Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cytoprotective effects of cerium and selenium nanoparticles on heat-shocked human dermal fibroblasts: an in vitro evaluation

It is a widely accepted fact that environmental factors affect cells by modulating the components of subcellular compartments and altering metabolic enzymes. Factors (such as oxidative stress and heat-shock-induced proteins and heat shock factors, which upregulate stress-response related genes to protect affected cells) are commonly altered during changes in environmental conditions. Studies by our group and others have shown that nanoparticles (NPs) are able to efficiently attenuate oxidative stress by penetrating into specific tissues or organs. Such findings warrant further investigation on the effects of NPs on heat-shock-induced stress, specifically in cells in the presence or absence (pretreated) of NPs. Here, we examined the cytoprotective effects of two different NPs (cerium and selenium) on heat-induced cell death for a model cell using dermal fibroblasts. We report for the first time that both ceria and selenium NPs (at 500 µg/mL) possess stress-relieving behavior on fibroblasts undergoing heat shock. Such results indicate the need to further develop these NPs as a novel treatment for heat shock.
Within-socket myoelectric prediction of continuous ankle kinematics for control of a powered transtibial prosthesis

Objective. Powered robotic prostheses create a need for natural-feeling user interfaces and robust control schemes. Here, we examined the ability of a nonlinear autoregressive model to continuously map the kinematics of a transtibial prosthesis and electromyographic (EMG) activity recorded within socket to the future estimates of the prosthetic ankle angle in three transtibial amputees. Approach. Model performance was examined across subjects during level treadmill ambulation as a function of the size of the EMG sampling window and the temporal ‘prediction’ interval between the EMG/kinematic input and the model’s estimate of future ankle angle to characterize the trade-off between model error, sampling window and prediction interval. Main results. Across subjects, deviations in the estimated ankle angle from the actual movement were robust to variations in the EMG sampling window and increased systematically with prediction interval. For prediction intervals up to 150 ms, the average error in the model estimate of ankle angle across the gait cycle was less than 6°. EMG contributions to the model prediction varied across subjects but were consistently localized to the transitions to/from single to double limb support and captured variations from the typical ankle kinematics during level walking. Significance. The use of an autoregressive modeling approach to continuously predict joint kinematics using natural residual muscle activity provides opportunities for direct (transparent) control of a prosthetic joint by the user. The model’s predictive capability could prove particularly useful for overcoming delays in signal processing and actuation of the prosthesis, providing a more biomimetic ankle response.
Theoretical Framework for Defining Validity and Quality in Modeling

The increasing number of Object Oriented databases and knowledge bases raises the need for some criteria of model validity, modeling guidelines, and quality criteria to be used in modeling. Although some researchers have developed some specialized sets of modeling guidelines, we found no general-purpose framework to evaluate these proposals and customize them. In this paper we develop a theoretical framework for characterizing modeling. Modeling is seen as a transformation process. These transformations must be valid, and must increase the quality of the model. The framework is centered around these two issues of validity and quality. 1. KNOWLEDGE MODELING Modeling is a central activity in databases. It consists of defining a set of constructs (relations, classes, constraints) that, together, capture the contents of interest and exhibit model-specific structural quality (normal forms, schema invariants). Software design is also a modeling activity. According to Jocabson et al. [14], “In design we shape the system and find its form (including its architecture) that lives up to all requirements – including nonfunctional requirements and other constraints – made on it. ” In other words, design is a modeling activity selecting a form to capture contents. Developing knowledge bases is also driven by the same concerns of capturing contents while exhibiting some structural quality. Overall, regardless of the domain, modeling consists of selecting a form to capture contents. The same contents can be captured in different ways. While the different materializations of the same contents are semantically equivalent, they are not necessarily equivalent with respect to other nonfunctional criteria (readability, reusability, etc.). Quality is an underlying concern in all applications. Traditionally, the term “quality” is used to encompass compliance with nonfunctional requirements, while the terms, “correctness” or “validity” are used to characterize models that capture the right contents. A number of authors have defined sets of 51 Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Information Quality (ICIQ-03)
A Comparative Study of the Arabidopsis thaliana Guard-Cell Transcriptome and Its Modulation by Sucrose

Microarray analysis was performed on RNA isolated from guard cells that were manually dissected from leaves of Arabidopsis. By pooling our data with those of two earlier studies on Arabidopsis guard cell protoplasts, we provide a robust view of the guard-cell transcriptome, which is rich in transcripts for transcription factors, signaling proteins, transporters, and carbohydrate-modifying enzymes. To test the hypothesis that photosynthesis-derived sugar signals guard cells to adjust stomatal opening, we determined the profile of genes expressed in guard cells from leaves that had been treated with sucrose. The results revealed that expression of 440 genes changed in guard cells in response to sucrose. Consistent with this hypothesis, these genes encoded cellular functions for photosynthesis and transport of sugars, water, amino acids, and ions. Plants of T-DNA insertion lines for 50 genes highly responsive to sucrose were examined for defects in guard cell function. Twelve genes not previously known to function in guard cells were shown to be important in leaf conductance, water-use efficiency, and/or stomate development. Of these, three are of particular interest, having shown effects in nearly every test of stomatal function without a change in stomatal density: TPS5 (At4g17770), a TRAF domain-containing protein (At1g65370), and a WD repeat–containing protein (At1g15440).
A GOMS model of virtual sociotechnical systems: using video games to build cognitive models

Motivation -- The present paper extends the use of GOMS models, described by Kieras (Kieras, 2007) as models of the knowledge necessary for an agent to perform a task, to complex sociotechnical processes involving multiple agents in strategic activities situated in a virtual environment. Research approach -- The experiment consists of the SGOMS model, based on task analysis, and a statistical analysis to evaluate the accuracy of the SGOMS model for the description and prediction of the data. Findings/Design -- A SGOMS model featuring task interruptions, order violations and planning units representing the decision-making process is a good match with the experimental data. Take away message -- The GOMS model can be modified to account for complex sociotechnical interactions within low-fidelity synthetic environments.
Comparison of Baseline Wander Removal Techniques considering the Preservation of ST Changes in the Ischemic ECG: A Simulation Study

The most important ECG marker for the diagnosis of ischemia or infarction is a change in the ST segment. Baseline wander is a typical artifact that corrupts the recorded ECG and can hinder the correct diagnosis of such diseases. For the purpose of finding the best suited filter for the removal of baseline wander, the ground truth about the ST change prior to the corrupting artifact and the subsequent filtering process is needed. In order to create the desired reference, we used a large simulation study that allowed us to represent the ischemic heart at a multiscale level from the cardiac myocyte to the surface ECG. We also created a realistic model of baseline wander to evaluate five filtering techniques commonly used in literature. In the simulation study, we included a total of 5.5 million signals coming from 765 electrophysiological setups. We found that the best performing method was the wavelet-based baseline cancellation. However, for medical applications, the Butterworth high-pass filter is the better choice because it is computationally cheap and almost as accurate. Even though all methods modify the ST segment up to some extent, they were all proved to be better than leaving baseline wander unfiltered.
The Journey Towards the Goal is Irrelevant as long as the Goal is Fulfilled Two coexisting and competing logics in healthcare work

The background to the study presented in this thesis is an organisation that is established within the private healthcare sector and acquired one part of another healthcare organisation and reduplicated the volume of care units. The healthcare industry is characterised by professional work and education is needed to work as a nurse or general practitioner. Healthcare is generally structured that those who are a manager has both medical and management responsibility. This implies that working as a manager in healthcare is confronting different demands, which this thesis is studying. The aim of this study is to explore how managers in healthcare are responding to different demands. This thesis is based on a qualitative case study where semi-structured interviews were the main source of data collection. To analyse the empirical result institutional logics is used. The conclusions that can be drawn based on evidence found in the research performed in this thesis are that two logics coexist and challenge each other simultaneously, management and professionalism. In this case some situations require different needs and one logic might need to suffer in order to accomplish and fulfil demands of another logic. The logic of professionalism have been stabile over time, nothing has affected how the interviewees are identified towards this logic, as the assignment and patients is the same. The logic of management is however in constant change depending on situation and requirements. One of the most important findings is that in order for an individual to be identified towards multiple institutional logics, collaboration is an important aspect that must be regarded.
Scheduling Divisible Real-Time Loads on Clusters with Varying Processor Start Times

Recent research in real-time divisible load theory (RT-DLT) has addressed the problem of distributing arbitrarily parallelizable real-time workloads among processors which become available at different instants in the future. Given a real-time job and the times as which the processors become available, we devise exact efficient algorithms to solve two important problems: (i) determine the smallest number of processors needed to complete this job by its deadline; and (ii) given a specific number of processors, determine the earliest completion time for the job on these processors.
Who Owns Domestic Abuse?: The Local Politics of a Social Problem

With the knowledge and sensitivity of a teacher and counsellor, Ruth M. Mann details a community effort to establish a shelter for abused women in a small Ontario municipality. While other literature presents the ostensibly cohesive views of particular interest groups on the issue of domestic violence, Mann exposes the conflicts that actually occur, and the ways these conflicts fuel unintended outcomes. In "Who Owns Domestic Abuse? The Local Politics of a Social Problem," the author ventures bravely into the politically charged debate over the definition of abuse, and emphasizes the fact that 'owning' a problem does not ensure the possession of viable answers. Rather than promoting a particular response to such problems, Mann uses personal accounts of abuse to make a space for the diverse perspectives of abused women and abusive men. She urges activists and intervenors to argue less and listen more.
Density estimation via hybrid splines

The Hybrid Spline method (H-spline) is a method of density estimation which involves regression splines and smoothing splines methods. Using basis functions (B-splines), this method is much faster than Smoothing Spline Density Estimation approach (Gu, 1993). Simulations suggest that with more structured data (e.g., several modes) H-spline method estimates the modes as well as Logspline (Kooperberg and Stone, 1991). The H-spline algorithm is designed to compute a solution to the penalized likelihood problem. The smoothing parameter is updated jointly with the estimate via a cross-validation performance estimate, where the performance is measured by a proxy of the symmetrized Kullback-Leibler. The initial number of knots is determined automatically based on an estimate of the number of modes and the symmetry of the underlying density. The algorithm increases the number of knots by 1 until the symmetrized Kullback-Leibler distance, based on two consecutives estimates satisfies a condition which was determine.
Improved punctuation recovery through combination of multiple speech streams

In this paper, we present a technique to use the information in multiple parallel speech streams, which are approximate translations of each other, in order to improve performance in a punctuation recovery task. We first build a phraselevel alignment of these multiple streams, using phrase tables to link the phrase pairs together. The information so collected is then used to make it more likely that sentence units are equivalent across streams. We applied this technique to a number of simultaneously interpreted speeches of the European Parliament Committees, for the recovery of the full stop, in four different languages (English, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish). We observed an average improvement in SER of 37% when compared to an existing baseline, in Portuguese and English.
Transnationalism and the Social Mobility of Migrant Workers from the Post Socialist World

Since the accession of A8 and A2 member states to the EU in 2004 and 2007, labour mobility across borders has intensified with large numbers of migrant workers seeking economic and social opportunities in member states other than their home country. In particular, it is widely held that the UK is one of the major 'receiving' states for migrant workers from the post-socialist world. Policy directions have been focussed either around encouraging migrant workers to fill labour shortages in the UK or around the integration of migrants into communities and neighbourhoods once they have arrived, using a demand led, responsive approach. The degree of social mobility amongst these migrant workers is not widely discussed, nor is it commonly studied using a transnational frame of reference which sees migrants as maintaining links to their home communities and traditions after they have moved (Basch et al., 1992). Studies on social mobility have tended to be viewed through a national lens, often comparing states and their levels of social mobility (Breen, 2004), but rarely acknowledging the transnational dimension. This overlooks complex social networks across state borders and the important social and cultural capital involved in these exchanges. I posit that transnational networks of migrant workers have a dynamic effect on relative social mobility, whereby notions of class, occupational and social status shift based on interactions between home and host community. Improving knowledge and understanding of these networks could help to inform further policy development around the integration and settlement of migrant workers in the UK, contributing to equality of opportunity and social justice for those often living at the margins of society. This paper will explore the literature around transnational migrant networks and social mobility, providing a review of existing discourse with a hope of stimulating debate around future research directions in transnational migration. It will also provide an overview of current policy debates concerning migration management, considering how far the social mobility of migrants features at a policy level.
Sparse approximation with nonuniform sampling of orthogonal functions

This paper presents a novel method on designing redundant dictionary from known orthogonal functions. The common way for discretization of continuous functions is obtained with uniform sampling. Our experiments show that dividing the function definition interval with non-uniform measure makes the redundant dictionary sparser, and the resulted dictionary is suitable for image denoising via sparse and redundant dictionary. In this case, the problem is to find an appropriate measure in order to construct each atom of dictionary. It has been shown that in sparse approximation context incoherent dictionary is suitable for sparse approximation method. According to this fact, we define some optimization problems to find the best parameters for distribution measure (in our study normal distribution). To obtain better convergence to optimum point, Genetic Algorithm (GA) with enough diversity on initial population is used. We show the effect of this type of dictionary design on exact sparse recovery support. Our results also show advantage of this design method on image denoising task.
Psoriatic T cells recognize neolipid antigens generated by mast cell phospholipase delivered by exosomes and presented by CD1a

In psoriasis, IFN-α–stimulated mast cells release exosomes containing cytoplasmic PLA2 that are transferred to CD1a-expressing cells and generate neolipid antigens which induce the production of IL-22 and IL-17A by CD1a-reactive T cells.
Understanding the Acute Skin Injury Mechanism Caused by Player-Surface Contact During Soccer

Background: Superficial skin injuries are considered minor, and their incidence is probably underestimated. Insight into the incidence and mechanism of acute skin injury can be helpful in developing suitable preventive measures and safer playing surfaces for soccer and other field sports. Purpose: To gain insight into the incidence and severity of skin injuries related to soccer and to describe the skin injury mechanism due to player-surface contact. Study Design: Systematic review; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: The prevention model by van Mechelen et al (1992) combined with the injury causation model of Bahr and Krosshaug (2005) were used as a framework for the survey to describe the skin injury incidence and mechanism caused by player-surface contact. Results: The reviewed literature showed that common injury reporting methods are mainly based on time lost from participation or the need for medical attention. Because skin abrasions seldom lead to absence or medical attention, they are often not reported. When reported, the incidence of abrasion/laceration injuries varies from 0.8 to 6.1 injuries per 1000 player-hours. Wound assessment techniques such as the Skin Damage Area and Severity Index can be a valuable tool to obtain a more accurate estimation of the incidence and severity of acute skin injuries. Conclusion: The use of protective equipment, a skin lubricant, or wet surface conditions has a positive effect on preventing abrasion-type injuries from artificial turf surfaces. The literature also shows that essential biomechanical information of the sliding event is lacking, such as how energy is transferred to the area of contact. From a clinical and histological perspective, there are strong indications that a sliding-induced skin lesion is caused by mechanical rather than thermal injury to the skin.
International Journal of C 2009 Institute for Scientific Numerical Analysis and Modeling Computing and Information Numerical Analysis for a Nonlocal Allen-cahn Equation

We propose a stable, convergent finite difference scheme to solve numerically a nonlocal Allen-Cahn equation which may model a variety of physical and biological phenomena involving long-range spatial interaction. We also prove that the scheme is uniquely solvable and the numerical solution will approach the true solution in the L ∞ norm.
The bayesian approach to belief propagation in digital ecosystems

Bayesian belief propagation is flexible and highly adaptable in not only machine learning and artificial intelligence methodologies, but also to newer forms of learning involving agent interactions in digital ecosystems, specifically Multi-Agent Systems. One important property of such systems is agent autonomy. An aspect of agent autonomy, enactive knowledge, is investigated here through a Bayesian extension called TAN that supports learning through interactions with the environment. Finally, various scenarios are simulated for an appropriate modelling environment with suggestions for future work.
A New Hybrid Image Denoising Method

A new model based on the hybridization of wavelet and bilateral filters for denoising of variety of noisy images is presented in this paper. The model is experimented on standard images, like x-ray images, ultrasound and astronomical telescopic images and the performances are evaluated in terms of peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) and image quality index (IQI). Results demonstrate that use of bilateral filters in combination with wavelet thresholding filters on subbands of a decomposed image deteriorates the performance. But the application of bilateral filter before and after decomposition enhances the performance. The filter developed with bilateral filter before and after the decomposition of an image is found to be the best performance amongst four models considered in this study in terms of PSNR and IQI. In addition, the proposed filter gives nearly uniform and consistent results on all the images.
Uniform local amenability

The main results of this paper show that various coarse (`large scale') geometric properties are closely related. In particular, we show that property A implies the operator norm localisation property, and thus that norms of operators associated to a very large class of metric spaces can be effectively estimated. The main tool is a new property called uniform local amenability. This property is easy to negate, which we use to study some `bad' spaces. We also generalise and reprove a theorem of Nowak relating amenability and asymptotic dimension in the quantitative setting.
Early Prospects for 2009 Soybean Yields in Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa

The USDA’s first forecast of the potential size of the 2009 U.S. corn crop was released on May 12 (USDA/WASDE, 2009). That forecast was based on: 1) acreage expected to be harvested for grain, which is a function of planting intentions revealed in the March 2009 Prospective Plantings report and the historical relationship between acreage planted for all purposes and acreage harvested for grain, and 2) projected yield, which USDA defined as “. the simple linear trend of the national average yield for 1990-2008 adjusted for 2009 planting progress. ” The projected yield was 155.4 bushels per acre, which reflected a 1.5 bushel penalty for the slow pace of planting progress in the eastern Corn Belt. The 2009 production forecast was 12.09 billion bushels.