Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A measure of early physical functioning (EPF) post-stroke.

OBJECTIVE To develop a comprehensive measure of Early Physical Functioning (EPF) post-stroke quantified through Rasch analysis and conceptualized using the International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health (ICF). DESIGN An observational cohort study. SUBJECTS A cohort of 262 subjects (mean age 71.6 (standard deviation 12.5) years) hospitalized post-acute stroke. METHODS Functional assessments were made within 3 days of stroke with items from valid and reliable indices commonly utilized to evaluate stroke survivors. Information on important variables was also collected. Principal component and Rasch analysis confirmed the factor structure, and dimensionality of the measure. Rasch analysis combined items across ICF components to develop the measure. Items were deleted iteratively, those retained fit the model and were related to the construct; reliability and validity were assessed. RESULTS A 38-item unidimensional measure of the EPF met all Rasch model requirements. The item difficulty matched the person ability (mean person measure: -0.31; standard error 0.37 logits), reliability of the person-item-hierarchy was excellent at 0.97. Initial validity was adequate. CONCLUSION The 38-item EPF measure was developed. It expands the range of assessment post acute stroke; it covers a broad spectrum of difficulty with good initial psychometric properties that, once revalidated, can assist in planning and evaluating early interventions.
Ribosomes exist in large excess over the apparent demand for protein synthesis during carbon starvation in marine Vibrio sp. strain CCUG 15956

Carbon starvation induces the development of a starvation- and stress-resistant cell state in marine Vibrio sp. strain S14 (CCUG 15956). The starved cells remain highly responsive to nutrients during prolonged starvation and exhibit instantaneous severalfold increases in the rates of protein synthesis and RNA synthesis when substrate is added. In order to elucidate the physiological basis for the survival of cells that are starved for a long time, as well as the capacity of these cells for rapid and efficient recovery, we analyzed the ribosome content of carbon-starved Vibrio sp. strain S14 cells. By using direct chemical measurements of the amounts of ribosomal particles in carbon-starved cultures, we demonstrated that ribosomes were lost relatively slowly (half life, 79 h) and that they existed in large excess over the apparent demand for protein synthesis. After 24 h of starvation the total rate of protein synthesis was 2.3% of the rate during growth, and after 3 days this rate was 0.7% of the rate during growth; the relative amounts of ribosomal particles at these times were 81 and 52%, respectively. The ribosome population consisted of 90% 70S monoribosomes, and no polyribosomes were detected in the starved cells. The 70S monoribosomes were responsible for the bulk of the protein synthesis during carbon starvation; some activity was also detected in the polyribosome size region on sucrose density gradients. We suggest that nongrowing carbon-starved Vibrio sp. strain S14 cells possess an excess protein synthesis capacity, which may be essential for their ability to immediately initiate an upshift program when substrate is added.
The Role of Lexical Frequency in the Acceptability of Syntactic Variants: Evidence From that-Clauses in Polish

A number of studies report that frequency is a poor predictor of acceptability, in particular at the lower end of the frequency spectrum. Because acceptability judgments provide a substantial part of the empirical foundation of dominant linguistic traditions, understanding how acceptability relates to frequency, one of the most robust predictors of human performance, is crucial. The relation between low frequency and acceptability is investigated using corpus- and behavioral data on the distribution of infinitival and finite that-complements in Polish. Polish verbs exhibit substantial subordination variation and for the majority of verbs taking an infinitival complement, the that-complement occurs with low frequency (<0.66 ipm). These low-frequency that-clauses, in turn, exhibit large differences in how acceptable they are to native speakers. It is argued that acceptability judgments are based on configurations of internally structured exemplars, the acceptability of which cannot reliably be assessed until sufficient evidence about the core component has accumulated.
Attitudes and reactions to a healthcare robot.

OBJECTIVE The use of robots in healthcare is a new concept. The public's perception and acceptance is not well understood. The objective was to investigate the perceptions and emotions toward the utilization of healthcare robots among individuals over 40 years of age, investigate factors contributing to acceptance, and evaluate differences in blood pressure checks taken by a robot and a medical student. MATERIALS AND METHODS Fifty-seven (n = 57) adults aged over 40 years and recruited from local general practitioner or gerontology group lists participated in two cross-sectional studies. The first was an open-ended questionnaire assessing perceptions of robots. In the second study, participants had their blood pressure taken by a medical student and by a robot. Patient comfort with each encounter, perceived accuracy of each measurement, and the quality of the patient interaction were studied in each case. Readings were compared by independent t-tests and regression analyses were conducted to predict quality ratings. RESULTS Participants' perceptions about robots were influenced by their prior exposure to robots in literature or entertainment media. Participants saw many benefits and applications for healthcare robots, including simple medical procedures and physical assistance, but had some concerns about reliability, safety, and the loss of personal care. Blood pressure readings did not differ between the medical student and robot, but participants felt more comfortable with the medical student and saw the robot as less accurate. Although age and sex were not significant predictors, individuals who held more positive initial attitudes and emotions toward robots rated the robot interaction more favorably. CONCLUSIONS Many people see robots as having benefits and applications in healthcare but some have concerns. Individual attitudes and emotions regarding robots in general are likely to influence future acceptance of their introduction into healthcare processes.
Enhancing VANET connectivity through utilizing autonomous vehicles

Connectivity in vehicular networks is continuously changing due to high mobility of vehicles, causing rapid changes in the network topology. This has a direct negative impact on the throughput and packet transmission delay. Many algorithms and approaches have been proposed to address this problem. However, most of them are not practical due to their dependence on a centralized infrastructure, which are attributed with high cost for installation and maintenance. Vehicular networks are composed of all types of vehicles including autonomous and non-autonomous vehicles. In this paper, we propose addressing the problem of VANET connectivity through controlling the routes and speed of autonomous vehicles according to the density and speed of non-autonomous vehicles. This is achieved through a decentralized cooperative game theory approach that provides a balance between autonomous vehicles' trip duration, and enhancements to the VANET connectivity. We evaluate our proposed approach through extensive simulations using real traffic data, and observe substantial enhancements of up to 46% in the network connectivity using our approach.
Why is there a modifying effect of gestational age on risk factors for cerebral palsy?

Objective: To investigate risk factors for cerebral palsy in relation to gestational age. Design: Three case-control studies within a geographically defined cohort. Setting: The former Oxfordshire Health Authority. Participants: A total of 235 singleton children with cerebral palsy not of postnatal origin, born between 1984 and 1993, identified from the Oxford Register of Early Childhood Impairment; 646 controls matched for gestation in three bands: ⩽32 weeks; 33–36 weeks; ⩾37 weeks. Results: Markers of intrapartum hypoxia and infection were associated with an increased risk of cerebral palsy in term and preterm infants. The odds ratio (OR) for hypoxia was 12.2 (95% confidence interval 1.2 to 119) at ⩽32 weeks and 146 (7.4 to 3651) at ⩾37 weeks. Corresponding ORs for neonatal sepsis were 3.1 (1.8 to 5.4) and 10.6 (2.1 to 51.9). In contrast, pre-eclampsia carried an increased risk of cerebral palsy at ⩾37 weeks (OR 5.1 (2.2 to 12.0)) but a decreased risk at ⩽32 weeks (OR 0.4 (0.2 to 1.0)). However, all infants ⩽32 weeks with maternal pre-eclampsia were delivered electively, and their risk of cerebral palsy was no lower than that of other electively delivered ⩽32 week infants (OR 0.9 (0.3 to 2.7)). Nearly 60% of ⩽32 week controls were delivered after spontaneous preterm labour, itself an abnormal event. Conclusion: Inflammatory processes, including pre-eclampsia, are important in the aetiology of cerebral palsy. The apparent reduced risk of cerebral palsy associated with pre-eclampsia in very preterm infants is driven by the characteristics of the gestation matched control group. Use of the term “protective” in this context should be abandoned.
Putting It on the Table: A Mini-Course on Gender Differences.

asked students to read Susan Glaspell's Trifles, Charlotte Perkins Gillman's The Yellow Wallpaper, and Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House as a unit. Girls were happy to see women highlighted as protagonists after having been fed a steady diet of male protagonists in novels such as Brave New World and Lord of the Flies their freshman year. Despite the fact that these works are sixty years old or more, they still had the power to disconcert. I could tell that the unit made boys uncomfortable, and then one day, one brave sophomore said what was on all their minds, "Are we going to spend the whole semester reading things that make men look like ignorant scum who only want to rule over women? " My intention to inject the course with feminist texts was meant, in part, to lead my students to an understanding of feminism, not to distance half of the students in the course and prevent them from wanting to know more about the role of women in society. Clearly, I had a problem. How could I lead students to discuss issues of gender in an open, nonthreatening way? How could I raise their consciousness about women's roles through history but not make either gender feel inadequate? And how could I educate students about what feminism means, dispelling the myths the students-many of them girls-had begun believing? Though I tried to do this with my teaching in my English classes, I wasn't sure that was the best way. Later that semester as I was reading John Gray's best selling Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus, I hit upon it: I would create a minicourse that dealt solely with gender issues. I wanted to put the issues out on the table and give students the time and language to appropriately discuss gender in society. In my school, an independent preparatory school, we offered a two-week period of alternative classes between semesters, called Interim. It was the perfect time to study gender issues outside the context of the literature-based class and to directly approach some of the issues that were troubling the males and females in my classes. This brainstorm was the beginning of a popular course entitled "Gender Bender" that I ended up teaching for three years.
Managing Uncertainty in Social Networks

Social network analysis (SNA) has become a mature scientific field over the last 50 years and is now an area with massive commercial appeal and renewed research interest. In this paper, we argue that new methods for collecting social nework strucuture, and the shift in scale of these networks, introduces a greater degree of imprecision that requires rethinking on how SNA techniques can be applied. We discuss a new area in data management, probabilistic databases, whose main research goal is to provide tools to manage and manipulate imprecise or uncertain data. We outline the application building blocks necessary to build a large scale social networking application and the extent to which current research in probabilisitc databases addresses these challenges.
Genetics of sweet taste preferences

Abstract Inbred mouse strains display marked differences in avidity for sweet solutions due in part to genetic differences among strains. Using several techniques, we have located a number of regions throughout the genome that influence sweetener acceptance. One prominent locus regulating differences in sweetener preferences among mouse strains is the saccharin preference (Sac) locus on distal chromosome 4. Afferent responses of gustatory nerves to sweeteners also vary as a function of allelic differences in the Sac locus, suggesting that this gene may encode a sweet taste receptor. Using a positional cloning approach, we identified a gene (Tas1r3) encoding the third member of the T1R family of putative taste receptors, T1R3. Introgression by serial back-crossing of a chromosomal fragment containing the Tas1r3 allele from the high sweetener-preferring strain onto the genetic background of the low sweetener-preferring strain rescued its low sweetener-preference phenotype. Tas1r3 has two common haplotypes, one found in mouse strains with elevated sweetener preference and the other in strains relatively indifferent to sweeteners. This study, in conjunction with complimentary recent studies from other laboratories, provides compelling evidence that Tas1r3 is equivalent to the Sac locus and that the T1R3 receptor (when co-expressed with taste receptor T1R2) responds to sweeteners. However, other sweetness receptors may remain to be identified.
Development of a degradable cement of calcium phosphate and calcium sulfate composite for bone reconstruction

A new type of composite bone cement was prepared and investigated by adding calcium sulfate (CS) to calcium phosphate cement (CPC). This composite cement can be handled as a paste and easily shaped into any contour, which can set within 5–20 min, the setting time largely depending on the liquid–solid (L/S) ratio; adding CS to CPC had little effect on the setting time of the composite cements. No obvious temperature increase and pH change were observed during setting and immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF). The compressive strength of the cement decreased with an increase in the content of CS. The degradation rate of the composite cements increased with time when the CS content was more than 20 wt%. Calcium deficient apatite could form on the surface of the composite cement because the release of calcium into SBF from the dissolution of CS and the apatite of the cement induced the new apatite formation; increasing the content of CS in the composite could improve the bioactivity of the composite cements. The results suggested that composite cement has a reasonable setting time, excellent degradability and suitable mechanical strength and bioactivity, which shows promising prospects for development as a clinical cement.
Coordinate to Guard: Crosstalk of Phosphorylation, Sumoylation, and Ubiquitylation in DNA Damage Response

Small ubiquitin-like modifier-1/2/3 (SUMO-1/2/3) and ubiquitin share similar structure and utilize analogous machinery for protein lysine conjugation. Although sumoylation and ubiquitylation have distinct functions, they are often tightly associated with each other to fine-tune protein fate in transducing signals to regulate a wide variety of cellular functions, including DNA damage response, cell proliferation, DNA replication, embryonic development, and cell differentiation. In this Perspective, we specifically highlight the role of sumoylation and ubiquitylation in ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM) signaling in response to DNA double-strand breaks and hypothesize that ATM-induced phosphorylation is a unique node in regulating SUMO-targeted ubiquitylation in mammalian cells to combat DNA damage and to maintain genome integrity. A potential role for the coordination of three types of post-translational modification in dictating the tempo and extent of cellular response to genotoxic stress is speculated.
Induction of Colicin Production by High Temperature or Inhibition of Protein Synthesis

Escherichia coli K-12 colicinogenic for ColE1 yielded mutants that appeared to produce colicin at 43 C but not at 30 or 37. These mutants proved to have the mutation recA− Further study revealed that both recA− and recA+ bacteria, when carrying ColE1 or ColE2, produce more colicin during growth at higher temperatures or after brief exposure to temperatures beyond the growth range. Counts of lacunae demonstrated that the increase of colicin production is due to an increase in the number of cells that yield colicin. Heat treatment causes lacunae to increase by the same factor in recA+ and recA− cells, although recA− bacteria produce 500 times fewer lacunae than recA+. Inhibition of protein synthesis, notably by chloramphenicol, also induces colicin production in as much as 90% of the cells after removal of inhibition (to permit colicin synthesis). Induction of colicin production by chloramphenicol requires that ribonucleic acid synthesis continue during the period of inhibition. These results are discussed in relation to the regulation of colicin production.
The myth of cognitive agency: subpersonal thinking as a cyclically recurring loss of mental autonomy

This metatheoretical paper investigates mind wandering from the perspective of philosophy of mind. It has two central claims. The first is that, on a conceptual level, mind wandering can be fruitfully described as a specific form of mental autonomy loss. The second is that, given empirical constraints, most of what we call “conscious thought” is better analyzed as a subpersonal process that more often than not lacks crucial properties traditionally taken to be the hallmark of personal-level cognition - such as mental agency, explicit, consciously experienced goal-directedness, or availability for veto control. I claim that for roughly two thirds of our conscious life-time we do not possess mental autonomy (M-autonomy) in this sense. Empirical data from research on mind wandering and nocturnal dreaming clearly show that phenomenally represented cognitive processing is mostly an automatic, non-agentive process and that personal-level cognition is an exception rather than the rule. This raises an interesting new version of the mind-body problem: How is subpersonal cognition causally related to personal-level thought? More fine-grained phenomenological descriptions for what we called “conscious thought” in the past are needed, as well as a functional decomposition of umbrella terms like “mind wandering” into different target phenomena and a better understanding of the frequent dynamic transitions between spontaneous, task-unrelated thought and meta-awareness. In an attempt to lay some very first conceptual foundations for the now burgeoning field of research on mind wandering, the third section proposes two new criteria for individuating single episodes of mind-wandering, namely, the “self-representational blink” (SRB) and a sudden shift in the phenomenological “unit of identification” (UI). I close by specifying a list of potentially innovative research goals that could serve to establish a stronger connection between mind wandering research and philosophy of mind.
The Plasticity of Functional Traits in the Dipterocarps of Borneo

Plasticity plays an important role in the adaptation of sessile organisms like plants to the environment. Plants have been shown to respond plastically in heterogeneous environments, with plants originating from more resource-diverse environments thought to display greater plasticity. There is also evidence that fast-growing species show greater plasticity, as acquisition of resources from resource flushes is greatly aided by faster adaptations. We tested these theories in a Bornean tropical rain forest among three soil specialization groups (clay specialists, sandy loam specialists, and generalists) using two treatments of soil (clay versus sandy loam) and two treatments of light (high versus low). Here, I address four research questions: (1) Do tree species with different soil specializations exhibit differences in the plasticity of functional traits and growth rates? (2) Does the magnitude of plasticity depend on the type of resource? (3) Do functional traits and growth rates vary in the magnitude of plasticity exhibited? (4) Is plasticity in functional traits correlated with plasticity in growth rates? Overall the results show that clay specialists and generalists are more plastic than their sandy loam counterparts. Second, on average plasticity due to light was greater than plasticity due to soil. Third, growth rates were generally more plastic than functional traits. And finally, the plasticity of functional traits and growth rates were positively correlated. These finding add important insights to the plastic response of long-lived tree species to the environment, where much remains to be explored. iii Dedication To my family, friends, and adviser who never stopped believing in me, even when I stopped believing in myself. iv Acknowledgment Many individuals contributed to this thesis, for which I shall always be grateful. I must first thank my adviser, Sabrina Russo, who gave me the opportunity to obtain a graduate education at one of the best universities in the world; and near limitless patience with me as I struggled to complete my studies. I wish to also thank my committee members Diana Pilson and John DeLong, who gave a helping hand in experimental design and data analysis when it was asked. My further gratitude to my fellow graduate students, Benjamin Reed, who all contributed ideas, questions, and input with earnestness. My thanks to Lambir Hills National Park Warden Januarie Kulis and the amiable staff from Sarawak Forestry, whose help was instrumental in conducting this research. Further gratitude to the numerous field and lab assistants who helped out with …
Translocation of a discrete piece of deoxyribonucleic acid carrying an amp gene between replicons in Eschericha coli

A number of well-characterized R plasmids (R1drd 19. K1.R100-1, R46, R55-1, R64-11, R388, and R751) will mobilize an integrated amp gene from the chromosome of Escherichia coli K-12. R391 will not act in this way. The process involves recombination, and in each case the mobilizing plasmid acquires an additional piece of deoxyribonucleic acid of molecular weight 4 X 10(6). Acquisition of this deoxyribonucleic acid may impair the transfer properties of the recombinant plasmid in some cases. The process will occur in a recA background.
Petri nets model of emergency control system for shipping

An emergency control system for shipping is an indispensable part of the modern maritime operation system. Petri nets are useful for describing and studying information processing systems that are characterized as being concurrent, distributed parallel and asynchronous. In this paper, a generalized stochastic Petri net with finite capacity and inhibitor arc is exploited to model the emergency control system for shipping. The obtained model is analyzed using the software of PIPE. The analyzed results on modeling time and resource performance show that the obtained model is able to describe well the real physics system and provide some suggestion on improving the performance of the emergency control system for shipping.