Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Using Centering Theory to Plan Coherent Texts 1 Issues in Text Planning

This paper describes an approach to text planning, one of the distinct tasks iden-tiied in Ehud Reiter's \consensus" architecture for Natural Language Generation (Reiter 1994, Reiter and Dale 1997). This consists a \pipeline" of distinct tasks: Text Planning-deciding the content of a message, and organising the component propositions into a text tree; Sentence Planning-aggregating propositions into clausal units and choosing lexical items corresponding to concepts in the knowledge base; Linguistic realisation-surface details such as agreement, orthography etc. (See also (Cahill et al. 1999) who propose a more elaborate model which allows the \pipeline" as a concrete instantiation. ) We assume that the component propositions to be realised in a text are organised in a tree structure in which terminal nodes are elementary propositions and non-terminal nodes represent discourse relations as deened by e.g., Rhetorical Structure Theory (RST, Mann and Thompson 1987). This structure only partially determines the linear order in which the propositions will be realised-in other words, any RST structure speciies a range of possible text plans. We propose as an additional constraint that the generator should seek to maximise continuity of reference as determined by the rules and constraints of centering theory, and we argue that this enables us to select the most cohesive variants from a set of text plans. 2 Centering in a nutshell Centering theory (CT) is a theory of discourse structure which models the interaction of cohesion and salience in the internal organisation of a text. (See Grosz et al 1995; cf Hardt 1998 for a more formal treatment.) The main assumptions of the theory are: 1. For each utterance in a discourse there is precisely one entity which is the centre of attention or center. The center in an utterance U n is the most grammatically salient entity realised in U n? 1 which is also realised in U n. This is also referred to as the backward-looking center or Cb. 2. There is a preference for consecutive utterances within a discourse segment to keep the same entity as the center, and for the center to be realised as Subject or preferred center (Cp). We refer to these principles as cohesion and salience 1 respectively. (Hardt's (1998) formalization only covers the rst of these. ) Pairs of successive utterances hU n ; U n+1 i are classiied into the transition types shown in Fig. 1, in order of preference. 3. The center is the entity which …
UvA-DARE ( Digital Academic Repository ) Dynamics of ataxin-1 in spinocerebellar ataxia type 1

Background. Polyglutamine expansion disorders are caused by an expansion of the polyglutamine (polyQ) tract in the disease related protein, leading to severe neurodegeneration. All polyQ disorders are hallmarked by the presence of intracellular aggregates containing the expanded protein in affected neurons. The polyQ disorder SpinoCerebellar Ataxia 1 (SCA1) is caused by a polyQ-expansion in the ataxin-1 protein, which is thought to lead to nuclear aggregates. Methodology/Principal Findings. Using advanced live cell fluorescence microscopy and a filter retardation assay we show that nuclear accumulations formed by polyQ-expanded ataxin-1 do not resemble aggregates of other polyQ-expanded proteins. Instead of being static, insoluble aggregates, nuclear accumulations formed by the polyQ-expanded ataxin-1 showed enhanced intracellular kinetics as compared to wild-type ataxin-1. During mitosis, ataxin-1 accumulations redistributed equally among daughter cells, in contrast to polyQ aggregates. Interestingly, polyQ expansion did not affect the nuclear-cytoplasmic shuttling of ataxin-1 as proposed before. Conclusions/Significance. These results indicate that polyQ expansion does not necessarily lead to aggregate formation, and that the enhanced kinetics may affect the nuclear function of ataxin-1. The unexpected findings for a polyQ-expanded protein and their consequences for ongoing SCA1 research are discussed.
What Is Curriculum History and Why Is It Important

This paper suggests that curriculum history should not be circumscribed by narrow, sometimes arbitrary, definitions that tend to be limiting. Curriculum history considers what societies value enough to pass on to younger generations through its schools. The foremost question which has not changed throughout the years is "What should schools teach? " Curriculum historians address two important questions as they look to the past and its continuing influence on the present: (1) What was the understood knowledge in previous times? and (2) What are the end results of curriculum thought and practice? The study distinguishes between the intended curriculum and the enacted curriculum and how those two often varied greatly. Previous research shows how earlier curriculum theorists and practitioners have addressed those questions. A criticism of the lack of knowledge of curriculum history by practitioners in the field is made with a strong case presented for better preparation of future teachers in learning more about the field. (EH) *********************************************************************** Ic ReproOuctions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * from the original document. *********************************************************************** What is Curriculum History and Why is It Important?
Gentamicin Arrests Cancer Cell Growth: The Intriguing Involvement of Nuclear Sphingomyelin Metabolism

The use of gentamicin for the treatment of bacterial infection has always been an interesting and highly speculated issue for the scientific community. Conversely, its effect on cancer cells has been very little investigated. We studied the effect of high doses of gentamicin on non-Hodgkin’s T-cell human lymphoblastic lymphoma (SUP-T1). We showed that gentamicin delayed cell growth and induced cell death in lymphoma cells with a rather mild effect on lymphocytes. In SUP-T1 cells, GAPDH, B2M, CDKN1A and CDKN1B were down-expressed in comparison with lymphocytes. Gentamicin treatment in SUP-T1 cells restored the expression of GAPDH, B2M and CDKN1A to values similar to those of lymphocytes and caused overexpression of CDKN1B. The drug acted via sphingomyelin metabolism; in whole cells, sphingomyelinase activity was stimulated, whereas in purified nuclei, sphingomyelinase activity was inhibited and that of sphingomyelin-synthase was stimulated, with a consequent high level of nuclear sphingomyelin content. We suggest that the increase of nuclear sphingomyelin might enrich the nucleus of lipid microdomains that act as a platform for active chromatin and, thus, might be responsible for gene expression. It is possible that in lymphoblastic lymphoma, high doses of gentamicin induce a beneficial therapeutic outcome.
Patterns Discovery on Complex Diagnosis and Biological Data Using Fuzzy Latent Variables

This paper proposes a new clustering algorithm referred to as the possibilitic latent variables (PLV) clustering algorithm. This algorithm provides a powerful tool for the analysis of complex data, such as clinical diagnosis and biological expressions data, due to its robustness to various data distributions and its accuracy in establishing appropriate groups from data. The algorithm combines a distribution model and the fuzzy degrees concept. Compared to the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm, which is a well-known distribution estimating algorithm, the PLV algorithm has the considerable advantage that it can be applied to various data types, i.e. it is not restricted solely to Gaussian data distributions. Additionally, the proposed algorithm has a better performance than the well-known fuzzy clustering algorithm, i.e. the FCM algorithm, where it can address compact regions, other than simply dividing objects into several equal populations. The performance of the proposed algorithm is verified by conducting clustering tasks on the contents of several medical diagnosis and biological expressions datasets.
Contextualization : Cultural Dynamics , Responses to News and Context-aware Social Search

In this document, we describe techniques and approaches concerned with socialweb archive contextualization. In particular, we describe our work on cultural dynamics, which refers to gaining insights into cultural patterns in social media, context-aware social search, and social media mining. We examine the reaction of people in social media to news articles, by developing techniques that could help journalists and curators to semi-automatically filter the most relevant content. We study social search and propose techniques to carry it out because it could be a crucial tool in finding relevant information for curators and journalists.
Crime and its socio-macroeconomics determinants: a panel-error-correction cointegration analysis

This study investigates the relationship between crime and socio and macro economic variables such as income, unemployment, inflation, interest rate, and also the political violence, both domestic and regional. The main motivation of the study is to have a better understanding of crime as well as finding and suggesting alternative ways of approaching crime. We analyzed 21 countries, with data spanning from 1960 to 2001.We adopted the model and framework introduced by Viren (2001) based on Becker (1968), Block and Heineke (1975). However, we slightly modified by rephrasing it in order not to only capture the long run relationship but also the short run adjustment. We employed the panelerror- correction based cointegration (Persyn and Westerlund (2008)) to analyze and estimate the model. A number of important findings are extracted from the analysis in accordance to the objectives of this study. Firstly, we discover a negative long run relationship between income and crime; positive long run relationship between inflation and crime; unemployment and crime; as well as lending rate and crime. As for the political violence variable, domestic political violence seems to be negatively related; on the contrary regional political violence is positively related. We believe this might be attributed to the spillover effect. All the signs are as anticipated and justified in this study; and are concurrent with most of the past literatures.
Inhibition by Natural Dietary Substances of Gastrointestinal Absorption of Starch and Sucrose in Rats 2. Subchronic Studies

Acute oral consumption of various natural inhibitors of amylase (bean and hibiscus extracts) and sucrase (L-arabinose) reduce absorption of starch and sucrose respectively in rats and pigs measured by lessened appearance of circulating glucose levels. The present subchronic study was designed to determine whether these selected inhibitors of gastrointestinal starch and sucrose absorption (so-called “carb blockers”) remain effective with continued use and to assess their metabolic influences after prolonged intake. Sprague-Dawley rats were gavaged twice daily over nine weeks with either water or an equal volume of water containing a formula that included bean and hibiscus extracts and L-arabinose. To estimate CHO absorption, control and treated Sprague-Dawley rats were gavaged with either water alone or an equal volume of water containing glucose, rice starch, sucrose, or combined rice starch and sucrose. Circulating glucose was measured at timed intervals over four hours. The ability to decrease starch and sucrose absorption use. No toxic effects (hepatic, renal, hematologic) were evident. Blood chemistries revealed significantly lower circulating glucose levels and a trend toward decreased HbA1C in the nondiabetic rats receiving the natural formulation compared to control. Subchronic administration of enzyme inhibitors was also associated with many metabolic changes including lowered systolic blood pressure and altered fluid-electrolyte balance. We postulate that proper intake of natural amylase and sucrase inhibitors may be useful in the prevention and treatment of many chronic disorders associated with perturbations in glucose-insulin homeostasis secondary to the rapid absorption of refined CHO.
Intensive Structured Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose and Glycemic Control in Noninsulin-Treated Type 2 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE We aimed to evaluate the added value of intensive self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG), structured in timing and frequency, in noninsulin-treated patients with type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The 12-month, randomized, clinical trial enrolled 1,024 patients with noninsulin-treated type 2 diabetes (median baseline HbA1c, 7.3% [IQR, 6.9–7.8%]) at 39 diabetes clinics in Italy. After standardized education, 501 patients were randomized to intensive structured monitoring (ISM) with 4-point glycemic profiles (fasting, preprandial, 2-h postprandial, and postabsorptive measurements) performed 3 days/week; 523 patients were randomized to active control (AC) with 4-point glycemic profiles performed at baseline and at 6 and 12 months. Two primary end points were tested in hierarchical order: HbA1c change at 12 months and percentage of patients at risk target for low and high blood glucose index. RESULTS Intent-to-treat analysis showed greater HbA1c reductions over 12 months in ISM (−0.39%) than in AC patients (−0.27%), with a between-group difference of −0.12% (95% CI, −0.210 to −0.024; P = 0.013). In the per-protocol analysis, the between-group difference was −0.21% (−0.331 to −0.089; P = 0.0007). More ISM than AC patients achieved clinically meaningful reductions in HbA1c (>0.3, >0.4, or >0.5%) at study end (P < 0.025). The proportion of patients reaching/maintaining the risk target at month 12 was similar in ISM (74.6%) and AC (70.1%) patients (P = 0.131). At visits 2, 3, and 4, diabetes medications were changed more often in ISM than in AC patients (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Use of structured SMBG improves glycemic control and provides guidance in prescribing diabetes medications in patients with relatively well-controlled noninsulin-treated type 2 diabetes.
A Review of Lighting Programs for Broiler Production

2 Abstract: Genetic selection of broilers for rapid growth has resulted in greater final BW and improved feed conversion efficiency in reduced time increments. However, accelerated growth rates are associated with several undesirable traits, including increased fat deposition, and higher incidence of metabolic diseases, visual anomalies, skeletal deformities, and circulatory problems. These deficiencies, as well as th e associated financial losses, have led to increased interest in developing management techniques that will maximize productivity while minimizing associated problems of broilers. Light is an important parameter of poultry production. Currently, there are a wide variety of lighting programs (wavelength, intensity, and duration) and devices available to poultry producers, each possessing its own characteristics and applicability to rearing poultry. The potential for changing photoperiods to influence broiler productivity and health is receiving considerable investigation. Some lighting programs have a central purpose of slowin g the early growth rate of broilers thus allowing birds to achieve physiological maturity before maximal rates of muscle mass accretion. The aim of this review is to update research on lighting programs for broiler production and to give direction for future lighting research.
Partisan Control, Media Bias, and Viewer Responses: Evidence from Berlusconi’s Italy

This paper examines whether and how viewers respond to changes in partisan bias in media news. We use data from Italy, where the main private television network is owned by Silvio Berlusconi, the leader of the centerright coalition, and the public television corporation is largely controlled by the ruling coalition. We first document that after the 2001 national elections, when the control of the government moved from the center-left to the center-right, news content on public television shifted to the right. Using individual survey data, we find robust evidence that viewers responded to these changes by modifying their choice of favorite news programs. On the one hand, right-leaning viewers increased their propensity to watch public channels which, even after the change, remained to the left of private channels. On the other hand, left-wing viewers reacted by switching from the main public channel to another public channel that was controlled by the left during both periods. We show that this behavioral response, which tended to shift ideological exposure to the left, significantly, though only partially, offset the movement of public news content to the right.
Adam Driks Spore Coat Bacillus subtilis

INTRODUCTION When challenged by stresses such as starvation, a variety of bacilli and clostridia produce a dormant cell type, called a spore, that can withstand a wide range of assaults that would destroy a vegetative cell. It was the observation by Koch over 100 years ago that Bacillus anthracis spores could survive boiling which prompted researchers to begin studies of spores with the goal of discovering how this special dormant cell type could withstand heat and other stresses. In the century that followed, it was learned that the dehydrated state of the spore interior endows that spore with the capacity to survive heating (119) and that it is the spore coat, a multilayered structure surrounding the spore and composed of upward of 25 often highly cross-linked polypeptide species (Fig. 1A to C), which grants the spore resistance to, for example, treatment with chloro-form or challenge by lysozyme. While providing this high level of resistance, the coat nonetheless allows the spore to respond to the renewed presence of nutrients in the environment, the condition under which the spore can convert to a growing cell through a process called germination. These remarkable capabilities have focused attention on the coat and stimulated research into the developmental and morphological processes required to correctly assemble such a complex macromolecular structure. The study of spore morphogenesis, and in particular the assembly of the coat, is part of the broad effort to learn how bacteria build subcellular components, direct them to their correct locations, and alter the organization of components in response to cell cycle events or environmental stimuli (77). The ornate structures assembled by prokaryotes include complex envelope layers and a variety of specialized surface appendages such as pili (51) and flagella (79). In Caulobacter crescentus, for example, the appearance of polar structures offers an example of changes in organelle assembly in a cycle-dependent manner (27), while the crossbands of the C. crescentus stalk serve as an illustration of intriguing internal components of striking design but unknown function (103). The attractiveness of such examples and the sophistication of genetic, biochemical, and structural techniques have made bacteria important systems for the study of the dynamic aspects of morphogenesis during development (121, 122). The particular ease with which these methods can be applied to Bacillus subtilis makes it a premier system for such analysis, and the study of its spore coat especially appealing. The study of the coat …
Cognitive models of the perception-action cycle: A view from the brain

Perception-action cycle is the circular flow of information that takes place between an organism and its environment in the course of a sensory-guided sequence of actions towards a goal. Each action causes changes in the environment which are processed by the organism's sensory hierarchy and lead to the generation of further action by its motor effectors. These actions cause new changes that are sensory analyzed and lead to a new action, and so the cycle continues. The efficient and timely coordination of the sensory and motor structures involved will ensure the organism's survival in a dynamic environment. Two brain inspired cognitive models of the perception-action cycle are presented in this paper: (1) A cognitive model of visual saliency, overt attention and active visual search, and (2) A cognitive model of visuo-motor coordination of reaching and grasping. Both models are multi-modular. They share a number of features (visual saliency, focus of attention, recognition, expectation, resonance, value attribution), while at the same time have distinct properties.
Occurrence of Nematodes of the Genus Anisakis in Mediterranean and Atlantic Fish Marketed in Sardinia

Anisakiasis is a gastrointestinal fish-borne zoonosis caused by the ingestion of third stage larvae of the genus Anisakis. Between January and December 2013, 1112 specimens of four commercial fish species (Engraulis encrasicolus, Merluccius merluccius, Scomber colias and Trachurus mediterraneus) marketed in Sardinia (Italy) were examined for Anisakis sp. The overall prevalence of Anisakis spp larvae was 39.9%, all morphologically identified as Type I. Scomber colias showed the highest prevalence (100%), followed by M. merluccius (Atlantic 91.0%, Mediterranean 71.2%), T. mediterraneus (32.7%) and E. encrasicolus (25.9%). All the larvae found in Mediterranean hosts were genetically identified as Anisakis pegreffii, whereas 90.0% of the larvae found in the Atlantic M. merluccius belonged to Anisakis simplex sensu stricto and 10.0% to A. pegreffii. The mean abundance of Anisakis sp. larvae was positively correlated with fish size in E. encrasicolus, Atlantic M. merluccius and local M. merluccius. The prevalence of infection was greater in the body cavity (37.9%) than in the edible muscle (9.4%). However, 1.8% of the examined fish were infected exclusively in the muscle. Therefore, the risk associated to the consumption of raw or undercooked fishery products poses the need of measures such as visual inspection and preventive treatments to guarantee consumers’ health.
Spectrum of power laws for curved hand movements

Significance In curved hand movements around ellipses, the speed tends to scale inversely with the curvature with a power law having an exponent of −1/3. We examined whether this well-known regularity in motor planning holds for more general shapes. Using an optimality principle, we identified a set of basis shapes, each with a single characteristic angular frequency, which subjects drew with power laws whose exponents ranged from 0 to −2/3. More general movements exhibited linear mixtures of power laws. The speed of arbitrary doodling movements with a broad spectrum of frequencies could also be predicted from the curvature with high accuracy. In a planar free-hand drawing of an ellipse, the speed of movement is proportional to the −1/3 power of the local curvature, which is widely thought to hold for general curved shapes. We investigated this phenomenon for general curved hand movements by analyzing an optimal control model that maximizes a smoothness cost and exhibits the −1/3 power for ellipses. For the analysis, we introduced a new representation for curved movements based on a moving reference frame and a dimensionless angle coordinate that revealed scale-invariant features of curved movements. The analysis confirmed the power law for drawing ellipses but also predicted a spectrum of power laws with exponents ranging between 0 and −2/3 for simple movements that can be characterized by a single angular frequency. Moreover, it predicted mixtures of power laws for more complex, multifrequency movements that were confirmed with human drawing experiments. The speed profiles of arbitrary doodling movements that exhibit broadband curvature profiles were accurately predicted as well. These findings have implications for motor planning and predict that movements only depend on one radian of angle coordinate in the past and only need to be planned one radian ahead.