Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Female Gaming, Gaming Addiction, and the Role of Women Within Gaming Culture: A Narrative Literature Review

Research investigating female gaming has begun to emerge despite gaming being traditionally more popular with males. Research in the 21st century has drawn attention to the role of women in culture, society, and technology, and female gaming is one of the growing phenomena not to have been researched in depth. The aim of the present paper was to review female gaming (i.e., the role of females within video game culture) and identify any associated psychopathological symptomatology. The review adapted the Sample, Phenomenon of Interest, Design, Evaluation, Research (SPIDER) model in conducting a narrative literature review. A search of three scientific electronic databases yielded 49 papers for further evaluation. From a methodological perspective, studies had to fulfill the following criteria to be included: i) published between the years 2000 and 2018; ii) assessed female gaming or the female position within gaming culture, iii) contained quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods approaches to produce empirical data or discuss theoretical implications through reviews, iv) be retrievable as a full-text peer-reviewed journal paper, and v) published in English, German, Polish, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, or French. Four categories emerged from the papers: i) the benefits of female gaming, ii) why women might play video games less than men, iii) perceptions and realities of female characters within video games, and iv) women’s position in gaming culture. The main findings showed playing video games has benefits for women in terms of enhancing cognitive, social, and physical abilities. However, they are less encouraged to play video games due to negative expectations based on gender and/or experiences during game play. Video games are associated with stereotypical male characteristics, such as being overly aggressive, and frequently contain sexualized content. Female gamers appear to require coping strategies to handle online harassment. Females look for different things in video games, which are not often included in game designs thereby limiting their abilities. For instance, female avatar representation—which is exaggerated and hypersexualized—can prompt social comparisons and lead to feelings of decreased self-esteem, depression, and other impacts on well-being. Overall, there are still obstacles for women playing video games even though they comprise half of the gaming population.
Vision Does Not Necessarily Stabilize the Head in Space During Continuous Postural Perturbations

Vision favors head stabilization in space during perturbations of standing balance. This is particularly obvious under conditions of continuous predictable perturbations as during sinusoidal antero-posterior (A-P) translations of the supporting platform. We tested here the hypothesis that under this condition the head can instead undergo large A-P oscillations, when a precision visual task is concurrently performed. We compared the head oscillations across four conditions while standing on a continuously translating platform. Eyes open (EO, no visual task), EO while reading a text fixed to the moving platform (EO-TP), EO while reading a text fixed to earth-ground (EO-TG), eyes-closed (EC). The platform translated at 0.2 and 0.6 Hz. Participants were young adult subjects, who received no particular instruction except reading the text aloud when required. Markers fixed on head, platform and text-sheet were captured by an optoelectronic device. We found that head oscillations were larger with EC than under all EO conditions. The oscillations were the least with EO and EO-TG, and intermediate with EO-TP. This was true under both low and high translation frequency, in spite of broadly smaller head oscillations at high frequency, common to all visual conditions. The distance between the head and the text was quite constant with EO-TP but fluctuated with EO-TG. The basic whole-body coordination features were moderately similar under all conditions, as assessed by the head-platform correlation coefficients and time lags. It appears that vision does not produce head stabilization in space when a concurrent visual task requiring focusing on a reading-text moving with the platform is performed. Contrary to traditional views centered on the stabilizing effect of vision under both static and dynamic conditions, the results show that head stabilization, normally ensuring a reference for inertial guidance for body balance, can be revoked by the CNS to allow performance of a non-postural task. This novel paradigm can shift long-standing views on the effect of vision on equilibrium control and be considered a potential exercise treatment for enhancing the multisensory integration process in people with balance problems.
Among Live and Dead Bacteria, the Optimization of Sample Collection and Processing Remains Essential in Recovering Gut Microbiota Components

The human gut microbiota plays an important role in human health. Accessing and culturing the gut microbes remains critical in microbiology. The culturomics approach, combined with sequencing strategies, provides new insights in the study of gut microbiota components. However, we are still far from having described all the microbes. Many factors are involved in recovering as much bacteria as possible. One of the most important factors is sample preparation and conservation. The aim of the present work was to evaluate three different types of stool sample conditioning by mainly studying the effect of atmospheric oxygen on bacterial viability and culturability. Quantitative analysis of fecal samples from eight different healthy individuals was carried out using a culture-independent method (flow cytometry) and a culture-dependent method (plating technique). We found that the cultured bacteria reached a 50% yield when the samples were exposed to oxygen for 120 min without any protectant medium, while the percentage of culturability increased to 67% in the presence of antioxidants. More importantly, when samples were exposed to oxygen for less than 2 min, combined with the work under the anaerobic chamber, no discordance was found between the two counting techniques and the culturability increased to 87%. Our study confirmed the importance of sample conditioning to preserve the bacterial viability in samples, especially for oxygen-sensitive intestinal bacteria.
The Potential Role of Regulatory Genes (DNMT3A, HDAC5, and HDAC9) in Antipsychotic Treatment Response in South African Schizophrenia Patients

Despite advances in pharmacogenetics, the majority of heritability for treatment response cannot be explained by common variation, suggesting that factors such as epigenetics may play a key role. Regulatory genes, such as those involved in DNA methylation and transcriptional repression, are therefore excellent candidates for investigating antipsychotic treatment response. This study explored the differential expression of regulatory genes between patients with schizophrenia (chronic and antipsychotic-naïve first-episode patients) and healthy controls in order to identify candidate genes for association with antipsychotic treatment response. Seven candidate differentially expressed genes were identified, and four variants within these genes were found to be significantly associated with treatment response (DNMT3A rs2304429, HDAC5 rs11079983, and HDAC9 rs1178119 and rs11764843). Further analyses revealed that two of these variants (rs2304429 and rs11079983) are predicted to alter the expression of specific genes (DNMT3A, ASB16, and ASB16-AS1) in brain regions previously implicated in schizophrenia and treatment response. These results may aid in the development of biomarkers for antipsychotic treatment response, as well as novel drug targets.
Evaluating Ocean Literacy of Elementary School Students: Preliminary Results of a Cross-Cultural Study in the Mediterranean Region

A good understanding of the role and function of the ocean seems to be of paramount importance in recent years, constituting the basic tool for the promotion of healthy and sustainable marine environment, and a target area of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In this study, the content knowledge of elementary school students (grades 3-6) in regards to ocean sciences issues was examined. A structured questionnaire was administered to 1004 students participating in a cross-cultural study from three Mediterranean countries (Italy, Croatia, and Greece). The results of the study indicated a rather moderate level of knowledge in the total sample, while slight differences were recorded among the three countries revealing common knowledge gains and misconceptions. Rasch analysis was applied to further evaluate the validity of the results, while the influence of certain demographics on students’ knowledge level was also investigated. This study concludes with a discussion of the implications on national curriculum development in elementary education level, in order to promote ocean literacy and to ensure protection and conservation of the Mediterranean Sea.
Novel Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus CC8 Clone Identified in a Hospital Setting in Armenia

Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has been sparse in low- and middle-income countries, therefore, its population structure is unknown for many regions. We conducted a pilot surveillance of MRSA in the maternity ward of a teaching hospital in Armenia, to characterize the genotypes of circulating MRSA clones. In total, 10 MRSA isolates from a hospital environment (n = 4) and patients (n = 6) were recovered between March and May 2015 and April and May 2016, respectively. WGS analysis showed that the isolates belonged to two clonal complexes (CCs): CC8 (n = 8) and CC30 (n = 2). MRSA CC30 isolates carried staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) type IVa, whereas MRSA CC8 revealed a type-VT-related SCCmec, which contained a CRISPR/Cas array and showed a high similarity to SCCmec found in coagulase-negative staphylococci. All but one MRSA CC8 isolates carried a plasmid identical to the pSK67 and four also carried a pathogenicity island similar to SaPI5. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the MRSA CC8 isolates formed a monophyletic cluster, which emerged around 1995 and was distinct from representatives of globally-distributed MRSA CC8 lineages. WGS characterization of MRSA in countries with no previous S. aureus genomic surveillance can therefore reveal an unrecognized diversity of MRSA lineages.
Fingolimod for Irradiation-Induced Neurodegeneration

Background Cranial irradiation is a common therapy for the treatment of brain tumors, but unfortunately patients suffer from side effects, particularly cognitive impairment, caused by neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory mechanisms. Finding a therapeutic agent protecting hippocampal neurons would be beneficial. Fingolimod (FTY720), a sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor modulator approved for multiple sclerosis, is an immunosuppressant and known to enhance proliferation and differentiation of neuronal precursor cells (NPCs). Objectives To investigate whether pre-treatment with FTY720 protects NPCs in vitro and in vivo from irradiation-induced damage. Methods Neuronal precursor cells were isolated from E13 C57BL/6 wildtype mice, treated at day 0 of differentiation with FTY720 and irradiated on day 6 with 1 Gy. NPCs were analyzed for markers of cell death (PI, caspase-3), proliferation (Ki67), and differentiation (DCX, βIII-tubulin). Adult C57BL/6 wildtype mice were treated with FTY720 (1 mg/kg) and received a single dose of 6 Gy cranial irradiation at day 7. Using immunohistochemistry, we analyzed DCX and BrdU as markers of neurogenesis and Iba1, GFAP, and CD3 to visualize inflammation in the dentate gyrus (DG) and the subventricular zone (SVZ). B6(Cg)-Tyrc-2J/J DCX-luc reporter mice were used for bioluminescence imaging to evaluate the effect of FTY720 on neurogenesis in the DG and the spinal cord of naïve mice. Results FTY720 protected NPCs against irradiation induced cell death in vitro. Treatment with FTY720 dose-dependently reduced the number of PI+ cells 24 and 96 h after irradiation without effecting proliferation or neuronal differentiation. In vivo treatment resulted in a significant survival of DCX+ neurons in the DG and the SVZ 4 weeks after irradiation as well as a slight increase of proliferating cells. FTY720 inhibited microglia activation 24 h after X-ray exposure in the DG, while astrocyte activation was unaffected and no lymphocyte infiltrations were found. In naïve mice, FTY720 treatment for 4 weeks had no effect on neurogenesis. Conclusion FTY720 treatment of NPCs prior to X-ray exposure and of mice prior to cranial irradiation is neuroprotective. No effects on neurogenesis were found.
Improving quality of experience in multimedia streaming by leveraging Information-Centric Networking. (Améliorer la qualité d'expérience du streaming multimédia en tirant parti des réseaux centrés sur l'information)

Information-Centric Networking (ICN) is a promising architecture to address today Internet multimedia traffic explosion and increasing user mobility: not only to enhance the user’s quality of experience, but also to naturally and seamlessly extend video sup- port deeper in the network functions. However, to the best of our knowledge, a thorough assessment of the benefits brought by ICN to multimedia delivery has not been done yet. In this thesis, we aim at reducing the gap to such assessment, by considering ICN in various multimedia delivery scenarios.First, we assess the benefits brought by an ICN-based Dynamic Adaptive Streaming (DAS) compared to TCP/IP based streaming, by means of an experimental campaign that includes multiple channels (e.g., emulated Wi-Fi and LTE, real 3G/4G traces), multiple clients (homogeneous vs heterogeneous mixture, synchronous vs asynchronous arrivals) and carefully selected DAS adaptation logics to cover the broad families of available adaptation algorithms. We also warn about potential pitfalls that are nonethelesseasily avoidable.Second, we show how network assistance helps im- proving the users’ quality of experience. To do so, we leverage the in-network caching feature of ICN and propose a simple periodical network signal from the cache (i.e., per-quality hit ratio) to be exploited by DAS adaptation logic to enhance further the user’s quality of experience by avoiding the known cache-induced quality oscillations. We confirm the soundness of our approach through experiments.Finally, as live multimedia delivery is gaining momentum, we propose hICN-RTC by integrating hICN (hybrid ICN), an ICN-in-IP solution, to WebRTC and we design RICTP (Realtime Information Centric Trans- port Protocol), a content-aware transport that minimizes the communication latency. Although still in development, the results we gathered from early experiments are promising as they show that hICN-RTC scales with the number of active speakers rather than the total number of participants.
The Impact of Distribution and Chart Type on Part-to-Whole Comparisons

Pie charts and treemaps are commonly used in business settings to show part-to-whole relationships. In a study, we compare pie charts, treemaps, stacked bars, and two circular charts when answering part-to-whole questions with multiple slices and different distributions of values. We ﬁnd that the circular charts, including the unusual variations, perform better than the treemap, and that their performance depends on whether participants are asked to judge the largest slice or a smaller one.
Authoring Combined Textual and Visual Descriptions of Graph Data

The interactive linking of text and visualizations supports easy and guided exploration of information and results in a coherent document. Authoring such documents for the web requires writing custom HTML and JavaScript. Existing research aims at reducing the effort by providing a declarative syntax. However, these approaches either do not support the interactive linking of text and visualizations or require advance programming skills to establish this linking. Targeting a speciﬁc type of data i.e., graph data, we introduce an approach that uses a declarative syntax to produce interactive documents and requires little to no programming. Based on the user speciﬁcations in an HTML ﬁle, the system queries the database to retrieve subgraphs and link them to the relevant text fragments. The resulting document consists of a node-link diagram and text; the two representations are closely linked via interactions and word-sized graphics, and provide an active reading experience.
Photometric registration of indoor real scenes using an RGB-D camera with application to mixed reality. (Recalage photométrique de scènes réelles d'intérieurs à l'aide d'une caméra RGB-D avec application à la réalité mixte)

The overarching goal of Mixed Reality (MR) is to provide the users with the illusion that virtual and real objects coexist indistinguishably in the same space. An effective illusion requires an accurate registration between both worlds. This registration must be geometrically and photometrically coherent. In this thesis, we propose novel photometric registration methods to estimate the illumination and reflectance of real scenes. Specifically, we propose new approaches which address three main challenges: (1) use of a single RGB-D camera. (2) estimation of both diffuse and specular reflectance properties. (3) estimation of the 3D position and color of multiple dynamic light sources. Within our first contribution, we consider indoor real scenes where both geometry and illumination are static. As the sensor browses the scene, specular reflections can be observed throughout a sequence of RGB-D images. These visual cues are very informative about the illumination and reflectance of scene surfaces. Hence, we model these cues to recover both diffuse and specular reflectance properties as well as the 3D position of multiple light sources. Our algorithm allows convincing MR results such as realistic virtual shadows and correct real specularity removal. Shadows are omnipresent and result from the occlusion of light by existing geometry. They therefore represent interesting cues to reconstruct the photometric properties of the scene. Presence of texture in this context is a critical scenario. In fact, separating texture from illumination effects is often handled via approaches which require user interaction or do not satisfy mixed reality processing time requirements. We address these limitations and propose a method which estimates the 3D position and intensity of light sources. The proposed approach handles dynamic light sources and runs at an interactive frame rate. The existence of a light source is more likely if it is supported by more than one cue. We therefore address the problem of estimating illumination and reflectance properties by jointly analysing specular reflections and cast shadows. The proposed approach takes advantage of information brought by both cues to handle a large variety of scenes. Our approach is capable of handling any textured surface and considers both static and dynamic light sources. Its effectiveness is demonstrated through a range of applications including real-time mixed reality and retexturing. Since the detection of cast shadows and specular reflections are at the heart of this thesis, we further propose a deep-learning framework to jointly detect both cues in indoor real scenes.
Controller parametrization and pole-placement design for simultaneous stabilization

The authors investigate the use of stable inversion to obtain nonswitching controllers for the simultaneous stabilization of systems with multiple operating conditions. In a previous work (1990) the authors required the high-frequency gains of the models of the different operating conditions to satisfy a full rank condition. In this paper they remove that constraint and consider general system models, including strictly proper models. A parametrization in terms of a stable inverse system and a stable annihilator system is proposed for all simultaneously stabilizing controllers. Several examples are used to illustrate pole-placement design using proper controllers and strictly proper controllers, and the constraints on the pole-placement design. <<ETX>>
Predictive models in neuroscience and bioinformatics

Author(s): Benjamini, Yuval | Advisor(s): Yu, Bin | Abstract: This dissertation discusses how predictive models are being used for scientific inquiry. Statistical and computational advances have given rise to high-dimensional models that can be fit on relatively small samples but still predict well the behavior of complex systems. Scientists try to use such models to learn about complex biological systems; but it is not always clear how prediction accuracy translates to understanding the underlying system. In the chapters below, I present different approaches to learn from predictive models in bioinformatics and neuroscience. In each of these collaborative works, we tailor models that would both fit well and be interpretable in the context of the scientific questions.In the first chapter, we fit and compare predictive models for the GC-content bias, an important confounder in DNA-sequencing. We develop a high-resolution model that treats each base-pair in the genome as a separate example; this allows us to compare many representations of GC-content, identifying which representation best predicts the variation in the coverage. To deal with the huge volumes of data, we develop a new conditional dependence measure that efficiently compares different models. Selection of the model that maximizes this dependence reveals a recurring association with an experimental parameter: the selected model in each sample corresponds to a window size almost identical to the average size of DNA fragments in the sample. This recurring result can be used both for correcting the bias and for learning about the causes for the bias. In the next chapter, we propose a new estimator for interpreting prediction-accuracy results of models for neural activity in the visual cortex. Our shuffle estimator targets the explainable variance - the proportion of signal in the measured response - while accounting for auto-correlation in the noise. Re-analyzing models of functional MRI voxels within visual area V1, we observe a strong linear correlation between the signal-to-noise and prediction accuracy.In the final chapter we analyze neurophysiology data recorded from visual area V4, and present a full cycle of scientific investigation using prediction models in neuroscience. Whereas the previous chapters developed metrics for evaluating feature sets and prediction models, this chapter takes an extra leap: we use optimization algorithms together with prior scientific knowledge to propose a new feature-set. We then fit regularized linear models based on this representation that generalize well to a validation data set. Finally, novel visualization and model-summary techniques help interpret the resulting prediction models, revealing rich patterns of activity in the different neurons and unexpected categories of neurons.
Migration NSGA: method to improve a non-elitist searching of Pareto front, with application in magnetics

The paper describes a migration strategy to improve classical non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA) to find optimal solution of a multi-objective problem. Migration NSGA has been tested to assess its performance using analytical functions for which the Pareto front is known in analytical form, as well as two case studies in electromagnetics, for which the Pareto front is not known a priori. This strategy improves the approximation of the Pareto-optimal solutions of a multi-objective problem by introducing new individuals in the population miming the effect of migrations.