Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of visual conflicts on 3D selection task performance in stereoscopic display environments

Mid-air direct-touch interaction in stereoscopic display environments poses challenges to the design of 3D user interfaces. Not only is passive haptic feedback usually absent when selecting a virtual object displayed with positive or negative parallax relative to a display surface, but such setups also suffer from inherent visual conflicts, such as vergence/accommodation mismatches and double vision. In particular, if the user tries to select a virtual object with a finger or input device, either the virtual object or the user's finger will appear blurred, resulting in an ambiguity for selections that may significantly impact the user's performance. In this paper we evaluate the effect of visual conflicts for mid-air 3D selection performance within arm's reach on a stereoscopic table with a Fitts' Law experiment. We compare three different techniques with different levels of visual conflicts for selecting a virtual object: real hand, virtual offset cursor, and virtual offset hand. Our results show that the error rate is highest for the real hand condition and less for the virtual offset-based techniques. However, our results indicate that selections with the real hand resulted in the highest effective throughput of all conditions. This suggests that virtual offset-based techniques do not improve overall performance.
Human Rights, Identities and Conflict Management: A study of school culture as experienced through classroom relationships

This paper presents the findings of an action research project designed to examine the dynamics of classroom relationships and perceptions of how rights and identities operate in an all boys' comprehensive school in the English West Midlands. The principal aims of the research were to examine the feasibility of adopting a human rights framework as a basis for school life and to evaluate subsequent relationships and identities. The first section of this paper examines the potential of human rights education to promote constructive relationships and manage conflict. It takes the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child as its framework for action. We then outline the methodology adopted and consider how the classroom environment affects and is affected by those working within it. We reflect on the expression of identities and understandings of rights and responsibilities in the classroom by both students and teachers and the impact of these understandings and of masculine identities on classroom management. Although we recognise the findings of action research are necessarily situation specific and possibly transient and/or changeable, we draw on these findings to develop a model which may be of value to those seeking to develop schools as human rights communities.
Deontic relevant logic as the logical basis for specifying, verifying, and reasoning about information security and information assurance

To specify, verify, and reason about information security and information assurance, we need a right fundamental logic system to provide us with a logical validity criterion of normative reasoning as well as a formal representation and specification language. The fundamental logic must be able to underlie truth-preserving and relevant reasoning in the sense of conditional, ampliative reasoning, paracomplete reasoning, paraconsistent reasoning, and normative reasoning. This paper discusses why classical mathematical logic, its various classical conservatives extensions, or its non-classical alternatives are not suitable candidates for the fundamental logic, shows that deontic relevant logic is a hopeful candidate for the fundamental logic we need.
Low incidence of HIV-1 superinfection even after episodes of unsafe sexual behavior of homosexual men in the Amsterdam Cohort Studies on HIV Infection and AIDS.

BACKGROUND Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) superinfection is infection of an HIV-1 seropositive individual with another HIV-1 strain. The rate at which HIV-1 superinfection occurs might be influenced by sexual behavior. Superinfection might be detected more often by analyzing longitudinal samples collected from time periods of unsafe sexual behavior. METHODS Envelope C2-C4 and gag sequences were generated from HIV-1 RNA from longitudinal serum samples that were obtained around self-reported sexual risk periods from 15 homosexual therapy-naïve men who participated in the Amsterdam Cohort Studies on HIV Infection and AIDS. Maximum likelihood phylogenetic analysis was used to determine whether HIV-1 superinfection had occurred. RESULTS We studied a total of 124 serum samples from 15 patients with a median of 8 samples and of 5.8 person-years of follow-up per patient. Phylogenetic analysis on 907 C2-C4 env and 672 gag sequences revealed no case of HIV-1 superinfection, resulting in a superinfection incidence rate of 0 per 100 person-years [95%CI: 0 - -4.2]. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that HIV-1 superinfection incidence is low in this subgroup of homosexual men who reported unsafe sexual behavior. Additional studies are required to estimate the impact of also other factors, which may determine the risk to acquire HIV-1 superinfection.
Change of the anterior corticospinal tract on the normal side of the brain in chronic stroke patients: Diffusion tensor imaging study

Abstract We investigated change of the anterior corticospinal tract (CST) on the normal side of the brain in stroke patients, using diffusion tensor tractography (DTT). We recruited 32 stroke patients and 24 control subjects. Motricity Index and DTT for the whole and anterior CSTs were evaluated. According to findings, the fiber number of the anterior CST on the normal side of the brain of stroke patients was related to poor motor function of the affected extremities.
Posterior Capsule Opacification After Phacoemulsification: Annual Review

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to provide a clinical update on posterior capsule opacification (PCO) after phacoemulsification by reviewing the literature from the last 12 months. DesignThis article is a literature review. MethodsThe authors conducted a 1-year literature search in the English language on PCO using PubMed. The period used to conduct the literature search was from January 1, 2013, to January 1, 2014. The following search terms were used during the PubMed search: phacoemulsification, microcoaxial incision, posterior capsule opacification, long-term evaluation of intraocular lens (IOL) implantation, IOL edge design and material, surgical technique, anterior capsule overlap on the IOL optic, diabetes mellitus, myopia, pseudoexfoliation, retinitis pigmentosa, uveitis, and neodymium: yttrium-aluminum-garnet laser capsulotomy. ResultsThis review incorporates original articles that provided fresh insights and updates on PCO. Particular attention was paid to observational, randomized, controlled clinical trials, as well as analyses of larger cohorts with a prospective and retrospective study design. Letters to the editor, unpublished works, experimental trials and abstracts were not considered. ConclusionsThis annual review provides a brief update on PCO that might be of interest to the practicing clinical ophthalmologist.
Black Charity in Progressive Era Chicago

Rapid urbanization in an increasingly segregated society during the Progressive Era created new social problems and needs for blacks. The segregation and exclusion of blacks by organized charity led to the initiation, financing, and administration of black charitable organizations in northern urban centers. Homes for the aged, young women, and juveniles; orphanages; and social settlements were the most common types of black charitable organizations. This study focuses on Chicago, in most respects a typical northern city of the period, and describes both the urban welfare needs of blacks and the organizations which they established.
Impact of post-laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy weight loss on C-reactive protein, lipid profile and CA-125 in morbidly obese women

Introduction Obesity increases production of adipose tissue-derived proteins, such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). Also there are elevated levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and IL-6, CD8, and CD4, indicating chronic subclinical inflammation. Since obesity represents a serious risk factor in several metabolic diseases, identifying the status of carbohydrate antigen-125 (CA-125) would further link obesity and tumors. Aim To examine the effect of weight loss by laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) on plasma CRP, lipid profiles and CA-125 level in morbidly obese patients. Material and methods This prospective study was conducted in the Surgery Department, Fayoum University Hospital, between August 2013 and September 2015. To assess the effect of excess weight loss following this operation CRP, lipid profile and CA-125 were measured before and 12 months after the LSG operation for weight loss. The study included 30 cases of morbidly obese patients: 30 (100%) females aged 23–55 years who were considered clinically obese with a mean body mass index of 42.71 ±4.3 (38–46) kg/m2 and mean age of 40.3 ±8.5 (23–55) years. The National Institute of Health (NIH) inclusion criteria for bariatric surgery were used. Results A mean weight loss of 29.30% decreased plasma CRP, triglycerides, total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL cholesterol), CA-125 level and increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL cholesterol) The percentage weight loss was significantly associated with changes in plasma CRP, triglycerides, total cholesterol, total HDL cholesterol and CA-125. Conclusions Weight loss by LSG improves inflammation, dyslipidemia and CA-125 level.
Phosphorylation at serine 52 and 635 does not alter the transport properties of glucosinolate transporter AtGTR1

Little is known about how plants regulate transporters of defense compounds. In A. thaliana, glucosinolates are transported between tissues by NPF2.10 (AtGTR1) and NPF2.11 (AtGTR2). Mining of the PhosPhat4.0 database showed two cytosol exposed phosphorylation sites for AtGTR1 and one membrane-buried phosphorylation site for AtGTR2. In this study, we investigate whether mutation of the two potential regulatory sites of AtGTR1 affected transport of glucosinolates in Xenopus oocytes. Characterization of AtGTR1 phosphorylation mutants showed that phosphorylation of AtGTR1 - at the two reported phosphorylation sites - is not directly involved in regulating AtGTR1 transport activity. We hypothesize a role for AtGTR1-phosphorylation in regulating protein-protein interactions.
Automatic Classification of Objects in 3D Laser Range Scans

This paper presents a new method for object detection and classification in 3D laser range data that is acquired by an autonomous mobile robot. Off-screen rendered depth and reflectance images serve as an input for an Ada Boost learning procedure that constructs a cascade of classifiers. The performance of the classification is improved by combining both sensor modalities, which are independent from external light. The resulting approach for object classification is real-time capable and reliable. It combines recent results in computer vision with the emerging technology of 3D laser scanners.
Regulation of iron acquisition responses in plant roots by a transcription factor

The presented research hypothesis‐driven laboratory exercise teaches advanced undergraduate students state of the art methods and thinking in an integrated molecular physiology context. Students understand the theoretical background of iron acquisition in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. They design a flowchart summarizing the key steps of the experimental approach. Students are made familiar with current techniques such as qPCR. Following their experimental outline, students grow Arabidopsis seedlings up to the age of six days under sufficient and deficient iron supply. The Arabidopsis plants are of two different genotypes, namely wild type and fit loss of function mutants. fit mutants lack the essential transcription factor FIT, required for iron acquisition and plant growth. Students monitor growth phenotypes and root iron reductase activity in a quantitative and qualitative manner. Then, students determine gene expression regulation of FIT, FRO2, and a reference gene by reverse transcription‐quantitative PCR (RT‐qPCR). Finally, students interpet their results and build a model summarizing the connections between morphological, physiological and molecular iron deficiency responses. Learning outcomes and suggestions for integrating the course concept are explained. © 2016 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 44(5):438–449, 2016.
Long-term survival and patient satisfaction with inflatable penile prosthesis for the treatment of erectile dysfunction

Purpose We investigated the long-term survival and patient satisfaction with an inflatable penile prosthesis as a treatment for refractory erectile dysfunction (ED). Materials and Methods Between July 1997 and September 2014, a total of 74 patients underwent implantation of an inflatable penile prosthesis. The present mechanical status of the prosthesis was ascertained by telephone interview and review of medical records, and related clinical factors were analyzed by using Cox proportional hazard regression model. To investigate current status and satisfaction with the devices, novel questionnaires consisting of eight items were administered. Results The mean (±standard deviation) age and follow-up period were 57.0±12.2 years and 105.5±64.0 months, respectively. Sixteen patients (21.6%) experienced a mechanical failure and 4 patients (5.4%) experienced a nonmechanical failure at a median follow-up of 98.0 months. Mechanical and overall survival rates of the inflatable penile prosthesis at 5, 10, and 15 years were 93.3%, 76.5%, and 64.8% and 89.1%, 71.4%, and 60.5%, respectively, without a statistically significant correlation with host factors including age, cause of ED, and presence of obesity, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus. Overall, 53 patients (71.6%) completed the questionnaires. The overall patient satisfaction rate was 86.8%, and 83.0% of the patients replied that they intended to repeat the same procedure. Among the 8 items asked, satisfaction with the rigidity of the device received the highest score (90.6%). In contrast, only 60.4% of subjects experienced orgasm. Conclusions The results of our study suggest that excellent long-term reliability and high patient satisfaction rates make the implantation of an inflatable penile prosthesis a recommendable surgical treatment for refractory ED.
On Using Maximum a Posteriori Probability Based on a Bayesian Model for Oscillometric Blood Pressure Estimation

The maximum amplitude algorithm (MAA) is generally utilized in the estimation of the pressure values, and it uses heuristically obtained ratios of systolic and diastolic oscillometric amplitude to the mean arterial pressure (known as systolic and diastolic ratios) in order to estimate the systolic and diastolic pressures. This paper proposes a Bayesian model to estimate the systolic and diastolic ratios. These ratios are an improvement over the single fixed systolic and diastolic ratios used in the algorithms that are available in the literature. The proposed method shows lower mean difference (MD) with standard deviation (SD) compared to the MAA for both SBP and DBP consistently in all the five measurements.
Review of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in China

Inflammatory bowel disease mainly consisting of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease has been rising gradually during the last two decades in China. In this review article, we provide the latest epidemiological trends in incidence, prevalence, and mortality of IBD patients in China and summarize the risk factors and genetic susceptibility of Chinese IBD patients. We also compare these characteristics to those of IBD patients in Western countries.
Using chunked corpora for the acquisition of collocations and idiomatic expressions

This paper1 discusses the use of recursive chunking of large German corpora (over 300 million words) for the identification and partial classification of significant lexical cooccurrences of adjectives and verbs. The goal is to provide a fine-grained syntactic classification of the data at the levels of subcategorization and scrambling. We analyze the combinatory preferences of adjectives with verbs in predicative(-like) constructions subcategorizing a finite or infinite clause. Adjective+verb collocations have so far not been analyzed in much detail. The corpus data suggest that here is in many cases a clear correlation not only between collocational preferences, distributional properties, and subcategorization frames, but also between all of them and semantic classes of adjectives. Some adjective+verb combinations seem to be idiomatic, or lexicalized as complex predicates. The availability of a robust broad coverage chunker for German, along with an automatic partial classification into different phenomena is a prerequisite for this kind of detailed analysis of collocations and idiomatic expressions. 1This work has been carried out in the framework of the Transferbereich 32: Automatische Exzerption, a DFG-funded project aiming at the creation of support tools for the corpus-based updating of printed dictionaries in lexicography carried out in cooperation with the publisher Duden BIFAB AG and Langenscheidt KG.
Risk factors associated with the likelihood of leptospiral seropositivity in horses in the state of New York.

OBJECTIVE To determine and quantify risk factors associated with exposure of horses to the following serovars of Leptospira interrogans: pomona, autumnalis, and bratislava. ANIMALS 2,551 horses were randomly selected from a target population during the period of May 1991 to August 1993. PROCEDURES Blood was collected from the horses and tested for antibodies to serovars, using the microscopic agglutination test. A titer > or = 1:100 indicated seropositivity. Information was collected on each horse, its environment, and each farm's management practices. Logistic regression analysis was used to develop a multidimensional indexing system for indices of exposure and to identify factors significantly-associated with the risk of seropositivity. These indices were: 1) rodent exposure; 2) wildlife exposure; 3) soil and water; and 4) management. RESULTS Rodent exposure index value was associated with the risk of exposure to all 3 serovars. Management index value was positively associated with the risk of exposure to serovars pomona and bratislava, but not with risk of exposure to serovar autumnalis. Soil and water index value had a positive association with risk of exposure to serovars pomona and autumnalis, but not to serovar bratislava. The wild-life index value and the population density of horses turned out together were associated with the risk of exposure to serovar autumnalis. Age of horse in years was associated nonlinearly (years) and linearly (years) with the risk of exposure to serovars autumnalis and bratislava, and only linearly with the risk of exposure to serovar pomona. CONCLUSION Risk of seropositivity to the 3 serovars of L interrogans varies according to age, management practices, population density of horses turned out together, and the values of the rodent exposure, wildlife exposure, and soil and water indices.
Endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation is inhibited by in vivo depletion of vascular thiol levels: Role of endothelial nitric oxide synthase

Thiols like glutathione may serve as reducing co-factors in the production of nitric oxide (NO) and protect NO from inactivation by radical oxygen species. Depletion of thiol compounds reduces NO-mediated vascular effects in vitro and in vivo. The mechanisms underlying these actions are not clear, but may involve decreased synthesis of NO and/or increased degradation of NO. This study investigates the effect of glutathione depletion on the response to NO-mediated vasodilation induced by acetylcholine (Ach, 10 μg/kg), endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) activity and potential markers of vascular superoxide anion (O·-2) production in conscious chronically catheterized rats. Thiol depletion induced by buthionine sulfoximine (BSO, 1 g ip within 24 h) decreased the hypotensive effect of Ach by 30% (MAP reduction before BSO 27 ± 3 mmHg, 19 ± 3 mmHg after BSO, (mean ± SEM), p < . 05n = 8). The impaired effect of Ach was associated with a significant reduction in eNOS activity (control: 7.7 ± 0.8, BSO: 3.9 ± 0.4 pmol/min/mg protein (p < .05), n = 6). In contrast, neither NADH/NADPH driven membrane-associated oxidases nor lucigenin reductase activity were significantly (p < .05) affected by BSO (BSO: 4415 ± 123, control: 4105 ± 455 counts/mg, n = 6) in rat aorta. It is concluded that in vivo thiol depletion results in endothelial dysfunction and a reduced receptor-mediated vascular relaxation. This effect is caused by reduced endothelial NO formation.
Methanogenic archaeal community in the sediment of an artificially partitioned acidic bog lake.

Abstract The methanogenic archaeal communities in the sediment of two basins of an artificially partitioned acidic bog lake were studied. In the northeast basin, which was separated from a peat bog, a high methane production rate was measured only in the upper layers of the sediment. In contrast, methane production was detected at various depths of the sediment in the southwest basin, which continuously receiving humic acids from the bog. Ten bands were observed in the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) fingerprint of the 16S rDNA archaeal amplicons from the NE basin top (0-5 cm) sediment layer, which reflected the presence of at least 10 ribotypes. Seventy clones of the 16S rDNA amplicons were obtained from the NE basin top sediment layer, and were grouped into 10 operational taxonomy units (OTUs) according to their positions on the DGGE gel. Seven of these OTUs could be matched with the bands of the community fingerprint. Phylogenetic analyses indicated that the sequences clustered into three groups: five of the OTUs were related to Methanosaeta, four OTUs to Methanomicrobiales and one OTU to Methanobacterium. Among the OTUs, sequences with high similarities (>96%) were retrieved. The sequence data suggested that the diversity of the methanogenic archaeal community was limited. Bands corresponding to those three phylogenetic groups were found in the DGGE fingerprints of both NE and SW basins, which reflected the presence of the same dominant methanogenic archaeal groups in both basins. However, differences in the distribution of the ribotypes that had high 16S rRNA sequence identities were observed in the fingerprints between the two basins at various depths. The microdiversity decreased along the sediment depth in the NE basin, and vice versa in the SW basin. The greater variety of the archaeal ribotypes, apparently, correlated with the higher methanogenesis rate.