Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Detection and Organ-Specific Ablation of Neuroendocrine Cells by Synaptophysin Locus-Based BAC Cassette in Transgenic Mice

The role of cells of the diffuse neuroendocrine system in development and maintenance of individual organs and tissues remains poorly understood. Here we identify a regulatory region sufficient for accurate in vivo expression of synaptophysin (SYP), a common marker of neuroendocrine differentiation, and report generation of Tg(Syp-EGFPloxP-DTA)147Ayn (SypELDTA) mice suitable for flexible organ-specific ablation of neuroendocrine cells. These mice express EGFP and diphtheria toxin fragment A (DTA) in SYP positive cells before and after Cre-loxP mediated recombination, respectively. As a proof of principle, we have crossed SypELDTA mice with EIIA-Cre and PB-Cre4 mice. EIIA-Cre mice express Cre recombinase in a broad range of tissues, while PB-Cre4 mice specifically express Cre recombinase in the prostate epithelium. Double transgenic EIIA-Cre; SypELDTA embryos exhibited massive cell death in SYP positive cells. At the same time, PB-Cre4; SypELDTA mice showed a substantial decrease in the number of neuroendocrine cells and associated prostate hypotrophy. As no increase in cell death and/or Cre-loxP mediated recombination was observed in non-neuroendocrine epithelium cells, these results suggest that neuroendocrine cells play an important role in prostate development. High cell type specificity of Syp locus-based cassette and versatility of generated mouse model should assure applicability of these resources to studies of neuroendocrine cell functions in various tissues and organs.
Identification and targeting of cancer stem cells

Cancer stem cells (CSC) represent malignant cell subsets in hierarchically organized tumors, which are selectively capable of tumor initiation and self‐renewal and give rise to bulk populations of non‐tumorigenic cancer cell progeny through differentiation. Robust evidence for the existence of prospectively identifiable CSC among cancer bulk populations has been generated using marker‐specific genetic lineage tracking of molecularly defined cancer subpopulations in competitive tumor development models. Moreover, novel mechanisms and relationships have been discovered that link CSC to cancer therapeutic resistance and clinical tumor progression. Importantly, proof‐of‐principle for the potential therapeutic utility of the CSC concept has recently been provided by demonstrating that selective killing of CSC through a prospective molecular marker can inhibit tumor growth. Herein, we review these novel and translationally relevant research developments and discuss potential strategies for CSC‐targeted therapy in the context of resistance mechanisms and molecular pathways preferentially operative in CSC.
Country image in the context of European Union membership: the Turkish case

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the opinions of owners/managers of Turkish furniture firms on country image effects of expected improvements in Turkey's democratic, economic, and political life resulting from Turkey's likely EU membership.Design/methodology/approach – Survey‐based empirical data are analyzed via multiple regression analysis.Findings – The paper finds that political and economic influences of EU negotiations will improve country image, whereas democratic influences will not have a significant effect.Research limitations/implications – The study is conducted in one industry and findings may not be generalizable. As opinions on country image are affected by discussions in the media or temporary situations between EU countries and Turkey, the study should be repeated at regular intervals. Official bodies need to make sure that reforms made in the democratic arena are well communicated to business communities. Also, business communities can promote implementation of democ.
Run-time Instruction Replication for permanent and soft error mitigation in VLIW processors

Error occurrence in embedded systems has significantly increased. Although inherent resource redundancy exist in processors, such as in Very Long Instruction Word (VLIW) processors, it is not always used due to low application's Instruction Level Parallelism (ILP). Approaches benefit the additional resources to provide fault tolerance. When permanent and soft errors coexist, spare units have to be used or the executed program has to be modified through self-repair or by using several stored versions. However, these solutions introduce high area overhead for the additional resources, time overhead for the execution of the repair algorithm and storage overhead of the multiversioning. To address these limitations, a hardware mechanism is proposed which at run-time replicates the instructions and schedules them at the idle slots considering the resource constraints. If a resource becomes faulty, the proposed approach efficiently rebinds both the original and replicated instructions during execution. In this way, the area overhead is reduced, as no spare resources are used, whereas time and storage overhead are not required. Results show up to 49% performance gain over existing techniques.
Recognizing Human Action at a Distance in Video by Key Poses

In this paper, we propose a graph theoretic technique for recognizing human actions at a distance in a video by modeling the visual senses associated with poses. The proposed methodology follows a bag-of-word approach that starts with a large vocabulary of poses (visual words) and derives a refined and compact codebook of key poses using centrality measure of graph connectivity. We introduce a “meaningful” threshold on centrality measure that selects key poses for each action type. Our contribution includes a novel pose descriptor based on histogram of oriented optical flow evaluated in a hierarchical fashion on a video frame. This pose descriptor combines both pose information and motion pattern of the human performer into a multidimensional feature vector. We evaluate our methodology on four standard activity-recognition datasets demonstrating the superiority of our method over the state-of-the-art.
Dominant Discourses and Teacher Education: Current curriculum or curriculum remembered?

Research findings from a longitudinal, classroom‐based study of Bachelor of Education students in Tasmania suggest that three dominant discourses of schooling are powerful shapers of pre‐service teachers' pedagogical decisions in relation to the teaching of SOSE (studies of society and environment). These discourses appear to inform teaching practices and contribute to uncritical SOSE learning experiences for children. The findings from this naturalistic research grounded in teacher education suggest that teacher preparation programs should encourage far greater critical reflection on curriculum documents. In particular, the findings highlight tensions for teacher educators in selecting between experiential and/or interdisciplinary, critical approaches to teacher education. These issues are illustrated in the teaching of SOSE as locality focused knowledge. What this means for the selection of fieldwork sites for children's learning and teacher education pedagogies is explored in this paper.
Preliminary neuropsychological findings in individuals at high genetic risk for schizophrenia

Aims: An understanding of baseline cognitive function in individuals at high genetic risk for schizophrenia could provide important information about the neurodevelopmental course of the illness and assist with early detection. In an effort to identify potential markers for the illness, this study investigates domains of neuropsychological functioning in a sample of young individuals at risk for developing schizophrenia.
A Model of Distributional Handing Interaction for a Mobile Robot

This paper reports our research on developing a model for a robot distributing flyers to pedestrians. The difficulty is that potential receivers are pedestrians who are not necessarily cooperative; thus, the robot needs to appropriately plan its motion, making it is easy and non-obstructive for potential receivers to receive the flyers. In order to establish the model, we observed human interactions on distributional handing in the real world. We analyzed and evaluated different handing methods that people perform, and established a model for a robot to perform natural handing. The proposed model is implemented into a humanoid robot and is confirmed as effective in a field experimen
LINGUISTICS: THE CAMBRIDGE SURVEY: VOLUME 4. LANGUAGE: THE SOCIO-CULTURAL CONTEXT. Frederick H. Newmeyer (Ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. Pp. x + 292. $39.50.

interpreting results. Particu-larly useful are the profiles of figures for differential diagnosis of the types of aphasia. Paradis describes the language behavior of each group briefly, following this with a clear graph of how each group can be expected to perform on the subtests of the BAT. A succinct glossary of terms is offered for readers unfamiliar with the terminology used throughout the text. In providing comparable tests across many languages, Paradis has contributed an important instrument on which diagnosis, therapy, and research can be based. In the field of L2 studies book will be most useful to scholars interested in the broad range of acquisition and performance questions that are answerable through research on brain-damaged patients.
Absorption of Isobutane ( R600 a ) in Lubricant Oil

A detailed knowledge of refrigerant absorption in refrigerant-oil mixtures is important for understanding the behavior of hermetic compressors under transient conditions. In this work, we study the absorption of R-600a through the free surface of a stagnant layer of alkylbenzene lubricant oil in a closed system. Experiments were conducted in a transparent test section that enables visualization of the absorption process. The system pressure and the temperatures of the vapor, liquid and interface regions were recorded as a function time for ambient temperatures of 25, 40, 55 and 70°C. The data were used to validate a transient mass diffusion model that takes into account the departure from ideal solution behavior.
An ultra-sensitive piezoelectric-on-silicon flapping mode MEMS lateral field magnetometer

We experimentally demonstrate the sensing of lateral magnetic fields using the piezoelectric effect in a resonant MEMS thin-film piezoelectric-on-silicon (TPoS) CMOS-compatible magnetometer. The proposed out-of-plane flapping resonant mode offers strong electromechanical coupling through the piezoelectric Aluminum Nitride (AlN) transducer to enhance the responsivity of the device while operating at atmospheric pressure. The responsivity is here defined as the ratio of output motional current to the external magnetic field strength, normalized over the input excitation current of the device. We have experimentally measured a responsivity of 12156 ppm/T while operating the device at a resonant frequency of 159 kHz, despite even an air-damped quality factor of 526 under ambient conditions.
Principles, Techniques and Perspectives on Optimization and HCI

We propose a workshop on the rapidly emerging topic of optimization and computational design in human-computer interaction (HCI). The workshop will tackle the following perspectives: defining and eliciting optimality criteria, optimizing at scale, optimization and user models, optimization for safety, optimization and design practice, optimization and users' perception of performance, and critical perspectives.
Software-extended coherent shared memory: performance and cost

Evaluates the tradeoffs involved in the design of the software-extended memory system of Alewife, a multiprocessor architecture that implements coherent shared memory through a combination of hardware and software mechanisms. For each block of memory, Alewife implements between zero and five coherence directory pointers in hardware and allows software to handle requests when the pointers are exhausted. The software includes a flexible coherence interface that facilitates protocol software implementation. This interface is indispensable for conducting experiments and has proven important for implementing enhancements to the basic system. Simulations of a number of applications running on a complete system (with up to 256 processors) demonstrate that the hybrid architecture with five pointers achieves between 71% and 100% of full-map directory performance at a constant cost per processing element. The authors experience in designing the software protocol interfaces and experiments with a variety of system configurations lead to a detailed understanding of the interaction of the hardware and software components of the system. The results show that a small amount of shared memory hardware provides adequate performance: One-pointer systems reach between 42% and 100% of full-map performance on parallel benchmarks. A software only directory architecture with no hardware pointers has lower performance but minimal cost. <<ETX>>
Information Acquisition in Minimal Window Search

The alpha-beta tree search algorithm can be improved through the use of minimal windows. Branches are searched with a minimal window [a,a+l] with the expectancy that this will show the sub-tree to be inferior. If not, then that sub-tree must be re-searched. In this paper, several methods are discussed to minimize the cost of the re-search. Two new algorithms, INS and PNS, are introduced and their performance on practical trees is shown to be comparable to SSS*, but with considerably smaller overhead.
Ieee Transactions on Information Forensics and Security 1 Securing First-hop Data Provenance for Bodyworn Devices Using Wireless Link Fingerprints

—Wireless bodyworn sensing devices are fast becoming popular for fitness, sports training and personalized healthcare applications. Securing data generated by these devices is essential if they are to be integrated into the current health infrastructure and employed in medical applications. In this paper, we propose a mechanism to secure data provenance for these devices by exploiting spatio-temporal characteristics of the wireless channel that these devices use for communication. Our solution enables two parties to generate closely matching 'link fingerprints' which uniquely associate a data session with a wireless link such that a third party can later verify the details of the transaction, particularly the wireless link on which the data was transmitted. These fingerprints are very hard for an eavesdropper to forge, they are lightweight compared to traditional provenance mechanisms, and enable interesting security properties such as accountability, non-repudiation, and resist man-in-the-middle attacks. We validate our technique with experiments using bodyworn sensors in scenarios approximating actual device deployment, and present some extensions which reduce energy consumption. We believe this is a promising first step towards using wireless-link characteristics for data provenance in body area networks.
The Estimation of Vehicular Velocity as a Function of Visual Stimulation

This study reports an investigation of the ability of subjects to estimate the velocity of the vehicle in which they travel. The experiment restricted sensory stimulation to the visual modality. The factor of interest is locus of retinal stimulation. Velocity and acceleration were the other variables. Time of observation was held constant to one second. Results show that the locus of retinal stimulation is significant in determining the accuracy of the estimates. Peripheral visual stimulation results in more accurate estimates of velocity than frontal visual stimulation. The acceleration of the vehicle alters the results.
Relating to Our Work, Accounting for Our Selves: The Autobiographical Imperative in Teaching About Difference

The central thesis in this essay is the need to get more personal and more political in our thinking and especially our teaching about interculturality. Offering a ‘radical’ critique of the agenda of conventional Intercultural Communication scholarship, I draw my inspiration from the conceptual and philosophical roots of the field, while also proposing political and pedagogical routes for the future. In addition to ideas from feminist literary theory, philosophy, modern history and psychoanalysis, I am especially concerned to exploit the striking points of contact between the fields of Intercultural Communication, critical pedagogy and progressive theology. The stance I take towards interculturality upholds the role of the experiential and autobiographical (i.e. the local and personal) in engaging, both as scholars and as everyday communicators, with a more broadly, critically conceived notion of difference.
An exploration of aspects of language proficiency and Algebra learning

We have attempted to investigate whether 3 cognitive components of language proficiencymetalinguistic awareness of symbol, syntax, and ambiguity-are associated with students' success in learning the notation of algebra. Pencil-and-paper tests were given to assess students' metalinguistic awareness and their ability to use algebraic notation. In a total sample of more than 1500 students, aged 11 to 15, who were in their 1st to 4th years of algebra learning, we found that very few students with low metalinguistic awareness scores achieved high algebra scores. We discuss implications of this finding for the school algebra curriculum.
Adaptive Kalman Filter Based Freeway Travel time Estimation

Recent advances in vehicle-based surveillance technologies using Global Positioning Systems (GPS) promise high accuracy traffic information; however, their performance in field is insufficient yet mostly due to the lack of the number of probe vehicles. Meantime, the most prevailing traffic surveillance system in the world is the conventional inductive loop detector system although this system often fails to provide accurate measures. This paper discusses how to improve travel time estimates by incorporating data from a small sample of probe vehicles, and proposes an Adaptive Kalman Filter (AKF) based method that can dynamically estimate noise statistics of the system model by adapting to the real-time data. The proposed algorithm is evaluated under both recurrent and non-recurrent congestion using a microscopic simulation model, PARAMICS. The evaluation results show that the proposed algorithm significantly improves section travel time estimates compared to the cases when a single data source was used. Some sensitivity analyses show the robustness and applicability of the method by showing its capability working with the erratic point detector data at different freeway sections, and under different probe rates.
Investigating Samples Representativeness for an Online Experiment in Java Code Search

Context: The results of large-scale studies in software engineering can be significantly impacted by samples' representativeness. Diverse population sources can be used to support sampling for such studies. Goal: To compare two samples, one from the crowdsourcing platform Mechanical Turk and another from the professional social network LinkedIn, in an online experiment for evaluating the relevance of Java code snippets to programming tasks. Method: To compare the samples (subjects' experience, programming habits) and experimental results concerned with three experimental trials. Results: LinkedIn's subjects present significantly higher levels of experience in Java programming and programming in general than Mechanical Turk's subjects. The experimental results revealed a significant difference between samples and suggested that LinkedIn's subjects were more pessimistic than Mechanical Turk's subjects despite a high level consistency in the experimental results. Conclusion: The combined use of sources of sampling can bring benefits to large scale studies in software engineering, especially when heterogeneity is desired in the population. Thus, it can be useful to investigate and characterize alternative sources of sampling for performing large-scale studies in software engineering.
The Imperative of Responsibility: In Search of an Ethics for the Technological Age

Hans Jonas here rethinks the foundations of ethics in light of the awesome transformations wrought by modern technology: the threat of nuclear war, ecological ravage, genetic engineering, and the like. Though informed by a deep reverence for human life, Jonas's ethics is grounded not in religion but in metaphysics, in a secular doctrine that makes explicit man's duties toward himself, his posterity, and the environment. Jonas offers an assessment of practical goals under present circumstances, ending with a critique of modern utopianism.
Exploring the effects of organizational change on an organizational subculture: A qualitative analysis

This investigation utilized the grounded theory perspective to analyze the effects of a friendly merger on an organization's culture, specifically focusing on the way communication effected and was effected by the similarities and difference between the pre and post merger cultures. Data obtained via focus group interviews revealed that the merger resulted in cultural changes. The most significant change was the development of a subculture consisting of new employees. Due to insufficient communication opportunities and poor planning, new organization members did not receive information necessary for assimilation (i.e., history of, their roles in, or the goals of the organization. As a result, employees developed different meanings for organizational messages, as well as different values, beliefs and assumptions based on their subcultural membership. The researchers concluded that in order to preserve an organizational culture formal steps must be taken to educate new members about the organization's culture. In addition, employees who carry cultural knowledge must have time and opportunities to interact with new employees.
Spaces to foster and sustain innovation: Towards a conceptual framework

This paper studies the influence of the physical space in the performance of innovation laboratories. As there is a strong emergence of new innovation laboratories all over the world, past experiences have shown that this type of projects are at risk to not succeed in their goals. The physical space is considered as a conscious asset to improve the innovation outcomes that must be carefully designed according with the strategic goals of the project. In the present paper, at first five frameworks from the literature are identified and compared. Then, based on both literature and authors' experience an updated framework is proposed as basis for a future guidance tool for researchers and practitioners aiming to adapt or to start a new laboratory.
To Evaluate the Professional Culinary Competence of Hospitality Students

The objective of this study was to evaluate the professional competence in culinary skills of hospitality students. A questionnaire of 37 items was used in normal scaling. Using factor analysis, we collected the construct of competence for five constructs, including culinary basic knowledge, culinary innovation, culinary basic skills, culinary management, and culinary attitude. The construct of competence that ranked the highest, based on students' self-evaluation, was culinary attitude. Second was culinary basic knowledge. Culinary innovation was the lowest of all the constructs of competence. Males and seniors had significantly higher scores in culinary management. Students who were culinary certified had significantly higher scores in culinary basic knowledge and culinary attitude. Regression analysis showed that culinary attitude was a positive construct, but other constructs were unrelated to the career choice of a chef.