Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Contrasted mediolateral postural control mechanisms in varied foot positions

To maintain an upright stance, postural muscles are activated to control the displacement and location of the centre of pressure (COP: the controlling variable) on the ground, which in turn controls the displacement and location of the centre of mass (the controlled variable; Winter et al. 1996). Winter et al. (1996) proposed the existence of two postural control mechanisms to explain the COP displacement in the mediolateral (ML) axis: a body weight distribution mechanism performed by loading more body weight on one leg and thus unloading the other leg (denoted as COPv in the model computation) and a COP location mechanism performed by changing the COP location under the left and right feet (denoted as COPc). Each of these mechanisms explains a proportion of the ML COP displacement. Two complementary analyses are used to investigate the contribution of both mechanisms, one of amplitude (amplitude contribution or strength) and the other of cross correlation (active contribution, see Section 2) between COP, COPv and COPc time series. Our objective was to evaluate and compare the amplitude and active contributions of ML COPv and ML COPc between narrow stance and two other stance conditions: wide (feet 40 cm of each other) and tandem Romberg (TR) stances. This study served to improve knowledge on the functioning of ML postural control mechanisms. First, we assumed that the predominant ML control mechanism would be COPv for the narrow and wide stances and COPc for TR stance. This would be shown by higher amplitude and active contributions of COPv than COPc in feet side-by-side conditions (Winter et al. 1996; Rougier 2007) and inversely in TR. Second, the closer the feet side by side, the smaller the ML possible displacement of the ground reaction force is to control the centre of mass displacement (smaller level arm:smaller amplitude contribution). Hence, to enable the control of ML equilibrium, the closer the feet are, the higher the active contribution of both mechanisms should be. 2. Methods
3D-Pharmacophores of Flavonoid Binding at the Benzodiazepine GABAA Receptor Site Using 4D-QSAR Analysis

4D-QSAR analysis was applied to a training set of 38 flavonoids where affinity constants, Ki, to the GABA(A) benzodiazepine receptor site, BzR, were determined. It was found that the -logKi values of the compounds are highly dependent on the size and electrostatics character of the substituents at the R(3') and R(6) positions of the flavonoid scaffold. Polar negative groups correctly embedded in the R(3') and/or R(6) substituents are predicted to increase -logKi values. A planar conformation of the flavonoid scaffold was found not to be a requirement for the flavonoids to be active. A test set of four compounds was used to evaluate the predictivity of the 4D-QSAR models.
A Comparison Between a Geometrical and an ANN Based Method for Retinal Bifurcation Points Extraction

This paper describes a comparative study between an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and a geometric technique to detect for biometric applications,the bifurcation points of blood vessels in the retinal fundus. The first step is an image pre- processing phase to extract retina blood vessels. The contrast of the blood vessels from the retinal image background is enhanced in order to extract the blood vessels skeleton. Successively, candidate points of bifurcation are individualized by approximating the skeleton lines in segments. The distinction between bifurcations and vessel bends is carried out through the employment of two methods: geometric (through the study of intersections within the region obtained thresholding the image portion inside a circle centered around the junctions point and the circumference of the same circle) and an ANN. The results obtained are compared and discussed.
Studying Optimal Spilling in the Light of SSA

Recent developments in register allocation, mostly linked to static single assignment (SSA) form, have shown the benefits of decoupling the problem in two phases: a first spilling phase places load and store instructions so that the register pressure at all program points is small enough, and a second assignment and coalescing phase maps the variables to physical registers and reduces the number of move instructions among registers. This article focuses on the first phase, for which many open questions remain: in particular, we study the notion of optimal spilling (what can be expressed? ) and the impact of SSA form (does it help? ). To identify the important features for optimal spilling on load-store architectures, we develop a new integer linear programming formulation, more accurate and expressive than previous approaches. Among other features, we can express SSA φ-functions, memory-to-memory copies, and the fact that a value can be stored simultaneously in a register and in memory. Based on this formulation, we present a thorough analysis of the results obtained for the SPECINT 2000 and EEMBC 1.1 benchmarks, from which we draw, among others, the following conclusions: (1) rematerialization is extremely important; (2) SSA complicates the formulation of optimal spilling, especially because of memory coalescing when the code is not in conventional SSA (CSSA); (3) microarchitectural features are significant and thus have to be accounted for; and (4) significant savings can be obtained in terms of static spill costs, cache miss rates, and dynamic instruction counts.
EXPLORING YOUNG PEOPLE'S USE OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES AND DIGITAL MEDIA IN THE INTERNET SAFETY CONTEXT

This paper explores young people's use of digital media focusing upon the use of social networking sites (SNS) as a means of networking and communication in the context of internet safety. It also considers cultural and gender differences in the use of the medium. It draws upon recent research conducted by the authors in the UK in 20091 and in the Kingdom of Bahrain in 20102 (the first large-scale research study on young people and internet usage to be conducted in a country in the Middle East). A similar methodological approach was adopted in both studies, which included large random, stratified samples of young people aged 12–18 and focus groups with children aged 7 plus. Both studies investigated internet usage and online behaviours, definitions of risk, awareness of safety and use of SNS. In total, approximately 4,500 young people participated in the research, along with teachers, stakeholders and adults. Findings suggest that young people use digital media in much the same way regardless of the social and cultural contexts, but that culturally gendered perspectives place restrictions upon usage.
Guidelines for developing and using quantitative structure‐activity relationships

Numerous quantitative structure‐activity relationships (QSARs) have been developed to predict properties, fate, and effects of mostly discrete organic chemicals. As the demand for different types of regulatory testing increases and the cost of experimental testing escalates, there is a need to evaluate the use of QSARs and provide some guidance to avoid their misuse, especially as QSARs are being considered for regulatory purposes. This paper provides some guidelines that will promote the proper development and use of QSARs. While this paper uses examples of QSARs to predict toxicity, the proposed guidelines are applicable to QSARs used to predict physical or chemical properties, environmental fate, ecological effects and health effects.
Meta-perception: reflexes and bodies as part of the interface

Meta-perception is both an interaction design concept and the theme of a research group at the University of Tokyo. As a design concept, meta-perception is used to describe experience of novel phenomena made possible by devices that extend the human precepts. As a research group, our goal is to develop methods for capturing and manipulating information that is normally inaccessible to humans and machines. In this paper we describe various displays and devices that exemplify meta-perception. These include: several displays with which the human bodily interacts and wearable haptic devices that act as an extended skin. We reflect upon a design approach which borrows from elements of philosophy and media art to describe a different relationship between humans and technology.
IRL: A Three-Tier Approach to FT-CORBA Infrastructures

A replication logic is the set of protocols and mechanisms implementing a software replication technique. A three-tier approach to replication consists in separating the replication logic from both clients and servers by embedding such logic in a mid-tier. This novel approach allows (i) to design thin client (embedding the presentation code and some redirection/retransmission mechanism), (ii) to let servers replicas (the endtier) be accessed by common request/response asynchronous invocation, and then (iii) to deploy server replicas on an asynchronous distributed system without the burden of managing complex distributed protocols (this improves scalability and simplifies replica management). In this paper we also present the Interoperable Replication Logic (IRL) architecture which is a Fault Tolerant CORBA compliant infrastructure exploiting a threetier approach to replicate CORBA objects. We finally present an extensive performance study of an IRL prototype.
Du familier vers l'inconnu : à propos de la rencontre analytique en pays d'Orient.

Résumé Se plaçant dans une perspective anthropo-psychanalytique, comparative et différentielle, l'auteur analyse les obstacles à l'établissement d'une rencontre analytique véritable dans le contexte des sociétés traditionnelles orientales et des cultures à proxémie chaude, à partir de son expérience clinique au Liban. Il relève les difficultés de l'anonymat et de la neutralité, montre que toute rencontre comporte un désir de reconnaissance nominale qui passe par une fabulation compensatoire avant de déboucher sur un aveu et une parole vraie. Le psychanalyste est souvent placé dans une situation d'expertise et doit répondre surtout à un désir de guérison. Ce qui l'entraîne à penser autrement sa pratique.
Early lessons from the development of SPOK, an end-user development environment for smart homes

This paper presents early lessons from the development of SPOK, an End-User Development Environment for smart homes. SPOK (Simple PrOgramming Kit) uses a pseudo-natural language as an end-user programming language and runs on top of an extension of OSGi/iPOJO to support the dynamic and resilient management of web services and devices from a variety of protocols including EnOcean, UPnP, and Watteco. The motivation for SPOK is to give the power back to end-users so that they can shape their own smart home at will. This paper reports lessons learned from the methods we have used to validate our hypotheses as well as a number of technical issues concerning development of this type of EUDE. A Video of SPOK in action as of October 2013 is accessible at: http://iihm.imag. fr/demos/appsgate/appsgate2013.mp4
Easing the Transition to High School: An Investigation of Reform Practices to Promote Ninth Grade Success

This study contributes to the literature on school reform and restructuring by providing much needed information about effective school organizational practices to ease the transition to high school. As educational researchers and practitioners work to find the best ways to organize high schools for the benefit of teachers and students alike, more attention must be given to the unique needs of ninth graders as they transition to a new school environment while also facing the challenges of adolescence.
Pattern-Based Software Architecture for Service-Oriented Software Systems

Abstract Service-oriented architecture is a recent conceptual framework for service-oriented softwareplatforms. Architectures are of great importance for the evolution of software systems. Wepresent a modelling and transformation technique for service-centric distributed software systems.Architectural conﬁgurations, expressed through hierarchical architectural patterns, form the coreof a speciﬁcation and transformation technique. Patterns on diﬀerent levels of abstraction formtransformation invariants that structure and constrain the transformation process. We explorethe role that patterns can play in architecture transformations in terms of functional properties,but also non-functional quality aspects. 1. Introduction The development of distributed software sys-tems based on service architectures is rapidlygaining momentum. Service-oriented architec-ture (SOA) is emerging as a new designparadigm and conceptual framework for dis-tributed service-centric software systems, sup-ported by platforms such as the
Genome-Wide Distribution and Organization of Microsatellites in Plants: An Insight into Marker Development in Brachypodium

Plant genomes are complex and contain large amounts of repetitive DNA including microsatellites that are distributed across entire genomes. Whole genome sequences of several monocot and dicot plants that are available in the public domain provide an opportunity to study the origin, distribution and evolution of microsatellites, and also facilitate the development of new molecular markers. In the present investigation, a genome-wide analysis of microsatellite distribution in monocots (Brachypodium, sorghum and rice) and dicots (Arabidopsis, Medicago and Populus) was performed. A total of 797,863 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were identified in the whole genome sequences of six plant species. Characterization of these SSRs revealed that mono-nucleotide repeats were the most abundant repeats, and that the frequency of repeats decreased with increase in motif length both in monocots and dicots. However, the frequency of SSRs was higher in dicots than in monocots both for nuclear and chloroplast genomes. Interestingly, GC-rich repeats were the dominant repeats only in monocots, with the majority of them being present in the coding region. These coding GC-rich repeats were found to be involved in different biological processes, predominantly binding activities. In addition, a set of 22,879 SSR markers that were validated by e-PCR were developed and mapped on different chromosomes in Brachypodium for the first time, with a frequency of 101 SSR markers per Mb. Experimental validation of 55 markers showed successful amplification of 80% SSR markers in 16 Brachypodium accessions. An online database ‘BraMi’ (Brachypodium microsatellite markers) of these genome-wide SSR markers was developed and made available in the public domain. The observed differential patterns of SSR marker distribution would be useful for studying microsatellite evolution in a monocot–dicot system. SSR markers developed in this study would be helpful for genomic studies in Brachypodium and related grass species, especially for the map based cloning of the candidate gene(s).
Radiobiological evaluation of intensity modulated radiation therapy treatments of patients with head and neck cancer: A dual-institutional study

In clinical practice, evaluation of clinical efficacy of treatment planning stems from the radiation oncologist's experience in accurately targeting tumors, while keeping minimal toxicity to various organs at risk (OAR) involved. A more objective, quantitative method may be raised by using radiobiological models. The purpose of this work is to evaluate the potential correlation of OAR-related toxicities to its radiobiologically estimated parameters in simultaneously integrated boost (SIB) intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) plans of patients with head and neck tumors at two institutions. Lyman model for normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) and the Poisson model for tumor control probability (TCP) models were used in the Histogram Analysis in Radiation Therapy (HART) analysis. In this study, 33 patients with oropharyngeal primaries in the head and neck region were used to establish the correlation between NTCP values of (a) bilateral parotids with clinically observed rates of xerostomia, (b) esophagus with dysphagia, and (c) larynx with dysphagia. The results of the study indicated a strong correlation between the severity of xerostomia and dysphagia with Lyman NTCP of bilateral parotids and esophagus, respectively, but not with the larynx. In patients without complications, NTCP values of these organs were negligible. Using appropriate radiobiological models, the presence of a moderate to strong correlation between the severities of complications with NTCP of selected OARs suggested that the clinical outcome could be estimated prior to treatment.
Information Criteria for Moment Restriction Models

This paper proposes model and moment selection criteria for moment restriction models. Our selection methods are based on the Cressie-Read discrepancy. We propose information criteria based on the empirical Cressie-Read (ECR) estimator. Our criteria are natural extensions of the Akaike information criterion (AIC) and the Takeuchi information criterion (TIC). In the spirit of Akaike (1973), we derive asymptotically unbiased estimators for the expected value of the Cressie-Read discrepancy from the fitted model to the true data generating process. The resulting criteria are penalized ECR statistics. In a Monte Carlo study, we examine the properties of our criteria based on the empirical likelihood and exponential tilting estimators.
Molecular diagnosis of a novel heterozygous 268C→T (R90C) mutation in TGIF gene in a fetus with holoprosencephaly and premaxillary agenesis

We report the sonographic diagnosis and molecular analysis of holoprosencephaly (HPE) and premaxillary agenesis in a second‐trimester fetus with a 46,XY karyotype. Mutational sequence analyses for the entire coding region and exon–intron boundaries of SHH, ZIC2, SIX3 and TGIF genes identified a novel heterozygous missense TGIF mutation 268C→T (CGC→TGC change) that predicts an Arg90Cys substitution in the homeodomain region of TGIF. The proband's parents did not carry the mutation. The present case is an example of the heterogeneous entity of the HPE spectrum and demonstrates that adjunctive molecular analyses of distinct human genes for HPE can reassure genetic counselling by elucidating the genetic pathogenesis, especially in cytogenetically normal fetuses affected with HPE. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Estimated epidemiologic parameters and morbidity associated with pandemic H1N1 influenza

Background: In the face of an influenza pandemic, accurate estimates of epidemiologic parameters are required to help guide decision-making. We sought to estimate epidemiologic parameters for pandemic H1N1 influenza using data from initial reports of laboratory-confirmed cases. Methods: We obtained data on laboratory-confirmed cases of pandemic H1N1 influenza reported in the province of Ontario, Canada, with dates of symptom onset between Apr. 13 and June 20, 2009. Incubation periods and duration of symptoms were estimated and fit to parametric distributions. We used competing-risk models to estimate risk of hospital admission and case-fatality rates. We used a Markov Chain Monte Carlo model to simulate disease transmission. Results: The median incubation period was 4 days and the duration of symptoms was 7 days. Recovery was faster among patients less than 18 years old than among older patients (hazard ratio 1.23, 95% confidence interval 1.06–1.44). The risk of hospital admission was 4.5% (95% CI 3.8%–5.2%) and the case-fatality rate was 0.3% (95% CI 0.1%–0.5%). The risk of hospital admission was highest among patients less than 1 year old and those 65 years or older. Adults more than 50 years old comprised 7% of cases but accounted for 7 of 10 initial deaths (odds ratio 28.6, 95% confidence interval 7.3–111.2). From the simulation models, we estimated the following values (and 95% credible intervals): a mean basic reproductive number (R0, the number of new cases created by a single primary case in a susceptible population) of 1.31 (1.25–1.38), a mean latent period of 2.62 (2.28–3.12) days and a mean duration of infectiousness of 3.38 (2.06–4.69) days. From these values we estimated a serial interval (the average time from onset of infectiousness in a case to the onset of infectiousness in a person infected by that case) of 4–5 days. Interpretation: The low estimates for R0 indicate that effective mitigation strategies may reduce the final epidemic impact of pandemic H1N1 influenza.
Disease Risk Surface for Coxiella burnetii Seroprevalence in White‐Tailed Deer

Coxiella burnetii is considered a re‐emerging zoonosis in many countries. The bacterium is enzootic in livestock and wildlife in the United States, and environmental contamination is widespread. Despite the potential for exposure, the estimated prevalence of Q fever in humans and animals is not well elucidated, and reported human infections in the United States are relatively rare. Zoonotic transmission of the bacterium is usually associated with abortions in domestic ruminants, but other modes of transmission, such as contact with infected blood and/or milk during field dressing of infected wildlife, have not been thoroughly investigated. Studies of zoonotic pathogen transmission between animal reservoir hosts and humans are usually established in response to documented emergence or re‐emergence of a zoonosis in a particular locale, and, as such, the prevalence of infection in wildlife is largely unknown for many zoonotic pathogens, including C. burnetii. The objective of this study was to create a disease risk surface for C. burnetii seroprevalence in wild white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in New York State. Blood samples were collected from hunter‐harvested deer from across New York State in 2009 and 2010. The samples were processed and tested for the presence of anti‐C. burnetii antibodies via indirect microimmunofluorescence assays using phase II C. burnetii strain RSA439. Overall, 14.50% of the tested white‐tailed deer were C. burnetii phase II seropositive. The dual Kernel density estimation method was used to create a smoothed disease risk surface, which revealed variation in seroprevalence ranging from 0% to 32.0%. Areas of higher seroprevalence were detected in four discrete areas of Central New York and in one additional area in the southwest corner of the northern part of the state. This suggests certain locales where humans may be at increased risk for exposure to the bacterium secondary to contact with potentially infected deer.
Sensarea: An authoring tool to create accurate clickable videos

We present a user-friendly software application that can be used in a post-production environment and that allows to automatically or semi-automatically perform spatiotemporal segmentation of video objects. The central element in the application is a local pyramid-based segmentation algorithm. Several tools are provided to interactively guide or correct the automatic process when necessary. The masks of the extracted objects can be exported in a Flash or XML vectorized format and can be synchronized to the original video for many applications such as clickable videos.
Epidemics: models and data.

"The problems of understanding and controlling disease raise a range of challenging mathematical and statistical research topics, from broad theoretical issues to specific practical ones. In particular, recent interest in acquired immune deficiency syndrome has stimulated much progress in diverse areas of epidemic modelling, particularly with regard to the treatment of heterogeneity, both between individuals and in mixing of subgroups of the population. At the same time better data and data analysis techniques have become available, and there have been exciting developments in relevant theory. This progress in specific areas is now being matched by interdisciplinary cooperation aimed at elucidating relationships between the widely varying types of model that have been found useful, to determine their strengths and limitations in relation to basic aims such as understanding, prediction, and evaluation and implementation of control strategies. "