Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A unified framework for decentralized reasoning about gradual changes in topological relations

With the development of miniaturized sensor and communication technologies, there is an ever-growing demand for algorithms to derive high-level spatiotemporal events from large amounts of sensed data. Our previous work has already defined a decentralized, in-network approach to identifying topological relation changes between continuously evolving regions monitored by a geosensor network. However, our previous work relies on a number of strong continuity assumptions, concerning the temporal granularity of sensor observations and the type of region deformations. This paper presents an improved algorithm which demonstrates how these key simplifying assumptions can be relaxed. Empirical testing of the algorithm demonstrates how this algorithm can operate at higher levels of scalability than both the previous algorithm, and smart centralized alternatives.
The Inhibitory Mechanisms Study of 5,6,4′-Trihydroxy-7,3′-Dimethoxyflavone against the LPS-Induced Macrophage Inflammatory Responses through the Antioxidant Ability

The whole plant of Anisomeles ovata has been widely used in Taiwan for treating inflammation-related skin and liver diseases, however, the detailed pharmacology mechanisms have yet to be elucidated. In the present study, one of the major components, 5,6,4′-trihydroxy-7,3′-dimethoxyflavone (5-TDMF), was purified from a methanol extract of Anisomeles ovata. A pharmacological study of this compound suggests that 5-TDMF possesses potent free radical scavenging activity both in vitro and ex vivo. Furthermore, 5-TDMF reduces nitric oxide and pro-inflammatory cytokine production in LPC-treated RAW 264.7 cells through the attenuation of nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2. Additional experiments suggest that of 5-TDMF interferes with nuclear factor-κB translocation and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways. These results identify 5-TDMF as an anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory compound, explain the pharmacologic function of Anisomeles ovata and suggest its great potential as a new anti-inflammatory remedy.
Downregulation of the Hsp90 System Causes Defects in Muscle Cells of Caenorhabditis Elegans

The ATP-dependent molecular chaperone Hsp90 is required for the activation of a variety of client proteins involved in various cellular processes. Despite the abundance of known client proteins, functions of Hsp90 in the organismal context are not fully explored. In Caenorhabditis elegans, Hsp90 (DAF-21) has been implicated in the regulation of the stress-resistant dauer state, in chemosensing and in gonad formation. In a C. elegans strain carrying a DAF-21 mutation with a lower ATP turnover, we observed motility defects. Similarly, a reduction of DAF-21 levels in wild type nematodes leads to reduced motility and induction of the muscular stress response. Furthermore, aggregates of the myosin MYO-3 are visible in muscle cells, if DAF-21 is depleted, implying a role of Hsp90 in the maintenance of muscle cell functionality. Similar defects can also be observed upon knockdown of the Hsp90-cochaperone UNC-45. In life nematodes YFP-DAF-21 localizes to the I-band and the M-line of the muscular ultrastructure, but the protein is not stably attached there. The Hsp90-cofactor UNC-45-CFP contrarily can be found in all bands of the nematode muscle ultrastructure and stably associates with the UNC-54 containing A-band. Thus, despite the physical interaction between DAF-21 and UNC-45, apparently the two proteins are not always localized to the same muscular structures. While UNC-45 can stably bind to myofilaments in the muscular ultrastructure, Hsp90 (DAF-21) appears to participate in the maintenance of muscle structures as a transiently associated diffusible factor.
Please Scroll down for Article International Journal of Geographical Information Science Local Entropy Map: a Nonparametric Approach to Detecting Spatially Varying Multivariate Relationships Local Entropy Map: a Nonparametric Approach to Detecting Spatially Varying Multivariate Relationships

This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution , reselling , loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material. The relationship between two or more variables may change over the geographic space. The change can be in parameter values (e.g., regression coefficients) or even in relation forms (e.g., linear, quadratic, or exponential). Existing local spatial analysis methods often assume a relationship form (e.g., a linear regression model) for all regions and focus only on the change in parameter values. Therefore, they may not be able to discover local relationships of different forms simultaneously. This research proposes a nonparametric approach, a local entropy map, which does not assume a prior relationship form and can detect the existence of multivariate relationships regardless of their forms. The local entropy map calculates an approximation of the Rényi entropy for the multivariate data in each local region (in the geographic space). Each local entropy value is then converted to a p-value by comparing to a distribution of permutation entropy values for the same region. All p-values (one for each local region) are processed by several statistical tests to control the multiple-testing problem. Finally, the testing results are mapped and allow analysts to locate and interactively examine significant local relationships. The method is evaluated with a series of synthetic data sets and a real data set. 1. Introduction One of the major challenges to spatial data analysis and geographic data mining is that relationships between two or more variables may change over the geographic space. This is related to the problem of spatial non-stationarity, ''the measurement of a relationship depends in part on where the measurement is taken'' (Fotheringham et al. 2002). To address the spatial non-stationarity problem, a number of local spatial analysis methods have been developed, including local point pattern analysis (Openshaw et al. Existing local spatial analysis …
Diagnosis and the DSM: A Critical Review

This book provides a critical evaluation of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Starting from a historical overview of the evolution in psychiatric diagnosis, Stijn Vanheule argues that the diagnostic reliability of the DSM-5 is overrated: important factors that undermine its diagnostic reliability have never been sufficiently addressed and the common idea that the handbook is reliable rests on a biased interpretation of statistical data. Vanheule argues that the DSM-5 builds on a narrow biomedical approach to mental disorders that neglects context and proposes its replacement with a contextualizing model of mental health symptoms. Drawing from phenomenological psychiatry and Lacanian psychoanalysis, the author concludes that a reflexive account of psychopathology is urgently needed.
Computational Limitations of First-Order Repressor Systems

Almost all current approaches for engineering modular logic components in synthetic biology use first-order regulators, including most CRISPR/CAS, TAL, zinc finger, and RNA interference systems. Many practitioners understand intuitively that second and higher order binding is necessary for scalability, and this is easy to show for single-input single-output systems. However, no study to date has analysed whether a more complex system, utilizing e.g. feedback or error correction, can produce scalable computation from first-order regulators. We prove here that first order repressor systems cannot support bistability. In the process, we introduce a function G to measure signal quality in molecular systems, and we show that G always decreases in dynamic feedback systems as well as static feed-forward logic cascades of first-order repressors. As a result, first order repressors cannot build memory or signal buffering elements. Finally, we suggest G as a potential new property for characterization of standard biological parts.
Multi-strategy Ontology Mapping Based on Stacking Method

As a crucial point of semantic integration, ontology mapping has been researched in-depth in recent years. In this paper, the problem of concept similarity computing is regarded as the problem of classifying, and a multi-strategy ontology mapping framework based on Stacking method is proposed with the multi concept similarity computing strategies being combined with Stacking method; also, a novel metadata classifying algorithm LMSMC based on Widrow-Hoff theory is presented. In this framework, the target ontology is classified with various current concept similarity computing methods in layer 0, and the metadata is classified with LMSMC algorithm in layer 1, and then the ontology mapping which combines several algorithms is made. Experiments indicate that the method performs better in improving precision and recall compared to individually using those algorithms.
Influence of short-term follow-up on cardiovascular risk status among high-risk hypertensive patients in Turkey: an observational study.

OBJECTIVE The present study was designed to evaluate clinical practice of cardiovascular (CV) risk management and the influence of follow-up on risk profile among hypertensive patients. METHODS Of the 1023 patients enrolled in the cross-sectional phase, data from 397 high-risk patients (mean [SD] age, 59.2 [11.5] years; 62.5% female) who had attended at least 1 follow-up visit within 9 months of (longitudinal phase) enrollment were included in the present non-interventional study of CV risk factors, 10-year coronary heart disease (CHD) risk estimate, risk level, and risk management. RESULTS Ten-year CHD risk (p<0.001), and percentages of patients with high risk (20.7 vs 13.4%) and very high risk (19.6 vs 6.6%) significantly decreased upon follow-up (p<0.001). Significant reductions in systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (p<0.001 for each), and an increase in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (p=0.007) were associated with a positive shift in risk grouping (42.8%). The shift toward lower-risk grouping was more prominent in patients with diabetes (5.5% vs 41.1%) and metabolic syndrome (19.2% vs 34.2%; p<0.001 for each). Achievement of target BP significantly improved upon follow-up, particularly in lower-risk groups (p<0.001). CONCLUSION Results indicate better CV risk management in hypertensive patients, with a pronounced decrease in 10-year CV risk estimate and a switch to lower-risk grouping, particularly in patients with diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome, associated with close follow-up.
The sparse cyclic distribution against its dense counterparts

Several methods have been proposed in the literature for the distribution of data on distributed memory machines, either oriented to dense or sparse structures. Many of the real applications, however, deal with both kinds of data jointly. The paper presents techniques for integrating dense and sparse array accesses in a way that optimizes locality and further allows an efficient loop partitioning within a data-parallel compiler. The approach is evaluated through an experimental survey with several compilers and parallel platforms. The results prove the benefits of the BRS sparse distribution when combined with CYCLIC in mixed algorithms and the poor efficiency achieved by well-known distribution schemes when sparse elements arise in the source code.
Absorption and Transport of Sea Cucumber Saponins from Apostichopus japonicus

The present study is focused on the intestinal absorption of sea cucumber saponins. We determined the pharmacokinetic characteristics and bioavailability of Echinoside A and Holotoxin A1; the findings indicated that the bioavailability of Holotoxin A1 was lower than Echinoside A. We inferred that the differences in chemical structure between compounds was a factor that explained their different characteristics of transport across the intestine. In order to confirm the absorption characteristics of Echinoside A and Holotoxin A1, we examined their transport across Caco-2 cell monolayer and effective permeability by single-pass intestinal perfusion. The results of Caco-2 cell model indicate that Echinoside A is transported by passive diffusion, and not influenced by the exocytosis of P-glycoprotein (P-gp, expressed in the apical side of Caco-2 monolayers as the classic inhibitor). The intestinal perfusion also demonstrated well the absorption of Echinoside A and poor absorption of Holotoxin A1, which matched up with the result of the Caco-2 cell model. The results demonstrated our conjecture and provides fundamental information on the relationship between the chemical structure of these sea cucumber saponins and their absorption characteristics, and we believe that our findings build a foundation for the further metabolism study of sea cucumber saponins and contribute to the further clinical research of saponins.
Bacterioplankton production in the nearshore zone during upwelling off central Chile

We measured bacterioplankton abundance and productivity during 3 upwelling cycles at a nearshore station off central Chile (36"309S) in January 1986. Standing stock (43 to 113 X 1 0 ' ~ cells m-2 over the 25 m water column) and productivity were lowest during periods of active upwelling and highest during periods of calm or hght winds and water column strabfication. Bactenal productivity peaked 1 to 2 d after primary productivity and varied by about an order of magnitude (0.13 to 1.40 pgC 1-1 h-1 ) between newly upwelled and stratified waters. Surface primary productivity was much more variable (50-fold variation) and thus appeared to respond more strongly to the hydrographic events of the upwelling cycle. Net bacterial production was often a substantial fraction of primary production (up to about 50 %), especially in newly upwelled water The abundance of heterotrophic microflagellates also varied in response to the upwelling cycle, with maximum abundances occurring during periods of strahfication. The duration of stratified conditions between successive upwelling events may determine how much bacterial production is mineralized by grazers in the nearshore zone and how much is subsequently transported offshore.
The metapleural gland of ants

The metapleural gland (MG) is a complex glandular structure unique to ants, suggesting a critical role in their origin and ecological success. We synthesize the current understanding of the adaptive function, morphology, evolutionary history, and chemical properties of the MG. Two functions of the MG, sanitation and chemical defence, have received the strongest empirical support; two additional possible functions, recognition odour and territorial marking, are less well supported. The design of the MG is unusual for insects; glandular secretions are stored in a rigid, non‐compressible invagination of the integument and the secretion is thought to ooze out passively through the non‐closable opening of the MG or is groomed off by the legs and applied to target surfaces. MG loss has occurred repeatedly among the ants, particularly in the subfamilies Formicinae and Myrmicinae, and the MG is more commonly absent in males than in workers. MG chemistry has been characterized mostly in derived ant lineages with unique biologies (e.g. leafcutter ants, fire ants), currently precluding any inferences about MG chemistry at the origin of the ants. A synthetic approach integrating functional morphology, phylogenetic transitions and chemical ecology of the MGs of both the derived and the unstudied early‐branching (basal) ant lineages is needed to elucidate the evolutionary origin and diversification of the MG of ants.
Ethnography As A Pastoral Practice: An Introduction

During the second half of the twentieth century, when the clinical paradigm dominated pastoral theology and care, leading pastoral theologians and practitioners used a revised correlational method to bring questions and answers arising existentially from the practice of care into dialogue with theological and psychological perspectives. As new paradigms of spiritual care have gradually emerged—the communal contextual paradigm and the intercultural paradigm—pastoral theologians have been exploring methodologies that are more congruent with postmodern approaches to religious knowledge. Elaine Graham (1996, p. 140) outlined one such methodology: pastoral theology as the critical phenomenology of pastoral practice that studies "a living and acting faith-community in order to excavate and examine the norms which inhabit pastoral praxis? Given the array of qualitative research strategies based upon postmodern approaches to knowledge now available (see, for example, Denzin & Lincoln, 2005) pastoral theologians and practitioners face the challenge of knowing how to implement these strategies to study the practical wisdom of faithful persons and communities. Ethnography as a Pastoral Practice is a much needed introduction to the use of ethnographic research strategies that reflect epistemological assumptions of communal contextual and intercultural paradigms of spiritual and pastoral care: that theology is performative, and praxis is the way in which communities and persons embody and enact their beliefs (Graham, 1996, p. 7).
Pitfalls in Aspect Mining

The research domain of aspect mining studies the problem of (semi-)automatically identifying potential aspects and crosscutting concernsin a software system, to improve the system's comprehensibility or enable its migration to an aspect-oriented solution. Unfortunately,most proposed aspect mining techniques have not lived up to their expectations yet. In this paper we provide a list of problems thatmost aspect mining techniques suffer from and identify some of the root causes underlying these problems. Based upon this analysis, weconclude that many of the problems seem to be caused directly or indirectly by the use of inappropriate techniques, a lack of rigourand semantics on what is being mined for and how, and in how the results of the mining process are presented to the user.
Investigating learner preparedness for and usage patterns of mobile learning

Abstract While the use of mobile devices for language learning has sparked the interest of an increasing number of researchers in recent years (e.g., Aizawa & Kiernan, 2003; Thornton & Houser, 2005), our knowledge of learners' preferences for the mobile platform and their usage patterns remains limited. Are learners prepared to use mobile phones for performing language learning activities, or is there still a preference for desktop computer environments? Do learners make attempts to use mobile phones and then opt for a desktop computer instead? When and where do those learners who choose to use mobile phones use them, and why do they choose them? The current study investigated 75 learners of English at a Japanese university who were assigned vocabulary learning activities which they could choose to complete on either a mobile phone or desktop computer. It sought to determine their intentions to use mobile phones for language learning if other options were available, to compare this with their actual usage patterns, and to determine when and why learners used mobile phones. Learner attitudes and preferences were elicited through a post-survey, and usage patterns were determined through analysis of detailed server logs. The results are discussed in terms of the readiness of learners to undertake mobile-based language learning activities, and the issues having an effect on the establishment of the mobile phone as a language learning tool.
Laryngeal mask airway in ENT surgery

Dear Sir, I read with keen interest the article 'The laryngeal mask airway in ENT surgery' by R. E. Daum and B. J. O'Reilly {Journal of Laryngology and Otology, 1992; 106: 28-30). They concluded from their work that they would advocate the introduction of laryngeal masks to improve safety and speed as well as to economize. The use of largyngeal masks is not without its problems. In a prospective study of 122 routine adult ENT surgical procedures (excluding tonsillectomies and palatal surgery), laryngeal masks were used in eight cases, there was injury to the soft palate/uvula in two cases (awaiting publication). In one case a catgut stitch had to be inserted into the soft palate at the base of the uvula. Both these two patients had to remain in hospital for a further two days for adequate pain relief. There has been at least one other case report of injury to the uvula due to improper use of a laryngeal mask. Great care has to be taken with the use of laryngeal masks in ENT surgery, but in experienced hands I am sure they are safe, quick and economical. Yours faithfully, Art A. P. Connolly, F.R. C.S. , ENT Department, St George's Hospital, Blackshaw Road, London SW17 OQT.
Terrorism: Perspectives from the Behavioral and Social Sciences

The events and aftermath of September 11, 2001, profoundly changed the course of history of the nation. They also brought the phenomenon known as terrorism to the forefront of the nation's consciousness. As it became thus focused, the limits of scientific understanding of terrorism and the capacity to develop policies to deal with it became even more evident. The objective of this report is to bring behavioral and social science perspectives to bear on the nature, determinants, and domestic responses to contemporary terrorism as a way of making theoretical and practical knowledge more adequate to the task. It also identifies areas of research priorities for the behavioral and social sciences.
Synchronization via scheduling: techniques for efficiently managing shared state

Shared state access conflicts are one of the greatest sources of error for fine grained parallelism in any domain. Notoriously hard to debug, these conflicts reduce reliability and increase development time. The standard task graph model dictates that tasks with potential conflicting accesses to shared state must be linked by a dependency, even if there is no explicit logical ordering on their execution. In cases where it is difficult to understand if such implicit dependencies exist, the programmer often creates more dependencies than needed, which results in constrained graphs with large monolithic tasks and limited parallelism. We propose a new technique, Synchronization via Scheduling (SvS), that uses the results of static and dynamic code analysis to manage potential shared state conflicts by exposing the data accesses of each task to the scheduler. We present an in-depth performance analysis of SvS via examples from video games, our target domain, and show that SvS performs well in comparison to software transactional memory (TM) and fine grained mutexes.