Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
RECOVERY OF THE NEUROSENSORY RETINA AFTER MACULAR TRANSLOCATION SURGERY IS INDEPENDENT OF PREOPERATIVE MACULAR SENSITIVITY IN NEOVASCULAR AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION

Purpose: To directly assess the recovery of the retina overlying choroidal neovascularization in neovascular age-related macular degeneration and to understand the relationship between macular sensitivity and visual functional measures and retinal structural alterations as predictive factors for outcome among eyes undergoing macular translocation surgery (MT360). Methods: In a prospective, consecutive case series of 55 patients with subfoveal choroidal neovascularization undergoing MT360, we explored the relationship between macular sensitivity on the Nidek microperimeter-1 with pathologic features on optical coherence tomography and with distance and near visual acuity, reading speed, contrast sensitivity, color vision, and National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire-25 composite quality-of-life (QOL) score, both before and at 1 year after MT360. Results: On average, there was improvement in all measures of visual function, macular sensitivity, and QOL after MT360. Preoperative median retinal sensitivity score did not predict postoperative measures of visual function, macular sensitivity, and vision-related QOL. Correlation between preoperative median retinal sensitivity score and preoperative measures of visual function and vision-related QOL was generally poor, excepting modest correlation for contrast sensitivity and color vision. However, correlation between postoperative median retinal sensitivity score and postoperative measures of visual function and vision-related QOL was uniformly modest, and change in median retinal sensitivity score correlated modestly with change in most measures of visual function and QOL. Among optical coherence tomography morphologic features, preoperative retinal pigment epithelium elevation predicted reduced postoperative contrast sensitivity (P = 0.04), while preoperative epiretinal membrane or vitreomacular traction predicted increased postoperative contrast sensitivity (P = 0.05). Preoperative cystoid macular edema, subretinal fluid, and subretinal lesion were associated with decreased median retinal sensitivity score (P values ≤0.03). Conclusion: The authors' findings demonstrate the resilience and recovery of poorly functioning retina in neovascular age-related macular degeneration but fail to demonstrate a role for macular sensitivity as measured by Nidek microperimeter-1 in identifying irreversibly damaged retina that would not benefit from MT360.
Detecting Engagement in HRI: An Exploration of Social and Task-Based Context

Despite a large body of existing literature on automatic affect recognition, there seems to be a lack of studies investigating task and social context for the purpose of automatically predicting affect. This work aims to take the current state of the art a step forward and explore the role of task and social context and their interdependencies in the automatic prediction of user engagement in a HRI scenario involving an iCat robot playing chess with young children. We performed an experimental evaluation by training several SVMs-based models with different features extracted from a set of context logs collected in a HRI field experiment. The features include information about the game and the social context at the interaction level (overall features) and at the game turn level (turn-based features). While the overall features capture game and social context in an independent way at the interaction level, turn-based features attempt to encode the interdependencies of game and social context at each turn of the game. Results showed that game and social context-based features can be successfully used to predict engagement with the robot in the showcased scenario. Specifically, overall features proved more successful than turn-based features and game context-based features more effective than social context-based features. Finally the results demonstrated that the integration of game and social context-based features with features encoding their interdependencies leads to higher recognition performances.
A comparison of number-of-rain-days estimation techniques for continental hydrological modelling

The number of rain-days per dekad (NRDD), a parameter of a modification of the widely used Soil Conservation Service (SCS) model, is estimated here over sub-Saharan Africa using two techniques: indicator kriging of rain-gauge measurements, and a method based on logistic regression between meteosat cold cloud duration (CCD) images and gauge measurements. The methods were assessed using a very dense validation dataset. The results show that the interpolation technique scores better k-statistic values but, the Z-statistic applied to compare their relative performance suggests that their difference is insignificant. It is suggested that a combination of both techniques in a single method should provide the solution to a more precise NRDD estimation.
A PCA-Based Convolutional Network

In this paper, we propose a novel unsupervised deep learning model, called PCA-based Convolutional Network (PCN). The architecture of PCN is composed of several feature extraction stages and a nonlinear output stage. Particularly, each feature extraction stage includes two layers: a convolutional layer and a feature pooling layer. In the convolutional layer, the filter banks are simply learned by PCA. In the nonlinear output stage, binary hashing is applied. For the higher convolutional layers, the filter banks are learned from the feature maps that were obtained in the previous stage. To test PCN, we conducted extensive experiments on some challenging tasks, including handwritten digits recognition, face recognition and texture classification. The results show that PCN performs competitive with or even better than state-of-the-art deep learning models. More importantly, since there is no back propagation for supervised finetuning, PCN is much more efficient than existing deep networks.
The Practice of Everyday Life

Preface General Introduction PART I: A VERY ORDINARY CULTURE I. A Common Place: Ordinary Language II. Popular Cultures: Ordinary Language III. Making Do: Uses and Tactics PART II: THEORIES OF THE ART OF PRACTICE IV. Foucault and Bourdieu V. The Arts of Theory VI. Story Time PART III: SPATIAL PRACTICES VII. Walking in the City VIII. Railway Navigation and Incarceration IX. Spatial Stories PART IV: Uses of Language X. The Scriptural Economy XI. Quotations of Voices XII. Reading as Poaching PART V: WAYS OF BELIEVING XIII. Believing and Making People Believe XIV. The Unnamable Indeterminate Notes
Complications Associated with the Maquet Procedure–Two Case Reports in Dog’s

According to Brunel et al., the main complication of the technique is the risk of cracking or fracture of the tibial tuberosity. In this event the authors recommend conversion of the Maquet technique to the traditional TTA, as cerclage wires do not provide sufficient stability. Barthelemy et al. [8] reported the risk factors, complications, and owner satisfaction with the Maquet technique in 109 dogs. Complications were observed in 27% cases, 9% of which were major complications (requiring surgical revision) and 18% smaller (no need for further surgical intervention). Thinning of the tibial crest at surgery, predisposes it to fracture in the postoperative period. The owners reported excellent results in 82% of cases and good in 13.1%.
Petri net models for describing multimedia synchronization requirements

Synchronization constitutes an important research field in multimedia communication. The synchronization problem has been addressed in the literature in two distinct levels: specification and design. On the specification level, several formal models have been proposed, which are mostly variations of the Petri net model. Although some models are deemed to be better than others in some aspects, there has not been a comprehensive comparison of these specification models. This paper provides a critical review of the existing Petri net specification approaches for specifying synchronization constraints, including object composition, extended object composition, dynamic timed and time stream Petri net models, and applies them to the specification of an interesting, relatively straightforward synchronization example for a qualitative and quantitative evaluation of their strengths and weaknesses.
Myofiber Properties of Mouse Mylohyoid Muscle in the Growth Period

Abstract The mouse mylohyoid muscle belongs to the mastication-related suprahyoid muscle group. It shows a plate-like morphology and forms the mouth floor. There have been no reports on the characteristics of the mouse mylohyoid muscle fibers, and especially on their functional role during ingestion action, and many points remain unclear. We examined the mouse mylohyoid muscle at both the transcriptional and protein levels by RT-PCR, immunohistochemistry, and Western Blotting. MyHC-2b, which is expressed in almost all head and neck muscles and is thought to play a role in rapid mastication movement, was not detected in the mouse mylohyoid muscle. This result suggests that the mouse mylohyoid muscle has a special function and does not directly function during ingestion.
Homomorphic Trapdoor Commitments to Group Elements

We present homomorphic trapdoor commitments to group elements. In contrast, previous homomorphic trapdoor commitment schemes only allow the messages to be exponents. Our commitment schemes are length-reducing, we can make a short commitment to many group elements at once, and they are perfectly hiding and computationally binding. The commitment schemes are based on groups with a bilinear map. We can commit to elements from a base group, whereas the commitments belong to the target group. We present two constructions based on simple computational intractability assumptions, which we call respectively the double pairing assumption and the simultaneous triple pairing assumption. While the assumptions are new, we demonstrate that they are implied by well-known assumptions; respectively the decision Diffie-Hellman assumption and the decision linear assumption.
ASM: a code manipulation tool to implement adaptable systems

ASM is a Java class manipulation tool designed to dynamically generate and manipulate Java classes, which are useful techniques to implement adaptable systems. ASM is based on a new approach, compared to equivalent existing tools, which consists in using the "visitor" design pattern without explicitly representing the visited tree with objects. This new approach gives much better performances than those of existing tools, for most of practical needs. RÉSUMÉ. ASM est un outil de manipulation de classes Java conçu pour la génération et la manipulation dynamiques de code, qui sont des techniques très utiles pour la réalisation de systèmes adaptables. ASM est basé sur une approche originale, par rapport aux outils existants équivalents, qui consiste à utiliser le patron de conception « visiteur » sans représenter explicitement l’arborescence visitée sous forme d’objets. Cette nouvelle approche permet d’obtenir des performances bien supérieures à celles des outils existants, pour la plupart des besoins courants.
A novel approach for a file-system integrity monitor tool of Xen virtual machine

File-system integrity tools (FIT) are commonly deployed host-based intrusion detections (HIDS) tool to detect unauthorized file-system changes. While FIT are widely used, this kind of HIDS has many drawbacks: the intrusion detection is not done in real-time manner, which might render the whole scheme useless if the attacker can somehow take over the system with privileged access in the time between. The administrator also has a lot of problems to keep the base-line database updating. Besides, the database and the FIT itself are vulnerable if the attacker gains local privileged access.This paper presents a novel approach to address the outstanding problems of the current FIT. We propose a design and implementation of a tool named XenFIT for Xen virtual machines. XenFIT can monitor and fires alarms on intrusion in real-time manner, and our approach does not require to create and update the database like in the legacy methods. XenFIT works by dynamically patching memory of the protected machine, so it is not necessary to install any kernel code or user-space application into the protected machines. As a result, XenFIT is almost effortless to deploy and maintain. In addition, thanks to the advantage introduced by Xen, the security polices as well as the detection process are put in a secure machine, so XenFIT is tamper-resistant with attack, even in case the attacker takes over the whole VM he is penetrating in. Finally, if deploying strictly, XenFIT is able to function very stealthily to avoid the suspect of the intruder.
Transnational communication practices of unaccompanied young Korean students in the United States

Based on a study of unaccompanied Korean student migrants, this article investigates how transnational communication helped the students continue their transnational journey for educational success. Although suffering perennial loneliness, the students continued with their studies because they still believed acquiring education in the United States would be advantageous in securing their success. They became actively involved in transnational communication to cope with stresses and to gain emotional support. Transnational communication played an important role in mediating between their pursuit of education and desired cultural capital on the one hand, and the loneliness and isolation as migrants on their own on the other.
A central role for heme iron in colon carcinogenesis associated with red meat intake.

Epidemiology shows that red and processed meat intake is associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer. Heme iron, heterocyclic amines, and endogenous N-nitroso compounds (NOC) are proposed to explain this effect, but their relative contribution is unknown. Our study aimed at determining, at nutritional doses, which is the main factor involved and proposing a mechanism of cancer promotion by red meat. The relative part of heme iron (1% in diet), heterocyclic amines (PhIP + MeIQx, 50 + 25 μg/kg in diet), and NOC (induced by NaNO₂+ NaNO₂; 0.17 + 0.23 g/L of drinking water) was determined by a factorial design and preneoplastic endpoints in chemically induced rats and validated on tumors in Min mice. The molecular mechanisms (genotoxicity, cytotoxicity) were analyzed in vitro in normal and Apc-deficient cell lines and confirmed on colon mucosa. Heme iron increased the number of preneoplastic lesions, but dietary heterocyclic amines and NOC had no effect on carcinogenesis in rats. Dietary hemoglobin increased tumor load in Min mice (control diet: 67 ± 39 mm²; 2.5% hemoglobin diet: 114 ± 47 mm², P = 0.004). In vitro, fecal water from rats given hemoglobin was rich in aldehydes and was cytotoxic to normal cells, but not to premalignant cells. The aldehydes 4-hydroxynonenal and 4-hydroxyhexenal were more toxic to normal versus mutated cells and were only genotoxic to normal cells. Genotoxicity was also observed in colon mucosa of mice given hemoglobin. These results highlight the role of heme iron in the promotion of colon cancer by red meat and suggest that heme iron could initiate carcinogenesis through lipid peroxidation.
Outsourcing and US Manufacturing Employment

In an increasingly protectionist trade environment, there is public concern in the USA that services outsourcing is contributing to declining employment. Addressing this concern, this paper analyzes the impact of outsourcing on the relative demand for skilled worker in US manufacturing industries between 1998 and 2004. Greater outsourcing of communications and business services slightly reduces skilled labor demand and the outsourcing of other services increases labor demand, although nonproduction labor demand is generally inelastic to changes in outsourcing intensity. Part of the reason for this is the fact that tradable services are only small shares of the industries’ total inputs.
Two-Port Static Coated Micro Gas Chromatography Column With an Embedded Thermal Conductivity Detector

This paper reports a microfabricated 2×4 cm gas chromatography chip to separate and detect gases in a two-port structure by embedding a microthermal conductivity detector (μTCD) within a separation column. A circular on-chip heater is placed on the backside of the monolithic device enabling temperature programming and consequently faster analysis of the heavier components. A unique process enhanced by reactive ion etching lag (RIE lag) is used to achieve multiple etch depths in silicon and restrict the process flow to just three masks. The silicon substrate contains the separation column, the heater, and the tunnels for the TCD electric feed throughs. A Pyrex wafer containing the TCD elements is anodically bonded to the silicon substrate to seal the structure. Performance of a standalone μTCD fabricated in the same process and integrated in a hybrid fashion is also described. The single-chip design demonstrates successful separation and identification of multi-component gas mixtures with a performance comparable to that obtained through a flame ionization detector connected in series. Further, on-chip temperature programming capability was utilized to elevate the column temperature to 75°C to exhibit analysis in less than a minute.
Prevalence of Prodromal Parkinson's Disease as Defined by MDS Research Criteria among Elderly Patients Undergoing Colonoscopy.

BACKGROUND Gastrointestinal symptoms are a well-recognized and common premotor feature of Parkinson's disease (PD). Moreover, multiple studies have assessed the value of colonic α-synuclein as a potential marker of prodromal PD. Recently, the International Parkinson and Movement Disorders Society (MDS) defined research criteria for prodromal PD. OBJECTIVE The aim of our study was to test the MDS research criteria in patients undergoing diagnostic colonoscopies as potential candidates for inclusion in prospective trials evaluating colonic biopsies as a potential biomarker of prodromal PD. METHODS We evaluated elderly patients without manifest parkinsonism undergoing diagnostic colonoscopies. During the study we assessed all risks and prodromal markers of the MDS research criteria, excluding radiotracer imaging and genetic testing. RESULTS The mean age of the 100 enrolled patients was 61.6±9.7 years; 42 were men. The most common prodromal marker in our cohort was constipation (40%), followed by MDS-UPDRS part III scores of >6 points, excluding action tremor items (39%) and hyposmia (37%). Substantia nigra hyperechogenicity was identified in 9%, and polysomnography confirmed REM sleep behavior disorder in 2% of the patients. Five of the 100 enrolled patients (5%) fulfilled the criteria for probable prodromal PD, while another 3 patients met the 50% probability threshold. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest, that the prevalence of prodromal PD in patients undergoing diagnostic colonoscopies may be higher compared to the general elderly population, although this should be confirmed in further studies including also matched controls not undergoing colonoscopy. The real prevalence of prodromal PD in this cohort will have to be confirmed in longitudinal follow-up. Patients undergoing diagnostic colonoscopies may be good candidates for multistep screening and inclusion in prospective trials.
The Brain in Its Body: Motor Control and Sensing in a Biomechanical Context

Although it is widely recognized that adaptive behavior emerges from the ongoing interactions among the nervous system, the body, and the environment, it has only become possible in recent years to experimentally study and to simulate these interacting systems. We briefly review work on molluscan feeding, maintenance of postural control in cats and humans, simulations of locomotion in lamprey, insect, cat and salamander, and active vibrissal sensing in rats to illustrate the insights that can be derived from studies of neural control and sensing within a biomechanical context. These studies illustrate that control may be shared between the nervous system and the periphery, that neural activity organizes degrees of freedom into biomechanically meaningful subsets, that mechanics alone may play crucial roles in enforcing gait patterns, and that mechanics of sensors is crucial for their function.
Social work doctoral education: Are doctoral students being prepared to teach?

Summary Longstanding tensions exist around the purpose of social work doctoral programs, particularly around the extent to which doctoral program should prepare their students to teach. Indeed, social work programs in the United States have been criticized for failing to prepare graduates for teaching; however, it has been a number of years since doctoral curricula have been reviewed. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which US social work doctoral programs are training their students to teach by assessing the extent to which pedagogical training is explicitly integrated into doctoral curricula and examining the scope and content of required doctoral courses on teaching. Content analysis of social work doctoral program curricula (n = 72) and teaching and learning related course syllabi (n = 24) was conducted by two coders. Syllabi were coded and analyzed to produce a profile of course objectives, readings, teaching strategies, assessment methods, and course content. Findings Of the 72 PhD programs, 90% included a goal related to the preparation of their students for teaching; however, only 37 (51%) required a course on teaching. Course content, teaching, and assessment methods were found to vary across courses. Applications Training the next generation of social work practitioners to engage in effective social work practice is critical to the profession; however, the preparation of doctoral students to provide quality education to future social work practitioners seems to be largely neglected. Implications for doctoral education are discussed.
Polarization in Dynamic Networks : A Hopfield Model of Emergent Structure

Why do populations often self-organize into antagonistic groups even in the absence of competition over scarce resources? Is there a tendency to demarcate groups of “us” and “them” that is inscribed in our cognitive architecture? We look for answers by exploring the dynamics of influence and attraction between computational agents. Our model is an extension of Hopfield’s attractor network. Agents are attracted to others with similar states (the principle of homophily) and are also influenced by others, as conditioned by the strength and valence of the social tie. Negative valence implies xenophobia (instead of homophily) and differentiation (instead of imitation). Consistent with earlier work on structural balance, we find that networks can selforganize into two antagonistic factions, without the knowledge or intent of the agents. We model this tendency as a function of network size, the number of potentially contentious issues, and agents' openness and flexibility toward alternative positions. Although we find that polarization into two antagonistic groups is a unique global attractor, we investigate the conditions under which uniform and pluralistic alignments may also be equilibria. From a random start, agents can self-organize into pluralistic arrangements if the population size is large relative to the size of the state space.
Analysis of Early Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 DNA Synthesis by Use of a New Sensitive Assay for Quantifying Integrated Provirus

ABSTRACT A novel Alu-long terminal repeat (LTR)-based real-time nested-PCR assay was developed to quantify integrated human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) DNA in infected cells with both accuracy and high sensitivity (six proviruses within 50,000 cell equivalents). Parallel assays for total HIV-1 DNA and two-LTR HIV-1 DNA circles allowed the synthesis and fate of the different HIV-1 DNA species to be monitored upon a single round of viral replication.