Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Experimental and Numerical Investigations into Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy

This Master's thesis presents numerical and experimental results that benchmark a state-of-the-art terahertz time-domain spectrometer. We begin by describing the theory behind the nonlinear optical mechanisms through which we generate and detect short pulses of THz radiation. Based on a coherent electro-optic detection scheme, our measurements trace out the oscillating electric field of the THz pulses generated from the optical mixing process of optical rectification. A numerical simulation based on the theory presented in this work helps present the physical intuition behind our use of these nonlinear optical processes and is furthermore used to complement our measurements with theory. Utilizing the simultaneous amplitude and phase information provided by our detection scheme, we perform terahertz time-domain spectroscopy on sample materials. Our samples of interest are the III-V zinc-blende semiconductors GaP and ZnTe which are nonlinear media popular for their advantageous dispersive and absorptive properties in the terahertz range. Therefore, the thesis culminates in the demonstration of a material parameter extraction procedure which we use to obtain the complex refractive index of a GaP crystal and a ZnTe crystal.
Using domain knowledge for fostering the collaborative ability of a web dialogue system

In this paper we describe the use of domain ontologies in a flexible web dialogue system for improving both its adaptability and its collaborative ability. We have developed a multilingual mixed-initiative dialogue system for guiding the user when accessing several types of web services. The use of domain ontologies facilitates the adaptation of the system to new web services as well as the generation of more collaborative responses.
Search result diversity for informational queries

Ambiguous queries constitute a significant fraction of search instances and pose real challenges to web search engines. With current approaches the top results for these queries tend to be homogeneous, making it difficult for users interested in less popular aspects to find relevant documents. While existing research in search diversification offers several solutions for introducing variety into the results, the majority of such work is predicated, implicitly or otherwise, on the assumption that a single relevant document will fulfill a user's information need, making them inadequate for many informational queries. In this paper we present a search-diversification algorithm particularly suitable for informational queries by explicitly modeling that the user may need more than one page to satisfy their need. This modeling enables our algorithm to make a well-informed tradeoff between a user's desire for multiple relevant documents, probabilistic information about an average user's interest in the subtopics of a multifaceted query, and uncertainty in classifying documents into those subtopics. We evaluate the effectiveness of our algorithm against commercial search engine results and other modern ranking strategies, demonstrating notable improvement in multiple document scenarios.
Inattentional Amnesia

Imagine that you are on the street and someone pulls you aside to ask you directions. You begin to engage this person in conversation. For mysterious reasons, in the middle of this conversation, workers, carrying a door, walk between you and the other person. When the door is gone, the original person has been replaced by a different person. Would you notice if Stranger One was replaced by Stranger Two? The intuitive answer is "Of course, I would. " How could you fail to realize that you were no longer talking to the same person? The empirical answer, from a clever experiment by Dan Simons and Dan Levin (1997) is that people fail to notice this change about 50% of the time. Surprising as this finding might be, it is not an isolated phenomenon. In recent years, a growing number of reports have seemed to show that we see much less than we think we see. Simons and Levin have produced a number of variations on this basic theme. In one series of experiments, subject watch a video tape of a conversation. The camera cuts from one speaker to the other. Speaker One is sitting at a table. She pours herself a cup of Diet Pepsi. The camera cuts to Speaker Two. When the camera return to Speaker One, the Pepsi bottle has been replaced with a cardboard box. Subjects might remember that Speaker One poured herself a drink but they frequently fail to notice that the bottle has vanished .
Structure of Mammalian Cytochrome P450 2B4 Complexed with 4-(4-Chlorophenyl)imidazole at 1.9-Å Resolution

A 1.9-Å molecular structure of the microsomal cytochrome P450 2B4 with the specific inhibitor 4-(4-chlorophenyl)imidazole (CPI) in the active site was determined by x-ray crystallography. In contrast to the previous experimentally determined 2B4 structure, this complex adopted a closed conformation similar to that observed for the mammalian 2C enzymes. The differences between the open and closed structures of 2B4 were primarily limited to the lid domain of helices F through G, helices B′ and C, the N terminus of helix I, and the β4 region. These large-scale conformational changes were generally due to the relocation of conserved structural elements toward each other with remarkably little remodeling at the secondary structure level. For example, the F′ and G′ helices were maintained with a sharp turn between them but are placed to form the exterior ceiling of the active site in the CPI complex. CPI was closely surrounded by residues from substrate recognition sites 1, 4, 5, and 6 to form a small, isolated hydrophobic cavity. The switch from open to closed conformation dramatically relocated helix C to a more proximal position. As a result, heme binding interactions were altered, and the putative NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase binding site was reformed. This suggests a structural mechanism whereby ligand-induced conformational changes may coordinate catalytic activity. Comparison of the 2B4/CPI complex with the open 2B4 structure yields insights into the dynamics involved in substrate access, tight inhibitor binding, and coordination of substrate and redox partner binding.
Banking Intelligence Accelerator – Decision Support

Along with the development of information technology, Business Intelligence plays an important role in banking operation process. Business Intelligence in banking sector is a method of storing and presenting key bank business data so that any key user can quickly and easily ask questions of accurate and timely data. The growing competition and increased speed of business changes has dramatically shown the need for business intelligence in banking sector. In this paper, we analyze the business intelligence components, how they fit the banking sector and how they can be secured to match the framework of the whole banking information system. Having the decision process analyzed in the banking field, we propose an architectural model to sustain the decision and integrate easily in the complex banking environment.
Psychological well-being and incident frailty in men and women: the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

Background Observations that older people who enjoy life more tend to live longer suggest that psychological well-being may be a potential resource for healthier ageing. We investigated whether psychological well-being was associated with incidence of physical frailty. Method We used multinomial logistic regression to examine the prospective relationship between psychological well-being, assessed using the CASP-19, a questionnaire that assesses perceptions of control, autonomy, self-realization and pleasure, and incidence of physical frailty or pre-frailty, defined according to the Fried criteria (unintentional weight loss, weakness, self-reported exhaustion, slow walking speed and low physical activity), in 2557 men and women aged 60 to ⩾90 years from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). Results Men and women with higher levels of psychological well-being were less likely to become frail over the 4-year follow-up period. For a standard deviation higher score in psychological well-being at baseline, the relative risk ratio (RR) for incident frailty, adjusted for age, sex and baseline frailty status, was 0.46 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.40–0.54]. There was a significant association between psychological well-being and risk of pre-frailty (RR 0.69, 95% CI 0.63–0.77). Examination of scores for hedonic (pleasure) and eudaimonic (control, autonomy and self-realization) well-being showed that higher scores on both were associated with decreased risk. Associations were partially attenuated by further adjustment for other potential confounding factors but persisted. Incidence of pre-frailty or frailty was associated with a decline in well-being, suggesting that the relationship is bidirectional. Conclusions Maintaining a stronger sense of psychological well-being in later life may protect against the development of physical frailty. Future research needs to establish the mechanisms underlying these findings.
Knocking on Kleitman's door: the view from 50 years later.

The sleep field is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Aserinsky and Kleitman’s report [1] that rapid eye movements occur during sleep. This special information issue of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Medicine Reviews is a commemoration of the discovery. For me, it is my 51st year of doing sleep research, practicing sleep medicine, and being an advocate for our discipline. I have often wondered where we would be today if rapid eye movements during sleep had not been discovered essentially by accident in Nathaniel Kleitman’s lab in 1952; and if I had not joined him that same year and been able to carry on after Eugene Aserinsky’s departure in 1953. It seems possible, if not probable, that the knowledge of REM sleep as a distinct organismic state and the discipline of sleep medicine would not exist today. Where did things stand in 1953? Many people continued to regard sleep as a total shutdown of brain activity. At the turn of the century, one writer summed up with this statement: ‘‘Sleep is the intermediate state between wakefulness and death; wakefulness being regarded as the active state of all the animal and intellectual functions, and death as that of their total suspension. ’’ I think it is safe to say that the prevailing view in 1953 was that sleep occurred passively when there was a sufficient reduction of sensory stimulation.
The Essential Features of Personality Disorder in DSM-5: The Relationship Between Criteria A and B

Abstract The essential features of the general criteria for personality disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), are based on impairments in self and interpersonal functioning (criterion A) and pathological personality traits (criterion B). The current study investigated the relationship between criteria A and B in a German psychiatric sample (N = 149). Criterion A was measured by the General Assessment of Personality Disorder (GAPD); criterion B, by the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology (DAPP) and the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R). There was a significant relationship between the GAPD, the DAPP, and the NEO-PI-R. The DAPP and NEO-PI-R domains increased the predictive validity of the GAPD (by 7.5% and 14.6%, respectively). The GAPD increased the variance explained by the DAPP by 1.5% and by the NEO-PI-R by 6.5%. The results suggest a substantial relationship between criteria A and B. Criterion B shows incremental validity over criterion A but criterion A only in part over criterion B. Future research should investigate whether it is possible to assess functional impairment apart from personality traits.
Clonal spread and azole-resistant mechanisms of non-susceptible Candida albicans isolates from vulvovaginal candidiasis patients in three Shanghai maternity hospitals

In our multicenter study, 43 fluconazole non-susceptible and 45 fluconazole-susceptible isolates were collected from vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) patients from three Shanghai maternity hospitals to analyze their molecular epidemiological features and fluconazole resistant mechanisms. Cross-resistance to fluconazole, itraconazole and voriconazole was observed in 53.5% of the nonsusceptible isolates. Though we acquired 12 clonal complexes (CCs) of diploid sequence types (DSTs) in clinical isolates by a multilocus sequence typing method, fluconazole nonsusceptible isolates all belonged to CC69 with a predominant genotype of DST 79. Increased expressions of efflux pump genes (CDR1, CDR2, and MDR1) were observed only in minor fluconazole non-susceptible isolates by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). However, ERG11 genes of fluconazole SDD and resistant isolates had significantly higher expression levels than fluconazole-susceptible isolates. Moreover, 13 distinct amino acid substitutions in Erg11p were found in clinical isolates. Three of the substitutions were novel amino acid substitutions (T123I, P98S, and Y286D), which were not in the susceptible isolates. Only two heterozygous amino acid substitutions (A18P/A and R365G/R) in Erg3p were found in two isolates with cross-resistance to fluconazole, itraconazole, and voriconazole. Taken together, we observed the clonal spread of CC69 in fluconazole non-susceptible isolates of Candida albicans from VVC patients with the dominant genotype DST79. ERG11 gene mutations and overexpression predominantly contributed to fluconazole resistance instead of the more common increased expressions of efflux pump genes (CDR1, CDR2, and MDR1).
Advanced mobility models for ad hoc network simulations

It is well known that mobility modeling plays an important role when assessing the performance of MANET protocols during a simulation test. This paper presents a tool to generate realistic mobility traces for MANET simulations. A new mobility model called AMADEOS was developed as an extension for the CANUMobisim framework. To model mobility for simulation environments, a new mobility model was created that takes into account obstacles. AMADEOS makes it easy and fast to automatically generate realistic mobility. It allows to edit spatial environments with polygonal obstacles to he used within simulations. It also allows to visualize an animation of the generated mobility traces. A new propagation model based on ray tracing was also implemented as part of AMADEOS.
The relationship between telomere length and mortality risk in non-model vertebrate systems: a meta-analysis

Telomere length (TL) has become a biomarker of increasing interest within ecology and evolutionary biology, and has been found to predict subsequent survival in some recent avian studies but not others. Here, we undertake the first formal meta-analysis to test whether there is an overall association between TL and subsequent mortality risk in vertebrates other than humans and model laboratory rodents. We identified 27 suitable studies and obtained standardized estimates of the hazard ratio associated with TL from each. We performed a meta-analysis on these estimates and found an overall significant negative association implying that short telomeres are associated with increased mortality risk, which was robust to evident publication bias. While we found that heterogeneity in the hazard ratios was not explained by sex, follow-up period, maximum lifespan or the age group of the study animals, the TL–mortality risk association was stronger in studies using qPCR compared to terminal restriction fragment methodologies. Our results provide support for a consistent association between short telomeres and increased mortality risk in birds, but also highlight the need for more research into non-avian vertebrates and the reasons why different telomere measurement methods may yield different results. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Understanding diversity in telomere dynamics’.
37 Spatial organisation of electrostatic interactions between T7 specific RNA polymerase and its native promoters

clearly exceed the terminator hairpin zone. Overall they have the same electrostatic potential profile scale despite threefold different annotated palindrome length. The same overall properties are typical in a diverged range of bacterial taxa. Rho dependent terminators have no common electrostatic properties. It’s worth noting that quite different underlying sequences form the same electrostatic profile that carry out their biological functions. It can be speculated that the rise of the potential in the long surrounding area, comparable with the RNA polymerase size, may lead to transcription pausing that facilitate the terminator hairpin formation.
Computational Genetic Mapping in Mice: The Ship Has Sailed

Computational haplotype-based genetic mapping can be used to discover new biological mechanisms, disease-related pathways, and unexpected uses for existing drugs. Here we discuss the benefits and limitations of this methodology, its impact on translational medicine, and its future course. Computational haplotype-based genetic mapping can be used to discover new biological mechanisms and unexpected uses for existing drugs.
Movement Timing and Invariance Arise from Several Geometries

Human movements show several prominent features; movement duration is nearly independent of movement size (the isochrony principle), instantaneous speed depends on movement curvature (captured by the 2/3 power law), and complex movements are composed of simpler elements (movement compositionality). No existing theory can successfully account for all of these features, and the nature of the underlying motion primitives is still unknown. Also unknown is how the brain selects movement duration. Here we present a new theory of movement timing based on geometrical invariance. We propose that movement duration and compositionality arise from cooperation among Euclidian, equi-affine and full affine geometries. Each geometry posses a canonical measure of distance along curves, an invariant arc-length parameter. We suggest that for continuous movements, the actual movement duration reflects a particular tensorial mixture of these canonical parameters. Near geometrical singularities, specific combinations are selected to compensate for time expansion or compression in individual parameters. The theory was mathematically formulated using Cartan's moving frame method. Its predictions were tested on three data sets: drawings of elliptical curves, locomotion and drawing trajectories of complex figural forms (cloverleaves, lemniscates and limaçons, with varying ratios between the sizes of the large versus the small loops). Our theory accounted well for the kinematic and temporal features of these movements, in most cases better than the constrained Minimum Jerk model, even when taking into account the number of estimated free parameters. During both drawing and locomotion equi-affine geometry was the most dominant geometry, with affine geometry second most important during drawing; Euclidian geometry was second most important during locomotion. We further discuss the implications of this theory: the origin of the dominance of equi-affine geometry, the possibility that the brain uses different mixtures of these geometries to encode movement duration and speed, and the ontogeny of such representations.
Is parent-child interaction therapy effective in reducing stuttering?

PURPOSE To investigate the efficacy of parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) with young children who stutter. METHOD This is a longitudinal, multiple single-subject study. The participants were 6 children aged 3;3-4;10 [years;months] who had been stuttering for longer than 12 months. Therapy consisted of 6 sessions of clinic-based therapy and 6 weeks of home consolidation. Speech samples were videorecorded during free play with parents at home and analyzed to obtain stuttering data for each child before therapy, during therapy, and up to 12 months posttherapy. RESULTS Stuttering frequency data obtained during therapy and posttherapy were compared with the frequency and variability of stuttering in the baseline phase. Four of the 6 children significantly reduced stuttering with both parents by the end of the therapy phase. CONCLUSIONS PCIT can reduce stuttering in preschool children with 6 sessions of clinic-based therapy and 6 weeks of parent-led, home-based therapy. The study highlights the individual response to therapy. Suggestions for future research directions are made.
Results of 2-year vitamin B treatment on cognitive performance

Objective: We investigated the effects of 2-year folic acid and vitamin B12 supplementation on cognitive performance in elderly people with elevated homocysteine (Hcy) levels. Methods: This multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial included 2,919 elderly participants (65 years and older) with Hcy levels between 12 and 50 µmol/L. Participants received daily either a tablet with 400 µg folic acid and 500 µg vitamin B12 (B-vitamin group) or a placebo tablet. Both tablets contained 15 µg vitamin D3. Data were available for global cognitive functioning assessed by Mini-Mental State Examination (n = 2,556), episodic memory (n = 2,467), attention and working memory (n = 759), information processing speed (n = 731), and executive function (n = 721). Results: Mean age was 74.1 (SD 6.5) years. Hcy concentrations decreased 5.0 (95% confidence interval −5.3 to −4.7) µmol/L in the B-vitamin group and 1.3 (−1.6 to −0.9) µmol/L in the placebo group. Cognitive domain scores did not differ over time between the 2 groups, as determined by analysis of covariance. Mini-Mental State Examination score decreased with 0.1 (−0.2 to 0.0) in the B-vitamin group and 0.3 (−0.4 to −0.2) in the placebo group (p = 0.05), as determined by an independent t test. Conclusions: Two-year folic acid and vitamin B12 supplementation did not beneficially affect performance on 4 cognitive domains in elderly people with elevated Hcy levels. It may slightly slow the rate of decline of global cognition, but the reported small difference may be attributable to chance. Classification of evidence: This study provides Class I evidence that 2-year supplementation with folic acid and vitamin B12 in hyperhomocysteinemic elderly people does not affect cognitive performance.