Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Study on Stability of the Interacting Multiple Model Algorithm

The Interacting Multiple Model (IMM) algorithm has been used in various applications with good performance. However, to the best of our knowledge, stability conditions of the IMM algorithm have not been shown in the control literature. This technical note presents a sufficient condition for the exponential stability of the IMM algorithm for a class of Markov jump linear systems. We derive a lower bound and an upper bound for the error covariances of the IMM algorithm, and then derive the stability condition by the Lyapunov approach.
The Myelin and Lymphocyte Protein MAL Is Required for Binding and Activity of Clostridium perfringens ε-Toxin

Clostridium perfringens ε-toxin (ETX) is a potent pore-forming toxin responsible for a central nervous system (CNS) disease in ruminant animals with characteristics of blood-brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction and white matter injury. ETX has been proposed as a potential causative agent for Multiple Sclerosis (MS), a human disease that begins with BBB breakdown and injury to myelin forming cells of the CNS. The receptor for ETX is unknown. Here we show that both binding of ETX to mammalian cells and cytotoxicity requires the tetraspan proteolipid Myelin and Lymphocyte protein (MAL). While native Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells are resistant to ETX, exogenous expression of MAL in CHO cells confers both ETX binding and susceptibility to ETX-mediated cell death. Cells expressing rat MAL are ~100 times more sensitive to ETX than cells expressing similar levels of human MAL. Insertion of the FLAG sequence into the second extracellular loop of MAL abolishes ETX binding and cytotoxicity. ETX is known to bind specifically and with high affinity to intestinal epithelium, renal tubules, brain endothelial cells and myelin. We identify specific binding of ETX to these structures and additionally show binding to retinal microvasculature and the squamous epithelial cells of the sclera in wild-type mice. In contrast, there is a complete absence of ETX binding to tissues from MAL knockout (MAL-/-) mice. Furthermore, MAL-/- mice exhibit complete resistance to ETX at doses in excess of 1000 times the symptomatic dose for wild-type mice. We conclude that MAL is required for both ETX binding and cytotoxicity.
Dysregulation of Protein Phosphorylation/Dephosphorylation in Alzheimer's Disease: A Therapeutic Target

Studies during the last two decades have provided new insights into the molecular mechanism of Alzheimer's disease (AD). One of the milestone findings in AD research was the demonstration that neurofibrillary degeneration characterized by tau pathology is central to the pathogenesis of AD and other tauopathies and that abnormal hyperphosphorylation of tau is pivotal to neurofibrillary degeneration. This article reviews the recent research advances in tau pathology and the underlying dysregulation of the protein phosphorylation/dephosphorylation system. An updated model of the mechanism of neurofibrillary degeneration is also presented, and a promising therapeutic target to treat AD by correcting dysregulation of protein phosphorylation/dephosphorylation is discussed.
Analysis of cyclic combinational circuits

A logic circuit is said to be combinational if the function it computes depends only on the inputs applied to the circuit, and is sequential if it depends on some past history in addition to the current inputs. Circuits that have an underlying topology that is acyclic are combinational, since feedback is a necessary condition for it to be sequential. However, it is not a sufficient condition since there exist combinational logic circuits that are cyclic. These occur often in bus structures in data paths. Traditional formal techniques in logic synthesis, logic analysis and timing analysis of combinational circuits have restricted themselves to acyclic combinational circuits since they have been unable to handle the analysis of circuits with cycles. Thus, in practice, these circuits are handled using clumsy work-arounds, which is obviously undesirable. This paper presents a formal analysis of these circuits, and presents techniques for the logical and timing analysis of such circuits. These techniques are practically feasible on reasonably large circuits encountered in practice.
What Causes ADHD? Understanding What Goes Wrong and Why

What Causes ADHD? Understanding What Goes Wrong and Whyby Joel T. Nigg PhD, New York, NY: The Guilford Press, 2006, 422 pp., $42 (hard cover). Despite being the subject of intense scientific research and much public discussion, Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) remains poorly understood
Nano-Indentation Characterisation of Natural Carious White Spot Lesions

The aim of this paper was to characterise the mechanical properties (MPs) and microstructural features of natural enamel white spot lesions (WSLs) using nano-indentation. Five natural WSLs from 4 extracted sound premolar teeth were cross-sectioned. Elastic modulus and hardness were measured systematically across the WSLs at intervals of 25 and 50 µm. The WSLs showed a large reduction in MPs compared to sound counterpart: elastic modulus was up to 83% lower (77.0 ± 2.2 to 13.4 ± 2.1 GPa) and hardness up to 91% lower (3.39 ± 0.41 to 0.29 ± 0.07 GPa). The intact surface layer above WSLs had less than 34% reduction in MPs. Detailed MP measurements were mapped as two-dimensional contour plots. Typically, WSLs displayed steep MP gradients at the lesion boundary and more uniform MPs with isolated variations in the lesion body. Despite the large reduction in MPs, the microstructure of WSLs remained intact. We postulate that loss of mineral and change of the hierarchical microstructure at the crystallite level contributed to the overall MPs of WSLs.
The Effect of Employee Trust and Commitment on Innovative Behavior in the Public Sector: An Empirical Study

While arguing that employee trust, along with employee commitment, is key to encouraging innovative behaviors among employees, this study presents a comprehensive model to explain factors affecting innovative behavior among Korean public employees. Using a sample of public employees in South Korea, this study finds that, contrary to conventional wisdom, employee trust is based on the trustee’s some stereotypic beliefs about the trustor and that trust and commitment at both the group and organizational level have stronger effects on innovative behavior than at the individual level. In particular, innovation is likely to be maximized when Korean public employees show a high level of trust in co-worker group, because of the group-based organizational culture in Korea. Findings suggest that managers need to create an affective atmosphere in which the relationship between the trustor and the trustee is tied with positive stereotypic beliefs to encourage innovation in an organization and that the trustees must go beyond the fairness issue in performance evaluation.
User Localization During Human-Robot Interaction

This paper presents a user localization system based on the fusion of visual information and sound source localization, implemented on a social robot called Maggie. One of the main requisites to obtain a natural interaction between human-human and human-robot is an adequate spatial situation between the interlocutors, that is, to be orientated and situated at the right distance during the conversation in order to have a satisfactory communicative process. Our social robot uses a complete multimodal dialog system which manages the user-robot interaction during the communicative process. One of its main components is the presented user localization system. To determine the most suitable allocation of the robot in relation to the user, a proxemic study of the human-robot interaction is required, which is described in this paper. The study has been made with two groups of users: children, aged between 8 and 17, and adults. Finally, at the end of the paper, experimental results with the proposed multimodal dialog system are presented.
Pre-service professionals' constructs of adolescent risk-taking and approaches to risk management

The research explored constructs of potentially harmful adolescent risk-taking of 220 university students in their final year of degree courses in education, law, medicine, nursing, psychology and social work, who anticipated they would be dealing with young people professionally. Their personal risk hierarchies, and their own experience of risk-taking when they were teenagers, were investigated as potential influences upon the normative orientations of their future professional roles, expressed in their support for varying social policy options including zero tolerance and harm minimization. Findings suggest that their commitment to underlying value positions regarding risk-taking and risk-management were not significantly related to gender, age or personal risk-taking profiles but to professional socialization in their degree course. The implications of respondents' preferred ways of dealing with adolescent risk-taking as compared to young people's choices for themselves are explored, along with concepts of risk management in current policy frameworks.
Evaluation of panoramic radiomorphometric indices in Indian population

800x600 Objecitves: Radiomorphometric indices on dental radiographs can be used for screening of osteoporosis. However population-specific normative data is sparse. Aim was to establish radiomorphometric indices in Indian population and to determine role of age, gender and dentition on these indices. Materials and Methods: Cross sectional study was undertaken from January 2010 to December 2010. OPGs of 80 samples were divided into four age groups. Mental index, panoramic mandibular index, mandibular cortical index, antegonial index were measured. Relationships with age and dentition were analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences SPSS12.0. Student t -test, one way analysis of variance, Chi square test was used to find the statistical significance. P value < 0.05 was considered to be significant. Results: In most of the study population endosteal margins of the mandibular cortex were even and sharp on both sides i.e.C1 appearance except in 60-69 years females who showed increased tendency of lacunar cortical defects i.e. C2 appearance. No correlation between dentition and mandibular cortical index (MCI), mental index (MI), panoramic mandibular index ( PMI) & Antegonial index (AI) ( p value 0.583, 0.059, 0.491 respectively) . Population’s mean of AI, MI, and PMI among males were 3.33, 3.97, 0.33 respectively and among females were 3.06, 3.64, and 0.32 respectively. ( p value for AI, MI, PMI were 0.048, 0.028,0.037 respectively). Conclusions: All indices negatively correlated with age. There was a general downward trend with age until sixth decade, when values declined sharply. No statistical significance was found between AI, MI, and PMI and dentition. Normal 0 21 false false false TR X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Normal Tablo"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:. 0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";}
Should I Stay or Should I Go?

I'm 20 years old, and I recently go into a relationship with a man who will do anything for me and I would do anything for. He is absolutely PERFECT for me. However, I'm heading to graduate school next year and I know for a fact that I will not have any time for a relationship. My boyfriend states that he'll move wherever I go, which makes me uncomfortable with the fact that he's not living his own life. But here's where it gets messy.I think I'm a lesbian or bisexual. I have lost all attraction to men, and now it's only towards women. I've always had a thing for the same sex, but it hasn't been as strong as it is now. However, I see myself being married to a man, So I'm really not sure what's going on. Being sexually active with my partner seems almost foreign to me and he knows it. He's offered to have threesomes with another woman so I can have that experience, and I like the idea, but I cannot love that woman as that would be considered cheating. I'm not sure what to do, or where to go. I do not want to lose him, but I feel like it won't be going anywhere. Help!
Characterizing the far-infrared properties of distant X-ray detected AGNs: evidence for evolution in the infrared-X-ray luminosity ratio

We investigate the far-infrared (FIR) properties of X-ray sources detected in the Chandra Deep Field-South (CDF-S) survey using the ultradeep 70 and 24 μm Spitzer observations taken in this field. Since only 30 (i.e. ≈ 10 per cent) of the 266 X-ray sources in the region of the 70 μm observations are detected at 70 μm, we rely on stacking analyses of the 70 μm data to characterize the average 70 μm properties of the X-ray sources as a function of redshift, X-ray luminosity and X-ray absorption. Using Spitzer-IRS data of the Swift-Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) sample of z ≈ 0 active galactic nuclei (AGNs), we show that the 70/24 μm flux ratio can distinguish between AGN-dominated and starburst-dominated systems out to z ≈ 1.5 . Among the X-ray sources detected at 70 μm, we note a large scatter in the observed 70/24 μm flux ratios, spanning almost a factor of 10 at similar redshifts, irrespective of object classification, suggesting a range of AGN:starburst ratios. From stacking analyses we find that the average observed 70/24 μm flux ratios of AGNs out to an average redshift of 1.5 are similar to z ≈ 0 AGNs with similar X-ray luminosities (L_X = 10^(42-44) erg s^(−1)) and absorbing column densities (N_H ≤ 10^(23) cm^(−2)) . Furthermore, both high-redshift and z ≈ 0 AGNs follow the same tendency towards warmer 70/24 μm colours with increasing X-ray luminosity (LX). From analyses of the Swift-BAT sample of z ≈ 0 AGNs, we note that the 70 μm flux can be used to determine the IR (8–1000 μm) luminosities of high-redshift AGNs. We use this information to show that L_X = 10^(42-43) erg s^(−1) AGNs at high redshifts (z = 1–2) have IR to X-ray luminosity ratios (L_(IR)/L_X) that are, on average, 4.7^(+10.2)_(−2.0) and 12.7+7.1−2.6 times higher than AGNs with similar X-ray luminosities at z = 0.5–1 and ≈0, respectively. By comparison, we find that the L_(IR)/L_X ratios of L_X= 10^(43-44) erg s^(−1) AGNs remain largely unchanged across this same redshift interval. We explore the consequences that these results may have on the identification of distant, potentially Compton-thick AGNs using L_(IR)/L_X ratios. In addition, we discuss possible scenarios for the observed increase in the L_(IR)/L_X ratio with redshift, including changes in the dust covering factor of AGNs and/or the star formation rates of their host galaxies. Finally, we show how deep observations to be undertaken by the Herschel Space Observatory will enable us to discriminate between these proposed scenarios and also identify Compton-thick AGNs at high redshifts.
Testing Language and Teaching Skills of International Teaching Assistants: The Limits of Compensatory Strategies.

This study examines the relative contributions of linguistic and strategic competence to the performance of international teaching assistants (ITAs) on a teaching task. Study 1 examines the relative contribution of language and teaching skills to overall test performance, whereas Study 2 examines the effect of a one-semester training class on the retest performance of ITAs who initially did not pass the test. The results indicate that the extent to which language abilities are critical to the teaching task varies with the proficiency of the learner. Compensatory teaching strategies, which enable more proficient students to overcome linguistic weaknesses, do not have a strong effect for less proficient learners.
Educating Citizens: International Perspectives on Civic Values and School Choice

Educating Citizens: International Perspectives on Civic Values and School Choice. Edited by Patrick J. Wolf and Stephen Macedo, with David J. Ferrero and Charles Venegoni. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2004. 397p. $59.95 cloth, $24.95 paper. Not to be confused with the Carnegie Foundation book carrying the same title, Educating Citizens is a very good resource for those who want to learn about how Western European societies have considered the issue of school choice. The editors have collected a series of reports on how private, generally religious, schooling has operated in the most developed countries of Europe, and they conclude that a variety of educational choices will benefit primary and secondary schooling in the United States. However, such choices must be well regulated to ensure the development of civic values among youth here. They argue for “a certain sort of publicly funded pluralism in education; pluralism justified by value differences but contained by significant regulation and tamed by systems that ensure accountability” (p. 4).
Screening for hip and knee osteoarthritis in the general population: predictive value of a questionnaire and prevalence estimates

Objective: To study the feasibility and validity of a two-step telephone screening procedure for symptomatic knee and hip osteoarthritis (OA) in the general population. Method: The screening questionnaire was based on signs and symptoms, previous diagnosis of OA and validated OA criteria. A random sample of telephone numbers was obtained and, at each number, one person aged 40–75 years was included. A physical examination and knee or hip radiographs were offered when the screen was positive. A sample of subjects with negative screens was also examined. The diagnosis of hip/knee OA was based on the American College of Rheumatology criteria for signs and symptoms and Kellgren–Lawrence radiographic stage 2 or greater. Prevalence rates were estimated with correction for the performance of the screening procedure. Results: Of 1380 subjects, 479 had positive screens, among whom 109 were evaluated; symptomatic radiographic OA was found in 50 subjects, at the knee (n = 35) or hip (n = 20). Corrected prevalence estimates of symptomatic OA were 7.6% (6.4%–8.8%) for the knee and 5% (3.9%–6.1%) for the hip. The screening procedure had 87% (95% CI 79% to 95%) sensitivity and 92% (95% CI 91% to 93%) specificity for detecting knee OA and respectively 93% (95% CI 86% to 100%) and 93% (95% CI 92% to 94%) for hip OA. Conclusion: This study establishes the feasibility of telephone screening for symptomatic knee/hip OA, which could be used for a nationwide prevalence study. Pain and previous OA diagnosis were the best items for detecting symptomatic OA.
A combined motivation and parent-child interaction therapy package reduces child welfare recidivism in a randomized dismantling field trial.

OBJECTIVE A package of parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) combined with a self-motivational (SM) orientation previously was found in a laboratory trial to reduce child abuse recidivism compared with services as usual (SAU). Objectives of the present study were to test effectiveness in a field agency rather than in a laboratory setting and to dismantle the SM versus SAU orientation and PCIT versus SAU parenting component effects. METHOD Participants were 192 parents in child welfare with an average of 6 prior referrals and most with all of their children removed. Following a 2 x 2 sequentially randomized experimental design, parents were randomized first to orientation condition (SM vs. SAU) and then subsequently randomized to a parenting condition (PCIT vs. SAU). Cases were followed for child welfare recidivism for a median of 904 days. An imputation-based approach was used to estimate recidivism survival complicated by significant treatment-related differences in timing and frequency of children returned home. RESULTS A significant orientation condition by parenting condition interaction favoring the SM + PCIT combination was found for reducing future child welfare reports, and this effect was stronger when children were returned to the home sooner rather than later. CONCLUSIONS Findings demonstrate that previous laboratory results can be replicated in a field implementation setting and among parents with chronic and severe child welfare histories, supporting a synergistic SM + PCIT benefit. Methodological considerations for analyzing child welfare event history data complicated by differential risk deprivation are also emphasized.
Puerperal psychosis – a qualitative study of women’s experiences

Objective: This study explored women’s experience of puerperal psychosis (PP) and their perceptions of its cause, in order to contribute to an increased understanding of PP and promote consideration of new management perspectives. Background: Out of every 1000 live births, approximately one to two women will develop PP. The numbers are relatively small, yet the consequences can be devastating. Key theoretical explanations for the aetiology of PP are genetic, biochemical and endocrine. A small and relatively tenuous evidence base considers PP from a psychological perspective, despite acknowledgement of the need for broader understanding. A stress–vulnerability model has offered a contemporary explanation of psychotic symptoms in other contexts and non-clinical populations and may offer useful insight in relation to a psychobiological model of PP. Methods: In a qualitative study, seven women who had been diagnosed with PP previously were interviewed and the data subjected to an inductive thematic analysis. Trustworthiness and rigour of the study was assured by careful monitoring of the research process and data checking. Results: Four themes were identified – The path to PP; Unspeakable thoughts and unacceptable self; ‘Snap out of it’; and Perceived causes. While women attributed their PP to the physiological changes associated with childbirth, their accounts of PP began before and during pregnancy. Women highlighted stressful pregnancies characterised by significant challenges and emotions, difficult births and unsupportive family relationships postnatally. The experience of PP was extremely distressing. Conclusion: Findings add to the debate about a more multifaceted explanation of PP and potentially offer a psychobiological model of understanding.
The Effects of Group Pressure in Perception: A Cross-Cultural Conformity Study in Fiji

Abstract Une replique interculturelle des etudes de Asch (1952) et de Whittaker et Meade (1967) sur l'influence de la pression sociale sur la distorsion du jugement a ete effectuee avec un groupe de sujets des [icaron]les Fiji provenant de deux races dominantes. Les resultats denotent une tendance au conformisme plus marquee chez les sujets de cette culture et particulierement chez les femmes.
Orientation Constancy in Neurons of Monkey Visual Cortex

We studied the effect of body tilt on the orientation selectivity of single neurons in the visual cortex of an alert monkey. The monkey performed a visual fixation task either in the upright position or with its whole body tilted about the naso-occipital (roll) axis by ±25° or ±30°. We determined the preferred stimulus orientation for 51 of 117 neurons in two or, if possible, three body positions (i.e. with the whole body upright, and tilted either left ear or right ear down). In striate cortex, most of the neurons were of a non-compensatory type, showing a change in the preferred orientation according to the body tilt and the estimated counterrolling of the eye. By contrast, about 40% of the neurons in prestriate cortex were of a compensatory type, preferring similar orientations in all body positions. This suggests that mechanisms which produce orientation constancy with respect to the direction of gravity are implemented at an early stage of cortical processing.