Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Level of Negotiation Support Systems and Cultural Diversity on Coalition Formation: A Content Analysis

This article is an attempt to investigate the role of negotiation support systems NSSs in supporting inter-team negotiations, which have become commonplace for today's business negotiations. Inter-team negotiations differ from simple dyadic negotiations, and are associated with enormous complexity introduced by the negotiating team dynamics. When there are three or more members in a negotiating team, coalition formation by team members stands out as an intriguing phenomenon, of which cultural diversity is a primary antecedent. NSSs through altering coalition formation dynamics have important impacts on various negotiation outcomes. An experiment was conducted to test our research model and hypotheses. A content analysis was undertaken to measure the extent of coalition formation. Besides the quantitative approach, a qualitative analysis was also conducted to further enhance our exploratory efforts in examining the phenomenon. The results provide initial evidence of the usefulness of NSSs in supporting inter-team negotiations and have both theoretical and practical implications.
Sitting Nasal Intubation With Fiberoptic in an Elective Mandible Surgery Under General Anesthesia

Introduction: Patients with mandible deformity may die, as a result of airway management failures. The awake nasal fiberoptic intubation is known as the optimum intubation method, in the mentioned patients, although, in several cases, fiberoptic intubation fails. Case Presentation: The present case discusses a patient with severe deformity of mandible that was admitted for correction with free-flap. The following intubation techniques were used for her airway management, respectively: blind awake nasal intubation, awake oral fiberoptic and awake nasal fiberoptic, which failed all. We therefore decided to perform awake nasal intubation, with fiberoptic, in sitting position. Conclusions: In this case, after failure of awake fiberoptic intubation, awake direct laryngoscopy and blind nasal intubation, finally awake nasal intubation in sitting position, using fiberoptic led to success.
Expression of the maize ZmGF14-6 gene in rice confers tolerance to drought stress while enhancing susceptibility to pathogen infection

14-3-3 proteins are found in all eukaryotes where they act as regulators of diverse signalling pathways associated with a wide range of biological processes. In this study the functional characterization of the ZmGF14-6 gene encoding a maize 14-3-3 protein is reported. Gene expression analyses indicated that ZmGF14-6 is up-regulated by fungal infection and salt treatment in maize plants, whereas its expression is down-regulated by drought stress. It is reported that rice plants constitutively expressing ZmGF14-6 displayed enhanced tolerance to drought stress which was accompanied by a stronger induction of drought-associated rice genes. However, rice plants expressing ZmGF14-6 either in a constitutive or under a pathogen-inducible regime showed a higher susceptibility to infection by the fungal pathogens Fusarium verticillioides and Magnaporthe oryzae. Under infection conditions, a lower intensity in the expression of defence-related genes occurred in ZmGF14-6 rice plants. These findings support that ZmGF14-6 positively regulates drought tolerance in transgenic rice while negatively modulating the plant defence response to pathogen infection. Transient expression assays of fluorescently labelled ZmGF14-6 protein in onion epidermal cells revealed a widespread distribution of ZmGF14-6 in the cytoplasm and nucleus. Additionally, colocalization experiments of fluorescently labelled ZmGF14-6 with organelle markers, in combination with cell labelling with the endocytic tracer FM4-64, revealed a subcellular localization of ZmGF14-6 in the early endosomes. Taken together, these results improve our understanding of the role of ZmGF14-6 in stress signalling pathways, while indicating that ZmGF14-6 inversely regulates the plant response to biotic and abiotic stresses.
Density results in Sobolev spaces where the functions vanish on a part of the boundary

In this article, we consider the subspace of Wm,r of functions that vanish on a part γ0 of the boundary. The convolution-translation method, a variant of the standard mollifier technique, allows to prove the density of smooth functions, which vanish in a neighborhood of γ0, in this subspace. The result is first proved for m = 1, then generalized to the case where m ≥ 1, in any dimension, in the framework of Lipschitz-continuous domain. We don’t need, as may be expected, to make additionnal assumptions on the boundary of γ0. An application of the same type of technique is given in the space of functions L2 with divergence in L2. Contrary to the previous case, assumptions are needed on the boundary of γ0. Résumé Cet article considère le sous-espace de Wm,r des fonctions qui s’annulent sur une partie γ0 de la frontière. On montre que la méthode de convolution-translation, variante de la technique standard de convolution par une fonction C∞ à support compact, permet de démontrer la densité des fonctions régulières, nulles sur un voisinage de γ0, dans ce sous-espace. Le résultat est démontré, d’abord pour m = 1, puis généralisé à m ≥ 1, en dimension quelconque, dans le cadre des domaines Lipschitziens, et il n’est pas néssaire, contrairement à ce qu’il était attendu, de faire des hypothèses supplémentaires sur la frontière de γ0. On donne une application du même type de technique, dans l’espace des fonctions L2 à divergence dans L2, qui, elle, nécessite des hypothèses sur la frontière de γ0. *Université d’Evry Val d’Essonne, Boulevard F. Mitterand. 91025 Evry Cedex, France.
Designing Auditory Spaces to Support Sense of Place: The Role of Expectation

This paper reviews current approaches to designing virtual environments and investigates aspects of influence in designing auditory spaces to support novel forms of interaction in virtual places. Initial research on human imagined sounds from places has identified ‘expectation’ as an important psychological construct, which must be considered when designing sounds for virtual places. The research work continues to provide evidence that there are differences between sounds people expect to hear in places and sounds recorded in real life places. Instead of designing realistic virtual spaces, the paper suggests a user’s sense of presence as a measure of the user’s experience in virtual environment. The results indicate that using highly expected sounds increases users’ sense of presence. As such, it is to propose that designing auditory spaces using expectations as perceived affordance is perhaps a minimal way to design auditory spaces that support sense of place, hence provoke the emergence of virtual communities. Future work of the project is discussed.
Faster than Optimal Snapshots ( for a While )

This paper presents a breakthrough in shared memory computation by giving an implementation of a snapshot object for n processes that has O(log b log n) step complexity for update operations and O(log b) step complexity for scan operations, where b is the number of updates. The algorithm uses only reads and writes. For polynomially many updates, this is an exponential improvement on the previous linear snapshot algorithms, and it overcomes the existing Ω(n) lower bound by having the step complexity depend on the number of updates. The key to this implementation is the construction of a new object consisting of a pair of max registers that supports a scan operation. Applications of this construction include an implementation of a limited-use generalized counter with polylogarithmic step complexity. This can be used, for example, to monitor the number of active processes, which is crucial to adaptive algorithms. ∗Yale University, Department of Computer Science. Supported in part by NSF grant CCF-0916389. †Technion. Supported in part by ISF grant 1227/10. ‡Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. Supported by the Simons Postdoctoral Fellows Program. §University of Toronto, Department of Computer Science. Supported in part by the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
Prevention of Normally Occurring and Deafferentation-Induced Neuronal Death in Chick Brainstem Auditory Neurons by Periodic Blockade of AMPA/Kainate Receptors

The role of glutamate receptors in regulating programmed neuronal death and deafferentation-induced neuronal death in the brainstem auditory nuclei was studied by in ovo drug administration to chick embryos. The nucleus laminaris (NL) undergoes programmed developmental cell death of 19% between embryonic day 9 (E9) and E17. The AMPA/kainate receptor antagonist CNQX, when administered at doses of 200–300 μg/d from E8 to E15, prevented programmed neuronal death in NL through at least posthatching day 8, without producing anatomical or behavioral abnormalities. 3-((RS)−2-Carboxypiperazin-4-yl)-propyl-1-phos-phonic acid, an antagonist of NMDA receptors, had no effect on normal cell death in the NL. CNQX, given from E8 to E15 or only from E8 to E10, also blocked the 33% neuronal loss in the nucleus magnocellularis (NM) that follows surgical destruction of the otocyst on E3, a procedure that deafferents NM neurons by preventing formation of the cochlear nerve. Treatment either with CNQX or the more highly selective NBQX from E8 to E10, before the onset of synaptic transmission in NM and NL, was also effective in preventing normal neuronal death in NL. Analysis of the effects of CNQX or NBQX on spontaneous embryonic motility at E10 showed that the doses effective in preventing neuronal death suppressed motility for <8 hr. We conclude that periodic blockade of AMPA/kainate receptors can protect CNS neurons against subsequent programmed cell death or deafferentation-induced death.
A Level Set Method for Three-dimensional Paraxial Geometrical Optics with Multiple Sources

We apply the level set method to compute the three dimensional multivalued geometrical optics term in the paraxial formulation. The paraxial formulation is obtained from the 3-D stationary eikonal equation by using one of the spatial directions as the artificial evolution direction. The advection velocity field used to move level sets is obtained by the method of characteristics; therefore the motion of level sets is defined in a phase space. The multivalued traveltime and amplitude-related quantity are obtained from solving advection equations with source terms. We derive an amplitude formula in the reduced phase space which is very convenient to use in the level set framework. By using a semi-Lagrangian method in the paraxial formulation, the method has O(N 2) rather than O(N 4) memory storage requirement in the five dimensional phase space, whereN is the number of mesh points along one direction. Although the computational complexity is still O(MN 4), where M is the number of steps in the ODE solver for the semi-Lagrangian scheme, this disadvantage is largely overcome by the fact that up to O(N2) multiple sources can be treated simultaneously. Three dimensional numerical examples demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of the method.
Recent HEGRA observations of BL Lac (2200+420)

The active galaxy BL Lac is the prototype of the so-called BL Lac objects. All AGN detected in the TeV energy range so far belong to this class of objects. BL Lac has been observed by the HEGRA system of imaging Cherenkov Telescopes for a total time of 10.5 hours from September to November 2000. We compare the results of these observations with X-ray data from the All Sky Monitor aboard the RXTE satellite and present an upper limit on the γ-flux for energies above 0.7 TeV.
Command-shaping control of quayside cranes with eight-pole reeving mechanism

This paper discusses the residual vibration control problem of an eight-pole quayside container crane. The main purpose of the quayside crane is loading and un-loading of the containers from container ships, arriving at the container terminal, quickly while ensuring the safety of the shipments (containers), the machinery, and the personnel at the port. The residual vibrations of the containers, as they are transported to the target locations within the port, cause operational delays and therefore must be suppressed. In this paper, an open-loop control is utilized in transporting the containers to the desired locations while suppressing their residual vibrations. The actual hoisting mechanism of the quayside crane is considered in developing its mathematical model and in generating the shaped trolley-drive commands. Simulations were performed to demonstrate the validity of the proposed control laws.
Using amphiphilic pseudo amino acid composition to predict enzyme subfamily classes

MOTIVATION With protein sequences entering into databanks at an explosive pace, the early determination of the family or subfamily class for a newly found enzyme molecule becomes important because this is directly related to the detailed information about which specific target it acts on, as well as to its catalytic process and biological function. Unfortunately, it is both time-consuming and costly to do so by experiments alone. In a previous study, the covariant-discriminant algorithm was introduced to identify the 16 subfamily classes of oxidoreductases. Although the results were quite encouraging, the entire prediction process was based on the amino acid composition alone without including any sequence-order information. Therefore, it is worthy of further investigation. RESULTS To incorporate the sequence-order effects into the predictor, the 'amphiphilic pseudo amino acid composition' is introduced to represent the statistical sample of a protein. The novel representation contains 20 + 2lambda discrete numbers: the first 20 numbers are the components of the conventional amino acid composition; the next 2lambda numbers are a set of correlation factors that reflect different hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity distribution patterns along a protein chain. Based on such a concept and formulation scheme, a new predictor is developed. It is shown by the self-consistency test, jackknife test and independent dataset tests that the success rates obtained by the new predictor are all significantly higher than those by the previous predictors. The significant enhancement in success rates also implies that the distribution of hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity of the amino acid residues along a protein chain plays a very important role to its structure and function.
A Bayesian nonparametric procedure for comparing algorithms

A fundamental task in machine learning is to compare the performance of multiple algorithms. This is usually performed by the frequentist Friedman test followed by multiple comparisons. This implies dealing with the well-known shortcomings of null hypothesis significance tests. We propose a Bayesian approach to overcome these problems. We provide three main contributions. First, we propose a nonparametric Bayesian version of the Friedman test using a Dirichlet process (DP) based prior. We show that, from a Bayesian perspective, the Friedman test is an inference for a multivariate mean based on an ellipsoid inclusion test. Second, we derive a joint procedure for the multiple comparisons which accounts for their dependencies and which is based on the posterior probability computed through the DP. The proposed approach allows verifying the null hypothesis, not only rejecting it. Third, as a practical application we show the results in our algorithm for racing, i.e. identifying the best algorithm among a large set of candidates sequentially assessed. Our approach consistently outperforms its frequentist counterpart.
GARDobes: primordial cell nano-precursors with organic catalysis, compositional genome, and capacity to evolve

The Graded Autocatalysis Replication Domain (GARD) model described here depicts an early primordial scenario, prior to the emergence of biopolymers, such as RNA or proteins. The model describes, with the help of statistical chemistry computer simulations, a collection of organic molecular species capable of rudimentary selection and evolution. The GARD model provides a rigorous kinetic analysis of simple sets of chemicals that manifest mutual catalysis. It is shown that catalytic closure can sustain self replication up to a critical dilution rate, related to the extent of mutual catalysis. The capacity for self replication in a mutually catalytic set is shown to be a graded property, quantitated by a critical parameter (lambda) ci. GARD could be a simple model for a primordial scenario, in which replication and catalysis are performed by the same set of molecules.
Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Hsp90 with an Eye to Inhibitor Design

Proteins carry out their functions through interactions with different partners. Dynamic conformational switching among different structural sub-states favors the adaptation to the shapes of the different partners. Such conformational changes can be determined by diverse biochemical factors, such as ligand-binding. Atomic level investigations of the mechanisms that underlie functional dynamics may provide new opportunities for the discovery of leads that target disease-related proteins. In this review, we report our views and approaches on the development of novel and accurate physical-chemistry-based models for the characterization of the salient aspects of the ligand-regulated dynamics of Hsp90, and on the exploitation of such new knowledge for the rational discovery of inhibitors of the chaperone.
Gender Differences in the Relationship Between Self-Worth and Romantic Relationship Attachment Styles

In this study we measured self-reported relationship anxiety and avoidance and variables assessing various aspects of self-worth. There were a total of 116 heterosexual couples. The average age of participants was 21.6. We found that there are not many gender differences in self-reported self-worth variables or relationship avoidance, though women did report marginally more relationship anxiety. Additionally, gender difference emerged in the relationships between self-worth variables and relationship anxiety and avoidance, though overall, higher emotional intelligence, physical attractiveness, and communication abilities were associated with less relationship anxiety and avoidance.
Simple and Lightweight HTTPS Enforcement to Protect against SSL Striping Attack

SSL is a protocol for secured traffic connections. By using the SSL, HTTPS has been designed to prevent eavesdroppers and malicious users from web application services. However, man-in-the-middle attack techniques based on stripping and sniffing the HTTPS connections are still possible, causing security problems on web applications. Several scrip-kiddy tools to launch such attacks are easy to find and available on the Internet. In this paper, we therefore proposed a solution to protect against SSL striping attack. By enforcing a connection to HTTPS, our techniques determine the web URL and enforce the communication to HTTPS for protecting against the SSL striping attack. The experimental results on a test-bed have demonstrated an effectiveness and efficiency of our solution.
Targeting Antigens to Dendritic Cell Receptors for Vaccine Development

Dendritic cells (DCs) are highly specialized antigen presenting cells of the immune system which play a key role in regulating immune responses. Depending on the method of antigen delivery, DCs stimulate immune responses or induce tolerance. As a consequence of the dual function of DCs, DCs are studied in the context of immunotherapy for both cancer and autoimmune diseases. In vaccine development, a major aim is to induce strong, specific T-cell responses. This is achieved by targeting antigen to cell surface molecules on DCs that efficiently channel the antigen into endocytic compartments for loading onto MHC molecules and stimulation of T-cell responses. The most attractive cell surface receptors, expressed on DCs used as targets for antigen delivery for cancer and other diseases, are discussed.
The DLV Java Wrapper

Disjunctive logic programs are a powerful tool in knowledge representation and commonsense reasoning. The recent development of an efficient disjunctive logic programming engine, named DLV, allows to exploit disjunctive logic programs for solving complex problems. However, disjunctive logic programming systems are currently missing any interface supporting the integration between commonly used software development languages (like Java or C++) and disjunctive logic programs. This paper focuses on the DLV Wrapper, a library, actually implemented in Java, that “wraps” the DLV system inside an external application, allowing to embed disjunctive logic programs inside Object-Oriented source code.
Iterative scene learning in visually guided persons' falls detection

This article describes a fast real time computer vision algorithm able to detect humans' falls in complex dynamically changing visual conditions. The algorithm exploits single cameras of low cost while it requires minimal computational cost and memory requirements. Due to its affordability it can be straightforwardly implemented in large scale clinical institutes/home environments. In this paper, we evaluate the performance of this algorithm into two different real-world conditions. The evaluation was performed for long time and concerns robustness compared to other humans' activities, false positive/negative estimates, all in real time.
downloaded from King’s Research Portal

Many studies using mammalian cellular and subcellular systems have demonstrated that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, including benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), are metabolically activated by cytochrome P450s (CYPs). In order to evaluate the role of hepatic versus extra-hepatic metabolism of BaP and its pharmacokinetics we used the HRN (Hepatic Cytochrome P450 Reductase Null) mouse model, in which cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase, the unique electron donor to CYPs, is deleted specifically in hepatocytes, resulting in the loss of essentially all hepatic CYP function. HRN and wild-type (WT) mice were treated i.p. with 125 mg/kg body weight BaP daily for up to 5 days. Clearance of BaP from blood was analysed by HPLC with fluorescence detection. DNA adduct levels were measured by 32 P-postlabelling analysis with structural confirmation of the formation of 10-(deoxyguanosin- N 2 -yl)-7,8,9-trihydroxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[ a ]pyrene (dG-N 2 -BPDE) by LC-MS/MS analysis. Hepatic microsomes isolated from BaP-treated and untreated mice were also incubated with BaP and DNA in vitro . BaP-DNA adduct formation was up to 7-fold lower with the microsomes from HRN mice than with those from WT mice. Most of the hepatic microsomal activation of BaP in vitro was attributable to CYP1A. Pharmacokinetic analysis of BaP in blood revealed no significant differences between HRN and WT mice. BaP-DNA adduct levels were higher in the livers (up to 13-fold) and elevated in several extra-hepatic tissues of HRN mice (by 1.7-2.6-fold) relative to WT mice. These data reveal an apparent paradox, whereby hepatic CYP enzymes appear to be more important for detoxification of BaP in vivo , despite being involved in its metabolic activation in vitro
On Essence, Feature and Function of Unconsciousness

Unconsciousness is the sum total of psychological process, activity and state of mind, of which the subject is unaware, including unconscious cognition and experience. Unconsciousness has the characteristics of spontaneity, ambiguity, illogicality and stability. It is not the core and basic motivation of people's psychological activity, but as a contributing factor, it also plays an important role. It has the functions of selection, internal adjustment, guidance, judgement and so on. These functions are both positive and negative.