Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Inspirational bits: towards a shared understanding of the digital material

In any design process, a medium's properties need to be considered. This is nothing new in design. Still we find that in HCI and interactive systems design the properties of a technology are often glossed over. That is, technologies are black-boxed without much thought given to how their distinctive properties open up design possibilities. In this paper we describe what we call inspirational bits as a way to become more familiar with the design material in HCI, the digital material. We describe inspirational bits as quick and dirty but fully working systems in both hardware and software built with the aim of exposing one or several of the dynamic properties of a digital material. We also show how they provide a means of sharing design knowledge across the members of a multi-disciplined design team.
Sensory Attenuation of Self-Produced Feedback: The Lombard Effect Revisited

The Lombard effect describes the automatic and involuntary increase in vocal intensity that speakers exhibit in a noisy environment. Previous studies of the Lombard effect have typically focused on the relationship between speaking and hearing. Automatic and involuntary increases in motor output have also been noted in studies of finger force production, an effect attributed to mechanisms of sensory attenuation. The present study tested the hypothesis that sensory attenuation mechanisms also underlie expression of the Lombard effect. Participants vocalized phonemes in time with a metronome, while auditory and visual feedback of their performance were manipulated or removed during the course of the trial. We demonstrate that providing a visual reference to calibrate somatosensory-based judgments of current vocal intensity resulted in reduced expression of the Lombard effect. Our results suggest that sensory attenuation effects typically seen in fingertip force production play an important role in the control of speech volume.
Cognition with neurons: A large-scale, biologically realistic model of the Wason task

I present a cognitive model, dubbed BioSLIE, that integrates and extends recent advances in: 1) distributed, structuresensitive representation; 2) neurocomputational modeling; and 3) our understanding of the neuroanatomy of inference. As a result, BioSLIE is biologically detailed, learns different behaviors in different contexts, and exhibits systematic, structuresensitive generalization. Here, BioSLIE is applied to the Wason card selection task. Its performance meets Cosmides’ (1989) challenge to mechanistically define domain-general procedures that can use induction to produce the observed domain specific performance on the Wason task. As well, it demonstrates the relevance of neural computation to understanding cognition, despite claims to the contrary by Fodor and Pylyshyn (1988) and Jackendoff (2002).
Serenity: A Low-Cost and Patient-Guided Mobile Virtual Reality Intervention for Cancer Coping

Medical procedures often induce physical pain and psychological distress. Cancer patients are particularly vulnerable to fatigue, heightened emotional distress, social isolation, and increased risk of depression, severely reducing quality of life and potential treatment non-adherence and prolonged hospital stays. Leveraging emerging virtual reality (VR) technology, we prototyped Serenity: a mobile smartphone-based VR cancer coping intervention informed by distraction therapy to help alleviate the symptoms of coping and promote patient empowerment. It leverages emerging low-cost VR to improve accessibility and effectiveness of distraction therapy. We describe the results of a preliminary usability study and lessons learned that apply to future design and evaluation of virtual reality interventions for behavioral health.
The roles of information and communication technology (ICT) systems in construction supply chain management and barriers to their implementation

Advances in information and communications technolo gy (ICT) have impacted on supply chain management in various application scenarios, includ ing the construction industry. Previous studies have shown that the use of appropriate ICT systems has the potential of integrating the plethora of supply chain participants, leading to successful ac complishment of end objectives. Nonetheless, these studies have also revealed the existence of certain unique elements in the ICT systems that do not gel or work in unison with other elements, thereby caus ing disruption to the entire construction industry supply chain mechanism. This paper is a review of p ast literature on supply chain management spanning the years 2000-2009. It focuses on the con struction industry and delves into the characteristics of ICT systems that have resulted i n successful integration and collaboration in the industry’s supply chain. It reveals that ICT infras tructure is a double-edged sword that both facilita ted and impeded the smooth implementation of a supply c hain system in the construction industry.
An Ontology for Event Detection and its Application in Surveillance Video

In this paper, we propose an ontology for representing the prior knowledge related to video event analysis. It is composed of two types of knowledge related to the application domain and the analysis system. Domain knowledge involves all the high level semantic concepts in the context of each examined domain (objects, events, context.) whilst system knowledge involves the capabilities of the analysis system (algorithms, reactions to events.). The proposed ontology has been structured in two parts: the basic ontology (composed of the basic concepts and their specializations) and the domain-specific extensions. Additionally, a video analysis framework based on the proposed ontology is defined for the analysis of different application domains showing the potential use of the proposed ontology. In order to show the real applicability of the proposed ontology, it is specialized for the Underground video-surveillance domain showing some results that demonstrate the usability and effectiveness of the proposed ontology.
Hierarchical Neural Representation of Dreamed Objects Revealed by Brain Decoding with Deep Neural Network Features

Dreaming is generally thought to be generated by spontaneous brain activity during sleep with patterns common to waking experience. This view is supported by a recent study demonstrating that dreamed objects can be predicted from brain activity during sleep using statistical decoders trained with stimulus-induced brain activity. However, it remains unclear whether and how visual image features associated with dreamed objects are represented in the brain. In this study, we used a deep neural network (DNN) model for object recognition as a proxy for hierarchical visual feature representation, and DNN features for dreamed objects were analyzed with brain decoding of fMRI data collected during dreaming. The decoders were first trained with stimulus-induced brain activity labeled with the feature values of the stimulus image from multiple DNN layers. The decoders were then used to decode DNN features from the dream fMRI data, and the decoded features were compared with the averaged features of each object category calculated from a large-scale image database. We found that the feature values decoded from the dream fMRI data positively correlated with those associated with dreamed object categories at mid- to high-level DNN layers. Using the decoded features, the dreamed object category could be identified at above-chance levels by matching them to the averaged features for candidate categories. The results suggest that dreaming recruits hierarchical visual feature representations associated with objects, which may support phenomenal aspects of dream experience.
When is a sex di V erence not a sex di V erence ?

Brain sexual diVerentiation in mammals requires activity of gonadal hormones; organizational eVects of these steroids on brain development occur early in life while activational ones in adulthood ensure appropriate and timely sex-speciWc behaviors. This traditional view has long served as a reliable model for sexual diVerentiation of reproductively relevant brain structures. Here, we take a fresh look at this model but refocused in the context of sexual diVerentiation of non-reproductive parameters and with an emphasis on the hippocampus, a telencephalic brain structure predominantly involved in cognition and stress regulation. We explore sex diVerences in morphology, neurochemistry, and hippocampal-dependent behaviors to propose a new prototype that can be used to explain and further investigate the eVects of steroid hormones, those synthesized gonadally or intracerebrally, on hippocampal development and function. We also propose that a new vernacular be employed, one that distinguishes hormonally modulated responses from sex diVerences, and argue these are mechanistically and functionally distinct. Understanding when and how the sexes are diVerent is as important as understanding when and how they are the same, at the biological, social, and cultural level.  2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Comment on "PIC simulations of circularly polarised Alfven wave phase mixing: A new mechanism for electron acceleration in collisionless plasmas" by Tsiklauri et al.

Tsiklauri et al. recently published a theoretical model of electron acceleration by Alfven waves in a nonuniform collisionless plasmas. We compare their work with a series of results published earlier by an another team, of which Tsiklauri et al. were probably unaware. We show that these two series of works, apparently conducted independently, lead to the same conclusions. This reinforces the theoretical consistency of the model.
CED-3 caspase acts with miRNAs to regulate non-apoptotic gene expression dynamics for robust development in C. elegans

Genetic redundancy and pleiotropism have limited the discovery of functions associated with miRNAs and other regulatory mechanisms. To overcome this, we performed an enhancer screen for developmental defects caused by compromising both global miRISC function and individual genes in Caenorhabditis elegans. Among 126 interactors with miRNAs, we surprisingly found the CED-3 caspase that has only been well studied for its role in promoting apoptosis, mostly through protein activation. We provide evidence for a non-apoptotic function of CED-3 caspase that regulates multiple developmental events through proteolytic inactivation. Specifically, LIN-14, LIN-28, and DISL-2 proteins are known miRNA targets, key regulators of developmental timing, and/or stem cell pluripotency factors involved in miRNA processing. We show CED-3 cleaves these proteins in vitro. We also show CED-3 down-regulates LIN-28 in vivo, possibly rendering it more susceptible to proteasomal degradation. This mechanism may critically contribute to the robustness of gene expression dynamics governing proper developmental control. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.04265. 001
The Relationship Between Changes in Dynamic Risk Factors and the Predictive Validity of Risk Assessments Among Youth Offenders

The Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) is a widely used risk assessment tool for youth offenders. It is intended to be administered regularly to capture changes in criminogenic needs and thus inform case management during a youth’s sentence. However, there is a dearth of research examining whether updated assessments are more predictive of recidivism than initial assessments. We examined whether including dynamic risk factors increased the predictive validity of the YLS/CMI and whether changes in dynamic risk scores improved the prediction of recidivism. Two hundred youth offenders were tracked from their first risk assessment conducted at probation to their most recent risk assessment completed prior to first reoffense or study end date. Inclusion of dynamic risk scores improved predictive accuracy above static risk and updated dynamic risk scores improved accuracy over those obtained from the initial assessment, supporting the utility of the YLS/CMI as a reassessment tool.
Chapter I Content-Based Indexing of Symbolic Music Documents

Indexing is the core component of most information retrieval systems, because it allows for a compact representation of the content of a collection of documents, aimed at efficient and scalable access and retrieval. Indexing techniques can be extended also to music, providing that significant descriptors are computed from music documents. These descriptors can be defined as the “lexical units” of music, depend on the dimensions that are taken into account – melody, harmony, rhythm, timbre – and are related to the way listeners perceive music. This chapter describes some relevant aspects of indexing of symbolic music documents, giving a review of its basic concepts and going in more detail about some key aspects, such as the consistency at which candidate index terms are perceived by listeners, the effectiveness of alternative approaches to compute indexes, and how individual indexing schemes can be combined together by applying data fusion approaches.
Reversible and Noisy Progression towards a Commitment Point Enables Adaptable and Reliable Cellular Decision-Making

Cells must make reliable decisions under fluctuating extracellular conditions, but also be flexible enough to adapt to such changes. How cells reconcile these seemingly contradictory requirements through the dynamics of cellular decision-making is poorly understood. To study this issue we quantitatively measured gene expression and protein localization in single cells of the model organism Bacillus subtilis during the progression to spore formation. We found that sporulation proceeded through noisy and reversible steps towards an irreversible, all-or-none commitment point. Specifically, we observed cell-autonomous and spontaneous bursts of gene expression and transient protein localization events during sporulation. Based on these measurements we developed mathematical population models to investigate how the degree of reversibility affects cellular decision-making. In particular, we evaluated the effect of reversibility on the 1) reliability in the progression to sporulation, and 2) adaptability under changing extracellular stress conditions. Results show that reversible progression allows cells to remain responsive to long-term environmental fluctuations. In contrast, the irreversible commitment point supports reliable execution of cell fate choice that is robust against short-term reductions in stress. This combination of opposite dynamic behaviors (reversible and irreversible) thus maximizes both adaptable and reliable decision-making over a broad range of changes in environmental conditions. These results suggest that decision-making systems might employ a general hybrid strategy to cope with unpredictably fluctuating environmental conditions.
Air pollution and respiratory diseases among children in Brazil.

Objective To assess the effects of air pollution levels on respiratory morbidity among children from 1999 to 2000. Methods Daily records of health center attendance due to respiratory diseases among children were obtained from the public health system in Curitiba, State of Parana, Brazil. Daily levels of particulate matter (PM 10 ), smoke, NO 2 and O 3 were obtained from both Parana State Environmental Institute and the Development Technology Institute, a non-governmental agency. Daily measurements of temperature and relative humidity were obtained from the National Institute of Meteorology. Generalized additive Poisson regression models were used to assess the relationship between respiratory diseases and air pollution, controlling for long-term seasonality using loess (a non-parametric smoothing function), weather and weekdays. A significance level of 5% was adopted in all the analyses. Results All pollutants presented an effect on respiratory diseases among children. An increase of 40,4 µg/m 3 in the 3-day moving average of smoke was associated with an increase of 4.5% (95% CI: 1.5-7.6) in the attendance of children with respiratory diseases. Conclusion The results suggest that air pollution promotes adverse effects on children’s respiratory health even when pollutant levels are lower than the air quality standards.
Galactic globular clusters as a test for very-low-mass stellar models

We make use of the Next Generation model atmospheres by Allard et al. (1997) and Hauschildt, Allard & Baron (1999) to compute theoretical models for low and very low-mass stars for selected metallicities in the range Z= 0.0002 to 0.002. On this basis, we present theoretical predictions covering the sequence of H-burning stars as observed in galactic globulars from the faint end of the Main Sequence up to, and beyond, the cluster Turn Off. The role played by the new model atmospheres is discussed, showing that present models appear in excellent agreement with models by Baraffe et al. (1997) as computed on quite similar physical basis. One finds that the theoretical mass-luminosity relations based on this updated set of models, are in good agreement with the empirical data provided by Henry & McCarthy (1993). Comparison with HST observation discloses that the location in the Color-Magnitude diagram of the lower Main Sequence in galactic globular clusters appears again in good agreement with the predicted sensitive dependence of these sequences on the cluster metallicity.
Role of environmental interventions in injury control and prevention.

Injuries result from transfer of energy to a human host. In the epidemiologic model of infectious disease, microbes are the “agents” of infection. Similarly, in the epidemiologic model of traumatic injury, energy is the “agent” of injury (figure 1). This model provides a good basis for understanding the role of the environment in the causal pathway for injuries.
Intelligent Perceptual Shaping of a Digital Watermark

Embedding of a digital watermark in a digital media is proving to be a workable solution for many of the recent problems like copyright protections and content authentication. However, the embedding of a digital watermark in a digital media is not without constraints. This requires perceptual shaping of a watermark in context of Human Visual System (HVS). The goal of this thesis is to develop a new watermarking scheme based on intelligent shaping of a digital watermark using GP. To achieve this goal, the research focuses on making efficient tradeoffs between two of the most important, but contradicting properties of a watermarking system; robustness and imperceptibility.This thesis makes the following contributions: (1) An analysis of the importance of perceptual shaping of a watermark in making a trade off between robustness and imperceptibility is performed, (2) intelligent search technique, like GP, is used to exploit the characteristics of HVS inevolving superior perceptual shaping functions, (3) the concept of bonus fitness has been proposed to implement multi-objective fitness function, in the GP simulation. This helps in simultaneously handling the estimated robustness and imperceptibility requirements during embedding stage, and actual robustness during decoding stage, (4) we realize that perceptual shaping of a watermark is not only important for making a superior trade off, but could also be used to tailor the watermark in accordance to an anticipated attack, (5) watermarking systems are becoming more and more sophisticated, as such this thesis, using intelligent search technique like GP, points towards the solution strategy of many complex issues in watermarking that are difficult to be computed analytically. A series of empirical investigations are performed to analyze the performance of the genetically evolved perceptual shaping functions (GPSFs) using standard benchmark, which shows the effectiveness of our approach.
Evaluation on the role of sulfuric acid in the mechanisms of new particle formation for Beijing case

Abstract. New particle formation (NPF) is considered as an important mechanism for gas-to-particle transformation, and gaseous sulfuric acid is believed as a crucial precursor. Up to now few field-based studies on nucleation mechanisms and the role of sulfuric acid were conducted in China. In this study, simultaneously measurements of particle number size distributions and gaseous sulfuric acid concentrations were performed from July to September in 2008. Totally, 22 new particle formation events were observed during the entire 85 campaign days. The results show that in the case of both higher source and sink values, the result of the competition between source and sink is more likely the key limiting factor to determine the observation of NPF events in Beijing. The concentrations of gaseous sulfuric acid show good correlations with freshly nucleated particles ( N 3-6 and formation rates ( J 3 and J 1.5 . The power-law relationship between H 2 SO 4 concentration and N 3-6 or J is adopted to explore the nucleation mechanism. The exponents are showed a great range (from 1 to 7). More than half of the NPF events exhibit an exponent larger than 2.5. For these cases, the thermodynamic process works better than the activation or kinetic nucleation theories to explain the nucleation events in urban atmosphere of Beijing.
A Study of Infants' Injury-Risk Behaviours at Various Stages of Motor Development: A Longitudinal Study

A STUDY OF INFANTS’ INJURY-RISK BEHAVIOURS AT VARIOUS STAGES OF MOTOR DEVELOPMENT: A LONGITUDINAL STUDY Lindsay A. Bryant Advisor: University of Guelph, 2017 Dr. Barbara A. Morrongiello In Canada, unintentional injury represents the leading cause of death among young children. Infants remain particularly vulnerable as they are gaining access to hazards through increased mobility, yet unable to properly assess and avoid risk. The current study examined the rate and type of injury-risk behaviours, how these relate to injury-risk, and parent supervision patterns, with the focus on three stages of motor-development (sitting, crawling, and walking). Eighty-five parent-infant dyads were followed over the course of an average 6 months. Results found stability in infant risk-taking over development, with these rates predicting infant injuryrisk across development. The majority of injury-risk behaviours occurred while infants’ were within view of supervisors but with infants out of reach about 55% of this time. The significance of these results for understanding infant injury-risk is discussed.
Therapeutic effectiveness of instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization for soft tissue injury: mechanisms and practical application

This article reviews the mechanism and effects of instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM), along with guidelines for its practical application. IASTM refers to a technique that uses instruments to remove scar tissues from injured soft tissues and facilitate healing process through formation of new extracellular matrix proteins such as collagen. Recently, frequent use of this instrument has increased in the fields of sports rehabilitation and athlete training. Some experimental studies and case reports have reported that IASTM can significantly improve soft tissue function and range of motion following sports injury, while also reducing pain. Based on the previous studies, it is thought that IASTM can help shorten the rehabilitation period and time to return to sports among athletes and ordinary people who have suffered sports injuries. However, few experimental studies of the mechanisms and effects of IASTM have examined, while case reports have accounted for the majority of articles. In the future, the scientific basis of IASTM and its reliability should be provided through well-designed experimental studies on humans. Moreover, IASTM studies that have mostly focused on tendons need to broaden their scope toward other soft tissues such as muscles and ligaments.