Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Social and situational factors affecting the communicative strategy of dialect code-switching

Studying the communicative competence of native speakers is a vast undertaking which involves examining the form and content of spoken discourse (e.g., the structure and message of speech acts and speech events) and relating them to a situational context (e.g., physical/temporal setting, psychological/ cultural scene and active/passive participants, as in Hymes, 1974). Understanding the communicative competence of second-language learners is even more complicated because it involves additional factors. With all speakers we must distinguish between performance errors and variable rules; but with nonnative learners, we have the additional problems of: (1) establishing what has been 'acquired'; (2) accounting for higher levels of performance error; (3) distinguishing fossilized errors from not yet fully learned target structures (a problem in cross-sectional studies); and (4) understanding the role of communicative strategies. This paper presents evidence that dialect code-switching is a consistent and statistically significant communicative strategy used among bilingual children in their second language and that it is therefore a part of their communicative competence. The paper does not attempt to measure communicative competence as a whole or to survey the communicative strategies employed but is rather a discussion of just one strategy (dialect code-switching), in one aspect of language use (pronunciation of vowels), by one group (Chinese-Thai bilingual fourth-grade children), in one type of situational context (an interview). The context was controlled as much as possible for topic, time, place and social characteristics of the listener such as age and socioeconomic status. The major variable examined here for its relation to dialect code-switching is the ethnic identity of the listener.
Lack of Genetic Differentiation between Two Geographically Diverse Samples of Candida albicans Isolated from Patients Infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus

ABSTRACT The patterns of genetic variation of samples of Candida albicans isolated from patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus in Durham, N.C. , and Vitória, Brazil, were compared. Genotypes for 126 strains were obtained at 16 polymorphic restriction sites distributed on nine PCR fragments. The results indicated evidence of clonality both within and between these two geographically diverse samples. The samples are genetically very similar, with little evidence of genetic differentiation.
The origin of Metazoa: a transition from temporal to spatial cell differentiation

For over a century, Haeckel's Gastraea theory remained a dominant theory to explain the origin of multicellular animals. According to this theory, the animal ancestor was a blastula‐like colony of uniform cells that gradually evolved cell differentiation. Today, however, genes that typically control metazoan development, cell differentiation, cell‐to‐cell adhesion, and cell‐to‐matrix adhesion are found in various unicellular relatives of the Metazoa, which suggests the origin of the genetic programs of cell differentiation and adhesion in the root of the Opisthokonta. Multicellular stages occurring in the complex life cycles of opisthokont protists (mesomycetozoeans and choanoflagellates) never resemble a blastula. Here, we discuss a more realistic scenario of transition to multicellularity through integration of pre‐existing transient cell types into the body of an early metazoon, which possessed a complex life cycle with a differentiated sedentary filter‐feeding trophic stage and a non‐feeding blastula‐like larva, the synzoospore. Choanoflagellates are considered as forms with secondarily simplified life cycles.
Who is an ‘Ideal’ Father? Father, Mother and Childrens’ Views

The paper focuses on the constructions of the phrase—‘an ideal father’—by integrating findings from six different qualitative studies. Out of these six studies, five are from the city of Baroda while one is from Mumbai, both cities in western India. The total sample included 175 fathers, 50 mothers and 120 children. The studies used semi-structured interviews to elicit data from fathers and mothers about ‘who is an ideal father’? The study also sought children’s notions in the form of responses to open-ended statements. The data was analysed using themes from the generative-fathering framework (Dollahite, 2002; Dollahite and Hawkins, 1997). The results revealed that fathers were most influenced by their own parents in their ideals, followed by close relatives and other sources such as the media, mythology, friends and their respective spiritual gurus. The discussion focuses on understanding the results in terms of change and continuity in fatherhood ideals as well as the use of a generative framework for research on fatherhood.
Study of young stellar objects and associated filamentary structures in the inner Galaxy

Young Stellar Objects (YSOs) in the inner Galactic region $10^0 $ 8M$_\odot$, while Class II sources have relatively low mass regime. Class I sources have ages $\le$ 0.5 Myr, while Class II sources have ages in the range $\sim$0.1 - 3 Myr. Along with the help of high mass star forming tracers, we demonstrate that the 10 regions studied here are forming a large number of high-mass stars.
P wave tomography of the mantle under the Alpine-Mediterranean area

[1] We study the upper mantle P wave velocity structure below the Euro-Mediterranean area, down to 1000 km depth, by seismic travel time tomography. We invert summary residuals constructed with both regional and teleseismic first arrival data reported by the International Seismological Centre (ISC) (1964–1995), introducing some alternative strategies in the travel time tomographic approach and a new scheme to correct teleseismic data for global mantle structure. Our high-resolution model PM0.5 is parameterized with three-dimensional (3-D) linear splines on a grid of nodes with 0.5° spacing in both horizontal directions and 50 km vertical spacing. We obtain about 26% root-mean-square (RMS) reduction of residuals by inversion in addition to roughly 31% reduction after summary rays formation and selection. Sensitivity analyses are performed through several test inversions to explore the resolution characteristics of the model at different spatial scales. The distribution of large-scale fast anomalies suggests that two different stages of a convection process presently coexist in very close regions. The mantle dynamics of western central Europe is dominated by blockage of subducted slabs at the 660 km discontinuity and ponding of seismically fast material in the transition zone. Contrarily, in the eastern Mediterranean, fast velocity material sinks into the lower mantle, suggesting that the flow of the cold downwelling here is not blocked by the 660 km discontinuity. On a smaller scale, the existence of tears in the subducted slab (lithospheric detachment) all along both margins of the Adriatic plate, as proposed by some authors, is not supported by our tomographic images.
Mixture of truncated exponentials in supervised classification: Case study for the naive bayes and averaged one-dependence estimators classifiers

The Averaged One-Dependence Estimators (AODE) classifier is one of the most attractive semi-naive Bayesian classifiers and hence a good alternative to Naive Bayes (NB), as it obtains fairly low error rates maintaining under control the computational complexity. Unfortunately, as most of the methods designed within the framework of Bayesian networks, AODE is exclusively defined to deal with discrete variables. Several approaches to avoid the use of discretization pre-processing techniques have already been presented, all of them involving in lower or greater degree the assumption of (conditional) Gaussian distributions. In this paper, we propose the use of Mixture of Truncated Exponentials (MTEs), whose expressive power to accurately approximate the most commonly used distributions for hybrid networks has already been demonstrated. We perform experiments on the use of MTEs over a large group of datasets for the first time, and we analyze the importance of selecting a proper number of points when learning MTEs for NB and AODE, as we believe, it is decisive to provide accurate results.
The Personalities of Bush and Gorbachev at a Distance: Follow-up on Predictions

Earlier this year, we published in the pages of this journal an at-a-distance assessment of the personalities of United States President George Bush and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, based on systematic content analysis of their speech and press conference transcripts (Winter et al., 1991). The data analyses were completed in July 1988 and March 1989, respectively; the paper itself was completed in June 1990. Since that time two crises-the invasion of Kuwait and the subsequent war in the Persian Gulf, and the increasing nationalistic unrest, military repression, and rising tide of conservatism in the Soviet Union-have focused the world's attention and transformed the domestic and international situations of each leader and his nation. Hence we feel it useful
Exploring dimensions of social inclusion among alternative learning centres in the USA

ABSTRACT Increasing disparities in out-of-school suspension and dropout rates have led a number of school districts to develop alternative models of education to include alternative learning centres (ALCs). Using an exploratory mixed methods design, this study explores dimensions of social inclusion among ALCs, located in the southeastern region of the USA. In the first phase, case-study analyses across two sites contextualised student experiences from the perspective of students, teachers, and assistant principals. In the second phase, data explored student outcomes among a sample of 593 students across 28 ALCs in the school district. Qualitative findings revealed varying dimensions of social inclusion through access, success through empowerment, and participation and engagement. Quantitative findings revealed a majority of students transitioned back to the traditional school environment. There were no clear student or school advantages associated with student transitions; however, high school students were more likely to transition back to the traditional school environment than middle school students. Discussion centres on the challenges school districts experience in promoting social inclusion and implications for inclusive models of education.
Informal feedback rather than performance measurements – user-centred evaluation in Scrum projects

The main features of the Scrum process are intense communication between different stakeholders, and rapid feedback based on regular delivery of working software. The integration of traditional user-centred evaluation activities in this context is challenging. Hence, this paper presents an interview study of 21 informants, categorised in four different professional roles. The main contribution of the paper is an overview of the types of user-centred evaluation conducted by information technology professionals in various Scrum projects. Results show that various forms of feedback are indeed gathered on the usability and user experience of the software, system or service being developed. However, the user-centred evaluations conducted typically are informal with few users, gathering empirical qualitative data and performed during short unplanned sessions. Performance measurements gathering quantitative data are seldom used. The informants in the business specialist role merely ask users about their opinion, whereas the other roles use several user-centred evaluation activities to gather feedback on their design. Generally, feedback is gathered throughout the whole project, but often evaluation is conducted early in the project or even before the actual development starts. Finally, these results are discussed in relation to previous studies in the area.
Fisher Kernels on Visual Vocabularies for Image Categorization

Within the field of pattern classification, the Fisher kernel is a powerful framework which combines the strengths of generative and discriminative approaches. The idea is to characterize a signal with a gradient vector derived from a generative probability model and to subsequently feed this representation to a discriminative classifier. We propose to apply this framework to image categorization where the input signals are images and where the underlying generative model is a visual vocabulary: a Gaussian mixture model which approximates the distribution of low-level features in images. We show that Fisher kernels can actually be understood as an extension of the popular bag-of-visterms. Our approach demonstrates excellent performance on two challenging databases: an in-house database of 19 object/scene categories and the recently released VOC 2006 database. It is also very practical: it has low computational needs both at training and test time and vocabularies trained on one set of categories can be applied to another set without any significant loss in performance.
Capitalism and Freedom

Selected by the Times Literary Supplement as one of the "hundred most influential books since the war" How can we benefit from the promise of government while avoiding the threat it poses to individual freedom? In this classic book, Milton Friedman provides the definitive statement of his immensely influential economic philosophy—one in which competitive capitalism serves as both a device for achieving economic freedom and a necessary condition for political freedom. The result is an accessible text that has sold well over half a million copies in English, has been translated into eighteen languages, and shows every sign of becoming more and more influential as time goes on.
Motion Binary Patterns for Action Recognition

In this paper, we propose a novel feature type to recognize human actions from video data. By combining the benefit of Volume Local Binary Patterns and Optical Flow, a simple and efficient descriptor is constructed. Motion Binary Patterns (MBP) are computed in spatio-temporal domain while static object appearances as well as motion information are gathered. Histograms are used to learn a Random Forest classifier which is applied to the task of human action recognition. The proposed framework is evaluated on the well-known, publicly available KTH dataset, Weizman dataset and on the IXMAS dataset for multi-view action recognition. The results demonstrate state-of-the-art accuracies in comparison to other methods.
Do earnings announced by corporations earlier than their peers show higher earnings quality

This study examines whether the timing of annual earnings announcements is related to how quickly earnings incorporate value-relevant information (earnings timeliness), the extent to which earnings are smoothed (income smoothing), and the extent to which earnings are realized into operating cash flow (accrual quality). Interestingly, we find that relative to their industry peers, firms announcing earnings earlier are actually later in incorporating concurrent market information. In addition, their earnings are more smoothed, and less likely to be realized into operating cash flows. Taken together, we document that earnings announced relatively early are not necessarily of a higher quality.
Variants of genes implicated in type 1 interferon pathway and B-cell activation modulate the EULAR response to rituximab at 24 weeks in rheumatoid arthritis

Background The type 1 interferon (IFN) pathway has been identified to potentially affect the response to rituximab (RTX) for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which suggests the contribution of type 1 IFN pathway genes such as IFN regulatory factor 5 and 7 (IRF5 and IRF7), tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2), signal transducer and activator of transcription 4 (STAT4) and osteopontin (SPP1). Our objective was to study functional variants of these IFN pathway genes as predictors of the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) response to RTX for RA at week 24 (W24). Methods Logistic regression analysis with a stepwise multivariate model adjusted for sex, age and DAS28-CRP (Disease Activity Score in 28 joints with C reactive protein) in 115 patients from the SMART randomised studywas used to analyse the association between the candidate variants and W24 EULAR response. Because the variant TNFSF13B rs9514828 was previously found associated with RTX response in the same population, it was included in the analysis. Results The combination of IRF5 rs2004640, SPP1 rs9138 and TNFSF13B rs9514828 was strongly associated with good/moderate EULAR response to RTX at W24: p=9.34×10−6, OR 11.37 (95% CI 4.03 to 35.28), positive predictive value 91% and negative predictive value 54%. Conclusion Our results support the contribution of the IRF5, SPP1 and TNFSF13B genotypic combination in the response to RTX for RA at W24.
Pulicaria glutinosa Extract: A Toolbox to Synthesize Highly Reduced Graphene Oxide-Silver Nanocomposites

A green, one-step approach for the preparation of graphene/Ag nanocomposites (PE-HRG-Ag) via simultaneous reduction of both graphene oxide (GRO) and silver ions using Pulicaria glutinosa plant extract (PE) as reducing agent is reported. The plant extract functionalizes the surfaces of highly reduced graphene oxide (HRG) which helps in conjugating the Ag NPs to HRG. Increasing amounts of Ag precursor enhanced the density of Ag nanoparticles (NPs) on HRG. The preparation of PE-HRG-Ag nanocomposite is monitored by using ultraviolet–visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX). The as-prepared PE-HRG-Ag nanocomposities display excellent surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) activity, and significantly increased the intensities of the Raman signal of graphene.
Further Insight Into the Heparin-Releasable and Glycosylphosphatidylinositol-Lipid— Anchored Forms of Tissue Factor Pathway Inhibitor

The release of tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) from human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) was investigated using heparin and phospholipase C. The experiment included incubating HUVECs with 0, 1, or 10 U/mL heparin diluted in Dulbecco Modified Eagle's Medium plus 5% fetal calf serum for 1 or 24 hours. A statistically significant increase in TFPI activity levels was seen at 1 hour, but not at 24 hours. A 20-fold increase in the release of TFPI after phospholipase C treatment of HUVECs was demonstrated, confirming that it is glycosylphosphatidylinositol-lipid (GPI) anchored. Sequential treatment of HUVECs with phospholipase C and heparin was performed, and a trend was observed where GPI-anchored TFPI levels were increased after 1 hour of pretreatment with heparin but were decreased after 24 hours. Serum is a requirement for the heparin-dependent release of TFPI from HUVECs. Heparin pretreatment of HUVECs may affect levels of GPI anchored TFPI in a time and dose-dependent manner.
Modulation of Frontostriatal Interaction Aligns with Reduced Primary Reward Processing under Serotonergic Drugs

Recently, functional interactions between anteroventral prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens (NAcc) have been shown to relate to behavior counteracting reward-desiring (Diekhof and Gruber, 2010). Downregulation of the reward system by serotonin has also been suggested as the mode of action accounting for unsatisfactory effects of serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as insufficient alleviation or even increase of anhedonia, and loss of interest. However, understanding of the in vivo mechanisms of SSRI-related alteration of the human reward system is still incomplete. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) within a double-blind cross-over within-subjects study design and administering the SSRI paroxetine, the dopamine/norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor bupropione, and placebo for 7 d each, we investigated a group of 18 healthy male subjects. Under paroxetine, subjects showed significantly decreased activation of the bilateral NAcc during processing of primary rewards (erotic videos), but not under bupropion. Similar to the previous study, analysis of psychophysiological interactions revealed that this downregulation relied on negative interactions between left and right NAcc fMRI signals and the bilateral anteroventral prefrontal cortex that now were significantly enhanced under paroxetine and reduced under bupropion. Individual drug-dependent modulations of interacting brain regions were significantly associated with individual expressions of impulsivity as a personality trait. Our results corroborate and extend previous insights on interregional crosstalk from secondary to primary rewards and demonstrate parallels between active inhibitory control of and serotonergic effects on the dopaminergic reward system's activity.
Computational Explorations in Perceptual Learning

Performance in a perceptual task improves with practice, a phenomenon known as perceptual learning. Its behavioral aspect has been receiving massive interest for over a century, while what happens in the brain that underlies the usually dramatic perceptual improvement remains largely unknown. Over the last two decades, the psychophysics literature has been focusing on the properties of this learning that can help pinning down a locus of learning. Early areas in the visual pathway seem to be excellent candidates. Only recently, physiologists have been applying recording techniques to look into the neural correlates of perceptual learning in monkey, showing that fine modifications of the stimulus representation occur in those areas. First, we show that these patterns of neural changes are very well accounted for in a model of unsupervised Hebbian learning relying on the prior distribution of input stimulus. Second, we use a population coding/decoding approach to relate physiology to perception, and show that not much improvement can actually be achieved on the basis of such representational changes. We discuss alternative options.