Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Through the looking glass: the effects of feedback on self-awareness and conversation during Video Chat

Video chat is a popular form of computer-mediated communication in a range of contexts from online job interviews to chatting with friends. Although seeing your own video feedback is the predominant interface design, self-awareness research suggests that seeing oneself could induce self-consciousness and affect interaction. We created a custom video chat application and asked pairs of strangers to engage in an online personal information exchange task with or without video feedback. Feedback increased self-awareness and the use of socially-focused words, and decreased the use of words expressing certainty. In addition, mixed-gender dyads rated themselves as more socially orientated with feedback than without, which was reflected in an increased use of inclusive pronouns and affiliation words, and fewer words expressing discrepancy. However, with feedback, same-gender dyads reported greater task orientation than mixed-gender dyads reflected in increased use of task-relevant words. We discuss design implications in contexts from remote therapy to online dating.
A sociological analysis of associations between the family and well-being: roles, responsibilities, and relationships

Asking people about their state of emotional well-being or their self-evaluations of life satisfaction represents a resource which can be used to contribute to knowledge concerning overall well-being and social progress, helping to avoid a narrow focus on purely economic indicators. Whilst concerns over measurement and validity have been raised, such measures have been used to research individual well-being across a vast range of topics, particularly in the field of economics. There has been much less attention from a more sociological perspective. This thesis aims to bring together the topics of well-being and sociology, via a focus on the family. The family is a long established area within sociological study, and contains a number of sub-areas that may lend themselves well to being connected to the topic of well-being. A focus on its inherent interrelations and dynamics may help to ascertain whether the ‘individual’ topic of well-being can be understood alongside the more ‘social’ topic of the family. This thesis utilises data from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), a large scale survey which tracks the same people over 18 years. The BHPS was later incorporated into Understanding Society, and this data source is used for the third chapter. It is found that associations exist between a range of family related roles and experiences, and well-being. The importance of family bonds and relationships to well-being were suggested, between partners and also between parents and children. However also of note were the gendered differences that exist within these associations, and those between different dyads of family members. The impact of changes in family roles and responsibilities was also supported, and how these may impact upon well-being.
Serum sphingolipids level as a novel potential marker for early detection of human myocardial ischaemic injury

Background: Ventricular tachyarrhythmias are the most common and often the first manifestation of coronary heart disease and lead to sudden cardiac death (SCD). Early detection/identification of acute myocardial ischaemic injury at risk for malignant ventricular arrhythmias in patients remains an unmet medical need. In the present study, we examined the sphingolipids level after transient cardiac ischaemia following temporary coronary artery occlusion during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients and determined the role of sphingolipids level as a novel marker for early detection of human myocardial ischaemic injury. Methods and Results: Venous samples were collected from either the coronary sinus (n = 7) or femoral vein (n = 24) from 31 patients aged 40–73 years-old at 1, 5 min, and 12 h, following elective PCI. Plasma sphingolipids levels were assessed by HPLC. At 1 min coronary sinus levels of sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P), sphingosine (SPH), and sphinganine (SA) were increased by 314, 115, and 614%, respectively (n = 7), while peripheral blood levels increased by 79, 68, and 272% (n = 24). By 5 min, coronary sinus S1P and SPH levels increased further (720%, 117%), as did peripheral levels of S1P alone (792%). Where troponin T was detectable at 12 h (10 of 31), a strong correlation was found with peak S1P (R2 = 0.818; P < 0.0001). Conclusion: For the first time, we demonstrate the behavior of plasma sphingolipids following transient cardiac ischaemia in humans. The observation supports the important role of sphingolipids level as a potential novel marker of transient or prolonged myocardial ischaemia.
Keep it brief: Scalable creation of compressed localization maps

Robust, scalable localization unlocks path-planning, obstacle avoidance as well as manipulation and thus is a core competency for many robotic applications. However, as we leave the lab and move out in the world, models of the environment no longer span distances of meters but kilometers in length. Now, gigabytes instead of megabytes of memory are required to hold the model of the environment required for localization. Discarding data and keeping the map representation compact is thus essential for any meaningful application. This paper presents and evaluates a map compression algorithm that approaches this data-reduction as an constrained optimization problem. At the core of the algorithm is the concept of a Summary Map, a reduced map representation that includes only the landmarks that are deemed most useful for place recognition. To assign landmarks to the map we have to satisfy the conflicting goals of map coverage and localizability as well as our tight memory budget. While using an optimization approach for compression is not novel, in this paper we propose adaptations to drastically reduce the computational requirements. Our approach improves scalability from trajectories of a few tens of meters manageable by the state of the art to virtually unlimited dataset sizes in our system. We evaluate the performance of various compression levels as well as several methods for selecting the best localization landmarks from outdoor datasets.
A social cognitive view of self-regulated academic learning.

Researchers interested in academic self-regulated learning have begun to study processes that students use to initiate and direct their efforts to acquire knowledge and skill. The social cognitive conception of self-regulated learning presented here involves a triadic analysis of component processes and an assumption of reciprocal causality among personal, behavioral, and environmental triadic influences. This theoretical account also posits a central role for the construct of academic self-efficacy beliefs and three self-regulatory processes: self-observation, self-judgment, and self-reactions. Research support for this social cognitive formulation is discussed, as is its usefulness for improving student learning and academic achievement.
Modeling and Architectural Simulations of the Statistical Static Timing Analysis of the Non-Gaussian Variation Sources for VLSI Circuits

As CMOS technology scales down, process variation introduces significant uncertainty in power and performance to VLSI circuits and significantly affects their reliability. Although Static-Timing Analysis (STA) it is an excellent tool, but current trends in process scaling have imposed significant difficulties to STA. As one of the promising solutions, Statistical static timing analysis (SSTA) has become the frontier research topic in recent years in combating such variation effects. This paper will be focusing on two aspects of SSTA and its applications in VLSI designs: (1) Statistical timing modeling and analysis; and (2) Architectural implementations of the atomic operations (max and add). Experimental results have shown that our approach can provide 282 times speedup when compared to a conventional CPU implementation.
The microfinance promise

In the past decade, microfinance programs have demonstrated that it is possible to lend to low-income households while maintaining high repayment rates--even without requiring collateral. The programs promise a revolution in approaches to alleviating poverty and spreading financial services, and millions of poor households are served globally. A growing body of economic theory demonstrates how new contractual forms offer a key to microfinance success--particularly the use of group-lending contracts with joint liability. For the most part, however, high repayment rates have not translated into profits, and studies of impacts on poverty yield a mixed picture. In describing emerging tensions, the paper highlights the diversity of innovative mechanisms beyond group-lending contracts, the measurement of financial sustainability, the estimation of economic and social impacts, the costs and benefits of subsidization, and the potential to reduce poverty through savings programs rather than just credit. The promise of microfinance has pushed far ahead of the evidence, and an agenda is put forward for addressing critical empirical gaps and sharpening the terms of policy discussion.
Altered surface trafficking of presynaptic cannabinoid type 1 receptor in and out synaptic terminals parallels receptor desensitization

Presynaptic cannabinoid type 1 receptors (CB1Rs) are major mediators of retrograde synaptic plasticity at both excitatory and inhibitory synapses and participate in a plethora of physiological functions. Whether presynaptic receptors, such as CB1R, display functionally relevant movements at the surface of neuronal membranes is not known. We analyzed the lateral mobility of native CB1Rs in cortical neurons by using single-quantum dot imaging. We found that CB1Rs are highly mobile and rapidly diffuse in and out of presynapses. Agonist-induced desensitization correlated with a reduction in the fraction of surface CB1Rs and a drastic decrease in the membrane dynamic of the CB1Rs that remained at the presynaptic surface. Desensitization specifically excluded CB1Rs from synapses and increased the fraction of immobile receptors in the extrasynaptic compartment. The results suggest that decrease of mobility may be one of the core mechanisms underlying the desensitization of CB1R, the most abundant G protein-coupled receptor in the brain.
Micro Strategy and Strategizing: Towards an Activity‐Based View

This introductory paper provides a background to the origins, themes and papers of this Special Issue on Micro Strategy and Strategizing. Our overarching argument is that, while the field of strategy has traditionally concentrated on the macro-level of organizations, it needs now to attend to much more micro-level phenomena. We propose an activity-based view of strategy that focuses on the detailed processes and practices which constitute the day-to-day activities of organizational life and which relate to strategic outcomes. The paper develops this view by considering two bodies of theory, those of the resource based view and institutionalism; two bodies of empirical work, those on corporate diversification and structure; and finally the process tradition of strategy research. The paper identifies the benefits of the activity-based view and introduces some challenges for further research. It concludes by introducing the papers in this Special Issue.
Implications of an initial empirical victory for the truth of the theory and additional empirical victories

Abstract Psychologists take two propositions for granted. Specifically, empirical verification of predictions derived from a theory (a) support that the theory is more likely to be true and (b) support that additional predictions derived from the theory have an increased probability of being sustained if subjected to empirical testing. In contrast, I argue that both propositions depend strongly on whether auxiliary assumptions are taken into account. When auxiliary assumptions are not taken into account, the first proposition is valid but the second is not. When auxiliary assumptions are taken into account, the first proposition is not valid, and the second proposition encounters additional problems. I use Venn diagrams and Bayesian principles to demonstrate these conclusions.
Benefits and Risks of the Hormetic Effects of Dietary Isothiocyanates on Cancer Prevention

The isothiocyanate (ITC) sulforaphane (SFN) was shown at low levels (1–5 µM) to promote cell proliferation to 120–143% of the controls in a number of human cell lines, whilst at high levels (10–40 µM) it inhibited such cell proliferation. Similar dose responses were observed for cell migration, i.e. SFN at 2.5 µM increased cell migration in bladder cancer T24 cells to 128% whilst high levels inhibited cell migration. This hormetic action was also found in an angiogenesis assay where SFN at 2.5 µM promoted endothelial tube formation (118% of the control), whereas at 10–20 µM it caused significant inhibition. The precise mechanism by which SFN influences promotion of cell growth and migration is not known, but probably involves activation of autophagy since an autophagy inhibitor, 3-methyladenine, abolished the effect of SFN on cell migration. Moreover, low doses of SFN offered a protective effect against free-radical mediated cell death, an effect that was enhanced by co-treatment with selenium. These results suggest that SFN may either prevent or promote tumour cell growth depending on the dose and the nature of the target cells. In normal cells, the promotion of cell growth may be of benefit, but in transformed or cancer cells it may be an undesirable risk factor. In summary, ITCs have a biphasic effect on cell growth and migration. The benefits and risks of ITCs are not only determined by the doses, but are affected by interactions with Se and the measured endpoint.
⟨A2⟩condensate, Bianchi identities, and chromomagnetic field degeneracy in SU(2) Yang-Mills theory

We consider the non-Abelian Bianchi identities in SU(2) pure Yang-Mills theory in D=3,4 focusing on the possibility of their violation and the significance of the chromomagnetic fields degeneracy points. We show that the recently proposed non-Abelian Stokes theorem allows one to formulate the Bianchi identities in terms of the physical fluxes and their relative color orientations. Then the violation of Bianchi identities becomes a well defined concept ultimately related to the degeneracy points. The locality and gauge invariance of our approach allows one to study the problem numerically. We present evidence that in D=4 the suppression of the Bianchi identities violation is likely to destroy confinement, while the removal of the degeneracy points drives the theory to the topologically nontrivial sector. However, confronting the results obtained in three and four dimensions, we argue that it is the mass dimension two condensate which probably explains our findings.
Priorities for the development and evaluation of support after suicide bereavement in the UK: results of a discussion group

AbstractWe present the results of a group discussion conducted to identify research priorities among people bereaved by suicide regarding support needs. The authors’ research team had recently published evidence from a UK-wide sample of young bereaved adults showing that those bereaved by suicide had a greater probability of suicide attempt than those bereaved by other causes of sudden death. For this study, ten UK-based adults bereaved by the suicide of a partner or family member were invited to join a group discussion to identify and prioritise an intervention to evaluate. These priorities were discussed in the context of unmet needs for support, identifying a need to develop and evaluate: immediate outreach after suicide; diversiﬁcation and development of peer support services; and individual psychological support for those who feel suicidal. The group also suggested ﬁve key outcome measures: isolation; stigma; psychological health; day-to-day social functioning; and functioning in a work or caregiver .
Distributed localization from relative noisy measurements: A robust gradient based approach

In this work we address the problem of optimal estimating the position of each agent in a network from relative noisy vectorial distances with its neighbors. Although the problem can be cast as a standard least-squares problem, the main challenge is to devise scalable algorithms that allow each agent to estimate its own position by means of only local communication and bounded complexity, independently of the network size and topology. We propose a gradient based algorithm that is guaranteed to have exponentially convergence rate to the optimal centralized least-square solution. Moreover we show the convergence also in presence of bounded delays and packet losses. We finally provide numerical results to support our work.
Transnational mobility among early-career academics: gendered aspects of negotiations and arrangements within heterosexual couples

ABSTRACT Today, transnational mobility is often presented as indispensable for a successful academic career. This institutionalisation of transnational mobility for young academics has important effects in (re)producing or transforming gender inequalities. Building on the results of a qualitative study conducted at three universities – Zurich (Switzerland), UCLA (U.S.A), and Cambridge (UK) – this paper examines the mobility experiences of early-career academics and their partners and seeks to understand the gendered mechanisms underlying mobility patterns. Drawing on three case studies, this paper focuses on the negotiations and arrangements of mobile couples. Each case study represents a different ideal-typical pattern of how gender is entangled with mobility. We show how gender is ‘done’ and ‘undone’ by the academics and their partners throughout these mobility trajectories, and how these couples’ negotiations and practices are closely entangled with gender representations that are structurally anchored in labour markets and discursively expressed within the wider social environment. As such, this paper questions the dichotomy between economic men and social and cultural women sometimes reproduced in studies on highly skilled migration. Furthermore, the findings challenge earlier studies that suggest a causal link between mobility and the leaky pipeline by showing that important transformations with regard to gender relations are occurring.
Transcultural adaptation and validation of the Celiac Disease Quality of Life (CD-QOL) Survey, a specific questionnaire to measure quality of life in patients with celiac disease.

INTRODUCTION celiac disease is a chronic condition that requires continued treatment, with the resultant impact on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of people who suffer it. Most studies in this field have used generic questionnaires to measure HRQOL in celiac patients. It was therefore decided to conduct a study to translate into Spanish and validate a specific questionnaire for celiac disease, the Celiac Disease Quality Of Life Survey (CD-QOL). OBJECTIVES to translate and validate in Spanish the specific celiac disease questionnaire CD-QOL. METHODS a multicenter, prospective, observational study was designed consisting of two phases: In the first phase, the questionnaire was translated and adapted into Spanish using the translation/back translation procedure and an understandability study. In the second phase, internal consistency of the translated questionnaire was analyzed. For this, results of the CD-QOL were compared to those of EuroQol and the Daily Fatigue Impact Scale (D-FIS). Understandability of the translated and adapted questionnaire was tested in six patients, and the validation study was done in 298 celiac patients (201 treated with a gluten-free diet and 97 at diagnosis). RESULTS in both celiac groups, Cronbach´s alpha coefficient was high (0.90), feasibility was excellent (99.2 % of patients completed all questions), and there were no ceiling and floor effects. Spearman correlation to EuroQol and D-FIS was statistically significant (p < 0.05). CD-QOL score was different depending on whether state of health was good, fair, or poor based on the EuroQol score. CONCLUSION the Spanish version of the CD-QOL is a valid tool for measuring HRQOL in celiac patients.
Standards of care of diabetic patients in a typical English community.

BACKGROUND Poole has a well-established system of sharing care of patients with diabetes between hospital and general practitioners. Very few comprehensive audits of the effectiveness of such a system, which is being adopted in many areas of the UK, have been carried out. AIM A study was set up to survey structure, process and outcome of care for as many diabetic patients in the Poole area as possible, and to feed the results back to individual practices. METHOD Structure criteria were assessed by self-completion questionnaire. Process and outcome criteria were assessed by visits to practices and examination of individual patient notes. A total of 37 practices were visited and the notes of 3974 patients reviewed. Results were analysed by practice and for the district as a whole, and were sent to each practice for comparison. RESULTS The overall prevalence of diabetes in the area was 1.61%, with a marked preponderance of elderly patients (14.1% were over 80). The overall male to female ratio was 1.2:1. The structure questionnaire pinpointed deficiencies in audit facilities, completeness of diabetic registers, and in general use of optometrists and chiropodists. Process criteria analysis showed that, within the last 13 months, 44% of patients under sole care of a general practitioner had undergone full eye examination, cholesterol levels had been checked in 25%, smoking status in 50%, and some foot inspection had been carried out in 57%. Glycaemic control and blood pressure had been measured in over 75% of patients. Outcome analysis showed, in those patients in which they were measured, mean glycosylated haemoglobin (Hba1c) to be 8.07% (upper limit of normal, ULN = 6.5%), some degree of retinopathy to be present in 17.3%, hypertension in 27%, and hypercholesterolaemia in 33%. CONCLUSION Standards of care of diabetics by general practitioners in the Poole area are not optimal, although they are as good as those reported for other districts. Glycaemic control was generally poor, especially in those patients needing insulin to control the disease. Vascular disease risk factors need to be targeted, and eye examination systems and chiropody services improved.
Chapter 2 Dog Breeds and Their Behavior

Domestic dogs display an extraordinary level of phenotypic diversity in morphology and behavior. Furthermore, due to breeding practices introduced during the nineteenth century, these phenotypic traits have become relatively ‘fixed’ within breeds, allowing biologists to obtain unique insights regarding the genetic bases of behavioral diversity, and the effects of domestication and artificial selection on temperament. Here we explore differences in behavior among the 30 most popular dog breeds registered with the American Kennel Club based on owner responses to a standardized and validated behavioral questionnaire (CBARQ ). The findings indicate that some breed-associated temperament traits (e.g. fear/anxiety) may be linked to specific gene mutations, while others may represent more general behavioral legacies of ‘ancient’ ancestry, physical deformity, and/or human selection for specific functional abilities. They also suggest that previous efforts to relate dog breed popularity to behavior may have failed due to the confounding effects of body size.