Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Balancing thread based navigation for targeted video search

Various query methods for video search exist. Because of the semantic gap each method has its limitations. We argue that for effective retrieval query methods need to be combined at retrieval time. However, switching query methods often involves a change in query and browsing interface, which puts a heavy burden on the user. In this paper, we propose a novel method for fast and effective search trough large video collections by embedding multiple query methods into a single browsing environment. To that end we introduced the notion of query threads, which contain a shot-based ranking of the video collection according to some feature-based similarity measure. On top of these threads we define several thread-based visualizations, ranging from fast targeted search to very broad exploratory search, with the Fork-Browser as the balance between fast search and video space exploration. We compare the effectiveness and efficiency of the ForkBrowser with the CrossBrowser on the TRECVID 2007 interactive search task. Results show that different query methods are needed for different types of search topics, and that the ForkBrowser requires significantly less user interactions to achieve the same result as the CrossBrowser. In addition, both browsers rank among the best interactive retrieval systems currently available.
Creating, Studying and Experimenting with Bilingual Law in South Tyrol: Lost in Interpretation?

The aim of this book is to document the experiences of institutions and states that are implementing bilingual higher education policies in the legal context, to identify the different approaches and to suggest some of the likely areas for future theoretical development. It examines the role of higher education language policies (medium-of-instruction policies in higher education) in mediating the tension between on the one hand the centralizing forces of stated-mandated policies and globalisation and demands for language rights by ethnic and linguistic minorities on the other.
1 Disorder drives cooperative folding in a multi-domain protein

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Para onde caminham as cooperativas de trabalho da Economia Solidária? Uma análise baseada nos Mapeamentos dos Empreendimentos Solidários

Neste estudo quantitativo, investigam-se os rumos trilhados pelas cooperativas de trabalho da Economia Solidaria com base nos dados do Segundo Mapeamento Nacional dos Empreendimentos Solidarios, realizado pela SENAES, entre 2009 e 2013. As analises realizadas com dados do Primeiro Mapeamento (2005-2007) demonstraram que o trabalho no interior dessas cooperativas assume um sentido emancipatorio – uma vez que os/as trabalhadores(as) participam das tomadas de decisao, gestionam coletivamente o empreendimento e se apropriam dos seus resultados –, por outro lado, tambem impele a intensificacao desse trabalho, caracterizado pela instabilidade, aproximando-se, dessa forma, do trabalho precario. Agora, num contexto de reducao do desemprego e estabilidade no numero de cooperativas de trabalho no Brasil, busca-se verificar se, de fato, estas cooperativas sao alternativas de trabalho que asseguram, em alguma medida, os direitos sociais. Palavras-chave: cooperativas de trabalho, direitos sociais, Economia Solidaria.
Family carers' experiences using support services in Europe: empirical evidence from the EUROFAMCARE study.

PURPOSE This article explores the experiences of family carers of older people in using support services in six European countries: Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Sweden, and the UK. DESIGN AND METHODS Following a common protocol, data were collected from national samples of approximately 1,000 family carers per country and clustered into comparable subgroups to facilitate cross-national analysis. RESULTS Carers' use of available support services is limited across Europe but is considerably higher in Germany, Sweden, and the UK than in Poland, Greece, and Italy. Service use is more prevalent among wives and carers with stronger support networks and less frequent among working daughters with high levels of burden, suggesting the need for a reconsideration of eligibility criteria and better targeting of service responses. Access to and use of services is characterized by a divide between carers in northwestern Europe, who experience few difficulties other than the older person's refusal to accept the support offered, and carers in southeastern Europe, where service affordability and poor transportation present remarkable barriers. Concerns regarding the timeliness and quality of support are common to all countries. IMPLICATIONS European Union-wide efforts to improve carer support need to focus on improving the care system's ability to provide timely, high-quality care delivered by staff who treat the older person with dignity and respect, and to enhance cooperation between health professionals (in all countries), informal networks (especially in southeastern Europe), social services (particularly in Sweden and the UK), and voluntary organizations (in Germany and the UK).
Periodontal Disease, Tooth Loss, and Incidence of Ischemic Stroke

Background and Purpose— Periodontal and other infections have been suggested as potential risk factors for stroke. This study evaluates periodontal disease and tooth loss as risk factors for ischemic stroke. Methods— The study population consisted of 41 380 men who were free of cardiovascular disease and diabetes at baseline. Periodontal disease history was assessed by mailed validated questionnaires. During 12 years of follow-up, stroke incidence was assessed and subclassified by use of medical history, medical records, and imaging reports. Hazard ratios (HRs) were adjusted for age, amount smoked, obesity, alcohol, exercise, family history of cardiovascular disease, multivitamin use, vitamin E use, profession, baseline reported hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia. Sex and socioeconomic status were inherently controlled for by restriction. Confounding variables were updated in the analyses for each 2-year follow-up interval. Results— We documented 349 ischemic stroke cases during the follow-up period. Men who had ≤24 teeth at baseline were at a higher risk of stroke compared to men with ≥25 teeth (HR=1.57; 95% CI, 1.24 to 1.98). There was little evidence of an increased risk with recent tooth loss during follow-up. A modest association was seen between baseline periodontal disease history and ischemic stroke (HR=1.33; 95% CI, 1.03 to 1.70). Addition of dietary factors to the model changed the HR only slightly. Conclusions— Our results suggest that periodontal disease and fewer teeth may be associated with increased risk of ischemic stroke.
Evaluation of a new chromogenic agar for the detection of Listeria in food

Aim: Rapid identification of Listeria in food is important in protecting consumers from infection. The development of chromogenic media such as agar Listeria according to Ottaviani and Agosti (ALOA) has allowed more rapid detection of Listeria monocytogenes, with presumptive identification of this pathogenic species after only 24 h of incubation. The aim of this study was to evaluate Oxoid chromogenic Listeria agar (OCLA) in comparison with ALOA and a traditional, nonchromogenic medium, Oxford agar.
Statistical evaluation of the multi-frequency GPS ionospheric scintillation observation data

With the growing overdependence on the widely available Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) technology, the demand of the secure, reliable and accurate navigation especially for the aviation market has been a major concern of the satellite navigation engineers. The ionospheric scintillation is one of the most dangerous and sophisticated phenomena that not only compromises the accuracy of the receiver's position, velocity and time (PVT) output but also the reliability of receiver's performance in such critical situations. The maximum intensity scintillation occurs after every 11 years on average and, therefore, due to lack of available data, there are not enough practical studies to study this phenomenon. In this paper, we study the strong scintillation data collected during the last strong solar maximum event in 2013 at the Ascension Island. The frequency-to-frequency correlation is selected as an important metric to study the fading signals. The observations and the results discussed in the paper are the significant contributions toward the practical study of real ionospheric scintillation data and, hence, provide a strong ground for the future research.
Trust among cybercriminals? Carding forums, uncertainty and implications for policing

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, before the power of online social networking became apparent, several studies speculated about the likely structure of organised cybercrime. In the light of new data on cybercriminal organisations, this paper sets out to revisit their claims. This paper examines the structure of organised cybercrime by analysing data from online underground markets previously in operation over the Internet. In order to understand the various structures of organised cybercrime which have manifested, theories are drawn from social psychology, organised crime and transaction cost economics (TCE). Since the focus is on how uncertainty is mitigated in trading among cybercriminals, uncertainty is treated as a cost to the transactions and is used as the unit of analysis to examine the mechanisms cybercriminals use to control two key sources of uncertainty: the quality of merchandise and the identity of the trader. The findings indicate that carding forums facilitate organised cybercrime because they offer a hybrid form of organisational structure that is able to address sources of uncertainty and minimise transaction costs to an extent that allows a competitive underground market to emerge. The findings from this study can be used to examine other online applications that could facilitate the online underground economy.
Suitability of the Arden Syntax for Representation of Quality Indicators

BACKGROUND The lack of computable clinical quality indicators in standard format makes use of the measures in electronic health records (EHR) difficult. OBJECTIVE Assess Arden Syntax as a formalism for quality indicators. METHOD Thirty-nine measures were encoded as medical logic modules and shortfalls identified. RESULTS All logic components of the measures were expressible. 38% of QIs were limited by lack of data in an EHR. CONCLUSION Arden Syntax is suitable for representation of quality indicators.
Analysis of Germline Variants in CDH1, IGFBP3, MMP1, MMP3, STK15 and VEGF in Familial and Sporadic Renal Cell Carcinoma

Background The investigation of rare familial forms of kidney cancer has provided important insights into the biology of sporadic renal cell carcinoma (RCC). In particular, the identification of the von Hippel Lindau (VHL) familial cancer syndrome gene (VHL) provided the basis for the discovery that VHL is somatically inactivated in most sporadic clear cell RCC. Many cases of familial RCC do not have mutations in known RCC susceptibility genes and there is evidence that genetic modifiers may influence the risk of RCC in VHL disease patients. Hence we hypothesised that low-penetrance functional genetic variants in pathways related to the VHL protein (pVHL) function might (a) modify the phenotypic expression of VHL disease and/or (b) predispose to sporadic RCC. Methodology/Principal Findings We tested this hypothesis for functional polymorphisms in CDH1 (rs16260), IGFBP3 (rs2854744), MMP1 (rs1799750), MMP3 (rs679620), STK15 (rs2273535) and VEGF (rs1570360). We observed that variants of MMP1 and MMP3 were significant modifiers of RCC risk (and risks of retinal angioma and cerebellar haemangioblastoma) in VHL disease patients. In addition, higher frequencies of the MMP1 rs1799750 2G allele (p = 0.017, OR 1.49, 95%CI 1.06–2.08) and the MMP1/MMP3 rs1799750/rs679620 2G/G haplotype (OR 1.45, 95%CI 1.01–2.10) were detected in sporadic RCC patients than in controls (n = 295). Conclusions/Significance These findings (a) represent the first example of genetic modifiers of RCC risk in VHL disease, (b) replicate a previous report of an association between MMP1/MMP3 variants and sporadic RCC and (c) further implicate MMP1/MMP3-related pathways in the pathogenesis of familial and sporadic RCC.
Floral odour and reproductive isolation in two species of Silene

Mechanisms preventing interspecific pollination are important in closely related plant species, in particular when post‐zygotic barriers are weak or absent. We investigated the role of floral odour in reproductive isolation between the two closely related species Silene latifolia and S. dioica. First, we tested whether floral odour composition and emission differed between the species. We found significant odour differences, but contrary to expectations, both species showed a rhythmic emission of the same compounds between day and night. Second, in a field experiment, odour of the two species was made more similar by applying phenylacetaldehyde to flowers. This manipulation led to higher pollen‐analogue transfer between species, revealing that floral odour differences are important for maintaining reproductive isolation. We conclude that differences in single key compounds can reduce pollen transfer across species boundaries by pollinators and demonstrate that odour differences are an important component of premating floral isolation between closely related plant species.
Anion and cation permeability of a chloride channel in rat hippocampal neurons

The ionic permeability of a voltage-dependent Cl channel of rat hippocampal neurons was studied with the patch-clamp method. The unitary conductance of this channel was approximately 30 pS in symmetrical 150 mM NaCl saline. Reversal potentials interpreted in terms of the Goldman-Hodgkin-Katz voltage equation indicate a Cl:Na permeability ratio of approximately 5:1 for conditions where there is a salt gradient. Many anions are permeant; permeability generally follows a lyotropic sequence. Permeant cations include Li, Na, K, and Cs. The unitary conductance does not saturate for NaCl concentrations up to 1 M. No Na current is observed when the anion Cl is replaced by the impermeant anion SO4. Unitary conductance depends on the cation species present. The channel is reversibly blocked by extracellular Zn or 9- anthracene carboxylic acid. Physiological concentrations of Ca or Mg do not affect the Na:Cl permeability ratio. The permeability properties of the channel are consistent with a permeation mechanism that involves an activated complex of an anionic site, an extrinsic cation, and an extrinsic anion.
Alexithymia, Not Autism, Predicts Poor Recognition of Emotional Facial Expressions

Despite considerable research into whether face perception is impaired in autistic individuals, clear answers have proved elusive. In the present study, we sought to determine whether co-occurring alexithymia (characterized by difficulties interpreting emotional states) may be responsible for face-perception deficits previously attributed to autism. Two experiments were conducted using psychophysical procedures to determine the relative contributions of alexithymia and autism to identity and expression recognition. Experiment 1 showed that alexithymia correlates strongly with the precision of expression attributions, whereas autism severity was unrelated to expression-recognition ability. Experiment 2 confirmed that alexithymia is not associated with impaired ability to detect expression variation; instead, results suggested that alexithymia is associated with difficulties interpreting intact sensory descriptions. Neither alexithymia nor autism was associated with biased or imprecise identity attributions. These findings accord with the hypothesis that the emotional symptoms of autism are in fact due to co-occurring alexithymia and that existing diagnostic criteria may need to be revised.
The Physics of Text: Ontological Realism in Information Extraction

We propose an approach to extracting information from text based on the hypothesis that text sometimes describes the world. The hypothesis is embodied in a generative probability model that describes (1) possible worlds and the facts they might contain, (2) how an author chooses facts to express, and (3) how those facts are expressed in text. Given text, information extraction is done by computing a posterior over the worlds that might have generated it. As a by-product, this unsupervised learning process discovers new relations and their textual expressions, extracts new facts, disambiguates instances of polysemous expressions, and resolves entity references. The probability model also explains and improves on Brin’s bootstrapping heuristic, which underlies many open information extraction systems. Preliminary results on a small corpus of New York Times text suggest that the approach is effective.
A new speech synthesis system based on the ARX speech production model

We present a new formant-type speech analysis-synthesis system based on the ARX (Auto-Regressive with Exogenous Input) speech production model. The model consists of cascade formant-antiformant synthesizers driven by a voicing source and an unvoiced turbulent noise source. One of the key features of the proposed method is that we have an algorithm to automatically measure the voicing source, unvoiced source and formant-antiformant parameters of the synthesizer directly from natural speech waveforms. After having automatically obtained estimates of the parameters from natural speech, one can manipulate the estimates using a flexible editing tool that has been developed as a part of the system. By changing values of the fundamental frequency, glottal open quotient, spectral tilt parameter, turbulent noise level, formant-antiformant frequencies and bandwidths, we can synthesize natural sounding speech with various voice qualities including modal, breathy, tense, and whisper voice. Acoustic correlates of these voice qualities could be systematically investigated using the proposed system. Since our analysis-editing-synthesis system has been developed on the MS-Windows platform, it is expected that it will be a useful tool in various basic areas of speech science and technology.
Vascular Calcification Is Associated with Cortical Bone Loss in Chronic Renal Failure Rats with and without Ovariectomy: The Calcification Paradox

Background: Increased bone loss has been associated with the development of vascular calcification in patients with chronic renal failure (CRF). In this study, the effect of impaired bone metabolism on aortic calcifications was investigated in uremic rats with or without ovariectomy. Methods: CRF was induced by administration of a 0.75% adenine/2.5% protein diet for 4 weeks. In one group, osteoporosis was induced by ovariectomy (CRF-OVX), while the other group underwent a sham-operation instead (CRF). A third group consisted of ovariectomized rats with normal renal function (OVX). At regular time intervals throughout the study, bone status and aortic calcifications were evaluated by in vivo micro-CT. At sacrifice after 6 weeks of CRF, bone histomorphometry was performed and vascular calcification was assessed by bulk calcium analysis and Von Kossa staining. Results: Renal function was significantly impaired in the CRF-OVX and CRF groups. Trabecular bone loss was seen in all groups. In the CRF-OVX and CRF groups, trabecular bone density was restored after adenine withdrawal, which coincided with cortical bone loss and the development of medial calcifications in the aorta. No significant differences with regard to the degree of aortic calcifications were seen between the two CRF groups. Neither cortical bone loss nor calcifications were seen in the OVX group. Cortical bone loss significantly correlated with the severity of vascular calcification in the CRF-OVX and CRF groups, but no associations with trabecular bone changes were found. Conclusions: Cortical rather than trabecular bone loss is associated with the process of calcification in rats with adenine- induced CRF.
Fixed point action and topology in the CP3 model.

We define a fixed point action in two-dimensional lattice CP{sup {ital N}{minus}1} models. The fixed point action is a classical perfect lattice action, which is expected to show strongly reduced cutoff effects in numerical simulations. Furthermore, the action has scale-invariant instanton solutions, which enables us to define a correct topological charge without topological defects. Using a parametrization of the fixed point action for the CP{sup 3} model in a Monte Carlo simulation, we study the topological susceptibility. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society. }
Effect of energy feedbacks on Virtual Slope Walking: I. Complementary Energy Feedback

This paper presents our study over the effect of Complementary Energy Feedback on Virtual Slope Walking, while Virtual Slope Walking is our new biped gait generation method inspired by Passive Dynamic Walking. The energy feedback strength is defined and the walking is modeled as a step-to-step function. The Jacobi Matrix eigenvalues of the function are calculated together with the basin of attraction. From the analysis, we find the characteristic of Complementary Energy Feedback is being effective on a fast gait but weak on a slow one. By making use of the Complementary Energy Feedback in walking experiment, our robot achieves speed change from 1.5leg/s to 4.1leg/s.
Recurrent Antecedent Hypoglycemia Alters Neuronal Oxidative Metabolism In Vivo

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to characterize the changes in brain metabolism caused by antecedent recurrent hypoglycemia under euglycemic and hypoglycemic conditions in a rat model and to test the hypothesis that recurrent hypoglycemia changes the brain's capacity to utilize different energy substrates. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Rats exposed to recurrent insulin-induced hypoglycemia for 3 days (3dRH rats) and untreated controls were subject to the following protocols: [2-13C]acetate infusion under euglycemic conditions (n = 8), [1-13C]glucose and unlabeled acetate coinfusion under euglycemic conditions (n = 8), and [2-13C]acetate infusion during a hyperinsulinemic-hypoglycemic clamp (n = 8). In vivo nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to monitor the rise of13C-labeling in brain metabolites for the calculation of brain metabolic fluxes using a neuron-astrocyte model. RESULTS At euglycemia, antecedent recurrent hypoglycemia increased whole-brain glucose metabolism by 43 ± 4% (P < 0.01 vs. controls), largely due to higher glucose utilization in neurons. Although acetate metabolism remained the same, control and 3dRH animals showed a distinctly different response to acute hypoglycemia: controls decreased pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) flux in astrocytes by 64 ± 20% (P = 0.01), whereas it increased by 37 ± 3% in neurons (P = 0.01). The 3dRH animals decreased PDH flux in both compartments (−75 ± 20% in astrocytes, P < 0.001, and −36 ± 4% in neurons, P = 0.005). Thus, acute hypoglycemia reduced total brain tricarboxylic acid cycle activity in 3dRH animals (−37 ± 4%, P = 0.001), but not in controls. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that after antecedent hypoglycemia, glucose utilization is increased at euglycemia and decreased after acute hypoglycemia, which was not the case in controls. These findings may help to identify better methods of preserving brain function and reducing injury during acute hypoglycemia.