Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The SenStylus: A Novel Rumble-Feedback Pen Device for CAD Application in Virtual Reality

We have developed a pen device for CAD applications in virtual reality which provides novel features compared to existing systems. The SenStylus consists of a wireless pen designed to be ergonomically handled by the user for spatial interaction using a six degree of freedom optical tracking. In addition to the classic digital button(s) input, it provides analog multi-axial control, and a dual-rumble feedback output. We have integrated the device into an existing virtual reality CAD environment and extended the application functionalities with new devicespecific features. The SenStylus vibration feedback improves perception in the virtual world by controlling frequency, amplitude, and duration of the feedback, simulating a variety of responses during collisions and selection tasks. This capability enforces the visual depth sensitivity, which is critical when wo rking with complex CAD models. The multi-axial analog input provides a natural interaction paradigm to the user, thus simulating pen pressure and angle as in real world sketching and in real clay modeling. Dynamic tool-tip dimensioning and shaping are implemented as extra features. We present some applications to prove the added value of the SenStylus. The evaluation of the device received positive feedback by designers and engineers alike. The new features offered by this device can easily be extended to other VR applications using the API provided.
Endoscopic Treatment for Early Gastric Cancer

Endoscopic resection has been accepted as a curative modality for early gastric cancer (EGC). Since conventional endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) has been introduced, many improvements in endoscopic accessories and techniques have been achieved. Recently, endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) using various electrosurgical knives has been performed for complete resection of EGC and enables complete resection of EGC, which is difficult to completely resect in the era of conventional EMR. Currently, ESD is accepted as the standard method for endoscopic resection of EGC in indicated cases. In this review, the history of endoscopic treatment for EGC, overall ESD procedures, and indications and clinical results of endoscopic treatment will be presented.
Evaluating Imputation Algorithms for Low-Depth Genotyping-By-Sequencing (GBS) Data

Well-powered genomic studies require genome-wide marker coverage across many individuals. For non-model species with few genomic resources, high-throughput sequencing (HTS) methods, such as Genotyping-By-Sequencing (GBS), offer an inexpensive alternative to array-based genotyping. Although affordable, datasets derived from HTS methods suffer from sequencing error, alignment errors, and missing data, all of which introduce noise and uncertainty to variant discovery and genotype calling. Under such circumstances, meaningful analysis of the data is difficult. Our primary interest lies in the issue of how one can accurately infer or impute missing genotypes in HTS-derived datasets. Many of the existing genotype imputation algorithms and software packages were primarily developed by and optimized for the human genetics community, a field where a complete and accurate reference genome has been constructed and SNP arrays have, in large part, been the common genotyping platform. We set out to answer two questions: 1) can we use existing imputation methods developed by the human genetics community to impute missing genotypes in datasets derived from non-human species and 2) are these methods, which were developed and optimized to impute ascertained variants, amenable for imputation of missing genotypes at HTS-derived variants? We selected Beagle v.4, a widely used algorithm within the human genetics community with reportedly high accuracy, to serve as our imputation contender. We performed a series of cross-validation experiments, using GBS data collected from the species Manihot esculenta by the Next Generation (NEXTGEN) Cassava Breeding Project. NEXTGEN currently imputes missing genotypes in their datasets using a LASSO-penalized, linear regression method (denoted ‘glmnet’). We selected glmnet to serve as a benchmark imputation method for this reason. We obtained estimates of imputation accuracy by masking a subset of observed genotypes, imputing, and calculating the sample Pearson correlation between observed and imputed genotype dosages at the site and individual level; computation time served as a second metric for comparison. We then set out to examine factors affecting imputation accuracy, such as levels of missing data, read depth, minor allele frequency (MAF), and reference panel composition.
DIFFERENCES IN SEED BIOLOGY OF ANNUAL PLANTS IN ARID LANDS: A KEY INGREDIENT OF THE STORAGE EFFECT

We used a combination of field studies and laboratory experiments to characterize key ecological aspects of the seed biology and soil seed bank dynamics of annual plant communities in chenopod shrublands of South Australia. A sequential study of the soil seed bank demonstrated seasonal and between-year variability in numbers and composition of the soil seed bank. Soil samples incubated under different temperature and watering regimes produced different communities, indicating that species respond differentially to various environmental combinations. Emergence was extremely low at low water availability and at high temperatures, even in trays with ample water. A high percentage of seeds of four out of five species buried in the field remained viable for two years, while the fifth, Carrichtera annua, showed a sharp decline in seed viability, reaching nearly zero survivorship. Our results indicate that, in this system, annual plant communities result from germination of a fraction of seeds present in the soil seed bank, when autumn or winter rainfalls occur. Because different species have different responses to various combinations of environmental conditions, the community composition varies from year to year. This variability is likely to be a component of coexistence through the storage effect.
The Divergent Intracellular Lifestyle of Francisella tularensis in Evolutionarily Distinct Host Cells

Nonpathogenic bacteria are taken up by host cells into vacuoles or phagosomes that are processed through the endocytic pathway, through which the vacuoles mature and fuse to the lysosomes, in which the bacteria are degraded. To avoid this fate within phagocytic cells, intracellular pathogens have evolved different strategies to survive and evade phagosome–lysosome fusion [1]. Understanding the mechanisms by which pathogens manipulate vesicle trafficking in different hosts is extremely important for understanding the ability of various pathogens to cause disease and is essential for designing novel and effective strategies for prevention and therapeutic intervention. Francisella tularensis is a gram-negative, highly infectious, facultative intracellular bacterium that causes the zoonotic disease tularemia. The genus Francisella contains five species: F. tularensis, F. philomiragia, F. hispaniensis, F. noatunensis, and F. novicida [2,3]. Two subspecies of F. tularensis, tularensis (Type A) and holarctica (Type B), cause most cases of the illness in humans. F. novicida causes disease only in immunocompromised persons, but is highly virulent in mice [3]. However, it is important to note that in comparison to F. tularensis subsp. tularensis and F. tularensis subsp. holarctica, F. novicida elicits a different immune response in the host [2]. Humans acquire infection by several routes, including direct contact with infected animals, ingestion of water or food contaminated by infected animals, exposure to infected arthropod vectors, or by inhalation of infective aerosols, resulting in pneumonic, oropharyngeal, glandular, ulceroglandular, or oculoglandular tularemia [4]. Considering the ease of dissemination and high infectivity, F. tularensis subsp. tularensis and F. tularensis subsp. holarctica have been classified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as Tier 1 select agents. The existence of Francisella in the environment is divided into two cycles: the terrestrial cycle and aquatic cycle [5]. Small rodents, hares, and arthropods play a major role in the terrestrial cycle, while rodents associated with water are important in the water cycle [4,5]. Organisms such as ticks, flies, and mosquitoes are considered vectors of tularemia transmission to mammals [6]. Although it causes disease in various animal species, no animal has been identified as a main reservoir of this pathogen. F. tularensis subsp. holarctica and F. novicida have a strong association with freshwater environments, free-living amoeba, and biofilms [7,8]. Since mosquito larvae can feed on aquatic protozoa, they may be infected with F. tularensis during development in their natural aquatic environment [7]. The effect of wars, natural disasters, climate change, and global warming will probably have an impact on increased incidences of tularemia [9].
The Will to Lead: The Dynamic Integration of Intrinsic Motivation and Social Change Leadership

Discourse on the psychosocial substrates of human motivation reflects a hot-button theme in contemporary leadership research circles. For many aspiring leaders, role models and social support provide an undercurrent for instilling leadership attributes. Yet for others, the drive to optimize leadership potentials is a naturally occurring, internally guided event that is continually reinforced through self-regulatory processes. As such, questions remain as to which intrinsic motives underpin the leadership potentials that have implications for social change agency. To date, the extant literature fails to offer a comprehensive model that highlights (a) the self-motives that have preeminent applicability to intrinsic motivation, (b) the core ideals engendered by such motives, and (c) the linkages that exist between the core ideals and the leadership drives that underpin social change agency. In the following discussion, a theoretical framework is proposed that highlights seven well-documented theoretical constructs—self-determination, self-efficacy, self-worth, self-enhancement, selfaffirmation, self-concordance, and self-actualization—and their overarching relevance to leadership potentials. Each of the aforementioned constructs engenders a corresponding motivational ideal—autonomy, competence, achievement, identity, integrity, congruence, and potentiation, respectively—that hypothetically aligns with one of the seven components of Astin and Astin’s (1996) social change leadership model. Discussion underscores the need for a paradigm shift to enhance awareness of the extent to which specific intrinsic motives and their corresponding ideals have implications for the leadership orientations that underpin social change agency.
A Side Door Into Care Cascade for HIV-Infected Patients?

Abstract:HIV Prevention Trials Network studies are testing a number of new technologies for preventing HIV infections and reducing AIDS morbidity and mortality, but strengthening existing antiretroviral therapy (ART) programs may be among the most promising ways to generate greater health benefits using available resources. A cascade to care for HIV-positive patients has been described—HIV testing, retention in pre-ART care, treatment initiation, and sustained suppression on ART—and it has been noted that many patients are lost at each stage. We constructed a detailed representation by combining data from different sources about each stage. We found that, although currently available data were not sufficient to specify several key aspects, the traditional model of the cascade could not fully reconcile trends in HIV testing, linkage to care, retention in pre-ART care, and retention on ART with the large numbers of persons on ART and the large percentage of patients initiating treatment at late stages of infection. We hypothesize that supplementing the traditional linear cascade model with patient health-seeking behaviors that allow patients who are not in pre-ART care to be initiated on ART, is essential to fully characterizing the current functioning of ART programs. We have termed this additional channel to ART as the “side door. ” Understanding the relative roles of the different channels to care will be important to intervening effectively to improve the cascade to care, and we propose several new types of data that should be collected. With these insights, it may be possible to considerably strengthen the impact of ART programs.
Forecasting Trend Output in the Euro Area

This paper is an applied study about forecasting trend output and the output gap in the Euro area. The need for trend output forecasts is justified by an analysis of the monetary strategy of the European Central Bank. Trend output serves as a direct inflation indicator and helps to determine the reference value for money. For both purposes, trend output has to be forecasted. A permanent-transitory decomposition based on cointegration restrictions gives an estimate of trend output in the Euro area. Ex-ante point forecasts of trend output are computed and bootstrap simulation is employed to construct prediction intervals that take estimation uncertainty into consideration. The uncertainty of trend output and the output gap is quite large and raises questions about their usefulness as indicators for monetary policy. Copyright © 2002 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Anti-inflammatory Effect of Glucagon Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonist, Exendin-4, through Modulation of IB1/JIP1 Expression and JNK Signaling in Stroke

Glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1) stimulates glucose-dependent insulin secretion. Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors, which block inactivation of GLP-1, are currently in clinical use for type 2 diabetes mellitus. Recently, GLP-1 has also been reported to have neuroprotective effects in cases of cerebral ischemia. We therefore investigated the neuroprotective effects of GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonist, exendin-4 (ex-4), after cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury. Transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) was induced in rats by intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) administration of ex-4 or ex9-39. Oxygen-glucose deprivation was also induced in primary neurons, bEnd.3 cells, and BV-2. Ischemia-reperfusion injury reduced expression of GLP-1R. Additionally, higher oxidative stress in SOD2 KO mice decreased expression of GLP-1R. Downregulation of GLP-1R by ischemic injury was 70% restored by GLP-1R agonist, ex-4, which resulted in significant reduction of infarct volume. Levels of intracellular cyclic AMP, a second messenger of GLP-1R, were also increased by 2.7-fold as a result of high GLP-1R expression. Moreover, our results showed that ex-4 attenuated pro-inflammatory cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and prostaglandin E2 after MCAO. C-Jun NH2 terminal kinase (JNK) signaling, which stimulates activation of COX-2, was 36% inhibited by i.c. v. injection of ex-4 at 24 h. Islet-brain 1 (IB1), a scaffold regulator of JNK, was 1.7-fold increased by ex-4. GLP-1R activation by ex-4 resulted in reduction of COX-2 through increasing IB1 expression, resulting in anti-inflammatory neuroprotection during stroke. Our study suggests that the anti-inflammatory action of GLP-1 could be used as a new strategy for the treatment of neuroinflammation after stroke accompanied by hyperglycemia.
Common Carotid Intima-Media Thickness and Framingham Risk Score Predict Incident Carotid Atherosclerotic Plaque Formation: Longitudinal Results From the Study of Health in Pomerania

Background and Purpose— Cross-sectional studies describe a positive association between common carotid artery intima-media thickness (CCA-IMT) and carotid plaques (CP). However, longitudinal data on the predictive value of CCA-IMT for occurrence of CP are limited. Therefore, the role of increasing CCA-IMT in the atherosclerotic process is still discussed controversially. Methods— We investigated the predictive value of CCA-IMT and the Framingham risk score (FRS) for incident CP formation in a population-based longitudinal study of 1922 subjects aged 45 to 81 years who underwent ultrasonography of both carotid arteries and received vascular risk factor assessment at baseline and after 5 years. CP was defined as any protruding focal thickening of the intima-media complex. Incident CP formation during follow-up was defined as the appearance of at least 1 CP in a previously plaque-free arterial segment (right and left common, internal, and external carotid arteries and carotid bifurcation). Results— Among the 636 subjects without CP at baseline, 418 (66%) had at least 1 incident CP during follow-up. In a multivariable negative binominal regression model adjusted for age, gender, and the FRS, the number of arterial segments affected by incident CP was 1.53-fold higher (CI, 1.12–2.07; P<0.01) for subjects in the highest quartile of the overall CCA-IMT distribution compared to those in the lowest quartile. Conclusions— Both CCA-IMT and FRS independently predict incident CP formation. The risk of CP formation may actually be underestimated in subjects with low FRS and high IMT.
A Dynamic Logic for Deductive Verification of C Programs with KeY-C

We present KeY-C: a tool for deductive verification of C programs. KeY-C allows verification of C programs w.r. t. operation contracts and invariants. It is based on an earlier version of KeY that supports Java Card. In this paper we outline syntax, semantics, and calculus of C Dynamic Logic (CDL) that were adapted from their Java Card counterparts. Currently, the tool is in an early development stage. As a side-product of this work we expect to generalize KeY architecture for easily adding the support for new programming languages. This paper is a further development of our work described in [11].
Adrenomedullin Protects Against Myocardial Apoptosis After Ischemia/Reperfusion Through Activation of Akt-GSK Signaling

Abstract—Adrenomedullin (AM) is a potent vasoactive peptide and plays an important role in cardiovascular function. In this study, we delivered the AM gene locally into the heart, using a catheter-based technique to investigate the signaling mechanism mediated by AM in protection against cardiomyocyte apoptosis induced by acute ischemia/reperfusion. After adenovirus-mediated gene delivery, highly efficient and specific expression of luciferase, green fluorescent protein, or recombinant human AM was identified in the left ventricle. Delivery of the AM gene 5 days before ischemia/reperfusion attenuated myocardial apoptosis identified by in situ dUTP nick-end labeling and DNA laddering, and the effect was blocked by the AM antagonist human calcitonin gene–related peptide (CGRP 8 to 37). AM gene transfer increased phosphorylation of Akt and glycogen synthase kinase (GSK-3&bgr;) but reduced GSK-3&bgr; and caspase-3 activities in the heart. The effects of AM on GSK-3&bgr; and caspase-3 activities were blocked by CGRP (8-37) and by adenovirus containing dominant-negative Akt (DN-Akt). Furthermore, in cultured cardiomyocytes, AM also attenuated apoptosis induced by hypoxia/reoxygenation, which was accompanied by increased phospho-GSK-3&bgr; but reduced GSK-3 and caspase-3 activities. GSK-3 and caspase-3 activities were both blocked by Ad.DN-Akt and lithium, whereas only caspase-3 was inhibited by its inhibitor Z-VAD. The effects of AM on anti-apoptosis and promoting cell viability were blocked by DN-Akt but not by constitutively active Akt, lithium, or Z-VAD. These results indicate that AM protects against cardiomyocyte apoptosis induced by ischemia/reperfusion injury through the Akt-GSK-caspase signaling pathway.
Current-Source Converter and Cycloconverter Topologies for Industrial Medium-Voltage Drives

This paper, along with an earlier published paper as Part 1, provides a comprehensive review of the state of the art of high-power converters (above 1 MW) for adjustable-speed ac drives. In this highly active area, different converter topologies have been developed for various drive applications in the industry. Due to its extensive coverage, the subject is divided into two parts: multilevel voltage source and current source converter topologies. This paper is focused on the second part and covers the current source converter technologies, including pulsewidth-modulated current-source inverters (CSIs) and load-commutated inverters. In addition, this paper also addresses the present status of the direct converter, which is also known as cycloconverter (CCV). This paper focuses on the latest CSI and CCV technologies and an overview of the commonly used modulation schemes. It also provides the latest technological advances and future trends in CSI- and CCV-fed large drives. This paper serves as a useful reference for academic researchers and practicing engineers in the field of power converters and adjustable-speed drives.
The BBN Byblos 1997 large vocabulary conversational speech recognition system

This paper presents the 1997 BBN Byblos large vocabulary speech recognition (LVCSR) system. We give an outline of the algorithms and procedures used to train the system, describe the recognizer configuration and present the major technological innovations that lead to the performance improvements. The major testbed we present our results for is the Switchboard corpus, where current word error rates vary from 27% to 34% depending on the test set. In addition, we present results on the CallHome Spanish and Arabic tests, where we demonstrate that technology developed on English corpora is very much portable to other problems and languages.
The effect of duration post-migraine on visual electrophysiology and visual field performance in people with migraine

Purpose: In between migraine attacks, some people show visual field defects that are worse when measured closer to the end of a migraine event. In this cohort study, we consider whether electrophysiological responses correlate with visual field performance at different times post-migraine, and explore evidence for cortical versus retinal origin. Methods: Twenty-six non-headache controls and 17 people with migraine performed three types of perimetry (static, flicker and blue-on-yellow) to assess different aspects of visual function at two visits conducted at different durations post-migraine. On the same days, the pattern electroretinogram (PERG) and visual evoked response (PVER) were recorded. Results: Migraine participants showed persistent, interictal, localised visual field loss, with greater deficits at the visit nearer to migraine offset. Spatial patterns of visual field defect consistent with retinal and cortical dysfunction were identified. The PERG was normal, whereas the PVER abnormality found did not change with time post-migraine and did not correlate with abnormal visual field performance. Conclusions: Dysfunction on clinical tests of vision is common in between migraine attacks; however, the nature of the defect varies between individuals and can change with time. People with migraine show markers of both retinal and/or cortical dysfunction. Abnormal visual field sensitivity does not predict abnormality on electrophysiological testing.