Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Imagining Future Technologies: eTextile Weaving Workshops with Blind and Visually Impaired People

The traditional approach for developing assistive technologies for blind and visually impaired users is to focus on problems and to try and resolve them by compensating for the loss of vision. In this research we took the approach of involving blind and visually impaired people, from a range of ages, in a hands-on making activity using an eTextile physical computing toolkit. Our aim was to create an environment where people could both make and learn form each other, but also where they would share their thoughts and imagine future scenarios for the technologies they were developing. We observed highly creative ways of working at all levels, from unique weaving techniques to choices in fabrics and materials, as well as expressions of personal preferences. We discuss the "in-home enjoyment" scenarios sketched by the participants and point to the role of creative workshops and eTextile toolkits as a tool for imagining future technologies.
Selective Enhancement of Motor Imagery Features Using Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) has been shown to selectively modulate cortical responses in memory, motor and perceptual tasks. Here we show that this type of stimulation results in targeted enhancement of brain patterns elicited during motor-imagery. Offline analysis suggest this may yield higher classification performance. Experiments with healthy subjects (N = 10) and patients with spinal cord injury (N = 9) supports the idea of using tDCS as a facilitator for using brain-computer interfacing (BCI) in the frame of motor rehabilitation.
The ActA protein of Listeria monocytogenes acts as a nucleator inducing reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton.

Listeria monocytogenes, a facultative intracellular pathogen, employs actin and other microfilament‐associated proteins to move through the host cell cytoplasm. Isogenic mutants of L. monocytogenes lacking the surface‐bound ActA polypeptide no longer interact with cytoskeletal elements and are, as a consequence, non‐motile (Domann et al., 1992, EMBO J., 11, 1981‐1990; Kocks et al., 1992, Cell, 68, 521‐531). To investigate the interaction of ActA with the microfilament system in the absence of other bacterial factors, the listerial actA gene was expressed in eukaryotic cells. Immunofluorescence studies revealed that the complete ActA, including its C‐terminally located bacterial membrane anchor, colocalized with mitochondria in transfected cells. When targeted to mitochondria, the ActA polypeptide recruited actin and alpha‐actinin to these cellular organelles with concomitant reorganization of the microfilament system. Removal of the internal proline‐rich repeat region of ActA completely abrogated interaction with cytoskeletal components. Our results identify the ActA polypeptide as a nucleator of the actin cytoskeleton and provide the first insights into the molecular nature of such controlling elements in microfilament organization.
Projected Changes to Growth and Mortality of Hawaiian Corals over the Next 100 Years

Background Recent reviews suggest that the warming and acidification of ocean surface waters predicated by most accepted climate projections will lead to mass mortality and declining calcification rates of reef-building corals. This study investigates the use of modeling techniques to quantitatively examine rates of coral cover change due to these effects. Methodology/Principal Findings Broad-scale probabilities of change in shallow-water scleractinian coral cover in the Hawaiian Archipelago for years 2000–2099 A.D. were calculated assuming a single middle-of-the-road greenhouse gas emissions scenario. These projections were based on ensemble calculations of a growth and mortality model that used sea surface temperature (SST), atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), observed coral growth (calcification) rates, and observed mortality linked to mass coral bleaching episodes as inputs. SST and CO2 predictions were derived from the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) multi-model dataset, statistically downscaled with historical data. Conclusions/Significance The model calculations illustrate a practical approach to systematic evaluation of climate change effects on corals, and also show the effect of uncertainties in current climate predictions and in coral adaptation capabilities on estimated changes in coral cover. Despite these large uncertainties, this analysis quantitatively illustrates that a large decline in coral cover is highly likely in the 21st Century, but that there are significant spatial and temporal variances in outcomes, even under a single climate change scenario.
Convergent Validity of the Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales (RIAS) Using the Woodcock—Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability, Third Edition (WJ-III) With University Students

Validity studies with the Reynolds Intellectual Ability scales (RIAS) indicated that RIAS composite intelligence index (CIX) and verbal intelligence index (VIX) scores have moderate-to-high correlation with comparable scores on other instruments. The authors of the RIAS described the VIX scale as a measure of crystallized ability and the nonverbal index (NIX) as a measure of fluid ability, but no studies were available comparing the VIX and NIX scores with an established measure of these abilities, nor studies specifically addressing the utility of the RIAS with a university population. The study examined RIAS scores of university students in comparison to scores on the Woodcock—Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability (third edition; WJ-III). Consistent with previous studies, there were moderate-to-high correlations between the CIX and VIX scores and corresponding scores on the WJ-III. A substantially lower correlation was evident between the NIX and WJ-III fluid ability scores.
Promotion and inhibition of iron accumulation in soybean plants.

Plants of four soybean (Glycine max L. Merrill) genotypes differing in their ability to accumulate iron were studied. The efficient genotypes were Hawkeye (HA) and A62-9 (E-9), and the inefficient ones were PI-54619-5-1 (PI) and A62-10 (I-10). When plants of opposite efficiency were grown in the same solution, iron accumulation decreased in the primary leaves of efficient plants, but it was unaffected or slightly reduced in the leaves of inefficient plants.Absorption of iron during a 24-hour period by 17-day-old plants indicated that solutions in which either HA or PI plants had been previously cultured contained a heat-labile factor which increased iron accumulation by iron-stressed HA plants. Also, it was found that HA plants from mixed culture accumulated about 50% less iron than HA plants grown in pure culture, independent of the absorption solution used. The conditions described, therefore, may either stimulate or inhibit iron accumulation in efficient soybean plants.
Verbal Memory and IQ in Children who Undergo Focal Resection for Intractable Epilepsy:A Clinical Review

Abstract Previous studies have indicated an increased likelihood of intellectual and memory impairments in children with epilepsy. It has been argued that early surgical intervention in children with intractable seizures might be advantageous to their development. We conducted a retrospective review of pre- and postoperative IQ and verbal memory scores in 16 paediatric patients who underwent temporal (N = 10) or extra-temporal (N = 6) focal surgery for epilepsy. Patients with an extratemporal seizure focus performed significantly worse than patients with a temporal lobe seizure focus on Full Scale IQ and Verbal IQ before surgery. Postoperatively a statistically significant decline in verbal memory, but not in any of the IQ indices was noticed in the extratemporal group. Individual outcome analyses revealed a significant decline in verbal memory in 22% of temporal lobectomy and 60% of extratemporal cases. Our review suggests that verbal memory but not IQ is vulnerable to postoperative decline in children who undergo focal extratemporal surgery for intractable epilepsy. The findings raise the possibility that extratemporal regions play a role in anterograde memory in children. Given the small number of subjects in this study, further investigations into the cognitive effects of paediatric surgical intervention are recommended.
Watch global, cache local: YouTube network traffic at a campus network: measurements and implications

Web services such as YouTube which allow the distribution of user-produced media have recently become very popular. YouTube-like services are different from existing traditional VoD services because the service provider has only limited control over the creation of new content. We analyze how the content distribution in YouTube is realized and then conduct a measurement study of YouTube traffic in a large university campus network. The analysis of the traffic shows that: (1) No strong correlation is observed between global and local popularity; (2) neither time scale nor user population has an impact on the local popularity distribution; (3) video clips of local interest have a high local popularity. Using our measurement data to drive trace-driven simulations, we also demonstrate the implications of alternative distribution infrastructures on the performance of a YouTube-like VoD service. The results of these simulations show that client-based local caching, P2P-based distribution, and proxy caching can reduce network traffic significantly and allow faster access to video clips.
The visible hand of consultants in the construction of the markets for virtue: Translating issues, negotiating boundaries and enacting responsive regulations

Although the resurgence of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been described as the development of ‘markets for virtue’, little is known about the social construction of CSR markets. Prior works either focus on the economic potential of these markets or criticize the social commodification they reflect, denying them any virtue other than generating profit or maintaining the capitalist status quo. This article uses the case of the market for CSR consultancy in Québec to make ‘visible’ the hand of management consultants in the creation of markets for virtue. Building on interviews with 23 consultants and secondary data, we relate three narrative accounts that highlight complementary facets of the construction of the market for CSR consultancy. Our narratives shed light on three distinctive roles of CSR consultants as social and environmental issues translators, market boundary negotiators and responsive regulation enactors. These roles clarify the regulative dynamics underlying CSR commodification and advance our understanding of consultancy work in the CSR domain.
Gravitational field routing strategy considering the distribution of traffic flow

Traffic flow transmission is a constantly important aspect of complex networks, geographical information science, and other science and engineering fields. Previous studies have shown that vehicle flow is more strongly correlated with morphological properties of streets than those of axial lines. In addition, street-based topological representations are more suitable for vehicle flow prediction, as well as more memory-oriented and global in nature. In this study, we construct a dual graph to represent the street–street relationship and propose a routing strategy for networks on the basis of gravitational field theory. We aim to diminish traffic congestion and enhance the transmission performance of networks. We borrow from gravitational field theory in establishing a gravitational field stimulated by a node in packet transmission and in defining the corresponding gravitational field equation. On the basis of this study, we present a mathematical model and a routing strategy. Experimental results indicate that compared with the shortest path routing strategy, the proposed method considerably enhances network capacity and effectively balances network traffic flow, especially for congested networks. We achieve critical gravitation that can always maximize network capacity, regardless of the values of other parameters.
The 2015 sheffield system for transcription of Multi-Genre Broadcast media

We describe the University of Sheffield system for participation in the 2015 Multi-Genre Broadcast (MGB) challenge task of transcribing multi-genre broadcast shows. Transcription was one of four tasks proposed in the MGB challenge, with the aim of advancing the state of the art of automatic speech recognition, speaker diarisation and automatic alignment of subtitles for broadcast media. Four topics are investigated in this work: Data selection techniques for training with unreliable data, automatic speech segmentation of broadcast media shows, acoustic modelling and adaptation in highly variable environments, and language modelling of multi-genre shows. The final system operates in multiple passes, using an initial unadapted decoding stage to refine segmentation, followed by three adapted passes: a hybrid DNN pass with input features normalised by speaker-based cepstral normalisation, another hybrid stage with input features normalised by speaker feature-MLLR transformations, and finally a bottleneck-based tandem stage with noise and speaker factorisation. The combination of these three system outputs provides a final error rate of 27.5% on the official development set, consisting of 47 multi-genre shows.
Estimation of local aortic elastic properties with MRI

Aortic compliance and pulse wave velocity (PWV) are important determiners of heart load, and are clinically useful indices of cardiovascular risk. Most direct methods to derive them require invasive pressure measurement. In this work a noninvasive technique to evaluate aortic compliance and PWV using MRI is proposed. MRI magnitude and phase images to measure area and flow in the ascending aorta were acquired in a group of 13 young healthy subjects. Assuming that the early systolic part of the wave was unidirectional and reflectionless, PWV was determined as the ratio between flow and area variations at early systole. Our results were compared to pulse wave velocities derived from a direct transit time, and to one using ascending aortic area and peripheral brachial pulse pressure. The new method proved to be accurate and in good agreement with the transit time method, as well as with previously published results. Magn Reson Med 47:649–654, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The role of KIR genes and ligands in leukemia surveillance

The antileukemic potential of natural killer (NK) cells has been of rising interest in recent years. Interactions between inhibitory killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) and HLA class I ligands seem to be critically involved in the immunosurveillance process. It is also well established that mismatching of HLA class I-encoded KIR ligands in the setting of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation leads to allorecognition of leukemic cells by NK cells, which is in line with the concept of missing-self recognition. Recent data now suggest that KIR gene polymorphism constitutes another important parameter that needs to be taken into account for selection of suitable stem cell donors. Moreover, the role of KIR gene polymorphism for predisposition to leukemia is a current matter of debate. Here, we would like to review the role of KIR function and genetic polymorphism for recognition of leukemia and discuss the impact of these findings for developing novel concepts for NK cell-based immunotherapy strategies.
Molecular Changes Occurring during Acquisition of Abscission Competence following Auxin Depletion in Mirabilis jalapa1[W]

To understand how auxin regulates sensitivity of abscission zone (AZ) tissues to ethylene, we used a polymerase chain reaction-based subtractive approach to identify gene transcripts in Mirabilis jalapa AZs that changed in abundance during the time the zones became competent to abscise in response to exogenous ethylene. Transcript expression was then examined in leaf and stem AZs over the period they became ethylene competent following indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) depletion either by leaf deblading, treatment with the IAA transport inhibitor naphthylphthalamic acid, or cutting the stem above a node (decapitation). Transcripts down-regulated by deblading/decapitation included Mj-Aux/IAA1 and Mj-Aux/IAA2, encoding Aux/IAA proteins, and three other transcripts showing highest identity to a polygalacturonase inhibitor protein, a β-expansin, and a β-tubulin. Application of IAA to the cut end of petioles or stumps inhibited abscission, and prevented the decline in the levels of transcripts in both AZs. Transcripts up-regulated in the AZ following deblading/decapitation or treatment with naphthylphthalamic acid were isolated from plants pretreated with 1-methylcyclopropene before deblading to help select against ethylene-induced genes. Some of the up-regulated transcripts showed identity to proteins associated with ethylene or stress responses, while others did not show homology to known sequences. Sucrose infiltration of stem stumps enhanced abscission following ethylene treatment and also enhanced the induction of some of the up-regulated genes. Our results demonstrate a correlation between acquisition of competence to respond to ethylene in both leaf and stem AZs, and decline in abundance of auxin regulatory gene transcripts.
Chemokine Receptor Blockade With a Synthetic Nonpeptide Compound Attenuates Cardiac Allograft Vasculopathy

Background. Recruitment of recipient mononuclear cells to the donor heart is a central event in the development of cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV). The role of individual chemokine receptors in this process is incompletely defined. TAK-779 (N,N-dimethyl-N-[4-[[[2-(4-methylphenyl)-6,7-dihydro-5H-benzocyclohepten-8-yl]carbonyl]amino]benzyl]tetra-hydro-2H-pyran-4-aminium chloride) is a synthetic nonpeptide antagonist of CCR5 and CXCR3. The purpose of this study is to determine if combined CCR5 and CXCR3 blockade by TAK-779 would attenuate CAV in an experimental model. Methods. We used a previously characterized murine model of CAV. Recipient mice were treated with TAK-779 or vehicle control. Donor hearts were harvested on day 24 posttransplantation and analyzed for intimal thickening and cellular infiltration. Recipient splenocytes were analyzed for proliferative response and interferon (IFN)-γ production by enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot assay. The donor hearts were also examined for heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) gene induction. Results. CCR5 and CXCR3 blockade by TAK-779 reduced the severity of intimal lesions (53±10% vs. 16±2%; P<0.05) and decreased the number of graft infiltrating CCR5+ and CXCR3+ CD4 and CD8 lymphocytes. Moreover, treatment with TAK-779 (a) decreased alloantigen-specific T-lymphocyte proliferation and number of IFN-γ producing cells and (b) increased HO-1 gene transcript level in the allografts. Conclusions. Antagonism of CCR5 and CXCR3 by TAK-779 is effective in controlling CAV. The beneficial effects of TAK-779 may be because of (a) reduction in CCR5+ and CXCR3+ T-lymphocyte subset infiltration into the graft, (b) attenuation of alloantigen-specific T-lymphocyte proliferative response and IFN-γ production, and (c) induction of HO-1 gene. This compound may offer a novel approach in clinical management of CAV.
Computational Intelligence in Survival Analysis

Survival analysis, often called time-to-event analysis, is a set of methods focused on failure time prediction. Such methods are developed in a variety of research domains like medicine, sociology, economics or engineering, and are used to analyze different types of failures. For example, in business applications the failure may denote bankruptcy or loan default. One of the most important characteristics of survival data is censoring. Censored observations contain incomplete information of failure occurrence. It means that for a number of companies we do not observe the event of interest, we only know that the failure did not occur before some specified time. Since the percentage of censored observation is usually high, they should be taken into account in the prediction process. Considering statistical methods for analysis of survival data, the most common approach is Cox’s proportional hazards model (Cox, 1972). This semi-parametric model is usually used for determining risk factors – variables, that influence the risk of failure. Its application is limited by additional assumptions concerning proportional hazards and known functional form of independent variables effect. Other methods, accelerated failure time models (Marubini & Valsecci, 1995), may be used only when the failure time distribution is specified. Since the assumptions are often difficult to fulfill, other assumption-free models are developed. Many of them are based on computational intelligence techniques, mainly on artificial neural networks and survival trees. In the chapter I would like to introduce the problem of survival analysis and to describe the possibilities of the use of computational intelligence techniques for analysis of survival data. Although the term “computational intelligence” covers many different techniques, we will narrow the examples of their applications to the most common approaches artificial neural networks, survival trees, and ensembles of tree-based models.
Personal cooling with dry ice.

Eighteen experiments with a male student subject evaluated some of the characteristics of dry ice cooling. Skin and rectal temperatures, heart rate, blood pressure, ice sublimation and sweat evaporation rate, and environmental conditions were measured. Heat balances were calculated. The mechanism of cooling is conduction from the dry ice plus sweat evaporation. The amount of cooling depends on the initial amount of dry ice, its shape and the insulation. Humidity and air velocity did not substantially affect the cooling from the dry ice. For the clothing designs in the last few experiments, the dry ice vest provided about 79 kcal/hr of cooling benefit to the man.
Fast Information Transport for an Instrument Enabled Grid

Grid-based computing frameworks leverage underutilized processing and storage resources. We present and evaluate a new high-performance, reliable middleware layer that can incorporate instruments into a grid. This Java based messaging system supports remote distributed control and operation of scientific instruments, such as sensors and probes, thereby significantly expanding the grid's capabilities. Various comparative measurements show that our system outperforms the top-ranked publish-sub scribe Java systems in the market. Our sofiware can reach a peak message exchange rate of 900,000 messages per second, with a latency of less than half a millisecond on a 1 GB Ethernet switch.
Demonstration-based vibrotactile pattern authoring

We propose a vibrotactile pattern authoring method based on the user's demonstration, where a device generates a vibrotactile pattern by imitating the touch input pattern of the user. The usability of our demonstration-based method is also compared with the conventional waveform-based authoring. The results showed that our demonstration-based authoring delivered comparable or superior performance to the waveform-based method, depending on the specific design tasks.