Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Roles of Endstopped and Curvature Tuned Computations in a Hierarchical Representation of 2D Shape

That shape is important for perception has been known for almost a thousand years (thanks to Alhazen in 1083) and has been a subject of study ever since by scientists and phylosophers (such as Descartes, Helmholtz or the Gestalt psychologists). Shapes are important object descriptors. If there was any remote doubt regarding the importance of shape, recent experiments have shown that intermediate areas of primate visual cortex such as V2, V4 and TEO are involved in analyzing shape features such as corners and curvatures. The primate brain appears to perform a wide variety of complex tasks by means of simple operations. These operations are applied across several layers of neurons, representing increasingly complex, abstract intermediate processing stages. Recently, new models have attempted to emulate the human visual system. However, the role of intermediate representations in the visual cortex and their importance have not been adequately studied in computational modeling. This paper proposes a model of shape-selective neurons whose shape-selectivity is achieved through intermediate layers of visual representation not previously fully explored. We hypothesize that hypercomplex - also known as endstopped - neurons play a critical role to achieve shape selectivity and show how shape-selective neurons may be modeled by integrating endstopping and curvature computations. This model - a representational and computational system for the detection of 2-dimensional object silhouettes that we term 2DSIL - provides a highly accurate fit with neural data and replicates responses from neurons in area V4 with an average of 83% accuracy. We successfully test a biologically plausible hypothesis on how to connect early representations based on Gabor or Difference of Gaussian filters and later representations closer to object categories without the need of a learning phase as in most recent models.
First-year course experience and college adjustment: a case study

This is a study on first year students’ experiences to adjusting to university life. Secondary data analysis was carried out on 49 cases, where students were required to record how they view university life and how they have adjusted. Thematic analysis was used. Results indicate that first-year students struggled with their academic, personal and social lives as well as attaching to the institution. For students to survive in an institution there is need for systems that can support them like the First Year Experience (FYE) course to help them connect to their new environment.
Darwin, Deception, and Facial Expression

Abstract: Darwin did not focus on deception. Only a few sentences in his book mentioned the issue. One of them raised the very interesting question of whether it is difficult to voluntarily inhibit the emotional expressions that are most difficult to voluntarily fabricate. Another suggestion was that it would be possible to unmask a fabricated expression by the absence of the difficult‐to‐voluntarily‐generate facial actions. Still another was that during emotion body movements could be more easily suppressed than facial expression. Research relevant to each of Darwin's suggestions is reviewed, as is other research on deception that Darwin did not foresee.
The end of an affair: Discharging clients from speech-language pathology

This paper expands on the lead article by Hersh (2010) regarding a number of challenges that face speech-language pathologists (SLPs) when ending therapy, in this case focusing on children's speech and language impairment. Children's speech and language impairments are often long-term with impacts on other aspects of their functioning; there is little clarity about the notion of resolution and there is little research about optimum points of discharge or ending therapy. In the lead article, Hersh (2010) reports the personal concerns experienced by SLPs working with people with aphasia. Similar findings are highlighted here from the child speech and language impairment context; in particular that SLPs' thresholds of concern vary. The paper notes the resource pressures that lead to prioritization decisions related to the point of discharge and argues that clarity in goal planning and the explicit discussion of goals and the purpose of intervention, in partnership with clients and their families goes some way to reducing pressure faced by SLPs.
Hemocyte‐lineage marker proteins in a crustacean, the freshwater crayfish, Pacifastacus leniusculus

To identify proteins associated with development of different hemocyte types in the freshwater crayfish Pacifastacus leniusculus, 2‐DE followed by MS analysis was carried out with hematopoietic tissue (Hpt) cells, semigranular cells (SGC) and granular cells (GC). Within the hemocyte lineages one two‐domain Kazal proteinase inhibitor (KPI) was found to be specific for SGC, while a superoxide dismutase (SOD) was specific for GC at protein as well as at mRNA level. The proliferation cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) was detected at the mRNA level in Hpt cells only. We also provide evidence that SGC and GC most likely differentiate to maturation as separate lineages. We found that after laminarin or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) injection into crayfish, the transcript levels of PCNA and SOD increased in the Hpt cells, whereas the KPI transcript never was present in Hpt regardless of any challenge. RNA interference of PCNA in the Hpt cells led to that most of the cells did not spread or attach to the tissue culture dish. These results suggest that PCNA, KPI and SOD can be used as markers for Hpt cells, SGC and GC, respectively, and in conjunction with these results, a model is proposed how the Hpt responds to a microbial challenge by proliferation and release of Hpt cells.
Energy-aware video coding of multiple views via workload balancing

Video coding and compression reduce the storage space and/or the bandwidth required to transmit video. Multiview video systems make use of more than one camera to describe a scene and therefore demand more computing resources and energy consumption to compress and transmit video data. In this paper, we present an energy management framework for multiview systems that combines the two major video coding and compression paradigms: Predictive and Distributed Video Coding (PVC and DVC). The paradigms generally assume that the decoder (in PVC) and the encoder (in DVC) are resource constrained devices. However, there are a growing number of applications where resources are constrained at both encoder and decoder. Such scenarios cannot be handled due to the imbalance in PVC/DVC and demand a more flexible paradigm. In the proposed framework, video coding that combines PVC and DVC is used to balance multiview video coding workload between the video encoder and decoder in a way that maximizes system lifetime. Simulation results show that the proposed method can obtain a lifetime percentage increase of 58% and 30% on average and maintain video quality when compared to strict PVC and DVC systems respectively.
Impact of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccines on Selected Head and Neck Infections in Hospitalized Israeli Children

Background: Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major pathogen of pediatric head and neck infections (HNIs), for example, acute otitis media (AOM), acute mastoiditis, acute bacterial sinusitis and meningitis. The aim of this study was to characterize the epidemiology of pneumococcal HNIs (pHNIs) before, during and after the introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs). Methods: Children 0–16 years of age, who were hospitalized with HNIs in the pediatrics department in a general hospital between January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2014, were retrospectively identified. Study years were categorized according to the PCV introduction timeline: 2007–2008: “pre-PCV years”; 2009–2011: “transition years” and 2012–2014: “post-PCV years. ” pHNIs episodes were defined if pneumococcal culture or urine antigen was positive. Children who received ≥2 doses of PCV7/PCV13 were considered as immunized. All other children were considered as unimmunized. Results: HNIs accounted for 2.5%–4.7% of the total admissions; 3%–17% of them were pHNIs. Eighty-seven pHNI episodes were identified: AOM (n = 42), acute mastoiditis (n = 28) and meningitis (n = 17). There was a downward trend in the overall incidence of HNIs, and particularly of pHNIs, in the post-PCV years. The average age and hospitalization duration of children with HNIs/pHNIs remained stable during the study years. In 2009–2010, pHNIs incidence sharply decreased, from 7 to 1.74/1000 hospitalized children/year, due to ~55% reduction of pneumococcal AOM episodes. An additional decrease was observed in the post-PCV years (1.62/1000 hospitalized children/year). Immunized children were less likely to present with pHNIs (P = 0.001) but were more likely to undergo surgery (P = 0.042). Conclusion: We observed a reduction in pHNIs incidence after PCV program implementation.
Virtual Embedded Blocks: A Methodology for Evaluating Embedded Elements in FPGAs

Embedded elements, such as block multipliers, are increasingly used in advanced field programmable gate array (FPGA) devices to improve efficiency in speed, area and power consumption. A methodology is described for assessing the impact of such embedded elements on efficiency. The methodology involves creating dummy elements, called virtual embedded blocks (VEBs), in the FPGA to model the size, position and delay of the embedded elements. The standard design flow offered by FPGA and CAD vendors can be used for mapping, placement, routing and retiming of designs with VEBs. The speed and resource utilisation of the resulting designs can then be inferred using the FPGA vendor's timing analysis tools. We illustrate the application of this methodology to the evaluation of various schemes of involving embedded elements that support floating-point computations
Knowing, Learning, and Instruction

Contents. L.B. Resnick, Introduction. W. Kintsch, Learning from Text. I.L. Beck, M.G. McKeown, Expository Text for Young Readers: The Issue of Coherence. G. Leinhardt, Development of an Expert Explanation: An Analysis of a Sequence of Subtraction Lessons. R. Gelman, J.G. Greeno, On the Understanding of Competence: Principles for Understanding in a Domain. P. Nesher, Microworlds in Mathematical Education: A Pedagogical Realism. J.F. Voss, J. Blais, M.L. Means, T.R. Greene, E. Ahwesh, Informal Reasoning and Subject Matter Knowledge in the Solving of Economics Problems by Naive and Novice Individuals. M.T. H. Chi, M. Bassok, Learning from Examples Via Self- Explanations. J.H. Larkin, What Kind of Knowledge Transfers? C.A. Perfetti, There Are Generalized Abilities and One of Them Is Reading. A. Lesgold, J. Ivill-Friel, J. Bonar, Toward Intelligent Systems for Testing. C. Bereiter, M. Scardamalia, Intentional Learning as a Goal of Instruction. A.L. Brown, A.S. Palincsar, Guided, Cooperative, and Individual Knowledge Acquisition. A. Collins, J.S. Brown, S.E. Newman, Cognitive Apprenticeship: Teaching the Crafts of Reading, Writing, and Mathematics.
Autonomy and Workload in Relation to Temporary and Permanent Workers' Job Involvement A Test in Belgium and Finland

The aim of the study was to investigate contract type (temporary vs. permanent employment) as a possible moderator in the relationship between autonomy and workload on the one hand, and job involvement on the other hand in samples from two countries: Belgium and Finland. The results on possible interactions were similar in the two countries. Contract type moderated the relationship between autonomy and job involvement: The relationship was stronger in permanent than in temporary workers. No moderation was found for workload. Instead, workload associated positively with job involvement in both temporary and permanent workers. These findings are discussed with reference to the activation hypothesis as implied in the Job Demand-Control Model and earlier insights from psychological contract theory and research.
Collaborative language learning and teaching

Acknowledgements Introduction Part I. Focus on Learning: 1. Experimental language learning: second language learning as cooperative learner education Viljo Kohonen 2. Literacy skills or literate skills? considerations for ESL/EFL learners Shirley Brice Heath 3. Collaboration: constructing shared understandings in a second language classroom Donald Freeman 4. Context and cooperation in academic tasks Bernard Mohan and Sondra Marshall Smith 5. Collaborative writing as a literacy event: implications for ESL instruction Denise E. Murray Part II. Focus on Teaching: 6. Collaborative language teaching: a co-investigation Nora B. Shannon and Bonnie Meath-Lang 7. Team teaching: a case study from Japan Peter Sturman 8. Some reflections on collaborative language teaching Kathleen M. Bailey, Ted Dale and Benjamin Squire 9. The power of observation: 'make a wish, make a dream, imagine all the possibilities! ' Jerry G. Gebhard and Akiko Ueda-Motonaga 10. A teacher-research group in action Sandra R. Schecter and Rafael Ramirez 11. Putting a process syllabus into practice Roger Budd and Tony Wright 12. Toward a collaborative approach to curriculum development: a case study David Nunan References Index.
A New Scheme to Mitigate the OFDM High PAR Problem by Minimizing the Signal's Nonlinear Distortion Caused by HPA

How to mitigate the negative impact of high PAR in OFDM systems is an important issue. Most of recent works have focused on minimizing the PAR of OFDM signal to enhance performance. However, after relating this issue with the specific characteristics of HPA, we propose a new scheme to mitigate the high PAR problem. Rather than minimizing OFDM signal's PAR, the new scheme uses the amount of OFDM signal's nonlinear distortion to be caused by HPA as a new measure and increases the performance of OFDM system by minimizing this nonlinear distortion. The pre-calculation of the new measure is achieved by employing an adaptive nonlinear system identification process. Meanwhile, because the new scheme only changes the measure of the OFDM signal but not the frameworks of the prior PAR-reduction methods based on minimum PAR criterion, these prior PAR-reduction methods can be easily extended to incorporate the new scheme. A case study of the new scheme by adopting it in the SLM method shows its superiority over the conventional scheme
Design and Development of an automated Robotic Pick & Stow System for an e-Commerce Warehouse

In this paper, we provide details of a robotic system that can automate the task of picking and stowing objects from and to a rack in an e-commerce fulfillment warehouse. The system primarily comprises of four main modules: (1) Perception module responsible for recognizing query objects and localizing them in the 3-dimensional robot workspace; (2) Planning module generates necessary paths that the robot end- effector has to take for reaching the objects in the rack or in the tote; (3) Calibration module that defines the physical workspace for the robot visible through the on-board vision system; and (4) Gripping and suction system for picking and stowing different kinds of objects. The perception module uses a faster region-based Convolutional Neural Network (R-CNN) to recognize objects. We designed a novel two finger gripper that incorporates pneumatic valve based suction effect to enhance its ability to pick different kinds of objects. The system was developed by IITK-TCS team for participation in the Amazon Picking Challenge 2016 event. The team secured a fifth place in the stowing task in the event. The purpose of this article is to share our experiences with students and practicing engineers and enable them to build similar systems. The overall efficacy of the system is demonstrated through several simulation as well as real-world experiments with actual robots.
It's All about Me: Narcissistic Chief Executive Officers and Their Effects on Company Strategy and Performance

This study uses unobtrusive measures of the narcissism of chief executive officers (CEOs)—the prominence of the CEO's photograph in annual reports, the CEO's prominence in press releases, the CEO's use of first-person singular pronouns in interviews, and compensation relative to the second-highest-paid firm executive—to examine the effect of CEO narcissism on a firm's strategy and performance. Results of an empirical study of 111 CEOs in the computer hardware and software industries in 1992–2004 show that narcissism in CEOs is positively related to strategic dynamism and grandiosity, as well as the number and size of acquisitions, and it engenders extreme and fluctuating organizational performance. The results suggest that narcissistic CEOs favor bold actions that attract attention, resulting in big wins or big losses, but that, in these industries, their firms' performance is generally no better or worse than firms with non-narcissistic CEOs.
Health, Wealth or Family Ties? Why Turkish Work Migrants Return from Germany

In the 1960s and 1970s, hundreds of thousands of Turkish workers migrated to Germany. Some settled there, others returned to Turkey after a few years. To explore how the experience of life between two cultures and in transnational families affected the decision to return, we conducted focus-group sessions with male returnees in Turkey who had spent varying lengths of time in Germany. Return was rarely based on purely economic or health-related motives; value-oriented and emotional themes almost always played a role. There were complex interactions between particular themes, e.g. perceived health status and economic success. We organised our findings into three ‘ideal types’: first, the ‘nostalgic’ returned migrant who is facing socio-economic problems in Turkey and has a transfigured notion of life in Germany which he would like to but cannot resume; second, the ‘cultural traditionalist’ who considers Turkish culture superior and left Germany without remorse after having made some money; and third, the ‘player of two systems’ who thrives in both Turkey and Germany. This typology helps to structure and understand the complex themes underlying the decision to return-migrate.
Improving Students’ Reading Comprehension Achievement by Using K-W-L Strategy

The research is done in order to improve students’ reading comprehension achievement. The writer uses Know- Want-Learn (KWL) strategy, and the data are obtained from the experimental group and the score of the control group, from the fifth semester students of English department, Faculty of Education of HKBP Nommensen University Medan. The data were analyzed by applying t-test formula and it was found that students’ achievement who were taught by applying KWL was higher than those who were taught without applying KWL. The data obtained that the ability of fifth semester students were taught by KWL is better and effective in the experimental group , than the score of the control group . It was found that students’ achievement who were taught by applying KWL was higher than those who were taught without applying KWL.When doing treatment in four meetings to the experimental group the students were active and the score in the post-test of the test, they got higher than score in the pre-test. The researcher thought that, if KWL used in teaching reading more than fourth, it would increase the students’ reading comprehension. It means that the application of KWL strategy significantly affects on students’ reading comprehension The mean score of the students who were taught by applying KWL strategy is 73,36 it is higher than mean score of students who were tauhgt without applying K-W-L is 68,73, The t observed ( 3,56) is higher than t table ( 1,992) at the level of significance of 0,05 of two-tailed test. It mens that H a is accepted. Thus, it can be concluded that there is a significant effect on students’ reading comprehension achievement.
Reading conventions, interpreting habits: Peircian semiotics in music

The influence of Peircian semiotics on the study of music has grown during the last two decades due to the recognition of Robert Hatten's achievements, a major study by Naomi Cumming, the prolific final years of Raymond Monelle and the continued success of Eero Tarasti's work with the International Association of Semiotic Studies. Peirce's thought is extraordinarily rich and rigorous but this thesis identifies a tendency amongst musicologists deploying Peircian thought to reinscribe a number of ideological convictions. In broad terms these convictions can be described as the reification and legitimization of a body of music, and more specifically as an attempt to stabilize musical meanings whilst locating them within a 'music-in-itself. It is in this sense that Peircian semiotics has been used to resist developments in popular and new musicologies. The role of Peirce's theory in this discourse needs careful re-examination. The work of Robert Hatten in its search for meaning through and around the contextual (or intertextual) relations of a 'work' represents the most successful application, to date, of Peircian semiotics to music. But Hatten's emphasis upon composers, structure and stylistic contexts, and his relative neglect of listeners, subjectivity and social forces renders his project incomplete. Through a detailed explanation of some of the central insights offered by Peirce's philosophical project this thesis develops a theory of musical meaning which has listening processes and the formation of identity/subjectivity at its centre. A key tool in developing this theory concerns the dimensions of time and their coordination with Peirce's universal categories. The possibility of informing and developing the close-reading practices that still dominate the tradition of musical analysis will be explored through a discussion and analysis of the Allegro of Mozart's 'Prague' Symphony in the light of the theories developed in earlier chapters, with particular reference to Peirce's concept of valency.
Multifield consequences for D-brane inflation

We analyse the multifield behaviour in D-brane inflation when contributions from the bulk are taken into account. For this purpose, we study a large number of realisations of the potential; we find the nature of the inflationary trajectory to be very consistent despite the complex construction. Inflation is always canonical and occurs in the vicinity of an inflection point. Extending the transport method to non-slow-roll and to calculate the running, we obtain distributions for observables. The spectral index is typically blue and the running positive, putting the model under moderate pressure from WMAP7 constraints. The local f_NL and tensor-to-scalar ratio are typically unobservably small, though we find approximately 0.5% of realisations to give observably large local f_NL. Approximating the potential as sum-separable, we are able to give fully analytic explanations for the trends in observed behaviour. Finally we find the model suffers from the persistence of isocurvature perturbations, which can be expected to cause further evolution of adiabatic perturbations after inflation. We argue this is a typical problem for models of multifield inflation involving inflection points and renders models of this type technically unpredictive without a description of reheating.