Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Human-Centered Intelligent Transport System ASSIST

One of the goals of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITSs) is to reduce traffic accidents and enhance safety. However, plenty of technologies for safe driving can not prevent traffic accidents, if a driver does not understand what safe driving is exactly. Thus, driver education is quite important even if ITSs spread. However, most educational methods about safe driving are subjective and lacking in concreteness. We have proposed safe driving theory based on a mechanism of collision and human cognitive characteristics. In this paper, we report an ASSIST, which stands for an Assistant System for Safe Driving by Informative Supervision and Training, and was created to prevent accidents based on our safe driving theory. The ASSIST uses sensors in a vehicle, computers, mobile phones and the Internet. We also report an experiment to investigate driving behaviors of commercial vehicle drivers by the use of ASSIST.
What is Cultural Modernity? A General View and a South African Perspective from Rose Cottage Cave

Storage of symbolic information outside the human brain is accepted here as the first undisputed evidence for cultural modernity. In the hunter-gatherer context of the Stone Age this storage could include artwork, rapidly changing artefact styles and organized spatial layout of campsites. Modern human behaviour in this context is distinguished by a symbolic use of space and material culture to define social relationships, including significant groupings based on attributes such as kinship, gender, age or skill. Symbolism maintains, negotiates, legitimizes and transmits such relationships. It is argued here that artefacts are not inherently imbued with symbolism and that modern human culture cannot be automatically inferred from inventories of archaeologically recovered material culture. Evidence for the out-of-brain storage of symbolism in southern African sites first appears in the final phase of the Middle Stone Age at about 40,000 years ago.
Red cell lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzymes in iron deficiency

Abstract: Whether iron deficient RBC in humans have a reduced, or an increased, susceptibility to lipid peroxidation was studied in the iron deficiency states of primary proliferative polycythaemia and iron deficiency anaemia and related to changes in the activities of iron‐dependent and non‐iron dependent antioxidant enzymes. Susceptibility of RBCs to lipid peroxidation was increased when expressed per g Hb. However, this was a result of the low RBC Hb giving an increased membrane lipid: Hb ratio in the incubations. Results were normal when expressed either per cell, or per ml, RBC. Glutathione reductase was normal. Increased RBC superoxide dismutase activity in iron deficiency may be explained by the younger RBC population and reductions in glutathione peroxidase and catalase activities by the microcytic hypochromic changes and the lack of availability of iron, respectively. There is no evidence of an increased susceptibility of RBC to lipid peroxidation in iron deficiency.
Molecular Evolution Analysis and Geographic Investigation of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-Like Virus in Palm Civets at an Animal Market and on Farms

ABSTRACT Massive numbers of palm civets were culled to remove sources for the reemergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Guangdong Province, China, in January 2004, following SARS coronavirus detection in market animals. The virus was identified in all 91 palm civets and 15 raccoon dogs of animal market origin sampled prior to culling, but not in 1,107 palm civets later sampled at 25 farms, spread over 12 provinces, which were claimed to be the source of traded animals. Twenty-seven novel signature variation residues (SNVs) were identified on the spike gene and were analyzed for their phylogenetic relationships, based on 17 sequences obtained from animals in our study and from other published studies. Analysis indicated that the virus in palm civets at the live-animal market had evolved to infect humans. The evolutionary starting point was a prototype group consisting of three viral sequences of animal origin. Initially, seven SNV sites caused six amino acid changes, at positions 147, 228, 240, 479, 821, and 1080 of the spike protein, to generate low-pathogenicity viruses. One of these was linked to the first SARS patient in the 2003-2004 period. A further 14 SNVs caused 11 amino acid residue changes, at positions 360, 462, 472, 480, 487, 609, 613, 665, 743, 765, and 1163. The resulting high-pathogenicity groups were responsible for infections during the so-called early-phase epidemic of 2003. Finally, the remaining six SNVs caused four amino acid changes, at positions 227, 244, 344, and 778, which resulted in the group of viruses responsible for the global epidemic.
Design Example of Useful Memory Latency for Developing a Hazard Preventive Pipeline High-Performance Embedded-Microprocessor

The existence of structural, control, and data hazards presents a major challenge in designing an advanced pipeline/superscalar microprocessor. An efficient memory hierarchy cache-RAM-Disk design greatly enhances the microprocessor's performance. However, there are complex relationships among the memory hierarchy and the functional units in the microprocessor. Most past architectural design simulations focus on the instruction hazard detection/prevention scheme from the viewpoint of function units. This paper emphasizes that additional inboard memory can be well utilized to handle the hazardous conditions. When the instruction meets hazardous issues, the memory latency can be utilized to prevent performance degradation due to the hazard prevention mechanism. By using the proposed technique, a better architectural design can be rapidly validated by an FPGA at the start of the design stage. In this paper, the simulation results prove that our proposed methodology has a better performance and less power consumption compared to the conventional hazard prevention technique.
TGH: a case study of designing natural interaction for mobile guide systems

The digital mobile guide, being able to provide users with geographic information services (GIS) at any time from anywhere, is an important way to ease the plight of visitors. However, the limitations of handheld terminals and the cognitive interference from the environment pose great challenges for user interaction. Naturalness and intelligence in communication between users and mobile guide applications are therefore crucial for the usability requirement. This article presents our efforts on the interaction design and evaluation of a hypermedia mobile tour guide system TGH. Users' cognitive behavior in mobile environment is characterized in a coherent psychology framework from the perspective of cognitive skill and attention interference. Correspondingly a context-sensitive multimodal interaction framework is proposed to describe the major components and data flow on the level of technology. Such interaction style is implemented in TGH and deployed into the context of authentic use to be tested. We discuss our techniques, interface facilities, and the result of user evaluations. The improvement of interaction efficiency and reduction of user efforts are measured.
Involvement of Reactive Oxygen Intermediate in the Enhanced Expression of Virulence‐Associated Genes of Listeria monocytogenes inside Activated Macrophages

Listeriolysin O encoded by 1,587 bp hly is the essential virulence factor of Listeria monocytogenes that replicates in the cytosolic space after escaping from phagosome of macrophages. By using murine macrophage‐like J774.1 cells with or without activation by IFN‐γ plus LPS, the expression of both hly and its positive regulator prfA was monitored by means of RT‐PCR. In activated J774.1 cells, the level of hly expression was enhanced although the multiplication of bacteria was significantly suppressed. The elevated expression of hly inside activated macrophage was abolished by addition of SOD and catalase, suggesting that reactive oxygen intermediates contribute to the upregulation of prfA and hly transcriptions. Moreover, we found that exposure of L. monocytogenes to H2O2 dramatically enhanced the expression of both prfA and hly mRNAs. Spontaneous ONOO– generator, SIN‐1, also promoted the transcription to a certain level. These results suggested that oxygen radicals generated in activated macrophages provide a positive signal for up‐regulation of virulence genes in L. monocytogenes.
rtLibrary – An Infrastructure for Ubiquitous Technologies and Applications

This paper presents our ongoing research on the potentials of ubiquitous technologies for future workspaces. The Sm@rtLibrary serves as a test and demonstration environment for ubiquitous technologies and their application. In this area we are currently concentrating on localization and location management technologies, context-dependent services, platform and device independent access to the services and information provided in such environments.
Estrogen receptors in hip joint capsule and ligamentum capitis femoris of babies with developmental dysplasia of the hip.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to detect the incidence of estrogen receptors in human hip joint capsule and ligamentum teres. METHODS The study included biopsies of the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF) and hip joint capsule from 15 patients undergoing hip surgery for developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) and from the control hips of 15 cases of intrauterine fetal death. Mean age was 10.3 (range: 6 to 18) months at the time of surgery. Full-thickness 1x1 cm anterior capsule and LCF portions were taken as biopsy specimens. An immunohistochemical study using monoclonal antibody against estrogen receptors was performed to identify the rate of target estrogen cells in the hip joint capsule and LCF. RESULTS Estrogen receptor (ER) staining rates were 1.6±0.2% for the LCF and 1.3±0.2% for the hip joint capsule in the control groups, and 2.5±0.3% for the LCF and 2.0±0.3% for the hip joint capsule in the DDH groups. Estrogen receptor staining rates in the LCF and hip joint capsule control groups were significantly lower than that in the DDH groups (p<0.001). In both groups, ER rates were significantly lower in the hip joint capsule than in the LCF (p<0.01). CONCLUSION The high rate of ERs in the LCF and hip joint capsule appears to support the effect of estrogen in the etiology of the DDH.
Implicaciones de política para la aplicación de reservas anticíclicas de capital cuando los préstamos del gobierno desplazan al crédito del sector privado: el caso de Jamaica

Este trabajo investiga el uso de variables condicionantes en la orientacion de las fases de acumulacion y liberacion de los requerimientos de colchon de capital para los bancos jamaiquinos. Una innovacion importante de este trabajo es la inclusion de variables condicionantes del sector publico a fin de explorar el papel de la acumulacion de riesgo soberano en el diseno de reservas anticiclicas.
Investigating alternative forms of clear speech: the effects of speaking rate and speaking mode on intelligibility.

Sentences spoken "clearly" (and slowly) are significantly more intelligible than those spoken "conversationally" for hearing-impaired listeners in a variety of backgrounds [Picheny, Durlach, and Braida, J. Speech Hear. Res. 28, 96-103 (1985); Uchanski et al., J. Speech Hear. Res. 39, 494-509 (1996); Payton, Uchanski, and Braida, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 95, 1581-1592 (1994)]. However, it is unknown whether slower speaking rates are necessary for highly intelligible speech or whether an alternative form of clear speech exists at faster (i.e., normal) rates. To investigate this question, talkers with significant public speaking experience were asked to produce clear and conversational speech at slow, normal, and quick rates. A method for eliciting clear speech was introduced that ensured the clearest possible speech was obtained at each of these speaking rates. To probe for other highly intelligible speaking modes, talkers also recorded sentences in two other speaking modes: soft and loud. Intelligibility tests indicated that clear speech was the only speaking mode that provided a consistent intelligibility advantage over conversational speech. Moreover, the advantage of clear speech was extended to faster speaking rates than previously reported. These results suggest that clear speech has some inherent acoustic properties that contribute to its high intelligibility without altering rate. Identifying these acoustic properties could lead to improved signal-processing schemes for hearing aids.
Bulldozer: An Approach to Multithreaded Compute Performance

AMD bulldozer module represents a new direction in microarchitecture and includes a number of firsts for AMD, including AMD multithreaded X86 processor, implementation of a shared level 2 cache, and X86 processor to incorporate floating-point multiply-accumulate (FMAC). This article discusses the module multithreading architecture, power-efficient micro architecture, and subblocks, including the various microarchitectural latencies, bandwidths, and structure sizes.
Representations of directions in EEG-BMI using winner-take-all readouts

In EEG-BMI systems, how to represent user's intention is a most important question. The motor imagery method has used to represent directions where user want machine to move. However, the motor imagery method is just mapping the parts of bodies to directions such as a left hand means moving left. We study novel methods for representations of directions not using the motor imagery. First, we record the EEG signals when a user thought direction where want to move. Second, we used echo state networks paradigm which is one of Reservoir computing method for analysis and classification of non-linear time series. Third, we designed winner-take-all readouts for representations of user's intended directions. These winner-take-all readouts are perfectly classified directions of user's intention using EEG signals.
Clinical significance of coagulase-negative staphylococci

Although coagulase-negative staphylococci (C-NS) have been implicated in certain human infections, they are generally regarded as contaminants, and their clinical significance is questioned. To assess their role as pathogens, we studied 205 isolates of C-NS from wounds and body fluids (blood, urine, pleural and peritoneal fluids, etc.). Patient's charts were reviewed, and, by using strict criteria, a determination was made regarding the clinical significance of these isolates. The organisms were then identified to determine whether certain species of C-NS were associated with specific infections. S epidermidis sensu stricto accounted for 81% of the C-NS isolated. The frequencies of other species were: S. haemolyticus (6%), S. hominis (5%), S. capitis (4%), S. warneri (3%), and others (1%). Only two isolates were novobiocin resistant; neither was identified as S. saprophyticus. By using our criteria, 22% of the C-NS were considered to be clinically significant, and the majority of these (93%) was S. epidermidis. The most common source of the clinically relevant C-NS isolates was wounds. These data suggest that identification of C-NS species other than S. epidermidis may be of limited value in predicting clinical significance.
Reliable $H_{\infty}$  Control of Linear Systems With Adaptive Mechanism

This technical note studies the problem of designing reliable H ∞ controllers with adaptive mechanism for linear systems. A new method for designing indirect adaptive reliable controller via state feedback is presented for actuator fault compensations. Based on the on-line estimation of eventual faults, the proposed reliable controller parameters are updated automatically to compensate the fault effects on systems. A notion of adaptive H ∞ performance index is proposed to describe the disturbance attenuation performances of closed-loop systems. The design conditions are given in terms of solutions to a set of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). The resultant designs can guarantee the asymptotic stability and adaptive H ∞ performances of closed-loop systems even in the cases of actuator failures. The effectiveness of the proposed design method is illustrated via a numerical example.
The Use of Xenopus laevis Oocytes for the Functional Characterization of Heterologously Expressed Membrane Proteins

The oocytes of the South African clawed frog X. laevis are widely used for the expression of heterologous proteins. The functional characterization of membrane proteins in particular has significantly profited from the use of this expression system. Heterologous cRNA can easily be injected and protein expression and function be studied with several techniques. This review will give a short overview into the variety of methods applicable. They span from different electrophysiological methods such as two electrode voltage clamp, patch clamp and ion-selective electrodes over cytochemistry to protein biochemistry. In spite of the wide usage of Xenopus oocytes, caution should be taken interpreting the results of protein expression. Heterologous proteins may either interact with endogenous proteins, the background of endogenous protein function may be relatively high, or altered protein behaviour may occur due to differences of the ambient temperature or altered cellular environment.
Road traffic noise and hypertension

Background: It has been suggested that noise exposure increases the risk of hypertension. Road traffic is the dominant source of community noise exposure. Objective: To study the association between exposure to residential road traffic noise and hypertension in an urban municipality. Methods: The study population comprised randomly selected subjects aged 19–80 years. A postal questionnaire provided information on individual characteristics, including diagnosis of hypertension. The response rate was 77%, resulting in a study population of 667 subjects. The outdoor equivalent traffic noise level (Leq 24 h) at the residence of each individual was determined using noise-dispersion models and manual noise assessments. The individual noise exposure was classified in units of 5 dB(A), from <45 dB(A) to >65 dB(A). Results: The odds ratio (OR) for hypertension adjusted for age, smoking, occupational status and house type was 1.38 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.06 to 1.80) per 5 dB(A) increase in noise exposure. The association seemed stronger among women (OR 1.71; 95% CI 1.17 to 2.50) and among those who had lived at the address for >10 years (OR 1.93; 95% CI 1.29 to 2.83). Analyses of categorical exposure variables suggested an exposure–response relationship. The strongest association between exposure to traffic noise and hypertension was found among those with the least expected misclassification of true individual exposure, as indicated by not having triple-glazed windows, living in an old house and having the bedroom window facing a street (OR 2.47; 95% CI 1.38 to 4.43). Conclusion: The results of our study suggest an association between exposure to residential road traffic noise and hypertension.
Healthcare utilization, quality of life and patient-reported outcomes during two years of GH replacement therapy in GH-deficient adults--comparison between Sweden, The Netherlands and Germany.

OBJECTIVE This study set out to determine the change in quality of life (QoL) and healthcare utilization during 2 years of growth hormone (GH) replacement therapy in adults with GH deficiency. Data were compared from three European countries. DESIGN Analysis was made from KIMS, the Pfizer International Metabolic Database on adult GH deficiency. METHODS QoL and healthcare utilization were measured at baseline and after 1 and 2 years of GH replacement in patient cohorts from Sweden (n = 302), The Netherlands (n = 103) and Germany (n = 98). QoL was assessed by the QoL-Assessment in Growth Hormone Deficient Adults (QoL-AGHDA) questionnaire, and the KIMS Patient Life Situation Form was used to evaluate healthcare utilization. RESULTS QoL improved significantly (P < 0.0001) and comparably in all three cohorts. The improvement was seen during the first year of treatment and QoL remained improved during the second year. The number of days in hospital was reduced by 83% (P < 0.0001) during GH replacement. There were no country-specific differences either at baseline or during follow-up. The same was true for the number of days of sick leave (reduction of 63%; P = 0.0004). Significant reductions were recorded in the number of doctor visits in each of the three cohorts after 2 years of GH replacement (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS This study provides a detailed comparative analysis of GH replacement therapy in GHD patients in three European countries. Despite some differences in treatment strategies, the beneficial effects on QoL, patient-reported outcomes and healthcare utilization are essentially similar in the healthcare environment of Western European countries.
Boron-oxygen defect in Czochralski-silicon co-doped with gallium and boron

We study the boron-oxygen defect in Si co-doped with gallium and boron with the hole density 10 times higher than the boron concentration. Instead of the linear dependence of the defect density on the hole density observed in boron and phosphorus compensated silicon, we find a proportionality to the boron concentration. This indicates the participation of substitutional, rather than interstitial, boron in the defect complex. The measured defect formation rate constant is
Gungunyane the Negotiator: A Study in African Diplomacy

Gungunyane, paramount chief of the Shangana of Gazaland, 1884–95, was a very shrewd diplomat. A study of his diplomacy with Europeans suggests that his major goal was Shangana independence of action. From the beginning of his reign, Gungunyane was pressured to give concessions in both economic and political spheres. His capital was on the edge of the Rhodesian plateau until mid-1889, when the chief moved a large portion of his people as well as his capital southward to the Limpopo valley, Mozambique. This significant dislocation influenced later negotiations with Portugal. Although the chief was a strong personality, he was subject to pressures from his immediate—and in this case, warlike—African advisors. In negotiations with the British South Africa Company, the Mozambique Company and the Portuguese government, the African leader enjoyed the benefits of a fearful military reputation, a wide-reaching espionage system, and conflicts between British and Portuguese concession-seekers. A master of playing both ends against the middle to maintain his freedom of movement, Gungunyane found, nevertheless, that his diplomatic programme was undermined by Portuguese superiority in the use of firearms, disunity among the Shangana and their tributaries, and growing social disintegration caused by alcoholism, emigration, and European encroachment. His final military defeat by Portuguese forces in 1895 was not a true index of his talent as an African diplomat.