Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Emotion regulation in psychosis

Objectives The emotional experience of individuals who experience psychosis has to a large extent been neglected, possibly in part due to the historical divide between the psychoses and neuroses. However recent research would suggest that individuals who experience psychosis experience emotional dysfunction to a similar extent as those with other mental health problems. The relatively new field of emotion regulation may provide insight into emotional dysfunction in psychosis and therefore the aim of this thesis is to better understand emotional experience and regulation in psychosis in comparison with other mental health problems and healthy volunteers. Design This study used a between-groups design and was based on an opportunity sample of patients attending clinical psychology departments.
Variation of DNA Fragmentation Levels During Density Gradient Sperm Selection for Assisted Reproduction Techniques

Abstract Predicting the outcome of in vitro fertilization (IVF)/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is one main goal of the present research on assisted reproduction. To understand whether density gradient centrifugation (DGC), used to select sperm, can affect sperm DNA integrity and impact pregnancy rate (PR), we prospectively evaluated sperm DNA fragmentation (sDF) by TUNEL/PI, before and after DGC. sDF was studied in a cohort of 90 infertile couples the same day of IVF/ICSI treatment. After DGC, sDF increased in 41 samples (Group A, median sDF value: 29.25% [interquartile range, IQR: 16.01–41.63] in pre- and 60.40% [IQR: 32.92–93.53] in post-DGC) and decreased in 49 (Group B, median sDF value: 18.84% [IQR: 13.70–35.47] in pre- and 8.98% [IQR: 6.24–15.58] in post-DGC). PR was 17.1% and 34.4% in Group A and B, respectively (odds ratio [OR]: 2.58, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.95–7.04, P = 0.056). After adjustment for female factor, female and male age and female BMI, the estimated OR increased to 3.12 (95% CI: 1.05–9.27, P = 0.041). According to the subgroup analysis for presence/absence of female factor, heterogeneity in the association between the Group A and B and PR emerged (OR: 4.22, 95% CI: 1.16–15.30 and OR: 1.53, 95% CI: 0.23–10.40, respectively, for couples without, n = 59, and with, n = 31, female factor). This study provides the first evidence that the DGC procedure produces an increase in sDF in about half of the subjects undergoing IVF/ICSI, who then show a much lower probability of pregnancy, raising concerns about the safety of this selection procedure. Evaluation of sDF before and after DGC configures as a possible new prognostic parameter of pregnancy outcome in IVF/ICSI. Alternative sperm selection strategies are recommended for those subjects who undergo the damage after DGC.
GeoPal: Friend Spam Detection in Social Networks Using Private Location Proofs

Friend spam, adversarial invitations sent to social network users, exposes victims to a suite of privacy, spear phishing and malware vulnerabilities. In this paper, we use the location history of users to detect friend spam. We posit that the user trust in friends is associated with their co-location frequency. We exploit this hypothesis to introduce GeoPal, a framework that carefully accesses the potentially sensitive location history of users to privately prove their past location claims, and to privately compute and update fuzzy co-location affinities with other users. We build GeoPal on PLP, a protocol we develop to privately collect proofs of user past locations. We confirm our hypothesis through a user study with 68 participants: 57% and 70% of the friends never met in person are not remembered and are not talked to, respectively, by the participants. In contrast, 86% of the friends met daily or weekly are either family, close or regular friends. We highlight the relevance of friend spam: 75% of the participants have at least one friend whom they do not recall. We show that GeoPal is practical: a Nexus 5 can process more thank 20K location proofs per second.
From Requirements to code: an Architecture-centric Approach for producing Quality Systems

When engineering complex and distributed software and hardware systems (increasingly used in many sectors, such as manufacturing, aerospace, transportation, communication, energy, and health-care), quality has become a big issue, since failures can have economics consequences and can also endanger human life. Model-based specifications of a component-based system permit to explicitly model the structure and behaviour of components and their integration. In particular Software Architectures (SA) has been advocated as an effective means to produce quality systems. In this chapter by combining different technologies and tools for analysis and development, we propose an architecture-centric model-driven approach to validate required properties and to generate the system code. Functional requirements are elicited and used for identifying expected properties the architecture shall express. The architectural compliance to the properties is formally demonstrated, and the produced architectural model is used to automatically generate the Java code. Suitable transformations assure that the code is conforming to both structural and behavioural SA constraints. This chapter describes the process and discusses how some existing tools and languages can be exploited to support the approach.
Efficient Hierarchical Refinement and Clustering for Radiosity in Complex Environments

Generating accurate radiosity solutions of very complex environments is a time‐consuming problem. We present a rapid hierarchical algorithm that enables such solutions to be computed quickly and efficiently. Firstly, a new technique for bounding the error in the transfer of radiosity between surfaces is discussed, incorporating bounds on form factors, visibility, irradiance, and reflectance over textured surfaces. This technique is then applied to the problem of bounding radiosity transfer between clusters of surfaces, leading to a fast, practical clustering algorithm that builds on the previous work of Sillion1. Volumes are used to represent clusters of small surfaces, but unlike previous algorithms, the orientations of surfaces inside each cluster are accounted for in both the error bound and radiosity transfer. This enables an accurate solution to be generated very efficiently, and results are presented demonstrating the performance of the algorithm on a variety of complex models, one containing almost a quarter of a million initial surfaces.
Perceptions of Ethical and Unethical Behavior in Recreation Research

Abstract This research explored selected ethical issues related to research and publication within the Recreation and Leisure Service profession as perceived by journal editors and reviewers. A convenience sample of 40 journal editors and reviewers completed a 31-item survey assessing 21 scenarios addressing ethical issues in research and publishing. Respondents were requested to indicate if the scenario represented: (a) ethical practice, (b) questionable practice, (c) unethical practice, or (d) whether a scenario was not an ethical issue. Of the 21 scenarios analyzed, two were considered ethical, six unethical, and one not an ethical issue by a majority of respondents. Analysis of the ethical status of the remaining 13 scenarios indicated slight to considerable perceptual differences among the sample. Demographic data indicated that a majority of respondents held a professional position as an academician, and that a plethora served in an editorial capacity for a professional journal for a minimum of 10 years, been forced to question unethical research or publication practice, and sought advice on whether an action/issue was ethical or unethical.
Rectilinear p-piercing problems

In this paper we consider the p-piercing problem in which we are given a collection of n objects and we wish to determine whether there exists a set of p points that intersect each of the given objects. In particular we are looking at the rectilinear p-piercing problem where we are given a set Z of n axis-parallel rectangles and a positive integer p and we wish to determine whether there exists a set of p points that intersect each rectangle in Z. Several new results are presented in this paper. An O(n log n) algorithm is proposed for the 4-piercing and 5piercing of axis-parallel rectangles in 2D. We also investigate the 3-piercing, 4-piercing and 5-piercing problems of axisparallel boxes in 3D and propose O(n), 0(n2) and 0(n3) algorithms respectively. The p-piercing problems are closely related to the pcenter problems and thus the results for the p —piercing problem help in improving the existing results for the rectilinear p-center problem for p z 5 to 0(np-4 log n).
Fast and accurate 3D gesture recognition interface

A video-based gesture recognition system can serve as a natural and accurate 3D user input device. We describe a two-camera system, that recognizes three gesture classes: two static and one dynamic. For one of these gestures (pointing), the system estimates five parameters of 3D pose: position and pointing direction. The recognition is robust, independent of the user and fast (60 Hz), and the estimated pose is very stable. We describe some of the interface applications that demonstrate the benefits of the system: control of a video game, piloting a virtual reality fly-through, and interaction with a 3D scene editor.
Update on vesicovaginal fistula: A systematic review

ABSTRACT Objective: To conduct a systematic review of the literature on vesicovaginal fistula (VVF), including reporting on the aetiology, in both developed and underdeveloped countries; diagnosis; intraoperative prevention; and management. Methods: We conducted a systematic review of the literature on VVF through the PubMed and the Cochrane Library according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. The search was conducted from 1985 to 2018 in English, using the keywords ‘fistula’ and ‘vesicovaginal fistula’. Prospective studies were preferred; however, retrospective studies and case reports were used when no prospective studies were available. All authors’ extracted relevant data related to the proposed review of VVF and carefully examined collected articles. Results: In all, 116 relevant articles were identified and 43 articles were included in this systematic review. The outcome of surgical reconstruction was >90%, but the outcome may be suboptimal in radiotherapy (RT)-induced VVFs. Absolute indications for an abdominal approach included: ureteric involvement, the need for concomitant bladder augmentation, severe vaginal stenosis, and an inability to tolerate the dorsal lithotomy position (e.g. due to muscular spasticity). Typically, it was recommended to wait at least 3 months to allow the inflammatory response to subside before definitive surgery. Early fistula repair can be performed in the absence of infection and in patients who have not received pelvic RT. Conclusion: VVF is rare in developed countries. Surgical treatment is the primary method of repair. The outcome of surgical reconstruction exceeds 90%, but the outcome may be suboptimal in RT-induced VVFs. Abbreviations: PRISMA: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses; RT: radiotherapy; (S)UI: (stress) urinary incontinence; UVF: ureterovaginal fistula; VVF: vesicovaginal fistula
Lipopolysaccharide Induces Degradation of Connexin43 in Rat Astrocytes via the Ubiquitin-Proteasome Proteolytic Pathway

The astrocytic syncytium plays a critical role in maintaining the homeostasis of the brain through the regulation of gap junction intercellular communication (GJIC). Changes to GJIC in response to inflammatory stimuli in astrocytes may have serious effects on the brain. We have previously shown that lipopolysaccharide (LPS) reduces connexin43 (Cx43) expression and GJIC in cultured rat astrocytes via a toll-like receptor 4-mediated signaling pathway. In the present study, treatment of astrocytes with LPS resulted in a significant increase in levels of the phosphorylated forms of stress-activated protein kinase/c-Jun N-terminal kinase (SAPK/JNK) -1, -2, and -3 for up to 18 h. An increase in nuclear transcription factor NF-κB levels was also observed after 8 h of LPS treatment and was sustained for up to 18 h. The LPS-induced decrease in Cx43 protein levels and inhibition of GJIC were blocked by the SAPK/JNK inhibitor SP600125, but not by the NF-κB inhibitor BAY11-7082. Following blockade of de novo protein synthesis by cycloheximide, LPS accelerated Cx43 degradation. Moreover, the LPS-induced downregulation of Cx43 was blocked following inhibition of 26S proteasome activity using the reversible proteasome inhibitor MG132 or the irreversible proteasome inhibitor lactacystin. Immunoprecipitation analyses revealed an increased association of Cx43 with both ubiquitin and E3 ubiquitin ligase Nedd4 in astrocytes after LPS stimulation for 6 h and this effect was prevented by SP600125. Taken together, these results suggest that LPS stimulation leads to downregulation of Cx43 expression and GJIC in rat astrocytes by activation of SAPK/JNK and the ubiquitin-proteasome proteolytic pathway.
The cluster Abell 780: an optical view

Context. The Abell 780 cluster, better known as the Hydra A cluster, has been thouroughly analyzed in X-rays. However, little is known about its optical properties. Aims. We propose to derive the galaxy luminosity function (GLF) in this apparently relaxed cluster and to search for possible environmental effects by comparing the GLFs in various regions and by looking at the galaxy distribution at large scale around Abell 780. Methods. Our study is based on optical images obtained with the ESO 2.2m telescope and WFI camera in the B and R bands, covering a total region of 67.22 $\times$ 32.94 arcmin 2 , or 4.235 $\times$ 2.075 Mpc 2 for a cluster redshift of 0.0539. Results. In a region of 500 kpc radius around the cluster center, the GLF in the R band shows a double structure, with a broad and flat bright part and a flat faint end that can be fit by a power law with an index α ~ - 0.85 ± 0.12 in the 20.25 ≤ R ≤ 21.75 interval. If we divide this 500 kpc radius region in north+south or east+west halves, we find no clear difference between the GLFs in these smaller regions. No obvious large-scale structure is apparent within 5 Mpc from the cluster, based on galaxy redshifts and magnitudes collected from the NED database in a much larger region than that covered by our data, suggesting that there is no major infall of material in any preferential direction. However, the Serna-Gerbal method reveals a gravitationally bound structure of 27 galaxies, which includes the cD, and of a more strongly gravitationally bound structure of 14 galaxies. Conclusions. These optical results agree with the overall relaxed structure of Abell 780 previously derived from X-ray analyses.
TARDIS: Task-level Access Race Detection by Intersecting Sets

A data race detector aids in the debugging of parallel programs, and may help to ensure determinism in a language that also excludes synchronization races. Most existing race detectors use shadow memory to track references to shared data on the fly. An attractive alternative, particularly in languages with constrained, split-merge parallelism, is to record access sets in each concurrent task, and intersect these sets at merge points. In comparison to shadow-memory based race detectors, access-set based detection has the potential to significantly improve locality and reduce per-access overhead. We have implemented an access-set based data race detector, TARDIS, in the context of a deterministic parallel Ruby extension. TARDIS runs in parallel. For our deterministic language, it is also precise: it finds all data races for a given program on a given input. On a set of six parallel benchmarks, TARDIS is slightly slower than the stateof-the-art SPD3 shadow-memory based race detector in two cases, but faster in the other four—by as much as 3.75 . Its memory consumption is also comparable to—and often better than—that of SPD3. Given these encouraging results, we suggest directions for future development of access-set based data race detectors.
Mechanisms for autophagy modulation by isoprenoid biosynthetic pathway inhibitors in multiple myeloma cells

Multiple myeloma (MM) is characterized by the production of monoclonal protein (MP). We have shown previously that disruption of the isoprenoid biosynthetic pathway (IBP) causes a block in MP secretion through a disruption of Rab GTPase activity, leading to an enhanced unfolded protein response and subsequent apoptosis in MM cells. Autophagy is induced by cellular stressors including nutrient deprivation and ER stress. IBP inhibitors have been shown to have disparate effects on autophagy. Here we define the mechanisms underlying the differential effects of IBP inhibitors on autophagic flux in MM cells utilizing specific pharmacological inhibitors. We demonstrate that IBP inhibition induces a net increase in autophagy as a consequence of disruption of isoprenoid biosynthesis which is not recapitulated by direct geranylgeranyl transferase inhibition. IBP inhibitor-induced autophagy is a cellular defense mechanism as treatment with the autophagy inhibitor bafilomycin A1 enhances the cytotoxic effects of GGPP depletion, but not geranylgeranyl transferase inhibition. Immunofluorescence microscopy studies revealed that IBP inhibitors disrupt ER to Golgi trafficking of monoclonal light chain protein and that this protein is not a substrate for alternative degradative pathways such as aggresomes and autophagosomes. These studies support further development of specific GGTase II inhibitors as anti-myeloma agents.
GroEL Traps Dimeric and Monomeric Unfolding Intermediates of Citrate Synthase*

The prokaryotic molecular chaperone GroE is increasingly expressed under heat shock conditions. GroE protects cells by preventing the irreversible aggregation of thermally unfolding proteins. Here, the interaction of GroE with thermally unfolding citrate synthase (CS) was dissected into several steps that occur before irreversible aggregation, and the conformational states of the unfolding protein recognized by GroEL were determined. The kinetic analysis of CS unfolding revealed the formation of inactive dimeric and monomeric intermediates. GroEL binds both intermediates without affecting the unfolding pathway. Furthermore, the dimeric intermediates are not protected against dissociation in the presence of GroEL. Monomeric CS is stably associated with GroEL, thus preventing further irreversible unfolding steps and subsequent aggregation. During refolding, monomeric CS is encapsulated inside the cavity of GroEL·GroES complexes. Taken together our results suggest that for protection of cells against heat stress both the ability of GroEL to interact with a large variety of nonnative conformations of proteins and the active, GroES-dependent refolding of highly unfolded species are important.
UT DALLAS CLASSIFYING ANONYMIZED DATA

Together with the anonymization toolbox, we also release the source code of our recent study on classifying anonymized data [1]. In this study, we proposed methods for building distance-based classification models over anonymized data. More specifically, investigated methods included instance-based classifiers (also called k-nearest neighbor classification), and support vector machines (SVMs). To implement anonymized versions of these models, we extended the IB1 classifier (i.e., 1-nearest neighbor) of the WEKA data mining library [2] and Java version of the LibSMV library for SVM classification [3]. Most research in the area assume that classification models will be both trained and tested over anonymized data. However, as described in [1], various other alternatives are possible in real-life applications. For example, the model might be built on original data and queried with anonymized data or vice verse. Our experiments also focus on these distinct test scenarios. Below we provide detailed information on how our experimental results can be re-generated using the Census− income dataset [4] or any other dataset. In section 1, we discuss shared parameters of our implementation of IB1 and SVM classifiers over anonymized datasets. Then section 2 provides the details on IB1 classification and section 3 on SVM classification.
A realistic distributed storage system: the rack model

In a realistic distributed storage environment, storage nodes are usually placed in racks, a metallic support designed to accommodate electronic equipment. It is known that the communication (bandwidth) cost between nodes which are in the same rack is much lower than between nodes which are in different racks. In this paper, a new model, where the storage nodes are placed in two racks, is proposed and analyzed. Moreover, the two-rack model is generalized to any number of racks. In this model, the storage nodes have different repair costs depending on the rack where they are placed. A threshold function, which minimizes the amount of stored data per node and the bandwidth needed to regenerate a failed node, is shown. This threshold function generalizes the ones given for previous distributed storage models. The tradeoff curve obtained from this threshold function is compared with the ones obtained from the previous models, and it is shown that this new model outperforms the previous ones in terms of repair cost.
Projecting sensations to external objects: evidence from skin conductance response

Subjects perceived touch sensations as arising from a table (or a rubber hand) when both the table (or the rubber hand) and their own real hand were repeatedly tapped and stroked in synchrony with the real hand hidden from view. If the table or rubber hand was then ‘injured’, subjects displayed a strong skin conductance response (SCR) even though nothing was done to the real hand. Sensations could even be projected to anatomically impossible locations. The illusion was much less vivid, as indicated by subjective reports and SCR, if the real hand was simultaneously visible during stroking, or if the real hand was hidden but touched asynchronously. The fact that the illusion could be significantly diminished when the real hand was simultaneously visible suggests that the illusion and associated SCRs were due to perceptual assimilation of the table (or rubber hand) into one's body image rather than associative conditioning. These experiments demonstrate the malleability of body image and the brain's remarkable capacity for detecting statistical correlations in the sensory input.
Effects of economic interactions on credit risk

We study a credit risk model which captures effects of economic interactions on a firm's default probability. Economic interactions are represented as a functionally defined graph, and the existence of both cooperative, and competitive, business relations is taken into account. We provide an analytic solution of the model in a limit where the number of business relations of each company is large, but the overall fraction of the economy with which a given company interacts may be small. While the effects of economic interactions are relatively weak in typical (most probable) scenarios, they are pronounced in situations of economic stress, and thus lead to a substantial fattening of the tails of loss distributions in large loan portfolios. This manifests itself in a pronounced enhancement of the Value at Risk computed for interacting economies in comparison with their non-interacting counterparts.