Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pho5p and Newly Identified Nucleotide Pyrophosphatases/ Phosphodiesterases Regulate Extracellular Nucleotide Phosphate Metabolism in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

ABSTRACT Extracellular nucleotides play many biological roles, including intercellular communication and modulation of nucleotide receptor signaling, and are dependent on the phosphorylation state of the nucleotide. Regulation of nucleotide phosphorylation is necessary, and a specialized class of enzymes, nucleotide pyrophosphatases/phosphodiesterases (E-NPPs), has been identified in mammals to perform this function. Although the E-NPP class is conserved among complex eukaryotes, this system has not yet been identified in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Using genetic and biochemical experiments, we show that two orthologs of the E-NPP family, referred to as Npp1p and Npp2p, exist in budding yeast and can perform nucleotide phosphate hydrolysis. This activity is enhanced during phosphate starvation, where hydrolyzed phosphates can be imported from extracellular sources and utilized to overcome phosphate starvation through the activity of the Pho5p acid phosphatase. The added compensatory effect by Pho5p is also a newly established role for Pho5p. This study demonstrates that extracellular nucleotide phosphate metabolism appears to be controlled by at least two independent regulatory mechanisms, uniting phosphate starvation with extracellular nucleotide regulation.
An Empirical Analysis of Optimization Techniques for Terminological Representation Systems, or Making KRIS Get a Move On

We consider different methods of optimizing the classification process of terminological representation systems, and evaluate their effect on three different types of test data. Though these techniques can probably be found in many existing systems, until now there has been no coherent description of these techniques and their impact on the performance of a system. One goal of this paper is to make such a description available for future implementors of terminological systems. Building the optimizations that came off best into the KRIS system greatly enhanced its efficiency.
How environmental knowledge measures up at a Big Ten university

The reported research examines the level of environmental knowledge of Michigan State University students relative to the results of a biannual national study of the environmental knowledge of the general population of the United States. While the university students were found to possess higher levels of environmental knowledge than the general public, the students' overall environmental knowledge, on average, was deficient with only 66% of them receiving a passing grade. The findings suggest a positive correlation between academic level, field of study and environmental knowledge.
An Adaptive Spanning Tree-Based Data Collection Scheme in Wireless Sensor Networks

In-network data aggregation is a widely used method for collecting data efficiently in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). The authors focus on how to achieve high aggregation efficiency and prolonging networks’ lifetime. Firstly, this paper proposes an adaptive spanning tree algorithm (AST), which can adaptively build and adjust an aggregation spanning tree. Owing to the strategies of random waiting and alternative father nodes, AST can achieve a relatively balanced spanning tree and flexible tree adjustment. Then a redundant aggregation scheme (RAG) is illustrated. In RAG, interior nodes help to forward data for their sibling nodes and thus provide reliable data transmission for WSN. Finally, the simulations demonstrate that (1) AST can prolong the lifetime and (2) RAG makes a better trade-off between storage and aggregation ratio, comparing to other aggregation schemes.
A message-passing algorithm for multi-agent trajectory planning

We describe a novel approach for computing collision-free global trajectories for p agents with specified initial and final configurations, based on an improved version of the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM). Compared with existing methods, our approach is naturally parallelizable and allows for incorporating different cost functionals with only minor adjustments. We apply our method to classical challenging instances and observe that its computational requirements scale well with p for several cost functionals. We also show that a specialization of our algorithm can be used for local motion planning by solving the problem of joint optimization in velocity space.
Neuro-Linguistic Programming in the Treatment of Phobias

A program for treating phobias based on Neuro-Linguistic Programming and Ericksonian approaches to psychotherapy within the context of a multi-faceted treatment program is described: These approaches are concerned with the structure of cognitive and behavioral patterns; therapeutic interventions are designed to interrupt limiting patterns and to generate more appropriate ones. Thirty-one patients seen in the group/class treatment program completed Mark's Phobia Questionnaire and Fear Inventory and the Beck Depression inventory before and after eight weeks of treatment. Seventeen patients seen in individual therapy completed part of Mark's Phobia Questionnaire before and after treatment. Results of this preliminary research indicates marked improvement by those who were treated. Moreover, these findings suggest that NLP holds promise for becoming an important set of therapeutic techniques for treating phobias.
Personality Correlates Related to Tobacco Abstinence following Treatment

Objective: The five-factor model of personality was used to describe the correlates of smoking abstinence. Methods: Following treatment in the Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Center, the six month abstinence status was determined by self-report. Sixteen months to 2.4 years following the initial treatment evaluation, and 10 months to 1.9 years after the abstinence status was determined, 475 patients were mailed a Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Five-Factor Inventory questionnaire. Ninety-nine abstinent and 151 smoking patients returned a completed questionnaire. Results: Multivariate analysis showed that low scores on neuroticism and openness were associated with tobacco abstinence. In addition, high scores on neuroticism and low scores on agreeableness and conscientiousness were associated with predictors of poor outcome including greater number of cigarettes smoked per day, initiation of smoking prior to age 18, and a Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence score of ≥ 6. Conclusions: Personality characteristics as predictors of smoking abstinence following treatment warrant further investigation in prospective clinical trails. Treatment matching using personality profiling as a guide may be a valuable tool for improving abstinence rates following treatment for nicotine dependence.
3D near-infrared imaging based on a single-photon avalanche diode array sensor

Near-infrared light can be used to determine the optical properties (absorption and scattering) of human tissue. Optical tomography uses this principle to image the internal structure of parts of the body by measuring the light that is scattered in the tissue. An imager for optical tomography was designed based on a detector with 128x128 single photon pixels that included a bank of 32 time-to-digital converters. Due to the high spatial resolution and the possibility of performing time resolved measurements, a new contactless setup has been conceived. The setup has a resolution of 97ps and operates with a laser source with an average power of 3mW. This new setup generated an high amount of data that could not be processed by established methods, therefore new concepts and algorithms were developed to take advantage of it. Simulations show that the potential resolution of the new setup would be much higher than previous designs. Measurements have been performed showing its potential. Images derived from the measurements showed that it is possible to reach a resolution of at least 5mm.
Multiple-predators-based capture process on complex networks

The predator/prey (capture) problem is a prototype of many network-related applications. We study the capture process on complex networks by considering multiple predators from multiple sources. In our model, some lions start from multiple sources simultaneously to capture the lamb by biased random walks, which are controlled with a free parameter α. We derive the distribution of the lamb’s lifetime and the expected lifetime 〈T〉. Through simulation, we find that the expected lifetime drops substantially with the increasing number of lions. Moreover, we study how the underlying topological structure affects the capture process, and obtain that locating on small-degree nodes is better than on large-degree nodes to prolong the lifetime of the lamb. The dense or homogeneous network structures are against the survival of the lamb. We also discuss how to improve the capture efficiency in our model.
A Survey on Statistical Modeling and Machine Learning Approaches to Computer Assisted Medical Intervention: Intraoperative Anatomy Modeling and Optimization of Interventional Procedures

SUMMARY This paper reviews methods for computer assisted medical intervention using statistical models and machine learning technologies, which would be particularly useful for representing prior information of anatomical shape, motion, and deformation to extrapolate intraoperative sparse data as well as surgeons’ expertise and pathology to optimize interventions. Firstly, we present a review of methods for recovery of static anatomical structures by only using intraoperative data without any preoperative patient-specific information. Then, methods for recovery of intraoperative motion and deformation are reviewed by combining intraoperative sparse data with preoperative patient-specific stationary data, which is followed by a survey of articles which incorporated biomechanics. Furthermore, the articles are reviewed which addressed the used of statistical models for optimization of interventions. Finally, we conclude the survey
Young children's views of the role of preschool educators

This article aims to explore young children's (from one to three years old) perspectives of the role and pedagogy of educators in play in an Icelandic preschool. The intention is to explore the meaning that children put into involving educators in their play and whether the children experience educators' actions as a resource for their play. The study is based on a phenomenological approach. Data consist of video recordings and field notes of 46 children, from one to three years old, as well as eight educators. Four main categories that illustrate children's perspectives on the role of the educators emerged: (a) assistance connected to play situations and play material, (b) confirmation of competence, (c) support connected to children's social interactions, and (d) participation in play and playful actions. The findings reveal that children's perspectives and experiences in their own life-worlds in play can be considered an important dimension that contributes to changes in the pedagogical practices that are emphasised in curriculum.
Neural Network Based Bilingual Language Model Growing for Statistical Machine Translation

Since larger n-gram Language Model (LM) usually performs better in Statistical Machine Translation (SMT), how to construct efficient large LM is an important topic in SMT. However, most of the existing LM growing methods need an extra monolingual corpus, where additional LM adaption technology is necessary. In this paper, we propose a novel neural network based bilingual LM growing method, only using the bilingual parallel corpus in SMT. The results show that our method can improve both the perplexity score for LM evaluation and BLEU score for SMT, and significantly outperforms the existing LM growing methods without extra corpus.
Intelligence about Intelligence

The elementary-school teacher faces the critical problem of assessing and understanding the construct called intelligence. Basic to the solution of the problem is an appreciation of the roles that heredity and environment play in the development of the child's intelligence. These roles are involved in the classical "nature-nurture" controversy and have a research history as long and as extensive and volatile as
A SVMS-based hyperspectral data classification algorithm in a similarity space

In this paper a multi-steps algorithm based on Support Vectors Machines (SVMs) in similarity space is proposed. The SVMs is used as a recent classification method and separation boundary estimation technique for high dimensional data. It benefits of limited number of data for training of supervised classification, which is a key challenge in hyperspectral data analysis.
Classroom- and school-level contributions to bullying and victimization : A review

School bullying is increasingly viewed by researchers as a group phenomenon that extends beyond the perpetrator–victim dyad and is embedded in the wider social context. This paper reviews the literature on classroom and school factors contributing to bullying and victimization among children and adolescents. Considerable variability in the prevalence of these problems exists between classrooms and schools, which are highly relevant contexts for students' social development. Along with individual characteristics, both classroom- and school-related factors explain the bullying dynamic. The contexts may also exacerbate, or buffer against, the effects of individual-level risk for bullying involvement and the consequences of victimization. We discuss findings on the contributions of demographic and structural characteristics (e.g. grade level, classroom and school size), peer contextual factors (e.g. status hierarchy, group norms and bystander behaviours) and the role of teachers. Finally, implications for research and school-based antibullying programs are considered. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Performance Analysis of MIMO Assisted Interleave Division Multiple Access System with Multi-user Detection

This paper presents the performance analysis of Multi Input Multi Output (MIMO) assisted interleave based multiple-access system. In IDMA, different interleavers are used to distinguish users as against different signature sequence in a conventional code-division multiple-access (CDMA) scheme. The basic principle of IDMA is that the interleaver is unique for the users. In this work, we consider that Interleavers are generated independently and randomly. Also the IDMA technique is extended to multi user MIMO IDMA with multiuser detection. At the receiver, SIC detector is employed. The performance of the system is analyzed for different channel conditions using extensive simulation runs based on Monte Carlo simulation trials. It is shown that the IDMA scheme can achieve near single user performance in situations with very large numbers of users while maintaining very low receiver complexity . Simulation examples are provided to illustrate the advantages of the IDMA.
Toward Discriminative Learning of Planning Heuristics

We consider the problem of learning heuristics for controlling forward state-space search in AI planning domain. We draw on a recent framework for “structured output classification” (e.g. syntactic parsing) known as learning as search optimization (LaSO). The LaSO approach uses discriminative learning to optimize heuristic functions for search-based computation of structured outputs and has shown promising results in a number of domains. However, the search problems that arise in AI planning tend to be qualitatively very different from those considered in structured classification, which raises a number of potential difficulties in directly applying LaSO to planning. In this paper, we discuss these issues and describe a LaSO-based approach for discriminative learning of beamsearch heuristics in AI planning domains. Our preliminary results in three benchmark domains are promising. In particular, across a range of beam-sizes the discriminatively trained heuristic outperforms the one used by the planner FF and another recent non-discriminative learning approach.
Evaluating the Use of a Mobile Annotation System for Geography Education

Purpose – Mobile devices used in educational settings are usually employed within a collaborative learning activity in which learning takes place in the form of social interactions between team members while performing a shared task. The authors aim to introduce MobiTOP (Mobile Tagging of Objects and People), a mobile annotation system that allows users to contribute and share geospatial multimedia annotations via mobile devices.Design/methodology/approach – Field observations and interviews were conducted. A group of trainee teachers involved in a geography field study were instructed to identify rock formations by collaborating with each other using the MobiTOP system. The trainee teachers who were in the field were guided by their lab counterparts on the tasks required to identify the rock formations.Findings – Participants were able to appreciate the fieldwork task as it augmented their classroom lessons. The system allowed them to communicate with one another in order to meet the objectives of the st.
Endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm.

 Endovascular repair is a less invasive alternative to surgical repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). A stent graft is placed inside the aorta and covers the aneurysm. A stent graft consists of some self-expandable metallic stents knitted together, and there is graft material outside the stents. Both materials have been used and put inside human body for many years and are proven safe.  The appearance of a stent graft is similar to a pair of trousers and the procedure is similar to joining one leg of the trousers to the main part inside the aorta. EVAR can also be performed with straight stent-grafts joining together (aorto-uniiliac device), plus a femoro-femoral bypass. In highly selected patients, branched grafts or grafts with holes (fenestrated stent-grafts) can be used.  After a successful operation, the aneurysm will be excluded from the blood flow in the aorta, thus preventing further expansion and rupture of the aneurysm.  It will be performed by a team of experts from different specialties, including radiologists with special training in interventional radiology, surgeons with special training in vascular surgery, anaesthetists and other medical experts.  It will be performed in the operation theatre or in the Department of Radiology under image guidance. Contrast medium will be used.
Peripheral Processing Facilitates Optic Flow-Based Depth Perception

Flying insects, such as flies or bees, rely on consistent information regarding the depth structure of the environment when performing their flight maneuvers in cluttered natural environments. These behaviors include avoiding collisions, approaching targets or spatial navigation. Insects are thought to obtain depth information visually from the retinal image displacements (“optic flow”) during translational ego-motion. Optic flow in the insect visual system is processed by a mechanism that can be modeled by correlation-type elementary motion detectors (EMDs). However, it is still an open question how spatial information can be extracted reliably from the responses of the highly contrast- and pattern-dependent EMD responses, especially if the vast range of light intensities encountered in natural environments is taken into account. This question will be addressed here by systematically modeling the peripheral visual system of flies, including various adaptive mechanisms. Different model variants of the peripheral visual system were stimulated with image sequences that mimic the panoramic visual input during translational ego-motion in various natural environments, and the resulting peripheral signals were fed into an array of EMDs. We characterized the influence of each peripheral computational unit on the representation of spatial information in the EMD responses. Our model simulations reveal that information about the overall light level needs to be eliminated from the EMD input as is accomplished under light-adapted conditions in the insect peripheral visual system. The response characteristics of large monopolar cells (LMCs) resemble that of a band-pass filter, which reduces the contrast dependency of EMDs strongly, effectively enhancing the representation of the nearness of objects and, especially, of their contours. We furthermore show that local brightness adaptation of photoreceptors allows for spatial vision under a wide range of dynamic light conditions.
Opportunities Lost––Why Some Parents of Young Children Are Not Well-Connected to the Service Systems Designed to Assist Them

Abstract Evidence on how to engage isolated parents in formal services tends to rely on professional commentary, practitioner discourse, and parents who use services. It is critical to also hear the perspectives of isolated parents to inform practice and service design, yet there are clearly practical difficulties in researchers talking directly to families who do not use services–– not the least of which is how to find them. This paper reports on in-depth interviews with 20 financially disadvantaged sole parents of young children in the inner north of Canberra who define themselves as not well-connected to services. The study finds that these parents often lack the social networks needed to “introduce” them to services; their contacts with formal services in the past have left them feeling judged and under surveillance, and the services which they regularly “brush up” against miss critical opportunities to link them with avenues for support. A small but significant group who resist all formal services indicate they are most likely to be assisted in everyday environments that are normal and nonstigmatising, rather than through formal agency settings.
Intestinal Absorption and Factors Influencing Bioavailability of Magnesium-An Update

Background: Information on the bioavailability of the essential mineral Mg2+ is sparse. Objective/Method: Evaluation of the present knowledge on factors influencing the bioavailability and intestinal absorption of Mg2+. Results: Mg2+ is absorbed via a paracellular passive and a transcellular active pathway that involves TRPM6/7 channel proteins. The bioavailability of Mg2+ varies within a broad range, depending on the dose, the food matrix, and enhancing and inhibiting factors. Dietary factors impairing Mg2+ up-take include high doses of other minerals, partly fermentable fibres (e.g., hemicellulose), non-fermentable fibres (e.g., cellulose, lignin), phytate and oxalate, whereas proteins, medium-chain-triglycerides, and low- or indigestible carbohydrates (e.g., resistant starch, oligosaccharides, inulin, mannitol and lactulose) enhance Mg2+ uptake. The Mg2+ dose is a major factor controlling the amount of Mg2+ absorbed. In principle, the relative Mg2+ uptake is higher when the mineral is in-gested in multiple low doses throughout the day compared to a single, large intake of Mg2+. The type of Mg2+ salt appears less relevant than is often thought. Some studies demonstrated a slightly higher bioavailability of organic Mg2+ salts compared to inorganic compounds under standardized conditions, whereas other studies did not. Conclusion: Due to the lack of standardized tests to assess Mg2+ status and intestinal absorption, it remains unclear which Mg2+ binding form produces the highest bioavailability. The Mg2+ intake dose combined with the endogenous Mg2+ status is more important. Because Mg2+ cannot be stored but only retained for current needs, a higher absorption is usually followed by a higher excretion of the mineral.