Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Monocyte imaging after myocardial infarction with 19F MRI at 3 T: a pilot study in explanted porcine hearts.

AIM Inflammation is a hallmark of cardiac healing after myocardial infarction and it determines subsequent cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The aim of the present study was to explore whether inflammation imaging with two perfluorocarbon (PFC) nanoemulsions and fluorine magnetic resonance imaging ((19)F MRI) is feasible at 3.0 T with sufficient signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) using explanted hearts, an (19)F surface coil and dedicated MR sequences. METHODS AND RESULTS Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) was induced by balloon angioplasty (50 min) of the distal left anterior descending artery in 12 pigs. One day thereafter, PFCs were injected intravenously to label circulating monocytes. Either emulsified perfluoro-15-crown-5 ether or already clinically applied perfluorooctyl bromide (PFOB) was applied. Four days after AMI and immediately after gadolinium administration, hearts were explanted and imaged with a 3.0 T Achieva MRI scanner. (19)F MRI could be acquired with an SNR of >15 using an in-plane resolution of 2 × 2 mm(2) within <20 min for both agents. Combined late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) and (19)F MRI revealed that (19)F signal was inhomogenously distributed across LGE myocardium reflecting patchy macrophage infiltration as confirmed by histology. In whole hearts, we found an apico-basal (19)F gradient within LGE-positive myocardium. The (19)F-positive volume was always smaller than LGE volume. Ex vivo experiments on isolated monocytes revealed that pig and human cells phagocytize PFCs even more avidly than mouse monocytes. CONCLUSION This pilot study demonstrates that (19)F MRI at 3.0 T with clinically applicable PFOB is feasible, thus highlighting the potential of (19)F MRI to monitor the inflammatory response after AMI.
The art of false alarms in the game of deception: Leveraging fake honeypots for enhanced security

The great popularity of the Internet increases the concern for the safety of its users as many malicious Web pages pop up in daily basis. Client honeypots are tools, which are able to detect malicious Web pages, which aim to infect their visitors. These tools are widely used by researchers and anti-virus companies in their attempt to protect Internet users from being infected. Unfortunately, cyber-criminals are becoming aware of this type of detection and create evasion techniques that allow them to behave in a benign way when they feel to be threatened. This bi-faceted behavior enables them to operate for a longer period, which translates in more profit. Hence, these deceptive Web pages pose a significant challenge to existing client honeypot approaches, making them incapable to detect them when exhibit the aforementioned behavior. In this paper, we mitigate this problem by designing and developing a framework that benefits from this bi-faceted behavior. Our main goal is to protect users from being infected. More precisely, we leverage the evasion techniques used by cyber-criminals and implement a prototype, called Scarecrow, which triggers false alarms in the cases of deceptive Web pages. Consequently, the users that use Scarecrow for Web surfing can remain protected, even if they visit a malicious Website. We evaluate our implementation against malicious URLs provided by a large anti-virus company and show that when Scarecrow is deployed, malicious Websites with bi-faceted behavior do not launch their attacks against normal users.
Altered visual focus on sensorimotor control in people with chronic ankle instability

Abstract The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of the combination of chronic ankle instability (CAI) and altered visual focus on strategies for dynamic stability during a drop-jump task. Nineteen participants with self-reported CAI and 19 healthy participants performed a drop-jump task in looking-up and looking-down conditions. For the looking-up condition, participants looked up and read a random number that flashed on a computer monitor. For the looking-down condition, participants focused their vision on the force plate. Sagittal- and frontal-plane kinematics in the hip, knee and ankle were calculated at the time points of 100 ms pre-initial foot contact to ground and at IC. The resultant vector time to stabilisation was calculated with ground reaction force data. The CAI group demonstrated less hip flexion at the point of 100 ms pre-initial contact (P < 0.01), and less hip flexion (P = 0.03) and knee flexion at initial contact (P = 0.047) compared to controls. No differences in kinematics or dynamic stability were observed in either looking-up or looking-down conditions (P > 0.05). Altered visual focus did not influence movement patterns during the drop-jump task, but the presence of CAI did. The current data suggests that centrally mediated changes associated with CAI may lead to global alterations in the sensorimotor control.
Formal Modeling of the Resistance to Peer Influence Questionnaire: A Comparison of Adolescent Boys and Girls With and Without Mild-to-Borderline Intellectual Disability

Items of the Resistance to Peer Influence Questionnaire (RPIQ) have a tree-based structure. On each item, individuals first choose whether a less versus more peer-resistant group best describes them; they then indicate whether it is “Really true” versus “Sort of true” that they belong to the chosen group. Using tree-based item response theory, we show that RPIQ items tap three dimensions: A Resistance to Peer Influence (RPI) dimension and two Response Polarization dimensions. We then reveal subgroup differences on these dimensions. That is, adolescents with mild-to-borderline intellectual disability, compared with typically developing adolescents, are less RPI and more polarized in their responses. Also, girls, compared with boys, are more RPI, and, when high RPI, more polarized in their responses. Together, these results indicate that a tree-based modeling approach yields a more sensitive measure of individuals’ RPI as well as their tendency to respond more or less extremely.
Effects of portal free fatty acid elevation on insulin clearance and hepatic glucose flux.

We tested the hypothesis that, due to greater hepatic free fatty acid (FFA) load, portal delivery of FFAs, as in visceral obesity, induces hyperinsulinemia and increases endogenous glucose production to a greater extent than peripheral FFA delivery. For 5 h, 10 microeq.kg(-1). min(-1) portal oleate (n = 6), equidose peripheral oleate (n = 5), or saline (n = 6) were given intravenously to conscious dogs infused with a combination of portal and peripheral insulin to enable calculation of hepatic insulin clearance during a pancreatic euglycemic clamp. Peripheral FFAs were similar with both oleate treatments and were threefold greater than in controls. Portal FFAs were 1.5- to 2-fold greater with portal than with peripheral oleate. Peripheral insulin concentrations were greatest with portal oleate, intermediate with peripheral oleate (P < 0.001 vs. portal oleate or controls), and lowest in controls, consistent with corresponding reductions in plasma insulin clearance and hepatic insulin clearance. Although endogenous glucose production did not differ between the two routes of oleate delivery, total glucose output (endogenous glucose production plus glucose cycling) was greater with portal than with peripheral oleate (P < 0.001) despite the higher insulin levels. In conclusion, during euglycemic clamps in dogs, the main effect of short-term elevation in portal FFA is to generate peripheral hyperinsulinemia. This may, in the long term, contribute to the metabolic and cardiovascular risk of visceral obesity.
Organization, Evolution, Cognition and Dynamic Capabilities

Using insights from ‘embodied cognition’ and a resulting ‘cognitive theory of the firm’, I aim to contribute to the further development of evolutionary theory of organizations, in the specification of organizations as ‘interactors’ that carry organizational competencies as ‘replicators’, within industries as ‘populations’. Especially, I analyze how, if at all, ‘dynamic capabilities’ can be fitted into evolutionary theory. I propose that the prime purpose of an organization is to serve as a cognitive ‘focusing device’. Here, cognition has a wide meaning, including perception, interpretation, sense making, and value judgements. I analyse how this yields organizations as cohesive wholes, and differences within and between industries. I propose the following sources of variation: replication in communication, novel combinations of existing knowledge, and a path of discovery by which exploitation leads to exploration. These yield a proposal for dynamic capabilities. I discuss in what sense, and to what extent these sources of variation are ‘blind’, as postulated in evolutionary theory.
GameChange(H)er: How Nancy Drew Video Games Build Strong Girls

There are limitations in the amount and scope of female protagonists in video games that are made for and marketed toward adolescent girls, and very few studies on the effects on girls when they play them. Furthermore, the games that exist are often lacking in immersive factors as compared with games marketed toward males. This research explores the role of agentic (proactively moving the game forward through choice and action) female video game protagonists in generating positive effects in gamers, investigated through the example of the Nancy Drew video game series. In this March and April of 2013, 341 fan letters were gathered from the Her Interactive website and qualitatively analysed using grounded theory principles. Open coding was used to generate categories, which were then consolidated into four core phenomena and one miscellaneous category: agency, absorption, academics, connection, and other. Players of Nancy Drew video games reported engagement with the games, resulting in positive effects in several areas including agency, academic pursuits, literacy, career choice and family closeness. Implications for this research include recommendations for the inclusion of agentic female protagonists and an increase in production of games for adolescent girls.
Total CAD/CAM Supported Method for Manufacturing Removable Complete Dentures

The incorporation of computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) technology into complete denture fabrication brings about several advantages to the fabrication process, providing better predictability of the desired outcomes and high accuracy of denture fit, mainly because the milling of prepolymerized acrylic resin eliminates the shrinkage of the acrylic base. Also, there is a decrease in the porosity when compared to a conventionally processed denture, and consequently there is a decrease in the retention of Candida albicans on the denture base. The presented workflow for complete denture fabrication presents a totally wax-free manufacturing process, combining rapid prototyping (RP) and rapid milling. With the presented technique, the maxillomandibular relation (MMR) and the ideal setup of the tooth arrangement are developed by using occlusion rims and trial setup made with RP. For the definitive final denture, the denture base and the basal surfaces of the conventional denture teeth were milled according to the individual clinical situation. Posteriorly, the teeth were adapted and bonded into the milled sockets of the milled base.
Postdigital Play and the Aesthetics of Recruitment

This paper analyses reconfigurations of play in newly emergent material and digital configurations of game design. It extends recent work examining dimensions of hybridity in playful products by turning attention to interfaces, practices and spaces, rather than devices. We argue that the concept of hybrid play relies on predefining clear and distinct entities that then enter into hybrid situations. Drawing on concepts of the ‘interface’ and ‘postdigital’, we argue the distribution of computing devices creates difficulties for such presuppositions. Instead, we propose an ‘aesthetic of recruitment’ that is adequate to the new openness of social and technical play.
Effects of Large-Scale Acquisition on Food Insecurity in Sierra Leone Genesis

The recent phenomenon of large-scale acquisition of land for a variety of investment purposes has raised deep concerns over the food security, livelihood and socio-economic development of communities in many regions of the developing world. This study set out to investigate the food security outcomes of land acquisitions in northern Sierra Leone. Using a mixture of quantitative and qualitative research methods, the study measures the severity of food insecurity and hunger, compares the situation of food security before and after the onset of operations of a land investing company, analyzes the food security implications of producing own food versus depending on wage labour for household food needs, and evaluates initiatives put in place by the land investing company to mitigate its food insecurity footprint. Results show an increase in the severity of food insecurity and hunger. Household income from agricultural production has fallen. Employment by the land investing company is limited in terms of the number of people it employs relative to the population of communities in which it operates. Also, wages from employment by the company cannot meet the staple food needs of its employees. The programme that has been put in place by the company to mitigate its food insecurity footprint is failing because of a host of reasons that relate to organization and power relations. In conclusion, rural people are better off producing their own food than depending on the corporate structure of land investment companies. Governments should provide an enabling framework to accommodate this food security need, both in land investment operations that are ongoing and in those that are yet to operate. OPEN ACCESS Sustainability 2015, 7 9506
The effect of anger and sadness on prosocial decision making: The role of the interpersonal attribution of responsibility

Previous research suggested that emotions have an effect on prosocial decision making depending on the dimensions of emotional valence, little research has verified the role of specific emotions of the same valence. Drawing on the Appraisal-Tendency Framework (ATF), the present set of studies aimed to explore the carryover effect of two incidentally negative emotions, i.e. anger and sadness, on prosocial decision making and the role of the interpersonal attribution of responsibility in this effect. We conducted two studies, where emotions were induced via the Autobiographical Emotional Memory Task was ambiguous or when the recipients were blamed. We conclude that (a) Incidental emotions of the same valence have different effects of carrying over on prosocial decision making- sadness facilitates helping behavior while anger impedes prosocial decision making, and (b) Interpersonal attribution of responsibility contributes to such effect. Anger and sadness have opposing effects on prosocial decision making only when the interpersonal attribution of responsibility remains ambiguous. These findings have important implications for understanding the mechanism underlying the impacts of different incidental emotions of the same valence on prosocial decision making.
An improved upper bound on block error probability of least squares superposition codes with unbiased Bernoulli dictionary

For the additive white Gaussian noise channel with average power constraint, it is shown that sparse superposition codes, proposed by Barron and Joseph in 2010, achieve the capacity. We study the upper bounds on its block error probability with least squares decoding when a dictionary with which we make codewords is drawn from an unbiased Bernoulli distribution. We improve the upper bounds shown by Takeishi et.al. in 2014 with fairly simplified form.
Emotion Recognition of EMG Based on Improved L-M BP Neural Network and SVM

This paper compares the emotional pattern recognition method between standard BP neural network classifier and BP neural network classifier improved by the L-M algorithm. Then we compare the method Support Vector Machine (SVM) to them. Experiment analyzes wavelet transform of surface Electromyography (EMG) to extract the maximum and minimum wavelet coefficients of multi-scale firstly. We then input the two kinds of classifier of the structural feature vector for emotion recognition. The experimental result shows that the standard BP neural network classifier, L-M improved BP neural network classifier and support vector machine's overall pattern recognition rate is 62.5%, 83.33% and 91.67 respectively. Experimental result shows that feature vector extracted by the wavelet transform can characterize emotional patterns through the comparison with the BP neural network classifier and Support Vector Machine, indicating that the Support Vector Machine have a stronger emotional recognition effect.
Mapping Learning and Game Mechanics for Serious Games Analysis in Engineering Education

In a world where students are increasing digitally tethered to powerful, always on mobile devices, new models of engagement and approaches to teaching and learning are required from educators. Serious games (SGs) have proved to have instructional potential, but there is still a lack of methodologies and tools not only for their design but also to support the game analysis and assessment. This paper explores the use of SG to increase student engagement and retention. The development phase of the Circuit Warz game is presented to demonstrate how electronic engineering education can radically be reimagined to create immersive, highly engaging learning experiences that are problem-centered and pedagogically sound. The learning mechanics-game mechanics framework for the SG game analysis is introduced and its practical use in an educational game design scenario is shown as a case study.
NMR studies in DPC of a fragment containing the seventh transmembrane helix of a GPCR from Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Address reprint requests to Fred Naider, College of Staten Island, CUNY, USA, Tel: +1-718982 3896. Fax: +1-718982 3910 , E-mail address: naider@mail.csi. cuny.edu or to Oliver Zerbe, Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Zurich, Switzerland, Tel: +41-44635 42 63. Fax: 0041-44-635 68 82. E-mail address: oliver.zerbe@oci.unizh. ch Biophys J BioFAST, published on April 20, 2007 as doi:10.1529/biophysj.106. 103770
Firms Operating Under Infrastructure and Credit Constraints in Developing Countries: The Case of Power Generators

Many developing countries are unable to provide their industrial sector with reliable power and many enterprises have to contend with electricity that is insufficient and of poor quality. Because of these constraints, firms in developing countries opt for self-generation even though it is widely considered a second best solution. This paper develops a theoretical model of investment behavior in remedial infrastructure when physical and credit constraints are present. It then tests econometrically some implications from this model using a large sample of enterprises from 87 countries from the World Bank Enterprise Survey Database. After showing that these constraints interact and have non-linear effects depending on the industrial sector's degree of reliance on electricity and size of firms, the paper draws differentiated policy recommendations. Credit constraints appear to be the priority in sectors very reliant on electricity to spur entry and convergence to the technological frontier, while in other sectors, firms would benefit more widely from marginal improvements in electrical supply.
Treatment of brain tumors in children is associated with abnormal MR spectroscopic ratios in brain tissue remote from the tumor site.

PURPOSE Children who have brain tumors are at risk for a variety of treatment-related sequelae, including neuropsychological and cognitive impairment, neurologic deficits, and neuroendocrinologic disturbances. We sought to determine the value of proton MR spectroscopy in assessing brain tissue remote from the tumor site to ascertain the effects of chemotherapy and radiation treatment in these patients. METHODS Single-voxel proton MR spectra from 70 patients (111 spectra) and 11 healthy volunteers (11 spectra) were analyzed. NAA/Cr, NAA/Cho, and Cho/Cr ratios based on peak areas were obtained from nonneoplastic regions of the frontal lobe. The relationship between MR spectroscopic ratios and treatment was determined. RESULTS NAA-containing ratios were decreased in patients as compared with control subjects. The presence of gadolinium-based contrast material did not cause significant changes in the ratios as compared with precontrast data. When chemotherapy was a component of a child's treatment protocol, we found a significant decline in NAA/Cr ratios. Patients who underwent both chemotherapy and radiation therapy showed a trend toward lower NAA-containing ratios if the chemotherapy was administered before the radiation therapy. Patients receiving whole-brain radiation had a trend toward lower NAA-containing ratios than did those who had only focal tumor treatment. CONCLUSION In children with brain tumors, MR spectroscopy of brain tissue remote from the tumor reveals treatment-related biochemical changes.
Streams on Wires - A Query Compiler for FPGAs

Taking advantage of many-core, heterogeneous hardware for data processing tasks is a diﬃcult problem. In this paper, we consider the use of FPGAs for data stream processing as co-processors in many-core architectures. We present Glacier , a component library and compositional compiler that transforms continuous queries into logic circuits by composing library components on an operator-level basis. In the paper we consider selection, aggregation, grouping, as well as windowing operators, and discuss their design as modular elements. Wealso show how signiﬁcant performance improvements can be achieved by inserting the FPGA into the system’s data path ( e.g. , between the network interface and the host CPU). Our experiments show that queries on the FPGA can process streams at more than one million tuples per second and that they can do this directly from the network, removing much of the overhead of transferring the data to a conventional CPU.
Molecular Basis for Anaerobic Growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae on Xylose, Investigated by Global Gene Expression and Metabolic Flux Analysis

ABSTRACT Yeast xylose metabolism is generally considered to be restricted to respirative conditions because the two-step oxidoreductase reactions from xylose to xylulose impose an anaerobic redox imbalance. We have recently developed, however, a Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain that is at present the only known yeast capable of anaerobic growth on xylose alone. Using transcriptome analysis of aerobic chemostat cultures grown on xylose-glucose mixtures and xylose alone, as well as a combination of global gene expression and metabolic flux analysis of anaerobic chemostat cultures grown on xylose-glucose mixtures, we identified the distinguishing characteristics of this unique phenotype. First, the transcript levels and metabolic fluxes throughout central carbon metabolism were significantly higher than those in the parent strain, and they were most pronounced in the xylose-specific, pentose phosphate, and glycerol pathways. Second, differential expression of many genes involved in redox metabolism indicates that increased cytosolic NADPH formation and NADH consumption enable a higher flux through the two-step oxidoreductase reaction of xylose to xylulose in the mutant. Redox balancing is apparently still a problem in this strain, since anaerobic growth on xylose could be improved further by providing acetoin as an external NADH sink. This improved growth was accompanied by an increased ATP production rate and was not accompanied by higher rates of xylose uptake or cytosolic NADPH production. We concluded that anaerobic growth of the yeast on xylose is ultimately limited by the rate of ATP production and not by the redox balance per se, although the redox imbalance, in turn, limits ATP production.