Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Thinking Semantic Wikis as Learning Object Repositories

Wikis have been extensively adopted in educational contexts becoming repositories of potentially reusable, self-contained learning units (commonly known as learning objects). Unfortunately, wikis lack of the packaging and metadata facilities that are needed to enable effective reuse of these units. In this article we propose an approach to use semantic wikis as learning object repositories, we discuss its challenges and its potential, and we present a conceptual model and its implementation based on the Semantic MediaWiki engine.
The effect of kinesio taping with exercise compared with exercise alone on pain, range of motion, and disability of the shoulder in postmastectomy females: a randomized control trial

[Purpose] The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of kinesio tape on pain, range of motion, and disability of the shoulder. [Subjects and Methods] Seventy-four female patients who underwent modified radical mastectomy participated in this study. They were randomly divided into two groups, an experimental group that received kinesio tape for the shoulder joint in addition to a conventional physiotherapy program and a control group that received the physiotherapy program only. Outcome measures included the Visual Analogue Scale, shoulder range of motion, and Shoulder Pain and Disability Index. [Results] The experimental group showed significant differences in all outcome measures both within and between groups. The control group only showed a significant within group difference in shoulder flexion. [Conclusion] Clinicians should be able to recognize the benefits achieved through the use of adjunct treatment options such as kinesio tape in comparison with benefits that can be obtained through the use of individual modalities in physical therapy. Kinesio tape can be suggested and recommended for postmastectomy patients, especially for shoulder pain, range of motion, and disability.
Efficient Margin Maximizing with Boosting ∗

AdaBoost produces a linear combination of base hypotheses and predicts with the sign of this linear combination. It has been observed that the generalization error of the algorithm continues to improve even after all examples are classified correctly by the current signed linear combination, which can be viewed as hyperplanein feature space where the base hypotheses form the features. The improvement is attributed to the experimental observation that the distances (margins) of the examples to the separating hyperplane are increasing even when the training error is already zero; that is, all examples are on the correct side of the hyperplane. We give a new version of AdaBoost, called AdaBoost ∗, that explicitly maximizes the minimum margin of the examples up to a given precision. The algorithm incorporates a current estimate of the achievable margin into its calculation of the linear coeffecients of the base hypotheses. The number of base hypotheses needed is essentially the same as the number needed by a previous AdaBoost related algorithm that required an explicit estimate of the achievable margin.
Discovering Location Information in Social Media

Social media is immensely popular, with billions of users across various platform. The study of social media has allowed for deeper inquiries into questions posed by computer scientists, social scientists, and others. Social media posts tagged with location have provided means for researchers to perform even deeper analysis into their data. While location information allows for rich insight into social media data, very few posts are explicitly tagged with geographic information. In this work, we begin by introducing some state-of-the-art analysis techniques that can be performed using the location of a social media post. Next, we introduce some systems that help first responders provide relief with the help of the location of social media posts. Finally, we discuss how machine learning techniques can be applied to infer the location of a social media post, bringing this analysis to any message posted on social media.
The relation between past exposure to fine particulate air pollution and prevalent anxiety: observational cohort study

Objective To determine whether higher past exposure to particulate air pollution is associated with prevalent high symptoms of anxiety. Design Observational cohort study. Setting Nurses’ Health Study. Participants 71 271 women enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study residing throughout the contiguous United States who had valid estimates on exposure to particulate matter for at least one exposure period of interest and data on anxiety symptoms. Main outcome measures Meaningfully high symptoms of anxiety, defined as a score of 6 points or greater on the phobic anxiety subscale of the Crown-Crisp index, administered in 2004. Results The 71 271 eligible women were aged between 57 and 85 years (mean 70 years) at the time of assessment of anxiety symptoms, with a prevalence of high anxiety symptoms of 15%. Exposure to particulate matter was characterized using estimated average exposure to particulate matter <2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5) and 2.5 to 10 μm in diameter (PM2.5-10) in the one month, three months, six months, one year, and 15 years prior to assessment of anxiety symptoms, and residential distance to the nearest major road two years prior to assessment. Significantly increased odds of high anxiety symptoms were observed with higher exposure to PM2.5 for multiple averaging periods (for example, odds ratio per 10 µg/m3 increase in prior one month average PM2.5: 1.12, 95% confidence interval 1.06 to 1.19; in prior 12 month average PM2.5: 1.15, 1.06 to 1.26). Models including multiple exposure windows suggested short term averaging periods were more relevant than long term averaging periods. There was no association between anxiety and exposure to PM2.5-10. Residential proximity to major roads was not related to anxiety symptoms in a dose dependent manner. Conclusions Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) was associated with high symptoms of anxiety, with more recent exposures potentially more relevant than more distant exposures. Research evaluating whether reductions in exposure to ambient PM2.5 would reduce the population level burden of clinically relevant symptoms of anxiety is warranted.
Strategies for human-in-the-loop robotic grasping

Human-in-the loop robotic systems have the potential to handle complex tasks in unstructured environments, by combining the cognitive skills of a human operator with autonomous tools and behaviors. Along these lines, we present a system for remote human-in-the-loop grasp execution. An operator uses a computer interface to visualize a physical robot and its surroundings, and a point-and-click mouse interface to command the robot. We implemented and analyzed four different strategies for performing grasping tasks, ranging from direct, real-time operator control of the end-effector pose, to autonomous motion and grasp planning that is simply adjusted or confirmed by the operator. Our controlled experiment (N=48) results indicate that people were able to successfully grasp more objects and caused fewer unwanted collisions when using the strategies with more autonomous assistance. We used an untethered robot over wireless communications, making our strategies applicable for remote, human-in-the-loop robotic applications.
Src Kinase Regulates the Activation of a Novel FGD-1-related Cdc42 Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factor in the Signaling Pathway from the Endothelin A Receptor to JNK*

Small GTPases act as binary switches by cycling between an inactive (GDP-bound) and an active (GTP-bound) state. Upon stimulation with extracellular signals, guanine-nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) stimulate the exchange of GDP to GTP to shift toward the active forms of small GTPases, recognizing the downstream targets. Here we show that KIAA0793, containing substantial sequence homology with the catalytic Dbl homology domain of the faciogenital dysplasia gene product (FGD1), is a specific GEF for Cdc42. We, therefore, tentatively named it FRG (FGD1-related Cdc42-GEF). Src kinase directly phosphorylates and activates FRG, as Vav family GEFs. Additionally, FRG is involved in the signaling pathway from the endothelin A receptor to c-Jun N-terminal kinase, resulting in the inhibition of cell motility. These results suggest that FRG is a member of Cdc42-GEF and plays an important role in the signaling pathway downstream of G protein-coupled receptors.
Where are the challenges in speaker diarization?

We present a study on the contributions to Diarization Error Rate by the various components of speaker diarization system. Following on from an earlier study by Huijbregts and Wooters, we extend into more areas and draw somewhat different conclusions. From a series of experiments combining real, oracle and ideal system components, we are able to conclude that the primary cause of error in diarization is the training of speaker models on impure data, something that is in fact done in every current system. We conclude by suggesting ways to improve future systems, including a focus on training the speaker models from smaller quantities of pure data instead of all the data, as is currently done.
A Role for the Surrounding Fruit Tissues in Preventing the Germination of Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) Seeds : A Consideration of the Osmotic Environment and Abscisic Acid.

During tomato seed development the endogenous abscisic acid (ABA) concentration peaks at about 50 d after pollination (DAP) and then declines at later stages (60-70 DAP) of maturation. The ABA concentration in the sheath tissue immediately surrounding the seed increases with time of development, whereas that of the locule declines. The water contents of the seed and fruit tissues are similar during early development (20-30 DAP), but decline in the seed tissues between 30 and 40 DAP. The water potential and the osmotic potential of the embryo are lower than that of the locular tissue after 35 DAP also. Seeds removed from the fruit at 30, 35, and 60 DAP and placed ex situ on 35 and 60 DAP sheath and locular tissue are prevented from germinating. Development of 30 DAP seeds is maintained or promoted by the ex situ fruit tissue with which they are in contact. Their germination is inhibited until subsequent transfer to water, and germination is normal, i.e. by radicle protrusion, and viable seedlings are produced, compared with 30 DAP seeds transferred directly to water; more of these seeds germinate, but by hypocotyl extension, and seedling viability is very poor. Isolated seeds at 35 and 60 DAP re-placed in contact with fruit tissues only germinate when transferred to water after 7 d. At 30 DAP, isolated seeds are insensitive to ABA at physiological concentrations in that they germinate as if on water, albeit by hypocotyl extension. At higher concentrations germination occurs by radicle protrusion. Osmoticum prevents germination, but there is some recovery upon subsequent transfer to water. Seeds at 35 DAP are very sensitive to ABA and exhibit little or no germination, even upon transfer to water. The response of the isolated seeds to osmoticum more closely approximates that to incubation on the ex situ fruit tissues than does their response to ABA. This is also the case for isolated 60 DAP seeds, whose germination is not prevented by ABA, but only by the osmoticum; these seeds are inhibited when in contact with ex situ fruit tissues also. It is proposed that the osmotic environment within the tissues of the tomato fruit plays a greater role than endogenous ABA in preventing precocious germination of the developing seeds.
Towards Robust PATR

We report on the initial stages of development of a robust parsing system, to be used as part of The Editor's Assistant, a program that detects and corrects textual errors and infelicities in the area of syntax and style. Our mechanism extends the standard PATR-II formalism by indexing the constraints on rules and abstracting away control of the application of these constraints. This allows independent specification of grouping and ordering of the constraints, which can improve the efficiency of processing, and in conjunction with information specifying whether constraints are necessary or optional, allows detection of syntactic errors.
Jammer Localization in Wireless Sensor Networks

Jamming style Denial-of-Service attack is the transmission of radio signals that disrupt communications by decreasing the signal to noise ratio. This kind of attack can be easily launched by jammer through either bypassing MAC-layer protocols or emitting a radio signal targeted at blocking a particular channel. In this paper, we consider the item of localizing a jammer in which little work has been done. First we explored the existing localization algorithms that have been used in wireless sensor networks. We then proposed a Geometry-Covering based Localization (GCL) algorithm, which utilizes the knowledge of computing geometry, especially the convex hull. Simulation results showed that GCL is able to achieve higher accuracy than Centroid Localization, and has the time complexity of O(nlogn), which is proper to sensor networks.
Phosphorylation of Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor 1 (p55) Protects Macrophages from Silica-induced Apoptosis*

Macrophages play a fundamental role in silicosis in part by removing silica particles and producing inflammatory mediators in response to silica. Tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) is a prominent mediator in silicosis. Silica induction of apoptosis in macrophages might be mediated by TNFα. However, TNFα also activates signal transduction pathways (NF-κB and AP-1) that rescue cells from apoptosis. Therefore, we studied the TNFα-mediated mechanisms that confer macrophage protection against the pro-apoptotic effects of silica. We will show that exposure to silica induced TNFα production by RAW 264.7 cells, but not by IC-21. Silica-induced activation of NF-κB and AP-1 was only observed in RAW 264.7 macrophages. ERK activation in response to silica exposure was only observed in RAW 264.7 macrophages, whereas activation of p38 phosphorylation was predominantly observed in IC-21 macrophages. No changes in JNK activity were observed in either cell line in response to silica exposure. Silica induced apoptosis in both macrophage cell lines, but the induction of apoptosis was significantly larger in IC-21 cells. Protection against apoptosis in RAW 264.7 cells in response to silica was mediated by enhanced NF-κB activation and ERK-mediated phosphorylation of the p55 TNFα receptor. Inhibition of these two protective mechanisms by specific pharmacological inhibitors or transfection of dominant negative mutants that inhibit IκBα or ERK phosphorylation significantly increased silica-induced apoptosis in RAW 264.7 macrophages. These data suggest that NF-κB activation and ERK-mediated phosphorylation of the p55 TNF receptor are important cell survival mechanisms in the macrophage response to silica exposure.
Self-compassion influences PTSD symptoms in the process of change in trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapies: a study of within-person processes

Although self-compassion is considered a promising change agent in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), no studies of this hypothesis exist. This study examined the within-person relationship of self-compassion components (self-kindness, common humanity, mindfulness, self-judgment, isolation, over-identification) and subsequent PTSD symptoms over the course of therapy. Method: PTSD patients (n = 65) were randomized to either standard prolonged exposure, which includes imaginal exposure (IE) to the traumatic memory, or modified prolonged exposure, where imagery re-scripting (IR) of the memory replaced IE as the imagery component of prolonged exposure in a 10 weeks residential program. They were assessed weekly on self-compassion and PTSD symptom measures. The centering method of detrending was used to separate the variance related to the within-person process of change over the course of treatment from between-person variance. Results: The self-compassion components self-kindness, self-judgment, isolation, and over-identification had a within-person effect on subsequent PTSD symptoms. These relationships were independent of therapy form. The within-person relationship between self-judgment and subsequent PTSD symptoms was stronger in patients with higher initial self-judgment. By contrast, there were few indications that within-person variations in PTSD symptoms predict subsequent self-compassion components. Conclusion: The results support the role of self-compassion components in maintaining PTSD and imply the recommendation to facilitate decrease of self-judgment, isolation, and over-identification and increase of self-kindness in the treatment of PTSD patients. The reduction of self-judgment appears to be most important, especially for patients with a high initial level of self-judgment.
Feedback control of prion formation and propagation by the ribosome‐associated chaperone complex

Cross‐beta fibrous protein aggregates (amyloids and amyloid‐based prions) are found in mammals (including humans) and fungi (including yeast), and are associated with both diseases and heritable traits. The Hsp104/70/40 chaperone machinery controls propagation of yeast prions. The Hsp70 chaperones Ssa and Ssb show opposite effects on [PSI+], a prion form of the translation termination factor Sup35 (eRF3). Ssb is bound to translating ribosomes via ribosome‐associated complex (RAC), composed of Hsp40‐Zuo1 and Hsp70‐Ssz1. Here we demonstrate that RAC disruption increases de novo prion formation in a manner similar to Ssb depletion, but interferes with prion propagation in a manner similar to Ssb overproduction. Release of Ssb into the cytosol in RAC‐deficient cells antagonizes binding of Ssa to amyloids. Thus, propagation of an amyloid formed because of lack of ribosome‐associated Ssb can be counteracted by cytosolic Ssb, generating a feedback regulatory circuit. Release of Ssb from ribosomes is also observed in wild‐type cells during growth in poor synthetic medium. Ssb is, in a significant part, responsible for the prion destabilization in these conditions, underlining the physiological relevance of the Ssb‐based regulatory circuit.
Explorer Structural Basis for the Inverted Repeat Preferences of mariner Transposases

General rights Copyright for the publications made accessible via the Edinburgh Research Explorer is retained by the author(s) and / or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing these publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. Take down policy The University of Edinburgh has made every reasonable effort to ensure that Edinburgh Research Explorer content complies with UK legislation. If you believe that the public display of this file breaches copyright please contact openaccess@ed.ac. uk providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Background: Transposases orchestrate movement of DNA transposons around and between genomes. Results: Structural and biochemical approaches are combined to dissect the DNA preferences of two mariner transposases in each step of transposition. Conclusion: Two active mariner transposases preferentially associate with and process one of their transposon ends. Significance: The efficiency of mariner DNA transposition can be improved by optimizing transposon end sequences.
Mobility episode detection from CDR's data using switching Kalman filter

The detection of stay-jump-and-moving movement episodes using only cellular data is a big challenge due to the nature of the data. In this article, we propose a method to automatically detect the movement episodes (stay-jump-and-moving) from sparsely sampled spatio-temporal data, in our case Call Detail Records (CDRs), using switching Kalman filter with a new integrated movement model and cellular coverage optimization approach. The algorithm is capable of estimating the movement episodes and classifying the trajectory sequences associated to a stay, a jump or a moving action. The result of this approach can be beneficial for applications using cellular data related to traffic management, mobility profiling, and semantic enrichment.
Object-oriented Markov random model for classification of high resolution satellite imagery based on wavelet transform

The high resolution satellite imagery (HRSI) have higher spatial resolution and less spectrum number, so there are some “object with different spectra, different objects with same spectrum” phenomena. The objective of this paper is to utilize the extracted features of high resolution satellite imagery (HRSI) obtained by the wavelet transform(WT) for segmentation. WT provides the spatial and spectral characteristics of a pixel along with its neighbors. The object-oriented Markov random Model in the wavelet domain is proposed in order to segment high resolution satellite imagery (HRSI). The proposed method is made up of three blocks: (1) WT-based feature extrcation.the aim of extraction of feature using WT for original spectral bands is to exploit the spatial and frequency information of the pixels; (2) over-segmentation object generation. Mean-Shift algorithm is employed to obtain over-segmentation objects; (3) classification based on Object-oriented Markov Random Model. Firstly the object adjacent graph (OAG) can be constructed on the over-segmentation objects. Secondly MRF model is easily defined on the OAG, in which WT-based feature of pixels are modeled in the feature field model and the neighbor system, potential cliques and energy functions of OAG are exploited in the labeling model. Experiments are conducted on one HRSI dataset-QuickBird images. We evaluate and compare the proposed approach with the well-known commercial software eCognition(object-based analysis approach) and Maximum Likelihood(ML) based pixels. Experimental results show that the proposed the method in this paper obviously outperforms the other methods.
An Efficient Weak Mutual Exclusion Algorithm

The Weak Mutual Exclusion (WME) is a recently proposed abstraction which, analogously to classical Distributed Mutual Exclusion (DME), permits to serialize concurrent accesses to a shared resource. Unlike DME, however, the WME abstraction regulates the access to a replicated shared resource and is solvable in the presence of less restrictive synchrony assumptions, i.e. in an asynchronous system augmented with an eventually perfect failure detector. This paper presents an efficient WME algorithm which outperforms previous solutions in terms of both communication latency and message complexity, while relying on minimal synchrony assumptions.
Lesion complexity drives age related cancer susceptibility in human mammary epithelial cells

Exposures to various DNA damaging agents can deregulate a wide array of critical mechanisms that maintain genome integrity. It is unclear how these processes are impacted by one's age at the time of exposure and the complexity of the DNA lesion. To clarify this, we employed radiation as a tool to generate simple and complex lesions in normal primary human mammary epithelial cells derived from women of various ages. We hypothesized that genomic instability in the progeny of older cells exposed to complex damages will be exacerbated by age-associated deterioration in function and accentuate age-related cancer predisposition. Centrosome aberrations and changes in stem cell numbers were examined to assess cancer susceptibility. Our data show that the frequency of centrosome aberrations proportionately increases with age following complex damage causing exposures. However, a dose-dependent increase in stem cell numbers was independent of both age and the nature of the insult. Phospho-protein signatures provide mechanistic clues to signaling networks implicated in these effects. Together these studies suggest that complex damage can threaten the genome stability of the stem cell population in older people. Propagation of this instability is subject to influence by the microenvironment and will ultimately define cancer risk in the older population.