Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
From Spatial Proximity to Semantic Coherence: A Quantitative Approach to the Study of Group Dynamics in Collaborative Virtual Environments

This article describes a quantitative approach to the study of group dynamics in Collaborative Information Visualization Environments (CIVEs). This approach characterizes group dynamics in terms of two concepts introduced in this articlespatial proximity and semantic coherence. The concepts are crucial to the understanding of profound interrelationships between spatial, semantic, and social navigation. Furthermore, this article describes three visualization techniquessemantic indentation chat sequence displays, activity maps, and clock-face mapsthat permit the identification of important features of group interaction that are related to semantic coherence and spatial proximity. The approach is illustrated by applying it to the analysis of an empirical study in which four groups of subjects performed collaborative search tasks through 3D visualizations of knowledge domains. The major contribution of the work is the conceptualization and quantification of group coherence as a generic methodology for the study of a range of collaborative virtual environments such as collaborative learning, distance learning, social networks, collaborative information visualization, and digital libraries. Further research challenges for the study of group behavior in collaborative information-visualization environments are identified.
Reconstruction of Small Orbital Floor Fractures With Resorbable Collagen Membranes

AbstractOrbital floor fractures are the most common facial fractures. The goals of orbital floor fracture repair are to free incarcerated or prolapsed orbital tissue from the fracture defect and to span the defect with an implant to restore the correct anatomy of the orbital floor and the pretrauma orbital volume. No consensus exists on the choice of implants to be used for orbital floor reconstruction, and several implant materials are available.Our study intended to evaluate, for the first time, the effectiveness and complications related to the use of a resorbable collagen membrane in the reconstruction of small pure blow-out fractures. From October 2008 to November 2010, 23 patients who underwent reconstruction of the orbital floor using a resorbable collagen membrane following fracture were included in this study. At the 6-month follow-up, only 2 patients (9%) reported postoperative complications secondary to the operative procedure (surgical approach, orbital floor dissection), but these were not directly related to the use of the membrane. In 12 cases, a computed tomography scan revealed new bone formation beneath the membrane.On the basis of this data, we believe that the use of a resorbable collagen membrane is a safe and effective alternative for reconstruction of small (<3 cm2) pure orbital floor fractures.
Multiple Pathways Influence Mitochondrial Inheritance in Budding Yeast

Yeast mitochondria form a branched tubular network. Mitochondrial inheritance is tightly coupled with bud emergence, ensuring that daughter cells receive mitochondria from mother cells during division. Proteins reported to influence mitochondrial inheritance include the mitochondrial rho (Miro) GTPase Gem1p, Mmr1p, and Ypt11p. A synthetic genetic array (SGA) screen revealed interactions between gem1Δ and deletions of genes that affect mitochondrial function or inheritance, including mmr1Δ. Synthetic sickness of gem1Δ mmr1Δ double mutants correlated with defective mitochondrial inheritance by large buds. Additional studies demonstrated that GEM1, MMR1, and YPT11 each contribute to mitochondrial inheritance. Mitochondrial accumulation in buds caused by overexpression of either Mmr1p or Ypt11p did not depend on Gem1p, indicating these three proteins function independently. Physical linkage of mitochondria with the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) has led to speculation that distribution of these two organelles is coordinated. We show that yeast mitochondrial inheritance is not required for inheritance or spreading of cortical ER in the bud. Moreover, Ypt11p overexpression, but not Mmr1p overexpression, caused ER accumulation in the bud, revealing a potential role for Ypt11p in ER distribution. This study demonstrates that multiple pathways influence mitochondrial inheritance in yeast and that Miro GTPases have conserved roles in mitochondrial distribution.
Administration of low dose estrogen attenuates persistent inflammation, promotes angiogenesis, and improves locomotor function following chronic spinal cord injury in rats

Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes loss of neurological function and, depending upon the severity of injury, may lead to paralysis. Currently, no FDA‐approved pharmacotherapy is available for SCI. High‐dose methylprednisolone is widely used, but this treatment is controversial. We have previously shown that low doses of estrogen reduces inflammation, attenuates cell death, and protects axon and myelin in SCI rats, but its effectiveness in recovery of function is not known. Therefore, the goal of this study was to investigate whether low doses of estrogen in post‐SCI would reduce inflammation, protect cells and axons, and improve locomotor function during the chronic phase of injury. Injury (40 g.cm force) was induced at thoracic 10 in young adult male rats. Rats were treated with 10 or 100 μg 17β‐estradiol (estrogen) for 7 days following SCI and compared with vehicle‐treated injury and laminectomy (sham) controls. Histology (H&E staining), immunohistofluorescence, Doppler laser technique, and Western blotting were used to monitor tissue integrity, gliosis, blood flow, angiogenesis, the expression of angiogenic factors, axonal degeneration, and locomotor function (Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan rating) following injury. To assess the progression of recovery, rats were sacrificed at 7, 14, or 42 days post injury. A reduction in glial reactivity, attenuation of axonal and myelin damage, protection of cells, increased expression of angiogenic factors and microvessel growth, and improved locomotor function were found following estrogen treatment compared with vehicle‐treated SCI rats. These results suggest that treatment with a very low dose of estrogen has significant therapeutic implications for the improvement of locomotor function in chronic SCI.
Juvenile Sex Offending Through a Developmental Life Course Criminology Perspective

Current American policies and responses to juvenile sex offending have been criticized for being based on myths, misconceptions, and unsubstantiated claims. In spite of the criticism, no organizing framework has been proposed to guide policy development with respect to the prevention of juvenile sex offending. This article proposes a developmental life course (DLC) criminology perspective to investigate the origins, development, and termination of sex offending among youth. It also provides a review of the current state of knowledge regarding various parameters characterizing the development of sex offending (e.g., prevalence, age of onset, frequency, persistence, continuity in adulthood, and versatility). The review highlights some heterogeneity across these developmental parameters suggesting the presence of different sex offending patterns among youth. In fact, it is proposed that, based on the current knowledge, such heterogeneity can be accounted for by a dual taxonomy of adolescents involved in sexual offenses: (a) the adolescent-limited and (b) the high-rate/slow-desister. The DLC criminology approach and the dual taxonomy are proposed as organizing frameworks to conduct prospective longitudinal research to better understand the origins and development of sex offending and to guide policy development and responses to at-risk youth and those who have committed sexual offenses.
Quantum interference effects in InAs semiconductor nanowires

• A submitted manuscript is the version of the article upon submission and before peer-review. There can be important differences between the submitted version and the official published version of record. People interested in the research are advised to contact the author for the final version of the publication, or visit the DOI to the publisher's website. • The final author version and the galley proof are versions of the publication after peer review. • The final published version features the final layout of the paper including the volume, issue and page numbers.
ACE: A Concept Extraction Approach using Linked Open Data

Given the increase in popularity of several social networks, numerous users tend to express themselves or reach out to their followers via online posts, normally in the form of microposts. Dealing with such data of short textual content can be quite intricate due to several factors such as misspellings, slang, emoticons, etc. In this paper we present an approach towards extracting several concepts from microposts, where the main challenge is to classify them into specific entity types. This will help in discovering knowledge from possible semistructured/unstructured data after taking into account several factors. In our approach we extend a state-of-the-art information extraction system which we call ACE, and make use of a dataset that is part of the Linked Open Data cloud, in order to improve the named entity extraction process.
Stable matching with couples: An empirical study

In practical applications, algorithms for the classic version of the hospitals residents problem (the many-one version of the stable marriage problem) may have to be extended to accommodate the needs of couples who wish to be allocated to (geographically) compatible places. Such an extension has been in operation in the National Resident Matching Problem (NRMP) matching scheme in the United States for a number of years. In this setting, a stable matching need not exist, and it is an NP-complete problem to decide if one does. However, the only previous empirical study in this context (focused on the NRMP algorithm), together with information from NRMP, suggest that, in practice, stable matchings do exist and that an appropriate heuristic can be used to find such a matching. The study presented here was motivated by the recent decision to accommodate couples in the Scottish Foundation Allocation Scheme (SFAS), the Scottish equivalent of the NRMP. Here, the problem is a special case, since hospital preferences are derived from a “master list” of resident scores, but we show that the existence problem remains NP-complete in this case. We describe the algorithm used in SFAS and contrast it with a version of the algorithm that forms the basis of the NRMP approach. We also propose a third simpler algorithm based on satisfying blocking pairs, and an FPT algorithm when the number of couples is viewed as a parameter. We present an empirical study of the performance of a number of variants of these algorithms using a range of datasets. The results indicate that, not surprisingly, increasing the ratio of couples to single applicants typically makes it harder to find a stable matching (and, by inference, less likely that a stable matching exists). However, the likelihood of finding a stable matching is very high for realistic values of this ratio, and especially so for particular variants of the algorithms.
Experimental autoimmune myasthenia: A model of myasthenia gravis in rats and guinea pigs

Immunization of animals with acetylcholine receptor (AChR) protein from the electric organs of Electrophorus electricus and Torpedo californica induces an autoimmune response to the AChR of mammalian skeletal muscle. Rats and guinea pigs develop experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis (EAMG) after a single inoculation with small quantities of AChR and adjuvant. The indicence and severity of disease appears to depend on the dose of AChR and stability of the emulsion. EAMG is strikingly similar to myasthenia gravis (MG) of man in its clinical picture and its electrophysiological abnormalities. The presence of antibodies to syngeneic rat muscle AChR in the serum of rats with EAMG documents the existence of autoimmunity in the experimental disease. A common immunopathogenesis is suggested for both EAMG and mg.
Optical Fluorescence and Its Application to an Intravascular Blood Gas Monitoring System

Optical fluorescence has an extensive history of application in the laboratory to the measurement of ionic concentrations and the partial pressures of oxygen and carbon dioxide. The use of optical fluorescence based sensors to fulfill a recognized need for continuous invasive monitoring of arterial blood gases offers a number of inherent advantages. However, the requirements placed upon a blood gas probe and supporting instrumentation appropriate for use in the clinical environment result in significant design challenges in selection of suitable fluorescent dyes, maintenance of mechanical integrity while obtaining required miniaturization of sensors, and in the transmission, acquisition, and processing of low level light signals. An optical fluorescence based intravascular blood gas monitoring system has been developed which is particularly suited for the critical care and surgical settings and which has a sensor probe that can be introduced into the patient via a radial artery catheter. This system has shown an excellent agreement of measured with true values of pH, pCO2, and P02 in both in vitro and animal studies. Linear regression analysis of typical in vitro data, where true levels were established via tonometry and standardization to a high accuracy laboratory pH measuring instrument, shows slope/intercept values very close to 1.0/0.0 and correlation coefficients of greater than 0.99 for all three parameters.
Accurate Reaching after Active But Not Passive Movements of the Hand: Evidence for Forward Modeling

Converging behavioral findings support recent models of motor control suggesting that estimates of the future positions of a limb as well as the expected sensory consequences of a planned movement may be derived, in part, from efference copies of motor commands. These estimates are referred to as forward models. However, relatively little behavioral evidence has been obtained for proposed forward models that provide on-line estimates of current position. We report data from a patient (JD) who reached accurately to visualized targets with and without vision of her hand despite substantial proprioceptive loss. Additionally, we administered a double-start reaching test to examine the possibility that efference copy information could be used to estimate current limb position. JD reached accurately, without vision, to a final target after actively reaching to a landmark, but exhibited severely impaired reaching after passive movements to the landmark. This finding suggests that forward modeling of efference copy signals may provide relatively accurate estimates of current limb position for the purpose of motor planning. The possibility that such estimates may also contribute to the awareness of body position and to self-recognition is discussed.
Energy Balance–Related Behaviors, Perinatal, Sociodemographic, and Parental Risk Factors Associated with Obesity in Italian Preschoolers

Objective: The obesity epidemic stems from the complex interplay between genetics and environmental factors. Identifying age-specific risk factors in preschoolers may allow implementing more effective intervention strategies. The aim of the present investigation was to examine the association of overweight/obesity with several perinatal, parental, socioeconomic status (SES), and lifestyle-related risk factors in a large sample of Italian preschoolers. Methods: One thousand eleven children (age 2.0 to 5.7 years) were included in the study. Family pediatricians measured weight and height and collected information on obesity risk factors by means of questionnaires. Perinatal risk factors were recalled from electronic medical records. Weight status was defined according to cutoffs of the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF). Results: Seven hundred sixty-four children (75.6%) were normal weight, and 247 (24.4%) were overweight/obese. Multivariate analysis showed that skipping breakfast (odds ratio [OR] = 3.7; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.32–10.51), daily drinking of sugar-sweetened beverages (OR = 2.0; 95% CI, 1.02–4.03), meat consumption <5 times/week (OR = 2.2; 95% CI, 1.11–4.57), and formula feeding (OR = 2.1; 95% CI, 0.8–4.5) were significantly (p < 0.05) associated with increased risk of obesity. Conclusions: Though exclusive formula or mixed feeding represents an age-specific risk factor for overweight/obesity, lifestyle factors associated with increased risk in Italian preschoolers include habits that are common to school-age children, such as skipping breakfast and consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. The reduced consumption of meat emerged as a risk factor for overweight/obesity, but future research is required to better understand this relationship. Our data suggest, on the whole, that prevention of such unhealthy behaviors must be pursued in preschoolers by means of age-specific interventions.
Performance Evaluation of 6-Sector-Site Deployment for Downlink UTRAN Long Term Evolution

In this paper we present the results on performance evaluation of 6-sector-site deployment and compare against 3-sector-site deployment in the downlink UTRAN LTE systems. To facilitate the performance evaluation a quasi-dynamic multicell system level simulator that follows the 3GPP UTRAN LTE specifications has been used. A significant gain in the order of 88% in site capacity is achieved by changing the 3-sector- site deployment by 6-sector-site deployment. A mixed network topology with a combination of 3 and 6-sector-site deployment has been also considered and its potential benefits investigated. The 6-sector deployment in the mixed network topology can be a viable option to meet high traffic demands in localized areas such as hot spots, yielding a capacity gain in the 6-sector sites in the order of 95 % to 110 %.
Regional and Gender Differences and Trends in the Anesthesiologist Workforce

Background: Concerns have long existed about potential shortages in the anesthesiologist workforce. In addition, many changes have occurred in the economy, demographics, and the healthcare sector in the last few years, which may impact the workforce. The authors documented workforce trends by region of the United States and gender, trends that may have implications for the supply and demand of anesthesiologists. Methods: The authors conducted a national survey of American Society of Anesthesiologists members (accounting for >80% of all practicing anesthesiologists in the United States) in 2007 and repeated it in 2013. The authors used logistic regression analysis and Seemingly Unrelated Regression to test across several indicators under an overarching hypothesis. Results: Anesthesiologists in Western states had markedly different patterns of practice relative to anesthesiologists in other regions in 2007 and 2013, including differences in employer type, the composition of anesthesia teams, and the time spent on monitored anesthesia care. The number and proportion of female anesthesiologists in the workforce increased between 2007 and 2013, and females differed from males in employment arrangements, compensation, and work hours. Conclusions: Regional differences remained stable during this time period although the reasons for these differences are speculative. Similarly, how and whether the gender difference in work hours and shift to younger anesthesiologists during this period will impact workforce needs is uncertain.
Myoelectric Signal and FES-evoked Muscle Contraction : Muscle Force and Fatigue Assessments

Myoelectric signal remains the gold standard to objectively monitor muscular activities despite the tedious task of separating cross talk from contractions. This work evaluated the signal characteristics during FES-evoked contractions in muscle force and fatigue assessment to reiterate its inherent setbacks despite overwhelming research efforts to improve its signal to noise ratio. It was observed that researchers often had to tradeoff either i) aesthetic and compact design for complex electrical circuit to remove noise and ii) transcutaneous for invasive percutaneous stimulation to eliminate stimulus artifact in order for characteristic Mwave of evoked EMG to be significant in FES evoked contraction analysis. We aim to stimulate researchers’ interest to investigate alternative and robust paradigms myoelectric signal analysis and future applications of FES system to gain expected acceptance in clinical settings and outdoor activities.
A three-dimensional microelectrode array for chronic neural recording

Describes a 3-D microelectrode array for the chronic recording of single-unit activity in the central nervous system. The array is formed by a microassembly of planar silicon multishank microprobes, which are precisely positioned in a micromachined platform that resides on the surface of the cortex. Interconnects between the probes and the platform are formed using electroplated nickel lead transfers, implemented using automated computer control. All dimensions are controlled to /spl plusmn/1 /spl mu/m and shank/probe separations as small as 100 /spl mu/m are possible. Four-probe 16-shank prototype arrays have been tested chronically in guinea pig cortex. After three months in vivo, no significant tissue reaction has been observed surrounding these structures when they remain free to move with the brain, with normal appearing tissue between shanks spaced at 150 /spl mu/m to 200 /spl mu/m intervals. The array structure is compatible with the use of signal processing circuitry both on the probes and on the platform. A platform-based signal processing system has been designed to interface with several active probes, providing direct analog access to the recording sites, performing on-chip analog-to-digital conversion of neural activity, and providing simple binary-output recognition of single-unit spike events using a user-input threshold voltage. <<ETX>>
Assembly of neural cell-laden microplates on a microfabricated breadboard

This paper describes a method to form an arbitrary network of neural cell-laden microplates on a breadboard-like microelectrode array (MEA) for neural network studies. We cultured single neural cells on microplates with control of their morphologies, and mounted the plates on the breadboard-like MEA. Through a pore in the center of the microplate, the cells and gold electrodes patterned on the MEA would be electrically accessible. The device allows arrangement of morphological connectivity at single cell resolution with interfaced to single electrodes. Thus, the method will be adaptable to bottom-up neuronal circuit construction and electrical analysis of synaptic integrating mechanism.
Position Control using 2D-to-2D Feature Correspondences in Vision Guided Cell Micromanipulation

Conventional camera calibration that utilizes the extrinsic and intrinsic parameters of the camera and the objects has certain limitations for micro-level cell operations due to the presence of hardware deviations and external disturbances during the experimental process, thereby invalidating the extrinsic parameters. This invalidation is often neglected in macro-world visual servoing and affects the visual image processing quality, causing deviation from the desired position in micro-level cell operations. To increase the success rate of vision guided biological micromanipulations, a novel algorithm monitoring the changing image pattern of the manipulators including the injection micropipette and cell holder is designed and implemented based on 2 dimensional (2D)-to 2D feature correspondences and can adjust the manipulator and perform position control simultaneously. When any deviation is found, the manipulator is retracted to the initial focusing plane before continuing the operation.