Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effects of Hippotherapy for Physical, Cognitive and Psychological Factors in Children with Intellectual Disabilities

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to determine, by conducting a 10 week hippotherapy, the effects on the physical, cognitive and psychological factors of children with intellectual disabilities. METHODS: As an intervention method, intervention was based on a program from the American Hippotherapy Association and was modified and enhanced. 16 children with intellectual disabilities was conducted horse riding intervention program and Intervention was conducted once a week for a total of 10 weeks with each session lasting 30 minutes. A doctor of rehabilitation medical treatment of D rehabilitation center, physical therapist and occupational therapist evaluated the upper limbs test, balance, gait function, Korea-mini mental state examination (MMSE) before and after hippotherapy intervention. Self-esteem scale and aggression scale was evaluated by Psychology Counseling of C psychological clinic before and after hippotherapy intervention.
Constrained transcription factor spacing is prevalent and important for transcriptional control of mouse blood cells

Combinatorial transcription factor (TF) binding is essential for cell-type-specific gene regulation. However, much remains to be learned about the mechanisms of TF interactions, including to what extent constrained spacing and orientation of interacting TFs are critical for regulatory element activity. To examine the relative prevalence of the ‘enhanceosome’ versus the ‘TF collective’ model of combinatorial TF binding, a comprehensive analysis of TF binding site sequences in large scale datasets is necessary. We developed a motif-pair discovery pipeline to identify motif co-occurrences with preferential distance(s) between motifs in TF-bound regions. Utilizing a compendium of 289 mouse haematopoietic TF ChIP-seq datasets, we demonstrate that haematopoietic-related motif-pairs commonly occur with highly conserved constrained spacing and orientation between motifs. Furthermore, motif clustering revealed specific associations for both heterotypic and homotypic motif-pairs with particular haematopoietic cell types. We also showed that disrupting the spacing between motif-pairs significantly affects transcriptional activity in a well-known motif-pair—E-box and GATA, and in two previously unknown motif-pairs with constrained spacing—Ets and Homeobox as well as Ets and E-box. In this study, we provide evidence for widespread sequence-specific TF pair interaction with DNA that conforms to the ‘enhanceosome’ model, and furthermore identify associations between specific haematopoietic cell-types and motif-pairs.
Mission Control of the Marius Autonomous Underwater Vehicle: System Design, Implementation and Sea Trials

This paper describes the design and implementation of a mission control system for the MARIUS autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). The framework adopted for system design builds on the key concept of vehicle primitive, which is a parametrized specification of an elementary operation performed by the vehicle. Vehicle primitives are obtained by coordinating the execution of a number of concurrent system tasks, which are parametrized specifications of classes of algorithms or procedures that implement basic functionalities in an underwater robotic system. Vehicle primitives are in turn logically and temporally chained to form more abstract mission procedures, which are executed as determined by mission programs, in reaction to external events. System task design is carried out using well-established tools from continuous- or discrete-time dynamic system theory, and finite-state automata to describe their logical (event-based) interaction with vehicle primitives. The design and analysis of vehicle primitives .
Honoring SLAs on cloud computing services: A control perspective

This work contains a short survey of recent results in the literature with a view to opening up new research directions for the problem of honoring SLAs on cloud computing services. This is a new problem that has attracted significant interest recently, due to the urgent need for providers to provide reliable, customized and QoS guaranteed computing dynamic environments for end-users as agreed in contracts on the basis of certain Service Level Agreements (SLAs). Honoring SLAs is a multi-faceted problem that may involve optimal use of the available resources, optimization of the system's performance and availability or maximization of the provider's revenue and it poses a significant challenge for researchers and system administrators due to the volatile, huge and unpredictable Web environments where these computing systems reside. The use of algorithms possessing run-time adaptation features, such as dynamic resource allocation, admission control and optimization becomes an absolute must. As a continuation of the recent successful application of control theory concepts and methods to the computing systems area, our survey indicates that the problem of honoring SLAs on cloud computing services is a new interesting application for control theory and that researchers can benefit significantly from a number of well-known modern control methodologies, such as hybrid, supervisory, hierarchical and model predictive control.
Reservoir Characterization of an Unconventional Reservoir by Integrating Microseismic, Seismic, and Well Log Data

Varied data types including geophysical data as well as well logs have been used frequently in the past to characterize reservoirs. However, the use of microseismic data as a potential source of useful information and its integration with conventional seismic data for reservoir characterization is an area of opportunity where properties predicted from the microseismic data can be used as a vital source of information which can then be tied with the overall characterization scheme in a seamless manner. In this paper we discuss the characterization scheme followed for an unconventional reservoir associated with a promising geothermal prospect. The field involves microseismic data acquisition being done continually as part of the field monitoring operations and extensive well control due to the presence of large number of injection and production wells and finally a 3D conventional seismic survey done to try and better define the reservoir. We have applied an integrated approach with these data sources in order to better characterize the reservoir in question using novel data analysis schemes where necessary to get optimum results. The approach shared in this paper can be applied to any type of reservoir setting with microseismic, seismic and well log data being available. What we present is a workflow to integrate these data types to generate useful property predictions including important rock property estimates with the aim of obtaining useable reservoir property maps to aid in reservoir development. This approach shows how a modest data acquisition program can still lead to useful characterization of reservoirs particularly with the inclusion of microseismic data in the workflow. We have used novel methods as part of our workflow including multi-attribute analysis, geostatistical techniques and soft computing techniques such as ANN based property prediction and mapping which are discussed in brief.
Monetary Policy Transmission and House Prices: European Cross-Country Evidence

This paper explores the importance of housing and mortgage market heterogeneity in 12 European countries for the transmission of monetary policy. We use a panel VAR model which is estimated over the period 1995-2006 to generate impulse responses of key macroeconomic variables to a monetary policy shock. We propose a data-driven approach that splits our panel of countries into two disjoint groups according to the impact of the monetary policy shock on real house prices. Our results show that in countries with a more pronounced reaction of real house prices the propagation of monetary policy shocks to macroeconomic variables is amplified.
A novel approach to the eye movement analysis using a high speed camera

In this paper a new method of eye blink detection and analysis is proposed. The described technique is based on a combination of spatial and temporal derivatives calculated in video sequences acquired with a high speed camera. The pixels of each frame are divided into two groups according to the direction and magnitude of the hybrid gradient vectors and the distance between their centers of gravity is used for the determination of the eye movement characteristics. Preliminary experiments revealed a high detection rate of eye blinks, which is not dependent on the change of head position. The proposed technique can also be used for the analysis of eye movements and can be utilized in systems which are monitoring human fatigue, drowsiness and emotional states.
Force tracking Fuzzy Control of a shape memory alloy actuator

Strong non-linearity and hysteresis can be detected in the phase transition process of shape memory alloys (SMA). Furthermore, because of the increasing driving frequency, the SMA driver's driving performance changes gradually leading to time variability. To cope with that, this paper designs a fuzzy controller for the nonlinear system which has better control performance and robustness. Experiments of the sinusoidal and step inputs' tracking control are based on the SMA wire-spring system with the fuzzy controller. Compared with the conventional PID controller, the experimental results show that the fuzzy controller designed in this paper has better tracking control property, shorter rise time and fewer overshoot. What's more, the maximum tracking error remains almost unchanged while the driving loops adding over time.
A Dynamic Channel Assignment in GSM Telecommunication network using Modified Genetic Algorithm

In GSM Telecommunication networks it is important to efficiently utilize the scarce radio spectrum using a proper channel assignment scheme. The objective of a Channel Assignment problem is to assign a required number of channels to each cell in a way to achieve both efficient frequency spectrum utilization and minimization of interference effects (by satisfying a number of channel reuse constraints). Dynamic Channel Assignment (DCA) assigns the channels to the cells dynamically according to traffic demand, and hence, can provide higher capacity (or lower call blocking probability), fidelity and quality of service than the fixed assignment schemes. Devising a DCA, that is practical, efficient, and which can generate high quality allocations, is challenging. This paper presents an effective and efficient Modified Genetic Algorithm (MGA) for the solution of DCA Problem.
Tracking Student Teachers' Technology-Enhanced Collaborative Problem Solving: Combining Objective Assessment Data With Subjective Verbal Reporting

In spite of increasing interest, technology-enhanced formative assessment practices reflecting 21st century skills are not yet much studied, particularly in teacher education context. Also, studies that combine both objective and subjective data around these practices are still rare. This study responds to these challenges in exploration of student teachers’ collaborative problem solving (CPS) processes. Relevant events in CPS tasks are tracked through process data acquired via ATC21STM portal, and complemented with students’ interpretations of these processes as cued retrospective reports. The broader aim is to provide student teachers with hands-on experiences of using novel, technology-enhanced formative assessment systems for 21st century skills. It is hypothesised that familiarity with these practices will guide student teachers to be more open toward formative, technology-enhanced assessment culture as they move into professional practice as teachers.
Study of the effect of energy window width and peak shift on SPECT images to evaluate false diagnosis

Introduction: The different factors that affect the camera uniformity of Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) technique have been analyzed including peak shift (%) and window width of energy. The effect of peak shift and window width on SPECT image uniformity has been investigated using a point source to perform intrinsic flood images. Methods:The relation between calculated integral & differential Center Field of View (CFOV) and Useful Field of View (UFOV) uniformity values were plotted with peak shift and window width change. The effects of window width of energy 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25% on SPECT images were investigated using the 99mTc radioisotope with energy of 140 keV. Results:Although 0% shift is the optimum peak shift, but in the current research we have found that the data in the range of 0% to 2% peak shift provides result with satisfactory image quality. Integral Uniformity (IU %) and Differential Uniformity (DU %) values of CFOV and UFOV were noticeably changed with the change of energy window width. In this research, the optimum energy window width of the images of different flood phantom has been found to be in the range from 15% to 20%. Conclusion: Finally, 0% to 2% peak shift at 15% energy window width applied on heart phantom provides suitable images leading to proper diagnosis which conform our findings.
Discovery of bla OXA-199, a Chromosome-Based bla OXA-48-Like Variant, in Shewanella xiamenensis

Introduction bla OXA-48 is a globally emerging carbapenemase-encoding gene. The progenitor of bla OXA-48 appears to be a Shewanella species. The presence of the bla OXA-48-like gene was investigated for two Shewanella xiamenensis strains. Methods Strain WCJ25 was recovered from post-surgical abdominal drainages, while S4 was the type strain of S. xiamenensis. Species identification for WCJ25 was established by sequencing the 16S rDNA and gyrB genes. PCR was used to screen the bla OXA-48-like genes and to obtain their complete sequences. A phylogenetic tree of the bla OXA-48-like genes was constructed. The genetic context of the bla OXA-48-like gene in strain WCJ25 was investigated by inverse PCR using self-ligated AseI- or RsaI-restricted WCJ25 DNA fragments as template, while that in strain S4 was determined by PCR mapping using that in WCJ25 as template. Results A new bla OXA-48 variant, designated bla OXA-48b, with four silent nucleotide differences from the bla OXA-48 (designated bla OXA-48a) found in the Enterobacteriaceae was identified in strain S4. Strain WCJ25 had a new bla OXA-48-like variant, bla OXA-199, with five nucleotide differences from bla OXA-48a and bla OXA-48b. The OXA-199 protein has three amino acid substitutions (H37Y, V44A and D153G) compared with OXA-48. Both bla OXA-48b and bla OXA-199 were found adjacent to genes encoding a peptidase (indicated as orf), a protein of unknown function (sprT), an endonuclease I (endA), and a ribosomal RNA methyl transferase (rsmE) upstream and to transcriptional regulator gene lysR and an acetyl-CoA carboxylase-encoding gene downstream. In addition, the insertion sequence ISShes2 was found inserted downstream of bla OXA-199 but not of bla OXA-48b. The 26 bp sequences upstream and 63 bp downstream of bla OXA-48a, bla OXA-48b and bla OXA-199 were identical. Conclusions bla OXA-48a, bla OXA-48b and bla OXA-199 might have a common origin, suggesting that the bla OXA-48a gene found in the Enterobacteriaceae could have originated from the chromosome of S. xiamenensis.
Walk A Mile in Digital Shoes : The Impact of Embodied Perspective-Taking on The Reduction of Negative Stereotyping in Immersive Virtual Environments

In social psychology, perspective-taking has been shown to be a reliable method in reducing negative social stereotyping. These exercises have until now only relied on asking a person to imagine themselves in the mindset of another person. We argue that immersive virtual environments provide the unique opportunity to allow individuals to directly take the perspective of another person and thus may lead to a greater reduction in negative stereotypes. In the current work, we report on an initial experimental investigation into the benefits of embodied perspective-taking in immersive virtual environments. It was found that negative stereotyping of the elderly was significantly reduced when participants were placed in avatars of old people compared with those participants placed in avatars of young people. We discuss the implications of these results on theories of social interaction and on copresence.
Toward a Natural Language Interface for Transferring Grasping Skills to Robots

In this paper, we report on the findings of a human-robot interaction study that aims at developing a communication language for transferring grasping skills from a nontechnical user to a robot. Participants with different backgrounds and education levels were asked to command a five-degree-of-freedom human-scale robot arm to grasp five small everyday objects. They were allowed to use either commands from an existing command set or develop their own equivalent natural language instructions. The study revealed several important findings. First, individual participants were more inclined to use simple, familiar commands than more powerful ones. In most cases, once a set of instructions was found to accomplish the grasping task, few participants deviated from that set. In addition, we also found that the participant's background does appear to play a role during the interaction process. Overall, participants with less technical backgrounds require more time and more commands on average to complete a grasping task as compared to participants with more technical backgrounds.
Monomorphic genotypes within a generalist lineage of Campylobacter jejuni show signs of global dispersion

The decreased costs of genome sequencing have increased capability to apply whole-genome sequence on epidemiological surveillance of zoonotic Campylobacter jejuni. However, knowledge about how genetically similar epidemiologically linked isolates can be is vital for correct application of this methodology. To address this issue in C. jejuni we investigated the spatial and temporal signals in the genomes of a major clonal complex and generalist lineage, ST-45 CC, by exploiting the population structure and genealogy and applying genome-wide association analysis of 340 isolates from across Europe collected over a wide time-range. The occurrence and strength of the geographical signal varied between sublineages and followed the clonal frame when present, while no evidence of a temporal signal was found. Certain sublineages of ST-45 CC formed discrete and genetically isolated clades to which geography and time had left only negligible traces in the genomes. We hypothesize that these ST-45 CC clades form globally expanded monomorphic clones possibly spread across Europe by migratory birds. In addition, we observed an incongruence between the genealogy of the strains and MLST typing, thereby challenging the existing clonal complex definition and use of a common MLST-based nomenclature for the ST-45 CC of C. jejuni.
Extended surround based neuromorphically implementable model of human visual system

A neuromorphically implementable model of the retinal ganglion cells has been presented. The model incorporates contribution from both the inner and outer plexiform layer of the retina, taking recent findings from neurophysiology into consideration. It has been shown that such a system is capable of computing zero-crossings of images using fourth or higher order derivatives, a fact which may have neuromorphic implication in generating a derivative analyzer-mimetic of the human visual system as a whole.
Convergence Rates of General Regularization Methods for Statistical Inverse Problems and Applications

Previously, the convergence analysis for linear statistical inverse problems has mainly focused on spectral cut-off and Tikhonov-type estimators. Spectral cut-off estimators achieve minimax rates for a broad range of smoothness classes and operators, but their practical usefulness is limited by the fact that they require a complete spectral decomposition of the operator. Tikhonov estimators are simpler to compute but still involve the inversion of an operator and achieve minimax rates only in restricted smoothness classes. In this paper we introduce a unifying technique to study the mean square error of a large class of regularization methods (spectral methods) including the aforementioned estimators as well as many iterative methods, such as $\nu$-methods and the Landweber iteration. The latter estimators converge at the same rate as spectral cut-off but require only matrix-vector products. Our results are applied to various problems; in particular we obtain precise convergence rates for satellite gradiometry, $L^2$-boosting, and errors in variable problems.
The Effects of Work Environment on Burnout in the Newsroom

Resistance to job burnout requires a sense of involvement in ones work, a high degree of peer cohesion and supervisor support, a strong sense of personal autonomy and a sense of physical comfort. But in this study, copy editors were found to be significantly less satisfied with their work environment and to feel less involved, less encouraged to make their own on-the-job decisions, and less physically comfortable than were reporters.
The Brain Effective Connectivity of Chinese during Rhyming Task

With regard to brain language processing, the activation patterns have been well studied, and recently there are great interest in the connectivity models. The crucial brain areas for phonological processing involves left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG), left inferior parietal lobule (LIPL) and left posterior middle temporal gyrus (LpMTG). Specially in Chinese processing, the left middle frontal gyrus (LMFG) is considered as an essential region. However, the connectivity pattern among these brain areas is not well understood. In this study, a rhyming experiment of Chinese was conducted, and the Dynamic causal modeling (DCM) and the Bayesian model selection (BMS) were used to examine the interaction between brain regions and choose the best model for rhyming task of Chinese. By examining the interactions, it was found that LMFG exerted inhibitory modulation on LIPL and LIFG; the phonological processing enhanced the connection from LIPL to LIFG and LMFG, which suggested the important roles of these connections for the increased phonological load; And LpMTG modulated LIFG and LMFG negatively, and LIPL positively under rhyming judgment task.
Performance Evaluation of a Packetized Voice System - Simulation Study

Introduction of the packet switching technique into digitized voice communication may afford great advantages in efficient use of the channel, compared to both circuit-switched and DSI systems. Detailed characteristics, however, have not been obtained because of difficulty in the exact analysis. Hence, simalation models are developed in this paper for the packetized voice transmission system, and various characteristics such as tranmission delays and loss probability of voice packets are obtained. We further evaluate three types of voice packet reassembly strategy at the receiving terminal, and obtain the optimal packet length, which keeps both overall packet transmission delay and packet loss probabilty less than a certain permissible value. Comparison among three strategies is also stated.