Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multi-moji: Combining Thermal, Vibrotactile & Visual Stimuli to Expand the Affective Range of Feedback

This paper explores the combination of multiple concurrent modalities for conveying emotional information in HCI: temperature, vibration and abstract visual displays. Each modality has been studied individually, but can only convey a limited range of emotions within two-dimensional valence-arousal space. This paper is the first to systematically combine multiple modalities to expand the available affective range. Three studies were conducted: Study 1 measured the emotionality of vibrotactile feedback by itself; Study 2 measured the perceived emotional content of three bimodal combinations: vibrotactile + thermal, vibrotactile + visual and visual + thermal. Study 3 then combined all three modalities. Results show that combining modalities increases the available range of emotional states, particularly in the problematic top-right and bottom-left quadrants of the dimensional model. We also provide a novel lookup resource for designers to identify stimuli to convey a range of emotions
The role and mechanism of icmF in Aeromonas hydrophila survival in fish macrophages.

Survival in host macrophages is an effective strategy for pathogenic bacteria to spread. Aeromonas hydrophila has been found to survive in fish macrophages, but the mechanisms remain unknown. In this paper, the roles and possible mechanisms of IcmF in bacterial survival in fish macrophages were investigated. First, a stable silencing strain icmF-RNAi was constructed by shRNA and RT-qPCR confirmed the expression of icmF was down-regulated by 94.42%. The expression of Hcp, DotU and VgrG was also decreased in icmF-RNAi. The intracellular survival rate of the wild-type strain was 92.3%, while the survival rate of icmF-RNAi was only 20.58%. The escape rate of the wild-type strain was 20%, while that of the icmF-RNAi was only 7.5%. Further studies indicated that the expression of icmF can significantly affect the adhesion, biofilm formation, motility and acid resistance of A. hydrophila, but has no significant effect on the growth of A. hydrophila even under the stress of H2 O2 . The results indicated that IcmF of A. hydrophila not only acts as a structural protein which participates in virulence-related characteristics such as bacterial motility, adhesion and biofilm formation, but also acts as a key functional protein which participates in the interaction between bacteria and host macrophages.
Metacognition-oriented social skills training for individuals with long-term schizophrenia: methodology and clinical illustration.

PURPOSE There is much evidence indicating the presence of social deficits in schizophrenia and the detrimental effect of these deficits on global functioning in this population. As a result, social skills training (SST) has emerged as a legitimate psychosocial treatment, although effectiveness research has revealed small effect sizes and limited generalizability regarding the benefits of this treatment. METHODS In light of the strong evidence of metacognitive deficits in schizophrenia and the importance of metacognition to successful social functioning, we propose a novel therapeutic intervention wherein metacognitive remediation is integrated into SST: metacognition-oriented social skills training (MOSST). In the current paper, we present MOSST, an adapted SST programme wherein clients are also encouraged to have mindful contact with their own thoughts and to better consider and understand the mental states of others as well as the connection between mental states and behaviour. RESULTS We present a case wherein an individual with schizophrenia successfully completed the MOSST programme. CONCLUSION We outline directions for future research, starting with the logical next step of empirically testing the efficacy of MOSST. KEY PRACTITIONER MESSAGE Currently social skills training is considered to be the elected psychosocial treatment for people affected by schizophrenia, although evidence indicates limited benefits. People with schizophrenia have metacognitive deficits, which interfere with proper social functioning. A metacognitive-oriented social skills training (MOSST) intervention has been developed by the authors.A treatment such as MOSST, which integrates social skills training and metacognitive training, promises to improve social skills through improving the metacognition.
Identity by descent and DNA sequence variation of human SINE and LINE elements

To test the hypothesis that Alu and L1 elements are genetic characters that are essentially homoplasy-free, we sequenced a total of five human L1 elements and eleven recently integrated Alu elements from 160 chromosomes (80 individuals representing four diverse human populations). Analysis of worldwide samples at L1 loci revealed 292 segregating sites and a nucleotide diversity of 0.0050. For Ya5 Alu loci, there were 129 segregating sites and nucleotide diversity was estimated at 0.0045. The Alu and L1 sequence diversity varied element to element. No completely or partially deleted Alu or L1 alleles were identified during the analysis. These data suggest that mobile element insertions are identical by descent characters for the study of human population genetics.
DsdA (D‐serine deaminase): a new heterologous MX cassette for gene disruption and selection in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Dominant drug resistance markers offer experimental flexibility in the study of Saccharomyces cerevisiae by eliminating the dependence on auxotrophic mutations and, because they are phenotypically neutral, avoid the deleterious effects of auxotrophic mutations. We have developed a new dominant resistance marker, dsdAMX4, for use in the genetic manipulation of S. cerevisiae. The dsdA gene, which is derived from Escherichia coli and encodes a D‐serine deaminase, confers to S. cerevisiae resistance to D‐serine and the ability to use D‐serine as a nitrogen source. Here we describe the construction of a dsdAMX4 cassette, capable of expression in S. cerevisiae, and the characterization of this new marker for use in chromosomal gene disruption. The unique selection properties of the dsdAMX4 cassette make it an important addition to the existing array of S. cerevisiae genetic tools. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
FUSION SEGMENTATION METHOD BASED ON FUZZY THEORY FOR COLOR IMAGES

Abstract. The image segmentation method based on two-dimensional histogram segments the image according to the thresholds of the intensity of the target pixel and the average intensity of its neighborhood. This method is essentially a hard-decision method. Due to the uncertainties when labeling the pixels around the threshold, the hard-decision method can easily get the wrong segmentation result. Therefore, a fusion segmentation method based on fuzzy theory is proposed in this paper. We use membership function to model the uncertainties on each color channel of the color image. Then, we segment the color image according to the fuzzy reasoning. The experiment results show that our proposed method can get better segmentation results both on the natural scene images and optical remote sensing images compared with the traditional thresholding method. The fusion method in this paper can provide new ideas for the information extraction of optical remote sensing images and polarization SAR images.
Megalencephalic leukoencephalopathy with cysts without MLC1 defect

Megalencephalic leukoencephalopathy with subcortical cysts (MLC) is an autosomal recessive disease characterized by early infantile macrocephaly and delayed motor and cognitive deterioration. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) shows diffusely abnormal and swollen cerebral white matter and subcortical cysts. On follow‐up, atrophy ensues. Approximately 80% of MLC patients have mutations in MLC1. We report 16 MLC patients without MLC1 mutations. Eight retained the classical clinical and MRI phenotype. The other 8 showed major MRI improvement. They lacked motor decline. Five had normal intelligence; 3 displayed cognitive deficiency. In conclusion, 2 phenotypes can be distinguished among the non‐MLC1 mutated MLC patients: a classical and a benign phenotype. ANN NEUROL 2010;67:834–837
Real-time SVD for the control of redundant robotic manipulators

The process of reducing the computational expense of determining the singular value decomposition (SVD) of the Jacobian matrix to such an extent that online calculation becomes feasible is presented. It is shown that the incremental manner in which the Jacobian changes, along with the perturbation bounds on singular values and vectors, allows the reduction of the computational expense of calculating the SVD in three ways. First, the singular vectors from the previous calculation can be used to preorthogonalize the current Jacobian. Second, by virtue of nearly orthogonal columns, the iterative nature of the calculations can be prevented, thus avoiding convergence tests. Finally, since the few rotations required for orthogonalization are small in magnitude, approximations can be used. <<ETX>>
Health Confidence and Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Consumers’ Assessments of Health Care

This study examined whether health confidence is associated with consumers’ ratings and reports of care and whether adjusting for health confidence and other factors attenuates ethnic or racial disparities. Data are from the 2005 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Persons with greater health confidence had lower adjusted odds of high overall care ratings (OCRs) and high reports of getting needed care and provider communication. Adjusting for health confidence and other factors, there were no Hispanic/non-Hispanic differences. Compared with whites, African Americans had lower OCRs and reports of getting needed care; Asians had lower OCRs and reports of getting needed care, getting care quickly, and provider communication. Health care organizations and providers should consider targeting improvement efforts toward health-confident persons and adjusting for health confidence when comparing consumer assessments across groups. Although health confidence is associated with consumer assessments, other factors explain racial and ethnic differences.
Epidemiology of Vasopressin Use for Adults with Septic Shock.

RATIONALE Vasopressin may be used to treat vasodilatory hypotension in septic shock, but it is not recommended by guidelines as a first- or second-line agent. Little is known about how often the drug is used currently in septic shock. OBJECTIVES We conducted this study to describe patterns of vasopressin use in a large cohort of U.S. adults with septic shock and to identify patient and hospital characteristics associated with vasopressin use. METHODS This was a retrospective cohort study of adults admitted to U.S. hospitals with septic shock in the Premier healthcare database (July 2008 to June 2013). We performed multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression with hospitals as a random effect to identify factors associated with use of vasopressin alone or in combination with other vasopressors on at least 1 day of hospital admission. We calculated quotients of Akaike Information Criteria (AIC) to determine relative contributions of patient and hospital characteristics to observed variation. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Among 584,421 patients with septic shock in 532 hospitals, 100,923 (17.2%) received vasopressin. A total of 6.1% of patients receiving vasopressin received vasopressin alone, and 93.9% received vasopressin in combination with other vasopressors (up to five vasopressors in 15 different combinations). The mean monthly rate of vasopressin use increased from 14.5 to 19.6% over the study period, representing an average annual relative increase of 8% (P < 0.001). The median hospital rate of vasopressin use for septic shock was 11.7% (range, 0-69.7%). Patient demographic and clinical characteristics, including patient age (adjusted odds ratio, 0.71 for age > 85 yr compared with the reference group of age < 50 yr; 95% confidence interval, 0.69-0.74) and acute respiratory dysfunction (adjusted odds ratio, 3.25; 95% confidence interval, 3.20-3.31), were responsible for the majority of observed variation in vasopressin use (quotient of AICs, 0.56). However, hospital of admission also contributed substantially to observed variation (quotient of AICs, 0.37). CONCLUSIONS Approximately one-fifth of patients with septic shock received vasopressin, but rarely as a single vasopressor. The use of vasopressin has increased over time. The likelihood of receiving vasopressin was strongly associated with the specific hospital to which each patient was admitted.
Serum beta-hydroxybutyrate measurement in patients with uncontrolled diabetes mellitus.

OBJECTIVE To assess whether routinely measuring serum beta-hydroxybutyrate (beta-OHB) concentration might help judge the severity of or assist in treating patients with suspected ketoacidosis. METHODS Serum beta-OHB level was estimated by a standard enzymatic method in 64 episodes in adults admitted to a municipal hospital. Of the 85 specimens analyzed, 60 were taken before treatment from a nearly consecutive group of diabetic patients with ketosis, 21 were follow-up specimens, and 4 were from nondiabetic patients with ketosis. RESULTS In the 85 specimens, the correlation between serum carbon dioxide and beta-OHB levels was -0.69, and that between anion gap and beta-OHB level was 0.75. For just the initial specimens, the respective correlation coefficients were -0.60 and 0.52. CONCLUSIONS The correlations between serum beta-OHB and carbon dioxide levels and the anion gap were close, but not sufficiently so for the beta-OHB measurements to be routinely useful alone to assess the severity of the ketoacidosis. Full laboratory assessment of the severity and characteristics of ketoacidosis also requires knowledge of serum carbon dioxide level, anion gap, often blood pH, and ideally serum acetoacetate and lactate concentrations as well as serum beta-OHB concentration.
Overcoming a defect in generalized recombination in the marine fish pathogen Vibrio anguillarum 775: construction of a recA mutant by marker exchange

A defect in generalized recombination has prevented the use of marker exchange for the construction of specific chromosomal mutations in the marine fish pathogen Vibrio anguillarum 775. Through the use of large segments of homologous DNA, we were successful in overcoming this defect and used marker exchange to construct a recA mutant of V. anguillarum H775-3. A recombinant cosmid carrying the recA gene of V. anguillarum 775 in the center of a 25-kb cloned DNA insert was isolated by complementation of methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) sensitivity in Escherichia coli HB101. The recA gene was inactivated by inserting a kanamycin resistance gene into recA, and the mutant gene was subsequently introduced into V. anguillarum H775-3 by conjugal mobilization. Isolation of recombinants between cosmid-borne recA::kan sequences and chromosomal DNA was facilitated by the introduction of an incompatible plasmid, and Southern hybridization was used to verify the presence of recA::kan in the chromosomal DNA of the recA mutant. V. anguillarum carrying recA::kan was considerably more sensitive to UV radiation and to MMS than was its parent, and near wild-type levels of resistance to MMS and UV light were restored by introduction of cloned recA genes from both E. coli and V. anguillarum. These results indicate that recA is required for DNA repair in V. anguillarum and demonstrate the utility of this modified marker exchange technique for the construction of mutations in this economically important fish pathogen.
Human hepatic N-acetylglutamate content and N-acetylglutamate synthase activity. Determination by stable isotope dilution.

N-Acetyl-L-glutamate (N-acetylglutamate) content and N-acetylglutamate synthase activity ranges were established in human liver tissue homogenates by stable isotope dilution. The methods employ N-[methyl-2H3]acetyl[15N]glutamate as internal standard, extraction of N-acetylglutamate by anion-exchange technique and its determination by g.l. c. -mass spectrometry by using selected ion monitoring. Hepatic N-acetylglutamate content in 16 different human livers, normal in structure and function, ranged from 6.8 to 59.7 nmol/g wet wt. (25.0 +/- 13.4 mean +/- S.D.) or from 64.6 to 497.6 nmol/g of protein (223.2 +/- 104.2 mean +/- S.D.). In vitro, N-acetylglutamate synthase activity in liver tissue homogenate ranged from 44.5 to 374.5 (132.0 +/- 90.6 mean +/- S.D.) nmol/min per g wet wt. or from 491.7 to 3416.9 (1159.6 +/- 751.1 mean +/- S.D.) nmol/min per g of protein. No correlation was found between hepatic N-acetylglutamate concentrations and the respective maximal enzymic activities in vitro of N-acetylglutamate synthase. The marked variability in this system among individual livers may reflect its regulatory role in ureagenesis.
Modification of DBSCAN and application to range/Doppler/DoA measurements for pedestrian recognition with an automotive radar system

We present in this paper modifications of the Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise (DBSCAN) algorithm in order to detect pedestrians with a conventional automotive 77-GHz frequency modulated radar system. These modification include dimension scaling as preprocessing and a generalization of the ε-neighborhood notation by introducing a size parameter to constitute the new Ellipsoid DBSCAN (EDBSCAN) algorithm. With these modifications we could successfully cluster real-world measurement data in order to get reasonable cluster representations of pedestrians in a cluttered environment.
Structural Characterization of Piscine Globin R Superfamily Proteins globinX [ 1 ]

Globin superfamily proteins including myoglobin and hemoglobin, have welcome new members recently, namely, cytoglobin, neuroglobin and globin X, though their physiological functions are still to be addressed. Fish are the excellent models for the study of these globins, but their characteristics have not yet been discussed to date. In the present study, attempts have been made to characterize their structural uniqueness by making use of proteomics approach. This is the first comparative study on the characterization of globin superfamily proteins from fish. Keywords—Globin, Superfamily, Protein, Fish, Structure
2-Aminofluorene metabolism and DNA adduct formation by mononuclear leukocytes from rapid and slow acetylator mouse strains.

Following exposure of mice to the arylamine carcinogen 2-aminofluorene, DNA-carcinogen adducts can be found in the target tissues liver and bladder, and also in circulating leukocytes. Evidence is presented here that mouse mononuclear leukocytes (MNL) are capable of metabolizing 2-aminofluorene to DNA-binding metabolites which give rise to the adducts found in the MNL. Both lymphocytes and monocytes were able to acetylate arylamines during 18 h of culture. The degree of acetylation was determined by the N-acetyltransferase genotype of the mice as shown through use of acetylator congenic strains which differ only in the Nat-2 gene. Cultured MNL from rapid acetylator mice (C57BL/6J and A.B6-Natr) produced about twice as much N-acetylaminofluorene from 2-aminofluorene and 6- to 8-fold as much N-acetyl-p-aminobenzoic acid from p-aminobenzoic acid as cells from slow acetylator mice (B6.A-Nat(s) and A/J). Other differences in arylamine metabolism by MNL in culture were observed and shown to be due to genetic factors, currently unidentified, other than N-acetyltransferase. DNA adduct formation following incubation of MNL with the arylamine carcinogen 2-aminofluorene was related to both acetylation capacity and to other genetic metabolic factors in the mouse genome. MNL from rapid acetylator mice with the C57BL/6J background (B6) had 3-fold the DNA adduct levels of cells from the corresponding slow acetylator congenic (B6.A-Nat(s)). Similarly, MNL from rapid acetylator mice with the A/J background (A.B6-Natr) had twice the DNA adduct levels of those from their corresponding slow congenic (A). Adduct levels in MNL from C57BL/6J were nearly the same as those of MNL from A/J, again indicating the involvement of loci other than acetylation in DNA adduct formation. The finding of genetically dependent arylamine carcinogen metabolism and DNA adduct formation in cultured MNL suggests the possibility of using cultured MNL for assessing individual susceptibility to arylamine-induced DNA damage.
Rolled-up tubes and cantilevers by releasing SrRuO 3-Pr 0 . 7 Ca 0 . 3 MnO 3 nanomembranes

Three-dimensional micro-objects are fabricated by the controlled release of inherently strained SrRuO3/ Pr0.7Ca0. 3MnO3/SrRuO3 nanometer-sized trilayers from SrTiO3(001) substrates. Freestanding cantilevers and rolled-up microtubes with a diameter of 6 to 8 μm are demonstrated. The etching behavior of the SrRuO3 film is investigated, and a selectivity of 1:9,100 with respect to the SrTiO3 substrate is found. The initial and final strain states of the rolled-up oxide layers are studied by X-ray diffraction on an ensemble of tubes. Relaxation of the sandwiched Pr0.7Ca0. 3MnO3 layer towards its bulk lattice parameter is observed as the major driving force for the roll-up of the trilayers. Finally, μ-diffraction experiments reveal that a single object can represent the ensemble proving a good homogeneity of the rolled-up tubes. PACS: 81.07. -b; 68.60. -p; 68.37. Lp; 81.16. Dn.
Offload Decision Models and the Price of Anarchy in Mobile Cloud Application Ecosystems

With the maturity of technologies, such as HTML5 and JavaScript, and with the increasing popularity of cross-platform frameworks, such as Apache Cordova, mobile cloud computing as a new design paradigm of mobile application developments is becoming increasingly more accessible to developers. Following this trend, future on-device mobile application ecosystems will not only comprise a mixture of native and remote applications, but also include multiple hybrid mobile cloud applications. The resource competition in such ecosystems and its impact over the performance of mobile cloud applications has not yet been studied. In this paper, we study this competition from a game theoretical perspective and examine how it affects the behavior of mobile cloud applications. Three offload decision models of cooperative and non-cooperative nature are constructed and their efficiency compared. We present an extension to the classic load balancing game to model the offload behaviors within a non-cooperative environment. Mixed-strategy Nash equilibria are derived for the non-cooperative offload game with complete information, which further quantifies the price of anarchy in such ecosystems. We present simulation results that demonstrate the differences between each decision model's efficiency. Our modeling approach facilitates further research in the design of the offload decision engines of mobile cloud applications. Our extension to the classic load balancing game broadens its applicability to real-life applications.