Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Continuous Detection and Decoding of Dexterous Finger Flexions With Implantable MyoElectric Sensors

A rhesus monkey was trained to perform individuated and combined finger flexions of the thumb, index, and middle finger. Nine implantable myoelectric sensors (IMES) were then surgically implanted into the finger muscles of the monkey's forearm, without any adverse effects over two years postimplantation. Using an inductive link, EMG was wirelessly recorded from the IMES as the monkey performed a finger flexion task. The EMG from the different IMES implants showed very little cross correlation. An offline parallel linear discriminant analysis (LDA) based algorithm was used to decode finger activity based on features extracted from continuously presented frames of recorded EMG. The offline parallel LDA was run on intraday sessions as well as on sessions where the algorithm was trained on one day and tested on following days. The performance of the algorithm was evaluated continuously by comparing classification output by the algorithm to the current state of the finger switches. The algorithm detected and classified seven different finger movements, including individual and combined finger flexions, and a no-movement state (chance performance = 12.5%) . When the algorithm was trained and tested on data collected the same day, the average performance was 43.8±3.6% n=10. When the training-testing separation period was five months, the average performance of the algorithm was 46.5±3.4% n=8. These results demonstrated that using EMG recorded and wirelessly transmitted by IMES offers a promising approach for providing intuitive, dexterous control of artificial limbs where human patients have sufficient, functional residual muscle following amputation.
Thrombotic microangiopathy and associated renal disorders

Thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) is a pathological process involving thrombocytopenia, microangiopathic haemolytic anaemia and microvascular occlusion. TMA is common to haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) associated with shiga toxin or invasive pneumococcal infection, atypical HUS (aHUS), thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) and other disorders including malignant hypertension. HUS complicating infection with shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is a significant cause of acute renal failure in children worldwide, occurring sporadically or in epidemics. Studies in aHUS have revealed genetic and acquired factors leading to dysregulation of the alternative complement pathway. TTP has been linked to reduced activity of the ADAMTS13 cleaving protease (typically with an autoantibody to ADAMTS13) with consequent disruption of von Willebrand factor multimer processing. However, the convergence of pathogenic pathways and clinical overlap create diagnostic uncertainty, especially at initial presentation. Furthermore, recent developments are challenging established management protocols. This review addresses the current understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying TMA, relating these to clinical presentation with an emphasis on renal manifestations. A diagnostic and therapeutic approach is presented, based on international guidelines, disease registries and published trials. Early treatment remains largely empirical, consisting of plasma replacement/exchange with the exception of childhood STEC-HUS or pneumococcal sepsis. Emerging therapies such as the complement C5 inhibitor eculizumab for aHUS and rituximab for TTP are discussed, as is renal transplantation for those patients who become dialysis-dependent as a result of aHUS.
Relevance of outcome measures in different cultural groups – does one size fit all?

It is estimated that 24 million people currently have dementia and that two-thirds of them live in developing countries. However, most of the assessment instruments for dementia have originated in developed countries. This paper explores the relevance of outcome measures in clinical trials of dementia drugs in different cultural groups, particularly in developing countries. The challenges of assessing treatment benefits in dementia in such groups include linguistic and cultural diversity, as well as high illiteracy rates, lack of human resources and the time constraints in assessment of patients. This paper also highlights methodological issues in cross-cultural research of cognitive assessment. Improvement in neuropsychiatric outcomes may be of particular importance to people in non-Western cultures. Functional outcomes and global outcomes are potentially useful outcome measures, but more studies are required in various countries. The use of biological markers such as neuroimaging and cerebrospinal fluid studies may not be practical in developing countries due to their costs and acceptability respectively. More work is also needed in the area of quality of life measures in various countries.
Wisdom and bus schedules: developing school leadership

This article is based on a synthesis study of school leadership development conducted for the National College of School Leadership (NCSL) in England. It first outlines a perspective on leadership focusing on the concepts of wisdom, deliberation and higher order capacities. Then it describes and assesses two distinct models of leadership learning, emphasising the importance of ‘basic’ management knowledge, skills and processes. There is a discussion of approaches to the choice of methods for leadership development, taking account of evidence about the preferences of participants. Several developing conditions for which school leaders need to be equipped are identified and discussed. Among the conclusions proposed for policy, practice and research are the need for a closer alignment of leadership development with career development and a better understanding of the attributes and skills that underlie the higher order capacities.
Temporal Predictions with Bayesian Compositional Hierarchies

In this note I describe a novel approach to modelling and exploiting probabilistic dependencies in compositional hierarchies for model-based scene interpretation. I present Bayesian Compositional Hierarchies (BCHs) which capture all probabilistic information about the objects of a compositional hierarchy in object-centered aggregate representations. BCHs extend typical Bayesian Network models by allowing arbitrary probabilistic dependencies within aggregates, yet providing efficient inference procedures. New closed-form solutions are presented for inferences in a multivariate Gaussian BCH. Results are presented comparing a BCH with existing methods (pure Bayesian Networks, unrestricted Joint Probability Distributions). Monitoring aircraft service operations is presented as a practical application. It is shown that predictions about the expected temporal development of service operations can be generated dynamically from available temporal data. In dieser Mitteilung wird ein neuer Ansatz zur Modellierung und Auswertung probabilistischer Abhangigkeiten in kompositionellen Hierarchien fur modellbasierte Szeneninterpretation vorgestellt. Mit einer "Bayes'schen Kompositionellen Hierarchie" (Bayesian Compositonal Hierarchy, BCH) werden Zusammenhange innerhalb von objektzentrierten Aggregaten in uneingeschrankter Form reprasentiert, zwischen Aggregaten jedoch nur entlang der kompositionellen Beziehungen. Dadurch konnen probabilistische Inferenzen in Szenen sehr effizient berechnet werden. Die Pradiktionsleistungen einer BCH werden mit alternativen Modellen verglichen (reine Bayes-Netze, uneingeschrankte Verbundwahrscheinlichkeiten) und an Beispielen evaluiert. Als praktische Anwendung wird die Uberwachung einer Flugzeugabfertigung vorgestellt. Mithilfe einer BCH konnen Vorhersagen uber den zu erwartenden zeitlichen Ablauf einer Flugzeugabfertigung aus bereits vorliegenden zeitlichen Daten schritthaltend angepasst werden.
Effect of Metabolic Syndrome on Risk Stratification for Left Atrial or Left Atrial Appendage Thrombus Formation in Patients with Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a risk factor for stroke and thromboembolism event. Left atrial or LA appendage (LA/LAA) thrombus is a surrogate of potential stroke. The relationship between MS and atrial thrombus remains unclear. In this study, we sought to investigate the effect of MS on risk stratification of LA/LAA thrombus formation in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled 294 consecutive NVAF patients without prior anticoagulant and lipid-lowering therapies. LA/LAA thrombus was determined by transesophageal echocardiography. Risk assessment of LA/LAA thrombus was performed using the CHADS2, CHA2DS2-VASc, MS, CHADS2-MS, and CHA2DS2-VASc-MS scores. Logistic regression analyses were performed to determine which factors were significantly related to LA/LAA thrombus. Odds ratio (OR) including 95% confidence interval was also calculated. The predictive powers of different scores for the risk of LA/LAA thrombus were represented by C-statistics and compared by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Results: LA/LAA thrombi were identified in 56 patients (19.0%). Logistic analysis showed that MS was the strongest risk factor for LA/LAA thrombus in NVAF patients (OR = 14.698, P < 0.001). ROC curve analyses revealed that the C-statistics of CHADS2-MS and CHA2DS2-VASc-MS was significantly higher than those of CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores (CHADS2-MS vs. CHADS2, 0.807 vs. 0.726, P = 0.0019). Furthermore, MS was helpful for identifying individuals with a high risk of LA/LAA thrombus in the population with a low risk of stroke (CHADS2 or CHA2DS2-VASc score = 0). Conclusions: MS is associated with LA/LAA thrombus risk in patients with NVAF. In addition to the CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores, the CHADS2-MS and CHA2DS2-VASc-MS scores provide additional information on stroke risk assessment.
Interstitial pericytes decrease in aged mouse kidneys

With increasing age, the kidney undergoes characteristic changes in the glomerular and tubulo-interstitial compartments, which are ultimately accompanied by reduced kidney function. Studies have shown age-related loss of peritubular vessels. Normal peritubular vessel tone, function and survival depend on neighboring pericytes. Pericyte detachment leads to vascular damage, which can be accompanied by their differentiation to fibroblasts and myofibroblasts, a state that favors matrix production. To better understand the fate of pericytes in the aged kidney, 27 month-old mice were studied. Compared to 3 month-old young adult mice, aged kidneys showed a substantial decrease in capillaries, identified by CD31 staining, in both cortex and medulla. This was accompanied by a marked decrease in surrounding NG2+/PDGFRß+ pericytes. This decrease was more pronounced in the medulla. Capillaries devoid of pericytes were typically dilated in aged mice. Aged kidneys were also characterized by interstitial fibrosis due to increased collagen-I and -III staining. This was accompanied by an increase in the number of pericytes that acquired a pro-fibrotic phenotype, identified by increased PDGFRß+/αSMA+ staining. These findings are consistent with the decline in kidney interstitial pericytes as a critical step in the development of changes to the peritubular vasculature with aging, and accompanying fibrosis.
On Growth Measurement: a Reminder

of the least-squares regression R (Gi/gi) of true gain (G = T2 Td on observed gain (g = X2 Xd where the subscripts 1 and 2 refer to pretests and posttests, respectively. The derivation of the equation is relatively straightforward, using standard regression and true-score theory. From regression principles, the slope of the desired prediction line, b~, equals rag (sa/ Sg). Since the correlation of true gain and observed gain, rag, is the covariance of true and observed differences divided by the product of the respective standard deviations, the following relationship
Infants' Looking at Possible and Impossible Screen Rotations: The Role of Familiarization.

The effects of familiarization and age were examined using Baillargeon's rotating screen paradigm. In Condition A, 4-month-olds exposed to 7 180° familiarization trials looked significantly longer at the 180° test events than the 112° test events; there was a familiarity preference. In Condition B, which consisted of 12 instead of 7 180° familiarization trials, the 4-month-olds looked significantly longer at the 112° test events than the 180° test events; there was a novelty preference. In Condition C, which was similar to Condition A except that there were 112° familiarization trials, the infants showed a familiarity preference. Thus, 4-month-olds experiencing 7 familiarization trials exhibited a familiarity preference, and those experiencing 12 familiarization trials showed a novelty preference. In Condition D, 6-month-olds experienced 7 180° familiarization trials; there was no preferential looking to either familiar (180°) test events or novel (112°) test events. Therefore, looking behavior during the test trials was a function of the type of familiarization experience and age and not necessarily an inferred violation of physics.
Reduction -- an abstract thinking pattern: the case of the computational models course

Abstraction has been the focus of many researches in mathematics education and to some extent in computer science education. Abstract thinking characterizes the theoretical foundations of computer science, where reduction is one important abstract thinking pattern. In a previous work, we discussed the issue of reductive thinking among high school students in relation to computational models -- a theoretical unit. This unit requires abstract thinking in many aspects. Our findings in relation to reductive thinking showed that many students preferred direct, non-reductive solutions, even if reductive solutions could have significantly decreased the design complexity of the solution. This study motivated the current study where we examine the issue of reductive thinking among university students. The findings of this preliminary study are demonstrated by students' solutions to questions in assignments given in the computational models course. We found that even among university students in a very prestigious academic institution with very high entrance requirements abstraction is a real obstacle as reduction is not easily understood and used. This encourages us to further investigate this phenomenon.
Global Unions: Challenging Transnational Capital Through Cross-Border Campaigns

To meet the challenges of globalization, unions must improve their understanding of the changing nature of corporate ownership structures and practices, and they must develop alliances and strategies appropriate to the new environment. Global Unions includes original research from scholars around the world on the range of innovative strategies that unions use to adapt to different circumstances, industries, countries, and corporations in taking on the challenge of mounting cross-border campaigns against global firms. This collection emerges from a landmark conference where unionists, academics, and representatives of nongovernmental organizations from the Global South and the Global North met to devise strategies for labor to use when confronting the most powerful corporations such as Wal-Mart and Exxon Mobil. The workplaces discussed here include agriculture (bananas), maritime labor (dock workers), manufacturing (apparel, automobiles, medical supplies), food processing, and services (school bus drivers). Kate Bronfenbrenner's introduction sets the stage, followed by contributions describing specific examples from Asia, Latin America, and Europe. Bronfenbrenner's conclusion focuses on the key lessons for strengthening union power in relation to global capital.
The connected migrant: an epistemological manifesto

Current trends in thinking on contemporary migration (in particular, theories on transnational networks) agree that today's migrants are the actors of a culture of bonds, which they themselves have founded and which they maintain even as they move about. Formerly a latent feature but typical of all groups on the move, this culture of bonds became visible and highly dynamic once migrants began massively to use modern information and communication technologies (ICT). It is more and more common for migrants to maintain remote relations typical of relations of proximity and to activate them on a daily basis. The paradigmatic figure of the uprooted migrant is yielding to another figure: the connected migrant. Tous les courants de réflexion sur le phénomène migratoire contemporain (et notamment les théories des réseaux transnationaux) s'accordent sur le fait que les migrants d'aujourd'hui sont les acteurs d'une culture de lien, qu'ils ont eux-même fondée et qu'ils entretiennent dans leur mobilité. Auparavant à l'état latent, mais propre à tous les groupes qui se déplacent, cette culture de lien est devenue visible et très dynamique une fois que les migrants ont commencé à utiliser massivement les nouvelles technologies de l'information et de la communication. Aujourd'hui, il est de plus en plus fréquent que les migrants parviennent à maintenir à distance et à activer quotidiennement des relations qui s'apparentent à des rapports de proximité. Le déraciné, en tant que figure paradigmatique du monde migrant s'éloigne et fait place à une autre figure: le migrant connecté.
A Methodology for Automatically Tuned Parallel Tridiagonalization on Distributed Memory Vector-parallel Machines

In this paper, we describe an auto-tuning methodology for the parallel tridiagonalization to attain high performance. By searching the optimal set of three parameters for the performance, a highly eecient routine can be obtained automatically. Evaluation of the methodology on the distributed memory parallel machines, the HITACHI SR2201 and HITACHI SR8000, has been provided. The experimental results show 1.3{1.8 times speed-up to a not auto-tuned routine which was speciied with reasonable parameters, and the ratios increased for growing problem sizes. Comparison between the execution time of our routine with that of the ScaLAPACK's routine shows that our auto-tuned routine is faster in many cases.
Different ways to die: cell death modes of the unicellular chlorophyte Dunaliella viridis exposed to various environmental stresses are mediated by the caspase-like activity DEVDase

Programmed cell death is necessary for homeostasis in multicellular organisms and it is also widely recognized to occur in unicellular organisms. However, the mechanisms through which it occurs in unicells, and the enzymes involved within the final response is still the subject of heated debate. It is shown here that exposure of the unicellular microalga Dunaliella viridis to several environmental stresses, induced different cell death morphotypes, depending on the stimulus received. Senescent cells demonstrated classical and unambiguous apoptotic-like characteristics such as chromatin condensation, DNA fragmentation, intact organelles, and blebbing of the cell membrane. Acute heat shock caused general swelling and altered plasma membrane, but the presence of chromatin clusters and DNA strand breaks suggested a necrotic-like event. UV irradiated cells presented changes typical for necrosis, together with apoptotic characteristics resembling an intermediate cell-death phenotype termed aponecrosis-like. Cells subjected to hyperosmotic shock revealed chromatin spotting without DNA fragmentation, and extensive cytoplasmic swelling and vacuolization, comparable to a paraptotic-like cell death phenotype. Nitrogen-starved cells showed pyknosis, blebbing, and cytoplasmic consumption, indicating a similarity to autophagic/vacuolar-like cell death. The caspase-like activity DEVDase was measured by using the fluorescent substrate Ac-DEVD-AMC and antibodies against the human caspase-3 active enzyme cross-reacted with bands, the intensity of which paralleled the activity. All the environmental stresses tested produced a substantial increase in both DEVDase activity and protein levels. The irreversible caspase-3 inhibitor Z-DEVD-FMK completely inhibited the enzymatic activity whereas serine and aspartyl proteases inhibitors did not. These results show that cell death in D. viridis does not conform to a single pattern and that environmental stimuli may produce different types of cell death depending on the type and intensity of the stimulus, all of which help to understand the cell death-dependent and cell death-independent functions of caspase-like proteins. Hence, these data support the theory that alternative, non-apoptotic programmed cell death (PCDs), exist either in parallel or in an independent manner with apoptosis and were already present in single-celled organisms that evolved some 1.2-1.6 billion years ago.
Induction of T cell unresponsiveness by anti‐CD3 antibodies occurs independently of co‐stimulatory functions

Antibodies to the T cell receptor (TcR)‐associated CD3 molecules represent potent immunosuppressive agents in vivo in both human and animals models, in spite of their well‐characterized mitogenic properties. We demonstrate in this report that antibodies to the B7.2 molecule inhibit IL‐2 production in vivo caused by anti‐CD3 administration, suggesting that anti‐CD3 monoclonal antibodies (mAb) stimulate naive T cells in vivo in a co‐stimulation‐dependent fashion. To characterize better the mechanisms by which antibodies to CD3 induce antigen unresponsiveness in naive T cells, we developed a model of activation‐induced T cell unresponsiveness in vitro. Our data indicate that following interaction with mitogenic anti‐CD3 mAb in vitro, naive purified CD4+ T cells become refractory to a further stimulus. This unresponsive state develops independently of co‐stimulatory functions, as neither B7‐expressing antigen‐presenting cells nor anti‐CD28 mAb are able to prevent anergy induction in this model. We therefore conclude that induction of unresponsiveness in naive T cells by anti‐CD3 mAb is not a consequence of co‐stimulus‐deficient stimulation, but may develop following a productive response both in vivo and in vitro. Unresponsive T cells display a defective calcium mobilization upon TcR triggering, suggesting that anergy is maintained in these cells through receptor desensitization. The potential role of co‐stimulation‐independent TcR desensitization in the down‐regulation of immune responses in vivo is briefly discussed.
Rapid Classification of Crisis-Related Data on Social Networks using Convolutional Neural Networks

The role of social media, in particular microblogging platforms such as Twitter, as a conduit for actionable and tactical information during disasters is increasingly acknowledged. However, time-critical analysis of big crisis data on social media streams brings challenges to machine learning techniques, especially the ones that use supervised learning. The Scarcity of labeled data, particularly in the early hours of a crisis, delays the machine learning process. The current state-of-the-art classification methods require a significant amount of labeled data specific to a particular event for training plus a lot of feature engineering to achieve best results. In this work, we introduce neural network based classification methods for binary and multi-class tweet classification task. We show that neural network based models do not require any feature engineering and perform better than state-of-the-art methods. In the early hours of a disaster when no labeled data is available, our proposed method makes the best use of the out-of-event data and achieves good results.