Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mechanical characterization of aortic valve tissues using an inverse analysis approach

The use of numerical simulation to investigate heart and valvular mechanics is becoming increasingly popular. In particular, finite element analysis is often used to support the operation planning procedure as well as the design of new prostheses with mechanical properties as close as possible to those of natural tissues and an even better biocompatibility. With one of the highest prevalence of cardiovascular degenerative diseases [1], aortic valves (AV) have been widely studied during the last decades. The elastic [2] and time-dependent [3] behaviors of the AV leaflets under physiological biaxial loading states have been previously investigated in the literature over a wide range of loading conditions. As most soft tissues, AV has an oriented network of collagen fibers embedded in an elastin matrix, which is responsible for their hyperelastic and anisotropic behaviors. Accordingly, non-linear transverse isotropic constitutive equations are often used assuming a macroscopically-identifiable preferred fiber direction. In this study a new method is proposed in order to estimate relevant material and structural properties of AV while reducing at the same time the number of complex and time-consuming experiments. An inverse analysis procedure based on the finite element computation of planar biaxial tensile tests was used to set-up a reduced protocol. This protocol was then experimentally reproduced to identify real material parameters. The obtained material parameters will be later used to model heart valve tissues.
Draft Genome Sequence of Cytophaga fermentans JCM 21142T, a Facultative Anaerobe Isolated from Marine Mud

ABSTRACT Cytophaga fermentans strain JCM 21142T is a marine-dwelling facultative anaerobe. The draft genome sequence of this strain revealed its diverse chemoorganotrophic potential, which makes it capable of metabolizing various polysaccharide substrates. The genome data will facilitate further studies on its taxonomic reclassification, its metabolism, and the mechanisms pertaining to bacterial gliding.
Nuclear magnetic resonance structure of d(GCATATGATAG). d(CTATCATATGC): a consensus sequence for promoters recognized by sigma K RNA polymerase.

The three-dimensional structure of d(GCATATGATAG). d(CTATCATATGC), from the promoter region of a gene regulating sporulation in Bacillus subtilis mother cells, was determined utilizing two-dimensional nuclear Overhauser effect (2D NOE) and double-quantum-filtered COSY (2QF-COSY) spectra. To minimize the effect of methods used to obtain restraints and refine structure, several variables were studied. Interproton distance bounds were calculated very conservatively by running the complete relaxation matrix program MARDIGRAS hundreds of times using 2D NOE spectra for exchangeable and for nonexchangeable protons at different mixing times, assuming different overall correlation times and different starting structures. The 435 distance restraints were used with two different structural refinement methods: restrained molecular dynamics (rMD) and restrained Monte Carlo calculations (rMC). Refinement using different procedures and starting structures resulted in essentially the same structure (<0.8 A rmsd), indicating that the structure is defined by experimental restraints and not the refinement method or variables used. R factors indicate the structures fit the experimental NOE data very well. Some helical parameters, notably large negative X displacement, are characteristic of A-DNA, but others are characteristic of B-DNA. As with TG.CA steps in other duplex DNA sequences studied in our laboratory, the two TG.CA steps have a positive roll, with T6-G7 exhibiting the largest, and consequently a bent helix axis. The converged structure represents a time-averaged structure. However, multiple conformations, especially in deoxyriboses, were evident from vicinal coupling constants obtained from quantitative simulations of 2QF-COSY cross-peaks and from persistent inconsistencies in experimental distances due to nonlinear conformational averaging.
Smartphone fluorescence spectroscopy

We demonstrate the first use of smartphone spectrophotometry for readout of fluorescence-based biological assays. We evaluated the smartphone fluorimeter in the context of a fluorescent molecular beacon (MB) assay for detection of a specific nucleic acid sequences in a liquid test sample. The capability of distinguishing a one-point mismatch is also demonstrated by detecting single-base mutation in target nucleic acids. Our approach offers a route towards portable biomolecular assays for viral/bacterial pathogens, disease biomarkers, and toxins.
Impact of pioglitazone and bradykinin type 1 receptor antagonist on type 2 diabetes in high‐fat diet‐fed C57BL/6J mice

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a major complication of obesity and a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Antagonizing bradykinin type 1 receptor (B1R) improved body and tissue fat mass and reversed vascular and adipose tissue inflammation in a rat model of insulin resistance. This study aimed at evaluating further the role of B1R in a mouse model of T2D by comparing the antidiabetic and anti‐inflammatory effects of the B1R antagonist SSR240612 (SSR) in adipose tissue with those of pioglitazone (TZD), an activator of peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor gamma.
Visual Scanning of Dynamic Affective Stimuli in Autism Spectrum Disorders

The accurate integration of audio-visual emotion cues is critical for social interactions and requires efficient processing of facial cues. Gaze behavior of typically developing (TD) individuals and individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) was measured via eyetracking during the perception of dynamic audio-visual emotion (DAVE) stimuli. This study provides information about the regions of the face sampled during an emotion perception task that is relatively more complex than those used in previous studies, providing both bimodal (auditory and visual) and dynamic (biological motion) cues. Results indicated that the ASD group was less accurate at emotion detection and demonstrated less of a visual-affective bias than TD individuals. Both groups displayed similar fixation patterns across regions during the perception of congruent audio-visual stimuli. However, between-group analyses revealed that fixation patterns differed significantly by facial regions during the perception of both congruent and incongruent movies together. In addition, fixation duration to critical regions (i.e., face, core, eyes) was negatively correlated with measures of ASD symptomatology and social impairment. Findings suggest weaknesses in the early integration of audio-visual information, automatic perception of emotion, and efficient detection of affective conflict in individuals with ASD. Implications for future research and social skills intervention programs are discussed. INDEX WORDS: Autism Spectrum Disorders, Emotion perception, Eye-tracking, Gaze behavior, Face processing VISUAL SCANNING OF DYNAMIC AFFECTIVE STIMULI IN AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS
Predicting the progress of colon cancer by DNA methylation markers of the p16 gene in feces - Evidence from an animal model

A new noninvasive screening tool for colorectal neoplasia detects epigenetic alterations exhibited by gastrointestinal tumor cells shed into stool. There is insufficient existing data to determine temporal associations between colorectal cancer (CRC) progression and aberrant DNA methylation. To evaluate the feasibility of using fecal DNA methylation status to determine CRC progression, we collected stool samples from 14 male SD rats aged six weeks, and administered subcutaneous injections of either 1,2-dimethylhydrazine or saline weekly. p16 DNA methylation statuses in tumorous and normal colon tissue, and from stool samples were determined using methylation-specific PCR. Additionally, p16 methylation was detected in stool DNA from 85.7% of the CRC rats. The earliest change in p16 methylation status in the DMH-treated group stool samples occurred during week nine; repeatabilities were 57.1% in week 19 (p = 0.070) and 85.7% in week 34 (p = 0.005). A temporal correlation was evidenced between progression of CRC and p16 methylation status, as evidenced by DMH-induced rat feces. Using fecal DNA methylation status to determine colorectal tissue methylation status can reveal CRC progression. Our data suggests that p16 promoter methylation is a feasible epigenetic marker for the detection and may be useful for CRC screening.
The role of articulatory suppression in immediate false recognition

False memory for critical lures has been widely documented in long-term memory using the Deese/Roediger-McDermott paradigm. Recent evidence suggests that false memory effects can also be found in short-term memory (STM), supporting models that assume a strong relationship between short-term and long-term memory processes. However, no study has examined the role of articulatory suppression on immediate false memory, even though phono-articulatory factors are critically involved in STM performance and are an intrinsic part of all STM accounts. The current study proposes a novel paradigm to assess false memory effects in a STM task under both silent and articulatory suppression conditions. Using immediate serial recognition, in which participants had to judge whether two successive mixed lists of six associated and non-associated words were matched, we examined true recognition of matching lists and false recognition of mismatching lists comprising a critical lure or unrelated distractor in two experiments. Results from both experiments indicated reduced true recognition of matching lists and greater false serial recognition of mismatching lists comprising a critical lure under articulatory suppression relative to silence. These findings provide further support for some current models of verbal short-term memory, which posit a strong relationship between short-term and long-term memory processes.
Decentralized Detection'

Consider a set of sensors that receive observations from the environment and transmit finite-valued messages to a fusion center that makes a final decision on one out of M alternative hypotheses. The problem is to provide rules according to which the sensors should decide what to transmit, in order to optimize a measure of organizational performance. We overview the available theory for the Bayesian formulation, and improve upon the known results for the Neyman-Pearson variant of the problem. We also discuss (i) computational issues, (ii) asymptotic results, (iii) generalizations to more complex organizations, and (iv) sequential problems. To appear in Advances in Statistical Signal Processing, Vol. 2: Signal Detection, H. V. Poor and J. B. Thomas, Editors. 1. Research supported by the ONR under Contract N00014-84-K-0519 (NR 649-003) and by the ARO under contract DAAL03-86-K-0171. 2. Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, U.S.A.
The dynamics of mindfulness in managing emotions and stress

Purpose – This paper aims to review the concept of mindfulness and to show how it can be extended from psychology into management. Also, it seeks to introduce a new model of the psyche which incorporates two types of mindfulness (“meta‐mindfulness” and “supra‐mindfulness”) which can be used by managers to increase their capacity to handle emotional reactivity and to reduce stress.Design/methodology/approach – It is proposed that the “meta‐self” or Managing Ego plays a key role in emotions management and stress reduction by using meta‐mindfulness to actively monitor one's sub‐selves which react with the external world. The current approach also postulates that an individual's “supra‐self” or inner‐observer is crucial in reducing stress by passively exercising neutral observation of all psychic activity via the above‐mind state of supra‐mindfulness.Research limitations/implications – The paper indicates how the proposed models of the psyche and of the dynamics of mindfulness in emotions and stress managemen.
The distance learning of foreign languages: A research agenda

Research into the distance learning of languages is now established as a significant avenue of enquiry in language teaching, with evident research trajectories in several domains. This article selects and analyses significant areas of investigation in distance language learning and teaching to identify new and emerging gaps, along with research questions, methodologies and research tools. Taken together these define a research agenda focusing on theory, pedagogy, technology use, learner contributions, innovation and less commonly taught languages. Within those broad areas, the scope of proposed research tasks includes the distinctive features and practices of distance language teaching, task design for synchronous settings, mentoring, multimodal learning environments, the transfer of speaking skills, and learners’ affective experiences. To conclude, a number of guidelines are given for future enquiry addressing the distinctive nature of research into distance language teaching and learning and the need for a rich evidence base in both theory and practice.
Juvenile Justice System Outcomes Among Foreign-Born and Native-Born Latinos in the United States

A growing body of research has identified a negative relationship between generational status and criminological outcomes such that foreign-born Latinos are significantly less likely to report offending, victimization, and drug use compared to their native-born counterparts. What has been explored to a lesser degree is the extent to which generational status impacts the experiences of Latino youth within the juvenile justice system. Using the Add Health data set, this article explores the prevalence of juvenile court involvement among foreign (i.e., first generation) and native-born (i.e., second generation or higher) Latino youth as well as the types of offenses for which they were adjudicated delinquent. Results suggest that significant differences exist between the foreign and native-born both in terms of juvenile court involvement and offense types. These findings are discussed relative to the extant literature and juvenile justice policy and practice.
Collaborative Synchronization for Signal Reinforcement in Sensor Networks

Nodes in sensor fields and in autonomous swarms of mobile robots need to communicate; this usually requires individual nodes to either consume a significant amount of energy, carefully position themselves, precisely align carrier phase, or use complex coding. We propose an alternative strategy of allowing multiple independent and mobile wireless transmitters to share the power-consumption burden by combining low-power transmissions into a unified higher-power transmission. This is not a distributed beamforming or space-time coding approach. Instead, all nodes simultaneously broadcast the same symbol on the same channel without using different code books and without aligning carriers. This paper describes modulation, synchronization, and node selection schemes which make this possible. It also covers both baseband and over-the-air test results.
Combating Social Exclusion: The EU's Contribution

The purpose of this short note is to provide an account and review of EU policy developments with respect to social exclusion. Policy initiatives designed to assist Member States in their fight against poverty and social exclusion have featured on the EU policy agenda over the last three decades. However, in recent years the issue has received renewed and sustained attention following the setting at the 2000 European Council meeting at Lisbon, by the heads of State and government, of the strategic goal for the EU to become by 2010 ‘the most competitive and dynamic knowledge based economy capable of sustainable economic growth and with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion’. Employment, economic and social policies are now presented as interrelated and mutually reinforcing, with social cohesion being critical to economic success. The goal of delivering this ‘Lisbon agenda’ has, for the past five years, been framing the EU’s activities. According to the 2000 Social Policy Agenda, achieving the Lisbon agenda goals requires a social policy strategy aimed at ‘modernising the European Social Model, investing in people and combating social exclusion’ (COM (2000) 379 final, p 5). Social exclusion, the Commission explains, may be defined as a multidimensional process, whereby ‘people are pushed to the edge of society and prevented from participating fully [in economic, social, political and cultural life] by virtue of their poverty’ (Commission and Council, Second Joint Inclusion Report, 2004). Indeed, social exclusion is seen as the ‘greatest threat’ to social cohesion. The combating of social exclusion also feeds into a broader theme of the promotion of solidarity, which is now to be found amongst the EU’s objectives as set out in the new Constitutional Treaty. Further, concerns with issues of social cohesion and exclusion have been heightened with the enlargement to 25 Member States in May 2004, through the accession of ten new states with very different welfare traditions from the already diverse systems represented amongst the ‘old’ states. The capacity of all States to meet their welfare commitments to their citizens is, of course, Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law Vol. 27, No. 1, March 2005, pp. 113–120
Chronic Antibody Mediated Rejection of Renal Allografts: Pathological, Serological and Immunologic Features in Nonhuman Primates

The pathogenesis of late renal allograft loss is heterogeneous and difficult to diagnose. We have analyzed renal allografts in nonhuman primates to determine the relationship between alloantibodies and the graft pathology of late graft loss. Seventeen Cynomolgus monkeys were chosen from among those on several protocols for renal allotransplantation with mixed chimerism induction so that animals with and without alloantibodies were included. All animals received transient CD154 blockade and short‐term cyclosporine treatment until day 28. Serial blood samples were tested for alloantibodies. Protocol biopsies and autopsy kidneys were scored for pathology and C4d deposition. Group 1, defined by complete lack of C4d deposition (24 tissue samples; 8 recipients), had no detectable alloantibodies (33 serum samples; 1–7 samples per recipient) and no evidence of chronic rejection. Three survived greater than 2 years with normal function and histology. Group 2, defined as having C4d deposition in peritubular capillaries, all made alloantibodies (100%), and most grafts later showed chronic allograft glomerulopathy (89%), and/or arteriopathy (89%). All grafts in Group 2 failed (3–27 months). Pathologic lesions of typical of chronic rejection in humans develop in monkeys, correlate with antecedent alloantibodies/C4d deposition and predict chronic rejection rather than durable accommodation.
Probing the Structural States of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Pr55gag by Using Monoclonal Antibodies

ABSTRACT Gag-FP (fluorescent protein) fusion constructs are commonly used to study human immunodeficiency virus type 1 assembly, yielding diffuse signals throughout the cytoplasm along with punctate signals routinely described as virus-like particles (VLPs) representing assembled but unprocessed Gag. However, these particles cannot be accurately described as VLPs, since fluorescence microscopy cannot provide structural resolution. We demonstrate here that the inability of a monoclonal p24 antibody to bind its cognate epitope when unprocessed Gag is assembled distinguishes VLPs from unassembled, monomeric Gag. Furthermore, we show that assembled and unassembled Gag punctate signals travel along microtubules. These monoclonal antibody studies provide a new tool for examining retroviral assembly.
High School Achievement, Self-Efficacy, and Locus of Control as Predictors of Freshman Academic Performance

78 male and 241 female college students completed self-report measures of social and general self-efficacy and academic locus of control midway through their first term in college. Fall semester credits completed and gradepoint average were criterion measures, while high school performance and personality variables were predictor variables. Although the magnitude of the coefficients was small (<.30), fall GPA was significantly related to high school English average and class rank and to social efficacy. Fall credits completed were significantly related to high school averages in Mathematics and English, class rank, to SAT Mathematics and Verbal scores, and to social efficacy. Regression analysis indicated that none of the high school performance or personality variables were predictors of fall semester achievement. General self-efficacy and locus of control were not significantly related to either academic criterion measure. Implications for interventions with beginning college students are offered.
Towards Distributed Service Allocation in Fog-to-Cloud (F2C) Scenarios

The novel Fog-to-Cloud (F2C) computing paradigm has been recently proposed aiming at the enhanced integration of Fog Computing and Cloud Computing through the coordinated management of underlying resources, taking into account the peculiarities inherent to each computing model, and enabling the parallel and distributed execution of services into distinct fog/cloud resources. Nevertheless, studies on F2C are still premature and several issues remain unsolved yet. For instance, in an F2C scenario service allocation must cope with the specific aspects associated to cloud and fog resource models, requiring distinct strategies to properly map IoT services into the most suitable available resources. In this paper, we propose a QoS-aware service distribution strategy contemplating both service requirements and resource offerings. We model the service allocation problem as a multidimensional knapsack problem (MKP) aiming at an optimal service allocation taking into consideration delay, load balancing and energy consumption. The presented results, demonstrate that the adopted strategy may be applied by F2C computing reducing the service allocation delay, while also diminishing load and energy consumption on cloud and fog resources.
The Role of Aesthetics and Perception in Raising Situation Awareness: Lessons from SpringRain

In the face of increased cyber risks, we present our iterative design process and the resulting principles of SpringRain, an information visualization (infoVis) display design concept for large screens in network control rooms (NOCs). It aims to raise team situation awareness by visualizing large-scale multidimensional computer network data sets as a live “rainfall. ” We used aesthetic principles and theories of perception to prototype this ambient, yet data-dense, visualization. By applying multiple data dimensions to different properties of a line segment, such as length, motion, and color, the two-dimensional visualization offers analytical affordances (i.e., graphic qualities that make it clear how the display should be “read”) that can be processed pre-attentively (i.e., under 200 ms). This grants that time-sensitive anomalies in the network can be noticed, processed, and addressed in a timely manner. Our design approach was driven by theories rather than existing design works in the hope of encouraging more user-centered theories-driven infoVis designs that are better suited to user needs and requirements. Expert reviewers’ feedback from the VAST 2013 Challenge committee confirmed the novelty of the design and pointed to opportunities for improvements. We discuss three redesign attempts to address some of the identified limitations.