Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Empirical Validation of a Dynamic Coupling Metric

Most object-oriented coupling measures proposed in the literature deal with coupling at the static class level. Measuring dynamic object coupling on the other hand gives us the potential for greater insight into system structure and a comparison of the architectural aspects of different systems. In previous work, we theoretically validated a Dynamic Coupling Metric (DCM) and showed, with the aid of a small example, how a system with meta-level characteristics contained less coupling than a corresponding system without these features. In this paper, we build on the theoretical foundations of our DCM and investigate, in more detail, an empirical validation of the metric. A profiler was developed to collect dynamic coupling data represented by message exchanges between objects at runtime; two system models with different architectural characteristics providing the same functionality were then considered. Empirical validation of the metric showed it to be a useful vehicle for comparing the runtime coupling characteristics of software systems. Results also showed that for examples covering various types of couplings, reflective systems separating the base level from the meta-level exhibited significantly less coupling when compared with corresponding systems with a single-level architecture.
Modeling and stability analysis of human normal walking with implications for the evolution of the foot

This paper formulates the mathematical model of a biped that is capable of dynamic walking gaits. The model consists of hip actuation, segmented legs, flat feet and torsional spring based passive ankle stiffness. Using numerical simulations on the proposed model, we find that from the view of stability, there is optimal foot-ankle ratio of the flat-foot bipeds. The results indicate that the human foot proportion is indeed better optimized for dynamic bipedal walking than that of apes, further suggesting the current state of human foot is to some extent the product of positive selection for more stable bipedal locomotion during the evolution of the foot.
The Fictive Brain: Neurocognitive Correlates of Engagement in Literature

Fiction is vital to our being. Many people enjoy engaging with fiction every day. Here we focus on literary reading as 1 instance of fiction consumption from a cognitive neuroscience perspective. The brain processes which play a role in the mental construction of fiction worlds and the related engagement with fictional characters, remain largely unknown. The authors discuss the neurocognitive poetics model (Jacobs, 2015a) of literary reading specifying the likely neuronal correlates of several key processes in literary reading, namely inference and situation model building, immersion, mental simulation and imagery, figurative language and style, and the issue of distinguishing fact from fiction. An overview of recent work on these key processes is followed by a discussion of methodological challenges in studying the brain bases of fiction processing.
Remote Sensing of Layered Media: Perturbative Scattering Models

In this paper, we present a new comprehensive model for the bistatic electromagnetic scattering from 3D multilayered structure with rough boundaries, which is based on the boundary condition perturbation theory. The obtained compact closed-form solution turns out to be fully polarimetric and exhibits a direct functional dependence on the structure parameters, so that it can be widely applied in remote sensing applications scenario. A particular effort has been devoted to set the presented general model in an organized formal framework, highlighting the connections with all the previously existing simplified perturbative models.
Lonely Consumers: When, How, and Why Does Loneliness Influence Consumer Behavior?

Although the advance of social media has enabled people to build social connections much more easily than ever before, loneliness—an aversive feeling of being isolated and disconnected—persists in modern society. In this dissertation, I examine when, how, and why loneliness influences consumer behavior. First, I develop an experimental method to induce loneliness and identify a circumstance that experimenters can obtain a successful loneliness priming effect. Across three experiments, I demonstrate that the same loneliness primes produce different loneliness responses based on the availability of cognitive resources. Specifically, participants who are cognitively depleted tend to rely on responses evoked by the loneliness primes (showing the intended loneliness priming effect) while those with abundant cognitive resources are not affected by the loneliness primes. Building on the findings from Experiments 1-3, I investigate how loneliness affects consumer behaviors in two different marketing contexts, nostalgic product consumption and charitable giving by focusing on how consumers cope with loneliness through consumption. In Experiments 4-5, I demonstrate that consumers who lack cognitive resources tend to form positive attitudes toward nostalgic products when experiencing loneliness. In Experiments 6-7, I show that lonely consumers with limited cognitive resources are likely to donate money to a charitable organization. Additionally, I find that consumers can regulate feelings of loneliness by spending money either for themselves (i.e., nostalgic products) or for others (i.e., charitable giving). This dissertation contributes to our understanding of loneliness in marketing by identifying a circumstance in which such emotional distress significantly influences consumer behavior and by showing how consumers spend money to cope with loneliness. Lonely Consumers: When, How, and Why Does Loneliness Influence Consumer Behavior?
A bilevel model of taxation and its application to optimal highway pricing

We consider a bilevel model where the leader wants to maximize revenues from a taxation scheme, while the follower rationally reacts to those tax levels. We focus our attention on the special case of a toll-setting problem defined on a multicommodity transportation network. We show that the general problem is NP-complete, while particular instances are polynomially solvable. Numerical examples are given.
An investigation of the Correlation between Phonological and Visual Working Memory with Severity of Stuttering in 6-12 Years-Old Children

Purpose: Stuttering is one of the most common speech disorders that its exact causes have not been clearly understood. According to the previous studies, impairment of cognitive functions, including verbal, visual and numeral working memory, have been reported in most kinds of speech and language disorders. The aim of the present study was to investigate the correlation between several kinds of working memory with severity of stuttering. Methods: In this research, stutter children (N=15), aged between 6-12 years, were recruited. The verbal memory scale of Wechsler test (word treasury and number expandation) was used to evaluate the phonological working memory. Furthermore, the colorful Reyvan test, specific for children, was applied for evaluation of visual memory, and SSI3 test was used to measure the level of stuttering. Results: The results of the present work revealed deficits in phonological (verbal, numeral) and visual working memory of stutter children. Moreover, a significant correlation was found between children’s age and level of stuttering. Conclusion: Current study indicated the impression of phonological and visual working memory, as well as children’s age, on the severity of stuttering.
Work–family planning and gender role attitudes among youth

Abstract The present study investigated work–family planning and gender role attitudes among Japanese youth. Valid data were obtained from 948 tertiary students having an average age of 19.60 (SD = 1.18). The results showed that most males planned to continue their work, while more than half of the females planned to quit on childbirth. As for time allocation plans, the results reinforced traditional tendencies; with males allocating more time for paid work and leisure, while females allocated more time for household work and childcare. Examination of the relationships between gender role attitudes and work–family planning revealed that females with liberal attitudes are more willing to be involved in the workforce. The relationships between gender role attitudes and time allocation identified by the study showed that people with liberal attitudes also have more balanced time allocation plans about work–family interaction than those without. Implications for education and intervention were discussed.
Extending the Behavioral Immune System to Political Psychology: Are Political Conservatism and Disgust Sensitivity Really Related?

Previous research suggests that several individual and cultural level attitudes, cognitions, and societal structures may have evolved to mitigate the pathogen threats posed by intergroup interactions. It has been suggested that these anti-pathogen defenses are at the root of conservative political ideology. Here, we test a hypothesis that political conservatism functions as a pathogen-avoidance strategy. Across three studies, we consistently find no relationship between sensitivity to pathogen disgust and multiple measures of political conservatism. These results are contrasted with theoretical perspectives suggesting a relationship between conservatism and pathogen avoidance, and with previous findings of a relationship between conservatism and disgust sensitivity.
Caffeine Impairs Myocardial Blood Flow Response to Physical Exercise in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease as well as in Age-Matched Controls

Background Caffeine is one of the most widely consumed pharmacologically active substances. Its acute effect on myocardial blood flow is widely unknown. Our aim was to assess the acute effect of caffeine in a dose corresponding to two cups of coffee on myocardial blood flow (MBF) in coronary artery disease (CAD). Methodology/Principal Findings MBF was measured with 15O-labelled H2O and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) at rest and after supine bicycle exercise in controls (n = 15, mean age 58±13 years) and in CAD patients (n = 15, mean age 61±9 years). In the latter, regional MBF was assessed in segments subtended by stenotic and remote coronary arteries. All measurements were repeated fifty minutes after oral caffeine ingestion (200 mg). Myocardial perfusion reserve (MPR) was calculated as ratio of MBF during bicycle stress divided by MBF at rest. Resting MBF was not affected by caffeine in both groups. Exercise-induced MBF response decreased significantly after caffeine in controls (2.26±0.56 vs. 2.02±0.56, P<0.005), remote (2.40±0.70 vs. 1.78±0.46, P<0.001) and in stenotic segments (1.90±0.41 vs. 1.38±0.30, P<0.001). Caffeine decreased MPR significantly by 14% in controls (P<0.05 vs. baseline). In CAD patients MPR decreased by 18% (P<0.05 vs. baseline) in remote and by 25% in stenotic segments (P<0.01 vs. baseline). Conclusions We conclude that caffeine impairs exercise-induced hyperaemic MBF response in patients with CAD to a greater degree than age-matched controls.
C-terminal armadillo repeats are essential and sufficient for association of the plant U-box armadillo E3 ubiquitin ligase SAUL1 with the plasma membrane

Ubiquitination plays important roles in plant growth and development. Whereas ubiquitin-dependent protein degradation and modulation in the cytoplasm and nucleus are well established in plants, ubiquitination events mediated by E3 ubiquitin ligases at the plasma membrane are largely unknown. Here, it is demonstrated that the suppressor of premature senescence and cell death SENESCENCE-ASSOCIATED UBIQUITIN LIGASE 1 (SAUL1), a plant U-box armadillo repeat (PUB-ARM) E3 ubiquitin ligase, localizes at the plasma membrane. Among the members of the PUB-ARM protein family, this localization is unique to SAUL1 and its two closest homologues. A novel armadillo repeat domain was identified at the SAUL1 C-terminus that directs specific association with the plasma membrane and is crucial for SAUL1 function in vivo. The data suggest that a small subgroup of PUB-ARM proteins including SAUL1 have functions at the plasma membrane probably by modifying target proteins by ubiquitination.
A cross-cultural comparison of responses to true accusations and the role of honor values

In honor cultures (e.g., Turkey, Southern US), self-worth depends on one’s own perception and on other people’s opinions about oneself, and reputation is very important. In dignity cultures (Northern US, Western Europe), self-worth mainly depends on the individual and cannot be taken away by others. In this work, I investigated how people from an honor culture, Turkey, and from a dignity culture, northern US, emotionally and behaviorally responded to two types of conflict: A true accusation of a transgression and negative performance feedback. Honor has three facets common to these two cultures: Social respect (being respectable in society), moral behavior (being honest), and selfrespect (feeling proud of oneself). I proposed that true accusations of a transgression would be a complete honor threat because they threatened all three facets, whereas private negative performance feedback would only be a self-respect threat. I conducted an online survey (Experiment 1) and a laboratory study (Experiment 2) to compare the two cultures. In Experiment 1, participants read conflict scenarios and imagined themselves as the target of the scenario. They indicated how they would feel and behaviorally respond to the conflict source (e.g., the accuser). In Experiment 2, participants were actually accused by an experimenter for cheating on a task or received negative performance feedback. Their emotional and behavioral responses were measured with multiple methods. Results revealed that for people from Turkey (an honor culture), being rightfully accused of a transgression was more humiliating and anger-provoking than receiving poor performance feedback. Moreover, Turkish people became more defensive in response to rightful accusations compared to negative performance feedback. I also found that northern Americans (a dignity culture), perceived rightful accusations and negative performance feedback similarly humiliating and anger-provoking, and they became similarly defensive in response to these two threats. These results are in line with the
Disturbances compensation in nonlinear dynamical networks with communication delay

The paper deals with the robust algorithm of synchronization of dynamical networks with communication time delay, where each agent (subsystem) is described by nonlinear differential equation under unknown parameters and external uncontrollable bounded disturbances. The control algorithm is designed by using so called method of auxiliary loop. According to the method of auxiliary loop we introduce the nominal plant with desired parameters parallel to each agent. The difference between the output of the agent and the output of the auxiliary loop gives a function which depends on parametric and external disturbances. Then this function is used in the control law for compensation of disturbances. The proposed algorithm provides the network synchronization and compensation of uncontrollable disturbances with a required accuracy. Analytical results are presented by networks consisting of four nodes and fifty pendulums.
Women's Homelessness: International Evidence on Causes, Consequences, Coping and Policies

This paper reviews international evidence regarding women's homelessness. It discusses different definitions of homelessness and how women are frequently part of the "hidden homeless" population and less a part of the unsheltered homeless population. It also considers the data that are used to enumerate and study homeless people. The structural, personal, and random causes of homelessness are discussed, with evidence pointing to highly gendered patterns. The paper also describes the consequences of women's homelessness, including the consequences for children, and the material and psychological coping strategies that homeless people employ. It considers policies to reduce homelessness and ameliorate its problems.
Embryonic liver fodrin involved in hepatic stellate cell activation and formation of regenerative nodule in liver cirrhosis

Transforming growth factor (TGF) β1 plays a critical role in liver fibrosis. Previous studies demonstrated embryonic liver fodrin (ELF), a β‐spectrin was involved in TGF‐β/Smad signalling pathway as Smad3/4 adaptor. Here we investigate the role of ELF in pathogenesis of liver cirrhosis. In carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)‐induced mice model of liver cirrhosis, ELF is up‐regulated in activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), and down‐regulated in regenerative hepatocytes of cirrhotic nodules. In activated HSCs in vitro, reduction of ELF expression mediated by siRNA leads to the inhibition of HSC activation and procollagen I expression. BrdU assay demonstrates that down‐regulation of ELF expression does not inhibit proliferation of activated HSCs in vitro. Immunostaining of cytokeratin 19 and Ki67 indicates that regenerative hepatocytes in cirrhotic liver are derived from hepatic progenitor cells (HPC). Further study reveals that HPC expansion occurs as an initial phase, before the reduction of ELF expression in regenerative hepatocytes. Regenerative hepatocytes in cirrhotic liver show the change in proliferative activity and expression pattern of proteins involved in G1/S transition, which suggests the deregulation of cell cycle in regenerative hepatocytes. Finally, we find that ELF participates in TGF‐β/Smad signal in activated HSCs and hepatocytes through regulating the localization of Smad3/4. These data reveal that ELF is involved in HSC activation and the formation of regenerative nodules derived from HPC in cirrhotic liver.
A multiple scales approach to evaporation induced Marangoni convection

This paper considers the stability of thin liquid layers of binary mixtures of a volatile (solvent) species and a non-volatile (polymer) species. Evaporation leads to a depletion of the solvent near the liquid surface. If surface tension increases for lower solvent concentrations, sufficiently strong compositional gradients can lead to Benard-Marangoni-type convection that is similar to the kind which is observed in films that are heated from below. The onset of the instability is investigated by a linear stability analysis. Due to evaporation, the base state is time dependent, thus leading to a non-autonomous linearised system, which impedes the use of normal modes. However, the time scale for the solvent loss due to evaporation is typically long compared to the diffusive time scale, so a systematic multiple scales expansion can be sought for a finite dimensional approximation of the linearised problem. This is determined to leading and to next order. The corrections indicate that sufficient separation of the top eigenvalue from the remaining spectrum is required for the validity of the expansions, but not the magnitude of the eigenvalues themselves. The approximations are applied to analyse experiments by Bassou and Rharbi with polystyrene/toluene mixtures [Langmuir 2009 (25) 624–632].
Effects of elevated CO2 on biomass and fungi associated with two ecotypes of ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.)

Herbicide resistant weed populations have developed due to the repeated application of herbicides. Elevated concentrations of atmospheric CO2 can have positive effects on weed growth, but how rising CO2 might affect herbicide resistant weeds is not known. Ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.) ecotypes known to be resistant or susceptible to glyphosate herbicide were exposed to either ambient or elevated (ambient +200 μ mol mol−1) concentrations of CO2 in open top chambers. Plants were harvested following 8 weeks of CO2 exposure; at this time, they had begun to exhibit disease symptoms including spots on leaves and stems. Elevated CO2 significantly increased top, root, and total plant biomass. Also, glyphosate resistant plants had significantly greater top, root, and total biomass than plants susceptible to the herbicide. There were no significant CO2 by ecotype interactions. Fungi from 13 genera were associated with ragweed, several of which can be either pathogens (i.e., Alternaria, Fusarium, Rhizoctonia), aiding the decline in health of the ragweed plants, or saprophytes existing on dead plant tissues. The common foliar disease powdery mildew was significantly higher on susceptible compared with resistant ragweed. Susceptible plants also showed an increased frequency of Rhizoctonia on leaves and Alternaria on stems; however, Fusarium occurred more frequently on resistant ragweed leaves. Fungi were not affected by CO2 concentration or its interaction with ecotype. This study reports the first information on the effects of elevated CO2 on growth of herbicide resistant weeds. This is also the first study examining the impact of herbicide resistance and elevated CO2 on fungi associated with weeds. What effects herbicide resistance might have on plant diseases and how rising atmospheric CO2 might impact these effects needs to be addressed, not only with important weeds but also with crops.
Spam Detection Using Dynamic Weighted Voting Based on Clustering

In the last decade spam detection has been addressed as a text classification or categorization problem. In this paper we propose a new dynamic weighted voting method based on the combination of clustering and weighted voting, and apply it to the task of spam filtering. In order to classify a new sample, it first compares with all cluster centroids and its similarity to each cluster is identified; Classifiers in the vicinity of the input sample obtain greater weight for the final decision of the ensemble. The evaluation shows that the algorithm outperforms pure SVM.
Saccades Exert Spatial Control of Motion Processing for Smooth Pursuit Eye Movements

Saccades modulate the relationship between visual motion and smooth eye movement. Before a saccade, pursuit eye movements reflect a vector average of motion across the visual field. After a saccade, pursuit primarily reflects the motion of the target closest to the endpoint of the saccade. We tested the hypothesis that the saccade produces a spatial weighting of motion around the endpoint of the saccade. Using a moving pursuit stimulus that stepped to a new spatial location just before a targeting saccade, we controlled the distance between the endpoint of the saccade and the position of the moving target. We demonstrate that the smooth eye velocity following the targeting saccade weights the presaccadic visual motion inputs by the distance from their location in space to the endpoint of the saccade, defining the extent of a spatiotemporal filter for driving the eyes. The center of the filter is located at the endpoint of the saccade in space, not at the position of the fovea. The filter is stable in the face of a distracter target, is present for saccades to stationary and moving targets, and affects both the speed and direction of the postsaccadic eye movement. The spatial filter can explain the target-selecting gain change in postsaccadic pursuit, and has intriguing parallels to the process by which perceptual decisions about a restricted region of space are enhanced by attention. The effect of the spatial saccade plan on the pursuit response to a given retinal motion describes the dynamics of a coordinate transformation.