Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Wearable Enhanced Learning for Healthy Ageing : Conceptual Framework and Architecture of the “ Fitness MOOC ”

Physical activity is one of the key factors of ageing healthy and at the same time one of the key motivational challenges for the elderly. Supporting healthy ageing through physical fitness requires interventions that promote healthy levels of physical activity as part of the daily routine. Although wearable devices, such as activity trackers or smart wristbands, have been used by younger adopters to optimize physical fitness, little is known so far about how such emerging technologies may be used to improve well-being and overall health of senior users. In this paper we present the conceptual framework and the architecture of wearable-technology enhanced learning for healthy ageing as part of an R&D project called “Fitness MOOC interaction of seniors with wearable fitness trackers in the fitness MOOC (fMOOC)”, founded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The fMOOC project is a cooperation between Beuth University of Applied Sciences Berlin and the Geriatrics Research Group, Charité one of the largest medical universities in Europe. The project aims at developing a wearable-technology enhanced learning solution combining the MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) approach with embodied and creative learning experience with support of activity trackers. fMOOC integrates an LMS backend with wearable fitness trackers, mobile user interface, gamification and analytics to promote healthy ageing through learning and interacting with senior users.
On Exact Tachyon Potential in Open String Field Theory

In these notes we revisit the tachyon lagrangian in the open string field theory using background independent approach of Witten from 1992. We claim that the tree level lagrangian (up to second order in derivatives and modulo some class of field redefinitions) is given by L = e−T(∂T)2+(1+T)e−T. Upon obvious change of variables this leads to the potential energy −2log 2/e with canonical kinetic term. This lagrangian may be also obtained from the effective tachyon lagrangian of the p-adic strings in the limit p→1. Applications to the problem of tachyon condensation are discussed.
CREATING VIRTUAL EXPERIENCES IN COMPUTER-MEDIATED ENVIRONMENTS August 2001

Although much excitement has arisen recently over the communication potential for “interactivity” on the Web, very little is understood about what exactly interactivity is and what it does. This research investigates the impact of the new digital media on consumers’ interpretations of their virtual product experiences and the product-based persuasion that results from them. Given that direct product experience is usually the optimal method for consumers to learn about product information, one of the marketer’s goals should be to strive for verisimilitude in any indirect communications. This research explores how the Web might emulate direct experience and how the effects of these virtual experiences differ from those resulting from exposure to traditional advertising media. In order to measure the sense of experience within a computer-mediated environment, the construct of telepresence —a sense of presence in a mediated environment — is employed. This measure of telepresence is also used to evaluate the process by which media characteristics influence consumer responses to marketing communications. The two primary objectives of this research are to understand how telepresence is created and how it affects consumer response to computer-mediated communications. We explore two critical media characteristics that are hypothesized to influence telepresence: (1) user control (the operationalization of “interactivity”) and (2) media richness. In two studies, user control and media richness were manipulated in computer-mediated advertisements. In study 1, 140 adult participants explored an advertisement for a wine; in Study 2, 100 college women explored an advertisement for a face cream. In these studies, to operationalize control, we manipulate the potential for control over the order of information acquisition, leaving the information content constant. Media richness is operationalized through the addition of audio and video. Our findings show that user control and the interaction between user control and media richness had significant positive effects the creation of telepresence across both studies. Media richness only had a significant main effect in Study 1. In both studies, telepresence was found to have a significant and positive impact on persuasion at both the attribute and product levels. Moreover, the results reveal the process by which this occurs; telepresence is shown to serve as a mediating variable in the relationship between these two media characteristics and attribute and product-level persuasion.
Relationship Between Geometric Translations and TLS Estimation Bias in Bearings-Only Target Localization

This paper analyzes the effects of local coordinate translations and rotations on the bias and mean-squared error performance of the total least squares (TLS) bearings-only target localization algorithm. The TLS estimator was originally proposed to alleviate the severe bias problems associated with the traditional pseudolinear estimator. An interesting property of the TLS estimator, which is not shared by the pseudolinear estimator, is that its bias is sensitive to where the origin of the local Cartesian coordinates is placed. The paper provides a formal proof of this observation, discusses its implication on bias minimization, and proposes a simple and effective method for TLS bias reduction. The findings of the paper are illustrated with comprehensive simulation examples.
SIMULATION OF A HUMAN MACHINE INTERACTION : LOCATE OBJECTS USING A CONTEXTUAL ASSISTANT

The standard development of human machine interfaces needs the respect of ergonomic norms and rigorous approaches, which constitutes a major concern for computer system designers. The increased need on easily accessible and usable interfaces leads researchers in this domain to create methods and models that make it possible to evaluate these interfaces in terms of utility and usability. This paper presents a study about the simulation of a human machine interaction with an interface of a contextual assistant, using the cognitive architecture ACT-R emphasizing on the time execution of tasks. The results of our model were consistent with those obtained by the Fitts Law model which is a powerful analytical method for evaluating human machine interfaces, developed in this study mainly to support our results.
Features of Recently Transmitted HIV-1 Clade C Viruses that Impact Antibody Recognition: Implications for Active and Passive Immunization

The development of biomedical interventions to reduce acquisition of HIV-1 infection remains a global priority, however their potential effectiveness is challenged by very high HIV-1 envelope diversity. Two large prophylactic trials in high incidence, clade C epidemic regions in southern Africa are imminent; passive administration of the monoclonal antibody VRC01, and active immunization with a clade C modified RV144-like vaccines. We have created a large representative panel of C clade viruses to enable assessment of antibody responses to vaccines and natural infection in Southern Africa, and we investigated the genotypic and neutralization properties of recently transmitted clade C viruses to determine how viral diversity impacted antibody recognition. We further explore the implications of these findings for the potential effectiveness of these trials. A panel of 200 HIV-1 Envelope pseudoviruses was constructed from clade C viruses collected within the first 100 days following infection. Viruses collected pre-seroconversion were significantly more resistant to serum neutralization compared to post-seroconversion viruses (p = 0.001). Over 13 years of the study as the epidemic matured, HIV-1 diversified (p = 0.0009) and became more neutralization resistant to monoclonal antibodies VRC01, PG9 and 4E10. When tested at therapeutic levels (10ug/ml), VRC01 only neutralized 80% of viruses in the panel, although it did exhibit potent neutralization activity against sensitive viruses (IC50 titres of 0.42 μg/ml). The Gp120 amino acid similarity between the clade C panel and candidate C-clade vaccine protein boosts (Ce1086 and TV1) was 77%, which is 8% more distant than between CRF01_AE viruses and the RV144 CRF01_AE immunogen. Furthermore, two vaccine signature sites, K169 in V2 and I307 in V3, associated with reduced infection risk in RV144, occurred less frequently in clade C panel viruses than in CRF01_AE viruses from Thailand. Increased resistance of pre-seroconversion viruses and evidence of antigenic drift highlights the value of using panels of very recently transmitted viruses and suggests that interventions may need to be modified over time to track the changing epidemic. Furthermore, high divergence such as that observed in the older clade C epidemic in southern Africa may impact vaccine efficacy, although the correlates of infection risk are yet to be defined in the clade C setting. Findings from this study of acute/early clade C viruses will aid vaccine development, and enable identification of new broad and potent antibodies to combat the HIV-1 C-clade epidemic in southern Africa.
Constraining the population of cosmic ray protons in cooling flow clusters with γ-ray and radio observations: Are radio mini-halos of hadronic origin?

We wish to constrain the cosmic-ray proton (CRp) population in galaxy clusters. By hadronic interactions with the thermal gas of the intra-cluster medium (ICM), the CRp produce γ -rays for which we develop an analytic formalism to deduce their spectral distribution. Assuming the CRp-to-thermal energy density ratio $X_\mathrm{CRp}$ and the CRp spectral index to be spatially constant, we derive an analytic relation between the γ -ray and bolometric X-ray fluxes, $\mathcal{F}_{\gamma}$ and $F_\mathrm{X}$. Based on our relation, we compile a sample of suitable clusters which are promising candidates for future detection of γ -rays resulting from hadronic CRp interactions. Comparing to EGRET upper limits, we constrain the CRp population in the cooling flow clusters Perseus and Virgo to $X_\mathrm{CRp} κ , we find the central CRp injection luminosity of M 87 to be limited to $ 10^{43}\mbox{ erg s}^{-1} \, \kappa/(10^{29} \mbox{ cm}^{2}\mbox{ s}^{-1})$. The synchrotron emission from secondary electrons generated in CRp hadronic interactions allows even tighter limits to be placed on the CRp population using radio observations. We obtain excellent agreement between the observed and theoretical radio brightness profiles for Perseus, but not for Coma without a radially increasing CRp-to-thermal energy density profile. Since the CRp and magnetic energy densities necessary to reproduce the observed radio flux are very plausible, we propose synchrotron emission from secondary electrons as an attractive explanation of the radio mini-halos found in cooling flow clusters. This model can be tested with future sensitive γ -ray observations of the accompanying $\pi^0$-decays. We identify Perseus (A 426), Virgo, Ophiuchus, and Coma (A 1656) as the most promising candidate clusters for such observations.
Factors Associated with Anxiety and Depression in Korean Patients with Inactive Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Background/Aims Psychological distress is highly prevalent in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We evaluated the disease characteristics and socioeconomic factors associated with anxiety and depression in Korean patients with quiescent IBD. Methods In total, 142 IBD patients (67 with Crohn’s disease [CD] and 75 with ulcerative colitis [UC]) completed self-report questionnaires, including the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Score, the Modified Morisky Adherence Scale-8, the socioeconomic deprivation score, and the Crohn’s and Colitis Knowledge Score questionnaires. Results In the CD group, 30 patients (44%) were anxious, and 10 patients (15%) were depressed; in the UC group, 31 patients (41%) were anxious, and 18 patients (24%) were depressed. Using multivariate analysis, in the CD group, socioeconomic deprivation was associated with anxiety (p=0.03), whereas disease duration (p=0.04) and socioeconomic deprivation (p=0.013) were associated with depression. In the UC group, there was no significant independent predictor of anxiety and/or depression; however, low income tended to be associated with depression (p=0.096). Conclusions Despite clinical remission, a significant number of IBD patients present with anxiety and depression. IBD patients in remission, particularly those who are socioeconomically deprived, should be provided with appropriate psychological support.
Measuring and maximizing group closeness centrality over disk-resident graphs

As an important metric in graphs, group closeness centrality measures how close a group of vertices is to all other vertices in a graph, and it is used in numerous graph applications such as measuring the dominance and influence of a node group over the graph. However, when a large-scale graph contains hundreds of millions of nodes/edges which cannot reside entirely in computer's main memory, measuring and maximizing group closeness become challenging tasks. In this paper, we present a systematic solution for efficiently calculating and maximizing the group closeness for disk-resident graphs. Our solution first leverages a probabilistic counting method to efficiently estimate the group closeness with high accuracy, rather than exhaustively computing it in an exact fashion. In addition, we design an I/O-efficient greedy algorithm to find a node group that maximizes group closeness. Our proposed algorithm significantly reduces the number of random accesses to disk, thereby dramatically improving computational efficiency. Experiments on real-world big graphs demonstrate the efficacy of our approach.
Creating knowledge spillovers through knowledge-based festivals: the case of Mantua, Italy

ABSTRACT This paper attempts to extend the analysis of event effects by analysing the knowledge creation role of an Italian literary festival, the Festivaletteratura in Mantua. The festival uses its local network, consisting of cultural organisations, local firms, festival volunteers and civic organisations to develop and disseminate knowledge. This is linked to an (inter)national network of creative actors, including creative entrepreneurs and festival (ex) volunteers who help to focus attention on the event. The combination of the locally embedded network and an extensive international network are key to the development of the festival as a knowledge hub. In the analysis of such knowledge-based festivals, it is important to shift our focus from events as a happening at a specific moment in time, to their more permanent role as a creative hub embedded in a regional context.
Analysis of Link Grammar on Biomedical Dependency Corpus Targeted at Protein-Protein Interactions

In this paper, we present an evaluation of the Link Grammar parser on a corpus consisting of sentences describing protein-protein interactions. We introduce the notion of an interaction subgraph, which is the subgraph of a dependency graph expressing a protein-protein interaction. We measure the performance of the parser for recovery of dependencies, fully correct linkages and interaction subgraphs. We analyze the causes of parser failure and report specific causes of error, and identify potential modifications to the grammar to address the identified issues. We also report and discuss the effect of an extension to the dictionary of the parser.
Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic Modeling to Investigate Regional Brain Distribution Kinetics in Rats

One of the major challenges in the development of central nervous system (CNS)-targeted drugs is predicting CNS exposure in human from preclinical data. In this study, we present a methodology to investigate brain disposition in rats using a physiologically based modeling approach aiming at improving the prediction of human brain exposure. We specifically focused on quantifying regional diffusion and fluid flow processes within the brain. Acetaminophen was used as a test compound as it is not subjected to active transport processes. Microdialysis probes were implanted in striatum, for sampling brain extracellular fluid (ECF) concentrations, and in lateral ventricle (LV) and cisterna magna (CM), for sampling cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations. Serial blood samples were taken in parallel. These data, in addition to physiological parameters from literature, were used to develop a physiologically based model to describe the regional brain pharmacokinetics of acetaminophen. The concentration–time profiles of brain ECF, CSFLV, and CSFCM indicate a rapid equilibrium with plasma. However, brain ECF concentrations are on average fourfold higher than CSF concentrations, with average brain-to-plasma AUC0 − 240 ratios of 121%, 28%, and 35% for brain ECF, CSFLV, and CSFCM, respectively. It is concluded that for acetaminophen, a model compound for passive transport into, within, and out of the brain, differences exist between the brain ECF and the CSF pharmacokinetics. The physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling approach is important, as it allowed the prediction of human brain ECF exposure on the basis of human CSF concentrations.
Gaussian Process Change Point Models

We combine Bayesian online change point detection with Gaussian processes to create a nonparametric time series model which can handle change points. The model can be used to locate change points in an online manner; and, unlike other Bayesian online change point detection algorithms, is applicable when temporal correlations in a regime are expected. We show three variations on how to apply Gaussian processes in the change point context, each with their own advantages. We present methods to reduce the computational burden of these models and demonstrate it on several real world data sets.
Systems, generativity and interactional effects

The principal concern of the thesis is to understand and uncover interaction-related effects—termed, interactional effects—that arise from the interaction of systems. We may describe the common situation of interest as small entities of systems coming together, interacting, and producing as an aggregate a behavior that would not have occurred without interaction. Those situations are fundamental and appear in countless settings, particularly in settings exhibiting cascade-like intuition. The goal of the research is to show that one can extract from a system the potential it has to generate such effects, and use those extracts to reconstruct, or characterize, the phenomena that emerge upon interaction. In technical terms, we expose cascade-like effects as a loss of exactness, and reveal them as (co)homological intuition waiting to be formalized. We propose a means to relate properties of an interconnected system to its separate component systems in the presence of cascade-like effects. Building on a theory of interconnection reminiscent of the behavioral approach to systems theory, we introduce the notion of generativity, and its byproduct, generative effects. Cascade effects are seen as instances of generative effects. The latter are precisely the instances where properties of interest are not preserved or behave very badly when systems interact. The work overcomes that obstruction. We show how to extract algebraic objects (e.g., vectors spaces) from the systems, that encode their generativity: their potential to generate new phenomena upon interaction. Those objects may then be used to link the properties of the interconnected system to its separate systems. Such a link will be executed through the use of exact sequences from commutative algebra. Thesis Supervisor: Munther A. Dahleh Title: Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Thesis Supervisor: Asuman Ozdaglar Title: Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Regulation of biofilm formation by BpfA, BpfD, and BpfG in Shewanella oneidensis

Bacteria switch between two distinct life styles – planktonic (free living) and biofilm forming – in keeping with their ever-changing environment. Such switch involves sophisticated signaling and tight regulation, which provides a fascinating portal for studying gene function and orchestrated protein interactions. In this work, we investigated the molecular mechanism underlying biofilm formation in Shewanella oneidensis MR-1, an environmentally important model bacterium renowned for respiratory diversities, and uncovered a gene cluster coding for seven proteins involved in this process. The three key proteins, BpfA, BpfG, and BpfD, were studied in detail for the first time. BpfA directly participates in biofilm formation as extracellular “glue” BpfG is not only indispensable for BpfA export during biofilm forming but also functions to turn BpfA into active form for biofilm dispersing. BpfD regulates biofilm development by interacting with both BpfA and BpfG, likely in response to signal molecule c-di-GMP. In addition, we found that 1:1 stoichiometry between BpfD and BpfG is critical for biofilm formation. Furthermore, we demonstrated that a biofilm over-producing phenotype can be induced by C116S mutation but not loss of BpfG.
Systematic Classification and its Efficiency

This paper examines the problem of classifying linguistic objects on the basis of information encoded in the system network formalism developed by Halliday. It is shown that this problem is NP-hard, and a restriction to the formalism, which renders the classification problem soluble in polynomial time, is suggested. An algorithm for the unrestricted classification problem, which separates a potentially expensive second stage from a more tractable first stage, is then presented.
The Dø Collaboration

We report the results of a search for a narrow resonance decaying into two photons in 1.1 fb −1 of data collected by the DØ experiment at the Tevatron during the period 2002-2006. We find no evidence of such a resonance and set the lower limit on the mass of fermiophobic Higgs Boson of m h > 92 GeV @95% CL. This exclusion limit surpasses Tevatron Run I and Run II results.
Vitronectin Expression in the Airways of Subjects with Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Vitronectin, a multifunctional glycoprotein, is involved in coagulation, inhibition of the formation of the membrane attack complex (MAC), cell adhesion and migration, wound healing, and tissue remodeling. The primary cellular source of vitronectin is hepatocytes; it is not known whether resident cells of airways produce vitronectin, even though the glycoprotein has been found in exhaled breath condensate and bronchoalveolar lavage from healthy subjects and patients with interstitial lung disease. It is also not known whether vitronectin expression is altered in subjects with asthma and COPD. In this study, bronchial tissue from 7 asthmatic, 10 COPD and 14 control subjects was obtained at autopsy and analyzed by immunohistochemistry to determine the percent area of submucosal glands occupied by vitronectin. In a separate set of experiments, quantitative colocalization analysis was performed on tracheobronchial tissue sections obtained from donor lungs (6 asthmatics, 4 COPD and 7 controls). Vitronectin RNA and protein expressions in bronchial surface epithelium were examined in 12 subjects who undertook diagnostic bronchoscopy. Vitronectin was found in the tracheobronchial epithelium from asthmatic, COPD, and control subjects, although its expression was significantly lower in the asthmatic group. Colocalization analysis of 3D confocal images indicates that vitronectin is expressed in the glandular serous epithelial cells and in respiratory surface epithelial cells other than goblet cells. Expression of the 65-kDa vitronectin isoform was lower in bronchial surface epithelium from the diseased subjects. The cause for the decreased vitronectin expression in asthma is not clear, however, the reduced concentration of vitronectin in the epithelial/submucosal layer of airways may be linked to airway remodeling.