Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
How Will Drivers Take Back Control in Automated Vehicles? A Driving Simulator Test of an Interleaving Framework

We explore the transfer of control from an automated vehicle to the driver. Based on data from N=19 participants who participated in a driving simulator experiment, we find evidence that the transfer of control often does not take place in one step. In other words, when the automated system requests the transfer of control back to the driver, the driver often does not simply stop the non-driving task. Rather, the transfer unfolds as a process of interleaving the non-driving and driving tasks. We also find that the process is moderated by the length of time available for the transfer of control: interleaving is more likely when more time is available. Our interface designs for automated vehicles must take these results into account so as to allow drivers to safely take back control from automation.
HMInference: Inferring Multimodal HMI Interactions in Automotive Screens

Driving requires high cognitive capabilities in which drivers need to be able to focus on first-level driving tasks. However, each interaction with the User Interface (UI) system presents a potential distraction. Designing UIs based on insights from field-collected user interaction logs, as well as real-time estimation of the most probable interaction modality, can contribute to engineering focus-supporting UIs. However, the question arises of how user interactions can be predicted in in-the-wild driving scenarios. In this paper, we present HMInference, an automotive machine-learning framework which exploits user interaction log data. HMInference analyzes the interaction sequences of users based on UI domains (e.g., navigation, media, settings) and driving context (e.g., vehicle trajectory) to predict different interaction modalities (e.g., touch, speech). In 10-fold cross-validation, HMInference achieves a mean accuracy of 73.2% (SD: 0.02). Our work advances areas where user interaction prediction for in-car scenarios is required e.g., to enable adaptive system designs.
Exploring Privacy Aspects of Smartphone Notifications

Notifications are one of the most important features of mobile devices. Users receive multitudes of notifications every day. These notifications often carry sensitive content such as private messages, financial information, authentication tokens, etc. To understand privacy considerations related to notification content and delivery, we conducted a study in which participants (n = 206) described their preferences and practices regarding smartphone notifications. A majority of the participants (61%) reported at least one negative experience connected to notifications. We report on various privacy violations that arise due to notifications, such as unwanted information disclosure, intimacy breach, and inopportune intrusion. Our work contributes to a better understanding of privacy risks presented by notifications on mobile devices and points to several design suggestions for privacy-sensitive notification delivery mechanisms.
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Support: Comparison of Wrist-, Chest-, and Ear-Worn Devices and Estimation Algorithms

Chest compressions (CC) are the most important means of treating cardiac arrest but are challenging to perform. Real-time feedback of depth and rate can improve CC quality. For the first time, we compared three wearable positions and six depth, and rate estimation algorithms under the same conditions. We share their optimal tuning parameters. Our evaluation of earables results in a new prime candidate for high-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) feedback. For depth estimation on chest, wrist, and ear the median absolute deviation (MAD) was 3.4 mm, 4.5 mm, and 5.9 mm, respectively (target depth range: 50-60 mm). Though not necessary for effective CC, fusing sensor locations reduces the depth MAD further to 3.2 mm. CC rate was estimated at less than 1.6 compressions per minute (cpm) MAD in all configurations. Hence, all wearables and algorithms give precise input for live-saving CPR.
User Burden of Microinteractions: An In-lab Experiment Examining User Performance and Perceived Burden Related to In-situ Self-reporting

In-situ self-reporting on smartwatches has been widely-used to collect data about participants’ experience. Yet it places a burden on participants by requiring immediate response in context. Such user burden can be studied through users’ performance and perceptions. This paper evaluates six interaction techniques to study user burden of in-situ self-reporting from both performance and perception aspects under three simulated scenarios (i.e., gaming, social chatting, and walking) through an in-lab experiment with twenty-four participants. Findings show that user performance was not always aligned with their perceived burden owing to factors such as users’ acceptable interaction technique features for self-reporting, the context of use, and users’ acquired skills over time. This study also sheds lights onto how user burden is experienced across different stages of a self-reporting microinteraction. Reflecting on findings, we discuss the implications for understanding and minimizing user burden related to in-situ self-reporting and as well as other types of microinteractions.
ARO: Exploring the Design of Smart-Ring Interactions for Encumbered Hands

Fingertip computing has seen increased interest through miniaturized smart-rings for augmenting digital peripherals. One key advantages of such always-available input devices is the non-necessity to hold a device for interaction, as it remains affixed to a finger for access when needed. Such a wearable device makes it possible to interaction with content even when the hand is encumbered, by grasping or holding objects. Our investigation aims at understanding the properties of this fundamental smart-ring advantage. We designed a smart-ring prototype, ARO (in-Air, on-Ring, on-Object interaction), which facilitates input while grasping objects. To better identify interaction possibilities, we present the results of an elicitation study through which we grouped various forms of micro-gestures possible with ARO while holding objects under different grasp requirements. We then explored the ability for users to perform different navigation tasks (i.e. zooming and panning) using the smart-ring with encumbered hands. In our studies, users were most efficient when using either In-air or On-ring interactions, in comparisons to gestures detected On-object. Furthermore, In-air was the most preferred by our participants. Based on our findings, we conclude with recommendations for the design of future smart-rings and fingertip devices at large, to allow efficient interaction while hands are encumbered.
Head and Neck Cancer Literacy in Nigeria: A systematic Review of the Literature

Abstract Introduction: Head and neck cancer (HNC), oral cancer inclusive (OC), is one of the major causes of cancer-related deaths globally, especially in Nigeria – a developing African country. Public literacy about HNC plays a very crucial role in HNC prevention. Aim: This study aimed to systematically review existing literature on literacy of HNC in Nigeria. Methods: We searched the PubMed, Google Scholar and AJOL databases for all relevant English articles published on HNC literacy in Nigeria from January 2000 till October 2020. Only relevant articles were included for the study. Quality assessment of the full text of the included articles was done using the Appraisal Tool for Cross-Sectional Studies (AXIS); also, relevant data were extracted from these articles and analyzed thematically. Results: A total of 21 articles (19 surveys and 2 interventional studies), which studied a total population of 7,883 people, were included in the study. All the included articles were rated “excellent” (70 – 100%), regarding quality. The awareness rates of HNC/OC, as documented in the included studies, ranged from 0% to 100%; however, the rate recorded in the majority of these studies was <50%. In-depth knowledge of HNC/OC was found to be generally poor among the surveyed population groups; however, education intervention was found to improve in-depth knowledge of HNC and attitudes toward peer and nonpeer education about HNC among Nigerians. Conclusion: The level of knowledge regarding HNC, in Nigeria, is low. The use of relevant health education programs to boost knowledge about HNC among the Nigerian public is highly recommended.
Egg intake moderates the rate of memory decline in healthy older adults

Abstract Eggs contain important compounds related to enhanced cognition, but it is not clear if egg consumption, as a whole, has a direct impact on memory decline in older adults. This study aimed to determine whether egg intake levels predict the rate of memory decline in healthy older adults after sociodemographic and dietary controls. We conducted a secondary analysis of data from 470 participants, age 50 and over, from the Biospsychosocial Religion and Health Study. Participants completed a food frequency questionnaire, which was used to calculate egg intake and divide participants into Low (<23 g/week, about half an egg), Intermediate (24–63 g/week, half to 1½ eggs) and High (≥63 g/week, about two or more eggs) tertiles. Participants were administered the California Verbal Learning Test – 2nd Edition (CVLT-II) Short Form in 2006–2007, and 294 of them were again tested in 2010–2011. Using linear mixed model analysis, no significant cross-sectional differences were observed in CVLT-II performance between egg intake levels after controlling for age, sex, race, education, body mass index, cardiovascular risk, depression and intake of meat, fish, dairy and fruits/vegetables. Longitudinally, the Intermediate egg group exhibited significantly slower rates of decline on the CVLT-II compared to the Low egg group. The High egg group also exhibited slower rates of decline, but not statistically significant. Thus, limited consumption of eggs (about 1 egg/week) was associated with slower memory decline in late life compared to consuming little to no eggs, but a dose-response effect was not clearly evident. This study may help explain discrepancies in previous research that did not control for other dietary intakes and risk factors.
Paralonchothrix gen. nov., the first record of Echimyini (Rodentia, Octodontoidea) in the late Miocene of Southern South America

ABSTRACT Echimyidae is the most widely diversified family among hystricognath rodents, both in the number of species and variety of lifestyles. In the Patagonian Subregion of southern South America, extinct echimyids related to living arboreal species (Echimyini) are recorded up to the middle Miocene, whereas all the known southern fossils since the late Miocene are linked to terrestrial and fossorial lineages currently inhabiting the Chacoan open biome in eastern South America. In this work, we describe a new genus of echimyid rodent, Paralonchothrix gen. nov., from the late Miocene of northwestern Argentina and western Brazil. Its single recognised species, Paralonchothrix ponderosus comb. nov., is represented by two hemimandibles. One of them comes from a level of Loma de Las Tapias Formation, underlying a tuff dated at 7.0 ± 0.9 Ma (Huayquerian age, late Miocene); the other specimen comes from the ‘Araucanense’ of Valle de Santa María (type locality, Huayquerian age, late Miocene). A phylogenetic analysis linked Paralonchothrix to Lonchothrix, both being the sister group to Mesomys. Thereby, for the first time, an echimyid linked to living Amazonian arboreal clades is recognised for the late Miocene of southern South America. Paralonchothrix gen. nov. thus represents an exceptional record that raises the need to review the postulated evolutionary pattern for echimyids recorded at high latitudes since the late Miocene. The new genus provides a minimum age (ca.7 Ma) in the fossil record for the divergence between Mesomys and Lonchothrix. The palaeoenvironmental conditions inferred for the late Miocene in western and northwestern Argentina suggest savanna-type environments, with areas with more closed woodlands in peri-Andean valleys. The record of Paralonchothrix gen. nov. supports the hypothesis that this area would have maintained connections with tropical biomes of northern South America during the late Miocene.
3D‐Printed Pneumatically Controlled Soft Suction Cups for Gripping Fragile, Small, and Rough Objects

A 3D‐printed pneumatically actuated soft suction gripper with an elastomer film is proposed. Suction in such gripper is actively controlled by applying a negative pressure behind the film. The elastomeric gripper body is 3D‐printed, making it easy to customize and integrate into future robotic gripping systems. The gripper can pick a wide variety of objects, such as delicate fruits, small parts, and parts with uneven loads, with high pull‐off forces (over 7.4 N with ∅ 20 mm/55 kPa). The achieved pull‐off forces are significantly higher than the previously reported suction cup grippers with films and more comparable with commercial vacuum grippers. The pull‐off forces show no significant differences with surfaces of varying roughness (up to root‐mean‐square roughness of 5.66 μm) and the gripper is able to pick and release target objects repeatedly. The gripper is also compared with a commercial vacuum gripper with comparable dimensions. It outperforms the commercial gripper in the case of fragile objects, objects smaller than the gripper diameter, and objects with uneven loads. It can apply high pull‐off forces while having controllable release, and is suitable for gripping a wide variety of real‐world objects, including heavy, rough, small, thin, and fragile ones.
Helical metaphase chromatid coiling is conserved

The higher-order organization of metaphase chromosomes has been debated for almost 140 years. Classical light and electron microscopy studies suggested that chromatids are composed of helically organized chromatin fibers (chromonemata). Non-helical models were also recently proposed. We studied chromosome organization in barley using cutting-edge approaches and obtained evidence for a helically arranged 400-nm chromatin fiber representing the chromonema within chromatid arms. The number of turns is positively correlated with arm length. Turn size and chromatin density decrease towards the telomeres. Due to their specialized functions, the helical organization of centromeres and nucleolus-organizing regions is interrupted by several thinner, straight chromatin fibers. A comparison with previously published data indicates that the helical turning of metaphase chromatid arms is a conserved feature of large eukaryotic chromosomes.
Adipocyte-specific modulation of KLF14 expression in mice leads to sex-dependent impacts in adiposity and lipid metabolism

Genome-wide association studies identified single nucleotide polymorphisms on chromosome 7 upstream of KLF14 to be associated with metabolic syndrome traits and increased risk for Type 2 Diabetes (T2D). The associations were more significant in women than in men. The risk allele carriers expressed lower levels of the transcription factor KLF14 in adipose tissues than non-risk allele carriers. To investigate how adipocyte KLF14 regulates metabolic traits in a sex-dependent manner, we characterized high-fat diet fed male and female mice with adipocyte-specific Klf14 deletion or overexpression. Klf14 deletion resulted in increased fat mass in female mice and decreased fat mass in male mice. Female Klf14-deficient mice had overall smaller adipocytes in subcutaneous fat depots but larger adipocytes in parametrial depots, indicating a shift in lipid storage from subcutaneous to visceral fat depots. They had reduced metabolic rates and increased respiratory exchange ratios consistent with increased utilization of carbohydrates as an energy source. Fasting and isoproterenol-induced adipocyte lipolysis was defective in female Klf14-deficient mice and concomitantly adipocyte triglycerides lipase mRNA levels were downregulated. Female Klf14-deficient mice cleared blood triglyceride and NEFA less efficiently than wild type. Finally, adipocyte-specific overexpression of Klf14 resulted in lower total body fat in female but not male mice. Taken together, consistent with human studies, adipocyte KLF14 deficiency in female but not in male mice causes increased adiposity and redistribution of lipid storage from subcutaneous to visceral adipose tissues. Increasing KLF14 abundance in adipocytes of females with obesity and T2D may provide a novel treatment option to alleviate metabolic abnormalities.
A histidine cluster determines YY1-compartmentalized coactivators and chromatin elements in phase-separated super-enhancers

As an oncogenic transcription factor, Yin Yang 1 (YY1) regulates enhancer and promoter connection. However, gaps still exist in understanding how YY1 coordinates coactivators and chromatin elements to assemble super-enhancers. Here, we demonstrate that YY1 activates FOXM1 gene expression through forming liquid-liquid phase separation to compartmentalize both coactivators and enhancer elements. In the transactivation domain of YY1, a histidine cluster is essential for its activities of forming phase separation, which can be extended to additional proteins. Coactivators EP300, BRD4, MED1 and active RNA polymerase II are components of YY1-rich nuclear puncta. Consistently, histone markers for gene activation, but not repression, colocalize with YY1. Importantly, multiple enhancer elements and the FOXM1 promoter are bridged by YY1 to form super-enhancers. These studies propose that YY1 is a general transcriptional activator, and promotes phase separation with incorporation of major coactivators and stabilization by distal enhancers to activate target gene expression.
ppGpp Is Present in and Functions to Regulate Sleep in Drosophila

Discovery of molecules in living systems and demonstration of their functional roles are pivotal in furthering our understanding of the molecular basis of biology. ppGpp (guanosine-5’-diphosphate, 3’-diphosphate) has been detected in prokaryotes for more than five decades. Here we report that a genetic screen followed by chemical analysis revealed the presence of ppGpp in Drosophila. It can be detected in germ-free Drosophila and its level is controlled by an enzyme encoded by the mesh1 gene in Drosophila. Loss of function mutations in mesh1, which encoded the ppGpp degrading enzyme led to longer sleep latency and less total sleep. These phenotypes could be rescued by wild type mesh1, but not by the enzymatically defective mutant Mesh1E66A, functionally implicating ppGpp. Ectopic expression of RelA, the E. coli synthetase for ppGpp, phenocopied mesh1 knockout mutants, whereas overexpression of mesh1 resulted in the opposite phenotypes, supporting that ppGpp is both necessary and sufficient in sleep regulation. mesh1 is expressed in a specific population of neurons, and a chemoconnectomic screen followed by genetic intersection experiments implicate the pars intercerebralis (PI) as the site of ppGpp function. Our results have thus revealed that ppGpp is present in animals after long lag since its discovery in bacteria. Furthermore, we have demonstrated that ppGpp in a specific subset of neurons plays a physiological role in regulating sleep. We speculate that ppGpp may play function in mammals.
The Beta-Tubulin Isotype TUBB6 Controls Microtubule and Actin Dynamics in Osteoclasts

Osteoclasts are bone resorbing cells that participate in the maintenance of bone health. Pathological increase in osteoclast activity causes bone loss eventually resulting in osteoporosis. Actin cytoskeleton of osteoclasts organizes into a belt of podosomes, which sustains the bone resorption apparatus and is maintained by microtubules. Better understanding of the molecular mechanisms regulating osteoclast cytoskeleton is key to understand the mechanisms of bone resorption, in particular to propose new strategies against osteoporosis. We reported recently that β-tubulin isotype TUBB6 is key for cytoskeleton organization in osteoclasts and for bone resorption. Here, using an osteoclast model CRISPR/Cas9 KO for Tubb6, we show that TUBB6 controls both microtubule and actin dynamics in osteoclasts. Osteoclasts KO for Tubb6 have reduced microtubule growth speed with longer growth life time, higher levels of acetylation and smaller EB1-caps. On the other hand, lack of TUBB6 increases podosome life time while the belt of podosomes is destabilized. Finally, we performed proteomic analyses of osteoclast microtubule-associated protein enriched fractions. This highlighted ARHGAP10 as a new microtubule-associated protein, which binding to microtubules appears to be negatively regulated by TUBB6. ARHGAP10 is a negative regulator of CDC42 activity, which participates in actin organization in osteoclasts. Our results suggest that TUBB6 plays a key role in the control of microtubule and actin cytoskeleton dynamics in osteoclasts. Moreover, by controlling ARHGAP10 association with microtubules, TUBB6 may participate in the local control CDC42 activity to ensure efficient bone resorption.
Accurate Name Entity Recognition for Biomedical Literatures: A Combined High-quality Manual Annotation and Deep-learning Natural Language Processing Study

A combined high-quality manual annotation and deep-learning natural language processing study is reported to make accurate name entity recognition (NER) for biomedical literatures. A home-made version of entity annotation guidelines on biomedical literatures was constructed. Our manual annotations have an overall over 92% consistency for all the four entity types — gene, variant, disease and species —with the same publicly available annotated corpora from other experts previously. A total of 400 full biomedical articles from PubMed are annotated based on our home-made entity annotation guidelines. Both a BERT-based large model and a DistilBERT-based simplified model were constructed, trained and optimized for offline and online inference, respectively. The F1-scores of NER of gene, variant, disease and species for the BERT-based model are 97.28%, 93.52%, 92.54% and 95.76%, respectively, while those for the DistilBERT-based model are 95.14%, 86.26%, 91.37% and 89.92%, respectively. The F1 scores of the DistilBERT-based NER model retains 97.8%, 92.2%, 98.7% and 93.9% of those of BERT-based NER for gene, variant, disease and species, respectively. Moreover, the performance for both our BERT-based NER model and DistilBERT-based NER model outperforms that of the state-of-art model—BioBERT, indicating the significance to train an NER model on biomedical-domain literatures jointly with high-quality annotated datasets.
Individual differences in behavioral and electrophysiological signatures of familiarity- and recollection-based recognition memory

Our everyday memories can vary in terms of accuracy and phenomenology. According to one theoretical account, these differences hinge on whether the memories contain information about both an item itself as well as associated details (remember) versus those that are devoid of these associated contextual details (familiar). This distinction has been supported by computational modeling of behavior, studies in patients, and neuroimaging work including differences both in electrophysiological and functional magnetic resonance imaging. At present, however, little evidence has emerged to suggest that neurophysiological measures track individual differences in estimates of recollection and familiarity. Here, we conducted electrophysiological recordings of brain activity during a recognition memory task designed to differentiate between behavioral indices of recollection and familiarity. Non-parametric cluster-based permutation analyses revealed associations between electrophysiological signatures of familiarity and recollection with their respective behavioral estimates. These results support the idea that recollection and familiarity are distinct phenomena and is the first, to our knowledge, to identify distinct electrophysiological signatures that track individual differences in these processes.