Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Using Emotion Simulation to Influence User Attitudes and Behaviour

Humans have a natural tendency to unconsciously treat computers as though they are social actors. Many of the human-human social rules that have been well researched and defined in social psychology also seem to apply in human-computer interaction (HCI). This presents an opportunity for computers to use many of the principles and rules from human-human interaction and utilise them for enhancing HCI. One such set of principles that have been extensively investigated and examined in social psychology are influence strategies. A number of different approaches and techniques can be used to influence another’s attitudes and behaviour. These persuasive techniques could potentially be used by computers to influence or change user attitudes and behaviour for beneficial purposes (e.g. smoking cessation or improving exercise behaviour). In this project I will investigate how we respond to interface agents which make use of influence strategies when attempting to change our attitudes and behaviour toward eating. The manipulation of emotions is an essential aspect of attitude and behaviour change and it is proposed that the role of emotion in HCI will also be investigated. Interface designers often incorporate emotional expressions and statements into interface agents, through the use of textual content, synthetic or recorded speech, embodied characters, or multimedia video, without an understanding of the psychological impact on users. Moreover, it is largely unknown how strong user responses are to the synthetic emotional expressions made by computers. I will attempt to address these issues through three different investigations. Firstly, an examination of how users respond to the emotional expressions of different types of interface agents will be undertaken. Secondly, an investigation will be conducted to help understand whether agents that make use of influence strategies are able to influence or change user attitudes and behaviour more effectively than agents which do not. Finally, I will test whether emotional interface agents (which employ influence tactics) are able to influence or change user attitudes and behaviour more effectively than unemotional agents.
Research-Based Transformative Science/STEM/STES/STESEP Education for “Sustainability Thinking”: From Teaching to “Know” to Learning to “Think”

Sustainability is conceptualized, approached and acted upon differently by people, sectors, societies, nations and educational systems. Consequently, the “sustainability thinking”-related scientific, technological, environmental, societal, economic and policy/political components are expected to transform differently. The related necessary transformative paradigm shifts in science, technology, environment, society, economy and policy (STESEP)—education from the contemporary disciplinary science, technology and environmental teaching to “know”—to transdisciplinary learning to “think” are to be expected. The overriding purpose: ensuring “sustainability thinking” by responsible, capable “STESEP literate” citizens. Consequently, “sustainability thinking” in the STESEP interfaces contexts, requires (1) the development of students’ higher-order cognitive skills (HOCS) via a transformative/transdisciplinary “STESEP Education”; (2) a research-based shift from the conventional algorithmic lower-order cognitive skills (LOCS)-based teaching to “know”, to “HOCS learning” to “think”; and (3) a special focus on HOCS-promoting teaching, assessment and learning strategies in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, environment, society and education. A pre-post research design of system thinking, evaluative thinking, and decision making capabilities of 10 grade high school, undergraduate and graduate students, in Israel, are presented and discussed in the learning for “sustainability thinking” context. In conclusion: contemporary science education in secondary and tertiary levels is mainly, disciplinary (biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics) in science, technology and engineering courses. The LOCS-to-HOCS paradigm shift still constitutes a major issue of concern, with respect to ensuring a transformative science/STESEP education, targeting “sustainability thinking” in secondary and tertiary education.
Quantitative T cell assay reflects infectious load of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in an endemic case contact model.

BACKGROUND Currently, reliable efficacy markers for assessment of new interventions against tuberculosis (TB) are limited to disease and death. More precise measurement of the human immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection may be important. A qualitative enzyme-linked immunospot assay (ELISPOT) result for early secretory antigenic target 6 (ESAT-6) and culture filtrate protein 10 (CFP-10) offers improved specificity over the purified protein derivative (PPD) skin test reaction in the detection of M. tuberculosis infection. We evaluated the quantitative ELISPOT and PPD skin test responses to recent M. tuberculosis exposure. METHODS We studied quantitative PPD skin test and PPD ELISPOT results in 1052 healthy household contacts of index patients with cases of sputum smear-positive and culture-positive TB in The Gambia, according to a positive or negative ex vivo interferon gamma ELISPOT response to M. tuberculosis-specific antigens (ESAT-6/CFP-10). We then studied the quantitative PPD skin test and PPD ELISPOT results in patient contacts who had positive ESAT-6/CFP-10 results against a natural exposure gradient according to sleeping proximity to a patient with TB. RESULTS The number of positive results was significantly greater for both PPD skin test and PPD ELISPOT in ESAT-6/CFP-10-positive subjects, compared with others (P<.0001). However, when quantitative PPD skin test and PPD ELISPOT results were compared in ESAT-6/CFP-10-positive subjects, only the ELISPOT count was sensitive to the exposure gradient, increasing significantly according to exposure (P=.009). CONCLUSIONS The quantitative ELISPOT response to PPD in specific-antigen-positive contacts of patients with TB reflects the infectious load of M. tuberculosis as a result of recent exposure. This finding offers new possibilities for assessment of the efficacy of new interventions, and adjustment should be made for it when relating the early immune response to progression to disease.
Ryanodine receptors: waking up from refractoriness.

This editorial refers to ‘Recovery of cardiac calcium release is controlled by sarcoplasmic reticulum refilling and ryanodine receptor sensitivity’ by H.R. Ramay et al . , pp. 598–605, this issue. Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release (CICR) from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) via ryanodine receptors (RyRs) ultimately governs cardiac muscle force and can be considered as an amplification system for cardiac Ca2+ signals. CICR is initiated by Ca2+ influx via voltage-dependent L-type Ca2+ channels.1 Unlike skeletal muscle fibres, each cardiac myocyte can produce an amount of force (and a Ca2+ transient) that is graded by the amplitude of the Ca2+ current. How this works had remained a mystery for years because CICR is a positive feedback mechanism and one would expect, and mathematically predict, an all-or-none behaviour for these Ca2+ signals.2 As it turns out, regulation of the amplitude of the cardiac Ca2+ transients is implemented by virtue of a local control process, recruiting fewer or more Ca2+ sparks as needed to generate a small or large Ca2+ transient. Ca2+ sparks are subcellular elementary SR Ca2+ release signals, each of which is an all-or-none CICR event by itself, consistent with the predictions for a positive feedback system. Since the discovery of Ca2+ sparks, the combined efforts of many research groups have particularized features of their activation. However, much less is known about …
Recursive Information Hiding of Secrets by Random Grids

Abstract This article presents the method of recursive information hiding of secret images by random grids, which hides the additional secret information in the shares of the larger secret in a recursive manner. The proposed method increases the information conveyed per bit of the shares to nearly 100 percent, and has the size of each share the same as that of the original secret image without any expansion. The smaller size of the shares makes their further processing, such as storage and distribution, more efficient.
Topographic Anatomy of the Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve

Anatomic and topographic studies were carried out in 30 recurrent laryngeal nerves (RLN), dissecting the vagus nerve retrogradely to identify corresponding fascicles to the RLN. By obtaining measurements of diameter and length, surgically practical data were obtained, allowing for a possible revision of reconstructive possibilities for nerve injuries to the RLN through dissection and nerve graft.
Adsorption Capacity of Nickel (II) and Cobalt (II) Ions from Aqueous Solutions by Oil Palm Waste and Sawdust

Four types of biomass were characterized to investigate its metal adsorption capacity. The biomass were soaked in with nickel and cobalt solutions to examine the effect of biomass to amount of metal adsorbed. Oil palm mesocarp fibre (OPMF), empty fruit bunch (EFB), palm kernel shell (PKS) and sawdust were used in this study. Among all the biomass studied, oil palm mesocarp fibre shows the highest adsorption capacity with 1.8 mg/g and 1.6 mg/g of nickel and cobalt uptake, respectively. The metals adsorbed on the biomass were found to disperse into nanosize range.
A Delaunay Quadrangle-Based Fingerprint Authentication System With Template Protection Using Topology Code for Local Registration and Security Enhancement

Although some nice properties of the Delaunay triangle-based structure have been exploited in many fingerprint authentication systems and satisfactory outcomes have been reported, most of these systems operate without template protection. In addition, the feature sets and similarity measures utilized in these systems are not suitable for existing template protection techniques. Moreover, local structural change caused by nonlinear distortion is often not considered adequately in these systems. In this paper, we propose a Delaunay quadrangle-based fingerprint authentication system to deal with nonlinear distortion-induced local structural change that the Delaunay triangle-based structure suffers. Fixed-length and alignment-free feature vectors extracted from Delaunay quadrangles are less sensitive to nonlinear distortion and more discriminative than those from Delaunay triangles and can be applied to existing template protection directly. Furthermore, we propose to construct a unique topology code from each Delaunay quadrangle. Not only can this unique topology code help to carry out accurate local registration under distortion, but it also enhances the security of template data. Experimental results on public databases and security analysis show that the Delaunay quadrangle-based system with topology code can achieve better performance and higher security level than the Delaunay triangle-based system, the Delaunay quadrangle-based system without topology code, and some other similar systems.
Flow-induced responses in skeletal muscle venules: modulation by nitric oxide and prostaglandins.

Skeletal muscle arterioles dilate in response to increases in flow velocity/wall shear stress (WSS). The effect of flow/WSS on the diameter of skeletal muscle venules and the possible endothelial mediation of the response, however, have not yet been characterized. Thus changes in diameter of pressurized (10 mmHg) and norepinephrine-preconstricted venules (179 ± 8 μm in diameter) to increases in perfusate flow before and after endothelium removal or application of inhibitors of NO and prostaglandin (PG) synthesis, N ω-nitro-l-arginine (l-NNA, 104 M) and indomethacin (Indo, 2.8 × 105 M), respectively, were measured. Increases in perfusate flow [elicited by increases in the pressure difference (Pdiff) between proximal and distal cannulas] evoked with a delay of 17 ± 2 s dilations, up to 36 ± 9 μm at the highest flow, a response that was completely eliminated by removal/disruption of the venular endothelium. Calculation of WSS indicated that in endothelium-intact venules, the midpoint of the shear stress-diameter curve was at ∼8 dyn/cm2, whereas in endothelium-denuded vessels, shear stress increased in a linear fashion with increases in flow, up to 40 dyn/cm2.l-NNA significantly reduced flow-induced dilations (from 38 ± 11 to 17 ± 9 μm at 14 mmHg Pdiff), whereas in the additional presence of Indo, flow elicited constriction of venules decreasing basal diameter (by 21 ± 8 μm at Pdiff 12 mmHg). Thus in skeletal muscle venules an increase in shear stress due to increases in perfusate flow stimulates the release of endothelium-derived NO and PGs eliciting dilation, which in turn, regulates WSS, albeit at a lower value than what is observed in arterioles. In the absence of NO and PGs, flow-induced constriction is revealed, the cause of which remains obscure. From these data, we propose that shear stress-related responses of venules are involved in the regulation of venular resistance, especially during high flow conditions, such as reactive and exercise hyperemia.
Novel connections and gaps in ethylene signaling from the ER membrane to the nucleus

The signaling of the plant hormone ethylene has been studied genetically, resulting in the identification of signaling components from membrane receptors to nuclear effectors. Among constituents of the hormone signaling pathway, functional links involving a putative mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase CONSTITUTIVE TRIPLE RESPONSE1 (CTR1) and a membrane transporter-like protein ETHYLENE INSENSITIVE2 (EIN2) have been missing for a long time. We now learn that EIN2 is cleaved and its C-terminal end moves to the nucleus upon ethylene perception at the membrane receptors, and then the C-terminal end of EIN2 in the nucleus supports EIN3-dependent ethylene-response gene expression. CTR1 kinase activity negatively controls the EIN2 cleavage process through direct phosphorylation. Despite the novel connection of CTR1 with EIN2 that explains a large portion of the missing links in ethylene signaling, our understanding still remains far from its completion. This focused review will summarize recent advances in the EIN3-dependent ethylene signaling mechanisms including CTR1–EIN2 functions with respect to EIN3 regulation and ethylene responses. This will also present several emerging issues that need to be addressed for the comprehensive understanding of signaling pathways of the invaluable plant hormone ethylene.
Multivitamin Versus Multivitamin-mineral Supplementation and Pregnancy Outcomes: A Single-blind Randomized Clinical Trial

Background: Increased requirement and decreased dietary intakes of micronutrients during pregnancy might affect maternal health and pregnancy outcomes. This study was aimed to examine the effects of two types of multiple micronutrient supplementations on pregnancy outcomes in Kashan, Iran. Methods: In a randomized single-blind controlled clinical trial, 104 primigravid singleton pregnant women aged 18-30 years were randomly assigned to receive either a multivitamin (n = 51) or a multivitamin-mineral (n = 53) supplements for 20 weeks. Participants consumed supplements once a day at week 16 of gestation. Maternal anthropometric data as well as newborn's weight, height, head circumference and 5-min Apgar score were also determined. Independent samples t-test was used for comparing between-group means. Multivariate linear regression analysis was used to identify determinants of newborn's weight, height and head circumference. Results: Women taking multivitamin-mineral supplements gained marginally less weight until week 28 than those taking multivitamin supplements (weight at week 28 of gestation: 67.5 ± 11.4 vs. 71.6 ± 10.3 kg, P = 0.06). Mean body mass index at week 28 (25.8 ± 4.0 vs. 28.4 ± 3.7 kg/m2, P = 0.001) as well as at delivery (28.0 ± 3.9 vs. 30.1 ± 3.8 kg/m2, P = 0.006) was lower among women taking multivitamin-mineral supplements than those taking multivitamin supplements. Although no significant difference was seen in newborns’ height and Apgar score between the two groups, mean birth weight (3.3 ± 0.4 vs. 3.1 ± 0.4 kg, P = 0.04) and head circumference (35 ± 1.4 vs. 34 ± 1.3 cm, P < 0.0001) of the infants whose mothers receiving multivitamin-mineral supplements were higher than those whose mothers received multivitamins. Multivitamin-mineral use by pregnant women was a significant predictor of infants’ weight (β =0.191, P = 0.03) and head circumference (β =0.907, P = 0.005). Conclusions: In conclusion, we found that birth weight and head circumference was increased in infants whose mothers received multivitamin-mineral supplements for 5 months during pregnancy compared with infants whose mothers received multivitamin supplements.
Endometrial Hyperplasia and Carcinoma in Endometrial Polyps: Clinicopathologic and Follow-Up Findings

Summary: The objectives of this study were: 1) to evaluate findings in follow-up hysterectomy specimens after a diagnosis of complex atypical hyperplasia or carcinoma in endometrial polyps (EMPs) for possible significance in management strategies; and 2)to identify features in these polyps, that are predictive of the presence of endometrial hyperplasia or carcinoma in subsequent hysterectomy. Records of all cases of EMPs with endometrial hyperplasia were retrieved from the files of New York University Medical Center from 1993 to 2005. Those cases with follow-up hysterectomy were selected for the study. Of the 29 patients with complex atypical hyperplasia within the polyp, 19 out of 29 (66%) patients had hyperplasia of the non-polyp endometrium, and adenocarcinoma was observed in 9 out of 29 (31%) patients on follow-up hysterectomy. The percentage of polyp area involved by the hyperplasia was predictive of finding endometrial disorder in subsequent hysterectomy (P = 0.005). Of the 8 patients with adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS) within the polyp 3 (38%) had myoinvasive adenocarcinoma. In contrast, in cases without AIS, 4 out of 21 (19%) had myoinvasive adenocarcinoma in follow-up hysterectomy. Eight of the nine cases with carcinoma in endometrial polyp had endometrial pathology on hysterectomy. Approximately two thirds of the patients with hyperplasia and 90% of patients with adenocarcinoma in endometrial polyps show endometrial pathology on subsequent hysterectomy. The above findings reinforce the need for hysterectomy especially in postmenopausal women with atypical complex hyperplasia or carcinoma in endometrial polyps even if these changes appear confined to the polyp in initial sampling.
A cross-shift study of lung function, exhaled nitric oxide and inflammatory markers in blood in Norwegian cement production workers

Objectives To study possible effects of aerosol exposure on lung function, fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) and inflammatory markers in blood from Norwegian cement production workers across one work shift (0 to 8 h) and again 32 h after the non-exposed baseline registration. Methods 95 workers from two cement plants in Norway were included. Assessment of lung function included spirometry and gas diffusion pre- and post-shift (0 and 8 h). FeNO concentrations were measured and blood samples collected at 0, 8 and 32 h. Blood analysis included cell counts of leucocytes and mediators of inflammation. Results The median respirable aerosol level was 0.3 mg/m3 (range 0.02–6.2 mg/m3). FEV1, FEF25–75% and DLCO decreased by 37 ml (p=0.04), 170 ml/s (p<0.001) and 0.17 mmol/min/kPa (p=0.02), respectively, across the shift. A 2 ppm reduction in FeNO between 0 and 32 h was detected (p=0.01). The number of leucocytes increased by 0.6×109 cells/l (p<0.001) across the shift, while fibrinogen levels increased by 0.02 g/l (p<0.001) from 0 to 32 h. TNF-α level increased and IL-10 decreased across the shift. Baseline levels of fibrinogen were associated with the highest level of respirable dust, and increased by 0.39 g/l (95% CI 0.06 to 0.72). Conclusions We observed small cross-shift changes in lung function and inflammatory markers among cement production workers, indicating that inflammatory effects may occur at exposure levels well below 1 mg/m3. However, because the associations between these acute changes and personal exposure measurements were weak and as the long-term consequences are unknown, these findings should be tested in a follow-up study.
Males without apparent alloimmunization could have HLA antibodies that recognize target HLA specificities expressed on cells

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) antibodies, which are involved in the development of transfusion‐related side effects such as transfusion‐related lung injury, are sometimes found in males without a history of alloimmunization (eg, transplantation and transfusion). Whether HLA antibodies in male donors can interact with their target HLA specificities expressed on cells have not been completely investigated.
SAR-images categorization and applications

Radars, especially Synthetic Aperture Radars (SAR) are key sensors for satellite and terrestrial remote sensing applications. The main advantage of SAR-technology over optical sensor systems (LIDAR, visible, infrared and hyperspectral cameras), is its ability to capture SAR-images in all weather conditions, day and night. The high resolution (of one meter) TerraSAR-X mission and Tandem TerraSAR-X mission, launched by the German Aerospace Agency in 2007 and 2010, respectively, and free accessible images from Sentinel missions of the European Space Agency (ESA), started in 2016, enable an enormous amount of remote sensing data for different Earth observation applications, such as disaster and pollution monitoring and prevention, for military and civil applications. Tandem sensors provide precise interferometric measurements with resolution of a few millimeters. For all applications, appropriate SAR-images' analysis is crucial. In this paper, we will present some of our own developed algorithms for SARimages' analysis, classification and characterization, parametric and nonparametric, based mainly on wavelet multiresolution analysis, Bayesian statistics and Deep learning classification. Some applications will be reviewed.
A comparison of seed-and-extend techniques in modern DNA read alignment algorithms

DNA read alignment is a major step in genome analysis. However, as DNA reads continue to become longer, new approaches need to be developed to effectively use these longer reads in the alignment process. Modern aligners commonly use a two-step approach for read alignment: 1. seeding, 2. extension. In this paper, we have investigated various seeding and extension techniques used in modern DNA read alignment algorithms to find the best seeding and extension combinations. We developed an open source generic DNA read aligner that can be used to compare the alignment accuracy and total execution time of different combinations of seeding and extension algorithms. For extension, our results show that local alignment is the best extension approach, achieving up to 3.6× more accuracy than other extension techniques, for longer reads. For seeding, if BLAST-like seed extension is used, the best seeding approach is identifying all SMEMs in the DNA read (e.g., approach used by BWA-MEM). This combination is up to 6× more accurate than other seeding techniques, for longer reads. With local alignment, we observed that the seeding technique does not impact the alignment accuracy. Furthermore, we showed that an optimized implementation of local alignment using vector instructions, enabling 4.5× speedup, makes it the fastest of all extension techniques. Overall, we show that using local alignment with non-overlapping maximal exact matching seeds is the best seeding-extension combination due to its high accuracy and higher potential for optimization/acceleration for future DNA reads.