast, we argue that a promising avenue toward a better understanding of emotional responses to music involves diary and questionnaire studies of how ordinary listeners actually use music in everyday life contexts. Accordingly, we present findings from an exploratory questionnaire study featuring 141 music listeners (between 17 and 74 years of age) that offers some novel insights. The results provide preliminary estimates of the occurrence of various emotions in listening to music, as well as clues to how music is used by listeners in a number of different emotional ways in various life contexts. These results confirm that emotion is strongly related to most people's primary motives for listening to music.
State assignment for low power dissipation

In this paper, we address the problem of reducing the power dissipated by sequential circuits. We propose a novel approach to power reduction based on transition graph description of sequential circuits. We formulate a general theoretic framework for the solution of the state assignment problem, and we propose different solutions trading off computational effort for quality of the results. A heuristic algorithm has been implemented and been shown to sensibly reduce the switching activity of sequential circuits. <<ETX>>
Evaluating the Impact of Cai on Mathematics Learning: Computer Immersion Project

A project designed to examine the effects of maximizing time on computer and computer-to-pupil ratio was implemented in an urban middle school in the Southwest. A sixth grade classroom was equipped with enough microcomputers for a 1:1 computer-to-pupil ratio. Students in two mathematics classes received instruction almost entirely on computer for the duration of the school year. Two control classes received a teacher-directed, group-centered instructional mode from the same teacher. Data were collected which examined the impact of CAI on mathematics achievement, student attitude, attendance, and discipline. Results indicated that immersion in CAI did have a significant effect on mathematics achievement. Discriminant function analysis yielded a significant function comprised of three variables: number of times tardy, number of discipline cards, and math computation raw score. The magnitude of these differences, however, was not great; 1.9 items in math computation raw score and one time tardy to math class. These results emphasized the difference between practical and statistical significance, both of which must be weighed in evaluation research.
A reduced-reference perceptual quality metric for in-service image quality assessment

User-oriented image quality assessment has become a key factor in multimedia communications. However, existing image quality metrics such as peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) are inappropriate for in-service quality monitoring, since they require the original image to be available at the receiver. Although PSNR and others are objective metrics, they are not based on human visual perception. In order to overcome these problems, we propose a novel reduced-reference objective hybrid image quality metric (HIQM) that accounts for human visual perception and does not require a reference image at the receiver. This approach is based on a combination of various image artifact measures. The result is a single number, which represents an overall image quality. Experimental results indicate that HIQM outperforms PSNR.