Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Human body‐segment tilts induced by galvanic stimulation: a vestibularly driven balance protection mechanism.

1. We have studied the effects of changes in posture on the motor response to galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS). The purpose of the experiments was to investigate whether the function of the GVS‐evoked response is to stabilize the body or the head in space. Subjects faced forwards with eyes closed standing with various stance widths and sitting. In all cases the GVS‐evoked response consisted of a sway of the body towards the anodal ear. 2. In the first set of experiments the response was measured from changes in (i) electromyographic activity of hip and ankle muscles, (ii) the lateral ground reaction force, and (iii) lateral motion of the body at the level of the neck (C7). For all measurements the response became smaller as the feet were placed further apart. 3. In the second set of experiments we measured the GVS‐evoked tilts of the head, torso and pelvis. The basic response consisted of a tilt in space (anodal ear down) of all three segments. The head tilted more than the trunk and the trunk tilted more than the pelvis producing a leaning and bending of the body towards the anodal ear. This change in posture was sustained for the duration of the stimulus. 4. The tilt of all three segments was reduced by increasing the stance width. This was due to a reduction in evoked tilt of the pelvis, the bending of the upper body remaining relatively unchanged. Changing from a standing to a sitting posture produced additional reductions in tilt by reducing the degree of upper body bending. 5. The results indicate that the response is organized to stabilize the body rather than the head in space. We suggest that GVS produces a vestibular input akin to that experienced on an inclined support surface and that the function of the response is to counter any threat to balance by keeping the centre of mass of the body within safe limits.
Elastic body spline technique for feature point generation and face modeling

Due to the advent of MPEG-4 standard, facial animation has been receiving significant attention lately. A common approach for facial animation is to use the mesh model. The physics-based transformation, elastic body spline (EBS), has been proposed to deform the facial mesh model and generate realistic expression by assuming the whole facial image has the same elastic property. In this paper, we partition facial images into different regions and propose an iterative algorithm to find the elastic property of each facial region. By doing so, we can obtain the EBS for mesh vertices in the facial mesh model such that facial animation can be more realistically achieved.
Zwei Seelen wohnen, ach, in meiner Brust Psychologische und philosophische Erkenntnisse zum Konflikt zwischen Impuls und Selbstkontrolle

Two souls live in my breast. Psychological and philosophical considerations concerning the conflict between impulses and self- control Abstract. Ancient philosophers already wondered why people sometimes act against their better judgment. That is, why do people yield to immediate short-term temptations even though they know that it will be detrimental to the pursuit of their long-term goals? Modern psychology has tackled the self-control problem from a variety of perspectives, such as cybernetic models, models of inter-temporal choice, goal-intention models, goal-conflict models, and dual-system models. One advan- tage of dual-system models seems to be that these models explicitly integrate impulsive processes of behavior determination into their theoretical architecture. We report a program of empirical research which has emanated from a dual-system approach and discuss the benefits and limitations of such an approach for basic and applied research.
Optimizing fiber cross-sectional shape for improving stability of air-water interface over superhydrophobic fibrous coatings

In this letter, a mathematical force-balance formulation is developed that can be used to predict the critical pressure, the hydrostatic pressure above which the surface starts to depart from the non-wetting state, for superhydrophobic surfaces comprised of highly aligned fibers (e.g., biased AC-electrospun coatings) with arbitrary cross-sectional shapes. We have also developed a methodology for optimizing the fiber cross-sections to maximize the critical pressure of the surface, using the Euler–Lagrange equation. A case study is presented to better demonstrate the application of our method.
Discriminating among cattle breeds using genetic markers

Genetic markers provide a potentially powerful means of identifying the breed of individual animals. In this study diallelic and microsatellite loci were compared for their efficiency in discriminating among cattle breeds. Data were simulated for seven European cattle breeds using allele frequencies estimated at 20 microsatellite and 30 diallelic markers. Animals were assigned to the breed for which their genotype had the highest probability, and the power of the method assessed by estimating the error rate or proportion of animals misclassified. The number of markers required for discriminating among pure, or both pure and crossbreed, animals was investigated using either randomly sampled markers or markers selected on individual error rate. The relationship between individual marker variability and discriminatory power was also investigated. Microsatellite markers were found to be more powerful than diallelic markers for distinguishing among the breeds. The most discriminatory markers were those with the highest average heterozygosity and observed number of alleles. The number of markers needed to achieve a particular error rate could be reduced by selecting markers with the lowest individual error rates. Discrimination among both crossbreeds and pure breeds required approximately three times as many markers as discrimination among pure breeds alone.
p97/VCP at the intersection of the autophagy and the ubiquitin proteasome system

A feature of aged onset degenerative disease is ubiquitinated protein inclusions. Similar inclusions are found in different tissues ranging from the central nervous, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and gastrointestinal systems; whether, the same pathomechanism is responsible for the similar pathology in these disparate tissues is not known. To address this question, we explored the pathogenesis of a multi-system degenerative disorder, IBMPFD or inclusion body myopathy (IBM), paget's disease of the bone (PDB) and fronto-temporal dementia (FTD) of which ubiquitinated inclusions are a key pathological feature in muscle, brain and bone tissue. IBMPFD is caused by mutations in the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) chaperone p97/VCP. Previous reports suggest dysfunctional UPS in IBMPFD, however, we find that autophagic protein degradation and autophagosome maturation are diminished in IBMPFD mutant-expressing mice, patients and cell models. Moreover, a loss of p97/VCP function recapitulates the same effects, suggesting that p97/VCP is essential for autophagy. Thus, the degenerative phenotype in IBMPFD and its phenotypic components (IBM, PDB and FTD) may be disorders of impaired autophagy. p97/VCP is likely important in regulating both UPS- and autophagy-mediated protein degradation. This places p97/VCP in a key regulatory position at the intersection of these two proteolytic pathways.
Interaction of vitamin K antagonists and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole: ignore at your patient’s risk

Abstract The aim of the study was to summarize available literature regarding the interaction between vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (co-trimoxazole, TMP-SMX), and to provide recommendations for managing patient risk from this interaction. Data sources were English-language publications in the medical literature and Internet databases. Relevant publications that directly or indirectly addressed the VKA-TMP-SMX interaction were selected and reviewed. The mechanism of the VKA-TMP-SMX interaction, frequency of concurrent use, effect on international normalized ratio (INR), increased risk of bleeding, and strategies for risk reduction are summarized. The concurrent use of VKA and TMP/SMX rapidly and consistently raises INR and is associated with a two- to five-fold increase in bleeding. Concurrent use of VKA and TMP-SMX should be avoided when possible. When VKA and TMP-SMX are co-prescribed, VKA dose reduction is usually required. Patient education as well as early and frequent INR monitoring is recommended to reduce risk from this interaction.
Are misalignments of perceptions and self‐efficacy causing gender gaps in entrepreneurial intentions among our nation's teens?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the reasons behind the significant gender gaps observed in entrepreneurial interest among adolescents. Specifically, the authors aim to test multiple models that analyze direct and indirect relationships between work and leadership experience, presence of a parental role model, self‐efficacy, and interest by teens in becoming entrepreneurs.Design/methodology/approach – A sample of over 5,000 middle and high school students participated in the larger study from which the data were drawn. Participants completed measures of entrepreneurial self‐efficacy, entrepreneurial intentions, work and leadership experience, and parental entrepreneurial role model. The authors analyzed the data using structural equation modeling.Findings – While the study confirmed previous empirical findings regarding the antecedents of entrepreneurial self‐efficacy and entrepreneurial intentions, significant differences across gender emerged. First, while boys and girls hold jobs outsi.
Neural Correlates of Syntactic Processing in the Nonfluent Variant of Primary Progressive Aphasia

The left posterior inferior frontal cortex (IFC) is important for syntactic processing, and has been shown in many functional imaging studies to be differentially recruited for the processing of syntactically complex sentences relative to simpler ones. In the nonfluent variant of primary progressive aphasia (PPA), degeneration of the posterior IFC is associated with expressive and receptive agrammatism; however, the functional status of this region in nonfluent PPA is not well understood. Our objective was to determine whether the atrophic posterior IFC is differentially recruited for the processing of syntactically complex sentences in nonfluent PPA. Using structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging, we quantified tissue volumes and functional responses to a syntactic comprehension task in eight patients with nonfluent PPA, compared to healthy age-matched controls. In controls, the posterior IFC showed more activity for syntactically complex sentences than simpler ones, as expected. In nonfluent PPA patients, the posterior IFC was atrophic and, unlike controls, showed an equivalent level of functional activity for syntactically complex and simpler sentences. This abnormal pattern of functional activity was specific to the posterior IFC: the mid-superior temporal sulcus, another region modulated by syntactic complexity in controls, showed normal modulation by complexity in patients. A more anterior inferior frontal region was recruited by patients, but did not support successful syntactic processing. We conclude that in nonfluent PPA, the posterior IFC is not only structurally damaged, but also functionally abnormal, suggesting a critical role for this region in the breakdown of syntactic processing in this syndrome.
Piecewise Arithmetic Expressions of Numeric Functions and Their Application to Design of Numeric Function Generators

Abstract : In this paper, we propose a new representation of numeric functions using a piecewise arithmetic expression. To represent a numeric function compactly, we partition the domain of the function into uniform segments, and transform the sub-function in each segment into an arithmetic spectrum. From this arithmetic spectrum, we derive an arithmetic expression, and obtain a piecewise arithmetic expression for the function. By using the piecewise arithmetic expression, we can increase the number of zero arithmetic coefficients significantly, and represent a numeric function more compactly than using a conventional single arithmetic expression. We also present an application of the piecewise arithmetic expression to design of numeric function generators (NFGs). Since the piecewise arithmetic expression has many zero coefficients and repeated coefficients, by storing only distinct nonzero coefficients in a table, we can significantly reduce the table size needed to store arithmetic coefficients. Experimental results show that the table size can be reduced to only a small percent of the table size needed to store all the arithmetic coefficients.
Evaluating Speech-Driven IR in the NTCIR-3 Web Retrieval Task

Speech recognition has of late become a practical technology for real world applications. For the purpose of research and development in speech-driven retrieval, which facilitates retrieving information with spoken queries, we organized the speech-driven retrieval subtask in the NTCIR-3 Web retrieval task. Search topics for the Web retrieval main task were dictated by ten speakers and recorded as collections of spoken queries. We used those queries to evaluate the performance of our speech-driven retrieval system, where speech recognition and text retrieval modules were integrated. The text retrieval module, which is based on a probabilistic model, indexed only textual contents in documents (Web pages), but did not use HTML tags and hyperlink information in documents. Experimental results showed that a) the use of target documents for language modeling and b) enhancement of the vocabulary size in speech recognition were effective to improve the system performance.
The development of response inhibition in 4- and 5-year-old children

Abstract Children younger than 6 years of age have difficulty in mastering discrimination learning tasks. It appears that the response component of such tasks presents particular problems for young children. The work of Luria (1973). Douglas (1975). Bell and Livesey (1985) and Diamond (1988) has indicated that children of this age lack the capacity to inhibit prepotent responses and that many of the observed deficits in discrimination learning relate to performance of the response rather than to learning the significance of cues (i.e., performance rather than cognitive deficits). Two experiments were conducted to examine this age-related change in performance. Children were tested under either active condition (the child making the response) or verbal condition (the child telling the experimenter to respond) in an attempt to separate performance from cognitive components of the task. In Experiment 1,4- and 5-year-old children were tested on a go/no-go discrimination task requiring them to withhold a respo.
Sales Persistence and the Reductions in GDP Volatility

A number of explanations for the observed decline in GDP volatility since the mid-1980s have been offered. Valerie Ramey and Daniel Vine (2003a, 2003b) in a couple of recent papers offer the hypothesis that a decline in the persistence of sales is an explanation for the decline in GDP volatility. Their models show that a decrease in sales persistence leads to a decline in the variance of production relative to the variance of sales. They provide econometric evidence that the persistence of unit automobile sales has declined at both the aggregate and model level. This paper explores reasons why sales persistence may have declined and then tests the Ramey-Vine hypothesis with monthly chain-weighted sales data from 2- and 3-digit manufacturing and trade industries. The estimates confirm the Ramey-Vine findings for motor vehicle retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers. For a number of industries outside of motor vehicles, especially those in wholesaling and nondurable manufacturing, considerable evidence is found of declines in sales persistence. These declines seem to be consistent with changes in supply and distribution chains that have occurred as the result of the introduction of new information, inventory, and production control systems. However, in equations estimated for aggregate manufacturing, wholesaling, and retail sector sales, declines in sales persistence are not found.
Book Review: Teacher Identity Discourses: Negotiating Personal and Professional Spaces, by Janet Alsup (Urbana, IL: NCTE, 2006) 234 pages, $27.50

Teacher Identity Discourses: Negotiating Personal and Professional Spaces, by Janet Alsup, provides teacher educators with valuable insight into a beginning teacher’s identity formation, especially as it has to do with the question “Am I meant to be a teacher? ” (p. ix), posed in the foreword by Britzman. Those challenged with creating and implementing induction programs may find Alsup’s conclusions important as they consider ways to counteract the approximate 30% attrition rate of new teachers (Dangel, 2006). Yet this text challenges teacher educators to put aside any discomfort of their own, especially when considering what Britzman calls “the Socratic imperative to ‘Know thyself”’ (p. xii). Britzman asks teacher educators to look beyond the “tacit normalization’’ of teacher induction and “to be curious about the conditions of awareness” (p. xii). As Britzman maintains, a discourse on teacher identity formation should be inclusive of all those constructing the experience. In her preface, Alsup acknowledges many members of her potential audience-preservice teachers, beginning and struggling teachers, teacher educators, mentors, and supervisorsall of whom play a vital role in the development of teacher identity; however, she challenges them to remember that although new teachers should be concerned with their students, they must also “be more selfish and take care of themselves first, in order to take care of others later” (p. xv). As the text progresses, Alsup clearly outlines ways in which this directive may be achieved; specifically, she focuses on considerations of what it means to be a teacher, on an analysis of various teacher narratives, and on implications of a borderland discourse to create a holistic teacher identity. Throughout these sections, Alsup maintains, “For the purpose of improving teacher education, I hope readers will recognize and respect the delicate balance I try to maintain between so-called ‘reductionism’ and practical application” (p. 5). Alsup’s discussion of what it means to be a teacher focuses on a binary often connected to teacher identity: “The teacher is depicted as failure or hero, villain or angel” (p. 24). Those of us who spend a great deal of time in educational institutions can probably attest to the validity of this statement, for we hear of teachers that “make a difference” or “need to retire. ” Alsup calls for holistic ways of knowing the self, and she believes that “teacher educators can make the induction phase of the new teacher easier through assignments that encourage the expression of various genres of
Object Lifetime Prediction in Java

Accurately predicting the lifetimes of objects in object-oriented and functional languages is important because such predictions can be used to improve memory management performance at run-time. A typical approach to this prediction problem is first to observe object lifetimes by tracing a sample program execution, then to construct a predictor function based on these observations, and finally to test the predictions on reference program executions. Four quantitative measures characterize this approach: coverage, the proportion of objects in the reference program execution for which the predictor function is defined; accuracy, the fraction of predicted lifetimes that are correct; precision, the granularity of the predictions; and size, the size of the predictor itself. These four properties are not independent; for example, increased precision often leads to less coverage and accuracy. We describe a fully precise prediction method and report experimental results on its performance. By “fully precise” we mean that the granularity of predictions is equal to the smallest unit of allocation. We show that for a number of benchmark programs in the Java programming language, fully precise prediction can be achieved, together with high coverage and accuracy. Our results also show that a significant proportion of objects have a measured lifetime of zero, a fact which a dynamic compiler could use to avoid explicit allocation. The method described here is the first to combine high-precision and efficiency in a single lifetime predictor.
Chemoprevention in experimental animals

The potential cancer‐preventive effects of resveratrol, evident from the data obtained by various studies, are summarized in this review. Resveratrol (trans‐3,5,4′‐trihydroxystilbene), a naturally occurring polyphenolic compound, was first isolated in 1940 as a constituent of the roots of white Hellebore (Veratrum grandiflorum O. Loes), and is now found to be present in various plants including grapes, berries, peanuts, and red wine. This review first briefly describes the current evidence on the link between resveratrol and cancer occurrence, based on epidemiological studies. Subsequently, investigations with resveratrol in animal models of colon carcinogenesis are presented, followed by a comprehensive compilation of resveratrol on cancer. In the second part, the article focuses on results from investigations on cancer‐preventive mechanisms of resveratrol. Biological activities including antioxidant effects, modulation of carcinogen metabolism, anti‐inflammatory potential, antioxidant properties, antiproliferative mechanisms by induction of apoptosis, and cell differentiation are discussed. Some novel information on its modulating effects on cell signaling pathway, metabolism studies, bioavailability, and cancer‐preventive efficacy is also provided. Based on these findings, resveratrol may be used as a promising candidate for cancer chemoprevention.
Kinetic parameters and nitrate, nitrite changes in bioremediation of Toxic Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate (PETN) contaminated soil

Background Cleanup of areas contaminated by explosives is a public health concern. Some explosives can be carcinogenic in humans. Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate (PETN), a powerful explosive with very low water solubility, can be easily transported to ground waters. Objective This study was conducted to determine the removal efficiencies of PETN from soil by bioremediation, and obtain kinetic parameters of biological process. Methods This experimental study was conducted at the Environmental Health Engineering Lab (Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran) in 2015–2016. In the present work, bioremediation of the explosive-polluted soils by PETN in anaerobic-aerobic landfarming method was performed. The influence of seeding and biosurfactant addition on bioremediation was also evaluated. The data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel software. Results The results show that, as the initial concentration of PETN increased, the lag phase was increased and the specific growth rate was increased up to 0.1/day in concentration of 50 mg/kg, and then it was decreased to 0.04/day. Subsequent decreases in specific growth rate can cause substrate inhibition. Seeding causes decrease in lag phase significantly. Biosurfactant addition had little to no impact on the length of lag phase, but biosurfactant plus seeding can increase the growth rate to 0.2/day, however, inhibitory effect of the initial concentration was started in very high concentration of PETN (150 mg/kg). Conclusion Biosurfactant addition and seeding together have an impressive effect on biodegradation of PETN, furthermore seeding can enhance active microbial consortium and biosurfactant can improve the poor aqueous solubility of PETN, therefore making the substrate more accessible.