Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Feature Extraction and Expertise Analysis of Pianists' Motion-Captured Finger Gestures

This paper investigates the analysis of expert piano playing gestures. It aims to extract quantitative and objective features to represent pianists’ hands gestures, and more specifically to enable characterization of the expertise level of pianists. To do so, four pianists with different expertise levels were recorded with a marker-based optical motion capture system while playing six different piano pieces. Movements were decomposed with principal component analysis, leading to uncorrelated subparts called eigenmovements. We observed that four eigenmovements allowed representation of the original movement with 80% accuracy, and less than ten eigenmovements were sufficient to represent it with 95% accuracy. The eigenvalues, representing the contribution of each eigenmovement in the original movement, allowed comparison of pianists with each other, and showed that more trained pianists seemed to use more eigenmovements, reflecting a better motor control of their hands.
History of Success and Current Context in Problem Solving Combined Influences on Operator Selection

Abstract Problem solvers often have multiple operators available to them but must select just one to apply. We present three experiments that demonstrate that solvers use at least two sources of information to make operator selections in the building sticks task (BST): information from their past history of using the operators and information from the current context of the problem. Specifically, problem solvers are more likely to use an operator the more successful it has been in the past and the closer it takes the current state to the goal state. These two effects, respectively, represent the learning and performance processes that influence solvers’ operator selections. A computational model of BST problem solving, developed within the ACT-R theory (Anderson, 1993), provides the unifying framework in which both types of processes can be integrated to predict solvers’ selection tendencies.
Inhibition of aldose reductase prevents lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammatory response in human lens epithelial cells.

PURPOSE Bacterial infections are one of the major causes of human eye disease. Because the bacterial endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is known to cause cytotoxicity through oxidative stress and an earlier study has shown that aldose reductase (AR) mediates oxidative stress signals, the purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of AR inhibition on LPS-induced activation of NF-kappaB-dependent signals in human lens epithelial cells (HLECs). METHODS Growth-arrested HLECs were cultured without or with AR inhibitors or transfected with an AR small interfering (si)RNA. Subsequently, the cells were stimulated with LPS (1-10 mug/mL) for 24 hours. The cell viability was assessed by cell counts and MTT assay, and apoptosis was measured by nucleosomal degradation. Electrophoretic mobility gel shift assays were performed to determine the activation of NF-kappaB and AP1. The levels of nitric oxide, MMP-2, MMP-9, Cox-2, and TNF-alpha were measured by using specific ELISA kits. Western blot analysis was performed to determine the cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) and the activation of PKC and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). RESULTS Bacterial LPS caused apoptosis of HLECs. Inhibition of AR by two structurally unrelated inhibitors, sorbinil and tolrestat, or ablation by AR siRNA prevented the LPS-induced apoptosis, activation of caspase-3 and cleavage of PARP protein. Inhibition of AR in HLECs also prevented the LPS-induced activation of redox-sensitive transcription factors such as NF-kappaB and AP1 and their downstream signals that lead to expression of Cox-2, MMP-2, MMP-9, and TNF-alpha proteins. In addition, inhibition of AR prevented LPS-induced activation of protein kinases upstream to NF-kappaB activation such as PKC and MAPK in HLECs. CONCLUSIONS The results indicate that AR mediates the bacterial endotoxin signaling that could damage HLECs by regulating the signals that activate the redox-sensitive transcription factor NF-kappaB and cause inflammation. Thus, inhibition of AR could be a therapeutic target for Gram-negative bacterial infection-induced visual complications.
Subpopulations of liver coated vesicles resolved by preparative agarose gel electrophoresis

Rat liver clathrin coated vesicles (CVs) were separated into several distinct subpopulations using non-sieving concentrations of agarose, which allowed the separation of species differing primarily in surface charge. Using preparative agarose electrophoresis (Kedersha, N. L., and L. H. Rome, 1986, Anal. Biochem., in press), the CVs were recovered and analyzed for differences in morphology, coat protein composition, and stripped vesicle protein composition. Coat proteins from different populations appeared identical on SDS PAGE, and triskelions stripped from the different populations showed the same mobility on the agarose gel, suggesting that the mobility differences observed in intact CVs were due to differences in the surface charge of underlying vesicles rather than to variations in their clathrin coats. Several non-coat polypeptides appeared to segregate exclusively with different populations as resolved by two-dimensional electrophoresis. Stripped CVs also exhibited considerable heterogeneity when analyzed by Western blotting: the fast-migrating population was enriched in the mannose 6- phosphate receptor, secretory acetylcholine esterase, and an Mr 195,000 glycoprotein. The slow-migrating population of CVs was enriched in the asialoglycoprotein receptor, and it appeared to contain all detectable concanavalin A-binding polypeptides as well as the bulk of detectable WGA-binding proteins. When CVs were prepared from 125I- asialoorosomucoid-perfused rat liver, ligand was found in the slow- migrating CVs, suggesting that these were endocytic in origin. Morphological differences were also observed: the fast-migrating population was enriched in smaller CVs, whereas the slow-migrating population exhibited an enrichment in larger CVs. As liver consists largely of hepatocytes, these subpopulations appear to originate from the same cell type and probably represent CVs of different intracellular origin and destination.
TreePlus: Interactive Exploration of Networks with Enhanced Tree Layouts

Despite extensive research, it is still difficult to produce effective interactive layouts for large graphs. Dense layout and occlusion make food Webs, ontologies and social networks difficult to understand and interact with. We propose a new interactive visual analytics component called TreePlus that is based on a tree-style layout. TreePlus reveals the missing graph structure with visualization and interaction while maintaining good readability. To support exploration of the local structure of the graph and gathering of information from the extensive reading of labels, we use a guiding metaphor of "plant a seed and watch it grow. " It allows users to start with a node and expand the graph as needed, which complements the classic overview techniques that can be effective at (but often limited to) revealing clusters. We describe our design goals, describe the interface and report on a controlled user study with 28 participants comparing TreePlus with a traditional graph interface for six tasks. In general, the advantage of TreePlus over the traditional interface increased as the density of the displayed data increased. Participants also reported higher levels of confidence in their answers with TreePlus and most of them preferred TreePlus
Independent immunoglobulin class-switch events occurring in a single myeloma cell line

Five gamma 2a-producing cell lines, all derived from the gamma 2b-producing mouse myeloma MPC11, were analyzed for changes in gene structure. Also examined was a cell line (ICR9.7.1) that acts as an intermediate to some of these class switches. All six of the MPC11 variants have undergone DNA rearrangement. Rearrangement sites in the gamma 2a-producing cells are different in each case and generally do not involve tandem repeat sequences. An enhancer for heavy chain gene transcription was deleted in at least one of these cell lines as a result of its class-switch rearrangement. DNA sequence analysis of cloned genes from two of the MPC11 variants revealed shared sequences at their rearrangement breakpoints. The same sequences are found at the breakpoints of two additional immunoglobulin gene rearrangements in MPC11.
Restriction endonuclease analysis of human and bovine group B streptococci for epidemiologic study

Group B streptococci, a frequent cause of neonatal sepsis and meningitis, postpartum endometritis, and bovine mastitis, may be acquired by several modes of transmission. Detailed epidemiologic study is hampered by the lack of a sufficiently discriminatory typing system, especially for type III and nontypable strains. We examined 54 epidemiologically well-characterized strains by restriction endonuclease analysis (REA) and compared the results with those obtained by serotyping. REA patterns were inspected without knowledge of the epidemiological or serotyping data. Among 21 type Ia, Ia/c, and Ib/c isolates, we found 10 REA patterns; among 5 type II and IIc isolates, we found 5 REA patterns; among 13 type III isolates, we found 6 REA patterns; and among 15 nontypable human and animal isolates, we found 7 different REA patterns. Double digestion of type III isolates with EcoRI and BglII helped us to distinguish the isolates. In total, 28 REA patterns were found in six serotype groups and one nontypable group. Some geographically and epidemiologically separate isolates had identical REA patterns, suggesting dissemination of a limited number of clones. We conclude that REA is a promising tool for detailed epidemiological study of group B streptococci.
Multiparadigm Approach to Software System Evolution

Every software system during the life cycle undergoes an evolution in dependence on new requirements such adding a new functionality, improving or removing the existing one, improving the performance of system and so on. Nowadays, in regard of robustness of software systems, new possibilities of an automatic evolution of existing software systems are searched. The human intervention to an evolution process should be as minimal as possible. There are many researcher teams that try to solve this problem, mostly using object oriented approach. In our research project we concentrate on suitable properties of functional, object-oriented and aspect-oriented paradigm. An experimental process functional language (PFL) has been developed to combine and integrate suitable properties of these paradigms. The paper deals with particular paradigms and how these paradigms and their properties will be used for our purpose. Also source to source transformation from PFL to Petri Nets will be shown.
PCL-PGLA Composite Tubular Scaffold Preparation and Biocompatibility Investigation

The objective of this paper was to fabricate a biodegradable tubular scaffold for small diameter (d < 6 mm) blood vessel tissue engineering. The tube scaffold needed a porous wall for cell attachment, proliferation and tissue regeneration with its degradation. A novel method given in this paper was to coat a porous layer of poly (∊-caprolactone) (PCL) on the outside of a poly (glycolic-colactic acid) (PGLA with GA: LA = 90:10) fiber braided tube to give a PCL-PGLA composite. The PGLA tube was fabricated using a braiding machine by inserting a Teflon tube with the desired diameter in center of the 20 spindles, which are the carriers of PGLA fibers. Changing the diameter of the Teflon tube can vary the inner diameter of a braided PGLA tube. Thermally induced phase separation method was used for PCL solution coating on the surface of the PGLA braided tube. Controlling the polymer concentration, non-solvent addition and quenching temperature generated the pore structures, with pore sizes ranging from 10–30 μm. The fibroblast cells were seeded on the tubular scaffold and cultured in vitro for the biocompatibility investigation. Histology results showed that the fibroblast cells proliferated on the interconnected pore of the PCL porous layer in 1 week.
Distribution and Coordination of Policies for Large-scale Service Management

The distribution and coordination of policies is often overlooked but is crucial to the scalability of dynamic, personalised services. In this work we partition an Abstract Syntax Tree of the policies to determine the responsibility of different management nodes in a geographically segregated network (i.e. management by delegation). This partitioning is combined with IN/OUT set analysis to determine the required coordination for policy enforcement of complex policies with inter-dependencies. Our simulation results show that this approach is promising, as higher decision loads can be readily handled by further sub-dividing of the network.
The nurses' experience of barriers to safe practice in the neonatal intensive care unit in Thailand.

OBJECTIVE To describe barriers nurses experienced in providing safe practice in the neonatal intensive care unit and to investigate area of errors commonly affected when nurses confronted the barriers. DESIGN Qualitative descriptive method. SETTING Randomly selected 4 large neonatal intensive care units in Thailand. PARTICIPANTS Twenty-seven neonatal intensive care unit nurses. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES A semistructured interview of the nurses' experience of neonatal intensive care unit error, factors forming barriers to safe practice, and neonatal outcome. RESULTS Of 245 error events, neonates were identified to suffer 126 (55.5%) adverse events. Five themes emerged as common factors obstructing nurses from incorporating safety processes into their caring roles: human susceptibility to error, system operating care weakness, problematic medical devices, poor team communication, and situational provocation. Multiple barriers were largely associated with understaffing, a sudden increase in patient acuity, multiple assignments, and an inadequate knowledge of safety in neonatal critical care, which often interacted and influenced their performance when processed to a single error occurrence. CONCLUSION A focus on management of the potential barriers in a system-related human error approach could prevent and intercept future errors in this vulnerable population.
Self-Adaptive Extracting Academic Entities from World Wide Web

Huge amount of entities and theirs relationships are posted on the Web. Those entities and theirs relationship networks help many activities. In this paper, we focus on the task of extracting academic entity network from homepages. Homepages usually contain many entities, such as persons, conference/journal and organization and theirs relationship. However, homepages don't follow a unified layout format and often contains similar information, but differs greatly in layouts and styles, which makes it impossible to use a unified set of rules to handle them all. Thus we propose an integrated approach to automatically extract data from unstructured texts. The main idea of the approach is to adopt the most suitable approach to extract entities. Thus, the approach is self-adaptive. Firstly, the approach decomposes web pages into text units and then classifier is used to determine units' type. Once the units' types are known, the different technologies are chosen to deal with them. For example, edit distance and inverted index are used to identify names etc. And Conditional Random Field technology is considered the best solution to extract publication entries. The result shows that LineX has achieved high performance on extracting entities from web pages in academic community.
A hybrid algorithm for the optimization of area and delay in linear DSP transforms

This paper addresses the problem of multiplierless realization of linear transforms using the fewest number of addition and subtraction operations and introduces a hybrid algorithm that incorporates a graph-based technique, called the difference method, and a Common Subexpression Elimination (CSE) algorithm. In the proposed algorithm, while the difference method extracts the most promising realizations of linear transforms in each iteration, the CSE algorithm achieves the most common minimum conflicting subexpressions in each solution of the difference method. This paper also describes how the hybrid algorithm can be modified in order to find a solution with the fewest number of operations under a delay constraint. The experimental results on a comprehensive set of instances show the efficiency of the hybrid algorithms, at both high-level and gate-level, in comparison to previously proposed algorithms.
Glycoprotein D protects mice against lethal challenge with herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2

Glycoprotein D is a virion envelope component of herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2. Sets of mice were immunized with purified gD-1 or gD-2 and were challenged with a lethal dose of herpes simple virus, either type 1 or type 2. All or virtually all of the immunized mice survived challenge with either agent, whereas challenge of sham-immunized mice was almost always fatal. Serum samples taken before challenge contained gD-specific antibodies which had 50% neutralization titers ranging from 1:16 to 1:512 against homologous and heterologous virus types. We conclude that either gD-1 or gD-2 is a potential candidate for a subunit vaccine against herpetic infections.
Slab breakoff: A model for syncollisional magmatism and tectonics in the Alps

Slab breakoff is the buoyancy-driven detachment of subducted oceanic lithosphere from the light continental lithosphere that follows it during continental collision. In a recent paper Davies and von Blanckenburg [1994] have assessed the physical conditions leading to breakoff by quantitative thermomechanical modeling and have predicted various consequences in the evolution of mountain belts. Breakoff will lead to heating of the overriding lithospheric mantle by upwelling asthenosphere, melting of its enriched layers, and thus to bimodal magmatism. Breakoff will also lead to thermal weakening of the subducted crustal lithosphere, thereby allowing buoyant rise of released crustal slices from mantle depths. In this paper we present a test of this model in the Tertiary evolution of the European Alps. In the Alps, both basaltic and granitoid magmatism occur between 42 and 25 Ma, following the closure of oceanic basins by subduction and continental collision. The granitoids are now well established to result from mixing of basalt with assimilated continental crust. To identify the tectonically crucial origin of the partial mantle melts, we have compiled all published geochemical and isotopic data of numerous mafic dykes occurring throughout the whole Alpine arc. Their trace element and isotopic composition suggests that they have been formed by low-degree melting of the mechanically stable lithospheric mantle. We see no evidence for melting of asthenospheric mantle. It was thus not decompressed to depths shallower than 50 km. Once initiated, rapid lateral migration of slab breakoff will result in a linear trace of magmatism in locally thermal weakened crust. This explains why all Alpine magmatic rocks intruded almost synchronously along a strike-slip fault, the Periadriatic Lineament. A compilation of ages from Penninic high-pressure rocks subducted to depths of up to 100 km shows that subduction took place at circa 55–40 Ma, followed by uplift at 40–35 Ma. From the short time interval between their uplift and the onset of magmatism we infer that both processes have been induced by the breakoff. The slab breakoff model fulfills its predictions in the case of the Alps and therefore supports the assumptions made in the theoretical model on a geological basis. We believe that the characteristic association of magmatic activity with the return of high-pressure rocks to the surface allows the identification of this process in the Earth's mountain belts.
Zinc chloride inhibition of Nitrosococcus mobilis

Nitrosococcus mobilis, a halophilic nitrifier, plays an important role in global nitrogen cycling and in the removal of nitrogen from wastewater treatment plants. However, ammonia oxidation is sensitive to a wide variety of inhibitors, including the heavy metal, zinc. Using a metabolic‐steady‐state reactor, shotgun DNA microarrays, and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), this research looked at the dynamic physiological and transcriptional responses of N. mobilis to 1 and 10 µM ZnCl2. By oxygen uptake rate measurements, zinc was determined to act directly on the ammonia monooxygenase (AMO) enzyme. The addition of excess copper prevented the inhibition of AMO by ZnCl2 suggesting that zinc and copper compete for placement in the metal active site in AMO. Shotgun DNA microarrays identified four previously unsequenced genes that were up‐ or down‐regulated in response to 10 µM ZnCl2. Genes up‐regulated in response to zinc inhibition include methionine synthase I, UbiA prenyltransferase and a recG‐like helicase. RuBisCO was the lone down‐regulated gene identified. qPCR was used to track the gene expression of the identified genes over the course of the 4‐h experiment for both ZnCl2 concentrations. Because of their physiological importance, the expressions of AMO and hydroxylamine oxidoreductase (HAO) were also monitored via qPCR. The qPCR results showed general agreement with the shotgun DNA microarray results for metH, UbiA, recG and RuBisCO, and revealed that AMO and HAO expression levels were maintained or modestly up‐regulated during ZnCl2 inhibition. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2008;99: 1085–1095. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A Systematic Evaluation of Mobile Applications for Instant Messaging on iOS Devices

Nowadays, instant messaging applications (apps) are one of the most popular applications for mobile devices with millions of active users. However, mobile devices present hardware and software characteristics and limitations compared with personal computers. Hence, to address the usability issues of mobile apps, a specific methodology must be conducted. This paper shows the findings from a systematic analysis of these applications on iOS mobile platform that was conducted to identify some usability issues in mobile applications for instant messaging. The overall process includes a Keystroke-Level Modeling and a Mobile Heuristic Evaluation. In the same trend, we propose a set of guidelines for improving the usability of these apps. Based on our findings, this analysis will help in the future to create more effective mobile applications for instant messaging.
Adaptive voltage position design for voltage regulators

This paper proposes a general design guideline for the voltage regulator (VR) to achieve adaptive voltage position (AVP). All existing control methods are covered for different kinds of output filter capacitors. Based on the small-signal model analysis, the output impedance and system control bandwidth are discussed. Following the proposed design guidelines, simulation and experimental results demonstrate very good VR transient response.