Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Identifying and modeling motion primitives for the hydromedusae Sarsia tubulosa and Aequorea victoria

The movements of organisms can be thought of as aggregations of motion primitives: motion segments containing one or more significant actions. Here, we present a means to identify and characterize motion primitives from recorded movement data. We address these problems by assuming that the motion sequences can be characterized as a series of dynamical-system-based pattern generators. By adopting a nonparametric, Bayesian formalism for learning and simplifying these pattern generators, we arrive at a purely data-driven model to automatically identify breakpoints in the movement sequences. We apply this model to swimming sequences from two hydromedusa. The first hydromedusa is the prolate Sarsia tubulosa, for which we obtain five motion primitives that correspond to bell cavity pressurization, jet formation, jetting, cavity fluid refill, and coasting. The second hydromedusa is the oblate Aequorea victoria, for which we obtain five motion primitives that correspond to bell compression, vortex separation, cavity fluid refill, vortex formation, and coasting. Our experimental results indicate that the breakpoints between primitives are correlated with transitions in the bell geometry, vortex formation and shedding, and changes in derived dynamical quantities. These dynamics quantities include terms like pressure, power, drag, and thrust. Such findings suggest that dynamics information is inherently present in the observed motions.
Effect of miR-503 Down-Regulation on Growth and Invasion of Esophagus Carcinoma and Related Immune Function

Background MicroRNA (miR) has been proved to be an important biomarker for tumors because it can regulate occurrence, progression, invasion, and metastasis of cancer. A previous study has shown the involvement of miR-503 in multiple gastrointestinal tumors. Its detailed role and immune regulatory function in esophagus carcinoma, however, remains unknown. This study thus investigated the effect of miR-503 in regulating growth, proliferation, and invasion of esophagus cancer and its influence on cytokine secretion. Material/Methods Esophagus carcinoma cell line EC9706 and normal esophageal epithelial cell line HEEC were transfected with miR-503 inhibitor. MTT assay was used to quantify the cell proliferation, and a Transwell chamber was used to evaluate cell invasion. Release of cytokines, including interleukin-2 (IL-2), IL-4, IL-10, and interferon-γ (IFN-γ), was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results MiR-503 expression was significantly elevated in esophagus carcinoma cells (p<0.05). The specific inhibition of miR-503 expression remarkably suppressed proliferation and invasion of tumor cells. It can also down-regulated IL-2 and IFN-γ expression and facilitate secretion of IL-4 and IL-10 when compared to the control group (p<0.05 in all ceases). Conclusions The inhibition of miR-503 can effectively inhibit tumor progression and improve immune function, suggesting its potency as a novel drug target for esophagus cancer treatment.
A Coordination Approach Towards Alignment

In this paper we present a coordination approach towards creating and maintaining alignment between the business and its support systems. The business objectives are related to the coordination of the outcomes of a number of work practices. A practice is apprehended as an activity domain which is the central construct in a new theory for coordinating human activity - the Activity Domain Theory. In this theory the achievement of shared meaning among the actors is in focus. The activity domain is constructed through an experiential learning strategy which integrates shared meaning, processes, information structures and support systems into a coherent whole. Some results from the Ericsson telecommunication company are discussed.
Nicotine Preconditioning Antagonizes Activity-dependent Caspase Proteolysis of a Glutamate Receptor*

Neuronal excitation is required for normal brain function including processes of learning and memory, yet if this process becomes dysregulated there is reduced neurotransmission and possibly death through excitotoxicity. Nicotine, through interaction with neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, possesses the ability to modulate neurotransmitter systems through numerous mechanisms that define this critical balance. We examined the modulatory role of nicotine in primary mixed cortical neuronal-glial cultures on activity-dependent caspase cleavage of a glutamate receptor, GluR1. We find that GluR1, but not GluR2 or GluR3, is a substrate for agonist (α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-isoxazole-4-propionic acid)-initiated rapid proteolytic cleavage at aspartic acid 865 through the activation of caspase 8-like activity that is independent of membrane fusion and is not coincident with apoptosis. Dose-dependent nicotine preconditioning for 24 h antagonizes agonist-initiated caspase cleavage of GluR1 through a mechanism that is coincident with desensitization of both nAChRα4β2 and nAChRα7 receptors and the delayed activation of a caspase 8-like activity. The modulation of GluR1 agonist-initiated caspase-mediated cleavage by nicotine preconditioning offers a novel insight into how this agent can impart its numerous effects on the nervous system.
Prise en compte des liens pour améliorer la recherche d'information structurée

In this paper we present two adaptations of the PageRank algorithm to collections of XML documents and the experimental results obtained for the collection Wikipedia used in INEX 2007. Those adaptations that we call "DOCRANK and HITS_docrank" allow the re- rank of the results returned by the base run execution to improve retrieval quality. Our experiments are applied on the results returned by the best three systems ranked in the "Focused" task of INEX 2007. Evaluations have shown improvements in the quality of retrieval results (improvement of some topics is very significant, eg: 491, 521, etc.). The best improvement achieved in the results returned by the DALIAN university system (all 107 topics of INEX 2007) was about 3.78%. MOTS-CLES : Recherche d'information structuree (RIS) , XML, liens XML, INEX.
Tratamientos psicológicos eficaces para trastornos del comportamiento alimentario

Efficacious psycholog ical treatments for eating disorders. We review the differential effectiveness for anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder and we propose the areas of study on these disorders for the next decade. Obesity has been omitted for this review. Data for the available research offer differential results with respect to the treatment efficacy on eating disorders. In bulimia nervosa there is enough evidence showing the superior ity of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) in front of other kind of therapies. It is possible that interpersonal therapy be the election treatment when CBT fails. In binge eating disorder, self-help prog rams for mild cases and CBT for the other are the treatments to be applied. The scope in the treatment of anorexia nervosa is different; by now the only treatment that works is nutritional rehabilitation. For this disorder it is still necessary to develop and apply structured treatment programs and to study their efficacy.
Towards A Novel Environment for Simulation of Quantum Computing

In this paper, we analyze existing quantum computer simulation techniqu- es and their realizations to minimize the impact of the exponential complexity of simulated quantum computations. As a result of this investigation, we pro- pose a quantum computer simulator with an integrated development environ- ment - QuIDE - supporting the development of algorithms for future quantum computers. The simulator simplifies building and testing quantum circuits and understanding quantum algorithms in an ecient way. The development envi- ronment provides flexibility of source code edition and ease of the graphical building of circuit diagrams. We also describe and analyze the complexity of algorithms used for simulation as well as present performance results of the simulator as well as results of its deployment during university classes.
Perception of second-formant transitions by hearing-impaired persons.

ABSTRACT Just-noticeable difference in starting frequency of the F2 transition was measured in four moderately hearing-impaired and four normal-hearing adults at a stimulus presentation level of 85 dB SPL. Just-noticeable difference was established for two stimulus configurations (F2 in isolation and F1 + F2) at two F2 starting frequency locations of the standard stimulus (1100 Hz and the subject's /ba/-/da/ phoneme boundary). There were no significant differences in discrimination performance across the four stimulus conditions within either subject group; the F1 upward spread of masking effect described by previous investigators was not demonstrated by the averaged group data from this study. The high variability in performance among hearing-impaired subjects implies that: (1) subjects with similar audiometric configurations do not necessarily perform similarly on auditory tasks involving synthetic speech stimuli; and (2) discriminability of changes in F2 may not be an appropriate index of upward spread of masking by F1 of F2.
Occupation and occupational therapy: Knowledge paradigms and everyday practice

Aims: This article presents some preliminary findings from an action research study into the everyday practice of a group of occupational therapists working in a large metropolitan hospital delivering a range of acute services. Methods and Findings: Narrative data gathered from 10 individual interviews were analysed through numerous iterative cycles to reveal salient themes. These include epistemological tensions associated with working in a hospital environment, antagonistic reasoning processes, overinclusive descriptions of practice, and communication challenges. Conclusions: The findings suggest that occupational therapists in acute settings may experience challenges in describing occupational therapy and engaging in occupation-based practice. This is because of a range of factors, including, but not limited to, the paradigmatic conflict that arises between a profession informed by occupation and a predominantly biomedical setting. However, through in-depth, reflective processes undertaken collectively within a supportive community of practice milieu, significant changes in everyday practices can be activated.
The effects of creatine supplementation: A review with special regards to ballgames

This short review is based on general knowledge and guidelines about creatine metabolism and supplementation (CS). These principles provide the starting point for an attempt at inferring the theoretical effects in ballgames with their specific workload profiles. The self-reported prevalence of creatine use in game players ranges from 2% in female volleyball players to 71% in male American football players. A search on the PubMed database for relevant articles related to ballgames resulted in 18 hits, all published in the last 5 years (soccer 6, American football 5, tennis 2, handball 2, ice hockey 1, squash 1, softball 1). It is critical that the authors of those articles measure basic conditional aspects in the first place. Only 5 articles try to investigate the effects of CS under test conditions specifically designed for ballgames. Six of 10 studies showed that a short-term creatine loading results in an improvement of the intermittent sprint performance, while 4 studies failed to measure any shortterm effects at all. Longitudinal training studies with game players uniquely came to the conclusion that CS combined with resistance and sprint conditioning improves strength and power at a higher rate than the respective training routine without supplementation. We conclude that CS increases the basic conditional performance of game players when combined with a specific training period. Nevertheless, a careless use of creatine on a regular basis is not advisable, since the transfer on the ballgame competition performance of these effects has not yet been clarified sufficiently. It also varies depending on the workload profile of the game and the player's individual physical conditions and demands.
Skin Wound Healing Is Accelerated and Scarless in the Absence of Commensal Microbiota

The commensal microbiota has a high impact on health and disease by modulating the development and homeostasis of host immune system. Immune cells are involved in virtually every aspect of the wound repair process; however, the impact of commensal microbiota on skin wound healing is largely unknown. In this study, we evaluated the influence of commensal microbiota on tissue repair of excisional skin wounds by using germ-free (GF) Swiss mice. We observed that macroscopic wound closure rate is accelerated in the absence of commensal microbiota. Accordantly, histologically assessed wound epithelization was accelerated in GF in comparison with conventional (CV) Swiss mice. The wounds of GF mice presented a significant decrease in neutrophil accumulation and an increase in mast cell and macrophage infiltration into wounds. Interestingly, alternatively activated healing macrophage-related genes were highly expressed in the wound tissue of GF mice. Moreover, levels of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10, the angiogenic growth factor VEGF and angiogenesis were higher in the wound tissue of those mice. Conversely, scarring and levels of the profibrogenic factor TGF-β1 were greatly reduced in GF mice wounded skin when compared with CV mice. Of note, conventionalization of GF mice with CV microbiota restored wound closure rate, neutrophil and macrophage accumulation, cytokine production, and scarring to the same extent as CV mice. Overall, our findings suggest that, in the absence of any contact with microbiota, skin wound healing is accelerated and scarless, partially because of reduced accumulation of neutrophils, increased accumulation of alternatively activated healing macrophages, and better angiogenesis at wound sites.
A Bayesian predictive analysis of test scores

In the classical test theory, a high-reliability test always leads to a precise measurement. However, when it comes to the prediction of test scores, it is not necessarily so. Based on a Bayesian statistical approach, we predicted the distributions of test scores for a new subject, a new test, and a new subject taking a new test. Under some reasonable conditions, the predicted means, variances, and covariances of predicted scores were obtained and investigated. We found that high test reliability did not necessarily lead to small variances or covariances. For a new subject, higher test reliability led to larger predicted variances and covariances, because high test reliability enabled a more accurate prediction of test score variances. Regarding a new subject taking a new test, in this study, higher test reliability led to a large variance when the sample size was smaller than half the number of tests. The classical test theory is reanalyzed from the viewpoint of predictions and some suggestions are made.
Protein kinase C plays an important role in the human zona pellucida-induced acrosome reaction.

To investigate the involvement of protein kinases in signal transduction in the human zona pellucida (ZP)-induced acrosome reaction (AR), the effects of protein kinase (PK) activators, dibutyryl cAMP (PKA) and cGMP (PKG), phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA, PKC), and the PKC inhibitor, staurosporine were studied. Sperm samples were obtained from normozoospermic men with normal sperm-ZP binding. Oocytes were obtained from other patients with failure of fertilization in vitro. Motile spermatozoa selected by a swim-up technique were pre-incubated with 2.5-20 microM PMA, 1 mM dibutyryl cAMP or cGMP, 3 mM pentoxifylline or 0.125-2.0 microM staurosporine for 30 min and then incubated with four oocytes for 2 h in human tubal fluid supplemented with bovine serum albumin. The spermatozoa bound to the ZP were dislodged by repeatedly aspirating the oocytes with a small bore pipette and the state of the AR was determined by fluorescein-labelled Pisum sativum agglutinin. Motility and movement characteristics were assessed by computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA) after incubation of spermatozoa with PMA for 30 min and 2 h. The dibutyryl cAMP and cGMP analogues had a small positive effect (P < 0.05) but pentoxifylline had no effect on stimulating the ZP-induced AR (P > 0.05). In contrast, PMA stimulated ZP-induced AR in a marked dose-dependent manner. Only the highest concentrations (15-20 microM) of PMA significantly decreased percentage motility (P < 0.001). Doses of 2.5-15 microM of PMA significantly stimulated ZP-induced AR without decreasing motility (P < 0.001). The PKC inhibitor, staurosporine (0.125-0.25 microM) significantly inhibited ZP-induced AR without affecting motility (P < 0.001). Sperm samples from 33 normozoospermic men were used for studies of the ZP-induced AR augmented with 15 microM PMA. One sample did not show a response to PMA stimulation. Among the 14 men with low ZP-induced AR, half had normal responses to PMA and other half had low responses to PMA. In conclusion, activation or inhibition of PKC significantly increases or decreases human ZP-induced AR suggesting that PKC plays a important role in the signal transduction pathway for the physiological AR.
Prevalence and impact of medical comorbidity in Alzheimer's disease.

BACKGROUND We examined the prevalence of comorbid medical illnesses in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients at different severity levels. We also examined the effect of cumulative medical comorbidity on cognition and function. METHODS Analyses of data from 679 AD patients (Mini-Mental State Exam score range 0-30, mean +/- SD = 11.8 +/- 8) from 13 sites (four dementia centers assessing outpatients, four managed care organizations, two assisted living facilities, and three nursing homes) prospectively recruited using a stratification approach including dementia severity and care setting. Medical comorbidity was quantified using the Cumulative Illness Rating Scale-Geriatric. RESULTS Across patients, 61% had three or more comorbid medical illnesses. Adjusting for age, gender, race, and care setting, medical comorbidity increased with dementia severity (mild to moderate, p <.01; moderate to severe, p <.001). Adjusting for age, educational level, gender, race, and care setting, higher medical comorbidity was associated with greater impairment in cognition (p <.001) and in self-care (p <.001). CONCLUSIONS Despite the limitation of a cross-sectional design, our initial findings suggest that there is a strong association between medical comorbidity and cognitive status in AD. Optimal management of medical illnesses may offer potential to improve cognition in AD.
The Experience of Crowding

A multidimensional scaling study was performed to clarify the status of the construct crowding. The study was based on the assumption that crowding experiences involve an attribution process during which individuals label and define their emotional state. Semantic interrelationships between linguistic constructs which mediate this attribution process were described by multidimensional scaling and hierarchical clustering procedures. Results revealed clusters of experiential terms which were consonant with prominent theoretical perspectives on crowding, as well as clusters indicating dimensions of crowding not included in current models. The data suggest that a taxonomy of crowding experiences may be required.
PeopleVis: A visual analysis system for mining travel behavior

The widely used Smart Card for automated fare collection in public transit systems has made it possible to study travel behaviors. Previous studies paid more attention to the urban dynamics which are lack of analyzing the individual mobility pattern. In this paper, we propose a visual analysis system PeopleVis to mine and visualize Smart Card Data (SCD). In this system, time series analysis approach is used to explore each passenger's individual travel attributes; K-means clustering algorithm is used to divide people into different clusters. Based on this, we create three visualization modules. With PeopleVis, we can 1) select a passenger to see his/her travel behavior. 2) choose a specific kind of crowd to see their distribution characteristic. 3) select two or more passengers to compare then estimate whether they have a lot in common and may become friends in the future. We use 1-week SCD in Beijing from August 3 to August 7, 2015 to demonstrate the effectiveness of our method.
Children's understanding of rules they invent themselves

Children's understanding of rules was investigated by observing 5-, 6- and 7-year-olds engaging in unrestricted joint activity with familiar peers. Initially, all groups collectively regulated themselves by negotiating the invention and alteration of rules, hence demonstrating understanding of the consensual origins, relativity and mutability of their own rules. However, children who later returned to participate in second episodes often imposed their previously invented rules, as if they were unalterable and non-negotiable, on their new partners. This suggested a traditionalist, or conservative, orientation to rules, reminiscent of Piaget's claim that children do not differentiate moral and conventional rules. An explanation of the apparent inconsistency in children sometimes sounding heteronomous and sometimes autonomous is proposed that emphasises the role of social context in the production of discourse about rules. These findings are discussed with reference to those of previous researchers, includin.
Policing virtual organizations

Autonomous agents within a multi-agent system can undertake behaviors that, while profitable for them, are damaging to the system as a whole. One way of regulating an agent's behavior is by obliging it to act in accordance with a set of specifications set out in a contract, and sanctioning it otherwise. In this paper, We propose a framework that performs two major subtasks of contract based behavior enforcement in partially observable multi-agent environments: behavior specification and behavior violation detection. The framework consists of three main components. The first is a contract specification language used to specify desired agent behavior. The second is a dialogue game used to present and refute evidence about an agent's actual behavior. The final component of the framework is a mechanism used to combine the evidence so as to reach a decision regarding an agent's guilt or innocence. We also examine existing approaches for performing contract enforcement, and describe a concrete environment where investigations into the effects of policing can take place.
Taiwanese Parental Values toward an American Evaluation of Playfulness

A questionnaire comprised primarily of items from the Children's Playfulness Scale (CPS) were distributed to teachers and parents in the metropolitan Taipei area to explore three questions: Do Taiwanese adults acknowledge and value play and playfulness in children? If they do value play in children, do they view the items of the CPS as describing a single unidimensional construct? Further, what are the relative levels of importance of the 23 items of the CPS in their minds? Eighty-one of 140 questionnaires were returned. The responses were analyzed by Rasch analysis and Pearson correlation analysis. In addition, the researcher interviewed five parents to further explore their values toward the concept of play and playfulness. The results suggested that play was highly valued for Taiwanese children and most parents recognized the existence of it. Two items of the CPS failed to fit the Rasch model, suggesting that they were outside the construct of playfulness. Also, the items related to social spontaneity were especially highly valued by Taiwanese respondents.