Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Meanings in motion and faces: Developmental associations between the processing of intention from geometrical animations and gaze detection accuracy

Aspects of face processing, on the one hand, and theory of mind (ToM) tasks, on the other hand, show specific impairment in autism. We aimed to discover whether a correlation between tasks tapping these abilities was evident in typically developing children at two developmental stages. One hundred fifty-four normal children (6–8 years and 16–18 years) and 13 high-IQ autistic children (11–17 years) were tested on a range of face-processing and IQ tasks, and a ToM test based on the attribution of intentional movement to abstract shapes in a cartoon. By midchildhood, the ability accurately and spontaneously to infer the locus of attention of a face with direct or averted gaze was specifically associated with the ability to describe geometrical animations using mental state terms. Other face-processing and animation descriptions failed to show the association. Autistic adolescents were impaired at both gaze processing and ToM descriptions, using these tests. Mentalizing and gaze perception accuracy are associated in typically developing children and adolescents. The findings are congruent with the possibility that common neural circuitry underlies, at least in part, processing implicated in these tasks. They are also congruent with the possibility that autism may lie at one end of a developmental continuum with respect to these skills, and to the factor(s) underpinning them.The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the National Alliance for Autism Research in funding this work.
Electronic marking and identification techniques to discourage document copying

Modern computer networks make it possible to distribute documents quickly and economically by electronic means rather than by conventional paper means. However, the widespread adoption of electronic distribution of copyrighted material is currently impeded by the ease of illicit copying and dissemination. The authors propose techniques that discourage illicit distribution by embedding each document with a unique codeword. The encoding techniques are indiscernible by readers, yet enable one to identify the sanctioned recipient of a document by examination of a recovered document. The authors propose three coding methods, describe one in detail, and present experimental results showing that their identification techniques are highly reliable, even after documents have been photocopied. <<ETX>>
New Generation of Green Nanoparticles: A Review

Medicinal plants are the “backbone” of traditional medicine, which means more than 3.3 billion people in the less developed countries utilize medicinal plants on a regular basis for therapeutic uses. The rich source of therapeutic phytochemicals leads to the development of novel drugs. The phytochemical analysis of the plants is very important commercially and has great interest in pharmaceutical companies for the production of the new drugs for curing of various diseases. Nanotechnology has proved to be a standout among the most dynamic regions of research and development in advanced medical science. Nanoparticle is the most essential part of nanotechnology which has proved to be effective in treating many diseases. Various nanoparticles have been synthesis by using plant extracts which includes silver, gold and copper oxide. Use of plant extracts fro nanoparticles synthesis is favorable over the other biological material as it removes the long process of maintenance of cell culture. The present review provides information on medicinal plants used for synthesis of nanoparticles and its applications.
The Sexunzipped Trial: Optimizing the Design of Online Randomized Controlled Trials

Background Sexual health problems such as unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection are important public health concerns and there is huge potential for health promotion using digital interventions. Evaluations of digital interventions are increasingly conducted online. Trial administration and data collection online offers many advantages, but concerns remain over fraudulent registration to obtain compensation, the quality of self-reported data, and high attrition. Objective This study addresses the feasibility of several dimensions of online trial design—recruitment, online consent, participant identity verification, randomization and concealment of allocation, online data collection, data quality, and retention at 3-month follow-up. Methods Young people aged 16 to 20 years and resident in the United Kingdom were recruited to the “Sexunzipped” online trial between November 2010 and March 2011 (n=2036). Participants filled in baseline demographic and sexual health questionnaires online and were randomized to the Sexunzipped interactive intervention website or to an information-only control website. Participants were also randomly allocated to a postal request (or no request) for a urine sample for genital chlamydia testing and receipt of a lower (£10/US$16) or higher (£20/US$32) value shopping voucher compensation for 3-month outcome data. Results The majority of the 2006 valid participants (90.98%, 1825/2006) were aged between 18 and 20 years at enrolment, from all four countries in the United Kingdom. Most were white (89.98%, 1805/2006), most were in school or training (77.48%, 1545/1994), and 62.81% (1260/2006) of the sample were female. In total, 3.88% (79/2036) of registrations appeared to be invalid and another 4.00% (81/2006) of participants gave inconsistent responses within the questionnaire. The higher value compensation (£20/US$32) increased response rates by 6-10%, boosting retention at 3 months to 77.2% (166/215) for submission of online self-reported sexual health outcomes and 47.4% (118/249) for return of chlamydia urine samples by post. Conclusions It was quick and efficient to recruit young people to this online trial. Our procedures for obtaining online consent, verifying participant identity, automated randomization, and concealment of allocation worked well. The optimal response rate for the online sexual health outcome measurement was comparable to face-to-face trials. Multiple methods of participant contact, requesting online data only, and higher value compensation increased trial retention at 3-month follow-up. Trial Registration International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number (ISRCTN): 55651027; http://www.controlled-trials.com/ISRCTN55651027 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6LbkxdPKf).
Monovalent Ion Selectivity Sequences of the Rat Connexin43 Gap Junction Channel

The relative permeability sequences of the rat connexin 43 (rCx43) gap junction channel to seven cations and chloride were examined by double whole cell patch clamp recording of single gap junction channel currents in rCx43 transfected neuroblastoma 2A (N2A) cell pairs. The measured maximal single channel slope conductances (γj, in pS) of the junctional current-voltage relationships in 115 mM XCl were RbCl (103) ≥ CsCl (102) > KCl (97) > NaCl (79) ≥ LiCl (78) > TMACl (65) > TEACl (53) and for 115 mM KY were KBr (105) > KCl (97) > Kacetate (77) > Kglutamate (61). The single channel conductance-aqueous mobility relationships for the test cations and anions were linear. However, the predicted minimum anionic and cationic conductances of these plots did not accurately predict the rCx43 channel conductance in 115 mM KCl. Instead, the conductance of the rCx43 channel in 115 mM KCl was accurately predicted from cationic and anionic conductance-mobility plots by applying a mobility scaling factor Dx/Do, which depends upon the relative radii of the permeant ions to an estimated pore radius. Relative permeabilities were determined for all of the monovalent cations and anions tested from asymmetric salt reversal potential measurements and the Goldman-Hodgkin-Katz voltage equation. These experiments estimate the relative chloride to potassium permeability to be 0.13. The relationship between the relative cation permeability and hydrated radius was modeled using the hydrodynamic equation assuming a pore radius of 6.3 ± 0.4 Å. Our data quantitatively demonstrate that the rCx43 gap junction channel is permeable to monovalent atomic and organic cations and anions and the relative permeability sequences are consistent with an Eisenman sequence II or I, respectively. These predictions about the rCx43 channel pore provide a useful basis for future investigations into the structural determinants of the conductance and permeability properties of the connexin channel pore.
Design of Non-Regenerative MIMO-Relay System with Partial Channel State Information

Design strategy for non-regenerative multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) relay system with partial channel state information (CSI) is developed. We assume that the CSI of the base station-relay link is fully known to the relay, while the CSI of the relay-mobile station link is not known except its channel statistics. Based on this model, weighting matrices to increase ergodic capacity is proposed for downlink and uplink MIMO-relay system, respectively, with the approximation for both the high and low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) region. We also propose a switching scheme to cover the intermediate SNR region. Numerical results show that the proposed scheme outperforms the conventional one especially when the SNR becomes high.
Use of Information in Thyrotoxicosis Treatment Allocation

Six clinicians were asked to choose one of the three available treatments (antithyroid drugs, surgery and radioiodine) and to rate the appropriateness of each treatment, for 40 patients already diagnosed as thyrotoxic, on the basis of five items of information about each patient. An examination of the extent to which they used this information showed that all effectively used less than five items and that three of them used fewer items in the choice than in the scaling task. Comparison of an individual’s performance on the two tasks gave some insight into his approach to choosing a treatment. It is suggested that choice of treatment should in future be explicitly approached through rating the appropriateness of each treatment.
Impaired emotional facial expression recognition in alcohol dependence: do these deficits persist with midterm abstinence?

BACKGROUND Emotional facial expression (EFE) decoding has been repetitively shown to be impaired in alcoholic inpatients. The present study aimed to replicate and extend previous findings on EFE recognition deficits in alcoholism. METHODS Alcoholic and control participants' performances were compared on an EFE decoding task with a transversal and a longitudinal design. More specifically, 49 alcoholic individuals were recruited at a long-stay postdetoxification treatment center at the third or fourth week of their detoxification process. Twenty-two of them [abstinent alcoholic participants (AA)] were met at the end of their hospitalization process, 2 months later. The 27 remaining patients [dropping alcoholic participants(AD)] dropped out from treatment before the second meeting. A control group (C) of 22 participants was constituted, and assessed twice with the same average time as AA between the 2 assessments. The 3 groups were similar regarding age, sex, and education level. Participants were presented at both times with an EFE decoding test consisting of 16 photographs depicting EFE of happiness, anger, disgust, and sadness. RESULTS The results corroborated previous findings highlighting more EFE decoding deficits in alcoholic participants compared with control participants, with no improvement after 3 months of abstinence. Transversal analyses further evidenced more EFE decoding difficulties in AD than in AA compared with controls. CONCLUSIONS EFE decoding deficits in alcoholism persist with midterm abstinence. Alcoholic patients who dropped from treatment had the worst EFE decoding performance at baseline. Emotional facial expression decoding deficit could have a prognostic value in alcohol dependence.
Capacity bounds for correlated Rician MIMO channels

In this paper we derive tight upper and lower bounds on the MIMO capacity in correlated Rician fading channels. We assume that the receiver has perfect knowledge of the channel, and the transmitter has no knowledge (instantaneous or statistical). We examine two common power normalization models, and show how the capacity changes with Rician K-factor and with the amount of correlation.
New multiple-model channel estimators for equalization of DS-CDMA fading mobile channels

For direct-sequence code-division multiple-access (DS-CDMA) time-varying channels with additive Gaussian noise, we propose a new receiver. Since channel tracking plays an essential role in practice in equalization of the receiver, a new and viable design approach, a modified interacting multiple-model (MIMM) algorithm, is proposed for tracking of multipath time-varying fading channels. We employ a set of second-order auto-regressive (AR2) multiple models associated with a Makov jump process to cover the range of channel dynamics. This setup leads to an AR2-based MIMM channel tracker which can automatically adjust channel model parameters to track time-varying fading channels for all times once some design parameters are initialized. We employ a Kalman filter as a symbol detector (KBSD). Simulation studies demonstrate that the performance of the AR2-MIMM channel tracker together with a conventional KBSD performs at least as well as that of the ideal AR2-based Kalman channel estimator having the exact knowledge of the Doppler rate of each channel in combination with the KBSD
Four-year outcome of mild cognitive impairment: the contribution of executive dysfunction.

OBJECTIVE The contribution of executive cognition (EC) to the prediction of incident dementia remains unclear. This prospective study examined the predictive value of EC for subsequent cognitive decline in persons with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) over a 4-year period. METHOD One hundred forty-one persons with MCI (amnestic and nonamnestic, single- and multiple-domain) received a baseline and two biennial follow-up assessments. Eighteen tests, assessing six different aspects of EC, were administered at baseline and at 2-year follow-up, together with screening cognitive and daily functioning measures. Longitudinal logistic regression models and generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to examine whether EC could predict progression to a Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (CDR; C. P. Hughes, L. Berg, W. L. Danziger, L. A. Coben, & R. L. Martin, 1982, A new clinical scale for the staging of dementia, British Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 140, pp. 566-572) score of 1 or more over the 4-year period, first at the univariate level and then in the context of demographic and clinical characteristics, daily functioning measures, and other neurocognitive factors. RESULTS Over the 4-year period, 56% of MCI patients remained stable, 35% progressed to CDR ≥ 1, and 8% reverted to normal (CDR = 0). Amnestic MCI subtypes were not associated with higher rates of progression to dementia, whereas subtypes with multiple impairments were so associated. Eight out of the 18 EC measures, including all three measures assessing inhibition of prepotent responses, predicted MCI outcome at the univariate level. However, the multivariate GEE model indicated that age, daily functioning, and overall cognitive functioning best predicted progression to dementia. CONCLUSION Measures of EC (i.e., inhibitory control) are associated with MCI outcome. However, age and global measures of cognitive and functional impairment are better predictors of incident dementia.
Social Isolation, Health Literacy, and Mortality Risk: Findings From the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

Objective: To investigate the relationships between social isolation, health literacy, and all-cause mortality, and the modifying effect of social isolation on the latter relationship. Methods: Data were from 7731 adults aged ≥50 years participating in Wave 2 (2004/2005) of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Social isolation was defined according to marital/cohabiting status and contact with children, relatives, and friends, and participation in social organizations. Scores were split at the median to indicate social isolation (yes vs. no). Health literacy was assessed as comprehension of a medicine label and classified as “high” (≥75% correct) or “low” (<75% correct). The outcome was all-cause mortality up to February 2013. Cox proportional hazards models were adjusted for sociodemographic factors, health status, health behaviors, and cognitive function. Results: Mortality rates were 30.3% versus 14.3% in the low versus high health literacy groups, and 23.5% versus 13.7% in the socially isolated versus nonisolated groups. Low health literacy (adj. HR = 1.22, 95% CI 1.02–1.45 vs. high) and social isolation (adj. HR = 1.28, 95% CI 1.10–1.50) were independently associated with increased mortality risk. The multiplicative interaction term for health literacy and social isolation was not statistically significant (p = .81). Conclusions: Low health literacy and high social isolation are risk factors for mortality. Social isolation does not modify the relationship between health literacy and mortality. Clinicians should be aware of the health risks faced by socially isolated adults and those with low health literacy.
Synchronous digital hierarchy network modeling

Due to the complexity of Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) networks, planning and developing such networks requires computer aided design tools. Because survivable SDH network design is a relatively new area and the need for planning tools has only been recognized in the last few years, virtually no comprehensive tools exist to address the specific questions which must be answered by SDH network engineers. In particular the migration of existing networks into SDH networks requires the capability to model existing transmission and switching methodologies while simultaneously modeling new hybrid topologies consisting of meshed point to point systems, unidirectional and bidirectional topologies and direct point to point TIE lines. Two hierarchical metropolitan optical transmission network architectures examined in this paper using a simulation tool to demonstrate the requirements for a SDH network analysis tool. <<ETX>>
Extracting and Querying Probabilistic Information in BayesStore

During the past few years, the number of applications that need to process large-scale data has grown remarkably. The data driving these applications are often uncertain, as is the analysis, which often involves probabilistic models and statistical inference. Examples include sensor-based monitoring, information extraction, and online advertising. Such applications require probabilistic data analysis (PDA), which is a family of queries over data, uncertainties, and probabilistic models that involve relational operators from database literature, as well as inference operators from statistical machine learning (SML) literature. Prior to our work, probabilistic database research advocated an approach in which uncertainty is modeled by attaching probabilities to data items. However, such systems do not and cannot take advantage of the wealth of SML research, because they are unable to represent and reason the pervasive probabilistic correlations in the data.In this thesis, we propose, build, and evaluate BayesStore, a probabilistic database system that natively supports SML models and various inference algorithms to perform advanced data analysis. This marriage of database and SML technologies creates a declarative and efficient probabilistic processing framework for applications dealing with large-scale uncertain data. We use sensor-based monitoring and information extraction over text as the two driving applications. Sensor network applications generate noisy sensor readings, on top of which a first-order Bayesian network model is used to capture the probability distribution. Information extraction applications generate uncertain entities from text using linear-chain conditional random fields. We explore a variety of research challenges, including extending the relational data model with probabilistic data and statistical models, efficiently implementing statistical inference algorithms in a database, defining relational operators (e.g., select, project, join) over probabilistic data and models, developing joint optimization of inference operators and the relational algebra, and devising novel query execution plans. The experimental results show: (1) statistical inference algorithms over probabilistic models can be efficiently implemented in the set-oriented programming framework in databases; (2) optimizations for query-driven SML inference lead to orders-of-magnitude speed-up on large corpora; and (3) using in-database SML methods to extract and query probabilistic information can significantly improve answer quality.
Dynamic shape changes of ECM-producing cells drive morphogenesis of ball-and-socket joints in the fly leg

Animal body shape is framed by the skeleton, which is composed of extracellular matrix (ECM). Although how the body plan manifests in skeletal morphology has been studied intensively, cellular mechanisms that directly control skeletal ECM morphology remain elusive. In particular, how dynamic behaviors of ECM-secreting cells, such as shape changes and movements, contribute to ECM morphogenesis is unclear. Strict control of ECM morphology is crucial in the joints, where opposing sides of the skeleton must have precisely reciprocal shapes to fit each other. Here we found that, in the development of ball-and-socket joints in the Drosophila leg, the two sides of ECM form sequentially. We show that distinct cell populations produce the ‘ball’ and the ‘socket’, and that these cells undergo extensive shape changes while depositing ECM. We propose that shape changes of ECM-producing cells enable the sequential ECM formation to allow the morphological coupling of adjacent components. Our results highlight the importance of dynamic cell behaviors in precise shaping of skeletal ECM architecture.
Genetic evidence for host specificity in the hemi‐parasitic Viscum album L. (Viscaceae)

Nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) ITS sequences and partial sequences of three non‐coding chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) introns and spacers were used to assess genetic variation within and among three presumed host races of the hemi‐parasite Viscum album L. Currently, identification of host races occurs via the host trees, and morphological differences are minute at best. cpDNA and nrDNA ITS sequences revealed little sequence variation, but the variation found consistently supported the distinction of three host races. cpDNA and ITS sequences were not incongruent, as assessed by the incongruence length difference test. A combined analysis supported the sister group relationship between mistletoes from deciduous trees and fir.