Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Practical Linear Models for Large-Scale One-Class Collaborative Filtering

Collaborative filtering has emerged as the de facto approach to personalized recommendation problems. However, a scenario that has proven difficult in practice is the one-class collaborative filtering case (OC-CF), where one has examples of items that a user prefers, but no examples of items they do not prefer. In such cases, it is desirable to have recommendation algorithms that are personalized, learning-based, and highly scalable. Existing linear recommenders for OC-CF achieve good performance in benchmarking tasks, but they involve solving a large number of a regression sub-problems, limiting their applicability to large-scale problems. We show that it is possible to scale up linear recommenders to big data by learning an OCCF model in a randomized low-dimensional embedding of the user-item interaction matrix. Our algorithm, Linear-FLow, achieves state-of-the-art performance in a comprehensive set of experiments on standard benchmarks as well as real data.
The Sociological Significance of Sleep: Progress, Problems and Prospects

Sleep is something we all ‘do’ on a daily or nightly basis, consuming approximately a third of our lives. It is only relatively recently, however, that sociologists have begun to address the social significance of sleep. This paper, therefore, provides an invitation of sorts to a rich and fascinating new field of sociological inquiry, charting and commentating on the sociological significance of sleep in relation to the following seven key themes: (i) body and society; (ii) roles and routines; (iii) history and culture; (iv) work and employment; (v) gender and the life course; (vi) health and illness; and finally, (vii) politics and ethics. The paper concludes with some further critical thoughts and reflections on this sociological engagement with sleep to date and the theoretical, conceptual and methodological challenges ahead.
Physical fitness in female soccer players by player position: a focus on anaerobic power

Purpose. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between player position and physical fitness, with an emphasis on anaerobic power, in female soccer players. Methods. For this purpose, 54 first league female soccer players were recruited. They included goalkeepers (n = 4, age 22.89 ± 4.37 years), defenders (n = 21, 21.92 ± 3.81 years), midfielders (n = 22, 21.71 ± 4.70 years) and attackers (n = 7, 20.43 ± 4.70 years). Participants’ anthropometric characteristics were measured and a physical fitness test battery was administered. Results. significant differences were observed in body fat percentage (F3,50 = 3.06, p = 0.036, ŋ = 0.16) with goalkeepers being fatter than defenders (mean difference 6.1%; 95% CI 0.3,11.9). Positional differences were also found in the sit-and-reach test (F3,50 = 4.46, p = 0.007, ŋ = 0.21), in which goalkeepers scored lower than defenders (–11.4 cm; 95% CI –21.4, –1.5) and midfielders (–10.0 cm; 95% CI –19.9, 0). Comparison of fat mass and endomorphy were statistically significant (p = 0.057 and p = 0.062, respectively), with goalkeepers showing the highest values; these differences were in the same direction as with body fat percentage. No positional differences were found in the other physical fitness components (aerobic capacity, anaerobic power, and muscle strength). Conclusions. Differences among player positions were observed in body composition (highest body fat percentage in goalkeepers) and flexibility (lowest score in goalkeepers). These trends are in agreement with previously published data concerning elite soccer players. These findings might be used as reference data by coaches and trainers to identify talent, select players, and monitor training.
Daily-life Difficulties in Person Recognition Reported By Young and Elderly Subjects

Elderly people frequently complain spontaneously about their inability to remember people and their names. Naturalistic methods such as diaries, checklists, etc. provide useful means to study and make more explicit the nature of such memory difficulties among the elderly, as well as to better understand normal memory functioning. We developed a checklist (inspired by a study by Young, Hay and Ellis, 1985) to explore normal young and elderly people's difficulties in person recognition. The checklist is composed of four parts, each one corresponding to a particular context in which the difficulty took place. Each part has the same structure and consists of precise questions about the type of incident, the circumstances, the persons involved, and the way the incident ended. Three groups of normal subjects kept records of their difficulties and errors in recognizing people for 1 month: young subjects with a bad memory for faces, young subjects without particular problems of face memory, and a group of elderly subjects. A total of 299 records were collected. They were classified with respect to the functional components presumably implied in the process breakdown. The elderly subjects experienced difficulties with retrieving names, first names, or nicknames (Name Codes), while the young subjects with a bad memory for faces reported overall the greatest number of incidents and were particularly impaired in access to Face Recognition Units. A characterization of these two kinds of difficulties is proposed. Young subjects without problems of face memory presented equal numbers of difficulties at all stages of person recognition. These patterns of results will be discussed in terms of current cognitive models of person recognition.
Big Ideas for a Small Town: the Huddersfield Creative Town Initiative

Whilst much of the attention of those concerned with culture and regeneration has rightly been focused upon the core cities and regional capitals, it would be a mistake to assume that smaller towns and cities do not also have a role to play. Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, is one of a number of towns clustered around the Pennines that grew, and for a hundred years prospered, from the textile trade but which, by the 1980s, were in serious economic decline. This article examines how culture has contributed to the regeneration of the town and the wider local authority district. It reviews the developing role of the creative industries within the district and, in particular, the role of the local Council as a key catalyst for many of the institutional and policy shifts that have contributed to this development. The paper is very much intended as reflection on a particular case study. It is certainly not offered as a blueprint but as an opportunity to contribute to the developing knowledge base concerned with the role of the cultural and creative industries in urban development.
Transcription factor heterogeneity and epiblast pluripotency

Stem cells are defined by the simultaneous possession of the seemingly incongruent properties of self-renewal and multi-lineage differentiation potential. To maintain a stem cell population, these opposing forces must be balanced. Transcription factors that function to direct pluripotent cell identity are not all equally distributed throughout the pluripotent cell population. While Oct4 levels are relatively homogeneous, other transcription factors, such as Nanog, are more heterogeneously expressed. Moreover, Oct4 positive cells fluctuate between states of high Nanog expression associated with a high probability of self-renewal and low Nanog expression associated with an increased propensity to differentiate. As embryonic stem (ES) cells transit to the more developmentally advanced epiblast stem cell (EpiSC) state, the levels of pluripotency transcription factors are modulated. Such modulations are blunted in cells that overexpress Nanog and this may underlie the resistance of Nanog-overexpressing cells to transit to an EpiSC state. Interestingly, increasing the levels of Nanog in EpiSC can facilitate reversion to the ES cell state. Together these observations suggest that Nanog lies close to the top of the hierarchy of pluripotent transcription factor regulation.
Knockin of mutant PIK3CA activates multiple oncogenic pathways

The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase subunit PIK3CA is frequently mutated in human cancers. Here we used gene targeting to “knock in” PIK3CA mutations into human breast epithelial cells to identify new therapeutic targets associated with oncogenic PIK3CA. Mutant PIK3CA knockin cells were capable of epidermal growth factor and mTOR-independent cell proliferation that was associated with AKT, ERK, and GSK3β phosphorylation. Paradoxically, the GSK3β inhibitors lithium chloride and SB216763 selectively decreased the proliferation of human breast and colorectal cancer cell lines with oncogenic PIK3CA mutations and led to a decrease in the GSK3β target gene CYCLIN D1. Oral treatment with lithium preferentially inhibited the growth of nude mouse xenografts of HCT-116 colon cancer cells with mutant PIK3CA compared with isogenic HCT-116 knockout cells containing only wild-type PIK3CA. Our findings suggest GSK3β is an important effector of mutant PIK3CA, and that lithium, an FDA-approved therapy for bipolar disorders, has selective antineoplastic properties against cancers that harbor these mutations.
Deleting the Arntl clock gene in the granular layer of the mouse cerebellum: impact on the molecular circadian clockwork

The suprachiasmatic nucleus houses the central circadian clock and is characterized by the timely regulated expression of clock genes. However, neurons of the cerebellar cortex also contain a circadian oscillator with circadian expression of clock genes being controlled by the suprachiasmatic nucleus. It has been suggested that the cerebellar circadian oscillator is involved in food anticipation, but direct molecular evidence of the role of the circadian oscillator of the cerebellar cortex is currently unavailable. To investigate the hypothesis that the circadian oscillator of the cerebellum is involved in circadian physiology and food anticipation, we therefore by use of Cre‐LoxP technology generated a conditional knockout mouse with the core clock gene Arntl deleted specifically in granule cells of the cerebellum, since expression of clock genes in the cerebellar cortex is mainly located in this cell type. We here report that deletion of Arntl heavily influences the molecular clock of the cerebellar cortex with significantly altered and arrhythmic expression of other central clock and clock‐controlled genes. On the other hand, daily expression of clock genes in the suprachiasmatic nucleus was unaffected. Telemetric registrations in different light regimes did not detect significant differences in circadian rhythms of running activity and body temperature between Arntl conditional knockout mice and controls. Furthermore, food anticipatory behavior did not differ between genotypes. These data suggest that Arntl is an essential part of the cerebellar oscillator; however, the oscillator of the granular layer of the cerebellar cortex does not control traditional circadian parameters or food anticipation.
Hyaluronan inhibits osteoclast differentiation via Toll-like receptor 4

The differentiation of osteoclasts, cells specialized for bone resorption, is governed by two key factors, macrophage colony stimulating factor (M-CSF) and receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand (RANKL). The extracellular matrix (ECM) is an important factor influencing cell fate. To date, little investigation on the relationship between ECM components and osteoclast differentiation has been documented. In this study, we uncovered a potent anti-osteoclastogenic effect of hyaluronan (HA), an ECM component present in bone marrow and soft connective tissues, in primary mouse and human osteoclast precursor cell cultures. The anti-osteoclastogenic function of HA was dependent on Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) but not on CD44. HA inhibited M-CSF-dependent signaling pathways involving Rac, reactive oxygen species and mitogen-activated protein kinases, resulting in suppression of transcription factors AP-1 and MITF that control RANK expression. Furthermore, in an in vivo mouse model of calvarial bone resorption assays HA reduced RANKL-induced bone erosion and osteoclastogenesis. Our results clearly show that HA inhibits osteoclast differentiation through TLR4 by interfering with M-CSF signaling, and point that the interaction between ECM components and innate immune receptors can play an important role in the regulation of bone metabolism.
Epidemiological and Virological Characterization of Influenza B Virus Infections

While influenza A viruses comprise a heterogeneous group of clinically relevant influenza viruses, influenza B viruses form a more homogeneous cluster, divided mainly into two lineages: Victoria and Yamagata. This divergence has complicated seasonal influenza vaccine design, which traditionally contained two seasonal influenza A virus strains and one influenza B virus strain. We examined the distribution of the two influenza B virus lineages in Israel, between 2011–2014, in hospitalized and in non-hospitalized (community) influenza B virus-infected patients. We showed that influenza B virus infections can lead to hospitalization and demonstrated that during some winter seasons, both influenza B virus lineages circulated simultaneously in Israel. We further show that the influenza B virus Yamagata lineage was dominant, circulating in the county in the last few years of the study period, consistent with the anti-Yamagata influenza B virus antibodies detected in the serum samples of affected individuals residing in Israel in the year 2014. Interestingly, we found that elderly people were particularly vulnerable to Yamagata lineage influenza B virus infections.
Antonyms in children's and child-directed speech

This article presents two studies based on a corpus of American English speech by and to five children from 2 to 5 years old. The first study investigates frequency of antonym co-occurrence in speakers' turns. The second examines the discourse-functional properties of those co-occurrences, with comparison to adult-directed adult English. We find: (1) children know/use antonyms at earlier ages than experimental studies have shown; (2) children use antonyms for mostly the same discursive purposes as adults do; (3) children can be categorized as being either `heavy' or `light' antonym users, and `heaviness' of antonym use seems to correlate to other aspects of antonym behaviour.
The Association Between Celiac Disease, Dental Enamel Defects, and Aphthous Ulcers in a United States Cohort

Goals and Background European studies have demonstrated that dental enamel defects and oral aphthae are observed in celiac disease (CD). We investigated this association in a US population. Study Biopsy proven CD patients and controls were recruited from a private dental practice and from CD support meetings. History of aphthae was taken and dental examination was performed by a single dentist. Teeth were photographed and enamel defects graded according to the Aine classification. A second dentist reviewed all photographs. Results Among patients (n=67, mean age 34.8±21.6 y) compared with controls (n=69, mean age 28.1±15.7 y), there were significantly more enamel defects [51% vs. 30%, P=0.016, odds ratio (OR) 2.4, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.2-4.8]. This was confined to children (87% vs. 33%, P=0.003, OR 13.3, 95% CI 3.0-58.6), but not adults (32% vs. 29%, P=0.76, OR 1.2, 95% CI 0.5-2.8). This was reflected in defects being observed in those with mixed dentition compared with those with permanent dentition (68.4% vs. 29.6%, P<0.0001). The degree of agreement between the 2 dentists was good (κ coefficient=0.53, P<0.0001), aphthous ulcers were more frequent in CD than controls (42.4% vs. 23.2%, P=0.02). Conclusions This study supports that CD is highly associated with dental enamel defects in childhood, most likely because of the onset of CD during enamel formation; no such association was found in adults. Our study also supports the association between CD and aphthous ulcer. All physicians should examine the mouth, including the teeth, which may provide an opportunity to diagnose CD. In addition, CD should be added to the differential diagnosis of dental enamel defects and aphthous ulcers.
An In Situ SEM-FIB-Based Method for Contrast Enhancement and Tomographic Reconstruction for Structural Quantification of Porous Carbon Electrodes

Abstract A new in situ Scanning Electron Microscope-Focused Ion Beam-based method to study porous carbon electrodes involving Pt filling of pores from gaseous precursors has been demonstrated to show drastically improved image contrast between the carbon and porous phases when compared with the Si-resin vacuum-impregnation method. Whereas, the latter method offered up to 20% contrast, the new method offers remarkably higher contrast (42%), which enabled fast semi-automated demarcation of carbon boundaries and subsequent binarization of the images with very high fidelity. Tomographic reconstruction of the porous carbon electrode was then obtained from which several morphological parameters were quantified. The porosity was found to be 72±2%. The axial and radial tortuosites were 1.45±0.04 and 1.43±0.04, respectively. Pore size, which is defined to be the distance from the medial axis of the pore to the nearest solid boundary, was quantified. Average pore size determined from the pore size distribution was 90 nm and the corresponding 1 sigma ranges from 45 to 134 nm. Surface-to-volume ratio of the carbon phase was 46.5 µm−1. The ratio of total surface area to the total volume of electrode including pores (i.e., specific surface area) was 13 µm−1.
Cognitive Effort and Effects in Metaphor Comprehension: Relevance Theory and Psycholinguistics

: This paper explores the trade-off between cognitive effort and cognitive effects during immediate metaphor comprehension. We specifically evaluate the fundamental claim of relevance theory that metaphor understanding, like all utterance interpretation, is constrained by the presumption of optimal relevance (Sperber and Wilson, 1995, p. 270): the ostensive stimulus is relevant enough for it to be worth the addressee’s effort to process it, and the ostensive stimulus is the most relevant one compatible with the communicator’s abilities and preferences. One important implication of optimal relevance is that listeners follow a path of least effort and stop processing at the first interpretation that satisfies their expectation of relevance. They do this by trying to minimize cognitive effort while maximizing cognitive effects. Some relevance theory scholars suggest that metaphors should require additional cognitive effort to be understood, and that in return they yield more cognitive effects than does literal speech. Others claim that metaphors may be understood quickly, as soon as people infer enough effects for the speaker’s utterance to meet their expectation of optimal relevance. Our analysis of the experimental evidence suggests that there is no systematic relationship between cognitive effort and cognitive effects in metaphor comprehension. We conclude that relevance theory need not make any general predictions about the effort needed to comprehend metaphors. Nevertheless, relevance theory is consistent with many of the findings in psycholinguistics on metaphor understanding, and can account for aspects of metaphor understanding that no other theory can explain.
Optimal speedup of Las Vegas algorithms

Let A be a Las Vegas algorithm, i.e., A is a randomized algorithm that always produces the correct answer when its stops but whose running time is a random variable. The authors consider the problem of minimizing the expected time required to obtain an answer from A using strategies which simulate A as follows: run A for a fixed amount of time t/sub 1/, then run A independent for a fixed amount of time t/sub 2/, etc. The simulation stops if A completes its execution during any of the runs. Let S=(t/sub 1/, t/sub 2/,. . .) be a strategy, and let l/sub A/=inf/sub S/T(A,S), where T(A,S) is the expected value of the running time of the simulation of A under strategy S. The authors describe a simple universal strategy S/sup univ/, with the property that, for any algorithm A, T(A,S/sup univ/)=O(l/sub A/log(l/sub A/)). Furthermore, they show that this is the best performance that can be achieved, up to a constant factor, by any universal strategy. <<ETX>>
Development of a K-wire guiding robotic system for scaphoid fracture reduction

Fracture reduction of carpal bones is rather difficult, because of their tight formation. Therefore, it is difficult to recognize their posture and position as well as their segmentation. This paper deals with a novel robotic system for a K-wire guiding using CT and fluoroscopic images for scaphoid fracture reduction. The robot is designed to consider issues such as sterilization, X-ray halation and easy setup. Template matching in registration is investigated focusing on shape and structure of the carpal bones as well as scaphoid itself. Experiments show validity of the developed system in terms of insertion accuracy and operation time
Orthostatic Hypotension in Middle-Age and Risk of Falls

BACKGROUND One-third of older adults fall each year. Orthostatic hypotension (OH) has been hypothesized as an important risk factor for falls, but findings from prior studies have been inconsistent. METHODS We conducted a prospective study of the association between baseline OH (1987–1989) and risk of falls in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study. Falls were ascertained during follow-up via ICD-9 hospital discharge codes or Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services claims data. OH was defined as a drop in systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≥20mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥10mm Hg within 2 minutes of moving from the supine to standing position. Changes in SBP or DBP during OH assessments were also examined as continuous variables. RESULTS During a median follow-up of 23 years, there were 2,384 falls among 12,661 participants (mean age 54 years, 55% women, 26% black). OH was associated with risk of falls even after adjustment for demographic characteristics and other risk factors (hazard ratio (HR): 1.30; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.10, 1.54; P = 0.002). Postural change in DBP was more significantly associated with risk of falls (HR 1.09 per −5mm Hg change in DBP; 95% CI: 1.05, 1.13; P < 0.001) than postural change in SBP (HR 1.03 per −5mm Hg change in SBP; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.05; P = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS In a community-based, middle-aged population, OH, and in particular, postural change in DBP, were independent risk factors for falls over 2 decades of follow-up. Future studies are needed to examine OH thresholds associated with increased risk of falls.