Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Scalpel Model of Third Language Acquisition the Scalpel Model of Third Language Acquisition

(270 words) Aims and Objectives/Purpose/Research Questions: This article proposes the Scalpel Model, a new model of third and additional language (L3/Ln) acquisition. The model aims to identify and examine what happens beyond the initial state of acquisition and what factors may influence change from one state of knowledge to another. Design/Methodology/Approach: The article briefly examines the currently proposed hypotheses and models and evaluates the existing evidence for their predictions. It highlights several cognitive and experiential factors affecting crosslinguistic influence that are not taken into account by the current models. These factors include: structural linguistic complexity, misleading input or lack of clear unambiguous evidence for some property or construction, construction frequency in the target L3, and prevalent language activation or use. Data and Analysis: Findings of recently published research are discussed to support of the Scalpel Model. In particular, findings of differential learnability of properties within the same groups of learners suggest that L1 or L2 transfer happens property by property and is influenced by diverse factors. 3 Findings/Conclusions: The Scalpel Model explicitly argues that wholesale transfer of one of the previously acquired languages does not happen at the initial stages of acquisition because it is not necessary. It also argues that transfer can be from the L1 or the L2 or both, but it is not only facilitative. Originality: The new model increases the explanatory coverage of the current experimental findings on how the L3/Ln linguistic representations develop. Significance/Implications: The model emphasizes the importance of the cognitive, experiential and linguistic influences on the L3/Ln beyond transfer from the L1 or L2. Thus it aligns L3/Ln acquisition with current debates within L2 acquisition theory.
Book-Tax Conformity and the Informativeness of Earnings

We examine whether the informativeness of earnings is inversely related to the degree of conformity between financial accounting income and taxable income. Our inquiry exploits a natural experiment first examined by Guenther et al. (1997) in which a set of U.S. firms faced increased book-tax conformity as a result of a change in the tax law. We measure the informativeness of earnings as the long-window earnings response coefficient (ERC) from a regression of returns on earnings. The data are consistent with this long-window ERC decreasing for the set of firms in Guenther et al. (1997) after the tax law required greater book-tax conformity. This result is consistent with the increase in book-tax conformity reducing the usefulness of financial accounting earnings as a measure of firms’ economic performance. We find that the decline is significantly larger than the changes in the same measure for an industry-matched sample of firms not facing an increase in conformity. These results add to the academic literature on the interaction of taxes and financial reporting as well as to the policy debate about whether the U.S. should conform the tax law to GAAP, a debate that has recently intensified. *Corresponding author: 701 Tappan Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109. Phone: 734-647-4954 Fax: 734-936-0282 email: mhanlon@umich.edu Hanlon acknowledges financial support from an Ernst & Young Faculty Fellowship and the Bank One Corporation. Maydew acknowledges financial assistance from the David E. Hoffman Chair. Shevlin acknowledges financial assistance from the Paul Pigott/Paccar Professorship. We thank Scott Dyreng, Dave Guenther, Kyle Peterson, Ross Watts, and workshop participants at Columbia University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of California Los Angeles for comments on an earlier draft. We also thank Nader Hafzalla for research assistance. We appreciate Dave Guenther and Sarah Nutter sharing the identification of the firms required to switch to accrual basis accounting for tax purposes. Book-Tax Conformity and the Informativeness of Earnings
Contemporary genetic technologies and female reproduction

BACKGROUND The Fifth Evian Annual Reproduction (EVAR) Workshop Meeting discussed knowledge regarding contemporary genetics in female reproduction. METHODS Specialist reproductive medicine clinicians and geneticists delivered presentations based on published literature and current research. The content of this report is based on the expert presentations and subsequent group discussions that took place during this Workshop. RESULTS Numerous ovarian genes with a role in infertility have been identified. Future challenges for genetic screening of patients, such as those with polycystic ovary syndrome, primary ovarian insufficiency or endometriosis, include the identification of high-throughput strategies and how to apply these findings to infertile patients. The identification of high-quality embryos in IVF using objective technologies remains a high priority in order to facilitate single-embryo transfer. Gene expression profiling of cumulus cells surrounding the oocyte, and proteomic and metabolomic approaches in embryo culture media may significantly improve non-invasive embryo quality assessment. CONCLUSIONS The way forward in advancing the knowledge of genes involved in reproduction was considered to be through genome-wide association studies involving large numbers of patients. Establishing international collaboration is required to enable the application of such technologies in sufficient numbers of patients.
Ant traffic rules

Summary Many animals take part in flow-like collective movements. In most species, however, the flow is unidirectional. Ants are one of the rare group of organisms in which flow-like movements are predominantly bidirectional. This adds to the difficulty of the task of maintaining a smooth, efficient movement. Yet, ants seem to fare well at this task. Do they really? And if so, how do such simple organisms succeed in maintaining a smooth traffic flow, when even humans experience trouble with this task? How does traffic in ants compare with that in human pedestrians or vehicles? The experimental study of ant traffic is only a few years old but it has already provided interesting insights into traffic organization and regulation in animals, showing in particular that an ant colony as a whole can be considered as a typical self-organized adaptive system. In this review we will show that the study of ant traffic can not only uncover basic principles of behavioral ecology and evolution in social insects but also provide new insights into the study of traffic systems in general.
Functional Invertebrate Prey Groups Reflect Dietary Responses to Phenology and Farming Activity and Pest Control Services in Three Sympatric Species of Aerially Foraging Insectivorous Birds

Farming activity severely impacts the invertebrate food resources of farmland birds, with direct mortality to populations of above-ground arthropods thorough mechanical damage during crop harvests. In this study we assessed the effects of phenological periods, including the timing of harvest, on the composition and biomass of prey consumed by three species of aerial insectivorous birds. Common Swifts Apus apus, Barn Swallows Hirundo rustica and House Martins Delichon urbica breed sympatrically and most of their diet is obtained from agricultural sources of invertebrate prey, especially from oil-seed rape crops. We categorized invertebrate prey into six functional groups, including oil-seed rape pests; pests of other arable crops; other crop-provisioned taxa; coprophilous taxa; and taxa living in non-crop and mixed crop/non-crop habitats. Seasonality impacted functional groups differently, but the general direction of change (increase/decrease) of all groups was consistent as indexed by prey composition of the three aerial insectivores studied here. After the oil-seed rape crop harvest (mid July), all three species exhibited a dietary shift from oil-seed rape insect pests to other aerial invertebrate prey groups. However, Common Switfts also consumed a relative large quantity of oil-seed rape insect pests in the late summer (August), suggesting that they could reduce pest insect emigration beyond the host plant/crop. Since these aerially foraging insectivorous birds operate in specific conditions and feed on specific pest resources unavailable to foliage/ground foraging avian predators, our results suggest that in some crops like oil-seed rape cultivations, the potential integration of the insectivory of aerial foraging birds into pest management schemes might provide economic benefits. We advise further research into the origin of airborne insects and the role of aerial insectivores as agents of the biological control of crop insect pests, especially the determination of depredation rates and the cascading effects of insectivory on crop damage and yield.
A parallel FPGA design of the Smith-Waterman traceback

The Smith-Waterman (SW) algorithm is the only optimal local sequence alignment algorithm. There are many SW implementations on FPGA, which show speedups of up to 100x as compared to a general-purpose-processor (GPP). In this paper, we propose a design of the SW traceback, which is done in parallel with the matrix fill stage and which gives the optimal alignment after once scanning through the whole database. Beside that, we have proposed the hardware design for the RVEP SW FPGA implementation, which demonstrates that this solution can be realized with off-the-shelf FPGA boards.
The influence of teacher expectations on student achievement in physical education classes: Pygmalion revisited

The main purpose of this study was to explore the relation between teacher expectations and student achievement in physical education classes, in the light of three complementary hypotheses. Student achievement may confirm teacher expectations because these expectations create self-fulfilling prophecies, create perceptual biases, or accurately predict, without influencing, student achievement (Jussim, 1989). Another purpose was to examine the mediating role played by student perceived ability in the teacher expectancy process. Study data were obtained from 173 students and 7 teachers. Path analysis revealed that teacher expectations have weak self-fulfilling effects, strongly predicted student achievement mainly because they are accurate, and have no biasing effects on teacher judgements. Results also bring evidence concerning the role of partial mediator of student perceived ability in the confirmation process of teacher expectations.
Tears of joy among Japanese young adults: implications for counselling

ABSTRACT Despite frequent literary references to tears of joy (TOJ) in diverse cultures, meagre empirical research exists. In this investigation, 257 students of Japanese birth responded to a survey inquiring if they had ever experienced TOJ. If they answered affirmatively, they were asked their frequency of TOJ, when was their most recent TOJ, and to what extent they believed it relieved stress and improved physical well-being immediately afterward. 178 (69.3%) had experienced TOJ and 9.7% had done so in the past month. TOJ frequency correlated positively with perceptions of improved physical well-being and perceptions of reduced stress after TOJ, as well as with self-reported emotionality compared to peers. Implications for counselling are discussed, and further research is highlighted.
Antibacterial Activity of Mangrove Leaf Extracts against Human Pathogens

The antibacterial activity of leaf extract of mangroves, namely, Rhizophora mucronata, Sonneratia alba and Exoecaria agallocha from Chorao island, Goa was investigated against human bacterial pathogens Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus sp. , Salmonella typhi, Proteus vulgaris and Proteus mirabilis. As compared to aqueous, ethanol extract showed broad-spectrum activity. The multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria Salmonella typhi was inhibited by the ethanol extract of S. alba leaf whereas the other two resistant bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus sp. were inhibited by the ethanol extract of leaves of all the species. The aqueous extract of S. alba and E. agallocha showed their activity against P. vulgaris and P. mirabilis, respectively. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of saponins, glycosides, tannins, flavonoids, phenol and volatile oils in the leaves of mangroves. Further studies using different solvents for extraction are necessary to confirm that mangroves are a better source for the development of novel antibiotics.
5.9 Effects of Sexual Reproduction

Example 5.5: Near-critical binary splitting. The theorem applies to binary splitting where the probability of division is p(z) = 1/2 + 1/(2z), and q(z) = 1 − p(z) is the probability of no children, if population size is z. Thus, m(z) = 1 + 1/z and the process is supercritical, but approaches criticality as z increases. The probability generating function of the offspring number is f z (s) = q(z) + p(z)s 2. We take u = 2 in Equation (5.118) to obtain E 1 Z n+1 + 2 |Z n = z = 1 0 (q(z) + p(z)s 2) z s ds = 1/2 1 0 (q(z) + p(z)y) z dy (s 2 = y) = 1/(2 p(z)) 1 q(z) t z dt (t = q(z) + p(z)y) ≤ 1/(2 p(z)) 1 0 t z dt = 1/(2 p(z)(z + 1)) = 1/(z + 2 + 1/z) < 1/(z + 2) , which proves that Condition (5.118) is valid with u = 2. This means that the survival probability is at least 1/3 if Z 0 = 1, and close to 1 if the initial population is large, in sharp contrast to the strictly critical case. Indeed, Z 0 = 1000 yields an extinction probability less than 2 promille. The following result is a classification theorem of Höpfner (1985). Recall that m(z) is the mean of offspring distribution when population size is z and write v(z) = E[ξ(z)(ξ(z) − 1)]. The letters c, C, M, N denote positive constants. Theorem 5.9 First assume that m(z) ≤ 1 + c/z and σ 2 − M/z ≤ v(z) < ∞, for all z > N. Then E[ξ 2 (z)] ≤ C and σ 2 > 2c imply Q = 1, and E[ξ 3 (z)] ≤ C and σ 2 = 2c also imply Q = 1. Now assume that 1 + c/z ≤ m(z) < ∞ and σ 2 + M/z ≥ v(z), for all z > N , and that σ 2 < 2c. Then Q < 1. In the framework of a more general growth model, Kersting (1986) gives the best possible results in this vein. Since the concepts used are too advanced for this book, the interested reader is referred to the article. These were applied by Klebaner (1990) to obtain conditions for extinction or survival in multi-type population size dependent Galton–Watson processes. To examine the effect of …
Interactive Explanations in Mobile Shopping Recommender Systems

This work presents a concept featuring interactive explanations for mobile shopping recommender systems in the domain of fashion. It combines previous research in explanations in recommender systems and critiquing systems. It is tailored to a modern smartphone platform, exploits the benefits of the mobile environment and incorporates a touchbased interface for convenient user input. Explanations have the potential to be more conversational when the user can change the system behavior by interacting with them. However, in traditional recommender systems, explanations are used for one-way communication only. We therefore design a system, which generates personalized interactive explanations using the current state of the user’s inferred preferences and the mobile context. An Android application was developed and evaluated by following the proposed concept. The application proved itself to outperform the previous version without interactive and personalized explanations in terms of transparency, scrutability, perceived efficiency and user acceptance.
Stable synchronization of rigid body networks

We address stable synchronization of a network of rotating and translating rigid bodies in three-dimensional space. Motivated by applications that require coordinated spinning spacecraft or diving underwater vehicles, we prove control laws that stably couple and coordinate the dynamics of multiple rigid bodies. We design decentralized, energy shaping control laws for each individual rigid body that depend on the relative orientation and relative position of its neighbors. Energy methods are used to prove stability of the coordinated multi-body dynamical system. To prove exponential stability, we break symmetry and consider a controlled dissipation term that requires each individual to measure its own velocity. The control laws are illustrated in simulation for a network of spinning rigid bodies.
Down-Regulation of the Canonical Wnt β-Catenin Pathway in the Airway Epithelium of Healthy Smokers and Smokers with COPD

Background The Wnt pathway mediates differentiation of epithelial tissues; depending on the tissue types, Wnt can either drive or inhibit the differentiation process. We hypothesized that key genes in the Wnt pathway are suppressed in the human airway epithelium under the stress of cigarette smoking, a stress associated with dysregulation of the epithelial differentiated state. Methodology/Principal Findings Microarrays were used to assess the expression of Wnt-related genes in the small airway epithelium (SAE) obtained via bronchoscopy and brushing of healthy nonsmokers, healthy smokers, and smokers with COPD. Thirty-three of 56 known Wnt-related genes were expressed in the SAE. Wnt pathway downstream mediators β-catenin and the transcription factor 7-like 1 were down-regulated in healthy smokers and smokers with COPD, as were many Wnt target genes. Among the extracellular regulators that suppress the Wnt pathway, secreted frizzled-related protein 2 (SFRP2), was up-regulated 4.3-fold in healthy smokers and 4.9-fold in COPD smokers, an observation confirmed by TaqMan Real-time PCR, Western analysis and immunohistochemistry. Finally, cigarette smoke extract mediated up-regulation of SFRP2 and down-regulation of Wnt target genes in airway epithelial cells in vitro. Conclusions/Significance Smoking down-regulates the Wnt pathway in the human airway epithelium. In the context that Wnt pathway plays an important role in differentiation of epithelial tissues, the down-regulation of Wnt pathway may contribute to the dysregulation of airway epithelium differentiation observed in smoking-related airway disorders.
CLARANS: A Method for Clustering Objects for Spatial Data Mining

Spatial data mining is the discovery of interesting relationships and characteristics that may exist implicitly in spatial databases. To this end, this paper has three main contributions. First, it proposes a new clustering method called CLARANS, whose aim is to identify spatial structures that may be present in the data. Experimental results indicate that, when compared with existing clustering methods, CLARANS is very efficient and effective. Second, the paper investigates how CLARANS can handle not only point objects, but also polygon objects efficiently. One of the methods considered, called the IR-approximation, is very efficient in clustering convex and nonconvex polygon objects. Third, building on top of CLARANS, the paper develops two spatial data mining algorithms that aim to discover relationships between spatial and nonspatial attributes. Both algorithms can discover knowledge that is difficult to find with existing spatial data mining algorithms.
Direct Comparative Effectiveness Among 3 Anti–Tumor Necrosis Factor Biologics in a Real-Life Cohort of Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis

ObjectiveThis study aimed to compare the clinical response at 36 months and evaluate the adverse events in a cohort of patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with etanercept, infliximab, or adalimumab. MethodsAn observational retrospective cohort study was performed. Patients older than 18 years with active rheumatoid arthritis, for which the physician had initiated a treatment scheme with etanercept, infliximab, or adalimumab, were included in the study. The follow-up was conducted through at least trimestral evaluations during the course of 36 months. Outcomes evaluated included Disease Activity Score 28, level of disease activity, Health Assessment Questionnaire, and degree of disability. ResultsThree hundred seven subjects were included in the cohort (108 adalimumab, 107 infliximab, and 92 etanercept). The median Disease Activity Score 28 at the onset was 4.1 and 2.39 at month 36. There were no differences among the 3 medications (P = 0.51). The remission rate was of 7.4 per 100 people per month (95% confidence interval [CI], 6.6–8.3) without differences between groups. The initial Health Assessment Questionnaire median was 1.75 and 0.25 at 36 months. No differences per medicine were found (P = 0.54). The most common adverse effect was dermatitis. Eighteen cases of serious adverse effects occurred, including 11 cases of serious infectious events. The adverse events rates were as follows: infliximab, 24 per 100 people per year (95% CI, 19–29); adalimumab, 22 per 100 people per year (95% CI, 18–27); and etanercept, 12 per 100 people per year (95% CI, 8–16). ConclusionsEtanercept, infliximab, and adalimumab are 3 effective therapeutic anti–tumor necrosis factor alternatives to reduce the level of severity and the degree of disability generated by rheumatoid arthritis. Etanercept presented a rate of adverse events lower than those for infliximab and adalimumab.
Institute for Mathematical Physics Generalized Sobolev Inequalities and Asymptotic Behaviour in Fast Diiusion and Porous Medium Problems Generalized Sobolev Inequalities and Asymptotic Behaviour in Fast Diffusion and Porous Medium Problems

In this paper we prove a new family of inequalities which is intermediate between the classical Sobolev inequalities and the Gross logarithmic Sobolev inequality by the minimization of a well choosen functional and the use of recent uniqueness results for the ground state of the corresponding nonlinear scalar eld equation, which allows us to identify the optimal constants. This result is then applied to the equation u t = u m in IR N for m 2 N? 1 N ; 11 (fast diiusion) and m > 1 (porous medium), thus giving an exponential rate of decay for the relative entropy to the stationary solution of a rescaled problem and describing the intermediate asymptotics in the L 1 (IR N)-norm. Radial symmetry { Uniqueness { Fast diiusion { Porous medium { Time-dependent rescaling { Relative entropy { Optimal rate of decay { Intermediate asymptotics
Measuring the true cost of command selection: techniques and results

A technique that measures the impact of command selection on task time and errors is described. Users were timed while performing a drawing task, then while performing the same task with interpolated command selections. The difference between these times, consisting of both the time to select the command and to resume drawing, is the time cost of command selection. Several interface configurations were evaluated with this method including selected combinations of single mouse, two mice, voice and touch. Touch and voice input resulted in faster command selection times (approximately 1 sec) than any of the mouse conditions (approximately 3 sec).
Clinical Policy Bulletin: Remote Ischemic Conditioning

Policy Aetna considers remote ischemic conditioning experimental and investigational for the treatment of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage, myocardial infarction, primary graft dysfunction following lung transplantation, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, and other indications (e.g., for cardiac, cognitive, pulmonary and renal protection during cardiac surgery, endovascular aneurysm repair, spinal surgery, or stroke; not an all-inclusive list) because its effectiveness has not been established.