Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Understanding the adoption of digital whiteboard systems for collaborative design work

User-centered design processes are the first choice when new interactive systems or services are developed to address real customer needs and provide a good user experience. Common tools for collecting user research data, conducting brainstormings, or sketching ideas are whiteboards and sticky notes. They are ubiquitously available, and no technical or domain knowledge is necessary to use them. However, traditional pen and paper tools fall short when saving the content and sharing it with others unable to be in the same location. They are also missing further digital advantages such as searching or sorting content. Although research on digital whiteboard and sticky note applications has been conducted for over 20 years, these tools are not widely adopted in company contexts. While many research prototypes exist, they have not been used for an extended period of time in a real-world context. The goal of this thesis is to investigate what the enablers and obstacles for the adoption of digital whiteboard systems are. As an instrument for different studies, we developed the Tele-Board software system for collaborative creative work. Based on interviews, observations, and findings from former research, we tried to transfer the analog way of working to the digital world. Being a software system, Tele-Board can be used with a variety of hardware and does not depend on special devices. This feature became one of the main factors for adoption on a larger scale. In this thesis, I will present three studies on the use of Tele-Board with different user groups and foci. I will use a combination of research methods (laboratory case studies and data from field research) with the overall goal of finding out when a digital whiteboard system is used and in which cases not. Not surprisingly, the system is used and accepted if a user sees a main benefit that neither analog tools nor other applications can offer. However, I found that these perceived benefits are very different for each user and usage context. If a tool provides possibilities to use in different ways and with different equipment, the chances of its adoption by a larger group increase. Tele-Board has now been in use for over 1.5 years in a global IT company in at least five countries with a constantly growing user base. Its use, advantages, and disadvantages will be described based on 42 interviews and usage statistics from server logs. Through these insights and findings from laboratory case studies, I will present a detailed analysis of digital whiteboard use in different contexts with design implications for future systems.
Prior heavy exercise eliminates slow component and reduces efficiency during submaximal exercise in humans

We investigated the hypothesis that the pulmonary oxygen uptake slow component is related to a progressive increase in muscle lactate concentration and that prior heavy exercise (PHE) with pronounced acidosis alters kinetics and reduces work efficiency. Subjects (n= 9) cycled at 75% of the peak for 10 min before (CON) and after (AC) PHE. was measured continuously (breath‐by‐breath) and muscle biopsies were obtained prior to and after 3 and 10 min of exercise. Muscle lactate concentration was stable between 3 and 10 min of exercise but was 2‐ to 3‐fold higher during AC (P < 0.05 versus CON). Acetylcarnitine (ACn) concentration was 6‐fold higher prior to AC and remained higher during exercise. Phosphocreatine (PCr) concentration was similar prior to exercise but the decrease was 2‐fold greater during AC than during CON. The time constant for the initial kinetics (phase II) was similar but the asymptote was 14% higher during AC. The slow increase in between 3 and 10 min of exercise during CON (+7.9 ± 0.2%) was not correlated with muscle or blood lactate levels. PHE eliminated the slow increase in and reduced gross exercise efficiency during AC. It is concluded that the slow component cannot be explained by a progressive acidosis because both muscle and blood lactate levels remained stable during CON. We suggest that both the slow component during CON and the reduced gross efficiency during AC are related to impaired contractility of the working fibres and the necessity to recruit additional motor units. Despite a pronounced stockpiling of ACn during AC, initial kinetics were not affected by PHE and PCr concentration decreased to a lower plateau. The discrepancy with previous studies, where initial oxidative ATP generation appears to be limited by acetyl group availability, might relate to remaining fatiguing effects of PHE.
Is There a Delay in the Onset of the Antidepressant Effect of Electroconvulsive Therapy?

The severity of depression in 11 drug-free unipolar patients diagnosed with definite major depressive disorder was assessed using the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression during a course (5–10 treatments) of bilateral electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). The degree of improvement after three treatments of ECT was six times greater than the improvement that occurred over the remainder of the course. Although depressed patients who recover with ECT require repeated treatments, the treatments early in a course of ECT can have marked antidepressant effect.
Performance of Optical OFDM in Ultralong-Haul WDM Lightwave Systems

We show, using simulations, that a combination of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) and optical single sideband modulation can be used to compensate for chromatic dispersion in ultralong-haul wavelength-division multiplexed (WDM) systems. OFDM provides a high spectral efficiency, does not require a reverse feedback path for compensation, and has a better sensitivity than nonreturn to zero. This paper provides design rules for 800-4000-km optical-OFDM systems. The effects of WDM channel number and spacing, fiber dispersion, and input power per channel on the received Q are studied using extensive numerical simulations. These effects are summarized as a set of design rules
Bilateral G2P accuracy: Measuring the effect of variants

Incorporating pronunciation variants in a dictionary is controversial, as this can be either advantageous or detrimental for a speech recognition system. Grapheme-to-phoneme (G2P) accuracy can help guide this decision, but calculating the G2P accuracy of variant-based dictionaries is not fully straightforward. We propose a variant matching technique to measure G2P accuracy in a principled way, when both the reference and hypothesised dictionaries may include variants. We use the new measure to evaluate G2P accuracy and speech recognition performance of systems developed with an existing set of dictionaries, and observe a better correlation between G2P accuracy and speech recognition performance, than when utilising alternative metrics.
Sleep after a Bedtime Beverage

Sleep after an inert capsule was compared with sleep after a hot, bedtime, milk-cereal drink (Horlicks). All-night electrophysiological recordings were made with 18 persons on 10 nights each. Restlessness during sleep at the end of the night was diminished after Horlicks in a group of 10 young adults. In an older group of eight adults, mean age 55 years, sleep after Horlicks was of longer total duration and was less broken by periods of wakefulness. In the latter group the improvement associated with Horlicks was most apparent late in the night and it increased with repeated administration.
Finding similar and discriminative parts of deformable shape classes

This paper presents a novel representation and matching method for deformable shapes. The proposed approach finds most expressive segments of a deformable shape category called similar and discriminative parts, which is able to distinguish the learned shape class from other groups. And it leads a learning strategy together with a matching algorithm. Then we test our method with MPEG-7 data set.
Sensor data fusion based position estimation techniques in mobile robot navigation

This paper gives an overview about the position estimation techniques based on typical measurement devices used in mobile robot applications. The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the position estimation based on the fusion of information from several sensors. It presents different extensions of Kalman filter estimators and analyses the performances of these algorithms. There are compared several estimation techniques like the Extended or Unscented Kalman filters and the particle methods. Furthermore modelling details and stereo vision algorithms are introduced. In the second part there are shown the results of the odometric, ultrasonic measurements techniques and the ones based on stereo vision.
Antigenic and immunogenic mimicry of the HER2/neu oncoprotein by phage‐displayed peptides

To recover peptides that antigenically and immunogenically mimic the p185HER2 oncoprotein, we selected the phage‐peptide libraries pVIII‐9aa and pVIII‐9aa. Cys using murine monoclonal antibodies (mAb) MGr2 and MGr6, directed against two distinct epitopes of the p185HER2 extracellular domain. Phagedisplayed peptides containing consensus amino acid motifs were recovered and shown to compete specifically for mAb binding on tumor cells that overexpress p185HER2. The deduced amino acid sequence of the peptides suggests that both epitopes defined by the mAb on p185HER2 are discontinuous and that hydrophobic interactions are involved in binding with the mAb. A phage clone displaying the GPLDSLFAQ peptide elicited a specific immune response against the p185HER2 in BALB/c mice, demonstrating that this phage‐displayed peptide represents an immunological equivalent of the MGr2 epitope on p185HER2 and might be used as a substitute for this oncoprotein in in vitro and in vivo immunological studies.
Base station blossoming and withering technique for heterogeneous wireless networks using fuzzy logic

As the demands of coverage and bandwidth increases day by day, the power consumption in wireless network becomes serious issue that needs optimization. Mainly, most of the power in wireless network is consumed in the base stations as transmission power. Reducing the transmission power may affect the QoS at the network. In practice, the network base stations load varies according to the traffic density in the region. Therefore, at low traffic density, most of the base stations are operating on partial load. This fact motivates the concept of blossoming and withering of the small base stations to utilize the full capacity of the operating base stations, and preserving more power by withering the rest of base stations. The rate of change of the network traffic density is not flat throughout the day or week. To accommodate the change of the traffic pattern and optimize the network blossomed and withered small base stations, fuzzy logic inference system is proposed. The proposed fuzzy system measures the traffic of the system and its rate of change and accordingly estimates the percentages of the small base stations to blossom and the delay required to avoid the ping-pong phenomena in the base stations. For the proposed fuzzy to keep track of the current status of the network, the percentage of blossomed small base stations is fed back as input. The results show that the capacity of the network can be maintained during different traffic loads while reducing the total power of transmission by withering some small base stations during low traffic load. The proposed system reserved up to 36.37% of the transmission power.
A Meta-Model Ontology based on Scenarios

This paper describes a proof-of-concept designed to test a meta-model ontology based on scenarios for representing the procedural knowledge of a given domain. The research was conducted as part of a study on methodologies to build ontologies for Information Systems. The frequent use of scenarios in the initial steps of the methodologies motivated us to investigate its use in the process of building ontologies for IS modeling. This research proposes the use of the components of scenarios as constructs of a meta-model ontology. With this approach, the process of building scenarios about a domain is mingled with the process of building domain ontologies.
Dosimetry of electromagnetic field exposure of an active armlet and its electromagnetic interference to the cardiac pacemakers using adult, child and infant models

ABSTRACT Wearable devices have been popularly used with people from different age groups. As a consequence, the concerns of their electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure to the human body and their electromagnetic interference (EMI) to the implanted medical devices have attracted many studies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the human exposure to the EMF of an active radiofrequency identification (RFID) armlet as well as its EMI to the cardiac pacemaker (CP). Different human models from various age groups were applied to assess the result variability. The scalar potential finite element method was utilized in the simulation. Local EMF exposure and the exposure to the central nerve system tissues were evaluated using different metrics. EMI to the CP was assessed in terms of the conducted voltage to the CP. The results from all the models revealed that the studied RFID armlet would not produce the EMF exposure exceeding the safety limits. The calculated interference voltage was highly dependent on the distance between the RFID armlet and the CP (i.e. the physical dimension of the individual model). The results proposed to evaluate the appropriateness of the current EMI measurement protocol for this kind of devices used by the infants.
Preparative separation of poliovirus structural polypeptides by sodium dodecyl sulfate‐polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, copper staining and electroelution, and induction of monospecific antisera

Viral polypeptides were prepared by sodium dodecyl sulfate‐polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS‐PAGE) followed by copper staining and electroelution from gel slices. Poliovirus capsid polypeptide VP 1 isolated by this procedure induced monospecific antibodies in rabbits, i. e. , antisera reacting only with the homologous polypeptide. Our results demonstrate the applicability of the described copper staining method as a rapid visualization step for preparing viral proteins after SDS‐PAGE.
Decentralization, fiscal transfers and income inequality in Central and Eastern European countries

Although income redistribution is primarily a central government responsibility, decentralization can improve or deteriorate the equity in resource and income redistribution depending on how the process of decentralization is designed and implemented. This paper provides empirical evidence on the association between fiscal decentralization and income distribution for a panel of 11 economies from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) during 1995-2011. In these regards, we focus on three research topics: the effect of decentralization on income inequality; the effects of the structure of local government finance on income inequality; and the validity of the Kuznets-hypothesis. The main findings from the empirical exercise are as follows: first, we cannot provide firm evidence on the presumes favourable effects of fiscal decentralization on income distribution in the CEE countries; second, our empirical model suggests that the effects of fiscal decentralization on income inequality depend on the source of finance of sub-national governments, i.e. intergovernmental transfers might have a role in income equalization; third, we provide empirical support for the validity of the Kuznets-hypothesis in the CEE countries in which there is a nonlinear relationship between the level of economic development and income inequality.
ADP-induced platelet aggregation and platelet reactivity index VASP are good predictive markers for clinical outcomes in non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome

Summary Clopidogrel responsiveness has been proposed to be involved in recurrent ischemic events after stenting for non-ST elevation acute coronary syndromes (NSTE ACS). However, its biological definition is not consensual. We assess the value ofADP-induced platelet aggregation (ADP-Ag) and platelet reactivity indexVASP (PRI VASP) in predicting recurrent ischemic events in patients with NSTE ACS undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We studied 195 consecutive NSTE ACS patients undergoing PCI after a 600 mg loading dose of clopidogrel. ADPAg and PRI VASP were analysed. The primary end-point was recurrent ischemic events within 30 days of PCI. It occurred in 14 patients (7%). Construction of ROC curves to examine the value of predictive models showed that sensitivity and specificity for primary endpoint were 79% and 76%, respectively, for a maximal intensity of ADP-Ag ≥70%, 93% and 50% for PRIVASP> 53%. The positive and negative predictive values were 21% and 98%, respectively, for ADP-Ag ≥70%, 12% and 99% for PRIVASP> 53%. In patients with NSTE ACS undergoing PCI, ADP-Ag and PRI VASP identify low responders to clopidogrel with an increased risk of recurrent ischemic events with respective cut-off values of 70% and 53%.
Computational biology of RNA interactions

The biodiversity of the RNA world has been underestimated for decades. RNA molecules are key building blocks, sensors, and regulators of modern cells. The biological function of RNA molecules cannot be separated from their ability to bind to and interact with a wide space of chemical species, including small molecules, nucleic acids, and proteins. Computational chemists, physicists, and biologists have developed a rich tool set for modeling and predicting RNA interactions. These interactions are to some extent determined by the binding conformation of the RNA molecule. RNA binding conformations are approximated with often acceptable accuracy by sequence and secondary structure motifs. Secondary structure ensembles of a given RNA molecule can be efficiently computed in many relevant situations by employing a standard energy model for base pair interactions and dynamic programming techniques. The case of bi‐molecular RNA–RNA interactions can be seen as an extension of this approach. However, unbiased transcriptome‐wide scans for local RNA–RNA interactions are computationally challenging yet become efficient if the binding motif/mode is known and other external information can be used to confine the search space. Computational methods are less developed for proteins and small molecules, which bind to RNA with very high specificity. Binding descriptors of proteins are usually determined by in vitro high‐throughput assays (e.g., microarrays or sequencing). Intriguingly, recent experimental advances, which are mostly based on light‐induced cross‐linking of binding partners, render in vivo binding patterns accessible yet require new computational methods for careful data interpretation. The grand challenge is to model the in vivo situation where a complex interplay of RNA binders competes for the same target RNA molecule. Evidently, bioinformaticians are just catching up with the impressive pace of these developments. WIREs RNA 2013, 4:107–120. doi: 10.1002/wrna.1147
Bisphosphonate-associated Atypical Fractures that are not “Atypical Femoral Fractures”

Aims: Responding to the steadily increasing number of unusual subtrochanteric and mid-shaft femoral (ST/FS) fractures in persons treated with the bisphosphonate drugs since the index cases were described in 2003, the American Society of Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) convened a committee tasked with finding a precise definition. Their present definition, a composite from two publications, includes the morphological characteristics of low trauma, origin as an insufficiency fracture, transverse/oblique orientation with/without comminution, cortical thickening, and beaking at the cortex when complete. These fractures must occur in mid-femur, below the lesser trochanter and above the supracondylar flare. They became known as Atypical Femur Fractures (AFFs). The index cases included about an equal number of fractures meeting this definition and similar fractures in other locations. Despite this, attention was focused on the ST/FS definition and a large number of publications ensued describing these. However, publications in the medical literature as early as 1986 contained descriptions of non-femur fractures associated with bisphosphonate Review Article Hinshaw and Schneider; BJMMR, 19(7): 1-17, 2017; Article no.BJMMR. 31269 2 therapy and the number of these reported has grown slowly contemporaneously with reports of femur fractures meeting the ASBMR definition. The present authors have been following the development of these non-AFF bisphosphonateassociated fractures since 2005 and have collected a large amount of historical and current information on the subject. We find that many useful inferences about the phenomenon can be derived from consideration of it as a systemic rather than localized effect. We aim to provide a summary of this subset up to the present time and to discuss the implications of these data. Methodology: We queried the OVID Medline database as detailed below. Results and Discussion: We identified 102 individual or case series which reported more than 166 atypical non-AFF fractures. In the Discussion, we review the current state of the evidence upon which the assumed antifracture benefit of the drugs rests and show that these atypical fractures, when added to the AFFs, reduce even more the typically claimed benefit-to-harm ratio. Conclusion: We intend this review as a resource for individuals wishing to follow developments in this field. We also present our conclusions about the implications of the accumulated evidence and the general state of associated knowledge.
Trend analysis for blue and green water resources in the Weihe River basin of Northwest China during the past thirty years and in the near future

Climate change is an important factor affecting the availability of both blue and green water resources. Analyzing changing trends of green and blue water enhances our understanding of the potential influences climate change may have on different water sources, subsequently informing the development of water resources management. In this study, we simulated blue water flow, green water flow and green water storage by using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) at the Weihe River basin. We then analyzed the changing trends from 1972 to 2012 at different spatial scales by using the Mann-Kendall (M-K) and Theil-Sen Median (TSM) methods. The M-K and TSM analyses showed that the green water flow, blue water flow and the green water storage were decreased from 1972 to 2012 at the whole river basin. At the sub-basin level, the change of blue/green water trends varied among locations within a basin. The Hurst exponent results indicated that the blue and green water resources will be decreased at the whole river basin, but their future change will be different at the level of sub-river basin. For the Beiluohe River basin, the blue water flow will continue to increase, while the green water flow and green water storage will decrease. However, the green water storage will continue to increase in the Jinghe River basin, while the blue water flow and the green water flow will decrease.
Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy in patients with sarcoidosis

Editors' Note: In response to the article “Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy in patients with sarcoidosis,” Drs. Lefaucheur et al. report a patient with sarcoidosis developing possible progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy despite 4 negative JC virus CSF PCRs and being treated with mirtazapine and IV immunoglobulin. Authors Jamilloux et al. comment on the case. In reference to “Contribution of Alzheimer disease to mortality in the United States,” Dr. Campbell-Taylor calls attention to the confusion surrounding the completion and interpretation of death certificates. Authors James et al. clarify their methodology and make the insightful point that pinpointing a single cause of death may not accurately characterize the process of dying for many older people. —Megan Alcauskas, MD, and Robert C. Griggs, MD We read the article by Jamilloux et al.1 with interest. As …