Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The expression and function of the achaete-scute genes in Tribolium castaneum reveals conservation and variation in neural pattern formation and cell fate specification

The study of achaete-scute (ac/sc) genes has recently become a paradigm to understand the evolution and development of the arthropod nervous system. We describe the identification and characterization of the ac/sc genes in the coleopteran insect species Tribolium castaneum. We have identified two Tribolium ac/sc genes - achaete-scute homolog (Tc-ASH) a proneural gene and asense (Tc-ase) a neural precursor gene that reside in a gene complex. Focusing on the embryonic central nervous system we find that Tc-ASH is expressed in all neural precursors and the proneural clusters from which they segregate. Through RNAi and misexpression studies we show that Tc-ASH is necessary for neural precursor formation in Tribolium and sufficient for neural precursor formation in Drosophila. Comparison of the function of the Drosophila and Tribolium proneural ac/sc genes suggests that in the Drosophila lineage these genes have maintained their ancestral function in neural precursor formation and have acquired a new role in the fate specification of individual neural precursors. Furthermore, we find that Tc-ase is expressed in all neural precursors suggesting an important and conserved role for asense genes in insect nervous system development. Our analysis of the Tribolium ac/sc genes indicates significant plasticity in gene number, expression and function, and implicates these modifications in the evolution of arthropod neural development.
Multi channel generalized-ICP

Current state of the art scan registration algorithms which use only position information often fall victim to correspondence ambiguity and degeneracy in the optimization solutions. Other methods which use additional channels, such as color or intensity, often use only a small fraction of the available information and ignore the underlying structural information of the added channels. The proposed method incorporates the additional channels directly into the scan registration formulation to provide information within the plane of the surface. This is achieved by calculating the uncertainty both along and perpendicular to the local surface at each point and calculating nearest neighbour correspondences in the higher dimensional space. The proposed method reduces instances of degenerate transformation estimates and improves both registration accuracy and convergence rate. The method is tested on the Ford Vision and Lidar dataset using both color and intensity channels as well as on Microsoft Kinect data obtained from the University of Waterloo campus.
Tourism as a sacred journey.

ABSTRACT The paper sets out to explore the idea that tourism in modern societies can be interpreted as posessing certain quasi-religious characteristics. The general interest and utility of this approach is acknowledged; but the particular notion of religion which has come to be employed in the literature is challenged. The work of Dean MacCannell and Donald Horne is taken as representative of the way in which the religious metaphor is used in the study of tourism. This is one-sided, in that it treats tourism as a species of “civil religion” in the manner suggested by Robert Bellah, celebrating institutionalised public values. To this is contrasted another use of the religious metaphor, namely, that of “implicit religion”. This is interpreted as a privatised form of religion. The claim is advanced that, by fastening onto this rather neglected and poorly developed concept in the sociology of religion, we are able to draw attention to an important dimension of the phenomenon of tourism which has hitherto be.
EEG Measures Index Neural and Cognitive Recovery from Sleep Deprivation

Sleep deprivation impairs many cognitive abilities, but these impairments can be reversed after a certain quantity and quality of sleep. The ability to inhibit responding is particularly susceptible to disruption after prolonged wakefulness. How recovery sleep (RS) alters brain activity, leading to improved performance on a variety of cognitive tasks, remains unclear. This issue was examined in the current study using spectral analysis of electroencephalogram (EEG) data during sleep. These measures of sleep physiology were acquired after both normal sleep (NS) and RS, and were related to measures of inhibitory control and concurrent brain activity. Subjects were nine young adults who underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging twice, after 9 h of NS and after 10 h of RS that followed 38 h of being awake. A multiple regression model was used to examine differences between conditions in (1) EEG spectral power during sleep, (2) probability of successful inhibition in a go/no-go task, and (3) activation within a region of right prefrontal cortex during the task. Performance recovery, as indexed by reduced performance differences between conditions, was predicted by increased delta power and decreased sigma power in RS compared with NS. These EEG variables predicted most of the variance in inhibitory performance difference between conditions. Regressions also suggested that RS improved performance because of changes in brain function including prefrontal regions that resulted from delta rebound. We thus propose that slow waves, reflected in delta power during RS, act to restore brain function, thereby improving cognitive performance that entails response inhibition.
Predictors of a General Attitude toward Gifted Education

Among past studies attempting to identify factors which account for the large individual differences in attitude toward gifted education, none has succeeded in doing so with much precision. In their literature review, Bégin and Gagné (1995) attributed this lack of significant results in large part to various methodological problems. These methodological problems were directly addressed in the present study. A sample of 139 teachers and 138 parents completed an attitude scale and answered ten sociodemographic questions. The results of a first regression analysis underscored the importance of certain individual variables, such as education level and family income, as predictors of the attitude scores. In order to account for the non-independence between the ten variables involved, principal components were extracted and four factors identified. Factor scores were then introduced in a new regression analysis. Two of them, Socioeconomic Status and Contact with Giftedness, were found to explain 12% and 10% respectively of the variance in attitude scores, twice as much than in the most successful past study. It is recommended that this methodological approach be used in future studies to search for other significant predictors of people's attitudes toward the education of gifted and talented children.
Effects of vitamin E supplementation on glycaemic control in type 2 diabetes: systematic review of randomized controlled trials

What is known and objective: Lowering haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) has clearly been shown to reduce microvascular complications of diabetes and possibly macrovascular disease and vitamin E has been suggested as a possibly useful intervention. Our aim is to evaluate the effect of vitamin E supplementation on glycaemic control in type 2 diabetes.
Cerebral venous thrombosis and plasma concentrations of factor VIII and von Willebrand factor: a case control study

Background: High plasma concentrations of factor VIII (FVIII) and von Willebrand factor (VWF) have been recently associated with a moderately increased risk of venous thrombosis, but their roles in cerebral sinus and venous thrombosis (CSVT) have not been addressed. To determine whether elevation of FVIII and VWF is more frequent in CSVT, we analysed plasma levels of FVIII and VWF in a case control study. Methods: The study population consisted of 25 consecutive patients (of whom nine were excluded) admitted for CSVT to the Department of Neurology, Amiens University Hospital, France, from January 1997 to December 2002, for a general screening for thrombophilia. Sixty-four healthy subjects matched for age and sex formed the group control. Results: Mean FVIII (CSVT: 167.3 (SD 48.8) IU/dl; control group: 117.9 (39.8) IU/dl; p = 0.001) and VWF levels (CSVT: 165.4 (76.5)%; control group: 108.5 (27.8)%; p = 0.01) were significantly higher in the CSVT group. Using the 95th percentile of the control group as the cut off value, elevated FVIII (>190 IU/dl) occurred in 25% (4/16) (p = 0.005) and elevated VWF (>168%) in 37.5% (6/16) of patients with CSVT (p<0.001). Using previously reported cut off values (>150 IU/dl or >150%) showed the same results (FVIII: p = 0.005; VWF: p = 0.009). Conclusion: Our study suggests that elevation of plasma factor VIII levels is the most common prothrombotic risk factor for CSVT. Elevation of VWF is also associated with an increased risk of CSVT but its effect seems to be partly mediated through FVIII.
Dissociation of μ‐opioid receptor and CRF‐R1 antagonist effects on escalated ethanol consumption and mPFC serotonin in C57BL/6J mice

Both the opioid antagonist naltrexone and corticotropin‐releasing factor type‐1 receptor (CRF‐R1) antagonists have been investigated for the treatment of alcoholism. The current study examines the combination of naltrexone and CP154526 to reduce intermittent access ethanol drinking [intermittent access to alcohol (IAA)] in C57BL/6J male mice, and if these compounds reduce drinking via serotonergic mechanisms in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN). Systemic injections and chronic intracerebroventricular infusions of naltrexone, CP154526 or CP376395 transiently decreased IAA drinking. Immunohistochemistry revealed CRF‐R1 or μ‐opioid receptor immunoreactivity was co‐localized in tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH)‐immunoreactive neurons as well as non‐TPH neurons in the DRN. Mice with a history of IAA or continuous access to alcohol were microinjected with artificial cerebral spinal fluid, naltrexone, CP154526 or the combination into the DRN or the median raphe nucleus (MRN). Either intra‐DRN naltrexone or CP154526 reduced IAA in the initial 2 hours of fluid access, but the combination did not additively suppress IAA, suggesting a common mechanism via which these two compounds affect intermittent drinking. These alcohol‐reducing effects were localized to the DRN of IAA drinkers, as intra‐MRN injections only significantly suppressed water drinking, and continuous access drinkers were not affected by CRF‐R1 antagonism. Extracellular serotonin was measured in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) using in vivo microdialysis after intra‐DRN microinjections in another group of mice. Intra‐DRN CP154526 increased serotonin impulse flow to the mPFC while naltrexone did not. This suggests the mPFC may not be an essential location to intermittent drinking, as evidenced by different effects on serotonin signaling to the forebrain yet similar behavioral findings.
Ida Rkllab Memo 1995

This memo presents current research in our laboratory. We address the following research topics: 1. Semantics-based assessment of nonmonotonic entailment methods for actions and change. 2. Implementation techniques for nonmonotonic entailment methods. 3. Algorithmic methods for planning and temporal reasoning. 4. Hybrid modelling of physical systems. 5. Design methodology for intelligent autonomous robotic systems. 6. `Fuzzy'-related design principles for intelligent autonomous robotic systems. 7. Several industrial application projects.
Choosing versus rejecting options at different stages of decision making

In each of two experiments respondents were asked to narrow a given set of multiattribute options to a final choice in three successive stages. Some participants were asked to record which options they would include at each stage while others were asked to record which options they would exclude at each stage. The choice options in Experiment 1 were 24 alternative automobile descriptions, while in Experiment 2 participants were presented with 32 different graduate schools. Consistent with the existence of separate criteria for inclusion and exclusion, significantly more options were retained prior to final choice (in Stages 1 and 2) under exclusion than under inclusion. This finding held both for options with and without missing information. Nevertheless, when we examined Stage 3 in each experiment, we found no systematic differences between the distribution of final choices in each condition. These results, along with supplemental data, support a theoretical account in which options about which the decision maker is unsure are retained under exclusion but not under inclusion. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Long-term Effects of a Group Community-based Constraint-induced Movement Therapy on Motor Recovery and Activities of Daily Living in Community-dwelling Older Adults with Chronic Stroke: A Preliminary Study with 6-month Follow-Up

The standard one-on-one constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) recently gained widespread acceptance as a means of effective stroke rehabilitation, but inherent issues associated with cost-effectiveness, safety, lack of dynamic group interaction, and compliance hampered this novel approach. This preliminary study highlights the effect of the group community-based CIMT, which integrated the concepts of the standard CIMT regimen. Eight participants were recruited from a local city community center and trained in the usage of mittens and safety management on the affected upper extremity for 90% of the hours when awake. The community-based CIMT was provided for 2 hours a day over 10 days. Outcome measures include motor recovery, strength, amount of use and quality of movement, self-perceived occupational performance and satisfaction as well as other psychological factors such as motivation, compliance, and enjoyment. These results all showed significant improvement after intervention and were maintained even after the 6-month follow up (P<0.05).
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Investigating Patterns and Possibilities in an Academic Oral Genre

Trained in a distanced and distancing style of writing, students on the threshold of graduate study in archeology can find oral presentations challenging. Although they worry about presenting themselves (“Will I sound like a competent scholar? ”) and presenting information (“Will they think I know what I'm talking about? ”), their success depends largely on linguistic choices that affect the degree of abstraction in the message itself. Through participant observation, I discovered that effective communication in this setting was related, in part, to choices about oral grammar. I drew on functional grammar and the sociology of scientific discourse to understand my observations, and offered these insights to the honors students planning their presentations.
The Peptide-binding Cavity Is Essential for Als3-mediated Adhesion of Candida albicans to Human Cells

Background: Of the eight cell surface glycoproteins in the C. albicans Als family, Als3 makes the largest contribution to adhesion to human cells. Results: Mutation of the Als3 peptide-binding cavity (PBC) results in loss of Als3 adhesive function. Conclusion: The PBC is required for Als3 adhesive function. Significance: Interfering with PBC function is a viable strategy for inhibiting C. albicans adhesion. The adhesive phenotype of Candida albicans contributes to its ability to colonize the host and cause disease. Als proteins are one of the most widely studied C. albicans virulence attributes; deletion of ALS3 produces the greatest reduction in adhesive function. Although adhesive activity is thought to reside within the N-terminal domain of Als proteins (NT-Als), the molecular mechanism of adhesion remains unclear. We designed mutations in NT-Als3 that test the contribution of the peptide-binding cavity (PBC) to C. albicans adhesion and assessed the adhesive properties of other NT-Als3 features in the absence of a functional PBC. Structural analysis of purified loss-of-PBC-function mutant proteins showed that the mutations did not alter the overall structure or surface properties of NT-Als3. The mutations were incorporated into full-length ALS3 and integrated into the ALS3 locus of a deletion mutant, under control of the native ALS3 promoter. The PBC mutant phenotype was evaluated in assays using monolayers of human pharyngeal epithelial and umbilical vein endothelial cells, and freshly collected human buccal epithelial cells in suspension. Loss of PBC function resulted in an adhesion phenotype that was indistinguishable from the Δals3/Δals3 strain. The adhesive contribution of the Als3 amyloid-forming-region (AFR) was also tested using these methods. C. albicans strains producing cell surface Als3 in which the amyloidogenic potential was destroyed showed little contribution of the AFR to adhesion, instead suggesting an aggregative function for the AFR. Collectively, these results demonstrate the essential and principal role of the PBC in Als3 adhesion.
What is the impact of subject benchmarking?

The introduction of subject benchmarking led to fears of increased external intervention in the activities of universities and a more restrictive view of institutional autonomy, accompanied by an undermining of the academic profession, particularly through the perceived threat of the introduction of a national curriculum for higher education. For this study, semi-structured interviews were conducted in one old and one new university with higher education professionals in chemistry, history and quality assurance, who were asked about their perceptions of subject benchmarking and its impact. The investigation did not bear out the fears articulated at the inception of subject benchmarking. Furthermore, the investigation showed that subject benchmarking was not perceived as having the principal characteristic normally associated with a benchmarking system, in that it was not perceived as leading to improvement. The article ends with suggestions for future research.
Hadron spectrum with Wilson fermions.

We present results of a high statistics study of the quenched spectrum using Wilson fermions at {beta}=6.0 on 32{sup 3}{times}64 lattices. We calculate the masses of mesons and baryons composed of both degenerate and nondegenerate quarks. Using nondegenerate quark combinations allows us to study baryon mass splittings in detail. We find significant deviations from the lowest order chiral expansion, deviations that are consistent with the expectations of quenched chiral perturbation theory. We find that there is a {approximately}20{percent} systematic error in the extracted value of {ital m}{sub {ital s}}, depending on the meson mass ratio used to set its value. Using the largest estimate of {ital m}{sub {ital s}} we find that the extrapolated octet mass splittings are in agreement with the experimental values, as is {ital M}{sub {Delta}}-{ital M}{sub {ital N}}, while the decuplet splittings are 30{percent} smaller than experiment. Combining our results with data from the GF11 collaboration we find considerable ambiguity in the extrapolation to the continuum limit. Our preferred values are {ital M}{sub {ital N}}/{ital M}{sub {rho}}=1.38(7) and {ital M}{sub {Delta}}/{ital M}{sub {rho}}=1.73(10), suggesting that the quenched approximation is good to only {approximately}10{endash}15{percent}. We also analyze the {ital O}({ital ma}) discretization errors in heavy quark masses.more » {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society. }« less
Multi-rate decentralized MPC strategy for drinking water networks: application to the Barcelona case study

In this paper, a multi - rate decentralised model predictive control (MDMPC) approach is proposed for drinking water networks (DWN). The upper temporal layer works with a daily time scale and is in charge of achieving the global objectives , i.e., optimal selection of the water sources and the path to the reservoirs. On the other hand, the lower temporal layer is in charge of manipulating the set - point of the actuators to satisfy the local objectives, i.e., the minimisation of the energy needed for pumping water to the reservoirs. Once obtained the system decomposition into subsystems, some bidirectional flows of information between the MPC controllers that control the subsystems appea r . Hence, the proposed DMPC strategy co pes with them , resulting in a hierarchical - like scheme. Results obtained when used selected simulation scenarios over a partitioned model of the Barcelona DWN show the effectiveness of the control strategy in terms of system modularity, reduced computational burden and, at the same time, the admissible loss of performance in contrast to a centralised MPC (CMPC) strategy.
A RecQ Protein-like 5 Haplotype is Associated With Colon Cancer

Background Emerging murine model data suggests RecQ protein-like 5 (RECQL5) is a tumor suppressor gene. The goal of our study was to test whether RECQL5 gene variants are associated with colon cancer susceptibility. Methods We examined the association of two haplotype-tagging SNPs in RECQL5 and colon cancer in a population-based study of 390 colon cancer cases and 464 population controls. Results While both crude and covariate-adjusted single SNP analyses were only suggestive for an association with borderline significance (p = 0.07), haplotype analysis shows that individuals carrying the T-G haplotype (rs820196 common allele and rs4789223 minor allele) were at significantly increased risk for colon cancer (OR = 1.34, 95% CI = 1.02-1.76, p = 0.05). Adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory use and family history of colon cancer did not alter the results. Conclusions These results suggest that a haplotype harboring the minor allele of rs4789223 is associated with colon cancer risk. Further study of RECQL5 as a colon cancer susceptibility gene is warranted, particularly with respect to variants in linkage disequilibrium with rs4789223.
How Unlabeled Web Videos Help Complex Event Detection?

The lack of labeled exemplars is an important factor that makes the task of multimedia event detection (MED) complicated and challenging. Utilizing artificially picked and labeled external sources is an effective way to enhance the performance of MED. However, building these data usually requires professional human annotators, and the procedure is too time-consuming and costly to scale. In this paper, we propose a new robust dictionary learning framework for complex event detection, which is able to handle both labeled and easy-to-get unlabeled web videos by sharing the same dictionary. By employing the lq-norm based loss jointly with the structured sparsity based regularization, our model shows strong robustness against the substantial noisy and outlier videos from open source. We exploit an effective optimization algorithm to solve the proposed highly non-smooth and nonconvex problem. Extensive experiment results over standard datasets of TRECVID MEDTest 2013 and TRECVID MEDTest 2014 demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed framework on complex event detection.