Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
First Do No Harm: Valuing and Respecting the 'Person' in Psychological Research Online

The advent of the Internet has heralded broad changes in organisational and personal communication, commerce and information sharing. These technological advances have resulted in a shift in the methodologies and environments in which psychological research is undertaken. Transcending geographical barriers, the Internet offers a quick, convenient and inexpensive method of data collection from a large population of widely dispersed participants within a non-normative population. The Internet can be utilised effectively to eliminate or reduce the power differential between the researcher and the participant, providing a forum in which to communicate in a transparent and reflective dialogue. The portable functionality and accessibility of the laptop computer, combined with advances in wireless technology provide the researcher with remarkable flexibility and mobility. Research can be conducted anywhere and at any time. At face value, the Internet and its many applications (e. mailing lists, instant messaging, web pages) could be perceived as the panacea and substitute for the heavily sampled population of undergraduate psychology students, yet as an instrument of research methodology, it is not without its weaknesses and challenges. As such, it is imperative that researchers consider the ethical, moral, technical and legal implications to adequately protect participants, whilst promoting innovative and methodologically sound research. This chapter examines the issues and considerations involved in undertaking a psychological study online. The difficulties associated with obtaining informed consent, privacy and confidentiality, deceptive techniques, debriefing, 302 beneficence and the personal investment attributed to pseudonyms are addressed. Current ethical guidelines for conducting research via the Internet are reviewed and recommendations for best practice are presented.
Measuring Time Series Predictability Using Support Vector Regression

Most studies involving statistical time series analysis rely on assumptions of linearity, which by its simplicity facilitates parameter interpretation and estimation. However, the linearity assumption may be too restrictive for many practical applications. The implementation of nonlinear models in time series analysis involves the estimation of a large set of parameters, frequently leading to overfitting problems. In this article, a predictability coefficient is estimated using a combination of nonlinear autoregressive models and the use of support vector regression in this model is explored. We illustrate the usefulness and interpretability of results by using electroencephalographic records of an epileptic patient.
Effect of sonic driving on maximal aerobic performance

The study purpose was to evaluate antecedent binaural stimulation (ABS) on maximal aerobic physical performance. Twenty‐two healthy, physically active subjects, 21–34 years, randomly received one of two preparations for each session: 15 min of quiet (BLANK) or percussive sonic driving at 200+ beats per minute (bpm) using a recorded compact disc (FSS, Mill Valley, CA) with headphones (ABS). Baseline HR, blood pressure (BP), and breathing frequency (fbr) were obtained. During each condition, HR and fbr were recorded at 3‐min intervals. The graded maximal treadmill testing was administered immediately postpreparation session on separate days, with at least 48 h rest between sessions. There were significant differences in the antecedent period means between the two conditions, ABS (HR: 70.2 ± 10.7 bpm; fbr: 18.5 ± 3.3 br min−1; BP: 134.5/87.9 ± 13.6/9.2 mm Hg) and BLANK (HR: 64.6 ± 7.9; fbr: 14.3 ± 2.9; BP: 126.7/80.3 ± 12.1/8.6). Differences were noted for each 3‐min interval and pre‐ postantecedent period. The maximal graded exercise test (GXT) results showed that there was a small but significant (P < 0.05), increase in maximal VO2 in the ABS (49.8 ± 6.8 ml · kg−1 · min−1) vs. BLANK (46.7 ± 8.7) conditions. Related to that finding was a slight increase (0.5 min) in time to exhaustion (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in HR or RPE (P > 0.05). There may be a latency to ABS related to entrainment or imagery‐enhanced warm‐up. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 12:558–565, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Genotyping of the Capsule Gene Cluster (cps) in Nontypeable Group B Streptococci Reveals Two Majorcps Allelic Variants of Serotypes III and VII

ABSTRACT Forty group B Streptococcus (GBS) isolates obtained from Europe and the United States previously reported to be nontypeable (NT) by capsule serotype determination were subjected to buoyant density gradient centrifugation. From nearly half of the isolates capsule-expressing variants could be selected. For characterization of the remaining NT-GBS isolates, the capsule operon (cps) was amplified by the long-fragment PCR technique and compared by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. The patterns from serotype reference isolates (n = 32) were first determined and used as a comparison matrix for the NT-GBS isolates. Using two restriction enzymes, SduI and AvaII, cluster analysis revealed a high degree of similarity within serotypes but less than 88% similarity between serotypes. However, serotypes III and VII were each split in two distant RFLP clusters, which were designated III1 and III2 and VII1and VII2, respectively. Among the isolates that remained NT after repeated Percoll gradient selections, two insertional mutants were revealed. Both were found in blood isolates and harbored insertion sequence (IS) elements within cpsD: one harbored IS1548, and the other harbored IS861. All other NT-GBS isolates could, by cluster analysis, be referred to different serotypes by comparison to the RFLP reference matrix. In pulsed-field gel electrophoresis of SmaI-restricted chromosomal DNA, patterns from allelic type 1 and 2 isolates were essentially distributed in separate clusters in serotypes III and VII. A covariation with insertion sequence IS1548 in thehylB gene was suggested for serotype III, since allelic type III1 harboring IS1548 in hylB, clustered separately. The variation in serotype VII was not dependent on the presence of IS1548, which was not detected at any position in the type VII chromosome.
A correction function approach to solve the incidental parameter problem

Following Lancaster (2002), we propose a strategy to solve the incidental parameter problem. The method is demonstrated under a simple panel Poisson count model. We also extend the strategy to accomodate cases when information orthogonality is unavailable, such as the linear AR(p) panel model. For the AR(p) model, there exists a correction function to fix the incidental parameter problem when the model is stationary with strictly exogenous regressors. MCMC algorithms are developed for parameter estimation and model comparison. The results based on the simulated data sets suggest that our method could achieve consistency in both parameter estimation and model selection.
Direct Interval Volume Visualization

We extend direct volume rendering with a unified model for generalized isosurfaces, also called interval volumes, allowing a wider spectrum of visual classification. We generalize the concept of scale-invariant opacity-typical for isosurface rendering-to semi-transparent interval volumes. Scale-invariant rendering is independent of physical space dimensions and therefore directly facilitates the analysis of data characteristics. Our model represents sharp isosurfaces as limits of interval volumes and combines them with features of direct volume rendering. Our objective is accurate rendering, guaranteeing that all isosurfaces and interval volumes are visualized in a crack-free way with correct spatial ordering. We achieve simultaneous direct and interval volume rendering by extending preintegration and explicit peak finding with data-driven splitting of ray integration and hybrid computation in physical and data domains. Our algorithm is suitable for efficient parallel processing for interactive applications as demonstrated by our CUDA implementation.
Methanol and ethanol modulate responses to danger- and microbe-associated molecular patterns

Methanol is a byproduct of cell wall modification, released through the action of pectin methylesterases (PMEs), which demethylesterify cell wall pectins. Plant PMEs play not only a role in developmental processes but also in responses to herbivory and infection by fungal or bacterial pathogens. Molecular mechanisms that explain how methanol affects plant defenses are poorly understood. Here we show that exogenously supplied methanol alone has weak effects on defense signaling in three dicot species, however, it profoundly alters signaling responses to danger- and microbe-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs, MAMPs) such as the alarm hormone systemin, the bacterial flagellum-derived flg22 peptide, and the fungal cell wall-derived oligosaccharide chitosan. In the presence of methanol the kinetics and amplitudes of DAMP/MAMP-induced MAP kinase (MAPK) activity and oxidative burst are altered in tobacco and tomato suspension-cultured cells, in Arabidopsis seedlings and tomato leaf tissue. As a possible consequence of altered DAMP/MAMP signaling, methanol suppressed the expression of the defense genes PR-1 and PI-1 in tomato. In cell cultures of the grass tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea, Poaceae, Monocots), methanol alone activates MAPKs and increases chitosan-induced MAPK activity, and in the darnel grass Lolium temulentum (Poaceae), it alters wound-induced MAPK signaling. We propose that methanol can be recognized by plants as a sign of the damaged self. In dicots, methanol functions as a DAMP-like alarm signal with little elicitor activity on its own, whereas it appears to function as an elicitor-active DAMP in monocot grasses. Ethanol had been implicated in plant stress responses, although the source of ethanol in plants is not well established. We found that it has a similar effect as methanol on responses to MAMPs and DAMPs.
Effects of key factors on load-carrying capacity of radial static air bearing

Based on the momentum conservation equation and conservation equation, the analysis model is established for a radial static bearing lubricated by the air in composite spindle. The finite element model of the radial static bearing is built by using the finite element software, and the simulation analysis is carried out. The effects of eccentricity, orifice diameter, supply pressure and rotational speed on the Load-carrying capacity are simulated and analyzed under different boundary conditions. The results show the Load-carrying capacity increase with the increase of the eccentricity and supply pressure. There is an optimal orifice diameter for the largest Load-carrying capacity under the invariable air membrane thickness. Due to the increase of dynamic pressure effect, the Load-carrying capacity increase with the increase of rotational speed. These results are helpful to designing the optimal radial static bearing.
Understanding the influences of social integration in enterprise systems use

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to aid in the understanding of the influence of social integration (SI) in enterprise information systems (EIS) use.Design/methodology/approach – An in‐depth case study was carried out, where 40 interviews were collected along with eight informal conversations, five observations, and secondary data from a company with ten years of experience in the management and application of EIS. Informants were EIS users from top management to middle management, different‐user departments, the IT department, as well as the IT vendor.Findings – A total of six social integration processes and three social integration mechanisms were identified that help to explain the influences of social integration in EIS use.Research limitations/implications – This research could be further extended to explore other possible social integration processes, enablers or inhibitors which could provide a more comprehensive understanding of EIS usage.Practical implications – By understanding the conc.
Flow visualization using moving textures

An intuitive way to visualize a flow is to watch particles or textures move in the flow. In this paper, the authors show how texture mapping hardware can produce near-real-time texture motion, using a polygon grid, and one fixed texture. However, the authors make no attempt to indicate the flow direction in a still frame. As discussed here, any anisotropic stretching comes from the velocity gradient, not the velocity itself. The basic idea is to advect the texture by the flow field. In a cited paper, they gave an indication of the wind velocity by advecting the 3D texture coordinates on the polygon vertices of a cloudiness contour surface in a climate simulation. This was slow, because the 3D texture was rendered in software, and because advecting the texture was difficult for time-varying flows. In this paper, they replace the 3D textures by 2D texture maps compatible with hardware rendering, and give techniques for handling time-varying flows more efficiently. The next section gives their technique for the case of 2D steady flows, and the following one discusses the problems of texture distortion. Then they discuss the problems with extending method to time-varying flows, and two solutions. Next they develop compositing methods for visualizing 3D flows. The final section gives their results and conclusions.
Contact Skinning

In this paper, we propose a new approach to model interactions through a skinning method. Skinning is a frequently used technique to animate a mesh based on skeleton motion. In the case of a hand motion sequence used to manipulate and grasp virtual objects, it is essential to accurately represent the contact between the virtual objects and the animated hand. To improve the level of realism, our approach allows to accurately solve friction contact laws. In addition, contact constraints deﬁned on the surface of the hand can be applied onto the skeleton to produce plausible motion. We illustrate our work through two examples: the real-time simulation of a grasping task and a character animation based on motion capture.
Domain-specific Modification of Heparan Sulfate by Qsulf1 Modulates the Binding of the Bone Morphogenetic Protein Antagonist Noggin*

We have reported previously that Noggin is a heparin-binding protein and associates with the cell surface through heparan sulfate proteoglycans, where it remains functional for the binding of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs). Here we report that the binding of Noggin to the cell surface is highly selective for heparan sulfate and that specific structural features are required for the interaction. Noggin binds most efficiently to heparin sequences composed of 10 or more monosaccharides; N-, 6-O-, and 2-O-sulfates contribute to this interaction. In addition, we have shown that the developmentally regulated endosulfatase Qsulf1 selectively removes sulfate groups from the 6-O position of sugars within the most highly sulfated S domains of heparan sulfate, whereas 6-O-sulfates in the NA/NS domains are not substrates for the enzyme. The activity of Qsulf1 in cells in culture results in the release of Noggin from the cell surface and a restoration of BMP responsiveness to the cells. This shows that Noggin binds to the S domains of heparan sulfate and provides evidence that, in addition to modulating Wnt signaling in vivo by the release of heparan sulfate bound Wnt, Qsulf1 also modulates BMP signaling by the release of surface-bound Noggin.
Quality improvement through clinical communities: eight lessons for practice.

PURPOSE Approaches to quality improvement in healthcare based on clinical communities are founded in practitioner networks, peer influence and professional values. However, evidence for the value of this approach, and how to make it effective, is spread across multiple disciplines. The purpose of this paper is to review and synthesise relevant literature to provide practical lessons on how to use community-based approaches to improve quality. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH Diverse literatures were identified, analysed and synthesised in a manner that accounted for the heterogeneity of methods, models and contexts they covered. FINDINGS A number of overlapping but distinct community-based approaches can be identified in the literature, each suitable for different problems. The evidence for the effectiveness of these is mixed, but there is some agreement on the challenges that those adopting such approaches need to address, and how these can be surmounted. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS Key lessons include: the need for co-ordination and leadership alongside the lateral influence of peers; advantages of starting with a clear programme theory of change; the need for training and resources; dealing with conflict and marginalisation; fostering a sense of community; appropriate use of data in prompting behavioural change; the need for balance between "hard" and "soft" strategies; and the role of context. ORIGINALITY/VALUE The paper brings together diverse literatures with important implications for community-based approaches to quality improvement, drawing on these to offer practical lessons for those engaged in improving healthcare quality in practice.
Effects of a Novel Glucokinase Activator, HMS5552, on Glucose Metabolism in a Rat Model of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Glucokinase (GK) plays a critical role in the control of whole-body glucose homeostasis. We investigated the possible effects of a novel glucokinase activator (GKA), HMS5552, to the GK in rats with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were divided into four groups: control group, diabetic group, low-dose (10 mg/kg) HMS5552-treated diabetic group (HMS-L), and high-dose (30 mg/kg) HMS5552-treated diabetic group (HMS-H). HMS5552 was administered intragastrically to the T2DM rats for one month. The levels of total cholesterol, triglyceride, fasting plasma insulin (FINS), and glucagon (FG) were determined, and an oral glucose tolerance test was performed. The expression patterns of proteins and genes associated with insulin resistance and GK activity were assayed. Compared with diabetic rats, the FINS level was significantly decreased in the HMS5552-treated diabetic rats. HMS5552 treatment significantly lowered the blood glucose levels and improved GK activity and insulin resistance. The immunohistochemistry, western blot, and semiquantitative RT-PCR results further demonstrated the effects of HMS5552 on the liver and pancreas. Our data suggest that the novel GKA, HMS5552, exerts antidiabetic effects on the liver and pancreas by improving GK activity and insulin resistance, which holds promise as a novel drug for the treatment of T2DM patients.
A new distributed dynamic algorithm for mobility patterns prediction

Deployment of future ALL-IP mobile communication networks requires overcoming many challenges. One of them is how to provide QoS guarantee in such high dynamic environments. Basic principle is to couple between mobility and QoS solutions, so that handoffs are executed and simultaneously resources reserved. Most approaches doing such coupling optimize the performance by constructing neighbor groups to enable achieving in-advance actions accelerating the handoff as well as resources reservation. Optimizing the groups constructed based on Mobile Nodes' (MNs) mobility and traffic characteristics will result in an optimized performance and minimized network resources consumption. This paper proposes a new mechanism capable of achieving such an optimization. The new mechanism optimizes neighbor groups without requiring the storage of mobility patterns of individual MNs or forcing MNs to do lots of measurements. The basic idea is to extend the well-known Neighbor Graph (NG) to consider MNs' traffic and mobility characteristics. The extension lies in weighting the edges of the NG based on the services the network offers as well as movements patterns of MNs residing in the network. In such a way, each MN is associated with a neighbor group updated over the time based on the variation in its traffic characteristics. Our algorithm is fully distributed and highly improves the performance.
Benefit-Cost Analysis of Crime Prevention Programs

The number of high-quality benefit-cost analyses of crime prevention programs has grown from 12 to 23 since 2000, and numerous benefit-cost ratios have been calculated by the Washington State Institute for Public Policy. Benefits are often estimated conservatively, whereas costs are usually estimated in full. Benefits nonetheless exceed costs for most programs, especially for preschool and cognitive-behavioral programs, target hardening and improved lighting, Communities That Care programs, and Business Improvement Districts. However, benefits and costs are not estimated comparably in different studies; few analyses are strongly comparable. There is great need for the establishment and use of a standard list of benefits and costs. Better research designs are needed, especially including randomized controlled trials. It is more cost-beneficial to invest in prevention than in imprisonment. The time is ripe for major investment to improve the lives of disadvantaged children.
Screening of a long-term sample set reveals two Ranavirus lineages in British herpetofauna

Reports of severe disease outbreaks in amphibian communities in mainland Europe due to strains of the common midwife toad virus (CMTV)-like clade of Ranavirus are increasing and have created concern due to their considerable population impacts. In Great Britain, viruses in another clade of Ranavirus–frog virus 3 (FV3)-like—have caused marked declines of common frog (Rana temporaria) populations following likely recent virus introductions. The British public has been reporting mortality incidents to a citizen science project since 1992, with carcasses submitted for post-mortem examination, resulting in a long-term tissue archive spanning 25 years. We screened this archive for ranavirus (458 individuals from 228 incidents) using molecular methods and undertook preliminary genotyping of the ranaviruses detected. In total, ranavirus was detected in 90 individuals from 41 incidents focused in the north and south of England. The majority of detections involved common frogs (90%) but also another anuran, a caudate and a reptile. Most incidents were associated with FV3-like viruses but two, separated by 300 km and 16 years, involved CMTV-like viruses. These British CMTV-like viruses were more closely related to ranaviruses from mainland Europe than to each other and were estimated to have diverged at least 458 years ago. This evidence of a CMTV-like virus in Great Britain in 1995 represents the earliest confirmed case of a CMTV associated with amphibians and raises important questions about the history of ranavirus in Great Britain and the epidemiology of CMTV-like viruses. Despite biases present in the opportunistic sample used, this study also demonstrates the role of citizen science projects in generating resources for research and the value of maintaining long-term wildlife tissue archives.