Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tattooing and civilizing processes: body modification as self-control.

Malgre la revolution en cours dans le tatouage en Amerique du Nord, les universitaires restent attaches a l'idee que les « fanatiques du tatouage » seraient des inadaptes sociaux. Dans cet article, des donnees obtenues au cours d'une observation participante de trois ans parmi des fanatiques du tatouage au Canada ouvrent la porte a une critique des interpretations psycho-sociales privilegiees du tatouage comme etant une conduite irrationnelle, impliquant des risques (voir Carroll et coll., 2002; Roberts et Ryan, 2002). A la lumiere de la sociologie figurationnelle (Elias, 1983; 1994; 1996), le tatouage est ici vu comme un acte de communication a caractere sociable et regi affectivement plutot que comme un cas pathologique d'automutilation. Despite the ongoing revolution in the use of tattoos in North America, academic understandings of tattooing remain grounded in conceptions of “tattoo enthusiasts” as social misfits. In this paper, data from three years of participant observation with tattoo enthusiasts in Canada help critique preferred social-psychological interpretations of tattooing as irrational, “risk-taking behaviour” (see Carroll et al., 2002; Roberts and Ryan, 2002). Through the lens of figurational sociology (Elias, 1983; 1994; 1996), tattooing is interpreted in this paper as a pro-social and affectively regulated act of communication, rather than a pathological instance of self-injury.
Relationship between ABO and Secretor genotype with plasma levels of factor VIII and von Willebrand factor in thrombosis patients and control individuals

In contrast to earlier reports, this study examined the relationship between plasma levels of factor VIII (FVIII) and von Willebrand factor (VWF) and ABO blood group and secretor status at the genetic level in 355 patients with venous thrombosis as well as in 236 controls. ABO glycosyl transferase alleles A1 and B were more frequent in the thrombosis collective and alleles O1, O2 and A2 were more frequent in the controls. A low‐risk group for venous thrombosis of individuals with genotypes O1O1, O1O2 and O1A2 (H‐antigen rich) could be distinguished from a high‐risk group with genotypes A1A1, A1B, O1A1 and O1B (H‐antigen poor). In both the thrombosis and control groups, the H‐antigen rich group showed significantly lower levels of FVIII coagulant activity (FVIII:C) and VWF antigen (VWF:Ag) than the H‐antigen poor group. The frequency of the different secretor genotypes in the thrombosis group was not different from that in the control group. No significant differences of FVIII:C and VWF:Ag levels were seen between SeSe, Sese and sese individuals in the thrombosis and in the control group. Thus the risk of venous thrombosis is associated with the ABO blood group genotype but not with secretor status.
Three level NPC inverter DC capacitor sizing for a synchronous reluctance machine drive

This paper introduces the use of machine saliency as one of the parameters for the sizing of a three level inverter dc-link capacitor. A new nearest three vector (NTV) balancing algorithm is also introduced for the dc-link capacitors. A comparison between a two and three level inverter was conducted whereby the inverter input dc current for the two level inverter registered higher ripples than that of a three level inverter. This promises longer lifespan of the battery on a three level inverter driven SynRM. The SynRM also registered lower d-axis current ripple with a three level inverter which promises lower core losses in the machine. The benefits are even more significant at higher switching frequencies.
Formal Proof for the Correctness of RSA-PSS

Formal verification is getting more and more important in computer science. However the state of the art formal verification methods in cryptography are very rudimentary. This paper is one step to provide a tool box allowing the use of formal methods in every aspect of cryptography. In this paper we give a formal specification of the RSA probabilistic signature scheme (RSA-PSS) [4] which is used as algorithm for digital signatures in the PKCS #1 v2.1 standard [7]. Additionally we show the correctness of RSA-PSS. This includes the correctness of RSA, the formal treatment of SHA-1 and the correctness of the PSS encoding method. Moreover we present a proof of concept for the feasibility of verification techniques to a standard signature algorithm.
Selective induction, purification and characterization of a laccase isozyme from the basidiomycete Trametes sp. AH28-2

The white-rot fungus Trametes sp. AH28-2 can synthesize extracellular laccase by induction in cellobiose-based liquid culture medium. Both yields and composition of laccase isozymes, produced by Trametes sp. AH28-2, would be quite different with induction by different small-molecule aromatic compounds, o-toluidine, guaiacol and 3,5-dihydroxytoluene, which affected microbial growth and the synthesis of laccase isozymes differentially. Higher concentrations of the three inducers could considerably increase laccase isozymes yields but not change the laccase composition. Coculturing of Trametes sp. AH28-2 with either Aspergillus oryzae or Gloeophyllum trabeum showed a few effects on laccase production. Laccase isozyme, laccase B, was selectively induced by 3,5-dihydroxytoluene and purified to homogeneity by two-step chromatography. Purified laccase B appeared as blue, with a broad peak at about 600 nm and a shoulder peak at about 330 nm. The ratio of absorbance at 280 nm to that at 600 nm was 21. Every molecule of laccase B had approximately four copper atoms. Molecular mass of laccase B was estimated to be 74 kDa on SDS-PAGE, 72 kDa by FPLC and was determined to be 71 454 Da by mass spectrum. After being treated with N-glycosidase F, laccase B lost 25% of its molecular mass. The isoelectric point of laccase B was 4.0. Its optimal pH and temperature for oxidizing guaiacol were respectively 4.7 and 45 C. The half-life of the enzyme at 60 C was 14.0 min. The enzyme showed a good stability in a range of pH value of 3.5–7.5. The Km values of the enzyme toward substrates syringaldazine, guaiacol, ABTS, and DMOP were respectively 28.0, 1249.0, 177.0 and 109.8 μM. The corresponding Vmax are 504.0, 1910.0, 117.4 and 159.0 μM min−1 mg−1. In addition, activity of laccase B was inhibited strongly by sodium azide and cyanide, mildly by SDS and trifluoroacetic acid, but only weakly by dimethyl sulfoxide.
Zur Entscheidungskonvergenz in kognitiven Systemen

Das Ziel dieses Beitrags ist, eine Methode fur die Analyse der Entscheidungsvorgange innerhalb kognitiver Systeme vorzustellen. Diese Methode ist ein Teil eines Frameworks fur die ganzheitliche Gestaltung dynamischer kognitiver Systeme aus dem Bereich hochautomatisierter Fahrzeugfuhrung. Sie basiert auf der Hypothese, dass Entscheidungen in einem kognitiven System kein Ergebnis einer expliziten Berechnung in einem speziell dafur ausgewiesenen Modul sind, sondern in einem Prozess der Selbstorganisation der Systemelemente generiert werden konnen. Zur Unterstutzung dieser Hypothese ist in diesem Beitrag ein skalierbares Modell der kognitiven Systeme prasentiert, das sich mithilfe der Multiagentenund der Graphentheorie mathematisieren und analysieren lasst. Am generischen Beispiel eines Entscheidungsvorgangs beim Fuhren eines hochautomatisierten Fahrzeuges ist dieses Modell erlautert. Das Modell und die o.g. Methode sind auf ihre grundsatzliche Anwendbarkeit fur die Gestaltung und Analyse kognitiver Systeme mittels einiger bekannter Ansatze aus der Gestaltung der geteilten Fahrzeugfuhrung evaluiert.
Descemet Membrane Endothelial Transfer: “Free-Floating” Donor Descemet Implantation as a Potential Alternative to “Keratoplasty”

Purpose: To describe corneal clearance after reendothelialization of the recipient posterior stroma, by a “free-floating” donor Descemet roll in the recipient anterior chamber after Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK), as a potential new approach in managing corneal endothelial disorders. Methods: An 80-year-old woman underwent DMEK for Fuchs endothelial dystrophy. Within hours after the surgery, a “free-floating” Descemet roll was observed in the recipient anterior chamber. Because the operated eye had low visual potential, the patient requested to await the clinical outcome, which was monitored by biomicroscopy, and endothelial cell density (ECD) and pachymetric measurements were evaluated. Results: Within the first few weeks after DMEK, the transplanted cornea showed diffuse corneal edema with a central pachymetry of more than 1000 μm. From 1 month onward, the transplanted cornea started to clear in the inferior quadrants. At 6 months, only remnant edema was present in the superior far periphery, pachymetry across the cornea had returned to normal, and ECD measured 830 cells per square millimeter. Conclusions: The performance of a descemetorhexis followed by the implantation of a “free-floating” Descemet roll in the recipient anterior chamber, tentatively named Descemet membrane endothelial transfer, may have potential as a “no-keratoplasty” surgical concept in the management of corneal endothelial disorders.
Frequency of levodopa‐related dyskinesias and motor fluctuations as estimated from the cumulative literature

There is no clear consensus regarding the frequency (and hence, the risk), of dyskinesias or motor fluctuations during chronic levodopa therapy for Parkinson's disease (PD). Multiple clinical series have tabulated these frequencies since the advent of levodopa over 30 years ago. We were interested in determining: (1) the aggregate frequency figures in the existing literature; and (2) how clinical series from the early levodopa era, which included patients with longer durations of parkinsonism, compare to more recent (modern era) series.
Independent domains of inhibitory gating in schizophrenia and the effect of stimulus interval.

OBJECTIVE Patients with schizophrenia are known to have inhibitory gating deficits in the suppression of evoked potential P50 response to repeated stimuli and the prepulse inhibition of the startle response. In the current study, the authors aimed to determine whether these two inhibitory gating measures are related in schizophrenia patients or whether abnormal P50 suppression and abnormal prepulse inhibition are independent neurophysiological characteristics of schizophrenia. The authors hypothesized that the relationship of the two measures may vary as a function of interstimulus intervals of stimulus presentations. METHOD Fifty-nine schizophrenia patients and 17 healthy comparison subjects were tested on both P50 suppression and prepulse inhibition. P50 suppression was measured using paired clicks with 500-msec interstimulus intervals. Prepulse inhibition was measured by using a series of prepulse-pulse pairs with interstimulus intervals ranging from 30 to 500 msec. RESULTS Patients showed reduced P50 suppression and prepulse inhibition in relation to healthy comparison subjects. Concordance analysis showed that abnormal P50 suppression and abnormal prepulse inhibition do not necessarily occur together. Prepulse inhibition was most prominent at the 120-msec interstimulus interval, which was not correlated to P50 suppression. At the 500-msec interstimulus interval, prepulse inhibition was significantly but negatively correlated to P50 suppression. Prepulse inhibition at the other interstimulus intervals was not correlated with P50 suppression. CONCLUSIONS These neurophysiological measures lack robust and direct relationships and likely mark independent aspects of abnormal brain inhibitory functions in schizophrenia.
A submaximal dose of insulin promotes net skeletal muscle protein synthesis in patients with severe burns.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the hypothesis that a submaximal insulin dose reverses the net muscle catabolism associated with severe burns, and to determine its effects on amino acid kinetics. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA The authors previously showed that a maximal dose of insulin administered to patients with severe burns promoted skeletal muscle glucose uptake and net protein synthesis. However, this treatment was associated with caloric overload resulting from the large quantities of exogenous glucose required to maintain euglycemia, and hypoglycemia was a potential problem. METHODS Thirteen patients were studied after severe burn injury (>60% total body surface area). Patients were randomly treated by standard care (n = 5) or with exogenous insulin (n = 8). Data were derived from an arteriovenous model with primed-continuous infusions of stable isotopes and biopsies of the vastus lateralis muscle. RESULTS Net amino acid balance was significantly improved with insulin treatment. Skeletal muscle protein synthesis was significantly greater in the group receiving insulin, whereas muscle protein breakdown was not different between the groups. This submaximal dose of insulin did not affect glucose or amino acid uptake or require a greater caloric intake to avoid hypoglycemia. CONCLUSIONS Submaximal insulin can promote muscle anabolism without eliciting a hypoglycemic response.
Problem Reformulation as Meta-Level Search

A problem’s representation has a big impact on how hard a problem is to solve, ranging from easy to solve to intractable. We describe a framework for meta-level search through a space of problem representations. These new problem representations are not predefined but are generated using a set of transformations. We define a set of component transformations and describe a case study of a single composite transformation. Using this composite transformation, we automatically transform the PDDL representation of the GRIPPER domain into a new PDDL representation. In this new representation, the previously intractable GRIPPER problems can now be solved in a few seconds.
Masticatory function and oral rehabilitation.

Summary Examination of many different animal dentitions suggests that in those whose function is mastication rather than merely prehension, tooth wear is not only normal but essential to achieve full efficiency. A similar character is found in man among Eskimos and Aborigines where these people live on completely natural diets, and also in Anglo-Saxon skulls. It is suggested that attrition should be a normal process in the human dentition, and compensatory mechanisms for the loss of tooth substance are discussed. The significance of the unworn cusp in relation to dental and other diseases of Western civilisation is considered, together with the suggestion that sufficient evidence now exists to justify simple cusp height reduction as a prophylactic measure.
FPGA based silicon innovation exploiting “More than Moore” technology

The most recent series of Xilinx FPGAs in 28nm host a wide range of the most advanced technologies. 3D-IC technology has allowed for a doubling of logic capacity in a single device, commensurate with going to the next process node, with the added advantages of reduced power and improved yield. New levels of programmable systems integration are enabled through the cointegration of digital FPGA die with dedicated analog die such as high-speed analog SerDes on a single interposer. Such heterogeneous integration delivers an industry leading 2.8Tb/s of off-chip serial connectivity. This talk reviews what's driving Moore scaling and how it impacts FPGA technology scaling relative to ASSPs and ASICs. It goes on to cover such items as process selection, 3D-IC technology, analog features, as well as power reduction strategies and the migration steps to 20nm and 16nm.
Identifying Splicing Regulatory Elements with de Bruijn Graphs

Splicing regulatory elements (SREs) are short, degenerate sequences on pre-mRNA molecules that enhance or inhibit the splicing process via the binding of splicing factors, proteins that regulate the functioning of the spliceosome. Existing methods for identifying SREs in a genome are either experimental or computational. Here, we propose a formalism based on de Bruijn graphs that combines genomic structure, word count enrichment analysis, and experimental evidence to identify SREs found in exons. In our approach, SREs are not restricted to a fixed length (i.e., k-mers, for a fixed k). As a result, we identify 2001 putative exonic enhancers and 3080 putative exonic silencers for human genes, with lengths varying from 6 to 15 nucleotides. Many of the predicted SREs overlap with experimentally verified binding sites. Our model provides a novel method to predict variable length putative regulatory elements computationally for further experimental investigation.
Low level of response to alcohol as a predictor of future alcoholism.

OBJECTIVE As part of a search for measurable attributes of an individual that might be related to the risk of alcoholism, the author's group previously compared 227 sons of alcoholics and 227 matched comparison subjects at the age of about 20 years. Forty percent of the men at high risk for alcoholism and less than 10% of the comparison subjects demonstrated a low intensity of response to alcohol challenge. This article reports the results of the follow-up of the first half of this study group almost a decade later. METHOD Of the men who had been tested at about age 20, 223 were about age 30 at this evaluation, which included personal and resource-person interviews, record searches, urine toxicology screens, and blood level markers of drinking. RESULTS A low level of response to alcohol at age 20 was associated with a fourfold greater likelihood of future alcoholism in both the sons of alcoholics and the comparison subjects. Fifty-six percent of the sons of alcoholics with the lesser alcohol response developed alcoholism during the subsequent decade, compared to 14% of the men in this group who had highly sensitive alcohol responses. Neither family history of alcoholism nor response to alcohol predicted any other psychiatric diagnoses over the subsequent decade, and neither was a significant predictor of any other substance use disorder. CONCLUSIONS In a heavy-drinking society, a lower sensitivity to modest doses of alcohol is associated with a significant increase in the risk of future alcoholism, perhaps through increasing the chances that a person will drink more heavily and more often.
Diagnosis and management of sleep disorders in the elderly.

Increased focus on sleep disorders in the elderly is warranted since recent surveys have consistently found that older persons report spending more time in bed and complain more than younger persons of difficulty with falling asleep, staying asleep, and feeling sleepy or needing frequent naps during the day ( 1). In short, the complaint of insomnia appears to be age-related; it is virtually absent in those between the ages of eight to ten years but is found in approximately 90 percent of those aged 60 to 80 years (1-3). Such findings parallel drug-usage investigations showing that although the elderly compose only 10 percent of the U.S. population, they take 25 to 40 percent of the nation’s prescription drugs, including sleeping pills (2,4). The problems associated with sleeping pill use by the elderly are becoming increasingly recognized and indude drug tolerance, rebound insomnia, daytime hangover, exacerbation of sleep-disordered breathing, and further impairment of cortical functioning (3,5-7). Research over the last 20 years
Non-Volatile Logic-In-Memory Computation using Spin-Hall-Effect-Based Datapaths

Energy-harvesting-powered computing offers intriguing and vast opportunities to dramatically transform the landscape of Internet of Things (IoT) devices and wireless sensor networks by utilizing ambient sources of light, thermal, kinetic, and electromagnetic energy to achieve battery-free computing. In order to operate within the restricted energy capacity and intermittency profile of battery-free operation, it is proposed to innovate Elastic Intermittent Computation (EIC) as a new duty-cycle-variable computing approach leveraging the non-volatility inherent in post-CMOS switching devices. The foundations of EIC will be advanced from the ground up by extending Spin Hall Effect Magnetic Tunnel Junction (SHE-MTJ) device models to realize SHE-MTJ-based Majority Gate (MG) and Polymorphic Gate (PG) logic approaches and libraries, that leverage intrinsic-non-volatility to realize middleware-coherent, intermittent computation without checkpointing, micro-tasking, or software bloat and energy overheads vital to IoT. Device-level EIC research concentrates on encapsulating SHE-MTJ behavior with a compact model to leverage the non-volatility of the device for intrinsic provision of intermittent computation, and lifetime energy reduction. Based on this model, the circuit-level EIC contributions will entail the design, simulation, and analysis of PG-based spintronic logic which is adaptable at the gate-level to support variable duty cycle execution that is robust to brief and extended supply outages or unscheduled dropouts, and development of spin-based research synthesis and optimization routines compatible with existing commercial toolchains. These tools will be employed to design a hybrid post-CMOS processing unit utilizing pipelining and powergating through state-holding properties within the datapath itself, thus eliminating checkpointing and data transfer operations. NON-VOLATILE LOGIC-IN-MEMORY COMPUTATION USING SPIN-HALLEFFECT-BASED DATAPATHS
Programming Wireless Sensor Networks: From Static to Adaptive Models

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are a rapidly emerging research area because of their vast application vistas in real-world environments, as well as their rapid deployments at low cost and with high flexibility. In 2003, Technology Review ranked WSNs among 10 emerging technologies that will change the world. WSNs consist of tiny sensor nodes that can be easily embedded in the environment, establish a wireless ad-hoc network, and compose a distributed system to collaboratively sense physical phenomena and process sensed data, or to react to the environment based on the sensed data. To practically use this technology, WSNs must be able to operate unattended for long periods of time, especially when deployed in inaccessible places. Moreover, their new applications in heterogeneous and ubiquitous settings make the autonomy of their operations very important. This introduces several new requirements, such as reconfiguration of WSNs to meet future unpredictable needs, remote maintenance of sensor software, adapting WSN functionality against changes in heterogeneous environments, and remote patching of sensor software to handle after-deployment faults. To address these requirements, we need to study the fundamental issue of reprogramming and software reconfiguration in WSNs and devise a framework that provides the primitives required to enable dynamicity in sensor software. This thesis focuses on this issue and presents a set of WSN programming frameworks that simplify application development in a range of settings, from static deployments with pre-defined and constant conditions to dynamic deployments with changing and unpredictable requirements. In particular, the contributions of this thesis are mainly within the following four areas. The first part presents a distributed middleware system, called WiSeKit, to enable adaptation and reconfiguration of WSN applications in ubiquitous and context-aware environments. WiSeKit proposes a middleware software framework that formulates the process of adaptive WSN application development and abstracts the underlying technological adaptation processes. The adaptation strategy is inspired by the main activities of the feedback control loop, including context-awareness, adaptation reasoning, and software reconfiguration. In particular, it introduces a novel context processing model to monitor various context information (e.g., sensor resources and environmental changes) in WSNs. The analyzed context data is delivered to a hierarchical adaptation reasoning framework to make decisions about what adaptation to perform. Finally, WiSeKit pro-