Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Factors Influencing Pupils' Acceptance of an E-Learning System for Secondary Schools

The present study aims at investigating which factors are significant for pupils' acceptance of an E-Learning system introduced into secondary schools. The E-Learning system consisted of interactive learning modules for several school subjects and a Learning Management System (LMS). Research on IT acceptance and attitudes guided the specification of independent variables as predictors of acceptance. Survey data were collected from 125 pupils from 8 German high schools in January and July 2005. Results from a three-step hierarchical regression reveal that perceived usefulness was a significant positive predictor of pupils' acceptance, with perceived usefulness of the LMS having the greatest weight. Computer related attitude, self-efficacy, and gender had negligible or no influence on acceptance. The final regression model accounted for approximately 51% of the variance in the outcome measure. The findings indicate the critical importance of perceived usefulness in predicting pupils' acceptance of the E-Learning system, as is likewise known from acceptance research on IT at the work place.
Upper Limit to Landau Damping in Helicon Discharges

The uncommonly high rf absorption efficiency of helicon discharges has been thought to be caused by Landau damping of helicon waves and the concomitant acceleration of primary electrons. By constructing an energy analyzer that accounts for rf fluctuations in plasma potential, it is shown that Landau-accelerated electrons are too sparse to explain the ionization efficiency. Instead, rf absorption and ionization are found to be consistent with the mechanism of mode coupling to Trivelpiece-Gould modes at the plasma boundary. [S0031-9007(99)08827-4]
Filter design for grid-connected multilevel CHB inverter for battery energy storage systems

This paper presents the design of two different kinds of passive filters (L and LCL filters) for a grid-connected cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverter and the classical two level inverter for battery energy storage systems. Two design methods are proposed. The first method is based on the allowed current ripple in the filter's inductor while the second method is based on an iterative design algorithm. The performance of the proposed filters is investigated via simulation results using MATLAB® and Simulink ®. The individual harmonic levels of the output current and the total harmonic distortion for each case are calculated, compared and analyzed.
PI3Kβ Plays a Key Role in Apolipoprotein A-I-Induced Endothelial Cell Proliferation Through Activation of the Ecto-F1-ATPase/P2Y1 Receptors

Background/Aims: High-density lipoproteins (HDL) exert multiple cardioprotective functions on the arterial wall, including the promotion of endothelial cell survival and proliferation. Among mechanism contributing to endothelial protection, it has been reported that apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I), the major protein in HDL, binds and activates the endothelial ecto-F1-ATPase receptor. This generates extracellular ADP, which in turn promotes endothelial cell survival. In this study we aimed to further investigate the signaling pathway involved downstream of apoA-I-induced ecto-F1-ATPase activation. Methods: In human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), pharmacological and gene silencing approaches were used to study pathways involved downstream ecto-F1-ATPase activation by apoA-I. Results: ApoA-I and HDL both induced Akt phosphorylation. F1-ATPase inhibitors such as inhibitory factor 1 and oligomycin completely blocked apoA-I-induced Akt phosphorylaton and significantly blocked HDL-induced phosphorylation, indicating that this signaling pathway is dependent on ecto-F1-ATPase activation by apoA-I. Further, we were able to specify roles for the P2Y1-ADPreceptor and the PI3Kβ isoform in this pathway since pharmacological inhibition and silencing of these proteins dramatically inhibited apoA-I-induced Akt phosphorylation and cell proliferation. Conclusion: Altogether, these data highlight a key role of the P2Y1/PI3Kβ axis in endothelial cell proliferation downstream of ecto-F1-ATPase activation by apoA-I. Pharmacological targeting of this pathway could represent a promising approach to enhance vascular endothelial protection.
Extraction of Nominal Multiword Expressions in French

Multiword expressions (MWEs) can be extracted automatically from large corpora using association measures, and tools like mwetoolkit allow researchers to generate training data for MWE extraction given a tagged corpus and a lexicon. We use mwetoolkit on a sample of the French Europarl corpus together with the French lexicon Dela, and use Weka to train classifiers for MWE extraction on the generated training data. A manual evaluation shows that the classifiers achieve 60–75% precision and that about half of the MWEs found are novel and not listed in the lexicon. We also investigate the impact of the patterns used to generate the training data and find that this can affect the trade-off between precision and novelty.
Power Optimization of Interconnection Networks for Transport Triggered Architecture

Transport triggered architecture (TTA) has been shown to provide an efficient way to design application specific instruction set processors. However, the interconnection network of TTA is based on simple-bus, which consumes much extra power for specific data transport. In this paper, we employ segmented-bus to solve this problem. How to partition the buses lies on the placement of macro blocks, and the manual creation of an optimal placement would be a labor-intensive process, leading to high design costs. Instead, we propose automatic approach to place the macro blocks specialized to given applications. For several real life cryptographic applications, a factor of 1.14 in bus power reduction can be achieved while maintaining the same performance.
Oral colonization by yeasts in HIV-positive patients in Brazil.

INTRODUCTION In HIV-infected patients, colonization of the oral cavity by potential pathogenic yeast may lead to development of systemic fungemia. We evaluated the prevalence of yeast in the oral cavity of Brazilian HIV-positive patients and verified whether or not the species characterized were enzymatically active. Furthermore, the species identified were tested for their susceptibility to antifungal treatment. METHODS Patient saliva and oropharyngeal candidiasis samples were collected from 60 seropositive HIV patients and identified by the API20C system. Enzymatic activity was evaluated by the production of proteinase and phospholipase. Susceptibility to antifungal treatments were determined using the broth microdilution method. RESULTS the most commonly isolated species were C. albicans (51.56%) followed by non-albicans Candida species (43.73%), Trichosporon mucoides (3.12%) and Kodamaea ohmeri (1.56%). Oral colonization by association of different species was observed in 42% of the patients. Enzymatic activity was verified in most of species isolated, except for C. glabrata, C. lusitaniae and C. guilliermondii. Resistance to Fluconazole and Amphotericin B was observed in isolates of C. albicans, C. glabrata, C. parapsilosis, C. krusei, and K. ohmeri. CONCLUSION HIV-positive patients are orally colonized by single or multiple species of yeast that are occasionally resistant to Fluconazole or Amphotericin B.
A Bayesian Approach to Use Emerging Patterns for Classification

Emerging Patterns (EPs) are itemsets (characteristics) whose supports change significantly from one data class to another. This work proposes a novel approach to use EPs as a basic means for classification. It is called Bayesian Classification based on Emerging Patterns (BCEP). As a hybrid of the EP-based classifier and Naive Bayes (NB) classifier, it provides several advantages. First, it is based on theoretically well-founded mathematical models to predict an unseen case given a training sample. Second, it extends NB by using essential emerging patterns to relax the strong attribute independence assumption. Lastly, it is easy to interpret, as many unnecessary EPs are pruned based on data class coverage. An empirical study carried out on 21 benchmark datasets from the UCI Machine Learning Repository shows that our method is superior to other state-of-the-art classification methods such as C5.0, NB, CAEP and LB in terms of overall predictive accuracy.
BAGEL3: automated identification of genes encoding bacteriocins and (non-)bactericidal posttranslationally modified peptides

Identifying genes encoding bacteriocins and ribosomally synthesized and posttranslationally modified peptides (RiPPs) can be a challenging task. Especially those peptides that do not have strong homology to previously identified peptides can easily be overlooked. Extensive use of BAGEL2 and user feedback has led us to develop BAGEL3. BAGEL3 features genome mining of prokaryotes, which is largely independent of open reading frame (ORF) predictions and has been extended to cover more (novel) classes of posttranslationally modified peptides. BAGEL3 uses an identification approach that combines direct mining for the gene and indirect mining via context genes. Especially for heavily modified peptides like lanthipeptides, sactipeptides, glycocins and others, this genetic context harbors valuable information that is used for mining purposes. The bacteriocin and context protein databases have been updated and it is now easy for users to submit novel bacteriocins or RiPPs. The output has been simplified to allow user-friendly analysis of the results, in particular for large (meta-genomic) datasets. The genetic context of identified candidate genes is fully annotated. As input, BAGEL3 uses FASTA DNA sequences or folders containing multiple FASTA formatted files. BAGEL3 is freely accessible at http://bagel.molgenrug. nl.
Regenerative Therapy Prevents Heart Failure Progression in Dyssynchronous Nonischemic Narrow QRS Cardiomyopathy

Background Cardiac resynchronization therapy using bi-ventricular pacing is proven effective in the management of heart failure (HF) with a wide QRS-complex. In the absence of QRS prolongation, however, device-based resynchronization is reported unsuitable. As an alternative, the present study tests a regenerative cell-based approach in the setting of narrow QRS-complex HF. Methods and Results Progressive cardiac dyssynchrony was provoked in a chronic transgenic model of stress-triggered dilated cardiomyopathy. In contrast to rampant end-stage disease afflicting untreated cohorts, stem cell intervention early in disease, characterized by mechanical dyssynchrony and a narrow QRS-complex, aborted progressive dyssynchronous HF and prevented QRS widening. Stem cell-treated hearts acquired coordinated ventricular contraction and relaxation supporting systolic and diastolic performance. Rescue of contractile dynamics was underpinned by a halted left ventricular dilatation, limited hypertrophy, and reduced fibrosis. Reverse remodeling reflected a restored cardiomyopathic proteome, enforced at systems level through correction of the pathological molecular landscape and nullified adverse cardiac outcomes. Cell therapy of a dyssynchrony-prone cardiomyopathic cohort translated prospectively into improved exercise capacity and prolonged survivorship. Conclusions In narrow QRS HF, a regenerative approach demonstrated functional and structural benefit, introducing the prospect of device-autonomous resynchronization therapy for refractory disease.
A Note on "Building Skeleton Models via 3-D Medial Surface/Axis Thinning Algorithms"

Abstract In a recent paper (T. C. Lee, R. L. Kashyap, and C. N. Chu, CVGIP: Graphical Models Image Process. 56, 1994, 462-478), a new parallel thinning algorithm for extracting both the medial surfaces and the medial axes of a 3D object was presented. In this note, we rectify some assertions about 3D simple points characterizations which, in the above, are inexact.
Facial Landmark Localization in Depth Images Using Supervised Ridge Descent

Supervised Descent Method (SDM) has proven successful in many computer vision applications such as face alignment, tracking and camera calibration. Recent studies which used SDM, achieved state of the-art performance on facial landmark localization in depth images [4]. In this study, we propose to use ridge regression instead of least squares regression for learning the SDM, and to change feature sizes in each iteration, effectively turning the landmark search into a coarse to fine process. We apply the proposed method to facial landmark localization on the Bosphorus 3D Face Database, using frontal depth images with no occlusion. Experimental results confirm that both ridge regression and using adaptive feature sizes improve the localization accuracy considerably.
Achieving the Optimal Balance Between Investment in Quality and Investment in Self-Promotion for Information Products

When producers of goods (or services) are confronted by a situation in which their offerings no longer perfectly match consumer preferences, they must determine the extent to which the advertised features of the product reflect the product's actual attributes. We find that the two important determinants of sellers' advertising strategy are the Repeg Cost Ratio, and the Repeat Sales Coefficient. The interplay of these two factors gives rise to four possible strategic scenarios. We show that sellers' strategy is clearly explainable in three out of these four scenarios. In the ambiguous fourth scenario, we show that sellers' strategy for information production goods will differ considerably from information consumption goods based on product complexity and cost of product return (borne by the buyer). Finally, we demonstrate that markets are often characterized by self-reinforcing limits on the extent of opportunistic advertising by sellers.
Kinetics of Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy Progression in a Transgenic Mouse Model of Alzheimer Disease

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), the deposition of cerebrovascular β-amyloid (Aβ) in the walls of arterial vessels, has been implicated in hemorrhagic stroke and is present in most cases of Alzheimer disease. Previous studies of the progression of CAA in humans and animal models have been limited to the comparison of pathological tissue from different brains at single time points. Our objective was to visualize in real time the initiation and progression of CAA in Tg2576 mice by multiphoton microscopy through cranial windows. Affected vessels were labeled by methoxy-X04, a fluorescent dye that selectively binds cerebrovascular β-amyloid and plaques. With serial imaging sessions spaced at weekly intervals, we were able to observe the earliest appearance of CAA in leptomeningeal arteries as multifocal deposits of band-like Aβ. Over subsequent imaging sessions, we were able to identify growth of these deposits (propagation), as well as appearance of new bands (additional initiation events). Statistical modeling of the data suggested that as the extent of CAA progressed in this vascular bed, there was increased prevalence of propagation over initiation. During the early phases of CAA development, the overall pathology burden progressed at a rate of 0.35% of total available vessel area per day (95% confidence interval, 0.3–0.4%). The consistent rate of disease progression implies that this model is amenable to investigations of therapeutic interventions.
Relationships between Managers Who are Innovators/Early Adopters of Flexible Work Options and Team Performance

Abstract This article discusses the findings of an exploratory study that examined perceptions of managers (N = 332) about flexible work options (FWOs), an innovation in human resource practice. Using logistic regression, we created an index to identify managers who were Innovators/Early Adopters. The index included measures of managers' perceptions of risks and benefits, their perceptions of the extent to which they felt that it would be possible to implement FWOs, and reports of the percentage of their work units using FWOs. For the second part of the study, we focused on managers' perceptions of work unit performance, using linear regression to compare the responses of Innovators/Early Adopters with the other managers. We found that Innovators/Early Adopters perceived fewer barriers to the implementation of FWOs and were more likely to report that their work teams were high performing than managers who were not Innovators/Early Adopters.
Reduced Complexity Soft-Output MIMO Sphere Detectors—Part I: Algorithmic Optimizations

Optimum soft-output (SO) multiple-input multiple- output (MIMO) tree-search detection algorithms pose significant implementation challenges due to their nondeterministic processing throughput and high computational complexity. In this two-part work, we present extensive algorithmic and architectural optimizations of the sphere-decoding algorithm targeted at achieving practical tradeoffs between desired link performance and affordable computational complexity. The algorithmic optimizations in this part span the tree-search traversal scheme, leaf processing step, internal node-pruning and skipping step, child enumeration based on a state-machine, adaptive radius scaling for LLR clipping, QR-decomposition based on minimum cumulative residuals, and multitree configurations. The optimizations demonstrate that a 64-QAM SO MIMO detector for LTE is capable of attaining almost ML performance with an SNR loss of only 0.85 dB at 1% BLER by visiting at most 200 tree nodes.
Bad moms, blameless dads: The portrayal of maternal and paternal age and preconception harm in U.S. newspapers

ABSTRACT Background: Although much is known scientifically about maternally and paternally mediated fetal harms, there has been little research examining how these harms are portrayed in the media. The objective of this study was to examine how maternal and paternal age-related harm is portrayed in contemporary U.S. newspapers.Methods: A content analysis was undertaken of 64 newspaper articles after systematic searching and selection of articles based on inclusion criteria. A coding framework was developed and used to analyze articles for tone. The text of the articles was analyzed for one or more of eight tones, which were correlated with the main article focus and gender of author. Results: Most articles were maternally focused, and only 6% of articles were equally focused on both women and men. Most U.S. newspaper articles focused on maternal age-related harms, and negative tones were often used to describe older parents, especially for women. In contrast, paternal age-related harms were less likely to be discussed and tended to include more reassuring tones. Conclusions: Authors of newspaper articles should employ more balanced perspectives and gender-neutral tones when discussing age-related preconception harm.
Depression and Anxiety in University Music Students

Performance anxiety among musicians and music students has been widely addressed, but far less attention has been given to examining the rates and characteristics of broader mental distress in this population. This study examined depression and anxiety in music students at one university. A considerable number of students reported symptoms indicative of anxiety or depression. Even though prevalence rates were not markedly different than those described in the literature for other university students irrespective of major, the high rate of untreated anxiety and depression among the music students is concerning. Music educators can help prepare their junior high and high school–aged students for the stressors of university music study by helping them develop coping strategies, fostering awareness of anxiety and depression as common and treatable conditions, and promoting acceptability of seeking treatment when necessary.
Evaluation of methods for relative comparison of retrieval systems based on clickthroughs

The Cranfield evaluation method has some disadvantages, including its high cost in labor and inadequacy for evaluating interactive retrieval techniques. As a very promising alternative, automatic comparison of retrieval systems based on observed clicking behavior of users has recently been studied. Several methods have been proposed, but there has so far been no systematic way to assess which strategy is better, making it difficult to choose a good method for real applications. In this paper, we propose a general way to evaluate these relative comparison methods with two measures: utility to users(UtU) and effectiveness of differentiation(EoD). We evaluate two state of the art methods by systematically simulating different retrieval scenarios. Inspired by the weakness of these methods revealed through our evaluation, we further propose a novel method by considering the positions of clicked documents. Experiment results show that our new method performs better than the existing methods.
Differentiation between brain tumor recurrence and radiation injury using MR spectroscopy.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of our study was to explore the feasibility and utility of 2D chemical shift imaging (CSI) MR spectroscopy in the evaluation of new areas of contrast enhancement at the site of a previously treated brain neoplasm. MATERIALS AND METHODS Two-dimensional CSI (point-resolved spectroscopy sequence [PRESS]; TR/TE, 1,500/144) was performed in 29 consecutive patients (4-54 years old; mean age, 34 years) who had a new contrast-enhancing lesion in the vicinity of a previously diagnosed and treated brain neoplasm. Clinical and imaging follow-up, and histopathology in 16 patients, were used as indicators of the identity of a lesion. RESULTS Diagnostic-quality spectra were obtained in 97% of the patients. The Cho/Cr (choline/creatine) and Cho/NAA (choline/N-acetyl aspartate) ratios were significantly higher, and the NAA/Cr ratios significantly lower, in tumor than in radiation injury (all three differences, p < 0.0001). The Cho/Cr and Cho/NAA ratios were significantly higher in radiation injury than in normal-appearing white matter (p < 0.0003 and p < 0.0001, respectively), whereas NAA/Cr ratios were not different (p = 0.075). Mean Cho/Cr ratios were 2.52 for tumor, 1.57 for radiation injury, and 1.14 for normal-appearing white matter. Mean Cho/NAA ratios were 3.48, 1.31, 0.79, and mean NAA/Cr ratios were 0.79, 1.22, and 1.38, respectively. When values greater than 1.8 for either Cho/Cr or Cho/NAA ratios were considered evidence of tumor, 27 of 28 patients could be correctly classified. CONCLUSION Two-dimensional CSI MR spectroscopy can differentiate tumor from radiation injury in patients with recurrent contrast-enhancing intracranial lesions. In these lesions, the Cho/NAA and Cho/Cr ratios may be the best numeric discriminators.
Visualizing Data Structures in Parsing-Based Machine Translation

Visualizing Data Structures in Parsing-Based Machine Translation As machine translation (MT) systems grow more complex and incorporate more linguistic knowledge, it becomes more difficult to evaluate independent pieces of the MT pipeline. Being able to inspect many of the intermediate data structures used during MT decoding allows a more fine-grained evaluation of MT performance, helping to determine which parts of the current process are effective and which are not. In this article, we present an overview of the visualization tools that are currently distributed with the Joshua (Li et al., 2009) MT decoder. We explain their use and present an example of how visually inspecting the decoder's data structures has led to useful improvements in the MT model.