Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Spatial analysis of mass trapping: how close is close enough?

BACKGROUND The identification of new attractants can present opportunities for developing mass trapping, but standard screening methods are needed to expedite this. We have developed a simple approach based on quantifying trap interference in 4 × 4 trap arrays with different spacings. We discuss results from sex pheromones in Lepidoptera (light brown apple moth, Epiphyas postvittana), Diptera (apple leaf curling midge, Dasineura mali) and Homoptera (citrophilous mealybug, Pseudococcus calceolariae), compared with a kairomone for New Zealand flower thrips (Thrips obscuratus). RESULTS The ratio of catch in corner traps to catch in centre traps was 25:1 at 750 D. mali traps ha(-1) , and was still ∼5:1 at 16 traps ha(-1) , suggesting trap interference even at such low trap densities. Trap competition for sex pheromone lures at close spacing (<5 m) was evident in 16-trap arrays of P. calceolariae, but less so for E. postvittana. No trap competition was observed at 4 m spacings with the kairomone for T. obscuratus. CONCLUSIONS The ratio of catch in traps in the corner and centre of a 16-trap array at different spacings offers a rapid preliminary assessment method for determining the potential for mass trapping. Additional knowledge of vital rates and dispersal is needed for predicting population suppression. Our approach should have value in mass trapping development. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.
Image warping for a painterly effect

We propose a two-stage approach to painterly rendering of photographs, where the image plane is first warped to produce a distorted or caricatured effect and then the resulting image is rendered with a painterly effect. We use SLIC superpixels to obtain an oversegmentation, and assign spring parameters uniformly to all pixels within a region; then, the mass-spring simulation distorts the plane in a random but content-sensitive way. With aggressive warping, the subsequent painterly rendering can be done lightly and need not remove much detail. The resulting renderings convey a sense of being painted and leave a sense of being handmade and not overly beholden to the photographic scene.
Beauty technology: muscle based computing interaction

Wearable Computing had changed the way individuals interact with computers, intertwining natural capabilities of the human body with processing apparatus. But most of this technology had been designed just for clothing or accessories and it is still flat and rigid, giving the wearer a cyborg look. Beauty Technology, based on electromagnetic devices that are embedded into non-invasive beauty products, opens new possibilities for interacting with different surfaces and devices. It locates wearable technologies on the body surface and makes use of muscle movements as an interactive interface. This work introduces the term Beauty Technology as an emergent field in Wearable Computing. It discusses the materials and processes used for developing the Beauty Tech prototypes and present some examples of the use of beauty technologies in everyday beauty products.
Sleep‐related adductor Laryngeal dystonia causing sleep apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a chronic condition, characterized by recurrent episodes of upper airway collapse during sleep, which affects up to 5% of adults in the Western population. The muscle tone of the human body ordinarily relaxes during sleep, thus causing airway obstruction and leading to sleep apnea. We report a case of a 68‐years old male in which dystonic closure of the larynx during sleep caused OSAS. The sleep endoscopy was crucial in establishing the diagnosis of laryngeal dystonia. A botulinum toxin injection in the vocal cord improved the OSAS. These findings define a novel sleep‐related breathing disorder.
Factor XI activation in a revised model of blood coagulation

Coagulation factor XI is activated in vitro by factor XIIa in the presence of high molecular weight kininogen (HMWK) and a negatively charged surface. Factor XII deficiency is not associated with bleeding, which suggests that another mechanism for factor XI activation exists in vivo. A revised model of coagulation is proposed in which factor XI is activated by thrombin. In the absence of cofactors, thrombin is more effective (kcat/Km = 1.6 x 10(5)) than factor XIIa (1.7 x 10(4)) in activating factor XI. Dextran sulfate enhances activation of factor XI by thrombin 2000-fold; part of this effect is due to autoactivation of factor XI by activated factor XI.
Envelope-associated nucleoid from Caulobacter crescentus stalked and swarmer cells

Envelope-associated nucleoids have been isolated from Caulobacter crescentus by using a modification of the procedure of T. Kornberg et al. (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 71:3189-3193, 1974). The development of a Ludox density gradient procedure has permitted preparation of large quantities of synchronous cells. The sedimentation coefficients of the envelope-associated nucleoids of stalked and swarmer cells, prepared under conditions of equivalent cell lysis, were 3,000S and greater than 6,000S respectively. Small differences in the relative amounts of deoxyribonucleic acid, ribonucleic acid, and protein in stalked and swarmer cell envelope-associated nucleoids could not account for the large differences in sedimentation behavior. These characteristic sedimentation coefficients were retained in mixing experiments.
Consequences of false-positive screening mammograms.

IMPORTANCE False-positive mammograms, a common occurrence in breast cancer screening programs, represent a potential screening harm that is currently being evaluated by the US Preventive Services Task Force. OBJECTIVE To measure the effect of false-positive mammograms on quality of life by measuring personal anxiety, health utility, and attitudes toward future screening. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS The Digital Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial (DMIST) quality-of-life substudy telephone survey was performed shortly after screening and 1 year later at 22 DMIST sites and included randomly selected DMIST participants with positive and negative mammograms. EXPOSURE Mammogram requiring follow-up testing or referral without a cancer diagnosis. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The 6-question short form of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory state scale (STAI-6) and the EuroQol EQ-5D instrument with US scoring. Attitudes toward future screening as measured by women's self-report of future intention to undergo mammographic screening and willingness to travel and stay overnight to undergo a hypothetical new type of mammography that would identify as many cancers with half the false-positive results. RESULTS Among 1450 eligible women invited to participate, 1226 (84.6%) were enrolled, with follow-up interviews obtained in 1028 (83.8%). Anxiety was significantly higher for women with false-positive mammograms (STAI-6, 35.2 vs 32.7), but health utility scores did not differ and there were no significant differences between groups at 1 year. Future screening intentions differed by group (25.7% vs 14.2% more likely in false-positive vs negative groups); willingness to travel and stay overnight did not (9.9% vs 10.5% in false-positive vs negative groups). Future screening intention was significantly increased among women with false-positive mammograms (odds ratio, 2.12; 95% CI, 1.54-2.93), younger age (2.78; 1.5-5.0), and poorer health (1.63; 1.09-2.43). Women's anticipated high-level anxiety regarding future false-positive mammograms was associated with willingness to travel overnight (odds ratio, 1.94; 95% CI, 1.28-2.95). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE False-positive mammograms were associated with increased short-term anxiety but not long-term anxiety, and there was no measurable health utility decrement. False-positive mammograms increased women's intention to undergo future breast cancer screening and did not increase their stated willingness to travel to avoid a false-positive result. Our finding of time-limited harm after false-positive screening mammograms is relevant for clinicians who counsel women on mammographic screening and for screening guideline development groups.
Cdc25b and Cdc25c Differ Markedly in Their Properties as Initiators of Mitosis

We have used time-lapse fluorescence microscopy to study the properties of the Cdc25B and Cdc25C phosphatases that have both been implicated as initiators of mitosis in human cells. To differentiate between the functions of the two proteins, we have microinjected expression constructs encoding Cdc25B or Cdc25C or their GFP-chimeras into synchronized tissue culture cells. This assay allows us to express the proteins at defined points in the cell cycle. We have followed the microinjected cells by time-lapse microscopy, in the presence or absence of DNA synthesis inhibitors, and assayed whether they enter mitosis prematurely or at the correct time. We find that overexpressing Cdc25B alone rapidly causes S phase and G2 phase cells to enter mitosis, whether or not DNA replication is complete, whereas overexpressing Cdc25C does not cause premature mitosis. Overexpressing Cdc25C together with cyclin B1 does shorten the G2 phase and can override the unreplicated DNA checkpoint, but much less efficiently than overexpressing Cdc25B. These results suggest that Cdc25B and Cdc25C do not respond identically to the same cell cycle checkpoints. This difference may be related to the differential localization of the proteins; Cdc25C is nuclear throughout interphase, whereas Cdc25B is nuclear in the G1 phase and cytoplasmic in the S and G2 phases. We have found that the change in subcellular localization of Cdc25B is due to nuclear export and that this is dependent on cyclin B1. Our data suggest that although both Cdc25B and Cdc25C can promote mitosis, they are likely to have distinct roles in the controlling the initiation of mitosis.
Discourse Characteristics in Healthy Elderly: Effects of Aging, Gender and Educational Level

Discourse is regarded as an important component of communication assessment, but studies about the discourse characteristics of the elderly are scant. The purpose of this study was to confirm the effects of aging, gender, and educational level on discourse in elderly people with normal cognitive function. Forty normal elderly and forty young people participated in this study. A picture description task (Boston Cookie-Theft picture) was used to examine discourse function. The description task was analyzed for both productivity (total number of sentences, total number of syllables, and syllables per sentence) and semantics (CIU ratio). The results were as follows: 1) Only CIU ratio differed significantly according to age. 2) In the total number of syllables and syllables per sentence, females demonstrate a higher number than males. 3) The CIU ratio differed significantly according to educational level. These results suggest that impairment of communicative function is an aspect of cognitive impairment that can be related to aging. Also, discourse performance in the elderly is associated with their gender and educational level.
Neuroadaptive variable structure control of mass transit trains

With the rapid development of mass transit system, how to improve the control accuracy of the train become increasingly important. During the train' s running process, the resistance force is changing with some factors, such as, speed and track geometry, and these factors play an important role in tracking accuracy. Most existing methods assume the resistance force is available for feedback control or consider constant resistance coefficients. Contrasted to these methods, a neuroadaptive variable structure controller for automatic train speed and position tracking under varying operation conditions is proposed in this paper. We consider the case that the basic resistance forces and additional resistance forces are both time-varying and unknown. This method is proposed to achieve high precision position and speed tracking. The fundamental principle of this method is to design the control using combination of neural network and adaptive variable structure technique.
Fabrication and Characterization of a Surface-Acoustic-Wave Biosensor in CMOS Technology for Cancer Biomarker Detection

Design, fabrication, and characterization of a novel surface acoustic wave (SAW) biosensor in complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology are introduced. The biosensor employs a streptavidin/biotin-based five-layer immunoassay for detecting a prominent breast cancer biomarker, mammoglobin (hMAM). There is a growing demand to develop a sensitive and specific assay to detect biomarkers in serum that could be used in the early detection of breast cancer, determining prognosis and monitoring therapy. CMOS-SAW devices present a viable alternative to the existing biosensor technologies by providing higher sensitivity levels and better performance at low costs. Two architectures (circular and rectangular) were developed and respective tests were presented for performance comparison. The sensitivities of the devices were analyzed primarily based on center frequency shifts. A frequency sensitivity of 8.704 pg/Hz and a mass sensitivity of 2810.25 m2 /kg were obtained. Selectivity tests were carried out against bovine serum albumin. Experimental results indicate that it is possible to attach cancer biomarkers to functionalized CMOS-SAW sensor surfaces and selectively detect hMAM antigens with improved sensitivities, lowered costs, and increased repeatability of fabrication.
Improving the YAGS Branch Predictor

This paper presents an analysis of the YAGS branch predictor. YAGS is a bimodal backing predictor that is overridden by a direction prediction cache, a tagged branch predictor indexed with branch address and global branch history. This paper presents several improvements to the YAGS scheme. First, we unify the taken and not-taken direction prediction caches. This effectively increasing branch history correlation. Second, we show that associativity in the cache is beneficial. Previous work stated that it is best to leave the cache direct mapped. This paper shows that higher associativity improves predictor accuracy with 10% provided that global branch history information is added to the tags.
Enlarging intersections between engineering and ethics: Thoughts on engineering ethics education

Ethical dimension inherently exists in engineering, separating ethics from engineering is the root-cause of many engineering accidents and conflictions. A qualified engineer must have ethical consciousness and abilities in ethical decision-making and behavior. Engineering ethics education has been proved to be a feasible way to achieve this goal, and it is of high necessities and urgencies according to Chinese current situation. However, domestic engineering ethics education development is much slower than the western developed countries. Based on the background of “National Excellent Engineer Training Scheme”, this article reviews the development history and status quo of engineering ethics education, puts forward some major reform elements and the related countermeasures for Chinese engineering ethics education.
Rho-GTPase–Dependent Platelet-Neutrophil Interaction Affected by HMG-CoA Reductase Inhibition With Altered Adenosine Nucleotide Release and Function

Platelet activation and aggregation is considered a crucial step in the initiation and aggravation of arterial thrombosis. ADP from activated platelets is recognized as major factor in thrombus formation and is a potent stimulator of oxygen-free radical release from neutrophils. The aim of the present investigation was to determine in vitro the direct effects of statins on ATP and ADP secretion by platelets and its impact on subsequent oxidative burst activity in neutrophils. Human neutrophils and platelets were isolated from peripheral blood. Levels of platelet-derived ATP and ADP were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography, oxygen-free radical release of neutrophils was measured fluorometrically, and chemotaxis experiments were performed. Rho-GTPases were studied by Western blot analysis. Thrombin-activated platelets primed neutrophils for enhanced oxygen-free radical release on triggering with formyl-Met-Leu-Phe, reduced by cerivastatin and simvastatin treatment of platelets. The two statins decreased the amount of adenosine-derivative release in these cells. Rho-GTPases, required for the thrombin signaling in platelets and neutrophils, were decreased after coincubation with statins. Data demonstrate that inhibition of Rho-GTPases by statins inhibit platelet ADP and ATP release and the consecutive augmentation of neutrophil oxygen-free radical release. Statins affect platelet-neutrophil interactions by altering Rho-GTPase–dependent adenosine nucleotide function.
Automatic Activation of Stereotypes: The Role of Self-Image Threat

Does self-image threatening feedback make perceivers more likely to activate stereotypes when confronted by members of a minority group? Participants in Study 1 saw an Asian American or European American woman for several minutes, and participants in Studies 2 and 3 were exposed to drawings of an African American or European American male face for fractions of a second. These experiments found no evidence of automatic stereotype activation when perceivers were cognitively busy and when they had not received negative feedback. When perceivers had received negative feedback, however, evidence of stereotype activation emerged even when perceivers were cognitively busy. The theoretical implications of these results for stereotype activation and the relationship of motivation, affect, and cognition are discussed.
Regulation of Autophagy by Glucose in Mammalian Cells

Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved process that contributes to maintain cell homeostasis. Although it is strongly regulated by many extracellular factors, induction of autophagy is mainly produced by starvation of nutrients. In mammalian cells, the regulation of autophagy by amino acids, and also by the hormone insulin, has been extensively investigated, but knowledge about the effects of other autophagy regulators, including another nutrient, glucose, is more limited. Here we will focus on the signalling pathways by which environmental glucose directly, i.e., independently of insulin and glucagon, regulates autophagy in mammalian cells, but we will also briefly mention some data in yeast. Although glucose deprivation mainly induces autophagy via AMPK activation and the subsequent inhibition of mTORC1, we will also comment other signalling pathways, as well as evidences indicating that, under certain conditions, autophagy can be activated by glucose. A better understanding on how glucose regulates autophagy not only will expand our basic knowledge of this important cell process, but it will be also relevant to understand common human disorders, such as cancer and diabetes, in which glucose levels play an important role.
Kindergarten teachers beliefs and practices.

The major objectives of this study were to develop a questionnaire based on the National Association for the Education of Young Children guidelines [1986] for developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood education and to use this questionnaire for obtaining information regarding kindergarten teachers’ beliefs and practices. The Teacher Questionnaire containing two subscales, the Teachers’ Beliefs Scale and the Instructional Activities Scale, was constructed and administered to 113 kindergarten teachers from four Southern states. In addition to encouraging psychometric properties, positive correlations were found between develomentally appropriate beliefs and activities [r = . 63, p = . 000] as well as between developmentally inappropriate beliefs and activities [r = . 71, p = . 000]. The teachers with higher ratings on developmentally appropriate beliefs felt more in control of planning and implementation of instruction than did the teachers with lower ratings. The Teacher Questionnaire shows promi.
A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion and Uninstrumented Posterolateral Fusion in the Degenerative Lumbar Spine

Study Design Randomized controlled trial. Objective Despite a large number of publications of outcomes after spinal fusion surgery, there is still no consensus on the efficacy of the several different fusion methods. The aim of this study was to determine whether transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) results in an improved clinical outcome compared with uninstrumented posterolateral fusion (PLF) in the surgical treatment for chronic low back pain. Methods This study included 135 patients with degenerative disk disease (n = 96) or postdiskectomy syndrome (n = 39). Inclusion criteria were at least 1 year of back pain with or without leg pain in patients aged 20 to 65 with one- or two-level disease. Exclusion criteria were sequestration of disk hernia, psychosocial instability, isthmic spondylolisthesis, drug abuse, and previous spine surgery other than diskectomy. Pain was assessed by visual analog scale (pain index). Functional disability was quantified by the disability rating index and Oswestry Disability Index. The global outcome was assessed by the patient and classified as much better, better, unchanged, or worse. The patients were randomized to conventional uninstrumented PLF (n = 67) or TLIF (n = 68). PLF was performed in a standardized fashion using autograft. TLIF was performed with pedicle titanium screw fixation and a porous tantalum interbody spacer with interbody and posterolateral autograft. The clinical outcome measurements were obtained preoperatively and at 12 and 24 months postoperatively. The 2-year follow-up rate was 98%. Results The two treatment groups improved significantly from preoperatively to 2 years’ follow-up. At final follow-up, the results in the TLIF group were significantly superior to those in the PLF group in pain index (2.0 versus 3.9, p = 0.007) and in disability rating index (22 versus 36, p = 0.003). The Oswestry Disability Index was better in the TLIF group (20 versus 28, p = 0.110, not significant). The global assessment was clearly superior in the TLIF group: 63% of patients scored “much better” in the TLIF group as compared with 48% in the PLF group (p = 0.017). Conclusions The results of the current study support the use of TLIF rather than uninstrumented PLF in the surgical treatment of the degenerative lumbar spine. The less optimal outcome after uninstrumented PLF may be explained by the much higher reoperation rate.