Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
When Father Steps Forward and Mother Steps Back: The Moderating Role of Simultaneity in Parents' Coparenting Behaviors in the Development of Anxiety in 4‐ to 30‐Month‐Olds

Infant negative affectivity predicts child anxiety. Coparenting might influence the development of anxiety by weakening this association in the case of supportive coparenting, or by strengthening this association in the case of undermining coparenting. Parents can display coparenting behaviors simultaneously (both parents being supportive or undermining), or divergently (only one parent being supportive or undermining). In our longitudinal study, we investigated whether coparenting moderated the relation between infant negative affectivity at 4 months and child anxiety symptoms 2 years later. Hundred-sixteen couples dressed up their firstborn infants in a clothes-changing task. We coded cooperative, mutual, neutral, and competitive coparenting behaviors. Both parents rated infant negative affectivity and child anxiety symptoms. Infant negative affectivity significantly predicted child anxiety. This association was moderated by parents' divergent cooperative coparenting: It was stronger when mothers were cooperative while fathers were neutral, and weaker when fathers were cooperative while mothers were neutral. When fathers step forward (i.e., being cooperative) and mothers step back (i.e., leaving space), they may protect their at-risk child from developing anxiety.
Seeing the gaps: a systematic review of visual perception tools for children with hemiplegia

Purpose. Visual perception difficulties are common in children with cerebral palsy – hemiplegia, however it is not known which assessment tool is the best for this population. This systematic review evaluates the clinimetric properties of visual perception assessments for children with hemiplegia. Method. Databases were searched for assessments that: (i) measured visual perception; (ii) were reported in studies with children with hemiplegia and (iii) had clinimetric data available to assessors. Results. Three assessments met criteria: the Test of Visual Perceptual Skills (TVPS), Motor-Free Visual Perceptual Test (MVPT) and Developmental Test of Visual Perception (DTVP). Factor analysis has been completed for the TVPS and DTVP, with both assessments and especially the TVPS, demonstrating some subtests that do not load significantly for the first factor of motor-free visual perception. All three assessments demonstrate variable construct and criterion validity with other clinical assessments. The DTVP, MVPT and TVPS demonstrate high test-retest reliability for total scores, but individual TVPS subtests are less reliable. Conclusions. The MVPT and DTVP show the best clinimetric data, however, less research has been completed on these tests than the TVPS. Further research is required to confirm the validity and reliability of the MVPT and DTVP for children with hemiplegia.
Maternal personality and infants' neural and visual responsivity to facial expressions of emotion.

BACKGROUND Recent investigations suggest that experience plays an important role in the development of face processing. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential role of experience in the development of the ability to process facial expressions of emotion. METHOD We examined the potential role of experience indirectly by investigating the relationship between the emotional environment provided by mothers (as indexed by affective measures of their personality) and 7-month-olds' processing of emotional expressions (as indexed by visual attention and event-related potentials [ERPs]). RESULTS For positive emotion, infants with highly positive mothers looked longer at fearful than happy expressions, and a subset of these infants who themselves also scored highly on positive temperament showed a larger negative central (Nc) component in the ERP to fearful than happy faces. For negative emotion, there were no detectable influences of maternal personality, although very fearful infants showed a larger Nc to fearful than happy expressions over the right hemisphere. CONCLUSION To the extent that these variations in maternal disposition reflect variations in their expression of positive facial expressions, these results suggest that the emotional environment experienced by infants contributes to the development of their responses to facial expressions.
Is first language attrition possible without second language knowledge?

Abstract The study explores whether Russian immigrants in Israel with no knowledge of Hebrew (L2) can experience attrition of Russian (L1). Immigrants with no knowledge of Hebrew (−Hebrew), bilingual immigrants who know Russian and Hebrew (+Hebrew), and monolingual controls were compared on lexical retrieval, correctness judgment of collocations, future tense formation, confidence in providing answers to two tasks and the time it took to complete them. Both immigrant groups showed signs of L1 attrition of collocations and of future tense formation, and the –Hebrew group performed significantly worse than +Hebrew group on future tense formation. The three groups did not differ in time-on-task. The –Hebrew group was less confident than the other groups in one task. Low and significant correlations were found between some sociolinguistic factors and test results. We conclude that first language attrition can occur both when immigrants acquire a second language and when they remain monolingual.
Temporal filter design by minimum KL divergence criterion for robust speech recognition

In this paper, we propose a new temporal filter design method based on minimum KL divergence criterion for robust recognition of noisy and reverberant speech. The main idea is to optimize the filter parameters by minimizing the KL divergence of two distributions, of which one is the feature distribution in the test environment, and another is the feature distribution represented by the acoustic model. The minimization of the KL divergence reduces the mismatch between the acoustic model and the test data. Experimental results on Aurora-5 task shows that the new filter design outperforms other filter design methods significantly in noisy and reverberant test conditions. In addition, the proposed filtering of feature trajectories is shown to be complementary to linear transformation of feature vectors, which is popular in feature processing.
Development Of The Transgender Attitudes And Knowledge Scale (Trans) And Evangelical Christians' Attitudes Toward Transgender

In recent years, issues surrounding transgender have gained more media and legal attention than ever before, contributing to rapidly shifting views on gender around the world. In the U.S., views of evangelical Christians on social issues are of particular interest because of the ways in which Christian thought has impacted the setting of various norms in this nation. Yet, to date, there are no known studies that have explored evangelical Christians’ attitudes toward transgender persons. To address the shortcomings in the existing literature, the first phase of this study developed and validated a contextually relevant scale. A multi-phase creation and validation process, using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted with a diverse sample (n=533). The resulting scale is a three-factor 29-item measure, tapping into interpersonal comfort, gender belief, and human value. Using the validated scale, the second phase of the study explored evangelical Christians’ beliefs and attitudes toward transgender persons in reference to a nonreligious group (n=438). Data were analyzed using Two-way ANOVAs, item analyses, independent sample t-tests, and Pearson’s correlations. Findings indicated that evangelical Christians showed significantly lower attitude scores and a more dichotomous/fixed view of gender compared to their nonreligious counterparts. At the same time, evangelical Christians had high ratings on the human value factor overall, which was, in turn, less correlated with the other factors— interpersonal comfort and gender beliefs—than for their secular reference group. The two studies together provide a starting point for future research on attitudes toward transgender.
Thinking Styles, Gender and Decision Making in Latin American management: A Comparative Study with the USA

Purpose Many studies have analyzed how gender diversity and local culture condition the cognitive styles of managers and affect decision-making processes in organizations. Gender diversity has been defended from an equality perspective; it has been argued to improve decision-making processes and to have a positive impact on companies’ return on investment. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the differences between the thinking styles of men and women, in Latin America and the USA that support decision-making processes. An argument is given in favor of gender diversity in management teams, because of its positive implications in decision making. Design/methodology/approach The measurement instrument used was the Neethling Brain Instrument, developed based on recent neuroscience discovery. The sample comprised 1,216 executives from the USA and several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, who have participated in executive training programs. Findings The results show differences in thinking styles by gender, but no differences were found in thinking styles or decision making between men and women at the same managerial level in either of the two regions. Similarly, results suggest that executives in the USA tend to base their management models on strategic thinking styles that focus on interpersonal relations and involve risk taking, while executives in Latin American countries tend to prefer thinking and management styles focusing on data analysis, execution, planning, and process control. Originality/value The results of the present study show that, in all regions, men score higher in rational thinking styles associated with the cortical areas, while women gravitate toward thinking styles where emotional schemes prevail, related to subcortical areas. These results could be useful for organizational leaders in charge of allocating roles and tasks to people, based on their thinking style strengths. The results can also be very valuable for Latin American organizations to design specific training and development programs for men and women accordingly with their individual needs and their managerial roles. They can also support the argument that diverse gender teams will guarantee complete decision-making processes.
Likelihood analysis of the next-to-minimal supergravity motivated model

In anticipation of data from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and the potential discovery of supersymmetry, in this work we seek an answer to the following: What are the chances that supersymmetry will be found at the LHC? Will the LHC data be enough to discover a given supersymmetric model? And what other measurements can assist the LHC establish the presence of supersymmetry? As a step toward answering these general questions, we calculate the odds of the next-to-minimal version of the popular supergravity motivated model (NmSuGra) being discovered at the LHC to be 4:3 (57%). We also demonstrate that viable regions of the NmSuGra parameter space outside the LHC reach can be covered by upgraded versions of dark matter direct detection experiments, such as super-CDMS, at 99% confidence level (assuming uniform priors). Our qualitative conclusion is robust against variation of the Bayesian prior. Due to the similarities of the models, we expect very similar results for the constrained minimal supersymmetric standard model (CMSSM).
Toward a Comprehensive Fueling-controlled Theory of the Growth of Massive Black Holes and Host Spheroids

We study the relation between nuclear massive black holes and their host spheroid gravitational potential. Using AMR numerical simulations, we analyze how gas is transported into the nuclear (central kpc) regions of galaxies. We study gas fueling onto the inner accretion disk (subparsec scale) and star formation in a massive nuclear disk like those generally found in protospheroids (ULIRGs and SCUBA galaxies). These subparsec resolution simulations of gas fueling, which is mainly depleted by star formation, naturally satisfy the MBH-Mvirial relation, with a scatter considerably less than that observed. We find that a generalized version of the Kennicutt-Schmidt law for starbursts is satisfied, in which the total gas depletion rate () scales as Mgas/torbital. We also find that the MBH-σ relation is a by-product of the MBH-Mvirial relation.
Interframe Coding of Canonical patches for Low Bit-rate Mobile Augmented Reality

Local features are widely used for content-based image retrieval and augmented reality applications. Typically, feature descriptors are calculated from the gradients of a canonical patch around a repeatable keypoint in the image. In this paper, we propose a temporally coherent keypoint detector and design efficient interframe predictive coding techniques for canonical patches and keypoint locations. In the proposed system, we strive to transmit each patch with as few bits as possible by simply modifying a previously transmitted patch. This enables server-based mobile augmented reality where a continuous stream of salient information, sufficient for image-based retrieval and localization, can be sent over a wireless link at a low bit-rate. Experimental results show that our technique achieves a similar image matching performance at 1/15 of the bit-rate when compared to detecting keypoints independently frame-by-frame and allows performing streaming mobile augmented reality at low bit-rates of about 20–50 kbps, practical for today's wireless links.
Effect of ingestion of soy yogurt on intestinal parameters of rats fed on a beef-based animal diet

The aim of this study was to investigate whether the ingestion of soy yogurt fermented with Enterococcus faecium CRL 183 would modify the intestinal count of enterococci, fecal pH and ammonia content in rats fed on a diet containing red meat. The rats were placed in 4 groups: for 60 days, group I was given a standard casein-based rodent feed and groups II-IV, the beef-based feed. From day 30, groups III-IV also received the following products: III) soy yogurt; IV) suspension of E. faecium CRL 183. At the start and on days 30 and 60, feces were collected for the determination of pH, ammonia content, count of enterococci and identification of their species. On day 60, rats were sacrificed and their colons also removed for count of enterococci and identification of their species. Rats that ingested soy yogurt showed no significant change (P<0.05) in fecal counts of Enterococcus spp. , but, this rat group showed a higher count of E. faecium than rats that ingested suspension of E. faecium CRL 183. The ingestion of soy yogurt and E. faecium culture caused a significant rise (P < 0.05) in fecal pH and ammonia content. Our results suggest that consumption of soy yogurt fermented with E. faecium CRL 183 and L. helveticus subsp. jugurti could change the species of Enterococcus spp. present in the feces and colon of rats fed on a beef-based diet. However, the fermented soy product and the pure culture of E. faecium CRL 183 also induced undesirable effects such as the increase of fecal pH and ammonia content in the feces of rats fed on a beef-based diet.
crowdsourcing : rating annotators and obtaining cost-effective labels

Labeling large datasets has become faster, cheaper, and easier with the advent of crowdsourcing services like Amazon Mechanical Turk. How can one trust the labels obtained from such services? We propose a model of the labeling process which includes label uncertainty, as well a multi-dimensional measure of the annotators’ ability. From the model we derive an online algorithm that estimates the most likely value of the labels and the annotator abilities. It finds and prioritizes experts when requesting labels, and actively excludes unreliable annotators. Based on labels already obtained, it dynamically chooses which images will be labeled next, and how many labels to request in order to achieve a desired level of confidence. Our algorithm is general and can handle binary, multi-valued, and continuous annotations (e.g. bounding boxes). Experiments on a dataset containing more than 50,000 labels show that our algorithm reduces the number of labels required, and thus the total cost of labeling, by a large factor while keeping error rates low on a variety of datasets.
A simple algorithm for optimization and model fitting: AGA (asexual genetic algorithm)

Context. Mathematical optimization can be used as a computational tool to obtain the optimal solution to a given problem in a systematic and efficient way. For example, in twice-differentiable functions and problems with no constraints, the optimization consists of finding the points where the gradient of the objective function is zero and using the Hessian matrix to classify the type of each point. Sometimes, however it is impossible to compute these derivatives and other type of techniques must be employed such as the steepest descent/ascent method and more sophisticated methods such as those based on the evolutionary algorithms. Aims. We present a simple algorithm based on the idea of genetic algorithms (GA) for optimization. We refer to this algorithm as AGA (asexual genetic algorithm) and apply it to two kinds of problems: the maximization of a function where classical methods fail and model fitting in astronomy. For the latter case, we minimize the chi-square function to estimate the parameters in two examples: the orbits of exoplanets by taking a set of radial velocity data, and the spectral energy distribution (SED) observed towards a YSO (Young Stellar Object). Methods. The algorithm AGA may also be called genetic, although it differs from standard genetic algorithms in two main aspects: a) the initial population is not encoded; and b) the new generations are constructed by asexual reproduction. Results. Applying our algorithm in optimizing some complicated functions, we find the global maxima within a few iterations. For model fitting to the orbits of exoplanets and the SED of a YSO, we estimate the parameters and their associated errors.
The Development of Self-Brand Connections in Children and Adolescents

Individuals use brands to create and communicate their self-concepts, thereby creating self-brand connections. Although this phenomenon is well documented among adult consumers, we know very little about the role of brands in defining, expressing, and communicating self-concepts in children and adolescents. In this article, we examine the age at which children begin to incorporate brands into their self-concepts and how these self-brand connections change in qualitative ways as children move into adolescence. In three studies with children 8-18 yr. of age, we find that self-brand connections develop in number and sophistication between middle childhood and early adolescence. (c) 2005 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc.
Service Quality Satisfaction: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study of Public and Private University Librarians in Pakistan

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to identify service quality differences among librarians working in the public and private sector university libraries of Pakistan. An adapted instrument based on the SERVQUAL model, comprised of 30 items and divided into four dimensions, (a) responsiveness; (b) reliability; (c) assurance; and (d) empathy, was used to measure the service quality of librarians. A convenience sampling technique was used to collect data from the users of public and private university libraries, with the Mann-Whitney U test used to find the differences between public and private university librarians’ service quality. Additionally, effect size was measured by using formula (r=Z/√N) to find the degrees of differences. Findings of the study show that four dimensions, empathy, responsiveness, assurance and reliability, can influence service quality of librarians. The users of university libraries are overall satisfied with the service quality of librarians. However, a significant difference was found in the satisfaction level of users regarding service quality of librarians working in public and private university libraries. Effect size shows that the librarians of private university libraries are generally more capable of providing prompt services to users. The results of this paper will help the management of public and private sector university libraries improve librarians’ service quality capabilities. Furthermore, the results of this study can be used as a guideline to compare the service quality of librarians in different libraries.
A prototype of pneumatically-driven forceps manipulator with force sensing capability using a simple flexible joint

This paper presents the first prototype of pneumatically-driven forceps manipulator using a simple flexible joint with intrinsic force sensing. A high performance spring component with wire actuation is employed for two-degree of freedom (DOF) bending joint, and two-DOF tendon drive system is implemented by four pneumatic cylinders. Using a continuum model for the kinematics, a PD controller with static and dynamic compensation is designed for the position control, which shows a good performance at the sufficient working frequency for surgical operations. The forceps manipulator can estimate external forces using a disturbance observer. A link approximation model is introduced to design the observer as the first intuitive approach. The force estimation can be achieved with an accuracy of 0.2 N in the basic straight posture.
High-Resolution Respirometry for Simultaneous Measurement of Oxygen and Hydrogen Peroxide Fluxes in Permeabilized Cells, Tissue Homogenate and Isolated Mitochondria

Whereas mitochondria are well established as the source of ATP in oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), it is debated if they are also the major cellular sources of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Here we describe the novel approach of combining high-resolution respirometry and fluorometric measurement of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production, applied to mitochondrial preparations (permeabilized cells, tissue homogenate, isolated mitochondria). The widely used H2O2 probe Amplex Red inhibited respiration in intact and permeabilized cells and should not be applied at concentrations above 10 µM. H2O2 fluxes were generally less than 1% of oxygen fluxes in physiological substrate and coupling states, specifically in permeabilized cells. H2O2 flux was consistently highest in the Complex II-linked LEAK state, reduced with CI&II-linked convergent electron flow and in mitochondria respiring at OXPHOS capacity, and were further diminished in noncoupled mitochondria respiring at electron transfer system capacity. Simultaneous measurement of mitochondrial respiration and H2O2 flux requires careful optimization of assay conditions and reveals information on mitochondrial function beyond separate analysis of ROS production.
VINO: An Integrated Platform for Operating System and Database Research

In 1981, Stonebraker wrote: Operating system services in many existing systems are either too slow or inappropriate. Current DBMSs usually provide their own and make little or no use of those o(cid:11)ered by the operating system. [STON81] The standard operating system model has changed little since that time, and we believe that, at its core, it is the wrong model for DBMS and other resource-intensive applications. The standard model is in(cid:13)exible, uncooper-ative, and irregular in its treatment of resources. We describe the design of a new system, the VINO kernel, which addresses the limitationsof standard operating systems. It focuses on three key ideas: VINO's power and (cid:13)exibility make it an ideal platformfor the design and implementation of traditional and modern database management systems.