Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mediação no Zulliger: Evidências de Validade em Amostra de Não Pacientes

Considering the influence of cultural factors in the assessment of personality and diversity of these in the Brazilian scenario, the purpose of this study was to verify the validity of Zulliger on a sample of non-patient gauchos, focusing on the mediation variables. A total of 40 individuals of both genders participated in the study – ages varying between 18 and 43 years old – all of them with high school education level, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Descriptive and comparative statystical analysis were used between the gaucho group and the Brazilian normative data. The results demonstrated statistically significant differences between the samples, with an increase in the variable(s) XA%, WDA%, X+% and decrease in the variable(s) X- % and S- in the gaucho group, ultimately showing the validity of the instrument for the context of the research. Additional and follow up studies of this nature with expanded and diverse samples is needed to ensure that the established standards are appropriate for the population.
A Cost-Efficient Method for Continuous Top-k Processing over Data Stream

Continuous top-k query over data stream is very important for several on-line applications, including network monitoring, communication, sensor networks and stock market trading, etc. In this paper, we propose an effective pruning technique, which minimizes the number of tuples that need to be stored and manipulated. Based on it, a cost-efficient method for continuous top-k processing over single data stream is proposed, whose computation complex and memory requirements are greatly decreased. The data structure we use is able to support preference function whether it is or not monotonic and the running time is hardly effected by dimensions. Theoretical analysis and experimental evidences show the efficiency of proposed approaches both on storage reduction and performance improvement.
Quantification of horse plasma proteins altered by xylazine using the fluorogenic derivatization-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

ABSTRACT In the doping tests currently used in horse racing, prohibited substances or their metabolites are usually directly detected in urine or blood samples. However, despite their lasting pharmaceutical effects, some prohibited substances are rapidly eliminated from horse urine and blood, making them difficult to detect. Therefore, new indirect biomarkers for doping, such as plasma proteins that are increased by the prohibited substances, have recently attracted much attention. Here, a fluorogenic derivatization-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (FD-LC-MS/MS) method was adopted for horse plasma proteomics analysis, in order to identify plasma proteins whose concentrations were altered in response to xylazine in Thoroughbred horses. Xylazine, which is rapidly absorbed and eliminated and has possibility of the change in the levels of plasma proteins, was selected as a model drug. Of the ten plasma proteins identified, four proteins, including three acute phase proteins (haptoglobin, ceruloplasmin, and α-2-macroglobulin-like), were significantly increased after xylazine administration. Therefore, our present approach might be useful in identifying indirect biomarkers of drug administration.
Structural MRI-Based Discrimination between Autistic and Typically Developing Brain

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by marked deficits in communication, social interaction, and interests. Various studies of autism have suggested abnormalities in several brain regions, with an increasing agreement on the abnormal anatomy of the white matter (WM) and on deficits in the size of the corpus callosum (CC) and its sub-regions in autism. In this paper, we aim at using these abnormalities in order to devise robust classification methods of autistic vs. typically developing brains by analyzing their respective MRIs. Our analysis is based on shape descriptions and geometric models. We compute the 3D distance map to describe the shape of the WM, and use it as a statistical feature to discriminate between the two groups. We also use our recently proposed non-rigid registration technique to devise another classification approach by statistically analyzing and comparing the deformation fields generated from registering segmented CC’s onto each others. The proposed techniques are tested on postmortem and on in-vivo brain MR data. At the 85% confidence level the WM-based classification algorithm correctly classified 14/14 postmortem-autistics and 12/12 in-vivo autistics, a 100% accuracy rate, and 13/15 postmortem controls (86% accuracy rate) and 30/30 in-vivo controls (100% accuracy rate). The technique based on the analysis of the CC was applied only on the in-vivo data. At the 85% confidence rate, this technique correctly classified 10/15 autistics, a 0.66 accuracy rate, and 29/30 controls, a 0.96 accuracy rate. These results are very promising and show that, contrary to traditional methods, the proposed techniques are less sensitive to age and volume effects.
Neuregulin 1 Type III/ErbB Signaling Is Crucial for Schwann Cell Colonization of Sympathetic Axons

Analysis of Schwann cell (SC) development has been hampered by the lack of growing axons in many commonly used in vitro assays. As a consequence, the molecular signals and cellular dynamics of SC development along peripheral axons are still only poorly understood. Here we use a superior cervical ganglion (SCG) explant assay, in which axons elongate after treatment with nerve growth factor (NGF). Migration as well as proliferation and apoptosis of endogenous SCG-derived SCs along sympathetic axons were studied in these cultures using pharmacological interference and time-lapse imaging. Inhibition of ErbB receptor tyrosine kinases leads to reduced SC proliferation, increased apoptosis and thereby severely interfered with SC migration to distal axonal sections and colonization of axons. Furthermore we demonstrate that SC colonization of axons is also strongly impaired in a specific null mutant of an ErbB receptor ligand, Neuregulin 1 (NRG1) type III. Taken together, using a novel SC development assay, we demonstrate that NRG1 type III serves as a critical axonal signal for glial ErbB receptors that drives SC development along sympathetic axons.
Information Extraction Using Non-consecutive Word Sequences

We address an important deficiency in existing machine learning approaches for information extraction from natural language texts. Existing techniques for information extraction employ rules that exploit properties of consecutive word sequences. We argue that sequences of non-consecutive words capturing long range contextual correlations are vital features for information extraction from natural language text. We propose an efficient method that extends the a-priori algorithm to mine frequently occurring non-consecutive word sequences from a given corpus. We also perform a simplistic aggregation of feature information across multiple mentions of an entity in a document to avoid independent classification of the multiple occurrences of the entity. Experiments on some standard data sets show substantial improvements over previously reported results.
Towards the safe use of dynamically itinerant software

Mobile code and agent-based technology is being actively investigated for use within military systems. The use of mobile code in these systems could greatly benefit future defense capabilities; however, one must first establish confidence in the secure deployment and use of mobile code before widespread acceptance of this technology occurs. This is particularly true when a mobile code is permitted to evolve or modify as it moves through a network. Dynamic program transformation or evolution can enable more efficient computation of long running programs on constrained resource hosts by optimizing the computation for the current runtime input, state, and environment. This technology can also potentially provide dynamically updated or modified pro gram functionality. Traditional mobile code validation methods such as checksums and digital signatures is unable to efficiently meet the security needs of this itinerant, evolving software. New validation methods must be constructed in order to allow future mobile codes to avail themselves of the advantages dynamic program modification may provide while mitigating potential security risks. We are developing a framework and prototype system to validate mobile, dynamically-transforming code in a manner which enables the system to restrict how the code can transform as it passes through the network. This system permits modifications to the code based on a user-defined program transformation policy. In this paper, we present the details for our framework to control dynamic program transformation. This framework is the first step towards making dynamically-transforming software a viable technology for future defense systems
Co-Dispersion Behavior of ZrB2–SiC–B4C–C Powders with Polyethyleneimine

The aqueous dispersion behavior of ZrB2, SiC powders with B4C and C as sintering aids was investigated. Well co-dispersed suspension can be obtained in acidic solutions in presence of polyethyleneimine (PEI). The adsorption of PEI on the powder surface was measured by thermal gravimetric (TG) analysis. Rheological measurements displayed the effect of dispersant on the flow behavior of as-prepared slurries. An optimum condition was obtained with 1 wt % PEI. The viscosity of 40 vol % ZrB2–SiC–B4C–C (ZSBC) suspension at 100 s−1 was as low as 0.74 Pa·s, which was suitable for aqueous processing.
Spherical image based visual servoing via nonlinear model predictive control

For cameras obeying the unified projection model, a set of independent visual features are designed with a virtual unitary spherical projection process. Then, image based visual servoing is formulated as a nonlinear constrained optimization problem by nonlinear model predictive control in the feature space. Feature jacobian is calculated to define the local model, which is used to predict the evolution of the visual features with respect to the camera velocity over a finite-prediction horizon. Iterative equations for constrained variables about visibility, camera velocity and task space limitation, are designed to meet both 2D and 3D constraints. Finally, simulation results with a classical perspective camera are presented to verify the effectiveness and improved behaviors of proposed method.
Low level descriptors based DBLSTM bottleneck feature for speech driven talking avatar

Speech is bimodal in nature. There are close correlations between the acoustic speech signals and the visual gestures such as lip movements, facial expressions and head motions. For speech driven talking avatar, how to derive more representative acoustic features from which to predict more accurate and realistic visual gestures still remains the research problem. Inspired by the promising performance of low level descriptors (LLD) in speech emotion recognition, in this work, we investigate the usage of LLD feature for the task of speech driven talking avatar. Furthermore, visual gestures also demonstrate correlations with not only context information of past or future acoustic features (e.g. anticipatory co-articulation phenomena) but also textual information (e.g. textual hints for lip movement). To incorporate such information, we also propose to use deep bidirectional long short-term memory (DBLSTM) as the bottleneck feature extractor, which can combine LLD feature with contextual information. Experimental results indicate that the proposed LLD based DBLSTM bottleneck feature outperforms the conventional spectrum related features for the task of speech driven talking avatar, and more sophisticated contextual information can further improve the performance.
Recognizing Patterns in Streams with Imprecise Timestamps Technical Report

Large-scale event systems are becoming increasingly popular in a variety of domains. Event pattern evaluation plays a key role in monitoring applications in these domains. Existing work on pattern evaluation, however, assumes that the occurrence time of each event is known precisely and the events from various sources can be merged into a single stream with a total or partial order. We observe that in real-world applications event occurrence times are often unknown or imprecise. Therefore, we propose a temporal model that assigns a time interval to each event to represent all of its possible occurrence times and revisit pattern evaluation under this model. In particular, we propose the formal semantics of such pattern evaluation, two evaluation frameworks, and algorithms and optimizations in these frameworks. Our evaluation results using both real traces and synthetic systems show that the event-based framework always outperforms the point-based framework and with optimizations, it achieves high efficiency for a wide range of workloads tested.
A transition program to help student-athletes move on to lifetime physical activity

ABSTRACT Maintaining healthy levels of physical activity after competitive sports careers end can be challenging. Evidence-based programs are needed to prepare athletes for the transition from highly structured, competitive athletics to lifetime physical activity. In this article, we describe the development of our Moving On! program, which is designed to help student-athletes make healthy transitions to life after college sports. By outlining our experiences with this program, we offer a blueprint that may serve as a useful guide for sport and exercise psychology practitioners who wish to implement sport transition programs that foster the long-term health and well-being of student-athletes.
Enhanced local binary covariance matrices (ELBCM) for texture analysis and object tracking

This paper presents a novel way to embed local binary texture information in the form of local binary patterns (LBP) into the covariance descriptor. Contrary to previous publications, our method is not based on the LBP decimal values where arithmetic operations have no texture meaning. Our method uses the angles described by the uniform LBP patterns and includes them into the set of features used to build the covariance descriptor. Our representation is not only more compact but more robust because it is less affected by noise and small neighborhood rotations. Experimental evaluations corroborate the performance of our descriptor for texture analysis and tracking applications. Our descriptor rivals with state-of-the-art methods and beats other covariance-based descriptors.
Twitter as a tool for and object of political and electoral activity: Considering electoral context and variance among actors

ABSTRACT In recent years, journalists, political elites, and the public have used Twitter as an indicator of political trends. Given this usage, what effect do campaign activities have on Twitter discourse? What effect does that discourse have on electoral outcomes? We posit that Twitter can be understood as a tool for and an object of political communication, especially during elections. This study positions Twitter volume as an outcome of other electoral antecedents and then assesses its relevance in election campaigns. Using a data set of more than 3 million tweets about 2014 U.S. Senate candidates from three distinct groups—news media, political actors, and the public—we find that competitiveness and money spent in the race were the main predictors of volume of Twitter discourse, and the impact of competitiveness of the race was stronger for tweets coming from the media when compared to the other groups. Twitter volume did not predict vote share for any of the 35 races studied. Our findings suggest that Twitter is better understood as a tool for political communication, and its usage may be predicted by money spent and race characteristics. As an object, Twitter use has limited power to predict electoral outcomes.
Perceptions of ageing among older women softball players

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of women who play competitive softball in later life to understand the meanings they attach to participation and the connections between participation and their perceptions of ageing. Data collection involved focus groups with members of six teams who played in leagues designed for women aged 55 and over or 65 and over. Data were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed thematically. Themes emerged suggesting that participants: (a) experienced softball uniquely based on life stage; (b) placed meaning on continuing to play as a means of staying active; (c) adjusted the game to their physical abilities in later life; and (d) took pride in playing a competitive sport in later life. The findings indicated that participants displayed resistance to age and gender stereotypes about sports participation and a deep sense of pride in overcoming the odds to be able to do so.
Binocular Flash Suppression in the Primary Visual Cortex of Anesthetized and Awake Macaques

Primary visual cortex (V1) was implicated as an important candidate for the site of perceptual suppression in numerous psychophysical and imaging studies. However, neurophysiological results in awake monkeys provided evidence for competition mainly between neurons in areas beyond V1. In particular, only a moderate percentage of neurons in V1 were found to modulate in parallel with perception with magnitude substantially smaller than the physical preference of these neurons. It is yet unclear whether these small modulations are rooted from local circuits in V1 or influenced by higher cognitive states. To address this question we recorded multi-unit spiking activity and local field potentials in area V1 of awake and anesthetized macaque monkeys during the paradigm of binocular flash suppression. We found that a small but significant modulation was present in both the anesthetized and awake states during the flash suppression presentation. Furthermore, the relative amplitudes of the perceptual modulations were not significantly different in the two states. We suggest that these early effects of perceptual suppression might occur locally in V1, in prior processing stages or within early visual cortical areas in the absence of top-down feedback from higher cognitive stages that are suppressed under anesthesia.
Congruence Subgroups of PSL(2, Z) of Genus Less than or Equal to 24

In this paper, we report the computation and tabulation, using MAGMA, of all congruence subgroups of PSL(2, Z) of genus less than or equal to 24. We include full tables of the congruence groups of genus 0, 1, 2, and 3 and a summary of the remaining cases.
Fast generation of dynamic complex networks with underlying hyperbolic geometry

Complex networks have become increasingly popular for modeling real-world phenomena, ranging from web hyperlinks to interactions between people. Realistic generative network models are important in this context as they avoid privacy concerns of real data and simplify complex network research regarding data sharing, reproducibility, and scalability studies. We study a geometric model creating unit-disk graphs in hyperbolic space. Previous work provided empirical and theoretical evidence that this model creates networks with a hierarchical structure and other realistic features. However, the investigated networks were small, possibly due to a quadratic running time of a straightforward implementation. % We provide a faster generator for a representative subset of these networks. Our experiments indicate a time complexity of $O((n^{3/2}+m) \log n)$ for our implementation and thus confirm our theoretical considerations. To our knowledge our implementation is the first one with subquadratic running time. The acceleration stems primarily from the reduction of pairwise distance computations through a polar quadtree newly adapted to hyperbolic space. We also extend the generator to an alternative dynamic model which preserves graph properties in expectation. Finally, we generate and evaluate the largest networks of this model published so far. Our implementation computes networks with billions of edges in less than an hour. A comprehensive network analysis shows that important features of complex networks, such as a low diameter, power-law degree distribution and a high clustering coefficient, are retained over different graph sizes and densities.
Agentic Thinking About Others Makes Them Closer

A substantial amount of research showed that agency (concerning goal attainment) and communion (concerning relationships maintenance) are two basic dimensions of content in social cognition. Based on the well-supported idea that people typically think about themselves and close others in agentic rather than communal terms, we tested the hypothesis that agentic (but not communal) thinking about unknown others makes them subjectively closer. This hypothesis was confirmed in four experiments differently priming agentic versus communal thinking on others. As predicted, increases in closeness resulting from the agentic thinking about others were constrained to cognitive load conditions where participants were occupied with a parallel task. We conclude that the agentic content of thoughts about others serves as an intuitive, heuristic cue of their psychological closeness.
The NG 2 proteoglycan : Past insights and future prospects

The NG2 chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan is a valuable marker for several types of incompletely-differentiated precursor cells, including oligodendrocyte progenitors in the central nervous system, developing mesenchymal cells in cartilage, muscle, and bone, and pericytes/smooth muscle cells in developing vasculature. In addition to extending our knowledge about the developmental roles of these cell types, current studies on NG2 are also providing information about the molecular mechanisms through which the proteoglycan itself influences progenitor development. This research suggests that interaction of NG2 with extracellular and intracellular ligands regulates signaling events that are important for both cell proliferation and cell migration. In the 20 years since its discovery, the NG2 proteoglycan has become a valuable marker for identification of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells in the central nervous system. Recent work demonstrates that NG2 is also an effective marker for other immature cell types outside the CNS, especially mural cells in developing vasculature. Immunomapping studies on the proteoglycan therefore provide a means of elucidating the details of cellular development in a variety of tissues. Some progress is also being made in defining the molecular mechanisms that underlie NG2-mediated signaling in response to a variety of stimuli. Hopefully, the coming years will see an increase in the pace of our acquisition of knowledge about the functional role played by NG2 in the development of both normal and pathological tissues. This article will begin with a review of the foundation of work that has been done on expression of the proteoglycan in the central nervous system. It will then summarize some of the more recent progress made in using NG2 to study the development of other tissues, stressing common features exhibited by NG2-positive cell types. The discussion will conclude with a description of NG2 participation in transmembrane signaling events, focusing on what has been learned about interactions of the proteoglycan with both extracellular and intracellular ligands.