Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Individual differences in working memory capacity and the distinction between proactive and reactive control

• Individual differences in working memory capacity (WMC) depend upon the ability to actively maintain goal-related information in primary memory & retrieve information from secondary memory.1 • A similar view2 argues that there are two types of cognitive control: proactive & reactive control (TABLE 1) • In the current study, I proposed that highWMC individuals are more likely to engage in proactive control, whereas low-WMC individuals more often use reactive control. Individual Differences in Working Memory Capacity and the Distinction between Proactive and Reactive Control Thomas S. Redick & Randall W. Engle http://psychology.gatech. edu/renglelab
Playing a different imitation game: Interaction with an Empathic Android Robot

Current research has identified the need to equip robots with perceptual capabilities that not only recognise objective entities such as visual or auditory objects but that are also capable of assessing the affective evaluations of the human communication partner in order to render the communication situation more natural and social. In equivalence to Watzlawick's statement that "one cannot not communicate" (1968) it has been found that also in human-robot interactions one cannot be not emotional. It is therefore crucial for a robot to understand these affective signals of its communication partner and react towards them. However, up to now, online emotion recognition in realtime, interactive systems has scarcely been attempted as apparently demands concerning robustness and time constraints are very high. In this paper we present an empathic anthropomorphic robot (torso) that mirrors the emotions happiness, fear and neutral as recognised from the speech signal by facial expressions. The recognition component as well as the development of the facial expression generation are described in detail. We report on results from experiments with humans interacting with the empathic robot
Identities among actin-encoding cDNAs of the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and other eukaryote species revealed by nucleotide and amino acid sequence analyses

Actin-encoding cDNAs of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) were isolated by RT-PCR using total RNA samples of different tissues and further characterized by nucleotide sequencing and in silico amino acid (aa) sequence analysis. Comparisons among the actin gene sequences of O. niloticus and those of other species evidenced that the isolated genes present a high similarity to other fish and other vertebrate actin genes. The highest nucleotide resemblance was observed between O. niloticus and O. mossambicus a-actin and b-actin genes. Analysis of the predicted aa sequences revealed two distinct types of cytoplasmic actins, one cardiac muscle actin type and one skeletal muscle actin type that were expressed in different tissues of Nile tilapia. The evolutionary relationships between the Nile tilapia actin genes and diverse other organisms is discussed.
Effects of Formalin Fixation and Prolonged Block Storage on Detection of Hepatitis C Virus RNA in Liver Tissue

It has been suggested that prolonged formalin fixation and block storage adversely affect hepatitis C virus (HCV) ribonucleic acid (RNA) detection in tissue by reverse transcriptasepolymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). We attempted to determine whether short-term perfusion fixation (3–5 days) or prolonged formalin storage adversely affects the detection of HCV RNA in paraffin-embedded tissue in comparison with 24-h fixation. Also, we examined the effects of prolonged storage of paraffin blocks on the sensitivity for HCV detection. We performed RT-PCR in formalin-fixed explanted livers from 20 liver allograft recipients known to be HCV positive (10 with specimens stored for 2–4 years and 10 with specimens stored for >4 years). We compared the results of perioperative needle liver biopsy specimens fixed overnight with liver sections fixed by perfusion for 3–5 days and bulk liver tissue stored in formalin for years (mean, 6.25 years; range, 2–11 years). HCV RNA was detected in 100%, 85%, and 0% of specimens fixed for 24 h, 3–4 days, and years, respectively. We conclude that HCV can be readily detected in tissue fixed by formalin overnight, sensitivity decreases slightly with intermediate-length fixation, and HCV is rendered undetectable by prolonged fixation. In addition, retention of formalin-fixed tissue in paraffin blocks does not affect the sensitivity of HCV detection.
Perfect energy spread transform based multiple access

Non-orthogonal multiple access as a promising technology is expected to support massive connectivity in the next generation. In this paper, we propose a novel perfect energy spread transform (P-EST) based multiple access scheme, which perfectly spreads a symbol energy all over the frequency-domain and time-domain increasing the diversity gain of the system. The parameters of the proposed scheme can be adjusted to provide different levels of overloading, thus suitable to meet the diverse traffic connectivity requirements. We then develope linear minimum mean square error (LMMSE) detector for the P-EST multiple access system. The LMMSE detector shows a robust performance in terms of block error rate (BLER), but the high complexity makes it infeasible when the number of users becomes large. To further reduce the computational complexity, we propose the approximate message passing algorithm (AMP) detector. Due to the energy spreading feature of P-EST, the AMP algorithm is able to perform with excellent convergence property and reduce the complexity to a great extent compared to LMMSE.
Learning and Inference for Information Extraction

Information extraction is a process that extracts limited semantic concepts from text documents and presents them in an organized way. Unlike several other natural language tasks, information extraction has a direct impact on end-user applications. Despite its importance, information ex traction is still a difficult task due to the inherent complexity and ambiguity of human languages. Moreover, mutual dependencies between local predictions of the target concepts further increase difficulty of the task. In order to enhance information extraction technologies, we develop general approaches for two aspects—relational feature generation and global inference with classifiers. It has been quite convincingly argued that relational learning is suitable in training a complicated natural language system. We propose a relational feature generation approach that facilitates relational learning through propositional learning algorithms. In particular, we develop a relational representation language to produce features in a data driven way. The resulting features capture the relational structures of a given domain, and therefore allow the learning algorithms to effectively learn the relational definitions of target concepts. Although the learned classifier can be used to directly predict the target concepts, conflicts between the labels of different target variables often occur due to imperfect classifiers. We propose an inference framework to correct mistakes of the local predictions by using the predictions and task-dependent constraints to produce the best global assignment. This inference framework can be modeled by a Bayesian network or integer linear programming. The proposed learning and inference frameworks have been applied to a variety of information extraction tasks, including entity extraction, entity/relation recognition, and semantic role labeling.
Interlaboratory comparison for the determination of the soluble fraction of metals in welding fume samples

ABSTRACT There is interest in the bioaccessible metal components of aerosols, but this has been minimally studied because standardized sampling and analytical methods have not yet been developed. An interlaboratory study (ILS) has been carried out to evaluate a method for determining the water-soluble component of realistic welding fume (WF) air samples. Replicate samples were generated in the laboratory and distributed to participating laboratories to be analyzed according to a standardized procedure. Within-laboratory precision of replicate sample analysis (repeatability) was very good. Reproducibility between laboratories was not as good, but within limits of acceptability for the analysis of typical aerosol samples. These results can be used to support the development of a standardized test method.
Aromatase inhibitors, efficacy and metabolic risk in the treatment of postmenopausal women with early breast cancer

The third-generation aromatase inhibitors (AIs), letrozole, anastrozole and exemestane, are becoming the first choice endocrine drugs for post-menopausal women with breast cancer, since they present greater efficacy when compared with tamoxifen in both adjuvant and metastatic setting. In particular, several large and well designed trials have suggested an important role for AIs in the adjuvant treatment of postmenopausal women with estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer either in the upfront, sequential or extended adjuvant mode. Overall, AIs are associated with a small but significant improvement in disease free survival. The expanding use of AIs in the treatment of early breast cancer means that individual patients will be exposed to the agents for longer durations, making it increasingly important to establish their long-term safety. This review focused on the effects of AIs on bone metabolism, serum lipids and cardiovascular risk. AIs have adverse effects on bone turnover with a reduction of bone mineral density and an increase in the rate of fragility fractures. With respect to tamoxifen AIs present lower thrombotic risk and a less favorable impact on lipid profile, whereas the true effects on cardiovascular risk still remain to be clarified. An adequate monitoring of bone mineral density (BMD) and lipid profile could be recommended for post-menopausal women candidate to AIs.
Update on Early Nutrition and Food Allergy in Children

With growing evidence of an increase in the prevalence, food allergy has been emerged as a new public health problem. As treatment and management of food allergy remain challenging, more attention has been paid to the importance of prevention of food allergy. Although the exact mechanism of recent epidemic is not fully understood, it is suggested that nutritional exposure in early life may play an important role in food allergy development. The underlying hypothesis is that nutritional status or food exposure in the critical period of fetal development can affect the programming of immune system and modify the risk of immunologic reactions to foods in postnatal life. We review accumulating epidemiological studies to examine an association between nutritional exposure during pregnancy or early infancy and food allergy development in children. We also discuss recent advances in the studies of the genetic and epigenetic regulation of food allergy and evaluate the role of early nutrition in food allergy development to provide a new perspective on the prevention of food allergy.
Senescence-related changes in nitrogen in fine roots: mass loss affects estimation.

The fate of nitrogen (N) in senescing fine roots has broad implications for whole-plant N economies and ecosystem N cycling. Studies to date have generally shown negligible changes in fine root N per unit root mass during senescence. However, unmeasured loss of mobile non-N constituents during senescence could lead to underestimates of fine root N loss. For N fertilized and unfertilized potted seedlings of Populus tremuloides Michx. , Acer rubrum L. , Acer saccharum Marsh. and Betula alleghaniensis Britton, we predicted that the fine roots would lose mass and N during senescence. We estimated mass loss as the product of changes in root mass per length and root length between live and recently dead fine roots. Changes in root N were compared among treatments on uncorrected mass, length (which is independent of changes in mass per length), calcium (Ca) and corrected mass bases and by evaluating the relationships of dead root N as a function of live root N, species and fertilization treatments. Across species, from live to dead roots, mass decreased 28-40%, N uncorrected for mass loss increased 10-35%, N per length decreased 5-16%, N per Ca declined 14-48% and N corrected for mass declined 12-28%. Given the magnitude of senescence-related root mass loss and uncertainties about Ca dynamics in senescing roots, N loss corrected for mass loss is likely the most reliable estimate of N loss. We re-evaluated the published estimates of N changes during root senescence based on our values of mass loss and found an average of 28% lower N in dead roots than in fine roots. Despite uncertainty about the contributions of resorption, leaching and microbial immobilization to the net loss of N during root senescence, live root N was a strong and proportional predictor of dead root N across species and fertilization treatments, suggesting that live root N alone could be used to predict the contributions of senescing fine roots to whole-plant N economies and N cycling.
Subaperture analysis of polarimetric SAR data for iceberg detection

This paper is focused on investigations of the improved detection of icebergs in open water using spectral analysis of polarimetric SAR data. The objectives of this study are to analyze the behavior of ice objects in open water using the sublook cross-correlation magnitude (SCM). It is shown that there is an improvement of iceberg-sea contrast when the SCM is used instead of multilook intensities from the full-bandwidth data. The subband extraction in the azimuth dimension is used to test the stability of icebergs when they are observed by different azimuth view angles (i.e., looking fore or aft). Experiments are performed on full-polarimetric single-look complex (SLC) SAR data containing icebergs in open water. The results indicate that the sublook analysis has a impact on detection performance.
Design of hospital admissions scheduling system using simulation

The ultimate objective of the research reported herein is to design an admissions scheduling system which can control hospital occupancy. This paper reports on the initial phase, of the research--demonstrating the technical feasibility of developing a simulation model of patient arrivals to and discharges from a hospital, which can be used to design the scheduling system. The specific steps that were accomplished for demonstrating technical feasibility of model development were: (1) develop a hospital simulation model, which can be used for designing the scheduling system; (2) validate the simulation model in two test hospitals; and (3) use the model to design an improved scheduling system which reduces the variability in daily census.
Antitumor properties of diastereomeric and geometric analogs of vitamin D3

Analogs of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 with a reversed configuration at C-1 or C-24 and E or Z geometry of the double bond at C-22 in the side chain or at C-5 in the triene system were examined for their antiproliferative activity in vitro against a spectrum of various human cancer cell lines. The analogs coded PRI-2201 (calcipotriol), PRI-2202 and PRI-2205, such as calcitriol and tacalcitol (used as a referential agents), revealed antiproliferative activity against human HL-60, HL-60/MX2, MCF-7, T47D, SCC-25 and mouse WEHI-3 cancer cell lines. The toxicity studies in vivo showed that PRI-2202 and PRI-2205 are less toxic than referential agents. Even at total doses of 2.5–5.0 mg/kg distributed during 5 successive days, no changes in body weight were observed. Calcitriol and tacalcitol showed toxicity in the same protocol at 100 times lower doses. Calcipotriol was lethal to all mice after administration of a total dose of 5.0 mg/kg. The analog PRI-2205 appeared to be more active in mouse Levis lung cancer tumor growth inhibition than calcitriol, calcipotriol or PRI-2202. This analog did not reveal calcemic activity at doses which inhibit tumor growth in vivo nor at higher doses.
Monitoring for metabolic side effects among outpatients with dementia receiving antipsychotics.

OBJECTIVE This study examined monitoring for metabolic side effects among older outpatients with dementia starting a new antipsychotic. METHODS In a retrospective cohort analysis of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs data, monitoring, as recommended by the American Diabetes Association and the American Psychiatric Association, was examined between October 1, 2005, and September 30, 2011. The sample included outpatients aged ≥60 years with dementia but without a psychotic disorder (N=3,903) and outpatients with a psychotic disorder but without dementia (N=5,779) who were prescribed a new antipsychotic. Because dementia patients differed from psychosis patients in all observed patient characteristics, especially age, metabolic monitoring of dementia patients was compared with a propensity score-matched sample of outpatients with psychosis (1,576 matched pairs). RESULTS At baseline (±30 days from the index prescription), 68% of the matched dementia patients were weighed, compared with 63.7% of the matched psychosis patients (odds ratio [OR]=1.28, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.03-1.48). Monitoring for glucose or glycosylated hemoglobin (HBA1c) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) was not significantly different between the groups: glucose or HBA1c, 41% versus 44%; LDL, 24% versus 27%. At three months (±30 days), metabolic monitoring for all three parameters was significantly lower for the dementia group: weight, OR=. 86, CI=. 75-. 99; glucose or HBA1c, OR=. 83, CI=. 71-. 97; and LDL, OR=. 69, CI=. 57-. 85. CONCLUSIONS Monitoring rates for metabolic side effects were low for both dementia and psychosis groups, with lower rates for dementia patients at follow-up compared with matched psychosis patients. Quality improvement efforts are needed to improve monitoring, especially for patients with dementia.
Verification of the Chromosome Region 9q21 Association with Pelvic Organ Prolapse Using RegulomeDB Annotations

Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a common highly disabling disorder with a large hereditary component. It is characterized by a loss of pelvic floor support that leads to the herniation of the uterus in or outside the vagina. Genome-wide linkage studies have shown an evidence of POP association with the region 9q21 and six other loci in European pedigrees. The aim of our study was to test the above associations in a case-control study in Russian population. Twelve SNPs including SNPs cited in the above studies and those selected using the RegulomeDB annotations for the region 9q21 were genotyped in 210 patients with POP (stages III-IV) and 292 controls with no even minimal POP. Genotyping was performed using the polymerase chain reaction with confronting two-pair primers (PCR–CTPP). Association analyses were conducted for individual SNPs, 9q21 haplotypes, and SNP-SNP interactions. SNP rs12237222 with the highest RegulomeDB score 1a appeared to be the key SNP in haplotypes associated with POP. Other RegulomeDB Category 1 SNPs, rs12551710 and rs2236479 (scores 1d and 1f, resp.), exhibited epistatic effects. In this study, we verified the region 9q21 association with POP in Russians, using RegulomeDB annotations.
Mechanism of Reductive Activation of Potato Tuber ADP-glucose Pyrophosphorylase*

The potato tuber (Solanum tuberosumL.) ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase activity is activated by a incubation with ADP-glucose and dithiothreitol or by ATP, glucose- 1-phosphate, Ca2+, and dithiothreitol. The activation was accompanied by the appearance of new sulfhydryl groups as determined with 5,5′-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid). By analyzing the activated and nonactivated enzymes on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under nonreducing conditions, it was found that an intermolecular disulfide bridge between the small subunits of the potato tuber enzyme was reduced during the activation. Further experiments showed that the activation was mediated via a slow reduction and subsequent rapid conformational change induced by ADP-glucose. The activation process could be reversed by oxidation with 5,5′-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid). Incubation with ADP-glucose and dithiothreitol could reactivate the oxidized enzyme. Chemical modification experiments with [14C]iodoacetic acid and 4-vinylpyridine determined that the intermolecular disulfide bridge was located between Cys12 of the small subunits of the potato tuber enzyme. Mutation of Cys12 in the small subunit into either Ala or Ser eliminated the requirement of DTT on the activation and prevented the formation of the intermolecular disulfide of the potato tuber enzyme. The mutants had instantaneous activation rates as the wild-type in the reduced state. A two-step activation model is proposed.
Design and evaluation of expressive gesture synthesis for embodied conversational agents

To increase the believability and life-likeness of Embodied Conversational Agents (ECAs), we introduce a behavior synthesis technique for the generation of expressive gesturing. A small set of dimensions of expressivity is used to characterize individual variability of movement. We empirically evaluate our implementation in two separate user studies. The results suggest that our approach works well for a subset of expressive behavior. However, animation fidelity is not high enough to realize subtle changes. Interaction effects between different parameters need to be studied further.
Modelling the influence of the water level on radiographic inspection of pipes

One of the preoccupations for the operating conditions of a radiographic inspection concerns the water level of pipes: is it preferable to evacuate the pipe, or to fill it completely? Or is the water level without impact on the radiograph? Not surprisingly, the answer depends on the particular configuration, and several examples will be used to show in this conference that Radiographic Modelling can be used to evaluate the influence of the water level on the quality of the resulting radiograph. We illustrate the approach with EDF's radiographic modelling code MODERATO. Introduction Simulation of radiographic inspections for technique performance demonstration has become customary at EDF since 2004 [1], using the computer code MODERATO [2] as a complement to a reduced number of experiments. One of the recently investigated subjects is the influence of remaining water in the pipes during in-service inspections. This possible procedure non-conformity may decrease the inspection performance. As the modelling code MODERATO is perfectly suited to quantify the impact of procedure nonconformities, some specific calculations were performed on 2 inches in diameter butt-weld pipe configurations. For this paper, some additional calculations were performed on a 6 inches in diameter pipe to illustrate the valuable information made available by modelling. EDF's modelling code MODERATO (Figure 1) determines for instance the incoming photon statistics (energy spectrum and scatter histograms), the optical density mapping, the scattered / direct ratio mapping (equivalent to build-up factor mapping), a quantitative visibility interpretation of defect indications, etc. [1] This paper puts forward the advantages of using modelling codes to evaluate the impact of inspection parameters during RT procedure qualification or in service inspections. [3]. Figure 1: one MODERATO configuration used in a RT procedure qualification program (left) and illustration of some photon trajectories inside the pipe, as calculated by MODERATO's Monte-Carlo algorithm. ECNDT 2006 Mo.2. 4.2