Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Influence of the Internet on the Cognitive Abilities of Man. Phenomenological and Hermeneutical Approach

: In this article, the authors study the inﬂuence of the Internet on human cognitive abilities using a phenomenological and hermeneutical approach. They characterize the Internet as an electronic or technological form of media communication facilitating nearly instantaneous and active dissemination of information, in particular image-based information. The authors study the Internet’s inﬂuence on the cognitive abilities of humans using a deﬁnition of the Internet as multilaterally connected information networks. Applying the theoretical approach, they reach the conclusion that newly formulated thinking strategies feature a network-like character to the detriment of the ability to observe, remember and other higher levels of thinking. The empirical approach is based on neurological and sociological studies which reveal the fact that new ways or strategies of thinking are being ﬁxed in the brain, thereby driving long-term and permanent changes in human thinking. In such a case, the inability to concentrate on one idea for an extended period of time in order to reach a deeper state of contemplation proves to be at risk. In connection to this, we may encounter, as the authors believe, symptoms of knowledge deﬁciency resulting from a loss of interest in linear, chronological thinking. The authors claim that knowing these risks should lead to a more careful and more critical approach to the Internet, or even Internet communication, which may partially mitigate its negative inﬂuence.
Leveraging videos and forums for small-class learning experience in a MOOC environment

The learning process on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) is learner-driven, where face-to-face interactions are limited. Because of this, instructional videos and forum discussions in MOOCs become critical points of contact. However, in on-campus teaching, some courses (such as philosophy) are often taught in a small-class tutorial setting. How should these courses be designed for similar personalized, small-class learning experience, in a MOOC environment? In this study, we dissected course videos and course forums of a MOOC (HKU03x: Humanity and Nature in Chinese Thought). We discuss how a course team might approach video production and forum management for small-class learning experience in a MOOC environment. In particular, two tactics of the course development are described: i) using a structured series of short instructional videos in classroom settings with animations to present abstract philosophical concepts, and ii) providing learners with experiences of solving a relation problem based on philosophers' rhetoric through open-ended discussions with instructor's sustained engagement.
Runx1 Loss Minimally Impacts Long-Term Hematopoietic Stem Cells

RUNX1 encodes a DNA binding subunit of the core-binding transcription factors and is frequently mutated in acute leukemia, therapy-related leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome, and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia. Mutations in RUNX1 are thought to confer upon hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) a pre-leukemic state, but the fundamental properties of Runx1 deficient pre-leukemic HSCs are not well defined. Here we show that Runx1 deficiency decreases both apoptosis and proliferation, but only minimally impacts the frequency of long term repopulating HSCs (LT-HSCs). It has been variously reported that Runx1 loss increases LT-HSC numbers, decreases LT-HSC numbers, or causes age-related HSC exhaustion. We attempt to resolve these discrepancies by showing that Runx1 deficiency alters the expression of several key HSC markers, and that the number of functional LT-HSCs varies depending on the criteria used to score them. Finally, we identify genes and pathways, including the cell cycle and p53 pathways that are dysregulated in Runx1 deficient HSCs.
Impact of an Intensive Lifestyle Intervention on Use and Cost of Medical Services Among Overweight and Obese Adults With Type 2 Diabetes: The Action for Health in Diabetes

OBJECTIVE To assess the relative impact of an intensive lifestyle intervention (ILI) on use and costs of health care within the Look AHEAD trial. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 5,121 overweight or obese adults with type 2 diabetes were randomly assigned to an ILI that promoted weight loss or to a comparison condition of diabetes support and education (DSE). Use and costs of health-care services were recorded across an average of 10 years. RESULTS ILI led to reductions in annual hospitalizations (11%, P = 0.004), hospital days (15%, P = 0.01), and number of medications (6%, P < 0.001), resulting in cost savings for hospitalization (10%, P = 0.04) and medication (7%, P < 0.001). ILI produced a mean relative per-person 10-year cost savings of $5,280 (95% CI 3,385–7,175); however, these were not evident among individuals with a history of cardiovascular disease. CONCLUSIONS Compared with DSE over 10 years, ILI participants had fewer hospitalizations, fewer medications, and lower health-care costs.
The Product of the Rice myb7 Unspliced mRNA Dimerizes with the Maize Leucine Zipper Opaque2 and Stimulates Its Activity in a Transient Expression Assay*

myb7 mRNA is present in rice in spliced and unspliced forms, splicing being enhanced by anoxia. The protein (Mybleu) encoded by the unspliced mRNA is composed of an incomplete Myb domain followed by a leucine zipper; however, it lacks canonical sequences for DNA binding, transcriptional activation, and nuclear localization. We show here that in transiently transformed tobacco protoplasts, Mybleu is able to enhance the transcriptional activity of the maize leucine zipper Opaque2 on its targetb32 promoter. The Mybleu transactivation effect is strictly dependent on the presence of Opaque2 and is driven by Mybleu-Opaque2 heterodimers. Mybleu is located in the nucleus, both in rice and in transformed tobacco protoplasts. In rice, the protein is expressed in regions corresponding to undifferentiated cells of roots and coleoptiles. Therefore, myb7 mRNA encodes, depending on its splicing, two transcription factors belonging to separate classes. One of them, Mybleu, has novel structural characteristics, suggesting the existence of new mechanisms acting in the activation of transcription.
A Linear Time Active Learning Algorithm for Link Classification

We present very efficient active learning algorithms for link classification in signed networks. Our algorithms are motivated by a stochastic model in which edge labels are obtained through perturbations of a initial sign assignment consistent with a two-clustering of the nodes. We provide a theoretical analysis within this model, showing that we can achieve an optimal (to whithin a constant factor) number of mistakes on any graph G = (V,E) such that |E| = \Omega(|V|^{3/2}) by querying O(|V|^{3/2}) edge labels. More generally, we show an algorithm that achieves optimality to within a factor of O(k) by querying at most order of |V| + (|V|/k)^{3/2} edge labels. The running time of this algorithm is at most of order |E| + |V|\log|V|.
Haggle: Clean-slate networking for mobile devices

Haggle is a layerless networking architecture for mobile devices. It is motivated by the infrastructure dependence of applications such as email and web browsing, even in situations where infrastructure is not necessary to accomplish the end user goal, e.g. when the destination is reachable by ad hoc neighbourhood communication. In this paper we present details of Haggle’s architecture, and of the prototype implementation which allows existing email and web applications to become infrastructure-independent, as we show with an experimental evaluation.
miR-27 and miR-125 Distinctly Regulate Muscle-Enriched Transcription Factors in Cardiac and Skeletal Myocytes

MicroRNAs are noncoding RNAs of approximately 22–24 nucleotides which are capable of interacting with the 3′ untranslated region of coding RNAs (mRNAs), leading to mRNA degradation and/or protein translation blockage. In recent years, differential microRNA expression in distinct cardiac development and disease contexts has been widely reported, yet the role of individual microRNAs in these settings remains largely unknown. We provide herein evidence of the role of miR-27 and miR-125 regulating distinct muscle-enriched transcription factors. Overexpression of miR-27 leads to impair expression of Mstn and Myocd in HL1 atrial cardiomyocytes but not in Sol8 skeletal muscle myoblasts, while overexpression of miR-125 resulted in selective upregulation of Mef2d in HL1 atrial cardiomyocytes and downregulation in Sol8 cells. Taken together our data demonstrate that a single microRNA, that is, miR-27 or miR-125, can selectively upregulate and downregulate discrete number of target mRNAs in a cell-type specific manner.
Thomas Aquinas in the TüNDRA: Integrating the Index Thomisticus Treebank into CLARIN-D

This paper describes the integration of the Index Thomisticus Treebank (IT-TB) into the web-based treebank search and visualization application TueNDRA (Tuebingen aNnotated Data Retrieval & Analysis). TueNDRA was originally designed to provide access via the Internet to constituency treebanks and to tools for searching and visualizing them, as well as tabulating statistics about their contents. TueNDRA has now been extended to also provide full support for dependency treebanks with non-projective dependencies, in order to integrate the IT-TB and future treebanks with similar properties. These treebanks are queried using an adapted form of the TIGERSearch query language, which can search both hierarchical and sequential information in treebanks in a single query. As a web application, making the IT-TB accessible via TueNDRA makes the treebank and the tools to use of it available to a large community without having to distribute software and show users how to install it.
Only slow decline in exercise capacity in the natural history of patients with congenital heart disease: A longitudinal study in 522 patients

Objective Exercise studies in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) suggest that exercise capacity declines progressively. This study aims to assess the natural history of exercise capacity in patients with CHD from serial cardiopulmonary exercise tests (CPETs) and to identify factors that are associated with the rate of decrease. Patients and methods From July 2001–August 2012 we included all patients with CHD who had two CPETs separated by at least six months. Patients with any kind of intervention (surgery, catheter intervention, or change in medication) between the two tests were excluded. Results In 522 patients (24.8 ± 10.2 years, 215 female) peak oxygen uptake ( V · O 2 ) was reduced to 80.0 ± 20.7% predicted and declined significantly during a mean follow-up of 2.5 ± 1.8 years to 78.1 ± 20.4% predicted (p < 0.0001). The annual declining rate of peak V · O 2 was only −1.01 ± 6.83% points per year. Higher peak oxygen pulse (% predicted) (r = −0.230; p < 0.0001), higher peak V · O 2 (% predicted) (r = −0.213; p < 0.0001) at baseline testing and the presence of a pacemaker (r = −0.095; p = 0.031) were only weakly associated with a more rapid decline in peak V · O 2 (% predicted) over time. The decline was independent from diagnosis, heart defect severity, systemic ventricular morphology and age. Conclusions There was a progressive, but slow, decline in the natural history of exercise capacity in all kind of patients with CHD. Except for having a pacemaker, we could not find any factors associated with this decline.
Mitigating Intrusion and Vulnerabilities in Cognitive Radio Networks

The deployment of Cognitive Radio Networks has been greatly hindered in spite of its potentials by the rate at which intrusions and vulnerabilities replicate within every domain of the network. Cognitive Radio Network is expected to drive the next generation wireless networks that can optimize the use of spectrum due to its unique and dynamic properties, but the high rate of intrusions has frustrated all the efforts of this promising network. Hence, there is need for a more investigation on better security measures to be employed in the network. Therefore, this paper proposes the design and implementation of an Intrusion Detection and Prevention Framework (IDPF) that monitors and analyses all inbound and outbound traffic in CRN in order to mitigate intrusions and vulnerabilities that increases on daily basis against CRN for a reliable and secured network. This will improve the rate of deployment of Cognitive Radio Networks.
Usage of WordNet in Natural Language Generation

WordNet has rarely been applied to natural language generation, despite of its wide application in other fields. In this paper, we address three issues in the usage of WordNet in generation: adapting a general lexicon like WordNet to a specific application domain, how the information in WordNet can be used in generation, and augmenting WordNet with other types of knowledge that are helpful for generation. We propose a three step procedure to tailor WordNet to a specific domain, and carried out experiments on a basketball corpus (1,015 game reports, 1.TMB).
Is there a bilingual advantage in the ANT task? Evidence from children

Bilinguals have been shown to outperform monolinguals in a variety of tasks that do not tap into linguistic processes. The origin of this bilingual advantage has been questioned in recent years. While some authors argue that the reason behind this apparent advantage is bilinguals' enhanced executive functioning, inhibitory skills and/or monitoring abilities, other authors suggest that the locus of these differences between bilinguals and monolinguals may lie in uncontrolled factors or incorrectly matched samples. In the current study we tested a group of 180 bilingual children and a group of 180 carefully matched monolinguals in a child-friendly version of the ANT task. Following recent evidence from similar studies with children, our results showed no bilingual advantage at all, given that the performance of the two groups in the task and the indices associated with the individual attention networks were highly similar and statistically indistinguishable.
Functional analysis of the cytoplasmic domain of the integrin 1 subunit in endothelial cells

Integrin 1 1, the major collagen type IV receptor, is expressed by endothelial cells and plays a role in both physiologic and pathologic angiogenesis. Because the molecular mechanisms whereby this collagen IV receptor mediates endothelial cell functions are poorly understood, truncation and point mutants of the integrin 1 subunit cytoplasmic tail (amino acids 1137-1151) were generated and expressed into 1-null endothelial cells. We show that 1-null endothelial cells expressing the 1 subunit, which lacks the entire cytoplasmic tail (mutant 1-1136) or expresses all the amino acids up to the highly conserved GFFKR motif (mutant 1-1143), have a similar phenotype to parental 1-null cells. Pro1144 and Leu1145 were shown to be necessary for 1 1mediated endothelial cell proliferation; Lys1146 for adhesion, migration, and tubulogenesis and Lys1147 for tubulogenesis. Integrin 1 1–dependent endothelial cell proliferation is primarily mediated by ERK activation, whereas migration and tubulogenesis require both p38 MAPK and PI3K/ Akt activation. Thus, distinct amino acids distal to the GFFKR motif of the 1 integrin cytoplasmic tail mediate activation of selective downstream signaling pathways and specific endothelial cell functions. (Blood. 2008;112:3242-3254)
Learning skills in journalistic skepticism while recognising whistleblowers

This paper explains a didactic program of blending provocative teaching method with experiential learning at third year of the Bachelor of Journalism and Bachelor of Communication and Media Studies University of Wollongong, Australia. There are pedagogical imperatives today for developing the professional ‘self ’ in respect to citizenship, journalistic values and practice. The challenge is to acknowledge ethics and principles of human rights, while simultaneously embracing the transforming online, open-source Internet technologies. This can be achieved through a learning combination that exposes students to ‘provocative’ counter news, often whistleblower generated, while setting experiential learning assignments to engage volunteer journalism sites and their aligned aspirational values. The approach first acknowledges Chomsky’s propaganda model of news then it presents participants with a judicious and provocative news-flow with verifiable, current and yet alternative stories otherwise misrepresented or omitted in mainstream news. Participants are then asked to write and publish news of their own, through the Wikimedia Foundation project, Wikinews. In association with regular ‘editor’ volunteers, Wikinews develops news-writing, increases appreciation of editorial processes and encourages respect for accuracy and due-diligence. Exposure to ‘provocative news-flow’ alerts participants to propaganda and assists in identifying actionable news stories. In combination, these processes connect the emerging journalist to a sense of belonging to a professional ‘newsroom’. A network of volunteer practitioners, including their student colleagues and their tutor as ‘chief of staff ’, may also develop a sustainable pool of future Wikinews contributors and accredited editors.
War and Wages : The Strength of Instrumental Variables and Their Sensitivity to Unobserved Biases

An instrument manipulates a treatment that it does not entirely control, but the instrument affects the outcome only indirectly through its manipulation of the treatment. The idealized prototype is the randomized encouragement design, in which subjects are randomly assigned to receive either encouragement to accept the treatment or no such encouragement, but not all subjects comply by doing what they are encouraged to do, and the situation is such that only the treatment itself, not disregarded encouragement alone, can affect the outcome. An instrument is weak if it has only a slight impact on acceptance of the treatment, that is, if most people disregard encouragement to accept the treatment. Typical applications of instrumental variables are not ideal; encouragement is not randomized, although it may be assigned in a far less biased manner than the treatment itself. Using the concept of design sensitivity, we study the sensitivity of instrumental variable analyses to departures from the ideal of random assignment of encouragement, with particular reference to the strength of the instrument. With these issues in mind, we reanalyze a clever study by Angrist and Krueger concerning the effects of military service during World War II on subsequent earnings, in which birth cohorts of very similar but not identical age were differently “encouraged” to serve in the war. A striking feature of this example is that those who served earned more, but the effect of service on earnings appears to be negative; that is, the instrumental variables analysis reverses the sign of the naive comparison. For expository purposes, this example has the convenient feature of enabling, by selecting different birth cohorts, the creation of instruments of varied strength, from extremely weak to fairly strong, although separated by the same time interval and thus perhaps similarly biased. No matter how large the sample size becomes, even if the effect under study is quite large, studies with weak instruments are extremely sensitive to tiny biases, whereas studies with stronger instruments can be insensitive to moderate biases.
Mossy fiber input to CA3 interneurons: Balancing short term plasticity and regulation by presynaptic receptors.

The hippocampus is a brain structure thought to be critically important for the formation and maintenance of memories. In order do this, the region must process information as both a linear sequence and as discrete events or objects such that representations can be recalled even when the stimulus is incomplete. This is thought to be accomplished in the hippocampus through several streams of serial and parallel processing kept separate and intact by inhibition. These streams of processing take the anatomical form of the three major glutamatergic pathways of the hippocampus: the perforant path, the mossy fibers and the Schaffer collaterals. Inhibition is provided by specialized groups of GABAergic interneurons. Though the hippocampus has been the subject of intense study for decades, there remain populations of cells that are not well understood in terms of their role in the network. Within area CA3, one of these populations is a group of interneurons with soma residing in the str. lacunosum moleculare that provide feedforward inhibition onto CA3 pyramidal cells. The goal of this thesis was to understand the synaptic physiology of mossy fiber (MF) input to str. lacunosum moleculare interneurons (L-Mi), a connection that has been largely overlooked due to skepticism that an interneuron population ~ 250 µm away could be interacting with the MF pathway. The data presented here describe the functional anatomy of the connection, and define the short term synaptic physiology of MF input to L-Mi including an estimate of the quantal amplitude. I have also documented the modulation of this connection by a presynaptic metabotropic glutamate receptor not previously thought to have a role in MF physiology, thus expanding the known repertoire of MF target specificity. Most importantly, however, these data provide a mechanism through which feedforward inhibition onto CA3 pyramidal cells is regulated in the short term, under physiologic stimulus patterns, and contribute to our knowledge of the function of the CA3 network.