Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An allelic polymorphism within the human tumor necrosis factor alpha promoter region is strongly associated with HLA A1, B8, and DR3 alleles

The tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha gene lies within the class III region of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), telomeric to the class II and centromeric to the class I region. We have recently described the first polymorphism within the human TNF-alpha locus. This is biallelic and lies within the promoter region. Frequency analysis of the TNF-alpha polymorphism, using the polymerase chain reaction and single-stranded conformational polymorphism, in HLA-typed individuals, reveals a very strong association between the uncommon TNF allele and HLA A1, B8, and DR3 alleles. This is the first association between TNF- alpha and other MHC alleles and raises the possibility that the uncommon TNF-alpha allele may contribute to the many autoimmune associations of the A1,B8,DR3 haplotype.
Exploring the use of concept chains to structure teacher trainees’ understanding of science

This paper reports on a paper and pencil concept‐sorting strategy that enables trainee teachers to restructure their knowledge in any one domain of science. It is used as a self‐study tool, mainly to enable them to break down and understand the progression of concepts beyond the level at which they have to teach. The strategy involves listing key ideas in an increasingly complex and inclusive fashion such that a ‘chain’ is developed where the initial statements are simple and the final ones more complex. Evaluation of the strategy with trainees over a five‐year period revealed promising potential for the strategy as a self‐study tool, as well as an audit tool, enabling tutors to more easily identify misconceptions. There was some evidence that trainees found the strategy useful in preparing themselves to teach in the classroom, possibly by enabling meaningful learning to take place according to the Ausubel–Novak–Gowin theory.
Can Personality Traits Affect Detention Length in a Forensic Institution?

The aim of the study was to assess whether the patients' personality traits may predict the length of current detention. A cross-sectional analysis was conducted in 56 male forensic in-patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Patients were assessed by means of the Temperament and Character Inventory and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Regression analysis has suggested that the character dimension, cooperativeness, and the type of offense were predictors of duration of current detention. Results suggest that information about the patients’ personalities may be helpful in better understanding and/or predicting the patients’ behaviors.
Base station concepts of an automatic fluid intake monitoring system

This contribution presents different concepts for base stations complementing a fluid intake monitoring system. The motivation behind this research is the high amount of dehydration diagnoses in hospitals. Affected patients are almost exclusively elderly people. Therefore a monitoring system is needed that is able to detect insufficient fluid intake, especially designed for this demographic group. The foundation of this system is based on smart sensor cups which are able to deduce fluid intake by detecting the filling level. This paper focuses on complementary devices for these cups which are necessary in order to build an exhaustive monitoring system. Depending on the intended scenario, the primary functions are charging the sensor cups and receiving and displaying data. This data is either displayed for an immediate feedback or subsequently transferred to a central server for storage in a database or further processing. This contribution presents three different concepts: a simple multi charging station for up to four cups simultaneously, a stand-alone base station able to charge and display informations gathered by one sensor cup and a network-compatible base station for several cups. The system mentioned last is also able to transfer their data via Ethernet to a server. The interface between sensor cup and system as well as their intended use are presented in detail for each concept. The evaluation concentrates on the reliability of a system build on scenarios around the network-compatible base station.
Polarimetric SAR Image Object Segmentation via Level Set with Stationary Global Minimum

We present a level set-based method for object segmentation in polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) images. In our method, a modified energy functional via active contour model is proposed based on complex Gaussian/Wishart distribution model for both single-look and multilook PolSAR images. The modified functional has two interesting properties: (1) the curve evolution does not enter into local minimum; (2) the level set function has a unique stationary convergence state. With these properties, the desired object can be segmented more accurately. Besides, the modified functional allows us to set an effective automatic termination criterion and makes the algorithm more practical. The experimental results on synthetic and real PolSAR images demonstrate the effectiveness of our method.
Probing potential-tuned resonant tunneling through redox molecules with scanning tunneling microscopy.

We have studied electron transfer through redox molecules adsorbed on a conductive substrate with scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) in aqueous solution. By adjusting the substrate potential, the Fermi levels of the substrate and tip can be easily shifted relative to the energy levels of the molecules. Aligning the Fermi levels to an energy level, a nearly tenfold increase in the tunneling current that flows between the substrate and the STM tip via the molecules, due to resonant tunneling is observed. This experiment also shows that structurally similar molecules may be identified with STM based on their different redox properties. [S0031-9007(96)00248-7]
Maximum likelihood learning of auditory feature maps for stationary vowels

A mathematical framework for learning the acoustic features from a central auditory representation is presented. The authors adopt a statistical approach that models the leaning process as to achieve a maximum likelihood estimation of the signal distribution. An algorithm, called statistical marching pursuit (SMP), is introduced to identify regions on the cortical surface when the features for each sound class are most prominent. They model the features with distributions of Gaussian mixture densities, and employ the expectation-maximization (EM) procedure to both improve the parameterization and refine iteratively the selection of cortical regions from which the features are extracted. The learning algorithm is applied to vowel classification on the TIMIT database where all the vowels (excluding diphthongs, nine in total) are regarded as individual classes. Experimental results show that models trained under the SMP/EM algorithm achieve a recognition accuracy comparable to that of conventional recognizers.
Comparison of the Effect of Acupressure and Pilates-Based Exercises on Sleep Quality of Postmenopausal Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Postmenopausal women experience a variety of symptoms, among which sleep disorder is one of the most common problems. Acupressure and Pilates exercise programs are effective nonpharmaceutical treatments which can improve sleep quality. In the present study, we aimed to compare the effects of acupressure and Pilates-based exercises on the sleep quality of postmenopausal women referred to medical clinics. Materials and Methods: In this single-blinded randomized controlled clinical trial, we recruited 108 women aged 40–60 years who were randomly assigned into one control and two intervention groups using balanced block randomization method (three groups of 36 each). The patients in the Pilates exercise group participated in an exercise training program of three 1-hour sessions per week for 6 consecutive weeks. The participants of acupressure group received acupressure intervention three times a week for 6 weeks. The sleep quality of all participants was assessed and recorded using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) once before and once after the intervention. Results: The results showed no statistically significant difference among the three groups on the total scores of sleep quality after the intervention. The intragroup comparison revealed that the changes in the mean total scores were significant in both the intervention groups (P < 0.001) but not in the control group (P = 0.76). Conclusions: Pilates-based exercises and acupressure can effectively improve women's sleep quality. Both techniques can be applied as effective alternative and complementary methods for improving sleep quality during the postmenopausal period.
Transparent anonymization: Thwarting adversaries who know the algorithm

Numerous generalization techniques have been proposed for privacy-preserving data publishing. Most existing techniques, however, implicitly assume that the adversary knows little about the anonymization algorithm adopted by the data publisher. Consequently, they cannot guard against privacy attacks that exploit various characteristics of the anonymization mechanism. This article provides a practical solution tothis problem. First, we propose an analytical model for evaluating disclosure risks, when an adversary knows everything in the anonymization process, except the sensitive values. Based on this model, we develop a privacy principle, transparent l-diversity, which ensures privacy protection against such powerful adversaries. We identify three algorithms that achieve transparent l-diversity, and verify their effectiveness and efficiency through extensive experiments with real data.
Model Checking for Abstract State Machines

State Machines (ASM) ist eine formale Spezifikationssprache, die es erlaubt, auf einem hohen Abstraktionsniveau zu modellieren. Sie ist gut geeignet für verschiedenartigste Anwendungen. Computerbasierte Werkzeugunterstützung ist in Form von Editoren, Typecheckern und Simulatoren vorhanden. ASM ist außerdem in die Logiken zweier Theorembeweiser eingebettet worden, die interaktives Beweisen unterstützen. Diese Dissertation hat zum Ziel, die vorhandene Werkzeugunterstützung um einen vollständig automatisierten Ansatz zu erweitern, das sogenannte Modelchecking. Modelchecking ist die vollständige Suche im Zustandsraum des zu untersuchenden Systemmodells. Die Algorithmen arbeiten automatisch und bedürfen keiner Interaktion mit dem Benutzer oder der Benutzerin. Als zentrale Werkzeugumgebung wird die ASM Workbench verwendet, in die ein Modelchecker integriert wird. Diese Werkzeugumgebung wird mit einer allgemeinen Schnittstelle in Form einer Zwischensprache versehen. Diese allgemeine Schnittstelle dient als Grundlage zur Anbindung verschiedenerModelchecker, die auf einfachen Transitionssystemen basieren. Mit der Transformation der abstrakten Spezifikationssprache ASM in die sehr einfachen Sprachen von vollautomatischenWerkzeugen schlägt diese Arbeit eine Brücke über den tiefen Graben zwischen Modellierungssprachen, die auf hohem Niveau beschreiben, und Werkzeugsprachen, die algorithmisch einfach zu behandeln sind. Auf der Basis der allgemeinen Schnittstelle werden im Rahmen dieser Dissertation zwei konkrete Schnittstellen entwickelt: von der ASM Workbench zum Modelchecker SMV und zum MDG-Paket. Ersteres Werkzeug wird häufig eingesetzt und implementiert symbolisches Modelchecken für CTL-Formeln. Die Anbindung zum Modelchecker SMV ist implementiert und zwei Fallstudien wurden mittels der entwickelten Transformation und dem SMV Werkzeug untersucht. Die Ergebnisse zeigen die Anwendbarkeit aber auch die Grenzen dieses Ansatzes auf. Diese Grenzen motivieren die Entwicklung der zweiten Schnittstelle zum MDG-Paket. Dieses Paket umfaßt die Basisfunktionalität für symbolisches Modelchecking auf der Grundlage von Multiway Decision Graphs (MDGs). Diese Graphenstruktur erlaubt die Repräsentation von möglicherweise unendlichen Transitionssystemen mit Hilfe von abstrakten Sorten und Funktionen. Sie bietet daher ein einfaches Mittel, um die Abstraktion von Modellen zu unterstützen. Außerdem erlaubt dieser Ansatz, Annahmen über das zu untersuchende System und seine Umgebung in temporaler Logik zu spezifizieren. Die resultierende logische Modellierung wird anschließend mit dem Systemmodell vereinigt und führt zu einer vollständigeren Modellierung. Damit erweitert diese zweite Schnittstelle die Grenzen der vollautomatischen Analyse, die Modelchecking zur Verfügung stellt.
N-acyl-homoserine lactones-producing bacteria protect plants against plant and human pathogens

The implementation of beneficial microorganisms for plant protection has a long history. Many rhizobia bacteria are able to influence the immune system of host plants by inducing resistance towards pathogenic microorganisms. In this report, we present a translational approach in which we demonstrate the resistance‐inducing effect of Ensifer meliloti (Sinorhizobium meliloti) on crop plants that have a significant impact on the worldwide economy and on human nutrition. Ensifer meliloti is usually associated with root nodulation in legumes and nitrogen fixation. Here, we suggest that the ability of S. meliloti to induce resistance depends on the production of the quorum‐sensing molecule, oxo‐C14‐HSL. The capacity to enhanced resistance provides a possibility to the use these beneficial bacteria in agriculture. Using the Arabidopsis‐Salmonella model, we also demonstrate that the application of N‐acyl‐homoserine lactones‐producing bacteria could be a successful strategy to prevent plant‐originated infections with human pathogens.
Adaptive ordering of pipelined stream filters

We consider the problem of pipelined filters, where a continuous stream of tuples is processed by a set of commutative filters. Pipelined filters are common in stream applications and capture a large class of multiway stream joins. We focus on the problem of ordering the filters adaptively to minimize processing cost in an environment where stream and filter characteristics vary unpredictably over time. Our core algorithm, A-Greedy (for Adaptive Greedy), has strong theoretical guarantees: If stream and filter characteristics were to stabilize, A-Greedy would converge to an ordering within a small constant factor of optimal. (In experiments A-Greedy usually converges to the optimal ordering.) One very important feature of A-Greedy is that it monitors and responds to selectivities that are correlated across filters (i.e., that are nonindependent), which provides the strong quality guarantee but incurs run-time overhead. We identify a three-way tradeoff among provable convergence to good orderings, run-time overhead, and speed of adaptivity. We develop a suite of variants of A-Greedy that lie at different points on this tradeoff spectrum. We have implemented all our algorithms in the STREAM prototype Data Stream Management System and a thorough performance evaluation is presented.
Comforting the Comfortable: Extreme Makeover Home Edition's Ideological Conquest

The United States prides itself on being a classless society where economic determinism can be transcended by the right amount of merit, determination, and luck. At the same time, however, the U.S. has the second highest wealth inequality rate of any developed nation and the second lowest intergenerational mobility. Explaining the contradiction between the myth of the American Dream and the economic reality is no easy task. This article attempts to explain the role ideology and cultural myth play in mediating this contradiction by analyzing the ABC reality television series Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is a wildly popular program in which a team of home builders and designers travel around the country building new homes for desperate and deserving families. I use the portrayals of seven of these families to explain the specific way Extreme Makeover portrays each families as deserving and meriting spectacular material assistance. This ideology offers support for the reinforcement of existing economic power structures and the myth of the American Dream.
Religiosity and forgiveness among first-married and remarried adults

The current study examined the relationship between religiosity and forgiveness among first-married and remarried adults. Seven hundred and eighty-seven married adults from the Flanders region in Belgium completed the Enright Forgiveness Inventory and a four-item Religiosity Scale measuring forgiveness and religiosity, respectively. The results indicated that religiosity positively correlated (p = 0.0001, r = 0.15) with forgiveness. There was a significant difference between the religiosity of the first-married and the remarried adults (p = 0.0001 (two-tailed) d = 0.61). In an analysis by gender, the women showed a statistically significantly higher religiosity than did men (p = 0.00005 (one-tailed) d = 0.28). Among the demographic variables, age (r = 0.26), number of children (r = 0.35), and number of years in marriage (r = 0.34) showed a statistically significant (p = 0.0001) positive correlation with religiosity. The basic purpose of this study was to inform clinicians of the value of forgiveness and religiosity in therapeutic interventions.
Partnerships in the U.S. telecommunications industry

global nature of the telecommunications industry means the telecommunications market increasingly supports, embraces, and influences every industry, company, organization, and consumer on the planet. Technological advances have enhanced our ability to move ever larger quantities of data and information at ever faster speeds— at the desktop and beyond—via wireless communications, cable modems, and digital servers. The digitization and integration with computers of telecommunication services have also meant significant business opportunities. The emergence of the Internet as a standard business tool and the growing numbers of telecommuters has meant increasing demand for bandwidth and development of new ways to make the Internet accessible to potentially billions of consumers around the world. At the same time, telecom deregulation in the U.S. and around the world and declining prices have spurred increased penetration of these technologies by making them affordable to vast number of smaller businesses. The decades before the 1960s were characterized by the birth of a U.S. telecommunications monop-oly—AT&T—and its chief adversary—the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC)—each trying to shape the industry to reflect its own point of view. AT&T sought to control most market segments and dictate market practices, while the FCC sought to issue market rules and regulations. A transitional era from 1961 to 1984 proved FCC the victor. By regulating the divestiture of AT&T and promoting smaller start-ups, including MCI, to provide competitive services, it broke AT&T's stranglehold on the Partnerships Strategic motivations range from adding local access to long-distance services, to sewing up millions of new customers, to claiming a piece of a potentially hot new technology. in the U.S. Telecommunications Industry U.S telecommunications market. The era of competition since 1984 can be characterized by both technological and regulatory upheaval. The recent deregulation of the U.S. industry has motivated companies to develop technical competencies and rethink their competitive strategies. Companies that would have been viewed as distinct in their product and service offerings have established partnerships that are now transforming the industry's fundamental basis of competition. This environment can be characterized as chaotic. Traditional rivals now seek cooperation in specialized segments of the information market. These companies are betting on a technological future, investing huge amounts of capital to make it happen. Start-ups proliferate, some dying, in their attempt to leverage new technologies or ideas through their innovation and flexibility. Stock prices have gyrated wildly in light of the related uncertainty. Here, we analyze the business and …
Identification, Inference and Sensitivity Analysis for Causal Mediation Effects

Causal mediation analysis is routinely conducted by applied researchers in a variety of disciplines. The goal of such an analysis is to investigate alternative causal mechanisms by examining the roles of intermediate variables that lie in the causal paths between the treat- ment and outcome variables. In this paper we first prove that under a particular version of sequential ignorability assumption, the aver- age causal mediation effect (ACME) is nonparametrically identified. We compare our identification assumption with those proposed in the literature. Some practical implications of our identification result are also discussed. In particular, the popular estimator based on the linear structural equation model (LSEM) can be interpreted as an ACME estimator once additional parametric assumptions are made. We show that these assumptions can easily be relaxed within and outside of the LSEM framework and propose simple nonparametric estimation strate- gies. Second, and perhaps most importantly, we propose a new sensi- tivity analysis that can be easily implemented by applied researchers within the LSEM framework. Like the existing identifying assumptions, the proposed sequential ignorability assumption may be too strong in many applied settings. Thus, sensitivity analysis is essential in order to examine the robustness of empirical findings to the possible existence of an unmeasured confounder. Finally, we apply the proposed methods to a randomized experiment from political psychology. We also make easy-to-use software available to implement the proposed methods.
Sleep disorders in chronic traumatic brain injury.

STUDY OBJECTIVE To examine the spectrum of sleep disorders in patients with chronic traumatic brain injury (TBI) and determine if the severity of sleep disorder is related to severity of chronic TBI. METHODS Patients who underwent evaluation for sleep disorder/s following a TBI were included in this retrospective analysis. Sixty adult patients with TBI (age 20-69 yr; 38 M and 22 F), who presented with sleep-related complaints 3 months to 2 years following TBI, were studied. None had sleep complaints prior to the TBI. Orophrayngeal, chin, and TMJ examinations were considered benign. The severity of injury was assessed by the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale. Polysomnograms (PSGs) were performed on 54 patients (90%), 28 of whom underwent multiple sleep latency tests (MSLTs) because they scored >11 on the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scale was administered if there was sleep maintenance insomnia, and the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAS) was administered if there was sleep onset insomnia. RESULTS The TBI severity was mild in 40%, moderate in 20%, and severe in 40%. The Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) score was elevated (>11) in 52%. Hypersomnia was the presenting complaint in 50%, mostly due to sleep apnea, narcolepsy, and periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD). Insomnia was the presenting complaint in 25%, half with sleep maintenance insomnia and high BDI scores, and the remainder with sleep onset insomnia and high HAS scores. Parasomnia was the presenting complaint in 25%; the most frequent parasomnia was REM behavior disorder (RBD). GAF scores were significantly correlated (p < 0.05) with some of the measures of sleep disruption (stage 1, sleep efficiency, and wake during sleep), but not with others (wake before sleep, stage-shifts, PLMI, PLMA and AHI) on the PSG. Fifty-three percent (15/28) had a mean sleep onset latency <5 minutes, and 32% (9/28), also had two or more sleep onset rapid eye movement periods (SOREMPs) on the MSLT. CONCLUSION The results of this study demonstrate that a full spectrum of common sleep disorders occurs in patients with chronic TBI. The severity of chronic TBI as measured by GAF scores is correlated with some of the measures of sleep disruption but not others, indicating a complex and multifactorial pathogenesis.