Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sexual dimorphism in human cranial trait scores: effects of population, age, and body size.

Sex estimation from the skull is commonly performed by physical and forensic anthropologists using a five-trait scoring system developed by Walker. Despite the popularity of this method, validation studies evaluating its accuracy across a variety of samples are lacking. Furthermore, it remains unclear what other intrinsic or extrinsic variables are related to the expression of these traits. In this study, cranial trait scores and postcranial measurements were collected from four diverse population groups (U.S. Whites, U.S. Blacks, medieval Nubians, and Arikara Native Americans) following Walker's protocols (total n = 499). Univariate and multivariate analyses were utilized to evaluate the accuracy of these traits in sex estimation, and to test for the effects of population, age, and body size on trait expressions. Results revealed significant effects of population on all trait scores. Sample-specific correct sex classification rates ranged from 74% to 94%, with an overall accuracy of 85% for the pooled sample. Classification performance varied among the traits (best for glabella and mastoid scores and worst for nuchal scores). Furthermore, correlations between traits were weak or nonsignificant, suggesting that different factors may influence individual traits. Some traits displayed correlations with age and/or postcranial size that were significant but weak, and within-population analyses did not reveal any consistent relationships between these traits across all groups. These results indicate that neither age nor body size plays a large role in trait expression, and thus does not need to be incorporated into sex estimation methods.
Lagrange multiplier setting for lp-CS based DOA estimation

This paper considers the problem on setting an appropriate value of Lagrange multiplier for lp Compressive Sensing(CS) based DOA estimation. The proposed method utilizes the receiver noise energy information, and updates the Lagrange multiplier at each iteration step. The proposed method successfully estimates DOA peaks without losing desired peaks and suppress fictitious peaks.
Decentralized formation control with connectivity maintenance and collision avoidance under limited and intermittent sensing

A decentralized switched controller is developed for dynamic agents to perform global formation configuration convergence while maintaining network connectivity and avoiding collision within agents and between stationary obstacles, using only local feedback under limited and intermittent sensing. Due to the intermittent sensing, constant position feedback may not be available for agents all the time. Intermittent sensing can also lead to a disconnected network or collisions between agents. Using a navigation function framework, a decentralized switched controller is developed to navigate the agents to the desired positions while ensuring network maintenance and collision avoidance. Simulation results are provided to illustrate the performance of the developed controller.
Visualization of Principal Curvature Directions by Anisotropic Diffusion

Anisotropic diffusion is known to be a powerful tool in image processing. It enables the smoothing of initially noisy images while still retaining, respectively sharpening edges and enhancing features. Here recent results in the context of vector field visualization are expanded to non Euclidean domains. The aim is to graphically represent vector field data on two dimensional surfaces in an intuitively understandable way. Furthermore the multiscale properties of the approach support a scale of resolutions, ranging from detailed flow representation to a coarse overview of field data. Here an initial noisy image intensity is smoothed along integral lines, whereas the image is mainly sharpened in the orthogonal direction. The method is based on a continuous model and requires the solution of a parabolic PDE problem on manifolds. It is discretized by finite elements on surface triangulations only in the final implementational step. Applications are shown for principal directions of curvature on general surfaces.
Blocked Inference in Bayesian Tree Substitution Grammars

Learning a tree substitution grammar is very challenging due to derivational ambiguity. Our recent approach used a Bayesian non-parametric model to induce good derivations from treebanked input (Cohn et al., 2009), biasing towards small grammars composed of small generalisable productions. In this paper we present a novel training method for the model using a blocked Metropolis-Hastings sampler in place of the previous method's local Gibbs sampler. The blocked sampler makes considerably larger moves than the local sampler and consequently converges in less time. A core component of the algorithm is a grammar transformation which represents an infinite tree substitution grammar in a finite context free grammar. This enables efficient blocked inference for training and also improves the parsing algorithm. Both algorithms are shown to improve parsing accuracy.
Boltzmann Samplers for v-balanced Colored Necklaces

This paper is devoted to the random generation of particular colored necklaces for which the number of beads of a given color is constrained (these necklaces are called v-balanced). We propose an efficient sampler (its expected time complexity is linear) which satisfies the Boltzmann model principle introduced by Duchon, Flajolet, Louchard and Schaeffer. Our main motivation is to show that the absence of a decomposable specification can be circumvented by mixing the Boltzmann samplers with other types of samplers.
Software Requirements Conflict Identification: Review and Recommendations

Successful development of software systems re-quires a set of complete, consistent and clear requirements. A wide range of different stakeholders with various needs and backgrounds participate in the requirements engineering process. Accordingly, it is difficult to completely satisfy the requirements of each and every stakeholder. It is the requirements engineer’s job to trade-off stakeholders’ needs with the project resources and constraints. Many studies assert that failure in understanding and managing requirements in general, and requirement conflicts in particular, are one of the main problems of exceeding cost and allocated time which in turn results in project failure. This paper aims at investigating the different reasons of re-quirements conflicts and the different types of requirements conflicts. It providing an overview of existing research works on identifying conflicts; and discussing their limitations in order to yield suggestions for improvement. Objective: To provide an overview of existing research studies on identifying software requirements conflict and identifying limitations and areas for improvement. Method: A comparative literature was conducted by assessing 20 studies dated from 2001 to 2014.
Music recommendation using hypergraphs and group sparsity

A challenging problem in multimedia recommendation is to model a variety of relations, such as social, friend, listening, or tagging ones in a unified framework and to exploit all these sources of information. In this paper, music recommendation problem is expressed as a hypergraph ranking problem, introducing group sparsity constraints. By doing so, one can control how the different data groups (i.e., sets of hypergraph vertices) affect the recommendation process. Experiments on a dataset collected from Last.fm demonstrate that the accuracy is significantly increased by exploiting the group structure of the data. Preliminary results are also presented for Greek folk music recommendation.
Discovering Procedural Executions of Rule-Based Programs

Executing production system programs involves directly or indirectly executing an interpretive match/-select/act cycle. An optimal compilation of a production system program would generate code that requires no appeal to an interpreter to mediate control. However, while a great deal of implicit control information is available in rule-based programs, it is generally impossible to avoid deferring some decisions to run-time. We introduce an approach that may resolve this problem. We propose an execution model that permits the execution of the usual cycle when necessary and otherwise executes procedural functions. The system is best characterized as a rule rewrite system where rules are replaced with chunks, such that the chunks may have procedural components. Correctness for replacement of rules is derived by a constrained abstract evaluation of the entire program via a general-purpose theorem prover at compile time. The analysis gives a global dependency analysis of the interaction of each of the rules. For a group of popular benchmark programs, we show that there is ample opportunity to automatically substitute interpretive pattern matching with procedural elements and a concomitant improvement in performance.
Decay, Transfer, and the Reacquisition of a Complex Skill: An Investigation of Practice Schedules, Observational Rehearsal, and Individual Differences

Abstract : This study fills a void in the literature on skill decay by incorporating a cognitively complex task and an extended nonuse period. Using 192 paid participants who trained for approximately 17 hours on a command-and-control microworld simulation, we examined the effectiveness of distributed versus massed practice and post-acquisition observational rehearsal in minimizing skill decay and facilitating adaptive transfer and reacquisition after an 8-week nonuse period. We also examined how individual differences in ability and motivation predicted retention, transfer, and reacquisition as well as participation in voluntary post-acquisition observational rehearsal. Results showed that distributed practice had a positive effect on skill retention and post-observational rehearsal had a positive effect on transfer. Although some individual differences (e.g., self-efficacy) were consistently associated with retention, transfer, and reacquisition, overall levels of prediction were relatively weak, especially for transfer. Differences in motivation rather than ability differentiated individuals who participated in voluntary rehearsal from those who did not.
What's wrong with Psychology, anyway?

This chapter considers various factors that have been responsible for the comparatively slow development of psychology into a cumulative empirical science. Special attention is devoted to correctable methodological mistakes, the over-reliance upon significance testing (and the fact that, in psychology, the null hypothesis is almost always false), and an analysis of the concept of replication.
Current insights into the molecular systems pharmacology of lncRNA-miRNA regulatory interactions and implications in cancer translational medicine

In recent times, the role(s) of microRNAs (miRNAs) and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the pathogenesis of various cancers has received great attention. Indeed, there is also a growing recognition of regulatory RNA cross-talk, i.e., lncRNA-miRNA interactions, that may modulate various events in carcinogenesis and progression to metastasis. This review summarizes current evidence in the literature of lncRNA-miRNA interactions in various cancers such as breast, liver, stomach, lung, prostate, bladder, colorectal, blood, brain, skin, kidney, cervical, laryngeal, gall bladder, and bone. Further, the potential prognostic and theragnostic clinical applications of lncRNA-miRNA interactions in cancer are discussed along with an overview of noncoding RNA (ncRNA)-based studies that were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2015. Interestingly, the last decade has seen tremendous innovation, as well as increase in complexity, of the cancer biological network(s) from mRNA- to miRNA- and lncRNA-based networks. Thus, biological networks devoted to understanding regulatory interactions between these ncRNAs would be the next frontier in better elucidating the contributions of lncRNA-miRNA interactions in cancer. Herein, a cancer biological network of lncRNA-miRNA interactions is presented wherein “edges” connect interacting lncRNA-miRNA pairs, with each ncRNA serving as a discrete “node” of the network. In conclusion, the untapped potential of lncRNA-miRNA interactions in terms of its diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic potential as targets for clinically actionable intervention as well as biomarker validation in discovery pipelines remains to be explored. Future research will likely harness this potential so as to take us closer to the goal of “precision” and “personalized medicine” which is tailor-made to the unique needs of each cancer patient, and is clearly the way forward going into the future.
Cancer Incidence among Pesticide Applicators Exposed to Permethrin in the Agricultural Health Study

Background Permethrin is a synthetic pyrethroid insecticide widely used in agriculture, in public health, and in many U.S. homes and gardens. Objective In this study we evaluated the incidence of cancer among pesticide applicators exposed to permethrin in the Agricultural Health Study (AHS). Methods A total of 49,093 pesticide applicators were included in this analysis of the AHS, a prospective cohort study of licensed pesticide applicators in Iowa and North Carolina. Detailed information on pesticide exposure and lifestyle factors was obtained from self-administered questionnaires completed in 1993–1997. Average length of follow-up since applicator enrollment in the cohort was 9.14 years. We used two permethrin exposure metrics: a) lifetime days applicators personally mixed or applied permethrin and b) intensity-weighted lifetime days (lifetime days weighted by estimated intensity of exposure). We used Poisson regression analysis to estimate relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for malignancies by tertiles of exposure. Results We found no associations between permethrin and all malignant neoplasms combined, or between permethrin and melanoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, leukemia, or cancers of the colon, rectum, lung, or prostate. We found elevated and statistically significant risks for multiple myeloma in the highest tertiles of both lifetime exposure-days (RR = 5.72; 95% CI, 2.76–11.87) and intensity-weighted lifetime exposure-days (RR = 5.01; 95% CI, 2.41–10.42), compared with applicators reporting they never used permethrin; these results are based on only 15 exposed cases. These findings were similar across a variety of alternative exposure metrics, exposure categories, and reference groups. Conclusions This study found no association with most cancers analyzed. Although the suggested association with multiple myeloma was based on a small number of cases, it warrants further evaluation.
A Secret Sharing Scheme Based on AES

In order to solve the key setting difficulty and the key security problem in the file encryption, key distributed storage technology may be a proper choice to help improve the safety of the key. In the paper, a novel secret sharing scheme is proposed by AES encryption algorithm for file confidentiality, dynamic key generation mechanism to generate keys, multisecret-sharing ideas on key pre-treatment, using Shamir threshold scheme for secret dispersed storage. Finally, a few tests are carried out and the test results suggest that the efficiency of the whole scheme is good.
The PDGF-D/miR-106a/Twist1 pathway orchestrates epithelial-mesenchymal transition in gemcitabine resistance hepatoma cells

Emerging evidence demonstrates that platelet-derived growth factor-D (PDGF-D) plays a critical role in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and drug resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. However, the underlying mechanism has not been fully elucidated. The objective is to explore the molecular mechanism of PDGF-D-mediated EMT in drug resistance HCC cells. To achieve our goal, we used multiple approaches including Western blotting, real-time RT-PCR, wound healing assay, invasion assay, luciferase activity assay, transfection, and immunohistochemistry. We found that PDGF-D is highly expressed in gemcitabine-resistant (GR) HCC cells. Moreover, PDGF-D markedly inhibited miR-106a expression and subsequently upregulated Twist1 expression. Notably, PDGF-D expression was associated with miR-106a and Twist1 in HCC patients. Our findings provide a possible molecular mechanism for understanding GR chemoresistance in HCC cells. Therefore, inactivation of PDGF-D/Twist or activation of miR-106a could be a novel strategy for the treatment of HCC.
Interaction between Polymorphisms in Pre-MiRNA Genes and Cooking Oil Fume Exposure on the Risk of Lung Cancer in Chinese Non-Smoking Female Population

Background Both genetic polymorphisms and environmental risk factors play important roles in the development of human chronic diseases including lung cancer. This is the first case-control study of interaction between polymorphisms in pre-miRNA genes and cooking oil fume exposure on the risk of lung cancer. Methods A hospital-based case-control study of 258 cases and 310 controls was conducted. Six polymorphisms in miRNAs were determined by Taqman allelic discrimination method. The gene-environment interactions were assessed on both additive and multiplicative scale. The statistical analyses were performed mostly with SPSS. Results The combination of the risk genotypes of five miRNA SNPs (miR-146a rs2910164, miR-196a2 rs11614913, miR-608 rs4919510, miR-27a rs895819 and miR-423 rs6505162) with risk factor (cooking oil fume exposure) contributed to a significantly higher risk of lung cancer, and the corresponding ORs (95% confidence intervals) were 1.91(1.04-3.52), 1.94 (1.16-3.25), 2.06 (1.22-3.49), 1.76 (1.03-2.98) and 2.13 (1.29-3.51). The individuals with both risk genotypes of miRNA SNPs and exposure to risk factor (cooking oil fumes) were in a higher risk of lung cancer than persons with only one of the two risk factors (ORs were 1.91, 1.05 and 1.41 for miR-146a rs2910164, ORs were 1.94, 1.23 and 1.34 for miR-196a2 rs11614913, ORs were 2.06, 1.41 and 1.68 for miR-608 rs4919510, ORs were 1.76, 0.82 and 1.07 for miR-27a rs895819, and ORs were 2.13, 1.15 and 1.02 for miR-423 rs6505162, respectively). All the measures of biological interaction indicate that there were not indeed biological interactions between the six SNPs of miRNAs and exposure to cooking oil fumes on an additive scale. Logistic models suggested that the gene-environment interactions were not statistically significant on a multiplicative scale. Conclusions The interactions between miRNA SNPs and cooking oil fume exposure suggested by ORs of different combination were not statistically significant.
Expectations, experiences and satisfaction with labour.

Emotional, medical and control aspects of labour were explored in 81 primiparous women. Expectations were assessed antenatally and compared with postnatal reports of experiences. Expectations of positive emotions were significantly greater than experience while negative emotional expectations were paralleled by experience. There was a major discrepancy between expectations and experiences of the occurrence of interventions, with the proportion of women expecting interventions being greatly exceeded by those actually undergoing such experiences. In addition, expectations concerning personal control together with the use and efficacy of breathing and relaxation exercises in labour were elevated in relation to experience. Positive emotional expectations were strong predictors of positive emotional experiences and unrelated to negative emotional expectations. Expectations in general were positively related to experience but the strength of the association was weak. Personal satisfaction (i.e. satisfaction with self) in labour was strongly associated with the ability to control panic and other aspects of personal control. The ability to control panic was mainly influenced by the use of exercises. Attenders and non-attenders at antenatal preparation classes showed no significant differences in their experiences or personal satisfaction levels. Possible explanations for this absence of impact are discussed together with issues concerning the relevance of psychological theory to midwifery practice and the need for greater integration.
Increasing mammography utilization: a controlled study.

BACKGROUND Despite the effectiveness of breast cancer screening for women older than 50 years of age, only about one third of these women in the United States receive annual mammography. PURPOSE This study was designed to determine if a community-wide intervention could increase use of mammography screening for breast cancer. Secondary end points were determination of changes in women's knowledge and attitudes toward mammography and physicians' self-reported screening practices. METHODS We conducted a controlled study from January 1987 through January 1990 in two eastern North Carolina communities--New Hanover County (the experimental community) and Pitt County (the control community). Before development and implementation of the intervention program in New Hanover County and after the program had been in operation for 1 year, 500 women of ages 50-74 years and all primary-care physicians in each community were interviewed by telephone. In these interviews, we determined the use of mammography for breast cancer screening and the knowledge and attitudes about it. We also established the number of screening mammograms performed in 1987 and 1989 in each county and reviewed medical records to determine the percentage of women the physicians had referred for mammograms. RESULTS The percentage of women who reported receiving a mammogram in the previous year increased from 35% to 55% in the experimental community and from 30% to 40% in the control community (difference of differences, 10%; P = .03 after adjustment for race, education, age, and having a regular doctor; 95% confidence interval, 1%-18%). Increases were greater in New Hanover County regardless of age, race, income, and education. However, the increase was less for Black women than for White women, both overall and in most demographic subgroups. The total number of mammograms performed increased 89% in the experimental community and 45% in the control community. Women's knowledge about mammography changed little, but the intention to get a mammogram increased 30% in New Hanover County, compared with a 17% increase in Pitt County--a statistically significant difference (P < .01). Physician reports and medical record reviews in the two communities showed similar increases in the number of mammograms ordered. CONCLUSIONS A community-wide effort to increase use of breast cancer screening was successful, but more work must be done to reach the National Cancer Institute's goal of annual mammograms for 80% of women of ages 50-74.