Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modelling touch-interaction time on smartphones

ABSTRACT Accurate performance models are important for interaction technique, application, and hardware design. The limited screen size of mobile devices and use of touch interaction require unique considerations, especially when interacting with large amounts of information. This paper considers the performance impact of target visibility on mobile smartphone applications that provide on- and offscreen content with the commonly used direct-touch interactions and four cursor-based interaction methods for precise selection. Three existing and 12 novel performance models are experimentally validated. Fitts' Law, which was not designed for modelling selection of offscreen targets, did not predict interaction times for mobile interaction methods as accurately as is commonly observed with desktop interaction with onscreen targets. Target visibility was found to greatly impact interaction times (particularly for direct-touch interaction). The presented models that incorporate variables related to target visibility greatly improve predicted interaction times. The use and merits of the top models are discussed, emphasizing the importance and implications of accepted user-interface design guidelines.
Preparation and characterization of porous hydroxyapatite pellets: Effects of calcination and sintering on the porous structure and mechanical properties

In this study, porous hydroxyapatite structures were produced by using urea particles of 600–850 µm size. Samples with two different urea composition (25 and 50 wt%) were prepared along with samples without any urea content by adding urea to commercially available hydroxyapatite in its as purchased and calcined states. The produced pellets were sintered at 1100 ℃ and 1200 ℃ for 2 h. Compression tests and microhardness measurements were conducted and changes in density values were examined in order to determine the effect of the calcination state of the prior hydroxyapatite powder, the sintering temperature and the amount of urea added. Also X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared, and scanning electron microscopy analyses were conducted to determine the phase stability, functional groups, and pore morphology, respectively. Calcination is found to negatively affect the densification and sinterability of the produced samples, resulting in a decrease of compressive strength and microhardness. With the control of the urea content and sintering temperature uncalcined hydroxyapatite can successfully be used to tailor the density and mechanical properties of the final porous structures.
An interface for sketching 3D curves

The ability to specify nonplanar 3D curves is of fundamental importance in 3D modeling and animation systems. Effective techniques for specifying such curves using 2D input devices are desirable, but existing methods typically require the user to edit the curve from several viewpoints. We present a novel method for specifying 3D curves with 2D input from a single viewpoint. The user rst draws the curve as it appears from the current viewpoint, and then draws its shadow on the oor plane. The system correlates the curve with its shadow to compute the curve's 3D shape. This method is more natural than existing methods in that it leverages skills that many artists and designers have developed from work with pencil and paper.
Cognitively-Impaired-Not-Demented Status Moderates the Time-Varying Association between Finger Tapping Inconsistency and Executive Performance

Objective Response time inconsistency (RTI) in cognitive performance predicts deleterious health outcomes in late-life; however, RTI estimates are often confounded by additional influences (e.g., individual differences in learning). Finger tapping is a basic sensorimotor measure largely independent of higher-order cognition that may circumvent such confounds of RTI estimates. We examined the within-person coupling of finger-tapping mean and RTI on working memory, and the moderation of these associations by cognitive status. Method A total of 262 older adults were recruited and classified as controls, cognitively-impaired-not-demented (CIND) unstable or CIND stable. Participants completed finger-tapping and working-memory tasks during multiple weekly assessments, repeated annually for 4 years. Results Within-person coupling estimates from multilevel models indicated that on occasions when RTI was greater, working-memory response latency was slower for the CIND-stable, but not for the CIND-unstable or control individuals. Conclusions The finger-tapping task shows potential for minimizing confounds on RTI estimates, and for yielding RTI estimates sensitive to central nervous system function and cognitive status.
TAD-free analysis of architectural proteins and insulators

Abstract The three-dimensional (3D) organization of the genome is intimately related to numerous key biological functions including gene expression and DNA replication regulations. The mechanisms by which molecular drivers functionally organize the 3D genome, such as topologically associating domains (TADs), remain to be explored. Current approaches consist in assessing the enrichments or influences of proteins at TAD borders. Here, we propose a TAD-free model to directly estimate the blocking effects of architectural proteins, insulators and DNA motifs on long-range contacts, making the model intuitive and biologically meaningful. In addition, the model allows analyzing the whole Hi-C information content (2D information) instead of only focusing on TAD borders (1D information). The model outperforms multiple logistic regression at TAD borders in terms of parameter estimation accuracy and is validated by enhancer-blocking assays. In Drosophila, the results support the insulating role of simple sequence repeats and suggest that the blocking effects depend on the number of repeats. Motif analysis uncovered the roles of the transcriptional factors pannier and tramtrack in blocking long-range contacts. In human, the results suggest that the blocking effects of the well-known architectural proteins CTCF, cohesin and ZNF143 depend on the distance between loci, where each protein may participate at different scales of the 3D chromatin organization.
A Conserved Cytoskeletal Signaling Cascade Mediates Neurotoxicity of FTDP-17 Tau Mutations In Vivo

The microtubule binding protein tau is strongly implicated in multiple neurodegenerative disorders, including frontotemporal dementia and parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17 (FTDP-17), which is caused by mutations in tau. In vitro, FTDP-17 mutant versions of tau can reduce microtubule binding and increase the aggregation of tau, but the mechanism by which these mutations promote disease in vivo is not clear. Here we take a combined biochemical and in vivo modeling approach to define functional properties of tau driving neurotoxicity in vivo. We express wild-type human tau and five FTDP-17 mutant forms of tau in Drosophila using a site-directed insertion strategy to ensure equivalent levels of expression. We then analyze multiple markers of neurodegeneration and neurotoxicity in transgenic animals, including analysis of both males and females. We find that FTDP-17 mutations act to enhance phosphorylation of tau and thus promote neurotoxicity in an in vivo setting. Further, we demonstrate that phosphorylation-dependent excess stabilization of the actin cytoskeleton is a key phosphorylation-dependent mediator of the toxicity of wild-type tau and of all the FTDP-17 mutants tested. Finally, we show that important downstream pathways, including autophagy and the unfolded protein response, are coregulated with neurotoxicity and actin cytoskeletal stabilization in brains of flies expressing wild-type human and various FTDP-17 tau mutants, supporting a conserved mechanism of neurotoxicity of wild-type tau and FTDP-17 mutant tau in disease pathogenesis. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The microtubule protein tau aggregates and forms insoluble inclusion bodies known as neurofibrillary tangles in the brain tissue of patients with a variety of neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease. The tau protein is thus widely felt to play a key role in promoting neurodegeneration. However, precisely how tau becomes toxic is unclear. Here we capitalize on an “experiment of nature” in which rare missense mutations in tau cause familial neurodegeneration and neurofibrillary tangle formation. By comparing the biochemical activities of different tau mutations with their in vivo toxicity in a well controlled Drosophila model system, we find that all mutations tested increase phosphorylation of tau and trigger a cascade of neurotoxicity critically impinging on the integrity of the actin cytoskeleton.
Why are nutritionally stunted children at increased risk of obesity? Studies of metabolic rate and fat oxidation in shantytown children from São Paulo, Brazil.

BACKGROUND Previous research suggested that nutritionally stunted children may have increased risk of obesity, but little is known about potential underlying mechanisms. OBJECTIVE We sought to test the hypothesis that stunted children have a low metabolic rate and impaired fat oxidation relative to nonstunted children. DESIGN The subjects were 58 prepubertal boys and girls aged 8-11 y from the shantytowns of São Paulo, Brazil. Twenty-eight were stunted (height-for-age z score <-1.5) and 30 had similar weight-for-height but normal height (height-for-age z score >-1.5). Parents of children in the 2 groups had equivalent height and body mass index values. Fasting and postprandial energy expenditure, respiratory quotient (RQ), and substrate oxidation were measured with indirect calorimetry in a 3-d resident study in which all food was provided and body composition was measured with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. RESULTS Stunted children had normal resting energy expenditure relative to body composition compared with control children (4559 +/- 90 and 4755 +/- 86 kJ/d, respectively; P: = 0.14) and had normal postprandial thermogenesis (2.4 +/- 0.3% and 2.0 +/- 0.3% of meal load, respectively; P: = 0.42). However, fasting RQ was significantly higher in the stunted group (0.92 +/- 0.009 compared with 0.89 +/- 0.007; P: = 0.04) and consequently, fasting fat oxidation was significantly lower (25 +/- 2% compared with 34 +/- 2% of energy expenditure; P: < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS Childhood nutritional stunting is associated with impaired fat oxidation, a factor that predicted obesity in other at-risk populations. This finding may help explain recent increases in body fatness and the prevalence of obesity among stunted adults and adolescents in developing countries.
Intsy: a low-cost, open-source, wireless multi-channel bioamplifier system

Objective: Multi-channel electrical recordings of physiologically generated signals are common to a wide range of biomedical fields. The aim of this work was to develop, validate, and demonstrate the practical utility of a high-quality, low-cost 32/64-channel bioamplifier system with real-time wireless data streaming capability. Approach: The new ‘Intsy’ system integrates three main off-the-shelf hardware components: (1) Intan RHD2132 bioamplifier; (2) Teensy 3.2 microcontroller; and (3) RN-42 Bluetooth 2.1 module with a custom LabView interface for real-time data streaming and visualization. Practical utility was validated by measuring serosal gastric slow waves and surface EMG on the forearm with various contraction force levels. Quantitative comparisons were made to a gold-standard commercial system (Biosemi ActiveTwo). Main results: Intsy signal quality was quantitatively comparable to that of the ActiveTwo. Recorded slow wave signals had high SNR (24 ± 2.7 dB) and wavefront propagation was accurately mapped. EMG spike bursts were characterized by high SNR (⩾10 dB) and activation timing was readily identified. Stable data streaming rates achieved were 3.5 kS s−1 for wireless and 64 kS s−1 for USB-wired transmission. Significance: Intsy has the highest channel count of any existing open-source, wireless-enabled module. The flexibility, portability and low cost ($1300 for the 32-channel version, or $2500 for 64 channels) of this new hardware module reduce the entry barrier for a range of electrophysiological experiments, as are typical in the gastrointestinal (EGG), cardiac (ECG), neural (EEG), and neuromuscular (EMG) domains.
Hadamard editing of glutathione and macromolecule‐suppressed GABA

The primary inhibitory neurotransmitter γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) and the major antioxidant glutathione (GSH) are compounds of high importance for the function and integrity of the human brain. In this study, a method for simultaneous J‐difference spectral‐edited magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) of GSH and GABA with suppression of macromolecular (MM) signals at 3 T is proposed. MM‐suppressed Hadamard encoding and reconstruction of MEGA (Mescher–Garwood)‐edited spectroscopy (HERMES) consists of four sub‐experiments (TE = 80 ms), with 20‐ms editing pulses applied at: (A) 4.56 and 1.9 ppm; (B) 4.56 and 1.5 ppm; (C) 1.9 ppm; and (D) 1.5 ppm. One Hadamard combination (A + B – C – D) yields GSH‐edited spectra, and another (A – B + C – D) yields GABA‐edited spectra, with symmetric suppression of the co‐edited MM signal. MM‐suppressed HERMES, conventional HERMES and separate Mescher–Garwood point‐resolved spectroscopy (MEGA‐PRESS) data were successfully acquired from a (33 mm)3 voxel in the parietal lobe in 10 healthy subjects. GSH‐ and GABA‐edited MM‐suppressed HERMES spectra were in close agreement with the respective MEGA‐PRESS spectra. Mean GABA (and GSH) estimates were 1.10 ± 0.15 i.u. (0.59 ± 0.12 i.u.) for MM‐suppressed HERMES, and 1.13 ± 0.09 i.u. (0.66 ± 0.09 i.u.) for MEGA‐PRESS. Mean GABA (and GSH) differences between MM‐suppressed HERMES and MEGA‐PRESS were –0.03 ± 0.11 i.u. (–0.07 ± 0.11 i.u.). The mean signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) improvement of MM‐suppressed HERMES over MEGA‐PRESS was 1.45 ± 0.25 for GABA and 1.32 ± 0.24 for GSH. These results indicate that symmetric suppression of the MM signal can be accommodated into the Hadamard editing framework. Compared with sequential single‐metabolite MEGA‐PRESS experiments, MM‐suppressed HERMES allows for simultaneous edited measurements of GSH and GABA without MM contamination in only half the scan time, and SNR is maintained.
Evaluation of the variation in sensory test results using Semmes-Weinstein monofilaments

The purpose of this study is to examine the variability in sensory test of tactile results using Semmes-Weinstein monofilament (SWM). At present, several methods for measuring the tactile sensitivity are clinically used in diabetic peripheral neuropathy screening. One of these methods is a touch test that uses a device with nylon SWMs, i.e., SWMs embedded in a plastic handle. A small pushing force is applied at the handle to bow the filaments. Because of its ease and simplicity, the SWM test is conducted at the patient's bedside in a hospital. However, previous studies have reported some problems with this test. Studies have shown variations in the measured data, and it is uncertain whether these variations are caused by mechanical properties of the nylon fiber or by the motion of the operator's hands. We carried out two experiments to examine the effect of (1) the variability caused by the human operator conducting the SWM test on the test results and (2) the number of compressions of the SWM on the test results. In experiment 1, we measured the velocity of the operator's hand motion and the buckling force of the SWMs. The results showed variability in the hand motion of the operator conducting the SWM tests. In experiment 2, we measured the buckling force of the SWMs under a controlled velocity. We compared the buckling force of the SWMs through a number of trials. These results showed that the buckling force gradually decreases as the number of test cycles increase. In conclusion, we find that the accuracy of the SWM tests is a factor of the number of test cycles. Additionally, manual training for standardizing skills of medical staff members needs to be developed. Furthermore, the characteristics of the SWMs deteriorated over time. In future work, we aimto find a solution to minimize the variability in the SWM test results and develop a new testing system that uses tactile sensibility for diabetic peripheral neuropathy screening.
An Efficient Penalty-Aware Cache to Improve the Performance of Parity-Based Disk Arrays under Faulty Conditions

The buffer cache plays an essential role in smoothing the gap between the upper level computational components and the lower level storage devices. A good buffer cache management scheme should be beneficial to not only the computational components, but also the storage components by reducing disk I/Os. Existing cache replacement algorithms are well optimized for disks in normal mode, but inefficient under faulty scenarios, such as a parity-based disk array with faulty disk(s). To address this issue, we propose a novel penalty-aware buffer cache replacement strategy, named Victim Disk(s) First (VDF) cache, to improve the reliability and performance of a storage system consisting of a buffer cache and disk arrays. VDF cache gives higher priority to cache the blocks on the faulty disks when the disk array fails, thus reducing the I/Os addressed directly to the faulty disks. To verify the effectiveness of the VDF cache, we have integrated VDF into the popular cache algorithms least frequently used (LFU) and least recently used (LRU), named VDF-LFU and VDF-LRU, respectively. We have conducted intensive simulations as well as a prototype implementation for disk arrays to tolerate one disk failure (RAID-5) and two disk failures (RAID-6). The simulation results have shown that VDF-LFU can reduce disk I/Os to surviving disks by up to 42.3 percent in RAID-5 and 50.7 percent in RAID-6, and VDF-LRU can reduce those by up to 36.2 percent in RAID-5 and 48.9 percent in RAID-6. Our measurement results also show that VDF-LFU can speed up the online recovery by up to 46.3 percent in RAID-5 and 47.2 percent in RAID-6 under spare-rebuilding mode, or improve the maximum system service rate by up to 47.7 percent in RAID-5 under degraded mode without a reconstruction workload. Similarly, VDF-LRU can speed up the online recovery by up to 34.6 percent in RAID-5 and 38.2 percent in RAID-6, or improve the system service rate by up to 28.4 percent in RAID-5.
Extending Unification in EL to Disunification: The Case of Dismatching and Local Disunification

Unification in Description Logics has been introduced as a means to detect redundancies in ontologies. We try to extend the known decidability results for unification in the Description Logic $\mathcal{EL}$ to disunification since negative constraints can be used to avoid unwanted unifiers. While decidability of the solvability of general $\mathcal{EL}$-disunification problems remains an open problem, we obtain NP-completeness results for two interesting special cases: dismatching problems, where one side of each negative constraint must be ground, and local solvability of disunification problems, where we consider only solutions that are constructed from terms occurring in the input problem. More precisely, we first show that dismatching can be reduced to local disunification, and then provide two complementary NP-algorithms for finding local solutions of disunification problems.
STRUCTURAL AND THERMAL PROPERTIES OF FE2(ZR,NB) SYSTEM IN C15, C14 AND C36 LAVES PHASES: FIRST-PRINCIPLES STUDY

The pseudopotential method (PP), based on Density Functional Theory (DFT) using the Generalized Gradient Approximation (GGA) was applied to investigate the Fe 2 (Zr, Nb) system within the three Laves phases structures: Cubic C15, Hexagonal C14 and C36. The effects of Nb concentration on structural, thermal and stability of the system were studied. The lattice parameters and bulk modulus of the three phases were predicted and showed a good agreement with the available experimental data. The rigidity of the Fe 2 Nb was higher than the Fe 2 Zr one for C15, C14 and C36. The energetic phase diagram of the systems was also established by determining the heat formation of the different phases. The obtained results showed that the Laves phases have close formation energies which suggests that the C15, C14 and C36 phases can co-exist at low-temperature. Finally, the temperature effect on the structural parameters, thermal expansions, heat capacities and Debye temperatures are determined from the non-equilibrium Gibbs functions and discussed accordingly.
Applied Research on Real Estate Bubble Early Warning Based on Efficacy Factor Method——Taking Harbin as an Example

An abnormal growth of the real estate market is a serious obstacle to the development of the regional economy. Established a bubble early warning index system according to the real estate bubble influence factors, using the principal component analysis and factor analysis to determine the weight of indicators, combined with the effect analysis, with Harbin as an example, calculated comprehensive Harbin real estate bubble early warning coefficient and the ultimate measure of the bubble degree and the warning state.Found that the Harbin market is in a state of health. In the past 10 years, 7 years of Harbin City real estate market comprehensive early warning coefficient falls within the safety range, and the probability of the operation of the real estate market in normal operation is 70%. At the same time, the single index of Harbin shows that there is still some bubble and it is need to prevent.
Analysis of Copy Number Variation in Alzheimer’s Disease in a Cohort of Clinically Characterized and Neuropathologically Verified Individuals

Copy number variations (CNVs) are genomic regions that have added (duplications) or deleted (deletions) genetic material. They may overlap genes affecting their function and have been shown to be associated with disease. We previously investigated the role of CNVs in late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment using Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) and National Institute of Aging-Late Onset AD/National Cell Repository for AD (NIA-LOAD/NCRAD) Family Study participants, and identified a number of genes overlapped by CNV calls. To confirm the findings and identify other potential candidate regions, we analyzed array data from a unique cohort of 1617 Caucasian participants (1022 AD cases and 595 controls) who were clinically characterized and whose diagnosis was neuropathologically verified. All DNA samples were extracted from brain tissue. CNV calls were generated and subjected to quality control (QC). 728 cases and 438 controls who passed all QC measures were included in case/control association analyses including candidate gene and genome-wide approaches. Rates of deletions and duplications did not significantly differ between cases and controls. Case-control association identified a number of previously reported regions (CHRFAM7A, RELN and DOPEY2) as well as a new gene (HLA-DRA). Meta-analysis of CHRFAM7A indicated a significant association of the gene with AD and/or MCI risk (P = 0.006, odds ratio = 3.986 (95% confidence interval 1.490–10.667)). A novel APP gene duplication was observed in one case sample. Further investigation of the identified genes in independent and larger samples is warranted.